HISTORY
ENGLAND.
PRINTED UV J. MAI.LFTT,
59, WARDOllH-STHKliT, IUIIO.
THE
HISTORY
ENGLAND,
ACCESSION TO THE DECEASE
GEORGE THE THIRD,
BY JOHN ADOLPHUS, ESQ.
VOL. III.
LONDON :
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AND PUBLISHED BY JOHN LEE, 440, WEST STRAND.
MDCCCXLI.
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CONTENTS
OF
THE THIRD VOLUME
CHAPTER XXXV.
17781779.
State of the public mind, 2. Discordant views of opposition,
ib. System of Lord Chatham's adherents, 3. Probability
of his forming an administration, ib. Indignation against
France, ib. Preparations against invasion, 4. Admiral
Keppel commands the grand fleet, ib. Its condition, ib.
He captures two frigates, 5. Returns to port, ib. Sensa-
tion of the public, ib. Keppel puts to sea again, ib.
Engagement off Ushant, 6. The French retreat, 7.
Keppel returns to port, ib. The French avoid a new en-
gagement, ib. Accounts of the late action, ib. Public
discussions, ib. Publication of Sir Hugh Palliser, 8.
Meeting of Parliament, 9. King's speech, ib. The late
naval transactions debated, ib. Observations of Temple
Luttrell, ib. Of Admiral Keppel, ib. Of Palliser, 10.
Keppel's reply, ib. Temple LuttrelPs motion, 11. Kep-
pel's trial, ib. And acquittal, ib. Rejoicings and outrages
of the mob, 12. Keppel thanked by both Houses of Par-
liament, ib. Palliser vacates his seat and resigns his
appointments, ib. He is tried by a court martial, ib. And
acquitted, though not without censure, ib. The public
zeal subsides, 13. Keppel discontented, ib. Resigns the
grand fleet, ib. Mr. Fox's various motions against Lord
Sandwich, ib. Motion for his removal by the Earl of
Bristol, 17. Proceedings respecting Greenwich Hospital,
18. Publication of Captain Baillie, ib. Motion in the
Court of King's Bench, 19. House of Lords in a com-
mittee, ib. Lord Sandwich's explanation, 20. Duke of
Richmond moves resolutions, 21. His second motion, 22.
Resignations of officers, 23. Insubordination in the navy^
VOL. III. b
CONTENTS.
ib. Debates on the manifesto of the American commis-
sioners, ib. Parliamentary conduct of General Burgoyne,
ib. His motion for papers, which are granted, ib. Similar
motions by Sir William Howe, 24. Granted, ib. Com-
mittee formed, ib. Evidence examined, 25. Counter evi-
dence ordered, ib. Burgoyne's evidence examined, 26.
Counter evidence respecting Sir William Howe, ib.
Objections, ib. Committee dissolved, ib. Affairs of Ire-
land discussed, ib. Partial relief granted, 28. Dissatis-
faction of the Irish, ib. Non-importation agreement, ib.
Volunteer associations, 29. The Marquis of Buckingham's
motion respecting Ireland, ib. Relief afforded to Protes-
tant dissenters, 30. Rupture with Spain announced, ib.
King's message, 31. Addresses, ib. Amendments moved,
ib. Protest, 32. Militia bill, ib. Altered by the Lords,
32. Passes in its amended state, ib. Bill for annulling
protections to seamen, 33. Protests, ib. The Bishop of
LandafPs bill against adultery, 34. Rejected in the House
of Commons, ib. Bill relating to the right of printing al-
manacks, ib. Counsel heard, 35. Bill lost. ib. Termi-
nation of the session, ib. Rise and progress of the dispute
with Spain, 36. Spanish ambassador withdraws, 43. His
letter, ib.^-Spanish manifesto, 44. Letters of Marque
issued, 45. Lord Weymouth's letter, ib. French mani-
festo, ib. Observations on the conduct of Spain, ib. Siege
of Gibraltar commenced, 46. Ineffectual attempt on Jer-
sey, 47. Junction of the French and Spanish fleets, 47.
Exertions in England, ib. The combined fleets insult the
British coast, ib.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
1779.
State of the French and English fleets in the West Indies,
49. Byron convoys the trade, 50. Capture of St. Vincent's
by the French, ib. Grenada also taken, ib. Engagement
between Byron and d'Estaing, 5 1 . Proceedings in Geor-
gia, 52. Capture of Sunbury and Augusta, ib. Corps
of loyalists raised, ib. Loyalists routed in North Carolina,
53. American force collected, ib. Colonel Ashe routed,
ib. Measures of the Americans for the defence of the
Carolinas, 54. Irruption of the British into South Caro-
lina, ib. Ineffectual attempt on Charlestown, ib. Attack
of the Americans on St. John's Island, 55. Ineffectual
attempts of D'Estaing on Savannah, ib. Delays in rein-
CONTENTS. XI
forcing Clinton, 57. Various successful expeditions direct-
ed by him, 58. Relief sent to Penobscot, 60. Miserable
fate of the American besiegers, ib. Arrival of Arbuth-
not, 61. Americans' attack on Paulus Hook, ib. Their
expeditions against the Indians, ib. Incursion of the
Spaniards into West Florida, ib. They attack the log-
wood-cutters in the Bay of Honduras, 62. Capture of fort
Omoa by the English, ib. It is re-taken, 63. Senegal
taken by the French Goree by the English, ib. Sea-fight
between Captain Pierson and Paul Jones, ib. Resolute
action of Captain Farmer, 65. State of the ministry, 66.
Changes, ib. Increase of Irish volunteers, ib. Non-im-
portation agreements, 68. Session of the Irish Parliament,
ib. Debate on the address, 69. Popular measures, ib.
Limited supply, ib. Pviot in Dublin, 70.
CHAPTER XXXVII.
1779_1780.
Meeting of Parliament, 72. King's speech, ib. Amendment
to the address moved in the Lords, ib. negatived, 75.
In the House of Commons, ib. Affairs of Ireland dis-
cussed, 81. Lord Shelburne's motion, 82. Motion in the
House of Commons, 84. Relief afforded to Ireland, 86.
Efforts on the subject of economy, 87. Motion by the
Duke of Richmond, ib. Mr. Burke gives notice of his in-
tention to bring in bills for economical reform, 89. Meet-
ing and petition of the freeholders of Yorkshire, 93. Cor-
responding Committees appointed, 94. The example of
Yorkshire generally followed, ib. London Committee
formed, ib. Mr. Burke introduces his plan of reform,
95. His celebrated speech, ib. Vote for abolishing the
Board of Trade, 104. Commission of accounts appointed,
105. Colonel Barre's motion, 106. Lord North's Bill,
ib. Bills for excluding contractors and suspending the
votes of revenue officers rejected, 107. Account of places,
108 and of pensions paid at the Exchequer laid before
the House, ib. Duels between members of Parliament,
109. Debates on raising volunteer regiments, 110. Alter-
cation between Lord North and Sir Fletcher Norton, 111.
Numerous petitions, 113. Intemperate language in in-
troducing them, ib. Discussion of the petitions, 115. Mr.
Dunning, 116 his motion, ib opposed, ib. supported,
118. Resolutions passed respecting the influence of the
Crown, 119. The expenditure of the Civil List, ib.-
b 2
Xll CONTEXTS.
and the relief of the people, ib. Resolutions reported,
ib. Motion for account of monies paid to members of Par-
liament, 120. Vote for rendering certain officers inca-
pable of sitting, ib. Illness of the Speaker, ib. Adjourn-
ment, ib. Motion against dissolving Parliament, ib. Mr.
Adam, 121. Mr. Fox, ib. rejected, 122. Indignation
of Fox, ib. Lord North, 123. Further proceedings on the
petitions, ib. Report of the Committee refused, ib. Obser-
vations, 124.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
1778177917801781.
Effect of appeals to the people, 126. Growth of fanaticism in
Scotland, 127. Proposal to relieve the Catholics, ib.
Efforts of fanatics, 128. Formation of Protestant associa-
tions, ib. Riots in Edinburgh, 129. Reprehensible con-
duct of the magistracy, 130. Riots at Glasgow, 131 dis-
cussed in Parliament, 132. Corresponding Committees
formed, 133 and Lord George Gordon elected President,
ib. Effects of debating societies, ib. Intemperance of
Lord George Gordon, 134. Petitions to Parliament against
the Catholics, 135. London petition, ib. Meeting at
Coach-maker's Hall, 136. Meeting of the petitioners in
St. George's Fields, 137. Motion by the Duke of Rich-
mond for a reform of Parliament, ib. The members of
Parliament insulted, ib. The petitioners insult and inter-
rupt the House of Commons, 138. Chapels of ambassadors
burnt, 139. Riots subside, 140. They are renewed, ib.
Privy council held, ib. Proclamation, ib. Riots more
alarming, 141. Terror of Lord George Gordon, ib. Ad-
journment of Parliament, ib. Excessive fury of the riot-
ers, 142. Numerous conflagrations, ib. Timidity of Go-
vernment, 143. Second Privy Council, 144. The riots
quelled, 145. Restoration of tranquillity, ib. Lord George
Gordon committed to the tower, 146. Spirited behaviour
of Wilkes, ib. King's speech to Parliament, 147. Lord
Mansfield's opinion on military interference, ib. City pe-
tition against the Roman Catholics, 148. Petitions rejected,
149. Bill for preventing Catholics from teaching youth
rejected, ib. End of the session, ib. Trials of the rioters,
150. Trial of Lord George Gordon, ib. Dissolution of
Parliament, 153.
CONTENTS. Xlll
CHAPTER XXXIX.
1780.
Admiral Rodney, 154. His situation in France, 155. Gene-
rosity of the Marshal de Biron, 155. His return, 156.
Bounty of the King, ib. State of the naval service, ib.
Rodney obtains a command, ib. Admiral Kempenfelt cap-
tures French transports, 157. Rodney sails, ib. Captures
a Spanish fleet, ib. Defeats Langara, ib. Digby takes
French ships, 158. Prince William Henry in the navy, ib.
Siege and capture of Charlestown, ib. Alarm of the Ame-
ricans, 161. Clinton's address, 162 and proclamations, ib.
Formation of military force, 163. Expeditions against the
Americans, ib. Pursuit of Burford, 164. Engagement at
Waxhaws, ib. Clinton departs, ib. Proceeding of Lord
Cornwallis, 165. Exertions of the Americans, 166.
Treachery in South Carolina, ib. Cantonment of the Bri-
tish army, 168. Gates commands the Americans, ib.
Attack on Rocky Mount, ib. Battle of Camden, 169.
Tarleton routs Sumter, 170. Severities of Lord Corn-
wallis, ib. Major Ferguson routed, 171. EiFect of this
disaster, ib. Tarleton disperses Sumter's forces, 172. End
of the Campaign, ib. Transactions at New York, ib. In-
cursions into the Jerseys, 173. Springfield taken, ib.
Attack on Bergen Point, ib. Arrival of reinforcements
from France, 174. Ineffectual attempt on Rhode Island, ib.
Naval proceedings in the West Indies, ib. Arrival of
Rodney, 175 Ineffectual efforts and skirmishes, ib.
Arrival of a Spanish fleet, ib. Disagreements of the allied
admirals, ib. De Guichen returns to Europe, ib. Rodney
goes to America, ib. Effects of these measures in America,
176. Defection of Arnold, ib. Fate of Major Andre, 178.
Arnold's proclamation, 183. Exchange of Burgoyne's
army, 185. Naval transactions in Europe, ib. Capture of
the British East and West India fleet, 186. Quebec fleet
taken by the Americans, ib.
CHAPTER XL.
177917801781.
Attempted negotiation with Spain, 187. Proposed cessions
in exchange for Gibraltar, 189. Rejected, ib. Mr. Cum-
berland goes to Madrid, 190 his hopes, 191. Effect of the
XIV CONTENTS.
riot in London, 192. Efforts of France, ib. Further dis-
cussions on Gibraltar, 193. End of the negotiation, 194.
Observations, ib. Expectation of a neutral league, 195.
Conduct and transactions of foreign powers, ib. Prussia, ib.
First partition of Poland, 196. Conduct of Russia, 201.
Denmark, 202 Sweden, 203 Holland, 204. Motives of
the Dutch, 207. First memorial of Sir Joseph Yorke, ib.
Memorials of the Dutch merchants, 209. Second memo-
rial of Sir Joseph Yorke, 210. Exertions of the French
party, ib. Succours demanded by England, 211. Dispute
respecting Paul Jones, 212. Succours refused, ib. En-
gagement between Commodore Fielding and Count Byland,
ib. Remonstrance on the subject, 213. Formation of the
armed neutrality, 214. Conduct of the Empress of Russia,
216. Accession of different powers, 219. Capture of
Laurens, 221. Discovery of a treaty between Holland and
America, ib. Memorials on the subject, 222. War de-
clared, ib.
CHAPTER XLI.
17801781.
State of the public mind, 224 Of ministers, ib. Of Opposi-
tion, ib. Meeting of Parliament, 227. Election of a
Speaker, ib. King's speech, ib. Debates on the Address,
228. Westminster Resolution, 230. Navy estimates, 231.
Barrington, Keppel, and Palliser, ib. Message to Parlia-
ment, 232. Popular delegates appointed, 233. Burke's
economical reform again introduced, 234. First speech of
Mr. William Pitt, 237. The bill rejected, 240. Other
popular efforts, ib. Mr. Sheridan's motion respecting the
military, 241. Petition of the Delegates, 243. Motion of
thanks to Lord Cornwallis and Sir Henry Clinton, 245.
Mr. Hartley's motion for peace with America, 246. Mo-
tion for a committee on the American war, 247. Petitions
of American prisoners, 248. Close of the session, 250.
CHAPTER XLII.
1781.
Attack of the French on Jersey, 252. Progress of the siege
of Gibraltar, ib. Distress of the garrison, 253 Relieved
by Admiral Darby, 254 The town bombarded, ib. Suc-
cessful sortie, 255. The enemv land in Minorca, 256.
CONTENTS. XV
Naval actions in the Channel, 257. Engagement between
Parker and Zouttman, ib. State of the Dutch colonies, 258.
Instructions to Rodney, 259. Capture of St. Eustatia, ib.
Demerary and Issequibo, 261. The French reinforced, ib.
Partial engagement, 262. Capture of Tobago by the
French, ib. Transactions in America, ib. Lord Corn-
wallis reinforced, 263. State of the American army, ib.
Mutiny, ib. Arnold's expedition into Virginia, 265. State
of the armies, ib. Tarleton defeated at the Cowpens, 266.
Lord Cornwallis pursues Morgan, 267. Passes the Cataw-
ba, ib. Arrives at, 267 and crosses the Yadkin, 268.
The enemy retreat into Virginia, ib. Royal standard
erected at Hillsborough, ib. Massacre of the loyalists, ib.
Further retreat of Lord Cornwallis, ib. Battle of Guild-
ford, 269. Lord Cornwallis retreats to Wilmington, ib.
He invades Virginia, 270. Lord Rawdon defeats the
enemy at Hobkirk's Hill, 270. Activity of American par-
tizans, ib. Camden evacuated, 271. Other forts taken by
the enemy, ib. Their success in Georgia, ib. Failure at
Ninety-six, ib. Suspension of operations, ib. Execution
of Colonel Haynes, 272. Battle at Eutaw Springs, ib.
Expedition of the enemy against Portsmouth, 273.' General
Phillips ravages Virginia, ib. His death, 274. Arrival of
Lord Cornwallis, ib. Pursuit of La Fayette, ib. Success
of Colonel Tarleton, ib. and Colonel Simcoe, 275. Des-
pair of the Americans, ib. Projects of the enemy against
New York, ib. Clinton requires troops from Virginia, 276.
The order countermanded, ib. Lord Cornwallis stationed
at York-town, ib. The enemy menace New York, 277.
Arrival of De Grasse, ib. Arrival of Sir Samuel Hood, ib.
Partial action between the fleets, ib. Arnold's Expedition
to New London, ib. York-town invested, 278. Two
redoubts stormed, ib. Lord Cornwallis attempts a retreat,
279 Capitulates, ib. Efforts of Clinton, 280.
CHAPTER XLIII.
17811782.
Conduct of neutral powers, 284. Conduct of the Empress,
ib. Prussia admitted to the armed confederacy, 286.
Efforts at mediation, ib. ineffectual, 289. Negotiation for
a separate treaty with Holland, ib. Altered conduct of
Austria, 290. The Emperor joins the armed confederacy,
291. His growing partiality toward France, 292. State of
the public mind, ib. State of the cabinet, 293. Lord
CONTENTS.
North, ib. The King's firmness, 294. His sentiments
throughout the war, ib. Mr. Pitt, 297. Meeting of Par-
liament, 299. Debates on the addresses, ib. Debates on
the capture of St. Eustatia, 310. Supplies opposed, 314.
Motions against the war by Sir James Lowther, ib. Debate
renewed, 317. Supplies opposed in the Lords, 318. De-
bates on the treatment of Laurens, 319.
CHAPTER XLIV.
17811782.
Proceedings in public meetings, 320. London petition for
peace and change of ministry, 321. Other petitions, ib.
Admiral Kempenfelt's unsuccessful expedition, ib. Cap-
ture of St. Christopher's, 322. Nevis and Moutserrat, 323.
Capture of Minorca, ib. Fox's motion on the ill success of
the navy, 325. Personal motions in both houses, 328.
The Duke of Richmond's respecting Colonel Haynes, ib.
Motions for papers respecting America, ib. Resignation of
Lord George Germaine, ib. his peerage, ib. Motions
respecting it, ib. Censures of General Arnold, 331. Re-
newed motion respecting the navy, ib. General Conway's
motion against the war, ib. Altercation between Lord
North and Colonel Barre, 334. Debates on the new taxes,
335. General Conway's second motion, 336. Lord North,
ib. The minister in a minority, 337. Second address, 338.
The attorney-general's bill for peace, ib. Lord John
Cavendish's motion against the ministry, 340. Sir John
Rous's motion, ib. Lord North declares a change of
ministry, 343. His farewell speech, 343, Lord Shel-
burne's intended motion, 345. Character of Lord North, ib.
CHAPTER XLV.
1781-1782.
View of the new ministry, 347. Their opinions and talents,
348. Measures they had concerted, 349. Affairs of Ire-
land, 350. Volunteers, ib. Transactions in the Irish Par-
liament, ib. Meetings of the delegates of volunteers, 353.
Recall of Lord Carlisle, 354. Motion of Mr. Eden in the
British Parliament respecting Ireland, ib. King's message,
356. Declaration of rights voted by the Irish Parliament,
357. Mr. Grattan's celebrated speech, 358. His reward,
CONTENTS. XV11
359. Consequent proceedings in the British Parliament,
360. Efforts for limiting influence, 361. Contractors'
bill, ib. Revenue officers' bill, ib. Resolution respecting
the Middlesex election rescinded, 362. Disfranchiseincnt
of Crickladc, 363. Bill compelling the holders of offices
to reside, 364. Exertions of clubs and public bodies for a
reform in Parliament, ib. Mr. Pitt's motion rejected, 368.
Sawbridge's annual motion, 369. Lord Mahon's bill against
bribery, ib. Exertions respecting economy, ib. The
King's message, ib. Burke's bill passed in an altered state,
370. Arrears of the civil-list discharged, 372. Mr. Ken-
yon's motion, ib. Efforts for pacification, ib. Death of the
Marquis of Rockingham, 373. Resignations, ib. Discus-
sion in Parliament, 374. House of Commons, ib. Causes
of the late resignations explained, ib. House of Lords,
378.- Prorogation of Parliament, 378. King's speech, ib.
Shelburne administration, ib.
CHAPTER XLVI.
17811782.
Necessity for peace, 380. Transactions in America, ib.
Board of directors formed, 382. Murder of Joshua Huddy,
383. Washington resolves to execute a British officer in
revenge, ib. Recall of Sir Henry Clinton, 384. Captain
Asgill selected, 385. Views of Washington as to the war,
386. Effect of parliamentary proceedings, 387. The
loyalists, 387. Proceedings on the arrival of Sir Guy Car-
leton, 388. Attempt to negotiate separately with Holland,
ib. Mediation of the Empress of Russia, 389. Failure,
391. Offer of the Emperor to mediate, ib. Altered con-
duct of the Imperial Court, ib. Mr. Grcnville sent to Paris,
392. Sanguine hopes of the enemy, ib. State of the
enemy, 393. France, ib. State of America, ib. Objec-
tions to independence, 394. Mr. Fox's letter to Dr. Frank-
lin, 395. Answer, ib. Instructions to Mr. Grenville, ib.
Conduct of Dr. Franklin and De Vergennes, 396. In-
creasing pretensions of the allied powers, 398.
CHAPTER XLVII.
17781782.
Expectations and projects of the enemy, 399. Return of
Admiral Rodney to England, 401. His interview with the
XV111 CONTENTS.
King, ib. Letter of Lord Sandwich, 402. He sails, ib.
Rodney's arrival, ib. State of Jamaica, 403. Proceedings
of Rodney, ib. His fleet, 404. Vast preparations of
France, ib. Partial actions, ib. Great victory, 405. Con-
duct of ministers toward Rodney, 407. His recall, 408.
Sensation of the public, ib. Motions of thanks and honours,
409. Proceedings in the West Indies, 410. The Bahamas
taken, 411. Destruction of settlements, ib. Captures by
the English, ib. Slow progress of negotiation, ib. Effect
of Rodney's victory in France, 412. Treatment of De
Grasse,ib. War in India, 413. Capture of French settle-
ments, ib. Siege of Pondicherry, ib. Action between
Vernon and Tronjolly, ib. Pondicherry taken, ib. Senti-
ments of Hyder Ally, 414. Mah taken, ib. War with
the natives, ib. Efforts of France, ib. War with Holland,
ib. Secret expedition, ib. Commodore Johnstone attacked
by De Suffrein, 415. Five Dutch East-indiamen taken, ib.
Negapatam and other places taken, ib. Arrival of the
English squadron, ib. Sir Edward Hughes takes six trans-
ports, ib. His first engagement with De Suffrein, 416
his second engagement, ib. *-Their effects, ib. Third en-
gagement, ib. Trincomal6 recaptured, ib. Fourth en-
gagement, 417. Siege of Cuddalore, ib. Fifth engage-
ment, 417. Naval exertions in Europe, ib. Sundry
captures, ib. The Dutch confined in port, 418. Junction
of the French and Spanish fleets, ib. Capture of Quebec
and Newfoundland fleets, ib. Trade protected by Lord
Howe, ib. Fate of Rodney's prizes, ib. Loss of the
Royal George, 419. Progress of the negotiation, ib.
America, ib. France, 422. Holland and Spain, 424.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
17811782.
Lord Howe sails to relieve Gibraltar, 425. Progress of the
Siege, ib. Partial supply, 42G. De Crillon commands, ib.
Construction of floating batteries, 427. Preparations for
defence, 428. Attack by land, ib. Naval force of the
enemy, ib. Land force, 429. Force of the garrison, ib.
Grand attack, ib. Destruction of the floating batteries, 430.
Humane exertions of Captain Curtis, 431. Mortification
of the enemy, ib. Public honours to the garrison, 432.
Operations of the combined fleet, 433 and of Lord Howe,ib.
Progress of negotiation, 434. America, 435. The loyalists,
436. France, Spain, and Holland, 437. Separate articles
CONTENTS. XIX
agreed on with America, 441. Information communicated
to the public, 442. State of parties, ib. Meeting of Par-
liament, 443. King's speech, ib. Debate on the address, ib.
In the House of Lords, 444. On the report, ib. Recess, 445.
CHAPTER XLIX.
17821783.
Preliminaries signed, 446. Substance of the treaty with
America, ib. France, 467. Spain, 448. Truce with
Holland, ib. Preliminaries laid before Parliament, ib.
Coalition between Lord North and Mr. Fox, ib. Debates
on the peace, 450. Arguments in support of it, 451.
Objections, 452. Answered, 455. Debates in the House
of Lords, 457. Resolutions condemning the peace, 458.
Resignation of Lord Shelburne, 459. Parliamentary re-
flections on the coalition, 460. Sensation of the public, 463.
Ministerial interregnum, 464. Offer to Mr. Pitt, 465.
Motions on the subject, 466. New ministry, 467. Com-
mercial intercourse with America regulated, 468. Debates
on the loan, 471. Economical reforms, ib. Mr. Pitt's
motion for a reform of Parliament, ib. Affairs of Ireland,
477. First petition for abolishing the slave trade, 478.
Separate establishment of the Prince of Wales, ib. Close
of the session, 479. Definitive treaties of peace executed, ib.
CHAPTER L.
17651775.
India. Supervisors, 481. Extent of British territory, ib.
New act for the government of India, 482. Mr. Hastings,
483. Native powers, ib. The Mogul, ib. The Mahrattas,
484. Other powers, ib.- The Mysore, ib. Policy of the
English government, 485. State of Benares, ib. Death of
Bulwant Sing, ib. Cheyt Sing established as his successor,
486. Bad faith of the Nabob, ib. Mr. Hastings goes to
Benares, ib. State of Shah Allum, ib. His desire to be
crowned, ib. Opposed by the British government, ib.
He forms an alliance with the Mahrattas, 487. Goes to
Delhi, ib. He makes war on the Rohillas, ib. is betrayed
by the Mahrattas, ib. who take Delhi, ib. plunder and
imprison him, 488. Alarm of the Vizier of Oude, ib.
Applies to the Bengal government, ib. Cession of Korah,
XX CONTENTS.
ib. The Mogul's pension discontinued, 489. Mr. Hast-
ings goes to Benares, ib. Conduct of the Mogul, ib.
Treaty with the Vizier, 490. Observations, ib. Mr.
Hastings's vindication of his proceedings, 491. Further
views of the Vizier, 492. Projects of the Vizier against the
Rohillas, 493. Assistance of the English claimed, ib. and
granted, ib. Successful operations, ib. The Rohillas sub-
dued, 494. The Vizier still requires the British troops,
495. Conduct of the Vizier toward the family of Hafez,
496. Campaign renewed, 497. Capture of Patter Ghur,
ib. Arrangement with Nudjif Khan, 497. Proposals of
Fyzoolah Khan, 498. Complaints of Colonel Champion,
498. Present proposed to the army, 499. Peace with the
Rohillas, ib. Transactions in Bombay, ib. Demand on
the Nabob of Broach, 500. Final arrangements, ib. Cen-
sured by the Company, 501. Capture of Broach, ib. Dis-
approbation of the Company, ib.
CHAPTER LI.
17721775.
India.- Commencement of the new government, 503. Ob-
servations on its structure, 504. Systematic opposition, 505.
First proceedings, ib. Mr. Middleton recalled, ib. Senti-
ments of the Company, 506. Decision of the Directors,
507. Death of Sujah ul Dowlah, ib. Exactions from his
successors, 508. State of Bombay, 509. The Mahrattas,
ib. The Peishwa,510. Regonaut Row made Peishwa,51 1.
Opposition to him, ib. He applies to the government of
Bombay, 512. Salsette taken, ib. Treaty with Ragobah,
513. Mahratta war, ib. Endeavours to make peace, ib.
Other discussions in the Supreme Council, 515. Admi-
nistration of justice, ib. New Court of Supreme Judica-
ture, 516. Objections to the new system, 517. Case of
Nundcomar, 519. Increasing discord in the Supreme
Council, 520. Nundcomar, 520. His accusation of Mr.
Hastings, 521. Debate at the board, 522. Remonstrance
of Mr. Hastings, ib. Examination of Nundcomar, 524.
Vote of the majority, 525. Treatment of Cantoo Baboo, ib.
Representation to the Directors, ib. Nundcomar and
others tried for conspiracies, 526. Nundcomar accused of
forgery, ib. Committed, ib. Objections raised by him, ib.
His complaints, 527. Interference of members of the Coun-
cil, 528. Trial, 529.- Defence, 530. He is found guilty,
532 and executed, ib. Observations, 533.
CONTENTS. XXI
CHAPTER LIT.
17751781.
India. Debates at the India House'on Mr. Hastings, 533.
his supposed resignation, ib. announced by Mr. Macleane,
537. Proceedings of the Directors, ib. A successor ap-
pointed, ib. These resolutions arrive at Calcutta, ib.
Death of Colonel Monson, ib. Proceedings of General
Clavering, ib. Resistance of Mr. Hastings, ib. The ques-
tion referred to the Judges of the Supreme Court, 538
who decide in Mr. Hastings's favour, ib. Death of Gene-
ral Clavering, 539. Operations in finance, ib. Mr. Bris-
tow removed and Mr. Middleton replaced, 540. Mr.
Fowke removed, ib. Application of the Nabob of Oude,
ib. Complied with, 541. Effect of the late treaties with
the Mahrattas, ib. Views of the native powers, 542.
and of the French, ib. Public reception of M. De St.
Lubin, ib. Account of him, 543. Conduct of the Mah-
rattas, ib. Hyder Ally, ib. He courts the alliance of the
English, 544. Without success, ib. He makes peace with
the Mahrattas, 545. His feelings against the English, ib.
Assisted by the French, ib. Hyder at war with the Mah-
rattas, 546. Their disunion and weakness, ib. Disputes
in the council of Madras, 547. Lord Pigot appointed
Governor, ib. Treatment of the Rajah of Tanjore, 548.
Pecuniary claim of Mr. Benfield, ib. Lord Pigot opposed
by a majority in council, 549 arrested, ib. and deposed,
ib. Proceedings at the India House, 550. Death of Lord
Pigot, ib. Coroner's Inquest, ib. Hyder Ally gains ad-
vantages over the Mahrattas, 551. State of Poonah, ib.
Detachment sent to Bombay under Colonel Leslie, 552.
Progress impeded, ib. Revolution at Poonah, ib. Coun-
ter Revolution, ib. Conduct of Ragobah, ib. Disastrous
advance of Colonel Goddard, 553. Difficult situation of
the English troops, ib. A treaty extorted from the agents
of government, 554. Colonel Leslie's detachment, ib.
his death, ib. Management of Hyder Ally, 555. His
conduct on the capture of Pondicherry, ib. - With respect
to Mahe, ib. which is taken from the French, 556 and
re-captured by Hyder, ib. Arrangements respecting the
Guntoor Circar, ib. Correspondence with Hyder, 557.
- He makes peace with the Mahrattas, 558. invades
the Carnatic, ib. Sir Hector Munro takes the field,
560. Tippoo Saib opposes Colonel Baillie, ib. whose de-
tachment is entirely cut off', 561. Cruel treatment of the
XXII CONTENTS.
vanquished, ib. Death of Colonel Baillie, 562. Hyder
captures Arcot, ib. Alarming state of Madras, ib. Divi-
sions still exist, 563. Proceedings in Bombay, 564. in
Calcutta, ib. Mr. Hastings disobeys the Company's orders,
ib. Endeavours to arrange differences, 565. Mr. Hastings
yields certain points, ib. Opposition still continued, ib.
Mr. Hastings's minute, 566. Mr. Francis's answer, 567.
Mr. Hastings's reply, ib. Mr. Francis's letter to the Direc-
tors, 568. Different views of the war, 569. Sir Eyre
Coote sent to Madras, ib. State of affairs on his arrival, ib.
Force of Hyder Ally, ib. State of the council at Madras,
570 and of military affairs, ib. Miserable state of Ma-
dras, 571. Hyder's early intelligence, ib. Movements of
the British forces, 572. Arrival of a French fleet, ib.
Hyder levies contributions, 573. The English repulsed at
Chillambaram, ib. Battle of Porto-novo, ib. its effects,
574. Tippoo driven from Wandewash, 575. Tripassore
taken, ib. Battle at Peerambaucum, ib. Battle of Chil-
langer, 576. Arrival of Lord Macartney, ib. Negotiation
with the Dutch, 577. Efforts of Lord Macartney, ib.
Dutch settlements taken, ib. Chittoor taken, ib. Conclu-
sion of the compaign, 578. Efforts of Lord Macartney to
procure peace, ib. Writes to Hyder Ally, ib. His
answer.
CHAPTER LIII.
17811784.
India. Transactions with Cheyt Sing, 580. His agreement,
ib. Demands of money, ib. and troops, 581. Mr. Hast-
ings goes to Benares, ib. his motives, ib. His behaviour
to Cheyt Sing, 582. Correspondence, ib. Arrest of Cheyt
Sing, ib. his humility, ib. Insurrection of the people, ib.
Danger of Mr. Hastings, 583. Cheyt Sing retires to a
fortress, ib. Indiscreet attempt of Captain Mayaffre, ib.
Situation of Mr. Hastings, 584. Conduct of the native
powers, ib. The Begums of Oude, ib. Movements of the
British troops, ib. The Rajah's fortresses taken, 585.
Cheyt Sing deposed, ib. A successor appointed, ib. Ob-
jects of the enterprize not attained, ib. Conduct of the
Begums, 586 their punishment, ib. Effects of these
events on the native powers, ib. Madras, 587. Conduct
of the Nabob of Arcot, ib. Favourable circumstances, ib.
Weakness of the British force, compared with that of the
enemy, 588. Relief of Vellore, ib. Return of Sir Eyre
Coote, 589. Differences between him and Lord Macart-
CONTENTS. XX111
ney, ib. Sir Hector Munro rejoins the army, ib. Colonel
Braithwaite's detachment surrounded, ib. Severe fighting,
ib. Surrender, 590. Generous conduct of M. Lally, ib.
Barbarous conduct of the natives, ib. A French reinforce-
ment landed, ib. Cuddalore taken, ib. Ineffectual at-
tempts to bring Hyder to battle, ib. Battle of Arnee, 591.
An English regiment taken, ib. negotiation with the
Mahrattas, ib. War continued, ib. General Goddard's
victory at the Gauts, 592. Scindiah makes peace, ib.
General treaty with the Mahrattas, ib. Siege of Telli-
cherry, 593. Bravely defended by Major Abingdon, ib.
He makes a successful sally, ib. Fate of Surdar Khan
and his family, 594. Effects of the Victory, ib. Capture
of Calicut, 595. Negotiation attempted with Hyder, ib.
Trincomale taken by the French, ib. Distress and disunion
in the Presidencies, 596. Death of Sir Eyre Coote, ib.
State of Hyder Ally, ib. his death, 597 and character,
ib. Tippoo's hatred of the English, 599. War with him,
600. He evacuates the Carnatic, ib. Peace proposed, 601.
Tippoo's insincerity, ib. Expedition under General Mat-
thews, ib. Capture of Onore, ib. Further progress, ib.
Surrender of Hyder Nagur, 602. Tippoo reinforced, ib.
Takes Bednore, ib. General Matthews superesded, ib.
Advance of Tippoo, 603. Battle of Coodry, ib. Actions
in the Carnatic, ib.-- Battle near Cuddalore, ib. News of
the peace, ib. Tippoo refuses to make peace, 604. Siege
of Mangalore, ib. The peace known, ib. The French
separate themselves from Tippoo, ib. Surrender of Man-
galore, 605. Peace concluded, ib.
APPENDIX.
Extracts from letters of Sir Joseph Yorke, Ambassador at
the Hague, in November and December 1768, and January
1769.
THE
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
GEORGE THE THIRD.
CHAPTER THE THIRTY-FIFTH.
17781779.
State of the public mind. Discordant views of Opposition.
System of Lord Chatham. Probability of his having in-
tended to form an administration. Public indignation against
Prance. Preparations against invasion. Keppel commands
the grand fleet captures two frigates returns to port is
reinforced. His engagement with D'Orvilliers. Public
discussion. Publication by Sir Hugh Palliser. Meeting
of Parliament the late naval transactions debated. Alter-
cation between Keppel and Palliser. Court-martial ordered
on Keppel he is acquitted rejoicings and outrages of the
mob the Admiral thanked by both Houses. Palliser va-
cates his seat and resigns his appointments is tried by a
court-martial and acquitted, though not without censure.
Keppel dissatisfied resigns the command of the grand
fleet. Fox's motions against Lord Sandwich. The Earl of
Bristol's motion for his removal. Proceedings respecting
Greenwich Hospital. Publication of Captain Baillie. Mo-
tion in the Court of King's Bench. House of Lords in
Committee. Lord Sandwich's explanation. The Duke of
Richmond moves resolutions his second motion. Resig-
nation of naval officers. Insubordination of the navy.
Debates on the manifesto of the American Commissioners.
VOL. III. B
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1778.
State of the
public mind.
Discordant
views of
opposition.
Burgoyne's motion for papers granted. Similar motion by
Sir William Howe granted. Committee formed. Evi-
dence examined. Burgoyne's evidence. Counter evidence
to Sir William Howe. Committee dissolved. Affairs of
Ireland discussed. Partial relief granted. Dissatisfaction
of the Irish. Non-importation agreements. Volunteer
Associations. Motion by the Marquis of Rockingham.
Relief afforded to Protestant Dissenters. Rupture with
Spain. King's message address amendments moved.
Militia Bill altered by the Lords passes in its amended
state. Bill for annulling seamen's protections. The Bishop
of Landaff's bill against adultery rejected in the House
of Commons. Bill relative to the right of printing Alma-
nacks. Counsel heard. Bill lost. Termination of the
Session.- Rise and progress of the dispute with Spain.
Spanish Ambassador withdraws. Manifesto. Letters of
marque issued. French manifesto ably answered by Gib-
bon. Observations on the conduct of Spain. Siege of Gib-
raltar commenced. Ineffectual attempt on Jersey. Junc-
tion of the French and Spanish Fleets which insult the
British coasts.
PEACE with America began now to be the object
of general desire in England ; but the means of attain-
ing, and terms of securing it, occasioned great diversity
of opinion. The plan of the ministry was more
adapted to reason than hope ; it proffered concessions
which, if early held forth, would have been irresistibly
inviting ; but the American cause being not less stre-
nuously espoused, after the assumption of indepen-
dence than at any previous period of the contest, it
could not be expected that the leaders of Congress
would be backward in using those arguments, and ad-
hering to those resolutions, which were defended with
so much pertinacity in the capital and senate of the
mother-country. Opposition, although divided in their
sentiments, united in decrying the measures of go-
vernment and distressing administration, but could not
form a svstem of conduct which would combine them
GEORGE III.
in any direct or attainable project. A party, rather xxxv'
active and clamorous than numerous or popular, were
ham's adhe-
rents.
desirous to concede the full extent of the American 1778.
requisitions, and even to solicit, with humility ap-
proaching to abjectness, a preference in the favour of
the late dependencies of the kingdom. Another party c
j i A.I f-c j /^iu ^.-u j 1 System of
adopted the opinion of Lord Chatham, and strenuously Lord chat-
resisted the claim of independence, as fatal to the wel-
fare of Great Britain. The eloquence of that noble-
man, employed occasionally for party-purposes, and
procuring credence for exaggerated statements, had
caused a general delusion, from which even the minis-
try were not exempt. The dignity of the mother-
country was engaged in the American contest ; but it
affected her prosperity less than the public could be
induced to believe. Lord Chatham deceived himself
as much as others on this subject, and perhaps sacri-
ficed his life to his patriotic feelings. Designs were Probabilit ,
probably entertained of engaging his assistance, as head of MS forming
of an administration, in directing the war, or giving tradon""
efficiency to modes of conciliation : such an opinion,
founded on the words of his last speech in Parliament,
was strongly maintained*, and the measure would
have been highly important in reconciling great part
of the nation to the proceedings of government. The
report of such an intention created lively sensations in
foreign courts, and the measure was supposed sufficient
for the restoration of vigour to the councils and glory
to the arms of Great Britain^. But no operations,
consistent with the opinions professed by Lord Chat-
ham, could have reconciled the Americans, unless
absolutely vanquished, to the idea of dependence^;.
The public regarded with due indignation the indignation
treacherous interference of France. The possibility
of a strict commercial union, attended with preference,
* See Lords' Debates, 8th April, 1778.
f From private information.
J On tliis subject I may quote the opinion of Thomas Paine : " Death," he
says, " has preserved to the memory of this statesman that fame which he by
" living would have lost. His plans and opinions, toward the latter part of his
" life, would have been attended with as many evil consequences, and as much
" reprobated in America, as those of Lord North." Letter to the Abbe Raynal,
p. 64. And on the intire question of American Independence, Preface to
Boucher's View of the Revolution, generally.
B2
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1778.
Preparations
against
invasion.
Keppel com-
mands the
grand fleet.
March.
Its condition.
added to the desire of avoiding expense and blood-
shed, and enforced by the capture of General Bur-
goyne's army, might have produced a more general
desire to acknowledge the independence of America ;
but the thought of making a concession to the hostile
intervention, or threatened invasion of the ancient
enemy of Great Britain, was contemplated with abhor-
rence. The menaces of France, however unlikely to
be realized, occasioned vigorous exertions ; the militia
was embodied, camps were formed, and the country
resounded with the clamour of arms.
Nor were the exertions of the admiralty deficient
in furnishing means to meet the approaching exigency.
When apprehensions began to be entertained of a
rupture*, the first lord of the admiralty made appli-
cation to Admiral Keppel, an officer known to be ini-
mical to ministry, but whom a high reputation, the love
of the sailors, and the experience derived from forty
years' service indicated as most fit, to assume the com-
mand of the grand fleet : his appointment was fre-
quently mentioned in terms of warm approbation by
members of both parties in Parliament ; and when the
hostile designs of France were indisputable, he was
intrusted with ample discretionary powers for defence
of the kingdom. This unlimited confidence was highly
honourable to administration, as Keppel declared to
the King that he was unacquainted with them as
ministers ; and honourable to him, as he accepted the
command without making any difficulty, or asking any
favour ; serving in obedience to the King's orders, and
trusting to his Majesty's good intentions, and to his
gracious support and protection^.
On his arrival at Portsmouth, before the King's
message respecting France was delivered to Parliament,
he found only six ships of the line fit for service ;
during his stay, four or five more arrived ; but, on his
representation, the fleet was speedily augmented to
twenty sail of the line, sufficiently equipped^.
In November 1770.
f Defence of Admiral Keppel in his Tri: 1. published by Blanchard. pp.
122, 3, 4.
J Idem, p. 121.
GEORGE III.
With this armament, Admiral Keppel sailed from x
St. Helens, and soon discovered two French frigates,
La Licorne and La Belle Poule, reconnoitring his fleet. 1778.
Although war was not declared, yet the Admiral, in }^* June '
virtue of his full powers, gave orders to chase, and He captures
conduct them under his stern. The Licorne sailed twofn s ates -
with the fleet during the night, but, in the morning,
after attempting to escape and firing a broadside,
accompanied with a discharge of musketry into the
America man-of-war, struck her colours, and was
captured. M. De la Clocheterie, commander of La
Belle Poule, refused to attend and speak to the
British Admiral; and, after an obstinate engagement,
having dismasted the Arethusa, escaped by steering
into a bay among the rocks, and was towed out of
danger by boats from the shore. Keppel, apprised 27th -
from the papers of the Licorne, and other intelligence, pcfrt!"
that anchorage was ordered in Brest Harbour for
thirty-two sail of the line, and three times the number
of frigates, retired into Portsmouth. There was, how-
ever, reason to believe that the papers and intelligence
were fabricated on purpose to deceive, nor did the
Admiral escape censure for disgracing the grand fleet
by a retreat, without calling a council of war.
The flight of a British admiral from the coast of
France, in dread of a superior squadron, excited
general indignation. Some inveighed against the
ministry for extreme negligence* ; others reproached
the Admiralf, and the public prints even threatened
him with the fate of ByngJ.
At this crisis the exertions of the admiralty were
equal to the magnitude of impending danger. Lord
Sandwich himself hastened to Portsmouth, reinforced
the grand fleet with four ships of the line : Admiral Keppel puts
Keppel put to sea, and was speedily joined by six *'
others. The greater part of this force was in good
condition and well appointed, and, although deficient in
the ordinary proportion of frigates, the Admiral did 5th.
* Remembrancer, vol. vi. p. 233.
t Gibbon's Posthumous Works, vol. i. p. 534, 4to.
J Trial of Admiral Keppel, p. 125.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1778
23rd to 27th.
Engagement
off Ushant.
not hesitate to sail in pursuit of the enemy, who had
already left Brest* x
He soon fell in with the French fleet, consisting of
thirty-two sail of the line, with an ample complement
of frigates, under the command of Count d' Orvillicrs.
Four days were spent in manoeuvring, to counteract
the disposition shewn by the enemy to evade fighting ;
but at length a dark squall placed the fleets in a situa-
tion which rendered the conflict inevitable. The three
divisions of the British fleet were commanded by
Keppel, Sir Robert Harland, and Sir Hugh Palliser :
the French by D'Orvilliers, the Comte Du Chaf-
fault, and the Due De Chartres. The engagement
took place off Ushant. After several evolutions,
shewing a determination in the French commander to
shorten the engagement, he began the cannonade
while the English fleet was at too great a distance to
receive material injury ; and, from the position he had
taken, it was necessary for the British ships, in passing
them to form the line, to receive the fire of their whole
force. The reserved fire of the British fleet did
dreadful execution ; but the French having, in their
usual manner, directed their battery against the rigging,
the divisions most exposed were terribly torn and
disabled. The fleets lay on different tacks, sailing in
opposite directions ; the engagement lasted nearly
three hours, at the end of which they had passed each
other, and the firing ceased. Admiral Keppel used
his utmost endeavours to renew the combat: with
some difficulty he tacked his own ship, but found that
others in his division could not perform the same
manoeuvre ; Sir Robert Harland, whose division had
suffered less, obeyed without difficulty the signals to
bear down into his wake; but Sir Hugh Palliser,
whose ship had been very much damaged, did not
join the Commander-in-Chief. Captain Windsor in
the Fox was dispatched to direct the junction of Sir
Hugh Palliser ; but, being engaged in repairing his
damages, he could not obey the order, till night put a
* Trial of Admiral Keppel, p. 125.
GEORGE III.
period to further attempts. During the darkness, the CHAP.
French, placing three frigates with lights to deceive
the English admiral, made sail for their own coasts, 1778.
and were by the next morning almost out of sight. T ^ c Frencl1
j retreat.
Keppel, finding pursuit vain, returned to Plymouth to
refit, while D'Orvilliers, unmolested, gained the harbour Koppei returns
of Brest. The English had a hundred and thirty-three
slain, and three hundred and seventy-three wounded ;
the loss of the French was estimated at two thousand,
including killed and wounded.
The necessary repairs being completed, both fleets t 2
again put to sea. The French pursuing their former The French
policy of shewing an ostentatious parade, but avoding
a conflict, kept aloof, abandoning their trade to the
depredations of British cruizers, while the English
fleets from both the Indies returned unmolested.
In describing the engagement, the French, in a Accounts of
style of gasconade approaching to burlesque, claimed il
the victory, and expressed their utter astonishment at
finding themselves in the port of Brest, when they
thought they had been many leagues at sea pursuing
the English. Admiral Keppel, in his dispatch, ex-
tolled the conduct of his officers, particularly Sir
Robert Harland and Sir Hugh Palliser ; in excuse for
not renewing the attack, he urged the disabled state of
some of his fleet, many ships being unable to follow,
when he wore to stand after the enemy ; he, therefore,
to use his own expression, suffered the French to form
their line without molestation, " thinking they meant
" handsomely to try their force with him the next
" morning."
Such an apology, for the want of complete success Pub ! ic dis -
in an engagement which fixed the attention of all
Europe, and upon which the fate of the whole war so
materially depended, could not be satisfactory to the
public; and the zeal of party displayed itself in opposite
statements, reflecting on the characters of the two
Admirals with all the scurrility usual on such occasions.
Keppel and Palliser were of nearly equal age in the ser-
vice, both pupils and favourites of Sir Charles Saunders,
and both indebted to his testamentary munificence.
8
HISTOliY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1778.
Publication
by Sir Hugh
Palliser.
Through the intervention of Sir Hugh, the negotiation
between the ministry and the Admiral had been con-
ducted ; no circumstance before, or speedily after, the
action indicated latent animosity; they returned to
their stations with apparent cordiality; but the dif-
ference of their political connexions, and some trans-
actions in the course of the day, gave probability to
a conjecture that the general good of the service had
been sacrificed ; an extravagant and illiberal party feud
was engendered, which disgraced the naval service,
and effected the ruin of a man as high in character
and able in his profession as any officer in the navy.
Although Admiral Keppel received the public
approbation of the admiralty, and was graciously dis-
tinguished at court, yet the general agitation did not
subside. In consequence of a scurrilous attack in a
morning paper, Sir Hugh Palliser published a vindi-
cation, which Keppel, though required by letter,
peremptorily refused to authenticate ; and was even
suspected of dictating, or at least revising, a reply*.
Palliser charged his superior officer with want of con-
sistency, conceiving that, after highly approving his
conduct in a public dispatch, he could not in justice
refuse to screen his character from wanton and malig-
nant attacks. Admiral Keppel, on the other hand,
considered his official approbation a mere matter of
form, calculated to prevent the bad effects of disunion
in the service, and subject to explanation from the
officer by whom it was conveyed ; he considered also
that it related merely to the time of actual engage-
ment, and did not account for the acts of himself or
any other commander, which frustrated the well-
founded national hope of a renewed conflict. When the
exertions of party, and public disposition to inquiry
on so momentous a business, rendered immediate
responsibility inevitable, Keppel refused to exculpate
the Vice-Admiral, rather choosing to criminate him
than stand in the situation of a delinquent himself.
* See these letters in the Remembrancer, vol. vii. p. 86; trial of Admiral
Keppel, Blanchard : s edition, p. 6 of the Appendix ; and for the facts, sue the
trials of both Admirals, and Beatson's Naval and Military Memoirs, vol. iv.
?. 115.
GEORGE III. 9
Such was the state of the dispute on the meeting of ^xxv'
Parliament. The King in his speech adverted to the , '_
critical conjuncture of aifairs ; mentioned, with digni- 1773.
fied and becoming indignation, the proceedings of ?i? tl \?* ov ',
IVlcctinjr 01
France, his own desire of peace, and reluctant, though Parliament.
vigorous exertions for making reprisals and protecting Kln s' s speech.
commerce. He directed the attention of Parliament
to the armaments of other powers, and deplored the
continuance of the troubles in America, which the
wisdom and temperance displayed in the late con-
ciliatory measures had not brought to a happy con-
clusion.
In debating an amendment to the address, Mr. The late naval
Fox introduced the great naval dispute, by stating
the King's speech to be unfounded in fact, and its as-
sertions false, and by alluding with severity to the
disgraceful and dangerous situation of the grand fleet,
when the Admiral first took the command of a force
inferior by ten ships of the line to that of the enemy.
The sea-fight off Ushant came more immediately 2nd Dec.
under investigation on presenting the navy estimates, ^pe^ie
when Mr. Temple Luttrell observed that the transac- Luttreii.
tions of that day loudly demanded inquiry : Admiral
Keppel could not again serve with Sir Hugh Palliser ;
the nation eagerly expected investigation; the two
Admirals were in the House, and ought to give infor-
mation, as well for their own honour, as for the sake of
public tranquillity.
Admiral Keppel declared the glory of the British
flag had not been tarnished in his hands : were the
business of the twenty-seventh of July to be done again,
he would not change his mode of proceeding : he im-
peached no man ; and was persuaded that Sir Hugh
Palliser had manifested no want of the requisite most
essential to a British seaman courage. He then
read a paper, describing the manner of his appoint-
ment, and the nature of his situation, hoped he should
not be compelled to answer particular questions rela-
tive to the action, or respecting individuals, but was
ready, if duly required, to explain his own conduct
either in that House or elsewhere. Nothing was left
10
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1778.
Of Palliser.
Kcppcl's
reply.
Court-martial
ordered on
Keppi-1.
9th Dec.
untried to bring the French to a decisive action ; but
unless both squadrons were equally desirous, it was
impossible. He acknowledged his surprise, when an
officer under his command appealed to the public by a
letter in a newspaper, signed with his name, when no
accusation was made, and endeavoured by such means
to render his superior odious and despicable. He
resolved never again to set his foot on board a ship
with that officer, because his conduct was fatal to all
obedience and all command.
Sir Hugh Palliser said, he was no less indifferent
than his superior officer to inquiry; on the contrary,
it was his interest to desire it. He censured the Ad-
miral's reserve, and wished him to deliver his opinions
without disguise, that a full answer might be given.
If the newspaper publication was imprudent or wrong,
Sir Hugh alone must bear the consequences ; but he
complained that, while justice was rendered to his
courage, he was calumniated for being deficient in
other respects as an officer. An unauthenticated insi-
nuation of neglect of duty was more injurious, because
more difficult entirely to remove, than any direct cri-
mination ; and he had ineffectually sought an expla-
nation from the Commander-in-Chief. He had reluct-
antly appealed to the public, and stated facts by which
he would stand or fall. Sir Hugh denied that he had
refused to obey signals, and treated all low insinuations
and seeming tenderness with contempt ; conscious of
his innocence, he feared neither reports nor assertions,
neither a parliamentary inquiry nor a public trial.
Admiral Keppel thought the appeal to the public
fully justified his resolution not again to sail with
the Vice-Admiral, and asserted that the signal for
coming into the Victory's wake was flying from three
o'clock in the afternoon till eight in the evening un-
obeyed ; at the same time he did not charge the Vice-
Admiral with actual disobedience.
Sir Hugh Palliser immediately presented charges
at the Admiralty against Admiral Keppel, upon which
a court-martial was ordered. The compliance with this
requisition occasioned parliamentary animadversion,
GEORGE III. 11
and a strong memorial to the King, subscribed by
twelve admirals*.
Mr. Temple Luttrell moved an address for the trial 1778.
of Palliser, which only renewed the altercation be- i* 01 * 1 - 1 .
i TT -r IT T T. Luttrell s
tween the two officers, sir Hugh Palliser charged motion.
his opponent with acting in an unbecoming manner,
attributed the accusation he had preferred to the
necessity of vindicating his slandered character, and
deplored the breach of their long intimacy. Admiral
Keppel retorted with asperity, asserting that the Vice-
Admiral was guilty of mutiny, and thanking God that
in the approaching court-martial he was not the ac-
cuser, but the accused. The tide of popularity ran
violently in favour of the Admiral; every sentence of
his speech was received with applause ; while Palliser
was censured for conspiring with other members of
administration to ruin his superior officer. In these
proceedings the opposition displayed all the violence
and rancour of party ; no art was left unessayed to in-
fluence the public opinion in favour of Keppel, who
was treated with a prostrate homage, rarely shewn to
those who achieve important conquests, and was consi-
dered as a sacrifice to the ineptitude of administration.
On account of his health, an act was passed for ena-
bling the court-martial to sit on shore, and the warrant
for his trial was comprised in words of tenderness and
respectf.
Five charges were preferred against him, summed 1779 -
up in a general proposition, that Ije lost by misconduct iuh Feb!
and neglect a glorious opportunity of rendering a most KeppePs trial:
essential service to the state, and had tarnished the
honour of the British navy. After sitting assiduously
thirty-two days, the court-martial, by an unanimous
verdict, fully and honourably acquitted the Admiral,
affirming, that, far from having sullied the honour of
the navy, he had acted as became a judicious, brave,
and experienced officer. On this acquittal, the cities
See the memorial in the Remembrancer, vol. vii. p. 288. The subscribers
were Lord Hawke, Admiral Moore, the Duke of Bolton ; Admirals Graves, Pigot,
and Harland ; the Earl of Bristol ; Admirals Young, Burton, and Geary; Lord
Shuldham, and Admiral Gay ton.
f Sue Parliamentary Register, vol. xi. p. 208.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1779.
Rejoicings
and outrages
of the mob.
1 1th and
12th Feb.
12th and
16th Feb.
Keppel
thanked by
both Houses.
Palliser va-
cates his seat,
and resigns his
appointments.
19th Feb.
12th April to
5th May.
He is tried by
a court-
martial :
and acquitted,
though not
without
of London and Westminster were illuminated two suc-
cessive nights, in conformity to the injunctions of a
mob, who shewed their resentment against those whom
they considered as persecutors of Admiral Keppel, by
acts of outrage. The house of Sir Hugh Palliser was
broke open, and the furniture destroyed, and he himself
was burnt in effigy. The dwellings of Lord George
Germaine and Lord North were subjected to the in-
sults of the populace ; the gates of the Admiralty were
thrown down, and the windows demolished ; and the
houses of Captain Hood and Lord Mulgrave, whose
evidence gave umbrage to the friends of Keppel, were
exposed to similar ravages. The city not only illu-
minated the Mansion-house and the Monument, but
voted thanks to the Admiral, and presented him with
their freedom in an oak box.
Both Houses of Parliament also thanked the ac-
quitted Admiral for the conduct which had occasioned
his trial : in the House of Commons only one voice
was raised in dissent* ; in the Lords the suffrages
were unanimous.
The acquittal of Keppel seemed to fix a stigma on
the character of Palliser : he therefore demanded a
court-martial, and with becoming magnanimity re-
signed his seat at the Admiralty board, his rank of
Colonel of marines, and government of Scarborough
Castle, and vacated his seat in Parliament ; retaining
only his appointment of Vice- Admiral. This voluntary
sacrifice frustrated a motion which Mr. Fox meditated
for his removal.
Admiral Keppel, although called on by the Admi-
ralty, having refused to bring any accusation against
Palliserf, the warrant for his trial was founded on a
general allegation of matters disclosed during the late
proceedings. Keppel was, however, a principal wit-
ness : the court-martial sat one-and-twenty days, when
they declared the behaviour of Palliser, in many re-
spects, exemplary and meritorious ; but " they could
" not help thinking it was incumbent on him to have
* This dissentient was Mr. Strut. Stedman, vol. ii. p. 18.
t See Letters on this subject. Parliamentary Register, vol. xi. p. 239.
GEORGE III. 13
" made known to the Commander-in-Chief the disabled
" state of his own ship, which he might have done by
" the Fox at the time she joined him, or by other 1779.
" means ; notwithstanding this omission, they thought
" him not in any other respect chargeable with mis-
" conduct or misbehaviour, and therefore acquitted
" him."
Such was the result of this ill-judged contest ; Th( j P 11 ^ 1 *?
those who, in their predilection for Admiral Keppel,
rashly thought that his popularity would stand on a
basis as permanent as the odium against his opponent
was extensive, found themselves grievously deceived ;
the public, reflecting on all circumstances, inferred,
from the declaration of both parties, that " a proud
" day for England had been lost ;" and they soon
began to discover that, granting all the misconduct
imputed to Sir Hugh Palliser to have been true, it
was not sufficient to prevent the beneficial conse-
quences they had a right to expect. The Admiral Keppel di
soon complained of the manner in which he was
directed to resume the command of the fleet, was dis-
pleased with his reception at court and various other
circumstances, and resigned the command. Notwith- Resigns the
standing the merits of his character, and the value of grai
his past services, the public voice was never raised to
require his restoration. Various intemperate speeches
in Parliament, personally respecting the two admirals,
were attended with no important results ; the curiosity
of the people soon languished, and the subject fell
into complete disregard.
Several motions were made in both Houses, tend- FOX'S yari-
ing to impeach the conduct of the Admiralty, and ^
particularly of its first lord. Mr. Fox conducted these Sandwich.
attacks in the House of Commons. For the purpose
of obtaining a decision on the state of the armament
which sailed under Admiral Keppel, he moved for 2 3rdFeb.
copies of all letters received by government containing
intelligence relative to the force under D'Orvilliers ;
but the proposition was rejected on the usual allega-
tion, that it was dangerous to disclose the means of
information*.
* 134 to 97.
14
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
\\.\V.
1779.
d March.
The papers found on board the Pallas and Licome.
wore, however, presented to Parliament : and on them
Mr. Fox founded a motion, that the sending Admiral
Keppel,in June last, to a station off the coast of France,
with a squadron of twenty ships of the line and four
frigates, when a French fleet of thirty-two ships of the
line, with a great number of frigates, was at Brest, and
ready to put to sea, was a measure greatly hazarding
the safety of the kingdom, without prospect of ade-
quate advantage. At the same time, he announced
his intention of following this motion with another,
for removing the first lord of the Admiralty, and
intimated that the facts he had stated were sufficient
to warrant an impeachment.
According to the captured papers, the French
government had issued orders to provide anchorage
for twenty-seven sail of the line, and announced that
five more would be speedily in readiness. The state-
ments in Admiral Keppel's defence, relative to the
mode of his appointment to the command, and the
condition in which he found the fleet, were also read.
Admiral Keppel being required to give personal
testimony on the subject, prefaced his statement by
observations on the delicacy of his situation ; he
avowed the facts stated in his defence, respecting
the condition of the fleet on his repairing to Ports-
mouth in March, but acknowledged the subsequent
exertions of the admiralty board to be highly meri-
torious. He was never more distressed than when, in
consequence of the information acquired from the
Pallas and Licorne, he was compelled, for the first
tune, to turn back on the enemy.
Lord North and Lord Mulgrave alleged that the
written documents were loose, indefinite, without date,
and did not prove the existence of the ships for which
they required anchorage, but rather the contrary ; and
Admiral Keppel's evidence was of no weight, being
founded only on the information derived firm these
vague and deceitful papers. The testimony respecting
the state of the fleet in March was extraneous, as the
motion was limited to June ; and official documents
proved, that, in July, forty-eight or forty-nine sail of
GEORGE Til. 15
the line were ready for service. When Admiral
Keppel sailed with twenty ships, D'Orvilliers did not
venture to encounter him, but remained at Brest till
the eighth of July ; and, notwithstanding the Admiral's
return, his sailing produced the advantage of facili-
tating the arrival of the homeward-bound fleets. The
retreat was however censurable, being founded on false
information, and adopted without calling a council of
officers.
Admiral Keppel, in several explanatory replies,
urged that the information obtained from the French
frigates was proved true on the twenty-seventh of
July ; when the very ships, manned and armed as de-
scribed in those papers, were opposed to his squadron.
Although he had not formally called a council, yet he
consulted several officers individually, who concurred
in returning to port ; and if he omitted that compli-
ment to Lord Mulgrave, who was a captain in the
fleet, it was only because such young men, in their
eagerness to fight, overlooked every consideration of
prudence. The motion was negatived*.
A similar fate attended another proposition offered 8tu March.
by Mr. Fox, affirming, " that at the commencement
" of hostilities with France, the state of the navy was
" unequal to what the House and the nation were led
" to expect, as well from the declarations of ministers,
" as from the large grants of money, and increase of
" debt, and inadequate to the exigencies of so import-
" ant a crisis." In support of this motion, he reviewed
the conduct and declarations of ministers, inferring,
as an alternative, that they were either ignorant or
treacherous. " If ignorant, who would trust his
" dearest and nearest concerns to such men ? If trea-
" cherous, where was the person mad enough to con-
" fide in them 1 Fortune, and not the judgment of
" ministers, had saved the country from destruction."
Lord Mulgrave shewed the superior management
of the navy in the present, to any previous period.
He denied that fortune had been peculiarly favourable
* 204 to 170.
16
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1779.
22nd March.
to this country ; France had been saved from destruc-
tion by a succession of escapes as extraordinary as
unexpected. D'Orvilliers had escaped from Keppel ;
D'Estaing from Lord Howe off Rhode Island, and
afterwards from Byron to the West Indies. From
the nature of the government, the first efforts of
France were always more vigorous than ours, which
the frame of our constitution rendered dilatory and
languid. When that impediment was removed, we
had always proved victorious. Our force would daily
increase, while theirs, having attained the meridian,
would decline.
Admiral Keppel was a distinguished opponent of
administration ; and Lord Howe supported the same
cause, by affirming he was deceived into his command,
and deceived while he retained it ; tired and disgusted,
he obtained permission to resign, and would have re-
turned, had not the presence of a superior enemy in
the American seas prevented him, till the period of
Admiral Byron's arrival. Recollecting what he felt
and suffered, he would never resume a situation which
might terminate in equal ill-treatment, mortification,
and disgust. Past experience had sufficiently con-
vinced him, that, besides risking his honour and pro-
fessional character, he could not, under the present ad-
ministration, render essential service to his country*.
Returning to his subject, Mr. Fox moved that
the omission to reinforce Lord Howe before June last,
and not sending a fleet to the Mediterranean, were in-
stances of misconduct and neglect. He made these
motions for the avowed purpose of involving administra-
tion in an inextricable dilemma; his last proposition
stood on the supposition that the navy was inadequate ;
that being negatived, he should pursue the line implied
in the negation, although he knew it was untrue, and
argue as if the navy had been adequate.
The discussion was rather personal than of public
importance ; Lord North attacking his opponent with
sprightly raillery on his avowed resolution to argue
' * The division, on a motion for the previous question, was 174 on the affirma-
tive to 24G on the negative.
GEORGE III. 17
on a principle he knew to be false. The first proposi- xxxv
tion was negatived* ; the other withdrawn without
division. 1779.
After the Easter recess, Mr. Fox made his pro- 19th ApnL
mised motion for dismissing Lord Sandwich from his
Majesty's presence and councils for ever. In sup-
porting it, no new argument or fact was adduced ;
the insufficiency of Admiral Keppel's squadron ; the
coolness shewn to him, the conspiracy of ministers
against his life ; and their duplicity toward him on
every occasion, were unsparingly advanced. The pro-
ceedings of the fleets in all parts of the globe were
reviewed, their successes undervalued, and their fail-
ures or disappointments exaggerated.
Lord Mulgrave professed astonishment that, after
so many detections, Mr. Fox should persevere in his
endeavours to persuade the House that certain as-
sertions, of which he advanced not a single proof,
were facts, when most of them had been proved un-
founded. Lord Sandwich, instead of censure, merited
great praise for his official conduct. When he was
raised to the chief post in the admiralty, there was not
a year's timber in any of the yards, no stores in the
arsenals, and the whole navy in a perishing state.
By his activity and sagacity he had broken a mercan-
tile combination ; each yard now contained timber
sufficient for three years' consumption; the arsenals
were full of stores ; the navy had a greater number of
large ships than at any previous period ; and was not
only in a respectable, but in a flourishing state. This
testimony was fully confirmed by Mr. Boyle Walsing-
ham, and the motion was rejected^.
A similar effort for the removal of Lord Sandwich 23rd
was made by the Earl of Bristol, who, in a speech of Motion for
i -T -i i his removal
considerable length and ability, attempted to shew by the Earl
that the naval service was neglected in all its depart-
ments ; the national treasure shamefully squandered,
and no adequate provision made for defence ; the navy
had rapidly decayed since the resignation of Lord
* 209 to 135. t 221 to 118.
VOL. III. C
18
HISTORY 01' ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1779.
llth May.
Proceedings
respecting
Greenwich
Hospital.
Publication
of Captain
Baillie.
Hawke, while the expense had increased beyond all
precedent.
Lord Sandwich observed that he was not solely,
but jointly, responsible for the employment of the
naval force, which was determined in the cabinet, and
finally sanctioned by the King. He was answerable
only for the use or abuse of the means placed pecu-
liarly in his hands. He justified the increase of ex-
pense, by stating the increased magnitude of the ships
in the royal navy ; and accounted for temporary wants,
by referring to the fires in the dock-yards at Portsmouth
and Chatham. The stores were nearly six times as
great as during the presidency of his predecessor ; the
ships at that period being built with green timber,
were mostly rotten and unfit for service, whereas they
were now constructed of the best materials, and highly
equipped. The motion being negatived*, a short
protest was signed by twenty-five peers, and one of
considerable length, containing a recapitulation of his
reasons, by the Earl of Bristol.
In the House of Lords, the Duke of Richmond
made several motions, tending to prove the mismanage-
ment of Greenwich Hospital under Lord Sandwich.
These inculpations derived their origin from an ex-
traordinary circumstance. For his long services in
the navy, Captain Thomas Baillie, one of the oldest
officers, received the appointment of Lieutenant-Go-
vemor. He soon discovered, or fancied, great abuses
in the administration of the charity, and at different
times presented petitions and remonstrances to the
authorities of the establishment and to the board of
admiralty. Failing to obtain what he considered a
due attention, he published a printed appeal to the
Governors, comprising the chief officers of state, privy-
counsellors, judges, flag officers, and various other
persons. It alleged, among other grievances, that the
health and comfort of the seamen in possession of the
benefits of the charity were sacrificed to corruption,
in contracts for provisions, clothing, and stores ; which
* 78 to 33.
GEORGE III. 19
being held by men in offices, who were thus led by in-
terest to sanction instead of fulfilling their duty by cor-
recting and controlling frauds. It further alleged that 1779.
landmen were appointed to offices and places designed
exclusively for seamen ; to them were all the sup-
posed abuses imputed ; and they, it was said, owed their
appointments to their being freeholders of the county
of Huntingdon, and in that quality rendering accept-
able services to the Earl of Sandwich at elections.
It could not be supposed, nor was it intended, that Motion in the
a pamphlet intended for such profuse distribution, and Court of
containing matter so suited to the taste of the factious, mg s
should be confined to those to whom it was ostensibly
addressed. It soon was generally circulated, and the
officers who considered themselves calumniated, ob-
tained from the Court of King's Bench a rule, calling
on Captain Baillie to shew cause why a criminal in-
formation should not be filed against him. In sup- j
port of the party accused, some of the most eminent
leaders of the bar were retained ; but, great as were
their fame and their merits, nothing of their efforts
has been preserved, the whole attention of the court
and the public being engrossed by an animated and
eloquent argument delivered, after them, by Mr.
Erskine, who had been recently called to the bar : till
that day he was unknown ; but from that day, never to
be forgotten in the legal profession. The rule was
discharged, and the prosecutors left, if they chose such
a recourse, to the ordinary proceeding by indictment*.
In the House of Lords, the Duke of Richmond March iith to
moved for a great number of papers, resting the jJJJj 8 JJj-
matter principally on the grounds laid down by Cap- Lords in a
tain Baillie. The present revenue of the Hospital was Committee.
between 70 and 80,000 pounds, arising from the Der-
wentwater estate ; the sum of sixpence per month paid
by every seaman, both in the royal and in the mer-
chant's service, and the interest of 245,000/. three per
cent, stock. He briefly detailed the supposed malver-
sations, and charged that a proposition had proceeded
* Speeches of the Hon. Thomas Erskine, vol. i. p. 1.
c 2
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
\\.\V.
1779.
May Uth.
Lord Sand-
wich's ex-
planation.
from Lord Sandwich to Captain Baillie, that, if all
further proceedings were stopped, he should have an
appointment of 600/. a-year, being fully equivalent to
the deputy-governorship of the hospital, from which he
had been removed ; but which, in the spirit of a gentle-
man, an officer, and an honest man, he had rejected,
although the temptation was powerful, as he had a
wife and several children to maintain.
To this assertion Lord Sandwich returned a firm
and direct answer, that upon his honour it was false.
The papers were granted, and, for more than two
months, the House, in a commitee, was occupied in
the investigation of arguments and the examination of
evidence.
When this process had been perfected, the Earl of
Sandwich made his answer to the attempted inculpa-
tions. He claimed to be considered a real friend to
the noble charity, and displayed the services he had
rendered to it and to the public, since 1 744, when he
first came into office at the admiralty; and this he
stated in answer to witnesses who continually asserted
that Captain Baillie was the true and unwearied friend
of the pensioners, as if he were the only one, and others
had neglected their interests. In 1745, the Derwent-
water estates produced only 6,900/. per annum ; they
now yielded 11,988/. and would soon be further ad-
vanced by 3,()00/., as tenders had been delivered for
taking them at that price on a lease for twenty-one
years, and this, exclusive of an annual 8000 /., the pro-
duce of lead mines, which he had greatly improved by
the erection of a smelting mill. He had befriended
the pensioners by the erection of an infirmary, to
separate the diseased from those who were healthy, and
which he would not hesitate to pronounce one of the
completest hospitals in the kingdom. Until within
four years, the dining hall had only been sufficient to
contain six hundred persons, and when they sat down
to their meals, an equal number was kept in waiting to
succeed to their places, from which they were hurried
away. Under his Lordship's absolute and sole direc-
tion, and upon a site discovered by him. an enlarged
GEORGE III. 21
hall had been constructed, in which the whole party xxxv'
had been at once accommodated. He had abolished '
the abuse of permitting inferior offices to be performed 1779.
by deputy. One substitute only he had suffered to
remain ; but it was because he had been oppointed by
one of his Lordship's predecessors, to whom he would
not wish to give pain. Very different had his conduct
been toward a Huntingdonshire freeholder, named
Joy, who was dismissed for similar conduct ; and he
averred, in answer to the slander on that score, that
among two thousand one hundred and sixty-nine per-
sons then in the hospital, there was not one man from
that county, nor one who was not thoroughly qualified,
from length of service at sea, and infirmities con-
tracted in the performance of his duty. Other calum-
nies were no less clearly and satisfactorily refuted. To
the charge that landmen were appointed to offices in
the hospital, contrary to the spirit, if not the letter of
the charter, his Lordship answered, that of twenty-
nine civil officers in the hospital, he had appointed
fourteen, of whom eleven were not seafaring men, and
some of them, had they been so, would have been
utterly unfit for their employment ; the remaining
fifteen had been placed by his predecessors, of whom
ten were landmen, and only one was engaged in a de-
partment which a seaman could not have occupied.
All this had been done in conformity with a series of
precedents, coeval with the existence of the institution.
Had a single landsman ever been admitted as an
object of the charity, as a pensioner, or a military
officer, that would have been a scandalous and noto-
rious abuse ; but he defied the most rigid enquirer to
shew that such a transaction had taken place during
his administration*.
Notwithstanding this explanation, the Duke of Duke of
Richmond moved a long series of resolutions, condemn-
ing the administration of the hospital, and an address, tions.
praying the King to instruct the Judges to prepare a
bill for abolishing the charter and new modelling the
* This powerful and convincing defence was arranged by Mr. Charles Butler ;
Iteminiscences, vol. i, p. 7'2.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
\.\\V.
1779.
14th.
The Duke of
Richmond's
second motion.
system, and to confer on Captain Baillie some mark of
royal favour. He was supported by the Earl of Effing-
ham and Lord Camden, whose arguments were an-
swered by the Earls of Chesterfield, Bathurst, and
Mansfield. His motion was negatived* ; the minority
seceded in disgust, and the House passed resolutions
declaring that there was no reason for a legislative in-
terference, that the allegations in Captain Baillie's book
were groundless and malicious, and generally approv-
ing and applauding the management of the hospital
and the treatment of the pensioners during Lord
Sandwich's administration.
As a last effort, his grace moved, but with no bet-
ter success "j", to print the evidence and the proceedings
of the committee. The debate contained nothing
worthy of notice, except a violent attack made by the
noble Duke on the Chief Justice of the King's Bench,
imputing to him certain phrases used five years ago
respecting the American war. Lord Mansfield ac-
knowledged his obligation to him for the opportunity of
explaining expressions which had been so fre juently and
so grossly misrepresented, both within doors and with-
out ; and he fully refuted the calumnious assertions
that he had said, "We had passed the Rubicon ;" and
on another occasion, that " We must kill the Ameri-
" cans, or they would kill us." The first was merely
an argumentative description of one branch of an
alternative ; the other was introduced only as an ex-
pression used by Gustavus Adolphus, when his own
army was drawn up in the field against an enemy.
It is plain that these efforts had no object but that
of creating and inflaming popular prejudice against
the first lord of the Admiralty ; because, at no subse-
quent period, whether the Duke of Richmond was in
office or opposition, was the question revived by him
or any of his friends ; but under the system practised
and patronized by Lord Sandwich, the noble national
institution went on increasing in wealth, prosperity,
and utility.
67 to 25.
f The numbers were, 18 to 43.
GEOKGE III.
These repeated attacks were part of a grand sys- xxxv'
tern for clogging the wheels of government, announced
by the leaders of opposition at the beginning of the 1779.
session ; the project was not confined in its effect to ^j^
the legislative body; several officers of high rank
refused to serve under the present administration ; and
it was reported that twenty naval captains meditated
the dangerous resolution of resigning in a body ; such
dispositions could not be confined to the superior
class ; insubordination became truly alarming, and, be- tionin the "
fore the end of the session, symptoms of mutiny ap- nav y-
peared on board the grand fleet at Torbay, and were
with difficulty suppressed.
While such violent debates, attended with such Debates on
, . _, ' , the manifesto of
alarming enects, were maintained respecting the navy, the American
the conduct of the war in America, and other subjects j^""
connected with the army, were agitated with no less 4th and 7th
heat. The manifesto of the commissioners, on quitting Dec - 17 ' 8 -
that continent, gave rise to motions, by Mr. Coke and
the Marquis of Buckingham, for addressing the King
to express disapprobation of the threatening para-
graphs. The speeches of opposition in both Houses
were rather declamatory than argumentative, and the
debates extremely desultory. The ministry, expressing
surprise at the perverseness of their opponents, denied
that the proclamation contained menaces which were
not founded on the ancient usages of the war, and jus-
tified by views of self-preservation. The motions were
rejected by large majorities*; thirty-one peers pro-
tested.
General Burgoyne, by his previous conduct, as well Parliamentary
as by his mode of opposition in Parliament, fully jus- General
tified the opinion of General Washington, who, in Burgoyne.
a letter to Congress on the propriety of terminating
his absence on parole, considered him, in his present
frame of mind, not hostile, but rather an ally of Ame-
ricaf. In opposing the address, General Burgoyne 2 6th NOT.
deplored the condition of the country, which exhibited
every symptom of immediate dissolution. Her strug-
* In the House of Commons, 209 to 1'22. In the House of Lords, 71 to 37.
t See Washington's Letters, vol. ii. p. 33.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CUM'.
XXXV.
1778.
His motion
li>r papers.
Granted.
4th Dec.
Similar mo-
tions by Sir
William
Howe.
17th Feb.
1779.
Granted.
2 ( Jth April.
C'uinmittee
lurmed.
gles, if such in their weakness they could be called,
appeared the last struggles for existence. He trusted
the time was not remote when the voice of the nation
and the light of truth would pierce the gloomy atmo-
sphere that enwrapt the throne, and shew things as
they were. A few days afterward, he moved that all
the letters written by himself and other commanders
to government, since the convention of Saratoga, should
be laid before the House, which was granted without
opposition.
Sir William Howe adopted a line of conduct some-
what similar, but more moderate. He complained of
the disregard of his recommendations, the restraints
imposed on his exertions in America, and the neglect
of supplying him with instructions. He exculpated
from these censures Lord North, but laid accumulated
blame on Lord George Germaine, under w T hose conduct
he was sure the war would never be advantageously
conducted. He also obtained, by a motion, copies of
all letters between him and the secretary of state for
America, during the period of his command.
The House being formed into a committee on the
American war, Sir William Howe entered into a long
defence, tracing every important step he had taken,
and endeavouring to shew that he had never been
remiss in his endeavours, rarely wrong in his judg-
ment; and if, on some occasions, he had failed to
realise the sanguine hopes of the country, he had exe-
cuted as much as could be reasonably expected ; and
had been restrained by political reasons, which he did
not think proper to disclose ; from prosecuting some of
his victories to the greatest advantage. In conclusion,
he proposed to examine witnesses in support of his
observations.
Although the ministry had not objected to the deli-
cacy of sentiment which induced the General to press
on the House a vindication of his conduct, they could
not regard with indifference an attempt to establish,
by evidence, facts gratuitously stated; facts which, if
designed to exculpate the General, were only heard
through complaisance, as no criminatory motion or
GEOKGE III. 25
proceeding existed; or, if intended to subject the mi-
nistry to censure, ought to be accompanied by a specific
charge. The motion for receiving evidence, after 1779.
many efforts at amendment, was negatived ; but as the 3rd May
committee was not formally dissolved, and great oblo-
quy was thrown on administration for appearing to
evade inquiry, it was afterward suffered to pass.
The examinations were designed not merely to Evidence
elucidate the conduct of General Howe, but to es- examined,
tablish enlarged principles relative to the future events
of the war. They tended to prove that the force em-
ployed in America was at no time adequate to the
subjugation of the country; nor indeed could any
other force prove successful while the inhabitants con-
tinued averse from the British government. From
this circumstance, and the nature of the country, co-
vered with wood, and intersected with ravines, the
troops could not act at any considerable distance from
the fleet, and their operations were accordingly slow,
and subject to interruption. General Howe's conduct
was strenuously defended ; and several officers, parti-
cularly Lord Cornwallis and General Grey, spoke in
the highest terms of the personal affection with which
he was regarded by the whole army.
From the unexpected latitude which the examina- ]3th May.
tions had assumed, the ministry found themselves Co " nter -
r evidence
under the necessity of appealing to counter-evidence ordered.
to disprove some of the statements. Accordingly,
Mr. de Grey moved for a summons directing the at-
tendance of ten witnesses, which occasioned violent
exclamations on the part of opposition. Mr. Burke
decried the proceedings as irregular and unfair ; mi-
nisters, he said, affected to applaud the military con-
duct of Sir William Howe, and now, by a side-wind,
in a late stage of the examination, endeavoured to
invalidate and defeat evidence which they could not
pretend to disbelieve. Against this mode of argument
the former declarations of the same party were suc-
cessfully urged; they had begged only for inquiry;
if the inquiry proved merely ex parte, that would be
the fault of administration, who might call evidence
26
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1779.
18th May to
1st June.
Burgoyne's
evidence ex-
amined.
8th June.
Counter-
evidence re-
specting Sir
William
Howe.
24th June.
Objections.
in their own. defence, if they deemed it necessary ; but
now these improper objections were raised. The Ame-
rican secretary declared he had no disposition to accuse
General Howe; he principally desired evidence to
disprove the statement that America was almost
unanimous in resisting the claims of Great Britain.
Mr. Fox, triumphing in the apparent strength of the
testimony already given, contemptuously recommended
that no opposition should be made to the production
of further information, from every quarter, and
through every channel ; but Mr. Burke would not
acquiesce, and, when the names of parties intended for
examination were read, reviled them as refugees and
custom-house officers. The motion was, however,
agreed to without a division.
During this interval, General Burgoyne proceeded
in the examination of his witnesses ; they proved that,
in his unfortunate expedition, he had acted with uni-
form bravery and skill, and endeared himself to his
whole army. These facts were never denied, and
therefore no endeavour was made to impeach them.
The counter-evidence on Sir William Howe's in-
quiry asserted that the Americans were by no means
unanimous in their opposition to the British govern-
ment, and nothing but egregious neglect in the Com-
mander-in-Chief could have enabled Congress to retain
a single adherent. The force placed at his disposal
was fully sufficient to effect the real purpose of his
mission, which was not the conquest of America, but
the grant of protection to those who would join the
British army ; and, under such circumstances, the na-
ture of the country was not less favourable to the
English than to the American general. Mr. Joseph
Galloway*, one of the two witnesses examined, was
extremely severe in his censures of Sir William Howe.
The General expressed great disapprobation at the
effect of this testimony, which, by giving undue weight
to the opinions of individuals, was calculated to in-
jure his character with the public ; he therefore re-
* Late speaker of the Pennsylvanian Assembly, and author of several able and
well-written pamphlets on the subject of thr American war.
GEOKGE III. 21
quired permission to call new evidence. This propo- CHAP.
sition was strongly resisted, the intent of the examina-
tion being not to affect the General, whom no man had 1779.
accused, but to clear the conduct of administration,
which he had loudly censured. At his request, how-
ever, Mr. Galloway was directed to attend again for
cross-examination; but on the day appointed, the
General was not in the House, and, after waiting
some time, Mr. R. Whitworth moved to adjourn. 2 9thJune
Both parties were now wearied and disgusted; the
opposition, the first movers in the business, were con-
vinced it could not tend to the advantage they ex-
pected; and administration, having only meant to
exculpate themselves, had no longer any object to
pursue : the motion was therefore carried without de-
bate ; and thus the committee expired without form-
ing any resolution. The next day General Howe Committee
complained of surprise; he attended the House, he 3001. V<
said, at four o'clock, not expecting the dissolution of
the committee at so early an hour ; he had no inten-
tion of putting further questions to Mr. Galloway, but
meant to have pressed his former request for the exa-
mination of new witnesses. A debate of some acrimony
ensued, in consequence of a peremptory demand, from
both Sir William and Lord Howe, of an express state-
ment, whether the conduct of the General furnished
cause of crimination : the ministers refused a reply,
but did not disavow the speech of Earl Nugent, who
declared that no charge was ever intended; the Ge-
neral and his brother had the approbation of their
Sovereign ; no confidence was withdrawn, and, if
offered, their services would be accepted.
At an early period of the session, Earl Nugent re- 16th Dec.
called to the attention of the House the state of Ire- Affairs^
land, which was, in many respects, deplorable and Ireland dis-
alarming. The revenue had failed, and subjected
government to the degrading expedient of borrowing
money from a private banking house, and, after obtain-
ing one supply, to the mortification of a refusal ; dis-
content was assiduously promoted, and alarms for the
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1779.
19th Jan
10th March.
18th.
Partial relief
granted.
2th of April.
Dissatisfaction
of the Irish.
Nnn-importa-
tion agree-
ment.
safety of the country were entertained*. His lordship
drew a deplorable picture of the calamities and dis-
tresses of the lower class ; and Lord Newhaven gave
notice of his intention to move for a bill, allowing the
exportation of all merchandizes except woollens. The
prohibition of commerce with America, he said, had
driven the manufacturers and labourers to unex-
ampled distress, lowered the value of lands, prevented
the payment of rents, and endangered the existence of
the kingdom.
Pursuing his original plan, Earl Nugent gave
notice of his intention to move for the establishment
of a cotton manufactory in Ireland, with a power of
exporting to Great Britain, and an open trade with
America, the West India Islands, and Africa. A
committee was afterward formed on the motion of
Lord Newhaven, for taking into consideration the acts
of parliament relating to the importation of sugars to
Ireland ; but no effectual progress was made. In con-
sequence of a royal message, it was agreed, that, as
the revenues of Ireland were shewn to be inadequate
and deficient, the charge of the regiments on that
establishment, serving out of that kingdom, should be
defrayed by Great Britain, and two acts were passed
for encouraging the growth of tobacco and hemp, and
the manufacture of linen.
Such concessions were neither effective nor satis-
factory ; the merchants of Dublin, in an assembly
holden at the Tholsel, expressed indignation at " the
" unjust, illiberal, and impolitic opposition of self-
" interested people in Great Britain to the encourage-
" ment of their commerce : it originated in avarice
" and ingratitude ; and they resolved neither directly
" nor indirectly to import or use any British goods
" which they could produce or manufacture, until an
" an enlightened and just policy should appear to
" actuate those who had taken so active a part in
" opposing regulations favouring the trade of Ireland."
* Memoirs of Grattan, vol. ii. p. 297, et. seq.
GEORGE III.
This example was followed by several counties and xxxv
towns, particularly Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, Wick-
low, and Roscommon*. 17/9.
A more decisive measure than the vote of an Volunteer
assembly at Dublin was the establishment of armed a 38001 * 110113 -
corps of volunteers, which now began to prevail
throughout the country. A rumour of French in-
vasion, and the diminution of the national force by
drafts for American service, furnished a motive for
these associations, which, being in accordance with the
widely diffused opinions in favour of America, and the
disposition to resist Great Britain, were countenanced
by the most eminent characters, and armed, disciplined,
and accoutred at their own expense. Government
knew not how to regulate the conduct of the associated
bodies, but surveyed them with alarm, as a new power
introduced into a community already sufficiently diffi-
cult to govern.
When the House of Commons had ceased to discuss ii t hMay.
the affairs of Ireland, the Marquis of Rockingham The Marquis
introduced the subject in the Lords, by moving an ham'sVotfon
address for such documents relative to the trade of respecting
Ireland, as would enable the national wisdom to pursue
effectual measures for promoting the common strength,
wealth, and commerce of both kingdoms. He re-
viewed, with general disapprobation, the conduct of
the revenue, trade, and government, both civil and
military, since 1755, and inveighed against the ministry
for suffering the late military associations ; the necessity
for them should have been prevented, or the people
should have been legally commissioned and enabled to
take arms. Such associations would probably repel
invasion ; but the same spirit might be exerted in re-
sisting oppression and injustice. The address was 27th May,
agreed to ; but, although two subsequent debates arose, and 2nd June -
no effectual measure could be devised, and the ministry
entered into an implied agreement to prepare, during
the recess, a satisfactory plan of relief.
A bill, brought into the House of Commons by loth March.
* Plowden, vol. i. p. 46G to 486.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1779.
Relief af-
forded to
Protestant
dissenters.
28th April.
16th June.
Rupture
with Spain
announced.
Mr. Frederick Montague, in consequence of a motion
by Sir Henry Houghton, for further relief of Pro-
testant dissenting ministers and school-masters, passed,
after several debates, in which the nature of religious
liberty, and principles of toleration, were amply dis-
cussed. The question was fairly and ably argued,
and extremes were avoided in the decision, though
advanced in debate. Mr. Wilkes reprobated every
species of religious restraint; and Mr. Dunning argued
against the only restriction the bill yet contained, that
of requiring persons who preached in public, or under-
took the education of youth, to declare their belief in
the doctrine of Christianity, as established by the Holy
Scriptures. He contended that even such a test might
be productive of evil ; for those who could not sign it
would be liable to the penal statutes still in force ; and
if one single prosecution arose, instead of being a
bill for relief, it would be an act of oppression. Sir
William Bagot, Sir Roger Newdigate, and a few
others, opposed the general principle of the bill, as
injurious to the established religion. Lord North com-
mended its tolerating principle, as perfectly consistent
with the spirit of the times and the disposition of the
whole bench of Bishops ; the test proposed was such as
no Christian and Protestant dissenter could refuse to
sign. As to Deists, and persons denying the Trinity,
or professing other singular religious opinions, not
being either Christians or Protestants, the bill had
nothing to do with them ; but if the state could not
regulate, it had a right to guard against authorizing
men to teach such notions. No report is preserved of
any debate in the Lords.
At a late period of the session, when no further
business was expected, Lord North informed the
House of Commons that Count D'Almadovar, the
Spanish ambassador, had withdrawn, after delivering
a manifesto, which, with a message from the King,
would be presented to Parliament on the morrow.
This information occasioned several animated philip-
pics from opposition, decrying the ignorance and delu-
sion of ministers, and threatening exemplary punish-
GEORGE III. 31
ment. A motion, by Mr. Burke, for a committee on xxxv
the state of the nation was, however, at the instance of
his own friends, withdrawn. 1779.
The King's message declared an uniform and nth June,
sincere desire to cultivate peace and friendly inter- sa gef s '
course with the court of Spain ; good faith, honour,
and justice alone had guided his conduct, and he saw
with surprise the grievances alleged in justification of
intended hostility, all which were mis-represented, or
had never before been imparted. He relied, therefore,
on the zeal and spirit of Parliament for means to defeat
the enterprizes of his enemies against the honour of
his crown, and the rights and interests of the nation.
In the House of Commons, the address was unani-
mously acceded to ; but Lord John Cavendish ineffec-
tually moved a second address, requiring the King to
collect his fleets and armies, and to exert the whole Addresses.
force of the kingdom against the House of Bourbon*.
In the upper House, the Earl of Abingdon refused Amendments
his assent to any such address ; and, if single, would moved<
divide the House, till the grievances of the people
were redressed by the expulsion of the ministers, who
had wantonly, openly, and in defiance of the majesty
of the people of England, not only broken down the
fences of the constitution, but left the country exposed
to ravage, and threatened with destruction. He moved
an amendment, praying for a change of system, which
was necessary to unite the people and preserve the
empire.
Although the Duke of Richmond requested him
to withdraw this motion, Lord Abingdon persisted in
taking the sense of the House, by whom it was re-
jectedj-. The Duke then proposed a second amend-
ment, not materially different in substance, though
better arranged, which he supported by a long speech,
decrying the conduct of administration, as tending to
create civil war in every part of the British dominions.
He was ably sustained by Lord Shelburne. The
ministry did not enter into the wide field of argument
* Lost by 156 to 80. f 62 to 23.
32
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1779.
Protest.
21st Juno.
Militia bill.
30th June.
Altered by the
Lords.
2nd July.
Passes in its
amended state.
to which they were challenged ; but contented them-
selves with answering a few personal reflections, and
with brief remarks on the occasion of the message.
The Duke, in reply, declared the real aim of his
amendment to be the withdrawing of the troops from
America, for the protection of Great Britain. His
motion was lost*, but a long protest was subscribed by
twenty peers.
As a measure of efficacious defence in the ap-
proaching crisis, a bill was introduced for increasing
the militia to a number not exceeding its present
amount doubled, and enabling individuals to raise
loyal corps. It was combated in all its stages, as in-
dicative of national weakness, oppressive and imprac-
ticable. The minister declared it was not his wish to
pursue the measure with obstinacy ; but submitted it
to the judgment of the House, not meaning to press it
pertinaciously. A motion of Sir Grey Cooper, for limit-
ing the number of militia incorporated by ballot to
fifteen thousand four hundred and twenty-four, was
only averted by remonstrances of the minister's friends,
that it w r ould afford a triumph to his opponents,
already too apt to stigmatize his want of firmness. The
bill passed the House of Commons ; but, in the Lords,
the clause for doubling the militia was rejected by a
considerable majority]-.
On its return to the Commons, the minister was
sharply upbraided for the want of unanimity in the
cabinet, while he was so constantly recommending
unanimity to the House. He defended himself with
great ability, observing that as minister of that House,
he had not thought it necessary, before he introduced
the measure, to consult those who, not being repre-
sentatives of the people, had no constituents to support
the burthen; but, when the members of the upper
House, who were Lord-Lieutenants of counties, took the
proposition into consideration, they rejected it as im-
practicable. He did not agree in their judgment, but
could not controul it ; his own experience in the
* 57 to 32.
t 39 to 22.
GEORGE III.
CHAP
county where he was Lord-Lieutenant, induced him to
recommend the measure ; but his experience could not
regulate the opinions of the peers. What remained of 17/9.
the bill was highly important to the public service ;
and, waiving every consideration of pride, he was
willing to accept the power of augmenting the national
force by volunteer corps, even as " crumbs falling from
" the table of their lordships."
Its final adoption was then objected to on the
ground that it was a money-bill, unconstitutionally
amended by the Lords ; the House was twice divided,
but the efforts were ineffectual*.
At a late hour in the night, after the debate on the ^jf^"*.
militia, Mr. Wedderburne moved to bring in a bill for nulling pro
tections to
removing difficulties in manning the navy, by resuming geamen
protections granted to certain descriptions of seamen,
watermen, and their apprentices ; and by depriving of
their right to a habeas corpus all persons of those
classes who had been impressed since the day when
the royal message respecting Spain was delivered.
His motive for making this motion at so late an hour
was, that the effect might not be prevented by dis-
closure, and that an ample supply of seamen might, with-
out impediment, be obtained for the grand fleet. The
principle of the bill did not escape severe animadver-
sion, as an invasion of those rights of protection which
were not less sacred, defined and inviolable, than those
by which life and property were enjoyed; and the
manner and time of introducing the measure were in-
veighed against as pitiful, sneaking, and treacherous,
like a midnight irruption into a dwelling-house for the
purpose of plunder, but with a determination to com-
mit murder rather than abandon the spoil. The bill,
however, passed both Houses, after violent debates; 29th June.
a protest was entered against the refusal to adopt some
proposed amendments, signed by fourteen, and another
against the general principles of the act, by four peers.
Two attempts at domestic regulation made in this
session remain to be mentioned.
* The numbers were, on the first, 63 to 45 : on the second, 51 to 23.
VOL. III. D
34
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1779.
March llth.
The Bishop
of LandafTs
hill ;iir;iin>t
adultery.
April 19th.
May 4th.
Rejected in
the House of
Commons.
Bill relating
to the right of
printing Al-
inanaos.
The first was a bill, introduced into the House of
Lords by the Bishop of Landaff, for the more effectual
discouragement of adultery. In the early annals of
the country, he observed, this crime had been much
less frequent than of late, because more severely pun-
ished. Notwithstanding the exemplary conduct of his
Majesty, there had been, during seventeen years of his
reign, as many divorces as had occurred in the whole
antecedent period since the transactions of society had
been submitted to written record. He proposed to
bring the modern nearer to the ancient practice, by
regulating the dower of divorced wives, and prohibit-
ing, for a limited time, their marriage with the partners
of their sin. Beside other arguments, more strong and
serious, advanced by other peers, the Earl of Effing-
ham said that, instead of prohibiting the parties of-
fending from intermarrying, it w r ould be a more
effectual punishment to compel their union within
twelve hours after the divorce act.
When it had passed the Lords, the bill was most
vigorously resisted in the House of Commons. Mr.
Fox considered it as calculated rather to increase than
diminish the crime against which it was directed ; and
he opposed it also on the non-representation system
which of late had so much engaged their attention.
The ladies, whom it principally affected, were totally
unrepresented, and the bill was unequal, unjust, and
tyrannical, tending to prevent the fair delinquents
from making the only possible atonement to society
for their past errors. Lord Nugent, Lord Beauchamp,
and some other members on the same side, united in
their speeches solid argument with polite pleasantry,
while Mr. Frederick Montague, Lord Ongley, and
Mr. Moysey, defended the bill; but, on a division, the
motion for a second reading was rejected*.
Another proposed measure demands notice, as it
affected the interest of two most important bodies, and
established a great public right. For nearly two
centuries, the universities of Oxford and Cambridge,
* 51 to 40.
GEORGE III.
35
and the Stationers 1 Company, under a patent granted '
by James I, had claimed the sole right of printing and
publishing almanacs. Mr. Thomas Carnan, a book-
seller in London, determined to question the validity of
this monopoly, issued, with many improvements on the
old form, almanacs combined with useful tables and
important articles of information. The patentees, to
protect their long-conceded rights, filed a bill in equity,
to restrain Mr. Carnan, by an injunction, from con-
tinuing his sale. An issue at law was directed, and,
after strenuous argument, the patent was declared
void, and the bill in equity dismissed.
To restore the supposed rights thus abolished, April 29th.
Lord North brought in a bill to revest in the Universi-
ties and the Stationers' Company their long-acknow-
ledged privilege. Counsel were heard at the bar.
Mr. Davenport first addressed the House, and was
followed by Mr. Ersldne, whose speech, had he before
been obscure and unknown, would have raised him to
an enviable height in his profession. . Without any
audacious assumption or presumptuous dictation, he
maintained the general right of publication, founded
on the inestimable privilege, the liberty of the press ;
and deprecated an arbitrary abridgment of that liberty
in favour of any bodies, however high and respectable.
In the progress of his argument, he exposed, with
great wit and humour, the frivolities, the insufficien-
cies, and the blunders, which, from the negligence in-
cident to the possession of a monopoly, had crept into
and disfigured the publications of the chartered bodies.
Such was the effect of his speech, that several mem- BUI lost.
bers, who from affection to the seats of their early
instruction, had come to the House with an intention
to support the measure, added their suffrages to the
number by which it was rejected*.
The session was concluded by a speech from the 3rd Jul
throne, thanking Parliament for their zeal in support Termination
of the war, and their attention to Ireland; the King's <> ftllcsession -
paternal affection for all his people making him sin-
* CO to 40.
36
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1779.
Rie and
progress of
the dispute
with Spain.
gularly anxious for the happiness and prosperity of
every part of his dominions. The events of the war
had not afforded France any just cause to triumph in
the consequences of perfidy; and whatever colour
Spain might endeavour to put on her proceedings,
his Majesty was conscious of having no cause for
self-reproach; he exulted in the demonstrations of
loyalty and affection displayed in Parliament, and
considered it a happy ornen of success in arms, that the
increase of difficulties served only to augment the
courage and constancy of the nation.
From the moment that hostilities with France
became apparent, many politicians sanguiiiely pre-
dicted that Spain would interfere. On general prin-
ciples, this supposition was far from self-evident, and
the particular circumstances of the case warranted a
contrary conclusion. If the probability of war was
sanctioned by the family compact, and the disposition
of Spain to humble the pride and diminish the pros-
perity of Great Britain, the nature of the American
contest afforded too many alarming topics of applica-
tion, to permit the supposition that Spain would
engage in the cause. Ever since the conclusion of
peace, the dislike of the court of Madrid to Great
Britain had been apparent in the discussions concern-
ing the Manilla ransom, and the seizure of Falkland's
Islands. In some disputes, too, in which Spain had
been engaged with Portugal, the apprehension of
English interference was strongly felt ; and many
discussions from time to time arose on the inevitable
subject of illicit commerce and territorial encroach-
ment : but none of these were sufficiently important to
occasion a war. When our hostilities with the colo-
nies began, Spain, like France and other powers, aided
the Americans by underhand supplies, favoured their
trade, shewed respect to their flag, and sought, by in-
trigues among the Indians, to enfeeble the efforts of
Great Britain. General Wall gave to his sovereign a
sound and rational opinion, that, if he meant to yield
to resentment and the desire of recovering the losses of
the last war, the present moment was very favourable ;
GEORGE III. 37
but, upon principles of great and lasting policy, the xxx*v
success of the Americans would, in its consequences,
be a most serious evil to Spain*. Count Florida 1779.
Blanca, the Spanish Prime Minister, was also very
explicit in expressing the pacific dispositions of his
Court ; and Prince Maserano strenuously exculpated
himself from all charge of partiality toward the rebels,
declaring that their success would afford a most per-
nicious example to the colonies of his nation ; the
Americans would be the worst neighbours they could
possibly have-f. In these and many other assurances
made by the same parties, there was much dissimula-
tion. Fear for his own provinces in America re-
strained the Spanish monarch ; but, when he saw
France decisively embarked, and when his peace with
Portugal removed one cause of alarm, the mask he
had thought it necessary to assume was worn with
great laxity; the indirect assistance to the revolted
colonies became more and more open ; the reception,
equipment, and refitting of their armed vessels in
Spanish ports was undisguised ; and their connexion
with mercantile establishments was known and not
disavowed.
To veil her real hostile intentions, Spain affected
displeasure at not being consulted by France before
the conclusion of her late treaty, averred that the
alliance thus created was not contemplated in framing
the family compact, and, without affecting to justify
France, pretended a desire to 'restore tranquillity, and
resorted to the usual device of offering a mediation.
The Marquis D' Almadovar, who delivered his ere- i 7th June,
dentials as ambassador to the court of London after
the capture of the French frigate by Admiral Keppel,
gave the strongest assurances of his Catholic Majesty's
desire to promote harmony, and cement the union be-
tween Great Britain and Spain by all proper ties. The
ambassador observed that he had received his instruc-
tions anterior to the late transactions of the British
fleet, but had no reason to believe that event would
* Lord Stormont to Lord Weymouth, 25th September, 1777, State Papers,
t Lord Grantham to Lord Weymouth, 26th and 30th May, 1777,
38 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
xxxv change t ne disposition of his court. France, nevcr-
'_ theless, consistently with her usual policy, assiduously
1779. circulated reports that Spain would accede to the
treaty with America, and had authorized M. D'Aranda
to complete the transaction*.
At several conferences with the Secretary of State,
the Spanish ambassador pressed for some proposal
which would enable his royal master to act as mediator
between Great Britain and France, intimating that the
intended good offices were neglected. Lord Wey-
mouth observed that Spain had not proposed to me-
diate, but merely professed an inclination to receive an
application from either power ; France had offered an
unexpiated insult to Great Britain ; but still his
Majesty, although earnestly desirous of peace, could
not, consistently with the dignity of his crown, solicit
the interference of a foreign court, till the views and
intentions of the aggressor were known. These con-
versations were far from impressing a notion that
Spain sought a quarrel ; on the contrary, one of the
subjects discussed was the means of forming a more
intimate commercial connexion^.
'28th Sept. In compliance with the intimation of Lord Wey-
mouth, a paper was delivered on the part of his
Catholic Majesty, offering to commence a negotiation,
wherein the dignity of neither crown should seem
affected by making the first advance ; and, therefore,
recommended that each court should remit to Madrid
a state of its views and expectations, the King of Spain
proposing to communicate to each the proposition of
27th Oct. ^ ne ther. The answer of the British court was com-
prised in a single article: Whenever France shall
" withdraw all assistance and support from America,
" notwithstanding the unprovoked aggression, the
" King will be ready to restore peace and re-establish
" amity and harmony." France demanded that the
King should acknowledge the absolute independence
of the thirteen provinces, cede all their territories in his
possession, and withdraw all his forces. When these
* Letter from Lord Weymouth to Lord Grunlhani, '21st July, 1778.
t Letter from Lord Weymouth to Lord Grantham, 13th September, 1778.
GEORGE III. 39
preliminaries were complied with, France proposed to xxxv
settle and explain various points in former treaties,
the previous discussion of which would be difficult and 1/79.
useless.
In imparting this proposal, the King of Spain iGthNov.
hoped, notwithstanding the wide difference between
the sentiments of the two powers, to find means of ad-
justment; and, in a subsequent dispatch, requested a
revision of the article proposed by the British court,
and the adoption of some expedient or temperament,
more adapted to reconciliation. ' This the British 5thDec
ministry unanimously rejected. France, they observed,
manifested no desire of peace ; but, by insisting on the 2 9th DOC.
independence of America, sought only to perfect the
blow she had attempted to strike.
Both courts persisting in their original sentiments, 2nd Jan
the King of Spain, as an accommodating expedient,
proposed three plans : First, a truce with the colonies
for twenty-five or thirty years, during which a peace
might be negotiated; and, in the mean time, the
points in dispute between the courts of London and
Versailles might also be adjusted. Secondly, a truce
with France, including the colonies. Thirdly, an in-
definite truce with the colonies and France, which
should not terminate without a year's previous notice,
during which the plenipotentiaries of the three parties
might meet in Congress, with a fourth from the court
of Madrid to mediate. Such a convention might be
signed by the American deputies at Paris sub spe rati,
the French court employ its good offices to obtain
the ratification, and the crowns of Spain and France
guarantee the stipulations. In the mean time the
colonies were to trade freely with all the world, and
maintain independence de facto, such as it was sup-
posed the King's commissioners had power to offer
them ; the British forces were to be withdrawn, or at
least much reduced, and their communications with
the country regulated.
In a long and well-composed answer to this propo- i Gt i x March.
sition, the British ministry revievved the whole conduct
and pretensions of France, exposed the perfidy which
40 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP. dictated an interference in the contest, the fallacy of
the pretences advanced during the negotiation, and
1779. the futility of their arguments when they alleged their
own hostilities as the source of their apprehensions,
and their apprehensions as the source of their hostili-
ties. Considering the plans proposed by Spain as
shortly and generally stated, according to the nature
of an overture, they were analyzed with freedom, and
the consequences accurately deduced. The grant of
a truce for five-and-twenty or thirty years, or for an
indefinite term, not to be determined without a year's
notice, accompanied with an evacuation of the pro-
vinces (for nothing less could meet the terms proposed),
and a free trade, would, in fact, be so effectual a
concession of independence, that nothing could prevent
the Americans from attaining that state, should the
treaty terminate unfavourably. It would be such a
dereliction of all-right of government, such a sanction
of all past proceedings in the colonies, as would reduce
his Majesty's faithful subjects to the condition of
rebels, and prevent any interference on their behalf.
The degradation of Great Britain would also be com-
plete, for the King must treat with France for inducing
the colonies to accede ; the American deputies might
sign the treaty sub spe rati, but the good offices of
France must be exerted to procure the ratification.
After renouncing, or rather transferring to the Con-
gress and France for so long a time the allegiance and
loyalty of his faithful subjects, his Majesty was to treat
with Congress for the surrender of their public charac-
ter and government, and with France for her concur-
rence in such a measure, and at the same time for her
peculiar interests, consisting in unspecified demands.
These, whatever they might be, must doubtless be ad-
justed before France would concur in dissolving those
states with whom she had contracted alliance and
amity, for the purpose of obtaining her own points ;
but, as she neither specified her own objects, nor the
endeavours she would use to re-establish the British
constitution in America, the acceptance of such a truce
could only be viewed as an absolute, if not a distinct,
GEORGE III. 41
cession of all rights of the British crown in the thirteen '
colonies, under the additional disadvantage of making
it to the French, rather than to the Americans them- 1779.
selves.
To remove all doubts from the mind of the King
of Spain respecting the points on which he might
employ his good offices, the British ministry suggested
that France should propose her grievances, jealousies,
or demands. Great Britain would then give an answer
equally explicit ; or, a truce of sufficient duration
might be made between Great Britain and France, for
the adjustment of their rival pretensions, by the good
offices of his Catholic Majesty. And to obviate every
pretence for continuing hostilities on the side of North
America, the insurgents might also propose their
grievances, and the terms of security and precaution
on which legal government might be restored. Or a
truce might also take place in North America, that is,
a real truce, an actual suspension of hostilities, during
which the liberty and property of all orders and de-
scriptions of men might be restored and secured, and
every violence on their persons and estates wholly
intermitted on each side. During such truces, the
French ministers would be at liberty to treat for their
own separate concerns, without incurring unavoidable
suspicions, by mixing their own peculiar advantages
with the supposed interests of those pretended allies,
and his Majesty might settle the government of his
own dominions without the appearance of receiving
terms from an enemy.
On the basis of this proposition, the Spanish 3rd April,
minister, M. De Florida Blanca, suggested, as the
best means of accommodation, the suspension of arms
and disarmament, the meeting of plenipotentiaries at
Madrid for the adjustment of peace, and settlement of
a definitive treaty, and plan of restitutions and arrange-
ment of all causes of complaint between Great Britain
and France, under the mediation of Spain. A reci-
procal disarmament and suspension of hostilities was
also to be separately granted to America through the
same mediation, and American commissioners admitted
42 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP. t the negotiation ; the truce was not to terminate till
after a year's notice.
1779. This plan was delivered as the ultimatum of Spain;
4th May. ^ u ^ as ft was founded on the principles which had
already been disclaimed, the British court declared it
inadmissible ; acknowledging, at the same time, the
benevolence of the King of Spain's interposition, and
hoping, that should France be disposed to offer less
imperious and unequal terms, the same good offices
would be renewed.
4th May. In a private letter, which accompanied the above
answer, Lord Weymouth stated, to the British ambas-
sador, his alarms at the articles of the ultimatum,
which indicated the prevalence of French influence in
the councils of Spain. He had hitherto suppressed
the suspicions which many circumstances tended to
excite ; but a full explanation was now necessary. Did
Spain wish and insist on the dismemberment of Great
Britain so earnestly as to engage in war for the purpose
of effecting it 1 or, if not, what means had the proposal
left for averting the event 1
29th May. The behaviour of M. D'Almadovar did not justify
the apprehensions disclosed in this dispatch ; he ex-
pressed to the secretary of state the regret of the
Catholic King in withdrawing his offered mediation,
from a conviction that it could be attended with no
effect; but nothing transpired which shewed a pro-
pensity to irritation on either side. At a subsequent
interview, the Spanish ambassador renewed these ex-
pressions, lamented that all the propositions of Spain
were refused, and no others substituted ; and com-
nui June, plained of the words " imperious and unequal terms,"
in the dispatch of the fourth of May, as harsh and
unnecessary. The explanation on all these points was
full and satisfactory : the King had been precluded
from offering terms of pacification, because the pro-
positions made by France tended merely to secure the
independence of the colonies by direct means, or the
intermediate effect of a truce. The words which were
complained of, obviously referred to France only, and
not, in the most distant manner, to Spain. By M.
GEORGE III. 43
D'Almadovar's desire, Lord Grantham was directed to xxxv
convey, through M. De Florida Blanca, to the King of
Spain, the ardent wish of his Britannic Majesty for 1779.
the re-establishment of peace, whenever it could be
effected consistently with the regards due to his crown
and people ; his sincere sense of the friendly part
taken by his Catholic Majesty, and his regret at the
temporary failure of his efforts. If France had made
demands immediately connected with her own interest,
and those demands had been countenanced by the
wishes of Spain, the King would have shewn, by his
compliance, his desire of peace and regard for so
respectable an interference; but the communications
of the French court, having been confined to the
interests of the rebellious colonies, with whom, in
justice, they ought not to have had any connexion, the
King could not renew pacific propositions : yet, if any
were made by his Catholic Majesty, they would be
received with the utmost regard, and examined with
candour and attention. The re-establishment of peace,
however desirable in itself, would receive additional
value if effected by the mediation of Spain, as it would
tend more closely to unite the two crowns, and produce
advantages to both*.
In fact, this negotiation, protracted to a period of lotu June.
nine months, was a mere artifice devised by M. De
Florida Blanca and the French minister in Spain, to
gain time for completing naval and military prepara-
tions, forming treaties and perfecting intrigues with
neutral powers, all which objects were assiduously
pursued f. Before these obliging expressions could
reach the court for which they were intended, and
before any previous intimation could be received from
any quarter, M. D'Almadovar received his instructions
to quit London without taking leave, and delivered the Spanish am-
paper which accompanied the King's message to Par- ^tMraws.
liament. It asserted, most untruly, that Great Britain His letter.
* For all these facts I have consulted the original correspondence between
the Secretary of State and Lord Grantham, and other documents in the State
Paper Office.
t Coxe's Memoirs of the Kings of Spain, vol. iii. p. 402 ; Florida Blanca's
account of his administration, same, vol. i. p. 325. State Papers.
44
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXV.
1779.
Spanish
manifesto.
meditated an attack on Cadiz and the Philippine Isles,
complained of the rejection of the Catholic King's
benevolent interference, the violences committed on
his dominions in the course of the war, and the neglect
of his numerous applications for redress, and announced
his resolution to seek reparation by the means with
which God had intrusted him.
Beside this angry paper and two royal schedules
to his own subjects, the Spanish Monarch published a
manifesto, long, desultory, and feeble, complaining of
the conduct of Britain in innumerable instances since
the conclusion of peace. Violations of territory in the
bay of Honduras, exciting the Indians to attack Spain,
and refusal of redress on repeated applications, formed
the leading subjects of crimination. Naval outrages
were enumerated with a degree of aifected precision,
and denounced with a pompous vehemence which
must have been ridiculous to all Europe. The insults
offered by the British navy to the Spanish navigation
and trade, from 1776 to the beginning of 1779, were
" already eighty-six in number, including prizes taken
" by unjust practices, piracy, and robberies of various
" effects out of the vessels, attacks made by gun-firing,
" and other incredible violences : since that period,
" other injuries of the same kind had been added, suf-
" ficient to justify the assertion that the grievances of
" the late years did not fall much short of a hundred."
England was also accused of endeavouring to effect a
re-union with the American colonies, in order to arm
them against the House of Bourbon ; the whole history
of the negotiation was perverted and misrepresented
in many essential particulars ; and it was asserted that
while the boon of American independence was refused
on the intercession of Spain, English emissaries were
clandestinely proposing terms still more liberal to Dr.
Franklin at Paris. The King of Spain, therefore,
announced the necessity of curtailing and destroying
the arbitrary proceedings and maxims of the English
marine ; in the attainment of which end, all other
maritime powers, and even all nations, were become
highly interested.
GEORGE III. 45
To these empty publications, the court of Great xxxv'
Britain replied, by ordering letters of marque and re-
prisal against Spanish property, and by a judicious 1779.
and temperate letter from Lord Weymouth to the Jejune.
Spanish ambassador. France also published a long his- marque issued.
torical manifesto, displaying the motives and conduct Jfo^a'wly.
of the Most Christian King toward England, which mouth's letter.
was artfully drawn up, and well calculated to deceive ;
but was answered in an eloquent justificatory memo-
rial, the production of the celebrated Gibbon*.
Thus was Spain, to use the expression, enlisted in observations
the cause of France. Beside the general absence of
any sufficient ground of pro vocation j-, the ordinary
views of policy offered many strong reasons against
a rupture with Great Britain. The good sense of the
Emperor had pointed out the impropriety of a sovereign
arming in behalf of rebels ; and Spain had motives of
interest far more cogent for adopting similar senti-
ments. A bigoted attachment to the Catholic reli-
gion, and the vicinity of her American possessions to
the English colonies, presented powerful objections
against forming an alliance with, or in favour of, the
rebels of America, whose hostile enterprizes and per-
nicious example were equal subjects of alarm. No
sufficient inducement could be advanced to counter-
balance these arguments ; the Spaniards had no view
of extending commerce, and their friendly disposition
toward France might have been safely exerted in clan-
destine aids, in supplies of money, and agitating the
English nation by continual reports of preparation and
specious offers of mediatory interference.
* See all these last-mentioned pieces in the Annual Register for 1779, article
State Papers. Gibbon's publication, though not official, called forth great exer-
tions, both in France and among the adherents of America, to furnish an adequate
reply. Some anonymous reflections were produced ; some, avowed by M. Caron
De Beaumarchais and others, were published by authority. See Remembrancer,
vol. ix. p. 1, 83, 201 ; vol. x. p. 116.
t It is almost impossible that, in the state of British and Spanish possessions
in different parts of the world, cause of complaint should not arise on both sides.
A motion was made and a petition offered to the English Parliament, the 25th of
February 1777; and, in a conversation between Lord Grantham and M. de Flo-
rida Blanca in 1778, some of the complaints adverted to in the manifesto were
discussed ; but the Spanish minister did not express any impatience on the subject,
nor any doubt of fair and equitable redress. Letter from Lord Grantham to
Lord Weymouth, 23rd November, 1778.
46
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
'
17/9.
siege of
Gibnil c t< nc d
'24th June.
16th June.
With her usual dexterity, France had urged her
ally to decide in favour of hostilities ; and, before the
resolution of Spain was formed, boasted of her success
in such a manner as to embarrass the cabinet of Madrid,
whose final determination was not marked with the
promptitude of vigour, but the rashness of fear, flying
into the arms of danger to escape the horrors of doubt.
Five days before he delivered his orders to quit the
British court, the Count d' Almadovar had not the
slightest suspicion that his diplomatic mission was likely
to terminate; and, .while the French ambassador at
Vienna loudly boasted the success of his court, in en-
gaging a new enemy against Great Britain, the Spa-
nish ambassador unreservedly declared he had not re-
ceived any direct communication on the subject*.
Probably one of the allurements held out to Spain
on this occasion was the recovering of Gibraltar ; the
desire to regain this fortress, natural in the mind of
every Spaniard, operated on that of the King with un-
usual intensity: it was therefore immediately besieged.
Orders were dispatched for discontinuing all commerce
with the garrison ; and a treaty was concluded with
the Emperor of Morocco, which alienated him from
England, and attached him to Spain. He let to them,
as a farm, the ports of Tetuan, Tangier s, and Laroche :
deposited a portion of his treasure in their country, as
a pledge of his sincerity, and opened his ports to their
ships ; thus enabling them to reduce their garrisons on
the African coast, and to diminish their artillery and
magazines. Jt removed also the apprehension of great
evils which would have ensued if England had incited
them to attack Ceuta or Melilla, or, by cruizing in the
straits, to derange measures for the blockade of the
besieged fortress^.
Soon after the declaration of hostilities, the Spa-
niards formed a naval blockade and commenced ap-
proaches by land. The garrison amounted to nearly
six thousand men, in good health, full of vigour, and
not deficient in provisions ; they were commanded by
* Letter from Sir Robert Murray Keith to Lord Weymouth, 23rd June, 1779.
f Mr. Archdeacon Coxe's Memoirs, ubi supra.
GEORGE III.
the brave General Elliot, who justified their confidence '
in him, by a regular performance of his duties, by a
prudence and penetration which discerned every cir- 1779.
cumstance, however minute, tending to the welfare
and safety of his troops, and by a firmness of mind
which rendered obedience easy, and command re-
spectablef.
No martial enterprize of the French in Europe, Ineffectua]
no appearance of efficient preparation, served to en- attempt on
courage the Spaniards in their hostile determination. Jerse > r -
An ill-digested and inefficient attack on Jersey was May \ sii
easily repelled; and the failure of the attempt only
exposed to ridicule the name of the projector, who
was called the Prince de Nassau Siegen, and laid a
disputable claim to descent from the illustrious house
of Nassau.
Before the declaration of war with Spain, the 4th June.
French fleet, under D'Orvilliers, consisting of twenty- Jun ction of
' . . J the French and
eight sail, but extremely detective in preparation, Spanish fleets.
in the absence of the British squadron, gained the
Spanish coast, and, after failing in an attempt to inter-
cept a force under Admiral Darby, effected a junction
with the armament of Spain.
The courage of the English nation was not Exertions in
daunted by the strong combination of enemies; a En s land -
Spanish war was never unpopular, and the spirit of
enterprize was universally prevalent. Individuals and
public bodies entered into large subscriptions for
raising troops, giving bounties to seamen, equipping
privateers, and other patriotic purposes ; volunteer as-
sociations were formed to repel invasion, and the East
India Company, with becoming liberality, granted
bounties for six thousand seamen, and undertook to
build and equip three new ships, of seventy-four guns,
for the royal navy.
But all these exertions were insufficient to give the The combined
English fleet a superiority over the united squadrons ^\ su\t the
of the enemy: Sir Charles Hardy, who succeeded
Admiral Keppel in the command, cruized in the
* In all details respecting the siege of Gibraltar, I have relied on the Histori-
cal Journal of Captain John Drink water.
48 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
channel during the whole summer with about thirty-
eight sail of the line. The enemy insulted the channel
with an irresistible force, shewed themselves before
Plymouth, where they created general apprehension,
and captured the Ardent of sixty-four guns, whose
commarder mistook the united fleet for that of the
British Admiral. Although alarm and agitation pre-
vailed in England, the enemy undertook no important
enterprise; jealousy prevailed between the commanders
of the combined fleet, sickness committed dreadful ra-
vages on the crews ; and, at an early period of the year,
Sept. they retired into Brest, having lost nearly ten thousand
men, leaving the British trade almost unmolested.
GEORGE III. 49
CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SIXTH,
1779.
State of the French and English fleets in the West Indies.
Byron convoys the homeward-bound fleet. The French
take St. Vincent's and Grenada. Engagement between
Byron and d'Estaing. Proceedings in Georgia. Corps of
loyalists raised. American force collected. The American
Colonel Ashe routed. Measures of the Americans for
defence of the Carolinas. Irruption of the British into
South Carolina. Attack of the Americans on St. John's
Island. D'Estaing's ineffectual attempt on Savannah.
Delays in reinforcing Sir Henry Clinton. Various success-
ful expeditions directed by him. Siege and relief of Penob-
scot. Miserable fate of the American besiegers. Arrival
of Arbuthnot. Americans attack Paulus Hook. Their
expedition against the Indians. Incursion of the Spaniards
into West Florida. Capture of Fort Omoa by the English
it is re-taken. Senegal taken by the French Goree by
the English. Sea fights between Captain Pierson and
Paul Jones. Captain Farmer and a French frigate. State
of the ministry changes. State of Ireland. Increase of
Volunteers. Session of the Irish Parliament. Debates on
the address. Popular measures Limited Supply. Riot
in Dublin.
MEANWHILE the transatlantic war was carried on CHAP.
with various degrees of activity and success. The pas- xxxvi.
sage of Admiral Byron from North America to the ^7 g
West Indies was delayed by storms. His junction 6th Jan. '
with Admiral Barrington gave an equality, if not a l^chand
superiority, to the British force, which reduced the English fleets
French commander to the defensive ; and, during five
months, neither insult nor opportunity could draw him
VOL. III. E
50 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP from his retreat at Martinique. In this interval both-
fleets received reinforcements ; the English under
1779. Admiral Rowley, the French under Count de Grasse;
cth June. ^f. b o th remained inactive, till Byron, sailing for St.
Byron convoys Christopher's to escort the homeward-bound fleet, en-
Captmeof couraged D'Estaing to commence operations. Trolong
st. Vincent's du Romairj, with four thousand and fifty men, was
dispatched against St. Vincent's, then in a miserable
state of distraction. It had been recently created a
separate government under Valentine Morris, Esquire,
a gentleman of good family, benevolent spirit, and
enlarged liberality*, but was not yet divided into paro-
chial districts ; the means of government were incom-
plete, the fortifications out of repair, the Charribs sul-
len and intractable, anxiously expecting an opportu-
nity to restore the sovereignty of the French ; while a
rancorous party among the subjects of the Crown im-
peded the exertions of the governor, facilitated the
machinations of the Charribs, and even maintained a
traitorous correspondence with the enemy. The colony
refused all assistance toward establishing a military
force, and the English troops were composed, to use
the governor's own expression, of " the very scum of
" the earth; the refuse of the metropolis, the sweep-
" ings of jails, lamp-lighters, gipsies, and men super-
" annuated, disabled, and discharged from other regi-
" ments." This motley force being ill calculated to
irth June. oppose a numerous body of French troops, who landed
and were joined by the Charribs, the governor was
2nd July. i v -, , J ., , / .,, . ,
obliged to capitulate without resistance-]*.
Grenada also D'Estaing, again reinforced by a division under La
iaken - Motte Piquet, commanded thirty-four ships of war,
twenty-six of which were of the line, and a number of
transports sufficient for the conveyance of nine thou-
sand soldiers. He proceeded to the attack of Grenada,
which was defended only by a hundred and fifty
regulars, and about four hundred militia, who, being
principally Frenchmen, soon diminished the garrison,
* See an interesting account of Valentine Morris, in Coxe's Historical Tour
in Monmouthshire, chap. 40.
t Principally from Governor Morris's Narrative of his official conduct.
GEORGE III. 51
by desertions, to less than three hundred. Lord xxxvi
Macartney, the governor, considering this force suffi- '
cient for the defence of some strong posts till sue- 1779.
cours could arrive, refused to capitulate. D'Estaing,
unwilling to sacrifice the time requisite for regular
approaches, stormed the lines : the garrison once re-
pulsed the assailants, but, being obliged to yield to
numbers, retired into the fort, and had the mortifica-
tion to see their own cannon turned against them.
Lord Macartney proposed terms of capitulation, which
the victor rejecting, proffered others so dishonourable,
that the high-spirited governor preferred a surrender
at discretion, and the French plundered without
scruple or restraint.
A principal reason for pressing with such rapidity * 8t ff jul y-
the reduction of Grenada, was the intelligence of Ad-
miral Byron's return, which had been retarded by
winds and currents. He had formed, with General
Grant, a project for the recovery of St. Vincent's ; but 3rd July.
receiving, while at sea, information that the French
squadron before Grenada was reduced to nineteen
sail, and that Lord Macartney could maintain his posi-
tion a fortnight, he changed his first destination, and
attempted to succour that island. Having twenty-one
ships of the line, beside transports, he arranged his
signals for bringing on a general action, and did not
discover the fallacy of his intelligence till several of his
vessels were engaged. D'Estaing, notwithstanding 6th.
his superiority of force, and the great advantages he
derived from the excellent condition of his fleet,
avoided a close and general conflict, and, foiled in all
attempts to cut off the transports and intercept the
disabled vessels, retired in the night to Grenada.
The British Admiral, conscious of his inferiority in
strength, dispatched during the night his transports
and disabled ships to St. Christopher's, and calmly
awaited the morning's attack, which, judging by his
own character, he deemed inevitable. The returning
dawn discovered to him the retreat of the enemy, and
seeing the white flag mounted on the forts of Grenada,
E 2
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVI.
1779.
Proceedings
in Georgia.
9th Jan.
Capture of
Sunbury ;
and Augusta.
Corps of
loyalists
raised.
he followed the transports to refit at St. Christopher's*.
A general panic was now diffused through the British
West Indies ; D'Estaing had boasted his resolution to
conquer every island, and that he was even prepared
with articles of capitulation for eachf ; but he soon
relieved the inhabitants from their apprehensions,
by retiring from Grenada to Cape Francois in His-
paniola.
After taking Savannah, in Georgia, and driving
the American troops across the river into South Caro-
lina, General Prevost and Colonel Campbell assidu-
ously employed themselves in receiving the inhabit-
ants under protection, forming military corps, and
framing regulations for the peace and security of the
province. Their efforts, however, were not confined
to these operations ; a successful expedition was
undertaken against Sunbury, a fort which surrendered
at discretion, yielding to the victors a considerable
quantity of ordnance and stores, with two hundred
and twelve prisoners. This exploit was only prepara-
tory to the capture of Augusta, the second town in
the province, by Colonel Campbell, many of the in-
habitants taking oaths of fidelity, and forming mili-
tary corps, under the British government. Colonel
Hamilton, with a detachment of two hundred men,
made a circuit of the province, for the purpose of en-
couraging these dispositions and disarming the dis-
affected ; he met with considerable success, though he
occasionally discovered latent treachery. To encourage
loyalists, they were to receive the same allowances with
other American levies, and, in addition, free grants of
a hundred acres of land. The chief object of this
expedition was to open the back country, to bring to
the test the repeated professions of loyalty made by the
inhabitants, and by the presence of military support to
* D'Estaing' a alarm was so great, that he would not even venture to take
possession of the Lion of 64 guns, commanded by Captain Cornwallis, and the
Cornwall of 7 1, Captain Edwards, which were dismasted and lying helpless be-
tween the two fleets. He afterwards appeared off St. Christopher's, but would
not venture to attack the British fleet, which was drawn up in readiness to receive
him.
t Valentine Morris's Narrative, p. 73.
GEORGE III. 53
encourage and countenance those who were disposed
to take up arms: these hopes were greatly disap-
pointed ; the rising was not general ; the inertness of the 1779.
parties was increased by the apprehension of a strong
American force on the other side of Hudson's river*.
When Colonel Campbell's circuit was completed, a
body of five hundred South Carolina militia, under
Colonel Pickens, encountered him, but were put to
flight ; a number of loyalists from the interior of North
Carolina, embodied under Colonel Boyd, endeavoured
to force their way to Georgia to join the royal forces ;
but Pickens defeated them at Kettle Creek, with con-
siderable loss, including their commander; about
three hundred reached Georgia ; others returned and
threw themselves on the mercy of their country, but
were prosecuted as traitors to the new government;
seventy were condemned, but only five executed*}'.
It was soon found that Augusta could not be re- American
tained without great difficulty and danger, as it was a fected!
hundred and fifty miles distant from the main army.
To defend both Carolinas, the Americans hastily col-
lected about three thousand militia, under Generals
Ashe and Rutherford ; but soon afterward placed them
under the direction of General Lincoln. They issued
proclamations, prohibiting the people from joining the
royal standard, and for securing the cattle, and
stretched their positions along the northern bank of
the Savannah River, parallel to those of the British on
the other side. General Ashe, with a detachment of
fifteen hundred men, was ordered to strengthen the
post opposite Augusta; but, finding that fort aban-
doned, he crossed the river to straiten the British 3rd
quarters. Lieutenant-Colonel Prevost, brother of the routed.
General, crossing the Bier Creek fifteen miles above
Ashe's encampment, stole on his rear unperceived, and
totally routed and dispersed his force, with the loss of
* Lord George Germaine to Colonel Campbell, 16th January, 1779. Colonel
Prevost to Lord G. Germaine, 5th March, 1779.
t The American writers describe these loyalists as mere outlaws ; but their
application of the word tory was so descriptive of every thing base and wicked,
that other circumstances of guilt might be superadded without much intention to
violate truth. See Ramsay, vol. ii. p. 118.
54
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVI.
1779.
Measures of
the Americans
for the defence
of the Caroli-
nas.
23rd April.
Irruption of
the British
into South
Carolina.
Ineffectual
attempt on
Cliarlestowu.
10t.h May.
seven pieces of cannon, several stand of colours, almost
all the arms, artillery, and baggage ; a hundred and
fifty were killed on the field, a far greater number
drowned in endeavouring to escape, and two hun-
dred were made prisoners. The whole party had
been augmented by reinforcements to about two
thousand ; but not more than four hundred and fifty
rejoined Lincoln.
Alarmed by approaching danger, the legislature of
South Carolina invested their governor, John Ret-
ledge, and his council, with unlimited powers to act for
the public good. This authority was vigorously em-
ployed in reinforcing Lincoln, who soon found himself
at the head of five thousand men. Leaving one
thousand under Colonel Mackintosh and General
Moultrie, to garrison Purysburg and Black Swamp, he
began his march up the Savannah. Colonel Prevost,
in hopes of inducing him to return, crossed over with
the greatest part of his army into South Carolina, the
detachments under Mackintosh and Moultrie retiring
before him, or offering only a feeble resistance ; the
American General, however, proceeded on his march,
notwithstanding the frequent expresses which arrived
demanding his presence. Lured by intelligence of the
defenceless state of Charlestown, Prevost resolutely
advanced, reached the suburbs, and summoned the
town ; the inhabitants, who during his approach had
been assiduously employed in improving their fortifica-
tions, and were reinforced by Moultrie's retreating
detachment, by bodies of militia and Pulaski's legion,
contrived to consume a day in messages and answers
relative to the terms of surrender ; but their ultimatum
being declared inadmissible, they passed the night in the
horrors of an expected storm. Fear was however the
only injury they sustained. Prevost, calculating the
strength of the works, the insufficiency of his force,
his want of artillery, ammunition, and forage, and the
probability of Lincoln's intercepting his retreat, wisely
drew off his forces in the night, and, without molesta-
tion, gained John's Island, where he awaited supplies
from New York. Lincoln having established a post
GEORGE III. 55
at Augusta, retired by hasty marches to Charlestown, xxxvi
and, till the departure of the British troops, established _H___
his head-quarters at Dorchester. 1779.
Colonel Prevost, having fortified Stonyferry, which j^Jcans on
maintains the communication with the main land, st. John's
soon left St. John's Island to be defended by Colonel ^Jj^,
Maitland, with only five hundred effective men.
General Lincoln, who had already once failed, now
advanced with nearly five thousand men to dislodge
the British troops, but was repelled by the judicious 20th -
and resolute exertions of this disproportioned force.
In the course of the action, the garrison were destitute
of ammunition; but Captain Moncrieff, of the engi-
neers, obtained a supply by a spirited sally ; and, at
the close of the engagement, their last charge was
actually in their pieces.
Soon after this attack, the American militia, dis-
heartened and impatient of a longer absence from
their plantations, quitted the army ; the hot and sickly
season rendering repose indispensable, the Americans
retired to Sheldon; the British force, evacuating the
post at Stonyferry, established a new one at Beaufort,
in the island of Port Royal, and the main body, return-
ing into Georgia, continued upward of two months in
unmolested inactivity. The advantages attending the
expedition into South Carolina were the establishment
of a post at Beaufort, and the acquisition of provisions,
the want of which began to be severely felt.
While hostilities were thus suspended, the Ameri- ^effectual
cans made application to D'Estaing, with the hope Attempts of
that his fleet would destroy the advantages which savannah g . on
accrued to the English from their naval superiority. September.
The French admiral speedily arrived with twenty sail
of the line, two of fifty guns, eleven frigates, and a
considerable number of transports, and surprised the
Experiment, of fifty guns, with two storeships, and the
Ariel frigate.
The Americans made great efforts to co-operate
with the French, and the British general spared no
exertion to repel an attack which he v expected on
56
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVI.
1779.
llth.
23rd.
Uth.
Savannah; the garrison was withdrawn from Sun-
bury, Colonel Maitland was ordered to evacuate
Beaufort, and the small naval force was judiciously
disposed by Captain Henry. When the French troops
were disembarked, D'Estaing, without awaiting the
junction of his provincial allies, in language ridicu-
lously boastful summoned Savannah to surrender to
the French King. Prevost gained four-and-twenty
hours for deliberation, during which Colonel Maitland
arrived with eight hundred men, after surmounting
incredible difficulties; and the Governor, thus rein-
forced, announced his resolution to defend the fort.
Twelve days were consumed in preparations, before
the French broke ground, during which the garrison
annoyed them by two vigorous and successful sorties.
The French and American troops, amounting to up-
ward of ten thousand, continued an ineffectual can-
nonade during five days, while the whole garrison,
even to the African slaves, vied in zeal and persever-
ance in strengthening the works, and mounting
artillery.
Wearied at length with the delay of regular ap-
proaches, considering the dangers of the hurricane
season, and the possibility of a British squadron attack-
ing his fleet, while so great a part of his artillery was
employed on shore, D'Estaing attempted to take the
place by storm. Four thousand five hundred men,
more than double the number of the garrison, were
divided into two columns, one of which, under D'Es-
taing, assisted by General Lincoln, was to attack in
front; while the other, under Count Dillon, was to
gain the rear of the British lines. They were put in
motion several hours before day. Dillon's division
fortunately mistook the road, became entangled in a
swamp, and was so galled by an incessant and well-
directed fire from the garrison, that they could not
form. The column led by D'Estaing was repulsed,
after maintaining a severe conflict, hand to hand, for
possession of the principal redoubt. The Admiral was
slightly wounded, and the Polish volunteer, Pulaski,
GEORGE III. 57
killed*. The conflict, which lasted two hours, was xxxvi
unusually destructive. By the accounts of their own 1
officers, the French lost fifteen hundred men; the
Americans, more cautious in disclosures, acknowledged
fifty-two officers, but concealed the number of privates.
Of the garrison, not more than forty-two were killed or
wounded. Such a slaughter, it was observed, had not
taken place in America since Bunker's Hill. The
siege was forthwith raised ; the Americans retired to
South Carolina, and the French regained their shipping
without molestation, as the garrison was not sufficiently
numerous to adventure a pursuit. Their fleet was
shortly afterward dispersed by a storm ; part returned
to the West Indies ; and D'Estaing regained his native
land. This boastful commander was always distin-
guished by injustice and cruelty. His presumptuous
mode of summoning the garrison disgusted the Ame-
ricans ; and his cruelty in refusing to permit the
women and children to take refuge on board English
ships in his own custody, was rendered additionally
contemptible by his endeavouring, after defeat, to
throw the blame on his allies, and offering the very
favour he had before withheld, which General Prevost
rejected with becoming disdain. The raising of this
siege terminated hostilities in the south.-)-.
During this whole campaign, Sir Henry Clinton Delays m
remained in anxious expectation of reinforcements, ciintou ins
the arrival of which was delayed by an extraordinary 2nd May.
occurrence. They were proceeding down the British
channel, under the convoy of Admiral Arbuthnot,
* Pulaski was one of the conspirators who attempted to carry off the King of
Poland in 1771. Coxe's Travels in Poland, Russia, Sweden, and Denmark, b.
i. c. 3.
t While the siege of Savannah was pending, a remarkable eiiterprize was
effected by Colonel John White, of the Georgia line. Captain French had taken
post, with about a hundred men, near the river Ogechee, some time before the
siege began. There were also at the same place, forty sailors on board five British
vessels, four of which were armed. All these men, together with the vessels, and
130 stand of arms, were surrendered to Colonel White, Captain Elholm, and four
others, one of whom was the Colonel's servant. In the night, this small party
kindled a number of fires in different places, and adopted the parade of a large
encampment, by which, and other deceptive stratagems, they impressed Captain
French with an opinion that nothing but an instant surrender, in conformity to a
peremptory summons, could save his men from being cut to pieces by a superior
force. Ramsay, vol. ii. p. 122.
58
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVI.
1779.
April.
Various suc-
cessful expe-
ditions direct-
ed by him.
May.
29th May.
30th.
but, on receiving intelligence of the French attack on
Jersey, he ordered the transports into Torbay, and
sailed for the relief of that island. On his arrival off
Guernsey, he learned the repulse of the enemy, and
hastened to accomplish his original destination; but
when he returned to Torbay, the wind became unfa-
vourable, and the troops arrived in America too late
for the performance of any considerable enterprize.
Admiral Gambier being recalled in the spring,
the command of the British fleet in America devolved
on Sir George Collier, an officer who had honourably
distinguished himself on the Halifax station, in re-
straining the Americans from invading Nova Scotia,
alarming their coast, and distressing their trade. With
this brave officer, Sir Henry Clinton planned an expedi-
tion to the Chesapeak, where large stores of tobacco,
the chief means of maintaining the credit of Congress,
were accumulated, and from which place the army in
the middle colonies was principally, if not wholly, sup-
ported with salted provisions, the produce of Virginia
and North Carolina. A detachment, amounting to
eighteen hundred men, was embarked on board trans-
ports, and convoyed by the Raisonnable of sixty-four
guns, four sloops, a galley, and some private ships of
war. Their first attack was directed against Ports-
mouth, where they demolished a fort ; expeditions were
then made to Norfolk, Gosport, Kemp's Landing, and
Suffolk, where great quantities of stores were seized,
many vessels taken and several destroyed. To prevent
a capture, a marine yard was burned, with all its
timber ; and the fleet returned in twenty-four days to
New York, having destroyed and taken a hundred and
twenty-seven vessels, and other property, estimated at
half a million sterling.
When the detachment returned from Virginia,
they were joined by troops already embarked on board
transports, and, proceeding up the North river, suc-
ceeded in capturing Stony Point, Fort La Fayette,
and Verplank's Neck, without loss. These posts were
situate on opposite sides of Hudson's river, about
sixty miles from New York, and the expedition was
GEORGE III. 59
sufficiently important to claim the presence of Sir
George Collier and the Commander-in-Chief.
Two thousand six hundred men, under Major- 1779.
General Try on and Major Grant, were next employed 4tQ Juiy.
in an expedition against Connecticut, a principal source
of strength to Congress, well peopled, and abounding
in provisions. The motives of the attempt were to
convince the enemy that this favoured province was
not unassailable, and to force General Washington
from his strong situation on the North river, into the
low country, for defence of the sea-coast. The troops
possessed themselves of Newhaven, the capital of the
colony, seized the artillery, ammunition, and public
stores, and all the vessels in the harbour. A proclama-
tion, inviting the people to return to their allegiance,
was disregarded ; the troops were fired at from the
windows, after they were in possession of the town,
and even the sentinels placed to protect private pro-
perty were wounded on their posts ; yet the town was
spared, and no plunder allowed ; after dismantling the
fort, the troops re-embarked and proceeded to Fairfield.
At this place they found a resistance more rancor-
ous than at Newhaven, and as their lenity produced
so bad a return, Fairfield, Norwalk, and Greenfield
were successively destroyed*, and in nine days the
Commodore returned to confer with Sir Henry Clinton
on a projected operation against New London.
The people of Connecticut were dissatisfied at the
apparent neglect of General Washington, and indif-
ference of Congress, while these ravages were effected,
and apprehensions were entertained of a revolt ; but
their hopes were re-animated by the surprise of Stony
Point. General Wayne achieved this exploit with
great judgment and valour ; he stormed the works,
and, although the nature of the opposition would have
justified extremities, he generously forebore his rights
as victor, and no man was killed but in battle. Fort
* In resentment of these ravages, Congress resolved, " To direct their
" marine committee to take the most effectual measures to carry into execution
" their manifesto of October 30th, 1778, by burning or destroying the towns
" belonging to the enemy in Great Britain, or the West Indies ;" but their
resolve was never carried into effect.
60
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVI.
1779.
18th July.
Relief sent to
Penobscot.
17th June.
July.
21st.
13th August.
14th.
Miserable
fate of the
Americans.
la Fayette was also attacked ; but, before any consider-
able progress was made, the Americans, alarmed at
the vigorous preparations of Sir Henry Clinton, eva-
cuated Stony Point, after doing as much damage as
their short possession would allow.
The attention of Sir George Collier and Sir Henry
Clinton was now diverted from the meditated attack
on New London, by the necessity of affording succour
to a British establishment in the Bay of Penobscot,
made by General Francis Maclean, with six hundred
and fifty men, and three ships of war. The settle-
ment was formed to check the incursions of the enemy
into Nova Scotia, and obtain ship timber for the
King's yards at Halifax and in other parts of America.
The executive government of Massachuset's Bay, by
laying an embargo on all the shipping at Boston, and
offering large bounties, levied a squadron of nineteen
armed ships and brigantines carrying from thirty-two
to ten guns, twenty-seven transports, and three thou-
sand troops. General Maclean was only apprised of
the designs of the enemy four days before their arrival ;
he had not completed any part of his fortifications ; but,
by the indefatigable industry and zealous emulation of
the sea and land forces, he succeeded in keeping this
formidable and disproportionate equipment at bay
during twenty-one days, perfecting, in the mean time,
his defences, and harassing the invaders by continual
alarms and frequent enterprizes. At length he re-
ceived information, from a deserter, that on the ensuing
day a general attack would be made by land and sea :
every preparation was adopted for repelling it ; but in
the morning the garrison had the satisfaction to per-
ceive that the invaders had deserted their works, and
were shipping their artillery, and evacuating the place.
The welcome cause of this sudden movement was the
fleet under Sir George Collier, to which the whole
American armament would have been an easy prey ;
but most of the vessels were burned to prevent a
capture. The crews and soldiers thus landed in a
desert country, above a hundred miles from human
habitation, without provisions, soon proceeded to con-
GEORGE 111. 61
tentions ; fifty or sixty were slain in a pitched battle, CHAP.
and a much greater number perished miserably in the
woods*. 1779.
This exploit terminated Sir George Collier's com- Arrival of
mand. At the period when Admiral Arbuthnot arrived, Ar T
a rumour that D'Estaing intended to attack New
York, compelled Sir Henry Clinton to concentrate his
forces and evacuate Rhode Island. The inactivity of
General Washington, during the whole summer, occa-
sioned some animadversions and even dissatisfaction
among the Americans ; but it displayed only his cha-
racteristic judgment and prudence. He had submitted
to Congress three plans for the campaign, one defen-
sive, which he most cordially recommended, and which
the military and financial state of the country proved
to be indispensably necessary. The only enterprize 2001 Aug
attempted by Washington's army, was an attack on Americans'
Paulus Hook, on the Jersey shore, from which, after a p a u^usHook.
temporary success, they were expelled withot effecting
any material injury ; of the whole proceeding, Clinton
says in his official dispatch : " their retreat was as dis-
" graceful as their attack had been spirited and well
" conducted." They carried off forty prisoners.
Several expeditions were made against the Indians, Their expedi-
in which the Americans took severe revenge for the *j, on *
. . . . 1-1 -11 th e Indians.
injuries 01 which they complained, and proved that
they had nothing to learn in the art of savage and de-
liberate crueltyf.
As soon as war with Spain was announced, the in- ^s* 15 *-
dependence of the British colonies was proclaimed at the Spaniards
New Orleans ; and Don Bernardo de Galves, governor
of Louisiana, made an incursion into West Florida,
which was but thinly inhabited, and for the protection of 2ist Sept.
which, against the Americans, a force of eighteen hun-
dred men had been collected under General John
Campbell. The Spaniards, with two thousand men, in-
* See the Journal of the Siege of Penobscot, 8vo.
t Beside Stedman and the other historians whom I have generally followed,
see Sparks' s Life of Washington, vol. i. c. 12. Congress acknowledged their
sense of the General's services in this year, by a vote, thanking him " for the
" vigilance, wisdom, and magnanimity with which he had conducted their mili-
" tary operations." Same, p. 325.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVI.
1779.
Jan. to
March
1780.
They attack
the logwood-
cutters in the
Bay of Hon-
duras.
Capture oJ"
Fort Omoa
by the
English.
1779.
16th Oct.
vested a fort built for defence of the frontier, near the
mouth of the Ibberville, garrisoned with five hundred
troops, which they captured after a siege of nine days ;
and in its fall was involved the fate of all the British
settlements on the Mississippi, from the Natches down-
ward ; honourable terms of capitulation were granted.
It will prevent the necessity of recurring to this topic,
to anticipate, that in the ensuing year the Spaniards
made a fresh incursion into the province, and captured
Fort Mobile, after an honourable resistance.
With equal eagerness, they commenced hostilities
against the British log-wood cutters, in the Bay of
Honduras, many of whom they took prisoners and
treated with great barbarity, expelling the remainder
from their principal settlement at St. George's Key.
Governor Bailing dispatched Captain Dalrymple
with a small party of Irish volunteers to the Musquito
shore, to collect a force, and convey arms for the assist-
ance of the log-wood cutters. When he had perfected
this part of his task, he met, at sea, a squadron of three
frigates under Commodore Luttrel ; and as St. George's
Key had already been recaptured, the commodore and
Dalrymple projected an attack on Fort Omoa, the key
to the whole settlement of Honduras. The land force,
which, including the marines and musquetrymen from
the ships, did not exceed five hundred, endeavoured
to surprise the fort, but, being discovered, were re-
duced to the necessity of making regular approaches.
After some days fruitlessly expended, it was resolved,
notwithstanding the great strength of the fortifications,
to attempt an escalade. Hardly were the ladders
pitched, when the assailants, only one hunded and fifty
in number, were discovered, and a tremendous fire
opened ; one ladder was destroyed, but, by means of
the others, two seamen gained the summit of the wall
and presented their pieces, without firing, till the rest
ascended. No persuasions of their officers could keep
the astonished and terrified Spaniards to their stations,
and the governor, at length, humbly supplicating for
his life and that of his followers, surrendered the keys
and his sword. The prisoners were three hundred and
GEORGE III. 63
thirty-five ; the treasure had been removed, but a gal- J ! IAP -
leon captured in the harbour was valued at three mil-
lions of piastres. The Spaniards offered to redeem, at 1779.
any price, two hundred and fifty quintals of quicksilver,
which were on board their vessels, and made liberal
proposals for ransoming the fort ; both were refused by
the victors, who, preferring the public good to private
emolument, generously restored the church plate,
which formed a considerable part of their booty, to
procure the emancipation of their countrymen taken
at St. George's Key, and detained in oppressive capti-
vity at Merida. All these acts of heroism and disin- it is retaken.
terestedness produced, however,, no permanent advan-
tage. The victors could not afford a sufficient garrison ;
on the departure of the ships of war, the Spaniards
assailed the fort, which an epidemical fever and the
fatigue of duty obliged the English to evacuate, after
spiking the guns, and destroying the military stores,.
Early in the year, the settlement of Senegal was Feb.
captured by a French squadron, under M. De Vau- {^fpr^?]".
dreuil. Goree, being evacuated for the purpose of for- Goree by the '
tifying Senegal, was occupied by a British force, left Enghsh -
for that purpose by Sir Edward Hughes.
In general, the British commerce was amply pro- 23 r<i Sept.
tected, while that of the enemy suffered grievously in tweenVap!
every quarter. The Baltic fleet, convoyed by Captain tain P^SOU
Pierson, in the Serapis of forty-four, and Captain Jones?' 1
Piercy, in the Countess of Scarborough of twenty
guns, was chased on the northern coast of England by
a squadron consisting of the Bon Homme Richard of
forty guns, two frigates of thirty-six and thirty-two, a
brig of twelve guns, and an armed cutter fitted out at
L'Orient, and commanded by Paul Jones, who had ob-
tained a commission in the American service. When
this armament came in sight, Captain Pierson made a
signal for his convoy to disperse and gain the nearest
ports, in which they fortunately succeeded, while the
two brave commanders, with their diproportionate
force, encountered the enemy. Jones, after making
some attemps to board, brought the Bon Homme
Richard and the Serapis into such a situation, that the
64 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
xxxvi muzz l es of their guns came in contact with the sides
of the opposed ships. The conflict lasted three hours.
17/9. Jones fought with desperate resolution ; Captain Pier-
soil with valour not less determined, but tempered by
a merciful regard to the lives exposed under his com-
mand. After the Serapis had been several times set
on fire by combustibles thrown from the Bon Homme
Richard, all the officers and men stationed abaft the
main-mast blown up- by the explosion of some car-
tridges, and the guns in that quarter rendered unser-
viceable, Captain Pierson, seeing himself raked fore
and aft by another frigate, to which he could oppose
no resistance, struck his colours. The Countess of
Scarborough, after a conflict not less resolute, though
not equally dreadful, against an enemy of far superior
force, was also obliged to yield. The loss on board the
Serapis was not perfectly ascertained, but undoubtedly
very great : Captain Pierson estimated it at forty-nine
killed and sixty-eight wounded, and the main-mast
went by the board immediately after the action ; but
the carnage on board the Bon Homme Richard was
almost unprecedented ; her quarter and counter on the
lower deck were driven in, and all the guns on that
deck dismounted ; she was on fire in two places, and
had seven feet water in the hold ; while the deck
streamed with the blood of three hundred and thirty-
six men, being three-fourths of the whole crew, who
were killed and wounded in the action. The ship sunk
in two days, and the commander was received, with his
prizes, in the ports of Holland*.
* The French minister, M. De Sartine, publicly expressed the King's appro-
bation of Paul Jones, and conferred on him the cross of merit. Congress, with
far greater propriety, acknowledged his zeal, prudence, and activity, by a vote of
thanks, and promoted him to Uie command of a new ship, called the America.
Ilemembrancer, vol. xiii. p. 107. As Paul Jones has been elevated, by writers of
history, biography, and fiction, into the rank of a hero, it is thought necessary to
give a brief outline of his character and proceedings, extracted chiefly from very
friendly Memoirs of him, published in Edinburgh, in 1830. He was a native of
Arbigland, in Kirkcudbright, in Scotland. The surname of his family was Paul,
and by that name he called himself up to the year 1770 ; but, about three years
afterward, for what reason does not appear, he superadded to his proper appella-
tives, John Paul, that of Jones. In early life, he was apprenticed to the master
of a trading vessel, who, being unfortunate in his speculations, gave him up his
indentures, and left him a free agent at the age of nineteen. From this period,
he engaged in various capacities on board merchant vessels, and acquired know-
GEORGE III. 65
Another naval action, redounding to the honour of xxxvi
the British flag, was fought by Captain Farmer of the 1
Quebec, assisted by the Rambler cutter, against a 17/9.
French frigate and cutter of superior force, in which 6th Oct -
the Quebec was burnt, and her brave commander, ac tfon U f
Captain
Farmer.
ledge in nautical matters, and reputation as an expert and able seaman ; but these
attainments were so little favoured, that, at the period when he changed his name,
he was living in retirement and penury in Virginia. From this state, the troubles
in America enabled him to emerge. He embraced with ardour the cause of that
country, which he adopted as his own ; and, in December, 1 775, was appointed
by Congress senior lieutenant, under Captain Saltonstall, of the Alfred, lying be-
fore Philadelphia. Jones was soon entrusted with command, as Captain of the
sloop Providence, with discretionary powers as to the exploits he should under-
take. In this and other vessels he sometimes fought at sea, sometimes plundered
on shore, always brave, vigilant, and generally successful ; but, for reasons which
are not pointed out, he received affronts as well as plaudits from his employers,
being honoured with acknowledgments and thanks, and yet superseded by junior
officers. In May, 1777, his remonstrances, his projects, and the general effect of
his character, induced Congress to send him to their commissioners in Paris, with
a positive order " to invest him with the command of a fine ship, as a reward of
" his zeal and the signal services he had performed in vessels of little force."
Consistently with the fraudulent course at that time pursued by the French go-
vernment, he was ordered, while on the coast or in a port of France, to .keep his
guns covered and concealed, and to make as little warlike appearance as possible.
With these instructions, and a general commission as captain in the American
navy, and not, as hitherto, commander of any single ship only, he sailed from
Portsmouth in Virginia to Carolina, and afterward to France, and arrived at
Nantes late in the year. He entered into speedy communications with the
American commissioners ; and Dr. Franklin, duly appreciating his character, and
pleased with a plan which he laid down for the proceedings of d' Estaing, endea-
voured to obtain for him the command ofthelndien, a large frigate, then building
for the sen-ice of the United States at Amsterdam; but this attempt failed, and
he returned to the Ranger, the vessel in which he had arrived, and commenced a
predatory expedition, in which he was extremely fortunate, taking many prizes at
sea, and executing some hazardous exploits of burning and plundering on shore,
particularly at Whitehaven, and at St. Mary's Isle, in the neighbourhood of the
scenes of his early life, where he carried off the plate and property of the Earl of
Selkirk. (After many years, the plate was restored).
In all these transactions, Jones was considerably thwarted by a disorderly
and almost mutinous disposition in his own crew, and by frequent displays of in-
civility, amounting to contempt, from French officers with whom he came in
contact. After a series of solicitations, of offers not to be accepted, and of expecta-
tions capriciously disappointed, in February, 1779, the French government ap-
pointed him to the command of a ship of forty guns. Her name had been the
Due de Duras, but, in compliment to his firm and constant friend, Dr. Franklin,
he changed it to Le Bon Homme Richard ; poor Richard being the title under
which Franklin had issued one of his most popular productions ; and this was the
vessel in which he maintained the fight above commemorated.
It will be necessary in a future page to revert to the name of Paul Jones ; but
after being, up to the time of his engagement with Captain Pierson, the terror of
a portion of Great Britain, and the admiration of many who are ready to elevate
a successful adventurer into a great man, he fell into disregard and almost inac-
tion. The British government denominated him a traitor, a pirate, and a rob-
ber ; and Frenchmen of birth and honour were not fond of associating with him,
either in command or in society. An impartial writer sums up his character
in these terms : " Paul Jones was brave at sea, but not on land ; for more than
once he refused to fight a duel, and was caned on the Exchange at Philadelphia.
He was, besides, very ignorant, and quite unequal to the command of more than
one ship." Castera. Histoire de Catherine II. tome iii. p. 39.
VOL. III. F
66
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVI.
1779.
State of the
ministry.
3rd June.
1778.
Changes.
March, 1779.
27th Oct.
21th Nov.
Increase of
Irish volun-
teers.
persisting in his resolution to be the last man to
quit the ship, lost his life. With due attention to such
merit, his son was created a baronet, and pensions
were settled on the widow and children.
While such was the varying aspect of the war, the
ministry were embarrassed, dispirited and dissatisfied.
From motives of liberality, they had employed, in the
military and naval service, men hostile to their mea-
sures, who, instead of palliating the miscarriages of
the war, increased, by their own complaints, the pub-
lic uneasiness and the clamour of party. Thus, while
the extent and importance of the contest were conti-
nually augmenting, the friends of administration were
daily becoming lukewarm, or even deserting their
cause. Some felt consternation at the magnitude of
the crisis, some gave ear to prophecies of final ill-
success, and some changed their party from motives of
fickleness, or from a conviction that the ministry
would not be long able to pursue their present mea-
sures.
Several changes were made in the cabinet: Mr.
Thurlow receiving the great seal, with the dignity of
peerage, sate during the late session as Chancellor.
His vigorous mind and stern manly sense rendered
great service to the government, and his firmness and
ability often gave a beneficial impulse to the decisions
of the cabinet. Mr. Wedderburne obtained the va-
cant situation of Attorney-General, and Mr. Wallace
succeeded him as Solicitor-General. The office of
Secretary of State for the northern department had
continued unoccupied since the decease of Lord Suf-
folk, though its duties were performed by Lord
Weymouth, secretary for the southern department;
that nobleman now resigned his post, to which Lord
Hillsborough was appointed ; the office of Lord Suf-
folk was conferred on Lord Stormont, late ambassador
at Paris ; and the Earl of Carlisle was nominated First
Lord of Trade and Plantations.
Ministers were dissatisfied at the failure of the
operations which they intended to promote by sending
succours to the West Indies : the conduct of Admiral
GEORGE III. 67
Arbuthnot was generally applauded ; but the conse-
quences were highly unfortunate, and it was lamented
that a campaign of such great expense should be 1779.
consumed almost in inaction*. The insults offered to
the coast, and alarm excited by the combined fleet in
the Channel, were in themselves sufficiently distress-
ing ; but they produced another effect not less embar-
rassing, by the encouragement they afforded to the
volunteer associations in Ireland. Combining the
alarm of invasion j- with the hope of procuring from
the weakness and distraction of Great Britain some
important concessions, the popular leaders of Irish
politics gave every encouragement to these levies ; the
Duke of Leinster accepted the command of the Dublin
corps, men of fortune and family bore muskets in the
ranks, and contempt and derision were the portion of
those who refused their services. The number of
volunteers was stated at sixty thousand. They were
clothed, accoutred, and, for the most part, armed at
their own expense, or by public subscription; their
officers received no commissions from government, but
were elected and might be cashiered by their own sol-
diers. They executed all the duties of police, in pre-
serving order and restraining crime, and the utmost
tranquillity prevailed in all parts of the kingdom^.
* Gibbon's Posthumous Works, vol. i. p. 540.
t Flood's Correspondence, p. 105.
J Ample details on the formation and growth of this body will be found in
Plowden, vol. i. p. 487 ; Harrington's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 44, 110 ; and Grattan's
Life, vol. ii. p. 343. Lord Sheffield, in his " Observations on the present State
" of Ireland," published in 1 785, gives the following account of these extra-
ordinary associations : " It is necessary to notice a phenomenon which now began
" to appear. The like never has been observed in any country, at least where
" there was an established government. To describe it strictly, it may be called
" an army, unauthorized by the laws and uncontrolled by the government of
" the country ; but it was generally known by the name of Volunteers of Ireland.
" Their institution bore some semblance of a connexion with the executive
" power. Arms belonging to the state, and stored under the care of the lieu-
" tenants of counties, were delivered to them, upon the alarm of foreign invasion.
" So far they seemed to be countenanced by government ; but in a short time, they
" caused no little jealousy and uneasiness. The arms issued from the public
'' stores were insufficient to supply the rapid increase of the volunteers. The
" rest were procured by themselves, and the necessary accoutrements, with a con-
" siderable number of field-pieces. It answered the purpose of opposition in
" both countries to speak highly of them, and the supporters of government in
" both countries mentioned them with civility. The wonderful efforts of England
" in America were somehow wasted to no purpose of decision. American suc-
" cess inflamed grievances which had been long felt in Ireland. Ireland, in truth,
F2
68
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVI.
1879.
Non-importa-
tioii agree-
ments.
12th Oct.
Session of
the Irish
Parliament.
The pretension now advanced was " a free trade
" with all the world;" and, in support of it, the non-
importation agreements were enforced, and public re-
solutions passed for confining the people to the use of
their own manufactures, " until all partial restrictions
" on trade, imposed by the illiberal and contracted
" policy of the sister-kingdom, were removed." The
press issued, with freedom and boldness, the same
sentiments; all the disadvantages arising from the
connexion with England were recapitulated with
acrimony ; and the conduct of government, and of the
commercial part of the nation, was depicted as replete
with cruelty, selfishness, tyranny, and contempt*.
Under these circumstances, it occasioned much
animadversion, that the Parliament was not convened
at the earliest possible period ; the state of the public
mind could not fail to influence its proceedings. The
Earl of Buckinghamshire, the Lord-Lieutenant, at
length opened the session with a conciliatory speech,
assuring both Houses that, amidst the cares and soli-
citudes inseparable from a state of hostility, the King
had directed his attention to the interests and
distresses of Ireland: he had remitted a large sum
in specie f for the defence of the kingdom, and would
cheerfully co-operate in promoting the common wel-
fare of all his subjects. The decline of the revenue
and arrears of government were mentioned, the volun-
teer associations approved, and the attention of the
legislature directed to domestic regulations, particu-
' had infinitely more cause for complaint, and had been infinitely more oppressed,
' than America ; the latter had never submitted to half the hurtful restrictions in
' which the other had for many years quietly acquiesced. But now, petitions,
' remonstrances, popular resolves, and parliamentary addresses were vigorously
' urged, and in about four years Ireland was happily relieved from many commer-
' cial restraints, which should have been removed long before, and gained several
' other points which she thought essential to her welfare. The volunteers, preserving
' a degree of reserve and decency, kept at a certain distance, but were never en-
' tirely out of sight. They had been serviceable in supporting the civil magistrate ;
' fewer castles, houses, or lands, were kept by forcible possession ; sheriffs were
' enabled to do their duty ; fewer rapes and other enormities were committed
' than usual : and here, if the volunteers had stopped, and we had seen no more
' of them after the establishment of peace, their page in history would have been
' fair and respectable."
* See Considerations on the Expediency and Necessity of the present Asso-
ciations. Remembrancer, vol. viii. p. 185.
t Fifty thousand guineas.
GEORGE III. 69
larly the Protestant charter schools and linen manu-
_
iacture.
In anticipation of the opening of Parliament, three 1779.
opposition members, Mr. Burgh, Mr. Daly, and Mr.
Grattan, met at Bray, a small town near Dublin, and
concerted an amendment, or rather a counter address,
to which, in its preparation, a great support was ex-
pected to be given. Mr. Grattan, who took the lead
in this transaction, declared the speech promised much,
but offered nothing; it owned the distress of the
country, but presented no relief: and he moved the
amendment, representing the calamities of the nation,
and beseeching his Majesty for a free export and im-
port, which was the birth-right of every Irishman. In
the course of the debate, some members disclaimed the
authority of the Lords and Commons of Great Britain,
and their right to interfere in the legislation of Ireland,
which was an independent nation, subject only to the
King, and to its own Lords and Commons. Mr.
Grattan's amendment was altered and modified into a
declaration, that, in the present posture of affairs, tem-
porizing expedients would not avail ; the nation could
only be saved from destruction by the allowance of a
free and unlimited trade to all her ports, and carried
with only one dissentient voice. The addresses were
carried up with great parade, and attended with a
thunder of popular acclamation ; the Duke of Leinster
in person escorted the Speaker from the House of
Parliament to the castle, the streets being lined on
both sides with volunteers, armed, and in uniform.
Inquiries were immediately instituted into the October and
state of the pension list, secret service, national debt, popu"ar r
expenditure of money voted for the defence of the measures.
kingdom, expenses attending encampments and the
produce of the hearth tax ; and a committee was ap-
pointed on the state of the nation.
Apprehensive of some impediment, either from isthNov.
the supporters of government in Ireland, or from the Limited
privy-council of Great Britain, in the principal object supp y '
of obtaining a free trade, the popular party proposed
to keep government in dependence and subjection, by
70
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVI.
1779.
Riot in
Dublin.
16th Nov.
passing a money bill to supply the Exchequer for six
months only. As this measure met with violent op-
position, the populace of Dublin, instigated perhaps by
their superiors, assumed the privilege of directing the
proceedings of the legislature. A mob of five or six
thousand assembled before the House of Parliament,
clamouring for a free trade and a short money bill :
they stopped the Speaker in his coach, and tendering
an oath to several of the members, compelled those
who had not sufficient firmness for resistance to bind
themselves by that solemn obligation to support the
favoured measures. Several were insulted and mal-
treated ; but the great storm of popular fury fell on
Mr. Scott, the Attorney-General: he was called by
name in each of the courts of law and equity, for the
avowed purpose of being put to death ; his house was
broke open and reduced to a ruin; and while his
dwelling was filled with the yells and execrations of
the furious rabble, anonymous letters assured him that
he should not survive the hour of his vote against the
short money bill. The civil arm was insufficient to
restrain the tumult ; the military were superseded by
the volunteers, and these did not interfere further than
by a deputation from the lawyers' corps, unarmed,
persuading the mob, when satiated with their own
excesses, to disperse. The Attorney-General com-
plained to the House of Commons, but had the morti-
fication to hear the sentiments of the populace es-
poused, and their conduct partially defended ; the
debate was hardly less tumultuous than the occasion
of it ; the House at length agreed to address the Lord-
Lieutenant to issue a proclamation for apprehending
the rioters. The short money bill passed, and, morti-
fying as such a proceeding must have been, received
the sanction of the privy-council*.
On these transactions, see Memoirs of Grattan, vol. i. c. 17; Plowden. vol.
i. p. 487; Barrington, vol. i. c. 4 ; and for judicious observations and important
statements on the situation of Ireland in general, Letters to the Earl of Carlisle,
from William Eden, Esq., p. 137 to 174, and Appendixes, 1 to 5.
GEORGE III. 71
CHAPTER THE THIRTY-SEVENTH.
17791780.
Meeting of Parliament. King's Speech. Violent debates on
addresses. Relief afforded to Ireland. Efforts on the sub-
ject of economy. Motion by the Duke of Richmond.
Burke gives notice of bringing in a bill for economical
reform. Meeting of the freeholders of Yorkshire. Corre-
sponding committees appointed. The example of Yorkshire
generally followed. London committee formed. Burke
introduces his plan of reform. His celebrated speech.
Resolution for abolishing the Board of Trade. Commission
of accounts appointed Bills for excluding contractors
and suspending the votes of revenue officers, rejected.
Account of places and of pensions payable at the Ex-
chequer, laid before the House. Duels between members
of Parliament. Debates on the raising of volunteer regi-
ments. Altercation between Lord North and Sir Fletcher
Norton. Numerous county and city petitions. Intem-
perate language on introducing them. Discussion of the
petitions. Resolutions passed on the influence of the crown.
The expenditure of the civil list and the relief of the
people. The resolutions reported. Motion for account of
monies paid to members of Parliament. Vote for rendering
certain officers incapable of sitting. Illness of the Speaker.
Adjournment. Motion against dissolving Parliament
rejected. Indignation of Fox. Further proceedings on
the petitions. Report of the committee refused. General
observations.
SUCH were the general circumstances of disaffec- CHAP
tion and alarm at the commencement of a session of xxxvir.
Parliament, which in its progress was unusually turbu- ~
lent, distinguished for acrimonious violence in debate, 25th NOV'
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
xxxvn.
1779.
Mi-i'ting of
Parliament.
King's speech.
Amendment
to the address
moved in the
Lords.
formidable attacks on the stability of government, and
delusive speculations on economy and reformation ;
attended with unusual associations among the people,
and a dreadful explosion of popular violence, which, in
the very seat of government, braved its authority, and
left no measure for preserving the constitution and
defending life and property, but that, ever abhorrent
to the principles of freemen, the military arm.
The King, in his speech, said, the Parliament was
called on by every principle of duty, and every con-
sideration of interest, to exert united efforts in support
and defence of the country, attacked by an unjust and
unprovoked war, and contending with one of the most
dangerous confederacies ever formed. Aided by the
protection of Providence, the zeal of the nation, and the
justice of his cause, he was firmly resolved vigorously
to prosecute the war, for the purpose of compelling the
enemy to equitable terms of peace.
He had not been inattentive to the addresses of
last session respecting Ireland, but had ordered papers
to be laid before Parliament, and recommended to their
consideration what further benefits might be extended
to that kingdom, by regulations most effectually pro-
moting the common strength, wealth, and interests of
all his dominions.
In opposing the address, the Marquis of Rocking-
ham censured the facility with which Lord Grantham
and Lord Stormont had suffered themselves to be
deceived by the craft of Spain and France, and the
confidence with which ministers had assured Parlia-
ment that treaties inimical to the interests of Great
Britain were not in existence or even in embryo. The
address recognized the blessings of his Majesty's
government ; but that recognition was unfounded in
truth and an insult to the House. No bias, no pre-
judice, no temptation, could so far confound truth and
reason \vith their opposites, as to convert the very
cause of our misfortunes into blessings. There was a
time, Indeed, at which he could have congratulated the
King on the blessings enjoyed under his government.
He remembered when his Majesty ascended the throne
GEORGE III. 73
of his ancestors with glory and lustre ; but for the last xyLi
seventeen years those blessings had gradually decreased,
and the nation was reduced to an unexampled state of 1779.
degradation. This change he attributed to a baneful
and pernicious system of unconstitutional controul and
advice. As the system was wrong in its first concoc-
tion, so its effects were extended to every department.
The greatest officers were driven from the service and
proscribed, in a period of the most imminent danger ;
and Lord Sandwich was not ashamed to retain his
office, although he knew that his continuance precluded
naval commanders of the most exalted character and
abilities from serving their country.
From the unpopularity of the first lord of the ad-
miralty, the Marquis turned to its cause, his personal
incapacity, which he instanced in the negligent defence
of the northern shores of the kingdom : the town of
Hull was kept in continual alarm by apprehensions of
Paul Jones ; Captain Pierson was relied on as sufficient
in force for their protection ; but to the utter disap-
pointment of the inhabitants, he was unable, with the
most resolute valour, to prevent his own capture.
The discontents in Ireland were ascribed to the bad
faith of ministers, who promised to produce measures
of relief before the rising of Parliament ; but, although
the session continued seven weeks, paid no further
attention to the subject ; the people were consequently
left in suspense, the associators were permitted to
become important, and concessions, which would then
have been received as favours, were now demanded as
rights not to be resigned, modified, or qualified. The
Marquis then adverted to the progress of hostilities in
America, censuring with unrestrained severity the pro-
clamation issued by the commissioners, as an accursed
manifesto, the forerunner of a war of the most horrid
and diabolical nature ; a war not merely contrary to
the Christian religion, to the acknowledged principles
of morality and humanity, to the laws of war, and the
modes of carrying on hostilities, observed even among
Turkish and other sanguinary nations, but to the last
degree bloody, malignant and diabolical. It would be
74 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
xx5fvii a P rece dent an d a justification to France and Spain in
'. landing on the least defended parts of the British coast
1779. and committing ravages without hope of benefit. He
accordingly moved an amendment, omitting the whole
address except the title, and " beseeching his Majesty
" to reflect on the extent of territory, the power, the
" opulence, the reputation abroad, and the concord at
" home, which distinguished the opening of his reign,
" and marked it as the most happy and splendid period
" in the history of the nation ; and on the endangered,
" impoverished, enfeebled, distracted, and even dis-
" membered state of the whole, after all the grants of
" successive parliaments, liberal to profusion, and
" trusting to the very utmost extent of rational con-
" fidence." Nothing could prevent the consummation
of public ruin, he observed, but new councils and new
counsellors ; a real change, proceeding from a sincere
conviction of past errors, and not a mere palliation,
which must prove fruitless.
The debate engaged an extensive discussion on the
state of the kingdom and all its dependencies, which
was represented as most deplorable by the Dukes of
Richmond and Grafton, Lord Shelburne, Lord Camden,
Lord Effingham, Lord Townshend, and Lord Lyttel-
ton, who again appeared in the ranks of opposition,
and decried the American war, as a mad Quixotic
sally. The cause of government was ably defended
by the lords in administration to whose particular de-
partments the specific complaints applied. Lord Stor-
mont denied that the calamities which surrounded the
nation ought to be ascribed to the confederacy in arms,
the situation of Ireland, or the conduct of ministers ;
but they arose from internal division, and the violent
and incautious language too often held in Parliament.
Lord Mansfield declared, that from the distressed and
perilous situation of the country, he was persuaded
nothing but a full and comprehensive union of all
parties and all men could effect its salvation : he was
old enough to remember the realm in very embarrassed
situations ; he had seen violent party struggles ; but no
previous time presented an image of the present. How
GEORGE III. 75
far the temper of the nation and state of parties might
admit of a coalition, he could not decide ; but the event
was devoutly to be wished. Such was the alarming 1779.
state of affairs, that the country loudly claimed the
assistance of every heart and hand ; and though such
a co-operation might prevent despair, yet the most
confident and resolute of mankind must discern suffi-
cient motives to stagger his confidence, and shake his
resolution.
The amendment was negatived*.
Lord John Cavendish moved the same amendment In the House
in the House of Commons. The debate was con-
ducted with great asperity, and almost unparalleled
intemperance of speech. The mover, adverting with
a sneer to the mention of Divine Providence in the
speech from the throne, said Providence was indeed
the great ally to whom alone the kingdom owed its
preservation ; an inferior fleet, a defenceless coast, an
exhausted treasury, presented an easy prey to the
enemy ; ministers, supine, negligent, and divided, had
brought the realm to the verge of destruction; but
Providence interposed, and the danger blew over.
Such were the glaring absurdities, criminal omissions,
and scandalous inconsistencies of administration, that,
unless they were banished from the royal presence,
and this system totally overturned, the nation must
inevitably fall under the power of its enemies.
The King, it was observed, had not in his speech
once mentioned America : the accursed war with that
country had cost many millions of money, many thou-
sands of lives, yet it was not noticed by _the King,
unless it was included in the general term, " all my
dominions ;" but, by the omission of a more particular
mention, it might be supposed the King saw the ne-
cessity of renouncing all claim to sovereignty ovei the
colonies.
The internal defence of the kingdom, and the pro-
tection of its external possessions, the guaranty of
* 82 to 41.
76 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
trade, and the honour of the national flag, were shame-
fully and wickedly neglected. Enormous sums had
1779. been voted for the army, and expended without an
appearance of economy ; instead of detaching parts for
occasional services, the unwieldy machine was kept
idle and inactive at home. The modelling of the mi-
litary body was scandalous and unjust: the expe-
rienced veteran was superseded by the raw subaltern,
who had the advantage, not of superior merit, but
superior patronage ; and thus the quick sense of ho-
nour, irritated at undeserved indignity, was exhausted
in complaints and murmurings. The terrified mer-
chant trusted with reluctance his property on the sea,
while the Channel was covered with the fleets of
France and Spain, and the intercourse with the ocean
in a great measure intercepted. These considerations
depressed the spirits of all who were engaged in com-
merce, and affected the manufactures. The lower
class of people were unemployed, and the value of
land suffered an alarming and rapid decrease. In the
West Indies, Dominica captured, St. Vincent's wrested
from us, and Grenada once more under the obedience
of France. Misfortune and dejection were impressed
on the countenance of every gentleman who had pro-
perty in those islands; their fortunes had been
crushed, if not annihilated, by the shock. The coast
of Scotland was naked and defenceless; Paul Jones
might have destroyed Glasgow, Leith, Greenock, and
Edinburgh: the people of Dumfriesshire had peti-
tioned for arms, but sustained a mortifying refusal.
Plymouth, the second naval arsenal in the kingdom,
had been left undefended. Providence alone had pro-
tected it ; for such was the superiority of the combined
fleets, that the British navy skulked in the Channel,
hiding among the rocks for safety, and stealing out
without daring to fire signal guns ; while the artillery
of the enemy thundered in the ears of the people, and
kept Plymouth in continual alarm. The garrison was
so weak, and so little capable of resistance, that had
the enemy landed, they must have destroyed the town :
GEORGE III. 77
" We would have met them," said Mr. Minchin,
" with the spirit of Englishmen ; but sure I am that
" to a man we must have perished." 1779.
In the course of debate, an assertion was attributed
to the friends of administration, that the King was his
own minister, his own admiral in chief, his own ge-
neral, his own secretary, his own president of the
council, and his own financier. Although Lord North
denied the assertion, Mr. Fox animadverted on it as a
doctrine dangerous to the constitution, tending to
remove responsibility from those who ought to bear it,
to him who can do no wrong, and cannot be called to
account. But although, in general, the evils of a
reign might be attributed to wicked ministers, still
when those amounted to a certain height, the ministers
were forgot, and the prince alone encountered the
indignation of the people. Charles I and James II
paid for the crimes of their ministers, the one with his
life, the other with his crown : their fate presented a
salutary admonition for succeeding sovereigns, to
restrain, and not blindly follow, the dictates of their
servants. It was not a secret, nor should it be a mo-
ment absent from the King's recollection, that he
owed his crown to the delinquency of the Stuart family.
The pretensions of that unfortunate and detested race
could occasion no alarm ; but were one of them re-
maining, what scope for upbraiding and remonstrance
could he not find in the present reign. " You have
" banished my ancestors," he might exclaim, " from
" the throne, and barred the sceptre against all his
" progeny for the misconduct of his ministers, yet your
" present ministers are ten times more wicked and
" ignorant; and whilst you give your sovereign the
" title of best of princes, his ministers have rendered
" his reign beyond comparison the most infamous that
" ever disgraced the nation."
" No period in the history of the country," he ob-
served, " furnished a parallel to the present, except
" the reign of Henry VI. His family, like that of the
" King, did not claim the crown by hereditary descent;
" both owed it to revolutions ; both were amiable and
78 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP " pious princes. Henry was the son of the most rc-
' " nowned monarch that ever sat on the throne ; George
1779. " was grandson of a hero: Henry lost all his father's
" conquests, and all his hereditary provinces in France ;
" George had already seen the conquests of his grand-
" father wrested from him in the West Indies, and his
" hereditary provinces of America erected into an em-
" pire that disclaimed his connexion. Brighter pros-
" pects could not be imagined than those which dis-
" tmguished the commencement of his Majesty's reign:
" possessed of immense dominions, and the warmest
" affections of his people, his accession was highly
" flattering to himself and his subjects. How sadly
" was the scene reversed! his empire dismembered,
" his councils distracted, and his subjects abating their
" fondness for his person. The patience of the people
" was not unlimited : they would at last do themselves
" justice by insurrections ; and although the attendant
" calamities could not be justified, or compensated
" by any resulting good, yet they were inevitable.
" Treachery, and not ignorance, must have prevailed
" in the national councils, to reduce the nation to so
" miserable a condition; the minister might natter
" himself in the protection of a majority, or security of
" the law ; but when the nation was reduced to such a
" state of wretchedness and distraction that the laws
" could afford the people no relief, they would afford
" the ministers, who had caused the evil, but little
" protection. What the law of the land could not,
" the law of nature would accomplish; the people
" would inevitably take up arms, and the first charac-
" ters in the kingdom would be seen in the ranks !"
Lord George Gordon, whose intemperate fanati-
cism and audacious virulence had often disgraced the
House, insisted that the King's speech abounded in
impropriety, and was deficient in common sense : the
ministry were no less odious in Ireland than in Eng-
land ; and the people of Scotland were almost equally
prepared to rise in opposition. Adverting to the
refusal to permit the arming of the inhabitants of
Dumfriesshire, he read a letter to the Duke of Queens-
GEORGE III. 79
bury from the Secretary-at-war ; then, suddenly apos-
trophizing that minister, " and you, Charles Jenkin- _ '_
" son," he exclaimed, " how durst you write such a 1779.
" letter ! Robert Bruce would not have dared to write
" such a one : and yet the Secretary of an elector of
" Hanover has had the presumption to do it ; the
" royal family of Stuart were banished for not attend-
" ing to the voice of their people ; and yet theelector
" of Hanover is not afraid to disregard it. Sir Hugh
" Smithson, Earl Percy (Duke of Northumberland),
" armed cap-a-pie, marches, at the head of all the
" cheesemongers and grocers, from Temple-bar to
" Brentford, and the great Earl Douglas of Scotland
" is not to be entrusted with arms. The Scotch are
" irritated at this partiality ; and in point of religion
" they are exasperated, as they are convinced the
" King is a Papist."
This torrent of ribaldry was arrested by the inter-
position of the Speaker ; but unlimited acrimony pre-
vailed during the whole debate. The adherents of
administration were loaded with personal abuse, and
national reflections were not spared. " Three northern
" oracles of the long robe, recommended no doubt to
" favour by the singular loyalty of their houses, had
" introduced," Mr. Temple Luttrel said, " a baleful
" policy into the government, ' Taxation or starva-
" ' tion' was the laconic and energetic expression of the
" Lord- Advocate of Scotland: ' Let loose the savage
" ' Indians, more fierce than the blood-hounds of
" ' Columbus, and employ the negro servants to
" ' butcher their masters,' exclaims the Attorney-Ge-
" neral : ' The Rubicon, the Rubicon,' is the word of
" the Chief-Justice of the King's Bench, the last of
" this worthy, amiable triumvirate. ' We must go for-
" ' ward through proscription, devastation, and car-
" ' nage.' And this our modern hero of the Rubicon,
" who must soon render an awful account before a
" Judge far mightier than himself, instead of leaving
" commentaries on the laws and constitution of Eng-
" land, will bequeath commentaries on the American
" campaigns, from which future leaders, under venge-
80 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
xxx/vii " ^ comm i ss i ns ? ma y learn their best lessons of
' " barbarity, and improve in every art of increasing
1779. " human wretchedness. And yet the day is not far
" distant when, in the words of their countryman,
" Macbeth, they shall call out in a woeful concert,
" ' we but teach bloody instructions, which, being
" * taught, return to plague the inventors.' '
Perhaps this unusual virulence of invective en-
abled ministers to make their defence more readily
than a temperate opposition, joined to the circum-
stances of the times, would have allowed them to ex-
pect. The extreme irritability and indecent violence
of the minority justified the observation of Mr. Adam,
that these days exhibited the political phenomenon of
an unsuccessful ministry and an unpopular opposition.
All the ministers concurred in denying that they
had endeavoured to evade responsibility, by implicating
the personal character of his Majesty, in their mea-
sures; such an attempt would not have been less
absurd than unconstitutional, since the law annexed
to their situations a responsibility, which no artifice
could compromise or avoid. The principal defence
of administration rested on Lord North, who reduced
the whole matter of complaint against the cabinet to
the single fact that the house of Bourbon possessed a
greater naval force than Great Britain. That they
had been permitted to collect this force unmolested
and undisturbed, could not be imputed as a crime;
but a review of the campaign would shew that dis-
grace, not honour, had accrued to them from its pro-
gress. They had equipped a formidable armament,
threatened, performed nothing, and retired : their pro-
fessed object was invasion ; they had not dared to make
the attempt, and were, therefore, foiled; their arma-
ments had paraded to no purpose, and their millions
were squandered in vain ; he almost wished they had
landed, convinced that a British militia would have
added defeat to their present disgrace. It was not
candid in opposition to attribute the protection of our
trade entirely to Providence ; it could not escape their
penetration, that for an Admiral, with thirty-six or
GEORGE III. . 81
forty sail of the line, to hold in check a fleet consist-
J . .1 . i
ing 01 sixty-six sail, required more than common
abilities ; nor could they refuse to acknowledge, that, 1779
by keeping together such an immense armament,
which might otherwise have been separated and em-
ployed on specific operations, the British Admiral had
rendered an important service to trade, and merited
admiration and applause. It was asked why the
junction of the two hostile fleets had not been pre-
vented ? Such had been the intention of ministers ;
but the French, in order to anticipate it, had put to
sea in so bad a state of preparation, that many of their
ships were afterward obliged to return into port. The
British fleet, on which the existence of the nation
depended, could not avoid delay by sailing in an im-
perfect condition ; but, had Sir Charles Hardy known
in the summer the internal state of the combined fleet,
he would have desired and sought an engagement,
which, from the health, spirit, activity, and superior
naval skill of the British squadron, could only have
terminated gloriously for the country. Plymouth had
been reinforced at the moment of danger, and was
now in a condition to defy the united efforts of the
house of Bourbon ; the navy was daily augmenting,
and, although he was not disposed to render disap-
pointment dreadful by sanguine predictions, he had
the firmest hope of a brilliant campaign in the spring.
The Secretary-at-war vindicated, or palliated, seve-
ral imputed acts of misconduct in the management of
the army ; and the Attorney-General and Mr. Dundas
reinforced Lord North's general arguments with many
judicious and apposite observations. The amendment
was negatived*.
In these debates frequent allusions were made to Affairs of
the state of Ireland, and the miseries and expectations discussed.
of the people : the members of administration in both
Houses gave positive assurances that plans and ar-
rangements were in contemplation ; which would give
entire satisfaction to that branch of the empire. Before
* 233 to 134.
VOL. 111. G
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVII.
1779.
1 st Dec.
Lord Shel-
burne's
motion.
these intentions could be put in execution, Lord Shel-
burne, having obtained a summons of the House, re-
capitulated the proceedings of the last session, blamed
the delay of ministers in affording relief, and attributed
to that circumstance the prevalent disaffection and
formidable front of resistance in Ireland. The govern-
ment had been abdicated, and the people were justified,
by the principles of the constitution and the laws of
self-preservation, in resuming its powers. He would
not, however, gather their sentiments from the pro-
ceedings of county and town meetings, the language
of associations, and the general spirit, but confine him-
self to an authentic state paper; the address of both
houses of Parliament, which declared that " nothing
" less than a free trade would rescue the kingdom from
" ruin." This was the united voice of the nation, con-
veyed to the throne through the proper constitutional
organs ; in it parties of all classes and descriptions con-
curred; church of England men, Roman Catholics,
Dissenters, and sectaries of every sort; whigs and
tones, placemen, pensioners, and country gentlemen ;
Englishmen by birth ; in short, every man in and out
of Parliament : such was the present temper of Ireland.
When, during the last session, their affairs were sub-
mitted to Parliament, moderate concession, and the
hope of obtaining more in future, would have satisfied
them ; but now, from the misconduct, incapacity, and,
above all, the shameful inattention of ministers, Great
Britain was driven to the melancholy terms of submit-
ting to the dictates of Ireland, or of losing Ireland as
well as America. He attributed much of this miscon-
duct to Lord North, who eternally slept when he
should be awake, was scarcely ever attentive, but when
alacrity led to error, and who never moved with more
than his accustomed pace, however pressing the exi-
gency or imminent the peril ; similar, in this, to the
French general, who, although he received intelligence
that forty thousand men were in danger of being sur-
rounded, could not be prevailed on to put his horse
into a trot.
His lordship attributed the complaints and griev-
GEORGE III. 83
ances of Ireland chiefly to the power of the crown in CHAP.
disbursing the hereditary revenue, the mischievous dis-
posal of church preferment, and the rejection of bills 1779.
calculated for relief, by the interference of the minister
in the House of Commons. Thus, instead of ten or
twelve thousand associators, full four times the num-
ber were well armed and accoutred, and daily improv-
ing in discipline. The honour and dignity of the
crown were disgraced. The sword was dropped, and
the people had taken it up, to defend themselves against
a foreign enemy, and to obtain, by arms, justice ; which,
as in the case of America, had been denied to their
humble applications, and the repeated narrratives of
their calamities and distress. He concluded by mov-
ing a vote of censure on ministers, for neglecting to
take effectual measures for the relief of Ireland, in
consequence of the address of the llth of May, and
suffering the discontents to arise to a height which
endangered the political connexion of the two coun-
tries.
Lord Hillsborough, defending the conduct of ad-
ministration, proved that no delay could be fairly
imputed ; measures for relief of Ireland could not be
adopted by government, but must flow from the legis-
lature, and could not be entered on without proper
information. A letter had been written in May to the
lord lieutenant, and an answer received only in July, re-
plete with important information; since which time,
ministers had been indefatigably employed in making
arrangements, and the result would be speedily com-
municated.
Much extraneous matter was introduced into the
debate, as well by Lord Shelburne, as those who fol-
lowed him, tending to convey censure both on particu-
lar members of the cabinet, and on the collective body
of administration. Lord Abingdon recited a threat of
Lord Lyttelton, who died since the beginning of the
session*; importing that he would reveal matters
respecting the ministry, which all their arts of impo-
* 27th November, 1779.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVII.
1779.
1st Dec.
Motion in the
House of
Commons.
6;li Dec.
sition and hitherto unshaken effrontery could not
countervail. The Marquis of Rockingham related an
anecdote respecting the purchase of the clerkship of
the pells from Mr. Fox to bestow it on Mr. Jenkinson,
which loaded the Irish establishment with an addition
of three thousand pounds a-year. Lord Gower opposed
the motion, though convinced that the censure was
well founded ; " he had presided," he said, " for some
" years at the council-table, and had seen such things
" pass of late, that no man of honour or conscience
" could sit there any longer." The times required ex-
plicit declarations ; he had supported the American
war on principle, and was still confident that the re-
sources of the country were sufficient to resist the dan-
gerous confederacy by which it was opposed ; but, to
profit by those resources, energy and effect must be
restored to government. Lord Shelburne's motion was
negatived*.
On the same day in which this question was discussed
in the Upper House, Lord North communicated to the
Commons additional papers on the subject of Ireland,
promising the remainder with all convenient expedi-
tion, and that in eight days he would introduce a plan
which would convince the sister-kingdom of the
genuine good-will toward her which governed his
Majesty's councils. This intimation did not prevent
the Earl of Upper Ossory from introducing to the
House a motion of censure, similar to that of Lord
Shelburne, which he enforced by nearly the same
arguments.
The vote was opposed on the general principle that
no neglect had been proved, and that the charge was
not specifically pointed. The grievances of Ireland
did not originate with present ministers ; nor was any
act of theirs included in the complaint, which embraced
a series of acts of Parliament, from the twelfth of
Charles II to the beginning of the present reign, but
none since his Majesty's accession. The Irish desired
a free trade. Had the ministry restrained their trade ?
82 to 37.
GEORGE III. 85
on the contrary, they had enlarged it : they had given xxxvii
bounties on the Newfoundland fishery, encouraged the
growth of hemp and tobacco, permitted the exporta- 1779.
tion of woollen for clothing the troops of that country,
and of several articles to the West Indies and the
coast of Africa : they had conferred more benefits on
the Irish nation in the compass of a few years than all
the other administrations since the revolution. Earl
Nugent, though he loved his native country, disap-
proved the motion. He had proposed (and he consi-
dered the proposition wise and liberal) to relieve Ireland
from the restrictions on commerce His views were to
produce equal benefits to both countries (for God forbid
he should advance any local interest to the general
prejudice of the British empire), and grant to Ireland
every indulgence which could promise substantial
benefit without injury to Great Britain. Many
branches of manufacture and commerce were mono-
polized, to the great detriment and impoverishment of
Ireland, without material benefit to England.
In discussing the mere merits of the motion, few
opportunities occurred of blaming or distressing ad-
ministration ; but a most perverse and malignant
mode was adopted of drawing parallels between Ireland
and America ; stating the conduct of the one to be no
less rebellious than that of the other, and braving the
minister to exercise similar vengeance. " Ireland,"
it was said, " spurned at the British claim of dominion;.
" considering herself free and independent, and was
" determined to maintain the principle. A mob had
" risen in Dublin, and non-importation agreements
" had taken place ; why not, like ill-fated Boston, shut
" up the port of Dublin, burn Cork, reduce Water-
" ford to ashes ? Why not prohibit all popular meet-
" ings in that kingdom, and destroy all popular elec-
" tions I Why not alter the usual mode of striking
" juries, as was done by the Massachuset's charter act ?
" Why not bring the Dublin rioters over to this coun-
" try to be tried by an English jury 1 Why not shut
" up their ports, and prevent them from trading with
" each other I And lastly, why not declare them out
86 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP. " of the King's peace? In short, why not proscribe
'_ " the principal leaders who held commissions, not under
1779. " the crown, but by the election of the very corps which
" they commanded, and declare the whole kingdom in
" rebellion I The answer was plain and direct ; ministers
" dare not : sad and dear-bought experience had taught
" them the folly as well as impracticability of such mea-
" sures ; the danger of the present awful moment made
" insolence and arrogance give way to fear and humi-
" liation !" The motion was rejected*.
13th Dec. In pursuance of his promise, Lord North intro-
toYrciand. 1 duced three propositions for the relief of Ireland, al-
lowing a free export of wool, woollens, and wool flocks;
of glass and all kinds of glass manufactures ; and a
free trade with the British plantations on certain con-
ditions, the basis of which was an equality of taxes
and customs. The minister's speech was most able,
intelligent, and satisfactory ; the first two bills passed
without delay ; the third was arrested in its progress
till the sentiments of the Irish could be ascertained.
But although great pains were taken to inflame the
pride and increase the pretensions of that nation, by
representing the concessions as matter of right, not of
favour, as a tribute to their military spirit, not as a
spontaneous effusion of affection, the Parliament was
too wise to depreciate present gain by remote and use-
less speculation, both Houses received the acts with
great satisfaction, with expressions of loyalty to the
King and esteem for the British legislature ; and the
people declared the utmost cordiality and friendship
toward Englandt. Lord North, with only a few
2nd Feb. /. T , ^ Vi i J ^
17 8 0. impediments from Lord Creorge Gordon, and other
subalterns of opposition, perfected his original plan,
adding to the measures already enumerated, a repeal of
the prohibitions on exporting English gold coin and
importing foreign hops, and enabling the Irish to
become members of the Turkey company, and trade
to the Levant.
While the minister was thus endeavouring to rc-
* 173 to 100.
t See Lord Irnham's speech in (he House of Commons, (he 24th January, 1760.
GEORGE III.
store tranquillity to the sister kingdom, the spirit of
disaffection was studiously excited in England, by
appeals on a subject which never fails to interest the 17/9.
feelings of a commercial nation, the expenses of go- inject of *
vernment, and the necessity of economy. A. jealous economy,
vigilance over the national purse is one of the most
sacred duties of a member of Parliament; and every
exertion apparently instigated by that motive gains
credit and regard from the most sedate and prudent
part of society. It is easy to combine with the per-
formance of this duty a harsh and coarse appeal to the
prejudices of the vulgar and inconsiderate, by declaim-
ing against the splendour of royalty, the expensiveness
of sinecure and other places, and the luxury of depend-
ents on the court, compared with the penury of the
people at large. These unworthy efforts rarely fail of
their effect, especially in a costly and unsuccessful war.
To these topics the opposition now had recourse, and
blended with this dangerous and fallacious mode of
discussion, the inference, still more dangerous and fal-
lacious, that all these expenses were not only detri-
mental to the pecuniary interest of the people, but that
their liberties were bought and sold with their own
plunder, as all the supplies extorted from them were
employed to extend the undue influence of the Crown.
This was the political text of the whole session, and was
dilated on in such a manner as to occasion more dan-
ger to the safety of government than a successful re-
bellion and a hostile foreign confederacy had been
able to effect.
In conformity with this principle, the estimates
and supplies were censured with acrimony; and no
argument left unessayed which could beget uneasiness
in the public mind, and convert a wholesome attention
to pecuniary interest into a feverish solicitude about
economy.
As a first attempt, the Duke of Richmond moved 7th Dee.
for an address, intreating the King to reflect on the 5Jjj" f by the
manifold distresses of the country ; that profusion was Richmond.
not vigour, and that it became indispensably necessary
to adopt that true economy which, by reforming all
88 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
x:xxvii useless expenses, creates confidence in government ;
" submitting to his consideration that a considerable
1779. reduction of the civil list would be an example worthy
his affection for his people, and extend through every
department of the state ; and assuring him that any
member of the House would cheerfully submit to any
required diminution in the emoluments of office.
In support of this motion, the Duke recapitulated
our large and expensive war establishment, and the
frightful increase of the national debt. In France,
M. Necker had borrowed nearly four millions sterling
in two years without imposing any taxes, but providing
for the interest by savings ; thus our inveterate enemy
was adopting the wise system of economy, while we
were daily plunging deeper into boundless extrava-
gance. The whole landed property of Great Britain
was mortgaged for an annual payment of eight mil-
lions, and the land and sea force to be maintained for
the current year was already announced at two hun-
dred and seventy-three thousand men. He did not
wish to abridge the dignity and splendour of the
Crown ; but the King ought to set the example of
retrenchment, which he had no doubt the lords would
cheerfully follow. In an explanatory speech, he said,
" I do not intend to deduct from the stipends settled
" on persons who have wasted fortunes in the service
" of the country ; the Pelhams, the Walpoles, and the
" Pitts, are names remembered with sufficient grati-
" tude to make their pensions sacred."
In the debate, other popular topics were introduced ;
as, the influence of the Crown, and the necessity of a
radical reform. The objections to the motion were,
that none of the facts it recited were authenticated ; a
considerable reduction conveyed no specific meaning,
nor could any minister presume to advise the King
under such a vote. Even should the address be pre-
sented, his Majesty was not bound to pay regard to it;
the civil list was established by act of parliament, and
could not be retrenched by the decision of one House;
nor could any thing but an act of parliament, founded
on information, which it would be laborious and diffi-
GEORGE III. 89
cult to obtain, effect a reduction in every species of
official emolument. The civil list would not, in fact,
bear any diminution, and it would be a baseness in 1779.
Parliament, after so recently voting an augmentation,
to declare their inability to make good their own
grant. The motion was considered as intended only
to effect the removal of administration, and an explicit
avowal of that purpose would have been more candid
and honourable. It was rejected*.
The subject of economical reform was introduced g 5th k e . Cl
into the lower House by Mr. Burke, who gave notice notice of his
of his intention to propose, after the recess, some im- intention to
i T ! i i f-r'i 11 bring in bills
portant regulations. Like the Duke of Richmond, he for economical
vaunted the beneficial retrenchments of Necker, to reform -
which he attributed the creation of 'a marine from the
rubbish, wrecks, and fragments of the late war. The
British minister, on the contrary, never gave a hint,
never directed a glance toward the important subject
of economy, though the Dutch practice and the Roman
principle might have taught him that old and true
lesson, magnum vectigal est parsimonia^ ; but if minis-
ters were thus negligent, it was the duty of the House
to comply with the general wish of the people. He
anticipated a cold reception of his propositions, as they
would tend to weaken the influence of the Court ; men
out of office could only offer, the people must achieve
the rest ; if they were not true to themselves, no other,
power could save them. All the grievances of the
nation arose from the fatal and overgrown influence of
the Crown ; and that influence itself from the enor-
mous prodigality of the Commons. Formerly the ope-
ration of influence was confined to the superior orders
of the state ; it had of late insinuated itself into every
creek and cranny in the kingdom. There was scarcely
a family, he said, so hidden and lost in the obscurest
* 77 to 37.
t In quoting this apophthegm, Mr. Burke inadvertently used a false quantity,
pronouncing the word vectigal, vectigal. The classical ear of Fox immediately
caught the error, and in a whisper he corrected his colleague. Burke, with great
presence of mind, turned the incident to advantage : " My honourable friend
" informs me," he said, " that I have mistaken the quantity of a principal word
" in my quotation : I am glad, however, to repeat the inestimable adage," and
with increased energy he thundered forth, " magnum vect-I-gal est parsimonia."
90 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
- recesses of the community, which did not feel that it
had something to keep or to get, to hope or to fear,
1779. from the favour or displeasure of the Crown. Some
degree of influence was necessary for government ; but
for the sake of government, for the sake of restoring
that reverence which was its foundation, the exor-
bitancy of influence ought to be restrained. Every
one must be sensible of the increase of influence, and
the degradation of authority. The reason was evident :
government should have force adequate to its func-
tions, but no more ; if it had enough to support itself
in abusing or neglecting them, they must ever be
abused or neglected : men would rely on power for a
justification of their want of order, vigilance, fore-
sight, and all the virtues, all the qualifications of
statesmen. The minister might exist, but the govern-
ment was gone.
" It is thus," he exclaimed, " that you see the
" same men, in the same power, sitting undisturbed
" before you, though thirteen colonies are lost. Thus
" the marine of France and Spain has quietly grown
" and prospered under their eye, and been fostered by
" their neglect. Thus all hope of alliance in Europe
" is abandoned. Thus three of our West India islands
" have been torn from us in a summer. Thus, Jamaica,
" the most important of all, has been neglected, and
" all inquiry into that neglect stifled. Thus, Ireland
" has been brought into a state of distraction, that no
" one dares even to discuss ; the bill relating to it,
" though making great and perplexing changes, is
" such, that no one knows what to say, or what not to
" say, respecting it. Our parliamentary capacity is
" extinguished by the difficulty of our situation. The
" bill has been mumbled over with rapidity ; and it
" passes in the silence of death. Had government
" any degree of strength, could this have happened *?
" Could the most ancient prerogative of the crown,
" with relation to the most essential object, the militia,
" have been annihilated with so much scorn as it has
" been, even at our doors 1 Could his Majesty have
" been degraded from the confidence of his people of
GEORGE III. 91
" Ireland in a manner so signal, and so disgraceful,
" that they who have trusted his predecessors in many
" particulars for ever, and in all for two years, should 1779.
" have contracted their confidence in him to a poor
" stinted tenure of six months ? Could the govern-
" ment of this country have been thus cast to the
" ground, and thus dashed to pieces in its fall, if the
" influence of a court was its natural and proper poise ;
" if corruption was its soundness ; and self-interest
" had the virtue to keep it erect and firm upon its
" base V
The disease of government, he observed, was a
repletion : the over feeding of the stomach had de-
stroyed the vigour of the limbs. He had long ascer-
tained the nature of the disorder, and the specific
remedy : but had restrained his thoughts, partly from
want of personal importance, partly from the effects of
his own disposition ; he was not naturally an economist,
and was cautious of experiment, even to timidity. But
the temper of the times was favourable to reformation ;
there was a dawn of hope ; and although the powers of
a ministry were best calculated to give effect to such a
measure, the present auspicious moment was not to be
neglected. He would not yet disclose all the par-
ticulars of his plan, he would reserve the means of
executing it, and state only the end, objects, and
limits.
He intended a regulation, substantial as far as it
extended, which would give to the public service two
hundred thousand pounds a year, and annihilate a
portion of influence equal to the places of fifty mem-
bers of Parliament. Such a reform was more to be
relied on for removing the means of corruption than
any devices to prevent its operation ; an abrogation of
the sources of influence would render disqualifications
unnecessary ; but while the sources remained, nothing
could prevent their operation on Parliament. No other
radical attempt at reformation need, however, be im-
peded : the present plan could not make a careless
minister an economist ; but it would be a check on the
worst, and a benefit to the best.
92 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
He then detailed the limits of his scheme : the first
_ ' was founded on the rules of justice ; nothing should
1779. be invaded which was held by a private individual
under a legal tenure. The next limit was in the
rules of equity and mercy : where offices might be
suppressed which formed the whole maintenance of
innocent people, it was hard, and hardship was a kind
of injustice, that they who had been decoyed into
particular situations by the prodigality of Parliament,
should be sacrificed to its repentance. The removals
therefore embraced in his intended plan, would fall
almost entirely on those who held offices from which
they might be removed to accommodate ministerial
arrangements, and surely the accommodation of the
public was a cause of removal full as important as the
convenience of any administration, or the displeasure
of any minister. The third limit would be found in
the service of the state : no employment, really and
substantially useful to the public, should be abolished
or abridged of its lawful and accustomed emoluments.
The fourth limit would be, to leave a fund sufficiently
solid for the reward of service or merit ; and the fifth,
to reserve to the crown an ample and liberal provision
for personal satisfaction, and for as much of magni-
ficence as suited the burthened state of the country ;
perhaps, some might think what he should propose to
leave, more than was decent.
However presumptuous his attempt might appear,
it was made with humility and integrity : he trusted it
would give confidence to the people and strength to
government ; that it would make war vigorous, and
peace really refreshing and recruiting.
Several members of opposition (and no others
spoke) bestowed high encomiums on the plan of Mr.
Burke. He had mentioned, with some expressions of
shame, that a scheme of economical reform had been
first mentioned in the Upper House and not in the
Commons, whose peculiar office was the guardianship
of the national treasure. Mr. Fox declared he was
just come from the House of Lords, where the first
men of abilities and public estimation in the kingdom
GEORGE Til. 93
were libelling the Commons. Every instance they
gave (and many strong ones were given) of uncor-
rected abuse with regard to public money, was a libel 1779.
on the House of Commons. Every argument they
used for the reduction of prodigal expense (and their
arguments were various and unanswerable) was a libel
on the House of Commons. Every one of their state-
ments on the luxuriant growth of corrupt influence
(and it never was half so flourishing) was a libel on
the House of Commons. The same principle which
promoted private friendship, he observed, created the
affection of the people to their sovereign ; but that
must cease when his interests became totally dissociated
from theirs. Could any thing be more unseemly, than
to find, that when landed estates were sunk one fifth in
value, rents unpaid, manufactures languishing, and
trade expiring; burthen upon burthen piled on the
fainting people ; when men of all ranks were obliged
to retrench the most innocent luxuries ; and even such
as were rather grown by habit into a kind of decent
convenience, and draw themselves up into the limits of
an austere and pinching economy ; that just the begin-
ning of that time should be chosen, that a period of
such general distress should be snatched at, as the
lucky moment of complimenting the Crown with an
addition of no less than a hundred thousand pounds a
year ; that the King should rise in splendour on the
very ruins of the country and amidst its desolation,
should flourish with increased opulence amidst the
cries of his afflicted subjects ; it was something mon-
strous, something unnatural : an outrage to the sense,
an insult on the sufferings of the nation.
During the Christmas recess, a public meeting of 30th pec.
the freeholders of Yorkshire voted a petition to the
House of Commons, representing the circumstances of freeholders of
the war, the accumulation of taxes, and the rapid
decline of trade, manufactures, and rents; although
rigid frugality was become indispensably necessary,
many individuals enjoyed sinecure places, or efficient
offices with exorbitant emoluments, and pensions un-
merited by public services, whence the Crown had ac-
94
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVII.
1779.
Corresponding
committees
appointed.
The example
of Yorkshire
generally
followed.
10th and
12th Feb.
1780.
London
committee
formed.
quired a great unconstitutional influence, portending
destruction to the liberties of the country. The true
and legitimate end of government was not the emolu-
ment of any individual, but the welfare of the com-
munity ; and, as the national purse was peculiarly
entrusted to the House of Commons, it would be in-
jurious to the rights and property of the people, and
derogatory from the honour and dignity of Parliament,
to grant any additional sum beyond the existing taxes,
until effectual measures were taken for inquiring into
and correcting the gross abuses in the expenditure of
public money, reducing all exorbitant emoluments,
rescinding and abolishing all sinecure places and un-
merited pensions, and appropriating the produce to the
necessities of the state.
A permanent committee of sixty-one individuals
was appointed to carry on the necessary correspondence
for effectually promoting the object of the petition, and
to prepare a plan of association on legal and constitu-
tional grounds, and support a laudable reform, and
other measures conducing to restore the freedom of
Parliament.
This example was followed by many other counties
and cities throughout the kingdom ; public meetings
were convened by advertisement; violent harangues
were made against the proceedings and persons of the
administration ; corresponding committees were ap-
pointed, and the transactions were only marked by
some slight shades of variation in degrees of violence.
The City of London, beside establishing a corres-
ponding committee, ordered the publication of their
resolves in all the newspapers. To those acquainted
with the mode of managing such transactions, it is
well known that the names of multitudes may be easily
obtained to petitions, and that the overbearing pro-
ceedings usual at public meetings will prevent the
attendance of almost all but those who assemble for
the purpose of carrying particular measures by means
of abusive declamation and clamour, or of giving the
colour of general approbation to certain propositions
and resolutions. In some counties, particularly Sussex
GEORGE III. 95
and Hertfordshire, protests were signed by a great xxxvii
majority of the most respectable of the nobility and "
landed interest, in direct contradiction to the resolu- 1779.
tions of the county meetings. In many other places,
counter-meetings were held, counter-petitions framed,
and protests subscribed ; but the system, combination,
and popularity of the associators seemed to prevail,
every endeavour having been used to turn into ridicule
the exertions of their opponents*.
The petitions were daily presented to the House Burke mtro-
of Commons, and increased the public expectations, of reform plan
which the eloquence and reputation of Mr. Burke had iithFeb.
excited. His plan, he said, was calculated to effect a
considerable reduction of improper expense, a con-
version of unprofitable title into productive estate, and
to repress that corrupt influence which was itself the
perennial spring of all prodigality and disaster; but
he advanced to it with a tremor which shook him to
the inmost fibre of his frame; he anticipated all the
odium attending the exercise of that necessary virtue,
parsimony, and all the resentment of individuals whose
emoluments, patronage, and objects of pursuit must be
diminished. He was not inclined to depreciate the
successes, or undervalue the resources of the country ;
the one might be as brilliant, the other as unfathom-
able as they were represented. In fact, our resources
were just whatever the people possessed and would
submit to pay. Taxing was an easy business. Any
projector could contrive new impositions, any bungler
add to the old ; but resources were not augmented by
waste, nor would frugality lessen riches.
He strongly pressed on the House the example of
France, which, he said, reminded him of the observa-
tion of Pyrrhus, on reconnoitring the Roman camp :
" these barbarians have nothing barbarous in their
" discipline." In the proceedings of the French King
there was nothing of the character and genius of
* See the details of these meetings, copies of the petitions, reports of the
speeches and motions, in the Remembrancer, vol. ix. at the places referred to in
the Index. Also Political Papers by the Reverend Christopher Wyvill, Chair-
man of the late Committee of Association of the County of York, vol. i. p. 1
to 296.
96 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP arbitrary finance ; none of the bold frauds of bankrupt
'_ power; none of the wild struggles and plunges of
1779. despotism in distress ; no lopping off from the capital
of debt ; no suspension of interest ; no robbery under
the name of loan ; no raising the value, no debasing
the substance of the coin. Nothing of Louis the XIV,
or Louis the XV. On the contrary, by the very
hands of arbitrary power, and in the very midst of war
and confusion, rose a regular methodical system of
public credit ; a fabric was laid on the natural and
solid foundations of trust and confidence among men ;
and rising, by fair gradations, order over order, accord-
ing to the just rules of symmetry and art. He expati-
ated on this topic at great length, exhorting the House
not to let economy be the only French fashion which
England refused to copy.
An eminent criterion for distinguishing a wise
from a weak and improvident administration was this :
" well to know the best time and manner of yielding
" what it is impossible to keep." Some would argue
against every desire of reformation on the principles of
a criminal prosecution, and justify their adherence to
a pernicious system, by alleging it was not of their
contrivance, that it was an inheritance of absurdity
derived from their ancestors, and by making out a
long and unbroken pedigree of mismanagers who had
gone before them; but there was a time when the
hoary head of inveterate abuse would neither draw
reverence nor obtain protection, when a minister, by
impeding reform, would make the faults of his office
become his own. Early reformations were amicable
arrangements with a friend in power; late reform-
ations, terms imposed on a conquered enemy ; the
former were made in cool blood, the latter under a
state of inflammation. But as it was the interest
of government that reform should be early, it was the
interest of the people that it should be temperate,
because it would then be permanent, and contain a
principle of growth. In hot reformations, in what
men, more zealous than considerate, called making
clear work, the whole was generally so crude, so harsh,
GEORGE III. 97
so indigested ; mixed with so much imprudence, and
so much injustice ; so contrary to the whole course
of human nature, and human institutions, that the J78u
very people who were most eager, were the first to
grow disgusted at what they had done. Then some
part of the abdicated grievance was recalled from its
exile, in order to become a corrective of the correction.
Then the abuse assumed the credit and popularity of a
reform. Thus the very idea of purity and disinterested-
ness in politics would fall into disrepute, and be con-
sidered as the vision of hot and inexperienced men ;
and thus disorders would become incurable, not by the
virulence of their own quality, but by the unapt and
violent nature of the remedies. We must no more
make haste to be rich by parsimony than by intempe-
rate acquisition.
He objected to a place tax, as a measure not calcu-
lated to produce, but prevent, reformation ; a composi-
tion to stay enquiry ; a fine paid by mismanagement for
the renewal of its lease. Such a measure could never
be proper till useless offices were abrogated, and those
which remained classed according to their respective
degrees of importance, so as to admit an equal rule of
taxation, and the civil list revenue so managed that the
minister should no longer have the power of repaying
with a private, whatever was taken by a public hand.
Unwilling to proceed in an arbitrary manner, in
any particular which tended to change the settled state
of things, he had laid down general principles which
could not be debauched or currupted by interest or
caprice, and by them he regulated his proceedings :
These were,
First, The abolition of all jurisdictions contributing
rather to expense, oppression, and corrupt influence,
than to the administration of justice.
Second, The disposal of all public estates which
were more subservient to the purposes of vexing, over-
awing, and influencing the tenants, and to the expenses
of receipt and management, than of benefit to the
revenue.
Third, That offices bringing more charge than pro-
VOL. III. H
98 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
advantage to the state, or which might be
engrafted on others, ought, in the first case, to be taken
1780. away ; and, in the second, consolidated.
Fourth, The abolition of all offices tending to ob-
struct the operations or enfeeble the foresight of the
general superintendent of finance.
Fifth, The establishment of an order in payments,
which would prevent partiality, and regulate receipt
not by the importunity of the claimant, but by the
utility of his office.
Sixth, The reduction of every establishment to
certainty.
Seventh, The dissolution of all subordinate trea-
suries.
First, with regard to the sovereign jurisdictions, he
observed that England was not, as a mere cursory ex-
aminer would suppose, a solid, compact, uniform system
of monarchy ; it was formerly a heptarchy, now a sort
of pentarchy. The King, like a chief performer in an
itinerant dramatic company, acted not only the prin-
cipal, but all the subordinate personages in the play.
Mr. Burke exemplified this comparison, by shewing
the King of England in the various characters of King,
Prince of Wales, Duke of Lancaster, Earl of Chester,
Count Palatine of Lancaster, and Duke of Cornwall.
In each of these principalities, duchies, palatinates,
was a regular establishment of considerable expense
and most domineering influence ; the apparatus of a
kingdom, with the formality and charge of the Exche-
quer of Great Britain, for collecting the rents of a
country squire. Cornwall, which was the best, fur-
nished no exception from the general rule : the duchy
and county palatine of Lancaster did not yield more
on an average than four thousand pounds a year ; and
it was doubtful if Wales and Chester made any re-
turns. Wales had eight judges, while all England had
but twelve ; an exchequer like the rest, according to
the very best and most authentic absurdity of form ;
and there were in all of them a hundred more diffi-
cult trifles and laborious fooleries, which served no
other purpose than to keep alive corrupt hope and ser-
GEORGE III. 99
vile dependence. The duchy of Lancaster was not
worth four thousand pounds a year to the revenue,
but worth forty or fifty thousand to influence. After irso.
entering into an historical account of the annexation
of the different fiefs to the crown, and shewing that
neither dignity nor family attachment could give the
King the least partiality for them, he proposed to unite
the five principalities to the crown, and to its ordinary
jurisdiction ; to abolish all those offices which pro-
duced only an useless and chargeable separation from
the people ; to make compensation to all who did
not hold their offices at the pleasure of the Crown;
to extinguish vexatious titles by a short act of limita-
tion ; to sell the unprofitable estates which supported
useless jurisdictions, and turn the tenant-right into a
fee on moderate terms, beneficial both to the tenant
and the state. The judicial economy of the duchies
should fall into the county administrations ; and, with
respect to Wales, he had doubts whether to add a fifth
judge in each of the courts at Westminster, or to sup-
press five only of the Welch Judges, and let the re-
maining three perform the business.
On the second head, he proposed to sell all the
forest lands, extinguishing the rights of vert and ven-
sion, and with them the expensive office of surveyor-
general, and two chief justices in eyre, with all their train
of dependants : from these sales, only an inconsiderable
profit would arise, the chief benefit would be drawn
from improved agriculture and increased population.
Professing to approach the civil- list, the third divi-
sion of his subject, with the awe and reverence incident
to a young physician who prescribes for the disorders
of his parent, Mr. Burke satirized, with great wit and
humour, the different establishments and expenses of
the royal household, formed on the Gothic system of
feudality and purveyance, and still retained, though
the royal household had shrunk into the polished lit-
tleness of modern elegance and personal accommoda-
tion. " It has evaporated," he said, " from the gross
" concrete into an essence and rectified spirit of ex-
" pense, where you have tons of ancient pomp in a
H 2
100
HISTORY OF KNfil.AM).
xxxVii " v * a ^ ^ mo( ^ ern luxury." Pursuing the same mode
_J 1 of description and reasoning, through various other
1780. objects, he made propositions, the sum of which was,
as enumerated by himself, to take away the whole es-
tablishment of detail in the household ; the treasurer ;
the comptroller ; the cofferer of the household ; the
treasurer of the chamber; the master of the house-
hold ; and the whole board of green cloth; and a vast
number of subordinate offices in the department of the
steward of the household ; the whole establishment of
the great wardrobe ; the removing wardrobe ; the
jewel office ; the robes ; the board of works ; and al-
most the whole charge of the civil branch of the board
of ordnance ; then, he observed, the public might begin
to breathe. He went on proposing regulations in the
offices of paymaster of the forces and treasurer of
the navy, by reducing them from banks or treasuries
to mere offices of administration. All the money for-
merly impressed into these offices he would have im-
pressed into the Bank of England, to which he would
also transfer the charge of the mint, and of remit-
tances to the troops on foreign service. He recom-
mended the abolition of the office of paymaster of
pensions, and the reduction of the pension list to
sixty thousand pounds a year. If any case of extra-
ordinary merit should emerge, he would leave an
opening for an address of either House of Parliament ;
to all other demands, the firm though reluctant answer
must be, " the public is poor." lie did not mean to
abrogate any existing pension, or even to inquire into
the merits of the possessor ; the discretionary power
vested in the Crown was liable to perversion, and he
would limit the quantity of power that might be so
abused. The pensions granted within seven years
amounted, on an average, to a hundred thousand
pounds a year : by his regulation an annual saving of
forty thousand pounds would at some future period be
made to the public, and it were better to let it fall na-
turally, than tear it crude and unripe from the stalk.
The public he knew expected a considerable reform in
the great patent offices of the exchequer ; he thought
GEORGE HI.
101
the profits enormous, and proposed limiting the great xxxvn
auditor to three thousand pounds, the inferior auditors,
and other principal officers, to fifteen hundred pounds 1780.
a year each ; but, though he considered them as sine-
cures, he would not consent to their abolition ; they
were given for life, and it was fit the Crown should
have the power of granting pensions, out of the reach
of its own caprices, the possibility of conferring
some favours which, while received as rewards, do not
operate as corruption. What an unseemly spectacle
would it afford, what a disgrace would it be to the
commonwealth that suffered such things, to see the
hopeful son of a meritorious minister begging his
bread at the door of that treasury, from whence his
father dispensed the economy of an empire, and pro-
moted the happiness and glory of his country? Why
should he be obliged to prostrate his honour, and sub-
mit his principles at the levee of some proud favourite,
shouldered and thrust aside by every impudent pre-
tender, on the very spot where a few days before he
saw himself adored ? Obliged to cringe to the author
of the calamities of his house, and to kiss the hands
that are red with his father's blood? These tilings are
unfit. They are intolerable.
Conceiving himself bound to give as full and clear
reasons for stopping as for proceeding in the course
of reformation, Mr. Burke laid down some political
axioms, no less honourable to his judgment and saga-
city than his candour. He did not think the great
efficient officers of the state overpaid. What would be
just remuneration for one kind of labour, full en-
couragement for one species of talents, was fraud and
discouragement to others. Even if men could bo
found willing to serve in high situations without sa-
lary, they ought not to be permitted : ordinary service
must be secured by the motives to ordinary integrity ;
that state which lays its foundation on rare and heroic
virtues, will be sure to have its superstructure in the
basest profligacy and corruption. An honourable and
fair profit is the best security against avarice and rapa-
102 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP. c ity ; as in all things else, a lawful and regulated en-
'_ joyment is the best security against debauchery and
irso. excess.
It would be expected that, in giving reasons for
limiting himself in the reduction of employments, he
should advert to those which seemed of eminent utility
in the state, the officers attendant on the person of the
King: these he determined not to lessen in number
or emolument, as they prevented the court from being
deserted by all the nobility in the kingdom ; he pro-
posed, however, to abolish the keepers of buck-hounds,
stag-hounds, fox-hounds, and harriers; they answered
no purpose of utility or splendour, and it was unfit for
noblemen to be keepers of dogs, even though they
were the King's dogs. He concluded this part of his
plan by proposing the abolition of the office of the
third Secretary of State, or Secretary for the Colonies ;
and the Board of Trade and Plantations ; the office
was so useless, that Lord Suffolk held it long after he
was wholly disabled by bodily infirmities, and it con-
tinued vacant a year after his decease. The Board of
Trade he described as a mere job in its original forma-
tion and regeneration, costing the public nearly forty
thousand pounds a year, without the least utility or ad-
vantage; its functions might be performed, like Irish
business of the same nature, by the Council, with a
reference to the Attorney and Solicitor-General.
He next proceeded to the subject of arrangements,
a part of his plan on which he principally relied for
bringing up and securing the whole, by fixing an in-
variable order in all payments from which the First
Lord of the Treasury should not, on any pretence, de-
part. He divided the civil list payments into nine
classes ; the first was occupied by the Judges ; the last
by the Commissioners of the Treasury and Chancellor
of the Exchequer : the reason for assigning each spe-
cific position was ably given, and that for placing the
First Lord of the Treasury and his colleagues at the
bottom of the list, was to protect all the other classes
against the effects of profusion and mismanagement;
GEORGE III. 103
on this part of his subject, Mr. Burke expatiated in a
vein of humorous raillery, enlivened by poignant wit,
and diversified with solid argument. uso.
He then presented to the House five bills for carry-
ing into effect the objects indicated in his speech,
though he acknowledged he had not the frantic pre-
sumption to suppose his plan contained all the public
had a right to expect in the great work of reformation.
He described the situation of the House of Commons
with regard to the people, under the allegory of a
jealous husband, and a wife whose conduct, if not
stained with guilt, was at least tainted with levity.
" Let us return," he said, " to our legitimate home,
" and all jars and all quarrels will be lost in embraces.
" Let the Commons in Parliament assembled be one
" and the same thing with the commons at large. The
" distinctions that are made to separate us, are unna-
" tural and wicked contrivances. Let us identify, let
" us^incorporate ourselves with the people. Let us cut
" all the cabals, and snap the chains which tie us to an
" unfaithful shore, and enter the friendly harbour that
" shoots far out into the main its moles and jetties to
" receive us. ' War with the world, and peace with
" ' our constituents.' Be this our motto and our
" principle. Then, indeed, we shall be truly great*."
Mr. Fox seconded the motion, and Lord North,
paying very high compliments to Mr. Burke and his
speech, declared that he should not oppose the intro-
duction of the first bill, although he reserved to him-
self the right of objecting to it in any stage of its
progress. It was a measure, he observed, affecting
patrimony and hereditary revenue : in all such cases,
it was invariably the custom of Parliament, first to
obtain the consent of the parties interested ; and he
* I have given an unusually copious extract of this celebrated speech, which
is entitled to serious and frequent perusal, as containing the sentiments of an
eminent statesman on many of the important topics connected with reform and
economy. The zeal of party, and the state of the times, gave birth to projects not
altogether consistent with propriety, or commensurate to the dignity of the sub-
ject ; but the general axioms, and the political principles, which extend to the
whole system of government, are remarkable for their wisdom, temperance, and
justice. The speech at length is in Burke's Works, 4to. vol. ii. p. 115; 8vo.
vol. i. p. 229 ; and in the Parliamentary History, vol. xxt. p. 1 .
104
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVII.
1780.
Vote for
abolishing
the Board
of Trade.
submitted to the House, whether it was not within the
rules of decency and decorum to pay to his Majesty
and the Prince of Wales, whose patrimony and here-
ditary revenue were materially involved, the same
respect as would be shewn to any subject of the realm
under similar circumstances. Mr Burke, although he
maintained his right, consented to waive that portion
of his motion, -out of respect to the Crown. The close
of the debate is only remarkable through the intem-
perance of Lord George Gordon, who maintained that
Mr. Burke's was a most unconstitutional speech, and
the whole affair a mere juggle between him and Lord
North. He proposed to divide the House against the
question, and two tellers for the ayes were named, but
not one member could be found to associate himself
with Lord George Gordon as teller on the opposite
side.
The progress of the inquiry into this plan engaged
the attention of the House during a great part of the
session; the debates on various clauses of the bills
were animated, and replete with wit and eloquence ;
but the only result of the scheme was a vote abolish-
ing the board of trade, which fell a victim to the wit of
Mr. Burke, directed against some topics urged in its
defence, much more than to its own want of utility,
cumbrousness of expense, or extent of patronage. The
Lords of Trade were eight ; the net produce of their
salaries between seven and eight hundred pounds a-
year ; and their labours were comprised in two thou-
sand three hundred folio volumes, a circumstance
which Mr. Burke ridiculed with great effect ; but,
allowing that each of these folios should contain a fair
proportion of dulness, still it could not be denied that
many sane principles were discussed, many important
facts authenticated, many sagacious projects recom-
mended, and many erroneous speculations exposed.
Perhaps the period when this board was subsequently
abolished, was the very moment when its active func-
tions could have been most beneficially exerted : when
commerce was about to receive a new impulse and
unprecedented extension ; encouraged by circumstances
GEORGE III. 105
never foreseen, yet embarrassed by litigations, involved
in the discordant interest of rivals, and encumbered
with questions, both legal and political, respecting uso.
charters, monopoly, and paper credit, requiring the
utmost calmness in investigation and firmness in
decision*.
While Mr. Burke's project of economy and reform 8tl1 Feb -
. n ,. -I -T -A- Commission
was yet depending, several auxiliary propositions were O f accounts
made in both Houses ; among the most prominent of appointed.
which was the appointment of a commission of ac-
counts, in conformity to the practice in the reigns of
King William and Queen Anne, and almost regularly
from the second year after the Revolution to 1715.
This subject was introduced to the House of Lords by
the Earl of Shelburne, in pursuance of a notice he had
given before the Christmas recess. In an able speech,
he accused the minister of deluding the public in
respect to finance, misappropriating the sinking fund,
misusing the votes of credit, and extending to an im-
proper degree the confidence of the Bank. He re-
viewed the mode of voting army extraordinaries, and
descanted with severity on the supposed frauds of
contractors: his project embraced also many of the
topics included in Mr. Burke's plan, which was not
yet submitted to the House. It was answered that
the bills passed in the reigns of William and Anne
had been discontinued, because they were found to
answer no good purpose, and owed their origin and
existence to party. After the firm establishment of
the house of Hanover on the throne, when faction,
tumult, and sedition were crushed, and the continual
fluctuation of counsels which distracted and perplexed
the two preceding reigns gave place to steadiness and
stability, the annual law for examining, controlling,
and stating the public accounts was discontinued. The
* The reader, whose curiosity shall lead him to pursue the train of the debates
on Burke's plan in Debrett's Parliamentary Register, vol. xvii. will find enough
of wisdom, wit, and ingenious argument to repay him for the time employed.
The most instructive and entertaining debates will be found at pp. 127, 156, 195,
'228, 237, 254, 295, 374, and 588; or in the Parliamentary History, vol. xxi. pp.
Ill, 150, 171, 193, 233, 296, 538, and 616. See also an account of this motion
in Gibbon's Posthumous Works, vol. i. p. 156, et seq.
106
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVII.
1780.
14th Feb.
Colonel
Barry's
motion.
2nd March.
Lord North's
bill.
debate, which was very long, and embraced many
other topics of enforcement and objection, ended by a
rejection of the motion* ; thirty-five peers subscribed a
protest.
On the reception of Mr. Burke's propositions,
Colonel Barre suggested the necessity of some ad-
dition; he did not think the reform sufficiently ex-
tensive, which permitted men of overgrown wealth to
hold unreduced offices in the exchequer, reaping ad-
vantages from the wars and calamities of their country.
The extraordinaries of the army struck him with sur-
prise ; and all his efforts had failed to procure satisfac-
tory explanations. He, therefore, proposed, on some
future day, to move for a commission of accounts.
Lord North heartily coincided ; he was ever ready to
receive beneficial propositions from either side of the
House; considered the course of the Exchequer in-
imical to speedy and effectual controul; and should,
for the sake of clearness and precision in the public
accounts, sanction the measure of a committee, though
convinced it would be impossible to reduce all ex-
penses to an estimate.
Colonel Barre, after being thus supported by the
minister, and giving him credit for the liberality and
manliness of his sentiments, felt no small mortification
when Lord North gave notice of his intention to move
for leave to bring in a bill appointing a commission,
not only to inquire into past expenditure, but into the
current accounts. The minister was chiefly impelled
to undertake this measure by the observations which
some members had made respecting his declaration on
Colonel Barre's notice of motion, that it was not sin-
cere, but a mere parliamentary trick ; an attempt to
gain momentary popularity by affecting readiness to do
what in reality he did not intend. As an indisputable
proof of his real sentiments, he said, he should bring
in the bill now suggested ; and, to obviate all objections,
respecting the nomination of a committee from one or
the other side of the House, should propose for that
* 101 to 55.
GEORGE III. 107
purpose men who were not members. Colonel Barre,
protesting that he did not believe the history of Parlia-
ment afforded an instance of a similar transaction, de- 1780.
clared himself ready to forego all complaints ; and, if
the minister really meant a benefit to the country, he
would cheerfully concur and rejoice hi it, though the
merit due to him should be attributed to another.
The bill was, however, opposed with considerable
warmth during its whole progress. It was decried as
tending to create new places in the gift of the Crown,
with large salaries, extensive influence, and new pa-
tronage, branching out into the lower departments of
clerks, accountants, and messengers, at the very time
that the people were petitioning for reduction of ex-
penses, and contraction of influence. The nomination
of commissioners occasioned a spirited debate. Sir
Guy Caiieton being the first named, many ludicrous
animadversions were made on his change of employ
from the truncheon to the pen. No part of the project lst May '
escaped acrimonious censure ; yet the bill was passed ;
gentlemen of the first talent and respectability were
appointed commissioners* ; and their reports, presented
to the House, and given to the public in various forms,
are highly honourable to their industry and ability,
and an excellent body of political information.
Among other popular measures recommended in Bills for ex-
Mr. Burke's speech on introducing his plan of reform, ^ciH and
were the revival of the bill of last year for excluding suspending
contractors from sitting in Parliament, and that for revenmToffi-
suspending the votes of revenue officers, which was cers rejected.
formerly moved by Mr. Dowdeswell. Sir Philip
Jennings Clerke, availing himself of the intimation,
reintroduced his former unsuccessful bill, which passed 2 4 t h Fob
the House of Commons almost unresisted, and ap-
parently unnoticed. In the House of Lords it met
with strong and effectual opposition : to exclude tax- 1 Jth April.
gatherers, it was said, might be reasonable and just, as
they might be needy and liable to corruption : but it
* Sir Guy Carleton, Thomas Anguish, Arthur Piggot, Richard Ncave,
Samuel Beachroft, and George Drummond, Esquires.
108
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVII.
1780.
Account of
places.
I5th Feb.
And of pen-
sions paid at
was incompatible with justice to exclude merchants of
great property and respectability merely because they
happened to be engaged fairly and openly in contracts
with government : it would be unjust to deprive in-
dividuals of their right, without proof of their having
abused it, an illiberal and cruel stigma on a respectable
body of men, and a mean compliance with popular
prejudice, unworthy the House of Lords. Besides,
the regulation could not in all cases be effectual ; con-
tracts for secret expeditions must be secretly made;
and the twenty days' notice required by this bill could
not possibly be given when a sudden expedition was
thought necessary. In favour of the measure, the
usual ground was taken, the prodigality, ignorance,
and imposition which characterized the parties to
modern contracts were displayed in the highest colours ;
and it was argued that, as the bill affected the Com-
mons alone, its rejection by the Lords would be an
insult on that body ; such had been the reasoning of
Lord Mansfield on the Middlesex election ; and, if ap-
plicable then, it was equally cogent in the present
instance. The bill was rejected* ; but a protest, to
which twenty-six peers signed their names as concur-
ring partially or totally in the component articles,
was placed on the journals.
Mr. Crewe introduced the bill for preventing re-
venue officers from voting, which was rejected on the
second reading^ : the arguments were not new or im-
portant.
All these debates, and many others which engaged
the attention of the House, had constant reference to
the petitions which were daily received, and continually
expatiated on the popular text, the necessity of
economy, and the increasing influence of the Crown.
As pensions and places were the principal objects em-
braced in this plan of censure, Sir George Savile
obtained, without opposition, an order that an account
of all places, and the salaries annexed to them, should
be laid before the House ; but when he proceeded to
* Gl to 41.
t '22-1 to 195.
GEORGE III. 109
require an account of all pensions, whether paid at the
Exchequer or out of the privy-purse, for life, years, or
at pleasure, the motion was strenuously resisted. uso.
This debate was interrupted by the indisposition of k
the Speaker, which occasioned a short suspension of the House.
business. When the sittings of Parliament were re- 2ist Feb.
sumed, Lord North moved an amendment, by which
the pensions payable at the Exchequer only should be
published. He exposed the delusion practised on the
public in stating the pretended amount of the pension-
list, and affirmed that, deducting the monies paid
under that denomination for real services, and as actual
salaries, and the land tax on pensions, which returned
into the coffers of the state, the whole sum did not
amount to fifty thousand pounds a year, being ten
thousand less than was proposed to be allowed by Mr.
Burke's economical scheme. The debate terminated
in a violent uproar, occasioned by an unwarrantable per-
sonality of Colonel Barre, who said, not one English-
man had risen to support the minister ; his principal
defenders were, the Attorney-General (Mr. Wedder-
burne), and the Lord Advocate of Scotland (Mr.
Dundas). When the ferment occasioned by this
national remark subsided, the amendment of the
minister was carried by a majority of two only*.
The same subject was introduced to the Upper loth March.
House by the Earl of Effingham, in a motion for a
list of all pensions enjoyed by peers of Parliament :
the debate was conducted with some warmth ; the
state of the Scotch peerage was severely animadverted
on, and ably defended. The proposition was lost by a
considerable majorityf.
In all the debates of this session, the most licen- Duels between
tious invectives were indulged ; and it appeared the Payment!
wish of political opponents to urge parliamentary alter-
cation to unpardonable extremes of personal animosity.
In consequence of some words spoken on the first day 29th March,
of the session, and misrepresented in a newspaper
* 188 to 186. t 51 to 24.
110
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVII.
1780.
6th March.
20th March.
22nd.
Debates on
the raising of
volunteer
regiments.
5th April.
report, Mr. Adam engaged in a duel with Mr. Fox,
and wounded him slightly in the body.
On the removal of Lord Carmarthen from the lord
lieutenancy of the East Riding of Yorkshire, and of
the Earl of Pembroke from that of Wilts, Lord Shel-
burne moved for an address to ascertain the advisers
of those measures*. In the course of his speech the
Earl reflected in contemptuous terms on the appoint-
ment of Mr. Fullarton to the command of a new-
raised regiment, with the temporary rank of lieute-
nant-colonel, mentioning him as a commis^. Colonel
Fullarton, highly resenting the attack, another duel
was the consequence, in which Lord Shelburne was
wounded. Sir James Lowther made the transaction
the subject of a conversation (for there was no motion),
in the House of Commons, by declaring if questions
of a public nature were tried by appeals to the sword,
the British Parliament would soon resemble a Polish
diet. Mr. Adam explained, in the most handsome
manner, his difference with Mr. Fox ; but the discus-
sion produced no consequences^.
Colonel Fullarton incurred this attack in conse-
quence of having raised a regiment for the service of
government, an effort of zeal which gave peculiar
offence to opposition, and which they omitted no
opportunity of decrying. In a debate on the army ex-
traordinaries, Mr. Fox, with great bitterness, censured
the manner of obtaining these levies, and of giving
and withholding preferment : he animadverted with
severity on the appointment of the honourable George
North, eldest son of the minister, to the command of
the Cinque Ports' regiment, on the promotion of
Colonel Fullarton, and particularly on the conduct of
Colonel Holroyd (Lord Sheffield), which he had totally
misconceived. The attack, however, produced an ex-
* It was negatived, 92 to 39.
t He had been employed under Lord Stormout in the embassy to Paris.
J Addresses of congratulation were voted by many of the corresponding com-
mittees to Lord Shelburne, and some pretty plainly insinuated that he owed his
danger to the resentment of government at the part he had taken in behalf of Un-
people.
GEORGE III. Ill
planation highly honourable : Colonel Holroycl replied
that the members of opposition, far from being willing
to assist the public cause, could not repress their in- uso.
dignation against those who endeavoured to be useful,
even at the moment of an alarming crisis. When the
French and Spanish fleets were off the coast, he had
offered to raise light troops without expense to the
country, which he did in a very short time, and the
circumstance it was intended to arraign, was far from
being advantageous to him, and only beneficial to the
service, and to the officers, who all came from old regi-
ments. No situation in the army could be more agree-
able to him than that he already held in the Sussex
militia : nor could any remuneration in the power of
government, compensate for the neglect of his private
affairs, and the desertion of his home : a home which
he had scarcely seen since the commencement of the
war. His contempt for such insinuations would have
kept him silent, had not the respect due to Parliament
rendered some explanation necessary ; no man in that
House, or in England, was more independent in prin-
ciple, disposition, or situation. He was not personally
known to any member of administration ; but, in the
present crisis, he considered it his duty to support the
servants of the public against those who were endea-
vouring to take the government by storm. This happy and
just expression was often afterward quoted with undi-
minished effect.
An altercation of more political importance oc- 13th March.
curred between the minister and the speaker of the between 011
House of Commons. Sir Fletcher Norton, dissatisfied Lord North
at the failure of some expectations of aggrandizement, Fletcher
had formed an intimate connexion with the opposition. Norton.
The first public display of this sentiment occurred
in a debate on Mr. Burke's plan of economy, when
Mr. Rigby having attempted to establish as a prin-
ciple, that Parliament had no right to inquire into
the expenditure of the civil list, Mr. Fox, who had
previously secured the opinion of the speaker, took
occasion to introduce the subject in a committee,
and referred to him for a decision, which was given in
112
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
xxlvvii direct contradiction to the axiom of administration.
If the minister was astonished at this desertion, he was
1780. not less surprised at the declaration with which Sir
Fletcher Norton accompanied it ; that Lord North
and he were not friends, nor had any confidential or
friendly intercourse subsisted between them, since the
time when, in fulfilling his duty, he had conveyed the
sentiments of Parliament to the foot of the throne;
a recent transaction rendered it necessary for him and
the noble lord to stand on the most unequivocal terms.
Being pressed to explain the last insinuation, he stated,
that at the pressing request of the Duke of Grafton,
communicated through Mr. Rigby, he had consented,
on the death of Sir John Cust, to accept the speaker's
chair ; but his compliance was accompanied with an
express reservation, that an opening should be kept for
his return to Westminster Hall, on the first eligible
vacancy. Although this promise was positively made,
and although he was well entitled to a preference from
his long standing at the bar, high professional charac-
ter, and being the only lawyer at that time in the cabi-
net, he had now the mortification to find that a nego-
tiation was carrying on to prevail on Sir William de
Grey, the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, to resign,
and place the Attorney-General in his room. This he
considered an injury, as the individual thus preferred
was not, by length of practice, or professional reputa-
tion, qualified to impede his claims. The minister
denied that he was responsible for promises made by
his predecessors in office ; and, after a long personal
altercation between Lord North and the speaker, Mr.
Wedderburne, with polished wit, exposed the arrogance
and absurdity of Sir Fletcher's pretensions. He said
it was disgracing the profession, degrading his charac-
ter, and betraying the interest of the country, to
seek sinecure emolument as a compensation for quit-
ting a practice in which he could secure honourable
independency ; yet the speaker did not hesitate to
avow, that he had received the most valuable sine-
cure he enjoyed (the Chief Justiceship in Eyre,)
for transacting the business of the privy-council.
GEORGE III. 113
But it was not true, as he asserted, that there was
then no person of the profession belonging to that
board ; Sir Eardly Wilmot, late Chief Justice of the 1780.
Common Pleas, Mr. Sewell, Master of the Rolls, Lord
Mansfield, Lord Bathurst, the Chancellor, and all the
customary law officers, had seats in council. With
respect to himself, he was as ready to allow as the
Speaker was to assert, that in point of character, stand-
ing, pretensions, and education, he was not equally
with him qualified for a common law court ; but since
Sir Fletcher had quitted Westminster Hall, to slide
first into an ample sinecure, and next into the chair of
that house, he could not be offended if many who con-
tinued to labour with industry and assiduity in the
field he had deserted, looked forward also to the reward
of their labours, and the gratification of their ambition.
He considered the office of judge too delicate in its
nature and execution to be the object of solicitation ;
nor would he be so forgetful of propriety as to make
personal differences matter of public complaint ; so lost
to decorum as to call on the House to interfere in a
private negotiation; he would never so humble his
own character as to make a disagreement with a
minister the ground of his opinion on a great and im-
portant political regulation. From this period Sir
Fletcher Norton joined the cry of opposition, and
spoke with all the fervour of party on the influence of
the Crown, the abuses of prerogative, and the rights
of the people: a strong illustration of Sir Robert
Walpole's recipe for making a patriot*.
During these violent altercations, petitions were Numerous
daily laid before the House, in introducing which P etitions -
many members used language showing a firm reliance
on an extraneous interference, which should regulate th Feb
by terror the deliberations of Parliament. Sir George
Savile, on presenting the York petition, said the mi-
nistry would not dare to refuse hearing it, though the
* " Patriots," he said, " spring up like mushrooms; I could raise fifty of
" them within four-and -twenty hours. I have raised many of them in one night.
" It is but refusing to gratify an unreasonable or an insolent demand, and up
" starts a patriot." Coxe's Memoirs of Sir Robert Walpole, quarto, vol. i. p. 65i>.
VOL. III. I
114
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVII.
1780
13th March.
5th April.
8th Mar.
prayer might be eluded by artifice and juggling; yet if
Parliament mocked the people, the people would learn
not to respect Parliament. The petition was not pre-
sented by men with swords and muskets, nor insti-
gated by a few incendiaries, operating on simple and
credulous individuals in hedge ale-houses: it was
moved in an assembly of six hundred gentlemen, in a
hall, the walls of which enclosed more property than
those of the House of Commons. Mr. Fox used language
equally strong in offering the Westminster petition ;
and Sir James Lowther, in presenting that from Cum-
berland, said, " if the House should turn a deaf ear to
" so respectable a body of subscribers, they would do
" themselves justice by withholding the taxes. Minis-
" ters might think to dragoon them into the payment,
" but such measures of coercion would be attended with
" consequences too horrid for even them to venture.
" If a legal course of enforcement were attempted, let
" administration reflect who would be the juries, and
" consider whether they were likely to obtain a single
" verdict." Against several of these petitions, protests
and counter-petitions were presented, which called
down all the vehemence of opposition. On the protest
against the Hereford petition, Mr. Barrow petulantly
observed, that it had been mostly signed by the gentry
at and about the cathedral, with the bishop at their
head. So long as these people were permitted to bat-
ten in idleness on the labour and industry of their
fellow-subjects, they would do well to conduct them-
selves with moderation and decency, lest the rage of
reformation should forcibly inculcate those lessons.
They enjoyed sinecure places, and were in the receipt
of enormous profits and exorbitant emoluments; it
was therefore matter of surprise that they were not in-
cluded in the letter, as they manifestly were in the
spirit, of the petitions. He was averse to partialities ;
and though full and adequate rewards for services
were but equitable, yet a parcel of idle, luxurious,
proud, and overbearing fellows, sleeping in their stalls,
and supported by the toil, sweat, and laborious indus-
try of the middle and lower ranks, was an evil repug-
GEORGE III. 115
nant to natural justice and sound policy; disgraceful
and injurious to true religion. The clergy were no
less virulently and indecently abused by Mr. Turner, 1739.
who called them friends of arbitrary power, enemies of
the free constitution which fed and protected them,
and dangerous engines of state in the hands of an
ambitious prince or wicked administration. During
the reigns of James I, and that obstinate and perverse
tyrant Charles, his son, they had preached the most
scandalous and shameful doctrines, and were the chief
cause of the fatal end of that tyrant, whom their suc-
cessors still aifected to deify. They still propagated
the same dangerous doctrines in their writings and
discourses, and there was no foundation on which ar-
bitrary power could be erected equal to a standing
army and a dependent church.
The efforts used to enforce the adoption of mea-
sures consistent with the petitions, were conformable
to the violence of language which accompanied their
introduction. Sir George Savile intimated, that until
.... j v -t. Gth March.
the petitioners received some assurance ot relief, it
would be advisable to vote the loan piece-meal, accord-
ing to the requisitions of the public service; and when
the committee brought up the report of ways and 22nd.
means, a motion was made for deferring it till the day
after that appointed for discussing the petitions ; but
the proposition was feebly supported, and rejected by
a large majority*.
The important day destined for discussing the peti- 6th April.
tions was anticipated with eager expectation, and met
with all the zeal and all the address of party. A
meeting of the inhabitants of Westminster was con-
vened by direction of the corresponding committee, a
report from that body read and descanted on by Mr.
Fox, who was supported by the Dukes of Devonshire
and Portland, and many other anti-ministerial leaders.
Government, foreseeing the effect of this manoeuvre
in over-awing the proceedings of the legislature, drew
forth the military, and stationed a considerable body in
145 to 37.
i 2
116
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVII.
1780
Mr. Dunning 1 .
the neighbourhood of Westminster Hall*. A call of
the House was also ordered, and petitions continued
to be presented till the commencement of the de-
bate. These popular missives amounted to forty, and
were subscribed with so many names, that the mass of
parchment seemed rather calculated to bury than cover
the speaker's tablef.
Mr. Dunning opened the business of the day.
Independently of the great objects recommended to
the attention of Parliament by the petitions, varying
according to the particular ideas of the several classes
of petitioners, there was one great fundamental point,
he observed, on which they all hinged, that of setting
limits to, and paring down the increased, dangerous,
and alarming influence of the Crown, and an economi-
cal expenditure of the public money. In one view,
both these objects might be consolidated into one
principle : if the public money was faithfully applied
and frugally expended, that would reduce the influence
of the Crown ; or, if the influence of the Crown was
restrained within its natural and constitutional limits,
it would restore that power which the constitution had
vested in the House, of inquiring into and controlling
the expenditure of public money. But, in pursuance
of the objects held forth and recommended in the
petitions, he should divide the principle, and propose
some remedy, or frame some resolution, which would
serve as a basis on which he might erect a system of
measures to answer the purposes and comply with the
wishes of the petitioners. He reviewed with great
severity the conduct of ministers with respect to Mr.
Burke's plan of economy ; they had received it with a
* This exertion of government was severely arraigned by opposition, and
formed the subject of several conversations, and at length of a motion by Sir
William Meredith : the debate was exceedingly warm. Burke, in a most violent
speech, reprobated the Middlesex magistrates as the scum of the earth ; carpen-
ters, brickmakers, and shoemakers ; some of whom were notoriously men of such
infamous character, as to be unworthy of any employ whatever ; many so ignorant
that they could scarcely write their own names. How dare such reptiles to call
out a body of the military armed, upon such a peaceable and respectable meeting"?
Mr. Fox declared that if armed men were thus let loose on the constitutional
meetings of the people, all who frequented them must go armed. See Commons'
Debates, 8th May.
t The expression in the Annual Register for 1780, p. 1G5.
GEORGE III. 117
show of candour, a kind of mock approbation, but
afterward declared all the material objects it proposed
to attain, fundamentally wrong. Colonel Barre's sug- i?80.
gestion of a committee of accounts had been, in an
uncandid, ungentlemanlike manner, snatched out of
his hands, and commissioners appointed who were not
members of Parliment, but mere nominees of the mi-
nister. The bill for excluding contractors had passed
that House, but ministers and their friends confidently
predicted its rejection in the House of Lords ; so that
all which had been done in consequence of the pile of
parchment on the table, containing the sentiments
and petitions of above a hundred thousand electors,
amounted to no more than the adoption of one single
clause of Mr. Burke's bill, which, standing thus naked
and solitary, was of little or no importance. He
trusted, however, that the people of England would
resent the insult they had sustained from those who,
to oppression and neglect, had added mockery and
contempt. The great objects of the petitioners had
been resisted in argument, and by the public avowals
of the minister and his friends. They had asserted, in
contradiction to the petitioners, that the influence of
the Crown was not too extensive, and ought not to be
retrenched ; and that the House was not competent to
inquire into the expenditure of the civil list. To bring
these points fairly to issue, he would abstract two pro-,
positions from the petitions, short, simple, and calcu*
lated to draw forth a direct affirmative or negative..
If the committee agreed in them, he should propose
real, substantive, practical measures ; but should they
disagree or dissent, or endeavour to evade or procras-
tinate, there would be at once an end of the petitions,
and a full answer to the petitioners.
His first proposition was, " that the influence of His motion.
" the Crown has increased, is increasing, and ought to
" be diminished."
The opponents of this dangerous axiom argued opposed,
that it was not fairly deduced from the petitions, un-
supported by evidence, and of a nature too abstract for
118
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP. the House to decide in the shape of a vote. It tended
to no given object, for it did not affect to say that the
1780. influence of the Crown was in itself improper, or had
been unfairly increased, but made a leap from two
isolated assertions to an unfounded conclusion, that the
influence ought to be diminished. Lord Nugent ob-
served that Blackstone and Hume, who were quoted
by Mr. Dunning, had said that the influence of the
Crown began to show itself in 1742 ; he sat in Parlia-
ment before that period, when similar speculations and
clamours had long prevailed ; but then, and still, he
considered them totally unfounded.
Supported. The general events of Lord North's administration
were cited to prove that, by the corrupt influence of
the Crown, he retained his office hi opposition to the
sense of the nation. His whole business, for a series
of years, had been to make excuses and devise ex-
pedients ; to find supplies from year to year, without
inventing any method in finance, any scheme of supply,
comprehensive or permanent. The people would
bear taxes, though enormous, when they heard of
victories and an extension of commerce and territory ;
but were apt to judge of ministers, not from ingenious
excuses made for their conduct, either by themselves
or others, but from the success that followed their
measures. Sir Fletcher Norton also made a long
speech in support of the motion; affirming the ex-
orbitant power of the Crown, and the increase of cor-
rupt influence. If members thought proper to vote
the petitions of so many thousands of the people false
and unfounded, he wished them joy in the prospect of
meeting their constituents.
It was already apparent, from the temper of the
House, and the effect of many personal arguments,
that the division would be hostile to the wishes of
administration; Mr. Dundas therefore moved that
the chairman should leave the chair ; a proposition,
which, being understood to stifle the inquiry, was ill
received and unsupported.
Lord North vindicated his own conduct with great
GEORGE III. 119
candour ; he never had insinuated that his abilities were
equal to his situation; he had always declared his
readiness to retire whenever his sovereign and the uso.
people should wish it; but, if it were true, as had
been asserted, that he was kept in office by the efforts
of opposition, he could not but suppose he owed his
continuance in place to the exertions of those who had
formerly contended against the rights of the people of
Great Britain, and were now known to be pursuing
measures calculated to subvert the constitution.
After the discussion had been protracted to a great R eso iutions
length, Mr. Dundas obtained leave to withdraw his passed respect-
motion for vacating the chair, and to add, as an amend- fhfence of
ment to the original proposition, the words, " it is now the Crowl1 -
" necessary to declare." Mr. Fox, readily acceding to
the amendment, enforced the principle of the original
motion, by saying that, if it was negatived, not only the
committee, but the House should never sit again. It
appears that the Lord-Advocate's reason for this
amendment was founded on a certainty of the superior
strength of opposition ; and, as his former effort was
merely directed to gain time, his present aim was to
convert that which was projected as a general assertion
to a temporary declaration, which might at any subse-
quent period be retracted or disavowed. The amended
motion was carried by a majority of eighteen*.
Mr. Dunning, pursuing his success, moved a second The
resolution, " that it was competent to the House,
" whenever they thought proper, to examine into and
" correct abuses in the expenditure of the civil-list
" revenues." To this proposition, only a feeble resist-
ance was offered : the minister, with more reason than
probability of success, deprecating the further proceed-
ing of the committee.
A third motion, made by Mr. Thomas Pitt, and ami the relief
similarly deprecated by Lord North, also passed with-
out a division ; affirming that it was the duty of the
House to provide immediate and effectual redress of
the abuses complained of in the petitions.
As if afraid of giving the House a moment for Resolutions
reported.
* 233 to '215.
120
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
1780.
loth A
account of
monies paid to
members of
Parliament.
bic of sitting.
Adjournment.
24tll
Motion against
rec ll ec ti on Mr. Fox moved, at past one o'clock in the
morning, that the resolutions should be immediately
reported; Lord North in vain opposed the proceeding,
as violent, arbitrary, and unusual; the report was
brought up, and the House adjourned.
^ n ^ ne nex t sitting of the committee, Mr. Dun-
n i n g moved that, in order to secure the independence
o f Parliament, and obviate all suspicions of its purity,
, ' , 1n ./ t t
the proper officer should, in future, within seven days
a ter fo e mee ti n g, lay before the House an account of
all monies paid out of the civil-list, or any part of the
public revenue, to, or for the use of, or in trust for, any
member of Parliament. However unfounded the
suspicion might be, he said, the public firmly believed
that large sums were conveyed into the pockets of
their representatives. If any members did unduly pos-
sess themselves of the public money, this proposition
would distinguish them ; if not, it would be acceded
to without difficulty. Slight objections were made to
the motion, as proposing a test which might be un-
pleasant to the upper House, and beget differences ;
but it was carried without a division.
Mr. Dunning next proposed a resolution, that the
Treasurer of the Chamber, Treasurer, Cofferer, Comp-
trollcr, and Master of the Household, the Clerks of the
Green-Cloth, and their deputies, should be rendered
incapable of sitting in the House of Commons. This
motion encountered considerable opposition, and, on a
division of the committee, the majority in favour of the
opposition was reduced to two*.
Before the next sitting of the committee, the indis-
position of the Speaker occasioned an adjournment of
ten days, which was moved by Mr. Dunning, and sane-
tioned by the general body of opposition, although
objected to by Lord North, as inconvenient, and detri-
mental to the pursuit of public business.
When the speaker had sufficiently recovered to
attend his duty, Mr. Dunning moved an address, re-
questing the King " not to dissolve the Parliament, or
* 215 to 213. -
GEORGE III.
" prorogue the session, till proper measures should be
" adopted for diminishing the influence of the Crown,
" and correcting the other evils complained of in the i?8<x
" petitions." He sarcastically alluded to the unusual
fulness of the House, hoping the new comers would
show their zeal for their country, their regard for the
people, and their abhorrence of undue influence, by
supporting the motion, and that the two hundred and
thirty-three of the sixth of April would receive an
augmentation of twenty or thirty. Mr. Thomas Pitt,
who seconded the motion, read resolutions of the Cam-
bridge county meeting, approving the late proceedings,
and conjured the House not to repress the budding
confidence of the nation, and inspire popular rage;
when the people were once inflamed, who could stop
them, or say, " thus far shalt thou go and no farther "?"
Mr. Adam was the most conspicuous opponent of
the motion, and made a speech of extraordinary ability, Mr ' AdanK
showing the improper foundation of the petitions, and
the error of those who had devised an appeal to the
people. He painted in terms no less animated than
just, the dangers of beginning a reformation by means
of the people, and cited the memorable days of Charles
I, to prove that, although human intellect and virtue
were then at their greatest height ; though the patriots
who began an opposition to the court were justified by
the most imperious motives, yet they were compelled
by increasing licentiousness to withdraw from active
interference, and doomed to view the overthrow of the
constitution, and the establishment of the most oppres-
sive and arbitrary despotism that had ever cursed a
nation.
Mr. Fox made a spirited reply, ascribing the mis- Mr FOX.
fortunes of Charles to the obstinacy and insincerity
of his character, and to the omission of an early atten-
tion to the wishes of his subjects, which would have
prevented all the calamities of his reign and mischiefs
which succeeded it. The ministry and their prostitute
followers had spared no pains, scrupled at no means to
traduce, calumniate and vilify those who opposed them ;
personal weakness, follies of youth and foibles of age,
122
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVII.
1779.
Rejected.
Indignation
of Mr. Fox.
had been exhibited to the public as enormous crimes ;
some were abused for being too rich, others for being
too poor, and slight indiscretions were converted into
grievous accusations. But would these artifices in-
duce them to abandon their own vote, the glorious vote
of the sixth of April 1 a vote which the present motion
alone could carry into effect. The House was solemnly
pledged to redress grievances ; like an individual who
enters into a bond with a penalty, they were bound to
reduce the undue influence of the Crown, and the
penalty of non-performance would be a forfeiture of
the affections of the people.
The motion was reprobated by Lord George Ger-
maine, as an improper mode of abridging the royal
prerogative. Mr. Dundas ridiculed it as a recruiting
officer sent out by opposition to beat up for grievances
and enlist motions. It was rejected by a majority of
fifty-one*.
After the division, Mr. Fox, in a philippic no less
eloquent than severe, expressed his indignant resent-
ment at the vote, which he termed treacherous, scan-
dalous, and disgraceful. Not so in those who opposed
the proposition of the sixth of April ; they acted con-
sistently, and like men differing upon principle, and
would have been guilty of shameful versatility, had
they abandoned the measures they once avowed. But
who could contemplate, without mingled indignation
and surprise, the conduct of another set of men, who,
after voting with him that the influence of the Crown
ought to be diminished, pledging themselves to the
House, their constituents, the people at large, to each
other, and to themselves, for the redress of grievances,
abandoned that solemn engagement by rejecting the
means proposed : it was shameful, it was base, it was
unmanly, it was treacherous. The contempt he felt
for those who were at the devotion of the minister
was mingled sometimes with pity, and sometimes with
so much respect as was due to the solitary virtue of
fidelity, gratitude, or consistency. They did not take
* 254 to 203.
GEORGE III. 123
in their patron or their friends with false hopes or delu-
sive promises ; they divided regularly with the minister,
through thick and thin, on every question. To concur 1780.
in general propositions, and refuse assent to effective
ones, was a paradox in party and in politics ; he was
taken in, deluded, imposed upon. He trusted, how-
ever, that such gross tergiversation would never pass
without detection, nor fail to be followed by the con-
tempt it deserved ; he did not despair that the people
would see and pursue their own interest at a general
election, that they would learn to distinguish between
their open friends and foes, and their worst of enemies,
the concealed ones.
Lord North extended the protection of his elo- Lord North,
quence to those who had drawn on themselves this
severe attack ; he said, Mr. Fox's language was such
as no provocation could justify ; it was indecent and
improper; an invective, and not a parliamentary speech.
He bantered the leader of opposition with considerable
humour and effect on his irritability at finding himself
in a minority again, after having, for a short moment of
his life, been in a majority, and contrasted it with his
own philosophical calmness, when he stood in a situa-
tion so unexpected and novel. He did not think
himself justified in rising in the anguish of defeat and
disappointment, and accusing those who had frequently
voted with him, of baseness, treachery, versatility, and
other improper motives ; and he advised Mr. Fox not
to be, for the future, so rash and hasty.
Although Lord North truly observed, on this occa- Further pro-
sion, that the petitions, and the resolutions framed on fhe^Xons.
them, were stifl. before the House, and the rejection
of one single measure did not preclude the right of
further consideration, yet this defeat of opposition did,
in fact, conclude the discussion. A motion, by Serjeant 19th May.
Adair, for withholding the grant of further supplies,
till the grievances of the people were redressed, was 2Gth.
negatived without a debate* ; and when Mr. Dunning e
moved to receive the report of the committee on the refused.
* 89 to 54.
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVII.
1780.
Observations.
tenth of April, the question for the chairman's quitting
the chair was carried by a majority of forty-three*.
Such was the termination of this famous contest,
which, considering the means used to interest the
people, the strenuous exertions of opposition, the
alarming tendency of the resolutions past on the sixth
and tenth of April, and the menacing aspect of the
times, may be pronounced one of the most critical
struggles which the constitution had ever sustained.
It will naturally strike the reader with as much as-
tonishment as it did the public, that a House of Com-
mons which had so warmly adopted the American war,
and supported the measures of government with such
large majorities, should assent to Mr. Dunning's ex-
traordinary motion against the influence of the Crown,
and for the exclusion from Parliament of persons hold-
ing certain offices. It will appear no less inconceivable,
that, having manifested so decided a determination to
overturn the ministry, the same House should, after a
recess of only fourteen days, negative the subsequent
motions.
This sudden change has been attributed to in-
fluence and corruption, and those independent members
who thus thwarted the effects of their former vote have
been accused of inconsistency and treachery ; but their
conduct in both cases naturally resulted from the tem-
per of the times, the state of the ministry, and the
violence of opposition.
The distracted state of Ireland, the unsuccessful
progress of the war in America, and the degraded
condition of the English navy, which had allowed the
united fleets of France and Spain to ride triumphant
in the channel and menace the British coasts, excited
general alarm and indignation. The divided state of
the cabinet, the candid and easy temper of Lord North,
and the unpopularity of Lord Sandwich and Lord
George Germaine, increased the ferment and appre-
hensions of the nation, and induced many independent
members of the House of Commons, who were warm
* 177 to 134.
GEORGE III. 125
friends to government, to second the efforts of opposi- X 2txvi
tion. On the other hand, the Marquis of Rockingham
and Sir George Savile's character for integrity, the 1780,
manly spirit of Mr. Fox, and the splendid talents of
Mr. Burke, inspired hope, and the Parliament, as well
as the people, were inclined to any measure, not detri-
mental to the constitution, which was likely to substi-
tute an efficient cabinet for a distracted ministry.
Such was the general disposition at the time of
Mr. Dunning's first motion on the influence of the
Crown, which was therefore carried by a majority of
eighteen. But on his second motion, for the exclusion
of persons holding certain offices, the violence of the
opposition had already disgusted many of their new
adherents, and the question passed by a majority of
only two. In this situation, the illness of the Speaker
occasioned an adjournment of ten days, after which,
the opposition, in the too eager pursuit of their advan-
tages, alarmed the moderate party by a proposition,
which tended not merely to diminish, but to annihilate
the power of the Crown, and revive the tyranny of the
long Parliament. Consequently the House rejected,
by a majority of fifty-one, the last motion of Mr.
Dunning.
126
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAPTER THE THIRTY-EIGHTH.
1778177917801781.
Effects of appeals to the people. Origin and progress of the
riots in Edinburgh and Glasgow on the subject of popery.
Formation of Protestant associations. Discussions in
Parliament. Corresponding committees established. Lord
George Gordon elected president of the Protestant associa-
tions. Effects of debating societies. Intemperance of Lord
George Gordon. Petitions to Parliament against the Ca-
tholics. London petition. Meeting at Coachmakers' Hall.
Meeting of petitioners in St. George's Fields. Motion
by the Duke of Richmond for a reform of Parliament.
The members insulted. The House of Commons inter-
rupted. Chapels of ambassadors burnt. Riots subside
and are renewed. Privy council held. Proclamation.
Riots more alarming. Parliament adjourned. Numerous
conflagrations. Timidity of government. Second Privy
Council. Exertions of the military. The riots quelled.
Lord George Gordon committed to the Tower. King's
speech on the riots. Lord Mansfield's opinion on military
interference. Petitions rejected by Parliament. Judicious
speech from the throne on terminating the session. Poli-
tical effect of the riots. Trial of the rioters and of Lord
George Gordon. Dissolution of Parliament.
IT is a misfortune ever attendant on appeals to the
xxxviii. people in questions of government, that the first mea-
sures, however reasonable and moderate, are perverted
by enthusiasts or intriguers. Extravagant or designing
men, assuming the direction of the populace, find it
easy to obtain a dangerous ascendancy ; and, through
their want of discretion, or want of integrity to guide
aright the steps of the erring and giddy multitude,
CHAP
1778.
Effect of ap-
peals to the
people.
GEORGE III.
127
tremendous effects are the result of causes apparently CHAP.
XXXVIII
inadequate, and in their origin contemptibly insignifi-
cant. While men of the first talent and fortune were, 1778.
by means which they considered constitutional and
regular, attempting to excite in the minds of the real
constituents of the representative body a disgust
against the system of government, and urging them
to clamour for changes far too important to be so dic-
tated, a rash fanatic, uniting enthusiasm with obsti-
nacy and unlimited impudence, produced all the mis-
chievous effects of madness combined with wickedness.
By his influence over the lower order of people,
he was enabled to silence and disperse the legislature,
paralyze the civil arm, and deliver up the metropolis,
for several successive days, to the alarm of pillage, the
horrors of conflagration, and the devastations of un-
bridled ferocity.
The repeal or modification of the act of the tenth Growth O f
and eleventh of Willim III, for preventing the growth
of popery, was the means of adding the fury of religious
bigotry to the rage of political discussion, and of engen-
dering a dark and diabolical fanaticism, which dis-
graced and disturbed the kingdom. The benefits
granted to Roman Catholics by the repealing act* did
not extend to Scotland ; but as a loyal declaration of
the people of that persuasion was supposed to have
considerably influenced government in affording relief
to those in England, and as their peaceable and orderly
behaviour, on every occasion, rendered them unexcep-
tionable objects of legislative benevolence, measures Proposal to
were commenced for procuring, in their behalf, some
relaxation of a system of law uncommonly severe,
and frequently, even in modern times, enforced to
the very extreme of rigour. Their claims being
* The benefits procured to Papists by this repeal were, an exemption of
bishops, priests, and instructors of youth from prosecution and imprisonment, a
security of the rights of inheritance, and permission to purchase lands in fee
simple ; but the Roman Catholics were not to enjoy these privileges, except on
condition of taking the oaths of allegiance, of renunciation of the Stuart family ;
an abjuration of the positions that it is lawful to murder heretics, and that no
faith should be kept with them ; and of that principle which legalizes the depo-
sition, or murder, of princes excommunicated by the Pope. Thy were also on
oath to deny the Pope's authority, temporal or civil, within this realm.
128
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVIII.
1778.
October.
Efforts of
fanatics.
November.
Formation of
Protestant
associations.
well founded, rational, and moderately solicited, pro-
duced at first no uneasiness ; the general assembly
of the church of Scotland seemed influenced by the
prevailing spirit of liberality, and rejected, by a large
majority, a proposal to remonstrate against the bill
which was passing through the British Parliament;
but the gloomy rancour of fanaticism marked the op-
portunity, and soon found means to single out victims
for popular rage. A scurrilous pamphlet was pro-
duced by a nonjuring clergyman in Edinburgh, ex-
citing the public animosity against the Roman Catholics,
published at the expense of a society (to judge by this
proceeding, grossly misnamed) for propagating Christian
knowledge, and circulated with industry and profu-
sion among all ranks. No people on earth have a
more zealous and honest regard for the interest of
their church establishment than the Scots ; but the
same fervour of spirit which, when well directed, had
enabled them to disregard persecution, and to triumph
over religious tyranny, was now perverted to wicked
purposes, and rendered, among the lower class, a
motive for the commission of shameful crimes and out-
rages. The newspapers, those ready vehicles of slander,
intemperance, and sedition, were filled with recapitula-
tions and abstracts of the laws against papists and
popery, at once reminding the people of their great
power over a part of the community, and recalling to
memory the historical reasons on which the grant of
that power, now useless and oppressive, had been
founded. The more ardent of the preachers appealed
to the passions of their hearers by incendiary declama-
tions, and the synod of Glasgow adopted resolutions
for opposing any bill which might be brought into
Parliament in favour of the Roman Catholics of
Scotland.
These resolutions were followed by several other
synods ; but that of Lothian and Tweeddale, which met
in Edinburgh, and from which great results were ex-
pected, refused to sanction any measure for impeding
the humane intentions of government in relieving their
innocent fellow-subjects. This laudable moderation
GEORGE III. 129
afforded to some zealots of Edinburgh an opportunity
of raising the cry that the Protestant religion was
abandoned ; and about a dozen tradesmen, clerks, and 1 7/8.
apprentices, erected themselves into a " committee for
" the Protestant interest." They published in news-
papers their resolutions to oppose the bill for relief of
Papists, invited general correspondence, and, through
the medium of the press, endeavoured to inflame the
populace against the objects of their jealously. Cor-
respondence with this new committee was speedily
opened, and resolutions of boroughs, parishes, and
private societies, together with inflammatory pam-
phlets, and scurrilous libels, were daily published, and
circulated in every form and in every direction.
The Roman Catholics, seeing the peril in which 1779 -
their first attempt had involved them, in vain endea- RiotTm
voured to retreat from the gathering storm, and regain Edinburgh.
their former tranquil, though insecure condition. In a
letter to Lord North, which was published in the
London newspapers, they declined the intended ap-
plication to Parliament, choosing rather to sacrifice
their own advantages than endanger the peace of their
country ; but the populace of Edinburgh, long insti-
gated by every art in the power of misguided or de-
signing individuals, had already prepared to execute
summary vengeance on men whom they considered
the enemies of their faith. An incendiary hand-bill 29th January.
was scattered about the city, inviting those who should
find it, to meet at the Leith Wynd, on an appointed
evening, to pull down the pillar of popery, lately erected :
such was the denomination given to a suite of rooms,
occupied by a Romish priest, one of which was set
apart for the attendance of his congregation*. This
daring invitation was not issued till the popular mind
was sufficiently prepared ; already were the individuals
* This letter, curious in its style and in its injunctions, was in these words :
' Men and brethren ; whoever shall find this letter, will take it as a warning to
' meet at Leith Wyiid, on Wednesday next, in the evening, to pull down that pillar
' of popery lately erected there. A. PROTESTANT. P.S. Please to read this
' carefully, keep it clean, and drop it somewhere else. For King and country,
' UNITY." It was superscribed, " To every Protestant into whose hands this letter
' shall come, greeting."
VOL. III. K
130 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
xxxv^ii ^ ^ ie P ersecu t e d persuasion kept in constant terror,
UJ _ afraid to remain in their houses, and even hunted
1/79. through the streets with derisive shouts, and threaten-
2nd February, ing exclamations. A numerous rabble effectually com-
pleted the recommended destruction, extending their
fury to another house of popish worship, and burning
or purloining a valuable library belonging to the priest ;
the dwellings thus demolished \vere known to be in-
habited by various other families of tradesmen and
mechanics. The mob, unimpeded in their career,
continued several days destroying the houses and
furniture of real or reputed Papists, insulting their
persons, and threatening their lives. Gathering cou-
rage from impunity, they extended their views, and
denounced vengeance against all who had favoured
sentiments of toleration : in this number were included
Dr. Robertson, the justly celebrated historian, who in
his writings had recommended general benevolence
in matters of opinion ; and Mr. Crosbie, the advocate,
whose only imputed crime was that of professionally
drawing up the bill intended for Parliament.
Reprehensible During such scenes, the inactivity of the civil
the P ower > ^ sufficiently strong in itself, or adequately
reinforced by extraneous assistance, would have seemed
highly censurable ; but the Provost of Edinburgh was
more than inactive ; his conduct was an indirect sanc-
tion, if not an incentive, to a rabble, who, being without
order and without partizans of any consequence, would
have shrunk back from the first combined or regular
resistance. Their intentions were manifested, not only
by the hand-bills strewed in the streets, but by several
minor acts of outrage before the grand attack ; yet, on
a formal application, the Provost only promised to
convoke the deacons of the corporation, and caution
them to use their influence in dissuading the people
from joining in the intended tumult ; and when a lieu-
tenant of the navy, commanding a press-gang, offered
to quell the riot, he was commanded by the Provost to
quit Edinburgh. The city guard was no more alert
than the chief magistrate in repressing these criminal
excesses ; and when the military, under the Duke of
GEORGE III. 131
Buccleugli, generously offered to preserve the peace, X xxvni
they were not only prevented from interfering, but the
prisoners, whom they took in the very act of burning 1779.
a house, were discharged by the Provost, and permitted
to rejoin their fellow-criminals. Terror at length
effected what a sense of pub ic duty had failed in pro-
ducing, and the magistrates claimed military assistance,
by which the tumult was speedily quelled. The Pro- cth February.
vost and his colleagues filled up the measure of their
absurdities by a ridiculous proclamation, in which, from
a desire to " remove the fears and apprehensions which
" had distressed the minds of many well-meaning people
" in the metropolis, with regard to the repeal of the
" penal statutes against Papists, the magistrates in-
" formed them, and the public in general, that the bill
" for that purpose was totally laid aside : it was there-
" fore expected that such (i. e. well-meaning) persons
" would carefully avoid connecting themselves with
" any tumultuous assembly for the future." They
promised to take the most vigorous measures for re-
pressing tumults and riots which might afterward
arise ; " being satisfied that future disorders could
" proceed only from the wicked views of bad and
" designing men." This acknowledgment of their
past neglect, and appearance of coincidence in senti-
ment with the rioters, was at once an insult to the
sufferers, and a triumph to the mob. The miserable
victims of persecution remained unsupported, no
attempt was made to redress their grievances, they
were still afraid to appear publicly, and their sub-
sistence was chiefly derived from the clandestine
bounty of their friends.
Edinburgh furnished an example sufficiently in- 9th February,
viting to the fanatics of Glasgow, although the objects
of persecution were so few, that they had not a chapel,
or even a priest. The chief fury of the populace fell
on the house and works of Mr. Bagnal, a gentleman
from Staffordshire, who had established in the vicinity
a manufactory for the pottery distinguished by the
name of his own county. His property was utterly
destroyed, and his wife and family, after many indig-
K2
132
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVIII.
1779.
15th March.
Discussed in
Parliament.
18th March.
nities, compelled to seek refuge in the city, their neigh-
bours being afraid to shelter them. The magistrates
and clergy, however, without delay, repaired the depre-
dations of the mob, by bountifully relieving the exi-
gencies of the sufferers, and liberally refunding Mr.
Bagnal's whole loss*.
These violences could not escape the attention of
Parliament. On the first appearance of the Lord
Advocate, Mr. Dundas, in the House of Commons,
after the riots, he was interrogated by Mr. Wilkes
respecting the completion of a promise, made the last
session, to bring in a bill for the relief of his Catholic
countrymen. With his usual frankness, the Lord
Advocate stated, that, from the violences and insurrec-
tions in all parts of Scotland, it had been agreed,
between him and the principal people of that persua-
sion, to defer measures of relief, till subsiding prejudice
should leave room for the operation of cool persuasion.
Mr. Wilkes made an animated reply, decrying the
sacrifice of the dignity of Parliament to the seditious
populace of Scotland. London, he said, might, after
the example of Glasgow and Edinburgh, prevent, by
insurrection, any matter, however important, from
being brought into Parliament. He animadverted on
the magistrates, their apology for the rabble, and their
promise for concession, and did not hesitate to pro-
nounce, that when the Catholics could not find protec-
tion for their lives and properties even in the capital,
there was a dissolution of all government.
Mr. Burke introduced a further discussion on the
subject, by presenting a petition from the injured par-
ties for compensation and further security. Mr. Fox,
in supporting the prayer, said, the honour and humanity
of the House ought not to be limited to compensation,
but they should repeal the penal laws, undeterred by
petty insurrections in a little corner of the empire.
Unwilling to urge extremities, Lord North suspended
* Taken principally from Considerations on the State of the Roman Catholics
in Scotland : A Memorial to the Public in behalf of the Catholics in Edinburgh
and Glasgow, containing an account of the riot against them in February 1779 ;
and Fanaticism and Treason, or a History of the Rebellions Insurrections in
June 1780, first edition.
GEORGE III. 133
the consideration of the petition, by the previous ques- X xxvni
tion ; declaring that voluntary compensation would be '
made, which was more eligible than compulsory. 1779.
Such proceedings, both in England and Scotland, Correspond-
could not be expected to repress the active genius of
fanaticism once let loose ; politics mingled in the ques-
tion, and eighty-five corresponding societies, similarly
formed with that of Edinburgh, were speedily erected
under the pretext of protecting the protestant religion. and Lord
Lord George Gordon, a wild, enthusiastic, moody George GC
fanatic, was elected their president : he replied to Mr. president*
Fox's suggestions in the late debate, by declaring it
highly inexpedient to tolerate the Catholics of Scotland,
equally with those of England or Ireland ; and, before 5th May.
the end of the session, moved, but his motion was not
seconded, that the popish petition presented by Mr.
Burke should " be thrown over the table." In his
speech, he daringly asserted that the whole people of
Scotland, fit to bear arms, except a few Roman Catho-
lics, were ripe for insurrection and rebellion, and had
invited him to be their leader or privy counsellor. It
was not in the power of Parliament, consistently with
the act of union, to alter the religious law of Scotland ;
the natives were impressed with that opinion, and
would perish in arms, or prevail in the contest.
Although the active spirit of fanaticism had long Effects ef
subsided in England, means were not wanting to give
birth and vigour to a combination, in which politics
and religion might be united to produce formidable
commotions. Meetings of men desirous, either from
the necessity of professional pursuit, the hope of ad-
ventitious advantage, or the solicitations of personal
vanity, to excel in the arts of oratory, had long been
established in the metropolis : they had hitherto been
considered always harmless, sometimes useful, often
ridiculous; they had been satirized from the press,
and on the stage; but ridicule alone was employed
against them. The modern rage of discussion brought
them into more conspicuous notice ; they were resorted
to by men of lively talents, though of confined informa-
tion ; public measures were debated before large au-
134 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
xxx vin dienccs ; an ^, as little delicacy was preserved in men-
tioning the names, or alluding to the conduct of
1779. exalted personages, all who found pleasure in gross
abuse and harsh raillery, occasionally intermingled
with wit, and sometimes presenting a scanty portion of
information, frequented these assemblies, which were
termed debating societies. Religious topics were some-
times debated on ordinary days, and separate societies
were established for the discussion of them on Sundays.
By means of these clubs, Lord George Gordon formed
a " Protestant Association" in England, of which, as in
Scotland, he was declared President. That a man of
his birth and station should condescend to court such
an assemblage, and afford them his countenance and
protection, was to them a subject of pride and indivi-
dual gratification. His family was highly honourable ;
he was a member of the British Parliament ; and al-
though his absurd speeches frequently thinned the
House, still they often displayed ability and no incon-
siderable portion of coarse sarcastic wit. Opposition
treated him with complacency, and something very
like encouragement ; distinguished leaders termed him
their honourable friend, supported his arguments, and
justified his conduct.
intemperance ^is success i n forming these associations aug-
of Lord George mcnted, what appeared to want no increase, his vio-
lence and gross buffoonery. On the first day of the
session, while dilating in most unwarrantable terms on
the disposition of the people of Great Britain and Ire-
land, he said the indulgences granted to Papists had
alarmed all Scotland, where the people were deter-
mined to guard against a sect in such favour with the
ministry : nor were these sentiments confined to him-
self; government should find a hundred and twenty
thousand men at his back, who would avow and sup-
port them, and whose warmth of spirit was still greater
than his own. They had sent petitions to the minis-
ters who had disregarded, to the Lord Chancellor who
had suppressed, and to the Speaker who had incurred
displeasure by not delivering them to the House of
Commons. They had now printed their sentiments
GEORGE III. 135
and resolutions, which he was to deliver to the King
and the Prince of Wales, for their instruction on the
manner in which the Scots would consent to be go- 1779.
verned. The people of Scotland were irritated and
exasperated, being convinced that the King was a
Papist.
The indifference with which these attacks were en-
dured, probably arose, partly from respect to the family
of this intemperate man, and partly from a notion that
he was not free from insanity. During the whole ses-
sion he continued the same course of ribaldry, con-
stantly boasting of the number of men attached to his
person and subjected to his will, calumniating the
King, and defying Parliament. In a debate on Mr.
Burke's reform bill, after fatiguing the House with a
series of absurdities, he asserted that he had in Scot-
land a hundred and sixty thousand men at his com-
mand ; and if the King did not keep his coronation oath,
they would do more than abridge his revenue, they
would cut off his head.
It would be much beneath the dignity of history Pelitions to
, , f ,. J . . f j Parliament
to record the excesses ot so coarse a fanatic, but for against the
the fatal consequences with which they were attended*, ff^^jj
A petition had already been presented to the House 1st May.
of Commons, signed by nearly three thousand inha- LonS'
bitants of Rochester, and another from Maidstone, pray- petition,
ing a repeal of the act allowing indulgences to Catho-
lics ; when Lord George Gordon thought proper, by
public advertisement, as president of the Protestant
association, to invite a similar petition from the inha-
bitants of London and its environs. " If they united,"
he told them, " as one man, for the honour of God
" and liberties of the people, the kingdom might yet
" experience the blessing of divine Providence, and
" the restoration of love and confidence among brethren.
" But if they continued obstinate in error, and spread
" idolatry and corruption through the land, nothing
* Numerous instances of his violence and ribaldry are not here commemo-
rated ; they may be found in the debates from 1778 to 178U, or a copious collec-
tion of them in the Political Magazine for June 1780, which contains the greatest
details <>f the violent transactions of that month.
136
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
xxx viii " COU ^ ke ex P ect ed but division among the people, dis-
' " traction in the senate, and discontent in the camp,
nso. " with all other calamities attendant on those nations
2 ;ih May. " whom God had delivered over to arbitrary power and
" despotism." He gave notice in Parliament of the
day when this petition would be presented, and of his
design to require the attendance of all petitioners, in
an humble, decent, and respectful manner.
<2 ^ th -. For the purpose of collecting an increased number
Coachmaken 1 of signatures, the petition was deposited at his house,
Hal1 - and, by another advertisement, he called a meeting of
the Protestant association at Coachmakers' Hall, one
of the most celebrated rooms where debating societies
were held. At this place he made a long harangue to
a large assembly on the repeal of the act against Catho-
lics, and the rapidity with which it had passed through
Parliament, decrying the measure as repugnant to the
principles of the revolution, and dangerous to the succes-
sion of the House of Hanover. To inflame still further
the minds of his auditors, he read the catechism of the
church of Rome, and an indulgence granted by the
Pope to his flock in England. The alarming growth
of popery, he said, could only be resisted and quashed
by going, in a firm, manly, and determined manner, to
the House of Commons, and displaying to their repre-
sentatives their resolution to preserve their religious
freedom with their lives. " For his part, he would
" run all hazards with the people : and if the people
" were too lukewarm to run all hazards with him,
" when their conscience and their country called them
" forth, they might get another president ; he was not
" a lukewarm man ; and if they meant to spend their
" time in mock debate and idle opposition, they might
" get another leader." Loud acclamations followed this
" incendiary speech, attended by a resolution that the
whole body of the Protestant association would as-
semble in St. George's Fields, on the second of June,
with blue cockades in their hats, to distinguish real
Protestants and friends of the petition from their
enemies. The president declared that if the assem-
blage amounted to less than twenty thousand, he would
GEORGE III. 137
not deliver the petition ; a meeting of forty thousand X xxvm
was anticipated, and the advertisement of resolutions
assigned that as a reason for convening this petitioning nso.
army in St. George's Fields.
On the day appointed, not twenty thousand only, 2nd June.
but sixty, and some accounts extend them to a hun- the^et^
dred thousand, petitioners or associators, met in the tionersm
appointed place. They were marshalled in separate Fields? 11
bands, and, after an harangue from Lord George, the
main body made an unnecessary circuit over London
Bridge, and through the city, to the seat of Parliament.
They marched six a-breast, preceded by a man carry-
ing on his head the petition, signed with a hundred
and twenty thousand names or marks.
On this inauspicious and disgraceful day, the Duke Motion by
of Richmond introduced to the Lords a project for re- Richmond
forming the lower House of Parliament. He ha-
rangued, in hacknied style, on the abuses of govern-
ment, the influence of ministers, the secret invisible
power which directed the whole political machine, and
the just complaints and pretensions of the people.
His plan was to dissolve Parliaments annually, abolish
burgage tenures, and admit to a right of suffrage every
man of full age, and not disqualified by law.
This wild scheme of popular reform met with a The members
practical rebuke in the moment of its projection. "
Before the sitting of the House, the mob, occupying
all the passes to Palace Yard, rendered the approach
difficult even to their favourites ; but those who had
not acquired that disgraceful distinction were robbed,
beaten, and even threatened with the loss of their
lives. The populace were prevented from rushing into
the House by the activity and resolution of the door-
keepers alone: several peers exhibited, on their en-
trance, incontestible proofs of the indignities they had
sustained, and stated to the chair the danger of other
members, while the Duke of Richmond, in the genuine
zeal of reform, complained of interruption, and seemed
to consider his speech of more importance than the
lives of Lord Boston and the Bishop of Lincoln, who
were at that moment declared to be in the hands of the
138 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
ra kble*. In this ridiculous spirit of procrastination
and factious delay, a generous proposal by Lord Town-
1780. shend for the House to issue forth in a body and rescue
Lord Boston, was converted into a debate, whether
the speaker should attend with the mace, which was only
terminated by the appearance of Lord Boston, whose
life might have been sacrificed to popular rage before
assistance was obtained through so tardy a medium.
One of the Middlesex magistrates was called to the
bar, who declared that every exertion could only
procure the attendance of six constables, and that no
civil force could quell so large and tumultuous a mob.
A suggestion of the propriety of calling in the mili-
tary, under the authority of the civil power, was
resisted by Lord Shelburne, who declared, though
ministers might be fond of such a measure, it should
never meet with his sanction. The original debate was
interrupted ; the peers separately retired, leaving, at
last, Lord Mansfield, who had shewn, throughout the
day, the utmost presence of mind, with no other protec-
tion than the officers of the house and his own servants.
The petitioners The House of Commons exhibited a scene equally
interrupt the disgraceful. Many of the members were no less ill-
Commons treated than the Lords. The rabble took possession of
the lobby, making the House resound with cries of
" No popery," and knocking violently at the door:
and when their power and the absence of all resistance
are considered, it is not easy to say what prevented
them from rushing in. The motions for bringing up
and entering into the immediate consideration of the
petition, were made by Lord George Gordon, and
seconded by Alderman Bull : the former was granted
of course, the latter being amended by a delay of four
days, the House divided, and only nine members were
found sufficiently flexible to consent to a deliberation,
* The rage against the Bishop of Lincoln had no other foundation than his
being brother to the Lord Chancellor (Thurlow) ; Lord Boston was attacked on
an untrue and wicked suggestion, that he was a member of the Romish church.
Lord Boston effected his own liberation : the bishop, after sustaining much insult
and violence, was rescued by a young law student, received into a private house,
and concealed in the attire of a woman from the populace (who swore they would
cut the sign of the cross on his forehead); several other peers were maltreated.
GEORGE III.
under the control of an outrageous mob*. During
the debate preceding the division, Lord George Gordon
frequently went into the lobby, harangued Jiis noisy
troop, and encouraged them to perseverance, by ex-
pressing hopes that the alarm would compel the King
to give directions to his ministers for granting the
prayer of their petition. He represented, or, to speak
more correctly, misrepresented, what was said by the
members, which being observed by Colonel Holroyd,
he took hold of Lord George Gordon when he re-
turned into the House, and said, " He had heretofore
" imputed his conduct to madness, but now found it
" more characterized by malice ; and if he repeated such
" proceedings, he should immediately move for his
" commitment to Newgate." Lord George, with great
mildness and puritanical cant, " lamented that a
" person for whom he had so much respect should
" consider him in that light." He desisted from going
out at the door, but afterwards went up stairs and
spoke to the people in the lobby from a kind of gal-
lery. General Conway intimated a determination to
resist any attempt to intrude into the House ; and a
inember-f declared, that, on the bursting in of the first
man, his sword should pass through Lord George, and
not through the rioter.
The House continued in this extraordinary state
until about nine o'clock, when the Serjeant-at-Arms
having communicated to the Speaker that a detach-
ment of soldiers was drawn up in the Court of Re-
quests, and the passages cleared, the House adjourned.
Mr. Addington, an active Middlesex magistrate, ap-
pearing with a party of light horse, prevailed on part
of the mob to retire. Parties of them, however, filed
off in different directions, and burnt and plundered the burnt,
chapels of the Sardinian and Bavarian ambassadors;
some were apprehended and committed to Newgate.
* Their names were, Lord George Gordon and Alderman Bull, tellers; Earl
Verney, Sir Philip Jennings Clerke, Sir Michael le Fleming, Sir James Lowther,
Sir Joseph Mawbey, Mr. Polhill, and Mr. Tollemache. On the other side were
192.
t Said by some to be Colonel Murray, by others Colonel Gordon; both were
relations of Lord George.
139
140
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVIIi.
1780.
Riots subside.
3rd June.
They are
renewed.
4th June.
5th.
Privy council
held.
Proclamation.
The early part of the ensuing day exhibiting no
appearances of a renewal of the late outrages, Parlia-
ment met without interruption. Lord Bathurst moved
an address for " prosecuting the authors, abettors, and
" instruments of yesterday's outrages;" while the
Duke of Richmond imputed the whole blame to the
ministry, who, although timely apprized of the meeting,
took no measures for preventing its pernicious effects.
He had passed through the mob in his way to the
House with little interruption ; he heard no complaint
against any law, but the Quebec act, and he thought
that complaint not ill-founded. Lord Shelburne
drew a distinction between toleration and establish-
ment, intimating that more than toleration had been
obtained for the Catholics. Lord Bathurst's motion
was agreed to, and the House having prosecuted, with-
out interruption, a long debate on some dispatches
lately received from Admiral Rodney, adjourned till
the sixth.
Contrary to all expectation, the riots were renewed
in the evening ; a party assembled in Moorfields, and
did some mischief under the very eye of Kennet, the
Lord Mayor, a weak and ignorant man, totally void of
spirit or mental resource, who, with the slightest exer-
tion, might have crushed the tumult in its infancy*.
During the ensuing day, which was Sunday, their
outrages were confined to Moorfields and its vicinity ;
and the military, although called out, were not per-
mitted to fire. The real damage was hitherto less
considerable than the alarm, and government laboured
under the mistake that the proceedings of the rabble
portended nothing serious, but were mere irregula-
ritiesj*.
Before the drawing-room at St. James's in compli-
ment to his Majesty's birth-day, a privy council was
held ; but the tumults yet appearing of small import-
ance, the only measure adopted was a proclamation,
offering a reward of five hundred pounds for the dis-
* See Wilkes's speech in the House of Commons, 19th June, 1780.
t Such was the opinion expressed by Lord Mansfield to Mr. Strahan.
Bemvell's Life of Johnson, vol. iii. p. 457, Svo.
See
GEORGE III.
covery of those who were concerned in destroying the
chapels of the ambassadors. In the course of this day,
however, the riots assumed a more formidable aspect, uso.
extending beyond the chapels of the obnoxious per- JJlJJJJ^ 18
suasion, and indicating a wild, ungovernable, and de-
termined fury. The dawn was ushered in by an assault
on Sir George Savile's house in Leicester-fields: he
had moved the repeal of the statute of William, and
his patriotic exertions and parliamentary renown could
not avert the fury of the mob, who demolished part of
his dwelling, and burnt his furniture before the door.
Mr. Rainsforth and Mr. Maberly, two respectable men
of business, who had made themselves conspicuous by
laudable exertions in apprehending the rioters, were,
for that reason, singled out as victims, and their houses
destroyed. In Wapping and East Smithfield, Romish
chapels were rased, and the wrecks, being brought in
parade before Lord George Gordon's house, were burnt
in the adjacent fields.
This mischievous fanatic was now alarmed at the Terror of
effects of his own imprudence, and put forth a hand- Gordon! 01 S<?
bill, in the name of the Protestant association, disavow-
ing the riots. When the House met according to ad-
journment, he found some members determined to Gth -
check his extravagancies. Colonel Herbert, afterward
Earl of Carnarvon, called across the House, perempto-
rily commanding him to take from his hat the badge
of sedition, the blue cockade, and threatening, if he
refused, to do it himself: Lord George tamely obeyed,
and put the cockade in his pocket. Although the ap- Adjournment
proaches to the Houses of Parliament were, as before, of Parliament.
obstructed by the mob, no member was injured in his
passage, but Lord Sandwich, who was wounded, and
his carriage destroyed. The House of Lords, without
attempting any discussion, adjourned to the nine-
teenth : and the House of Commons passed resolutions
vindicating their own privileges, and an address for
repairing the injuries done to the property of am-
bassadors, and prosecuting, by the Attorney-General,
those who had occasioned or abetted the disturbances.
Some members of opposition seemed sensible of the
HISTORY OF ENGLAND
xxxvn'i dreadful emergency to which the country was reduced,
J_ ' and disposed to strengthen government. Mr. Burke,
1/80. who was implicated in the odium of having favoured
Roman Catholics, recommended unanimity and de-
fensive associations ; and Sir George Savile thanked
the ministry for the assistance of the military in pro-
tecting his dwelling. Mr. Fox, however, refused his
support to government, alleging that administration
had dissolved every bond of society, and disgraced all
who acted with them ; and an intimation that it would
be proper to expel Lord George Gordon, was received
with marks of disapprobation. A concession was
made to the rabble, which, if founded in prudence,
was deficient in dignity, by a resolution, " That, as
" soon as the tumults subsided, the House would pro-
" ceed to the consideration of the petitions of his Ma-
" jesty's Protestant subjects."
Excessive fury This second collection of the mob gave new force
of the rioters, to disorder, as the former slight attempts to restrain
the rioters only served to make magistracy ridiculous,
and impart to guilt the hardihood arising from impu-
nity. While the Houses were sitting, the minister's
abode in Downing Street was attacked, but protected
by the military. The insurgents, no longer undeter-
6th and 7th. mined in their purpose, or deficient in advisers, were
"* marshalled in bands, and sent on distinct expeditions,
which, during two days, were executed with rapidity
and success, spreading universal alarm, and threatening
general devastation. Religion was now hardly a pre-
tence, although the inhabitants of the metropolis and
its vicinity were obliged, as a protection to their pro-
perty, to chalk on their dwellings the words " no
" popery," and to pay, without resistance, the irregular
contributions demanded by the rioters, which were
levied according to their caprice or rapacity. It were
a vain and useless task to pursue methodically the
train of waste and havock, and trace with precision
the mischief committed by this licentious rabble during
their two days' dominion. The prisons of Newgate
and Clerkenwell, the Compters, the Fleet, the King's
Bench, and the Marshalsea, and the gaols of South-
GEORGE III. 143
wark, were emptied of their felons and debtors, and
destroyed or greatly damaged*. The houses of Sir
John Fielding, Mr. Hyde, and Mr. Cox, magistrates of nso.
Middlesex, were plundered and burnt ; the dwelling
of the Lord Chancellor was saved by posting in it a
few soldiers ; but the abode of Lord Mansfield met a
different fate : furniture, books, and pictures, and,
what was a still more irreparable loss, his manuscripts,
formed during so long and active a jurisprudential and
political life, all were sacrificed to the brute rage of the
rabble. The venerable Chief- Justice escaped by a
back way, and, wrapt in a cloak, arrived at the door of
a friend, requesting admittance. His wine and liquors
were poured out in profusion ; and probably the hope
of similar plunder, more than the circumstance of their
being Roman Catholics, drew the attention of the
mob to two houses of the Langdales, distillers in
Holborn, which were burnt, with several neighbouring
buildings. At these places, the rioters drank such
quantities of spirituous liquors, that many were burnt
and many overwhelmed in ruins.
A reluctance, rather inexcusable than unaccount- Timidity of
able, had enervated the arm of government, and pre- s overninent -
vented the due employment of the military during the
progress of these disgraceful transactions. A general
supineness seemed to pervade every department ; no
specific orders were issued, and, without them, no
justice of the peace would venture to exercise the
authorities confided to him by the riot act. The
transactions of 1768, when a Surrey magistrate was
tried on a capital indictment for such an exertion, and
those who obeyed his order were prosecuted with all
the malignity of party, were not yet forgotten, nor
could the ministers dismiss from their ears those ful-
minations which had so recently sounded in Parlia-
ment, when they merely appointed a military guard,
at a time when a mob was brought to their own doors,
during the discussion of the popular petitions. The
* The assault of Newgate, without arms, was the most desperate attempt that
could be conceived. A building so strong, that, had a dozen men resisted, it
seemed almost impossible to take it without artillery.
144
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVIII.
1780.
7lh.
Second privy-
council.
7lli June.
rage of opposition, and violence of invective which had
prevailed during the whole session, and the many at-
tempts which were daily making to render the people
active and efficient in government, account, but do not
apologize, for the timidity of administration*.
In this emergency, a privy-council was convened,
at which, not cabinet ministers alone, but all who had
a seat were desired to attend : the King himself was
present : irresolution still prevailed ; nor was any
thing decisive or effectual suggested. The council had
risen, when the King anxiously demanded if no mea-
sure could be recommended. The Attorney-General
answered he knew but of one that of declaring the
tumult rebellious, and authorizing the military to act
where necessity required, although the magistrates
should not attend. The King desired him to make
out the order, which he did at the table on one knee,
the King signed it with his own hand; a proclamation
was drawn up, and orders from the Adjutant-General's
office issued accordingly f. It was confidently pro-
nounced that this order would immediately put an end
to the riots. The proclamation did not issue till the
evening ; but the public soon experienced its good
effects. Orders had been sent in various directions for
troops to protect the metropolis; a part of the Nor-
thumberland militia, which had inarched twenty-five
miles during the day, reached Lincoln's Inn just as it
became night. The conflagrations at Langale's, and
at Holborn Bridge, were tremendous, and appeared to
spread with alarming rapidity^. A detachment went
immediately, under the command of Colonel Holroyd,
* Lord Chatham, for the preservation of the country, committed two acts
which he considered illegal: he arresled a suspicious foreigner by a general war-
rant, and he laid an embargo on vessels laden with corn ; his vindication of his con-
duct was a lesson, and oiight to be a model to ministers : " I know the illegality," he
said, " but I exercised power tor the salvation of the country, at the risk of my
" life ; and, were my life to be the certain forfeit, I would again, in similar cir-
" cumstances, act the same part."
t From private information. See the proclamation and order, Annual Re-
gister, 1780, p. '265, 266.
J The night was uncommonly serene and fine, a perfect calm, otherwise the
conflagration must have spread over the close parts of the town, especially as the
firemen were sometimes prevented from working their engines, and sometimes
joined in the pillage themselves.
GEORGE III. 145
to those places, and were the first to put a stop to the
outrages of the mob ; but not before several were
killed in the act of breaking into and firing the houses*. 1780.
The guards soon dispersed the rioters at Blackfriars
Bridge, and several were pushed over the balustrades
into the Thames.
The resolution to use force was adopted only in
time to avert the national ruin. The mob had formed
the design of attacking the Bank, and cutting off the
pipes by which the town is supplied with water ; but,
fortunately, too late for execution. The military took The riots
possession of every avenue to the Bank, which was ( i uelled -
also barricaded and strongly guarded ; the populace
made two attempts in different quarters, but were
easily repulsed, and could not be rallied : feeble and
hesitative shouts subsided into distant murmurs ; and,
after a short space, into total silence. The regular
firing of the soldiery produced a tremendous effect,
and the mob, attentive to their own safety, and em-
ployed in removing their wounded associates, fled,
regardless of the orders of their leaders. Similar suc-
cess attended similar exertions in other quarters ; and
those who at night had been terrified by the shouts of
an unnumbered populace, and distracted with the por-
tentous gleam of six-and-thirty separate conflagrations,
saw in the morning no vestiges of alarm, but smoking
ruins, marks of shot, and traces of blood, designating
the route of the wounded fugitivesf. 8th.
The House of Commons met the next day, but Restoration of
tranquillity.
* It was said there had been little combination or plan in the proceedings of
the mob, yet a standard-bearer on horseback in their rear was shot, and the body
and standard conveyed away in a hackney-coach ; and another standard, under a
small escort, was met by the detachment on its way to Holborn.
t The return made to Lord Amherst, on the occasion, was
Killed By association troops and guards. . .. 109
By light horse 101
Died in hospitals 75
285
Under cure in hospitals 173
458
This account is undoubtedly defective, as many dead and wounded were re-
moved by their friends ; and it is impossible to calculate how many were suffocated
with spirituous liquors, and smothered in ruins.
VOL. III. L
146
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXVIII.
1780.
9th.
Lord George
Gordon com-
mitted to the
Tower.
Spirited be-
haviour of
Wilkes.
declined proceeding to business, under the notion that
the metropolis was subjected to martial law, and, there-
fore, adjourned to the day appointed by the Upper
House. The impression which this supposition was
calculated to produce, was removed by the publication
of a hand-bill, expressly denying it : business soon fell
into its accustomed course ; the courts of law, which,
on the first day of the term, had been opened merely
pro forma, resumed their sittings, and alarm soon
softened into mere measures of caution and prepara-
tions for defence against the repetition of outrages.
The soldiers ordered from the country effected their
march with zealous precipitation ; the inhabitants of
every place at which they halted, testified, by hospitable
solicitude, a due sense of the importance of their ser-
vices : they were disposed in camps in the parks, in
the Museum gardens, and Lincoln's Inn gardens.
Volunteer associations for the protection of liberty
and property were formed, and supported with great
spirit ; and the temporary absence of government and
security seemed to enhance their value, and inspire
unusual zeal for their preservation.
On the second day after these outrageous transac-
tions, Lord George Gordon was apprehended by virtue
of an order from the Secretary of State, and com-
mitted to the Tower, on a charge of high treason. In
his examination before the privy council, he shewed
great feebleness, and seemed surprised at the results
of his own folly. He was escorted to his place of con-
finement by a numerous guard; but his discomfited
adherents, intent on concealment from the pursuit of
offended justice, and sensible of their own weakness,
did not attempt his rescue*.
Mr. Wilkes, whose name is so inseparably con-
nected with the history of the reign as to render his
* For this account, besides the periodical publications, in many of which the
facts are very accurately related, I have consulted a plain and succinct narrative
of the late riots, published under the name of William Vincent, but written by
Thomas Holcroft ; Fanaticism and Treason, by Herbert Croft ; Considerations
on the late Disturbances, by a consistent Whig ; the State and Behaviour of the
English Catholics ; and several other pamphlets ; the Trial of Lord George
Gordon, and the trials of the different rioters ; and have received considerable
private information.
GEORGE III. 147
conduct, on sucli an occasion, worthy of regard, be- X xxvin
haved, during these transactions, with the intrepidity [
and judgment becoming a magistrate of the metropolis. 1780.
At the height of the tumults, the publisher of a sedi- Gth June,
tious periodical work advertised a new paper, recom-
mending the people to " persevere in resisting the
" infernal designs of the ministry, designed to over-
" turn the religion and civil liberties of the country,
" and introduce popery and slavery." Mr. Wilkes
caused this miscreant to be apprehended, and assisted
the military in resisting the inroads of lawless violence.
At the adjourned meeting of Parliament, the King, 19th.
in a short speech from the throne, recapitulated the
measures he had adopted, and submitted to each house
copies of the proclamations. All parties concurred in
approving his Majesty's conduct ; the only differences
in opinion arose from reflections on the ministry,
for not sooner protecting the metropolis by the armed
force, and a discussion on the legality of military inter-
ference. This important topic was accurately illus- Lord
trated by Lord Mansfield, whose opinion has ever since
been regarded as constitutional law. He disembar- interference
rassed the question from all doubts relative to construc-
tive treason, by proving that the late riots amounted to
direct acts of high treason. But, beside these, the
insurgents were guilty of felony, by burning private
property, demolishing and robbing houses, and other
acts of undisguised violence. This was the true ground
of the proclamation for calling out the military. Every
man might, and, if required by a magistrate, must, in-
terfere to suppress a riot ; much more to prevent acts
of felony, treason, and rebellion. What an individual
might do, was lawful to any number of persons assem-
bled for a lawful purpose ; it would be needless to
prove that magistrates might legally act in a manner
not forbidden to other subjects ; constables were par-
ticularly charged to apprehend persons engaged in
breaches of the peace, felony, or treason, and in case
of resistance, to attack, wound, and even kill those who
continued to oppose them. A private man, seeing
another commit an unlawful act, might apprehend, and
L2
148
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
nso.
xxxviii ky force compel his submission, not to the assailant,
' but to the law ; and so might any number of men,
assembled or called together for the purpose. This
doctrine the chief justice stated to be clear and indis-
putable, with all its possible consequences, and it was
the true foundation for calling in the military to quell
the late riots. The persons so assisting were, in legal
contemplation, mere private individuals, amenable -to
the law ; and a man wearing a red coat was not less
liable to be called on for assistance than any other
person. If a military man exceeded the powers with
which he was invested, he must be tried and punished,
not by the martial code, but by the common and
statute laws of the realm. Consequently, the idea
that the metropolis was under martial law, and that
the military had more power since the riots than they
had before, was an idle and ill-founded apprehension.
The sentiments of Lord Mansfield, on so important
a topic, claimed the utmost attention, and the con-
sideration of his years and sufferings in the late un-
happy tumults, added to the interest with which he
was regarded. In prefacing his opinion, he avowed
that he had formed it without having recourse to
books, adding the pathetic exclamation, indeed I have
no books to consult : all his auditors seemed impressed
with the sincerest sympathy, and to deplore the loss he
had sustained as a national misfortune and disgrace.
Opinions similar to those of Lord Mansfield were ex-
pressed by the Lord Chancellor and other peers, on
occasion of two captious and querulous motions by the
Duke of Richmond, on the disarming, as he termed it,
of the citizens of London by the Lord Mayor, and
for some examination of evidence respecting the pro-
gress and suppression of the riots, which were nega-
tived without division.
Notwithstanding the prevailing indignation against
the late excesses, Alderman Sawbridge brought up a
petition from the Common Council against the Roman
Catholics, which Mr. Wilkes reprobated, as obtained
during the height of the disturbances (7th June) and
by surprise, when most of the members had departed,
city petition
lies.
GEORGE III. 149
in the belief that the business of the day was con- xxx\'iii
eluded. He reproached the Lord Mayor and Alder-
man Bull for supineness and factiousness. Had the 1780.
chief magistrate taken proper care of the city, he said,
the tumults would have been suppressed in their
origin ; and Bull had countenanced the insurgents, by
permitting the constables of his ward to wear the
ensign of sedition in their hats, and by appearing
publicly arm-in-arm with the great instigator of the
riots.
The House resolved itself into a committee for Petitions re-
considering the petitions against the tolerating act, J ected -
which were principally enforced by Alderman Bull
and Sir Joseph Mawbey. Mr. Burke distinguished
himself in favour of toleration, avowing, at the same
time, the firmest attachment to the doctrines of the
Church of England; and on his motion the House
adopted five resolutions, expressive of their satisfac-
tion in the law as it existed, and their abhorrence of
the late tumults, as well as the misrepresentations
which had given birth to them.
As, in these debates, some apprehensions were ex- BUI for P re-
pressed relative to the influence which Roman Catholics cathoifcs
might acquire by being intrusted with the authorities f rom tea . ch -
intr voutli ',
of tuition, Sir George Savile brought in a bill for Rejected.
depriving them of the right of keeping schools, or
receiving youth to board in their houses : it passed the
Commons, but was lost in the Lords.
The King terminated the session with a judicious 8thJuiy.
speech, in the conclusion of which he recommended session.
to the members of the House of Commons to assist,
by their influence and authority in their several coun-
ties, as they had by their unanimous support in Parlia-
ment, in guarding the peace of the kingdom from
further disturbances, and watching over the preserva-
tion of public safety. " Make my people sensible,"
he said, " of the happiness they enjoy, and the dis-
" tinguished advantages they derive from our excellent
" constitution in Church and State. Warn them of
" the hazard of innovation ; point out to them the
" fatal consequences of such commotions as have lately
150
HTSTOUY OF ENGLAND.
CHAT.
XXXVIII.
1780.
28th June.
Trials of the
rioters.
lUlh July.
Trial of
Lord George
Gordon.
" been excited ; and let it be your care to impress on
" their minds this important truth that rebellious
" insurrections to resist or reform the laws, must end
" either in the destruction of the persons who make
" the attempt, or in the subversion of our free and
" happy constitution."
The rioters in London and Middlesex were
arraigned at the Old Bailey. A special commission
was issued for trying those in Surrey. The long de-
pending arrangements with Sir Willian De Grey being
completed, Mr. Wedderburne took his seat as Chief
Justice of the Common Pleas, being at the same time
raised to the peerage by the title of Lord Loughbo-
rough. He was the principal commissioner, and de-
livered a judicious, eloquent, and impressive charge.
No harsh or intemperate zeal for vengeance actuated
the judges or influenced the juries at either place;
although these juries were composed of men whose
property was affected by the sums recovered from the
counties for reparation of damages, their proceedings
were characterised by the humanity of British juris-
prudence : no man was convicted but on the fullest
testimony ; no plea of extenuation or recommendatory
circumstance was disregarded ; and, considering the
extent and duration of the riots, the multitude of per-
sons engaged, and the rewards for giving evidence, the
number of convictions was remarkably small : few
parallels can be found of national indignation so justly
excited, and so easily appeased*. The sheriffs and
other jailors were indemnified by Parliament against any
actions which might be brought for the escape of pri-
soners ; and the benefits of an act of insolvency were
extended to those who, after being set free by the mob,
voluntarily surrendered.
Lord George Gordon was at first totally disregarded
in his confinement ; he complained of being prevented
from seeing his friends, but had the mortification to
hear that no friends had enquired for him. He after-
* At the Old Bailey, 85 were tried ; of whom 35 were capitally convicted, 7
convicted of single felony, and 43 acquitted. In Surrey, 50 were tried ; of whom
21 were capitally convicted, and 26 acquitted.
GEORGE III. 151
ward ineffectually petitioned the House of Com-
mons to obtain his discharge. He was tried for high
treason ; but, although some doubts prevailed as to the Jan 1781
extent of his criminality, he owed his acquittal princi-
pally to the extraordinary zeal and talents of his coun-
sel, Mr. Kenyon, and more particularly Mr. Erskine.
The societies of Glasgow entered into a subscription,
and remitted four hundred and eighty-five pounds for
his support. He afterward fell rapidly into general
disregard, though he made some desperate attempts to
attract notice, by attending at St. James's to offer the
declarations and resolutions of his associated rabble to
the King, and by publishing a letter on the subject of
his reception*.
Such was the final termination of this unhappy
and disgraceful event : its character and the reflections
to which it gives rise are ably and judiciously detailed
by a reverend prelate, who did not long survive the
period. " The facts are too recent and too well known,"
he says, " to be related ; and it is to be wished that
" they could be blotted out of all history, and out of the
" memory of every soul living, that they might be men-
" tioned no more to the shame and disgrace of the Bri-
" tish name and nation. The papists, dissenters, the
" magistrates, the ministry, the parliament, all parties
" and persons almost, were to blame ; but the opposition
" most of all. The Papists, imprudently, took more
" liberties than were allowed by the act of Parliament in
" their favour. The dissenters manifested a cruel perse-
" cution. The magistrates were all confounded and
" stupified. We read, in the Roman story, that an
" emperor made his horse a consul ; and we might as
" well have had apes for justices of peace. The minis-
" ters should have prevented such an unlawful concourse
" of people by a proclamation, or other more vigorous
" measures if requisite. The Parliament, instead of
" giving way to their fears and adjourning for a time,
" should have proceeded immediately to the strongest
" acts and resolutions against suchriotous assemblies,
* See Remembrancer, vol. xii. p. 298.
152 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
" ^ or our P resen t peace and future security. The late
" act for relief of the Papists," he proceeds, " though
1780. " no great matter in itself, was yet made aery and pre-
" tence to work up the people to madness; but the sore
" lay much deeper. If that act had been the real
" grievance, the rage of the populace would, of course,
" have fallen on the promoters of it, Sir George Savile,
" who first moved, and Mr. Dunning who seconded it ;
" Lord Buckingham, Lord Shelburne, Mr. Burke, and
" others who supported it ; but little or no damage was
" done to them, and that little only for a pretence and
" colour. The fury of the mob was discharged chiefly
" upon the friends of government, and particularly
" upon the great and venerable dispenser of law and
" justice, who was not even present at any reading of
" the bill*. The Protestant associators," he adds, "dis-
" grace the Protestant religion by their intolerant prin-
" ciples and practices. It is possible, but barely pos-
" ble, that some few of them might have no bad inten-
" tions at first ; but others of no religion, taking advantage
" of their mistaken zeal ; French and American agents,
" and some desperate villains of our own and other
;t countries, inlisted andinrolled themselves under their
" banners for the sake of plunder and destruction.
" John the Painter's attempt was only the prelude ;
" this was the tragedy, and a deep tragedy indeed, such
" as never before was acted upon this stage, and God
" grant that it may be never again-]-."
But it was not for such acts as this that the ven-
geance of the mob was directed against this venerable
nobleman ; he had long been the object of vitupe-
ration and calumny to every faction and every factious
* In administering the law, Lord Mansfield had shewn himself a vigilant guar-
dian of the oppressed, and a determined opposer of all attempts to enforce in an
undue manner those statutes which, if carried to their utmost extent, would have
been so injurious to the Roman Catholics. A strongly characteristic instance is
disclosed in the letter of Father Bedingfield, already noticed, v.ii. p. 557. It may be
mentioned here, that the Payne, mentioned in this letter, is described by Mr.
Plowden (History, vol. i. p. 461) as " One Pain, a carpenter, who, having two
" daughters, little business, much bigotry, and more covetousuess, formed the
" singular speculation of acquiring '20,(XJO a piece for his daughters' fortunes,
" by informations under the penal statutes against the Catholics."
t Works of the Right Rev. Thomas Newton. D.D. Lord Bishop of Bristol,
with some Account "f his Life, vol. i. p. 1 19
GEORGE III.
153
CHAP
declaimer, and his firmness and impartiality in ad- X xxviii
ministering justice had inflamed against him a rancour _
which could never have arisen from mere offences in 1780.
matter of religion.
In the autumn, Parliament was suddenly dissolved ; ls .t
the elections in some places were conducted with great /
spirit ; in others with remarkable languor. Mr. Fox,
after a long contest with Lord Lincoln, was returned
for Westminster : Mr. Burke was rejected at Bristol,
having lost many friends in consequence of his sup-
porting the trade of Ireland in opposition to the in-
structions of his constituents, which he wisely and
magnanimously disregarded ; Malton, which he had
formerly represented, again returned him, and the hum-
ble borough gained, by such a representative, an
honour which the great commercial city might rea-
sonably envy.
154
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
Admiral
Rodney.
CHAPTER THE THIRTY-NINTH.
1780.
Admiral Rodney His situation in France Generosity of
the Mar6chal de Biron Rodney's return Bounty of the
King State of the naval service He obtains a command.
Admiral Kempenfelt captures French transports. Rodney
sails Captures a Spanish fleet Defeats Langara. Digby
takes French ships. Prince "William Henry. Siege and
capture of Charlestown in South Carolina. Clinton's ad-
dressand proclamations. Formation of military force.
Expeditions against the Americans. Burford defeated by
Tarleton. Clinton quits Carolina. Proceedings of Lord
Cornwallis. Exertions of the Americans. Treachery in
South Carolina. Gates commands the Americans. Battle
of Camden. Tarleton defeats Sumter. Severities of Lord
Cornwallis. Colonel Ferguson routed and killed. EiFect
of this disaster. End of the campaign in Carolina. Trans-
actions at New York. Incursion into the Jerseys. Attack
on Bergen Point. Arrival of reinforcements from France.
Ineffectual attempt on Rhode Island. Arrival of Rodney
in the West Indies. Ineffectual efforts and skirmishes.
Arrival of a Spanish fleet. De Guichen returns to Europe.
Rodney to America. Disappointment of the Americans
on the absence of De Guichen. Defection of Arnold.
Fate of Major Andre. Arnold's proclamations. Bur-
goyne's army at length exchanged. Naval transactions in
Europe. Capture of the British East and West India
fleets. Quebec fleet taken by the Americans.
GIBRALTAR being reduced to the utmost distress
for want of provisions, Admiral Rodney was intrusted
with the command of a squadron destined for its re-
lief. The appearance of this illustrious Admiral on
GEORGE III. 155
the scene of action was occasioned by one of those
extraordinary circumstances which give to some events
in history the appearance of romance. He had served 1780.
his country gloriously in the late war, and had after-
ward been advantageously employed in Jamaica ; but
his appointment ceasing, and his income not affording
him the means of pursuing the life of fashion and ele-
gance to which he had been used, and to which his
inclinations strongly tended, he had contracted debts,
and was obliged to seek refuge in France. In Paris
he was treated with the respect and kindness which a in France!
polite and generous people can shew even to those
whom duty has obliged to act against them in a hos-
tile character ; but still the inadequacy of his pecuni-
ary resources beset him, and he incurred debts to a
considerable amount. When the war broke out, it is
said that the French king, through the Marechal
Biron, offered him a high command in his navy, but
which he refused, with becoming expressions of the
resentment he should have felt, had the proposal
originated with the Marechal himself. The narrative
is destitute of confirmation, and wants the appearance
of truth. The noble and susceptible individuals who
held rank in the French marine would never have en-
dured the intrusion of a foreigner into a station which
would render him their superior, while his only means
of attaining it must have dishonoured him as a rebel
and a traitor. That Rodney would have rejected such
an offer if it had been made, cannot be doubted : he
was not unacquainted with poverty ; but dishonour
could never approach him.
Biron, a truly illustrious and high-spirited noble- Generosity of
man, would have been a very improper agent in such the Marechal
a negotiation ; for he admired and loved in Rodney the
qualities with which he himself was endowed: he
sought his acquaintance, and caused a communication
to be made to him, that, as he understood his stay in
Paris was occasioned by the want of a remittance to
discharge his debts in that capital, he would readily
supply him with cash to the amount, if required, of
two thousand pounds. With" proper expressions of
156
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1779.
His return.
Bounty of the
King.
June '20th.
State of the
naval service.
1779.
Dec.
Rodney ob-
tains a com-
ma-id.
gratitude, the Admiral declined the offer; but after a
lapse of five weeks*, during which his supplies did not
arrive, his creditors becoming insolent and threaten-
ing, and his personal freedom insecure, he accepted
the tender, much pressed and often repeated, of this
high-minded and warm-hearted Frenchman, and the
aid of a thousand louis-d'or enabled him to quiet his
Paris creditors, and return to his own country^ .
He did not at first obtain employment. Admiral
Keppel commanded the great Channel fleet, while
those destined to America and the West Indies were
given to Sir Hyde Parker, Barrington, and Byron;
but Rodney's merit was discerned by the King, who
honoured him with an audience, received him most
graciously, promised him early employment, and at
the first opportunity conferred on him the rank of
Admiral of the White.
Still he remained unemployed more than a year,
during which time he had the mortification to see the
naval service torn by faction; admirals declining to
serve, captains threatening to resign, inferior officers,
and even the common men, swayed by self-will, con-
temning subordination, and menacing mutiny: the
spirit of the times pervaded the naval service, and
many had adopted the horrible principle that their
duty to serve their country and resist its enemies was
subordinate to their individual opinions of the justice
of the public cause or the propriety of public mea-
sures. Fortunately for the nation, Rodney was inca-
pable of entertaining or admitting such notions. He
obtained the command of twenty sail of the line and
nine frigates, his force being augmented by squa-
drons under Rear-Admirals Digby and Sir John Lock-
hart Ross, and having under convoy three hundred
merchant vessels bound to Portugal and the West
* 1st April to 6th May, 1778.
t Life and Correspondence of Admiral Rodney, by Major-General Mundy,
vol. i. pp. 177, 179, 180. Lacretelle, Histoire de France, tome v. p. 216. It is
satisfactory to add, on the authority of General Munday, that Messrs. Drum-
mond, the London bankers, immediately on the Admiral's arrival, made him an
advance which enabled him to acquit himself of his pecuniary obligations to the
generous French nobleman
GEORGE III. 157
Indies. At Plymouth he had to contend against the CHAP.
difficulties of an ill-regulated service ; but his judgment J
and vigour stimulated indolence into useful action, and 1780.
his spirit and firmness repressed all appearances of
insubordination. All these obstacles were surmounted,
and the Admiral was impatient to begin his expedition
long before the weather, alternately tempestuous and
dead calm, would permit.
During this period of detention, Rodney was Dec. 12th.
cheered, and might have derived a favourable omen Kempeif
from a successful exploit of Admiral Kempenfelt. captures
That brave officer, cruizing near Brest, with twelve
sail of the line, fell in with the French fleet under the
Count de Guichen, consisting of nineteen sail of the
line, two armed en-flute, convoying troops to the West
Indies. Of these he cut off fifteen, and so disabled
the expedition, that only two ships of war reached
their destination.
At length the elements permitted the Admiral to Dec. 29th.
sail. His expedition was planned with judgment, and Rodney sails,
its objects kept so profoundly secret as to deceive the
Bourbon courts. They could not conceive that so
great a force, comprising part of the Channel fleet,
would be employed to convoy the transports to the
Straits, but thought that the Admiral would separate
from them in a certain latitude ; and therefore selected
eleven men of war and two frigates from the grand
fleet of Spain, with which Don Juan de Langara pro-
ceeded, expecting to intercept the supply.
Rodney had the good fortune, soon after his de- 8th Jan.
parture, to take fifteen sail of Spanish merchantmen,
with valuable cargoes, a new man-of-war of sixty-four
guns, four frigates, and two smaller armed vessels.
He then encountered Langara off Cape St. Vincent's ; 16th
and, after a gallant action, maintained during great
part of the night, captured the Admiral in the Phoenix
of eighty guns, and three other men-of-war. Two
more had struck, but were driven on shore by tempes-
tuous weather, and one was lost; the San Domingo
blew up . early in the engagement, and every man on
board perished. Rodney proceeded triumphantly to
158
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
22nd Feb.
Digby takes
French ships.
29th Feb. and
1 st March.
Prince Wil-
liam Henry
in the navy.
Gth and 15th
March.
26th Dec.
1779.
Siege and
capture of
Charlcstown.
Gibraltar, and, after landing his stores, and affording
some relief to Minorca, sailed, agreeably to his original
destination, for the West Indies. Admiral Digby,
returning to England with the Spanish prizes, the
transports, and the ships belonging to the channel
fleet, took the Prothee, a French sixty-four, and two
vessels laden with military stores, being part of a
convoy, the rest of which escaped. Rodney obtained
the unanimous thanks of both Houses of Parliament,
in voting which, individuals of all parties vied in
eulogy and commendation, and the members of his
own profession, particularly Lord Howe and Admiral
Keppel, were most- energetic in applause. He was
also complimented with the freedom of the Cities of
London and Edinburgh.
In this expedition, his Majesty's third son, Prince
William Henry, first learned to serve his country.
He was placed as a midshipman on board the Prince
George, bearing the flag of rear-admiral Digby, and
his royal Highness entered into the profession, not as
one who merely proposes to gratify curiosity or pur-
sue amusement, but with a determination, and it was
steadily pursued, to acquire practical experience, to
submit to the duties of obedience, that he might
beneficially exercise those of command. He had the
good sense and discretion not to shew, in his dress or
manner, any consciousness of superior rank; but,
making his uniform his only garb, to share the labours
and partake in the socialities of those around him*.
When the failure of the attack on Savannah, and
the departure of the French fleet, removed the im-
pediments to a long projected operation, Sir Henry
Clinton sailed from Sandy Hook, to attack Charlestovvn
in South Carolina, with a force of about five thousand
men, convoyed by Admiral Arbuthnot, leaving Gene-
ral Knyphausen to defend New York. The voyage
was peculiarly inauspicious ; the transports were scat-
* Histories and Gazettes; Beatson's Memoirs, vol. v. p. 4, 107. Muiidy's
Life of Lord Rodney, vol. i. p. 203, etseq. ; but antecedent and succeeding parts
of the volume display the genuine, undefiled patriotism, the clearness of judgment,
and goodness of heart, which distinguished this illustrious commander.
GEORGE III. 159
tered by a storm; some fell into the hands of the
i i i i
enemy, others were lost ; one vessel, containing the
heavy ordnance, foundered ; all the cavalry and most 1780.
of the artillery horses perished, and a passage, which,
in fair weather, might have been completed in ten
days, was protracted to seven weeks. The General,
at one period, despairing of the accomplishment of his
original destination, projected an expedition to the
West Indies, to solicit the sanction of General Vaughan,
who commanded on that station, in an attack on Porto
Rico; but a favourable change in the wind enabled
him to reach Chaiiestown, which he immediately
invested.
The Americans, in consternation, adjourned the iithFeb.
Assembly of the province, and intrusted their governor,
John Rutledge, with all powers except privation of
life. Two proclamations, requiring the militia and all
men of property to join the army, produced little
effect ; an attempt to obtain ships and troops from the
Spanish governor of Havannah failed; but, by the
assistance of French engineers, the works of defence
were strengthened and extended. Strong abbatis,
deep holes dug at small distances, and a wet ditch,
raked by redoubts and protected by a citadel mount-
ing eighty pieces of cannon, guarded the town on
every assailable side. The entrance of the harbour
was impeded by the bar, and secured by a squadron of
nine sail, under Commodore Whipple, occupying a
station called Five-fathom-hole. Fort Moultrie and
Sullivan's Island were improved with new works, and
Lincoln, the American General, placing the whole
chance of protecting the province on the fate of the
city, shut himself up in it with seven thousand men,
resolved to resist to the last extremity.
Sir Henry Clinton made methodical approaches ;
the harbour was blockaded by the fleet, and the troops,
slowly advancing, and establishing or fortifying posts i s t April,
to maintain communication with the sea, crossed
Ashley River, and broke ground at eight hundred
yards from the works.
Admiral Arbuthnot had already passed the bar, 9& April.
160
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
10th April.
14th.
12th May.
unopposed by Whipple, who retired to Charlestown,
after having sunk eleven vessels of different descrip-
tions across the mouth of Cooper river. The Admiral,
however, with the first fair wind, passed Fort Moul-
trie without stopping to engage, and anchored near
Fort Johnstone.
A resolute refusal being returned to a summons to
surrender, batteries were opened on the town ; and as
the advance of Arbuthnot obviated the necessity of main-
taining a communication with the sea, Clinton dispatched
strong bodies, under Colonels Tarleton and Webster,
to cut off the intercourse of the garrison with the
country. Tarleton, with no less judgment than acti-
vity, surprised the American force at Monk's Corner,
routed them with the loss of all their stores, camp-
equipage, baggage, and four hundred horses, with
their arms and accoutrements; an acquisition of the
greatest importance to the British army, while the
conquest secured the passage of Cooper river ; Clin-
ton, being reinforced from New York, sent another
detachment across, and Lord Cornwallis commanded
the whole force.
Tarleton's enterprise, joined with the judicious
measures of Clinton, and the able movements of Major
Moncrieff, chief officer of the engineers, prevented all
communication, and cut off from the garrison all hopes
of retreat into the country. The approaches were
carried on with vigour, the canal was gained by sur-
prise, and the works advanced to the verge of the
ditch ; a storm appeared inevitable; and the British flag
was already flying on Fort Moultrie, when the inhabi-
tants petitioned Lincoln to accept terms of capitulation,
which he had formerly refused, and, a council of war
concurring in the measure, the British commander
took possession of the town. The Americans were
allowed some of the honours of war; but they lost
nearly seven thousand prisoners, including the Gover-
nor, council, military, militia, and about a thousand
American and French seamen. The whole naval
force was taken or destroyed, with four hundred pieces
of ordnance, and a considerable quantity of stores. By
GEORGE III. 161
the cautious proceedings of Clinton, Lincoln was en-
abled to collect all his force within the town, from
which no part could afterward escape. The British 1780.
officers, in general, were highly extolled ; Major Mon-
crieff, in the defence of Savannah and in this attack,
shewed the utmost perfection in the science of an
engineer, and Captain Elphinstone of the navy, by his
judicious arrangements, secured the passage of the
rivers Ashley and Cooper. Intelligence of this event,
by far the most brilliant of the American war, was
received in England just at the close of Lord George
Gordon's riot, and greatly contributed to the restora-
tion of calm and happiness at that critical moment.
Nor was the alarm of the Americans inferior to the Alarm of the
joy of the victors ; their cause seemed abandoned by Amencans -
their new allies, and they entertained apprehensions
that they should not be able to retain the rich and
fertile Southern Provinces*. The information received
by Sir Henry Clinton, on the temper and disposition of
the people, was calculated to inspire moderate hope,
but not excessive or blind confidence. Some persons
of the first fortune in the province were stated to have
dispositions as favourable as could be wished, from a
conviction of their error, and feeling too late the
miseries their fatal politics had produced, with the
necessity of treading back the paths which led to their
destruction. Others, who had been the tools of faction,
declared their absolute ruin inevitable, unless the
government, which they acknowledged preferable to
any other they could hope to establish, were restored.
The firm and constant loyalists were not numerous;
they had left the town and retired into the country :
indignant at the wrongs and insults to which they
had been subjected, they were anxious that their op-
pressors should receive due punishment ; and there was
reason to apprehend that if it was refused by go-
vernment, private means would be taken to effect the
work of vengeance. The lower class, it was ob-
* See the Crisis, No. ix. in the Remembrancer, vol. x. p. 233.
VOL. III. M
162 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
served, would submit to the government by which it
was supported*.
1780. When to these classes is added that of determined
revolutionists, who, whatever appearances necessity
might impose, would labour by all means, and await
every favourable opportunity, to advance their original
projects, it w r ill be obvious that Clinton's situation was
one of extraordinary difficulty. His measures were
judicious, and well adapted to bring back to loyalty
Clinton's those important colonies. In an address to the inha-
bitants, he stated, that in consideration of the loyal
blood spilt in the former well-intended, but ill-timed
efforts to assist the King's troops, he had hitherto
abstained from exciting the inhabitants to arms. The
time was now arrived when every individual might,
without apprehension, declare his sentiments ; and it
was the duty of every man to assist in restoring peace
and good government. It was not his intention to call
for unnecessary exertions ; but it would be requisite
for those who had families, to form a militia, under
officers of their own choosing, for the maintenance of
peace and good order ; while those who had no fami-
lies should embody for six months, under their own
officers, to drive their rebel oppressors from the pro-
vince, and, after the term of service, be freed from all
but militia duty. Beside this well-conceived address,
which was published as a hand-bill, the General issued
22nd May. three proclamations : the first subjected to confiscation
tions!* the property of all who should appear in arms against
the royal government, or compel others to join the
enemy, or hinder those inclined to assist the King's
1st June. forces. The second was a joint proclamation of the
General and Admiral, as commissioners for restoring
peace, promising such of the inhabitants as would
return to their allegiance, and to those laws which
they formerly boasted as their noblest inheritance, a
re-establishment of their ancient rights and immunities
under a free British government, exempt from taxation,
* 15th May, 1780, Letter from James Simpson to Sir Henry Clinton. State
Papers.
GEORGE III. 163
except by their own legislature. From these benefits,
however, were exempted all who were polluted with
the blood of their fellow citizens, wantonly and in- i?80.
humanly shed under the mock forms of justice, for re-
fusing submission to an usurpation which they ab-
horred, and adhering to that government with which
they deemed themselves inseparably connected. The
third proclamation, proceeding on the supposition that 3rd -
peace and good order were restored by the defeat of the
American forces, relieved from the state of prisoners
on parole, all the inhabitants, except the military,
persons taken in Fort Moultrie and Charlestown, and
those under actual confinement ; they who neglected
returning to their allegiance were to be treated as
rebels and enemies. Two hundred and ten of the 5th.
principal inhabitants of Charlestown concurred in a
congratulatory address on the restoration of the pro-
vince to the political connexion with Great Britain.
Although the right of taxing by Parliament had ex-
cited considerable ferments, still, they said, the people
naturally revolted at the idea of independency, which
was first promulgated in the northern colonies ; they
looked back, with painful regret, to convulsions sub-
versive of the British constitution, and productive of
rank democracy, which, however carefully digested in
theory, had, in practice, exhibited a system of tyrannic
domination, only to be found among the uncivilized
part of mankind, or in the history of the dark and
barbarous ages of antiquity ; they regretted the misery
and ruin occasioned by the disregard of the King's
overtures for accommodation, and would glory in dis-
playing their zeal by efforts for the restoration of feli-
city under the royal government*.
These sentiments were not confined to the sub- Formation of
scribers of the address ; great numbers assembled in milltar y force -
arms, under the direction of Major Ferguson; but
Clinton could not rely on these nattering appearances ; Expeditions
,1 ., ,. f. & . J j j j -U- i- x against the
the situation ol afiairs demanded his immediate pre- Americans.
* See these papers in the Remembrancer, vol. x. p. 80. et seq.
M 2
164
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
Pursuit of
Burford.
22nd May.
27th.
2Sth May.
Engagement
at Waxhaws.
5th June.
Clinton de-
parts.
sence at New York, and he had applied to government
for his recall ; but before his departure, he arranged
three expeditions for subduing the interior, and coun-
teracting the enemy. One ascended the Savannah,
and another passed the Saluda to Ninety-six ; both
found the people in general loyal, and disposed to
establish the regal government.
The third expedition, commanded by Earl Corn-
wallis, crossed the Santee river, and marched up the
north-east bank, in pursuit of Colonel Burford, who
was retreating to North Carolina, with artillery, and
waggons containing arms, ammunition, and cloathing.
Before the British troops could surmount impediments
created by the Americans, Burford had already been
retreating ten days. A corps of a hundred and seventy
foot, and a hundred mounted infantry, with a three-
pounder, was detached in pursuit, under the spirited
and enterprizing Colonel Tarleton, who was invested
with discretionary powers. After a pursuit, pressed
with great alacrity in a hot climate, Tarleton found
himself in the presence of the enemy at Waxhaws ;
but his troops were enfeebled by a march of a hundred
and five miles in fifty-four hours, and greatly out-
numbered by the enemy, who had three hundred and
eighty infantry, a body of cavalry, and two six-pounders.
Both parties formed without interruption ; but the
ignorance of Burford, and the spirited and well-directed
attack of Tarleton, soon decided the fate of the day ;
the whole convoy and two hundred prisoners were
taken, and a hundred and seventy-two killed.
Intelligence of this success, and of the general
prosperity of the province, cheered Sir Henry Clinton
in the moment of his departure. His short adminis-
tration in South Carolina was distinguished for judg-
ment, vigour, and prudence. His manners conciliated
many of the inhibitants, while the vigour of his pro-
ceedings restrained the turbulent; and his prudence
in establishing commissioners of captures, afforded
a seasonable relief to his own army, prevented the
complaints of the inhabitants, and effected a great
GEORGE III. 165
saving to government*. Colonel Tarleton speedily xxxTx
rejoined Lord Cornwallis, who was now intrusted '_
with the chief command, at the head of four thousand irso.
British troops. South Carolina being deemed suffi-
ciently secure, the instructions left with Lord Corn-
wallis were, " constantly to regard the safety and
" tranquillity of Charlestown, as the principal and
" indispensable objects of his attention. When the
" necessary arrangements for this purpose were com-
" pleted, and the season suitable to the operations in
" that climate should return, he was left at liberty (if
" he judged it proper) to make a solid move into
" North Carolina, on condition that it could be done
" without endangering the safety of the posts com-
" mitted to his charge."
During the delay which occurred from the heat of Pr ceed ings
,, -,. j ,, J ., f f . ofLord
me climate, and the necessity 01 forming magazines
and securing communications, Lord Cornwallis occu-
pied himself in commercial, military, and civil arrange-
ments at Charlestown. He also sent trusty emissaries
into North Carolina, informing the loyalists of his in-
tention to enter that province, and advising them to
reap their harvest, collect provisions, and remain in
tranquillity till his arrival. These prudent instruc-
tions were unfortunately disregarded ; a body of loyal-
ists, under Colonel More, prematurely assembled in
Tryon county, were routed and dispersed; the insur-
rection formed a pretext for persecution ; the jails
were filled with pretended traitors, and every day
produced new sacrifices to the spirit of revolution.
The perils to which this unfortunate class were sub-
jected compelled a body of eight hundred to leave the
province, and join Major M> Arthur at Cheraw Hill,
in South Carolina.
The Americans were encouraged in these vigorous
* By a mistake in the seventh report of the commissioners of public accounts,
the establishment of these commissioners of captures is ascribed to Lord Corn-
wallis That nobleman did indeed pursue the measure with ability and inte-
grity, but the regulation originated with Clinton. Although this meritorious
officer produced before the commissioner.* of public accounts irrefragable docu-
ments for the correction of their report, he could never prevail on them to revive,
after the peace, so unwelcome a subject as the expenses of the American war.
166
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
Exertions
of the Ame-
ricans.
Treachery in
South
Carolina.
efforts by the certainty of speedy aid from Virginia
and other provinces, and a detachment from General
Washington's army, amounting together to more than
six thousand men, beside whom the legislature of
Virginia had ordered five thousand, drafted from the
militia, to serve as a corps of observation. The people
of South Carolina began also to manifest treacherous
and turbulent dispositions. The disloyal who had
accepted protections, complained of compulsion, and
hardly made a secret of their antipathy to the British
government, while those who, through principle, had
availed themselves of General Clinton's proclamation,
were indignant at seeing these scarcely-concealed trai-
tors enjoying immunities and accumulating advan-
tages, which it required nothing but opportunity to
turn against the English. Several inconsiderate mili-
tary promotions enabled these traitors to effect great
injury to the cause; one Lisle, in particular, carried
over to the enemy a whole battalion of militia, with
their arms and ammunition.
From these circumstances, and the increase of dis-
loyalty, the proclamation of the third of June has been
censured, as warranting hypocrisy on one hand, and
spreading disaffection on the other. It is, however, to
be considered, that when the proclamation was issued
the province was considered secure from military inva-
sion, and sufficiently strong to protect itself, if loyally
inclined, under the sanction of the British force. The
greater number of people in every country are indif-
ferent to forms of government, nor were the mere
planters and traders of South Carolina in general more
attached to the American than the British cause.
Violent parties of loyalists and revolutionists guided
the conduct rather than the sentiments of the wealthy
and quiescent. The capture of Charlestown reduced
the American party to despair, and the loyalists were
equally with their opponents included in the terms of
parole in the articles of capitulation. The object of
the proclamation was therefore to emancipate the
loyal from a needless restraint, to enable those whom
the pursuit of wealth and the love of ease would attach
GEORGE III. 167
to the predominating party to follow the bent of their xxxfx
dispositions without impediment, while the sturdy and 1
incorrigible rebel, expressly exempted by the letter 1780.
of the proclamation from the clemency of its provisos,
was exposed to the severities which he had been in-
strumental in inflicting on the loyalists. In all public
measures, freedom and security are the principal ob-
jects, and that government must be pitifully tyranni-
cal which affects by general regulations to prevent the
unreasonable complaints of party jealousy, or obviate
the effects of treacherous hypocrisy. These ends
can only be produced by the vigilance, caution, and
discernment of those to whom the executive powers
are intrusted ; they alone can restrain the artifices of
the disloyal, and, by the prudent use of authority, pre-
vent the intrusion of traitors into posts of trust. With
the view of conciliating the colony, and establishing
the regal government in the hearts of the people, the
proclamation was wise and judicious; no complaint
was heard, as in the Jerseys, that those who sought
shelter under it were plundered or treated with in-
dignity ; and if the arms of Britain had been generally
prosperous, and her power generally respected, it
would undoubtedly have produced beneficial conse-
quences. But, at that period, fortune seemed pecu-
liarly malignant. A great force was preparing by the
friends of Congress, and exaggerated rumours were
circulated and generally encouraged of a hostile arma-
ment, destined to co-operate with them. Britain was,
at the same time, menaced by an adverse confederacy of
neutral nations ; riot and insubordination prevailed in
Ireland and Scotland; England was agitated with
political discontents, the ministry were alarmed and
insecure, and the cause of government, even in the
seat of empire, appeared forlorn and helpless. What
wonder then that a colony of America, divided among
friends and enemies equally violent, and a third party
selfish and lukewarm, should prefer the cause of its
neighbours, a cause which it had once avowed as its
own, in preference to the interests of a country opposed
168
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
Cantonment
of the British
army.
Gates com-
mands the
Americans.
30th July.
Attack on
Rockv Mount.
in every quarter, and apparently on the verge of do-
mestic civil war 1
The principal force on the frontiers of South
Carolina was at Camden, under the command of Lord
Rawdon, hutted against the heat of the weather ;
Major M' Arthur was advanced to Cheraw Hill in the
vicinity of the Pedee river, to cover the country be-
tween Camden and George Town. The chain to the
westward was connected with Ninety-six by Ilocky
Mount, a strong post on the Wateree, occupied by
Colonel Turnbull. Colonel Balfour, and afterward
Colonel Cruger, commanded at Ninety-six. Major
Ferguson's corps, and a body of loyal militia, traversed
part of the province between the Wateree and Saluda,
and sometimes approached the borders of North Caro-
lina. Lieutenant-colonel Brown held possession of
Augusta, the frontier town of Georgia ; Savannah was
garrisoned by Hessians arid Provincials under Colonel
A lured Clark. Three regiments, two battalions, and
a large detachment of royal artillery, and some corps
of Provincials, were at Charlestown, under Brigadier-
General Paterson; and the fatiguing duty of maintain-
ing the communication between the principal posts of
this extensive cantonment was allotted to the legion
dragoons. The grand magazine was formed at Cam-
den ; but, from the heat of the weather, the supplies
were slowly forwarded.
Congress having resolved to exert the most strenu-
ous efforts for the recovery of South Carolina and
Georgia, the chief command of their forces in that
quarter was given to General Gates, who had gained
much reputation at Saratoga ; while Colonel Sumter,
a refugee, after the capture of Charlestown, raised a
corps in North Carolina, which was augmented by
other fugitives from South Carolina. The collection
of such a force rendered it necessary for Major M' Arthur
to fall back from Cheraw Hill to Camden.
Reinforced by the traitor Lisle, Colonel Sumter
made an attack on Rocky Mount, but was in three
separate attacks repulsed, with considerable loss, by
GEORGE Til. 169
the steady valour of Colonel Tumbull and a small
garrison. He next assailed the post at Hanging Rock,
occupied by a hundred and forty British, and several ITSO.
corps of loyal Provincials, under the command of 6th August.
Major Garden. The Provincials, who were first at-
tacked, gave ground with precipitation, and the British
troops nobly sustained the whole weight of the assail-
ants ; but superiority of numbers rendered the day
doubtful, till forty mounted infantry, on their return
from Rocky Mount, by a judicious feint, terrified
Sumter's corps, and compelled them to retreat in con-
fusion, leaving a hundred killed and wounded. Lord
Cornwallis immediately placed Hanging Rock in per-
fect security, by a reinforcement under Major Mecan.
Intelligence of the formidable preparations of the loth August.
enemy, induced Lord Cornwallis to repair to Camden,
where the effective force did not exceed two thousand,
while that advancing against them, under General
Gates, together with the militia, led by Caswel, Ruther-
ford, Porterfield, and Baron De Kalbe, amounted to
six thousand, exclusive of a thousand under Sumter.
Notwithstanding this disparity, the British General
marched two hours before midnight to attack the
enemy encamped at Clermont, in South Carolina ;
his front division being commanded by Lieutenant-
colonel Webster, and his centre by Lord Rawdon.
He had received intelligence that Gates intended to
move forward the same night, and at two o'clock in
the morning the advanced guards of both armies met.
After a temporary confusion, and some slight skir-
mishes, both, as if by compact, betook themselves to
repose, awaiting the dawn. On reconnoitring, Lord
Cornwallis found his situation extremely eligible ; a
swamp on either hand preserved him from being out-
flanked, while the narrowness of the front diminished
the advantage of superior numbers on the side of the
enemy.
At dawn, both armies formed in two divisions ; but,
General Gates attempting to change the situation of
two brigades of militia, Lord Cornwallis commenced
a well-judged, rapid, and effectual attack. The Ame-
170
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP
XXXIX.
1780.
Tarletou routs
Sutnter.
18th August.
Severities of
Lord Corn-
\viillis.
rican militia were broken, threw clown their arms, and
fled ; the other division and the reserve maintained a
resolute and honourable conflict; but Colonel Webster,
instead of pursuing the fugitives, wisely directed the
efforts of his division against them ; the cavalry, under
Major Hanger and Colonel Tarleton, poured in with
irresistible impetuosity, and determined the fate of the
day. Rout and confusion could not be more complete ;
during a pursuit of twenty-two miles, the cavalry found
the ground strewed with arms, and men whom fatigue
prevented from further flight. All the baggage, stores,
and camp equipage, together with seven pieces of
cannon, fell into the hands of the victors. Upward of
eight hundred were slain, and among a thousand cap-
tured was the Baron De Kalbe, mortally wounded.
This important victory reflected great honour on
the British army, in which Lord Cornwallis, and Lord
Rawdon, then only twenty-five years of age, con-
spicuously shared. The advantages were rendered
complete by the surprise of Sumter, whom Tarleton,
with his usual ability and expedition, overtook, at
Catawba ford, on the verge of a friendly settlement.
With no more than a hundred dragoons, and sixty of
the light infantry, he vanquished more than eight
hundred Americans, killing and wounding a hundred
and fifty, and taking three hundred. He also rescued
two hundred and fifty prisoners, and recaptured several
waggons laden with rum and other stores, which Sumter
had taken in the course of his expedition ; and all the
provincial stores, ammunition, baggage, artillery, and
a thousand stand of arms, rewarded the valour and
diligence of the conquerors.
Lord Cornwallis, awaiting the supplies requisite for
his expedition into North Carolina, sought to restrain
the perfidy of the Americans by severe edicts. The
provocation was abundant, if the measure was wise.
His Lordship sequestered the estates of all who op-
posed the re-establishment of the royal government in
South Carolina ; deatli was denounced against those
who, after receiving British protections, joined the
enemy ; some of the most hardened were executed ;
GEORGE III. 171
and many persons of superior rank, who, being allowed
the benefit of parole in Charlestown, had maintained a
traitorous correspondence with General Gates, were 1780.
shipped oif to St. Augustine, in East Florida, and
again allowed their parole, but under restrictions. The
opinion formed of these measures depended too much
on subsequent events ; could the British have retained
their ascendancy, the punishments were merciful rather
than severe; but, in the course of succeeding transac-
tions, they afforded a pretext of retaliation, which was
urged to the full extent of the precedent.
At this period, Lord Cornwallis prepared a judi- sth Sep.
cious plan for overpowering all opposition in North Ca- Ma J r Fer ',
-lit \_ t t guson routed.
rohna ; he penetrated through the hostile settlement
Waxhaws, to a town called Charlotte. One part of
his plan was to detach Major Ferguson with a corps
of about a thousand loyal militia, for the purpose of
approaching the frontier : the service was important ;
but the militia, unsupported by regulars, could not be
relied on. Colonel Clarke, an inhabitant of Georgia,
had collected a force, and made an unsuccessful attack
on Augusta ; Ferguson, hoping to intercept his retreat,
advanced near the mountains, where he was encoun-
tered by a select body of fifteen hundred backwoodsmen.
These men, almost in a savage state, collected with vari- gth October,
ous views under different commanders, well mounted,
unincumbered, and armed with rifles, overtook Fergu-
son at King's Mountain: he defended himself with
great skill and valour, but their mode of fighting pre-
vented success. They attacked in different quarters ;
and wherever the Major presented his front, the oppos-
ing party fled from the bayonet ; but another corps at
the same moment advanced and assailed his rear.
After maintaining this unequal combat during an hour,
he received a mortal wound ; his men were disheartened,
and his successor reluctantly surrendered. The victors,
with characteristic inhumanity, maltreated the corpse
of the dead commander, hanged several of the prison-
ers, and treated others with detestable cruelty.
This fatal disaster disconcerted the plans of Lord
Cornwallis. Although abundantly supplied with pro- disaster -
172
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
November.
Tarletoii
disperses
Sumter's
forces.
20th Nov.
End of the
campaign.
Transactions
at New York.
visions at Charlotte, he sustained great inconvenience
from the inveterate hostility of the natives, and there-
fore gladly retreated for the protection of South Caro-
lina, deferring the prosecution of his enterprise till he
should receive a reinforcement expected from Sir
Henry Clinton. This interval was employed by Tarle-
ton in checking the inroads of a partizan named
Marion, who, after the retreat of the mountaineers,
infested the province.
Colonel Sumter, having again collected a force,
effected a junction with Clarke and Brannen, com-
manders of straggling parties, and projected an attack
on Ninety-six. Tarleton was recalled from his expe-
dition against the eastern parts of the province to op-
pose this force, and, pursuing his object with his accus-
tomed celerity, would have effected a surprise, had not
Sumter been informed of his danger by a deserter.
Tarleton, however, learning his retreat, overtook him
at Blackstock's Hill, with a detachment of eighty
cavalry, and, without waiting for the arrival of the
infantry, gallantly assailed a force greatly superior,
wounded the commander, and dispersed his troop.
The victory is disputed ; but all its benefits un-
doubtedly resulted from this exploit.
The defeat of Major Ferguson not only frustrated
the hopes which Lord Cornwallis had entertained, of
being joined by a considerable body of loyalists, but
animated the insurgents in both Corolinas. The ill-
success of General Gates at Camden was a sufficient
motive with Congress for superseding him, although
the measure was accompanied with personal civilities :
General Greene was his successor ; but no transaction
of importance marked the residue of the campaign*.
During the absence of the Commander in Chief,
and after his return, no remarkable military exploit
was performed in the vicinity of New York. The win-
ter was severe beyond all precedent ; the rivers, and
* Beside the other histories, I have consulted Tarleton's History of the Cam-
paigns of 1780 and 1781, Mackenzie's Strictures, Ramsay's History of the Revo-
lution of South Carolina, Johnson's Life of General Greene, and the pamphlets
published by Lord Cornwallis and Sir Henry Clinton, and have received much
private information.
GEORGE III. 173
even arms of the sea, were covered with ice sufficiently
thick to admit the passage of the heaviest artillery.
The city was thus deprived of the defence arising from 1780.
an insular situation, and reduced to great extremities
for want of provisions and fuel. General Knyphausen
adopted vigorous and judicious measures of protection ;
but General Washington was not in a condition to
venture an attack. His army was also in extreme
distress; their force weakened by the large detach-
ments sent to Charlestovvn, and the remaining regi- January
ments mutinous, through famine and despair. Thus
mutual weakness occasioned mutual safety. No enter- 3rd Feb.
prise was attempted till the breaking up of the frost,
except an unsuccessful attack by the American Lord
Sterling, against Staten Island, and an expedition to
a post called Young's House, in the neighbourhood
of White Plains, which was gallantly stormed by
Colonel Morton, forty of the enemy killed and ninety
captured.
General Knyphausen, receiving information that 7th June.
the American army was generally mutinous, and the incursions
inhabitants of the Jerseys desirous to re-establish the jerseys.
ancient government, detached a considerable force
under Generals Matthew and Sterling. On landing
at Elizabeth Town, they found the militia prepared for
resistance, and the mutiny in the army confined to
loud complaints against want and hardship, but not
calculated to produce a revolt to the British, govern-
ment. Perceiving no hopes of accomplishing their in-
tentions, they remained a few days on the island to
avoid the imputation of flight, and were joined by
Clinton, in his return from Charlestown. Although
displeased at the premature and unexpected effort
which frustrated a combined movement he had in con-
templation, he co-operated in an attack on Springfield, Springfield
which was captured and burnt, and then returned to taken<
New York.
General Washington detached General Wayne, ttack 9? .
j > lioi'^cii Point
with two thousand men, to attack Bergen Point, and
carry off the cattle reserved for supplying the British
army. Seventy men stationed in a blockhouse, pro-
174
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
10th July.
Arrival of re-
inforcement
from France.
Ineffectual
attempt on
Rhode Island.
13th Aug.
Naval proceed-
ings in the
West Indies.
25th Mar.
tected by abbatis, repulsed this disproportionate force,
killed more than their whole number, took several
prisoners, and recaptured part of the cattle.
Meanwhile, a long-expected reinforcement from
France arrived at Rhode Island: it consisted of six
thousand troops commanded by the Comte de Rocham-
beau, and seven sail of the line, five frigates, and five
smaller armed vessels, under M. de Ternay. To pre-
vent jealousy, the French government, with liberal
policy, raised Washington to the rank of lieutenant-
general in their armies, and thus placed M. de Ro-
chambeau under his command.
On receiving indisputable information of the desti-
nation of this armament, Clinton proposed to Admiral
Arbuthnot a plan for landing some British troops at
Rhode Island, while the fleet blocked up the French
squadron a measure which, if promptly executed,
would have brought the whole force, naval and military,
into imminent danger. The Admiral at first declined it,
in hopes of meeting the enemy at sea, and afterward de-
ferred co-operation till they had fortified themselves at
Rhode Island ; and the expedition was not undertaken
till too late to succeed. Sir Henry Clinton proceeded
with eight thousand men to Huntingdon Bay on Long
Island ; but Arbuthnot, having viewed the position of
the French fleet, declared it unassailable ; and Wash-
ington, considerably reinforced, moved to Peek's Kill,
intending to attack New York. Clinton, mortified
and disappointed, fell back for the protection of his
head-quarters, while Washington drew off his forces,
and retired, to avoid a general action.
As the further proceedings of the combined ar-
mies depended on the arrival of the French fleet from
the West Indies, it becomes necessary to recapitulate
transactions in that quarter. During winter, the
British navy annoyed the commerce of the enemy, and
maintained a gallant and successful struggle against
superior strength and numbers. The most remarkable
naval action occurred between Captain Cornwallis,
commanding a ship of sixty-four guns, one of fifty,
and one of forty-four, against four French seventy-
GEORGE III. 175
fours and two frigates. It continued two whole days : xix'
on the third, at the appearance of another British ship
of war and a frigate, the French commander made his nso.
escape.
The arrival of Admiral Kodney rendered the Bri- 27th Mar.
tish nearly equal in number to the French fleet ; but Rodney.
the skill and spirit of the valiant Admiral gave a de-
cided superiority. The Comte De Guichen appeared ineffectual
off St. Lucie, but was deterred from making an attack ^Jj^h 1 *
by the judicious disposition of the naval and military
force ; and, in return, Rodney braved him during two 2d April.
successive days off Fort Royal, Martinique ; but could
not draw him from his place of refuge.
On Rodney's return to St. Lucie, De Guichen ven-
turned out of port with twenty-three ships of the line.
The British Admiral pursued with twenty sail, and in
two days brought him to action, and compelled him to
seek shelter in Guadaloupe. Some of Rodney's offi-
cers, not rightly understanding his signals, did not
support him sufficiently, as his flag-ship, the Sandwich,
was for a considerable time exposed alone to a dispro-
portioned fire. Another unimportant encounter after- i5th and
ward took place ; but the French availed themselves l
of their superiority in sailing to avoid a decisive action.
Failing in these efforts to bring on a general en- Arriv . al , f a
. . P , , Spanish fleet.
gagement, Rodney occupied a windward station, to
intercept a Spanish squadron from Cadiz ; but the ad-
miral, Don Solano, prudently kept to northward of the
usual track, and, instead of proceeding to Martinique,
put in at Guadaloupe, where he was joined by De
Guichen, with a reinforcement augmented to twelve
sail of the line, beside frigates, and eighty-three trans-
ports, conveying twelve thousand troops, with a pro-
portionate train of artillery: but pestilence raged ,
J ' e Disagreements
among the transports, and discord arose between the of the allied
admirals. Solano repaired to the Havannah, and De admirals -
Guichen, retiring to St. Domingo, convoyed the home-
ward bound trade to Europe. Deceived by this unex-
pected proceeding, Rodney sailed with eleven ships of retarasto
the line and four frigates to the coast of America, S u ^ ope -
. v -I i Rodney goes
where he expected again to encounter his old opponent, to America.
176
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
measures in
America
Defection of
Arnold.
The allied American and French army were not
less surprised by this movement than the British
Admiral. In confident expectation of effectual aid
Effects of these from De Guichen, great preparations had been made
for expelling the English from New York ; but a new
system of operation now becoming necessary, an inter-
view was effected between General Washington and
the French commanders, at Hartford in Connecticut,
situate mid-way between the two camps.
In this interval occurred one of the most extraor-
dinary incidents of the war. General Arnold was,
from his talents and approved valour, considered a
chief supporter of the American cause : he embraced
it with enthusiasm, and, from the commencement of
hostilities, had, by his activity and genius, rendered
essential services, at least equal to any other person
engaged. He was descended from one of the best
families in New England; his ancestor, Benedict Ar-
nold, being the first governor of Rhode Island. The
superiority of his address and attainments rendered
him an object of suspicion and dislike to the less
refined members of Congress. After the evacuation of
Canada in 1776, his merits were treated with disre-
gard ; he was overlooked in a list of promotions, and
subjected to the command of those who had been his
inferiors. His accounts were at the same time left
unsettled, and reports propagated injurious to his cha-
racter for integrity. In vain he solicited redress, and
the appointment of a committee to revise his accounts ;
in vain General Washington interested himself in his
behalf, and proved the justice of his requests, display-
ing with proper warmth his merits " as a judicious,
brave officer, of great activity, enterprize, and perse-
verance* ;" but Congress would not take any measures
for the adjustment of his demands. After rendering
several intermediate services, particularly by the saga-
cious advice which enabled Washington to effect the
surprise of Trenton, Arnold was employed under
Gates against Burgoyne ; but, notwithstanding his
* See Washington's Letter to Congress, dated 12th May, 1777, in Washing-
ton's Letters, vol. ii. p. 72.
GEORGE III. 177
subordinate station, his activity and judgment directed
the most important proceedings : he was considered in
the British camp as the efficient commander of the nso.
opposing army, and his promptitude in changing the
disposition of a part of the American troops, unau-
thorized by General Gates, was a principal cause of
the capture of the British army. His conduct in this
situation was not exempt from cavil ; but the brilliancy
of his achievements silenced for a time the clamours of
malevolence. On the evacuation of Philadelphia, he
was placed in an official situation for the protection of
property and securing that which was confiscated.
Here he received the French plenipotentiary, lodged
and entertained him in a manner which disgusted the
parsimonious Americans; the circumstances of his
fortune were minutely investigated, and stated to be
unequal to the splendour of his establishment ; reports
were spread that he had irretrievably deranged his af-
fairs by desperate and unsuccessful exertions in trade
and privateering ; and he was accused of peculation.
At the same time, the freedom with which he had ex-
pressed himself against the alliance with France was
implacably remembered. When his character was j u i y , 1779.
rendered suspicious and odious by such means, and his
military exploits no longer the objects of immediate
consideration, Congress referred his accounts to a
board of commissioners, who rejected above half his
demands. Arnold appealed to a committee of Con-
gress ; but their report was still more disadvantageous.
It is also asserted that he was tried by a court-martial
for embezzling national property, and reprimanded in
public by General Washington, in pursuance of the
sentence* ; but this appears highly improbable, con-
sidering that Washington still reposed confidence in
him, leaving in his charge the important post of West
Point in the highlands on the North river, essential to
the communication between the northern and middle
colonies, and denominated, from its unassailable
strength, the Gibraltar of North America.
* See Remembrancer, vol. xi. p. 100.
VOL. III. N
178
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
Fate of Major
Andre.
21st Sept.
22nd Sept.
Arnold solicited the command of this post only
with the view of rendering an eminent service to the
English. He had been in correspondence with Sir
Henry Clinton eighteen months, and in that period
had supplied much valuable information. He com-
menced the communication by declaring his resolution
to renounce the American cause in consequence of the
French alliance, requiring only personal safety and in-
demnity for the property he must sacrifice. Clinton
readily embraced his proposal, hoping that, by some
signal and adequate benefit, he would make atone-
ment for the injuries he had done his country. The
moment now seemed to have arrived, as the surrender
of West Point, and its dependent posts, would have
been a fatal blow to the American cause. A negotia-
tion was accordingly commenced ; and, when the pro-
ject was ripe for execution, Major Andre, Adjutant-
General of the British army, an officer in whose
prudence and address Sir Henry Clinton reposed the
greatest confidence, and who had chiefly conducted
the correspondence between him and General Arnold,
was commissioned to adjust the final arrangement*.
He was conveyed from the Vulture sloop by night, in
a boat dispatched by Arnold, landed on neutral
ground, and held a conference with him till the ap-
proach of day. The American General, fearful of
discovery, advised Major Andre not to return on board
the Vulture, but conveyed him to a place of conceal-
ment within the American lines, where he remained
till night. During the day, the sloop had shifted her
position, and, the boatmen refusing to convey Andre
on board, he was compelled to attempt reaching New
York by land ; and, by the direction of Arnold,
changed his regimentals for a plain suit, and received
a passport under the name of John Anderson. In all
these particulars he acted in contradiction to the ex-
* The military sen-ices of this young officer had been most exemplary. He
was Aid-de-camp to General Grey, and to Sir Henry Clinton, and, after Lord
Rawdon's resignation, had been virtually the principal in the Adjutant-General's
department. He volunteered his services, and was permitted to go on the enter-
prize much against the inclination of Sir Henry Clinton.
GEORGE III. 179
press injunctions of his General, who charged him
not, on any account, to change his name or dress, or
possess himself of writings by which the nature of his 1780.
embassy might be traced ; all which Andre had the
candour to avow after he had been arrested, in a letter
to Sir Henry Clinton, full of gratitude and respect* :
but Arnold's life had already been endangered by the
failure of a plan for meeting, and a repugnance to ex-
pose him again to similar hazard probably swayed
Major Andre.
Protected by the passport, he had already passed 22nd Sept.
the lines, and conceived himself free from danger,
when a patrole of three men sprang from a wood and
seized his horse. In a moment of surprise, the unfor-
tunate Andre inquired of the soldiers " whence they
" came ?" and to their answer " from below," replied,
" and so am I," avowing himself to be a British officer.
He discovered his error too late ; the captors searched
him, and finding several papers concealed in various
parts of his dress, carried him before their commander,
resisting the offers of his watch and money, and pro-
miges of future advantages, if they would accompany
him to New Yorkj*.
During his examination before the American
Colonel of militia, Major Andre continued his assumed
name of John Anderson, and had sufficient address to
obtain the transmission of a letter to Arnold, who
escaped to the British head-quarters. The captive
had now no further occasion for disguise ; he wrote to
General Washington a full and frank statement of the
circumstances which occasioned his being within the
American lines, exculpating himself from the im-
putation of being a spy, and demanding, " whatever
" might be his fate, a decent treatment."
Washington referred the case to a board of four- 19th Sept.
teen general officers, all Americans, except La Fayette
and the Baron De Stuben, before whom Andre was
compelled to appear. The facts alleged against him
* See this well-written and most affectionate letter, Annual Register for the
same year.
t Such is the account at first given.
N 2
180
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780
23th Sept.
30 .h Sept.
were chiefly drawn from his own letters, and sup-
ported by his own answers to interrogatories unfairly
administered, while he was, by situation, precluded
from the advantage of adducing explanatory testimony ;
the board reported, that, agreeably to the law and
usage of nations, he ought to suffer death as a spy.
From the moment of his capture, no exertions
were spared to avert his fate. Colonel Robinson, com-
mander of the loyal Americans, and Sir Henry Clin-
ton, wrote to General Washington, affirming that he
had been sent to confer, under a flag of truce. Arnold
certified the same fact, and further insisted that every
subsequent proceeding had been sanctioned by his
authority, which he had a right to exercise according
to his discretion. These letters were produced before
the board of officers ; but a previous question was art-
fully put to the captive, who, in answer, is said to
have denied coming on shore with a flag of truce*.
After promulgation of the sentence, Sir Henry
Clinton deputed Lieutenant-General Robertson, with
Andrew Elliot, Esquire, and the honourable William
Smith, Governor and Chief-Justice of New York, to
state such facts as could not be disclosed to the board.
General Washington would not receive them, but ap-
pointed General Greene, President of the court which
condemned Major Andre, to meet General Robertson,
the person who accompanied him not being permitted
to land. In this conference, Robertson pleaded the
cause of humanity, urged the friendship of the Com-
mander-in-Chief toward the object of intercession, the
hazard many Americans would incur in case of re-
taliation, and the previous moderation of Sir Henry
Clinton, who, on several occasions, had shewn the
most humane attention to General Washington's in-
tercession in favour of avowed spies, and had still in
his power many delinquents. General Robertson
offered to prove, by unexceptionable testimony, that
* The fact of Andre having given such an answer is only proved by the re-
port published by Congress : but it may reasonably be doubted, considering their
report to be the only one extant, and that the prisoner had neither advocate, wit-
ness, nor friend on the spot.
GEORGE III.
181
Andre went on shore in a boat, bearing a flag of truce, xx*xix
with the knowledge and under the protection of '.
Arnold, who was commander of the district* ; and he 1780.
strongly urged the injustice of considering Major
Andre as a spy, merely on the foundation of an
improper phrase in a letter to General Washington.
None of these arguments or proposals had the de-
sired effect ; and an offer to exchange, for the intended
victim, any prisoner whom the Americans should
select, was equally disregarded. Finding his argu-
ments and offers encountered by an insurmountable
obstinacy, which might be attributed to the rancour
of the contest, General Robertson proposed a reference
to disinterested foreigners, acquainted with the laws of
war and of nations, and indicated Generals Knyphausen
and Rochambeau ; but this candid proposition was not
complied with. A letter written by Arnold, repeating
his explanations of Andre's situation, and threatening
retaliation if the sentence against him was executed,
produced, as might be expected, no good effect ; every
sentiment of humanity and policy was absorbed in the
base desire of revenge : General Washington justified
the decision of the board ; and, to their indelible dis-
grace, no French officer interfered in a cause so inter-
esting to a polite and humane people ; on the contrary,
La Fayette urged the fate of the unfortunate captive
with unremitting malignity.
The compassion which was banished from the
breasts of the superior officers was amply displayed by
the subalterns and privates of the American, and by
all ranks of the British army. They could not con-
template, without emotion, a youth in the prime of
life, brave, amiable, and highly accomplished, doomed
to an ignominious death for an act which could not be
imputed to a dishonourable motive, and which, if it
might, by forced construction, subject him to sentence
as a spy, left nevertheless a wide and honourable dis-
tinction between his conduct and that usually pursued
* This uncontradicted assertion of the same fact, after the decision of the
board of officers, renders Andrews pretended confession additionally doubtful.
182
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
'2nd Oct.
by persons in the like situation. The whole behaviour
of this amiable officer was distinguished by magnani-
mity and jealous regard for his reputation. During
his examination, for it could not be called a trial, he
studiously avoided every disclosure which might affect
the interests or character of those with whom he had
been engaged. He received the -sentence without
alarm or dejection, acknowledged the politeness with
which he was treated during his captivity, and only
solicited the sad privilege of dying by the musket like
a soldier, and not by the cord like a felon. Unin-
formed whether his request would be granted or not,
he walked with firmness, composure and dignity, to-
ward the place of execution, arm-in-arm with the offi-
cers of his guard. At sight of the preparations which
announced the disgrace reserved for his final moments,
he exclaimed with emotion, " Must I then die in this
" manner!" but soon recovering his calmness, he
added, " it will be but a momentary pang." With an
unruffled countenance, he ascended the cart, desiring
that the spectators would attest his courage at the
great moment of the termination of his existence*.
In the opinion of all liberal and generous-minded men,
the manner of the execution was infinitely more dis-
graceful to those who inflicted than to him who suf-
fered it.
It is not necessary now to discuss the question
whether, in the strict exercise of national law, Andre,
acting under the direction, and protected by the pass
of the regular commander of the district, could or
could not properly be deemed a spy : to say that he
could not, w r ould be to seek a refinement never safely
to be attempted in treating of public law. But if it is
granted that his life was justly forfeited, nothing but a
mean and malignant spirit could have dictated the
refusal of his request to die the death of a soldier and
not that of a felon. Neither the importance of his life
nor the effect of the example warranted severity so
savage. The proceeding against this brave and unfor-
* See the papers, letters, &c. on this subject in the Remembrancer, vol. xi.
p. 1, and 101.
GEORGE III. 183
tunate officer has been defended by writers, both Ame- ^xxix.
rican and French, with a heat and labour which shew _ 1
a consciousness that they had a difficult task to perform. uso.
The catastrophe filled all Europe with regret, if not
stronger emotion, and the high qualities of the victim
occasioned, even among the Americans, sentiments of
generous sympathy in his fate*.
Sir Henry Clinton, who never ceased to lament the
unworthy fate of this amiable and accomplished young
man, complied with one of his latest requests, by per-
mitting his company, somewhat irregularly, to be sold
for the benefit of his female relatives, whom he also
strongly recommended to the benevolence of govern-
ment. In answer, he was assured of the great concern
felt by the King at the catastrophe ; his approbation
of the disposal of the commission ; his grant of a pen-
sion to the mother of the deceased officer, and his
anxiety to efface all stain from the family, arising from
the ignominy of his death, by offering the honour of
knighthood to his brotherf.
Arnold was appointed a colonel in the British ser- 7th Qct
vice, with the rank of brigadier-general of provincial Arnold's pro-
forces, and he obtained 6,3 15 as a compensation for clamatlon -
his losses. In vindication of his conduct, he issued
" an address to the inhabitants of America," in
which he unfolded the factious and false pretences
by which Congress had effected the separation of
the colonies from the mother-country, and established
an arbitary tyranny over the lives and property of
their fellow-subjects; while with abject meanness
they crouched before the emissaries of France,
* Letters between Lord George Germaine and Sir Henry Clinton, from 7th
May to 28th Nov. 1780. State Papers. It may be fit to add, that the feeling
and spirit of the nation have been shewn, by removing his remains to Westmin-
ster Abbey, where a beautiful monument is erected to his memory.
t Beside the histories generally referred to, I have consulted Sparks's Life
of Washington, vol. i. p. 339, et seq. The Life and Treason of Benedict Ar-
nold, by the same intelligent author, and a pamphlet published in Paris in 1816,
by M. de Marbois, who states himself to have been a witness of the transaction.
This writer, on what authority I know not, states that Silas Deane was a traitor
to the American cause, selling the secrets of Congress to the English ministry.
(Complot, &c. Pref. p. xliii.) Far from discovering any ground for such a sup-
position, I always find that in the most confidential dispatches this man is men-
tioned with peculiar harshness and contempt, most frequently, after the execution
of John the Painter, as " that infamous inceiidiarv Deane."
184 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
their natural enemy, who had neither will or power
to protect them. He considered the war, on the
part of America, defensive, till France joined in
the combination; but denied that when the second
proposals were made by British commissioners, Ame-
rica was entangled in the alliance with that country.
The overtures were avowed by the whole continent to
exceed the wishes and expectations of the people ; and
if suspicion of the national sincerity existed, it could
be found only in the extreme liberality of the offers.
He lamented the impolicy, tyranny, and contemptuous
injustice with which Congress had studiously neglected
taking the collective sentiments of the people on the
British propositions, as a dangerous sacrifice of the
great interests of America to the partial views of a
proud, ancient, and crafty foe. The pretended treaty
of Versailles amounted only to an overture, the
people of America had given no authority to conclude
it, nor had they ever sanctioned its ratification ; even
the articles of confederation were not yet signed.
Preferring, therefore, the sincere overtures of Great
Britain to the insidious offers of France, he had deter-
mined to retain his arms and command only till an
opportunity should occur of surrendering them, and
accomplishing an event of decisive importance, which
in its execution would prevent the effusion of blood.
The great political truths contained in this address
were not capable of refutation ; but the General's ac-
count of his own conduct and motives was examined
with great severity*.
In a subsequent proclamation, addressed " to the
" officers and soldiers of the continental army, who
" have the real good of their country at heart, and
" who are determined no longer to be the tools and
" dupes of Congress or of France," General Arnold
made strong appeals to the interest, necessities, and
prejudices of his countrymen. He offered those who
would join the British standard, rank, bounty, and
liberal allowance for their horses, arms, and accoutre-
ments. He imputed their distress, want of pay, hun-
* See Remembrancer, vol. x. p. 314, vol. xi. p. 100.
GEORGE III. 185
ger and nakedness, to the negligent contempt and cor-
ruption of Congress. America, he observed, was now
only a land of widows, orphans, and beggars ; and 1780.
should the parent nation cease her exertions, no secu-
rity would remain for enjoying the consolation of that
religion for which the ancestors of the people had
braved the ocean, the heathen, and the wilderness. He
himself had lately seen the mean and profligate Con-
gress at mass for the soul of a Roman Catholic in pur-
gatory, and participating in the rites of a church,
against whose anti-christian corruptions the pious an-
cestors of the Americans would have witnessed with
their blood*. Contrary to all expectation, this procla-
mation produced no effect : the necessities of the Ame-
rican army were not relieved, but shame and indigna-
tion produced a decisive conduct; the ambition of
sustaining a respectable character in company with
their new associates the French, contributed to give
energy to the dictates of patriotism ; and from this
period, the desertions so frequently complained of oc-
curred no moref.
No military transaction of note distinguished the Exchange of
remainder of the campaign ; but the exchange of the 2^y yne s
British army captured at Saratoga was at length ac-
complished. The perfidious policy of Congress toward
these brave men had long been undefended even by their
warmest partisans, and the American prisoners taken
at Charlestown had friends sufficiently numerous and
clamorous to compel their rulers to an act of justice,
so shamefully evaded and delayed.
In the European seas, some gallant and spirited Naval trans-
actions redounded to the glory of the British flag. Europe. 111
Beside these, Admiral Geary, who succeeded to the
command of the Channel fleet on the death of Sir
Charles Hardy, made prize of twelve French merchant-
men, part of a convoy from Port-au-Prince. This ad-
vantage was overbalanced by the capture of more
* See the proclamation, Remembrancer, vol. xi. p. 20. It can now be con-
sidered only on the level of an ordinary recruiting hand-bill ; although it once
derived, from the character and circumstances of the author, a momentary
celebrity.
f Ramsay, vol. ii. p. 204.
186
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XXXIX.
1780.
9th August.
Capture of
the British
East and
West India
fleet.
Quebec fleet
taken by the
Americans.
than forty East and West India ships by the com-
bined French and Spanish squadrons, and which were
carried into Cadiz. The acquisition was of large
value, and peculiarly injurious to British interests, as
it comprised military stores essential to the defence of
the settlements. The number of prisoners was two
thousand eight hundred and sixty-five : the event oc-
casioned lively exultation in the enemy, and propor-
tionate dissatisfaction in England: the mode of em-
ploying the channel fleet being severely arraigned,
Admiral Geary resigned the command, which, being
refused by Admiral Barrington, was conferred on
Admiral Darby.
The Americans too were not without their share
of naval success ; some of their privateers intercepted
the outward-bound Quebec fleet off Newfoundland ;
and, though several were recaptured, secured fourteen
valuable ships.
GEORGE III. 187
CHAPTER THE FORTIETH.
*
177917801781.
Views of foreign powers. Attempt to negotiate a separate
peace with Spain proposed cessions in exchange for
Gibraltar. Mr. Cumberland goes to Madrid his hopes.
Efforts of France. End of the negotiation. Expectation
of a neutral league. Conduct and transactions of northern
states. Prussia. First partition of Poland. Conduct of
Prussia Denmark * Sweden Holland Motives of the
Dutch. First Memorial of Sir Joseph Yorke. Memorial
of the Dutch merchants. Second Memorial of Sir Joseph
Yorke. Exertions of the French party. Succours de-
manded by England. Dispute respecting Paul Jones.
Succours refused. Engagement between Commodore
Fielding and Count Byland. Formation of the armed
neutrality. Conduct of the Empress of Russia. Accession
of different powers. Capture of Laurens. Discovery of a
treaty between Holland and America. Memorials on the
subject. War declared.
AT this period, it is necessary to mention an at- CHAP.
tempt at negotiation ; the addition of an ancient ally
to the open foes of Great Britain, and the formation of 1780
an unexampled league or confederacy for preventing
the effect of our naval efforts and affording facilities to
our enemies.
Spain engaged in the war not only without any Attempted
just cause, but in opposition to all sound political negotiation
i an, j /-i-u t4. with Spam.
principles. Ihe desire to recover Gibraltar was her
leading motive, and that desire had been shewn by her
conduct, almost at all periods since its capture. During
the reign of the present king, every project and calcu-
188 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
XL P lation for the surprise, blockade, or assault of that
' fortress had been listened to with eager attention : the
1780. able plans of the Due de Crillon, the calculations of
experienced engineers, and the wild project of a Bri-
tish adventurer, Mr. John Stuart, a natural son of Lord
Blantyre, were honoured with attention, as flattering
the enthusiastic passion of his Most Catholic Majesty.
To obtain this fortress, perfasaut nefas, was an avowed
design of the King. Great disappointment was felt at
Madrid in consequence of the failure of the mighty
projects for invading England by means of the united
French and Spanish fleet, and many other circum-
stances conduced to create a distaste to the alliance
Nov.' 779 ' with France, and predispose her ally to a separate
peace.
An unauthorized suggestion, made by Commodore
Johnstone, the British commander on the Lisbon sta-
tion, that his government might be induced to pur-
chase the friendship of Spain by the cession of Gibral-
tar was eagerly caught at by Florida Blanca, and Mr.
Hussey, an Irish priest, chaplain to the King of Spain,
who had belonged to the household of Count Alma-
dovar, but had been left in England after his recall, was
empowered to make a direct, but clandestine, commu-
nication to ministers. Through the medium of a
person who acted as a spy to both courts, information
was conveyed to Mr. Cumberland, a gentleman well
known in the literary world, who was the private se-
cretary to Lord George Germaine, and through him it
reached that minister and Lord North.
Dec. 5 29. A favourable conclusion of such a negotiation
would have been highly satisfactory; and Mr. Hussey,
with a credential letter from Lord George Germaine,
went from London to Madrid. He was strictly en-
joined not to sanction, in any way, the proposition of
Commodore Johnstone relative to Gibraltar ; but, in
1780. the eager desire to prepare a way to peace, he seems
Jan. 29. ^ o j^ye exceeded the limits of his powers. At least, it
is certain that Florida Blanca considered the cession of
that fortress as an object attainable by treaty ; for, after
Mr. Hussey's return to London, he wrote him a letter,
GEORGE III. 189
denoting that as the direct object of the proposed ar- C X P '
rangement*. In the course of their conversations '
at Madrid, the Spanish minister repelled, with great 1780.
heat, the supposition that his court was restrained by
any treaty from making peace without the participa-
tion of France. At his departing audience, the King
of Spain expressed his entire approbation of the pro-
ceedings, and gave Mr. Hussey his benediction,
charging him to return before the end of February,
with peace.
This attempt at negotiation had hitherto been en- Proposed ces-
tirely in the hands of Lord North and Lord George chTn^for
Germaine ; but, after Mr. Hussey 's return, it was im- Gibraltar.
parted to the cabinet, and four successive councils Re J ected -
were dedicated to the discussion. It was observed
that the importance of Gibraltar was so great, and the
national pride so interested in retaining it, that no
ministry could surrender it without stipulating for an
equivalent ; and it was proposed, but whether in the
cabinet, or by separate communication to any of its
members, does not appear, that to obtain this desired
object, Spain should yield and guarantee to Great Bri-
tain the island of Porto Rico ; the fortress and terri-
tory of Oran, with a harbour and land for the erection
of a fortress in the adjacent bay; purchase all the artil-
lery and stores left at Gibraltar, and pay in London
two millions sterling, expended by Great Britain on
the fortifications. Spain was also to renounce all en-
gagements with France, by which she might be bound
to take part in the present or any other war against
England, to renew the treaty of Paris, in all particulars
not aifected by this arrangement, and engage not to
assist the American insurgents, receive any ministers
from them, or permit their ships to enter her ports;
and if she could not assist his Majesty against them,
she was to oblige all subjects of the King, who were
deemed rebels, to depart from her dominions in a week
after requisition made to that effect in his Majesty's
name.
* Dated 2nd March, 1780. State Papers.
190
HISTORY Ol- 1 ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XL.
1780.
Rejected.
May 31st.
Mr. Cumber-
land goes to
Madrid.
If it could have been supposed that, under any cir-
cumstances, the abandonment of Gibraltar could be
made agreeable to the nation, the suggested equivalent
was sufficiently large; but, far from such a project
being acceded to, the result of the deliberations of the
Council was, a meeting of the secretaries of state, with
Mr. Hussey, at the house of Lord Hillsborough, at
which ministers expressed the great readiness of the
King to forget the unprovoked aggressions of Spain,
and to cement and extend the connexion between the
two countries by reciprocal cessions ; but Gibraltar
was peremptorily excluded from consideration. Far
from favouring such an expectation, Lord Stormont
(not without some vehemence of speech and action)
declared to Mr. Hussey, " that, if Spain would lay be-
" fore him the map of her empire to take his choice of
" an equivalent, and three weeks to fix that choice, he
" should not be able to find one*."
If, under other circumstances, this decisive mode of
conduct might have been considered conclusive, it was
not so on this occasion. Mr. Hussey made such a
mitigated report to the Spanish minister as did not
preclude all hopes ; and the news of the defeat of
Langara and the relief of Gibraltar gave additional
motives for wishing to prolong the negotiation. Mr.
Hussey, therefore, returned to Lisbon with Mr. Cum-
berland, who was directed to wait there for a commu-
nication from him, and accredited to conduct this
delicate transaction. His instructions were, if he
learnt from Mr. Hussey that the Court of Spain did
not mean to enter into a negotiation but on the basis,
or even in the expectation of a cession or exchange of
Gibraltar or Minorca, he was to return from Lisbon
without further correspondence, otherwise to proceed
to Madrid.
Mr. Hussey's letters, although not in all points
explicit and satisfactory, were sufficient to induce Mr.
Cumberland, under the advice of Mr. Walpole, the
* Copied from a memorandum written by Mr. Cumberland, found among
the papers of Sir Stanier Porten, and published by Archdeacon Coxe in the
Memoirs of the Kings of Spain, vol. i. p. 425.
GEORGE III. 191
British minister at Lisbon, to go to Madrid, being per- C xr P '
mitted to travel through Spain, under colour of intend- '
ing to visit France for the benefit of his health. He nso.
took this resolution, not with any confident hope of
ultimate success, nor without some apprehension
arising from a want of precision in the communications
of his clerical correspondent, but with the honest
desire, as he expresses it, of giving the negotiation a
chance.
On his arrival at Madrid, he met with a kind and
amicable reception ; he found the nation anxious for
peace ; the court, the clergy, and the military profes-
sedly antigallican ; and, in a letter to Lord Hillsbo-
rough, fairly detailed the grounds of his favourable and
adverse anticipations. " The moment for detaching
" Spain," he observed, " is now as favourable as ever ;
" she is still on the worst terms with France. The
" King of Naples and the Queen of Portugal have
" written pressingly to his Catholic Majesty to make
" peace with England. A plan having been given in
" by the Due de Crillon for storming Gibraltar, the
" King's confessor has expressly declared that, if such
" orders are given, he will quit the court. On the op-
" posite side we may place their unretrieved disgrace in
" the relief of the garrison ; their hopes in the grand
" armament from Cadiz ; their overrated successes in
" West Florida, and their belief that the projected ex-
" peditions to the South American continent are re-
" linquished, and that Sir Edward Hughes's condition
" disables him from any enterprize against the Manillas.
" Of Sir George Rodney," he added, " they think and
" speak with reverence and dread. The American
" minister, Mr. Jay, they hold at a distance, and have
" given some harsh answers to the French ambassador
" on his account : the bills of exchange drawn in Jay's
" favour by Congress have been, one and all, sent
" home unpaid*."
Against any amicable adjustment the whole force
of French influence and intrigue was directed ; all
State Papers.
192
HISTORY OF EN 7 GLAMD.
CHAP.
XL.
1780.
June 20
Effect of the
was uncertainty and confusion ; opinions varied widely ;
Mr. Hussey declared that Gibraltar would form 110
obstacle to a treaty, while Mr. Walpole confidently
predicted the failure of the negotiation. At this
period, the success of a pacific overture and the for-
tunes of two nations were materially affected by the
acts of a senseless fanatic. Count d'Aranda, the Spanish
Ambassador at Paris, forwarded to his own court a
description of the late riots in the British metropolis.
riot in London. It speedily formed the topic of all conversation ; some
believed it as no less than an absolute rebellion, capable
of overturning the throne and government; and the
hatred displayed against the professors of the Romish
religion had no small influence in the minds of the
bigoted Spaniards. The frank and amicable manners
before displayed by ministers were totally changed.
Don Bernando Campio, the sub-minister, as Mr.
Cumberland styles him, assumed an air of mystery,
discouragement, and delay ; while Count Florida
Blanca, in a lamenting tone, pronounced the downfal
of London, the ruin of King, ministers and govern-
ment, and the rebellion of America transplanted to
England. Authentic intelligence of the termination
of the tumults was not sufficient to efface the impres-
sions or eradicate the prejudices they had created, and
which were enforced by the bigotry of the King's con-
fessor and the councils of Don Joseph Galvez, minister
of the Indies, an avowed partizan of France.
Count D'Estaing, who was specially commissioned
to leave his fleet for that purpose, repaired to Madrid,
and, by persevering efforts^ large promises, and with
the aid of circumstances, gained an entire ascendancy
overy Florida Blanca. Still the hope of final success
was not extinct. Spain, however urged or solicited,
had refused to enter into a treaty with America ; the
King declaring that he had too much the sentiments
of a sovereign not to disapprove of the interference of
France. The low estimation in which their navy was
held was evident from the appointment of D'Estaing
to command the Cadiz squadron, a measure extremely
galling to the pride and punctilious feelings of Spanish
Efforts of
France.
GEORGE III. 193
officers ; the finances were in an exhausted state, the
resources in the lowest condition ; the effects of war
were severely felt by all classes : heavy duties on 1780.
foreign merchandizes, an enhancement of price on all
articles of daily consumption, with its inevitable con-
sequence, adulteration and fraud, produced not only
discontent, but encouraged robbery and crimes, and
the pressure was augmented by a succession of un-
favourable seasons.
Count Florida Blanca made an indirect, probably Further dis-
hopeless, effort to effect a treaty in which the sur-
render of Gibraltar should form a preliminary. In
this he proceeded with a caution clearly indicating a
dread of ulterior responsibility. He delivered a paper
to Mr. Hussey, which he was to copy; -but in pro-
ducing it, he was not to treat it as the composition of
the minister, but only as his own memorandum of
what he had collected in conversation. It stated that
Spain was under no engagements to France beyond
those which are usual between allied powers ; she was
bound to America by no treaty or promise ; but thought
that some mode ought to be devised in which neither
England should be obliged to acknowledge American
independence, nor France to appear inconsistent. On
these points there were many more observations ; but
that most material to the actual business was in these
terms : " Spain, in the course of human events, may
" be reduced to the necessity of making peace with
" Great Britain, without any stipulation relative to
" Gibraltar ; but such a peace can never be solid or
" lasting without the sale, exchange, or compromise,
" on some terms, of that fortress. Its recovery will
" ever be sufficient to push the nation to a war ; and
" that favourite spot, it is presumed, can be of no use
" to Great Britain, but that of holding an odious pos-
" session within the territories of Spain. If that for-
" tress is restored (and they will give high terms for it),
" a lasting peace and amity will succeed, founded
" on the natural interests of both nations." It was
astonishing, the paper added, that Mr. Cumberland
should be forbidden to confer on Gibraltar, when it
VOL. in. o
15)4
HISTORY OF ENGLAND
CHAP.
XL.
1780.
End of the
Ncsri illation.
Observation?.
was a point freely discussed in former treaties, and
George the First even promised to surrender it.
" The King thinks his honour engaged not to make
" peace until he knows further relative to this point."
As Mr. Cumberland could not overstep the limits
of his instructions, and the minister of Spain was
holding frequent conferences with Mr. Jay, the Ame-
rican, Mr. Hussey was dispatched to London to make
representations. Lord Hillsborough declared it evi-
dent, from the introduction of Gibraltar and America
into the discussion, that there was no intention in the
Court of Spain to make a separate peace ; and he was
right in his judgment, for when Mr. Hussey returned
with the same propositions as before, Florida Blanca
refused to receive him, declaring a lirm resolution on
the part of Spain not to enter upon any treaty, except
in concert with France ; and Mr. Cumberland was in
consequence recalled*.
This transaction is involved, from its nature, in a
certain degree of mystery. It never assumed a regular
form, not being confided to any accredited diplomatic
agents ; and, even with the British Government, it was
not considered a cabinet measure ; for, although it was
not kept secret from any members of administration,
Lord North and Lord George Germaine alone were in-
timately consulted, and their opinions did not exactly
coincide : Lord George Germaine was not unwilling to
allow that Gibraltar might be a subject of treaty, while
Lord North told Mr. Hussey, whom he saw but once,
that Gibraltar was a forbidden word, which must never
pass his lips. It is possible that both the gentlemen
employed, actuated by the hope of deriving honour
from the title of peace-makers, may have disregarded,
in some degree, the injunction imposed on them ; but
the failure of the attempt is not to be attributed to the
ostensible cause alone. France had fortified her interest
in the Spanish councils by magnificient promises of the
exploits to be achieved by the Cadiz squadron, both in
the West Indies and in Europe. Jamaica and Minorca
Lord Hillsborough to Mr. Cumberland, 9th December, 1780.
GEORGE III. 195
were to be taken, and, with Gibraltar, restored to Spain. CHAP.
By these splendid promises apprehensions were stilled,
hopes excited, and indecision fixed; present indigni- i/so.
ties and calamities were forgotten, and the Spaniards
were aroused to determined action, while the French
complained that, through their irresolution, and the
separate negotiation, a whole campaign had been
lost*. I feel pleasure in recording, that, although this
attempt at peace was frustrated, the demonstrations of
good-will and regard toward the King and the nation
were never intermitted. Far from interposing any
difficulties, the Spanish ministers made every proper
arrangement for the exchange of prisoners, and ex-
pressed great satisfaction at our treatment of them.
Expressions of kindness and presents were exchanged
between the two monarchs ; the King of Spain send-
ing to our sovereign two beautiful horses of that
country ; and when, on the 4th of June, Mr. Cumber-
land entertained his friends in honour of King George's
birth-day, the band of every regiment in Madrid met
in his court-yard to celebrate the occasion.
In the course of the discussions with Mr. Cumber- Expectation
land, and more particularly in the manifesto when war
was declared, Spain had intimated the formation of a
league for the purpose of favouring the indirect opera-
tions of simulated neutrality, by impeding the right
claimed by Great Britain, exercised very recently by
Spain herself, and never abstained from by any power
at war, of stopping and searching neutral ships, for
the purpose of preventing the conveyance of ammuni-
tion, stores, aud supplies to an enemy ]. In order to
a right understanding of this combination, and the
manner in which it was brought about, it is necessary
to review the transactions and motives of foreign
courts during the late years.
Of the deadly rancour cherished against England Conduct and
by the King of Prussia, enough has already been Sejnpower
detailed; but the task of surmounting difficulties under Prussia.
* For these transactions in general, see Cumberland's Memoirs, p. 304, et seqq.
4to. ; Coxe's Kings of Spain, vol. iii. p. 72 ; and State Papers.
t See p. 44.
O 2
196
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
C XL ? wWch he laboured, through the distaste which was
' felt toward him by the Courts of Vienna and Peters-
1/80. burgh was at length alleviated, and finally surmounted,
by the execution of the most unprincipled plan of
tyrannical spoliation of which modern history had yet
furnished a record, the partition of Poland. The
First partition powers benefited by this transaction were Germany,
Russia, and Prussia. Aware of the censure which
from all men endued with feelings of honour and
justice must be showered on this nefarious conspiracy,
all the parties severally disclaimed the origination of
it. In fact they had all, by distinct declarations,
acknowledged, and even by treaties bound themselves
to sustain the right of the Crown of Poland to all the
territories which it possessed*.
Poland, forming a barrier between Austria, Prussia,
Turkey, and Russia, had been the most considerable
power in the north ; but, from defects in its constitution,
the weakness produced by an elective monarchy, the
feuds engendered by a dominant though often servile
nobility, religious differences carried to an unwarrant-
able excess of persecution and exclusion, and the
facilities given to the machinations of foreign pow r ers,
whose influence was avowed, and whose aid was
courted, it was become the most unstable and insigni-
ficant. To recount the events which laid this great
and once powerful dominion at the mercy of the spoiler
belongs to another department of history, and the
task has been fully and ably accomplished. For the
present purpose it may suffice to say, that on the death
of King Augustus^ several native nobles became can-
didates for the throne ; the greater number of the
Polish magnates favoured Count Branisky ; but, under
the influence of the Empress Catherine, Count Stanis-
laus Poniatowsky, who had been one of her favourites,
obtained the prize, and was crowned by the name of
Stanislaus Augustus. The Empress Maria Theresa
had been the principal opponent of the new sovereign,
* Histoire cles trois d^membremens dc Pologne, torn. i. p. 124.
t 5th October, 1 769.
GEORGE HI. 197
seconded by the insincere and inefficient assistance of
France ; but she retired reluctantly from, the contest,
unwilling to expose her country to the calamities 1780
which would have ensued from a conflict with Russia,
Turkey, and Prussia.
The intrigues and arrangements necessary on this
occasion brought the cabinets of Petersburgh and
Berlin into more immediate and confidential inter-
course than they had hitherto been, facilitated the dis-
closure of mutual views of aggrandizement, and
enabled Frederick to establish a powerful influence in
the mind of Catherine. Their designs were aided by
Stanislaus, who, although he owed his elevation to a
foreign power, dared to give offence by some acts, or
rather attempts, which shewed that he had not fore-
gone all principles of patriotism and independence,
although his character and abilities were not equal to
his great intents. For want of military talents, he
could not direct or awe his turbulent subjects; and he
was too deeply immersed in gallantry and pleasure to
undertake important enterprizes. Troubles respecting
religion, fomented by France, Prussia, and Russia,
gave strength to a party, who, from their separation
from the national church, were called dissidents ; and
who, by their numbers and the strength of their sup-
porters, held a powerful sway in the state ; the events
of the war between Russia and the Porte encouraged
Frederick to disclose and prosecute his plans. He
coveted Polish or Western Russia, which formed a
communication between the disjointed parts of his do-
minions. By artful representations, he subdued the
not very formidable reluctance of the other powers to
assist in his projects, accepting their portion of the
spoil. At length, the final treaty of partition was
signed at St. Petersburgh*; and, after some delay,
rendered necessary by circumstances of the times,
carried into effect. A manifesto was issued by the
three powers, setting forth their claims ; and the dis-
tricts which they allotted to themselves were occupied
* 5th of August, 1772.
198
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
by their troops ; no military resistance could be feared,
for, by the force of faction, the King was, in effect, a
1780. state prisoner at Warsaw, his person protected, and
the slight semblance of authority allotted to him pre-
served only by a Russian guard. A diet was assem-
bled* for the consummation of this act of national
disgrace, the surrender of a portion of the kingdom to
foreigners ; the majority of the lower House opposed
the dismemberment, and they were encouraged by the
King, who declared he would rather suffer the ampu-
tation of his right hand than sign the act; but the
enthusiasm of the moment was not sustained by a cor-
responding vigour of character : he had not the spirit
to renounce a crown held only by the sufferance of his
oppressors ; he shrunk before the menaces of the
Russian ambassador ; and, alarmed for the fate of his
family, executed an instrument which was the present
curse, and produced the final extinction of his country.
Still apprehensive of further resistance from the diet,
the partitioning powers procured its dissolution and
the appointment of a committee of delegates, by whom,
in September, every arrangement \vas made, and the
treaty concluded, in conformity to the dictates of the
three Courts.
Russia acquired Polish Livonia, part of the palati-
nates of Witepsk, Polotsk, and Minsk, and the whole
palatinate of Micislaw, containing a population of
1 ,500,000 souls. Prussia obtained the district called
Royal or Western Russia, with 860,000 persons.
The Empress, Maria Theresa, assuming credit for
much moderation, took possession of a large domain in
the South of Poland, comprising Red Russia, Gallicia,
and parts of the palatinates of Cracow, Sandomir, Lublin,
Bezk, Volhynia, and Podolia, containing a fertile and
extensive country, with 2,500,000 inhabitants, and the
valuable salt-works of Vielitzka, and annexed the
whole to the Austrian empire, under the ancient ap-
pellation of the kingdom of Gallicia and Lodomeria.
The merciless oppressors ground their new subjects by
19th of April, 1773.
GEORGE III. 199
rigorous acts of extortion ; and, anticipating future at-
tempts, took care to perpetuate every abuse in the ex-
isting constitution, and to prevent, as far as they 1780.
could, all hopes and means of future amelioration*.
Nor were the unhappy people permitted to expect that
they should long retain even their reduced dominion.
Incroachments were frequently made; antiquated
maps, by forgotten geographers, were produced to
prove that the boundaries of the acquired countries
were not, in recent times, accurately defined; and
Prussia maintained, without disguise, projects for ac-
quiring the entire possession of Dantzick, which, as
w r ell as Thorn, was excepted from his portion of the
partition. Although tranquillity appeared to reign,
yet further important events were expected : the
country, straitened in her commerce, and drained of
her coin, was incapable of remaining in her present
situation, and a general partition was viewed as a
catastrophe not far remote. Such a probability was
increased by the state of the people. They regarded
the King as the immediate cause and even instrument
of their disgrace, dishonour, and misfortunes. Beside
this extinction of loyalty, there was a general want of
virtue and honour, and even of the appearance of
them, a corruption and open perversion of justice; the
great places were all so badly filled that the national
dignity was lost ; and although the words Liberty and
Patriotism were in frequent use, a less portion of those
qualities never existed among a civilized people j*.
* In this statement, I have principally followed Mr. Archdeacon Coxe's
History of the House of Austria, vol. iii. c. 40, not without consulting the authori-
ties lie has cited, and many others, particularly the Travels of the same learned
author in Poland, vol. i. p. 1 to 176. Histoire des trois demembremens de
Pologne, torn. i. liv. ler au 7me.
t Letter from Sir Thomas Wroughton to Lord Suffolk, 8th of March, 1777.
A specimen of the means by which the country was impoverished and the national
spirit broken, is given by the same minister in a letter to the Secretary of State,
five years before. The King of Prussia demands from the people quantities of
corn, forage, and other necessaries, greater than the country could possibly pro-
duce in three or four years. On the inhabitants declaring their inability to com-
ply, they have a military execution, and are, at last, obliged to purchase from the
Prussians themselves, at an exorbitant price, with good money, and resell it to
them at a very low one, which they are paid in an adulterated coin of not half its
nominal value. Gentlemen of good condition were compulsorily enrolled as
common soldiers ; and the lower classes of the community were encouraged to
make pretensions which their superiors were always obliged to compromise,
under the severest and most wanton treatment. State Papers.
200 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
xf P ' ^ n ^ lcse Distressing circumstances, it was naturally
" to be expected that the people of Poland should re-
1780. quest the intervention of some foreign powers ; but,
hemmed in as they were, what nation could have af-
forded them assistance ^ France was, underhand,
fomenting the troubles of the country ; the commercial
powers were not applied to until the progress of events
had rendered their interposition useless ; the King of
Prussia had announced that he would not permit the
mediation of any state between himself and Dantzick ;
and a declaration of war, if circumstances would have
justified it, could not have produced any benefit to
Poland. The correspondence between the Sovereigns
of Russia and Prussia had been conducted with the
utmost secrecy, not by ministers, but by letters in
their own hand-writing. The official communications
to the British minister, when the Prussians made their
hostile appearance, were general, ambiguous, and un-
satisfactory*. The King of Poland applied for aid
in earnest terms of supplication : England, he said,
was not bound to assist him by any treaty, but by that
which was paramount to all treaties the law of hu-
manity. Had Stanislaus been of a character to render
the efforts of Great Britain in his behalf of any avail,
they could not, with any propriety, have been offered,
except in the form of influence with the partitioning
powers ; but, however deeply and sincerely the cause
of this unhappy nation was felt, time, distance, and
treaties equally forbad the effort. Russia was entirely
under the sway of the King of Prussia; and the
Empress-Queen, although the last to accede to the
iniquitous project, was so largely gratified in the divi-
sion of the booty, that no separate exertion could be ex-
pected from her. England was thus obliged quietly
to see the accomplishment of an act against which
every honourable mind must have felt the deepest ab-
horrence. The King's sentiments on the subject were
sufficiently apparent in the cool, almost scornful, terms
in which he acknowledged the communication of the
* August, 1770.
GEORGE III. 201
joint manifesto. " The King is willing to suppose C 5L P '
" that the three Courts are convinced of the justice of '
" their respective pretensions, although his Majesty is 1780.
" not informed of the motives of their conduct*."
During the progress of this transaction, the King conduct of
of Prussia acquired an influence in the councils of Russia -
Petersburgh, the duration of which was questionable ;
but, while it subsisted, it was certain that it would be
exercised to the injury of Great Britain. Of this
feeling and its effects, instances have already been
given, particularly in the negotiation for a military aid
in America. After the declaration of independence by
that country, he affected, for a time, to discountenance
their cause, refused to acknowledge or receive two
agents, Lee and Sayre, who were empowered by Con-
gress to negotiate for officers to aid their arms, and for
a commercial treaty, by which the broad cloth of
Silesia was to be exchanged for the tobacco of Virgi-
nia. At this period, Frederick not only disavowed the
rebels, but gave every assurance to the British am-
bassador of sincere friendsliip and good- will ; and, as a
proof, permitted the auxiliary troops, raised in different
parts of Germany, to pass freely through his dominions,
without question from the Custom House, or any other
obstruction.
Yet, in the midst of all these shews of justice, and
pretences of amity, he was, in his own hand-writing,
maintaining a correspondence with Dr. Franklin, who
was also in high estimation with Prince Henry ;
urging the Court of Versailles to espouse openly the
American cause, predicting the certain and speedy
bankruptcy of England, and permitting, like other
countries, the contraband supply of stores and ammu-
nition to our enemiesf. His permission of the passage
* 2nd of October, 1772. This and other particulars are derived from the
communications of ambassadors, and the answers to them in the State Papers.
t In a letter to Lord Suffolk, 2nd of December, 1777, Sir Robert Murray
Keith gives the following information : " Prinse Kaunitz, with injunctions of in-
" violable secrecy, said, ' Tell Lord Suffolk from me that the King of Prussia
" ' persists in his insidious plan, and even adds, if possible, a greater degree of
" ' rancorous zeal to his cruel instigations at Paris. I speak to you as far down
" ' as the very last letters I had from that capital. His minister continues to
" ' enforce every argument : the indispensable duty which he pretends to be in-
'202
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XL.
1780.
Denmark.
of troops was sometimes capriciously and haughtily
Withdrawn, to the great inconvenience of the service ;
at other times, it was granted with expressions of
friendship too much at variance with his general con-
duct and declarations ever to deceive. As the events
of war opened new prospects, his hatred became more
unreserved; and, although the people of Prussia re-
tained in general a strong partiality for England, and
a desire to see her cause prosper, their King formed a
strict union with France, engaged to injure us in
every quarter, and advised our enemy, as the best
means of distressing us, to foment a rebellion in
Ireland*.
Denmark exhibited a miserable spectacle of a frail
government and an imbecile sovereign. Since the
banishment of Caroline Matilda^, the King, too feeble
in his intellects to act in any affair of state, relin-
quished the royal supremacy to the Queen-mother, an
ambitious and designing woman, whose projects are
" ' cumbent on the French government to seize the present happy moment for a
" ' rupture with their formidable rival. He says that ages may never offer so
" ' favourable a crisis, and that to let it slip would be the most unpardonable
" ' blunder of modern politics. After preaching this abominable doctrine to the
" ' ministers of France, as servants of the Crown, he next applies to their pas-
" ' sions as men, telling them loudly that their fame and honour in the estimation
" ' of the present age depend on their resolution at this moment, and that, if they
" ' neglect their present advantages over England, the succeeding generations of
" ' Frenchmen will mark them with indelible reproach, and lay at their doors the
dishonour, not only of short-sightedness, but even of pusillanimity. If I
were under the obligation of finding a motive for the conduct of his Prussian
Majesty toward England, I should not look for it either in the path of sagacious
foresight, or of sound policy. It is in the personal character of the man ; his
temper, his solitary moroseness, his dislike of mankind, his habitual con-
tempt of moral piety, his decline of health, which he increases by endeavour-
" ' ing to conceal it, and in his private and irreconcileable enmities. I should
" ' not be able to point out a real object which might tempt him to adopt this in-
" ' sidious conduct; but, as I told you formerly, it is in his character to believe
" ' that, in the midst of a general combustion, he may find the means of purloin-
" ' ing something for his own advantage!'" In his next dispatch (December
the 3rd), the ambassador says, " The motive of Prince Kaunitz : s confidence may
" be traced to the inveterate hatred subsisting between the Courts of Vienna and
" Berlin ; yet I am persuaded that, in giving the earliest notice of the dangerous
" macliinations of his Prussian Majesty, he had it still more at heart to render an
" acceptable service to Great Britain than to expose the malignity of Frederick.
" His deep-rooted ill-will to Great Britain, and want of attachment to the King,
" which he is very free in expressing, arise from an opinion that the late Priucess-
" Dowager of Wales was unfriendly to him, and influenced the King in the con-
" elusion of the last war." (22nd of February, 1778.) State Papers.
* Sir James Harris to Lord Stormout, 8th of April, 1780, and other docu-
ments in the State Paper Office,
t Vol. i, p. 522.
GEORGE III. 203
said to have embraced the dethronement of her C xr P '
husband, the exclusion of his children, and the usur- '
pation of the crown by his younger brother. Under 1780.
her, the weak and disjointed condition of the Danish
ministry rendered it contemptible in the eyes of all
Europe*.
In what more particularly interested Great Britain,
Denmark, like other neutral nations, availed herself of
the opportunity of carrying on a contraband commerce
with the revolted colonies ; she was favoured by the
possession of St. Croix, a small island in the West
Indies, to which consignments of military stores were
made by American agents, where their flag was
honoured, and where, notwithstanding remonstrances,
numerous irregularities prevailed. Too feeble to justify
an attack, too poor to present any hopes of an indem-
nity, an attempt was madef to induce Denmark to
arm a fleet and declare in favour of Great Britain ; but
the Danes set too high a price on their compliance.
They asked a present sum of 40,OOOZ., an annual sub-
sidy to the same amount, to be continued ten years
after a peace, and the gift and guaranty of some terri-
tory, such as Crab Island, as an indemnity. The
advancing and maintaining of these terms probably
arose from the interference of France, the minister
from that country opposing Mr. Eden with large and
flattering proposals^.
Sweden exhibited also the picture of a poor and Sweden.
venal government, although in point of strength it
was not inconsiderable. A known and ascertained
sum would purchase a majority in the diet, and this
had been managed by France, until Great Britain,
with Denmark and Russia, formed an influence, by
distributing 8000/. a year among some principal indi-
viduals, to counteract the plans of France and Prussia.
* As an instance of the tyranny and malignity of this woman, it may be
mentioned that when (May 1774) the intelligence of the decease of the perse-
cuted Queen arrived, mourning was ordered for the children ; but the royal family
appeared on the same day at the theatre, and there was afterward a ball in domi-
nos. The King, evidently constrained, was among the dancers; but at court he
was so much affected as to alarm the foreign ministers who had occasion to
approach him.
t State Papers, 8th January, 1780. % Ib. from 1772 to July 1780.
204 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
C XL' P ' ^ ^ l * s ti me ty donation they secured the neutrality at
' least, if not the co-operation, of a state which could
1780. bring into the field 40,000 effective men, and possessed
Gottenburg, the port in the north best suited to priva-
teers. In 1771, Gustavus the Third ascended the
throne, on the demise of his father, Adolphus Frede-
rick, and, after some struggles, in which he conducted
himself with great prudence, succeeded in effecting a
change in the constitution, which established his au-
thority and gave efficiency to the different orders of
the state, but which, it was supposed, would also
afford additional strength to the French party. It
was effected, after a slight failure, by a coup de main,
during a period of perfect tranquillity ; the plan was
communicated to, and approved by d'Aiguillon, and
De Vergennes distributed 600,000 francs (25,000/.) to
support it. Contrary to these expectations, the King
did not shew any decided partiality for France ; but,
amidst the embarrassments occasioned by a defective
revenue, and the anxieties arising from foreign and
domestic intrigues, he maintained a friendly regard
toward Great Britain, expressed strong disapprobation
of the conduct of France, and resisted all efforts to
establish a contraband trade with America; prohibiting
the reception of their privateers in his ports, and the
exportation of military stores for their use. Whether
or not the French party made use of these circum-
stances to inflame the people, or the genuine feeling
was adverse to the measures of the King, he was, at
this period (January 1780), extremely unpopular.
Discontent generally prevailed : apprehensions for the
safety of his person were entertained ; he was obliged
to abstain from meeting an assembly at the exchange,
was insulted at the opera-house, and, as if he had a
mind prescient of the future, he discontinued masque-
rades*.
Holland. The time was now arrived when Great Britain was
to rank Holland, her ancient, and it might be thought
inseparable, ally, among her declared enemies. Every
* State Papers, 1771 to 1780 ; Coxe's Travels in Poland, &c. vol. iv. p. 39,
ct seq.
GEORGE III. 205
motive arising from long and benefical connexion, XL P
similarity in religion and political interests, combined '
to deter the Dutch people from the adoption of a 1780.
course of conduct adverse to England ; but a faction,
devoted to France and inimical to the Stadtholder,
influenced the proceedings of government. The ex-
istence and power of this party began to be felt at the
conclusion of the last war*, when our troops were not,
without much difficulty, and an express convention,
permitted to pass through the territories of the re-
public, to reimbark for their native shore. M. De
Breteuil, the French Ambassador, forwarded the
views of the faction by many acts of petulance
and insolence toward the Stadtholder. Even after his
marriage, in 1767, with the Princess Wilhelmina,
niece of the King of Prussia, de Breteuil, far from
abating, increased his intemperance and misbehaviour,
converting a point of courtly etiquette into a political
conflict, and attacking the conduct and character of
Sir Joseph Yorke, the British Ambassador, with viru-
lence and rancour ; but the calm dignity and unvaried
prudence and judgment of the distinguished person
whom he thought proper to assail, precluded all
chance of his obtaining any advantage. The conduct
of both ambassadors was approved by their respective
courts j*.
In the anti-stadtholderian faction, the patriots (for
so they styled themselves) of Amsterdam bore a con-
spicuous part ; and by their influence the whole body
was kept alive, supported, and strengthened. The
Prince of Orange, unmoved by these efforts, in the
midst of the agitation occasioned by the partition of
Poland, the revolution in Sweden^, and many other
public events, continued firm in his desire to form a
connexion with the King of England, and declared
that he should always be ready to exert himself for
* In 1762.
t In 17G8 and 1769. The particulars of De Breteuil's proceedings, if not
sufficiently important for the page of history, are yet possessed of an interesting
curiosity which entitles them to a place in the Appendix, where an account of
them, extracted from the dispatches of the English Ambassador, is given.
I In 1772.
206
HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
CHAP.
XL.
1780.
Conduct of
Holland.
that salutary purpose ; but his good intentions were
rendered ineffectual by indolence of habit and passive-
ness of character.
Before the commencement of our conflict with
America, the Dutch had been conspicuously active in
contraband commerce. The greater portion of that in
the Isle of Man was in their hands ; an extensive trade
in tea and various other commodities was carried on
with our colonies in America, and all endeavours to
prevent it proved ineffectual ; being met and evaded
by incessant contrivances, tricks, and chicane.
When the struggle with America assumed a more
decided appearance, although the Stadtholder still per-
severed in his demonstrations of friendship, the States-
General gave many signs of hostility. They raised
obstacles to the passage over their territory of the
troops which we had subsidized from Nassau, and
behaved in a manner still more unfriendly with respect
to a body of his Majesty's subjects in their service,
called the Scotch brigade. Without giving up the
right which he had to this corps, by virtue of their
allegiance, the King asked for the loan of so many as
were fit for service*. The request was parried by
allegations that they were wanted for defence of the
Dutch frontier ; delayed by protracted discussions ;
evaded by a futile proposal, that an equal number of
Hanoverians should be substituted, and the service of
the troops limited, to the exclusion of America. Offers
were made to pay levy-money for an equal number of
men to be raised for the service, and in the dominions
of Holland, and that the brigade should be at liberty
to raise recruits in Scotland, so as to return in undi-
minished force. It would have been difficult, with
any shew of propriety, to reject these proposals ; but
discussions were protracted until compliance would
have been useless, and Sir Joseph Yorke was directed
no longer to press the application^.
* October, 1775.
t Documents in the State Paper Office in 1775. By what means and by
what influence the interests of England, although supported by the Stadtholder,
were counteracted, may be gathered from the following fact. " In the course of
" the discussion, Baron Van der Capellen, Member of the Corps of Nobles of
GEORGE III. 207
Many concurrent circumstances demonstrated the
evil disposition of the Dutch, the self-styled patriots at
least, to injure and incense Great Britain. The man-
ner of receiving the application for the Scotch brigade,
of answering the complaints on contraband commerce
with America, and particularly with respect to the
conduct of the Governor of St. Eustatia, afforded full
proof that the Dutch were anxious to share the spoils
of England, and to increase their own trade at our ex-
pense. In their public actions, the cause of America
was represented as similar to that of the Low Countries,
and their own, at antecedent periods. Still, while 110
power in Europe acknowledged the Americans, they
were obliged to content themselves with the profits of
an illicit traffic. In Europe, this commerce was little
restrained; but in the West Indies it was more than
tolerated, it was honoured. American agents were
received and countenanced in Holland ; and St. Eusta-
tia, hitherto a barren and useless property, was sud-
denly elevated into population, wealth, and importance,
by becoming the deposit in which stores of every kind
were received for the Americans, and retained for their
use. These circumstances occasioned a loner corres- v , 1777 ' ,
. , -IT February 21st.
pondence, which terminated in the delivery or a First memorial
spirited memorial by Sir Joseph Yorke, complaining
of the attentions paid by the Governor of St. Eustatia
to vessels under the American flag*, and his refusal to
" the Province of Overyssel, wrote and published an opinion and protest, con-
" taining, among others, the following observations. The fire which burns in
" America is very capable of setting in flames all Europe, which is already but
" too full of combustibles. Has assistance been offered to his Britannic Majesty,
" it will not be wanting from another quarter to the Americans. English great-
" ness (towards the raising of which we have sacrificed our own welfare without
" any advantageous return, and whereby the balance of Europe, which has cost
'' such torrents of blood and treasure, is so entirely broken, exercises on the sea
" a more formidable monarchy than we have ever seen) is not beheld with indif-
" ference by the House of Bourbon, ancl all those who wish the liberty of Europe
" and of commerce. It is more than probable that they will avail themselves of
" a suitable occasion to strike a surer blow. And what then will be the conse-
" quences ? No other than to find ourselves, as heretofore, involved in a des-
" tractive war with one of our most powerful neighbours, who by a reciprocity
" of interest is our natural friend, and who cannot but wish the perpetual exist-
" ence of such a neutral republic as this, which, flourishing by commerce, fur-
" nished with a sufficient number of ships, and a competent naval force to pro-
" tect them in time of war, may carry on their otherwise obstructed trade and
" navigation with mutual advantages."
* The word corsair in the original has been uniformly translated pirate ; but
its meaning includes that of privateer.
208 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.
C xi P ' re( lress tne complaints of the Council of St. Christo-
pher's. He required a formal disavowal of the salute,
irso. by Fort Orange, in St. Eustatia, to a rebel ship, and
the recall of the Governor, Van Graaf. The States-
General were charged with duplicity and violation of
treaties ; and informed that, unless the required satis-
faction was given, the King would not be amused with
mere assurances, or delay the adoption of measures
due to the interests and dignity of his Crown. The
States-General, in an humble and complying answer,
denied any intention to recognize the independence of
America, and consented to recall Van Graaf: but they
complained of the harsh terms in the memorial ; and,
as a mark of indignation, ordered Count Welderen,
their envoy extraordinary in London, not to corre-
spond on the occasion with Sir Joseph Yorke or Lord
Suffolk, but to deliver his memorial to the King in
person.
When France had thrown off the mask, she
strongly urged the United Provinces to break their
connexion with England, and, had Spain declared im-
mediately, would have added threats to promises; but
underhand contrivances effected the design. Franklin
appealed to the cupidity of the States, by representing
America as a young virgin with a small fortune as
yet, but which was likely to be worth a great deal in
time, to the lover who would pay assiduous court to
her. The British ambassador used the best means he
had to counteract these attempts ; but his efforts were
obstructed by the want of concert and union in the Stadt-
holder's party, and of firmness in the Prince. Although
apprized of the intrigues and designs of his opponents,
he made no effort to stem the torrent, but contented
himself with promising to negative or reject measures
which might be improperly proposed ; while the acti-
vity and energy of the representatives of Amsterdam
drew after them those of Dort, Haarlem, Leyden, and
other principal towns. " It may be asked," Sir Joseph
Yorke observes, " from whence arises this change in
" the conduct of the Republic from former times 1 I
" answer, Religion ; the fear of France ; the union of
GEORGE III. 209
" the Barrier Treaty; and an habitual and intimate xf p '
" intercourse in political affairs, which has subsisted '
" between this republic and England ever since the 1778.
" Revolution, k 
