Full text of "The history of England, from the accession to the decease of King George the Third"

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 :

PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR,
AND PUBLISHED BY JOHN LEE, 440, WEST STRAND.

MDCCCXLI.

5"o5"

\9s4-

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CONTENTS

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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,

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

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-

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-

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

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, kept the two countries united till the

" peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1 748. Religion has lost

" its relish throughout Europe. Since the last war,

" France has ceased to be an object of fear. The

" Barrier Treaty is annihilated, and, from the moment

" that we were left by Austria, and joined Russia,

" there has been no intimate concert or connexion

" between us and the Republic. We have gone on

" alone and prosperously without their assistance,

" which has excited their jealousy, and they have pro-

" fited by an unarmed neutrality which has strength-

" ened their cupidity. Their politics are bounded to

" money-getting ; and, although they have too deep a

" stake in our existence to wish us bankrupts, they

" would not be sorry to share in the freedom of our

" American trade*."

Such was the correct and sagacious view of affairs Memorials of
taken by a wise and experienced statesman; and a the Dutch
short interval proved its correctness. For a time, a
sullen civility was openly maintained ; but in secret a
compact was signed with the American states, acknow-
ledging their independence, and treating with them on
that footing. The trade openly maintained, in con-
traband articles to the French coast, having occa-
sioned the seizure of several Dutch ships, three 10t , _

. c* T 12th Sept.

angry memorials were presented to the States-general
by Dutch merchants ; and Count Welderen made com-
plaints to the British court, not only of interruptions
of commerce in the European, but in the American
seas. The answer of the Secretary of State set forth, .

iii ,, ; , ~ 19th Oct.

in mild language, the unprovoked aggression 01
France ; from the suddenness of the event, and the
necessity of restraining the exertions of that crafty
power, too great rigour might have been undesignedly
exercised in arresting neutral vessels ; but if any car-

* Sir Joseph Yorke to Lord Suffolk, 20th of August, 1778.
VOL. III. P

210

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XL.

1778.

Second me-
morial of Sir
Joseph Yorke.

23rd Nov.

8th Dec.
Exertions of
the French
party.

14th Jan.
1779.

9th April.

goes, not contraband, had been seized by his Majesty's
cruisers, ample indemnification should be made.

Sir Joseph Yorke, thoroughly acquainted with the
state and temper of parties, the preponderance of
French interest, and the fatal supineness of the Stadt-
holder, vindicated, in an able memorial, the conduct of
Great Britain ; and, while he displayed the modera-
tion of the King in not plunging Holland into a war,
by demanding the succours stipulated in the treaties of
1678 and 1716, proposed to discuss the grievances in
a conference, prefacing the offer with an assurance
that the prevention of contraband trade should, in the
mean time, be subject to no interpretation unwarranted
by the rules of equity and the practice of perfect
generosity.

This proposal occasioned violent exertions among
the French party ; the Duke De Vauguyon, ambassa-
dor from the court of Versailles, endeavoured to
pique the pride and cupidity of the Dutch, by demand-
ing a clear and explicit determination to accept or
renounce the advantages of commerce proffered by a
decree of the French council of state, allowing the
traffic in naval stores during the war. The proposition
was not accepted ; and the French court repealed the
permission given to Holland of trading with them
duty free, admitting to the exclusive enjoyment of
this privilege, Amsterdam alone, " in consideration of
" the patriotic exertions made by that city to persuade
" the republic to procure from the court of London
" the security of that unlimited commerce which
" belonged to the Dutch flag*." Sir Joseph Yorke
did not fail to repel the calumnies advanced in these
papers ; he exposed the dictatorial tone assumed by
France in prescribing a mode of conduct to be main-
tained by the States-General toward England, and
animadverted, with proper severity, on the attempt to
make distinctions between the different members of

* Thia favour was afterward extended to Haarlem, and subsequently to the
whole province of Holland.

GEORGE III. 211

the same republic, so repugnant to the union and in- c ^ p '
dependence of the States-General. '

The arts and influence of France were more ef- 1779.
fectual than the remonstrances of England ; and when f^anded b
Spain was added to the hostile combination, the England.
striking partiality of Holland toward our enemies ren-
dered more decisive explanations indispensable. Sir
Joseph Yorke, therefore, in pursuance of instructions, 22nd Ju]
demanded the succours stipulated in the several
treaties, of which the casusfcederis was fully explained
in the separate article of 1716. This memorial des-
canted on the unjust proceedings of France and
Spain, and their threat of invasion, and declared that
the moment was arrived to decide whether Great
Britain, who had spilt so much blood and expended
so much treasure to. succour others and maintain
liberty and religion, was to be abandoned by her most
ancient friends and allies, and left unprotected, except
by her own courage and internal strength, to contend
against the ambitious House of Bourbon, who endea-
voured to crush all, for the purpose of reigning over
all. The States were reminded of a truth, which they
appeared too fatally to have forgotten, that their
history contained little more than a detail of dangers
successively created by the ambition of France, and
that their best days began with their union with
England.

While the government of Holland evaded giving
a definitive answer to this demand, the advocates of
the British and French connexions maintained a
strenuous paper war. The people, in spite of the al-
lurements with which France endeavoured to bias
their judgment, did not relinquish their partiality for
English alliance ; and the Stadtholder remained firm in
the same cause: but the increasing strength of the
hostile confederacy, and the insults offered to the
British coast during the summer of 1779, gave ad-
ditional spirits to the French faction, and encouraged
them to represent Sir Joseph Yorke's demand as an
indication of national weakness and despondency.

At this juncture, a fresh cause of dispute arose, in October.

p 2

212

HISTOliY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XL.

1779.
Dispute
respecting
Pjvul Jones.

25th Oct.

20th.

26th Nov.

Succours

refused.

1st January

1780.

Engagement
between
Commodore
Fielding and
Count Byland

consequence of the reception afforded to Paul Jones
and his prizes in the harbours of the republic. Our
ambassador demanded the detention of the ships and
crews ; as Jones, though a pretended American, was a
native of Scotland, a pirate, rebel, and state criminal.
The States-General refused compliance, alleging their
constant maxim not to decide on the legality of cap-
tures by the vessels of any other country ; they only
opened their ports to afford shelter from storms or
disasters, but would compel them to put to sea again,
without unloading or disposing of their cargoes. In
vain did Sir Joseph, in a new memorial, appeal to the
rules of equity, and the express stipulations of treaties ;
the Dutch remained inflexible, and in a short answer
reiterated their former opinions.

Great Britain, on the faith and fair construction of
treaties, had a right, in case of war with the House of
Bourbon, to call on the Dutch, as allies, for active aid ;
every demand of that kind was obstinately resisted ;
neutrality was the utmost extent of their profession,
and even that was attended with indications of parti-
ality amounting to hostility. Yet the government of
Holland claimed, and were allowed, all the advantages
arising from treaties of alliance, and expected pro-
tection in a commerce calculated to raise the naval
power of the enemy, and depress the interest of this
country. To terminate this disgraceful state of sus-
pense between alliance and hostility, the British am-
bassador again pressed for the succours stipulated by
treaties. The Dutch not only refused the demand,
but, renewing theif complaints on the interruption of
trade, announced their intention of appointing a con-
voy with their next fleet to the coast of France. The
English ministry, having ineffectually remonstrated
against this unfriendly resolution, encountered its
effects with becoming vigour and spirit. A fleet,
bound for the Mediterranean, under the convoy of
Count Byland, was met by a Biitish squadron, under
Commodore Fielding: the Dutch fired on the boats
which were approaching to search their vessels ; and
their Admiral answered a shot a-head from the British

GEORGE III.

213

Commodore by a broadside. This act of hostility
being returned, Byland struck his colours : the greater
part of the convoy escaped ; but the few which were 1780.
captured afforded sufficient proof of the contraband
commerce to which the Dutch thus gave countenance
and protection. Count Byland accepted permission
to hoist his colours ; but, refusing to return to his
own coast, accompanied the British commander to
Spithead.

The event furnished grounds for numerous com- Remonstrance
plaints ; the British cabinet justified their proceeding,
and Lord Stormont strenuously remonstrated with
Count Welderen on the tameness with which his
government permitted all the regards due to ancient
amity with England to be sacrificed to the cupidity of
individuals, or the pitiful artifices of cabal and intrigue.
As the most friendly method of disclosing the senti- 2sth Jan.
ments of the British Court, the secretary of state an-
nounced, by a declaration verbale, that if the Dutch
persisted, not only in refusing the aids stipulated by
treaties, but in assisting the enemy with naval stores,
they could no longer be allowed the benefits of an
alliance which they deserted by changing it into a
neutrality, and that too in the midst of a war main-
tained by the house of Bourbon for the destruction of
Great Britain, which could never be effected without
the ruin of the Republic.

After allowing nearly two months for the discus- 2bt March.
sion of this official declaration, Sir Joseph Yorke again
addressed a memorial to the States-General, recapitu-
lating all the facts he had formerly urged, complain-
ing of the hostile conduct of Count Byland toward the
boats of His Majesty's fleet, and of their injustice in
prohibiting the export of provisions for the use of the
garrison of Gibraltar, while they were so eager and
vindictive in conveying ammunition and stores to
Spain, which had disturbed their trade in a wanton
and unprecedented manner. If the Dutch, by their
own act, ceased to be allies, they could have no con-
nexion with England, but such as subsisted between
neutral powers in a state of amity ; all treaties were

214

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XL.

1780.

1 7th April.

Formation of
the armed
neutrality.

reciprocal ; and therefore, unless the Dutch, within
three weeks, gave a satisfactory answer to the demand
of succours made eight months before, their conduct
would be considered as a breach of alliance, the effect
of treaties suspended, and the same system observed
toward them, as toward other neutral and unprivileged
states. To this declaration an evasive provisional
answer was given, importing, that it was impossible
to consult the several states of the republic, so as to
procure an answer in three weeks. But procrastina-
tion was now no longer allowed : the court of Great
Britain, at the expiration of the appointed term, de-
clared the provisional suspension of all particular stipu-
lations respecting the freedom of navigation and com-
merce in time of war, particularly those contained in
the marine treaty of 1674*.

The unfriendly conduct of Holland was encouraged
by a most extraordinary compact formed at this period
in the north of Europe, and known by the name of the
armed neutrality. The principle which this confederacy
was formed to support is expressed by a short prover-
bial sentence : " Free bottoms, free goods." The pre-
tension was not new ; it had, in distant times, formed
the subject of discussions and been adverted to in
treaties ; it had been disallowed by the best civilians,
although generally claimed by powers who were de-
sirous to profit as indirect assistants of belligerent
states, when they had neither strength nor spirit suffi-
cient to enable them to give effectual aid in open war.
In late years it had been occasionally advanced ; but
never, till this period, had the maintenance of it formed
the subject of an armed alliance or confederacy.
When a war with Spain, on the subject of Falkland's
Islands, was expected, the French party in Holland
succeeded in making an arrangement, which the Stadt-
holderian party was not sufficiently daring to oppose,
by which France, Germany, Prussia, and Holland,

* For these facts I have consulted the state papers, which are published ac-
cording to their date in the Annual Register and Rememhrancer ; many pam-
phlets published in Holland, on both sides of the question, and the correspondence
preserved in the State Paper Office.

GEORGE III. '215

were to unite in protecting their neutrality. The in-
tent is rendered obvious by the share which France
took in the transaction, and by the close concealment 1780.
of it, at the time, from the knowledge of the British
minister*. Denmark had acceded to the same propo-
sition, and did not affect altogether to conceal a treaty
by which it was to be sustained j~. When our contest
with America rendered additional vigilance, with res-
pect to contraband trade, indispensable, orders were
issued, and communicated to the Court of Copenhagen,
for intercepting all military supplies in Europe, or in
the West Indies ; but the desire of gain, and the ac-
tivity of Mr. Sayre, bad as were his repute and credit,
enabled the traders of Denmark to make the forbidden
consignments from Altona and other ports^. As the
progress of the war, and the part taken in it by the
French produced new incidents and new combinations,
the Danes assumed a more decisive position. Their
minister, Count Bernstorff, in a conference with the
British ambassador, adopted a tone not used before.
He expressed surprise that some Danish ships which
had been seized were not released, and complained
that the advantages allowed to the Dutch were not
extended to his country, which was much more en-
titled to them, having omitted no opportunity of shew-
ing attachment to Great Britain. The principle of
" free ships, free goods" had never been formally con-
tested, and Denmark would continue to insist on it as
part of the law of nations. It could not be injurious
to England, he observed, to let other nations share
with the Dutch in the profits of the French coasting-
trade ; but, on the contrary, would make friends of the
northern powers, and dispel those clouds which he
saw were gathering from the anger of the King of
Prussia and the resentment of Sweden, through which
the latter power had resolved to arm, and had pro-
posed to Denmark to form a concert||.

* Sir Joseph Yorke to Lord Halifax, 9th of April, 1771.

t Sir Robert Murray Keith to Lord Stormont, 1 5th of October, 1771.

J Same correspondence in 1775 and 1777. '

25th of November, 1778.

|| Mr. Delaval to Lord Suffolk, 20th of November, 1778.

216 HISTOllY OF ENGLAND.

C XL P ' With whatever intentions this information might

' be given, whether with a view to impart useful intelli-
nso. gence, or to distract the British Government by the
FnT'l-ess of the a PP renens i n f new enemies, the uncertainty of rights,
Russia. and the discussion of captious and unusual claims, it

was founded on truth, and displayed a real state of
combinations and intrigues. The policy of France
and the restless animosity of the King of Prussia were
employed in perfecting a combination which they
hoped would be fatal to the prosperity of England.
To give decisive success to their plot, it was necessary
that the Empress of Russia should be induced to be-
come the head of the confederacy. In this endeavour,
the party were strenuously aided by Count Paiiin, the
Russian Prime Minister, who was entirely at the com-
mand of Prussia, resolutely adverse to Great Britain,
and, in the same degree, devoted to France ; but his
efforts were in some degree impeded by the attach-
ment of Catherine to England, which was weakened,
but not destroyed, by events and insinuations. She
professed this sentiment on all occasions ; and if she did
not approve of all the acts of our ministers, she
felt our rights, and sympathized in the oppressions
and indignities to which we were subjected. In a
conversation with Sir James Harris, she regretted that
we had not been able to stop the American contest
in the beginning, and suggested the possibility of re-
storing peace, by renouncing our struggle with the
colonies ; but, when the ambassador asked whether, if
they belonged to her, and a foreign power were to
propose peace on such terms, she would accept it ]
" No," she replied ; " I would rather lose my head on
" the scaffold* !"

But, whatever might be the internal feelings of
Catherine, her conduct was no longer to be relied on.
She was swayed by her minister, Panin, and governed
by her favorite, Potemkin. Thoroughly acquainted
with her weaknesses, her desires and her passions, he
operated on, and guided them at his pleasure. The
Empress was more inclined perhaps to English than

* Sir Jumes Harris to Lord Wcymouth, 20th of September, 1779.

GEORGE III. 217

to Prussian councils ; but Frederick had superior C xL P *
opportunities, and availed himself of them in a man- _____
ner which would have been reprobated in the repre- 1780.
sentatives of Great Britain. He was anxious to re-
concile Russia to France; Panin was favourable to
his views ; but Potemkin, intent on raising an empire
in the East, was neither inclined to Prussia nor France*.
To serve the cause to which he had devoted himself,
Panin, with simulated kindness and friendship, observed
to Sir James Harris, that he was obliged to express
her imperial majesty's wishes that we would use a
little more circumspection in our proceedings toward
ships of neutral nations, or we should irritate them,
although they were as yet well disposed toward us.
Denmark, Sweden, and Holland, he said, had solicited
her to join in a representation, and she could not, with
indifference, see the commerce of the North molested
as it was by our privateers. He spoke of our vague
and uncertain description of naval and warlike stores,
and required an exact definition of them. The am-
bassador answered that our conduct was founded on
principles of justice, and in strict conformity with
usage on former occasions. As to a definition, he
said, it was clearly given in treaties ; in which, after
" ships, sailors, and gunpowder, it was added, aut ulla
" alia ad bellum faciendum necessaria, cujuscunque
" generis, aut conditionis fuerint\ "

Means were found to aid the efforts of Panin, and
give the desired impulse to the mind of his sovereign.
Influenced by French counsels, the Spaniards, under
pretence of blockading Gibraltar, had prevented all
Russian vessels from entering the Mediterranean. The
Empress's resentment on this occasion, aided by her
strong disapprobation of the treatment encountered by
Count Byland, enabled the King of Prussia to incul-
cate maxims of maritime regulation, unknown to the
law of nations, and, though general in their verbal con-

* Sir James Harris to Lord Weymouth, 3rd of June, 1779. To shew the
views of Potemkin, it is mentioned, that the new-born Grand-Duke was christened
Constantino ; had a Greek nurse, named Helen ; and a neAv town was built,
called Constantingorod.

t Sir James Harris to Lord Suffolk, 31st of December, 1778.

218 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

XL P ' struction, obviously prejudicial to Great Britain alone ;
' had the address to make Catherine believe that the
1780. measure which he imparted originated with herself,
and she soon directed all her efforts to its establish-
ment. While armaments in several of her ports, and
a mysterious alacrity among her ministers, indicated
the formation of some extensive project, she announced
the completion of her system, by a declaration to the

26th Feb courts of London, Versailles, and Madrid, in which
she concluded a series of professions and complaints,
by stating certain propositions as founded on the pri-
mitive rights of nations, which every people might re-
claim, and which the belligerent powers could not in-
validate, without violating the laws of neutrality. It
was affirmed, in three of the articles, that goods in
free bottoms must be free, and exempt from search ;
and another limited the characteristics of a blockaded
port by so strict a definition, that a blockade was
rendered almost impossible. These principles were
announced as a rule for proceedings and judgments
on the legality of prizes ; and the Empress proclaimed
her determination to support them with her whole
maritime force.

All the enemies of England received this declara-
tion with enthusiastic applause. The neutral powers

April. extolled its wisdom, justice, and magnanimity. Sweden

alone, under the influence of France, requested from
the court of Petersburgh some explanations of its ten-
dency, which were calculated to render the terms ad-
ditionally hostile. Spain was the first of the belligerent
powers which notified accession to the principles of

25th. this unprecedented state paper. France warmly com-

mended the new system, declaring its principles to be
substantially those which Louis XVI had made war for

23r(1 the purpose of maintaining. Great Britain alone re-

turned a civil but sullen answer, vindicating her own
conduct during the war, and declaring the readiness of
her courts of admiralty to render perfect justice in every
case of complaint.

Such a war as that wherein Great Britain was
engaged must be carried on with manifest disadvan-

GEORGE III. 219

tage, if she was prevented from depriving the enemy C XL ?
of those succours on which the success of their naval '

operations so materially depended. Sir James Harris 1780.
used every exertion in remonstrating with the Empress
against the new rules of maritime law ; but, although
he succeeded in convincing her that she had been
duped by France and Prussia into the adoption of a
measure, which, under the pretence of neutrality, was
hostile to England, he could not induce her to recede.
She alleged her promises publicly given for its suport,
and was beside flattered with the expectation of per-
manent glory, as the author of a new clause in the
code of universal jurisprudence.

Denmark and Sweden having acceded to the new

system, which accorded with their scheme of com- Different* of

merce, the King of Prussia used every artifice to in- powers.

flame the Empress and excite her to more resolute

efforts. He caused incessant representations to be

made against the violation of the laws of neutrality in

the capture of Count Byland's fleet, and vainly endea- August.

voured to engage Catherine to guarantee by treaty

the possessions of Holland in every part of the globe,

as the means of protecting the Dutch against the

consequences to be apprehended from the growing

differences with England. Foiled in this attempt, he

commenced an insidious negotiation to be included in

the armed neutrality, hoping eventually to find some

pretence for a complaint against England, and involve

all Europe in a general flame ; but, for the present at

least, this attempt was ineffectual : it was supported

by Panin, but resisted by the Empress herself. She

had been dazzled by the exalted reputation, cajoled by

the flatteries, and, in some measure, benefited by the

intrigues of Frederick ; but his personal influence was

now dangerously rivalled by the Emperor of Germany,

for whom Catherine daily professed an increasing

esteem. These two great potentates, early in the

year, had an interview at Mohilow, on the frontiers of

Poland ; a discussion of their mutual interests produced

mutual confidence and esteem ; and an important secret

treaty was concluded between them. As the views of

220 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

XL P ' Prussia manifestly tended to the advantage of France

and prejudice of Austria, every circumstance favour-

1778. able to the Emperor was proportionately injurious to
the Prussian monarch. His intrigues were now dis-
regarded ; and his agent, Panin, whose influence was
much diminished, ineffectually endeavoured to instil
into the mind of Catherine projects favourable to his
views. The Prince Royal of Prussia*, soon after the
meeting at Mohilow, was sent to Petersburgh for the
purpose of effacing the impression made by the Emperor
of Germany ; France contributed to the magnificence
of his establishment by a loan of four hundred thou-
sand crowns ; but his reception was so cold, that he
returned to Berlin, disappointed and disgusted ; public
civilities and ostentatious entertainments made no
compensation for his failure in the principal objects of
his journey, the establishment of a high political
character, and revival of an advantageous ascendancyf.
Yet, it is not to be understood that the opinions
and feelings of the Emperor were altogether favourable
to England, or adverse to the principles of the armed
neutrality. On the contrary, Prince Kaunitz had
remonstrated with great bitterness against our pro-
ceedings. On the capture of three Austrian vessels
in the Mediterranean, which had been carried into
Port Mahon, and condemned by the Judge of the
Admiralty Court, although, as it was averred, they
were loaded only with sugar, he observed that the
Barbary corsairs were neither more rapacious than
ours, nor their courts more partial than those of our
Admiralty. Pursuing the same course of complaint
on another occasion, he said, " Give us immediate
" redress ; do not put us under the necessity of adding
" our voice to those of all neutral nations in declaring

* Afterward Frederick William II.

t On this subject I have consulted the State Papers, printed in the periodical
works of the time, and collected in an Svo. vol. published by Hatchard, 1801 ;
The Life of Catherine II ; Eton's Survey of the Turkish Empire, chap. x. ;
Lord Liverpool's Discourse on the Conduct of the Government of Great Britain
in respect to Neutral Nations, ed. 1801, with a new preface ; the Letters of Sul-
picius on the Northern Confederacy ; and an ample official correspondence on
all the political transactions. I have also been favoured with much private
information.

GEORGE III. 221

" that the spirit of despotism and depredation at sea, XL P '
" which you will not prevent in your subjects, is no '

" longer to be endured." To the answer of the English uso.
Ambassador, that such acts were contrary to his Ma-
jesty's express commands, and would be redressed by
courts of law, he replied, " Your words are very pro-
" per and very well meant ; but we are tired of words.
" Report this conversation to Lord Stormont, and you
" cannot give too much weight to my expressions of
" his Imperial Majesty's feelings on this important and
" delicate subject*."

Meanwhile the state of sullen dissatisfaction which Capture of
occasioned the abolition of the ancient connexion be-
tween Great Britain and Holland, resolved itself into
active hostility ; the mystery which had covered the
views and conduct of the Dutch was removed ; and
the court of Great Britain was impelled to a firm and
decisive mode of conduct, as well in resentment of
past treachery, as with a view to counteract the eifects
of the neutral league. The Vestal frigate, commanded 3rd Sept.
by Captain Keppel, took, near the banks of Newfound-
land, a Congress packet. The papers were thrown
over-board ; but, by the intrepidity of an English
sailor, recovered with little damage. They fully Discovery
proved the perfidy of the Dutch, who, before the ex- Jg tW een aty
istence of any dispute with Great Britain, had entered Holland and
into a formal treaty of amity and commerce with the
revolted coloniesj% fully recognizing their independ-
ence, and containing many stipulations highly injurious
to England and beneficial to her enemies both in
Europe and America. Disagreements on some of the
arrangements had occasioned delays in its completion ;
but Henry Laurens, late President of the Congress,
who was one of the passengers in the captured vessel, 6th October,
was authorized to negotiate definitively, and enter-

* Sir Robert M. Keith to Lord Stormont, 16th of December, 1780, and 7th
of May, 1781. An account of this whole transaction, the principles, causes,
and immediate effects of this combination, from the month of Napoleon, is given
in Gourgaud's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 96 to 108; it states the case, in its utmost
strength, in favour of the alliance.

t It was dated 4th September, 1778, soon after the commencement of hosti-
lities between England and France ; and several days before the first complaints
presented by the Dutch merchants.

222

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP
XL.

1780.

10th Nov.
Memorials on
the subject.

12th Dec.

20th.
War
declared.

29th.

tained no doubt of success. On his arrival in London,
Mr. Laurens was examined before the Privy Council,
and, on his refusal to answer interrogatories, committed
to the Tower.

The first discovery of this transaction occasioned a
great sensation in Holland, where the people perceived,
with surprise and indignation, that they were delivered,
by factious agents*, into the hands of France, and in-
volved in a secret treaty for espousing an uncertain
cause, at the expense of inevitable hostility with an
old ally. These sentiments would have been highly
favourable to the Stadtholder, had he not negligently
suffered the opportunity to pass; but the opposing
faction, boldly avowing their agency, and making their
utmost exertions to gain partisans, reaped the advan-
tages of decision, and secured a protection against the
consequences of investigation.

Sir Joseph Yorke presented a memorial, com-
plaining of the hostile treaty, demanding from the
States prompt satisfaction, a disavowal of conduct so
repugnant to the most sacred engagements, and to the
constitution of Batavia; and the exemplary punish-
ment of Van Berkel and his accomplices, as disturbers
of the public peace, and violators of the law of nations.
This memorial producing no effect, the British am-
bassador presented another, in terms still more cogent
and definitive, announcing that a denial of justice, or
evasion of the demand by silence, would be followed
by hostile extremities. This remonstrance also failing,
a royal manifesto was issued, declaring hostilities
against Holland, and explaining, in clear and satisfac-
tory terms, the King's motives ; Count Welderen was
ordered to withdraw from the English court; and
some papers which, just before his departure, he at-
tempted to deliver, were refused by the Secretary of
State, because the accustomed relation between the
two countries had ceased, and with it the official and
the accredited character of the ambassador^.

* The pensionary Van Berkel, and De Neufville of Amsterdam, who framed

and executed the treaty, were principal supporters of the French party in Holland.

f Taken from the papers published by authority, and official correspondence.

GEORGE III. 223

This disclosure, and its consequences, were, at the C XL, P *
first moment, extremely injurious to the Dutch ; they

gave strength to the hopes of the people of Flanders 1780.
that the Emperor would increase their prosperity hy
carrying into effect a measure of which he had been
desirous the opening of the Scheldt ; they disap-
pointed the hope that Russia would guaranty the
territories of Holland; for, being now a belligerent
power, she could in no way be included in the neutral
league.

224

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLI.

1780.

Slate of the
public mind.

CHAPTER THE FORTY-FIRST.
17801781.

State of the public mind of ministers of opposition. Meet-
ing of Parliament. Election of a Speaker. King's speech.
Debates on the address. Westminster resolutions.
Navy estimates. Discussion on Keppel and Palliser.
Recess. Royal message announcing war with Holland
addresses voted. Popular delegates appointed. Burke's
economical reform again introduced. First speech of Wil-
liam Pitt the bill rejected. Other popular efforts. Mr.
Sheridan's motion respecting the Military. Petition of the
delegates. Motion of thanks to Lord Cornwallis and Sir
Henry Clinton. Mr. Hartley's motion for peace with
America. Petition of American prisoners. Close of the
session.

THE events on the continent, which have been
just narrated, had not all been completed when the
new Parliament was to assemble ; but they were in
such a state, that their final result might with certainty
be anticipated, and the embarrassment of administra-
tion was proportionally increased. Nor was the pros-
pect at home cheering or consolatory. Influenced by
prophecies of evil, too often verified, pressed by taxes,
which they feared more than felt, and unsettled by
wild and extravagant speculations on reform, and
complaints of influence and abuse of power, the public
felt either distaste or languor at the thought of prose-
cuting the war ; and, if they were not yet prepared to
desire the concession of American independence, which
they were taught to consider synonymous with the
ruin and extinction of Great Britain, still the warm
enthusiasm which prevailed at earlier periods of the
contest, the resolution to brave every evil, and submit
to every privation rather than incur the disgrace of

GEORGE III. 225

submission, were no longer to be described as the C XI\ P '
general characteristics.

Among ministers a wide difference of opinion sub- nso.
sisted ; a portion of them, with whom the King ac-
corded entirely, abhorred, as unwise and disgraceful, Of numsters -
the allowance of American independence; while others,
including Lord North, were anxious to obtain peace,
even at the expense of the required sacrifice. Doubt-
ful of the success of measures, and urged by feelings
of prudence, the Prime-Minister had often expressed a
desire to resign, but had been induced to retain his
situation by the remonstrance and urgent request of
the King*.

While the cabinet was thus hesitative and divided, of opposition.
the opposition party, whatever might be the diversity
of their opinions respecting the great question, the in-
dependence of the colonies, were firmly combined in
their determination, by whatever means, to thwart the
proceedings and impede the operations of government.
A strenuous and zealous Whig speaks of them and
their efforts in these terms : " While the contest sub-
" sisted only between this nation and America, the at-
" tention of men was engaged in examining the origin
" of government, the limits of freedom, the political
" restraints of commerce, the legal conditions of taxa-
" tion, and the hitherto undefined extent of parlia-
" mentary authority and colonial rights. When ques-
" tions thus abstruse, and thus complicated, were in
" debate, mutual charity, and even mutual deference,
" were due among those who could not agree in their
" general principles, or in the application of them to a
" particular case. Yet, surely all difficulties in specu-
" lation, or, at least, all opposition in practice, ought to
" have vanished upon the first appearance of hostilities
" from an enemy by whose interposition every man
" was injured, and by whose success no man could be
" benefited. It pains me, however, to reflect that
" national danger hath not yet produced national unani-

From some minutes and extracts of letters, communicated to Mr. Jared
Sparks, and published in his Life of General Washington, vol. i. p. 458. In a
'nture page will be found some observations on these documents.

VOL. III. Q

226 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

XLi P " m ^ v ' ail( ^ ^at OU1 Eternal divisions constitute no
small part of our misfortunes, and of our crimes.

1780. " Great allowances are, I confess, to be made for im-

" proprieties of expression, and even for some irregu-

" larities of behaviour, into which men may be pre-

" cipitated under the consciousness of upright inten-

" tions, and by the impulse of strong sensibilities.

" But a race of men has lately started up among us,

" for whom, as candour can suggest no apology for

" them, so indignation itself can scarcely furnish a

" name. It is the peculiar, and I hope the unenvied,

" privilege of these men to aggravate every mistake,

" to triumph in every disappointment, to arraign,

" without distinction and without reserve, every mea-

" sure of their superiors ; and to ascribe it either to

" the most despicable weakness, or the most flagitious

" wickedness. They consider the exaltation of Ame-

" rica as inseparable from the depression of their own

" country. They look with unconcern upon the in-

" sidious designs of those who ever must be our ene-

" mies ; while these designs are supposed to baffle

" every hope of reunion with those who were once our

" friends. They seem to measure their own wisdom

" by the assumed errors of their governors, and their

" own importance by the exaggerated sufferings of the

" governed. Instead of pressing forward with vigour

" and alacrity to the attainment of some good which

" may yet be within our reach, they rather choose to

" take an invidious retrospect of that w r hich is already

" lost. Instead of promoting the public welfare by

" well-timed concessions, well-planned counsels, and

" well-directed efforts, they are too intent upon in-

" dulging their resentment against those whom they

" represent as the voluntary authors of all our calami-

" ties. Instead of supporting the arm of our national

" strength, when lifted up against the national foe,

" they eventually, I dare not say designedly, open new

" prospects to his pride, supply fresh virulence to his

" malice, and give far greater efficacy to his devices*."

* Sermon by Dr. Parr, on tho fust-day, in 1781. Works, vol. ii. p. 329.

GEORGE III. 221

It has been asserted that the sudden dissolution
prevented the efforts of opposition in contesting coun-
ties and cities, and in securing their interests in various
parts of the kingdom ; but this statement can hardly
be correct, as the late Parliament had already existed
six years, and would, if not dissolved, have expired at
the end, or possibly before the end, of the next session.

The first indispensable business, the election of a 3ist October.
Speaker, occasioned a strenuous debate. The hostility p^n^ent
which had been displayed by Sir Fletcher Norton pre- Election of a
eluded him from the hope of nomination by the mini- pea
stry ; but his removal was effected with some appear-
ances of indirectness. Lord North took no share
in the transaction, nor did any county member or
country gentleman move the appointment of another.
Lord George Germaine, lamenting the declining
health of the late Speaker, and the interruption of
business which it had occasioned, and affirming that it
rendered him no longer capable of an office so la-
borious, proposed William Wolfran Cornwall to fill
the chair.

Sir Fletcher Norton, in answer to these insincere
condolences, declared that his health was perfectly re-
established, and complained of the unkind treatment
which he experienced from administration, after having,
at their request, retained his laborious situation during
two whole sessions, contrary to the advice of his physi-
cians, and at the peril of his life. The members of
opposition insisted that he was sacrificed to ministerial
resentment, chiefly on account of his memorable ad-
dress to the King, and divided the House on his re-
election, which was negatived*. He was, however,
gratified by a vote of thanks for his conduct, which
was conveyed, in flattering terms, by his successor.

The King, in his speech, expressed unusual satis- 1st of NOV.
faction in meeting Parliament at a period when the *'"
late elections would supply certain information of the
wishes and disposition of the people, to which he was
always inclined to pay the utmost attention and regard.

* 203 to 134.

228

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLI.

1780.

1st of Nov.
Debates on
the address.

6th Nov.

He complained of the unprovoked aggression of the
Bourbon family ; but hoped the late successes in
Georgia and Carolina would be attended with import-
ant consequences in bringing the war to a happy con-
clusion. Safe and honourable terms of peace could
only be secured by such powerful and respectable pre-
parations as would show in Great Britain a firm reso-
lution not to receive the law from any powers what-
ever, and to decline no difficulty or hazard in defend-
ing the country and preserving its essential interests.
His Majesty declared his entire confidence in the zeal
and affection of Parliament ; conscious that, during his
whole reign, the constant object of his care and wish
of his heart had been to promote the true interests
and happiness of all his subjects, and to preserve in-
violate the constitution in church and state.

In the Upper House, an amendment was moved on
the address ; but the debate was not distinguished by
novelty or vigour*. The amendment in the Commons
was more ably supported ; though the discussion was
not so interesting as on many similar occasions. The
friends of administration inferred topics of consolation
from the heterogeneous combination of France and
Spain with America; the impossibility of cordiality
in such an union, or of happy results to a cause, sup-
posed to be that of liberty and the Protestant religion,
when protected only by bigoted Catholics, and powers
in whose political vocabulary the word freedom was
not to be found. It was represented as a great advan-
tage that England was without allies ; since no league
against a power compact within itself, and combining
its energies by unanimity of council, had ever yet been
crowned with success. The contest with America was
represented as more prosperous than at any previous
period since the convention of Saratoga.

General Smith denied the assertion: the circum-
stances of the country, he said, were infinitely worse ;
and, since the affair of Trenton, every military man
had clearly discerned that all attempts to subdue

* The division was 68 to 23.

GEORGE III. 229

America were fruitless prodigalities of blood and trea-
sure. Mr. Fox admired the gallantry and good con-
duct of Lord Cornwallis and his officers at Camden; UBO.
but would not thank even his own brother, who was
serving in America, for laurels gathered in a war
which he hated and detested, regarding it as the foun-
tain head of all the mischief and calamities which
oppressed this miserable nation. He ridiculed the
hopes expressed in the speech, founded on the late
victories. Expectation had been equally ardent when
the Americans were defeated at Long Island; the
battle of Brandywine was expected to occasion the
immediate reduction of all the provinces, and extermi-
nation of American rebellion ; and the capture of Ti-
conderoga had produced hopes no less extravagant.
Events had constantly belied these sanguine predic-
tions ; and yet, in spite of experience, Parliament were
taught to expect glorious consequences, if the late
successes in Carolina were pursued with vigour. To
him the capture of Charlestown conveyed only the
alarming certainty that ministers were deceived in
believing the majority of the Americans friendly to
the British government ; the people, notwithstanding
their oaths, had flocked, even with their arms, to the
standard of Gates. Every gleam of success had hitherto
been the forerunner of misfortune : the loss of the
whole army succeeded the capture of Ticonderoga ; the
evacuation of Philadelphia followed another success;
and no sooner was the surrender of Charlestown an-
nounced, than a new disaster was expected, and in part
experienced, in the loss of Rhode Island, the only good
winter harbour in America. He had no objection to
congratulate His Majesty on a late addition to his
family; long might his domestic enjoyments increase;
they were his only enjoyments. Unfortunate in every
other respect ; unfortunate abroad, and unfortunate
in the conduct of civil affairs at home, he was happy
and entitled to congratulation in private life ; but no
blessings were enjoyed under his government. " How
" long," Mr. Fox exclaimed, " shall the sacred shield

230

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP
XLI.

1780.

Oih December.
Nov. lOtli.
Westminster
Resolution.

" of Majesty be interposed for the protection of a weak
" administration 1 The word is made subservient to
" every legerdemain trick, and every illusion dictated
" by convenience. If, by the blessings of his reign
" are understood the personal virtues of the Sovereign,
" I am ready to acknowledge them with respect and
" reverence ; but, if the phrase implies the acts and
" projects of his ministers, I detest and reprobate
" them : they have formed one continued series of
" disgrace, misfortune, and calamity." He then des-
canted severely on the manner of dissolving the late
parliament ; and compared the famous vote respecting
the influence of the crown to the death-bed confessions
and mock penitence of other abandoned profligates,
who, in their last moments, admonish others to avoid
courses which occasioned a premature and untimely
end.

The amendment was negatived.* Mr. Fox's new
constituents, the electors of Westminster, testified their
approbation, by voting, in the committee of their asso-
ciation, their conviction that nothing would induce
him to desert the cause of the people; and, as the
firm, constant, and intrepid performance of his duty
would probably render him the object of such attacks
as he had already experienced, and to which every un-
principled partizan of power was invited by the cer-
tainty of a reward, they exhorted the inhabitants of
Westminster to do their utmost, by every legal measure,
to preserve to themselves and to the country the benefit
of his services and the inviolable security of his person.
Mr. Adam gave an undue importance to this foolish
effusion, by mentioning it in Parliament, as a personal
attack upon himself, founded on the duel in which he
had been engaged ; and he amused the house by com-
paring Mr. Fox to Pisistratus, who, having a body-
guard appointed by the people, overturned the liberty
of his country ; and he hailed the honourable member
as " King of Westminster." Mr. Fox repelled the

* 212 to 130.

GEORGE III. 231

supposed parallel, expressed approbation of the resolu-
tions, and declared that he was not present at, or
acquainted with, their formation. 1780.

No other business of importance was discussed
till the recess; the ordinary transactions of supply,
the suspension of the habeas corpus, the incidental
complaints respecting returns, and votes of thanks to
the commanders in America, engaging the principal
attention of the House. In the Committee of supply, 13th
on the production of the navy estimates, a long discus-
sion took place on the non-employment of certain offi-
cers, particularly Lord Howe, and Admirals Keppel,
Campbell, Barrington, and Pigot. Such was the
ostensible intent of the debate ; the real object seems
to have been the revival of an old subject of contention, estimates.
Sir Hugh Palliser had recently received his appoint- Kepjef and
ment as Governor of Greenwich Hospital, and the Palliser.
circumstances of the two courts-martial were recapitu-
lated. The opposition members insisted that the
decision of that on Admiral Keppel, which termed the
articles preferred by his opponent false and malicious,
fixed on him an indelible stigma; while on the other
side it was maintained, that in making such a declara-
tion the Court had shewn great partiality and exceeded
their just powers, which did not extend to the condem-
nation of a man who was not on trial before them, and
could not be heard in his own defence. Sir Hugh
Palliser made a long and able statement of his case ;
and Admiral Keppel, in answer, called him the
" Governor of Greenwich Hospital ;" declaring that,
for the future, he should distinguish him by no other
appellative. If any pleasure accrued from the use of
this contumelious observation, it was the only result
which the Admiral could attain : the supposed glory
of the 27th of July had evaporated with the compul-
sory illumination on his acquittal. It is true, that on
being rejected at Windsor, which had before returned
him, he sat in Parliament, as representative of the
county of Surrey ; but still no general public feeling
existed in his favour.

On a subsequent day, Mr. Fox made a separate February 1st.

232

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLI.

1781.

'25tli Jan.
Message to
Parliament.

and unsuccessful motion to declare the appointment
of Sir Hugh Palliser, after the sentence of the court-
martial, subversive of discipline*.

Immediately after the recess, the rupture with Hol-
land was announced to Parliament by a royal message.
The public indignation was sufficiently excited, by the
malignity and ingratitude of the Dutch, to render the
war popular ; and the vigour and promptitude of the
preparations afforded general satisfaction. The mes-
sage was, nevertheless, debated with great warmth in
both houses, and amendments moved to the addresses.
It was asserted that the insolence of Sir Joseph Yorke's
memorial in 1777 had been more efficacious in alienat-
ing the Dutch than all the gold and intrigues of
France. The paper found in the possession of Mr.
Laurens was only a project or draft of an incomplete
treaty, referring for its future accomplishment to events
yet undecided. Ministers were blamed for the length
of the recess, during which they had added another
to the formidable list of our opponents, while their
supineness, ignorance, and want of judgment, left us
without an ally.

The ministry answered, that the memorial in 1777
was sufficiently temperate for the occasion : his Ma-
jesty would have been culpably negligent of the national
honour had he omitted a forcible remonstrance. The
offensive treaty was not a draft, but formally executed
by the pensionary Van Berkel, and John de Neuf-
ville, citizen of Amsterdam, on the part of Holland,
and by Lee, on that of America. The Dutch, refusing
to disavow the transaction, must be deemed to have
fully approved it. The recess of Parliament was not
continued for the purpose of secret proceeding; the
Houses, if sitting, could not have received a communi-
cation on the subject till the negotiation was termi-
nated. Mr. Wraxall made an able speech on the
subject of alliances, unfolding the views and resources
of the principal European states, and recommending
a close and immediate connexion with the Emperor

* Lost by 214 to 149.

GEORGE III. 233

of Germany. If that potentate declared war in our
favour, the necessity of providing an adequate opposing
force would frustrate all hopes of increasing the French 1781
marine ; and the shock would be felt no less at Madrid
and the Hague, than at Paris. The Emperor might
be allured to our cause by a liberal subsidy for ena-
bling him to take the field, by yielding to him some im-
portant possessions in India, and by protecting him
in opening the navigation of the Scheldt. This mea-
sure would be beneficial to him and injurious to Hol-
land; a nation which owed its origin, progress, and
protection, to the fostering hand of England, and yet
joined the standard of the House of Bourbon against
its natural ally.

The amendments moved in both Houses were re-
jected* ; the Lords entered on their journals two pro-
tests, one signed by nine, the other by eight peers.

Although the tremendous disorders of the pre- Popular
ceding year occasioned great terror at direct appeals
to large bodies of the people, the political associations
formed in all parts of the kingdom did not dissolve,
but endeavourd, by incendiary resolutions, to reani-
mate the flame of opposition. In many of their meet-
ings, strong complaints were urged against the autho-
rities supposed to be now first granted to the military,
and individuals were recommended to arm against
the attack of surrounding enemies and all invasions
of their rights and liberties. The meetings of these
associations in the counties and towns were highly
alarming ; but the danger was increased by the novel
and unconstitutional measure of appointing delegates
or representatives to transact their affairs in the capi-
tal, and, by mutual aid and advice, give support and
efficacy to their petitions. Mr. Burke received from
many of these bodies high compliments for his efforts
in the cause of reform, and, in compliance with their
requests, again brought forward the rejected bills of
last year.

* In the House of Commons two amendments were moved; the first was
rejected by 180 to 101, the other without a division. The numbers in the Upper
House were, against the amendment, 84; for it, 19.

234

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLI.

1781.

15th Feb.
Burke's eco-
nomical re-
form again
introduced.

He introduced a motion by reading the famous
resolutions respecting the increased influence of the
Crown, the power of the House to correct abuses in
the expenditure of the civil list, and the duty of the
Commons to afford the redress required by the peti-
tions of the people. He considered these resolutions
a valuable legacy bequeathed by the late Parliament,
and an atonement for previous criminal servility. They
were the result of long, deliberate, and sober debate,
when the House was well attended, and a spirit of
economy pervaded every corner. He trusted the new
Parliament would consider it their duty to carry into
effect the wishes of the people, wishes which had
been delivered in thunder and lightning. Although
the people had not agreed in any system of complaint,
or plan of reform, yet they had all stated either errors
or calamities in the administration of government and
expense, which ought to be rectified. Although all
their propositions were not practicable, they agreed
in two points the dangerous influence of the Crown,
and the necessity for retrenchment and economy.
He then gave a narrative of the introduction and fate
of his former bills, complaining of the versatility of
Parliament. At first, crowded houses were seen in
every stage of the business, and they showed an ap-
parent conviction of having no objection to the ab-
stract and general propositions; but when he pro-
ceeded to a specific reform, they deserted him and his
cause. They first dwindled off from one question,
then silently stole away from another, till at last the
whole was permitted to moulder and shrink imper-
ceptibly from the view, and he was obliged, after
much fatigue and no success, to abandon the task,
with the mortifying reflection that his labours and
those of the House had produced no benefit to the
country. He defended himself against all imputations
on the revival of an unsuccessful proposition, and vin-
dicated his plan, as no less useful to the King than
salutary to the people. To maintain the parade and
show of royalty without its power, was like the absurd
vanity of robbing the manger to decorate a starved,

GEORGE III. 235

emaciated horse with bells and trappings, while the C XLL'
poor animal, deprived of food, groaned beneath the

wretchedness of ornament. The advice and language 1781.
he used could not be unseasonable or impertinent, if
addressed to an Alexander or a Charles ; retrenchment,
increasing their powers for war, would enable them to
diffuse horror with more rapidity ; but to a King like
ours, who hated war, and loved peace, who partici-
pated in the interests, joys, and disasters of the people,
it must be at once proper and welcome. A faction had
crept in, and prevented that happy sympathy which
should prevail between the head and all the inferior
members of the body : this faction it was the business
of Parliament to crush, to tear the veil interposed
between the Sovereign and his people, and dispel those
clouds which concealed the royal countenance from his
dutiful and affectionate subjects. Again adverting to
the example of France, Mr. Burke pronounced high
encomiums on the principles and system of Necker.
That excellent statesman, he said, although an unpro-
tected foreigner, had stood his ground amidst the cabals
and intrigues of a court. Calumny might attempt to
blacken him ; but it was impossible to blind the dis-
cernment of his Sovereign, or obliterate from his
memory this honourable truth ; " he has given me a
" navy, and has not laid a tax on my subjects." When
the resources of France were thought to be exhausted,
and every common channel was known to be dried up,
Necker dug into the mine of national treasure, went
to the spring and fountain-head of revenue, and by
demolishing the dams and dykes that stopped the cur-
rent of wealth, brought into the Exchequer the value
of six hundred useless places. France might be
obliged, at last, to have recourse to burthensome
taxes ; but, for three years, she had fought Great
Britain without them ; and an exertion of three years
might give her a decisive superiority through the whole
contest ; it might put her system in such a train as to
give the tone and determine the complexion of a whole
century ; it would impart more solid and permanent
glory to the reign of Louis XVI than was derived

236

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLI.

1781.

26th Feb.

from all the illustrious deeds of Henry IV*. Mr.
Burke invoked the candour of the House not to treat
the proposed measure with insidious respect in its out-
set, and tempt it to a death of slow and lingering
torture. He called on Lord North as arbiter of its
destiny ; entreating that, if he meant to deal the blow
of death, he would save himself and the House much
fatigue, and the nation much anxiety and disappoint-
ment, by determining the matter on that day ; he would
then be, for one day at least, a decisive minister.

Leave was given, without opposition, to bring in a
bill for regulating his Majesty's civil establishment,
limiting pensions, and suppressing useless places. The
second reading occasioned a long debate, in which the
principles of the measure, and its probable effects,
were amply and ably investigated. The principal op-
ponents were Mr. De Grey, Earl Nugent, Mr. Rose-
warne, Mr. Percival, Mr. Wraxall, and Mr. Dundas.,
They all concurred in warm eulogies on the character
and talents of Mr. Burke, and expressed diffidence in
resisting a measure so plausible, and so captivating to
the public, as retrenchment of expenditure. Economy
was never more necessary ; but its advantages were not
to be purchased by the violation of sacred rights. In
the first year of the King's reign, the civil list was
established at eight hundred thousand pounds; and
the additional sum of one hundred thousand pounds
per annum was afterward given ; both being settled
on him for life. This was a bargain, and one highly
advantageous to the public, made in lieu of the Crown
lands ; the revenue was therefore to be considered as
positive freehold, as a personal estate, held under the
faith and solemnity of an equitable contract. The
power of Parliament to resume its own grants was un-
deniable ; but it was impossible to divide the ideas of
their omnipotence from those of their justice and dis-
cretion. Economy was undoubtedly desirable ; but
thirty or forty thousand pounds a year would be too

* Within three months after the delivery of this eulogy, Necker was dis-
missed from office ; his plan of finance was afterward more particularly investi-
gated, and found to be a mere shallow delusion.

GEORGE III. 237

dearly purchased by the abolition of places created by
the wisdom of our ancestors, to support the dignity
and lustre of the British Crown. The increase of in- 1781.
fluence was an unfounded assertion ; nor was the pre-
sent bound by the vote of the last Parliament on that
subject. The established powers and influence of the
Crown had not been abused, or perverted to the pre-
judice of liberty and the constitution. None of the
places proposed to be retrenched were created by his
Majesty, and the acts of his reign had been highly
favourable to the liberties of the country and diminu-
tion of undue influence ; witness those for rendering
permanent the salaries of the judges, and for trying
controverted elections, which effectually abrogated the
power, if the inclination might exist, of biassing courts
of justice, and perverting the sense of the people in
returns to the House of Commons. The reasonings
founded on retrenchment made in France were inap-
plicable to Great Britain ; the civil list, as well as the
governments, were essentially different : France was a
despotic, England a free country. In England the
throne was built on liberty ; in France it rested on the
necks of two hundred thousand soldiers, and was up-
held by farmers-general, by oppression, by servile
parliaments banished at pleasure, by military rigour,
and armed authority. If the conduct of France was
to be cited, the whole should be considered, and un-
provoked aggression brought into view as clearly as
economical reform : bad faith was always bad policy ;
and the greater evil of unjust war would swallow up
the lesser good of economical retrenchment. The
dignity of the British Crown was connected with the
dignity and opulence of the nation, nor could the
enormous expenses, into which Great Britain had been
forced by the enemy, be repaired by such an unim-
portant saving as the bill proposed, acquired at the
expense of individuals who, relying on the good faith
of Parliament, considered their property as secure and
permanent as freehold estates.

This debate was distinguished by the first paiiia- First speech of
mentary exertion of the Honourable William Pitt, put.

238 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP. second son of the illustrious Earl of Chatham, who

XI I

had not yet completed his twenty-second year. On

1 780. his rising, mute attention prevailed ; the genius of the
parent was recollected, and the most eager curiosity
was excited to ascertain how great a portion of it was
transmitted to the son. Such great hopes and anxious
expectations were never more amply gratified ; the
juvenile orator delivered himself with grace, facility,
and animation ; his manner, which afterward became
so elegant, was deliberate, and equally remote from
timid bashfulness, and overweening presumption. His
voice was rich and striking; his periods harmonious
and energetic, without appearance of art or study ;
and his reasoning displayed all the fire of his father,
combined with that which his father often wanted,
methodical arrangement and lucid order.

He gave hearty assent to the principle of the bill,
and thought a proposition for retrenchment of the
civil list revenue would have come with more grace,
more benefit to the public service, if it had sprung
from the royal breast. Ministers should have given
to the people the consolation of knowing that their
sovereign participated in the sufferings of the empire ;
they ought to have consulted the glory of their royal
master, and seated him in the hearts of his people,
by abating from magnificence what was due to ne-
cessity. Instead of waiting for the slow request of
a burthened people, they should have courted popu-
larity by a voluntary surrender of useless revenue.
But if ministers failed in their duty ; if they interfered
between the benignity of the sovereign and the dis-
tresses of the public, and stopped the tide of royal
sympathy, was that a reason why the House of Com-
mons, his Majesty's public counsellors, should desist
from a measure so congenial to the paternal feelings
of the Sovereign, so applicable to the wants and mise-
ries of the people ? The House, acting as faithful
representatives, ought to seize on every object of
equitable resource ; and surely none were so fair, so
probable, or so flattering, as retrenchment and economy.
The obligations of their character demanded an un-

GEORGE III. 239

hesitating pursuit of those objects, even to the foot of
the throne. Actuated by duty, they should advise
the King to part with useless ostentation, that he 1781.
might preserve necessary power ; to abate a little pomp,
that he might ascertain respect ; to diminish somewhat
of exterior grandeur, that he might increase and se-
cure authentic dignity. It was their immediate duty,
as the Commons House of Parliament, to guard the
lives, liberties, and property of the people : the last
obligation was the strongest, because property was
most liable to invasion by the secret and subtile at-
tacks of influence. It could not derogate from the
real glory of the Crown to accept the advice ; it could
be no diminution of true grandeur to yield to the re-
spectful petitions of the people. Tutelage might be a
hard term ; but the guardianship of that House could
not be disgraceful to a constitutional King. The
abridgment of unnecessary expense could be no abate-
ment of royalty. . Magnificence and grandeur were not
inconsistent with retrenchment and economy ; but,
on the contrary, in times of necessity and uncom-
mon exertion, solid grandeur was dependent on the
reduction of expense. It was observed, early in the
debate, that the bill combined two objects which ought
to have been separate reform and economy; in his
opinion, they ought to go hand-in-hand ; but the bill
had a third object, more important than either, a re-
duction of the influence of the Crown ; an influence
more dreadful, because more secret in its attacks, and
more concealed in its operations, than the power of
prerogative. The proposed saving, it was objected,
was immaterial, a matter of trifling consideration when
measured by the necessities or expenses of the times.
This was surely a most singular and unaccountable
species of reasoning. The calamities of the crisis were
too great to be benefited by economy ; the public ex-
penses so enormous, that it was ridiculous to attend to
small matters of account. So many millions had been
expended, that thousands were beneath consideration.
Such was the language of the day, such the reasoning
by which the principle of the bill was disputed. Much

240

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLI.

1781.

The bill
rejected.

Other popular
efforts.

argument had been used to show the impropriety of
resuming a parliamentary grant, and the right of the
House had even been denied : the weakness of such
a doctrine was its refutation. But it ought to be re-
membered that the civil-list revenue was granted for
other purposes than those of personal gratification.
It was granted to support the dignity and interests of
the empire, to maintain its grandeur, to pay the judges
and foreign ministers, to uphold justice, and support
respect, to pay the great officers necessary to the lustre
of the Crown ; and it was proportioned to the dignity
and opulence of the people. But the sum of revenue
which was necessary to sustain the common dignity of
the Crown and people at the time of the grant, ought
now to be abated, as necessities had increased. The
people who afforded that revenue under the circum-
stances of the occasion, were justified in resuming a
part under the pressing demand of an altered situation.
They felt their right, but exercised it with pain and
regret. They approached the throne with bleeding
hearts, afflicted at the necessity of applying for re-
trenchment of the royal gratification ; but the request
was at once loyal and submissive. When he con-
sidered the obligations of the House, he could not
cherish an idea that they would dispute the principle
of the bill, which was essential to the being and inde-
pendence of the country. He could not believe that
economy would be condemned, or the means of accom-
plishing it abandoned*.

Several distinguished members of opposition ex-
erted themselves in behalf of the measure ; Lord
Maitland made his first parliamentary essay on the
same side, and spoke with great ability; and Mr.
Burke, in his reply, surpassed the expectations even of
his warmest admirers. The motion for a second read-
ing was, however, lostf, and the bill rejected, by
adjourning the further consideration for six months.

The other popular efforts of the last session were

* For some anecdotes relating to this first parliamentary display see Tom-
line's Life of Pitt, vol. i. p. 22, 4to.
t '233 to 190.

GEORGE III. 241

revived; the bills for excluding contractors and re-
venue officers from the House of Commons met their
fate on the same day; both occasioned some debate, nsi.
but were rejected*. Sir Philip Jennings Clerke also 21 st March
renewed the proposition, which Mr. Gilbert had 21s
abandoned, for imposing a tax on places and pensions ;
but his effort was unsuccessfulf . The loan for the
current service of the year was exposed to censures un-
usually severe. The sudden rise in value of the sub-
scription contracts, usually called scrip, to near eleven
per cent, above their original purchase, formed the
foundation for numerous imputations and motions ^j 8th> , .,

. . , 1 -I i 11 12th, and 2btli

against the minister; though his conduct was ably March.
defended and sanctioned by the House*. The third 21stMarch -
reading of the bill in the Lords produced an able
speech from the Marquis of Rockingham ; to which no
reply was made ; and eight lords joined in a protest.

These were not the only efforts to gain popularity Mr. Sheridan's
by the discussion of questions calculated to interest the motl . n re-

T r , . ,, - 1 r .,. . . specting the

public. The interference of the military in suppressing military.
the late alarming riots was introduced to the House by
Mr. Sheridan. This gentleman, a native of Ireland,
was advantageously known to the public by the ex-
ercise of extraordinary talents in dramatic and lyric
poetry. His exquisite wit and refined erudition af-
forded great hopes of eminence in the senate ; hopes
which were surpassed by the various excellences of
his nervous, rich, and beautiful oratory. He took his
seat for the town of Stafford, and had, on more than
one occasion, obtained the favourable attention of the
House. His motions Avere three ; the first declaring
that the military force could not justifiably be applied
in dispersing tumultuous assemblies, without waiting
for directions from civil magistrates, unless outrages
had broken forth Avith such violence as to overbear
civil authority, and threaten the subversion of legal
government. The other tAvo affirmed that the unpre-

* The contractor's bill by 120 to 100 ; the other, 133 to 8G.
t The bill was rejected on the second reading, 93 to 33.

J The majority against a motion on the subject, made by Mr. Fox, Avas 169 to
111, and on a motion for inquiry, by Sir George Savile, 209 to 163.
$ He made his first speech the 20th of November, 1780.

VOL. III. R

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

cedented order to the military, on the seventh of June,
' afforded strong presumption of the defective state of

1781. the police, and required the appointment of a com-
mittee to inquire into the conduct of the magistracy
and civil power during the riots, and report to the
House the state and government of the city of West-
minster.

In support of these motions, he made a philippic
against government, in glowing language, and abound-
ing in pointed invectives. To the miserable state of
the police in Westminster he ascribed all the disorders
which had occasioned the establishment of military
power in the metropolis, and its extension to every
part of the kingdom. But, if the guilt of magistrates
or deficiency of police had occasioned the adoption of
such an alarming expedient, why had government per-
mitted the same justices to continue in the commission ?
Men of tried inability and convicted depravity ! Was
this neglect a plan to render the country still depend-
ent on the bayonet, and must the military power still
be employed in aid of contrived weakness and deliber-
ate inattention? Some might wish to see the subject
familiarized to the use of soldiers, and that they might
be resorted to on occasions less alarming.

Only two reasonable excuses could be assigned for
the conduct of government in the orders issued for the
employment of the military. The first, that the riots
were not produced by the persons who had assembled
around the House, instigated by religious enthusiasm,
or apprehensive zeal ; nor yet by a set of vagrants, who
had taken advantage of the occasion ; but that they
were the effects of a deliberate and deep-laid scheme ;
a conspiracy contrived by the enemies of the country
to lay the metropolis in ashes, and strike at the very
foundations of the national wealth and credit. Such
was the opinion maintained by the Lord Chief-Justice
of the King's Bench in Parliament, and by another
Judge on the Bench ; but no proceeding in either
House had shown that such a notion was entertained ;
and, if all the trials were perused, from the first un-
happy man brought to the bar of the Old Bailey, up

GEORGE III. 243

to Lord George Gordon, it would be found that he
alone was charged with high treason. He was both
leader and army in this great machination against the
state ; not one of his subalterns having risen above the
humble charge of felony. The progress of the riots,
as well as the evidence on the trials, would prove the
futility of imputing them to a regular scheme or deep-
laid plot against the country.

The other reason which might justify government
for the orders they had issued, was their belief that
the substitution of the military for the civil power was,
in all cases of tumult and riot, safe, easy, and consti-
tutional. If this doctrine could be established, fare-
well to freedom ! If this was law, the country would
be reduced to a military government of the very worst
species, including all the mischiefs of despotism, with-
out the discipline or the security. But it was said the
best protection against this evil was found in the virtue,
moderation, and constitutional principles of the sove-
reign. Though he contemplated those virtues with as
much reverence as any man, he trusted such a species of
liberty would never disgrace the British soil. Liberty,
resting on the virtuous inclinations of any one man,
was but suspended despotism ; the sword was not,
indeed, on the necks of the people, but it hung by the
small and brittle thread of human will.

After a long debate, in which the conduct of
government in the suppression of the riots, and the
indictment of Lord George Gordon, were ably defended,
the first of Mr. Sheridan's motions was withdrawn,
the second negatived by a considerable majority*, and
the third without a division.

The associations and their delegates had, during Petition of the
the whole session, engaged much attention in Parlia- l e e i78o.'
ment. In the debate on the King's speech, Lord
Abingdon expressed his expectations, that through 1st of NOT.
them a new order of affairs would be introduced,
which would render useless such minutiae as addresses.
He wished the people might obtain a new Magna

* 171 to 94.

R 2

244

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

C 'xLi P ' Charta, a new declaration of rights; for the present

' Government was arbitrary ; a system of despotism,

1781. ruling by will, and not by law. Mr. Adam justly
13th of March, stigmatised these committees for spreading baleful
effects over the whole country, and affording encou-
ragement to its enemies. The American Congress
made them a principal engine in encouraging the
people of the colonies to persist in rebellion ; and, in
their publications, descanted on the distractions occa-
sioned in Great Britain by the committees of associa-
tion, as inducements to perseverance.

2nd of April. The principle and legality of the associations, and

particularly the dangerous system of sending delegates,
came more fully into discussion, when a petition,
8th of May. signed by thirty-two of these mock representatives of
unconstitutional constituents, was offered to the House
by Mr. Buncombe ; and afterward, on the motion of
Sir George Savile for referring it to a committee.
The petition was founded on that from Yorkshire pre-
sented to the last Parliament, and supported by nearly
the same arguments, with the addition of those which
resulted from the resolutions on the increasing influ-
ence of the crown.

Beside the objections to the contents of the peti-
tion, it was reprobated as being signed by men who
had notoriously assumed the unconstitutional charac-
ter of delegates and committee men, who assembled
in that capacity, formed resolutions, and published
them in newspapers; all which proceedings were
founded in a design to awe and controul Parliament.
The House was cautioned by Lord Fielding to beware
of conjuring up a spirit which the tremendous events
of last year alone had laid. How far that spirit would
have extended was difficult to say ; but the discontinu-
ance of its operation was sudden and remarkable. The
associated bodies had adjourned or dissolved ; conver-
sation had undergone a material change ; appeals to
the people on the subject of recurring to first prin-
ciples were no longer made, and even newspapers
ceased to be declamatory and violent. Mr. Courtenay
attacked these confederacies in his usual vein of rail-

GEORGE III. 245

lery ; comparing the associations to self-erected politi- xf /'"
cal hand-posts, placed in all parts of the country to _____
shew the people what path they should pursue. He
animadverted with severity on the characters of the
delegates.

Their wise Divan the best companions grace,
Chiefs out of war, and Members out of place,
Who fondly mingle in their hope-filled bowl
The feast of reason and the flow of soul.

The defence of the committees and their delegates
was principally founded on the want of a positive
prohibitory law. Sir George Savile's motion was
rejected.

In the course of the session, the origin and con-
duct of the war were frequently brought into discus-
sion ; and the topics urged by the opposition were in Motion'of

general less to be noticed for their novelty than the d 1 ^* to

. i'i-i Lord Corn-

unbounded virulence with which they were urged,

On a motion of thanks to Lord Cornwallis and Sir
Henry Clinton, for the capture of Charles Town and
the victory at Camden, Mr. Wilkes arraigned the cha-
racter of the noble Commander. In conjunction with
four other respectable characters, the earls of Tanker-
ville and Shelburne, Viscount Torrington and Lord*
Camden, he had denied our right to tax America ; and
Mr. Pitt, when he spoke of the five illustrious heroes
who opposed the declaratory act, did not foresee the
slaughter of his fellow subjects in the same cause, by
one of those illustrious heroes, at the glorious victoiy
of Camden. The palm of such a victory was a kind of
wretched anti-civic crown, which must disgrace the san-
guinary brow of an unfeeling, unprincipled conqueror.
He considered the two generals and Admiral Arbuth-
not unworthy of praise ; they had bathed their swords
in the blood of their innocent American fellow subjects ;
and he declared the independence of America to be
already secured. Sir Joseph Mawbey and Mr. Sheridan
expressed similar sentiments; and Mr. Fox, while he
admitted the merit of the officers in question, would
not separate the intention from the action. The name
of Admiral Arbuthnot had been added to the motion

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLI.

1781.

May 30th.
Mr. Hartley's
motion for
peace with
America.

as an amendment, and he would not vote thanks to
any admiral while the navy of England was in such
bad hands. Lord North vindicated the consistency of
Lord Cornwallis, and the opposition did not venture
a division on the question.

Mr. Hartley moved for leave to bring in a bill
enabling the Crown to restore peace with America.
When the motion had been seconded by Sir Philip
Jennings Clerke, a pause ensued, which led to an ap-
prehension that ministers would leave the proposition
to the fate of a silent vote ; but, Sir George Savile
having censured the sullen silence maintained on such
an occasion as exceedingly unbecoming, Lord North
said he considered observations unnecessary, as the
subject had been discussed and the sense of the House
taken upon it in two successive sessions. The motion
was nugatory, as ministers were in possession of all
necessary powers, and the present commanders had
full authority to treat.

This speech produced the desired effect. Mr. Fox
denied the assertion of the King's authority, and de-
scribed the American war as made and maintained
only to perpetuate the power and influence of the minis-
ter, which existed through it, and with it must expire.
For this he had encountered shame and embraced it.
He had been forced into all those vile measures of con-
tradiction and absurdity, which brought infamy on the
present age, and would bring ruin on all posterity.
In the course of his speech, he exhibited the want of
patriotism in ministers, the want of value in the vic-
tories, for gaining which parliament had been so free
in voting thanks, and the want of wisdom in giving
credit to such wretches as Mr. Galloway. The war
would never end while the present system continued ;
it was unjust in its principles, absurd in its prosecution,
and would be pernicious in its consequences. Mr.
Burke illustrated the notion of the co-eval duration of
the ministry and the war by an allusion to the artificial
noses mentioned in Hudibras as the handy-work of the
learned Taliacotius, which lasted only while the parent
flesh was living.

GEORGE III.

Lord George Germaine, Mr. Welbore Ellis, and
Sir Henry Houghton, made observations on the prin-
cipal points in these speeches ; and, on a division, the 1780.
motion was rejected*.

At a late period of the session, Mr. Fox moved fora i2thof June.
committee to consider of the American war ; and inti- ^mmhteeon
mated his intention of proposing a resolution, " that the American
" ministers ought immediately to take every measure
" for concluding peace with the colonies." He des-
canted on the circumstances of the war, including even
the latest intelligence, and inferred the absolute impos-
sibility of conquest.

The motion operated as a kind of test on the new
members ; most of the speeches contained some gene-
ral principles, or professions of political faith, and
many of them historical reviews of the origin and con-
duct of the war. In answer to some observations,
reflecting on the political conduct of the late Earl of
Chatham, Mr. Pitt made a speech of extraordinary
ability, vindicating the whole parliamentary conduct
of his father respecting America, as perfectly con-
sistent. The Earl had always heartily reprobated the
principle, progress, and ultimate objects of the war,
and never gave a vote or opinion in contradiction ta
those sentiments. The only observation of Lord Chat-
ham, on which a contrary inference could be founded,
was an assertion that Great Britain had a right to im-
pose duties for regulation of commerce, duties inci-
dental to the extension of trade, calculated for the
mutual benefit of both countries; but not a tax for
raising a revenue in America, to be remitted to Eng-
land and disposed of by Parliament.

After explaining his father's sentiments, Mr. Pitt
stated his own. The American war had been de-
fended, he said, with uncommon fervour : one member,
in the heat of his zeal, had termed it a holy war, and
several others had been reprehended for calling it a
wicked or accursed war. For his part, he would
affirm it to be a most accursed, wicked, barbarous,

* 106 to 72.

'248

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLI.

1781.

June
2029.
Petitions of
American
prisoners.

cruel, unnatural, unjust, and diabolical war; con-
ceived in injustice, nurtured and brought forth in
folly ; its footsteps marked with blood, slaughter,
persecution, and devastation. It contained every cha-
racteristic of moral depravity and human turpitude,
was pregnant with every species of mischief, and
threatened Avith destruction the miserable people who
were the object of those black resentments by which
it was engendered. The mischiefs, however, recoiled
on the unhappy people of England, who were made the
instruments to effect these wicked purposes. The
nation was drained of its best blood and its vital re-
sources in men and money. The expense was enor-
mous, the return nothing but a series of ineffective vic-
tories or disgraceful defeats ; victories only celebrated
with momentary triumph over our brethren, or defeats
which filled the land with mourning for the loss of
dear and valuable relations, slain in the impious con-
test for enforcing unconditional submission ; or narra-
tives of the glorious exertions of men struggling in
the holy cause of liberty, even amidst all difficulties
and disadvantages. What Englishman, on reading
the narratives of these bloody and well-fought contests,
could refrain from lamenting the loss of British blood
in such a cause "? or from weeping on whichever side
victory might incline "? To this melancholy consider-
ation might be added, that we perceived only our natu-
ral and powerful enemies, or lukewarm and faithless
friends, rejoicing in our calamities and meditating our
ultimate downfall. The motion was negatived*.

A petition was presented to the House of Com-
mons from upward of two hundred Americans con-
fined in the Mill Prison at Plymouth, representing
their calamitous, half-starved condition. They had less
bread every day by one-third than was allowed to cap-
tives of France, Spain, and Holland, and their cloth-
ing w r as utterly insufficient. Other prisoners were
enabled to supply their wants by annuities allowed
from their respective governments and paid through
their agents ; but as there were no American agents,

* 172 to 99.

GEORGE III. 249

they could receive no such relief, and must have under-
gone greater privations than they had, but for the sub-
scriptions of the humane and generous persons in
England, which were now nearly exhausted.

It was proved that the daily allowance they com-
plained of was, a pound of bread, three quarters of a
pound of meat, half a pint of pease, or green vege-
tables in proportion, half an ounce of butter or cheese,
and a pot of beer ; a distribution considerably greater
than was afforded to our own troops in transports, and
much exceeding that which could be procured by
the hard work of the daily labourer. It had been
regulated before the war with France began, <3n the
precedent of the allowance to rebel prisoners in 1745 ;
but with more liberality. Some motions which were
attempted on the subject failed* ; nor would the debate
be worth mention, but for some remarkable observations
to which it gave rise. The treatment of our prisoners
by_the Americans being adverted to, General Burgoyne
affirmed, that, while he lay at Cambridge, he had many
causes of complaint respecting the treatment his troops
had experienced, but not on the score of provisions.
The honourable General could hardly have retained a
correct recollection of the sufferings of his brave and un-
fortunate followers, the convention army ; and his me-
mory was refreshed by Lord George Germaine, who
stated that many such complaints had been made by this
army while the General was with it, and still more since
he had quitted it ; that every post which arrived from
America brought letters filled with complaints of the
barbarities to which they were subjected.

Mr. Fox declared that he considered the American
cause the cause of freedom, of the constitution, and
of whiggism, and had in its origin sincerely wished it
success. If he had been an American, he believed he
knew himself well enough to think he should not
have been inactive ; but being an Englishman, he
had considered it his duty, as it was his inclina-
tion, to continue his efforts in an ardent opposition

* A motion for an address made by Mr. Fox was rejected, 75 to 28. Several
others made by ministers, were carried without division.

250

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLI.

1781.

18th July.
Close of the

to those sanguinary measures that had involved us in
this war, and which, being hostile to freedom, he con-
sidered contrary to the true interests of his country.
He gloried in having always adhered to whig prin-
ciples, and, as a consequence of that way of thinking,
to the claims of America.

Mr. Dundas was not surprised at the rejoicing ex-
pressed by Mr. Fox at the successes of our enemies ;
he had not slightly contributed to them by his lan-
guage and conduct in that house ; and, in a tone of less
bitterness, the Solicitor-General asked if he meant to
confine himself to bare wishes, or to draw the sword,
put on the American uniform, inlist under Washington,
and point his sword against the bosom of his own
countrymen 1 Lord North declared that, if Mr. Fox's
was a true exposition of Whig principles, he was a
staunch Tory, for they went to no less than establish-
ing a power in every individual to renounce, his alle-
giance at pleasure ; a power absolutely incompatible
with the existence of any society in the world. He
examined the application of Whig principles to our
conduct with regard to America, shewing that it was
reconcileable with the opinions of Lord Somers and
every other great character of that party.

The King terminated the session at an unusually
advanced period ; thanking Parliament for the faithful
discharge of their duties, and expressing his earnest
desire of peace, though he would not accept that bless-
ing on terms inconsistent with the honour and dignity
of the Crown, and the permanent interest and security
of the people.

GEORGE III. 251

CHAPTER THE FORTY-SECOND.
1781.

Attack of the French on Jersey. Progress of the siege of
Gibraltar. Misery, and relief of the garrison. Brave
sortie. The enemy land in Minorca. Naval actions in the
Channel and off the Dogger Bank. State of the Dutch
Colonies Instructions to Rodney. Capture of Saint Eus-
tatia Demerary Issequibo, and Berbice. The French
fleet reinforced. Capture of Tobago. Transactions in
America. Lord Cornwallis reinforced. State of the Ame-
rican army. Mutiny. Arnold's expedition to Virginia.
Tarleton defeated at the Cowpens. Lord Cornwallis's in-
cursion into North Carolina. Royal standard erected at
Hillsborough. Massacre of the Loyalists. Battle of Guild-
ford. Lord Cornwallis invades Virginia. Lord Rawdon
defeats the enemy at Hobkirk's Hill. Camden evacuated.

Success of- the enemy in South Carolina and Georgia.
Suspension of operations. Execution of Colonel Haynes.

Battle at Eutaws. Expedition of the enemy against
Portsmouth. General Phillips ravages Virginia. Arrival
of Lord Cornwallis. His pursuit of La Fayette. Success
of Tarleton and Simcoe. Projects of the enemy against
New York. Clinton requires troops from Virginia. Coun-
termands the order. Lord Cornwallis stations himself at
York and Gloucester. Arrival of the French and English
fleets. Partial action. Arnold's expedition to New Lon-
don. York town invested. Progress of the siege and
capitulation. Efforts of Clinton for relief of Lord Corn-
wallis.

EARLY in 1781, the French made a spirited attempt
to gain possession of Jersey. The remainder of the 6, h
legion which had failed in 1779, with another, raised

CHAP.
XLII.

252

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLII.

1781.

Attack of the
Freiich on
Jersey.

Gth June.

Progress of
the siege of
Gibraltar.

1780.
7th June.

by the Prince de Luxembourg, were placed under the
command of the Baron de Rullecourt. After sustain-
ing some loss and many difficulties by tempest, the
Baron landed with eight hundred men at the Bane des
Violettes ; reached, during night, St. Helier's, the
capital, and took prisoner, Major Corbet, the Lieu-
tenant-Governor, who signed a capitulation for the
whole island. Fortunately, other officers were not
infected with the same spirit of timidity : Major Pier-
son, on whom the command devolved, collected the
troops, assailed the invaders, who were concentred in
the market-place, wounded Rullecourt, slew a con-
siderable number, and compelled the remainder to
surrender ; but he did not survive to enjoy the fruits
of his valour ; almost the last shot fired by the enemy
deprived him of life, and he fell in the prime of youth,
and in the moment of glory. Corbet was tried by a
court-martial, and deservedly sentenced to be super-
seded in his commission of Lieutenant-Governor*.

Meanwhile the Spaniards continued to direct a
great portion of their strength against Gibraltar.
After the departure of Admiral Rodney, they at-
tempted, by means of fire-ships, to burn the fleet in
the bay ; but were repulsed by the valour and judg-
ment of the British sailors, assisted by a well-directed
fire from the garrison. Notwithstanding this failure,
they formed a blockade ; and the probabilities of relief
were diminished by a successful negotiation with the
Emperor of Morocco for farming the ports of Tangier,
Tetuan, and Larache, from which supplies and infor-
mation had been hitherto frequently obtained. This
advantage was gained by the Spaniards in consequence
of a blameable negligence in the British ministry.
On the commencement of hostilities, proposals were
made to the Emperor of Morocco for farming these
ports ; but far from acceding to a proposition so in-
jurious to the English, he imparted it to General Elliot,
requiring only, as the price of his friendship, naval
stores for three vessels, to protect his coasts against the
incensed Spaniards, the value of which did not exceed

* Histories, periodical works, and gazettes ; Life of General Dumouriez,
vol. i. p. 445.

GEORGE III. 253

fifteen hundred pounds. Elliot, struck with this dis-
interestedness, advised the British Government to
double the Emperor's demand, in order to retain so nsi.
valuable a friend ; but he had the mortification, on
Admiral Rodney's arrival, to find that he brought no
answer to the request. Ample time was afterward
allowed for the ministry to repair their oversight ; but,
after repeated applications to the British Consul to
learn the success of his applications, the Moorish
monarch gradually withdrew his countenance and pro-
tection. He first permitted the Spaniards to capture
British vessels within his ports ; his officers answering
the remonstrances of Mr. Logic, the Consul, with
harshness and insult. He next commanded Mr. Logic 20th October,
to be conducted into his presence,' and, after reproach-
ing the English nation in terms of great bitterness,
ordered him to make his abode at Sallee. The Consul
had the address to soften his resentment, and even ob-
tained a temporary protection for his fellow-subjects ;
but the Spaniards still augmenting their offers, while
no counter proposal was made by the British ministry,
the Emperor, at length, consented to banish the sub-
jects of England from his dominions. Unmoved by 26th Nor.
entreaties and. remonstrances, he even increased his
severity by alienating the port of Tangier to Spain ; in
consequence of which, the Consul and all the English
were made prisoners, and treated with great inhu-
manity, till the Court of Madrid consented to their
release.

This event was a severe misfortune to the besieged, Distress of the
who had almost consumed the supplies brought by & arnson -
Rodney ; the Spaniards intercepted small vessels from
Minorca and other ports, and destroyed the gardens
without the lines. The scurvy made dreadful ravages,
and the garrison experienced excessive misery*.

* As a proof of the extreme distress of the garrison during this period, the
following are selected from a long list of articles which had advanced to prices
proportionately exorbitant. Fresh beef, veal, and mutton, 4s. lO^d. corned
beef, '2s. lid. ; potatoes, '2s. 6d. sugar, 17*. Id. ; and biscuit-dust from lOd. to
Is. per pound. The hind quarter of a sheep, with the head and tail, II. 10s. ; a
pint of milk and water, In 3d. ; a living pig, 9/. 14s. 9rf. ; a sow, large with pigs,
20/. ; a goat and kid, 13/. ; a milch cow, 50 guineas, reserving to the vendor a

254

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLII.

1781.

12th April.
Relieved by
Darby.

The town
bombarded.

From this extremity of wretchedness they were
relieved by Admiral Darby, who convoyed, with the
grand fleet, near a hundred ships laden with provisions.
The garrison had been apprised of his approach, and
at day-break his fleet was descried from the signal-
house, though not yet discernible from below, by rea-
son of a thick mist ; but when the rising sun dispersed
the vapour, the anxious garrison were gratified with
the view of the whole convoy, led by several men of
war, steering toward them in a compact body. The
stores were landed in spite of opposition from the
Spanish gun-boats and land batteries, and Darby,
having completed his task, sailed for the channel.

The joy of the garrison and inhabitants imme-
diately received a severe check ; for the fleet was
scarcely moored, when the Spaniards opened a heavy
battery and bombardment on the fortress and town.
The fire impaired the fortifications, brought down
large quantities of stone and rubbish from the rock,
which blocked up the way and rendered repairs diffi-
cult, and, by destroying the dwellings and warehouses,
laid open those stores of provision which the merchants
had amassed to deal out in scanty portions, and at ex-
orbitant prices. The soldiery indulged in licentious
plunder and wanton destruction ; drunkenness and
insubordination threatened fatal effects, but were sup-
pressed by a judicious mixture of temporary forbear-
ance and subsequent wholesome severity.

The Spaniards now appeared to have renounced all
thoughts of a blockade ; provisions were received
without restraint, and a second convoy from England,
under the command of Captain Curtis, quieted every
apprehension. But the heavy cannonades, and pro-
fuse discharges of shells, both from batteries and gun-
boats, daily harassed the garrison, while the works of

pint of milk per diem. The weekly allowance of the soldier (and many had
children to maintain out of it) was 5 pounds and a quarter of bread ; 13 oz. of
salt beef; 13 oz. of pork, both almost in a state of putrescence; 2 oz. and a
quarter of butter, little better than rancid oil; 12 oz. of raisins; half a pint of
pease ; a pint of Spanish beans ; a pint of wheat, wliich they ground into flour
for puddings ; 4 oz. of rice, and a- quarter of a pint of oil : the inhabitants had
no assistance from the stores.

GEORGE III. 255

the besiegers proceeded with an alarming rapidity.
As a protection against the gun and mortar boats,
General Elliot cut down some brigs, and converted 1781.
them into prames furnished with artillery. His judi-
cious and well-directed fire did tremendous execution,
blew up batteries and prostrated works ; but the dili-
gence and perseverance of the besiegers still enabled
them to continue their approaches ; and, notwithstand-
ing every opposition, their fourth line was completed,
within three quarters of a mile of the walls, and so
strong as to resist the fire of the garrison.

Fewer lives were lost in these tremendous assaults 12th April to
than would naturally be imagined, as, in a period of 3lst May<
fifty days of the most violent attack on the town and
garrison, during which the enemy were computed to
expend fifty-six thousand seven hundred and sixty shot,
and twenty thousand one hundred and thirty-four
shells, not more than seventy were killed and wounded.
The troops were accustomed, after six months bom-
bardment, to the discharge and effect of heavy artil-
lery ; the firing of the enemy had shewn the weak
places in the fortification, which the Governor and
engineers were indefatigable in strengthening, so that
the garrison was in fact in a better state of defence
than at the beginning of the attack.

To free himself from the contiguity of the enemy, 26th NOV.^
General Elliot executed a bold and fortunate enter-
prize. Having received, from a deserter, correct in-
formation of the position, strength, and guards of the
enemy, he ordered all the grenadiers and light infantry
of the garrison, together with the twelfth regiment,
and the German regiment, called Hardenberg's*, to
assemble on the sands at midnight, and assail those
stupendous works, the construction of which had cost
so much labour and expense. With laudable pru-
dence, the General kept his intentions profoundly
secret till after sun-set on the evening when they
were to be executed : the remaining interval was past

* It was a remarkable circumstance that these two regiments, subjects of
different powers, and selected for this service, fought side by side at the battle of
Minden.

256

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLII.

1781.

The enemy
land in
Minorca.

in consultation, and the arrangement of measures for
ensuring success. The detachment consisted of two
thousand and fourteen men, besides three hundred
sailors ; they were commanded by Brigadier-General
Ross ; but the valiant Governor of the garrison at-
tended in person. Although his orders to observe
profound silence were strictly obeyed, the enemy were
alarmed, and their sentries fired on the detachment.
The British troops, having now no resource but their
impetuous courage, pressed resolutely forward ; the
Spaniards fled in every direction ; and, in an hour, by
the vigour and skill of the pioneers and artillery-
men, the flames burst forth from every quarter of the
works, illuminating the troops and all the surrounding
objects with a grand and horrific glare. The detach-
ment regained the fortress in safety, after laying trains
to the magazines, which threw up large masses of tim-
ber in their explosion, and augmented the conflagra-
tion. The Spaniards made no effort to protect their
works or prevent retreat ; they were so little appre-
hensive of a sortie, that the report of the commanding
officer was found already written against the relief of
guard, declaring that " nothing extraordinary" had
happened. The loss sustained by the British con-
sisted in four privates killed, one lieutenant, with
twenty-four non-commissioned officers and privates
wounded, and one missing; and great part of this
casualty was occasioned by two of the divisions firing
on each other in the dark, by mistake. Ten thirteen-
inch mortars, and eighteen twenty-six pounders were
spiked in the works, and the deliberation and order
observed were so perfect, that neither musket, working
tool, nor any other implement was lost. The success
exceeded the most sanguine expectation, and justified
the expression of the General in his public orders, that
" the bravery and conduct of the whole detachment,
" officers, sailors, and soldiers, on the glorious occasion,
" surpassed his warmest acknowledgments."

While the Spaniards were exerting their force in
unavailing attempts on Gibraltar, they also undertook,
in conjunction with the French* the conquest of Mi-

GEORGE III. 257

norca. With a combined force of sixteen thousand
men, commanded by the Duke De Crillon, and a
suitable train of artillery, they effected a landing, and i?8i.
commenced the siege of St. Philip's Castle, the princi-
pal fortress of the island ; but their progress was not 20tl1 Au s ust -
commensurate to their expectations, and the year was
wasted in unsuccessful efforts.

After convoying this armament, the combined Naval actions
fleets, amounting to seventy sail, fifty of which were in the Channel -
of the line, and some of the largest rate, reached the
coast of England, and occupied the mouth of the
Channel, from the islands of Scilly to Ushant. The
destruction of the English marine was confidently ex-
pected ; but Admiral Darby, having received informa-
tion of the approach and strength of the enemy, pru-
dently retired, with only twenty-one sail of the line,
into Torbay, to await an attack. The French and
Spanish commanders differed in opinion; and, in a
council of war, the proposition to assail the English
squadron in harbour was overruled by a large majority.
After some unavailing attempts to intercept the home-
ward bound trade, this mighty armament was, at an
early period of the year, compelled, by the sickness of
the crews, and the miserable state of the ships, to
return to port without effecting any exploit worthy
of notice. Admiral Darby, reinforced to thirty sail
of the line, cruised with so much vigilance and suc-
cess, that the British trade was secure from molesta-
tion.

In the course of the year, many naval events oc- Engagement
curred highly honourable to the naval character of the between
nation. Admiral Hyde Parker, returning from the Zouttoan,
Baltic with a convoy, was encountered near the Dog- 5th
ger Bank by the Dutch Admiral Zouttman, command-
ing a force considerably superior, both in number and
condition. The Dutch did not, like their new allies,
the French and Spaniards, avoid an engagement ; but,
both Admirals having taken the necessary measures
for the safety of their convoys, an action was com-
menced, in which skill, judgment, and valour, were
equally conspicuous on either side. They did not fire
VOL. in. s

258

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLII.

1781.

State of the

Dutch

colonies.

1780.
August.

till within musket shot, and continued with unremit-
ting fury three hours and a half. The fleets lay to for
some time, repairing their damages, when the Dutch
Admiral bore away, unopposed, for the Texel, Parker
not being in a condition to attempt pursuit. Both
squadrons suffered severely; the English lost one
hundred and four killed, and three hundred and
thirty-nine wounded : the Dutch did not publish their
official return, but their killed and wounded were cal-
culated at twelve hundred. Their ships were dread-
fully shattered ; the Hollandia sunk in the night after
the engagement, with all her wounded on board, and
the rest could with difficulty be kept above water till
they reached the port. Although no advantage of
capture resulted to the British fleet, the glory of vic-
tory was theirs, and the Dutch convoy was unable to
proceed on its voyage. The brave Admiral, on his
return to the Nore, received the honour of a royal
visit on board his ship ; but no acts of civility or con-
descension could alter his resolution of resigning his
command, which was imputed to indignation at the
insufficiency and bad condition of his fleet.

It arose probably from the divided state of the
Dutch government, where an active and malignant
faction was directing a system not directly avowed by
the great council of the nation, that when, by unpro-
voked aggressions and perfidious proceedings, they be-
came involved in war, no adequate measures had been
taken for the security of their colonial possessions, or
the protection of their ill-gotten riches. They seemed
to rely, in indolent security, on the passive forbearance
of England ; that she was not, either by injuries or in-
sults, to be roused into hostile action. Such expecta-
tions, if ever they were indulged, were sure to be dis-
pelled when naval command was confided to the
ardent and uncompromising patriotism, secrecy, and
indefatigable activity of Sir George Rodney. Before
hostilities had been formally commenced, he had
shewn his high sense of British honour. Finding,
on his arrival in the West Indies, that St. Eustatia
was the depot of the commerce and the refuge of the

GEORGE III. 259

cruisers belonging to the Americans, that at St. Mar-
tin's their flag was acknowledged and honoured, and
one of their armed vessels permitted, even in the port, 1781.
to insult and menace an English ship of smaller size,
he dispatched a squadron of sufficient force to seize or
destroy the Americans, conveying, at the same time, a
message to the Dutch Governor, announcing his de-
termination to exact and enforce the respect due to
his Majesty's flag. The commission was promptly and
ably executed ; the Governor, acknowledging his error,
promised that he would no longer permit the display of
the rebel flag ; the Americans, wishing to give a dif-
ferent aspect to the transaction, artfully proposed to
Captain Robinson, who commanded the detachment,
that he should take from the island three hundred
hogsheads of tobacco, which they had landed, but not
sold to the Dutch ; he frustrated their insidious design,
saying that his Majesty's ships were sent to chastise
their insolence, not to seize their tobacco, or make war
with the subjects of Holland.

Aware of the use which the enemies of England Dec 1 2 7 8 ^-
had been enabled to make of St. Eustatia, ministers instructions
lost no time in directing the capture of that island. toRodne y-
Rodney and General Vaughan, having already made Jan 30th
a fruitless attempt to re-capture St. Vincent's, obeyed
these directions promptly and with cautious secrecy.
They sailed from St. Lucie ; and, for a feint, appeared
before St. Pierre's in Martinique, where they occasioned ^ p t tu t ^ e of St-
great, though unfounded alarm. They caused St. Feb. 3rd!
Eustatia to be so surrounded that no vessels were likely
to escape ; and, having made all proper dispositions
for attack, summoned the Governor to surrender the
island. De Graaf, who, notwithstanding the fair profes-
sions of the States-General, retained the command of
the island, feeling that the inhabitants, composed of
almost all trading nations, could not be combined in
views of defence, which the consternation of so sudden
an attack rendered hopeless, surrendered the island,
with its dependencies, St. Martin's and Saba, and the
victors possessed themselves of an immense treasure.
No small indignation was excited by a discovery that

s 2

260 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

XLII P mucn of the merchandise was the property of British
subjects, and apparently intended for the use of the

1781. enemy. Under the influence of this impression, the
Admiral rejected with disdain the application of the
merchants of St. Christopher's, the nearest English
island, enforced by Mr. Glanville, their Solicitor-Gene-
ral, for a restitution. His severity was supposed to
exceed the limits of justice, and became the source of
much subsequent litigation*. Beside the property on
shore, valued at four millions, a frigate of thirty-six
guns, five ships of war of inferior force, and a hundred
and fifty sail of merchant-men, were taken in the bay,
and a fleet of thirty sail, richly laden, with their con-
voy, a sixty-four, were pursued and captured, after a
resistance in which the Dutch Admiral, Count Byland,
was slain. The flag of Holland was kept for some time
flying ; and, by means of this decoy, several French,
American, and Dutch vessels became an easy prey.
The capture of this place, Sir George Rodney
observed, has distressed the French islands beyond
conception. They are greatly in want of every species
of provisions and stores. He proposed therefore to
make a blockade as effectual as possible, but professed
his apprehension of danger from the British islands,
whose merchants, regardless of the duty they owed to
their country, had already contracted with the enemy
to supply them with provisions and naval stores^. Of
this conduct, which he properly terms villainy, the
brave Admiral made frequent and unreserved com-
plaints ; but, although he was rigorous in seizing, and
inexorable in retaining stores and merchandizes which
belonged to this class of speculators, private property
was, in all cases, most strictly respected, nor was plun-
der or waste of any kind permitted. Yet all the results
of this acquisition were not advantageous to England ;
the necessity of disposing of the merchandise facilitated
purchases by the subjects of neutral powers, who, not-
withstanding every precaution, conveyed the articles to
the enemy at a cheaper rate, and in greater plenty,

* See the papers in the Remembrancer, vol. xi. p. 293, 317, 342.
f Life of Lord Rodney, vol. ii. p. 55-

GEORGE III. 261

than they could otherwise have been procured. The
captured treasure was dispatched to Europe with a
convoy under Commodore Hotham; but twenty-five of 1781.
the ships were taken by a French squadron under De
la Motte Piquet ; and thus the wealth of St. Eustatia Ma ? 2nd -
continued to enrich the enemy. When about to quit
the island, Rodney wrote that it was put into a state
almost impregnable ; that, instead of the greatest em- 20 NOV.
porium on earth, it would be a mere desert, known
only by report. " Yet," he added, " this rock, of only
" six miles in length and three in breadth, has done
" England more harm than all the arms of her most
" potent enemies ; it has alone supported the Ameri-
" can rebellion." The island itself was surrendered
to the French, toward the end of the year, in a most
dishonourable manner, by Colonel Cockburn*.

Another attack on the property of the Dutch was Demerary and
made by a squadron of privateers, mostly equipped
from Bristol ; who, boldly entering the most difficult
rivers of Demerary and Issequibo, captured, under the
very guns of the forts, several vessels of considerable
value. The terrified inhabitants immediately surren-
dered these settlements, together with the island of
Berbice, to the governor of Barbadoes ; they claimed
only the terms allowed to St. Eustatia, but were treated
with much greater lenity.

Meanwhile a French fleet of twenty-five ships of
the line, and one of fifty guns, sailed from Brest, com- reinforced.'
manded by De SuiFrein and De Grasse ; they had on
board six thousand land forces, and convoyed a mer-
chant fleet of nearly three hundred sail. Twenty of

* This most useful and important conquest, which ought to have produced to
the illustrious Admiral nothing but public honours and unbounded wealth, was
made to bear fruits widely different. Documents, proving the delinquency of
the treacherous traders, having fallen into his hands, after the capture of the island,
he transmitted them to England, and they were safely lodged in the office of the
Secretary of State. In seme of the subsequent changes of administration, they
were lost, removed, or destroyed. Emboldened by this subtraction of the proofs
of their delinquency, many of the parties, to the amount of ninety, it is said,
brought actions against him, and some heavy verdicts were recovered. Under the
impression of the first attack, Rodney declared that he expected soon to find him-
self two hundred thousand pounds worse than nothing. Letter from Mr.Wilkes
to his daughter, 4th July, 1786, in Longman's publication, vol. iii. p. 1 78. In the
general narrative, I have relied on the able and judicious biography of Lord
Rodney by Major General Mundy, vol. ii. p. 1 to 1UU.

262

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLII.

1781.

'29 April.
Partial en-
gagement.

Capture of
Tobago by the
French.
10 May.
29 May.

2 June.

r> Aug.

Transactions
in America.

the vessels of the line, and the fifty-gun ship, proceeded
for Fort Royal in Martinique, where a junction with
the French fleet already in that quarter would give a
decided superiority over the British force. Admiral
Rodney detached Sir Samuel Hood and Admiral
Drake, with seventeen sail of the line, to cruise oif
Port Royal Bay, for the purpose of intercepting the
French admiral ; an engagement took place, but
although the French were augmented by reinforce-
ments to a majority of six, they remained at so great
a distance, that not one in ten of their shot took effect.
Some of the British ships, attempting to press into
closer action, suffered severely ; but the contest was, on
the whole, undecisive, and unimportant.

On the arrival of the Russel at St. Eustatia, in a
shattered condition, Sir George Rodney speedily com-
pleted his repairs, and proceeded to Barbadoes. The
French commanders, having failed in an attack on
St. Lucie, were engaged in the reducion of Tobago.
Rodney with his whole fleet came in sight of their
squadron ; but, although they no longer shewed their
usual disposition to avoid an engagement, and he had
the advantage of wind, prudential reasons justified him
in declining a contest attended with great risk and little
probable advantage. The island was valiantly defended
and judiciously reinforced, and De Bouille only effected
its reduction by the inhuman and unmilitary practice
of burning four plantations every day until the gover-
nor capitulated. This conquest terminated the mili-
tary operations of the year in the West Indies ; and the
French fleet being augmented by five sail of the line
at Hispaniola, De Grasse proceeded to the Chesapeak,
while Rodney returned to Europe to recruit his health,
which had suffered severely from his incessant vigilance
and laborious exertions : the command of the fleet was
left to Sir Samuel Hood.

The transactions on the continent of America since
the close of the last campaign in the Carolinas, had
been highly momentous. The spirit of disaffection,
which received a rude shock by the victory at Camden,
was revived by the defeat of Major Ferguson ; Lord

GEORGE III. 263

Cornwallis, though alarmed for the safety of South

Carolina, obtained from Virginia a reinforcement of

two thousand six hundred men, under General Leslie,

with whose assistance he still pursued his project of istiiof Dec.

penetrating into North Carolina. W am s

The aspect of affairs in the American army was reinforced.
at this time peculiarly discouraging ; it is thus des- f ^ncan 116
cribed by General Washington. " Instead of having army.
" magazines filled with provisions, we have a scanty
" pittance scattered here and there in the different
" states ; instead of having our arsenals well supplied
" with military stores, they are poorly provided, and
" the workmen all leaving them ; instead of having the
" various articles of field equipage in readiness to be
" delivered, the Quarter-Master-General, as the dernier
" resort, acording to his account, is but now applying
" to the several states to provide these things for their
" troops respectively; instead of having a regular
" system of transportation established upon credit, or
" funds in the Quarter-Master's hands to defray the
" contingent expenses of it, we have neither the one
" nor the other ; and all that business, or a great part
" of it, being done by military impress, we are daily
" and hourly oppressing the people, souring their tem-
" per, and alienating their affections ; instead of hav-
" ing the regiments completed to the new establish-
" ment, which ought to have been done agreeably to
" the requisitions of Congress, scarcely any state in the
" Union has at this hour an eighth part of its quota
" in the field, and little prospect that I can see of ever
" getting more than half; in a word, instead of hav-
" ing every thing in readiness to take the field, we
" have nothing ; and instead of having the prospect
" of a glorious offensive campaign before us, we have
" a bewildered and gloomy defensive one, unless we
" should receive a powerful aid of ships, land troops,
" and money, from our generous allies ; and these at
" present are too contingent to build upon*." 1781

To increase the gloom which these circumstances Jan. i.

Mutiny.
* Sparks's Life of Washington, vol. ii. p. 191.

'264 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

C '\n\' were calculated to create, a formidable spirit of mutiny

displayed itself. The Pennsylvania troops stationed

1781. near Morristown, to the amount of thirteen hundred,
paraded under arms, refused to obey their officers,
killed two captains, and marched off with six field
pieces, declaring their intention to demand from Con-
gress at Philadelphia a redress of their grievances.
They complained of the hardships and privations they
endured with respect to provisions and clothing, and
the retention of their pay, which was either withheld
altogether, or issued in a currency so depreciated, that
it bore only a nominal value. Many also claimed a
right to quit the service, because the term for which
they had engaged was expired. By the agreement
for inlisting, they were to serve " three years, or during
" the war." The ambiguity of this phrase, whether
designed or accidental, led to a diversity of opinion,
the officers insisted that the soldiers were bound to
serve to the end of the war, while they contended that
in no case were they engaged for more than three
years, but the period might be shortened by the ter-
mination of hostilities. Troops at New Jersey shewed
a similar disposition to revolt, and the authority of
Congress appeared to be in the utmost danger. Strong
representations were made to Sir Henry Clinton and to
ministers at home of a general disposition in the colo-
nies to abandon the cause in which much oppression
and privation were to be endured, and to regain a
situation in which so much real good had been expe-
rienced, and none but speculative evils incurred.

Incited by these representations, and hoping to
derive advantage from this critical revolt, Sir Henry
Clinton offered protection and pardon, with a full
liquidation of all demands, to those who would join
him, stipulating only for allegiance and submission to
the British Government ; nor was their service, unless
voluntarily tendered, to be required in the royal army.
Far from yielding to these allurements, the mutineers
gave up the British emissaries to General Wayne, by
whom they were executed as spies. Congress sent
commissioners to negotiate an arrangement, mutual

GEORGE III. 265

concessions were made, and half the revolters re-en-
tered the American ranks*.

Incited by the state of General Washington's army, 1781.
and the desire of making a diversion beneficial to Lord
Cornwallis, Sir Henry Clinton had dispatched General Virginia.
Arnold, at the head of eighteen hundred men, to es-
tablish a post at Portsmouth, on Elizabeth river, and to
make an excursion into Virginia, to occupy the natives
on that side, so as to favour Lord Cornwallis's retreat,
should circumstances render it necessary. He was in-
structed only to strike at the enemy's magazines, if he
could affect them without too much risk, and to conci-
liate the inhabitants by liberal proclamations. With
a laudable prudence, which, however, subsequent
events proved to be unnecessary, Clinton sent, with
General Arnold, Lieutenant-colonels Dundas and Sim-
coe, recommending them as officers of great experience
and merit, in whom he placed implicit confidence,
and with whom Arnold was enjoined to consult on
every operation of consequence. Lord Cornwallis
was also apprized of the extent and motives of this 30thofDec -
expedition, and invested with power to supersede
Arnold in the command. That brave officer, arriving
with only a thousand men in Hampton Iload, proceeded
up James river, and, in the course of a few days, de-
stroyed a valuable cannon foundry, a large quantity of
public stores, and many vessels richly laden in James
and Appomatox rivers, and established the required
post at Portsmouth^. The events in the American
army facilitated Arnold's progress, by preventing
Washington from sending detachments to oppose
him.

Such was the general result of operations designed state of the
to favour Lord Cornwallis. When that nobleman armies-
commenced the campaign, General Greene was en-
camped near Hick's Creek, on the east side of the

* The phrase used by the Americans in rejecting Clinton's offers, was, " No,
we will not turn Arnolds ;" an expression of more force than those who uttered
it were aware ; for Arnold had been most strenuous in recommending the en-
couragement of revolt by large promises and liberal treatment. The general
facts are derived from the Histories, from Sparks's Life of Washington, and
documents in the Sate Paper Office.

t Jefferson's Memoirs, vol. i. p. 200

266

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

1781.

Tarleton de-
feated at the
Cowpens.

Pedee, with a force consisting only of two thousand
three hundred and seven men, of whom more than
half were militia. The General himself describes his
army as " rather a shadow than a substance, having
" only an imaginary existence. Artillery, baggage,
" stores, every thing had gone by the board on the
" fatal day of the recent defeat, and it now was become
" indispensable to obtain a new supply of almost every
" article that an army could want* ;" while Lord Corn-
wallis had under his command, at Wynnesborough and
adjacent places, five thousand five hundred regulars,
beside a numerous militia.

General Greene detached five hundred and forty
men, under General Morgan, to gain the western fron-
tier of South Carolina, and threaten the British post
at Ninety-six, while the remaining force alarmed the
country in front of Carnden. Preparatory to his inva-
sion of North Carolina, Lord Cornwallis detached
Colonel Tarleton with one thousand men against
Morgan ; and to favour this design, himself moved
17th January, toward Turkey Creek, but was prevented from effec-
tual co-operation. Tarleton, after a fatiguing march,
found the enemy at a place called the Cowpens, aug-
mented by reinforcements to an equality in point of
numbers with himself, but inferior in cavalry. He
attacked them with his usual impetuosity, and, having
defeated the first and second line, was in hopes of a
complete victory. Some mistake, however, appears to
have prevented the charge of the British cavalry in
time to hinder the Americans from rallying; they
became in their turn the assailants, drove back the
fatigued and unsupported infantry ; terror spread on
every side ; the legion cavalry disgracefully fled, re-
gardless of repeated commands, while the infantry were
slain or captured to the number of seven hundred.
Colonel Tarleton himself, at the head of fourteen offi-
cers and about forty men of the seventeenth regiment
of dragoons, cut his way through the opposing cavalry,
and reached Lord Cornwallis. The Americans gained

* Life of General Greene, vol. i. p. 32b.

GEORGE III. 267

great honour by this important and unexpected victory,
and the defeat was additionally distressing to the British
army, as it was attended with the irreparable loss of all usi.
the light troops.

This disaster, injurious and portentous as it was, 29th January.
did not deter Lord Cornwallis from invading North waius^ursucs
Carolina. Animated by the hope of recapturing Morgan.
General Morgan's prisoners, he rapidly advanced to-
ward the Catawba ; but, finding his march retarded by
his baggage, caused all that exceeded the limits of the
most strict necessity to be destroyed. He reached the 29th.
banks of the river two hours after the American
General had crossed ; but in that small interval, a rise
of the water prevented his passage, and afforded time
for Morgan to send forward his prisoners to Virginia,
and collect the militia to dispute the fords. General
Greene, judging this crisis worthy of his personal in-
terference, ordered his army to join Morgan by forced
marches, and himself repaired to the shores of the 3i s t January.
Catawba with still greater expedition, riding a hundred
and sixty miles across the country. Although the river
was nearly five hundred yards wide, and the fords
defended by strong bodies of the enemy, Lord Corn- 2nd February.
wallis passed, with only four killed and thirty-six ^ a ses tlie

ii/^<i im-i T Catawba.

wounded. Colonel larleton was dispatched in pursuit
of the retreating militia ; and the cavalry under his
command, by gallantly routing five hundred men at
Tarrant's Tavern, retrieved a portion of the honour,
though they could not regain the advantages, lost at
the Cowpens.

From the Catawba the British army pursued the Arrives at,
enemy to the Yadkin, a march, or rather a race of
thirty-eight miles, rendered extremely difficult by bad
roads and swelled creeks, and a severe and rainy
winter. The British troops bore with heroic fortitude
the privation of spirits, and even of food ; but fortune
again rescued the flying foe from their grasp, by an
almost miraculous fall of the Yadkin to facilitate the
passage of the fugitives, while that of the pursuers
was impeded by a sudden rise. Without any violent
stretch of superstition, the Americans considered this

268

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLII.

1781.

and crosses
the Yadkin.

The enemy
retreat into
Virginia.

Royal stand-
ard erected at
Hillsborough.

'2 IthFebruary.
Massacre of
the loyalists.

25th Feb.

Further re-
treat of Lord
Connvallis.

event as a sign that their cause was favoured by
Heaven*.

The two divisions of the American army now
effected a junction, and the British Commander still
hoped to impede their retreat into Virginia, though,
from the state of the river, he could not cross without
a circuitous march of fifty miles. He was deceived by
reports of difficulties in passing the River Dan ; but
after a vigorous and incessant pursuit, he had the
mortification to find that the enemy had effected their
retreat without impediment. General Greene acquired
great applause by his activity, judgment, and intelli-
gence.

Disappointed in the main object of his pursuit,
Lord Cornwallis returned by slow marches to Hillsbo-
rough, where he erected the royal standard, and, by
proclamation, invited all loyal subjects to join him in
arms, and with ten days provisions^. Although the
loyalists of North Carolina had been greatly diminished
and depressed by persecutions, General Greene re-
passed the Dan to prevent the effects of the proclama-
tion. Colonel Pyle had collected a body of nearly
three hundred loyalists, for whose protection Colonel
Tarleton was detached, with the cavalry and a small
body of infantry. At the same time, Greene dis-
patched Lieutenant-Colonel Lee, to prevent the junc-
tion of this corps with the British army. The loyalists,
meeting Lee's detachment, and mistaking them for
friends, were surrounded, and, although they implored
quarter on their knees, were all inhumanly butchered.

The re-appearance of the Americans in North
Carolina, impeded the supplies of the British army ;
and, the country being nearly exhausted, Lord Corn-
wallis retreated to a new position on Allamance Creek,
between Haw and Deep rivers. This measure, though
dictated by imperious necessity, did not escape censure ;
as the period limited in the proclamation for the junc-
tion of the loyalists, which had subjected the most
zealous to punishment for having indiscreetly shewn

* Holmes's American Annals, vol. ii. p. 362.

t Many came in, but, seeing the distressed state of the British army, retired.

GEORGE III. 269

their attachment to the British cause, was not yet

expired; they afterward reluctantly joined the army. "_

The Americans advancing as Lord Cornwallis retired, nsi.
an ineffectual attempt was made to beat up their 6th March.
quarters ; General Greene, though greatly superior in
numbers, cautiously avoiding an engagement till the
arrival of expected reinforcements.

At length, having received all his supplies, and j 5th March,
chosen an advantageous position, near Guilford court- ^ a "jf f r ^
house, he offered battle, and the British Commander,
with an army reduced to less than two thousand men,
eagerly advanced to the conflict against five thousand.
The engagement, which was long, and maintained with
determined valour on both sides, terminated in a
glorious and honourable victory of the British troops ;
but the commander had to lament the loss of nearly
one-third of his force, five hundred and thirty-two
being killed, wounded, and missing, including several
meritorious and esteemed officers. His troops were
exhausted with the fatigue of a long march, unpro-
vided with tents, and so miserably destitute of provi-
sions, that their allowance on the ensuing day amounted
to no more than a quarter of a pound of flour, and the
same quantity of lean beef. The night was dark and
tempestuous, the rain fell in torrents on the unpro-
tected, fatigued, and famishing troops, while the cries
of the wounded and dying aggravated the horrors of
the scene.

General Greene retreated to the iron-works on
Troublesome Creek ; but Lord Cornwallis, finding pur-
suit impossible, retired by easy marches toward Cross
Creek, leaving seventy of his wounded, under a flag
of truce, to the humanity of the enemy. Before his
departure he issued a proclamation, reciting his victory,
calling on all loyal subjects to return to government,
and promising protection and pardon to those who
obeyed. Far from being able to afford assistance to
others, he found that Cross Creek could not supply
his followers with necessaries ; they were worn down
by the hardships and fatigues of a march of six hun-
dred miles, in which thev had forded several wide

270

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLII.

1781.

7th April.

He invades
Virginia.

29th April.

Lord Rawdon
defeats the
enemy at
Hobkirk's
Hill.

25th.

Activity of

American

partizans.

23rd April.

7th May.

rivers and numberless creeks, several of which would,
in any other country, be reckoned large rivers, without
tents or covering against the climate, and often with-
out provisions. He found himself, therefore, compelled
to a further retreat, and preferred Wilmington, a sea-
port, to Camden, where Lord Rawdon was threatened
with an attack.

After pursuing for some time the track of the re-
treating army, General Greene marched toward Cam-
den, while Lord Cornwallis, embarrassed with a choice
of difficulties, and his force reduced to fourteen hun-
dred and thirty-five men, took advantage of Greene's
absence to proceed through North Carolina to Vir-
ginia.

Lord Rawdon was unapprized of the enemy's ap-
proach ; and when General Greene, with a force ex-
ceeding two thousand men, encamped at Hobkirk's
Hill, his garrison at Camden was only eight hundred,
and reduced to a short allowance of provisions. He
did not, however, wait to be attacked, but with officer-
like decision sallied forth, and, after a severe conflict,
routed the Americans, killing and wounding five hun-
dred ; but his own loss amounted to two hundred and
fifty-eight, which, in the relative state of forces, was
more than equivalent to that of the enemy. The attack
was, however, not less judicious than spirited; for the
superiority of the invading army, and their force of
artillery, must soon have rendered defence impossible.

The return of an American army to the province
of South Carolina gave additional impulse to the
spirit of disaffection, which had been assiduously en-
couraged by the partizans, Sumpter and Marion.
Aided by Colonel Lee, whom General Greene de-
tached for that purpose, they reduced Fort Watson,
on the river Santee, a task which they accomplished
without artillery or intrenching tools, by means' of a
work constructed of timber, on an unusual plan, which
overlooked the fort, and from which riflemen fired witli
unerring aim on every individual who ventured to
appear. By seizing the passes, they retarded, but
could not prevent, the junction of Colonel Watson with

GEORGE Til. 271

Lord Rawdon, who thus replaced the numbers he had
lost at Hobkirk's Hill.

Intelligence of this reinforcement being conveyed nsi.
to General Greene, he shifted his position, to avoid an Camden

i -r i -n i t /^ e* evacuated.

attack; Lord Rawdon evacuated Camden, after de-
stroying the least portable stores, and retired to Monk's
Corner, for the protection of Charlestown, the defences
of which were in a feeble state, Lord Cornwallis 10th May-
having, before his departure, demolished some of the
old works, and the new not being yet completed.
About the same time, Lee and Marion captured Fort isthMay.
Motte on the Congaree, Orangeburgh yielded to Sum-
pter, and Lee reduced Fort Granby. enemy.

Satisfied with these successes in the north and Their sue-
north-east parts of South Carolina, Greene directed his
views to the western frontier of that province and to
Georgia. Godolphin, on the banks of the Savannah, 5th June,
soon surrendered, and Augusta was reduced by a
repetition of the expedient employed at Fort Watson.

Meanwhile he laid siege to Ninety-six, where the 2istMa y .
commander, Colonel Cruger, by the interception of
Lord Rawdon's messengers, was kept in ignorance
of the recent transactions. The defences of this
village were incomplete, and the garrison consisted
only of five hundred and fifty provincial troops ; but
the spirit and ability of the commanding officer frus-
trated the attacks of the besiegers. Once he destroyed
their works by a masterly sally ; and interrupted, by
similar efforts, the progress of new ones commenced at
a greater distance. This hazardous defence was con-
tinued, with unremitting exertion, during three weeks,
when the garrison were reduced to the greatest extre-
mities for want of water ; but their spirits were revived
by intelligence, from an intrepid loyalist, that Lord
Rawdon was marching to raise the siege. General
Greene had more precise information, and, after an
ineffectual endeavour to carry the place by storm,
retreated across the Saluda with sufficient celerity to
evade pursuit.

Lord Rawdon had, however, no intention to retain Suspension of
possession of Ninety-six ; he was only anxious to rescue P eratlons -

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLII

1781.

Execution of
Col. Haynes.

July.

4th August.
2Gth Aug.

Battle at
EiitawSprings.

22nd Aug.

8th Sep.

the loyalists from the vengeance of their countrymen,
against which he knew that neither sentiments of
humanity nor the terms of a capitulation afforded
sufficient protection. The division of his force for the
escort of these unfortunate persons to Charlestown,
encouraged General Greene again to hang on his army,
till the heat of the season compelled both parties to
seek repose. General Greene, being joined by the
detachments under Lee, Sumpter, and Marion, en-
camped on the high hills of Santee, while Lord Raw-
don retired to Orangeburgh, and, shortly afterward,
the impaired state of his health rendered it necessary
for him to revisit his native land.

During the late disasters, the disaffection of the
Americans, and the treachery of those who, under pre-
tence of loyalty, had joined the British standard, were
more than usually apparent. An example to deter
others from similar attempts were among the last
public acts of Lord Rawdon ; Colonel Isaac Haynes,
who had taken the oath and served in the British
army, being captured fighting in the American cause,
was condemned to death, by a court of inquiry at
Charlestown, as a traitor. His execution occasioned
a threatening proclamation from General Greene, and
was the subject of much public discussion in England;
but the conduct of Lord Rawdon was deemed com-
pletely justifiable*.

After the departure of Lord Rawdon, the chief
command devolved on Colonel Stewart. General
Greene had already achieved, by valour, judgment,
and perseverance, the chief object of the campaign ;
recovering the principal part of South Carolina, and
confining the English within the three great rivers
Santee, Congaree, and Edisto. Being reinforced by
a considerable body of militia and other troops, he
marched, as soon as the weather would permit, to
attack the British army, who fell back from Wateree
to Eutaw. Although Colonel Stewart was apprized
of Greene's approach by two deserters, he gave no credit

See papers on this subject, Remembrancer, vol. xiii. p. 121.

GEORGE III. 273

to their intelligence, but sent four hundred unarmed
men on that very road to procure vegetables, the
greater part of whom were taken prisoners. The few i/si.
who escaped spread alarm, not unaccompanied with
terror. An obstinate and bloody engagement ensued,
in which the artillery of both parties was taken and
retaken; both claimed the victory, and nearly seven
hundred were slain, wounded, and missing on each
side. The British, having kept the field that night
and the following day, retired to Monk's Corner, and
subsequently to Charlestown Neck, while General
Greene, too much enfeebled to make an attempt on
the city, regained his former encampment on the high
hills of Santee; thus terminating the eventful cam-
paign in South Carolina*.

During these transactions, Sir Henry Clinton was Expedition of
prevented, by the reduced state of his force, from un- ag ainst my
dertaking any distant enterprize. Early in the year , or j sm j uth -
he felt considerable apprehensions for the safety of
New York. The French having attained a superiority
of naval power in consequence of the loss of the Cullo-
den man of war in a tempest, while the America was
separated from the fleet, and the Bedford dismantled,
their admiral, availing himself of this accident, blocked
up the port of Portsmouth in Virginia, where Arnold
was established. Washington embarked a large body
of troops under La Fayette to act in that quarter, and
entertained sanguine hopes of surrounding and cap-
turing Arnold ; but they were frustrated by the languor
and ineptitude of the French General and Admiral ;
and the dispatch of the reinforcement of two thousand
men from New York, under General Phillips, enabled
the British to resume offensive operations. After com- 26th of March,
pleting the fortification of Portsmouth, General Phil- p^ l s
lips ravaged the country, and destroyed a large quan- ravages
tity of valuable stores, without loss, and almost without Virginia -
opposition. Having achieved the objects of his march,

* In the ensuing year, the provincial legislature recompensed the services of
General Greene by the donation of an estate of the value of ten thousand guineas.
See Remembrancer, vol. xiv. p. 140. And for the general events of the Cam-
paign, Life of General Greene, vol. i. c. 9 and 10. vol. ii. c. 11 and 12.

VOL. III. T

274

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLII.

1781.
7th of May.

9th.

His death.

20th of May.
Arrival of
Lord Corn-
wallis.

Pursuit of
La Fayette.

Success of

Colonel

Tnrleton,

and left a garrison in the small fort at Mill Point,
Phillips was preparing to rejoin Clinton, according to
his original instructions, when he received intelligence
of the march of Lord Cornwallis, accompanied with a
request that the armies should unite at Petersburgh.
Compliance with this demand was the last military
act of General Phillips, who, after a short illness, died
of a malignant fever, and the command again devolved
on Arnold. The junction of the armies was effected
without difficulty, Lord Cornwallis having reached
Petersburgh with only slight opposition, at the head
of sixteen hundred men, with four pieces of cannon.

In this interval, the Commander-in-Chief, unap-
prized of Lord Cornwallis's movement, had sent a
considerable reinforcement to the army in Virginia,
hoping to facilitate the return of all to co-operate in
the defence of New York, which he considered in dan-
ger of an attack. His further intentions were, if the
city should be secure, to move as high as possible up
the Chesapeak, and by the effect of an operation which
had been preconcerted with General Haldimand, who
commanded in Canada, to make an entire division
between the united Colonies ; and, inclosing the armies,
ravage on either side, as circumstances might require.
Lord Cornwallis, unacquainted with Clinton's views,
expeditiously crossed James river in pursuit of La
Fayette, dispatching two bodies of troops, under Tarle-
ton and Simcoe, in different directions, to destroy stores
and provisions.

La Fayette rested his only hope on meeting with
General Wayne, who was advancing to meet him with
a body of troops from Maryland. He retreated with
so much celerity that pursuit soon became hopeless ;
but the two detached expeditions were eminently pros-
perous. Tarleton, with his usual speed and intrepidity,
reached Charlotteville, and broke up the session of
the general assembly of the province, taking seven of
its members, and one member of the general congress,
prisoners; Mr. Jefferson, president of the province,
narrowly escaped. Tarleton in his progress destroyed
several waggons laden with clothing and stores, and,

GEORGE III. 275

at Charlotteville, a thousand new firelocks, four him-
dred barrels of gun-powder, with considerable quanti-
ties of tobacco and cloathing. 1781.

Colonel Simcoe was equally successful ; the enemy, and Colonel
under Baron Stuben, had removed to the opposite side Simcoe -
of the river Fluvanna ; but, by an ingenious feint, he
induced them to abandon their stores, which were
destroyed by a small detachment under Captain Ste-
venson and Cornet Wolsey, who passed the river in
canoes.

The progress of the British army in pursuit of La Despair of
Fayette was attended with general destruction of stores cans*
and property. The distress of the Americans was
extreme ; their operations retarded by the want of
enthusiasm and public confidence ; their paper currency
so much depreciated that it no longer answered the
purposes of its emission ; while the recent ravages, in
the hitherto favoured province of Virginia, completed
the public despair. The incapacity of Congress to
proceed in the contest was ascertained by intercepted
dispatches ; and the prisoners, taken by Tarleton, re-
presented as the prevailing sentiment, that if Great
Britain could hinder the intended co-operation of the
French fleet and army with the native forces, during
the ensuing autumn, the French alliance would be
dissolved, and an union with the mother-country cordi-
ally embraced both by Congress and the people*. No
exertion was necessary on the part of the British ar-
mies; a system studiously defensive, preventing all
splendid advantages on the side of their opponents,
would have reduced them to despair, and frustrated
all hopes of ultimate success.

Both the French and American commanders were Pro ects of
sensible of the necessity of effecting some great achieve- the enemy
ment to reanimate the drooping cause ; and when M. jfg^York.
de Barras arrived with a squadron of ships, General
Washington had interviews with him and the Cheva- 2 j S t f Ma-
li er Chastelleux, and finally a conference with Rocham-
beau, at which an attack on New York was proposed,

* Tarleton' s Campaigns, p. 297.

T 2

276

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLII.

1781.

June.
Clinton re-
quires troops
from Virginia.

30th June.

Gth July.
The order
counter-
manded.

llth July.

Lord Corn-
wallis sta-
tioned at
York Town.

1st to 22nd
August.

Cth July.

as the only exploit of sufficient importance to claim
their exertions, as the march of Lord Cornwallis to
Virginia was not yet known*.

Sir Henry Clinton being apprised of these inten-
tions, by an express intercepted in the Jerseys, for-
warded dispatches to accelerate the return of the de-
tachments from Virginia. He did not, however, insist
on their immediately quitting Lord Cornwallis, if he
was engaged in a movement which required their
assistance ; or, if he would employ them in co-operating
with the loyalists in the upper part of the Chesapeak,
and upon the Susquehanna, which would have made
an effectual diversion of General Washington's force.
This plan not meeting the approbation of Lord Corn-
wallis, he resolved to send back the troops, and, accord-
ing to his understanding of Clinton's dispatches, re-
passed James River, and retired to Portsmouth.

As the British troops were about to embark, La
Fayette, who had joined General Wayne, made an
approach to harass their rear ; but, instead of gaining
the expected advantage, was himself attacked, and
night alone saved him from destruction. Before the
British troops could put to sea, Sir Henry Clinton
wrote two dispatches, expressing disapprobation at
the abandonment of the neck. of land at Williams-
burg, requiring Lord Cornwallis to resume that posi-
tion, and fortify himself in Old Point Comfort, as the
best naval station, which he could protect, with or
without the addition of York Town, as he should find
most convenient ; and he was permitted to retain the
troops which he had been required to return.

In pursuance of what he considered to be the
spirit of these instructions, Lord Cornwallis surveyed
Old Point Comfort, and finding neither that nor Ports-
mouth a sufficiently defensive station for ships, eva-
cuated them, and fortified the towns of York and
Gloucester.

Meanwhile, General Washington, having effected

* For these facts and the substance of the conference, see Sparks's Life of
Washington, vol. ii. p. 197.

GEORGE III. 277

a junction with Rochambeau, appeared more than
once in force before New York, with the seeming in-
tention of making an attack as soon as the co-opera- i?8i.
tion of De Grasse could be ascertained ; but on his The enemy
arrival, his pilots refusing to steer his ships over the York. ce
bar of New York, the attack was abandoned, and the ?c S u a f d J 23 s rd '
united French and American armies, after several Arrivarorbo
feints, marched across the Jerseys to Philadelphia. Grasse.

Although the intention of De Grasse to visit soth August.
America was well known, it was not conceived that
he would employ his whole armament in that expedi-
tion, and neglect the convoy of the homeward-bound
trade. Sir Samuel Hood, therefore, followed him with
only fourteen sail of the line, and, on his arrival,
Admiral Graves (who, as senior, took command of the
squadron) possessed only nineteen sail of the line, to
oppose twenty-eight. De Grasse, having received pro-
per information from La Fayette, forwarded to the
main army the land force he had conveyed from the
West Indies, and blocked up York River, with four
ships of the line and several frigates, while the re-
mainder of the fleet was anchored in Lynhaven Bay,
within the Capes of Virginia.

In this position they were discovered by Admiral sthSeptember.
Graves : a partial action ensued, in which considerable JL a f ^j * c t u n

* J. * Uc t W c til tilt;

damage was done to both fleets ; no ship was taken ; fleets.
but the Terrible, a British man-of-war, was rendered
incapable of future service and burnt. The fleets
continued in sight of each other several days ; but no >
advantage of numbers or wind could encourage the
French to make an attack ; and the Admiral, at length,
returned to the Chesapeak, where De Barras had arrived ioth.
with his squadron, and fourteen transports laden with
heavy artillery and military stores. The British Ad-
miral, finding the position unassailable, retired to New
York to refit.

Soon after the arrival of Lord Cornwallis in Virginia, Arnold's
General Arnold returned to Sir Henry Clinton, who K London.
now employed him in an attack on New London, in
Connecticut. Although deceived in his information
respecting the fortifications, Arnold took the town,

278

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLI1.

1781.

York town
invested.

14th Sept.

25th.

28th.

6th and 9th
October.

1 1th October.
Two redoubts
stormed.

15th.
16th.

and a fort, called Griswold, by assault ; destroyed fifty
pieces of cannon, and a large quantity of military
stores, and burned twelve ships, the flames of which
spreading to the town, great part was consumed.

The allied armies, intent on the project of besieg-
ing Lord Cornwallis, made their arrangements at a
Council of War, held on board the Ville de Paris, the
flag-ship of Count de Grasse, the forces were landed
in the neighbourhood of Williamsburgh, and, being
joined by those under La Fayette and M. De St. Simon,
encamped before York Town.

Lord Cornwallis did not impede the approaches of
the enemy, although La Fayette, with only two thou-
sand men, was within a short distance of him, and un-
supported ; but appears to have relied with sanguine
confidence on relief from New York, which Sir Henry
Clinton expressed hopes might arrive by the 5th of
October. In expectation of this succour, Lord Corn-
wallis, to the astonishment of General Washington,
withdrew his army within the works of the town,
which were immediately occupied by the enemy, and
the post at Gloucester blockaded*.

The time, however, elapsed, and no succours arrived;
the enemy rapidly advanced their works and completed
their batteries, maintaining an incessant cannonade,
which damaged the unfinished fortifications of the
town, silenced the artillery, and occasioned consider-
able slaughter. The garrison were indefatigable in
opening new embrasures, and particularly annoyed the
invaders from two redoubts, advanced three hundred
yards in front of the works. These were stormed by
parties of French and Americans, separately employed
on the service to excite emulation, and afterward, by
indefatigable industry, joined to the works of the
besiegers. The defences of the town were at length
completely ruined, and although vigorous and suc-
cessful sorties, conducted by Lieutenant-Colonels Aber-
crombie and Lake, retarded the approach of the enemy,
Lord Cornwallis was convinced that his position was

* Sec Washington's Letters to Congress on that subject, dated October 1.

279

GEORGE III.

no longer tenable. In a dispatch to Clinton, he de-
picted, in forcible terms, the peril of his situation:
" We dare not," he said, " shew a gun to their old 1781.
" batteries, and I expect their new ones will be open
" to-morrow morning. Experience has shewn that
" our fresh earthen works do not resist their powerful
" artillery, so that we shall soon be exposed to an
" assault in ruined works, in a bad position, and with
" weakened numbers. The safety of the place is,
" therefore, so very precarious, that I cannot recom-
" mend that the fleet and army should run any great
" risk in endeavouring to save us." He attempted to Lord Com-
escape, by transporting his army across the river in the Tre/reatf 1 " 1
night ; but, after he had landed a part on the opposite
shore, a storm prevented the return of the boats, and
the few troops who had been ferried over, with diffi-
culty rejoined the garrison.

In this extremity, Lord Cornwallis surrendered his 19tl v
whole army prisoners of war to General Washington, apltl
as commander of the combined force, and the vessels
in the harbour to De Grasse ; the troops as prisoners
to the United States, the seamen to the French King.
The garrison obtained the same honours of war as had
been granted by Sir Henry Clinton at Charlestown ;
private property was retained, and the officers were
allowed their freedom on parole. The tenth article of
the capitulation* was most exposed to censure, as it
yielded up the loyalists, without protection, to the
mercy of those who had already persecuted them with
such unrelenting savageness; but, in extenuation, it
was alleged that the British Commander secured the
safety of these persons under another form, by obtain-
ing permission for the Bonetta sloop of war to sail for
New York, unsearched, with as many soldiers on
board as he should think fit, provided they were ac-
counted for in any future exchange. This article
was devised, and used as the means of conniving at

* It was in these words : " Natives or inhabitants of different parts of this
" country, at present in York or Gloucester, are not to be punished on account of
" having joined the British army." Answer ; " This article cannot be assented
" to, being altogether of civil resort."

280

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XL11.

1781.

Efforts of
Clintoii.

the safe conduct of the loyalists*. The garrison, at
the time of the surrender, amounted to five thousand
nine hundred and fifty men ; but only four thousand
and seventeen were fit for duty, while the besiegers
were nineteen thousand. The conquerors acquired a
large train of artillery, with a considerable quantity of
arms, ammunition, and stores, a frigate, two ships of
twenty guns, and a great number of transports and
other vessels.

During the progress of this disastrous event, Sir
Henry Clinton had used every exertion to assist Lord
Cornwallis. He was deceived, even at the moment of
Sir Samuel Hood's arrival, in his information on the
comparative force of the fleets ; nor could he believe
the French admiral had left the West Indies without
detaching any part of his force for protection of the
trade, or that . Sir George Rodney would, unless as-
sured of a superiority, have proceeded with three ships
of the line for Europe, and left others in the West In-
dies, contrary to his positive orders from Government
to watch and controul the operations of De Grasse.
Sir Samuel Hood contributed to Sir Henry Clinton's
error, by a positive statement that he possessed a force
superior to that of the enemy ; an assurance which
was not known to be unfounded till after the engage-
ment between Graves and De Grasse on the fifth of
September. Sir Henry justly considered an attack on
Lord Cornwallis at York Town impossible, unless the
British fleet was overmatched in the Chesapeak ; he
knew that the original intention of the combined
forces was to attack New York, and, therefore, con-
sidered their first efforts against York Town as a feint.
27th August. Yet he imparted the intelligence he received to Lord
Cornwallis, countermanded his first order for return-
ing the detachments, and sent all the recruits and con-
valescents he could spare from the defence of New

* The plea of necessity, and the security afforded by using the Bonetta sloop
as an asylum, did not tranquillize the feelings or calm the apprehensions of the
loyalists throughout America. The word punished, in the 10th article, was con-
strued as an admission of guilt, and of consequent right in the victors to prose-
cute them for acts of allegiance to their lawful sovereign.

GEORGE III. 281

York, Long Island, and Staten Island, which required
nine thousand men, for the augmentation of his Lord-
ship's force. When the intention to attack York Town 1781.
became certain, Clinton prepared to dispatch a rein-
forcement of seven thousand men ; but the condition of
the fleet delayed their sailing till the nineteenth of
October, the day on which the British army surren-
dered. On his arrival off the Chesapeak, Sir Henry
Clinton received information that Lord Cornwallis had
capitulated, which rendered unnecessary the plans he
had preconcerted with the Admiral for forcing the
enemy at anchor, and taking up a position within them
in James River. The practicability of this attempt
was ascertained by Captain Elphinstone in the Experi-
ment, who had reconnoitred the enemy's position, and
made the signal accordingly. Had Lord Cornwallis
not surrendered, it was Sir Henry Clinton's intention
to land his forces on that river, and move toward the
enemy, Lord Cornwallis making a sally to favour their
joint operations. The terms in which Lord Cornwallis
announced and accounted for his capture, occasioned a
series of discussions. On his arrival at New York, his
Lordship complained that his service was slighted in
some instances, and in others not adequately sup-
ported by the Commander-in-Chief. His plan for re-
ducing Virginia had been approved, he said, by the
ministry, and was favoured by the King, but discou-
raged by Clinton ; and, in his public dispatch on the
surrender of York Town, he accused Sir Henry Clin-
ton of withholding a reinforcement which he had posi-
tively promised by the fifth of October.

In answer to these allegations, Sir Henry Clinton
alleged that the plan for invading Virginia, the most
warlike of all the provinces, was injudicious as to time
and circumstances, improperly forced on administra-
tion by an inferior, without the privity of his superior
officer, and undertaken in a rash and unadvised man-
ner*. His positive orders were to consider the pre-

* It is presumed, however, his lordship's error arose from the circumstance
of expecting to succeed to the command, as Sir Henry Clinton, after the capture
of Charlestown, had requested leave to resign to him, which his lordship expect-

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

servation of South Carolina and safety of Charles-
town paramount to all other objects ; both which were
1781. endangered, and even lost to view, by the chase of
Greene across North Carolina, and the subsequent in-
cursion into Virginia. In that province, Sir Henry
Clinton had never projected any solid operation, con-
vinced that the predatory and destructive excursions
he had directed, added to the general distress, would
have terminated the American war, if the British army
could be preserved from any serious disaster. Wash-
ington's troops had no object but New York to which
their attacks could be directed, had not Lord Corn-
wallis presented himself to their aim ; and many errors
were alleged against his mode of defence. He was
blamed for posting himself injudiciously at York and
Gloucester ; for not attacking the enemy in detail as
they were forming the siege, when the corps under
the command of La Fayette at Williamsburgh did not
consist of more than two thousand men, and might with
ease have been dislodged or captured before the junc-
tion of the other troops ; and for neglecting easy and
certain means of escape from the overwhelming force
which ultimately engulphed him. The relief by means
of the fleet was only promised if the ships could be
enabled to sail by the fifth of October ; and the pro-
mise was accompanied with an instruction to Lord
Cornwallis to use every exertion for saving at least
part of the army, should lie have reason to appre-
hend that reinforcements could not arrive sufficiently
early.

These complaints and assertions on either side have
occasioned a difference of opinion on this event, which
was magnified by the Americans and their friends far
beyond its real importance: Congress celebrated it
with rejoicings and thanksgivings, their drooping
cause appeared to revive, and all past reverses to be
forgotten. Subsequent resolutions in Great Britain

ing would take place, transmitted his own plans to ministers (as being the most
expeditious mode), without consulting with Sir Henry Clinton,jwhose resignation
was not accepted. See letter from Lord George Germame, dated July 7, 1781,
in Sir Henry Clinton's Narrative, page 36.

GEORGE III. 283

justified these exhibitions of ardent joy ; but the cap-
ture of Lord Cornwallis's army of four thousand men
fit for duty, though felt with anguish and dejection by
all loyal subjects, might easily have been repaired, had
the spirit of the nation warranted an adequate exer-
tion of its resources*.

* In these transactions I have consulted, beside the histories and Gazettes,
the pamphlets published by Lord Cornwallis and Sir Henry Clinton, and Tarle-
ton's Campaigns ; the Biographical Works of Sparks and Johnson ; and have
been assisted by private information and correspondence, and the dispatches in
the State Paper Office.

284

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLIII.

1781.

Conduct
of neutral
powers.

Conduct of
the Empress.

CHAPTER THE FORTY-THIRD.
17811782.

Conduct of neutral powers of the Empress of Russia. Prus-
sia admitted to the armed confederacy. Unsuccessful at-
tempts at mediation and for a separate treaty with Holland.
Altered conduct of the Emperor he joins the armed
confederacy his increasing partiality toward France.
State of the public mind in England of the Cabinet.
Lord North. The King's firmness augmented strength
of opposition. Mr. Pitt. Meeting of Parliament. De-
bates on the addresses on the capture of St. Eustatia.
Motion against the war by Sir James Lowther. Debates
on the treatment of Mr. Laurens he is discharged.
Recess.

DURING these events, ministers were in a con-
tinual state of alarm and solicitude: distresses were
augmenting, while hope and consolation almost va-
nished from their view. None of the continental powers
shewed a disposition to make effectual exertions for the
benefit of Great Britain ; and, while the efforts of hos-
tility were open, earnest, and unremitting, those of
friendship, if indeed a jealous neutrality could deserve
that name, were languid, cold, and feeble.

In considering the conduct of Russia at this period,
less light will be derived from the general principles
on which the acts and politics of governments ought to
be regulated, than from the particular character of the
Sovereign, and those by whom she was influenced.
Catherine was no longer young; her faculties were
growing weaker, and her passions stronger; she
no longer possessed the vigour of mind and acuteness
of understanding which characterized her earlier days;
and there was a consequent irregularity in her mea-

GEORGE III. 285

sures. The new confederacy was viewed as establish-
ing a most heterogeneous union, tending to prolong
the war, and ultimately to embroil the contracting 1781.
parties ; nor had it, as yet, materially benefited or in-
jured any of the belligerent powers, or advanced the in-
terests of those who formed it. The service on which
they were ordered disgusted the naval forces ; a gene-
ral discontent prevailed in the fleet; the Admirals
with difficulty could keep their crews together, or pre-
vent their officers from asking their dismission. Nor
was her armament in itself formidable. The ships
were fully manned, but not with seafaring people; January 5th.
they were well rigged, but old and rotten. By a con-
vention which was entered into, the Dutch were to
furnish a contingent of fifteen ships of the line, and
Denmark and Sweden ten ; the Danes very rationally
declared that Holland, being already at war, could not
with propriety be party to a neutral convention ; the
observation gave offence at Petersburgh, but effected
no alteration in the arrangement. Determined to July,
gain the benefits of the alliance, Catherine was de-
sirous of loading four Russian frigates with hemp and
iron, to be carried under a merchant flag to Spain.
She observed to Sir James Harris that she wanted
Spanish wool, and presumed that our government
would not oppose sending the productions of her own
country to obtain it, nor consider her conduct as dero-
gating from the good- will she felt towards us. A firm
and temperate answer from the British ambassador ren-
dered the impropriety of this proposition evident, which
was not persisted in. The scheme was disapproved
even by the Empress's subjects; the sailors evinced
much dissatisfaction, and no officer was found desirous
to command the frigates. Always desirous of sus-
taining the principle of free-trade, the Empress seems
to have become sensible that the armed league was not
the proper means to give it effect, and to have viewed
it in its immediate operation almost with indifference ;
but pride would not permit her to renounce a plan, in
favour of which she had pronounced so publicly such
decided opinions, and for the consummation of which

286

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLIH.

1781.

Prussia ad-
mitted to
the armed
confederacy.

January.

Efforts at
mediation.

she had made such strong exertions. Had Potemkin
entirely guided her councils, it is not improbable that
she might have acted differently ; but, although he
retained in private his full influence and ascendancy,
he had resigned the direction of foreign affairs to
Panin, who used all his powers, sparing no means,
however incorrect and dishonourable, to serve the cause
and forward the views of the King of Prussia and of
France. He had arranged the Empress's declaration,
and contrived to procure the publication of it, being
fully persuaded* that she might have different inten-
tions, and had so framed it as to be highly prejudicial
to Great Britain. De Vergennes boasted of it as a
master-piece of his policy*.

Still animated by his wonted aversion, the King of
Prussia used every intrigue and petty artifice to injure
the interests of England. By a public letter to his
minister of finances, he ordered all Prussian subjects
to withdraw their money from the British funds, as a
general bankruptcy was inevitable. He endeavoured
to persuade the Empress of Russia that the accession of
the Dutch to the armed neutrality accasioned their war
with England, and that the commencement of hostilities
was the casus fcederis of the league ; but, although the
Empress was not deluded by this insinuation, the King
of Prussia, aided by Panin, was at length admitted as
a contracting party. The French rejoiced much in
this event, trusting that Frederick would soon obtain
ascendancy, and influence as much as he could the
acts of the other powers. He answered their expec-
tations, by permitting gross abuses to be practised
under the sanction of his flag, while, in his public
acts, he strenuously inveighed against them.

In the interval, attempts were renewed to termi-
nate hostilities by mediation ; the Empress proposed

* From the Correspondence of Lord Stormont and Sir James Harris, in 1780
and 1781, in the State Paper Office. In one of his letters (March 1781) the En-
glish ambassador relates that Panin had written feigned letters in the name of
Prince Cobenzl, and himself (Sir James), pretending that they had been inter-
cepted at the post office, decyphered, and then returned and forwarded; by this
contrivance, no one could dispute or disprove his supposed copies. Nor was this
the only effort of the kind. In June, 1780, a false and fabricated account of ob-
servations by Lord Stormont on the neutral league, was published in the Leyden
Gazette.

GEORGE III. 287

herself as the conciliating power, and she was accept-
ed, with the addition of the Emperor, the omission of
whom, in the first proposal, had given some umbrage. 1780
The originating of this project is one of the instances November.
of the variable mind of Catherine. Notwithstanding Dec - 4th -
all the eiforts of our enemies, her regard for this
country could not be entirely eradicated ; and Potem-
kin, first indirectly, but afterward without ambiguity,
proposed that, for a proper compensation, she should
declare herself our ally. Minorca was fixed upon,
and would have been granted, but new difficulties
presented themselves. She complained to Sir James 24th.
Harris, that, while she retained in its full force her
regard for England, she was restrained from assisting
us by a notion that we did not treat her with due at-
tention ; if she had from us a strong and convincing
assurance of confidence and friendship, she would
repay it by affording us, in the end, most effectual aid.
Without requiring so much, Great Britain offered to ^gi.
cede the desired possession, if the Empress could in- Jan - 19th
fluence France and Spain to make a peace on the basis
of the treaty of Paris; the French to evacuate all
British America, and no stipulations to be made for
His Majesty's rebellious subjects, who could never be
suffered to treat through the medium of any foreign
power. The answer and conduct of France and Spain
presented no hopes of accomplishing a treaty. Both
professed their willingness to accept a mediation
through which peace might be attained on just and
equitable terms ; but both rejected, as derogatory to
their honour, the preliminary that there should be no
intervention with respect to America. France said
she had been forced into the war, and would not relin-
quish it unless the independence of America* were
positively stipulated ; and Spain, with an equal disre-
gard of truth, asserted that she was still engaged in a
direct negotiation with England. Apprehensive if the
justice, if not of the partiality of the Empress toward
Great Britain, the ambassadors of France, Holland,
and Prussia, and they were aided by Panin, used their
utmost efforts to give a new bias to her mind. They

288 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

' ur g e d that we were not sincere in our wishes for peace ;
that we accepted her offer of intervention merely to

1781. divert her mind from the commercial connexion she
was forming in the North, and that by giving her a
colleague, we not only took from her half the glory,
but shewed our diffidence both of her disposition and
ability to terminate the war. The fit course for her to
pursue, they argued, was to complete her plan of
armed neutrality, by combining in it both the Emperor
and the King of Prussia, and then to command peace
on her own terms. France and Holland appealed to
her interest by offers of great commercial advantages ;
and, when she declared herself averse to the indepen-
dence of America, Spain insinuated that the declara-
tions of France on that point did not meet with her
full approbation ; she entered into the war on account
of her own grievances, not to support the system pur-
sued by France ; and, as a proof that she never had
objected to a separate peace, cited the negotiation with
Mr. Cumberland. Thus artfully assailed on every side,
her pride, her interest, and her justice, all essayed by
turns, the Empress regarded the cause of England with
diminished favour ; she considered the offer of Minorca
too great to be made without some latent object ; it
must be a contrivance to draw her into a war, and she
expressed her rejection of the proposal in the terms of
a French comic writer*.

Another, less direct, attempt to establish a negotia-
tion freed from the difficulties which had hitherto im-
peded it, was made by Count Belgioioso, and M. de
Simolin, who delivered to Lord Stormont an insinua-
tion verbale, proposing a Congress at Vienna for
adjusting a general peace, without the intervention
of any of the belligerents, or even of the Imperial
Courts, unless upon express solicitation, and in which
case, the Americans were to be left to treat for them-
selves. The answer of France was, that she could
neither treat for peace without or in behalf of her
transatlantic allies, who must have plenipotentiaries of

* La marine est trop belle; on veut me tromper.

GEORGE III. 289

their own at a Congress. Spain declared that she could CHAP.
not agree, unless the question of the cession of Gibral-
tar for an equivalent consideration were first decided ; izgi.
while Great Britain, firmly retaining her original pre-
tensions, refused to treat, except on matters purely re-
lating to France and Spain exclusive of all discussions
relative to Gibraltar, and that no mention could be
made of reconciliation with the colonies, until they
should have returned to their obedience.

At length, after the interchange of numerous pa- Mediation
pers, Prince Kaunitz, who had been principally en-
gaged in managing the conferences, declared that the
answers of France and Spain, precluded all hopes September
of a favourable terminaton : the principles they strove
to maintain, convinced him that all attempts at conci-
liation would be ill-timed. Spain, he said, manifested
more passion and inflexibility than France ; the Ca-
tholic King expressing particular acrimony, and affect-
ing peculiar causes of complaint.

When the hope of a general pacification was nearly April.
extinguished, the Empress endeavoured to make a dis- for aseparate
tinct treaty for Holland. Her efforts were at first un-
successful, because Great Britain refused to enter into
separate arrangements while a general negotiation
was pending. The Empress, although displeased at
this determination, renewed her endeavours when the
impossibility of a general concord became more certain. Jul y-
To the Republic such a treaty would have been of the
highest importance ; for already, in her commerce, her
colonies, and her domestic prosperity, she felt the cala-
mities of the war she had provoked ; and she had rea-
son to dread that the Emperor, no longer restrained
by the principles of honour and the obligation of trea-
ties, might yield to the expressed desire of his Flemish
subjects, and increase their prosperity by opening the
navigation of the Scheldt. With his accustomed ma-
lice, Panin pronounced the improbability of any ar-
rangement ; England, he said, was a proud nation,
which affronted all the world*. Far from warranting

* Une nation fiere, qui brusque tout le monde.
VOL. III. U

'290

HISTORY OF ENGLVNM.

CHAP.
XLIII.

1781.

Altered con-
duct of Aus-
tria.

these sentiments, the King had declared, that if a gene-
ral pacification proceeded, the terms with the Dutch
would not be difficult, as he would ever be ready to
consider them as friends and allies whenever they
should sincerely determine to be so, and would give
satisfaction for the past and security for the future ; and
it was declared that the captures which had taken place
should make no alteration in a treaty for peace. The
benevolence of the King and the intervention of the
Empress were, however, rendered ineffectual by the
prevalence of the French party, and all their attempts
failed.

For some time past the behaviour of Prince Kaunitz
had shewn that he was not to be considered as a friend
to England. His first observations on the negotiation
for a treaty were ambiguous ; he admitted the argu-
ments of England to be fair and honourable, but too
lofty for the force of the nation. When the determi-
nation not to permit the introduction of American
affairs was disclosed, he sarcastically said, " whoever
" succeeds in making a peace for you on these terms,
" Erit mihi magnus Apollo" The Bourbons would
fight us for many years, rather than accede to such
terms, or give up the Americans. He expressed his
sentiments more fully when he announced the failure of
the negotiation. " If you have not strength enough,"
he said, " to support your rights, you must yield to
" superior force and dire necessity. I own, when I
" hear it alleged that the honour of France must
" not be sacrificed by abandoning the Americans,
u I answer as an Englishman would, what have I to do
" with the honour of France 1 ? she herself sacrificed it
" at the moment when she contracted a traitorous
" and unwarrantable connexion with the King's rebel-
" lious subjects. We can afford her no other choice
" than that of the most proper and becoming manner
" of receding from that connexion. But these senti-
" ments will be unavailing, even in the mouth of an
" English minister, unless you can maintain them by
" force in every quarter. Your present difficulties and
" dangers seem to require important concessions ; but

GEORGE III. 291

" I shall applaud the national spirit and vigour, if they
" render them unnecessary."

This opinion of a foreign minister respecting the i/si.
transactions of Great Britain, merit notice only as they
indicate the altered temper of the Austrian cabinet.
At the decease of the Empress Maria Theresa, in No-
vember, 1780, great expectations were formed from
the vigour and spirit of Joseph II. But Kaunitz
infused into his mind a partiality for France, to which
he had previously shewn a decided repugnance. Great
Britain endeavoured to gain the friendship of the Em-
peror by liberal offers, and, among others, to open
the navigation of the Scheldt; and it was strongly
urged, that a connexion with England could alone
bring back that political system which would give to
Austria due weight in the general scale of Europe.
Prince Kaunitz, however, confined the first transac-
tions of the new reign to that restricted policy which
he had marked out for the Empress-Queen ; Joseph
lost an important period in petty internal regulations,
and was soon characterized by an ardent attachment
to trifling arrangements, a jealousy of Prussia, and a
subserviency to France. Kaunitz possessed talents and
virtues; but he had formed an erroneous system, and
was of a disposition too unbending to recede.

The partiality of the Emperor for France soon TheEmpe-
became apparent, from the reserve of Prince Kaunitz ^mlTcon 1 - 6
toward the English ambassador, and his vindication federacy.
of the enemy, if not always on the ground of right,
at least on that of expediency. He began also to dis-
play a predilection for the northern league, and, after
a long and affectedly mysterious concealment, avowed
the accession of his sovereign to that injurious com-
pact, declaring, at the same time, that he entered into
it with Russia alone, unembarrassed by Sweden, Den-
mark, or Prussia*.

* In the formation of this arrangement, occurred a curious specimen of
etiquette. The two imperial courts had long disputed on the subject of prece-
dence in signature ; the Emperor of Germany, insisting that it was his right to
place himself first in both parts of the treaty, while, on the part of Russia, it was
demanded that each contracting party should be first named in the document
delivered as his. To avoid a discussion on the present occasion, the Emperor

u 2

292

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLIII.

1781.

His growing
partiality to-
ward France.

State of the
public mind.

A journey which the Emperor made to Paris, in
the course of the year, seemed totally to have reversed
the sentiments he had imbibed in his former expedi-
tion ; his partiality was now as conspicuous as his con-
tempt had been outrageous. His admiration of Louis
XVI, and satisfaction at events favourable to France,
excited surprise at Vienna, and consternation in the
British cabinet*.

The perplexities arising from the aspect of foreign
affairs were augmented by untoward appearances at
home. Although Great Britain had never before made
such extensive military efforts ; although no other
country had ever conceived the idea of sending and
provisioning so great an army across the Atlantic, the
war, marked by ill success, had ceased to be popular ;
national honour, or the jealous vindication of the rights
of sovereignty, were no longer considered equivalent to
the enormous expenses, which the arts of opposition
had taught the people to regard with peculiar suspicion
and malevolence. The authority of Great Britain over
the colonies had been so often explained, qualified, and
partially renounced, that its value was rendered almost
insignificant, and the pompous accounts of beneficial
commerce with America were generally discredited,
since a long protracted suspension of intercourse had
produced no alarming effects ; but, on the contrary,
the strength and resources of the country surpassed
expectation, and exposed to ridicule the gloomy fore-
bodings of theoretical financiers. The grant of Ame-
rican independence was therefore contemplated as a
moderate medium for the acquisition of peace ; nor
was the necessity of yielding to a formidable combi-
nation considered derogatory to the national honour,
which had been so gloriously maintained during the
struggle. Had it been thought expedient to aim at
exciting strenuous sentiments of enthusiasm, the state
of the public mind was peculiarly unfavourable. The

signed a declaration of his desire to become a party to the armed league,
and the Empress an answer, expressing her readiness to admit him.

* Chiefly from private information and official correspondence, particularly
that of Lord Stormont with Sir James Harris, and Sir Robert Murray Keith,
Ambassadors at Petersburg}! and Vienna, iu 1780 and }781 ; in the State Paper
Office.

GEORGE III. 293

dejection which proceeded from ill success and the
apprehension of undefined calamity, rendered the ad-
vocates of government timid and languid; but it was i/si.
obvious that, with a return of good fortune, their spirits
would have revived and their efforts would have been
re-animated. Long declamations and verbose com-
plaints of speculative grievances, or unfelt oppressions,
had rendered political discussions odious, and public
spirit suspected. The people of the metropolis, im-
mersed in luxury, and abandoned to dissipation*, sur-
veyed with apathy the course of public events ; while
those in the country received as incontrovertible dog-
mas the rash speculations of their mock representatives,
their delegates, and corresponding committees, who
aimed at general reform, and, for the purpose of over-
throwing the ministry, did not hesitate to shake the
very basis of government.

In the Cabinet there was not that perfect unani- stat ? of the
mity and cordial co-operation which alone can give
permanent effect to prosperous events, or afford means
of repairing disasters. Whatever might have been the
opinions entertained by some individuals in office at
the beginning of the contest with America, its progress
had shaken the firmness or abated the confidence of
several who had shewn themselves, at first, the de-
fenders of extreme principles and the advisers of vigor-
ous measures. Lord North had long felt that his Lord North.

* The state of the British metropolis occasioned, at this period, severe ani-
madversions against the police. Within sight of the palace, and in the centre of
polite residence, an impudent empiric, under pretext of a medical lecture, detailed
every night the most detestable obscenities, which were collected by the under-
lings of literature, and sent forth to poison the minds of the rising genera^on,
nauseously illustrated with disgusting prostitutions of the graphic art. A des-
tructive mode of adventure, called " E. O." was supposed out of the reach of
the law, because not distinctly specified in any statute ; and tables were held in
almost every street and alley in the metropolis. To these not only men of fortune,
but the tradesman, the mechanic, nay, even the apprentice and the menial, resorted.
Some were established in common brothels, and exhibited disgraceful scenes of
riot, drunkenness and debauchery, while plunder, assassination, and suicide
abounded. Late in the ensuing session, the attention of the Legislature was
directed toward these nuisances, and it was stated in the House of Commons
(see Debates, 26th June, 1782), that, in two parishes of Westminster alone, two
hundred and ninety-six E. O. tables were maintained. Another member corro-
borated the assertion, adding, that five hundred more were on the stocks, and that
they were now to be found in almost every country town.

294 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

station was too perilous and its duties too onerous
for his strength, and, on several occasions, had offered

1781. either to retire altogether, or to act in a less prominent
situation than that which he occupied ; but the King
always combated such inclinations, and urged him, by
all considerations of honour, duty, and personal friend-
ship, not to desert him in the moment of danger, or
expose him to insult from those who would consider
The Ki 's ^ le ac< l u i s iti on f office a matter of personal triumph.
firmness So great was his Majesty's repugnance to the parties
who were then conspicuous in opposition, that, in
March, 1778, he declared, in a confidential letter to
his Prime Minister, that " he would run any personal
" risk rather than submit to them. He would rather
" hazard his crown than do what was disgraceful. If
" the nation would not stand by him, they should have
" another king; for he never would put his hand to
" what would make him miserable to the last hour of
" his life. To give Lord North ease, he would accept
" the services of those men in his ministry ; but, rather
" than be shackled by those desperate men, he would
" lose his crown, and not wear it as a disgrace."
ms sentiments With respect to America, the views and feelings
the war. of the King had always been direct and uniform. In
the earliest proceedings of the insurgents, in 1774, he
discerned forcible resistance, rebellion, and a determi-
nation to reject the dominion of the mother countiy.
In opposing this attempt, he acted in conformity with
the judgment of all his subjects, who were convinced,
however erroneously, of the vital importance of the
American colonies, and of the extinction of British
power, should their independence ever be conceded.
On this point, in noticing some suggestion of peace,
in January 1778, he said, " Nothing short of inde-
" pendency will be accepted. I do not think there is
" a man bold or mad enough to treat for the mother-
" country on such a basis." In another letter he re-
newed the advice he had strongly given to Lord North,
not to bind himself to bring forward any plan for
restoring tranquillity, " not from any absurd ideas of

GEORGE HI. 295

" unconditional submission, which my mind never

" harboured, but from foreseeing that whatever can be

" proposed will be liable, not to bring America back 1781.

" to her attachment, but to dissatisfy this country, which

" so cheerfully and handsomely carries on the contest,

" and has a right to have the struggle continued till

" convinced that it is vain." In June 1779, when both

France and Spain had declared war, his perseverance

was unabated. " No man in my dominions," he said,

" desires solid peace more than I do ; but no inclina-

" tion to get out of the present difficulties, which cer-

" tainly keep my mind very far from a state of ease,

" can incline me to enter into the destruction of the

" empire." On the objections to the expense, and the

intimation that the advantages to be gained by the

contest will never repay it, he observed that, " if, in

" any war, be it ever so successful, persons will sit

" down and weigh the expense, they will find, as in

" the last, that it has impoverished the state enriched ;

" but this is only weighing such events in the scale of

" a tradesman behind his counter. It is necessary for

" those whom Providence has placed in my station to

" weigh whether expenses, though very great, are not

" sometimes necessary to prevent what would be more

" ruinous than any loss of money. The present con-

" test with America I cannot help seeing as the most

" serious in which this country was ever engaged. It

" contains such a train of consequences as must be

" examined to feel its real weight. That the impos-

" ing a tax was deserving all the evils that have arisen

" from it, I suppose no man could allege without being

" thought more fit for Bedlam than a seat in the senate ;

" but step by step the demands of America have risen.

" Independence is their object, which every man, not

" willing to sacrifice every object to a momentary and

" inglorious peace, must concur with me in thinking

" this country can never submit to. Should America

" succeed in that, the West Indies must follow, not in

" independence, but dependence on America. Ireland

" would soon follow, and this island reduce itself to a

296 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

XLm' " P oor ^ anc ^ indeed." In these sentiments his Majesty

__* 1_ had always persevered ; he would listen to no proposal

1781. for receiving men into office who would not engage
that every means should be employed to keep the em-
pire entire, to prosecute the present just and unpro-
voked war in all its branches with the utmost vigour,
and that past measures should be treated with proper
respect. " I can never suppose," he said, in March
1780, " this country so far lost to all ideas of self-im-
" portance as to be willing to grant American indepen-
" dence. If that could be ever universally adopted,
" I shall despair of this country being preserved from
" a state of inferiority. I hope never to live to see
" that day ; for, however I am treated, I must love
" this country."

In these dignified sentiments he had always per-
severed ; unmoved by factious clamours, unaffected by
the events of the war, and to the end of 1781, he dis-
claimed any change in his sentiments as to obtaining a
peace at the expense of a separation from America,
which no difficulties could induce him to consent to.
In conformity with this mode of thinking, he declared,
at the same period, in an answer to a paper from the
two imperial courts, that his resolution never to admit
the intervention of any foreign power between himself
and his rebel subjects was not susceptible of any
modification. It was founded on his duty to his peo-
ple and to himself, and was no less immutable than
the principles on which it stood*.

^ * The last feet is derived from a document in the State Paper Office, in-

titled " Reponse a la replique des deux cours imperiales ;" the others from Appen-
dix to Jared Sparks's Life of Washington, vol. i. p. 45*, purporting to be
" Extracts from the Letters of George the Third to Lord North, selected by Lord
'' Holland from the manuscripts of Sir James Mackintosh," beginning llth of
September in 1774, and ending in 1783. Mr. Sparks gives the following
account of these papers. " After the death of Lord North, several letters and notes
" from the King to him, while minister, were found among his papers. These fell
" into the custody of his son-in-law, (Sylvester) Douglas, Lord Glenbervie, as exe-
" cutor, either under his will or that of his son, George Lord Guildford. They were
" lent by Lord Glenbervie to Sir James Mackintosh, who made copious and judi-
" cious extracts from them, embracing various topics relative to the intercourse
" between the King and the minister. These extracts, which in all probability
" will ere long see the light, have been perused by many persons, and among them
" by Lord Holland, who made such selections from them as bear immediately on
" the point in question, and was so obliging as to communicate them to the editor

GEORGE III. 297

In Parliament, the minority had gained a consider- x?m
able increase of adherents, and added to their list

several orators, beside the valuable aid of Mr. Sheridan irso.
and Mr. Pitt.

The effect of Mr. Pitt's first appearance in the Mr. Pitt.
House has already been mentioned : it was generally
anticipated that he was destined to take a distinguished
share in the deliberations and government of the
country, although his early ascendancy could not so
well be foreseen. He was the second son of his
father, his favourite, or, as his Lordship termed him,
" the hope and comfort of his life*." In his very early
years, even in his childhood, he had given proofs of
wonderful abilities, of great aptitude for study, and of
a disposition to make the best use of his powerful
talents. A feeble state of health in his boyish days
did not prevent his eager application to study, which
was forwarded by learned and judicious tutors. Being
destined for the legal profession, he was entered of
Pembroke Hall in the University of Cambridge before
he had completed his fourteenth year, and pursued a
course of education which was certain to conduce to
future eminence. His classical knowledge was of
great extent, his memory sudden and retentive ; im-

' of this work. The paper below is printed accurately from that communication.
' It will be seen that, with one or two exceptions, the quotations are from the King's
' own letters or notes, without the corresponding communications from Lord
' North which either answered or gave occasion to them. The nature of Lord
' North's advice or representations, therefore, is only to be inferred from his royal
' correspondent's comments and replies ; but the meaning is so obvious, and so
' often repeated, as not to admit of doubt."

This statement is sufficient to shew the imperfection of the extract as an his-
torical document; for it is impossible to judge rightly of the value of an answer,*'
without knowing the scope of the question or proposition to which it applies. The
extract is made, and observations occur in the course of it. proving that the intent
was to cast reproach on the character of the King. By those who judge fairly
and impartially, who refer the letters to the state of affairs at the times when
they are dated, an opposite opinion will be formed ; but the full effect will be pro-
duced or confirmed in those who either judge entirely from subsequent events, or
who, swayed by notions previously formed, conclude that, from the moment any
portion of his subjects renounced his rule, the King ought to have abdicated hi
authority ; or that, from the time when envious states perfidiously espoused the
adverse cause, he ought to have contemned the voice of his people, subscribed his
own degradation, and thrown away that which all parties, however erroneously,
considered as the brightest jewel in his diadem, and the most valuable inherit-
ance of his successors.

* Chatham Correspondence, vol. iv. p. 440.

298 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP. bued with a genuine veneration for his father, and de-

termined to follow, as nearly as he could, in his steps,

1781. he devoted himself to the practice of eloquence in the
best manner. From his childhood, he had been en-
couraged by his father to join in conversation, and to
express his opinions on all subjects without reserve ; so
that he acquired confidence, facility, and precision ; and
he gave himself the last perfection in oratory, by learn-
ing long passages from the ancient poets and historians,
and delivering them again in his native tongue, pre-
serving the beauties of their thoughts and the graces
of their diction, without submitting to the encum-
brance of mere literal translation. In his honest en-
thusiasm, he rejoiced that, as he had an elder brother,
and could not succeed to a title, he might, like his
father, be free to pursue the road to fame and utility,
as a member of the House of Commons. A conscious-
ness of his limited fortune, an honourable pride, and
the determination not to impede his own progress by
indiscretions, kept him free from expensive pleasures
and irregular pursuits. With a high reputation, he
quitted Cambridge, was called to the Bar by the
Society of Lincoln's Inn ; and, on the western circuit,
soon displayed knowledge and talents which left no
doubt of his future eminence in the profession of the
law, if a more exalted station had not awaited him.
On the dissolution of Parliament, in 1780, he aimed,
without success, at the representation of his University,
but obtained a seat for Appleby, in Westmoreland,
on the nomination of Sir James Lowther, procured
through the influence of the Duke of Rutland. What
he became, and what course he pursued, will be the
business of much detail in future pages*.

On the meeting of Parliament, the King, in his
speech from the throne, repeated his resolution to per-
severe in opposing the combined power of his enemies,
till he could obtain terms of pacification consistent with
his own honour and the permanent interests and se-

* Tomline's Life of Pitt, vol. i. p. 1 to 21, 4to. Chatham Correspondence,
vols. ii. iii. iv. passim.

GEORGE JI1. 299

curity of his people. The restless ambition which first
excited the enemy to commence, still prolonged the
war ; but he could not consent to sacrifice, either to his
own desire of peace, or the temporary ease and relief of
his subjects, the essential rights and permanent in- parHament.
terests of the nation. He mentioned, in terms of deep,
concern, the unfortunate events of the campaign in
Virginia ; but trusted in the protection of Providence,
the goodness of his cause, the concurrence and support
of Parliament, the valour of his forces, and a vigorous,
animated, and united exertion of the faculties and re-
sources of his people, for the restoration of a safe and
honourable peace to all his dominions.

Lord Shelburne, who moved an amendment to the Debates on
address, declared he was not surprised at the language thc addresses -
uttered from the throne ; it proceeded from a valiant
and generous prince, gathering firmness from mis-
fortune, and assuming an air of dignity and resolution
in the moment when calamity pressed on him and his
people. Nor was he surprised that ministers, taking
advantage of such noble sentiments, had fabricated a
speech flattering to the personal feelings of their
sovereign ; but the situation of the country required
them to resist the impulse of their master's sentiments,
and honestly impart such advice as would tend to re-
trieve his affairs. He decried the whole conduct of
the war, imputing its disasters to want of system, com-
bination, and intelligence. By uniformly following
the French, we had yielded to them every advantage ; *
wherever they dispatched a large force, we tardily pur-
sued with a small one. Such was the case at the
Chesapeak, at Jamaica, Barbadoes, and all the West
India islands ; nay, he expected another Chesapeak at
Plymouth, and should not wonder to find a Chesapeak
in the River Thames. He decried the war with Hol-
land as a war of perfidy. From the cautious conceal-
ment of the measure, he expected some great achieve-
ment to compensate for the loss of reputation in so
shameful a surprise. But, instead of an attack against
the spice islands, Ceylon, or some other important

300 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

place, St. Eustatia alone was captured ; and he solemnly
believed the surrender of Lord Cornwallis's army had
1781. been occasioned by the manner in which the General
and Admiral had disposed of the stores. In conclu-
sion, he quoted an observation of the late Lord Chat-
ham : " If the present system is pursued, I will not
" say that his Majesty will lose the crown; but his
" affairs will be precipitated into such a state of ruin,
" distraction, and calamity, that his crown will be
" scarcely worth his wearing."

The Duke of Richmond, coinciding in Lord Shel-
burne's sentiments, carried his censures still further ;
the calamities of the reign, he said, should be attri-
buted not to ambition in the enemies, but folly in the
ministers of the Crown. He vehemently decried the
representation of the people, and affirmed that the
country was governed by clerks, each minister con-
fining himself to his own office; and, consequently,
instead of responsibility, union of opinion, and con-
certed measures, nothing was displayed but dissension,
weakness, and corruption. All these faults in govern-
ment originated in the interior cabinet ; and, as a proof
that such an influence existed, he quoted Lord Chat-
ham's declaration, that ic when he entered the King's
" closet, he found the ground rotten, and himself
" duped and deceived."

The Marquis of Rockingham drew a comparison
between the King's accession and the present period.
On the death of that great and good Prince, George
II, he said, triumph and success attended our arms in
every quarter of the globe : a Pitt directed the political
machine, a Newcastle the finances, a Legge presided
over the Exchequer, and an Anson over the navy,
forming not only an able and upright, but, which was
far more important in this country, a popular adminis-
tration. These men had been compelled one by one
to retire, and from that period every thing was con-
ducted by favouritism and secret influence. Secret in-
fluence and lust of unconstitutional power had given
birth to an attempt at rendering America as servile

GEORGE III. 301

and devoted as England had proved herself. This had '

occasioned and prolonged the war ; and the assertion in

the King's speech, that it originated in the restless nsi.
ambition of the enemy, was therefore an arrant false-
hood.

Lord Camden reprobrated the conduct of the war,
attributing its miscarriages principally to the deranged
state of the navy, to irresolution and want of vigour in
the cabinet, and, above all, to the fatal error of con-
tinuing to bend our principal efforts against America.
The subjugation of the colonies should now be ren-
dered a secondary object ; and all our exertions em-
ployed in restoring the navy to its pristine respect,
effective strength, and wonted superiority. Though
late, the experiment was worth making ; and, if foiled,
we must submit to Providence. In the last war, we .
retained the choice of attack, and confounded our
enemies, who knew not where or how to defend them-
selves ; panic and despair succeeded confusion, and
victory was ours on every side.

The measures of government were specifically de-
fended by Lord Stormont and the Earl of Hillsbo-
rough ; but their arguments were not proportioned to
the vigour of the attack : and the Lord Chancellor,
while he passed the highest enconiums on the judg-
ment and eloquence of Lord Camden, resisted the
amendment, principally as it was contrary to the es-
tablished forms of Parliament. It was rejected by a
considerable majority*, and no more than three peers
subscribed a short protest.

In the House of Commons, Mr. Fox moved an
amendment similar to that of Lord Shelburne. He
sarcastically applauded the ministry for engaging very
young members to move and second the address-]* ; a
task which required the benefit of inexperience, the
recommendation of ignorance. Though himself a
young man, he could not be called a young member;
he had seen the whole system of ministers, their pro-

* 75 to 31. f Mr. Percival and Mr. Thomas Orde.

302 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

gressive madness, impolicy, or treachery : but their

' audacity in bringing such a speech to the House, and

1781. moving such an address, was to him a subject of asto-
nishment, nay, of horror. Men unacquainted with the
British constitution, and ignorant that the speech was
contrived by a cabinet council, would pronounce it
that of an arbitrary, despotic, hard-hearted, and unfeel-
ing monarch; who, having involved the slaves, his
subjects, in a ruinous and unnatural war, to glut his
enmity, or satiate his revenge, was determined to per-
severe in spite of calamity, and even of fate. The
general expectation was, that the King would have
avowed, with regret, his having been deluded, and re-
quested the assistance of Parliament in restoring peace,
security, and happiness ; but, instead of this, they had
heard a speech, breathing vengeance, blood, misery,
and rancour.

The mover of the address had observed, that there
were members of Parliament so lost to duty, honour,
and shame, as to express warm wishes for the success
of the enemy, to glory in their conquests, and boast
of the countenance they had given to rebellion ; to
such men must the calamities of the country be attri-
buted. In reply to this observation, Mr. Fox quoted
Lord Chatham, who, at the very commencement of
the dispute, " thanked God that America resisted the
" claims of the mother country." " But all the cala-
" mities of the country," he continued, " are ascribed
" to the wishes, the joy, and the speeches of opposition.
" O miserable and unfortunate ministry ! O blind and
" incapable men ! whose measures are framed with so
" little foresight, and executed with so little firmness,
" that they crumble to pieces and bring ruin on the
" country, merely because one rash, weak, or wicked
" man in the House of Commons makes a speech against
" them. What despicable statesmen, who frame their
" measures in so feeble and wretched a manner as to
" make no provision for the contingencies of fortune,
" nor for the rash or even wicked passions of indivi-
" duals ! Could they expect there would be no rash, no

GEORGE III.

" weak, no wicked men in the kingdom? or were they so
" rash, so weak, or so wicked, as to contrive measures of
" such a texture, that the intervention of any unfore- 1781,
" seen circumstance broke them to pieces and destroyed
" the empire 1 ?" Retrospective censures were depre-
cated; but ministers must bear to hear them; they
must hear them on that day when the representatives
of the people must recall to their ears the disgraceful
and ruinous measures which had brought the kingdom
to its present state. They must not only hear them in
Parliament, but, he trusted, through the indignation
and vengeance of an injured and undone people, they
would hear of them at the tribunal of justice, and ex-
piate them on the public scaffold. The day was ap-
proaching, it was at hand, when the people would no
longer submit, nor the ministry escape. He would not
say he believed they were in the pay of France ; it was
not possible for him to prove the fact ; but they had
served the grand monarque more faithfully and more
successfully than ever ministers served a master. If
the French king had exhausted his exchequer and
drained his resources for their emolument, he cheaply
purchased the aggrandizement of his kingdom ; they
had promoted the French aim of universal monarchy
more than all the preceding ministers France had
ever employed ; nay, more than all the achievements of
Louis le Grand. In support of these assertions, Mr.
Fox reviewed the origin and conduct of the war, affirm-
ing that the loss of the army in Virginia, and the loss
of thirteen provinces, must be solely ascribed to the
influence of the crown. All the calamities of the na-
tion were connected with the system and with the men
in power. By changing the one in toto, and removing
the others, the fountain head would be purified, and
the whole stream no longer contaminated.

Several other members in opposition spoke in re-
proachful terms of the condition of the navy, and the
general system of government. Mr. Thomas Pitt did
not hesitate to affirm, " that there was no public, no
" parliament, nor could government be conducted

303

304 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP. without bringing to an account those who had reduced

the nation to its present disgraceful situation." He

1781. did not desire a change of ministry ; no matter what
puppets worked the dismal scene ! Whether one low
little set of men on one or on the other side of the
House, while the secret poisoning influence remained,
which had begun with and continued through the
whole reign. He hoped to God the ministry would
not be displaced till they had brought the affairs of the
nation to such a crisis as would draw on them a suit-
able reward. He favoured the amendment ; but, if it
were carried, would not vote for the address, nor con-
sent to a shilling of supply in support of a war to
which the country gentlemen had unfortunately af-
forded too much countenance.

The reflections on the state of the navy were
answered by Lord Mulgrave, who refuted many as-
sertions by contradictory facts, and affirmed that, at no
previous period had so ample a marine been provided,
a marine which had employed a hundred and eighteen
thousand men. In the course of his speech, he ad-
vanced the extraordinary assertion, that Great Britain
never was equal to France in a naval contest, when
that power applied all her resources and strength to
the equipment of a navy*. In the reigns of Wil-
liam III and Queen Anne, France was superior to
Great Britain and Holland^. The present war was
calamitous, but not disgraceful ; nor could a period of
history be produced, when the honour and spirit of the
nation had risen to a more glorious height.

Lord North, in a short, but able speech, answered
the philippic of Mr. Fox, treating with scorn the in-
sinuation that Ministers received the pay of France ;
the leader of opposition did not believe it, nor did any
man in the House, or in the kingdom. The misfor-

* This expression, somewhat too strongly stated in the parliamentary reports,
occasioned some observations in print by Sir John Sinclair, which produced an
explanation and vindication of his remarks from the noble Lord. See Sinclair's
Thoughts on the Naval Strength of Great Britain, 2nd edition.

t The views of William on the continent turned his attention from a naval to
a laud force ; nearly the same continental politics prevailed during the greater part
of the reign of Queen Anne ; therefore Lord Mulgrave's argument cannot by any
means be deemed conclusive.

GEORGE III. 305

tunes of the nation had been attributed to the miscon-
duct, incapacity, or treachery of ministers ; but what-
ever might be their talents, their zeal in the service of i/8i.
their country was indisputable, and their errors those
of the judgment, not the heart. The American war
was prosecuted, not with the infamous design of ag-
grandizing the Crown at the expense of the constitu-
tion, and making the subjects slaves that the King
might be despotic, but with a view of preserving
intire and unbroken the old and venerable constitu-
tion of Government, composed of King, Lords, and
Commons ; for which our fathers had bled, and which
Europe envied. The Americans had originally no
objection to submit to the authority of the Crown, but
objected to the interference of Parliament. They
were adverse to the claims of Parliament, and not
those of the Sovereign, and for the preservation of
those resisted rights the war was commenced. " A
" melancholy disaster has occurred in Virginia," he
said ; " but are we therefore to lie down and die 1
" No : it ought rather to impel, to urge, to animate ;
" for by bold and united exertions every thing may be
" saved ; by dejection and despair, every thing must
" be lost." He would not be deterred by menaces of
impeachment and the scaffold from striving to pre-
serve the rights and legislative authority of Parlia-
ment. The war had been unfortunate, but not un-
just; it was founded on right, and dictated by neces-
sity ; he had always thought so, and should the share
he had taken in the maintaining the constitution lead
to the scaffold, his opinions would remain unaltered.

Mr. Burke rose, indignant at this speech, which he
termed equally imprudent and audacious; it froze
his blood and harrowed up his soul. If men were un-
taught by experience, if neither calamities could make
them feel, nor the voice of God make them wise, what
had this poor, fallen, miserable, undone country to
hope 1 The war was not unfortunate, but disgraceful :
the former epithet could only apply to occurrences in
which fortune alone was concerned ; but the present
war exhibited neither plan nor foresight. Victories
VOL. in. x

306 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP. an d defeats, towns taken or evacuated, generals ap-
pointed or recalled, all were alike, all calamitous.

1781. Victory inspired hope, defeat, despair; but both in-
stigated us to go on, and both were therefore calami-
tous. The King's speech, however, was the greatest
calamity of all ; for that shewed the disposition of
ministers, not to retreat an inch, but to plunge deeper,
and augment the disgrace and unhappiness of the
nation. Who could patiently hear of rights, which
had cost so much, and which were likely to cost our
all ? " Good God !" he exclaimed, " are we yet to be
" told of the rights for which we went to war. Oh,
" excellent rights ! Oh, valuable rights ! that have
" cost Britain thirteen provinces, four islands, a hun-
" dred thousand men, and more than seventy millions
" of money ! Oh, wonderful rights ! that have lost to
" Great Britain her empire on the ocean, her boasted,
" grand, and substantial superiority, which made the
" world bend before her ! Oh, inestimable rights ! that
" have taken from us our rank among nations, our im-
" portance abroad, and our happiness at home; that
" have deprived us of our trade and manufactures ;
" reduced us from the most flourishing empire in the
" world, to one of the most compact, unenviable powers
"on the face of the globe! Oh, wonderful rights! that
" are likely to take from us all that yet remains ! We
" had a right to tax America ; and as we had a right,
" we must do it. We must risk every thing, forfeit
" every thing, think of no consequences, take no con-
" sideration into view but our right ; consult no ability,
" nor measure our right with our power, but must
" have our right. Oh, miserable and infatuated minis-
" ters ! Miserable and undone country ! not to know
" that right signifies nothing without might ; that the
" claim without the power of enforcing it, was nuga-
" tory and idle in the copyhold of rival states, or of
" immense bodies. Oh ! says a silly man, full of his
" prerogative of dominion over a few beasts of the field,
" there is excellent wool on the back of a wolf, and
" therefore he must be sheared. What ! shear a wolf?
" Yes. But will he comply ? have you considered

GEORGE III. 307

" the trouble ? how will you get this wool? Oh; I

" have considered nothing, and I will consider nothing

" but my right: a wolf is an animal that has wool; i?8i.

" all animals that have wool are to be shorn, and there-

" fore I will shear the wolf. This was just the kind of

" reasoning urged by the minister, and this the counsel

" he had given."

Several members asserted that the intended effect
of the address was to pledge the House to a prosecu-
tion of the war. This the ministers most positively
denied. Lord George Germaine, after lamenting the
calamitous disaster that had befallen Lord Cornwallis,
said, he was always ready to avow and justify the part
he had taken. He had acted from the purest motives ;
he was not enamoured of his situation ; he had never
solicited office ; he had been called to it, and, although
he would not be brow-beaten or clamoured out of it,
yet when it should please his royal master that he
should resign, it would please him. He had never
believed that we could reduce America by force of
arms ; all he believed and desired was, to support and
give efficacy to the struggles of the loyalists. He
always understood, and still believed, that they were
numerous, and wanted only the assistance of England
to give them decisive ascendancy. He would never be
the minister who should assent to a reconciliation on
the terms of American independence. This country
depended on America for its very existence. Take
away America, and we should sink into perfect insig-
nificance ; preserve it, and it was yet the brightest
jewel in the Crown.

After a protracted discussion, the amendment was
negatived*.

On bringing up the report of the address, the de- 28 t h Nov
bate was renewed, and principally distinguished by an
eloquent harangue from Mr. Pitt, who rose to vent
those sentiments of indignation which rendered his
situation too painful to be endured in silence. Duty
to his sovereign and his country impelled him to en-

* 218 to 1'29.

308 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

deavour at preventing Parliament from precipitately
pledging the House to prosecute the American war,
1781. and persevere in that fatal system which had led a
once nourishing and glorious nation, step by step, to
a situation the most calamitous and disgraceful ; a
situation which threatened the final dissolution of the
empire. He was unable to account for the confidence
of ministers in proposing an address which pledged
Parliament to measures, of which not even a plan or
outline was submitted to their consideration. What
could occasion so stedfast an adherence to the Ame-
rican war ? Was there any national object in pursuit?
Certainly none ! In real truth, the object of contest
was an appendage to the office of First Lord of the
Treasury, too dear to be relinquished ; it was the grand
pillar, built on the ruins of the constitution, by which
he held his situation ; the great means of extending
the influence of the Crown, on which alone he placed
his security. But how could ministers expect the con-
fidence of Parliament, who had among themselves no
bond of union ] "I am satisfied in my soul," he ex-
claimed, " that were I to go from one end of the
" Treasury bench to the other, and ask every man
" there if he could trust his neighbour, they would
" all answer in the negative ; and yet they expect from
" Parliament that confidence which they have not in
" each other."

Mr. Pitt then analyzed the different reasons assigned
on the preceding day for continuing the war. Lord
North had argued that the war was just and necessary.
As to its justice, no discussion was necessary ; the whole
universe had heard and seen enough to decide on that
head' ; the term necessity, as applied to its prolonga-
tion, was not easily understood ; it could mean nothing
short of physical necessity ; and to say that an end
could not be put to the war, if Parliament were so
resolved, was an absurdity too gross for animadversion.
Lord George Germaine had rested all his hope on the
more mild, lenient, and moderate expectation of the
practicability of dispatching a sufficient force to enable
the numerous friends of Great Britain to conquer their

GEORGE III. 309

opponents. To appreciate the wisdom of this conceit, XLIH"

Mr. Pitt recommended a retrospect of the war ; the ._! !_

events of the last campaign, and, above all, the tenth 1781.
article of Lord Cornwallis's capitulation, where all the
friends of Great Britain, all the loyalists who had been
treacherously deluded to join the army, were left to
the civil justice of their country. He could not define
what was the civil justice of America; but if the
same treacherous system which had long disgraced
Great Britain were persevered in, civil justice might
overtake those who were more proper objects of its
operation than the unfortunate wretches who had
sacrificed their lives and fortunes to the empty pro-
mises of an abandoned administration.

When this speech was concluded, it is said* a buzz of
applause pervaded the House, and it was some time be-
fore the Lord Advocate of Scotland could obtain a hear-
ing. Members who supported administration were
most pointed in their eulogies upon it. Mr. Dundas said
that the lustre of abilities and splendour of eloquence
which it displayed proved that great talents had de-
scended, in an hereditary line, from a parent uncom-
monly gifted to a son equally blessed ; and Mr. Cour-
tenay observed, that Mr. Pitt's splendid diction, manly
elocution, and brilliant periods, his pointed logic, con-
veyed in a torrent of rapid and impressive eloquence,
brought strongly to his recollection that great and able
statesman whose memory every grateful and generous
Briton must revere.

Mr. Burke adverted to Lord Cornwallis's surrender,
and to the horrible spectacle which must meet the eyes
of a prince of the bloodf , who could not sail along the
American coast, without beholding the faithful adhe-
rents of his father hanging in quarters on every head-
land. The blood of all the Americans who had lost
their lives in consequence of that capitulation, rested
on the head of Lord Cornwallis or the Ministry ; and
he would make those walls re-echo with it till the

* Parliamentary History, vol. xxii, p. 735.

t Prince William Henry, afterward Duke of Clarence and King William
the Fourth, ~\vho then served in a subordinate station in the fleet.

310

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.

XLIII.

1781.

30th Nov.
Debates on
the capture of
St. Eustatia.
4th. Dec.

May 14th.

noble Earl, for whose virtues he had the highest re-
gard, accounted for a conduct so dishonourable to the
British name, so disgraceful to humanity. He com-
pared the surrender of York Town with that of Sara-
toga, and branded the Ministers as the cause of those
disasters, and the address as the most hypocritical,
infamous, abandoned, and lying paper, the House had
ever been called on to vote.

Mr. Courtenay mentioned with indignation the in-
vidious comparison between two unsuccessful generals.
Lord Cornwallis had fallen, not ignobly, by the united
arms of France and America : he had not fallen in
the pride of presumption by the posse comitatus ; but ad-
mired and respected even by the enemy. " His claims,"
the generous orator exclaimed, " are wreathed with
" laurels ; he is an honour to his profession, who will
" add lustre to the highest dignities that can be con-
" ferred on him ; and the sacred and applauding voice
" of the people will sanctify the choice of a discerning
" Sovereign."

The report was received*.

Lord Cornwallis was not alone exposed to animad-
version; Sir George Rodney and General Vaughan
were arraigned with the utmost severity for their
conduct on the capture of St. Eustatia. In the last
session, Mr. Burke had moved for an address on the
subject, describing, in a vehement and acrimonious
speech, the illegal, unjust, and cruel proceedings of
the captors. This island, he said, had risen, like an-
other Tyre, upon the waves, to communicate to all
countries and climates the conveniences and necessaries
of life. Its wealth was prodigious, arising from its in-
dustry and the nature of its commerce. Being in no
state of defence, for it possessed only fifty-five soldiers,
and a building which, in courtesy or compliment,
might be termed a fort, it had been surrendered by
the Dutch commander without any stipulation, in an
implicit reliance on the discretion, the mercy, and the
clemency of the conquerors. How had these qualities

* 131 to 54.

GEORGE III. 311

been shewn I In a general confiscation of all property, v '
public and private, Dutch and British ; the wealth of

the opulent, the goods of the merchant, the utensils of i78i.
the artizan, the necessaries of the poor, were seized on,
and, in one moment, a sentence of general beggary
pronounced on a whole people. In addition, the
warehouses were locked up, their books seized, to-
gether with all the letters and private papers. The
parties plundered were most obdurately refused a por-
tion of their own stores to prevent them from starving.
To the dishonour of humanity, in this enlightened age,
the persecution began with the Jews. In common
with the other inhabitants, they were ordered to be
conveyed from the island, and only one day was given
for preparation. To the number of one hundred and
one, they were confined in a place called a weigh-house,
and searched for property they might have concealed.
From the lining of one of their coats two hundred Johan-
nes were taken, from another nine hundred, and from
the whole party to the value of eight thousand pounds.
Nor was the persecution confined to the Jews; all
Americans, whether they had retired to avoid taking a
part against Great Britain, or to assist the Americans ;
all French inhabitants, all Dutchmen, late citizens of
Amsterdam, and, finally, all people who were not
settled inhabitants of the island, were ordered to de-
part. Of the Jews, thirty were carried to the neigh-
bouring island of St. Christopher's, and the rest were
permitted to return. The assembly of St. Christopher's
had remonstrated in vain ; the Admiral had given as
a reason for confiscating their property, that they used
the island only as a place of deposit for their goods, to
supply the enemies of their country. If they supplied
the enemy, so did the captors, for they advertised the
sale of the property at a public auction, invited all the
neutral islands to come in and purchase, and that
small vessels should be sold for its conveyance. It was
accordingly transported to French and American settle-
ments, and to the Danish islands of St. Croix and St.
Thomas, from which the Americans, French, and
Spaniards, might be supplied. Mr. Burke added

'31'2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

many particular narratives of private calamity and in-
dividual suffering, and enforced his motion by argu-
1781. ments drawn from the law of nations and the general
rules of honour and morality.

In answer to these reflections, which were sustained
by Mr. Fox and other eminent speakers, it was ob-
served, that to make such charges, while the subjects
of it were absent on the service of their country, was at
least premature, and the accusations themselves un-
founded. Pictures of private calamity would move
the passions of the humane, and, when drawn by a
hand so masterly as that of a Burke, would possess
sufficient force of colouring to strike and wring the
heart ; but, in questions of general policy, the good of
all must be preferred to the convenience of the few ;
private calamity might result from public advantage.
It was not to be expected that the stores taken at St.
Eustatia should be returned ; if they were, the capture
of the island would be of no avail. The wrongs in-
flicted on the Jews were not denied ; but the whole
transaction occurred without the knowledge of the
Commanders-in-Chief, who, as soon as they were ap-
prized of it, expressed great displeasure, ordered resti-
tution and reinstated the injured parties in their
houses. Sir George Rodney was too brave a man to
be cruel, too disinterested to be rapacious. The case
of St. Eustatia was new in the history of nations. The
island had been the property of our ally, and the mea-
sures which had been taken were justified by policy,
by necessity, and by the laws of war. The confisca-
tion of property and banishment of the people were
necessary to secure the conquest. The inhabitants, all
inimical to Great Britain, were become so numerous
that the rents of houses in the principal town amounted
to the amazing sum of a million of money. These
and many similar arguments did not satisfy Mr. Burke,
who made a strenuous reply, and lost his motion on a
a division*.

Although foiled in this attempt, Mr. Burke ap-

GEORGE III. 313

prized Sir George Rodney and General Vaughan that ( 1 HA1 /
he should demand copies of their instructions for pro-
ceedings at St. Eustatia; and, both professing them- 1731.
selves ready to meet the inquiry, he made his motion.
His speech was a series of sarcastic reflections on the
commanders, whom he represented as cowardly and
cruel in their meditated attack on St. Vincent's, and
wanton and rapacious plunderers of the inhabitants of 4
St. Eustatia. He displayed the absurdity of selling
the stores in such a manner as to furnish the enemy
with supplies which they could no otherwise have ob-
tained ; and accused the Admiral of promoting their
successes, by lingering on the spot to which his in-
terest fixed him, while the French fleet was reinforced
and Tobago taken. He hoped the two commanders
would not rest contented with self-approbation and
the support of friends : a man might say

Populus me sibilat at mihi plaudo,

Ipse domi simul ac nummos contemplor in area ;

But justice and the public would require something
more. He should persevere in urging inquiry : the
character of accuser was odious only when the object
of inculpation was weak, oppressed, or indigent ; but
it was not odious to prosecute guilt in stars and rib-
bons*, guilt rewarded and countenanced by the official
and the opulent.

The Admiral said he appeared before St. Eustatia
for the purpose of cutting off supplies from the enemy,
and with the fixed determination not to grant any
terms to the inhabitants, who, though nominally
friends to England, had been the allies of the enemy.
Many residents, who called themselves -Englishmen,
were not ashamed to supply warlike stores for the de-
struction of their country ; and, as he considered such
men undeserving of favour, he determined to shew
them none. Far from suffering stores to be conveyed
to the enemy's islands, directly or circuitously, he had
ordered them all to his Majesty's depots at Antigua ;

* Rodney had received the Order of the Bath in November, 1780.

314

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLIII.

1781.

30th Nov.
Supplies
opposed
I2th Dec.
Motions
against the
war by Sir
James Low-
ther.

and, to insure obedience, had deprived the ships
destined to convey them of their provisions, save a
bare sufficiency for the voyage. Instead of remaining
inactive, as had been insinuated, he had planned two
expeditions, one against Curac,oa, the other against
Surinam, when he received advice that a French fleet
of ten or twelve sail, with about seventy transports,
was sailing for Martinique, and dispatched Sir Samuel
Hood, with fifteen sail, to encounter them. His in-
tention afterward to fight De Grasse was disconcerted
by intelligence conveyed to the French admiral ; and
he detailed facts which fully shewed him exempt from
blame in not succouring Tobago, or preventing the
catastrophe in Virginia.

General Vaughan, protesting on his honour that he
was not directly or indirectly one shilling enriched by
the capture of St. Eustatia, asserted that he had treated
the enemy with the utmost lenity ; the Jews, who
were selected as peculiar objects of commiserative com-
plaint, had been shipped at their own desire for St.
Thomas's ; but when the General learned that they
had been landed at St. Christopher's, he caused a res-
titution of their houses and property ; and, in testi-
mony of their satisfaction at his conduct, he produced
to the House an address from the whole body in syna-
gogue, expressive of their happiness in living under
the mild government of George III*. Upon the
whole, he had acted to the best of his judgment for
his country's good, and not his own ; and, as he was
neither a lawyer nor a merchant, he should not again
in similar circumstances act differently. The motion
was negatived f.

In debating the army estimates, the grand princi-
ple of the war came again under discussion, opposition
at first adopting the unprecedented - measure of op-
posing the supply in toto. On the failure of this wild
attempt J, Sir James Lowther interrupted the order of

* The expulsion and plunder of the Jews was afterward (4th February 1782)
referred to a committee on the petition of Mr. Hohen, and motion of Mr. Burke,
and a report presented (1 1th May) reflecting great discredit on the character of
the General and Admiral.

t 163 to 89. t H was over-ruled by 172 to 77.

GEORGE III. 315

the day for the army estimates, by moving a resolution,

" that the war carried on in North America had

" been ineffectual, either in protecting the King's sub- i?8i.
" jects, or defeating the dangerous designs of his ene-
" mies." If this proposition was assented to, he pro-
mised to follow it with another, " that all further
" attempts to reduce the revolted colonies were repug-
" nant to the true interests of the kingdom, as tending
" to weaken its efforts against its ancient and power-
" ful enemies."

Mr. Powys seconded the motion in a long and able
speech, displaying the illusory and fallacious nature of
every hope to subjugate America, and describing the
declining state of the nation, and the ill-timed inflexi-
bility of government, by parallels, in the glowing lan-
guage of Gibbon, from the reigns of the Roman Em-
perors Valentinian III and Honorius. He exhorted
the House to consider the nature of the war, which
was not waged between rival states for a barrier or
boundary, but so constituted that every conclusion
must be unfavourable to Great Britain. The whole
war had been conducted in delusion; every promise
broken, every assertion falsified, every object re-
linquished. It was now a war of revenue, now of
supremacy ; now a war of coercion, then of friendship ;
and thus the people, the House, and particularly the
country gentlemen, had been deluded, confounded,
abused, and cheated. Evasion led but to evasion;
trick to trick ; repeated losses had converted firmness
into obstinacy, and an attachment to ancient principles
of party would now be evidence of frenzy. It was no
longer time for men to group together, or indulge in
narrow-minded distinctions, when every honest heart
and hand in the kingdom should level the pitiful boun-
daries of separation, and unite to avert the wreck with
which this unhappy nation was so imminently threat-
ened. The country gentlemen, long deceived, could
be deluded no more. No idea of American revenue
remained, no idea of alleviating the burdens of Britain
by carrying on the war ; there was no other idea, and
could be no other motive, than to preserve the power,

316 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

the consequence, and the emoluments that flowed from
it. No inconvenience could result from declaring that
1781. the continent of America should no longer be the the-
atre of war ; on the contrary, the European enemies of
Great Britain would become alarmed for their nume-
rous possessions, and a general consternation would
spread among them for the safety of their wide-ex-
tended dominions.

Lord North acknowledged the motions to be fair,
moderate, free from passion, not founded on personal
resentment, and, as to style, perfectly unexceptionable ;
but refused to concur in them, chiefly because they
formed a parliamentary advertisement to the enemy of
the manner in which the next campaign would be
conducted; and moved the order of the day. He
avowed, however, his opinion, " that it would neither be
" wise nor right to prosecute the war in America any longer
" on a continental plan, that is, by sending fresh armies to
" march through the colonies, in order by those marches to
" subdue America to obedience" Even this acknow-
ledgment he would have withheld ; but it was plainly
legible in the estimates, the moderation of which
shewed that government had no intention of substi-
tuting an army for that of Lord Cornwallis. Posts
must be maintained and defended in case of attack,
and the British commerce must be protected against
American cruisers ; but Sir James Lowther's motions
would prevent the accomplishment of all these objects.

Lord George Germaine coincided in opinion with
Lord North, but declared that, whenever the House
adopted a motion which amounted to a dereliction of
America, he would retire ; for, in his opinion, the mo-
ment American independence was acknowledged, the
British empire was ruined. Mr. Dunning, though he
acquiesced in Sir James Low r ther's motions, asserted
the same sentiment, adding, with uncommon warmth,
that the proposition to declare America independent
was little short of high treason*.

Many conspicuous members on both sides addressed
the chair ; but the motion for the order of the day was

* Annual Register, 1782, p. 146.

GEOKGE III. 317

at length carried by a majority of forty-one only*,
twenty of the usual supporters of administration hav-
ing joined the opposing party]". 1731.
This debate was renewed in the next sitting of the *** Dec -

TT n ~iii Debate

House, and was chiefly distinguished by an eloquent renewed,
speech from Mr. Pitt, tending to prove the total dis-
agreement in principle among the members of the
cabinet. He described the two parts of Lord North's
statement as repugnant to each other ; he first said it
was resolved no longer to prosecute the war on a con-
tinental plan ; and then, as if shocked at having uttered
any thing which seemed satisfactory, or which could
be understood, startled at the sound of his own words,
and, apprehensive he had dropped an expression by
which he might be bound, he added explanatory ex-
pressions which defeated the meaning of his original
declaration. Lord North said the war was no longer
to be conducted on its original plan, or with an in-
tention of subduing America by force ; Lord George
Germaine, that all the ministers were agreed in not
abandoning the objects of the war. " The secretary
" for America," he continued, " is of opinion that
" Great Britain will be ruined if the independence of
" that country is granted, but he gives it only as his
" own judgment, without knowing the opinions of
" others ! Is it to be credited that a ministry, ignorant of
" each other's opinions, are unanimous ! The absurdity
" is too monstrous to be received, especially at a mo-
" ment when they are more palpably disunited than
" ever." From a comparison of their speeches, he
strengthened his assertion of their disunion, and
averred that one or both had the meanness to continue
in office, and stand responsible for measures which they
disapproved. He vehemently invoked the House to
extricate themselves from the disgrace of being sub-
servient to the despicable views of such men. In only
one thing they were agreed, and that was, in their
resolution to destroy the empire they were called upon
to save ; and this he feared they would accomplish,

* 230 to 179. f A nnual Register, ubi sup.

318 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

before the indignation of a great and suffering people
should fall on their heads in merited punishment.
1781. " And God grant," he added, " that that punishment
" be not so long delayed, as to involve a great and
" innocent family, who, though they can have had no
" share in the guilt, may, and most likely will, suffer
" the consequences."

Sir George Savile ridiculed the address, and com-
pared the Crown and Parliament to dancers of a minuet
to a tune of the minister's composing. The Crown led
off one way, the Parliament in a similar step to the
opposite corner ; they then joined hands, and the dance
terminated as it began. If ministers were to put into
the King's mouth the line, " What beauties does Flora
disclose," the House would echo, " How sweet are her
smiles upon Tweed." In a more serious tone, he in-
sisted that the address, though demanded as merely
complimentary, was intended to be combined with
other measures, and ultimately to delude Parliament
into a continuance of the American war. He com-
pared ministers to the Spartan, who, in a sea-engage-
ment, swam to a galley and seized it with his right
hand, which was instantly chopped off. He then
renewed the effort with his left, and met a similar
catastrophe. The sailors in the galley then asked if
he meant to persevere ; the Spartan answered, not in
the same way, and seized his object with his teeth.
Thus administration had lost two armies (both their
hands) in attempts on America, yet were they, like the
Lacedemonian, determined to proceed. But they
should remember, and he warned them, that when the
Lacedemonian did proceed, he was deprived of his
head.

Although this debate was long and vehement, yet,
as the aim of the motion was to delay the supplies, the
division was less favourable to opposition than that of
the preceding day*.

19th pec. An attempt, made by the Marquis of Rockingham,

oppTsed'in Hie * Prevent the third reading of the malt and land-tax

Lords.

* IGGto 84.

GEORGE III. 319

bills till after the recess, was also rejected, though well
supported by the mover, and productive of a long
debate. 1781.

No other transaction in either House, previous to ?!' d and 17th

,.,.-.. . December.

the recess, claimed particular notice, except a motion Debates on
by Mr. Burke, on the subject of Mr. Laurens, who
was still detained in the tower. He painted the ill-
treatment of this prisoner in glowing colours, and
made many sarcastic contrasts between his conduct,
character, and pretensions, and those of his supposed
oppressors ; narrating the efforts used for effecting his
liberation by means of an exchange of prisoners, and
reading to the House a correspondence which had
passed between himself and Dr. Franklin on the sub-
ject, from which it appeared that the Americans had
threatened, if Laurens was detained, to revoke the
parole allowed to General Burgoyne, and to insist on
.his surrendering himself to personal captivity*. Lord
George Germaine refuted the charge of cruel treat-
ment in the most satisfactory manner, by a letter from
Laurens himself, written early in his connnementf,
thanking ministers for the indulgences he received.
A petition from him was afterwards presented, com-
plaining, in vague and general terms, of his rigorous 20th -
confinement, and praying relief. Mr. Burke declared
his intention to move for a bill regulating the exchange
of prisoners, and amending the act suspending the
habeas corpus ; but it was rendered unnecessary by the
discharge of Mr. Laurens.

* Franklin's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 31 .
t November 1780.

320

HISTOUY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLIV.

J781.

Proceedings
in public

CHAPTER THE FORTY-FOURTH.
17811782.

Proceedings in public meetings. Petition of the Common-
hall of London for peace and a change of Ministry. Ad-
miral Kempenfelt's unsuccessful expedition. Capture of
Saint Christopher's Nevis Montserrat and Minorca.
Fox's motions on the ill success of the Navy. Motions in
both Houses respecting the conduct and characters of indi-
vidualson the treatment of Colonel Haynes for an in-
quiry into the causes of Lord Cornwallis's surrender on
Lord Sackville's peerage on the promotion of General
Arnold. Fox's renewed motion respecting the Navy.
General Conway's motion against the war. Altercation
between Lord North and Colonel Barrel Debates on the
new taxes. General Conway's second motion. -- The
Ministry in a minority. Bill to enable the King to make
peace with America. Lord John Cavendish's motion
against the Ministry. Lord North declares the Cabinet
dissolved. His farewell address to the House. Lord
Shelburne's intended motion. Character of Lord North.

ALTHOUGH the adjournment of Parliament was, as
usual, strenuously resisted, it was a measure beneficial
to opposition. The fabric of administration was visibly
tottering ; the country gentlemen had shewn a disposi-
tion to desert the Ministry, although they would not
impede the exertions of Government. The divisions
in the cabinet were more strongly reported, and the
assertion daily gained additional credence ; and the
people saw with growing impatience the protraction of
an expensive war, all the measures of which seemed
to be blasted in their very commencement.

The rage for public meetings, clubs, and com-
mittees of delegates, still continued, and projects of

GEORGE III. 321

reform, and petitions, were generally agitated. Before
the adjournment of Parliament, a Common-hall of the
City of London voted an address, remonstrance, and nsi.
petition to the King, reprobating his speech from the ^^^ber
throne, and the conduct of Ministers ; recapitulating London pe ti-
the disasters of the war and their effects ; declaring andchan^of
their abhorrence of it as an unnatural and unfortunate Ministry.
contest, and requiring the dismission of all the King's
advisers, both public and secret*. A similar address nth Dec.
was voted by the electors of Westminster, whom Mr. tions! P
Fox convened in Westminster-hall, and whom he
addressed in a long harangue, formed on the popular
model, that of comparing the sentiments and conduct
of Lord Chatham with the present Administration.
The freeholders of Middlesex and Surrey, the West
India planters, and many other bodies, adopted the
same measure, with only slight variations as to terms.

Yet the principle of the war was not unpopular :
the public burthens, and the general failure of success,
occasioned great irritability in the nation ; but still,
any appearance of vigour, or any important success ob-
tained by the arms of Britain, would have reanimated
the nation, or reconciled to the continuance of war,
many who were now most clamorous for peace.

But, although the Ministry had adopted wise and Admiral

if , , -i -i / .-i Kempenfelt's

vigorous plans lor restoring the preponderance of the unsuccessful
British arms, no encouraging events had yet occurred, expedition.
Intelligence having been received of the equipment
and destination of a fleet from Brest, to re-inforce and
supply the East and West India squadrons, Admiral
Kempenfelt was dispatched to intercept it, with twelve
sail of the line, one ship of fifty guns, and four frigates.
The information given to government was correct
in every particular, except the force of the enemy;
the British Admiral met them at the distance of fifty
leagues from Ushant, and, as they were scattered by a
storm, succeeded in taking twenty transports, laden
with ordnance, stores, and provisions, and conveying

* On the presentation of this paper, attempts were made to revive the old
contest respecting the King's receiving it on the throne ; and a Common-hall
passed a resolution on the subject. See Annual Register, 1782, p. 195.

VOL. III. Y

322

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
LXIV.

1781.

Capture of St.

nearly eleven hundred troops, and five hundred and
forty-eight seamen. Perceiving the enemy forming
the line of battle, Kempenfelt prepared for the en-
counter; but discovering, on a nearer approach, that
they had nineteen sail of the line, some of which were
of the largest dimension, two ships armed en flute,
and a great proportion of frigates, he reluctantly de-
clined hazarding an attack, and returned to England.
The value and quality of the prizes proved the import-
ance of the expedition, and added to the disappoint-
ment of the public ; the Ministry were loudly censured
for their deficiency in information, or negligence of
duty ; and, before the recess, the House of Commons had
already resounded with the complaints of opposition.

Subsequent events, the intelligence of which arrived
stopher's, Curing the renewed session of Parliament, and influ-
enced its proceedings, were equally unfavourable to
administration. The Marquis de Bouille, after recap-
turing St. Eustatia, and preparing for the reconquest

iith January, of Demerary and Issequibo, proceeded to the attack of
St. Christopher's, where he landed eight thousand men,
protected by De Grasse's fleet of thirty-two sail of the
line. Basseterre, the capital of the island, built of
wood, and destitute of means of defence, separately
capitulated, and the French fleet anchored in the
road, while the troops and militia, amounting to nine
hundred and fifty men, under General Fraser and
Governor Shirley, repaired to Brimstone-hill, an unas-
sailable eminence, but requiring a much more nume-
rous garrison, and extremely deficient in stores and
artillery. The French General, being obliged to
besiege the hill in form, his followers, with vast labour
and difficulty, conveyed the requisite artillery, and
opened the trenches. Meanwhile, Sir Samuel Hood,
with only twenty-two ships of the line, quitted Barba-
does, resolved to hazard an engagement with the supe-
rior force of France, for the protection of so valuable

25th January, an island as St. Christopher's. A.S soon as he had
formed his line of battle, De Grasse, desirous to gain
room for advantageous action, quitted his anchorage,
and stood out to sea ; the British Admiral, with mas-

GEORGE III. 323

terly judgment and presence of mind, lured him still
further from the shore, and then placed his own fleet
in the situation which his opponent had quitted. De 1782.
Grasse, after ineffectual efforts to cut off the rear of
the British squadron, and two resolute attempts on
the whole line while at anchor, had the mortification
to witness the complete interception of all communi-
cation between himself and the army.

The French General, however, continued the siege
of Brimstone-hill with unremitting vigour, and pre-
vented all correspondence between the British fleet
and the garrison. Yet the critical state of his enter-
prize inspired alarm ; Sir George Rodney was daily
expected with reinforcements from England, and De
Bouille, having lost nearly a thousand men during the
siege, accelerated the surrender by threatening to burn
the plantations, and renew the devastation which he
had committed at Tobago. The militia in the garri-
son were too much interested in this menace not to
press their commanders to capitulate ; and the French
General acceded to every requisition they made, re-
specting either public or private property, the garri-
son, or the inhabitants at large. General Fraser and isth Feb.
Governor Shirley were exempted from the terms im-
posed on prisoners of war ; the former being allowed
to rejoin his regiment, and the latter to resume his
government at Antigua.

Admiral Hood, having seen the French destroy the
batteries at Basseterre, and their proceedings, which
indicated despair, entertained most sanguine hopes,
and was proportionally irritated when the surrender
was made without consulting him ; but he secured the
safety of his squadron by slipping all his cables in the
night, and getting under weigh so silently, that the ene-
my's fleet offered neither obstruction nor pursuit. The Nevis and
small islands of Nevis and Montserrat being also re-
duced, Barbadoes and Antigua were the only leeward
islands remaining in the possession of Great Britain.

The capture of Minorca also occasioned lively dis- Capture of
satisfaction. Fort St. Philip's was garrisoned by two Minorca -
thousand six hundred and ninety-two men, including

Y 2

324 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

^ oul nun( fred invalid sailors, a marine corps, and a few
Greeks and Corsicans ; the ditch and subterranean
1782. defences were cut out of the living rock, and exceed-
ingly strong, but the upper works were not proportion-
ately calculated for resistance, and the garrison did not
exceed a moiety of the requisite number. The besieg-
ing force consisted of sixteen thousand regular troops,
with a hundred and nine pieces of the heaviest can-
non, and thirty-six great mortars; yet the Due de
Crillon, who commanded the expedition, did not blush
to attempt corrupting the governor's integrity by the
proffer of a bribe. General Murray answered the
detestable proposal in terms of indignant reproof, re-
minding the tempter of the regard due to the honour
of his own family, which was not, however, more illus-
trious than that of the General. The progress of the
siege was more honourable to de Crillon than its out-
set. By a judicious disposition of his force, he cut off
all supply from the country, and, by a well-directed
and incessant cannonade and bombardment, rendered
casemates and souterrains the only abodes of safety.
Although the care of the British government had sup-
plied all necessaries for subsistence and medicine, even
to profusion, the garrison, in consequence of the pri-
vation of vegetables, were afflicted with the scurvy,
which, attended with putrid fevers and dysentery,
raged with pestilential virulence. Their zeal produced
acts of uncommon heroism; a well-conducted and
spirited sally put them in possession of Cape Mola, de
Crillon's head-quarters; their batteries destroyed a
powder magazine, and sunk a ship freighted with ar-
tillery, bombs, and stores; but these temporary suc-
cesses were unavailing; and some unhappy differences
between the Governor and Lieutenant Governor ren-
dered defence still more hopeless. Disease became at
length too powerful for the efforts of medicine ; the
effective garrison was reduced to six hundred, and even
these could not long be kept from the hospital ; the
surgeons remonstrated to the Governor, that a further
delay of capitulation would only occasion the unavail-
ing sacrifice of a few devoted victims, whom an enlarged

GEORGE III. 325

scene of respiration and wholesome nutriment alone
could rescue from the jaws of death. The besiegers
readily granted honourable terms, and testified heroic . 1 78?.
regret at the sight of this brave band of invalids,
marching through their disproportioned ranks to pile
their arms. The indignation expressed by the garrison
in this last act of prostration, was recorded with honour-
able admiration by the enemy, who soon forgot that
title, and buried all semblance of hostility in generous
cares for the health, and liberal supplies to the neces-
sities of the vanquished.

Before these transactions occurred, the sitting of 20th Jan.
Parliament was resumed, and the operations of oppo- ^ n
sition commenced by a motion of Mr. Fox for an in- on the in
quiry into the ill success of the naval forces. If there
had remained in the House either nerve, honesty, or
independence, Mr. Fox declared he would have required
the removal of Lord Sandwich ; but such were the evil
effects of influence, that the understanding as well as
the heart of Parliament was poisoned. Opposition had
been accused, he said, of causing the continuance in
office of the first Lord of the Admiralty, by their fre-
quent efforts to remove him ; they had also been ac-
cused of leaguing with Dr. Franklin, with America,
with France, with Spain, and of contributing to the
independence of the colonies. Better would it have
been for Great Britain that they had supported Ame-
rica, France, Spain, and Holland, than that they had
leagued with administration. Without the uniform
aid of such a ministry, in vain would Franklin have
been wise, Washington brave, Maurepas, de Sartine,
and de Castries, vigilant, crafty, and politic ; in vain
might America have been firm, the House of Bourbon
full of resources, vigour and energy ; and in vain might
Holland, our ancient ally, have proved a powerful ad-
herent to our enemies. The inquiry for which he
moved would resolve itself into two parts ; whether the
first Lord of the Admiralty had the means of procur-
ing a navy equal to the exigencies of the state ; and
whether he employed the force he really possessed
with wisdom and ability. Mr. Fox then reviewed the

326 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

whole conduct of the navy, since 1775, shewing that,
in every instance, important expeditions had been
1782. neglected, deferred, or improvidently and inadequately
sustained. He dwelt on late transactions with pecu-
liar severity ; Rodney had indulged the country with
frequent promises that he would give a good account
of the enemy in the West Indies, while all his achiev-
ments amounted only to a few drawn battles. He
had been employed in the despicable plunder of St.
Eustatia, while Tobago was taken ; and the Admiral
could not find leisure to prevent the catastrophe of
Lord Cornwallis. But Kempenfelt's expedition was
the most abandoned of all ; he \vas sent with an in-
ferior force to intercept the enemy, while many ships
of war were employed in the less important service of
preventing the Dutch trade. Providence, our con-
stant friend, threw a few transports into his hands, and
dispersed others in a storm, and the Admiral returned
to port, instead of remaining to harass the French fleet
and impede their progress in an united, compact body.
Parliament had too long acted from their hopes, but
must now yield to their judgment, and no longer sport
with the feelings of a great, suffering nation, nor pre-
sume to ruin a people for the sake of an individual.

Captain John Luttrell explained several points in
which the public had been misled and deceived. Lord
Hawke, he said, had not left the navy in so flourishing
a situation as was represented ; neither was he in fault,
his efforts having been cramped by the parsimony of
Parliament. During Lord Sandwich's administration,
large and liberal supplies had been granted, and were
faithfully applied ; for never, since England had a navy,
were the yards so full of timber and stores. Yet he
would not contend that no mismanagement existed;
there were abundant errors in the conduct of the navy,
the first remedy for which would be the restoration of
harmony, confidence, and unanimity. Of old, when
an Anson, a Hawke, a Boscawen, a Saunders, and a
Keppel commanded, all was cordiality, affection, and
zeal ; the Admirals took pride in instructing their in-
feriors ; the road to improvement was open for all ; and

GEORGE III. 327

the differences of individuals were accommodated by
the intervention of their superiors. Now all was party,
disunion, and jealousy ; officers no longer had access 1782.
to the tables of their superiors ; they never met but
on duty, and consequently had no confidence in each
other. For this there was no remedy but calling into
service those veterans whose gallantry, skill, and ex-
perience were generally acknowledged ; as the present
commanders of fleets were, with few exceptions, but
young captains at the termination of last war. He
censured the inquiry as an impolitic measure, calcu-
lated only to keep alive the dissensions in the navy,
and to delude Parliament by the production of col-
lusive witnesses, who would, as formerly, laugh in the
lobby at their own successful impostures.

Lord Mulgrave defended the general conduct of
the naval war; and Mr. Fitzherbert imputed the
deficiency of the navy to the want of shipwrights.
The French had three thousand of these artificers at
Brest, while the King's yard at Portsmouth contained
only eight hundred. Thus the English ships were
slowly built ; and while materials abounded, labourers
could not be procured. The causes of this defect were
the low prices, and the small wages afforded in the
royal yards, compared with those of private ship-
builders.

Lord North declared that Lord Sandwich was no
less desirous than himself of a full and fair investi-
gation ; and the motion passed without a division, Cap-
tain Luttrell interposing his single negative. Several
animated debates were maintained respecting the
papers to be demanded from the Admiralty, in which
Mr. Pitt displayed his wonted eloquence, with a sur-
prising facility in the arrangement of business. All
the documents required were furnished, and, at the
first discussion of the committee, a call of the House
was ordered.

After the papers had been read, Mr. Fox, in an 7^ February.
eloquent speech, renewed the charges against Lord
Sandwich, and concluded by moving that, " during the
" year 1781, naval affairs had been grossly mis-

328

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

(HI A P.
XLIV.

1782.

Personal
motions in
both Houses.

31st January
and 4th Feb.

The Duke of
Richmond's
respecting
Colonel
Hayncs.
7th", llth Feb.
Motions tor
papers re-
specting
America.

Resignation of
Lord George
Germaine.

llth Feb.
9th Feb.
His peerage.

7th February.
Motions re-
specting it.

" managed." After an animated debate, the vote of
the committee, though favourable, was by no means
flattering to government, as an attendance of three
hundred and thirty-eight members produced in their
favour a majority of twenty-two only*.

The defection of the country gentlemen from the
cause of administration now inspired opposition with
the most sanguine hopes; and questions affecting
the conduct of ministers, and the characters of indi-
viduals connected with them, were brought forward
with diligence, and debated with increasing acrimony.
The Duke of Richmond, in making a motion respecting
the execution of Colonel Haynes, animadverted with
great severity on the conduct of Lord Raw T don and
Lieutenant-Colonel Balfour, respecting which, how-
ever, he afterwards made satisfactory explanations.
The Duke of Chandos demanded an inquiry into the
causes of the surrender at York Town, and copies of
the ministerial correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton
in the year 1781 ; both which propositions were,
after violent debates, agreed to ; but no consequences
resulted.

Lord George Germaine, disagreeing with other
members of the cabinet on the future conduct of the
war, resigned his office of Secretary of State for Ame-
rica, which was bestowed on Mr. Welbore Ellis, and
was raised to the peerage by the title of Lord Viscount
Sackville. On the report that this mark of royal
favour was intended, the Marquis of Carmarthen, not
prevented by the consideration of the severe prosecu-
tion of his ancestor, the Earl of Danby, moved that
" it was derogatory to the honour of the House of
" Lords that any person labouring under so heavy a
" sentence of a court-martial, and the consequent
" public orders, should be recommended to the Crown
" as worthy the dignity of peerage." The Lord-
Chancellor declared this motion irregular, disorderly,
and incompatible with parliamentary form ; and Lord
Denbigh objected to it as unprecedented. When

* 205 to 183.

GEORGE III. 329

the court-martial thus improperly alluded to was held,
a particular complexion of politics prevailed in the
cabinet; but, only four years afterward, the Rocking- 1732.
ham administration, most of the members of which
were now in opposition, had desired the restoration of
Lord George Germaine to his seat in the Privy-Coun-
cil ; a proof that they considered his advice of import-
ance to the State. Conceiving the motion derogatory
to the prerogative of the Crown, and altogether un-
necessary, he moved to adjourn. Several intemperate
speeches were made, reflecting on the conduct of Lord
George, and threatening him with impeachment ; the
right of the House to interfere was maintained by
Lord Shelburne ; but the motion of adjournment was
carried*.

When Lord Sackville took his seat, the'debate was isth February.
renewed, on a motion by the Marquis of Carmarthen
in nearly the same words as the former, and reciting,
at length, the sentence of the court-martial, and the
consequent public orders. The Marquis considered
these sufficiently notorious to render specific proofs un-
necessary. Lord Abingdon supported the motion in a
speech replete with ribaldry, declaring that the new
peer was foisted in upon the House, in defiance of
common sense and common decency, in contempt of
public virtue, and encouragement of every private vice.

Lord Sackville declared he knew not to whose
advice he was indebted for his peerage; but as the
sentence of a court-martial did not amount to a dis-
qualification, he was authorized to accept it. The
court-martial, he proceeded, sat three-and-twenty years
ago, when the prevalence of faction and clamour made
him the victim of unexampled persecution. He had
been condemned unheard, and punished before trial.
Although stripped of all his military honours and
emoluments on mere rumour, on the malicious sug-
gestions of his enemies, who were believed without
proof, he had challenged his accusers, he had provoked
inquiry, and, in the pride of conscious innocence, perse-

* 75 to 28.

330 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

vered in demanding a trial. Clamour and prejudice
had been assiduously encouraged during the sitting of
1782. the court-martial ; but it would not become him to re-
vise its proceedings, and he had submitted to the sen-
tence. He did not, however, object to a review of the
transaction ; on the contrary, he would risk his honour
and life on the decision of the House, or even of the
Marquis himself, as a man of honour. At present,
neither the charge, the defence, nor the evidence was
before the House, and yet they were called on to en-
force the sentence a second time. Such a proceeding
would add tenfold severity to the military law, by an-
nexing to its judgments the censure of a civil court.
But it was still more incompatible with justice to com-
bine with the sentence of the court-martial, the com-
ment added by the executive power. The court-
martial was competent to pronounce, and by that he
had been tried ; nor was he answerable for the terms
in which George II had descanted on the sentence.

Lord Southampton, who was one of the witnesses
on the trial, declared he was not actuated by faction ;
and the Duke of Richmond, who was at the battle of
Minden, though not examined as a witness on the
court-martial, asserted that the time lost by Lord
George Germaine was an hour and a half, a fact he
was particularly able to ascertain, " as he had his
" watch in his hand the whole time."

Lord Sackville was defended by Lord Walsingham
and Lord Stormont ; and the Lord Chancellor de-
clared that, whoever had advised the late King to
issue the orders mentioned in the motion, advised him
to act most unjustly, and to fix a stigma on the noble
Lord more severe than could be collected from the
sentence, or even from the charge against him. The
proposition being negatived by a large majority*, a
protest was subscribed by nine peers^, stating the
motion, sentence, and public orders, and declaring

* 93 to 28.

f- They were, the Marquis of Carmarthen, the Duke of Rutland, the Earls of
Pembroke, Craven, Chatham, Derby, and Egremont, the Duke of Devonshire,
and Earl of Abingdon.

GEORGE III. 331

that the elevation of Lord Sackville was a measure
fatal to the interests and glory of the Crown, and
dignity of Parliament ; an insult on the memory of 1732.
the late Sovereign, and every surviving branch of the
illustrious House of Brunswick.

The hope of mortifying the new peer by this in-
decent protest seems to have been the chief object of
the motion. Nothing but the extreme vindictiveness
of party rage could have impelled the avowed ad-
vocates of liberty to the adoption of arguments favour-
ing the unjust and slavish doctrine, that the opinion of
a King on the judgment of a military court was of
sufficient authority to bind his successors, and in-
fluence the proceedings of the legislature twenty
years after his disease.

As another individual favoured by government, i9thFeb.
General Arnold was exposed to severe censures. On Censures t

General

the commitment of the mutiny bill, Mr. Burke ex- Arnold.
pressed strong disapprobation at employing that officer
in the British army, as he was a rebel to rebels. His
services might be properly rewarded by a pecuniary
gift or pension ; but he ought never to be entrusted
with the power of committing fresh treasons.

These personal attacks were preparatory to a grand Renewed
general system of assault, projected by opposition, motion re-
conducted with perseverance and ability, and finally navy. mg
crowned with success. Mr. Fox renewed, in the House,
the motion he had lost in the committee, respecting
the mismanagement of the navy, declaring his effort
was not personally directed against Lord Sandwich, but
against the whole admiralty board. The motion was
seconded by Mr. Pitt; the number of the members
present was considerably greater than on the former
day, and the division still less gratifying to adminis-
tration, as the majority was only nineteen*.

While the members were in the lobby on this di- General
vision, Mr. Thomas Townshend gave notice that a ques- Con . wa y' s

., . motion

tion respecting the continuance 01 the American war against the
would be speedily agitated. Accordingly, on the next war>
sitting of the House, General Conway moved an ad- 22nd -

* 236 to 217.

332 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP. dress, imploring the King to consider the calamities

' '__ and heavy burdens occasioned by the war, and listen

1782. to the humble prayer and advice of the Commons,
that it might no longer be pursued on the continent of
North America, for the impracticable purpose of reduc-
ing the inhabitants by force, and promising to assist in
forwarding and rendering effectual a happy reconcili-
ation with the revolted colonies. In the present mo-
ment, the General observed, when there were certain
indications of a design to continue the war, he thought
it necessary to inquire of the new Secretary of State,
who, although not a young man, was a young minister,
what were his principles and sentiments respecting the
American war? The King in his speech had ex-
pressed a desire for peace ; and, it was said by persons
of good authority, that America was in the same dispo-
sition : the House ought to give effect to such desires ;
for the man who did not wish for peace, not only was
destitute of a heart, but did not possess a soul. Lord
John Cavendish seconded the motion, with strong cen-
sures on the war, and a solemn appeal to the feelings
of the House.

Mr. Welbore Ellis, without hesitation, answered
the call of General Conway, and presented what he
termed his profession of faith. He had always been
firmly of opinion, nor could events change it, that the
war was just in its origin ; but he never entertained a
notion that obedience could be procured by force. His
idea was, that in America there were many friends to
the British government ; and that, by strongly support-
ing them, the party or faction might be destroyed,
which from motives of ambition, or hatred of monarchy,
wished for war. That our friends were still numerous,
was a fact for which he would not pledge himself to
the House ; but he firmly, and for the best reasons,
believed it. No man could be more sincerely desirous
of peace ; he could endure war only as the means of
making that more happy, stable, safe, and permanent.
If a test was required of the views of ministry in con-
tinuing the war, it would be best afforded by the esti-
mates, which made no allowance for recruiting the

GEORGE III. 333

army. But he could never consider it the best way of
procuring peace, to withdraw the troops from the
enemy's country, and rid him of those alarms by which 1782.
men are rendered solicitous for the return of tranquil-
lity. Such conduct would be equivalent to a declara-
tion of despair, an offer of a carte blanche ; but to
make the Americans feel the incoveniences, hardships,
and burdens of war, was the most certain way to in-
spire a wish for its cessation. He exposed the absur-
dity of using so vague a term as American war ; the
whole continental army was fed, clothed, and paid by
France. Mere locality did not give a name to a war ;
and this might therefore be considered a French war.
If France was fought during the last war in Germany,
why not now in America'? The motion seemed to
imply that the British troops should be withdrawn : if
the House considered the times ripe for such a decla-
ration, they must make it ; but the present motion was
replete with ambiguity. Ministers could never act
with effect, either in war or peace, unless they pos-
sessed the confidence of Parliament ; if they could not
gain that confidence, they ought to retire ; but, till that
measure became necessary, they ought to be left to the
free exercise of their discretion, to avail themselves of
all contingencies, and not crippled by orders, which the
interest of the public might compel them to disobey.

Mr. Burke ridiculed this " confession of faith,"
comparing it with other confessions of the same nature,
intelligible only to those who were gifted with an in-
ternal light. A confession more obscure, confused,
intricate, and absurd, was perhaps never framed and
published for the delusion and calamity of mankind;
like other unintelligible confessions, it could be sup-
ported only by miracles. The only new idea was, that
locality signified nothing in war ; and thus a peerage
was bestowed on one who had dismembered his coun-
try, merely that an American might be converted into
a French war. Mr. Burke expatiated on the delusion
of this argument, and the ruinous consequences of op-
posing the arms of France on the continent of Ame-
rica, where our expenses were to her's in the proper-

334

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
1782.

Altercation
between Lord

tion of twenty to one. The new plan of Mr. Ellis
was, in fact, no other than the old system of his prede-
cessor. The late secretary, though called by patent to
the upper House, was still to be found in effigy in his
old seat. The new minister was his universal legatee,
who inherited, on Lord Sackville's political death, all
his plans, projects, and measures, nay, his ideas, lan-
guage, and words. He had succeeded to his hopes,
his intelligence, his knowledge of our numerous friends
in America, and his ignorance of every thing tending
to peace. Mr. Burke exposed, from experience at
Saratoga and York Town, the folly of relying on
American friends ; and the absurdity was heightened
by considering the manner in which they were aban-
doned by the last capitulation ; nor was he less severe
on the requisition of confidence by men still determined
to persevere in this mad and impolitic war. He con-
cluded by declaring that no contingencies favourable
to Great Britain could arise till a change was made in
the system.

Several other members spoke on the question with
great ability, principally dilating the arguments already
used : the division afforded to ministry the melancholy
majority of a single vote*.

Anticipating a complete triumph, and conceiving
that financial arrangements alone could delay the ac-
cession of opposition to office, Mr. Fox, immediately
after the division, censured Lord North's delay in
opening the budget, and was informed the business
was fixed for the twenty-fifth.

Colonel Barre expressed surprise that Lord North
could behave in so scandalous and indecent a manner ;
after having, by every oppression, scourged the people
to the last drop of blood, he wished to scourge from
them that also. His conduct was scandalous, indecent,
and insulting ; he had attained such a pitch, that he
seemed to think the House met for no other purpose
than that of granting taxes.

Lord North, unusually incensed at this unprovoked

194 to 193.

GEORGE 111. 335

and unexpected attack, replied with greath warmth ;
he supposed the large minority of that evening had
inflamed the Colonel's courage to such an intemperance 1782.
of abuse ; his language towards him had always been
far from decent, but now it was insolent and brutal.
The clamour of the House obliged the Speaker to in-
terfere, and the minister, recovering his wonted good
humour, made handsome apologies, both to the House
and the individual offended. Colonel Barre, equally
sensible of his own intemperance, also apologized.
He differed with the noble Lord, he said, in politics,
and contemned him as a minister ; but, as a private
gentleman, sincerely esteemed him. In that character,
he should be less disposed to offer uncivil language to
him than to any man living. Such were the effects of
intemperate party-rage.

Although the members of opposition were an- 25th Feb. and
xious that the minister should complete the unpopular ^JJjf;^
task of taxation before he was compelled to abdicate, the new taxes.
yet they omitted no endeavour to render his exertions
unpopular, and to censure the manner, no less than
the occasion, of imposing burthens on the public. Mr.
Fox, decrying the terms of the loan, and accusing the
minister of making corrupt bargains, for the purpose
of affording douceurs to contractors, placemen, and
members of Parliament, observed, that as he had
brought the nation to the eve of a bankruptcy, it was
of small importance for what particular sum the insol-
vency should be declared. Mr. Burke, animadverting
on the difficulty of proposing taxes, observed, with his
accustomed felicity of satire, that, on looking over the
blessed fruits of Lord North's administration, he found
the country loaded with ten new taxes : beer, wine,
soap, leather, horses, coaches, post-chaises, post-horses,
stamps, and servants ; recollecting that he had omitted
sugar in this enumeration, he observed, that since St.
Christopher's was lost, and Barbadoes and Jamaica
must probably follow, the omission was of small im-
portance, as we should soon have no sugar to tax.
" What fresh burthen," he proceeded, " can the noble
" Lord add to this unhappy nation ? We are taxed in

336

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLIV.

1781.

27th Feb.
General
Conway's
second mo-
tion.

Lord North.

" riding and in walking, in staying at home and in
" going abroad, in being masters or in being servants,
" in drinking wine or in drinking beer ; in short, in
" every way possible." But, viewing the account in a
mercantile form, he must acknowledge that, for a hun-
dred millions of money, we had purchased a full equi-
valent in disaster. If we were debtor, by loss, in that
sum of money, we were also creditor, by loss, in a hun-
dred thousand men, thirteen continental provinces,
besides St. Vincent's, Grenada, Dominica, Tobago,
St. Christopher's, Senegal, Pensacola, and Minorca ;
worth, at a moderate computation, four millions and a
half annually.

Five days after his first triumphant failure, General
Con way again appealed to the House on the subject of
the war, by moving, " that the further prosecution of
" offensive hostilities, for the purpose of reducing the
" revolted colonies to obedience by force, would weaken
" the efforts of Great Britain against her European
' enemies, increase the mutual enmity so fatal both to
' Great Britain and America, and, by preventing a
' happy reconciliation with that country, frustrate the
' desire expressed by his Majesty of restoring the bles-
' sings of peace and tranquillity." The General's in-
troductory speech was chiefly composed of answers to
the arguments against his former motion. He depre-
cated every mode of warfare hitherto carried on, and
wished only for a war of posts, excluding all exertion,
except for self-defence, illustrating his opinion by the
sorties of General Elliot from Gibraltar, and General
Murray from Fort St. Philip. In this debate, several
of the country gentlemen, and some official adherents,
declared their resolution to divide against the Minister;
and the opposition, confident of a majority, were al-
ready clamorous for the question ; when Lord North,
with some difficulty, obtained a hearing.

If the object of the motion was peace, he observed,
the votes on the question would be unanimous ; the
wish of peace was nearest to his heart ; but he was
convinced the means hitherto suggested were more
likely to retard than accelerate the event. No one

GEORGE III. 337

had ventured to intimate that the troops should be
withdrawn ; such a proposition would be generally con-
demned; and Ministers had already declared they did 178-2.
not intend to replace the captured army. If, however,
the House remained unsatisfied with this pledge, and
suspected the sincerity, ability, or integrity of Ministers,
those sentiments were not to be expressed by the pre-
sent motion ; an address for their removal would be
the only proper measure. A minister ought to be like
Caesar's wife ; not only exempt from guilt, but above
suspicion. If the confidence of Parliament was with-
drawn, it would be his duty to resign the seal of office
into the hands of his Sovereign, and retire. He then
explained, with great ability, the impediments to peace
while the connexion between France and America still
subsisted. Even the proposition of a truce was replete
with difficulty; the existing acts of parliament, the
necessity of legislative interference, the confiscation of
American property ; all these were points requiring
the greatest delicacy. . He admitted the motion to be
constitutional, but recommended a short delay, to con-
vince the House that Ministers were sincere in their
intention not to recruit the army in America.

Mr. Wallace, the Attorney-General, proceeded on
the same principles, declaring his intention to bring
in a bill enabling Ministers to treat on the basis of a
truce, and moved an adjournment of the debate.

This attempt was combated by several leaders of
opposition : Mr. Pitt was particularly severe on the
motion of adjournment, and, on the ground of Lord
North's own declaration, urged the House, by every
consideration of duty or prudence, to withdraw con-
fidence from the present administration. " Was there
" a promise," he asked, " which they had not falsified ?
" Was there a plan in which they agreed 1 Did any
" two of them accord in any specific doctrine 1 No !
" there was an incessant variation : a shuffling and
" tricking pervaded their whole conduct, and in them
" Parliament could place no trust."

The division, on the motion of adjournment, left The Minister
VOL. in. z

338

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLIV.

1782.

in a minority.
4th March.
Second ad-
dress.

The Attorney-

the Minister in a minority of nineteen*, and the ori-
ginal question was carried without a division. The
King having returned an answer conformable to the
terms of this address, General Conway, after echoing
back the very words in a motion of thanks, made an
experiment on the disposition of Ministers to resign,
by moving, " that the House would consider as ene-
" mies to the King and country, all who should advise,
" or by any means attempt the further prosecution of
" offensive war, for the purpose of reducing the re-
" volted colonies by force."

Lord North disappointed the hopes of opposition,
by declaring, that in pursuance of the address, and of
the King's answer, he should use every effort to fulfil
their orders, relying on their further instruction, if he
appeared to misapprehend their intentions. He con-
sidered the motion unnecessary, as it only reinforced
declarations already sufficiently strong.

Mr. Fox rose in great indignation, to expose the
impracticability of a cabinet conforming to the instruc-
tions of Parliament, if contrary to their own judgment,
He thanked God the late resolutions of the House
had broken, destroyed, and annihilated that corruption
which formed the basis of the present system, a system
which must now soon crumble to pieces. Ministers
surely could not be so profligate as to proceed after the
late intelligence, that Minorca was captured ; and that,
by the loss of St. Christopher's, Jamaica was become
our only remaining West India possession. Where
did they mean to stop? When would they confess
they had done enough? From his soul he believed
such was their accursed obstinacy, that even when
they had lost nine-tenths of the King's dominions,
they would not be satisfied till they had mangled and
destroyed the last miserable tenth also.

Ministers not venturing to divide the House, the
motion was agreed to.

The efforts of both parties were now visibly directed

* 234 to '215.

GEORGE III. 339

CHAP.

only to the acquisition or retention of official situation. XLIV
The Attorney-General submitted to a committee of the

whole House his proposition for a peace or truce with 1782.
America, explaining the difficulties, and suggesting fo^ace! bl
means of removing them. Mr. Fox declared the 5th March.
motion deserving only of contempt ; Ministers had no
wish for peace ; nothing but flagellation and correc-
tion could drive them to entertain a thought on the
subject. If they were sincere, what made them reject
the proffered mediation of Spain ; what made them
reject the mediation offered in the course of the pre-
ceding year I He would even inform them, that there
were persons in Europe fully empowered to make peace
between Great Britain and America, but who would
not negotiate with such an administration. Our affairs
were so circumstanced that they must lose their places,
or their country be undone. He, as a friend to his
country, would, if properly authorized, conduct the
transaction, even as an under commis or messenger ;
but he desired it to be understood, that he did not
mean to connect himself with any of the Ministers ;
''from the moment when he should make any terms with
" one of them, he would rest satisfied to be called the most
" infamous of mankind : he could not for an instant
" think of a coalition with men, who in every public and
" private transaction, as Ministers, had shewn themselves
" void of every principle of honour and honesty : in the
" hands of such men he would not trust his honour, even
"for a minute*."

Lord North explained the manner in which me-
diations had been offered, and answered Mr. Fox's
insinuations against his honour with becoming dis-
dain. He would not, he added, relinquish his office
merely because so much eagerness was shewn to expel
him ; but, as he had hitherto retained it to prevent
confusion and the introduction of unconstitutional
principles into government, he would not resign but
when commanded by the King, or when the House

* Subsequent events rendered these expressions peculiarly memorable.

z 2

340

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLIV.

1782.

8th March.
Lord John
Cavendish's
motion
against the
Ministry.

15th.
Sir John
Rous's mo-
tion.

should, in the clearest manner, indicate the propriety
of his withdrawing.

Mr. Fox, in handsome terms, explained the expres-
sions he had applied to Lord North as not designed to
affect his private character, or the parts of his public
conduct, relating to pecuniary affairs, which were free
from every imputation. He then ridiculed the resolu-
tion to remain in office, and was surprised that the few
days which had elapsed since he declared his willing-
ness to resign whenever the confidence of Parliament
was withdrawn, should produce such a change in his
sentiments. The Attorney-General's motion was agreed
to without a division.

The next effort to bring this anxious contest to a
conclusion was made by Lord John Cavendish, who
moved a series of resolutions declaratory of the dura-
tion, losses, and expenses of the war, in which Great
Britain was engaged without an ally, and imputing all
those misfortunes to the want of foresight and ability
in Ministers. A long debate produced no novelty of
argument or assertion ; but its termination was con-
trary to the hopes of opposition, as the Minister had a
majority of ten*.

After the lapse of a week, Sir John Rous renewed
the attack on administration, by moving a resolution,
" That, considering the expense, the loss of thirteen
" colonies, and other losses incurred by the war, the
" House could no longer repose confidence in the pre-
" sent Ministers." Lord North was, on this occasion,
strenuously supported, not only by his usual defen-
ders, but by several country gentlemen. His abilities,
integrity, and incorruption, were acknowledged on all
sides ; and if the American war could be justly con-
sidered as the cause of all public calamities, neither
the origin nor the ill success of that war, it was said,
could fairly be attributed to him. Could Parliament
forget the stamp act, and the declaratory act, not less
offensive to the Americans "? Had not the whole nation

* The division was on a motion for the order of the day Ayes 220, Noes 216.

GEORGE III. 341

maintained the right of sovereignty over America ; X*LIV
and all that was great in England sanctified the idea

with their suffrage and authority 1 Had not Lord 1782.
Chatham himself declared, that if America should
manufacture a stocking, or so much as forge a hob-nail,
he would let fall on her the whole weight of British
power "? Thus had the principle of the war been held
by Mr. Grenville in the stamp act, the Marquis of
Rockingham in the declaratory act, and by Lord Chat-
ham in his speech on the latter subject. The great
cause of ill success was the countenance given in that
House to American rebellion : General Washington's
army had been called by opposition our army ; the
cause of the Americans, the cause of liberty ; and they
had been encouraged to persevere , under confidence
that they had in the British senate a strong favouring
party. Encomiums had been lavished on Dr. Franklin
and Mr. Laurens ; some members would prefer a
prison graced with their society, to freedom in com-
pany with those who supported the cause of England*.
If the present ministers should retire, could any man
venture to surmise what new system would be intro-
duced ? Were their probable successors so thoroughly
united among themselves as to form any system of
government ? One was desirous of septennial, another
of triennial, and a third of annual parliaments. One
member of the upper House recommended a diminu-
tion of influence without infringing on the dignity,
splendour, or prerogative of the Crown ; while another
of equal character was for abrogating influence, even
at the expense of prerogative. Lord North, it was ob-
served, whether he retired, or was expelled from office,
would exhibit to the nation the phenomenon of an ex-
minister lending support to government, and not
endeavouring to thwart, puzzle, and perplex public
measures.

Sir James Marriott contested the assertion that we
had lost thirteen . colonies ; they were not yet, but

* Alluding to an expression of Burke, in the debate on the treatment of
Laurens.

342 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

soon m i&ht be, l s t D y eagerness and precipitation.
Too much forwardness to embrace peace would only

IT J

i?8'2. further remove it from our grasp. The wisdom of
private life was applicable to public concerns, and
surely a good bargain or advantageous purchase was
never expected to result from the display of intempe-
rate solicitude. He vindicated the characters of ad-
ministration, repeating, on his own knowledge, the
observation of the Earl of Bristol, two days before his
death*, that if any but a professional man was fit to
preside at the Admiralty, it was Lord Sandwich. Sir
James, it is said, subjected himself to considerable
ridicule by a technical proof of the justice of the war,
implying that, if representation was necessary to give
the right of taxation, the thirteen provinces were
represented by the members for the county of Kent,
since in their charters they were declared to be part
and parcel of the manor of Greenwich.

Lord North, in a most able speech, defended his
own character and administration. He did not object
to the present motion so much as to that of the pre-
ceding week ; it was divested of anger, its terms mo-
derate, and its intent clear and defined. He sincerely
wished for peace, and for such an administration as
could act with unanimity and effect for the national
good. He would be no obstacle to a coalition of
parties, for the formation and adjustment of a new
cabinet in which he should have no place.

This idea was strenuously enforced by Mr. Dundas,
and warmly reprobated by Mr. Pitt, who defined a
coalition to be a collection and combination of all the
abilities, integrity, and judgment of several parties,
and turning the united exertion to the service and sal-
vation of the country. The administration had been
one of influence and intrigue ; he thanked God it was
likely to terminate, but trusted the House would not
contaminate its own purpose by suffering the present
ministers to manage the nomination of their suc-

* It is to be remembered that the Earl of Bristol was one of Lord Sandwich's
greatest opponents. He died in December, 1779.

GEORGE III. 343

cessors. It was the prerogative of the Crown to ap-
point ministers; neither did it become the House to
settle who were to hold places, or adjust and investi- 1782.
gate the measure to be pursued.

The motion was rejected by a majority of nine*.

Mr. Fox gave notice to his party that a new pro- V or i d North

^ * * * ciGCliircs ci

position to the same effect would be speedily made ; change of
and, oil the appointed day, an unusual number of S^March
members and a great crowd of auditors attended.
Lord Surrey presented himself to make a motion,
which Lord North, after some clamour, was permitted
to anticipate, by declaring " that his Majesty's mi-
" nisters were no more." After some further dis-
cussion, occasioned by a profession of doubting Lord
North's assertion, he obtained leave to move an ad-
journment for five days, when Lord Surrey might, if
he deemed it necessary, proceed with his motion.

He then made his valedictory address as minister, His farewell
thanking the House for the kind, the repeated, the S]
essential support he had so long received from the
Commons of England, while holding a situation to
which he had at all times confessed himself unequal.
To that House he owed whatever he had been ; his
conduct within those walls having recommended him
to his sovereign. He thanked them for their partiality
on all, their forbearance on many occasions. The
mortifications he had lately experienced in the House
could not make him forget their general support through
a service of many years continuance ; the recollection of
which he should ever cherish as the principal honour
of his life. After dwelling some time on these and
similar topics, he said whatever might be the extent
of the motion intended by Lord Surrey, no evil could
arise from a short delay. He was conscious of his
responsibility for the trust which he had so long re-
tained, and should neither endeavour to shelter himself,
nor avoid enquiry.

The exultation expressed by the opponents of the
late administration, called forth the animadversions of

* 230 to 227.

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

Mr. Burke, who employed his eloquence in recom-
mending a more temperate conduct, exhorting his as-
1782. sociates to guard against their desires, their self-
opinions, their vanity, their avarice, their lust of power,
and all the worst passions which disfigure the human
mind, and pointing out the vast expectations which
their own declarations had entitled the public to form,
and the immense difficulties they had bound themselves
to surmount.

Many of the former supporters of Lord North
shewed, as might be expected, at least coldness toward
him in his altered fortune ; yet many bore honourable
testimony to his merits, and vindicated their past con-
duct by honest and unsuspected professions of perma-
nent esteem. Sir John Hussey Delaval paid a manly
tribute of this kind ; and Mr. Courtenay, though fre-
quently interrupted by turbulent clamours, pronounced
an enconium on Lord North, mixed with severe sar-
casms against the triumphant party. He had always
supported the late minister, he said, from a persuasion
of the rectitude of his intentions, and on that point
his conviction had never been shaken. If, from un-
toward circumstances, some of his measures had not
been crowned with success, his whole conduct had
displayed a sincere anxiety for the prosperity of the
country. His amiable and engaging disposition had
procured him many friends, his unrivalled wit many
admirers; his unassuming manners (though he had
held so lofty a situation for twelve years) had pre-
vented his having any enemies ; his forbearing temper
was seldom irritated ; and when he was provoked, his
manly warmth did honour to his feelings. " These
" panegyrics," he said, " cannot be censured as ill-
" timed at this moment,

" When interest calls off all her sneaking train,
" When all the oblig'd desert, and yet complain."

" On this occasion he could freely pardon the exul-
" tation, triumph, and interruption of the conquering
" party ; but he could not form a more sanguine wish
" for the happiness of the country, than that in this day

GEORGE III. 345

" of difficulty, calamity and distress, an administration
" might be formed as able, disinterested, and upright,
" but more fortunate, than that of Lord North." 1782.

In this active contest the lords had yet taken no ? 2d <i M sh i
share : the Earl of Shelburne had obtained a summons
of the House on an intended motion for the removal
of ministers; but, before the appointed day, the cabi-
net had surrendered. On his apology for not present-
ing the intended proposition, nothing remarkable
occurred, but a manly speech from Lord Stormont, who,
in Lord North's name as well as his own, defied crimi-
nation and courted inquiry. He made an ardent
eulogy on Lord North, whose character, he said, had
conquered even envy : to the most splendid talents he
added an incessant zeal for the public good and the
glory of his sovereign ; the most perfect disinterested-
ness, and an integrity which even slander had not
dared to tarnish.

Such was the close of the first permanent adminis-
tration formed during the reign of George III. From
the prime minister the acts of government took their
character; and, in speaking of him, his most inveterate
opponents never accused his warmest friends of exagge-
ration. Of his character and attainments when he was
raised to the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer, men-
tion has already been made, and what would remain for
history to record has been in a great degree anticipated.
His eloquence was less distinguished by splendour of
diction, than by suavity, perspicuity, and arrangement.
The impression of his harangues was aided by an ex-
traordinary degree of candour, and ingenuous confi-
dence, which were known to be unassumed, and con-
vinced the hearers of the purity of his motives, when
they did not assent to the propriety of his measures.
His temper was seldom ruffled ; and although reiterated
attacks sometimes extorted a sarcastic sally, and in one
recent instance a severe, but merited reprehension, his
wit, of which he possessed an uncommon fecundity,
never left on the minds, even of those whom he over-
whelmed with ridicule, a sentiment of rancour. His
honour was unblemished, his integrity unquestionable ;

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

and "in a long and stormy, and, at length, an unfor-
" tunate administration, he had many political oppo-
1782. " nents, almost without a personal enemy*." Ihese
estimable qualities were supposed to be in some degree
counteracted by too great a facility in adopting the
suggestions of others ; the absence of that strictness or
severity which is often necessary to enforce and ensure
exertion, gave the appearance of procrastination ; and
a consequent want of energy seemed to pervade the
other departments of administration. The absence of
all selfishness in his character w r as proved by his hav-
ing never derived pecuniary benefit from the situations
he held, or the patronage he commanded ; he declared
with truth, in one of the debates, that he came into
office a poor man, and should leave it still more poor.
The King, who felt a warm regard for the personal
character of the minister, and, on his retreat, expressed
himself in terms of affection toward him, sensible
that, by continuing unwillingly in office, he had in-
creased his pecuniary embarrassments, generously al-
leviated the difficulties he had unintentionally occa-
sioned, by a spontaneous donation from his own purse
of thirty thousand pounds^.

* Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. vii. 8vo. Preface,
t From private information.

GEORGE III. 347

CHAPTER THE FORTY-FIFTH.
17811782.

View of the new ministry measures they had resolved to ex-
ecute before they came into office. Affairs of Ireland.
Meeting of delegates of volunteers. Recall of Lord Car-
lisle. The Duke of Portland Lord Lieutenant. Motion of
Mr. Eden in the British Parliament. King's message.
Declaration of rights voted by the Irish Parliament. Mr.
Grattan's celebrated speech. Consequent proceedings in
England. Efforts for limiting influence. Contractors' bill.
Revenue officers' bill. Resolutions respecting the Mid-
dlesex election rescinded. Disfranchisement of Cricklade.
Bill compelling the holders of patent offices to reside.
Exertions of clubs and public bodies for a reform of Par-
liament. Mr. Pitt's motion. Exertions respecting eco-
nomy. King's message. Burke's bill passes in an altered
state. Arrears of the civil list discharged. Efforts at paci-
fication. Mr. Grenville sent to Paris. Death of the Mar-
quis of Rockingham. Change of the ministry. Proroga-
tion of Parliament. King's speech. Shelburne adminis-
tration.

THE new cabinet was thus composed: the Mar- CHAP.
quis of Rockingham (from whom it was called the
Rockingham administration), first Lord of the Trea- 1782
sury ; Lord John Cavendish, Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer ; Admiral Keppel, now raised to the dignity view of the
of Viscount, first Lord of the Admiralty; the Duke n
of Grafton, Lord Privy Seal ; Earl Camden, President
of the Council ; the Duke of Richmond, Master-Gene-
ral of the Ordnance, and a knight of the garter ; the
Earl of Shelburne and Mr. Fox, joint Secretaries of
State; General Conway, Commander-in-Chief ; and

348 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

Mr. Dunning, created Lord Ashburton, Chancellor of
the duchy of Lancaster. The only member of the
1782. late administration who retained a seat in the cabinet,
was the Lord Chancellor, Thurlow, whose elevation
had proceeded from the express recommendation of the
King.

Several other departments were filled by persons
of eminent rank and talent ; among the most conspicu-
ous of whom were the Duke of Portland, Lord-Lieu-
tenant of Ireland ; Mr. Burke, paymaster-general of
the forces, and a privy councillor ; Mr. Thomas Towns-
hend, Secretary at War; Colonel Barre, Treasurer
of the Navy ; Mr. Sheridan, under Secretary of State ;
Sir William Howe, Lieutenant-General of the Ord-
nance ; his brother, created a viscount, was appointed
to command the grand fleet ; the honourable Thomas
Pelham was Surveyor-General of the Ordnance ; the
Duke of Manchester, Lord Chamberlain; and the
Earl of Effingham, Treasurer of the Household. Mr.
Kenyon was Attorney, Mr. John Lee Solicitor-Gene-
ral ; and Sir Fletcher Norton soon afterward obtained
a peerage, by the title of Lord Grantly.

Their opinions This administration comprised sufficient integrity
and talents. and talent to justify the ardent hopes of the public;
but, from the heterogeneous nature of the materials,
many perceived that the edifice could not be durable.
The strange combination of parties had been described
in the House of Commons by an expressive metaphor,
" a rope of sand* ;" and, even in the moment of their
triumph over Lord North, their discordances of opinion
produced, in two instances, smart animadversions and
explanatory declaration sf.

Mr. Fox, although not nominally the head, was
generally regarded as the principal person in adminis-
tration ; his talents and his popularity placed him at
such a distance from his associates, that, had his dispo-
sition been infected with the slightest taint of arro-
gance, he might have maintained, by the force of pub-

* See Debates, 6th March, 1 782.

t See Debates, 4th and 20th March, 1782.

GEORGE III. 349

lie opinion, an uncontrolled sovereignty in the cabinet ;
but, although he was superior to the little arts of ex-
clusion, his impetuosity in enforcing, and inflexibility in 1783.
maintaining, his opinions were frequent subjects of
complaint. Some members of administration were
personally odious to each other. Lord Thurlow, by a
long course of contest in both Houses, had attracted
peculiar dislike ; and from his manly, unbending tem-
per, the ministry expected impediment rather than
support. Perhaps he was only suffered to retain his
place from the difficulty of adjusting the rival claims
of the jurisprudential members of the new ministry.
Mr. Fox, some time before the overthrow of the late
cabinet, acknowledged that his adherents detested
Lord Thurlow's sentiments on the constitution ; but
added, they did not mean to proscribe him*. Of Lord
Shelburne, Mr. Fox professed not to entertain a better
opinion ; while speaking in terms of affectionate vene-
ration of Lord Rockingham, he described Lord Shel-
burne's character as the exact reverse, and declared that
his repugnance to an association in office with him and
Lord Thurlow was only overcome by the satisfactory
pledge for the integrity of administration, afforded by
the ascendancy of the Marquis. An instance of the
mutual jealousy and dislike of the two parties in ad-
ministration was shewn in the late elevation of indivi-
duals. It is the province of the prime minister to
" take the King's pleasure" with respect to the crea-
tion of peers; but Mr. Dunning received that honour
on the advice of Lord Shelburne, without the know-
ledge of Lord Rockingham ; but as soon as the fact was
disclosed to the Marquis, he deemed it necessary to ele-
vate another lawyer to the House of Peers, and ob-
tained the honour for Sir Fletcher Nortonf.

The particular measures in which the administra- Measures
tion agreed, before their accession to power, were stated the y ^ d
by two of the principal members to be: first, an offer
to America of unconditional independence, as the basis

8th March.

f From private information.

350

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV.

1782.

Affairs of
Ireland.

Volunteers.

1781.

9th October.
Transactions
in the Irish
Parliament.

of a negotiation for peace ; secondly, the establishment
of economy, by means of Mr. Burke's bill ; and thirdly,
the annihilation of influence over either branch of the
legislature*.

Before either of these measures could be brought
forward, ministers were compelled, by imperious cir-
cumstances, to adopt and mature a fourth, " that of
" securing the freedom of Ireland, in the most unequi-
" vocal and decisive mannerf ." The weakness of the
British government in Ireland and strength of the
assertors of their independence on the British parlia-
ment, inspired the party, called patriots, with ardent
hopes of obtaining important concessions. Their views
were favoured and their arguments strengthened by
the striking fact, that, in no less than five statutes which
had lately passed the English parliament, Ireland was
expressly mentioned. If it had been argued that the
claim of right alone was not worth a contest, this prac-
tical exertion of it furnished an irresistible answer.
County and other popular meetings were held, ad-
dresses voted, and instructions given to members for
asserting the independence of the Irish legislature,
extinguishing the powers reserved to the privy-council
under Poyning's law, procuring a habeas corpus act,
establishing the independence of judges, abolishing
sinecure places, inquiring into the expenditure of the
public money, securing the freedom of trade, and
revising the act for equalizing duties ; and, as the best
means of obtaining these ends, the members were in-
structed not to concur in granting supplies for a longer
period than six months.

The volunteer associations lent a powerful aid to
these movements, being encouraged in proportion as
they displayed a disposition to co-operate in them.
The inability of government to afford the succours
which had been required for the north of Ireland
caused the formation of those bands ; their extension
was aided by novelty and the love of display, and by

* See the speeches of the Duke of Richmond and General Conway ; Debates,
9th and 10th of July, 1782.

t General Comvay's speech, 10th of July.

GEORGE III. 351

those who sagaciously foresaw how much political in-
fluence would be the result. Soon they began to ac-
quire discipline and confidence, formed themselves into i?8i.
regiments and brigades, procured cannon and field
equipages, and formed companies of artillery. They
accepted no pay, clothed themselves in uniforms of
various colours, elected their own officers, and some-
times cashiered them for misconduct ; and, when suffi-
cient arms could no longer be obtained by purchase
or exportation, government, reluctantly perhaps, sup-
plied the deficiency ; and the exchanged prisoners
or invalids who returned from America were effectually
courted to afford instruction. The original cause of
this association, the fear of invasion, had disappeared,
or was merged in considerations of higher political im-
portance : the separate bodies corresponded with each
other, and formed such an union as gave them not
merely weight, but preponderance in the kingdom.
The volunteers of the metropolis gave themselves sta-
bility and importance by selecting the Duke of Leinster
for their general and commander. Other district
generals were appointed ; four provincial armies were
organized, and the general command of the Leinster
army was accepted by Lord Charlemont, a nobleman
whose temper, moderation, and prudence were highly
beneficial to both countries. The importance of this
confidence may be judged of from the fact that there
were, at this time, only five thousand regular troops in
the country, while the volunteers were one hundred
thousand*.

During the recess, some alterations had been ef- 1781.
fected in the government. The Earl of Carlisle had
succeeded the Earl of Buckinghamshire; and, Sir
Richard Heron retiring from the post of chief secretary,
his station was conferred on Mr. Eden. The Lord-
Lieutenant, in opening the session, said, in the course
of his speech, that nothing could more contribute to
the public security than the general concurrence with

* Plowden's History of Ireland, vol. i. pp. 487, 517, 5G3. Jonah Barring-
ton's Historic Memoirs, vol. i. pp. 47, 11 1, 153 to I 59. Grattan's Memoirs of
Henry Grattan, vol. i. p. 180, 220.

352

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV.

1781.

10th October.

13th Nov.

8th Dec.

which the late spirited offers of assistance had been
presented from every part of the kingdom, and his con-
viction that, if necessary, he could have called into
action all the strength and spirit of a brave and loyal
people, eager to be employed in aid of his Majesty's
regular forces for the public defence. This acknow-
ledgment displeased Mr. Grattan, a distinguished
patriot. He adverted, with spleen, to the manner in
which the loyal exertions of the Irish were commended
from the throne, while the volunteers were not ex-
pressly mentioned. He wished he could reconcile
royal ears to that salutary and wholesome name. No
amendment on the address was moved ; and, after it
had been carried, thanks were unanimously voted to all
the volunteers, for their exertions and continuance, and
loyal and spirited declarations. A similar proposition
was offered in the upper House, where Lord Bella-
mont, the only dissentient, distinguished between their
services and their establishment; he honoured their
zeal and admired their gallantry ; he would lead them
with confidence, accompany them with affection ; with
them he would be foremost in the breach, last on the
mine ; but he would not perpetuate a claim which was
without legal foundation : he valued them as the
purest bullion, but would not recognize them as ster-
ling, until they received the stamp of majesty.

In pursuance of the popular instructions, Mr.
Grattan offered a bill to explain, amend, and limit
the mutiny act. His motion was rejected, but renewed
early in the ensuing month by Lord Arran, and evaded
by a motion of delay for six months. Six peers joined
in a protest, declaring that the measure would have
been equally beneficial to Great Britain and Ireland.
Several other attempts were made to effect extensive
alterations in the government, and secure what was
deemed the independence of Ireland. Free trade, the
habeas corpus act, and Poyning's law, afforded oppor-
tunities for making motions and bringing into discus-
sion unusual topics, to which the bad news from Ame-
rica, and the general state of the British Government,
gave opportunity and encouragement.

GEORGE III.

353

On the failure of these efforts, the volunteers of the
province of Ulster, having previously determined to be
represented by delegates, assembled at Dungannon, J782.
and assumed a deliberative character, of which they Meeti^s of
affirmed themselves not to be deprived by associating the delegates
in arms. They passed resolutions adjusting many im*
portant points of government ; the claim of any body of
men, other than the King, Lords, and Commons of Ire-
land, to legislate for that kingdom ; the powers exer-
cised by the privy councils of both kingdoms, under
colour of the law of Poynings ; all burdens or obstruc-
tions impeding their trade with neutral countries, im-
posed by any other power than the Parliament of Ire-
land ; a mutiny bill not limited in duration from ses-
sion to session ; and the refusal or delay of the right
to secure the independence of judges, and impartial
administration of justice, were declared unconstitu-
tional, illegal, and grievances. They further announced
their unalterable determination to seek redress, and
pledged themselves to each other, and to their country,
not to countenance any candidate at any ensuing
election, who had not supported, or would not support,
their resolutions. They resolved the right of private
judgment in matters of religion, to be equally sacred
in all; and therefore, as Irishmen, Christians, and
Protestants, rejoiced in the relaxation of the penal
laws against the Roman Catholics, conceiving the
measure to be fraught with the happiest consequences
to the union and prosperity of Ireland. They made
arrangements for future meetings, appointed a com-
mittee to represent them in a general assembly of
delegates of corps in Dublin, and voted an address
thanking the minority of the Irish Parliament for their
noble and spirited, though ineffectual, efforts in de-
fence of the great commercial and constitutional
rights of the country. " Go on," they said; " the
" almost unanimous voice of the people is with you ;
" and, in a free country, the voice of the people must
" prevail. We know our duty to our Sovereign, and
" are loyal : we know ourselves, and are resolved to
" be free."

VOL. III. A A

354

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV.

178-2.
Feb. and
March.

Recall of Lord

Carlisle.

8th April.
Motion of
Mr. Eden in
the British
Parliament
respecting
Ireland.

Deriving new hopes from these resolutions and the
spirit they indicated, Mr. Grattan moved an address
to the King, declaratory of the rights of Ireland to an
independent legislature, notwithstanding the power of
controul assumed by the Parliament of England ; but
his motion was negatived, as was another for a bill to
quiet the proprietors of estates in Ireland under British
acts of parliament. As this measure tended also to
affirm that Great Britain had no right to legislate for
Ireland, Mr. Yelverton, as a middle course, or tem-
perate expedient, procured, with the concurrence of all
parties, an act for making several laws passed in Great
Britain, and affecting Ireland, acts of the Irish Parlia-
ment. At this period, the struggle for power in Eng-
land terminated in the recall of the Earl of Carlisle,
who had held the viceroyalty since December 1780.
He was succeeded by the Duke of Portland. On this
occasion, the Earl having been displaced, so that an
address could not be presented, a resolution was moved
in the House of Commons, thanking him for the wis-
dom and prudence of his administration, and for his
uniform and unremitting attention to promote the
welfare of the kingdom. Mr. Grattan, Mr. Forbes,
and Mr. Flood offered some opposition ; but, as they
could only have obtained two votes beside themselves,
they did not press the question to a division*.

The Easter recess afforded ministers leisure to
arrange the affairs of their departments, and procure
the re-election of such as were members of the lower
House. They were desirous of a little interval in which
measures might be so prepared and digested as to give
reasonable satisfaction to Ireland, without a too violent
shock to the prejudices and pretensions of England.
For this purpose, the Marquis of Buckingham and
Mr. Fox wrote to Lord Charlemont, suggesting the
propriety of adjourning the House of Commons in
Ireland for a fortnight or three weeks, and carry on
measures, which, at the time, it would appear unge-
nerous to extort. The proposition was suggested to

* The authorities already quoted.

GEORGE III. 355

Mr. Grattan, whose answer was short and decisive:
" No time ; no time ; he and his friends could not

" delay; they were pledged to the people ; they could 1782.
" not postpone the question, for the measures were
" public property*."

On the meeting of the British Parliament, Colonel
Luttrell introduced the affairs of Ireland, by stating
the prevailing discontents, and the desire of ministers
to remove them, and requiring from Mr. Eden an ex-
planation of the affairs of that kingdom.

Mr. Eden readily entered on the task, describing
the conduct of government and opposition for the last
two years, and descanting on the valour, loyalty, and
popularity of the volunteers, whose desires and senti-
ments were those of all Ireland. The declaration of
rights, so unanimously and ardently cherished, could
no longer be opposed with success : the attempt would
be as vain as to make the Thames flow up Highgate
hill. He did not believe the Irish would abuse the
advantages they might obtain, and they would be re-
strained from adopting measures injurious to England,
since the King, with the advice of a responsible cabinet,
must sanction all their acts. Beside the declaration of
rights, the volunteers, or, in another word, Ireland,
had called for a habeas corpus, and obtained it ; a bill
for making the commissions of judges quamdiu bene se
gesserint, demanded by them, was in its progress through
Parliament; the required alteration of the mutiny act
might easily be granted, and a modification of Poyn-
ing's law, which would satisfy the people, could not be
dangerous to England. He then moved for leave to
bring in a bill " repealing so much of the act of the
" sixth of George I as asserted a right in the King
" and Parliament of Great Britain to make laws bind-
" ing the kingdom and people of Ireland." He did
not wish to be precipitate ; but the recess of the Irish
Parliament would terminate in eight days, and Mr.
Grattan would then renew and carry his motion for a
declaration of rights. It would surely then be advise-

* Memoirs of Grattan, vol. i. p. 215 to 220.

A A 2

356 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

able to anticipate the wishes of the people, to afford
them a pledge of the sincerity of England, a security

1782. for the permanency of the constitution, and of that
trade they were so anxious to preserve.

Three members, all natives of Ireland, rose to second
Mr. Eden's motion ; but Mr. Fox declaimed with in-
dignation against the indecent hurry of bringing for-
ward, on the first appearance of the new ministry in
parliament, before they had time to make arrangements,
or digest measures more effectual and important, a little
partial repeal, proposed only to acquire a little popula-
rity. Had the late ministry displayed but a moderate
share of that alertness which now so much misbecame
the mover, England had not been involved in her pre-
sent difficulties. Moderate concession granted to tem-
perate requests, would have prevented those haughty
claims which would wrench the kingdom of Ireland
from the legislation of Great Britain ; but the nation
was now reduced to abject unconditional submission.
He wished Mr. Eden to withdraw his motion ; which
was agreed to, after a debate in which many reflections
were made on the harsh manner of notifying Lord
Carlisle's recall, and his removal from the lord-lieu-
tenancy of the east riding of Yorkshire, which minis-
ters had restored to Lord Carmarthen.

9th April. The next day, Mr. Fox submitted to Parliament a

King's message from the King, expressing concern at the dis-

contents and jealousies of Ireland, and recommending
to the serious consideration of the House the means of
satisfactory adjustment. In moving the address on
this message, Mr. Fox declared the resolution of mi-
nisters to act effectually, and not patch up a temporary
cessation of claims, leaving to their successors the
dangers of an unsettled constitution. The pretensions
of the Irish Parliament and people comprehended not
only commercial rights and privileges, but legislative
powers and royalty. The hasty step proposed by Mr.
Eden would be unwise and impolitic. Time must be
allowed for deliberation and the acquisition of perfect
information, which ministers would faithfully submit to
Parliament, hoping that the happy, speedy, and por-

GEORGE III. 357

manent conclusion of so important an affair, would be

forwarded by all the ability, zeal, affection, and honesty

of both kingdoms. The address was voted without ns-2.

opposition ; as was a similar testimony of respect from

the upper House, on the motion of Lord Shelburne.

The speeches of both Secretaries of State were pro- nth April.
fuse in general acknowledgments toward the Irish,
with a reserve of due consideration for the dignity of
Great Britain. Their declarations were involved in
studied mystery; but it appeared from the observa-
tions of Mr. Fox that the large concessions recom-
mended by Mr. Eden were not intended to be made.

If any hesitation or variety of opinion existed in ieth April.
the British cabinet, it was abruptly terminated by the Declaration
decision of the Irish House of Commons. That body by "he Irish 6
was convoked by an extraordinary summons to every Parliamen t.
member, requiring him to attend, as he tendered the
rights of parliament. The pretensions intended to be
advanced were communicated to government, and well
known to the public. At Mr. Grattan's residence,
which was opposite that of the Lord-Lieutenant,
crowds of anxious members assembled ; carriages ob-
structed the avenues; the people surrounded their
leader. The capital was filled with volunteers, who
had arrived to attend an approaching meeting of the
province of Leinster ; cavalry, infantry, and artillery
were posted on the quays, the bridges, and approaches
to the two Houses of Parliament, while other bodies
were stationed in various parts of the city, and the
regular troops lined the passage for the Lord-Lieuten-
ant. The streets were thronged, and the galleries of
the House crowded at an early hour*,

Such was the general state of public feeling, such
the overawing aspect of general determination, when a
short message was delivered from the new Lord-Lieu-
tenant, stating that his Majesty, being informed of the
prevailing discontents and jealousies, recommended it
to the House to take the matter into their serious con-

* Taken almost verbatim from the Memoirs of Henry Grattau, rol. i.
p. 222, 223.

358

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV.

1782.

Mr. Grat tan's

celebrated

speech.

sideration, in order to a final and satisfactory adjust-
ment.

In delivering this message, the Eight Honourable
John Hely Hutchinson pointed out several measures
which he thought essential ; they were, in fact, those
which had been already so much agitated, and formed
the resolutions at the Dungannon meeting. The claim
of Ireland to be bound by no laws but those made
by her own King, Lords, and Commons, he had
always asserted from the seat of judicature as a judge,
and in that House as a representative of the people.
It was no new claim, but old as the invasion of the
right, which, in 1641, the House had denominated an
innovation unknown to their ancestors. Soon after the
restoration, the Speaker, in an address to the Lord-
Lieutenant, had so stated it ; and, soon after the revo-
lution, the questions was placed out of the reach of
controversy, by the work of that great scholar and
philosopher, Mr. Locke. Mr. Grattan, he said, must
ever live in the hearts of his countrymen; but the
present age and posterity would be indebted to him for
the greatest of all obligations, and would, but he hoped
at a far distant day, inscribe on his tomb, that he had
redeemed the liberties of his country.

On the motion for an address on this message, Mr.
Grattan engrafted an amendment, containing a full
and explicit declaration of the rights of Ireland, as
claimed by the people and the delegates of the volun-
teers. His speech was uncommonly fervid : he re-
membered Ireland when she was a child, and had seen
her progress from injuries to arms, from arms to liberty.
The Irish were no longer afraid of the French, nor of
any nation, nor of any minister. If men turned their
eyes to the rest of Europe, they found the ancient
spirit expired, liberty ceded, or empire lost ; nations
subsisting on the memory of past glory, and guarded
by mercenary armies; but Ireland, quitting such ex-
amples, had become a model to them ; she had ex-
celled modern, and equalled ancient Europe. The
meeting of military delegates at Dungannon was a
great event, an original measure ; and, like all original

GEORGE III. 359

measures, matter of surprise till it became matter of
admiration. Magna Charta was not attained in par-
liament, but by barons armed in the field. Great 173-2.
original transactions did not flow from precedent,
but contained in themselves both reason and precedent.
The revolution had no precedent ; the Christian reli-
gion had no precedent ; the apostles had no precedent.
All great constitutional questions had been lost, the
public had been lost, had they depended only on
parliament ; but they had fallen into the hands of the
people, and by the people would be preserved. The
Irish volunteers were associated for the maintenance of
the laws; but the claims of the British Parliament
were subversive of all law. The volunteers had sup-
ported the rights of the Irish Parliament against those
temporary trustees who would have relinquished them ;
but England had no reason to fear the Irish volun-
teers : they would die for England and her majestic
race of men. Allied by liberty as well as allegiance,
the two nations formed a constitutional confederacy;
the perpetual annexation of the Crown was one great
bond ; but liberty was a still greater. It would be
easy to find a King, but impossible for the Irish to
find a nation who could communicate to them a great
charter, save only England. This made England a
natural connexion ; and every true Irishman would
exclaim Liberty with England but at all events
Liberty !*

The motion, which comprised a repeal of the sixth His reward.
of George I, including a restoration of the appellant
jurisdiction of the House of Lords, an abolition of the
power of the privy-council founded on Poyning's law,
and a repeal of the perpetual mutiny act, was carried
without a division, though not without debate. The
gratitude of the nation to the popular orator was shewn
by a parliamentary grant of fifty thousand pounds, for the
purpose of purchasing an estate and erecting a mansion.

* See a report of this speech in the Remembrancer, vol. xiv. p. 18. Parlia-
mentary Register of the House of Commons of Ireland, vol. i. on the days
referred to.

360

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV.

1782.
17th May.

Consequent
proceedings
in the British
Parliament.

17th. May.

llth and
14th June.

27th June.

Instructed by these resolves, and by the evident
determination throughout the country to support
them to all extremities, ministers no longer hesitated
respecting the quality or mode of concession. Mr. Fox,
in a committee of the whole House, expatiated on the
claims of Ireland, allowing them to be founded on
justice, and such as he, while out of office, had always
maintained. Ireland had clearly and plainly stated
her wants ; he should be as plain ; and, although per-
haps he might have been better pleased with a differ-
ent mode of asking, still he would meet her on her own
terms. Whatever blame might be discovered in the
course of the business, he imputed to the late admi-
nistration, and concluded by moving " for an act re-
" pealing that of the sixth of George I, made for
" securing the dependence of Ireland."

Mr. Thomas Pitt seconded the motion, and mem-
bers of all parties concurred in applauding it; Lord
Beauchamp alone expressed a doubt that the repeal,
leaving the question of right undecided, would not
satisfy the Irish nation. The motion passed without
a division, as did two others, one for an address to the
King, praying the adoption of measures for rendering
the connexion between the two kingdoms solid and
permanent ; and another, declaring the interests of
both inseparable.

The proceedings in the upper House were nearly
similar, and no division arose. Lord Loughborough,
however, pointed out several inconveniences which
might possibly ensue from the extensive construction
of the resolutions, and recommended some delay, for
the sake of preparation, and to avoid that precipitancy
which would seem to result from fear.

The repealing act passed both Houses in general
silence. Its reception in Ireland justified, in some de-
gree, Lord Beauchamp's anticipation : for Mr. Flood,
by maintaining that the concession was insufficient,
inasmuch as the principle on which the act of George
I was founded, was not renounced, wrested from Mr.
Grattan, who asserted the contrary, a portion of his

GEORGE III. 361

popularity*. The Irish Parliament, however, shewed
great satisfaction at the acquisition, and voted ad-
dresses of thanks, and a hundred thousand pounds for 1782.
a levy of twenty thousand seamen for the British navy.

In prosecution of another avowed object, the limi- 8th April.
tation of influence, the popular measures presented in

former sessions were revived. The bill for excluding influence.
contractors was in a committee before the expulsion of bin" r
the late administration; it was now amended and
recommitted, and passed the House of Commons with
inconsiderable opposition. In the Lords, the principle
was strenuously, and with great force of argument, op-
posed by the Lord Chancellor and Lord Mansfield.
In the committee, Lord Ashburton successfully pro-
posed an amendment, exempting from the operation of
the bill those who made contracts for the produce of
their own estates ; but the House of Commons dis* 2ith and
agreed, and the bill passed in its original form. 27th Ma r-

With equal eagerness, the bill for preventing reve- n

. r/. 3 ,. v -14.- 8th to 25th

nue officers from voting in parliamentary elections was April.
pressed in the House. It was strenuously, though un- ^Jfjjjf offi "
successfully, opposed in the Commons ; but a rider was
added, to prevent its extending to those who held places
for life, as they could not be under the dominion of 3rd June,
influence. On the third reading in the upper House,
Lord Mansfield made an eloquent speech against the
principle of the bill ; he was answered by the Bishop
of Peterborough and the Marquis of Rockingham,
who declared his situation as first Lord of the Treasury
would be extremely uneasy if the bill was rejected.
In seventy boroughs, he said, the election depended
chiefly on revenue officers. Nearly twelve thousand
of these persons, created by the late administration,
possessed votes in other places; and he could not,
without remorse, subject them by his influence to the
necessity, or at least the imputation, of voting against
the dictates of gratitude and conscience. This curi-
ous argument, which implied that, unless the voters
were deprived of the power of doing wrong, the minis-

* See reports of the debate on this subject. Remembrancer, vol. xiv. pp. 307,
319, and Irish Parliamentary Register.

362

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

^^F- ter could not refrain from compelling them, terminated

the debate, and the bill passed*.

1782. Another sacrifice to popularity, in the shape of re-

3rd May. form, was the expunction from the journals of the re-

K i* solution. ^

respecting the solution of February 1769, respecting the Middlesex
election, on the motion of Mr. Wilkes. Mr. Fox op-
posed it, on the principle that the House of Commons
ought, for the advantage of the people, to have the
privilege of expelling those whom they, as represen-
tatives, thought unworthy of a seat, and the privilege
was too valuable to be surrendered. In support of
this doctrine, he framed an extraordinary case. " Sup-
" pose," he said, " the bill for excluding contractors
" had been rejected by the House of Lords, and the
" House of Commons had come to a resolution of their
" own, that no person holding a contract should have
" a seat ; the contractors now in Parliament would be
" expelled, but might be re-elected ; and then, if the
" inherent privilege did not impede it, those very men
" whom the House had declared improper to sit, must
" remain amongst them." He acknowledged him-
self, however, indifferent to the event of the motion,
as the proceedings against the magistrates of London
had demonstrated, that, whatever privileges the House
might possess, they could not be exercised in opposi-
tion to the voice of the people.

Mr. Dundas, although on the same side, warmly
reprobated the unconstitutional doctrines of Mr. Fox ;
and the motion was carried by a great majority)-.
Elated with this final triumph, after an annual defeat,
Wilkes published a letter expressive of his raptures,
and his resolution to persevere in the cause of freedom
and parliamentary reform : but few people now parti-
cipated his raptures ; the question had ceased to be
interesting, and the popularity attached to the name
of Wilkes had been repeatedly transferred to others,
and was in a state of daily fluctuation.

isth Feb. Early in the session, a bill was introduced for dis-

* 34 to 18. There were several divisions in the House of Commons in the
proportion of 7 or 8 to I.
t 115 to 47.

GEORGE III. 363

franchising the borough of Cricklade. A committee
on the petition of an unsuccessful candidate, reported
that great abuses had been committed; and Sir Har- 1782.
bord Harbord affirmed, that, out of two hundred and
forty voters, eighty-three had already been convicted
of bribery, and actions for the same offence were pend-
ing against forty-three others. In the House of Com-
mons, the disfranchisement was opposed with consider-
able ability, but without effect. It was justified on the ,.,., ,,

i f c -TLT 01 \o\h March.

same principles as that 01 the electors ot JNew bnore-
ham. " When that bill was shewn to the Earl of
" Chatham," said Mr. Montagu, " he expressed his joy
" at finding the borough removed from Bengal to its
" ancient situation in the county of Sussex." If the
present were rejected, Crickdale would certainly be
removed from Wiltshire to the East Indies.

The progress of the bill through the House of 3rd May.
Lords was rendered remarkable by the zeal and ability
with which the Lord Chancellor, Lord Mansfield, and
Lord Loughborough opposed, and Lords Grantly and
Ashburton supported it. The latter lords found a pow-
erful auxiliary, or rather an able leader, in the Duke
of Richmond ; but his grace, in the course of debate,
reproached the lord chancellor with indiscriminately
resisting every measure of regulation or improvement.
Lord Fortescue, enlarging on the same topic, bewailed
the degraded dignity of the House, lowered and tar-
nished by a profusion of lawyers. It was no longer
a House of Peers, but a mere court of law, where all
the solid, honourable principles of truth and justice
were shamefully sacrificed to the low pettifogging
chicanery and quibbles used in Westminster Hall.
That once venerable, dignified, and august assembly
resembled a meeting of attorneys in a Cornish court,
acting as barristers. The learned lord on the wool-
sack seemed fraught with nothing but contradictions,
and law subtleties and distinctions, and all that.

Such remarks obtained no answer, and did not pre- sth May.
vent the exertions of opposition ; evidence was called
and counsel heard against the bill ; when the Duke of
Richmond again gave vent to his indignation against

364

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV.

1782.

Bill compel-
ling the
holders of
offices to
reside.

Exertions of
clubs and pub-
lic bodies for
a reform of
Parliament.

March and
April 1781.

31st Jan.
1782.

what he termed the professional phalanx. Attacked
by lawyers above the bar, and interrupted by lawyers
below, he considered himself unequal to the contest ;
and therefore obtained the aid of counsel in support
of the bill, which finally passed, great majorities in its
favour appearing on every division*.

A more important and beneficial law was intro-
duced under the influence of Lord Shelburne, for com-
pelling future holders of patent places in the colonies
or plantations to reside and act in their offices.

Hitherto all the reforms supported by administra-
tion had been sanctioned by the concurrence of Parlia-
ment. One remained, on which the public felt con-
siderably interested, from the great pains which had
been employed to procure, in all popular assemblies,
votes and resolutions in its favour, and to exhibit it to
the people as a measure on which their freedom and
prosperity depended : this was a reform in the repre-
sentative system of the House of Commons.

Measures for enforcing this reform were systema-
tically adopted in the preceding year, by the delegates
of the associated or petitioning bodies, comprising pre-
tended representatives of the counties of York, Surrey,
Hertford, Huntingdon, Middlesex, Essex, Kent, Devon,
and Nottingham, and the City of Westminster. They
resolved, that the public evils were produced by the
gross inadequacy in parliamentary representation, which
the addition of a hundred county members in due pro-
portions would tend to correct. The septennial act was
declared a violation of the rights of the people, w r hich
impaired the connexion between them and their repre-
sentatives, and exposed Parliament to great unconsti-
tutional influence : and its repeal would form a strong
barrier against the inroads of parliamentary corrup-
tion, and the alarming influence of the Crown. These
resolves were enforced by addresses to the electors of
Great Britain, urging the necessity of reform, by state-
ments deduced from history, and arguments founded
on right and policy j*. The livery of London, in com-

* On the commitment, 1 3th May, the division was 47 to 22,
t See Remembrancer, vol. xiii, p. 193.

GEORGE III. 365

mon-hall, resolved, that the inequality of representa-
tion, and the corrupt state of Parliament, had pro-
duced the war, the dismemberment of the empire, and 1782.
all other grievances. The only adequate remedy would
be found in re-establishing the constitutional share of
the people in government, and in a frequent election
of representatives, according to ancient usage. They
also established a corresponding committee. Against
this meeting, however, a protest was signed by five of
the common-council.

The cause, thus espoused by these committees and 7th May.
public bodies, was introduced to Parliament by Mr. motion"'*
Pitt. In a speech of great ability, he described the
evils which had arisen, and might arise, from the un-
equal representation. Some boroughs were under the
command, and others in the possession, of the treasury.
The influence of government was contested in others ;
not by the electors, but by some powerful individual
assuming hereditary right. Some boroughs had no
actually existing property, population, or trade, nor any
weight in the political balance, except in the return of
members ; and others, in the lofty profession of English
freedom, claimed no right but that of bringing their
votes to market : they had no other market, 110 other
property, no other stake in the country than the price
of their votes. Such boroughs were the most danger-
ous of all. They never consulted the interests of the
public, but offered their representation to the best pur-
chaser : they were properly within the jurisdiction of
the Carnatic ; and it was a well-known fact, that the
Nabob of Arcot had, at that time, seven or eight
members in the House. Foreign influence had ever
been considered dangerous ; and if the nabobs of
India could acquire such an influence, why might not
a foreign power at enmity with Great Britain acquire
a similar portion by the same means. Some persons
had suggested, as the best means of effecting a nearer
relation between the representatives and the people, to
deprive the rotten and corrupt boroughs of a part of
their members, and add them to those places which had
a greater stake and interest in the country. Another

366 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

mode recommended, was shortening the duration of
' parliaments ; but all considerations of these he should,

1782. for the present, omit, referring the task of selection to
a committee freely chosen. The matter of complaint
was clear ; his own judgment was strengthened by the
advice of some of the first characters in the kingdom,
and of some on whom the grave had closed. Of one
of these in particular, every member in the House
could speak with more freedom than himself. That
person was not apt to indulge vague and chimerical
speculations, inconsistent with practice and expediency;
and the opinion of that person was, that unless first
principles were, in this respect, recurred to, and a more
solid and equal representation of the people established,
by which the proper constitutional connexion might
be revived, this nation, with the greatest aptitudes for
happiness and grandeur of any other on the face of
the earth, must be confounded with the mass of those
whose liberties were lost in the corruption of the
people. He moved, and was seconded by Alderman
Sawbridge, " for the appointment of a committee to
" inquire into the state of representation in Parlia-
" ment, and to report to the House their observations
" thereon."

The first opponent of the motion was Mr. Thomas
Pitt, who anticipated and deprecated the constructions
to which his sentiments would be liable from those
who considered him merely as proprietor and repre-
sentative of Old Sarum. He objected to the time of
introducing the subject, when government was already
overloaded with projects of reform. Mere theorists
attempted to establish the wild system, that nations
could only be free where no individual was bound but
by laws to which he had consented, either in person or
by a representative whom he had actually nominated.
History sufficiently proved that such a principle never
applied to the British Constitution. Nothing like
equality of representation could be found. Rutland,
as a county, returned as many representatives as Devon-
shire or Yorkshire. At first, counties alone were re-
presented ; afterward great cities, towns, and places of

GEORGE III. 367

note, and even inconsiderable villages. The rule of CHAP.
their addition could not be defined ; but most assuredly

it was not that of equal representation, or uniform im- i?82.
portance ; nor was it fit, at this period, to try chartered
privileges by a new rule which never did apply to them.
However plausible and popular the idea of equal re-
presentation, it was of all others the most extravagant,
impracticable, visionary, and absurd. If such a prin-
ciple was essential to a free government, there never
had been, nor ever could be, a free government.

The real origin and purpose of the Parliament,
was to balance the power of the Crown. The members
of the lower House, however variously elected, stood,
individually, and collectively, as representatives, of all
the subjects of Great Britain. If they effected the
great purpose of defending the people at large against
the encroaching power and increasing influence of
the Crown; if, as faithful guardians, they held the
public purse ; if they preserved the laws of the country
from violation ; they answered every end of their insti-
tution, whatever irregularities a speculist might fancy
he discovered in their appointment : for that country
truly enjoys the benefit of civil liberty, where the law
holds an equal course to all, not where all are equally
represented.

"Is all influence in this House," he proceeded,
" equally dangerous, equally alarming, equally sub-
" versive of the great principle I have endeavoured to
" establish 1 What was the contest with the Crown be-
" fore the establishment of the lower House ? A con-
" test not for liberty, but for power, between the King,
" the barons, and the clergy. What has been the
" change that since its origin has thrown weight into
" the balance of this House 1 The aristocratical weight
" of property, which, increasing in this House, has en-
" abled it to resist the augmenting influence of the
" Crown. The House of Lords can no longer be re-
" lied on as a counterpoise ; the barons are no longer
" the barrier against the encroachments of the Crown.
" Let us take care, that, by an innovation purely demo-
" cratical, and which shall remove from us that influ-

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV.

1782.

Rejected.

" ence to which we owe so much of our importance,
" we do not reduce ourselves again to that state, when
" the greatest influence of all may crush us under
" feet."

The motion, he observed, would place Parliament
in a cruel dilemma ; if negatived, the prejudices of the
times would represent the House as partial, unprincipled,
and corrupt ; shutting their ears against evils fatal to
public liberty, lest they should be obliged to confess
the necessity of a remedy. If adopted, they must
launch into a sea without a shore ; a general inquiry
without any denned or specific object ; an inquisition
into the state of every borough, which would alarm the
feelings of every one interested in so extensive a con-
sideration, while it held out to the public expectations
which the House never meant to satisfy, nor ought to
satisfy, nor could satisfy, were it ever so expedient.
The question was not, whether any specific alteration
should be adopted, but whether Parliament should
open a general shop to receive all the projects of the
wildest of projectors, to let loose the imagination of
the public on the most delicate, yet most important of
considerations. Bounds could never be set to the in-
quiry; the torrent could never be restrained; the
principle must be carried to the utmost extent, or
abandoned ; representation, if an inherent or natural,
was an universal right; there was no medium. To
countenance so general, so undefined a measure as
that on the table, would be an act of madness and in-
fatuation, tending only to tumult and disorder, and
every confusion that expectation, followed by disap-
pointment, could operate on the passions of the mul-
titude.

During a long debate, many conspicuous parlia-
mentary characters delivered their sentiments ; Sir
George Savile, Mr. Courtenay, Mr. Fox, and Mr. She-
ridan supported the measure. Its chief opponents
were the honourable Mr. Yorke, Mr. Rolle, Mr.
M'Donald, Mr. Kigby, and Mr. Dundas, who particu-
larly distinguished himself by a speech replete with
Bound sense and accurate information, and sparkling

GEORGE III. 369

genuine wit, The question was rejected by adopting
the order of the day*.

The conduct of the ministry was represented to the
public as insidious and treacherous ; they were accused
of giving a negative, damning support to the proposi-
tion, while, by indirect means, they concurred in its
failure. Against this charge, which threatened fatal
consequences to their popularity, Mr. Fox, at a subse-
quent period, took great pains to justify himself. He
professed warm, unalterable attachment to reform ;
but some of his colleagues, particularly Mr. Burke
and Mr. Thomas Towhshend, he said, viewed the pro-
position with disgust and antipathy. Such men he
could not influence to speak or vote against their
opinions; but what he could, he did; he persuaded
them not to attend the discussion^.

Alderman Sawbridge renewed his annual attempt
to shorten the duration of Parliament ; but his motion,
though eloquently sustained by Mr. Pitt, was rejected annual
by a large majority^. Lord Mahon also introduced a 24th. n
bill for preventing bribery and expenses at elections, Mahon's LIU.
the regulations of which were so strict, as even to pre-
vent the candidate from allowing a carriage to a non-
resident voter. Mr. Pitt supported the bill ; but it was
opposed by Mr. Fox, and, the severest of its clauses
being rejected, it was withdrawn.

The ministerial undertaking of economical reform , . T

, . e 21st June.

was introduced to Parliament by a message from tne 15th April.
King to each House, recommending the consideration pectin 3
of an effectual plan of economy through all branches economy.
of the public expenditure. He had taken into con- message
sideration a form and regulation in his civil-list esta-
blishment, which he would speedily submit to Parlia-
ment for their advice and assistance. u His Majesty,"
the message proceeded, " has no reserves with his
" people, on whose affections he rests with a sure re-
" liance, as the best support of the true honour and

* 161 to 141.

f See Mr. Fox's speech at the anniversary dinner (1011100101/6^1782). Re
membrancer, vol. xiv. p. 293.
; 149 to 61.

VOL. III. B B

370

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV.

1782.

Burke' s bill
passes in an
altered state.

6th May.

13th June.
14th.

" dignity of his crown and government ; and as they
" have hitherto been his best resource on every emer-
" gency, so he regards them as the most solid and
" stable security for an honourable provision for his
" person and family."

An address of thanks was voted with unanimous
assent; Mr. Burke, in moving it, congratulated the
House and the kingdom on the happy era when his
Majesty, freed from that secret and injurious council
which stood between him and his people, now spoke
to them in the pure and rich benevolence of his own
heart. The message was the genuine effusion of
paternal care and tenderness ; it was what good sub-
jects merited from a good king, and every man would
rejoice in and bless the day, when, restored to the
dignified independence of his elevated situation, the
sovereign was able to participate in their sufferings, to
praise and reward their fortitude. It was the best of
messages, to the best of people, from the best of Kings.

Mr. Powys, in the name of the country gentlemen,
declared his warm exultation in the message, and, in
language formed on Mr. Burke's model, extolled it
as a noble and gracious instance of royal benevolence,
which would reconcile the people to their burdens.

Mr. Fox too spoke in terms of panegyric and con-
fidence. " His Majesty," he said, " came with almost
" unparalleled grace to his Parliament, and desired to
" participate in the exertions and sufferings of his peo-
" pie, by the reduction of his own peculiar establish-
" ments, choosing and wishing to find his support in
" the hearts of his subjects."

But however confident might be the anticipation of
ministers, the bill for retrenching the expenses of the
household no longer appeared before the public with
all the captivating allurements which had been lent to
it, while designed by opposition for the embarrassment
of government. In the committee, Mr. Burke pro-
posed a saving of seventy-two thousand three hundred
and sixty-eight pounds per annum ; but he introduced
his bill tardily and silently to the House. On the
second reading, he was goaded into a speech, for the

GEORGE III. 371

purpose of defending his measure against the imputa-
tions it incurred by varying essentially from his ori-
ginal proposition, which taught the public to expect a 1782.
golden harvest from economy, and a luxuriant vegeta-
tion of liberty from the prunings of influence. He
had omitted a regulation for supplying the royal house-
hold by contract, he said, because the measure was
generally unpopular. Those relative to Wales were
abandoned, because they did not appear to please the
people, who were induced by a faction to regard them
with horror. The retrenchment in the ordnance office
he had postponed, if not totally renounced, because
that department was filled by a nobleman whose
patriotism and frugality would supersede the necessity
of restraint. The mint was not yet regulated, because
the directors of the bank were unwilling to assume
the execution of its duties. The offices of treasurer
and cofferer of the household were suffered to remain,
because their possessors carried white wands, and their
abolition would appear an encroachment on the splen-
dour and dignity of the Crown. The duchies of
Lancaster and Cornwall, it appeared by a subsequent
explanation, were left unreformed, because the cla-
mours which had been raised about Wales might ex-
tend to them also. These reasons appeared so trifling,
that even Colonel Barre and Mr. Powys expressed
themselves not entirely satisfied, and the bill passed
dully through the House, barely unopposed, but
wholly uncelebrated.

The retention of appointments which had been
formerly descanted on in glowing terms, as extremely
onerous and injurious to the public, for no other reason
than that they were held by the Duke of Richmond
and Lord Ashburton, formed a stigma on the favourite
measure, which was not removed by Mr. Burke's dis-
interestedness in bringing forward a bill regulating
his own office, the intent of which was to prevent
enormous balances from remaining in the hands of the
paymaster of the forces.

The royal message respecting economy was speedily 2nd May
followed by another, requesting a discharge of arrears

BB 2

372

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV.

1781.

Arrears of
the civil-list
discharged.

3rd July.

25th June.
Mr. Kenyon's
motion.

Efforts of
pacification.

of civil-list, amounting to nearly two hundred and
ninety-six thousand pounds ; the House voted the
requisite sum, and the savings intended to be made by
the reform bill were mortgaged for payment of the
interest. This mode of blending the two transactions
was vehemently decried in the upper House, as an in-
fringement of their standing order made in 1702,
that no bill of regulation should be allowed to pass
with the appendage of a clause for granting money.
The Lord Chancellor and Lord Loughborough sup-
ported this doctrine with great ability ; but the House
decided in contradiction to their judgment*.

Some further economical regulations were pro-
mised, but none effected during the session. The
Attorney-General, Mr. Kenyon, distinguished himself
by a motion for collecting into the Exchequer the
balances in the hands of several paymasters. His
original propositions extended to charge the holders of
those balances with interest for the sums in hand ; but
Mr. Fox judiciously observed that, by so doing, Govern-
ment would place its officers in the same situation with
the guardians of a minor. " In the one case," he said,
" there is an obligation to make the money superlu-
" crate ; in the other, none. To claim interest from
" an accountant would justify him in placing the
" money out at interest, and consequently render the
" public liable for losses." A motion was made for
bringing in a bill to carry into effect some of the reso-
lutions moved by Mr. Kenyon, which was, however,
after a debate of some warmth, rejected, and the new
ministry left in a minority f. Some other unimportant
essays were made on the pension-list, and some inef-
fectual attempts to render an object of censure a
pension of a thousand pounds conferred on Lord
Loughborough.

While the ministry were thus engaged in fulfilling
the expectations they had raised respecting domestic
regulation, they pursued with equal ardour the great
object which made the nation solicitous for their at-

* 44 to 9.

t 127 lo 116.

GEORGE III. 373

tainment of power, the restoration of peace. An act
of Parliament having passed, enabling the King to
treat for a peace, or truce, with the American colonies, 1782.
and, by letters patent, to repeal or suspend any statute
relating to them. Mr. Thomas Grenville was dis-
patched to Paris as negotiator on our part; but, before he
had made much progress in the objects of his mission, an
event happened which occasioned a new revolution in
the British cabinet. The Marquis of Rockingham De
had long been in a declining state of health. The Marquis of
debate on the bill for disqualifying revenue officers was
the last in which he bore a part, and, as he then de-
clared, a prevalent disorder* affected him so severely,
that he was sometimes not in possession of himself. In
less than a month afterward he expired, and the ap- 1st July,
pointment of Lord Shelburne to be his successor, as
first Lord of the Treasury, served as the signal (for it
was denied to be the cause j") for the retreat of several
conspicuous members of the Rockingham party. Lord
John Cavendish resigned his place as Chancellor of
the Exchequer, Mr. Fox as Secretary of State ; Mr.
Burke gave up the paymastership of the forces ; the
Duke of Portland vacated the post of Lord-Lieutenant
of Ireland ; and his example was followed by Colonel
Fitzpatrick, his secretary. Some less important ap-
pointments at the boards of Treasury and Admiralty
were also resigned.

Thus a few months of prosperity dissolved in anger
and mutual animosity that formidable phalanx which,
by strenuous parliamentary exertion, had shaken the
foundations of government, rendered every exercise of
royal prerogative odious and dangerous, made the cause
of insurrection popular, and taken the cabinet by storm.
The people did not sympathize with the self-excluded
members of the cabinet, and the King declared that in
the whole course of his reign this was the only admi-
nistration which had not possessed his confidence^:.

* It acquired the name of influenza.

t See Debates in the Houses of Lords and Commons, 9th, 10th, and llth of
July, and 5th December, 1782.
From private information.

374

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV.

1782.

Discussion in
Parliament.

July 9.
House of
Commons.

Causes of
the late re-
signations
explained.

As Parliament was sitting, although the time of its
prorogation was certainly near, this event occasioned,
as might be expected, some animadversion and expla-
nation.

Mr. Coke gave rise to the discussion in the House
of Commons, by mentioning a pension of 3,200/. a year,
which was granted to Colonel Barre, a friend and ad-
herent of Lord Shelburne, to commence from the time
that he should cease to hold the treasurership of the
navy. He moved an address, requesting the King to
inform the House which of the ministers had presumed
to advise such a measure, in the present calamitous and
distressed state of the country, and in the moment of
reform. Mr. Frederick Montague acknowledged his
having signed the warrant, as well as the late Marquis
of Buckingham. Similar avowals were made by Lord
Althorpe and Mr. Grenville ; and the Colonel himself,
after shewing that the pension, nominally 3,200/. a
year, did not, after deducting taxes and fees, amount
to more than 2,100/. stated the services and losses
which, as he thought, in titled him to the gratuity.
Losses and privations of preferment which he had sus-
tained not for any military offence, but because he was
a friend to the liberties of the people.

This discussion produced no result, for Mr. Coke
withdrew his motion ; nor would it have demanded
notice, but that it served, as it probably was intended,
to introduce an explanation of the causes of the late
resignations. Mr. Fox, after declaring his approbation
of the grant, as a payment for services most honourably
performed, and by no means lavish or misapplied, ob-
served, that as he had censured and accused Lord North
for having continued to hold the reins of government
when there was no concert nor unanimity in the
cabinet, for having remained responsible for measures
of which he had not cordially approved, and when
he found himself at the head of distracted councils ;
what was left for him, when in a similar situation ?
To retire. He considered it honourable to the party
with whom he had the happiness to act, that they had
not been the hunters of pensions and emoluments ;

GEORGE III. 375

that was a point of wisdom with which his friends
were particularly unacquainted. There were men so
wise in their generation, as always to look forward to 1782.
profit, and even secure it to themselves by the labours
of others. Having reiterated his observations on the
want of concord in the cabinet, he treated the existing
ministers as men whose magnanimity rose superior
to the common feelings of humanity; who thought
nothing of promises which they had made, of engage-
ments they had entered into, of principles they had
maintained, or of the systems on which they had com-
menced their career. He had no doubt but that, to
secure themselves in the power which by the labour
of others they had obtained, they would now strive to
strengthen themselves by any means which corruption
could procure ; and he expected to see, that, in a very
short time, they would be joined by those men whom that
House had precipitated from their seats.

General Conway denied that ministers had deviated
from any principle they had maintained. The first was
" the unlimited, unconditional independence of Ame-
" rica as the basis of a negotiation for peace." This
he had always considered a great evil ; but it was be-
come necessary. The second was, " to establish a
" system of economy in every department of govern-
" ment." Mr. Burke's bill was ready for the royal
assent, and the principle had never been abandoned.
The next was, " to annihilate every kind of influence
" over any part of the legislature." The cabinet, he
assured the House, was seriously inclined to carry this
plan into execution. Another principle was, " to con-
" tinue and secure to the kingdom of Ireland the
" freedom now settled by Parliament," which had been
done in the most unequivocal and decisive manner.
As to three of these great principles, the House had
already pronounced how faithfully they had been ad-
hered to; and as to that which regarded America, time
would convince them that the cabinet would maintain
that no less firmly than the others.

Mr. Fox and General Conway twice more addressed
the chair, each repelling the observations advanced by

376 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

the other, oppugning or defending the ministry at pre-
sent constituted. Mr. Pitt, considering and treating
1782. Mr. Fox as the ostensible man in that house, and there-
fore to be regarded as public property, claimed a right
to question him on his conduct in resigning an import-
ant station, when the nature of affairs demanded the
assistance of his great abilities. But that the Right
Honourable Secretary had declared his secession to
have proceeded from a material difference in the cabi-
net on some great political question, he should have
attributed it to a baulk in struggling for power. It
was, in his opinion, a dislike to men, not measures ; and
there appeared to be something personal in the business.
If it was only a suspicion that Lord Shelburne was
averse to the measures he wished to adopt, he should
have called a cabinet council, before he had taken a
step which appeared now to be rash and hasty. If he
himself should be called upon to act in any capacity
with the present 'administration, he should cheerfully
assist the operations of government ; he was a decided
enemy to the late ruinous system of affairs ; he would
first endeavour to set them right, and, if he failed,
would then resign, and not before.

To this Mr. Fox answered, that, far from engaging
in a struggle for power, he had determined on resign-
ing before the death of the Marquis of Buckingham ;
had communicated his intentions to a noble Duke;
had called a cabinet council, and had well weighed the
matter before he put it in execution. No one could
expect the return to power of the old administration ;
that House would not suffer it : the people of England
would not suffer it : no man, he believed, would be
found to attempt it. He could not think Lord Shel-
burne sincere in desiring the independence of Ame-
rica. He had uniformly opposed that concession :
when a man had attained the age of forty, his mind
was generally made up ; otherwise he was not worth a
pin. He had consented to act with Lord Shelburne
and the Lord Chancellor, although he knew they dif-
fered in opinion from him in many important particu-
lars, because he wished to form an administration on

GEORGE III. 377

the broadest possible basis. He collected, from what

Mr. Pitt had said, that he was to have some share in

the new arrangement ; he would undoubtedly be an 1782.

honour to any place that could be assigned to him ; but

his experience in life was not sufficient to qualify him

to judge properly of some great political questions.

This was the first display of that political opposi-
tion between Mr. Fox and Mr. Pitt which character-
ized the residue of their lives, and powerfully influenced
the fortunes of their country.

The cause of the seceders was not advanced in
dignity by the detail of the power, honours, and emo-
luments which they sacrificed ; and, so little did the
House sympathize with them, that Mr. Burke was for
some time prevented from speaking by the noise which
was raised amojig the members. He avenged himself
by declaring that, while he felt the utmost consider-
ation for one portion of the assembly, he entertained
the most sovereign contempt for the other ; and he
concluded a speech of much asperity by observing,
that if Lord Shelburne was not a Cataline or a Borgia
in morals, it was to be ascribed only to his understand-
ing. Any effect which this speech might have pro-
duced was much diminished by the manner in which
Mr. Burke spoke of himself, his own circumstances,
and his feelings. He said he had a pretty large family,
and but little fortune. He liked his present office.
The house and all its appendages, to a man of his
taste, could not be disagreeable. All this, and four
thousand a year, he relinquished, not without regret,
for that country and that public whose property he
was, and to whom he was always ready to surrender
whatever he most valued in life. He had long been
surfeited with opposition; those who were familiar
with his habits, temper, and manners, would not call
him petulant or factious, and he was only induced to
leave an administration, to the formation of which he
had somewhat contributed, by the sincerest regard for
a public, in the service of which he wished to live and
die. The ridicule which, whether justly or not, was
cast upon this uncalled-for account of the conflict

378 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

between poverty and principle, was increased by Mr.
Burke's having preluded his declamation about Cata-
1782. line and Borgia by an allusion to the nursery fable
of Little Red-Riding-Hood and the Wolf.

Mr. Coke's motion was withdrawn.

Jul 1Q The Duke of Richmond introduced the subject in

House of the House of Lords ; but as no motion was made, and

Lords - the only speakers were himself and Lord Shelburne,

who both were to fill places in the new cabinet, nothing

was produced but general declarations of opinion, and

statements of the course of conduct intended to be

pursued.

The next day Parliament was prorogued.

nth July. In his speech, the King said that nothing could be

paSSJr f more repugnant to his feelings than the long continu-
King's speech, ance of a war so complicated ; but, should the want of a
corresponding disposition in the enemy disappoint his
hopes of terminating that calamity, he should still rely
on the spirit, affection, and unanimity of his parliament
and people to support the honour of his crown and
the interests of the nation. " The most triumphant
" career of victory," he said, " would not excite me to
" aim at more than fair and reasonable terms of paci-
" fication ; and I have the satisfaction to add, I see no
" reason which should induce me to think of accept-
" ing less."

loth. The offices which had been vacated were thus filled

U P- The Right Honourable William Pitt was Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer ; Lord Grantham and Mr.
Thomas Townshend Secretaries of State; Colonel
Barre was made Paymaster of the Forces, and, in his
stead, Mr. Dundas Treasurer of the Navy ; Sir George
Younge became Secretary at War. Seats at the trea-
sury and admiralty boards were allotted to Richard
Jackson and Edward James Elliot, Esquires ; the Ho-
nourable John Jefferies Pratt and John Aubrey, Esquire.
Earl Temple was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,
and the Honourable William Wyndham Grenville his
Secretary. Lord Thurlow, Chancellor ; Lord Keppel,
first Lord of the Admiralty ; Lord Camden, President

GEORGE III. 379

of the Council ; the Duke of Grafton, Lord Privy Seal ;

the Duke of Richmond, Master General of the Ord-

nance ; and Lord Ashburton, Chancellor of the Duchy 1782.

of Lancaster, retained their posts : and thus was formed

the Shelburne administration.

380

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVI.

1782.

Necessity
for peace.

Transactions
in America.

Jan. 3.

CHAPTER THE FORTY-SIXTH.
17811782.

Necessity for peace. Transactions in America Condition of
the loyalists. Board of Directors formed. Murder of
Joshua Huddy. Washington determines to kill a British
officer in revenge. Captain Asgill selected spared.
Views of Washington as to the war. Effect of parliamen-
tary proceedings. The Loyalists. Proceedings on the
arrival of Sir Guy Carleton. Attempt to negotiate sepa-
rately with Holland. Mediation of the Empress of Rus-
sia. Failure. Offer of the Emperor to mediate. Altered
conduct of the Imperial court. Mr. Grenville in Paris.
Sanguine hopes of adverse powers their state. Spain.
France. Mr. Fox's letter to Dr. Franklin. Answer.
Instructions to Mr. Grenville. Conduct of Dr. Franklin
and De Vergennes. Mr. Grenville's interview with them.
Increasing pretensions of the allied powers.

FROM the course of events, and the feelings of all
parties, it was obvious that a general pacification must
be attempted. A negotiation was commenced ; but,
before its final issue is related, some other events, which
affected its beginning or its progress, must be recorded.

The continent of America no longer presented its
accustomed portion of military interest : the blaze of
war, which was first kindled, also first languished, in
the colonies, the surrender of Lord Cornwallis having
in effect concluded the martial contest. Sir Henry
Clinton was apprized that no more regiments or corps
could be sent from this country, it being only pro-
posed to keep up those in America as near as possible
to their present establishment by recruits. It was ex-
pected that they could maintain the posts and districts

GEORGE III. 381

still in his Majesty's possession, and that detachments < xL\rr'
could occasionally be spared for joint operations with

the navy against ports and towns on the sea-coast, for 1782.
destroying shipping and stores, and obstructing trade
so as to prevent offensive efforts. But, although no
inland operations for reducing the country were in-
tended, all possible encouragement was to be given to
loyalists, by arms, ammunition, and, where possible, a
small force*.

Soon after the action at Eutaws, Colonel Stewart
retreated to the neighbourhood of Charlestown, and
Colonel Leslie, who was afterward appointed to com-
mand in that district, retired within the walls of the
capital. Slight excursions and trivial encounters alone
marked the existence of hostility ; the British troops
were withdrawn from all their late extended posses-
sions in the southern provinces, except Charlestown,
Savannah, and a few dependent posts ; while the enemy,
re-assembling their legislature at Jackson-burgh, dis-
tant only thirty-five miles from the capital of South
Carolina, insulted the British government, issuing
edicts of regulation, reward, and credit, and decrees
of confiscation against all friends of the royal causef .

The loyalists at New York being filled with alarm nth Jan.
and indignation at the tenth article of the capitulation an
of York Town, Sir Henry Clinton attempted to tran-
quillize them by circular orders to the different posts of
the army, directing that the same attention should, in
all cases, be paid to their interests and security as to
those of the King's troops, and that no distinction or
discrimination should prevail. This judicious order,
which was subsequently confirmed by the King, pro-
duced in a great measure the desired effect.

But when the departure of De Grasse's fleet for
the West Indies, and the exertions of Clinton had
quieted all alarms, the inveteracy between loyalists
and republicans produced new contentions, and threat-
ened a mode of vengeful hostility more dreadful than

* Lord George Germaine to Sir Henry Clinton. State Papers,
t See Remembrancer, vol. xiv. pp. 137, 140.

382

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV1.

1782.

Board of
directors
formed.

any which had yet been pursued. The Americans
had always affected to consider the loyalists taken in
arms, as traitors amenable to their civil administration.
Lord llawdon described the atrocious barbarities of
the rebel militia toward them, as exceeding any thing
he had ever heard from the most savage nations*.
Threats had sometimes restrained the excess of vio-
lence ; but the Americans frequently refused quarter
to the loyalists, and often maintained prisoners of that
description in a different state of confinement from
other military captives, loading them with injuries,
depriving them of necessaries, and endangering their
lives by inhumanity f.

A board of directors of associated loyalists, under
the presidency of Governor Franklin, had been esta-
blished, in 1780, at New York, invested with admini-
strative powers, the right of nominating officers, and
issuing regulations for their guidance and government,
subject to the ratification of the Commander-in-Chief.
They had a prison for captives brought in by their
parties, and the power of exchange or release, but
with the express condition of not killing or maltreating
any under pretext of retaliation. Their angry and
vindictive feelings were excited by a signal piece of
treachery, followed by consequences extremely irritat-
ing. One Christian Prendorff, a prisoner on parole
from New York, after taking the oath of secrecy, and
professing sincere attachment to the loyal associators,
was entrusted with their combination, the names of
many of their officers and privates, with their instruc-
tions and plans. He went to Annapolis and betrayed
all the secrets with which he was entrusted. Many
were, in consequence, seized, tried by courts-martial of
militia officers, or by special courts instituted for the
purpose, condemned and executed. Some armed
themselves and escaped; but the transaction created
great alarm and general confusion in Pensacola^:.

* Dispatch to Lord George Germaine, Gth June, 1781.

t See letter from the board of loyalists to Sir Henry Clinton, dated New
York, 27th April, 1782, in the Remembrancer, vol. xiv. p. 157.

J 29th June, 1781. Report from Thomas Hagertz, in Maryland. Stale
Papers.

GEORGE III. 383

After the capitulation of Lord Cornwallis, many
loyalists urged Sir Henry Clinton to threaten ven-
geance for injuries inflicted on those who had joined i?82.
the royal standard ; but he declined issuing a procla-
mation, the menaces of which he was not authorized
to fulfil, and was deterred, by the advice of the
principal refugees, from establishing the civil govern-
ment, which would have permitted the trial of captive
continentals as rebels. While he was engaged in pro-
jects of defence, and while commissioners appointed by
him and General Washington were negotiating for an
exchange of prisoners, Joshua Huddy, a captain in the Murder of
service of Congress, was taken by a party of loyalists,
and, after being conveyed to several prisons, and con-
fined some days, delivered, with two others, by a written
order from the board, to Captain Lippencott, one of
their body, for the ostensible purpose of being ex-
changed at Sandy Hook, conducted into New Jersey,
and there hung on a tree, with a label on his breast,
denoting that his fate was a retaliation for that of one
White, an associator.

Sir Henry Clinton, highly resenting this audacious
outrage on humanity, and insult on himself as com-
mander, arrested Lippencott, and, with the concurrence
of a council of war, ordered him to be tried for mur-
der. He thought the transaction indicated a resolu-
tion in the loyalists to force measures of revenge which
they had long thirsted after, but which he had refused
to sanction, and he anticipated the insults to which he
should be exposed from the resentment of the Ame-
rican general, and the danger of his commissioners,
who were in the power of the enemy. The inhabi- 14th April,
tants of Monmouth County addressed General Wash-
ington, as the person in whom was lodged the sole
power of avenging their wrongs, to bring a British
officer of the same rank with Huddy to a similar end.

Acting with great promptitude on this requisition, 21 s t.
the American forwarded it to the British commander,
with a letter, conceived in terms most excessively
harsh and arrogant. " I demand" he said, " that the
" guilty Captain Lippencott, or the officer who com-

HISTORY OF- ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVI.

J782.

25th.

27th April.

25th.

Recall of
Sir Henry
Clinton.

" manded at the execution of Huddy must be given up.
" Or, if that officer was of inferior rank to him, so many
" of the perpetrators as will, according to the tariff of
" exchange, be equivalent. In failure of it, I shall
" hold myself justified, in the eyes of God and man,
" for the measures to which I shall resort."

Clinton expressed surprise and displeasure at this
imperious language ; he had taken due measures for
bringing the delinquents to justice; but would not
consent to adopt and extend barbarity, by sacrificing
innocence, under the notion of preventing guilt. If
violations of humanity could be justified by example,
those committed by General Washington's party ex-
ceeded, and probably gave rise to that in question. The
board of loyalists, corroborating this assertion, stated
circumstances relating to the execution of Huddy, in
which, though Lippencott had exceeded his authority
and their orders, he had merely adopted the precedent
shewn by the Americans in the case of White. They
also recited many instances in which cruelty toward
the loyalists had only been restrained by retaliation.
The letter of Washington was accompanied with de-
positions to shew that Huddy was not concerned in the
murder of White ; but, on the other hand, was pro-
duced Buddy's own confession of his activity in mur-
dering associated loyalists, with a detail of seventeen
of his victims.

Unmoved by these representations, Washington
seized as deserters Messrs. Hatfield and Badgely,
though protected by a flag of truce. To an applica-
tion for their liberation, he answered, that deserters,
or characters whom crime rendered amenable to the
civil laws, could not be protected, even under a flag.

Sir Henry Clinton was spared the pain of witness-
ing the progress of this transaction, by his recall,
which was solicited by his friends, and, after repeated
refusals, at length granted. His whole command had
been a succession of disappointments and mortifica-
tions; his projects were countenanced, yet unsupported,
and his supplies withheld, or sparingly and tardily sent.
He sustained no inconsiderable share of the rancour of

GEORGE III. 385

party, and was undefended, even by those who, from
principle, ought to have been his supporters. Yet he
was above the weakness of throwing himself into the i?s'2
arms of faction for the elucidation of misrepresented
facts. He received from the King, both through his
ministers and in the closet, the fullest approbation of his
conduct and plans ; and this satisfactory testimonial
was the only reward of an arduous and severe struggle.
Sir Guy Carleton was appointed his successor ; and,
in the interval between the departure of the one Gene-
ral and the arrival of the other, the command devolved
on General Robertson. To him General Washington Mav3r(l
addressed a letter, declaring his unaltered adherence to
the resolutions he had expressed to Clinton. Orders
had been given to designate a British officer for retali-
ation ; the time and place were fixed, but still he hoped
that the result of a court-martial would prevent this
dreadful alternative. This proceeding was resorted to,
but not attended with the effect which the American
desired. The prisoner, at first, pleaded that he was
not subject to martial law, and by common law could
not be tried in New York for an offence alleged to
have been committed in another state, that of New
Jersey. This objection, being submitted to the con-
sideration of the Chief Justice and the Attorney-Gene-
ral, was over-ruled ; the trial proceeded ; but, as it ap-
peared from the evidence that Lippencott acted under
the orders of a board which he was bound to obey, he
was acquitted. And now the barbarous edict of retali- captain AgUi
ation was about to be enforced. The officers who had selected -
been surrendered at York Town, and whose persons
ought to have been sacred under the terms of the ca-
pitulation, were directed to cast lots, to de^rmine who
should be the expiatory victim. It fell on Captain
Asgill, son of Sir Charles Asgill, who was only in his
nineteenth year ; and against this inhuman sacrifice,
intreaty and argument were, with the American Gene-
ral, equally unavailing. To close at once this painful
and disgraceful narrative, it is to be added, that the
innocence and amiable qualities of the young officer,
and the anguish and pathetic supplications of his

VOL. III. C C

386

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVI.

1782.

Views of
Washington
as to the war.

family, which produced no effect on Washington, found
their way to the heart of the French Queen ; influenced
by the prayers and tears of the captive's mother, she
interposed her powerful mediation, and, with the aid
of M. de Vergcnnes, and through him of M. de la Lu-
zerne, the plenipotentiary of Louis, obtained from
Congress an order for Asgill's discharge. In obeying
this behest, General Washington most strangely arro-
gated to himself the honour of humanity. In what-
ever light his agency might be viewed, he said, he was
never influenced by sanguinary motives, but was now
happy in sparing the effusion of innocent blood. That
his conduct wanted defence is evident from his attempt-
ing it, and it was so considered by all Europe ; but his
observations are not calculated to enforce any convic-
tion beyond the refutation of a charge which was never
advanced, that he was actuated by personal malice*.

However the British Government and people were
depressed and alarmed by the events of the last cam-
paign, General Washington considered them as by no
means sufficient to insure a speedy termination of the
contest on the only terms which America would ac-
cept, the complete and unqualified recognition of her
independence. Sensible of the spirit hitherto displayed
by the cabinet and nation, he could not believe that
the great public cause would be surrendered without
trying the events of another campaign ; and he feared
that, in his own army, the lassitude occasioned by long
service, and the discontents arising from want and ne-
glect, would combine with other causes to produce a
conviction that further exertions were unnecessary.
On this important subject he explained himself fully
to Congress, who, acknowledging the wisdom of his
suggestions, issued, with unusual unanimity, the neces-
sary orders for financial supplies and military rein-
forcements: but orders alone would not effect such
objects; the power to supply money, or the disposition
to enter into military service, no longer existed ; and,

* Remembrancer, vol. xiv. pp. 155 et seq. Annual Register, 1783. Appen-
dix to the Chronicle. Sparks's Life of Washington, vol. i. p. 378. Letters in
the State Paper Office.

GEORGE III. 387

although the General enforced the necessity of exer-
tion by two spirited and well-written circular letters
to the Governors of the States, it was soon apparent i?82.
that the only hope of pecuniary supply rested on France ;
and such was the languid state of warlike ardour, that,
when he arrived in camp, he found the whole number Apnl -
of effective men in the northern army below ten thou-
sand, and no probability of a speedy increase.

The declaration of ministers at the beginning of Effect of
the session, which were the latest known in America, proceedings? 7
were not calculated to produce perfect quiet. To re-
nounce offensive enterprizes, while strong posts were
to be maintained, commerce interrupted, and assistance
afforded to loyalists, promised only an intermission, not
a relinquishment of further operations, and a reserved in-
tention to resume them, should time and circumstances
render it desirable. Such was the impression made on
the mind of the General, and he communicated it to
Congress*.

The loyalists maintained to the last the high and The loyalists,
noble principles to which they had devoted them-
selves. They were divided into two classes ; those
who had been obliged to abandon their country and
take refuge with the British army, and those who
had remained at home, but refused to take the oaths
required by the revolutionary government. The first
portion had, without exception, been attainted, either
by acts of the provincial legislatures, in which they
were expressly named, or by proceedings before sheriffs.
Their estates were confiscated, and their debtors,
whether by bond, mortgage, or otherwise, decreed,
under severe penalties, to pay the amount into the
public treasury. The latter class had been excluded
from voting at elections or holding offices, and sub-
jected to double and treble taxation. To support these
meritorious persons would have been an act worthy of
the highest commendation, if it could have been re-
conciled to prudence, and if a plan had been formed
which would render their high sentiments available to

* Sparks's Life of Washington, vol. i. c. 14.

c c 2

388

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVI.

1782.
7th May.
Proceedings
on the arrival
of Sir Guy
Carleton.

9th May.
21st May.

Attempt to
negotiate
separately
with Holland.

1782.
January 16.

any beneficial purpose. Their countrymen hated them
with most deadly rancour.

When he assumed the command of the army, Sir
Guy Carleton accompanied the official intelligence of
his arrival with the pacific vote of the House of Com-
mons, adding a declaration of his intentions to alleviate
as much as possible the horrors of war, and requesting
a passport for his aid-de-camp to communicate with
Congress at Philadelphia. Washington refused the
passport, and limited the admission of flags of truce
to one single spot. His conduct was approved by
Congress ; and that body*, and several provincial legis-
latures, as if apprehensive of a schism on the subject
of peace, renewed or adopted resolutions against en-
tering into a separate treaty with Great Britain j\

As the powers combined against Great Britain had
engaged in hostilities at different periods, and upon
distinct grounds of quarrel, it was not unreasonable to
expect that separate treaties might be negotiated, and
that each power, feeling its own individual interests,
might relinquish an union which was not concerted by
any common cause of complaint or any general motive.

It appeared probable that Holland would be the
first to secede from an association from which no
benefit was likely to accrue, and which had already
been productive of so much calamity and evil. At an
early period of the year, Mr. Wentworth was entrusted
by the ministry with an ostensible commission to treat
for the exchange of prisoners, but with secret powers
to attempt discovering the sentiments of the leading
men at Amsterdam, to maintain an appearance of a
negotiation, whatever might be the final issue, but
without giving any advantage to those with whom he
might treat. The terms he was directed to propose
were not calculated to obtain ready compliance ; but, in
discussing them, modifications might have been devised.
They were, first, a proper satisfaction for the affront
given to his Majesty's dignity by the treaty with his
rebellious subjects, and the punishment of those who

* Set- Remembrancer, vol. xiv. p. 144.

t Idem, p. 143, 182.

GEORGE III.

took part in it ; second, that the United Provinces
should afford no asylum, aid, or protection, to pretended
ministers or agents of the United States, but oblige 1782.
them, particularly Mr. Adams, to withdraw from their
territories immediately; to prohibit the negotiation
of loans for their use, and to interdict the reception of
their ships, either armed or commercial, in their ports
in any quarter of the globe ; and third, to renew all
compacts which had subsisted between the two coun-
tries before the late rupture, excepting the maritime
treaty of 1674. It might easily be seen that England
was not in a situation to command such terms ; and the
hope of negotiating was excluded by a discovery that
the leading men in Holland had insuperable objections
to a renewal of the ancient connexion*.

The Empress was not deterred by her recent failure
from resuming her attempts at mediation. The Dutch
accepted her offer, provided that the unbounded liberty
of the sea should be laid down as a fundamental basis.
In making this artful proposal, the Dutch shewed a
complete knowledge of the views and feelings of her
to whom it was tendered. The desire which most
impressed her mind and flattered her pride was that of
introducing this new principle into the code of national
law ; and Count Osterman, the vice-chancellor, assured
Sir James Harris, that if England would consent to Feb. is.
this acknowledgment, she might have peace with Hol-
land on her own terms. The crafty Hollanders fore-
saw that Lord North and his friends would never
accede to such terms ; but, immediately on his acces-
sion to power, Mr. Fox proposed to M. Simolin a re- 29th Mareu
newed negotiation under the mediation of the Empress,
with an armistice until articles should be arranged;
and as to the principle which the Dutch as well as
the Empress insisted on, he offered to yield it, in defer- 2nd April.
ence to her imperial Majesty.

Before this period, it was supposed that the English
party in Holland had gained more authority, and hopes
were entertained of triumphing over the French fac-

* State Papers.

390

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVI.

1781.
18th Sept.

1782.
March.

20th.

tion, who strove to impede the treaty, without openly
contravening the Empress. The first measure was to
procure from Sweden an offer to co-operate in the
mediation, which the British cabinet refused, alleging
their former promise to the Empress*. Although the
States-general shewed more favourable dispositions
than formerly toward Great Britain, it was obvious
that, if France obtained many of their foreign settle-
ments by compact or recapture, and an apparent naval
superiority, no separate treaty with England could
take place. The Cape of Good Hope was already
under the protection of France: and soon afterward
De Bouille reconquered their most important West
India settlements. The escape of M. De Guichen
from Kempenfelt, and the great projects meditated by
France and Spain in the transatlantic world, together
with the hopeless state of the British arms in Europe,
the capture of Minorca, and blockade of Gibraltar,
gave a decisive turn to the politics of the Hague.
Their answer to the offer of the Empress precluded
the hope of peace ; and an article in the new compacts
between Holland and France prevented either from
making a separate treaty.

This intelligence not having reached England
when the pacific propositions and concessions were
made, ministers expressed in Parliament, with the
utmost confidence, the intention of effecting a separate
reconciliation, and directed our ambassadors to lose no
opportunity of cultivating a good understanding with
those of Holland; but the republic persisted in the
original design of fortifying the connexion with France.
In various instances the ascendancy of this influence
was evinced. The States of Holland first, and sub-
sequently the States-general, received and acknow-
ledged Mr. Adams as minister from the United States
of America ; a measure which, as Mr. Fox observed,
shewed a strong disinclination in the republic to smooth
the way to peace, although he hoped it would not be
an insurmountable impediment. The Empress was

* See Annual Register, 1781. Article, State Papers.

GEORGE III. 391

offended at the slight shewn to her mediation, and
jealous of the growing ascendancy of French influence
at the Hague ; but the Dutch, over confident in the
Bourbon alliance, treated her opinions with disrespect,
and finally rejected the proposed interference*.

As the pacific intentions of the new ministry were April.

f~\f f *V

well known, the imperial ambassador, Count Belgioioso, Emperor to
again proffered the good offices of his court, in an in- mediate.
sinuation verbale ; to which the Secretary of State an-
swered, that the King did not wish to prejudge any 28th April.
question, or to exclude any party from the negotiation ;
neither the States-general, nor the American colonies ;
he was ardently desirous of peace, and wished that it
should be speedy, but it must be equitable.

Austria had, however, no right to presume that Altered con-
Great Britain should rely with implicit confidence on impend court.
her mediatory efforts. It had long been apparent to
the English ambassador that Prince Kaunitz enter-
tained toward the cause of Great Britain sentiments
nearly approaching to malevolence. He predicted her
failure in the contest, and the necessity of ultimately
making large concessions ; and when statesmen publicly
indulge in such prophecies, they will rather contribute
to the event by their own exertions, than suffer their
prescience to fall into discredit. Kaunitz entered into
the armed confederacy with almost as much zeal as
Catherine herself, and was preparing, by the influence
of the Emperor, to make Venice adopt the same mea-
sure. His language to the English ambassador was
changed from extreme kindness to a haughty, harsh,
morose tone ; and, on every misfortune which attended
the British arms, the renewal of an offer to mediate
was accompanied with revilings and taunts against the
proud national spirit which had frustrated former efforts.
This alteration of conduct was the more offensive, as
the French ambassador was treated with proportionate
confidence, always preferred in audiences, and ostenta-
tiously courted with peculiar homage.

The cause of Great Britain seemeu degraded to

* Letters in the State Paper Office, under the dates mentioned, and many more.

392

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVI.

1782.

7lh May.
Mr. Grenville
sent to Paris.

Sanguine
hopes of the
enemy.

March 15th.

the lowest state ; ill success, and the prevalent opinion
of mismanagement, rendered the espousal of it among
the selfish powers of the continent almost disreputable ;
and, probably, the hope of wringing from the distressed
situation of the country concessions favourable to a
system of neutral duplicity, occasioned the eagerness
of the imperial courts to assume the task of mediation.

Under these difficult and critical circumstances,
in conformity with the answers returned by the Bour-
bon courts, ministers empowered Sir Robert Murray
Keith, the ambassador at Vienna, to commence a
treaty under the auspices of their imperial Majesties.
But as Mr. Thomas Grenville was already dispatched,
as Mr. Oswald had been before him, though without
any public character, to open a direct negotiation with
M. De Vergennes ; and as Paris was likely to be the
principal scene of business, Sir Robert was instructed
not to make, or even much encourage, an overture for
negotiation at Vienna ; though he was not, by receding
from the proposition, to disgust the mediating powers,
or create suspicions of our sincerity.

An attempt to negotiate on the part of Great
Britain was hailed by her enemies as the undisguised
indication of debility and despair. The unmeasured
triumph displayed on our late disasters, the proud
boasts of preparations for our destruction in all
quarters of the world, and the confident anticipation of
their result, were countenanced, if not instigated, by
the gloomy forebodings of our own party in opposition.
When Mr. Oswald, who was accompanied with
Mr. David, had arrived, the French journalists, who
dared to publish only what they were permitted, and
could not refuse to promulgate whatever they were com-
manded, announced the event by stating a report cur-
rent in Paris, that two Englishmen had recently ar-
rived to make overtures for peace. " It will not be an
" easy matter ; we are sure of Gribraltar and Jamaica,
*' and probably the English will not long retain any
" colony in the West Indies ; nor are their prospects,
" to our certain knowledge, more brilliant in India."

Whatever hope might be derived from the real or

GEORGE III. 393

exaggerated calamities of England, the internal situ-
ations of the countries of the allies afforded them no
ground of confidence. Spain was reduced to a de- 1732.
pendence on the subscription of individuals, not in state of the
aid, but as the chief support of government ; without encm y-
success, she had attempted to gain credit by establish-
ing a bank ; but the notes could only be put into circu-
lation at a ruinous discount ; with difficulty she had
obtained from Portugal a loan of twenty millions of
piastres ('3,550,000) at eight per cent, interest; but,
even with this aid, her paper was at a discount of four-
teeen per cent. ; her South American colonies were
torn by rebellion ; and if England had retaliated on
Spain by affording only slight succours to the insur-
gents, the whole Spanish marine and a great land
force would have been required for their reduction.
France, awaking from the dream of financial delusion, p
had discovered that Necker had proceeded in the war
without the imposition of taxes, by borrowing, every
year, in addition to the current supplies, the interest
of previous loans ; a system which would in time call
for severe impositions, or general bankruptcy. It also
appeared that the present war had been carried on at
a greater expense of treasure than any which had oc-
curred since the days of Louis XIV. Not less than
five or six millions sterling had been coined every year
at the different mints, and carried out of the country.
Guineas were purchased at four per cent, premium,
while victuals, clothing, and many other articles were
bought from Great Britain ; and contraband trade was
carried on to an immense extent. Even in this reduced
state, her beggared exchequer was taxed for a supply
of 350,000, to relieve the more urgent necessities of
America.

Even after the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, the state of
attainment of American independence by force, ap- Amc
peared to many no more certain than at at any pre-
vious period. The resources of the country were ex-
hausted, the long interruption of commerce produced
a lamentable want of all necessaries, a want felt from
the highest to the lowest classes throughout the colo-

CHAP.
XLIV.

1782.

Objections to
independence.

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

nies. No art or coercion could give circulation to the
paper currency ; a loan negotiated in Holland failed ;
and, after the pecuniary contribution already noticed,
Franklin obtained as a loan, for the service of the cur-
rent year, six millions of livres (250,000); but it was
inadequate to its purposes, and in great part consumed
before it was obtained* : and not only the friends of
Great Britain, but the warmest adherents of America,
considered the maintenance of the army for another
year, and still more the establishment of independency,
as utterly impossible, and hardly desirable^. After
the surrender of Lord Cornwallis, Sir Henry Clinton
forwarded an assurance to administration, that, with a
reinforcement of ten thousand men only, he would be
responsible for the conquest of America^. Other
officers were no less sanguine; they professed, that
with only a few battalions they could march from one
end of the continent to the other. In communicating
this boastful intimation, Mr. Oswald very properly ob-
served, that military men, generally inattentive to cir-
cumstances out of the line of their profession, relied
with too much confidence on representations, which,
however sincere and well-meant, had been so often
found to be fallacious. But had it been otherwise,
the ministers, who alone could be expected to give to
Clinton's advice effect, were shaken ; a new system was
adopted, active hostilities were no more to be pursued,
and he was allowed to retire.

The latest struggle of the defeated administration
was to avert from the country the disgrace of a hasty
and compulsory concession of American independence ;
to this tended their desire to maintain a war of posts,
and their overtures for a coalition. The Buckingham
party had long declared, and consistently supported,
the justice and inevitable necessity of granting inde-
pendence ; but Lord Shelburne had been no less stre-
nuous in asserting that disgrace and calamity must

* Memoirs of Franklin, vol. ii. p. 324.

t See intercepted Letters of Silas Deane, Remembrancer, vol. xiii. p. 71.

From private information.

7th of August, 17^2. Mr. Oswald to Lord Skelburue. State Papers.

GEORGE III. 395

ensue to Great Britain from such a concession. He
had made an explicit declaration in the House of
Lords, " that he would never enter into an official 1782.
" situation with any man, however great his abili-
" ties, who would either maintain that it was right or
" consistent to allow the independency of America* ;"
and, even in the present session of Parliament, Mr.
Dunning, his confidential friend and adviser, had treated
the proposition as almost amounting to high treason.
But Lord Shelburne had either receded from his for-
mer opinions, or would not venture to encounter such
an opposition as he had witnessed and supported
against Lord North.

Mr. Grenville was furnished with proper creden- May i.
tials, but directed to seek an introduction to M. De f^f * Dr
Vergennes through Dr. Franklin; a measure quite un- Franklin.
necessary, as he had already been introduced during
the embassy of Lord Stormont. In taking this course,
Mr. Fox availed himself of the opportunity of writing
a letter to Dr. Franklin, with whom he does not appear
to have been previously acquainted, containing assur-
ances of his esteem and respect ; begging him to be-
lieve that the change in his situation had not made any
in his ardent wishes for reconciliation, and expressing
confidence that no prejudices against Mr. Grenville's
name would prevent a due estimation of his excellent
qualities of heart and head, or a belief in the sincerity
of his wishes for peace. In answer, Dr. Franklin, jf th -
acknowledged the excellent qualities of Mr. Grenville,
and declared that the name did not lessen the regard
which they were calculated to inspire^.

Mr. Grenville's instructions were, after endeavour- A P ril 3 9-
ing to ascertain the sincerity of De Vergennes, to to\ *
assure him of his Majesty's earnest desire of peace, ville -
and request a general outline of his notions on the
subject. He was to state the King's readiness to
concede the point so much insisted on, and declared by
the Court of Versailles, in the last answer to the medi-
ating powers, to be the true subject of the war, the

* See debates in the House of Lords, 7th December, 1778 : the conclusion of
Lord Shelburne's speech.

f- Franklin's Memoirs, rol. ii. pp. 331, 335.

396

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP
XL VI.

1782.

Conduct of
Dr. Franklin
a:.d De Ver-
gennes.
May 9.

complete independency of the American states, with
an evacuation of all the posts still retained in that
country, provided that a reciprocal restitution should
take place in all quarters of the globe, and every thing
be reinstated as it was at the peace of Paris. He was
to communicate this plan to Dr. Franklin, to try
whether a separate treaty could be effected, and after-
wards see Count d'Aranda or not, as circumstances
might direct.

If ministers really expected to accomplish separate
treaties, they were speedily undeceived. At their
first interview, Dr. Franklin informed Mr. Grenville
that he, Mr. Laurens, Mr. Jay, and Mr. Adams, all or
any of them, had power to bind Congress by any treaty
they should make. They had no engagements with
France beyond the late treaties of alliance and commerce,
which were already public ; but America was under
great obligations to France, and must preserve good
faith. Mr. Grenville stated, that peace on reasonable
terms was the wish of every body ; but, as an interview
with M. De Vergennes was arranged for the morrow,
particulars were not entered into. Franklin suggested
that Spain might want something, perhaps Gibraltar,
which, he said, could be of little use to England, now
she had lost Minorca, and had less commerce to de-
fend. Mr. Grenville said, he hoped no such demand
would be made, as all England was decided on the
subject ; nor could it be of any importance to America
who retained or who acquired that fortress. He made
an experiment on the sentiments of America, by en-
quiring whether there was in that country a good dis-
position toward England 1 ? Franklin answered that
there were roots, but they would require much manage-
ment ; and he intimated, as one mode of displaying
kindness, that the prisoners returning to America
should be supplied with money, and that the British
Government should make the disbursements necessary
to enable those whose houses had been destroyed
during the war to rebuild them*.

* Mr. Grenville to Mr. Fox, 10th May ; and Franklin, rol ii. p, 332, where
the account is very meagre.

GEORGE III, 397

This conversation afforded no hope of a separate,
and little of any peace with the Colonies ; but the in-
terview of the following day placed the expectation at 1782.
a distance still more remote. From the accounts of the
two parties already referred to, it may be collected,
that the French minister shewed, in reality, no dis-
position to treat, but rather affected to deride the pro-
positions which were submitted to him. On the pro-
posal that, in consideration of the concession of Ame-
rican independence, France should give up the British
islands, and receive back Miquelon and St. Pierre, he
said, and (in a manner which in an affair of less im-
portance might have been deemed ludicrous) called
Franklin to witness, that France had not made Ame-
rica independent, but found her so*. The Doctor con-
firmed this observation, by saying that his countrymen
could not consider themselves under any necessity of
bargaining for that which was in their possession, pur-
chased at such an expense of blood and treasure. In
answer to the observation, that in this concession the
sole object of the war had been attained, the French
minister referred with much bitterness to the acquisi-
tions, beyond the original objects of the last war, which
England had made at the peace of Paris. On the
subject of India, he said, " Why cannot you be con-
" tent with Bengal. Your arms are grown too long
" for your body." Finally, he expressed a strong per-
suasion, that England must make many important and
extensive sacrifices before negotiation could be enter-
tained with the least prospect of success, the last
peace being that which both France and Spain were
most intent upon excluding from consideration. In
that transaction, the French had experienced every
indignity from us ; he could not read it without shud-
dering ; and, in making a new treaty, his country must
be relieved from every circumstance in which its dig-
nity had been hurtf. On another occasion, he said

* Considering what had passed between him and Lord Stormont from 1776
to 1778, it required no ordinary share of confidence in M. De Vergennes to make
this assertion. Ante, vol. ii p. 535, 537.

t Mr. Grenville's dispatch above mentioned, and Franklin, p. 332. It is
curious to observe, and not easily to be accounted for, that in their corre-

398

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVI.

1782.

May 21
Increasing
pretensions of
the allied
powers.

that if the treaty of 1763 must be mentioned at all,
the expression should be, not that it shall be confirmed,
but that it shall be annulled, except as to certain par-
ticulars.

In the progress of the negotiation, the enemy, far
from mitigating, rather enhanced their claims on En-
gland. Count d' Aranda adopted the declaration that
his country had no share in creating the independence
of America; she expected the cession of Florida
and Gibraltar ; France required very essential altera-
tions in the Newfoundland fishery and the African
trade ; more than Grenada in the West Indies, and an
extensive surrender of commerce and territory in India.
It was expected, and Franklin countenanced the ex-
pectation, that these demands would be supported by
America. As the independence of America was not
to be a conditional article, but a preliminary con-
cession, it was expected that a treaty with that country
could have been effected without the introduction of
other powers ; for, if her ministers refused to treat with-
out France, and France maintained that, as Spain and
Holland were her allies, she could not proceed without
them, difficulties would arise sufficient to render a
treaty hopeless. De Vergennes objected to Mr. Gren-
ville's credentials, because they did not extend to all the
belligerent powers ; not that all should be included in
one treaty, but that sufficient authority should be given
to treat with all ; and to this extent, Mr. Grenville's
powers were enlarged*.

spondence, at this period, both the English and American negotiator substituted
for the title ot Doctor, by which Franklin was known to all the world, the less
dignified term Mr. (Franklin, pp 332, 335, 336.) Mr. Grcnville was too polite
and considerate to offer this as an affront ; and, by submitting to and
acquiescing in such a mark of disrespect, if intended, Franklin would have shewn
himself deficient in the manly pride which became his station. It was also a
circumstance worth notice, that La Fayette endeavoured to persuade Franklin,
that he ought to be employed in London, as the Due de Nemours had been
during the negotiation ~of the last peace ; he was, he said, an American citizen,
and well able, from his knowledge of both languages, to collect and impart use-
ful information. He was desirous of being introduced to Mr Grcnville and Mr.
Oswald. Dr. Franklin does not seem to have interested himself in promoting
the wish of the Marquis ; but proposed to Mr. Oswald to meet him at breakfast,
" as he might have some curiosity to see a person who had in this war rendered
" himself so remarkable " Nothing further was done in the matter, and the
project was abandoned. Franklin, pp. 334, 348.

* In all, but the places where other authority is expressly quoted, the infor-
mation is derived from documents in the State Paper Office.

GEORGE III. 399

CHAPTER THE FORTY-SEVENTH.

17781782.

Expectations and projects of the Enemy. Return of Admiral
Rodney to England. His interview with the King. Let-
ter of Lord Sandwich he sails. Rodney's arrival at Barba-
does. State of Jamaica. Proceedings of Rodney. His
fleet. Vast preparations of France and Spain. Partial
actions. Great victory. Conduct of ministers toward
Rodney. His recall. Motions of thanks and honours.
Proceedings in the West Indies. The Bahamas taken.
Destruction of settlements. Captures by the English.
Slow progress of the negotiation. Effect of Rodney's
victory in France. Treatment of De Grasse. War in
India. Capture of French settlements. Siege of Pon-
dicherry. Action between Vernon and Tronjolly. Pon-
dicherry taken. Sentiments of Hyder Ally. Mahe taken.
War with the natives. Efforts of France. War with
Holland. Secret expedition. Commodore Johnstone at-
tacked by De Suffrein. Five Dutch East-indiamen taken.
Negapatam and other places taken. Arrival of the
English squadron. Sir Edward Hughes captures six
transports his first, second, and third engagements with
De Suffrein. Trincomale recaptured Fourth engagement.
Siege of Cuddalore. Fifth engagement. Naval exertions
in Europe. Sundry captures. The Dutch confined in port.
Junction of the French and Spanish fleets. Fate of
Rodney's prizes. Loss of the Royal George. Progress of
negotiation America, France Holland and Spain.

HITHERTO the negotiating powers had treated CHAP.
Great Britain as a prostrate enemy, bound to endure XLVU -
censures and to receive commands, humbly to sue for

400

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVII.

1778.

Expectations
and projects
of the enemy.

March 2Gth.

peace, and to receive it as a boon graciously bestowed,
without presuming to resist or almost daring to com-
plain. Considering that the persons now in power
had for so many years proclaimed the wrongs of Ame-
rica, vindicated her proceedings, and gloried in sharing
the sentiments she professed ; considering too that
success warranted some presumption ; it is not to be
wondered at if Dr. Franklin assumed a lofty tone,
made extravagant claims, or demanded larger con-
cessions than could be warranted by any reasoning
fairly resulting from events. Opinions of the prostrate
condition of England were derived from or confirmed
by persons who were employed to offer propositions of
peace. From their representations to Mr. Adams at
the Hague, he wrote to Dr. Franklin that the dis-
tresses of the people and the distractions in admini-
stration and Parliament were sufficient to produce
almost any effect that could be imagined. Franklin
entertained similar, or even stronger notions. On the
expulsion of Lord North, he stated it as a doubtful
proposition, whether the new ministry would ask a
peace, of which they had great need, having of late
suffered many losses, men grown extremely scarce, and
Lord North's new taxes, proposed as funds for the
loan, meeting with great opposition ; or whether they
would strive to find new resources and obtain allies, to
enable them to please the King and nation by some
vigorous exertions against France, Spain, and Holland.
" With regard to America," he observed, " having,
" while in opposition, carried their vote for making no
" longer an offensive war with us, they have tied their
" own hands from acting against us*."

France and Spain did not stand in a position so
advantageous with the ministers of England. They
had been applauded as supporters of a favoured cause ;
their naval, military, and financial operations had been
wildly extolled ; but no one had been carried so far by
the zeal of party as to wish the accomplishment of their
designs for our ruin ; and their present presumption

Franklin's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 293, 298.

GEORGE III. 401

arose from their success in effecting the severance XLV'

from us of those colonies which were deemed essential

to our existence, the acquisition of several of our most 1782.
valued possessions, and in the anticipated success of
plans for annihilating our naval superiority, wresting
from us our remaining and most highly valued trans-
atlantic possessions, destroying our power in India,
and disgracing and humbling us in our own estima-
tion and the eyes of all the world, by the conquest of
a fortress, which, whatever its value, was estimated by
every Englishman as a possession with which our
national fame and honour were inseparably connected.
These plans were so well matured, and their execution
so amply provided for, that a failure seemed nearly
impossible, and the enemy assumed as much confidence
as if success had already been attained. ijsi.

When the negotiation had proceeded to the extent Return of
already mentioned, intelligence was received of the Rodney to
termination of one of these attempts ; an event most En s land -
important to the interest and honour of the country.
When the approach of the hurricane season rendered
further naval operations improbable, and the state of
affairs in the West Indies made his absence not im-
proper, Admiral Rodney, foreseeing the efforts which
would be made by France and Spain in the ensuing
year, and sensible of the necessity of meeting by ade-
quate reinforcements the naval force which they
were accumulating, repaired to England to solicit and
to enforce, by his personal persuasions, the exertions
which he saw to be so indispensable. Relying on the
evident importance of his intended return, he did not
ask leave, nor did he find it necessary, for the Admi-
ralty cordially adopted his opinions, and ordered the
immediate equipment of twelve ships of the line to ac-
company him on his return. Before this order could December
be accomplished, he was honoured by the King with a His interview
closet audience, at which his Majesty, referring to Wltluhe Km b r -
intelligence just received of the movements of De
Grasse, expressed great anxiety for the fate of the
West India islands. The patriotic and spirited Admi-
ral, without hesitation, proposed that, instead of wait-

VOL. III. D D

402 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

" j n g f or th e completion of the intended reinforcements,

he would instantly repair to Portsmouth, and proceed

1782. to the West Indies with such ships as he should find
ready, trusting that he should soon be followed by the
remainder*.

At Portsmouth, he found only four ships ready,
Le'tterV Lord but was joined by two more off Plymouth. He had
sandwich. every reason to be confident that his success would
not be impeded by neglect in government ; for, at this
port, he received a kind and cordial letter from Lord
Sandwich, approving all his measures, promising ac-
quiescence in all his demands, and concluding with
the cheering, though solemn, observation, " The
" fate of this empire is in your hands, and I have no
" reason to wish that it should be in any other." The
eagerness of the Admiral to shew himself worthy of
this confidence was checked by the elements ; he was
detained some time in Torbay by contrary winds and
violent storms ; and, during that time, had the morti-
fication to hear of the recapture of St. Eustatia, which
he considered the most disgraceful affair that had ever
occurred, and, in unmeasured terms, supported how-
ever by very cogent facts, stigmatized the conduct of
Colonel Cockburne-j*.

He sails. During this delay, the reinforcement was com-

pleted; Rodney sailed with twelve ships of the line,
and was joined, during his voyage, by two more. Op-
position lavished censures on administration for per-
mitting him to proceed directly for the West Indies
with such a force, when he should have been employed,
conjointly with Kempenfelt, in preventing the arrival
of supplies to the enemy. Ministers, however, wisely
judged that the important object of gaining a decided
preponderance in the West Indies by the junction of
Rodney and Hood, was not to be endangered by the
R^dn^s precarious pursuit of inferior advantage. After a
arrival. voyage of about five weeks, Rodney arrived at Barba-

* It was during this stay in London that Rodney had the opportunity of ap-
pearing in his place in the House of Commons, and refuting, in the most satisfac-
tory manner, the allegations of Mr. Burke.

t Mundy's Life of Lord Rodney, vol. ii. p. 199.

GEORGE III. 40f3

does. He had hoped to prevent the fall of St. Christo- XLVU
pher's ; but, while sailing for its relief, met Sir Samuel

Hood, who imparted the tidings of its surrender, and 1782.
the retreat of De Grasse to Martinique.

In the course of the war, in which so much political
feeling had been employed, the people of Jamaica had
not been altogether passive or tranquil, although they
had shewn, on all occasions, a sincere attachment to
the Crown, and a determination to employ their utmost
means in resisting invasion. Disputes between the
Governor and the Assembly had impeded the disci-
plining of the militia, and a duty on sugar, imposed
in England, had produced a resolution in the legisla-
tive body not to grant money for forts and fortifica-
tions; but, on the appearance of imminent danger,
all differences of opinion suddenly gave way, and
harmony was restored. The Governor having sent a
message to the House of Assembly, requiring an aid
to effect certain defensive improvements at Port Royal,
that body most cheerfully and liberally voted the sum
required; and afterward granted an additional forty
thousand pounds for fortifications ; the militia system
was reformed according to the Governor's desire ; and
those who had expressed a dread of martial law, as a
greater evil than any other they were likely to en-
counter, now conformed in the measures dictated by
public necessity. Still the available force for defence
of this most valuable island was evidently incompetent
and deficient*.

Admiral Rodney remained only a few hours at
Barbadoes; the selfish spirit which prevailed among
the inhabitants of this and other British islands,
and led them, for the sake of great profits, to fur-
nish supplies of every kind to the enemy, gave him
great uneasiness ; while the shameful surrender, as he
considered it, not only of St. Eustatia, but of Deme-

* It is stated at 1282 regulars, with 189 black pioneers; 533 provincials,
with 36 black pioneers, and 3000 militia, exclusive of those necessary to be left
for defence of the denies. Letters in the State Paper Office. Lieutenant-
Governor Campbell to Lord George Germainc, 16th November, 1781. Governor
Dalling to Lord George Germaine, 24th November, and Lieutenant-Governor
Campbell, 23rd December, same year, and 6th March, 1782.

D D 2

404

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV1I.

1782.

His fleet.

Vast prepara-
tion of France.

Partial
actions.

8th April.

9th.

lOthandllth.

rary, St. Christopher's, and other possessions, filled him
with indignation. On his junction with Sir Samuel
Hood, the British admiral had under Ms command at
Gros-Islet Bay, in St. Lucie, thirty-six ships of the
line, beside frigates, manned with 21,608 seamen; but
their condition in respect of provisions was very bad,
Sir Samuel Hood's division having been for some
time utterly unprovided with bread. In prospect of
the intended conquests, which were to have ex-
tended from Jamaica to Barbadoes, the French and
Spaniards had accumulated all the force they could
muster ; Count de Grasse and the Marquis de Bouille
had, at Martinique, thirty-three ships of the line, two
of fifty guns, and many frigates, with a numerous land
force; while Don Bernardo de Galvez was waiting at
Cape Fran9ois, in hopes of a junction which would
have made their armament amount to nearly fifty ships
of the line, with twenty thousand troops. So confi-
dent, it is said, were the Spaniards of success, that,
before he sailed from the Havannah, Galvez was ad-
dressed in council as Governor of Jamaica.

As it was the duty of the French admiral to avoid
any conflict before his union with the Spaniards should
give him an irresistible superiority of force, so patri-
otism, duty, and undaunted bravery, impelled the
British commander to seek, and, even if circumstances
should present some disadvantages, to force an en-
counter. Some days were spent in obtaining water,
distributing stores, and making other judicious arrange-
Inents, when, by a signal through a chain of frigates
stationed between St. Lucie and Martinique, he learned
that the French admiral had unmoored, and was pro-
ceeding to sea. His anchors were immediately hoisted,
and in little more than two hours the fleet was under
weigh, standing toward the French. On the following
morning, the van and centre were within cannon shot of
the enemy's rear ; but a sharp cannonade which ensued,
proved partial and indecisive, from the falling of the
wind, and the becalming of a great portion of the
fleet under the highlands of Dominica. In the course of
the two next days the French kept far to windward, and

GEORGE III. 405

would probably have escaped, but for a movement they
made to save one of their ships, which, through an ac-
cident, had dropped to leeward. 1782.

Through this casualty, the British admiral had the I 2th - .
inexpressible satisfaction, at day break, to discover him-
self in a situation to weather a large part of the enemy's
fleet, which was now reduced to thirty ships, two
having been damaged in action, and the one before-
mentioned being crippled by accident. The line of
battle was formed in an incredibly short time, the offi-
cers of the fleet having acquired the utmost expertness
in naval evolutions in the course of the last two years'
practice on this station. At half past seven in the
morning, the action was began. The two fleets met
on opposite tacks, and, there being little wind, the
British ships ranged slowly along, and those under the
lee of the enemy's line delivered a tremendous fire,
which the French received, and returned with firmness.
At noon, Sir George Rodney, in the Formidable,
having passed the Ville de Paris, the Count de Grasse's
ship, and her second, so close as to be almost in con-
tact, and having made a visible impression on them,
by a quick and well-directed fire, stood athwart the
enemy's line, between the second and third ships,
astern the Ville de Paris, followed and nobly supported
by the Duke, Namur, and Canada; the rest of his
division coming up in succession. The Formidable
wore round ; and a signal being made for the van divi-
sion under Admiral Drake to tack, the British fleet
thus gained the wind, and stood upon the same tack
with the enemy. By this bold manoeuvre the French
line was broken, separated, and thrown into confu-
sion* : it decided the fate of the day, although it did
not end the conflict. The rear of the British fleet,
being becalmed, did not for some time get into action,
and at last was favoured only by a slight breeze. The
French ships being crowded with men, the carnage

* This manoeuvre was considered to be new, and much discussion has arisen
whether or not the thought originated with the brave admiral who so well exe-
cuted at. From the statements made and collected by General Mundy, in re-
lating this great event, it is fair to conclude that Rodney has a just claim to the
invention. Life of Rodney, vol. ii. p. '294.

406 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

X'LVII was P r digious. Count de Grasse, with his own, and

_J the other ships in the centre, withstood till evening all

1782. the efforts of the various ships that attacked him. At
length, Captain Cornwallis of the Canada, of seventy-
four guns, having compelled the Hector of equal force
to strike, left her to be taken possession of by a fri-
gate, and assailed the Ville de Paris, which in two
hours he reduced almost to a wreck : still the French
admiral refused to surrender, when, toward sun-set, Sir
Samuel Hood in the Barfleur, who had hitherto been
becalmed, arriving, and pouring in a destructive fire,
he yielded in ten minutes, after continuing his exer-
tions till only three men were left unhurt on the upper
deck, of whom himself was one. Beside the Ville de
Paris, the Hector, the Caesar, and the Glorieux of
seventy-four guns, and the Ardent of sixty-four, were
taken, and the Diadem, another seventy-four, was sunk
by a single broadside from the Formidable. Night
terminated the engagement, when the British admiral
collected his fleet, and took measures for securing the
prizes. Unfortunately the Csesar blew up in the night,
owing to the licentious conduct of an English seaman ;
and a lieutenant and fifty British sailors, with about
four hundred prisoners, perished. The Ville de Paris
was freighted with thirty-six chests of money, destined
for the pay and subsistence of the troops in the designed
attack on Jamaica ; and it seems to have been singu-
larly providential, that the whole train of artillery,
with the battering cannon and travelling carriages
meant for that expedition, were on board the captured
vessels*.

The loss of men sustained by the British fleet, in
the actions of the ninth and twelfth of April, amounted
only to two hundred and thirty-seven killed, and seven
hundred and sixty wounded ; while that of the enemy

* The Ville de Paris was the largest ship in the French King's service ; she
was a present from the city of Paris to Louis XV ; and no expense was spared to
render the gift worthy both of the city and the monarch. Her building and fitting
for sea are said to have cost a hundred and seventy -six thousand pounds strrlinir.
Before she was dispatched on this service (4th Sept. 1781), she was said not to
be sea-worthy, unless she underwent a complete careening ; but in the eagerness
of the French Government, this was omitted.

GEORGE III. 407

was computed at three thousand slain, and more than XLVU

six thousand wounded. The French ships that escaped .

were almost reduced to wrecks. The British line con- 1782.
sisted of thirty-six, and the French line of thirty-two
ships : but six vessels of Hood's division, from the
scantiness of the wind, never could be brought into
the general action, and the disparity in number of ves-
sels was more than compensated by the size of the
French ships, and their greater weight of metal. It
was calculated that, from the greater power of their
lower deck batteries, the total weight of a broadside
of the French fleet exceeded one from ours by four
thousand three hundred and ninety-six pounds. The
difference in the number of men was still more con-
siderable; the French always employing a greater
complement than the English to the same tonnage, and
having, besides, the assistance of a large body of land
forces. The victory was ascribed to the superior bra-
very of the British seamen, most conspicuously dis-
played in close action.

Four of the ships which escaped took refuge in the
Dutch island of Curasao ; but the remainder, under
Bougainville and Vaudreuil, steered for Cape Frangois.
Sir Samuel Hood afterward captured the Jason and
the Caton of seventy-four guns, and two frigates, in
the Mona passage, between Hispaniola and Porto Rico.
Rodney, after an unsuccessful search for the fugitive
enemy, repaired to Jamaica, where he was hailed with
enthusiastic exultation and the gratitude due to a
deliverer*.

In all respects, this glorious achievement, so honour- Conduct of
able and beneficial to the country, was injurious to the
credit and popularity of administration. Whether it
arose from personal dislike, or from resentment at his
having been countenanced by the King and Lord
Sandwich, their censures of him had always been un-

* For all the above particulars, I have consulted the Histories, Gazettes, and
official publications, and Beatson's Naval and Military Memoirs, but have prin-
cipally relied on Mundy's Life of Lord Rodney, vol. ii. p. 167, et seqq. and the
work of Sir Gilbert Blane, the friend and medical adviser of the admiral, who
was present during the action, intitled " Select dissertations on subjects of medi-
" cal science," p. 72. The whole passage is extracted by General Mundy.

408

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVII.

1 782.

His recall.

Sensation of
the public.

sparing, unfeeling, and unjust. For the first six weeks
after their accession to office, no letter to the command-
ing officer on a station and a service so important, was
sent to express civility, impart instruction, or require
information*. Their first notice of him was by a letter
which announced his recall, without assigning any
reason, either public or personal, without an expression
either of civility or regret : upon the whole, in a manner
that no gentleman could have expected from a board of
gentlemen ; no naval officer from a body over which a
naval officer presided^.

Admiral Pigot had not left London many days
before the news of Rodney's victory arrived. Ministers,
sensible of the error they had committed, dispatched,
with extraordinary speed, a courier, hoping to prevent
the departure of their appointed admiral ; but he
arrived too late:. The intelligence acted on the public
like a reviving cordial ; unbounded joy and exultation
were manifested in every form. A general illumination,
perfectly spontaneous, neither commanded by authority
nor enforced by faction, testified the satisfaction of the
metropolis, and festivals and rejoicings took place in
various parts of the kingdom. Proportioned to this
well-merited expression of national joy at the rescue
of most important colonies from the grasp of the enemy,
was that of indignation at the insult offered to the
commander by whom so much was achieved. The
unjust invectives which had been uttered against him
were recalled to recollection ; and, considering by whom
the removal of Rodney had been promoted, comparisons
were instituted, whether justly or not, between him
and the First Lord of the Admiralty. The 27th of

* Mundy, vol. ii, p. 324.
f The following is the letter :

SIR, Admiralty Office, May 1 , 1 782.

Lord Viscount Keppel having signified his Majesty's pleasure
that Hugh Pigot, Esq. Admiral of the Blue, be appointed to relieve you in the
command of his Majesty's ships at Bar Dadoes and the Leeward Islands, I am
commanded by my lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to acquaint you there-
with, and that he will immediately proceed thither, for that purpose, in his
Majesty's ship the Jupiter.

I have the honour to be, &c. &c.

PHILIP STEPHENS.
; Mundy, vol. ii, p. 307 ; Beatson, vol. v. p. 480.

GEORGE III. 409

July was contrasted with the 12th of April, in every XLVH
form that malice could supply.

Under these mortifying circumstances, duty cast 1732.
upon ministers the task of obtaining honours and i;th May.
rewards for the popular naval victor.

Lord Keppel moved, in the House of Lords, three Motions of
resolutions, thanking the Commander-in-Chief, Sir K^J nd
Samuel Hood, Admiral Drake, Commodore Affleck,
Sir Charles Douglas and the other officers and com-
manders of the fleet ; and approving the conduct of
the seamen, marines, and troops. An altercation arose,
not from opposition to the motion, for in that all con-
curred, but from the eager desire of the late administra-
tion to extort from their successors higher encomiums
and greater honours than they were willing to bestow.
Rodney's victory was extolled above that of Lord
Hawke ; the report of an intended peerage was con-
sidered not sufficiently explicit ; his services would be
inadequately rewarded with a rank inferior to that of
viscount or earL " My own ancestor," Lord Sandwich
observed, " was for his services made an earl, and
" master of the wardrobe for three lives ; and surely
" what Sir George Rodney had done, merited at least
" an earldom, with an annuity of two or three thou-
" sand pounds annexed to it : his last action alone
" deserved as much." The ministry were also severely
reproached for his intended recall. On each of these
points many sharp retorts were used on both sides ;
and Lord Keppel evaded an avowal of the intention
to remove the popular commander, by stating that no
evidence of the fact existed ; it was a vague report,
and therefore improperly introduced in debate.

In the House of Commons, Mr. Fox moved thanks 22nd.
to Sir George Rodney alone, but, on the suggestion
of Lord North, added the flag officers, acknowledging,
with frank politeness, his obligation to the ex-minister
for the correction, and for his moderation in leaving
the amendment to the servants of the Crown. In soth.
answer to a question from Mr. Rolle, with character-
istic firmness, he stated, without hesitation or circum-
locution, that Rodney was superseded. Mr. Rolle

410

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVII.

1782.

23rd May.

Proceedings
in the West
Indies.

6th May.

founded on this avowal two motions, affirming and
censuring the change of the commanders. Mr. Fox
said, the resolution to recall the Admiral had been
adopted before the intelligence of the late glorious
victory arrived ; his conduct at St. Eustatia had excited
prejudices, and made the planters his enemies ; but
his newly-acquired glory was sufficient to balance his
former demerits, and he was willing to bury in oblivion
all inquiries, unless provoked by the intemperate zeal
of the Admiral's friends. Mr. Burke adopted the same
sentiments, observing, that if there was a bald spot on
the head of Rodney, he had no objection to cover it
with laurels. These applauses, mixed with threats,
occasioned severe animadversions in the House, and
were warmly resented by the public. Mr. Rolle's first
motion was, however, evaded by the previous question,
and his second withdrawn. A monument was voted
in commemoration of Captains Bayne, Blair, and Lord
Robert Manners*, who were slain in the late actions.
Sir George Rodney obtained a pension of two thou-
sand pounds, and was created a Baron of Great
Britain-)- ; Sir Samuel Hood received the same rank in
the Irish peerage; and Admiral Drake and Commodore
Affleck were made baronets.

After the great event of the 12th of April, the
war was not vigorously prosecuted in the West Indies.
Don Juan Manuel de Cagigal, Governor of Cuba, with
three frigates and sixty sail of transports, conveying
two thousand five hundred troops and as many seamen,

* This young nobleman, son of the Marquis of Granby and brother of the
Duke of Rutland, was commander of the Resolution of seventy-four puns. His
leg was shot off, and he received other wounds : his recovery was hoped, but his
death was produced by a locked jaw, while on his passage to England.

t To close, at once, the enumeration of the acknowledgments so deservedly
made to this truly illustrious Admiral, it may be added, that in 1793, after his
death, the pension of two thousand pounds was annexed to his title for ever, and
in 1806 an addition of one thousand pounds per annum was, on the motion of
Lord Grenville, granted to hisgrandson. In his own person Rodney received every
possible mark of personal gratitude and affection. The cities of London, Edin-
burgh, and Cork, and the borough of Huntingdon, presented him with their free-
doms in gold boxes, and he also was made a freeman of Liverpool, Northampton,
Exeter, Yarmouth, Poole, Bristol, Dundee, Leicester, and Winchester. Many
other marks of respect were paid to him in England, and, in addition to other
acknowledgments, the legislature of Jamaica voted one thousand pounds for a
statue to commemorate their deliverance through his means. Mundy, vol. ii.
pp. 266, 331, 380. After the peace, the Empress of Russia ottered him the high-
est rank in her naval service ; but it was declined.

GEORGE III. 411

fell suddenly on the Bahama Islands, where Lieutenant- CHAP.
Colonel Maxwell, the governor, had only a garrison of

a hundred and seventy invalids. The conquest was 1782.
achieved without bloodshed, and the captor granted ^';
liberal terms of capitulation. 8th.

A squadron also sailed from Cape Franois, con- sist May.
sisting of a seventy-four and two frigates of thirty-six 5ceS f
guns, under the command of the since celebrated La
Perouse, which, after encountering great difficulties, 8th, nth,2ist.
and working a perilous passage through the ice, de-
stroyed some defenceless settlements on Hudson's,
Haye's, and Nelson's rivers.

The English captured some forts on the Musquito July.
shore from the Spaniards, and took from the Dutch,
Acra, on the coast of Africa, with four other forts.

In expectation, probably, of events far different
from those which really occurred, the French ministers O fnego?iatfon.
delayed, rather than promoted, the progress of negotia-
tion. Had success crowned their arms, their intrigues
would have left England helpless at their mercy. They
availed themselves of the frankness of the British ad-
ministration to injure their character. Prince Kaunitz
spoke with haughty indignation of the contempt shewn
to the mediating powers by commencing a direct nego-
tiation ; derided the British Cabinet for begging peace
at every door; refused to admit that France was equally
blameable for accepting, as England for making, such
overtures, and expressed no satisfaction at the late
glorious victory.

If jealousy of the naval power of Great Britain 4th June,
occasioned this indifference, the ministry employed the
most effectual means to remove it, by a prompt declara-
tion that the late events made no alteration in their
desire for peace, or in the terms proposed as a basis.
France, however, still placing sanguine reliance on
exertions they had prepared to make in the East Indies
and before Gibraltar, sought to protract its treaty by
artifice, without precluding themselves from the means
of advancing in it, should their hopes be frustrated.
M. De Vergennes remitted, through Mr. Grenville, a
paper, approving the peace of Paris as the basis of

412

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVII.

1782.

Effect of Rod-
ney's victory
in France.

30th May.

June 8th.

Treatment of
De Grasse.

negotiation, but proposing so many and such vague
exceptions, relative to all quarters of the globe, that
almost every trace of that treaty was obliterated*.

Still the failure in the West Indies was felt with
deep and bitter regret. For the hope of acquiring the
colonies, and annihilating the maritime ascendancy of
Great Britain, were substituted boasts and threats,
vehement declarations, and impracticable professions.
To encourage the people, it was given out that the
King had treated the intelligence lightly, saying,
" Well, the English have taken five of my ships : I
" will immediately have fifteen built in their stead,
" and the event shall not make me more yielding in a
" treaty for peace." It was asserted that the Prince
of Conde, for the estates of Brittany, the Count
D'Artois, and Monsieur, had each offered to government
a ship of a hundred and ten guns ; that the trading
corporations of Paris were subscribing with enthusiasm
for one of a hundred and twenty ; that Bordeaux,
Marseilles, the country, and the great towns, were vying
with each other in promises, and that a collection would
be made sufficient for the building of twenty first-rate
vesselsf. Such splendid promises from a people situated
as the French were, might shew the wishes, but not
the intentions or the powers of those who made them.
De Grasse had a melancholy experience of the deep
sensation which his disaster had caused. His gallant
victor treated him with all the consideration due from
a brave man to a brave, though vanquished enemy.
In Jamaica, and when he landed on the British shore,
all respect and attention were paid him ; but in France
his valour and his services produced no such return :
his ill fortune weighed down all his claims to favour
and regard ; he was disgraced and banished from the
court J, and an insulting wish was expressed that
D'Estaing had commanded in his stead . So inflamed

* For all the particulars relative to this negotiation, I hare consulted the
official correspondence.

t State Papers of the dates in the margin. Another still more pompous
boast, attributed to the French King, is in Mundy, vol. ii. p. '254.

I Mundy, vol. ii. p. 290, 380.

$ Memoirs of Dr. Franklin, vol. ii. p. 371.

GEORGE III. 413

was the public spite on this occasion, that the Marechal

De Biron was violently reproached, and even threatened

by the mob of Paris, for having by his generosity un- 1782.

chained the noble animal, the object of their hatred

and their fear*.

To tranquillize the public mind respecting the late War in India.
calamity, the French Government circulated a report
that the power of England was destroyed in India, and
that Hyder Alley had taken Madras. The details of
events in that quarter will appear in a future page,
but such only are recorded here as particularly affected
the belligerent powers, and influenced them in the
negotiation for peace.

When the hostility of France became certain, the 1778.
East India Company prudently secured the safety of c^J^f
their own settlements by attacking those of the enemy. French sct-
The factories of Chandernagore, Yanam, Carical, and jT ents-
Masulipatam, with several ships in the Ganges, and on
the coast of Coromandel, were taken in the beginning
of the contest ; and ten thousand five hundred troops,
of whom fifteen hundred were Europeans, were de-
tached from Madras, under the command of the brave
and experienced Maior Hector Munro, to form the ^s^*,

/T> VI Siege of

siege ot rondicherry. Pondichen-y.

While operations were slowly proceeding by land, Action be-
a sea force, under Sir Edward Vernon, effected a nTTron\>n"
blockade by sea, after a slight and indecisive engage- loth August.
ment with M. De Tronjolly, who commanded a French
squadron of superior strength, but cautiously avoided
a close encounter. The defence of the fortress was
ably and resolutely maintained by M. De Bellecombe,
governor of the town, and Commandant-General of all
the French settlements in India. His garrison con-
sisted of nine hundred Europeans, and two thousand
one hundred natives; and his loss in killed was
nearly equal to that of the besiegers. To save the 16th October,
town from a storm, he was obliged to capitulate, and
obtained terms, in which the military pride and per-
sonal feelings of the garrison were attentively con-

* Mundy, vol. i. p. 182.

414

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVII.

1779.

Sentiments of
Hyder Ally.

Mah6 taken.

War with the
natives.

Efforts of
France.

1780.

1781.
War with
Holland.
Secret Expe-
dition.

sidered. The inhabitants were also allowed great and
unusual privileges, which, on a subsequent occasion,
they did not hesitate ungratefully to turn against the
victors.

The French were always favoured by Hyder Ally,
and the war in which he was engaged with the
Mahrattas alone prevented him from attempting to
raise the siege of Pondicherry. In the ensuing year,
the settlement of Mahe, the last possession of the
French, was captured, notwithstanding Hyder's remon-
strances, who alleged that all foreigners holding fac-
tories under his dominion were entitled to his pro-
tection. This annihilation of the power of France in
India was peculiarly auspicious, at a moment when the
British possessions were exposed to imminent danger
from a combination of Hyder Ally with the Mahrattas
and other native potentates, who formed a general
scheme for our expulsion from India. The French,
not unmindful of the rising storm, sent great reinforce-
ments to their settlements in Africa, hoping to co-
operate with the powers of India against the English ;
and Hyder Ally, relying on their assistance, and an
immense army which he had collected, commenced war
in the Carnatic ; and, though disappointed in the ex-
pected co-operation, the treachery of the favoured in-
habitants of Pondicherry rendered some service to his
cause, by distracting the attention and dividing the
eiforts of the British government.

The war with Holland gave a more active impulse
to European hostility. A secret expedition was equip-
ped, the fleet being commanded by Commodore John-
stone, the land forces by General Meadows, to reduce
the Cape of Good Hope. Anxious for the safety of
that settlement, and of Ceylon, and to prepare the suc-
cess of their projected operations in India, the French
dispatched a frigate to communicate intelligence, and
concert operations with the Dutch Governors and
the Commander of the French fleet at the Isle of
France. They sent from Brest two powerful squadrons,
comprising a portion of De Grasse's fleet, under M.
De S unrein, with directions not to separate until in

GEORGE III. 415

the latitude of Madeira, that the English might be
deceived as to the real object of their destination.
While Commodore Johnstone was victualling and 1781.
watering at Port Praya, in the Cape de Verd islands, * 6th Ap V 1<

. o ./' r ' Commodore

belonging to Portugal, a neutral power, he was sud-
denly attacked by the French. The English, although
unexpectedly assailed, combated with characteristic
spirit, and compelled the enemy to retire with disgrace
and disappointment ; but they gained the advantage
of saving the Cape of Good Hope.

By the accidental capture of a Dutch East India- June,
man, the Commodore acquired intelligence that five
valuable ships were lying in Saldanha Bay. On his taken.
approach, they were set on fire ; but the flames being
extinguished, four were taken, and the Middleburgh j u i y .
alone destroyed.

An expedition hastily formed from Fort Marlbo- August.
rough, on the coast of Sumatra, reduced all the Dutch S off
settlements on that island; Negapatam, in the Taniore places taken.

f . . i, cr 21st Oct. to

country, was taken, alter an active siege, by oir 1 2th NOV.
Hector Munro ; and, early in the ensuing year, Sir Jan - 178 ' 2 -
Edward Hughes, with a small detachment of sepoys
and artillerymen, stormed the fort of Trincomale, on
the island of Ceylon.

The arrival of De Suffrein, and the indefatigable Arrival of
exertions of the French, in sending out reinforcements the English
to their African settlements, afforded flattering hopes squa
of crushing the British power. On the departure of
Commodore Johnstone for Europe, his squadron was
committed to Captain Alms, when a tempest separated
and disabled several ships, and the Hannibal, of fifty
guns, fell into the hands of the enemy. The remainder,
consisting of the Hero, of seventy-four, the Mon-
mouth, of sixty-four, and the Isis, of fifty guns, joined
Sir Edward Hughes in the open road of Madras. M.
De Suffrein, unapprized of their arrival, bore down to i 5t h Feb.
attack the English fleet, with twelve sail of the line, sir Edward
six frigates, and eight large transports ; but, perceiving takes sL
their augmented force, stood out to sea, and Admiral
Hughes recaptured five English, and took the Lau-
riston, a French transport of thirteen hundred tons

416

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XL VI I.

1782.

His first
engagement
with De
Suffrein.

12th April.
His second
engagement.

Their effects.

6th July.

Third

engagement.

August.

Trincomal^

recaptured.

burthen, with a train of artillery, and a large quantity
of military stores ; thus, by one fortunate stroke,
rendering abortive the projects for assisting Hyder
Ally.

The efforts of De Suffrein to protect his convoy
produced an engagement, which was distinguished
only by the gallantry with which five English ships,
separated from the rest by the weather, repelled the
attack of the whole fleet. After repairing his damaged
vessels, and being reinforced by two more from En-
gland, Sir Edward Hughes again encountered the
French admiral on the same day that Rodney gained
unfading laurels in the West Indies. This conflict
was equally honourable, but less decisive, no ship
being captured on either side, and both fleets were
compelled to put into port for repairs.

Although these engagements produced no ac-
cession to the force of either party at sea, they contri-
buted to make Hyder Ally desirous of peace, as his
patience was exhaused by awaiting the delusive pro-
mises of France, and his notions of British superiority
greatly enhanced by the display of valour and skill in
such disproportioned encounters. The French strained
every nerve to efface these impressions, by strengthen-
ing their force at Cuddalore ; while the fleet, repaired,
revictualled, newly manned, and augmented, again
challenged the British commander to an encounter.
Sir Edward Hughes, though inferior in numbers, did
not decline the engagement, which was, for the first
time, general, and a complete victory was almost
gained, when a sudden squall saved the defeated
enemy, and enabled them to effect a retreat. The
Severe, a French sixty-four, had struck her colours to
the Sultan ; but, taking advantage of the change of
wind, treacherously fired a broadside into the English
ship, and rejoined the French fleet without colours
flying. This violation of the laws of war was feebly
vindicated by De Suffrein, and subsequently by the
French government.

Both fleets were again reinforced, and the French,
retaining a considerable superiority, recaptured Trinco-

GEORGE III. 417

male*. Sir Edward Hughes made great exertions for CHAP.
the relief of the fortress, but arrived too late ; he
fought, however, another engagement with the French 178-2.
admiral ; the superior skill of the British fleet more p 1 ^ 1 s h pt '
than counterpoised the difference of force ; the action engagement.
was unusually bloody, and De SuiFrein again owed his
safety to flight ; he broke six of his captains and sent
them prisoners to Mauritius.

No further transaction of moment occurred be- siege of
tween the European powers during the remainder of Cuddalore -
the year, and their next campaign was chiefly em-
ployed in the siege of Cuddalore, which was bravely
defended by the Marquis De Bussy, and assailed with
great skill and valour by General Stuart. Although, 1733.
at this time, the English fleet was reduced to a mise- 200! June
rable condition by the scurvy, Sir Edward Hughes did Fifth
not decline a fifth and last encounter with his old an- en s a g ement -
tagonist ; it was fought at a great distance, and, like
the preceding, terminated without a capturef.

The united enemies of Great Britain threatened, Naval ex-
by a combination of their marine forces in Europe, to
ruin commerce and desolate the country. But these
menaces, however loudly sounded, were rendered
abortive by the vigilance and valour of our naval com-
manders, in preventing the junction of the hostile
squadrons. Admiral Barrington, having sailed from 13th April
Portsmouth with twelve ships of the line, met the i?82.
French fleet at a small distance from Ushant, com-
menced a chase, and took twelve transports, with a
great number of troops. Captain Jervis, afterward
Earl St. Vincent, in the Foudroyant, of seventy-four
guns, encountered Le Pegase, of equal force; and,
after a spirited, though short engagement, compelled
her to strike. The most remarkable circumstance of
the action was the disparity of loss ; the French having
more than eighty men killed, while the Foudroyant

* The taking and recapture of this fort are but briefly noticed here ; but the
details are worthy of perusal, and may be found in Captain Percival's Account of
Ceylon, p. 49.

f For these transactions, I have consulted the Gazettes, Narratives of Officers,
Memoirs of the War in Asia, and Beatson's Naval and Military Memoirs, vol. v.
pp. 313, 561 .

VOL. III. E E

418

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVII.

1783.

29th May.
1782.

The Dutch
confined in
port.

Junction of
the French
and Spanish
fleets.

Capture of
Quebec and
Newfound-
land fleets.
Trade pro-
tected by
Lord Howe.

Fate of

Rodney's

prizes.

20th June.

had only three or four wounded, and not one slain.
The prize, reduced to a mere wreck, was committed
to the charge of Captain Maitland of the Queen, who,
in conducting her to England, captured the Action-
naire, a sixty-four, but armed en flute, conveying a
great quantity of naval and ordnance stores, and
several chests of money. Captain Jervis was rewarded
with the order of the Bath.

Admiral Barrington being obliged by stress of
weather to return to port, Admiral Kempenfelt, with
nine sail of the line, repaired to the station he had
quitted, while Lord Howe, with a squadron of twelve
sail, terrified the Dutch into a relinquishment of their
designs on the Baltic and northern trade of Great
Britain.

Meanwhile, De Guichen had formed a junction at
Cadiz with the Spanish fleet, under Don Louis De
Cordova ; their united squadron, amounting to twenty-
five sail of the line, occupied the chops of the Channel,
having, in their cruize, captured eighteen vessels of
the outward-bound Quebec and Newfoundland fleets :
but, Lord Howe being returned from his expedition
against the Dutch, accomplished, with only twelve
sail of the line, the arduous task of protecting the
homeward-bound Jamaica trade ; and thus an inferior
naval force baffled all the projects of such a mighty
combination.

But what the enemy could not effect to the preju-
dice of the British marine, the elements in their un-
sparing fury accomplished. Some of the great prizes
made by Rodney and Hood on the twelfth and nine-
teenth of April, were dispatched with English ships
to convoy the homeward-bound trade. On this fleet
fell the severest rigours of one of the most tempes-
tuous summers ever experienced. The Ville de Paris,
Centaur, Glorieux, Hector, and Ramillies, foundered
under different circumstances, and the merchant ves-
sels sustained a proportionate damage. The horror of
these misfortunes was aggravated by an accident at
home, which roused the sympathies of the nation by
a resistless appeal. Lord Howe, returning from his

GEORGE III. 419

well-conducted cruize against the united fleets, urged XLVH

the equipment, with the utmost celerity, of a squadron

for relief of Gibraltar. The Royal George, of a hun- 1783.
dred and eight guns, destined for this service, was placed 29th Aug.

v j ! f *-u Loss of the

in an inclined position for the purpose of stopping a R oya i George.
leak, when a sudden squall of wind entirely overset
her, and buried in the ocean the brave veteran, Ad-
miral Kempenfelt, and nearly a thousand sailors, ma-
rines, women and children. A victualler, which lay
alongside, was swallowed up in the vortex occasioned
by the submersion of so large a body, and it was some
time before the small craft could be employed in assist-
ing those who escaped the general calamity. Not
more than three hundred were saved, and the national
humanity was honourably displayed in an ample sub-
scription for the relatives of those who perished.

Having so distinctly renounced all claims of advant- Progress of
age from Rodney's victory, none could be expected to tion! 168
arise from the events in India, as the war with the na-
tives still raged, and its final issue was uncertain. The
moderation of England gave force to the over-weening
desires of the adverse party.

Dr. Franklin, who, jointly with Mr. Jay, but often America.
with different views, conducted the negotiation on be-
half of America, was tenacious and unbending. He
remembered, with rancour, every thing he had ex-
perienced which was calculated to give offence, and
mingled with his zeal for the interests of his country,
and his predilection for France, a passionate resentment
of what he considered personal affronts*. The in-
structions to their commissioners for treating of peace
contained a clause, which, although sanctioned by a
large majority of Congress, was extremely distasteful
to others, as a dereliction of national dignity ; " that
" the Commissioners should undertake nothing in the
" negotiation without the knowledge and concur-
" rence of the French cabinet, and ultimately govern

* A specimen may be seen in his letter to Mr. David Hartley (Feb. 16,
1782), where he refers to the answer given by Lord Stormont to an application
relative to an exchange of prisoners. (Ante, vol. ii. p. 505.) Franklin's Me-
moirs, vol. ii. p. 282.

EE2

420 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP. themselves by their advice and opinion." This direc-
tion was treated as an act of abject prostration, serving

1783. to shew the near alliance between pride and meanness,
and to prove that they who had sufficient humility to
beg a paltry pittance at the hands of any and every
sovereign, would always be ready to pay the prices
which vanity should demand from the vain*.

Had Franklin not been restrained, or more proba-
bly indulged, by this restriction ; had he kept in view
nothing but the true interests of his own country, those
interests which, in the beginning of the war, and in
all her answers to offers of mediation, France declared
to be her only object in pursuing it, the time was come
when America might have concluded an advantageous
peace with the mother-country. Her independence,
without a treaty, had been conceded, both in form and
effect : in form by the recent statute, and the terms in
which the powers of the commissioners were expressed ;
in effect, by the establishment of a treaty, the exchange
of prisoners, and other acts utterly inconsistent with
any state in which dependence can be supposed to exist.
From whatever causes it arose, Dr. Franklin enter-
tained some grossly erroneous notions of the state and
powers of Great Britain. He ascribed these opinions
to the conversations of Mr. Oswald, whom he con-
sidered as speaking the sentiments of Lord Shelburne,
and preferred him to Mr. Grenville, who he thought
declared those of Mr. Foxj*. From conversations with
Mr. Oswald, he imagined that England was not void
of money ; but government could only avoid the diffi-
culty of imposing new taxes to raise it, by shutting the
Exchequer, stopping payment of the interest of the
public funds, and applying the money to the support
of the war. The self-importance of his remark on
this supposed or misapprehended disclosure is re-
markable. " I made no answer," he says ; " for I
" did not desire to discourage their stopping pay-
" ment, which I considered as cutting the throat of

* Letter from Governor Morris to Mr. Jay. Memoirs, vol. i. p. 237.
f Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 371.

GEORGE III. 421

" their public credit, and a means of adding fresh ex-
" asperation against them with the neighbouring na-
" tions*." If Mr. Oswald really uttered such obser- 1783.
vations as are ascribed to him, it could only be with
a view to learn the private sentiments of the American ;
and he succeeded so far as to obtain from him a distinct
statement of the terms which America would expect
on the conclusion of a peace. These were stated by
Franklin in conversation, from a written paper, which
he would not permit to be copied. It was divided A ril
under two heads, necessary, and advisable. The first
comprized 1 , perfect independence, and the withdraw-
ing of all British troops ; 2, a settlement of boundaries ;
3, confinement of the boundaries of Canada to what
they were before the last act of parliament, or even at
a more recent period ; and 4, Freedom of fishing on the
banks of Newfoundland, not for whales alone, but all
other species. The measures stated as advisable were
1, That England should offer something to relieve those
who had suffered by scalping and burning parties ; lives
indeed could not be restored, but villages and houses
might be rebuilt, and the cost would not exceed five
or six hundred thousand pounds ; 2, An acknowledg-
ment, by act of Parliament or other public declaration,
that Great Britain had done wrong in distressing those
countries ; 3, That American ships should be received
and have the same privileges in Great Britain and Ire-
land as those of our own country, with a mutual con-
cession on the part of America ; and 4, That we should
voluntarily resign to the United States all Canada and
Nova Scotia. In support of this last proposition, he
alleged that their territory and that of the desired
country touched each other in a long-extended fron-
tier, and that the American settlers in those parts,
being far removed from the eye and control of their
respective governments, were therefore the more bold
in committing offences against their neighbours, and
were always occasioning complaints, and furnishing
matter for fresh discussions and differences. To ren-

* Same, pp. 316, 357,

422

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

XLVII' ^ er these extravagant proposals in some degree en-
durable, he took up the term, reconciliation which had

1783. been used in Parliament, called it a sweet word, im-
plying much more than peace, expressed great friend-
ship toward England, and a hope that, if differences
could be settled in the manner he proposed, not only
a beneficial intercourse, but a federal union, between
the countries might be the result*.

Julys. When the death of the Marquis of Rockingham

occasioned the change of administration in England,
Mr. Grenville retired from his mission in Paris, and
Mr. Oswald received a commission, nominating him,
jointly with Mr. Fitzherbert, plenipotentiary to treat
for peace ; and it was officially declared that the desire
of that event would remain unaltered.

France. Notwithstanding this declaration, and the known

failure of two of the projects for humbling or destroy-
ing Great Britain, the spirit of procrastination hung
over the treaty. The ambition and intrigues of France
operated in every possible device and contrivance. Her
ministers advanced claims and pretensions which could
not be supposed to have any other tendency than that
of prolonging the negotiation. In addition to their
claims in various parts of the world, they went back to
a period preceding the last war, and required a repa-
ration for ships which, as they said, had been taken and
detained before the declaration of hostilities, contrary
to the law of nations ; and when required to make
some propositions-for peace, M. De Vergennes answered
evasively, that, as there were four nations engaged in
war against Great Britain, they could not, until they
knew each other's minds, be prepared with propositions;
but our court, being alone and without allies, knowing
its own mind, could express it immediately, and was
therefore expected to make propositions-^.

These pretences, feeble and futile as they were,
would not, by their own force, have carried with them

* Franklin's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 317. It is not easy to fix a precise date to
this conversation ; it would appear, from this authority, that it took place in the
latter part of April ; but the document in the State Paper Office, in which it is
detailed, is of the 10th of July.

t Franklin, vol. ii. p. 316.

GEORGE III. 423

much conviction. They were advanced at an early X
period of the negotiation, but were, in fact, employed

only as means to gain time for the operation of an 1783.
intrigue more deeply designed than the French govern-
ment could venture to disclose. In embracing the
cause of the Americans, France had nothing in view
but the ruin, or at least the essential diminution, of
British greatness. If America were made independent
of England, it was at least hoped that she should
become, in some considerable degree, dependent on
France. To this had tended various proposals, by
La Fayette and others, for the reconquest of Canada ;
a measure which the good sense of the American
people, aided by their hatred of the French, had
always led them to resist. From this desire, and the
management of a secret intrigue, proceeded the direc-
tion to the American commissioners to act under the
advice of the French Court. Dr. Franklin, who was
now become French at heart, approved, if he did not
suggest, this instruction ; and thus, when Mr. Oswald
produced only limited powers to treat with the thirteen
colonies, or any of them, and M. De Vergennes pro-
nounced them sufficient, he professed himself satisfied,
and he expresses entire approbation of the French
minister's evasive answer on the subject of peace;
but Mr. Jay, his joint commissioner, uninfluenced by
such sentiments, insisted, and effectually in the end,
that the independence of America should be fully and
explicitly recognized, not as the condition, but the
basis, of a treaty. If, in a general view, the opinion of
De Vergennes, that, by entering into treaties with the
United States, the mother-country did essentially re-
cognize their independence, Mr. Jay discerned, or ob-
tained information, that the French minister had
actually dispatched a secret envoy to London to pre-
vent the entire, unbounded concession ; but our minis-
ters listened to the better reasons advanced by Mr.
Jay's agent, and conformed to his desire.

A further indication of the project of the French
government to make America dependent on, although
not subject to, them, appeared in an attempt to deprive

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLV1I.

1783.

Holland and
Spain.
July 6th.

them of an immense western territory, of the naviga-
tion of the Mississippi, and of the fisheries, except on
their own coasts. For this purpose, it was proposed to
establish what was called a conciliatory line between
the United States and Spain ; to begin from the divi-
sion of East and West Florida ; to run thence to Fort
Toulouse on the river Alabama; thence by different
courses to Cumberland River ; and down the Cumber-
land to the Ohio ; and to the westward of this line the
United States were to have no pretensions. By terms
equally precise they were to be excluded from the
navigation of the Mississippi. Thus were De Vergennes
and Montmorin contriving to hinder the United States
from acquiring political stability and strength*.

Holland, having been hitherto entirely overlooked
and neglected, obtained, on an application to De
Vergennes, permission to be included as a negotiating
party ; and Spain had as yet advanced no pretensions
beyond the restitution of Gibraltar, to the siege of
which fortress the whole attention of the belligerent
powers, and of Europe, was now directed.

* Dispatch of Mr. Pickering, the American Secretary of State, to Mr. Pinck-
, the Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States in Paris, 10th January,
17U7. Published in a Collection called Actes ct Memoires coucernant lesnegocia-
tions, qui out en lieu entre la France et les fetats Unis de 1' Amerique, torn. i. p. 285 .

ney

GEORGE III. 425

CHAPTER THE FORTY-EIGHTH.
17811782.

Lord Howe sails to relieve Gibraltar. Progress of the Siege.
Partial supply. De Crillon commands. Construction
of floating batteries. Preparations for defence. Attack by
land. Naval force of the enemy. Land force. Force of
the Garrison. Grand attack. Destruction of the floating
batteries. Humane exertions of Captain Curtis. Mortifica-
tion of the enemy. Public honours to the Garrison.
Operations of the combined fleets and of Lord Howe.
Progress of Negotiation. America. The Loyalists.
France, Spain, and Holland. Separate articles agreed on
with America. Information communicated to the public.
State of Parties. Meeting of Parliament. King's
Speech. Debate on the Address. In the House of Lords.
On the report. Christmas recess.

THE loss of the Royal George did not impede the CHAP.
preparations for the relief of Gibraltar. A fleet left XLVI11 -
Spithead under the command of Lord Howe, consist- 1781
ing of thirty-four sail of the line, six frigates, and three nth sept.
fire ships, with store ships under convoy, which carried ^n^to^eUe
the number of his armament to one hundred and Gibraltar,
eighty-three. Under his command were Vice- Admi-
rals Barrington and Millbank, Rear-Admirals Hood
and Hughes, and Commodore Hotham.

For some days after the destruction of their works Progress of
by the well-judged sortie in 1781, the Spaniards did ^^s 6 -
not even attempt to extinguish the smoking ruins, but
seemed stupified by surprise. Recovering from their
consternation, they laboured with increasing assiduity,
and again constructed formidable approaches. The
bombardment continued with various degrees of vigour,
and was answered by corresponding efforts from the

426

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVIII.

1782.

March 22nd.
Partial supply.

April.
De Crillon
commands.

garrison ; but little effect was produced, and not much
interest excited. This monotony was occasionally
relieved by the arrival of succours from Minorca,
Leghorn, Lisbon, and England. One aid, more im-
portant than the rest, was received in the Vernon,
ordnance store ship, which brought Lieutenant-Colonel
Gladstanes, with upward of one hundred recruits, and
materials for constructing twelve additional gun-boats,
an acquisition of the utmost value, as it placed the
garrison more on an equality with the enemy than
they had been, and enabled them to check the ap-
proach of gun and mortar-boats. This event gave
great dissatisfaction at Madrid. The King and the
Prince of Asturias expressed suspicions of the treachery
of their French allies, who, with so powerful a fleet,
had not prevented the garrison from receiving supplies
for a third time. They admitted, indeed, that, as the
affair happened in passion-week, the English might
have taken advantage of the moment when the Catho-
lic enemies were at confession, in preparation for
Easter*.

After the surrender of Minorca, the Due De Crillon,
with twenty thousand French and Spanish troops,
joined the besiegers, and, suspending the Spanish
General, Alvarez, assumed the command. The gar-
rison received information of these circumstances, and
of the intention of the enemy to make their principal
attack by sea, with battering ships of a new construc-
tion, calculated to resist the effect of shells, and even of
red-hot cannon balls. They displayed no alarm at
these tidings, nor at the view of the formidable prepa-
rations in the port of Algesiras ; confidence and
alacrity generally prevailed, and the privates even
volunteered extra services to assist the artillery corps.
In the adverse camp, fear and distrust were diffused,
delusive assurances, encouraging promises, threats,
and punishments, were insufficient to deter large
parties from desertion into the country, and indi-
viduals into the garrison. The vigilance and judg-

* State Papers, 12th April, 1782.

GEORGE III. 427

ment of Elliot pervaded every part of his command, xLvni
and the confidence of those under him rose in proper- '

tion ; they sustained with unshaken intrepidity the 1782.
tremendous and now unceasing cannonade, returning June -
a well-directed fire, which often destroyed the artillery,
and demolished some works of the besiegers.

The Due De Crillon had formerly commanded in construction
the Spanish lines before Gibraltar, and was perfectly ^ f t f j 1 a ^ ng
acquainted with the state of the fortress. To conquer
it had long been one of his favourite speculations. On
occasion of a violent storm in 1765, accompanied with
an inundation, although the nations were at peace, he
declared that, if Heaven had thrown in his way a cir-
cumstance so favourable, and a considerable breach had
been made in the wall, he must have represented it to
the Spanish court, who would judge of the risques
they chose to incur. In the following year, anticipat-
ing a breach between England and Spain, he gave
orders, in Cadiz and its neighbourhood, -for assembling
a great military force, ready to march at an hour's
notice ; boats were collected and preparations made ;
but they were countermanded. His plan was to form
a siege with twenty thousand men, and to try a coup-
de-main with five hundred; if that failed, he would
persevere in a regular siege, and for the result would
be answerable with his head. His proposal was not
adopted ; and he was reprimanded by his court. At
this time he advanced to the attempt, flushed with con-
quest, and with greater means than he had desired.
His operations were assisted by M. d'Aron, an able
engineer, and Don Buenaventura Moreno conducted
the fleet. The battering ships invented by M. d'Ar^on
were vaunted as impregnable and incombustible. They
were fortified, to the thickness of six or seven feet on
the larboard side, with great timbers bolted with iron,
cork, junk, and raw hides ; they carried guns of heavy
metal, and were bomb-proof at the top, the roof being
constructed with a descent for the shells to slide off,
termed in military phrase d dos d'ane. Ten of these July
formidable floating towers the enemy designed to moor
within half gun-shot of the walls, with iron chains,

428

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVIII.

1782.

Preparations
for defence.

4th Sept.

9th & 10th.
Attack by
land.

llth and
12th Sept.

Naval force of
the enemy.

while large boats, with mantelets formed with hinges
to fall down and facilitate landing, were to be placed
at a small distance, full of troops, to take advantage of
occurrences. Forty thousand men were to be placed
in the camp ; but the principal attack was to be made
by sea, and covered by a squadron of men of war, with
bomb-ketches, floating batteries, gun and mortar-boats.
Such were the preparations on which the enemy relied,
and which they boasted as sufficient to beat the forti-
fications to powder.

For some time after the floating batteries were
complete, the grand assault was deferred, the interval
being employed in preparing and making additions to
the approaches by land. General Elliot was with equal
activity engaged in the means of defence ; among the
most conspicuous of which was a copious distribution
of furnaces and grates, for heating cannon balls*. He
had, a few days before the decisive assault, a pleasing
presage of their general effect, by burning one of the
most prominent and best defended works of the be-
siegers.

This event precipitated the grand attack ; alarmed
for the fate of the remaining works, the Due De Crillon
opened his batteries in an unfinished state, and main-
tained an incessant cannonade from an hundred and
seventy pieces of ordnance, of the largest calibre. The
ships of war, gun and mortar boats, also annoyed the
garrison and the town. In the space of two days, five
thousand five hundred and twenty-seven shot, and two
thousand three hundred and two shells, were expended
from the land batteries alone, to which the garrison
returned only a few rounds, against working parties
employed in repairs.

The next day produced a still more vigorous dis-
charge ; and, on the ensuing morning, the garrison be-
held the combined fleets of France and Spain, an-
chored in the Bay between the Orange Grove and
Algesiras.

The force of the enemy was ostentatiously paraded

* In justice to Sir Robert Boyd, it should be commemorated, that the plan of
destroying the battering vessels by red-hot shot originated with him.

GEORGE III.

429

before the eyes of the besieged, as if intended to un- xi/vni
nerve their exertions by terror ; and an armament more

calculated to produce that effect was never perhaps 1782.
drawn forth. Forty-seven sail of the line, ten invincible
battering ships, carrying two hundred and twelve guns,
numerous frigates, xebeques, bomb-ketches, cutters,
gun and mortar boats, with smaller craft for the pur-
pose of disembarkation, were assembled in the Bay.
On the land side were stupendous batteries and works, Land force .
mounting two hundred pieces of heavy ordnance, and
protected by an army of forty thousand men, com-
manded by a victorious and active general, and ani-
mated by the presence of two princes of the blood,
the Comte D'Artois and his cousin the Due De Bour-
bon, a number of officers of the first distinction, an im-
mense collection of spectators who crowded the adja-
cent hills, and the general expectation of the world.

To this prodigious force was opposed a garrison of Force O f the
seven thousand effective men, including the marine garrison.
brigade, with only eighty cannon, seven mortars, and
nine howitzers. A prevalent sense of the importance
of the station, and the glory which would redound
from the defeat of so powerful a foe, raised enthusiastic
ardour ; and the encouragement the enemy might de-
rive from acting under the eyes of the descendants of
their sovereigns, was more than counter-balanced by
the affection which the garrison felt towards those offi-
cers who had so long shared with them every hardship,
toil and privation, and whose affability, moderation,
and justice, made all consider themselves a family, a
"band of brothers." They anticipated, with animated
confidence, the arrival of that day which would relieve
them from the tedious cruelty of a blockade.

Having made requisite preparations for resistance, ]3thSep
General Elliot suffered the battering ships to range in Grand attack.
order, the nearest nine hundred, the most remote about
twelve hundred yards from the walls. At a quarter
before ten o'clock, the cannonade commenced; the
enemy were completely moored in less than ten minutes,
and the spectators on the hills witnessed a continued
discharge on the garrison from four hundred pieces of

430

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

xi/vm ^ e h eav i es * ; artillery*. The battering ships were

'_ found to be not less formidable than they were repre-

1782. sented. Against them, the garrison directed their
whole exertion, regardless of annoyance from the land
batteries ; but they observed, with astonishment, that
the heaviest shells rebounded from their tops, while
thirty-two pound shot made no visible impression on
their hulls : a momentary fire was always extinguished
with water. The disappointment of their first exer-
tions only stimulated the garrison to greater vigour ;
incessant showers of red-hot balls, carcases, and shells,
flew from all quarters ; the masts of several ships were
shot away, and in the afternoon the floating batteries
began to exhibit symptoms that the skill displayed in
their construction could not withstand the furious can-
nonade to which they were exposed. The confusion
on board the admiral's battering ship and her second,
and the increasing smoke, demonstrated that combus-
tion raged unsubdued ; in the evening their firing was
considerably diminished, and before eight o'clock it
had entirely ceased, except from the two remotest
floating batteries, which had sustained and could effect
the least injury.

Destruction of During the night, the cannonade from the garrison
the floating was also abated, from the necessity of allowing repose
to the wearied artillerymen, and the impossibility of
directing the guns with certain effect. This interval
was rendered awful by the signals of distress thrown up
from the Spanish fleet, and the indistinct clamour, the
lamentable cries, and agonizing groans which pro-
ceeded from every quarter. A little before midnight
a wreck with twelve men, the survivors out of three-
score, floating in, apprized the garrison that they had
gained some advantage ; but at one o'clock, they saw
with joy the effect of their perseverance, and the ter-
mination of the hopes of the enemy, in the flames
which burst at once from every part of the admiral's

* The garrison afterward learned, with satisfaction, that at tliis crisis the
Moors at Tangier repaired to their mosques, and offered up fervent supplications
for the deliverance of their old allies.

GEORGE III. 431

ship, while another to the southward burnt as fatally, VI
though with less fury.

The light of the conflagration enabled the garrison 1782.
to direct their artillery with unerring aim, and the HthSept.
calmness of the sea permitted Captain Curtis*, with exertions o:
his gun-boats, to flank the battering ships, and inter- Captain
cept assistance. At four o'clock, six other floating
batteries were in flames ; all hope of assisting their
sailors was abandoned by the enemy; but British huma-
nity was gloriously exercised. Captain Curtis, with
the marine brigade, actively seconded by Captain Sir
Charles Knowles of the navy, was indefatigable in his
efforts to rescue the miserable wretches, no longer con-
sidered as foes, from the dismal alternative of meeting
death in flames or in the waves.

The gallant Curtis exerted his pious bravery till
the explosion of a floating battery imminently en-
dangered his own life and those of his followers, and
he gained the immortal glory of rescuing from the
grasp of death three hundred and forty-five of his
fellow-creatures.

The destruction of eight battering ships removed
every alarm from the garrison, and hopes were enter-
tained of saving the two which remained, as trophies ;
but one suddenly burst into flames and blew up, and,
after a survey, it was found necessary to burn the
otherf . The loss of the enemy, in killed and prisoners,
was calculated at two thousand, while the garrison, in
so furious an attack, had only one officer, two subal-
terns, and thirteen privates killed, and five officers and
sixty-three privates wounded. The damage sustained
by the fortress itself was so small, that the whole sea-
line was put in serviceable order before night.

Such was the end of this unparalleled attack, on Mortification
the success of which the Bourbon courts had relied of tiie enem J'-
with a confidence which excluded all calculation of

* He received the occasional rank of brigadier.

t The destruction of these battering ships has been imputed to the thickness
of the timber ; the red-hot balls lodged in the sides, aud it was impossible to get
at, remove, or quench them. If the sides of the ships had been of the ordinary
thickness, and the red-hot shot had passed through, they might not have been
burnt.

432

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVI1I.

1782.

Public ho-
nours to the
garrison.
12th and-
13th Dec.

doubt ; the Parisian theatre had nightly represented
to admiring thousands the spectacle of the capture of
Gibraltar by the Spanish gun-boats. The fruit of this
presumptuous anticipation was that unmeasured ridi-
cule which is its just and most bitter reward. The
King of Spain, animated by the same spirit of confi-
dence, had been accustomed to ask, every morning, " Is
" it taken V' and, to an answer in the negative, to reply,
" Well, it soon will be." On the moment of failure,
this enthusiasm sunk into equal despondency. The
exulting and expectant crowd dispersed in chagrin and
disappointment ; the French princes, who had journeyed
to the pillars of Hercules to grace the capture with
their presence, impatiently quitted the camp, and ex-
perienced, at the Escurial, a less cordial reception than
that which had greeted their first arrival.

The applause of Elliot and his brave associates
was universally celebrated in a tone so full and clear,
as to silence even envy and detraction. The officers
and privates of the garrison were gratified with the
thanks of Parliament, voted with the cheerful assent
and eulogies of all parties. General Elliot received,
in addition, the Order of the Bath, with which he was
invested by deputation on the spot which he had pre-
served and dignified by his conduct and prowess. He
was afterwards raised to the peerage by the title of
Baron Heathfield, enriched with a pension granted by
Parliament, and his paternal arms were enlarged, by
adding those of the fortress he had so ably defended*.
One tribute which was paid to this illustrious com-
mander deserves particular record. The King of Prus-
sia, forgetting, in his military ardour, all feelings of
spleen or prejudice, desired Mr. Elliot, the British
minister at Berlin, to transmit to the general the very
high enconiums he was pleased to bestow on him, add-
ing, that he should be happy to see at Berlin an officer

* In this narrative, 1 have followed Colonel Drinkwater, an intelligent eye-
witness of the transactions, which, in his History of the Siege, he so ably relates
and describes. Many additional details will be found in Beatson's Naval and_^
Military Memoirs, vol. v. p. G-3, et seqq. and nu animated and laminotu nar-
ration in Archdeacon Coxe's Memoirs of the King of Spain, vol. Hi. p. 458,
et seqq.

GEORGE III. 433

of such distinguished merit, whose reputation had, in XLVIII'
the last war, been so well established in Germany.

When the siege was most critical, it is added, the King 1782.
drank Elliot's health, wishing that he had such gene-
rals*. Lieutenant-General Boyd also received the
honour of the Bath.

Still the discomfited besiegers permitted themselves Operations of

', ,. . , -r-i !, the combined

to retain a lingering hope, famine might accom- fleets.
plish that which force had failed to achieve. The
destination and force of Lord Howe were not un-
known ; but, to prevent his efforts in supplying the
garrison, the enemy had collected, in the Bay of Gib-
raltar, a combined fleet of fifty sail of the line, and im-
pressed on the Commander, Don Louis De Cordova,
in the strongest terms, the duty of courting, and no
longer avoiding, a general encounter. Lord Howe's Andof
voyage was long delayed by unpropitious weather, and Lord Howe.
his anxiety for the garrison was proportionately in-
creased. Arriving off Faro, he was speedily apprized
of the failure of the great attack; and, although in-
formed, at the same time, of the greatly superior force
arrayed against him, -he did not hesitate in pressing
forward to his destination. Just at this period, a tre- JOth.
mendous hurricane threw the combined fleet into dis-
order, and occasioned considerable damage. One ship
of the line was forced on shore, near Algesiras, two
more were driven into the Mediterranean, many sus-
tained severe injuries ; the St. Miguel, of seventy-
four guns, was cast ashore near the works of the
fortress ; and, in spite of all efforts to rescue or destroy
her, made a prize. The English fleet, which was at
the mouth of the Straits, received less injury from the
storm, and, after a delay, caused by negligence or
mistake in some of the masters of the transports, suc-
ceeded in delivering all the stores, the ammunition,
consisting of fifteen hundred barrels of gunpowder, and
a reinforcement of the twenty-fifth and fifty-ninth
regiments. Having thus accomplished the great end

* Dispatch from Mr. Elliot to Lord Grantham, 13lh October, 1782. State
Papers.

VOL. III. F F

434

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVIII.

1782.

Progress of
negotiation.

of his mission, the noble Admiral awaited with firm-
ness the attack of the enemy, who, with sixty-five sail,
forty-two of which were of the line, kept in sight for
some days ; but, although they always had the option,
no superiority of strength, nor advantage of wind,
could tempt them to hazard more than a partial action,
and the grand fleet returned to England prosperous
and safe.

From this time till the conclusion of the war, the
semblance of a siege of Gibraltar was maintained.
Numerous projectors offered plans for the conquest or
destruction of the fortress ; but they were considered
too feeble to succeed, or too wild to be attempted*.
The time at length arrived when General Elliot could
invite the Due de Crillon, no longer his enemy, to see
his fortress and partake his hospitalities. He received,
on this occasion, one of the highest rewards of his
noble services, the grateful acknowledgment of the
benevolent care and hearty liberality with which the
wounded and the prisoners had been treated, not only
through orders from superior officers, but from the
spontaneous sympathy of all ranks, even the private
men, who shared with -the unfortunate their bedding,
their apparel, and their food. It was found that, for
some time past, all probability of reducing the fortress
by famine had disappeared ; for the Spaniards, allured
by high prices, immediate payment, and kind treat-
ment, had contrived, by contraband commerce, to sup-
ply the garrison with all things abundantly, or even to
excess f-

When the failure of their three great projects
shewed the allied powers the little probability of their
effecting by force, at that time, the great object of all

* For example, one was to excavate a huge mine, and blow up the whole
rock with gunpowder.

t The authorities previously mentioned, and Barrow's Life of Earl Howe,
c. i?. Soon after the destruction of the floating batteries (September 2.1st), a
letter was written by a French officer from Madrid to Paris, saying, " The
whole court, the whole city, the whole kingdom, is in consternation at this dis-
astrous event at Gibraltar. Of three hundred and thirty-five prisoners of war,
General Elliot has sent all the officers to camp on their parole. They all speak
in terms of unbounded commendation of the attention and affability of that
General, who invited forty of them to a dinner of the most elegant and exquisite
description." State Papers.

GEORGE III. 435

their combination, the destruction of England, it
remained only to seek advantages in the arts of diplo-
matic dexterity and official chicane. Great Britain 1782.
was no longer to be viewed as a prostrate power, by
whom terms of peace, dictated by her enemies, were to
be received with humble thankfulness ; but the final
arrangement was delayed by jealousies and intrigues
affecting the relative position of the combined powers
toward each other.

Between the American negotiators there existed Amer i oa .
a material difference ; Dr. Franklin was artful, in-
sincere, grasping, and swayed by hatred of Great
Britain ; while Mr. Jay, who is described as a man of
good sense, frank, easy, and polite manners, sought the
good of America, without being rancorously hostile to
England. On the unqualified concession of independ-
ence, he regretted that it had not been made at an
earlier period ; it would then have given stability to
that bias and attachment to Great Britain which sub-
sisted in all parts of the country, and a treaty might
have been concerted, which would not only have
restored peace, but formed the basis of amity and
obliterated all resentments. Allowing that there
were still many, who, from long habit and old recol-
lection, would retain a partiality toward the mother-
country, he described the rising and all future genera-
tions as likely to be impressed only with images of
wrongs sustained and evils inflicted during the contest.
Mr. Oswald accounted naturally and truly for these
circumstances. Ministers, who could not be personally
acquainted with the circumstances of the country, acted
on the information they so constantly received of the
great proportion of friends they possessed in all the
colonies, who required only a temporary support from
government to restore all things to their original
state of peace and subordination. He mentioned also,
that England had entered into the last war principally
to protect the Americans from the effects of the in-
trigues of the French with the savages ; but on that
account he was told no obligation was due ; America,
being then as much a part of the British empire as

FF2

436

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVIII.

1782.

The loyalists.

June.

Great Britain or Ireland, was equally entitled to pro-
tection ; but to France, Spain, and Holland they were
under great obligations, both for military aid and
pecuniary supplies, and could not desert them in a
negotiation.

With Dr. Franklin, one principal subject of dis-
cussion was the fate of the loyalists, who were certainly
intitled to all the protection that England could afford
them. If, in the course of the war, we had suffered
through their misrepresentations, there was no ground
for accusing them of deceit or fraud. What they
asserted firmly, they believed sincerely; what they
promised, they exerted all the means in their power to
perform ; they maintained principles of duty, and
sacrificed to them all their possessions, their hopes, and
their lives. So firm were they in their opinions that,
while the treaty was in progress, those of Pennsylvania,
Maryland, Newcastle, Kent, and Sussex on Delaware,
presented an address to Sir Guy Carleton, declaring
that, notwithstanding the continuance of their op-
pressions, and the discouraging votes of the House of
Commons, they still retained their loyalty and affection
to their sovereign, and were determined to oppose the
independence of Congress at all events, and at the
hazard of their lives and fortunes. But if Great
Britain should withdraw her claim and right to so-
vereignty, and discharge her subjects from their alle-
giance, then, and not till then, they would consider
themselves a deserted people, left in a state of nature,
and at liberty to become the subjects and sue for the
protection of the French and other nations, whom they
now deemed their enemies. Similar addresses, or
vigorous remonstrances, were presented by the loyalists
of New York and some other places; but, in fact,
their situation was hopeless : no peace which did not
comprize the subjection of America could have ren-
dered their property or their lives secure: from the
rancour entertained against them by their own country-
men, they were treated with more humanity and
kindness even by the French. In public meetings, and
addresses through the press, they were held up to

GEORGE III.

detestation and vengeance, and all the blood which
had been shed and the calamities incurred were
ascribed to their avarice and tyranny*. 1782

Far from exhibiting toward these unhappy people
any sentiment of humanity, Dr. Franklin, while he
persisted in denying that Congress could alter or repeal
the confiscations enacted in particular states, main-
tained that, if justice required that any compensation
should be made to them, it ought to proceed from
England ; but, as if afraid of doing them even an in-
direct service, he added, that England was under no
great obligations to them, since, by their misrepresenta-
tions and bad counsels, she had been drawn into this
miserable warf.

Compensation for those who had suffered in the
progress of hostilities was still demanded, and com-
missioners were employed by Congress to examine and
report on the extent of their losses^ ; nor was the
questions of boundary and fishery easy of adjustment.

France was enveloped in the mists and entangled France
in the mazes of her own chicanery. When the great
object of severing the colonies from Great Britain was
attained, the difficult question of the position to be
assumed in the political world by the newly-created
power caused great embarrassment. Their ministers
always professed a determination to act only in con-
junction with all their allies, although all their interests
could not be adjusted in one treaty; but while they
felt satisfied that Spain and Holland would in all
things make common cause with them, and submit
entirely to their management, they had many alarms
respecting America. Their desire was to acquire in
that country an influence which would assure an ab-
solute control ; but they were not yet sufficiently as-
sured of the possession of such an ascendancy, nor free
from apprehensions of the result of a new state of
things. At an early period of the negotiation, they
assumed a lofty tone, demanded in all quarters of the

* State Papers.

t Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 359,406, 408.

+ Same p. 408.

437

438

HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

CHAP.
XLVIII.

1782.
7th August.

17th.

globe concessions utterly inconsistent with the great-
ness, safety, or honour of England, not hesitating to
assign as a reason, that no conditions could be too hard
or degrading for us, after the iniquitous and humili-
ating terms we had imposed on them in the treaty of
1763. Hence they felt authorized to require the
absolute sovereignty over that part of Newfoundland
which they had hitherto been permitted to frequent
during the fishing season; the privilege of erecting
fortifications on the Gold Coast of Africa ; restitution
of Chandernagore and Pondicherry, with a great
cession of territory in India ; that we should subscribe
the principles of the armed neutrality, and give up the
right of preventing the fortification of Dunkirk. In
return for all this, France was to restore the islands
she had captured in the West Indies, except, perhaps,
Dominica or Grenada ; and no treaty could be made,
unless we also satisfied the demands of Spain and
Holland; the former power requiring possession of
Minorca and Gibraltar, and the renunciation of the
right of cutting logwood in the Bay of Honduras ; the
latter, the gratuitous restitution of all the settlements
she had lost during the war.

These haughty terms were proposed by De Ver-
gennes to Mr. Fitzherbert, when Rodney's victory was
known, and when the state of affairs in India was not
yet ascertained. A plan of campaign was arranged,
that, after the capture of Gibraltar, which was deemed
certain, a very large detachment of the combined fleet
should be sent to St. Domingo, to pursue the intended
operation against Jamaica. The glorious event of the
thirteenth of September having frustrated these pro-
jects, financial difficulties pressing on every side, jea-
lousies arising among the confederated powers, and
mutual suspicions of insincerity between the French
and the Americans, lofty demands were no longer en-
forced ; but, for the purpose of gaining time, proposi-
tions were introduced calculated only for delay. Be-
side the claim of compensation for ships taken before
the last war, it was required that payment should be
made for French property captured by Rodney at St.

GEORGE III.

Eustatia ; and a threat was held out, that, if it were XLVIII

refused, the amount should be levied on the British J 1

inhabitants of Grenada. In fact, the politics of the 1782.
French court exhibited a strong feeling of mortifica- 13th October -
tion, disappointment, and distrust of all their allies,
while financial difficulties, and the altered state of the
public mind, rendered the continuance of war almost
impossible. M. De Vergennes was known to have
had warm discussions with M. D'Aranda and Dr.
Franklin. Dispatches from M. De Rochambeau in-
creased the suspicions of France with respect to the
fidelity, or rather the submissiveness, of the Americans,
now their point was attained ; nor were they free from
fears that the subjects of their own country, tempted
by new prospects and allured by expectations from a
new form of government, would emigrate in great
numbers, carrying away portions of their most useful
artificers and their arts. Nor were they more at ease
with respect to the Dutch. Those equivocal allies,
De Vergennes observed in the spring, notwithstanding
the resolutions they had promulgated, evinced no dis- 31st Ma
position to send their fleet to sea. " Perhaps," he
said, " these mercenary spirits have been deterred by
" the check which has been sustained by our Indian
" convoy."

Mr. Fitzherbert was instructed never to lose sight 3rd October.
of the treaty of Paris as the basis of a new treaty.
That able negotiator felt, with Lord Grantham, that his
country, having conceded the independence of Ame-
rica, and borne the expenses of the war, had made suf-
ficient sacrifices, without encouraging any further
expectations. He soon perceived, that however M. De
Vergennes might affect disguise, or desire delay, he
was truly desirous of peace, a measure essentially neces-
sary to the interests of his country. The necessity
resulted alike from the miserable state of the French
navy, both absolutely, and comparatively with that of
Great Britain, the evident relaxation of those ties
which connected France with America, the utter ina-
bility of the people to pay even the present imposts,
much less those which another campaign would require ;

440 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

^ ie Distress felt n t more in the provinces than in the
capital : there the war, which had long been unpopular,

1782. was universally reprobated, and it was generally maiii-
tained, that, during its whole progress, France had been
the dupe of her allies, the Americans and the Spaniards ;
in the last campaign, particularly, the two conspicuously
abortive attempts, on Jamaica and Gibraltar, had been
undertaken solely for the sake of Spain*.

It has already been noticed, on the authority of Mr.
Pickering, that the Americans were not unapprized of
a secret intrigue, adverse to their interests, attempted
by the French at the court of London ; but it is also
averred that a deeper and more dangerous design dis-
closed itself. The French, however exulting in the
separation of the colonies from England, were appre-
hensive of the consequences which might ensue from
the formation of an independent republic in America,
and sent to M. De Marbois, their minister at Philadel-
phia, a long list of questions relative to the most effec-
tual means of preventing the internal growth, and
checking the external power, of the new republic. The
answer formed a voluminous report, containing a regular
and systematic plan for exciting such a spirit of discord,
not only in the several states, but even among different
classes of individuals, as would have almost reduced
the country to its state of original wildness and barba-
rism. This dispatch, being intercepted by a British
cruizer, was shewn to the American commissioners.
The indignation of Adams and Jay was roused at this
instance of perfidy ; they thought themselves justified
in acceding to separate articles with England ; over-
ruled the opposition of Franklin, and by threats deter-
red -him from disclosing the secret to the French minis-
tryf.

* State Papers according to dates.

t Coxe's House of Austria, vol. iii. p. C03. This account was not known to,
or not believed by, the judicious author of the Life of Gouverueur Morris ; for
after expressing becoming indignation at the degredation of Congress in the in-
structions they gave to their Commissioners, he says : " They took care to quiet
" the clamours of conscience, and save the wounded dignity of their country, by
" breaking the instructions as soon as they came to act. They cut the Gordian
" knot in the way in which all such knots are usually cut. In this they did partly
" right and partly wrong. They did right to act for themselves, and on their own

GEORGE III. 441

Whether this information was or was not correct
in all its extent, the American commissioners, having

signed preliminary articles, the fact was, after many 1782.

days, disclosed to M. De Vergennes, in terms as brief, gg^JJjJT'

and void of all semblance of courtesy, or expression of articles agreed

gratitude, as could be imagined. Shortly afterward,

a pass was obtained from the British government for 29th.

conveying the preliminaries to America ; and, on this

being communicated, De Vergennes, politely, but with istt Dec.

evident displeasure, remonstrated against the course

which had been pursued. It was contrary to the in-

structions of Congress, and not consistent with the

decorum (biens&ance) due to the king. In his reply,

the American, consulting at once the voice of prudence

and of inclination, expressed a strong sense of the ob-

ligation which he and every American owed to the

King, whom they all loved and honoured, and hoped

that a failure, which he admitted to have been made in

a point of bienseance, would be excused, and that the

great work, hitherto so happily conducted and so

nearly brought to a conclusion, would not be ruined

by a single indiscretion. As the English flattered them-

selves that they had totally divided the two countries,

he hoped this little misunderstanding would be kept a

perfect secret*.

Whatever effect this feeble apology might have on
the mind of the French ministers, the period of pro-
crastination drew to its close. Mr. Fitzherbert had
informed them that, as his Majesty could not meet
Parliament without being able to announce the cer-
tainty of peace or the continuance of war, a proroga-
tion had taken place ; but it was not to be erroneously
conceived that such a measure could be repeated.
Such an effect would not be produced by cavils and
objections, nor would the impatience which thus ap-
peared to be expressed, influence Great Britain to make

" responsibility, and make as good a treaty as they could ; they did wrong in
" signing the treaty without the knowledge and concurrence of their friends
" and allies, who were still their friends, and washed them all the success they
"could gain, in spite of their jealousies, suspicions, and surmises." Sparks's
Life of Gouverueur Morris, vol. i. 238.

* Franklin's Memoirs, vol. ii. p. 413 to 419.

442 HISTORY OF ENGLAND.

xLvm an y concess i ns which would not be accorded if there

'_ were much more time to regulate arrangements*.

1782. Although a due portion of secrecy was still neces-

22d NOV. sary. the Secretary of State, after the treaty with Ame-

Information >,-, , i -r i -*- c

communicated rica had been signed, wrote to the Lord Mayor 01
to the public. L on( jon, and. to prevent speculations in the funds,
announced, that the negotiations promised a decisive
conclusion, either for peace or war, and that Parliament
would on that account be prorogued to the fifth of
December.

state of parties. During the intire recess, the efforts of party were in-
dustriously exerted to interest the public in the cause of
those who expected or possessed the direction of affairs.
The curiosity to ascertain the precise causes of the late
surprising change in the cabinet, was only gratified by
partial statements and general rumours. Mr. Fox
declared in Parliament that he had, some time before
the death of the Marquis of Rockingham, resolved to
resign, from an impossibility of concurring in the
opinions and systems of Lord Shelburne ; many com-
plaints were made, though not supported by specific
allegations, of the predominating influence of that
minister's counsels, which drove his late colleagues
from office ; but neither the crimination nor the defence
of the new cabinet afforded a clear insight into the
motives of disunion. The kingdom was divided into
three parties, who defended and attacked with equal
zeal and acrimony. The acts of the Rockingham ad-
ministration were reviewed with asperity, not more by
those who considered their reforms too violent, than by
those who had formed exaggerated hopes from their
promises, and thought they had not fulfilled the expec-
tations to which they had given birthf. The sincerity
of the ministry in the negotiations for peace was ques-
tioned by both parties in opposition, and the adherents
of Lord North seemed assured that the collision of
opinions, and exposition of the views of those who had
excluded him from power, would effect a change in

* State Paper, 23rd of November.

t See particulars of a conversation at the anniversary of Mr. Fox's election.
Remembrancer, vol. xiv. p. 290.

GEORGE III. 443

the public opinion beneficial to his fame and gratify- XLVUI
ing to their hopes*. 1

Such was the state of the public mind, when, the ]?82.
period of prorogation having expired, the King ad- 5th Dec.
dressed to Parliament a speech of unusual length. He p^iSent
stated his exertions for a general pacification, in pur- King's speech.
suit of which he had exercised the powers vested in
him by the legislature, and oifered to declare the Ame-
rican colonies free and independent states, by an article
to be inserted in the treaty of peace. " In thus admit-
" ting their separation from the crown of Britain," he
said, I have sacrificed every consideration of my own
to the wishes and opinion of the people. I make it
my humble and earnest prayer to Almighty God, that
Great Britain may not feel the evils which might re-
sult from so great a dismemberment of the empire ;
and that America may be free from those calamities
which have formerly proved in the mother-country how
essential monarchy is to the enjoyment of constitu-
tional liberty. Religion language interest affec-
tions, may, and I hope will, yet prove a bond of per-
manent union between the two countries : to this end,
neither attention nor disposition shall be wanting on
my part.

Among many other topics, the speech mentioned
the valiant exertions of the army and navy, the favour-
able state of the negotiations, the economical reforms
which would be necessary at home, and the attention
which must be employed in the government of Ireland
and of India.

The address in the House of Commons was moved Debate ^
by Mr. Philip Yorke, and seconded by Mr. Bankes. the address.
No direct opposition was made ; but Mr. Fox objected
to the mode of granting American independence, and
stated that a difference in opinion with the present
ministers on that subject had induced him to quit the
cabinet. He was inclined " to recognize the inde-

* Gibbon says : a certain late secretary of Ireland reckons the House of
Commons thus : Minister one hundred and forty, Reynard ninety, Boreas one
hundred and twenty, the rest unknown or uncertain. The last of the three, by
self or agents, talks too much of absence, neutrality, moderation. I still think he