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Reserve 1 ■»;»»«^H^H$.4*4i>HSi^4i.4^<'^4^'4'^^4HtKHih^ :m>. »* if^I'. \ - r .A »4. . « ■V '■; ' • '111 If: • •■ „ % '- "1 i xj ^% 1^ ^^ > "^Cd ^ V > .t - * «>.{<. ^ -■>, « • » .-■'■*.*»* .J?#i* 4* W A N A P O L O G Y F O R T HE j' LIFE AND ACTIONS OF G EN ERAL WOLFE,\ /^ AGAINST THE • ■ *. ■ ■ r- -^^iVI ISREPRESENTATIONS In a Pamhplet, called, A Counter Addrefs to the P U B faX C. ' ■' ' "J WITH >.'*?V-^".r. \\ Some other Remarks on that Performance. Mihi alacer: qui tamen jujja Ducum i/Uerpretan\ quam exfquiy malku 1% Tacit < •^t? ^ - i ■ i. I »«' - * '— * _ -^ A i / .. ;. V f. : ■:t .i^V .^A \., '^ ':.1 : ^ i . >> 1. [I ] .1 ' t *5C Si 3I.JF ?* ?^ ?« A N # "I A P O L O G Y,.;^^.. ».^' l&xi^S^^HERE is a reverence due to ^ the dead, which in polite na- tions has always been obferv- ^^y^'"* ed; and gentlemen of charac- ter, even in party difputes, have ever adled upon this principle. The dead cannot fpeak for themfelves ; and therefore good Writers, in every age, have been extremely tender in faying any thing, which might be thought injurious to their memory, * / .x- Much more is this refpedt due to charac- ters of real worth and excellence. B u T if the univerfal voice of a nation have been declared in favour of fome iuftlv%l,^ honoured hero, who has eminently diftin- ' guiflied himfelf in his country's caufe, and B 1/ •"El rl at •Sfl [ 2 ] at lafl greatly died in its fervice ; any at- tempt to leflen or detraA from the merit of his glorious courfe of life, is an affront of- fered to the publick, as well as an injury done to the dead ; and mufl be refented by every ingenuous mind as infult added to in- gratitude. "-€ Upon this account I am at a lofs to affign a reafbn, why fo exadt a writer as the au- thor of the Counter-addrefs to the public, in drawing the charader of the late General Wolf» (hould choofe to make mention of only one important adion ; as if his whole merit, with the public, refted in that, and the other adions of his life were not worthy of attention. ** ff^ojf, fays be^ was a very young man, but a genius. He atchieved his glorious career in one important aSlion, for ever memorable ; and rejleSling confummate honour on bis country y on himfelf and on the great man^ nvhofe councils be executed {a). ■■■•■«--* ^ ■• » !#• That Mr. Wolf was a young man and a genius, fuperior to moft of the Generals ! , ; ' ... under ^■* .^». ^i (<7.) Page 6. #■*. wm [ 3 ] under whom ht frrved, is agreed : but does our author remember no other adion but his laft ? or (hall the nation forget all the ho- nours he acquired in the two proceeding ycart of his life ? Every gratfeful niind muft recoiled: the lingular merit, which the pub- lick gave to General Wolf in the year 1757. When it was faid, that he expreflcd his readinefs to land on the coaft of France with only a thoufand men, while the conimanders in chief were holding councils of war to prove it unfafe to do it with near ten times that number; and when from that excellent fet of precautions, which he drew up for the prefervation of his men in their march on (hore ; it was plain, that he had not the leaft conception of their being to ftay a week, on fhipboard, looking upon the coaft ; and ^ then to come home without landing at all. ' Jp^ . , •- i. ' . ' ' -^^ t. ' •* \' * '■■■■■ ■ \-i'->-*^ But tho' Mr. Wolf's rank in that firft campaign was not high enough, to enable , him to perform any adion, of fufficient im- portance, to merit our author's regard ; yet the government then took fo much notice of him, as to think him worthy to be en- trufted with a much higher command in the next. Admitting however that the firft year of the General's career was not fo eminently B z diftin- t Wil -it] .« jii itii It [ 4 J diftinguiflicd ; yet, I thought that all men had agreed, that his fecond campaign was by much too important to be overlooked. The landing in Cape Breton, for the redudtion of Louifburgh, was an adtion, which was not only great in itfelf j but was the leading conqueft, which opened the way to all the reft. The two houfes were fo fully poffeffed with the fenfe of its import- ance, and of the meritorious part, which General Wolf had adted in it ; that tho' the forms of parliament witheld them from giv- ing a public vote of thanks to an inferior in command ; yet all agreed that he deferved them. i -• But as our author does not choofe to men- tion this part neither of the General's cha- radterj but rather feems, in hafte, to get the reader on to the end of his career ; and, huddling all his great adlions into one, ap- pears to wifli us to forget the proceeding glories of his life ; he will give me leave to pay this part of a debt due to a good man's memory, by pointing out the peculiar merit of this atchievement. . And l5] And in order to do juftice to the fubjeft, I find it neceffary to hold it up to the reader in a comparative light j by which he will have the cleared view of its merits, and perhaps at the fame time gain an infight in- to the reafons, which may have induced our Author to draw a (hade over the former parts of the General's career. In the year 1757, the government fcnt out an army of twelve battalions, with inftruc- tions to landf if pojjible^ at or near Rochfort ; in order 9 ifpojiile, to wake an attack upon the place. The troops, without meeting with any misfortune in their paiTage, arrived fafe in ten days at the place of their deflination : when the officers, after having held feveral councils of war, at length found out reafons for not landing, and came home again. In the year 1758, the nation fentout ano- ther army of fourteen battalions for the at- tacking of Louifburgh. The officers held no council of war; but purfued their in- ftrudions, and took the firft opportunity to ''. land. til i ! M ) land, and drive the enemy into the town ; and then confidered of the proper means of f educing it. * - »• , • ' In the defcent on Cape Breton, the fwell of the fea was To great, that the Admiral, who had the charge of the debarkation, for three days fucceflively, after the difpofition had been made, and the troops were in the boats, reported that it was impoffible to land: and at the fourth attempt, when tlie fwell was decreafed, the troops were caft on fhore rather than landed ; and not lefs than a hundred boats were loft in landing the men *and ftores, upon fo rough a coaft {6). • . In the Rochfort expedition, thfe bay of Chatelaillon, was pointed out as a fafe place of landing. The Admiral, who had the di- redtion of the boats ; gave in bis report. That // was a fair, firm fandy bay (c.) the fea was calm, no French troops appeared there to oppofe them : no French batteries were eredled within reach of the place : and the Admiral, after viewing of the bay, told them % 'y-9 ^^J Major General Amhcrft*s Letter, Gatctte,Aug. 19. [73 ■.■"J- them that he would land them wlthoj^ir^ ting thqr iho^s (rf), . >^ , ^.: f •.';^;^^-' ' ft • % - • ■ •■•%,■ ■» » But there were fand hUls lyl^aihe eoaft and the Generals did not Mnosfi but that their might be men behind^them• In the defcent on Cape Breton^ a largp body of the enemy was actually feen drawn up in a chain of pofls upon the ihQrc» with batteries of cannon and mortars ereded in the proper parts, to oppofe the landing ; the coaft was rough, and the furf fo great, that a place could hardly be found to get a boal on fhore. ** Yet under all thefe difadvant^ge^ (fays general Amhcrft) brigadier Wolfii purfued his point, and landed juft at the ** left of the cove, took poft, attacked th^ *< enemy, and forced them to retread Mar^y bpats were overfet, fcvei^al broke to pieces, and all the men jumped into the water,'* and fome of the grenadiers were drowned in trying to get on fhore {e). » . 4i €€ it cc After viewing the contraft, which fublWts between the conduA of thcfe two d^^p^rep^^ -'jp^ter-* m '■Hi **■ ■mmmm .. {^J Inquiry, p, 45. (e) Gazette, Auguft, 19, 1 758'. n f > f8] ^ ehterprifeSt the reader perhaps may now be lefs at a lofs to aflign a reafon, for our Au- thor's having chofen to pafs over this part of the General's career, and to hurry us on to the end of it. For fhbuld we flay to refledl on the particulars of thefe great intermediate atchievements, it would be impoffible not to recoUedt, that at the Rochfort expedition general Conway was fecond in command, fuperior to a Wolfe; and that at the Louif- burg expedition, general Wolfe was fecond in commands, without a Conway. • V After finking the remembrance of the former great adtions of his life, it might have been hoped> that our Author would at leaft have given to the dead hero his full fhar e of praife for the lafl. But not content with contracting three years fervice into one^ he will allow him but half the merit even of that. * • . •' - . . .' • General Wolfe atchiev'd his glorious career in one important adtion, for ever me- morable, and refledtingconfummate honour on his country, on himfelf, and on the great ffian, wbofe councils be executed. The one im- portant aftion, with which general Wolf, ' * after s . 'Ma ■ ... [9] ^ .-''V i^ter all his other atchievements^ compidltecl his glorious career, doubtlefs did faohour to his country, to himfelf, and to all thofe brave men, who fought with him in its caufe. But what the meaning can be of that addition, of its doing honour to the great mafif wbofe coun^ cih be executed i or why the reader is led to coniider general Wolf as the hand of execu^ tion only, and not asliead alfo of this gre^t atchievement is not eafy to conceive. , : ? I would in this and in every cafe, bc.^ far from attenipting to leffcn the merit >of %}ffi Minifter, as that of the General. But,* if the landing and fighting the enemy at Que- bec be the one important adion here refer- red to, a very little rcfledtion will convince the reader, that the afcribing of this at- tempt to the councils of Mr. Pitt is not merely making an innocent miftake, but if offering an affront to the wifdom of his councils, under an appearance of doing hikn honour. And the guarding againft any in-" jurious imputations upon Mr, Pitt's defigns, and the fecuring to Mr. Wolf the intire me- rit, which belongs to him, is a piece of ju« ftice due to them both. . I C In ;l •tl I V:l i • .li..mi^,- . ■ ■ ^J, - » -^. ■ .-•"i'l^'r ■■■■■ .■•' ■V».^^*l -i «■••'••■ 1-.4.-, •»•••--■*", 4 •'"■*, ^ .,' - f 10] In treating tht performance of Co accom- plifhed an Author, I am almoft afhamed to recur to common principles ; and muft afk the reader's pardon for referring him to the univerfally received maxims ofyprudence. But in the choice andH^formin^nterprizes every one knows, that the v^ifdom of coun- cil confifts in the propofing fome great and valuable end, and the furnifhing of fufficient means for its attainment. . 11 ■f I' f That the taking of Quebec was a very wife objedl, no one, I fuppofe, will deny : at lead I readily acknowledge, that whoever pfopofed it, or how obvious foever it muft have appeared in our councils, yet it was a great and important deiign ; and the propof- ing of it did honour to the advifer. But then as much the more important as the end appeared to be, fo much the more folicitous will every wife adminiftration be to provide the necefTary means for its attain* ment. ^"' ' -:f^?•^;. From the mofl: authentic accounts pub- lifhed in our own Gazettes, it appears, that general Wolf failed up the rivcrSt, Lawrence, and f II} and landed for the attack of Quebec, with a body of troops much inferior in number to the French forces, which were appointed for the defence of it. That befides the great ttrmy intrenched on the river, the country itfelf was lb ftrong, as to baffle all our at- tempts to* come near it. When I learned, fays his excellent letter {f)^ that ** fuccours ** of all kinds had been thrown into Que- ** bee ; that five battalions of regular troops, " compleated from the beft inhabitants of ** the country, fome of the troops in the co- " lony, and every Canadian that was able to f* bear arms ; befides feveral nations of Sa- ** vages, had taken the field in a very ad- '* vantageous fijtuation; I could not flatter myfelf that I flipuld be able to reduce the place/' But great as was their army, there was a ftill greater obftacle im^ Ge«* neral's way, which arofe, he j^^r^ot fo much from the number of the erttmy^ [though fuperior to us) as from the natural Jlrength ^ of the country. From the fame account it appears, that the nunaber of French troops, which marched to the battle near Quebec, exclufive of thpfe which remained in th^ C 2 town. « «< m i! V'r < 'li- I) (fl Extra. Gazette, Oi^, 1 6, 1759. [ 12 ] town, was much fuperior to the Englifh. They out flanked our army» tho* their center was a column {g) not to add another body of two thoufand of the enemy {b), which ap- peared in our rear immediately after the bat^ tie. Four or five thoufand men Mr. Wolf fays, (i) is nearly the whole ftrength of the army, which he had to fend up above the town, to join about fourteen hundred more, which were already there. This difpropor- tion was fuch, that he calls his army a band'* fulofmen. .r-H- ► Wix^L this gentleman now, upon recol- leding the ftate of the cafe, think that hp does honour to any minifter, by fuppofing that he fent a General to attack a ftrong fortifiecTtbwn, with a much (mailer army« than JH^hi^!^ ^^ ^^s to find at the place for tnel^bice of it ? I ' This is not agreeable to the praAice of minifters of State in every other cafe. And though inftances may pofiibly be found of fortified towns having been taken by a force Icfs than thfeir own; yet there is hardly any (g) Brig. Gen. Townfend's Letter, (b) Ibid. (i) Extiz^ Gazette, OA. 16, 1759. [ t3] any example of a cabinet councirs havii^g deliberately and unneceflarily expofed their troops to fo unequal a hazard; at leaft, whatever may have been the event, no one before this Author ever thought of compli- menting the vsrifdom of fuch councils. • Nor would I for a fingle moment be un- derftood to infinuate, that Mr. Pitt was real- ly chargeable with fuch rafti and defperatc de- (igns. It has always been thought, that the fcheme of that expedition, as formed herfe; at home, was, that general Amherft fliould have marched by land, and aflifted in the operations of the fiege. Poffibly too it might have been hoped, thgt the troops, which had been feat the winterJbcfore to the attack of Martinico, would j(0 able to fail , from the Weft Indies, and join the General in his voyage. This is what is commonly underftood to have been Mr. Pitt's plan. And if thofe troops had met, they would together have certainly made a force fufficient to give to the enterprize a probability of fucccfs. . • ., 1 , . .» Had it been the original intention^ that General Wolf fhould fingly undertake the fiece, with the troops he was to carry put ' * with » ^'.4t' I' [ H 3 with him; it cannot but be fuppofed> that the wifdom of Mr. Pitt's councils woiild have furnifhed him with a force, which ihould be adequate to the defign : and it would have been eaiy to have allotted for him a part of that great army, which marched with General Amherft ; who with ten or fifteen thoufand men might have moved as ^Xpeditioufly, and come up as foon, as with jtwenty. And with a lefs number, would |iave been juft as able, as with a greater, to ilruggle with the feafons, and buffet the winds and waves upon Lake Champlain. .Our author, therefore, far from compliment* i|ig, really detradls from the wifdom of his ^reat man's councils, by fuppofing that out ^f fo large a body of troops, as were then in America, he originally apportioned fo ^mall a force to fo great an undertaking. ^ Nor is it at all agreeabk to Mr. Pitt's pradtice in other cafes to make a provifion of means, fo very inadequate to the end. When, for inflance, he determined to make a defcent upon Bellejfle, there is not the leaft appear- ^ance of his having been (paring in the num- ,bpr of troops allotted for tb^t purpofe. Some, perhaps, may have been tempted to think, ,;.. that • ' Ei5 3 •^^ that there were more fhips and men employed there, than were neccffary, and may have doubted whether the whole ifland was wortli the armament ; but no one ever thought tb5t the armament was not enough for the ifland'^ '■*"•»•, * *.- And when this great man, two years be- fore this, refolved upon making an attempt upon Rochefort, the council, at St. James's^ were very far from intending to fend, for that purpofe, a body of men, which fhoul'd be unequal to the enterprize. They did ncit finally determine, that this army fhould edtl- fift of twelve battalions, till they knew, by an exadt lift of all the regiments in the French fervice, and the difpofition of them in the feveral parts of their empire, through which they were diftributed, that there could not be a force equal to this in thsit part of the country. '• • f I N juftice to Mr. Pitt's charader, and io , fliow how far he was from any fuch raflinefs, f, as this author afcribes to him ; Icann6thelD obferving, that his precaution went much farther than common, in fecuring fucctfr|o this enterprize.. And, therefore, as Slf joHn Mordaunt was thought to be in aff>4/ifirm ■-■ U 'II .1 u-^ I m^ ftate of health, he took care to fortify hint with the afliftance of another General, of great underftanding and abilities ; who was admitted into all the confultations of the ca- binet, previous to the expedition ; and who^ therefore, tho' not the firfl in command^ was yet a principal in Mr. Pitt's councils, as much as Sir John Mordaunt ; and, perhaps^ was flill more than he depended upon for all the fubfequent councils of execution. As to frefh councils of deliberation. Whether they fliould proceed or not in the fervice, for which they were fent, when nothing appear^^ ^ d to hinder them, that was a meafure, of "^''hich no one of the cabinet- council could, a| that time have had the leail fufpicion. i *ii To return then to the argument. That Mi. Pitt heartily defired that Quebec (hould be Saken, cannot be doubted : that he plan- ned a fufficient force for that purpofe, if the .hree different corps had joined, as he intei ied, is not to be denied : but from the time, when General Amherft could not Gome up, and when the troops in the Weft Itldies\were detained there ; from that time Mr. Pitt's plan was at an end. And all the fubfeq' mi operations were the feveral Ge^ neral's [ «7 ) neral's own : about which, from the nature of things, Mr. Pitt could have had no know- ledge, and therefore could give no counfel. , B u T though it would be an afFront to common fenfe, and an injury done to Mr. Pitt's adminiftration, to fuppofe, that he, or any member of it, could refolve to fend Mr. Wolf, with his fingle command, to at- tack a fortified town, guarded by an army much fuperior to his own ; yet the wifdom of council, is one thing, and the bravery of enterprize, is another. Mr. Wolf, and the officers with him, had now failed, and were landed for the fervice: General Amherft, how well foever his conjundlion with them might have been intended here at home, had not been able to effedt it; nor were the Weft India forces arrived. Two parts in three, therefore, of Mr. Pitt's plan had failed. But this was all the force they had, and the enterprize was to be attempted with this alone, or not at all. The Generals had made their utmoft efforts to force a pafTage at the falls at Mont- morency, and had failed. How eafy vi^ould it have been, in this cafe, to have held a D council (• > II •.: '■ '1' ' f, ifti 111 '^U.' *™ I r ffl .h r 18 J council of war, and found rcafons to come back again ? They had landed and done c- nough for their own honour j and all men would have allowed, that they had exerted their utmoft ftrength ; but had found them- felves too weak for the troops actually in the field ; and much more to take the town. But they felt for their country, and knew the diftrefs, ^hich fuch a mifcarriage muft oc- cafion in our councils and finances at home. They faw the neccffity of hazarding an at- tempt, which the wifdom of no cabinet council would have originally advifed. Tie ifff'airs of Great Britain, fays this true patriot^ / kn^ require the tnojl 'vigorous mcafures ; but thenyxourage of a handful of brave men Jhould be exerted only, where there is fomc hope of a favourable event. Such were the fenti- ments which actuated his great mind thro' his glorious career ; and under this convic- tion he greatly adventured in his country's caufe, and has for ever endeared to it his me- mory by the atchievement. ' F R o M a Letter of Mr. Wolf's, writ at the time, I could (how, that he had once aSually refolved to return. Suppofe he had returned; no one could have faid^ but that he he had executed all Mr. Pitt's councils, and much more; all I mean which rchtcd ro his part of the fchcme. Every one mud remember the univeriaJ concern, which his public letter occafioned. They, who hid knew the country, had declared their opini- on before ; but all men then wiflied, that the forces had gone together, and the fuc- cefs of the expedition not been left to the uncertainty of an after conjundtion. -. ■'.'»• r ■• • ,',^ .,-. .. , . . ' •• - ._■. •♦* -- In tbis choice of difficulties ^ when he owns Hmfelf at a kfs how to deterfnine\ did the council at St. James's fugged the expedient of failing by night up above the town, and getting on the other fide of it? Shall then any one attempt to rob thefc brave men of the whole praife of their generous refolution to land under every difadvantage, and with A handful of an army, to fight one of near doubk their number ? The General greatly fell in the attempt ; but he left others, like himfelf, to carry it on, who animated with the fame zeal for their country's fcrvice, foori compleated the atchievement. Inftead of amufing themfelvcs with the examination of paifants, with looking through fpying- glaffes, at the landing-place, and wearying D 2 th Ir li ll \ I Vt I'll iSnC :;* .(• i {;{ [20] their imaginations for fix days together with fuppofed difficulties ; they overcame all their real ones in a few hours ; and, after beating the enemy into the town, without lofing time in holding councils of war, or flaying to go through the forms of a firft, fecond, and third parallel, they puflied on their af- faults, and in three days carried the place by a coup de main. i In all this it is impoffible for the reader not to fee, that the minifter, at home, could have no knowledge, and therefore could give no counfel. Yet fo meanly does our author think of his great man's underftanding, as to imagine that he will fnuff up incenfe,' offer- ed to the wifdom of his councils, for a mea- fure, of which be was utterly ignorant ; and take to himfelf a merit, in the fuccefs of an attempt, which the wifdom of no cabi- net council ever could have advifed. So weakly greedy of praife, does he fuppofe him, as, merely in order to avail himfelf of the e- vent, to incur the imputation of having deliberately expofed the honour of the na- tion, and rifked the expence of a whole year's fervice, and the lives of feven thoufand fub- IWwP [ 21 1 jedls, upon the moft uncertain and defpcratc ^ kind of hazard. .' * But if, as this author fuppofes, Mr. Wolf did fo much honour to himfclf, and to his country, by executing Mr. Pitt's counfels; what then are we to think of thofe Gene- rals, who treated this great man's orders with negledl ; and dechned the executing of them, thougVi they failed under his i.-nmedi- ate and exprcfs direction ? I fhould have fpar- ed this reflection, if our author had not un- avoidably forced me into it, by bringing this very charge againft other men. TZr i\7- trcjjs of this writer^ fays ke^ always called that Rochejort fcheme one of Mr, Pittas vifions {k). Who the writer of the addrefs is, or who are his patrons, I don't at all know. But without regarding perfons, in which the wifdom of the meafure is not at all concern- ed ; I confefs myfelf one, that always ap- proved and admired it ; and I did it upon attending to the whole evidence, as it ap- peared at the Board of Inquiry, and at the Court Martial, which werehelduponit. There is a juflice, which is due toevery man, and as I would not afcribe to Mr. Pitt the honour of atchievements, wherein his councils were nbt Ml, V* .1^ M- con- *5"! .1 . f( I .^1 m rJt^ •4 [ « 1 concerned; fo I would be far from with- holding from him the praife of thofe, where- in they were. ■n ml ? i»!: ' That the attacking of Rochefort was a wife meafure, is evident from the nature of the thing itfelf ; and the lights (/) we have lince acquired, put it beyond di^te. T6 Mr. Pitt therefore is due, not^^honour of having firft.projefted it; for that was l^r. Clarke's : not the judgment of having firft- approved of it; for that was Lord Li- gonier's : but the merit of having adopted* ;, encouraged, and forwarded it; and of fur- niihing the Generals with all the neceffary requiiites for the fuccefs of it. Who they were that treated the fcheme as vifionary* will beft appeoHfrom the examin/fftions. His Majefty's orders, which Mr.. Pitt and Lord Ligonier both told the command- ers, (/») were as pofitive as can be given ■^ -4,^ (/) Several af the officers who vrcre at Rochefort, ferved the next year at Louifburgh, and were brought prifoners to Andover j and they acknowledged, that the place' Would h^6 furrenrfered, if the troops had landed |vr^^ lijidlfeu'ched up to it on their firll arrival. (^j)f^nquiry, p. 987. ■i V. '4 y €€ €t it it I 23 ] in fuch cafes ; were, " to attempt, as far u ** {hall be found pradticable, a dcfcent with ** the forces under their command, on the ** French coaft, at or near Rochefort; in «* order to attack, if pradicable, and by a vigorous impreflion force that place ; and to burn and deftroy, to the utmoft of your power, all Docks, Magazines, Arfe- nals, and {hipping that {hall be found ** there ; and exert fuch other efforts as you " judge mo{l proper for annoying the ene- ** my." Sir Edward Hawke, in his letter to Mr, Pitt, upon receiving the report of the fea Captains, fent to, examine the coaft, fays^ I was of opinion that they might landi on which Sir John Mordaunt delired a council of war might be afTembled, to ** confider, of it. There it was granted ** by every body, that the landing could b^ M cffefted." («) , ., ^.. . it yby they wiflied to take it ? // was not likely that a place offuch importance Jhculd^ aft€;r fuch warn- ing, be totally neglcBed, Did any man in the tcingdom, except tbefe gentlemen^ think, that Mr. Pitt had not fagacity enough to difcern this ? When therefore, Mr. Conway, being aiked to give his reafons for having voted againfl landing at the firft council of war^ fays, {p) ** as well from general reafoningy " as intelligence, thd be knew of no conjider^^ ** able army in the fields he was perfuaded ** there mtift be a co^derable number of men at ** ^ochefort ;* did not this general reafoning, and the perfuaiion founded upon it, hold as good at St. Jwes's, as at Aix ? When he was in confultation with Mr. Pitt, at Lord Holdernefs's, as in the council of war on board the Neptune ? Mr. Pitt himfelf, fays^^. upon oath at the Court Martial, (qj that the ** memorial there pewn to Sir John Mor daunt " and Major General Conway,, of the French E " /and 4|r ^ R %■ '■lii'' i i 1 i! H m^ {0) Inquiry, p. I4« (f) Trial, p. 9. N r I 26 J 4€ €t " land forces, and the fervices, on which they were employed, was a paper, on which much reliance was had by the King*s fervants 5 *' as coming from one of their moji confix *' dential correfpondents i and was then pro^ " duced, as a piece of intelligence, to which " they g6ve much credit i* and Sir John Ligo- nier appears to have intirely believed it (s). Yet fo very cheap did they hold the great man's judgment of this intelligence, that they rather chofe to liften to that of prifoners> interefted in deceiving them, and upon vrhom they both fay, they could have no dependence. Sir John Mordaunt tells us, be gave little or no weight to what the French prifoners faid ', and Mr. Conway, being alli- ed, what reafon he had to apprehend a body of troops to oppofe their landing ? Anfwers, from general reafoning upon the fubjeB^ ard the information of prifoners. Qj_ What was that information ? A. One faid there were cle- ven battalions, another mentioned feven ; and though he paid very little regard to any of them fngly, yet^ upon the whole y he thought there was no room to doubt but there were SOME troops. Did then, Mr. Pitt fet the • valour (s) Inquiry, p. 47. [27 3 valour of ^ESf Sritifli foldiers fo very low, as to think that he ought to fend them only to places, wrhere he was fure that the enemy had NONE ? Whether the information of the French land forces, on v/hich Mr. Pitt and the King's fervants placed fo much reliance, might not have obtained fufficient credit with thefe officers, to have induced them to land diredly, without waiting for more ; or whether the intelligence of one of the Secre- taries of State's moft confidential correlpon- dents, to which the cabinet-council paid fo much regard, might not as well have been truftcd to, as the ftories of fifliermen, ma- fons, and labourers (/) at Aix, are not now fubjefts of inquiry. The queftion before us, is only the degree of refpedt, yrbicli thefe gentlemen (hewed to their great man's councils : and in that point of view, it is impoffible for the reader not to fee that, little s*s was the regard, which Mr. Conway fays, he paid to the information of the prifoners ; it muft, at leaft, have been greater, than that paid to the information of Mr. Pitt's coun- cils; becaufe he adted upon it, and voted ■i hi !.':■'* I V !l- f !f-|! I (t) Inquiry, p. 49 and 53. E 2 againft f I [ *8 ] againft the landing at Chatelalllon upon the credit of it. ' The examination goes on : General Con^ way being ajked^ whether any batteries or troops appeared to him? Anfwers, very few. There was a fmall battery ; but he imagined, the troops would naturally conceal thent" Jehes, till the attempt to land, («) Yet in all the deicentSy which we have fince made on French and Spaniards, they have never once a£ted according to this fuppoiition. V-- ; \. • . ■ : • " .' . The other reafons alledged by General Conway are, ** They had been feen five days •* upon the coaft ; and two days more muft f< have been taken up in landing with the " ftores. They had no particular intelli- '* gence of many neceflary circumftances, ** relative to the (late of the place : they ** could not furprize it;, and had not artil- '^ lery to attack it in form : and no fecure «' retreat for the troops (u). : ; : Sir John Ligonier, on the other hand, judged the intelligence of the French force, . fo (u) Inquiry, p. 36. {u) Ibid. [ap] fo very particular, that he thought fit to add» as a poftfcript, to the paper of hints, given to Sir John Mordaunt, in which he had fpoken of fecuring a communicationy or retreat : " When Sir John Ligonier wrote ** this paper, he knew nothing of the dif- ** poiition of the French troops ; the fmall ** number of thofe troops, which could be " upon that coaft, by the difpofition, pro- " duced at the cabinet-council, leffened very ** much the neceffity of the precautions to *^ to be taken for a communication or land- ^. i ■ I*- 'W f 3S J T'A- ♦ In an evil hour, therefore, mud the friends of thefe gentlemen charge upon others the irreverent ufage of Mr. Pitt's councils, when they themfelves firft fet the example* and were the only efFedual contemners of them : nor could they, who were difpofed to be fcoiFers, have found an occafion to treat his fcheme as vifionary, if they who ihould have been adtors in it, had not firft fet his underftanding fo very low, as to be put off with their dreaming dreams of wet ditches on the ocean^ and feeing vifions of armed men behind fand hills ; and refolved to ftay on ihipboard, and make it fo. Yet would their advocate now faften upon others the crime incurred by their own mifcondudt ; and would afcribe to the great man, to whom they pay their court, the merit of thofe conquefts, in which his councils were not concerned j in order to atone for their having robbed him of the glory of thofe councils which really were his ; and would have done honour to him, to the nation, and to themfelves, in their execution. In faft, tho* this author fpeaks of others having called this one of Mr. Pitt's vifions. F z Ji£L •■iif^ ii H m m % fe (36] yet I know cf none, who treated it as fuc^h, but the friends of thefe Generals. And tho' the fhiftings and coalitions of parties may have now induced a change of language, yet every one, who was acquainted with the complexion of the time, and the connections of thefe Generals, muft remember, that they were then far from (hewing that rever- ence to his councils, which they nowchoofe to exprefs. At a time, when the D of G *s favourite minifter was overfet^ w^en the rpy^ compander himfelf virais • forced to refigo, when his fervices were di£^ graced* bis negociations difown'd, and hi^ treaty publickly ftigmatized by Mr. Pitt as an ingl^ms Padlock^ every one, who remem- bers theie things, muft know, that the do- ing honour to his councils was then judged to be a motive, which the very leaft of all others would have operated upon the minds of thefe Generals j and that they were then far from treating him as the great man, how much foever they now afFeft to call him fo. But he is now neceflary to the very be- ing of their party j and therefore they no^ feek to pui-chafe the forgivenefs;^ of their former neglefting to execute his wife coun-^ [37l cils, by afcribing to him the glory of thofc atcbievements, which flowed from no coun- cil of his at all. Fgnd on any term$ to gain bis favour, they would even violate the moft faercd rights of the dead, and tear off the laurels from a fallen heroc's brow, to plant them on a head, which never p]aan^d the atchievement. Do then thefe gentlemen tbii)k> thgt the public has forgot the account, which was fent to all thie papers at the tioije, iipi which the nation was fo emphatically told, that the fleet was returning home. No attempt havhig been made to land on the coall of France ? Or can they imagine, that it is notftill i9f|>ei|ibered, how the whole kingdom fymp^Aked wilb Mr. Pitt in the mcnaorable expceflion of his grief, in his letter tp ^v^Mdyoj^ of Path? Yefwoujd they now ^flTront his under^ndr ifig> by giving to him the honour of coun- cils, which were not his; in order tp afone for their having before affronted his autho«- rity, by refufing to execute tho(e» whkh really were his : and v^ith the moft naufeous kind of fawning, would now fpit in Yh% mouth, in return for their having formerly broken his heart. . . Ill li! '.'•H l.'vl f M lii [383 .M^**^ ■^■•' \n Having now vindicated the honour of a brave man, whom I thought deferving of a better treatment than was here given him 5 I am more indifferent about any points of controverfyy between our author and his adverfary. . Far be it from me to plead for the turn- ing iany gentleman out of his profeffion upon account of his parliamentary behaviour. Freedom of fpeech is efTential to the very being of parliament, and the bafis of all our liberties, ^^ *' ■» 4-*»' m''^ V M. '.^it* r.fw ;»•.•■!"' i^ x: But there are two fads laid down by our author, which are the foundations, on which all bis arguments are built ; neither of which he has proved ; and either of them failing, his whole work falls to the ground. I The firft is, that General Conway was turned out upon account of his behaviour in piH-liament If his Majefty has been pleaf- ed, by himfelf or by his minifters, to figni- fy this at the time of the difmiflion ; then this author has a juft warrant to write upon that fuppofition. If the weak conceffions of his [39] his adverfary are his fole authority ; then this is only an affair between thefe two com- batants, in which others have no concern* When our author (hall have proved, as he intimates (page 42) will be done, that this really was the motive, he will then have a claim to the publick attention. ,,,:. ,, j it .' m 1 ^f- But it is a piece of juftice we owe to every man, not to judge of the reafons of his adions without knowing them $ and as a good fubjea, I will not believe that his Rfe-. jefty would wantonly or unjuftly exercifc this, part of the prerogative. In the mean time, till the true caufe of this difmiffion (hall ap- pear, there is nothing in General Conway's cafe different from that of any other ofiicer j all hold their commiflions fubjedi: to bis Ma- jefty*s pleafure, and we have feen the great- eft Generals turned out, without the leaft impeachment of the right of the Grown in lb doing, . V W%:^ JV rf _. ••'fir 7 !i;t*!s ** f f X 4^- !^ \» -fr . :.% *% -^ . V r ft the difmiflSdn happen in tin;res, wherif men's paffions ai'e agitated wjth party con^ tefts, they will then adt very differently^ And while thofe on one fide fay, it is the adt of the Crown, and the Crown can do no wrong; thofe on the other fay, itis the adt of the Mtnifler, and a Minifler can do no right. ^ The ^ C 41 ] The ufual pradtice, in fuch cafes, has been for the friends of the fufFerer, to look for fome one of his moft popular adions, and to affign that as the caufe of the difmiflion. And, in order to intereft the publick con- cern,; they generally propagate reports of an intention to turn out many others. They who remember, or will look into the debates of the time, will know, that jiift the fame things were faid, in Sir Robert Walpole's days, upon the difmiflion of Lord Cobham, and of the Duke of Bolton and Lord Weft- morland, whicbare now faid upon Mr. Con- way's. The nation might juftly be alarmed to fee this part of the prerogative carried to any great extent; but people arenotdifpofed to quarrel with their Sovereign, at the exertion of it in a few particular inftances. • ^\^'^' " - ", ' -'*-..' ■ \ ^ - - . -' " . ■ ^ The accounts, therefore, fo often re- peated, of an intention to turn out all the officers, who voted on one fide at a county eledtion; of the garbelling of the army, and fufl^ring none to remain in it, who will not blindly follow the mandates of a Minift^r ; tf the carrying a ii/l of Jixteen officers to his Majefty, and the like; far from being new inventions, are but copies of reports of G the a. i i m u \i I i t M .L- mi i [42] the fame kind, which were fpread thirty years ago, and probably will be imitated thirty years hence upon fome like occafion. And an oppofition will always find their account in them : for tho' time and experi- ence may prove fuch reports to have been groundlefs, and in the end the people come to be convinced of their falfhood ; yet in the mean while they receive them as truths : and the bad impreffion made by them, while they thought them true, ftill remains upon their minds, even after the deception is over J and prepares them to receive the next invented ftory with the fame greedinefs as they did the laft. A s Mr. Conway is in parliament, and took the popular fide of a queflion in de- bate, it is not to be wondered at, that his friends have chofen to afijgn that as the mo- tive of his difmiffion. If any minifter will avow the having advifed the meafure upon that account, he will be bcft able to give his reafons in the defence of it. It is a ufage, which has been occafionally pradtifed under all adminiftrations, is feidom to be juftified., and fcarce ever to be commended ; and, if carried ^ r 43 ] ^ carried to any great extent, would be a juit ground of alarm. But till this motive is a- vowed, it is juft as eafy for one party to de- ny, as for the other to aftirm, and I coneern myfelf with neither. . * It is our author's fecond pofition j which I principally meant to confider : and which, I confefs, I was not a little furprifed to fee fo pofitively affirmed as a fadl, and made the foundation of fo great a part of his argu- ment : that Mr. Conway had differed with the adminiftration only in a fingle vote : or rather, as he explains himfelf in the note, and defires to be underftood in that fenfe thro* his whole book : // demands made upon us under various pretences, to the amount of no lefs a fum than feven million, eight hundred thoufand pounds. Demands, I fay, not debts. Time was, when German demands were German debts : when the prevailing humour of the reign, or theneceffities of the public, would not permit us to conteft them. When our mercenaries, by holding twenty thou- fand Englifhmen in their power, under a German General, could make it dangerous for (a) Emendare tuos quamvh^ufiine libellos Non multa poterunty una litura potefl, -^'^'W The motto of the Budget. [ 45 3 for us to offend them* Thanks to his Ma- jefty» the nation is now delivered from this fpreign thraldom, and governed by English councils. In confequence of this, a commif- fion has been appointed to examine and (late thefe feveral demands* Out of the firft thirteen hundred thoufand pounds worth of thefe claims, which have come under examination^ one hundred thoufand was found good) two hundred thoufand was referved for farther proof, and the remain- ing million was difallowed. I take the round numbers, but the accounts themfelves were laid before Parliament. Upon the perufal of thefe accounts, it has been cur- rently faid, though our Author feems not to have heard of it> that General Conway was pleafed to exprefs a diifatisfadion at the large deduAions, which were made from the claims of one German court, whofe here- ditary Prince had fought fo bravely in our fervice. If this ftory be true : for I don't choofe to entangle myfelf, or the Printer with a houfe of Commons, how little mud our Author know of his friend's behaviour* who has fo pofitively affirmed to his Rea- ders, T^hatfrom the i ^th of November^ the day the Parliament met ^^ to the igth of JpriU ivhen it I Ill' [46] it rofif General Conway was not once of a diffe^ rent opinion from the King*s fervants, but on the Jingle affair of the warrants (b). It was the duty of adminiflratioiiy under the di^ ftrcfles of that heavy load of debt, which the war had brought upon us, to be as fru- gal as poilible of the public money. It might have been thought, that fuch a meafure deferved the thanks of every Englifliman at leaft ; and that even party itfelf might have rejoiced at the hearing of any thing having been faved out of that general wreck of our treafure. But this gentleman it fcems thought that the miniflers had faved too ' much. They had anfwered all the arguments of thefe foreign claimants : fraud and avarice yere both filenced ; but Mr. Conway ftill rertiaincd unfatisficd. And, without having heard them, cenfures the proceedings, and thipks, that too large deductions, greater than their proportion, had been made from the accounts of one German court, whofe intereft it juft at that time became the fafhion of party to efpoufe. This furely was differing, not with the public miniflers only, but with the public itfelf, whofe po- fterity» (*) Page 33- [ 47 ] fterity, I fear, for ages to come, mull be burdened with taxes, to pay the interefl: of fixty millions of debt, incurred in the late reign for the fake of thefe feveral German courts, as each of them came in their turn to be fo much our favourites. C' Reader, 'tis the diflinguifliing felicity of the prefent reign, that we are now under an Englifh Government, and have a native Prince to rule over us ; and that any gentle- man, in taking the part of foreigners againd his country, is fure to be of a different opi- nion from his Majefty himfelf : who upon his appointing this commiflion for fettling the German claims ; far from pleading either the bravery or the fufferings of his Eledtorate; which furely were as great as thofe of any other German ftate, was pleafed to declare it to be his royal pleafure, thatjujlicejhmldlfe done to every German court ; but that favour Jhould bejhewn to fione. , ^ Our author frequently reminds his readers of his friend's great fervices in Germany*; and tells us, that he came from thence re- commended to favour by aprince of that very . ^ . court \\ ] 1 ■ m i * [48] court (c). His behaviour iince (hews how juft an eftimate Prince Perdinand could make of mens charaders and dUpofitions ; and« after having heard him plead the caufe of this foreign court againft his country^ no one can doubt of his gratitude. In taking leave of this very erroneous af- fertion» tbat it was only on one Jingle fub-- jeffp tbat the General differed with the ad- miniftration ; I can't help obferving, that from the famenefs of the miftake, the fimi- litude of the ftile^ and the very peculiar ten* dernefs of the expreilion, it is impoiiible not to be led to guefs at the hand» from which we are to derive certain other articles, which appeared in the news-papers immediately' after Mr. Conway's difmiflion {d). ^ ** We hear a certain general officer, who ^' was latelyturned out of his regiment; and •* who is adored by the army for his bravery, <* humanity and integrity, has begged of aH ** his friends not to exprefs the lead murmur *^ or diffatisfadion on his account : as he is ** content with having fcrvcd his country iti his >, (t) Page 14. («/) The Gazetteer. i tt u « ff< f 49 J his profeflion^ and in parliament, without injoying the fmalleft gratuity. . A rare example of moderation, virtue, and diiin- tereftednefs. May it be imitated ! C( The laft quoted article : Tlje report gains credit y that fix or feven more general officer s^ befide General Conway ^ have been difmijfed from the Jervice, I do not afcribe to our author. The writer of that paragraph probably knew it to be falfe at the time he fent it. That therefore is an infamous fallacy, of which no gentleman' of charader ought to be fuf- peded. And^ihough the report itfelf be of a like kind with that of our author's lift of fifteieni^yet, with that profound reverence, which he exprefles for the fpotleis charafter , of General Conway, it feems fcarce poflible for him to haVe thought of making any ad- dition to the guilt of thofe, who turned hina out. The moft accumulated crimes cannot rife to a mountain of guilt high enough to equal this one. What are the fiafierings of * fix or feven reprobate finners, compared with thofe [51] thofe of the faint-like, the fpotlefs, the a- dored General Conway ? '4 . y The reader, I hope, will interpret no- thing, which is faid on this head, to the pre- judice of the GeneraFs own character. "I think him a gentleoian of great abilities, of a very fine undcrftanding, and of an amiable deportment. Nor would I in the leaft de- gree call in queftion his perfonal bravery. I, will go farther, and cheerfully acknowlcdge,^ that amor^ the Rochcfort chiefs, I think him the lea£ ' v>neable of the three. f , But a gentleman, who has the misfortune to be made the fubjedt of party conteft, has this Angular difadvantage above other men, that he incurs the double danger of being hurt, not only by the accufations of hi^ enc- * mies, but by the injudicious commend^ens; of his friends : and, like a wounded foldier lying between the two lines of battle, may be as cfFeAually (hot by his defenders, as by his enemies. %. 4^- ■ !.| ill III li •*■ li In the cafe before us, it is Icarce poflible for an unprejudiced byftander, not to have remarked the very different light, in which . H 2 the [ 52] : the General himfelf makes his appearance* from that in which his advocates have choTen to reprefent him. So little did his adoring friends regard his pious requeft, not to exprefi the leaft murmur or diffatisfaBion upon bis ac- count i that for ten days together after his difmiflion, not a paper came out* without ibme inflammatory letter or article upon that fubjed. The perpetual repetition of invedives atlength produced ananfwer : when this fpot^ lefs .General) whom his panegyrift had been holding out to us as a ftandard of diiinterefled virtue and refignation* came forth himfelf in an advertifement* to tell us, that he would cut the throat of any man* who fliould call him a timid and unenterprifing General. Every gentleman, doubtlefs, has a right to fbew himfelf to the world in what charader he pleafes : but when he himfelf choofes to to appear in an advertifement with the fierce- nefs of a lion, he will give us leave to laugh at his friends painting him with all the em- blems of meeknefs. It had been better^ furely, for our author to have confulted his original ; that the piece might at leaft have have preferved fome appearance of juftnefs. But I 53] But at prefent, how great foever may be his fkill in the art of painting, he may» if he pleafe, value himfelf upon the beauty of his portraits, but no one will compliinent him upon their //ie«£/i. .-• ». . . A .V •' :*: ■ ■ . Who was the writer of the letter in the Gazetteer, at which the General and our author, are fo much offended^ is to me a matter abfolutely unknown ; nor do I at all enter into the difpute between them. But as this is the firft inftance of a challenge being j>ublickly given in the news-papers, they .will give me leave to obferve : that, if any gentleman in the papers Hiall impeach the peribnal courage of General Conway, that . poffibly may give him a right by the law of honour to vindicate his character as a private man j and to prove by a challenge, that he has as much perfonal bravery as his accufen But perfonal courage in a private man, and bravery of entcrprize in a General, are very V diftinguifhable qualities, and the one docs ; not neceffarily imply the other. * -J- 4 ■* Far be it from nie, however, to determine any thing about the principle, from which we are to derive the inadivity of the com- manders f 54] manders in the Rochefort expedition : Doubtjefs there are many other caufesj, be- iide Fear, which may prevent foldiers from doing their duty. The reader, perhaps, has in a former part (a) recolled:ed the defcription, which the hiftorian gives of Otho's(^^) : Miles alacer j qui tamen Jujfa Ducum interpretari, quam exequi, mallet. I acknowledge my- felf to be an incompetent judge on that head : The only thing, which I pretend to know about it is, that nothing was done, no attempt was made to land on the coali of France^ And when General Conway, in conjunction with other Generals, takes upon himfelf the charge of an important Expedition, upon which the publick had raifed the higheft expe£):ations ; and thofe expectations are all difappointed : General Conway mud expert that the publick will take notice of it, and give their opinion upon the behaviour of thofe Generals, with the fame freedom, as they do upon the conduct of other men in pub- lick flations. i 'Tis the tax, which is ever laid upon great offices : gentlemen who will undertake them, and (a) Page 3a. {e) Tac, Hift. Lib. 2* cap. 39. ;:'^'' ■*■ *.. [55 1 and appear upon the public ftage, kno^y that theymuft draw to themfelves the public atten- tion : and men will give their opinions upon what they fee and hear. _• ,, . -., J. . Was not the lofs of all our hopes trom Mr. Pitt's firft and favourite fcheme for the taking of Rochefort, an event as interefting to the public, as Mr. Conway's lofs of his regiment ? Surely then a general officer muft be as anfweiable to the public for the failure of that Expedition, as his Majefty or his Mi- nifters can be for his difmiffion. Yet after the papers had for many days together b«en filled with the moft injurious reflections up- on other characters for turning him out, no fooner did the exorbitant praifes given him upon that occafion, provoke any perfon to reply, but the General fends him a challenge. Do then thefe gentlemen think, that they have an exclufive property in the papers ? And that they ought to be ufed only as channels to convey to the public their ex- travagant panegyricks upon their friends, and invedives againft their adverfaries ? Does the liberty of the prefs, for which gentle- men affed: to appear fo much concerned, in order I 1 'tj[ r Si ! Hi order to make others believe, that It is la danger of being violated ; does the liberty of the prefs coniift in giving them a right to publi(h what they pleafe on one fide of a queftion, and to run a man through, that 'vrrites on the other ? y* ... * . . . I WOULD in every cafe abhor all perfo- nal reflections ; and in this cafe, from the high opinion I have of Mr. Conway's pri- vate character, I am leaft of all in danger of being betrayed into them : but it may not be fo eafy for other men to catch the rapture, with which our author dwells upon his praiifes. Other men, who do not behold him as a fpotlefs mirrour of virtue, may per- haps aik, what there is in Mr. Conway's character fb very facred, as to demand fo profound a reverence ? And while reflexions of the moft abuflve kind are every d^y thrown out on one fide, it will be diflicult to aflign a reafon, why other men have not as good a right to fay, wherein they think Mr. Conway has been miftaken, or has failed in his duty, as he or his friends have to fay, wherein they think Mr. Grenville or lord Halifax have been deficient in theirs. For ■:% [ $1 3 For myfelf, though I enter not into the motive of thcfc gentlemen's determining not to land at Chatelaillon, and am far from a- fcribing it to timidity, yet were the general's fword at my throat, I muft ftill maintain my opinion, and fay, that I thought he miflook his duty in that determination. And though I am not confcious of having any vsrhere in the leaft degree infinuatcd the want of cou-' rage ; 3^t perhaps, the General himfclf, up- aa cooler reflexion may agree with me, that this courage might have been exprefled in a much happier manner, by landing and feeking to fight the King's enehiies at Roche- fort, th^n by offering to murder the King's fubjefts in Hyde Park. When there is a minifier^ fays our Author (y ) as virtums as General Conway ^ and wh(r has been only as much abuJecU I 'will allow that he has reajhn to harangue agai?tli inveBivcs. And is he then really fo great a ftrangcr to the works of his friends ? does he indeed en* • tertain fo very mean an opinion of his com- ^ I peers ! (f) P*ge+i. |7 ; w r V ■ ■I - s I [58] peers of the minority? i (Tis his phtafe 'aijd not mine.) It had been better furcly n&t to have difcovered to us at leaft» that he thinks them all fuch very bad writers, as not to be worth his looking into: for it is impoilible he fhould have read any of them, and not have met with more abufe of one minifter^ who is confefTedly of an unexceptionable charadler, and as far from profligacy as Mr. Conway himfelf, than he will find in the writings againfl General Conway all put to- gether. I {hall not enter into any invidious comparifbns between them ; I wifh that both parties could boaft of more good chara ** [59] 311% fays cur author (^), General Mor^ daunt commanded the Rochejort Expedition^ and not General Conway ; Does an inferior in com^ manddeferve to be punijhedjor that mi/carriage^ nvtcn the Principal did not, tut was honourably acquitted? And that very acquittal was a convincing evidence of the little good, which is to be cxpedled from Courts martial : tind ftrongly proved to the nation, that, if a ge- neral be but on the right fide, be a favourite of the Commander in chief, and have not made his brother officers his enemies, he has very little to fear from a Court-martial of his friends. The decifions of fuch a feC of old gentlemen might do for the time; and, as the armv was then conftituted, might by their authority be made to pafs upon the public. The nation had ftng been eftranged from conqueft, and knew no o- therwife. We have fince been made wifer, and are become much better inftruded by the more enterprizing genius, and the great atchicvements of foldiers of another forme. > I 2 Which (^) Page 27, [6oJ {' ^ Which of all our conqucfts had been ours, if the cotnmandcrs, who fo glorioufly. ac- quired them, indead of landing as foon as they came to the place of their deftination^ had declined to quit their fhips, becaufe they law troops on fhorc to oppofe them ? and much more becaufe they did not know, but that there might be troops behind fand-hiUs, though they did not fee them ? I II ' Even our firft Martinico Generals did not determine, that they would not land by day, becaufe their enemies might fee them ; and then that they would not land by night, be- caufe, they mujl have a full view of the ground tbeyweretoJaitdon (^); and, at laft, in their defence objedl againft moon-light as woril of all. {h) w - ^ The gallant General Draper tells us, that, upon their arrival in Manilla Bay j ** To in- *' creafe, as much as poilible, the vifiblc " confufion and confternation of the enemy, " we determined to lofe no time in the at- ** tack of the Port of Cavite, which was at ** firft « • (g) Inquiry, p. 23. (h) Page J 7. > ' [61] ** firft intended^ but proceed diredlly to the '* grand objed. And thenextday, having with *' the Admiral and other principal officers ** examined.the coa(l> in order to fir upon a «* proper fpot for landing the troops, artillery. ** and ftorcs, the boats were that fame even- *^ ingpreparcdfor landing." What had become of the Expedition, if» inftead of attacking the town diredlly, they had for fix days to- gether held councils of war,, to confider of fit places of landing ; and fancied no one proper, but that where the fliips might do the bufinefs for them ? Does any man think, that Manilla had ever been our*s, if« inflead of improving the firft confternation, th«v had fpent three days in examining of prifooi-' ers, and dt^bating whether tlie ditch round. it vva$ a wet or dry one ? They aikcd thorn- felves no fuch queftion, while they were oj» fhip-board ; but went afliore to fee 3 and found one part of it wet, and another dry. (i) From (i) The fiont we were obliged to attack, was defend- ed by the baftions, St. Diego and St. Andrew, with. orillons, and retired fianks, a wet ditch, covered way, and glacis ; the baflions were in excellent order, lined with a great number of brafs canilon ; but the ditch wa& not prvduced round the capital of the baftion of St. Diego, which determined us to attacJc it, and make our diipofitions accordingly. Gazettcc, April 19, 1763. f 62 J ! . ) I. ! If.,-, 'It i.' s,'-:t From Mr. Conway's own note-book, {k) it appears, that the one, who faid there were eleven battalions, WaS Boneau a fiiherman of L'Ifle Diew, of whom Sir John Mordaunt obferved, ** That Boneau was examined al" ** Mo/l a whole day before the council^ and he •* was fo very indinindi and unfatisJaSlory, that ** the council was quite out of patience with " him (I)* Had not the public rather more reafon to be quite out of patience with a fct of gentlemen, who with fo fine an army hanging on their refolves, could fufFer the ar- dor of the troops to cool, and the enemy to recover from the furprize of their firft ar- rival, while they trifled away almoft a whole day, in trying to get information from a fifli- erman, upon a fubjedt of fortification and engineering ? * '..>• V ,','*,-.' .■ , : • ■ / ,^'-' :. ■'<'•' ■ " ^ • ■ • But General Conway was urgent in ad- vifing fome attempt {m) and never acqui- cfced in abandoning the projedl, till it was too late to undertake it. And it is with plea- (k) Inquiry, p. 53. (/; IbiJ. (m) Pagc3;j. Hi r } ) 1 [«3 3 pleafore I acknowledge, that it was up« on this account I have faid; that a- mong the chiefs in that Expedition, I have always reckoned that General Conway was the lead hlameable of the three. But one of the reafons, which this General him- felf gives for his voting againft the landing at Chatelaillon, on the 25th of January, was, that the fleet had been feen five days upon the coaft : were it not better for our author not to remind us of a fcheme given in on the 26th for landing in Oleron, attacking the caflle on the fouth end of the ifland, and paffing over from thence to the continent? Would not the fleet have been feen as many more days, by the time, when they fliould have landed in that ifland*, attacked and taken the Fort of Oleron, and marched to the 0- ther end of it ; there to be imbarkcd, and relanded on the continent ? Would they, at the end of fo many more days circuit, have been nearer to Rochefort, than if they had landed the 75th at Chatelaillon, they might have found themfelves, after a march of three hours ? I forbear to {i\y more : but let not the reader think, that I reft upon my gwn judgment, in fuppofing that the Expe-. dition M' m Ii'^i i t 64 3 dition was ruined by that vote,, m)t. to land at Chatelaillon. I am founded in the ob« fervation by too good an authority, to be contefted. Our author very defervedly mentions the praifes of the General Waldegrave ; he was moft certainly loved and admired in his pro* feffion. If, as he feems to intimate, there was a friendfliip between the two Generals, fo much the more is Lord Waldegrave's judgment to be regarded. He knew that General. Con way had voted againft the land- ing at Chatelaillon ; yet. he would not fufFer his friendship to bias his opinion; or conceal his judgment upon a fubjed:, in which tlie honour of his Majefty*s arms, and the inter- eft of his country. Were fo deeply concern- ed. And though our author juftly bbferv^^ that he would not deign to coimienance a fcribler in malicious injinuations ; yet tliere is a hand-writing of General Waklegrave's, which, being now become a part of our hiftory, can never be erafed. *Tis the refult of his judgment, upon hearing the whole evidence on the affair, *• We conceive ** another caufe of the failure of the Expedi- *' tion to have been, that, inftead of attempt- ing .xi y ind >b. be [65 J * ing to land when the report was received *' on the»24th of January, from Rear Admi-» *« ral Brodrick and thq Captains, who ha(|i ** been fcnt to found and reconnoitre, a ** a council of war was funinioned and held ** on the 25th ; in which it was unanimouf- '* ly refolvcd not to land : as the attempt ** upon Rochefort was neither advifable nor *^ pradicable. But it does not appear to us, that there were then, or at any time af- terwards, either a body of troops, or ** batteries on the fliore, fufficient to have prevented the attempting a defcent in pur- fuance of the inftruditions figned by your Majefty; neither does it appear to us, ** that there were any fufficient reafons to ** induce the council of war to believe, •• that Rochefort was fo far changed in ref- pedt of its ftrengthj or poflure of defence, fince the Expedition was firft refolved on ** in England, as to prevent all attempts of ** an attack upon the place, in order to burn ** and deftroy the docks, magazines, arfe- '* nals, and (hipping, in obedience to your <* Majefty's commands. _ €€ i -It t gcd tp re- f the 28th :ouId have e attempt ly, as the folvcd to * * ■ i rt is ftill : but look )g failed, of it was ir on the «^ 1 67] miffed ; they muft cxpeft to hear iomething in return. General Conway has not indeed been one of our conquering Generals, nor poffihiy the moft happy of our officers : but a man's worft enetiuet are fometimes thofe, ■■■''■■ . , + * , ^ who profefs them&1|pa )us.greateft^fi:iends : and under all his 'p^prtunes, the Generkl's ^vil genius never (|^^m fo great a^idpite, as when it fenthini^liver zealous an advocate^^ ;, whicli leliberate and ithe ial inqui- atExpc- 5nc with ^n fore- men gcii- d$i arid ^bccaufc lly dif. miffed ; *>'• * • , 1-' ■ - » - F I N I S. J ■■ ' • r >. iv i«^ • ''. .•■■■•"■■■"*■ •*■' - '■ ■■* ■ ,.-■ "i ■■' K