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DEBRE-J ••, oy'i SITE BURLINCTOK- HOUSii, PICCADILLY, IMDCCXCt ♦ ;' ?t A N AUTHENTIC STATEMENT, &c. TO THE KING. SIRE, X H lil late feifure and confifcation (by a Spanilh armament) of the Britifh Ihips and fad:ories in King George's, or Nootka Sound, on the North-Weft coaft of America, being now a fubjedt not only of public converfation and attention, but having roufed the fpirit and indignaiion of the Britifii nation in fupport of your majefly's infulted crown and dignity, and of her violated commerce, I beg B leave ( ) ^cave to fubniit a few leading fadls rcfpefting that fettlcment, and this flagrant depredation by order of theSpanifli court. Your Majefty, and the pub- lic may give me full credit both for the ac- curacy and authenticity of the following state- ment : 1 In 1785 a plan was fubmitted to your Majcft\''s mlniftry by Mr. Richard Cadman Etches, a mci- chant of the city of London, for profecuting and converting to national utility the difcoveries of the late Captain Cook, and for the eftablifliing a regular and reciprocal fyftem of commerce be- tween Great Britain, the North-weft coaft of Ame- rica, the Japanefc, Kureil, and Jeflb iflands, and the coaft of Afia, Corea, and China ; the plan was warmly applauded and patronifed by the mi- niftry, by Sir Jofeph Banks, Sir John Dick, and many other perfonages of rank and acknowledged abilities, who rendered Mr. Etches every affiftance in digcfting and maturing the principal outlines of the undertaking. Accordingly two veflels, the King George, Captain Nathaniel Portlock, and the ( 3 ) the (Vicen Charlotte, Captain George Dixon, were ihcn fitted out, and equipped in the nioit com- plete and ample manner for difcovcry and com- merce ; they were furniihcd, at the fame time, with a number of extra feamen and artificers, nith liores, ammunition, provifions, &c. for the cllablifiiment of two fadorics, the one in King Cicorgc's Sound, and another to the northv/ard, and for opening new commercial channels to the manufadories of Great Britain. So fatisfied were ihc miniftry with the great and public advantages of the enterprife, with the libera' equipment and extcnfive arrangement of the owners, that Mr. Kofc, Mr. Steele, Sir Jofeph Banks, Lord Mul- grave, and a number of other diilinguiihed and puhlic-fpirited gentlemen, vilited the lliips at Deptford, fpent the day convivially on board, and honoured the expedition by chriilening the two lliips, the ofiicers of which were drclVed in full uniform ; and, as an emblem of fo novel and enterprifing an undertaking, Hope, leaning on an anchor, was painted on their colours. B 2 A licenfc rJT .Ti"3S"..^iJ— ■ ( 4 ) A licenfc was obtained from the South-Sea Company, with full liberty to make difcovcries, to eredt fadories, and to profccute other com- mercial objcds ; and another liccnfe was granted by the Hon. Eall-lndia Company, for the dif- pofal of their cargoes in China. The inftruc- tions, both public and private, delivered t J thg (.aptalns, were prcviouily lubmittcd to your ma- jcfty's miniilcrs for perufal, and returned with the uimoft approbation. The 'two fliips failed from Dcptford in Sep- tc .ibcr 1785, and in May 1787 learned from the Indians, in Prince William Sound, that there was a fhip fomewhere in the vicinity ; and from what could be judged from their pointing and dcfcripfions, muft be near Snug-Corner Cove, and which afterwards proved to be a brig called the Nootka, Captain John Mears, from Bengal. Captain Meats had been blocked up all the v^'intcr by the ice, and had fuffered incredible haruiliip by the fcurvy, &c. This Ihip was af- fifted i I ( 5 ) fined with ncceflarlcs anil medicines, and a fc^ feamcn to affill in navigating her to China. The King George and Queen Charlotte arrived in China in 17S7, and were chartered by the Hon. Kail- India Company's Uipercargocs to carry a freight of tea to Europe. In the year 17 86, Mr. Etches litted out two more fliips — rhe Prince of Wales, Captain James Colnett ; and the Princcfs Royal, Captain Charles Duncan ; and Mr. John F/chcs, his brother, accompanied them, to fupcriiitend the commerce and elia- blilhments of b(Mh expeditions. Thefe veflcls ■svere equipped with every nc- cclluiy article, and with people to form an clla- blifliment on Staten Ifland, for the purpofo of carrying on a fifiiery, and for afafting any of the future expedit ons bound round Cape Horn. e d The following fpring Mr. Etches equipped a large fliip, the Duke of York, to reinforce the fcttlcment on Siatcn Ifland, which (hip was un f( oitunaceiy nrrly 1 ( 6 ) fortunately wrecked foou after her nrrivMl there. The experiment fufrici< ntly afecriuinccl the im- portancc of this illand, for the woocUng, water- in-, and refrelhing of iMps bound round Cape Horn, but ' c d'dafler put an end to the elU- blifluhent, and the people (.quitted the Ifland in o their boats. q This illand, which was rcguhniy furvcycd by Mr, Lamb, one of the olTicers in Mr. Etches' fervice, wasfou^d to have many confiderable and convenient harbours ; it was covered with large woods of the cortex winteranus ; it was fupplied with remarkably Une water, and was likely to be of infinite more importance to all lliips bound i-ound Cape Horn, than the Falkland ifiands. u Had this circumftance been fo well known fome years back, or had the prcfent miniilry been then in power, the nation would not have been fub- jrvVvd to that coprci'Tiblc expence and difgracc which i^ experienced in the fnicds with the Spa- niards refpccting the Falkland iliaads. The *4 ( 7 ) The Prince of Wales aiul the I'rinccfs Royal arrived in King George's Sound in July 17S7, and fo certain were they of finding an cflablilh- ment formed there, agreeable to the equipment and orders given to Captains Portlock and Dixon, commanders of the lirll expedition, that, on dii- covering a boat coming off, Mr. John Etches was perfuaded that he recognifed the officer fcnt out to command at the factories ; but, to their utler aftonifliment, they found it to be a boat belonging to the Louden, Captain Berkley, under Imperial colours. o One of the firft great geographical difcoveries by Mr. Etches' fhips was, that what was laid down by the immortal Cook as a continuation of the North-Weft Continent of America, and lying between the Northern latitudes of 48, and 57, was, on the contrary, an extenfive ciufter of un- explored iflands, inhabited by numerous tribes of Friendly Indians, with whom a regular con- nexion was formed, and a multitude of thefe va- luable iflands were taken poflefTion of with the ■ufual ( s ) ufual forms and ceremonies of original difcove- iies; particularly Qiieen Charlotte's and Princefs Royal's lllands, amounting from fifty to one hun- dred in number ; and many of the chiefs of them were prefented with iight-horfemens' caps and medals, on which were your Majefly's arms. I Thcfe illands they difcovercd, contrary to the affertion of captain Cook, to conceal the opening of a vait inland Sea, or ArchipelajvD, in all pro- bability equal to the Mediterranean, or Baltic Seas, and dividing the great Northern Continent ot America. The Princefs Royal penetrated fomc hundred leagues among them, in a North-Eaft courfc, to within two hundred leagues of Hud- fon's-houfe, but had not then an opportunity to explore the extreme termination of that Archi- pelago, their commercial concerns obliging them to return back to the China market ; but the commanders had the flrongeft reafons to believe, had time favoured their furvey, that they fhould have been able to difcover the long willied for pallUge between the Atlantic and South Sea, and ( 9 ) and immediately before the prcfcnt hoftilitics of Spain, the proprietors were building fmall veflels on the coaft, with the determination of reat- tempting this great geographical and commer- cial difcovery. They are convinced that fliould neither the inland arm of the fea through which the Princefs Royal penetrated, nor a large (Irait, named Sir Charles Middleton's, about three de- grees to the Southward, be found to reach acrofs the North-American Continent, yet that the land, barrier mud be very inconfiderable, and that at the extremity of this bay a practicable pafTige, ciihei- by rivers or lakes, will, by perfeverancc, be found terminating towards Hudfon's Bay. Captain Cook never had brought the probabi- lity of a North-Wed pafllige, nearer than King George's Sound ; and from thence to the bay of Iflands in North latitude 57, he conjedured to be ilic North-Wed Continent of America; and pofitively deemed the idea of Defont's, and De- fucca's Straits as fabulous. It is well known that this countr^', for more than a century pad, C has if 1 m ( 10 ) has expended large fums in planning a fucceffion of expeditions, both to Hudibn's Buy, and to the oppofite coafts of the Pacific Ocean, for the difco- very of the North-Weft paflage, which Mr. Dobbs lb ably predided, and which captain Cook, in the mod peremptory and decided manner, deemed ideal and impradicable : indeed he fought for it in a latitude too far Northward, in the vicinity of Cook's river, where even had the two great oceans been found united, yet fuch navigation muft have been extremely incommoded by ice. I am now to fpeak of the commercial difco- veries, and the lucrative profpcc1:s prcfented to the mercantile adventurers : and here it is but juftice to obferve, that the grandeur and origi- nality of the attempt may challenge the moft cele- brated exploits of the Phoenicians, or Argonauts, and muft be confidered as a flupendous under- taking of a few Britilh merchants. Every one knows that the unconquerable infatuation of the Knglifli and Irifti to that Chinefe leaf, called Tea, h Awattingdrain of more than one million annually of i ( » ) of folid fpecie from this country ; to recover back a part of that Ipecie, was one of the collateral ob- je(fts of the prefcnt commerce. The ftaple manu- fadtories of England, the woollens, hardware, and earthen ware, were bartered with the Indians for their furs, and other native productions ; thefe were again exchanged in China for currency, which was paid into the Eaft India Company's treafury at Canton. It was not merely the trade in otter Ikins and other furs, that was aimed at and meant to be purfued ; there was the greateft probability of eflablifliing an important fifliery, of fupplying the China and India markets with mafts, yards, timber, and mod kinds of naval ftores ; the want of which was fo fatally felt the lad war by our fleet in India ; the whole proceeds of which, be- ing paid into the Company's treafuries, were to be in lieu of an equal proportion of fpecie hitherto tranfmitted by them from Europe ; and the pro- prietors were to be reimburfed by taking the ho- C 2 nomable ( 12 ) nourable Eaft India Company's bills at twelve- month's fight on London. Nootkci Sound was found to be a remarkable healthy fituation for the ietders and Aiilors ; the run from which to the Sandwich Illands is ge- nerally made in about three weeks, and from thence to China, infix or {<^yQn weeks more; and during their ftay at the Sandwich lilands, any quantity of provifions are to be procured to the greatefl certainty* Mr. John Etches and captain Mears fortunately meeting at Canton in 1788, and being fully fen- fible of the neceffity of en' 'rging their capital, to fecure the commerce to the Britifli nation, and to lender abortive the feeble attempts of fome fo- relfin rivals, ajrrecd to form a joint concern and copartneribip, and to equip two more ihips that feafon from Canton, with additional me- chanics, artificers, and others, to reinforce the eftabiiibment at Nootka, to complete their ar- rangement. ,1 ( 13 ) rangement, and to give every degree of vigour to the enter prife. Mr. John Etches returned to Europe for the purpofc of making anotlier equipment from Eng- land the prefent feafon, and toftore the fettlement with an additional aflbrtment of European articles and merchandize. Captain Mears was to remain at China, for condudting the commerce and pre- paring the equipment in that quarter for the American coaft, and alfo for expediting a pro- mifing attempt of opening a commercial inter- courfe with the Japanefe illands, and for complete it^g a treaty entered into with Tyana, a prince of the Sandwich iflands, who had accompanied cap- tain Mears to China, for the purpofe of difpofing of the ifland of Oneehow, and for granting admiffion to all Britifh Ihips to thofe iflands. This prince was taken back again to his own country by Cap- tain Douglafs, in the Iphigenia. On the arrival of Captain Colnet at Nootka, the Company*s force confided of the Argonaut, Captain Colnet, the Iphigenia, Captain Douglas, the Princefs Royal, Captain ( 14 ) Captain Hudfon, (with a very large cargo of fur on board,) together with the N. W. America, a veffel bulk at Nootka, befides fmali craft for the purpofc of difcovery, and traffic with the Indians. Captain Cohict alfo took out with him materials for laying the keel of a lliip of two hundred tons in Nootka, and was to remain there to manage and condud the whole concern in that quarter, and to build fmall craft for exploring the large bays and rivers. Every thing that commercial genius, with hu- man prudence, could dcvife, was eflabliilied on the moft regular and permanent footing, at an immcnfc cxpcnce. The infant colony was in the moll flourilliing and profperous tlate, and pre- fented to the proprietors a certainty of being re- warded with ample fortunes, when the arrival of the Spanifa fleet put an end, for the prefcnt, to all their hopes. Captain Colnet, a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, who ferved under the late Captain Cook, and was dillinguidied ( «5 ) diftinguiflicd by that great circumnavigator as a very valuable feaman and entcrprifing officer, was lb exafpcratcd at the illiberal treatment of the Spa- niards, after his captivity, and {o feverely ftung at the profpcdt of an undertaking lb grand and na- tional being, at one blow, and without any juft caufe, overturned, that he became diflraded. Captain Hudfon, who commanded the Princefs Royal, a very enterprifing feaman, and who has eminently dlfllnguiflied himfelf by exploring the country in open boats, the Spaniards frequently threatened to hang, for ading as became aBritifli officer. All the fore-mentioned veflels, the craft, arti- ficers, ftores, ammunition, a number of Britiih and Chinefe fubjecls, with the materials of the fcttlcmcnt, were feized and carried off to Mexico; and, was it not for that fpiritcd and glorious man- ner with which their caufe is efpoufcd by govern- ment, it is much to be feared they would have been condemned to linger out a miferable exiftcnce, in the M i ( i6 ) the moft dreadful of all dungeons, the mines of Mex- ico, An American brig, lying in the Sound, was not molefted ; and, to aggravate the infult to the Britiih nation, fcveral days after the captivity of Capt. Colnet, the anniverfary of the American Independence was commemorated with every de- monftration of joy ; the Engliih flag, which till then had been flying on board the Argonaut, was hauled down, and the Spanifli flag hoifted to com- plete the celebration and triumph of the day. % It is yet a profound myfl:ery to every rational being, with what fliadow of excule the Spanifli Court can attempt to colour this enormous out- rage, this premeditated robbery, and unprovoked hoflility. They cannot have the effrontery to ar- ro'^ate to themfelves the fruits of the difcoveries made by the late Capt. Cook, and other Britlfli adventurers, in a region fo remote from their own fettlements. Nootka Sound is many hundred leagues North from every Spanifli fettlement ; and even the in- termediate ( 17 ) termcdiate and vafl: territory of New Albion was firfl difcovcrcd and taken pofTcflion of, in the ufual forms, by Admiral Drake, fo long ago as the reign of Queen Elizabeth. I fliall, however, poftpone, to the end of this letter, the remaining animadvcrfions on this mod extraordinary con- diidl on the part of Spain, in order to rcfume and conclude the hillory jf the infant fcttlement. f In the early attempts and dawning of (o ex- tenfive an undertaking, the projedors mud expert to be material fuficrers, from the want of local knowledge, and experience, and of the articles neccirary to furniili their cargos, particularly for fo dirtant a market : neceflity demanding a change and variety. There mult alfo, in every buiinefs, be a gradation of fome preparatory pro- cefles, previous to reaping the golden harveft. It is an incontrovertible fad", that in new dif- covered countries the natives are remarkably ca- pricious ; articles in demand one day will be re- jecled the following; and both their ficklenefs and D induftry ( i8 ) iniluftry miift be tempted by variety of aflbrtmcnts, The King George and Queen Charlotte were fur* nilhcd with large and complete cargoes of the com- modities and manufaaures of England, above one half, and the mod valuable part of which, were again brought home at an enormous lofs : but, on the other han.i, they gained much information and experience, of which they reaped the benefit m the lall expedition. r The projcaor'sindrudionstothe commanders not being punaually obeyed in the firft ex- pedition, was a circumflance very injurious to their interefts. And again, at the China markets, they laboured under a difadvamage, from an un- authorifed and interefted claim of the Honourable the Eaft-India Company's fupercargoes, of a con- troul over the difpofal of their furs. The equipment of the Prince of Wales and the Princefs Royal, under the management of Mr, John Etches, was not attended with hali the ex- pence of the former; their voyage was not fo di- latorily I', ( 19 ) latoiily condiided ; and Mr. Etches difpofed of his cargo confidcrably more advantageous than the former, and for a very handfome profit ; Capt. Mears alfo arrived at Canton the fame feafoa v^'ith a valuable and lucrative cargo from the coad of America. Each fucceflive fcafon muft have been con- fiderably more produiflive ; the competition of the contending parties, who had hitherto traf- ficked in oppofition to each other, both at the American and China markets, was done away, and the intereft of the whole concern became one common caufe. The local experience of each party had almofl overcome every obftacle ; they had obtained a thorougrh knowledge of the various ftations and extenfive range of traffic, of the wants of the natives, and of the articles neceffary to be ex- ported from this country. They had formed alliances with the Indians, D 2 who. ( 20 ) who, from the cflablUhcd tradinp; houfcs, knew at all times where to tlilpole of their proiluce ; a certainty whicli would tend to Ibmulatc them not only to indudiy, by hinuing, but likcwife to bar- ter in cxchan'j^c, the European articles which they received for t'.cir produce, with the more dif- tant tribes of Indians. Thus, in a very fhort pe- riod of time, vvould a regular barter have been fettled wiili, perhaps, all the numerous tribes of Indians difperfcd over that immenfe tract of country. Hitherto the natives had no other fpur to in- duilry than merely fupplying the common wants of nature, and to prote^it themlelves from the in- clemency of the feafons. The Indians, of all nations, are fond of per- fonal ornaments; in this part of the globe they manifeil an uncommon demand for them. No fooner arc they fupplied with one apparent w^ant, than another and another is fuccelTivcly created; and^ as civilization is introduced amongft them, theif ( 21 ) their wants and importance mull progrefTivcly in« creafc. Their chefs being furs, forms one great flaple of reciprocal commerce ; but their habitual intcrcourfc with Europeans pron^nts them to pre- fer woollens, particularly, as by bartering their furs, they can fupply all their multiplied wants and cravings. :l ' '^ Another valuable and important objedt had been accomplifhcd. The Sandwich iflanders, with whom a treaty had been formed, were found to be a brave, hardy, and induftrious race of peo- ple ; anxious to embark in the fhips, uncommon- ly tractable and attached, and foon taught the ufe of the axe, faw, and of every other tool, as well as every implement of hufbandry. Mr. John Etches took fcvcral of them to the coaft of America the fecond feafon ; they were foon trained not only in navigating the Ihip, but in trafficking with the natives, and were employed in common with the people both on board and on lliore. S' The owners had determined, the prefcnt fea- fon. ;:'fff 1 1- |! t| c ) fon, to make up two-thirds of their complements with thcfe iflanders, both for navigating the vcf- fels, and at the factories : this would have been a faving of an enormous cxpence, as all the requi- fite fupplie? for them would be provifions and cloathing; the chief of which would be procured by barter at their own iflands. Mr. Etches and Capt. Duncan each brought a youth, natives of the Sandwich iflands, with them to England, to whom they are greatly attached, and who feem capable of being taught any art or fcicnce equally with the youth of any European nation. — Laftly, to the peroration— The property of thofe perfevering Britifh ad- venturers, who, at the rifk of their fortunes, have pulhed the national commerce to the extreme quarters of the globe, fliould be proteded and guarded by the public fandion, and vindiftive fword. To them is due, not as an obligation of favour, but of right, redrefs— not only for their ^ftual loffcs and expences, but likewife an ample com- ( ) conipcnfation for the lucrative rewards of which they were then in fight, and nearly in reach. To the nation is due retribution for the extra cxpence of its prefent armaments, and likewifc for the fudden ihock and damp to mercantile en- rcrprife, and commercial ardour. it In this ifland the vigorous and the tender Ihoots of diverging commerce Ihould be follered and proteded, with the fame fcrupulous vigilance, as its bank paper, or its national (lock. The fupportcrs of the infulted Flag of Britain demand no other favour, than the unbridled exer- tion of their own nervous and powerful arm. But it Is faid that the Spanlfh ufurpations are not merely confined to the difpolTcflion of the Britlfh from their ow^n difcoveiies in thofe parts; they are not fatisfied with the uninterrupted and undif- turbed poUeiTion of that vaft range of American continent, extending nearly from the rifing to tiie fctting mnX i > 'I ( 24 ) fetting of the fun ; they have the arrogance to affunre an exclufive righi to the gates, locks, and keys of the whole PacUic, to the exclufive mono- poly of an ocean, and its numerous iflands, which embrace in their extent ahnoft one half of the globe. On what patent, chatter, or right, they can found claims fo monftrous and abfurd, I know not, nor can guefs at ; certainly not on difcovery or occupancy ? Is it on the Pope's Bull and omnipotent anathemas, with wlrich about two centuries ago they failed, with their invincible Armada, to fubdue England ? In the prcfent ca.e they have equal pretenfion. and juftice on their fide, and, I truil, will meet with equal iavour and fuecefs. Indeed their avarice and confcious cri- minality may well be alarmed-the ghofts of murdered millions of the natives of that conti- nent are yet fcreaming for vengeance on their re- morfelefs butchers-ten millions more of their wretched defcendants are, with broken hearts, inecffantly fupplieatu,g Heaven to relieve them from their ligorous bondage-to fend to their de- liverance fome generous and companionate na- tion. 4 I 4t \^ % ( »5 ) tion, to break their chains afunder, and to place them in the rank of human beings. It is well known they have the means amply to teftify their gratitude, and to repay their deliverers frorn the moft flagitiou:'^ of all human tyranny and op- prefTion ; from the Ihackles and fcourp-es of unbridled defpotifm ; from the fiery fiends of gloomy bigotry and prieftly inquifition. The vengeance of Heaven, when (low, is more fevere. May the reddening bolt foon take wing and the guilty tremble ! 55 « Has Spain any ancient or modern claims on th» gratitude or the forbearance of Britain ? Is it their late infidious and mercenary confpi- racy in the affiaiance of our revolted American colonics, and in the dirmemberment of our empire ? Is it their private robbery, at the iame time, of the Floridas, of the Mu^iuito Ihorc, of Mi- ■'-' norca. 4 i ( 26 ) norta, of our Eaft and Wefl-Indlari fleets, were thefe the viftorious blows of a generous and manly foe, or the flabs and rapine of a daftardly aflaflin ? To the King of Great Britain, the Father of his People, the Patron and Protedior of their Commerce, the Defender of their Liberties and Dignity, this Addrefs is dedicated, with all hu- mility, by Your Majefty's faithful, dutiful, and devoted fubjeft, ARGONAUT. FINIS. :\l )f ir