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Those too large to be entirely Included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Un des symboles sulvants apparattra sur ia dernlAre image de cheque microfiche, seion Ie ces: Ie symbols —► signifle "A SUIVRE", ie symbols ▼ signifle "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAs A des taux de rAduction diff Arento. Lorsque Ie document est trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un saui clichA, 11 est fiimA A partir de i'angle supArleur gauche, de gauche A droite, et de haut an bas, en prenant la nombre d'Images nAcessaire. Las diagrammes sulvants lilustrent la mAthode. ly errata Bd to nt ne pelure, ipon A 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^v/ L E T T Er R T O T H E Right Honourable Author O F A ^ tETTER to a CITIZEN, WITH "^^ ' Animadverfions on the A n s w e r thereto, ^ , . . . . And on the Behaviour of the f Co.rppration of the City of London. I N W H I c H His Reafons for refigningj the Condudl, ^ Succefs and Advantages of his Admini- ftration; his Fidelity to his Countiy; Capacity for directing the Tranfadtions of War, Commerce and Pacification, are fairly ftated and freely confidered. pognitiones capitalium rerum, fine confiliis per fe folus exercebat. liiv. de Tarquinio Superbo. LONDON: Printedfor J, Hinxman, in Pater-nofter Row. M DCC LXI. I- t r ' t ft f ■ * •• \;::yvAih ;i :i w 3 ;i A aril no aaoli'nv^nrrr jnA -;/j :. ■ T r' I-nA . *1 V vL »'i'v_'k .!«. la aot:F£.*iDcr / ) 1 - r- > ^t i . P'^ " r",. f, DJ ..D r r- *^-^-,* 9f' , r ■ ■ ^'-i-- •' ■i^ 1^ ■i^-' (> v:l I * *1.f,-4> ^J^ ' ": . . ) '. i / V. ) ] LETTER, &c. SIR, HA D your letter to a citizen of Lon- don, printed in the daily papers, tended to nothing farther than a juftification of your condudt in re- figning die feals, it would have remained unexamined by me, and neither yourfelf nor the public would have been troubled with perufing the following reflections there- upon. But when there appears fo manifeil a^ inclination to poflcfs the minds of the people with fiiggeftions fo injurious to thofe who diflented from you in opinion, and, I am afraid, to Majefty itfelf, fuch unequal motives to fo illiberal a treatment, and fuch defedt of argument in fupport of fiich be- haviour, I fhould think myfelf wanting in duty to the beft of kings, to the preferva- tion of national tranquility, and to that fcnfe of juftice which ought to animate the bofoms of all men, in paiBng it by unno- ticed* B The (O The paflaee which, to my apprchenfion, feems fraught with inflammatory defign, and bears fo hard on the whole council, ex- cept yourfelf and lord T is this : " A difference in opinion with regard to the meafures to be taken againft Spain of the higheft importance to the honour of the crown, and to the moft eifential national in- terefts, and this founded on what Spain had already done, not on what that court may farther do, was the caufe of my refigning the feals." This, then, is undoubtedly an infinuatioij amounting in fadt to a charge, that the whole council, yourfelf and lord T—t— ex- cepted, are the avowed favourers of mea- fures deftru6tive of the honour and welfare of the kingdom ; and that you Right Ho- nourable pair of Brothers are the fole fur- viving friends of England, of all thofe fer- vants who have the honour of being nearefl to the throne. So grievous and fo ignoble a fuggeftion, certainly deferves to have been founded on a ftronger bafe than what you have been plea- fed to aflign it. - A miniiler who appeals to the public in defence of his meafures, and experts a juftification therefrom, ought to have been more explicit in his account. You certainly fhould have ftated the fubjedt * which (3) which was debated in council, the argu« ments which were brought by you, at leaft, in fupport of your diflention, and the nature of that offence which Spain has already committed, that the nation, whole upright and candid judgment you tell us you revere, might have been enabled to judge whether the condudt of that court hath been fuch as may warrant the proceedings which you ad- vifed, and juftify your difference in opinion from the reft of the council, and the relig- nation which you have made : this would have appeared like the behaviour of a man who appealed for the fake of juftice. But it feems you have chofen a more La- conic manner, and like the Pontifex Maxi- mus at Rome, expedt the nation fhall im- plicitly believe that whatever you propofe muft be advantageous, juft and honourable j that your judgment is infallible, and that all who dppofe your meafures are either men of wefik intellects, or infidious heiars: for the creating a belief of on^, and probably of both thefe opinions, appears to be the confe- quence. you expedt from this publication of your letter. But unhappily for you. Sir, though the council fhould be guilty of all that you fug- geft, of the contrary of which I am con- vinced, evqn that circumftance, though it B z may (3) may juftify your difference in fcntimcnts, can not palliate your refignation. Men of fuch charadters ought to be watched with the utmoft vigilance, their mifdeeds remark* edy the depravity of their hearts and intel* ledts attempted to be corred:ed, and the ini« quity of their meafures indicated to your fovereign, who would certainly have follow- ed that counfel which is moil falutary to the ftate j though you certainly, indiredtly, accufe him of the contrary, by fhewing, that he declined complying with what you offered. This had been the duty of a man who loves his king and country ; a duty to which he is more efpecially called as the danger of miichief becomes greater from the adniiniftration of thole into whofe hands he refigned it, and for the defertion of which he can never be excufed in the judg- ments of men of underftanding. But you. Sir, have ufurped the right of being the fole judge of the honour and intereft of the realm, and even exclude your king. But fince you have declined explaining the caufe of your retirement, you will permit me to lay down what on very good grounds hath been faid to be the caufe of it. It was your ad- monition, it feems, that an Englifh fleet ftiould be fent to the port of Cadiz, and peremptorily demand that the Spaniard fliould :5) ftiould defift from aflifting the French in any manner ; which, if they refufed, the navy of England was immediately to lay wafte all that was within their reach. . Should not you. Sir, have explained the conduct of the Spaniard, refpedting this realm, which is at once fo atrocious and un- known to thofe before whom you lay your cafe, 'that they might have decided whether, an adt, fo contradi&ory to the laws of nature and of nations as that of committing hofti- lities in fo flagrant a manner before the de- claration of war, can be countenanced or not thereby : or, do you imagine, that your name can give fandion to meafures which, are condemned by all who are fufceptible of honourable fenfations. Would you have per-, fuaded your fovereign to the commiiEon of fuch an^adt in fuch early days of reigning ? His royal bofom was fraught with nobler fentiments. I am afraid the kingdom hath already fujfFered in her ancient cnaraderiftic. of integrity by the precipitate depredations which were committed on the French, and we need no farther endeavours to dimi- nifli her honour. But, thank heaven, the date of fuch proceeding is expired. It is eafily difcerned that mis opinion of yours has been adopted in obedience to that fearch of popular applauie, which hath been fo cgregioufly manifcfted in all your con- dudt, for fecurine die approbation of the undifcerning multitude, which delights in atrocious afts, however criminal, and con- ciliating favour in the minds of men, who, ftung to madnefs by the contagious luft of acquiring riches by any means, however un- warrantable, are already too much poffefTed with the pyratic fpirit of violating all laws, both human and divine, to ftand in need of farther encouragement. Let it be imagined, however, that mis Machiavelian principle of national condudt is to be vindicated, and that fuccefs juftifies the commiflion of any adt which one ftatc may commit againft ano- ther, however fubverfive of the laws of na- tions, will it fupport the condudt of a mi- nifter where ruin muft inevitably follow the moil uninterrupted conquefts. LiCt it be granted that the fleet of Eng- land had perpetrated all that your moil fan- guine conception may have imagined it to be capable of doing : is the blood of thou- fands to be lavifhed, and the fubjedts to be harrafled with debts and taxes, till they can , no longer move beneath the load ; and even ' that commerce refcinded by oppreflive im- ports, which muft fpeedily render all things too dear to find a market in foreign realms, and even in our own colonies, fince under fuch ( 7 ) fuch circumflances, no power has hitherto been able to prevent illicit trade : and thuf whilft we are engaged in wars in pretence of fupporting commerce, divert ourfelves by thofe very means of the power of long en- joying it. This indeed would be a ftrange event of vidtory, and fuch muft the event inevitably be by a continuation of war. Is it therefore worth while to break with Spain, and facrifice the honour of the na<« tion for the fake of enriching privateors, e£* pecially as that opportunity will difcontinue in fix nxonths ; or of loading with immenfe fortunes, cpntradters for naval flores and other neceflaries of war ; ftock-jobbers, the pert of the nation ; remittancers and men who undertake on lucrative views alone to fumifh and augment thofe public loan$^i which already weigh fo heavy on the labour of the honert and induflrious : and yet all thefe mifchiefs are to be continued, becaufe it is the opinion of you and Lord T Might not a man aswifely renounce the direc- tion of the whole faculty of phyfic, and re- fign his health to the care of a mountebank and his toad-eater. Whether this violent attack on Spain was or was not the proceeding on which you infifted, will make but little difference in your fa- vour ; it was incontrovertably fome meafure - - which (ft) ^_ which both his majcfty and his privy-coun- cil, yourfelf, and Lord T— — excepted, ut>animoufly difapproved of; and this you fey you are fure no gentleman will contra- diift. I am fiire a^ that no man gentle or Ibnple, who diftikes your condudt, will con* traafdt it; for what could the moft malici- ous fiend have fuggefted more repugnant to the intent of jSifying your refignation, than that it was done becaufe the king and council would not implicitly obey your dic- tates; And I fancy before the citizen may have read through this anfwer, he may have caufe to be coniounded at hi& virulent adop- tion of your caufe, if fucb a chara<5ter be fiifceptible of conftifion. But happily for all who might have an inclination to contradi and the bufinefs of the coachman who guides the horfes> to be one and the fame thing; have not you indifputably contradidted yourfelf ? and this too you tell us you have done only for the honour of truth* Cer- tainly, Sir, you have ftrange ideas of truth, or very little follicitilde for her honour. Since then it is evident from your own words, that the caufe of your refignatioii was not owing to your being deprived of the power of guiding the mealures which may be taken, but of impofing fuch as fhall be undertook. I fhall take the liberty, not of contradiding you becaufe you cannot bear fuch treatment, and I would not commit jTo Ungentlemanlike an adion, but of ret^^ning to the latter of thofe reafons. You fay, 3'oar opinion was Unartimoufly overruled by the united opinion of the king'd council, and therefore you religned the feds* By puting it in that manner, you have en- deavoured to avert the eyes of the nation from difcerning the true caufe. But they C muft ( 10 mud be weak indeed, who cannot fee through this fallacy. A king of England is fo far from being obliged to obferve the opi- nion of a majority of his council, that he may conftitutionally purfuc meafures diredtly oppoiite, if he pleafes. is it i>ot an illiberal infinuation therefore againft his majefty that he has adopted the counfel of weak or wicked minifters, in oppoiition to thofe of honour and welfare which you fuggeft that you propofed ? do you not in fadt throw the lame ungenerous refledlion on him, that ought to be your mafter, that you have on his council ? Let me now enquire whether your fovereign's difTenting from your opini- on, was not the true caufe of your reiigna- tion ? and let it be imagined, that his ma- jefty had agreed with you in opinion, would you then have renounced his fervice becaufe the council had diffented from you ? Would not you have been better pleafed with this obedience, inafmuch as it would have af- forded a ftronger indication of your power, or of your fuperior judgment ? If you anfwer in the negative, to what purpofe were your humble fentiments delivered in writing to your king ? Were they given for the fake o£ publidiing to the people, that he as well as the council had refufed the advice of honour and the public good? I (hall take it fqr granted. v; ( II ) granted, that you will difavow that intent, and that the nation will believe you would have remained in your poft. You will be pleafed therefore to fatisfy thofe to whom you have already appealed, in what manner the oppofition of the council has produced your refignation, when, had the king ap- proved your meafures, you would have re- mained in office ? Hence, Sir, does it not appear, that neither the different opinion of the council, nor the refufal of being permit- ed to guide the flate, were the true motives of your retirement; and though no man may contradidt, yet I think that no man can reafonably believe your aflertions, and that all muft fee your unbecoming, treatment of the beft of princes. The motives ' thereto I Ihall endeavour to affign before I finifh this letter. Nor is this the only error which you have committed in the paiTage relative to your guidance. You fay you reiigned becaufe you would not be refponfible for meafures you were no longer allowed to guide. In this declaration you forget yourfelf, the nature of your office, and the conftitution of the realm. You certainly forget yourfelf when you expedl that your king and his fubjedts are implicitly to obey your dictates. You forget the nature of your office when you C 2 , expedl 't- I; 15 ( 12 ) cxpcdl that a fccretaiy of ftatc is to be in-^ dulged with the fole guidance of the ftate, tecaufe there is another in all refpedts co^ equal with you in office j and who has the fame right to claim the fole guidance. Would not this kingdom be reduced to a t>leired ftate, were two fuch minifters im- powered with the right of folely guiding it, ^nd who may frequently have contradidtory views ? if you have no title to the fole gui- dance,, much lefs have you to that of folely di<^ating the meafures of the kingdom. A fecretary of ftate is the fervant of the king and kingdom, and can have no poffible pre*- text for pretending to be lord paramount of all public affairs. You forget the conflitutioa by conceiving that you can be refponfible for meafures which youdifayow; becaufe by the fourth article of the adt of fettlement, it is expreflly declared, " that from and after the time that the further limitation by the ad fhall take efFedt, all matters and things relative to the well-governing of this kingdom, which are properly cognisable in the privy-council, by the laws and cuftoms of this realm, fhall be tranfafted there ; and all refolutions taken thereupon fhall befigned by fuch of the privy-council as fhall advife and gonfeAt; to the fam^.'* la In ( 13 ) In what manner then could you haye been anfwerablc for the events of meafures which were contrary to your judgment, who undertook the guidance thereof in obe- dience to the duty of your office ? and when fuch authentic evidence might be brought of your difavowing them. Under fuch cir- cumftances to whom could you be refponfi- ble ? if you ftill perfift in this caufe of your refignattion, you incontrovertably declare that either you are unacquainted with this effen- tial article of the Englifh conftitution, and expofe yourfelf by a deficiency of knowledge incompatible with the idea of a minifter : or you hold the uhderftandings of all men at fb cheap a rate, that you believe them ignorant of this fad, and that it would never be brought againft you. It is plenfant to obferve the contradiction which appears between the terms of your expreffions, and the manner of your con- dud: ; you tell us " you fubmitted in writing your Moft Humble fentiments to his ma* jefty,'* and yet you refufe to officiate in your department longer than you can govern without controul. Amazing inftance of hu- mility ! you defert the fervice of the beft of fovereigns as you declare him to be, and as he certainly is, and the nation's welfare, as you affcrt, becaufe he will not tamely refign him-* felf { h) felf and his fubjedts to your abfolute diredtion, and becaufe the privy-council will not give up their underftandings, and the duty wh^^h they owe his majefty and the nation, tp you, alone. Is not this expedtation a maryeljp^s adt of humiliation ? Cromwell had the gracp, to onceal his defpotic defigns *till he Ipi^d, cut his fbvereign's head off. There have been innumerable inftances of men who have dared to dethrone their princes, in fa- vour of themfelves, of ariftocracy, a.nd of democracy, but till this moment I believe it has been unexampled, that any man has Erefumed to rule without controul, over ing, lords and commons, and affume that plenitude of power, which was never ima- gined to exift but in God alone. Surely you will not henceforth inveigh againft the dodtrine of paflive obedience, who expedt it from your king as well as from his people. You will not exclaim againft Jacobites, and figuratively foolifh talk of ftreets paved therewith. Such men, however miftaken in the objedt of their fa- vour, are not mifled in the nature of their duty ; and the moft fanguine that ever ex-^ ifted would renounce all inclination to fee his prefent majefty become the fubjedt of the pretender or his fbn, whatever may bQ their fentiments tefpe(^ing the right of reigning^ as im fee of be of ( IS ) reigning. They have too much regard ibr that head which has been once furrounded v/ith the diadem, to behold it thus humbled in the duft by an overbearing fubjedt. Certainly, Sir, no hiftory can fumifh an example of pride and meannefs equal to that which inhabits your bofom. The man who will neither permit the king nor council to entertain an opinion different from his own, and participate in the direction of the ftate ; in confequence thereof, appeals to a citizen of London ; and fuch a citizen, in juftifica- tion of his conduct, fubmits to its being printed in the public papers ; and, may I not iay, adds malice to the whole. And at this moment he deferts his mailer's fervice, (lan- ders his privy-council, indiredtiy refledts on him, and attempts to fill the nation with fe- dition, through apprehenfion of thofe mea- fores, which may be now purfued by the beft of kings.. But after all, it may be, that the merits of your guidance, and the fuccefs which has attended it, may claim this paflive obe- dience from your king and his council, and vindicate your proceedings. Let us examine, therefore, into this particular, and fee on what foundation you nave expedted fuCh un- limited complaifance. At f'vi ■■t if i '^ • At yoUf coming to the fupreme diredtion* ibr fuch you acknowledge it to have been> die fleet of England and her land forces, were immenfe. Thefe being already pre- pared, that provifion, at leaft, can not be, afcribed to your care. It mud be allowed that Bofcawen was fent by your orders to com- mand the fleet, and general Amheril the land forces ^ but thofe forces were already in Aniierica, prepared for the undertaking, and equal to the effedt which they produced. They bravely made a defcent and fubdued the ifland of Cape Breton : the merit of this coik[uefl: then is conjointly to be ufcribed tb you and him who immediately preceded you in the feals : for, certainly, whatever may be imputed to his charge, the want of fpifit has never been his failing, and his connexions fufficiently evince his zeal for carrying on the war. You will be pleafed then to aflign fome.valid reaibn why the i^me fuccefs might not have followed un- der his adminiftration as your own ; becaufe I Ihall not be influenced by popular opinion, grounded on popular prejudice... In confequence of this vid:ory, which the cheapnefs of the purchafe declared the faci- lity of acquiring, for the bravery of the troops having furmounted the difficulties of landing, Louiibourg was found untenable and 1 fl \ \ > t ■ f t I t ■ r 4 :es re- I be lat ( 17 ) ftfid furrendered, the fpirits of the people which had hitherto been unufually depfeffed were now as caufelefsly exalted to as excef^ five a degree, and mat difpofition, toge- ther with the idea of your being their ihinifter, carried them into an exaltation which the importance and merit of the con- queft could in no fenfe fupport. It ought to be remarked alfo, that you entered on no new plan of operations in that part of the world. You minutely fol- lowed that; which had been laid down by thofe againfl whom you fo farcaftically in- veighed on that account, and which, from this circumftance, it is evident you either underftood not at that time, declaimed againft contrary to your own convidtions, or were incapable of defigning a better. It was then vifible tp all thinking men, that Braddock*s attack on Fort du Quefnc had been ill judged; and that even vidtory had been ufelefs : that the reduction of all the fortrefles dependant on Quebec were of as little avail, as cutting down the branches of a tree in order to deftroy it, when it might be extirpated by the root : and therefore that the above-mentioned city was the fole objed: worthy of minifterial attention. Not- withftanding this, as popular applaufe was the miftrefs you were wooing, and you - ' D thought »t ■ \ i t 1 ( ( 18 ) thought it expedient that flie (hould be kept in good humour even by actions unequal to fuch defert, and of no fignificancy to the. kingdom, Atercromie, a general of your choice, or adoption, was fent with an arma- ment tp attack Ticpnderago : the event wa$ fuch as might have been eafily forefeen from the abilities of the commander, and the expedition failed in confequence of your in- fufficiency in deciding of military merit. A> deficiency extremely depreciating of the charader of a minifter. Notwithflanding this ill fuccefs, and the encreafing opinion of the folly of wafting men and money on fuch inadequate attempts, the fame motive of perpetuating the favour of the populace prevailed, and general Forbes was difpatched to attack Fort du Quefne ; not without a yiew of fliewing that you could fucceed in what other mini- fters had mifcarried. Here again you fail- ed in the choice of your commander ; for, by an unwarrantable feparation of that force, colonel Grant was cut of with the lofs of eight hundred men, a lofs that infinitely ex- ceeded the value of the acquifition, which was deierted and left defencelefs to the pof- fefiion of our troops. • Your next attempt was to fubdue the iHand of Martinico. The powers v/hich '-'■.'■: ' were ( 19 ) ■ , were dcftined to this expedition, and the of- ficers who commanded, were of your ap- pointing : the infufficiency of this prepara- tion was perceived the moment the defign was attempted to be carried into execution i the general had fcarcely landed his troops when the impradticability of fuccefs deter- mined him to decline the attack, and to re- embark his forces. Hence, it is manifeft, either that you had conceived no idea of the fl:rength of the place, or of the powers which were neceffary for fubduing it : and, that iince the condudt of the commanders hath never been called in queftion for fo precipitately retreating without any attempt to fucceed, the fole caufe of this mifcarriage is to be imputed to you alone. Difappoint- ed in their views on Martinico, from the deficiency of force, the armament fet fail for Guadalupe, where it gave evident proofs that want of courage was not the caufe of their declining to effedt the redudion of the pther ifland. They landed, took the flrong places, and drove the inhabitants into the mountains, where, refufing to fubmit, they awaited fuccours from Martinico. Whatever was their motive for capitulat- ing needs not to be enquired into ; they certainly, might have held out fix hours, or even fix days longer : and yet, the former D 2 time. ■• I (10) time, according; to all human probability; had proved fumcient to have fruftrated the whole eiFedl of this armament ; for within that (hort fpace, a force arrived to their af- fiftance equal to their delivery ; but the ca- jHtulation was figned> the inhabitants refufed to recede from the ftipulation they had made, and the conquefl was fecured. Now, Sir, I imagine your moft fanguine city friend, with all that ebullition of af- fumption which accompanies his behaviour, will hardly aflert you are fo admirably gift- ed with forefight, that you forcfaw the Gua- dalupians would furrender within fix hours that their deliverance was at hand: and without this forefight, I fee not in what manner the merit of this conquefl can be afcribed to you, whofe preparations were fb evidently unequal to the defign ; unlefsthc merit or fetting it on foot with fuch imper- feft powers, and the boon which chance ialone bequeathed you, can conflitute a title to that claim of indulgence in defpotifmi which you demand, . Let me now return to affairs on the Ame- rican continent, and lay before you your condud thereof. In this you flill trod in the fleps of thofe whom you fo egregioufly defpifed. Nor that alone, you committed the moft unpardonable error which a mini-^ fter ( ai ) flcr can commit : for, befides your deftining the troops to the redudtion of places which muft have fallen in confeqnence of taking the capital, you appointed a force bevond all controverfy inadequate to the fubduing Quebec, unlefs that defe There was at this time a great dearth of corn in England, the poor were ftarving with famine, and a law had been made ex- cluding the crown, as well as the fubje<5t:, from exporting grain of all kinds. Pity for your famiflied countrymen, and the fa- crednefs of the laws were of little avail in yourbofom. You bounced through thefe obligations like a wild boar through the toils, and ordered corn to be bought and fhipped for Stade : but the officers of the cuAoms refufing to grant permifiion to an illegal export, and a friend of your's learn- ed in the law, advifing you to defift there- from, becaufe of its illegality; that vtry F 2 coroj I i • ■- - ( 3<5) . - . corji, which had been purchafed to fupply the German army, the exportation of which muft have encreafed this peoples miferies, was relandedj and it was induftrioufly in- ferted in the papers, that you were the caufe of preventing that grain from being carried abroad, in order that the people might feel no greater diftrefs than that which had happened from the inclemency of feafons. In this manner your intended violation of humanity, and the legiflature was converted to your applaufe ; becaufe the people were not yet acquainted with your change of fentiments. Was this fidelity to your country ? It being now impradlicable to fupply the army with provifions, and it being refolved net to rifque a. fecond a<5tion, another mea- fure was entered upon for the prefervation of the treafure, &c. of Hanover. A treaty of neutrality was begun between his royal highnefs and the duke de Richlieu, under the mediation of the king of Denmark. By this event you were reduced to no fmall per- plexity. The tranfports for the expedition, cither by contrary winds, or for particular reafons, arifing from circumftances in Ger- many, had not yet arrived at Portfmouth, at which place they were defined to take the troops on board. The great difficulty which •, (37) which now attended you, confifted In dire6t-' ing meafures in a manner, fo that the con- vention might not be fruftrated by the military operations of this armament ; nor the expedition feem to be rendered abortive by that treaty ; and yet, you to preferve the appearance of your former patriotifm, and cover thereby the condudl of the whole from the reprehenfion of the vulgar eye. Let me now examine, whether, from the particulars which have been publilhed by authority, there are not juft grounds to in- fer, that the attempt on Rochfort was de- clined in confequence of an inclination that it fhould not be attacked. It can hardly be believed at this time, that the terms of the convention which was figned on the 6 th of September, were neither known nor agreed to in England on the 5th. Had the fleet, therefore, been delayed from failing till the nation was ac- quainted with this treaty, of which it was then ignorant, and returned without at- tempting any thing, it had been too glaring an ad: to have admitted of any palliative. On the 5th therefore, the moft prefiing or- ders were fent for its fetting fail : and ac- cordingly, by a letter dated the i oth of the fame month, you received an account of its being (38) being under (ail for the place of its defti-: nation. By thefe means, as the convention, tho* figned, could not have been pofitively known {o to have been at this court, you hoped to evade the imputation of this expedition being affected tnereby. But it appears to me that evident proofs may be brought that the event of this armament was inftiienced by the terms of the treaty, though not ex- prefTed in the articles th.Teof, for reafons too obvious to be mentioned. The iiril motive to my believing it con-- fifts in the continuation of the fame orders which had been iiXued on the 5 th of Au- guft, by which the fleet was to return about the end of September. Is it natural to be- lieve that had this expedition been deligned to ad: oftenfively againft Rochfort, that the fame orders would have ftill remained for returning at the end of September, a ipace too fmall for the accomplifhing fuch a de- fign, as appears by the fubfequent events ? Indeed, you at length forefaw that this con- tinuation of the fame orders might be con- fidered in the above light, and on the 1 5th of September the Viper Hoop was difpatch- ed after the fleet with frefli orders, and which arrived amongft them on the day they got vy^ithin the Bafque road, on the 22d. iftiT ( 39 ) 2 2d. By thefe the commanders were or- dered, ** that notwithftanding the former orders which had ftated the latter end of September for their return, they ftiould not confider the above-mentioned time as intended in any manner to affedt or inter- fere with the full execution of the firft and principal objedt of the expedition ; name- ly, a defcent on the French coaft, near Rochfort, &c. and that they fhould not de- fift from any attempt in which they werd actually engaged, on account of the tim^ limited.'* Here then orders were given for tarrying any time which the commanders might think requifite. Let us now fee if their conduA was confentaneous to fuch or- ders, and if there be not fufficient cauf6 therefrom to infer, that their behaviour muft have arifen from fomething of a different kind. Sir Edward Hawke> in his letter to you, fays, " that before he received his majefty's orders by the Viper floop, he had made the difpofition for attacking the Ifle of Aix," (a ftep in the general opinion neqeffafy for fecuring the landing of the troops) and yet Sir John Mordaunt, in his letter to you, fays, ** |ie is pleafed vtrith thinking, that, before the receipt of your letter by the Viper, he had judged right in reiblving tcr attack M /(4o) attack rifle de Aix; though it could not poffibly be done without breaking in fome meafure into his majefty's prders, in regard to their time of returning to England." Does not this convey the idea that Sir John had imagined, that, the expedition was to have iconfifled of failing out and home without attempting* to ; eiFed: any thing ; fince he values himfelf on judging right to attack a place that was thought neceflary to expedite ibeir defcent againft Rpchfort ? and does not {this expreflipn of judging riffht (eem to be an ^fwer to an order fent by the Viper for at- tacking fome fmaller place> which might impart the idea, of- the fleet JDcingin earnefl: ill this expedition ? it is certainly no anfwer to the orders which were publiflied. It iWould be agreeable to know why landing :Was deemed impradticable by a council of war, when meflT. Broderick, Douglas, Den- ;iis, and Buckle, 'had, on an examination of (the coaft, declared, that a landing was pxadticable. As to the dangers that might 'happen from the fwell of the fea, as there •was none at that time, it was probable that ;none would happen, and confequently a fear of pofllble events was an inadequate caufe for declining the defcent. The ac- counts from French fhips and French pH- tfoners relative to Rochfort, were certainly m- It Infumcient on which to form an opinioii^ tclatiiire to the declining a defcent; and die general had obje&ed to accounts, in favout bf it; obtained from other prifbners. As t6 the danger of the troops being ovefpowercq by fupierior number^, there could never be leff^ foundation for fuch belieif than on this bccafion, becaule no fuch trobp^ appearec^^ ^nd though an efcalade might not have taken place againft Rochfort, yet a landing being made, red-hot bullets and bombs, might vvrith great facility have been thtowri amongft the naval flores, (hips, and nfiaga:^ine$^ fq as to have deftroyed all thefe, and rendere4 the expedition of great cgnfequcnce. As td the difficulty of taking fort Fouras, in order to fecure a landifig place, that was no pb- jed:ion, becaufe it impeded not the landing. All thefe objedtions being infufficient, is it not probable, that fome fecfet reafon wa4 the caufe of not attempting a defcent ? However, notwithftanding, a defcent hai) been deemed impradlicable, on the 25tK of September, a council of war wais held again on the 28th, and it was then unani- moully agreed by the council, that it was advifeable to land the forces to attack thp two forts on the mouth of the river Cha- rante. The council being broke up, Bro^ derick writer Sir Edward Hawkc a letter, , G fignifying. % i: 11 (42) figniiying,. that having prepared the boats with proper officers, &c. the generals had come to a refolution not to land the forces that night, and to wait till day-light. Upon this Sir Edward Hawke writes to Sir John Mordaunt, to know whether the general officers had any farther military operations to propofe, that he might not unnecefTarily detain the fquadron there ; and Sir John Mordaunt returns for anfwer, that talking with the land-officers, they had all agreed in returning to England. Now, Sir, it will be difficult to decide,^ why a defcent, agreed on by the land and fea officers, and prepared to be made, fliould be fet alide by thofe of the land alone. Why, Sir Edward Hawke, at the moment when the dcicent was refolved on, and no lime of return, refpedling that affair, limited, -by the fecond orders, {hould, without a "council of war, refolve on returning to Eng- land with the fleet; and, laftly, why the lahd generals, who had concluded on a de- fcent the day before, fhould now determine on returning to England without attempting it ? do not all thefe circumftances put toge- ther, induce a ftrong probability, that ' the Vip^r^floop cai^ied out more papers than have^^een givl'n to the public, and that thefe contradidtory- councils and refolutions were >^ • (43) were contrived to give to this armament, the parade and countenance of a defcent that' was never intended to be made. In this manner ended the expedition againft Rochfort, with deftroying a fmall fort at rifle de Aix, and bringing back a cafket of grapes — A glorious acquilition for fo immenfc an expence ! Amazing as this event appeared in the eyes of all men, the caufe of it had proba- bly remained unenquired into, had it not been moved in the common-council of the city of London, that a petition fliould be made to his majefty for an examination into the caufes of the ill fuccefs. And as this en- quiry might probably have been parliamen- tary, it was thought proper to prevent fuch application, left things might thereby come to lights which you wiflied for ever to con- ceal in darknefs. And this was effedled by a meiTage from the king to the lord-mayor, lignifyi ng, that he had ordered the affair ^o be enquired into. In confequence of thip, iSir John Mordaunt was brought to tryal : "but not in the common manner. It was firfl referred to three general officers to en- quire, whether this mifcarriage ought to be enquired into or not ; by the infiitution of which it is evident, tjiat all examination was to be evaded, if poiTible. But as it ap- G 2 .. peareJ :i ( 44 )• cftaic4to them, that the reafons for dcclia-. ' ihg the dcfcent were infufficient, it followe4 that fomc enquiry was to be made into the. caufe thereof. * And here it ought to be remarked, that from the nature of the firft orders which werQ ^ven, it feenis as if it was forefeen, that ah event like that which happened, was to be the confequcnce of this expedition. And therefore contrary to the ufual cuftom, the. chief in command ^yas refcinded from fol- Iqwing the beft judgment he could form oa his own lights, and thofe which he might receive from others, and implicitly tp obey the opinion of a majority ojF a council of war, the members of" which were named in his orders. Hence it was impoffible the general wh^^ followed the conclufions of fucfi a council could with the leail degree of commori fenfe be called to anfwer for his- condudk. It was manifeft that all who adviftd the mea- fures were! the proper objects of public en- . qiiiry ; and that in this inftancc it was the whole council. Notwithftanding which,.. Sir John Mordaunt alone was the] perfon into whofe condudt any examination was . made 5 and thofe who ought equally with . himfelf to have con^e under a like Icrutiny w^'q admitted to he hia witncfles. The e^: fed »' ( 45 > fcif^ of this was evident: the general in? chief was acquitted : it was, indeed, im-: poflible he could be found guilty. In this; manner ended that enquiry, which, from the very manner of its being conducted, it. is felf evident was to conclude as it did. After having in this manner put toger ther the circumflances of the conventioa and condu<5t of the expedition, if any one remains unconvinced of your management ^ therein, he muft neceffarily agree, that this ' undertaking was adopted on grounds which; qould warrant no fuch proceeding, or that' the inieparable attendant of all your arma*-. ijients, infufficiency of force, defeated tlie whole defign. To thbfe who believe the- former, how will you vindicate your fideli- ty ? to thofe who believe the latter, how will you fupport the reputation of a mini-^ fter? . ': Notwithftanding this event, and thought ' the populace, who had received a deep im- prefCon of your patriotifm^from your, zeal) againft German tneafures, ftill continued ta believe you fteady to your former fentiments, you thought it neceflary to give out fome*-: thing which might obviate the belief that was getting ground amongft the more fharp- fighted^ that the convention had defeated th^. expe^tion. With this defign it was. care- (46) carefully and fallacioufly infiiiuated, that his royal highnefs had prevailed on feme of the officers to render the attempt abortive ; bccaufe of his did ike to you. And it was in- ferted in the foreign Gazettes under a name of authority, that the convention was con- cluded without the knowledge of the court of England. Improbable as this muft be, it was fwallowed by the multitude : and in- jurious as it was to his royal highnefs, who, according to this account, had made a treaty to render an army in the pay of England im- potent, without authority, it remained un- eontradi(3:ed. You knew that the fon would . not openly contfadi6t this affertion, and pub- licly declare what muft be difagrecable to the father ; that his proximity to the throne . would prevent all parliamentary enquiry ; and that on thefe accounts you fhould be fafe from public contradideed the circumftance of fefting up, a pilchard fifhery be added to your glory,^ and teaching the French the method of catching and cubing that fifh in the Comifh manner, with which they have been hither-t to unacquainted, and thereby enabling them^i in time of peace, to interfere, and probably deprive the qounty of Cornwal of annually receiving more than fixty thoufaad pounds Jn return for fuch merchandize. Nor is that fuccefs, which has been at*^ tributed to your adnainiftratioft, to be afcrib- ed only to the fuperior bravery of our troops and officers, and to incidents which no hu- man forefight qould conceive. It looks as if' folly had been chofen the diredtrefs of the- French affairs, in order to obviate all thofe. mifchiefs which might otherwife have at- tended your unequal miniftry 5 and certain** ly, by the orders of that lady, which were given to the admirals de la Clue and Con-* Sans, by which they were permitted to a- yoid fighting -, t;he meaas oif vidory wer^ I aiFbrded V I : J I I (58) afforded to the fleets of England, which might otherwife have been purchafed with lefs lofs to the enemy, and perhaps with lefs glory to our arms, had the Frenchmen been obliged to combat as they ought. Certain it is, refpedting the delign of Conflans, that nothing could be more imprudently con*- duded. A defcent was intended from that kingdom, on fome of his majefty's domi^ nions ; a fleet was prepared at Breft to con- voy the forces; tne fuccefs of this defig^ neceflarily depended on fetting fail froni the French coafl:, when the Englifh fleet fhould be driven therefrom : in order that the fame . wind which led them to their views, fhould prevent the Englifli from obfl:rudting them, and all things ought to have been prepared confentaneous to that particular. On the contrary, the forces of France, which fhould have marched by land ; and the transports to receive them, which fhould have failed from Vannes to Breft, that the fame wind v/hich kept our fleet at a diflance, might waft them to the coafts of thofe realms, were detained in the bottom of the Bay of Bifcay, in order to make the embarkation in that place. By this means, when admi- ral Hawke was blown from. that part, and the French embarkation fhould have failed ; the fl?et of France v/as unable to leave Brefl, ' ( 59 ) ' . ^ and to repair to the place of rendezvousi where the troops were to be taken on board. And from this it happened that the moment the wind was favourable for that intent> ad- miral Hawke was, by the fame gale, again enabled to return to nis former ftation, and intercept that defign. In this manner, though no man could behave with greater bravery, the defeat of the French was as . much owing to the blunders of their mini- fters, as to any other caufe j and that ar- mament, which muft have efcaped from Breft without oppolition, was rendered in- cfFedtual, by being obliged to go into the Bay to receive the troops ; and thus that viftory was compleated, which was not a little owing to their orders for avoiding an engagement alfo. Thus, Sir, with fortune for your friend, and folly for your foe, it is no wonder that the fuccefs of our arms has been fo great, notwithftanding your prepa- rations have been fo infufHcient. But for what reafons their favours are to be afcribed to you alone, I know not : unlefs it be that the weaknefs of your adminiflration ilood in the utmoft need of fuch aflillance ; and they were refolved to fliew what fuch powers can cffedt, without the intervention of hu- man wifdom. I 2 As l..ff\ As to die fuccefTes which have attended tiie heaven-born general, and other com- manders in the Eaft-Indies, as they were ob- tained in favour of a trade^ which all difin^ terefted men are convinced is detrimental to the kingdom.-*- Pray take the whole merit to yourielf Such having been the true flafe of what We afe indebted to yoUr condudt^ for the fuccefTes wc have had ; whatever the con- dition of the kingdom might have been at your receiving the feals, which is Co extra-^ vagantly caracatured in the anfwer of your friendy and the fittiation of it at your reugn-' ing, it is evident beyond contradidtion, that thefe alterations have been lefs owing to you> than any change for the better, ha^ ever been owing to a minifter. And it is evident, that thoiigh the nation was re- duced to defpbndency at your coming to the miniftry, it dill contained powers to extricate itfelf from fuch ill grounded appre- henfions, and that thofe were imperiedlly applied by you. And we ihall fhew, that lit the time of yoiu* reiigning, however exult- ing this nation might be in its imagination^ it was in a woffe condition than when yoi4 .came to the adminiftration. tlowevcfi (6i) ttoWevcr, kt it befirft enquired into, With what propriety it has been faid, that the nation h^ been fo much advantaged ia the increafe of commerce by vour miniffay. And in this place it mi^ht be proved that the greatc^ fallacy attenos this apparent in« trea& of trade ; mat the l^gefl part of the goods now exported will tearce return the price of the materials tinmanufadhired ; that the new acquifitions are fated with com- modities ; that the immenfe loans have taken all the monied men from trade to deal in the flocks; and that fcarce any remain in merchandize^ but fuch who by means of paper can procure credit and protraft the time of payment by transferring bills from city to city through all Europe ; and lafUy, that the immen]^ bankruptcies, in confe- quence of fuch tr anfadions, unknown to preceding t^rms, declare the contrary c^ luch advantages. All thefe objedtions, however^ to tho 4ruth of our improving commerce, Ifhall wave, and allow you that trade is, if you pleafe, ten times greater and more gainful than eVer it has been, ^t if it can be proved that th^ money diat hereby comes into England paffes, by another part of your condudt, through the kingdom, like an ee{ through the body of a cormorant; without leaving f i' (6i) kaving any thing behind, will it liot aj^peat* that as the bird cannot be made fatter by flich food, fo the nation is not the richer for fuch wealth? and I fancy, if this profit from trade has been infufficient to fupply the money which you have fquandered, and millions have gone along with it, that fuch a circumftance will add no great merit to your miniftry. That this is the cafe I appeal to the feh&i of all England. Have not the fublidies which have been granted, and the armies which have been maintained in Germany, devoured ' many millions more than have ' been acquired by trade ? Otherwife, how comes it to pafs that there is fo much lefs bullion in England at prefent than at the / declaration of war j that the price of it is fo encreafed as to preclude all power of coinage but at a vaft lofs; that bank bills of ten pounds value have bsen coined,, and that Exchequer notes bear a premium. -, , Such being the truth of this affair, tell me in what manner the nation is obliged to you for an increafe of trade, who have converted the whole advantage thereof to the cxhauftingof this land and the enriching for reigners. Was not Sir James Key and Touch- * ftone, your brother Orator, therefore, wifely^ employed ill thanking you for carrying our -''• * * arms (63) ;arms and commerce to a height unknown be- fore ? and in this place it is impoflible to avoid remarking, that the fame common-council which, in the year 1757, prefented you with freedom and gold, becaufe you declared that neither men nor money fhould be waft- ed in continental meafures, now thank you for an adminiftration that bound the whole nation to trade and labour in order to find fupplies for the fupport of thofe very German connexions which wee then ex- - ploded. It is not eafy to decide v/hether the common-council in giving fuch contra- didtory approbation, or you in receiving it, have manifefted the greater weak- nefs and abfurdity. But it is to be laru'nt- ed that the government of the larj^tft city in Europe is entrufted to men who either cannot difcern truth from falfehood, or who facrifice the former to the latter, at the in- ftigation of a man that has derived his notions of treating mankind from the maxims of negro-drivers in the colonies. Nor is this the fole abfi:^dity to which your city friend has pufhed Jie corporation of London. He has urged them to aflert a right of inftru6ling their reprefentatives, which can belong to the conftituents only : .unlefs he can fhew fome inftrument by which the common-council is intrufted with . V that lUi n 4 ii ( H ) Ihat jharge. It is to be hoped, therefore^ that the livery will remember this infringe- ment of their rights, when any man wh6 has prefumed to comtnit it fhall fet himielf up for lord-mayor, and ^ew him dut they are enemies to ufurpation. Nor is this afTiimption of illegal rSight more ridiculous than the fubjedls which anb contained in the inflmdtions, two of wlifich only fha}l be mentioned in this plare^ re^ icrving the reft till the ^cles of that peace which you were negociating oomes to be considered. The firft article I mean is that whicK inftruds the reprefentatives of London to concur and promote all necejdary meafure& for eftabliihing good ceconomy in the diftri-> bution of the national treafure; and that they endeavour to have a committee ap^ pointed to enquire intp any abufes which, may have arifen in the application of it,^ ana to prevent any frauds or illicit pradices, in the management thereof. Is it poffible. Sir, to have penned a morev juft or more cauftic fatire on your adniini'-. ftration ? Has the time exifted when the a.bove-mentioned enormities have prevailed with more lawlefs fway than under yoUr ^iniftry ? Did ever a minifter before your- 4lf place a general at the head of ai> army who. (65) who could not be accountable for his extra-* viagance. Certainly your city friend forgot hlmfelf in this particular. I would afk you alfo where was the loyalty which the cor- poration profefles, when, on this occalion, they omitted paying the mpft juft and beft deferved compliment to his majeily, who has fo eminently fet the laudable example of ceconomy in the management of his own houfehold ? But that expreflion of loyalty to their fovereign is a diredt contradidtion to their ad:ions, and unnaturally inferted fince at the very time of pronouncing it they are lamenting the lofs of a miniiler who will no longer remain in the admini- ftration than he abfolutely ' rules both king and kingdoni. This I fuppofe the laws may not conftrue into fedition, though it would be difficult to give it a milder name with propriety. Particularly as this great bell-wether of a corporation, by firft leap- ' ing over the bounds of decency, has taught the filly ones of the leiler cities and towns,, to follow their example. And even at this very moment that no contradidlion may be want- ing in thecondudtof the common-council of ^London, they were preparing to entertain that very prince with all polTible fplendour and exteriour marks of loyalty whom they tacitly condemned for not liftening to youc K^ ^ peremptory i 66 ) peremptoFy didates» and refigning his right of reigning into your hands. If they are capable of concaving the leaft fenfe of his majefly^s gradons condefceniion and beha- viour on that day, they wMl publicly recant their thanks to you, and ihew, that if they had not at firfl me faculty of difcerning their miflaken meafures, they have the grace of repenting when they are difcovered to be fo. Nor is this dooming of your countrymen . to work for alien nations, and exhauf^ing your country of its treafure, the fok eiFedt of your condudt. You have encreafed the national debt by fift^ millions, and oppref- fed trade with the weight of paying the in- tereft thereof, is it not iiniazing, dierefore, when the kingdom is manifeftly inipove- rifhed in fpecie, and encreafed in mort- gages, that your city friend and the com- mon-council fliould in their inftrudtions de- clare, that the great increafe of commerce is a moft convincing proof of the nation's > ability, jftiil to carry on and vigoroully pro- fecute the prefent juft and neceflary war. But it is t'alily difcerned that this encourage- . mcnt is given that national bankruptcy, when it comes, may throw the blame of your ex- travagance on thofe who may then be in the adminiflration ; and as to the common- council Il ( 67 ) council, a fet of idk drones, who, from be- hind their counters feD the labours of other mens hands, they care little what taxes are impofed on tiic induftrious people, fince they only add the tax to the commodity, and and another profit, becaufe that impoft re- qiures more money in their bufinefs. Thefe men certainly recommend the granting un-: limited fupplies with ftridt propriety. I wifh they would print a lift of all which they have fubfcribed during the war, that it might be fe^n how well their adtions corr refpond with their recommendations. In this manner having fairly enquired in- to the merits of your condu<5t in war, and in the improvement of trade, permit me to examine a little into the terms on which you would have concluded hoftilities : and whether your talents are better adapted for negociating peace than for the former tranft adtions. The firft thing I ihall remark i§ that your city friend declares in his anfwer to you^ that the French were reduced to fue for peace ; when it is manifeft, from the Hiftorical Memorial, that overtures were firft m^^de on that head from you, and th^ court of Berlin. The next thing worth re-: marking is, that when you had agreed to treat, you who were the great and mighty conqueror permitted the vanquiflied French- K 2 man I M I • • . (68) man to propofe the terms of accomodation, a circumftance which could proceed from no other motive than from your ignorance in the value of what our arms had acquired, or an inability of proportioning the returns which were to be made on both fides. The next thing to be obferved is, that when France propofed to conclude hoftili- ties on terms that each potentate fhould re- tain what he had conquered, that you re- fufed them on German confiderations : and when exchanges were agreed to be made, and l^rance propofed to reflore the countries of Hefle, and of the duke of Brunfwick in confide ratien of receiving the iflands of Guadalupe and Marigalante, tiaat you ac- quiefced in this propofition : by thefe means it is undeniable that all the inconviencies of having eledtoral territories on the continent, fo intimately connedted with this crown, are enormoufly encreafed by your miniftry. England has not only paid the troops of thofe fi;ates for fighting in their own de- fence, and granted them money to make amends for what they have fuffered by the calamities of war ; but it was now to give up the conqueft of our arms to purchafe their territories from the French, though no treaty has been ftipulated which can warrant fuch proceedings. Certainly, Sir, this . (69) ; tills is no great inftance of fidelity to your country: though it be an undeniable evi- dence of thofe mifchiefs which arife from following thofe meafures, the condemnation of which gave you your firft popularity. V Let me now examine more minutely in-* to the knowledge which you polTefs of the value of thofe acquifitions which we have^ made. In all negociations of peace it is the duty of every minifter to preferve all pof-* iible pofleflions which may improve the welfare of his own country, and oppofe that of his enemy. Let us remark how faith- fully you have obferved thefe obligations. * By the conqueft of Senegal the negra trade became entirely in our hands, the fole means of fupplying the French iflands therewith remained to this kingdom alone ; and the advantages which muft have arifen therefrom in peace and war are confpicuous. Tn the former the profits had been imnienfe. In the latter we could have embarrafled their plantations by refufing then the means of cultivating their lands. This advantage you renounced by propofing to allow the French fome other place of trading on the coaft of Guinea ; and to this probably you were in- duced by your friend the Sugarman, who in the midft of all his patriot ebuHtion which, like fmall beer from a bottle juft . nncorked. 11 /( 70) uncorked^ biffing, frifking and ending in a vapid UquoTy. would be fony that the advan-> toge of England fhould encreafe the value of nie^roes but one per cent. Certainly^ Sir» ywi were mtftaken in the eilicnation of what had been acquired by the above con- queft, or poftponol the national intereft to mat of jrour frothy friend. Guadalupe and Marigalante aire iSands whichy from the nature of the cUritie and produftiORs thereof^ can never isiCerfere with the commerce of Eng^d, and muft for ever enrich the realm to wirieh they be- long, becaufe the furplus of money that re- mains beyond the demands of thoie necef&ries which the planters want, muft always reft in and enrich the mother countcy : thefe iiknds you confented to give up. Was this owing to Ae infinuations of your city friend alfo, who forefaw that the prefervation of them muft leften the value of Jamaica fugars, 6cc. or to your being unacquainted with the true valuation of this conqueft. The Newfound- land fiftiery has been at all times confidered liot only as the fource of great riches, but as the nurfery of thofe feamen who are to man the royal navy j and the precluding the French, not only as depriving them of much gain, but of all means of manning their fleets and continuing to be a maritime power. L e I n Is o >> 1 I ' pow'cr. The -entire prefervfttiott of tfcj8 ii uudoubtedly the mod immediftte gnd iniiiA * peniible duty (d an Engiiih Jniis^fter. lUitiA dfb you g^e up. Yoq npt oj^Jdt CQnfentoi to their tight of 6&m^ gsmPsi by ^ treaty of U:tKeoht> imH jtolh ad of ten time times more importance h thart ( 74 ) than your boafted conqueft of Belleifle, ft conqueft, the value of which the French muft be better acquainted with than you, and which they tell you you may keep with- out any confideration in return. Were not the lives and treafure of England glorioufly lavifhed on fo ridiculous an acquifition ? Of all our conquefts then, what were there propofed to be referved without inva- lidating the advantages which might have been acquired therefrom. Your confent to a negro trade reduced the conqueft of Se- negal to little worth. The grant of St. Pierre annihilated, the value of fubduing Cape- y Breton. Guadalupe v/as to be given up. The Neutral Illands wer • to be divided, and the con ;ueft of Canada was to remain entire* A conqueft which by rendering the back fettlemcnts of our colonies fccure, muft have nnturally allured our countrymen in Enp-land to defert thtir native foil, immenfe taxes, and the payment of rents for other mens lar'h, for other climes, where they could ha\'e others of theii own unincumbered and un- ci nbarr^/lcd : and, as the opprefiions in trade mull -.eccir:.ri]y increafe the difficul- tv:b oc artifanf] and manufacturers, they too ^v/o'i1j He induced io pals into thofe climates wVierc every tiling is pr'^duced which is ne- cefiary for their employment, and the means of 7 of living more eafily acquired ; and in this manner and by your miniftry, the mother country muft fpeedily have been undone by the independance of her daughter colonies. And to all thefe inconveniencies and inju- ries you would have fubmitted for the fake of the king of Pruffia and our German al- lies, had the French acquiefced in what was propofed on that head. Certainly, Sir, after this you cannot avoid laughing at the found of patriot minifter, when it falutes your ears from the giddy mob, whom your extravagances have reduced to drink one half fmall beer in their porter, and who are too ignorant to perceive that your condudt is the caule of it. One thing ftill remains to be fpoken of, and that is commencing hoftilities with Spain, which you advifed in a manner fo contrary to the laws of nations. It is not to be doubted but the articles in the public papers, wherein the affair of the Antigalli- can is mentioned, form one part of your reafbns for the counfel w^hich you gave. I imagine few fober men will agree that fuch things can juftify fo abrupt an attack ; and if they can, I would afk you on what ac- count they were (b eafily and fo filently pafTed by at the time of their commiflion : and why you afforded fo little ailiflance to L 2 the ( 76 ) ; the owners of the above privateer in reco- vering their prize. As to the demands which were made by Spain, concerning the pri- vilege of fiihing on the banks of New- foundland, and the Englifli fettlements in the bay of Honduras, thefe, it is evident from the Hiftorical Memorial, were relin- quifhed, and therefore could afford no caufe of advifing the commencement of hoftili- ties, in fo unwarrantable a manner, at tliis moment. And now. Sir, fince Spain afforded you no fufficient caufe for the counfel which you gave : fince the motives which you have ailigned for your rcfignation have been proved to be fallacious j let nie be permittc4 to guefs at the reafons of your retirement. To me it appears that the fame all-fufji-- ciency which has rendered all your prepara- tions fo defective, had reduced you to a fi-. tuation from w^hich you faw no way of extricating yourfelf without difgrace; that inflead of finding yourfelf fecured from our enemies by ttie vid:ories of our arms, you found yourfelf environed with difliculties by the concefHons which you had made in the negociations for peace ; and that fuch terms mud inevitably have flripped you of all your popular fame and merit of ouv- ^ fiiccefTes, had they paffed into a treaty. Con- •1- I in in- IS. {77) Confcious of this truth, you entered on the refolution of advifing a breach with Spain : and, having proved the folly of af- fifling the Germans with our armies, of re- calling the remainder which is yet unftar- ved, and of fending them to be calcined on the fhores of Spanifh America, in order ei- ther to fupply your tyrannic fpirit of power, with freih means of being exercifed, and of freeing you from the cmbarraflhients, into which your ignorance of negociating had plunged you J if the king and council fliould agree thereto : or if the hardinefs of the pro- portion fhould determine them not to ac- quiefce therein, to take that occafion of giving up the feals, before the black clouds of national refentment fhould break in thun- der upon your head 5 concluding, undoubt- edly, that his majefty might beftow, at that time, what the people's difplcafure might have oppofed in a future. Is this, though fpeaking, it cannot be called a bargain, for forfaking the public, an adlion of a lefs cul- pable nature ? And, pray Sir, wherein con- fills the great injury that has been done you ? or how is your character fo infamoufiy tra- duced, by fuppofing you have forfaken your poft for a bargain ? ygu who have fo repeat- edly forfaken your former fentiments to pro- mote your interefl. There is indeed one thing ] 4 I - (78) thing in which I agree w'lh you, that however fpontaneous this boon may have been in his majefly, it was unmerited in you; and though your city friend is pleafed to confider an annuity of three thou- fand a year to you, your lady, and your fon, in fucceflion, and the ennobHng of your fa- mily, as objedls that can fcarce bear the name of a reward ; yet, to me, the goodnefs of his majefly appears amazing, who has beftowed iuch ample remuneration, on a man, whom all good fubjedts muft have ap- plauded him for difmifling with difdain, after he had fo infolently refufed to continue in the adminiftration longer than he could govern his king and the whole kingdom. Surely, Sir, you have forgotten thefe in- numerable declamations, which you have fo often ana fo vehemently pronounced againft a fole minifler, and the evils which refulted therefrom : and which might be brought in this place, to embarrafs any cQuntenp.nce but your own ; and appal the heart of eveiy man, but fuch as he that conceives that the ablurdeft contradictions are reconciled, becaufe he dares to commit them. Ingratitude has been long and juftly at- tributed to you ; and, certainly, it is an aftonifhing inftaiice thereof, that, after hav- ( ^ I ■ (79) ing accepted the above reward, you could fo tneanly, if not malicioufly, by a letter, written to be publiflied, infinuate, that the council, many of whom have never been impeached in their integrity nor underftand- ing, others whom you have applauded to the (kies, when you adopted their mea- fures, and, I am afraid, that his majefty him- felf, are not to be intruded with the honour of the crown and the intereft of the nation.-— This, if it be not rebellion, you will be pleafed to find a name for. Nor is the kin j alone the only objedt of your ingratitude ; you have in this very let- ter treated your beft friend with like in- juftice, even credulity, than whom !io man ever had a fafter friend. Was it not owing to her influence, that the moft glaring contradidlions have been thought right in you; that our fuccefl[es in war have been attributed to the excellence of your miniflry -, that it was believed, the ex- pedition againfl Rochfort was not defeated by your means ; and that the Viper iloop was not large enough to carry two pieces of paper; that German mea- fures were wrong and right, jufl as you oppofed or adopted them ; that trade was never fo flourifhing, though money was never fo fcarce -, that you were a man of profound - (8o) . . profound intellcd, though your anfwerS^ orders and letters, are hardly common fenfe and common Englifh ; and laftly, that you were the beft of patriots, who in treating on peace, had agreed to give up almoft all we had acquired by war. And now, Sir, permit me to fay, though your miniftry is at an end, the mifchief of it continues ; your conceflions concerning peace have left a grievous embarrafTment on the fucceeding adminiflration, and almofl, precluded the power of concluding hoftilities on more favourable terms. And certain it is, that whatever may be difadvantageous, when tranquility returns, a great part there- of is juftly to be afcribed to your condudt : and this, notwithftanding your vapouring city friend, has told us, in his anfwer, that you are ready to warn the crev^^ of rocks and quickfands, and to affifl: in bringing the (hip through the ftorm into a fafe harbour. But, I imagine. Sir, that you, the com- mander, who had brought- the fhip into fuch diilreis, and deferted her, at that moment, with one of the crew, indeed he is not one of the ableft hands, will never be recalled to arfill: what you have fo abfurdly condudt- fd. and [o arroeantlv abandoned. II ,1V j US' & It d e h t, d rr Having, in this manner, laid before yoU> nnd the people, what may fuflice to teach humility to any man but yourfelf, and to in- ftrudl them in the true ftate of your merits and capacity, I fhall take the liberty of re- capitulating the moft ftriking particulars of your miniftry. In military affairs, fortune* the bravery of our commanders and their troops, and the folly of the enemy, have fupplicd the means of vidiory, in which your preparations were manifeilly deficient. In confequence of thefe incidental advan- tages, commerce has encreafed ; the profits thereof, and immenfe fums bcfides, have been, by you, fquandered in Germany. The nation is now encumbered witn a debt of fifty millions mpre than when you firil re- ceived the feals, and exhaufted of aim oft half the bullion which it poffefied at that time. And, laftly, you had agreed, that the acquifitions, which have been made by the bravely of Englifhmen, Ihould be trucked for German lands ; and that all the advantages of our vidories fliould be given up, excepting one half of the Neutral lilands and CanaJa, in favour of German mercena- ries, who are not by any treaty intitled to Iiich ftipulations, particularly when you might have retained every thing that has been ac- quired by our arms, had you declined Irom M , officioufly (82) ftfiicioiifly iiiterpofing yourfelf in favour o( German princes -, for to this the French pro- pofed to agree. Will then the pofleflion and trade of y Canada, and the Neutral Iflandt, compen- fate for the intereft of that money we have run in debt to acquire them ? do fuch con- ditions of peace afford a juft bails for nati- onal exultation in the excellence of your miniftry ? Does fuch condudl offer an objedt worthy the lamentation of the city of Lon- don, becaufe you have refigned ? is it ade- quate in advantage to the lives and treafurc you have waflcd, and the taxes you have been the author of impofing ? does it coun- tenance a belief that no other man could have equalled you in the government of the ftate ? are we not in a worfe t -ndition than when you firfl advanced yourftif to the mi- niflry ? can the man who has fo frequently contradifted himfelf, facrificed thoufands of his countrymen, wafled millions of our treaflires offered to give up the conquefts of their hands, to redeem thofe territories which he has fo frequently allerted would prove the deftru6tion of England, and then deferted his pofl, becaufe of fuch concef- lions, deferve the name of a patriot mini- iler ? what apology will you make for ex- citing the feditious acclamations of the po- V * ' pulace r i • (83) pulace in your praife, even in the face of that fovereign, by whom you have been fo undefervedly rewarded ? Such are the true ads of your humiUty ! Whatever you may anfwer, from my foul I fpeak it, I think the nation happy in being freed before it is abfolutely undone, from the adminiftration of a man, who, with extravagance, hitherto unexampled, has reduced it to a more de- plorable condition than at the beginning of his power. And I felicitate the beft of kings, in being emancipated from an over- bearing minifter, whole affcdlcd humility ferved only to augment the infupportable- ncfs of his infolence, and which, mixed wdth the unlimited luft of domineering, like pretended fandtity therewith, arnongft the fanatics of old, confidering tlie different genius of the times, forms a charad:cr the moil analogous to that of the rebels again ft Charles the firfl, whicli hath fnice that time •exifted. Such, Sir, are the circum fiances relative to you, Vv^hich I tliink tlie duty and allegi- ance that I ov/e my king and country, will iuftify me in publiliiing to the world, par- ticularly at this time, when the condud of the corporation of tlie city of London, and the readinefs of others to follow their in- fiammatory example, fo evidently evince • ; M 2 thcu *f* • • ,.- ( 84) .;• • ■ . their preference of a defpotic ninillcr, to their feahy for their lawful fovereign ; a fovereiga than whom no prince hath ever given lefs caufe for being treated fo indignant- }y, and whofe virtues fhould have placed him on the throne, had the kingdom been elec- tive, , I am fcnfible. Sir, you have conftantly affedted a moft fovereign contempt for all writcro on political fubjedls, v/hen they have Xn^io againll you. And yet, as I imagine vcu may read this Letter, and by tlie time you crrive to this part may poflibly conceive yourfclf no greater than a king ; and therefore, not exempted from advice, I fnall take the liberty of counfcling you to have the gout all this winter at Haycg. At leaH:, not to vociferate^ any more, after fuch repeated tergiverfatioji, againR miniftcrs, whom ycu have fo often declared to be wife men and fools, honeft men and knaves, according as they coincided with, or oppofed your fentimentp. Cert.iinly, the ^ will turn afide when you Hiall y-vo- fume to praifc his m,ijefly whom you have tacitly flaadcred foi declining your meafures and refuiing to walk in your leading firings, and Vv'ill wonder at the internal fabric of that mind which can prefume to treat them 3,nd their under(l:andin^,-3 Vvdth fuch contempt; but , (85) but it feems this advice will come too late to be totally obferved. You have already with that unembarraffed countenance of which you alone are mafter, defpifed the intelled: of men of double your capacity, transferred the blame of all you have done amifs, relative to the treaty of peace, on others, and afferted that America had been conquered in Germany. Does this quaint conception proceed from your own igno- rance, or a contempt for the knowledge of other men ? In fupport of thefc round af- fcrtions you have offered no argument ; for of thofe you never knew any thing : clecla- mation, fiery declamation forms your orato- rio merit, an admirable qualification for a ftatefman, whofe ad:ions ought to be go- verned by rcafon, and totally divefled of fant. . I would afk you whether America had been conquered if the navy of England had been unemployed in preventing iiiccours from France. Surely, our mei ot war were not cruizing on the continent « '" EurcpL- : and without that obflrudlion F. uice at all times contains an army equal to her defigns on Germany, and to the defence of Canada : . and your fending troops to that part h?d no Qthei; teadency than to promote that infitl]- ' . dency K { 86 ) ciency of armament, which has accompa-^ nied your other expeditions. As to your city friend, I hope, he will continue to rufh into abfurdities, affert what he cannot prove, prate of what he does not underftand, and blunder in the little which he does. Such fpeeches will always be ac- ceptable as long as the mufcles of the hu- man face are capable of rifibility. And here I can not but remark the Angularity of your choice in this objedl of your friend- fliip ; a man the mod improper to be near the ear of a minifter, vain, empty, and romantic ; the very Will a wifp of all mi(guiding counfel, bluftering for his coun- try, whilfl felfilliiiers excludes all patriot fenfations from his heart ; roaring for liber- ty in the midft of the mofl tyrannic exercife of power, wherever he can (liew it; dic- tating in fubjedls which he has not faculties to comprehend ; and whom alone, in this money-loving age, the greateft riches have not been able to prefcrve from uniyerfal con- tempt. Sure fuch an alliance has never been con- cluded between to fubjedts, fmce that of the gentleman uflier and phyfician in the Rehearfal : and pray, would not you have done well to have followed their exam- ole in whifpering your fentiments to each other* £ a ( 87 ) Other, and not have publiihed them to the world ? Enjoy your penfion, Sir, and reduce your- felf to the condition of a fubjedt in your own imagination. I am too old to enjoy court favours, not yet reduced to the fecond childifhnefs of deiiring them, and at length happy in feeing the propitious hour arrived in which to ferve my king and country, are one and the fame thing. And as long as my feeble hand can move a pen, fb long fhall my beft endeavours be exerted to de- fend my fovereign againft the malevolent attacks of infolence and infidioufnefs, from whatever quarter they may proceed. 1^ I N I S.