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Les diagrammes sulvants liiustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 \^' .<"■■•-. ■•.r [^ %$$$a&S26?S€!^?l^3&$363&3^^^2l CONSIDERATIONS O N T H E PROCEEDINGS ..■> OF THE (SenIral COURT-MARTIAL, Upon the Trial of Lieutenant-General Sir JOHN MORDAUNT. %,.> * *» !SsS9g!SSsgsE$S9E$9£SS$Sil9E^ i"^ --M-u J- «= f ■i^ r tPrice One Shilling and Six-PcnccJ .,<,-• ■4,., ^" 7 CONSIDERATIONS ON THE PROCEEDINGS O F General COURT-MARTIAL Upon the Trial of Lieutenant General Sir JOHN MORAUNT, ., (As publifhed by Authority.) WITH An ANSWER to the Expedition againft RocHEFORT, fairly ftated. In a Letter to the Right Honorable the Author of the Cani)id Reflections, &;c. To which is added, AN APPENDIX. Being a REPLY to the Monitor of Saturday the 2ift Inftant. By the Author of, The Candid Reflections. LONDON: Printed for S. Hooper and A. MoRLEvatGayV Head, near Beaufort-Buildings in the Strand. MDCCLVIII. Lately puhlijijcd, Mifcellaneous Remarks made on the Spot in a late feven Years Tour through Fr:^ncc, Italy, Germany, and Holland : Containing Oblervations on every thing remarkoble in thofe Countries. Interf- peii- a with feveral particular and pleafing liiddents which occurred to the Author, during his Icven Years Tour. With Cms. Price 6 s. Bound. Alfo lately PubliJJoed, The Second bdiiion. Price i s. by the Author of thefe Refleaions. Confidera- tions on the preient State of Affairs, &c. &c. &c. The. Tcft, complete, in Thirty-fivc Numbers. ' ^ [ I ] if LETTER, &c. w,i* ,.: ,. SIR, O U will hardly accufe of im- propriety this addrefs to you, who have drawn it upon your- felf, by making it an indifpen- fable duty to me, to clear up certain mif- takes into which I apprehend you have been betrayed, by that lufpicion of party- fpirit, to which fo many of our political writers are but too juftly liable. B It 4 I- ' [ ^ 1 It is (o rare to meet with any Vv'ho jridgc of things by the fole flandard of truth, without rcfpc(ft to their connedions with the influence or intercft of particular per- fons in power, or wanting to be in power, that I do not in the leaft wonder at your confounding me with the croud; efpc- cially as my opinion happened to differ fo much from your's : I will not fay that of your party, becaufe I will not allow my- ielf tlie liberty you have taken with me, of pronouncing you regularly enlifted in one. The worfl I will in return fuppofe of you is, your being carried down the fream of that popular prejudice, which may be called the error of the day. Unfortunately, at this very crifis, when every true Englilhman has the greatefl reafon to fpurn all attempts at impofing on his underflanding, or mifleading his judgment by falfe information, or falfc reafoning, we fee hardly any thing elfe pradifcd •, and what is ftranger yet, the deceit welcomed by the deceived, even in points where their greatefl intereft is not to be deceived. Some are even fo attached to their leaders in error, that .. , : any [ 3 ] any offer to deliver thcni from it, would receive no better thanks than thole of the bear, who, on your taking the ring from his nofe by which he is led, tears you to pieces for it. » r%J >A.' But furely of all the ways of fruftrating the reprefentations of truth, none can be more effedual than to fuppofc them to come from fo infected a quarter as that of one party, merely in oppofition to another, where perhaps founder judgment, and exa(ft candor lead to an equal contempt of both. . • ". Yet however, Sir, you may have mif- taken the perfon on whom you faften the imputation of that letter, you have thought fit to anfwer on the foot of that fuppofi- tion ; I own myfelf not a little obliged to you, for the opportunity of explaining my thoughts particularly on two points you mention. ' i y. I ' ," i> t'as ' 'y 5r rt-''rr:> « ^ The firft, (page 12) relating to a board of enquiry on an officer, " who was judgr- ** ed, condemned, and ruined without any V other trial." On which I fhall only ^^ . B2 fay, p lii I 4 ] ^ay, that it icems to mc impo/Tiblc for you to have a vvorfc opinicm of that puoccdure than it dcfcrvcs, let who will have been the piomotcr of it : and that this I well remember, that if there was any doubt, and I believe there was very little, of ».. at gentleman's innocence, before he was in tl.ct nuvmcr condemned i there was none at all of it afterwards, no more than about tile reafon for which he was io, , '^-gy.,^^ ^ The fecond, " as to the decency an4 *' humanity of ridiculing a bed-ridden mi- ** nifler, &:c." (p 6i) I can fafely fay, that not tlie wainicfl of his friends, nor the mcjft implicit of his clufter-of adhe- rents, could more detefl the nature of fuch an illiberal perfonality, than did many of thofe who had never over-admired him either - patriot, a ftatefman, no nor even as an orator, nor faw any thing in him above a very common man, to whom certain ftrange conjundures in thcfe ridi- culous times, had given a popularity, by which he had more than once been hoifted into power, after more than once giving as plain proofs as could be wifhed, of how n^wcf^ he deferved the one, and vvas I i: \ [ 5 ] qualified for the otlicr. If in this opinion, however, they were in the wrong, purely for want of better judgment, even you yourfelf can only pity them. a, But furcly. Sir, it docs not at all follow, that irom one's thinking one perfon une- qual to the tais-ing charge of the liritifli iyflcm, one (liould think another more fit for it, to whom> perhaps, even greater and juftcr exceptions might be made -, and much lels others, of whom a long and fad experience has pretty well fettled the rate cf opinion, and who neverthelefs are pro- bably Aill the predominant party at bot- tom. A. The truth is, that in the mention of thofe party-cabals to which you allude, (p. 6 1.) I fincerely meant no preference of any, but an exclufion of them all: in the opinion, which you are moft heartily welcome to treat with what contempt you pleafe -, that from none of them this country can very rationally hope its re- trieval out of its prefent flate of perdition. But explode this opinion as you may, at leaft you cannot but acquit it of flattery ^-uj-tas to w [ 6 ] to prcf'^nt power, or even to future , when I ingenuoully add, that J have no parti- cular fubftitutes in view ; only, I prefume in general, that this great nation cannot be lb abfolutely deflitute of neutrals of birth, rank, influence and abilities, as not to aftbrd a competent and a lefs excep- tionable choice amongft them : at leaft, it will be one great merit, not to have been fervilely enrolled in any party. ■'^ ■•i-ni To one then fixed in a juft contempt of all parties whatever, you will eafily ima- gine that the treating him in quality of even the head of one, could not be a very acceptable compliment. As little would the concomitant title of right honorable, flatter one who knows fo well to what fort of perfonages it is now fo often given, as if with defign to degrade it. That Englifhman, whatever his condition may be, who fincerely and difintereftcdly loves his country, is a character fo much higher, by the heart at leaft, than thofe who difhonour or dilTerve it ; and is in thefe days fo great a diftindion, that he muft have a wretched tafte, indeed, who would envy them a worthlefsnefs, that is no dif- \. ^ . tindion 4 o,* .■^'.j*-i '^? 1 '■at [ 7 ] 'i ■'5 ^4 tlndion at all, unlefs a fcandalous one In proportion to the exaltednefs of the Na- tions in which it is found. If this pream- ble (liould appear impertinent to others, at lead it cannot fo to you, whofe miftake has made it necelTary ; and I now pro- ceed to what my title-page promifed, fome further and Supplemental conlidera- tions, occafioned by the publication of the proceedings of the court-martial. . ». f. ..I * « f J ' The firfl point to be noticed, fince it was the only one left unexamined by the board of enquiry, is the reafon of Fort- Fouras being inacceflib!ie to fea-ward, after fo explicit a declaration as that of the pilot Thierry, that he could carry the Magna- nime within half an Englifh mile of it. It was then but natural to fuppofe, that lince nothing was attempted againft it, the pilot muft have out-promifed his power to perform; for which Sir Edward Hawke accounts very naturally in a part of his examination, that may very well, confi- dering its confequence, admit a quotation here. (Page of the Proc. io8 an;' 109.) (C On Nj jiji t n • " On a propofal of laying ^ (hip td ** batter Fouras, the pilot of the Magna- " nime was examined to the place and ** depth of water near it : elated with the " fuccefs of the 23d (again Aix) and fond " of the Magnanime, he faid, at firft, bc-^ " fore captain Mordaunt, /je would carry " ^er in and de/lroy the fort. As the de-» " ponent (Sir E. H.) had attentively con- ** fidered the (hore, and was fenfible that " the Magnanime^ which drew more water " than fome of our three-deck'd fhips, " could not be brought near enough to *' batter the fort, he gave the pilot's ^^0- " nade time to fubfide, and then afked him " if he could carry a fixty-gun fliip in " againft it : he anfwered, her metal was " not weighty enough, as there were twen- " ty-four pounders in the fort. He then *' propofed to him to lighten the Barfleur " tvi^o feet (this fecond converfation was " upon quarter-deck, by the intervention " of a man well verfed in fuch French as ^' thofe kind of people fpeak.) The pi- " lot feemed Jome time fatisfied with this, " and in confequence the deponent (Sir E. I order to vice-admiral .) prepared i'ii! '* Knowles [ 9 ] > ' ■'■'. The procedure of the court-martial having then cleared up the only point that had been left dubious, the pra<5lica- bility of attacking Fouras by fea, all the other parts of it will fall fo properly within the courfe of my reply to your feveral obje<5tions, that there will be no occafion for a feparate difcuflion. And as to the unanimous and honorable ac- quittal of Sir John by a numerons Com- mifiion of officers appointed to try him, however natural it might be to challenge i .1 C 2 a 4 ..' r [ '2 1 a firong prefumptlon from thence in his favor, I entirely wave that advantage, from a confcioufnefs, that as their con- demnation of him would not in the leaft have changed my opinion, founded as it was, on matters of fadt and evidence; neither could his acquittal add to that mpft perfedt certainty of his innocence, they had before eftablifhed : a certainty that had not the leaft connedbion with my knowing there was fuch a perfon i(i the world, as the projedtor or patron of the expedition. If that acquittal, however, fhould be unpopular, or, if there are ftill fomc, as in favour of that common fenfe, of which you fo often, and fo pathetically invoke the name, I hope there cannot be many, who can harbour the leaft doubt of Sir John's having fully done his duty, there is one refledtion which cannot fail of comforting him. A falfe judgment can only " aiP:ionor'^ thofe who make it, or thofe who are weak enough to be mif-led by it, without examination : no- thing being fo rafh as the deciiions of {he ignorant, nor nothing fo hard as to - : engage 1 13 J engage them to retrad: them. Who does not every day fee men perfevere in an error, as i^ that was the beft expedient to cover the (hame of having been in one, or preferable to the glory which the wife always find in renouncing it, from a confcioufnefs that, being but men, fallibility could not be half the reproach to them, that obftinacy mull be ? But whoever condemns, or acquits him, moft certainly there is no man in Britain, who ought to confefs himfelf fo deeply obliged to that commander, as the patron of the expedition himfelf, if he has a grain of that gratitude, with which it would be very unfair to fuppofe him unprovided. He muft himfelf re- joice, that fuch a number of his coun- trymen were not fo iillily facrificed to an opinion of hie, perhaps too lightly taken up J and which, himfelf being perfuaded, he could hardly fail of perfuading others to adopt, fupported as it was by the irre- fiftible powers of his oratory. But had the nation fuftained fo deep a lofs, as was palpably prepared for it, and to fo little purpofe, even a fentiment of juft com- paffiojj n pafTion would tficn probably have dif- poicd many minds to examine into the nature and pradicabrlity of the projeft jtfelf : minds now averfe to that examina- tion, from the cxcufe of doubt left them by the nan*executioh 5 a doubt, of which the partizans o the fcheme do not fail to avail themfelves, with thofe upon whom it can pafs for one. Though, fo tenacious of its objedt is the rage of pre- judice, that had 8ir John even been cut off, one half of his troops knocked oii the head, and the Othei taken prifoners of war, which, or fomething like it, mufl: in all human probability have been the cafe, I do not doubt but there would ftili have remained fome, who would have kept on trumpeting the excellence of the plan, arid have difcovered in the execu- tion that caufe of its mifcarriage, which your favorite, common fenfe, . would have never thought of looking for, but jn the projedl itfelf. -1 f *) 1 .-.,/•«'*«»'■ 4^*» You produce, Sir, with great emphafis (page 10) the names of his M— , and the Privy-council, in fupport of the plan, againft thofe who took the liberty of a- . , treating I I iSi, It i^f] treating it from the firfl, as a wlld,'chi-^ meHcal, and abfurdone. I. know not what impreffions they may make on you, but I readily fuppofe them fuch as they' would make on every man offenfe; impreffions of the higheft refpeift and veneration. But, I own, I think there is flill an authority fuperior to theirs, in points where judgment and not obedi- ence is concerned, and fuperior, becaufe derived from God himfelf, and that is, one's own reafon.. The names of King and Council, at the. fame time the3r ju/tly command the moft fubmiffive re-' gard, do not challenge the attribute of infallibility, which even the Roman-Ca- tholics begin to be heartily fick of allow- ing to their Popes. So far from it, they are often themfelves rnofl gracioufly pleafed to lay before , the Public, their motives and courfe of procedure, leaving every free Enj^lifliman to judge of them, for himfelf. Vou, Sir, for example, arc perfedlly at liberty to think the intel- ligence that determined the refolution of the expedition, an admirable and com- pleat one. But will you grudge others the fame liberty of thinking the contrary ? ■ ^ , Others, If J >6] Others, with as good intentions to their country as yourfelf, though perhaps not with eyes fo penetrating, might very inno- cently fee nothing in it of particularity, or weight enough for the Tuperftrudlure of fuch a plan upon it, as was oifered and approved. v/o 1 . ::tj.- Of the memorial of the French forces I have already fpokein my firfl letter : you will hardly find in it fuch an abfurdity as that of a private authority difputing pre- ference with a public, in which I only mentioned the difference between the lift furnifhed to the Council, and the com- mon report and notion, under appeal to the reader's own judgment, which comes neareft to probability. Though, had the government even been egregioufly in this matter impofed on by falfe accounts, it would not certainly have been the firft time of its being fo 5 and as to the pilot Thierri's depofition, I do not even take the advantage of its having proved a falfe one, becaufe that could not be well foreknown, but by what appears of it previous to the refolution, however tole- rable an one it may be from fo very tgno- rant > " [ '7 ] I r^nt a perfon, it fccms rather too vague and inconclufivc to hiive dcfcrvcd the ivhole ot that important refolutloii hcifig rcfted upon it ; I lliy, the ivhotcy for the intelligence furnifhed by Col. ('I— may be pronounced prccirdy lefs than no- thing, even taking into the account all that he faid before the council of war, the board of enquiry, and the court- martial, put together. Can you, Sir, fay that he ever fo much as pretended to have perfonally explored the great and important point of all, the acceffibiHty of Rochefort by fea, or to afcertain many other effentials neceflary to be known, before the plan of attacking it could be fo much as attempted to be carried into execution ? Yourfelf only aftedt to be arch upon the doubt of there being a ditch quite round the place or not, and to take it ill that the troops did not march up to see whether Rochfort could be efcaladed or not, where, N. B. IF it was not, there was no artillery that could give a chance to force it, or to oppofe to that of the place. But, deign to afk yourfelf the queflion, was any thing known that ought indifpenfably to D have [ i8 ] n,c.fu-,-c as that ot .tuau S ^^^^,^j ■ana the ""'^f^'I / (v!,,, canbarcily, nndjmlsmcn tothat c^c ... .^.^^ to give ify<'"^'"/""tc^o cr tlan favorable thcin fan- play, b^ ° '\ ,ukini; fo fine a to che rclolut.on of ' "^ '",\' ^^ ,,d de- boclv of troops, on luch Us," fedivc information!' IfaFrcnchoflkcrarot^lrcport^"^^^^^ court, that Newport on the fl^^ was an "■>'"^"'^';t£',;,v by a coup-del or lefs regulars m ght ""J ^ j- f that „.ain-, what would )'^ ^^^'^^ i^^^y^ was not ftrialy true [ ^wfc/before thly that they would J^^"'' '^^^oufand men, attempted U ^"^^^^^ f pilot through could they even procure a p ■ theNeedles, and had they nothmg from the ^per'"" V "^ °^'^?\ fo^prize efpecially where the cale ot . P^^^ fliould be out of tlj^^^f " Vhe place it- with refpea to Rochefort^ \f Potions felf forms Ae 1^^^ °J3^« ^e means of ' and .connf o";. ^J^tin in cafe of a re- ;X:aryobabiUty^faKCours^by a ? y> vc .Ic c a dc- 1 [ 19] . tlic national force, being the capital points to be picvioLilly alccrtaincd beyond a liuubt i nutliing of vvliich was in this cafe lb mucli as pretended to be known. Or I'urely, fixtcen Ibips of the line needed not to have been employed, in convoying tranfports upon an expedition, where even a bonib-kctch could not come within gun-(hot of the forts at the mouth of the river. The city-barges, as fomebody be- fore mc has humoroully obferved, might certainly have been at Icall as ferviceable t even frigates could !iot cover the debarka- tion, at the only fpot where it could take place. It is indeed faid, in a quotation of your's from the Report, (p. 41.) *' that " the bomb-ketches might amwy the '* troops, if there were any behind the *' fand-hills." Perhaps they might j not much, however, I fancy. But as to bomb-ketches covering a debarkation, I have no great conception of its being pof- fible for them to be employed on fucli a fervice, but that may very well be owing to my ignorance of the military art j and to the fame ignorance do I impute my of field ipl< piece* ing up a fluice in half an hour, by which D 2 the ■'1 \y [ 20 ] the clitcli was to vanlfh, (p. 54.) and can hardly yet beheve, that the fiKcefs of the expedition depended on fo fimple an ope- ration. You have afked, fir, fome queflions in the name of common fenfe ; permit me Kovv to afk you one in the name of com- mon can(ior. What could poflibly be your drift in introducing two inch. Jiones ,3.8 that of theMarfhal Senedierrcs being worn out with infirmities, and crying like r child, according to )w^r French accounts ; and in that of its being underftood on the coaft, that both Rochefort and Rochelle would, in the courfe of a few days, fall into the hands of the Engllfh ; there be- ing no pofTibility to reinforce them till the houfhold-troops could arrive from Ver- failles, (poftfcript.) Is it pofTible, fir, that you can have ferioufly fwallowed fuch grofs illufions, or can hope to pafs them, unlcfs on the profoundeft ignorance, or the mofi: indolent acquiefcene of non-ex- amination ? As to the Marfhal, that he might be very infirm, even to the dotage of fhedding tears r-^i^MPl^ "^".^f f?^^' n^^flW [21] tears there is nothing incredible in that : the great duke of Marlborough himlelf, was precifely in that condition before he died. Nay, I grant it even poflible, tho' alTuredlv barely fo,that the court cf France might be fo ill-informed of this his dif- qualification, as to have trufted him with fo important a command as that of the coaft, in fo critical a conjundlure as this of a threatened, and of what you would have to be confidered as a very formidable, invafion. But is it to be believed, that lince you allow there was a Marflihal of France in or near Rochefort, that he had not officers and troops with him fufficient to condudl for him the necefl'ary opera- tions, and at lead to put Rochefort into a poflure of defence againft a coup-de- main, which could not, if you believe co- lonel CI , (you fee I quote no unfa- vourable witnefs to you) take place, but by a fudden furprize ? All poffibility of which being long enough over, any other method of attack was out of the queflion, fince there was confefTedly no artillery pre- pared; and without it, our army rauil: have made before it asiillyafigureas a cock pitted without his gaffles. That fuch accounts then f l! It [ "] then you might have, I do not doubt : there are as liily ones every day imported; but furely nothing would equal the abfur- dity of grounding upon the Hke of thefe a plan of cnterprize, except that of con- demninLT on them the non-execution of one. As to any awe or terror to be ftruck by the mere name of a Marflial of France, 1 heartily agree wlih you, that nothing could be more ridiculous or fhamefuL We have had a Marlhal, nay, a king of France in our prifons before now, and may again, hut it muft not be by fuch projcdlions as you are pleafed to defend, nor by fuch a fpirit of party as now reigns, inftcad of the old Britifh one, which extinj ighly 'g^ Now as to the taking of Rochefort and Rochelle being given over by the French, as already in our pofleffion, on the bare appearance of our armament, as you ad- vance on the authority of a captain or maf- ter of a tranfport velTel ; not denying the exiftence of this curious piece of intelli- gence, let us examine the merit of it, and leave the pronouncing on it to every Eng- lifliman, who fliall dare to make ufe of his own judgment and knowledge. irN L 23 ] ibt: teeU fur- hefe con- n of ruck ince> :hing leful. ngof and fuch fend, eigns, which ►rt and rench, lc bare ou ad- )r maf- ng the intelli- it, and yEng- z of his Flrfl, as to Rochefort, the pradlcability of the attempt without knowing bow it lay, how to be come at, without artillery, without fecurity of a retreat, without, in fliort, only every thing that was material to be known, has already been difculTed. But as to Rocbelle, furely no fallity was ever more grofly palpable. There is hardly a man who knows any thing, but knows that this place, the laft important fortrefs of liberty, and the Proteftant re- ligion in France, is fo extremely well for- tified by art and nature, that an army, by fea and land, of fifty or fixty thoufand men, might perhaps promife to itfclf the redudion of it in the courfe of a cam- paign, if not in mean time relieved by the whole force of France. To believe then that they could tremble for fuch a place, where efpecially furprifing it to- wards the fea, is from its fituation impof- fible i and where the cafe of a furprize it- felf did not exift, is fuch a ftretch of cre- dulity, that one would hardly imagine there was a man capable of even feigning it. It may alfo here be obferved, that flrong as it was before, it received within thefe [ 24 ] thefe few years, a very confidcrablc addi- tion to its works, which c.innc>t be un- known here, fince it was in all the fo- reign gazettes. As to the houfhold-troops being or- dered to hold themitlvcs ready to march at a minute's warning, can any one from thence draw an inference of our arma- ment having been an objc(fl of terror? Was fuch a dilpofition other than what might naturally be expected? Were a defcent on the point of being made on any part of our coafls by the French, would not any forces at London have the fame order, to be ready at all'events, even ii- the coafl: v/as ever fo well guard- ed? Muft not then one be reduced to the mofl: pitiful fliift for u.'gument, to infer from that diipofition of the houfe- hold troops, the French being frightened out of their fenfes r In the mean time, it is precifely by fuch filly flories and idle reports as thefe, that many well-meaning, worthy people in the nation, are mif-led and abufed; I mean thofe who are noc in a way or condition '! i '5 ]. ; un- : fo- gor- larch from irma- error? what ere a idc on rench, 1 have events, guard- ced to ent, to houfe- htencd IS fely by thefe, people abufed > \vay or onditiou condition to examine for themfelves. Thus it is, that many with the beft of hearts towards their country, and even from that very goodnefs of heart, have been betrayed into the countenancing men and meafures which, had the truth of things been known to them, they would have been the firft to difapprove* But to whatever deception they may be liable, from any deiigning men or parties, they can never fufpe£t it in thofe, who delire nothing fo much of them, as that they would not trufl any other's judgment or knowledge but their own, efpecially in points where it is fo eafy for themfelves to obtain fufficient information. Many would not want more than would con- ftitute them, if not confummate politi- cians, at leafl competent judges in mat- ters, of which almoft any Englishman fhould be artiamed to be thought ig- liorant, or blindly to pin his faith about them on others. Yet, as things ftand, how few dare think for themfelves? They are content with having their opi- nions ready chewed for them, as we are told of the Negus of Abyffinia, having his royal food chewed by an old woman, ' ■ ^'■■' ■•■■'' •■ -:'B^'---* -■" ' i;nd [ 26 ] ■i !l and chucked down his throat. With re- f'pe<5t to certain perfonages, as well as ta certain meafures, how could the prefer- ment and popularity of the one, or any approbation of the other be otherwife ac- counted for ? ^ < * i .t ^ I « , As to France again, what grofs abfur- dities, what palpable falfities and even often contradictory ones, are not every day fwallowed ; if they but flatter either the popular humor, or favor any parti- cular point of interefl of defigning men? Few feem to confider how pernicious fuch national miftakes are, or how indifpen- fable a preliminary to the taking of juil meafures for reducing an enemy: it is to know his exa<^ flate of ftrength, as well as his weak fide. The next pointis, on that knowledge, neither to dread him fo much as to let fear enervate coun- cils or operations, nor to defpife him fo much as to let that contempt lead into falfe meafures. Has this maxim, true as it is trite, ever been obferved towards France? Let the public meafures declare. Sometimes we are panic-fir uck at fcarce the fliadow of a danger from it, other times knocking our heads againfl the hard im- penetrable ^5sr ■>c? [ 27 ] penetrable fubftance of one. For my own part, I neither think her fo formidable as fome reprefcnt her, nor fo defpicable as others do, nor that (he is to be fubdued, no, not even by the great force in fafliion, of whole regiments of tropes, batta- lions of metaphors, or brigades of fimi- lies, though the man that Ihould be at the head of them, were heaven-born. Yet, Sir, you tax me, and furely very unjuflly (p. 28) with entertaining a high opinion of the French wifdorn and ability, and extolling them highly on every occa- lion. I prefumc there is no part of what J wrote on this fubjed; that breathes a thought fo foreign to me. The mod that I ventured to fay, only fuppofed, they could not well be thought fuch rank ideots as to omit, in their own defence, what nothing but idiotifm itfelf could negledl, and that our troops would pro- bably haveftood wretched a chance to have trufted to the poffibility of fuch a neglcd. For any thing further, yourfelf cannot think worfe than I know of them. They are conftitutionally and fyftematically the in- cendiaries of Europe, and in fhort as great enemies to its liberty as to their own . E2 Slaves P T t 28 ] Slaves themfclves, with fenfe enough in- wardly to feel the fliame of being fo, and wliich a poorly palliated expofition, can-r not conceal from them, they think, however^ to cover that fliamc by propa- rating their fyftem of (lavery, wherever their arms, cunning, or perfidy can pave their way for fubdual or influence. Their chains they alild: to cover with the (lowers of eloquence, or with the laurels of war, or jingle them harmonioufly, as if they were vain of them. From the whole drift of their politics, they have made it the intereft of every nation in Europe, to contribute to theii reduction 5 and yet, by their management and in- trigues, at almoft all the courts of it, they have eafily prevailed over fuch miniflersaa we oppofed to them, and given the fouleft caufe imaginable, a face painted with fair colours. The war now on foot was undoubtedly premeditated, at the very inftant they were iigning the peace with us at Aix-la-Chapelle ; that peace in which we fo tamely confented to give hof- t.iges 1 and as to their great wifdom it capitally confifts in our folly. They have ereded their fyflem on the bafis of our iidlual blunders^ or the prelumption of themj '%. [ 29 ] them, from their knowledge of us, m which, to give us our due, wc have feU dom deceived their moll fanguine expcc-» tations. Their mihtary, its true, is more numerous then ours, which is not to be wondered at, under a conftitution that is purely military, though their area of do- minion is not proportionable to the force they keep up fo much greater than ours, and certainly not fo populous : The com- mon men in their armies are very com- mon men indeed ; and far inferior in every refpedl to ours. The great ftrefs of their force in war confifts in their nobility, which ftill adheres to its original principle of inftitution for military fervice, and which to that powerful point of honor joins a more regular education and train- ing in war, than moft of our officers. I have counted on their military eftablifh- ment amongft their lieutenant-generals, Marecbaue de Camp^ Brigadiers- d'Armees^ de Cavalfrie^ and dc Dragons, 1 5 Princes, 3 1 Dukes, 1 93 Marqucflbs, 139 I^arls or Counts, 10 Vifcounts, 78 Barons and Knights, independent of the untitled nobi- lity, and of thofe that may be prefumed to be in the fubaltern commands. The ex- amples of men of fuch rank, doubtlefs diffuf« [ 30 ] dlftiiro great animation through the whole body of the armyi and liirely the employ- ment of thefe noblemen in the fervicc of their country, may without partiality to the French, be pronounced at lead equal to the glorious amufcmcnts of ours in racing, cock-fighting, gaming, and carry- ing thcmfelves and their conntry to mar- ket, &c. And yet, to an Englifhman, thefe titles need be far from dazzling or awful. 1 he loweft freeman is fuperior to the higheft flave in point of intrinfic dignity. The firfl: fubjedl in France is but the firft: flave, let his chains be never fo gaudily ornamented -, and in that fcrvilc condition, there can never exifl a true fpirit, which is perhaps the reafon they are forced to fubftitute a falfe one of hon- or they place in obeying a defpotic mafler, and which fhould rather confift in fpnrn- ing the yoke. To fay then the truth, with all the advantages national liberty muft give us over them, the grcatcft re- proach that can be made to any admini- ilration is that of fufFering the French to gain, or but to hope the leaft afcendant over us. N or could that ever be the cafe, if the nation was once to feel its mxdoubted ftrength, or have it put into a 2 prope m 'i I ii [ 3' ] \^ proper way of collcdlin^ and cxcniiig Itfdf to the purpofc. ;. ,.,i , .1 .( > I- So nfuch for my " extolling the wifdom ** and ability of the French." And now, Sir, give me leave to reprefent to you, your not haying made the faircft ufc of the allertion you quo 2 (P. 6.) of there having been thofc who pronounced boldly that nothing would or poliibly could be done by that grand Armada j an antici- pation youobfervc at once ailonifhed man- kind, and afforded a bad omen of the fuccefs ; though it could certainly mean no more than an indifferent opinion of the projedion, or perhaps .of the projcdor himfelf. For to think that any private malevolence, pique or envy, could have prevailed on the commanders of the expe- dition to negledt fo grofly their duty to their king, their country and themfclvcs, and to commit therein a treafon for which no protedlion could enfure their impunity, no reward in the power of a king to be- ftow, could compenfate the infamy ; fiich a heiief^ I fay^ 'would itjelj be fuch a ftretch of injuftice mixed with folly, as mankind at leail can hardly be fufpeded . \ of^ I I ' \, I .1 i [ 32 3 of, however a few individuals blinded by party-rage, or prejudice might adopt it. But of all the charges you bring againfl me, the heavicft and certainly the moft ill grounded, is, my want of candor, which would be infinitely the more criminal in me, for all my prefatory folemn profef- fions of it. Had you deigned to perufe my difcuflion in a (late of mind, free en- ough from prejudice, for truth not to find the entrance rfiut againft it, you could not mifs obfcrving that I was far from feeking to derive unfair advantages from he tefti- mony of the officers of thccounc 1 of war (P. 23.) whom you veryjuftly call parties* or from vague reports in oppofition to thofe of authority. The whole fttcngth of my conclufions arc refted entirely on the in- formation produced on your own fide, but cfpecially on the intelligence and depofi- tion of Col. CI — himfelf. You cannot reafonably fuppofe him to have been favorable or partial to the refolution of not attempting to proceed againft Roche- fort ; and yet, \vhat could more conduce to it, next to an immediate furvey andcon- fideration of circumftances on the fpot, than the figure that gentleman himfelf made I .•^1 !l ^i! t 7 my in- r 33 1 madebcfore the council of war of the 25th,' if the minute of it was not partially or falfely taken, though it does not appear to have been contradicted : as follows {^Pro: ceedings p. 87.) • • . . ^ . ** On examination of Col. Clerk, all " that could be gathered \Sy that the army " are to march up to see if Rochcfort ** can be efcaladed or not ; but that all ** opening of trenches for carrying on of ** a regular fiege, were not in his plan of <* attack." ' You will excufe, Sir, this repetition,' on account of its importance, and which conveys not an unpleal'ant image of an army marching up an enemy's country to feey if an attack, upon the plan of a fur- prife, A^. B. already long over, was .pradicable or not, in which laft cafe, there was nothing for ^^hem, but to march back again, that is to fay, if they could. As to the virulence which you accufe me of a tendency to fupport againft the M — n — r, in that you alfo greatly injure the meaning of my haart. I know the F prefent 1 1 = [ 34 I picfent Hate of parties too Well, not to iliink him the iiiofl pl.iufible, if not even intrinlically the beft of the leaders of them, and from his popularity, deferved or not deferved, tlie moft capable toferve his country, if he could adf up to bis pro- feffions. And fincc k is fatal to Britain, that feme particular party muffc rule, in exclufion of a more national fpirit, and c£ thofe wJ.o if they deferved to rule, would defpife ^^ll parties whatever, ?nd wifh the nation fairly .rid of them all, than which day it could never fee a happier : (incc, I fay, there fcems no great hkelihood of fo defirable a change of fyftem taking place, no doubt your admired m — n — r is as proper a r-ne as any other head, or member of a party. Yes ! even though, new linked '.vith colleagues, he once af- fected fovereignly to defpife, on the fole ftrength of which contempt, he rofe to Ills prefenc fnper-eminence, and whom he has however taken under his moft gracious protection, at the hazard of his popularity, and of making no better a figure, confidering the different color of the principles he boafts, than a new patch on an old thread-bare ducal mantle. But what 4 i i i- I i [ 35 ] what were the terms of the treaty, of a political penitence on their fide, which cannot however be entirely unfufpiciaus, or of relaxations from the rigor ofpatrio- tifm on his, the courfe and tenor of affairs muft decide, and has, in truth, already pretty clearly decided. So far then from harbouring the leafl malevolence againfl him, utterly indiffer- ent as it muil be to him whether I do or not j if he has not already all the talents that conftitute the great minifler, which lam far from denying, as he may furely iiave them all without my knowledge or affent, at leaft, I wifli he had them all both for his country's fake, and liis own. I wifh he may remember that though in this infamous age, the rarity of having clean hands, has made that a great merit which is purely a common duty, it is alfo not un^lTential to have a clear heart, a heart that will not fuffer to fume up to the head, and cloud it, the arrogance of fuperior lights, the fondnefs of power, without the requilites to difcharge its F 2 function. ■"" ■* ■■'-"W I 36 j funftionSj that narrow-fpirited partialify which leads to the feledling of fubjeds for employment out of one's own little family, inftead of the great flore-houfe of the nation : a heart in {hort above all the littlc- nclTes of the times. I wifh him the difcernment neceflary to nominate or recommend the greateft and ableft miniflers to foreign courts ; fit to fupport the dignity and inte- refts of the [nation, in this moft critical conjuncture, and likewife to feledt the propereft and moft ufeful fubjedts for his own afliftance at home, the wantof which attention was the very rock on which Albe- roni fplit, whofe head intoxicated with his ilrange fudden elevation, and vanity did not permit him to liften to advice. May he for his own fake remember, and apply the two following maxims of the Cardinal de Retz, which will be found true in all times, becaufe all times re- f^mble one another, fo far as the heart of man, which is always and every where the fame at bottom, goes to form them. The firft, " That no circumftance fo ** much .<#« M t 37 ] ^ :^ • o - > >) In my prefeiit train of good wishes lo him, I cannot omit wifhing him a man*- ly, nervous oratory, fuch as may rather ^v/oeak a command of bufinefs, than a cc. and of words. Thefe never fail him who IS a thorough mafter of the firft. May he entertain a juft contempt for all that ru«- mor and falfc fire of declamation, fomuch in the nature of a mounted fky-rocket, that burfting with a bounce, fcatters lit- tle artificial flars, whofe glittering im- prefiion vanifhes inflantly into the am- bient darknefs. I wifii him, in fhort, an eloquence rather offervice tl.an of pa- rade. . » , , , . V l^:^- I Ml Mf! This will fliow you, fir, that not the warmefl of his well-wilhers, wifh him bet- ter, or indeed, fo well as I do, unlefs fin- cerity fhould be efteemed more pernicious than the rankeft flattery. Can any thing, for example, be more pregnant with inju- f things, metimes afraid of for bub* > J L a man*- ,y rather i, than a : fail him irft. May 1 that ru»- , (o much y-rocket, atters lit- ring im- the am*- fhort, an n of pa- not the him bet- nlefs fm- lernicious ny thing, mth inju- ry [ 39 ] ry to him than what you fay (p. 62.) that no man in England durft fill his office af- ter him ? I wave an infiftenceon the fcorn and derifion, which fuch afuggeftion muft naturally provoke in every man in England of rank, quality, or pretentions equal, and many muft be fuperior to his, and fhall only re. nark that another caufe was afTigned for that long vacancy, at leafl: as probable as yours, which was, that none cared much for fitting after him in a place; his very getting into which proved at; once the nature of the times, and of the quali- fications for obtaining it, fuch as could not render it a very great objedl of ambition. 'r-..fj :!i I come now to your mention of thcjix weeks admiralty (p. 62.) which I am ex- tremely ready to grant you was at leafl asr valuable a fet, as that which fucceeded thein : though I then thought the nomi- nation of fome of them, the highefl: impo- licy in the perfonage, who was fuppofed to have nominated them, as it appeared fo bad an omen, and gave his enemies fo fair an handle to impeach his difinterefted- nefs, in his very firfl flep into power. Some of them one would have thought too great I sn t 40 ] great men to accept fuch a fubaltefn part on his recommendation. I alfo admit the fad: to be exadtly as you ftate it, as to their defigned reinforcements for America; but you will allow too that this, though ve- ry laudable attention, was nothing to the point I contended for, of taking Cape- Breton . For certainly that force could not be fuppofed fufficient, humanly fpeaking, to enfure fuccefsj'and any force in the leaft, fhort of that, was nothing ^-^^ Cape- Breton. If we know its impoi nee, in the opinion of which, I am flattered with your agreeing with me ; the French alfo know it. Thefe are the French king's words, in a memorial of inftrudlions, da- ted Verfailles, April, 175 1. '^ La Colonie " de njle Roy ale quoiquune des moins et- <« enduesfous ma domination dans lAmeriqiie^ •* efi cependant une des plus import antes et " par fa fituation^ etpar le commerce qui sy ''fait, * r It is not then to be doubted but it will require a force to reduce it, in proportion * The colony of Cape-Breton, though one of the leaft cxtenfive ones of my dominions in America, is neverthelefs of the greateft importance, both for its jQtuation and for the trade carried on there, to M ^^ t ern part dm it the it, as to America; ough ve- ig to the ig Cape- :ould not fpeaking, e in the '"^ Cape- nce, in :red with inch alfo ;h king's tions, da- La Colonic moms et- Ameriqiie^ rtantes et rce qui sy •ut it will jroportion 1 one of the America, is both for its re, to ( 41 ) to the naturally to be fuppofed augmen- tation of its works and defence : but it is as certain that it cannot, or is not at leaft hitherto put into a condition of refifting fuch a force as it is in our power to bring againft it. As to the reproach you men- tion, having been made to that branch of the miniftry of their being America-nmdj there was a retort at hand too obvious to be miffed, which is, that it was at leaft better than being Germany^mad, and the worft I wifh them, is that they may not be whif?ied round nor fall off from the deferving the honor of fuch an attach- ment to that truly national objedl being imputed to them, as hardly admits of an excefs. -, ^ ,:^. .. , . . ,,.._ . . As to feveral common-place aphorifms interfperfed in your letter, the purport of which is that a foldiers life is not his own, but belongs to the flate — that hard ferviccs ought not to be negledted becaufe liable to lofs, or danger, and the like ; they are much too juft to.be difputed in general; all that I prefume to deny of them, is their being in the leaft applicable to the prefent pomt. G {".IS But m , I! f 42 ] But to the qu eft ion you propofc with a Jttle air of triumph, (p. 34.) ** Js a private " officer or a coUcdlion of officers in coun- " cil (for the number does not alter their •* condition) to fay, my orders are ridicu- " lous? who conftituted them counfellors *' of ft ate, and fubmitted the propriety of ** their orders of decifion?" aparticular an- fv/er is due in acquittal of the commanders of the heavy charge it implies againft: them. ' ' w - ' ' In one word, fir, it was the King, the king who made fir John fpecifically, and his council the judges of the propriety of their orders, which muft be exadlly in proportion to the practicability they fhould find or not of them, on that or any part of the coaft, to which they were fent. And let any one but conlider the defe<5tivenefs of the information, on which the plan was embraced, and it will hardly be deni- ed that his majefty with great confiderate- nefs and juflice, left that latitude in his in- ftrudlions. An exprefs pofitive order of proceeding, at all events and rifks, would have certainly born date with more pro- priety from a cell in a mad-houfe, than « — <.-, from j : i,: ^^♦Pj -> .T, t ■>■*< a f'% ite eir '■>' \'(i :u- ors of ;, m- ers ,* r/: ( 43 ) jfrOm a clofet, which ought to be refpedled as the fandtuary of wifdom. If the com- manders then, who muft know on what intelligence and advice the plan was ori*. gionally founded j (however it came to be adopted by the highcft authority) in the gall of their difappointment, at being fent on fuch an errand, had even taken the li- berty to treat thofe orders not indeed as quite ridiculous, but only as better to l^ave been fpared for their being fo im- prad:icable, of which they were happily for this nation, and themfelves left the judges ; there could not, methinks, have been any great harm in it, even though none of them were counfellors of ftate, or bed not left a low poft in the army in the afpiring views of becoming fo, in the fafer courfe of rifmg by parliamentary com- paigns, or the wordy warfare of oppofi- tion. Difdaining too all petty cavils, I wave what advantages might be drawn from Port L' Orient being fuffered to fland in the inftrudtions to the general, though that place was known to be unattackable, and it remaining uncancelled, was repre- G 2 fented N I' !l! i i ( 44 ) ^ fented as a hardfliip on the commandei'. (See Proceed, p. 6i. and io6.) This it fecms was over-ruled, though probably it would have been more exact, confcquently more in the ftyle of buiinefs, in an affair of fo folemn and momentous a nature, to have complied with the motion for leaving it out. But let it go for a com- panion to the famous letter by the V^iper- flOOp. :' Having now, Sir, gone through the points I thought mofl required an anfwer and purely to avoid too great a tedioufncfs, paffed by many, in which I am however far fron> acquiefing, I might here pro- perly conclude this letter, and the fame is rn fad: concluded as to its principal ob- ject, the expedition. But my gratitude for the pleafure you gave me (p. 64.) to find there is one man at leafl in Britain whofe heart is, or feems to be fufceptible of tender feelings. " For the diftrefs and ** difgrace of this country," continues the pen in my hand, whether I will or not. I cannot quit it, (though you may this let- ter, if you are tired with it) without ftat- ing my fentiments of the caufe of that dif- .► ' order ( 45 ) order you lament, and of the only glimpfc oF chance for a cure that appears to me. For I am not thoroughly latisfied, but that where part indolence may have in- vited that perdition, we have long fcen jogging on towards us, a mif-governed wrong-headed activity mufl bring it on upon the fpur. ' . If to bad heads or bad hearts, or to a complication of both, for they arc feldom feen entirely feparate,cur prefent wretched ftate may juftly be imputed, the too too rational defpair of our emergence out of it, is owing to, ifpoflible, yet a worfe caufe, that prodigious infenfibility of the nation, to its greatcfl and moil: facred in- terefls, that fo deplorably lie a bleed- ing. So flupid, fo even trealbnable an un- concern, one would however be tempted to think incredible, if to, what every day pafles before our eyes, the whole flream of hiftory did not join its force of demon- ftration. Search all its records and you will hardly find a fingle inftance of the fall, efpecially, of a free Hate, that was •; not f *tes w [ 46 1 of thole very perfon^^ ^„j o,per.ty : intetcft in its pt^^'^^y^ j^^if country, ^ho yet -«;^-7X! Tn not taking ef • ^"''■'1^ ^° Sv ni^afures againft the fedlual and umdy n .^ ^^^^.^^ ^„, E^or to S the ruinous career ot domcflic on«s. Thi. torpor of ^1- n;;;^^';,^;^! :t«uS%f,ttde;t^or^^ -^'"^ ';:HTSi of -hkh there ^o^ many of thofe 'wtes, o ^^ ,e.ains "ojlj^f "c'atge A^-^ f " a name. Kome, v.a J=> i ^^^^fe than nien. - ' ' /if we turn our eyes on the pr^^^^^^^^^ feredus. ^Y our cou-^tr^^^^ ^, to trace, than the preicui. .^ things, to the fame original caufe. ^^^ i ■f :ncc iteil ity •' ^try, gef- which ir bred 01 by 1, and of Co re no^ und ot ^s, ulti- ,fe than )ulk of in the : leading fpea of- g is eafier isftate of :e. It « but [ 47 ] but too vifiblc an one j the cxtrcam negli- gence of thofc whofe honor, intereft and iiifcty demanded fo contrary a conduct. Who yet contented themfelves with re- maining pufiive fpcdators of this long feries of blunders and impolicy, oi which not to have forcfccn the confequenccs fuch as they arc, mufl be as great a re- proach to their underftandings, as their not joining to prevent them, mufl be to their fpirit, or to their fenfe of duty to their country and to themfelves. But what renders fuch an indolence yet more inexcufable, is the egregious worthlefsnefs of the adverfar js thofc would have had to encounter, who, clear of all party-fpirit, fliould have united purely on the principles of preferving and defending their country. Thefe adverfaries may be divided into two claffes, which, however, occafionally different, may be pronounced exadtly the fame at bottom. The firft, fuch as were in the actual pofTeffion of power, and who, whether through f I 4 .('.,■ ,...._ ' In the fecond, and furely not the much more refpedlable clafs of the two, might be ranked thofe, whr^ being out of power, were not afhamed in their eagernefs to get into it, of profaning the facred term of patriotilm, and of preffmg it into the fer- vice of dirty felf-intereft, or private am- bition. Such, however, is the force of that word, or of its equivalents, that even the frequency of the detedion of their being no more than empty founds, or the hackneyed language of pretext and ieliiihnefs, has not been able to flale their cffttly or to rob them of the popularity annexed to the employ of them. Thefe terms of art then, for fuch they literally were, under favor of a fmoak of zeal, nnd of petulant inveftive tragically de- claimed, pafTing for all that is great and ' , -M * pro- [49] profound in oratory, and appealing to be attacks on the fortrcfs of power, niafked the oblique lines of approach, that were to produce the opening the gates to thefe mock-befic^ers. But whether the admif- lion of them was voluntary, or forced by conjun6tures, or by the befieged being tired with the galling of their fire, certain it is that the nation was not one jot the better for their fuccefs, or for its having lent its name to their attack: for cither very congenially and kindly incorporating with the old garrifon, or rather relieving than difarming it j their country faw and felt, that whatever change there might be of men, thcr^ v/as none of maxims or mea- fures, at leaft, for the better ; and the truth is, that by <-hole who knew thenir befl, no better was or could be expedted. Certainly then, there never was any thing (o formidable in thofe, or in all par- ties whatever, feparated or united, as to deter thofe Englishmen yet uninfed:ed with their corruption, folly or falfity, from interpofing in behalf of their rountry againft the fatal etFe(fls of them. Their nonfenfe could not be fuppofcd to be the H common ■we !i-:1 n [ 50] common nonfenfe of the nation j and not being fo, how eafy would it be to kindle up a Ipirit ; and what fpirit ? not that of a further fchifm, but of a cordial union of all true wcU-wiOicrs to their country, againfl all who fliould oppofe the rcfcue of it out of its prcfent g''ow;ng didrefs. What could withftand fuch a caufe, pur- fucd with the zeal it deferves with all the laws of God and man on its lide ^ laws, of which even that great one of felf-prc- fervation, is not the greateft, fnice that of reftoring the national honor flands in- Ciudcd in the attempt. ? Circumftanced as things are, can there be any fo blind as not to fee the neceffity of this noble and virtuous union, or feeing it, fuch traitors to their country and to their own intcrefls ; or fo abandoned to lloth and indolence, as not inftantly to concur to the promotion of it ? ' - On fuch an union taking place we Ihould fee the public meafures replaced on a national bafis, and all the lines of deliberation and execution drawn to their long-forgotten centre, the true good of this Jii' tills country ; ama thole alone would be confidered'as enemies to itwholliould fct their faces to obftrud: it. They, it would be, that would themfelvcs be treated as vifionaries, who lliould know fo little of the trueBritidi fpirit, as to fuppofe it, efpe- cially when thus rouzed as it muft now be, incapable of producing fuch a falutaiy union. Compared to which, when compre- hending as it would da, the whole power and adtivity of the community, how petty, and how contemptible muft appear all the felfifh cabals of particular families or fac- tions, who in their rage of engroffing that power to which they are fo unequal, think it an injury done to them, if inftead of ferving their country, their country is not fuflfered to ferve them. Neither would the oppofitlon, that '■ h as they could make to that political rege- Deration, which would reduce them to their original nothingnefs of power as well as of charader, deferve the name of an oppofition. L- could, at moft, pafs for a madnefs, that would juftify the tying their j5 2 hands ,1 «| I* ' I'' I i < [ 52 J haruls up from doing further mifchlcf to the nation and themfelves. Their Itrug- gles would be even a jefl:, inftcad of adif- courngemcnt, to fuch as, in tlie ftrength of fuch a caufe, would refokitcly under- take them. For, in fadt, what are all the proofs they have hitherto attempted to give of ability or vigor, been, but mat- ter of pity and ridicule, when confidered with an eye of the leaft penetration or dif- cernment? Contempt is, however, un- doubtedly their due, and that is a debt as eafy as it is juft to pay them. For, in fadtp what fear can there be of miflaking as to them, or of danger from them, un- lefs of not defpiiing them as much as they defcrve .? Even in the cafe of any preva- lence of theirs againft their opponents, the fcorn of them could only be increafed by the reflexion of the indignity of fuch a prevalence. Hard indeed would it be, if fuch as could never make any ufc of the power intruded with them by their country, to the leafl hurt of it enemies, fhould be only armed with it effedlually againfl its friends 3 and of being friends to this country, there can fcarce exiil: ^ ftrongcr [ 53 ] ilronn;cr proof than the v/iflilng It cut of their'powcr to do it farther harm ; nor is this wifli even an unfriendly one to thcrn- felves, fmce their awn private intereft, in the common fate of the nation, is niani- 'l^llly included in it. . It is not, however, from thofc who are congeniallyfatisfied with the prefent courle of things, from their hopes or views to come into play on the foot of that com- plaifance, or acquiefcence, that^the nation can exped its redemption. From thefe, if they were but honell enough to fpeak out, one might anticipate an anfvver, fomething in the fpirit of that given by one of the great men of Java, to thofe who were urging him to join in fuppreff- ing a band of robbers (with whom, by the bye, he ufed to (hare the plunder), as a meafure efTential to the good of his country; *' Tell them fo;' faid the great man, frankly, " who have the good of their " country at heart ; for may I pertfi tj I " have!' As littk^ good may be expeded from thofe whole conflitutional floth, or, with leave 11 I II Is: t J4] leave for the cxpixlilon, whole innate vis incrtice is proot againll all the motives of honor, or even of what one would ima- gine dearer to them, fclf-prefervation ; yet, if it might not too much fliock thefe men of eafe, to urge to them any thing of fo rouf^h a nature as Reafon, a^i^ainfi: the grain of velvet-indolence, they might, in favor even of that fupream good of theirs, Eafe, he ren^.i;:dcd, that its being loft and deftroycd, in the confequences of a general wreck, is far from being impoflible. This epidemic indolence, however, it is, which is not only an enemy to action, but tends to propagate a general and fatal blindnefs, in matters of the higheft con- cern, to every individual of the nation. It begets, in thofe infected with it, an averfion to thought, as an invader of their quiet, efpecially v^^hen they have a fort of confufed pre-notion, through the power- ful inllinilt of truth, that the refult of an examination will not be agreeable to their favorite prejudices. Prejudices that fhall have been infufed into them by fuch as bad an intereft to miflead them by falfe lights, or rather to keep them in utter 2 dark- m I 55 J darknefs. In this, their mif-leaders arc greatly favored by the nature of indolence itfelf J it being natural for thofe inclined to lleep, and to thofe who would lull them to it, fo {hut out their common difturber, the Hght of truth. Thence too, the fo fre- quent adminiftration of political opiates, which increafe the difeale, whilfl they flupify the fenfe of it, and dofe the patient into perdition. But, if from characters of this letliargic turn the nation has little fuccor to hope, in times, when the utmoft vip-ilance and activity could not be too much againfl that alert enemy at our gates, whofe motions will be only quickened by our llowth ; neither can there a much greater depen- dence be reafonably had on thofe whofe little heads are fo engroffed by trifles, as to have no room left in them for any thing that is great, noble, or fpirited. Many of thefe however dcferve great pity; they are what they are, conftitutionally. It would perhaps be even cruel to rob them of that tafte of theirs for every thing that is futile and filly, fince nature has made them 'I i 1 i> fl H- i^S. [5H tlicm c:ipable of nothing elfc. Take from iiiinibcrs of them their joy, and plume of pride in a tawdry equipage; their race-horfes, dogs and flatterers j their kcennefs of com- pofi^ion for who fhall be king of the but- terflies on a birth-day, and other the like fublime points of their delight or occupa- tion ; what would you leave them, but a dreadful voic3 of exigence there would be no filling up ? organized as their heads are for the reception of nothing but refiife- irafh, whilfl: their hearts are too rotten- foft for receiving and retaining the fair im- prcfiions of virtue or honor. But eventhefe, if they could be brought to a fenfe of their truefl intereft, would, for their own fakes, for the fake, in fhort, of preferving that property which enables them to indulge themfelves in all their in- fipid rote of difUpation, and furniflies them the materials of parade with which their mofl miferable vanity is fo humbly fatif- fied ; yes ! even thefe ought to wifli for fuch a change of fyftcm, as might allow of fome hopes of averting the ftorm that threatens to involve them all in the gene- ral ruin. - " ^■- , - - . • This I [57] fj* This coniideration too, one would think, might give an alarm even to a certain vete- ran camp, where there has been long hung oat a flag of defiance to the common fenfe of mankind ; and where it is impoflible to decide which prevails moft^ the fpirit of i^apine, or the infedlionofdulncfs. There it is, that nonfenfe and folly receive as a favor, what fenfe and tafle would fpurn» if proffered $ an admiflion into clubs, which requires at leafl as much interefl to obtain, as a feat in the fenate. In that rookery, it is that, the greateft and moft facred interefls of the nation have often been regulated over a card- table, or a dice- box, or at beft, in the intervals, fnatch- ed with regret from the only ferious Occupation there, that of unmercifully pil- laging one another. And, to fay the truth, the face of affairs did not be!^ the nature of the time allotted to them, the manner of their digeftion, nor the place whence they had dated. Even, at this day perhaps, that receptacle of gamefters and flatefmen outvies the pfefent m — t — r — 1 clofet in point of extenlive influence and folidity of power, though to do it juflice, it has not I ; •;.. yet This :& ii ^:: [58 J yet indeed produced any thing equal to the Secret Expedition. ,v J j .,.;r; .i»;^f. :j -a./ !:. Thofe then, who yet retain a claim to the nam© of Engliflimen, a name once never aflbciated but with the ideas of the highcfl honor, of courage, of fpirit, and and in fhort of every thing that is great and eftimabje amongft mankind, never could defire an occafion more worthy of a jufl: and virtuous ambition, than th? prefent one of flopping forth i and, before it is too late, efFediually taking in hand, the caufc of this much injured and long deferted coun- try. Who fhould defend it, if they betray or fail it ? or where is there in the known world, that country fo well worth defend- ing as this ? let them confider too, that there is nothing of an affedation of gloomi- nefs or exageration in painting the prof^ fpedtofruin, as imminent and inevitable, unlefs averted by immediate countcr- adlion and negotiations. There plainly appears but one alternative ; that of a bloody war, or of an ignominious ruinous peace. Between thefe two courfes, there is no middle one ; and it is not hard to decide, for which of them it is, that a true Englifli- man ife t\ ii [ 59 ] man will declare. It will alfo not appear a propofition very difficult to grant, that for the Britifli Genius to foar once more to its antient heigth, it muft fir(t be frtcd from all thofe fetters of foreign intcreft^j, corruption, folly, and futility, that have fo long kept it chained down groveling in the dirt. Not forgetting withal, that if inac- tion muft be granted highly pernicious, it can, however, hardly be more fo, than an unadvifed, or mifdiredled adivity. Here, Sir, I conclude, and if there is any part of the foregoing has offended you, or can offend any one in the charader of a true Englidiman, I am heartily forry for it, forry for myfelf : nothing could be lefs my intention. As to thofe whom partial at- tachment, weak prejudice, or the flrong byafs of interefl, fubjedl to an invincible prepofTeffion -, it is for themfelves t?Kit I am forry; and efpecially, for fo far as this country may, or muft be affedted by their crnor. I am. SIR, Tours J &c. I ' • ' . ; i .r< »• w ( f ■• ■ I • .; '• ■ t ■' • I I » ' .\ -.-r'-:. hyilj '■ .», 1 » 'j.-'l • ./ M ' J C J I * f ■ I . . J ■ :;.! ',.1: I \-) n * V-'It:} vlkri";' ':r ■:! ,..:?'!:rrt. :. I'l 'iM» • till » * ' , . « ■. -i 't * <» r ! : I J I ■ft f I ..:: f r» . •••> I < ' ■"iff* ■:■'■.! ■..<^. \ i ■ ■ ■• t ■f '^ ■ h li: 1 ' 1 ■' <- X l«I J *t » t I APPENDIX, I N ANSWER > > < I I < T O T H E Monitor of the 2 ift January, 1758. H E not having feen the Monitor till the foregoing fheefs were fini(li<-d and fent to the prefs, hindered my 'Hc lading in them my anfwer to it. Onperufalofit, however, I judged this appendix, the more neceflary for the good opinion in vrJdch that paper de- fervedly ftands with the public. The. fpirit that animates it, is fo palpably that of juftice to this country, that I cannot but refpea it, even where it may be, I da not fay adually is, in an error. But, how- ever different our fentiments may be ia. this or any other point, I defy him to wifh the caufe he has undertaken to dc- . ;r fend W^^VF 9\ 'If PK^ ' II f IJIIIII. ' '^^iM f" "■-.^'".ii'T** f ■il.iii Ml [62 ] fend more fuccefs than I do, if the juftice of it deferves it, and I hope he would not himfelf wilh it on any other footing. That the report of the board of enquiry was inefFedual, I entirely agree with him. If he even undcrflands it, or can but guefs at its drift or meaning, it is more than I pretend to do. The moft 1 could n^ake of it was, that it was fomething in the nature of the /pedal ver (it ^ of a petty- jiiry, that leaves the matter of the indidil- ment to the decifion of the judges. ... .^., ^ tj, As to the unanimous acquittal pafTed, by the court martial, which makes the great >bje(ft of the Monitor's complaint, . that the commanders of the expedition^ were not delivered up to a public executi^ ffTTy for not lefs do the motto and tenor j of that paper import 3 I oWn, after per- ufing the proceedings of that court v;ith theutmoft attention, that I do not fee what. Other fcntence could pafs, unlefs the| members of it could have thought the fa- ' crifice of the lives of thofe gentlemen, a_ compliment due to the wifdom of the mi- nifter, a facrifice of which they deferved the .T?v'T'. T'' XTH • tVViAJUUUVtJ I ' £63 ] the lefs to be the victims, for their hav- ing fpared to this country, (o vain an one, as that would have been of its troops in- trufted to their conduct. Or was nothing but their blood to atone for their having trufted their own fenfes, in defiance of what the admirers of the projection of the plan might think or fay, and for having obeyed his Majelly's commands who fo evidently conftituted them the judges of its practicability ? Or were they, in com- plaifance to an information of which the defediivenefs could not efcape them, efpe- cially when they had already found fo many parts of it dirc&\y /alfc, to proceed upon the uncertainty of two or thcee //J, not one of which made fcarce a pofiibility, to engage their forces beyond a power of retreating, in cafe oftherepulfe they had not a iingle reafon not to befpeak, and a thoufand to be fure of it. , ./ .'■i The M. exclaims again ft the ufe of leni- tives in failures of military duty, with greiit juftice, no doubt, on his fide. But in this cafe, it is plain, the commander fpurned the thought of owing any favor to them : and, at leaft, as to his part, it is not even quite 1^..' m f .■ [ 64] quite fair to upbraid hirh with his having the benefit of them, when he previoufly and folemnly difdained it. t :J)> 'ti ■> M » ' JV The M. fays, that, on this occafion> " The enemies of the government feizc **^ the opportunity to fpread infmuations " againft the propriety and practicability " of the meafure." And why not the friends of it? Is it then become a criterion of loyalty, to believe that the minifter could not commit a miftake, and that It is better to put half a dozen innocent gentlemen to an ignominious death, rather than that his infallibility fhould be quef- tioned ? Or is the government to ftand or fall, according to the notion that fhall pre- vail of it> -■ ... ^ If it is notorious, " That there is a " lurking fadlion, which labored hard to ** carry their point in the court-martial." Let infamy attend that fadtion, it dcferves it. But what is that to the commander of the expedition, who, it is plain, never refted the iflue of his caufe upon either fadion, intrigue or favor, but purely on the juftice of it ? His defence is before the public. I ' 'I I -v^jnil"".* [ 65 ] public, and above all, that great and ef- fential part of it, produced by his accuf- ers themfelves, the intelligence on which the plan itfelf was founded, and which if the oeft, as the M. flyles it, then certainly bad was the beft, for it contains, except the memorial of the forces, nothin:^ but that information of Col. CI — fo evidently vague and defedlive as to the fortifications -, and as to the accefUbility of the place fo miferably fupplemented, by the pilot Thierry's depofition, even admitting it had been a true one, whereas, in fadt, it proved falfe in the moft elTcntiai points, when it came to the trial. Yet, fays the M. Sir Edvv^ard Hawke recommended Thierry to the favor of the MInifter. He did fo J but review the depofition of Sir Edward Hawke, and it will appear why he did fo. The man had behaved bravelv on board the Magnanime at the taking of the Fort of Aix, and was hearty and wil- ling in the fervice, and Sir Edward's great humanity made him think he defervcd encouragement, at lead for his good in- tentions, and in favor of tliem, excufcd that ignorance of his, of which he fpecifics two or three proofs. K Tl ic m ' '; i I !■ "ill •'): II: L 66 ] The truth is, that on board the whole fleet, they had not a fingle pilot that knew any thing of the navigation of the river Charente. Thierry v/as undoubtedly the bed they had, and him, Sir Edward H. calls *' very ignorafit'' But was that the fault of any of the commanders ? TheRi^exio?2s at which theM. is pleafed to cavil, he fays are made up of remnants. I do not clearly underftand what is meant by remnants ; but he is certainly right if he means by them, particular parts picked out of the report itfelf on the en- quiry, with the comments that occurred to the writer on them. The vague reports which are objedted to him, he gives only as fuch, nor oppofes them in theleafl: to the intelligence of the government ; it is on the foot of that intelligence he reafons. !♦•' he mentions the other, it is purely to juitify the opinion fomehad of the expe- dition the moment its deftination was known. The Monitor calls the French militia '* a phantom, or at leaft the inven- *' tion of a frenchified genius to deter *' England from attempting to cut out " vyoik for the common enemy of Europe (C on [ 67 ] " on their own coaft." All of this but the mihtiii's being his own invention, that writer confeflcs to be true. He heartily too wiHies it was but a phantom, or that we had but fuch a folid body of militia to oppofe to that phantom. As to the deter- ring England from any attempts on the coaft of France, it would have been a great expence, and not a little ridicule fpared to it, if it had been deterred in time, from this laft one. That nothing under an army of force enough to at- tempt the conqueft of France, can mate- rially hurt it, many have faid, and that for a felf-evident reafon. All its mari- time places worth attacking require a re- gular fiege, and what can form a (iege with any hopes of fuccefs, unlefs an army fufRcient to oppofe the French one that would come to its relief ? Is there any thing in this fo obvious conclulion that implies a frenchified genius ? Or that does not rather fpeak the plain Englifli- maji, who would wifh the prevention of his country's blood and treafure, from be- ing vainly and ridiculoufly lavifhed, or its referving them for more practicable enter- prifes ? K 2 Th*t [ 68 ] it'' »" \ ■ I'^ That bold ftrokcs in war arc highly commendable, and that even defperate attempts have oftener faved than ruined nations, experience and hiflory concur to cftablifh. The more hazardous the un- dertaking, confequently the more honor- able it is, but that can never luppofe a madnefs fo blind, as that of having no certainty at all of the flrength of the ene- my's forces, nor no knowledge of the place to be attacked. Will the greatefl advocate for the plan fay there was ? That bcft intelligence furnifhed by the lift of the troops, only concludes with a fuppofition, which were it even a probable one, is at beft but a fuppofition, contra- dialed by infinitely ftronger ones, on the fpot ; and as to the ftate of the ftrength of the town, if one may believe Col. CI. — who certainly would not exaggerate them : to have marched up an army of eight or ten thoufand men, nine or ten miles at leaft, into that alarmed country, to view thofe works of it, of which he or they knew fo little, and fee if an cfcalade could carry them, where there was no fuch thing as a furprife to favor'it, and without artillery, on failing of that, to % '■ Vl ■«'«,mulMwp [ 69 ] to have at leaft a chance for fucceeding by a fiege, and that too, depending on an- other ilippofition, that the French could not come down with an infinitely fuperior force, to cut off a retreat, mufl: have been a meafure of which not to fee the match- lefs abfurdity and folly, or to impute it to a general as a fault the not having proceed- ed in it, is one more melancholy proof of the prevalence of prejudice and party fpirit, overall the powers of common fenfe, and common candor. Had fuch an enterprize proceeded from any of the minifter's com- petitors, none of which, by the by, I mean to inlinuate are preferable to him, what a flood of fcorn and ridicule would not have been poured out upon them ? fo true it is that popularity, no matter how gained or merited, will acquit of any thing. Nay there would even on this occafion be great juftice in the popularity of the meafure at lead, if but on account of its prefumable good intention, if it was not fo much at the expence of fo many in- nocent gentlemen who were demanded as the facrifices to it ; whofe fate is fure- ly hard to have their reputation, which ^ to I i I \ [ 7° ] to foldicrs cfpeclally, ought to be clearer than their lives, called into qiieilion upon a point which h itfclf no queilion at all. The M. too fcems greatly to midake, not the meanin[^ indeed of the wordCoup- dc-main, lor in that he is tolerably clear, but its having been attempted to take fanc- tuary under the definition of that military term. For furely nothing can be more plain iigainii the commanders than the ex- tenfion of it by fir Jolin I^igonicr, to even an operation in the courfe of a regular fiegc, fuch asthat of Bergen-op-zoom, or of Fort St. Philip. Sir John's advice then was far from countenancing the return of the troops, before they fhould have fat down before it, and even tried the fiege for fome time. But what do the com- manders fay? " The furprize on which " the only chance on making a vigorous *' imprefilon, or a coup-de-main, call it *^ which you pleafe, was evidently over; '' and as to fitting down before it, we had " no artillery. Our plan admitted of '' none." The [ 71 ] The fufety of the Bafque-mad was not it feems fo much as known 'till fir Edward himfclf made the experiment of it. 1 his is one more proof how defedive his prior information had been, which at leaft fup- pofed the taking the fort of Aix i'o necef- lary a preliminary. *' The fliorc is laid to be inacceflible," (fays the M.) but whoever faid fo befide ? both land and fea officers plainly declare the contrary, and built on it the refolution of landing the troops, to proceed againft that fort Fouras, which had been evidendy proved inaccelfible by fea. Why did they then retradt that refolution? becaufe they found that that meafure, which they had refolved on, purely from their ardent wifli and defire to do foniething of fervice to their country, and of damage to the enemy, before they came away, after tlie main point had been formally given up, was not one jot the mo e advifable, for its appearing fo pradticable. They might in- deed have got on fliore, but only in luch divifions, and with fuch probability of ef- fedual oppofition, that, fuch an objed: as the fort Fouras, and it was their only one, could I' :■! •| \'- [ 72 ] could by no means have juftiricd the rifk. Sir Edward Hawkc, who was lb far from giving his opinion that the troops (liould not land at all, that he urged the necef- fity of it, was however fatisfied that fort Fouras was become of no confequence to troops landing in Chatellailon bay^ and as no otlwr objed: appeared worth landing for, either to Sir Edward Hawke, who "wifhed it fo much, or to the other com- manders; what could they do but come away? for as to Rochefort, all of them had concurred in the opinion of its being not to be thought of more. And fun^ if the admirals were not judges enough Oi land- operations, to give a thorough weight to that their councurrence, at leall being on the fpot, their common fenfe could not be inferior to that of men equally unfkilled, who have at a diftance fo fanguinely con- demned that refolution to return. And as to the court-martial, compofed of gentle- men of the army, whofe military profeflion made them at leafl: judges of the matter, they have unanimoully approved it. But if the fea officers are ignorant, and the land ones partial, from v*' hence can a judgment be admitted? or are none fit to pafs :;;; r ■'V' (r be itle- Pion :ter. But the It to afs ( 73 ) pafs and impofe one on the public, but the admirers of the plan ? There is in the faid M. a very invidious reflcdlion on that infinuation which he ftyles " vague and farcaftical, cvafive and falla- " cious," of the fleet's being wanted on niore confiderable fervice, and elpecially to watch the return of the cxpedled fleets from Louifbourg and Martinico. But, furely, the little or nothing that obvioufly remained to be done againft Fouras, was not an objed for keeping the fleet longer upon that coaft. It could not be worfe to fet it at liberty to proceed on important and real fervice, than to detain it in fruit- Icfs attendance on an imaginary one. As to that great pretended informality of fupprcffion of the minutes of the coun- cil of the 2 8th J all that appears to folve it» is, that the great point of the expedition againft Rochefort being over, they did not deign to do fo minute and inconfiderable an objed as Fouras, the honor of holding a council about it. At leaft, there does not appear the fhadow of any ill-defign or un- fair dealing being afliignable to the unani- mous refolutions of the commanders, for L no I 74 ] no minutes to be taken of that part of their procedure, to the infignificance of which, the report on the F.nquiry has done but juftice, a;">d of which themfelves were probably confcious and afliamed, though they hud lufFcred their judgment to be car- ried away by their eagernefs to do at Icaft fomething ; or by what is yet a greater re- proach to them, the fear of that unpopu- larity, they ought to have had the courage to defpife, fincc they might be fure of not deferving it. The M. concludes with a kind of threat of a parliamentary enquiry into every part of this tranfadion. I fancy, if the commanders have any fear at all about it, it is of its not taking place. Of this, 1 am fure, they could not but be greatly obliged to the interefl or influence that fhould promote it. Injured, cruelly injured as they have been by the popular clamor fo unfairly ex- cited againft them, the reprefentatives of the pe(^ple would, probably, even but on the principles of common humanity and juftice, grant them all the reparation in their power, or that they Ihould be found to ■^^ ( 75 ) to deferve. At leaft there can be no doubt of their clearly difcovcring, " whether it " was an impra^ficable or unadvi/cable *' (chemc of tne Mini/iry^ or xht bad con^ " du£i of thofe entrufted with the execu- tion of his Majefty's commands,'* which has brought the nation into the p-efent difgrace. (( FINIS.