UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LETTER To the Honourable Edward Vernon Efq; Vice-Admiral of the Red, &c. FROM JOHN CATHCART, Director of the HOSPITAL in the late Expedition to the Wejl-lndies^ Under the Command of the Honourable General WENTWORTH: CONCERNING Some Grofs MISREPRESENTATIONS in a /' Pamphlet, lately Publiihed, and Intitled, ORIGINAL PAPERS relating to the Expedition to the I/land of Cuba. Cujufvis eft errare> nullius nifi infipimtis in errore perfeverare. Cic. LONDON: Printed for M. COOPER, at the Globe in Pater-Nafier-Ro-(o+ M.D.CC.XLIV. (3) LETTER T O T H E Honourable EDWARD VERNON Efq; Vice-Admiral of the Red y To the Hon. EDWARD VERNON Efy &c. SIR, London, 16 May, 1744. IH A V E had your original Letters of the 17 and 19 Auguft, 1741, to General Went- worth, compared with the Copies of faid Letters, publifhed about two Months ago, in a Pamphlet, intitled, Original Papers relating to the Expedition to the I/land of Cuba ; and they \vere found to agree. In thefe Letters, you have grofsly abufed, and greatly injured me, by re- prefenting my Conduct to that Gentleman in a very falfe and deteftable Light ; the fevere Ef- fects of which I have moft fenfibly felt, in many Inftances, fince they were wrote : And now, by their being publifhed, I am expofed to all the World, in plain terms, as a Robber, a Lyar, and a Deceiver. I have tried all ways, and ufed all means, I could think of, to induce you, firft to fatisfy A 2 yourfeif AA3 (4) yourfelf, from undoubted Evidence and Proofs, that what you have accufed me of is falfe ; and then to acknowledge, as every juft Man ought to do, that you have injured me without any Caufe : But all my Endeavours to obtain this, have hitherto had no Effect. I fhall now go yet farther, (which 1 pro'pofe mall be my laft Effort, to pnerfuade you to end this Affair in a private way,) and that is, firft, to Jay before you what has already part betwixt us, on this Sub- ject ; and then the Proofs and Vouchers that I have to adduce to jufHfy my own Conduct, and invalidate your ill-founded Accufations, And if this cannot prevail with you to comply with my Kequeft, to do me the reafonable Juftice I re- quire, I. Jball publifh the whole of this Affair, from firft to laft, which I believe all Mankind will think right, as it is in Vindication of my own Character ; and leave it to them to judge of your Injuftice and of my Innocence. Soon after the above Pamphlet appeared, I wrote you the following Letter. *To the Hon. EDWARD VERNON SIR, ForreJPi Coffee-Hcufe, 29 Mar, 1744. I A M confcious to myfelf, that, when, in the Weft-Indies^ Director of the Hofpital for the Land- Forces, I never gave you any trouble but what the Nature of my Office neceffarily required ; and I did not in the leaft expect, that I mould have been forced to give you any at home. But if it appears, that, by your means, my Character and Reputation lie now bleeding and unjuftly expofed to all the World ; and that you have at prefent taken from me the moft valuable thing a Man can po/Tefs, and what has fupported me with Reputation, now near thefe 40 (5) 40 Years paft, My good Name ; I fay, if thefe Facts plainly appear, it will plead my Excufe) for troubling you with this. When I firft v/aited on General Wentworth at Cuba, 12 Qffober 1741, he received me in the coldeft Manner before fevtral Officers of the firft Rank in the Army , told me, that I had difobeyed his Orders in not coming in the Strumbolo Firemip ; that he was well informed, that my {laying after her in -Jamaica was to mind my own private Affairs in Trade ; and that I had reprefented to him the Detention of the Hofpital Ship Lynn at Jamaica in a falfe Light, becaufe me had not been detained there by any Officer of the Admiral, or by any Order from him, as I had alledged. I defired he would be pleafed to appoint a Court Martial, to enquire into the Truth of thefe Accufations, being then ready to difprove them all, and I hoped he would name his falfe Informer. He faid, he would order a Court as foon as it was convenient for him, and that he would let me know his In- former when he thought fit. After many Ap- plications to the General for this Court, it was at Lift appointed under the Name of a Court of Enquiry, confifting of General and Field Officers, and held four Months thereafter, viz. on the 1 6 February following to enquire into the above Facts, and my Conduct in Jamaica from ift July to 29th September preceeding. By the Re- port of this Court, dated ipth February, I was honourably acquitted ; and the Day following, when I waited on General Wentworth to get an authentic Copy of the Report, he was pleafed to fay to me, in prefence of 8 or 10 Field Offi- cers then with him, " Sir, I have look'd over the " Proceedings of the Court, and am well pleafed " you are acquitted of what I charged you with : " And (6) < And as I fee you infift ftrongly in your De- ** fence upon my letting you know my Infor- " mer, I now tell you, before thefe Gentlemen, " that it was Admiral Vernon ; and I very well * c remember, when he and I agreed to fend the " Strumbolo for you and the Surgeons, he told " me, you need not expe6t Mr. Cathcart will " come until he hath finifhed his private Affairs ; " for I know he is delivering a great Quantity ' of Brandy, that he fold to the Agents for the " Fleet." My Reply to the General was, " Sir, had you been pleafed to have told me " this when I firft waited on you at Cuba, my *' Reputation had not fuffered fo much, both " in the Army and the Fleet, as it has done ** for thefe four Months paft ; for then I was " prepared to make the fame Defence I have 16 now made, and to fatisfy you, that all the ** Brandy I ever fold the Agents for the Ufe of " the Fleet, was delivered and paid for, before *' you and the Admiral left Jamaica. But as I " am now fully acquitted by the Report of the " Court, I fhall let the Affair remain as it is, " becaufe it is probable, you have mifunderftood " the Admiral, who was confcious to himfelf " that he certified the Bills of Exchange for the " Payment of faid Brandy before he left Ja- * f * maica. I continued, Sir, in the fame Opinion with regard to you ever fince, till lately that a Pam- phlet appeared, intitled, Original Papers rela- ting to the Expedition to the I/land cf Cuba, which fo much furprized me, that I know not yet what to think, or how to account for your Conduct towards me, who had never done you the fmalleft Injury. For therein it appears, that you have reprefented my Conduct in fuch a Light, formerly to my General, and now to all the (7) the World, that you feera determined to ruin me in the Opinion of all good Men. For in your Letter to him, of the I7th of Auguft* 1741, as per faid Pamphlet, page 68, you bring this heavy Charge againft me ; 'viz. " I take Mr. le " flayed behind lo fur chafe NeceJJaries fcr the Hof- " pi!at, which he would foon be following him " with. And in your Letter. to General Went- " izcrth of the 19 of Auguft following you fay, c as per faid Pamphlet, page 70, I received " yours of the i8th laft Night, by which I find " Mr. Cathcart does not reprefent things truly " to you : You know, Sir, when I found the " Army's Medicines and Surgeons were left be- " hind, I offered you a Ship [the StmmbclcC's.^. " Durell] to fetch them with Expedition to " you ; well knowing the Lynn Hofpital Ship to t4 be a heavy Ship that could not be depended 44 upon to get here in time ; and I was not there- " fore for having their coming depend on fuch a " Contingency, as getting a heavy leewardly *' Ship up to windward. But I believe, as *, Mr.* *,. Mr.* * *, Mr.*, and Mr.* * *. They or any three of them,- or any three Gen- tlemen, that belonged to either the Fleet or Army during the time of our Expedition, that you pleafe to name, {hall be moft acceptable to me. As the clearing up of this Affair is of the ut- moft Gonfequence to rtie at prefent,- and' mufl do me a real Prejudice, if it ftands much longer a& it does; I beg you will- not treat it with Jndif- Indifference or Delay. And I hope, when you have conlidered what I have now wrote, you will be pleafed to let me know by a mort Jvine directed to me at this Place, if what I have propofed in the preceding Paragraph will be agreeable tP you. 1 0m 9 & JOHN CATHCART, To this Letter you was not pleafed to return any Anfwer ; and therefore, after waiting near a Month, I wrote you the following one, viz. SIR, Forrejl's Co/ee-Houfe , Wfdnejday 1.5 I HAVE waited thefe four Weeks paft with very great Impatience, always expecting you would have favoured me with an Anfwer to my Letter of the 28 of laft Month. But your delaying it fo long, gives me good Reafou to apprehend, that you treat what I wrote you with Indifference ; that you rejeft the reafonable Propofal I made you in my faid Letter i an4 that you will be at no pains to repair the great Injury you have done my Reputation, by expo- ng me on the Credit of falfe Information, as a. Villain, and a Lyar to all the World. If this is your determined Refolution, it will force me, much againft my Inclination, to pub-r )i(h an ample Refutation of all the Facts, &V, you have charged me with, and alledged againft me , in doing of which, many authentic Let- ters, Memorials, Affidavits and Abftracls muft appear, which may give fome Perfons pleafure \ for the beft of Men, you know, in a publick Station, as you have been, are not without theip gut I aiTure you, it will give me in. 8 3 ( 12 ) particular, and many of your Well-wimers, a inoft fenfible Pain. Let me therefore intreat you, in order to end this Affair amicably, to chufe the Method I propofed to you in my for- mer Letter. I have communicated my Intentions only to Mr. * *, your Fellow-Member in the Houfe of Commons, who tells me, that he has fpoke to Mr. * * * upon the Subject. Tho' I have not the Honour to know the laft -, yet, if you in- cline to it, I fhall leave it entirely to them, to determine what you and I ought to do in it. , If I am not fo happy as to be favoured with your Anfwer by Tuefday next, the ift of May, I fhall take it for granted, that I am not to have any from you. But I hope it will prove other-. wife ; and am, Witb great Refyett, csV.-bij^: JOHN CATHCART. On the 30th of laft Month, Sir, I received at Forreft's Ccffee-Houfe, an anonymous Letter, dated two Days before, and directed to me, from Cbelmsford'j, which I conjecture came from you, as you was then at that Place on your \vay to Ipfwicb, as I have been fince told : which is as follows i jf>t siq I ft Mr. John Cathcart, at Forreffr Coffee* Houfe. SIR, CbdtKiford, aS^w/1744, WHenever publick Enquiries [are made] which for the publick Good are very much wanted, and which publick Calamities may foon render neceffary, tho j they are fo very much out of the Mode at prefent, it will appear- that the Publick was burthened with the Ex- pence ( 13 ) pence of the Lynn Hofpital Ship much longer than was neceflary, and with Numbers of Tranf- port Ships. If the great Quantity of Brandy fold by you to the Fleet, came out of other Ships than the Tranfports, you had great good Fortune in its not becoming a Prey to the Governour of Ja- maica, as the Property of the Crown that came out in the faid Fleet did, tho* it was recom- mended to his Protection by an Order of Coun- cil, founded upon the Opinion of the Attorney- General for the Legality of it, which was what you had not to alledge in your favour. Had a perfonal Application been judged more decent than an epiftolary one, it is apprehended, you would have been always fure of a licit Re- ception and a candid Anfwer. To this Letter I returned the following Anfwer. To the Honourable EDWARD VERNON Efq; SIR, ForreJTs Coffee-Houfe, iji May, 1744. YEfterday I received an anonymous Letter, dated 2 8 April, from Cbelmsford, which, I prefume, from its Contents, came from you. If the Lynn Hofpital Ship, or any other, was kept longer in Pay than was neceflary, furely that Fault ought not to be imputed to me, be- caufe the preventing of it was not in my power. The Brandies I fold at Jamaica, for the Ufe of the Fleet, were all in one Ship, and fo guarded by proper Clearances, and fuch Difpo- fitions were made, that no Officer, or Magif- trate abroad, or at home, could either feize or condemn them legally, _i My ( H) My hearing you was ill of the Gout, when I firft wrote you, made me think, that writing would be lefs troublefome than waiting on you in JPerfon ; but now, as I hear you are better, if you will be pleafed to indulge me with feeing you for the fpace of half an Hour, at anytime you think proper to fix, J now venture to a/lure you, that in that time I mall convince you fully, that you have been grofsly impofed upon as to my Conduct in the Expedition. And if you pleafe, Mr. * * * of Jamaica, who did me the Honour to introduce me firft to your Acquain-? tance, and who has a fincere Efteem for us both, will come with me. I hope for a favourable Anfwer ; and am. With great Refpefi, &c. JOHN CATHCART. I {hall new, Sir, lay before you the Proofs and Vouchers, which I can adduce to juftify my own Conduct, and invalidate your groundless ,Accufatipns. The firft Accufation you bring againft me in your faid Letter to General Wentwortb, of the 17 jfuguft, 1741, is, That you well knew I made ufe of his Majefty's Tranfports for my own private Service -, and that I had delivered from, or out of them, near 7000 /. worth of Brandy, which I fold to the Agent Victuallers for the Fleet. Allow me, Sir, to obferve, that this Affertion is very pofitive , for you do not fay, that you was told or informed, that this Fail! flood fo, but that you knew it well, or was certain of the Truth of it. Now I have undertaken, in my firft Letter to you, of the 2pth of March laft, as above, to prove that what you have fo pofitively afTerted is abfolutely falfe \ viz. That the 7000 /. worth of Brandy, i ( if J Mich I fold to the Agents, for the Ufe t'ieet, was not in whole, or in any part,- de- livered from or out of the Tranfports, or had fcver been in any Tranfports,- Storemips, of other Veflel or Veffels, in the Pay of the Go- vernment : And the Proof I bring for this is,' Mr. Campbell's Affidavit, as follows : CAMPBELL,- Commiffary of Stores of War and Provifions in the Iat6 Expedition to the Weft-Indies ^ under the Com- mand of the Honourable General Wentwortb* being fvvorn on the Holy Evangelifts of Al- mighty Gcd,- faith, That he v this Deponent^ knoweth, and doth very well remember,^ that being in Jamaica, in the Month of June, 174.1, and having a Goncefn with forne Merchants itt London, and John Cathcart^ then Director of the Hofpital in the faid Expedition, in a Cargo' of Brandy then on board the Ship Brothers? A- lexander Montgomery Mafter,- lying in Port* Royal Harbour, he and the faid John Cathcart did,- in the faid Month of June, fell and deli- ver to MefT. Gray and Maynard, Agent Victu- allers for the Fleet, the faid Cargo of Brandy, at the Rate of is. 6d. Sterl. per Gal. And that in f-he faid Month of June, he, this Deponent, and the faid John Cathcart^- did receive Payment for the fame, Part in Money, and the Remainder,- being 6389/7. roj. 9^. Sterl. in a Bill of Exchange^ drawn by the faid Meff Gray and Maynard on the Commiflioners of Viftuallihg in London \ which Bill was under-wrote and certified by Ad- miral Vernon before he failed from Jamaica on the Cuba Expedition. And this Deponent far- ther faith, That no Part of the faid Brandy, fo delivered, had ever been in any Tranf- pcrt r .6) port or other Veflel, in the Pay of the Govern- ment 5 but that all of it was brought to Jamaica in the faid Ship Brothers -, and that the Freight of it was paid to the faid Ship's Owner, Neil Buchanan, Merchant in London. And laftly, this Deponent faith, That he per feel:! y knew, and was well acquainted with all the faid John Cath* cart's Transactions during the whole time of the faid Expedition j and he very well knows, that the faid John Cathcart fold no Cargo, or Parcel of Brandy, to the Agent Victuallers for the Fleet, except the above Cargo delivered out of the faid Ship Brothers, or any Brandy whatfo- ever, to any other Officers or private Men, in either Fleet or Army. And farther this Depo- nent faith not. Sworn at Guildhall, London, DAVID C A M P B E L L ' 10 May 1 744, before me, EDWARD GIBBON. This Mr. Campbell you knew during the Ex-> pedition ; and his Character {lands fo fair with all who knew him, particularly with the Gen- tlemen that were in our Fleet and Army, that I efteem what he has faid conclusive : But if you do not think this fufficient, I ftiall, for your farther Satisfaction, adduce other Affidavits to corroborate the Truth of his. Your Infinuation to General H'entwortb, in your faid Letter of the 17 Auguft, that my Soli- citoufnefs to have the Hofpital Ship Lynn at Cuba, proceeded from my having Brandy in her to fell to the Army, mtift appear to have no Foundation in Truth, when the following Af- fidavit is perufsd \ viz. R ( 17) Middlefsx. Obert Catbcart, Matter and Commander of the Hofpital Ship Lynn in the late Expedi- tion to the Weft Indie;, under the Command of the Honourable General Wenlworib, being duly {"worn on the Holy Evangelifts of Almighty God, iahh, That he this Deponent \vas Matter of and did com. nand the faid Ship" }', while and dur- ing all the time me was. in the Government's Ser- vice as an Hofpital Ship in the faid Expedition, viz. from May 1740, to March 1742 : That he this D-ponent had from his Mates from time to time, and kept an exact Account of all Provifions, Liquors, and Stores, that were during that time put on board the faid Ship Lynn^ exprefling the Mark, Number, and as near as could be known the Contents of each Parcel : And that Jckn Catkcart, Director of the Hofpital in the faid Expedition, never had on board the faid Ship Lynn t any Brandy except two Gtfks which were fent on board at Spltbcad before we failed from England, and which were for the ufs of and ufed in the Hofpital. ROBERT CATKCAUT. ic May, \ 744, befive me KoetRT DENNETT. Here the Perfon who ought to know, and really knows bed, and who bears a fair Character in the World, affirms on Oath, That whiie the Hofpital Ship Lynn was in the Service, I had not a drop of Brandy in her, except the two Cades mentioned in the Affidavit, and which I mentioned to you in my firft Letter of the 29 March laft, both which C were were expended long before you proceeded on the Cuba Expedition. Now, Sir, after having put this Affair of the Brandy in fo clear a light, I hope you will not allow your vile Informers to remain longer unpu- nifhed and unexpofed ; and that being convinced by what I have laid before you, you will be fo jiift as to declare my Innocence : Surely it is in- cumbent upon you to do both. Your next Accufation in your Letter to Gene- ral Wentworth 19 Aug. 1741, is, that I deceived him by not reprefenting Matters truly to him ; and you aflure him, that none of your Officers would detain at Jamaica or impede the Hofpital Ship Lynn, from coming to join the Army ztCuba. I beg leave, Sir, to obferve, that this Accufation is of a more heinous Nature than your firft, as a Deceiver and a Lyar is the mod vile and detefta- ble Character pofiible, efpecially in Affairs of great Confequence, which I efteem this to be. In my Letters to the General of the 16 July, 5 and 29 Auguft 1/41, which were all the Letters, I wrote him from Jamaica while he was at Cuba, I tell him the Reverfe of all this, viz. That the Hofpital Ship Lynn was actually detained and not fuffered to ftir out of Port R oyal Har- bour, by your Officer Commodore Davers, and, as he faid, by an exprefs Order from you. Whe- ther you or I have reprefented this Matter in a fair and true light to General Wentinorth, will evidently appear upon Perufal of the following original Papers ; viz. $9 ( 19) fo THOMAS DAVERS Efq\ Commander in Chief of his Majefty's Ships in Jamaica. SIR, Kingfion, "Jamaica, z 'July, 1741' I Had Orders to remain here fome Days aftt r the failing of the Fleer, to fettle fome Affairs relating to the Sick of the Army. The Hofpital Ship Lynn, Rcfart Catbcart Mafter, in which I am to proceed, having loft moft of her Men and her two Mates by Death and Defertion, I wrote Mr. Wallace^ Agent for theTranfports, two Days before Admiral Vtrnon failed, to reprefent the Cafe of this Ship to him, that he might fupply her with a proper Perfon to go Mate, and ten good Seamen, without which we could not venture to Sea. I gave Mr. Wallace this trouble, becaufe the Mafter of the Lynn was then fick, and I could not poffibly wait on the Admiral myfelf; but had no Anfwer. As you are here Commander in Chief, I beg leave to lay the State of this Ship before you, and to intreat the A(Tiftance you may judge neceflary for her Safety. She is a Ship of 530 Tons, hired t>y the Government, and fitted up to lodge 100 fick or wounded Men, and to cany the Mafter- Surgeon, nine other Surgeons and Apothecaries, myfelf and Servants, and the Servants of the Hof- pital, together with all the Medicines, a few ex- cepted, and all the Surgical Inftruments belong- ing to the Army. She has alfo en board all man- ner of Neceflaries for the Sick, fuch as Bedding, and Refrem.men.ts, and for fyrnifhirig an Hofpi- tal on more. Thefe were purchafed by the Go- vernment at a great Expence, and if loft will throw the Army into great Difficulties, becaufe many of the moil mxeffary Art ides cannot be get C 2 ^ia ( 20 ) in America. V/e had when \ve left England our full Compliment of Hands, \vhich is forty two, and they are now reduced to fixteen, in which number only fix, besides the Mailer and Carpen- ter, can do rhe Duty of Seamen : We have got alfo eighteen Negroes from the General, but they are Land-men and cannot go aloft ; therefore it is our Matter's Opinion, that he cannot with any fafety proceed without the Addition of ten good Ha,nds, and a fkilful fober Perfon to afiift him as Mate, and fucceed as Matter, in cafe of his death. It confitts with my Knowledge, that our Matter has taken the utmoft Pains, and been at a threat Expence to get Seamen here, but cannot procure any for Money, except a Carpen- ter, and one Caulker. You will therefore, Sir, be pleafed to take this Matter into Confidcration, and as the Health and Welfare of the Army very much depend on the Safety of this Ship, you will order the Ailiftance you judge proper to enable us to join the Fleet as foon as poflible. I am, &c. JOHN CATHCART, Director of the Hofpital. b 1 K, #^r, 7,,, 6 7.,>, , 74 T. IN my Memorial of the fecond Inftant. 1 did not lay before you all the Steps I had taken to et the Hofpital Ship Lynn manned, before the ^dtr.iral failed, thinking it more neccfTary and to the the purpofe to inform you fully of the State the Ship was in with refpect to Hands to navigate her, and of the Importance it was to his Majefty's Service, to have her fent with Safety and Expe- dition to the Army : But as you was pleafed to tell me laft Night, that at your parting with the General and Admiral before they failed, neither of them mentioned this Ship to you, tho' you afked the General particularly if he had any Com- mands ; and therefore you thought there mufl have been a Neglect in not reprefenting the State of this Ship to them, othervvife you could not fiippofe that a Ship I reprefented fo necefTary to the Service, would have been forgot or neglected : The following Fact, which J aver to be true in every Particular, will put this Matter in a clear Light. Some Time before the Fleet failed, I told th General that the Hofpital Ship could not proceed without at leaft fourteen good Seamen from the Admiral : He defircd me to give in the Number wanted to Mr. Wallace, Agent for the Tranf- ports, and that he, the General, would lay the State of that Ship, with fome others in the like Condition, before the Admiral. I immediately went to Mr. Wallace, and did as directed , and a few Days afterwards, he told me that the State of the Hofpital Ship "Lynn, as to the want of fourteen Hands, with others in the like Cafe, had been laid before the Admiral, but he could not then tell me any thing with Certainty of what he intended to order upon it. And this Intima- tion from Mr. Wallace induced me to write him the Letter I mentioned in my Memorial to you. I fhall not, Sir, take up your time in guefiing at the Reafons why a Supply of Men for this Ship was net ordered j it might probably proceecj from ( 22 ) from the Hurry of Affairs that commonly attend a Departure : and this is the moft favourable Conjecture I can make. But let this be as it will, I hope it will appear to all concerned that I have done my Duty, which is only to reprefent in a proper Manner what is wanted, and to wait the Event. Yefterday, by Accident, we got a fufficient Man to go Mate, fo that only the ten good Sea- men mentioned in my Memorial to you are wanted, in order to enable her to proceed with Safety ; which I intreat you will be pleafed to fur- nifh her with, for the Reafons laid before you in faid Memorial, and in this. lam, &c. JOHN CATHCART. N. B. i. The above was fent and delivered 6 July by Mr. Gray, Agent-Victualler for the Fleet, who promifed to ufe his Intereft with Mr. Davsrs to procure the Men I wanted. 2. I did not receive an Anfwer to the above Memorial until the 13 July\ a moft tedious while toconfider of fuch a fimple plain Affair! When I had a Meffage from Mr.Davers, that he wanted to fpeak with me about the Lynn : and then he gave her eight Seamen, which enabled her to proceed. 3. The Hofpital Ship Lynn lay that Night, j 3 July, unmoored, and would have failed next Morning for Cuba* with the Tork Man of War, but the Breeze detained both the Tork and her that Day and the next, 15 July, when theStrutn- lolo Firefhip, Captain Durell, arrived and brought me the following Letter from General Went- worth's Secretary ; viz. SIR, V ^ J SIR, Craften, 13 July, I 74 j. TH E General has ordered me to acquaint you, that he is very much furprized at your flaying at Jamaica, after having the 1 8 Negroes you defired of him for navigating your Ship the Lynn, and defires, that ifjhe is not ca- pable of 'proceeding hither, you would embark with the Surgeon, and Mates, and the Medicines that may be wanted ; as alfo the above-men- tioned Negroes, on board the Firefhip, which Admiral Vernon now fends to Port-Royal for that purpofe. I am, &V. ELISHA DOD. P. S. Mr. Cathcart, the Captain of the Lynn muft be charged with the King's Stores on Board, which are to be forwarded as foon as practicable. To Mr. CATHCART, Director oftheHofpital for his Majeftfs Land-Forces on Board the Lynn. SIR, Suffolk, in Port-Royal Harbour, 15 Julj t 1741. 5PT1 I S the Admiral's Orders, that you im- J[ mediately go on board the Strumbolo Firefhip,, and carry with you the Surgeons and Medicines, &c. for the Fleet : And Capt. Du- rell has Orders to receive you and them, your Ship being thought not proper to turn to Wind- ward, and the Surgeons and Medicines may be immediately wanted : For the Lynn is to remain in the Harbour, and I have ordered the Men, I put on board, to be removed into the York, and the Negroes into the Snow Providence ; and as the Strumbolo is to fail to-morrow Morning, I defire you will have every thing on board of 2 her ( H) her this Night, that (he may not be hindered from going out. J have returned you the Ob- ligation for the Mens Wages, and the Lift of Negroes I fent Mr. Wallace, who will return it you upon afldng for. / am, &Y. THOMAS DAVERS. To THOMAS DAVERS Efq\ &c. S I R, Strumbuli), 15 July 174.1 --- jo at Night. YOUR Letter of this Date, this minute re- ceived, wherein you fay, that it is the Ad- miral's Order, that the Hofpital Ship Lynn mail remain in this Harbour,furprizes me very m ch ? becaufe it differs widely from the General's Or- ders to me, they being conditional only ; viz. " If the Hofpital Ship Lynn is not capable of " proceeding hither, then," &V. And the Ad- miral feems to be pofitive that me mail remain here. She was declared fit to be continued in the Service, by the Report of a Survey taken of that Ship, at my Requeft and by Admiral V(.r- nori's Order, by three of his Majefty's Mafter- Carpenters ; which Report was laid before thjp Admiral, fome Weeks before he failed : and b^ the Addition of the eight Seamen you put ' on board, me is well manned, has now her Boats and Pilot on board, lies unmoored, and the Mailer has my Order to fail in Company with us and the Tork to-morrow Morning. Therefore 1 intreat you will reconfider this matter, order the eight Seamen again on board, and permit her 'to go, if in any wife you find it confiftent with what the Admiral writes you ; for her be- ing with the Army is abfolutely neceflary, on account of the Refremments and NeccfTaries me has on board for the Sick and Wounded: And it (25) it is the Government's pofitive Order, that flie mall conftantly attend the Army, lor the Re- ception and Accommodation of both. Pray favour me with your Arsfwer, as foori as you receive this, the Sftwnfolo being to fail to-morrow at Break of day, that I may take my meafures accordingly ; for if the Hofpital Ship does not proceed, it will be inconfiftent with my Duty to depart before I make farther Applica- tion, for procuring Liberty for her to go. lam, &c. JOHN CATHCART. N. B. . . I had not time to take a Copy of this Letter before it was fent, but afterward put down the Subftance of it as above in my Book. To Mr. CATHCART, Dire ft or, &c. on Board the Strumbolo. S I R, S/M t in Port-Roy al-Barhur, 15 J-^y 1741. I Thought I wrote you plain enough to be un- derftood, that it is the Admiral's pofitive Order, that you and your Surgeon?, Medicines, &c. remove into the Strumbolo^ and proceed with her to the Fleet, and the Lynn not to ftir out of this Harbour, and the General approves of it i fo I am forry I cannot give y.u any hopes of going out in her, as you feem deliioUs of doing. / am, &c. THOMAS DAVERS, ( 26) T0 the Hon. General WENTWORTH. SIR, port-Royal, Jamaic*, 16 July i 74 j. YEtlerday Morning I had the Honour of Mr. ZW's Letter, by your Command, of the 1 3th Inftant. You may juftly be furprized, that my Stay here has been fo long, but it wholly proceeded from want of Seamen to na- vigate the Hofpital Ship ; for befide the 18 Ne- groes you ordered for her, you will be pleafed to remember, that I told you me could not pro- ceed without a Supply of Seamen from Admiral Vernon\ upon which you defined me to give the Number wanted in to Mr. Wallace, and told me, that other Tranfports were alfo in want of Hands, and they mould be all afked for toge- ther. This I did ; and Mr. Wallace thereafter told me, that the Number our Ship wanted,, with others, had been laid before the Admiral two Days before the Admiral failed. I wrote Mr. Wallace^ to know what I might depend upon, but received noAnfwer: And fo foon as the Matter of the Lynn told me, that the Admiral had put to Sea, and no Seamen had been or- dered for our Ship, I apply'd by Memorial of the 2d, and then by another of the 6th Inftant, to Commodore Davers for ten good Seamen, but could receive no fatisfaclory Anfwer before the 1 3th Inftant ; when he fent for me, and told me, that he would fpare me eight good Men if that would do, and that Evening fent them on board our Ship at Port-Royal, where all our Surgeons and I were attending, and the next Morning would have failed, but the Wind proved contrary both to the Tork Man of War 2 and ( 27) and us : It proved the fame yefterday, when at feven in the Morning your above Letter came to my hands ; upon Receipt of which the Sur- geons and I embarked in the Strumbolo, with all the Inftruments, Bandages, and what Medicines they thought proper to carry with them ; and I ordered the Hofpital Ship to fail with us with the reft of the Medicines and Stores. This Dif- pofition the Mafter- Surgeon, and I judged to be right, and perfectly agreeable to your Com- mands, feeing the Hofpital Ship was then well manned, and capable to proceed. But, to my great Surprize, at 10 that Night, on board the Strumlolo^ I received a Letter from Mr. Davers, telling me, that it vvas the Admiral's Orders, that the Hofpital Ship Lynn was to remain in this Harbour. The late Time of Night, the Dif- tance I was then from him, being three Miles, and my Fatigue through the Day hindered me from waiting then on him ; but I wrote him, and defired him to reconfider the Affair, and let her go ; but left he would not comply, I put on board the Strumlolo, by the Mafter-Surgeon's Advice, a farther Supply of Medicines, and de- termined to ftay behind, and get General Guife to interpofe his Authority that me inight pro- ceed. This Day I waited on Mr. Dzvers, fhowed him your Letter to me, which is conditional, viz. " If the Hofpital Ship Lynn is not capable " of proceeding hither, then, &r, Jamaica , 17 July 1741. ON the i5th Inftant, late at Night, Com- modore "Dover s informed me by Letter, that it was Admiral Vernon\ Orders to him that the Hofpital Ship Lynn fhould remain in this Harbour, and not proceed to join the Army. This only hindered her from failing Yefterday Morning, having had all in readinefs and my Order for that purpofe. You will eafiiy perceive the Prejudice the SernriS vice muft fuftain by this Ship's being detained here, confidering the great Supply of Neceflaries fne.has on board for the Sick and Wounded, together with all that is proper for compleatly furnifhing an Hofpital on Shore, provided by the Government at a great Expence, and prder'd to jV7 bni. ( 29 ) to be always with the Army, but now rendered ufelefs by the above Detention. As you are Commander in Chief here, it is my Duty to lay this Affair before you as above reprefented ; and, if you agree with me in Opi- nion, to requeft that you will be pleafed to fig- nify to Mr. Davers, the Neceflity there is for the Army to have the above Neceflaries and Stores, and the Hofpital Ship to attend it; and that he will therefore permit her to depart. That you may fee diftinctly what I have done in this Affair, 1 beg leave to lay before you for your Perufal, my two Memorials to Mr. Davers, of the 2d and 6th Inftant, General Wentivortfr's, Letter to me of the I3th, with my Anfwer of the 1 6th Inftant-, together with two Letters from Mr. Davers, and one to him, all of the i5th Inftant. / am, with great Refyeft, &c. JOHN CATHCART. To THOMAS DAVERS EJq- t I R> Q3 i Kingfton, Jamaica, i^July 1741. Letter to me, of the i5thlnft. in An- fwer to mine of the fame Date, I received early the Day following, and have fince waited on General Guife^ laid before him Genera! Want- worth's Letter to me, relating to the Hofpital Ship Lynn, with my Anfwer thereto ; as alfo all the Inftances I have made txTyou, that you might permit laid Ship to proceed to the Army : and I have mowed him, not only the Neceffity of this, but alfo that it is the Government's po- fitive Command, upon the Eftabliihmerit of the Hofpital, that the faid Ship mould always at- tend the fame, to receive and accommodate the Sick and Wounded, Upon which he has wrote ( 3) you the inclofed Letter, defiring you will per- mit her to depart. I humbly join with him in the fame Requeft, for the above and former Reafons given you ; efpecially becaufe when the Fleet was bound to Carthegena, fhe turned as faft to Windward, as far as our Rendezvouz Donna Maria Bay, and from thence to Port- Louis, as others of the Tranfports did : And if you think fit to order a Survey upon her now, I know, from the Report of the former Survey, and the Repairs fhe has had fince, you will find her fufficiently provided, and in a proper trim to turn to Windward. I am forry for the trouble I have given you in this Affair ; but now I have done with it ; and if you continue determined to detain her here after this, and what General Guife has wrote you, be pleafed to fignify fo much to me in two Lines, that the Blame, if any, may not lie upon me, b.ut where it ought ; for now in the Hurricane- Seafon, her Rifque is more here than at Sea, or in a Harbour to Windward ; and that you will allow me, and my Servant, and 18 Negroes, now in the Lynn, and belonging to the Army, to go in the Deptford Man of War to join it. lam, &c. JOAN CATHCART. Extrattfrom my Journal 18 and 19 July, 1741. Saturday, 18 July, 1741. This Day, in the Afternoon, I delivered Mr. Davers my Let- ter of this Date on board the Suffolk, in the Narrows : As to the Hofpital Ship Lynn, ' he told me, he would not let her go till he had Orders for it from the Admiral ; and this he would Jet Brigadier Guife know by a Letter. As ( 3' ) As to the 1 8 Negroes, he faid, they might have gone in the Strumbolo, or by the Snow Provi- dence, and that he would not let them go in the Deptfordy until General Guife defired it. As to my going in the Deptford, he faid, her Com- mander, Capt. Mofteyn, might carry me or not ? as he pleafed ; but that he would not give him any Orders about it.* To which I anfwered, That I could not part with the 18 Negros, who were appointed to help to navigate the Hofpital Ship Lynn, until he had poiitively refufed to let faid Ship go againft the exprefs Defire of the Commander in Chief, here fignified to him in the Letter I had now delivered him. I then alked him, when the Deptford would fail ? He told me early on Monday the zoth Inftant. From the Suffolk I went about 3 Miles farther on board the Deptford, told Capt. Mofleyn what the Com- modore faid about my going in his Ship, and alked him, if he would allow me a PafTage with him ? He told me, he was juft come from the Commodore ; that he was forry he fhould re'fufe any Gentleman (b fmall a Favour ; but as things flood, he could not allow me to go without an Order from him in writing. I then afked him when he would fail ? He fmiled, and faid, as foon as he could. From thence I made what hafte I. could to Kingflon, and fent an Exprefs to General Cuife, telling him the Anfwer I received from Mr. Divers as above, and defiring he would fisn and return me the following Letter o MR. Cathcart, by whom I fent you my Letter of this Date, defiring you would permit the Hofpital Ship Lynn to go to join the Army, brings me for Anfwer, that you cannot do it, having pofitive Orders from Admiral Ver- non, to keep her here. As this is the Cafe, I defire you will allow Mr. Cathcart and his Ser- vant, as alfo eighteen Negroes now in the faid Ship Lynn, to go in the Deptford Man of War, that they may join it as foon as poflible i becaufe as Mr. Cathcart can do no more here, his Atten- dance there may be neceflary ; therefore, be pleafed to fend him by the Bearer, an Order to Captain Mqfteyn to receive him, his Servant, and faid Negroes. I am, &c. GUISE. Sunday, 19 July, 1741. This Letter being figned and returned to me, I fent early this Morn- ing to Mr. Davers on board the Suffolk, by Mr. Campbell, an Officer in Col. Cochrar's Regiment ; in Anfwer to which he brought a Letter from Mr. Davers to Brigadier Guife, telling him that con- trary to Expectation, theDeptford had failed that Morning, Captain Mqftejn having de fired it the Night before, to prevent his Seamen from defert- ing : But he told Mr. Campbell, by word of Mouth, that had fhe ftaid, it was doubtful if I mould have gone in her. ( 33 ) the Honourable Brigadier-General WENTWORTH. SIR, Kingfltn, Jamaica, 5 Augi I Beg leave to refer you to my Letter of the 1 6 July : I endeavoured to get a Paflage, as therein mentioned, in the Deptford Capt. Mojleyn i in order to attend my Duty in the Army, feeing Commodore Davers would not, at the Defire of Brigadier Guife, permit the Hofpital Ship Lynn to depart ; but to my great Surprize, Mr. Davers refufed me an Order in Writing for Capt. Mof- tcyn to receive me, and without it the Captain told me I could not go. This I am told is the only Inilance in this or any former Expedition* of refufing a Perfon who bears his Majefty's Commiflion, a Paflage for a few Leagues in one of his Ships. After this, Brigadier Guife ordered me a Paflage in the Ship Forward, one of your Tranfports, that is to carry Wine for the Ufe of the Men of War in Cumberland Harbour ; but upon Receipt of your Letter to him dated 31 July, he fentme with a Letter to Mr. Davers , who has a Depu- tation from Mr. Wallace to officiate as Agent of Tranfports for him here, telling him that he thought it neceflary that the Stores in the Hof- pital Ship Lynn mould be fent to the Army as foon as poflible, and therefore defired they might be put on board the Humphry Tranfport, and that (he may proceed with them : This I thought exceeding right, that as he would not permit the Hofpital Ship Lynn to go, the Stores ihould be forwarded, and me either ufed here as an Infir- mary Ship, or difcharged : In anfwer to this Letter he wrote ro the Brigadier, but as he E thought, ( 34 ) thought, not much to the Purpofe , viz. That fhe could not be got ready to fail with the Ships that go To-morrow. This the Brigadier very well knew, and did not expect or think fhe could : And to me, he faid, That he thought another Tranfport would be as proper as the Humphry^ becaufe me wanted fixteen Men of her Complement. Whether he will confent to this reafonable Propofal, is yet uncertain ; but if he do not, I cannot fee how he can account for tak- ing one of the Army's Tranfports to carry Wine for the Fleet, and not permit another of them at the fpecial Defire of the Commander in Chief here, to carry what is equally or more neceflary for the Army, The Stores for the Sick and Wounded. Be this as it will, as I find Mr. Guife leaves this Affair wholly to Mr. Davers, and does not think it convenient to exert the Power he has as Com- rnander in Chief here relating to it ; and as I cannot carry it farther either by fpeaking or wri- ting, I mail proceed as the Brigadier has directed in the Ship Forward to the Army, and leave Or- ders with Mr. Campbell the Commiffary, to take care of the Stores in the Hofpital Ship until your farther Orders come relating to them, which Or- ders he has promifed to execute with Care. I have the Honour tc be, &c. JOHN CATHCART^, ( 35 ) "'Ofii $0 the Honourable Admiral VERNON in Cumberland Harbour j or in his Abfence y Sir CHALONER OGLE. SIR, King/Ion, Jamaica, -1$ Aug. 1741. YEfterday Captain Davers fent for me, and told me, That he had now your leave to let the Hofpital Ship Lynn go to join the Fleet, but that he would not affift her with any Men. I an- fwered, that the fame Reafons fubfifted as he hacf fix Weeks ago, when he gave her what Men me wanted : but he feems pofitive, and I believe will not give her any Affiftance until you order it. As it is but twelve Men that (he wants, and that only until me get to Cumberland Harbour, or where the Fleet may be, I beg you may be pleafed to give him Orders to fupply her with fo many, for it is not at this time in the Power of any Man to get Seamen here to go in the Tranf- port Service. I beg leave to add my fincere Wifhes for your Succefs, and that I am with great Refpeft, &JV. JOHN CATHCART. -iO To tie Honourable Brigadier-General WENTWORTH. SIR, Kingftcn, Jamaica, 29 Aug . 1741. IN the Lift Letter I had the Honour to write you 5th Inftant, I told you that if Captain Davers would not comply with Brigadier Gutfe's Defire of fending the Hofpital Stores in onej of the Army's Tranfports, I intended to proceed to die Army in the Ship Forward, and leave faid Stores under the Care of Mr. Campbell the Com- mifikry. Said Ship Forward^ tho* near loaded E z this C 3* ) this Week paft is ftill here, nor has Mr. Davers complied with the Brigadier's Defire ; but Yef* terday he fent for me, and told me, That the Admiral had given him leave to let the Hofpital Ship Lynn proceed to join the Fleet ; but that he, Captain Davers, would not afiift her with any Seamen, not fo much as a Boy. I then again propofed his fending the Stores by one of our own Tranfports, as General Guife had formerly requefted, and that he would, if he had Power fo to do, difcharge the Hofpital Ship Lynn to eafe the Government of a great Expence, being now rendered ufelefs for want of Hands. As to the firft, his Anfwer was, he would not ; and as to the Jaft, he defired me to tell the Mailer of the Lynn, that he would difcharge his Ship from the Service if in ten Days fhe was not fufficicntly manned. I believe it will be impoflible for him to find Seamen, and as impoflible for any Perfoty to get Warehoufe-room here for the Stores ; and therefore I have wrote to Admiral Vernon, and in his Abfence to Sir Chaloner Qgle t requefting an Order for twelve Seamen, Duplicate of which Letter I fend you herewith, that you may be pleafed to add what you think proper, to prevent the great Inconveniency of landing the Hofpital Stores here, where they will fpoil and decay, and not anfwer the End intended by the Go- vernment. / am with great Refceff, &c. JOHN CATHCART, m -'' Ex!' io'i (37) Extratf of a Letter to the Honourable Sir WILLIAM YONGE, Secretary at War^ dated Jamaica, 5 Sept. 1741. TH E Hofpital Ship Lynn, with all the Bed- ding, NecefTaries and Stores for the Sick, is ftill detained here, firft by Admiral demon's Order, and now that being recalled by the Conduct of his Substitute here Commodore.D^'iwj, who will not fupply her with a few Hands to help to na- vigate her to Cumberland Harbour only , and by the laft I have even been refufed fo fmall a Fa- vour as my Paflage to the Army in one of his Majefty's Ships : If ever they are required to ju- ftify this Conduct of detaining this Ship and me from the Army fo long, which may be the Cafe, they will find it very difficult, if not altogether impoffible. It will not avail them to fay, That no Damage has enfued, becaufe the Army has been in good Health and did not want Necefla- ries for Sick ; for the contrary might have hap- pened. However, that no Blame may lie at my Door, I beg leave to fend you herewith Copies of all my Proceedings in this Affair, that if wanted Recourfe may be had to them, efpecially to vin- dicate my own Conduct therein, which to the beft of my Judgement has been for the Good of the Service. JOHN CATHCAR.T. I mall not, Sir, trouble you with more original Papers, what I have now fent you being fufficient to make plain and evident what I undertook to prove ; and I (hall wait a Week or- ten Days for your Anfwer, which I hope will prevent my pub- J** ff <"v *-> f* /J - -- ?fc-T** -*.. C . (38) publiftiing the foregoing and fome other Papers I have yet to add. / am with great Refpeff, Sir, Tour moft obedient humble Servant, JOHN CATHCART. ' May 29, 1744. AS the preceding Pages contain a diftinct Narration of what has part betwixt Admi- ral Vernon and me, fince the Publication of that Pamphlet, intitied, Original Papers relating to the Expedition to tie //^W^/Cuba, wherein I am fo highly injured ; and as he hath not thought fit to take the lead notice of what I have wrote to him on the Subject of fome Let- ters published in the faid Pamphlet, notwith- ftanding my repeated and earneft Requefts to him, and that I have waited for his Anfwers much beyond the time mentioned in the Jaft Pa- ragraph of the foregoing Letter ; I hope that no unprejudiced Perfon, nor indeed that he himfelf, will blame me for taking this Method of vindi- cating myfelf to the Publick, with regard to an Affair that tends fo very much to the utter Ruin of my Character and Intereft in the World. I muft therefore appeal to every impartial Reader, If, in the firft place, I have not made it plain and evident, that Admiral Demon's Accnfation of me, in relation to the Article of Brandy aboard his Majefty's Tranfports, is abfolutely falfe and groundlefs , there having been no part of the faid Brandies in any Ship but the Bro- thers^ freighted at private Charge ; nor any, for Sale to the Army, on board the Hofpital Ship Lynn> as the Admiral inlinuated to General [Ventivortb. 2dly, ( 39 ) 2dly, That the Hofpital Ship Lynn was actu- aily detained at Jamaica^ by an Officer of the Admiral, Capt. Davers, and that this Detention proceeded, as the faid Officer aflerts in his two Letters to me of the 15 July, 1741, from an exprefs and pofitive Order from Admiral Vernon. 'Tis probable the Admiral might have forgotten that he gave fuch an Order to Captain Davers t but it is no lefs probable that Captain Dauers put him in Mind of it in his Letter to him of the 15 July, by Captain Durell-, and in others fub-. fequent to that, by telling him he had complied with his laid Order, and had detained the Ship. This not an Officer of the meaneft Capacity fel- dom or ever omits to do to his Superior j nor can fuch an Omiflion be even fuppofed in a Gentle- man of Captain Davers's Character, who perfectly knows his Duty. Thefe Letters too from Capt. Davers, the Admiral muft have had in his Pot- feffipn on and before the I7th of Auguft 1741 j for on that Day he wrote to General Wentwortb* 3 and therefore I cannot account for his alluring the General in his Letter to him of the ipth of faid u Being defirous to tranfmit your Letters to your Hands *' as loon as I can, I difpatch them to you before I liave '- read all my Letters. But finding two Paragraphs in Capt,, *' Davers's Letter relating to the Norway Merchant Tran- " fport, and the Lynn Holpital Ship, I have drawn out Ex- tradls of them for you, that you may give the Orders ia the Affair that you think proper ; and I cannot but * agree with Captain Davers, that it would be proper to di charge them from the Service : for were the Lynn Hofpi- tal Ship here, fhe could be of no Service to you, as fhe draws too much Water for getting her into the River dugufta : So that file muft lie in the Harbour with us, which I take to be at leaft feven Leagues from your Camp, which would render her of no Service to you as an Hofpital Ship. And I take Mr. Catkcart's Solicitoufnefs about her to be in regard toother Merchandize on board, ' that might not be fo lerviceable to the Army, &:." (40 ) faid Month, that no Officer of his would have impeded or detained the Hofpital Ship Lynn from coming to Cuba. 3dly. That the Detetinon of the Hofpital Ship Lynn was not falfely reprefented by me to Gene- ral Wentworth, as the Admiral tells him j but in a true, plain, and undefigning Manner, well fupported by Facts and good Authorities : and that my Endeavours to get the faid Ship and Stores for the Sick to Cuba> proceeded from the great Defire I had to do every thing in my Power, for the Good of his Majefty's Service, being perfuaded that both the Ship and Scores would be of great Ufe to the Army ; and not from any Solicitoufnefs I had on account of other Mer- chandize aboard, as the Admiral is pleafed to fay. And laftly, I cannot help appealing to the Reader, if, from what has been laid before him, it does not likewife appear that the Admiral has At leaft run into the Belief of fome things, and has afTerted fome Facts, which never had any Exiftence but in the Imagination, perhaps, of a prejudiced Informer, or in his own Mifappre- henfion : And that by fuch aflumed, groundlefs and wayward Opinions, he, in fome Degree, ob- ftructed this Branch of his Majefty's Service in the faid Expedition ; however much he might have imagined he had the Good of fome others at Heart. To make this yet more manifeft, I /hall take the Liberty to add from my Journal and other Letters, an exact Account how the faid Hofpital Ship at laft got from Jamaica to Cuba, and of what Ufe me and the Stores were to the Army when me arrived there. 3 Friday (40 Friday , 18 Sept. 1741. THIS Day General Guife told me, that he had ordered Lieutenant Colonel Edmond- Jtoun, Major Stewart, Captain Stewart, Lieut. John Campbell* and Lieutenant John Fergufin* with forty Soldiers, to have their Paflage in the Lynn Hofpital Ship to the Army in Cuba. I faid the Ship was ready to put to Tea, but flil-1 wanted eight of her Complement of Seamen ; and I urged the Necefllty of having this Ship fully manned, this being the height of the hurricane Seafon, and fne having on board the Stores for the Sick, kept here already too long, and the above Officers and Soldiers , and that as Commodore 'Defers had now in this Harbour above 2000 Seamen, he might poffibiy be induced from thefe Reafons to fpare eight of them to this Ship. General Guife immediately wrote him preffingly upon this Head, and requefted, that he would Jend this Ship ei^ht Men only, until me joined the Fleet, and then* to be returned to the Man of War they belonged to. Saturday, 19 Sept. 1741. This Day General Guife {hewed me Commodore Davers's- Anfwer to his Letter of Yefterday, in which he fay?, " As to the Lynn I can fpare her no Men, and ce if me wants eight of her Complement, I be- " lieve ftie'll not go this Trip." I told the Matter of the Hofpital Ship of this flat Refufal from Commodore T) avers ; and that the above Officers and Soldiers were order'd to proceed in his Ship, amongft which laft force might be found that could help to work his Ship, upon a Promife of full Pay and other Encourage- ments. I told him farther, That his Ship and F the (42 ) the other Tranfports were to fail to Cuba under the Convoy of two Men of War, the Defiance and the Ludlow-Caftle, who would probably fpare us forr.e Seamen after we got out of the Harbour : Upon which, he and I refolved to get things in readinefs., and to venture out with the reft. Saturday 26 Sept. 1741. This Day Col. Ed- mondftouiiy with the other Officers and 100 Sol- diers, in place of 40, embarked in the Hofpital Ship Lynn , which made the Safety of this Ship of fo much the greater Confequence to the Ser- vice by the Addition of 60 Soldiers, all in Health and fit for Duty. I therefore defired her Matter to go and reprefent this to Commodore Davers, and requeft a Supply of eight or ten Sea-* men* being informed that he had promifed to aflift the other Tranfports that were' to fail with us, with what Seamen they wanted. But this Effort had no Effect, as the Mafter of the Lynn upon his Return told me, -and that the Commodore ? s Anfwer was, " Sir, you are not to depend upon " or pxpecl: any Affiftance from me," Monday -, 28 Sept. 1741. The Mafter of the Lynn being told that Commodore Davers had this Day fent down Seamen to mann the Tranf- ports, went on board the Defiance, Capt. Trevor, who had the diftributing of them, to aik if there were any for his Ship ; and upon his Return, he told me, that Captain 'Trevor's Anfwer was, " ,The Commodore has fent down fifty Seamen e to mann the Tranfports, with a Lift of the Ships " Names that are to be affifted, but your Ship " is not in the Lift." Colonel Edmondftoun and Major Stewart^ upon hearing this, propofed to write .( 43 ) Write a Letter on this Subject to Mr. D avers ; but when I told them the prefTmg Inftances that had been made to' him on this Head by General Guife^ myfeif and our Captain, and the Anfwers of the Commodore to us all, they thought It would have no Effect, and fo dropt it. ExtraEt of my Letter 29 Sept. 1741, to the Honourable Sir WILLIAM YON G E Bart. Secretary at War. TH E chief Defign of this, is to bring to your Hands the inclofed Abftract from my Journal relating to the Hofpital Ship Lynn^ by which you will fee the Treatment fhe has met with finCe my laft Letters to you of the 5th and j2th Inftant. If it pleafe God to fend me in Safety to the Army, I (hall keep you advifed cf any thing that may occur worthy of your Notice that re- Jates to my Office in it, in compliance with the Orders you was pleafed to give me at parting. In the mean time, I beg leave to obferve, that if the Caufe of the Detention of this Hofpital Ship Lynn^ and the Stores for the Sick for fo many Months from it, be inquired into as it ought, and not pafled over in Silence, Commanders will be more cautious in giving Orders, and more ready to give Help in time of .Need ; which will have & very good Effect, and be of very great Benefit and Advantage to this and future Expeditions to thefe Parts fo far from home. N. B. We failed from Port-Royal\n Jamaica 29 Sept. and arrived at Cumberland Harbour in Cuba ii Oft. 1741. During the PaiTage, out Ship the Lynn was never a-rongft the laft of our F 2 Fker, (44) Fleet, and the Convoy never fpared Sail for us in particular -, which is a farther Proof of her be- ins neither fo heavy or leewardly as reprefented to the General by Mr. Vernon. Extracts from my Journal from 12 Oft. to 30 Nov. 1741. Cuba, Monday 12 Off. 1741. THIS Morning in my way to the Camp, Doctor Dalrymple^ who was then attending fome of the Sick in * Plumber River, told me, That the Hofpital Ship was come in good time; becaufe the Army began to be fickly : That the prevailing Diftemper in it was the Flux, that the Sick had no Beds to lie upon, few Bedclothes to keep them from the Damps and Cold of the Night?, which began to be very heavy and fharp, and that they had no Refremments to take : He defired me to inform the General of all this as foon as I reached the Camp. This I did, adding that the Sick might now have what was wanted of Beds, Bedding and Refrefhments. The Ge- neral faid, He was glad they were come, and defired I might iflue them from time to time as Doctor Dalrymple fiiould direct, and that I mould fend him a particular Account of all the Stores I brought with me. On the 2d of November, being on board the Hofpital Ship in Cumberland Harbour, I received ]ate at Night, a Letter from Doctor Dalrywple In the Camp, telling me that the Sicknefs there had increafed very much, that the General had ordered eighty of the worft to be fent to the Ho- ipital Ship, and that it would be proper for me to wait * This is the fame River that the Admiral calls Jugujla. (45 wait on him, to get a farther Supply of Negro Nurfes, becaufe I needed not expert that any white Nurfes could now be fpared from the Camp. On the 3d Inftant, I got to the Camp in the Evening, where the General told me, that Jie had ordered eighty of the Sick to be fent'on board the Hofpital Ship with 10 Negroes to attend them ; and that if any of the ten proved unfit to ferve in the Hofpital, they mould be changed, and better fent in their place. On the 8th Inft. Doctor M c Kenzie was fent in our Long-boat to the Ships in the Humberth-at had Sick on board, to pick out of the worft of them, as many as {he could carry, and fhe brought 24. This Day Major Hamilton and Major Stewart were brought on board the Hofpital Ship, and on the loth Inftant, Sir Robert Abercromby and Capt. M e Knight, all dangeroufly ill. By thofe that brought the two laft, we heard, that the Sicknefs in the Camp, and amongft the Tranf- ports in the River, had increafed fo much, that but few remained well to keep guard, and help to embark the Baggage and Artillery. Admi- ral Vernon fent an Affiftance of Men and B :ats, and on the i5th Inftant the Sick, Artillery and Baggage being embarked, the Camp was burnt, and the Remains -of the Army, about 400, as I Was told, including Officers of all Ranks, marched to their Tranfports down the River-fide about 8 Miles. In the Rear were 45 Officers accoutered as Soldiers, commanded by Lieutenant- Colonel Whitefoord^ and about 3 Afternoon, they got to their Ships : About 40 fell fick on the March, and about 360 embarked in Health. On getting the Sick on board the Hofpital Ship, moft of her Officers and Seamen were feized ( 4-6 ) feized with the Fever, fo that we could not fend our Long-boat to the River for more Sick. On the 1 6th, 1 7th, and iSth, moft of the Tranf- port Ships got out of the River into the Har- bour ; and on the i9th early, I told the General, that we had room in the Hofpital for 30 more Sick, but that we could not mann our Boat to fetch them, or fpare a Surgeon to pick them, having now but two that were able to do Duty in the Hofpital. He told me they fhould be fent, and that Day his own Surgeon brought on board 26. About this time the Sicknefs became very mor- tal : for on the 21 ft Inftant, I fent the General a Return of the Sick in the Hofpital Ship from the 4th Inftant, by which it appeared, that we had taken in 115 Patients, of which 56 died, and 59 remained under Cure ; fo this Day w,e had room for 41 Patients more, which I defired might be fent. . On the 25th and 26th Inftant, we took in our full Compliment of Sick, and on the 27th, in failing out of the Harbour, being weakly manned, and not able to manage our Sails, our Ship ran aground. The Admiral fent us AfTiftance of Men and Boats, which enabled us to get off', and the next day we failed for Jamaica ; where on the 3Oth Inftant at Noon, we arrived fafe ; and when the Hofpital Ship left Cumberland Harbour, we had the following lick Officers in her great Cabbin and Gun-room, viz. Major Stewart, Sir Robert Abercromby^ Capt. (now Major) Wentwortb, Mr. Pitt, Affiftant to the Deputy Pay-Mafter-General, Lieutenants Stew- art, Dairy mple and Campbell : Major Hamil- ton of Harrifon's, and Lieutenant Swiney of CochrarrfS) went to their Tranfports, being pretty -wel (47) well recovered, to make room for two of the above. The Reader, from what has been here laid be- fore him, muft now plainly fee of what great Ufe and Service the Hofpital Ship Lynn and the Stores were to the Army, after me arrived at Cuba, how neceflary it was for me to prefs for her Departure, and how rightly General Went- "joortb judged in not ordering her to be difcharged at Jamaica, as advifed by Admiral Vernon in his above-cited Letter to him, pag. 39, of the I7th Auguft, 1741. I fhall only further add a Letter from me to Sir William Tonge, of the i2th of December 1741. in order to (hew what my Sen- timents then were as to thefe Matters -, with which I mall conclude, and leave the whole to the Confederation of the Publick. To the Honourable Sir WILLIAM YONGE Bart. Secretary at War. S I R, Kingflon, Jamaica, 12 December 1741. IDI D myfelf the Honour to write you fully by this Conveyance the Dunkirk Man of War ; this being intended to remedy one great Incon- veniency attending the Army's Hofpital Ship in thefe Parts where we now are . The Hofpital Ships, that attend the Ships of War here, are his Majefty's Property, and there- fore are fupplied from his Stores, and by the Commanders of his Ships with all NecerTaries anda fufficient Number of Officers and Seamen to na- vigate them with fafety, fo that they are never left behind when it is judged neceflary that they fhould attend the Fleet. The Hofpital Ship ap- (48) appointed to attend the Land Forces mud be allowed to be equally neceffary, and of Ufe and Service to them ; but as me is a hired Ship, and not belonging to the Government, fhe is not in- titi. ^ *o thefe Advantages : on the contrary, ever fince me came under the power of Admiral Fer- non, me has been exceedingly ill-ufed ; fome Proofs of which 1 beg leave to lay before you in the following Facts. At Jamaica, in the Month of January laft, her Carpenter, a necefTary Officer, and two of her Sailors were freffed on board his Squadron : No Solicitations could recover them either be- fore we left Jamaica, or in February following, when in Iri/h Bay, in Hifpaniola ; and in March before we entered Cartbagena Harbour, when we had none to caulk our Decks to keep the Sick and ourfelves dry, I folicited him for this Offi- cer, but did not fucceed. At laft, when in the utmoft Diftrefs, two Days before we left Car- tbagena Harbour, in the latter End of April,, I reprefented to him by Letter the pitiful Condi- tion we were then in, for want of the faid Officer and two Seamen ; adding, what the Confe- quence might probably be, if they were not re- turned to us. This had the defired Effect, and next Morning they were fent back after a Deten- tion of near four Months. After our Return from Cartbagena to Jamaica in June laft, I petitioned Commodore Leftock, appointed to grant Surveys, for one on the Ho- fpital Ship, and the Report of faid Survey was, that fhe was fit to be kept in the Service, if her Rudder and fome other Parts were repaired. Her U9 ) Her Matter applied to Admiral Vernon for a Piece of Timber from the King's Yard to mend the Rudder. His Anfwer was, You fhall have none. And by meer Accident a Piece was found elfewhere *. In the faid Month of June, fome time before the Fle:t failed from Jamaica to Cuba, General Wentworth fent Admiral Vernon a Reprefenta- tion in writing of fuch Tranfports as could not proceed for want of Seamen, and the Number each Ship wanted ; and amongft others, that the Hofpital Ship Lynn wanted fourteen. The other Tranfports got help, and did proceed : But the Hofpital Ship got none, till after a painful Soli- citation of 1 1 Days after the Fleet failed, Com- modore Davers gave her the Seamen {he wanted. Two days thereafter, being the i5th of July laft, when fhe would have failed under the Con- voy of the Tork Man of War to join the Army at Cula 9 he recalled the Seamen he had given, and wrote me, that by Admiral Vernotfs pofitive Order, fhe was to remain in Port, nor would he permit her to fail. Under this Embargo, or ar- bitrary Detention, fhe continued to the latter End of * After fearching Kingfton and Port- Royal. for two DayS) for fuch a Piece, of 'Timber as -we wanted ; the Majler of the Lynn brought me word) that he had found a Piece -proper for the Ufe in a Parcel of Mahogany ', which Mr. Wood- cock, Merchant in Kingfton, was then Jhippir/g for England. 'This Gentleman^ upon hearing our Cafe, generoujly fpared it to us. ( 5 ) of Augufi following, and then the Commodore told me, that the Admiral did allow her to de- part ; but that he, Mr. Davers, was determined not to fpare her cne Seaman. And he kept his Word ftrictly : For on the 28th of September fol- Jowing, he affifted the other Tranfports that were to fail the next Day with us, with fifty Seamen, and would not give the Hofpital Ship one. Lad Month, November, when the Hofpital Ship was coming out of Cumberland Harbour in Cuba, having no Seamen to manage her Sails, me run aground. The Admiral feeing our Diftrefs, fent about 120 Seamen under the Command of three Lieutenants, Lord 'Thomas Bertie, Mr. L?J!ey, and his own. After about twelve Hours of hard Labour, they got her off, faw the weak * Condition we were in (having but five white Men * Many of our Tranfporls on leaving Cumber- land Harbour, were in as weak a Condition as we, as will appear by the following melancholy In- fiance, taken fr cm my Journal; Kingfton, Ja- maica, 5 December, 174.1. " This Day came " an Account of the Lofs of one of our Tranf- , " ports, the Elizabeth Pink, a fine Ship. She " was miffing fevcn Days after thofe who failed " with her from Cumberland Harbour, arrived here ; but one of her Paflengers, Lieutenant " Swiney, is now come, and gives the follow- ' ing Particulars of her Lofs. He fays, that when me left the Harbour the 26th of laft ' Month, fhe was fo weakly manned, that they " could not ftow an Anchor that hung at her " Bow, ( 51 ) Men capable of doing Duty on board, viz. the Mailer, Second Mate, Carpenter, and two Sea- men, ** Bow, that they neglecled to cut it away, any " that had fkill in thefe Matters bein^ fick and ~ w " below Deck ; and that before next Morning *' with the Ship's working, it had made a Hole f* in her, when they found the Water up to her * lower Deck, ana her Pumps choaked : They had *' all juft Time enough to get into the Long-boat *' ( being thirty-two in Number) before me funk, " except two that were left in the Ship below " Deck, the Boatfwain and another, who had