[Illustration: "_I have made the discovery that the Morgans were never
remarkable for very great talent._"]
As far as I have been able to read the family history, I have made the
discovery that the Morgans were never remarkable for very great
talent; but for many generations we have lived in much the same spot,
and it has been our motto to make life happy to those around us, and
to assist those with whom we come in contact. I believe my family have
lived for this object. There are many days in the history of the
family that are much treasured by us, but there will be no one day
more honoured than the memory of this one. When I hand these addresses
to Lady Tredegar, and express to her the kind sentiments everyone has
made use of as to the memory of the late Lord Tredegar, we shall one
and all be thankful, and the memory of this day will live long in the
heart of every member of the Tredegar family.
_Tredegar Memorial Corn Exchange, Newport,
September 4th, 1878._
The Mayor has spoken of the commercial spirit which, he stated, has
recently been evinced by the Tredegar family. His Worship in that
respect erred a little, for several hundred years ago there was a
gentleman who called himself Merchant Morgan. He sailed on the Spanish
Main, and brought back with him a great deal of money which he had
made in trade--or otherwise. From that day to this, the Morgans have
been very well off. Later, there were ironworks in Tredegar Park,
carried on by Sir William Morgan. Those works paid also, and when he
had money enough Sir William Morgan removed them away, restored the
green fields, and left other people to attend to the works.
_Mayoral Banquet, Newport,
December 15th, 1881._
Sir Henry Morgan played an important part in the stirring drama of
Empire-building. His name has become a household word, and his daring
exploits on the Spanish Main in the 17th century rival in song and
story the heroic adventures of Drake, Frobisher, and Hawkins. It is
mainly to him that we own the island of Jamaica, the most wealthy of
our West Indian possessions. He was not a plaster saint, it is true;
but it is incorrect to call him a pirate, for there is no gainsaying
the fact that all his actions were justified by instructions he
received from time to time from his Monarch, Charles II, who
countenanced every movement of his, and even empowered him to
commission whatever persons he thought fit, to be partakers with him
and his Majesty in his various expeditions and enterprises. He was
cruel in the ordinary sense of cruelty exercised in warfare, no
doubt, but only when in arms against the blood-thirsty Spaniards. As a
leader of men he was never surpassed by any captain of the seas, and
in his glorious conquest of Panama--which the great Sir Francis Drake
in 1569 had failed to take with 4,000 men when the city was but poorly
fortified--Sir Henry ransacked it in 1670 when it had become doubly
fortified, having with him only 1,200 men, and without the aid of any
pikemen or horsemen.
The charges of cruelty and rapacity levelled against him are beneath
contempt and criticism. The Spaniards tortured and murdered wholesale,
and who can wonder that the heroic Welshman made just reprisals, and
carried out the Biblical adjuration "an eye for an eye, and a tooth
for a tooth," when punishing the apostles of the Inquisition and
assassination.
It is due to one John Esquemeling, the author of the first account of
buccaneers, "The History of the Buccaneers of America," first
published in 1684, that Sir Henry was designated a "pirate."
Esquemeling had served under Morgan, and, being dissatisfied with the
share of prize money allotted to him after the expedition at Panama,
nursed his revenge until his return to Holland some years after. Sir
Henry took action against him, and claimed to obtain substantial
damages from Esquemeling for his malicious and misleading statement.