_The Army under lord Cathcart and Sir Chaloner Ogle proceeds
to the West Indies..... Nature of the Climate on the Spanish
Main..... Admiral Vernon sails to Carthagena..... Attack of
Tort Lasar..... Expedition to Cuba..... Rupture between the
Queen of Hungary and the king of Prussia..... Battle of
Molwitz..... The king of Great Britain concludes a Treaty of
Neutrality with France for the Electorate of Hanover..... A
Body of French Forces join the Elector of Bavaria..... He is
crowned kind of Bohemia at Prague..... Fidelity of the
Hungarians..... War between Russia and Sweden.....
Revolution in Russia..... The Spanish and French Squadrons
pass unmolested by the English Admiral in the
Mediterranean..... Inactivity of the naval Power of Great
Britain..... Obstinate Struggle in electing Members in the
new Parliament..... Remarkable Motion in the House of
Commons by Lord Noel Somerset..... The Country Party obtain
a Majority in the House of Commons..... Sir Robert Walpole
created Earl of Orford..... Change in the Ministry.....
Inquiry into the Administration of Sir Robert Walpole.....
Obstructed by the new ministry..... Reports of the Secret
Committee..... The elector of Bavaria chosen Emperor.....
The king of Prussia gains the battle at Czaslaw..... Treaty
at Breslau..... The French Troops retire under the Cannon of
Prague..... A fresh Body sent with the Mareschal de
Mallebois to bring them off..... Extraordinary retreat of M.
de Belleisle-The king of Great Britain forms an Army in
Flanders..... Progress of the War between Russia and
Sweden..... The King of Sardinia declares for the House of
Austria..... Motions of the Spaniards in Italy and
Savoy..... Conduct of Admiral Matthews in the
Mediterranean..... Operations in the West Indies..... The
Attention of the Ministry turned chiefly on the Affairs of
the Continent..... Extraordinary Motion in the House of
Lords by Earl Stanhope..... Warm and obstinate Debate on the
Repeal of the Gin-Act..... Bill for quieting
Corporations..... Convention between the Emperor and the
Queen of Hungary..... Difference between the King of Prussia
and the Elector of Hanover..... The King of Great Britain
obtains a victory over the French at Dettingen..... Treaty
of Worms..... Conclusion of the Campaign..... Affairs in the
North..... Battle of Campo Santo..... Transactions of the
British Fleet in the Mediterranean..... Unsuccessful
Attempts upon the Spanish Settlements in the West Indies_
ARMY UNDER LORD CATHCART AND SIR CHALONER OGLE.
The British armament had by this time proceeded to action in the West
Indies. Sir Chaloner Ogle, who sailed from Spithead, had been overtaken
by a tempest in the Bay of Biscay, by which the fleet, consisting
of about one hundred and seventy sail, were scattered and dispersed.
Nevertheless he prosecuted his voyage, and anchored with a view to
provide wood and water, in the neutral island of Dominica, where the
intended expedition sustained a terrible shock in the death of the
gallant lord Cathcart, who was carried off by a dysentery. The loss
of this nobleman was the more severely felt, as the command of the
land-forces devolved upon general Wentworth, an officer without
experience, authority, and resolution. As the fleet sailed along the
island of Hispaniola, in its way to Jamaica, four large ships of war
were discovered; and sir Chaloner detached an equal number of his
squadron to give them chase, while he himself proceeded on his voyage.
As those strange ships refused to bring to, lord Augustus Fitz-roy,
the commodore of the four British ships, saluted one of them with a
broadside, and a smart engagement ensued. After they had fought during
the best part of the night, the enemy hoisted their colours in the
morning, and appeared to be part of the French squadron, which had
sailed from Europe tinder the command of the marquis d’Antin, with
orders to assist the Spanish admiral De Torres, in attacking and
distressing the English ships and colonies. War was not yet declared
between France and England; therefore hostilities ceased; the English
and French commanders complimented each other; excused themselves
mutually for the mistake which had happened; and parted friends, with a
considerable loss of men on both sides.
NATURE OF THE CLIMATE ON THE SPANISH MAIN.
In the meantime sir Chaloner Ogle arrived at Jamaica, where he joined
vice-admiral Vernon, who now found himself at the head of the most
formidable fleet and army that ever visited those seas, with full
power to act at discretion. The conjoined squadrons consisted of
nine-and-twenty ships of the line, with almost an equal number of
frigates, fire-ships, and bomb-ketches, well manned, and plentifully
supplied with all kinds of provisions, stores, and necessaries. The
number of seamen amounted to fifteen thousand; that of the land-forces,
including the American regiment of four battalions, and a body of
negroes enlisted at Jamaica, did not fall short of twelve thousand. Had
this armament been ready to act in the proper season of the year,
under the conduct of wise experienced officers, united in councils,
and steadily attached to the interest and honour of their country, the
Havannah, and the whole island of Cuba, might have been easily
reduced; the whole treasure of the Spanish West Indies would have been
intercepted; and Spain must have been humbled into the most abject
submission. But several unfavourable circumstances concurred to
frustrate the hopes of the public. The ministry had detained sir
Chaloner Ogle at Spithead without any visible cause, until the season
for action was almost exhausted; for, on the continent of new Spain, the
periodical rains begin about the end of April; and this change in the
atmosphere is always attended with epidemical distempers which render
the climate extremely unhealthy; besides, the rain is so excessive, that
for the space of two months no army can keep the field.
ADMIRAL VERNON SAILS TO CARTHAGENA.
Sir Chaloner Ogle arrived at Jamaica on the ninth day of January; and
admiral Vernon did not sail on his intended expedition till towards the
end of the month. Instead of directing his course towards the Havannah,
which lay to leeward, and might have been reached in less than three
days, he resolved to beat up against the wind to Hispaniola, in order
to observe the motion of the French squadron, commanded by the marquis
d’Antin. The fifteenth day of February had elapsed before he received
certain information that the French admiral had sailed for Europe,
in great distress for want of men and provisions, which he could not
procure in the West Indies. Admiral Vernon thus disappointed, called a
council of war, in which it was determined to proceed for Carthagena.
The fleet being supplied with wood and water at Hispaniola, set sail
for the continent of New Spain, and on the fourth of March, anchored
in Playa Grande, to the windward of Carthagena. Admiral de Torres had
already sailed to the Havannah; but Carthagena was strongly fortified,
and the garrison reinforced by the crews of a small squadron of large
ships, commanded by don Bias de Lesco, an officer of experience and
reputation. Here the English admiral lay inactive till the ninth, when
the troops were landed on the island of Tierra Bomba, near the mouth of
the harbour, known by the name of Boca-chica, or Little-mouth, which was
surprisingly fortified with castles, batteries, booms, chains, cables,
and ships of war. The British forces erected a battery on shore, with
which they made a breach in the principal fort, while the admiral sent
in a number of ships to divide the fire of the enemy, and co-operate
with the endeavours of the army. Lord Aubrey Beauclerc, a gallant
officer who commanded one of these ships, was slain on this occasion.
The breach being deemed practicable, the forces advanced to the attack;
but the forts and batteries were abandoned; the Spanish ships that lay
athwart the harbour’s mouth were destroyed or taken, the passage was
opened, and the fleet entered without further opposition. Then the
forces were re-embarked with the artillery, and landed within a mile of
Carthagena, where they were opposed by about seven hundred Spaniards,
whom they obliged to retire. The admiral and general had contracted a
hearty contempt for each other, and took all opportunities of expressing
their mutual dislike; far from acting vigorously in concert for the
advantage of the community, they maintained a mutual reserve, and
separate cabals; and each proved more eager for the disgrace of his
rival, than zealous for the honour of the nation.
The general complained that the fleet lay idle while his troops
were harassed and diminished by hard duty and distemper. The admiral
affirmed, that his ships could not lie near enough to batter the town
of Carthagena; he upbraided the general with inactivity and want of
resolution to attack the fort of Saint Lazar which commanded the
town, and might be taken by scalade. Wentworth, stimulated by these
reproaches, resolved to try the experiment. His forces marched up to
the attack; but the guides being slain, they mistook their route, and
advanced to the strongest part of the fortification, where they were
moreover exposed to the fire of the town. Colonel Grant, who commanded
the grenadiers, was mortally wounded; the scaling-ladders were found too
short; the officers were perplexed for want of orders and directions;
yet the soldiers sustained a severe fire for several hours with
surprising intrepidity, and at length retreated, leaving about six
hundred killed or wounded on the spot. Their number was now so much
reduced, that they could no longer maintain their footing on shore;
besides, the rainy season had begun with such violence, as rendered it
impossible for them to live in camp. They were, therefore, re-embarked;
and all hope of further success immediately vanished. The admiral,
however, in order to demonstrate the impracticability of taking the
place by sea, sent in the Gallicia, one of the Spanish ships which
had been taken at Boca-chica, to cannonade the town, with sixteen guns
mounted on one side, like a floating battery. This vessel, manned by
detachments of volunteers from different ships, and commanded by captain
Hore, was warped into the inner harbour, and moored before day, at a
considerable distance from the walls, in very shallow water. In this
position she stood the fire of several batteries for some hours, without
doing or sustaining much damage; then the admiral ordered the men to be
brought off in boats, and the cables to be cut; so that she drove with
the sea-breeze upon a shoal, where she was soon filled with water. This
exploit was absurd, and the inference which the admiral drew from it
altogether fallacious. He said it plainly proved that there was not
depth of water in the inner harbour sufficient to admit large ships near
enough to batter the town with any prospect of success. This indeed
was the case in that part of the harbour to which the Gallicia was
conducted; but a little farther to the left he might have stationed four
or five of his largest ships abreast, within pistol shot of the walls;
and if this step had been taken when the land-forces marched to the
attack of Saint Lazar, in all probability the town would have been
surrendered.
EXPEDITION TO CUBA.
After the re-embarkation of the troops, the distempers peculiar to the
climate and season began to rage with redoubled fury; and great numbers
of those who escaped the vengeance of the enemy perished by a more
painful and inglorious fate. Nothing was heard but complaints and
execrations; the groans of the dying, and the service for the dead;
nothing was seen but objects of woe, and images of dejection. The
conductors of this unfortunate expedition agreed in nothing but the
expediency of a speedy retreat from this scene of misery and disgrace.
The fortifications of the harbour were demolished, and the fleet
returned to Jamaica.--The miscarriage of this expedition, which had cost
the nation an immense sum of money, was no sooner known in England, than
the kingdom was filled with murmurs and discontent, and the people were
depressed in proportion to that sanguine hope by which they had been
elevated. Admiral Vernon, instead of undertaking any enterprise which
might have retrieved the honour of the British arms, set sail from
Jamaica with the forces in July, and anchored at the south-east part
of Cuba, in a bay, on which he bestowed the appellation of Cumberland
harbour. The troops were landed, and encamped at the distance of twenty
miles farther up the river, where they remained totally inactive, and
subsisted chiefly on salt and damaged provisions, till the month of
November, when, being considerably diminished by sickness, they were put
on board again, and re-conveyed to Jamaica. He was afterwards reinforced
from England by four ships of war, and about three thousand soldiers;
but he performed nothing worthy of the reputation he had acquired; and
the people began to perceive that they had mistaken his character.
RUPTURE BETWEEN THE QUEEN OF HUNGARY AND THE KING OF PRUSSIA.
The affairs on the continent of Europe were now more than ever
embroiled. The king of Prussia had demanded of the court of Vienna
part of Silesia, by virtue of old treaties of co-fraternity, which were
either obsolete or annulled; and promised to assist the queen with all
his forces in case she should comply with his demand; but this being
rejected with disdain, he entered Silesia at the head of an army, and
prosecuted his conquests with great rapidity. In the meantime the queen
of Hungary was crowned at Presburgh, after having signed a capitulation,
by which the liberties of that kingdom were confirmed; and the grand
duke her consort was, at her request, associated with her for ten years
in the government. At the same time the states of Hungary refused to
receive a memorial from the elector of Bavaria.
During these transactions, his Prussian majesty made his public entrance
into Breslau, and confirmed all the privileges of the inhabitants. One
of his generals surprised the town and fortress of Jablunka, on the
confines of Hungary; prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau, who commanded
another army which formed the blockade of Great Glogau, on the
Oder, took the place by scalade, made the generals Wallis and Reyski
prisoners, with a thousand men that were in garrison; here likewise the
victor found the military chest, fifty pieces of brass cannon, and a
great quantity of ammunition.
The queen of Hungary had solicited the maritime powers for assistance,
but found them fearful and backward. Being obliged, therefore, to exert
herself with the more vigour, she ordered count Neuperg to assemble a
body of forces, and endeavour to stop the progress of the Prussians in
Silesia. The two armies encountered each other in the neighbourhood of
Neiss, at a village called Molwitz; and, after an obstinate dispute,
the Austrians were obliged to retire with the loss of four thousand men
killed, wounded, or taken. The advantage was dearly purchased by the
king of Prussia. His kinsman Frederick, margrave of Brandenburgh, and
lieutenant-general Schuylemberg, were killed in the engagement,
together with a great number of general officers, and about two thousand
soldiers. After this action, Brieg was surrendered to the Prussian, and
he forced the important pass of Fryewalde, which was defended by
four thousand Austrian hussars. The English and Dutch ministers,
who accompanied him in his progress, spared no pains to effect an
accommodation; but the two sovereigns were too much irritated against
each other to acquiesce in any terms that could be proposed. The queen
of Hungary was incensed to find herself attacked, in the day of her
distress, by a prince to whom she had given no sort of provocation; and
his Prussian majesty charged the court of Vienna with a design either to
assassinate or carry him off by treachery; a design which was disowned
with expressions of indignation and disdain. Count Neuperg being obliged
to abandon Silesia, in order to oppose the Bavarian arms in Bohemia, the
king of Prussia sent thither a detachment to join the elector, under
the command of count Deslau, who, in his route, reduced Glatz and Neiss,
almost without opposition; then his master received the homage of the
Silesian states at Breslau, and returned to Berlin. In December, the
Prussian army was distributed in winter-quarters in Moravia, after
having taken Olmutz, the capital of that province; and in March his
Prussian majesty formed a camp of observation in the neighbourhood of
Magdeburgh.
A TREATY OF NEUTRALITY CONCLUDED WITH FRANCE FOR HANOVER.
The elector of Hanover was alarmed at the success of the king of
Prussia, in apprehension that he would become too formidable a
neighbour. A scheme was said to have been proposed to the court of
Vienna, for attacking that prince’s electoral dominions, and dividing
the conquest; but it was never put in execution. Nevertheless, the
troops of Hanover were augmented; the auxiliary Danes and Hessians in
the pay of Great Britain were ordered to be in readiness to march; and a
good number of British forces encamped and prepared for embarkation.
The subsidy of three hundred thousand pounds, granted by parliament, was
remitted to the queen of Hungary; and every thing seemed to presage the
vigorous interposition of his Britannic majesty. But in a little time
after his arrival at Hanover, that spirit of action seemed to flag,
even while her Hungarian majesty tottered on the verge of ruin. France
resolved to seize this opportunity of crushing the house of Austria.
In order to intimidate the elector of Hanover, mare-schal Mallebois was
sent with a numerous army into Westphalia; and this expedient proved
effectual. A treaty of neutrality was concluded; and the king of Great
Britain engaged to vote for the elector of Bavaria at the ensuing
election of an emperor. The design of the French court was to raise this
prince to the Imperial dignity, and furnish him with such succours as
should enable him to deprive the queen of Hungary of her hereditary
dominions.
{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}
A BODY OF FRENCH FORCES JOIN THE ELECTOR OF BAVARIA.
While the French minister at Vienna endeavoured to amuse the queen
with the strongest assurances of his master’s friendship, a body of
five-and-thirty thousand men began their march for Germany, in order to
join the elector of Bavaria; another French army was assembled upon
the Rhine; and the count de Belleisle being provided with large sums
of money, was sent to negotiate with different electors. Having thus
secured a majority of voices, he proceeded to Munich, where he presented
the elector of Bavaria with a commission, appointing him generalissimo
of the French troops marching to his assistance; and now the treaty
of Nymphen-burgh was concluded. The French king engaged to assist
the elector with his whole power, towards raising him to the Imperial
throne: the elector promised, that after his elevation he would never
attempt to recover any of the towns or provinces of the empire which
France had conquered; that he would, in his Imperial capacity, renounce
the barrier-treaty; and agree that France should irrevocably retain
whatever places she should subdue in the Austrian Netherlands. The next
step of Belleisle was to negotiate another treaty between France and
Prussia, importing, that the elector of Bavaria should possess Bohemia,
Upper Austria, and the Tyrolese; that the king of Poland should be
gratified with Moravia and Upper Silesia; and that his Prussian majesty
should retain Lower Silesia, with the town of Neiss and the county of
Glatz. These precautions being taken, the count do Belleisle repaired to
Franck-fort, in quality of ambassador and plenipotentiary from France,
at the Imperial diet of election. It was in this city that the French
king published a declaration, signifying, that as the king of Great
Britain had assembled an army to influence the approaching election of
an emperor, his most christain majesty, as guarantee of the treaty of
Westphalia, had ordered some troops to advance towards the Rhine, with
a view to maintain the tranquillity of the Germanie body, and secure the
freedom of the Imperial election.
In July, the elector of Bavaria being joined by the French forces tinder
mareschal Broglio, surprised the Imperial city of Passau, upon the
Danube; and entering Upper Austria at the head of seventy thousand men,
took possession of Lintz, where he received the homage of the states
of that country. Understanding that the garrison of Vienna was very
numerous, and that count Palfi had assembled thirty thousand Hungarians
in the neighbourhood of this capital, he made no farther progress
in Austria, but marched into Bohemia, where he was reinforced by a
considerable body of Saxons, under the command of count Rutowski,
natural son to the late king of Poland. By this time his Polish majesty
had acceded to the treaty of Nymphenburgh, and declared war against
the queen of Hungary, on the most frivolous pretences. The elector of
Bavaria advanced to Prague, which was taken in the night by scalade; an
achievement in which Maurice count of Saxe, another natural son of the
king of Poland, distinguished himself at the head of the French forces.
In December the elector of Bavaria made his public entry into his
capital, where he was proclaimed king of Bohemia, and inaugurated with
the usual solemnities; then he set out for Franckfort, to be present at
the diet of election.
At this period the queen of Hungary saw herself abandoned by all her
allies, and seemingly voted to destruction. She was not, however,
forsaken by her courage; nor destitute of good officers, and an able
ministry. She retired to Presburgh, and in a pathetic Latin speech to
the states, expressed her confidence in the loyalty and valour of her
Hungarian subjects. The nobility of that kingdom, touched with her
presence and distress, assured her unanimously that they would sacrifice
their lives and fortunes in her defence. The ban being raised, that
brave people crowded to her standard; and the diet expressed their
sentiments against her enemy by a public edict, excluding for ever the
electoral house of Bavaria from the succession to the crown of Hungary;
yet, without the subsidy she received from Great Britain, their courage
and attachment would have proved ineffectual. By this supply she
was enabled to pay her army, erect magazines, complete her warlike
preparations, and put her strong places in a posture of defence. In
December, her generals Berenclau and Mentzel, defeated count Thoring,
who commanded eight thousand men, at the pass of Scardingen, and opening
their way to Bavaria, laid the whole country under contribution; while
count Khevenhuller retook the city of Lintz, and drove the French troops
out of Austria. The grand seignor assured the queen of Hungary,
that far from taking advantage of her troubles, he should seize all
opportunities to convince her of his friendship; the pope permitted her
to levy a tenth on the revenues of the clergy within her dominions; and
even to use all the church plate for the support of the war.
WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND SWEDEN.
As the czarina expressed an inclination to assist this unfortunate
princess, the French court resolved to find her employment in
another quarter. They had already gained over to their interest count
Gyllenburgh, prime minister and president of the chancery in Sweden. A
dispute happening between him and Mr. Burnaby, the British resident
at Stockholm, some warm altercation passed: Mr. Burnaby was forbid the
court, and published a memorial in his own vindication; on the other
hand, the king of Sweden justified his conduct in a rescript sent to
all the foreign ministers. The king of Great Britain had proposed a
subsidy-treaty to Sweden, which, from the influence of French councils,
was rejected. The Swedes having assembled a numerous army in Finland,
and equipped a large squadron of ships, declared war against Eussia upon
the most trifling pretences; and the fleet putting to sea, commenced
hostilities by blocking up the Russian ports in Livonia. A body of
eleven thousand Swedes, commanded by general Wrangle, having advanced to
Willmenstrand, were in August attacked and defeated by general Lasci, at
the head of thirty thousand Russians. Count Lewenhaup, who commanded the
main army of the Swedes, resolved to take vengeance for this disgrace,
after the Russian troops had retired into winter quarters. In December
he marched towards Wybourg; but receiving letters from the prince of
Hesse-Hombourg, and the marquis de la Chetardie, the French ambassador
at Petersburgh, informing him of the surprising revolution which had
just happened in Russia, and proposing a suspension of hostilities, he
retreated with his army in order to wait for further instructions; and
the two courts agreed to a cessation of arms for three months.
REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA.
The Russians had been for some time discontented with their government.
The late czarina was influenced chiefly by German councils, and employed
a great number of foreigners in her service. These causes of discontent
produced factions and conspiracies; and when they were discovered, the
empress treated the authors of them with such severity as increased the
general disaffection. Besides, they were displeased at the manner in
which she had settled the succession. The prince of Brunswick Lunenberg
Bovern, father to the young czar, was not at all agreeable to the
Russian nobility; and his consort, the princess Anne of Mecklenburgh,
having assumed the reins of government during her son’s minority, seemed
to follow the maxims of her aunt the late czarina. The Russian grandees
and generals, therefore, turned their eyes upon the princess Elizabeth,
who was daughter of Peter the Great, and the darling of the empire. The
French ambassador gladly concurred in a project for deposing a princess
who was well affected to the house of Austria. General Lasci approved of
the design, which was chiefly conducted by the prince of Hesse-Hombourg,
who, in the reigns of the empress Catharine and Peter II., had been
generalissimo of the Russian army. The good will and concurrence of the
troops being secured, two regiments of guards took possession of all the
avenues of the imperial palace at Petersburgh. The princess Elizabeth,
putting herself at the head of one thousand men, on the fifth day of
December entered the winter palace, where the princess of Mecklenburgh
and the infant czar resided. She advanced into the chamber where the
princess and her consort lay, and desired them to rise and quit the
palace, adding that their persons were safe; and that they could not
justly blame her for asserting her right. At the same time, the counts
Osterman, Golofhairkin, Mingden, and Munich, were arrested; their papers
and effects were seized, and their persons conveyed to Schlisselbourgh,
a fortress on the Neva. Early in the morning the senate assembling,
declared all that had passed since the reign of Peter II. to be
usurpation; and that the imperial dignity belonged of right to the
princess Elizabeth: she was immediately proclaimed empress of all the
Russias, and recognized by the army of Finland. She forthwith published
a general act of indemnity; she created the prince of Hesse-Hombourg
generalissimo of her armies; she restored the Dolgorucky family to their
honours and estates; she recalled and rewarded all those who had been
banished for favouring her pretensions; she mitigated the exile of the
duke of Courland, by indulging him with a maintenance more suitable to
his rank; she released general Wrangle, count Wasaburgh, and the other
Swedish officers who had been taken at the battle of Willmenstrand; and
the princess Anne of Mecklenburgh, with her consort and children, were
sent under a strong guard to Riga, the capital of Livonia.
Amidst these tempests of war and revolution, the states-general wisely
determined to preserve their own tranquillity. It was doubtless their
interest to avoid the dangers and expense of a war, and to profit by
that stagnation of commerce which would necessarily happen among their
neighbours that were at open enmity with each other; besides, they were
over-awed by the declarations of the French monarch on one side; by the
power, activity, and pretensions of his Prussian majesty on the other;
and they dreaded the prospect of a stadtholder at the head of their
army. These at least were the sentiments of many Dutch patriots,
reinforced by others that acted under French influence. But the prince
of Orange numbered among his partisans and adherents many persons of
dignity and credit in the commonwealth; he was adored by the populace,
who loudly exclaimed against their governors, and clamoured for a war
without ceasing. This national spirit, joined to the remonstrances and
requisitions made by the courts of Vienna and London, obliged the states
to issue orders for an augmentation of their forces; but these were
executed so slowly, that neither France nor Prussia had much cause
to take umbrage at their preparations. In Italy, the king of Sardinia
declared for the house of Austria; the republic of Genoa was deeply
engaged in the French interest; the pope, the Venetians, and the dukedom
of Tuscany were neutral; the king of Naples resolved to support the
claim of his family to the Austrian dominions in Italy, and began to
make preparations accordingly. His mother, the queen of Spain, had
formed a plan for erecting these dominions into a monarchy for her
second son Don Philip; and a body of fifteen thousand men being embarked
at Barcelona, were transported to Orbitello, under the convoy of the
united squadrons of France and Spain. While admiral Haddock, with twelve
ships of the line, lay at anchor in the bay of Gibraltar, the Spanish
fleet passed the straits in the night, and was joined by the French
squadron from Toulon. The British admiral sailing from Gibraltar, fell
in with them in a few days, and found both squadrons drawn up in line of
battle. As he bore down upon the Spanish fleet, the French admiral sent
a flag of truce, to inform him that as the French and Spaniards were
engaged in a joint expedition, he should be obliged to act in concert
with his master’s allies. This interposition prevented an engagement.
The combined fleets amounting to double the number of the English
squadron, admiral Haddock was obliged to desist; and proceeded to
Port-Mahon, leaving the enemy to prosecute their voyage without
molestation. The people of England were incensed at this transaction,
and did not scruple to affirm that the hands of the British admiral were
tied up by the neutrality of Hanover.*
* In the month of July, two ships of Haddock’s squadron
falling In with three French ships of war, captain Barnet,
the English commodore, supposing them to be Spanish register
ships, fired a shot in order to bring them to; and they
refusing to comply with this signal, a sharp engagement
ensued; after they had fought several hours, the French
commander ceased firing, and thought proper to come to an
explanation, when he and Barnet parted with mutual
apologies.
In the course of this year a dangerous conspiracy was discovered at New
York, in North America. One Hewson, a low publican, had engaged several
negroes in a design to destroy the town, and massacre the people.
Fire was set to several parts of the city; nine or ten negroes were
apprehended, convicted, and burned alive. Hewson, with his wife, and
a servant maid privy to the plot, were found guilty and hanged, though
they died protesting their innocence.
INACTIVITY OF THE NAVAL POWER OF GREAT BRITAIN.
The court of Madrid seemed to have shaken off that indolence and phlegm
which had formerly disgraced the councils of Spain. They no sooner
learned the destination of commodore Anson, who had sailed from Spithead
in the course of the preceding year, than they sent Don Pizzaro with a
more powerful squadron upon the same voyage, to defeat his design. He
accordingly steered the same course, and actually fell in with one or
two ships of the British armament, near the straits of Magellan; but he
could not weather a long and furious tempest, through which Mr. Anson
proceeded into the South-Sea. One of the Spanish ships perished at sea;
another was wrecked on the coast of Brazil; and Pizzaro bore away for
the Rio de la Plata, where he arrived with the three remaining ships, in
a shattered condition, after having lost twelve hundred men by sickness
and famine. The Spaniards exerted the same vigilance and activity in
Europe. Their privateers were so industrious and successful, that in
the beginning of this year they had taken, since the commencement of
the war, four hundred and seven ships belonging to the subjects of
Great Britain, valued at near four millions of piastres. The traders had
therefore too much cause to complain, considering the formidable fleets
which were maintained for the protection of commerce. In the course of
the summer, sir John Norris had twice sailed towards the coast of Spain,
at the head of a powerful squadron, without taking any effectual step
for annoying the enemy, as if the sole intention of the ministry had
been to expose the nation to the ridicule and contempt of its enemies.
The inactivity of the British arms appears the more inexcusable, when we
consider the great armaments which had been prepared. The land forces of
Great Britain, exclusive of the Danish and Hessian auxiliaries, amounted
to sixty thousand men; and the fleet consisted of above one hundred
ships of war, manned by fifty-four thousand sailors.
The general discontent of the people had a manifest influence upon the
election of members for the new parliament, which produced one of the
most violent contests between the two parties which had happened since
the revolution. All the adherents of the prince of Wales concurred with
the country party, in opposition to the minister; and the duke of
Argyle exerted himself so successfully among the shires and boroughs
of Scotland, that the partisans of the ministry could not secure six
members out of the whole number returned from North Britain. They were,
however, much more fortunate in the election of the sixteen peers, who
were chosen literally according to the list transmitted from court.
Instructions were delivered by the constituents to a great number of
members returned for cities and counties, exhorting and requiring them
to oppose a standing army in time of peace; to vote for the mitigation
of excise laws; for the repeal of septennial parliaments; and for the
limitation of placemen in the house of commons. They likewise insisted
upon their examining into the particulars of the public expense,
and endeavouring to redress the grievances of the nation. Obstinate
struggles were maintained in all parts of the united kingdoms with
uncommon ardour and perseverance; and such a national spirit of
opposition prevailed, that, notwithstanding the whole weight of
ministerial influence, the contrary interest seemed to preponderate in
the new parliament.
REMARKABLE MOTION IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS BY LORD SOMERSET.
The king returned to England in the month of October; and on the first
day of December the session was opened. Mr. Onslow being re-chosen
speaker, was approved of by his majesty, who spoke in the usual style
to both houses. He observed, that the former parliament had formed
the strongest resolutions in favour of the queen of Hungary, for the
maintenance of the pragmatic sanction; for the preservation of the
balance of power, and the peace and liberties of Europe; and that if the
other powers which were under the like engagements with him had answered
the just expectations so solemnly given, the support of the common
cause would have been attended with less difficulty. He said, he had
endeavoured, by the most proper and early applications, to induce other
powers that were united with him by the ties of common interest,
to concert such measures as so important and critical a conjuncture
required; that where an accommodation seemed necessary, he had laboured
to reconcile princes whose union would have been the most effectual
means to prevent the mischiefs which had happened, and the best security
for the in terest and safety of the whole. He owned his endeavours had
not hitherto produced the desired effect; though he was not without hope
that a just sense of approaching danger would give a more favourable
turn to the councils of other nations. He represented the necessity of
putting the kingdom in such a posture of defence as would enable him to
improve all opportunities of maintaining the liberties of Europe, and
defeat any attempts that should be made against him and his dominions;
and he recommended unanimity, vigour, and despatch. The house of commons
having appointed their several committees, the speaker reported the
king’s speech; and Mr. Herbert moved for an address of thanks, including
an approbation of the means by which the war had been prosecuted. The
motion being seconded by Mr. Trevor, lord Noel Somerset stood up and
moved, that the house would in their address desire his majesty not
to engage these kingdoms in a war for the preservation of his foreign
dominions. He was supported by that incorruptible patriot Mr. Shippen,
who declared he was neither ashamed nor afraid to affirm that thirty
years had made no change in any of his political opinions. He said
he was grown old in the house of commons; that time had verified
the predictions he had formerly uttered; and that he had seen his
conjectures ripened into knowledge. “If my country,” added he, “has been
so unfortunate as once more to commit her interest to men who propose to
themselves no advantage from their trust but that of selling it, I may,
perhaps, fall once more under censure for declaring my opinion, and be
once more treated as a criminal for asserting what they who punish me
cannot deny; for maintaining that Hanoverian maxims are inconsistent
with the happiness of this nation; and for preserving the caution so
strongly inculcated by those patriots who framed the Act of Settlement,
and conferred upon the present royal family their title to the throne.”
He particularized the instances in which the ministry had acted in
diametrical opposition to that necessary constitution; and he insisted
on the necessity of taking some step to remove the apprehensions of the
people, who began to think themselves in danger of being sacrificed to
the security of foreign dominions. Mr. Gibbon, who spoke on the same
side of the question, expatiated upon the absurdity of returning thanks
for the prosecution of a war which had been egregiously mismanaged.
“What!” said he, “are our thanks to be solemnly returned for defeats,
disgrace, and losses, the ruin of our merchants, the imprisonment of
our sailors, idle shows of armaments, and useless expenses?” Sir Robert
Walpole having made a short speech in defence of the first motion for an
address, was answered by Mr. Pulteney, who seemed to be animated with
a double proportion of patriot indignation. He asserted, that from a
review of that minister’s conduct since the beginning of the dispute
with Spain, it would appear that he had been guilty not only of single
errors, but of deliberate treachery; that he had always co-operated with
the enemies of his country, and sacrificed to his private interest the
happiness and honour of the British nation. He then entered into a
detail of that conduct against which he had so often declaimed; and
being transported by an overheated imagination, accused him of personal
attachment and affection to the enemies of the kingdom. A charge that
was doubtless the result of exaggerated animosity, and served only
to invalidate the other articles of imputation that were much better
founded. His objections were overruled; and the address, as at first
proposed, was presented to his majesty.
THE COUNTRY PARTY OBTAIN A MAJORITY IN THE COMMONS.
This small advantage, however, the minister did not consider as a proof
of his having ascertained an undoubted majority in the house of commons.
There was a great number of disputed elections; and the discussion of
these was the point on which the people had turned their eyes, as the
criterion of the minister’s power and credit. In the first which was
heard at the bar of the house, he carried his point by a majority of
six only; and this he looked upon as a defeat rather than a victory. His
enemies exulted in their strength; as they knew they should be joined,
in matters of importance, by several members who voted against them on
this occasion. The inconsiderable majority that appeared on the side of
the administration, plainly proved that the influence of the minister
was greatly diminished, and seemed to prognosticate his further decline.
This consideration induced some individuals to declare against him as a
setting sun, from whose beams they could expect no further warmth. His
adherents began to tremble; and he himself had occasion for all his art
and equanimity. The court interest was not sufficient to support the
election of their own members for Westminster. The high-bailiff had been
guilty of some illegal practices at the poll; and three justices of the
peace had, on pretence of preventing riots, sent for a military force
to overawe the election. A petition presented by the electors of
Westminster was taken into consideration by the house; and the election
was declared void by a majority of four voices. The high-bailiff was
taken into custody; the officer who ordered the soldiers to march, and
the three justices who signed the letter, in consequence of which he
acted, were reprimanded on their knees at the bar of the house.
SIR ROBERT WALPOLE CREATED EARL OF ORFORD.
The country party maintained the advantage they had gained in deciding
upon several other controverted elections; and sir Robert Walpole
tottered on the brink of ruin. He knew that the majority of a single
vote would at any time commit him prisoner to the Tower, should ever
the motion be made; and he saw that his safety could be effected by
no other expedient but that of dividing the opposition. Towards the
accomplishment of this purpose he employed all his credit and dexterity.
His emissaries did not fail to tamper with those members of the opposite
party who were the most likely to be converted by their arguments.
A message was sent by the bishop of Oxford to the prince of Wales,
importing, That if his royal highness would write a letter of
condescension to the king, he and all his counsellors should be taken
into favour; that fifty thousand pounds should be added to his revenue;
four times that sum be disbursed immediately for the payment of his
debts; and suitable provision be made in due time for all his followers.
The prince declined this proposal. He declared that he would accept no
such conditions while sir Robert Walpole continued to direct the public
affairs; that he looked upon him as a bar between his majesty and the
affections of his people; as the author of the national grievances both
at home and abroad; and as the sole cause of that contempt which Great
Britain had incurred in all the courts of Europe. His royal highness was
now chief of this formidable party, revered by the whole nation--a party
which had gained the ascendancy in the house of commons; which professed
to act upon the principles of public virtue; which demanded the fall
of an odious minister, as a sacrifice due to an injured people; and
declared that no temptation could shake their virtue; that no art could
dissolve the cement by which they were united. Sir Robert Walpole,
though repulsed in his attempt upon the prince of Wales, was more
successful in his other endeavours. He resolved to try his strength once
more in the house of commons, in another disputed election; and had
the mortification to see the majority augmented to sixteen voices. He
declared he would never more sit in that house; and next day, which was
the third of February, the king adjourned both houses of parliament to
the eighteenth day of the same month. In this interim sir Robert Walpole
was created earl of Orford, and resigned all his employments.
CHANGE IN THE MINISTRY.
At no time of his life did he acquit himself with such prudential policy
as he now displayed. He found means to separate the parts that composed
the opposition, and to transfer the popular odium from himself to those
who had professed themselves his keenest adversaries. The country-party
consisted of the tories, reinforced by discontented whigs, who had
either been disappointed in their own ambitious views, or felt for
the distresses of their country, occasioned by a weak and worthless
administration. The old patriots, and the whigs whom they had joined,
acted upon very different, and, indeed, upon opposite principles
of government; and there-fore they were united only by the ties of
convenience. A coalition was projected between the discontented whigs,
and those of the same denomination who acted in the ministry. Some were
gratified with titles and offices; and all were assured, that in the
management of affairs a new system would be adopted, according to the
plan they themselves should propose. The court required nothing of them,
but that the earl of Orford should escape with impunity. His place
of chancellor of the exchequer was bestowed upon Mr. Sandys, who was
likewise appointed a lord of the treasury; and the earl of Wilmington
succeeded him as first commissioner of that board. Lord Harrington,
being dignified with the title of earl, was declared president of the
council; and in his room lord Carteret became secretary of state. The
duke of Argyle was made master-general of the ordnance, colonel of
his majesty’s royal regiment of horse guards, field-marshal and
commander-in-chief of all the forces in South-Britain; but, finding
himself disappointed in his expectations of the coalition, he, in less
than a month, renounced all these employments. The marquis of Tweedale
was appointed secretary of state for Scotland, a post which had been
long suppressed; Mr. Pulteney was sworn of the privy-council, and
afterwards created earl of Bath. The earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham
was preferred to the head of the admiralty, in the room of sir Charles
Wager; and, after the resignation of the duke of Argyle, the earl of
Stair was appointed field-marshal of all his majesty’s forces, as well
as ambassador-extraordinary to the states-general. On the seventeenth
day of February the prince of Wales, attended by a numerous retinue of
his adherents, waited on his majesty, who received him graciously, and
ordered his guards to be restored. Lord Carteret and Mr. Sandys were
the first who embraced the offers of the court, without the consent
or privity of any other leaders in the opposition, except that of Mr.
Pulteney; but they declared to their friends, they would still proceed
upon patriot principles; that they would concur in promoting an inquiry
into past measures; and in enacting necessary laws to secure the
constitution from the practices of corruption. These professions were
believed, not only by their old coadjutors in the house of commons, but
also by the nation in general. The reconciliation between the king and
the prince of Wales, together with the change in the ministry, were
celebrated with public rejoicings all over the kingdom; and immediately
after the adjournment nothing but concord appeared in the house of
commons.
INQUIRY INTO THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR ROBERT WALPOLE.
But this harmony was of short duration. It soon appeared, that those who
had declaimed the loudest for the liberties of their country, had been
actuated solely by the most sordid and even the most ridiculous motives
of self-interest. Jealousy and mutual distrust ensued between them and
their former confederates. The nation complained, that, instead of a
total change of men and measures, they saw the old ministry strengthened
by this coalition; and the same interest in parliament predominating
with redoubled influence. They branded the new converts as apostates and
betrayers of their country; and in the transports of their indignation,
they entirely overlooked the old object of their resentment. That a
nobleman of pliant principles, narrow fortune, and unbounded ambition,
should forsake his party for the blandishments of affluence, power, and
authority, will not appear strange to any person acquainted with the
human heart; but the sensible part of mankind will always reflect with
amazement upon the conduct of a man, who seeing himself idolized by his
fellow-citizens, as the first and firmest patriot in the kingdom, as
one of the most shining ornaments of his country, could give up all his
popularity, and incur the contempt or detestation of mankind, for the
wretched consideration of an empty title, without office, influence,
or the least substantial appendage. One cannot, without an emotion
of grief, contemplate such an instance of infatuation--one cannot but
lament that such glory should have been so weakly forfeited; that
such talents should have been lost to the cause of liberty and virtue.
Doubtless he flattered himself with the hope of one day directing the
councils of his sovereign; but this was never accomplished, and he
remained a solitary monument of blasted ambition. Before the change in
the ministry, Mr. Pulteney moved, that the several papers relating to
the conduct of the war, which had been laid before the house, should
be referred to a select committee, who should examine strictly into
the particulars, and make a report to the house of their remarks and
objections. The motion introduced a debate; but, upon a division, was
rejected by a majority of three voices. Petitions having been presented
by the merchants of London, Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow, and almost all
the trading towns in the kingdom, complaining of the losses they had
sustained by the bad conduct of the war, the house resolved itself into
a committee to deliberate on these remonstrances. The articles of the
London petition were explained by Mr. Glover, an eminent merchant
of that city. Six days were spent in perusing papers and examining
witnesses; then the same gentleman summed up the evidence, and in a
pathetic speech endeavoured to demonstrate, that the commerce of Great
Britain had been exposed to the insults and rapine of the Spaniards,
not by inattention or accident, but by one uniform and continued design.
This inquiry being resumed after the adjournment, copies of instructions
to admirals and captains of cruising ships were laid before the house:
the commons passed several resolutions, upon which a bill was prepared
for the better protecting and securing the trade and navigation of the
kingdom. It made its way through the lower house; but was thrown out by
the lords. The pension-bill was revived and sent up to the peers, where
it was again rejected, lord Carteret voting against that very measure
which he had so lately endeavoured to promote. On the ninth day of
March, lord Limerick made a motion for appointing a committee to inquire
into the conduct of affairs for the last twenty years; he was seconded
by sir John St. Aubyn, and supported by Mr. Velters Cornwall,
Mr. Phillips, Mr. W. Pitt, and lord Percival, the new member for
Westminster, who had already signalized himself by his eloquence and
capacity. The motion was opposed by sir Charles Wager, Mr. Pelham, and
Mr. Henry Pox, surveyor-general to his majesty’s works, and brother
to lord Ilchester. Though the opposition was faint and frivolous, the
proposal was rejected by a majority of two voices.
{1742}
Lord Limerick, not yet discouraged, made a motion on the twenty-third
day of March, for an inquiry into the conduct of Robert earl of Orford,
for the last ten years of his administration; and, after a sharp debate,
it was carried in the affirmative. The house resolved to choose a secret
committee by ballot; and in the meantime presented an address to the
king, assuring him of their fidelity, zeal, and affection.
Sir Robert Godschall having moved for leave to bring in a bill to repeal
the act for septennial parliaments, he was seconded by sir John Barnard;
but warmly opposed by Mr. Pulteney and Mr. Sandys; and the question
passed in the negative. The committee of secrecy being chosen, began to
examine evidence, and Mr. Paxton, solicitor to the treasury, refusing to
answer such questions as were put to him, lord Limerick, chairman of the
committee, complained to the house of his obstinacy. He was first taken
into custody; and still persisting in his refusal, committed to Newgate.
Then his lordship moved, that leave should be given to bring in a
bill for indemnifying evidence against the earl of Orford; and it was
actually prepared by a decision of the majority. In the house of lords
it was vigorously opposed by lord Carteret, and as strenuously supported
by the duke of Argyle; but fell upon a division, by the weight of
superior numbers. Those members in the house of commons who heartily
wished the inquiry might be prosecuted, were extremely incensed at the
fate of this bill. A committee was appointed to search the journals of
the lords for precedents; their report being read, lord Strange, son to
the earl of Derby, moved for a resolution, “That the lords refusing
to concur with the commons of Great Britain, in an indemnification
necessary to the effectual carrying on the inquiry now depending in
parliament, is an obstruction to justice, and may prove fatal to the
liberties of this nation.”--This motion, which was seconded by lord
Quarendon, son of the earl of Lichfield, gave rise to a warm debate;
and Mr. Sandys declaimed against it, as a step that would bring on an
immediate dissolution of the present form of government. It is really
amazing to see with what effrontery some men can shift their maxims, and
openly contradict the whole tenor of their former conduct. Mr. Sandys
did not pass uncensured: he sustained some severe sarcasms on his
apostacy from sir John Hinde Cotton, who refuted all his objections;
nevertheless, the motion passed in the negative. Notwithstanding this
great obstruction, purposely thrown in the way of the inquiry, the
secret committee discovered many flagrant instances of fraud and
corruption in which the earl of Orford had been concerned. It appeared,
that he had granted fraudulent contracts for paying the troops in
the West Indies; that he had employed iniquitous arts to influence
elections; that for secret service, during the last ten years, he had
touched one million four hundred fifty-three thousand four hundred
pounds of public money; that above fifty thousand pounds of this sum had
been paid to authors and printers of newspapers and political tracts,
written in defence of the ministry; that on the very day which preceded
his resignation, he had signed orders on the civil list revenues for
above thirty thousand pounds; but as the cash remaining in the exchequer
did not much exceed fourteen thousand pounds, he had raised the
remaining part of the thirty thousand, by pawning the orders to a
banker. The committee proceeded to make further progress in their
scrutiny, and had almost prepared a third report, when they were
interrupted by the prorogation of parliament.
The ministry finding it was necessary to take some step for conciliating
the affection of the people, gave way to a bill for excluding certain
officers from scats in the house of commons. They passed another for
encouraging the linen manufacture; a third for regulating the trade of
the plantations; and a fourth to prevent the marriage of lunatics.
They voted forty thousand seamen, and sixty-two thousand five hundred
landmen, for the service of the current year. They provided for the
subsidies to Denmark and Hesse-Cassel, and voted five hundred thousand
pounds to the queen of Hungary. The expense of the year amounted to near
six millions, raised by the land-tax at four shillings in the pound, by
the malt-tax, by one million from the sinking-fund, by annuities granted
upon it for eight hundred thousand pounds, and a loan of one million six
hundred thousand pounds from the bank. In the month of July, John lord
Gower was appointed keeper of his majesty’s privy-seal; Allen lord
Bathurst was made captain of the band of pensioners; and on the
fifteenth day of the month, Mr. Pulteney took his seat in the house
of peers as earl of Bath. The king closed the session in the usual
way, after having given them to understand, that a treaty of peace was
concluded between the queen of Hungary and the king of Prussia, under
his mediation; and that the late successes of the Austrian arms were in
a great measure owing to the generous assistance afforded by the British
nation.
{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}
THE ELECTOR OF BAVARIA CHOSEN EMPEROR.
By this time great changes had happened in the affairs of the continent.
The elector of Bavaria was chosen emperor of Germany at Franckfort on
the Maine, and crowned by the name of Charles VII. on the twelfth day
of February. Thither the imperial diet was removed from Ratisbon; they
confirmed his election, and indulged him with a subsidy of fifty Roman
months, amounting to about two hundred thousand pounds sterling. In the
meantime the Austrian general, Khevenhuller, ravaged his electorate, and
made himself master of Munich the capital of Bavaria; he likewise
laid part of the palatinate under contribution, in resentment for that
elector’s having sent a body of his troops to reinforce the Imperial
army. In March, count Saxe, with a detachment of French and Bavarians,
reduced Egra; and the Austrians were obliged to evacuate Bavaria, though
they afterwards returned. Khevenhuller took post in the neighbourhood
of Passau, and detached general Beraclau to Dinglesing on the Iser,
to observe the motions of the enemy, who were now become extremely
formidable. In May, a detachment of French and Bavarians advanced to the
castle of Hilk-Ersberg on the Danube, with a view to take possession of a
bridge over the river; the Austrian garrison immediately marched out to
give them battle, and a severe action ensued, in which the Imperialists
were defeated.
THE KING OF PRUSSIA GAINS THE BATTLE AT CZASLAW.