CHAPTER XI.

{GEORGE III. 1780–1781}

Burke’s Plan of Economical Reform..... Rejection of Lord Shelburne’s Motion for a Commission of Accounts...... Ministerial Bill for Commission of Accounts..... Bill for excluding Contractors from Parliament rejected..... Motions regarding Places and Pensions..... Political Altercations..... Debates on the Increase of Crown Influence..... Lord North’s Proposal respecting the East India Company..... General Conway’s Plan of Reconciliation with America..... Popular Rage against the Catholics; Riots in London, etc...... Measures adopted by Parliament arising out of the London Riots..... Parliament Prorogued..... Trial of Lord George Gordon and the Rioters..... Admiral Rodney’s success against the Spaniards..... Armed Neutrality..... Rodney engages the French Fleet..... Expedition against South Carolina..... Battle of Camden, etc...... Affairs at New York..... Treason of Arnold and Fate of Major André..... Maritime Losses sustained by the British..... War with Holland..... General Election..... Meeting of Parliament.

{A.D. 1780}

BURKE’S PLAN OF ECONOMICAL REFORM.

Although from the silence of ministers Burke might have presaged he fate of his proposed plan of economical reform, yet he was greatly encouraged to proceed in his task by the voice of the nation. During the Christmas recess, petitions were got up in its favour in almost all the countries and great cities of England, and associations were formed in order to support a reform. Counter petitions were indeed framed, and in some instances protests were signed, but still it remained evident that the public feeling was with Burke. It was while the petitions in favour of his plan were pouring into the house that he brought it forward. After delivering an eloquent speech, which Gibbon says was heard with delight by all sides of the house, and even by those whose existence he proscribed, he detailed his scheme. This consisted of five bills, comprising the sale of forest-lands; the abolition of the royal jurisdictions of Wales, Cornwall, Cheshire, and Lancaster; the abolition, also, of treasurer, comptroller, and many other officers in the household, with the treasurer of the chamber, the wardrobe, etc., the boards of trade, green cloth, and works, the office of third secretary of state, the office of keepers of the royal hounds, and of many civil branches of the ordnance and the mint, with the patent offices of the exchequer; the regulation of the army, navy, and pension pay-offices, with some other departments not under due control; and finally a better arrangement of the civil list so as to prevent for the future any accumulation of debt, without any improper encroachment on the royal prerogative. Lord North passed very high encomiums on the author of this plan, and assured the house that no member was more zealous for the establishment of a permanent system of economy than he was; but he intimated that subjects so numerous and various required time for reflection and as some of them affected the king’s patrimonial income, he thought the crown should be consulted. All the bills, except that which related to the crown-lands and to Wales, and the counties palatine of Chester and Lancaster, were brought in, however, and the portions of the plan submitted to deliberation occupied a considerable part of the months of March, April, and May, and gave rise to many animated debates, and several close divisions. But, in the end, all the clauses were negatived, except that for abolishing the board of trade, and the only saving to the country by this triumph of the opposition, was about £6000 per annum!

REJECTION OF LORD SHELBURNE’S MOTION FOR A COMMISSION OF ACCOUNTS.

On the same day that Burke gave notice of his plan of economical reform, the Earl of Shelburne gave notice that he would, after the Christmas recess, move for a commission of accounts. In accordance with this professed intention, on the 8th of February the noble earl, therefore, moved for the appointment of a committee, to consist of members of both houses, possessing neither employments nor pensions, to examine the public expenditure and the mode of accounting for the same, and especially to inquire into the manner of making all contracts; and at the same time to take into consideration, what saving could be made, consistent with public dignity, justice, and gratitude, by an abolition of old and newly created offices, etc. In support of his motion the Earl of Shelburne exposed the profusion pervading all branches of government, and declared that his main object was to destroy that undue influence which pervaded both houses of parliament. The motion was seconded by the Earl of Coventry, who described the country as being in very reduced circumstances: rents were fallen, he said, the value of land was sinking, and farmers were on the high road to ruin. The Duke of Grafton and the Marquess of Rockingham followed on the same side; the latter declaring that a system had been established at the accession of his present majesty, for governing the kingdom under the forms of law, but really to the immediate influence of the crown, which was the origin of all our national misfortunes. The motion was opposed by Lord Chancellor Thurlow, and Lords Mansfield and Chesterfield, with other peers, who urged that the motion was a violation of the inherent, exclusive privilege of the other house to control the public expenditure. When put to the vote it was lost by a majority of a hundred and one against fifty-five.

MINISTERIAL BILL FOR COMMISSION OF ACCOUNTS.

Immediately after Burke had introduced his plan of economical reform, Colonel Barré, after declaring that he did not consider that reform sufficiently extensive, gave notice that he should, on some early day, move for a committee of accounts, to consist of a few men only, who would act with the consciousness that the eyes of the public were fixed on them. To the surprise of all parties, Lord North applauded this proposal, expressed his surprise that a measure of such obvious utility had not been thought of sooner, and declared that he was anxious to adopt any plan that appeared likely to promote economy, and reduce the public expenses to order and limit. The opposition congratulated the minister, and Colonel Barré said he would prepare a bill for that purpose; but while he was preparing it, Lord North himself brought in a bill on the 2nd of March, which proposed gentlemen who had no seat in parliament as commissioners of accounts. Barré complained of the underhand dealing of the minister, but said that he would concur in the measure, though he had been thus robbed of the honour of introducing it himself. Other members of the opposition were not so liberal. Although they were prepared to support the proposition, if left in the hands of the gallant colonel, they spoke against the whole measure; denounced it as a trick to create new places and salaries, and insisted that the commission would do no good. The bill, however, passed, and six independent gentlemen, among whom was Sir Guy Carleton, were appointed commissioners of accounts.

BILL FOR EXCLUDING CONTRACTORS FROM PARLIAMENT REJECTED.

Sir Philip Jennings Gierke again introduced his bill for excluding contractors from the house of commons. This time it was carried, and passed through all its stages with little opposition from the ministers; but it, was rejected in the upper house, as an illiberal stigma cast on a respectable body of men, and as a mean compliance with popular prejudices.

MOTIONS REGARDING PLACES AND PENSIONS.

On the 15th of February, Sir George Saville moved that an account of all places with salaries, and all pensions payable at the exchequer or out of the privy purse, with a list of the persons holding them, should be laid before the house. In making this motion, Sir George encountered a most violent opposition, and the debate was broken off by a sudden illness of the speaker. Subsequently it was revived, and Lord North then moved an amendment, restricting the account to such pensions only as were paid out of the exchequer, and excepting those paid out of the privy purse. This, however, gave such manifest dissatisfaction that the minister was obliged to qualify it by moving in addition, that the general amount of all pensions should be given, but without any specification of names, and without stating the sums paid, except in the case of those who were paid from the exchequer. But even with this qualification, though ably supported by the minister himself in a long and argumentative speech, and by Wedderburn, the attorney-general, and Mr. Dundas, lord-advocate for Scotland, the amendment was only carried by a majority of _two_, the numbers being one hundred and eighty-eight against one hundred and eighty-six. A similar motion was made in the upper house by Lord Howard of Effingham, but it was there negatived by fifty-one against twenty-four.

POLITICAL ALTERCATIONS.

In the early part of this session Mr. Adam left the ranks of opposition, and took his place under the ministerial standard. In doing so, he declared that he could not concur in the pretended necessity of new counsels, or new counsellors, since among those who stood candidates for office he was unable to single out one by whom the state was likely to be better served than by the present ministers. Charles Fox replied to Mr. Adam, and his reply, as reported in the newspapers, being thought to convey a personal reflection on Mr. Adam, a duel was the consequence, in which Fox was slightly wounded. Duels appeared likely to become the order of the day among members of parliament. In consequence of the sudden removal of two lord-lieutenants, apparently on account of their conduct in regard to county petitions, associations, and votes given in parliament, Lord Shelburne moved for an address, to desire that his majesty would be graciously pleased to acquaint the house whether he had been advised, and by whom, to dismiss the said two noble lords for their conduct in parliament. In the course of the debates on this motion, which was negatived, Shelburne indulged in some personalities at the expense of Mr. Fullarton, member for Plympton, and late secretary to Lord Stormont in his embassy to the French court. Fullarton complained to the house of commons of the behaviour of the Earl of Shelburne, and shortly after a duel was fought between them in Hyde Park, in which the noble lord was wounded. These transactions induced Sir James Lowther to observe, in the house of commons, that this method of fighting, in consequence of parliamentary debate and hasty words, seemed growing into such a custom, that it behoved the house to interpose its authority, as otherwise all freedom of debate would be at an end, and the British parliament would be reduced to the condition of a Polish diet. The friends of Mr. Fullarton said, it would be indelicate to enter into a discussion on the subject in his absence; and the friends of Lord Shelburne contended, that the words spoken by him were strictly parliamentary, and contained nothing which could be interpreted in a private or personal manner. But the house was not disposed to put its ban on this false code of honour. The conversation ended in nothing, except the hope that duels and wounds would make honourable members speak with better manners. This hope, however, proved to be fallacious. An altercation occurred on the 13th of March, between the speaker and Lord North himself, in which much bitter language was used. Négociations were in progress for the promotion of the attorney-general to the office of chief-justice in the Court of Common Pleas, which office had been promised to the speaker by the Duke of Grafton. Sir Fletcher Norton expressed much dissatisfaction at his being set aside for another, and Lord North denied that he was responsible for the promise of his predecessors. The consequence was that the speaker, from this time, joined the ranks of opposition, and loudly repeated their cries of crown influence, abuse of prerogative, and rights of the people. Being dissatisfied at not having his unjustifiable demands allowed, he suddenly turned patriot, so that if he lost, the people might congratulate themselves at having an advocate for once sitting in the speaker’s chair of the house of commons.

DEBATES ON THE INCREASE OF CROWN INFLUENCE.

During the above debates county petitions were daily laid before the house, and by the month of April the speaker’s table was almost buried beneath them. They were ordered to be taken into consideration by a committee of the whole house, and on the 6th of April a great public meeting was held at Westminster, with the advice and concurrence of the corresponding committee in the other parts of the kingdom, and with the avowed intention of giving weight to these petitions. On the same evening the house resolved itself into a committee, and Mr. Dunning moved his celebrated resolution, “That the influence of the crown had increased, was increasing, and ought to be diminished.” Dunning remarked, that all the petitions agreed in one great fundamental point; namely, that limits ought to be set to the alarming influence of the crown, and to the expenditure of the public money by means of which that influence had been obtained. He then exhibited, in a continued series, the history and philosophy of constitutional law, and animadverted on measures which endangered British rights and liberties in former years. Afterwards he drew a highly-coloured and exaggerated picture of the conduct of present ministers, and endeavoured to show that it tended to produce similar mischiefs to those which had been produced by the counsels of the House of Stuart. In particular, he criticised the conduct of ministers with regard to Burke’s economical plan of reform, which, he said, they were reducing to a nullity—to a thing naked and shorn, and useless to the country; and he expressed a hope that the people of England would resent the insults they had received from men who added mockery and contempt to oppression and neglect. Those who supported Dunning maintained that it was solely through the corrupt influence of the crown that Lord North had retained his office so long; that his sole occupation for years past had been to frame excuses and expedients, in order to procure supplies from year to year; and that he had neither method in his financial department, nor any comprehensive scheme of any kind. The speaker, less convinced by the eloquent pleadings of the petitions before him, than by his recent disappointment, took part with the opposition. He insisted strongly on the exorbitant power of the crown, and the increase of corrupt influence; and contended, that it was the duty of the house to attend to the demands of the petitioners. The effect which the arguments of the opposition had upon the country gentlemen was so great that ministers became alarmed. The lord-advocate of Scotland, Mr. Dundas, attempted therefore to stifle inquiry, by moving, that the speaker do leave the chair; and this failing, Lord North rose to defend his own conduct. He spoke at considerable length, and in the course of his speech declared that he was ready to retire from office whenever his sovereign and the people desired it; adding, that if he had continued so long in office, it was because the country had no faith in the wisdom and patriotism of his opponents. His speech seemed to be lost to the members of the house, and Mr. Dundas rose again to his rescue, proposing this time, as an amendment to the original proposition, the prefix of the words, “That it is now necessary to declare.” This was carried by a majority of eighteen; and Mr. Dunning, pursuing his success, proposed and carried a second proposition—namely, “That it was competent to the house to examine into and to correct abuses in the expenditure of the civil list revenues, as well as every other branch of the public revenue, whenever it should seem expedient to that house.” A third motion, strongly opposed to ministers, was also carried by Mr. Thomas Pitt, which set forth “that it was the duty of the house to provide immediate and effectual redress of the abuses complained of in the petitions.” Nor was the minister permitted yet to retire to his peaceful slumber. Fox moved, that the three resolutions should be immediately reported; and though Lord North contended that this was unusual, violent, and arbitrary, the resolutions and reports were severally reported and received, and were agreed to and passed by the house without a division.

Elated by success, on the 10th of April, the committee being reassembled, Mr. Dunning continued his attack. He moved, “That in order to secure the independence of parliament and obviate all suspicion of its purity, the proper officer should lay before the house, within seven days after the meeting of parliament, every session, an account of all monies paid out of the civil list, or any part of the public revenue, to, or for the use of, or in trust for any member of parliament.” This, though opposed by ministers, was carried; and Dunning then moved, “that the persons holding the offices of treasurer of the chamber, treasurer of the household, cofferer of the household, comptroller of the household, master of the household, clerks of the green cloth and their deputies, should be rendered incapable of sitting in the house of commons.” This motion produced a long and earnest debate, but it was carried by a majority of two, the numbers being two hundred and fifteen against two hundred and thirteen. Thus far the opposition had been triumphant: three days after, however, they were doomed to receive a check. A bill, brought in by Mr. Crewe, for excluding all revenue-officers from voting at elections of members of parliament, was rejected by a considerable majority. Business was now interrupted for ten days, by the sudden illness of the speaker; and when the house reassembled the sentiments of members were found to have undergone a change. On the 24th of April, Dunning moved for an address to the king, deprecating “the dissolution or prorogation of parliament before proper measures were adopted to fulfil the objects of the petitions.” This motion, which was warmly and eloquently supported by the mover, and Burke, and Fox, was rejected by a majority of fifty-one; the numbers being two hundred and fifty-four against two hundred and three. Enraged at this sudden and unexpected check, Mr. Fox rose to reprobate the conduct of those members who had receded from the solemn engagements into which they had so recently entered. A rude roar of voices was raised to put him down, but Fox would not be silenced; and his friends appealed to the chair to stop by its authority the disgraceful disorder. Silence being imposed on every tongue in the house by the speaker, Fox then delivered one of the severest philippics that was ever delivered within the walls of the house of commons. The vote of that night, said the impassioned orator, was scandalous, disgraceful, and treacherous: it was impossible to contemplate without surprise and indignation, the conduct of men, who, after resolving that the influence of the crown was increased, and ought to be diminished—that the grievances of the people ought to be redressed—and who had pledged themselves to that house, the nation, and their constituents, to redress the grievances complained of, now shamefully fled from their solemn engagement. It was not against ministers and their friends that he lodged this complaint, he remarked: it was against the men who sat on his side of the house, and who had voted with him on the 6th of April. As for the ministerial phalanx, he observed, he held them in the greatest contempt. They were slaves of the worst kind, because they had sold themselves to work mischief. Yet, base as they were, they had some virtues to pride themselves on. They were faithful to their leader, consistent in their conduct, and had not added to their other demerits the absurdity and treachery of one day resolving an opinion to be true, and the next day declaring it to be a falsehood. They had neither deceived their patrons, their friends, nor their country with false hopes and delusive promises. Dunning spoke after Fox, and declared that the division of that night was decisive as to the petitions of the people: it amounted to a total rejection of their general and ardent prayer, and that all hope of obtaining redress for the people from that house was at an end. Lord North replied in a long speech, in which he endeavoured to throw a protecting shield over those who had subjected themselves to Fox’s reproaches, and to show that Dunning’s fears were unfounded. The resolutions of the 6th of April, he said, were still in existence, and that other measures might be proposed on them in which those who did not approve of the means of redress proposed this day might readily concur. Opposition, however, were evidently of opinion that their cause was lost. Yet, on the 19th of May, Sergeant Adair moved the withholding the grant of any further supplies till the grievances of the people were redressed; and this motion being negatived, a week later Dunning moved, “that the two resolutions passed on the 10th of April, be reported.” A motion, however, from the opposite side of the house, “that the chairman leave the chair,” which amounted to a dissolution of the committee, was carried by one hundred and seventy-seven to one hundred and thirty-four.

Such was the termination of one of the most critical struggles which had occurred in the house of commons during the reign of George III. Out of doors astonishment was expressed on the one hand at the encouragement which Mr. Dunning’s motion received from a large party who had so warmly taken up the American war; and on the other, at the sudden change of sentiment which had taken place among many who had supported that motion. By some historians this change is attributed to influence, corruption, and treachery. The charge, however, is not well founded, for none of these causes could have been at work when they quitted the ranks of ministers to vote with opposition. It seems, therefore, rather to have arisen from the peculiar temper of the times, and to the condition in which the nation was placed at this period. The violence of opposition, also, and their exultation on their triumphs may have had their effects on the minds of the more sober-thinking members of the house: they may have become convinced that the movements of the leaders of opposition, so far from being adopted from a love of their country, had their origin in that bad feeling of human nature—self-interest.

LORD NORTH’S PROPOSAL RESPECTING THE EAST INDIA COMPANY.

On the 23rd of March, Lord North informed the house that the East India Company had made no satisfactory proposals for the renewal of their charter, and he moved that the speaker should give them three years’ notice, as ordered by act of parliament, previous to the dissolution of their monopoly; and that the sum of £4,200,000 due from the public to the company should be paid on the 25th of April, 1783, agreeably to the tenor of the said act. Fox inveighed against this measure, as tending to deprive us of our East Indian as well as our American possessions; but Lord North having represented that a new corporation might be formed, if the company did not offer a fair bargain to the public, his motion was carried without a division.

GENERAL CONWAY’S PLAN OF RECONCILIATION WITH AMERICA.

On the 5th of May, General Conway offered a plan of reconciliation with the American provinces, by removing all just cause of complaint, without acknowledging their independence. This plan, however, neither pleased ministers nor the opposition, and it was rejected by passing to the order of the day.

{GEORGE III. 1780–1781}

POPULAR RAGE AGAINST THE CATHOLICS; RIOTS IN LONDON, ETC.

It has been seen that during the session of the year 1778, that an act was passed for relieving the Roman Catholics from some of the heavier penalties inflicted upon them in the preceding century. This measure did not extend to Scotland, but as the Papists in that country were more oppressed than those in England, and as they had claims upon government and the legislature of the United Kingdom, by their loyalty, &c., it was contemplated by ministers that they should be admitted into the benefits of the Repealing Act. The people of Scotland, however, were not so liberal in sentiment on this subject as the people of England. A cry that Popery was about to be re-established was heard throughout the country; and the Presbyterian preachers made their pulpits ring with warnings and comminations. Associations were formed in various parts of the kingdom to oppose the contemplated concessions, and the votes and resolutions of these associations being published in the newspapers, they gave rise to the spirit of persecution. In the month of January, 1779, copies of the following letter were dropped in every part of the city of Edinburgh:—“Men and brethren, whoever shall find this letter will take it as a warning to meet at Leith Wynd, on Wednesday next, in the evening, to pull down that pillar of Popery lately erected there. Signed, A Protestant. P. S. Please to read this carefully, keep it clean and drop it somewhere else. For king and country. Unity.” In a great city, whatever mischief may be set on foot, there will always be found too many volunteers to put it into effect. Thus it was at Edinburgh. This summons was obeyed, and the pillar of Popery, which was the habitation of a Catholic priest with a chapel attached to it, was demolished. Similar scenes occurred in Blackfriars Wynd in Edinburgh, and even the magistrates of that city partook in a great measure of the mob-feeling. They failed to throw the shield of protection around those who were persecuted; and although they finally allayed the popular commotion, by telling the people that the bill for repealing the penal statutes against Papists in Scotland was thrown aside, yet the spirit of persecution was so rampant among them, that the objects of their hatred were obliged to conceal themselves from their view. A similar spirit was displayed at Glasgow, where the mob destroyed the property of a Mr. Bagnal, who was suspected of Popery, and drove him and his family from their houses. The popular violence in all parts of Scotland, indeed, was of such a nature as to compel ministers to forego their intention of bringing forth a bill for the relief of the Roman Catholics of that country, until at least it should have somewhat subsided. But this success of the Scotch associations and mobs, unfortunately led to a similar display of the spirit of persecution in England.

It was thought by some who were adverse to the measure passed in 1778, that by efforts equally vigorous on this side of the Tweed as on the other, its total repeal might be procured. Accordingly, a Protestant Association was formed, which, like the associations for economical reforms, had its ramifications, its committees, and its correspondents in all parts of England. The president of this association was Lord George Gordon, brother of the Duke of Gordon, who had effectually aided and abetted the riots in Scotland. Of all men in the world Lord George Gordon was the most unfit to preside over a Protestant Association. He was a member of parliament it is true, but he was chiefly remarkable there for his eccentric habits, slovenly dress, and by a progressive insanity, which on some occasions partook of the nature of oratorical inspiration. He was, however, known to be firm in his hatred towards the Papists, and adverse to any relief being afforded to them. Thus, in May, 1779, when Burke presented his petition in favour of toleration, he moved that it should be thrown over the table! At the same time, he declared, that every man in Scotland, except a few Papists, was ripe for insurrection, and would die rather than submit. After he was made head of the Protestant Association his violence seems to have increased. Thus, in the beginning of the present session, he declared that the king was a Papist; and on one occasion he said that he would present a petition long enough to reach from the speaker’s chair to the centre window at Whitehall, out of which Charles I. had walked to his execution! The grand aim of the Protestant Association was, indeed, to get up a monster petition, in order to procure the repeal of the late concessions to the Roman Catholics, This was the creature of Lord George Gordon’s own brain. Having presented several anti-Catholic petitions from the county of Kent, he made it his business to get up a similar petition from the good citizens of London, which he considered might have the effect of overawing ministers; and procuring the repeal of the obnoxious act. Aided by the heads of the Protestant Association, he canvassed the capital and the neighbourhood; and by his exertions he quickly obtained 120,000 signatures to his petition. These signatures were chiefly the handwriting or _marks_ of men of the lower orders of society, and who were as far from being Protestants as they were from being Papists. And this may also be asserted of many members of the Protestant Association. Some well-meaning people may have enrolled their names as members, but it is certain that for the most part they were men regardless of the profession of religion. Moreover, it is clear that the principles of the Protestant Association were rather of a political than of a religious nature; or, at all events, it is certain that politics mingled themselves in the question. There is no doubt, however, that Lord George Gordon himself was a dangerous fanatic; the more so, because his station in life gave him influence among the rude and ignorant multitude. This was his character before he became president of the Protestant Association, and it became still more evident as his popularity increased. His inflammatory harangues were printed, published, and scattered far and wide; and the people were told by him, that if they were not content to run all hazards with him, they must look out for another leader. After he had succeeded in getting up his monster-petition he put them, indeed, to the test. In presenting it to the house of commons, he said he expected to be backed by a host of good Christians; and that he would not present it at all unless he was attended by at least 20,000 men. Having made this declaration, Lord George appointed St. George’s Fields as the place of meeting, and pointed out the lines of march they were to pursue, in order to concentrate in front of the houses of parliament. Their distinctive badge was to be a blue cockade, and their cry, “No Popery!” The day appointed for them to meet was on the 2nd of June, on which day Lord George had previously informed the house that he meant to present a petition, and to come down to the house with all those who had signed it. Such a stouthearted champion could not be left in the field alone; so accordingly on the day appointed some 60,000 petitioners and associaters met according to his directions. They were divided into four companies, one of them being entirely composed of Scotchmen; and after a stirring harangue from Lord George, the several columns struck off by different roads for Westminster. As they proceeded along they were joined by all the knaves and cut-purses of London; and when they assembled before the houses of parliament, and raised the long and loud cry of “No Popery!” the members of the fraternity of thieves picked every pocket into which they could insinuate their hands, and did all they could to create a riot, which would turn to their own advantage. Every avenue to the houses of parliament was blocked up, and as the peers and members of the house of commons arrived, they were compelled to join the cry of “No Popery!” or to submit to insult and ill treatment. Some of the bishops had their gowns torn off their backs, or were otherwise ill-treated; various temporal peers were treated with the greatest indignity; while those members of the commons who were known to have voted for the relief of the Papists, had to take their seats this day minus their outer garments. All this time there was a deafening and incessant roar of “Repeal the Bill!” “No Popery!” “Lord George Gordon!” When Lord George had been in the house some time the mob became more bold. On a sudden they began to thunder at the doors to break them open. Some members threatened Lord George with instant death if the sanctity of the house should be violated by the mob he had collected; and it is said that Mr. Henry Herbert followed him closely with that determination, and that General Murray, a relation to the mad lord, held his sword ready to pass it through him on the first irruption of the mob. None, however, made their appearance; and when something like order was restored, Lord George moved for bringing up and immediately considering the petition. This was seconded by Alderman Bull, and the first proposition was granted as a matter of course, but the second was met by an amendment to put off the consideration for four days. This gave rise to a discussion, during which Lord George went out several times into the lobby and harangued the multitude, encouraging them to persevere, inasmuch as terror would be sure to induce the king and his ministers to grant the prayer of their petition. On his return into the house, after one of these harangues, Colonel Holroyd took hold of his lordship, saying, that hitherto he had imputed his conduct to madness, but that he found there was more malice than madness in it; and that if he proceeded to the lobby again, he would immediately move for his commitment to Newgate. At the same time Holroyd called upon him to remove the blue cockade from his hat. Lord George timidly obeyed the order, and did not venture to go down into the lobby again; contenting himself with addressing the mob from the gallery stairs; denouncing in his harangues from thence the more Popishly inclined members of the house. Their yells and menaces continued, but undeterred by them the house adopted the amendment, six members only voting with Lord George. By this time Mr. Addington, an active Middlesex magistrate, arrived in Palace-yard, with a party of horse and foot guards, and induced the multitude to disperse. But mischief was afloat. In the course of his harangues in the lobby, Lord George had suggested that there was no remedy for them till they had pulled down all the Popish chapels. This was remembered; and as the multitude returned to their homes, the chapel of the Bavarian minister, in Warwick-street, Golden-square; and the chapel of the Sardinian ambassador, in Duke-street, Lincoln’s-inn-fields, were burnt to the ground. The military were ordered out and some rioters were apprehended, while the rest went home to rest. The next day, Saturday, passed off quietly; but a discussion. took place in the lords, in which some sentiments were uttered by the Duke of Richmond and the Earl of Shelburne, on the subject of the concessions made to the Roman Catholics by a Protestant government, which were well calculated to rekindle the fanatic fire out of doors. These observations arose out of a motion made by Lord Bathurst, who had been roughly handled by the mob on Friday, for an address praying that his majesty would give immediate orders for prosecuting, in the most effectual manner, the authors, abettors, and instruments of the outrages committed both in the vicinity of the houses of parliament and upon the houses and chapels of the foreign ministers. This motion was agreed to, and the peers returned home in safety to their mansions. Late that night, however, or early on Sunday morning, a mob assembled in Moorfields, where they did much mischief to the Catholics living in that neighbourhood: a Popish chapel and several houses were pulled down. The military were called out, but as the mob knew that they did not dare fire without the command of the civil power, they were by no means disturbed by their presence. They still continued their work of destruction, while thieves and pick-pockets looked about for plunder. Nothing was done on the Monday for preventing mischief, except the issuing of a proclamation by a privy-council, offering a reward of £500 for those persons who had been concerned in destroying the Sardinian and Bavarian chapels; and the mob, grown bold by impunity, continued their devastations. One party stripped the house of Sir George Saville, in Leicester-fields, of its furniture, and made a bonfire of it before the door; another party regaled Lord George Gordon with a bonfire made of materials brought from Catholic chapels and houses in Moorfields, which they burnt before his house in Welbec-street; a third party went to Virginia-lane, Wapping; and a fourth to Nightingale-lane, East Smithfield, where they severally destroyed the Catholic chapels, and committed other outrages. That night London was in the hands of the mob, and fires were seen on every hand; while property to a large amount changed owners. On Tuesday, which was the day appointed for the consideration of the petition, the mob again concentrated before the houses of parliament. Westminster-hall and the avenues to the house were lined with military, horse and foot; but even this precaution was insufficient to protect the members who were bold enough to attend to their parliamentary duty from insult and outrage. Lord Sandwich was dragged from his carriage, which was broken to pieces, and would have been killed if he had not been rescued by a magistrate, at the head of a small party of light-horse. At this time most of the rabble had oaken sticks in their hands, as well as blue cockades in their hats; and some had even banners, on which were inscribed their watchword, “No Popery!” This was also chalked on the carriages of all the lords and members as they went down to the house. An attempt was made to disperse the rioters, and as the crowd gave way, one of the ringleaders called upon them to repair to the magistrate’s house who took the lead in dispersing them, and this was soon pulled down. By this time the members of the commons had taken into consideration the petition which was the forerunner of all these riots. Lord George Gordon, who, dreading the effects of his madness, had issued handbills in the name of the Protestant Association, to disavow the riots, was in the house, and some talk occurred about expelling him, and committing him to the Tower. All that was done, however, was to agree to a resolution, “That when the present tumults were subsided, they would take into consideration the petitions from many of his majesty’s Protestant subjects.” This had been no sooner done than dreadful news arrived from the city, and the house adjourned in haste and confusion. The mob had proceeded from St. Martin’s-street, where the house of the magistrate which they had demolished was situate, to Newgate, declaring that they would release their brother rioters. The prison was accordingly fired, and more than three hundred ruffians were liberated, and joined in the work of desolation. The houses of Sir John Fielding and Lord Mansfield were the next objects of their attack; and the furniture, the books, the paintings, the papers, and everything that was valuable therein were destroyed. And here the true character of the mob displayed itself. It is manifest, indeed, that none of the real members of the Association took part in these outrages, but that they were committed by men who cared more for a pot of good ale and a glass of gin than for the Protestant interest. Hence, their first object, when they had entered the houses of Sir John Fielding and Lord Mansfield, was the wine-cellars. They drank till they were raving mad! It was in this state that they were found by a detachment of foot-guards in and opposite the house of Lord Mansfield. The officer who commanded them was requested to enter the house with his men; but he replied, that the justices of the peace had all run away; and that consequently it was impossible for the military to act. The spirit of mischief, therefore, was permitted to work at its pleasure. The new prison at Clerkenwell next shared the fate of Newgate, and all the felons and other prisoners there let loose upon society; their first impulse being to join the mob, to increase the havock, and to plunder, burn, drink, and destroy. During the night many houses were plundered or destroyed; the madness of the mob increasing at every new success, by the liquors which they procured from the cellars. A magistrate was at length found who would act, but it was then too late, as drink had rendered the mob insensible to danger. A recent writer remarks:—“During the time that was lost in seeking for a magistrate who would act, the fury of the mob was increased to such a pitch by the liquor they had drank, that, when the soldiers at last fired, even the sight of their companions falling dead beside them produced little or no effect.... It was when they were in this state—careless of what befel them, and almost unconscious of what they were doing, that the authorities, hitherto so patient, for the first time determined to use force against them.... The scene here altogether appears to have been terrific in the extreme. The violence and ferocity of the ruffians, armed with sledge-hammers and other instruments of destruction, who burst into the houses—the savage shouts of the surrounding multitude—the wholesale desolation—the row of bonfires blazing in the street, heaped with the contents of the sacked mansion, with splendid furniture, books, pictures, and manuscripts which were irreparable—the drunken wretches staggering or reeling against each other, or rolling on the ground—the peeling of the musketry, followed the next instant by the screams of the wounded and the dying, and the roar of vengeance from ten thousand throats—soon after this, the fires lighted in every room, and finally, the flames rushing upwards from windows and roof in one magnificent conflagration:—all these may well be conceived to have formed a picture, or rather a succession of pictures, which thus exhibited under the dark sky of midnight, would seem hardly of this world.” This has reference to a scene which occurred at the house of Lord Mansfield, where some of the mob were still collected, when a magistrate was found willing to act. But no force was yet sufficient to quell the riot. On the following day the scenes which took place were still more dreadful. The mob were completely triumphant, and all householders who did not hang bits of blue silk out by way of flags, and omitted to chalk the words “No Popery” on the doors and shutters of their houses, were exposed to their vengeance. Some even who were not Papists were this day plundered and ill-treated; all distinctions being set aside by some of the rioters, which is another evidence of the character of the mob. Some fellows marched through the town extorting money from every one they met, whether Papist or Protestant; and one ruffian, mounted on a horse, would take nothing but gold. Other parties were employed in pulling down the prisons, and before night not a prison was left standing, except the Poultry Compter. An attack was made on the Bank of England by others, but here they were repulsed by a strong body of soldiers, who killed many and wounded others. But the great centre of mischief was Holborn. Here a Mr. Langdale was doubly exposed as a Papist and as a great distiller. His premises were fired, and everything was destroyed, except the liquors which were drunk by the rioters; many of whom literally killed themselves with drinking, while others too drunk to move out of the reach of danger perished in the flames which their own hands had kindled. A writer of the period says:—“Powder and ball do not seem to have been so fatal to them as their own inordinate appetites. Numbers, it is said, and at various places, died of inebriation; especially at the distilleries of the unfortunate Mr. Langdale. In the streets men were seen lying upon bulks and stalls and at the doors of empty houses, drunk to a state of insensibility and to a contempt of danger; boys and women were in the same condition, and many of the latter with infants in their arms.” Men, women, and children were at one time seen on their knees drinking ardent spirits, as they flowed down the kennel of the street in Holborn. Thus maddened, who can wonder at the excesses which followed? Thirty-six fires were seen on this night blazing in different quarters of the great metropolis, and nothing but the serenity of the night saved it from destruction. The panic was universal. Persons were seen on every hand removing their goods, as none could tell but that they might be destroyed by the merciless mob; or if a wind should suddenly spring up, by the devouring element. At the same time the dreadful reports of soldiers’ muskets were heard, mingled with the terrific cries of the infuriated and countless rabble. None could sleep in their beds on that night: the streets swarmed with people, and uproar, confusion, and terror reigned on every hand. Some of the citizens, however, possessing more nerve than others, formed themselves into associations and acted with the soldiers. And wherever the troops appeared there was nothing like a determined resistance made by the rabble. Thus, at Blackfriars-bridge, where the mob had set fire to the toll-gates, they were driven away like a scared flock of sheep by the soldiers, and some even threw themselves over the bridge into the Thames, in order to escape from the fire of their muskets. The only place in the morning where the mob was not dispersed was in the neighbourhood of the Fleet-prison, which was still in flames; and when the soldiers charged their muskets right into the crowd they fled in all directions. In the course of Thursday various encounters took place, and some lives were lost; but before night the rabble had melted away, and tranquillity was restored. Men had wondered whence the rabble came, and now they wondered whither they could be gone. The return of killed made to Lord Amherst, commander-in-chief, amounted to two hundred and ten, and of wounded to two hundred and forty-eight, but many had been removed by their friends, so that the exact number could not be ascertained: moreover, it could never be known how many perished from drinking ardent and unrectified spirits, and in the flames, from which inebriety made it impossible for them to escape.

MEASURES ADOPTED BY PARLIAMENT, ARISING OUT OF THE LONDON RIOTS.

The house of commons met on Friday, the 9th of June, but as Westminster was thronged with troops, and the capital had the appearance of being under martial-law, the members adjourned till the 19th. On that day his majesty met both houses, and exhibited a general view of the measures which had been employed during the suspension of regular government. In his speech he stated that he had directed copies of the proclamations which had been issued to be laid before parliament; and he concluded by declaring that it was his first duty and chief glory to maintain and preserve the established religion. The common danger seems to have had the effect of procuring a greater unanimity in both houses than had been exhibited for many years before. Addresses were carried without opposition; though some members blamed ministers for negligence and delay, and for not employing the troops sooner. A question was moved in the lords respecting the legality of military interference; which point was accurately examined and constitutionally settled by Lord Mansfield. His lordship said that the late riots amounted to overt acts of high-treason, and were besides accompanied with felonies, as the burning of houses, property, &c., all of which was sufficient legal ground for the king’s proclamation calling out the military. Under such circumstances he said, the military must act with and under the civil power, and that if the soldiers exceeded the powers with which they were invested, they must be tried and punished, not by martial law, but by the laws of the realm. This being the law, he added, it was an ill-founded apprehension that the metropolis was under martial-law, or that the military had more power since the riots than before. The noble lord made one allusion to his own serious losses, which greatly affected all the peers present. He had been obliged, he said, to form his opinions without the aid of books; adding, “indeed I have now no books to consult.” On the following day the house of commons having resolved itself into a committee upon the petitions for repealing Sir George Saville’s tolerating act, which had been made an occasion of so much mischief, adopted five resolutions, on the motion of Mr. Burke, expressing satisfaction in the law as it now-existed, together with an abhorrence of the late tumults, and of the misrepresentations which led to them. Many members, however, thought it necessary to do something to quiet the minds of the petitioners and remove the dread of Popery; and a bill was brought in to deprive Roman Catholics of the right of keeping schools in which there were any Protestant scholars. This bill passed in the commons, but it was rejected by the lords, as carried by the fear of popular outrage, and therefore derogatory to the dignity and independence of parliament. All signs of popular rage had now, however, disappeared; and government had evidently derived an accession of strength out of doors as well as within the walls of parliament. The minds of the public had become impressed with the danger arising from popular assemblies for political purposes; and the associations of reform were therefore deserted by members who had hitherto supported them. Men found that it was easy to raise the storm of human passion by exciting language; but that it was the most difficult thing in the world to allay it when once lashed into fury.

PARLIAMENT PROROGUED.

Parliament was prorogued on the 8th of July. In his speech the king dwelt at some length on the recent riots, and thanked parliament for their magnanimity and perseverance for prosecuting the “just and necessary war,” in which the country was engaged. Their exertions, he said, had been attended with success by sea and land, and he trusted that the late important and prosperous turn of affairs in North America would lead to the return of loyalty in the colonists to his person, and to their re-union with their mother-country. The events of the war by this time had given some ground of hope, but in the end it proved illusory.

TRIAL OF LORD GEORGE GORDON AND THE RIOTERS.

Immediately after the riots had subsided, Lord George Gordon was apprehended upon a warrant from the secretary of state, and after a brief examination before several lords of the privy council, was committed to the Tower on a charge of high-treason. While he was immured within the walls of his prison, during the month of July, the vengeance of the law fell upon those of the rioters which had been captured in then lawless depredations. No less than fifty-nine were capitally convicted, and twenty were executed: the rest were transported for life. Lord George was not tried till the month of January, 1781, when he was acquitted; his counsel showing that he was insane, and the jury conceiving that his case did not amount to high-treason. He afterwards gave undoubted proof of his insanity by turning Jew! Finally, he died in Newgate, where he was imprisoned for various libels on foreign potentates.

ADMIRAL RODNEY’S SUCCESS AGAINST THE SPANIARDS.

The opening of this year added to the naval renown of England. As the Spanish persevered in their siege of Gibraltar, and as their treaty with the Barbary States stopped the supplies of provisions, the garrison began to feel the effects of famine, and it was necessary to send them supplies from England. Admiral Rodney, who had recently been appointed to the chief command in the West Indies, was therefore ordered to relieve Gibraltar on his way thither. He had only been a few days at sea when he fell in with a rich Spanish convoy, going from St. Sebastian to Cadiz, and consisting of fifteen merchantmen, four frigates, and three armed vessels; one being a fine new ship of sixty-four guns. These were all captured, and while he took those with him which were laden with wheat, flour, and other provisions, the rest were sent to England. It was expected by the Bourbon cabinets that Rodney would leave his transports in a certain latitude, to make their own way to Gibraltar, and accordingly they ordered Admiral Don Juan de Langara to proceed, with eleven men of war and two frigates, to intercept the supply. Rodney, however, accompanied the transports, and on the 16th of January he encountered the Spanish admiral near Cape St. Vincent. The Don, when he discovered the superior force of the English, endeavoured to make his escape, but Rodney got between him and the shore, and compelled him to engage. The action commenced in the midst of a rough gale, at four in the afternoon, and in the first hour of the engagement a Spanish ship of the line blew up, and all on board perished. At six in the evening another struck her colours, and by two the next morning the Phoenix of eighty guns, the Spanish admiral’s own ship, and three of seventy guns each were taken and secured. Two more, of seventy guns each, struck their colours, but were driven on shore by the violence of the tempest and lost. The rest of the squadron escaped in a shattered condition to Cadiz. Rodney now proceeded triumphantly to the relief of Gibraltar, and after lying there for some weeks, he proceeded with a part of his fleet to the West Indies, while the remainder, under the command of Admiral Digby, returned to the Channel. On his way home, Digby captured a French ship of the line, and two or three vessels laden with military stores. These successes raised the spirit of the nation, and the name of Rodney especially filled every breast with hope and confidence. The very ministers began to look upon him as the main stay of their power; well knowing that his success would silence the clamours which had so long been raised against them on the ground of incompetency.

{GEORGE III. 1780–1781}

ARMED NEUTRALITY.

The high hopes entertained by the people of England were soon doomed to be modified by the prospect of new enemies, some of whom were more powerful than those already arrayed against their country. At this time a strong combination was formed against England by several powers constituting what is called in history “The Armed Neutrality.” The Spanish cabinet claimed the merit of this system; but it would rather appear to have originated with the court of Petersburg, which had been regarded by the ministers as their best ally in this momentous crisis. In consequence of the large shipments of ammunition, and other materials of war, made to the colonies of America by neutral states, England had, from the commencement of the war, exercised the right of stopping and searching all neutral vessels wherever they could be found. England also had acted upon another established principle; namely, that a neutral flag could not cover or protect the cargoes and property of a state with which she was at war, and her cruizers had therefore stopped many vessels having French and American property on board. This, however, involved her in many quarrels with neutral powers, and Russia, Prussia, Denmark, Holland, Sweden, etc. entered into a league, pledging themselves to maintain the principle, “that free ships make free goods, with the exception of arms and munitions of war.” About this time, also, the native powers of India entered into a formidable coalition, under French influence, for driving the British from their territories. England had, therefore, almost the whole world arrayed in arms against her, or entertaining hostile intentions towards her, while within her own bosom she was destined to suffer from faction. Never, indeed, was there a period in her history when she so much needed the unanimity and undivided strength of her brave family.

RODNEY ENGAGES THE FRENCH FLEET.

Admiral Rodney arrived at St. Lucie, in the West Indies, on the 27th of March. Here he joined Admiral Hyde Parker, and his fleet then consisted of twenty-two sail of the line and six frigates. Parker had been menaced for several days by the French Admiral de Guichen, who had only quitted that water a few hours before Rodney’s arrival. Admiral de Guichen retired to Fort Royal Bay, Martinique, and on the 2nd of April Rodney appeared off that fort, and offered him battle. Finding that the challenge would not be accepted, Rodney, after two days, returned to St, Lucie, leaving some fast-sailing vessels to watch the motions of the French. On the night of the 15th de Guichen put to sea, and Rodney, warned of the fact, went in search of him with twenty sail of the line. The two fleets came in contact on the 17th, and Rodney threw out his signal for every ship to bear down and attack the rear of the French as closely as they could, in order to break their line, and fight their detached ships. The spirit of political party, however, reigned in the fleet, and his signal was not obeyed as it ought to have been, several ships continuing at a cautious distance from the enemy. In the meantime, Rodney in the Sandwich came to close quarters with the French, and having beaten de Guichen’s own ship fairly out of the line, and compelled two others to bear away, he succeeded in separating his enemy’s fleet into two unequal parts. He was, however, only aided by five or six captains, and the French were allowed time to haul off after their admiral and reform their line; after which de Guichen stood away with the whole fleet under a press of sail, in order to make his escape. The great distance between the British van and rear, and the crippled state of his own ship, prevented Rodney from following; and he was thus stopped short in the career of victory. One of the delinquent captains—Bateman, of the Yarmouth—whose disobedience was more notorious than the rest, was put under arrest, tried by a court-martial, and dismissed the service. This example had the effect of restoring discipline, and Rodney again sought the enemy. On the 20th he again got sight of the French admiral, whose object was to make Fort Royal Bay in Martinique, in order to repair his ships. Rodney cut him off from this port, and de Guichen took shelter under Guadaloupe; when the British fleet returned to St. Lucie to refit and to land the wounded. The hostile fleets again came in sight of each other on the 10th of May, between St. Lucie and Martinique. But it was in vain that Rodney sought to bring the French admiral to an engagement; and the latter having at length got into the long-desired harbour of Fort Royal, the British fleet ran into Barbadoes. At this time the Spanish fleet was expected to join the French; and though Rodney soon sailed from Barbadoes in order to prevent the junction, the cautious Spanish admiral, Don Joseph Solano, contrived to elude his vigilance, and to unite his fleet, consisting of twelve sail of the line, several frigates, and a swarm of transports, with that of de Guichen. Before their united force Rodney was obliged to retire; and he retreated with the sad conviction that the enemy was strong-enough to capture every British island in those seas. The storm, however, which seemed to threaten these islands blew over without pouring its fury upon one of them. The Spaniards had so over-crowded their transports with men, that a terrible sickness broke out among them, destroying first its scores, and then its hundreds daily. The pestilence extended its ravages to the French fleet; and in order to check it, it was agreed to land the troops and part of the seamen at Martinique. Its ravages were arrested; but while at Martinique, hostilities broke out between the French and the Spaniards, and the two commanders could not agree as to the line of operations to be pursued. Their combined fleets set sail again on the 5th of July, and directed their course to St. Domingo, where they separated; de Guichen returning to Europe with the homeward-bound convoy from the French sugar islands, and Solano proceeding to the Havanah, to assist in the military operations which the Spaniards were carrying on in Florida. All these circumstances saved Jamaica and the other islands in the West Indies; and conscious that they were safe, after detaching a part of his force to Jamaica, Rodney set sail for New York.

EXPEDITION AGAINST SOUTH CAROLINA.

While Rodney was bravely supporting the honour of the British flag on the ocean, the British arms were equally successful on the continent. During the last days of December, Sir Henry Clinton, leaving New York under the care of General Knyphausen, sailed away from Sandy Hook for Charlestown in South Carolina. The ships in which he sailed, however, were driven from their course by a long and terrible storm, so that it was not till the 11th of February that he was enabled to disembark on John’s Island, about thirty miles from Charlestown. Other delays took place; and it was the 29th of March when Clinton’s army crossed Ashby River and landed on Charlestown-neck. Ground was broken in front of the American lines on the 11th of April; but as these lines were formidable, it was evident that some time must elapse before the town could be taken. Thus the Americans had built a chain of redoubts, lines, and batteries right across the peninusular, from Ashby River to Cooper River, on which were mounted eighty cannons and mortars; they had dug a deep canal in front of this line, which was filled with water, and had thrown two rows of abattis, and made a double picketed ditch; in the centre of their works they had erected a kind of citadel, which was bomb-proof; they had erected numerous batteries on the waterside, to prevent the approach of ships; and they had raised a bar or sand-bank, that rendered the approach of our largest ships of war impracticable, and of the smaller craft difficult and dangerous. Within the bar, however, there was a place called Five Fathom Hole, with a sufficient depth of water to float second-rate ships; and here nine American ships were moored, under the American commodore Whipple. Behind the bar and Whipple’s squadron there was Fort Moultrie, upon Sullivan’s Island, which was now much stronger than when, in a previous year, it repulsed Clinton, and cut up Sir Peter Parker’s squadron. Such were the formidable obstacles which Clinton had to surmount before he could hope to capture Charlestown; and, moreover, within the town was the American General Lincoln, at the head of about 7000 men. It was necessary first to take possession of Five Fathom Hole; and accordingly Admiral Arbuthnot, who had escorted Clinton to Charlestown, made the attempt. The American commodore retired before Arbuthnot to Sullivan Island, and then the English were permitted to pass the bar at their leisure. This was effected with great labour, and on the 9th of April Arbuthnot was in full possession of the harbour. Soon after Clinton finished his first parallel, and began to erect his batteries; and then Arbuthnot sailed, passed Fort Moultrie under a heavy fire, and anchoring just without range of the shot from the town batteries, summoned Lincoln to surrender. The American general having replied that he would defend the place to the last extremity, the English batteries were opened, and they soon made a visible impression. In the meantime Clinton detached Colonel Tarleton against Lincoln’s cavalry, which were placed outside the lines in order to keep the country open beyond Cooper Hiver. Tarleton was successful: the cavalry were surprised at a place called Biggin’s Bridge, and completely routed, leaving behind them all their stores, camp-equipage, and baggage, with some two or three hundred horses. By this victory a passage was opened across the head of Cooper River, and a detachment was sent under the command of Earl Cornwallis to scour the country beyond that river. All supplies were thus cut off from Charlestown, as well as all hope of retreat for Lincoln and his garrison. A council of war was called, and Lincoln offered to surrender upon certain conditions; but as Clinton considered them too favourable, they were rejected. The British now continued their approaches; a second parallel was completed by the 20th of April, and a third by the 6th of May. On this latter day the garrison of Fort Moultrie, on Sullivan Island, surrendered to Captain Hudson of the navy; and on the same day the broken remains of Lincoln’s cavalry, which had been recollected, were again routed by Tarleton. Clinton’s third parallel was erected close to the canal; and this canal was drained by means of another excavation. Consternation and despair seized upon the inhabitants of the town, but still Lincoln and the garrison resolved to hold out. Hostilities were recommenced with additional fury, and an incessant fire was kept up for two days, in the midst of which the besiegers advanced to the very ditch, and drove the Americans from several of their guns. At length, at the prayer of the terrified inhabitants, Lincoln resolved to accept the terms which Clinton had offered before the last assault. A flag of truce was sent out by him, and Clinton instantly signed the capitulation. Between 6000 and 7000 men, consisting of regular troops, militia, and sailors became prisoners of war; and four hundred pieces of ordnance, and a large quantity of naval stores fell into the hands of the victors. The garrison were allowed some of the honours of war: they were to march out and deposit their arms between the canal and the lines; but the drums were not to beat a British march, nor were the colours to be reversed. The militia were to return home upon parole, and the citizens were to be considered prisoners on parole; but their property was to be respected so long as they kept their word. As for the officers of both army and navy they were to retain their swords, pistols, servants, and baggage, the latter of which was not to be searched. The town was taken possession of by the British on the 12th of May; and General Clinton set on foot several expeditions, calculated to extinguish every idea of resistance in the interior of the province. At the same time he issued proclamations for the purpose of conciliating the inhabitants. These measures seemed to produce the desired effect. The only body of troops that still held out was defeated by Colonel Tarleton, and the people in every part of South Carolina seemed to submit to King George. In this happy state of affairs, Clinton, on the 5th of June, embarked for New York, leaving Lord Cornwallis behind him with 4000 men, to maintain the acquisition, and to penetrate into North Carolina, so soon as the intense heat of the season and other circumstances should admit of such an enterprise.

BATTLE OF CAMDEN, ETC.

The loyalty of the people of South Carolina was like a morning cloud; it soon passed away. It was not long before they began to manifest a change of disposition. Those who had accepted protection, because they could not help themselves, manifested their antipathy to the British government; while those who were in heart favourable to the cause of King George, were indignant at seeing the disloyal part of the community enjoying immunities and advantages, which they would employ against the English on the first opportunity. The disaffected were encouraged by the hope of speedy aid from Virginia and by congress, who were resolved to make the most strenuous efforts to recover South Carolina. At length, therefore, treachery began openly to show itself. One Lisle, who had taken the oath of allegiance, and obtained rank and command, went over to the republicans with a battalion of militia, well equipped with arms and ammunition. A similar instance of treachery also occurred in another part of the province, where a colonel of militia, who was entrusted with the escort of some sick and wounded soldiers, carried them into North Carolina, and gave them up to Baron de Kalb, a German, who was at the head of some regular troops, and of 3000 militia. Kalb was appointed to drive the royalists out of the country in North Carolina, and to encourage the disaffected in South Carolina. He was soon joined by General Gates, whom congress sent to take the supreme command of the American forces. On his arrival, Gates having 6000 men under his command, prepared at once to drive the British from their line of posts across the state of South Carolina, and carry the war up to the very walls of Charlestown. Intelligence of these preparations induced Lord Cornwallis to repair to Camden, though his effective force did not exceed 2000 men. After some skirmishing, and two attacks on detached positions, conducted by Colonel Sumter, and both unsuccessful, Gates moved forward to Camden, in the full assurance of victory. Having received intelligence of this, Lord Cornwallis, instead of retreating or waiting to receive Gates, set out in the dead of the night to meet him. The advanced parties met in the woods at two o’clock in the morning, and a Maryland regiment was defeated; but after this temporary conflict both armies betook themselves to rest, and waited for the morning light. When the morning dawned, Cornwallis discovered that the ground which he occupied was exceedingly favourable for an action; his flanks being secured by two swamps, which narrowed the ground in his front by which Gates must advance. He formed in two lines: the first consisting of two divisions under Lord Rawdon and Colonel Webster, and the second consisting of the seventy-first regiment, and some squadrons of horse under his Own command. The arrangement of the enemy was similar; but Gates made some disposition on the left, as if intending to change his position, and Lord Cornwallis seizing the critical moment, ordered Webster to advance and charge the enemy on their left. This division was chiefly composed of Virginia militia, and as Webster advanced they threw down their loaded muskets and fled from the field. Their example was soon followed by the North Carolina division, which formed the centre of Gates’s army. Gates now brought up his second line, or reserve, and endeavoured to rally his militia. It was all in vain; the reserve corps were utterly routed, and the militiamen ran for their lives into the woods. Gates, aware that all was lost, fled with a few friends to Charlotte, about eighty miles off; and in this battle he lost nearly nine hundred slain, among whom was Baron de Kalb, and about 1000 were taken prisoners, he also lost all his baggage and camp-equipage, many stands of colours, seven pieces of cannon, and one hundred and fifty waggons, containing a large quantity of military stores and provisions. The English lost about three hundred and fifty men in killed and wounded, nearly all belonging to the regiment under Webster, and the Irish volunteers under Lord Rawdon, who had borne the chief weight of the action. This victory was followed by another. At this time Colonel Sumter was on the other side of the Wateree, with the intention of striking into the heart of South Carolina, and Tarleton, with some cavalry and mounted infantry, was dispatched against him. Sumter, warned of Gates’s disaster, had already began a retreat towards North Carolina, when he was overtaken by Tarleton near the Catawba Fords, where his corps were almost annihilated. He lost one hundred and fifty men killed, three hundred prisoners, and an immense quantity of arms and military stores: two hundred and fifty British prisoners were also recaptured. Thus victorious, Lord Cornwallis again sent emissaries into North Carolina, to assure the royalists there, that he would march into their country as soon as he received necessary supplies from Charlestown. In the meantime, as lenity had not disarmed the hostility of the disloyal, he gave some examples of severity. He sequestered the estates of all those who had broken their parole or their oath, and who had left the province; denounced death against those who, after receiving British protection, should desert; and executed some of the South Carolina militia, whom he had taken in arms near Camden, with British protection in their pockets. Cornwallis then marched into North Carolina, and he took possession of Charlottetown; but hearing of the defeat of a body of loyal militia, under Major Ferguson, who were attacked at King’s Mountain by 1000 backwoodsmen, he retreated to South Carolina, and deferred the prosecution of his enterprise till reinforcements should arrive from New York. He took up a position between Camden and the district of Ninety-Six, where he waited for the arrival of General Leslie, who had been detached by Sir Henry Clinton to penetrate into Virginia, in order to co-operate with Cornwallis. Leslie was afterwards ordered round by sea to Charlestown; and while Cornwallis was waiting for him, Tarleton with his flying column drove back an enterprising partizan, named Marion, and again defeated his old adversary, Sumter. Meanwhile congress, though greatly dejected by these reverses, had appointed General Greene to supersede Gates, Greene arrived at Charlottetown on the 2nd of December; but he found himself in no condition to advance into South Carolina; and as Cornwallis had not yet been reinforced, no further events transpired in the south during this campaign.

AFFAIRS AT NEW YORK.

On the side of New York, during this year, a variety of petty enterprises were undertaken. While Sir Henry Clinton was absent, Knyphausen was at first occupied in making preparations for the defence of that city? for, by the extreme severity of the winter, New York was deprived of that natural defence which arises from its insular situation. The Hudson, called the North River, was so completely covered with thick ice that a large army, with heavy artillery and baggage, might have crossed it with ease, and by that means have approached the very walls of the city. Knyphausen expected that Washington would avail himself of this circumstance to attack with his whole force, and therefore he adopted judicious measures for the city’s protection. Washington, however, was not in a condition to attempt anything so bold and important. His army had been weakened by draughts made upon it for the service of the south; he had scarcely any provisions or clothing for his men in the camp; and not only discontent but open mutiny had begun to manifest itself. Hence Knyphausen was secure from danger, though, in the month of January, Washington detached Lord Stirling to Staten Island, to act on the offensive. Stirling crossed over the ice from the Jersey shore, surprised a small post, and took some prisoners; but he was obliged to quit the island, and in his retreat lost some of his own men, who served to exchange for the prisoners he had taken. This expedition was followed by another on the part of the British, to drive the Americans from a post at Young’s House, in the neighbourhood of the White Plains, which was attended with greater success. The post was stormed and carried; forty of the enemy were killed, and about one hundred taken prisoners. Nothing further was attempted by Knyphausen during the continuance of the frost; but in the month of June, encouraged by the weakness and distress which still prevailed in Washington’s camp, he detached a considerable force, under Brigadiers Mathew and Stirling, to make an attempt to re-establish the ancient government in New Jersey. Mathew and Stirling marched up the country towards Springfield, but they were disappointed in their expectation of the people joining them, and were obliged to retreat to Elizabethtown. A few days after this Sir Henry Clinton arrived from Charlestown, and though he did not approve of the movement which Knyphausen had ordered, as the soldiers were at Elizabethtown, and as Washington had come down to the hills near Springfield to protect the Jerseys, he resolved to attempt to bring him to action. Mistaking some of the movements made by the British, Washington marched towards Pompton to defend West Point, and in his absence Sir Henry Clinton defeated General Greene, who was left at Springfield for its protection, and reduced the town to ashes. Washington, however, could not be brought to action, and Clinton, expecting the arrival of the French armament, returned in haste to New York. In the meantime, Lafayette, who had returned to France to quicken the exertions of his countrymen, presented himself in the American camp, with a promise from his sovereign of speedy assistance. Encouraged by this promise, congress, who had recently neglected Washington’s army, probably from the feelings of despair, made an extraordinary effort to give his troops some appearance of respectability before the arrival of their French allies. These allies arrived in July at Rhode Island, and they amounted to 6000 veteran troops. They were commanded by the Count de Rochambeau, an experienced officer, who had fought in the battle of Minden; but in order to obviate all quarrels about rank and precedence, Washington received a commission from the French monarch, appointing him lieutenant-general in the French armies, and investing him with the chief command in America. No precaution, however, could prevent the French and Americans from quarrelling with each other. The Americans complained that the French had come too late in the season to do any good, and the French complained, that on their arrival the American army were not ready to co-operate. Washington suggested an immediate attack upon New York; but this could not be attempted without a decided superiority at sea, and before any thing could be done, the arrival of Admiral Graves at Sanely Hook gave the superiority to the British. This determined Sir Henry Clinton to act upon the offensive. The French fleet which had brought the troops from France lay at Newport, and Sir Henry proposed to Admiral Arbuthnot a plan for attacking this fleet, while the troops proceeded up to the Sound to co-operate by land. Hoping to meet the enemy at sea, Arbuthnot deferred his co-operation till the enemy had strongly fortified their position, and then it was too late. Clinton proceeded with 8000 men to Huntingdon Bay, on Long Island; but Washington, having received reinforcements, crossed the North River, and rapidly advancing towards Kingsbridge, put a stop to their enterprise.

TREASON OF ARNOLD, AND FATE OF MAJOR ANDRE.

It had been expected by the French and American commanders that they would soon be joined by de Guichen, with a land-force and twenty ships of the line from the West Indies. Had their expectations been realized, it was resolved to attack New York in every direction, with irresistible fury. About this time however, intelligence arrived of de Guichen’s departure for Europe, and of the consequent naval superiority of the British. Thus frustrated in their designs, Washington and Rochambeau held a meeting midway between their respective camps, to concert new measures. While Washington was absent upon this service, General Arnold, who commanded a considerable body of troops at West Point, on the New River, and who had recently entered into a secret correspondence with Sir Henry Clinton for delivering up that important post to the British, requested that a confidential person might be sent to him, in order to adjust the business, and to carry it into effect without delay. The officer charged with this commission was Major André, a young man of spirit and undaunted courage, and in whom General Clinton reposed unlimited confidence. Major Andre had a secret interview with Arnold, and matters were arranged by them for the defection, but as he was returning in disguise he was taken by three men of the New York militia, and on examination the papers found upon him discovered all the particulars of the conspiracy. By some means or other—but how is not sufficiently clear—Arnold received intelligence of Andre’s capture in time to make his escape to New York, where, on his arrival, he received the commission of a brigadier-general in the British service. Major André had hitherto passed himself off as one John Anderson, but when he found that Arnold was safe, he announced his name and rank; and with more anxiety for his military honour than for his life, he wrote a letter to Washington, to secure himself from the imputation of having assumed the character of a spy for treacherous purposes or self-interest. His letter concluded with expressions of confidence in the generosity of Washington’s mind; but he soon found that his confidence was misplaced; that Washington was an implacable judge. A board of general officers was appointed to inquire into his case, and notwithstanding the solicitations and menaces of Sir Henry Clinton, who anxiously sought to save him, he was condemned to die an ignominious death. He died on a gibbet on the 2nd of October! His death is one of the blackest stains on the character of Washington; for his obduracy alone prevented the mitigation of the punishment. In vain was it represented to him that Sir Henry Clinton, and his predecessor Sir William Howe, had never put to death any person for a breach of the rules of war: in vain was it shown that Captain Robinson of the American army, who had been taken as a spy by the British, had recently been exchanged as a prisoner of war; and in vain did Arnold, through whose plots he had been captured, plead by letter for his life—Washington was obdurate still, and left his victim to perish by the hands of the common hangman! And yet this obdurate commander-in-chief of the Americans professed to commiserate his victim’s fate; and applauded the fortitude with which he met his death: but so did others of the American generals, and yet all the while kept twisting the rope that was to hang him! The same may be said of Lafayette. He also praised his courage, frankness, and delicacy, and “lamented his fate,” and yet did nothing to avert his doom. How much more nobly did Sir Henry Clinton act on this trying occasion. Although he had yet many Americans in his power, and although he had held out a threat that if André should perish, they should perish likewise, yet no reprisals were made; not one in his power was condemned by a military tribunal for their flagrant, and in some instances repeated breaches of the rules of war. Yet Washington seems to have considered that he had only acted in the character of a just judge. He could imagine that Arnold was undergoing “the torments of a mental hell,” for the part he had acted in this transaction, but he felt no compunction for his own unjust and uncalled-for severity—he could see the mote in Arnold’s eye, but could not discover the beam which was in his own. As regards Arnold he was probably correct. After the death of André that renegade issued addresses to the Americans, but he was scorned and unheeded; and he was employed during the remainder of the war, but he was shunned by the British officers, and although the British soldiers on guard were bound to salute his uniform and respect his rank, yet they whispered as he passed along, “There goes the traitor Arnold!” The death of André is the last recorded act in this campaign. All the belligerents went early into winter-quarters; and with the exception of a few foraging expeditions, Clinton’s army remained at New York and its dependencies during winter doing nothing; while Washington continued to occupy his old station on the high lands above the Hudson, and the French troops under Rochambeau, staid at Rhode Island, all being equally inactive. About the same time that the troops went into winter-quarters. Admiral Rodney left the American shores, and returned to his old station in the West Indies.

{GEORGE III. 1780–1781}

MARITIME LOSSES SUSTAINED BY THE BRITISH.

In the European seas British commerce suffered some blows during this year, which spread a gloom over the whole nation. Admiral Geary, who on the death of Sir Charles Hardy in May, had been appointed to the command of the fleet in the Channel, captured, in the beginning of July, twelve French merchantmen from Port-au-Prince; but while he proceeded southward, in hopes of falling in with a detached squadron of French and Spanish ships, of which he had received intelligence, and was cruizing off Cape Finisterre, a rich convoy for the East and West Indies, attended by the Ramillies and two frigates, were intercepted by the combined fleets of the enemy, and nearly fifty merchant ships were captured and carried into Cadiz. Many of these ships were laden with naval and military stores for the different settlements to which they were destined; and the loss of these, together with that of 3000 men taken prisoners on board, so increased public dissatisfaction at the mode of employing the Channel-fleet, that Geary soon afterwards resigned the command. But this was not the only disaster which the English met with on the seas during this year. About the same time, fourteen ships of the outward-bound Quebec fleet were captured by some American privateers off the banks of Newfoundland. These concurrent losses, in their nearer or more remote consequences, affected all classes of society.

WAR WITH HOLLAND.

It has been seen that Holland was one of those states which entered into the league called “The Armed Neutrality.” From the very commencement of the American war, the Dutch had secretely favoured the cause of the colonists; or at least had sought a commercial advantage in supplying some of their wants at the expense of the commerce and interests of England. Then again, after the interference of France and Spain in the quarrel, the ports of Holland were open equally to all the enemies of Great Britain; the advantages of a contraband trade making the Dutch regardless of the faith of treaties, and of every other consideration. Remonstrances were made on this subject by the British ambassador at the Hague, but without effect. The States General were determined to follow their own line of policy, and the breach thus made between the two countries gradually widened as the war with America progressed. It was easy to foresee, indeed, that sooner or later Holland would be joined to the long list of our open enemies. An event which occurred early in September of this year, led to such a consummation. At that time a congress packet was taken by the Vestal frigate off the banks of Newfoundland, as it was steering its course towards Holland. On board this packet was Henry Laurens, the late president of congress; who, as soon as he perceived that he should be captured, threw a box containing papers overboard. The lead which was attached to this box was not sufficiently heavy to sink it immediately, and a British sailor leaped into the sea and caught it as it was sinking. The papers which it contained were found to contain a treaty of amity and commerce between the republic of Holland and the States of America, some articles of which had been provisionally agreed to and signed two years before at Aix-la-Chapelle, by William Lee, agent for congress, and John de Neufville, a merchant of Amsterdam, acting under powers delegated to him by Van Berkel, the grand pensionary of that city. Laurens, the bearer of these papers, was brought to England, and committed to the Tower on a charge of high-treason; and our government transmitted the papers to their ambassador at the Hague, and instructed him to present a memorial to the States General, requiring them to disavow the proceedings of Van Berkel and his accomplices, and to punish them for their offence. No answer was returned to this memorial on the 12th of December, and Sir Joseph Yorke sent in another, expressing, in diplomatic language, his astonishment at the silence of the States General. The truth was, that although the Statholder neither approved of the treaty with the United States nor of war with England, the great trading interest of Amsterdam and the whole French party in Holland were eager for the completion of the treaty, and fondly imagined that Great Britain, through the number and power of her enemies and the Armed Neutrality, must succumb. Hence the memorial of the British ambassador was still treated with silent contempt, and there was no alternative left for our government but to declare war against Holland. Sir Joseph Yorke was recalled, and a royal manifesto was issued, declaring that Great Britain had issued letters of reprisals against the Dutch, and justifying her conduct in taking this hostile step. This manifesto was issued, on the 20th of December, and it would appear that the States General were alarmed at this firmness of the British government, for they did not put forth their answer to the manifesto of his Britannic majesty till the March following. The States General were, in truth, ill prepared for war with England, and they had soon reason to repent that they had even provoked it: it brought them only loss and degradation.

GENERAL ELECTION.

Parliament was unexpectedly dissolved, on the 1st of September, by royal proclamation. The elections proved to be much in favour of the court, for in several places the most popular members of the opposition side of the house lost their seats. In the whole, one hundred and thirteen new members were elected. Burke was returned, but in consequence of his support to the Irish Trade Acts, to the Roman Catholic Relief Bill, and to other measures of a liberal nature, he lost his seat for Bristol, and was compelled to be contented with the more humble one of the borough of Malton. Mr. Fox, after a hard struggle, was returned for Westminster.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

The new parliament met on the 31st of October. The first debate was occasioned by the election of a speaker. Sir Fletcher Norton had given offence to ministers during the last session, and Lord George Germaine, urging the precarious state of Sir Fletcher’s health, moved that Mr. Cornwall should fill the chair. Sir Fletcher and his friends replied, that his health was now re-established, and that Lord George Germaine’s condolence was a mockery of the house; and Dunning moved that he should be continued speaker. The house was divided on his re-election, but opposition were left in a minority of one hundred and thirty-four to two hundred and three: Mr. Cornwall was therefore elected speaker. His majesty delivered his opening speech on the following day. In it he declared his satisfaction in having an opportunity, by the recent election, of receiving the most certain information of the disposition and wishes of his people; and again complained of the unprovoked aggression of France and Spain, who were exerting all their power to support the rebellion of his colonies, to destroy the commerce of Great Britain, and to give a final blow to her power. He added, that the bravery of his fleets and armies had enabled him to withstand their hostility; and that he hoped the late successes in Georgia and Carolina would have important consequences in bringing the war to a happy conclusion. The opposition denied that the successes obtained in America were likely to be decisive, and an amendment was moved in the house of commons by Mr. Thomas Grenvilie, consisting in the omission of several complimentary paragraphs, but it was negatived by two hundred and twelve against one hundred and thirty. In the upper house there was but little debate, and the original address was carried by an equally large majority. The same success attended ministers with reference to the army and navy estimates, which were carried by such large majorities as served to remind Lord North of the earlier years of his administration, and to efface the recollection of the narrow divisions and minorities of the last session. In the course of the debates on the estimates, Fox pledged himself to move, after the Christmas holidays, for the dismissal of the Earl of Sandwich, and afterwards to bring him to condign punishment. He should found these motions, he said, on two different causes: first, for Sandwich’s having advised his majesty to promote Sir Hugh Palliser to the government of Greenwich Hospital; and, secondly, for his having shamefully neglected the navy. This led to a display of fierce party spirit, which was subsequently renewed from a remark made by Mr. Thomas Townshend; namely, that he thought it was highly necessary that the house should inquire why, in this season of public danger, the nation was deprived of the services and abilities of such men as Admiral Keppel, Lord Howe, Sir Robert Harland, Pigot, Campbell, and Barrington. This remark was made on the 4th of December, and in the course of the debate which ensued, Mr. Fox having again censured the promotion of Sir Hugh Palliser, Lord North defended the unpopular admiral in one of his most ready and effective speeches. Two days after this the two houses of parliament adjourned to the 23rd of January.