Chapter 13

{GEORGE III. 1778–1779}

Demonstration of Public Spirit in England..... Meeting of Parliament..... Committee for taking the State of the Nation into Consideration..... Burke’s Motion relative to the Employment of Indians..... Committee of Evidence in the House of Lords..... Lord North’s Conciliatory Bills..... Intimation of the French Treaty with America..... Investigation of the State of the Navy..... Motion for excluding Contractors from Parliament..... Revision of the Trade of Ireland..... Bill for the Relief of the Roman Catholics..... Lord Chatham’s last Appearance in the House of Lords..... Death of Lord Chatham, and posthumous Honours to his Memory..... The Duke of Richmond’s Motion resumed..... The Session closed..... Proceedings in France..... Naval Operations in the British Channel..... Disgraceful Infraction of the Convention of Saratoga..... Lafayette’s Expedition to Canada..... Unfortunate Action under Lafayette..... Sir Henry Clinton takes the Command of the British Troops..... Arrival of the Commissioners in America with the Conciliatory Bills..... Evacuation of Philadelphia by the British, &c. Disgrace of General Lee..... Unsuccessful Attack, by the Americans and French, on Rhode Island..... Operations of the British Army..... Attack of the Savages on the Settlement of Wyoming, &c. Arrival of the French Envoy at Philadelphia..... Movements of the British and French Fleets..... Capture of Dominica by the French..... Capture of St. Lucie by the British..... Re-capture of the Islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon..... French Plans regarding Canada counteracted by Washington..... Capture of Savannah by the British..... Meeting of Parliament..... Affair respecting Admiral Keppel and Sir Hugh Falliser.

DEMONSTRATION OF PUBLIC SPIRIT IN ENGLAND.

During the recess, the government party and the opposition were equally zealous in securing the public opinion, and, consequently, the success of its future schemes. The intelligence of Burgoyne’s defeat seems to have had a momentary effect on the minds of the people, which favoured the views of opposition, but while a few politicians declaimed on the necessity of ending a ruinous war by recognising the independence of the United States, and others advised a cessation of arms and conciliation, the vast majority of the nation soon burned with ardour to blot out the recollection of Burgoyne’s disgrace, by deeds of arms, and by reducing the colonies to their original subjection to the mother country. Not only did public meetings of corporate bodies, towns, and counties, display their attachment to the cause of the crown by addresses, but some cities and towns as Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, raised each a regiment of 1000 men at their own expense. Private subscriptions were opened, large sums were given, and 15,000 soldiers were raised in England, Scotland, and Wales, without any cost or charge to government. Many of the maritime towns, also, armed ships to cruise in the Channel, where American privateers and Frenchmen with American colours were now becoming numerous. On the other hand, the opposition party represented that the American prisoners of war were treated with great cruelty in British prisons, and subscriptions were set on foot for their relief. Complaints had been made in the house of lords concerning the sufferings of the American prisoners, and the subject was investigated; but though it was found that their allowance in some instances had been slender, and that in others their keepers had treated them with severity, it could not be shown that this arose from any want of care on the part of government. Everything, however, was tried which could be tried by the opposition, in order to fix an indelible stigma of infamy on the members of Lord North’s administration.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

The animus of opposition was exhibited in an unequivocal manner on the reassembling of parliament. On the 22nd of January, Sir Phillip Jennings Clarke moved for an account of the number of troops raised by private subscription, with the names of the commanding-officers. In the debate which followed this motion, ministers were accused of having incorporated 15,000 troops without consent of parliament, and represented their conduct in accepting their aid as most unconstitutional and inimical to the liberties of the country. Lord North, who agreed to the motion, in reply, argued that these spontaneous exertions proved that the people felt the insults and injuries offered to their king and country; and, also, that the country was not in that impoverished state which a jealous and impatient faction had asserted it was. Still the opposition hoped to obtain a vote of censure. In the house of lords the Earl of Abingdon moved that the twelve judges should be consulted as to the legality of raising troops without the authority of parliament. This motion was not pressed to a division; but, on the 4th of February, the same noble lord made another motion more specific, in order to cast blame upon government. He moved for a resolution that the grant of money in private aids or benevolences, without the sanction of parliament, for the purpose of raising armies, was against the spirit of the constitution and the letter of the law; and that, to obtain money by subscription was not only unconstitutional and illegal, but a direct infringement of the rights, and a breach of the privileges of parliament. This motion, after a warm debate, was negatived by ninety to thirty. On the same day in the commons, some money being demanded for the uniforms of these new troops, a still warmer discussion arose upon the subject. The new levies were treated with much discourtesy by the opposition; the two Scotch regiments, especially, being designated vile mercenaries, and willing tools of despotism. The opposition also maintained that such a practice of raising troops was contrary to the oath of coronation, and that all who subscribed were abettors of perjury. Lord North justified himself by precedents: he showed that independent regiments had been raised in 1745, and again in 1759, when Chatham was minister. On the latter occasion, he said, that Chatham had publicly and solemnly thanked those who raised such troops for the honour and service of their country. Yet, “that great oracle with a short memory,” on the very night on which Lord North reminded the lower house of this notable fact, declaimed in the upper house in support of the Earl of Abingdon’s motion against the practice Later in the session Wilkes renewed this subject, but the motion which he made relative to it was negatived by seventy-two against forty.

COMMITTEE FOR TAKING THE STATE OF THE NATION INTO CONSIDERATION.

On the 2nd of February, on the order of the day being read, for the house to resolve itself into a committee to take the state of the nation into consideration, Fox moved that no more troops should be sent out of the kingdom. On the same day, the Duke of Richmond, also, made a similar motion in the house of lords. In both houses the opposition represented that war with France and Spain was inevitable; and that our means of defence were not sufficient in the whole to meet the contingency; and, therefore, it was not prudent to protract an impracticable contest. No answer was made in the commons, but in the lords the motion and the arguments adduced in support of it were denounced as amounting to a public acknowledgment of our inability to prosecute war; as inviting the house of Bourbon to attempt an invasion; and as attacking the prerogative of the crown to raise, direct, and employ the military force of the kingdom. The motions were rejected in the lords by ninety-one against thirty-four; and in the commons by two hundred and ninety-five against one hundred and sixty-five.

BURKE’S MOTION RELATIVE TO THE EMPLOYMENT OF INDIANS.

On the 6th of February, Burke introdued a motion for papers relative to the employment of Indians in America, from 1774 to 1778. On this occasion he made a speech three hours in length, during the whole of which time the attention of the house was fixed on the orator. This speech, however, which is represented as being one of the most splendid efforts of his oratory, is very inadequately reported. From it, notwithstanding, it may be gathered that he drew a striking and ghastly picture of Indian warfare, and of the horrors committed by these savage auxiliaries. It had a greater effect upon the house than Chatham’s denunciations of the practice of employing the Indian tribes in our army, arising from the fact that the orator handled the subject with clean hands. Colonel Barré, excited by it, declared that if it were printed and published he would nail it on every church-door by the side of the king’s proclamation for a general fast; and Governor Johnson said it was fortunate for Lord North and Germaine that the galleries had been cleared before the speech was uttered, as the indignation and enthusiasm of strangers might have excited the people to lay violent hands upon them on their return home. The secret of the excitement occasioned by the speech seems chiefly to have consisted in the fact that it abounded in touching stories and pathetic episodes. Burke especially elaborated the affecting fate of Miss Mac Crea, who was strongly attached to the royal cause, and who, being on her way to marry an officer in Burgoyne’s army, was barbarously murdered by two Indian chiefs sent for her protection. The two chiefs having disputed which of them should be her principal guard and obtain a larger reward, he, from whose hands she was snatched, raised his tomahawk, and in a fit of rage cleft her head asunder. Such stories as these, founded in fact, were well calculated to produce excitement, especially as the murderer was left unscathed. Burke argued that these savage allies were too powerful, or their services too highly valued to run the risk of offending them; but it would rather appear that pardon was extended to the offender through an agreement with his tribe and the British general to abstain in future from indulging in such wanton cruelties, which Burgoyne considered of more importance than to take revenge on a wretch who scarcely knew that what he did was a sin either in the sight of God or man. Such stories as these, however, told upon the feelings of the house, and insured Burke strong-support. Governor Pownall, in taking the same side of the question, declared that there was not so unfair, so hellish an engine of war as savages mingled with civilized troops; and he recommended that terms should be proposed to congress whereby the two countries should mutually agree to break off all alliance with the Indians, and treat them as enemies whenever they should commit any act of hostility against a white person, American or European. He would answer for it, he said, that congress would embrace and execute such terms with good faith; and he suggested that the overture might occasion the happiest effects in producing mutual kind offices, and leading ultimately to a perfect reconciliation. He finally offered to go in person, without any pay or reward, and make the proposal to congress; asserting that he would answer with his life for the success of the negociation. But this noble proposal of Governor Pownall and Mr. Burke’s motion were alike rejected by a ministerial majority.

COMMITTEE OF EVIDENCE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS, ETC.

On the same day that Burke made this motion in the commons, the lords in committee on the state of the nation were employed in examining witnesses to prove the ruinous consequences of the maritime war. Merchants were called as witnesses by the opposition peers, who proved that they had sustained heavy losses from the war; while, on the other hand, government were provided with other merchants, who showed that new sources of commerce had been opened since the commencement of hostilities; and, that considerable captures had been made. The Duke of Richmond opposed the arguments derived from the testimony of government witnesses. The prizes taken and distributed to British seamen, he said, so far from being a balance in our favour, added to our loss; for if we had not been at war with America, the value of all these cargoes in the circuitous course of trade, must have centred in Great Britain. The propositions were disposed of by the previous question, and other motions made by the Duke of Richmond for ascertaining the number of troops sent to America, as well as the expenses incurred by the war, though they occasioned long and warm debates, were equally unsuccessful. A similar motion was made in the commons by Fox, on the 11th of February, but it was evaded by a motion for leave to report progress. It was, perhaps, judicious in ministers to resist the production of papers called for by the opposition, for in almost every instance it would have let the enemy into dangerous secrets: secrets which they would have turned to their own advantage.

LORD NORTHS CONCILIATORY BILLS.

It is a singular fact that while Lord North sternly advocated war, he was at this time so adverse to a continuation of the contest that he had expressed a wish to the king to resign office. This appears from a letter addressed to him by his majesty on the 31st of January, in which, after appealing to Lord North’s personal affection for him, he writes: —“You must remember that before the recess I strongly advised you not to bind yourself to bring forward any plan for restoring tranquillity to America; not from any absurd ideas of unconditional submission, which my mind never harboured; but from foreseeing that whatever can be proposed will be liable, not to bring America back to her attachment, but to dissatisfy this country, which so cheerfully and handsomely carries on the contest, and has a right to have the struggle continued, till convinced that it is vain. Perhaps this is the minute when you ought to be least in a hurry to produce a plan, from the probability of a declaration of war from France.” It is evident from this letter that Lord North had proposed some plan of conciliation which did not meet with the monarch’s views; and it seems clear, also, that his lordship, in expressing a wish to retire, had urged the impossibility of obtaining unconditional submission, which he erroneously thought was the only ground on which his majesty would listen to terms of peace. But though it was the king’s opinion on the last day of January that no conciliatory measures should be adopted or proposed out of deference to the views of the people, yet his opinion soon changed. On the 9th of February, when a war with France had become inevitable, he wrote to his minister again, urging him not to “delay to bring in his proposition,” before “the veil was drawn off by the court of France.” Lord North lost no time in complying with this his majesty’s command. On the 17th of February, he brought in two bills tending to reconciliation with the colonists: one was expressly designed to remove all apprehension from their minds concerning taxation by the British parliament, whilst it repealed the act imposing a duty on tea; and the other enabled his majesty to appoint commissioners to consult and agree on means of quieting the disorders subsisting in certain colonies, plantations, and provinces of North America. In introducing these bills, Lord North asserted that he had been uniformly disposed to pacific arrangements; that he had tried conciliatory measures before the sword was unsheathed, and would gladly try them again; that he had conceived his former propositions were equitable, and still thought so, though they had been misrepresented both at home and in America; that he never expected to derive any considerable revenue from the colonies; that he had originated none of the American taxes; that he found such as existed when, unfortunately for his own peace of mind, he came into office; and that, as for the act enabling the East India Company to send out teas with the drawback of the entire duty, which led to the Boston riots, it was a relief rather than oppression, since it actually gave the colonists their teas at a cheaper rate than before. Lord North then explained the principles of his two bills. The first, he said, was intended to quiet the minds of the Americans on the subject of taxation—to dispel all fears that parliament would ever tax them again, by a distinct renunciation of the right itself. The second bill, he remarked, would give the royal commissioners far more ample powers than those formerly entrusted to Lord Howe and his brother. They would be authorized to treat with congress as if it were a legal body, and competent by its acts and negociations to bind all the colonies; they would be empowered to treat with the conventions or provincial assemblies, or colonial congresses, and with individuals in their actual civil capacities or military commands, without any cavil as to allowing them and addressing them by the rank they held under congress: and they would have the power of suspending hostilities, intermitting the operation of laws, granting pardons, rewards, and immunities, restoring charters and constitutions, and nominating governors, judges, magistrates, &c., till the king’s pleasure should be known. The stumblingblock of independence was removed very skilfully by Lord North. This act declared that should the Americans make this claim at the outset of the treaty, they would not be required to renounce it until it was ratified by the British legislature. The commissioners were to be instructed to negociate for a reasonable and moderate contribution toward the common defence of the empire when reunited, but they were not to insist even on this slight contribution as indispensable. In conclusion, Lord North contended that these concessions ought not to be deemed the results of defeat or weakness, since they were substantially the same as he should offer in the hour of victory. The events of the war, he frankly acknowledged, had not corresponded to his expectation, but he denied that there was any truth in the representations of a factious opposition. But for faction, England was as fertile in resources as ever: she was in circumstances to prosecute war, raise new armies, and to increase her navy, so as to be enabled to meet her accumulated foes.

Burke says that on hearing these proposals the whole house was overclouded with astonishment, dejection, and fear. This may be exaggeration, but it is certain that the ample concessions proposed by the minister—concessions far outstripping those which had been brought forward by Mr. Burke and Lord Chatham, and which were opposed by government—were highly distasteful to the country gentlemen, and to the whole Tory party. Expressions of loud disapprobation were heard on their side of the house, and some bitterly complained that deception had been practised against them relative to American taxation. On the other hand, while the opposition contended that the season was gone by when such a plan would have succeeded, it was generally approved by them. They yet hoped, they said, that there might be a chance of conciliation, and therefore they would give the minister their support. At the same time, Lord North was severely reprehended by some of the opposition members. Fox said his arguments “might be collected into one point, and his excuses comprised in one apology, or rather in one word, _ignorance_; a palpable and total ignorance of America: he had expected much, and had been disappointed in every thing; necessity alone had compelled him now to speak out.” In the course of his speech, Fox informed the house that there was a report abroad that within the last ten days France had signed a treaty with America, acknowledging their independence, and entering into a close alliance with the colonists. He called on Lord North to afford the house satisfaction on so important a point, and that minister reluctantly acknowledged that such a treaty was in agitation, though as it was not authenticated by our ambassador he could not say that it was concluded. The motion for bringing in the bill was carried by a majority of about two to one, and on the first reading some of the Tory members expressed their disapprobation of our wholly renouncing the right of taxing the colonists. In reply, Lord North declared that the not exacting the renunciation of independence by the Americans did not imply that we intended to yield that point; that the commissioners would not be empowered to concede thus much; and that the Americans would be expected to treat as subjects, and not as a sovereign state. The bills were passed, and when brought up to the lords, the opposition was renewed. The Duke of Richmond read the American declaration of independence, and asked ministers whether they meant to subscribe to assertions such as these:—“That the king is a tyrant,”..... “that his majesty has lost the affection of his American subjects by the insolent, daring, perfidious and unconstitutional language of ministers, etc.” His grace said these bills, instead of regaining the affections of the Americans, would sound the trumpet of war to all nations; that they were at once ignominious and ineffectual; that they meant nothing or worse than nothing; that they were better calculated to divide than conciliate; and that they empowered commissioners to treat with America, and then called them back again to consult parliament. His grace also stated as a notorious fact that ministers had sent persons over to Paris to tamper with Dr. Franklin and Silas Deane, and that these American agents had rejected their offers, together with the terms of the new bills, in scorn. Lord Temple opposed the bills on different grounds. He denounced them as mean and truckling, and as tending to prostrate the king, the parliament, and the people of Great Britain at the feet of Franklin and Silas Deane, to whom ministers had paid homage in sackcloth and ashes. The people, he said, had recovered from the shock occasioned by Burgoyne’s reverses, and ministers were now going to depress their newly-awakened animation by succumbing to an arrogant enemy. Lord Shelborne also opposed the bills as tending to separate the two countries. He never would consent, he said, that America should be independent of England, and he represented that his idea of the connexion between the two countries was, that they should have one friend, one enemy, one purse, and one sword; that Britain, as the great controlling power, should superintend the whole; and that both the countries should have but one will, though the means of expressing it might be different. This, he said, might have been obtained long ago without bloodshed or animosity. The bills passed without a division: a protest was entered against them, but it was only signed by one solitary peer, Lord Abingdon.

INTIMATION OF THE FRENCH TREATY WITH AMERICA.

The conciliatory bills were scarcely passed when Lord North delivered a message from the throne to the commons, stating the receipt of information from the French king, that he had concluded a treaty of amity and commerce with his majesty’s revolted subjects in America, and that in consequence of this offensive communication, the British ambassador at Paris had been ordered home. His majesty, the minister said, fully relied on the zeal and affection of his people to repel the insult and maintain the honour of the country. The note of the French ambassador was laid before parliament, and it was to this effect:—“The United States of North America, who are in full possession of independence, as pronounced by them on the 4th of July, 1766, having proposed to the King of France to consolidate, by a formal convention, the connexion begun to be established between the two nations, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed a treaty of friendship and commerce, designed to serve as a foundation for their mutual good correspondence. His majesty, the French king, being resolved to cultivate the present good understanding subsisting between France and Great Britain by every means compatible with his dignity and the good of his subjects, thinks it necessary to make his proceeding known to the court of London, and to declare at the same time that the contracting parties have paid great attention not to stipulate any exclusive advantages in favour of the French nation, and that the United States have reserved the liberty of treating with every nation whatever upon the same footing of equality and reciprocity. In making this communication to the court of London, the king is firmly persuaded it will find new proofs of his majesty’s constant and sincere disposition for peace; and that his Britannic majesty, animated by the same friendly sentiments, will equally avoid every thing that may alter their good harmony, and that he will particularly take effectual pleasures to prevent his French majesty’s subjects and the United States from being interrupted, and to cause all the usages received between commercial nations to be, in this respect, observed, and all those rules which can be said to subsist between the two courts of France and Great Britain. In this just confidence, the undersigned ambassador thinks it superfluous to acquaint the British minister that the king, his master, being determined to protect effectually the lawful commerce of his subjects, and to maintain the dignity of his flag, has, in consequence, taken effectual measures in concert with the Thirteen United and Independent States of America.” In making this communication to the house, Lord North moved an appropriate address to the king, which again called forth the spirit of opposition. In discussing the motion, an amendment was proposed requesting his majesty to dismiss the ministers. Lord North was reproached with having suffered himself to be surprised by the notification of a treaty which appeared to have been two years under discussion, and with leaving the country on the eve of war destitute of adequate means for its internal security. Without designing to vindicate ministers, Governor Pownall detailed the circumstances and progress of the treaty. The account, however, which he gave was widely different from matter of fact. He said that the idea had not existed six months, and had not been in actual negociation more than half that time. But it is well known that the idea had been uppermost in the minds of the American leaders for full two years, and that Silas Deane had been attempting to negociate for nearly that period, and Benjamin Franklin had been at Paris with the same object in view for near twelve months. It appears indeed that the only reason the treaty was not signed long before, was that the French at first attempted to drive a hard bargain, conceiving that the Americans were in such a weak condition that they would agree to any terms rather than not obtain the co-operation of France. The news of ther surender of Burgoyne’s army, as Governor Pownall observed, lowered the demands of the French, and this it was that made them hurry on such a treaty as congress desired. But even. now Pownall remarked, peace was yet practicable, if Great Britain would pursue the proper course. He said:—“The Americans are and must be independent. We acknowledge it in our acts, and have already, though we may try to cover our shame with words, resigned all dominion over them. They will never rescind their declaration; but if parliament will extend the powers of the commissioners so far as to acknowledge their independence, on conditions, they will, in return, form with us a federal treaty, offensive, defensive, and commercial. The compact, signed at Paris, is not yet ratified by congress: by a speedy and candid exertion this country may still be enabled to take advantage of the natural predilection of the Americans for the parent state. If a federal treaty Were not adopted, and the Americans should ever be induced to treat on other terms, one of their first demands must be a reimbursement of expenses, and an indemnification for losses. A pecuniary remuneration was out of the question; but in lieu of it government must sacrifice Canada, Nova Scotia, and the Newfoundland fishery. This would be insisted on; but if independence were conceded America could only treat with England on the same ground as any other independent nation.” General Conway and Mr. Dundas argued that it would be better policy to form a federal union with America, than to let her fall into the hands of France; but the vast majority of the house seemed to think that the entrance of France into the quarrel rendered all present thought of negociation an absurdity and a meanness; and that no future friendship could be hoped from a people who, though descended from us and bound to us by the strong ties of community of descent, language, and religion, had united themselves with the most ancient, inveterate, and most powerful of all our enemies. At the same time war was advocated, it was suggested that Chatham, the scourge of the house of Bourbon, was the proper man to occupy the post held by Lord North at such a crisis. But Lord North did not coincide in this opinion. He expressed a total disregard to office, but contended that the interest of the empire, as well as his own reputation, demanded that he should still sit at the helm of the state. The original address was carried by a large majority, and in the house of lords an amendment to the address was negatived by a majority of sixty-eight against twenty-five. Addresses were also returned from both houses to a royal message intimating his majesty’s intention of calling out the militia.

INVESTIGATION OF THE STATE OF THE NAVY.

Previous pages show that there had already been debates on the state of the navy. Now that a war with France was inevitable the subject was brought prominently forward; especially in the house of lords. On the 13th of March, Lord Howard of Effingham moved a series of resolutions explaining the condition of the navy during the last eight years; the number of ships broken up, built, or repaired; and the precise condition and expense of the ordnance. In moving these resolutions, Lord Howard spoke of the necessity of economy, and accused the first lord of the admiralty with gross mismanagement. Lord Sandwich, who had been assailed on previous occasions when the same subject was introduced, now made a long and able defence. The British naval force, he said, at that moment consisted of three hundred and seventy-three ships of all rates, which was a force double to that which England had in her possession half a century before. In drawing the comparison or the present state of the navy with its condition in 1727, he adduced arguments highly favourable to his own administration; but notwithstanding this, the opposition were very violent in their language towards him. He was even threatened with the vengeance of the people, who, it was said, would rise and tear him to pieces, as the Dutch had treated De Witt. The debate was tumultous, but the motions were all negatived.

MOTION FOR EXCLUDING CONTRACTORS FROM PARLIAMENT.

After various debates on the iniquities practised by contractors, and the badness of the provisions which they supplied, Sir Philip Jennings Clarke introduced a bill for excluding contractors from parliament, unless their contracts were publicly obtained by competition. In this debate ministers were coupled with the offenders, and Lord George Gordon, who afterwards rendered himself so notorious, declared that Lord North was the worst of all contractors—he was, he said, a contractor for men, a contractor for parliament, and a contractor for the representatives of the people! Lord George advised the minister to save his country and rescue his own life from popular vengeance by calling away his butchers from America, by retiring with all the rest of his majesty’s evil advisers, and by turning away from his own wickedness. The first and second reading of the bill was carried, but the motion for committing the bill was negatived on the 5th of May, by a majority of two, and it was consequently lost.

REVISION OF THE TRADE OF IRELAND.

During the month of April a committee of the house of commons was formed for the revision of the trade laws which affected Ireland. In consequence of the American war, a stop had been put to exportations of manufactures, and a large body of the people deprived of employment. Lord Nugent therefore proposed that Ireland should be permitted to export all articles of Irish manufacture—woollen cloths and wool excepted—on board British vessels to the coast of Africa and other foreign settlements, and to import from the same all goods, except indigo and tobacco. He also proposed that they should be allowed to export Irish sailcloth, cotton-yarn, and cordage to England, free of duty. Two bills founded upon these propositions were introduced, and both sides of the house admitting the justice of the measures seemed to agree in the propriety of adopting them. The great commercial body of England, however, took the alarm, and during the Easter recess, a formidable opposition was entered into by the merchants in all quarters. Petitions flowed into parliament from every part of the country, and the different members of parliament were instructed by their constituents to oppose the measures. Many who had previously been disposed to give them their support, in compliance with these instructions now opposed them; but Mr. Burke, who was member for the great trading city of Bristol, manfully refused, and continued to co-operate with Lord Nugent in his task. In presenting a petition from Bristol against the measures, he ably advocated them, and declared that if from his conduct he should forfeit the suffrages of his constituents at the next election, it should stand on record, as an example to future representatives of the commons of England, that one man at least had dared to resist the desires of his constituents when his judgment assured him that they were wrong. Notwithstanding the petitions and the altered opinion of many members, the second reading of the two bills was carried by a large majority. The petitioners, however, were resolute in their opposition to the measures. They prayed to be heard by counsel, and this being granted, such was the weight of the pleadings of the close-trade interest, that the supporters of the bills were compelled to effect a sort of compromise by which the amount of the benefit conferred on Ireland was greatly diminished.

BILL FOR THE RELIEF OF THE ROMAN CATHOLICS.

While the measures for benefiting the trade of Ireland were under discussion, Sir George Saville brought in a bill for the relief of the Roman Catholics, by repealing certain penalties and disabilities created by the 10th and 11th of William III., entitled an Act for preventing the Growth of Popery. The Roman Catholics had recently presented a very flattering address to his majesty, and the occurrences in America and the attempts made by the Americans to excite insurrection seem to have suggested to the minds of ministers the expediency of tranquillizing and securing the affections of the Irish people. This bill, therefore, was supported by ministers, and it was carried through the commons unanimously. The Bishop of Peterborough warmly opposed it in the house of lords, but the majority of the peers gave it their support, and the bill passed into a law. By it the subjects of Great Britain professing the Romish creed were permitted to perform their religious rites, and were rendered capable of inheriting or purchasing real estates, on subscribing an oath of allegiance to the king, and disclaiming the pope’s authority over this realm, or his power of absolving its people from their obligations to the government as by law established. This dawn of religious freedom has been extolled as one of the greatest glories of the reign of George III.; but it must be recollected that this measure was one of expediency, which detracts materially from its glory.

{GEORGE III. 1778–1779}

MOTION OF CENSURE ON LORD GEORGE GERMAINE, ETC.

On the 19th of March, during the sitting of the committee of the whole house on the state of the nation, Mr. Fox moved a resolution of censure on Lord George Germaine, as the chief author of Burgoyne’s disaster. This motion was rejected, and the solicitor-general then proposed that the house should exonerate the noble secretary from all blame. A vote to the effect that the failure of the expedition from Canada was not caused by any neglect of the secretary of state was carried, but the resolution was not reported. By this time Burgoyne, who was a member of parliament, and who had been permitted to return home upon parole, was in his place to speak for himself. He had an opportunity of explaining the whole matter on the 26th of May, when a motion was made for a select committee to consider the transactions of the northern army, the convention of Saratoga, and the means by which the general of that army had obtained his release. In supporting the motion, Burgoyne vindicated his conduct at great length, and complained bitterly of fabrications which injured his own honour and the honour of the army, as well as of his treatment in parliament during his absence, and his treatment generally since his return to England. He solicited a full inquiry, asserting that he put his fortune, his honour, and his head on the issue. The reply of Lord George Germaine was brief, and he concluded by saying that the house was not the proper tribunal to decide upon the campaign, and therefore he could not see the propriety of parliamentary interference. The motion was rejected.

In the course of the debate, Mr. Temple Luttrell adduced the story of the court-martial which had sat upon Lord George Germaine himself, after the battle of Minden, and made an insulting comparison between his conduct in that battle, and the conduct of the brave and enterprising Burgoyne. In a paroxysm of rage, Lord George asserted that he did not merit such an attack; that he would for once descend to a level with the wretched character and malice of his assailant; and that, old as he was, he would meet the fighting gentleman and be revenged. The house called to order, and the speaker reprimanded both members, and insisted that the affair should proceed no further. Lord George immediately apologized for his warmth, but Luttrel escaped out of the house, and would neither apologize nor give the required assurances till the sergeant-at-arms was called in. He then said that he meant his reflections as public matter, and that they were not to be referred to private abuse or enmity, and there the matter ended.

LORD CHATHAM’S LAST APPEARANCE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS.

About this time, some of the leaders of the opposition became convinced that the only possibility of detaching America from France and avoiding both wars was by acknowledging the independence of the American colonies. These sentiments were communicated to Chatham, and he was solicited by those who entertained them to honour a motion about to be made by the Duke of Richmond on this subject with his support. In reply, Chatham confessed his concern that he was under so wide a difference with his noble friends respecting the sovereignty and allegiance of America; but notwithstanding his increased infirmities, he expressed his determination to be in the house on the 7th of April, which was the day mentioned as that on which the subject was to be brought forward. On that day Chatham appeared in the house for the last time. He came wrapped up in flannel, supported by two friends, and looking like a dying man; and as he entered, the peers rose up and continued standing while he passed to his seat. The Duke of Richmond made his motion, which was for an address to the king, beseeching him to acknowledge the independence of America, by withdrawing all his forces from that country; and to dismiss his ministers. Lord Weymouth, one of the secretaries of state, opposed the motion, and Chatham followed on the same side against his own party. He was supported by his crutches and his two friends, and when he had gained his feet, he took one of his crutches from under his arm, and raising it cast his eyes toward heaven, and said:—“I thank God that I have been enabled to come here this day, to perform my duty and to speak on a subject which has so deeply impressed my mind. I am old and infirm; I have one foot—more than one foot in the grave; I am risen from my bed to stand up in the cause of my country, perhaps never again to speak in this house.” This was delivered in a feeble tone, but as he grew warm, his voice rose and became as harmonious as ever. In the course of his speech, he entered into a full detail of the American war, dilating on all the measures which he had opposed, and evils which he had predicted; adding, at the close of each review, “and so it proved.” Chatham then spoke more particularly on the subject of the motion. He remarked: “My lords, I rejoice that the grave has not closed upon me; that I am still alive to lift up my voice against the dismemberment of this ancient and most noble monarchy! Pressed down as I am by the hand of infirmity, I am little able to assist my country in this most perilous conjuncture; but, my lords, while I have sense and memory I will never consent to deprive the royal offspring of the House of Brunswick, the heirs of the Princess Sophia, of their fairest inheritance. Where is the man that will dare to advise such a measure? My lords, his majesty succeeded to an empire as great in extent as its reputation was unsullied. Shall we tarnish the lustre of this nation by an ignominious surrender of its rights and fairest possessions? Shall this great kingdom, that has survived whole and entire the Danish depredations, the Scottish inroads, and the Norman conquest—that has stood the threatened invasion of the Spanish armada,—now fall prostrate before the house of Bourbon? Surely, my lords, this nation is no longer what it was! Shall a people, that fifteen years ago were the terror of the world, now stoop so low as to tell their ancient, inveterate enemy, ‘Take all we have, only give us peace?’ It is impossible! I wage war with no man, or set of men. I wish for none of their employments; nor would I co-operate with men who still persist in unretracted error; who, instead of acting on a firm, decisive line of conduct, halt between two opinions where there is no middle path. In God’s name, if it is absolutely necessary to declare either for peace or war; and the former cannot be preserved with honour, why is not the latter commenced without hesitation? I am not, I confess, well informed of the resources of this kingdom, but I trust it has still sufficient to maintain its just rights, though I know them not. But, my lords, any state is better than despair. Let us at least make one effort; and if we must fall, let us fall like men!” When Chatham sat down, the Duke of Richmond rose again, and after replying to the arguments of Lord Weymouth, he attempted to answer the great orator. Although evidently disconcerted and irritated at the course he had taken, the Duke professed the greatest veneration for Chatham’s name and person, and the greatest gratitude for the services he had rendered the country. The name of Chatham, however, he said, could not perform impossibilities, or restore the country to the state it was in when directed by his counsels. Our finances were then, through the abilities of that able financier, Mr. Pelham, in a flourishing condition; our fleet was then in an admirable condition, under the direction and care of that able naval officer, Lord Anson; and the influence of the crown then had not reached its present and alarming height. During the greater part of the war, he continued, we had only France to contend with, and when Spain commenced hostilities, France was reduced to the lowest ebb, having already lost her navy and the best of her colonies. Then also America fought for us, but now she would be allied with France and Spain against us. He added, “If the noble earl had pointed out the means of supporting this unequal contest, I should readily acquiesce in his sentiments; but since he has not only omitted to point out the means, but acknowledged that he knows them not, he will excuse me if I adhere to my former opinion. No person is more anxious for the dependence of America; but being convinced of its total impracticability, I would retain the colonists as allies, and thus prevent them from throwing themselves into the arms of France. The noble earl, as a reason for war, has mentioned the inherent rights of the heir apparent. To recover these possessions by force is now impossible; but I will readily join in calling to a severe account those who have caused the loss of his inheritance.” During this harangue, the Earl of Chatham had frequently denoted by the motion of his hand that he had remarked and would reply to some observations which he deemed offensive, and when the Duke of Richmond sat down, he attempted to rise for that purpose. But his work was done: his strength failed him, and he would have fallen to the floor but for the prompt assistance of some noble peers. He was carried into an adjoining chamber, and the whole house, agitated by the event, adjourned in silence.

DEATH OF LORD CHATHAM, AND POSTHUMOUS HONOURS TO HIS MEMORY.

Lord Chatham so far recovered as to be able to be carried down to his favourite villa of Hayes, in Kent. These appearances of recovery, however, were soon found to be delusive. He expired on the 11th of May, in the seventieth year of his age. His death was announced in the house of commons late in the evening of that day by his friend Colonel Barré, who moved for an address to the king that his remains should be interred at the public expense in Westminster Abbey. The motion was seconded by Mr. T. Townshend, and seemed to meet with general approbation; but Mr. Rigby, who apprehended that a public funeral would not be agreeable to his majesty, as Chatham had not recently been looked upon with much favour at court, suggested that a public monument to his memory would be a better testimony of the public admiration and gratitude. The result of this suggestion, however, was very different from that which Townshend intended. Mr. Dunning said it would be better to have both the public funeral and the monument, and he combined both in a resolution, which was carried without one dissentient voice; Lord North giving it his warmest support. A funeral and a monument were therefore secured to the great orator, and as, notwithstanding his places, pensions, and legacies left him, Chatham had died in debt, on the recommendation of Lord John Cavendish, £20,000 was voted for the payment of his debts, and £4000 a-year was settled upon-his heirs. No opposition was made to these grants in the commons; but a motion made by the Earl of Shelburne in the lords, that the peers should attend his funeral was lost by a majority of one vote. The annuity bill was also opposed in the lords; but it was carried by a majority of forty-two to eleven. In all these votes his majesty concurred, although during the noble earl’s life he had opposed an application made to him to settle the pension he enjoyed in reversion to his second son, William Pitt, until, at least, decrepitude or death had put an end to him “as a trumpet of sedition.” His majesty, however, could not carry his resentment beyond the grave, and perhaps pleased with the last noble sounds of his trumpet, he gave his warm assent to the honours and rewards which parliament had voted to the great orator and his heirs. And the posthumous honours paid to Chatham were not confined to the king and the parliament. The Common-council petitioned to have his remains interred in the noblest edifice of Great Britain, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and when this was refused, they erected a monument in Guildhall to his memory. He was one of the greatest orators England ever produced; greater even than the garbled and defective reports of his speeches would denote him to have been. In his private life his character was both exemplary and amiable—his public character is defined in the preceding pages.

THE DUKE OF RICHMOND’S MOTION RESUMED.

The Duke of Richmond’s motion was resumed on the day after it had been interrupted by Chatham’s illness. The resumed debate, however, only served to place the difference of opinion which existed between the Rockingham and Chatham parties respecting America in a clearer light. The former contended for the independence of that country, without reserve or delay; while the latter as warmly contended that such a measure would prove one of the greatest political evils that could befall the nation. The Earl of Shelburne also maintained that the resources of Great Britain, if properly managed, were sufficient to cope with our triple foes—America, France, and Spain—and that our navy would not fail of supporting the glory they had gained in so many conflicts. The motion was negatived by a majority of fifty-five against thirty-three.

THE SESSION CLOSED.

Although the season was now far advanced, motions were made in both houses to put off the prorogation. These motions were, however lost, and on the 3rd of June, the king terminated the session. In his speech, his majesty thanked his faithful commons for their zeal and attention to the interests of their country, and the honourable support they had made for the royal family; several annuities having been granted to his numerous family. Alluding to the one great question, he said, that his desire was to preserve the tranquillity of Europe; that the faith of treaties and the law of nations had been respected by him, and that he had anxiously avoided giving offence to any foreign power. He added:—“Let that power by whom this tranquillity shall be broken, answer to their subjects and to the world for all the fatal consequences of war!”

PROCEEDINGS IN FRANCE.

Having entered into a treaty with America, in which treaty it was stipulated that the Americans should never return to their allegiance to the British crown, and having thereby hurled a bold defiance to the power of England, the French made preparations for war. At this time France was by no means in a flourishing condition, but by oppressing the poverty-stricken people with imposts, duties, and _corvées_, and by taking the bread from half-famished mouths, means were found to raise armies and equip fleets. The coasts of Normandy and Britainy swarmed with soldiers, who threatened to invade England; arms, money, and men were sent to America; and the navy of France set out to contend with the navy of Great Britain, for the mastery of the seas between the two countries. On the 18th of March, the French king issued an edict to seize all British ships in the ports of France, and shortly after our government laid an embargo on all French ships in British ports. This, with the mutual withdrawal of ambassadors, and the interruption of all diplomatic intercourse, left the two countries in a state of open hostility, although no heralds or manifestoes were employed on either side to make a formal declaration of war. On their part, the French had in reality no materials for manifestoes, whence their silence; while on our part, ministers were too much employed to think of such a ridiculous solemnity. It was, moreover, too well understood on both sides that the only arguments likely to avail must proceed from the mouth of the cannon.

NAVAL OPERATIONS IN THE BRITISH CHANNEL.

The maritime defence of England was entrusted to Admiral Keppel, and he put to sea with twenty sail ot the line for that purpose. On the 17th of June, Keppel discovered two French frigates, the “La Licorne” and “La Belle Poule,” reconnoitring his fleet. The con duct of France seemed to call for and to justify extreme measures, and Keppel’s instructions being ample, he resolved to effect the capture of these two frigates. Accordingly they were chased, and the first, fired both with cannon and musketry, struck her colours and was captured; but the other having fiercely encountered and dismasted a pursuing vessel, escaped among the rocks on the French shore. Shortly after a French schooner and another frigate were captured, and from papers found in these several vessels Keppel discovered that the enemy had thirty-two sail of the line and twelve frigates ready for sea in Brest harbour. This determined him to return to Portsmouth for reinforcements. These reinforcements, however, were either not ready or were not there, and while he was waiting for them the Brest fleet had put out to sea under the command of the Count d’Orvilliers, and had captured a frigate which Keppel had left to watch the movements of the enemy. This was on the 9th of July, and on the very same day, Keppel, whose fleet had been augmented to thirty sail of the line, departed in quest of d’Orvilliers. He fell in with the French admiral on the 23rd, but as the French, who had the advantage of the wind, showed no inclination for battle, the English continued chasing and manoeuvring to windward for four days. On the 27th, however, a dark squall brought the two fleets close together off Ushant. The signal was instantly made to engage. The fleets were then sailing in different directions, and on contrary tacks, and a furious cannonade was maintained for nearly three hours, at the end of which time they had passed each other, and the firing ceased. The loss in killed and wounded was greatest on the side of the French, but some of the British ships under Sir Hugh Palliser were so crippled that when Keppel wore round to renew the engagement they could not obey the signal, and he formed his line of battle ahead. On their part the French formed their line to leeward of their antagonists, and Keppel expected that they would try their force “handsomely with him in the morning;” but in the course of the night d’Orvilliers edged away for Brest, and claimed the victory, because he had not been thoroughly beaten. Keppel returned to England to get new masts and rigging, and on the 18th of August, d’Orvilliers again set sail to cruise off Cape Finisterre. A few days after, Keppel also again put to sea, but he stretched further to the westward, to protect the merchant-ships returning from the two Indies, and to prevent any portion of the French fleet from reaching America. Every ship sailing from the Indies arrived safely in England, and our privateers and cruisers captured many French trading-vessels; but the two fleets did not again come into collision, and popular indignation, excited by disappointment, attributed the blame to Keppel and Sir Hugh Palliser, who served under him. The journals of the day teemed with invectives against them for not pursuing the French admiral after the battle off’ Ushant; and the opinion was very general that they had not acted with the required decision when the fleet of the enemy was in their power. By the court and the admiralty, however, their conduct was viewed with approbation; and Keppel, at least, would not deign to answer his anonymous accusers. Sir Hugh Palliser replied to an attack made upon him in a morning paper, and because Keppel refused to authenticate his answer or to contradict statements made by an anonymous accuser, Palliser published his own case, in which he charged his superior officer with inconsistency, for having approved his conduct in a public despatch, and now refusing to vindicate his character. Keppel, however, acted the more nobly: anonymous accusations are beneath the notice of a high-minded and honourable man, and he who replies to such, dignifies a character which is little superior to a midnight assassin, and should be treated with mortifying contempt. That accuser who will not face the accused, places himself out of the pale of the laws and usages of society.

DISGRACEFUL INFRACTION OF THE CONVENTION OF SARATOGA.

Although the Americans had given Burgoyne leave to return home upon parole, yet, in bold defiance of the convention signed by Gates, they still kept his troops as prisoners of war. As there was a difficulty in reaching the port of Boston early in the winter, Burgoyne had applied to Washington to change the place of embarkation, and to substitute for it some place on the Sound. Washington referred the matter to congress, and he was directed to inform Burgoyne, that no proposition for indulgence or for altering the terms of the convention would be listened to, unless directed to their own body. The truth is, congress had scarcely ceased rejoicings for the success of Gates, when they determined to break the compact. Measuring the faith and honour of the English officers by their own, they pretended a concern that the army which had surrendered, instead of sailing for England, would join the forces of General Howe; or, that if they did not do this, and if they sailed for England, their arrival there would enable the government to send out an equal number of troops employed in the home service to take their places in America. Hence, they set their wits to work in order to delay the return of the troops to England. The first thing they did was to pass a resolution directing General Heath to transmit to the board of war, a descriptive list of every person comprehended in the convention. Burgoyne and his officers bitterly resented the insinuations of congress, and raised objections to such a humiliating measure; but his army was, nevertheless, described man by man, with all the minuteness of a French commissary of police. After this was done, a number of British transports came round to take Burgoyne and his troops on board, but congress now attempted to find several flaws in the clauses of the convention of Saratoga. They pretended that the ships were not sufficient, or sufficiently furnished with provisions for a voyage to Europe, and that, therefore, General Howe contemplated the shorter voyage to Sandy Hook or Delaware; and they further pretended that some of the British soldiers had secreted their cartouch-boxes, which were, they said, comprehended in the technical term “arms,” and upon such futile and unfounded pretensions they gravely concluded that the convention was broken. The British officers denied these allegations, and the whole subject was referred to a committee of congress, who, in their report, substantiated them by fallacy, and thereupon it was resolved that “the embarkation of Lieutenant-General Burgoyne and the troops under his command, should be suspended until a distinct and explicit ratification of the convention of Saratoga should be properly notified by the court of Great Britain to congress.” The men were then thrown into prison, and the British transports were ordered to quit the neighbourhood of Boston without delay. Burgoyne addressed a letter of remonstrance to congress, and insisted on the embarkation of his army as stipulated in the convention; but a committee to whom this letter was referred, reported that it contained no arguments sufficient to induce congress to alter their resolutions, and the men were still kept in prison. Burgoyne then demanded that he, at least, should be permitted to return to England upon his parole, which request was readily granted, and it was in this manner that he had been allowed to come home, leaving his army behind him. The whole affair reflects the greatest disgrace upon the members of congress, and Washington and Gates share in that disgrace; the former for having joined hand-in-hand with congress in the affair, and the latter for not preventing the act of perfidy, or throwing up his commission if he had not sufficient influence to prevent it. All the American leaders, however, seem to have parted company with faith and honour, and they rejoiced in the prospect of keeping Burgoyne’s troops prisoners of war till the war should be ended, being well convinced that the court of Great Britain would not make the required notification.

LAFAYETTE’S EXPEDITION TO CANADA.

During the preceding year, while the treaty between France and America was pending, the Marquess de Lafayette, a warm-hearted and warm-headed young Frenchman, who had imbibed the political notions of the new school of philosophy, which had for some time been sowing the seeds of revolution in France, resolved to embark in the cause of America. Accordingly he set sail for that country, accompanied by Baron Kalb, and a few other adventurers, and when he arrived he was received with open arms by Washington and by congress. On the 31st of July, indeed, the members of congress expressed their sense of his accession to their cause in warm terms, and conferred on him the rank and commission of major-general. He fought in the battle of the Brandywine, where he was shot in the leg, and where he narrowly escaped being taken prisoner. Nothing more is heard of him till the depth of the winter, when Washington still lay hutted in Valley Forge, contending against the horrors of sickness and famine, as previously narrated. At this time congress, who were sitting in York Town, at the instigation of a board of war, composed of Gates, Starke, and others, all personal enemies of Washington, resolved to make another irruption into Canada, and that the command should be given to Lafayette. It was supposed that the young French nobleman would have great influence with the French descendants in Canada, which was the chief reason of his being raised to the command. The plan was completed without a word of intimation to Washington; and when it was fully resolved upon he received a letter from Gates, now his rival, enclosing another for the young marquess, requiring his immediate attendance on congress to receive his instructions. At the same time, Washington was directed to send one of his best regiments to join the Canadian expedition. Lafayette repaired to congress, and Washington put the required regiment in motion for Albany, on the Hudson, where the invading force was to be assembled. According to his own account, Lafayette made large demands on congress in order to ensure the success of his expedition, which demands were all complied with. He soon, however, found that the word of congress could not be depended upon. He was told that 2500 men would be assembled at Albany; that he would be joined by a great body of militia further up the Hudson; that he should have a certain sum of money in specie, and 2,000,000 dollars in paper-money; and that he must proceed from the head of the Hudson to Lake Champlain, cross that water on the ice, burn the English fleet at the Isle Aux Noix, and then, descending the Sorel and crossing the St. Lawrence, repair to Montreal, to act as circumstances should permit him. Lafayette set out full of ardour and hope, but he had scarcely left congress when it crossed their minds that the young Frenchman might, instead of inducing the Canadians to join the thirteen United States, induce them to renew their connexion with their mother country—France. These misgivings were natural, and the result was that congress resolved to neglect this long-cherished scheme of conquest. Accordingly, when Lafayette arrived at Albany, he did not find half of the promised regular troops, and as for the militia, it had either not received or attended to the summons. Even the troops he found there wanted clothing and provisions, and while he had little or no specie, the paper-dollars proved scarcely worth the carriage. Moreover, he had no sledges to carry his troops across the ice, and when the month of March arrived, the lakes began to thaw, and he received intelligence that the English were well prepared to receive him. Lafayette now gave up the enterprise, and after having made an attempt to engage some Mohawk Indians in the service of congress, in which he met with but little success, and having administered a new form of oath, devised by congress, to the population of Albany, he was permitted to return to the camp of Washington.

UNFORTUNATE ACTION UNDER LAFAYETTE.

During the winter and the commencement of the spring, while the great body of the British troops were quartered in Philadelphia, several excursions were made by detachments in different directions, chiefly for the purpose of obtaining provisions and clothing. These excursions were generally attended with success, and many American prisoners were brought into Philadelphia. Washington, however, was still permitted to rest securely in Valley Forge, where he omitted no opportunity of bettering the condition of his forces. His exertions were great, and he was now ably seconded by Baron Steuben, a Prussian officer, who had served for many years on the staff of Frederick the Great, and who, like Lafayette, had become an adventurer on this theatre of war. Steuben taught the raw troops of the republic the system of field-exercise which his Prussian majesty had introduced or improved; and when they next took the field, therefore, they presented a far more soldier-like appearance than they had presented in the previous campaigns. It was in the month of May that they again took the field. In that month the British had made an expedition by sea and land to destroy all the American shipping in the upper part of the Delaware between Philadelphia and Trenton. This may be considered the opening of the campaign, and the expedition was in a great measure successful.

More than forty American vessels were burnt; a considerable quantity of stores and provisions were destroyed; and some Americans were slain and wounded in the vain endeavour to defend them. Washington now began to act. On the 19th of May he detached Lafayette with nearly 3000 men to take post at Barren Hill, about seven miles in advance of Valley Forge, but on the opposite side of the Schuylkill. The object of this movement appears to have been the restraining of the British excursions, but the position was ill-chosen, as the communication between it and Valley Forge was difficult, and easy to be interrupted by an active enemy. Probably Washington calculated that General Howe would still continue his inactivity, and especially as it was now known that the British contemplated the abandonment of Philadelphia. But in this he was mistaken. On the night of the 20th, General Grant was detached with 5000 men to surprise Lafayette in this position, and he reached a point between his rear and Valley Forge without discovery. At the same time another detachment, under General Grey, marched along the western bank of the Schuylkill, and posted themselves at a ford about three miles in front of Lafayette’s right flank, while the rest of the British army advanced to Chesnut-hill. His retreat was utterly cut off, except by the way of Matson’s-ford. As soon as Lafayette became aware of his danger he saw this, and he instantly fled, pell-mell, with his detachment to this ford, leaving on his way six field-pieces. There was a race between him and Grey which should get first to Matson’s Ford, but fear quickened his steps and those of his followers, and Grey’s men being fatigued with their long night-march, the Frenchmen won the race, and the ford was passed before Grey could reach it. General Grant also was slow in his pursuit from behind, and Lafayette was even allowed time to send back some of his men across the water to recover the artillery he had abandoned. He escaped with the loss of about fifty men killed and wounded, and a few more taken prisoners; but had this expedition, which had been well conceived, been executed with greater rapidity, the career of Lafayette would have terminated, and his followers must either have been captured or slain. Washington himself seems to have considered that his case was hopeless. By means of glasses he had discovered Lafayette’s peril, and he caused his bridge across the Schuylkill to be broken down, lest the British, after annihilating this detachment, should fall upon himself at Valley Forge.

{GEORGE III. 1778–1779}

SIR HENRY CLINTON TAKES THE COMMAND OF THE BRITISH TROOPS.

The above wore the last military operations in America over which Sir William Howe presided. He had been for some time soliciting his recall, through feelings of resentment for want of confidence reposed in him, and inattention to his recommendations; and on the 24th of May, Sir Henry Clinton arrived at Philadelphia to supersede him in the command. How General Howe could imagine that any recommendations which he could make would be attended to, is matter of surprise, when his inglorious campaigns are considered. He had done nothing of consequence during the long time he had been in America, and at the very time he was superseded in the command, he was conscious that the army must soon evacuate Philadelphia. For the last seven months he had, indeed, been living a life of pleasure, which wholly unfitted both him and his army for active service. Hence, it is no wonder that before his departure both officers and men, expressed their warmest affection for him. On the 18th of May a grand fête was given to him as a proper leave-taking, which was celebrated in such bad taste that it reflected disgrace on those who got it up, and those who consented to be honoured by it. Even if the Howes had been uniformly victorious and had finished the war by brilliant exploits, the pageantry was of such a nature as would have been better fitted for some inglorious Eastern despot; how much more then was it misplaced when all the work they had been commissioned to execute was left undone. The enemy had still the sword in their hands, and were daily increasing in courage, in skill, in strength, and in numbers. Such was the state of America when Sir William Howe returned to England. His brother, Admiral Lord Howe, who was a man of ability, still retained the command of the fleet, although he also wished to return home, and to take no further part in the contest. The rumours of the French war first, and then the arrival of the French fleet on the coast of America, alone induced him to retain his command.

ARRIVAL OF THE COMMISSIONERS IN AMERICA WITH THE CONCILIATORY BILLS.

Commissioners appointed under Lord North’s conciliatory bills, arrived in the Delaware on the 6th of June. These commissioners were Lord Carlisle, Governor Johnstone, and Mr. Eden, who lost no time in making known their commission. They applied to Washington for a passport for their secretary, Dr. Adam Ferguson, to enable him to lay some overtures of the commission before congress. Washington, however, refused to grant this passport, and he forwarded the letter of the commissioners to congress by the common military post. After deliberating on the communications for some days, congress replied to the king’s commissioners through their president, that the act of parliament, the commission, and the commissioners’ letter all supposed the people of the American states to be still subjects of the King of Great Britain, and were all founded upon an idea of dependence. This was represented as a mistake. The Americans, they said, were a free people, and congress were ready to enter upon the consideration of a treaty of peace and commerce, not inconsistent with treaties they had previously contracted, whenever the King of Great Britain should show a sincere disposition for that purpose; the only proof of which would be an explicit acknowledgment of their independence, and the withdrawal of all the troops and the fleets from the United States. The truth is, the commissioners arrived too late to effect any conciliation. Silas Deane had previously arrived from Paris with the French treaties ratified, and with abundant assurances of assistance and co-operation, and the Americans were thereby confirmed in their resolution to obtain their absolute independence. In addition to his public exertions as a commissioner, Governor Johnstone endeavoured to gain over some of the members of congress and other persons of influence, by opening a private correspondence with them. But this was discovered, and the result was, that his letters were laid before congress, and a resolution was passed to the effect that it was incompatible with the honour of congress to hold any further communication with that commissioner. The commissioners next attempted to separate the people from their leaders by a manifesto declaring pardons to all who should within forty days withdraw from the service of congress, and proffering peace with peculiar privileges to the colonies collectively or separately, which should return to their allegiance to the British monarch. But this was answered by counter manifestoes from congress, and the efforts of the commissioners were rendered signally abortive; and they were compelled to return home as they went. The whole body of colonists were resolute in their desire and purpose of obtaining their independence.

EVACUATION OF PHILADELPHIA BY THE BRITISH, ETC.

At this time it was known that Count d’Estaing was at sea with a considerable land force on board, to aid the Americans. This had doubtless the effect of making congress and the colonists more determined in their opposition to the British government. On the other hand, it had the effect of rendering the British general more cautious. As soon as the prospect of a French war opened on the British cabinet, as a more central situation was desirable for the army, the evacuation of Philadelphia was contemplated, and as the French troops might arrive soon to the aid of Washington, Sir Henry Clinton, contrary to the wishes of the British officers, who burned with impatience to be led on to the Valley Forge, resolved to withdraw his troops from the capital of Pennsylvania. This was executed about the middle of June, and they were transported across the Delaware without molestation. The march, however, of the troops was encumbered by a long train of the inhabitants of Philadelphia, all royalists, who feared the vengeance cf congress, and their progress was consequently slow. Moreover, the country abounded with rough roads and difficult passes, while the British troops had to mend the bridges in their route which Washington had caused to be broken down. The passes were all occupied by the militia, but these were everywhere driven from their posts without difficulty. These measures were preliminary to a step which Washington contemplated, of crossing the Delaware and falling upon the rear of the retreating enemy. He crossed that river with this intent; but though he hung upon Clinton’s flank and rear, he did not venture to attack him, and carefully selected for himself such ground and such a line of march as prevented his being attacked by the British. Several days passed in this manner, councils of war being in the meantime held to deliberate upon the expediency of bringing on a general engagement. Washington himself was anxious to hazard an action, but of seventeen generals only two besides himself were in favour of hazarding either a general or partial engagement. In a council held on the 24th of June, however, a proposal was carried to strengthen the detachment which had got on the left flank of the British, and 1500 picked men were thrown in the direction specified. At the same time, Washington secretly determined to bring on a more general engagement, in spite of the majority of the council-of-war, if possible. He did this to his own cost on the 28th of June. On that day the British having arrived at a place called Freehold Court-house, near Monmouth, a vigorous attack was made on their baggage by a detachment under General Lee, the deserter, who had been previously exchanged, and was again actively employed in the American service. This attack, however, was expected, and the detachment was bravely repulsed. The British light troops impetuously pursued the fugitives, until they were met and rallied by Washington himself. The pursuers were now in danger, and to prevent their being cut off, Sir Henry Clinton was compelled to maintain his position under a severe cross-fire, after which he withdrew to his former position. His loss in killed and wounded was about three hundred and sixty men, many of whom had expired through excessive heat and fatigue without receiving a wound. The enemy’s loss was still greater, and as little more than half of Clinton’s army was with him, it seems to have convinced Washington that it would be folly to attack the British forces in a general engagement. It is said, indeed, that he lay that night in the midst of his soldiers, ready to renew the contest next morning, had not his opponents thought proper to retire. But it is evident that Washington was aware of the continued retreat of the British, and yet he did not venture to follow a step further. He had expected a triumph and had met with a check, and though he boasted to congress that he would have followed if Clinton had not moved off in silence and secresy, and before he had any idea of his departure, yet he had already determined to hasten to the Hudson by another route, in order to join an army collected by General Gates, and to give up the pursuit! Congress also acted as inconsistently as Washington. They celebrated the affair of Freehold Court-house as a great and glorious victory, although it must have appeared clear to them that Washington had been checked, if not actually defeated. Clinton reached New York in safety on the 5th of July, where he found Lord Howe with his fleet. Washington took up his position on the borders of the Hudson, where he remained till late in the autumn.

DISGRACE OF GENERAL LEE.

When Washington met General Lee in full retreat, he assailed him with some bitter and reproachful words for his conduct. Suspicions were afterwards thrown out that Lee intended to cause the defeat of the army, for the purpose of disgracing the commander-in-chief. The whole conduct of Lee proves that these suspicions were groundless, and he wrote several letters to Washington in vindication of his character. These letters, however, contained language which placed him at the mercy of Washington, and being found guilty by a court-martial, he was sentenced to suspension from his rank for one year. Although a man of great abilities, and although he had rendered the American cause good service, both in the councils-of-war and in the field, he never, indeed, after this disgrace, attracted honourable notice. Yet he appears rather to have fallen from the effects of envy than from his misconduct, for it is a well-established fact, that Washington himself looked upon his abilities with a jealous eye. It was, in truth, the conduct of Washington towards him in the late affair which had betrayed him into the error which laid him beneath his rival’s feet. Gratitude should have taught Washington to have behaved more generously, for more than once Lee had corrected his rashness, and saved him from ruin. Yet before his failure in his attack on the British troops, Washington had attempted to place the raw and inexperienced Lafayette over his head, and he might have been warned by this, that no opportunity would be lost in securing his downfall.

UNSUCCESSFUL ATTACK BY THE AMERICANS AND FRENCH ON RHODE ISLAND.

Six days after General Clinton arrived at New York, the French fleet, under Count d’Estaign, who had lost many days by putting into the Delaware, appeared before that city. His force consisted of twelve sail of the line, and three or four heavy frigates. He had, indeed, collectively, eight hundred and fifty-four guns to oppose to Howe’s 614, and the weight of his metal and the size of his ships were still greater in proportion even than the number of his guns. It was expected that the count would immediately attack Lord Howe’s squadron, but he lay inactive outside the Hook for eleven days. All this time, the British admiral was preparing for a contest, and the sailors universally burned with impatience to engage the enemy. As a defeat would have been fatal to the troops on shore, Howe wisely forbore to respond to their wishes of attacking the enemy, and at length, on the 22nd of July d’Estaign weighed anchor, and instead of entering Sandy Hook, stood out to sea, and then shaped his course northward to attempt the reduction of Rhode Island. In his passage to America, the French admiral had been pursued by Vice-Admiral Byron whose fleet unfortunately had been dispersed and shattered by storms. The wreck of two or three of these ships joined Lord Howe a few days after d’Estaing had left his anchorage, and when these had been put in sailing and fighting trim, Lord Howe sailed in quest of the French admiral. General Sullivan had been ordered to pass over from the continent with 10,000 men to attack the British lines at Newport, in which 6000 troops were intrenched, while d’Estaing with the French fleet assailed them on the other side. When near the coast, also, the French admiral was joined by Lafayette with 2000 American troops, and he entered the Sound and prepared to land near Newport. Four English frigates were lying at anchor there, and as the defence of these frigates was impracticable, the crews set fire to them and joined the troops on the island. The French admiral was on the point of landing when Howe hove in sight, he having been hitherto deterged from so doing by a quarrel with General Sullivan as to which of them should hold the supreme command. The appearance of Howe altered the operations of d’Estaing. Being superior in force he resolved to sail out of the harbour and meet the English. Both commanders prepared for battle; but while they were each exerting all their skill to gain the advantages of a position a furious storm arose, which dispersed the hostile fleets over the face of the ocean. Both fleets were greatly damaged, but Howe’s fleet suffered least. Subsequently one of his ships fell in with the Languedoc, d’Estaign’s flag-ship, and another with the Tonnant, both of superior size, and would have captured them had they not been rescued by other portions of the scattered fleet, Another isolated battle afterwards occurred between two ships, in which the French lost seventy killed and wounded, while the English lost only one man killed and had fifteen wounded. No captures, however, were made on either side, and while Howe returned to New York for the purpose of refitting his ships, d’Estaing came to anchor near Rhode Island. By this time, Sullivan, contrary to the wishes of Lafayette, had landed on the island with his 10,000 men, and had commenced the siege of Newport. He also had suffered by the storm, for it had blown down all his tents, damaged his ammunition, and caused the death of several of his soldiers. When it abated, Sullivan renewed the siege; but though the garrison of Newport amounted only to about 1200 men, he only ventured to proceed by regular approaches. Sullivan was not much encouraged by the reappearance of the French Admiral, and when d’Estaing announced his intention of retiring to Boston to refit, the besiegers lost all hope, and numbers of them deserted and crossed over to Connecticut. It was in vain that Sullivan remonstrated with the French admiral: he had received orders from his government to be very careful of his fleet, and having reasons to believe that Howe had received reinforcements, he adhered to his resolution of getting to a place of safety. Sullivan then implored him to leave the French forces he had on board, and the bearer of his letter was also charged with a protest, written in angry terms, and complaining of the desertion of the French. This protest was signed by all the general officers in Rhode Island, except Lafayette; but the French admiral considered it as insulting, and sailed away for Boston in an angry mood. Sullivan then abandoned the siege of Newport, and retired to the north of the island. He was pursued by Sir Robert Pigott, commander of the garrison of Newport, who brought him to battle on the 29th of August. The loss was about equal, but Sullivan found himself compelled to evacuate the island in haste. He retired just in time, for on the following day a reinforcement, commanded by Sir Henry Clinton, arrived at Rhode Island. The attempt on the island, therefore, signally failed, and Sullivan laid the blame of the failure on the French admiral. He even published some letters reflecting very severely on the conduct of d’Estaing, and asserted that the Americans had been basely abandoned by their new allies. The public feeling was so strong against him, that when he arrived at Boston he met with a rude reception. The French were everywhere hooted by the Bostonians, and in a scuffle between them a French officer was killed. The French were also denounced by some of the hottest members in congress, and even the alliance with the French court was reprobated and reviled in bitter terms. About the same time, also, riots happened at Charlestown, in South Carolina, between American and French seamen, in which several lives were lost on both sides. But, at the same time that the Americans exhibited this feeling toward the French, they could not deny that the French alliance was still useful to them; and hence they had no thought of coming to an open rupture with their government.

OPERATIONS OF THE BRITISH ARMY.

After relieving Rhode Island, General Clinton returned to New York. On his voyage thither he detached Major-General Grey to Buzzard Bay, in Massachusets, a famous rendezvous of American privateers; and that officer destroyed seventy sail of ships there, with many store-houses and wharfs, and a fort mounting eleven pieces of heavy cannon. Grey then proceeded to an island called Martha’s Vineyard, where he took or destroyed several more vessels, destroyed a salt-work, and obliged the inhabitants to deliver up their arms, and furnish him with 10,000 sheep and 3000 oxen. With these supplies he returned to New York, and shortly after he made an incursion into New Jersey, where he surrounded an American detachment in the dead of the night, killed most of them, and took the rest, with Colonel Bajdor, their commander, prisoners. About the same time a small squadron, under the direction, of Captain Collins, with some troops, under the command of Captain Ferguson, destroyed a nest of privateers at Egg Harbour, and cut to pieces a part of the legion of the Polish Count Pulawski. On the return of this squadron to New York, the British army was placed in winter-quarters, and Washington moved his troops to Middlebrook, in New Jersey, where they hutted, as in Valley Forge.

ATTACK OF THE SAVAGES ON THE SETTLEMENT OF WYOMING, ETC.

The beautiful district of Wyoming was at this time dotted with eight new townships, each containing a territory of about five miles on both sides of the river Susquehanna. Poets and travellers have fondly fancied that it was inhabited by a peaceful population, in unison with the lovely scenery of the district. Such conceptions, however, are the very reverse of the fact. Greece was as the garden of Eden, and yet fierce warriors inhabited its soil. And so it was with Wyoming. By its geographical position the district seemed properly to belong to Pennsylvania, but the colony of Connecticut claimed it in virtue of an old grant; and it was first settled by the population of that colony. The Pennsylvanians, however, set up a counter claim, and, after many long and angry debates the two colonies went to war about the disputed district. These hostilities lasted till after the breaking out of the war with England; but a near approach of danger caused the belligerents to forego their quarrel. Several Pennsylvanian families by this time had obtained a settlement in Wyoming, and these were all royalists. So also were some of the Connecticut settlers, but there, as elsewhere, the revolutionary party gained the ascendency. They used their power tyrannically, and faction and feuds raged through all the townships. “Fair Wyoming,” by the bad passions of its inhabitants, was converted into a very hell. In every house there was division of sentiment, and the sources of domestic happiness were all poisoned by the bitter waters of strife. At length the revolutionary party completely got the upper hand. Oppressed and persecuted indeed, the royalists for the most part left their homes and became fugitives in the back-settlements. After this the revolutionists sent a large reinforcement to serve in the army of congress. By so doing, however, they laid themselves open to attack from the savages and their fugitive brethren. Warnings of their danger were repeatedly given them; but although they built some little forts in order to protect the district, they had but indifferent garrisons to put into them, and it was easy to foresee that sooner or later they would reap the fruit of their conduct towards their brethren. They appear to have conceived that they were in no danger, and especially as some Indian tribes had promised them protection; but their dream of security was suddenly disturbed by the appearance of eight hundred men on the bank of the Susquehanna. These were in part savages and in part Anglo-Americans, disguised as Indian warriors. Some of them were in fact the outcasts of Wyoming, who burned to revenge their wrongs. They were led by Colonel Butler, the same who had offered General Carleton the service of the Indians in Canada four years before, On the appearance of this force there were only sixty American regulars in the district, and these were commanded by Colonel Zebulon Butler, said to be of the same family as the officer that was leading on the savages and exiles. There were, however, about three hundred militiamen under Colonel Dennison, and these with the regulars prepared to oppose the invaders. The Indians and their allies entered the valley near its northern boundary; and they quickly took one of the forts called Wintermoots, which they burned. The militiamen and regulars assembled at Forty-fort, a stronger place on the west side of the Susquehanna, and four miles below the camp of the invaders. Had Colonel Zebulon Butler remained in this fort he might have stemmed the onward progress of the invaders till assistance could have been obtained from Washington. Zebulon Butler, however, resolved to leave the fort and encounter the enemy. He found them posted in a plain, partially covered with pine trees, dwarf oaks, and underwood. He moved towards them in single column, but as he was passing along he was saluted by the fire of Indians, who lay concealed behind bushes and trees. Notwithstanding, Zebulon Butler formed into line and prepared for battle. His left flank, which was composed of militiamen, was quickly turned by a body of Indians, who poured a destructive fire on his rear, and he was compelled to command a retreat. All fled precipitately, but the enemy was in their front, while on one side was a marsh and a mountain, and the other a deep river. A dreadful scene ensued. Throwing away their rifles and muskets, the Indians and their enraged allies fell upon the fugitives with their tomahawks, and heeded not the loud cry which was raised for quarter and mercy. About sixty men, with Colonels Zebulon Butler and Dennison, escaped by swimming across the river, hiding in the marsh, or climbing the mountain; but the rest, amounting to nearly four hundred men, were butchered on the spot. Zebulon Butler fled from Wyoming with his few surviving men, and Dennison proposed terms of capitulation, which the enemy granted to the inhabitants. These unfortunate people, however, dreading the vengeance of their white brethren, generally, abandoned their homes, and in their turn became outcasts and wanderers. The invaders then collected all the property of the district worth carriage; burned all the houses and levelled the forts; and then returned to the wilderness from whence they came. The troops of congress shortly after made some retaliation. Washington was at the very time of the invasion sending some troops to the defence of Wyoming, and these being reinforced by a great many riflemen of Morgan’s corps, they rushed upon the Indian settlements, burned their villages, exterminated all they could discover, and compelled the rest to retire further from the frontiers of the colonies. Those who escaped, however, awaited another opportunity for revenge.

ARRIVAL OF THE FRENCH ENVOY AT PHILADELPHIA.

After Sir Henry Clinton had evacuated Philadelphia, congress returned to that city. In the course of the autumn M. Gérard arrived there as envoy to the United States from the court of France. About the same time instructions were prepared and sent to Dr. Franklin, as minister plenipotentiary at the court of Versailles. The French minister and suite received very flattering attention from the majority of the members of congress, but beyond this they had reason for complaint. By the people they were looked upon with suspicion, and some considered them in the light of enemies. There was, indeed, a significant distinction drawn at this time between parties in America, which exists to this day: the moderates were called the English party, and the ultra-revolutionists, the French party. But it was soon found that even the French party could not always agree in the plans and schemes of the French ambassador and his government, and that, therefore, the alliance, though solemnly ratified by treaty, was not cemented by reciprocal affection.

MOVEMENTS OF THE BRITISH AND FRENCH FLEETS.

After refitting his ships Lord Howe went to Boston, with design to attack the French admiral in that water. He found the anchorage, however, so effectually protected by batteries, that he was compelled to forego this design, and return to New York. Soon after he received leave of absence, and he resigned the command of his squadron to Rear-admiral Gambier. Howe then proceeded to Rhode Island, where he met with Vice-admiral Byron, to whom he gave up the command of the American station as commander-in-chief, and then set sail for England. After his departure, Byron, with a part of his force, went back to Boston to look after the French; but his ships were driven off the coast by a violent hurricane, and he was obliged to seek a port in order to refit. While thus situated the French admiral put out to sea, in order to undertake operations for conquests in the West India Islands. On the same day, however, that he stole out of the harbour of Boston, Commodore Hotham sailed from Sandy Hook to escort Major-general Grant, with 5000 men, to protect these islands, and he joined Admiral Barrington at Barbadoes, on the 10th of December.

CAPTURE OF DOMINICA BY THE FRENCH.

It was not solely with a view of supporting the Americans, and vindicating the wrongs of humanity, that the French entered upon the arena of strife. On the contrary, the principal aim of the French cabinet was aggrandisement. A scheme had been devised for seizing all the sugar-plantations of Great Britain. And some time before d’Estaing set sail for the West Indies the French had commenced putting this scheme into effect. On the 7th of September the Marquis de Bouille, governor-general of Martinique landed with about 2000 men on our island of Dominica, and proceeded to attack the different batteries and forts by land, while French and American frigates and privateers attacked them by sea. There were abundance of artillery and stores in Dominica, but unfortunately there were not sufficient men to defend the island; and, after a gallant defence of some outworks, Lieutenant-governor Stewart found himself compelled to capitulate:—the island fell into the hands of the French.

CAPTURE OF ST. LUCIE BY THE BRITISH.

The British commanders, on arriving at Barbadoes, being informed of the loss of Dominica, resolved to take another island from the French. Without suffering the troops to land, therefore, Major-general Grant proceeded to St. Lucie, attended by the joint squadrons of Hotham and Barrington. Five British regiments, with all the grenadiers and light-infantry, under the command of Brigadier-general Medows, first landed, and being ably seconded by Major Harris, he drove the French commandant, the Chevalier de Miccud, from a strong position which he had taken on the heights at the end of an inlet, called Grand Cul de Sac. While this was doing, Brigadier-general Prescott landed, with five other regiments, to secure the whole of the bay, and to establish posts in order to preserve a communication with Medows. General Medows pushed forward, and took possession of the important post of the Vigie, which commands the north side of the Carénage harbour; while Brigadier-general Sir Henry Calder occupied other posts upon the mountains which commanded the south side of the Grand Cul de Sac, and Major-general Grant lay on the heights, called Morne Fortune. The British troops were thus situate when d’Estaing arrived off the island, in order to relieve it. On discovering his approach, the British admirals immediately collected all their ships into the Grand Cul de Sac, and then formed a line close and compact right across the entrance of the bay. The fleet under the French admiral was by far the most powerful; but he was thrice defeated in his attacks upon the British squadron, and he then landed 5000 picked troops in a bay, between Gros Islet and the Carénage Bay. D’Estaing resolved, in the first instance, to direct his entire force against Medows, who was cut off, by his movement, from all support from the other divisions of the British. General Medows had only 1,300 men, with two twelve-pounders and four six-pounders, to defend his position; but his force chiefly consisted of veterans, and it was in vain that d’Estaing led his forces against, them. Three several charges were made upon them; but the French were repulsed, with the loss of four hundred men killed, and more than 1000 wounded. He was compelled to leave the island; and as his fleet disappeared, the Chevalier de Micoud descended from some heights to which he had retired, came into the British camp with the principal inhabitants, and signed a capitulation with General Grant, who granted such favourable terms as won for him the gratitude of the enemy. Thus, while the British lost Dominica, they won St. Lucie.

{GEORGE III. 1778–1779}

RE-CAPTURE OF THE ISLANDS OF ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON.

Earlier in the year, in consequence of their aggression on the coast of America, the French were deprived of their privilege of fishing on the banks of Newfoundland. The little islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon had been ceded to them at the peace of 1763, but they were now recaptured by the British, and the garrisons conveyed to France.

FRENCH PLANS REGARDING CANADA COUNTERACTED BY WASHINGTON.

The ambitious views of the French cabinet were not confined to the West Indies. This was made manifest to the Americans before d’Estaing set sail from Boston. He published a proclamation to the Canadians, exhorting them to return to their former allegiance: and at the same time Washington, through the ascendency of a French party in congress, was urged to undertake the reduction of that province in conjunction with a French force. He was directed by the committee for foreign affairs to communicate with Lafayette on the subject; but instead of this, he wrote a long letter to congress, urging, in a forcible manner, the impolicy of the measure; and, in consequence of his representations, the plan proposed by congress for the emancipation of Canada, in co-operation with an army from France, was deferred “until circumstances rendered the co-operation of the United States more certain, practicable, and effectual.” The truth is, the Americans, enlightened by Washington, saw through the designs of France, and they had no idea of thus aggrandising their allies. Moreover, they found no encouragement in Canada; for, notwithstanding the proclamation of the French admiral, the Canadians were determined to remain quiet under the British government, being fully satisfied with its mild rule, and confident that it was able to protect them in their obedience. Soon after this plan failed, Lafayette returned to France, as he himself reports, to offer his sword to his own sovereign, who was now engaged as a principal in the war, and to induce the French court to send more effectual succours to the aid of congress, without any reference to the conquest of Canada. It is well known, however, that both the Marquis and his court cast a longing eye upon Canada; and it cannot be doubted but that its conquest was the chief end which he had in view when he recommended an increase of French troops in America. On his arrival in France, Lafayette was enthusiastically welcomed by the war party; and although the French monarch pretended, at first, to be offended with him for joining the cause of America, before he himself had espoused it, he was almost immediately honoured with the command of the dragoons of the king’s guard.

CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH BY THE BRITISH.

During this year, soon after the return of the commissioners to England, an important operation took place on the side of Georgia, and the complete success of which gave a hope that the war, if transferred to the south, might prove more successful than it had hitherto been. Some of the southern colonies were in a state of utter confusion—royalists being arrayed against revolutionists, and province against province. Thus, between the people of East Florida, who remained under the British government, and the people of Georgia, who had joined the cause of congress, there existed an irreconcilable hatred. These provinces had but recently been at war with each other, when Georgia was successfully invaded by the British. Sir Henry Clinton despatched Colonel Campbell thither with 3500 men, by sea, under convoy of Admiral Parker, and on his arrival his first object was the reduction of the city of Savannah, the capital of Georgia, which was defended by the American General Robert How. The whole country between Savannah and the sea was impassable to troops, being low, marshy, and intersected by creeks and artificial watercourses. The city stood on the southern bank of the Savannah River, about fifteen miles from the sea; and Parker therefore conveyed the troops up that river, and after surmounting some difficulties he succeeded in landing them at a plantation about three miles below the city. Some Highlanders, commanded by a Cameron, first moved from the river bank along a narrow causeway, with some high ground at the end of it where the Americans were posted. As they approached the Americans opened a fire upon them, and Cameron and two of his company were slain. The loss of their leader, however, urged the clansmen on to desperate enterprise. They rushed upon the enemy with a fierce cry for revenge, and drove them back into some woods nearer the town. When Campbell arrived on the scene of action he found the American general posted outside the town, having swamps, woods, trenches, and deep rice-fields all around him. He discovered a private path leading through the swamp, which covered the enemy’s right flank, and having sent some of his Highlanders’ light infantry and New York volunteers round by that path, he surprised the enemy in the rear. They fled for their lives through the town of Savannah, four hundred and fifty of them being captured in their flight; and the town and fort, with an abundance of stores, became the prize of the conquerors. In a few days the remnant of How’s army was driven across the Savannah River into South Carolina, and then the inhabitants flocked to Colonel Campbell to take the oath of allegiance to the British monarch. The provincials were greatly conciliated by his lenity and moderation; and even some of the hot preachers, who had excited the Georgians into insurrection and republicanism, now turned royalists. The whole of Georgia was in the hands of the royalists except the town of Sunbury, and this place was soon after reduced by General Prevost, who was sent to Savannah to take the chief command. He was joined here by many suffering royalists from South Carolina and Virginia, while others repaired to head-quarters at New York.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

Parliament met on the 25th of November. Little notice was taken of the operations in America; but his majesty bitterly complained of the unprovoked hostility of the court of France. His majesty also alluded to preparations going on in Spain, and remarked that however friendly and seemingly sincere the professions made to us might be, it was a subject that must gain the attention of the house. The king noticed the complete failure of the commissioners and of the conciliatory measures passed during the last sitting of parliament, and urged the necessity of the most active exertions, in order to vindicate and maintain the honour of the crown and the interests of the people. He concluded with saying, that, according to the powers vested in him, he had called out the militia to assist in the defence of the country, and that he had with high satisfaction witnessed the public spirit, ardour, and love of their country which animated all classes of his subjects; and which could not fail of ensuring safety at home and procuring respect abroad.

In both houses the address of his majesty was opposed. In the lords it was condemned in toto, with the king’s speech, and the opposition proposed putting an absolute negative upon the whole. It was argued in support of this proposition, that ministers were proceeding upon false principles, upheld by obstinacy, folly, and error, and tending to inevitable ruin; that new men and new measures must be adopted before we could hope for success in war, or honour and security in peace; that as ministers had shown themselves incompetent to the management of the war when they only had the Americans to contend with, it was not to be expected that they would be able to contend with the united arms of France and America; and that they would be still less able if Spain joined the contest. Ministers and their supporters argued that it would be monstrous to refuse addressing, especially as the speech dwelt solely on the dangers of the kingdom from the perfidy of France; and as the address was a simple declaration of supporting his majesty against the machinations of the French government. The address was carried by a majority of sixty-seven against thirty-five. In the commons the opposition moved an amendment “to assure his majesty that from zeal and affection that house was ready to give the most ample support to such measures as might be thought necessary for the defence of those kingdoms, or for frustrating the designs of that restless power which had so often disturbed the peace of Europe; but that they thought it their duty to inquire by what fatal councils and unhappy systems of policy this country had been reduced from that splendid situation which, in the early part or his majesty’s reign, made her the envy of all Europe, to her present dangerous state, which had of late called forth our utmost exertions without any adequate benefit.” The speakers in opposition, who supported this amendment, chiefly dwelt on the numerous blunders of administration in the management of the war; attributing every failure to their measures, and every successful operation to circumstances over which they had no control. It was argued, indeed, that ministers had only made such preparations as would ensure defeats; and that it was marvellous we were not involved in indiscriminate ruin and disgrace. The blunders of ministers were both numerous and palpable, but it cannot be denied that they were mightily magnified by the opposition, who looked at their every movement with a jealous and jaundiced eye. The amendment was rejected by a majority of two hundred and twenty-six against one hundred and seven.

AFFAIR RESPECTING ADMIRAL KEPPEL AND SIR HUGH PALLISER.

During the debate on the amendment in the commons, Charles Fox introduced the subject of the operations of the fleet commanded by Keppel and Palliser, and attributed all the blame of its failure to the conduct of ministers and the admiralty, who, he said, had not sent a sufficient fleet out, and that it was sent to sea too late to effect the objects for which it was fitted out. This subject was brought prominently before the house of commons on the 2nd of December. Mr. Temple Luttrel said, that the whole of that transaction demanded a particular and close inquiry, and that the two admirals, who were both in the house, were bound to give information for the sake of their own honour, and also for the sake of public tranquillity. Thus challenged, Keppel, who was a whig, stood up to defend his own conduct. He could not consider, he remarked, that the British flag had been tarnished in his hands, or that the affair off Ushant was in any way disgraceful. He impeached no man; and was persuaded that Sir Hugh Palliser manifested no want of courage. He expressed a hope that he should not be compelled to answer any questions relative to the action or to individuals, at the same time asserting that he was ready to explain his own conduct in that house or elsewhere, Nothing, he said, was left untried to bring the French to a decisive action. He then adverted to Palliser’s publication in the newspapers. He was surprised, he said, that he should have appealed to the public when no accusation was made against him, and have endeavoured to render his superior in command unpopular and odious; and he declared that he would never again embark in a fleet with an officer who could conduct himself in a manner so fatal to all obedience and discipline. Sir Hugh Palliser, who was a Tory, then rose and said, that it was his interest to obtain inquiry, and that he was as eager for it as his superior officer. He censured Keppel’s reserve, and challenged him to deliver his opinions without disguise, that he might be able to give a full answer. He complained of the aspersions thrown upon his character by the newspapers, and said that while justice was rendered to his courage, insinuations were thrown out that he might have neglected or disobeyed the signals of his superior. He concluded by asserting that he had vainly sought an explanation from Keppel, before appealing to the public with a detail of facts, by which he would stand or fall; by denying that he had refused to obey signals; and by declaring that he feared neither a parliamentary inquiry nor a public trial. In reply, Admiral Keppel asserted that one of his signals was not obeyed though it was flying for five hours, but that he would not charge Vice-admiral Palliser with disobedience, as the condition of his ships might, as represented by him, have prevented his coming up. Palliser rejoined by charging Keppel with having neglected to arrange his ships in such a manner as to ensure a general engagement; with having neglected to tack and double on the French with his van and centre, after these had passed the enemy’s rear, whereby he, the vice-admiral, was exposed to be cut off; with having permitted the enemy to rally, and to claim a victory by standing after the English ships; and with having, finally, led the British fleet in an opposite direction, instead of pursuing the enemy. The conversation here dropped, but the charges made by Sir Hugh Palliser were afterwards repeated to the Admiralty; and this led to the trial of both the accuser and the accused before a court-martial.