A FIR S T

LI E T T E R TOT HE

People of England. ON THE

Prefent SIT UATION and CONDUCT

o F

NAT ION A L A F F A IRS.

;:, !

Hoc illuJ eJI prrecipue in cognitione rlrum falubre at frugifirum, amnis te exempli documerJto in illz!flri pofittl monumento intueri: inde tibi tUlZqul re1publiclZ quod imitire, capias, inde f~dum inceptu, ftEdum exitu~ quod vites. TI T. LI v.

The F 0 U R THE D I T ION.

LON DON:

Printed jn the YEA R, 1756.

A

LET fT E R TOT H E

People of Eng/anti .. LET T E R I.

W HO EVE R has been accutlomed to read with Attention, the Hifto­rians, Orators, and fatyric Poc::ts of

Greece and Rome, that wrote towards the De­cline of thofe States, and obferved the Man­ners, Purfuits, Objects, and ruling Paffions of thefe People, together with the Symptoms of impending Ruin, prefaged and delineated by thofe Men of fuperior Genius, muft, on Comparifon with what prevails at pre(ent in Eng/and, be deeply touched with the Ana­logy. The Phil~ppics of Demofihenes are fo rep1etf! with ~ri~ing Pictures and vivid Re­prefeqtation~, drawn from Obfervation, on what p~~ed at Athens during his Time ~ aud

A 2 fQ

[ + ] fo applicable to the People and pre{ent State of this Country, that the great Difference of the Names of thofe Perfons who lived, and Places which exifted Two Thoufand ¥ ears agQ in Greece, have not fufficient Power to with­hold my Imagination from being impofed on by the Similitude of Manners; or n~firain me from believing, that I am ,eading the HiRory of Englijhmen, and the prefent Age.

WHEN I fee this Patriot Orator generoufly upbraiding his degenerate Countrymen ~th univerfal Venality and Lofs of public Virtue; defcribing themdrown'd in Floods of Self-love, Plea{ure, and public Shows, (upinely negli­gent of their Country's Welfare; contemn­ing the Merit of all other Nations them­{elves arrogant and felf-fufficient in E:~cefs; preferring private Opinion to efiabliChed Wif­dom; idolizing M or~als in Power and ine ... verent to their Gods: What Eye fo dim that cannot di!linguifh the Analogy (0 manifeft between the AtheniollS of his Time, and the f-ngli)h of ours? What Mind fo fiupid as not to forefee the fame Events?

IT {eems evident from all l ~an gather. that t~e Strength, Happinefs, J¥ilitary, and

Civil I.: I' ~

[ 5 ] Civil Glory of all Nations, have ever (ubfit'ted and increafed in Proportion to the Under­ftanding and Virtue of thofe, who reigned, and thofe who obeyed; and though Numbers of Inhabitants and Degrees of Riches may be thought by many to oppofe this Obferva­tion, yet a juft Examination will prove the Truth of what is here faid.

WAS it not by means of the happy Union of thofe fup~rior ~alifications in . the fidl: Cyrus, that he extended his Empire from the little Realm of PeTjia over Nations, almofi: Joo diftant to be vifited, and whofe Languages were unintelligible to each other, as Xenopho1t. flas defcribed them? Yet fuch is the Fate and Revolution of Empires; Dan"us with all thefe Nations in SubjeCtion, with infinite Armies and untold Sums of Treafure, deferted by Virtue only, fell the eafy Prey of Alexander and a few Ma~edonians. I •

To this energic Influence of Virtue in the FOmmon .People, and U nderfianding united with it in their Leaders, it is owing that the (lrecians in their riling Glory performed al,,;, pmfi: miracu~ous Exploits.

[ 6 ] T a confirm this Truth, the wen fought

Field of Marathon, where Multiades and ten thoufand Greeks defeated fix hundred thoufand Perjiam, affords an irrefifiable Evidence: ai

did the naval Victory of :fhemijoclts, who faved his Country from Perdition, fuch amaz­ing Atchievements can {mall Numbers, actu­ated by their Country's Love, armed with the Sword of Virtue, and conducted by fupe­rior Wifdom, perform againfi Millions funk in Effeminacy, Luxury, and Riches.

s P A..R r A remained invincible whiHl: her Sons were virtuous, and LeDnid~s unconquer­able but by Death.

EVE N Thebes,. the-long Object of farcaflic Attic Wit, lifted her Head from below the Duft, and walked forth the prevailing Power of Greece, by the Virtue of one great Man; like a new Srar -{]le {hone forth in Lufire amongfi the other Cities: With Epaminondol it'srefplendent Courfe began, with him it blazed, and with him expired.

T Ii E whole Roman Glory was entirely ow­ing to the Virtwe of it's I~habitants, whilfi ~he greaten Honour attended Integrity in Poverty, and lfivate Parfimony was ~raife; whi,lft their

Qenera\s

( 1 ] Generals tilled their own little Farms~ and the I.bour of th~ir Hanps gave their Children the Bread of Virtue; whilfi Merit brought DiCtators from the Plough to rule a Nation, ~he Romans were infuperable: Yet, when their Emperors poffeffed -half the Globe and half the- Riches on it's Surface, this very People be­came the eafy Capture of Goths and Yandals.

I N this Manner will Nations perilh, who renounce the DiCtates of Virtue.

I N all Situations, where Nations are equal in the ~alities of the Heart, the Chief who excels in Underfianding prevails in his Un­dertakings. The Moment Marlborough left the Command of the Army, Villars conquered the Allies, and the long vanquHhed tliumphed over their former ViCtories. 'Turenne, who dur­ing three Months had traverfed the Defigns and difappointed the Attempts of the Auflriam, being now no more, left an eafy Conqueft over the Troops he had commanded, and his Country to be invaded by Montecuculi.

PETER the RuJlian Emperor, by Dint of G~iuscreated a civilized People from Beings little better than Brutes. The very Man, who with more than a Hundred Thoufand of his

Troops

[ 8 ] Troops fled before the Approach of eightThou­rand Swedes, and the fevere Virtue of Charles, in his Beginning Reign, became at laft his Conqueror, and made his Nation refpeltable.

THE prefent Sovereign of PrulJia, the patriot King, who has refcued his Subjetb from the Rapine o~ the Law, who inftitutes and fuRains Manufacturies, encourages Arts ~nd Sciences, promotes Induftry, opens new Trades, extends his Commerce, enlarges his Dominions, aggrandizes his Name, and holds the Balance of Europe; is a living InRance of what exalted U nderfianding on a Throae can effect for a N adan.

I N this Manner our illuftrious <l!!een Eli ... . zabeth reigned over the Hearts of a free Pe~ pIe, directed by upright Minifters to her Sub­jeCts Good. In this Manner it might have continued, jf the cold, conceited Difputa ... tiolls, man-loving Scot, had not filled the Throne of England. and blaRed with his Northern Breath the blooming Plants of Glory which the had raifed.

A s are the Princes and Minillers, ruch have ever been the People who live beneath their Influence, in Englalld and all Nations.

EVEN

["9 ] . EVE N long after Luxury, arid every Vice! had prevailed at Rome, a virtuous Emperor recalled the People to Greatnefs and Felicity; the Reigns of 'Trojan and .Antoninus Pius were equal in Happinefs and Glory, to the moil flouriihing lEra of the Roman Name.

V I R T U It and Wifdom, Vice and Venality, have ever been; the firft the Sources of na­tional Happinefs and Succefs, the latter- of Decline and Ruin~

To flatter ourfelves then, that the fame Caufes which defiroyed Greece and Rome will not generate the like Confequences in Eng­land, is to delude ourfelves like Children with f~lf-wi1led, over-weaning Fondnefs. It is to fuppofe that the original Infiitution of all Things is efiabliihed on vague and capricious Principles, and that thore degenerate Facul­ties of mental Nature, which have begotten Ruin in all other Countries) will not produce the fame Effect in this IOand.

I T is to believe that Corruption of Heart, and public Virtue; Love of Eafe and Search of Danger; Infolence and true Bravery; Contempt of Heaven and Contempt of

B l)eath~

[ 10 ]

Death, can be exifiing in the fame People i that the Courfe of Nature is fufpended in our Favour, or that England is exempted from the Conditions which Providence fidt tlxt on all created Things.

Is fuch Imagination a lees Abfurdity than to conceive that phyfical Principles, which produce PutrefaCtion and Diffolution in ve .. getable and animal Nature, may exift in full Energy, and yet thefe Subfiances remain un­altered, incorrupt, and entire, from that In .. fluence.

HAS not Venality in human Kind, the fame EffeCt on the Soul that the putrefactive Principle has on Matter? Does it not defiroy the Union of it's Parts, and diffipate that firong attractive Power which holds the Mind firm, and refining all vicious Attacks? Deprived of Vi---..ue, it no longer poffeffes Strength or Vigour; it becomes feeble and effete. Yet, as in preferving animal and ~egetable Subftances from Decay, Art may 1upply the Abfence of Nature in fame De ... gree; fa in Societies and moral Nature, Wif .. dam may reflrain the precipitate Fall of Na .. tions, and preferve them from total Ruin,

tho'

( 1 I )

tho~ it may never renore them to their origi,. nal Perf~aion.

,

I H.4 v E frequently thought that the Ro­man Word Yirtus, which fignifies Courage, has a Propriety in expreffing the Idea beyond -all the few Languages I have any Knowledge of; it {eems to embrace the whole in Man which confpires to perfect that Attribute; Courage has -been deemed by that People an Emanation of every Virtue, the Refult of ~ll others combined; and therefore by way of Eminence difiinguiilied by that Appellation Vinus, the Yirtue. They had remarked, that in Proportion as the BoCom is replete with Probity and TrutQ, the Love of it's Country and it~s Gods j fo is the Hean which inhabits it, with Courage.

T HAT Bredl which is freefi from Pollu­tion, is the leaft intimidated at Danger; the puren: Soul is foremofi in offering up Life a Sacrifice _ to it's CouQtry, whereas the ~onta­minated ikulks to fave itCelf in Cowardice.

T HIS was the unvarying CharaClerifiics of :rft'jia~s, Greek.s, and Romans, in, their Days

~ ~ of

[ 12 ]

of greatefi Glory, 'till at Length their 'Souls, debafed by Corruption and Pleafure, became pufillanimous in ACtion, even in thofe Men whofe Minds were not influenced by the cer­tain Fear of future Punilhments. . '

T HIS Kind of Cowardice receives a new Caufe, and this Obfervation a farther Con­firmation in Chrifiian Kingdoms; that Being which is depreciated by mean ACtions, Cor';' ruption, and Injufiice, is eternally haunted by the Dread of oppofing himfelf to Danger, his Fears increafe with his Vices, that very Individual which de(pifes his Religion and defies his God, breathes Infolence and Out­rage apart from Danger, trembles at the Ap­proach of an:Enemy, when Death and con­feious Guilt recoil upon his Mind, like the timid Deer, who, valuing himfelf upon the Strength of his Antlers, flies at the firfi Sound­of Hounds which purfue him; or the Lark, which ihrinks to the Boforn of the Earth at the Sight of the Hawk, which hovers ove" his Head.

TH E Englijhman whofe Valour is infupe­rable whiHl: Integrity fufiains, Religion ani ... inates, a~d Patriotifm urges, him to Battle~

it ~,

[ 13 ] muil: yield an unrefifting Vitlory when thore invigorating ~lities defert him; however true this mull:· be acknowledged to be, it mull: be confeff'ed alfo that the common Peo .. pIe in no Nation ha ve ever been the Caufe of their own Corruption; it has always taken it's Source from the polluted Fountain of the Great, and thence ra.n muddy thro~ the Mul~ titude below.

WAS it not the Patricians at Rome that by Bribes began to fap the Virtue, pollute the Hearts, and corrupt the Integrity of the Ro­man common People, by purchafing their Votes in the public EleCtions of their Offi­cers; the Inferior fought not the Great. Engl4nd was a Nation of Probity, 'till thore who ought to have been the voluntary Choice of uninfluenced Can Cent, debafed their own Souls and thofe of their EleCtors, by becoming their Reprefentatives thro' Ve':' nality and Purchafe. The Man who fells himfelf is more a Slave than he that is fold by another, and deeper impregnated with barer ~lities of Bondage.

HEN C E, from Hillory and Nature, from Obfervation and ReafQn, it plainly appear~,

tha~

[ 14 ] that Nations have ever fucceeded accordiog to the Virtue and Underftanding of thofe who directed them, and have declined and rifen as thefe prevailed.

THAT this Kingdom is replete with all thofe fatal Symptoms, which foretold tho Ruin of other free States, who !hall deny ~ In England the King can do no Wrong, for which Reafon the M-r becomes jufily chargeable with the Errors and Mifcondud: of the State. As ar~ the Talents and Defigns of this Man, will be the Capacities and Pur ... fuits of thofe who are employed beneath him. If we divide the Scale of mental Nature into ten degrees, and fuppofe that of a M--r to be at five, will not all thofe he appoints either in the Army or the Fleet, in Embaf .. fies and Council, be below that Degree of Underllanding, his own Judgment muft in his own Opiniqn be the moft perfeCt of hu .. man IntelleCt in aU Plans, Refolutions, and Cqndutl:; he is prevented, by his fuallow 1hort.f,ghted Degree of Underfianding, from penetrating into the Conceptions and Schemes of fllperior Minds, and mull neceifarily chufe thofe which refemble him in Size of Capaci­ty. lfor thi\ Reafon, as Men e~ceed him

and d ~ \

[ 15 ) and one another in Excellence, the lees pro>;, bable will it be that they will be employed under him. As thefe Men advance to Per­fecHon in this Scale of intelleBual Nature, they will grow more incomprehenfible to his confined Underftanding, and be deemed as Vifionaries and ProjeCtors 'J in Proportion as they are adapted by al1 the exalted Attributes of the Mind to ferve their King and Coun­try, their CounfeI will be rejeCted and themfelves excluded; judge then what Catafirophy muil: attend Kingdoms fo di ... reBed.·

I T is with the human InteIleCl: as with the human Body, each extends according to it's natural Size J each has it's Limit, beyond which it cannot pafs j and a Dwarf will reach with his Hand as high as Golidb, before the Duke of ********* will conceive the Ex­tent, Force, and Truth of the Earl of G~e's Capacity.

FROM this Manner of Reafoning, when­ever a M-r is weak [we (hall talk of the Effects of Wickednefs in a fucceeding Letter] all thofe who are under his Direc ... tion, and of his Choice, mull: participate of

that

[ 16 J that national Calamity; the Stream of Pbifotl which rifes defiruCtive in the Head, will ftill run on the fame, through the ConduCt of all that Body which lies beneath him.

I H Av E thus long intruded on your Pa­tience, my Fellow-Countrymen, to iliow you that what may be here advanced is true in the View of Nature, as deduced from Principle; and verified by ObfeI'Vation and Experience in the Hifiory of Mankind, to convince you that Love of my Country, and not Malevolence to M-rs, Truth and not Scandal, Good-will towards Mankind, and· no latent Averfion againft Indivi­duals, have been my fole Motives to this Attempt.

I N aU Accounts I {ball confine myfelf fe" verely to Truth, and attempt to draw no In .. ferences which do not appear evidently de ... duceable from preceding Fads: In executing this, however derogatory to the Capacity of thofe in Power, I fear not the Calumny of Minions in Favour, Hawkers of minifierial FaHhoods, Advocates for Defiroyers of their Country, or even M-rs themfelves.

IF

[ t'j ] It 'Ybat {hall be here written appears to be

Juft, what honeft Englijhman thall difapprove of my ConduCt? Whatever Difiance either Chance, Birth, or Riches, may have placed between me and a Prime M-r, there muft be yet more between him and his Country~ No SubjeCt can be fa fuperior to me in Rank, as this N alion is above him in Dignity. If I prefume to examine the U nderfianding of him who prefides at the Helm, let it he remem ..

. bered it is becaufe I am convinced his Weaknefs tnifguidcs his Fellow-Subjects. If I am blamed for daring to arraign his ConduCt, it is becaufe I am fatisfied his Prefumption ma1 ruin his Country. Acquit me then or condemn tne, as he is innocen't or guilty.

ltoWIi:VE R, I confide that the patriot Defig'Ii which jullified DemoJlhenes the Athenian, and immortalized his Name, !hall 'at kafi: find me, an Engli/hman, prefent Favour and Applaufe i and Zeal for the Confiitution of my Country tindicate me in the Hearts of all Men, who yet preferve the Love of Probity and their native Land.

As we reiemble the Greeks and Romtins in the S,inptons of declining Liberty and Virtue,

C fuperiQr

[ 18 ] {uperioe Wifdom in the Condua: of;our M---rs can alone reinftate and preferve us. Let us then examine on what ()ur Expectations are founded, and what is to be expected feom thofe who prelide in public Affairs.

I! is not my pre[ent Defign to fummon up before your Eyes the Ghofts of Mal-Admini­firation, or turn them back on the Conduct of the two Brothers, during the laft Wal S; I mean not now to awaken your Attention to that Flood of Pollution and Corruption, which has been let Ol!lt, to deluge Integrity and Ju-

"fiice; I wi(h not to bring pafi: Crimes to your Remembrance, fquandering your Properties, and invading your Liberties, to aggravate the prefent MifconduCt, or tread backwards thofe Paths wbich lead to unraveling m-I Ini­quity; I will not hint the Inattention which prevailed dlJring the French naval Armaments and Ufurpations in America. Objects within the Ken of every Eye, Tran(actions of Ye­fierday, what has lately patTed by Land and Sea, thall be lain before you. Behold thofe with Attention, judge impartially from the Conducfr in thefe Affairs, what is the Force of that Ca­pacity which directs them, then remember that Eng/and is your native Land, and refle4t

one

[ 19 ] one Moment on the Danger which hangs threatning over it.

To avoid every minute Particular, let us begin with examining the Conduct of oar Navies.

No Man, I believe,- will prefume to deny that a true J nrelligence, of what employs our Enemies, is nece{fary tG all Minifiers who would fuccefsfully oppofe their Machinations; and though it may be difficult to obtain a fure Knowledge of that Expedition which a Fleet is defiined to go upon, it muA: be an ea(y Talk to be afcertained of the Number of Ships they are equipping. The Bofom of one Man only may be confciolls of the Intention of a naval Armament, when Thoufands mufi know the Number which are arming. The Minifier may be incorruptible, and the Secret impoffible to be penetrated. Amongfi the Multit~des employed in preparing this Force, many may be found, and infinite Ways con-· trived, to know the Number of our Ene­mies Ships. Without this previous Know­ledge, on what Balis oan it be prefumed we oppofe the Fleets of our Enemies ? Yet this pe<;etf.lry Information, fa eafily procured~ mull:

C 2 be

[ 20 ]

b~ con feffed to have been totally negle&d. difregarded, or unobtaine9; or, which is yet more flagrant, the higheft Imputation of Folly muil: be attribut~d to the Ad---=-n. :

To prove this Affertion, let us begin with faying, that it was decided that the French Fleet at Brejl lhould be oppof\!d by the Eng­(ijh, and it's DefiruClion refolved upon; let UJ

~ow call: our Eyes o~ the Manner in which this Defign was plann'd, and th~ Way in which it was iQtended to be aecomplifhed.

To execute this, Admiral Bofcawell was feJ,lt to command a Squadron of Men of War, ~nd in confequenee of th~t Refolve fet Sail from off Plymouth the "f.wenty-ieventh of April, with a Fleet eonfifi~ng of eleven Ships of the Line and one Frigate. It has finee ap­peared~ that his Orders were to cruize on the Banks of lVewfoundland, to wait the Arriv~l 9f the French Fleer, and intercept their Voy.­~ge to Ame .. -jca.

THE fending this Squadron under Admiral Bo./cawen, is a dear Proof that our M------r.s lmagined the Number it contained wa'S fuffi­c~ent ,to d~fi:roy th~ Fren~h Fleet; or it muft' , '...'. , ' p,e.

'"

[ 2.1 ]

be granted, tbat if they were purpofely fent out pnequal to the Attempt, that that Behaviour w{luld be but little better than dooming them a Sacrifice. On the fixth of May the French Fleet, confifting of Twenty-five Ships of the Line, ten of which were employed as Tranf­ports, their lower-deck guns being taken out ; the reft fully armed, failed from Brefl for l'T6rth-~t.nerica.

IN confequence of the Intelligence that this Fleet was failed, and the Number of it, Ad­miral Holbourne was difpatched with fix Shipa of the Line and one Frigate, and failed from off' Plymouth the iixteenth of May, being nine­teen Days after Mr BoJcawen, and ten after the failing of the French Fleet, to join the Englijh Admiral.

T HIS Reinforcment is an undeniable Proof ~hat the M....-y was abfolutely unacquainted with the Number of Ships equipping at Brefl, for this Expedition, before their failing; other­wife can it be prefumed they would not hFlve feat a greater Number of Ships with Mr Bo.f Cflwen at firft, fince many more were ready for the Sea; or would they have fent the Rein­for~e~~nt by 1\1r Holb~Mrne at ~1I, if they qad

. ~~owq

[ 22 ]

known that Mr Macnamara would have re~ turned with nine Ships of the Line; the N umber of the French Fleet then. and the Part of it which was [0 return, were abfolute .. ly unknown to our l\l---y before it failed; ~or the lall:· they may be excufed, but the Igno .. ranee of the former is utterly unpardonable.

AFTER thefe three Fleets were failed, let us now fuppofe that to happen, which our M--y had pre(umed and wiihed at Admiral Bofcawen's failing might be the Event of their Orders; that ic;, that he might meet Macna:. 1I1ara with his Squadron of Twenty-five Ships of the Line, (ixteen of which were prepared for fighting, and the reft with their lower-deck Guns out, proceeding as the M--y believed at the Time of Holbounu's tailing, for North­America.

W HAT would have been the Event of this Rencounter, fince Mr Bojca7.ven had received Orders to attack the french? I afk this ~efiion of Men who can look with unpre­judiced Eyes on the Merits of other Nations. With all the true Bravery, Prudence, and 1).nowledge of that Commander in naval Af­fairs, and ~ho(e brave Captains j01ned wi[h

him

( 23 ] him in the Expedition, is there a well-found­ed Reafon to believe that Twenty-five French Men of War, drcumfianced even as thefe were, would have been defeated by eleven Eng.,. lijh? If they had not, would not the lhame­ful Ignorance of the M-y in the Number of the Enemy's Fleet, a Knowled~e which every Man might have obtained who would have been at the Expenee of paying for it, and .furely the Pariimony of public Money is not the preCent reigning Tafie, have proved the Perdition of his Majefiy's Fleets and Subje4s, to the everlafiing Difgrace of the Englijh Na­tion . . \ ..

NAY fo exquifitely fubtle was the Defign of this Scheme, even the fecond Fleet, com~ manded by Admiral flo/bourne, would in all human Probability have fallen into the Hands of the French Squadron aleo; for by the Re ... fult it has appeared, that he did not join Mr Bofcawen ',ill eleven Days after the taking th~ Alcide and L]s.

By this Accident it might, with the great­-~:ft Prob~bi1ity, have happened, that Admiral Bofcawen being defeated the tenth of Jun~, the Day the Eng/ifl; and French Fleet met in

~: 1 Darknefs

[ 24 ] Darknefs and Fogs on the Banks of New .. ' found/and, that Mr Ho/bourne might have fuffered the fame Fate eleven Days after, the very Time of his arriving at there Parts. I mean, if the furrounding Obfcurity had not {aved the Englijh Fleet, as it has the French~

SUCH was the probable Pre(umption when Mr Ho/bourne quitted the EngliJh Coafi, and fuch would have been the fatal Event, if Mac .. namara had continued the Voyage and Mr Bofcawen had met and engaged him. Judge then how pernicious this Ignorance of the Number of the Enemy's Fleet would ha1'e proved to this once illufirious Nation, had Things fallen out as our M=--rs originally defigned it.

I T is extremely difficult to allign any Rea­fon for Mr Ho/bourne's being difpacched at all to join Admiral Bolcawen, the very Difiance -in the Times of failing of thefe Fleets rendered it improbable that he could join the firft Ad. miral before the Engagement between him and Macnamara muft have been totally de.;. cided, as is manifefl: by the Event of his joil!­ing Mr Bofcawen~

[ 25 ] I T appears then felf-evident, that the fend ..

ing this Admiral could have anfwered no other Purpafe than defiroying two Fleets in­fie ad of one, and facrificing more of their Countrymen to the God of War, on the AI. tar of Ignorance.

Tn E Efcape then with which thefe two Fleets have been favoured, and the Succefs which the firll: obtained in taking two French Men of War, incon fiderable as it is, cannot with the leafi Appearance of Jullice be attri­buted to the ill-plann'd Defigns of thofe who fent them on the Expedition. Can thofe Men be intitled to Praife for an Error in Judgment, in the French Admiral's Return, of which they knew nothing? and who, if he had proceed­ed on the whole Voyage to America, would in all Probability have ruined the two Fleets of England, (ent as they were one after the other on this Expedition? With what Propriety then can this unforefeen Event be imputed to the Fore-thought of thofe who pre fide in m-l and naval Affairs; {hall the Advan­tage of Accidents, unimagined, be laid to the Account of their Penetration and Wifdom ? as well may you attribute the Winds which blew the Fleet to the Coafi: of America to their Sa-

D gactty,

( 26 ] gacity, as the little Succefs which they have obtained in the Voyage. The jufi Reward of there Men then, is the Diilionou r of planning an Expedition that, through the Ignorance of what Numbers the Enemies Squadron was formed, would in all human Probability have been the Perdition of two Englijh Fleets, and Thoufands of brave Men and ufeful SubjeCl:s of Great-Britain.

BUT as there may be Englifomen who, prompted by national Prejudice, believe that Admiral Bojca72Jen with his eleven Ships was

,a Match for Macnamara and five and twenty French Men of Vlar ; let us, fuppofing this to

be true, examine the Prudence with which, un­der this Idea, the Expedition was conduded.

FI R S T it is a felf-evident Truth, that there can be no Evidence or Intelligence of a Fleet's failing to any Part of the Globe, equally cer­tain with that of it's leaving the Port in which it is equipt; the firfi, however well founded it may be in the Opinion and Judgment of an Enemy, can in it's Nature be no more than cafual and the Height of Probability; the fe. cond muil be Demonfiration and Neceffity.

MINISTERS

[ 27 ] , MIN 1ST E R S may alter the Nature of their

Defign in an Hour, and fend a Fleet which was originally equipping for one Part of the WarId, to another; they may purpofely give out different Tales to cover their Intentions, or the Powers engaged againft them may be left to divine it's Intent only; thefe Circum­fiances may alter or conceal the true Place of it's Deftination. But no Change of Sentiment or Difguife can prevent a Fleet's being di{co­vered in failing out of that Port in which ir is armed, whether deltined to the Baltic or Africa, America or 'Japan, however dubious the Place of it's Defiination may be; neither of thefe can alter any thing in it's Manner of leaving the Harbour in which it i'i prepared for the Seas.

SUPPOSI~G then the Strength of the" French Fleet had been perfealy known, and Mr Bof­cawen had commanded a Force fufficient to have defeated it, which h~ might with Ea[e have had under his Commaoo, there being at that Time twenty Ships of the Line at Spithead more than his Squadron, moil: of them fully mann'd. Is there a Boatfwain of the Fleet who would have (ent the Admiral to the Banks of Newfoundland, where Darknefs, palpable like

D 2 th'f

[ ,28 ] the JEg)'Ptian, is known, by every common Sailor in the Navy, to reign three fucceffive Months in the Year I in one of which the French Fleet mufi: have pafs'd thefe Par.ts of the Seas; where Fogs that conceal more effeCtually than the darkdl Night all ObjeCts which pafs within the Lenglh of a Ship, mull: have faved the greareil: Pan of that Fleet which they were fent to deilcoy? A Place to which they never might arrive, or never be feen if they did, The Confequence of their being fent has evi­dently proved the Truth of this Obfervation.

WH 1\ T {hall then be faid in Favour of that Man, who ordered the Englijh Navy from thofe Parts where the Enemies Fleet mull inevita­tably pafs, to one where they might not have been ordered to fail? To delert a Part in which. they muil be viiible to all the Squadron, for one in which they would probably be enve­loped in a Cloud, like .!Eneas fecured fi-om the Eyes of all Beholders? What is this but fending Ships the long Voyage to AmeriftJ, with the greateft Rifque of miffing in thofe Seas that which they mull have met in the I1ritijh Channel? Is not this the firll In­fiance of an U nderllanding that has prefided over fleets and Armies, that preferred a may

be

[ 29 ] be to a Demonfiration, and quitted a real Ad­vantage in Certainty, for one of lefs Value in Probability only? Is it not owing to this Cau(e that fo little Utility has been reaped from this Expedition, and the French Fleet e(caped al­moll: unfeen? Was there ever a Perron 'till this Time who would have deferted the Door of the Houfe of that Man he wanted to meer, and who mull: come out of it, to feek him in the Streets where he never might pafs, and prefer even Darknefs to the noon-tide Hour, for that Bufinefs? Is there a Country Gentle­man who could judge fo diametrically wrong? would he have fent his Game-Keeper to lhoot Woodcocks by Night?

YET fuch is the Goodnefs of Heaven, as Mr Bofca'lven was prepared, inferior to the Fleet which \ left Brefi; the Abfurdities of thefe Directors have prefel'ved our .Navy from a Defeat, and our Nation from a greater pub­lic Di(grace~ For if Mr Bofcawen had been ordered off Brefi, the Place which in right Reafo(1 he ought to have been ordered, the Ignorance of our M-rs in the Number of that Fleet which firfi left Breft, would have proved the Defirutlion of him and the Eng­lifo Squadron. .so gracious was the Will of

Heaven,

[ 30 ]

H"'aven, and (0 abfurd the Judgment of thole who p efide over naval Affair t in this King­dom. This CondllCt of our M-rs is not however without it's Advocate<.:; the Reafons for ju:lifying their Proceedings in thie; Manner a~e yet more extraordinary rhan ti-:e Be"Clviour itklf: It is moil gravdy ~~rged in Defence of this ConduCt, that the French Squadron was not attacked in Europe. becaufe ~ heir Allies, particularly the Spanrt.:rd. {hould not take Um­brage at our Behavi, ,ur; or fuch an Action bring on Hofiilities in Europe. What kind of Capacities mufl: thefe Men potTers, who can imagine that an Englijhman of common Senfe can be cajoled with fuch fr ivolous Pretenfions to a J ufiification of wrong Meafures? Who can be; deluoed to believe, that a Fleet, freight­ed in France with Arms, Ammunition, Sol­diers, and Provifions for America, can create any Difference of Opinion III a Nation, whe­ther it be defeated on the Coafi: of France or the Banks of Newjoul1dland? Thefe Advocates mufl: have well fiudied Grotius and PuJfen­dor:/f, who make this DiflinCtion; and' un­deritand human Nature to great Perfection, who conceive, that the Spanijh Minifi:ry can be influenced againfi: England, or to it's Ad­vantage, in Favour of, or contrary to it's own

Intereft,

[ 3 L ]

Intereft, to join or oppo(e the Power of France, by fo fubtle a Difiinction, as our not engaging that French 'Fleet in Europe, which you determine to dearoy in America * . A Defeat in this Part of the Wodd of one half of the French Navy, would have humbled the Gallic Arrogance, prevented Spain and the Allies from joining the King of France j

and cooled their Ardor for War, in Proportion as it diminiihed the Powers with which it mufi be fufiained.

TH E depriving our Enemies of their mi­litary Force, is the moil effectual Method of intimidating their Allies from joining them: few chufe the linking Side of a ~eflion, and add a Probability of their own Ruin to that of thofe who are already deilroying. Though the drowning Perfon feizes every thing to (ave himfelf; yet few catch hold of him that is linking, with the View of going along with him. But in the Manner W~ have proceeded) what have we done but behaved

like

* That this was given out as a Rearon to cover their Miftakes, and not thro' any jufl: Ap}!r,,;,u'J,on of 0Pi~I.;;b

Refentment, is now e\'ident from the t:lking the F~'orb Merchant-Ships, and Mr II{v,~L \ cruil;f1,:: for tr: ::r Men of War in the European Seas.

[ 3 2 ]

like Poachers, with all that little defpicable Cunning of fending our Ships at a Difiance, to effeCt what it was prevented from doing by the Nature of the Place: A Specimen of that mean Timidity and Weaknefs of Capacity, proceeding from the Exercife of corrupting, and being corrupted, which has been long.too manifeft in all our m-l Meafures. A Dif­pofition which effeCtually difgraces a M-r, and infallibly ruins a Nation. What have we done more than {hewn, that our Navy, though the moll powerful, and our Seamen the bray· eft j by the wrong Judgment and finifier Di· reaion of our Rulers in m--l Affairs, can be rendered abloluteJy ineffeaual?

WE have cautioned and not chafiifed the Frmch; we have rent a brave Admiral, brave Officers, brave Sailors, and [even teen Line of Battle Ships on a ufeJefs Parade to Nova Scotia, at an immenfe Expence, to take two French Men of War and to lofe one of our own. We have been the Witneffes to the landing their Troops in America, and not prevented their Expedition. Such is the Condufion of all the boafied Secrecy, Difpatch, and ravilh­ing free- born SubjeCts from the Arms of their

Wives

[ 33 ] Wives and Children; and fuch the Refuh of the Wifdom of our m-I Condudors.

T HIS then having been the Succe(s and /

ConduCt of our naval Armaments; let us now turn our Eyes on thofe of our Land­Forces, and candidly enquire, if the Wirdom of our M-rs has alOne forth more emi .. nendy in the Management and Deugn of our Army on the Continent of America.

I T was at length refolved, that General Braddock, with two Regiments, and all nece(­fary Provifion for a Siege, iliould be Cent to America, to defeat the Schemes of the French Nation, which had been artfully ufurping the Dominions of our Sovereign. And here it is impoffible to avoid remarking, that the Alarm which was {pread againll: the French Infolence, and the Meafures taken in confequence of it, were not (0 much undertaken from the Repre­fentations of the various Provinces of America, as from the private Interefl: which a certain ~aker had in the M--y, to whom Lands on the River Ohio had been granted by the Governor of Virginia) which have finc~ been ratified in England.

E THIS

[ 34 ] TH I S Man, being at the Head of a SeC\:

which has con(lantly (upponed the M-r in all his 11renuous Endeavours for Power, and Deligns upon his Country, was attended to with greater Deference, and had more Weight than the Remonfirances of Two Milli:)ns of faithful American SubjeCts, who were fiill to­tally negleCted: So much can the Interefl: of one Man, who heads a factious Sect in favour of a M--r, prevail beyond the public Good of the Subjects of this Kingdom, and the Honour of it's Sovereign.

FOR T Lequefize, (eated on the Ohio, in thofe Lands which were granted to this ~31ker, was the Object which General Braddock, and the Britijh Forces were defiined to demoli!h ; the French were to be diilodged from thefe Parts, at all Adventures.

AND in this Place it mull: (hike the Sen(e of every Man who reflet1s one Moment, that this very Perron, whofe paffive Principles of Chrifl.ian Patience prevent him from bear­ing Arms in Defence of ihis Llnd, which was granted him, had yet the unrelenting Con­fcience to obtain many Hundreds of his Fel. low-SubjeCts to oppofe their Lives, and fall a

Sacrifice

[ 3 S ] Sacrifice in repoffeffing his Property. Such are

. the Proceedings of this Sea of Anti-conHitu­tional and pernicious Beings.

TH E Expedition, however, being fet on foot, the fame Identical ~i.tker, who had In­fluence fufficient to get it reJolvet1 on at firfi, had yet the farther Interell: of it's being oefii­ned tD defend rirginia: Tbe Reafon of this will (oon appear more evident; and here, not­withi1anding we iliould allow Fort Lequcfile to be a Place which ought to be attacked, we mull: inlill: that Penjj/<uonia was tbe Place where the Troops ought to have been difem­barked.

FIR S T, This Country being fuller of Inha­bitants, and all kinds of Handicrafc Workmen) could have eafily (upplied whatever an Army might have flood in need of at that Time. rirginia being a Land cultivated by Negroes, mutt, for that Reafon, be more dellitute of European Settlers) than Colonies where Blacks are not in ufe.

SECONDI. Y, The additional Numbers which might have been thought necdEtry to have been raifed for this Expedition to the Oh'io,

E 2 would

[ 36 ] would have been more eafily levied in Penfyl­'Vania than Virginia.

THIRDLY, The requifite Attendants of a Military Expedition, fucb as Horfes, Carts, Cattle, Provifion, and all kinds of Tools, are in greater Plenty in Pe~ljlvania than Virginia. This is evident from r he N eceffity the Army in Virginia was under, of having rhofe Uten .. fils and Supf>l~e:> from Penjjlvania before it marched.

FOURTHLY, The March of the Troops to Fort Lequefne from Pbiladelphia, had been for a much 101l6ef Part of the Road through a fettled and cultivated Country, where all Kinds of Refrelhments which are uteful for an Army in hot Countries, and fatiguing Marches, might have been fupplied with greater Eafe.,

THE important Advantages which attended Pe'ifj'/vania above Virginia, though repre­fented to our M--rs in the moil {hong and demonftrative Manner, were all negleCted and over-ruled by the private Interefi and Opinion of one ~aker. '

crantum ille potui! fuadere 11lolorum. Is

[ 37 ] Is it not obvious to all Apprehenfions that

a Tobacco-Merchant, efpecially if he be the Head of his Profeffion in London, mllfi have more Interefi in Virginia than in Penfjlvania. his Correfpondence being with the former. which produces the Commodity he traffics in. and not with the Philadelphians, who do not raife that Merchandize?

Is it not certain alfo from the Neceffity of Trade, that he mull: have many outfianding and dubious Debts in that Colony, and from the Nature of Man, and more particularly from the Nature of a ~aker, that he muft willi to have thefe hazardous Debts rendered more probable to be paid; and with this Intent, that he would embrace an Opportunity of put­ting his Debtors in a Way of difcharging th~m whatever his Country might {uffer? As his Correfpondence is the largefi of any Merchant's in this City with the Colony of Virginia, and his Interefi the firongefi with the M-r, he clearly forefaw that an Army fem to Virginia could not be fuRained without large Sums of Money, and that the Remittance of it mull fall to his Share: which very Circum fiance be­ing attended with at leafi two and a half per Cent. was an ObjeCt too replete with Advan-

tages

( 38 J tages to be negleaed by a Money-loving Mer .. cantile Man, detached from all other Confide­Idlions of AJvanrage.

TH ESE Circum!l:ances then duly attended to, would they not perfuade many a Man, who is not firmly convillLed of the fincer~ ditinterefied Spirit and patriot Love which a­nimates a ~al.;.er's H,_'art, that Virginia was preferred to PeJ~lYlvania fer the lucrative Can­fide rations abov t meulloned.

BUT as this SeCt has ever behaved with fuch particular Zeal to defend their own Coun­try, and fingular Attachment to 'it'~ Welfare, divdled of all Defire of Pi ivate Advantdge, what can the moIl: malevolent Imagination fug\;efl: againfi: the Behaviour of this indIvidual ~aker.

LET me then Cuppofe a Thing not abfolute­Iy impoffible, That this Ddign of his proio curing the Troops to be (ent to Virginia, took it's Source from an Error of Judgmtnt; that the Good of his Country was his OojeCt, tho' he was mifiaken in his Aim, and though hi~ private Intereft was the fole Refulr of his De~ fign, yet he propoied it for the Public. ~ow

1hall

[ 39 ] lhall we, even in this View of Things, apo­logize for the M-rs who were drawn int() fo palpable a Mifiake?

THOUGH it might be allowed, that Mer­chants may be vindicated in not underftanding to what Part of the American Continent a Military Force ought to be fent, which was defiined to attack Fort Lequefne, yet a M--r whofe peculiar Province it is to fuperintend the public Welfare, the Lives, Properties, Ad­vantages, and Commerce of his Fellow-Sub­jects in Peace and War, cannot avoid Con­demnation for fuch mifiaken and fatal J udg­mente

THERE may indeed be Men <,.vho may ima­gine, that this 02~jker WolS truly acqlJainted with the Ditference and Dilanvantage which attended Vi1-ginia more than Prnfylvania, and that Sdt-ICllelelt, 111') e than the publ.c Wd .. fare, we1ghed in f1bLlin;ng the Tr( ,ops b_ ing fent to the Colony of Vi!-g"inia. If this No­tion (hould meet a gener"j R.cep!i,:n amnng Mankind, hON {hili \\'c tben account for a M-r\ b~in!, dllped (Q ,he Inte, dl of a privare Q,aker, or reconcile na ionaJ Difgrace and 'flendtr I~~elkCts, with the Duty of Din:a-

109

[ 40 ]

jn~ in Peace and War, the Affairs of a whole

Nation?

FRO M what has been faid, does it not evidently appear, that allowing Fort LequeJne to be an Object which demanded our Atten­tion, and that a Military Force was neceffary to be tent f om thefe Kingdoms to reduce it, that Virginia was the Spot which ought not to be preferred to Penfjlvania?

TH I S then, abfurd as it may appear, is even lefs than what we £hall foon lay before your Eyes, !hall we venture to affc:::rt, that the whole Armament which was deLlgned and fent to the Demolition of this little Fortifica­tion, the Money which it has and will coll the Nation, and Lives which it has lavilhed in the Service of a non-refifling ~aker) were altogether ufelefs and unneceffary; nay, that even Succefs in the Expedition to this Fort, could have been attended with no poffible Ad­vantage, whether the Attempts of the Ame­ricans fucceed or mifcarry at Niagara and Crown-Point.

To prove what we have here fuggefted, let us caft our Eyes over Mr Hufoc's Map of

I::lorth

( 41 ] North-America, by much the moll. accurate of all thore which have been given to th~ Public.

LET us·obferve from what Part of the Do­• minions poffeffed by the French, the Supplies, · Provifion, and Men necdTary for the Support .. · ing Fort Lequefne, muil be drawn.

I T is a Truth univerfally acknowledged, that Canada is [he only part which can afford thefe Reqllifites to the Parts where the French

I Forts are built from ~ebec to Fort Lequefne; : this happens becaufe the Method is by an eafy I Tranfit, and Tilings are commodiouOy tranf­· ported, the whole Difiance being almoll: Wa­r ter-Carriage, from the Mouth of St LuwrenFt i River, to the forts on the Obio.

THE MiJ!!lfipi is too ditlant for a March by Land, and the Navigation of the meander­ing Ohio too long to be attempted by Water. Indeed it is a known Faa, that the Northern Settlements of the French fupply all thefe Parts with Recruits, Ammunition, and Pro­vifion.

To attack Fort Lequefne at all then {eerns abfolutely abfurd, becau[e all Supplies for that

F Pla~e

[ 42 ] Place being neceffitated to pars by the Fortifi­cation at Niagara, fituated between the two Lakes Erie and Ontario, whoever becomes Mafier of that Fon, neceffarily cuts off aU· Communication and Power of Support fmm Fort Lequefne, and this latter Place muft of confequence furrender itfelf in a very 1 hIe Time, into the Hands of thofe who poffefs Niagara: This Affertion is as true, as that the Power which can cut off the River 'Thames at Maidenhead, and turn it into a new Channel, prevents Windflr from being fupplied with that Water.

TH I S Fortification of l'lit1gara then firua­ted between the Lakes, being abColutely the Pafs by which all Supplies muft go to Le­queJne, the taking that alone ihould have been the Objea of our Forces.

THE Deugn on Lequefile, fupPJfing all to have been honetl that produced it, could have taken it's Rife from nothing but want of Knowledge in common Geography: No Eye that follows the Courfe in the Map, which is always taken by the Canadian French from 5f<.yebfc to Fort Lequefize, but muil: be necef­farily convinced that the taking Niagara would have anfwered all the Purpofes of poffeffing that and Lequefile. TH U S

( 43 ] THUS the difgraeeful Defeat of our Army,

the Difreputation of our General, the Deflruc­tion of our Su bjeCts, the Expenee of the Ex­pedition, and Dilhonour of the ,Nation, might have been prevented.

BUT alas! fuch has been the undeviating Cuftom of the Englijh, fince the Adminiftra­tion of the late Earl of Or-d, to bear Infults from all Nations inattentively, 'till the Refer­voir of Injuries being full, the Banks are broken down, and the Torrent of Refentment ruih­ing forth with too much Impetuofity, defiroys by it's Violence and ~antity, the very Bene­fit which it would otherwile have afforded by being deliberately and jufily difpen(ed abroad.

To 0 flow in our ReColves in the Begin­ning, and too impetuous in the Execution of them at laft, the Zeal for doing, too frequent­ly defeats the Rea[ons and Powers which con­duct and [u pport our Enterprizes.

TH~ R E are not wanting indeed l\'1en well acquainted with tho[e Parts of America, who, with great Appearance of Truth, and Force of Argument, alledge, that a few armed VeiTels on the Lake Ontario, would have fecured us a fafe and eafy Conqueft of Niagara and Fort

f z LequeJlze.

[ 44 ] Lequifne. It is indubitably true, that no Ship of Force or Burden can enter that Lake from the Head of the River St Lawrence: Confe­quently the Englijh Ships being firft fet a I

fwimming on the Lake Ontario, they muft have prevented all Supplies f' om going by Water to Niagara, as well as deftroyed all Ships pretende..1 to be built on the Borders of the L:1ke by the French; as the Englijh by that Lunciutt would become abfolute Mafters of that Water.

HENCE, by the cruizing of there Ships, it bejn.~ rendered jrnpratticable to (upply Nia­gara and Fore Lequejne, a few Months con­lU'!J!fJg the p~e~t-llt Provdion, would have: givf"n us poii~iron of both; Famine being an Enemy wIHI.:h no human Power can reftft.

TH u" then, by obferving this ConduCl, a {mall .Ex~'ti1Ce, a prudent Patience, a fteady Perfeverance, and a little Time, would have accompliihed what has already failed in one Part.

LET us however fuppofe, that it was'abfo­lutely neet trary that an Army lhould be fent to the btfieging Fort Lequej7ze from England, iliall we be permitted the Liberty of aiking

thofe

[ 45 ] thofe who chofe the General for this Expedi ... tion, and direCted the U ndert.tking, Whether a hot impetuous Arrogance of Temper is that which is adapted by Nature, or ihould be pitched upon in a Man who is fent to C0m­mand an Army in a new Land, where Hard­iliips, more than in European Countrie~, muft be undergone by the Soldier, where Affability and Compaffion, Gaiety, Popularity, and En­couragement in a General, are the neceffary Ingredients to fweeten and palliate tbe Bitter­nefs of that Draught which War adminifiers to the Tafie of all N alions, and to win the People to his Confidence and Obedience.

WOULD a lVlan of common Undedlanding have fenta {elf-willed, felf-fufficient, ralh Com­mander, to oppofe an Enemy in a Country re­plete with Opportunities and Situations for Ambufcade and Snare? The Genius of which People is to combat their Enemies in that way of Fighting; a Man whofe very Pre(umption, Idea of Security, and Contempt of his Enemy, effeCtually deceived him into the Ruin of his brave Officers and his Army, with an Addi­tion of Difgrace to his own peculiar Defiruc­tion; fuch a Difpofition in a General, is a greater Advantage to a difcreet Enemy than a thou­{and figbting Men added tQ their Party.

AND

• [ 4 6 ]

AND here permit me to obferve, that it feer>,),> owing to this want of Judgment in thOle wh.} have long appointed our Command· , int:, Uffiu~[~, tha.: d~e Panic at Prefloll Pans, the Faldlity, as it is politely called, at Fa/kirk, tht FjJ~ht ,it Port L'Orimt, and the Difgrace at F 01 t Lt'qufjhe, have thus jucceeded each other, ih a glt.it meafure, as well as to the uni· verfJl COI[uption ot ~note '\'len from which the So:diery are generally collected.

HAD the Soldiers poiTdfed a full Confi· dence in either of the Generals, who com­manded on theft:: Days, they would probably have behaved with the fame Spirit they did at Culloden, when the Duke at Cumberland, in whom every Soldier coutided, led them to an eafy Conqudl, and routed the Rebels ~t that Pilice.

I T is tbis Confidence of an Army in their General which uni>.e~ every Hand into one Action, animates every Heart co the fame Obe· dience, and executes, by a happy Belief in their ~eneral's Excellence, what is vainly ex· pected from the exatt Difcipline of Exercife in a Martinet; the1e are the Means and not . , the Regularity of moving the Legs of a whole Rank, which incite and carry a Soldier on to Victory. FROM

[ 47 ] FROM what has been already faid, IS It not

{elf-evident, that General Braddock illould, infiead of dividing his Powers, have marched in Union with Mr Shirley to Niagara, if they were determined to take that Fort by a land Force?

BUT by thus having divided their Forces, and his being defeated four Days before Mr Shirley began his march for Niagara, Mr Brad­docl{. has given his Enemies that received him fo fatally near Fort Lequ~jize, the unexpeCted Oppo~tunity and Advantage of being at Nia­gara '-before the Americom under the Com­'mand of Mr Shirley, and affifl:ing their Coun­trymen with all the Ammuni,ion, Cannon, and Baggage, which were taken at this dif­graceful Defeat: This ~ircumftance, if it fhould not totally prevent, will abfolutely re­tard the taking Nirgara, produce more Blood­{bed, and expend more lVloney.

W HEN we refleCt on the r,·.::haviour of our Troops on this dil~[b ou;~ Spot, (0 Lral, to Eng­lifo Honour, how can we r drain from ob1ervirJg that the I,reguiars of ~he Provinces held their Bofoms firm againll: tha: Rltde, and lhat Dan­ger from which the Regulars and Difciplined Troops turned a way j and that native Courage

fuppl~ed

( 48 ] fupplied to the uncorrupted American, what Art and Difcipline could not impart to the Soldiers of Great-Britain.

THIS, in my Opinion, offers an invincible Prouf, that a Militia in this Kingdom, raifed amongll: the Farmers and Pea{ants, where Virtut: yet remains in a much greater Degree, I

than amongfl: that corrupt Rabble of perjured Corporation Borough-men, from whom the Soldiers are chiefly collected, where every mo­ral and religious Influence being effaced by Bri­bery and Venality, all Senfe of Honour and DULY is deilroyed, would be a more effettual i

Defence of the Kingdom from all foreign At­tacks, than ten times the Number of thnd-jng Troops, compofed of fuch miferable Mi(-i creants.

BUT alas! fuch is the Difference in Julilg­ment and ConduCt of that M-y which direCts the Affairs of France and this Kingdom, the SubjeCts of a Free Nation are not permitted to know the V fe of Arms, and defend them­felves, their Liberties, King, and Country; whilft thofe which we treat as Slaves in that Nation, are encouraged to the Vfe of military Difcipline, and entrufied with Arms to defend, alas! what we call neither Liberty nor Property.

Show

!

[ 49 ] Show me a greater Paradox in all Nature, and explain to me the, Motives to this Behaviour in the different M-rs on jufi.ifiabte Rea­fons, why a free People fhould be denied the Power of defending their Freedom, and thofe under a Monarchic Government iliould be openly encouraged to fight for Slavery? Is Bravery more natural to Slaves than Freemen? or is Defpotifm a more animating Motive to the Perfon who lives under it, than the Charms of Liberty?

THUS, my Countrymen, I bave, with the utmofi: Impartiality, laid before your Eyes the true Proceedings of thofe who have lately con­dutl:ed our Fleets and Armies. From this View does it not too plainly appear, that the Direc­tion of each has been totally mifi:aken? Provi­dence indeed, in Pity to this favourite IDe, has almofr deviated from the common Courfe of Nature, and once more faved it's Fleets from Difgrace, I in {pite of all the Ignorance that fu­perin tended them. A Miracle only could have· faved the Army commanded by a {elf-willed General, who arrogant1y defpifing the Powers of his Enemy, fell the Victim of his Owp Folly ~nd their fuperior Knowledge. .

G lIow

[ 50 ] How contemptible muil we appear in the

Eyes of all Europe, from this Imbecility of m-l Judgment in. the Choice of Gene­rals whitt Expectations of Succe[s may not

. ou/ Foes Bauer them[elve~ wirh, from this vi­fible Inequality of Unde.fianding in thofe who direct, to t~, t~ (~~reatnefs of thofe Powers which are to be conducted by them during a War) when they have feen a S~ate the i1:roro-e(t in maritime Fo·ce fo totally divefied '!' ..

of all Advantage, by the finifle; Application (Ie i~'s Navy; an immenfe Fleet preventing not their Enemies from b::::ng fupplied with every thmg necefl:ary to fup['ort t. emfelvec; during a War? What mull: we conceive will be the ultimate Event, when M--rs, by the natural Bent of their U nderf1:anding, can d~feat all our Armaments with fCarce an Enemy to oppo(e them? Will they whofe Capacities, in Tran­quillity and at Edle, might have planned the Deftruction of their Enemies Fleet, and yet have failed, be equal to the Conduct of a ge­neral War, and Succe{s?

W J L L not thofe who have been the ductile DlJ~es of their own Incapacity, and a ~aker's felf-mterefled Delio-ns in appointin rr ufdefs

~ , 0

Expeditions and unequal Generals, be eternal-ly bc:wildered in the Turbulence of a general

War,

[ 51 ] War, and the Attention which is nece1Tary to a Multiplicity of Affairs?

W ILL thofe then be lefs open to the Schemes of their Enemies, than to their own Follies; and the Defigns of their deceitful Countrymen? Will thofe Eyes which could not difcern the true ObjeQ. that lhould be pur .. fued, when one only was in Agitation, be ca­pable of fuperviting to the infinite Calls of a. general War?

WHAT more beneficial Suggefiion in Fa­vour of France could IVlonfieur Machault have infinuated into the Imagination of our M-r, tiran this, of concealing the Fleet of England in Fogs impenetrable to human Vifion, ren­dering them invihble and ufelefs? Who but this Bayes in Politics can elevate and fur­prize in 10 amdzing :>. manner? He has can .. cealed his Ships in D3rknefs as eff"etl:ual as his Namefake did his Army at Knightjbridge. Is not this, as a certain Speaker in P-t began his Speech; " New in Politics, new in War, " and new in Council."

IT is more than probable that Macnamara, not meeting our Fleet in the European Seas, had Orders to return, and confide in their Invi-

G 2 fibility

[ 52 ] (] bility on the Banks of Ne,wfoundland for their.' fafe Arrival in America. In this ho~ littlt!" was he deceived?

HEN C E it too evidently appears) that we are in that fin king State which, through all Ages, has attended the Want of Underftandll ing and Virtue. If then the Refurretlion of a Nation from Sloth and Corruption, to Ho .. nour and Efleem, depend on the Capacity of thofe lYl-rs who direCt it, how dreary and barren is the Profpect which is eternally offer~ ed to our Eyes?

is it not the {ettled Rule of Providence, that the bell: Underflandings {hall always prevail at lan, though in the Beginning fometimes the contrary appears true; yet here, aias! we want ·that flattering Commencement. It is like the Calculation of Chances; though the Perfon that deals at Pharo may be worfled once ot more, he mufl infallibly get the better at the Year's End, and ruin thole who engage with him at the Conclufion. If then the DireCtion ofm-I Affairs run on in this Channel, what {hall defend us from national Deflrutlion, which comes failing down before the Wind and Current full armed upon us ?

, Bur

[ 53 ] BUT as my Intent in this Letter is to ad ..

monilh YOll, my Couritrymen, before it be too late, and not impute that to a criminal Heart which is but Error in U nderfianding; to clear myfelf of all Mal~volence againft the private CharaCters of thofe who fuperintend; I moil: fincerely believe, that no pernicious Intention in the M -y . has been the Caufe of thefe ill-judged U ndertakings-and Mi fcarriages; they have 'not taken their Source from Spleen, or Refentment to a Party; which too often warp­ing the Minds of M-rs, drives them into unbecoming Actions; their private Refent­ment urging them to the public Ruin.

I N this Inflance, their Hearts being not cul­pable will excu[e them for this fingle Effay of their Incapacity, in the Opinion of all ho­neft Men: But if the Ambition of prefiding in pu blic Affairs, a Paffion too often and too fa­tally mixed with Weaknefs of Underfranding, fhould frill goad them on to direct and ruin, w~at will then be their Due from your Hands?

YET even tho' Incapacity may plead a Par­don, it does not annihilate the Difgrace which attends the Nation in confequence of it: Tho' the Punilhment due to premeditated Villainy cannot be imputed to the Charge of thofe Di-

rectors,

[ 54 ] rectors, yet the Sufferers are not alleviated by that Confideration in the Difirefs which theJ bring to a Nation. Weaknefs and Incapacit, are even more fatal and den ruttive than a wicked Heall joined to (uperior Intellects in a M-r: This laft, thro' pure Underfl:anding. will exert every Faculty; conceiving ~is own I

and his Country's Ii1t~retl inf~parably united, his Judgment will correCt his I\tliftake~~ and· re-infiate what may have been originally wrong: But want of Intellea jq irremediab\e; no human Power can correa that Error; it's natural Lumpifhnefs, I.ke Gravitation in Mat­ter, making it tend for ever to the Center of Dal kncfs; like Iupo;ence in Nature, producin~ nothing, or but ill-i1)~lped l\lonl1ers: It is the moa incurable of all Dilea[es of the Mind.

W HAT I wia} then, is not to roure you to the Deitruction of thefe lVl'':rl) but to your own Prefervation; to ;1\vaken your Attention, that nods over the Ruin wi1ich furrounds you that , I

like the paralytic Stroke, feems to benumb

1

your Faculties. Rile then to the Salvation of your expiring Country; urge to your Repre-; fentatives the Re(oluticn of obtaining a {upe­rior U ndedlanding, as effentially neceffary to the PreCervation of this King(~l)m, which ought to be dear to every E71gl1jl'lllall.

Do

[ 55 ] . . Do not imagine I mean to intimidate you with the Dread of Perils, or alarm you with the Idea of French Power, to the aiking an ignominious Peace. I am no Advocate but for my Country, and for Englifh Glory: All I intreat you is, not by exclaiming againCl: French Perfidy to loCe the Sight of difplacing thofe, who, by the Want of U ndedlanding, are yet greater Enemies to this Nation.

f1 s I know that Succefs mua ultimately de­pend on Prudence and U nderltanding, that IHeaven has originally determined that Human ~Glory lh~ll be the Slave of thefe and Virtue, as lyour Lives and Properties, Liberties and Reli­Jgion, muLl: be the ignominious ViCtims of 'wrong Judgment. Remember how dangerouf­Iy you are at pre(ent fituated. Will not one

,ijMifcarriage in Europe pu(h you headlong into ~the Gulf of Perdition, from that Precipice on : which you at prefent frand expofed? :i

LET not the Clamour ofDifpatch, and Im­! pet~ofity of Warlike Preparation, deceive you : into an Opinion of there Me:1. The headt1:rong I ~orfe, whore Violence carries' him without the Courfe, as effectually lofes the Raceas that which

i is difianced: The Traveller who rides Poft out . of the Way, is at the Evening only more tired

FOd farther difiant from his Home than he whq

[ 56 l who trots on {oberly; and Fleets and Armi( defiined by ihong mi{guided Impulfe to wro[ Places, ufelefs and inapplicable Defigns, onl fooner exhaufi the Powers of a Nation.

LET me implore you then to remonfirate,tl l'iIajefiy itfelf, if your Reprefentatives refuli your Petition, that able Heads may direCl: hi, Councils; and that Arms be intrufied to' YOUI

Hands, in whom Safety can be only placed:, who love your King and Country, and .arc ready to offer up your Lives a Sacrifice to their Prefervation and W dfare.

LET us not frand thus, almoll: naked, an4 expofed to the Attacks and Infults of Two hundred thoufand Soldiers, defended by Iefa than twenty thoufand: A Battle Joft in this J De decides the Fate of England. Remedy thofe Evils; place yourfelves, your King, an~ Country in Security; ch~fiife your Enemie~ by Sea. Believe me in what I have uttered, letl, like the Trojans who negletl:ed the Pro­phecies of CaJ!andra, felf-fufficient, inattentive, and (ecure, you bewail too late the prediCted. Evil, when no human Powers can remove the Weight of that Ruin which now hanS$ threatning over you.

FIN I S,