(B) Steyning.
Political Character.
This borough, together with that of Bramber, consists of one street, not more than two-thirds as large as Fetter-lane in London; but constituting two boroughs, with a right of sending four members to Parliament!!! They formerly elected in conjunction, and intermitted till 31 Henry VI. One part of Bramber is in the centre of the borough of Steyning, and a part of Steyning intersects Bramber in like manner. Inveloped in the dark cloud of legal quibble and intricacy, they present us, like all the rotten boroughs, with a finished picture of political deformity; irregular in their districts, unintelligible in their constitutions, indefinite in their rights, corrupt in the exercise of their functions, contradictory in their respective organizations, and adverse to the ancient established principles of the constitution, and the rights of men.
The right of election has been the subject of litigation in this place for near a century, and has but lately received a final decision from a committee constituted under the authority of 28 Geo. III., to determine the same, upon an appeal from a contrary determination the preceding year.
In 1701, the right was determined to be in the inhabitants paying scot and lot, and not receiving alms.
In 1710, to be in the constables and house-holders (inhabitants) paying scot and lot.
On 16th June, 1715, to be in all such persons as have an estate of inheritance or for life, in burgage-houses or burgage-lands, lying within the said borough.
In 1791, to be in the inhabitants of ancient houses, and houses built on the sites of ancient houses, within the borough of Steyning, being householders, paying scot and lot, and not receiving alms.
In 1792, the select committee appointed to try and determine the merits of the petition of James Martin Lloyd, esq., and others.
Resolved: “That no persons have a right to vote at an election for members to serve in Parliament for the borough of Steyning in respect of any houses within the borough of Bramber, the tithing of Bidlington, or the manors of Charlton or King’s Barnes.”
The said select committee at the same time also determined,
“That the right of election of members to serve in Parliament for the borough of Steyning, in the county of Sussex, is in the constable and householders, inhabitants within the said borough, paying scot and lot, and not receiving alms.”
The houses built on ancient foundations were all the property of the late Sir John Honeywood; the rest belonged to the Duke of Norfolk: and as those of a general description are more numerous, the resolution of 1792, repealing that of 1791, changed the patron, and transferred that influence to the Duke of Norfolk, which the former gave to Sir John Honeywood.
The resolution of 1791 ousted Henry Howard, esq., the present member for Gloster, who had a majority of the householders paying scot and lot, and declared John Curtis, esq., who had only the votes of those persons who inhabited houses built on ancient foundations, duly elected.
The resolution of 1792 established the election of James Martin Lloyd, esq., who polled the identical votes which were deemed illegal the preceding year; and the petitioner lost his seat by the same pretensions that Mr. Curtis had obtained one.
These contradictory resolutions have been productive of the same parliamentary inconsistency which distinguished the borough of Saltash, in the Parliament of 1785. Mr. Ambler obtained his seat for that place by the decision of a committee in that year, against the petition of Lord Strathaven, and the same Mr. Curtis, who now succeeded at Steyning, on the right of the corporation to elect the members for Saltash. In 1787, Mr. Lemon, the petitioner, by the determination of a second committee, appointed to try the same question, succeeded on the votes of the burgage-holders, and ousted the Earl of Mornington, sitting member, who had been elected by the corporation.
“Thus two members were sitting in the House of Commons at the same time, and for the same borough, upon the right of different descriptions of electors who had each of them been deemed ineligible in the same Parliament.”
This was exactly the case with the representatives of this borough. The inhabitants of houses built on ancient foundations, and the inhabitants in general, have each been declared to possess the right of election; and a member, chosen by each description of voters, has been seated and ousted in the same Parliament.
Since the above decision on the right of election, the Duke of Norfolk has effectually prevented all further contest, by purchasing the whole of Sir John Honeywood’s property in Steyning, as he did that of the Marquis of Hertford, at Horsham, and thereby became sole proprietor of both boroughs.
THE RIGHT OF THE FRENCH NATION TO SELF-GOVERNMENT (1792).
Source.—Cowper’s Letters. Thomas Wright. London: Hodder and Stoughton. 1904. Vol. iv., pp. 332-335.
To Lady Hesketh, Dec. 1, 1792.
The French are a vain and childish people, and conduct themselves on this grand occasion with a levity and extravagance nearly akin to madness; but it would have been better for Austria and Prussia to let them alone. All nations have a right to choose their own mode of government, and the sovereignty of the people is a doctrine that evinces itself; for whenever the people choose to be masters they always are so, and none can hinder them. God grant that we may have no revolution here, but unless we have a reform, we certainly shall. Depend upon it, my dear, the hour is come when power founded in patronage and corrupt majorities must govern this land no longer. Concessions too must be made to dissenters of every denomination. They have a right to them, a right to all the privileges of Englishmen, and sooner or later, by fair means or by force, they will have them.
PERORATION IN THE IMPEACHMENT OF WARREN HASTINGS (1794).
Source.—Speech in the Impeachment of Warren Hastings, Esq. Edmund Burke. Vol. viii. of his Collected Works. London: G. Bell and Sons. 1908.
My lords, I have done; the part of the Commons is concluded. With a trembling solicitude we consign this product of our long, long labours to your charge. Take it!—take it! It is a sacred trust. Never before was a cause of such magnitude submitted to any human tribunal.
My lords, at this awful close, in the name of the Commons, and surrounded by them, I attest the retiring, I attest the advancing generations, between which, as a link in the great chain of eternal order, we stand.—We call this nation, we call the world to witness, that the Commons have shrunk from no labour; that we have been guilty of no prevarication; that we have made no compromise with crime; that we have not feared any odium whatsoever, in the long warfare which we have carried on with the crimes—with the vices—with the exorbitant wealth—with the enormous and overpowering influence of Eastern corruption. This war, my lords, we have waged for twenty-two years, and the conflict has been fought at your lordships’ bar for the last seven years. My lords, twenty-two years is a great space in the scale of the life of man; it is no inconsiderable space in the history of a great nation. A business which has so long occupied the councils and the tribunals of Great Britain, cannot possibly be huddled over in the course of vulgar, trite, and transitory events. Nothing but some of those great revolutions that break the traditionary chain of human memory, and alter the very face of nature itself, can possibly obscure it. My lords, we are all elevated to a degree of importance by it; the meanest of us will, by means of it, more or less become the concern of posterity, if we are yet to hope for such a thing in the present state of the world as a recording, retrospective, civilized posterity; but this is in the hands of the great Disposer of events; it is not ours to settle how it shall be. My lords, your House yet stands; it stands as a great edifice; but let me say, that it stands in the midst of ruins; in the midst of the ruins that have been made by the greatest moral earthquake that ever convulsed and shattered this globe of ours. My lords, it has pleased Providence to place us in such a state, that we appear every moment to be upon the verge of some great mutations. There is one thing, and one thing only, which defies all mutation; that which existed before the world, and will survive the fabric of the world itself; I mean justice; that justice, which, emanating from the Divinity, has a place in the breast of every one of us, given us for our guide with regard to ourselves, and with regard to others, and which will stand after this globe is burned to ashes, our advocate or our accuser before the great Judge, when He comes to call upon us for the tenor of a well-spent life.
My lords, the Commons will share in every fate with your lordships; there is nothing sinister which can happen to you, in which we shall not be involved; and if it should so happen that we shall be subjected to some of those frightful changes which we have seen—if it should happen that your lordships, stripped of all the decorous distinctions of human society, should, by hands at once base and cruel, be led to those scaffolds and machines of murder, upon which great kings and glorious queens have shed their blood, amidst the prelates, amidst the nobles, amidst the magistrates who supported their thrones, may you in those moments feel that consolation which I am persuaded they felt in the critical moments of their dreadful agony!
My lords, there is a consolation, and a great consolation it is, which often happens to oppressed virtue and fallen dignity; it often happens that the very oppressors and persecutors themselves are forced to bear testimony in its favour. I do not like to go for instances a great way back into antiquity. I know very well that length of time operates so as to give an air of the fabulous to remote events, which lessens the interest and weakens the application of examples. I wish to come nearer to the present time. Your lordships know and have heard, for which of us has not known and heard, of the parliament of Paris? The parliament of Paris had an origin very, very similar to that of the great court before which I stand; the parliament of Paris continued to have a great resemblance to it in its constitution, even to its fall; the parliament of Paris, my lords, WAS; it is gone! It has passed away; it has vanished like a dream! It fell, pierced by the sword of the Compte de Mirabeau. And yet I will say, that that man, at the time of his inflicting the death wound of that parliament, produced at once the shortest and the grandest funeral oration that ever was or could be made upon the departure of a great court of magistracy. Though he had himself smarted under its lash, as every one knows who knows his history (and he was elevated to dreadful notoriety in history), yet when he pronounced the death sentence upon that parliament, and inflicted the mortal wound, he declared that his motives for doing it were merely political, and that their hands were as pure as those of justice itself, which they administered—a great and glorious exit, my lords, of a great and glorious body! And never was a eulogy pronounced upon a body more deserved. They were persons in nobility of rank, in amplitude of fortune, in weight of authority, in depth of learning, inferior to few of those that hear me. My lords, it was but the other day that they submitted their necks to the axe; but their honour was unwounded. Their enemies, the persons who sentenced them to death, were lawyers, full of subtlety; they were enemies, full of malice; yet lawyers full of subtlety, and enemies full of malice, as they were, they did not dare to reproach them with having supported the wealthy, the great, and powerful, and of having oppressed the weak and feeble, in any of their judgments, or of having perverted justice in any one instance whatever, through favour, through interest, or cabal.
My lords, if you must fall, may you so fall! But if you stand, and stand I trust you will, together with the fortune of this ancient monarchy—together with the ancient laws and liberties of this great and illustrious kingdom, may you stand as unimpeached in honour as in power; may you stand not as a substitute for virtue, but as an ornament of virtue, as a security for virtue; may you stand long, and long stand the terror of tyrants; may you stand the refuge of afflicted nations; may you stand a sacred temple, for the perpetual residence of an inviolable justice.
GEORGE III. ASSAULTED BY THE MOB (1795).
Source.—Letters of Princess Elizabeth of England. Edited by Philip Yorke. London: Fisher Unwin. 1898.
To Lady Harcourt, Wednesday, 5th July, 1795.
I am sure you will be anxious to know how we all are, my dear Ly. H., after yesterday’s horrors. It is impossible to paint to you in any degree what we have gone through since we arrived in Town; but I trust in that all-merciful Providence, who has saved our dear King in so wonderful a manner, that the great Crisis is now over.
In going to the House, a bullet was shot through the Kg. coach; which undoubtedly was intended to penetrate elsewhere. This is a most Shocking thought; however, thank God, it went harmlessly through the glass opposite, and shot out a round piece the size of a small bullet. Some of the Servants saw it fall. That not answering their wicked ends, they threw stones several times at him; but he came home well, and perfectly composed. The mob followed the Coach in an insolent manner, moaning and screaming “peace, no War,” “give us Bread,” “Down with Pitt,” “off with your Guards” (which he was attended with to the house, I mean home).
Everybody is well to-day, though much agitated with the thoughts of the Play; but I trust great care will be taken. More you shall hear from me when my mind is easier. God bless you; and believe me,
Yrs. affly.,
E.
THE MUTINY AT THE NORE (1797).
Source.—Annual Register. Vol. xxxix., pp. 214 et seq. of History of Europe.
The suppression of the disturbances among the seamen at Portsmouth, without recurring to violent measures, and by granting their petitions, occasioned universal satisfaction, and it was hoped that the causes of their discontent being thus effectually removed, no further complaints would arise to spread alarm throughout the nation. But these reasonable expectations were in a short time wholly disappointed by a fresh mutiny that broke out in the fleet at the Nore, on the twenty-second of May.
The crews on that day took possession of their respective ships, elected delegates to preside over them, and to draw up a statement of their demands, and transmit them to the lords of the admiralty. These demands went much farther than those of the seamen at Portsmouth and Plymouth, and from their exorbitancy did not appear entitled to the same indulgence. On the sixth of June, in the morning, the fleet at the Nore was joined by the Agamemnon, Leopard, Ardent, and Isis men of war, together with the Ranger sloop, which ships had deserted from the fleet under admiral Duncan. When the admiral found himself deserted by part of his fleet, he called his own ship’s crew together, and addressed them in the following speech:
“My lads,
“I once more call you together with a sorrowful heart, from what I have lately seen, the disaffection of the fleets: I call it disaffection, for the crews have no grievances. To be deserted by my fleet, in the face of an enemy, is a disgrace which, I believe, never before happened to a British admiral; nor could I have supposed it possible. My greatest comfort under God is that I have been supported by the officers, seamen, and mariners of this ship: for which, with a heart overflowing with gratitude, I request you to accept my sincere thanks. I flatter myself much good may result from your example, by bringing those deluded people to a sense of their duty, which they owe, not only to their king and country, but to themselves.
“The British navy has ever been the support of that liberty which has been handed down to us by our ancestors, and which I trust we shall maintain to the latest posterity; and that can only be done by unanimity and obedience. The ship’s company, and others, who have distinguished themselves by their loyalty and good order, deserve to be, and doubtless will be, the favourites of a grateful country. They will also have, from their inward feelings, a comfort which will be lasting, and not like the floating and false confidence of those who have swerved from their duty.
“It has often been my pride, with you to look into the Texel, and see a foe which dreaded coming out to meet us: my pride is now humbled indeed! my feelings are not easily to be expressed! our cup has overflowed and made us wanton. The all-wise Providence has given us this check, as a warning, and I hope we shall improve by it. On Him then let us trust, where our only security can be found. I find there are many good men among us; for my own part, I have had full confidence of all in this ship; and once more beg to express my approbation of your conduct.
“May God, who has thus far conducted you, continue to do so; and may the British navy, the glory and support of our country, be restored to its wonted splendour, and be not only the bulwark of Britain, but the terror of the world.
“But this can only be effected by a strict adherence to our duty and obedience; and let us pray that the almighty God may keep us in the right way of thinking.
“God bless you all.”
At an address so unassuming, modest, and pious, and so well calculated, from its simplicity and truth, to touch the human heart, the whole ship’s crew were dissolved in tears. They declared, by every expression they could devise, their resolution to abide by the admiral in life or death. Their example was followed by all the other ships, besides those already mentioned. And the admiral, notwithstanding the defection of so considerable a part of his squadron, repaired to his station, off the coast of Holland, to watch the motions of the Dutch fleet; and resolved, still, not to decline, should it offer him battle.
The principal person at the head of this mutiny was one Richard Parker, a man of good natural parts, and some education, and of a remarkably bold and resolute character. Admiral Buckner, the commanding officer at the Nore, was directed by the lords of the admiralty to inform the seamen, that their demands were totally inconsistent with the good order and regulations necessary to be observed in the navy, and could not for that reason be complied with; but that on returning to their duty, they would receive the king’s pardon for their breach of obedience. To this offer Parker replied by a declaration, that the seamen had unanimously determined to keep possession of the fleet, until the lords of the admiralty had repaired to the Nore, and redressed the grievances which had been laid before them.
In order to put an end with all possible expedition to a mutiny that appeared so dangerous, lord Spencer, lord Arden, and admiral Young, hastened immediately to Sheerness, and held a board, at which Parker and the other delegates attended; but their behaviour was so audacious, that the lords of the admiralty returned to town without the least success. The principal article of complaint, on the part of the mutineers, was the unequal distribution of prize-money, for the omission of which they much blamed their fellow seamen at Portsmouth. On the return of the lords of the admiralty from Sheerness, a proclamation was issued, offering his majesty’s pardon to all such of the mutineers as should immediately return to their duty: intimating, at the same time, that admiral Buckner was the proper person to be applied to on such an occasion. All the buoys, by order of government, were removed from the mouth of the Thames, and the neighbouring coast; from which precaution, any ships, that should attempt to get away, would be in danger of running a-ground. Great preparations, also, were made, at Sheerness, against an attack from the mutinous ships, which had manifested some strong indications of an intention to bombard that place; and furnaces and hot balls were kept ready.
Emboldened by the strength of men and shipping in their hands, and resolved to persevere in their demands till they had extorted a compliance, the mutineers proceeded to secure a sufficiency of provisions for that purpose, by seizing two vessels laden with stores, and sent notice ashore that they intended to block up the Thames; and cut off all communication between London and the sea, in order to force government to a speedy accession to their terms. They began the execution of this menace by mooring four of their vessels across the mouth of the river, and stopping several ships that were coming from the metropolis.
They now altered the system of their delegation, and to prevent too much power from being lodged in the hands of any man, the office of president was entrusted to no one longer than a day. This they did to secure themselves from the attempts to betray them, which might result from the offers held out to those in whom they were obliged to place confidence and authority, were those to possess such a trust for any time. They also compelled those ships, the crews of which they suspected of wavering in the cause, to take their station in the midst of the others. But, notwithstanding these precautions, two vessels eluded their vigilance, and made their escape.
These transactions, while they excited the greatest alarm in the nation, were violently reprobated by the seamen belonging to the two divisions of the fleet lying at Portsmouth and at Plymouth. Each of them addressed an admonition to their fellow-seamen at the Nore, warmly condemning their proceedings as a scandal to the name of British seamen, and exhorting them to be content with the indulgence already granted by government, and to return to their duty without insisting on more concessions than had been demanded by the rest of the navy.
But these warnings proved ineffectual. The reinforcement of the four ships lately arrived, and the expectation of being joined by others, induced them to persist in their demands. The committee of delegates, on board the Sandwich, came to a determination to commission lord Northesk, whom they had kept in confinement in the Montague, of which he was the commander, to repair to the king in the name of the fleet, and to acquaint him with the conditions on which they were willing to deliver up the ships. The petition, which he was charged to lay before the king, was highly respectful and loyal to him, but very severe on his ministers, and they required an entire compliance with every one of their demands, threatening, on the refusal of any, to put immediately to sea. Lord Northesk readily undertook to be the bearer of their petition, but told them, that, from the unreasonableness of their demands, he could not flatter them with the hope of success. Confiding in him, they said, as the seamen’s friend, they had entrusted him with this mission, on pledging his honour to return, with a clear and positive answer, within fifty-four hours.
Lord Northesk departed accordingly for London, and was introduced, by lord Spencer, to the king. But no answer being returned to the message, and information being brought to the fleet, that the nation at large highly disapproved of their proceedings, great divisions took place among the delegates, and several of the ships deserted the others, not, however, without much contest and bloodshed. The mutineers, despairing, now, of accomplishing their designs, struck the red flag, which they had hoisted as the signal of mutiny, and restored a free passage to the trade of the metropolis. Every ship was now left at its own command, and they all gradually returned to obedience, though, on board of some, violent struggles happened between the mutineers and the loyal parties.
The principal conductor of the mutiny, Richard Parker, was seized and imprisoned, and after a solemn trial, that lasted three days, on board of the Neptune, he was sentenced to death. He suffered with great coolness and intrepidity, acknowledging the justice of his sentence, and expressing his hope, that mercy might be extended to his associates. But it was judged necessary to make public examples of the principal and most guilty, who were accordingly tried, and, after full proof of their criminality, condemned and executed. Others were ordered to be whipped; but a considerable number remained under sentence of death till after the great victory obtained, over the Dutch fleet, by admiral Duncan: when his majesty sent a general pardon to those unhappy men; who were, at that period, confined on board a prison ship in the river Thames.
ENGLAND AND THE DIRECTORY (1797).
Source.—Correspondence of the First Earl of Malmesbury, London, 1844. Vol. iii., pp. 577 et seq.
Letter from Lord Malmesbury to Mr. Pitt, Calais. Sept. 18th. 1797.
My dear Sir,—
Although I shall in a very few hours have the pleasure of seeing you, I cannot delay till then thanking you most sincerely for your two last very comfortable private letters. No consolation could ever come at a moment when it is more wanted. I almost feel guilty of ingratitude in making so ill a return to it, as that of leaving Lisle so rapidly, notwithstanding, God knows, my will by no means consented to this act. I trust this will appear in everything I have said and done, and that nothing has been omitted on my part to obtain what I know to be your first wish, and which I can safely say was also mine. The having failed in it hurts me still the more, as we infallibly should have succeeded had not the political earthquake of the 4th of September taken place. But success being impossible, the next best comfort is, the having failed without discredit to myself; and if, when I have the pleasure to meet you, I should be assured of it, I shall feel comfort fully equal to that in which I began this letter, by thanking you.
I am, &c.
(Signed) Malmesbury.
Letter from Lord Malmesbury to Mr. Canning, Calais, Monday, 9 p.m., Sept. 18th, 1797.
My dear Canning,—
If the date of the place from whence this letter is written surprises you, let me refer you to my public despatch for all the wholesale reasons, and desire you to wait for the more detailed one till to-morrow evening, or probably Wednesday morning, when I hope we shall meet. Your private letter to me by Herslet, although on an uncomfortable subject, afforded me very great consolation; since I not only perceive you are prepared for my return, but prepared for it in a way which totally disperses the few apprehensions I had, lest my conduct, under the present circumstances, might not in every respect have met every approbation.
From what you say, I am now certain it will; and it gives me the more pleasure, from a consciousness that I never in my life acted more rightly.
I am too fatigued to go on to-night with the messengers, but we sail to-morrow at nine a.m.; and on the whole, I had rather you should read my story than hear it told by me. I have much to say to you, and to some others, but I should not like to hold forth before a Cabinet.
I am infinitely obliged to you (in the strict sense of the word) for your very friendly and attentive goodness in endeavouring to replace all that I lost by the cruel accident which has happened to poor Brooks. Your principal does not partake of this sort of feeling; and he has as few of this species of human imperfections as any being called human can pretend to.
Let us hear from you on our arrival. I shall drive at once to my own house, and if possible, before twelve o’clock on Wednesday.
I am, &c.
(Signed) Malmesbury.
Extract of a Despatch from Lord Malmesbury to Lord Grenville, Calais, 19th Sept., 1797.
There can be little doubt, from the language and manner of the French Plenipotentiaries, that there is a fixed determination on the part of the French Government to continue war with England; and that if in any part of their behaviour or conversation with me there appeared a contrary intention, it was solely with a view to avoid, if possible, that the odium of breaking off the Negotiation should be imputed entirely to them. They, however, have managed this with so very little ability—what they have done has been so positive, and what they have said so vague—that it is difficult even for the most prejudiced minds to entertain a doubt on this subject.
The whole of my official Correspondence since the event of the 4th of September will, I trust, have so far prepared your Lordship for what has now happened, that, although it may very justly cause concern, it will not create surprise. Disposed as I was to pay attention to whatever I heard from the late members of the French Legation, as well from their knowledge of their own country, as from my having, on every important point, always found their information correct, I could never allow my opinion to go with them on this particular point; and although the satisfaction of having judged rightly cannot, on an occasion like this, be very great, yet the not having misled your Lordship diminishes, to a certain degree, the regret I feel on having failed in the great end of my Mission.
It would be vain to search for any rational motive for such a conduct as the Directory have thought proper to adopt, or to endeavour to explain on what grounds they can prefer a hazardous and unpromising continuation of a war, become extremely unpopular, to an advantageous and honourable peace, and one which, I am confident, would have had the approbation of the whole French nation. The solution of this difficulty cannot be found either in the internal situation of France, or in its present relative position to other powers, but must be sought for in the daring and inconsiderate character of the two governing members of the Directory, Barras and Rewbell. The success which has attended their late very bold undertaking appears to have given them the most implicit confidence in their own abilities, and in the strength of their party; and they never at any time appeared to have any fixed system, or to look forward beyond the circumstances of the moment.
THE BATTLE OF THE NILE (OR ABOUKIR BAY) (1798).
Source.—Annual Register. Vol. xl., pp. 142 et seq. of History of Europe.
It was the first of August before the Pharos of Alexandria was got sight of by the squadron, who were then steering direct for it towards the S.S.E. and as they approached discovered a wood of masts in the harbour. The advanced ships (the Alexander and Leander about two leagues a head) made signal for having discovered ships of war to eastward. The admiral, who, with the bulk of the squadron, was in close order of sailing, being thus directed to a view of the long sought-for fight, immediately altered his course accordingly, and made signal to recal those on the look-out. The Culloden was then about two leagues to the eastward of the admiral, and, after some time and signals exchanged, obtained leave to cast off the vessel towed from off Coron. The Alexander and Leander, who had run in nearer Alexandria, were thereby obliged to hawl more to the wind than between N.N.W. and N.W. in order to round the point off Aboukir; which threw them considerably later than the main body; who sailing with a free wind reached about, or soon after five o’clock, the point; which having rounded and got the bay fairly open, the admiral hawled up on the lar-board tack, under an easy sail, probably for the purpose of viewing the situation of the enemy, or more likely for giving time for those of his own squadron to close; the Culloden being still about two leagues distant in the N.W. quarter. While the Alexander and Leander were still farther distant in the W.S.W. the squadron of the enemy, which shewed 13 sail of the line of battle, were but a few miles off, bearing from S.W. to south, and anchored in a line extending nearly N.W. and S.E. with their admiral’s flag on board a three deck ship in the centre, and four frigates, with several gun-vessels, dispersed inside towards the van and rear.
The squadron did not remain long with their heads from the enemy. The admiral speedily determined on what plan of attack was to be adopted. He gave orders, by signal, to prepare to anchor by the stern, and wore with the whole squadron together by signal. That manœuvre at once changed the situation of the squadron, by giving the lead to those, who were, while their heads were to the offing, dropping a-stern to join their situation in the rear, in the order of sailing: or, as some have alleged, loitered a-stern from an unwillingness to be drawn off even a few hundred yards from the enemy. If such were the sentiments of any, they were now indulged by the admiral bearing up toward the van of the enemy, and making the signal to form the line of battle a-head, or most convenient: that is, for each ship to fall in as their situation at the time best suited, without regard to the established order of battle.
On that occasion, there were such displays of emulation by each ship to gain an advanced post in the attack, as must have tended to inspire each other with an invincible confidence. But so alert were the whole, that no one ship could gain the point of getting a-head of another, who had the advantage of laying their heads towards the enemy. The admiral, as they were drawing into a form of battle, made the signal to attack the enemy’s van and centre: and soon after, added the signal for a close engagement, which was kept flying.
The wind, which was between N.W. and N.N.W., had been a fresh top gallant sail breeze, and, though moderated as the day drew towards a close, still swelled out the lighter sails. Before the Goliah (the leading ship) had approached within a mile of the enemy’s van ships, they commenced a brisk cannonade with their starboard guns, as did the batteries at the castle of Becquires and the gun-vessels, which galled the British squadron much as they closed. But the situation of the enemy’s anchorage, and the shallowness of the water around, rendered it impossible to evade that annoyance. It was therefore borne with a firmness worthy of their character. The period was but short when it became theirs to return the annoyance. The gallant leader[10] in the Goliah, on that occasion displayed a conduct which shewed him worthy of the post he had taken. Keeping his ship under all convenient working sail, he kept as near to the edge of the bank as the depth of water would permit, and passing a-head of the enemy’s van ship, Le Guerrier, poured into her a most destructive fire; and bearing round up shortened sail,[11] and anchored by the stern inside of the second of the enemy’s line, Le Conquerant.
The Zealous followed in the track of the Goliah, but not so far, having dropped her stern anchor, so as to preserve a situation on the inside bow of Le Guerrier, whom she handled in the severest manner without being exposed to annoyance in return. The Orion next followed, and passing to windward of the Zealous, and round her, plying her larboard guns on Le Guerrier, while they bore, continued on a S.E. course, and passed the inside of the Goliah: when, being annoyed by a frigate’s fire, she yawed as much as was necessary to bring her starboard guns to bear, and gave her so complete a dose as to silence her for ever. Then hawling round towards the enemy’s line, she dropped the starboard bower anchor inside between the third and fourth ships from their van, and with some exertions, by spreading all her after-sail, (probably to force her keel over the ground, which it most likely touched) got her swung round abreast of L’Aquilon, who had, without annoyance, suffered the Orion to place herself in this situation. The Theseus, who followed the Orion, passed between the Zealous and Le Guerrier, so close to the latter, (whose foremast was by this time over the side) only preserving sufficient distance to avoid entangling her rigging with the jib-boom of the enemy’s ship, and when abreast of her bow, poured in a broadside, until then reserved, the effect of which on the enemy was instantaneous. The main and mizen-masts were also brought down. Thus, in less than fifteen minutes was the van ship of this line reduced to a mere hulk, incumbered with the wreck of her own masts and yards, and doubtless the crew much mutilated. That destructive broadside was given just as the sun dipped in the horizon; after which the Theseus passed on the outside of the Goliah, and dropped her stern-anchor a-head of her; and thus was placed inside of the third ship of the enemy, La Spartiate, and had commenced the cannonade about the time or before her leader, the Orion, was got completely placed, from the little interruptions before-mentioned.
The Audacious followed next, and passing between Le Guerrier and Conquerant, increased the misfortunes of those ill-fated ships, by a destructive fire, and afterwards dropped her stern-anchor, so as to preserve her station inside bow of the latter, over whom the Goliah had already got a decided superiority, by the comparative fire maintained. The breeze by this time (as above observed) had lessened as the day closed: most probably too it had been lulled the more by the effect of the cannonade, which had for some time been maintained: hence the ships which were in the rear of the British squadron were not enabled to close with the celerity suitable to their ardour on that occasion.
The Vanguard was the follower of the Audacious; but did not, like the five who had preceded her, pass the enemy’s line: the rank of the admiral (whose flag this ship bore) gave him a privilege of deviating from the example of his leaders, whose manœuvres were to be guided by his direction: she was anchored by the stern on the outside, and close to the third ship from the van, Le Spartiate. Her followers respectively passed on a-head of their leader, anchoring by the stern as they came up on the outside as the admiral had done. Thus the Minotaur, Defence, and Swiftsure, took position a-breast of the fourth, fifth, and sixth ships from the van; by which arrangement it was left for the Bellerophon to attack the French admiral’s ship, L’Orient, of three decks:[12] nor was the undertaking shrunk from, because of the apparent inequality of the contest: the Bellerophon’s stern-anchor was dropped on the outside bow of L’Orient, whose collection of heavy batteries was reserved for the closing. The effect of these will be best judged of by the reference to the list of killed and wounded of the hardy assailants, in which stands enrolled the names of almost every officer of that ship. By that time the day was so much closed, as to obscure from general view the conduct of each ship; particularly towards the centre, which was covered with the clouds of smoke blown thither from the van, by the light breeze which yet continued. Under these circumstances, the Majestic, who followed the Bellerophon, had to grope for an antagonist; in doing which, it is said, she found her jib-boom had entered the main rigging of one of the enemy’s ships a-stern of their admiral; by whom, she was most severely treated while thus entangled: but, after some time, she swung clear, and avenged herself completely on another of the enemy farther astern.
Having thus got all the ships into action, that had formed the body of the squadron, the Culloden, who had been detained by the towing of the wine-vessel, may now be looked after; also the Alexander and Leander, who had been thrown out a-stern, by their having been on the look-out towards Alexandria.
It was with extreme mortification observed, before the day had closed, that the former had run a-ground on a shoal, which was found to extend N.E. from the point on which the castle stood. It may be better imagined than described what were the feelings of the gallant commander and crew of that ship, to be so arrested in their passage to the participation of the fatigues and glory of the combat then depending. The loss of the assistance of such a ship, on so important occasion too, must have excited emotions of deep regret among those engaged, many of whom had witnessed, on an important and splendid occasion in the preceding year, how eminently that ship, under the command of the same officer, and with the same crew, had been distinguished.—Great as the loss of this ship’s assistance was, it yielded some consolation to conclude, that her running a-ground served as a beacon to induce the two ships (Alexander and Leander, then to the westward of her) to hawl more out to the offing than they might otherwise have done, from an anxiety to be as soon as possible up to the assistance of their companions; in which case the assistance of two ships would have been lost instead of the Culloden. The Mutine brig made towards her, and remained to render her assistance in getting off the ground; and the Leander, in passing, had communication to know if she could render her effectual aid: that being judged impracticable, she followed her companion, the Alexander, who, having rounded the end of the shoal, was then steering for the centre of the enemy, under all sail: nor did she shorten any, until closed with the French admiral’s ship, whom she passed and anchored in a most judicious position inside of that tremendous ship, whom she attacked with a briskness, and maintained with such vivacity, as indicated the impatience of the crew in having been thrown out so long from entering into the action.
Without pretending to minute accuracy with regard to time, this may be stated to have taken place about, or soon after eight o’clock. Soon after, the Leander ran in under the stern of the fifth ship; and, anchoring there, took a position whereby she could, without annoyance, fire her guns of one side in the stern of Le Peuple Souverain, and those of the other side into the bows of La Franklin. It is unnecessary to remark on what must have been the effect of so destructive a raking fire, even from a ship of the Leander’s small force.
Thus did each of the British ships enter into action. The result shews the manner in which each performed its duty. By the time the last-mentioned ships got placed in their respective positions, those which formed the van of the enemy were silenced, and some had struck. Their submission had extended as far as the fourth ship, about nine o’clock. And, soon after, L’Orient, in their centre, was discovered to be on fire, which spread with such rapidity that she was soon in a general blaze, and precluded even a shadow of hope for her preservation. The cannonade was, in the meantime, maintained with equal briskness by the British ships, whose opponents had not yet surrendered, while some of them, very much sickened, were barely able to maintain resistance.
While the flames were consuming L’Orient, great were the exertions made by the Alexander to remove to such distance as her captain judged necessary to save her from danger of being covered with the wreck of her unfortunate antagonist. About ten o’clock, the fire had reached L’Orient’s magazine, when she blew up with a most tremendous explosion, by which fragments of her wreck were thrown to a considerable distance on every side; and those ships who were nearest to the place of the explosion, were for some time completely obscured, by the thick column of smoke which spread around. The cannonade at that moment ceased, and a silence ensued, strongly expressive of the awe with which the minds of the combatants were impressed by that dreadful event.
That impression appeared to be effaced, by the recollection that there was still duty left to be performed; for, in about ten minutes after, the cannonade was renewed around the spot where L’Orient had exploded, and in a few minutes was maintained with vivacity, and continued with little abatement until after midnight, when it became slacker, with some intermissions, indicating the exhausted state of the combatants, by the fatigue already undergone;[13] but the firing did not entirely cease until three o’clock.
Thursday morning, the second of August.—When the day opened, how different was the prospect from that which the preceding evening had closed! The greatest part of the ships, which formed the van of the French line, dismasted, and all struck! Not a vestige of their admiral’s ship to be seen! The frigate (La Sêrieuse), whom the Orion had silenced the preceding evening, now sunk! The Bellerophon was observed several miles to the eastward along shore, at anchor, dismasted. Some of the British ships, which had attacked and defeated the van, now shifted more towards the rear, and others moving thither, to complete the conquest of the enemy’s ships. In that part, this led to a recommencement of the cannonade, in the outset of which, a frigate (L’Artémise), in the centre, displayed a conduct mean and unworthy of the squadron to which it was attached. After firing a broad-side, she struck; but, before she was sent to, by any of the British ships, was observed to be on fire, and the crew making for the shore in their boats, where they were so ill received by the natives, that a remnant of them were fain to return, and trust to the generosity of their enemy, whom they had so recently offended by a flagrant breach of the laws of war.
Without entering into any further detail of the whole, after the cannonade had been long maintained, with some intermissions, it was closed with the surrender of L’Heureux and Mercure, and dismasting of Le Tonnant. The two rear ships, Le Guillaume Tell and Genereux, observing all their companions either surrendered, or in a disabled state, prepared to get under sail, which they did, without interruption, before two o’clock, and were accompanied by La Dianne and Justice frigates, neither of whom had been annoyed. Le Timoleon made an attempt to follow, but, casting with her head into the bay, and not being alertly managed (probably, not in a manageable state), her head was not got out to the offing, but ran ashore at a little distance from whence she had laid, in the south-east part of the bay, where they set her on fire. The Zealous, who was under sail when the rear ships of the enemy left the bay, stood after them; but, as there was not any other then under sail, to accompany and support her, she was called in by the admiral.
There yet remained to be taken possession of, Le Tonnant, entirely dismasted, but who had not struck, and had shifted a considerable distance to leeward from her original position. In that state, incapable of moving or helping herself, a message was sent, to demand her surrender, which the captain refused, without the condition of vessels being furnished to carry him and his crew (which he stated to be then 1,500) to France. This requisition was communicated to admiral Nelson, who desired him to be informed, that the surrender must be unconditional, else force would be employed, against which resistance would not avail. These communications were not exchanged till late in the evening of the second, owing to the distance.
Friday morning, the third of August, the French flag was observed to be still displayed on the stump of Le Tonnant’s main-mast. The admiral made signals to the Theseus and Leander to attack her. It appeared they had, in some measure, recovered from their late fatigues, by the alertness of their movements. They were soon under the necessary sail; and, on the Theseus approaching her rear, the flag of truce was hoisted. An officer was then sent from the Theseus to desire the colours to be struck unconditionally, which was complied with. Thus was the close put to that distinguished battle.
Whether a retrospect is had to the unremitting perseverance in continuing the search after the enemy, to the promptness of decision in attacking them when found, or to the skill and intrepidity with which the attack was executed, it is difficult to decide which has the highest claim to admiration. The renown of this action has reached to every part of the globe, and been re-echoed back with the high praises so justly merited.