I have nothing, at present, to say concerning the Engagement betwixt the two Admirals, as your Lordship’s Fame was not interested in the Event; and whatever Benefit the Squadron might be supposed to receive from the Continuance of your Regiment on board, I presume you will not ascribe to them the Merit of having defeated the Enemy. The principal Figure you had the Honour to make, was in the decisive Resolution, agreed upon in Council, of returning to Gibraltar. I don’t suppose your Lordship was more forward in promoting that Determination, than any of those that composed that honourable Body. As to the Losses and Situation of the Fleet, I don’t doubt but they might be represented to you in such a Light, that it might appear wise and necessary to repair to Gibraltar to refit, before you ventured upon another Engagement; but how any other Reasons could impose upon your Judgment to consent to so infamous a Retreat, I cannot conceive; and am amazed and confounded when I think of it.—Could it ever seriously be urged, that the French Fleet designed to escape thro’ the Streights, in order to join a Squadron from Brest, and so do some terrible Mischief, the Lord knows where?——What unaccountable Panick could seize you, in behalf of Gibraltar? Were not all their Efforts exerted, all their Armaments drained, all their Magazines exhausted, to carry on the Siege at Minorca?—besides the Strength they borrowed of the Genoese.
What Alarms could Gibraltar apprehend, unless Ships were to rise from the Deep, or an Army drop from the Skies?——Whatever they might boast of the Strength and Cleanness of their Fleet, they must have sustained some Damage in the Engagement: They must be weakened and disabled by the brisk Firing of Mr. West’s Division; not to mention the immense Quantity of Powder and Ball discharged from the Ramillies, which surely could not be expended in vain.—Yet, notwithstanding these Reasons, it appeared more eligible to you to retire, than to answer the Design of your Expedition.
I would not be understood to reflect on the Valour of those Officers who embarked along with you; and you might think it a Deference due to them to acquiesce in their Sentiments.—But yet, my Lord, had you considered, with due Attention, the Distresses of the Place—the Certainty of its falling into the Hands of the French, if not relieved—the grand Purpose for which you was sent—and the Censures to which you would stand peculiarly exposed, as Commander of the Regiment on board——I am persuaded you would have been the first for landing the Reinforcement, and have indignantly rejected a Proposal for abandoning a Fortress so valuable, unassisted, unrelieved.——Whatever Danger might have attended the Enterprize, would have redounded to your Glory——and your Neutrality, at least, would have endeared you to the eternal Esteem of your Friends, and recommended you to greater Honours than we can confer.——What Pleasure would it give to those who have the least Connection with you, to find your Resolution so singularly distinguished, and your Zeal for your Country so warm, as to surmount every Obstacle, every Difficulty, attending its Defence! I remember to have read of a great General, whose Example should be the Model of every Soldier, that having convened a Council to debate upon some important Enterprize, then in Agitation, and finding them discontented with his Proposal, he upbraided their Timidity, gave them Liberty to return, and declared that he would march forward with his own fifth Legion alone!——His Reproach had a just Effect upon them, and inspired them with such Shame and Indignation as rekindled their Courage, and carried them thro’ the greatest Difficulties with uninterrupted Success.
My Lord, I should not have expostulated with you so freely, had I not been assured that the intended Reinforcement was practicable, and might have been successful. History affords many Instances of Garrisons, in Strength much inferior to St. Philip’s, holding out against a more formidable Enemy; and, whatever Representations may have been given of the romantick Nature of the Attempt, if I should maintain that your own small Supply would have been sufficient, I should be justified in the Assertion by the most unexceptionable Authority.
There is great Reason to believe, that had the fatal Attack, on the 29th of June, been repulsed from those Forts which were most defenceless, and most surprized, as it might have been done with a very small Number more, they never would have renewed it again with equal Fury, or equal Advantage. And if there be any Weight in this Supposition, if there was any Prospect of affording the Castle any Relief, we can’t help being astonished that any Danger should induce you to decline the Prosecution of so glorious an Undertaking.——We cannot applaud the Voice you gave in the Council, according to our present Apprehensions; and we must continue in this Opinion, unless you shall vindicate your Conduct, and acquaint us with those Views that influenced your Lordship’s Determination. This a Piece of Justice which the Honour of your Character requires, and which your Friends expect. As your Electors, we beseech it; as the Subjects of an insulted Kingdom, whose Losses are universally felt, we demand it at your Hands.
Reflect, my Lord, (for your Country can never forget) what a long Succescession of dreadful Consequences this Loss must extend to Futurity? What additional Expences must the Protection of our Trade require, when thus deprived of its Guardian? What Sums can insure the Return of our Ships, exposed, as they must constantly be, to the Capture of our Enemies? What Profit can attend that Commerce, which must always be liable to irretrievable Losses? What Fleets of Convoys must be engaged for our Defence, which might otherwise be employed to the Annoyance of the Enemy? What aggravated Indignities we must receive from the most contemptible Powers in the Mediterranean, who will look upon this Defeat as the certain Token of the Ruin of our once invincible Navy.
Whoever considers this sad Concurrence of Misfortunes, and at the same time the Enormity of the Disgrace we have sustained, will blush to find so black a Period as this recorded in the Annals of Great Britain. Let it never be remembered, what great and lasting Advantage might have been reaped from the Defeat of the most rash Invasion that was ever undertaken, how fatal a Wound we might have given to their Ambition, and what future Hostilities might have been prevented. May Posterity forgive us for losing the most glorious Opportunity of gaining a complete and final Triumph over our Enemies, that Heaven ever gave. May not our Colonies reproach us for all those Cruelties and Calamities, which this disastrous Event has contributed to enhance and prolong.
And now, my Lord, I proceed to the Defence you have made in favour of the Admiral, when the united Voice of his Country called upon him to answer for his Conduct: And here you have espoused his Cause with a Solicitude eager for his Safety, and with a Confidence which the Persuasion of his Innocence could only create.——You was pleased to express the greatest Surprize, that the Action on the 20th of May should be so universally condemned by the Nation; and to prevent your Friends from being carried down the Tide of popular Clamour, you favoured them with a particular Account of the Situation, Strength, and Armament of the two Squadrons. You gave a particular Calculation of the Weight of Metal, the Number of Guns, and Superiority of Men; from which it appears, that if no Confidence was to be placed in the Valour and Activity of our Seamen, and the Experience of our Commanders, we must inevitably lose the Victory.—To confirm this, the State of our Fleet might be added, which has been so pathetically represented as weak, destitute, and unprovided with necessary Stores and Tenders, at a Time, alas! when it ought to have been invincible. Besides, we have been told of the immense Rate at which our Enemy’s Ships failed, (if we were capable of being bubbled by so palpable an Imposition) which must necessarily disappoint our most vigorous Efforts in the Chace.
And yet, notwithstanding these unsurmountable Difficulties, which it was Mr. Byng’s peculiar Misfortune to encounter with, your Friends cannot cease to believe, with the most exquisite Concern and Regret, that it was in our Power to have destroyed their boasted Squadron, and abundantly revenged their Invasion of Minorca.
What Instance can be produced in our naval Records, where so small a Difference in Strength was ever urged to vindicate a timorous Action, or justify a hasty Retreat. There has been a time when our Captains, so far from being terrified with a formidable Enemy, have exulted in their Superiority—improved it to their own greater Glory, and envied no Success but what has been obtained by unequal Numbers.—Vigilance and Resolution will succeed against the strongest Force. Fortune may hold the Ballance of War; but Bravery turns the Scale.