Lord Hertford was named to succeed Lord Albemarle as embassador to Paris, but war being soon declared between the two nations, he never went there.
[16] "On the 6th of March, 1754, the calm and languid course of public business had been suddenly broken through by the death of the prime minister,[57] Mr. Pelham. 'Now I shall have no more peace!' exclaimed the old king, when he heard the news; and the events of the next few years fully confirmed his majesty's prediction. At the tidings of his brother's death—a death so sudden and unlocked for—the the mind of Newcastle was stirred with the contending emotions of grief, fear, and ambition. The grief soon passed away, but the fear and the ambition long struggled for the mastery. After a dishonest negotiation with Henry Fox (younger son of Sir Stephen Fox, a brother of the first Earl of Ilchester), the duke, finding him not sufficiently subservient, bestowed the seals of secretary upon Sir Thomas Robinson. It was certainly no light or easy task which Newcastle had thus accomplished: he had succeeded in finding a secretary of state with abilities inferior to his own.... The new Parliament met in November, 1754. Before that time a common resentment had united the two statesmen whom rivalry had hitherto kept asunder, Pitt and Fox. 'Sir Thomas Robinson lead us!' exclaimed Pitt to Fox: 'The duke might as well send his jackboot to lead us!' ... At length, in January, 1755, the Duke of Newcastle renewed his negotiations with Fox. The terms he offered were far less than those Fox had formerly refused, neither the head of the House of Commons nor the office of Secretary of State, but admission to the cabinet, provided Fox would actively support the king's measures in the House, and would in some sort lead without being leader.... The conduct of Fox to Pitt (in accepting these terms) seems not easy to reconcile with perfect good faith, while the sudden lowering of his pretensions to Newcastle was, beyond all doubt, an unworthy subservience. On one or both of these grounds he fell in public esteem. By the aid of Fox and the silence of Pitt the remainder of the session passed quietly. But great events were now at hand. The horizon had long been dark with war, and this summer burst the storm."—Lord Mahon's History of England, vol. iv., p. 65; Belsham, vol. ii., p. 354, 355.
[17] "The French have taken such liberties with some of our forts that are of great consequence to cover Virginia, Carolina, and Georgia, that we are actually dispatching two regiments thither. As the climate and other American circumstances are against these poor men, I pity them, and think them too many if the French mean nothing farther, too few if they do. Indeed, I am one of those that feel less resentment when we are attacked so far off: I think it an obligation to be eaten the last."—Walpole's Letters to Sir H. Mann, Oct. 6, 1754.
"A detachment of fifty men of the regiment of artillery embarked with the 2d battalion, No. 44 and No. 48, under the command of Major-general Braddock, for America.... This detachment was mostly cut to pieces near Fort du Quesne, on the Monongahela, on the 9th of July, 1755."—Memoirs of the Royal Regt. of Artillery, 1743. MSS., Col. Macbean, R.A. Library, Woolwich.
[18] The Duke of Cumberland was then at the head of the regency, during the absence of his father, George II., on the continent.
[19] Officers were appointed for two regiments, consisting of two battalions each, to be raised in America, and commanded by Sir William Pepperel and Governor Shirley, who had enjoyed the same command in the last war.[58]
[20] "Although the force to be employed was to be drawn almost entirely from Massachusetts, the command of the expedition was conferred on Lieutenant-colonel Monckton, a British officer, in whose military talents more confidence was placed than in those of any provincial. The troops of Massachusetts embarked at Boston on the 20th of May, 1755, together with Shirley's and Pepperel's regiments, commanded by Lieutenant-colonel Winslow, who was a major general of the militia, and an officer of great influence in the province. About four miles from Fort Lawrence they were joined by 300 British troops and a small train of artillery."—Marshall's Life of Washington, vol. i., p. 310.
[21] "In the obstinate conflict which was commencing between the French and English crowns, the continuance of the Acadians in Nova Scotia was thought dangerous on account of their invincible attachment to France; and to expel them from the country, leaving them at liberty to choose their place of residence, would be to re-enforce the French in Canada. A council was held, aided by the Admirals Boscawen and Morty, for the purposes of deciding on the destinies of these unfortunate people, and the severe policy was adopted of removing them from their homes and dispersing them among the other British colonies. This harsh measure was immediately put into execution, and the miserable inhabitants of Nova Scotia, banished from their homes, were in one instant reduced from ease and contentment to a state of beggary. Their lands and movables, with the exception of their money and household furniture, were declared to be forfeit to the crown; and to prevent their being able to subsist themselves, should they escape, the country was laid waste, and their habitations reduced to ashes."—Minot, quoted by Marshall, vol. i., p. 312.
[22] "When the French were in possession of this garrison, they had no artillery; however, they were not at a loss to deceive their enemies at Fort Lawrence, for they provided a parcel of birch, and other hard, well-grown trees, which they shaped and bored after the fashion of cannon, securing them from end to end with cordage, and from one of these they constantly fired a morning and evening gun, as is customary in garrisons; but upon the reduction of the place, and a spirited inquiry after the cannon, they found themselves obliged to discover this ingenious device."—Knox's Hist. Journal, vol. i., p. 58.
[23] "Captain, afterward Lord Howe, after an engagement in which he displayed equal skill and intrepidity, succeeded in taking the two French ships, the Alcide and the Lys."—Lord Mahon's History of England, vol. iv., p. 68.