Or take care of your King.”
Anonymous letters were sent to terrify him if he pardoned; and, what could not be charged, too, on mob-libellists, he was threatened, that unless Mr. Byng was shot, the city would refuse to raise the money for Hanover.
22nd.—The Militia Bill was considered in the Committee. Mr. Conway spoke for an hour very ably, to show how impracticable the plan of Townshend’s Bill was, how easy of execution his own, and then with modesty withdrew it. The Dissenters in some places petitioned against the exercise on Sundays, but their objections were not supported nor regarded.
On the 23rd, Keppel, More, and Dennis, three of the Court-Martial, waited on Lord Temple, and besought him to renew their application to the Throne for mercy; and the same day Sir Francis Dashwood acquainted the House that he intended to move a consideration of the twelfth Article. He said he had felt great animosity against the unhappy sufferer from the first representations; but his opinion was totally changed by the trial. That at most he could only impute misjudgment to Mr. Byng. To the Court-Martial he must impute it more strongly, who, he thought, had condemned the Admiral unjustly. No wilful error appeared against him. His manœuvre had been applauded: was nothing left to his judgment? Does the twenty-fifth resolution of the Court prove that he was negligent? The French had not waited for him: when they did not, he crowded more sail. The Council of War they never mentioned! Did not Mr. West approve the return to Gibraltar? Then, with increase of seriousness, he said, the Admiral’s blood will lie at the door of those who do not explain what they meaned by their sentence, of which no man else could give an interpretation. And it was the more necessary they should, as they had brought on officers an impossibility of serving under the twelfth Article. He reverted to the conduct of the Admiral, recapitulated some of the chief passages of the trial, urged that there had been an appearance of judgment in his conduct, which had only been defeated by the ships of the French being cleaner and in better order.
One witness had deposed, that there appeared no backwardness in the Admiral in coming to action; then, for God’s sake, of what was he condemned? Not a murmur was heard on his return to Gibraltar. It seems he did not hoist his top-gallant sail—that was, not doing his utmost! What a gross, shocking mistake of the Court-Martial, to think that the twelfth Article reached to this want of a top-gallant sail! The letter to the Admiralty he concluded had been laid before his Majesty, where he hoped the great severity of a blundering sentence would be properly considered—for, when it came to be considered and construed, could any man living suppose that the Court-Martial intended to express any blame but of error of judgment? Sure they were at liberty to explain this! It stood in the law that they might, but they must first be empowered by Act of Parliament to disclose what had passed amongst them. He spoke to their feeling, and hoped to hear the opinions of others on this cruel sentence.
Lord Barrington rose, as he said, to speak only to the Motion on the twelfth Article, and should lay Mr. Byng entirely out of the question, on whose conduct he, being a landsman, could not form an opinion: whatever favourable circumstances there were in his case, he hoped had been, and would be represented. The Article he justified on the necessity that had called for it. The last war had set out with conduct at sea not very honourable, yet no Court-Martial would condemn the offenders. This grew to be the universal complaint. It was said nobody would be hanged but for high treason. In a former war Kirby and Wade had been brought in guilty of disaffection to their Admiral, and had suffered. If the present Court-Martial misunderstood the Article in question, neither could one be framed which they would not misunderstand. He asked if this was a time to relax or enforce discipline? and moved for the Order of the Day.
Doddington replied, that he had no interest in this question, but as it touched Mr. Byng; in whose cause national justice, public and private compassion, were concerned too. That it was impossible to argue that ambiguities ought not to be cleared up. That for fear of bringing on a question, he would not call for the sentence; but he should be glad to know of what the Admiral stood condemned. He did know of what he was not condemned; and that supported him, as it was what stained neither the soldier nor the subject. Without doors the sentence was thought extremely cruel; and well might people think so, when the Judges who pronounced it declared they thought so themselves. Perhaps it might be deemed advisable not to carry it into execution: it certainly would be mercy to the Judges, and to the distress of their consciences; nor would clash with the King’s promise, who certainly never engaged his royal word to adopt the worst construction of a doubtful law. He wished to hear something thrown out for compassion.
This humane and pathetic speech—to the shame of our country I may call it this bold speech, considering in how unpopular circumstances it was made—was received with an attention and sensibility, which showed that truth and justice had been strangers, [who] to be approved, wanted only to be known.
Lord Strange said, he was at a loss to account for the Court-Martial being so affected. He thought the article plain enough, and to revise it would be more absurd than anything but the sentence. If the Court-Martial had done justice, how would it be just to them to alter the Article? They had puzzled themselves, and now the House was going to puzzle the service. We had no pretence to retry the cause. (An odd argument, if the Court had been puzzled, and had given an absurd sentence.) If the members of the Court would apply separately for revision, they might. For himself, he could not agree to weaken that Article; nor would it, he believed, be to any purpose. He had never seen a sea-sentence that a landsman could submit to. He wished the officers of the Navy were to be tried by a jury.