On the 22nd of March Sir James received orders from Lord Keith to proceed with the Cæsar to Minorca, for the purpose of superintending the various duties that might become necessary on the evacuation of that island; but as the order was grounded on a report which had reached his lordship from Toulon and Marseilles that the definitive treaty of peace was signed, which proved to be premature, Sir James postponed his departure until more authentic information should arrive, and he acquainted the Lords of the Admiralty of this circumstance by a letter to the secretary, dated on the following day. Lord Keith himself, however, arrived in the Foudroyant, from Malta, on the 26th of March, and, being in expectation of orders to proceed to England, he did not interfere with the duty of the squadron.
On the 24th of April, there being no doubt that Minorca would soon be given up to Spain, Sir James received the following orders from Lord Keith, appointing him to conduct that service:
By the Right Hon. Lord Keith, &c.
Whereas orders may be immediately expected for the evacuation of the island of Minorca, and as I think it indispensable that that service should be conducted by an officer of rank, ability, and experience, you are hereby required and directed to proceed thither in his Majesty's ship the Cæsar, to be in readiness to take upon you the charge and execution of that duty, following such directions in that behalf as I have already forwarded to the senior officer there, copies of the most material of which are herewith enclosed, and such other instructions as you may hereafter receive from me; communicating with me or with Rear-admiral Sir Richard Bickerton, at Malta, on all occasions when the necessity of the service on which you are employed may so require.—Given on board the Foudroyant, Gibraltar, 24th April 1802.
The following is a copy of the orders alluded to:
In the event of orders being received by you over land, or the arrival of instructions by sea which may not have reached me, for the evacuation of the island of Minorca, you are hereby specially instructed to carry them into effect in the manner most consistent with the directions which you shall receive. You will enter into immediate communication with the officer commanding his Majesty's land forces, and co-operate with him on all necessary occasions for carrying the evacuation into effect; and you will furnish to him, and to other officers of rank and their families, the best accommodation of which the disposable room in the ships will admit. In such case it will be incumbent on you to obtain, without a moment's loss of time, an exact estimate of the tonnage that will be required as well for the embarkation of the troops as of the stores, &c.
The above will be sufficient to show the arduous duty Sir James had to perform. The number of troops to be embarked at Minorca was 5,247; at Malta, 6,529; at Elba, 418; and at Egypt, 4,631; in all, 16,845. These were destined partly to England, and partly to Ireland; to transport which, men-of-war and merchant-ships were collected from all quarters.
On the same day Sir James received from Lord Keith a copy of a letter from the secretary of the Admiralty, dated 1st April 1802:
I transmit to your lordship herewith, by command of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, for your information, a Gazette Extraordinary, containing an account of the signature of the definitive treaty of peace at Amiens, on the 27th of last month, by the Plenipotentiary of his Majesty, and the Plenipotentiaries of France, and Spain, and the Batavian Republic. If no unforeseen event should happen, their lordships think it probable that the ratification will be exchanged in the course of three weeks from this time; but, whenever it shall take place, the earliest notice thereof shall be given to your lordship, &c.
The same despatch brought information that his Royal Highness the Duke of Kent (father of her present most excellent Majesty) had been appointed governor of Gibraltar; and, in consequence, the following orders were issued by Lord Keith: