On the twenty-seventh of May, his majesty went to the house of peers, and, after having given the royal assent to the bills then depending, thanked his parliament, in a speech from the throne, for their vigorous and effectual support. He acquainted them, that the injuries and hostilities which had been for some time committed by the French against his dominions and subjects, were then followed by the actual invasion of the island of Minorca, though guaranteed to him by all the great powers in Europe, and particularly by the French king; that he had, therefore, found himself obliged, in vindication of the honour of his crown, and of the rights of his people, to declare war in form against France; and that he relied on the Divine Protection, and the vigorous assistance of his faithful subjects, in so just a cause. The parliament was then adjourned to the eighteenth of June; and from thence afterwards to the eighteenth of July, and then it was prorogued.
CHAPTER XI.
Letter from M. Rouillé to the Secretary of State..... The two Nations recriminate on each other..... The French threaten Great Britain with an Invasion..... Requisition of six thousand Dutch Troops according to Treaty..... Message from the King to the Parliament..... A Body of Hessians and Hanoverians transported into England..... French Preparations at Toulon..... Admiral Byng sails for the Mediterranean..... He arrives at Gibraltar..... engages M. de la Galissonniere off Minorca..... and returns to Gibraltar..... Ferment of the People at Home..... Admiral Byng superseded and sent home Prisoner..... Account of the Siege of St. Philip’s Fort in Minorca..... Precautions taken by General Blakeney..... Siege commenced..... English Squadron appears..... General Attack of the Works..... The Garrison capitulates..... Sir Edward Hawke sails to Minorca..... Rejoicings in France, and Clamours in England..... Gallantry of Fortunatus Wright..... General Blakeney created a Baron..... Measures taken for the Defence of Great Britain..... Proclamation..... Earl of Loudon appointed Commander-in-Chief in America..... His Britannic Majesty’s Declaration of War..... Substance of the French King’s Declaration..... Address of the City of London..... Trial of General Fowke..... Affairs of America..... Colonel Bradstreet defeats a Body of French on the River Onondaga..... Earl of Loudon arrives at New York..... Oswego reduced by the Enemy..... Further Proceedings in America..... Naval Operations in that Country..... Transactions in the East Indies..... Calcutta besieged by the Viceroy of Bengal..... Deplorable Fate of those who perished in the Dungeon there..... Additional Cruelties exercised on Mr. Holwell..... Resolution against Angria..... Port of Geriah taken by Admiral Watson and Mr. Clive..... Their subsequent Proceedings in the River Ganges
LETTER FROM M. ROUILLE.
In the month of January, Mr. Fox, lately appointed secretary of state, received a letter from M. Rouillé, minister and secretary of state for foreign affairs to the king of France, expostulating, in the name of his sovereign, upon the orders and instructions for committing hostilities, which his Britannic majesty had given to general Braddock, and admiral Boscawen, in diametrical opposition to the most solemn assurances so often repeated by word of mouth, as well as in writing. He complained of the insult which had been offered to his master’s flag in attacking and taking two of his ships in the open sea, without any previous declaration of war; as also by committing depredations on the commerce of his most christian majesty’s subjects, in contempt of the law of nations, the faith of treaties, and the usages established among civilised nations. He said, the sentiments and character of his Britannic majesty gave the king his master room to expect, that, at his return to London, he would disavow the conduct of his admiralty; but seeing that, instead of punishing, he rather encouraged those who had been guilty of such depredations, his most christian majesty would be deemed deficient in what he owed to his own glory, the dignity of his crown, and the defence of his people, if he deferred any longer demanding a signal reparation for the outrage done to the French flag, and the damage sustained by his subjects. He therefore demanded immediate and full restitution of all the French ships, which, contrary to law and decorum, had been taken by the English navy, together with all the officers, soldiers, mariners, guns, stores, and merchandise. He declared, that should this restitution be made, he should be willing to engage in a negotiation for what further satisfaction he might claim, and continue desirous to see the differences relating to America determined by a solid and equitable accommodation; but if, contrary to all hopes, these demands should be rejected, he would consider such a denial of justice as the most authentic declaration of war, and as a formed design in the court of London to disturb the peace of Europe. To this peremptory remonstrance the British secretary was directed to answer, that though the king of England would readily consent to an equitable and solid accommodation, he would not comply with the demand of immediate and full restitution as a preliminary condition; for his majesty had taken no steps but such as were rendered just and indispensable by the hostilities which the French began in time of profound peace, and a proper regard for his own honour, the rights and possessions of his crown, and the security of his kingdoms.
Without all doubt the late transactions had afforded specious arguments for both nations to impeach the conduct of each other. The French court, conscious of their encroachments in Nova Scotia, affected to draw a shade over these, as particulars belonging to a disputed territory, and to divert the attention to the banks of the Ohio, where Jamonville and his detachment had been attacked and massacred by the English, without the least provocation. They likewise inveighed against the capture of their ships, before any declaration of war, as flagrant acts of piracy; and some neutral powers of Europe seemed to consider them in the same point of view. It was certainly high time to check the insolence of the French by force of arms, and surely this might have been as effectually and expeditiously exerted under the usual sanction of a formal declaration; the omission of which exposed the administration to the censure of our neighbours, and fixed the imputation of fraud and free-booting on the beginning of the war. The ministry was said to have delayed the ceremony of denouncing war from political considerations, supposing that, should the French be provoked into the first declaration of this kind, the powers of Europe would consider his most christian majesty as the aggressor, and Great Britain would reap all the fruits of the defensive alliances in which she had engaged. But nothing could be more weak and frivolous than such a conjecture. The aggressor is he who first violates the peace; and every ally will interpret the aggression according to his own interest and convenience. The administration maintained the appearance of candour in the midst of their hostilities. The merchant ships, of which a great number had been taken from the French, were not sold and divided among the captors, according to the practice of war; but carefully sequestered, with all their cargoes and effects, in order to be restored to the right owners, in case the disputes between the two nations should not be productive of an open rupture. In this particular, however, it was a pity that a little common sense had not been blended with their honourable intention. Great part of the cargoes consisted of fish, and other perishable commodities, which were left to rot and putrefy, and afterwards thrown overboard, to prevent contagion; so that the owners and captors were equally disappointed, and the value of them lost to both nations.