On the 12th of October Sir John Norris fail- CHAP. ed again in the Victory from St Helens, on a III. third expedition; attended by the Royal George, n Royal Sovereign, Barfleur, Neptune, Sandwich, 1741. Naffau, Buckingham, Newcastle, and Portmahon. The fleet proceeded for the Spanish coaft, where their arrival alarmed the inhabitants; but from the former inactivity of this admiral, with a fuperior fleet, and at a more seasonable time of the year, the Spaniards were not much terri fied at the approach of the British squadron especially as, fince their laft vifit, they had put themselves into a better posture of defence, by repairing their fortifications, and having their militia in readiness pofted along the maritime part of the country. Nor indeed had they any reason to be terrified; for the admiral paraded up and down the Spanish coaft, as if he had been fent only to amufe the Spaniards with the noble appearance of a British fleet, as he had formerly done, when he waited to conduct Don Carlos, and the 6,000 Spaniards, into his Italian dominions; and, without attempting any thing that might contribute to his own merit or the honour and fervice of his king and country, to remove the Spaniards from all apprehenfion of danger, he returned with the fquadron for England, and arrived at Spithead on the 6th of No

vember.

THESE feveral expeditions, carried on with fuch confiderable force, and conducted by an admiral who had acquired a very great reputation in his naval life, took up the whole fpeculation of the public, and terminated to the univerfal dislike of the people. As, certainly, nothing is attended with a greater difficulty, than, thoroughly and circumftantially, to arrive at a fair and

Tt 2

II.

PART and undisguised knowledge of truth; yet state truths, which are the very foul of history, are infinitely more difficult to come at than all others. 1741. Those who advised a measure, and those who put it in execution, are perhaps the only perfons who can oblige the nation with a precife and genuine relation of fuch tranfactions; but generally, both are fo deeply interested in the reprefentation, that little beyond the faint glimmering of truth can be expected from them: therefore, for what these armaments were intended, and what was the real occafion of their inactivity, unless illuftrated with the ufual explanation of the pacific fyftem of Sir Robert Walpole, to amuse the nation with a warlike but idle appearance, and at the fame time avoiding giving umbrage to, and fearing the refentment of France; was then, is yet, and perhaps for many years will be, abforped into the vortex of other political

arcanums.

4

DURING all this fummer, Admiral Haddock lay cruizing on his station in the Mediterranean, to protect the British trade, and to prevent the Spaniards from fending any reinforcements or fupplies to their dominions in America: this the admiral very punctually executed; he had all along, from the commencement of the war, given the greateft fecurity that was poffible to be done, to the trade of the British fubjects: nor can the escape of the Cadiz and Ferrol fquadrons, be imputed to any negligence in him; for it was entirely accidental, as the Spaniards fe:zed the opportunity when the admiral, in obedience to his orders, had quitted his ftation, to ob ftruct any embarkation from Majorca again the island of Minorca. This fituation of Admiral Haddock to protect the British trade, was

very interefting to the merchants, and confiftent CHAP. only with their service; but the popularity of the III. British nation wanted the admiral to attempt fome enterprizing ftroke on the Spaniards: and 1741. it has been reported by a nobleman of great knowledge and dignity, not only that the admiral had no orders to make any attempt against the Spaniards at land, but that he had exprefs orders to the contrary: if fo, this manifefts the reason why Sir John Norris rolled indolently over those feas, where he had, in the earlier part of life, loudly bellowed out the eruption of the British thunder, like a worthy commander; and if it was not fo, how otherwife can we account for the furprizing inactivity of Admiral Haddock? Certainly the admiral might have done the Spaniards great damage, only with his feamen and marines, by continually making descents on the open country, by plundering many unfortified places, and by burning and deftroying of the Spanish ships, in many of their harbours: it is highly probable this might have been done, and why it was not, requires a clue to unravel this political labyrinth: for from the noble character Admiral Haddock had gloriously acquired, and honourably fupported, not the leaft imputation of the want of courage, conduct, or a due attention to the public welfare, can be alledged against him; it cannot be fuppofed fuch an officer, who had manifeftly proved his love of action, would have voluntarily continued in a state of indolence: no, let us do juftice to the memory of fo brave a man, from the whole tenor of his former behaviour, we muft, we cannot but fuppofe, that he would willingly have acted for the honour and advantage of his country, to the utmost of his ability, and that for this purpose he

would

PART would have ventured his life with pleasure. He II. was a bold, prudent, and vigilant commander;

a ftate of inaction was his greatest mortification, 1741. and the continuance of it, by his reftraining inftructions, dejected that glorious British fpirit, which had bid defiance to all the hoft of Spain. It is highly becoming the truth and dignity of history, to fnatch from the stream of oblivion, the fame and merit of every worthy and illuftrious man; to vindicate his character from the mifreprefentation of prejudice and calumny; and to paint him to pofterity, with an attitude, suitable to his defert and value. Thus, faithfully related, fhall the actions of one brave man, enkindle emulation in the fouls of future heroes; this formed a Drake and a Raleigh; this gave a Haddock to England; this now yields Britain a Vernon; and fuch veracious reprefentations, fhall give to the royal navy, a long, a noble, and illuftrious train of commanders.

NOTHING further remarkable happened in the fquadron under Admiral Haddock, than their blocking up the Spanish fleet in the port of Cadiz, to prevent their junction with the Toulon fquadron, and the tranfports at Barcelona, intended to convey a body of forces to diftress the Queen of Hungary in Italy; till the clofe of July; when two English men of war, accidentally, in the evening, fell in with three French men of war off Cadiz, whom they took to be regifter fhips, with treasure from the Weft Indies, and accordingly hailed them; but receiving no answer till the third time of calling, and then a difatisfactory one, Capt. Barnet, commander of the Dragon, fired a fhot a-head; which the Chevalier Caylus, the French commodore, answered with a broadfide; on which a

harp

fharp engagement enfued, that lafted two hours; CHAP. when the French, after lofing one of their cap- III. tains, a young marquifs, and feveral of their men killed, and feventy wounded, thought fit to ceafe 1741. firing: and Chevalier Caylus, after mutual apologies with Capt. Barnet, was obliged to put into Malaga to refit, being feverely galled by the English, who had also their mafts and rigging greatly damaged, four men killed, and fourteen wounded.

THE British fquadron confifted of thirteen men of war, befides cruizers; with which the admiral continued all the month of October on his ftation, between Cape St Mary's and Cadiz: his appearance there, intimidated the fquadron in that port from failing; but in the mean time, the Spaniards effected their embarkation from Barcelona, and fent 15,000 men into Italy. The admiral, refolving to behave in the most serviceable manner for his country, continued his cruize rather longer than the season and hurricanes, fo frequent in those feas, would permit him; but his vigilance was ineffectual, for he was in November obliged to return to Gibraltar and refit: he had but juft entered the bay, when the Spanish fquadron, commanded by Don Navarro, failed from Cadiz, on the 24th of November, and paffed through the Streights, favoured by the darkness of the night; yet they did not pafs unobserved by the English; for in the morning of the 25th, a brisk east wind coming on, drove them fo far back that they continued almoft two days in fight of Gibraltar, when they failed and joined the Toulon fquadron, commanded by Monfieur de Court, off the ftreights of Malaga. Admiral Haddock, who was then repairing his fquadron, made the beft fhift he could to purfue them, failing out of the bay on the 2d of December, and in a few

days