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1780. artillery, ftores, and various neceffaries, afforded a sudden renovation of vigor and life to every thing. The former troops were speedily reimbarked, and after a fresh enFeb. counter with new ftorms, difficulties and dangers, the 25. whole were landed within three leagues of Mobille. Mr. Durnford, a captain of engineers and lieutenant governor of Weft Florida, commanded the poor garri fon, amounting to 284, including regulars, royalists, artillery men, feamen, 54 inhabitants and 51 armed negroes. On the 12th of March the Spaniards opened their battery, confifting of eight 18, and one 24 pounder. Mar. By fun fet the garrifon hung out a white flag; the capi14. tulation however was not figned till the 14th in the morning, when they furrendered prisoners of war. The furrender appeared inevitable, but was attended with circumftances exceedingly vexatious to the British. Gen. Campbell had marched from Pensacola, (as the Spaniards fay) with 1100 regulars and fome artillery for their relief, and was accompanied by fome Indians. The van of Campbell's force was at no great distance from the Spanish camp, when the fort was capitulating; and the Spaniards used the utmost precaution and expedition, in taking poffeffion of and covering themselves with the works, that they might be fecured against an attack, De Galvez boafted, that the British forces in the field and garrifon were fuperior in number to his own; and fcrupled not to declare openly, that with the fmallest activity and vigor in their works, the garrifon might have made good their defence until the arrival of the fuccour. But it seems as though the lieut. governor had not, from the beginning, the smallest idea of any attempt being made for the relief of the place; and accordingly,

on the appearance of the enemy, he confidered its lofs 1780. as a matter of course, and inevitable neceffity.

Sir George Rodney arrived at Grofs Iflet bay on the 27th of March. The French admiral de Guichen, having put to fea from Martinico with a fleet of 23 fail of the line and a 50 gun fhip, Sir George speedily pursued him with 20 ships of the line and the Centurion. The French were brought to action by fome of his headmost April ships, a little before one o'clock; and about the fame 17 hour, he himself in the Sandwich of 90 guns, commenced the action in the centre. After beating three ships out of the line, he was at length encountered alone by Mr. de Guichen in the Couronne of the fame force, fupported by his two feconds. The Sandwich fuftained the unequal combat for an hour and a half, when the French commander with his feconds bore away, whereby the French line of battle was totally broke in the centre. The great distance of the Britifh van and rear from their own centre, and the crippled condition of several of their ships, and the particularly dangerous state of the Sandwich, rendered an immediate purfuit impoffible. The French took fhelter under Guadaloupe, and Sir George his station off Fort Royal. In his public letter he spoke of de Guichen as a brave and gallant officer, and as having the honor of being nobly fupported during the whole action; but commended none of the British officers, except those of the Sandwich; though it appears from his lift, that while the Sandwich had 18 killed and 51 wounded, the Cornwall, capt. Edwards, had 21 killed and 49 wounded; the Trident, capt. Molloy, had 14 killed and 26 wounded; and the Conqueror, adm. Rowley's fhip, capt. Watson, had 13 killed and

1780. 36 wounded: capt. St. John of the Intrepid, and three of his lieutenants, were killed, out of feven belonging: to faid fhip. Sir George kept his station for fome time, and then returned to St. Lucie. On receiving fresh intelligence of de Guichen's approach to the windward. of Martinico, he put to fea and got fight of his fleet the 10th of May. The French had it conftantly in their power to bring on an engagement, and as constantly avoided it: but in the courfe of their manœuvring they had nearly been entangled, and were faved. from a close and general action only by a critical shift of the wind; and even with that aid, and all the fails: they could carry, their rear was not entirely preferved May 15. from conflict about feven in the evening of the 15th.. After this they took care to keep at a greater distance. The vigorous efforts of Sir George fo involved the fleets 19. on the 19th, that the French, for the preservation of their rear, were under the neceffity of hazarding a partial engagement, by which, having extricated their rear, they bore away with all the fail they could poffibly press, and got into Martinico. Sir George fent three of his fleet to St. Lucie, and stood with the remainder toward Barbadoes.

Before the Christmas recefs of parliament, the duke of Richmond made a speech on the neceffity of practifing the most rigid oeconomy, in order to extricate the country from its many difficulties; which was followed by a motion for an addrefs to his majefty, reprefenting that a confiderable reduction of his civil lift would be. an example well becoming his paternal affection for his. people, and his own dignity. The motion was rejected. by a majority of more than two to one. This was fol-,

lowed fome days after, by a fuccessful motion of lord 1789. Shelburne, the purport of which was, to confider of the appointment of a committee for inquiring into the feveral parts of the public expenditure, as alfo of the reductions or favings that could be made with confiftency. In the house of commons Mr. Burke propofed a plan of œconomy and reform; and gave notice of his intending to bring it fhortly before them, as a business that was become indifpenfible. Schemes of oeconomy and reform were highly adapted to the prevailing taste of the nation as was foon apparent; for during the recefs of parliament, the bufinefs of public meetings, of petitions to the houfe of commons, and of affociations for the redress of grievances, was commenced. The adoption of these means for procuring a reform in the executive departments of the ftatè foon became very general; and the minds of the public being agitated and warmed by these meetings, the views of many perfons of no mean weight and confequence were extended ftill further. They gradually began to confider, that nothing less than fhortening the duration of parliament, and the obtaining a more equal representation of the people, could reach to a perfect cure of the prefent, and afford an effectual prefervative against the return of fimilar evils.

The large, populous and opulent county of York, led the way and fet the example to the reft of the kingdom. A very numerous and refpectable meeting of the gentlemen, clergy and freeholders, including perfons of the first confideration and property, was held at the city of York on the 30th of laft December. Their petition to the houfe of commons was unanimously agreed upon; and

1780. accompanied with a refolution, that a committee of fixty-one gentlemen be appointed, to carry on the neceffary correspondence for effectually promoting the object of the petition; and likewife to prepare a plan of an association, on legal and conftitutional grounds, to support a laudable reform, and fuch other measures as may conduce to restore the freedom of parliament.

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The counties of Middlefex and Hants ftood forth as the feconds of Yorkshire; and adopted fimilar meafures. The example was foon followed by the county palatine of Chester; and in a clofe fucceffion of time, by the counties of Herts, Suffex, Huntingdon, Surrey, Cumberland, Bedford, Effex, Somerfet, Gloucester, Wilts, Dorfet, Devon, Norfolk, Berks, Bucks, Nottingham, Kent, Northumberland, Suffolk, Hereford, Cambridge and Derby.. The Welsh counties of Denbigh, Flint and Brecknock, likewise petitioned, as did the cities of London, Westminster, York, Bristol, Gloucester, and Hereford, with the towns of Nottingham, Reading, Cambridge, Bridgewater, and Newcastle upon Tyne. Northamptonshire declined petitioning, but voted refolutions and inftructions to their reprefentatives, including the purport of the petitions. The measure of forming committees and entering into affociations, was a great ftumbling block in fome of the counties, and was omitted by feveral. The members of adminiftration and men in office, were not wholly deficient in their endeavours to prevent the county meetings: but they were generally overborne by the torrent.

The Yorkshire petition, fubfcribed by upward of 8. eight thousand freeholders, was the firft prefented. Sir George Saville introduced it, and in his fpeech faid

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