The Life of Admiral Viscount Exmouth Part 10

The ordinary cares and duties of his command, and his very extensive correspondence, for the number of letters he was in the habit of writing on service was almost incredible, were by no means Sir Edward's heaviest charge. Perhaps there was no amba.s.sador on whom a greater diplomatic responsibility was imposed than on the commander in the Mediterranean.

It formed by much the largest and most anxious portion of Collingwood's duties, and the greatness of the trust, the impossibility of confiding it to another than the commander on the station, and the uncommon ability with which Collingwood sustained it, gave the British Government much uneasiness when the state of that officer's health threatened to deprive them of his services. It increased materially in extent and importance after Sir Edward had succeeded to the command, when the reverses of the French in Russia opened a prospect of deliverance to all the states along the sh.o.r.es of the Mediterranean, including the southern provinces of France itself. Sir Edward exerted himself unceasingly to prepare them for this consummation, and to encourage them to seize the first opportunity to effect it; and the judgment he displayed in these services obtained from a British Cabinet minister the declaration, that "great as he may be as a sea-officer, he is still greater as a statesman."

One professional distinction was yet wanting, and this he anxiously desired, as a means of hastening an honourable peace, and on personal grounds, perhaps, to connect his name with the history of his country--to command in a general action. Though the enemy had shrunk from meeting him, as he expected when he first a.s.sumed the command, yet, while they continued to build s.h.i.+ps of the largest cla.s.s, and to keep their fleet always ready for sea, he could not but hope that they only waited for a favourable opportunity to try the fortune of their flag. At the end of 1811 there were sixteen sail of the line in Toulon. Two others were launched next year, and by the close of 1813 there were twenty-two, of which six were three-deckers of the largest size. Sir Edward gave them every opportunity, and every prudent advantage, but he never could induce them to attack him. They had been forbidden to engage, and the Emperor had hitherto seen nothing to induce him to recall the order. Thus, though they were kept in a state of high equipment through the whole period of Sir Edward's command, they never ventured far beyond the protection of the batteries; and came out only when they had a leading wind to return.

The restoration of his fleet was a favourite ulterior object with Napoleon; and if a different result of the Russian campaign had placed the resources of Europe at his command, there is no doubt but that the days of St. Vincent and Trafalgar would have been renewed. There was an English officer who was much in his presence and confidence at Elba, and to whom he proposed the most flattering inducements to enter his service. "I am honoured by your Majesty's offer," was the reply, "but I was born an Englishman." Conversing with him on naval affairs, he one day said, "I would have had two hundred sail of the line, and when I brought against you such a force, you must have been crushed." But the officer soon convinced him that the tactics which he had made so effectual on land, by concentrating an overwhelming force upon his enemy, were not applicable to naval operations. Sailors are made but slowly. It requires an able commander to direct twenty s.h.i.+ps, and the most skilful could scarcely manoeuvre forty. Dark nights and gales would disperse the unwieldy armada, and a small, but well managed force, would hang upon it and destroy it in detail. The Emperor saw the force of the objections, and closed the conversation with the compliment already related.

Once, towards the end of the war, an opportunity seemed to be offered by which the enemy might be compelled to sacrifice part of his fleet, or to risk a general battle. On the morning of November 5th. 1813, the French fleet had sailed out of Toulon with the wind at E.S.E., and advanced to a greater distance than usual, when the wind suddenly s.h.i.+fted to south-west. Immediately the enemy made every exertion to work back to their harbour. The main body of the British fleet was just in sight to the southward, and an advanced squadron of four sail, with a fifth at no great distance, was about half-way between the two fleets. This squadron lay up for the enemy under all sail, with every appearance of being able to cut off the rear s.h.i.+ps, the _Wagram_ of 130 guns, with four two-deckers and four frigates. On the approach of the British, the enemy tacked, and stood in so close, that many thought they intended to run themselves on sh.o.r.e; but they again tacked off to the southward, and the advanced squadrons stood on with every prospect of pa.s.sing to windward of them. Unfortunately, as the British s.h.i.+ps approached, the wind headed them, and threw them off so much, that they only fetched just within gun-shot of the _Wagram_, the enemy's rear s.h.i.+p. The fleet was at this time bringing up the original wind, and the _Caledonia, San Josef_, and _Boyne_, actually fetched within gun-shot of the French Admiral, before the wind headed them. The _Wagram_, which had reserved her fire for the _Caledonia_, exchanged broadsides with her, but at too great a distance to produce material effect; and the enemy being so far to windward, succeeded in reaching Toulon. Eleven shots from the _Wagram_ and the batteries struck the _Caledonia_, wounding the mainmast, cutting some of the shrouds, and destroying a small boat upon the booms. Much disappointment was felt by all the fleet, and the conduct of the advanced squadron was strongly censured by many in the s.h.i.+ps astern, who supposed that they had intentionally bore away, when in fact they had come up within influence of the head wind.

A more serious, though very partial affair occurred in the following February. On the evening of the 12th, Rear-Admiral Kosmao Kerjulien sailed from Toulon, with three sail of the line, and three frigates, to escort a seventy-four which was expected from Genoa. On the following morning, the fleet returning from Mahon, discovered the enemy to the eastward of Hyeres Islands. They were at first supposed to be British s.h.i.+ps, but the Admiral himself going aloft, clearly made out their character. The _Boyne_, Captain Burlton, a small three-decker, sister s.h.i.+p to the _Victory_, was considerably in advance of the fleet. It was on Sunday, and the s.h.i.+ps were preparing for the morning service, which had already commenced on board the _Boyne_, when the signal for a general chase was thrown out. The wind blew strong from E.S.E., and the _Boyne_, perceiving the enemy's intention to come through the little pa.s.s of Hyeres Bay, stood for that pa.s.s to intercept them. Sir Edward, who was leaning on the foreyard, watched her with admiration, but extreme anxiety. "Hold on, my brave Burlton!" he exclaimed, as the _Boyne_ dashed at their whole force. Then, as he feared they would all close, and overpower her before he could arrive to her a.s.sistance, he turned to an officer at his side, and declared with energy, "If they take her they sha'nt keep her, for I'll go in with the fleet!"

Pa.s.sing through the enemy immediately astern of a frigate, to which she gave a broadside, the _Boyne_ separated the rear-s.h.i.+p from the others, and brought her to action. This s.h.i.+p, the _Romulus_, a two-decker, immediately hauled in for the north sh.o.r.e, and kept so close, going round all the bays, that the _Boyne_ could neither run her on board, nor get inside her. They ran side by side with studding sails set, and at the rate of ten knots, before the wind, which blew directly into Toulon.

Once it was thought that the _Romulus_ was aground, as she luffed up to the wind, which brought all her sails aback, and her starboard lower studding-sail in upon the gangway. The _Boyne_ also backed her sails, and continued close to the enemy; but the _Romulus_ paying off, and filling again, continued to run alongsh.o.r.e, and when she reached Cape Brun, at the entrance of the harbour, had gained on the _Boyne_. The _Caledonia_ had by this time come up, and the Admiral waved to Captain Burlton to haul his wind to the southward. The _Boyne_ tacked accordingly, being then within pistol shot of Cape Brun battery; and the _Caledonia_ fired a broadside at the _Romulus_, as she ran in to join her consorts in the harbour. The _Caledonia_ then gave the _Boyne_ three hearty cheers, and Captain Burlton received the thanks of the commander-in-chief by signal.

Napoleon was now contending for existence on the soil of France, and the remains of his former conquests were rapidly melting from him. In the course of January and February, every place in the Adriatic had surrendered. In the following month, Lord William Bentinck left Palermo with an army, supported by a squadron under Commodore J. Rowley, to reduce Genoa. The advanced guard was landed considerably to the eastward, and moved forward, supported by the squadron, carrying and dismantling the batteries as they advanced. On the 30th, the defences round the Gulf of Spezzia capitulated. On the 13th of April, the army was landed at Recce, in the Gulf of Genoa; and at day-break on the 17th, a joint attack was made by the land and sea forces on the defences around the place. These were carried in the course of the day; and preparations were in progress to attack the town, when Sir Edward Pellew arrived with several line-of battle s.h.i.+ps. The governor, already alarmed at the rapid progress of the a.s.sailants, capitulated, and the town was taken possession of next morning. Four gun-brigs, and a number of merchant vessels were found in the mole; and the _Brilliant_, a fine seventy-four on the stocks, was launched, and still remains in the navy under the appropriate name of the _Genoa_.

Paris had already capitulated; and on the 28th of this month, Napoleon left France in a British frigate for Elba. He landed on the 3rd of May on the little island which had been a.s.signed to him for a sovereignty, and a prison: and thus ended a war, one of the longest, the most dreadful, but in all respects the most glorious, which England had ever waged.

CHAPTER X.

SECOND MEDITERRANEAN COMMAND.

The contest for naval supremacy was so entirely decided by the battle of Trafalgar, that no opportunity was afterwards afforded for great successes. But at the end of the war, when the leading Peninsular generals were raised to the peerage, it was thought due to the service to confer a similar distinction upon a naval officer. Sir Edward Pellew received this mark of his sovereign's favour. He was created Baron Exmouth, of Canonteign, a mansion and estate in the South of Devon which he had purchased for a family property; and the pension was settled on him which is usually granted when a peerage is conferred for eminent public services.

He was still in the Mediterranean when the news of his elevation reached him, and he received the first account of it from a newspaper. In allusion to it, he writes:--"I was never more surprised than at this event. Never was man more ignorant of its being thought of; much less reason had I to expect it; and it has happened only by a combination of events quite unconnected with influence or power. I had some reason to believe a red ribbon was intended, and ---- wrote that it had been granted; but if so, it was changed next day to what it is, which, for the sake of our family, I hope will be useful and respectable. For myself I am indifferent, and know it will only tend to multiply my enemies, and increase my difficulties." ... In the course of this year, he received a handsome compliment from the officers of the Mediterranean fleet. It is a beautiful model of the Warwick vase, executed by Messrs.

Rundel and Bridge, at a cost of 580 guineas, and bears the following inscription:--"Presented to the Right Honourable Admiral Lord Exmouth, &c., &c., &c., as a mark of their respect and esteem, by the officers who served under his Lords.h.i.+p's command in the Mediterranean."

At the beginning of the next year, when the order of the Bath was extended, he was included among the knights commanders; and was afterwards advanced on an early vacancy to be a grand cross. The former was entirely unexpected, as he knew nothing of the intention to extend the order. He thus begins a letter to his brother on the 5th of January:--"I seize this moment, when the arrival of the post has brought me the enclosed without one single line from any friend I have on earth: possibly, it was owing to the lateness of the nomination. I had not the most distant idea of this event, and I can only account for its coming to me by the squabbling of parties ... to end which, it was probably decided on giving it to the commander-in-chief. On this ground only can I account for it, as it was by no means necessary to add this, which was once considered due to me as a reward of sufficient magnitude, without any other.

"6th January, 1815.--I had written the above before any gazette reached me, which explains the whole. But as it shows my heart and mind to you without reserve, and as I can call G.o.d to witness, that I never in my life kept anything from you. I send it.--May G.o.d bless you."

He had remained but a few months in England, when, on the renewal of hostilities consequent on the return of Napoleon from Elba, he was sent back to the Mediterranean. Hoisting his flag in the _Boyne_, and again with his brother, Sir Israel, as captain of the fleet, he hastened to his station. His services were first required at Naples, which he was so happy as to save from all the horrors of anarchy. Murat, that he might create a diversion in favour of Napoleon, had rashly attacked Austria, and thus violated the compact by which he was allowed to hold his usurped throne. What followed scarcely deserves the name of war. His army, not waiting for the enemy to approach, fled like sheep, and left the Austrian commander an unresisted march to Naples. Lord Exmouth, after having arranged with Lord W. Bentinek for the co-operation of the forces from Sicily with the allies, had arrived on the evening of the 18th of May, at Civita Vecchia, whence, on learning the rapid advance of the Austrians, he proceeded without delay for Naples, where he anch.o.r.ed on the evening of the 20th. Madame Murat embarked the same night on board a British seventy-four, and immediately wrote to Lord Exmouth, requesting that he would take measures for the security and peace of the city. No capital in Europe contains within itself more formidable elements for popular tumult; and upon this occasion, the mob, excited by the general confusion, and not restrained by any adequate authority, were proceeding to the last excesses of rapine and violence. Lord Exmouth was not slow to take the steps which such an emergency required.

On the morning after his arrival, he landed the marines, who took possession of the forts, and the castle of St. Elmo, and conjointly with the civic guard, restored, and maintained order. On the 23rd, the Austrian army entered the city, and next day the forts were delivered up, and the marines embarked. The king, Ferdinand, was unbounded in his expressions of grat.i.tude, and invested him on the spot with his highest order.

After having concluded some very difficult and delicate negociations respecting the queen and court of Murat, who were eventually sent to Trieste, Lord Exmouth proposed to General Bianci, to embark a few thousand men, and make a dash at Toulon. Unfortunately, the instructions of the Austrian commander would not allow him to join in such an expedition. The squadron therefore sailed for Leghorn, where it landed the first division of the Austrian army, and thence proceeded to Genoa.

Accounts received on the 3rd of July of the situation of affairs on the coast of Provence determined Lord Exmouth, in concert with Sir Hudson Lowe, to embark 3,000 men, part of the garrison of Genoa, consisting of the 14th, and two Italian regiments, and including 200 artillery and cavalry, with which he sailed direct for Ma.r.s.eilles. Here the troops were landed, with a body of seamen, and the marines of the squadron, and stopped the advance of the rebel Marshal Brune, who was marching from Toulon upon Ma.r.s.eilles avowedly to destroy it. The inhabitants, grateful to their preservers, were unceasing in their attentions, both to the fleet and army, as long as they remained in the place. Their sense of the important services which the two commanders had rendered, as well to their city, as to the cause of their rightful sovereign, was marked by the present to each of a large and beautiful piece of plate, which was executed at Paris. On the base of that presented to Lord Exmouth is a medallion of the n.o.ble Admiral; and a view of the port of Ma.r.s.eilles, with the _Boyne_, his flags.h.i.+p, entering in full sail. It bears the simple and expressive inscription,--"_A l'Amiral mi Lord Exmouth, la ville de Ma.r.s.eilles reconnoissante_."

The squadron wintered in Leghorn roads, being detained in the Mediterranean for instructions, which were delayed for some time, through the magnitude of the negotiations then in progress. At the beginning of 1816, Lord Exmouth was ordered to proceed to the different Barbary powers, to claim the release of all the Ionian slaves, who, by the late political arrangements, had become British subjects: and to make peace for Sardinia. These were to be matters of compulsion; but he was also to make peace for any of the other states in the Mediterranean who would authorize him to do so. Naples readily availed herself of his offer. Unable to protect herself, it was to her an inestimable blessing to gain security from such a dreadful scourge on the easiest terms which the influence of the first maritime power could obtain for her. Nothing can be conceived more horrible than the condition of the Christian slaves, subjected as they were, in countries where no law gave protection, to all the caprice and cruelty of masters, who hated and despised them for their faith. Nor was it a small aggravation of their misery, that as Roman Catholics, they were cut off from the observance of rites which they deemed essential. To the fear and danger of being reduced to this miserable condition was the maritime population of the states around the Mediterranean continually exposed: while the great naval powers, deterred from exterminating these pirates, either by more pressing concerns, or by the failure of the different expeditions which had attempted it, purchased a discreditable security by presents.

Lord Exmouth afterwards visited Rome; but the Pope declined the offer of his services, perhaps from difficulties arising out of religious scruples at confiding a formal trust to a Protestant. He received the Admiral, however, with the utmost courtesy, and even attended to his request upon a subject where it was scarcely to have been expected that the interference of a Protestant would be allowed. A young Spanish lady, who was confined in a convent at Minorca, under circ.u.mstances of an oppressive and distressing nature, had contrived to bring her case to the knowledge of Lord Exmouth, and to place in his hands a memorial, which he took an opportunity to deliver personally to the Pope. A British admiral interceding with the Pope for a Spanish nun was a novel occurrence; but Pius VII. received the memorial very graciously, and placed it in the hands of Gonsalvi that proper inquiries might be made.

It is satisfactory to add, that Lord Exmouth received a letter a few months after, informing him that the poor girl's prayer to be set at liberty had been complied with.

Before he took any steps in fulfilment of his instructions he made the arrangements necessary for an attack, which was to be the alternative if negotiations failed; a result much to be expected at Algiers, which had hitherto withstood so many formidable armaments. He ordered Captain Warde, of the _Banterer_, to proceed to Algiers, where he was carefully to observe the town and the nature of its defences. Lord Exmouth's instructions on this occasion, and which were written with his own hand, afford an admirable ill.u.s.tration of the forethought with which he provided for every contingency, and which was the chief secret of his constant success.

It were injustice to Captain Warde to state how he performed this difficult and important service in any language but that of the Admiral.

In his despatch which accompanied the treaty made with Tripoli, and which he sent to the Admiralty when proceeding on his second visit to Algiers, he writes:--"Previous to my leaving Leghorn, I despatched Captain Warde in the _Banterer_ to Algiers, to make his observations on the anchorage and sea-defences, which service he performed with entire secresy and judgment, and highly to my satisfaction. The accompanying plan of the works, with his remarks after visiting all the forts and a.r.s.enal, I found correct in every respect; and when it is considered that he had not the means of taking angles, but was compelled to pace the distances, and trust much to his recollection, to avoid being suspected, I think him deserving of the highest commendation. The soundings round the mole, and the bay to the N.W. of the lighthouse, were all made by him personally in the night without discovery; nor did even the consul suspect the purport of his visit."

Indeed, Captain Warde played the careless idler to perfection. He escorted the ladies of the consul's family everywhere by day, and danced with them in the evenings, covering a keen and constant observation with the appearance of frivolity; while at night he was silently moving outside the port in a boat, taking the soundings with a pole.

It adds to the merit of this officer, that all the previous plans of Algiers were so incorrect, that he was obliged to begin his own from the outlines, as if the place were a new discovery. Lord Exmouth afterwards declared that if he had proceeded to hostilities at his first visit, without having been furnished with Captain Warde's plan and observations, he should have a.s.signed to the s.h.i.+ps stations which they could not have occupied. The plan in the Admiralty book of charts, among other inaccuracies, laid down the sea-face of the city as four miles long, instead of one; omitted the bay to the north-west of the lighthouse; represented the pier on which the strong fortifications are built as quite straight from the lighthouse in a southerly direction, whereas it forms a quarter of the compa.s.s, bending round to the south-west, or towards the city; and laid the distance between the piers at the entrance of the mole, a mile, instead of sixty, or sixty-five fathoms. Notwithstanding this, and his great disadvantages arising out of the secresy he was compelled to observe, Captain Warde's observations were so accurate and complete, that Lord Exmouth afterwards sent to the Admiralty his original plan, to ill.u.s.trate the despatches of the battle.

Thus prepared for every alternative, Lord Exmouth, on the 21st of March, made known to the squadron the service upon which they were proceeding in the following General Order:--

"The Commander-in-Chief embraces the earliest moment in which he could inform the fleet of his destination, without inconvenience to the public service.

"He has been instructed and directed by his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, to proceed with the fleet to Algiers, and there make certain arrangements for diminis.h.i.+ng at least the piratical excursions of the Barbary states by which thousands of our fellow-creatures, innocently following their commercial pursuits, have been dragged into the most wretched and revolting state of slavery.

"The Commander-in-Chief is confident that this outrageous system of piracy and slavery rouses in common the same spirit of indignation which he himself feels; and should the government of Algiers refuse the reasonable demands he bears from the Prince Regent, he doubts not but the flag will be honourably and zealously supported by every officer and man under his command, in his endeavours to procure the acceptation of them by force; and if force must be resorted to, we have the consolation of knowing that we fight in the sacred cause of humanity, and cannot fail of success.

"These arrangements being made at Algiers and Tunis, the Commander-in-Chief announces with pleasure that he is ordered to proceed with all the s.h.i.+ps not on the peace establishment to Spithead without delay, except the _Bombay_, bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Sir Charles Penrose, which s.h.i.+p is to be relieved by the _Albion_, daily expected.

(Signed) "EXMOUTH.

"N.B. This General Memorandum to be entered in the public order-book, and communicated to the respective officers, seamen, and marines of the fleet."

The squadron went in the first place to Algiers, where Lord Exmouth obtained the objects of his mission without difficulty. The Ionian slaves were freely released as British subjects; and peace was made for Naples and Sardinia, the former paying a ransom of five hundred, the latter of three hundred dollars a head. The fleet then sailed for Tunis, where accident gave an entirely new character to the subsequent proceedings. Lord Exmouth had directed the interpreter to tell the Bey, that it would be very agreeable to the Prince Regent if slavery were abolished; but the interpreter, by mistake, said that the Prince Regent had determinded to abolish it. Upon this the negotiation was suspended, and the Divan a.s.sembled. Lord Exmouth soon became aware of the mistake, and availing himself of the important advantage which it gave him, he allowed them two hours for deliberation, and retired to the consul's house to await the result. Before the time expired he was sent for, and informed that the Divan had deliberated on his proposal, and would comply with it. Proceeding to Tripoli, he made a similar demand, and it was there submitted to without hesitation.

In the mean time, he had received instructions to claim from Algiers the privilege of selling prizes, and refitting privateers in that port, which had lately been granted by treaty to America. Returning on this errand, he took the opportunity to press, as at the other Regencies, the abolition of Christian slavery; but here he had a more formidable power to deal with. His demand was refused; and when he hinted at the alternative of force, the Dey answered as a man confident in his strength to resist it. Lord Exmouth a.s.sured him that he formed a very inadequate idea of a British man of-war, and declared, that if hostilities should become necessary, he would engage with five line-of-battle s.h.i.+ps to destroy the place. A very sharp altercation ensued; and Lord Exmouth left the Divan, giving them two hours to consider his proposal. When the time expired, he took Mr. M'Donell, the consul, and walked with him towards the boat; but they were stopped at the gate. After a communication had been made to the Dey, Lord Exmouth was allowed to pa.s.s on, but the consul was detained, on the pretext that money was due from Portugal, for which, as well as for England, Mr.

M'Donell was accredited. The whole party had been in the greatest danger. The crowd who surrounded them discussed aloud the question of putting them all to death; and the conduct of the captain of the port was extremely suspicious. He was observed to c.o.c.k his pistol, and Sir Israel Pellew exclaiming, "At least we'll die with arms in our hands!"

attempted to draw his sword. Happily, the pressure of the throng prevented him; for in the temper which then prevailed, the appearance of a hostile movement would probably have been fatal. Lord Exmouth was much irritated at this outrage; and when one of the princ.i.p.al officers of state followed, and asked him, as he was just stepping into the boat, to allow them two days to consider his proposal, he replied with warmth "No, not two hours!" Hastening on board, he got the fleet under weigh to attack the place immediately; but the wind was too strong to allow the s.h.i.+ps to take their stations, and they were obliged to anchor again.

Two British officers, Captains Pech.e.l.l and Warde, had gone on sh.o.r.e, not antic.i.p.ating a hostile movement. They were seized by the people, who dragged them off their horses, rifled their pockets, tied their hands behind them, and in this state marched them through the town to the Dey.

But when they reached the palace they were immediately released; and except some trifling articles, which could not be found, all their property was restored. After two or three interviews with the Dey, the object of which appeared to be to investigate the cause of a cut which Captain Pech.e.l.l had received in the hand, when he was taken off the horse, they were allowed to go to their s.h.i.+ps. Such conduct, at a moment when Lord Exmouth was evidently preparing to attack the place, indicated an irresolution which might enable him to gain his object without a battle; and next morning, as a calm, with a heavy swell, prevented the fleet from moving, he sent Captain Dundas, of the _Tagus_, with renewed proposals. The result was, that Sir Israel Pellew, with Captains Brisbane, Pech.e.l.l, Dundas, Warde, and others, went on sh.o.r.e; and the Dey agreed to appoint an amba.s.sador, who should proceed first to Constantinople for the sanction of the Porte, and thence to England to treat on Lord Exmouth's proposal. It may be supposed that the Admiral would not have endured this evasion, had he been authorised to act; but he had pressed the demand without instructions, and felt that he would not be justified in resorting to force, if it could be creditably avoided. He was not even certain that his conduct in thus pressing the abolition of slavery would be favourably received; for it was a common remark, that the obstructions to the navigation of the Mediterranean, created by the Barbary corsairs, were advantageous to British commerce.

He expressed this doubt in a letter which he sent on sh.o.r.e on the 23rd of June, when the fleet had arrived in the channel:--"It is with great delight I again bring myself nearer to you and the rest of my family, after a longer absence than I had any reason to expect when I left England, and which has at last ended without realizing that for which it was said we were kept so long abroad after peace was signed. I had anxiously hoped I should have been directed to enforce the abandonment of their cruel system of retaining Christians who fell into their hands (in what they term war) in slavery. I hope I have made the path easy for the Government, having obtained by my own exertions the relinquishment from two States, and a promise to treat on that point from the most violent, Algiers, after discussions which did not promise sometimes amicable terminations. But I intreat you to observe the utmost silence on this point, as it may lead me into an awkward situation; for I have acted solely on my own responsibility, and without orders; the causes and reasoning on which, upon general principles, may be defensible, but as applying to our own country, may not be borne out, the old mercantile interest being against it."

Four days previous to the date of this letter, Mr. Brougham had moved in the House of Commons for copies of Lord Exmouth's treaties with Algiers for Naples and Sardinia, and for all the correspondence connected with them. He condemned the principle upon which the treaties had been conducted, because, by ransoming the slaves, we had virtually acknowledged the right of these parties to commit their depredations. He understood that the Algerines, dissatisfied with the Dey for having limited their sphere of plunder, had been pacified only by the a.s.surance, that though restrained from cruising against Neapolitan subjects, there still remained a wide field for their enterprise. The Roman States had already felt the effect of the new direction given to their piracies. He then described the wretched condition of the slaves.

In one case, out of three hundred prisoners, fifty had died of ill-treatment on the first day of their arrival, and seventy during the first fortnight. The rest were kept in the most miserable condition, being allowed only a pound of bread a day, and subject to the lash from morning to night. No age, no s.e.x was spared. A Neapolitan lady of distinction, carried off with eight children, six of whom survived, had lately been seen by a British officer in the thirteenth year of her captivity. That it might be seen we did not countenance such proceedings, it was necessary to ascertain what use we had made of our influence in the late negotiations.

The minister objected to the motion, only however on the ground that all the doc.u.ments necessary to afford complete information had not yet arrived; and he a.s.sured the House, that the cause of humanity had been very materially served by the proceedings of the squadron. An animated debate followed, in which every one expressed the utmost anxiety that the barbarians should be compelled, and by force, if necessary, to relinquish their piracies. This unanimous display of feeling in the House of Commons, ensured to Lord Exmouth full approval of all that he had done, and enabled the Government to take the decisive step which immediately after became necessary. It is, indeed, a subject for just pride, that upon every national question, the feelings of the people have never hesitated to throw themselves upon the side of humanity and justice, however seemingly opposed to their own interest.

Lord Exmouth had not yet reached England, when accounts arrived which determined the Government not to await the issue of the proposed negotiations with Algiers, but at once to exact the most ample satisfaction and security. On the 23rd of May, the crews of the coral fis.h.i.+ng-vessels at Bona had landed to attend ma.s.s, it being Ascension-day, when they were attacked by a large body of Turkish troops, and most barbarously ma.s.sacred. Lord Exmouth was at Algiers when this took place; but as Bona is two hundred miles to the eastward, and he sailed as soon as he had agreed with the Dey, he did not hear of it until he arrived in England; and thus it devolved upon the British Government to direct the measures which such an atrocity demanded.

Justly concluding that these barbarians, so long the common enemies of the civilized world, and whose very existence was a reproach to it, had filled the measure of their crimes by this last b.l.o.o.d.y outrage, they determined to exact complete submission, or to inflict the most signal vengeance. They appointed Lord Exmouth to complete his work, and placed at his disposal whatever force he thought necessary to effect it.

CHAPTER XI.

THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS.

The town of Algiers is built on the declivity of a hill fronting to the eastward. It is of a triangular form, having for its base the sea-front, which is about a mile in length, and rises directly from the water. It is strongly fortified on the land side, and the sea defences are most formidable, as well from the great thickness of the walls, as the number of heavy guns.

The harbour is artificial. A broad straight pier, three hundred yards in length, and upon which the storehouses were built, projects from a point about a quarter of a mile from the north extremity of the town. A mole is carried from the end of this pier, which bends in a south-westerly direction towards the town, forming nearly a quarter of a circle.