Memoirs of the Court and Cabinets of George the Third Volume II Part 34

The first incident of the year to which allusion is made in these letters, is the appearance in British waters of a French squadron. It consisted of two frigates and two sloops, and its insignificance, compared with the demonstration that was antic.i.p.ated from the loud threats of invasion by which it was heralded, excited ridicule rather than alarm.

LORD GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Wednesday, Jan. 4th, 1797.

MY DEAREST BROTHER,

A little after eleven this morning came an account of Elphinston's being arrived with the 'Monarch' (I believe at Spithead). He had letters from General Dalrymple of the 31st, by which it seems probable that the French fleet is, if not entirely, certainly in great part, broken to pieces. Two French seventy-fours and a frigate had put into Bantry Bay, one without a bowsprit, and all of them damaged, and were lying within mortar reach of Bantry when Dalrymple wrote: other vessels were seen also trying to get into Bantry Bay. The 'Impatiente,' a very fine frigate of forty-four guns, just reached Cuxhaven, and foundered there, the whole crew going down with her except a pilot and four men, who were saved. By their report twelve thousand men only were on board, and provisions so scarce from the first, that they were put upon short allowance the day that they left Brest. Another French frigate was seen driving up St. George's Channel, and is said to have gone to pieces upon the Welsh coast. A Barbadoes s.h.i.+p saw a large s.h.i.+p, supposed to be one of the flutes, struggle some time, and then founder; another of the flutes was seen to founder off the Lizard; and great traces of wreck are thrown upon the Irish coast.

Lord Bridport sailed very early yesterday morning, and met Elphinston, who gave him all this intelligence. I presume that he will probably detach part of his squadron towards Ireland, and part towards Brest; besides which, I believe he has power to take with him whatever he meets.

Kingsnill was indefatigable in collecting his frigates, which, with his two sixty-fours, will count heavily upon this shattered and disabled force of the enemy. Meantime, the greatest part of the Oporto fleet is come in, and very good accounts are received from the West Indies, where a strong naval force is gone down to the protection of Jamaica. One of the frigates, too, upon that station has taken a rich Spanish prize. Of the four s.h.i.+ps out belonging to Colpoys' fleet, all are come in except the 'Powerful,' which is thought to have made Ireland. Upon the whole, therefore, you will admit that I send you to-day a very prosperous naval budget. In truth, I do think that, if the ruin of this French expedition be as complete as it promises to be from these circ.u.mstances, the security of Ireland, and of England too, has been more promoted by it than by any event which has happened during the war; and much as I applaud your manly and forward zeal in your military offer, I doubt whether the occasion for it will again be renewed. I ought to have mentioned to you that the four men saved from the 'Impatiente'

describe the troops on board as having been from the first highly dissatisfied and discontented with the expedition, and that twelve thousand, instead of twenty thousand, sailed, because it was found difficult to persuade the troops in general to embark in the enterprise. The result will therefore add to the ill-temper upon this subject, and Irish invasion will for a long time be no popular measure in the harbour of Brest. Stay then at Stowe, my dear brother, and enjoy the satisfaction which you will feel in the prompt and handsome service which you were ready to have done.

_Laudo momentem_--not so (_between ourselves_)--do I say to Elphinston. I do not know what is his pretence for coming away with the 'Monarch' in such a moment, but I shrewdly suspect his Cape treasure to have been on board and to have influenced his decision; if that is the case, of which I know nothing, I do think it will be disgraceful beyond all measure, but I am speaking my own conjectures only, for I have not had time yet to ask more. G.o.d bless you.

The sequel of the expedition was sufficiently ludicrous. Having effected a landing of some fifteen hundred men on the sh.o.r.e of the Bay of Cardigan on the 23rd of February, the militia, fencibles, and peasantry of the neighbourhood immediately collected; but the invaders saved them the trouble of an engagement, by laying down their arms, and surrendering themselves prisoners of war. The frigates were captured on their return to Brest; and thus terminated an enterprize, which was so inadequately planned, as to create universal astonishment that it was ever undertaken.

The state of Ireland offered a favourable opportunity to the Opposition for an attack upon Ministers; and Lord Fitzwilliam, having failed in his attempts to bring them into discredit in reference to his own case, now extended the grounds of accusation to the general discontents of the country. Lord Moira, who undertook to bring forward the motion, appears to have had no other object in view than to trace all these disorders to the recal of Lord Fitzwilliam.

LORD GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Cleveland Row, March 14th, 1797 MY DEAREST BROTHER,

Lord Moira (having given to Government, through the Lord Chancellor, a sort of intimation that he was what he called _going_ into Opposition) has this day given notice of a motion for Tuesday next, to address the King on the internal state of Ireland, which motion he is understood to have concerted with Lord Fitzwilliam.

You know I never think of pressing you to attend on any of the common points of attack and defence between the Government and Opposition. But on this occasion I should certainly most ardently wish that you should be present, and I think you yourself would not wish to be absent. At all events, I thought it right not to omit a moment giving you notice of it, that if you meant to attend you might arrange other matters accordingly. It is, however, not quite certain that he will make the motion that day, the Chancellor being too ill to come out; but he seems resolved, even if Lord Loughborough's illness continues, not to defer it for more than two or three days longer.

We have nothing new to-day. The Archduke is got back to the army in Italy, and will, I hope, at least be able to prevent any further progress of the French on that side. Mack is to be sent to the Rhine.

Ever most affectionately yours, G.

LORD GRENVILLE TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Cleveland Row, March 20th, 1797.

MY DEAREST BROTHER,

Lord Moira persists obstinately in bringing on his motion to-morrow. I suppose they attach some political importance to the having had the discussion with us before it comes on in the House of Commons, for I can conceive no other reason for this pertinaciousness. The Chancellor will not be there, so that I shall have the whole battle, or nearly so, upon my shoulders. It is not, however, the first time that this has happened to me, and most probably it will not be the last; and I have no uneasiness as to the result in point of effect or impression, even though the Prince of Wales should (as is said) be persuaded that this is an occasion in which it befits his station and prospects to put himself forward.

There is no news nor much appearance of any, as both armies and in both quarters seem to want much time to repair the effects of the last campaign. It is some satisfaction to see that Buonaparte is in no situation to push his advantages further as yet; and before he is, I hope and trust the Emperor will have collected an army, _better generalled_ and able to resist the French, who are, however, drawing all their strength to that side.

The elections are going on quietly in France. What the result will be, I believe n.o.body knows, and it is therefore in vain to guess.

Ever most affectionately yours, G.

Pray accept our kindest remembrance to Lady B. and yourself, on the celebration of to-morrow, and convey them to Lord and Lady T.

The motion was brought forward the next day, and negatived by a majority of nearly four to one. A similar motion brought forward by Mr. Fox two days afterwards in the House of Common, met with a similar reception.

About this time Lord Mornington was appointed Governor of Madras, in the room of Mr. Hobart, now Lord Hobart, upon whom that office had been conferred in the year 1794. The following letters refer to that appointment, and are explanatory of the circ.u.mstances under which it was made.

LORD MORNINGTON TO THE MARQUIS OF BUCKINGHAM.

Hertford Street, April 20th, 1797.

MY DEAR LORD,

I received your very kind and affectionate letter last night at Dropmore, where I had been for a few days. When you were last in town, the projects of arrangement for India remained so nearly in the state in which our last conversation had left them, that I thought it unnecessary to trouble you at that time on the subject.

Since that time, the matter has certainly taken a more distinct shape, although it is not true, as the newspaper has stated, that my appointment has actually taken place, or that I am to embark within a few days for India. Had you continued in town, I would have communicated to you, step by step, every stage of the transaction, and especially whatever concerned Hobart; but the distance of your situation rendered such a detailed communication difficult, and I was besides unwilling to intrude upon your time in a moment of so much domestic anxiety, in which, I a.s.sure you, I took the deepest concern. I also had an expectation that Mr.

Sullivan, with whom I had constant intercourse, might have had the opportunity of seeing you in Buckinghams.h.i.+re (if Lord Temple's health should allow you to see anybody), and that he would have apprised you of every circ.u.mstance which could affect Hobart's interest or reputation; to both of which objects, it is my sincere opinion that the utmost regard has been shown by all parties in this affair: I say by _all_ parties, because common justice compels me to declare that Mr. Dundas, instead of having impeded or frustrated the arrangement proposed for Hobart, or of having sacrificed him to any intrigue at the India House, has to my certain knowledge a.s.serted Hobart's cause with the warmest zeal, used every means of representing it to the Company in the most advantageous light, and even entered into personal engagements for the benefit of Hobart far exceeding any demand which could justly or reasonably have been made upon him by Hobart or by his friends.

A short statement of facts will, I think, satisfy you of the truth of my opinion.

After a very full consideration of all the despatches both from Bengal and Madras, relating to the affairs of the latter Government, Mr. Dundas wrote a letter to the Directors, of which he sent me a copy, expressing his sense of Lord Hobart's services in these words: "To his zeal and prompt.i.tude in the execution of his orders, after the unfortunate rupture with Holland, I in a very great degree attribute the very proud and advantageous situation in which our Indian empire is now placed." The letter concludes with the following recommendation to the Court to make a provision for Lord Hobart: "If the Court of Directors concur with me in thinking that Lord Hobart has performed very meritorious services, but that there are at the same time very forcible grounds of expediency why he should not proceed to the higher situation originally destined for him, I can have no doubt, from the known justice and liberality of the East India Company, that they will concur with me in thinking that he ought not to return to his own country without a substantial mark of the approbation and favour of the East India Company."

The grounds of expediency for Lord Hobart's recal, Mr. Dundas stated in these terms: "I am, after the most mature consideration of the subject, thoroughly satisfied that, after the unfortunate misunderstandings which have prevailed between Lord Hobart and the Government-General, and the equally unfortunate differences which exist between his Lords.h.i.+p and the Nabob and the Rajah of Tanjore, it would be inexpedient to re-appoint him to the Government-General; and still more so, that he should remain longer at Madras."

Upon this letter, my dear Lord, I am persuaded that your own justice and candour will antic.i.p.ate my observations; but the very strong expressions contained in your letter render it my duty to observe, that in this application to the Court of Directors, Mr.

Dundas has chosen the very same topics, on which to urge the claims of Lord Hobart to the grat.i.tude of the Company, which you concurred with me in selecting as the most favourable grounds to found a public motion in the Court of Proprietors, with a view to obtaining a pension for Lord Hobart; and Mr. Dundas has stated the expediency of removing Lord Hobart on no other grounds than those which in conversation you and I have repeatedly agreed to be of the greatest force, and at the same time perfectly consistent with Lord Hobart's fair reputation and unsullied honour. It cannot, therefore, be denied that Mr. Dundas has dealt fairly by Lord Hobart's character and interests, both in the reasons a.s.signed for his recal, and in those urged in favour of his services.

To this letter the Chairman of the Court of Directors returned an answer, concurring in Mr. Dundas's opinion of the necessity of recalling Lord Hobart, admitting the extent of his services, and expressing the inclination of the Court to propose a provision for him to the consideration of the proprietors; but postponing the moment for making that proposal to a period which appeared to me rather too distant, and not sufficiently defined.

In this state of the matter, Mr. Dundas proposed to me the reversion of the Government-General after Lord Cornwallis, having previously furnished me with a copy of the correspondence, to which I have already referred. I expressed my doubts whether the provision for Lord Hobart was yet sufficiently secure to admit of my accepting the offer made to me consistently with my good wishes for him. Mr. Dundas then informed me, that he knew the intention of the Directors was to propose the pension to the Court of Proprietors in May; and he added, that if at that time the pension should fail in either court, he would himself move it in Parliament, and charge it upon the revenues of Ceylon, or take some other effectual means of securing it. He also said, that there would be no objection to calling Lord Hobart to the House of Peers within a very short time, probably even before Lord Cornwallis's departure.

Here again I must observe, that Mr. Dundas offers a personal pledge in favour of Lord Hobart, which neither you nor I, nor any of Lord Hobart's friends ever had required, and which we could not on any fair grounds have demanded. When Mr. Dundas had thus stated to me the situation of Lord Hobart in terms so perfectly satisfactory, and affording such undeniable proofs of his sincere wish to serve him under all possible contingencies, I entered into a variety of points relating to my own views (which I will state to you when we meet); and the conversation ended without my final acceptance of the proposal made to me. In a day or two afterwards I saw Mr. Sullivan, and communicated to him what had pa.s.sed between me and Mr. Dundas relative to Lord Hobart. I had then the satisfaction to learn from Mr. Sullivan, that he also had seen Mr.

Dundas, from whom he had received the very same a.s.surances, which Mr. Dundas had given to me in relation to Lord Hobart's pension and peerage; and Mr. Sullivan further stated, that Mr. Dundas had desired that those a.s.surances might be communicated to Lord Guilford. I then asked Mr. Sullivan whether, under all the circ.u.mstances of the case, he thought that my acceptance of the Government of Madras, with the reversion of the Government-General after Lord Cornwallis, could be in any degree injurious to Lord Hobart's interest or honour? Mr. Sullivan answered, certainly it could not; and added, that he and Lord Guilford were now perfectly satisfied with the footing on which Mr. Dundas had placed the credit and welfare of Lord Hobart.

Having seen Lord Cornwallis, and at length made up my mind to undertake this most arduous charge, I communicated to Mr. Dundas about a week ago my final acceptance of the Government of Madras, with the provisional succession to Bengal after Lord Cornwallis. My appointment not having yet been formally made by the Court of Directors, I cannot yet acknowledge my destination to India; you will, therefore, be so good as to speak of the whole matter merely as a vague report until you hear further from me.

Thus, my dear Lord, you will perceive that whatever has been done relating to Hobart in the conclusion of this arrangement for India, has received the sanction of his nearest relations, of persons whose affectionate friends.h.i.+p for Hobart, and just discernment of his interests, will readily be acknowledged by you. In a situation of peculiar delicacy and embarra.s.sment, it has been a great satisfaction to me to have been able to submit every step which I have taken in this affair to the judgment of such a man as Mr.

Sullivan.

The various delays which have r.e.t.a.r.ded the conclusion of this arrangement, have rendered it impossible for me to embark with Lord Cornwallis. However, I am in constant habits of the most confidential intercourse with him from day to day; and I mean to pa.s.s six weeks or two months with him in Bengal before his resignation of the government. My departure will probably not take place sooner than July or August.

Finding that the office of Private Civil Secretary at Bengal would be well worth my brother Henry's acceptance, I mean to take him with me. After a very accurate inquiry from Lord Cornwallis, I am concerned to find that it would not be in my power to be of any a.s.sistance to Mr. Fisher in India. My intention is to take no other person, besides my servants, excepting my brother Henry, and to avoid all engagements universally in Europe, in order to secure myself against any temptation to an irregular distribution of patronage. In this resolution, which I formed very early, on principles which a long attention to the affairs of India has enabled me to fix with some degree of confidence, I have been strongly confirmed by Lord Cornwallis, and I am persuaded that you will approve of my determination.

Pray accept my cordial thanks for the kindness and friends.h.i.+p which appear in every part of your letter, and believe me, my dear Lord, ever yours most faithfully and affectionately,

MORNINGTON.

I have been interrupted in this long detail, and have not been able to send my letter until this evening, the 21st. I am happy to learn in Pall Mall that Lord Temple is so much better. Nothing new to-day from Portsmouth; I mean, nothing authentic. Private letters say that the mutiny is likely to subside for the present, in consequence of the propositions made yesterday by the Admiralty.

How discipline and subordination are ever again to be restored on any permanent basis surpa.s.ses my understanding to conceive.

LORD MORNINGTON TO MR. SULLIVAN.

Hertford Street, July 3rd, 1797.

SIR,