In the year 1782, he has made a Knight of the Bath, and Rear-Admiral of the Blue. His more recent elevation to the title of Lord St. Vincent is well known. We can never thus record the bestowment of deserved honours without hazarding some reflections. How grateful is it to a generous mind to receive thefe marks of efteem which its merits had well earned! How pleasing is it to every good citizen to behold those rewarded, whofe fervices have been eminently beneficial to their country! We shall now record the glorious victory which he obtained over the Spanish fleet in the courfe of the prefent war. We fhall adopt our ufual mode of communicating the interefting intelligence in the Admiral's own words. For our partiality to this way of imparting the information, reafons have been already affigned. " SIR, "To Evan Nepean, Esq. "Victory, in Lagos-Bay*, Feb. 16, 1797. "The hopes of falling in with the Spainish fleet, expreffed in my letter to you of the 15th inftant, were confirmed that night, by our diftinctly hearing the report of their fignal guns, and by intelligence received from Capt. Foote, of his Majesty's fhip, the Niger, who had with equal judgment and perfeverance kept company with them for feveral days on my proscribed rendezvous (which from the strong south-east winds, I had never been able to reach), and that they were not more than the distance of three or four leagues from us. I anxiously awaited the dawn of day, when being on the ftarboard tack, Cape St. Vincent bearing eaft by north eight leagues, I had the fatisfaction of feeing a number of fhips extending from fouth-west to fouth. At forty-nine minutes past ten, the wea *Lagos is a fea-port town of Portugal, with a castle near the fea, where there is a good harbour, and where the English fleets, bound for the Straits, ufually take in fresh water. It is not very distant from Cape St. Vincent, whence Sir John Jervis derives his title, and which is the most western promontory in Europe. E e 2 ther ther being extremely hazy, La Bonne Citoyenne made the fignal that the ships feen were of the line, twenty-five in number. His Majesty's fquadron under my command, confifting of fifteen fhips of the line, happily formed in the most compact order of failing in two lines. By carrying a prefs of fail I was fortunate in getting in with the enemy's fleet at half paft eleven o'clock, before it had time to connect and form a regular order of battle. Such a moment was not to be loft, and confident in the skill, valour, and discipline of the officers and men I had the happiness to command, and judging that the honour of his Majefty's arms, and the circumftances of the war in these feas required a confiderable degree of enterprize, I felt myself juftified in departing from the regular fyftem, and paffing through their fleet in a line, formed with the utmost celerity, tacked, and thereby feparated one-third from the main body, after a partial cannonade, which prevented their rejunction till the evening, and by the very great exertions of the fhips which had the good fortune to arrive up with the enemy on the larboard tack, feveral fhips were captured, and the action ceafed about five o'clock in the evening. "I enclose the most correct lift I have been able to obtain of the Spanish fleet oppofed to me, amounting to twenty-seven fail of the line, and an account of the killed and wounded in his Majefty's fhips, as well as in thofe taken from the enemy. The moment the latter (almoft totally dismafted) and his Ma, jesty's fhips the Captain and Culloden are in a state to put to fea, I fhall avail myself of the first favourable wind to proceed off Cape St. Vincent in my way to Lisbon. "Captain Calder, whose able affiftance has greatly contributed to the public fervice during my command, is the bearer of this, and will more particularly defcribe to the Lords Commiffioners of the Admiralty the movements of the squadron on the 14th, and the present state of it. "I am, SIR, &c. "Lift of the Spanish fleet, opposed to the British on the 14th of February, 1797. Guns. Guns. It is impoffible to read the preceding account, drawn up with that modefty, which is the concomitant of merit, without being ftruck with the skill of our brave Admiral. The very fuperior number of the enemy, the celerity with which their line was broken, and the little blood fhed in the attainment of this victory, are circumstances which challenge our admiration. To meritorious actions of every defcription a due degree of praise fhould be apportioned. We present our applause with the fincereft pleasure : See valiant Jarvis by the Iberian coast PYE'S NAUCRETIA. But the merits of this victory over the Spaniards will be beft learnt from the encomiums paffed upon it by many of the most competent judges in the kingdom, when the thanks of both Houfes of Parliament were voted to this brave officer with the utmoft unanimity. The fatisfaction with which we perused these encomiums when they were first uttered, induces us to present them to our readers : Earl Spencer." His unremitting exertions, his indefatigable activity, and judicious management, were as confpicuous as the glorious events with which they had been crowned was unparalleled. His conduct throughout the whole was such as to ftamp him one of the greateft commanders which this country had ever produced; while the fuperior force with which he had to contend marked the victory as an exploit unparalleled in the history of this country. He believed it was unparalleled, and he was fure it could never be furpaffed." Duke of Bedford." It was impoffible to expatiate upon the fubject of the glorious victory obtained by Sir John Jervis, in fuch a manner as to add to the impreffion which every one felt; it was indeed an exploit unparalleled in the annals of this country." The Duke of Clarence." I have examined into the naval hiftory of this country, and find that at the battle of La Hogue the French fleet was inferior to ours in number. The circumstances of the prefent action, the difference of force-15 fail against 27-speak for themselves. Admiral Boscawen, in 1757, destroyed the French fleet; in 1780, Admiral Rodney, with whom myself served in a very inferior fituation, deftroyed the Spanish fleet; but, in this engagement, the fuperiority of force was fo greatly in favour of the enemy, that it is diftinguished as the most brilliant victory in the naval hiftory of this country, and the most decided proof of the courage and vigour of our feamen. Upon every occafion previous to this event, the conduct of Sir John Jervis has been confpicuous. In 1790, at the time of the Spanish Armament, Lord Howe teftified his high fenfe of the activity and talents of Sir John Jervis, and of the state and difcipline of the fleet, when he received it from his hands. I myself was on board the fleet at that time, and the difcipline kept up was most exemplary, and redounded redounded greatly to the advantage of the fervice. Indeed, from the whole of his conduct, I do not hesitate to pronounce that Sir John Jervis is the first officer in his Majesty's navy.” Lord Hood." Neither the hiftory of this country nor any other can produce an instance of greater magnanimity, or more profound judgment and profeffional skill than has been exhibited by Sir John Jervis in the late brilliant engagement." Mr. Fox." By returning our thanks on this occafion, we cannot but feel with peculiar pride and fatisfaction, that we exprefs our gratitude and acknowledgments for the most brilliant and illuftrious exploit recorded in the annals of this country." Mr. Pitt." On the part of his Majesty's minifters. I can fafely affirm, that before this laft fplendid inftance of the good conduct and valour of the gallant Admiral, we have not been remifs in watching the uniform tenour of his profeffional career; we have witnessed, in the whole of his proceedings, fuch initances of perfeverance, of diligence, and of exertion in the public fervice, as though lefs brilliant and dazzling than this laft exploit, are only lefs meritorious as they are put in competion with the glory of a fingie day, which has produced fuch extenfive and incalculable benefits to the British empire." Thefe teftimonies to nautical merit are of fuch a nature as to bid defiance to the molt ftubborn incredulity. It is not the applaufe of a party. It is not the extravagant panegyric of a faction. It is the folemn, unanimous declaration of perfons whofe understandings and fituations render them competent judges of the merit which they here fo energetically applaud. Let it be alfo remembered that Lord St. Vincent has uniformly fet himfelf in oppofition to the principle on which the prefent war has been conducted. This remark fhews, that a disapprobation of the war, and a regard for our country are by no means incompatible with each other. We rccommend this pacific confideration to political parties, whofe rage too often tempts them to ftigmatize each other with a groundless malignity.. Of the generofity of Lord St. Vincent's character many inftances might be given. But the following anecdote |