this vast armament in the British feas, was the extraordinary vigor and refolution with which it suddenly inspired the inhabitants of the kingdom of Ireland, who had hitherto contented themselves with feeble lamentations and unavailing complaints. Seeing themselves in a manner abandoned by England, their troops withdrawn, their commerce unprotected, their grievances unredreffed, military and mercantile affociations began every where to be formed; and in a fhort time, to the aftonishment of the world, an army of fifty thousand volunteers, as if by magic, was created, difciplined, and equipped; and refolutions almoft univerfally paffed against the use of British manufac tures. The English minifters, whofe fears and apprehenfions on this occasion happily supplied their deficiency in juftice and liberality, instead of opposing this national rage, furnished the new raised army with arms from the royal magazines; and thus gave a fanction to a measure which had been adopted without any regard to their confent or approbation. The Irish parliament met on the 12th of October, and to the ufual addrefs brought forward by the courtiers, an amendment was moved, and adopted by a great majority, to infert in the body of the addrefs the following words" We beg leave humbly to represent to your majefty, that it is not by temporary expedients, but by a FREE TRADE, that this nation is now to be faved from impending ruin." In this the lords concurred, and the addresses were carried up to the lord lieutenant with great parade amidst the acclamations of the people-the duke of Leinfter who commanded the Dublin volunteers, efcorting the fpeaker in perfon, while the ftreets were lined with the different military companies on both fides from the parliament houfe to the caftle. The thanks of both houfes were unanimously voted to the volunteer corps throughout the kingdom, for their patriotic patriotic exertions; and a fix months money bill paffed the commons, in order to prevent a fudden prorogation. Before we inveftigate the confequences of this new and alarming fpirit, it may be proper to notice a farther occasion of misunderstanding between the courts of London and the Hague, from an encounter which took place in the course of the prefent fummer between Sir Richard Pearson of the Serapis man of war, accompanied by the Scarborough frigate, having under their convoy the trade from the Baltic, and captain Paul Jones, an adventurer of defperate fortune and defperate courage, who was commander of a small American fquadron, which had for fome time paft infefted the British feas. After a very fierce and bloody action, both the Serapis and the Scarborough, the convoy being first secured, were compelled to ftrike their colors, and were carried by the captors to the Texel. On this a very strong memorial was prefented to the States General by Sir Jofeph Yorke, who urged in the most preffing terms, "that those ships and their crews may be stopped and delivered up, which the pirate Paul Jones, who is a rebel fubject, and a criminal of the ftate, has taken." But their high mightineffes answered, "that they will in no respect whatever pretend to judge of the legality or illegality of the actions of those who have on the open feas taken any veffels which do not belong to this country, and bring them into any ports of the republic; and that they are not authorized to pass judgment either on those prizes, or on the perfon of Paul Jones." This was an answer hard of digeftion to the English court, and which indeed clearly indicated the partiality of the republic to the caufe of America; but the quarrel between the two countries, though evidently growing more and more ferious, was not yet fufficiently matured for an actual rupture. Very early intelligence of the war with France having been fent by exprefs over land to India, the city of Pon dicherry dicherry was invested by the troops of the company and of the government, in the autumn of the present year; and, after a gallant refiftance by M. de Bellecombe, the governor, it surrendered to the arms of his Britannic majesty. On the other hand, the fettlement of Senegal, and the British forts on the river Gambia, were captured by a French fquadron under M. de Lauzun. END OF VOL. I. |