confequence of the interpofition of his Sardinian majesty. The commerce of France and Spain was interrupted, many prizes made, their coafts kept in continual alarm, and the combined squadrons of the two powers were blocked up for feveral fucceffive months in the harbor of Toulon. On the ninth of February, 1744, they were at last perceived standing out of the road, to the number of four-and-thirty fail of the line. The British admiral immediately weighed, and an engagement enfued, which, notwithstanding the great fuperiority of the British fleet, proved extremely indecifive; and which was afterwards the subject of much and vehement debate and difcuffion. It is admitted that Matthews behaved with heroic gallantry; but he was very ill feconded by fome of his officers, particularly by admiral Leftock, who, with his whole divifion, remained at a great distance aftern. It is not pretended that this officer was really deficient in courage; but he had long been upon very ill terms with his commander, whom he affected to defpife, and whofe fignals on the day of battle he affirmed to be unintelligible and inconfiftent-fheltering himself behind those rigid rules of difcipline, againft which, in the crifis of danger, it is often the higheft merit glorioufly to offend. Admiral Matthews, on his arrival at Minorca, fufpended Lestock for disobedience, and fent him as a prifoner to England, where he, in return, accused, and recriminated upon his fuperior. These proceedings became the fubject of parliamentary investigation; and a court-martial was appointed to try the delinquents. It appears that the object of De Court, the French commander, whofe fhips greatly outfailed those of the British squadron, being to avoid an engagement, the English commander was compelled to commence the attack before the line was completely formed; and he directed his principal effort against the Spanish division, which failing in the rear of the French, and at fome diftance, he endeavored to cut off-being himself, in the

Namur,

Namur, closely engaged with the Spanish admiral don Navarro, in the Royal Philip, an immense ship of one hundred and fourteen guns. Admiral Leftock was, at this time, five miles aftern, fuffering, by an obftinate adherence to the fignal for the line of battle then flying at the fame time with the fignal for a close engagement, the rearmost ships of the Spanish squadron to pass him: on which admiral Matthews, though bravely feconded by captain Cornewall, in the Marlborough, who gloriously fell in the action, and other ships of his own divifion, was obliged to relinquish his prey at a moment when he flattered himself that the could not have escaped him, being, as he affirms in his public letter, "within musket-shot of the Royal Philip, then lying a mere wreck, when the fternmoft ships of the enemy came up and tore him to pieces." In the refult, admiral Leftock, to the general surprise and indignation, was honorably acquitted, and admiral Matthews declared incapable of ferving for the future in his majesty's navy. The king himself, who was perfonally brave, and a lover of the brave, is faid to have expreffed, in warm terms, his difapprobation of this decifion. And, when an elaborate technical vindication of the fentence of the court-martial was offered, he indignantly replied, "that he knew but little of naval phrafeology; but this," said his majesty, "I know, that Matthews did fight, and that Leftock did not."

In July, fir John Balchen, an officer of great merit, failed from Spithead with a strong fquadron, in queft of a French fleet expected to depart about this time from the harbor of Breft. In the Bay of Bilcay he encountered a violent storm, by which the fleet was entirely scattered, and the admiral's own ship, the Victory, a new and beautiful first-rate, with eleven hundred men on board, foundered at fea, near the rocks of Alderney; and the whole crew, with all the officers and their commander, most unfortunately perished.

Another

Another revolution about this period (November 1744) took place in the British cabinet. Lord Carteret, now become earl of Granville, had infinuated himself so far into the good graces of his fovereign, as to excite, in a very, high degree, the apprehenfion and diflike of the duke of Newcastle and his brother, Mr. Pelham, who fecretly intrigued with the popular leaders in parliament to effect the downfal of this ambitious and haughty minifter, whose power they envied, and whofe talents they feared. The earl, comprehending the nature and extent of the combi-, nation against him, and fenfible of his own unpopularity, heightened by the ill fuccefs of the war, avoided the confict by a voluntary refignation of his employments, in which he was followed by Mr. Sandys, created lord Sandys, and various others. Mr. Pelham, who, on the death of lord Wilmington, had fucceeded to the direction of the board of treasury, was now nominated chancellor of the exchequer, and may be confidered from this period as first minifter. The earl of Chesterfield was appointed to the government of Ireland, the duke of Bedford placed at the head of the admiralty, the lords Gower and Cobham reinftated in their former pofts, and after an interval of delay and reluctance on the part of the court, Mr. Pitt conftituted paymafter of the forces, and fworn a member of the privy council. Several of the tories were admitted to offices in confequence of this coalition of parties; and fir John Hynde Cotton and fir John Philips, thofe morofe and turbulent patriots, were---for a time of short duration indeed, "a little month"---transformed into courtiers and placemen. The parliament met in December 1744, and it foon appeared that the refult of the late changes was by no means unfavorable to the views of the court; for the fame system was purfued with lefs difficulty and interruption: and the patriots ftill in oppofition, wearied with long and useless exertion, seemed at length to acquiefce in measures which the nation at large, now roufed into paffionate refentment

against

against France, and admiration of the courage and fortitude of the queen of Hungary, began to regard with partiality and approbation. And the unremitted efforts of thirty years, efforts which had produced fuch fignal difplays of knowJedge, virtue and eloquence, ingloriously terminated in the ancient maxim-" Si populus vult decipi, decipiatur." As the last struggle of expiring patriotism, however, the house was moved, January 1745, that an act made in the fourth year of Edward III. entitled---" a parliament fhall be holden once every year," and alfo that an act made in the thirtyfixth year of the reign of king Edward III. entitled---" A parliament fhall be holden once every year," fhall be read; and the acts being read accordingly, Mr. Carew* arose, and declared his determination to bring to a DECISIVE TEST the fincerity of thofe profeffions which the minifters of the crown recently appointed to their offices had, for fo many fucceffive

This member, in a fubfequent feffion of the prefent parliament, moved an addrefs to the king, that he would be pleased to order a monument to be erected in Westminster-abbey to the memory of the gallant captain Cornewall, who loft his life in the engagement off Toulon; which being unanimoufly carried, Velters Cornewall, brother to the deceased, rofe, to exprefs the pride and fatisfaction he felt on this occafion; more particularly as the motion originated with one of the most able, upright, and finterefted patriots who had ever fat in that houfe." We may, therefore, fairly prefume, that the fpeech of Mr. Carew does not contain words of empty found, intended for the mere purpofe of embarraffing the administration, but that it exhibits the real fentiments of his understanding, and the genuine feelings of his heart. And it may be remarked, that the value and uility of exertions of this nature are not to be estimated by the advantage the diately produce. Mr. Carew and Mr. Sydenham yet speak in hiftor; nor will it ultimately be found that fuch men fpeak in vain. In our own times, the orations of Mr. Fox in fupport of his feveral motions for the repeal of the teft and penal ftatutes, were negatived by great majorities; bat are thefe generous efforts in the cause of truth and liberty therefore loft? doubtless they will produce their effect at the defined period on minds more fufceptible of improvement, and lefs under the dominion of prejudice

"When statesmen, heroes, kings, in dust repose,

Whofe fons fhall blush their fathers were his foes."

imme

No

fucceffive years, accustomed themselves to repeat within the walls of that house; and, from the fate of the queftion he was about to propofe, a judgment might be formed whether the present minifters themselves merited thofe fevere appellations which they had so lavishly bestowed upon their predeceffors. "It was not enough," he faid, " for the fatisfaction of the impartial and intelligent public, that the new ministers should give a fimple affent to the motion he had in contemplation; for, if they had coalefced with perfons whofe influence was, upon trial, found fufficiently powerful to defeat all efforts of political reform, it was incumbent upon them immediately to relinquish thofe offices which they had fo precipitately accepted, without any flipulation in favor of the public; and unrefervedly to declare against thofe with whom they had fo rafhly united. Amongst the topics most frequently infifted upon by the present ministers, when in oppofition to the court, was the neceffity of counteracting the baleful effects of minifterial corruption, which they then feemed to think, and he hoped they ftill thought, could by no means fo effectually be done as by a restoration of the ancient conftitution of parliament, agreeably to which, the houfé would perceive, by the acts now read, that parliaments were to be holden once every year. And as long prorogations and adjournments were not then introduced or thought of, the meaning of this famous law muft be, that a parliament fhould be every year chofen as well as held. And this is a conftitution not only fanctioned by ancient practice, but by the unalterable dictates of reafon. In order that the reprefentatives of a great nation may be perfectly acquainted with the state of its wishes, wants, and grievances, it is neceffary that there fhould be an intimate and habitual communication between them and their conftituents. But, when gentlemen are chofen for a term of years, they too frequently, on their election, appear at once to relinquish the character and feelings of delegates;

they