C B 4 P. IX.

from the Revolution, to the Death of Æ, William,

*691. tage four of them bore down upon theMary, commanded by Lieutenant Wyat,who defended her very well, until theCommadore himself could come to herAssistance. At the same Time, theMordaunt , commanded by Captain But-ler, with one of the hired Ships, andthe England-Frigat, by Captain Stubbs,were warmly engaged, in the veryMidst of the Enemy j But they clearedthemselves, with all the Conduct: andBravery imaginable.

The Commadore finding the greatDisproportion, as to Strength, his Squa-dron consisting then but of seven Ships,and that the Merchant-Ships whichwere under his Care, had taken the pro-per and usual Methods, for their ownSecurity, he, after a warm Engagementof four Hours, wisely provided for theSafety of the Ships of War, under his' Command, by bearing away. He didit, however, with so little Sail, that

he secured the three Ships which theEnemy gave Chafe to. And theFrench,having theirBellies, full were as glad tostand off from him. Thus he saved hisSquadron, without the Loss of a Ship,and anchored in Carlisle Bay, at Barba-does, the five and twentieth. This (faysthe Author of the British Empire in A-merica') was the bravest Action whichwas performed in the Wejl-Indies dur-ing the War : But was, however, at-tended with no Advantage.

Captain Wren dying some Time af-ter, of a Sickness which had taken awaythe greater Part of his Men, the Com-mand of the Squadron fell, by Seniori-ty, on Captain Boteler, who, with Partof it sailed from Barbadoes, the four-teenth of June, according to Instructionsfrom the Admiralty, and arrived inEngland, the eleventh of August fol-lowing, the Rest being left to attendthe Plantations.

CHAP. IX.

Admiral Rusiel’j Engagement with the French Fleet, off of La Hogue,zwYÆ other

Transactions of the Tear, 1692. (a)

§1692. 1 SHALL begin this Year’s Trans-1 actions, with mentioning King Wil~V 0 Hoi- JL. gam's Departure for Holland. Heembarked, on the fifth of March, ar-rived, the next Morning, in the Maefe,landed at Orange-Polder, from whencehe went, the same Day, to the Hague ,^ T and soon after to Loo .

K*iejW S About the fame Time, King JamesA left Paris, and came to La Hogue, wherebt! tto a he had a Considerable Army of English,In- Scotch, Irijh, and Frecnh, ready to em-bark for England. To prepare theWay, he sent a very formal Declarati-on, full of fair Promises, and grantingPardon to all who would return to theirDuties, excepting only some Persons

therein mentioned. When the Schemeof the intended Descent was laid inFrance, Colonel Parker and others weresent over, to communicate it to theJacobite -Party here, who were desiredto be all in a Readiness, with the great-est Speed and Secrecy imaginable, to fa-vour it with an Insurrection, in severalParts of the Kingdom.

The Queen, having Information ofthe intended Invasion, with a MasculineCourage, and assiduous Care, gave Or-ders for hastening out the Fleet, andputting the Militia in a Readiness. Shesent for three Regiments of Foot, viz.Selwiri’ s, Beveridge's, and Lopd's, fromHolland, under the Command of Lieu-8 D tenant

«S to

•et t .

(a) This Year, the then Attorny*- and Solli-tor-General declared it to be their Opinions, thatany Persons, Subjects of England , who shouldtake Commissions under the late King James, toseize any Ships or Vessels belonging to the En-glijh Subjects, and, by Virtue thereof, shouldplunder and rob them, and commit Outrages asPirates, they might be proceeded against, accord-ing to the Statute of the eight and twentieth osHenry VIII. Chap. 15. by Commission under theGreat Seal, to be directed to the Lord High Ad-miral, or his Lieutenant or Deputy, and such o-thers as should be named therein- They alsoconceived the fame to be Treason, within the

Statute of the five and twentieth, of Edw. III.as being an actual levying War against the Crownof England, and the Offence to be the fame, as ifPersons, by Commission of the like Nature, hadlanded in England, and committed open Hostili-ties upon the Subjects thereof.

The Opinion of Civilians being taken on thisQuestion, at the Council-Board, that of the lateDr. Tinddl is said to have had the greatestWeight ; And,to set it in a clearer Light he him-self published, in 1693. an Account of all thatpassed in the Debate on this Question, in a smallTreatise entitled ; An EJJay concerning the Lawsof Nations , and the Rights of Sovereigns,

65$

1691.

Heath of

Captain

Wren.

Captain Bo-teler brings.Part of theSquadronhome.

1692,

Mary’;

Vigilance.