Chap. V.
during the Reign os §yeen Ann.
77 1
f fnvateer{ *ken.
4 Convey{ ent to fetchs Trade
J ? 1 Portu-gal.
sips taken1 Me Lord^rsley.
a Privateer of sixteen Guns, six Patere-roes, and ninety Men, at the South-EastEnd of the Island, laden with six Hun-dred and fifty Hogsheads of Sugar, andfifteen Barrels of Indigo, from St. Do-mingo.
The Beginning of June, the Admiralstood towards the appointed Station, andthe fifth, received Orders, by the Lime-Frigat, to detach two Ships for bring-ing our Trade from Portugal, uponwhich he sent the Northumberland andthe Restoration, two Third-Rates, onthat Service, which they happily per-formed.
About this Time, the Lord Durjley(now Earl of Berkeley') who command-ed the Litchfield, a Ship of fifty Guns,coming from the Body of the Fleet, inthe Soundings , met with a French Man
of War,of six and thirty Guns, and two 1703*Hundred and sixty .Men, which hisLordship took, after a stout Resistance,as he did likewise a French Ship fromMartinica, of twenty Guns, both whichhe brought with him to Spilhead. r
The tenth of June, the Admira I returns to St.quitted the Station, and bent his Course Helen’1,homewards, to be ready for any neces-sary Service; And, the twenty-first,he arrived safe at St. Helen's. (0)
Sir Cloudesly Shovel’r Expedition, witha considerable Part of the Fleet, in theMediterranean.
The fourth of May, of this Year,SirC loudesy Shovel received Instructions,(p) to proceed on an Expedition to the9 K Mediterranean :
dron before mentioned, if not gone from St. Mar-tin’s ; But if the Winds came Westerly, it wasjudged most adviscable, to proceed North, so asto keep the Chanel open, and thereby be the bet-ter able to protect our Trade.
(0) He had with him two First-Rates, threeSecond-Rates, five Third-Rates, four Firefhips,the William and Mary-Yzcht, which attended onhim, and an Hospital-Ship, having ordered theMedway and Dragon to cruise between the Liz-ard, and the Bam-Head, and the Monk, Lymeand L’ Aystoff, on the Station he came from, togive any Ships, that might be sent to him, an Ac-count of his coming ofl'; And thus ended an Ex-pedition, with a great Part of the Fleet, fromwhich very little Advantage accrued, whatevermight have been expected, And, in my poor O-pinion (fays Mr. Burchett) a Squadron of smallShips might have had much better Success.
The Commission for Greenwich -Hospital ex-piring six Months a fter the Demise of King Wil-liam, Her Majesty granted anew One, bearingDate the thirty-first of July , of this Year.
{p) Sir Cloudily Shovel's Inf ructions.
1. He was directed (when in the Mediterrane-an) to proceed to the Coast of France , and ly offof Peccais, and Cette, on the Coast of Languedoc ;And, if he saw any Persons on Shoar, to observeif they made Signals, if not, to do the fame tothem, and finding them to be Friends, to fend hisBoat, for such as should desire to come off to him,that so he might be informed of the Condition ofthe Cevennois , a People who had, for some Time,taken up Arms against the Forces of the FrenchKing, in Defence of their Religion and Liberties.If he was satisfied, that they could convey to theirCompanions any Powder, Bullets and Shoes (ofthe latter of which, it is said, he had a considerableQuantity in the Fleet, and they in extreamWant of them) he was to supply the same, asmight be proper, and likewise to furnish themwith Mony.
In the next Place, he was to enquire, whe-ther it was feasible to destroy the Salt-Works atPeccais, and, in such Case, to land so many marineSoldiers as might be necessary, to join such French,as would willingly co-operate in the Attempt.
2. This being done, or so much thereof asshould be found practicable, he was to proceed toPalermo, inStC/fy, and there observe or make the
Signals as aforesaid, and if any Persons were readyto receive him, to send for seme of them, andconcert the proper Methods of seizing on Palermo,and to assist in the Attempt with the Ships, andBomb-Vessels, together with such Marines as mightbe necessary, as well as by all other Ways thatshould be judged expedient.
3 If he succeeded in this, and that he found itpracticable to take Mejstna, he was in that, and inall other Things, to do his utmost towards assist-ing those People, in feeing themselves from theirSubjection to France , and the then Spanijh Govern-ment, and reducing the Island to the Dominion ofof the House of Auflria.
4. Then he was to proceed to the Coast of Na«.pies , and upon Signals made to him, to assist thosePeople in like Manner; And if he should find anyPart of the Emperour's Army there, he was sefar to assist the Osscer commanding those Forces,in reducing Naples, or any Part of that Kingdom,as should be thought advifeable, and, in Orderthereunto, to land the Marines, supply them withMortars and Cannon, out of the Ships and Vessels,and in all Respects to do his utmost to assist theEmperour’s Army, or any others declaring for theHouse of Auflria.
5. If, in his Way to Sicily , he judged it notproper to proceed himself to Leghorn , he was tosend a Ship thither ; And if there should be foundany Person there, by the Appointment of PrinceEugene of Savoy, to confer with him, the Captainof such Ship was to receive him, if he desired it,that so an Account might be had from him, ofthe Designs of the said Prince, and the Admiralhimself be thereby the better enabled to assist inthe Attempts against the Enemy; In Order where-unto he was directed to correspond with him, ashe had Opportunities for it, and to comply withhis Desires in all Things, that be fit and proper,Regard being had to the Safety of the Fleet.
6 . By other Instructions, dated the fourth ofMay, he was ordered to go with the Fleet, or todetach some Ships, to the Coast of Barbary, and(by Virtue of the Power given him under thegreat Seal) to authorize the Consuls, of Algiers,Hunis, and Tripoli , or some Persons belonging tothe Fleet, or others, to treat with those Govern-ments, to conclude a Peace, upon Terms andConditions, which were to be proposed, and there-upon to make the usual Presents.