818 Ann. Naval Expeditions , &c. of the English, Book V.

1707. Committe to take the Matter into Con-sideration, and the House approvingtheir Resolutions, the eighth of April," It was Resolved to address Her Ma-" jesty, That She would be graciouslypleased to take it into Her Royal" Consideration, how the said Pirats" might be suppress’d,and their farther" Piracies, Robberies and Depredations" effectually prevented.” The fameDay, it was Resolved, " That an hum-" ble Address be presented to Her“ Majesty, That She would be gra-“ ciously pleased to use Her Royal" Endeavours, to Recover and Preserve" the ancient Possessions, Trade, and" Fisliery in Newfoundland . (a)

Continuation of the Proceedings ofSir Cloudesly Shovel, to the Time ofhis unfortunate Loss , on the Ifands ofScilly,

W k left Sir Claudes v Shovel, with theEarl of Rivers, towards the Close of theforegoing Year, at Lisbon, ready to de-part for Alicant, but stop’d by an Orderfrom England, the Evening before theirintendssi Departure.

These Orders were to land the i 7 ° 7 *Troops in Portugal, upon certain Con-ditions to be previously agreed to by thatCourt. A Memorial was accordinglypresented to the new King, to acquainthim with these Conditional Orders; Butthe Court of Portugal being either un- The Fti et ,able or unwilling; to comply with these fails to $Demands, it was resolved, in a Councilof War, to land them at Alicant, forwhich Orders came from England soonafter. The Confederate Fleet, there- Returns Mfore, failed, the seventh of January, Lisbon-with the Land-Forces on Board, fromLisbon to Alicant, where they arrived,the eight and twentieth ; And theTroops, (which, having been exposedto all the Inconveniences that attendlong Voyages, for above six Months,were now reduced to seven ThousandMen,) being landed, left Alicant again,the seventeenth of February, and return-ed to Lisbon, the eleventh of the nextMonth, (b)

There being, at this Time, great sir GeotfWant of Mony, Cloaths, Provisions and Byng d e '.^other Necessaries, in the Army, in Spain, taC ^ e ffftfthe Admiral ordered Sir Geerge Byng fp jrtvi-to proceed to Alicant with Supplies, (c)who sailed, accordingly, the thirtieth

of

( a ) About the same Time, the Governmentreceived the melancholy Account of the Loss ofr */ ■/> Resolution Man of War, which, however, was

' ***•/*• attended with so many Circumstances, which doy urope. Honour to the Commander, and all her Compa-ny, that it deserves being transmitted as an Ex-ample to Posterity.

The Earl of Peterborough failed from Barce-lona, the thirteenth of March, lor Genoa, toge-ther with a Gentleman sent by King Charles, ashis Envoy to the Duke of Savoy, on Board theResolution Man of War, commanded by CaptainMordaunt , his Lordship's Son : With whom fail-ed, at the fame Time, the Enter prize and Mil-ford Frigats. The nineteenth, being within fif-teen Leagues of Genoa, they fell in with six FrenchMen of War (whereof two were of eighty, twoof seventy, one of fixty-eight, and the other ofeight and fifty Gnns) who chas’d therm; Uponwhich his Lordship, with the Spanif0 Envoy, wenton Board the Enterprize, got away in the Night,and failed for Leghorn. The Milfcrd likewisemade her Escape, and got to the same Port. TheEnemy continuing to chase the Resolution, one oftheir Ships came, about ten at Night, within Gun-shot of her, but did not begin to fire 'till thetwentieth, about fix in the Morning, by whichTime, the Rest of the Enemy's Ships, they beingall clean, and newly come out of Toulon, came upwith her likewise. Then began a very sharp Fight,which Captain Mir daunt maintained, with greatBravery and Resolution, 'till half an Hour afterthree in the Afternoon ; At which Time, findingno Possibility of getting clear of the Enemy, andhis Ship being very much shattered, it was thoughtmost proper to run her on Shoar, which was doneaccordingly. The Enemy still pursued her, andKept continually firing upon her, but finding by

the Captain’s returning the Fire, that he wouldnot quit his Ship, they sent out their Boats toburn her ; But they were soon made to retire.

The twenty-first, in the Morning, one of theEnemy's Ships, of eight Guns, came very nearher, with a Design to batter her; But she beingfull of Water, and the Powder wet, it was re-solved to burn her, rather than she should fall in- .

to the Enemy's Hands ; And, accordingly, by i

eleven that Morning, all that Part of her, whichlay above Water, was consumed. The Captain,and the Ship’s Company, got safe on Shoar, with \

what was most valuable in her. He was woundedin the Thigh, during the Engagement, by a Can-non-Ball, but not dangerously. The Enterprizeand Milford were both attacked singly, as theywere going into Leghorn, by a French Man ofWar, of forty Guns ; But she soon left them.

Mr. Secretary Burchett places this Action a Yearsooner; But not only the two Authors abovenam-ed, but several other Accounts I have seen, plac-ing it here, I think it more reasonable to followmany than one. , J

(b) The Earl of Rivers, whether his Com- Jnncmiffion determined in Spain, or whether he Q. hM- ■was unwilling to serve under the Earl of Gal-loway, or to share with him the Command of an

Army so ill provided, as he found the Confede-rate Forces in Spain to be, came to Lisbon, thetwenty-third of March ; and failed to England,accompanied by the Earl of EJfex, Brigadier Gor-ges, and several other Officers, who arrived atLondon, the eighteenth of April-

(c) He was ordered to take with him one First- -Rate, one Second-Rate, seven Third-Rates, andone Fourth-Rate, together with the nine Ships ofthe States-General, and some small Frigats andFire-lhips. When he had put on Shoar the Ne-cessaries

Annals ofE, Ann.