8$ 6 Ann. Naval Expeditions, &c of the English, Book. V*
17 r r. Moot ague, Dunkirk, Kings on, andSunder land.
I am SIR.
Tour mofl obedient humble ServantHovenden Walker.
Edgar, in Spanistt-River-Bay, Sept.
12. 17x1.
The sixteenth of September, the Fleet-set Sail, from Spanisio-River-Bay, andarrived at St. Helen‘s, the ninth of Ofto xher, nothing remarkable having hap-
pened in their Passage, but the takingof a French Banker, from R ochel.
This was the Tragical Success of thisExpedition, and to compleat the Mis-fortune of it, the fifteenth, the Admi-rals own Ship, the Edgar, was unhap-pily blown up at Spithead, with aboutfour Hundred Men, and several of theInhabitants of Portsmouth, that hap-pened to be on Board, who all perished :And here the Admiral sustained a veryconsiderable Loss for his Particular, (m)
iji
CHAP. XVII.
Naval Expeditions and Transactions of the British Nation, with otherOccurrences, to the Death of Isiueen Ann.
1711.
Annals 0A Ann.Compl. Hist.of Europe.Barnes.Burchett.
Life of SaAnn.ColumnsRostrata.
F. Daniel.Cooke’i Ac-count of aVoyage to theSouth-Sea.Abuses in theVitlualingexamined in-to.
Promotionsin the Fleet.
H E third of January, an Ac-count was laid before the Houseof Commons, of what Mony hadbeen annually granted by Parlia-ment, for the Service of the Navy, andMr. Harley acquainted the House, thatseveral considerable Abuses had beendiscover’d in the Victualing. A Com-mittee was appointed to enquire intothese Abuses, and their Report beingread, the, fifteenth of February, Mr.Ridge, a Member of the House, was vo-ted guilty of great Frauds and Abuses,was thereupon expelled the House, andHer Majesty address’d to have him pro-secuted. (a)
About the latter End of January,Sir John Leake , Rear-Admiral of GreatBritain, was appointed Admiral andCommander in Chief of Her Majesty’sFleet, in the Room of Matthew Aylmer,Esq; And Sir Thomas Hardy was made
Rear-Admiral of the Blue Squadron of I 7 lliHer Majesty’y Fleet.
The ninth of March, several large ^btyro-Sums were granted for the Payment of videffor-the Debts of the Navy, &c. But,as theywere involved with other Articles,! can-not mention them in particular. ;
The second of May, of this Tear, Kjs*Mr. Harley, then Chancellour of the the South-Exchequer,first proposed to a Committee Sea-Comp 3 'of the whole House of Commons, then n ^'sitting on Ways and Means, the Schemehe had formed, to satisfy allPublick andNational Debts and Desiciences, by in-corporating the Proprietors of the former,to carry on a Trade to the South-Seas.
Some Resolutions were, immediately,taken, thereupon; And, pursuant tothese Resolutions, a Bill was broughtin, the seventeenth, which having pass’dBoth Houses , had the Royal Assent, thetwelfth of June. This was the Begin-ning
(?«) An anonymous Author, who endeavours land, for -which they would not befre-hand giveto lay the Blame of the Miscarriage of this Expe- Direction, for the fame Reason. This, indeed,dition on the New Ministry, fiys ; It was plain, preserved the Secrecy ; But it destroyed theDestgn
by the Account given of it, that it was not meer- And their being so portly provided there was the
ly an Accident, or any Treachery, which was the Occaston , that when they failed in themain Defign
Cause of the Miscarriage ; But a Complication of on Quebec, they were not able to succeed in the Un-many Difficulties ; For first (continues he) we are der-Plot , against Placentia, in which, otherwise ,
told, that the River St. Lawrence■ is navigable, they apprehended no Difficulty.
only at one Time of the Year- We let that siip. (a) F. Daniel he. his Account of this Year’s p. Daniel-But if we had nicked the Time, we could not Transactions at Sea, by relating an Advantage,
have sailed up the River without very able Pilots; the Sieur Saus had over our Firginia-Fleet, of
We 'had none. If we had taken the properTime, two and twenty Sail, convoyed by two Men of
and been provided with good Pilots, none but War, of which the latter, with fix Merchant-,
Ships of a certain Burden can go up the River; ships only escaped, and two were run aground,
All our Men of. War were too big ; But if Time, and lost on the Englip Coast; The remaining
Pilots, and Ships, had been the most proper for . fourteen, he fays, were taken, and carried into
the Enterprize, we lhould have had Provisions Dunkirk, and other Ports. He adds, that fix
for more Months, than we had Weeks, to subsist Englip Men of War, three of which were of
the Fleet, and the Troops, during the Winter ; eighty Guns, two of sixty, and one of four and
To keep the Design secret, the Minstry vi&ualed thirty, hastened their Rescue ; But that he deceiv-the Fleet greatly port of what was neceffary, leav- ed them bp a false Course, in the Night, and soing them to take in a frep Supply iu New Eng- escaped;