88s Geo. I. Naval Expeditions, &c of the English, Book Vl*

171 8 . &c. But to return to Sir George Byng.

The sixth of OStober, he sailed fromReggio, with five Men of War, and con-voyed the Piedmontese Troops, whichcame out of the Citadel of Mejjina, toSyracusa. From thence he failed toMaltha, and brought from thence theSicilian Gallies, and a rich Britijhl’ur-iy-Merchant-man, which had been o-bliged to keep in Harbour, by Rear-Admiral Cammock, who, with four orfive Spanijh Men of War, lay off the Port,

but who, at the Sight of our Ships, made 1718*off, and escaped by Favour of the Night.

After having sent the Gallies into Syra-cusa, he met with contrary Winds, inthe Channel of Maltha, so that it wasthe first of November before he got toNaples ; And here we shall leave him,sending out Cruisers to proper Stations,for the Security of our Trade, to relatewhat pass’d about this Time, in otherParts.

CHAP, III.

Naval Expeditions and Tranfablions of the Britiih Nation, with other Occur -

rentes., during the Tear, 1719.

r?ry-

The Statesaccede to theQuadrupleAlliance.

A Supply

granted forBff-PayOfficers.

Apprehenfi-ons of an In-vasion.

Sir GeorgeByngreturns toPort-Mahon

H E first Matter of Importance,which happened, at the Begin-ning of this Year, was the Acces-sion of the States General to theQuadruple Alliance.

The nineteenth of January, theHouse of Commons resolved, that fiveand twenty Thousand Pounds be grant-ed for Half Pay, for Sea-Officers, forthe Year, 1719.

The Nation was, the Beginning ofthis Year, under Apprehensions of anInvasion from Spain ; But whether inSouth-or North Britain, or Ireland, wasuncertain ; Tho’ some Advices, con-cerning the Duke of Ormond, from Spain ;seemed to determine it for the latter: (a)But to return to the Fleet. We left SirGeorge Byng, in November, 1718. withthe Squadron under his Command, atNaples ; He spent the whole Winterthere, and in Cruising in those Seas, andthe second of February, sailed fromthat Port, with Part of the Fleet, ( b)for Port-Mahon.

Upon repeated Advices of the greatPreparations making in Spain, all neces- p re parA l jsary Measures were taken to defeat their onsmDesigns, (c) The eleventh of March , lan °'

Sir John Norris set fail from Portsmouthto St. Helens, with seven Men of War,and steered Westward, (d) An Embargowas, soon after, laid on all Shipping ;

And, the four and twentieth, the Earlof Berkley set out for Port/mouth, pie I oTt *The next Day, he hoisted his Flag onBoard the Dorsetshire, at Spithead. ^^rnad 0 ^The nine and twentieth, he failed, from t he Fl eet ‘

St. Helen's, to the Westward, with sevenMen of War, (e) to join those under SirJohn Norris, between Scilly and the ^

Lizzard. He, afterwards failed as far s r a,ls /ofd e 'as Cape Clear, on the Coast of Ireland, la ^.from whence he returned, the fourth ofApril, to theBriti/h Coast, off Penzance,

(f) and, the fifteenth of April, return- Rd arni 'ed to London, (g)

Sis. George Byng, who was returned TTff irenu Lfrom Port Mahon to Naples, and, in ^Q^rtsofConcert with Count Thaun and the Mar- vienna 0 $

quis Turin d'justed.

(a) The sixth of March, Captain Gardiner ar-rived Express from France, from the Earl ofStairs, with an Account, that the Preparation ofthe Spaniards at Cadiz were certainly designed a-gainft South Britain, and that their Fleets were putto Sea, the Beginning of March, N. S.

(b) The Charles-Gally, and the Garland, werethen at Baya. A Squadron commanded by CaptainMatthews was in the Faro of Messina, to watchthe Motions of the Spanijh Admiral Cammock , withhis Ships. The Kent and Royal Oak, were at Reg-gio ; The latter having taken a small Spanish Manof War, of two and twenty Guns, and a Hundredand eighty Men. And the Grafton and Rochester,which had been a cruising, had funk a SpanijhMan of War, of seventy Guns, and run anotherof sixty Guns ashore, in the Bay of Catania.The Dragon and the Loo, which were ordered totake Care of the Trade to Leghorn, kept a SpanijhPrivateer, of four and twenty Guns, in thatPort.

v others, Sir John Norris set out

the Sith of March, for Chatham and the Nore,and Rear-Admiral Mighell, for Portsmouth, toforward the fitting out, and to command, suchMips as were in those Stations. The eighth, thevr. - Betkley kifs’d His Majesty's Hand, onhis being appointed to command the Fleet which”“5 out with all Expedition.ur \ These seven were the Prince Frederick,rV 1 nd for, Centurion, Salisbury, Lancaster, Flam-borough, and Gibraltar ■, And, the next Day, bewas joined, bythe Winchester and King sale.

(e) The Dorsetshire, Hampton Court, Med-way, IVy mouth, Durstey-Gatly, Rye and Hind.

. CO He dilpatch'd Vice-Admiral Mighells,with the Windsor, Monmouth and Antilcpe, to theCoast of Galicia, for Intelligence, and then leitthe Command of the Fleet to Sir John Norris.

(§) Soon after, came Advice, that the SpanijhFleet, ofMen of War, and Transports, crowded

with