Chap. VL from the I. os George

1728. Hopson, in the Lion Man of War, com-manded by Captain Joseph Laws, andBrigadier Hunter (the new Governour ofthat Island) in the Lark, Captain JohnGrey, arrived there, the nine and twen-tieth of January, and that, the fourthof February, the Admiral having takenupon him the Command of the Squadron,which, at his Arrival, he found, inHarbour, at Jamaica, he put to Seawith them, in Order to cruise off theSpanish Coast.

Sir Charles ^ H E ™ ne an ^ twentieth of April,Wager re- the House of Commons came to a fartherturns from Resolution, with Respect to the Navy.

(^) Towards the latter End of May, it‘squadron was declared, that His Majesty hadunder his been pleased to appoint the Right Ho»Command, nourable George Viscount Harrington,e'rTofthe ** J°^ n Cockburne, Esq; Sir John Norris,Admiralty and Sir Charles Wager, Knights Sirappointed. George Cholmondley, and Sir WilliamYoung, Knights of the Bath, to be Com-missioners for Executing the Office ofLord High Admiral, of Great Britain,Ireland , &c«

The Congress The first of June, the Congress for a

es Soissous Negotiation of Peace was opened atopen’d. Soijjons, where their Excellences, Wil-liam Stanhope, Esq; Horatio Walpole,Esq; and Stephen Pointz, Esq; wereHis Majesty’s Ambassadors Plenipoten-tiaries. In the Month of July, cameAdvice from Jamaica, that Vice Admi-Death of ral Hopson, who commanded the Squa-Vice Admi- dron of His Majesty’s Ships in the Wesral Hopion. j nc jj eS} died of a Fever, the eighth ofMay, after five Days Illness, on BoardHis Majesty’s Ship the Leopard, off the

I. to the Tear 1 j inch 911

Grand Bru, on the Coast of New Spain. 1728.

(/) Upon his Death the Command of

that Squadron devolved, a second Time,

upon Captain St. Loe ; And upon the

News of it here there was another Re,

move of Flag Officers, (k) The seven

and twentieth, fifteen of His Majesty’s

Ships of War were put into Commistion. Ships put/l \ c 1 into Commifi

(I) ■ . „ (loft.

In the Month of August, it Was de-clared, that the Names ot some of His Seven MenMajesty’s Men of War were alter’d; So 0 fss a L cal ~that now there were seven called by the l ^s the' RoyalNames of the Royal Issue. The Prince iff U e<Frederick, of seventy Guns,; The Prin-cess, of ninety Guns, now the PrincessRoyal ; The Vanguard, of ninety Guns,now the Duke; The HumbeVi or eightyGuns, now the Princess Amelias TheRanelaugh, of eighty Guns, now thePrincess Carolina ; The Mary , of sixtyGuns, now the Princess Mary ; And theLauncejlon of forty Guns, now the Prin-cess Louisa .

The remaining is aval Transactions of Depreda-this Year, consist only of repeated Ad- tions ofthevices from the JVeJl Indies, of the Insults ^^Silke-.and Depredations committed by the Rovers.Spaniards, on our Trade in those Parts,to enumerate which would be endless;

And of an Account of some Ships takenand plundered by the Sallee- Rovers, toprevent which some of our smaller Menof War were ordered to cruise in thoseParts, and protect our Trade. _ „

The fourth of December, His Royal aZkk_ comesHighness, Prince Frederick, arrived in to England.Safety, at St. James's, from Hannover,

(m) to the great Joy of Their Majesties,

i o Y the

(h) They resolved, that in Order to the moreregular, constant, and punctal Payment of Seamen’sWages, for the future, a Sum, not exceeding fiveHundred Thousand Pounds, be granted to HisMajesty, towards paying off and discharging suchPart of the Debt of the Navy, as is due upon the

Head of Seamen’s Wages.

(i) The Gallions were still at Larthagena, andmade no Preparations for sailing, the Orders forexecuting the ^Preliminaries in those Parts, not be-ing yet arrived in the West-lndies. They arrived,however,the third of June ; Upon which Comma-dore St. Loe immediately gave the necessary Or-ders, for the Ships under his Command, that werecruizing on the Coast of New Spain , to return toJamaica , and for the other Ships to get in a Rea-diness to fail for England. The twenty-third,Hi$Majesty’s Ships, the Lark, Lenox , Nottingham,Dragon, Tyger, Portland, and Diamond, arrived atPort Royal in Jamaica, from before Carthagena.It was then reckoned, that this Expedition, fromthe Time of Admiral Hosier’s Arrival, in thoseParts, had been attended with the Loss of two Ad-mirals, ei-ht or ten Captains, about fifty Lieuten-ants, and near four Thousand subaltern Officersand Seamen, who all fell by Sickness, and not bythe Hands of the Enemy.

(k) John Balchen, Esq; was made Rear-Admiral of the Blue ; Philip Cavendish, Efq ;Rear-Admiral of the White ; Robert Hughes, EsqjRear-Admiral of the Red ■, Salmon Morrice,Esq; Vice-Admiral of the Blue, and Sir GeorgeWalton, Vice-Admiral of the White .

(/) Ships. Rates. Com. Men. Guns.The Cornwal. 3 Rich. Hughes. 320 80

Pr in. Amelia . 3 Rich. Leftock. 520 80

Graf ton* 3 Nich. Haddock. 44.0 70

Nassau. 3 Rob. Coleman. 440 70

Kent. 3 Con. Narborough. 440 70

Royal Oak. 3 Edw.Falkingham. 440 70

Sunderland. 4 Geo. Clinton. 393 60

Guernsey. 4 John St. Loe. 280 50

Severn. 4 John Flemming. 280 50

Kingston . 4 Fran. Danste, 363 do

Dreadnought. 4 Christ. 0 Brien. 363 CoFalkland. 4 Sam. Atkins. 2 So 30

Tork. 4 John Cockburn. 3C3 30

Winchester. 4 James Lock. 280 30

Assistance. 4 Thomas Graves. 280 50

(m) His Royal Highness’s Departure from Han-nover was so sudden and unexpected, that he came

t®