68

HISTORY OF MARINE ARCHITECTURE.

her fleet, in conjunction with the squadron of her ally, had been actually worstedby the superior force of France, when the navy of Louis might be said to have

become

above 80,0001. taken in the Soundings ; the Mediterranean-galley from Zant, taken off Beachy-Head ; the St. George-galley taken in the Channel; the Royal-Ann-galley taken in the Channel,where she made boards for about fifteen days together, without seeing any one cruizer to help her ;the Trumbal-galley, rich in money, taken near the Downs. He declined naming more, though hecould mention several others, the rather because some of them are included in the great list of mer-chants losses given into their lordships, consisting of 1,160 ships: but, in order to shew the differ-ence when any care was taken for cruizers, he produced a list to their lordships of 91 sail of galleysbound from Leghorn, which arrived safe without convoys, from September, 1/03, to October, 170-1,while there were some cruizers employed.

He said, that foreigners did reproach our nation for their great neglect of the merchant ships ; andto this purpose he produced two letters from his correspondents at Leghorn, one dated the 12th ofSeptember, in which, after taking notice of the Russia ships, it follows : “ Seeing the enemy fall in“ with so many of our convoys, we begin to suspect there may be some traitors among us and an-other letter in which, among other things, it is said, “ they had received a lamentable account of the“ Lisbon horse-convoy ; by which they observed there had been strange management in our maritime“ affairs, seeing we can suffer so much so near home.”

He also produced another letter from Plymouth, dated the 1st of November last, where it was said :“ the French privateers are so bold as to cruize in our very mouth: about four days since, two“ of them chased a Dutchman from Mount’s-Bay into our very harbour within Pentee, where there“ was a sharp dispute, and some score of guns fired : there was at that time between the island and the“ main the three Welch convoys ; but neither of them stirred, having no orders : however, the

Dutchman saved his ship: but this is eliough, and too much, on so melancholy a subject.”

Mr. William Coward said, he believed that the list of 1,100 and odd sail of ships lost, given in totheir lordships, was very far short of the whole number.

To all these complaints, the lord high-admiral returned the following reply :

The lords spiritual and temporal, in parliament assembled, having, by their order, bearing date the17th day of December last, directed that a copy of the report should be sent to the lord high-admiral,which was made to them on the same day from the lords committees appointed to consider of thepetition of several merchants on behalf of themselves and others, traders of the city of London, and ofthe depositions to which the said report doth refer ; and the said merchants having represented in theirpetition that they have of late yeats sustained great losses by the insufficiency, by the delays, and bythe unseasonable sailing of convoys, and the want of cruizers ; his royal highness has thought it neces-sary that this general complaint, as well as the several particulars contained in the aforementioned,should receive such answers as may set the whole matter in a much truer light than their lordships canpossibly have by these papers only from which the report hath been collected : and, therefore, it isdesired, that their lordships may be referred to the following particulars :

J. As