The Reign of George III. - (Continued.) page 6

The session was closed by the king on the 8th of July, in a speech in which, after noticing the unhappy occurrence of the riots, he announced the prosperous condition of the affairs of the American war, and still flattered himself that his subjects there would be brought to a reunion with the parent state. These anticipations were premature; the successes were only temporary.

In the course of July the rioters were brought to trial. Those prisoners confined in the city were tried at the regular Old Bailey sessions; those on the Surrey side of the river by a special commission. The lord chief justice De Grey, being in failing health, resigned, and Wedderburn took his place as lord chief justice, under the title of lord Loughborough. His appointment gave great satisfaction; but this was considerably abated by his speech at the opening of the commission, in which he indulged in very severe strictures on the rioters, who had to appear before him as judge. Of the one hundred and thirty-five tried, about one-half were convicted, of whom twenty-one were executed, and the rest transported for life. Amongst the convicted was Edward Dennis, the common hangman; but he received a reprieve. The trial of lord George Gordon was postponed through a technical cause till the following January, when he was ably defended by Mr. Kenyon and Mr. Erskine; and the public mind having cooled, he was acquitted. Probably, the conviction of his insanity tended greatly to this result, which became more and more apparent - his last strange freak being that of turning Jew.

From this episode of fire and fanaticism we recur to the general theme of the war with Spain, France, and America, in which England was every day becoming more deeply engaged. From the moment that Spain had joined France in the war against us, other powers, trusting to our embarrassments with our colonies and those great European powers, had found it a lucrative trade to supply, under neutral flags, warlike materials and other articles to the hostile nations; thus, whilst under a nominal alliance, they actually furnished the sinews of war against us. In this particular, Holland, the next great commercial people to ourselves, took the lead. She furnished ammunition and stores to the Spaniards, who all this while were engaged in besieging Gibraltar. Spain had also made a treaty with the Barbary States, by which she cut off our supplies from those countries. To relieve Gibraltar, admiral Sir George Rodney, who was now appointed to the command of our navy in the West Indies, was ordered to touch there on his way out. On the 8th of January, when he had been only a few days out at sea, he came in sight of a Spanish fleet, consisting of five armed vessels, convoying fifteen merchantmen, all of which he captured. These vessels were chiefly laden with wheat, flour, and other provisions, greatly needed at Gibraltar, and when he carried in with him, sending the men-of-war to England. On the 16th he fell in with another fleet off Cape St. "Vincent, of eleven ships of the line, under Don Juan de Langara, who had come out to intercept the provisions which England sent to Gibraltar. Rodney had a much superior fleet, and the Spanish admiral immediately attempted to regain his port. The weather was very tempestuous, and the coast near the shoal of St. Lucar very dangerous; he therefore stood in as close as possible to the shore, but Rodney boldly thrust his vessels betwixt him and the perilous strand, and commenced a running fight. The engagement began about four o'clock in the evening, and it was, therefore, soon dark: but Rodney, despite the imminent danger of darkness, tempest, and a treacherous shore, continued the fight, and the Spaniards for a time defended themselves bravely. The battle continued till two o'clock in the morning; one ship, the San Domingo, of seventy guns, blew up with six hundred men, early in the action; four ships of the line, including the admiral's, of eighty guns, struck, and were carried by Rodney safe into port; two seventy-gun ships ran on the shoal and were lost; and of all the Spanish fleet only four ships escaped to Cadiz.

Bearing his prizes with him, Rodney proceeded to Gibraltar, carrying great exultation to the besieged rock by the news of such victory and the timely supplies. He sent on some ships to convey similar relief to our garrison at Port Mahon, and, after lying some weeks at Gibraltar, he dispatched admiral Digby home with a portion of the fleet, and then with the rest made sail for the West Indies. Digby, on his homeward route, also captured a French ship of the line and two merchant vessels laden with military stores. This blow to the Spanish maritime power was never altogether recovered during the war. Other English captains were nearly as successful as Digby.

Rodney, on arriving in the West Indies, found a combined fleet of French under the count De Guichen, and of Spanish under admiral Solano; but he was not able to bring them to a general engagement, and they eventually managed to elude him, Solano taking refuge in the Havannah, and De Guichen conveying the home-bound merchant ships of France. Disappointed in his hopes of a conflict with these foes, he sailed for the North American coasts. Scarcely had he quitted the European waters, however, when the Spaniards took a severe revenge for his victory over them at St. Vincent. Florida Bianca, the minister of Spain, learnt, through his spies in England, that the English East and West Indian traders were going out under a very foolishly feeble escort - in fact, of only two ships of the line. Probably the great defeat of the Spaniards at St. Vincent had made the English government rashly confident, for nothing but the rashest confidence could have sent out such a fleet, freighted with two millions' sterling worth of merchandise, in a time of war, when French and Spanish squadrons were abroad. Elated at the news, Florida Bianca collected every vessel that he could, and dispatched them, under admirals Cordova and Gaston, to intercept this precious prize. The enterprise was most successful. The Spanish fleet lay in wait at the point where the East and West India vessels separate, off the Azores, captured sixty sail of merchantmen, and carried them safe into Cadiz. Never, it was said, had so rich a booty entered that port before. The two vessels of war escaped, but in the East Indiamen were eighteen hundred soldiers going out to reinforce the troops in the East.

This, though it was a severe blow to our trade, was but a small part of the damage which the active spirit of Florida Bianca did us. He promoted with all his energies the system of armed neutrality which had long been projected on the continent to cripple our power. As we have said, many nations - Swedes, Danes, Russians, and Hamburgers, but pre-eminently the Dutch - whilst professing alliance, or at least neutrality, as regarded us, were secretly sustaining our enemies - the French, Spanish, and Americans - by carrying them not only general merchandise, but actually military stores.

England knew that if she permitted this process there was little chance of bringing any of her antagonists to terms; she therefore insisted rigidly on the right of search, and on the seizure of all such contraband articles under whatever flag they were conveyed. Not only did Holland supply France and Spain in Europe, but she allowed the American privateers to carry their English prizes into their West Indian ports for sale. All this time Holland was not only bound by the most immense obligations to this country for the millions of money and the tens of thousands of men which we had sacrificed for the security of her independence against France, but she was also bound by treaty to furnish us certain aids when we were attacked by France. From the year 1778 Sir Joseph Yorke, our ambassador at the Hague, had made continual remonstrances against this clandestine trade with our enemies; and France, on the other hand, had, by alternate menaces and persuasions, exerted herself to induce the Dutch to set England at defiance. In this she succeeded to a great extent. Count Welderen, the Dutch ambassador in London, complained of the interruptions of their trade by the English, and continued to ship supplies to France and America. Sir Joseph Yorke, on the other hand, assured the States General that we should be ever ready to restore any goods seized that were not strictly contraband, but that the combination of France and Spain against us, to maintain the rebellion of our colonies, rendered vigilance indispensably necessary; that any ships seized for carrying contraband articles should be restored on the easiest and most amicable terms. He also reminded them that the king of England had refrained from claiming the succours stipulated for by the most explicit treaties, and to be rendered on demand under circumstances like the present; that, more than this, it was not the wish of his Britannic majesty to interfere with the exportation of any articles to France, except warlike and naval stores. Sir Joseph assured them that, having been official resident at the court of Holland for seven-and-twenty years, their high mightinesses had always found him most zealously disposed towards them, and might now estimate accordingly the sincerity of his assurances.

This statement called forth a similar appeal from the duke de Vauguyon the French ambassador, accompanied with a menace, that if they did not resist the claims of England, France would withdraw the advantages promised to their flag. The Dutch were not bold enough to encounter at once the vengeance of England, and France therefore issued an order, revoking all the privileges promised to the flag of Holland, except so far as regarded the inhabitants of Amsterdam. Much correspondence ensued, the Dutch maintaining a specious neutrality, but still continuing to carry timber and naval stores to France. Sir Joseph Yorke was therefore instructed to demand from the States the succours stipulated by treaties, and which might have been demanded the moment that France declared war against England. He observed that Spain had now joined France, and that the moment was arrived for the Dutch government to show their sense of all the blood and money which England expended for the defence of their country and the protestant religion; or whether she was to be left, now her turn of trial came, to contend against the whole house of Bourbon alone, abandoned by those whom she had so long and so essentially served.

The result was precisely such as has always been the case when generous and prodigal England has called for a return of her gigantic efforts for the continental nations. Four months were suffered to elapse without an answer, and, before this period had passed, the Dutch had offered a fresh insult to her ancient and quixotic ally, by allowing Paul Jones to bring into their ports the English prizes taken off Scarborough. Sir Joseph Yorke demanded that the ruffian, who was at once a rebel and a pirate, should be given up to the English authorities, together with his ships and the English ships of war - the Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough. This was declined, the States affirming that they could not assume to be judges of the legality or illegality of captures made by foreign vessels which sought shelter from storms in their ports; they could only require them to leave again, and, when at sea, the English could take them again as they had been taken.

On this, Sir Joseph Yorke demanded again in explicit terms the stipulated succours, on the 26th of November, and received not only a positive refusal, but a fresh complaint of the interruption of their trade by the English men-of-war. Whilst affairs with Holland were in this position, count Florida Bianca, the Spanish minister, had adopted the system of seizing all neutral vessels, of whatever nation, that were found carrying British goods, and conveying them into Spanish ports as lawful prizes. This, as he calculated, raised the resentment of all the neutral powers - Russia, Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, Holland, and the trading states of Italy - who denounced these outrages on their flag. But Florida Bianca replied, that so long as England was suffered to pursue this system, Spain must continue to make reprisals; that it was, however, in the power of the neutral nations to combine and defend their flags, by compelling England to desist. The result was as he had hoped. Catherine of Russia, who had hitherto considered herself an ally of England - who had, at one time, contemplated furnishing soldiers to assist in reducing the American rebels, and who protested against the monstrosity of France encouraging the colonies of England to throw off their allegiance - was suddenly induced to change her tone. She had lately been greatly exasperated by the seizure, by the Spaniards, of two Russian trading vessels, which were carrying supplies to Gibraltar. She exclaimed, " My commerce is my child," and she was preparing retaliatory measures, when the news of a striking seizure of Dutch vessels by the English, on the Ist of January, 1780, reached her.

The affair was thus: - The Dutch admiral, count By land, with two ships of the line and two frigates, was carrying a merchant fleet to the French ports with stores, but nominally to the Mediterranean. Commodore Fielding was dispatched with a squadron to intercept and examine this fleet, and he fell in with it a little to the westward of the Isle of Wight. Fielding sent out boats with crews, who demanded leave to search the merchantmen for any contraband stores. Admiral Byland refused, and fired on the boats. At this, Fielding fired a shot ahead of the Dutch admiral, and Byland replied by pouring a broadside into him. Fielding returned the salute with interest, on which Byland struck his colours. Fielding then seized six or seven of the trading vessels, the rest escaping through the darkness of the night, and getting safe into Brest. The vessels taken were found to be laden chiefly with naval and military stores. On this, Fielding signalled to the Dutch admiral that he might hoist his colours and proceed on his voyage with the ships of war; the merchantmen he should carry to Spithead. Byland hoisted his colours, and saluted the British flag, but declared that he could not proceed without the merchant vessels, and he followed Fielding into Spithead, and anchored alongside of him.

This seizure produced a violent remonstance from Holland; but the English government replied that, as the States not only refused to furnish the succours which they were bound by the most solemn engagements to supply, but assisted our enemies with warlike stores, they could not expect a continuance of our friendship; that Holland was pursuing not only a most ungrateful, but a most suicidal course; for that, if France could succeed in ruining Great Britain, the ruin of Holland would speedily follow. Thus the two countries continued in a state of naval warfare, though without open declaration of war. But the moment this news reached St. Petersburg, count Panin, the minister of Catherine, a man hostile to England, represented to the empress that, so long as this system continued, all trade would be at an end, and England would domineer over the commerce of the world; that nothing would prevent it but a league amongst all nations to protect neutral ships. Catherine was at once seized with the ambition of reducing our naval power, forgetting that it was by the friendship of England that she possessed a navy at all; and, on the 26th of February, she issued her famous proclamation, " that free ships should make free goods." This meant that all neutral nations should continue to carry all kinds of articles to powers at war with one another, without search or question, except such goods as were expressly specified in treaties. Sweden, Denmark, Prussia, France, and Spain, all readily entered into this league, which assumed the name of the Armed Neutrality," the object of which, though ostensibly to control all belligerent powers, was really to suppress the naval power of England. Holland loudly eulogised this league, but did not yet venture to join it; but prohibited the exportation of stores to our garrison in Gibraltar, whilst her ships were busy carrying supplies to the Spanish besiegers. Sir Joseph Yorke, therefore, on the 21st of March, informed the States that, unless the stipulated succours were furnished within three weeks, England would suspend, pro tempore, the regulations in favour of the Dutch commerce. The States still refused to furnish the succours, and at the specified time the privileges in question were suspended, though count Welderen still continued in London, and Sir Joseph Yorke at the Hague. It was evident that Holland could not long continue in this position, and Frederick of Prussia was soliciting Catherine of Russia to enter into an engagement to protect the Dutch commerce in every quarter of the globe. If Frederick could have prevailed, he would have stirred up a universal crusade against England; but Catherine was not rash enough for this quixotism.