and to steer back to Gibraltar, which might be in equal need of protection. In these views the Council acquiesced, and to Gibraltar accordingly the fleet returned. Such were the transactions which in their result lost Byng both his reputation and his life. In reviewing them at this distance of time with complete impartiality and calmness, we may in the first place dismiss with a smile of contempt the insinuation ventured by party violence, that Byng or his employers, or both, had some secret interest in betraying Minorca to the enemy. The charge of cowardice against Byng himself may deserve more serious consideration. But it appears by the evidence at his Court Martial that Lord Robert Bertie, Lieutenant Colonel Smith, and other officers who were near his person on the 20th of May, did not perceive any backwardness in him during the action, nor any marks of fear or confusion either in his countenance or behaviour, and that he seemed to give his orders coolly and distinctly.* It appears also that his delay in giving succour to West arose partly from his becoming accidentally entangled amidst some of his own ships, and partly from an overstrained idea of discipline as to the importance of all advancing in line. Nor does the Admiral seem to have shown any mean and unworthy jealousy of his second in command; he wrote the very evening of the action a letter of thanks to Admiral West, acknowledging most warmly his "fine and gallant conduct." "Your behaviour," he adds, "was like an angel. to-day."† But though Byng was a man perfectly honest and sufficiently brave, we may acknowledge, without disrespect to the name of an unfortunate officer, that he wanted capacity. Even before reaching St. Philip's he had already, as appears from his own letters produced at his trial, despaired of relieving it. Even from Gibraltar on the 4th of May, writing to the Lords of the Admiralty, he had stated his opinion that "throwing men into the castle will only add to the numbers that "must fall into the enemy's hands,”—and that, “if I 66 *Sentence of Court Martial, January 26. 1757. (Minutes, p 124.) † Minutes of Trial, p. 19. 1756. SIEGE OF ST. PHILIP'S. 69 "should fail in the relief of Minorca I shall look upon "the security and protection of Gibraltar as my next "object." He trembled not at danger,-but like many other weak men in high posts he did tremble at responsibility. He thought far more of shunning failure than of gaining success. On the 20th he might have advanced more eagerly to the support of West. On the 21st he might have been tempted by the partial success of West's division, even unassisted, to a renewed and vigorous attack. He should not have taken for granted that no naval victory would suffice to save the island. And, above all, he should have felt that even a defeat, had he sustained one, would be less ignominious to the British arms than a retreat without a blow. The garrison of St. Philip's, however mortified at the disappearance of Admiral Byng from the coast, and at the FEUX DE JOIE which they heard fired on this account from all the French lines, still cherished a hope that the English fleet would be reinforced and sail back to their relief. Meanwhile they continued their defence with unabated spirit, insomuch that the Duke de Richelieu found it necessary to obtain further reinforcements from France. Thus the castle became invested by an army of 20,000 men, and battered day and night from 62 cannon, 21 mortars, and four howitzers, besides the small arms. Nevertheless the loss of men amongst the besieged was inconsiderable, since they could for the most part secure themselves in the subterranean works which were impervious to shells or shot. The works above ground, however, ere long, presented more than one practicable breach. On the 27th of June the French marched up to the assault, headed by the Duke de Richelieu in person. Up to this time Richelieu had gained but slight distinction in arms. His conquests had been only those of gallantry; he could boast of thirty-five years' incessant campaign in the saloons of Paris and Versailles. A fit general, no doubt, where Louis the Fifteenth was King! Yet on this occasion it must be owned that he displayed both courage and conduct. He still persevered in the attack, while whole ranks fell around him, while the *Minutes of Trial, p. 6. entire glacis was covered with dead and dying, some from the musketry and grapeshot poured upon them in front, others from the mines sprung beneath their feet, and at length he stood victorious on the summit of the Queen's redoubt. Hitherto the two officers who had mainly contributed to the brave defence were Colonel Jeffreys and Major Cunningham, but in this assault the former was surrounded and taken prisoner, and the latter maimed in the right arm by the thrust of a bayonet. Thus the Governor was deprived at once of the most important outwork, and of his two principal assistants. -- Under these circumstances, a short truce being granted at Richelieu's request, to bury the dead and remove the wounded, -General Blakeney summoned a Council of War. Here opinions were much divided. The one party represented that every expectation from the fleet was vain,-that the outworks were ruined,that the body of the castle was shattered, that the garrison, always insufficient in numbers, was now exhausted by hard duty and constant watchings; and that, therefore, it would be expedient to accept, if the enemy were disposed to offer, honourable terms of capitulation. On the other side, it was contended that as yet not above 100 of their men had fallen; and that the question whether or not there were any hopes of relief, was not for the Governor and garrison to determine; their duty was at all hazards to hold out the place to the last extremity. But the former arguments prevailing with the majority, a conference ensued, when the Duke de Richelieu agreed to grant good terms in consideration of the gallant defence. Thus the fortress was delivered over to the French, while the English marched out with all the honours of war, and were, according to the articles, conveyed by sea to Gibraltar. -- When the tidings of Byng's retreat, and the consequent loss of Minorca, arrived in England, loud and fierce were the clamours. Justice, or something more than justice, was indeed done to Blakeney for his sturdy defence. But the Ministers were condemned for having neglected or procrastinated the proper measures of precaution; and, above all, the largest vials of popular wrath were poured on the devoted head of Byng. The only 1756. PUBLIC CLAMOURS IN ENGLAND. 71 doubt with the nation seemed to be whether he was in truth a traitor or a coward. In all the great towns the Admiral was burned in effigy. In Hertfordshire his house and park were attacked by the mob, and saved with difficulty. In London the streets and shops swarmed with contumelious ballads and caricatures. The general scarcity, and consequent excessive price, of corn at this period, was another element in the popular discontent. Addresses to the King came crowding in from many cities, as London, Bristol, and Chester; from many counties, as Dorset, Huntingdon, Buckingham, Bedford, Suffolk, Shropshire, Surrey, Somerset, and Lancaster, - all praying for an inquiry into the loss of Minorca, and for justice on the guilty. Instructions of a like nature were sent from the same places to their Members; not without a distant hint of stopping the supplies. Sir John Barnard, who attempted to stem the impulse in the City, grew almost as unpopular as Byng himself.* Vengeance! Vengeance! was now the universal cry. Never since the days of the Excise and South Sea was such a flame remembered. The Prime Minister at this time, the Duke of Newcastle, by no means endeavoured to divert this flame of popular resentment from Byng; on the contrary, he applied himself to feed and sustain it. He was most willing to sacrifice any of his Admirals, any of his Generals, or even any of his Cabinet colleagues, as a scapegoat for himself. One day, when a deputation from the City waited upon him with some representations against Byng, he blurted out, with an unfeeling precipitation which his folly ought not to excuse: "Oh, indeed, he shall be tried "immediately; he shall be hanged directly!"† On the same principle he attempted to cajole Fox into assuming the main responsibility. On all possible points was the popular impulse flattered and complied with. No sooner had General Blakeney landed with his garrison at Portsmouth than he was created an Irish Baron. General Fowke, on the contrary, was brought to trial for dis * H. Walpole to Sir H. Mann, August 29. 1756. Dodington's Diary, May 17. 1756. 4 obedience of orders, and being found guilty was dismissed the service. But previously and chiefly, Admiral Sir Edward Hawke was sent out to assume the command of the Mediterranean fleet, with orders to arrest Byng and West, and bring them prisoners to England. In July accordingly both were landed as prisoners. On full accounts, however, of the engagement on the 20th of May, West was soon honourably distinguished from his chief; he was carried by Lord Anson to Court, where the King said to him: "I am glad to hear you have done your duty so well; I wish every body else had!" Byng, strictly guarded, was transferred for the present to safe custody at Greenwich. His younger brother, who had gone to meet him on his landing, was so affected with the first sight of the unhappy Admiral, and with the abuse of him which he found wherever he passed, that he fell ill, and died the next day in convulsions. 66 Even before the loss of Minorca, almost as soon as the French descent upon the island became known in London, on the 18th of May, a Declaration of War had been issued against France. That war was now on the verge of becoming general in Europe. -But here let me pause for some detail of the position, and the prospects of the greater Powers. No two Sovereigns could be less friendly or well disposed towards each other than George and Frederick the Second. For several years the Prussian monarch had taken every opportunity of thwarting by his measures, and ridiculing by his conversation, his Royal uncle in England. He had resisted the payment of a just debt known by the name of the Silesian Loan. He had long withstood and at length successfully baffled the muchdesired election of a King of the Romans. He had given every encouragement to the exiled partisans of the House of Stuart, hoping, it would seem, to take advantage of a revolution in England, and to seize for himself the Electorate of Hanover. To such lengths had he gone in this course, that we find in 1753 the Duke of Newcastle write of him, as 66 now avowedly the principal if not the sole "support of the Pretender."* Nevertheless the force of *To Lord Hardwickę, September 21. 1753. See also a note to the third volume of this History, p. 349. |