tives, and carried along with the vessel to Carthagena. That the House may understand the subject fairly, it will be proper to state in a cursory manner, what has hitherto been the situation of the Musquito shore. The country extends about 20 leagues beyond Black River, to the west, and 20 leagues to the south of Yarra or Great River, making in the whole about 400 miles of a rectangular coast, running west and south, from Cape Gracia de Dias, and from 100 to 80 miles deep in the country. The chiefs of the different tribes of Indians first formally ceded this country to his Majesty, while the duke of Albemarle was governor of Jamaica; their chiefs have ever since been respected and obeyed by the natives, according to the commissions they have held from the governor of Jamaica, to which the Musquito shore is considered as an appendage, nor has any Spaniard ever settled there. In the war of 1740, when we projected the attack on Carthagena, and the expedition into the South Seas, under lord Anson, thinking the Indians might be of material service against the Spaniards, an officer under the name of superintendant, and paid by the crown, was then appointed, as also justices of the peace, by commission from the governor of Jamaica, which establishment has continued ever since, sometimes with more relaxed, and sometimes with firmer authority, according to the characters of the men employed, as every species of colony government under our constitution must be, when founded merely on the will of the crown, without the elective voice of the people. vilized people. The traders on the Musquito shore were accustomed to sell their goods at very high prices and long credit, to the Musquito Indians, and the mode of payment set on foot by the British settlers, was to hunt the other surrounding tribes of Indians, and seize them by stratagem or force, from whence they were delivered to the British traders as slaves, at certain prices, in discharge of their debts, and were by them conveyed as articles of commerce to the English and French settlements in the West-Indies. The person among others, concerned in this shameful traffic had been the superintendant himself, whose employment was ostensibly to protect the Indians, from whence, as the House will easily perceive, all kinds of jealousy, distraction, and distrust had prevailed: several of the Indians, and particularly the king, complained to my friend of the distracted state of the natives, from this species of commerce. He wisely foresaw that it would be impossible to correct the evil by any complaint through the superintendant, who was himself concerned; he therefore advised, as the best means of obtaining redress, that the king should send his brother and his son to England, with a regular complaint, and lest the fact should be disputed, he actually purchased two of those surrounding Indians, who had been made slaves, to accompany the others on the voyage, which voyage he undertook at his own expence, and agreed to accompany them thither with that humanity and attention to the rights of his fellow creatures, for which I know him to be distinguished. But whilst I praise his benevolence, and consider the act as the most meritorious that could be performed, I must also, in justice to truth, declare to the House, his total ignorance of the ignoble selfish spirit which directs the councils of this country; this gentleman was actually weak enough to believe he would receive public commendations for his conduct, and instant redress for so inhuman a grievance! It was no doubt with a design of remedying those inconveniencies, that this new species of colony government by a legislative council, chosen by the inhabitants, was adopted. I do not take upon me either to condemn or approve the policy which directed the measure, but I believe the motives were extremely good. A very extraordinary circumstance had brought the affairs of the Musquito shore, under the more immediate review of the Board of Trade, by which the unrestrained irregularities that prevailed there, became more apparent; a very worthy gentleman, and a friend of my own, had gone to that part of the world in 1773, with a view of settling in the country; when he arrived there, he found a commerce established of the most barbarous and cruel kind that ever disgraced the transactions of any ci When the affair was first stated to lord Dartmouth, he received the chiefs as became him, and felt with that tenderness for which he is said to be noted; but his ardour was soon cooled by some of those worthless indifferent beings who cannot believe that any man can suffer an injury, while they are enjoying the luxuries of an abundant table. The superintendant had also found friends, among those kind of men; the matter was afterwards put off for nine months, from week to week, till lord Dartmouth quitted the Board of Trade, having first, in consequence of the enquiry, established the legislative council, which has been the occasion of the hostilities complained of. The first act of lord Dartmouth's successor was to dismiss the superintendant of the Musquito shore, and appoint another, leaving however such an expence upon my worthy friend, notwithstanding government paid a small sum towards his losses, that I believe no man will again venture upon such a romantic idea as that of crossing the Atlantic, in consequence of any grievance, in hopes of obtaining redress in England. It was those very Indian chiefs, which lord Dartmouth sent out with Messrs Blair and Irving. We shall now consider what can be said in vindication of the conduct of the court of Spain. Our right to trade and to settle in the Musquito country, is founded (as I have shown) on the cession made by the native inhabitants, and on an uninterrupted possession of near a hundred years. That of the Spaniard is founded on a grant from the Pope of Rome, and as being the first discoverers of the circumjacent coasts. It is true the matter is left somewhat indefinite, by the definitive treaty of Paris. That the House may judge exactly, I will read the article 17th. "His Britannic majesty shall cause to be demolished all the fortifications which his subjects shall have erected in the Bay of Honduras, and other places of the territory of Spain in that part of the world, four months after the ratification of the present treaty; and his Catholic majesty shall not permit his Britannic majesty's subjects, or their workmen, to be disturbed or molested, under any pretence whatsoever, in the said places, in their occupation of cutting, loading, and carrying away logwood; and for this purpose, they may build without hinderance, and occupy without interruption, the houses and magazines necessary for them for their families, and for their effects; and his Catholic majesty assures to them, by this article, the full enjoyment of those advantages and powers on the Spanish coasts and territories as above stipulated, immediately after the ratification of the present treaty." Undoubtedly the words "other places of the territory of Spain, in that part of the world," leaves the dispute as much at large, or as contracted as could be desired by a politician disposed to take the cause of either party. I freely confess, that a regular established government, where mankind could multiply under the benign influence of colonization, that formerly prevailed in the English settlements, and thus situated in the very heart of the Spanish dominions, is an object of great consideration for them, perhaps (and for the same reason) it is equally an object of great consideration with us, not to relinquish such advantages. Men who are disposed to yield the rights of Great Britain to such considerations, might find many stronger arguments, upon that consideration, for yielding up Gibraltar, situated in the kingdom of Spain itself, and destined for the key of commerce in the Mediterranean, exposing to passing nations at the south of Europe, the proudest triumph of insular power, and the most humiliating circumstances of debilitated empire, that has yet appeared in the fluctuating scene of human events. For she too, in the plenitude of her power, made cruel war on her distant subjects! But I do not wish at present to enter into the question of convenience or of right, or the extent of that right, on the Musquito shore; my proposition is short and simple, disencumbered upon every alternative from such perplexity. If lord Dartmouth had no right to establish a legislative council on the Musquito shore, by which every English man was invited to partake of the benefits of that species of government, his lordship is to blame, and the administration with whom he concerted that measure, should be censured. But for this House to permit the innocent subject acting under such sanctions of government, to be ruined by his confidence, while the same set of ministers are in power, is inconsistent, or that we shall refuse to hear complaints, or to examine into the truth in such cases, is placing the representatives of the people (who ought to see with a jealous eye the injuries of every individual) in such an odious light, that instead of being considered as the guardians of the rights and privileges of the people, they can only be considered as an engine in the hands of a minister, (like the Ro man senate under Tiberius) to palliate disgraces, or execute vengeance at his will. What I maintain here, and with more confidence than in the case of Falkland's Island, is this, that supposing government had even exceeded the just limits between the king of Spain and Great Britain, yet still the object was a matter of cool discus sion, agreeable to the respect due to the dignity of a great nation, before any overt act of violence could be committed. The late sir Charles Saunders declared, upon the unhanging a sloop of war's rudder, merely to detain her for a few days, that Madrid in ashes was hardly a sufficient atonement. For my part, I consider this of much greater consequence, because I regard personal liberty as the first great consideration in a free country; the tying of British subjects together, loading them with irons, and throwing them into dungeons, is of more estimation, in my judgment, than the shipping and unshipping of 500 rudders. I see some gentlemen smile at this sentiment. I do not wish to adopt their opinions, nor do I expect they should adopt mine. It would be difficult for me to make them feel the regard I have for civil liberty. If I should say it is equal to the affection they bear to their pensions and places, they would hardly believe it possible. But I am not ashamed to maintain that the commerce of the productive coast of the Musquito shore, is infinitely superior to the barren rocks of Falkland's Island. When a member of parliament can laugh at the imprisonment of English subjects, or sit regardless of a question where the peace, the happiness, the existence of 500 families of his fellow subjects are involved, it is, in my opinion, a mark of depravity that deserves the contempt and abhorrence of all good citizens. reign power, openly to assist the Americans, or to form any alliance with them, which must make their return to the allegiance of this country more difficult, if not impossible, even supposing his Majesty shall soon see the fruitless conduct of his present ministers, and become disposed to listen to wiser and more faithful counsellors. It is for this reason I would propose, if the petition was brought up, that the damages should be paid to the innocent sufferers, until we are in a situation of doing ourselves justice. But while I offer this proposition, I beg the names of those men may be remembered, who from the height of national prosperity, without any exterior cause or other reason than their own mismanagement, have crossed the Rubicon, and plunged us into all the horrors of civil discord, until we are left in this debilitated state, liable to be insulted by every foreign power. I have only now to inform the House, of the different steps that have been taken since the capture of the Morning Star, to obtain redress. The inhabitants of the Musquito shore, extremely alarmed at so notorious an attack, by force of arms, on the property of the King's subjects, in which their fate was involved, transmitted an immediate representation to the governor of Jamaica, of the circumstances attending it, and though the proof, that the vessels which made the seizure were Spaniards, was not so positive as the common law of this country would require, before a jury, to deprive a man of his life, yet, attended by those numerous circumstances, by which seamen denote the vessels of foreign nations, there could remain no doubt that the cruizers were Spaniards; this, added to the dress, complexion, and tones of voice of the crew, all plainly distinguishable, rendered the evidence from the affidavits as complete as the nature of the case could admit. This representation was carried to Jamaica by captain Blair, in I am the furthest of any man in this House from wishing to involve us in a war with Spain. I am conscious of our feeble situation, and that we are already engaged in a civil war, too extensive for our resources. I do not expect in this assembly, that Roman spirit which directed vengeance against the king of Epirus, when Hannibal was in the centre of Italy; that period is passed. Our late defeats in America must make every man look with awful consideration on the extent of the present war, and the magnitude of the ex-person, who stated to the governor all the pence in dealing with the enemy, whom we have unhappily driven into rebellion, by our own false policy and oppression. I am conscious that our revolted colonies, aided by a foreign force, must prove an over-match for us. Their respectable resistance on the shore, and the innumerable captures at sea, demonstrate this. I therefore think it would be madness to irritate any other power; our situation is such at present, that I think it better to suffer every insult, than provoke any fo[VOL. XIX.] other minute circumstances that came to his knowledge. Though the unhappy sufferer was perfectly convinced who had injured him, yet the governor, who is himself a seaman, and a man of sound natural sense, would not believe the Spaniards could be guilty of such incivility, and still insisted the captors must be vessels from North America. Application was also made to the worthy admiral upon that station, but he was equally incredulous as to any misbehaviour in the Spaniards; and [F] and obliging that is to be found in the annals of this country, when demanding reparation for a national indignity. When this nation is sunk still lower, it may serve as a model to future admirals and governors. Nevertheless, when Dr. Irving re company the representation, and go in this frigate to point out his own vessel, and refute any false allegation on the spot, he was refused this equitable request, which plainly demonstrates, (as well as the papers when they shall be read), that the whole was a timid ceremonious requisition, unworthy the dignity of this nation. yet if he was sincere in his belief, it would appear strange that the admiral should have sent no cruizers to look after those American privateers. Finding no likelihood of redress abroad, from the instructions the governor and admiral must have received, captain Blair embarked for Eng-quested of the admiral, that he might acland, and on the 25th of September, delivered a memorial to lord George Germaine, secretary of state for the colonies, complaining of the unjustifiable capture of his vessel by the Spaniards, and stating his losses at 3,000l. His lordship was in the same incredulous disposition of mind with the governor of Jamaica. It was from our own colonies alone, that any hostile act could come. It was impossible to persuade his lordship, from any circumstantial proof, that the Spaniards could be guilty of such an act. What I now maintain is this, that admitting there was not sufficient proof for an application for redress, there was perfect ground for a hypothetical enquiry, if our good friends and allies had committed this trespass, and what were the motives but this was refused, from our situation with regard to the Spanish court. After three months had elapsed in fruitless attendance, there was, by accident, transmitted from Jamaica, a deposition of Frederick Sund, one of the unhappy mariners, who had been taken in the vessel, and escaped from prison at Carthagena. This man set forth every particular in his affidavit, and as it is the most material evidence in the petition, I will read it to the House. [Here the affidavit was read.] As soon as this affidavit was public in Jamaica, application was again made to the governor and admiral on that station to obtain redress; the governor still professed his entire scepticism, and the admiral was more profitably employed in catching the innocent traders from North America, who had ventured to sea under the faith of our first restraining Bill, but who were now condemned as prizes by the second, before the limitation in the first Bill was expired. This was about the harvest of such glorious exploits, and therefore a most unseasonable time to enquire into private injuries, or national insults. After six weeks solicitation, however, the governor and admiral did at last think it decent to make some inquiry into the depredations committed upon his Majesty's subjects under their protection. Accordingly a frigate was dispatched, with a complimentary letter to the governor of Carthagena, wrote in a stile the most civil As I have the honour to be acquainted with the governor of Jamaica, who is an excellent naval officer, and knows what is due to the British colours, I am persuaded he never could have acted a part so humiliating to this country and himself, if he had not secret instructions to curb the dignity of his own mind. Notwithstanding the courtly expressions in the letter from the governor of Jamaica, and the refined politeness of the English admiral, the ingenuous character of the Spanish governor would not permit him to adopt the evasion which was pointed out; he boldly acknowledged the capture, by vessels commissioned by the king of Spain. He assigned no reason in justification, but freely declared he had no power to order restitution in an affair which depended upon the courts of Madrid and London. While this pleasant scene was carrying on in the West Indies, the deposition of Frederick Sund had been transmitted to captain Blair in England; this he inclosed in a letter to lord George Germaine, of the 17th December; his lordship seemed still desirous of further delays, but on being pressed by captain Blair, in terms more severe than his natural modesty generally inclines him to use, his lordship then wheeled to a more extraordinary subterfuge; he acquainted the unfortunate petitioner, for the first time, that truly he was in the wrong course of office, and that the matter belonged to lord Weymouth's department, to whom the papers should be sent. This I consider as a very unfair and disingenuous conduct, whatever purposes it might be intended to serve. If the affair belonged to lord Weymouth's office, his lordship should have been permitted to see and judge concerning the first representation in September, which I am persuaded would have been very different. Capt. Blair hereafter applied to lord Weymouth, who immediately came to town, and transmitted a representation to lord Grantham at Madrid. Captain Blair has waited with great patience, in hopes of some satisfactory answer, but he has not as yet officially learned any particulars. As this is not a vessel seized for illegal commerce, but for going to attempt a settlement on the Musquito shore, under the encouragement and approbation of government, the matter is brought to a short issue, and must turn on the right of the nation to make any settlements there. Here is no disavowal of the facts alledged, no declaration, in case the circumstances are as represented, they should be willing to render reparation: so that the unhappy sufferers, after embarking their fortunes in a laudable undertaking, at the invitation of administration, are now plundered and ruined by a foreign power; the matter is further endeavoured to be involved in such doubt, mystery and confusion, that there is no prospect of relief; and the parties, after every species of procrastination and evasion in office, are left without a glimpse of hope for obtaining redress, unless by the interposition of this honourable House. If it is alleged that the court of Spain are ever slow in negociations like this, I answer, that the Spanish court are composed of men constituted like others; that they are slow, or prompt in reply, according to the men and the administration with whom they are transacting business. If the capture was put upon the footing of any illicit trade, (which is impossible in the present case) the matter might demand enquiry, and consequently delay. But here the point must turn on our right to trade and settle on the Musquito shore, the discussion should be short, after one hundred years possession; or at least, if government do not chuse to venture that discussion at present, the laws of civil society require that the state should indemnify the innocent sufferer, whenever the nation shall postpone any requisition for the reparation of private injury which is due to every individual, from the protection of the state. Either condemn lord Dartmouth; demand satisfaction of the court of Spain; or indemnify the individual who acted under your sanction and advice. One of those three things you are bound to do; the last would prove most pleasing to me in the present juncture. Will any man believe, that in case lord Chatham had been first minister of this country, that in five months he would not have been able to procure an explicit answer upon this subject, from Madrid? For my part, I sincerely believe, that he would have had an answer in five weeks; and I refer to those who remember the honour of the nation, in the days of Mr. Pitt, if the whole tenor of his lordship's conduct does not justify me in entertaining this belief. But at all events there can be no national objection to bringing up the petition; we are bound to hear the complaints of the subject; what is to be done after the House are fully informed of the facts, may be a matter of more difficult consideration; but to reject the petition, would be loading our own resolutions with an imputation of timidity, worse than any I have stated in the conduct of the subordinate officers of government, and showing it is the same abject disposition that pervades the whole system. In hopes that this is not entirely the case, and that at least, if the old spirit of resentment for national indignities is stifled, the spirit of private justice is not yet extinguished, I now move you, that this petition be brought up. Mr. J. Johnstone seconded the motion. He lamented the humiliating state this country had been reduced to by the violent and impolitic measures pursuing against America, which left us at the mercy of our foreign enemies, notwithstanding the high sounding language held, of our being in a situation to be able to contend with all the powers of Europe, should a necessity arise for any such exertion. He declared himself strenuously for the enquiry, as the means of rousing us to a proper sense of our very perilous situation, from those romantic dreams of American conquest, and unconditional legislative supremacy; and of recalling the attention of parliament to the dangers we have been imperceptibly led into, by the unexampled folly and obstinacy of a blind infatuated set of men, to whom the administration of public affairs had been unfortunately intrusted. Lord North said he should be against the bringing up of the petition, upon several grounds: first, he thought it would be extremely improper to bring such a matter before parliament, till it was known in what manner the court of Madrid would behave, or what answer they would ultimately give. It was a delicate affair, and required careful investigation, before it would be proper to take any decisive mea |