rica. It is therefore, I think, a very great chance, whether the fhips we have taken, or may hereafter take, shall ever be condemned or no. And this uncer tainty will prevent every feaman's lifting in the government's fervice, who thinks only of the advantage he may reap by it. Nay, were the chance of advantage much more certain than it is, yet as it is a future advantage, and the high wages a feaman may have in the merchant-lervice is a prefent advantage, I believe, were the bill now paffed into a law, very few of our feamen, at least of the mercenary part of them, would incline to prefer the former to the latter and as to fuch of them as are governed by ho nour, and a regard for the intereft and glory of their country, which I hope most of them are, we fhall have them, without our paffing any fuch bill, as foon as they respectively return from the voyages in which they are now engaged.

:

From this, Sir, which is the plain and the true state of the cafe, I think I have the strongest reason to conclude, that our agreeing to this motion, or even paffing the bill propofed, would not of itself induce any one feaman to lift him felf in the government's fervice, were we even to continue, for a twelvemonth to come, in our prefent ftate of uncer tainty but as it is certain, that three or four months will determine our fate as to peace or war; and as, by the law now in being, the property of all prizes taken after a declaration of war, is vefted in the captors; even fuppofing, that fuch a bill would, in time, have fome effect, yet we cannot fuppofe, that it could have any confiderable effect in fo short a time as three or four months; and for such a trifling advantage, were we fure of it, we ought not in common prudence to risk expofing our country to all the difadvantages with which our bringing in fuch a bill at this time may be attended. Which leads me to confider those disadvantages.

Upon this fubject, Sir, I fhall begin with acknowledging, that our prefent fituation is extremely critical. Our prefent difputes with France, though in themselves but trifling, are nevertheless

If we

in their confequences of the highest importance: fo important, that, in all human appearance, now or never is the time for our establishing the trade, the naval power, the independency of this kingdom, upon a firm bafis. fhould now, by an unfuccefsful war, be forced to fubmit to an ignominious peace; for, I am fure, our prefent fovereign will never otherwise submit to it: I fay, if we fhould now, by an unfuccefsful war, be forced to submit to an ignominious peace, we fhall never hereafter, in all probability, be able to contradic or difobey the dictates of the court of Verfailles. This, I fhall grant, Sir, is our present fituation. But in fuch a critical, fuch an important, such a dangerous fituation, ought we to proceed with precipitancy? ought we in any thing to be fwayed by the voice of the petulant, the unthinking vulgar without doors? If by the obftinacy of the court of France our prefent difputes with that nation fhould terminate in a declared war, we have, thank God! no great reason to dread the iffue, provided we can prevent their being affifted by any other of the chief powers in Europe.

This, Sir, is what we are with the utmost circumfpection to guard against; and to do this requires a thorough knowledge of the prefent circumstances of Europe, and a clear infight into the prefent fentiments of all the chief courts thereof. Have we in this house, can we have fuch a knowledge, or such an infight? Why then should we, without any intimation from his Majefty, rafhly refolve, for fo I must call it, upon any measure relating to peace or war; efpecially a measure which in itself virtually contains a fort of declaration of war? Have we any reason to distrust his Majefty's wifdom, or his attention to the honour and intereft of this kingdom? or can we fuppofe, that he would not, either by meflage, or fome other way, have intimated his defire to have fuch a

bill paffed, had he thought it neceffary, and confiftent with prudence in our prefent critical fituation? Sir, there is a punctilio of honour, which nations, as well as private men, muft upon all ocD dz

cafions

cafions have a regard to; and as our ordering fuch a bill to be brought in, certainly implies fome fort of menace, fome fort of defiance to the French nation, how do we know but that other courts of Europe might think the honour of that nation fo much affected thereby, as to render it impoffible for them, confiftently with their honour, to fubmit to any further negotiation or mediation, with regard to the difputes now fubfifting between us? And if any court in Europe fhould think fo, might not they be thereby provoked to join with France against us, in order to pull down what they would of courfe call the pride and the haughtiness of this nation?

Would not this be a misfortune to us, Sir? is it not a difadvantage that may probably attend our ordering fuch a bill to be brought in? and is it not to be the more cautiously guarded against, as there is no nation in Europe from whence we could expect any affiftance; at least no nation whofe affiftance would not be rather a burden than an advantage to us, as we fhould thereby be involved in a land-war -war upon the continent of Europe, the burden whereof we now know by fatal experience? Another difadvantage, Sir, which will attend fuch a bill as this, is, that it will give the French a title to demand the reftitution of all the fhips we have taken, or fhall take before a declaration of war; for fhips taken merely by way of reprifal, are to be reftored upon fatisfaction's being made for the damage on account of which they were taken. Therefore it is not, our business to fuppofe that we are not now at actual war: and indeed it is certain that we are now in a state of war, though no folemn de claration of war has as yet been made on either fide, but mutual hoftilities have been committed, which is a declaration in fact, though not in words. In any future treaty with France we must infift upon its being now a ftate of war between the two nations, but the French will certainly deny that it was fo; and if fuch a bill as this fhould be paffed into a law, they will produce our own act of parliament in fupport of that denial, as they now produce our own ridiculous

maps and hiftorians in support of their pretenfions in America.

And a third difadvantage attending fuch a bill as this, Sir, is, that it will tend to alienate the affections of our feamen, both officers and common men, from his Majefty. If war fhould be declared, or if his Majesty should think fit to order his courts of admiralty to try and condemn all the fhips that may then have been taken; which he may do without a declaration of war, ac was done in the firft Dutch war in K. Charles II.'s time, and in the long Spanish war in the reign of Q. Elifabeth, which indeed continued with very little interruption until the year 1597: I fay, if his Majesty fhould think fit to do fo, I am perfuaded, no one doubts but that he will then or der the produce, or the greatest part of the produce of the condemned prizes, to be divided amongst the captors, and the captors will then impute the advantage they from hence receive wholly to his Majefty's goodness and generofity. But if fuch a bill as this fhould be paffed into a law, our feamen will be apt to fuppofe, that fome of the leading men in parliament had discovered, that his Majefty had refolved to appropriate to himfelf alone the whole produce of all the prizes that fhould be taken; and confe-, quently they will be fo far from imputing any thing to his Majefty's goodness or generofity, that they will harbour in their breafts a fecret grudge or resentment against their fovereign: which may be of fuch a dangerous confequence, that I wifh no motion for fuch a bill had ever been made in this house; because the very motion will derogate in fome degree from the merit of that bounty which his Majefty always was, and ftill is refolved to bestow upon his brave feamen, as foon as he can do so confiftently with the fafety and happiness of his people in general; and otherwife, or till then, I am fure, no brave and honeft feamen would or will expe&t it.

Now, Sir, let us confider what we are to do by agreeing to this motion. We are to expofe ourselves to the danger of provoking fome of the chief powers of Europe to join with France against us;

we

Thefe pimps and underlings did all the business for their mafters. For, except when a flag of truce came on board from the enemy in regard to their private traffick, which always happened whenever it was convenient to the schemes of our enemies, that our ship fhould not cruife in the latitude where their bufinefs was carried on, they spent their whole time in playing at chefs and hazard with fuch of the midshipmen as were feeking for promotion at the expence of honour and honefty: for he stood the fairest chance of recommending him felf, who could cheat the cleaneft; and thefe midshipmen, being endowed with more fenfe by half than their patrons, faved their own allowance, and pushed themselves into their mafters mefs; who kept a much better table than the Captain himfelf for they never wanted good chear, fmuggled from the enemy's fhore. Befides, as they were in with the purfer, they regarded no expence: and at laft were fo barefaced to ftop as much as they thought proper out of the pay of the fhip's company, when other funds could not anfwer their extravagancies. This however was attended with fome difficulty in regard to the Captain, whofe confent was neceffary to carry fuch refolutions into execution. But this was alfo obtained, by tickling his ears with declarations of their entire obedience, and terrifying him with the neceffity of thofe oppreffive meafures for his fervice and the fupport of his authority.

They knew, that if the crew were permitted to have all their pay at their own difpofal, they would have no occafion to run in debt with the purfer, for brandy and tobacco; and that by this contrivance he would be able to keep the sturdy ones in tolerable fubmiflion; and in cafe any of them dared to winch, it would be in his power to threaten them with the mutiny-bill, and to refuse them a can of flip for a week or ten days together. This alfo was well calculated to weaken the oppofition

and fhip's company. For in all fhips there have been found fome sneaking liquorish fellows, who, tired of living upon beef and pork, and mouldy bifcuit, give up their liberty, and turn informers, for the fake of indulging their palate with the offals of an upper table. But certainly it was never fo vifible as in the OLD ENGLAND. For we have loft more of our crew by the poifoned politics of the cook-room than by any other means. The very favoury and high-flavoured fauces, with which our pilots entertain the unwary and unexperienced, operate more effectually to weaken our union, than either threats or reftraints: for when once a man has got a fnack of their trenchers, he too often retains a hankering after the honey-pot; and cannot tell how to relish a husky and infipid bifcuit. And by thefe extravagancies they themselves at laft found, that they had brought us to beggary. The fhip was very near drain. ed of all its provifions: and the money had been all fent afhore to fupport their luxury. This difcovery increased the clamours of the crew: even fome of their own creatures, who faw that all was foon like to be over with them, joined the loudeft in the cry, and vowed they would never lick another fpit belonging to them.

Every body, in fhort, began to grow ferious; for the men had all got a notion, that the private traffick carried on by thofe at the helm, had treacherously configned to the enemy a great part of our most valuable territories, from whence our ship had all her mafts; and thereby laid us under a neceffity to put up with fuch as the enemy would please to grant us. Befides, many circumftances created a fufpicion, that our ports were all going to the fame market, and that we very foon should not have a harbour to put into.

Upon this rumour never, fure! was fuch a hubbub heard. And the midfhipmen became more refolute on the crew's fide: their courage increafed with the danger of their fhip; and we could obferve that they looked very bluff

whenever

whenever a lick-fpit came in their way, and that they were plaguily out of humour with the pilots.

The foremaftmen thus encouraged, spit in their hands, and swore they would to a man mount the quarterdeck; and were, with much difficulty prevented, by remonstrances, that fuch a procedure, how well foever intended, would expofe them to the penalties of the mutiny-bill, and give their officers a more plaufible argument to opprefs them; and by advifing them, first to depute fome of their moft steady and fenfible friends to watch an opportunity to lay their grievances in a decent and strong manner before the Captain, and to beg his countenance and affistance with their endeavours to fave the fhip. In fine, confufion and difcontent prevailed fo much in every quarter, that it was not poffible to hinder their access to the Captain; who, under great surprise to hear fuch complaints against thofe who pretended to be his best friends, gave his word and honour that he would do his best for our common preservation.

This interview between the Captain and the reprefentatives of the crew, not only brought on an explanation of the caufe of our prefent bad fituation, but ftruck the daftardly pilots with fuch a panic, that, quite difpirited and broke down, they gave greater tokens of fear than any of us they were fo disheartened to fee the cabin-door opened to the crew, that they could not look a common man in the face; and under the weight of their fhame, and the depreffion of their fpirits, they quitted the ftern, fneaked away to the forecastle, and fet down to all-fours.

The helm thus deferted, the Captain was convinced of the danger to which the ship was exposed, and of the inability of the gamesters to conduct her fafe into port; and called about him in a great hurry for WILL the weft-countryman, and ordered him up to his cabin directly; for he was well known by every body on board to be the best failor in the fhip, and to be a very honeft man. The cabal always knew that, and had tried every way to bring him into their

mefs; for they knew the crew had a great opinion of WILL. But WILL was not a man for their purpose: for when they wanted him to fet down with them to backgammon, or all-fours, he was always a-minding which way the wind was; and when they expected him to be dipping his fingers in the stew-pans, and giving his opinion about the seasoning of their foups, they could not keep his eye from off the compafs and the log-board: but he would be every now and then bawling out fo loud that he might be almost heard in the Captain's cabin, that we were lofing way, at the very time when the pilots wanted to perfuade us, that we were gaining ten or twelve knots in an hour, in the direct course we were bound. Befides this, WILL had made all their creatures and hangers-on his enemies; because he would not fuffer them to cheat the common men in their pay. For which reasons the whole clan of them had given WILL quite over, turned him out of their mefs, and given him to understand, that he had better betake himself down into the hold, and fet a Fox to bark at him continually.

Here the Captain's inquiries found poor WILL fick in his hammock. However, as foon as he could, he hobbled upon deck; and having made an obfervation, fet the Captain right, and told him the true ftate of the hip and her bearings. WILL directly informed us what latitude we were in, and affured us that we were quite out of our courfe; yet we might get into it again, if we would but truft the working of the fhip to the English failors, and order fome Lafcars from the fhrouds, whom the clan had taken aboard partly to please the Captain, and partly to defend them from the refentment of their own crew, which they had for fome time foreseen, muft foon unavoidably befal them.

So WILL took to the helm: the Lafcars looked four; but the whole Englih gave him a round huzza. He immediately put the fhip about; and the wind favouring, though the fhip was plaguy foul and leaky, we foon got into the right courfe. WILL fent the Lafcars away directly, and fwore he would trust

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