CHRONICLE. 



415 



lord mayor of London, appcaniin 

 the public prints of this day. duted, 

 Victory, Auj^ust 1, ISOi. ' 

 " My Lord, 



" This day I am honouifd ^itli 

 your lord';hii)'s lettor of April yth, 

 transmitting mc the resolitlions of 

 thccorporation of London, tliuTilving 

 me, as commanding the ficet block- 

 ading Toulon. 



*•' I do assure yonr lordship, that 

 there is not a man breathing who 

 Sets a higher value upon the thanks 

 of his fellow -citizens of London than 

 myself; but I should feel as much 

 ashamed to receive them for a parti- 

 cular service, ma iked in the resolu- 

 tion, if 1 felt that I did not come 

 within that line of service, as I 

 should feci hurt at having a great 

 victory passed over witliout notice. 



" 1 beg to inform your lordsiiip, 

 that the port of Toulon has never 

 been blockaded by me ; quite the 

 reverse : every opportunity has been 

 oti'ered the enemy to put to sea; for 

 it is there that we liope to realize 

 the hopes and expectations of our 

 country ; and I trust that they will 

 not be disappointed. 



" Your lordship will judge of my 

 feelings upon seeing that all the ju- 

 nior flag oflicers of other fleets, and 

 even some of the captains, have re- 

 ceived the thanks of the corpora- 

 tion of London, whilst the junior 

 flag officers of the Mediterranean 

 fleet are entirely omitted. I own it 

 has struck me very forcibly ; for 

 where the information of the junior 

 flag officers and captains of other 

 fleets was obtained, the same infor- 

 mation could have been given of the 

 flag officers of this tlcet, and the 

 captains; and it is my duty to 

 state, that more able and zealous 

 lag officers and captains do not grace 

 the British navy, than those I have 



the honour and happiness to com- 

 mand. 



" It likewise appears, my lord, 

 a most extraordinary circumstance, 

 that Sir R-ichard Bickcrton should 

 have been, as second in conin)and 

 in the Mediterranean fleets, twice 

 passed over by the corporation of 

 London — once after the Egyptian 

 expedition, Avhen the first and third 

 in command were thanked ; and 

 now again ! 



'' Conscious of high desert, in- 

 stead of negleiit, the rear-admiral 

 resolved to let the matter rest, until 

 he could have an opportunity per- 

 sonally to call upon the lord mayor 

 to account for such an extraordinary 

 omission; but from this second 

 omission I owe it to that excellent 

 oiiicer not to pass it by. 



" I do assure your lordship, that 

 the constant, zealous, and cordial 

 support I have had in my command, 

 from both rear-admiral Sir Richard 

 Bickcrton and rear-admiral Camp- 

 bell, has been such as calls forth all 

 my thanks and approbation. We 

 have shared together the constant at- 

 tention of being fourteen months at 

 sea, and are ready to share the dan- 

 gers and glory of a day of battle. 

 Therefore it is impossible that I can 

 ever allow myself to be separated in 

 thanks from such supporters. 



'' I have the honour to remain, 

 with the very highest respect, yoqr 

 lordship's most faithful and obe- 

 dient servant, 



" Nelson & Bronte. 



" To the right hon. the 

 lord 7nai/or, ^c. ^c." 



As soon as the above letter was 

 made public, Mr. Dixon sent to all 

 the newspapers an explanation, 

 which stated, that the " vote of 

 thanks" to Admirals Cornwallis 

 and Thornborough, proposed by him- 

 self. 



