.ri40 political progrefs of Britain. April i%^ 



ihips of the line, sailed from Spithead to the Mediter- 

 ranean, to afsist in accomplifliing our pacific project. 

 To enter i«to the particulars is unnecefsary. Byng 

 attacked, and burnt, sunk, or ran aftiore almost an 

 entire Spanifh fleet. One of the prizes took fire and 

 blew up with a crowd of Spanifh prisoners, and I 

 cannot help wifhing that his majesty's most honour^ 

 able privy council had ascended in the explosion. 

 Between six and eight thousand of the Spanifh sea- 

 men were destroyed or taken prisoners. Dr Camp- 

 bell calls this " 2i famous action." The morality of 

 statesmen is very well defined in a sentence of 

 the Beggar's Opera. " What is the woman al- 

 " ways whimpering about murder?" says Peachum, 

 " when people won't deliver their money, what 

 *' would you have a gentleman to do?" We need 

 not wonder that the imperial viceroy of Naples 

 sent Byng's fleet seventy hogfheads of brandy. The 

 parliament met on irth November 1718. "Some 

 " looked upon this sti'oke as one of the noblest ex- 

 " ploits since the Revolution ; but others considered 

 " it in quite a different light." On the 17th Decem- 

 ber following, war was declared in form. In Sep- 

 tember 1719 we took Vigo. The war which, as I 

 formerly observed, gave general disgust, continued 

 till February 1720 *. It is not pretended that Spain 

 had afforded the smallest provocation to Britain^ 



• 'n pafsing I may just observe, that we had, at this time, a strange 

 kind of bus nefs on hand with Sweden, Denmark, and Rufsia. On the 

 jst May 1718, Sir John Norris, with ten fiiips of the line, sailed for 

 Copenhagen. He there joined the Daiiifh fleet, 3:;d both set out in con- 

 junction to atrack that of Sweden. They failed in their object. On 

 '■Pbe 3odi Novembev 1718, Charles xii. was killed. Upon this cveat. 



