r 
o l^he Discoveries 
Agreement about this Matter, that is, about the immediate 
Settlement, not as to their Rights •, for our King declares 
fully and plainly, that he looked upon his to be wholly 
unimpeached by this Difpute ; and fo to be fure it was, 
and is. But let us fee the Inftrudions from France, which 
are referred to in the foregoing Paper, which were con- 
ceived in the Words following: 
The French King s Letter or Mandate, to the Go- 
vernor of Martinico, dated December 26, 1730, 
Monjieur de Champigny, 
“ The Englijh have, for fome time paft, laid Pre- 
“ tenfions to the Ifland of St. Lucia, which belongs to 
“ me, and to which I have an inconteftable Right. 
“The fame Pretenfions they have laid to the Iflands of 
“ St. Vincent and St. Dominica, faid to belong to the 
“ Carihbeeans, Natives of the Country, according to the 
“ Treaty of the 31ft of March, 1660 ; and in the Pof- 
“ feffion of which it is my Intention to fupport them. I 
“ have, neverthelefs, agreed with the Court of England, 
“ that until thefe Pretenfions fhall be determined, the faid 
“ lilands fhall be evacuated by both Nations. And this 
is to acquaint you, that it is my Pleafure, that you 
“ make it known, As in the former. 
Upon thefe Papers I fhall make but one Remark, 
which is, that they clearly unravelled and expofed the 
true Intention and Defign, and, indeed, the whole Work- 
ings and Policy of the Court of France. There were 
many who faw and faid this at the Time, but thought it 
indecent and improper to publifh fo much, when our 
Court had confented to accept of this Expedient. But 
now that Reafon is removed, and we are at full Liberty 
to fay whatever can be faid with Truth upon this Subjedt, 
I cannot avoid doing fo, and fhall difpatch it in very few 
Words. The. French hsid. not, in their own Opinion, any 
Title to the Ifland of St. Lucia, but what arofe from Ex- 
pediency. They faw it lay near them, and they very well 
knew the Confequences that would follow from its being 
fettledby the Englijh, and this, more than any Advantages 
they expedled from it, put them upon the Attempt to 
fettle it. 
The Reader may pofllbly imagine that I only aflfert 
this, but the Fadl is otherwife ; I can really prove it. The 
French Writers on Geography and Trade, nay the French 
Politicians, never dreamed of any fuch thing, as appears 
from the Books j and the famous Mr. Savary, in his Dic- 
tionary of Commerce, tells us plainly, that the French pof- 
fefs or claim ten of the Caribhee Iflands, eight entirely, 
^nd two in Conjundlion with the Dutch ; all of which 
he names, but does not include St. Lucia ; which fhews 
that fuch People in France, as muft fooneft have heard of 
this Claim, if they had any, knew nothing about it. 
When I fay that this Settlement was made to prevent our 
gaining the Ifland, rather than from any great Hopes of 
Profit, I mean that thefe were the Motives of the French 
Miniftry, becaufe they had been long of Opinion that 
Hifpaniola, or St. Domingo, ought to be the great Objedl 
of their Concern in thofe Parts of the World, for many 
Reafons, which will fall properly in another Place. All 
therefore that they defired, with refpedf to the Iflands, 
was to prevent our fettling upon them, which, befides an 
immediate Lofs, might prejudice their future Views ■, 
and therefore they were willing to take PoffelTion of St. 
Lucia as an Out-work. If they kept it, it was well, but 
if they kept it only from us it was better •, and this was 
the true Reafon of their propofing the Expedient contain- 
ed in the foregoing Papers, which adlualiy anfwered 
their Ends better than if the Ifland had been abfolutely 
yielded to them by us. 
But if the Situation of Affairs in Europe fifteen Years 
ago was fuch, as made it reafonable for us to fufpend 
our Right, which I lay down as a Suppofition, but am 
far from afferting as a Faft; the Face of Affairs is 
fmce changed, and gives us now the faireft Opportunity 
to eflablifh that Right ; if the War continues we may, 
and we ought to, do it by Force •, and whenever there 
comes a Peace, the French can affign no Colour or Pre- 
and Se T T L E M E'N T S Book 1,, ■ 
tence whatever, againft the confirming that Right, by 
renouncing their unjuft and ill-founded Claim, to the 
preventing our fettling on it. If they took Advantage 
of a paft Conjundlure, when it was not convenient for us 
to break with them, it is our Bufinefs, as I hinted before, 
to^ take the Benefit of the prefent Conjuncture ; when, 
without Qiieftion, it is the Intereft, and will be confe- 
quently the Bufinefs, of France to deny us nothing of this 
Kind, if we infift upon it, that is to fay, if we fhew we 
have it at Heart ; and that we are determined to exert our 
naval Power, and to employ our Negociations for the 
Service of our own Country, for the promoting our 
Trade, fecuring our Navigation, and extending our In- 
tereft in the IVeft^ Indies. 
But the Qiieftion may be afked, what is the real Value 
and Importance of the thing for which you would have 
us contend ? What is this St. Lucia worth ? What cari 
be made of it Why ftiould we trouble ourfelves about 
it 1 In anfwer to this, I can only fay, in few Words, that 
it has been computed, that the Produbt and Commerce 
of this Ifland might, in a few Years, be brought to yield 
Great Britain an annual Rent of two hundred thoufand 
Pounds ; but to fliew the Poffibility, or rather the Pro- 
bability, if not the Certainty, of this Calculation, I fhall 
give the Reader Captain Uring's Defcription of this Ifland, 
who went thither on purpofe to fettle it j who was a Man 
of great Underftanding in Matters of this Nature, and 
whofe Honefty was as little queftioned as his Capacity ; 
fo that I cannot difcern any Objeftion that can be reafon- 
ably made to his Account, which is alfo remarkably 
plain and fuccinbl, and with which, as to this Subied, 
I fhall conclude. 
“ b/. Lucia is about twenty- two Miles in Length, and 
“ eleven broad ; the greateft Part of it very good Land, 
“ and in many Places hilly, and many rich V alleys very 
“ well watered with fine Rivers all through the Ifland, 
“ which makes it exceedingly pleafant and delightful, and 
“ it muft be very healthful, by its being fo narrow; and 
“ the Hills being not fo high to intercept the continual 
“ Trade-winds, that always fan it from the Eaftward, 
“ whereby the Heat of the Climate is mitigated, and 
“ made rather agreeable than troublefome. The Variety 
“ of Situations that it affords by the tiills and Vales, 
“ makes it both convenient and delightful, as well as the 
“ Pleafantnefs of the Profpeds ; and it is full of all 
“ Trees, amongft which are great Quantities of good 
“ Timber, fit for building Houfes and Windmills ; 
“ from whence both Barbadoes and Martinico have been 
“ furnifhed with very great Quantities, and are ftill ; the 
“ Cacao or Chocolate Nut grows here very well, and 
“ there grows alfo a great deal of Fuftic, and there 
“ is abundance of wild Fowl. It lies Weft-north- weft 
“ from the Ifland of Barbadoes, about twenty-four 
“ Leagues ; South from Martinico about feven Leagues ; 
“ and the fame Diftance North by Eaft from St. Vin- 
“ cent ; and hath feveral good Bays, and excellent Har- 
“ hours for Ships to anchor in : One of which is the 
“ Petite Careenage, where we defigned the firft: Settle- 
“ ment. This Harbour is on the North-weft; Part of 
“ the Ifland, and is much the fineft, and moft: conve- 
“ nient in all the Caribbee Iflands ; great Numbers of 
“ Ships may be there fafe in ail kinds of Weather, and 
“ it is very commodious for careening Ships of War and 
“ other Veffels. If this Ifland had been fettled, as was 
“ intended by his Grace the Duke of Montague, proper 
“ Forts built, and Garrifons placed therein, for the Pro- 
“ tedlion and Defence thereof, it would have been of- 
“ the greateft: Importance for the fecuring the Leeward^ 
“ Iflands, and even Barbadoes, from being invaded by 
“ France in Time of AVar; for no Armament can be 
“ made, nor any Expedition carried on by the French at 
“ Martinico, againft any of thofe Colonies, but muft be 
“ Imown at St. Lucia, almoft as foon as the Defign is 
“ formed, by the Nearnefs of its Neighbourhood to that 
“ Ifland ; from whence, likewife, Barbadoes and the Lee- 
“ ward Iflands might have Notice to provide for their 
“ better Defence. If St. Lucia were well inhabited by 
“ the Englijh,- the People of Martinico v/ould know their 
“ Intereft better than to enter upon any Expedition 
‘‘ againft 
