734 
ENG 
made from the town before day-break, in which the re¬ 
gular troops of the forts were reinforced by a (trong body 
of the native Indians, armed only with bows and lances, 
who fought with aftoniffiing perfeverance ; advancing to 
the very muzzles of the Englifii mulkets, and with wild 
and favage ferocity biting the bayonets even in the ago¬ 
nies of death. They were finally repulfed with great 
lofs; and a breach being made, a refolution was taken to 
ftorm the town. 
Though no offer of capitulation had been made, the 
garrifon feemed ill prepared to fuftain an affault, and the 
Englifii penetrated into the very centre of the city with 
little oppofition. The governor retiring into the citadel, 
the town was expofed for fome hours to all the horrors 
of a general pillage. At length, the citadel being in no 
condition of defence, the marquis de Villa Medina, the 
archbiftiop of Manilla, and the officers of the garrifon, 
furrendered themfelves prifoners of war ; at the fame 
time propofing a capitulation to fave the city from total 
definition. After fome difcuffion, a ranfom of four mil¬ 
lions of dollars was offered, and accepted. The port and 
citadel of Cavite, with the iflands and fortreffes depend¬ 
ing on the government of Manilla, being included in the 
capitulation, the whole force of the Englifii fcarcely fuf- 
ficed to garrifon their conquefis. 
Intelligence being received of the expeted arrival of 
an Acapulco fhip, tlie admiral fent the Panther and Argo 
fhips of war in quefi of her, who fell in with the Santa 
Trinidada, bound for Mexico, pierced for fixty guns, 
with merchandize on-board to the amount of three mil¬ 
lions of dollars. This was not the only regifter-fhip taken 
in the courfe of this war from the Spaniards; the St. Her- 
inione, from Lima to Cadiz, being captured by two Bri- 
tiffi frigates cruifing'off Cape St. Vincent. Her cargo was 
eftimatedat one million fterling, being fuppofed the richeft 
prize ever brought into the harbours of Great Britain. 
Amongft the military and naval achievements of the 
year 1762, it may be proper tranfienfjy to notice the re¬ 
covery of the town and fort of St. John, in the ifland of 
Newfoundland, (fome months betore fiurprifed and fur- 
rendered to the French,) by lord Colville and colonel 
Amherft, who, failing from the harbour of Halifax, by 
their fpirited exertions anticipated the effeCt of an arma¬ 
ment fitted out exprefsly for this purpofe at Portfmouth. 
All thefe plans of fuccefsful conqueft had been projected 
by the whig adminiftration, who now went out. On the 
refignation of Mr. Pitt, the entire direction of affairs was 
veiled in the earl of Bute. The duke of Newcafile, as 
firfi lord of the treafury, and the duke of Devonlhire, as 
lord chamberlain, were difmiffed. The earl of Hardwicke 
retired in difguft ; and the duke of Grafton, lord Ravenf- 
worth, and lord Afhburnham, with feveral other noble¬ 
men of high diftinction, now ranged themfelves with Mr. 
Pitt, on the fide of the oppofition. Lord Anfon was fuc- 
ceeded at this period in the admiralty by the earl of Ha¬ 
lifax, recently returned from the government of Ireland, 
in which he was fucceeded by the duke of Northumber¬ 
land ; and Mr. George Grenville' was advanced to the 
fecretaryfhip. But in a ffiort time this order of things 
was revelled : lord Halifax took the feals, and Mr. Gren¬ 
ville was placed at the head of the admiralty. No poli¬ 
tical conflict, however, could take place before the enfu- 
ing winter, and the' fummer months palled over in angry 
and ineffectual difcontent. 
On the 1 2th of Auguft, 1762, a day aufpicious to the 
houfe of Brunfwick, as the era of its acceffion to the 
throne of Great Britain ; aufpicious alfo to the kingdom 
at large, wliilfi the principles of liberty civil and reli¬ 
gious, on which that acceffion was founded, continue to 
be the rule of their government, the nation was gladdened 
by the birth of a prince of Wales, Whofe aim, whofe 
ftudy, and whofe pride, may it ftill be to efiablilh, ex- 
■te id, and improve, that free and happy confiitution of 
which he is the hereditary guardian and defender! 
The firfi and great object of the new minifter was the 
LAND. 
refioration of peace ; a laudable and noble defign, but at¬ 
tended with very confiderable difficulty. The majority 
of the nation, elated or rather intoxicated with fuccefs, 
were eager for the continuance of the war, in the fanguine 
hope of new victories ; not reflecting that every rational’ 
purpofe of the war had been long fince obtained, and that 
additional conquefis were in faCt only additional incum¬ 
brances. A powerful party, competed of men the mod 
diftinguifiied for rank, influence, and ability, was now 
formed in oppofition to the minifter; and this oppofition 
was openly countenanced by the duke of Cumberland,, 
uncle to the king, who had never connected himfelf with 
the tory party in oppofition to the court in the late reign,, 
and who had imbibed the whig principles and prejudices- 
in their full extent. Upon whatever terms the peace 
might be concluded, it was not to be imagined that fatis- 
faCtiou could be given to the political antagonifts of the- 
minifter, who would not fail to reprefent it as Inadequate 
to the fucceffes of the war, if not inconfiftent with the- 
intereft, and difgraceful to the reputation, of England. 
Thefe confiderations did not, however, deter the mi¬ 
nifter from caufing fecret intimations to be given, that 
the revival of the ineffectual negociation of the laft yean 
would be not unacceptable ; and the king of Sardiniai 
was folicited to offer his mediation for this purpofe. The 
court of Verfailles readiiy embracing the overtures now 
made by England, the due de Nivernois arrived in Lon¬ 
don, in the month of September, invefted with the cha¬ 
racter of ambaffador extraordinary and plenipoteif 3 &ry to* 
the king of Great Britain ; and the duke of Bedford, a- 
nobleman diftinguifiied for honour and probity, and who- 
had fucceffively occupied the high offices of fecretary of 
ftate, firft lord of the admiralty, lord privy feal, and lorcL- 
lieutenant of Ireland, was delegated in the fame capacity,, 
invefted with the fame diplomatic diftinfitions, to the court, 
of France. And the negociators bei.-g actuated by a mu¬ 
tual anxiety for the re-eftablilhment of peace, prelimina¬ 
ries were ligned and interchanged at Fontainebleau, in, 
the beginning of November, 1762, between the minifters- 
of Great Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal. 
On the 25th of November the parliament was convened 5, 
and the king, in his Ipeech from the throne, informed the- 
two houfes, “ that the preliminary articles were actually 
figned, on terms which he reprefented as very advan¬ 
tageous to England ; and he recommended that union at 
home, which was fo neceffary to the adoption of thofe 
meafures which could alone relieve the nation from the 
heavy burdens entailed upon it by the profecution of a 
long and expenfive war.” When the addrefs in reply 
came under the confideraticn of the houfe of commons, 
Mr. Pitt, in a long and elaborate fpeech, expreffed his 
entire difapprobation of the tenor of the treaty, which he 
ftigmatifed as impolitic, and derogatory to the honour and 
interefts of the kingdom. He was determined, afflicted 
as he was with illnefs, at the hazard of his life, he find, 
to attend the houfe that day; to raife up his voice, his 
hand, and his arm, againft the preliminary articles of a 
treaty, which obfeured all the glories of the war, fin-ren¬ 
dered the dearefi interefts of the nation, and facrificed the 
public faith by an abandonment of our allies. He was- 
anfwercd at large by Mr. Fox, who, although he conti¬ 
nued to occupy only the fubordinate poft of paymafter of 
the army, was, at this time, the ableft advocate of admi- 
niftration in the houfe of commons ; and,, after a warm 
and ample difcuffion, the addrefs, as propofed by the par- - 
tifans of the court, paffed the houfe by a great majority 
of voices. 
In the houfe of lords, the minifter, lord Bute, vindi¬ 
cated the treaty, with a fpirit and energy which was not' 
expeCted ; and he concluded his fpeech with declaring, 
“ that he wiffied no other epitaph to be inferibed on his 
tomb, than that lie was the advifer of the peace, on the 
merits of which their lordflvips were then called upon to 
decide.”' Notwithftanding the arguments and objections 
of the peers in oppofition, the addrefs paffed in this houfe 
1 alfo 
