m LON 
Had this expedition again ft Egypt been planned by the 
new miniftry, they would, no doubt, have fupported it, by 
reinforcements from Meffina or Malta. But they did not 
approve of it; and their disapprobation of it was not, it 
may he prefumed, kept a fecret from generals Mackenzie 
and Frafer, who, threatened with expulfion, by the difaf- 
feftion of the inhabitants, and a formidable force of in¬ 
fantry and cavalry on its march from Cairo againft Alex¬ 
andria, abandoned the idea of making any defence. On 
the approach of the enemy, he fent out a flag of truce, an¬ 
nouncing that, on the condition of the delivery of Britifli 
prifoners, the army under his command fliould immediately 
evacuate Egypt; which condition was accepted without 
hesitation. The Britifli troops, felting fail from Alexan¬ 
dria on the -23d of September, returned to Sicily; where 
they fet free a part of our troops ftationed there for the 
proteftion of that ifland. The troops thus liberated were 
brought to Gibraltar, with a view to co operate in fecur- 
ing the retreat of the royal family of Portugal, from Lif- 
bon ; an object, however, which, as will by-and-by be re¬ 
lated, was happily effected without the neceflity of em¬ 
ploying them. 
Another expedition, ftill more unfortunate than thofe 
againft Conlfantinople and Alexandria, had been under¬ 
taken, not by order of government, but by individual 
commanders on their own refponfibility, againft a nation 
bearing no fmall refemblance in their political ftate and 
relations to the fubjerts of the Ottoman Porte; a nation 
in its decline, prone to peace, and above all, though the 
government had been brought under the influence and 
power of Bonaparte, at peace with England. A com¬ 
bined military and naval force, under the command of ge¬ 
neral Beresford, and commodore fir Home Popham, pro¬ 
ceeding from the Cape of Good Hope to the great river 
of La Plata, took the town of Buenos Ayres, the capital 
of a great province or government, without much refin¬ 
ance. It was foon retaken. But a re-inforcement of 
Britifli troops from the Cape, towards the clofe of 1806, 
took poll at Maldonado. Farther re-inforcements were 
experted ; and farther operations on the Rio de La Plata 
projerted. 
During the years 1806 and 1807, and perhaps for fome 
time before, there was an obvious want of fyftem, con- 
nedlion, and dependency, among fome of the meafures of 
the Britifli government; an air of improvidence, unftea- 
dinefs, and vacillation. It fufficiently appears, from do¬ 
cuments publiflied in an edition of fir Home Popham’s 
trial, authenticated by liimfelf, that his defign on Buenos 
Ayres was countenanced by Mr. Pitt and lord Melville. 
Yet the fame minifters had very nearly, at the fame time, 
encouraged the defign of general Miranda, conceived in 
unite a different fpirit; a Ipirit of conciliation, concord, 
and confociation. 
General Miranda, with the knowledge and a good Under- 
Handing between him and the Britifli government, fet out 
from England for the purpofe of carrying into execution, if 
poffible, hislong-clierifhed projeft of emancipating Spanifh 
America. He proceeded to the United States of America, 
for the purpofe of procuring that afliftance, which, from 
the aithranees he had received while in this country, he 
had every reafon to expert, particularly at a period when 
there was every profpeft of a war between the United States 
and Spain, on account of a difpute about Louifiana. But, 
on his arrival, lie had the mortification to find that the 
difoute about Louifiana was compromifed ; and that, al¬ 
though the wifliesof the American, like tiiofe of the Bri- 
tifn, government were for him, lie could not expert their 
avowed afliftance. The general, however, animated by 
that perfevering ardour which is infpired into great minds 
by great defigns, induced, on terms agreed on, Mr. Og¬ 
den, a merchant of New York, to fit out a fliip, the Le- 
ander, captain Lewis, with two hundred young men of 
great refpertability, who volunteered their fervices ; and 
-to proceed with her to St. Domingo, for the purpofe of 
being joined by a fecond veifel, the Emperour, commanded 
DON. 
by another captain Lewis, brother to the mafter of trhfe 
Leander. Unfortunately, foon after the departure of the 
Leander from New York, the American government, 
giving way to the urgent folicitations of the French and 
Spanifh ambafladors, brought an artion againft Mr. Ogden* 
and a coloRel Smith, a zealous friend to the caufe of ge¬ 
neral Miranda, on the plea, that the equipment of the 
Leander was unauthorized and illegal. The parties pro- 
fecuted were honourably acquitted. But the firft confe- 
quences of the trial w ere of incalculable detriment to ge¬ 
neral Miranda’s expedition ; for, the matter of the Em¬ 
perour having heard, while at St. Domingo, that an ac¬ 
tion had been brought againft the parties jult mentioned, 
abfolutely refilled to proceed on its deftination. It now 
became necefl'ary to engage, inftead of the Emperour, two 
fmall fchooners. The general, however, though thus 
cruelly diliippointed in his expectation of being joined by 
the armed fliip Emperour, of about thirty guns, proceeded 
with his little fquadron for the coaft of Caraccas; where, 
as he fuppofed that the Spanifh government ftill continued 
ignorant of his movements, he hoped to effert a landing 
without oppofition. The Spanifh ambaflltdor, however, 
having obtained information of this enterprife, fent ad¬ 
vice thereof to the governor of Caraccas ; where general 
Miranda, inftead of meeting, as he experted, with none 
but friends apprifed of his approach, had the mortifica¬ 
tion to learn that the government of Caraccas had given 
the necefl'ary orders for taking meafures of defence, and 
where his two fchooners unfortunately fell into the hands 
of the Spanifh guarda coftas. In thefe circumftances, 
general Miranda failed dirertly for Trinidad, for the pur¬ 
pofe of procuring a Britifli auxiliary force. Admiral 
Cochrane, then commanding on the windward ftation, 
affured the general of fupport, in both (hips and men ; 
and immediately ordered fome floops of war and gun¬ 
boats to proceed with him on the expedition. Thus re¬ 
inforced at Trinidad, the general fet fail from thence, on 
the 24th of July, 1806, again for the coaft of Caraccas, 
with his little fleet, now confiding of about fifteen vef- 
fels in all, and having on-board about five hundred offi¬ 
cers and men, all volunteers. On the morning of the ad 
of Auguft, liis little army eft’erted its landing at a place 
called Vela-de-Coro. But, the difembarkation having 
been delayed by a gale of wind, and the ignorance, per¬ 
haps the treachery, of the pilot, for thirty-fix hours, the 
agents of the Spanifh government had time for fpreading 
the alarm along the coaft, and preparing for defence. 
The boats, with the troops on-board, however, rowed 
boldly, in the dark, for the fliore ; where upwards of 500 
Spanifh foldiers, and about 700 Indians, were drawn up 
to oppofe the landing. The Spaniards kept up a heavy 
but ineifertual fire 011 the boats, as they approached ; bur, 
without returning the fire, they quickly gained the fliore ; 
when, on general Miranda and his troops advancing on 
the enemy, and exchanging a couple of volleys, which 
wounded a few on both fides, the Spaniards fled in every 
dirertion, and the Indians, releafed from the prefence of 
their late mailers; flocked in crowds around their new vj- 
iitors, and, learning the object of their arrival, cried out, 
“ Succef's to general Miranda !” Two forts, and upwards 
of twenty guns, intended to protert the port of La Vela, 
immediately furrendered, with their ftores and ammuni¬ 
tion. And general Miranda, affured of the friendly dif- 
pofition of the inhabitants of Vela-de-Coro, who amounted 
to upwards of 3000, fet out, a tew hours afterwards, on 
his march for the city of Coro, fituated about fifteen 
Englifh miles up the country, and containing a popula¬ 
tion of about ia,ooo perfons. He entered Coro before 
day-break next morning. From Vela-de-Coro, general 
Miranda, under the title of Commander-in-chief of the 
Columbian Army, ifl’ued a proclamation to the inhabi¬ 
tants of Columbian America, in which he fays, “ Brave 
countrymen and friends ! In obedience to your wifhes, 
and the repeated requelts and calls of the country to 
whole Xervice we have cheerfully confecrated the greater 
part 
