1500 men, who had kept garrison from the furrender of the place; commodore Warren was at that time governor; after him commodore Knowles was pro-tempore governor; admiral Townshend from the Weft-India islands with a small fquadron is ordered for the protection of Louisbourg, and fails for England in November 1746. Mr. Knowles in his time at a very great charge, repaired the town and fort, as if they were to remain to GreatBritain for ever. Commodore Knowles in the autumn 1747, with a small squadron came to Boston, and proceeded upon a fecret expedition to the Sugar islands, and Mr. Hobfon lieut. col. of Fuller's regiment is appointed governor of Louisbourg. Peace drawing near, Shirley's and Pepperell's regiments from a complement of 100 private men per company were reduced to 70 men; the private men of the three companies of Frampton's regiment, were incorporated by way of recruits with Fuller's and Warburton's regiments, and their commiffion officers, ferjeants, corporals, and drums fent home; Pepperell's and Shirley's regiments in Louifbourg were entirely || difmiffed June 24, 1749, their arms and other accoutrements were detain'd by the government. The British troops evacuated Louifbourg, July 12, 1749, and were carried by the French tranfports to Chebucta, and the French troops being about 600 men took poffeffion of the place.

It is a spreading pufilanimous opinion amongst the less thinking people, that the great advantage of Louisbourg's falling into our hands was its ferving as a propitiatory free offering to France, and without reftoring it we should have had no peace: but we ought to obferve, 1. That both parties in the war were low in cafh and credit. 2. The French navy trade and navigation were fo reduced, that they could not avoid defiring a peace; we had taken as many of their men of war as might have been fufficient to reduce the remainder; we had taken great numbers of their South-Sea, East and Weft-India,

They were put in pay, Sept. 1, 1745.

Turkey,

Turkey, and other Ships, and what remained were obliged to continue in port, (in fear of our numerous privateers) having no convoys or men of war to protect them. 3. The corruption which prevailed in Holland was like to be extirpated, and the Dutch became active. 4. The army of our auxiliary Ruffians were upon the march to join us, for fome reasons of ftate they feem to have been retarded in their march. If Louisbourg had not fallen into our hands, the reduced towns and forts in Flanders must have been returned, that is, evacuated; it feems that in all modern negociations for a peace the bafis is reftitution of all land conquefts on both fides, excepting where equivalents or antiquated claims fall in the way.

The court of Great-Britain cannot cordially approve of this infinitely rafh New-England corporation adventure, though beyond al! military or human probability fuccessful; it involved the nation, already deeply in debt, in an additional fum of about 8c0,000l. fterl. in the feveral articles of reimbursement-money, extraordinary, fuperfluous repairs, tranfport fervice, ftores, garrifon officers, a large detachment from the train, and a numerous garrifon of regular troops: this place was unavoidably to be evacuated and reftored to the French upon a peace, and as it happened, in a better condition, and without any reimbursement or equivalent, cui bono! I cannot perceive any real advantage acquired by the reduction of Louisbourg. The fmall British fquadron ftationed at Boston, without any additional national charge, would have been an effectual check upon the Louifbourg privateers; commodore Warren from the Weft-India inlands was fent for the protection of the coaft of NewEngland and Nova-Scotia in the spring 1745, and our trade in the northern parts of America could not have fuffered above 2 or 3 per ct difference of insurance, which is as nothing compared with the great charge of 800,000l.

fterl.

fterl. before the charge was fully known, I estimated it at 500,000l. fterl. or lefs. *

I fum up the Louisbourg affair. 1. It was infinitely rash, a private corporation adventure, without any orders or affured affiftance of men of war from home; thirty-fix hundred raw militia (fome without proper arms) without any difcipline, but at random, as if in a frolick, met together, no provifion of cloathing or hips: by this and small care of the fick, and want of difcipline, we loft about one half of our men by fcurveys and putrid flow fevers; in a military way we loft only about 60 men killed and drowned, and about 116 prifoners to the French in the rafh foolish attempt upon the island-battery: during the fiege, by good fortune,

* If the Canada expedition which was recommended home by governor- -had proceeded and fucceeded, after another great addition to the national debt; for reafons of ftate, without any equivalent or reimbursement, it must have been evacuated and reftored to the French; New-England was at confiderable charge towards this intended expedition in levy-money, victualling, tranfport fervice, bedding, &c. for want of proper application, Maffachusetts have received no reimbursement of this: Rhode-Ifland, by application have received their reimbursement.

Another extra-provincial perquifite expedition was the fending off 1500 men towards the reduction of Crown-Point, a French fort, near Lake Champlain in the province of New-York; this involved our province in fome charge (never to be recovered) by sending provifions, ammunition and other flores by water to Albany; an epidemical diftemper in the county of Albany luckily prevented us; if it had been reduced, it must either have been kept by us at a very great charge equal to the oppofition of all the force of Canada; or we must have demolished it, to be re-built by the French at one tenth of our charge in reducing of it.

Another projection towards ruining our province was the charge of building a fort at the Carrying-place in the government of New-York, between the falls of Hudfon's river and Wood-Creek: this was attended with the fame inconveniencies as the former.

Sending off troops to affift the Six Indian nations of New-York-All these idle propofals, were not refented by the government of New-York, as, if that rich government had been incapable or neglectful of felf-protection, but filently admitted of Sh-quixotifms; our houfe of reprefentatives in their journal fay, the people of NewYork were much abler to protect themselves.

we

we had conftant dry favourable weather: but June 18, next day after we had poffeffion of the town, the rains fet in, which certainly from our men being ill cloathed and ill lodged, muft infallibly have broken up the fiege. We had a wretched train of artillery, or rather no artillery (they were voted by the affembly not worth the charge of bringing back to Bofton) in a Quixote manner to demolish a French American Dunkirk, in which were 1900 armed men, whereof 600 were regular troops, 125 good large cannon, 19 mortars, with ftores and provifions fufficient for fix months. 2. The military fuccefs was miraculous, but the cunning part of the project was natural, and could not mifs of fuccefs. neceffary enormous multiplied emiffion of a depreciating paper currency, enabled the fraudulent debtors to pay their debts at about 10 s. in the pound discount. 2. Vast perquifites to the manager.

1. A

CURRENCIES. The parliament of Great-Britain, before the commencement of the late French war, had under

As writers and preachers forbear publishing ****** which are fingular, rare or new, left they fhould prove of bad example; I shall only fum up thefe perquifites in this manner: In the space of four years, viz. 1741 the introductory gratuities from the province, and from ***** of many thousands of pounds, and the unprecedented perquifites in the three expedition years of 1745, 1746 and 1747, from a negative fortune, was amaffed a large pofitive eftate, and the loofe corns built a country-houfe at the charge of about fix thoufand pound fterling. The predeceffor, an honeft gentleman of a good paternal eftate, after eleven years administration, in a meffage to the general affembly, July 21, 1741, reprefents, that he had been obliged to break in upon his own eftate fome thousands of pounds, to fupport the character of a king's governor; in faithfulness to his truft he refused a certain retaining fee.

This accurfed affair of plantation paper-currencies, when in courfe it falls in my way, it proves a ftumbling-block, and occafions a fort of deviation. In the appendix, I shall give a short history of all the plantation paper-currencies; it may be a piece of curiofity for times to come. Maffachusetts-Bay was the leader, and exceeded all the colonies in this fraud; from their firft emiffion 1702 (I take no notice of Sir William Phips's Canada bills, they were foon out of

the

under their confideration fome regulations concerning the plantation currencies; and now that war being ended, this third feffions of the tenth parliament of Great Britain have refumed the confideration thereof.

Maffachusetts

the queftion) to 1749, the laft year of Mr. Shadminiftration, our bills of publick credit or ftate-notes fuffered a discount of 88 per cent; in France in the worst of times when Mr. Law had the direction of the finances, the discount upon their state-notes was only 65 per cent: Maffachusetts publick bills of credit 1749, were pejorated to eleven for one sterling.

In the few years of Mr. Shadministration, this fraudulent currency from 127,000l. old tenor, was multiplied to about two and a half millions, and by this depreciating contrivance the fraudulent debtors paid only 10s. in the pound, and every honeft man not in debt loft about one half of his perfonal eftate. The money-making affemblies could not keep pace with him in his paper emiffions; 1747, the governor infifting upon further emiffions, the 'affembly reprefents," If we emit more bills, we apprehend it must be followed by a great impair, if not utter lofs of the publick credit, which has already been greatly wounded;" and in their journal 1746, p. 240, "We have been the means of actually bringing diftrefs, if not utter ruin upon ourselves When any complaints were offered to the affembly concerning depreciation, by contrivance, they were referred to committees confifting of the most notorious depreciators. See Journal, August 17, 1744.

By way of amusement, I fhall adduce fome different managements of adminiftrations with refpect to a fraudulent paper medium-1703 by contrivance of Mr. W- - from New-England, Barbadoes emitted 80,000l. at 4 per cent (common intereft was 10 per cent) upon land fecurity, payable after fome years; thofe land-bank-bills immediately fell 40 per cent. below filver; upon complaint home the court of England fent an inftruction to governor Crow, to remove from the council and all places of truit, any who had been concerned in the late paper credit; thus currency was fuppreffed, and their currency became and continues filver as before.-Governor Belcher of New-England, 1741, from integrity and faithfulness to the publick, when a wicked combination called LAND-BANK, became head-ftrong; he refused their bribe or retaining fee, negatived their fpeaker and 13 of their councellors, and fuperfeded many of their officers, civil and military.-Soon after this fcheme was dam'd by act of parliament, governor Sh-I fhall not fay in contempt, but perhaps in neglect of this act, promoted their directors and other chief managers to the higheft offices, of councellors, provincial agents, judges, juftices, fheriffs, and militia officers preferable to others.

When