all other acts of hostility necessary for the effecting the ends aforesaid.

"8. You shall take care that such ships, vessels, goods, monies, and wares, which you shall take and seize upon by virtue of the power granted to you by these instructions, be preserved without embezzlement, and delivered to the commissioners, that so they may come in account to the State.

"9. For the better enabling you for the executing the premises, you are hereby empowered and authorised to embark, arrest, take up, and use, in any of the parts aforesaid, such ships and other vessels, to whomsoever belonging, which you, in your judgment, shall find necessary in order to the said service, giving them reasonable satisfaction for the same.

10. You shall take care to preserve the honour, jurisdiction, territories, and people of this commonwealth, within the extent of your employment; and, in all places where you shall sail, endeavour, as much as in you lieth, that no nation or people intrude hereupon, or injure any of them.

"11. Whereas divers good people of this commonwealth have sustained, and do daily sustain, great losses and damages by having their ships and goods seized, pillaged, surprised, and taken, by divers French ships, and Frenchmen, subjects of the French king, by which means the shipping of this nation hath been in some measure impaired, and the English trade lessened; and albeit all fair courses have been taken and observed, according to the forms of princes and States in amity, in seeking and demanding redress and reparation, yet none could be obtained, but, on the contrary, the French ships do continue to seize and depredate the ships of this commonwealth and the people thereof, so that, according to the laws and customs of nations, letters of reprisal are grantable; and whereas many of the English so spoiled are not able to undergo the charge of setting forth ships of their own to make seizure by such letters of marque: and for that,

by the laws used among nations, any State may, in such cases, cause justice to be executed by their own immediate officers and ministers, where they find it requisite; especially in this case, where many of the State's own ships have been surprised and taken: you shall, therefore, as in the way and execution of justice, seize, arrest, surprise, and detain, or, in case of resistance, to sink, burn, and destroy, all such ships and vessels of the said French king, or any of his subjects, which you shall meet with, together with the tackle, apparel, ordnance, and ammunition, and all and singular the goods, monies, wares, and merchandise therein, wheresoever the same shall be met withal upon the sea. And the same so seized, arrested, or surprised, you shall secure without any manner of wasting or embezzling the same, or any part thereof; and shall deliver the same to the commissioners, who shall cause a true account to be kept thereof, and of the product and provenue that shall arise therefrom.

"12. You shall, in this your employment, take care that the general instructions given to you, and the other generals of the fleet, as to the matter of discipline, and other things relating to the well-ordering and management of the fleet, be put in execution, which you are hereby authorised to do.

"13. You shall be careful to give unto us frequent intelligence of your proceedings, that you may receive our further directions thereupon, as there shall be occasion.

"14. Whereas all particulars cannot be foreseen, nor positive instructions for such emergencies so beforehand given, but that most things must be left to your prudence and discreet management, as occurrences may arise upon the place, or from time to time fall out; you are therefore, upon all such accidents relating to your charge, to use your best circumspection, and by advice, either with the commissioners, or your council of war, as occasion may be, to order and dispose of the said fleet, and the ships under your command, as may be most advantageous for the public, and

for obtaining the ends for which this fleet was set forth; making it your special care, in the discharge of that trust committed unto you, that the commonwealth receive no detriment.

"15. Whereas we are informed, that part of the fleet aforesaid are ready to set sail with some part of the land forces; you are hereby authorised and required to give orders to that part of the fleet which is fitted and prepared as aforesaid, taking aboard them such of the said forces as are ready, to sail forthwith, as the wind and weather will permit, to the island of Barbadoes; and General Disbrow, General Venables, and you, or any two of you, are hereby authorised to give such instructions to the commander-in-chief of that squadron as shall be most for the advantage of this service, and may put things in a readiness there against the arrival of the other part of the fleet, wherewith you are to hasten after, as soon as the same can be put into condition to sail.

"JOHN THURLOE."

Charged with this service, and possessed of the secret sanction of the king, Penn proceeded to discharge the duties of his department in it, with a view solely to the interests of his country. The fleet under his command sailed from Spithead on the 25th of December, 1654, and arrived at Barbadoes on the 29th of January, 1655. Captain Butler and Mr. Winslow were ordered by Cromwell to attend the fleet; and these two gentlemen, with the sea and land-generals, the vice and rear-admirals, and some others, were appointed commissioners, for carrying into effect the object of the expedition, which was thus distinctly described and explained in the instructions delivered to General Venables.

"Instructions to General Robert Venables, given by his Highness, by advice of his Council, upon the Expedition to the West Indies.

(EXTRACT.)

Immediately upon the receipt of these instructions, repair, with the forces aforesaid, to Portsmouth, where we have appointed the fleet designed for the aforesaid service, under the command of General William Penn, to take you, with the said army and land forces, on board, and to transport you unto the parts aforesaid.

"3. The design, in general, is to gain an interest in that part of the West Indies in the possession of the Spaniard; for the effecting whereof we shall not tie you up to a method by any particular instructions, but only communicate what hath been under our consideration. Two or three ways have been thought of to that purpose: (viz.)

"1. The first is to land on some of the islands, and particularly Hispaniola, and St. John's Island, one or both, but the first, if that hath no considerable place in the south part thereof but the city of St. Domingo; and that, not being considerably fortified, may probably be possessed without much difficulty; which being done, and fortified, that whole island will be brought under obedience.

"2. Another way we have had consideration of is, for the present to leave the islands, and to make the first attempt upon the main land, in one or more places between the river Oronoque and Porto - Bello, aiming therein chiefly at Carthagena.

"3. There is a third consideration, and that is mixed, relating both to the islands and also to the main-land, which is, to make the first attempt upon St. Domingo, or Porto-Rico, one or both; and having secured them, to go immediately to Carthagena.

"These are the things which have been in debate here; and having let you know them, we leave it to you, and the commissioners appointed, to be weighed upon the place; that after due consideration had among yourselves, and such others as you shall think fit to advise with, who have a particular knowledge of those parts, you may take such resolutions concerning the making the attempts, in the managing and carrying on the whole design, as to you, and the said commissioners, or any two of them, shall seem most effectual, either by the ways aforesaid, or such others as shall be judged more reasonable."1

By the terms of these instructions, we may judge of Clarendon's historical fidelity, when he states: "Their orders from Cromwell were very particular, "and very positive; that they should land at such a

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place, which was plainly enough described to "them." Clarendon wrote this statement during his exile, when he had no better information to guide him than the rumours and gossip of the itinerant court; and he did not give himself the honest trouble to rectify it, after he possessed the means of doing so.

.

"Additional Instructions unto General Robert Venables, Edward Winslow, Daniel Searle, and Gregory Butler, Commissioners, with others appointed to order and manage the affairs of this Commonwealth in America.

"OLIVER P.

Whereas, some of the ships and vessels employed for carrying victuals and other provisions for the use of the fleet in this present expedition are Dutch bottoms, and we having promised to General Penn, for some considerations us thereunto moving, that one of those vessels shall be delivered unto him, History, vol. iii. p. 578. 8vo.

1 BURCHETT, pp. 385, 386.