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sary to set down the best account I am able to 66 come at." The authors of the "Parliamentary History of England" say, with far greater knowledge and truth, "the occasion of the disappointment "at Hispaniola, and the taking of Jamaica, are amply "related in two letters from General Venables to "General Mountagu, afterward Earl of Sandwich, printed in Mr. Carte's Collections.' 8vo. vol. ii. p. 46." Those two letters I shall produce, confounding Burchett by the testimony of Venables himself.

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The sum of Burchett's "just and genuine" account, is thus presented by Campbell. "Admiral "Penn had the chief command of this fleet, and "under him were Vice-Admiral Goodson, and Rear"Admiral Blagge. The fleet arrived in Carlisle bay "on the 29th January. From Barbadoes, the fleet "sailed on the last of March, and arrived before the city of St. Domingo. General Venables found him"self deficient in all sorts of necessaries; and, which was worse, found Admiral Penn very little inclined "to afford him even the assistance that was in his

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power. The army (after their repulse) was in a "little time embarked; but the sick and wounded men were left on the bare decks for eight-and-forty hours, without either meat, drink, or dressing, in"somuch that worms bred in their sores; and even "while they were on shore, the provisions sent to "them were not watered, but candied with salt, notwithstanding they had not water sufficient to quench their thirst. Nay, after the misfortunes

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35

1 Vol. xx. p. 473.

" on shore, Venables averred, that Penn gave Rear"Admiral Blagge orders not to furnish them with

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any provisions of what kind soever; so that they "eat up all the dogs, asses, and horses in the camp, "and some of them such things as were in them"selves poisonous, of which about forty died."

I shall amaze my reader, in exposing the enormity of the falsehoods for which Burchett has here made himself responsible, and by adopting which implicitly from Burchett, Campbell has degraded his history: in front of all of these, stands the token and index of their common character, namely, that Blagg was not rear-admiral of the fleet.1

2

Neither Cromwell, nor his council, ever implicated Penn in the failure at Hispaniola; they knew well the true circumstances of the case, and are in no degree chargeable with those falsehoods, which were the creation of some of his army-officers, with a view to exonerate their fellow-soldiers on that service. These were greedily received and disseminated by the high cavalier party after the restoration, through their

1 See the list of the fleet, page 17.

2 Whitelock, who was of the council, thus noted both the failure at Hispaniola, and the subsequent imprisonment of the generals.

66 July 1655.-Letters from the fleet under Generals Penn and Venables; "whereby the ill success and miscarriage of Venables was resented by all, and "the Protector was much offended at it; and, indeed, it was indiscreetly managed by Venables."

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66 September.-General Penn returned to England with a part of the fleet "from Jamaica, the greatest part staid behind; and not long after him came "General Venables, who, upon examination by the Protector and council of his management of that affair, was committed to the Tower; but being judged "that he failed rather through imprudence than any ill intent, he was at length "released."

implacable hostility to the naval service of the interregnum; and especially to Penn, whose marked and merited favour with the king, kept their jealousy in a state of perpetual irritation against him.

The testimonies that I shall produce, are,

I. The letters of the Commissioners Butler and Winslow, from Thurloe's State Papers.

II. The journal of the Swiftsure, and its accompanying documents, from the original MSS.

III. The letters of Venables to Mountagu, from Carte.

I. The letters of the Commissioners Butler and Winslow.

Captain Gregory Butler to the Protector.

"MAY IT PLEASE YOUR HIGHNESS,

"Time will not permit me to give you such an account of your affairs here as I thought to have done. The Commissioners this evening have resolved to send myself with three ships for the Leeward Islands, to raise such force as may conduce most for your highness's service. We have, according to your commands, laid an embargo upon all ships here, and seized upon eight Dutch ships we found here. The islanders here much desire commerce with strangers, our English merchants trafficking to those parts being generally great extortioners. I humbly represent to your highness the necessity of allowing foreign commerce, which can be no way prejudicial; imposing upon them double custom, to be paid in our English plantations in these parts. As yet our London ships are not arrived with our store. We are now ready to set sail; wherefore, being in haste, I humbly beg your highness's pardon for not returning so full an account as I intended. By the next conveyance I shall endeavour to render

In the mean

you as perfect an account as I can possible. time I presume to style myself

Your highness's most humble servant,

GREGORY BUTLER.

"From aboard the Marston-Moor, riding before

the Barbadoes, Feb. 7, 1654-5."

Mr. Ed. Winslow to Secretary Thurloe.

"RIGHT HONOURABLE,

"The injunction you laid upon me at my departure constrains me to put pen to paper, that you may have an impartial character of things, even of all our weighty transactions since our arrival at Barbadoes. And though I know I act a part in obedience to his highness's and your commands, that never profited any man, wherein if a man deals ever so faithfully, yet once discovered, he becomes an object of revenge; nevertheless I shall trust God and you therewith, and do what I do with that sincerity, as shall bear me out before the most high God, and not spare the discovery of any thing that may conduce to the benefit or detriment of his highness and the commonwealth.

"Sir, when I wrote to you from Portsmouth, I told you how easily that sore was cured between Venables and Penn, whose demeanour, mutually, towards each other at sea, was sweet and hopeful; but the last of these two gentlemen is too apt to be taken with such conceits; but I trust all will be well; only I fear, that going hence without our stores, some occasion will arise of disturbance between the land and sea forces. The Lord God prevent it in much mercy! I only speak my fears, but shall endeavour against it with all my might; but we have touched so much upon supplies in our general letter to his highness (and no more thereto is requisite), as I shall forbear any further thereabout.

"When we came to Barbadoes, which was the 29th of January, we found all things out of order upon the place: our English merchants neglected, a free trade entertained with strangers; and though a seizure was made, some time before we came, upon some stranger's estate, as trading contrary to the statute, and the governor's assistance required, it was by him referred to a trial at common law, where all the attorneys of the court were taken up for the strangers, and none could be procured for the State; but the English merchants that pleaded the State's cause did it thoroughly, being sufficiently able. Yet nevertheless, though the act of the 3d of October 50, which you sent with us, and the other, of the 9th of October 51, were both pleaded, the jury found for the strangers against Parliament and State, grounding all upon the articles of Barbadoes. Hereupon there was great joy and rejoicing on the one side, but the poor English merchants forced to send some of their principals to stop their hands, which hindered many thousand pounds' worth of goods from coming hither, not being regarded, who lay here, and spent themselves to the ruin of some of them. On the contrary, the Dutch were courted, and highly prized, and sent home in a triumphant manner, to invite them freely to the trade of Barbadoes; by which means many more of them are expected before the end of May next. And truly, unless we can leave a ship here to make seizure of them as they come in, his highness's friends are confident, the new commissioners will not be able to carry on their work. All our hope is, that Venables having new-moulded the militia, and we requiring their assistance, it will be that way prevented. As for the Governor of Barbadoes, his demeanour herein has been very strange and wary, leaving to himself in his own apprehension a starting-hole in every case: he refers this to a trial at law, and yet, when the aforesaid verdict was brought in, desires his protest may be entered against it, which accordingly is done, as he informs us; but when we came hither, and had