On the Revolutionary war he rejoined the navy under Earl St. Vincent, and only under that officer obtained his Lieutenantcy in the action with the Blanche frigate, in the West Indies his Captain (Falconer) being killed, he swam on board the prize, backed by two or three seamen with cutlasses in their mouths, and secured her in spite of the destruction of all his boats.

Hence he became Master and Commander, and soon after Post-Captain; got the Seine, in which he captured the Vengeance, the largest frigate of France, after one of the most scientific and desperate battles of the war.

The present occasion crowned the perseverance of his. modest merit, and obtained for him the rank of Knight Commander of the Bath. Since which (being, it is be lieved, previously destined for it) he proceeded to the American station.

Æg.

20

TRANQUILLITY OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS IN INDIA, TERMINATION OF THE NEPAULESE WAR, &c. THE MARQUESS OF HASTINGS, MAJOR GEN. SIR D. OCHTERLONY, &c. FEBRUARY, 1817.

The just discrimination of these rewards has more than once appeared in the preceding pages; it has in no instance been more pre-eminent than on the present occasion.

After the splendid decisions which have already come within our view, it might excite wonder how causes of discontent, and the seeds of future war, had been engendered. The reason must be found in the restless temper, however, of certain powerful native governments, and the critical circumstances of his Majesty's and the Honorable East-India Company's territories in the East during the continuance of European

war.

The appointment of Governors General of India, has of late years also assumed a

very peculiar character. The nobleman who is the subject of the present section had, moreover, been peculiarly unfortunate in appointments more pregnant with dangers and difficulties, than honors and rewards.

This occasion, therefore, the result of great energy, skill, and ability, was fortunate to the country and to himself.

There is here less reason than in some other instances, to propitiate the reader, on account of defects in the official documents; since the recent period of the present vote, and the distant scene to which it relates, preclude the possibility of obtaining them. The vote itself is as follows:--

Jovis 6 die Februarii, 1817.

Resolved,

That the thanks of this House be given to General the Marquess of Hastings, Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter, Governor General of the British

possessions in the East Indies, and Com mander in Chief of the forces there, for his judicious arrangements in the plan and direction of the military operations against Nepaul, by which the war was brought to a successful issue, and peace established upon just and honorable terms.

That the thanks of this House be given to Major-General Sir David Ochterlony, Knight Grand Cross of the most honorable military Order of the Bath, for the skill, valour, and perseverance displayed by him in the late war with Nepaul, to which the result of that contest is mainly to be ascribed; and also to the several officers of the army, both European and native, for the bravery and discipline displayed by them in that arduous contest.

If a cento could be extracted from those literary honors which have been justly conferred on the British Mæcenas, it would form a record of honor, worth, and talent, as much beyond the bounds prescribed to this brief notice, as it surpasses the ordinary course of human life, however dignified its character or whatever its extent.

It is only, therefore, attempted to recal the attention of the reader to a few facts and dates: FRANCIS RAWDON HASTINGS, son of John Earl of Moira and the Lady Eliz. Hastings, afterwards Baroness Hungerford, Hastings, &c. was born on the 9th of December, 1754; and, after an elegant education under the eye of his mother, a woman of great talents and merit, entered the army in the 15th foot, in September, 1771.

Biography is full of the interesting anecdotes of his infancy tending to a military prepossession of mind. His uncle, Lord Huntingdon, used to recount his wounding himself, at ten years old, with a small battery of brass cannon, which he was pointing at some old folios. At school he was distinguished by a fondness for the defiance of Zanga,—

"On the rack I'll scorn thee," &c.

and early loved to pronounce the Spanish proverb, “ Ningum mal a ya grunda si es postera," and the expression of Damien, “La journée sera dure, mais elle se passera ;” both significant of constancy in danger. How well he fulfilled these ideas is evident from the exclamation of General Burgoyne, on seeing him lead the Grenadiers of the 5th at Bunker's Hill, where he received two shots in bis cap :-"Lord Rawdon has this day stamped his fame for