remained all the time quiet fpectators of what paffed. Some of the populace broke open the drinking houfes, and inflamed themselves with fpirituous liquors; which made the scene the more terrible to fuch foreigners, as knew the dangerous confequences that attend mobs in other countries even without intoxication. The danger appeared greater at right; the women, who were particularly outrageous, carrying lighted torches and palm branches through the ftreets. The general cry was Viva Elpagna. In the mean time, the rioters fent a deputation to Aranjuez to the king, complaining of his doubt of their fidelity, and defiring that the court may come back, in order to walk about the town as ufual on Holy Thursday. The deputation returned with an account, that his Majesty was greatly indifpofed, had been twice bled, and therefore could not come; but that he granted them a general pardon, would fent away Squillace and his family for ever, and would appoint Moufquiz miniMoufquiz minifter of the finances; and that the only means to induce the king to return to Madrid, would be their immediate difperfing and obeying his orders. This meffage had a most happy effect; the people were thoroughly fatisfied with it, gave up their arms, and having retired to their respective homes, every thing refumed its former ftate of quiet. There were many circumstances attended these commotions, that ferve strongly to mark the character of the nation concerned in them. Not a fingle individual fuffered in his perfon or property, by the lawless affembling of fo VOL. IX. many thousand people; except the Walloon guards, who had violeatly oppofed them, and thofe particular perfons whofe obnoxious conduct had made them the avowed objects of the people's refentment. On the contrary, they refufed money from all thofe that offered it, and faid they wanted nothing but the blood of Squillace. When the affair was over, the people went of their own accord, and thaking hands with the foldiers they had taken them from, returned them their arms. Others who were not known, went in copas to the different public-houfes, and paid for the liquors that had been confumed. It was a rare example that an enraged, tumultuous, and numerous populace, during fo many days disturbance in a great city, fhould preferve an order, conduct, and attention to juftice, which could fcarcely be equalled by the beft difciplined army. The behaviour of the Spanish guards, and the invalids, is a leffon to princes, that national forces are not to be depended on, when the fervice appointed them is against the common intereft or opinion of their country. The Marquis of Squillacci and his family had fet out immediately for Carthagena, under the guard of a strong escort, from whence he embarked as foon as poffible for Naples. Two officers who had attended him upon this route, faid at their return, that they found the people every where in commotion, and crying out, Long live the King, destruction to Squil lacci. Several diforders happened in different parts of the kingdom; libels of an atrocious nature were difperfed and pasted up, [C] and and every corner refounded with threats of riots and infurrections. In Barcelona, the people went fuch lengths, that the Marquis de la Mina, governor and captain-general of Catalonia, publifhed a declaration by found of trumpet, that he had already given orders, and was prepared on the first appearance of an infurrection, to burn the whole city, and to bury the inhabitants under the fuins of their houses. The king alfo fent near 10,000 troops, with eight pieces of cannon, to be cantoned in and about the city of Madrid; it was alfo talked, that a French army was to march into Spain. This ill temper, however, was not lafting, and we foon after find the king addreffed by the principal cities and towns of the kingdom; who promifed to ftand by and fupport him with their lives and fortunes; fome of them alfo made him prefents of confiderable fums of money. But the most extraordinary matter we find in the whole of thefe tranfactions, is, that the king has fince received petitions from every part of the kingdom, and even from the city of Madrid, to pray, that he would revoke without exception all the pardons which he had granted during the civil commotions. The king, it is faid, has accordingly revoked fome particular pardons; but has not yet thought proper to revoke the general one. It is much to be hoped that his Cathofic Majefty will perfevere in this refolution, and not fet a precedent of fo dangerous a nature, and fo totally fubverfive of that good faith, which is neceffary fhould be fupported between mankind. 4th Dec. The king at length returned to Madrid, after an abfence of eight 1766. months; and was received by the inhabitants with the greateft teftimonies of joy. During these violent agitations at home, the following are the circumftances of a revolution, which was very confidently said to have happened, on the 22d day of May, 1765, in the city of Quito, the capital of the Spanish government of Peru, and in general of their dominions in South America. A lady of the city writ, on that day, a note to Don Juan Diare Henexa, director of the customhoufe, newly established there, recommending to him to make his efcape directly, unless he chose to lofe his life in a cruel manner. Henexa, availing himself of this notice, took refuge with the auditor and the prefident of the royal audience, in the convent of St. Dominica. In reality, at the coming on of night, a large multitude ran and fet fire to the cuftom-houfe, thinking the director was fill there. Sixty perfons perifhed in the tumult, and the fire confumed, among other things, 14.000 quadruples in fpecie. The people affembled alfo in all the other quarters of the city; and what is incredible, is, that, at the fame hour, all the inhabitants of that vaft country, compofed of upwards of 2800 cities, towns, and villages, were in motion, and affembled in confufion. The moft illuftrious the Bishop of Quito, feeing with horror a general and premeditated rebellion, propofed a capitulation, which which was accepted only on the 1. That all European foreigners That the artillery, warlike ftores and arms, which were in the king's magazines, fhould be delivered up to the rebels without delay. 3. That they should fettle as a fundamental law, an exemption from all manner of tribute. 4. That all the flaves fhould be made free, by an indulto ge neral. 5. That the criminals detained in the prifons, fhould be fet at liberty. In confequence of the first article, all the foreigners that were at Quito, quitted the city. it was added, that the confpirors, in order to fhake off entirely the Spanish yoke, had pretenced to elect a king in the perfon of the Count de Herba Florida, viceroy, who in fpite of his proteftations, that he would rather die, than take away the crown from his lawful fovereign," was forced, with the dagger at his throat, to fuffer him felt to be proclaimed King of Quito. The Bishop of Quito, endea vouring to escape, was made a prifoner: This news, it was faid, came to the viceroy of Santa Fe, by an extraordinary courier, dispatched from Santa Martha, on the 3d of October, 1765. It was farther faid, that the viceroy of Santa Fe, not finding himself in fafety in his own houfe, had retired first to a convent of monks; but that he afterwards quitted it, in order to go to Houda, having abandoned all the affairs of his government. There are circumftances in this narrative that do not appear very probable; to mention no other, the concurrence of 2800 towns and villages, at the fame hour, has a great air of fable. It is to be prefumed too, that a revolt of this extent could not, at this day, but have been more particularly known. Armaments would probably have been made in Old Spain; the very means that muft have been neceffary to have quieted disturbances of that magnitude, would have difcovered them. We may therefore reasonably doubt of the veracity of the ftory in its full extent. But it is cer tainly fact, that the court of Madrid was made to believe, that there were great frauds and abuses practifed in the collection of its American revenue, which by proper attention might be much im proved. An entire new mode of collection was accordingly projected, and fome new impofitions laid. There is room to believe, that the whole project, in confequence of fome disturbances, has been laid afide, or at least fufpended. by order of the court. It is to be prefumed, that the relinquishing the fcheme, has been thought fufficient to appeafe the troubles. If fo, we must conclude, either that the power of Spain is indeed very weak in her colonies, and that the had no hopes of reducing them by any pofiible force to be fent out, or that the disturbances were of no great extent, and that the strength of the [C] 2 crown crown exifting in the country, was fufficient to quell them, when the caufe of complaint was removed. It is after all difficult to decide upon a question of this nature. Even at the Havannah, the very fervants of the crown have, in more than one inftance, fhewn great disrespect to the King's commands. It were not furprising, that this spirit fhould be till ftronger upon the Spanish main, where there are many families of the old people of the country, who are of great weight; and indeed fcarcely any native Spaniard, of any further weight than what he CHAP. IV. State of affairs in Indoftan. The Marattas make an irruption in favour of Sujah Doula: are routed by General Carnac. Sujah Doula furrenders himself a prifoner to the General. Mir Jaffier dies; is fucceeded by his fon Najiem il Doula. Advantageous treaty concluded by the company with the Nabob. young HE great acquifitions of thefe regulations, fo different from es, which have been made in the Eaft Indies, and which we hope are now fully fecured in our poffeffion; whether regarded with respect to the nation in general, or to the Eaft India company in particular, are become objects of the highest importance and confideration. We have not been exempt from fears, that, by the carrying on of a continual course of war in Indoftan, we might in time have beaten the natives of that country into good foldiers. The order and difcipline which Coffim Aly Cawn began to introduce, and the firmness and perfeverance fhewn by his troops in confequence of ferved before among them, feemed ftrongly to countenance this But thefe beginnings opinion. There seems were not followed. to be an inferiority of genius, a natural imbecility, in the natives of thefe vaft countries, with respect to military affairs, which may probably prevent their being ever able to cope with Europeans in the field. We have in our two laft volumes given an account of the fuccessful actions which brought the late dangerous war nearly to a period: it now remains to shew in what manner it was finally concluded, and the advantages we have have a right to expect in confequence of thefe fucceffes. It muft be confeffed, that the authenticated accounts of tranfactions in that. part of the world, are far from being fo clear, full, or precife, as could be wished; and that thofe which come from private hands, through the diffenfions which have arifen among the company's fervants there, are much to be fufpected of being tinged with the colours of the parties whofe hands they came through. It remains, that we give the beft account of things that we have been able to procure, and that we cautioufly abstain from giving any opinion in matters which are to far from being fufficiently cleared up. We clofed our last year's account with the taking of Eliabad. The tract of which Eliabad is the capital, is called the Gorrah country, lying between the rivers Ganges and Yumna, and extending to the point where theie rivers join. Near this point Eliabad is fituated. Soon after the taking of this place, General Carnac af fumed the command of the army, having fuperfeded Sir Robert Fletcher. He difpofed of his troops to the beft advantage, for fecuring the new conquefts, and quieting the country; in which operations, we do not find that he met with any disturbances or oppofition worth notice for fome time. But this repofe was of no long continuance: Sujah Doula, the Nabob of Oude, a man of steadinefs, courage, and refources, was determined not to fall in a weak and inglorious manner; abandoned by the Mogul, who quitted his camp after the battle of Buxar, and went over to the English; ftripped of the name and authority of vizier; wafted by frequent and bloody defeats; he ftill maintained his activity and refolution. He gathered together, with great affiduity, the remains of his routed armies; and feeing that his own territorities were unequal to the fupply of troops. fufficient, either in numbers or fpirits, to face the Englifh, he turned himself to the Ma. rattas. The Marattas are a people of the mountainous country, fituated fouth west of his territory. Of all the tribes originally Indian, they are almoft the only one which can be in any fenfe confidered as warlike. They never had been perfectly fubdued by the Mogul Tartars, who extended their empire over all the other parts of India. Their great ftrength is in horfe; with which (especially of late years) they held all that vaft peninfula in continual alarms, waited many provinces, and obliged most of them to purchase a temporary ceffation of hoftilities by a fort of tribute, or annual ranfom. Sujah Dula threw himself on this alliance as his last recourse. But the terror of the Marattas ceafed, when they were opposed to the English arms. General Carnac, having affembled his troops, marched immediately to engage them, and On the 20th having come up May, 1765. with them at a place called Calpi, they were, after a weak refiftance, totally routed; obliged to recrofs the Yumna with the greatest precipitation, and seek for refuge in their own country. Foiled in all his military at[C] 3 tempts, |