CHAP. I. 1799. navy and colonies. How far a militia composed of these very men, and, in spite of all my objections, almost entirely dispersed in the cabins of the country, can be depended upon to fight the battles of Great Britain, it is not difficult to determine. The patriotic Irish gentlemen, who are so enraged at the insolent interference of England in the management of their affairs, if ever they dare to go to their country-houses, barricade their ground-floor, and beg for a garrison of English militia or Scotch fencibles. That the French will persevere in their attempts to invade Ireland there can be no doubt ; and if they should succeed, which God forbid, in estab175; Corn- lishing a war in this country, I shall be most happy to resp. iii. 60. have you with me, and shall take immediate steps to effect it."1 1 Castle reagh Cor resp. ii. wallis Cor 91. Military force in Ireland at this time. While this was the state, verging on open rebellion, of the revolutionary party, and the great bulk of the peasantry in the south and west of Ireland, the force which the Government had to meet it was seriously weakened. Numerically speaking, indeed, the military force in the country was very considerable; it amounted, on paper, to 42,000 infantry and 7000 cavalry; but of this large force only 15,000 were English regiments of the line. The remainder consisted of English and Scotch militia and fencibles, and Irish militia and yeomanry. The British militia were entirely to be trusted, and had rendered the very best service, both by their conduct in the field, and their orderly conduct in quarters; but the regiments were all worn out by the harassing duties to which they had been subjected in that distracted country, and were perpetually applying to be sent home; and as the period for which they had volunteered their services beyond the Channel had in almost every instance expired, it was no easy matter to know how their demands were to be refused. Generally, it was only by the personal influence and solicitation of their commanding officers that they were prevailed on to stay. As to the Irish militia, they were so ill-disciplined and irregular in their habits, * CHAP. I. 1799. that they could not be relied on for any military operation; and their conduct at Castlebar had proved that, in many regiments at least, their fidelity to the Government was by no means to be trusted to, and that in the event of any considerable body of French effecting a landing, they would, in all probability, range themselves by their side. As to the yeomanry, all that could be expected from it was to keep the country quiet in the rear of the regular troops. Even this was by no means an easy duty; for Government had certain information that there were 20,000 men prepared to rise at a moment's notice in the neighbourhood of Cork; and that, in the event of an invasion from even a small body of French, a general insurrection in the whole south and west would at once ensue.t Lord Cornwallis justly described the state of Ireland on 24th July, when he stated that the forces remaining in Ireland, exclusive of artillery, amounted to 45,419; "a1 Cornwallis Corresp. iii. force sufficient to preserve the peace-totally inadequate 117, 118. to repel foreign invasion."1 66 Serious as these dangers were, they were much aggra "It is most earnestly to be wished that you may succeed with the Scotch fencibles, as the precarious tenure on which we hold the English militia makes me very uneasy. The Leicestershire regiments (Duke of Rutland's), which, three months ago, so handsomely agreed to stay without any limitation of time, have now desired to return to England, and have with difficulty been prevailed upon to remain here till the 1st of June. The Irish militia, besides their total want of all idea of discipline and subordination, from their being dispersed in small detachments over the whole face of the country, without officers or non-commissioned officers who are capable of taking any care of them, are certainly not to be depended upon, even in point of fidelity, in the event of a serious invasion of this country; and all that can be expected from the yeomanry is, that they will for a time, if no material disaster happens, keep the country from rising behind us."-LORD CORNWALLIS to HENRY DUNDAS, March 14, 1799; Cornwallis Correspondence, iii. 76. + There are 20,000 rebels organised at Cork and its neighbourhood, and they are determined to make a rising on the evening of Easter Sunday next, when they expect the French. A feint is to be made at Killala, but the principal attack is to be made about Cork. The whole country is organising with more activity than ever; and great numbers of the militia soldiers are sworn already to join them. The militia are not to be trusted, and a sharp eye should be kept on them. The country is preparing for rebellion more strongly than ever, and in greater numbers. They expect the Dutch, and particularly the Spaniards, to come to their assistance. There is not a Catholic who would not kill a Protestant as soon as he would a rat.-Information of Joseph Holt, one of the leaders of the insurgents; Castlereagh Correspondence, ii. 186. 1 CHAP. I. 1799. 92. Increasing with the militia and yeomanry. vated by the new and alarming cause of discord which had arisen from the agitation of the Union question. This had not only alienated a large section of that portion of the community which had hitherto supported Government, difficulties but it had gone far to shake the loyalty of the militia regiments best affected to the Crown. The Merchant Guild of Dublin, an ultra-Protestant incorporation, issued an address, calling on all classes and sects to unite against the measure, and returning their warmest thanks to their "Roman Catholic fellow-citizens in Dublin" for their manly and patriotic conduct. Petitions were got up from the freeholders in thirty-eight counties against the measure, in pursuance of a circular signed by Lords Downshire and Charlemont, and Mr Ponsonby. A union of parties was strongly recommended, and in a great measure accomplished. Many persons wore, especially in Westmeath, orange and green cockades, to indicate that a junction of the most opposite parties was preferable to a 1 Cornwallis union with the sister kingdom. A universal ferment pre170, 171. vailed, and Lord Cornwallis was desponding in the extreme as to the ultimate issue of the contest.1 Corresp. iii. 93. tenant's the north. 1 * The cause of the Union gained considerably by the Lord-Lieu Lord-Lieutenant's journey to the northern counties in the favourable autumn of 1799. The commercial cities and towns there journey in had become fully sensible of the importance of the change to their interests, and vied with each other in demonstration of interest in it. At Antrim," says Lord Cornwallis, "Coleraine, Newtown Limavady, and all the places through which I passed, addresses were presented, and the words principal inhabitants' were always inserted, as well as the Corporation. At Londonderry my recep 66 *"The indefatigable exertions, aided by the subscriptions, of the antiUnionists, have raised a powerful clamour against the measure in many parts of the kingdom, and have put the capital quite in an uproar; and I am sorry to say, some of our unwilling supporters in Parliament have taken advantage of these appearances to decline giving any further support. God only knows how the business will terminate; but it is so hard to struggle against private interests, and the pride and prejudices of a nation, that I shall never feel confident of success till the Union is actually carried."-LORD CORNWALLIS to GENERAL Ross, February 4, 1800; Cornwallis Correspondence, iii. 177. I. 1799. Cornwallis Portland, 1799; Cornwallis tion was cordial and flattering beyond expression. The CHAP. county as well as the city addressed; the town was universally illuminated, and 'success to the Union' resounded from every quarter. From thence I made an excursion to Strabane and Lifford, where the corporations and principal inhabitants expressed the most decided sentiments in favour of the Union." 1 In a word, Lord it was evident from this tour, that the cause of the to Duke of Union had made very great progress among the mer- Oct. 22, cantile and middle classes in most of the towns, who were fully alive to the commercial advantages which it Corresp. promised to extend to the country. But that by no 140. means lessened on the contrary, it greatly increasedthe intense hatred with which it was regarded in Dublin and by the Protestant magnates, who, in return for their support to Government, had hitherto enjoyed the whole local patronage in their respective districts; for it portended the rise of an influence in the community which would probably prove fatal to that which they had so long enjoyed.* iii. 139, for the in The efforts of both parties for and against the Union 94. were on the point of being cut short by a descent of the Naval preFrench on the coast of Ireland, for which various prepara- the French parations of tions had been made by the Directory both at Paris and vasion of the Hague. The plan adhered to was a union of the Ireland. fleets in all the harbours of Holland and the Channel, which, it was hoped, might be effected during the mists. and long nights of autumn or winter; and arrangements were in progress for collecting a force of thirty-five sail of the line, and eighteen frigates, to cover the passage to Ireland. Eight sail of the line, two of 56 guns each, and five frigates, were in readiness at the Texel; four "It will be considered that we have [against us in Parliament] a minority consisting of 120 members well combined and united, that many of them are men of the first weight and talent in the House, that 37 of them are members for counties, that great endeavours have been used to inflame the kingdom, that petitions from twenty-six counties have been procured, that the city of Dublin is almost unanimous against it; and with such an opposition so circumstanced and supported, it is evident much management must be used, and that Government must avoid putting itself in the wrong."-LORD CASTLEREAGH to JOHN KING, ESQ., March 7, 1800; Cornwallis Correspondence, iii. 206. VOL. L H CHAP. I. 1799. more were getting ready at Rotterdam, and five at Amsterdam; there were fourteen ready at Brest, three at Rochefort, and two at Cherbourg.* Several attempts to get across by detached vessels or small light squadrons were defeated by the ceaseless vigilance of Sir John Borlase Warren and Sir Edward Pellew, who commanded the British naval armaments, to whose care the defence of the Channel and its coasts was intrusted. But their efforts, how great and meritorious soever, effected and could effect nothing decisive: the fleets at the Texel and in the Dutch ports remained untouched-a standing menace to Ireland and the southern coasts of Britain. At length, however, an effectual remedy was applied to this evil, and security afforded to the British Isles, by the consequences of an event, the importance of which has only now come, from the publication of the official correspondence of the period, to be duly appreciated. This event was the expedition under the Duke of York to the Helder in 27th August 1799. Though that expedition failed in effecting the ostensible and principal object for which it was intended, that of extricating Holland from the French yoke, it yet successfully achieved a secondary one of still greater importance with reference to the independence and security of the British Islands. The expedition landed at the Helder in North Holland after a sharp conflict, in which the British lost 500 men, on the 27th August. By this success the British troops Jomini, were brought into the rear of the Texel, which is scarcely Castlereagh defended on the land side, and became masters of the Corresp. ii. 200-207. fleet there, consisting of eight ships of the line, three of 56 guns, eight of 44, and six of 32 guns. This powerful Aug. 27. Dumas, 369-372; Ann. Reg. 1799, 363; xii. 189; 1 * "Les Français, après bien des instances, ont obtenu du Directoire Batave de faire sortir d'Hollande six vaisseaux de ligne, deux frégates, ainsi que deux barques canonières, pour faire, à ce qu'on assure, une descente en Irelande. On croit qu'ils se joindront à quelque flotte de Brest ou de Rochefort. . . . A Amsterdam on répare le Vischer, ou Vanguerde, 76, qui portera 80 canons, et un autre du même grandeur, ainsi qu'un autre de 68 vient d'être mouillé; un second de 68 en réparation, avec les Etats-Généraux de 64. A Rotterdam deux de 74 en construction, et deux de 64 en réparation."-Secret Information, January 7 and 12, 1799; Castlereagh Correspondence, ii. 200, 201. |