terchanged between the general and all the respectable families of the place. But the smallness of his force prevented confidence in his success. The people dreaded the cruel vengeance of the Spanish government, in the event of his defeat; and as the captain-general of Caraccas, was collecting troops, general Miranda retired from Coro, and removed his head quarters to the shore; having previously assured the people, in a proclamation, of his just and friendly intentions, and that it was not in the cities, but in the field, that he and his army wished to fight with the oppressors alone of the Columbian people." From thence, general Miranda dispatched an officer (captain Ledlie) to our naval and military comman. ders on the Jamaica station, to re. present his prospects, the absolute necessity there was for a force sufficient to give confidence to the South-American people, and to request that this aid might be sent to him without delay. Sir Eyre Coote and admiral Dacres regretted that they were precluded from giving the assistance which his views demand. ed, as they had not received any of ficial instructions from home on this subject. Admiral Dacres, however, gave orders to his cruizers to afford every possible protection. Captain Ledlie immediately returned with this answer to general Miranda; who, after dispatching that officer to Jamaica, had proceeded himself with his troops to Araba, a few leagues from Vela de Coro, with an intent to seize the strong post of Rio de la Hache, and there wait the arrival of succours. Soon after, admiral Cochrane sent him a ship of the line, and two frigates, with reiterated assurances of support. VOL. XLIX.

But erroneous reports having reached the West Indies, that prelimi naries of peace between Great Britain and France had been signed by lord Lauderdale at Paris, and these reports accompanied with an intimation that admiral Cochrane would consequently be obliged entirely to withdraw the aid of the naval force, general Miranda found himself under the necessity of abandoning all farther operations on the Spanish main, and retired with his companions in arms to Trinidad.

Had general Miranda been seasonably supported by the co-operation of a British auxiliary force, as he had reason to expect, his success would have been complete. The grand design in which he and his worthy companions were engaged, was not marred and disgraced by any selfish and dishonourable con siderations of personal gain. On the contrary, his chief care was to direct the views of his officers and men to the grandeur and glory of the object before them, and to in spire them with a sense of the necessity of constantly observing a suitable conduct towards the people whom they had come to emancipate; while, at the same time, he used all possible means to convince his countrymen of the beneficence of his views, as well as of the equitable and conciliatory measures by which he hoped to attain them. In short, the expedition to Caraccas, under Miranda, conceived in a spirit the most liberal and generous, formed a direct contrast with that which was on foot about the same time, to the Rio de La Plata, which appears to have originated in a spirit of rapa. city and plunder. The commander of the land-troops, in this last expe dition, (brigadier-general Beresford) P

displayed

success of the expedition, a secure and permanent footing on La Plata that was his object, not personal gain, and plunder. The military eye of the general pointed to Monte Video, as the first object of attack, not Buenos Ayres; but, with too much facility, he gave way to the earnest desire of the naval commander of the armament, who was seconded by all the captains of ships to advance immediately against Buenos Ayres, the depôt of so much public and private treasure. It unfortunately happened that the commodore, with équal in. humanity, it must be owned, and impolicy, had sent on shore 200 Spaniards, the crews of some vessels that had fallen into his hands, on the island of Lobos, in La Plata, several leagues distant from Maldo. nado, that he might not be incumbered with so many prisoners, lea. ving them to the danger of perishing from famine. The men subsisted some time, on the flesh of seals, and -shell-fish. At length, a number of them, with the assistance of the skins of seals, formed into somewhat that assisted them in swimming, as bladders do, made their way to the shore; when a vessel was sent to the desert isle, consisting of little else than a ledge of rocks, to fetch their companions. A number of those men came to Buenos Ayres, and, by relating what had happened to them, inspired the inhabitants with sentiments of indignation, aversion, and horror. The deport. ment of the commodore, at a meeting with the Cabildo, was not of a nature to do away the prejudice that was contracted against him. It was haughty and insolent, and altogether that of a proud conquer.

or; though, when our troops took possession of Buenos Ayres, the commodore was at a very considerable distance. An incident happened, of a kind somewhat ludicrous, that marked how much sir Home, in this expedition to Buenos Ayres, was bent upon plunder. At a time when general Beresford was involved in a conflict with the Spaniards, a black boy arrived with a letter from sir Home Popham to the general, informing him that in a certain church he would find a very considerable treasure. When matters had grown worse and worse with the British at Buenos Ayres, and the general wished to concert with the naval commander some measures for extrication, sir Home was in a great haste to break up the conference, and get on board a frigate that carried him to his squadron, at anchor a great way down the river, as far as Monte Video. This abrupt retreat had greatly the appearance of forsaking the army, and running away; and every one said that the commodore had shewn more anxiety about securing the plunder, than co-operating with the army, by taking such positions with the ships under his command, as might have tended to intercept the passage of Spanish troops from Monte Video to Colonia de Sucramento, and from thence to the right bank of the Rio de la Plata, on which Buenos Ayres is situated, to the haven of Las Conchas. This unauthorized expedition, instigated and undertaken by sir Home Popham, was not more dishonourable and disadvantageous to the British government, than it was detrimental to a very great number of individuals. Sir Home Popham, as already

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noticed,

noticed,* wrote home to the society at Lloyd's coffee-house, and to the principal manufacturing towns in Britain, setting forth how great a market had been opened to a great variety of English goods. And the ministry, as soon as they heard of the conquest of Buenos Ayres, sent thither a ship of war with a convoy of merchant-men: The market was overstocked; many adventurers suffered great loss, and some were ruined. The conduct of sir Home Popham was generally attributed to rapacity; his success, as far as his own interest was concerned, in his projects, to a very plausible eloquence, and address in operating on the particular characters, prejudices, interests, and passions of men, and bodies of men. It had not been fully ascertained, that sir Home, though there was no reason to doubt his courage, had ever been · placed in a situation to have a single shot fired at him; yet by a dextrous management of newspapers, he came to be called, by his numerous par. tisans, the gallant captain, the gal lunt commodore, the gallant sir Home Popham. His conduct was declared by a court-martial, held in March 1807, to be highly reprehensible in a British officer, and leading to a subversion of all militáry discipline, as well as subordi. nation to government: and he was reprimanded accordingly.+ But the character and conduct of men are judged of very much according to their fortune: sir Home might not, perhaps, have escaped with a mere

rebuke, if his trial had been delayed till, the final result was known of his expedition to the Rio de la Plata.

It was not greatly to be wondered at, that the British ministry did not shew great promptitude in supporting an expedition unauthorized by government, and originating in such views as that of sir Home Popham's enterprise against Buenos Ayres. Besides, the views and hopes of Mr. Fox were wholly pacific. He was not disposed, it may be presumed, to send out an armament to the Riode-la-Plata, so long as there was any hope that all differences with France might be settled by negotiation. But when the prospect of such a settlement became fainter and fainter every day, and at last vanished away, a reinforcement te the British troops was sent to La Plata, in October 1806, from England, under the command of sir Samuel Auchmuty, and convoy of sir Charles Stirling, in the Ardent ship of war, who was appointed to supersede sir Home Popham in the naval department on that station. The transports were such bad sailers, that they were obliged, in their voyage, to go into Janeiro for water. He there received intelligence of the recapture of Buenos Ayres; but of our having possession of Maldona. do, near the mouth of the river. The general, on his arrival at Mai donado, found our troops were without artillery, without stores of any kind, with only a few days' provision, and without any prospect

19, 1806.

of

of procuring more, without detaching a large force many miles into the country, exposed to the insults of a corps of 400 horse, that hovered round the English to intercept supplies. The enemy," says sir Samuel, "are armed with swords and muskets. They ride up, dismount, fire over the back of their horses, mount, and gallop off. All the inhabitants of this country are accustomed to this mode of war. fare, and every inhabitant is an enemy." Maldonado was an open town, and so situated, that with a small force it could not be rendered tenable. The only point that appeared assailable with propriety, as it had also done to general Beres. ford, was Monte Video. He conceived his resources equal to the enterprise, but he found it a most arduous undertaking. He had not entrenching-tools sufficient to make approaches; and, after a few days' firing, the whole powder in the fleet was reduced to 500 barrels, about four days' consumption: to add to his difficulties, 4000 picked troops, with 24 pieces of cannon, were rapidly approaching him. He there fore determined, if possible, to take the place by assault: in which design, though with a heavy loss, he happi y succeeded. For a detailed account of the capture of Monte Video, it is unnecessary for us to do more, nor could we do any thing so well, as to refer our readers to the London Gazette Extraordinary, April 12, 1807 +. This achieve.

ment was characterized by a cheer. ful patience and alacrity, cool selfcommand, and persevering courage and intrepidity, under difficulties and dangers uncommonly great, and some of them unexpected. A bat. tery as near as possible to the de. fence of Monte Video, though exposed to the superior fire of the enemy, which had been incessant during the whole of the siege, ef. fected a breach that was reported to be practicable, February 2. Orders were issued for the attack, an hour before daybreak on the ensuing morning; and a summons was sent to the governor in the evening, to surrender the town: to which message no answer was returned. At the appointed hour, our troops marched to the assault: they ap. proached near the breach before they were discovered; when a destructive fire opened upon them from every gun that could bear upon them, as well as from the musketry of the garrison. Heavy as this fire was, our loss would have been comparatively trifling, if the breach had been open; but during the night, and under our fire, the enemy had barricadoed it with hides, so as to render it nearly impracticable. The night was extremely dark. The head of the column missed the breach; and when it was approached, it was so shut up that it was mistaken for the untouched wall. In this situation, our men remained under a heavy fire for a quarter of an hour; when the breach was discerned by

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