kerguei-en’s voyage to the north. 763 I cannot here refrain from a reflexion on the high idea that the public entertains of certain intriguers, whofe merit confifts in their praifing themfelves ; who propofe the grandeft fchemes, becaufe they run no other rilk tlian that of falling back into the no- thing from which they are ftudious of raifing themfelves, and whom wre every day fee fail in their enterprizes with fhame, although fupported by an ignorant cabal, prejudiced againft the royal navy. The proofs of this blind prevention are but too widely fpread. Even in the Encyclopedia moll indecent abfurdities are to be founded under the head marine. An abftraft from a work intituled Reflexions of a Citizen on the Navy, is inferted there. This is the work of an officer, a merchant of Dieppe. The rank of this man fufficiently ffiews that he is a blackener of the characters of his majefty’s officers. He fays, “ the gentleman failor takes no pride in his occupation, he defpifes feamanffiip, be.” I muft however do juftice to his fentiments, when fpeaking of war and armaments, “ The captain’’ he fays, “ ought to be compleatly mailer of the fighting his Ihip, &c. To wage war with the Englilh, their commerce mult be attacked, andourfelves be fatisfied with preferving our pofleffions ; it is precifely playing with a chance of lofing, and none of gaining, to aft otherwife : it is againft the Englilh commerce alone, that we fhould wage war; no durable peace with this nation can be expefted without following this polity. Let England tremble for her trade in a war with us, this is the important point. The enemy in the war of 1744, made confiderable infurances on our merchant veffels, in this war few, and thofe at very heavy premiums. Why fo, becaufe they imagined that a war on the continent would caufe us to negleft our navy, and they were in the right; it is the finances alone of the enemy which fupport her navy, and its finances depend upon her trade; let us then make war on her commerce, and on her commerce only. Take a colony from the Englilh, they murmur; ruin their trade, they will revolt. We have three hundred leagues of fea-coaft to proteft. This cafe requires a confider- able navy—what ! Are veffels requifite to guard our Ihores ? Delufive error! We want foldiers only for that purpofe, a hundred and fifty thoufand men lhall be put in arms for faving’s fake, neverthelefs the Ihores will be infulted; a hundred and fifty thoufand men are clad in arms, and it is evident that twenty-five fail of |the line at Breft, and fifteen thoufand men near that place, will be fufficient to prevent any fuch cOnfequence ; nay, any thing except the prejudice in favour of foldiers.” It is vifible that this feaman is poffeffed of judgment, although he does not difplay the neceffity of a navy, with equal eloquence with Mr. Thomas, in his eulogy of Duguay Trouin. How- ever, that orator guided by an excufable prejudice, feeing that he had never frequented the fea-ports of his majefty ; lets efcape him fome critiques in favour of the merchant veffels, to the injury of the king’s Ihips. Labouring under the fame prejudice, a monk has manufaftured an hiftorical journal of a voyage to the Madeira iflands in 1763 and 1764. The editor of this infipid journal, printed at Berlin in 1769, feems to have left his convent for no other purpofe than to reap in another hemifphere an ample harveft of lies, and inveftives. Returning to Europe, he takes pleafure in pouring the coarfe poifon of his gracelefs pen upon the navy, in a digreffion which contains as many blun- ders as phrafes. “ On the fifteenth of June 1764,” fays the ftupid fon of St. Benoit, “ a veffel is feen to windward in the N. W., the flag and pemiant is boified, a fag is plaited and hoi/led, and -we lay clofe to the wind; in fpite of all thefe pretended fignals, the veffel continues its courfe.” This learned Cenobite imagines that a veffel, who fhould fo aft can be no other than a French veffel. Upon this his bile inflames, his love for his country and the commonweal puts in his mouth a violent diatribe againft a navy which he ought to refpeft; but in what order has this monk learnt, that a love for one’s country is fhown by exclaiming in a Hottentot dialeft, that “ the licenfe of the reds, caufes the fla- 5 E 2 very

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