Whyte and Captain Parr give the governor one hour, and no more, from the delivery of this by Lieutenant-Colonel Hislop, to accept or not. "H. M. S. Babet, off the River Demerary, April 20, 1796." "GENTLEMEN, "JOHN WHYTE, Major-Gen. "THOMAS PARR, Capt. R. N." "Demerary, 22d April, 1796. "It is out of my power as yet to give a decisive answer to your summons, demanding a surrender of this colony to His Britannic Majesty's forces, as my duty requires me to lay it before the council, to whom it is also addressed, but which is not assembled at this moment. I will, however, call the members present together, and return about twelve o'clock an answer. "I have the honor to remain, &c. "Governor of Demerary." "To their Excellencies General Whyte and Commodore Parr." " SIR, "On board the Babet frigate, April 22, 1796. "We have been honoured with your letter in answer to ours of yesterday's date, summoning the colony of Demerary to surrender to His Britannic Majesty's arms, requesting for the reasons therein mentioned to have until twelve o'clock this forenoon to assemble the council to assist you in your determination. The reasonableness of this request induces us to grant it, but you will be aware that if an answer is not returned at or before that time, no farther delay can be made, and you alone must be answerable for the consequences; and you will please also to observe, from the very liberal terms offered, no deviation whatever can be admitted. "We have the honour to be, &c. "JOHN WHYTE, Major-General. "THOMAS PARR, Captain R. N." "To his Excellency the Governor of Demerary." "GENTLEMEN, "Fort William Frederic, Demerary, 22d April, 1796. "We, the governor, members of the council, and commanders of the naval forces of the colony, in council of war assembled, having attentively perused the summons dated yesterday, and addressed to us by your Excellencies, demanding the surrender of the said colony to His Britannic Majesty's forces, also the terms thereunto annexed, have, after mature deliberation, resolved to accept said terms, and on them to surrender the said colony and dependencies, as demanded, whereof we hereby give you notice; also that our colours will be struck on the landing of your forces. It will depend on the several officers and the troops to decide for themselves as to the offers made them, and we have the honour to subscribe ourselves, &c. Anthony Beaujon, Governor. J. Van Well. By order of the Council, Thomas M. S. TUINE, Sec. ad. int. By evening the English were in possession of Fort William Frederic, the only defence of the colony, without firing a shot. The Thetis, a Dutch frigate of twenty-four guns, and a cutter of twelve, were taken as prizes. Upon the 28th, the troops were embarked in the small craft, and proceeded to Berbice, which capitulated upon the same terms as Demerara.1 At Grenada, Major Wright was obliged to fall back from Pilot's Hill to the post of Sauteur, with the loss of ten men killed and fourteen wounded. At St. Lucia, the English troops, under General Abercrombie, attacked Morne Fortuné; they were repulsed, and retired to their former position. Upon the 24th of May, they had lodged themselves within 500 yards of the fort, which they battered with such success, that on the evening of that day the French desired a suspension of arms until the next day at noon. In the interim a capitulation was agreed upon; and on the 26th of May the garrison, 2000 strong, laid down their arms, and surrendered prisoners of war. All the cannon and military stores, and several small vessels, Bolinbroke's Voyage to Demerary, p. 177. 212. 272. Commodore T. Parr's Squadron at the capture of the colonies of Demerary, Essequibo, and Berbice, consisted of— Steele's Naval Chronologist. fell into the hands of the English, who had lost about 500 men killed and wounded." Sixteen French privateers are reported to have been taken in the West Indies this year." Steele's Naval Chronologist. The following is the list of the Fleet with Lieutenant General Sir Ralph Abercrombie, K. B. at the recapture of St. Lucia, on the 25th May, 1796. A. S. Burrowes. The Frederic, Charlotte, and Berbice, armed store ships, and Queen Charlotte cutter. 2 French Ships taken in the West Indies. La Perçante, of 26 guns, was taken in February, off Puerto Plata in St. Domingo, by Captain the Honourable C. Carpenter, in the Intrepid, 64. The Marsouin, of 26 guns, was taken by Captain L. Skynner, in his Majesty's ship Beaulieu, 44. L'Alerte, of 14 guns, was taken off St. Domingo, by Captain J. Bingham, in his Majesty's ship Sampson, 64. La Volcan, of 12 guns, was taken by Captain A. F. Evans, in the Spencer, 18, May 4th, off Bermuda, after a close action of one hour and a quarter. L'Atheniene, of 14 guns, was taken May 8th, off Barbadoes, by Captain Winthorp, in the Albicore, of 16 guns. La Renommée, 44, was taken July 12th, off St. Domingo, by Captain T. Drury, in the 1797. Upon the 19th of January, a party of Spaniards crossed the Orinoko to attack the outpost at Moroko, the most remote point of the colony of Essequibo. It was defended by Captain Rochelle and a party of Dutch troops, who had entered into the British service upon the capture of the colony. The attack was made in the night; but the Spaniards were observed before they landed, and the whole force at the post was under arms to receive the assailants, who boldly rushed forward; they were soon defeated: some were killed, some wounded, others driven into the river, a few escaped in their boats. Of the Dutch, Captain Rochelle and nine soldiers were wounded, some of them mortally. The Methodists in Grenada were 115 in connexion; of whom only three were Whites, in May, 1797. In December, the Methodists in St. Bartholomew's in society were 109 Blacks, twenty people of colour, and one white man. Pinckard's Notes, vol. iii. p. 249. Coke's West Indies, vol. ii. p. 84. L'Eliza, schooner, of 10 guns, was taken October the 18th, by Captain H. Evans, in the Fury, of 16 guns. La Cerf Volant, of 18 guns, was taken, November the 1st, off St. Domingo, by Captain H. Ricketts, in his Majesty's ship Magicienne, 32. L'Africaine, 18, was taken December the 3d, off St. Domingo, by Captain J. Cook in the Quebec, 32. La General Leveau, of 16 guns, was taken December 10th, off St. Domingo, by Captain Watkins, in the Resource, 28, and Captain Otway, in the Mermaid, 32. Dutch Vessels. Thetis, of 24 guns, and Zee Meeuv, of 12, were taken at the surrender of Demerary, April 23d. The Thetis was afterwards sunk at Demerary, and the Zee Meeuv lost. The Batave, of 12 guns, was taken July 6th, off Barbadoes, by Captain A. S. Burrows, in the Roebuck, 44. Spanish Vessels taken. El Galgo, of 18 guns, with 80,355 dollars on board, was taken by Captain Fellows, in the Alarm, 32, November 23d, off Grenada. British Ships lost in the West Indies. Salisbury, of 50 guns, Captain W. Mitchell, was lost May 13th, on the Isle Avache, St. Domingo; crew saved. La Sirenne, 16, Captain D. Guerin, was lost in the Bay of Honduras, and all her crew, in August. The Cormorant, of 16 guns, Captain T. Gott, was blown up October 14th, at Port-auPrince, and only twenty men saved.` The Bermuda, of 18 guns, Captain T. Maxtone, was supposed to have foundered in the gulph of Florida in September, and all her crew to have been lost. The Malabar, 54, Captain T. Parr, foundered October 10th, in coming from the West Indies; crew saved. The Berbice schooner, J. Tresahar, was driven on shore at Dominica, in November; crew saved. The Undaunted, 40, Captain R. Winthorp, was lost upon the Morant Keys, August 27th; crew saved. The Narcissus, 20, Captain P. Fraser, was lost October 3d; crew saved. Captain Ogilvy, in his Majesty's ship Thunderer, on the Jamaica station, destroyed the Hermione French frigate of forty-four guns. On the night of the 6th of April, the boats of his Majesty's ships Magicienne and Regulus entered the harbour of Cape Roxo (Puerto Rico), and captured, sunk, and burnt thirteen sail of square-rigged vessels and schooners, the whole in the port (except a Danish ship), and destroyed two batteries of two guns each, six and four pounders, at the entrance and head of the harbour, without the loss of a man. Upon the 22d of March, Captain Pigot, in his Majesty's ship Hermione, anchored within half a mile of several small vessels at anchor under a battery near the west end of Puerto Rico. The fire from the battery was soon silenced. Captain Pigot says, "I sent the boats, under the directions of Lieutenants Reid and Douglas, to take possession of the vessels; and though they were aground, and a small fire of musketry kept up by the enemy, they brought them all out but two, which were sunk, and I am happy to say without a man being hurt. The following day I sent the boats, under the direction of Lieutenant Reid, to land, and endeavour to spike and dismount the guns, which they effected without loss. The enemy had, on our first appearance, taken the sails of the vessels away, and otherwise dismantled them. I set fire to them all but a brig." Three were French privateers, and the others their prizes; in all fifteen sail. From a return made to an order of the House of Commons, May 5th, 1806, it appears that the British sugar colonies, in 1797, exported 1,636,681 cwt. of sugar, 4,279,164 gallons of rum, 114,947 cwt. of coffee, and 6,918,153 lbs. of cotton. "The seas were so covered with English cruizers that no Spanish vessels could depart from their ports without the certainty of being taken; all trade with America ceased in consequence. On the 18th of November, 1797, the Spanish government, for the first time, gave permission to neutral vessels, whether sent from Spanish or foreign ports, to trade with Spanish America. It was provided that the articles introduced should not be of the class prohibited, and they were to be subject to the duties prescribed in the regulation of 1778, in the same manner as if the adventurers sailed from the mother country, and returned to some port of Spain." Annual Register, 1797, p. 99. Sir W. Young's Common-place Book, pp. 29, 30. 32, 33. 1 "Bahamas.-An act to consolidate and bring into one act the several laws relating to slaves, and for giving them further protection and security; for altering the mode of trial of slaves charged with capital offences; for suspending the several acts and other purposes." Assented to the 11th of May, 1797, by the governor, John Forbes. This act enacts, that "no slave shall be turned away by reason of such slave being rendered incapable of labour. |