Admiral Byng, having collected his fhips after the action, Geo. I. put into Syracufe, the 19th of Auguft, N. S. where he found 1718. ftaneta himfelf, affured the admiral that they intended, the fummer following, to have at fea fifty fail of the line of battle; which the great preparations in the ports of Bifcay, and other ports of Spain, made very probable. Those in Bifcay, which were one man of war of seventy guns, and two of fixty, newly built, with an incredible quantity of timber, pitch and tar, and other naval ftores, for building more, were all destroyed by an English fquadron, affifted by a detachment which the duke of Berwick spared from his army, at the follicitation of colonel Stanhope, the English minifter, who contrived the dengn, and, ferving as a voluntier in the enterprife, principally contributed to the execution of it. It should feem but ill policy in a court, intent on fuch mighty designs, to provoke and irritate, without caufe, a nation, the most capable in the world of thwarting and defeating them. And yet they seemed to make it a ftudied point to vex and diftrefs the English by all manner of ways in their commerce, infomuch that their trade with Spain was almost ruined and loft. They demanded arbitrary and heavy duties from the English factories refiding in their ports, from which the treaties exprefly exempted them; and, upon refufal of payment, their houfes were furrounded by foldiers, their warehouses and chefts broke open, and their goods fold at public outcry. The cap royal officers ufed them with fuch injuftice and infolence, as if they knew, they made their court by fo doing. Every poft brought complaints to the Englifh minister at Madrid, of new grievances and oppreffions. The memorials delivered to that court for redrefs were numberless, without the leaft regard had to them. When any transpor tation of troops was intended, they immediately embargoed all the English merchant-fhips in their ports, compelling their mafters, with great circumftances of feverity, to enter into their fervice, imprisoning them in common goals, if they refufed, and obliging them to unload theircargoes, though perifhable, and configned to other markets. They proceeded fo far in their unjuft treatment, that their cruizers brought into the ports of Spain whatever English merchant-fhips they met with in the open fea, though bound to Italy or other parts, and compelled them to unload their cargoes and enter into their fervice. Such, as were not used by them for tranfports, had their feamen taken away to serve in their men of war. Rear-admiral Cammock preffed no less than fixty for his own fhip, and one of the mafters, endeavouring to keep his men, had both his ears cut off. The battle of Paffaro was fortunate to thofe poor people, for, when the iffue of it was known, forty-five English tranfports made their escape from Mefina to Reggio, feveral of them Geo. I. captain Walton and his prizes. Syracufe was at that time 1718. blocked up by a detachment of the Spanish army, into which city count Maffei, the duke of Savoy's viceroy, had retreated with difficulty from Palermo, and had in the place a numerous garrifon. But the firft and principal point of the Spanish general was to get Meffina into his hands, as the fafeft port for their fleet, and the most proper place to facilitate and fecure the conqueft of the reft of the ifland, and from whence they defigned to transport their numerous horse, and the greatest part of their foot, over to Calabria, and to have carried the war into the kingdom of Naples. The citadel of Meffina was defended by a Piedmontefe garrison, commanded by the marquis d'Andorno; but the duke of Savoy, being unable to fupport the fiege, had follicited the emperor for his affiftance, and a convention was made between the viceroy of Naples and the count de Bourge, refident of Savoy, whereby the viceroy was to fend a detachment of German troops, to be admitted into the citadel on joint and equal terms of command; for which service baron Wetzel was dispatched away with two thousand foot, as had been before related. But the fuccefs of the English fleet had raised fuch a confidence in the garrifon, of their fecurity against any attempts from the Spaniards, that the refident endeavoured to elude an agreement, the neceffity of which he thought no longer fubfifted, pretending want of power to make fuch a conceffion without an equivalent, but that he would write to his court for further orders. This coming to admiral Byng's knowledge, he reprefented in ftrong terms to count Maffei, the unfairness of fuch a proceeding, and how contrary it was to what he himself had agreed to, in their conference together the day before, upon that fubject. That fuch a difagreement, at a time when the citadel was fo vigorously attacked by the enemy, might be a means of their taking it, which the reputation of the English fleet would not fuffer him to be an idle fpectator of; and therefore, if he was refolved to stay till he had inftructions from the court of Turin, he fhould likewife fend to his court for farther orders; and, in the mean time, would retire from the ifland to fome other place, to refresh his men, them laden with military flores fired to go; but fome chose to ftay, and enter into the emperor's fervice, to transport his troops from Genoa and Naples to Sicily. and and refit his fhips, till he should receive new directions from Geo. I. England.' This had fuch an effect upon the viceroy, that 1718. he gave immediate orders for putting the agreement into execution, and for admitting the German troops into the citadel. This point being adjufted, the admiral (having fent away. vice-admiral Cornwall, with fuch of his fhips as wanted refitting, and all the prizes, to Port-Mahon, with orders not to fuffer the leaft embezzlement to be made, but to preserve. every thing entire, till the king's pleasure fhould be known) failed himself, on the 23d of Auguft, N. S. from Syracufe, and arrived, the 26th, at Reggio, where general Wetzel informing him, that he hourly expected a reinforcement of four thousand men from Naples, which, with those he had with him, and the garrifon in the citadel, would make about nine thousand men, and, upon their arrival, he should form a project for raifing the fiege of the citadel, if the admiral would stay to countenance and protect him with his fleet: he readily confented, knowing the extreme importance of not letting Meffina fall into the hands of the enemy, and being directed by fresh orders from England to do all he could to prevent it. But, thofe forces proving infufficient for the execution of the intended project, the general contented himself with supplying the citadel from time to time with fresh troops from Reggio; notwithstanding which the Spaniards pushed on the fiege with so much vigour and fuccefs, that the governor furrendered the city by capitulation, on the 29th of September, N. S. to the great furprise and diffatisfaction of the Germans. The Piedmontefe part of the garrison was transported by fea to Syracufe, and the Germans to Reggio. Admiral Byng received advice, that rear-admiral Cammock with three Spanish men of war, and as many frigates, which had escaped from the battle, was at Malta, and that a rich English merchant-fhip, homeward bound from Turkey, was detained in the port, and in fome danger; as likewise five Sicilian gallies, which had taken refuge there ever fince the arrival of the Spanish fleet in Sicily; he stood over to that ifland, where he learnt, that rear-admiral Cammock had failed from thence five days before with four fhips, which he had cleaned there. The marquis de Rivaroles, general of the Sicilian gallies, coming off to the admiral, made great complaints of the partiality and ill ufage of that government, in fuffering him to be exposed to daily affronts from the Spaniards, and prayed his protection and affiftance to get away from thence; upon which the admiral fent his firft captain Geo. I. with his compliments to the grand mafter, and defired, that 1718. thofe gallies might have free liberty to come out to him. The grand mafter fent off three great croffes of the order to the admiral, and, with much politeness, gave him all the affurances poffible of freedom for the gallies to do what they pleafed upon which the admiral fent word to the marquis to come out. But he returning an answer, that the Spanish fhips had laid themfelves in the way to ftop his paffage, and threatened to fink him if he offered to ftir, the admiral fent to the grand mafter a second message, that if he suffered the neutrality of the ports to be violated, or any ill treatment to be given to the gallies, he fhould take the meafures, that would be neceflary on that occafion; but the grand mafter protefting that no violence fhould be used, and that he would be answerable for it, the admiral fent again to the marquis to come out, affuring him, that, if the Spaniards offered the leaft obftruction, he would affift him to destroy them in the very port. But, the marquis continuing under great perplexity and terror, the admiral, tired with his delay, fent him word, that he was well fatisfied of the honour of the grand mafter in preferving the privilege of the port; and therefore, if he would not make use of the present opportunity, he fhould fufpect, that his fears were affected, and ufed only as an artifice to stay there, and would give himfelf no farther trouble about him; and accordingly weighed, in order to depart; but this meffage wrought fo much upon the marquis, that he immediately haftened out with his gallies, without any obstruction from the Spaniards; but they were in fo miferable a condition, that the admiral was forced to lend them feamen and pilots to navigate them, and caulkers to ftop their leaks. The Turkey fhip came out likewife, and joined the admiral, who fent the gallies under a convoy to Syracufa ; and, having feen the Turkey merchantship clear of danger, he arrived the 2d of November, N. S. in the bay of Naples, from whence he fent rear-admiral Delaval, with two eighty-gun fhips and a fire-fhip, home to England. Here the count de Luzan, fon-in-law to the marquis de Rialp, fecretary of ftate at Vienna, brought the admiral a gracious letter from the emperor, written with his own hand, and his picture fet round with large brilliant diamonds. The taking of Meffina was a point of great confequence, as it made the Spaniards mafters of all Sicily, except Syracufa, Trapani, and Melazzo (where the duke of Savoy had ftill garrisons) and as it deprived the English fleet of a port to to winter in, there being no other good harbour in thofe Geo. I. parts. The emperor faw before him a difficult tafk, to get 1718. poffeffion of an island, which the quadruple alliance had defigned for him. The duke of Savoy had only the three aforementioned towns to deliver up, which he fcrupled doing without the promised equivalent; and the emperor had it not to give him: But, though the emperor had gotten these places, the recovery of the reft of the ifland was to be a work of conqueft. The Spaniards had an army well appointed, well paid, and the affections of the people on their fide. They would have little feared the enterprises of the Germans, if the fea had been neutral between them. The duke of Savoy finding himself under circumstances of difficulty, the Spaniards, on the one hand, taking most of his towns in Sicily from him, and the emperor, on the other, by virtue of the quadruple alliance, demanding his evacuation of the reft, whilft the island of Sardinia, allotted to him by the fame treaty, remained in the hands of the enemy; and having a jealoufy, that, when the imperialists had obtained their illand, he fhould be left to get the other as he could, and defiring to have fome reasonable security for the one, before he parted with his intereft in the other; a convention was made between thofe princes at Vienna (monfieur de St. Saphorin, the king's minifter affifting) dated the 29th of December, 1718, whereby it was agreed to form an army for an expedition to Sardinia as foon as poffible, towards which the emperor was to furnish fix thousand five hundred foot, and fix hundred horfe, at his own expence, and the duke of Savoy was intirely to evacuate Sicily, and join five thousand men of his troops from that ifland to act with the imperialists on that fervice; and in the mean time, till they could be tranfported from Sicily, they were to co-operate with the Germans against the common enemy: This treaty of convention was fent to Naples for the viceroy, the duke of Savoy's minifter, and admiral Byng, to confult together of the best means to put it in execution. The bufinefs hung long perplexed with difficulties on the part of the minister of Savoy, from a jealousy and distruft of the Germans; but the admiral interpofing, and removing by degrees all fcruples, an agreement was at laft concluded and figned between them, upon which the minifter of Savoy delivered to the viceroy his mafter's orders to count Maffei to evacuate the towns in his poffeffion to the imperialifts. But the expedition against Sardinia did not go on, as will be fhewn hereafter. The |