The failure of this expedition was not Compensated by the next attempt that was made upon our Turkish. enemies.
On the 6th of March, a force of 5000 men was dis patched, by General Fox, from Messina, under th:.
command of General M‘Keraie, to capture Alexandria ; a service which was effected with li.tle difficulty or bloodshed on the side of the British ; but, unfortunately, from a groundless fear of scarcity in the captured place, an attempt to take Rosetta also was made, and from the failure of the expected aid of the Mamelukes, as well as from the orders of the commander in chief to the storming party being intercepted, a large force of the British were surrounded and cut off. Nearly 1000 men were killed, wounded, or lost in the affair.
Before this attack on Alexandria was known at home, a new ministry had succeeded, and the successors of those who had planned the expedition did not choose to support it by reinforcements from Sicily or Malta. This disposition, we may presume, was known to the commanding officers at Alexandria, who being now threatened with expulsion by the disaffection of the in hahitants, and with fresh attacks of the enemy, who were pouring down troops from Cairo, abandoned the idea of defending the place, and consented to evacuate Egypt, on condition of the Turks restoring the prison ers who had been taken at Rosetta. Having obtained those terms, the British troops returned to Sicily.
The event of Sir Home Popham's unauthorized ex pedition to Buenos Ayres, had left the remnant of the British forces in that quarter, at the end of 1806, in possession of only the single post of Maldonado. Un like the administration which succeeded them, in their conduct respecting Alexandria, the ministry of Lord Grenville, though they disapproved of the expedition, did not choose that the national glory should be sullied, by being driven front a conquest which had once been made.
When intelligence of the recapture of Buenos Ayres reached ministers, they dispatched counter-orders to General Crawford, who had been sent on an expedi tion to Chili, to desist from that enterprize, and to re pair to the Rio de is Plata. The whole British force in the Plata now amounted to 9500 men." Unhappily ministers superaddcd to their orders, that General Whitelocke should sail to take the chief command. At the head of nearly 8000 of these troops, some of the finest brigades in the British service, that commander proceeded to attack the city of Buenos Ayres.
Though provided with artillery he sent on the troop; with unloaded arms, and iron crows, to force their way into the town, and burst open the houses. The result of a plan (if it deserved such a name) so desperately rash, was to give an undisciplined enemy, fighting front behind walls and houses, the greatest advantage that could be given them over regular troops. Some of our troops, indeed, forced their way into the town, by suc cessful gallantry, but a great proportion were overpow ered by irresistible numbers. Terrified by the loss of three thousand men, who were sacrificed in the rash attempt, the general negotiated with the enemy for the restoration of the prisoners ; and having agreed to with draw his army from the river Plata, returned to Eng land to await the just indignation of his countrymen. He was condemned, by a lenient sentence, to be dis missed from his majesty's service.
On the 1st of January 1807, the island of Curacoa surrendered to a small squadron of frigates, under the command of Captain Brisbane ; and the inhabitants of its chief town, Amsterdam, to the number of 30,000, swore allegiance to the British government.
The termination of Lord Grenville's short adminis tration has been already alluded to. It was announced before the first adjournment of the new parliament, on the elections to which they had built their firmest hopes. Public opinion will, possibly, be long divided on the merits of the financial scheme, announced by Lord Hen ry Petty, during the last session of his chancellorship of the exchequer—a scheme, by which that minister promised, that upon the data which he laid down, it would not be necessary to increase the public burthens beyond a trifling amount, during the ensuing period of 20 years. It was, however, necessary from this flatter ing conclusion to suppose, that the national expenditure should not exceed, during that period, the sum of 38 millions yearly ; a supposition so improbable, as to dis pel the fairest hopes attached to his system.f There are proofs of the merit of this short adminis tration which appeal to moral feeling, and are infinitely less obscure than those depending on financial calcula tion. They lent a cordial, and happily a triumphant assistance, to the abolition of the slave trade ; they ob tained a vote of the House of Commons against the granting of places or payments in reversion ; thus taking from the crown the power of dilapidating its own re sources, and from the people one source of the corrup tion of their leaders. They delivered from slavery (that is, from service for life,) the soldier, hitherto the only slave in a free country ; and when they retired from office, magnis ceciderunt ausie. They were dismissed, because they would not promise to cease being the ad vocates for the religious toleration of millions of their fellow subjects. The intention of moving a bill for per mitting Catholics and other dissenters to be eligible to any situation in the army and navy, had been announced by Lord Howick in the Commons, and had been submit ted to his majesty by his ministers, and had met with his approbation. Some doubts, however, as to the extent of the measure, were entertained by some members of the cabinet, who at last objected to the bill in the strongest terms. His majesty was soon after apprised, that the concession to the Catholics was of greater extent than he had conceived it to be, and he conveyed to Lord Gren ville his disapprobation of the bill. Ministers then en deavoured to modify the bill, so as to reconcile it to his majesty's wishes, without destroying its vital essence. Failing in this attempt, they determined to drop it alto gether ; but at the same time, to insert in the proceed ings of the cabinet, a minute, reserving to Lord Grenville and Lord Howick, first, the liberty of delivering their opinions in favour of the Catholic question ; secondly, that of submitting this question, or any subject connect ed with it, from time to time, according to circumstances to his majesty's decision. Far from these terms being granted, ministers were called upon, not only to with draw the latter reservation, but to substitute in its place a written obligation, pledging themselves never again to bring forward any thing connected with the Catholic question. These terms having hecn declined, his majesty informed them, that he must look out for other minis ters. A new administration was immediately formed. The Duke of Portland was appointed first lord of the treasury ; Mr Percival, chancellor of the exchequer ; Lord Eldon, lord chancellor ; Lord Liverpool, secretary for the home department ; Lord Castlereagh for the war department ; Mr Canning, minister for foreign af fairs ; Lord Mulgrave, first lord of the admiralty.