the fame time the largest of the two frigates kept failing round us the whole action, and raking us fore and aft, by which means the killed or wounded almost every man on the quarter and main decks.

About half paft nine, either from a hand grenade being thrown in at one of our lower deck ports, or from fome other accident, a cartridge of powder was fet on fire, the flames of which running from cartridge to cartridge all the way aft, blew up the whole of the people and officers that were quartered abaft the main-maft; from which unfortunate circumftance all thofe guns were rendered useless for the remainder of the action, and I fear the greatest part of the people will lofe their lives. At ten o'clock they called for quarters from the ship alongfide, and faid they had ftruck; hearing this, I called upon the captain to know if they had ftruck, or if he asked for quarters; but no answer being made, after repeating my words two or three times, I called for the boarders, and ordered them to board, which they did; but the moment they were on board her, they difcovered a fuperior number laying under cover with pikes in their hands ready to receive them; on which our people retreated inftantly into our own fhip, and returned to their guns again till paft ten, when the frigate coming across our ftern, and pouring her broadfide into us again, without our being able to bring a gun to bear on her, I found it in vain, and in fhort inpracticable, from the fituation we were in, to ftand out any longer with the leaft profpect of fuccefs; I therefore ftruck (our main maft

at the fame time went by the board.) The first lieutenant and myself were immediately escorted into the fhip alongside, when we found her to be an American fhip of war, called the Bon Homme Richard, of 40 guns and 375 men, commanded by Captain Paul Jones; the other frigate which engaged us, to be the Alliance, of 40. guns, and 300 men ; and the third frigate which engaged and took the Countefs of Scarborough, after two hours action, to be the Pallas, a French frigate of 32 guns, and 275 men; the Vengeance, an armed brig of 12 guns, and 70 men; all in Congress fervice, and under the command of Paul Jones. They fitted out and failed from Port l'Orient the latter end of July, and came north about; they have on board 300 English prifoners, which they have taken in different veffels in their way round, fince they left France, and have ranfomed fome others. On my going on board the Bon Homme Richard, I found her in the greateft diftrefs; her quarters and counter on the lower deck entirely drove in, and the whole of her lower deck-guns difmounted; the was alfo on fire in two places, and fix or feven feet water in her hold, which kept increafing upon them all night and the next day, till they were obliged to quit her, and she funk, with a great number of her wounded people on board her. She had 306 men killed and wounded in the action; our lofs in the Serapis was also very great. My officers and people in general behaved well, and I. fhould be very remifs in my attention to their merit, were I to omit recommend ing the remains of them to their

lordships

to come to a close engagement till she was alongside the French frigate. I immediately hoifted my colours, and stood in between the French frigate and the cutter, with an intent to cut her off from her confort, and bring her to a clofe engagement, which I effected; and began to engage her at eleven o'clock clofe alongfide; (I then found her force to be fixteen fixpounders, and full of men ;) we continued to engage her in the fame pofition till within a few minutes of two o'clock, when the fet all the fail the could croud, and bore from us, we not having had the luck to carry away any thing material; and the Rambler, having her gaff fhot away, her topmaft fhot through, the top-fail hallyards, and most of her ftanding and running rigging gone, and the mainfail rendered unferviceable, was incapable of following her with any hopes of coming up with her; at the fame time feeing both the frigates difmafted, and the Quebec take fire, I endeavoured to get as near the Quebec as poffible, in hopes of faving fome of her men; but there being but little wind, and a large fwell, found I could aflift her no other way but by hoifting out our boat,

which I effected, and fent the mafter and five men armed in her, who picked up one mafter's mate, two young midshipmen, and four teen more of the Quebec's people, the enemy's frigate at the fame time firing at the boat*. As the Rambler was a confiderable diftance to leeward of the Quebec, I thought it would be in vain to fend a fecond time.

I want words fufficient to defcribe the noble, gallant manner of Captain Farmer's engaging the enemy for upwards of three hours and an half that he lay alongside the frigate, which carried twentyeight eighteen-pounders on her main deck, and twelve guns on her quarter deck and forecastle. The Quebec continued burning very fiercely, with her colours flying, till fix o'clock, when the blew up. I am much afraid, from the report of Mr. William Moore, one of the mafter's mates of the Quebec, that Captain Farmer, and his officers that were alive when he left the Quebec, fhared the fate of the fhip.

I beg leave, at the fame time, to recommend to you, Sir, the officers and crew of the Rambler, who did every thing that might be expected from Englishmen. I am

happy

happy to fay our lofs confifts of only one man who has loft his leg, the pilot fhot through the arm with a musket ball, and several flightly wounded, as the enemy aimed at our mafts and rigging, in which they fucceeded too well. From the cutter's not returning the fire for two or three broadfides before the bore away, and feeing but few men on her decks, I conclude the fuffered confiderably.

I have the honour to be,

Sir,
Your moft obedient,
humble fervant,
JAMES GEORGE.

Account of the Trial of Mr. Stratton, and the other Members of the Council of Madrass, who depofed and imprisoned their Governor, the late Lord Pigot, and were profecuted for the faid Offence, in the Court of King's Bench, by the Attorney General, in confequence of an Address of the Houfe of Commons to his Majefty for that Purpose.

THE

HE trial began before the Right Honourable the Earl of Mansfield, in the Court of King's Bench, Westminster Hall, on Monday, December 20th, early in the morning, and lafted till two the next morning.

The Attorney General ftated the facts on which the profecution was founded in a most pathetic and eloquent fpetch. The principal points he infifted upon in fupport of the profecution were Firft, That Lord Pigot was fent from England by the Eaft India Company with exprefs inftructions to restore the Raja of Tanjore.

Secondly, That the whole Council, on his arrival at Madrafs, and for fome time after, (in the year 1775) were unanimous in their refolutions to carry these instructions into execution; but that afterwards a diffention arose, owing to fome of the members of the council efpoufing the intereft of the Nabob of Arcot and his fon, who ftrenuously oppofed the restoration of the Raja. Thirdly, That Lord Pigot was under a neceffity to fufpend Mr. Stratton and Mr. Brooke, (two of the defendants) in virtue of his authority as Prefident, that he might not be obftructed by them in the execution of the Company's command. Fourthly, That the claim of Mr. Benfield on the part of the Nabob of

Arcot, to a crop on the lands of Tanjore, fown by the Nabob, and mortgaged to Benfield, was a fraudulent claim, calculated to foment divifions in the council, and to oppofe Lord Pigot in his government. This he endeavoured to prove from the improbability that Benfield, a private perfon, of little or no property, fhould have been able to advance fo large a fum as the claim amounted to, even allowing him very confiderable profits: for his demand was 250,000!. Fifthly, He proved that the defendants figned an order for taking his Lordship into cuftody, and ordered Colonel Stuart, who arrefted him, to inform his Lordship, that his life fhould answer any refiftance to

their orders; from which he drew an inference, that affaffination was intended in cafe of refiftance. Finally, He enquir. ed by what authority this violent revolution had been accomplished. He admitted that the majority of

the

the council affenting to, or put ting a negative upon, a queftion, exercised legal power; but it did not follow, if the Governor acted wrong in not putting a queftion, which in the fenfe of the majority he ought to have put, that they had a legal power to imprifon him; gentler meafures might have been adopted; he was amenable to the laws of his country, but not to any affumed authority of his council. Upon the whole, however, he juftified the conduct of Lord Pigot, though arbitrary, upon this ground, that it was his duty to execute the commiffion he had received from the Company, by reftoring the Raja of Tanjore at all events.

The poftillion who drove Lord Pigot's chaife when he was arrefted, and Colonel Monckton, his Lordship's fon-in-law, were produced as evidence of the arreft and confinement; but as the crown lawyers on the one hand admitted the facts alledged by the defendants concerning Lord Pigot's proceedings in council; and the defendants on the other avowed the arreft and confinement of his Lordship, no verbal evidence was neceflary. But a great load of written evidence was effential to fupport the profecution, because it turned upon the pofitive inftructions given by the Company to Lord Pigot. The reading of thefe papers containing the correfpondence between the Company and Lord Pigot, with other documents, was exceffively tedious, and took up feveral hours.

Mr. Dunning began the defence of his clients about eight in the evening; and in the most masterly pleading that was ever exhibited

in a weak caufe, difplayed abili ties and attachment to the intereft of his clients that would have done honour to the best. After noticing the paffion and prejudice which had influenced the minds of men in general with respect to the death of Lord Pigot, he cleared the defendants to the fatisfaction of every one prefent from the imputation of aiming at his life, and from all felfish motives. He then gave a detail of the arbitrary proceedings of Lord Pigot in the council, and in other acts of his governments; fuch as his fufpenfion of Sir Robert Fletcher, the commander in chief of the troops, &c. From thefe inftances of extravagant behaviour, he adduced the political neceffity of removing him from the government, all public bufinefs being at a stand.

He alfo endeavoured to fhew. that he had exercifed powers not vested in him by the Company; and he finally refted the defence of his clients on the approbation which the fupreme council of Bengal had expreffed in writing of their proceedings. Mr. Dunning did not fit down till near twelve o'clock.

The Attorney General made only two obfervations on the defence, viz. that the Company's appointment of Lord Pigot for the fpecial purpofe of restoring the Raja had not been attempted to be denied, therefore he flood juftified in refifting every delay, every oppofition of that measure; and that the defendants, though Mr. Benfield was in court, had not thought proper to call upon him, fo well convinced were they that the fole caufe of all the disturbances was that gentleman's pre

tended