1768. 'w e r e both anfwered, but by no means to our fatisfadfidni
LNoTember^ therefore replied : in confequence of which, feveral other
papers were interchanged between its and the Viceroy, but
ftill without effedt. However, as I thought feme degree of
force, on the part of the Viceroy, to enforce thefe reftric-
tions, necefiary to juftify my acquiefcence in them. to the
Admiralty j I gave orders to my Lieutenant, Mr.IIicks, wheif
Sunda-y 20. I fent him with our laft reply on Sunday the 20th, in the-
evening, not to fuller a guard to be put into his boat..
When the officer on board the guard-boat f6und that Mr.
Hicks was determined to obey my orders, he did no't proceed
_to force, but attended him to the landing-phice, atid.
reported the matter to- the Viceroy. Upon this his Excellency
refufed to receive the memorial, and ordered Mr.
Hicks to return to the ffiip; when he canrie back to the boat,,
he found that a guard had been put onboard in his abfence,
but he abfolutely refufed to return till the foldier was removed:
the officer then proceeded to enforce the Viceroy’s
orders 7 he feized all the boat’s crew, and fent them under-
an armed force to prifon, putting Mr. Hicks at the fame-
time into one of their own boats, and fending him under
a guard back to the ffiip. As foon as he had reported thefe
particulars, I wrote again to the Viceroy, demanding my
boat and crew, and in my letter inclofed the memorial Which
he had refufed to receive from Mr. Hicks: thefe papers L
fent by a petty officer, that I might wave the difpute about
a guard, againft which I had never objected except when
there was a commiffioned officer on board the boat.. The
petty officer was permitted to go on ffiore with his guard,,
and, having delivered his letter, was told that an anfwCr
would be fent the next day.
About eight o’clock this evening it began to blow very
hard in fudden gulls from the South, and our1 long-boat
coming
coming on board juft at this time with four pipes of rum* No'^ ; r
the rope which was thrown to her from the ffiip, and which «— v— ,
was taken hold of by the people on board, unfortunately
Broke, and the boat, which had come to the ffiip before the
wind, went adrift to windward of her, with a- fmall fkifF
of Mr. Banks’s that was fattened to her Hern. This was a
great misfortune, as the pinnace being detained on ffiore,,
we had no boat on board but a four oar’d yawl: the y aw l, .
however, was immediately manned and fent to her affift-
ance j but, notwithftanding the u tmoft effort o f the people in
both boats, they were very foon out of fight: far indeed we
could not fee at that time in the evening, but the diftance
was enough to-convince us. that they were not under command,
which gave us great uneafinefe, as we knew they
muft drive diredtly upon a reef of rocks which ran out juft:
to leeward of where we la y : after waiting fome hours in the
utmoft anxiety, we gave them over for loft, but about three
o’clock the next morning had the fatisfadtion to fee all-the M<mAiy zu
people come on board in the yawl; Erom them we learnt,,
that the long-boat having filled with water,, they had brought
her to a grapling and left her; and that, having fallen in
with the reef of. rocks in their return to the ffiip, they had.
Been obliged1 to cut Mr. Banks’s little boat adrift. As the loffi
©four long-boat, which we had now too much reafon to apprehend,
would have been an unfpeakabledifadvan tage to us,,
confidering the nature of our expedition; I fent another letter
to the Viceroy, as foon as I thought he could be feen,,
acquainting him with our misfortune, and requefting the
affiftance of a boat from the ffiore for the recovery of our
own ; I alfo renewed my demand that the pinnace and her
erew fhould be no longer detained: after fome delay, his
Excellency thought fit to comply both with my requeft and'
demand; and the fame day we happily recovered both thelong