They are from three to eight leagues in circumference, but do not afford a fingle fpring of water, one fmall one excepted; the air is wholefome; the ground, covered only with thin bushes, has not been fcreened from the fun; it exhales none of thofe noxious vapours which are fatal to the hufbandman. Cariacou, the only one of the Grenadines which the French occupied, was at first frequented by turtle fishermen; who, in the leifure afforded them by so easy an occupation, employed themselves in clearing the ground. In procefs of time, their small number was increased by the acceffion of some of the inhabitants of Guadaloupe, who finding that their plantations were destroyed by a particular fort of ants, removed to Cariacou. The ifland flourished from the liberty that was enjoyed there. The inhabitants collected about one thousand two hundred flaves, by whofe labours they made themselves a revenue of near twenty thousand pounds a year in cotton. The other Grenadines do not afford a prof pect of the fame advantages, though plantations are begun there. Sugar has fucceeded remarkably well at Becouya, the largest and moft fertile of these islands, which is no more than two leagues diftant from St. Vincent."

In the year 1779, the conquest of this ifland was accom. plished by D'Estaing, the French admiral, who had been prevented from attempting it before by his enterprise against St. Vincent. Immediately after the conquest of St. Lucia, however, being reinforced by a fquadron under M. de la Motte, he fet fail for Grenada with a fleet of twenty-fix fail of the line and twelve frigates, having on board ten thousand land forces. Here he arrived on the fecond of July, and landed three thoufand troops, chiefly Irish, being part of the brigade compofed of natives of Ireland in the fervice of France. Thefe were conducted by Count Dillon, who difpofed them in such a manner as to furround the hill that overlooks and commands George's-town, together with the fort and harbour. To oppofe thefe, Lord M'Cartney, the governor, had only about one hundred and fifty regulars, and three hundred or four hundred armed inhabitants; but though all resistance was evidently vain, he determined nevertheless to make an honourable and gallant defence. The preparations he made were fuch as induced D'Eftaign himself to be prefent at the attack; and even with this vaft fuperiority of force, the first attack on the entrenchments proved unfuccefsful. The fecond continued two hours, when the garrifon was obliged to yield to the immenfe difparity of numbers who affaulted them, after having killed or wounded three hundred of their antagonists, Having thus LI 2

made

made themselves masters of the entrenchments on the hill, the French turned the cannon of them towards the fort which lay under it, on which the governor demanded a capitulation. The terms, however, were fo extraordinary and unprecedented, that both the governor and inhabitants agreed in rejecting them, and determined rather to furrender without any conditions at all than upon those which appeared fo extravagant. This they did, and it must be acknowledged, that the protection which was afforded to the helpless inhabitants of the town and their property, was fuch as reflected the highest honour and luftre on the difcipline and humanity of the conqueror's protections and fafeguards were granted on every application; and thus a town was faved from plunder which, by the strict rules of war, might have been given up to an exafperated foldiery.

In the mean time Admiral Byron, who had been convoying the homeward bound Weft-India fleet, haftened to St. Vincent, in hopes of recovering it; but being informed by the way, that a descent had been made at Grenada, he changed his courte, hoping that Lord M'Cartney would be able to hold out till his arrival. On the fixth of July he came in fight of the French fleet, and without regarding D'Eftaing's fuperiority of fix fhips of the line and as many frigates, determined, if pofiible, to force him to a clofe engagement. The French commander, however, was not fo confident of his own prowess as to run the risk of an encounter of this kind, and having already achieved his conquest, had no other view than to preferve it. His defigns were facilitated by the good condition of his fleet, which being more lately come out of port than that of the British, failed fafter, fo that he was thus enabled to keep at what distance he pleased. The engagement began at eight in the morning, when Admiral Barrington with his own and two other fhips got up to the van of the enemy, which they attacked with the greateft fpirit. As the other fhips of his divifion, however, were not able to get up to his affiftance, these three fhips were neceffarily obliged to encounter a vast fuperiority, and of confequence fuffered exceedingly. The battle was carried on from beginning to end in the fame unequal manner; nor were the British commanders, though they ufed their utmoft efforts for this purpofe, able to bring the French to a clofe engage. ment. Thes Cap ins Collingwood, Edwards, and Cornwallis, stood the fire of the whole French fleet for fome time. Captain Fanfhaw of the Monmouth, a fixty-four gun firip, threw himself fingly in the way of the enemy's van; and Admiral Rowley and Captain Buchart fought

·

fought at the fame difadvantage: fo that finding it impoffible to continue the engagement with any probability of fuccefs, a general ceffation of firing took place about noon. It re-commenced in the fame manner about two in the afternoon, and lafted with different interruptions till the evening. During this action fome of the British ships had forced their way into St. George's harbour, not imagining that the enemy were already in poffeffion of the island. They were foon undeceived, however, by perceiving the French colours flying afhore, and the guns and batteries firing at them. This difcovery put an end to the defign which had brought on the engagement; and as it was now high time to think of providing for the fafety of the British transports, which were in danger from the number of the enemy's frigates, the engagement was finally difcontinued. During this ac tion fome of Admiral Byron's fhips had fuffered extremely; the Lion of fixty-four guns, Captain Cornwallis, was found incapable of rejoining the fleet, which were plying to windward, and was therefore obliged to bear away alone before the wind. Two other fhips lay far aftern in a very diftreffed fituation, but no attempt was made to capture them, nor did the French admiral show the least inclination to renew the engagement.

Grenada was again restored to Great-Britain at the peace of Paris; it contains about eighty thousand acres of land, of which although no less than feventy-two thousand one hundred and forty-one acres paid taxes in 1776, and may therefore be fuppofed fit for cultivation, yet the quantity actually cultivated has never exceeded fifty thousand acres. The face of the country is mountainous, but not inacceffible in any part, and abounds with fprings and rivulets. To the north

and the eaft, the foil is a brick mould, the fame, or nearly the fame, as that of which mention has been made in the history of Jamaica; on the weft fide, it is a rich black mould on a fubftratum of yellow clay; to the south, the land in general is poor, and of a reddish hue, and the fame extends over a confiderable part of the interior country. On the whole, however, Grenada appears to be fertile in a high degree, and by the variety, as well as the excellence of its returns, feems adapted to every tropical production. The exports of the year 1776, from Grenada and its dependencies, were fourteen milLions twelve thousand one hundred and fifty-seven pounds of muscavado, and nine millions two hundred and feventy-three thousand fix hundred and feven pounds of clayed fugar, eight hundred and eighteen thousand feven hundred gallons of rum, one million eight hun

dred

dred and twenty-feven thoufand one hundred and fixty-fix pounds of coffee, four hundred and fifty-feven thoufand feven hundred and, nineteen pounds of cacoa, ninety-one thoufand nine hundred and forty-three pounds of cotton, twenty-feven thousand fix hundred and thirty-eight pounds of indigo, and fome finaller articles; the whole of which, on a moderate computation, could not be worth lefs, at the ports of fhipping, than fix hundred thousand pounds sterling, excluding freight, duties, infurance, and other charges. It' deferves to be remembered too, that the fugar was the produce of one hundred and fix plantations only, and that they were worked by eighteen thoufand two hundred and ninety-three negroes, which was therefore rather more than one hogfhead of tixteen hundred weight from the labour of each negro, old and young, employed in the cultivation of that commodity; a prodigious return, equalled, we believe, by no Britifli ifland in the Weft-Indies, St. Chriftoper's excepted. The exports of 1787 will be given hereafter; they will be found, except in one or two articles, to fall greatly fhort of thofe of 1776.

This ifland is divided into fix parifhes; St. George, St. David, St. Andrew, St. Patrick, St. Mark, and St. John; and its chief depen dency, Cariacou, forms a feventh parish. It is only fince the restora tion of Grenada to Great-Britain by the peace of 1783, that an island

law has been obtained for the establishment of a Proteftant clergy. This act paffed in 1784, and provides ftipends of three hundred and thirty pounds currency, and fixty pounds for houfe rent per annum, for five clergymen, viz. one for the town and parish of St. George three for the other five out parishes of Grenada, and one for Cariacou. Befides thefe ftipends, there are valuable glebe lands, which had been appropriated to the fupport of the Roman Catholic clergy, whilft that was the established religion of Grenada. Thefe lands, according to an opinion of the attorney and folicitor-general of England, to whom a queftion on this point was referred by the crown, became vested in his Majefty as public lands, on the restoration of the island to the British government,* and we believe have fince been

If the decifion of the attorney-general and felicitor-general was founded on juf tice, and the government of Great-Britain had a right to feize thefe lands and apply them to a different purpose than that which they wae originally intended, and bestowed for, the fame principle muft justify the French government in feizing the church lands as public property, and applying them to the benefit of their country; hence it appears that what has been termed the most daring facrilege and ufurpation when done in France, is fanétioned in Great-Britain by legal authority as an act of justice,

applied

applied by the colonial legiflature, with the confent of the crown, to the farther fupport of the Proteftant church, with fome allowance for the benefit of the tolerated Romish clergy of the remaining French inhabitants.

The capital of Grenada, by an order of governor Melville, foon after the ceffion of the country to Great-Britain by the peace of Paris, was called St. George. By this ordinance, the English names were given to the feveral towns and parishes, and their French names forbidden to be thereafter used in any public acts. The French name of the capital was Fort Royale; it is fituated in a fpacious bay, on the weft or lee fide of the ifland, not far from the fouth end, and poffeffes one of the fafeft and most commodious harbours for fhipping in the English Weft-Indies, which has lately been fortified at a very great expense.

The other towns in Grenada are, properly speaking, inconfiderable villages or hamlets, which are generally fituated at the bays or fhipping places in the feveral out parishes. The parish town of Cariacou is called Hillsborough.

Grenada has two ports of entry, with separate establishments, and "diftinct revenue officers, independent of each other, viz. one at St. George, the capital, and one at Grenville bay, a town and harbour on the caft or windward fide of the ifland. The former, by the 27th "Geo. HI. c. 27, is made a free port.

It appears that the white population of Grenada and the Grena. dines has decreafed confiderably fince these islands first came into the poffeffion of the English. The number of white inhabitants, in the year 1771, were known to be somewhat more than fixteen hundred ; in 1777, they had decreased to thirteen hundred; and at this time they are fuppofed not to exceed one thousand, of which about two thirds are men able to bear arms, and incorporated into five regiments of militia, including a company of free blacks or mulattoes attached to each. There are likewife about five hundred regular troops from Great-Britain, which are fupported on the British establifhment. Befides the regular troops which are sent from Great-Britain for the protection of Grenada, there are in its garrifon three companies of king's negroes, which came from America, where they ferved in three capacities, as pioneers, artificers, and light dragoons. In Grenada they form a company of each, and are commanded by a lieutenant of the regulars, having captain's rank.

The