Monf. D'Abbadie,

BY

Y a special act, done at Fontainbleau, Nov. 3, 1762, of my own will and mere motion, having ceded to my very dear and beft beloved coufin the king of Spain, and to his fucceffors, in full property, purely and fimply, and without any exceptions, the whole country known by the name of Louisiana, together with New Orleans, and the islands in which the faid city is fituated; and by another act done at the Efcurial Nov, 13, in the fame year, his Catholic Majefty having accepted the ceffion of the faid country of Louifiana, and the city and ifland of New Orleans, agreeable to the copies of the said acts, which you will find hereunto annexed; I write you this letter to inform you, that my intention is, that on receipt of thefe prefents, whether they come to your hands by the officers of his Catholic majetty, or directly by fuch French veffels as may be charged with the fame, you are to deliver up to the governor, or officer appointed for that purpote by the king of Spain, the faid country and colony of Louifiana, and the potts thereon depend

ing, likewife the city and ifland of New Orleans, in fuch flate and condition as they fhall be found to be in on the day of the faid ceffion, willing that in all time to come they shall belong to his Catholic majefty, to be governed and administered by his governors and officers, and as poffeffed by him in full, property without any exceptions..

At the fame time, I hope for the profperity and peace of the inhabitants of the colony of Louifiana, and promife myself, from the friendship and affection of his Catholic majefty, that he will be pleased to give orders to his governor and all other officers employed in his fervice in the faid colony, and in the city of New Orleans, that the ecclefiaftics and religious houfes which have the care of the parishes and of the millions, may continue to exercife their functions, and enjoy the rights, privileges and immunities, granted by their feveral charters of eftablishment, that the ordi nary judges do continue, together with the fuperior council, to adminifter juftice according to the laws, forms, and ufage of the colonies; that the inhabitants be preferved and maintained in their poffeflions; that they be confirmed in the poffeflion of their eftates, according to the grants which have been made by the governors and directors of the colony, and that all the grants be holden and taken as confirmed by his Catholic majefty, even though not as yet confirmed by me.

Hoping, above all, that his Catholic majefty will be pleated to beflow on his new colony of Louihana the fame marks of protection

and

and good will, which they enjoyed while under my dominion, and of which the misfortunes of war alone have prevented their experiencing greater effects, I command you to caufe my prefent letter to be recorded in the fuperior council of New Orleans, to the end that the feveral eftates of the colony may be informed of its contents, and may have recourfe thereto when neceffary. And the prefent being for no other purpofes, I pray God, monf. d'Abbadie, to have you in his holy keeping..

Given at Versailles, April 21, 1764.

Signed LOUIS.

with that monarch, falls upon her alone; her imperial and royal majefty has refolved; for the welfare of her faithful fubjects, to ease herself from a part of the heavy burthen, by nominating equally to the fame co-regency, her auguft and moft dear eldest fon, the prefent emperor of the Romans, and her future heir and fucceffor, as well in virtue of his natural right, as in confequence of the pragmatic fanction. The love of this auguft prince for his auguft mother and the people, as well as the eminent qualities he inherits from his auguft father of moft glorious memory, juftify and confirm the confidence with which her majefty the emprefs queen has nominated him co-regent, without deviating however in any thing from the indivifible fovereignty the intends to preferve over all her states, and without being of the leaft prejudice to it, conformable to the faid pragmatic fanction. And his majefty, the emperor, being thus entrusted with the co-regency, has notified it to all the departments of the court, and the other departments and tribunals, fuperior and inferior, of the different states of his imperial and royal Apoftolic majetty.

СНА

Memoirs of his late royal highness William Auguftus duke of Cum. berland.

THE

HE actions of the great are viewed through fo falfe a medium, that they feldom receive their juft proportion either of applaufe or cenfure, till a long fucceffion of events has removed the influence of prejudice. A bufy train of fawning flatterers, or envious rivals, like the different ex., tremes of a telescope, always exhibit them either dwarfs or giants; and, when events happen in which the interefts of nations are involved, the public are too eager about the confequences, im. partially to examine the fprings, in forming their fentiments of the perfons concerned in effecting them; but, juft as the complexion of the time directs, the wild-fire of ap plaufe or reproach is let off at the authors, in an undiftinguishing blaze. In what light pofterity will view the actions of the late duke of Cumberland, requires no depth of penetration to afcertain; his fervices are too strongly felt by Englishmen, for the remembrance of them to die away from their minds, and be buried with his afhes. His royal highnefs William Auguftus, third fon of our late moft gracious fovereign king George II. was born the 15th of April 1721, VOL. VIII.

and chriftened on the 2d of May following at Leicester-house, the king and queen of Pruffia, with the duke of York, brother of king George I. being fponfors by their reprefentatives.

On the firft inftitution of the most honourable order of knights of the bath, by king George I. his royal highness was, on the 17th June 1725, inftalled the firft knight companion of the bath; and the year after was, by letters patent, bearing date the 27th of July 1726, 12 George I. created baron of the ile of Alderney, viscount of Trematon, in the county of Cornwall, earl of Kennington, in the county of Surrey, marquis of Berkhamstead, in the county of Hertford, and duke of the county of Cumberland. On the 1st of May 1730, his royal highness was elect ed a knight of the most noble or der of the garter, and inftalled at Windfot, on the 18th of June following, with great folemnity.

His royal highnels received, under the direction of his royal mother, than whom no princess could be better qualified for fo important a task, an education fuitable to his high birth; and very early in life thewed that eager difpofition of rendering himfelf ferviceable to his country, which he afterwards fignally mani➡ fested on so many important occa B

fion.

fions. He clofely applied himfelf to the military service, and affiduoufly attended the feveral reviews of the forces with his majefty, under whom, confidering the experience of the mafter, the eager. nefs of the scholar, and the talents of both, it is no way furprising, that his royal highness made the most rapid progrefs. On the 24th of June 1739, his majefty gave the royal affent to an act to enable him to fettle an annuity of 15,000l. on his royal highnefs, and the heirs of his body; and, on the 25th of April 1740, appointed his royal highnefs colonel of the fecond regiment of foot-guards, in the room of Richard earl of Scar. borough, deceased.

The expediency of fuch an appointment was foon perceived, by the vast improventents, in point of difcipline, made by his royal highnefs. And the ftrict obfervation of duty and exercise required by him from that hitherto too much neglected corps, was foon follow. ed by a most remarkable reformation of morals; fo that his royal highnefs, in his progreffion to the command of the first regiment of foot-guards, rendered the whole of that body an ornament and a fafe-guard, inftead of being, what they had too often been before, a nuisance and a terror to the places of royal refidence.

On the ceremony of the efpoufals between the princefs Mary and the prefent landgrave of HeffeCaffel, on the 8th of May following, his royal highnefs act. ed as proxy for his moft ferene highness. Soon after, the Spaniards having broken the peace between the two kingdoms, and a Aeet under fir John Norris being

ordered to cruise on their coafts, his royal highnefs laid hold of that opportunity to fignalize himfelf, by going volunteer on board it; but contrary winds having retarded the expedition, his royal highness, after twice putting out to sea, returned to St. James's.

On the 20th of February 174142, his royal highnels was ap pointed colonel of the firft regiment of foot-guards, then vacant by the decease of fir Charles Wallis; and, on the 17th of May following, was, by his majesty's command, introduced into the privy council, by the earl of Harrington, lord prefident, where he took his place at the upper end of the board, on his majesty's left hand.

On the 26th of Febr. 1742-3, his royal highness was confti. tuted major general of his majefty's forces. The king being upon a vifit the fame year to his German dominions, and having had advice there that the French army, commanded by marshal de Noailles, was in motion to attack the forces under the earl of Stair, his majefty fet out from Hanover, on the 16th June, with his royal highness, to join his army. Cer tain intelligence being foon after received, that the marfhal interd ed to prevent the junction of the Hanoverian and Heffian troops with the main body of our army, the king fent orders to these corps to halt at Hanau, and determined to march the main body to them. This brought on the battle of Dettingen on the 27th, in which his royal highnefs, commanding with great bravery as majorgenera!, at the head of the firft line of foot, received a mufket.

ball,

ball, which went through his leg between the calf and the bone. Our infantry gained ground from the beginning, till they remained mafters of the field; and our cavalry, after fuffering the moft severe cannonade for eight or nine hours, attacked the houfhold troops, and defeated them; on which the enemy's whole army retreated with greit precipitation, having loft above 8000 men. The bravery of our troops in this action, encouraged by his majefty and bis royal highness, cannot be fufficiently commended.

The French continuing to retreat, no confiderable action hap. pened after this battle. On the king's return, addreffes from feveral parts of the kingdom were prefented to his majetty, congratulating him on his fafe arrival, and on the recovery of his royal highness. On the 16th of July, 1743, O. S. his majefty conftituted his royal highnefs lieutenant-general, and, in 1745, captain-general and commander of his forces, in the room of marshal Wade; when, by his prefence and example, he infufed into them that fpirit and intrepidity, which appeared fo confpicuous in the battle of Fon. tenoy, on the 11th of May of the fame year. In the beginning of this action, our troops pushed the French fo much, that the alarm was fpread in their camp of their being defeated; an event, which nothing but their advantageous fituation within trenches ftrongly fortified with cannon could have poffibly prevented. During the remainder of the campaign, his royal highnefs made no motion of confequence, but took all proper

meafures for the fecurity of the towns of Bruffels, Antwerp, and others in Flanders.

There being grounds to fufpect, about the middle of the fummer 1745, that a rebellion was about to break out in the North, his majefty, who at that time happened to be in his German dominions, from his paternal care of his people, loft no time in returning to England. Soon after, the young pretender landed in Scotland, and, on the 4th of September, was proclaimed at Perth; the provoft and other magiftrates having firft left the place. On the 11th, he left Perth, and marched to Dumblain; and, on the 17th, proclaim. ed his father at Edinburgh. This rebellion will, no doubt, be confidered by pofterity, as one of the most remarkable events in history; notwithstanding which, as we mean to fpeak only of his royal highness, we shall say nothing of it, till the time he took on him the command of the army for the fuppreffion of it. To his care and conduct we owe the prefervation of our lives and liberties. It was he that re-animated the drooping courage of our fo! diers. It was he that taught them to conquer the very enemy that had fo furprisingly baffled them in the actions of Preflonpans and Falkirk.

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