On the 29th, it was known that the French squadron was sailed,
and that our fleet was ordered to follow and attack them, if they
went to the Bay of St. Lawrence, even though they designed for
Louisbourg. It was a hardy step, and not expected by France: our
tameness and connivance at their encroachments had drawn them into
a false security; they could not believe us disposed to war, nor
had calculated that it would arrive so soon: their debts were not
paid, their fleets not re-established, their Ministry was divided,
and the spirit of their Parliaments not abashed. These were
advantages in our scale; but our incumbrances were not inferior
nor dissimilar to theirs. Our debts were weighty, not to be wiped
out by a _De-par-le-Roy_; our troops, our sailors were disbanded;
our Ministry was weak and factious, if not divided; and, headed by
the Duke of Newcastle’s jealousy, how long could it preserve any
stability?--Our Parliament, indeed, was not mutinous; it was ready
to receive any impression.