Two coachmen drove their four horse carriage around the corner to enter St. James Street, Westminster. It was 10.00 pm. An autumn evening in late October, 1786. A warm mist filled the London streets. The coach, with its gold crest of the House of Townshend on the carriage door, pulled to an abrupt halt outside the exclusive Brooks Club. The coachmen kept their seats.
A footman quickly descended the front steps of the Club with a lantern held high in one hand and opened the carriage door. Viscount Sydney – Thomas Townshend, alighted the coach and followed the footman up the steps and in through the front door. A porter quickly came around the counter of the front desk to take Lord Sydney’s heavy black coat and his broad hat.
“Have the others arrived?’
“Yes, you’re Lordship. They are in the Fox Room at the rear of the Club,” was all the porter said as he stood with coat and hat in hand and then lowered his head in a slight bow.
Lord Sydney moved past the staff and the few lingering patrons toward the Fox Room. A waiter followed along behind him. While Parliament had resumed after the summer break, there were only a few members in the Club on this cool night – which is what Lord Sydney and his friends had hoped for.
Thomas, who was the Secretary of State for the Office of War and the Colonies,
paused at the entrance of the Room to evaluate his setting. There was no one in the room but his two friends, seated in large brown leather lounge chairs separated by a small table. The room was illuminated by the glow of smoldering wood in the fireplace. Several candles provide background light. The two men, with cigars in hand, were the 1st Earl of Chatham – Prime Minister William Pitt, and the 1st Earl of Malmesbury, James Harris – the British Ambassador to The Hague. While earls are a little higher up the aristocratic ladder than viscounts, the Townshend family had been a primary influence on the business of kings from George I to George III. With two earls, a viscount and Jack – the waiter, in the room, it was a winning hand in any game.
Thomas stepped into the room and approached the others. The seated men immediately stood up.
“Ah, there you are, Thomas,” said William. “Come and join us. Take a seat.”
As Thomas took a seat beside his colleagues he signaled Jack to come closer.
Just before you order a drink, Thomas, I have a little surprise for our evening meeting,” said Sir William. My young cousin, William Grenville, has just returned from a trip to Ireland. Now I know that William Brooks has some fine wines in his cellar but Grenville believes that this whiskey from a new distillery called Bushmills is quite exceptional. I have asked young Jack here to open a bottle from the crate Grenville has delivered so we might sample this ‘breath of life’ as the Irish call it.”
Sir James shifted in his seat in anticipation as Jack poured the nectar into three glasses on the table. The men in turn lifted the whiskey to take in the vapour rising from their glass. Nobody spoke.
Then lifting his glass over the centre of the table, Thomas said, “Cheers”, as the three glasses touched together. They sipped the whiskey and let it sit in their pallets to savour the flavour. “Oh, yes,” said James, “that is nice.” William lifted the glass up and into the light to look at the colour of the fluid. “Yes, it is as Grenville expressed, exceptional. Should sell well.”
Putting down his glass, William looked up at Thomas, “How’s the preparation for this New South Wales venture proceeding?”
“Our meeting in your home at Holwood House on August 19 past with Henry Dundas, William Grenville, Henry Phipps and Charles Jenkin was most rewarding and I have Captain Arthur Phillip scouring the prisons for suitable transportees to be assigned to his service. But for the transportees to be assigned to ‘the service of the governor’ will require some amendment to the Act of 1784, which I sponsored, or a mention in the Letters Patent,” said Sir Thomas.
“I will look into that,” said William. “I am preparing the details for the Letters Patent for King George currently. I will also have legislation drawn up for the Parliament regarding Phillip’s ability to represent and manage British courts outside of Britain. I aim to have the Letters Patent and the legislation done and before King and Parliament in April next. But please return to the preparations.”
“Well, having brought my friend, Arthur Phillip, back from France and duties with our Secret Service as a spy, I put the proposal to him of being appointed governor of the new colony. He said he wasn’t keen to go off and sit in a forest on the other side of the world with all those flies, snakes and dangerous natives without a promotion in rank. He wanted to be promoted to admiral.” Thomas crossed his arms, lifted his head slightly and chuckled. “I sent him off to see Henry Phipps, First Lord of the Admiralty and Foreign Secretary to try his luck. Phipps basically kicked him out of the office and said he wouldn’t even promote him to be a commodore.”
The other men laughed.
“So, on his return to my office, I offered to pay him a low-ranking admiral’s salary while he is living in the forest,” chuckled Thomas.
Again, the other men laughed.
“Anyway, he has settled down and got into the job. Our objective is have the ships of the convoy leave from several different ports next May. Which means a lot of work in underway in preparation. Ships are being fitted out for bunks for marines and transportees equally. Some felons are taking wives and families with them, which is a good thing. Of the 700 or so marines assigned to protect the colony against the French, there are 43 wives and children travelling with them. As the marines are travelling with Phillip in readiness for a war with the French in the Asia-Pacific and not to guard the felons, there is a foreseeable problem with convict discipline and oversight. Phillip thinks he can introduce a scheme of reward and punishment and have good convicts oversee the rest. Sounds dubious, but it will his problem. Oh, and I have contacted the British East India Company informing them of what is going on since they have the Charter for business operations for that whole region. But their permission is only a formality as they have been urging me for some time to protect them from trouble with the French,” said Thomas.
William and James sat pondering what Thomas had said.
“I think this issue with the French needs some discussion,” said James. “I realise that we have signed this Commercial Treaty last September with them but I think King George is right when he said the French are talking out of both sides of their commercial mouths when they talk to us of trade agreements but at the same time, prepare for war with us in Asia. As you both know, I have over this past year been frantically concerned about Dutch money going into France to build up their navy.”
“Yes, ” said William, “the Dutch East India Company has proved an exceedingly successful operation in Asia and this alliance, as they refer to it, between the French and the United Provinces of the Netherlands, has allowed private merchant investment to flow into France and to the French Government. As this money keeps flowing and the French navy keeps growing, it will soon bring us conflict, and as you suggest, in spite of their Commercial Treaty. I hate to think of the growing French indebtedness. When last I looked, it was up over £255 million (US$47 billion) and rising rapidly.”
“Well”, said James, “what if our enemy’s friend become somebody else’s enemy and the friends had a falling out?” That is ‘our enemy’s friend’s enemy became our friends?” said Harris.
“I’m glad we’re not playing you in chess,” said Thomas.
“But perhaps we are talking chess and strategy. Let me put names to the chess pieces. Dutch money going into France is the fundamental problem – our problem. However, I am aware that Prussia could be urged to invade The Netherlands if they knew we would not interrupt their excursion, and France could not afford to go to their aid,” said Harris.
Again there was silence.
How certain are you of such a plan?” asked William.
“Very.”
“You are suggesting that you could be the sleuth to bring about this foment?’ asked Thomas.
“Yes.”
All three men pondered the idea. Thomas signaled Jack to refill his glass. Jack topped up the three glasses.
“So, you are proposing that the New South Wales venture become the visible ‘Plan A’ and that you, or we, go about a secret ‘Plan B’,” said Thomas.
James smiled and nodded his head.
The men took another drink.
“There can be no word whatsoever of this. There are spies everywhere. No one must know in England, France or Holland what you are up to. How long before such an invasion might occur?” asked William.
“Conversations with my Prussian friends suggest we are talking within the year,” replied Harris.
Thomas and William wriggled in their chairs. Thomas took another sip of his dram.
“If King Louis couldn’t service his debt repayments without his Dutch borrowings, he would want to take on the Prussians on Dutch soil, but, as France is a collection of states, his Council would not unanimously agree to a rescue plan. Without Dutch investments, Louis and the Council would be left with little alternative but to raise taxation, which would spell devastation,” said William.
“Checkmate,” said Sir James with a smile.
The men took another drink. “This whiskey is nice stuff,” said Thomas. As the three men looked at each other, they all smiled, and not over the whiskey.
William laughed.
“By George, let’s do it,” said William.
They stood up. Again, the glasses touched as they repeated together “By George,” and laughed that such a Plan B could actually succeed. “You know,” said Pitt, “This could cause a revolution.” The men laughed some more.
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Arthur Phillip and the Convoy left England on May 13, 1787.
Prussia invaded The Netherlands in late 1787.
Dutch money flowing into France immediately stopped. The King’s Council, made up of aristocrats from the divided states, could not agree to go to Holland’s rescue. The French-Dutch alliance came to an end.
Arthur Phillip and the Convoy arrived in New South Wales in January, 1788.
The French Council in an effort to raise money to service their debts, raised taxes.
The French Revolution started in 1789.
King Louis XVI was beheaded in January, 1793.
French revolutionary troops invaded Belgium and threatened Holland in that same year. Britain and Spain then declared war on France.
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