people of Malta in forcing
you to abandon the island, that it may be delivered into the hands
of it's lawful sovereign; and, to get possession of Le Guillaume
Tell, La Diane, and La Justice. To accomplish these objects as
speedily as possible, I offer that, on the delivery of the French
ships to me, all the troops and seamen, now in Malta and Goza,
shall be landed in France, without the condition of their being
prisoners of war; that I will take care that the lives of all those
Maltese who have joined you shall be spared, and I offer my
mediation with their sovereign for the restoration of their
property. Should these offers be rejected; or the French ships make
their escape, notwithstanding my vigilance; I declare, that I will
not enter, or join, any capitulation, which the general may
hereafter be forced to enter into, with the inhabitants of Malta;
much less will I intercede for the forgiveness of those who have
betrayed their duty to their country. I beg leave to assure you,
this is the determination of a British admiral; and I have the
honour to be, gentlemen, your most obedient humble servant,

"Horatio Nelson."

Though this notice was not successful to the full extent of his wish, it
seems to have accelerated the surrender of Goza. In the mean time, all
possible aid was given to the Maltese; who, it appears, had been
shockingly neglected by the Neapolitan government. In a letter of the
27th, addressed to Sir William Hamilton, the indignant hero enlarges on
this topic with a feeling and energy incomparably expressive of his
heroic and independent character.

"When I come to Naples, I can have nothing pleasant to say of the
conduct of his Sicilian majesty's ministers towards the inhabitants
of Malta, who wish to be under the dominion of their legitimate
sovereign. The total neglect and indifference with which they have
been treated, appears to me cruel in the extreme. Had not the
English supplied fifteen hundred stand of arms, with bayonets,
cartouch boxes, and ammunition, &c. and the marquis supplied some
few, and kept the spirit of those brave islanders from falling off,
they must long ago have bowed to the French yoke. Could you, my
dear Sir William, have believed, after what General Acton and the
Marquis De Gallo had said, in our various conversations relative to