London Magazine, April 1757
$10.00
This interesting issue contains articles on the reasons for raising a militia, a letter from Admiral Byng prior to his execution on the quarter deck of the Monarque, accompanied with an engraving of his execution. There is also an account of the settlement of Carolina as well as articles on a cure for deafness, rule to procure happiness in marriage and the evils and corruption of governments.
Byng was executed for failing to relieve the naval base at Minorca (in the western Mediterranean) from a French siege. This failure aroused a storm of indignation in England, motivating Newcastle to promise that “he shall be tried immediately; he shall be hanged directly.” Byng was court-martialed on his own flagship in Portsmouth harbor; he was found guilty of neglect of duty and was executed by a firing squad of marines.
By initiating legal proceedings against Byng, the administration of Prime Minister Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, hoped to divert public attention from its own failings; nevertheless, Newcastle resigned in November 1756. In printed wrap, as issued.
