having commanded the ship which conveyed his Majesty, in 1813, to Scheveling, had named that officer a Knight of the Order of William of the 2d class, but that the regulations established in England were opposed to his receiving the honor which his Majesty had conferred upon him.
“The king, always disposed to give to Lord Torrington a mark of his esteem, has charged me to avail myself of the departure of Vice-Admiral Baron Van de Capellen, to address to your Excellency a Sword of Honor, which His Majesty intends for the noble Lord, as a substitute for the order of knighthood.
“I beg your Excellency to deliver personally to Lord Torrington this honorable remembrance, giving him at the same time, in his Majesty’s name, the most flattering assurances of his satisfaction. If Lord Torrington should not be in London, I beg your Excellency to acquaint him by letter, of the kind intentions of the King with regard to him.
“Accept, Sir, the renewed expressions of the high consideration with which I have the honor to be,
(Signed)“A. W. C. de Nagell.”
“To His Excellency, the Baron Fagel,
“Ambassador, &c. &c. &c.
“London.”
The following is a copy of a letter on the same subject from Viscount Torrington to the Right Hon. George Canning:–
“My dear Sir,– I trust I am not incorrect in addressing myself to you, and in requesting you would interest yourself in preferring what I feel to be my just claim to a Foreign Order, which has been withheld from me, under circumstances of peculiar hardship.
“In soliciting your kind attention to those circumstances, I have to apologize for intruding myself upon your valuable time, and I rely upon your good humour to forgive it.
“The King of the Netherlands, as a testimony of my conduct, when in command of his Majesty’s ship Warrior, forwarded to the Admiralty, the second Order of William III. to be conferred upon me; which Order was returned without my having any intimation of the circumstance.
“When I afterwards visited Holland, and paid my respects to the King , his Majesty was pleased to notice it, with an expression of regret, and referred me to his prime minister for an explanation; when it appeared by a communication from the Secretary to the Admiralty, that the Order in question had been sent back, with an intimation that I could not be permitted to accept it, in consequence of my not having been under fire. To this decision I submitted, without any remonstrance, as a deference due to superior authority.
“Finding, however, that Captain (now Rear-Admiral) Baker, who
