(whether as a committee, or as private individuals, is of little consequence) could take upon themselves, about three months afterwards, to recommend the Greek deputies to enter into a very expensive, and, as it turned out, very useless arrangement, with Lord Cochrane?
“If Mr. Ellice had submitted my plan to the consideration of experienced naval officers, before he declined to interfere in its behalf, he would have exonerated both himself and the Greek committee, from the smallest imputation of lukewarmness for the cause which they professed to have so much at heart; but, by transferring the plan, as he did, to the consideration of the Greek deputies, he tacitly, and, I have no doubt, intentionally, gave them to understand that he did not approve of it.
“These gentlemen, at all events, must have understood Mr. Ellice’s transfer in that light; and, accordingly, they over-whelmed me with compliments, promised to transmit it to the Greek Government, took my address, but gave me no reason to hope, from any thing that dropped from themselves, that it would be backed by their recommendation. They certainly praised the scheme, even far beyond its merits; but (sapiently) intimated, at the same time, that they were afraid that it never could be put in execution, because, forsooth, the Turkish officers were so intimidated by their recent defeats, that they never would suffer the Greeks to catch them at an anchor any more; and the object that I had, in view, was to make the attack when they were at anchor upon a lee shore, and could not possibly escape. It was in vain for me to urge, that these Turkish ships must occasionally go into their own ports to refit, if they did not attempt to land troops on the Greek coasts; that, after all, their adoption of the plan would be attended with no expense until it should be put in execution, and even then, the total amount of the expense would amount to no more than the purchase of a few old ships, that might possibly be fit for nothing else but to make fire-ships of. All I could say was of no avail. They did not think that the Turks would ever furnish the Greeks with such a favorable opportunity of
