The squadron that came from England under Lord Hood, suffered, upon the whole, much less from acute diseases, during the first months of their service in this climate, than the ships that arrived with Lord Rodney, which was probably owing, in part at least, to the former having arrived at the driest and coolest season of the year. The Barfleur, however, had a large proportion of all the three prevailing diseases; and large ships are in general more subject to them than those of a smaller rate. But of all the ships in the fleet, the Alfred had the greatest proportion of the three sea epidemics. The Prince William suffered more than any other ship in the fleet from the flux, and the Princessa from the scurvy. In some instances, reasons can be assigned for the prevalence of particular diseases in particular ships, such as accidental infection, or the manner in which they have been victualled, manned, or disciplined; but in many cases the cause is so subtile or obscure as to elude our inquiry. The most healthy of the new squadron, during this campaign, were the Belliqueux and Panther; the former was a new ship, and came from England with a very irregular and ill-disciplined crew. Soon after arriving in the climate, she was threatened with a dysentery, which, though it spread a good deal, did not prove severe nor mortal; but being left at St. Eustatius on this account, while the rest of the fleet was cruising, she soon became very healthy, and remained so. This is the second instance we have had occasion to remark of a new ship being healthy. The Panther preserved her health by being on small separate cruises, and frequently in port, not being attached to the main squadron. The Sandwich was the only other ship not engaged in the long cruise. Of the ships lately from England, that were employed in this cruise, the Gibraltar seems to have been the least sickly. This ship left England healthy; but having received a draft of dirty men when upon the eve of sailing, a fever of the infectious kind broke out on the passage, so that she arrived in the West Indies in a sickly state. This fever disappeared very soon after; and it is proved by this, as well as other facts, that a warm climate, so far from tending to generate, or even to foster the infection of fever, tends rather to extinguish it. The Gibraltar had been put under excellent discipline by her former commander, while in the Channel service; and this being afterwards kept up, the men were always clean and regular. This was the Spanish Admiral’s ship, taken by the fleet under the command of Lord Rodney off Cape St. Vincent’s, in January 1780. She was then called the Phœnix, and was of a singular excellence both with respect to materials and construction. Whether the cedar, of which a great part of her timbers consisted, contributed to the healthiness, by its balsamic effluvia, I will not pretend to determine.