Satire on the dispute over British capture of Dutch ships said to be carrying French goods, appearing to refer specifically to the decision by the Lord Commissioners of Appeals in August 1759 to return a Dutch ship, the Maria Theresa, to its owners on the grounds that the goods on board could not be proved to be French. British ships are shown moored by the shore, brooms at their mastheads signifying that they are for sale, while a fleet of Dutch ships sails freely past. On the shore a statue of a weeping Britannia with a sleeping lion on which a dog urinates. In front of the statue a Frenchman mocks Pitt who laments the state of Britain; Newcastle ('... turn out that Madman P[it]t'), Fox ('We'll take care of the P[arliamen]t') and two lawyers holding bags of money watch approvingly as two Dutchman drag off a chest filled with coins; a wounded British officer is reduced, like the Byzantine general Belisarius, to begging for support, and two sailors complain of the loss of their prize money.
<br>Etching
circa 1759 <div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1759-00-00T00:00:00Z/9,P1480,Q5727902</div>
<a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1868-0808-4145">https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1868-0808-4145</a>