ies were left unsupported at
Toulon to bear the brunt of attacks of some 40,000 Frenchmen now
directed by a genius. O'Hara, who took over the command on his arrival
on 27th October, at once gave a verdict consonant with his pessimistic
character. Hood wrote on the morrow to Dundas: "General O'Hara has just
been with me and alarmed me much. He says our posts are not tenable and
that we are in a dangerous situation for lack of troops that can be
relied upon. And, what is very unpleasant, is the conduct of the
Spaniards, who are striving for power here." On 11th November O'Hara
reported that, in the absence of engineer officers, the forts had been
injudiciously constructed; that their garrisons began to suffer from
exposure to the bleak weather; that the broken and wooded country
greatly favoured the advance of the enemy, and hampered all efforts to
dislodge him; that the Spaniards and Sardinians had no artillery, tools,
or camp equipments; and that the only means of securing Toulon was to
have an army capable of taking the field.[253] Hood and he therefore
counted the hours for the arrival of 5,000 Austrians from Genoa, and of
troops from England.

The difficulties of the Allies were enhanced by the disputes which soon
arose between the British and Spaniards as to the command of the
garrison. The tactful Gravina having been badly wounded in driving the
French from Mount Faron, Langara put in a claim that his successor
should be commander-in-chief of the allied forces (23rd October). To
this Hood stoutly demurred, on the ground that he received Toulon in
trust before the Spaniards appeared; and, though it was true that the
Spanish troops outnumbered the British, yet the command of the
Neapolitan and Sardinian contingents belonged of right to the
subsidizing Power. He therefore claimed the supreme command for General
O'Hara. This matter caused much annoyance at Madrid, where that rankling
sore, Nootka Sound, was still kept open by the all-powerful Minister,
Alcudia. Hood's testiness increased the friction at Toulon. The
Spaniards were justified in claiming equality at that fortress; for only
by their arrival did the position become tenable; and the joint
proclamations of Hood and Langara formed a tacit admission of that
equality. But Pitt early resolved to take a firm stand on this subject.
On 17th October, in discussing the instructions for Sir Gilbert Elliot,
the British Commissioner designated for Toulon, he declared tha