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PROGRESS OF THE SWEDES IN POMERANIA.
Having recorded all the transactions of the campaign, except those in which the Swedes were concerned, it now remains that we should particularize the progress which was made in Pomerania by the troops of that nation, under the command of count Hamilton. We have already observed, that in the beginning of the year the Prussian general, Lehwald, had compelled them to evacuate the whole province, except Stralsund, which was likewise invested. This, in all probability, would have been besieged in form, had not Lehwald resigned the command of the Prussians, on account of his great age and infirmities; and his successor, count Dohna, been obliged to withdraw his troops in order to oppose the Russian army on the other side of Pomerania. The blockade of Stralsund being consequently raised, and that part of the country being entirely evacuated by the Prussians, the Swedish troops advanced again from the isle of Rugen, to which, they had retired; but the supplies and reinforcements they expected from Stockholm were delayed in such a manner, either from a deficiency in the subsidies promised by France, or from the management of those who were averse to the war, that great part of the season was elapsed before they undertook any important enterprise. Indeed, while they lay encamped under the cannon of Stralsund, waiting for these supplies, their operations were retarded by the explosion of a whole ship-load of gunpowder intended for their use; an event imputed to the practices of the Prussian party in Sweden, which at this period seemed to gain ground, and even threatened a change in the ministry. At length the reinforcement arrived about the latter end of June, and their general seemed determined to act with vigour. In the beginning of July, his army being put in motion, he sent a detachment to dislodge the few Prussian troops that were left at Anclam, Demmin, and other places, to guard that frontier; and they retreated accordingly. Count Hamilton having nothing further to oppose him in the field, in a very little time recovered all Swedish Pomerania, and even made hot incursions into the Prussian territories. Meanwhile, a combined fleet of thirty-three Russian and seven Swedish ships of war appeared in the Baltic, and anchored between the isles of Dragoe and Amagh; but they neither landed troops nor committed hostilities. The Swedish general advanced as far as Fehrbellin, sent out parties that raised contributions within five and twenty miles of Berlin, and threw the inhabitants of that capital into the utmost consternation. The king of Prussia, alarmed at their progress, despatched general Wedel from Dresden, with a body of troops that were augmented on their march; so that, on the twentieth of September, he found himself at Berlin with eleven thousand effective men, at the head of whom he proceeded against count Hamilton, while the prince of Bevern, with five thousand, advanced on the other side from Stetin. At their approach, the Swedish commander retired, after having left a garrison of fourteen hundred men at Fehrbellin in order to retard the Prussians, and secure the retreat of his army. The place was immediately attacked by general Wedel; and though the Swedes disputed the ground from house to house with uncommon obstinacy, he at last drove them out of the town, with the loss of one half of their number either killed or taken prisoners. The body of the Swedish army, without hazarding any other action, immediately evacuated the Prussian territories, and returned to the neighbourhood of Stralsund, intending to take winter-quarters in the isle of Rugen. Count Hamilton, either disgusted at the restrictions he had been laid under, or finding himself unable to act in such a manner as might redound to the advantage of his reputation, threw up his command, retired from the army, and resigned all his other employments.
PRINCE CHARLES OF SAXONY ELECTED DUKE OF COURLAND.
The king of Prussia was not only favoured by a considerable party in Sweden, but he had also raised a strong interest in Poland, among such Palatines as had always opposed the measures of the reigning family. These were now reinforced by many patriots, who dreaded the vicinity and suspected the designs of the Russian army. The diet of the republic was opened on the second day of November; and, after warm debates, M. Malachowski was unanimously elected mareschal; but no sooner had the chambers of nuncios begun their deliberations, than a number of voices were raised against the encroachments of the Russian troops, who had taken up their residence in Poland; and heavy complaints were made of the damages sustained from their cruelty and rapine. Great pains were taken to appease these clamours; and many were prevailed upon to refer these grievances to the king in senate; but when this difficulty seemed almost surmounted, Padhorski, the nuncio of Volhinia, stood up, and declared that he would not permit any other point to be discussed in the diet while the Russians maintained the least footing within the territories of the republic. Vain were all the attempts of the courtiers to persuade and mollify this inflexible patriot, he solemnly protested against their proceedings, and hastily withdrew; so that the mareschal was obliged to dissolve the assembly, and recourse was had to a senatus consilium, to concert proper measures to be taken in the present conjuncture. The king of Poland was on this occasion likewise disappointed in his views of providing for his son, prince Charles, in the duchy of Courland. He had been recommended by the court of Russia, and even approved by the states of that country; but two difficulties occurred. The states declared, they could not proceed to a new election during the life of their former duke, count Biron, who was still alive, though a prisoner in Siberia, unless their duchy should be declared vacant by the king and republic of Poland; and, according to the laws of that country, no prince could be elected until he should have declared himself of the Augsburgh confession. His Polish majesty, however, being determined to surmount all obstacles to his son's interest, ordered count Malachowski, high chancellor of Poland, to deliver to prince Charles a diploma, by which the king granted permission to the states of Courland to elect that prince for their duke, and appointed the day for his election and instalment; which accordingly took place in the month of January, notwithstanding the clamour of many Polish grandees, who persisted in affirming that the king had no power to grant such permission without the consent of the diet. The vicissitudes of the campaign had produced no revolutions in the several systems adopted by the different powers in Europe. The czarina, who in the month of June had signified her sentiments and designs against the king of Prussia, in a declaration delivered to all the foreign ministers at Petersburgh, seemed now, more than ever, determined to act vigorously in behalf of the empress-queen of Hungary, and the unfortunate king of Poland, who still resided at Warsaw. The court of Vienna distributed among the imperial ministers at the several courts of the empire, copies of a rescript explaining the conduct of her generals since the beginning of the campaign, and concluded with expressions of self-approbation to this effect: "Though the issue of the campaign be not as yet entirely satisfactory, and such as might be desired, the imperial court enjoys, at least, the sincere satisfaction of reflecting, that, according to the change of circumstances, it instantly took the most vigorous resolutions; that it was never deficient in any thing that might contribute to the good of the common cause, and is now employed in making preparations, from which the most happy consequences may be expected."
{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}
THE KING OF ENGLAND'S MEMORIAL.
We have already hinted at a decree of the Aulic council of the empire, published in the month of August, enjoining all directors of circles, all imperial towns, and the noblesse of the empire, to transmit to Vienna an exact list of all those who had disobeyed the avocatoria of the empire, and adhered to the rebellion raised by the elector of Brandenburgh; that their revenues might be sequestered, and themselves punished in their honours, persons, and effects. As the elector of Hanover was plainly pointed out, and, indeed, expressly mentioned in this decree, the king of Great Britain, by the hands of baron Gemmegen, his electoral minister, presented a memorial to the diet of the empire in the month of November, enumerating the instances in which he exerted himself, and even exposed his life, for the preservation and aggrandizement of the house of Austria. In return for these important services, he observed, that the empress-queen had refused him the assistance stipulated in treaties against an invasion planned by France, whose hatred he had drawn upon himself by his friendship to that princess; and his imperial majesty even denied him the dictatorial letters which he solicited; that the court of Vienna had signed a treaty with the crown of France, in which it was stipulated that the French troops should pass the Weser, and invade the electorate of Hanover, where they were joined by the troops of the empress-queen, who ravaged his Britannic majesty's dominions with greater cruelty than even the French had practised; and the same duke of Cumberland, who had been wounded at Dettingen in the defence of her imperial majesty, was obliged to fight at Hastenbeck against the troops of that very princess, in defence of his father's dominions; that she sent commissaries to Hanover, who shared with the crown of France the contributions extorted from that electorate; rejected all proposals of peace, and dismissed from her court the minister of Brunswick-Lunenbourg; that his imperial majesty, who had sworn to protect the empire, and oppose the entrance of foreign troops destined to oppress any of the states of Germany, afterwards required the king of England to withdraw his troops from the countries which they occupied, that the French army might again have free passage into his German dominions; that the emperor had recalled these troops, released them from their allegiance to their sovereign, enjoined them to abandon their posts, their colours, and the service in which they were embarked, on pain of being punished in body, honour, and estate: and that the king of England himself was threatened with the ban of the empire. He took notice, that, in quality of elector, he had been accused of refusing to concur with the resolutions of the diet taken in the preceding year; of entering into alliance with the king of Prussia; joining his troops to the armies of that prince; employing auxiliaries belonging to the states of the empire; sending English forces into Germany, where they had taken possession of Embden; and exacting contributions in different parts of Germany. In answer to these imputations, he alleged that he could not, consistent with his own safety or the dictates of common sense, concur with a majority in joining his troops, which were immediately necessary for his own defence, to those which, from the arbitrary views of the court of Vienna, were led against his friend and ally the king of Prussia, by a prince who did not belong to the generality of the empire, and on whom the command had been conferred without a previous conclusion of the Germanic body; that, with respect to his alliance with the king of Prussia, he had a right, when deserted by his former allies, to seek assistance wheresoever it could be procured; and surely no just ground of complaint could be offered against that which his Prussian majesty lent, to deliver the electoral states of Brunswick, as well as those of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, Hesse, and Ruckebourg, from the oppressions of their common enemy. Posterity, he said, would hardly believe, that at a time when the troops of Austria, the Palatinate, and Wirtemberg, were engaged to invade the countries of the empire, other members of the Germanic body, who employed auxiliaries in their defence, should be threatened with outlawry and sequestration. He owned, that, in quality of king, he had sent over English troops to Germany, and taken possession of Embden; steps for which he was accountable to no power upon earth, although the constitutions of the empire permit the co-estates to make use of foreign troops, not indeed for the purpose of invasion or conquest in Germany, but for their defence and preservation. He also acknowledged that he had resented the conduct, and chastised the injustice, of those co-estates who had assisted his enemies, and helped to ravage his dominions; inferring, that if the crown of France was free to pillage the estates of the duke of Brunswick and the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, because they had supplied the king of England with auxiliaries; if the empress-queen had a right to appropriate to herself half of the contributions raised by the French king in these countries; surely his Britannic majesty had an equal right to make those feel the burden of the war who had favoured the unjust enterprises of his enemies. He expressed his hope, that the diet, after having duly considered these circumstances, would, by way of advice, propose to his imperial majesty that he should annul his most inconsistent mandates, and not only take effectual measures to protect the electorate and its allies, but also give orders for commencing against the empress-queen, as archduchess of Austria, the elector Palatine, and the duke of Wirtemberg, such proceedings as she wanted to enforce against his Britannic majesty, elector of Brunswick-Lunenbourg. For this purpose the minister now requested their excellencies to ask immediately the necessary instructions for their principals. The rest of this long memorial contained a justification of his Britannic majesty's conduct in deviating from the capitulation of Closter-Seven; with a refutation of the arguments adduced, and a retortion of the reproaches levelled against the king of England, in the paper or manifesto composed and published under the direction of the French ministry, and intituled, "A parallel of the conduct of the king of France with that of the king of England, relative to the breach of the capitulation of Closter-Seven by the Hanoverians." But to this invective a more circumstantial answer was published; in which, among other curious particulars, the letter of expostulation, said to have been written by the Prussian monarch to the king of Great Britain after the defeat of Kolin is treated as an infamous piece of forgery, produced by some venal pen employed to impose upon the public. The author also, in his endeavours to demonstrate his Britannic majesty's aversion to a continental war, very justly observes, that "none but such as are unacquainted with the maritime force of England, can believe, that, without a diversion on the continent, to employ part of the enemy's force, she is not in a condition to hope for success, and maintain her superiority at sea. England, therefore, had no interest to foment quarrels or wars in Europe; but, for the same reason, there was room to fear that France would embrace a different system; accordingly, she took no pains to conceal her views, and her envoys declared publicly that a war upon the continent was inevitable, and that the king's dominions in Germany would be its principal object." He afterwards, in the course of his argumentation, adds, "That they must be very ignorant indeed, who imagine that the forces of England are not able to resist those of France, unless the latter be hindered from turning all her efforts to the sea. In case of a war upon the continent, the two powers must pay subsidies; only with this difference, that France can employ her own land-forces, and aspire at conquests." Such were the professed sentiments of the British ministry, founded upon eternal truth and demonstration, and openly avowed, when the business was to prove that it was not the interest of Great Britain to maintain a war upon the continent; but afterwards, when this continental war was eagerly espoused, fostered, and cherished by the blood and treasure of the English nation, then the partisans of that very ministry, which had thus declared that England, without any diversion on the continent of Europe, was an overmatch for France by sea, which maybe termed the British element; then their partisans, their champions, declaimers, and dependents, were taught to rise in rebellion against their former doctrine, and, in defiance of common sense and reflection, affirm that a diversion in Germany was absolutely necessary to the successful issue of England's operations in Asia, Africa, and America. Notwithstanding all the facts and arguments assembled in this elaborate memorial, to expose the ingratitude of the empress-queen, and demonstrate the oppressive measures adopted by the imperial power, it remains to be proved, that the member of a community is not obliged to yield obedience to the resolutions taken, and the decrees published, by the majority of those who compose this community; especially when reinforced with the authority of the supreme magistrate, and not repugnant to the fundamental constitution on which that community was established.
DEATH OF POPE BENEDICT.
If the empress-queen was not gratified to the extent of her wishes in the fortune of the campaign, at least her self-importance was nattered in another point, which could not fail of being interesting to a princess famed for a glowing zeal and inviolable attachment to the religion of Rome. In the month of August the pope conferred upon her the title of apostolical queen of Hungary, conveyed by a brief, in which he extolled her piety, and launched out into retrospective eulogiums of her predecessors, the princes of Hungary, who had been always accustomed to fight and overcome for the catholic faith under his holy banner. This compliment, however, she did not derive from the regard of Prosper Lambertini, who exercised the papal sway under the assumed name of Benedict XIV. That pontiff, universally esteemed for his good sense, moderation, and humanity, had breathed his last in the month of April, in the eighty-fourth year of his age; and in July was succeeded in the papacy by cardinal Charles Bezzonico, bishop of Padua, by birth a Venetian. He was formerly auditor of the Rota; afterwards promoted to the purple by pope Clement XII. at the nomination of the republic of Venice; was distinguished by the title of St. Maria d'Ara Coeli, the principal convent of the Cordeliers, and nominated protector of the Pandours, or Illyrians. When he ascended the papal chair, he assumed the name of Clement XIII. in gratitude to the last of that name, who was his benefactor. Though of a disagreeable person, and even deformed in his body, he enjoyed good health, and a vigorous constitution. As an ecclesiastic, his life was exemplary; his morals were pure and unimpeached; in his character he is said to have been learned, diligent, steady, devout; and, in every respect, worthy to succeed such a predecessor as Benedict.
KING OF PORTUGAL ASSASSINATED.
The king of Spain wisely persisted in reaping the advantages of a neutrality, notwithstanding the intrigues of the French partisans at the court of Madrid, who endeavoured to alarm his jealousy by the conquests which the English had projected in America. The king of Sardina sagaciously kept aloof, resolving, in imitation of his predecessors, to maintain his power on a respectable footing, and be ready to seize all opportunities to extend and promote the interest of his crown, and the advantage of his country. As for the king of Portugal, he had prudently embraced the same system of forbearance; but in the latter end of the season, his attention was engrossed by a domestic incident of a very extraordinary nature. Whether he had, by particular instances of severity, exasperated the minds of certain individuals, and exercised his dominion in such acts of arbitrary power as excited a general spirit of disaffection among his nobility; or, lastly, by the vigorous measures pursued against the encroaching Jesuits in Paraguay, and their correspondents in Portugal, had incurred the resentment of that society, we shall not pretend to determine: perhaps all these motives concurred in giving birth to a conspiracy against his life, which was actually executed at this juncture with the most desperate resolution. On the third day of September, the king, according to custom, going out in a carriage to take the air, accompanied by one domestic, was, in the night, at a solitary place near Belem, attacked by three men on horseback, armed with musquetoons, one of whom fired his piece at the coachman without effect. The man, however, terrified both on his own account and that of his sovereign, drove the mules at full speed; a circumstance which, in some measure, disconcerted the other two conspirators, who pursued him at full gallop, and having no leisure to take aim, discharged their pieces at random through the back of the carriage. The slugs with which they were loaded happened to pass between the king's right arm and his breast, dilacerating the parts from the shoulder to the elbow, but without damaging the bone, or penetrating into the cavity of the body. Finding himself grievously wounded, and the blood flowing apace, he, with such presence of mind as cannot be sufficiently admired, instead of proceeding to the palace, which was at some distance, ordered the coachman to return to Junqueria, where his principal surgeon resided, and there his wounds were immediately dressed. By this resolution he not only prevented the irreparable mischief that might have arisen from an excessive effusion of blood; but, without all doubt, saved his life from the bands of other assassins, posted on the road to accomplish the regicide, in case he should escape alive from the first attack. This instance of the king's recollection was magnified into a miracle, on a supposition that it must have been the effect of divine inspiration; and, indeed, among a people addicted to superstition, might well pass for a favourable interposition of Providence. The king being thus disabled in his right arm, issued a decree, investing the queen with the absolute power of government. In the meantime, no person had access to his presence but herself, the first minister, the cardinal de Saldanha, the physicians, and surgeons. An embargo was immediately laid on all the shipping in the port of Lisbon. Rewards were publicly offered, together with the promise of pardon to the accomplices, for detecting any of the assassins; and such other measures used, that in a little time the whole conspiracy was discovered: a conspiracy the more dangerous, as it appeared to have been formed by persons of the first quality and influence. The duke de Weiro, of the family of Mascarenhas; the marquis de Tavora, who had been viceroy of Goa, and now actually enjoyed the commission of general of the horse; the count de Attougui, the marquis de Alloria, together with their wives, children, and whole families, were arrested immediately after the assassination, as principals in the design; and many other accomplices, including some Jesuits, were apprehended in the sequel. The further proceedings on this mysterious affair, with the fate of the conspirators, will be particularized among the transactions of the following year. At present it will be sufficient to observe, that the king's wounds were attended with no bad consequences; nor did the imprisonment of those noblemen produce any disturbance in the kingdom.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE FRENCH MINISTRY.
The domestic occurrences of France were tissued with a continuation of the disputes between the parliaments and clergy, touching the bull Unigenitus. In vain the king had interposed his authority: first proposing an accommodation; then commanding the parliament to forbear taking cognizance of a religious contest, which did not fall under their jurisdiction; and, thirdly, banishing their persons, and abrogating their power. He afterwards found it necessary to the peace of his dominions to recall and reinstate those venerable patriots; and being convinced of the intolerable insolence and turbulent spirit of the archbishop of Paris, had exiled that prelate in his turn. He was no sooner re-admitted to his function, than he resumed his former conduct, touching the denial of the sacraments to those who refused to acknowledge the bull Unigenitus: he even acted with redoubled zeal; intrigued with the other prelates; caballed among the inferior clergy; and not only revived, but augmented, the troubles throughout the whole kingdom. Bishops, curates, and monks, presumed to withhold spiritual consolation from persons in extremity, and were punished by the civil power. Other parliaments of the kingdom followed the example exhibited by that of Paris, in asserting their authority and privileges. The king commanded them to desist, on pain of incurring his indignation; they remonstrated, and persevered; while the archbishop repeated his injunctions and censures, and continued to inflame the dispute to such a dangerous degree, that he was given to understand he should be again obliged to quit the capital, if he did not proceed with more moderation. But the chief care of the French ministry was employed in regulating the finances, and establishing funds of credit for raising money to pay subsidies, and maintain the war in Europe and America. In the course of this year they had not only considerably reinforced their armies in Germany, but made surprising efforts to supply the colony of Canada with troops, artillery, stores, and ammunition, for its defence against the operations of the British forces, which greatly outnumbered the French upon the continent. The court of Versailles practised every stratagem to elude the vigilance of the English cruisers. The ships destined for America they detached, both single and in convoys, sometimes from the Mediterranean, sometimes from their harbours in the channel. They assembled transports in one port, in order to withdraw the attention of their enemies from another, where their convoys lay ready for sailing; and in boisterous weather, when the English could no longer block up their harbours, their store-ships came forth, and hazarded the voyage for the relief of their American settlements. Those that had the good fortune to arrive on the coast of that continent, were obliged to have recourse to different expedients for escaping the British squadrons stationed at Halifax, or cruising in the bay of St. Laurence. They either ventured to navigate the river before it was clear of the ice, so early in the spring, that the enemy had not yet quitted the harbour of Nova-Scotia; or they waited on the coast of Newfoundland for such thick fogs as might screen them from the notice of the English cruisers, in sailing up the gulf; lastly, they penetrated through the straits of Belleisle, a dangerous passage, which, however, led them directly into the river St. Laurence, at a considerable distance above the station of the British squadron. Though the French navy was by this time so reduced, that it could neither face the English at sea nor furnish proper convoys for commerce, her ministry nevertheless attempted to alarm the subjects of Great Britain with the project of an invasion. Flat-bottomed boats were built, transports collected, large ships of the line equipped, and troops ordered to assemble on the coast for embarkation; but this was no more than a feint to arouse the apprehension of the English, disconcert the administration, prejudice the national credit, and deter the government from sending forces to keep alive the war in Germany. A much more effectual method they took to distress the trade of England, by laying up their useless ships of war, and encouraging the equipment of stout privateers, which did considerable damage to the commerce of Great Britain and Ireland, by cruising in the seas of Europe and America. Some of them lay close in the harbours of the channel, fronting the coast of England, and darted out occasionally on the trading ships of this nation, as they received intelligence from boats employed for that purpose. Some chose their station in the North sea, where a great number of captures were made upon the coast of Scotland; others cruised in the chops of the channel, and even to the westward of Ireland; but the far greater number scoured the seas in the neighbourhood of the Leeward Islands in the West Indies, where they took a prodigious number of British ships, sailing to and from the sugar colonies, and conveyed them to their own settlements in Martinique, Guadeloupe, or St. Domingo.
CONDUCT OF THE KING OF DENMARK.
With respect to the war that raged in Germany, the king of Denmark wisely pursued that course, which happily preserved him from being involved in those troubles by which great part of Europe was agitated, and terminated in that point of national advantage which a king ought ever to have in view for the benefit of his people. By observing a scrupulous neutrality, he enhanced his importance among his neighbours: he saw himself courted by all the belligerent powers: he saved the blood and treasure of his subjects: he received large subsidies, in consideration of his forbearance; and enjoyed, unmolested, a much more considerable share of commerce than he could expect to carry on, even in times of universal tranquillity. He could not perceive that the protestant religion had anything to apprehend from the confederacy which was formed against the Prussian monarch; nor was he misled into all the expense, the perils, and disquiets of a sanguinary war, by that ignis fatuus which hath seduced and impoverished other opulent nations, under the specious title of the balance of power in Germany. Howsoever he might be swayed by private inclination, he did not think it was a point of consequence to his kingdom, whether Pomeranians possessed by Sweden or Prussia; whether the French army was driven back beyond the Rhine, or penetrated once more into the electorate of Hanover: whether the empress-queen was stripped of her remaining possessions in Silesia, or the king of Prussia circumscribed within the original bounds of his dominion. He took it for granted that France, for her own sake, would prevent the ruin of that enterprising monarch; and that the house of Austria would not be so impolitic and blind to its own interest, as to permit the empress of Russia to make and retain conquests in the empire; but even if these powers should be weak enough to sacrifice all the maxims of sound policy to caprice or resentment, he did not think himself so deeply concerned in the event, as for the distant, prospect of what might possibly happen, to plunge headlong into a war that must be attended with certain and immediate disadvantages. True it is, he had no hereditary electorate in Germany that was threatened with invasion; nor, if he had, is it to be supposed that a prince of his sagacity and patriotism would have impoverished his kingdom of Denmark, for the precarious defence of a distant territory. It was reserved for another nation to adopt the pernicious absurdity of wasting its blood and treasure, exhausting its revenues, loading its own back with the most grievous impositions, incurring an enormous debt, big with bankruptcy and ruin; in a word, of expending above an hundred and fifty millions sterling in fruitless efforts to defend a distant country, the entire property of which was never valued at one twentieth part of that sum; a country with which it had no natural connexion, but a common alliance arising from accident. The king of Denmark, though himself a prince of the empire, and possessed of dominions in Germany almost contiguous to the scenes of the present war, did not yet think himself so nearly concerned in the issue, as to declare himself either principal or auxiliary in the quarrel; yet he took care to maintain his forces by sea and land upon a respectable footing; and by this conduct, he not only provided for the security of his own country, but overawed the belligerent powers, who considered him as a prince capable of making either scale preponderate, just as he might choose to trim the balance. Thus he preserved his wealth, commerce, and consequence undiminished; and instead of being harassed as a party, was honoured as an umpire.
The United Provinces, though as adverse as his Danish majesty to any participation in the war, did not, however, so scrupulously observe the neutrality they professed; at least, the traders of that republic, either from an inordinate thirst of lucre, or a secret bias in favour of the enemies of Great Britain, assisted the French commerce with all the appearance of the most flagrant partiality. We have, in the beginning of this year's transactions, observed, that a great number of their ships were taken by the English cruisers, and condemned as legal prizes for having French property on board: that the Dutch merchants, exasperated by their losses, exclaimed against the English as pirates and robbers, petitioned the states for redress in very high terms, and even loudly clamoured for a war against Great Britain. The charge of violence and injustice, which they brought against the English for taking and confiscating the ships that transported to Europe the produce of the French islands in the West Indies, they founded on the tenth article of the treaty of commerce between Great Britain and the states-general of the United Provinces, concluded in the year one thousand six hundred and sixty-eight, stipulating, "That whatever shall be found on board the ships of the subjects of the United Provinces, though the lading, or part thereof, may belong to the enemies of Great Britain, shall be free and unmolested, except these be prohibited goods, which are to be served in the manner described by the foregoing articles." From this article the Dutch merchants argued, that, if there be no prohibited goods on board, the English had no right to stop or molest any of their ships, or make the least inquiry to whom the merchandise belonged, whence it was brought, or whither bound. This plea the English casuists would by no means admit, for the following reasons,—a general and perpetual license to carry on the whole trade of their enemy would be such a glaring absurdity, as no convention could authorize: common sense has dictated, and Grotius declared, that no man can be supposed to have consented to an absurdity; therefore, the interpretation given by the Dutch to this article, could not be supposed to be its true and genuine meaning; which, indeed, relates to nothing more than the common course of trade, as it was usually carried on in time of peace. But even should this interpretation be accepted, the article, and the treaty itself, would be superseded and annulled by a subsequent treaty, concluded between the two nations in the year one thousand six hundred and seventy-five, and often confirmed since that period, stipulating, in a secret article, that neither of the contracting parties should give, nor consent, that any of their subjects and inhabitants should give any aid, favour, or counsel, directly or indirectly, by land or sea, or on the fresh waters; nor should furnish, or permit the subjects or inhabitants of their respective territories to furnish, any ships, soldiers, seamen, victuals, monies, instruments of war, gunpowder, or any other necessaries for making war, to the enemies of either party, of any rank or condition soever. Now, the Dutch have infringed this article in many instances during the present war, both in Europe and America; and, as they have so openly contravened one treaty, the English are not obliged to observe another. They, moreover, forfeited all right to the observance of the treaty in question, by refusing the succours with which they were bound, in the most solemn manner, to furnish the king of Great Britain, in case any of his territories in Europe should be attacked: for nothing could be more weak and frivolous than the allegation upon which this refusal was founded, namely, that the hostilities in Europe were commenced by the English, when they seized and confiscated the vessels of France; and they, being the aggressors, had no right to insist upon the succours stipulated in a treaty which was purely defensive. If this argument has any weight, the treaty itself can have no signification. The French, as in the present case, will always commence the war in America; and when their ships, containing reinforcements and stores for the maintenance of that war, shall be taken on the European seas, perhaps in consequence of their being exposed for that purpose, they will exclaim that the English were the aggressors in Europe, consequently deprived of all benefit accruing from the defensive treaty subsisting between them and the states-general of the United Provinces. It being impossible for the English to terminate the war, while their enemies derive the sinews of it from their commerce carried on in neutral bottoms, they are obliged to suppress such collusions, by that necessity which Grotius himself hath allowed to be a sufficient excuse for deviating from the letter of any treaty whatsoever. In time of peace no Dutch ships were permitted to carry the produce of any French sugar island, or even to trade in any of the French ports in America or the West Indies; consequently, the treaty which they quote can never justify them in carrying on a commerce, which, as it did not exist, and was not foreseen, could not possibly be guarded against when that convention was ratified. Grotius, whose authority is held in such veneration among the Dutch, has determined that every nation has a right to seize and confiscate the goods of any neutral power, which shall attempt to carry them into any place which is blocked up by that nation, either by land or sea. The French islands in the West Indies were so blocked up by the English cruisers, that they could receive no relief from their own government, consequently no neutral power could attempt to supply them without falling under this predicament.*
* In the reign of king William, when the English and Dutch were engaged in a war against France, the northern powers of Sweden and Denmark attempted to carry on the French commerce, under the shade of neutrality; but the Dutch and English joined in seizing the vessels that were thus employed. Complaints of these captures were made at London and the Hague, and the complainants were given to understand at both places, that they should not be allowed to carry on any trade with France, but what was usual in time of peace. In consequence of this declaration, Mr. Groning formed the design of writing a treatise on the freedom of navigation, and communicated the plan of his work to the celebrated Puffendorff, who signified his sentiments in a letter, which is preserved by the learned Barbeyrac in his notes upon that author's treatise on the Law of Nature and Nations.
It was for these reasons that the king of England declared, by the mouth of Mr. Yorke, his minister plenipotentiary at the Hague, in a conference held in the mouth of August with the deputies of the states-general, that though he was ready to concur in every measure that should be proposed for giving satisfaction to their high mightinesses, with whom he had always studied to live in the most perfect union, he was nevertheless determined not to suffer the trade of the French colonies in America to be carried on by the subjects of other powers, under the specious pretext of neutrality: nor to permit words to be interpreted as a license to drive a trade with his enemies, which, though not particularly specified in the articles of contraband, was nevertheless rendered such in all respects, and in every sense, by the nature of the circumstances. It is not at all more surprising that the Dutch merchants should complain, than that the English government should persist in confiscating the ships that were found to contain the merchandise of their enemies. The individual traders of every mercantile nation will run considerable risks in extending their particular commerce, even when they know it must be detrimental to the general interest of their country. In the war maintained by the confederates against Louis XIV. of France, the merchant ships of the Dutch carried on an uninterrupted trade to the French ports; and, notwithstanding the repeated solicitations of England, the states-general could never be prevailed upon to prohibit this commerce, which undoubtedly enabled France to protract the war. The truth is, they gave the British ministry to understand, that unless they connived at this traffic, their subjects could not possibly defray their proportion of the expense at which the war was maintained. It is well known through all Europe, that the subjects of the United Provinces reaped considerable advantage, not only from this branch of illicit trade, but also by providing for both armies in Flanders, and by the practice of stock-jobbing in England; consequently, it was not the interest, either of the states-general, or the English general, between whom there was a very good understanding, to bring that war to a speedy conclusion: nor indeed ought we to fix the imputation of partiality upon a whole nation, for the private conduct of individuals, influenced by motives of self-interest, which co-operate with the same energy in Holland, and among the subjects of Great Britain. In the course of the former war, such a scandalous appetite for gain prevailed in different parts of the British dominions, that the French islands were actually supplied with provisions, slaves, and lumber, from Ireland and the British colonies in North America; and Martinique, in particular, must have surrendered to the commander of the English squadron stationed in those seas, had it not been thus supported by English subjects. Certain it is, the Dutch had some reason to complain that they were decoyed into this species of traffic by the article of a treaty, which, in their opinion, admitted of no limitation; and that the government of Great Britain, without any previous warning, or explaining its sentiments on this subject, swept the sea at once of all their vessels employed in this commerce, and condemned them, without mitigation, to the entire ruin of many thousand families. Considering the intimate connexion of mutual interest subsisting between Great Britain and the states of the United Provinces, they seem to have had some right to an intimation of this nature, which, in all probability, would have induced them to resign all prospect of advantage from the prosecution of such traffic.
{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}
CONFERENCES AT THE HAGUE.
Besides the universal clamour excited in Holland, and the famous memorial presented to the states-general, which we have already mentioned in another place, a deputation of merchants waited four times successively on the princess regent to explain their grievances, and demand her concurrence in augmenting the navy for the preservation of their commerce. She promised to interpose her best offices with the court of Great Britain; and these co-operating with representations made by the states-general, the English minister was empowered to open conferences at the Hague, in order to bring all matters in dispute to an amicable accommodation. These endeavours, however, proved ineffectual. The British cruisers continued to take, and the British courts to condemn, all Dutch vessels containing the produce of the French sugar islands. The merchants of Holland and Zealand renewed their complaints with redoubled clamour, and all the trading part of the nation, reinforced by the whole party that opposed the house of Orange, cried aloud for an immediate augmentation of the marine, and reprisals upon the pirates of England. The princess, in order to avoid extremities, was obliged not only to employ all her personal influence with the states-general, but also to play off one faction against another, in the way of remonstrance and exclamation As far back as the month of June, she presented a memorial to the states-general, reminding them, that in the beginning of the war between France and England, she had advised an augmentation should be made in their land-forces, to strengthen the garrisons of the frontier towns, and cover the territories of the republic from invasion. She gave them to understand, that the provinces of Gueldres and Overyssel, intimidated by the proximity of two formidable armies, had resolved to demand that the augmentation of their land-forces should be taken into consideration by the other provinces; and requested her to reinforce their solicitations that this measure might immediately take place. This request, she said, she the more readily granted, as she could not but be sensible of the imminent danger that threatened the republic, especially since the Hanoverian army had passed the Rhine; and as it behoved the state to put itself in a condition to hinder either army from retiring into the territories of the republic, if it should be defeated; for in that case the conqueror, being authorized to pursue his enemy wherever he can find him, would bring the war into the heart of their country. This representation had no other effect than that of suspending the measure which each party proposed. The princess, in her answer to the fourth deputation of the merchants, declared that she beheld the present state of their trade with the most anxious concern; that its want of protection was not her fault, but that of the towns of Dort, Haerlem, Amsterdam, Torgau, Rotterdam, and the Brille, to whose conduct it was owing, that the forces of the state, by sea and land, were not now on a better footing. The deputies were afterwards referred to her minister, M. de la Larrey, to whom they represented, that the augmentation of the land-forces, and the equipment of a fleet, were matters as distinct from each other as light from darkness; that there was no pressing motive for an augmentation of the army, whereas, innumerable reasons rendered the equipment of a fleet a matter of the most urgent necessity. In a few days after this representation was made, the princess, in an assembly of the states-general, requested their high mightinesses, that, seeing their earnest and repeated efforts to induce the provinces of Holland, Zealand, Friesland, and West Friesland, to acquiesce in the proposed augmentation of forces by sea and land, had not hitherto met with success, they would now consider and deliberate upon some expedient for terminating this affair, and the sooner the better, in order on one hand to satisfy the strong and well-grounded instances made by the provinces of Gueldres, Utrecht, Overyssel, and Groningen; and, on the other, to comply with the ardent and just desires expressed by the commercial inhabitants of the country. She told them, that the deputation which waited on her consisted of forty merchants, a number that merited attention, no less than the speech they pronounced, of which a great number of printed copies were distributed through all parts of the country. Without making any particular remarks on the harangue, she only observed, that the drift of it did not tend to facilitate the negotiation begun with Great Britain, nor to induce the nation to prefer a convention to a rupture with that crown. From this circumstance she inferred, it was more than time to finish the deliberations on the proposal for augmenting the forces both by sea and land; a measure, without which, she was convinced in her conscience, the state was, and would always remain, exposed to all sorts of misfortune and danger both now and hereafter.
In consequence of this interposition, the states-general that same day sent a letter to the states of Holland and West Friesland, communicating the sentiments of the princess-regent, and insisting upon the necessity of complying with her proposal of the double augmentation. They observed, that an augmentation of the land-forces, for the defence of the frontiers, was unavoidable, as well as an equipment by sea for the security of commerce: that the states of the provinces of Gueldres, Utrecht, Overyssel, and Groningen, joined with them in the same opinion; and accordingly had insisted, by divers letters and propositions, on those two points so essential to the public interest. They represented the danger of delay, and the fatal effects of discord; they proposed, that by a reciprocal indulgence one party should comply with the sentiments of the other, in order to avoid a schism and dangerous division among the confederates, the consequences of which would be very deplorable; while the republic, in the meantime, would remain in a defenceless condition, both by sea and land, and depend upon the arbitrary power of its neighbours. They conjured them, therefore, as they valued the safety of their country, and all that was dear to them; as they regarded the protection of the good inhabitants, the concord and harmony which at all times but especially at the present critical juncture, was of the last necessity, that they would seriously reflect upon the exhortations of her royal highness, as well as on the repeated instances of the majority of the confederates, and take a wise and salutary resolution with regard to the proposed augmentation of the land-forces, so that this addition, together with an equipment at sea, might, the sooner the better, be unanimously brought to a conclusion. It was undoubtedly the duty of all who wished well to their country, to moderate the heat and precipitation of those, who, provoked by their losses, and stimulated by resentment, endeavoured at this period to involve their nation in a war with Great Britain. Had matters been pushed to this extremity, in a few months the republic would, in all probability, have been brought to the brink of ruin. The Dutch were distracted by internal divisions; they were altogether unprovided for hostilities by sea; the ocean was covered with their trading vessels; and the naval armaments of Great Britain were so numerous and powerful, as to render all resistance on that element equally vain and pernicious. The English could not only have scoured the seas, and made prize of their shipping, but were also in a condition to reduce or demolish all their towns in Zealand, where they would hardly have met with any opposition.
CHAPTER XVI.
Domestic Occurrences in Great Britain..... Trials of Dr. Hensey and Shebbeare..... Institution of the Magdalen Asylum..... Society for the encouragement of Arts..... Session opened..... New Treaty with the King of Prussia..... Supplies granted..... The King's Message to the Commons..... Bill relating to ihe Distillery, and the Exportation of Corn..... Petition from the Justices of Norfolk—-Bill for the Importation of salted Beef from Treland continued..... Regulations with respect to Privateers..... New Militia Laws..... Act for the Relief of Debtors revived..... Bills for the Importation of Irish Beef and Tallow..... Act relative to Milford-Haven..... Bill relative to the Duty on Pensions..... Act relative to the Duty on Plate..... Cambric Act..... Unsuccessful Bills..... Case of the Insolvent Debtors..... Case of Cant. Walker..... Remarks on the Bankrupt Laws..... Inquiry into the State of the Poor..... Regulations of Weights and Measures..... Resolutions concerning the Foundling Hospital..... Messages from the King to the Parliament..... Session closed..... Preparations for War..... Death of the Princess of Orange and Princess Elizabeth Caroline..... Examples made of Pirates..... Accounts of some remarkable Murders..... Murder of Daniel Clarke..... Majority of the Prince of Wales..... Resolutions concerning a new Bridge at Blackfriars..... Pire in Cornhill..... Method contrived to find out the Longitude..... Installation at Oxford..... Deplorable Incident at Sea..... Captures made by separate Cruisers..... Captain Hood takes the Bellona..... and Captain Barrington the Count do St. Florentin..... Captain Falkner takes a French East Indiaman..... Prize taken in the West Indies..... Engagement between the Hercules and the Florissant..... Havre-de-Grace bombarded by Admiral Rodney..... Admiral Boscawen defeats M. de la Clue..... Preparations made by the French for invading England..... Account of Thurot..... French Fleet sails from Brest..... Admiral Hawke defeats M. de Conflans..... Proceedings of the Irish Parliament..... Loyalty of the Irish-Catholics..... Dangerous Insurrection in Dublin..... Alarm of a Descent in Scotland
While the operations of the war were prosecuted through the four quarters of the globe, the island of Great Britain, which may be termed the centre that gave motion to this vast machine, enjoyed all the tranquillity of the most profound peace, and saw nothing of war but the preparations and trophies, which served only to animate the nation to a desire of further conquest; for the dejection occasioned by the misfortune at St. Cas soon vanished before the prospect of victory and success. Considering the agitation naturally produced among the common people, by the practice of pressing men into the service of the navy, which, in the beginning of the year, had been carried on with unusual violence, the levy of so many new corps of soldiers, and the endeavours used in forming the national militia, very few disturbances happened to interrupt the internal repose of the nation. From private acts of malice, fraud, violence, and rapine, no community whatsoever is exempted. In the month of April, the temporary wooden bridge over the Thames, built for the conveniency of carriages and passengers, while the workmen should be employed in widening and repairing London bridge, was maliciously set on fire in the night, and continued burning till noon next day, when the ruins of it fell into the river. The destruction of this conveniency proved very detrimental to the commerce of the city, notwithstanding the vigilancy and discretion of the magistrates, in applying remedies for this misfortune. A promise of the king's pardon was offered in a public advertisement, by the secretary of state, and a reward of two hundred pounds by the city of London, to any person who should discover the perpetrator of such wicked outrage; but nevertheless he escaped detection. No individual, nor any society of men, could have the least interest in the execution of such a scheme, except the body of London watermen; but as no discovery was made to the prejudice of any person belonging to that society, the deed was imputed to the malice of some secret enemy to the public. Even after a new temporary bridge was erected, another attempt was made (in all probability by the same incendiary) to reduce the whole to ashes, but happily miscarried, and a guard was appointed to prevent any such atrocious efforts in the sequel. Dangerous tumults were raised in and about Manchester, by a prodigious number of manufacturers who had left off working, and entered into a combination to raise, by force, the price of their labour. They had formed a regular plan, and collected large sums for the maintenance of the poorer sort, while they refused to work for their families. They insulted and abused all those who would not join in this defection, dispersed incendiary letters; and denounced terrible threats against all such as should presume to oppose their proceedings. But these menaces had no effect upon the magistrates and justices, who did their duty with such discretion and courage, that the ringleaders being singled out and punished by law, the rest were soon reduced to order.
TRIALS OF DRS. HENSEY AND SHEBBEARE
In the month of June, Florence Hensey, an obscure physician, and native of Ireland, who had been apprehended for treasonable practices, was tried in the court of king's-bench, on an indictment for high treason. In the course of the trial it appeared that he had been employed as a spy for the French ministry; to which, in consideration of a paltry pension, he sent intelligence of every material occurrence in Great Britain. The correspondence was managed by his brother, a Jesuit, who acted as chaplain and secretary to the Spanish ambassador at the Hague. The British resident at that court having learned from the Spanish minister some secrets relating to England, even before they were communicated to him from the English ministry, was induced to set on foot an inquiry touching the source of this information, and soon received an assurance, that the secretary of the Spanish ambassador had a brother, a physician in London. The suspicion naturally arising from this circumstance being imparted to the ministry of England, Hensey was narrowly watched, and twenty-nine of his letters were intercepted. From the contents of these he was convicted of having given the French court the first notice of the expedition to North America, the capture of the two ships, the Alcide and Lys, the sailing and destination of every squadron and armament, and the difficulties that occurred in raising money for the service of the public. He had even informed them, that the secret expedition of the foregoing year was intended against Eochefort, and advised a descent upon Great Britain, at a certain time and place, as the most effectual method of distressing the government, and affecting the public credit. After a long trial he was found guilty of treason, and received the sentence of death usually pronounced on such occasions; but whether he earned forgiveness by some material discovery, or the minister found him so insensible and insignificant that he was ashamed to take his life, he escaped execution, and was pardoned, on condition of going into perpetual exile. The severity of the government was much about the same period exercised on Dr. Shebbeare, a public writer, who, in a series of printed letters to the people of England, had animadverted on the conduct of the ministry in the most acrimonious terms, stigmatized some great names with all the virulence of censure, and even assaulted the throne itself with oblique insinuation and ironical satire. The ministry, incensed at the boldness, and still more enraged at the success of this author, whose writings were bought with avidity by the public, determined to punish him severely for his arrogance and abuse, and he was apprehended by a warrant from the secretary's office. His sixth letter to the people of England was pitched upon as the foundation of a prosecution. After a short trial in the court of king's bench, he was found guilty of having written the sixth letter to the people of England, adjudged a libellous pamphlet, sentenced to stand in the pillory, to pay a small fine, to be imprisoned three years, and give security for his future good behaviour; so that, in effect, this good man suffered more for having given vent to the unguarded effusions of mistaken zeal, couched in the language of passion and scurrility, than was inflicted upon Hensey, a convicted traitor, who had acted as spy for France, and betrayed his own country for hire.
INSTITUTION OF THE MAGDALEN AND OTHER ASYLUMS.
Amidst a variety of crimes and disorders, arising from impetuosity of temper, unreined passions, luxury, extravagance, and an almost total want of police and subordination, the virtues of benevolence are always springing up to an extraordinary growth in the British soil; and here charities are often established by the humanity of individuals, which in any other country would be honoured as national institutions: witness the great number of hospitals and infirmaries in London and Westminster, erected and maintained by voluntary contributions, or raised by the princely donations of private founders. In the course of this year the public began to enjoy the benefit of several admirable institutions. Mr. Henry Baine, a private gentleman of Middlesex, had, in his lifetime, built and endowed an hospital for the maintenance of forty poor maidens. By his will he bequeathed a certain sum of money to accumulate at interest, under the management of trustees, until the yearly produce should amount to two hundred and ten pounds, to be given in marriage portions to two of the maidens educated in his hospital, at the age of twenty-two, who should be the best recommended for piety and industry by the masters or mistresses whom they had served. In the month of March, the sum destined for this laudable purpose was completed: when the trustees, by public advertisement, summoned the maidens educated in the hospital to appear on a certain day, with proper certificates of their behaviour and circumstances, that six of the most deserving might be selected to draw lots for the prize of one hundred pounds, to be paid as her marriage portion, provided she married a man of an unblemished character, a member of the church of England, residing within certain specified parishes, and approved by the trustees. Accordingly, on the first of May the candidates appeared, and the prize being gained by one young woman, in presence of a numerous assembly of all ranks, attracted by curiosity, the other five maidens, with a sixth, added in lieu of her who had been successsful, were marked for a second chance on the same day of the following year, when a second prize of the same value would be presented: thus a new candidate will be added every year, that every maiden who has been educated in this hospital, and preserved her character without reproach, may have a chance for the noble donation, which is also accompanied with the sum of five pounds to defray the expense of the wedding entertainment. One scarce knows whether most to admire the plan, or commend the humanity of this excellent institution.—Of equal and perhaps superior merit was another charitable establishment, which also took effect about this period. A small number of humane individuals, chiefly citizens of London, deeply affected with the situation of common prostitutes, who are certainly the most forlorn of all human creatures, formed a generous resolution in their favour, such as even the best men of the kingdom had never before the courage to avow. They considered that many of these unhappy creatures, so wretched in themselves, and so productive of mischief to society, had been seduced to vice in their tender years by the perfidious artifice of the other sex, or the violence of unruly passion, before they had acquired experience to guard against the one, or foresight to perceive the fatal consequences of the other; that the jewel, reputation, being thus irretrievably lost, perhaps in one unguarded moment, they were covered with shame and disgrace, abandoned by their families, excluded from all pity, regard, and assistance; that, stung by self-conviction, insulted with reproach, denied the privilege of penitence and contrition, cut off from all hope, impelled by indigence, and maddened by despair, they had plunged into a life of infamy, in which they were exposed to deplorable vicissitudes of misery, and the most excruciating pangs of reflection that any human being could sustain; that whatever remorse they might feel, howsoever they might detest their own vice, or long for an opportunity of amendment, they were entirely destitute of all means of reformation. They were not only deprived of all possibility of profiting by those precious moments of repentance, and becoming again useful members of society; but, in order to earn a miserable subsistence, were obliged to persevere in the paths of prostitution, and act as the instruments of heaven's vengeance in propagating distemper and profligacy, in ruining the bodies and debauching the minds of their fellow-creatures. Moved to sympathy and compassion by these considerations, this virtuous band of associates determined to provide a comfortable asylum for female penitents, to which they might fly for shelter from the receptacles of vice, the miseries of life, and the scorn of mankind; where they might indulge the salutary sentiments of remorse, make their peace with heaven, accustom themselves to industry and temperance, and be profitably reunited to society, from which they had been so unhappily dissevered. The plan of this excellent institution being formed, was put in execution by means of voluntary subscription, and the house opened in Goodman 's-fields, under the name of the Magdalen-hospital, in the month of August, when fifty petitions were presented by penitent prostitutes, soliciting admittance. Another asylum was also opened by the hand of private charity, on the Surrey-side of Westminster-bridge, for the reception and education of female orphans, and children abandoned by their parents.
SOCIETY FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ARTS.
Nor was encouragement refused to those who distinguished themselves by extraordinary talents in any branch of the liberal and useful arts and sciences, though no Maecenas appeared among the ministers, and not the least ray of patronage glimmered from the throne. The protection, countenance, and gratification secured in other countries by the institution of academies, and the liberalities of princes, the ingenious in England derived from the generosity of a public, endued with taste and sensibility, eager for improvement, and proud of patronising extraordinary merit. Several years had already elapsed since a society of private persons was instituted at London, for the encouragement of arts, manufactures, and commerce. It consisted of a president, vice-president, secretary, register, collector, and other officers, elected from a very considerable number of members, who pay a certain yearly contribution for the purposes of the institution. In the course of every year they held eight general meetings in a large assembly-room, built and furnished at the common expense; besides the ordinary meetings of the society, held every week, from the second Wednesday in November to the last Wednesday in May; and in the intermediate time, on the first and third Wednesday of every month. At these ordinary meetings, provided the number then present exceeded ten, the members had a right to proceed on business, and power to appoint such committees as they should think necessary. The money contributed by this association, after the necessary expense of the society had been deducted, was expended in premiums for planting and husbandry; for discoveries and improvements in chemistry, dying, and mineralogy; for promoting the ingenious arts of drawing, engraving, casting, painting, statuary, and sculpture; for the improvement of manufactures and machines, in the various articles of hats, crapes, druggets, mills, marbled-paper, ship-blocks, spinning-wheels, toys, yarn, knitting, and weaving. They likewise allotted sums for the advantage of the British colonies in America, and bestowed premiums on those settlers who should excel in curing cochineal, planting logwood-trees, cultivating olive-trees, producing myrtle-wax, making potash, preserving raisins, curing saffiour, making silk and wines, importing sturgeon, preparing isinglass, planting hemp and cinnamon, extracting opium and the gum of the persimon-tree, collecting stones of the mango, which should be found to vegetate in the West Indies; raising silk-grass, and laying out provincial gardens. They moreover allowed a gold medal in honour of him who should compose the best treatise on the arts of peace, containing an historical account of the progressive improvements of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce in the kingdom of England, with the effects of those improvements on the morals and manners of the people, and pointing out the most proper means for their future advancement. In a word, the society is so numerous, the contributions so considerable, the plan so judiciously laid, and executed with such discretion and spirit, as to promise much more effectual and extensive advantage to the public than ever accrued from all the boasted academies of Christendom. The artists of London had long maintained a private academy for improvement in the art of drawing from living figures; but in order to extend this advantage, which was not attained without difficulty and expense, the duke of Richmond, a young nobleman of the most amiable character, provided a large apartment at Whitehall, for the use of those who studied the arts of painting, sculpture, and engraving; and furnished it with a collection of original plaster casts from the best antique statues and busts at Rome and Florence. Here any learner had liberty to draw, or make models, under the eye and instructions of two eminent artists and twice a year the munificent founder bestowed premiums of silver medals on the four pupils who excelled the rest in drawing from a certain figure, and making the best model of it in basso-relievo. [479] [See note 3 R, at the end of this Vol.]
On the twenty-third day of November both houses of parliament met at Westminster, when his majesty being indisposed, the session was opened by commission, and the lord-keeper harangued them to this effect. He told them, his majesty had directed the lords of the commission to assure his parliament that he always received the highest satisfaction in being able to lay before them any event that might promote the honour and interests of his kingdoms; that in consequence of their advice, and enabled by the assistance which they unanimously gave, his majesty had exerted his endeavours to carry on the war in the most vigorous manner, in order to attain that desirable end, always to be wished, a safe and honourable peace:* that it had pleased the Divine Providence to bless his measures and arms with success in several parts, and to make the enemies of the nation feel, that the strength of Great Britain is not to be provoked with impunity: that the conquest of the strong fortress of Louisbourg, with the islands of Cape-Breton and St. John; the demolition of Frontenac, of the highest importance to his operations in America, and the reduction of Senegal, could not fail to bring great distress on the French commerce and colonies, and, in proportion, to procure great advantages to those of Great Britain.
* In the month of August, the king, in quality of elector of Hanover, having occasion for two hundred thousand pounds, a loan by subscription for that sum was opened at the bank, and filled immediately by seven or eight money-dealers of London.
He observed, that France had also been made sensible, that whilst her forces are sent forth to invade and ravage the dominions of her neighbours, her own coasts are not inaccessible to his majesty's fleets and armies—a truth which she had experienced in the demolition of the works at Cherbourg, erected at a great expense, with a particular view to annoy England, as well as in the loss of a great number of ships and vessels; but no treatment, however injurious to his majesty, could tempt him to make retaliation on the innocent subjects of that crown. He told them, that in Germany his majesty's good brother the king of Prussia, and prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, had found full employment for the enemies of France and her confederates, from which the English operations, both by sea and in America, had derived the most evident advantage: their successes owing, under God, to their able conduct, and the bravery of his majesty's troops, and those of his allies, having been signal and glorious. The king, moreover, commanded them to declare, that the common cause of liberty and independency was still making noble and glorious efforts against the unnatural union formed to oppress it: that the commerce of his subjects, the source of national riches, had, by the vigilant protection received from his majesty's fleet, flourished in a manner not to be paralleled during such troubles. In this state of things, he said, the king in his wisdom thought it unnecessary to use many words to persuade them to bear up against all difficulties, effectually to stand by and defend his majesty, vigorously to support the king of Prussia and the rest of his majesty's allies, and to exert themselves to reduce their enemies to equitable terms of accommodation. He observed to the house of commons, that the uncommon extent of this war, in different parts, occasioned it to be uncommonly expensive: that the king had ordered them to declare to the commons, that he sincerely lamented, and deeply felt, for the burdens of his people: that the several estimates were ordered to be laid before them: and that he desired only such supplies as should be requisite to push the war with advantage, and be adequate to the necessary services. In the last place, he assured them the king took so much satisfaction in that good harmony which subsisted among his faithful subjects, that it was more proper for him now to thank them for it, than to repeat his exhortation to it: that this union, necessary at all times, was more especially so in such critical conjunctures; and his majesty doubted not but the good effects the nation had found from it would be the strongest motives to them to pursue it.—The reader will, no doubt, be surprised to find this harangue abound with harshness of period and inelegancy of expression; he will wonder that, in particularizing the successes of the year in America, no mention is made of the reduction of fort Du Quesne on the river Ohio; a place of great importance, both from its strength and situation, the erection of which had been one great motive to the war between the two nations; but he will be still more surprised to hear it declared from the throne, that the operations, both by sea and in America, had derived the most evident advantage from the war in Germany. An assertion the more extraordinary, as the British ministry, in their answer to the Parallel, which we have already mentioned, had expressly affirmed, that "none but such as are unacquainted with the maritime force of England can believe, that without a diversion on the continent, to employ part of the enemy's force, she is not in a condition to hope for success and maintain her superiority at sea. That they must be very ignorant indeed, who imagine that the forces of England are not able to resist those of France unless the latter be hindered from turning all her efforts to the sea." It is very remarkable that the British ministry should declare that the war in Germany was favourable to the English operations by sea and in America, and almost in the same breath accuse the French king of having fomented that war. Let us suppose that France had no war to maintain in Europe; and ask in what manner she, in that case, would have opposed the progress of the British arms by sea and in America? Her navy was reduced to such a condition that it durst not quit her harbours; her merchant ships were all taken, her mariners confined in England, and the sea was covered with British cruisers: in these circumstances, what expedients could she have contrived for sending supplies and reinforcements to America, or for opposing the naval armaments of Great Britain in any other part of the world?—None. Without ships and mariners, her troops, ammunition, and stores were, in this respect, as useless as money to a man shipwrecked on a desolate island. But granting that the war in Germany had, in some measure, diverted the attention of the French ministry from the prosecution of their operations in America, (and this is granting more than ought to be allowed,) the question is not, Whether the hostilities upon the continent of Europe prevented France from sending a greater number of troops to Canada; but whether the war in Germany was either necessary or expedient for distressing the French more effectually in other parts of the world? Surely every intelligent man of candour must answer in the negative. The expense incurred by England for subsidies and armies in the empire exceeded three millions sterling annually; and this enormous expense, without being able to protect Hanover, only served to keep the war alive in different parts of Germany. Had one half of this sum been employed in augmenting and extending the naval armaments of Great Britain, and in reinforcing her troops in America and the West Indies, France would have been, at this day, deprived of all her sugar colonies, as well as of her settlements on the continent of America; and being absolutely cut off from these sources of wealth, would have found it impracticable either to gratify her subsidiaries, or to maintain such formidable armies to annoy her neighbours. These are truths, which will appear to the conviction of the public, when the illusive spells of unsubstantial victory are dissolved, and time shall have dispersed the thick mists of prejudice which now seem to darken and perplex the understanding of the people.
{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}
NEW TREATY WITH THE KING OF PRUSSIA.
The conduct of the administration was so agreeable to both houses of parliament, that in their address to the throne they expressed their unshaken zeal and loyalty to his majesty's person, congratulated him on the success of his arms, and promised to support his measures and allies with steadiness and alacrity. *
* That the charge of disaffection to the king's person, which was so loudly trumpeted by former ministers and their adherents against those who had honesty and courage to oppose the measures of a weak and corrupt administration, was entirely false and without foundation, appeared at this juncture, when in the midst of a cruel, oppressive, and continental war, maintained by the blood and treasure of Great Britain, all opposition ceased in both houses of parliament. The addresses of thanks to his majesty, which are always dictated by the immediate servants of the crown, were unanimously adopted in both houses, and not only couched in terms of applause, but even inflated with expressions of rapture and admiration. They declared themselves sensible, that the operations of Great Britain, both by sea and in America, had received the most evident and important advantages from the maintenance of the war in Germany, and seemed eager to espouse any measure that might gratify the inclination of the sovereign.
It was probably in consequence of this assurance that a new treaty between Great Britain and Prussia was concluded at London on the seventh day of December, importing, That as the burdensome war in which the king of Prussia is engaged, lays him under the necessity of making fresh efforts to defend himself against the multitude of enemies who attack his dominions, he is obliged to take new measures with the king of England, for their reciprocal defence and safety; and his Britannic majesty hath at the same time signified his earnest desire to strengthen the friendship subsisting between the two courts; and, in consequence thereof, to conclude a formal convention, for granting to his Prussian majesty speedy and powerful assistance, their majesties have nominated and authorized their ministers to concert and settle the following articles:—All formal treaties between the two crowns, particularly that signed at Westminster on the sixteenth day of January in the year 1756, and the convention of the eleventh of April in the year 1758, are confirmed by the present convention of the eleventh of April in the year 1758, in their whole tenor, as if they were herein inserted word for word. The king of Great Britain shall cause to be paid at London, to such person or persons as shall be authorized by the king of Prussia for that end, the sum of four millions of rix-dollars, making six hundred and seventy thousand pounds sterling, at one payment, immediately on the exchange of the ratification, if the king of Prussia should so require. His Prussian majesty shall employ the said sum in supporting and augmenting his forces, which shall act in such manner as shall be of the greatest service to the common cause, and contribute most to the mutual defence and safety of their said majesties. The king of Great Britain, both as king and elector, and the king of Prussia, reciprocally bind themselves not to conclude with the powers that have taken part in the present war, any treaty of peace, truce, or other such like convention, but by common advice and consent, each expressly including therein the other. The ratification of the present convention shall be exchanged within six weeks, or sooner, if possible. In effect, this treaty was no other than a renewal of the subsidy from year to year, because it was not thought proper to stipulate in the first subsidiary convention an annual supply of such importance until the war should be terminated, lest the people of England should be alarmed at the prospect of such successive burdens, and the complaisance of the commons be in some future session exhausted. On the whole, this was perhaps the most extraordinary treaty that ever was concluded; for it contains no specification of articles, except the payment of the subsidy; every other article was left to the interpretation of his Prussian majesty.
{1759}
SUPPLIES GRANTED.
The parliament, having performed the ceremony of addresses to the throne, immediately proceeded to the great work of the supply. The two committees in the house of commons were immediately established, and continued by adjournments to the month of May, by the twenty-third day of which all their resolutions were taken. They voted sixty thousand men, including fourteen thousand eight hundred and forty-five marines, for the service of the ensuing year; and for the operations by land, a body of troops amounting to fifty-two thousand five hundred and fifty-three effective men, besides the auxiliaries of Hanover, Hesse, Brunswick, Saxe-Gotha, and Buckebourg, to the number of fifty thousand, and five battalions on the Irish establishment in actual service in America and Africa. For the maintenance of the sixty thousand men employed in the sea-service, they granted three millions one hundred and twenty thousand pounds; for the land-forces, one million two hundred and fifty-six thousand one hundred and thirty pounds, fifteen shillings and two-pence; for the charge of the additional five battalions, forty thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine pounds, thirteen shillings and nine-pence; for the pay of the general and staff-officers, and hospitals of the land-forces, fifty-two thousand four hundred and eighty-four pounds one shilling and eight-pence; for maintaining the garrisons in the Plantations, Gibraltar, Nova-Scotia, Newfoundland, Providence, Cape-Breton, and Senegal, the sum of seven hundred and forty-two thousand five hundred and thirty-one pounds, five shillings and seven-pence; for the charge of ordnance for land-service, two hundred and twenty thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine pounds, eleven shillings and nine-pence; for extraordinary service performed by the same office, and not provided for by parliament in the course of the preceding year, three hundred and twenty-three thousand nine hundred and eighty-seven pounds, thirteen shillings and three-ponce; for the ordinary of the navy, including half-pay to sea-officers, two hundred and thirty-eight thousand four hundred and ninety-one pounds, nine shillings and eight-pence; towards the support of Greenwich-hospital, and for the out-pensioners of Chelsea-college, the sum of thirty-six thousand pounds. They allotted for one year's expense, incurred by the foreign troops in the pay of Great Britain, one million two hundred thirty-eight thousand one hundred and seventy-seven pounds, nineteen shillings and ten-pence, over and above sixty thousand pounds for enabling his majesty to fulfil his engagements with the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, pursuant to the separate article of a new treaty concluded between them in the month of January of this current year, stipulating, that this sum should be paid to his serene highness in order to facilitate the means by which he might again fix his residence in his own dominions, and by his presence give fresh courage to his faithful subjects. Eighty thousand pounds were granted for enabling his majesty to discharge the like sum raised in pursuance of an act passed in the preceding session, and charged upon the first aids or supplies to be granted in this session of parliament. The sum of two hundred thousand pounds was voted towards the building and repairing ships of war for the ensuing year. Fifteen thousand pounds were allowed for improving London bridge; and forty thousand on account, for the Foundling-hospital. For the charge of transports to be employed in the course of the year they assigned six hundred sixty seven thousand seven hundred and twenty-one pounds nineteen shillings and seven-pence: for maintaining the colonies of Nova-Scotia and Georgia they bestowed twenty-five thousand two hundred and thirty-eight pounds thirteen shillings and five-pence. To replace sums taken from the sinking fund, thirty-three thousand two hundred and fifty-two pounds eighteen shillings and ten-pence halfpenny; for maintaining the British forts and settlements en the coast of Africa, ten thousand pounds, and for paying off the mortgage on an estate devised for the endowment of a professorship in the university of Cambridge, the sum of twelve hundred and eighty pounds. For the expence of the militia they voted ninety thousand pounds: for extraordinary expenses relating to the land-forces, incurred in the course of last year, and unprovided for by parliament, the sum of four hundred fifty-six thousand seven hundred and eighty-five pounds ten shillings and five-pence three farthings. For the purchase of certain lands and hereditaments, in order to secure the king's docks at Portsmouth, Chatham, and Plymouth, they granted thirty-six thousand nine hundred and sixty-six pounds two shillings and ten-pence. They voted two hundred thousand pounds for enabling his majesty to give proper compensation to the respective provinces in North-America, for the expenses that had been incurred in levying and maintaining troops for the service of the public. They granted twenty thousand pounds to the East-India company, towards enabling them to defray the expense of a military force in their settlements: and the same sum was granted for carrying on the fortification to secure the harbour of Milford. To make good several sums issued by his majesty, for indemnifying the inn-holders and victuallers of Hampshire for the expenses they had incurred in quartering the Hessian auxiliaries in England; for an addition to the salaries of judges, and other less considerable purposes, they allowed the sum of twenty-six thousand one hundred and seventy-eight pounds sixteen shillings and six-pence. Finally, they voted one million, upon account, for enabling the king to defray any extraordinary expense of the war, incurred, or to bo incurred, for the service of the current year; and to take all such measures as might be necessary to disappoint or defeat any enterprises or designs of his enemies, as the exigency of affairs should require. The sum of all the grants voted by the committee of supply, amounted to twelve millions seven hundred sixty-one thousand three hundred and ten pounds nineteen shillings and five-pence. |
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