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AGITATION IN ENGLAND AND SCOTLAND.
Although government had scarcely so much cause of alarm at the movements of political bodies as it exhibited, yet that there was some cause for fear there can be no reasonable doubt. This is manifest from the state trials which occurred at this period. One of the first of these trials took place at the Lancaster spring assizes. Mr. Thomas Walker, of Manchester, a strenuous advocate for parliamentary reform, at whose house meetings for political purposes were occasionally held, was indicted, with nine other persons, for conspiracy to overturn the constitution by arms, and to assist the French in case of an invasion. The principal evidence adduced was a person of the name of Dunn; but his testimony was so contradictory that the prosecution was abandoned, and Dunn was committed to prison to take his trial for perjury. Soon after this a rumour was raised of a design to assassinate the king, and some persons were arrested and committed for trial; but they were soon after liberated, and the story fell into contempt under the popular designation of the "Pop-gun Plot;" it being averred that the king's death was to be encompassed by shooting him with an instrument resembling a walking-stick. More important proceedings subsequently took place in the Sessions-House at Clerkenwell. At this time the London Corresponding Society counted more than 30,000 members in its association, and it fully justified its title by entering into correspondence with every seditious club in the kingdom. According to a Jacobinical expression, it soon affiliated itself with the Constitutional Society; their respective secretaries—Thomas Hardy, a shoemaker, and Daniel Adams, an under-clerk—making known to the world the results of their deliberations, signed and sanctioned by their names and authorities. Hardy's club, that of the London Corresponding Society, however, exercised a species of metropolitan jurisdiction over all. By means of the handbills and pamphlets which this club circulated, and by means of its lecturers and the meetings it concocted, a union of all the clubs was formed; and this union finally arrived at a complete organization, with a central board in London, a division into provinces and districts, and a list of members, approaching to half a million, in correspondence or direct connexion. Government thought it high time now to interfere; and, suspecting the machinations of the ring-leaders, they adopted the usual policy under such circumstances, of employing spies to become members, in order to betray the secrets with which they may be entrusted. The morality of such a practice may be questioned; but policy, and not morality, is too frequently the doctrine of even the best-regulated states. The scheme, however, succeeded. In consequence of the discoveries of these spies, Hardy, Adams, Martin, an attorney, Loveit, a hair-dresser, the Rev. Jeremiah Joyce, preceptor to Lord Mahon, John Thelwall, the political lecturer, John Home Tooke, the philologist, Thomas Holcroft, the dramatist, Steward Kydd, a barrister, with several others, were all arraigned at the Old Bailey. The papers of Hardy and Adams had been seized, and an indictment was made out, which contained no less than nine overt acts of high-treason, all resolving themselves into the general charge, that the prisoners conspired to summon delegates to a national convention, with a view to subvert the government, to levy war against the existing authorities of the country, and to depose the king. The evidence adduced, however, did not bear out this strong indictment. Hardy, Home Tooke, and Thelwall were tried and acquitted; and then the crown lawyers abandoned all the other prosecutions, and those who had been indicted were liberated.
In the mean time some trials had taken place in Scotland which resulted in a different manner to those which had occurred in the Old Bailey. Thomas Muir, a Scotch barrister, and the Rev. Fysche Palmer, a Unitarian preacher at Dundee, had been tried for sedition, convicted, and sentenced to transportation. This excited considerable alarm among their friends and associates in England, and attracted the attention of some members of parliament. Early in the session Mr. Adams moved, in the house of commons, for leave to bring in a bill for making some important alterations in the criminal law of Scotland; and this being refused, he gave notice that he would bring forward a motion for the relief of Muir and Palmer, in another form. In the meantime Sheridan presented a petition from Palmer, representing that he conceived the sentence passed upon him by the high-court of justiciary, from which there was no appeal, to be unjust. Dun-das startled those who were about to plead for the prisoners, by intimating that the sentence was already executed, and that the warrant for the transportation of Palmer was both signed and issued. Nevertheless Pitt found himself compelled to allow the reception of the petition. But petitions on the table of the house of commons are not always successful in their prayer. On the 10th of March Mr. Adams moved for a copy of the record to be laid before the house, upon the ground of which he meant to question the legality of the sentence. He undertook to prove that, by the lav/ of Scotland, the crime imputed to them, of "lease-making," was only subject to fine, imprisonment, or banishment, and not to transportation; and that the acts attributed to Muir and Palmer did not even amount to that crime. Adams supported his legal positions with extensive knowledge, both judicial and historical; endeavouring to establish them by statute, analogy, and precedent, as well as by civil and political reasons. He showed that the acts, cases, and decisions which he brought forward were not detached and isolated, but all resulting from the same spirit and principles, established in the best times and by the highest authorities. He also contended that transportation was not a part of the Scottish law before the union, and that since the union no act had been passed allowing Scotch courts to transport in cases of sedition. Finally, he forcibly stated the evils, moral and political, which must result from a perversion of the law. The Scottish court and its sentence were defended by the lord-advocate, who had officially acted against Muir and Palmer, and by Pitt and Windham, while Fox supported Mr. Adams. The lord-advocate contended that the Scotch laws were better than the English for the punishment of libels and the suppression of seditious practices; and the majority of the house seemed to agree with him, for the motion was negatived by one hundred and seventy-one against thirty-two. Motions made in favour of the two convicts in the upper house, by Earls Lauderdale and Stanhope, were not more successful; and the lord-chancellor afterwards carried a resolution that "there were no grounds for interfering with any of the criminal courts as administered under the constitution, and by which the rights, liberties, and properties of all ranks of subjects were protected."
INTRODUCTION OF FOREIGN TROOPS.
On the 27th of March a message from his majesty informed the house of commons that a body of Hessians was placed in temporary winter-quarters at Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight, with a view to co-operate with the royalists in Brittany and the neighbouring districts. As similar cases had occurred at different periods, and as the cause and necessity of such a measure were obvious, it was concluded by government that the usual communication of the fact to parliament would be satisfactory; but opposition contended that Pitt ought to have moved for a bill of indemnity; and he was charged with having violated the Bill of Rights and the Act of Settlement. Mr. Grey moved, as a resolution of the house, that to employ foreigners in any situation of military trust, or to bring foreign troops into the kingdom, without the consent of parliament first had and obtained, is contrary to law. This motion, however, was negatived; and propositions made in both houses, at a subsequent date, for a bill of indemnity, met with no better success, ministers contending that it would be absurd to indemnify measures which were in themselves both justifiable and constitutional.
THE SLAVE-TRADE QUESTION.
In the course of this session, a bill, brought forward by Wilberforce and supported by Pitt, for the abolition of that branch of the slave-trade by which we had supplied the islands, was passed by the commons, despite the strenuous opposition of the West Indian interest. It was, however, thrown out in the house of lords, and a motion for referring to a committee the further hearing of evidence concerning the slave-trade was likewise negatived.
MOTION ON BEHALF OF LA FAYETTE.
On the 17th of March General Fitzpatrick moved for an addresss to his majesty, beseeching him to intercede with the King of Prussia for the release of La Fayette, who was confined in one of his prisons. The situation of La Fayette and his companions excited the sympathy of many persons; but there were others who had no fellow-feeling for them. Burke said, that La Fayette, instead of being termed an "illustrious exile," was then, and ought always to be, an outcast of the world; who, having no talents to guide or influence the storm which he had laboured to raise, fled like a coward from the bloodshed and massacre in which he had involved so many thousands of unoffending persons and families. Pitt denied that La Fayette's conduct had ever been friendly to the genuine cause of liberty; and affirmed that the interference required would be setting up ourselves as guardians of the consciences of foreign potentates. The motion was negatived by a large majority.
MOTION FOR INQUIRY INTO THE RECENT FAILURES OF OUR ARMIES.
As all the efforts of opposition to procure a termination of the war, or a dissolution of alliances with foreign potentates, had failed, they now proceeded to inquire how far the objects proposed had been obtained, and what was the probability of ultimate success. After reviewing the measures and events of the last campaign, in a speech of considerable ability, Major Maitland moved for a committee to inquire into the causes which led to the failure of the army under the Duke of York, and to the evacuation of Toulon. In reply it was urged, that though the possession of Dunkirk would have been a valuable acquisition, its conquest was impracticable, from the enormous efforts of the French; and that the same cause occasioned the evacuation of Toulon. On a general view of the campaign it was stated that the British arms had acquired great glory; and the house seemed to be of this opinion, for the motion was negatived by a great majority.
THE TRIAL OF WARREN HASTINGS.
On the 5th of March, Burke moved for a committee to inspect the journals of the lords relative to the proceedings of the trial of Warren Hastings; and to report the facts and observations on them to the house. Leave being given, he diligently set to work, and the report, occupying nearly two hundred pages, was made on the 17th of April; and it is said, by competent judges, to be one of the most able and elaborate papers that have come from his pen. It was published, without authority, in form of a pamphlet; and Lord Thurlow embraced an early opportunity of venting his indignation against both its publication and its contents. He characterised it as "disgraceful and indecent, tending to misrepresent and vilify the conduct of judges and magistrates intrusted with the administration of justice and the laws of the country." Burke made a pointed reply to this charge on the following day, in his seat in the house of commons. He remarked:—"It accuses the judges neither of ignorance nor corruption: whatever it says, it does not say it calumniously; that kind of language belongs to persons whose eloquence entitles them to a free use of epithets. The report states that the judges had given their opinion secretly, contrary to the almost uninterrupted tenor of parliamentary usage. It states that the opinions were given, not on the law, but on the case. It states that the mode of giving opinions was unprecedented, and contrary to the privileges of the house of commons. It states that the committee did not know on what rules and principles the judges had decided in those cases, as they neither heard them, nor are they entered on the journals. It is very true that we were and are extremely dissatisfied with those opinions, and the consequent determination of the lords; and we do not think such a mode of proceeding at all justified by the most numerous and best precedents. The report speaks for itself: whenever an occasion shall be regularly given to maintain everything of substance in that paper, I shall be ready to meet the proudest name for ability, learning, or rank, which this kingdom contains on that subject." This reply of Burke contains an allusion to the result of this long-pending trial, as will be seen. Hastings was acquitted. As for the gauntlet which Burke threw down, no one seemed inclined to take it up; and Burke soon after quitted the house of commons for ever, he accepting the Chiltern Hundreds. But before Burke left the house, Pitt moved the thanks of the commons to him and the other managers, "for their faithful management in discharge of the trust reposed in them." This motion was carried; and Burke in his reply observed, that prejudices against himself, arising from personal friendship or obligations to the accused, were too laudable for him to be discomposed at them. He had thrown out no general reflections on the Company's servants; he had merely-repeated what Mr. Hastings himself had said of the troops serving in Oude, and the house had marked their opinion of the officers in the very terms he used. As for other expressions attributed to him, they had been much exaggerated and misrepresented. This was the last day that this philosophical statesman took his seat in the house of commons. Among his last words were a warning to the country to beware of the fate of France. But this warning was now scarcely needed. He had sounded the trumpet of alarm with such effect for several sessions, that the nation was roused to a sense of danger, and was prepared to ward off the blow by its most vigorous efforts. He had rendered a noble service, not only to his own generation, but to posterity—not only to his own country, but to every nation in Europe.
THE PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.
Parliament was prorogued on the 11th of July. In his speech his majesty congratulated the lords and commons on the victory obtained over the French at sea on the 1st of June, and the acquisitions made in the East and West Indies. He also took occasion again to urge the two houses to persevere with increased vigour and exertion in the present contest, against a power irreconcilably hostile in its principles and spirit to all regular and established governments.
MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS.
At the conclusion of the session, the Portland party joined the ministerial ranks. The Duke of Portland received a blue riband, with the office of third secretary of state; Earl Spencer accepted the privy seal, which he soon laid aside to preside over the admiralty; and Mr. Windham, was made secretary at war. Before the close of the year, Lord Fitzwilliam was promoted to the vice-royalty of Ireland, in the place of Lord Westmoreland; the Earl of Mansfield succeeded to the presidency of the council; and Lord Chatham, brother to the premier, was made lord privy-seal. About the same time ten new peers were created. These measures greatly strengthened the administration; and at the same time confirmed the existing disunion of the old whig party.
EMBASSY TO CHINA, ETC.
Government had some time ago despatched Lord, Macartney on an embassy to China, and about this time the result of his mission became known. The embassy had been fitted out without any reasonable ground of success; but it was still expected that it might be the means of establishing a communication with that great empire. But the event did not answer these expectations. His lordship was received with suspicion, and ordered to depart as soon as he had made some costly presents, and received some trifling ones in return, being refused even a few days' delay. As one of the ambassador's suite observed, "They entered Pekin like paupers, remained in it like prisoners, and quitted it like vagrants."
CORSICA ANNEXED TO THE CROWN OF ENGLAND.
The nation was somewhat consoled for this failure by the annexation of Corsica to the crown of Great Britain; an event which, from its political importance, was a topic of ministerial exultation. After the disaster at Toulon, Lord Hood sailed to this island, which was in a state of revolt against the government. He landed three thousand soldiers and marines, and these nearly effected the reduction of the island by the capture of Bastia, which capitulated on honourable terms. Calvi, the only remaining-stronghold of the republicans, was then besieged, and on the 1st of August it surrendered to the British arms. Paoli and the aristocratical party then offered the cession of the island to the King of Great Britain, which was accepted. Efforts were made to confer the blessings of the British constitution on the rude islanders, but they were not successful; while one party looked to England, the other cast their eyes on France.
LORD HOWE'S NAVAL VICTORY, ETC.
About the middle of April, the ships composing the Channel fleet, commanded by Lord Howe, assembled at St. Helen's. It consisted of thirty-two sail of the line and nine frigates; but six of the ships of the line and four frigates were detached under Rear Admiral Montague, to escort some outward-bound convoys off Cape Finisterre. With the remainder of the fleet Lord Howe proceeded to Ushant, to look after the Brest fleet and a French convoy which were expected to arrive from America and the West Indian Islands. The French convoy escaped Howe's vigilance, and arrived safely in the French ports; but he caught sight of the French fleet on the 28th of May, and on the evening of that day he attacked a part of their line. As it grew dark the firing ceased; but the two fleets kept within sight of each other until the 1st of June, when they came to a regular engagement. In the size of their vessels, in the aggregate number of their guns, and in the weight of metal, the French had a considerable superiority; and they had also twenty-six ships of the line, while, at the time of the engagement, Lord Howe had twenty-five—one, the "Audacious," having separated, on the 28th, in a shattered condition. Lord Howe, however, having discovered the French early on the morning of the 1st of June, about three or four miles to leeward, in order of battle, immediately stood towards them. At about seven in the morning, he was abreast of them, and then he wore to the larboard tack, the French awaiting his approach in the same position. The signal for action was made about half-past eight o'clock, orders having previously been given for the fleet to close, to pass through the French line, and engage them to leeward, van to van, rear to roar, every ship engaging her opposite in the enemy's line. Some of the ships, as the "Defence," the "Marlborough," the "Royal George," the "Queen," the "Brunswick," and the "Nott," were enabled thus to engage the enemy; but the far greater part of them engaged their adversaries to windward, thus enabling the French, when defeated, to get off before the wind. Howe's own ship engaged that of Villaret Joyeuse, the French admiral; and these two opened their fire a little after nine o'clock, and at nearly the same time the action became general in the centre. Villaret Joyeuse's ship mounted 120 guns, and it was so lofty that it frequently waved its ensign over the quarter-deck of the "Queen Charlotte." But it was soon discovered that the French could not withstand that close fighting; after having manfully fought for about an hour, Villaret Joyeuse gave way, and stood off to the northward, followed by all his ships that could carry sail. Ten of them were left behind almost totally dismasted, and nearly surrounded by the English; and seven of these fell into the hands of the victors. One of them had received so many shots between wind and water, that she filled and went down almost as soon as the English flag was hoisted on her. After securing the other six, Lord Howe made the signal for his fleet to close round him, with the intention of again attacking Villaret Joyeuse, if he should attempt to retrieve the fortune of the day; but the French admiral thought of nothing but of securing his retreat. On the side of the English the number of killed was 279, and of wounded 877; while in the six captured ships alone the killed were 690, and the wounded 580. More than 300 were supposed to have gone clown in the ship which sunk, and the number of prisoners removed is stated at 2,300. On board the French fleet was Jean Bon Saint Andre, the friend and creature of Robespierre; and he was there on commission, to remind every officer and man of the guillotine, and of the duty he owed to the republic. Jean Bon Saint Andre wished himself ashore as soon as the battle commenced; and, in bold defiance of facts which had been witnessed by many thousands of individuals, he declared, in his report to the convention, that the English had thirty-six ships of the line; that the battle lasted from ten in the morning to three in the afternoon; and that the English, after having seen several of their ships sunk, finally sheered off with all the sail they could carry. Barrere, the reporter and oracle of the committee of public safety, even outstripped Bon Saint Andre in the strength of lying and power of invention: he amused the national convention with an account of the victory of the republican fleet, far more fabulous than the commissioner's. Some of his statements, gross and unfounded as they were, have even been adopted by historians; especially by those who give credit to French writers. Thus Barrere asserted, that the republicans on board the ship which sunk soon after the English flag was hoisted on her, refused, to a man, to seek safety by surrendering, fought their lower-deck guns till the water reached them, and, having hoisted every flag, pennant, and streamer, went down with her, shouting Vive la Republique! Vive la France! and that the last thing which disappeared beneath the waves was the tri-coloured flag. This splendid fiction, or, more properly speaking, gross falsehood, was seized upon by poets and painters of every grade of genius; poems and pictures on it appearing in great abundance. But the very reverse of all this was the fact. Instead of challenging certain death and glorying in their fate, the crew of the ship in question, the "Vengeur," who had fought bravely, substituted the British union-jack for the republican ensign, and spread themselves over the sides and rigging of the ship, stretching out their hands to their enemies, and imploring assistance. Some of them were saved; but the crowds which attempted to spring into each boat threatening those who came to their assistance, as well as themselves, with destruction, checked the compassionate zeal of their conquerors, and compelled them to leave the poor wretches to their fate. Yet there were two exceptions: two French officers betrayed no anxiety to avail themselves of any means of safety, but continued walking up and down the stern-gallery, apparently engaged in conversation, until the ship, having admitted the water into her ports, was engulfed.
Lord Howe's fleet put to sea again on the 3rd of September. It then consisted of thirty-seven sail of the line and seven frigates; added to which were five ships of the line, and three frigates furnished by the king of Portugal. The French fleet was then in Brest harbour, out of which it did not venture to appear till Howe had returned to port; and then it commenced a cruise, which ended in the loss of five of their ships of line, by storms and accidents. During this year and the preceding there were numerous contests between small squadrons and frigates, and, in general, the superiority of the English, as sailors and combatants on their own element, was maintained. These engagements took place in the Channel, on the coast of France, in the Mediterranean and Archipelago, and in the East and West Indies. In the whole of this year the British lost only one ship of the line; and this ship, the "Alexander," did not surrender, until she had sustained the assault of three French ships of the line for two hours. The spirit which the British seamen displayed, indeed, at the commencement of this momentous struggle, gave fair hopes of a successful issue.
{GEORGE III. 1794-1795}
BRITISH CONQUESTS IN THE WEST INDIES.
The superiority of the British navy soon began to excite public exultation, and to produce its wonted effects on the colonial possessions of our enemies. Tobago had been taken by a British squadron soon after, the commencement of hostilities; and early in this year, a fleet, under Sir John Jervis and General Sir Charles Grey, was dispatched against Martinique, which, after a vigorous resistance, was captured. The reduction of Martinique was followed by the conquest of the islands of Saint Lucie and Guadaloupe. After these successes, Sir Charles Grey returned to Martinique, leaving General Dundas to command at Guadaloupe; but before the close of the year that island was regained by the French.
DISPUTES WITH AMERICA.
About this time the British government became involved in a contention with the United States of America. Soon after the commencement of hostilities with France, orders were issued for detaining American vessels freighted with corn for that country, and confiscating their cargoes, though at the same time paying both for them and their freight. The Americans were indignant at these orders, considering them to be an attack on their independence. Their complaints, however, were not only disregarded, but an order was afterwards issued to seize all American vessels carrying provisions and stores to the French colonies, and also to compel their ships sailing from the British islands to give security for landing their cargoes in British or neutral ports. In consequence of this measure,—vigorous, but necessary under existing circumstances,—more than six hundred American vessels were seized in the space of five months. Added to these causes of complaint there were others given to the United States by the occupation of some ceded forts on the frontiers of Canada, and by a conference which the governor, Lord Dorchester, held with some Indian tribes. By way of retaliation, the American government laid an embargo of thirty days on the British shipping in their ports, and appointed Mr. Jay, its minister, to compose the difference between the two countries. Mr. Jay delivered a memorial on the subject, and Pitt having tendered a conciliatory answer, and both parties being inclined to peace, the dispute was, for the time being, compromised. But on a future day it was productive of serious effects.
MILITARY OPERATIONS ON THE CONTINENT.
While the English were in general victorious on the sea during this year, on land, they, in common with their allies, were generally unsuccessful. This arose from two causes: from the division of sentiment which existed among the officers of the coalition, and from the continued extraordinary efforts of the French republicans. Resolved to extend their sway over the neighbouring countries, to enlarge their own boundaries, and to obtain by plunder the means of supporting their gigantic efforts, at the close of the year 1783 the French had nearly one million armed men in the field, three hundred thousand of whom were on the northern frontier of the republic. To oppose these masses, the allies had not more than 140,000 men. And what rendered the immense force of the French particularly formidable, was the ability, as well as the unanimity, with which it was managed, aad the military talent which was rising up among its ranks. On the other hand, the allies, composed of different nations, were commanded by leaders who were jealous of each other, and were far from acting with that cordial co-operation which was necessary, not merely to ensure success, but to prevent defeat. The rivalry of Austria and Prussia, and the jealousy which each had conceived of the other, became so visible, that, early in January, the Duke of Brunswick addressed a letter to the king of Prussia, in which he announced the resignation of his command; stating, as his motive, the unhappy experience that want of connexion, distrust, and cabal had disconcerted the measures adopted during the two last campaigns. After alluding to the unanimity which existed among the French republicans, he said: "If, instead of co-operating with similar principles, each army acts separately and without concert with the others, without fixed plans and without concord, the consequences to be expected are such as have been seen at Dunkirk, at Maubeuge, at the capture of Lyons, at the destruction of Toulon, and at the siege of Landau." He added, in conclusion:—"The same causes which divided the allied powers divide them still; the movements of the armies will again suffer as they have suffered; they will experience delay and embarrassment, and these will prove the source of a train of misfortunes the consequences of which are incalculable." The Duke was succeeded in command of the Prussian army by Field Marshal Mollendorf; but, in the month of March, a proclamation announced that the King of Prussia had seceded from the coalition. But this was only a ruse on the part of his Prussian majesty: he wanted English money, and when he had extracted the subsidy from Great Britain, he again joined his allies. Great part of this subsidy, however, was diverted from its original purpose, to forward designs on Poland, to secure the territories which had been allotted to the King of Prussia in the last partition, and to set up a pretension to more. His conduct on this occasion has been well pronounced loose and spiritless; for the troops which he furnished fell far short of the stipulated number, and yet he pocketed more than two millions of English money. The Emperor of Austria was equally slow in providing contingencies: he recommended the Germanic confederation to oppose the republic by a levy en masse; but he neglected to set them an example.
The campaign did not open under better auspices in the Netherlands. Austrians, English, Dutch, and Hanoverians were to fight together there; but a great number of the Dutch were inclined to democracy, and the Duke of York quarrelled with the Austrian commanders, and refused to serve under General Clairfait. At a general council of war held at Ath, it was proposed that the Prince of Saxe Cobourg should continue at the head of the grand imperial army, and that General Clairfait should command the auxiliary forces, the Duke of York acting under his orders. This his royal highness refused with disdain; and the dispute was only settled by the determination that the emperor should take the field in person, and that the supreme command should be vested in him. This ill-timed quarrel has been generally attributed to the pride, petulance, and jealousy of rank of the Duke of York. It would appear, however, that the young prince had nobler reasons for objecting to the supreme command of General Clairfait; he having evinced, on several occasions, his indifference to the common interests of the coalition, and even a readiness to sacrifice that interest to the views of his own government. When the quarrel was settled it was agreed that the campaign should be opened with vigour on the French frontier; that the heads of the columns should be again turned towards Paris; that the army of the King of Prussia should move from the Rhine by the valley of the Moselle, traverse Luxembourg, and join the allies on the Sambre, or co-operate with them on their advance; and that England should send 10,000 men, under Lord Moira, to the coast of Brittany, in order to assist the Vendeans, and to advance with them from the west towards Paris. It was hoped also that the Spaniards might advance from the Pyrenees, and that the King of Sardinia might repossess himself of Savoy, and once more open the road to Lyons.
His imperial majesty arrived at Brussels early in April; and after reviewing the whole army on the heights above Cateau, it marched in eight columns to invest Landrecies. As the allies were already in possession, on the same frontier, of Valenciennes, Coude, and Quesnoy, this place was not worth the trouble and time it cost to take it. The fortress fell, after a short siege, into the hands of the Prince of Saxe Cobourg; but while the allies were engaged here, Pichegru had penetrated into West Flanders, where General Clairfait was stationed with a division of the imperial army, and had captured Courtrai and Menin. Jourdan, another republican general also, who was already stationed in the country of Luxembourg, had, in the meantime, increased his army to a prodigious extent; after which he fell upon the Austrian general Beaulieu, who attempted to check his progress, and drove him from his lines with great loss. After his conquest of Courtrai and Menin, Pichegru wheeled round upon the Duke of York, who with about 30,000 men, English and Hanoverians, were stationed at Tournay; but here the republican general was signally defeated. Yet, on the next day, Pichegru attacked Clairfait, who was advancing to retake Courtrai, and compelled him to retreat to Flanders. A few days after this Pichegru threw his right wing under Kleber and Marceau, across the Sambre, to attack the Austrian general Kaunitz; but he was defeated with the loss of 4.000 men.
These victories revived the spirits of the allies, and, without waiting for the Prussians, who were not inclined to move, in a grand council of war, they determined to envelope the left, or chief and victorious part of the French army on the Maine, by moving upon it in five attacking columns, from the various points they occupied. The success of these movements depended upon the celerity and good understanding among the commanders; and in these requisites they were sadly deficient. The Duke of York pushed forward towards the appointed centre round which all the columns were to meet, but when he arrived at Turcoing, where he expected to meet General Clairfait, he was surrounded by the republican forces, under Souham and Bonnaud, and completely defeated. The other columns now fell into confusion, and, from the heights of Templenor, the Emperor of Austria had the mortification of witnessing the retreat of the entire army of the allies; after which he returned, first to Brussels, and then to Vienna, leaving the Prince of Saxe Cobourg to command in his inline.
Although the English and Hanoverian column had suffered great loss in the battle of Turcoing, it soon rallied, and even foiled Pichegru in an attempt to seize upon Tournay. The Austrian general, Kaunitz, also gained another victory over the republicans, on nearly the same ground, and drove them across the Sambre. But these victories only served to allure the allies on to their ruin. Every day fresh masses of men from the armed hive of France advanced towards the Sambre, now the theatre of war. Even Jourdan, who had been watching the Prussians on the Moselle, finding that they would not move, repaired thither. At the same time the reinforcements of the allies, having to be brought from great distances, and being difficult to raise, arrived but slowly and in few numbers. Such was the situation of the belligerents when Pichegru, after some manouvres which perplexed the allies, struck off to the left and laid siege to Ypres. General Clairfait marched to the relief of the besieged town and defeated Pichegru; but he recovered the ground he had lost, drove back his opponent, and took the town; the strong garrison therein opening the gates to him, as so many traitors or cowards. In the meantime Jourdan laid siege to and captured Charleroi; although in the route thither he had been defeated in a pitched battle and driven across the Sambre, by the hereditary Prince of Orange, who had been dispatched with a part of the army of the coalition to oppose his designs upon that place. The Prince of Saxe Cobourg was expected to relieve Charleroi; but he did not arrive until after the place was reduced; and then he was attacked by Jourdan on the plains of Fleurus, and, after an obstinate battle, which lasted the whole day, was compelled to order a general retreat. The prince retired in good order to Halle, and again prepared to fight for the preservation of what remained to Austria in the Netherlands; but the Sans-culotte portion of the Belgians now again declared for the French. Bruges opened its gates to them; Pichegru, aided by General Moreau, compelled the Duke of York to retreat to Antwerp; and then the places which the English left in their rear followed the example of Bruges. The Duke of York was joined at Antwerp by Lord Moira with the 10,000 troops originally intended for the war in the Vendee, but who was not ready till that war was over and the Vendeans crushed. The two armies of the Duke of York and General Clairfait occupied the country between Antwerp and Louvain, holding both those towns and Mechlin which lay between them. In the meantime part of the army of Pichegru invested Valenciennes, Conde. Quesnoy, and Landrecies, the garrisons of all of which fortresses, overawed by the threats of the convention, almost immediately capitulated. Pichegru and Jourdan, about the same time, effected a junction, and marched upon Brussels; and, after defeating the Prince of Saxe Cobourg in their route, they entered that city amidst the welcomes of the Jacobin party. The ancient town of Ghent also submitted to the republicans; and, on the 12th of July, the Duke of York and Lord Moira were attacked by the enemy in great force, and compelled to take shelter in Mechlin. Three days after he was compelled to leave Mechlin, and Clairfait was overwhelmed near Louvain, and obliged to abandon both that city and Liege. General Beaulieu was likewise compelled to evacuate Namur, and the citadel of Antwerp, to which the Duke of York had repaired, was not considered a safe retreat. After staying there a week, indeed, the English crossed the Scheldt, and abandoned both the city and citadel to the French. The Duke of York concentrated his forces in the neighbourhood of Breda for the defence of Holland, while General Clairfait retired behind the Meuse. Thus the whole of Austrian Flanders and Brabant, fell under the dominion of the French in one brief campaign. Disheartened by the reverses of the allies, the Prince of Saxe Cobourg, after some altercations with the Dutch generals, who refused to risk another battle, and after making a powerful but vain appeal to his German countrymen on the Rhine and the Moselle, to rise en masse, for the defence of all that was dear to them—of their altars and firesides, of their emperor, their liberty, and their old Germanic honour,—retired from the command of the imperial army. As for the emperor himself, he was so irritated by the want of energy and disaffection of the people, and so discouraged by the events of the war, that a notion got abroad of his intention to abandon the coalition, and seek a separate peace with the republicans. This report of secession, however, was probably circulated for the same purpose as the previous report of the secession of the King of Prussia; namely, to obtain money from England. At all events this was the effect produced: alarmed at it, Pitt dispatched Earl Spencer and Mr. Thomas Grenville to Vienna, and the result was, that the emperor accepted a large subsidy, in the shape of a guarantee of four millions, as the price of his adherence to the coalition. As for the report that the emperor evacuated Flanders, in order that his subjects might experience the difference between his mild government and that of the republicans of France, it seems to be wholly without foundation. But if it afforded him any consolation to know that the Netherlands smarted under the republican rule, his feelings must have been gratified to the utmost. Every young man capable of bearing arms was called into the field of battle; the coin of the country was called in and exchanged for assignats at par; merchandise and property of all descriptions were seized by the freebooting republicans; and the guillotine was kept in constant motion by commissioners sent to fraternise and unite Belgium with France. Moreover, Ghent, Bruges, Ostend, and other towns, with the villages, were heavily taxed, and the plunder derived from the whole country was conveyed to Lisle and Dunkirk, for the use and service of republican France.
During this campaign, a new treaty was concluded with the Duke of Brunswick, who engaged to furnish his Britannic majesty with a body of 2,289 troops, upon condition of receiving the same liberal remuneration as the Hessians, and granting over and above to the noble duke an annual subsidy of L16,000 sterling. This treaty, however, was made too late in the year for the troops to be of any service, and they were, moreover, contemptible in number, compared with the hundreds of thousands which the French poured forth against their enemies. But the King of Prussia appears to have been the grand obstacle in the way of the success of the allied armies. Early in the year, the Germanic diet had agreed to a conclusum for a general armament of the people of the empire—of the burghers and peasantry of all the circles, states, principalities, and electorates comprised in the league; but Frederick William declared that if this conclusum were not withdrawn, he would withdraw his troops; as he could not expose them to the danger which would result from such a measure. The reasons he gave in a declaration for his opposition were, that, by employing the peasantry against the enemy, agriculture would suffer; that arms were wanting for such a mass of people that it was impossible to teach the manual exercise to the inhabitants in so short a time; that, to be victorious, the soldiers exposed to the French must be perfectly exercised; and that it was dangerous, at a time like the present, when the French were watching their opportunity to insinuate their principles, to assemble such a mass of men, whose ideas of government must be various, and among whom, from that cause, dissensions might arise, disastrous in their consequences, not only to the armies, but to the empire. These were Frederick William's promulgated reasons; but it would rather appear, that, as many parts of his kingdom were dissaffected to the house of Brandenberg, he feared that if the population were armed they might assert their independence, or struggle to be restored to the states to which they formerly belonged. Be that as it may, the opposition of Frederick William to this measure was successful, for the conclusum of the diet was not carried into effect. And yet it was manifestly the only measure which, if it could have been accomplished, could have successfully stemmed the torrent of French conquests.
Although the Prussians were not wholly inactive during this campaign, yet they did not act with much vigour. Early in the year the French army on the Rhine advanced and took the fort of Kaiserslautern, the town of Spires, and several other towns and fortresses. They intrenched themselves at Kaiserslautern; and early in May the Prussian general Mollendorf drove them from thence with great slaughter. But from this time, the French having been shortly after reinforced, the Prussians and their allies did nothing of any consequence. A battle was fought in July, which was maintained, at different points, four whole days; but after both sides had suffered greatly, the imperialists crossed the Rhine, and the Prussians retreated down the left bank of the river to Mayence, leaving the republicans in the possession of territory sixty miles in length. Thus successful, the French marched to the reduction of Treves, and then poured down in great numbers to the Netherlands, first, to assist in the war there, and after that to conquer Holland.
The armies of the republic were also successful in Spain and Italy. In Spain, early in the year, the French having penetrated into the province of Catalonia, a battle was fought near Saint Jean de Luz, in which they were victorious. In May, also, another victory was gained near Ceret; and soon afterwards a third, of still greater importance, over the principal Spanish army posted in the vicinity of Collioure. On the western side, moreover, the towns of Fontarabia and Saint Sebastian fell into the hands of the republicans: the latter, partly by feat of arms, and partly by the treachery of some of the notabilities of that place. By these successes the French had obtained a good basis of operations; but they still had to fight desperately for every foot of ground. During the month of October the French general Moncey received the orders of the convention to overrun the whole of the Basque provinces, occupy Navarre, seize Pampeluna, and transfer his camp to the banks of the Ebro. In compliance with these orders, Moncey led his columns into Roncesvalles, that deep valley, formed by the Pyrenees of Navarre, between Pampeluna and Saint Jean Pie-de-Port, on the French frontier, and after sustaining a loss of 3,000 men, he gained possession of it. But winter was fast approaching, provisions were falling short, and unless he could force his way to Pampeluna, he saw that he must retreat to Saint Jean Pie-de-Port. The Spaniards now occupied excellent ground at the head of the pass between the French army and Pampeluna; and here Moncey attacked them in vain: his left wing was completely defeated, and he was compelled to leave Roncesvalles and to winter his army; some in that part of Guipuscoa of which he had obtained possession in the valley of Bastan, and some at Saint Jean Pie-de-Port.
In Italy the Piedmontese had, at the command of the King of Sardinia, risen en masse, but being destitute of the enthusiasm of liberty, they constituted a body without a soul. Before the middle of April, the army of the Alps amounted to 75,000 men, opposed to which were only 40,000 Piedmontese and 10,000 Austrian auxiliaries. The committee of public safety enjoined their commanders to drive the enemy over the mountains and to seize the passes; and by the middle of May the whole ridge of the Alps between Savoy and Piedmont, and the key of Italy, fell into the hands of the republicans. On the frontier of Nice, the operations of the French leaders were directed by Napoleon Buonaparte, whose design was to turn Saorgio by its left, and cut off the retreat of its garrison by the great road from over the Col di-Tende. The attacking army was divided into three columns: the first, of 20,000 men, under Massena, advanced on the first of April, intending to pass between Saorgio and the sea; the second, under Dumerbion, of 10,000 men, remained in front of the enemy; while the third, of equal force, directed its course to the upper extremities of the valleys of the Vesabia, to communicate with the army of Savoy by Isola. These movements were eminently successful: the rocky citadel of Saorgio, surrounded by the French, surrendered at the first summons; while the French, who ascended the Vesabia, drove the allies back to the Col de Finisterre, and General Serurier cleared the valley of the Tinea and established a communication with the army of Savoy by Isola. Subsequently, the republicans became masters of all the passes in the maritime Alps; and while from the summit of Mont Cenis they threatened a descent on the valley of Susa and Turin from the Col di Tende, they could advance to the siege of the fortress of Coni. It was Napoleon's wish to push on to the conquest of Italy; but the convention withdrew 10,000 men from the army of the Alps, in order to support that of the Rhine, and the remainder were left to repose in their aerial citadels.
In the meantime the Duke of York had been assisting the hereditary Prince of Orange to cover the United Provinces; but their forces were miserably insufficient, while the democratic party was again corresponding with the French republicans, and giving them every assistance. In Dutch Flanders, Cadsandt and Sluys were reduced before the end of August, and by the beginning of October, after defeating the imperialist general Clairfait, with the exception of Mayence, the French became masters of every place on the left bank of the Rhine between Landau and Nimeguen. On the Maes the strong fortress of Venloo had been allowed to be captured by a coup-de-main, and Bois-le-Duc surrendered after a short siege. The Duke of York, who was stationed at Nimeguen, was now cut off from all hope of reinforcement from Germany; but he, nevertheless, resolved to cover that place, the possession of which would greatly facilitate the advance of the French into the heart of Holland. But his force was insufficient for that purpose: after sustaining two severe assaults, he was compelled to withdraw his troops; and then Nimeguen fell into the hands of the republicans. The Duke retreated across the Waal and the Rhine, and stationed himself at Arnheim in the province of Guelderland, still hoping to arrest the progress of the French arms in Holland. About the same time, Kleber, after a siege of five weeks' duration, obtained possession of the fortress of Maestricht, although it was garrisoned by 8,000 Dutchmen and Germans in the pay of the States-general, and was, moreover, well stored with provisions and everything necessary for sustaining a long siege. But the Dutch generally fraternized with the republicans, and even the Dutch troops would, in the main, rather have fought against their allies than with the French. Disaffection, treachery, and corruption everywhere prevailed; which sufficiently accounts for the ease and rapidity with which the republicans made conquests in Holland. Early in December, the Duke of York, conceiving that the campaign was finished, set out for England; leaving to General Walmoden the perilous task of protecting the country against superior troops who were already flushed with victory. The elements, also, assisted the French. After several attempts to cross the Waal, about the middle of December a hard frost set in, which enabled them to cross that river, and the Dutch were driven from their posts, while sixty pieces of cannon and nearly 2,000 prisoners, fell into the hands of the republicans. They made themselves masters of several posts on the Waal; but as the ice did not permit the passage of heavy artillery, Pichegru, who was charged by the convention with the conquest of Holland, withdrew his forces again to the left bank, where Grave was captured and Breda invested. Thus threatened, the States-general, imagining that it was possible for them to negociate a separate peace, sent ambassadors to request the ruling faction at Paris to grant such terms as their known good faith and generosity should dictate. The convention flattered the ambassadors with hopes of peace, while at the same time they sent their orders to Pichegru to force his way to Amsterdam. They depended on the disaffection of the people to accelerate their advances, more than the most formidable inundations could check them; in which opinion they were confirmed by frequent invitations sent from the principal towns in every part of the United States, with promises of a cordial reception. It is a notorious fact, indeed, that the English who were defending them were considered by the Dutch people in general to be their enemies, rather than the French who invaded their country; and their antipathy to their defenders was seen in the total inattention paid to their comforts. At this time, from the increasing severity of the weather, sickness greatly prevailed in the English camp; but scarcely any accommodations were prepared for the sick in the hospitals, a scanty allowance of straw only being obtained for a covering. It is said that hundreds were found dead on the banks of the rivers and canals, and that a straggling Englishman, finally, at the close of this campaign, became an object, not only of ill treatment, but of frequent assassination.
THE INTERNAL CONDITION OF FRANCE.
It has been seen that the French had decreed that there was no God: a day soon arrived which demonstrated, not only to France, but to all Europe, that there is a God, and that He is "the Judge of all the earth." Hitherto the Jacobins had been one and indivisible as regards crime; but shortly after this display of madness, they split into two contending parties. Danton, the cruel Danton, became sated with blood, and wished to stop its effusion. But not so did his colleague Robespierre; and, fearing his vengeance, Danton retired into the country, and left his colleague to rule in cruelty alone. His vengeance first fell upon the heads of Rousin, Vincent, Chaumette, the apostle of reason, Hebert, the apostate archbishop of Paris, and Anacharisis Clootz; these were arrested on a charge of conspiring to overturn the government, and were hurried from the bar of the tribunal of the Jacobins, Robespierre being at their head, to the scaffold. Then fell Herault-d-Sechelles, the friend of Danton, who was guillotined for sheltering a suspected person. Danton was then hunted down, with Desmoulins, editor of the Vieux Cordelier, Phelippean, Lacroix, Chabot, Baziere, and Fabre d'Eglantine: he was brought before the tribunal, and all perished on the scaffold. The death of these leaders of the revolution was followed by that of the innocent. The massacres which daily took place are too numerous for recital: the rage of the terrorists spared neither rank, nor age, nor sex. Nobles, magistrates, generals, ladies, and peasants, all in their turns, were guillotined without mercy. Nor was it in the capital alone that such scenes were committed. At Arras, Orange, and Nantes, the tribunals were equally guilty. At Nantes, Carrier still seemed to outrival Robespierre: the very fish of the river became unfit for food, from feeding on the carcases of his victims. Thus Robespierre and his party triumphed over all who dared oppose them. But, by a righteous retribution, they were soon made the instruments of their own punishment. Like Danton, it would appear that Robespierre became sated with blood; that he saw there was necessity for the cessation of these tragical scenes, and the establishment of order in the republic. He devised a plan for making the convention decree the existence of a Supreme Being, he deeming atheism the natural religion of the lazy and the rich. By his efforts, a fete was ordained in honour of that Deity whom they had so long and so flagrantly despised. Robespierre was president of the convention for that day, and hence high-priest of the ceremonial. It was a proud day for him, but his career was to end in blood. Mad with envy, there were those who, in lieu of incense, saluted his ears with this ominous allusion: "The capitol is near the Tarpeian rock." Robespierre thought, that by denouncing atheism, men might be disposed to become more orderly; in other words, that the Parisians and the nation at large would quietly submit to his rule. But he had accustomed the people to scenes of horror and bloodshed, so that their minds had become familiarised with them. There was danger in his own camp. At this time there was a committee of "general surety," subordinate to the committee of "public safety:" and from this committee went forth all accusations and arrests which were tantamount to condemnation.. Against these Robespierre now turned his power, but as they had been accustomed to act as they pleased, as they had been allowed to send victims to the scaffold even out of mere wanton cruelty, this act of Robespierre gave them offence, and they resolved upon his overthrow. It was reported by them, that Robespierre had demanded the heads of half the assembly, and this alarmed the major part into resistance. Foreboding the approaching storm, Robespierre, with his confidants, especially Saint Just and Couthon, made out new lists of proscription. But it was too late. In a session of the convention, Tallien suddenly fell upon him with denunciations, and a fierce cry of "Down with the tyrant," arose on every hand. Robespierre and his friends made impotent attempts to defend themselves, but their voices were drowned in the cry of "Down with the tyrant." A decree for their arrest was passed and executed; but Robespierre, with the aid of the Jacobins, escaped from custody, and proceeded to the Hotel de Ville, where his adherents assembled around him. The municipality, the populace, and Henriot, the furious commandant of the citizen guards, were all on his side. Had Robespierre acted vigorously, the convention would have been lost. Henriot, indeed, caused the hall of assembly to be surrounded, and pointed the cannon against it; but, before this, the assembly decreed Robespierre, Henriot, and their adherents to be "out of the law," and this vigorous proceeding decided the fate of the day. The cannoneers refused to fire; the convention resumed the offensive; and the armed sections, under the command of Barras, surrounded the Hotel de Ville, intent upon the destruction of the Jacobins. Robespierre discharged a pistol at his own head and fractured his jaw; the younger Robespierre threw himself out from a window, but survived the fall; Lebon stabbed himself; Couthon did the same, but without fatal effect; and Henriot was flung from a window into a drain and mutilated: all the rest were taken unhurt; and on the morrow, Robespierre, and all that survived, were all executed amidst the acclamations and applause of the citizens. On the two following days, likewise, eighty-three heads, mostly of municipal councillors and revolutionary judges, were decapitated. All Paris and France resounded with triumph. But the victory was not yet complete: the partisans of the system of terror were still numerous, both in the convention itself and throughout the city and the country. Their present leaders, indeed, Billaud-Varennes and Collot d' Herbois, were no less sanguinary than the ferocious Robespierre himself. Hence the storm of passion and the work of strife did not cease with that tyrant's fall. There was a cessation of strife, but the parties composing the convention soon came again into collision. These parties are known in history as the Thermidorians and the Jacobins. In one thing, both these parties were agreed; that since death was sworn to liberty by foreign and intestine enemies, terror only promised salvation. But the motives for this resolution were very dissimilar. The Thermidorians adhered with pure zeal to the republic, and regarded it as a duty to sacrifice all other interests to those of liberty; while the Jacobins sought only their own interests and paramount influence. From the opposition of these parties arose an undecided, and often contradictory course by the members of the convention. On the one hand, many prisoners were liberated, a milder form given to the revolutionary tribunal, and the power of the committee of safety restricted; while, on the other hand, the Jacobin club, which had been closed at the fall of Robespierre, was opened anew, executions were continued, the forms of the revolutionary government retained, and every assault averted from the leaders of the terrorists. Gradually, however, moderation got the upper hand; or, in other words, the Thermidorians triumphed. Their power was manifested by the execution of the monster Carrier, together with some of his infamous accomplices, and by a decree of investigation which finally passed against the highest heads—against Billaud-Varennes, Collot d'Herbois, and Rarrere, with some of their assistants. In the meantime their predominence was also shown in many beneficial decrees, as in those which abolished the maximum and arbitrary requisitions, put the relatives of the executed in the possession of their property, and prevented Vandalism in arts and sciences, and the profanation of churches. The provinces, also, felt the powerful influence of this new system. The Vendee again rose out of its ashes; bands of soldiers were again collected there to resist the republicans, as well as in Upper Poitou, and among the Chouans. Such were the results of this year of the revolution. At its close sentiments of humanity, long unknown, began to appear in the French government; but there was no relaxation in that energy and spirit which pushed its armies on to conquest. Revolutionary France still defied all Europe.
{GEORGE III. 1794-1795}
CONVENTION WITH SWEDEN AND DENMARK.
Sweden and Denmark still persevered in their determination to preserve a strict neutrality in this eventful contest. A convention was concluded between them on the 27th of March, by which they agreed to protect the freedom of commerce on the Baltic, on the principles of the avowed neutrality of 1780. Each were to equip a fleet of sixteen ships of the line for that service; and by the tenth article the Baltic was declared to be a neutral sea, absolutely inaccessible to the armed vessels of the belligerent powers.
THE STATE OF POLAND.
During this year the fate of Poland was sealed. The Czarina having demanded that its army should be reduced to 16,000 men, the Poles resolved to resist her will, and to try once more the fate of arms. The celebrated Kosciusko was placed at their head; but their struggle was to no purpose; Kosciusko was defeated by the Russians, wounded, and taken prisoner. On the refusal of the king to give up Warsaw, the capital, it was stormed by Suwarrow, who brutally gave orders to allow no quarter. Poland was now partitioned between the plunderers—Russia, Austria, and Prussia—and ceased to be a kingdom; the patriots being proscribed, their property confiscated, and Stanislaus compelled to live in Russia, where he ended his days. "Poland fell," says an eminent writer, "the victim of her own dissensions; of the chimera of equality insanely pursued, and the rigour of aristocracy unceasingly maintained; of extravagant jealousy of every superior, and merciless oppression of every inferior, rank. The eldest born of the European family was the first to perish, because she had thwarted all the ends of social union; because she had united the turbulence of democratic to the exclusiveness of aristocratical societies; because she had the vacillation of a republic without its energy, and the oppression of a monarchy without its stability. Such a system neither could nor ought to be maintained; the internal feuds of Poland were more fatal to human happiness than the despotism of Russia; and the growth of improvement among its people was as slow as among the ryots of Hindostan." These are just remarks; but the causes of Poland's overthrow do not extenuate the guilt of the spoliators: the dismemberment of the country is a foul blot upon the historic page of Russia, Austria, and Prussia—a blot which can never be wiped out.
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
The British parliament assembled on the 30th of December. In the speech from the throne his majesty admitted the disasters of the last campaign; but he urged the necessity of continuing the war, and recommended additional efforts and vigour as the only means of producing successful results. His majesty also admitted the desperate condition of Holland and the United Provinces, which the Duke of York had vainly endeavoured to defend; and he informed the houses that the States-general had been led by a sense of present difficulties to enter into negociations with the republicans for peace; but he added, that no established government or independent state could, under the present circumstances, derive real security from negociations; and that, on our part, no negociations could be entered into without sacrificing both honour and safety to an enemy whose chief animosity was avowedly directed against these kingdoms. The king mentioned his acceptance of the crown and sovereignty of Corsica, and announced the happy conclusion of a treaty of amity, commerce, and navigation with the United States of America. He also announced the conclusion of a treaty for the marriage of the Prince of Wales with the Princess Caroline of Brunswick, and called upon his faithful commons to make such provision for the heir apparent as they might deem suitable to his rank and dignity. In the lords, the Earl of Guildford moved an amendment to the address, and urged the impracticability of attaining the object of the war; namely, the dictating of a government with France. He was supported by the Marquis of Lans-downe, who said, that he saw no difficulty in treating with France at the present period. But the amendment was rejected by a majority of one hundred and seven against twelve. The strength of ministers in the commons was manifested, likewise, on this occasion, in an unequivocal manner. The address was moved by Mr. Knatchbull, and seconded by Mr. Canning, who was fast rising into reputation, and who particularly distinguished himself in these debates. Mr. Canning defended ministers against every imputation of the calamities and disasters of the war being the result of their ignorance and mismanagement, and ridiculed the warnings and predictions of opposition. He observed,—"It is true they have often foretold the desertion of our allies, as well as the astonishing exertions of the enemy; and I cannot but confess that such is unfortunately the result. It is not, however, any difficult matter to prophesy disappointment and ill-success: if the prediction proved false, gentlemen would feel too much satisfaction in the success of their country to think of it; if it proved true, those who made it would triumph, as they would certainly feel some satisfaction for their superior sagacity. But while I thus give credit to the opposition for their predictions, I also claim some credit for those on my own side of the question; for when Jacobinism was at its greatest height, when its influence circulated through every part of the French government, and when Robespierre governed the country with the most absolute sway, even then its fall was foretold in that house, and happily with truth. But let me not be misunderstood. I do not mean that by the accession of the moderates to the sovereign power in France, the possibility of our treating with them has become greater. The only difference between them and the Jacobins is, that they professed the intentions, though they had not the power of the latter. Their hostility to this country is equal to that of the Jacobins; and the house will have an opportunity of judging what reliance can be placed on their moderation by the terms they may give to the Dutch, who were not instigators of the war, but compelled to join in it; and if the terms they give to the Dutch prove hard, what might this country expect? If we could even have a peace now with France, it would be an insecure one. It must be a peace with all the inconveniences and expenses of a war establishment; such a peace as this country would never assent to." On this occasion Pitt was mortified by the opposition of his friend Wilberforce, who objected that the obvious tendency of the address was to pledge the house to a prosecution of the war till there should be a counter revolution in France. He expressed himself alarmed at the terrible doctrines which had been promulgated from the throne and reiterated from the ministerial side of the house. A perpetual war, which could only cease with the restoration of the French monarchy, was to him a startling proposition, calculated to shock his principles and appal his feelings. Wilberforce deprecated both the speech and address, and took an extensive view of the comparative state of both countries after a long and sanguinary conflict, in which both had intensely suffered; and he concluded with moving an amendment, embracing the principal topics in the speech. Several members spoke in favour of the amendment; and Pitt rose with excited feelings to reply. He remarked:—"The reasons that have induced gentlemen to dissent from the prosecution of the war-, seem to have possessed a considerable influence on the manner in which they speak of its justice and necessity at the commencement; and their language is fainter and feebler than I had reason to expect. Contending as these gentlemen and I did with the new and monstrous system of cruelty, anarchy, and impiety, against those whose principles trampled on civilised society, religion, and law;—contending, I say, with such a system, I could not have entertained the slightest expectation that from them would have proceeded such an amendment. It has pleased an inscrutable Providence that this power ef France should trample over everything that has been opposed to it: but let us not therefore fall without any efforts to resist it; let us not sink without measuring its strength." Pitt affirmed that neither the speech nor the address pledged the house never to make peace with the republican government of France, though he confessed that he had no idea of a secure peace till the return of the monarchy. The change which had taken place in that government was a change merely in the name, and not in substance; it no more deserved the name of moderate than that under Bris-sot, which had provoked this country to war. If peace could be obtained it would not place us, he said, in a situation of confidence, and therefore precautions must be increased. Even if disposed to peace, fear would compel the French rulers to give their troops employment; and if we dissolved the continental confederacy, we could not hope to see it again restored; and then we should be exposed alone to the fury of France. In conclusion, Pitt entered into a variety of details, showing that the French finances were on the gulf of bankruptcy, and auguring from thence their final overthrow, gold ever being the sinews of war. Pitt's sentiments prevailed the amendment was negatived by two hundred and forty-six against seventy-three.
CHAPTER XXII.
{GEORGE III. 1795-1796}
Bill for the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act (continued)..... Subsidy to Austria..... Supplies, &c..... Pitt's Plan to man the Navy, &c..... The Slave-Trade Question..... Termination of the Trial of Warren Hastings..... Motion for Inquiry into the State of the Nation rejected..... Marriage of the Prince of Wales..... Parliament Prorogued..... The Affairs of Ireland..... Naval Affairs in the Mediterranean, &c...... French Operations in Holland, &c...... Treaties between France and Prussia, &c..... Treaty between England and Russia, &c..... The Campaign of the Alps..... Affairs of La Vendee..... Armies on the Rhine..... Affairs at Paris..... Meeting of Parliament..... Bill to prevent Seditious Meetings, &c.
{A.D. 1795}
BILL FOR THE SUSPENSION OF THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT (CONTINUED.)
On the 5th of January, Sheridan rose to move for leave to bring in a bill for the repeal of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus act. This motion was unsuccessful; and on the 15th the attorney-general moved for, and obtained leave to bring in a bill for continuing the suspension for a limited time. The second reading of this bill was carried on the 23rd, after a long debate, by a majority of two hundred and thirty-nine against fifty-three, when it was transmitted to the lords. It passed the house of peers without a division; but the Dukes of Norfolk and Bedford, the Marquis of Lansdowne, and the Earls of Lauderdale and Guildford entered a spirited protest against the measure. It was argued by the opposition that the preamble of the suspension act, which stated that a dangerous conspiracy existed in the country, was not true; that a verdict in court—on the trial of Walker, Hardy, Home Tooke, and others—had shown this conspiracy to be a fabrication; and that, as no treason had been brought to light, and the alleged ground of the suspension act did not exist, if was unnecessary. On the other hand it was argued, that the determination of the jury was no proof of the existence of a conspiracy; that the guilty were often acquitted in courts of justice, not because they were innocent, or considered innocent, but merely because there was no strictly legal evidence to confirm the truth; and that, therefore, a verdict in their favour could not operate as a motive for repealing the act, even if it were admitted that their indictment for high treason had not been supported by legal proof.
SUBSIDY TO AUSTRIA.
Early in this year it became evident that, besides the United Provinces, both Prussia and Spain were on the point of breaking with the coalition, and concluding separate treaties with France: Prussia, from the mutual distrust which existed between her and Austria, and from her exhausted finances; and Spain from the recent defeats in Biscay and Catalonia. Austria remained our steadfast ally; but Austria too wanted money, and thought herself entitled to call upon England for a subsidy. On the 4th of February Pitt delivered a message from the king, intimating that a loan of nearly five millions sterling would be wanted to aid the exertions of his imperial majesty in the ensuing campaign, on the credit of the revenues arising from his hereditary dominions. Much discussion arose upon this subject. Fox said, that the recent defalcation of the King of Prussia, after he had obtained our gold, ought to operate as a caution against all advances to German princes. This was just; for the subsidy granted to the King of Prussia had been most foully applied; it had not been employed on the Rhine, or the Moselle, but on the Vistula; not against republican France, but against the Poles. Even Pitt and his supporters were forced to admit that the conduct of Prussia was bad; but they insisted that there was a wide difference in the case and conduct of Austria, whose own vital interests were dependent on the issue of this war. Austria also had shown herself sincere in the cause; her generals might have made mistakes, but she had made great and costly exertions in the common cause, and, notwithstanding failures, still remained firm. The motion for complying with the emperor's demands was agreed to by large majorities.
SUPPLIES, ETC.
After previous discussions on the navy and army estimates, on the 23rd of February Pitt submitted his annual statement on the supplies to the consideration of the house. The force required for the service of the year was 85,000 seamen, and 15,000 marines; 120,000 regulars for guards and garrisons; 56,000 militia; 40,000 regulars for Ireland, and the West Indies, and other colonies; besides fencibles and volunteers, foreign troops in British pay, and embodied French emigrants. The supplies demanded for the support of these forces were L16,027,000, to which sum was to be added L200,000, annual subsidy to the King of Sardinia. The whole expenditure amounted to L27,540.000, and the loan proposed was L18,000,000, the largest, up to this period, ever voted by parliament. In order to make up the remainder, new duties were imposed upon tea, coffee, raisins, foreign grocery and fruits, foreign timber, insurances, writs, and affidavits, hair-powder, licenses, &c.; and to increase the receipts of the post-office, the privilege of franking letters was somewhat abridged. As a counterpoise for these additional burdens, Pitt mentioned the extraordinary increase of commerce, which, in the preceding year, had exceeded that of the most flourishing period of peace. The ways and means were voted as Pitt desired; but some of his adherents were not very favourable to some of the new duties, and especially to the powder-tax.
PITT'S PLAN TO MAN THE NAVY, ETC.
As it became expedient to devise some method for the levying of soldiers and sailors, Pitt brought forward a new plan for manning the navy without throwing the burden so heavily on a particular class of persons by press warrants. He proposed that the proprietors of merchantmen, who were deeply interested in our naval superiority, should, on clearing out their ships, furnish a certain number of men according to the tonnage of each ship; and that every parish in the kingdom should furnish one man. This proposition, with a few modifications, passed into a law, and officers were appointed to superintend the levies. Subsequently, Mr. Windham, as secretary at war, proposed the improvement of the discipline, and the augmentation of the numbers of the militia, as a means of internal defence. This was objected to by Fox and Sheridan, as tending to increase the influence of ministers, and as preparatory to the establishment of arbitrary power; but it was carried with the usual ministerial majority. At this time provisions were so expensive, arising from the war and from scarcity, that the pay of the military was wholly insufficient for their support; and government, without applying to parliament, granted them an extraordinary allowance. This was properly objected to by the opposition, as tending to impress the recipients with the false idea that the bounty proceeded from the crown, and not from the pockets of the people, and as being an insult offered to the legislature, which was sitting at the time. General Macleod moved that a committee should be appointed to take the matter into consideration; and so strong were the feelings of the house upon the subject, that, though Pitt endeavoured to exculpate the ministry by representing the relief as temporary and arising out of the circumstances of the moment, &c.; this motion was only got rid of by the previous question, which was carried by a majority of sixty-seven against twenty-three.
THE SLAVE-TRADE QUESTION.
On the 26th of February, Mr. Wilberforce brought the question of the slave-trade before the house of commons again, by moving for its total abolition. But this was opposed as before by the West Indian, or rather self-interest; and on a division, the motion was postponed for six months, by a majority of seventeen.
TERMINATION OF THE TRIAL OF WARREN HASTINGS.
The trial of Warren Hastings terminated on the 23rd of April. The public interest in this trial had been much diminished by its prolongation; and at this time it seems to have been superseded by other matters of overwhelming importance. Only twenty-nine peers assembled at the final judgment; to each of whom every one of the sixteen articles was put separately, with the question of guilty or not guilty. On two charges he was unanimously acquitted; and with respect to the others the votes varied from three to six "guilty," against the remainder "not guilty." The lord chancellor then pronounced Warren Hastings acquitted of all the charges, and the ex-governor bowing to the court retired in silence. The propriety of his sentence was chiefly disputed by the advocates of strict justice; the public in general seemed satisfied with the result of the trial. The East India Company paid him the cost of his trial, amounting to more than seventy thousand pounds sterling, and conferred upon him a pecuniary donation. This was nothing but just; for Hastings had attended more to their interests in his government than his own: if he was cruel, it was for them; and if he exacted money from tributaries beyond that which was due, it was for them likewise. It must be confessed that the conduct of Hastings was, in some instances, inconsistent with the rules or British justice and the sentiments of humanity; but, at the same time, it must be confessed that his abilities secured the authority and established the dominion of this country over the east.
MOTION FOR INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF THE NATION REJECTED.
On the 24th of March Fox moved that a committee of the whole house should inquire into the state of the nation. His speech on this occasion is characterized by Burke as one of the most eloquent ever delivered in the house of commons. In it he showed the necessity for inquiry, from the rapid progress of the enemy and their acquired superiority; from the losses sustained by our armies, and from the vast expenditure and increased taxation. Fox then adverted to the affairs of Ireland; the recall of its lord-lieutenant, which had recently taken place; and to the general irritation of its inhabitants. He then alluded to the dissatisfaction which prevailed in England, asserting that an opinion was gaining ground among the people, that, since the commons complied with every measure proposed by ministers, they could not fairly represent the nation. He asked what were the grounds for confidence in men whose schemes continually miscarried? And, supposing the war to be just, did the succession of plans and events afford any reason for reposing unlimited confidence in his majesty's present counsellors, as wise, energetic, and effective war ministers? In conclusion, he said, that if ministers really deserved confidence, they would not resist inquiry, as no man, conscious of an able and upright discharge of his duty, would shrink from an investigation into his actions. Pitt allowed that some of the subjects proposed by Fox were of the highest importance; but he objected to inquiry as being incompatible with other parliamentary business. Part of the proposer's objects, also, he said, were inexpedient and unreasonable; he had exaggerated our losses, detracted from our advantages, and on the whole exhibited an unfair statement of our situation. Mr. Canning followed on the same side as Pitt, and argued with reference to Ireland, that its turbulent situation was a sufficient excuse for declining all such discussions at present. Fox and Sheridan replied, that the minister, instead of meeting, had only shifted the question; that if the state of the country had been misrepresented, the means of refuting this misrepresentation lay in a fair investigation of conduct. The motion was rejected by two hundred and nineteen against sixty-three; and a similar motion made six days after in the lords, by the Earl of Guildford, was negatived likewise by a large majority. Motions were subsequently made in both houses for an inquiry respecting Irish affairs, but with the same ill-success.
MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.
The marriage of the Prince of Wales with the Princess Caroline of Brunswick took place on the 8th of April. At the time it was generally supposed that his royal highness was influenced in forming this connexion by the promise of an ample provision to pay his debts, now amounting to the enormous sum of L600,000. Be that as it may, on the 27th of April, his majesty sent a message to the house announcing the marriage; and at the same time expressing deep regret in being obliged to declare, that the benefit of any settlement which might then be made could not be effectually secured to his royal highness, except he were provided with the means of liberating himself from the large encumbrances to which he was liable. At the same time his majesty disclaimed all idea of proposing that parliament should make any specific provision for that object: rather, he requested the house to consider the propriety of providing for the gradual discharge of those encumbrances by the reservation for a time of the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall, as well as of a proportion of his royal highness's annual income. After some discussion, the house, on the suggestion of Pitt, determined that L125,000, together with the rents of the Duchy of Cornwall, estimated at L13,000, should be settled upon the prince, and that L78,000 should be applied annually out of his total income for the liquidation of his debts. A law was also passed to prevent the heir-apparent in future from being involved in similar difficulties; and a jointure of L50,000 per annum was settled on the Princess of Wales, in case she survived her royal consort. All this was carried by large majorities, but there were few who imagined that this settlement was a final one.
PARLIAMENT PROROGUED.
The king prorogued parliament in person on the 27th of June. In his speech his majesty expressed a hope "that the present circumstances of France might, in their effects, hasten the return of such a state of order and regular government, as might be capable of maintaining the accustomed relations of peace and amity with other powers." He also remarked that our main reliance for success must be on our naval and military forces: thereby indicating the continuance of the war.
THE AFFAIRS OF IRELAND.
Allusion has been made to the agitated state of Ireland. That country was, indeed, at this period, every day approaching nearer to the verge of open rebellion.
The progress of the United Irishmen had not been stopped by the conciliatory measures of 1793; for early in the following year they published a plan of equal representation on the principle of universal suffrage. Before the close of that year their association in truth became so manifestly revolutionary that it demanded the interposition of government. A charge of treasonable correspondence with the French rulers was brought against Archibald Hamilton Rowan; but he with others of the association fled to the continent. In the following year the Rev. William Jackson, a Protestant clergyman, was tried and found guilty, and in order to avoid the shame of a public execution he swallowed a dose of poison at the bar of the court. All this tended to prove that Catholic emancipation, however extensive it might be in its principles, would never satisfy the people of Ireland. Nevertheless, Earl Fitzwilliam, the then lord-lieutenant, resolved to try the efficacy of that measure. That nobleman, indeed, imagined that he was authorised to carry such a measure into effect when he accepted the office of viceroy. Acting under this supposition, his first step was to remove from their places such servants of the government as he knew would be hostile to his proceedings. Among those he removed was the right lion. John Beresford, first commissioner of the revenue, whose family had always been ardent supporters of ministerial measures. But this act gave great offence to the English cabinet; and as Earl Fitzwilliam refused to alter his arrangements, it was resolved to recall him. In the meantime Mr. Henry Grattan brought in a bill into the Irish house of commons for the repeal of all the remaining disqualifications of the Roman Catholics. This bill was received so favourably that only three dissentient voices were heard against it: and, encouraged by it, the Catholics sent a deputation to the king deprecating the removal of a viceroy who had gained the confidence of the people. These deputies were graciously received; but the burden of their petition was not granted: Earl Fitzwilliam resigned, and Lord Camden was appointed his successor. Lord Camden commenced his administration under ominous circumstances; for on the 31st of March, when he was sworn into office, the primate and Lord Chancellor Fitzgibbon were attacked by a mob on their return from the Castle, and narrowly escaped with their lives. His unpopularity increased, chiefly because he as strenuously opposed Catholic emancipation as Lord Fitzwilliam had supported it. On the 4th of May a bill was brought in for that purpose, but after a violent debate it was rejected by a large majority. In order, however, to soothe the chafed minds of the people, a motion was carried this session for the establishment of a college at Maynooth for the education of young Irishmen destined for the priesthood, and who were at this time deprived of the advantages of foreign universities from the disordered state of the continent; and the Catholics also obtained permission to study at the university of Dublin. But these indulgences were not duly appreciated. From this time the society of United Irishmen rapidly extended itself over the whole kingdom. They formed, indeed, a new system, combining malcontents of every class and of all religious persuasions against the government. The leaders of the society began, in fact, to entertain dangerous designs, and to form illegal and treasonable connexions with the government of France. Towards the close of the year, disaffection became so general that the existing laws were deemed insufficient to repress popular violences, and the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, by which the agents of government were enabled to imprison obnoxious or suspected persons without any cause assigned, or any time of trial appointed. In the western counties, government resorted to a measure which nothing but stern necessity could justify. By an act which passed in January, the lord-lieutenant and council were authorised, on a petition from seven magistrates of a county assembled at a session of the peace, to proclaim that county, or any section of it, to be in a state of disturbance, and to empower the magistrates to treat all suspected persons as culprits, and in default of bail to send them on board the fleet. This act also, which was called the Insurrection Act, enacted that the administering of treasonable oaths, which was a practice in the society of United Irishmen, was a capital offence; and that in case a witness was murdered, which frequently happened, before a trial, his written testimony should be considered sufficient evidence. While government was thus grappling with the disaffection which prevailed, a body of men united under the name of Orangemen, for the purposes of security. This was natural; but, unfortunately, it only increased the religious animosities which already existed between the two parties. Government, moreover, began to embody an armed yeomanry to assist the regular troops and the militia. In the course of six months this force amounted to 37,000 men, and it was still increasing. But nothing could allay the fury of the storm that was gathering over the country. The leaders of the United Irishmen were as active as government; and in a short time the plan of an invasion was settled between them and the French rulers. This invasion was the subject of familiar conversation both in England and Ireland; yet the British government, either doubting or disregarding the intelligence, neglected to take suitable measures for defence. In the meantime mutual injuries between the society of United Irishmen and the Orangemen, many of whom on both sides were desperate and abandoned characters, engendered a fixed hatred between them; and these dissensions rapidly increased, till the whole country exhibited a scene of terror, consternation, and blood. In their encounters the Orangemen were generally victorious; and in the end, in the county of Armagh, where the Association was first formed, they succeeded in expelling several thousands of Catholics from the county. During the latter part of this year and the commencement of the next, the roads leading from the city of Armagh presented the most heart-rending scenes: groups of miserable families were seen endeavouring to escape from their persecutors into the south and western districts of the country. So strife and tumult prevailed among brethren.
NAVAL AFFAIRS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN, ETC.
The French government made great exertions to put their navy on a respectable footing; but all their efforts on the ocean led only to disaster. On the 28th of February their commander, Rear-Admiral Pierre Martin, sailed out of the harbour of Toulon with fifteen sail of the line, six frigates, and three corvettes, having positive orders to engage the English fleet under Vice-Admiral Hotham, if he met it, and to drive the English out of Corsica. At that time the Mediterranean fleet under Hotham, which consisted of thirteen sail of the line, four frigates, and two sloops, with two or three Neapolitan ships, was at Leghorn; and the enemy succeeded in capturing the Berwick, of seventy-four guns, which found itself suddenly surrounded by the enemy. On discovering the intentions of the enemy, Admiral Hotham instantly unmoored and went in search of them. The two fleets came in sight of each other on the 12th of March, between Corsica and Genoa, and a partial engagement ensued, in which two French ships of the line, the Ca Ira and the Censeur, fell into the hands of the British, principally through the skill and courage of Nelson, who commanded the Agamemnon. This action saved Corsica for the time; but the victory was incomplete; and soon after, the arrival of six ships of the line at Toulon from Brest gave the French a decided superiority as regards numbers of ships. Had they known how to have used it, they might have made themselves masters of the Mediterranean; for the British navy, though manned by brave sailors, was not in a condition to withstand a superior force. On this subject, Southey remarks:—"The British navy had been much neglected during Lord Chatham's administration at the admiralty; and it did not for some time feel the beneficial effects of his removal. Lord Hood had gone home to represent the real state of affairs, and solicit reinforcements adequate to the exigencies of the times, and the importance of the scene of action; but that fatal error of under-proportioning the force to the service, that ruinous economy which, by sparing a little, renders all that is spent useless, infected the British councils; and Lord Hood, not being able to obtain such reinforcements as he knew were necessary, resigned." For three long months the Mediterranean fleet was left in its state of inferiority; but at length, on the 13th of June, it was joined by eleven sail of the line and several frigates. Since the recent battle the French admiral had avoided an encounter, although superior in force; but he now shunned it more cautiously than ever. Hotham, however, got sight of the French fleet near Cape Roux; and in a chase which he gave it, succeeded in capturing the Alcide; the rest of the ships got safely into Frejas Bay. These were the chief events on the ocean during this year; except by Nelson, who was detached on some coast service, scarcely another gun was fired in the Mediterranean. Many encounters of detached ships took place, generally to the advantage of the English; but the only other action which occurred was between the Channel fleet, of fourteen sail of the line, under Admiral Lord Bridport, and a part of the Brest fleet, consisting of twelve ships of the line and eleven frigates, under Vice-Admiral Villaret. In this action three French ships were taken; the rest fled for protection to their own port and their own land batteries. In the West Indies the English cruizers and squadrons were not so successful; all their vigilance was not sufficient to foil the daring projects of Victor Hugues. The French, indeed, recovered the whole of Guadaloupe, attacked with success the fort of Tiburon, in St. Domingo; and made themselves masters of St. Lucia; Grenada, Dominico, and St. Vincent's were with difficulty preserved. But in these victories the French revolutionists were aided by the negro population. Victor Hugues flew from island to island, preaching liberty and equality to the negroes and all people of colour, and a crusade against the English and French royalists; and it was chiefly by this means that, the French were victorious. The African slave learned to adopt the tri-colour flag and the red cap of liberty, and the British were either butchered, or forced to flee from the re-captured islands. Under the same auspices, the Maroons, of Jamaica, likewise commenced a sanguinary conflict with the English, and did not lay down their arms till they were nearly exterminated; those who escaped the slaughter consented to be removed to Canada, where a portion of land was allotted to them.
FRENCH OPERATIONS IN HOLLAND, ETC.
It has been seen that when the Duke of York returned to London, he left the command of the British troops to Count Walmoden, and that Walmoden was attacked by the French army on the Waal, under Pichegru. It became evident that nothing but a hasty retreat could save the British army from destruction; and, after spiking their guns, and destroying all the ammunition they could not carry away, on the 16th of January they retired towards Leek. In his retreat Walmoden was pursued by Pichegru; but Walmoden, after sustaining several assaults, and after a march of nearly two months through countries inimical to the British, finally reached the mouth of the Elbe, when the Duke of York's army embarked at Bremen for England. Throughout their whole route it was manifest that the population of Holland were, in the main, revolutionists; in every Dutch town and village through which they passed, the majority of the inhabitants looked upon them as the original cause of the calamities inflicted upon their country, and took every opportunity of insulting them in their misery and adding to their sufferings. Now that the British were departed the feelings of the Dutch were manifested in a clearer light. Before this, our ally, the stadtholder, and his son, the hereditary Prince of Orange, had fled for refuge to England, so that the democrats, which everywhere abounded, had no check in a display of their principles. Those of Amsterdam planted the tree of liberty in the chief places of the city, mounted the French cockade, and gave an enthusiastic reception to Pichegru. Utrecht, Rotterdam, Haerlam, Leyden, Flushing, Middlebourg, and Bergen-op-Zoom, one of the strongest fortresses in the world—these all fell into the hands of the French, either by conquest or by treachery. The States-general, indeed, or as many of them as chose to assemble at the Hague, issued proclamations, calling upon the people to admit the friendly troops of the republic; so that scarcely one of the many fortresses which studded the country, made more than a show of resistance. Many of them had opened their gates to the republican troops of France before the Duke of York left the country, and those which remained in the occupation of the Dutch, or of German troops in the pay of the stadtholder, for the most part now followed their example. Holland fraternised with France. A requisition of clothes and provisions for the use of the republican army, to the amount of one million and a half sterling, cooled the ardour of the thrifty Dutchmen for a moment; but it soon returned, on considering the blessings they were to obtain for their money. They were flattered by a convocation of a representative assembly, on the principles of equality and liberty: an assembly which abolished the hereditary stadtholderate, with all the forms of the preceding constitution, published the declaration of the rights of man, reversed the sentences passed in a previous year against democrats, and recalled all those who had been exiled for their democratical principles. On discovering this movement in Holland, the English government immediately laid an embargo upon all Dutch ships and goods in the ports of Great Britain, Ireland, and our colonies; and the ministry soon took into consideration the important subject of the Dutch colonies. An expedition was sent out on the 14th of July, under Vice-Admiral Sir G. Keith Elphinstone and Major-General Craig, who took possession of the Cape of Good Hope. Instructions were also sent to our naval and military commanders in the East Indies, to prepare for the reduction and occupation of the Dutch settlements in that part of the world; and about the close of the year all the places which the Dutch held in Ceylon, with Malacca, Cochin, Chinsura, Amboyna, and Banda, fell into the hands of the British. Other plans were also arranged for the seizure of the Dutch colonies in the West Indies, and on the coast of South America. Holland was, therefore, now reckoned among the enemies of England. |
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