DISSENSIONS IN THE CABINET.

Soon after the Easter recess, Lord Sidmouth had suggested the propriety of removing Lord Melville from the privy-council, but Pitt imagined that the country would be satisfied with the resignation of his office, and therefore refused to comply. Lord Sidmouth was also offended by the premier's refusal to place his friend, the Earl of Buckinghamshire, at the head of the admiralty; and expressed his intention of retiring from office, together with the Earl and Mr. Vansittart. This intention was delayed by the erasure of Lord Melville's name from the list of privy-councillors, and the vote of impeachment which followed; but the breach made was too wide to be thus healed. Two days before the prorogation, Lord Sid-mouth and the Earl of Buckinghamshire resigned, and were succeeded by Lords Camden and Harrowby, while Lord Castlereagh obtained Earl Camden's place of secretary for foreign affairs. These dissensions, as well as the loss of so able a colleague as Lord Melville, occasioned deep anxiety to Pitt, and contributed to oppress and wear down a constitution already on the decline. His anxiety was further increased by the un-certain state of affairs on the continent.



NAPOLEON CROWNED KING OF ITALY

An Italian historian, writing of Napoleon's character at this period, says: "The nature of Napoleon was restless, disordered: constant only in ambition. He never remained long at the same point, changing continually to rise the higher. It appeared, and it was even solemnly, and with magnificent words, said by him, and by Melzi, the vice-president of the Cisalpine republic, that the regulations made at Lyons with the Italian consulta, were to be unchangeable and eternal; but before two years those regulations were described as defective, insufficient, and not conducive to anything good or lasting. All this signified, that he who had made himself an emperor in France, must be made a king in Italy. It was not without a design that so many Italians of note had been invited to Paris, to attend, in the name of the Cisalpine republic, the imperial coronation and ceremonies. Melzi, the vice-president, the councillors of state, together with deputies from colleges, &c., obeyed the summons, and remained some considerable time in France. They were given to understand, that the emperor must be king on the other side of the Alps; that the Italian republic was an anomaly; and that the proceedings at Lyons must be condemned and reversed." This plain language was understood by the state consulta of the Italian republic, and they chose the powerful monarch of France King of Italy. On the 26th of May in this year Napoleon placed the iron crown of Charlemagne upon his head in Milan, and appointed Eugene Beauharnois, his step-son, viceroy. By a stroke of his pen he also annulled the constitution of the Ligurian republic, and incorporated Genoa with the French empire. Three departments, Genoa, Moulenotte, and the Apennines were formed out of this republic; and the incorporation of Parma and Piacenza was subsequently formed by an imperial decree. About the same time, the people of Lucca having expressed a wish to be governed by a prince of the house of Napoleon, the emperor gave them his brother-in-law, Pascal Felix Bacciochi, for hereditary prince. Moreover, in Batavia the republican principle became incompatible with the interest of the new imperial state, and that country had to accommodate itself to the monarchic form; its government was dissolved, and superseded by a grand pensioner, elected for five years, and invested with almost unlimited power. By incorporating Genoa with the empire, Napoleon said that he had only one end in view—that of obtaining 15,000 seamen, for the purpose of venturing a great naval struggle, in which, if he proved victorious, he should then invade England. His plan was to distract the British government; to scatter its fleets, by despatching his own squadrons, some to the West Indies, and others to the Spanish ports; and then to effect a junction of all, and collect such a force as would ensure success in a naval combat. This, however, could not have been his principal object. At this time he could not have been ignorant of the coalition forming against him, which it was his interest to provide against. So many violations of treaties, and such unbounded desire of aggrandizement this year promoted the formation of a third coalition against him, of which England was the centre. Sweden first, then Russia, and next Austria, joined themselves with the British government in a league against France; and though Prussia stood neutral, yet she secretly approved the spirit of this coalition. But its ruin was nevertheless induced by the policy of Russia. Austria was exposed alone to the blows of the enemy; the aid of Russia was too remote, and England fought only with money and vessels. The treaty aimed at nothing less than a league of all the European states against France, and the re-establishment of all the relations that existed before the war of the revolution. But these designs were frustrated, and that chiefly by Prussia's remaining neutral; without the accession of this power, it was scarcely possible to make an effectual attack on the enemy. Its neutrality was, in fact, a protection to the northern half of the French empire.



CONQUESTS OF NAPOLEON IN BAVARIA.

Certified of the nature and extent of the coalition formed against him, Napoleon hastened to secure Bavaria to himself, by the promise of a large aggrandizement of territory. In consequence of this, Austria advanced her troops, peremptorily requiring the elector to join the imperial standard. This he refused to do, and then the Austrian army was ordered to occupy Munich. On his return from Italy, Napoleon had spoken of the invasion of England as an enterprise fully determined upon; but on the 28th of August he announced that "the army of England" was to become "the army of Germany." Forthwith, the 150,000 men collected at Boulogne, and along that coast, struck their tents, and forming into five separate corps, marched for the Rhine. He affected great disappointment in abandoning his scheme of invasion; but it is doubtful whether he ever really intended to take such a step. The readiness, indeed, with which he dictated his masterly plan for a continental campaign, proves that it had been the subject of a long and mature reflection, and would indicate that this was in reality his grand design. At the same time, such was his mortal hatred to England, that, if he had discerned the remotest chance of success, there is little doubt but that he would have engaged in the desperate enterprise. But England was freed from all fears, and the armies destined to act against her took another route. The five great columns which marched from Boulogne were led by Marshals Soult, Davoust, Ney, Lannes, and Murat; but in the month of September Napoleon took the command of the whole in person. He prefaced his departure for the "Grand Army" by going in state to the senate, and there delivering a speech on the causes of the present war. He remarked: "The wishes of the eternal enemies of the continent are at-last fulfilled; war is begun in the middle of Germany. Austria and Russia have joined England; and our generation is again plunged into the calamities of war. The Austrian army has crossed the Inn; the elector of Bavaria has been driven away from his capital: all my hopes of the preservation of peace have vanished. In this instance, the wickedness of the enemies of the continent has fully revealed itself. They feared the manifestations of my deep love for peace—they feared that Austria, at the sight of the abyss they have dug under her feet, might return to sentiments of justice and moderation, and they have hurried her into war. I sigh in thinking of the blood that this will cost Europe; but the French name shall derive a lustre from it. Senators, when, at your request, at the voice of the whole French people, I assumed the imperial crown, I received of you, and of all citizens, a solemn engagement to preserve it pure and without stain. My people will rush to the standard of their emperor and of his army, which in a few days will have crossed the frontiers. Magistrates, soldiers, citizens, are all determined to keep our country free from the influence of England, who, if she should prevail, would grant us none but an ignominious peace, the principal conditions of which would be, the burning of our fleets, the filling up of our harbours, and the annihilation of our industry." At the time Napoleon joined his "Grand Army" at Mayence, and when the Austrians commenced operations, the Russians had scarcely arrived in Gallicia. The Austrian army was commanded by Field-marshal Mack, who, notwithstanding his shameful discomfiture in the south of Italy, in the year 1799, still passed with the Aulic Council as a great military genius. Under him were 80,000 men, with which army he took post at Ulm, thinking that Napoleon must of necessity take the same route which Moreau had formerly taken. The French emperor, however, finally divided his immense army into seven corps; and before Mack was aware, an overwhelming force was in his rear. Retreat was impossible; Mack was defeated on every hand, and he shut himself up in Ulm, where he was soon compelled to capitulate. An imperial bulletin announced the capture of 60,000 prisoners, two hundred pieces of cannon, and eighty stand of colours, in a campaign of fifteen days. Nothing now arrested the onward march of the French. Although the Russians, commanded by Kutosow, had finally arrived on the banks of the Ister, they were unable to arrest the enemy's progress. The French, attended by continual victory, arrived at Vienna on the 13th of November; and on the same day they crossed the Danube, on the left bank of which the Russians were marching to Moravia. Napoleon concentrated his forces at Bruma; and on the 27th of November the forces of Austria and Russia, under the command of their respective emperors, who had united at Olmutz, marched against him. The battle of Austerlitz was now fought and lost. On the 1st of December Francis and Alexander saw the destruction of thirty thousand of their soldiers, the capture of fifteen thousand more, and the wild flight of those who escaped the slaughter; one hundred cannon and a rich booty fell likewise into the hands of the French. In the meantime the Austrian army in Italy, under Archduke Charles, and another in the Tyrol, under the Archduke John, had been compelled by the French to retreat; and having united, they marched towards Vienna. But the Emperor of Austria had now lost all heart. Prussia had recently made peace with France; and two days after the battle of Austerlitz Francis repaired in person to the camp of Napoleon, near Saroschuez, and entered into a preliminary convention relative to an armistice and peace. Finally, a treaty was signed at Presburg, on December the 26th, which broke the power of Austria, and gave the continent into the hands of France. By this treaty, all the countries usurped by Napoleon before the war were ratified to him, and Austria likewise ceded the Venetian territory on both sides of the sea to his "Kingdom of Italy;" to Bavaria, Tyrol, Vorarlberg, Eichstaedt, and a part of Passau; and to Bavaria, Wurtemburg, Baden, the Suabian territories, and the Breisgau. In return, Austria received Salzburg, and Berchtesgaden; and the dignity of Grand Master of the Teutonic order was to be assigned, hereditarily, to an Austrian prince. By this treaty, likewise, the electors of Bavaria and Wurtemburg were acknowledged as kings, and the elector of Baden as independent. The Emperor of Russia was invited to become a party in this treaty, but he disdained it, and led his forces into his own dominions. It was not merely the loss of territory that made the peace of Presburg, humiliating to Austria: the moral effects of a fall of such unexampled rapidity, and the complete change of all relations in Germany, made it still more depressing. South Germany, hitherto the vassal realm of Austria, now acknowledged the rule of France. The German imperial dignity no longer possessed importance; and the whole system of the European states was overthrown. The smaller German States of the Rhine, were formed by the conqueror into what was called "the Confederation of the Rhine;" the old Germanic empire was therefore dissolved, and the influence of the French fully established over a great part of Germany. Very soon after this treaty, indeed, the Emperor Francis formally renounced his title of Elective Emperor of Germany, and assumed that of Hereditary Emperor of Austria. The conquests of Napoleon were followed by the aggrandizement of his house. Less than three weeks after signing the treaty of Presburg, Eugene Beauharnois married the daughter of the King of Bavaria, and shortly after, Princess Stephanie Beauharnois, Eugene's cousin, was given in marriage to the son and heir of the Grand Duke of Baden. Another matrimonial alliance was also contemplated with the family of the King of Wurtemburg.

{GEORGE III. 1804—1807}



THE BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR, ETC.

Though successful on the Continent, the power of Napoleon by sea was this year broken. Nelson had been appointed to the command of the Mediterranean fleet in the autumn of the year 1803. In the first month of the present year, while at anchor off Sardinia, he received intelligence that the Toulon fleet had put to sea. Nelson instantly weighed, and after beating about the Sicilian seas for ten days, he ran for Egypt, under the impression that they were bound for that country. Subsequently he discovered that the enemy had put back to Toulon; and, in the hope of tempting it out to sea, he bore away for the coast of Spain, and ran down as far as Barcelona. This stratagem failed of effect; but on the last day of March he received intelligence that Villeneuve had put to sea, with eleven ships of the line and seven frigates, and when last seen was steering towards the coast of Africa. Under the impression that the enemy was bound for Egypt, Nelson covered the channel between Sardinia and Barbary, and when he found that he was mistaken, he bore up for Palermo, and despatched cruizers in all directions, lest it should pass to the north of Corsica. At length, feeling that Villeneuve was not gone toward the Levant, he despatched frigates to Gibraltar, to Lisbon, and to Admiral Cornwallis, off Brest, beat up against contrary winds, and arrived in sight of Gibraltar, on the 30th or April; but being unable to pass through the Straits, by reason of a strong westerly gale, he anchored off the coast of Barbary. In the mean time the French admiral had hastened on to Cadiz, and Sir John Orde, who commanded the blockading squadron, retired at his approach. Villeneuve was joined at Cadiz by six Spanish, and two French ships of the line; making his whole force, eighteen line-of-battle ships, six frigates of forty guns each, and four smaller vessels. The united squadrons now sailed for the West Indies, and Nelson having discovered their place of destination, set sail with ten ships of the line, and three frigates, in pursuit of them. It has been supposed that Nelson would not have engaged his enemy, had he met with them, his force being so disproportionate: but it is clear from his own words that he would have fought had he come up with them. "Take you each a Frenchman," he observed to his officers, "and leave the Spaniards to me: when I haul down my colours, I expect you to do the same." But Nelson was again doomed to be disappointed in his search. He sought the enemy at Tobago, Trinidad, and Grenada, but not being able to discover or to gain any certain intelligence of them, he came to Gibraltar, where he went on shore for the first time since June, 1803. While at Gibraltar, he communicated with Admiral Collingwood, who, with a detached squadron, had taken his station off Cadiz, to prevent any progress of the Spaniards, and who had divined that the enemy's intention, or at least a part of it, was to invade Ireland. Subsequently Nelson sought the enemy off Cape St. Vincent, at Cadiz, in the Bay of Biscay, and on the north-west coast of Ireland. Frustrated in all his hopes, after a pursuit which exhibited the most indomitable ardour, and which scarcely has its parallel in history, he judged it best to re-enforce the Channel-fleet, and accordingly, on the 15th of August, he joined Admiral Cornwallis, off Ushant. While off Ushant, Nelson received orders to proceed with the "Victory," his own ship, and the "Superb," to Portsmouth. It was at Portsmouth that he first received certain intelligence of the enemy's movements. Sir Robert Calder, who had been sent out to intercept their return, fell in with them on the 22d of July, sixty leagues west of Cape Finisterre; and though his force consisted only of fifteen ships of the line, and two frigates, he boldly attacked the enemy, who now numbered twenty-seven of the line, three of fifty guns, and two frigates; and after a combat of four hours succeeded in capturing two ships of the line, and defeated the greatest and best combined project ever formed by the genius of Napoleon. The French admiral sought refuge in Ferrol, and then threw himself into Cadiz. Nelson was now once more appointed to the command of the fleet, and once more he went in search of the enemy. He considered the enemy's fleet, which he had so long pursued, his own proper game, the price and reward of his long and anxious search. In this feeling, also, his country joined.

Describing his departure from Portsmouth, his biographer remarks:—"Many were in tears, and many knelt down before him, to bless him as he passed. All men knew that his heart was as humane as it was fearless; that there was not in his nature an alloy of selfishness or cupidity, but that he served his country with a perfect and entire devotion; therefore they loved him as truly and fervently as he loved England." Nelson arrived off Cadiz on the 29th of September, the very day on which the French admiral received orders to put to sea the first opportunity. That it might not be known to the enemy that the hero of the Nile was watching them, Nelson did not suffer his flag to be saluted, and took every precaution of keeping his arrival secret, as well as the numerical force of his fleet. He took his station fifty miles westward of Cadiz, near Cape St. Mary, where he prepared his plan of attack, which he sent to Admiral Collingwood, who was blockading all the small ports between Cadiz and Algesiras, in order that Villeneuve might finally be compelled for want of provision to set sail. Nelson's plan was to be nearly that of sailing, which was in two lines, with an advanced squadron of eight fast-sailing two-deckers: the second in command, having the direction of his line, was to break through the enemy about twelve ships from their rear, and Nelson himself was to lead through the centre, while the advanced squadron was to cut off three or four ahead of it. This plan received Collingwood's cordial approbation; and Nelson then called his admirals and captains together, and thus addressed them:—"The enemy's fleet is supposed to consist of forty-six sail of the line, the British forty; if either is less only a proportionate number of the ships are to be cut off. British to be one fourth superior to the enemy they cut off. Something must be left to chance. Nothing is sure in a sea-fight; shot will carry away the masts and yards of friends as well as of foes; but I look with confidence to a victory before the van of the enemy could succour their rear; and then that the British fleet would most of them be ready to receive their twenty sail of the line, or to pursue them should they endeavour to make off. If the van of the enemy tack, the captured ships must run to leeward of the British fleet; if the enemy wear, the British place themselves between the enemy and the captured and disabled British ships; and should the enemy close I have no fear for the result. The second in command will, in all possible things, direct the movements of his line by keeping them as compact as the nature of the circumstances will admit. Captains are to look to their particular line as their rallying point; but in case signals cannot be seen clearly or understood, no captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of an enemy."



At length the day which Nelson had long looked for arrived. On the 19th, signal was made by the "Mars," first, that the enemy were coming out of port, and then that their fleet was at sea. On that day they were narrowly watched by the British fleet, as they were through the night; and on the morning of the 20th the combined fleets, consisting of thirty-three sail of the line and seven large frigates, were seen ahead in a close line of battle, on the starboard tack, about twelve miles to leeward, and standing to the south. On board the enemy had four thousand troops, and numerous Tyrolese riflemen were dispersed through the ships. The British admiral had with him only twenty-seven sail of the line and four frigates; six ships of the line having been dispatched to Gibraltar for provisions and water. With this force he resolved to attack the enemy on the next day; and soon after daylight he called Captain Blackwood on board the "Victory," the last words he uttered to whom were:—"God bless you, Blackwood; I shall never see you more." He had a presentiment that, while he was certain of victory, it would, nevertheless, be gained at the price of his own life. Yet, with this prospect before him, appalling as it must have been to his mind, he was calm and serene. His whole attention was fixed on Villeneuve, who was wearing to form the line in close order upon the larboard tack, thereby to bring Cadiz under his lee, and to facilitate, if necessary, his escape into that port. This induced Nelson to steer somewhat more to the north, and telegraph Collingwood, "I intend to pass through the van of the enemy's line, to prevent his getting into Cadiz." Villeneuve's movements had also produced another danger, for they had brought the shoals of San Pedro and Trafalgar under the lee of both fleets; and to guard against this danger Nelson made a signal for the British fleet to anchor at the close of day. All things prepared, the hero of the Nile gave his last signal:—"England expects every man to do his duty!" which was greeted with three cheers on board of every ship in the fleet. "Now," said Nelson, "I can do no more; we must trust to the Great Disposer of all events and to the justice of our cause: I thank God for this grand opportunity of doing my duty." While gradually approaching the enemy, whose ships had fallen into a crescent form, Nelson dressed himself, putting on the coat which he had usually worn for weeks, and on which the order of the Bath was embroidered. The captain of the "Victory," Hardy, suggested that this might become a mark for the enemy; to which Nelson replied, "He was aware of it; but that, as in honour he had gained his orders, so in honour he would die with them." The battle commenced about ten minutes after the hour of noon, when Admiral Colling-wood, in the "Royal Sovereign" engaged the "Santa Anna," the flag-ship of Vice-Admiral Alava, the second in command. Ship after ship followed his example, and the battle waged fiercely on every hand. The "Victory," in which Nelson was, singled out the "Santissima Trinidad," a huge four-decker, which he had encountered before, and which he was wont to call his old acquaintance. At the same time seven or eight French and Spanish ships opened a fire on the "Victory." Mr. Scott, his secretary, was killed, Captain Hardy was wounded in the foot, and fifty sailors perished before the "Victory" returned a shot. At length orders were given to fire; and as it had been discovered that the French admiral, who hoisted no colours, was in the "Bucentaure," of eighty guns, Nelson's terrible sixty-eight pounder carronade from the "Victory's" forecastle was turned chiefly against that ship. In two minutes nearly four hundred men were killed or wounded in this ship; twenty of her guns were dismounted, and she was almost disabled. The next ship which the "Victory" encountered was the "Redoubtable," against which she ran foul, the anchor of the one striking the spare anchor of the other, and the hooks and boom-irons getting intermixed or catching in the leash of the sails, holding the two ships together. Again the starboard carronade was fired, which cleared the French ship's gangway in a moment. At the same time the "Victory's" larboard guns did fatal execution in the "Santissima Trinidad," now engaged likewise. At length the "Redoubtable" took fire, and the flames spread to the "Victory." The English sailors put out their own fire, and threw buckets of water into the "Redoubtable" to help the French to extinguish theirs. In the midst of this terrific scene Nelson—the brave, undaunted Nelson—fell: a rifle or musket-ball from the mizen-top of the "Redoubtable" passed through him, and he fell on his knees on the very spot where his secretary had before him breathed his last. "They have done for me at last," said he to Hardy, who was anxiously bending over him, "my backbone is shot through." He was carried down to the cockpit, which was crowded with the wounded and the dying, and where it was too soon discovered that his wound was mortal, the ball had entered his left shoulder, through the forepart of the epaulette, and had lodged in his spine. In the meantime the battle raged with fury. In the midst of the roar of cannon and the shrieks of the wounded and the dying, the crew of the "Victory" ever and anon by their shoutings announced that some ship of the enemy had struck. On hearing their shouts, joy sparkled in the eyes of the dying Nelson; and he sent for Captain Hardy to inquire how the battle proceeded. It was some time before Hardy could leave the scene of carnage on the quarter-deck; but on reaching the side of the dying Nelson he informed him that twelve or fourteen of the enemy's ships had struck, but that five of their van had tacked and shown an intention of bearing down upon the "Victory," and that he had called two or three ships round it to guard against the clanger. Hardy then returned to the quarter-deck; but in less than an hour he returned, and congratulated his dying friend on having obtained a brilliant and complete victory: fourteen or fifteen of the enemy's ships, he said, were captured. "That's well," replied Nelson; "but I bargained for twenty;" then in a louder tone he exclaimed, "Anchor, Hardy, anchor!" Hardy suggested that Admiral Collingwood would now take upon himself the direction of affairs: but Nelson, endeavouring to raise himself from his bed, replied that he would command while he lived, and gave imperative orders to anchor. It is supposed that he meant, in case of his surviving until all resistance was over, he would anchor the ships and prizes, as the surest means of saving them, should a gale of wind arise. Soon after this the hero's gallant spirit fled: his last words, thrice repeated, were, "Thank God, I have done my duty." The victory was complete; and Admiral Collingwood, who now succeeded to the command of the fleet, and who had largely contributed to gain the battle, distinguished himself no less by his skill after it was gained, than by his undaunted bravery in the action. The number of ships captured was nineteen; and Villeneuve and two Spanish admirals fell into the hands of the British. One French ship blew up after her surrender, two hundred of the crew of which were saved by our tenders. The total number of prisoners taken amounted to nearly 12,000 men; the total British loss was 1,587, including many officers and the gallant Nelson. Out of eighteen sail of the line the French only preserved nine; and out of fifteen sail of the line the Spaniards preserved only six. Most of the captured vessels, however, were subsequently lost at sea through stress of weather; four only were saved and carried to Gibraltar. "Our own infirm ships," says Collingwood, "could scarce keep off the shore: the prizes were left to their fate; and as they were driven very near the port, I ordered them to be destroyed, that there might be no risk of their again falling into the hands of the enemy." Thus ended the greatest naval victory recorded in history, whether in ancient or modern times. By it England was rescued from all chances of invasion, and left sole mistress of the seas. And the moral effect of the victory was as great as the physical one; the marine force of Napoleon might be said to be annihilated. It was, in fact, a glorious set off to his successes on the continent; and deep must have been his chagrin on hearing the news. In England the joy was great, and was only damped by the consideration that posthumous honours alone could be awarded to him who was instrumental in gaining the victory. These honours were with gratitude heaped on his memory. His brother was made an earl, with a grant of L6000 per annum; L10,000 were voted to each of his sisters; and L100,000 for the purchase of an estate. As for the hero himself, a public funeral and a public monument in St. Paul's was decreed to him, and statues, columns, and other monuments were voted in most of our principal cities. Nor did the gratitude of the nation stop at the moment. Recently a noble monument has been erected to his memory in Trafalgar Square, chiefly by private contributions. His name will live in the history of England and the memories of his grateful countrymen down to the latest period of time. Faults and errors in private life may have stained his character; but his memory will nevertheless be precious in the sight of admiring posterity.



MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

{A.D. 1806}

Parliament met on the 21st of January. The speech was delivered by commission, and it dwelt upon our great naval successes, and attempted to alleviate regret for the disasters of our allies on the continent, with the assurances the Russian emperor had given that he would still aid us in the strife. It mentioned also that L1,000,000 accruing to the crown from the droits of admiralty should be applied to the public service; and concluded with a strong recommendation of vigilance and exertion against the common enemy. Amendments were read in both houses; but they were not moved in consequence of the intelligence that Pitt was at the point of death.



DEATH OF MR. PITT.

When parliament reassembled, Pitt, who at the close of last session was obliged to relinquish all exertions and retire to Bath, was lying in a state of debility and exhaustion at Putney, whither he had recently returned. Two days after the meeting of parliament, on the 23rd of January, he expired, in the forty-seventh year of his age; a young man in years, but aged in constitution from incessant toil and mental anxiety. On the motion of Mr. Henry Lascelles he was buried in Westminster Abbey, at the public expense, and a monument, with a suitable inscription, was erected to his memory. As he had died in debt, a sum not exceeding L40,000 was voted for the payment of his creditors, without any opposition. "Never had a minister that ruled the country for twenty long years, or for half or fourth of that time, done so little to enrich himself and family—never had statesman and dispenser of patronage and places been more indifferent to his private interests." These sentences speak volumes as to the character of this eminent statesman. In politics he may often have erred; but not even his bitterest foe can impeach his integrity. "I allow," said his inveterate opponent, Fox, "I allow that a minister is not to be considered as moderate and disinterested, merely because he is poor during his life or at his death; but when I see a minister who has been in office above twenty years, with the full command of places and public money, without any peculiar extravagance and waste, except what might be expected from the carelessness that perhaps necessarily arose from the multiplicity of duties to which the attention of a man in such a situation must be directed,—when I see a minister under such circumstances using his influence neither to enrich himself nor those with whom he is by family ties more particularly connected, it is impossible for me not to conclude that this man is disinterested."



THE GRENVILLE ADMINISTRATION.

The death of Pitt, at the particular crisis in which it took place, was considered a virtual dissolution of the administration. The post of premier was offered to Lord Hawkesbury; but he deemed it too arduous, and chose rather to retire from office with the sinecure of the cinqueports. Lord Sidmouth also declined the task; and his majesty was compelled to repress his personal antipathies, and to seek the aid of Lord Grenville. The new arrangements were completed on the 3rd of February; and the ministry embraced the leading members of two parties, known as the old and new opposition, together with the party led by Lord Sidmouth. The arrangement stood thus:—Lord Grenville, first lord of the treasury; Fox, secretary of state for foreign affairs; Viscount Sidmouth, lord privy seal; Earl Fitzwilliam, lord resident of the council; Lord Howick, first lord of the admiralty; Earl of Moira, master-general of the ordnance; Earl Spencer, secretary of state for the home department; Windham, secretary for the colonies; Lord Henry Petty, chancellor of the exchequer; Erskine, lord high chancellor; and Lord Minto, president of the board of control. Among the minor appointments, Sheridan obtained that of the treasurer of the navy; Lord Auckland, the presidency of the board of trade; Earl Temple and Lord John Townshend, the joint paymastership of the forces; General Fitzpatrick, the secretaryship of war; and Sir Arthur Pigott and Sir Samuel Romilly, the posts of attorney and solicitor-general. As Lord Grenville's office of auditor of the exchequer was thought incompatible with that of first lord of the treasury, and as his lordship was unwilling to resign that lucrative office, a bill was subsequently brought into parliament empowering him to name a responsible trustee for holding auditorship so long as he should continue premier. Law, who had been created Baron Ellenborough in 1802, was appointed to this place, with a seat in the cabinet; an act which created strong prejudices in the minds of the people at large against the new administration. But his lordship's parliamentary interest was considered essential to the support of the new ministry, and the murmurs of the people were hence not regarded. Such a sweeping ministerial change as this had not taken place for years; all places were swept clean and new men put into them. The administration, however, was made of discordant materials. In it were Grenvillites, Foxites, Wind-hamites, Lansdownites, Addingtonians or Sidmouthites, &c. and this division brought so many expectations, hopes, and pretensions in their several trains, that it was easy to foresee that there would soon be quarrelling, and strife, and splittings among them. They had no general political creed; and their interests, like their theories, lay wide asunder. Moreover, it was soon found that it was on very few questions they could command anything like a respectable majority. They were triumphant, indeed, when it was moved in the lords and commons "that it was highly inexpedient, and tended to weaken the administration of justice, to summon to any committee or assembly of the privy council any of the judges of his majesty's courts of common law," in allusion to the recent appointment of Baron Ellenborough; but beyond this the present motley ministry could only command majorities of the narrowest kind; and sometimes during this session they were even left in a minority. Wearying and worrying debates, and all to little or no purpose, became the order of the day. Sheridan on one occasion, indeed, suggested that ministerial members, distributed in parties of twenty, should go home to rest in the midst of debate, and then come back to rest after they had slept and breakfasted. The house sometimes sat till seven o'clock in the morning, and then separated without having effected anything of importance.



NEGOCIATIONS FOR PEACE.

At the death of Mr. Pitt the state of Europe rendered it difficult for Great Britain to negociate with France for a safe and honourable peace. As Mr. Fox, however, had succeeded to power, there were some who entertained expectations of peace, and he was thought to have undertaken the foreign department with that end in view. France manifestly desired peace; and but a short time elapsed before the government contrived to bring about some negociations, in order to ascertain what terms of peace the new ministry would be likely to allow. Before ten days elapsed from the appointment of the new administration an agent of that government arrived at Gravesend without a passport, and acquainted Fox by letter, that he had a very important communication to make. Fox sent him a passport, and admitted him to an interview; but indignantly repelled his disclosure, true or false, of a plot to assassinate Napoleon. Fox detained his man in custody, and communicated his designs, if they were really entertained by him, to the French government; and this led to a communication between him and Talleyrand. It appeared, from the negociations which took place, that the greatest obstacle was the determination of Napoleon to obtain Sicily for his brother Joseph, in addition to Naples. Fox, however, had sufficient penetration to discover that he had other ambitious demands to be satisfied, should this be complied with—that he would demand Holland for his brother Louis, etc.; and therefore he determined to break off the negociations, and to continue the war. He made this determination fully known, when he rejected the treaty of Amiens as a basis, and insisted on the Emperor of Russia being admitted as a party. Yet the French Government seem to have considered that England would one day soon consent to peace, even on the hard terms proposed. Negociation was renewed in June, when Lord Yarmouth, who had been released from prison at Fox's intercession, was invited to a conference with Talleyrand. At this interview it was said that the Emperor was willing to restore Hanover, as well as to gratify the British court in other respects, while France asked for nothing. Pleased with this intelligence, the King sent a commission to Lord Yarmouth, but desired him to withhold the communication of his full powers, until it was promised that Sicily should not be alienated from the house of Bourbon. It was replied that Napoleon was anxious to obtain Sicily for his brother Joseph, and would procure the Hanstowns for Ferdinand; but this answer was not deemed satisfactory, and the negociations were still held in abeyance. The Russian Government, at this time, having become acquainted with the negociations in progress, sent an agent to act on Russia's behalf, and to watch proceedings. The arrival of this agent was what the French desired, for they knew that they could soon cause a rupture between England and Russia. In a short time, indeed, through French intrigue, D'Oubril, the Russian agent, suspected the good faith, of Lord Yarmouth, and Lord Yarmouth suspected the good faith of D'Oubril. A quarrel ensued between them, and then Talleyrand raised his demands and abated his proffered concessions. D'Oubril returned to Petersburgh, but Fox still persevered in seeking peace. An accredited agent, in the person of Lord Lauderdale, was now sent over to Paris, and negociations lasted from the 9th of August to the 6th of October; when they were broken off by a demand for passports. France still insisted that Sicily should be given up to Joseph Buonaparte; and this could not be conceded, so the negociations finally failed. About that time Fox died, and the French government attributed publicly the failure of these negociations to his death. But the truth was, Fox had long ago expressed his convictions that peace would be unattainable; and after he had commenced the negociations, he had said in the house of commons:—"My wish, the first wish of my heart, is peace; but such a peace as shall preserve our connexions and influence on the continent, as shall not abate one jot of the national honour,—and such only:" how then could his death have been an obstacle to peace? Fox, with all his faults, had a heart glowing with love for his country, and he would not have lightly sacrificed her honour and her interest at the shrine of French ambition.

{GEORGE III. 1804—1807}



WINDHAM'S MILITARY PLAN.

On the 3rd of April Windham brought forward a plan for altering the military system, and particularly the mode of recruiting the army. His plan was that the soldier should enlist for a certain term of years; that this term should be divided for the infantry into three periods of seven years each; and for the cavalry and artillery, the first period to be ten years, the second six, and the third live years; and that at the end of each of these periods a man might have a right to claim his discharge, and that his privileges, pensions, etc., should be augmented in proportion to the length of his services. As a preliminary step to the introduction of this bill he moved for a bill to repeal Pitt's Additional Force bill, which raised a storm of opposition from the friends and admirers of the deceased minister. His views were especially combated by Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning; but the repeal bill was finally carried, and then Windham's plan was adopted: it was introduced and carried as a clause in the Annual Mutiny bill. A bill for the training of a certain number of persons, not exceeding 200,000, out of those that were liable to be drawn for the militia; a bill to suspend the ballot for the militia in England for two years, with a reserved power to government for recurring to it in order to supply the vacancies of any corps which should be reduced below its quota; a bill called the Chelsea Hospital bill, to give security to invalid, disabled, and discharged soldiers, for such pensions as they were entitled to; and a bill for settling the relative rank officers of yeomanry, volunteers, militia forces, and troops of the line, completed Windham's system, and were all carried, though not without much opposition. An increase was also voted to the pay of sergeants, corporals, privates of the line, to the Chelsea pensions, and to the pensions of officers' widows: similar benefits were also voted to the navy, and the Greenwich Hospital allowances to out-pensioners were increased.



THE BUDGET.

The budget was opened by Lord Henry Petty on the 28th of March. From his statement it appeared that the unredeemed debt of Great Britain and Ireland was about L566,000,000, of which the annual interest was about L27,500,000. The supplies of England and Ireland for the year were estimated at L62,187,465; and among the ways and means, were a loan of L18,000,000 and an augmentation of the new taxes to L19,500,000, to be effected principally by raising the income-tax from six and a half to ten per cent. The new Chancellor of the Exchequer also imposed a duty of forty shillings a ton on pig-iron; an additional duty on beer and spirits, in Ireland; and a paltry tax on appraisements. The duty on pig-iron and the increase of the income-tax raised a storm of opposition; but they were nevertheless decreed. As the burdens of the people were so increased, it was deemed expedient that some attempt should be made to prevent the misapplication of the money raised from the public. It was proposed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that, beside the five commissioners to whom the task of general investigation had hitherto been confided, particular auditors should be appointed; and though this new arrangement was to cost from L28,000 to L42,000 per annum, his proposition was agreed to. Some slight improvements were likewise made in the acts regulating commercial intercourse between Great Britain and Ireland; and a law was passed for permitting the free interchange of grain of every kind between the two islands. By the burdensome imposts of this year the new ministry obtained much odium, the friends of Pitt taking care to enhance their disgrace in the sight of the nation by ridicule and reproach. Mr. Canning, in particular, assailed them both by his oratory and his pen, impugning even their motives. "All the talents," as this ministry was called, indeed, stood in no very enviable position in the sight of the country at large.



TRIAL OF LORD MELVILLE.

The trial of Lord Melville commenced in Westminster-hall, on the 29th of April, before the lords, the members of the house of commons being present in a committee of the whole house. Although there were ten charges preferred against him, there were only three in substance. These were:—"That as treasurer of the navy, Lord Melville had applied divers sums of public money to his private use and profit. That he had permitted his paymaster, Trotter, to take large sums of money from the Bank of England, issued to it on account of the treasurer of the navy, and to place it in his own name, with his private banker; and that he had permitted Trotter to apply the money so abstracted to purposes of private emolument, and had himself derived profit therefrom." Lord Melville pleaded "not guilty" to these charges, and then Whitbread produced his evidence to prove his guilt. In this, however, he failed as regard's Melville's personal delinquency. All that was made clear in the course of the trial was that Mr. Trotter had increased his salary by deriving profit from the banking-house of Coutts, on the deposits; and that while Lord Melville had made use of some sums of money, he had nevertheless repaid those sums with interest. The trial lasted sixteen days, and then the lords voted on the several charges, acquitting the accused of every charge. "Henry Viscount Melville," said the Lord Chancellor to him, "I am to acquaint your lordship, that you are acquitted of the articles of impeachment exhibited against you by the commons, for high crimes and misdemeanours, and of all things contained therein." Melville made a low bow, and then retired; and the Chancellor having announced that the impeachment was dismissed, the lords and commons retired to their respective chambers. A motion of thanks to the managers was subsequently voted in the commons, and thus this business, which had cost the country some thousands of pounds, ended. This impeachment, however, was not without its moral effects: while the impeachment of Hastings set limits to the exercise of a too arbitrary power in India, that of Melville taught ministers to be more careful of their public accounts at home.



THE SLAVE-TRADE QUESTION.

The glory of this session and this ministry was a blow struck at the slave-trade. A bill was introduced by the attorney-general prohibiting, under a strict penalty, the exportation of slaves from the British colonies, after the 1st of January, 1807. This bill was carried, and then Mr. Fox proposed that, as it was contrary to the principles of justice, humanity, and sound policy, effectual measures should be taken for putting an end to the slave-trade, in such a manner and at such a period as might be deemed advisable. The mover of this motion remarked:—"If during almost forty years I have enjoyed a seat in parliament, I had been so fortunate as to accomplish this, and this only, I should think I had done enough, and should retire from public life with comfort, and conscious satisfaction that I had clone my duty." This motion was carried by one hundred and fourteen votes against fifteen; and a similar motion, made by Lord Grenville in the upper house, was adopted by forty-one against twenty. The last step taken on this subject during the present year was a joint address from both houses, beseeching his majesty that he would take measures for obtaining the concurrence of foreign powers, in the abolition of this abominable traffic. That amiable philanthropist, Wilberforce, was delighted at the success of his labours; and he expressed a hope that during next year he and his coadjutors in this noble work would witness the termination of all their toils and anxieties. On the fact that Fox was mainly instrumental in carrying his wishes into effect, he writes:—"How wonderful are the ways of God! Though intimate with Pitt all my life, since earliest manhood, and he most warm for abolition, and really honest, yet now my whole dependence is placed on Fox, to whom this life has been opposed, and on Grenville to whom I have always been rather hostile till of late years, when I heard he was more religious." It has been assumed, because Pitt did not make this a cabinet question, that he was lukewarm in the cause of abolition; but it is clear if he had done so, he could not have carried it before parliament, and the country were prepared for it. Up to this period the temper of the public mind may be discovered in these noble sentiments of the poet Cowper:—

"Canst thou, and honoured with a Christian name, Buy what is woman born, and feel no shame? Trade in the blood of innocence, and plead Experience as a warrant for the deed? So may the wolf whom famine has made bold, To quit the forest and invade the fold: So may the ruffian, who, with ghostly glide, Dagger in hand, steals close to your bedside; Not he, but his emergence forced the door— He found it inconvenient to be poor. Has God then given its sweetness to the cane— Unless his laws be trampled on—in vain? Built a brave world, which cannot yet subsist, Unless his right to rule it be dismissed? Impudent blasphemy! so Folly pleads, And, avarice being judge, with case succeeds."

At this time, however, the labours of Wilberforce, Clarkson, and their friends had prepared the majority of the country and of parliament for alleviating the sufferings of the human race; some there were still whose avarice led them to defend the inhuman system of trafficking in the blood, bones, and sinews of man; but the many now saw its iniquity, and were prepared to wipe the foul stain from the annals of England.



PARLIAMENT PROROGUED, ETC.

Various discussions arose during this session, financial and general, respecting the affairs of India. Mr. Paul, with the assistance of Sir Philip Francis, "that adventurous knight" prepared charges against the administration of the Marquis Wellesley; but on the 4th of July he declared that he was not ready to go into these charges, and it was agreed that this business should stand over till next session. Parliament was prorogued on the 23rd of July.



DEATH OF FOX.

This session had been a harassing one to Fox. Canning, bound by the chains of party, assailed him and his colleagues on every measure brought forward, whether excellent or otherwise. Ministers, moreover, were not only harassed by his bitter sarcasms, but also by Percival's legal knowledge, and by Lord Castlereagh's prolixity. These were thorns in their sides; and as this active opposition had rendered Mr. Fox's appearance in his place necessary, it told with great effect upon his constitution at this time: indeed, Fox was dying from the effects of disease augmented by the cares of office, and a laborious attendance on the house; and though this was visible, no mercy was shown him by his opponents. He did not long survive after the session was closed: he died on the 13th of September, and was buried by the side of his great rival, Pitt, in Westminster Abbey. His character as a politician has been seen in previous pages; as a man, he seems to have been loved in life and lamented in his death. Unhappily, however, a large portion of the affection with which he was regarded by his contemporaries, was bestowed on qualities which impaired the dignity of his moral character, and rendered his talents less acceptable to the public. He was what is called "the delight of society;" but his fascinating manners by no means made up for his unsteady principles, and inconsistency of opinion. The death of Fox involved some changes in the ministry. His nephew and pupil, Lord Holland, was brought into the cabinet as privy seal, and Fox was succeeded in the foreign department by his friend Lord Howick. The other ministerial changes were simply these:—Mr. T. Grenville became first lord of the admiralty, instead of Lord Howick; Tierney, president of the board of control, instead of Gren-ville; and Sidmouth became president of the council, in lieu of Earl Fitzwilliam, who resigned. Lord Holland, therefore, was the only new member brought into the cabinet.



NAVAL SUCCESSES.

The successes of the British fleets during this year were various, and very encouraging to the nation to persevere in the struggle. Operations were, indeed, naval and military, extended to the south of Italy and Sicily, Portugal, the Cape of Good Hope, the East and West Indies, and South America. At the close of the preceding year Admiral Villauruez, accompanied by Joseph Buonaparte, succeeded in escaping from port with eleven sail of the line, and a number of frigates. This fleet subsequently separated: five ships of the line, two frigates, and a corvette steered, under the command of Admiral Le Seigle, for St. Domingo; but they were attacked off Ocoa Bay by Admiral Sir T. Duckworth, and after a furious action three ships struck, while the other two were driven on shore and burnt; the smaller vessels escaped. The other squadron, under Villauruez, steered first to the coast of Brazil, and afterwards to the West Indies: but it was driven from thence by the fury of the elements; and, finally, three ships were destroyed on the American coast, one reached the Havannah, and then escaped into Brest, and a third, which was commanded by Jerome Buonaparte, was stranded on the coast of Brittany. A third squadron of French ships, under Admiral Linois, had long been carrying on a predatory warfare in the Indian Seas, and the Isle of France had been the grand depot of his plunder; but this year he was overtaken by Sir J. B. Warren, who had been sent in pursuit of Jerome Buonaparte, and after a running fight of three hours the French were compelled to strike. Another squadron of five French frigates and two corvettes was encountered at sea by Sir Samuel Romilly, and four of the frigates were captured; Romilly lost his arm in the action. During this year, also, an expedition was sent, under the command of Sir David Baird, with a naval force commanded by Sir Home Popham, against the Cape of Good Hope, and that country was added to the English possessions; the enemy was compelled to retreat, and the governor-general, Janseus, surrendered, on condition of his forces being conveyed to Holland at the expense of the British government, and not considered as prisoners of war. Finally, in the course of this year, Sir Home Popham undertook an expedition against Buenos Ayres, which he took from the Spaniards: but it was afterwards re-captured; and as Sir Home undertook this enterprise without orders, he was recalled by government and tried by a court-martial, which adjudged him to be severely reprimanded. It is clear, however, that if Popham had been successful he would have been acquitted of all blame; for on hearing that Buenos Ayres was taken, the nation was intoxicated with joy; and it was not till the news arrived that the Spaniards had recaptured it that the voice of censure was heard against him. So fickle is public favour: the man who is held in high estimation to-day, may, by one unfortunate action, become the object of contempt to-morrow.



DISPUTES WITH AMERICA.

At this time disputes, which threatened war, arose between England and America. The Americans complained of impressing British seamen on board their merchant vessels on the high seas; of their violation of their right as neutrals, in seizing and condemning their merchant-men, though engaged in lawful commerce; and of the infringement of their maritime jurisdiction on their own coasts. As an amicable arrangement of these differences was desirable, a special mission was despatched to England, and the disputes were finally settled by an assurance, on the first point, that the right of impression should be exercised with caution, and redress afforded for any act of injustice; and by establishing a rule defining the difference between a continuous and an interrupted voyage to the colonies of the enemy, and stipulating that on re-exportation there should remain, after the draw-back, a duty to be paid of one per cent., ad valorem, on all European articles, and not less than two per cent, on colonial produce. The maritime jurisdiction of the United States was guaranteed, and some commercial stipulations framed for the reciprocal advantage of the two countries.



AFFAIRS OF SICILY.

It has been seen that Napoleon coveted Sicily for his brother Joseph, and that England would not consent to the overtures made on this subject. This, however, did not prevent him from adding it to his numerous conquests. Whilst yet at Schoenbrunn in December. 1805, Napoleon declared war against Naples; his grand plea being, that the king of that country had, in contempt of the treaty of neutrality, recently received an English-Russian army landing there with friendship. His decree was, "the royal house of Naples had ceased to reign;" and he immediately sent his troops to put it into execution. The army sent was commanded by Massena and Joseph Buonaparte; and by the month of February, this year, it marched into the capital, and Joseph was appointed by Napoleon hereditary King of Naples and Sicily. The new king was to remain a French prince, and retain his rights of inheritance in France; but this was only a preliminary step to future operations. The two crowns were, however, never to be united upon one head. By the reduction of Gaeta, in July, this revolution was consolidated. Soon after this, a Batavian deputation appeared at Paris, and implored Louis Napoleon for Regent, and that prince was proclaimed King of Holland, upon the same conditions as his brother Joseph, King of Naples. Moreover, Prince Eugene Beauharnois was appointed to the throne of Italy, which kingdom was increased by the incorporation of the rich countries once forming the State of Venice. Finally, Napoleon gave Cleves with Berg, purchased of Bavaria, to Joachim Murat, the husband of his sister, Caroline Annunciade, upon the same conditions as those upon which he had given Naples and Holland to his two brothers.



WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND PRUSSIA, ETC.

This year Prussia awoke from her fatal blindness. That country resolved upon war with France; and England and Sweden became reconciled with her king, while Russia promised him powerful aid. It was in October that a mutual declaration of war took place, and hostilities commenced immediately. A Prussian army, 120,000 strong, was assembled round Erfurt; but though it was composed of valiant soldiers, it was ill commanded, and, therefore, unfit to meet such a master of war as Napoleon. Two battles were fought at Jena and Auerstadt, by which the Prussian power was overthrown; more than 50,000 men were slain. These battles were followed by the capture of Erfurt, Span-dau, Potsdam, Berlin, Luben, Stettin, Kuestrin, Hameln, Nienburg, and Magdeburg; and by victories over Prince Hohenlohe, near Prenzlow; and over the reserve army of Brucher, towards the lower Elbe. Within six weeks after the battle of Jena, all the country, from the Rhine to the other side of the Oder, with a population of nine millions, fell into the hands of Napoleon. The French troops occupied Brunswick and Hesse Cassel, the Hanseatic cities, and finally Mecklenburg and Oldenburg. North Germany groaned under the scourge of the victor; and South Germany paid him homage, and gave him troops and gold. The houses of Brunswick and Hesse Cassel ceased to reign; the electors were dispossessed. The King of Prussia sought refuge with his Russian ally: his sudden fall was an object of terror and grief. With Prussia, the grand bulwark of Russia fell; Napoleon entertained, indeed, a project of raising up an independent throne on the very frontiers of the northern power. The injured Poles were summoned to insurrection, and an auxiliary army was formed in Prussia-Poland. Hopes of success in this enterprise were well founded, because at this time war broke out, through the intrigues of the French ruler, between Russia and the Porte. Operations followed on the Danube, which caused a powerful diversion of the Russian force, which might otherwise have extended a more efficient aid to the Prussian monarch.



MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

The new session of parliament was opened by commission, on the 19th of December. The speech dwelt on the calamities of war; the progress of the arms of France; the failure of pacific negociations through the ambition of the French ruler; and the necessity of union, firmness, and courageous endurance in the nation, to meet the peculiar exigencies of the crisis. In the debates on the address, Lord Hawkes-bury in the lords, and Mr. Canning in the commons, took a very active part, censuring the actions of the cabinet ever since it had been in office. No amendment, however, was moved in either house, so that the addresses passed without a division. Canning's speech on this occasion, though in some parts it exhibited a show of candour, was, nevertheless, one of unrelenting hostility to the government. Thus, after strongly condemning the policy of breaking with Prussia for Hanover, he remarked: "Prussia, unable to resist France, encroached on us; we had, however, the option to pass over a just cause of complaint, and to leave untouched the only state in Europe which appeared capable of forming the germ of an alliance hostile to the ambitious views of France; but the conduct of ministers was the converse of their policy. By that conduct Prussia had been compelled to act without our advice or assistance, and to plunge into a war, of which, if our advice could not have prevented it, our assistance might at least have meliorated the termination. Would any man of common reflection say, that, for the restoration of Hanover, it was worth while to make war on Prussia? The British government, however, continued at war with her as long as the resources of Prussia were unimpaired, and her strength unexhausted; but as soon as there seemed a prospect of war between Prussia and France, an ambassador was sent to Berlin, with instructions adapted to all possibilities, except that which was most probable; namely, the actual commencement of war: for that no provision had been made. As soon, however, as Lord Morpeth returned, our government began to see their error, and to think that there really was something like war between the two powers, from the trifling circumstance, that the Prussian army was annihilated: and when the Prussian monarchy shall be destroyed, they will perhaps send an army." In equally bitter terms Mr. Canning censured the foreign diplomacy of the country, instancing the case of one minister being at Paris to negociate peace, while another at Berlin was instigating war for the same object. Canning also adverted to the letter which Fox had sent to Talleyrand, observing that the insertion in it, that the British government were beginning a new cause, as illustrated by the transaction alluded to, was false, since the British government had never been stimulators of assassination. The character of Fox was powerfully vindicated by Lord Howick, who endeavoured to prove that the deceased statesman was wholly free from any imputation on his integrity or his political wisdom. Three days after this Lord Grenville presented to the house of lords papers relative to the late negociations with Buonaparte; and on the same day the thanks of both houses were voted to the British officers who had commanded in the plains of Maida, in Calabria, where, though inferior in numbers, they had defeated the French with great slaughter. But, notwithstanding this defeat, as before seen, the French made the conquest of the kingdom of Naples.



CHAPTER XXVII.

{GEORGE III. 1807—1809}

Debate on the negociation with France..... Financial Arrangements..... The Slave-Trade Question..... Bill for Removing the Disabilities of the Roman Catholics..... Dismissal of Ministers..... New Cabinet..... Trial of Strength between the two Parties..... Dissolution of Parliament..... The New Parliament—Campaign of Napoleon..... The Peace of Tilsit..... Expedition to Copenhagen..... Hostilities against Turkey..... Expedition to Egypt..... Disasters in South America..... War with Russia..... French invasion of Portugal..... Milan Decree, &c...... Disputes with America..... Meeting of Parliament..... Debates on the Orders in Council..... Financial Measures..... Debate on Ireland..... Motion respecting the Droits of Admiralty, &c...... Prorogation of Parliament..... Rising of the Spanish Nation, &c..... Affairs of Portugal..... Confederation of France and Russia..... Operations in Spain..... Naval Affairs in the Mediterranean..... State of the Continent.



DEBATE ON THE NEGOCIATION WITH FRANCE.

{A.D. 1807}

The papers which Lord Grenville had laid on the table relative to the negociations with France, were taken into consideration on the 5th of January. In both houses addresses were moved to express to his majesty approbation of his attempts to restore the blessings of peace, and determination to support him in such measures as might yet be necessary, either for the restoration of peace or the prosecution of war. In both houses the motion was carried unanimously, though there were long debates in which the comparative merits or demerits of the late and present ministries were canvassed. All parties, however, agreed that the continuation of war, and that an increase of power and a proper direction to our military forces were necessary. An augmentation of sea and land forces was voted; the total sum devoted to the navy alone being L17,400,337. The number of seamen including marines was 130,000, and the number of men under arms about 300,000; while the volunteers actually armed and regimented nearly amounted to the same.



FINANCIAL ARRANGEMENTS.

On the 29th of January Lord Henry Petty, as chancellor of the exchequer, submitted to the house an estimate of the supplies required for the year, and of the ways and means by which he proposed to meet them. The expenditure was calculated at a grand total of L45,841,340, being L40,527,065 for Great Britain, and L5,314,275 for Ireland. Lord Petty's plan of finance, in order to meet this expenditure, assumed that the annual produce of the permanent and temporary revenue would continue equal to the produce of the preceding year; keeping these premises in view, Lord Petty proposed that the war-loans for this year and the two next should be L12,000,000 annually; for 1810, L14,000,000, and for the next ten years L16,000,000. These loans were to be made a charge on the war-taxes, which were estimated to produce L21,000,000 annually, and this charge was to be at the rate of ten per cent, on each loan, five per cent, interest, and the remainder as a sinking-fund, which at compound interest would redeem any sum of capital debt in fourteen years. Lord Petty said that the portion of war-taxes thus liberated successively might, if war continued, become applicable in a revolving series, and be again pledged for new loans. It was material, however, he explained that the property-tax should cease on the sixth of April next, after peace was ratified, and that on the result of the whole measure there would not be any new taxes imposed for the first three years from this time. All that was necessary would be new taxes, of less than L300, 000, on an average of seven years from 1810 to 1816, inclusive. This, he continued, would procure for the country the full benefit of the plan proposed, which plan would be continued for twenty years, during the last ten of which no additional taxes would be required. This plan after repeated discussions was agreed to, and the funds rose so high in consequence, that the chancellor of the exchequer was able to negociate a loan on advantageous terms to the public.



THE SLAVE-TRADE QUESTION.

Wilberforce seems to have placed his main dependence upon Fox, in the great question of the abolition of the slave-trade; but on the death of that minister, Lord Grenville took up the matter with greater zeal than he had manifested. On the 2d of January he introduced a bill for the total abolition of that inhuman traffic, and this bill was read a first time and printed. Counsel was heard at the bar of the house against it on the 4th of February; and next day, after an elaborate speech, Lord Grenville moved the second reading. He was warmly supported by the Duke of Gloucester, the Earl of Selkirk, Lord King, the Earl of Rosslyn, Lord Northesk, the Bishop of Durham, Lord Holland, the Earl of Suffolk, and Lord Moira; and as warmly opposed by the Duke of Clarence, the Earl of Morton, the Earl of Westmoreland, and Lords Sidmouth, Eldon, Hawkes-bury, and St. Vincent. On a division, the bill was read a second time by one hundred against thirty-six; and on the 10th of February it was read a third time, and ordered to be sent to the commons for their concurrence. In the commons the reading was moved by Lord Howick; and so great had been the progress of philanthropic sentiments among British legislators that only sixteen ventured to oppose it; two hundred and eighty-three raised their voices in favour of it. The bill was read a third time on the 16th of March, and on the 18th it was carried back to the lords. Some amendments had been made in the commons, and these were assented to by the lords; and on the 25th the bill received the royal assent by commission. The bill enacted that no vessel should clear out for slaves from any port within the British dominions after the 14th of May, 1807; and that no slave should be landed in the colonies after the 1st of March, 1808. Thus this dark spot in the English annals was wiped out, and a noble example was set to the nations around who still trafficked in human flesh. It has, indeed, been justly observed that "almost all the mild and benignant laws, enacted for the benefit and protection of the negro slave, were of subsequent date to the first agitation of the question by the British parliament; and may, therefore, be fairly presumed to have been suggested by that movement."

"Quick at the call of virtue, freedom, truth, Weak withering age, and strong aspiring youth, Alike the expanding power of pity felt; The coldest, hardest hearts began to melt; From breast to breast the flame of justice glowed— Wide o'er its banks the Nile of mercy flowed; Through all the isle, the gradual waters swelled, Mammon in vain the encircling flood repelled O'erthrown at length, like Pharaoh and his host, His shipwrecked hopes lay scattered round the coast."

Through the labours of Wilberforce, Clarkson, and other philanthropists, the slave-trade was therefore abolished: it remained for future philanthropists to emancipate those on whose naked limbs the shackles were fastened. On the day after the abolition bill had been carried, Lord Percy moved to bring in a bill for the gradual abolition of slavery in the West Indies. This motion was negatived; but it showed that the subject of their entire freedom would one day or other follow that of the abolition of the slave-trade.



BILL FOR REMOVING THE DISABILITIES OF THE ROMAN CATHOLICS.

With the present administration, the catholic question was made a subject of paramount importance. It was made a matter of discussion in the cabinet; and although, in consequence of Lord Sidmouth's aversion to the measure, and some interviews held by Lords Grenville and Howick with his majesty, the subject was for a time abandoned, yet about this time it was partially renewed by a bill for allowing promotion in the army and navy to Roman Catholics, as well as to other dissenters from the protestant establishment. This bill which had received the reluctant acquiescence of his majesty, was read a first time on the 5th of March, and was ordered to be read on the twelfth of the same month. In the meantime the king's sentiments underwent a material change; his coronation-oath would not, he said, allow him to give his royal assent to such a measure. The bill was postponed from the 12th, in consequence of this communication, to the 18th, during which time ministers sought to remove the king's scruples. This, however, was a task which they were not able to perform, and they were at length compelled to consent to withdraw the bill altogether.



DISMISSAL OF MINISTERS.

The introduction of the bill described above caused a breach between his majesty and his ministers; a breach which admitted of no reparation. Confidence, indeed, between his majesty and his cabinet had never existed; for the king had accepted his ministers, not by choice, but by necessity. This was well known; and it is easy to believe, as some have represented, that his suspicion of them was increased by the whispers of men who were in search of place and power. Secret advisers, it is said, encouraged his majesty's scruples on the subject of the catholic question, while on the other hand it is asserted that the cabinet sought to impose the bill on his majesty by unfair means. Be this as it may, it led to their dismissal. On the 24th of March, Lord Grenville received a letter from his majesty, directing him and his colleagues to appear at the Queen's palace on the morrow, at half-past eleven o'clock, for the purpose of delivering up their seals of office. This mandate was obeyed; and "all the talents" ministry was thus dissolved.



NEW CABINET.

Previous to the dismissal of "all the talents" ministry, the king had been engaging successors. Between the 26th and the 31st of March the following appointments were announced:—the Duke of Portland, first lord of the treasury; Lord Hawkesbury, secretary for the home department; Canning, secretary for foreign affairs; Lord Castlereagh, secretary for war and the colonies; the Earl of Chatham, master of the ordnance; Spencer Perceval, chancellor of the exchequer and under-treasurer of the exchequer; Earl Camden, lord-president of the council; Earl Bathurst, president of the board of trade, with George Rose for his vice; and the Earl of Westmoreland, keeper of the privy-seal. Lord Erskine had been permitted to retain the great seal for a week, in order that he might have time to pronounce his decrees on some chancery-suits which had been argued before him; but on the 1st of April, Lord Eldon was appointed, and sworn in in his stead. On the same day the Duke of Richmond was made lord-lieutenant of Ireland; and on the 3rd of April Lord Mulgrave was named first lord of the admiralty, and the honourable Dundas, president of the board of control. The remaining offices were filled up a few days after; and, among other appointments, George Rose became treasurer of the navy. The late ministry seems to have obtained not only the displeasure of his majesty, but of the country, by their introduction of the catholic question into the cabinet. A loud cry of "No popery!" was indeed heard at this time, and when they were dismissed, the public voice applauded his majesty's decision. Addresses poured in from all quarters, expressive of approbation, the terms of which may be seen from his majesty's reply to the address of the corporation of the city of London: "I receive with the greatest satisfaction the assurances you give me of your concurrence in those principles which have governed my conduct on the late important occasion. It has ever been my object to secure to all descriptions of my subjects the benefits of religions toleration; and it affords me particular gratification to reflect, that during my reign these advantages have been more generally and extensively engaged than at any former period; but at the same time I never can forget what is clue to the security of the ecclesiastical establishment of my dominions, connected as it is with our civil constitution and with all those blessings which, by the favour of Providence, have hitherto so eminently distinguished us among the nations of the world."



TRIAL OF STRENGTH BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES.

On the first meeting of Parliament, after the new appointments, there was a great trial of strength. In the course of negociation with the late ministers, his majesty had been advised to exact a written pledge from them, not only to abandon the catholic question, but never to resume it. His majesty could scarcely have found it necessary to demand of his new ministers such a pledge; yet, on the 9th of April, Mr. Brand moved in the commons, "that it is contrary to the first duties of the confidential servants of the crown to restrain themselves by any pledge, expressed or implied, from offering to the king any advice that the course of circumstances might render necessary for the welfare and security of any part of his majesty's extensive empire." As it has been observed, this was a constitutional truism, a principle not to be denied without attacking the constitution itself. As, however, this motion, if carried, would have been followed by other resolutions, implying a want of confidence in men who had given such advice to his majesty, &c, the new cabinet determined to try their strength on Brand's first motion. It was warmly supported by Mr. Fawkes, Sir Samuel Romilly, and others; and as warmly opposed by Perceval and Canning. The friends of the late administration were sanguine of success; but the Prince of Wales, having declared that the motion was of a nature which must affect the king personally, the prince's friends, including Sheridan, absented themselves, so that on a division it was rejected by two hundred and fifty-eight against two hundred and twenty-six. A similar motion was made in the lords, by the Marquis of Stafford; but it was there defeated by a large majority, chiefly through the same means and agencies by which it was lost in the commons. Lord Sidmouth on this occasion spoke and voted against his late colleagues. Moreover, a motion made in the commons, by Mr. Littleton, to express regret at the late change of administration, was defeated by a majority of two hundred and forty-four against ninety, so that ministers were triumphant.



DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT.

Yet, notwithstanding their victory, ministers seem to have considered that they stood on very unsafe ground; for they advised his majesty to dissolve parliament, in order that a general election might take place. Canning had threatened this in opposing Brand's motion; but it was not supposed that a dissolution would take place before the end of May, and the regular close of the session. On the 27th of April, however, parliament was prorogued by commission, and on the 29th the king dissolved it by royal proclamation. Great efforts were made by both parties at the new general election; but so effectual were the exertions of the ministry,—so potent the cry of "No popery!" and, "The church is in danger!" &c., raised by their partisans, both from the pulpit, by the press, and in society at large, that of all the members of the late cabinet, only Mr. Thomas Grenville resumed his seat in the commons for the place which he had before represented. Bribery, also, did its work effectually on this occasion: boroughs were sold at a price beyond all precedent; Tierney offered L10,000, for two seats, but his offer was refused, as too small for acceptance.



THE NEW PARLIAMENT.

The new parliament was opened on the 22nd of June, and the king's speech delivered by commission on the 20th of the same month. The result of the elections soon became manifest. An amendment to the address, censuring the late dissolution of parliament, was rejected in the lords by one hundred and sixty against sixty-seven, and in the commons by three hundred and fifty against one hundred and fifty-five. The business transacted by the new ministry during this session was of little importance. A new military plan was introduced by Lord Castlereagh for increasing the regular army from the militia regiments, and supplying the deficiencies so occasioned by a supplementary militia. A bill was also introduced by Sir Arthur Wellesley for suppressing insurrection in Ireland, and another was passed to prevent improper persons from keeping arms. A bill was brought in by Whitbread for the education of the poor, by establishing schools in all the parishes of England. This bill passed the commons, but it was rejected by the lords. An address was carried in the commons, on the motion of Mr. Bankes, praying his majesty not to make any grant of an office in reversion till six weeks after the commencement of the session. In all these measures ministers had a large majority, and they had a fair prospect of being established in office. Parliament was prorogued on the 14th of August, when the king's speech, which was again delivered by commission, breathed hope and cheerfulness.



CAMPAIGN OF NAPOLEON.

Although the King of Prussia at the close of the last year seemed to be ruined, yet his spirit was not subdued. When Napoleon advanced in the hope of crushing him, Frederic William was at Memel, and his Russian allies were at Prussian-Eylau, A battle took place at Eylau on the 8th of February, between the Russians and the main body of Napoleon's army. A fearful slaughter took place on both sides, and neither could claim the victory. The Russians, indeed, still kept their ground, but as they had lost thousands, and there was no prospect of succours, and as Napoleon on the other hand would soon be joined by Berna-dotte's fresh division, Beningsen, the Russian general, thought it prudent on the next day to retreat. Having remained one week at Eylau, Napoleon moved onwards to the river Passarge, his head-quarters being at Oste-rode. From Osterode he sent offers of peace to the King of Prussia, while at the same time he took measures for recruiting his army and reducing Dantzic. The important city of Dantzic surrendered in May to Lefebvre, and in the meantime re-enforcements had reached both armies. Then followed the battle of Friedland, in which Napoleon was again victorious; the Russians were utterly defeated, and while thousands fell on the field of battle, thousands more perished in the river Passarge, into which they plunged in order to escape from their pursuing enemies. Konigs-burg now surrendered to the French ruler. Beningsen retreated beyond the Niemen; but the French soon reached that river in the pursuit. The Russians now demanded an armistice, and this was conceded, and preparations made for an interview between the emperors on a raft moored in the middle of the river. There they met and embraced, conversing for a considerable time in sight of their armies on the opposite banks. In the course of their conversation, Alexander having expressed resentment against the British ministry—his reason being that they had departed from Pitt's system of subsidies—Napoleon replied, "In that case, the conditions of a treaty will be easily settled." On the following day Alexander crossed the river to Tilsit, where the two emperors where soon on terms of equality and friendship. But not so was the fallen monarch of Prussia: he was treated by his conqueror with harshness and disrespect, and even Alexander became cold in his manners towards his late ally.



THE PEACE OF TILSIT.

A peace was concluded between France and Russia on the 7th of July. The conditions of this peace were various. The King of Prussia was restored to about one half of his dominions as far as the Elbe, but all the Prussian fortresses and sea-port towns were to remain in the hands of the French until England should be compelled to sign a treaty of peace. All the Polish provinces which Frederic William had acquired in the partition of 1772 were disunited from his kingdom, and erected into a separate territory, to be called the Duchy of Warsaw, and were placed under the rule of the King of Saxony, who was to be allowed an open road through the Prussian province of Silesia. The circle of Cotbuss, also, was taken from Prussia and annexed to Saxony, and Dantzic was to be under the control of both kingdoms, only until a general peace it was to be garrisoned by the French. As a matter of course, the czar was not called upon to make any sacrifice. On the contrary, he was gratified with the cession of a part of Prussian-Poland, which materially strengthened his own frontier. France allowed Russia also to take Finland from Sweden; and Russia on her part engaged to close her ports against British ships, and to place herself at the head of a new northern coalition. Both Russia and Prussia acknowledged the thrones which Napoleon had erected, and recognised the confederation of the Rhine, and every other league which he had formed. Nay, they even sanctioned future spoliation and wrong. They recognised a throne which Buonaparte was about to erect for his brother Jerome—the throne of Westphalia. It was declared that this kingdom should consist of the provinces ceded by the King of Prussia, on the left bank of the Elbe, and of other states at present in the possession of his majesty, the Emperor Napoleon. In return for this courtesy, it was agreed that the relatives or connexions of Alexander, namely, the Dukes of Saxe Cobourg, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, should be restored to their states, but only upon conditions that their sea-ports should be garrisoned by French soldiers till a treaty of peace should be signed between France and England. By the treaty of Tilsit, Russia agreed to make peace with the Porte, and to abandon Moldavia and Wallachia. Russia, likewise, ceded the Ionian Isles to France, and promised the evacuation of Cattaro, which as well as Ragusa was united with the kingdom of Italy. Although Russia promised to make peace with the Porte, a scheme was concocted for the future dismemberment of the empire, and for the distribution of its spoils to Russia, France, and Austria. Plots were also devised against Sweden and Spain, although the latter country had recently sacrificed its whole navy in Napoleon's cause, and whose army was still engaged for him in the north. The treaty of Tilsit was, in fact, nothing less than a league, avowed or secret, to enchain the world; most of the European countries were already enslaved, and those that were not were threatened. Even England was menaced; but England was still destined to be the avenger of humiliated thrones.



EXPEDITION TO COPENHAGEN.

The naval force of England during this year maintained its supremacy. It was manifest to all the world, from the terms of the treaty of Tilsit, that Napoleon would, whenever it suited his purpose, occupy Denmark. Nay, it has been seen that a new northern confederation was to be formed, with Alexander the Emperor of Russia at its head. It was determined, therefore, by the British cabinet, that the confederated emperors should be anticipated: an armament of 20,000 men under Lord Cathcart, accompanied by a powerful fleet under Admiral Lord Gambier, was sent against Denmark. Before the expedition commenced operations, a British envoy required that the Danish fleet should be delivered into the hands of the British admiral, under a solemn agreement for its restoration whenever peace should be concluded between England and France. In case of refusal, the prince-royal was informed that the British commanders would proceed to hostilities; and as a direct refusal was given, operations soon commenced. The English army landed on the 16th of August without opposition; and Copenhagen was closely invested on the land side, while the fleet formed an impenetrable blockade by sea. A proclamation was issued by Lord Cathcart, notifying to the inhabitants of Zealand the motives of the expedition, and the conduct that would be observed towards them, with an assurance, that whenever his Britannic majesty's commands should be complied with hostilities would cease. Copenhagen was bombarded on the 2nd of September, and the firing continued, more or less actively, for four days, when a flag of truce was sent to the British commanders by the commandant of the garrison. A capitulation was settled on the 8th of September, and the British army took possession of the citadel, dock-yards, and batteries; engaging to restore them, and to evacuate Zealand, if possible, within six weeks. All the ships laid up in ordinary were rigged out and fitted by the British Admiral; and at the expiration of the term, they, together with the stores, timber, and other articles of naval equipment found in the arsenal, were conveyed to England. In the whole there were seventeen ships of the line, eight frigates, besides sloops, brigs, schooners, and gun-boats captured by the British admiral. But the most valuable part of the seizure consisted of the masts, spars, timber, sails, cordage, and other naval stores. They were so immense, that, exclusive of the quantity shipped on board of the British and Danish men-of-war, ninety transports brought away full cargoes. The expedition reached the Yarmouth-Roads and the Downs in safety on the 21 st of October.

As soon as the British fleet had passed the Sound, the Danes fitted out a number of small armed vessels, which made successful depredations on the English merchantmen in the Baltic. Soon after a declaration of war followed on the part of the Crown-Prince, being instigated thereto by having a formidable French army near at hand for his aid, and by having an alliance with the Emperor of Russia in perspective. This was followed by an order of reprisals from the British government against the ships, goods, and subjects of Denmark. But even before the capitulation of Copenhagen Vice-admiral T. Macnamara Russell and Captain Lord Falkland captured the small Danish island of Heligoland. All Europe exclaimed loudly against the apparent outrage that had been committed, whence his Britannic majesty ordered a declaration to be published, in justification of the motives which induced this expedition. In this declaration it was stated, "that the king had received positive information of the determination made by the ruler of France to occupy with a military force the territory of Holland, for the purpose of excluding Great Britain from her accustomed channels of continental communication; of inducing or compelling the court of Denmark to close the passage of the Sound against British navigation; and availing himself of the aid of the Danish marine for the invasion of Great Britain and Ireland." Further, that Holstein once occupied, Zealand would be at the mercy of France, and the navy of Denmark at her disposal. Looking on the surface of the matter, the justice of the expedition appears to be of an equivocal nature; but when it is recollected that Denmark would have formed one of the most formidable sections of the projected northern confederation, it must be confessed that it was a justifiable precaution on the part of the British government.

During the month of December the Danish West India islands of St. Thomas, St. John's, and Santa Croce surrendered to a squadron commanded by Sir Alexander Cochrane, and a small military force under General Bowyer. A great many merchant vessels carrying the Danish flag were also captured.



HOSTILITIES AGAINST TURKEY.

Another armament dispatched by the Grenville ad-ministration led to no very honourable result. Towards the end of November, 1806, when our diplomatists at the Ottoman Porte had been circumvented by the French, and had failed in their endeavours to prevent the sultan from engaging in a war with the czar Admiral Louis appeared off Tenedos and the coast of Troy with three line-of-battle ships and four frigates. It was an ancient rule, that no ships of war were to pass either the straits of the Dardanelles or the straits of the Bosphorus; but, nevertheless, Admiral Louis sent a ship of the line and a frigate through the former, and the Turks, wishing to avoid hostilities with the English, let them pass their tremendous batteries without firing at them. They came to anchor off Constantinople, and while there some attempts at negociation were renewed on shore. These negociations, however, were all rendered abortive, partly by the skill of the French envoy, Sebastiani; partly by the lack of ability in our ambassador, Mr. Arbuthnot; partly by the victories that Napoleon was gaining over the Austrians and Russians; and partly by the neutral ground which the Austrian envoy took, and the shuffling and tergiversation of the ministers of Spain and Holland. Evil reports, also, had their effect on the sultan. It was told him that a large English fleet was on its way to the Dardanelles and Constantinople, and that his capital would soon be bombarded. In such an unenviable position did the British envoy stand, that he thought it prudent to take his departure from Turkey. Secret preparations were made for this purpose, and a scheme was also devised for carrying off with him the persons attached to his embassy, and the British merchants settled at Constantinople. After disclosing his project to two or three persons, he requested the captain of the English frigate, "Endymion," which remained at anchor near the mouth of the Golden-Horn, to invite him, his legation, and the merchants, to a grand dinner on board. All were invited, and all went to partake of the captain's good cheer, not dreaming that there was anything in the wind beyond a good dinner and a few patriotic toasts. While yet round the festive board, however, Mr. Arbuthnot gravely informed the merchants that they must go with him to England; and it was in vain that they pleaded their wives and numerous families were left on shore: it was answered, the Turks would not hurt their wives and families, and that they must go away with him as they were. The guests lost their appetites by this announcement; and at eight o'clock in the evening the "Endymion" cut her cables, and got under weigh; subsequently joining Admiral Louis's squadron, off the island of Tenedos. Mr. Arbuthnot now finding himself in safety, wrote to the divan to explain the motives of his sudden departure, and to propose the renewal of negociations. Feyzi Effendi, a Mussulman of high rank, was ordered to open a conference with the British ambassador; and day after day passed in negociations, but all to no purpose. At length, on the 10th of February, Sir John Duckworth arrived off Tenedos, with some more ships of the line and two bomb-vessels; and this force being united to that of Admiral Louis, made up a squadron of eight line-of-battle ships, two frigates, and two bombs. The French envoy, by his agent, M. de Lascours, had endeavoured to impress the necessity of exertion on the mind of the Turkish negociator; but he had a predilection for the English, and would not believe that they would commence hostilities with the divan. It was not written in the book of destiny that the English should come; and if they did, there were guns enough to sink them all: the expenses which the French recommended, were, in fact, unnecessary: God was great. Nor did the arrival of the squadron of Sir John Duckworth interrupt the conference between the British envoy and the Turkish negociator, or incite him to greater exertion; he still smoked his pipe, and hoped that all things would end well. His confidence was possibly increased by a terrible disaster which befell the "Ajax," one of Sir J. Duckworth's squadron. While at anchor off Tenedos, she took fire, and about two hundred and fifty men and women perished in the flames; the rest, including the Captain, Blackwood, escaped by leaping into the sea, where they were picked up by boats sent for their relief.

Sir John Duckworth had orders to force the passage of the Dardanelles, anchor before Constantinople, and bombard the city, unless certain conditions were complied with. The passage of the straits was effected in the midst of a fire from the forts of Sestos and Abydos. At the same time Sir Sidney Smith directed his efforts against a squadron; and a battery, which, if completed, might have defended the Turkish vessels, was stormed by a party of the British. The Turkish squadron and bastion were destroyed, in which enterprise Sir Sidney Smith lost only four men killed and twenty-six wounded. Sir John Duckworth now passed in apparent triumph into the Bosphorus, whence he sent a letter to the Reis Effendi, demanding a declaration of the sultan's views—whether he was determined to espouse the cause of France, or renew his alliance with England, and second her efforts in opposing the tyranny of Napoleon. The British were again overreached by French subtilty. Sebastiani, the French envoy, inspired the Sultan with confidence, and persuaded him to enter into a negociation, while in the mean time all the approaches to Constantinople should be fortified. All this was done, and when the proposals of the British government were rejected, the wind and current, as Sebastiani had foreseen, prevented the hostile fleet from taking such a position as would enable it effectually to bombard the city. Sir John Duckworth, therefore, was obliged to hasten his departure; and in repassing the Dardanelles, he sustained considerable loss from the fire of the castles. A new enemy was added to the list already in battle array against England. In Turkey, her agents and settlers were exposed to considerable annoyance, and a sequestration of British property to a large amount was promptly executed in various quarters. The fate which awaited the Mussulman negociator was a lamentable one: he was accused of imbecility or treachery; and his head was taken off his shoulders to decorate the niche over the Seraglio gate: he paid dear for his friendly feelings towards the English. So ended the famed expedition to the Hellespont and the Bosphorus. It broke the spell by which the passage of the Dardanelles had for ages been guarded; but beyond this it was little more than a brilliant bravado, followed by a series of humiliating blunders. And yet no investigation was instituted into the causes of the failure, Sir John Duckworth being a favourite admiral of the "all talents" ministry; and subsequently, after their dismissal, he being sheltered from censure by the strife of parties.