UC-NRLF p^ \ .^ly D. Bacon, St. Louis, Mo. i Un^rsity of California, i /flciz.14. JiZy. /3a^r^^ i^' XBfe SIT ^RSl^ _:l2U^-L}::^^s^^A y. ;;:li'('iii*''^.;iii'''fctf'!l '""ii'llW ' .u('»""",;'.)ii.i!' ,,^ji,,,.,, ,,,i,,„n-i.» s||i|iiili' y -;!(u'!i'^''' .., .-"iH!!"'';,m.,»^^> PHIJ.ADKLI'FI 1 A. THE HISTORY OP GREAT BRITAIN, FROM THE DEATH OF GEORGE H. TO THE CORONATION OF GEORGE IV. DESIGNED AS A CONTINUATION OF HUME AND SMOLLETT. BY J. R. MILLER. PHILADELPHIA : PUBLISHED BY M'CARTY & DAVIS— 171 MARKET STREET. rrxwsoTTPiD bt j. how«. 1840. ^ ^ '^-v^ ru^ II..: il CONTENTS TO MILLER. CHAP. I. GEORGE in. Effects of the late King's partiality to his native Do- minions — Circumstances attending the Accession of the new Sovereign — His Majesty's first Speech to both houses of Parliament— Addresses of the Lords and Commons— Supply voted— Establishment of the Civil List— Sums granted for the Support of the German Confederacy — Subsidy to Prussia — Vote of Compensation to the Provinces in North America for their strenuous Efforts — Ballot for Miliiia productive of a dreadful Riot at Hexham— Loan of twelve millions— Violent outcry against the New Duty on Beer— Bad consequences of the opposition to the Compulsive Clause in the new Act of Insolvency — King's Speech for making the Judges independent of the demise of the Crown — Ready Concurrence of both Houses in so patriotic a Proposal— Arthur Onslow, Speaker of the House of Commons for thirty-three years, retires— Two remarkable points in his Majesty's Farewell Speech to the Parliament — Advantageous Position of the French in their Winter Cantonments— Prince Fer- dinand's extensive Plan of Attack— Fritzlar and several Magazines taken — General Sporken's rapid Progress on the side of Saxony— First Check in this extraordinary career of Success— Steps taken by Marshal Broglio to drive the Allies out of Hesse — Defeat of the Troops under the Hereditary Prince— The King's Sentiments on the proper use of Con- quests Page 11 CHAP. II. Circumstances which led to the proposal of a Con- gress at Augsburg — Plausible Reasons for previ- ously setting on foot a distinct Negotiation at Lon- don and Paris— Mr. Pitt unfavorable to a Peace- Secret intrigues of the French Ministry at the Court of Madrid — Difficulties about the mutual re- taining of Possessions — Survey of hostile opera- tions during the Suspension of the Treaty — Expe- dition against Belleisle— the Negotiation resumed— Remarks on the two main Points of Dispute— In- flexibility of the English Secretary — Some account of the Family Compact— Candid Inquiries on which side the chief blame lay— The Treaty finally bro- ken off 18 CHAP. III. Proofs of the King's Exemption from personal or po- litical Prejudices— His Majesty's Choice of a Con- sort, the Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburgh— Em- bassy sent to make the Demand of her most Serene Highness; with an Account of her Voyage — Her Journey to London, her Reception and Nuptials- Preparations made for the Coronation of their Ma- jesties—Entertainment given to the Royal Family at Guildhall — Some rising Clouds in the political Hemisphere— The Spanish Ambassador's Explana- tion not deemed satisfactory— Orders sent to the Earl of Bristol at Madrid— His Excellency's Dis- patches in Reply— Warm Debates in the Cabinet on Mr. Pitt's Proposal to attack Spain without farther Delay— His Resolution, with the President's An- swer—His Interview with the King, on resigning the Seals of his office— Lord Temple's Resignation — Violent Conflict between the Admirers and the Censurers of Mr. Pitt's Conduct sanctioned by the Abbe Raynal — Farther Instructions sent by the new Secretary of State to the British Ambassador at Madrid— Steps taken by the Ministry— Meeting of the New Parliament— His Majesty's Speech- Message to the Queen ; and the Dowry granted her in rase she should survive his Majesty — Repeal of the compelling Clause in the.Insolvent Act — Alac- rity of the Commons in providing for the service of the ensuing Year — Debate on the Expediency of the German War— Severe Remarks on the Alli- ances entered into with some of the continental Powers— Ingenious Defence set up by the Advo- cates for the German War— Result of this political Controversy— Effect of the English Ambassador's Remonstrances at the Court of Madrid — His Con- jectures on the Causes of a sudden Revolution in the Spanish Councils — Propriety of his Conduct in so delicate a Conjuncture — A clear and categorical Explanation at length insisted upon— General Wall's Letter— Manifesto delivered by the Count de Fuentes, and Lord Egremont's Refutation of it 29 CHAP. IV. War declared against Spain — Debate in the Lords — Protest on a Motion for withdrawing the Troops from Germany— Popularity of this Protest— Duty on Beer and Ale causes a Tumult in London- Amendments of the Militia Laws— An Act for Registering of Parish Children— Bill for the Exten- sion of the Duke of Bridgewater's Canals — Account of Harrison's time-piece and Irwin's Marine-chair — Addition to the former Grants of the Commons — His Majesty's Message on the imminent Danger of Portugal— The Session closed with a Speech from the Throne — Extraordinary Change in the King of Prussia's Situation, occasioned by the Death of the Empress of Russia— Steps immedi- ately taken by her Successor, Peter III.— Deposition and Death of Peter III.— Prudent Policy of the Empress Catherine II. — Sketch of the Prussian Operations during the remainder of the Campaign —Victory obtained by the Allies at Graebenstein — This Action a Prelude to Enterprises in which Gottingen and Cassel were recovered, and the French almost totally driven out of Hesse— State of Portugal when threatened by the Bourbon Con- federacy — Memorial presented to the Court of Lis- bon by the Ministers of France and Spain— Reply, followed by a declaration of War — Immediate and effectual Assistance afforded by Great Britain — Lord Tyrawley dissatisfied with the Portuguese Ministry, and recalled— Plan of the Campaign- Progress of the Spanish Army under the Marquis de Sarria — Almeida taken, and a considerable part of the Province of Beira overrun by Spanish Troops— Good Consequences of the Count de la Lippe's Arrival in Portugal— Surprise of Valencia d' Alcantara by General Burgoyne— Another more decisive blow struck by the same General and Colo- nel Lee at Villa Velha— The Spaniards forced to retreat to their own Frontiers— Triumphs of Great Britain at Sea— Descent on the Island of Martinico —Surrender of the Island — Submission of the Grenades, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, arid other depend- ent Isles — Armament destined against the Havan- nah, its Harbor described- Siege of the Moro — The Moro stormed and carried by assault— Opera- tions against the Town, and its Surrender— Im- portance of this Conquest — Capture of the Her- mione, a Spanish Register-ship — Invasion of the Philippines designed — Celerity of the Prepara- tions made for it at Madras — Arrival of the Squad- ron at Manilla — The Town taken by Storm, but saved from a justly merited Ptilage— The Galleon from Manilla to Acapulco taken— The only excep- tion to the Universal Success of the British Arms, the Failure of a private Expedition against Buenos Ayres — Summary of the Disasters sustained by Spain during her short Concern in the War — France involved in the like Calamities— Attempt to burn the British Squadron in the Buy of Basque — Newfoundland taken and retaken — A Negotia- tion the only resource of the House of Bourbon 39 CHAP. V. Causes and Effects of the sincere dispositions of all Parties towards Peace— Motives of National Policy IV CONTENTS TO MILLER, for encouraging Pacific Proposals— Want of perfect Harmony in the Cabinet — Changes in Administra- tion — Dukes of Bedford and Nivernois employed in the Negotiation — Difference between this and the Treaty in 1761 — Conduct of the Courts with Re- spect to their German Allies — Change in the Be- havior of the British Ministry towards the King of Prussia justified — France guided by the same alter- ation of Circumstances ; and the Peace of Germany restored — The Article relating to Portugal very easily settled— Circumstance which facilitated the Adjustment of Great Britain's direct Concerns — Extent of her Acquisitions in North America by this treaty — Terms annexed to the Surrender of St. Pierre and Miquelon— Spain's Renunciation of her Pretensions to the Fishery — Arrangement respecting the French West India Islands— The Havannah re- stored on very moderate Terms — Cession and Ex- change of the other Conquests in Africa, the East Indies, and Europe — Sacrifice made by France to the honor of Great Britain, in suppressing the old Claim on Account of Prizes before the Declaration of War — Preliminaries signed by the British and French Ministers at Fontainbleau — Disputes con- cerning the articles of the Peace— Coalition be- tween the Duke of Newcastle's and Mr. Pitt's Ad- herents—Meeting of Parliament— Conflict in the House of Commons — The Security of our Colonies —Majority in Favor of the Address— Arrival of three Cherokee Chiefs in England. 58 CHAP. VI. Philosophical Survey of Europe at the Close of the War— State of Russia— Of Denmark— Of Sweden —The King of Prussia and the Empress— Internal Distractions of France — Situation of Spain ; and Security of Great Britain — Multiplied Concerns of the English Government — Plan of Economy pur- sued by the Ministers— Scheme of the Supplies- Proposed System of Finance censured by the Oppo- sition — Instructions and Petitions of the city of London against the Cider Tax — Earl of Bute's Resignation— His Majesty's Speech at the Close of the Session— Some Account of Mr. Wilkes, and of the Libel entitled the "North Briton"— Wilkes's Commitment to the Tower— Writ of Habeas Corpus for bringing Wilkes before the Court of Common Pleas— He is remanded to the Tower— His second Speech at the Bar of the Court — Mr. Wilkes's Case considered under three heads by Lord Chief-Justice Pratt— Commitment not illegal— The Specification of Passages in the Libel not necessary in the War- rant — Validity of the Plea of Privilege allowed in Cases of Libels— Attempts to bring about a Coali- tion of Parties — Promotions occasioned by Lord Egremont's Death— King's Speech at the Meeting of Parliament— Message about Wilkes to the House of Commons— The North Briton voted a Libel — Wilkes's Complaint of a Breach of Privilege— De- bate on the adjourned consideration of his Ma- jesty's Message— Pitt's Speech on the Surrender of Privilege — Other Arguments in support of Parlia- mentary Privilege — ^The Resolution, "That Privi- lege does not extend to Libels," carried in the Com- mons, and concurred in by the Lords — Concurrence of the Lords in other Resolutions of the Lower House concerning the Libel — The Sheriffs obstruct- ed in burnins the North Briton— Duel between Martin and Wilkes — The King's Message on the Marriage of the Princess Augusta to the Hereditary Prince (now Duke) of Brunswick— Verdict obtained by Wilkes in the Court of Common Pleas — Lord Chief-Justice's Opinion on the Illegality of General Warrants — Proceedings of the Commons to ascer- tain the State of Wilkes's Health — His Letter from Paris deemed nugatory, and he himself found guilty of a Contempt of the Authority of Parlia- ment—Convicted of being the Author of the con- demned Libel, and expelled— His " Essay on Wo- men" laid before the House of Lords, who proceed against him for a Breach of Privilege, while he is indicted in the Courts below for Blasphemy — The Ministry very hard pushed in the Debate on Gene- ral Warrants— New Plan of National Supplies — Resolutions concerning the American Trade — Bill for restraining Abuses and Frauds in the Practice of Franking— Observations on General Conway's Dismission 67 CHAP. VII. Inquiry into the Causes of the Renewal of Hostili* ties with the Savage Tribes of America— Extent of the Governments of Q.uebec, of East and Weat Florida — Incitements to War on the Part of the Indians — Military operations against the Indians, and Peace with them — Impolitic Suppression of the commercial Intercourse between the British and Spanish Plantations, and between the Ameri- can Colonies and the French Islands— ColonisUi refuse Compensation for the Stamp Duties— State of the British Logwood-cutters in the Bay of Hon- duras-French atone for outrage at Turks Island —Progress of American Stamp Act through both Houses — Prevention of Smuggling— Purchase of the Sovereignty of the Isle of Man— A Regency Bill recommended by his Majesty— New Adminis- tration formed by the Duke of Cumberland 83 CHAP. VIII. Mir Cossim's Endeavors to shake off the India Com pany's yoke— Military Operations which effected the entire Conquest of Bengal — Appointment and departure of a select Committee for Bengal— Treaty concluded by Lord Clive with the Nabob of Oude — Violent Proceedings against the Stamp Act in North America— Debates and Proceedings in Eng- land as to the right of Taxing the Colonies — Causes of a sudden Change in the Ministry 92 CHAP. IX. Alarming Scarcity of Provisions— Dispute between the Proprietors and the Directors of the East India Company— Substance of the King's Speech at the Meeting of Parliament — Bill of Indemnity — Reduc- tion of the Land-tax carried against the Minister —The India Company's Right to Territorial Ac- quisitions debated — Proposals of the Company ac- cepted—Bill for regulating India Dividends — Duties laid on certain Imports from Great Britain to America; and measures taken to restrain the tur- bulent Spirit of the Assembly of New- York— Some Changes in the Great Offices of the State — The Ministry strongly opposed on the Nullum Tempus Bill — Corporation of Oxford reprimanded for Venality — Popularity in Ireland of the Octennial Bill 105 CHAP. X. General Election — View of Wilkes's Conduct and Adventures since his Flight from Justice— Violent Opposition to the Port-duties in America — Acts of the Convention — Debate — Wilkes's Petition to the Commons ; and his Appeal to the Lords on a Writ of Error — Institution of the Royal Academy — De- bate on the American Affairs — (^ivil-List Debt — Hearing of Wilkes's alleged Grievances — Suc- cessive Expulsions of Mr. Wilkes — War with Hyder Ally in the East Indies— Non-imijortation Agreement, and other Proceedings in America — Desertions from Ministry — Changes that followed —Endeavors of the Opposition to aggravate Dis- content — London Remonstrance, and his Majesty's Answer — Grenville's Bill for regulating the Pro- ceedings on controverted Elections — Partial Re- peal of the American Port-duties — Affray between the Townsmen of Boston and the Troops 113 CHAP. XI. Another Remonstrance from the City of London ; with the King's Answer, and Beckford's Reply- View of Wilkes's political Career — Dispute witk Spain relative to Falkland Islands— Proceedings of the Commons against Printers; and Commit ment of the Lord Mayor, and of Alderman Oliver, to the Tower — Bill for disfranchising the Members of the Christian Club at New Shoreham — More Remonstrances to the Throne from the City of Lon- don — Unsuccessful Attempts to enlarge religious Liberty — Act for restraining the future Marriages of the Royal Family — Carolina Matilda falls a Victim to the intrigues of the Queen Dowager of Denmark— Changes in the British Ministry— Com- mittee of Secrecy — The Embarrassments of the East India Company — Charges brought against Lord Clive; his Acquittal; and Suicide— Bill for Management of the East India Company's Affairs CONTENTS TO MILLER. — Summary of other proceedings of the Sessions — Expedition against the Caribbs in St. Vincent — Alarming Events in America— Measures adopted ^y Parliament for maintaining the Authority of drcat Britain over the Colonies — Proceedings of the General Congress at Philadelphia— The Sense of the Nation taken, by dissolving the Parliament at this Juncture— Dr. Franklin's Conciliatory Plan —Petition of the City of London— State of Affairs in America— Battle of Lexington — Battle of Bun- ker's Hill— Meeting and Proceedings of Congress —General Washington appointed Commander-in- chief— HisCharacter— Expedition to Canada— Forts taken — Cluebec besieged— General Montgomery de- feated and killed 130 CHAP. XII. Fatal Effects of the War— Meeting of Parliament- Defection of the Duke of Grafton and General Con- way from the Ministry — Introduction of foreign Troops — Prohibitory Bill — Changes in the Ministry —Affairs of Ireland— Debates on foreign Troops- Conclusion of the Session— Boston Evacuated by the British — Siege of Quebec raised — Americans defeated on the Lakes — Unsuccessful Attempt upon Chariestown — Preparations against New- York — Declaration of Independence— Americans defeated at Lon; Island — New-York taken — Americans re- treat to the Jerseys and over the Delaware — Rhode- Island reduced— General Lee made Prisoner— Hes- sians cut off at Trenton — British defeated at Prince- ton 159 CHAP. XIIL State of Great Britain in the Summer of 1776 — Meeting of Parliament — Debate on the Proclama- tion of the American Commissioners — Secession of the Minority — Habeas-Corpus Act suspended — Fire in PortsmouthDock-Yard— Shameful Profusion of Ministers— Debates on the Augmentation of the Civil-List — Address of the Speaker, Sir F.Norton, to the King— Censured by Ministry— Dispute with Holland — Campaign in America — Action on the Brandywine — Philadelphia taken — Battle of Ger- man Town — American Forts taken — Progress of General Burgoyne— Ticonderoga evacuated— Brit- ish repulsed at Fort Schuyler — Defeat of Colonel Raum — Actions at Stillwater, &c. — Surrender of Burgoyne — Conclusion of the Campaign 185 CHAP. XIV. Meeting of the British Parliament — Debates on the Address— News arrives of Burgoyne's Defeat — De- bates on that Subject— Lord North's conciliatory Bills — Alliance between France and America- Debates on the French War — Ways and Means — Address for a War with France— Death and Char- acter of Lord Chatham — Relief of the Trade of Ireland— To the Roman Catholics— Toulon squad- ron sails for America— Termination of the Session — Transactions of the Royal Commissioners in America— Arrival of D'Estaing— Philadelphia evac- uated—Ambassador from France to America— At- tempt on Rhode-Island — Expedition against East Florida— Savannah taken by the British— Naval preparations — Engagement between Keppel and D'Orvilliers— Trial of Keppel— Trial of Sir H. Pal- liser 209 CHAP. XV. Meeting of Parliament— Debates on the Manifesto of the Commissioners— Affairs of Ireland— Votes of Censure moved on Lord Sandwich— Return of the Howes— Debates thereon— Spaniards declare War— Regulation of Militia— War in East Indies —In America— Descent on Virginia— Capture of Stony Point— British Attack South Carolina— Re- pulsed at Chariestown— Operations of French Fleet —Siege of Savannah by the French and Americans —Siege raised— Capture of the British Settlements on the Coast of Africa by the Fr«ncb 229 CHAP. XVI. Alarm from the appearance of the combined Fleet off the Coast— Irish Volunteers — Proceedings of the Irish Parliament— Depredations of Paul Jones —Takes the Serapis — Engagement between the Quebec and Surveillante— Secret Enmity between th« States-General and the English Cabinet— Meet- ing of Parliament— Debates on tbe Address— De- ]♦ bates on Irish Affairs— On Expenses of the War — Associations and Petitions from York, dtc.— Mr. Burke's Plan of Ek^oiioniical Regulation— Progresi of RTr. Burke's Bill— Celebrated Vote on tbe In- fluence of the Crown— Riots in London— Siege of Gibraltar — Admiral Langra defeated by Rodney — Chariestown taken— Impolitic proceedings of the English in Carolina — Americans rally — Gates de- feated — Distresses of Americans — Arrival of Ro- chambeau— Defection of General Arnold — Andr* executed as a Spy 242 CHAP. XVII. Causes which produced a Rupture with Holland — Armed Neutrality — Count Byland's Squadron taken —Capture of Mr. Laurens— Declaration of War- Affairs of East Indies — Mr. Cornwall chosen Speak- er—Dutch War— India Affairs— Burke's Reform Bill — Petition of Delegates from Counties — Bill to re- peal tlie Marriage Act— Motion on American War — Session concluded — Attack upon Jersey — Siege of Gibraltar— Capture of St. Eustatia- Campaign in America — Revolt of Pennsylvania Line — Ar- nold's Expedition to Virginia— General Greene ap- pointed to the command in Carolina — Tarleton de- feated by Morgan — Masterly Retreat of the Amer- icans-Battle of Guildford — Lord Cornwallis pro- ceeds to Virginia— Ofterations in Virginia— Cap- ture of Lord Cornwallis — Expedition of Commo- dore Johnstone — Operations in the West Indies — Tobago taken— St. Eustatia Convoy taken— East Indies— Hyder Ally defeated— Cheyt Sing— Engage- ment with the Dutch — Combined Fleets in the Channel 269 CHAP. XVIII. Decline of Lord North's influence— Session of Parlia- ment— King's Speech — Motion against offensive War with America — Petitions against the War — Misconduct of Admiralty— General Conway's Mo- tion against the War— Dissolution of the Ministry — New Ministry — Popular Measures — Affairs of Ireland — Reform Bills— Minorca taken— French Fleet in the West Indies defeated by Rodney— Mis- fortunes of the West India Fleet— Bahamas taken by the Spaniards— Defeat of Spaniards at Gibraltar —New Administration 293 CHAP. XIX. Motives for a general Peace— Preliminaries Signed with America— With France, Spain, &c.— Meeting of Parliament — Debates on the Peace — Resolutions carried against Ministry — Lord Shelburne resigns —Coalition Ministry— Bill preventing appeals from Ireland— India Affairs— Pitt's Motion on the Sub- ject of a Parliamentary Reform— The Quakers pe- tition the House of Commons against the Slave Trade — Fox introduces his India Bill — A second Bill for the internal Government of the British Do- minions in India— The Bill lost in the House of Peers — Contest between the Crown and Commons —The Conduct of tbe High-Bailiff of Westminster in refusing to return Fox brought before the House of Commons— Pitt's India Bill— The Commutation Tax— Bill for the Restoration of the Estates for- feited in Scotland in 1715 and 1745, passed 304 CHAP. XX. Meeting of Parliament — Westminster Scrutiny re- sumed by the Commons— Parliamentary Reform— The Shop Tax— The Hawkers' and Pedlars' Tax- both unjust and oppressive— The Irish Commercial Propositions passed the Commons— carried to tbe Lords— amended by the Lords — returned to tbe Commons— finally passed— Reflections on the sys- tem of Commercial Intercourse held out by the Irish Propositions— Plan of Fortifications submitted to the Hotise of Commons— Proposal of a Sinking- Fund— Bill passed— The Civil-List in Arrears- Burke commences his Charges against Warren Hastings — Attempt to assassinate the King by Margaret Nicholson — Treaty of Commerce with France signed— A Convention with Spain respect- ing the British Settlements on the Mosquito Shore, and the Coast of Honduras— Consideration of the French Commercial Treaty— Embarrassed Circum- stances of the Prince of Wales — Hastings' Im- peachment resumed by the Commons— Interference of tbe CourU of London and Berlin in the Affaire of HoUaod— Meeting of Parliament— Tbe Em« Ib VI CONTENTS TO MILLER. dia Declaratory Act— Hastings' Trial— A Bill to reg- ulate the Transportation of Slaves passed — The King's Indisposition— Disputes on the Mode of Es- tablishing a Regency — Notification of the King's recovery— Parliament regularly opened— The Shop Tax repealed — Test and Corporation Acts — African Slave Trade— Prorogation of Parliament 319 CHAP. XXI. Meeting of Parliament — Burke's first Philippic against France— The Sentiments of Fox and Sheridan on the same Subject — Opposition to the Motion for Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts— A Re- form in Parliament moved by Mr. Flood— and with- drawn—State of Settlements in India— Royal Mes- sage announces a Rupture with Spain— The Dis- pute settled, and a Convention signed — War com- menced in India— To defray the Expenses of the Spanish Armament the Minister proposes seizing the unclaimed Dividends in the Bank— Violently opposed — Compromised — (iuestion whether Im- peachments abate or not by a Dissolution of Par- liament—Bill in favor of the Catholics passed— Bill for settling the Rights of Juries in cases of Libel— The Slave Trade— The Establishment of the Sierra Leona Company — Bill for the better Government of Canada — Burke's Invective against the French Revolution — Answered by Fox — Ter- minates in a Breach of Friendship — Rupture with Russia— Grounds of the duarrel— The French Rev- olution divides the Nation into Parties — Birming- ham thrown into a Ferment by an inflammatory and seditious Hand-bill — Dr. Priestley's House, &;c. destroyed 336 CHAP. XXII. Meeting of Parliament — Flattering Picture of the Finances of the Country — Marriage of the Duke of York— Motion for Abolition of Slave Trade- Gradual Abolition carried in the House of Com- mons — Opposed and delayed in the House of Lords — Westminster Police Bill passes — New Forest Bill, introduced by the Ministry, rejected — Mr. Rose, charged with Mal-practices in Office, acquitted — Libel Bill passes — Bill in favor of the Scottish Episcopalians, passes— The London Corresponding Society, and the Society of the Friends of the People, instituted, to obtain a Parliamentary Re- form—Notice of a Motion for a Reform in the Re- presentation, alarms Ministers — Royal Proclama- tion against Seditious Writings— Statement of the Revenues of India — Indian War against Tippoo Saib— Sues for Peace— Granted— Terms 349 CHAP. XXIIL Dr. Price's Sermon on the Love of our Country, be- fore the Revolution Society — Address of Congratu- lation to the National Assembly of France from the Society— Burke's celebrated Pamphlet well re- ceived by the Tory Faction— Answered by Thomas Paine— Effects produced by the publication of the Rights of Man— Official Complaint by the French Ambassador— The King of the French solicits the friendly Offices of his Britannic Majesty to preserve the Peace of Europe— Declined by the British Cabi- net—Manifestoes against France— Deposition of the King of the French— The British Ambassador leaves Paris— Multitudes of French Priests arrive in England— National Convention of France con- stituted— Dr. Priestley and Thomas Paine chosen Members— Address of English Society at Paris to the National Convention— The Convention pass the famous Decree of Fraternization— The English Government offers Assistance to Holland— Refused —Artifices used to inflame the Passions of the People against the French — Proclamations for calling out the Militia, and for assembling Parlia- ment 359 CHAP. XXIV. Meeting of Parliament — Fox in opposition to the Address— Burke for it— Opposition reduced by De- sertion — Motions for adjusting Differences with France by Negotiation, and for sending a Minister to Paris— The French Ambassador's Memorial on the relative Situation of France and Ened of its American possessions ; because such an event would in a manner leave their own colonies at the mercy of England. The late king of Spain, Ferdinand VL had, indeed, refused to interfere in those disputes; but his successor, Charles III. was more likely to take the alarm at the farther progress of the English ; and it was also probable, that every sacrifice or cession of American ter- ritory, which might be exacted from France in the course of the treaty, would prove a fresh incentive to the suspicions and jealous- ies of the Spanish monarch. Thus the cabi- net of Versailles had a double game to play, in supporting at London the appearance of the most earnest desire of peace, and exert- ing at Madrid all the secret springs of po- litical intrigue to continue and spread still wider the calamities of war. DIFFICULTIES ABOUT THE RETAINING OF POSSESSIONS. Such was the mixture of hostile and pa- cific sentiments, of seeming candor and dark design, with which both parties entered upon the negotiation. The first proposal of the French minister was, " that the two crowns shall remain in possession of what they have conquered one from the other:" and as France had assuredly been the greatest loser, so unexpected an oflfer on her part ap- peared to every dispassionate and unpreju- diced member of the British cabinet, an in- stance of singular moderation, if not hu- mility. But Mr. Pitt, who directed all things, did not treat it with that attention which its apparent fairness deserved. He barely ac- quiesced in the general principle, while he took care to render that acquiescence nuga- tory by his opjx)sition to another article with which it was necessarily connected. As the war still continued, and might tlierefore make a daily alteration in the fortune of the contracting powers, tlie French minister, had proposed, " That the situation, in which they shall stand at certain periods, shall be the position to serve as a basis for the treaty that is to be concluded between them." He 20 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. named, for this purpose, the first of May in Europe, the first of July in Africa and the West Indies, and the first of September in the East Indies; observing, at the same time, that as those periods might seem too near or toa distant for the interests of Great Britain the court of Versailles was extremely will- ing to enter into an explanation on that sub- ject. Pitt's answer was, "that his Britannic majesty would admit of no other epoch, but that of the signing of the peace." To this blunt declaration the court of Versailles re- plied, with that coolness and temper which ought to govern all such transactions, " That if not those, already named, at least some fixed periods, during the war, ought to be agreed upon ; as the uti possidetis, or mu- tual retaining of possessions, could not rea- sonably have reference only to the time of signing the treaty of peace : that if these difficulties occurred in the simplicity of a possessory article, they must be increased tenfold upon every other, and would come to such a height, as to preclude all possi- bility of negotiation on things of so intricate a nature as exchanges and equivalents." SURVEY OF HOSTILE OPERATIONS. This dispute occasioned some delay, and afforded the French ministry, if they had been so disposed, a decent pretext for break- ing ofif the negotiation. In the mean time Iiostilities were everywhere carried on, as if no such negotiation subsisted. But the campaign was distinguished by few memo- rable events. In the East Indies very little remained to be achieved, after the reduction of Pondi- cherry and some other advantages which were gained about the same time. The day before colonel Coote took possession of that fortress, the Mogul army was defeated by major Carnac in the neighborhood of Guya. The hopes of the French in Bengal were completely blasted; nor was fortune more favorable to them on the coast of Malabar. They still had a garrison at Mihie, which, though of little consequence as a trading port, they had fortified at a vast expense, and mounted the works with above two hun- dred pieces of cannon. But it did not long hold out against the well-directed efforts of a body of forces sent from Bombay under Hector Monro, to whom Louet, the com- mander of the fort, surrendered it, with all its dependencies, in the beginning of Feb- ruary. Count d'Estaigne was the only French adventurer in the east, who had ef- fected anything which might be placed m the opposite scale to those successes of the Englisih. He began his career towards the close of the year 1759 ; and with only two ordinary frigates under his command, he destroyed the fort of Bender-Abassi on the Persian gulf, and took two frigates of almost equal force to his own, besides three other vessels belonging to the company. Early in the succeeding year, the fort of Natal sur- rendered to him without any terms, and he found two ships in the road. He then struck over to the island of Sumatra, where he soon reduced Bencoolen, Tappanopoli, and fort Marlborough ; which last, though in a good state of defence, was ingloriously given up by the garrison, after they themselves had burned a rich company's ship that lay in the harbor. The count, however, did not gain so much reputation by these exploits, as he incurred disgrace from having engaged in them, contrary to the most sacred laws of arms ; for he was at the very time a pris- oner upon parole. On the coast of Africa there were still fewer objects to excite any particular vigi- lance, or exertion. England had become mistress of all the French forts and factories on the river Senegal, and had also taken the island of Goree, valuable on account of its harbor, and its convenient situation, be- uig within cannon-shot of Cape Verd. She, therefore, had nothing more to do in that quarter than to preserve her former acquisi- tions. In America and the West Indies, ever since the taking of Guadaloupe, and the re- duction of Canada, nothing had been at- tempted by land, except the quelling of the Cherokees, a very numerous and powerful Indian nation, who, alike regardless of past treaties and of past chastisement, had begun to renew their barbarous ravages on the firon- tiers of South Carolina. The Jamaica and Leeward island squad- rons did not remain idle : rear-admiral Holmes, who had the command on the for- mer station, planned some cruises with judg- ment and success. The squadron off the Leeward Islands, under the direction of commodore Su- James Douglas, was not less alert in scouring those seas of the Martinico privateers ; and had also the merit of as- sisting in the conquest of Dominica, one of the islands called neutral, but which the French had fortified and settled. Those successes were, indeed, highly honorable to the small parties by whom they were obtained; but they fell far short of what might have been reasonably expected from the employment of a greater force in that part of the world where the enemy was most vulnerable. It has been before observed, that although the great purpose of the early and strenu- ous eflTort made by prince Ferdinand was not fully answered, it nevertheless produced a very considerable and useful effect. The destruction of the French magazines re- tarded their operations in such a manner, GEORGE m. 1760-1820. 21 tiiat tlie greatest part of tlie month of June was spent, before their armies found them- selves in a condition to act. But as soon as they had taken proper measures for their sub- sistence, marshal Broglio assembled his forces at Cassel, and moved towards the Dymel, in order to effect a junction with another PVench army under the prince of Soubise, who was advancing on the side of Munster. The first blow was struck by marshal Broglio. He surprised a body of troops commanded by general Sporken, and very advantage- ously posted on the Dymel, in front of the allied army. The French took, upon this occasion, eight hundred prisoners, nineteen pieces of cannon, four hundred horses, and upwards of a hundred and seventy wagons. The same day, which was the twenty-ninth of June, they passed the Dymel ; and while prince Ferdinand, as if discouraged by so sudden a check, fell back to the Lippe, they made themselves masters of Warburg, Drin- gleburg, and Paderbom. The allies, how- ever, soon recovered their spirit ; and seve- ral parties, conducted by general Luckner and other able officers, undertook some bold and very distant enterprises, attacked the enemy where they were least upon their guard, routed their convoys, destroyed a grea,t many of their magazines, and carried off their prey, even from the gates of Cas- sel. These irritating skirmishes hastened the union of the French forces, and made them resolve on a general action. The moment Prince Ferdinand was ap- prized of the intention of the enemy, he called in all his detachments, and made the most admirable disposition of his army. The whole centre and the right wing were cov- ered in front by the Saltzbach, a small, but very deep river, while the flank was well defended by rugged, bushy, and almost im- practicable ground. The other wing was posted on an isthmus between two rivers, the left extremity leaning to the Lippe, by which it was perfectly secured, as the right was supported by the village of Kirch-Den- kern, situated immediately on the Aest. The marquis of Granby had the command of this wing ; and as it protected a liigh road which formed the only communication with the ad- jacent country, and was also the most ex- posed in front, so that it would probably be the object of the enemy's most considerable efforts, the strength and flower of the army, with the greater part of the artillery, were placed there. But before all these precau tions could be taken, or the necessary ar- rangements made, the enemy, by a rapid motion in the evening of the fifteenth of July, came up to the marquis of Granby's posts, and attacked them with great fiiry. The British troops, though then unsupported withstood for some hours the whole torrent of that impetuosity which distinguishes the onsets of the French. At last, general Wut- genau, according to the plan originally pro- jected, got round with a large reinforcement to lord Granby's left, and attacking the ene- my in flank, obliged them, after an obstinate struggle which continued till it was quite dark, to take shelter in the woods behind them. By the next morning, prince Ferdi- nand's disposition of his forces was perfect- ed ; and it was evident that the French, far from being dismayed by repulse, were pre- pared for a more general, and still better sustained attack than the former. Marslial Broglio led on their right wing agamst the left of the allied army, which, as on the evening before, was the principal object of the enemy : their centre and their left wing were commanded by the prince of Soubise, who had directed, but failed m the assault of the preceding day. The engagement began at three in the morning, and a severe fire was continued for upwards of five hours before the least effect could be perceived on either side. The weight of the conflict this day lay on general Wutgenau's corps, who supported it with a degree of bravery that rivalled the firm and intrepid stand which had been lately made by the British forces. About nine o'clock, prince Ferdinand receiv- ing intimation that the enemy were prepar- ing to erect batteries on an eminence in the front of the marquis of Granby's camp, im- mediately ordered a body of troops to defeat their purpose. This service was performed with so much vigor, that the enemy fell into confusion, and precipitately quitted the field. Their centre and left, which had not been able to pass the Saltzbach, after a long and ineffectual cannonade, retired with the rest, and covered their retreat; so that favored by this circumstance, and by the closeness of the country which was full of hedges, they marched off in tolerable order, and were pursued but a little way. Their loss, how- ever, amounted to near five thousand men, including the regiment of Rouge, which consisted of four Imttalions, and was entirely taken with its cannon and colors by the sin- gle battalion of Maxwell. The allies had no more than three hundred killed, a thou- sand wounded, and about two hundred miss- ing. In other respects, the victory would have been attended with little advantage, had the enemy continued to act in concert, and to avail themselves of their great supe- riority in point of number. But their gen- erals were said to be influenced by motives of personal pique, and to have mutually thwarted each other's schemes. It is at least certain, that, after the action of Kirch- Denkern, their armies were disunited dur- ing the rest of the campaign. The party under the prince of Soubise passed the Lippe, 22 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. and made dispositions for the siege of Mun- ster ; whilst marshal Broglio's forces turned off on the other side, crossed the Weser, and threatened to fall upon Hanover. Prince Ferdinand had not troops sufficient to form two distinct armies ; but he chose a central position for his main body, and con- tented himself with sending out such de- tachments as he could spare to the relief of any places that might be attacked. The wisdom and vigor of his measures prevent- ed the enemy from making any important conquests, but could not guard so wide a seat of war against their destructive ravages. A successful attack upon the French garrison at Dorsten, where ovens and other prepara- tions had been made for the siege of Mun- ster, put an effectual stop to their project, and compelled the prince of Soubise to re- tire from the Lippe. But as his formidable opponent, the hereditary prince, was soon after called off to another quarter, the French commander spread his army all over Lower Westphalia, pillaging some towns and sub- jecting others to ruinous contributions. Mar- shal Broglio was also obliged to relinquish liis designs upon Hanover, in order to protect Hesse, where his chief subsistence lay, and where some of the smaller magazines had been destroyed by the incursions of the alli- ed army. His brother the count de Broglio, and prince Xavier of Saxony, having made a forced march with a strong body of troops, took possession of Wolfenbuttle on the tenth of October, and then invested Brunswick ; but at the approach of the hereditary prince, joined by general Luckner, they abandoned their enterprise and evacuated Wolfenbuttle with such precipitation as to leave some of their cannon behind, and above five hundred men who were made prisoners. The sea- son being now far advanced, nothing more was attempted by any part of the marshal's forces, except in the way of depredation, which was severely felt by the wretched in- habitants of the country to the eastward of the Weser. The marshal himself remained strongly encamped at Eimbeck till the begin- ning of November, when prince Ferdinand, by a variety of bold and skilful manceuvres, reduced hun to the alternative of retreating, or coming to an engagement on equal terms. He chose the former, and marched with more booty than laurels into winter-quarters in the neighborhood of Cassel. The forces of Soubise were distributed at Dusseldorp and along the Lower Rhine. The allies fixed their cantonments at Hildersheim, Munster, Hamelen, and Eimbeck. The British cavalry wintered in East Friesland, and the infantry in the bishopric of Osna- burffh. Though the issue of the campaign in Westphalia, where the utmost efforts of the allies could barely support a system of par- tial defence, afforded very little cause of triumph to the advocates ibr a German war ; they must have been still more mortified at the disappointment of all their hopes in the king of Prussia's enterprising genius. That impetuous hero, as if fatigued by indecisive victories, seemed now to adopt the caution and slowness which had been so long oppos- ed to his vivacity. This change of conduct on his part was, indeed, rendered almost un- avoidable by circumstances. Count Daun w ith a powerful army lay upon the watch at Dresden, ready to seize the first favorable opportunity of recovering Saxony. It was therefore necessary that prince Henry, the king's brother, should remain in his Lntrench- ments imder Leipsic, to counteract the de- signs of so vigilant an enemy. The king himself was obliged to adopt a similar plan of defensive measures by the alarming pro- gress of the Russians and Austrians in other parts of his dominions. The Russian army was divided into two strong bodies, one of which, commanded by general Romanzow, penetrated through Pomerania, and laid siege to Colberg ; the other, under general Butterlin, marched into upper Silesia, where the king was strongly posted ; and advanced towards Breslau. Laudohn entered the same province on the opposite side, with a view of joining the Russians, in order to attack the king, or to take Breslau or Schweidnitz in his presence. A remarkable drought in the begmning of the season, which had greatly lowered the Oder, facilitated the proposed junction. The Russians spread themselves over all the open country of Si- lesia, and exacted heavy contributions. A considerable party of them appeared before Breslau, on the first of August, and began to cannonade the town from seven batteries. Laudohn exerted the whole of his skill to draw the king from his strong hold, and to engage him in a disadvantageous action : sometimes he advanced, as if he meant to join the Russians: sometimes his motions indicated a design on Schweidnitz: these attempts failing, he turned off, and made a feint, as if he proposed to fall upon lower Silesia, in hopes that he might at least oblige the king to divide his forces: but all his stratagems proved for some time ineffectual. The sagacious Frederic continued immova- ble in his post, which protected Schweid- nitz : and with regard to the lower parts of Silesia, he had already filled the fortresses there with such garrisons as put them out of the reach of any sudden insult. The king of Prussia was not equally free from alarm at the danger of Colberg-, the key of his northern possessions ; and though he had full employment for all his forces nearer home, he resolved to send a large de- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 23 tachment under general Platen, to the re- lief of that valuable city. The fertility of his genius proposed two ends from this sin gle expedient. He ordered Platen to direct his inarch through Poland, and to destroy the Russian magazines, which had been amassed on the frontiers of that kingdom, and from which their army in Silesia drew their whole subsistence. This service might, he hoped, be performed without any -consid erable interruption to the progress of the detachment towards Colberg. The event was so far answerable to his wishes. Gene- ral Platen ruined three principal magazines of the enemy, attacked a great convoy of their wagons, five hundred of which he de stroyed, and having killed or made prison' ers the greater part of four thousand men who defended them, he pursued his march with the utmost diligence into Pomerania The news of this blow struck the Russians in Silesia with consternation : they imme- diately relinquished all the objects of their junction with the Austrians : their main body repassed the Oder, and hurried back into Poland, lest some more of their maga zines should share the same fate with the tJiree above mentioned, and their future subsistence be thereby rendered wholly pre^ carious. Notwithstanding this gleam of good for- tune, the king of Prussia's difficulties were so multiplied, that his wisest schemes and happiest successes could hardly answer any other end than to vary the scene of his dis- tress. The storm which had been diverted fi-om Silesia by general Platen's expedition, v/as only removed thence to be discharged With irresistible fury on Colberg. The Rus- sian army which had retreated into Poland, no sooner established its convoys, than it di- rected its course towards Pomerania, in or- der to co-operate v/ith the other forces un- der general Romanzow, and to wipe away, by a conquest of much greater importance, tlie disgrace of having failed at Breslau. As Butterlin was also master of Landsberg, he sent out several parties from thence, that cruelly wasted all the adjoining marche of Brandenburgh, without diverting himself, by these ravages, from his grand object. It was impossible for the king to spare such a number of troops as could contend with the enemy in the field ; but he ordered general Knoblock to make the most rapid advances with another detachment, and hoped that by the union of these several corps, and by their intercepting, or at least retarding the Russian convoys of provision, the place might be enabled to hold out, until the se- vere setting in of \yinter should render tlie operations of a siege impracticable. P>nt while the king's attention was thus wholly taken up in studying new methods for the relief of Colberg, an event happened just by him, and, as it were, under his eye, almost as distressing as the loss of that place, and so much the more distressing as it was entirely unsuspected. Afler the re- treat of the Russians out of Silesia, the king feeling some inconvenience with respect to provisions in his camp near Schweidnitz, and concludmg that there was nothing to be dreaded from the Austrians, now almost de- serted by their powerful auxiliaries, ap- proached nearer to the Oder, for the sake of procuring supplies more easily. He was so little in fear of any hostile annoyance, that, on making this movement, he drafled four thousand men from the garrison of Schweidnitz : he thought that the prepara- tions necessary to a siege would give him sufficient notice and sufiicient leisure to pro- vide for the safety of that place, from which, afler all, he had removed but to a very small distance. Laudohn, who watched the king with a steady and penetrating eye, did not let slip this single instant of opportunity. He formed a plan of sudden attack on the uncovered fortress, and accomplished his purpose with a facility that far exceeded his most sangume hopes. On the first of Octo- ber, at three in the morning, the troops se- lected for this service made their approacli with so much precaution, under the favor of a thick fog, that they fixed their scaling- ladders to all the four outworks of the forti- fications, before they were perceived by the garrison, who scarce had time to fire a few^ cannon at the assailants. A short contest was, however, maintained with small-arms, until a powder magazine in one of the out- works blew up, which killed very rear three hundred on each side. The Austrians, taking advantage of the confusion occasion- ed by this accident, rushed forward, and bursting open the gates, made themselves masters of the town before daybreak, with only the loss of about six hundred men, in- cluding those who perished in the explosion. Lieutenant-general Zastrow, the governor, and his whole garrison amounting to three thousand men, were made prisoners; be- sides a quantity of artillery and a large magazine of meal, which added to the value of this important capture. The king of Prus- sia felt the blow to the quick. Im the first agitations of his mind, he was disposed to attribute the misfortune to treachery; but recovering his temper, he sent the following lines to the unfortunate governor : " We may now say, what Francis the first of France said to his mother, afler the battle of Pavia, We have lost all except our honor. As I cannot comprehend what hath happen- ed to you, I shall suspend my judgment : the aiSiir is very extraordinary." Schweidnitz was lost suddenly ; but Col- 24 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. berg made a long and noble defence. The Swedish and Russian fleets blocked it up by sea, for several months, till the boisterous season forced them to retire, and afforded the garrison an opportunity of receiving a large supply of provisions from Stetin. In the mean time the siege by land was push- ed (Ml with incredible perseverance ; and Romanzow having reduced a fort that com- manded the harbor, any repetition of the former succors was totally cut off! Still, however, the garrison and its brave com- mander, Heyde, seemed determined to hold out to the last extremity. Their efforts were well seconded by the prince of Wur- temburg, who was strongly intrenched with six or seven thousand men, under the can- ' non of the town, and by general Platen who found means to join him in that post. But as there was soon a necessity for revictual- ling the garrison, at every risk, Platen quit- ted the intrenChments in order to hasten and protect the arrival of some convoys, which the numerous scouting parties of the Russians had hitherto kept at a distance. His spirited enterprise did not succeed : he had the misfortune to be met by an infinite- ly superior body of the enemy ; was beaten, and escaped with some loss and great diffi- culty, to Stetin. General Knoblock, whom the king had also sent to the relief of Col- berg with a second detachment, proved still more unsuccessful. Having established him- self at Treptow, which was to serve as a resting-place to the convoys, he was attack- ed there, soon afler Platen's defeat, by a force to which his numbers were so unequal, that with the utmost skill and intrepidity he could only protract for five days the ulti- mate necessity of a surrender. Afler these disasters the prince of Wurtemburg became apprehensive lest his troops, by delaying any longer under the walls of the town, would only share its fate, or be driven by famme into humiliating terms. He therefore re- solved, whilst his men retained their vigor, to break through a part of the Russian army, and leave a place, which he could no longer defend, to make the best capitulation its cir- cumstances would admit. He effected his purpose with inconsiderable loss; but the garrison, now hopeless of relief, exhausted by fatigue, their provision low, and the for- tifications in many places battered to pieces, surrendered to the Russians on the sixteenth of December, after a peculiarly distressing siege of near six months. The loss of two such places as Schweid- nitz and Colberg, at the two extremities of his dominions, were decisive against the king of Prussia. The Austrians took up their winter-quarters in the former and its neighborhood ; and the king was fully sen- sible, that, whilst they held that place, he could make no motion for the relief of any other part of his dominions, without expos- ing Breslau and the whole of upper Silesia to certain and irrecoverable conquest. The Russians, on the other hand, by possessing Colberg, possessed almost everything. They were masters of the Baltic ; and they now acquired a port, by which their armies could be well provided, without the necessity of tedious, uncertain, and expensive convoys from Poland. The eastern parts of Pome- rania afforded them good winter-canton- ments ; and nothing but the advanced sea- son could save Stetin from their immediate grasp, or obstruct their progress into the very heart of Brandenburg. Thus, after having suffered and inflicted so many dread- ful calamities in the course of five years, Frederic had no prospect before him but to perish in a flame of his own kindling ; and all that he could reasonably expect was to give it brilliancy by some act of heroism, as his absolute salvation seemed far beyond the reach of any human endeavors. Such events were also very ill suited to the haughty tone of the English minister in hig negotiation with France. But several ac- tions happened at sea, between single ships and small squadrons, greatly to the honor of the British flag ; and a naval armament, which had excited the highest hopes while its destinatian remained a secret, was pre- pared early in the spring, and crowned with success. The armament fitted out for this enter- prise consisted of ten ships of the line under commodore Keppel, and near ten thousand land forces commanded by major-general Hodgson. They sailed from Spithead on the twenty-ninth of March, and came to anchor in the great road of Belleisle, on the seventh of April. A descent was imme- diately attempted at three different places. Major Purcel and captain Osborne, at the head of a party of grenadiers, got on shore, and advanced for some time with great in- trepidity. But the enemy, who had intrench- ed themselves on the heights, appeared sud- denly above them, and poured in such a se- vere fire as threw them into confusion, and intimidated the rest of the troops from land- ing. The major and captain were both killed : and all their brave followers shared the same fate, or were made prisoners. The flat-bottomed boats, and two large ships that convoyed them to the landing-place, v/ere obliged, in spite of their most vigorous ef- forts, to retire, with the loss of five hundred men. Some tempestuous weather, which immediately followed this first failure, pre- vented a second trial for several days. At length the wind having abated, and the whole coast having been diligently examin- ed, proper dispositions lor landing wer GEORGE ni. 1760-1820. 25 again made on the twenty-second of April, and succeeded. The troops were rowed to various parts of the island, as if they in- tended to disembark in different places, so as to distract the attention and divide the forces of the enemy, whilst the men-of-war directed their fire with great judgment and effect on the hills. These manoBuvres gave brigadier-general Lambert, with a small de- tachment of grenadiers and marines, an opportunity of climbing up a very steep rock without molestation. Here they directly formed themselves in good order; and though attacked by superior numbers, they main- tained their ground, till the whole corps, which had now ascended in the same man- ner, arrived to their assistance, and repulsed the enemy. The landing of all the forces was made good in a short time after. In one or two places the enemy seemed dispos- ed to make a stand ; but a body of light horse, which was embarked in this expedi- tion, soon drove them into Palais, the capi- tal of the island. The siege of Palais was commenced with vigor ; and the garrison, commanded by the chevalier de St. Croix, a brave and experienced officer, threatened a long and obstinate defence. This was a place of extraordinary strength, having been built by the famous Vauban, who supplied by art what nature had left undone, to make it almost impregnable ; and it was now de- fended by St. Croix with a show of the most desperate resolution. Parallels were finish- ed, barricadoes made, and batteries con- structed ; and a continual fire from mortars and artillery was kept up on both sides, by night and by day, from the thirteenth of May to the twenty-fifth, when that of the enemy began to abate. By the end of the month a breach was made in the citadel; and notwithstandmg the indefatigable indus- try of the garrison and the governor m re- pairing the damage, the fire of the besieg- ers increased to such a degree, that a great part of the defences was rumed, and the breach rendered practicable on the seventh of June. Then St. Croix, having no pros- pect of relief, and being apprehensive of a general assault, thought it prudent to capit- ulate. NEGOTIATIONS RESUMED. The taking of Belleisle, which was cele- brated with bonfires, illuminations, and every expression of tumultuous joy, contributed greatly to elate the pride of the English populace, and was no small mortification to France. But the expedition having failed in its ultimate aim,^ which was to oblige the French to weaken' their army m Westpha- lia, in order to defend their own coast, and by that means to enable prince Ferdinand to strike some decisive blow; Pitt conde- scended to name certain periods, to which Vol. IV. 3 the reciprocal holding of possession should refer ; and the negotiation with France was resumed. The epochs named by the British minister were, the first of August for Europe, the first of September for Africa and America, and the first of November for the Ea^ In- dies. To these epochs France agreed, though reluctantly, on account of the nearness, as at this juncture she wished and hoped to make some acquisitions in Westphalia be- fore the close of the campaign, which might at least counterbalance the loss of Belleisle. She also agreed, that everything settled between the two crowns, relative to their particular disputes, should be finally conclu- sive and obligatory, mdependent of the pro- ceedings of the congress to be held at Augs- burg : and she farther agreed, that the de- finitive treaty of peace between the two kingdoms, or preliminary articles to that purpose, should be signed and ratified before the first of August. France even gave up the point of honor, and frankly made an offer of what places she was willing to cede and exchange. Her first proposals came through the medium of Stanley ; and after some difficulties had been removed, and a few claims relinquished, Bussy delivered, on the twenty-third of July, a memorial in form, contaming a regular digest of the sacrifices acquiesced in, and the compensa- tions required by the French ministry. The followmg were the chief articles of their conciliating plan. They proposed to cede and guaranty all Canada to England, and to ascertain the boundaries of that province and Louisiana in such a manner as to pre- clude all possibility of any future dispute on the subject. They only stipulated that the free and public exercise of the Roman Catholic religion should be permitted there, and that such of the old French colonists as chose to retire might have leave to take away or dispose of their effects, and might be supplied by the English government with the means of conveyance on the most rea- sonable terms. In return for this, they re- quired a confirmation of their former privi- lege of fishing on the coast of Newfound- land, with the restitution of Cape Breton, as some harbor was necessary for carrying on that fishery to advantage ; but excluding themselves from erecting any kind of forti- fication. They offered to exchange Minor- ca for Guadaloupe and Marigalante ; and that, with respect to the neutral islands in the West Indies, two of them, namely Do- minica and St Vincent, were to be held by the native inhabitants the Caribbees, while France occupied St Lucia, and England took possession of Tobago. In the Ea^t Indies they had no equivalent to offer for the recovery of the English acquisitions 26 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. there ; but they proposed the treaty of one thousand seven hundred and fifty-iive, be- tween the Sieur Godeheu and g-overnor Saunders, as a basis for the re-establishment of peace in Asia. On the side of Africa, they required the settlements at Senegal, or the isle of Goree to be given up by Eng- land ; for which, together with the restora- tion of Belleisle, they consented to evacu- ate Gottingen, Hesse, and Hanau ; but these evacuations were to be preceded by a cessa- tion of hostilities between the two crowns, and a positive engagement that their armies in Germany should observe an exact neutral- ity, not affording the least assistance, nor giving the least offence to the allies of either party. MAIN POINTS OF DISPUTE. So far the advances of the French minis- try had a very plausible and even captivating appearance : but they strictly adhered in their memorial to two points, which had been already the cause of much dispute with the negotiators at both courts. The one was an absolute refusal on the part of France to give up Wesel and Gueldres, which she had conquered from the king of Prussia, in the name of the empress-queen, whose consent to a separate peace between France and England had been obtained only under two conditions, first, that the empress should keep possession of the countries belonging to the king of Prussia, and secondly, that England should not afford him any succor (1). The other article was a demand very strongly urged for having all the captures restored, which had been made by England, previous to the declaration of war. The ar- guments for and against this claim may be summed up in a few words. It was said, on the one hand, that the practice of declaring war had been established by the law of na- tions, to make subjects acquainted with the quarrels of their sovereigns, and to give them a fair warning to take care of their persons and effects; that, in the late in- stance, the merchants of France reposing themselves on the faith of treaties, and ig- norant of the facts or circumstances which led to a rupture between the two kingdoms, had been plundered without the least regard to equity or honor ; and that even supposing any improper encroachments to have been made on the back of the English colonies in Am.erica, the aggression ought first to b^ complained of, and a reparation of the in- jury peremptorily insisted upon, as nothing but an absolute denial of redress, and a pub- lic appeal to the sword could justify the com- mencement of hostilities. To this it was replied, that when a nation is insidiously robbed of her right, she has a natural claim to instant retaliation ; that a faithless assas- sin is not entitled by any law to the formali- ties of a challenge ; and that the alarming steps taken by the French in America to gain ground on the English colonies, and the preparations making at home to send out vast bodies of troops to support and extend such encroachments, amidst the most solemn assurances of amicable intention, neither de- served a return of candor, nor allowed time for a scrupulous regard to the usual punc- tilios. INFLEXIBILITY OF THE ENGLISH MINISTER. On whatever side the scale of reason and justice may be thought to incline in this controversy, the British minister seemed in- flexible in his refusal to restore the disputed captures, while he was no less absolute in demanding the evacuation of Wesel and Gueldres. He was also averse from the pro- posed ground of pacification in the East In- dies, as well as from the giving up of the island of Cape Breton in America, and of Senegal or Goree on the coast of Africa ; nor would he, astonishing as it may appear, agree to a neutrality in regard to Germany. He treated such an intimation with disdain, as an insult on the honor of his country ; though it would certainly have been m.ore easy and no less honorable for Great Britain to mediate, or even purchase a peace for the king of Prussia, in the congress at Augs- burg, than to enable him to continue any longer a very unequal and ruinous struggle. But, besides these contentious points which were not likely to be soon, or easily adjusted, a new circumstance occurred, against which Pitt's opposition was directed with still more unqualified vehemence. At the time of presenting the above me- morial to the court of London, Bussy deliv- ered a private paper, signifying the desire of his most Christian majesty, that, in order to establish the peace upon solid foundations, not to be shaken by the contested interests of a third power, the king of Spain might be invited to guaranty the treaty between the two crowns ; and farther proposing, with the consent and communication of his Cath- olic majesty, that three subjects of dispute which subsisted between England and Spain, and which might produce a new war in Eu- rope and America, should be finally settled in this negotiation ; namely, the restoration of some ships taken in the course of the present war, under Spanish colors ; the lib- erty claimed by the Spanish nation to fisli on the banks of Newfoundland ; and the de- molition of certain settlements made, con- trary to treaty, by the English logwood-cut- ters in the bay of Honduras. From what has been already hinted of Pitt's sentiments, with respect to the treaty, it may be easily imagined in what manner he received this private memorial. He expressed his sur- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 27 prise and indignation at an humbled enemy's undertaking to settle differences between de- clared friends : he called upon the Spanish ambassador to disavow the step which had been said to be taken with the knowledge of his court : he returned as wholly inadmissi- ble the offensive paper, declaring that it would be looked upon as an affront to the dignity of his master, and incompatible with the sincerity of the negotiation on the part of France, to make any farther mention of such a circumstance ; and he prepared with- out delay a very unaccommodating reply to the other porposals of the French ministry. In this answer, bearing date the tw^enty- ninth of July, all the before-recited objec- tions were urged with little temper or deli- cacy ; and the secretary took care to embit- ter his assent to the most unexceptionable articles, either by some new and mortifying condition, or by the imperious style in which it was given. THE FAMILY COMPACT. • The views of the different parties began now gradually to unfold themselves ; but the haughtiness and impetuosity of Pitt's char- acter gave the French ministry a considera ble advantage over him. They seemed to- tally unaffected by his tone of arrogance, tliough bordering upon insult : they digested every mortification in silence: tliey made an apology for having proposed a discussion of the points in disp'ite with Spain : and, in reply to the English secretary's last dictates, as well as in the private instructions sent with it to Bussy in the beginning of August, they appeared willing to make farther sacri- fices for the re-establishment of peace. Whether they really hoped to accomplish that object, or not, by these new concessions, their conduct was equally moderate and po- litic. At least, it insured the success of their intrigues at the court of Madrid, where the domineering language of the British minis- ter could not fail to give disgust, while the increasing humiliations of the French mon- archy excited alarm. The famous family compact was the consequence. By this treaty, which was signed on the fifteenth of August, the several branches of the house of Bourbon were entwined in the closest union ; and France derived from her misfor- tunes and disgrace an advantage which she could not have expected from the most suc- cessfiil issue of the war. Spain now en- gaged to assist her with as much zeal and vigor as if the two kingdoms had been in- corporated ; and to admit her subjects to all tlie privileges of natives. The two Sicilies and the dutchy of Parma were vmited in the same bonds of mutual guarantee of domin- ions and community of interest.?. Strong motives of policy, chieily arising from the danger to whicli Spain would have been at that moment exposed by an imme- diate rupture with England, made the con- tracting parties use every endeavor ibr some time to keep their late alliance a profound secret. The negotiation between the courts of London and Versailles was therefore still carried on with seeming sincerity ; but the real eagerness of the latter to terminate the war must have been greatly abated by an assurance of support from a power untouched in its resources of men, money, and stores. It may also be fairly presumed, that Pitt's aversion to a peace was not lessened, but greatly increased by his well-founded sus- picions of the private correspondence be- tween France and Spain. He did not wish, however, to put an end to the treaty, till he could furnish himself with sufficient proofs of the engagements which the two branches of the house of Bourbon had entered into against Great Britain, as he thought such proofs would be the best justification of his own conduct. Thus, while the forms of pa- cific discussion were preserved, on both sides, all that cordiality vanished which is so ne- cessary towards smoothing and clearing a road, which a long hostility had broken up, and so many intricate topics had contributed to embarrass. RESULTS OF THE NEGOTIATION. In order to judge which party w^as most blamable for the failure of the negotiation, nothing more is necessary than to examine, without prejudice, the ostensible grounds on which the treaty was broke off, after it had been protracted considerably beyond the term fixed for signing it. The last papers inter- changed by the ministers of both courts are the proper documents to be appealed to in this case. The final resolutions of the Brit- ish cabinet were transmitted to Versailles in the latter end of August ; and the reply of the French ministry was delivered to Pitt on the thirteenth of September. From these papers it appears, that the most interesting objects of concern were settled, or in a fair way of adjustment ; and that mere points of honor were made the specious pretext for keeping Europe involved in the calamities of war. The cession of Canada was agreed to in the most extensive form ; and though some difficulty remained concerning the bounds of Louisiana, it was too trifling to ob- struct the progress or conclusion of the treaty. The African contest seemed to have been attended with still less difficulty. Tlie French consented to give up both Senegal and Goree, provided Anamaboo and Aera were guarantied to them ; and they very plausibly urged their compliance in this re- spect as a demonstration of their readinef.3 to embrace e'v'ery temperament tending to reconcile the tvro nations. The momentous question of tlie fishery was likewise deter- 28 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. mined. The French relinquished their claim tx) Cape Breton and St. John's ; and were satisfied to receive the little islands of St. Peter and Miquelon, even under the restric- tion of not keeping any military establish- ment there. The privileges of fishing on the coast of Newfoundland, as enjoyed by the Fiench before the war, under the thir- teenth article of the treaty of Utrecht, were continued to them ; but in return for such privileges, and in conformity to another ar- ticle of that treaty, the king of France con- sented to demolish the fortifications of Dun- kirk. As to the islands of Guadaloupe, Mari- galante, Minorca, and Belleisle, no great con- troversy had subsisted on their account from the beginning : it had all along been agreed that these conquests should be reciprocally re- stored. Nor did the French any longer press the consideration of the old treaty between Godeheu and Saunders in the East Indies, but agreed to refer the settlement of all dis- putes there to commissioners appointed by the companies of the two nations. In short, the only points of difference were the con- duct to be observed with respect to their al- lies, the evacuation of one or two places in Germany, and the restoration of the mer- chant-men taken previous to the declaration of war. On the first head, the French had made repeated proposals of neutrality, which were uniformly and positively rejected by the English minister as derogating from the good faith and integrity of the nation ; nor was he willing to come to any agreement about the succors which the two states might be at liberty to afford their allies. He in- sisted with equal positiveness on the surren- der of all the conquests made by France upon any of the allies in Germany, particularly Wesel, and the territories of the king of Prussia, though the French ministry had de- clared, that they could neither evacuate that town nor Gueldres, as such a cession would be a direct breach of the engagements they were under to the empress-queen of Hun- gary, for whom those places had been taken, and in whose name alone they were govern- ed. This matter, they said, ought to be re- ferred to the congress at Augsburg. Their other acquisitions on the continent, Hesse, Hanau, and Gottingen, which were of great- er importance, they did not hesitate to give up, as part of the equivalent for the islands ceded by Great Britain. To the French de- mand of compensation for the captures made before war was formally declared, Pitt had given an irrevocable negative. The cen- surers of his policy then asserted, " that rather than make restitution of a few hun- dred thousand pounds plundered from the subjects of France, while trading under the security of peace and the faith of treaties, false pride co-operating with the secretary's personal influence, induced government to prosecute the war, at the annual expense of twelve millions; or that this enormous charge, together with a farther waste of British blood, and the risk of fortune's inconstancy, was a sacrifice made to the interest of a Ger- man ally, who had already drained so much from the nation, which his friendship or ani- mosity could not possibly afiect 1" TREATY BROKEN OFF. Pitt did not deign to answer the last memorial of the French ministry ; but in a few days after the receipt of it, he sent di- rections to Stanley to return to England, and to desire that Bussy might have the like or- ders of recall from his court. The leading negotiation in London and Paris being now broken off", that which was proposed at Augs- burg never took place ; and the fond hopes of the public, which had teen Iropt alive for almost six months, expired in the most pain- ful disappointment. So far was the treaty from producing any of the happy effects that were expected from it — so far was it from appeasing the animosities of the contending powers, that they parted with intentions more hostile, and opinions more adverse than ever. New subjects of jealousy and debate had also arisen ; and there was reason to appre- hend that other powers would be tempted to engage in the quarrel, and to throw off the veil of neutrality, under which they had hitherto concealed their secret attachments. Thus all the seeming advances towards peace operated like oil poured upon the fire of contention, which, instead of extinguish- ing it, served to spread the flame wider, and to make it burn with greater rapidity. NOTE TO CHAPTER U. 1 These conditions were specified in a separate note, which Mr. Pitt returned with another paper relatiy* to Spain, declaring both to be totally inadmissible. GEORGE III. 1760—1820. CHAPTER III. Proofs of the King's Exemption from personal or political Prejudices. — His Majesty's Choice of a Consort, the Princess Charlotte of Mecklenhurgh — Embassy sent to make^ the Demand of her Most Serene Highness ; with an Account of her Voyage — Her journey to London, her Reception and Nuptials — Preparations made for the Coronation of their Majesties — Entertainment given to the Royal Family at Guild- hall — Some rising Clouds in the political Hemisphere — The Spanish Ambassador's Explanation not deemed satisfactory — Orders sent to the Earl of Bristol at Madrid — His Excellency's Dispatches in Reply — Warm Debates in the Cabinet on Mr. Pitt's Proposal to attack Spain without further Delay — His Resolution, with the President's Answer — His Interview with the King, on resigning the Seals of his Office — Lord Temple's Resignation — Violent Conflict between the Admirers and the Censurers of Mr. Pitt's Conflict sanctioned by the Abbe Raynal — Farther Instructions sent by the new Secretary of State to the British Ambassador at Madrid — Steps taken by the Ministry — Meeting of the new Parliament — His Majesty's Speech — Message to the Queen ; and the Dowry granted her in Case she should survive his Majesty — Repeal of the compelling Clause in the Insolvent Act — Alacrity of the Commons in providing for the Service of the ensuing Year — Debate on the Expediency of the German War — Severe Remarks on the Alliances entered into with some of the continental Powers — Ingenious Defence set up by the Advocates for the German War — Result of this political Controversy — Effect of the English Ambassador's Remonstrances at the Court of Madrid — His Conjectures on the Causes of a sudden Revolution in the Spanish Councils — Propriety of his Conduct in so delicate a Conjuncture — A clear and categorical Explanation at length insisted upon — General WaWs Letter — Man- ifesto delivered by the Count de Fuentes, and Lord Egremont's Refutation of it. KING'S FREEDOM FROM POLITICAL PREJUDICES. After so long continued a view of ope- rations in the field and of intrig^iies in the cabinet, it will be some relief to the mind to contemplate a few events of a more tranquil and domestic nature, which happened during the same period. It was very pleasing to the whole nation to see their young kin^^ ascend the throne with so little partiality or prejudice, either of a personal or political nature, that for almost twelve months no change was made in any of the great offices of state, which could excite the least clamor. Ix)rd Henley, afterwards created Earl of Northington, who had distinguished himself at the bar by his talents and integrity, and had for some time acted as keeper of the great seal, was continued in the same im- jwrtant trust, but with the higher title of lord chancellor. The earl of Holdemesse, secretary of state for the northern depart- ment, having retired from business, was suc- ceeded by the earl of Bute, who had spent some years on terms of very friendly mter- course with lord Temple and Mr. Pitt, and all the leading members of the opposition during the lifetime of the late prince of Wales. The earl of Halifax was removed from the board of trade to be lord-lieutenant of Ireland ; and some other removals or pro- motions from one department of administra- tion to another took place, but not a single 3* dismission, except that of Mr. Legge, in whose room lord Barrington was appointed chancellor of the exchequer. KING'S CHOICE OF A CONSORT. His majesty's conduct in another affair of very great moment afforded still fuller cause of general satisfaction. This was his choice of a consort, whose endearments might sweeten the cares of royalty, and whose vir- tues should make his private happiness coin- cide with the happiness of his people. The first circumstance, it is said, that directed his attention to the princess Charlotte of Mecklenhurgh Strelitz, was a letter which her serene highness had written to the king of Prussia on his entering her cousin's ter- ritories, and which that monarch had sent over to George 11. as a miracle of good sense and patriotism in so young a princess. The king had privately employed some persons in whom he could confide, to ascer- tain the correctness of the report of her ami- able qualifications ; and having received the fullest satisfaction on that head, he resolved to make a formal demand of her in mar- riage. On the eighth of July, he made a declaration of his sentiments at a very full meeting of the members of the privy-council. AN EMBASSY, &c. This declaration was so agreeable to the council, that they unanimously requested it might be made public. Proper stepe were then talten for the accomplishment of his 30 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. majesty's wishes. The earl of Harcourt was fixed upon to go out as ambassador plenipo- tentiary, to mg,ke the demand of her serene highness; the dutchesses of Ancaster and Hamilton, and the countess of Effingham were appointed ladies of the bed-chamber to take care of her person ; and the Carolina yacht, being new named the Charlotte, was got in readiness to convey her to England, under convoy of a squadron commanded by lord Anson. The fleet put to sea the eighth of August ; and on the fourteenth, lord Har- court and the other lords and ladies sent on this embassy, arrived at Strelitz. Next morn- ing the ceremony of asking her highness in marriage for the king of England was per- formed, and the contract was signed. The ambassador and his suite were magnificent- ly entertained ; and the event was celebrated with the most splendid rejoicings. She em- barked in the yacht at Cuxhaven, where she was saluted by the whole squadron destined for her convoy. After a voyage often days, the yacht arrived at Harwich on the sixtli of September. On the eighth of September her highness arrived at St. James's palace, and in the gar- den she was met by the king himself, who in a very affectionate manner raised her up by the hand, which he kissed, as she was going to pay her obeisance, and then led her up stairs into the palace, where she dined with his majesty, the princess dowager, and the rest of the royal family. In the evening the nuptial ceremony was performed by the archbishop of Canterbury in the royal chapel. The cities of London and Westminster were illummated in honor of the auspicious event, and addresses of felicitation poured in from all parts of the British dominions. THE CORONATION. A PROCLAMATION had been issued in July, appointing the twenty-second of September for the king's coronation ; and a similar no- tice was now published in the gazette, de- claring it to be his majesty's intention that Ihe queen should be crowned at the same time. A commission had also passed the great seal, constituting a court to decide the pretensions of such persons as laid claim to different offices and privileges upon that oc- casion (1). Westminster-hall was prepared for the coronation banquet. CITY FEAST TO THEIR MAJESTIES. The city endeavored to rival the court in Ihe brilliancy of public shows, and in testi- monies of the most affectionate regard for the young king and his amiable consort CONFERENCES WITH SPAIN. These bright effusions of national joy, to which the king's marriage and coronation had given so full a scope, were now for a little time checked and obscured by some rising clouds in the political hemisphere, of the progress and effects of which it will be necessary to give a very particular account. Pitt's views in the course of the treaty with France, and his indignant rejection of the memorial concerning Spain, have been al- ready noticed. It was farther observed, that he then called upon the Spanish ambassador to disavow that irregular procedure. His excellency at first explained himself verbally on the subject, and was soon after author- ized by his court to deliver to the English secretary a written answer. This explanation, though written with a great show of candor and spirit, did not pro- duce the desired effect : it neither softened Pitt's prejudices, nor did it remove his sus- picions. It appeared to him, that Spain, as a kind of party, had been made acquainted with every step taken in the negotiation between France and England ; that her au- thority was called in aid to force the accept- ance of the terms offered by the former, which he considered little short of a decla- ration of war in reversion ; in a word, that there was a perfect union of affections, in- terests and councils between the courts of Versailles and Madrid. In the mean time, orders had been sent to the earl of Bristol, the British ambassador at Madrid, to remonstrate with energy and firmness on the unexampled and offensive irregularity of the late proceeding, and to demand an eclaircissement of the actual measures and designs of that court ; to ad- here to the negative put upon the Spanish pretensions to fish upon the banks of New^- foundland ; to rest on the justice of the Eng- lish tribunals the claim concerning the res- titution of prizes made against the flag of Spain, or supposed to have been taken in violation of the territory of that kingdom ; to continue the former professions of the court of London, indicating a desire of an amicable adjustment of the logwood dispute, and the willingness of his Britannic ma- jesty to cause the settlements on the coast of Honduras to be evacuated, as soon as his Catholic majesty should suggest another method by which the British subjects could enjoy that traffic, to which they had a right by treaty, and which the court of Madrid had farther confirmed to them by repeated promises. The secretary's letter which con- veyed these orders to the earl of Bristol, concluded thus: "Although in the course of this instruction to your excellency, I could not, with such an insolent memorial before me, but proceed on the supposition, that, insidious as that court is, she could not dare to commit in such a manner the name of his Catholic majesty, without being au- thorized thereto ; I must not, however, con- ceal from your excellency, that it is thought possible here, that tlie court of France, GEORGE III. 1760—1820. though not wholly unauthorized, may, with her usual artifice in negotiation, have put much exaggeration into this matter ; and in case, upon entering into remonstrances on this affair, you shall perceive a disposition in Mr. Wall [the Spanish secretary of state] to explain away and disavow the authoriza- tion of Spain to this offensive transaction of France, and to come to categorical and sat- isfactory declarations relatively to the final intentions of Spain, your excellency will, with readiness and your usual address, adapt yourself to so desirable a circumstance, and will open to the court of Madrid as hand- some a retreat as may be, m case you per- ceive from the Spanish minister, that they sincerely wish to find one, and to remove, by an effectual satisfaction, the unfavorable impressions which the memorial of the court of France has justly and unavoidably made on the mind of his majesty." By the earl of Bristol's reply to Mr. Pitt, dated the thirty-first of August, and receiv- ed the eleventh of September, it appears that the Spanish minister applauded the magnanimity of the king of Great Britain in declaring, that he would never add facili- ties towards accommodating differences with another sovereign, in consideration of any intimation from a power at war, or the threatenings of an enemy. Wall farther affirmed, that the assent given by his court to the king of France's offer of endeavoring to adjust the disputes between England and Spain was totally void of any design to re- tard the peace, and absolutely free from the least intention of giving offence to his Brit- annic majesty. The Catholic king, he said, did not think England would look upon the French ministers as a tribunal to which the court of London would make an appeal, nor did he mean it as such, when the statement of grievances was conveyed through that channel. His excellency assured the earl of Bristol, that the Catholic king, both be- fore and then, esteemed as well as valued the frequent professions of friendship made by the British court, and of its desire to set- tle all differences amicably: and asked, whether it was possible to be imagined in England, that the Catholic king was seeking to provoke Great Britain in her most flour- ishing and exalted condition, occasioned by tlie greatest series of prosperities that any single nation had ever met with? But he refused to give up any of the three points in dispute, and owned that the most perfect harmony subsisted between the courts of PVance and Spain ; that, in consequence of that harmony, the most Christian king had offered to assist his Catholic majesty, in case the discussions between Great Britain and Spain should terminate in a rupture; and that this offer light DEBATES IN THE I PROPOSAL OF On receiving these dispatches, Pitt was of opinion, that the intentions of Spain were by no means equivocal, and that her only motive for delaying a more open avowal of her hostile designs was in order to strike the blow at her own time and with the greater effect. He accordmgly declared in council, that we ought to consider the eva- sions of that court as a refusal of satisfac- tion, and that refusal as a declaration of war; that we ought from prudence as well as spirit to secure to ourselves the first blow ; that no new armament would be necessary; that, if any war could provide its own re- sources, it must be a war with Spain ; that her flota, or American plate fleet, on which she had great dependence, was not yet ar- rived ; and that the taking of it would at once strengthen our hands and disable hers. Such a spirited measure, he added, would be a lesson to his Catholic majesty, and to all Europe, how dangerous it was to pre- sume to dictate in the affairs of Great Brit- ain. After the fullest discussion of the sub- ject at three different meetings of the cabi- net ministers, Pitt was unable to bring over any of them to his way of thinking, except lord Temple, his brother-in-law. The proposal was looked upon by all the other members as equally precipitate and base, — as equally repugnant to the dictates of sound policy, and to the laws of honor and justice. They owned that Spain had concurred in a very extraordinary step ; yet it was not impossi- ble but some farther remonstrances might persuade that court to recall a proposition, into which it had been, perhaps, unwarily seduced by the artifices of France. They also admitted, that we ought not to be frightened from asserting our reasonable de- mands, by the menaces of any power ; but they afiirmed, at the same time, that this de- sire of adding war to war, and enemy to enemy, whilst the springs of government were already very much stramed, was ill suited to our national strength ; that to shun war upon a just occasion was cowardice, but to provoke or court it madness ; and that to hasten a rupture with Spain in prticular, if it could be by any means avoided, was giving a wanton blow to the commercial in- terest of both countries. Besides, said they, if we plunge into such measures, in the man- ner proposed, and upon no better grounds, we shall alarm all Europe : nor can we de- rive any advantage from this violent con- duct, which shall not be more than counter- balanced by the jealousy and terror it must excite in every nation round us. Before we 32 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. draw the sword, let the world he convinced of the perfidious designs of those whom we attack : let us not endeavor to surpass them in treachery ; and let not the lion debase himself to act the part of a fox. As to the seizure of the flota, added they, the thing it- self may be impracticable : perhaps that fleet is now safe in harbor; which conjecture proved to have been well founded, as the flota had entered Cadiz almost on the very day that Pitt had urged the expediency of intercepting it. But were we even sure of success, would not such a step be regarded as an arbitrary act of piracy, — as an unwar- rantable invasion of the property of others, without expostulation or warning 1 If Spain, blind to her true interests, and misled by French counsels, should enter more deci- sively into the views of that hostile court, it will be then the true time to declare war, when all the neighboring and impartial powers are convinced that we act with as much temper as resolution, and when every thinking man in the kingdom must be satis- fied, that he is not hurried into the hazards and expenses of war, from an idea of chi- merical heroism, but from inevitable neces- sity, and must therefore cheerfully contribute to the support of an administration, which, however firm, and confident of the resources of the state, yet dreads to waste them wan- tonly, or to employ them unjustly. Pitt, unaccustomed to such vigorous op- position, and probably stung, though not con- vinced by the arguments of the majority, gave full scope to his pride, and declared, that this was the moment for humbling the whole house of Bourbon ; that if so glorious an opportunity were let slip, it might never be recovered ; and if he could not prevail in the present instance, he was resolved this should be the last time of his sitting in that council. " I was called to the administra- tion of public affairs," said he, " by the voice of the people : to them I have always con- sidered myself as accountable for my con- duct; and therefore cannot remain in a situ- ation which makes me responsible for mea- sures I am no longer allowed to guide." To this declaration lord Granville, the president of the council, very coolly replied : " The gentleman, I find, is determined to leave us, and I cannot say I am sorry for it, as he would otherwise have certainly compelled lis to leave him ; for, if he is determined to assume solely the right of advising his ma- jesty, and directing the operations of the war, to what purpose are we here assem- bled 1 He may possibly have convinced him- self of his infallibility : still it remains, that we should be equally convinced, before we cm resign our understandings to liis direc- tion, or join with him in the measure he proposes." PITT'S RESIGNATION AND INTERVIEW WITH THE KING. In conformity to the resolution then ta- ken by Pitt and lord Temple, they both re- signed their employments. When Pitt car- ried the seals to the king, his majesty re- ceived them with ease and firmness : he ex- pressed his regret for the loss of so able a servant ; but he did not solicit him to resume his office : he candidly declared, that he was not only satisfied with the opinion of the majority of his council, but that he would have found himself under the greatest diffi- culty how to have acted, had that council concurred as fully in supporting the measure proposed by Pitt, as they had done in reject- ing it. In order, at the same time, to show his high opinion of Pitt's merit, his majesty made him a most gracious offer of any re- wards in the powder of the crown to bestow. Pitt was sensibly touched with the candor, the dignity, and condescension of this pro- ceeding. " I confess, sir," said he, " I had but too much reason to expect your majes- ty's displeasure. I did not come prepared for this exceeding goodness. Pardon me, sir, — it overpowers — it oppresses me." He burst into tears. He declined the distinction of nobility for himself, but accepted of other marks of royal favor. His majesty was gra- ciously pleased to direct, that a warrant be prepared for granting to the lady Hester Pitt, his wife, a barony of Great Britain, by the name, style, and title of baroness of Chatham to herself, and of baron of Chat- ham to her heirs male ; and also to confer upon the said William Pitt, esq. an annuity of three thousand pounds sterling, durmg his own life, and that of lady Hester Pitt, and their son John Pitt, esq. The duke of Bedford, the late lord-lieutenant of Ireland, was appointed keeper of the privy-seal, upon the resignation of lord Temple. ON MR. PITT'S CONDUCT. It cannot be a matter of surprise, that the resignation of so popular a minister as Pitt should have spread a momentary alarm, and excited the most violent conflict between the admirers and the censurers of his con- duct. The splendor of his talents, and the general success of his measures, afforded the former ample subjects of encomium ; while the latter found equal room for censure in the inconsistency of his opinions respecting the war on the continent, in his frequent misapplication of the national strength, but particularly in the overbearing haughtiness of his temper, which had obstructed the work of peace, had multiplied enemies abroad, and destroyed at home that happy- union of counsels, and combination of abili- ties, which were of the highest importance at so dangerous a crisis. The only remark, which can be fairly made on Pitt's avowed GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 83 motive for resigning, " because he would no longer be responsible for the measures he did not guide," is, that he showed himself more strongly attached to his own personal glory than to the interests of his country. This opinion of the moderate part of the na- tion at that time, has since received the sanction of the abbe Raynal, one of the most enlightened and impartial of modern histo- rians. INSTRUCTIONS TO THE AMBASSADOR AT MADRID. Though the majority of the council had opposed the late secretary's proposal for an immediate attack upon Spain, they were far from being perfectly satisfied with the an- swers of that court, or with its professions of amicable intention towards Great Britain. The French agents at foreign courts had also been very busy in circulating reports of tlie family compact between the diflferent branches of the house of Bourbon, in ex- pectation, no doubt, of frightening the new ministry of George HI. after Pitt's seces- sion, into a treaty of peace on their own terms. But they were unacquainted with the characters of the men whom they hoped to intimidate. The earl of Egremont, who had succeeded to the office of secretary for the southern department, wrote to the Brit- ish ambassador at Madrid, to desire him to make use of the most pressing instances to obtain an explicit account of that secret, though so much vaunted convention be- tween France and Spain, as absolutely ne- cessary before any farther negotiation could be entered into on the former points of dis- pute. "And in order," says he, " to prevent any perverse impressions, which Mr. Pitt's retiring from public business might occa- sion, it is proper that I should assure your excellency, that the measures of govern- ment will suffer no relaxation on that ac- count ; the spirit of the war will not subside with him : and the example of the spirit of the late measures will be a spur to his ma- jesty's servants to persevere, and to stretch every nerve of this country, in forcing the enemy to come into a safe, honorable, and, above all, a lasting peace. STEPS TAKEN BY THE MINISTRY. The British ministry soon convinced their countrymen, and all Europe, that the spirit of the nation, and the wisdom of its coun- cils, were not confined to a single man. They prepared for a rupture, in case it could not be honorably avoided, with the utmost viafor and judgment. A squadron of men- of-war, having under convoy a number of transports with four battalions from Belle- isle, sailed from England, the latter end of October, and was to be joined in the West Indies by such an accession of naval and military forces as would render the v/hole armament the most formidable that had been ever before seen in that part of the world. The immediate object of this expe- dition was the conquest of Martinico, and of the remaining French islands ; after which a part of the armament was to co-op- erate with another fleet from England, ui an attack on the Havanna, as soon as the refu- sal of proper satisfaction should render the commencement of hostilities justifiable. A third enterprise, to be directed against the Philippine islands, those great connecting links of the Spanish commerce in Asia and America, was also resolved upon, in con- formity to a plan of operations presented by colonel Draper to the first lord of the admi- ralty and to the new secretary of state. A NEW PARLIAMENT. During the suspension of those projects which were to make Spain repent of her baseness, presumption, and temerity, the new parliament met on the third of Novem- ber. The choice of a speaker imanimously fell on Sir John Gust, the member for Grant- ham : he was presented to his majesty on the sixth, when the king, after signifying his approbation, made a speech to both houses ; in which, after noticing his marriage, hia majesty vindicated himself from the failure of the late negotiation with France for peace, and stated the recent successes at Belleisle and Dominica, and the reduction of Pondicherry which had annihilated the French power in the East Indies. But the part of his speech, with which both houses seemed most aiFected, was his patriotic de- claration, that nothing should ever make him depart from the true interests of his king- doms. Warmed by so endearing a senti- ment, they begged his majesty to accept their most affectionate assurances, that they would dutifully and zealously correspond to the confidence he reposed in them, and con- cur with firmness and unanimity in what- ever might contribute to the public welfare, might tend to defeat the views and expect- ations of his enemies, and convince the world that there were no difficulties which his majesty's wisdom and perseverance, with the assistance of his parliament, could not surmount JOINTURE GRANTED TO THE QUEEN. The commons, besides the usual address in answer to his majesty's speech, farther resolved to send a message to tlie queen to congratulate her also on her nuptiala On the nineteent'i of November, two days after the delivery of the message, the commons gave her majesty a proof of the sincerity of their professions. They resolved, that in case she should survive his majesty, she should enjoy a provision of one hundred thousand pounds per annum during her life, together with the palace of Somerset-house, 34 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. and the lodge and lands at Richmond Park ; i and that the annuity should be charged upon all or any part of those revenues of the crown, which, by an act made in the last session, were consolidated with the aggre- gate fund. A bill formed on these resolu- tions passed both houses without opposition, and received the royal assent on the second of December, when the queen, who was pres- ent, and placed in a chair of state on the kuig's right hand, rose up, and made her obeisance. She had also the pleasure to hear the speaker renew, upon presenting the bill, the former assurances of the duty and affection of the commons, blended with the most respectful and delicate compliments to her majesty. REPEAL OF THE COMPELLING CLAUSE IN THE INSOLVENT ACT. Much clamor and discontent having been excited by the abuse of the compelling clause in the act, passed during the last session, for the relief of insolvent debtors, a motion for its repeal w^as the first legislative measure which engaged the attention of the new parliament. The majority being per- haps influenced by the violent outcry raised against the clause in the city of London and in some other mercantile towns, leave was given to bring in a bill for its repeal, which soon passed through the necessary stages, and received the sanction of royal authority. PROVISION FOR THE SERVICE OF THE ENSUING YEAR. Within a month after the first estimates had been laid before the house, they adjusted the whole business of supplies, and of ways and means, for the service of the ensuing year. They voted seventy thousand sea- men: they agreed to maintain the land forces, to the number of sixty-seven thousand six hundred and seventy-six effective men, over and above the militia in England, the two regiments of fencibles in North Britain, the provincial troops in America, and sixty- seven thousand one hundred and sixty-seven German auxiliaries to support the war in Westphalia. In proportioning the supply, they likewise made good the foreign subsi- dies, as well as the deficiencies in the grants of the last session : a loan of twelve millions was found necessary, which, of course, ren- dered some new taxes unavoidable. These were a farther tax upon windows, and addi- tional duties on spirituous liquors. The va- rious sums voted by the commons, from the twenty-first of November till the twenty- second of December, amounted to very near sixteen millions; to which were added, a few months after, above t^vo millions more, for the defence of Portugal and various other purposes ; so that the sum total of the sup- plies for the year 1762 exceeded eighteen millions. DEBATE ON THE GERMAN WAR. The only debate, to which such liberal grants of the public money gave rise at the present juncture, was on the expediency of the German war. This question had often before been agitated in parliament; and it seemed rather too late now to resume the discussion of measures in which Great Brit- ain was so far engaged that she could not recede with honor. The opponents of the continental system had another year's expe- rience to bring in support of their former assertions, that no adequate advantage could result from the most vigorous efforts in that quarter. They had also on their side the great body of the people, who, being no longer dazzled by brilliant exploits, had fallen into an almost general dislike of the plan of operations for the last two years, and who expected that their representatives would not silently acquiesce in the applica- tion of almost half the new loan to the sup- port of a useless and consuming war in Ger- many. The speakers against the German system represented it as a system of all others the most absurd, in which defeats were attended with their usual fatal effects, and victory itself would rob her of the fruits of her naval successes, and drain her exchequer to such a degree as would force her to buy peace by the restitution of all her conquests ; " that we never can, consistently with com- mon prudence, engage in a continental war against France, without a concurrence in our favor of the other powers on the conti- nent. This was the maxim of the great king William, and this the fouDdation of the grand alliance which he projected, and at the head of which, in defence of the lib- erties of Europe, he made the most august appearance of which human nature is capa- ble. It was on this principle, that, in con- junction with half Europe, we carried on the war with so m.uch honor and success against France, under the duke of Marlbo- rough. But to engage in a continental war with that power, not only unassisted but opposed by the greater part of those states with whom we were then combined, is an attempt never to be justified by any compar- ative calculation of the populousness, the revenues, or the general strength of the two nations. It is a desperate struggle, which must finally fend in our ruin." In addition to these arguments against continuing such destructive operations on the continent, they anticipated a reply which they knew would be made by their adversa- ries, namely, that the war in Germany had proved a most fortunate diversion in favor GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 85 of the English, by drawing off the forces and revenues, as well as the attention of France from her navy, from the defence of her colonies, and from any formidable en- terprises against Great Britain. All this they positively contradicted. " In the be- ginning of the war," they urged, "while there was any possibility of supporting their marine, the French attended to this object with the most assiduous care ; and while they saw any likelihood of uivading Eng- land with success, they had not the least idea of marching into Germany. The elec- torate of Hanover was so far from being thought in danger, that a body of troops was brought over thence to defend this country. But afterwards when France perceived that we were guarded against insult ; that her own navy was destroyed, and her colonies exposed; she then bethought herself of Germany ; and it was she, in reality, that diverted or transferred the war to the only place where she was capable of acting, and where she knew Great Britain must be ex- hausted, even by a succession of victories. The German war was not, on the part of England, a v/ar of diversion, but a war of defence, in favor of abarren electorate, which, if put up to sale, would not fetch half the money that is yearly expended in its behalf; for the protection of a country, whose in^ habitants are rendered miserable by the as- sistance they receive ; and for the support of an ally, from whom no mutual service can be expected. If a third part of the money thus squandered away on the conti- nent had been employed in giving addi- tional vigor to the naval armaments of Great Britain, France, by this time, would not have one settlement left in the West Indies ; all the profits of her external com- merce must have ceased ; and she must have been absolutely obliged to accept such terms of peace as England should think proper to prescribe." ON CONTINENTAL ALLIANCES. After having thus commented upon the infatuation of Great Britain in renouncing the advantages of her naval superiority, and in leaving her enemies the choice of a field where defeat could do them little harm, and where she herself must be exhausted even by a succession of her own victories, the patriotic speakers made some very severe remarks on the particular engagements we had entered into with some of the continen- tal powers. " We had," as they asserted, " officiously meddled with the internal broils of the empire, and taken a part in disputes which would have been much better adjust- ed without our interference. We had not only sent oflf from more useful service, the flower of our armies to defend the territories of some petty German princes, but we con- tracted enormous debts to pay those princes for assisting us in guarding their rights, and in fighting their lM,ttles. Was such an ab- surdity in politics," they asked, " ever before heard of? Is England to be the knight-er- rant of Europe, and to neglect her own im- mediate concerns and her solid interests in the pursuit of foreign phantoms 1 Are we to waste all our resources upon Hanoverians, Hessians, Brunswickers ; — allies, who, if they merit that name, serve only to protract the feeble eflbrts of a system, in which no- thing could so effectually contribute to our safety as an early and total defeat 1 But even these connexions," they said, " though bur- densome and unavailing, did not half so much expose the ignorance of our negotiators, as the treaty made with the king of Prussia, to whom we annually paid a sum exceeding the whole amount of the subsidies granted in queen Anne's war to all her German allies put together ; and who was so far from being able to aflford any relief to our armies, that he was scarcely in a condition to support himself We look upon him, it is true, as the protector of the Protestant religion : but how lightly he thinks of all religion, his writings testify ; and what mischiefs he has done the Protestant cause in particular, this war will be a lasting memorial. He invad- ed and cruelly oppressed Saxony, a Protest- ant country, where he found the people se- cured from any molestation on account of their religious opinions. Even among the Roman Catholics, persecution had lost much of its edge, when he revived its memory ; and, by forcing the popish powers into a strict union, brought more calamities upon the di- vided Protestants than they had ever expe- rienced during the utmost rancor of a holy war." Those, however, who embraced the oppo- site side of the question, made a very inge- nious defence. They ridiculed the idea of going back half a century to the reign of king William or queen Anne, to examine the principles of a continental war, or to compare the policy and resources of the two contending nations. "The present time," said they, "is the only just criterion by which we can judge; and here we have manifestly the advantage. The success which our arms, alone and unassisted, have had in this contest with France, is a suf- ficient proof that we are an overmatch for aU her power." In answer to what had been urged against the folly of waging war on the continent, they ascribed to this very scheme the happy issue of all our other operations. The at- tention of our rival was thereby distracted between the different enterprises at sea and land : eagerly grasping at two grand objects, she had missed both ; and the only fruits of 36 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. her mighty exertions were the ruin of her trade, the destruction of her marine, the loss of her colonies, and the impending terrors of a national bankruptcy. " Was it not," they added, "by involving France in the German war, that we diverted her from the vigorous defence of her distant possessions, and that we have become masters of some of the most considerable of them 1 Was it not in consequence of her embarking so heartily in that war, that she afforded us an opportunity of giving such a blow to her na- val power as she may never, perhaps, be able to recover 1 And has she made any pro- gress in Germany to counterbalance her dis- appointments elsewhere 1 Far from it. At this instant she is less advanced than she was the first year she entered that country, after having spent immense sums of money, and lost by the sword, by disease, and deser- tion, at least one hundred thousand of her people. Even on the continent, where our enemies have made the most desperate push, have they not been frequently defeated Has not Hanover been recovered and pro- tected 1 Has not the king of Prussia been preserved, so long at least, from the rage of his enemies 1 And have not the liberties of Germany in general been hitherto secured? Had we lain by, and tamely beheld that vast empire in part possessed, and the rest com^ pelled to receive laws from France, the war there would soon have been brought to an end ; and France, strengthened by victory, conquest, and alliance, would have the whole force and the whole revenue of her monar- chy to act against us alone." They argued farther, " that if the support of the Protestant religion be any part of our care, that religion must suffer eminently by the ruin of the king of Prussia; for though the writings attributed to his Prussian ma- jesty be such as, if really his, reflect, on ac- count of their impiety, great disgrace on his character as a man ; yet as a king, in his public and political capacity, he is the nat- ural protector of the Protestant religion in Germany ; and it will always be his interest to defend it." Whatever might have been the senti- ments of the new ministry respecting the original policy of the German war, they saw very well that it could not now be honora- bly or consistently relinquished. The faith of parliament was also pledged to assist the allies ; and the best judges were of opinion, that vigorous efforts for one campaign more would terminate the contest, and bring the French to reasonable terms. The opposi- tion therefore to continental measures, how- ever well supported by argument, was over- ruled by numbers, and expired in the warmth of debate. Yet it waa not wholly unpro- ductive of good effects. It showed govern- ment very clearly what the sense of the na- tion was on the subject; and it prevented the renewal of the annual convention with the king of Prussia, though assurances were at the same time given him of pecuniary aid, as before. THE FAMILY COMPACT AVOWED. The parliament adjourned to the nine- teenth of January. During that recess the public attention was roused to an incident of national importance. Before the earl of Egremont's dispatches concerning the fam- ily compact could reach Madrid, the English ambassador there had hunself received in- telligence of the treaty, and of the hopes which the French made no secret of deriv- ing from it. He therefore thought it his duty to desire some satisfaction on that head from Wall, the Spanish secretary of state. But though he expressed his uneasiness in consequence of such rumors with equal force and delicacy, Wall, evading a direct reply to the main point of inquiry, entered into a long and bitter complaint, not only of the treatment which Spain had received from the British court, but of the haughti- ness of its late proceedings with France. " He told me," says the earl of Bristol in his letter of the second of November, " we were intoxicated with all our successes, and a continued series of victories had elated us so far, as to induce us to contemn the rea- sonable concessions France had consented to make ; but that it was evident, by this re- fusal, all we aimed at was, first to ruin the French power, in order more easily to crush Spain, to drive all the subjects of the Chris- tian king not only from their island colonies in the new world, but also to destroy their several forts and settlements upon the con- tinent of North America, to have an easier task in seizing upon all the Spanish domin- ions in those parts, thereby to satisfy the utmost of our ambition, and to gratify our unbounded thirst of conquest." Wall add- ed, with uncommon warmth, " that he would himself be the man to advise the king of Spain, since his dominions were to be over- whelmed, at least to have them seized witli arms in his subjects' hands, and not to con- tinue the passive victim he had hitherto appeared to be in the eyes of the world." Such a sudden change of sentiments and discourse, — such an abrupt and unprovoked transition, in the Spanish secretary of state, from the most cordial and conciliatory tone of friendly profession and amicable adjust- ment, to the most peremptory and haughty style of menace and hostility, could not but astonish and perplex the earl of Bristol. He was naturally led into various conjectures, to account for this incoherency of behavior. At first, he imagined that the late arrival at Cadiz of two ships with extraordinary rich GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 37 carg-oes, containing the remainder of the wealtli that was expected from Spanish America, had raised the language of the court of Madrid, added to the progress, whicli, it was reported, the French army was making in the king of England's electoral dominions, and the success attending the Austrian operations in Silesia. He ascribed the former soothing declarations of the Span- ish ministers to the consciousness of their naval inferiority ; and he supposed that those fears were now removed, or greatly abated by the safe arrival of the above ships, and by the continual flatteries of the French, who, whilst they inflamed the jealousy of Spain at the British conquests, and solicited a junc- tion of forces to put a stop to them, never ceased assuring the Spaniards, that even the signing of an alliance between the two great branches of the house of Bourbon would in- timidate England, not only upon account of its being exhausted by the present long and expensive war, but by its having felt t^e fa- tal consequences of an interruption of the Spanish trade, during the last war. But, though all these circumstances very proba- bly co-operated in producing so great a revo- lution in the Spanish councils ; yet the earl of Bristol was afterwards convinced, that its immediate cause was the intelligence then received at Madrid of Pitt's violent proposal in the cabinet, before he went out of office. Mis excellency's sentiments on this point are thus expressed in a subsequent letter to the earl of Egremont, dated Madrid, De- cember the seventh. " What occasioned the great fermentation at this court, the effects of which I felt from general Wall's animated discourse at the Escurial, was notice having reached the Catholic king, that the change which had happened in the English administration was relative to measures proposed to be taken against this country. Hence arose that sud- den wrath and passion, which, for a short time, affected the Spanish court : as it was thought most extraordinary here, that the declaring war agamst the Catholic king should ever have been moved in his majes- ty's councils, since the Spaniards have al- ways looked upon themselves as the aggriev' ed party ; and, of course, never could im- agine that the English would be the first to begin a war with them." But whatever impression Pitt's proposal may have made on the minds of the Span- iards, the justest praise was certainly due to the earl of Bristol's conduct in this delicate conjuncture. Though totally unprepared for a conference that differed so widely from all former conversations on the same subject, he replied with coolness to the invectives, and with firmness to the menaces of the Span- ish minister. After refuting in the best man- VoL. IV. 4 ner what Wall had urged, he returned to his first demand, an explanation concerning the treaty. As often as a direct answer was evaded, the same question was again put; and at length the only reply, that could with difficulty be extorted, was, " That his Catho- lic majesty had judged it expedient to re- new his family compacts with the most Christian king. Then Wall, as if he had gone beyond what he intended, suddenly broke off the discourse ; and no further sat- isfaction could be obtained. AMBASSADOR AT MADRID RECALLED. On the receipt of these advices from the earl of Bristol, the ministry did not hesitate a moment, respecting the line they were to pursue. They saw evidently that there was little reason to hope for any good efiectd from farther patience and forbearance ; that the continuance of their former moderation might be attributed to timidity ; and that the language of Spain would no longer permit any doubt of her hostile intentions. Not a moment was therefore lost in sending back orders to the English ambassador, directing him to renew his former instances relative to the treaty with France, and to demand a clear and categorical declaration from tlie court of Madrid, whether they meaned to depart in any manner from their professed neutrality, and to join in hostilities agamst Great Britain. These points he was to urge with energy, but without the mixture of any thing which might irritate ; and he was far- ther authorized to signify, that a peremptory refusal to communicate the treaty, or to dis- avow an intention to take part with the de- clared and inveterate enemies of Great Britain, could not be looked upon by the king of England in any light, but as an ag- gression on the part of Spain, and as an ab- solute declaration of war. The earl of Bris- tol acted in strict conformity to such decisive, yet temperate instructions. He gradually unfolded the purport and extent of them in two conferences wdth Wall, on the sixth and the eighth of December ; and, in two days afler, he received a letter from that minis- ter, stating that " the spirit of haughtiness and of discord, which, for the misfortune of mankind, still reigns so much m the British government, is what made, in the same m- stant, the declaration of war, and attacked the king's dignity. Your excellency may think of retiring when, and in what man- ner, it is convenient to you ; which js the only answer that, without detaining you, his majesty has ordered me to give you." SPANISH AMBASSADOR'S MANIFESTO. The earl of Bristol left Madrid the ser- enteenth of December ; and on the twenty- fifth of tlie same month the Spanish ambas- sador in London received letters of recall from hie court The note, which he delir- 38 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ered on that occasion to the secretary of state, was somewhat in the nature of a mani- festo, charging the war on the pride and un- measurable amhition of the late secretary, and on the little respect shown to his Catlio- lic majesty, both during that minister's con- tinuance in office, and since his resignation. Lord Egremont's memorial in reply, dated the thirty-first of December, did not stoop to personal invectives, but proved by an ex- act and faithful detail of what had passed between the two courts, that Spain alone was to be blamed for all the misfortunes in- separable from a rupture. The facts already related will best show what degree of stress should be laid on the assertions of either party. NOTE TO CHAPTER TIL 1 These were net mere mattefs of ceremony, as the tenures of sundry manors, and the enjoyment of cor > tain nghta and iAheritances depended «n i^ JMrfomtaAce of particular a^xviua at the corouation. GEORGE m. 1760.— 1820. 39 CHAPTER IV. War declared against Spain — Debate in the lAyrds — Protest on a Motion for withdraw- ing the Troops from Germany — Popularity of this Protest — Duty on Beer and Ale causes a tumult in London — Amendments of the Militia Laws — An Act for Regis- tering of Parish Children — Bill for the Extension of the Duke of Bridgewater*8 Canals — Account of Harrison's Time-piece and Inoin's Marine-chair — Addition to the former Grants of the Commons — His Majesty* s Message on the imminent Dan- ger of Portugal — The Session closed with a Speech from the Throne — Extraordi- nary Change in the King of Prussia's Situation, occasioned by the Death of the Empress of Russia — Steps immediately taken by her Successor, Peter HI. — Depo- sition and Death of Peter HI. — Prudent Policy of the Empress Catherine 11. — Sketch of the Prussian Operations during the Remainder of the Campaign — Vic- tory obtained by the Allies at Graebenstein — This Action a Prelude to Enterprises, in which Gottingen and Cassel were recovered, and the French almost totally driven out of Hesse — State of Portugal when threatened by the Bourbon Confederacy — Memorial presented to the Court of Lisbon by the Ministers of France and Spain — Reply followed by a Declaration of War — Immediate and effectual Assistance af- forded by Great Britain — Lord Tyrawley dissatisfied with the Portuguese Ministry, and recalled — Plan of the Campaign — Progress of the Spanish Army under the Marquis de Sarria — Almeida taken, and a considerable part of the Province of Bei- ra overrun by Spanish Troops — Good Consequences of the Count de la Lippe's Ar- rival in Portugal — Surprise of Valencia d* Alcantara by General Burgoyne — An- other more decisive blow struck by the same General and Colonel Lee at Villa Velha — The Spaniards forced to retreat to their own Frontiers — Triumphs of Great Brit- ain at Sea — Descent on the Island of Martinico — Surrender of the Island — Submis- sion of the Grenades, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and other dependent Isles — Armament destined against the Havannah — Its Harbor described — Siege of the Moro — The Moro stormed, and carried by assault — Operations against the Town, and its Sur- render — Importance of this Conquest — Capture of the Hermione, a Spanish Regis- ter-ship — Invasion of the Philippinps designed — Celerity of the Preparations made for it at Madras — Arrival of the Squadron at Manilla — The Town taken by Storm, but saved from a justly merited Pillage — The Galleon from Manilla to Acapulco taken — The only Exception to the universal Success of the British Arms, the Fail- ure of a private Expedition against Buenos Ay res — Summary of the Disasters sus- tained by Spain during her short Concern in the War — France involved in the like Calamities — Attempt to burn the British Squadron in the Bay of Basque — New- foundland taken and retaken — A Negotiation the only Resource of the House of Bourbon. WAR DECLARED AGAINST SPAIN. It would not be very easy to point out any period of the history of England, in which the character of the nation was better sup- ported by its government than at the opening of the year 1762. Calm, yet resolute; threatened by an extraordinary combination of enemies, yet prepared to resist their per- fidious efforts ; the British ministry discov- ered no precipitation or alarm at Spain's having finally thrown off" the mask, but took the most effectual measures to revenge so daring an abuse of their candor and forbear- ance. A clear account of the endeavors which had been used to accommodate the disputes with Spain in an amicable manner, and of the circumstances which now ren- dered a rupture unavoidable, was given at full length in his majesty's declaration of the second of January : war against that country was formally proclaimed on the fourth ; and, on the nineteenth, being the day to which both houses of parliament had adjourned, the king informed them of the steps, which he was obliged to take since their recess. PROTEST AGAINST THE WAR IN GER- MANY. The commons were unanimous in their approbation of his majesty's conduct respect- ing Spain, and in their assurances of steady and vigorous support to prosecute this just and necessary war. The lords agreed to an address expressive of the same sentiments ; but the consideration of the speech gave rise to a debate on the most effectual means of carrying on the war, in which they discov- ered great difference of opinion. No com- plete report of this debate has been pre- served ; but the spirit of it may be collected from a protest, which was then entered on 40 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the journals. By this it appears, that on Friday the fifth of February, when the lords, according to order, proceeded to take the speech into consideration, a motion was made for declaring it to be the opinion of the house, " that the war then carried on in Germany was necessarily attended with a great and enormous expense, and that, notwithstanding all the efforts that could possibly be made, there seemed no probability the army there, in the pay of Great Britain, so much inferior to that of France, could be put into such a situation as to effectuate any good purpose whatsoever ; and that the bringing the Brit- ish troops home from Germany would ena- ble his majesty more effectually to carry on with vigor the war against the united forces of France and Spain, give strength and secu- rity to Great Britain and Ireland, support the public credit, and, by easing the nation of a load of expense, be the likeliest means, un- der the blessing of God, to procure a safe and honorable peace ;" which motion was strong- ly objected to, and the previous question car- ried by a majority of one hundred and five against sixteen. Seven, however, of the latter, uicluding the duke of Bedford, one of the principal members of administration, signed a protest, expressive of their dissent from such proceedings for the following rea- sons: " 1st. Because the main question being so true in every particular, which was assented to by most of the lords who spoke in this de- bate, and no argument being alleged that it was unconstitutional, the previous question should not, in the present case, have been insisted on, as thereby the lords were de- barred from laying before the throne their sense on a matter of this importance. " 2dly. Because in the debate there was no shadow of argument used, to show the impropriety of this question being brought before the house at this time, or that it was prematurely undertaken by the lord who moved it : on the contrary, it was proved by irrefragable arguments, that if the matter was right to be done, no time should be lost in bringing the British forces home during their winter-quarters, which was the only season when it could be done with safety, and without any possible impediment from the enemy. " 3dly. The present situation of the war, by the additional weight of the crown of Spain being thrown into the scales against us, doth undoubtedly require, at this very critical time, the utmost frugality towards easing the nation from any unnecessary ex- pense, and, as the present war in Germany is indisputably carried on at a great and enormous expense, and, in the general con- ception of mankmd, without any possibility of any good being reaped from it, it seems the undoubted right of every lord of this house to submit to parliament his opinion against a longer continuance of sucli mea- sures, as have already proved so detrimental to the public, by involving this nation in an additional debt of near six millions yearly, without serving any one British purpose, or even supporting with efficacy those coun- tries for whose preservation it has been pre- tended these immense supplies have been granted. " 4thly. A continental war carried on in Germany without allies, and at the sole ex- pense of Great Britain, whilst this nation is involved in a war with the two most con siderable maritime powers of Europe, can not be esteemed a system of true policy ; as France, let the success against her arms be ever so great, is not vulnerable from that quarter ; and Spain, on account of her dis- tance, would, doubtless, not be intimidated by the success of the British arms in Ger- many. "5thty. The expedience of tlie present continental war cannot be justified, either on the principles of its being a war for the diversion of the forces of France from the invading his majesty's dominions, or the suc- coring their own colonies, both of whicli they are incapacitated from doing, by the ruin of their naval force ; neither can it be alleged as a measure calculated to support the king of Prussia, who is not at war witli France, nor in danger, though the Britisli troops should be withdrawn, of being crush- ed by that pov/er, whose interest will un- doubtedly restrdin. iier from taking a step, which could only tend to the ag'grandize- ment of the house of Austria, the ancient and natural rival of the house of Bourbon. " 6thly. The present great scarcity of spe- cie, and the low state of the public funds, render it the indispensable duty of this house to suggest to the throne every means of preventing an unnecessary profusion of the public treasure, more especially when the payments that must be daily made, and which must be done by the exportation of bullion, must unavoiJably cause such a stag- nation of trade and industry as may be of the most fatal consequence to this country, which can in no degree be compensated for on the ill-grounded notion that the expenses of the enemy are equally great and burden- some to them, which is not only denied, as it can never be proved, but is moreover ex- ploded by this undeniable truth, that France, by withdrawing her troops, can put an end to it w^henever she pleases, and without any danger to herself of being attacked by an inferior number on her own frontiers on that side, and which, as she has not yet done, is a sufficient proof of the truth of this propo- sition. GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 41 "7thly. The agreeing to the resolution proposed, could be in no degree construed as a breach of faith to our allies, or a stain to the honor of the nation, as we are bound by no treaties to keep an army in Germany, and the war on that continent seems to have been entered into voluntarily by us, without being called upon by any other powers, and most precipitately taken up again, when it had been so happily extinguished by the convention of Closter-Seven." This protest, which contained a summary of the most forcible arguments that had been urged against the prosecution of the German war, was highly and almost univer- sally applauded by the people ; and though it produced no immediate change in the measures of government, it strengthened the impression made by the former debate of the commons on the same subject ; and it showed very evidently, that, if the ensuing campaign should not put an end to the con- tinental struggle, any farther supplies for its continuance would be obtained with ex- treme difficulty. TUMULT OCCASIONED BY THE DUTY ON BEER. The other transactions in this sessions of parliament make so little show, when com- pared with the occurrences of the same pe- riod on the theatre of war, as to admit of only a few concise remarks. The operation of the act for laying a further duty on beer and ale, being now felt in its fullest extent, the streets of London and Westminster were filled with tumult, vowed revenge against the brewers for exacting a higher price than usual from the publicans, and threatened to pull down the houses of any of the latter who should continue to charge an additional halfpenny for every quart of porter. The intimidated parties, under the terror of such menaces, petitioned the house of commons ; a bill was passed in favor of their request, which had the desired effect : it not only re- strained the mob from committing any acts of outrage, but tended greatly to abate their clamor. AMENDMENTS OF THE MILITIA AND OTHER LAWS. A GREAT deal of confusion was also pre- vented by some wise and wholesome amend- ments of the militia laws. An exact line was drawn between those who were liable to serve, and such as were exempted from any compulsion. The former were to be chosen by ballot, as before ; or otherwise the parish officers, with the consent of the inhabitants, were authorized to provide vol- unteers, by a rate on the parish, in propor- tion to that for the relief of their poor. Thus every man was obliged to pay his quota ; and all parishes had it in their power to keep their useful hands at home, and to em- ploy the idle and dissolute in the service of their country. As a check upon the cruelties, which were strongly suspected to be exercised by the nurses of parish children, a law was enacted for keeping an annual register of those infants in every parish, under the age of four, that it might always be known in what parishes the greatest mortality pre- vailed among these children. In this session, a bill readily passed through both houses, for enabling the duke of Bridge water to extend his canal, from Longford Bridge to the river Mersey, so as to open a communication with Liverpool. The branches of this inland navigation have since been extended to all the manufacturing towns of the adjoining counties ; and the duke lived to complete an undertaking of greater magnitude, and of more national utility, than had ever before been attempted by any individual. REWARDS FOR METHODS OF ASCER- TAINING THE LONGITUDE. Rewards for the discovery of the longi- tude had long been the object of an express law ; but it was now deemed necessary to render that act more effectual, by extending the benefit of it to persons who should make any satisfactory progress towards so desira- ble an end, though their experiments might fall short of its full accomplishment. Har- rison, a clock-maker, of London, had con- trived a curious time-piece, which, under the direction of his son, was tried in a voy- age to the West Indies, and found to suc- ceed infinitely be3^ond anything hitherto in- vented for the same purpose. He and his son were immediately rewarded with a grant of fifteen hundred pounds : and, the year afler, he obtained from parliament five thou- sand pounds more, for discovering the prin- ciples on which his instrument was con- structed. Irwin, a native of Ireland, had also contrived a marine-chair, by means of which the immersions and emersions of Ju- piter's satellites might be accurately observ- ed, in the roughest weather at sea, and the longitude, of course, ascertained. Afler some satisfactory trials of this machine, five hundred pounds were bestowed on the in- ventor, as the recompense of his mgenuity. VOTE FOR THE RELIEF OF PORTUGAL. Besides the other supplies voted for the service of the year, the house of commons, afler a short debate, concurred in granting his majesty one million upon account, for the purposes specified in the following mes- sage, which was laid before the house on the eleventh of May, and taken into consid- eration on the thirteenth : " His majesty relying on the known zeal and affection of his faithful commons, and considering" that in this conjuncture, emer- 42 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. gencies may arise, which may be of the ut- most importance, and be attended with the most pernicious consequences, if proper means should not be immediately applied to prevent or defeat them ; and his majesty also taking into his most serious consideration the imminent danger with which the king- dom of Portugal, an ancient and natural ally of his crown, is threatened by the powers now in open war with his majesty, and of what importance the preservation of that kingdom is to the commercial interests of this country, is desirous that this house will enable him to defray any extraordinary ex- penses of the war incurred, or to be mcurred tor the service of the year 1762; and to take all such measures as may be necessary to disappoint, or defeat any enterprises, or designs of his enemies against his majesty, or his allies, and as the exigency of affau-s may require." In the debate, to which this message gave rise, Pitt supported, with becoming consist- ency, the resolution of the committee of supply. SESSION CLOSES. Both houses sat a few days longer to com- plete the business then before them; and, on the second of June, his majesty put an end to the session with a speech, in which he expressed the highest approbation of the zeal, unanimity and dispatch, so signally manifested in the course of their proceed- mgs. He said, that his own sentiments re- specting war and peace continued invariably the same, and that it gave him great satis- faction to find them confirmed by the voice of his parliament. He took notice of a late change in the government of Russia, and of its probable consequences: he mentioned the rupture with Spain, and the danger that threatened Portugal, as proofs of the wisdom and necessity of the vigorous measures which had been resolved upon : he pointed out some of the happy eflfects already pro- duced by these measures, in the conquest of Martinico, and the acquisition of many other valuable settlements in the West In- dies. DEATH OF THE EMPRESS OF RUSSIA, AND SUCCESSION OF PETER III. The hopeless situation of the king of Prussia at the close of the last campaign has been already described. The loss of Col- berg, on one side, and of Schweidnitz, on the other, left his dominions almost witliout a barrier ; and his army was too much reduc- ed to face any of the invaders in the open field. No resource of policy, no effort of skill or heroism, could any longer be tried with the least probability of success. At this alarming crisis, the storm just ready to burst upon his head, was happily dissipated by one of those unexpected events which give a sudden turn to the fortune of na tions, after all the means of human fore- sight and exertion have failed. His most dangerous and inveterate enemy, the em- press of Russia, died on the second of Jan- uary, and was succeeded by her nephew, the duke of Holstein, a prince of very dif- ferent sentiments. As none, however, but those who were most intimately acquainted with his character and disposition, could pretend to determine whether he would abandon or pursue the system of his prede- cessor, the eyes of all Europe were anxious- ly turned towards the court of Petersburgh, m order to observe the direction of his early councils. The new czar, who ascended the throne by the name of Peter III. began his reign with some very laudable and popular regu- lations. His foreign politics, in which Eu- rope was principally concerned, seemed to be governed by the same mild spirit. He ordered a memorial to be delivered, on the twenty-third of February, to the ministers of his allies, in which he declared. That, in order to procure the re-establishment of peace, as he preferred to every other con- sideration the first law which God prescrib- ed to sovereigns, the preservation of the people intrusted to them, he was ready to sacrifice all the conquests made by tlie arms of Russia during the war, in hopes that the allied courts would, on their part, equally prefer the restoration of peace and tranquil- lity to the advantages which they might ex- pect from the war, but which they could ob- tain only by a continuance of the effusion of human blood. He ordered a cessation of arms, the sixteenth of March, on receiv- ing an unsatisfactory answer to his memo- rial, from the courts of Vienna and Ver- sailles ; and, in about six weeks after, he entered into an alliance with his favorite monarch, without paying the least regard to the interests of his former confederates. He even joined part of his forces to those of his new ally, in order to drive the Austrians out of Silesia, while he commanded another army to march towards Holstein. Sweden soon followed the example, or rather acted under the direction of Russia, in concluding a peace with the court of Berlin. SUCCESSES OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA. The king of Prussia lost no time to profit by this great, and almost miraculous revolu- tion in his favor. The load which had so long oppressed him, and against which he had borne up with astonishing fortitude, be- ing now much lightened, he was again en- abled to exert the full powers of his genius agamst his remaming enemies. His first object was the recovery of Schweidnitz, the next the expulsion of the Austrians out of Silesia ; and in the attainment of these im- GEORGE III. 1760-^1820. 43 portant ends he was greatly assisted by the i valor and military skill of his brother, who gained a sig-nal victory, on the twelt'th of May, over the Austrians and imperialists, near Freyberg in Saxony. By this blow prince Henry became so fully master of that electorate, that the Austrians found it ne- cessary to withdraw a considerable body of troops from the war in Silesia, to prevent, if possible, his making irruptions into the heart of Bohemia. Marshal Daun, however, with a large army, still occupied some em- inences in the neighborhood of Schweid- nitz, by which he was enabled to protect that city. But the king of Prussia, being jomed by the Russian troops, in the latter end of June, undertook to dislodge the Aus- trian general from those advantageous posts, and finally succeeded. As a direct attack was found to be impracticable, the king had recourse to a variety of masterly move- ments, which made his adversary apprehen- sive for the safety of his principal maga- zine, and even that his communication with Bohemia might be cut off. The cautious Daun accordingly fell back to the frontiers of Silesia, and left Schweidnitz exposed. His Prussian majesty immediately prepared i'ov the siege ; whilst different detachments of his troops, some on the side of Saxony, others on that of Silesia, penetrated deep into Bohemia, laid many parts of the coun- try under contribution, and spread universal alarm. A body of Russian irregulars also made an irruption into the same kingdom, and there retaliated on the Austrians those cruel ravages, which, at the instigation of the court of Vienna, the same barbarous en- emy had formerly committed on the Prus- sian dominions. Whilst the indefatigable Frederic, was thus conducting, with equal spirit and abili ty, that bold plan of operations which unex pected circumstances had enabled him to form, he was threatened with a sudden re- verse of fortune, in consequence of another ravolution in Russia. Peter III. in his rage for reform, made more new regulations, in a few weeks, than a prudent prince would have hazarded, in a long reign. His first measures, as before observed, seemed well calculated to procure him the affections of his people ; but, being of a rash and irregu- lar turn of mind, he in many instances shocked their prejudices, even while he consulted their interests. DEPOSITION AND DEATH OF PETER III, AND SUCCESSION OF CATHERINE II. Whilst he was taking these steps to alienate the minds of the people in general, and especially of those bodies whose attach- ment it was his great interest to secure, he had not the good fortune to live in union with his own family. He had long slighted his consort, the present empress, a woman of a masculine understanding, by whoise counsels he might have profited ; and lived in a very public manner with the countess of Woronzoff! The dissatisfied part of the nobility, clergy, and chief officers of the army, encouraged by this domestic dissen- sion, assembled in the capital during the czar's absence at one of his country-seats, deposed him formally, and invested his wife with the imperial ensigns. She put herself at the head of the malcontents, and marched without delay in quest of her husband. He was indulging himself in indolent amuse- ments at a house of pleasure near the sea- shore, when the terrible news reached him. As soon as he recovered from the first shock, he attempted to escape to Holstem, but was seized and thrown into prison, after having been induced by the vain hope of life to sign a paper, in which he declared his conviction of his inability to govern the empire, and his sense of the distress it must be involved in were he to continue at the head of affairs. This cowardly sacrifice of his character did not preserve his life : he expired a few days after, on the sixth of July ; and his sudden death excited neither surprise nor specula- tion, as dethroned princes have seldom been allowed to languish long in the glooms of a dungeon. Catherine II. who now assumed the reins of empire, pursued a Ime of conduct almost diametrically opposite to that of her infatu- ated husband. It w^as even supposed, that she would disclaim and annul the treaty con- cluded between the late czar and the king of Prussia, which was a very unpopular measure at Petersburgh. But fortunately for Frederic, the new empress did not think her situation sufficiently secure to enga^-e in foreign hostilities. It is also said, that upon searching among her husband's papers for the Prussian monarch's correspondence, she found that his majesty had disapproved of all Peter's violent measures, and had counselled him to be tender of his consort, to desist from his pretensions to Sleswick, and not to attempt any changes in the re- ligion, or the fundamental laws of his coun- try. Letters of this kind must have tended very much to confirm her in her pacific dis- position. She accordingly declared to the Prussian minister at her court, " that she was resolved to observe inviolably, in all pomts, the perpetual peace concluded under the preceding reign ; but that she had thought proper, nevertheless, to order back to Rus- sia, by the nearest roads, all her troops in Silesia, Prussia, and Pomerania." And al- though this change from a strict alliance to a mere neutrality, made no small difTerence in the state of the king of Prussia's alTairs ; yet it must be regarded, all things consid- 44 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ered, as an escape scarcely less wonderful than the former, especially as all the impor- tant places, which the Russians had with so much bloodshed acquired, were faithfully re- stored to that monarch. PRUSSIAN OPERATIONS. His Prussian majesty, instead of being discouraged by the order sent for the return of the Russians, only acted with the more vigor. He attacked marshal Daun the day after its arrival, but before the news had reached the Austrian camp, and drove him, by terror, no less than force of arms, from the heights of Buckersdorf, with considera- ble loss. He next invested Schweidnitz in person ; and obliged that much-contested town, though defended by a garrison of nine thousand men, to surrender, after a siege of two months, in spite of the utmost efforts of Laudohn and Daun to obstruct his opera- tions. The moment he found himself mas- ter of this city, and eventually of all Sile- sia, he began to turn his eye towards Saxony. He reinforced his brother's army in that electorate, and took some other steps which seemed to indicate a design upon Dresden. These preparations, and another victory ob- tained by prince Henry near Freyberg, far more decisive than the former, induced the court of Vienna to conclude a cessation of hostilities with his Prussian majesty for Saxony and Silesia. In consequence of this impolitic and partial truce, which provided neither for the safety of the dominions of the house of Austria, nor of those members of the empire that were attached to its in- terests, one body of the Prussian army broke into Bohemia, advanced nearly to the gates of Prague, and destroyed a valuable maga- zine ; while another fell upon the same country in a different quarter, and laid the greater part of the town of Egra in ashes, by a shower of bombs and red-hot bullets. Some parties penetrated into the heart of Franconia, and even as far as Suabia, laying waste the country, exacting heavy contribu- tions, and spreading ruin and dismay on every side. The money levied in these pre- datory expeditions is supposed to have amounted to a million sterling, two hundred thousand pounds of which were paid by the industrious and free city of Nuremberg. Many of the princes and states found them- selves obliged to sign a neutrality, in order to save their territories from farther rav- ages ; and most others were so disabled by the late defeat in Saxony, or exhausted by the subsequent incursions, that no prospect remained of their being able to furnish, for the next campaign, any army under the im- perial name and authority. OPERATIONS OF THE ALLIES IN GER- MANY. The other part of the German war, which rested wholly on the support of Great Brit- ain, was pushed with a degree of spirit and perseverance by no means inferior to those signal exertions of the Prussian arms. The forces under prince Ferdinand being amply provided with all necessaries, and recruited to the number of one hundred thousand ef- fective men, were the first to take the field ; and soon found an opportunity of striking a blow, the consequences of which were not recovered by the enemy, during the remain- der of the campaign. This did the allies the greater honor, because the French ar- mies had also been augmented, so as still to preserve their former superiority of num- bers ; but their generals were changed. Marshal Broglio was recalled, and the com- mand of the army on the Weser was given to his rival, the prince of Soubise, assisted by marshal d'Etrees ; while the army on the Lower Rhine was committed to the di- rection of the prince of Conde. The hered- itary prince was posted with a strong de- tachment in the bishopric of Munster, to check the progress of the latter ; and prince Ferdinand in person, with the main body of his forces, lay behind the Dymel, to make head against the former, and, if possible, to strip them of their conquests in Hesse. Their numbers and the strength of their po- sition seemed equally discouraging to such an attempt Their infantry consisted of one hundred battalions: that of the allies was composed but of sixty. The ground, on which the French were encamped near the village of Graebenstein, in the frontiers of Hesse, had been very judiciously chosen, both for command of the coimtry, and the difficulty of approaching them. Their centre occupied an advantageous eminence : their left wing was almost inaccessible, owing to several deep ravines; and their right was covered by the adjoining village, by several rivulets, and a large detachment under one of their best officers, Monsieur Castries. In such a situation, they imagined they had nothing to fear, particularly as a considera- ble corps of the allied army under general Luckner was employed at some distance in watching the motions of prince Xavier of Saxony ; so that they thought it impossible for troops thus separated to unite in any st^d- den attack on their camp. Prince Ferdinand availed himself of their security. He sent proper instructions to Luckner, who, leaving a party of Hessian hussars behind him to amuse the prince of Saxony, and marching full speed in the night with the rest, crossed the Weser, turned the right of the French army, and, without being discovered, placed himself upon their rear. General Sporken had orders to advance in another direction, and to charge the same wing in flank. Prince Ferdinand was to fall upon the cen- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 45 tre , while the honor and danger of attack- ing their \et\ wing were consigned to tlie marquis of Granby. All the necessary pre- parations were made with so much judg- ment, celerity, and good order, that the French had no intimation of the design be- fore they found themselves attacked with the utmost impetuosity in front, flank, and rear. The right wing, under Castries, re- tired without much loss, and in tolerable or- der ; but the rest of the army must have been totally routed, if Monsieur Stainville, who commanded on the left, had not thrown himself with the flower of the French in- fantry into a wood, which enabled him for some time to stop the career of the victors. His brave corps was a devoted sacrifice. All but two battalions were taken or cut to pieces. The other bodies, covered by this resolute manceuvre, precipitately escaped to the other side of the Fulda, or took shelter under the cannon of CasseL About three thousand were made prisoners, and, among them, almost two hundred officers. The loss of the allies was inconsiderable. The English, who were most engaged, had only a few men killed, and no officer of rank but lieutenant-colonel Townshend, who fell with great honor to himself, and to the regret of the v.-hole army. This action, which took place on the twenty-fourth of June, was a prelude to a series of bold, masterly, and well-connected enterprises. Whilst the French, under the hurry and confusion of their late disaster, were unable to provide against sudden acci- dents, the marquis of Granby and lord Fred- eric Cavendish, at the head of a large body of British and Hanoverian troops, appeared thirty miles behind them, with an intention to cut off their communication with Frank- fort, whence they drew all their subsistence. In this emergency, Rochambeau collected some brigades at Homburg to oppose the de- sign of the English commanders; but his party, after a vigorous resistance, was dis- persed ; and almost all the important posts in the south of Hesse fell into the hands of the allies. To the north they were equally successful. They obliged prince Xavier, with his Saxon troops, to abandon his ad- vanced situation in the territories of Hano- ver, and to leave the French garrison at Gottingen without support. The forces there, despairing of their ability to defend it, soon evacuated the place, happy in being able to eflfect their escape, though with great man- agement and difficulty. Some other advan- tages were gained near Munden, where eleven hundred of the enemy were made prisoners, the intrenchments of their left wing were seized, and all the works de- stroyed. Thus harassed on every side, they had no resource but to call the army of the Lower Rhine to their assistance. Being re- solved not to hazard an engagement before its arrival, they quitted the heights of Mul- singen, though a post of the utmost strength and consequence; fell back a considerable distance behind the Fulda ; and left Cassel uncovered, but not defenceless, as, in their retreat, they threw into it a garrison of ten thousand men, to resist any immediate at- tempts that might be made by prince Ferdi- nand. He began the siege, however, with- out loss of time ; nor did he relinquish that object, notwithstanding the defeat of the hereditary prince by the prince of Conde at Johannisberg, in which the former lost above three thousand men, and was himself dan- gerously wounded. After a variety of sub- sequent eflforts, on the part of the united French armies, to relieve Cassel, they were at length forced to abandon it to its fate ; and the garrison surrendered on the first of November to the victorious arms of the al- lies, who closed with this exploit the career of their military operations. CONDUCT OF FRANCE AND SPAIN TO PORTUGAL. The events of this campaign in Germa- ny, though distinguished for their brilliancy and magnitude, were not of so much real importance to Great Britain as those which took place at the same time on a narrower and less splendid theatre in the south of Eu- rope. One of the first schemes projected by the courts of Versailles and Madrid, after their avowed junction, was an attack upon the kingdom of Portugal. The ministers of France and Spain presented to the court of Lisbon a joint memorial, in order to per- suade his most faithful majesty to enter into the alliance of the two crowns, and to co- operate in their scheme for the humiliation of Great Britain. In that memorial, they insisted largely on the tyranny exercised by England over all other powers, especially in maritime afliairs ; and which the kings of Spam and Portugal were equally command- ed by the ties of blood and their common in- terests to oppose. They concluded with de- claring, that as soon as his most faithful majesty had taken his resolution, which they doubted not would prove favorable, their troops were ready to enter Portugal and garrison the fortresses of that kingdom, in order to avert the danger to which it might otherwise be exposed from the naval force of Great Britain, To this extraordinary memorial the two ministers added, that tliey were ordered by their courts to demand a categorical answer in four days, and that any farther deliberation w^ould be considered as a negative. The king of Portugal's situation was now truly critical, but his firmness, on so trying" an occasion, is worthy of applause. In an* 46 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. swer to the insulting proposition of the house of Bourbon he observed, with judg- ment and temper, that his alliance with England was ancient, and consequently could give no reasonable offence at the pres- ent crisis : that it was purely defensive, and therefore innocent in all respects. The Bourbon courts denied that this alliance was purely defensive, or entirely innocent ; and for this astonishing reason, that the defen- sive alliance is converted into an offensive one, " from the situation of the Portuguese dominions, and the nature of the English power." The English fleets, said they, can- not keep the sea in all seasons, nor cruise on the coasts best calculated for cutting off the French and Spanish navigation, without the harbors and the friendly assistance of Portugal: " nor," added they, "could these liaughty islanders insult all the maritime powers of Europe, if the riches of Portugal did not pass into their hands." They also endeavored to awaken the jealousy of his most faithful majesty, by representing his kingdom as under the yoke of England ; and told him, that he ought to be thankful for "the necessity which they had laid upon him to make use of his reason, in order to take the road of his glory, and embrace the common interest." THEY DECLARE WAR. Although the king of Portugal was sen- sible, that the necessity here alluded to was the immediate march of the Spanish army to take possession of his dominions, he was not intimidated from his honorable resolu- tion. The treaties of league and commerce, subsisting between Great Britain and Por- tugal, were such, he maintained, as the laws of God, the laws of nature, and the laws of nations have always deemed inno- cent. He entreated their most Christian and Catholic majesties to open their eyes to the crying injustice of turning upon Portu- gal the hostilities kindled against Great Britain : to consider, that they were giving an example which would lead to the utter destruction of mankind ; that there was an end of public safety, if neutral powers were to be attacked, because they have entered into defensive alliances with the powers at war ; that if their troops should invade his dominions, he would, therefore, in vindica- tion of his neutrality, endeavor to repel them with all his forces and those of his allies. In consequence of this magnani- mous declaration, the ministers of France and Spain immediately left Lisbon ; and their departure was soon followed by a joint de- nunciation of war against Portugal, in the name of their most Christian and Catholic majesties. BRITAIN ASSISTS PORTUGAL. The grand reliance of his most faithful majesty was on the support of England, for whose sake and in whose quarrel he had been drawn into the unequal contest. His ambassador at London explained to the min- istry his master's alarming situation, and urged with great propriety and force the justice of his claims to the most immediate and effectual relief Besides a formal de- mand of the succors stipulated by subsisting treaties, he expressed a desire that his mas- ter should be supplied with a number of able officers to command, train, and conduct the forces of Portugal, which had been long disused to war ; and that his Britannic ma- jesty would continue to favor him with such farther help as his pressing necessities might require. The ready and liberal vote of par- liament when this matter was laid before them, and the dispatch used by the ministry in forwarding the desired assistance, will do the nation inmiortal honor. The greater the weakness of Portugal was, the more conspicuous were the magnanimity and re- sources of Great Britain, who alone seemed to balance all Europe, and was able, in the close of an expensive war, to prop up by her generous support the tottering fortune of so feeble an ally. She sent to Portugal officers, troops, artillery, arms, military stores, provisions, money, everything which could enable the Portuguese to exert their natural strength, and everything which could supply that strength where it was de- ficient. Before the actual commencement of hos- tilities, lord Tyrawley, a nobleman of great military talents and experience, and who had formerly resided as ambassador at Lis- bon, was sent thither as plenipotentiary, with instructions to examine the state of the Portuguese forces, and to assist the min- istry of that kingdom with his best advice in forming their army, and in making prop- er dispositions for the defence of their fron- tiers. He was also to have the command of the British auxiliaries, consisting of about eight thousand troops, partly drawn from Belleisle, and partly from Ireland, where two regiments of Roman Catholics had been raised for this service. But his lordship, though in other respects very high- ly accomplished both as a general and statesman, was rather proud and impetuous. He took offence at the conduct of the king of Portugal's ministers, at the want of vigor in their councils, and at their unwillingness to adopt any of his spirited suggestions. In the dispatches he sent home, his lordship complained, that they had misrepresented the state of their forces to the court of Great Britain ; that they had not taken any proper steps to secure their frontier places ; that they amused him with general promises, and evasive answers, and started frivolous objec- GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 47 tions to the execution of those measures which he proposed for the operations of the war. He even charged them with want of sincerity, and made no scruple of hinting a suspicion that the rupture between Portugal and Spain was a mere collusion, to make a diversion of the British troops and treasure in favor of the latter. As these suspicions were evidently the effect of disgust and ca- price, his lordship was recalled, very early in the campaign, from a situation where he could be no longer useful. CAMPAIGN OPENS. When the Bourbon courts made war against Portugal, the declared object was to cut off Great Britain from the use of the ports of that kingdom. As they did not think it possible to attain this object by naval ope- rations, they attempted it by military ones, and aimed their principal endeavors at the two great ports to which the English prin- cipally resort, Qporto and Lisbon. With this view three inroads were proposed to be made, one to the north, another more to the south, and the third in the middle provinces, to preserve a communication between the two former. PARTIAL SUCCESSES OF THE SPAN- IARDS. The first army that entered upon the exe- cution of this plan, was commanded by the marquis de Sarria. It penetrated into the north-east angle of Portugal, and advanced towards Miranda. This town, though not in a good state of defence, might have held out for some time : but a powder-magazine hav- ing blown up by accident, the fortifications were ruined ; and the Spaniards, before they had raised their first battery, marched into the town by the breaches in the wall. They met with still less opposition at Braganza, a considerable city, from which the royal family of Portugal derives its ducal titles. The garrison retired with precipitation at their approach, and the magistrates present- ed the keys of the town to the Spanish coramajider. The town of Moncorvo surren- dered in tlie same manner to one of their detachments; and everything was cleared before them to the banks of the Douro. A party under count O'Reilly made a forced march of fourteen leagues, in two days, to the city of Chaves, which was immediately evacuated. By these successes they became masters of almost the whole of the exten- sive province of Tralos Montes, and their progress spread a general alarm. Oporto was almost given up as lost : and the admi- ralty of England prepared transports to carry off the effects of the British factory. How- ever, the body which had traversed this province without resistance, was repulsed m attempting to cross the river Douro. The in- habitants of the country, animated and guid- ed by some English officers, with a rein- forcement of regular troops, seized a diffi- cult pass, and drove the enemy back to Torre de Montcorvo. In ravaging the open coun- try, the Spanish soldiers committed some barbarities on the peasants, which were afterwards severely retaliated. The common people, on both sides, naturally ferocious, had not been sufficiently inured to war, to moderate its fiiry, and reduce it under laws : an inveterate enmity subsisted between them ; and, in every encounter, the victori- ous party attended only to the dictates of rancor and revenge. Another corps of Spanish troops, which took the central route, in order, as before intimated, to keep up an easy communica- tion between the forces employed in the northern and southern expeditions, entered the province of Beira, at the villages called Val de la Mula and Val de Coelha. They were joined by strong detachments, amount- ing to almost the whole army in Tralos Montes, and immediately laid siege to Al- meida, the strongest and best provided place on the frontiers of Portugal. Besides, it was of the greatest importance from its middle situation, as the possession of it would greatly facilitate the operations upon every side, and would especially tend to forward an attempt upon Lisbon, the grand object, towards which, at this time, all the endeavors of the Spaniards seem to have been directed. The trenches were opened on the twenty-fifith of July : next day the besiegers were reinforced by eight tliousand French auxiliaries ; and on the twenty-fiflh of August the garrison capitulated, after having made a much longer and more reso- lute defence than was at first expected. This conquest left all the adjoining country at the mercy of the invaders. They spread themselves over the whole territory of Castel Branco, a principal district of the province of Beira, making their way to the south- ward, until they approached the banks of the Tagus. PORTUGUESE RECOVER THEMSELVES. This rapid career of tlie Spaniards, was not, however, of long continuance. Lord Tyrawley's disputes with the Portuguese ministry had hitherto prevented the allies from acting in perfect harmony and concert against the enemy. But after his recall, and the arrival from Germany of a very celebrated officer, who was appointed com- mander-in-chief of all the forces, the affairs of the country began quickly to assume a different appearance. This officer was the count de la Lippe Buckeburg, who had commanded the artillery of the British army in Westphalia during the whole course of the war, and who had given the most une- quivocal proofe of his valor and capacity. He 48 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITALN. was accompanied by one of the princes of Mecklenburg-Ji Strelitz, brother to the queen of Great Britain, who resolved to make this campaign in Portugal. He also found at the head of the British troops some generals well qualified to assist him both in council and in the field. Lord Tyrawley had left behind him his second in command, the earl of Ix)udon, a man of great experience and sagacity. The next post was filled by lieu- tenant-general Townshend, who had served with very high reputation in America ; and the subordinates were lord George Lenox, with the brigadier-generals Crawford and Bur^ojme, all of them officers of approved merit As the Count de la Lippe was an entire stranger to all the subjects of debate, which had existed between the late British commander and the court of Lisbon, more unanimity was now likely to prevail: the spirits of the whole nation began to revive ; and the hopes then formed of more success- ful exertions were fully justified by the event GENERAL BURGOYNE PENETRATES INTO SPAIN. Tins third body of Spanish troops, destin- ed for the southern inroad into Portugal, as- sembled on the frontiers of Estremadura, with an intention of penetrating into the province of Alentejo. Had this third corps been joined to the others already in Portugal, it would probably have formed such an army as might, in spite of any obstruction, have forced its way to Lisbon ; had it acted sepa- rately, it might have greatly distracted the defence, so as to enable some other corps to penetrate to that city. It was necessary to prevent, if possible, their entrance into Por- tugal ; since their mere entrance would have been almost equal to a victory on their side. The count de la Lippe, therefore, formed a design of attacking an advanced party of them in a town on the frontiers, called Va- lencia d' Alcantara, where he heard they had amassed considerable magazmes. The con- duct of this enterprise was committed to brigadier-general Burgoyne. This active and judicious officer, though at a distance of five days' march, and in spite of all the dis- appointments and obstructions to which ser- vices of this kind are so liable, when they cannot be executed immediately, effected a complete surprise of the enemy on the morn- ing of the twenty-seventh of August. He hoped to have reached the place the night before, and had made the disposition for at- tack accordingly. But finding himself over- taken by daylight, he altered his plan, and advancing with his own dragoons and a small party of irregular cavalry in full gallop, he entered the town of Valencia sword in hand; dispersed the guards that were in the great stpare; and secured the entrances into it with very little difficulty. The rest of nis forces, consisting of all the British grena- diers, and eleven companies of Portuguese grenadiers, with some infantry and a few armed peasants, soon came up to support their gallant leader. The Spanish general who was to have commanded in the intend- ed invasion, and a great quantity of arms and ammunition, fell into the hands of the victor, who brought away hostages tor the care of the wounded, and the payment of the king's revenue for one year, which he exacted as a consideration for having spared the town and convents. This unportant ser- vice was performed with very little loss on the part of the British troops. The enemy had to lament the total destruction of one of the best regiments in the Spanish service. Although the information which the count de la Lippe had received about the maga- zines proved to be groundless, the other ad- vantages resulting from the enterprise made ample amends for that disappointment. The taking of the Spanish general disconcerted the plan which he was then on the point of carrying into execution : for, at the very moment of his being made prisoner, he was actually employed in reconnoitring the en- trance into the province of Alentejo, where he proposed to march in a few days. This seemed to have been for some time the des- tination not only of the troops under the captured general's command, but also the great object of the Spanish army which ha^l hitherto acted in Beira. The former of these provinces is a plain, open, fertile coun- try, where their cavalry, which constituted their chief force, might have acted decisive- ly : whereas the latter was a rough, moun- tainous region, in which the horse v*'ere sub- sisted with difficulty, and could be of little service. To prevent therefore the entry of the Bourbon army from any quarter into Alentejo, was to the allies an object of the highest moment General Burgoyne, by this expedition into the Spanish territories, had already prevented it in one part ; and the vigilance and activity of the same officer had no small share in preventing it also on the other. That part of the Bourbon anny, which acted in the territory of Castel Branco, liad made themselves masters of several import- ant passes, which they obliged some bodies of the Portuguese to abandon. They at- tacked the rear of the combined army, which was passing the river Alveito, with the ap- pearance of a retreat ; but in reality, with a view to draw them insensibly into the mountainous tracts. Here they were re- pulsed with loss; but still they continued masters of the country; and nothing re- mained but the passage of the Tagus, to enable them to take up their quarters in GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 49 Alentejo. General Burgoyne, who was post- ed with an intention to obstruct them in their passage, lay in the neighborhood, and within view of a detached camp, composed of a considerable body of their cavalry, near a village called Villa Velha. As he observ- ed that the enemy kept no very soldierly guard in this post, and were uncovered in their rear and their flanks, he conceived a design of falling on tliem by surprise. He confided the execution of this design to colonel Lee, who turned their camp, fell upon their rear in the night of the sixth of October, made a considerable slaughter, dis- persed the whole party, destroyed tiieir mag- azines, and returned with scarce any loss. Burgoyne, in the mean time, supported him by a feint attack in another quarter, which prevented the enemy's being relieved from the adjacent posts. SPANIARDS RETREAT. This advantage, being obtained in a criti- cal moment, was attended with important consequences. The season was now far ad- vanced; and the roads became impassable through the heavy rains which fell : so that the enemies, destitute of strong posts, and of magazines for the subsistence of their horse, retreated to the frontiers of their own country, where their supplies were at hand, and vv^here they were not liable to be har- assed by the efforts of the combined army. Thus was Portugal saved by the wise con- duct of the count de la Lippe, and the dis- tinguished valor of the English commanders and soldiery ; and thus did the insolent men- aces of the Bourbon confederacy terminate in their own disappointment and confusion. There never was probably so heavy a storm of national calamity, ready to fall upon an unprovided people, so happily averted, or so speedily blown over. TRIUMPH OF GREAT BRITAIN AT SEA. But it was at sea, the favorite element of Britain, that the success of her arms was most conspicuous. In vain had her enemies endeavored to draw off her attention from maritime enterprises, and to employ her chief strength in continental wars: she found means to baffle their most vigorous efforts both in Germany and Portugal ; her glorious exertions by land in the defence of her friends and allies, did not divert her from giving the fullest scope to her naval power in the enlargement of her commerce and her conquests. Tlie French West In- dia islands were the first objects of attack ; and the failure of the armament sent out against Martmico in the year 1759, under Mr. Pitt's administration, did not discourage his successors in office from making another attempt. The plan they laid down for this purpose, and the preparations made to give it effect and to extend its advantages, Vol. IV. 5 have been already explained. Every part of it was executed with a degree of pre- cision and spirit which corresponded well with the boldness and wisdom of the con- ception. CAPTURE OF MARTINICO, AND OTHER WEST INDIA ISLANDS. The squadron designed for this purpose, which had sailed from England in October with four battalions drafted from the garri- son of Belleisle, having been reinforced at Barbadoes by eleven battalions from New- York and some regiments from the Leeward islands, proceeded with the fleet already on that station towards Martinico, on the fifth of January. The whole armament con- sisted of about ten thousand land forces, commanded by general Monckton, and eigh- teen ships of the line, besides frigates, fire- ships, and bomb-ketches, under the direction of rear-admiral Rodney. They came within sight of Martinico on the seventh of Janua- ry ; and the troops landed at a creek called Cas Navire, without the loss of a man, the ships having been disposed so properly, and having directed their fire with such effect, that the enemy was obliged in a short time to abandon the batteries which they had erected to defend this inlet. The whole island, which is mountainous and unequal, is intersected with deep gullies hollowed out by rapid torrents, so as greatly to impede the prepress of an army, particu- larly with regard to its artillery. These obstructions were nowhere greater than in the neighborhood of Fort-Royal, against which the first regular attack was proposed. This town is commanded by two considera- ble eminences, called Morne Tortenson and Mome Gamier, the natural strength of which was improved by every contrivance of art. The former was first to be reduced. A body of regulars and marines, supported by a thousand sailors in flat-bottomed boats, advanced on the right along the sea-shore, in order to force the redoubts which ky in the lower grounds. On the left:, towards the country, a detachment of light infantry, with a proper reserve behind them, was to turn the enemy's flank; whilst the attack in the centre was made by the British gren- adiers and the remainder of the army, under the fire of batteries erected with great labor on the opposite heights. They drove the French from post to post, till, after a sharp struggle, the British banners were fixed on the top of the hill. Some of the fugitives were pursued to the very gates of the town: others saved themselves on Morne Gamier, which being much higher than Morne Tortenson, left the victorious troops still exposed to great annoyance from the enemy. Three days elapsed, before proper ar- 50 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. rangements could be made for dislodging the French from their second eminence. In the midst of these preparations, their whole force descended from the hill, sallied out of the town, and made a furious assault on the advanced posts ; but they were immediately- repulsed by the British troops, who, hurried on by their ardor, improved a defensive ad- ■vantage into an attack, passed the gullies, mingled with the enemy, scaled the hill, seized the batteries, dispersed the militia, and drove the regulars into the town. All the positions which overlooked and com inanded Port-Royal being now secured, the batteries against it were no sooner com- pleted, than it surrendered on the fourth of February ; and in three days after, Pidgeou island, which was deemed one of the best defences of the harbor, followed the example of the citadel. Fourteen French privateers were found there ; and a much greater num ber, from other ports in the island, were afterwards delivered up to admiral Rodney, in consequence of the favorable terms grant- ed to the inhabitants. Still, however, St. Pierre, the capital, re- mained to be reduced ; and it was appre- hended that the resistance there might be considerable, if the spirit and perseverance of the garrison corresponded with the strength of the fortifications, and with the natural advantages of the country. But the reduction of Fort-Royal had greatly abated the enemy's confidence. The militia, in particular, despaired of making any effec tual defence. Influenced by these motives, and disheartened by the train of misfortunes which had everywhere attended the French arms, they resolved to hold out no longer and on the twelfth of February, just as gen eral Monckton was ready to embark for the reduction of St. Pierre, he was prevented by the arrival of two deputies, who came to capitulate for the surrender of that place and of the whole island. The conquest of Martinico, which was the seat of the superior government, the principal mart of trade, and the centre of the French force in the Caribbees, naturally drew after it the submission of all the de pendent islands. Grenada, though, from the nature of its situation, it might have made a vigorous defence, surrendered without op- position. The British troops found as little difficulty in taking possession of St. Lucia, Tobago, and St. Vincent, the right to which had so long been an object of dispute be tween the two nations. The Grenadillas and the other little isles, which are scatter ed up and down in the same seas, were in- capable of making any resistance ; and it is also probable, that if they had been places of much greater strength, the prosperity of Guadaloupe under the British government would have been a strong temptation to their easy and general surrender. St. Domingo was the only spot which the French still retained in the Archipelago of America; and the loss of that did not appear to be far distant. An object of more consequence diverted the storm to one of tlie most valu- able possessions of the Spaniards in the West Indies. ARMAMENT DISPATCHED AGAINST THE HAVANNAH. Before the success of the expedition against Martinico was known in England, the ministry, confident that it could not have failed, had given orders for a considerable part of the forces employed there to re- imbark, and to sail in a westerly direction to a certain rendezvous, where, in case of a rupture with Spain, they were to be joined by another armament, in order to make a descent upon the island of Cuba. The latter squadron left Portsmouth the fifth of March, and very happily met the proposed division of the former fleet, under Sir James Douglas, at Cape Nichola, the north-west point of Hispaniola, on the twenty-seventh of May. After this junction, their force amounted to nineteen ships of the line, eighteen small vessels of war, and near one hundred and fifty transports, with about ten thousand troops on board. A supply of four thousand more was also expected from north America. Lord Albemarle, the friend and disciple of the duke of Cumberland, had the command of the land forces: the marine was under admiral Pococke, who having contributed by his valor towards that sove- reignty which his country had obtained in the East Indies, was now chosen to extend its empire in the West. As the hurricane season was more to be dreaded than the resistance of the enemy, the utmost expedition was necessary. The admiral, therefore, instead of keeping to the south of Cuba, which though very safe, would prove by far the most tedious way, resolved to run along the northern shore of that island, pursuing his career from east to west through the old straits of Bahama, a much shorter, but more dangerous passage, being very narrow, and bounded on the right and left by sands and shoals, which render the navigation so hazardous, that it has usually been avoided by single and small vessels. There was no pilot in the fleet whose expe- rience could be depended on to conduct them safely through it. The admiral, however, being provided with a good chart of lord Anson's, was determined to make the experi- ment, and to trust to his own sagacity, con- duct, and vigilance. So bold an attempt had never been made ; but every precaution was taken to guard this boldness from the imputation of temerity. A vessel was sent GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 51 to reconnoitre the passage, and, when re- turned, was ordered to take the lead : some frigates followed: sloops and boats were stationed on the shallows to the right and left, with well-adapted signals both for the day and the night : the fleet moved in seven divisions; and being favored with pleasant weather, and secured by the admirable dis- positions which were made, they, without the smallest loss, or interruption, got clear through this perilous passage, seven hundred miles in length, on the fifth of June, having entered it the twenty-seventh of May. The Havannah, the object of their long voyage, and of so many anxious hopes and fears, was now before them. This place is not denominated the capital of Cuba : St. Jago, situated at the south-east part of the island, has that title: but the Havannah, though the second in rank, is the first in wealth, size, and importance. The harbor, which is perhaps the best in the world, is entered by a narrow passage about half a mile long, and expanding itself afterwards into a capacious basin, sufficient to contain a thousand sail of the largest ships, having almost throughout six fathom water, and being perfectly covered from every wind. Here the rich fleets from the several parts of the Spanish settlements rendezvous, be- fore they finally set out on their voyage to Europe; — a circumstance which has ren- dered the Havannah one of the most opulent, flourishing, and populous cities in the west- ern world. Suitable to its importance was the care with which the narrow entrance into the bay was fortified. On a projecting point of land, to the east of the channel, stood the Moro, a very strong fort, having two bastions towards the sea, and two more on the land-side, with a wide and deep ditch cut out of a rock. The opposite point to the westward was secured by another fort called the Puntal, which was also surround- ed by a ditch cut in the same manner, and was every way well calculated for co-opera- thig with the Moro in the defence of the harbor. It had likewise some batteries that opened upon the country, and flanked part of the town wall. But this wall and the fortifications of the city itself were not in very good condition. The wall and the bastions wanted repair : the ditch was dry and of no considerable width ; and the cov- ered-way was almost in ruins, but it was utterly impracticable to attack it by sea, the entrance of the harbor being not only de- fended by the forts, but by fourteen Spanish ships of the line, three of which were after- wards sunk in the channel, and a boom laid across it. SIEGE OF THE MORO. Lord Albemarle resolved to begin with the sicire of tlie Moro. He knew that the reduction of that fort must infallibly be fol- lowed by the surrender of the city ; whereas, if he had attacked the town first, his army might have been so much weakened as to be unable to surmount the vigorous resist- ance of the fort, defended by the garrison, and by the flower of the inhabitants, zealous to save their ov^ti and the public treasiu-e. All was confusion and alarm, at the first sight of a hostile armament. Common pru- dence would have suggested the propriety of keeping their fleet ready for action ; and as they were not far from an equality, and could be of very little service in the port, they should have put out to sea, and hazard- ed the issue of an engagement. A battle maintamed with spirit, though finally unsuc- cessfiil, might have so far disabled their opponents as to unfit them for any farther attempts, after a dear-bought naval victory. The loss of the whole Spanish fleet in this way might have saved the city ; but the city once taken, nothing could possibly save the fleet. Either through extreme cowardice or infatuation, the only use they made of their shipping was to sink three of them behind a strong boom at the mouth of the harbor. When the British commanders had got everything in readiness for landing, the admiral, with a great part of the fleet, bore away to the westward, and made a feint of disembarking the troops; while a detach- ment, protected by commodore Keppel and captain Harvey, approached the shore to the eastward, and landed there without opposi- tion, a small fort which might give some disturbance, having been previously silenced. On this side, the principal army was des- tined to act. It was divided into two bodies ; the one being immediately occupied in the attack on Fort Moro, and the other in cov- ering the siege, and in protecting the parties employed in procuring water and provisions. The former corps was commanded by major- general Keppel, and the latter by lieutenant- general Elliot. A detachment under colo- nel Howe was encamped near the west side of the town, to cut off" its communication with the country, and to keep the enemy's attention divided. The hardships, which the troops sustained in carrying on the siege, are almost incredi- ble. The earth was everywhere so thin, that it was with great difficulty they could cover themselves in their approaches. The want of water was also very distressing. They were obliged to fetch it from a great distance, as there was not any spring or river near them ; and so scanty and precarious was the supply, procured with much labor, that they often found it necessary to have recourse to what the ships could afford. Roads of communication were to be cut through thick woods ; and the artillery was 52 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. to be dragged, for a vast way, over a rough rocky shore. In these painful efforts, under a burning sun, many of the men dropped down dead with heat, thirst, and fatigue. Every obstacle was at length surmounted by the most astonishing perseverance ; and bat- teries, erected along a ridge on a level with the fort, were opened with great effect. The ships in the harbor were driven farther bacii ; so as not to be able to molest the besiegers ; and a sally made by the garrison was re- pulsed with great slaughter. Whilst these works were vigorously pushed on shore, the navy, not contented with the great assistance which they had be- fore lent to every part of the land service, resolved to make an attempt which was more directly within their province. Ac- cordingly, on the first of July, the very day that the batteries were opened, three of the largest ships, under captain Harvey, laid their broadsides against the fort, and began a terrible fire, which lasted seven hours with- out intermission. The Moro returned it with great constancy, and being situated on a very high and steep rock, was proof against all efforts. Besides, the guns from the op- posite fort of Puntal, and from the town, galled them extremely; insomuch, that in order to save the ships from absolute destruc- tion, they were obliged at length, and un- willingly, to bring them off. Even this re- treat was not effected without difHculty, as they were very much shattered in so long and unequal a contest. But, though no im- pression was made on the works which the ships attacked, the attempt was nevertheless of considerable service. The attention of the defendants was so much engaged that they neglected the other side of the fort, and allov/ed the fire of the English batteries to become superior. As soon, however, as the Spaniards were released from the ships of war, they re- turned to their duty on the land-side, and re- vived their defence with great spirit. An unremitted cannonade was kept up by both parties for several days with a fierce emula- tion : and the military skill and spirit of the assailants were put to the severest trial. In the midst of this sharp and doubtful conten- tion, the capital battery against the fort took fire, and being chiefly constructed of timber and fascines dried by intense heat, the flames soon became too powerful for opposition. The battery was almost wholly consumed. The labor of six hundred men for seventeen days was destroyed in a few hours, and all was to begin anev/. This stroke was the more severely felt, as it happened at a time when the other hardships of the siege were become almost intolerable. The diseases of the climate, increased by rigorous duty, had reduced the army to half its number. Five thousand soldiers were at one time unfit for service, through various distempers ; and three thousand sailors were ix\ the same miserable condition. The want of necessa- ries and refreshments aggravated their suffer- ings, and retarded their recovery. The pro- visions were bad ; and the necessity of bring- ing, from a distance, a scanty supply of water, exhausted all their force. Besides, as the season advanced, the prospect of succeeding grew fainter. The hearts of the most san- guine sunk within them, when they beheld this gallant army wasting away ; and con- sidered that the noble fleet, which had rode so long on an open shore, must be exposed to inevitable ruin, if the hurricane season should come on before the reduction of the place. A thousand languishing and impa- tient looks were cast out for the reinforce- ment, which was expected from North Ame- rica : but none appeared ; and the few, who still preserved some remains of strength, were obliged to bear up under the load of double duty, and of afflicting accidents. An- other battery took fire, before the former could be repaired ; and the toil of the be- siegers unfortunately increased, in proportion as their strength was diminished. Many fell iiito despair and died, overcome with fa- tigue, anguish, and disappointment. But however great the distresses, however small the numbers of those that v/ere left, they made efforts which Vvov ;(1 nut [.rive dis- graced the largest and the best appointed army. The rich prize which lay before them, the shame of returning home baffled, and even the strenuous resistance of the enemy, engaged their interest, their honor, their pride ; and roused them to the exertion of every nerve. The batteries were re- placed : their fire became equal, and soon superior to that of the fort : they silenced its guns ; they dismantled its upper works ; and, on the twentieth of July, they made a lodg- ment in the covered-way. Not many days after, they received a considerable part of the reinforcement from America. Four of the transports had been wrecked in the straits of Bahama ; but the men were saved on the adjacent islands, and were happily brought off by five sloops, which the admi- ral had immediately detached on this service. Five other transports, having about five hun- dred soldiers on board, had been taken by a French squadron. All the rest of the troops arrived in perfect health. These favorable events gave fresh vigor to the operations of the siege : but a sudden difficulty appeared, just at the seeming ac- complishment of the work. An immense ditch, cut in the solid rock, eighty feet deep, and forty wide, yawned before them and stopped their progress. To fill it up by any means appeared impossible. Difficult as the GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 53 work of mining was in those circumstances, it was the only expedient. It might have proved impracticable, had not a thin ridge of rock been fortunately left, to cover the ditch towards the sea. On this narrow ridge, the miners, though quite exposed, passed the gulf with very little loss, and buried them- selves in the wall. It now became visible to the governor of the Havannah, that the Moro must be speedi- ly reduced, if left to its own strength. He therefore resolved to attempt something for its relief. Accordingly, on the twenty- second of July, before break of day, a body of twelve hundred men, mostly composed of the country militia, mulattoes and negroes, were transported across the harbor, climbed the hills, and made three different attacks on the English posts. The ordinary guards, though surprised, defended themselves so resolutely, that the Spaniards made little impression, and were not able to ruin any part of the approaches. The attacked posts were speedily reinforced ; and the enemy who were little better than a disorderly rab- ble, and not conducted by proper officers, fell into terror and confusion. They were driven precipitately down the hill with great slaugh- ter : some gained their boats ; others were drowned ; and they lost in this well imagined, but ill executed sally, upwards of four hun- dred men. This was the last effort for the relief of the Moro ; which, abandoned as it was by the city, and while an enemy was under- mining its walls, held out with a sullen reso- lution, and made no sort of proposal to ca- pitulate. The mines at length did their business. On the thirtieth of July, a part of the wall was blown up, and fell into the ditch, leaving a breach, which, though very narrow and difficult, was judged practicable by the general and engineer. The troops, ordered on this most dangerous of all ser- vices, rejoiced that they had so near a pros- pect of terminating their dreadful toils. They cheerfully prepared for the assault, and mounting the breach, under the com- mand of lieutenant Forbes, supported by lieutenant-colonel Stuart, they entered the fort with so much order and intrepidity, as entirely disconcerted the garrison. Four hundred of the Spaniards were cut in pieces, or perished in attempting to make their es- cape by water to the city. The rest threw down tfieir arms, and received quarter. The marquis de Gonzalez, tlie second in command, was killed in making brave but ineffectual efforts to stop the flight of his countrymen ; and don Lewis de Velasco, the governor, having collected a small body of resolute soldiers, in an intrenchment round the flag- staff, gloriously fell in defendmg his colors, which nothing could induce him to strike. 5* The English had but two lieutenants and twelve men killed ; and one lieutenant, with four Serjeants, and twenty-four privates wounded. SURRENDER OF THE MORO, AND THE ISLAND. No sooner did the Spaniards m the town and in Fort Puntal see the besiegers in pos- session of the Moro, than they directed all their fire against that place. Meanwhile the British troops, encouraged by their suc- cess, were vigorously employed in remounts ing the guns of the captured fort, and in erecting batteries upon an eminence that commanded the city. These batteries being completed, and sixty pieces of cannon ready to play upon the Havannah, lord Albemarle, willing to prevent an unnecessary carnage, sent his aid-de-camp, on the tenth of August, with a flag of truce, to summon the governor to surrender, and make him sensible of the unavoidable destruction that was ready to fall upon the place. The governor replied, that he was under no uneasy apprehensions, and would hold out to the last extremity. But he was soon brought to reason. The very next morning, the batteries were open- ed against him with such effect, that in six hours all his guns were silenced : flags of truce were hung out in every quarter of the town ; and a deputy was sent to the camp of the besiegers, in order to settle the terms of capitulation. A cessation of hostilities immediately took place ; and, as soon as the terms were adjusted, the city of Havannah, and a district of one hundred and eighty miles to the westward included in its gov- ernment, the Puntal castle, and the ships in the harbor, were surrendered to his Britan- nic majesty. The Spaniards struggled a long time to save the men-of-war, and to have the harbor declared neutral ; but after two days' altercation, they were obliged to give up those capital points as wholly inad- missible. The garrison were allowed the honors of war, and were to be conveyed to Spain. Private property was secured to the iuhabitants, with the enjo5m[ient of their for- mer laws and religion. Without violatmg this last article, which rendered the proper- ty of individuals sacred, the conquerors, who took possession of the city on the fourteenth of August, found a booty there, computed at near three millions sterling, in silver and valuable merchandise belonging to the Cath- olic king, besides an immense quantity of arms, artillery, and military stores. This was the most considerable, and in its consequences the most decisive blow which had been struck since the beginning of the war. It united in itself all the honors and advantages tliat can be acquired in hostile enterprises. It was a military triumph, that reflected the brightest lustre on the courage. 54 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. steadiness, and perseverance of the British troops. Its effect on the enemy's marine made it equal to the greatest naval victory. Nine ships of the line and four frigates were taken : three of the former description had been sunk by the Spaniards, as already men- tioned, at the beginning of the siege, to stop up the entrance into the port ; and two more, that were in forwardness on the stocks, were destroyed by the conquerors. The harbor itself was of still greater value than the fleet. It absolutely commanded the only passage by which the Spanish ships could sail from the bay of Mexico to Europe ; so that the court of Madrid could no longer receive any sup- plies from the West Indies, except by such routes as were equally tedious and uncertain. The reduction of the Havannah, therefore, not only distressed the enemy by stopping the sources of their wealth, but likewise opened to the English an easy avenue to the centre of their American treasures. The plunder found at this place should also be taken into the account: it impoverished Spain, and enriched the capiors ; and though it contributed nothing directly to the public service, it might be said to increase the stock of the British nation, and to supply those prodigious drains of specie, foreign subsidies and foreign armies. CAPTURE OF THE HERMIONE. The capture of the Spanish register-ship, the Hermione, which happened in the latter end of May, just as she was on the point of entering one of the ports of old Spain, must be added to these resources. She was load- ed with treasure and valuable effects, esti- mated at one million sterlmg, which was considerably more than had ever before been taken in any one bottom. The prize was brought from Gibraltar to England : and the gold and silver, being conveyed in covered wagons to London, was carried to the Tower with great parade. The wagons entered St. James's street in the morning of the twelflh of August, just after her majesty had been safely delivered of her first son, the prmce of Wales ; and the king, with many of the nobility, who were present, went to the windows over the palace gate, to see the procession, and joined their accla- mations to those of the populace on two such joyful occasions. INVASION OF THE PHILIPPINES. But these losses, though immense, were not the only ones, in which Spain was in- volved by her treacherous and precipitate junction with France. She soon received another dangerous wound in a very remote quarter, where she little expected so sudden an attack. Tlie plan for invading the Phi- lippine islands, which colonel Draper had laid before ministry upon the first rumor of a war with Spain, was now carried into ex- ecution. Nothing was demanded but a light frigate to carry colonel Draper to Madras, where he arrived in the latter end of June, with orders to employ such of the troops and squadrons then in India as could be spared, to execute his important project. This plan seemed the more feasible, as no great force was thought necessary to be kept in the peninsula after the total expulsion of the French and the humiliation of the Dutch in that quarter. The whole force for the land operations amounted to two thousand three hundred men, commanded by brigadier general Draper, who had been promoted to that rank on his arrival: the naval force consisted of nine men-of-war and frigates, besides some store-ships, under the direction of rear-admiral Cornish. In three weeks the preparations for forming this body, and getting ready all the stores, were begun, completed, and the whole shipped through a raging and perpetual surf A ship of force was dispatched before the fleet through the straits of Malacca, in or- der to watch the entrance of the Chinese sea, and to intercept whatever vessels might be bound to Manilla, or sent from the neigh- boring settlements, to give the Spaniards notice of the design. The East India com- pany were to have a third of the booty or ransom : the government of the conquered country was also to be vested in them : and the land and sea forces were, by mutual con- sent, to share between them the several captures according to the rules established in the navy. The fleet sailed from Madras the first of August. Proper dispositions were made for landing to the south of the town, on the twenty-fourth of September. The garrison consisted of eight hundred regular troops ; and as the place was too extensive to be en- tirely surrounded by the English army, its communication was open with the country, which poured in to its assistance ten thou- sand natives, a fierce and daring race, as remarkable for their hardiness and contempt of death, as most of the otlier Indians are for their cowardice and effeminacy. Had it been the interest of the Spaniards to have taught them the use of arms, Manilla would have been impregnable. The governor, who was also the archbishop of the Philip- pine islands, united in his own person, by a policy not wholly without precedent in the Spanish colonies, the civil power, the com- mand of the forces, and the ecclesiastical dignity. But however unqualified by his priestly character for the defence of a city attacked, he seemed not unfit for it by his intrepidity and resolution. In less than two days all the defences of the Spaniards were completely destroyed; and they had no resource left but in vigorous sallies. GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 55 MANILLA AND THE PHILIPPINES TAKEN. General Draper therefore took the most effectual means for carrying the place by assault. The governor retired into the cita- del ; but as that place was not tenable, he soon surrendered at discretion. The hu- manity and generosity of the British com- manders saved the town from a general and justly-merited pillage. A ransom of four millions of dollars was promised for this re- laxation of the laws of war. It was stipu- lated, at the same time, that all the other fortified places in the island, and in all the islands dependent on its government, should also be surrendered to his Britannic majesty. The whole range of the Philippines fell with the city of Manilla. A valuable addition was made to this con quest, and a fresh wound was given to the enemy by a small part of the victorious fleet. During the siege, admiral Cornish received intelligence by the capture of an advice- ship, that the galleon from Acapulco was arrived at the straits which form the en trance into the archipelago of the Philip- pines. Two ships of the squadron, the Pan- ther man-of-war and the Argo frigate, were immediately dispatched in quest of her. They were out six and twenty days, when the Argo, in the evening of the thirtieth of October, discovered a sail, which they did not doubt to be the same they looked for Just as the two ships in company were ap- proaching their object, the Panther was driven by the rapidity of a counter-current among shallows, and obliged to cast anchor. The Argo escaped the danger, overtook the galleon, and began a hot engagement with her, which continued for two hours. But the frigate was so unequally matched, and so roughly received by the Spaniard, that she was obliged to desist, and to bring-to in order to repair her damage. In this pause of action, the current slackened; and the Panther, by strenuous exertion, and judi cious management, got under sail with the galleon in sight, and about nine the next morning got up to her. It was not until she was battered for two hours, within half-mus- ket-shot, that she struck. So obstinate a re- sistance, with very little activity of opposi- tion, surprised the English. In her first en- gagement with the Argo, this galleon mounted only six guns, though she was pierced for sixty. She had but thirteen in her engagement with the Panther. But she was a huge vessel lying like a mountain in the water; and the Spaniards trusted en- tirely to the excessive thickness of her sides, not altogether without reason, for the shot made no impression upon any part, except lier upper works. Another subject of sur- prise occurred afler she struck. Instead of the American galleon, as was expected, re- turning with the treasures of Mexico to the Philippines, she proved to be that from Ma- nilla, bound to Acapulco, She had proceeded a considerable way on her voyage, but meet- ing with a hard gale of wind in the great South Sea, she was dismasted, and obliged to put back to refit. Though the captors were disappointed in their hopes of a ship- full of silver, their prize was of immense value, her cargo in rich merchandise being worth more than half a million. FAILURE OF AN EXPEDITION AGAINST BUENOS AYRES. Nothing could reflect greater honor on the wisdom and vigor of the administration, under whose auspices so many important enterprises were carried into effect in dif- ferent quarters of the globe, than the signal success which almost everywhere attended them. Only one expedition, of inferior mo- ment, failed during the whole campaign; and that failure was not owing to the te- merity of the attempt, but to an unfortunate accident which could not have been guarded against by any stretch of human foresight. The circumstances attending it were equally melancholy and unexpected. It was deemed expedient to encourage some private adventurers to add to the other operations against so extensive a sphere of commerce, an attack upon the colony of Buenos Ayres in South America. The con- quest of this place was doubly desirable, as it would afford great security to the Portu- guese settlements, and prove, at the same time, an excellent station for farther enter- prises against the dominions of Spain upon the South Seas. The Portuguese, therefore, being no less interested than the English in the issue of this undertaking, readily con- curred to promote its success. The em- barkation was made from the Tagus, on the thirtieth of August, and the force consisted of three stout frigates, and some small arm- ed vessels and store-ships, with five hundred troops on board. They had for their com- mander captain Macnamara, an officer of courage and experience. Their voyage to the mouth of the Plata was expeditious and favorable. They arrived there on the sec- ond of November ; but no sooner had they entered that vast river, than they were at- tacked by a violent storm attended with thunder and lightning. Tlie river itself is shoaiy, and its navigation dangerous. The Spaniards were also found better armed and better prepared for resistance than was ex- pected, having even acted on tJie offensive with succes.5,"and taken, some time before, the Portuguese settlement of Nova Colonia, in which they found a very great booty, and a large quantity of military stores. On this view of things, the adventurers consulted together, and, after deliberation, judged it 56 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. necessary to begin with the recovery of Nova Colonia, before they made any attack upon Buenos Ayres. An English pilot, who knew the place and river, undertook to carry the commodore's vessel into the harbor, and Nvifhin pistol-shot of the enemy's principal battery. They advanced to the attack with the fullest confidence of victory, and began a fierce fire, which was quickly returned, and supported, on both sides, for four hours with uncommon resolution. The Spanish batte- ries were almost silenced, when, just as their success seemed certain, the ship by some unknown accident took fire. The same mo- ment discovered the flames, and the impos- sibility of extinguishing them. The scene - 'f horror and confusion that followed is un- ld we demand ? The right of erecting ioriifications would imply an absolute, direct, and exclusive dominion over the territory itself, to which we had not even the shadow of a claim." They asked, whether his Catholic maies''' could have made a fuller or more adetjuatc? compensation for the Havannah, without dis- membering his empire, or exposing its com- merce to inevitable ruin] "Had Great Britain," as they argued, " fought for her- self alone, and restricted her efforts to lier own element, she might have assumed a more peremptory tone in dictating the terms of the treaty ; and if they were not acqui- esced in, she might have resolved to keep all her conquests, and to prosecute hostili- ties to the full accomplishment of her wishes. But she was saddled with the protection of her allies ; and, on their account, nivolved in a double continental war, the expense of which overbalanced all the advantages she could derive from the success of her anns. France and Spain had declared, in plain terms, that, without the restitution of the islands and of the Havannah, peace could be of no service to tliem ; that they would rather hazard the continuance of the war, which, in the long run, must exhaust the GEORGE III. 1760-^1820. 65 finances and credit of England ; and, in the mean time, redouble their efforts in making an entire conquest of Portugal, which it could not be in the power of the British auxiliaries to prevent" With respect to the other cessions, they thought the rock of Goree of very little consequence, while Great Britain retained the possession of Senegal, which gave her the command of the chief trade of the in- terior parts of the country. The article which related to the East Indies, was, in their opinion, perfectly agreeable to the wishes of the directors of the English com- pany ; and did not afford all those advan- tages to France, which might be imagined at first view. " If," said they, " we exam- ine this matter closely, we shall find, that our late enemies have not gained much by having their factories and settlements re- stored to them : first, because the fortifica- tions, erected at a vast expense in all those settlements, have been totally destroyed; and it cannot be expected, in the present situation of the French company, that they can, in the course of many years, if at all, rebuild them in the same manner. Besides, they are restrained by an express article from even making the attempt in the prov- ince of Bengal, and the kingdom of Orixa, or from keeping the least military force in either. Secondly, they have also agreed to acknowledge the reigning Subas of the chief provinces in the Peninsula, as the lawful sovereigns ; and these princes are all in our interest, as either owing the acquisi- tion, or depending for the preservation of their power on our arms ; by which means our company is become, in effect, arbiter of that great and opulent coast, from the Gan- ges to Cape Comorui, and from the same Cape to the mouth of the Indus. What important sacrifices, then, have we made in the East Indies? And, if the points yielded by Great Britain in all other parts of the globe are so fully justifiable on the principles of sound and liberal policy, surely, the most wilful perverseness will not dare to deny that in Europe the balance is con- siderably in her favor, the island of Minor- ca, having been given her m exchange for Belleisle, besides obliging France to demol- ish the works belonging to the harbor of Dunkirk." WTien the house divided, there appeared three hundred and nineteen for the address, and sixty-five against it. A committee was appointed to prepare it ; and on its being reported next day, another debate ensued, in which nothing new was introduced, ex- cept a reproach on the ministry for not hav- ing insisted on the dissolution of the family compact It was not likely, that such an extravagant and presumptuous idea should 6* have occurred to them in the course of the negotiation. That compact, after all the noise it made in the political world at that time, was notliing more than a defensive alliance between the two branches of the house of Bourbon for the mutual guarantee of their respective dominions, wjiich any two nations have a right to contract ; and a mutual concession of commercial privileges, with which every power has an undoubted right to indulge its allies, without giving just cause of offence to any neighboring nation. On the twenty-first of December both houses adjourned to the twentieth of January. THREE CHEROKEE CHIEFS ARRIVE IN ENGLAND. Public curiosity was soon after amused by the arrival of three Cherokee chiefs from South Carolina, the object of whose embassy was to settle a lastmg peace with the Eng- lish nation. They arrived in May, but haid not their first audience of the king till the ninth of July. The principal person of the three, called Outacite, or Man-killer, on ac- count of his martial exploits, was introduced by lord Eglinton, and conducted by the master of the ceremonies. The kmg re- ceived them with great affability, and di- rected that they should be entertained at his expense. Their behavior in his presence was remarkably decent. They expressed no emotions of surprise at any object, however curious in its own nature, or seemingly adapted to strike the imagination of a savage. This was accounted for by some people from their total ignorance of our language, and their want of means to express their senti- ments otherwise than by their gestures. But even these would have served to indicate, however imperfectly, the impression made upon them by such sights. Their indiffer- ence to all those objects of novelty and gran- deur was therefore ascribed to a sort of brutal insensibility, which seems to be the character of the North American tribes in general, notwithstanding all the encomiums ' which some writers have lavished on the natural good sense and sagacity of those savages. They carried home with them ar- ticles of peace between his majesty and their nation, with a handsome present of warlike instruments, and such other things as they seemed to place the greatest value on. In vain have some cynics, as if actuated by a wish to degrade their own species, drawn labored and disingenuous parallels between savage and civilized life, in which they strove to turn the scale in fevor of the former. Such men wrote from their closets, and wrote the dictates of ignorance, affecta- tion, or malignity. Their fancifiil remarks want the necessary foundation of facts, or experience, for their support. Every oppor- 66 tunity of intercourse with the savages of North America has shown them to be stupid and unsocial in time of peace, and in war capable only of acta of treachery and fero- city. Such were the impressions made upon the minds of the most accurate observers by the Cherokee chiefs, during their singular embassy in England ; and such is the general HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. testimony of those who have intermixed much with the savages in their own country, or have been engaged in hostilities against them. But war between civilized nations frequently presents, in the midst of all its horrors, objects which afford exquisite plea- sure to the feeling heart. NOTE TO CHAPTER VI. 1 It was, however, strongly sus- pected by a few politicians, that the idea of security to the Eng- lish colonies in North America had been carried too far by the peace-makers, and woufd prove the source of new evils. They thought that the total expulsion of the French would embolden those colonies to shake off the control of the mother country, since they no longer stood in need of her protection against a restless, active, and warlike neighbor. The conjecture has since been verified by events. GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 67 CHAPTER VI. Philosophical Survey of Europe at the Close of the War — Slate of Russia — Of Den- mark — Of Sweden — The King of Prussia and the Empress — Internal Distractions of France — Situation of Spain ;• and Security of Great Britain — Multiplied Con- cerns of the English Government — Plan of Economy pursued by the Ministers — Scheme of the Supplies — Proposed System of Finance censured by the Opposition — Instructions and Petitions of the City of London against the Cider Tax — Earl of Bute^s Resignation — His Majesty^ s Speech at the Close of the Session — Some Account of Mr. Wilkes, and of the Libel entitled " The North Briton''^ — Wilkes's Commitment to the Tower — Writ of Habeas Corpus for bringing Wilkes before the Court of Common Pleas — He is remanded to the ToiDcr — His second Speech at the Bar of the Court — Mr. Wilkes's Case considered under three Heads by Lord Chief- Justice Pratt — Commitment not illegal — The Specification of Passages in the Libel not necessary in the Warrant — Validity of the Plea of Privilege allowed in Cases of Libels — Attempts to bring about a Coalition of Parties — Promotions occasioned by Lord EgremonVs Death — King's Speech at the Meeting of Parliament — Mes- sage about Wilkes to the House of Commons — The North Briton voted a Libel — Wilkes's Complaint of a Breach of Privilege — Debate on the adjourned Considera- tion of his Majesty's Message — Pitt's Speech on the Surrender of Privilege — Other Arguments in support of Parliamentary Privilege — The Resolution, " That Priv- ilege does not extend to Libels," carried in the Commons, and concurred in by the Lords — Concurrence of the Lords in other Resolutions of the Lower House concern- ing the Libel — The Sheriffs obstructed in burning the North Briton — Duel between Martin and Wilkes — The King's Message on the Marriage of the Princess Augus- ta to the Hereditary Prince {now Duke) of Brunswick — Verdict obtained by Wilkes in the Court of Common Pleas — Lord Chief- Justice's Opinion on the Illegality of General Warrants — Proceedings of the Commons to ascertain the State of Wilkes's Health — His Letter from Paris deemed nugatory, and he himself found guilty of a Contempt of the Authority of Parliament — Convicted of being the Author of the con- demned Libel, and expelled — His " Essay on Woman" laid before the House of Lords, who proceed against him for a Breach of Privilege, while he is indicted in the Courts below for Blasphemy — The Ministry very hard pushed in the Debate on General Warrants — New Plan of National Supplies — Resolutions concerning the American Trade— Bill for restraining Abuses and Frauds in the Practice of Frank- ing — Observations on General Conway's Dismission. SURVEY OF EUROPEAN AFFAIRS. Soon after the close of so fierce and gen- eral a war, Europe exhibited a reviving prospect to the philosophical observer. Na- tions, tired of hostile strife, began now to confine their efforts to objects of nobler emu- lation, — to the arts of utility and happiness, — to the pursuits of industry, genius, and science. Even the most ambitious among their sovereigns appeared to be at length convinced, that extent of dominion was too dearly purchased by the lives of thousands ; that sanguinary glory was equally perni- cious and contemptible; and that more wealth and real power could be derived from the honest endeavors of their subjects to enrich themselves, than fi-om making use of their servile assistance to plunder, destroy, or enslave others. In short, a calm and be- nign peace seemed spreading over this quar- ter of the globe ; and the internal state of every country afforded the best pledge for the continuance and increase of its bless- ings. RUSSIA. Russia, though at a distance from the theatre of war, had felt its havoc in the most sensible and tender part, — the decrease of inhabitants. The particular situation of the empress, also, concurred with these motives of national policy to render her averse to any precipitate quarrels with her neighbors. She could not look upon herself as suffi- ciently secured from domestic danger, to provoke the attacks of a foreign enemy. It was necessary, for some time at least, that she should confine her views solely to her own safety. DENMARK. The attention of Denmark and Sweden was not less engrossed by objects of domes- tic concern. His Danish majesty, Frederic V. having amicably settled with Russia what- ever was in dispute concerning the dutchy of Holstein, resumed his former measures for promoting the happiness of his people, and converting, to the most profitable ac- count, the opportunities of a friendly inter- 68 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. course with the nations around liim. His death, which happened about three years after the peace, did not produce aiiy change in the system of administration. Chris- tian VII. seemed desirous of treading in his lather's footsteps, or rather of improving upon his pacific and beneficent plans. All his councils were directed to the encourage- ment of agriculture, to the relief of the peasantry from some remaining oppressions, and to the most effectual means of inviting foreign merchants to his ports, as well as of giving new life and vigor to the commerce of his own subjects. His marriage to the Princess Caroline Matilda of England was another very pleasing circumstance at that time, though it ended unfortunately, through the intrigues, as it was said, of his step- mother, the queen-dowager. But his public conduct, in the early part of his reign, ap- peared to be guided by a strict regard to his father's dying admonitions. " My dear son," said that amiable monarch, " you will soon be king of a flourishing people ; but remem- ber, that to be a great monarch, it is abso- lutely necessary to be a good man. Have justice and mercy therefore constantly be- fore your eyes; and above all things reflect, that you were born for the welfare of your country, and not your country created for your mere emolument. In short, keep to the golden rule of doing as you would be done by ; and whenever you issue an order as a sovereign, examine how far you would be willing to obey such an order, had you been a subject yourself." SWEDEN. The genius of the Swedes had too long been turned to arms. Dazzled by the splen- dor of occasional, but extraordinary success, tliey had fancied themselves born only to conquer, and to regulate the destinies of em- pires. The hope of plunder had been united to the love of glory. It required the expe- rience of a century and a half to undeceive them in their false notions of grandeur, and to convince them that their natural poverty was not to be remedied by martial exploits. The exhausted state of the kingdom, the loss of former conquests, the elevation of Russia, and the near example of Danish in- dustry, made them sensible that it was time for them to lay aside the military character, imd to betake themselves to the useful arts. Peace was become the wish of the whole nation ; and their king favored this rational propensity, not only from a just perception of its advantages, but from being constantly harassed by factions in the senate, and by the jealousy or intrigues of his enemies at home, without seeking abroad for others to contend with. PRUSSIA. With regard to the king of Prussia, after having exhausted all the resources of his gt^ nius in the course of a long and dreadful struggle, toward the close of which his sal- vation was entirely owiiig to an incident be- yond the reach not only of human foresight, but of hope itself, it was not probable that he would be very forv/ard again to commit his affairs, so miraculously preserved, to the chances of war. The empress-queen, on hei- part, had as little temptation to disturb the general tranquillity. Since she failed to re- duce Silesia, or even to recover the smallest particle of her losses, with such an exertion of her own strength, and with such an al- liance as never was seen united before, she must have been satisfied of the folly and madness of renewing the calamities, with which Germany had, for the last six years, been unceasingly afflicted. To this considera- tion was also added her natural desire to set- tle her numerous offspring, and particularly to secure the archduke Joseph's succession to the imperial diadem, by having him pre- viously elected kmg of the Romans. She herself had experienced the difficulty of es- tablishmg the claims of birth, even under the sanction of assenting powers, at the death of her father, who left no male issue. It was therefore necessary to behave in the most conciliating manner towards the elec- tors, in order to prevent any opposition to the choice of her son. In consequence of her prudent policy, he was crowned at Frank- fort, the third of April 1764 ; and, the year after, on the death of his father, he ascended the tlirone with as little noise and bustle as if it had been hereditary. FRANCE. In France, the prevalence of interior dis- sensions afforded some farther pledges of her external inoffensiveness. The king of France had hardly put an end to foreign hostilities, when he was engaged in a contest almost as perplexing with his own parliaments. These parliaments, according to their origin- al constitution, were supreme courts of jus- tice, and had no share in the other concerns of government. But since the meeting-s of the states had been laid aside, the parlia- ments became in fact the only guardians of the rights of the nation ; and though they did not deny that the whole legislative as well as executive power resided in the king, yet they contrived a method of controlling the crown in the exercise of both, and of in- terposing their authority in every matter of religion, of civil police, of revenue, and even, in some instances, in matters of state. As no edict, or arret, had the force of law, till it was registered by them, they gradually assumed the liberty of suspending the regis- try for some time, and of remonstrating against the measure, if unpopular or oppresh sive. The court often found it expedient to GEORGE in. 17B0— 1820. 69 act with seeming condescension, till the par- liaments, encouraged by success, carried tiieir resistance to greater lengths. Soon after the peace, the king issued an edict for the continuance of some taxes which were to have ended with the war, and for imposing new ones. Some regulations were made in like manner for enabling the crown to re- deem its debts at twenty years purchase of their then produce, which was very low. The parliaments considered those edicts as burdens on the people, and as violations of the public faith. Without any previous con- cert, they all resolved on the most strenu- ous opposition, and determined to take this opportunity, not only of frustrating the im- mediate plans of despotism, but of setting up their own authority at so high a point, as to prevent all abuses of the same kind in future. They peremptorily refused to regis- ter the edicts, and prepared remonstrances, in which the language of fair argument de- rived irresistible force and animation from the spirit of manly freedom, [See note A, at the end of this Vol.] The court was alarmed, yet did not tamely give up the point. Governors were sent down into the several provinces with orders, in the king's name, to enforce obedience. But the par- liaments, rather provoked than terrified by such proceedings, issued arrets for seizing and imprisoning any of the governors who dared to become the instruments of arbitrary power. In short, a civil convulsion seemed almost inevitable, when the king thought proper to compromise the dispute ; and from that moment it was evident, that any rash attempt of Lewis to embroil himself with his neighbors, and consequently to increase the burdens of his subjects, would endanger the overthrow of the French monarchy. SPAIN. As to Spain, the wounds she had lately received were so deep and so dangerous, that a great deal of time and the utmost care were necessary to heal them. She could not want any fresh proofs of the ruin- ous consequences of pride, treachery, and precipitance. As she also remained under the influence of French councils, there was the strongest reason to believe, that as long as France found it her interest to continue punctual in the observance of the peace, Spain would not take any step to violate it. Thus Great Britain had little to apprehend from the turbulence of the German powers, or from the intrigues of the house of Bour- bon, especially as her moderate demands, and her Qfenerous concessions in the late treaty, could have left no just causes of irritation to rankle in the breasts of her humbled ene- mies. GREAT BRITAIN. But, while the aspect of the great politi- cal bodies of Europe was so perfectly favor- able towards each other, the British govern- ment never felt greater occasion, than in the midst of this surrounding tranquillity, for the exertions of its vigilance and wisdom, to ex- tinguish the flames of a new war, which suddenly burst out from the ashes of the former, with most of the savage nations iii America ; to regulate the distracted afiairs of the East Indies ; and, above all, to defeat at home the designs of the factious. As these domestic struggles were objects of the most immediate and pressing concern, they claim the first place in the following nar- ration. The issue of the debates on the prelimi- nary articles, in both houses, afforded a very clear proof, that the opposition which was made to any approbation of the peace, had been much more warm than effective. It was absolutely necessary that the nation should repose itself for a long time. The conditions of the peace, at least, had a gene- ral merit sufficient to dispose the people to acquiesce in them. But the spirit of the party was not exhausted in the former at- tempt. They lay in wait to fall upon the administration in the most critical time, and to wound them in the most sensible part, tlie supplies. For though taxes were fill as necessary at the conclusion as during the continuance of the war, that necessity was not, to every person, so glaringly evident ; nor were they by any means so palatable, as when victory and plunder seemed to pay, in glory and profit, for every article of national expense. The advantages of the peace, though far more certain and solid, were les^ sudden and less brilliant. In these dispositions, the people were ready to fall into very ill humors, upon any plan of supply which could be suggested. The administration was fully aware of this ; and, therefore, determined to lay as few new taxes as the public service could possibly admit. Every scheme of economy, every mode of retrenching superfluous expenses, had been carefully studied, and carried into effect, before government could be reconciled to the ungracious necessity of increasing the burdens of the subject. The profusion of the two late reigns, in supporting the parlia- mentary interest of the court, had, indeed, left considerable room for retrenchment The sums lavished in that manner were found, upon minute inquiry, to be extrava- gant almost beyond belief, as a chain of venal dependency reached from the highest mmis- ter down to the meanest domestic, each be- ing allowed, without any restraint or exami- nation, to accumulate, in the most shameful manner, profits and perquisites amomiting often to ten times the value of their regulat- ed appointments. The reform of such abuses, 70 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. and of those impositions which, instead of contributing to the dignity and support of the executive power, debased and weakened it, occasioned an outcry from the numerous de- pendants of the late ministers, who pleaded practice and prescription in their favor. Many of them even alleged, that they had bought their posts from their superiors in office, and that they had therefore a right to make as much of them as they could. In lopping off those excrescences of corruption, a due regard was paid to the just claims of individuals. Though useless offices were abolished, an equitable compensation was made to the persons dismissed ; and with re- gard to such as were retained, care was taken that the servants of the state should receive no more than their lawful wages. SUPPLIES FOR THE YEAR. The savings by all those laudable means, great as they were, did not prove adequate to the necessities of the public : some na- tional method of supply became, of course, unavoidable. In this, however, the ministry were doubly perplexed, not only on account of the difficulty of opening new resources at the close of a very expensive war, but also in consequence of their own repeated de- clarations, that a peace was necessary, in order to lighten the pressures of the people. The following expedients appeared to them most eligible. They proposed to take two millions from the sinking fund ; to issue ex- chequer-bills to the amount of one million eight hundred thousand pounds, chargeable on the first aids to be granted the next ses- sion ; to borrow two millions eight hundred thousand pounds on annuities ; and, lastly, to raise the sum of seven hundred thousand pounds by two lotteries in the course of the year. To defray the interest of these loans, amounting in the whole to seven millions three hundred thousand pounds, an addition- al duty of eight pounds a tun was to be laid on French wines, and four pounds a tun upon all other wines. No objection could well be urged against such imposts ; but as they, alone, would have been insufficient, another duty was added, which gave the dis- contented an opportunity of raising a popu- lar clamor, and of inflaming the whole na- tion. This was a duty of four shillings a hogshead on cider and perry, to be paid by the maker, and to be subjected, with certain qualifications, to all the laws of excise. No sooner was this last tax laid before the house of commons, than opposition un- masked, as it were, all its batteries, and at- tacked not only the ways and means pro- posed, but the very basis of economy and frugality on which the whole plan of the supplies was founded. They proceeded to examine its several branches, and differed in opinion with the ministry, upon every particular. But the cider-tax was the chief subject of declamation and invective. The opposi- tion contended, that this tax was, with re- gard to its object, partial and oppressive; with regard to the means of collecting it, dangerous and unconstitutional ; that it laid the whole burden of expenses, incurred in the general defence of the kingdom and in the protection of the national commerce, on a few particular counties, which m every other article of the public charge contribut- ed their full share. The friends of the administration were not deficient in reply. "Can anything," they asked, " be so flagrantly absurd as to argue that the tax is unequal, or that it lies heavy on some particular counties; when every body must know, that it does not even bring them on a par with all the other coun- ties, where the people drink beer 1 In these counties, all private, as well as public con- sumption, is charged in the malt-tax : the charge on cider is not so great : it has ex- emptions in favor of the poor, which are not indulged in the malt-tax : so that the cider counties have rather reason to be thankful for their long immunity, than querulous that they are at last obliged to contribute rather less than their proportion towards the sup- port of the national burdens." As the main point insisted upon by the opposition was the mode of levying the tax, by making it a branch of the excise, the proposers of the new duty said, " that a very unfair advantage had been taken, in this controversy, of the loose sense of the words, 'extension of the excise laws.' If these words meaned simply, that the excise was extended with regard to its object, the fact was true : but if they were made use of to insinuate, that the powers of the excise were also extended, nothing could be more false. Instead of being extended, those powers were, in many material circumstances, with regard to this new object, very much con- tracted ; and the makers of cider were far more favored than any other class of people under the jurisdiction of the excise. To call it, therefore, a dangerous precedent, must be the effect of wilful misrepresenta- tion, or of a total ignorance of English his- tory. The excise is coeval with the estab- lishment of civil liberty in this country; and the enlightened sons of freedom, who brought about the glorious revolution, could never believe that they sacrificed any essen- tial part of their rights, by adopting the cheapest and most productive means of col- lecting certain branches of the public rev- enu-s." Whatever impression these arguments GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 71 must have made on the majority of both houses of parliament, it is certain that they were found insufficient to quiet the clamors which had been excited, and of which the subject of complaint relative to the supplies had been the pretence only, and not the cause. The lord-mayor, aldermen, and com- mons, of London, instructed their represent- atives, in terms that conveyed no fiivorable ideas of the intentions of the government, to oppose the cider-bill; and many other members, in consequence of having receiv- ed similar instructions from their constitu- ents, did not support the ministry on this oc- casion. The latter, however, steadily pur- sued their point, and accomplished it, though petitions against the bill, from the city of London, were presented to both houses. These having proved ineffectual, the city carried up a third petition to his majesty, the very instant it was known the bill had passed the lords, imploring him not to give his royal assent to so much of it as subject- ed the makers of cider and perry to the laws of excise. The cooler and more disin- terested part of the public could not help considering this last step as extremely pre sumptuous and indecent It meant nothing less, in fact, than beseeching his majesty to prefer the advice and opinion of the corpo- ration of London, to that of both houses of parliament. LORD BUTE RESIGNS. A FEW days after the passing of this bill, in which alone the minister had not so con- siderable a majority as usual, the earl of Bute resigned his office of first lord of the treasury, and Sir Francis Dash wood that of chancellor of the exchequer. The resigna- t on of the latter excited very little sur- prise. The business of finance was neither suited to his inclination, nor to his talents ; and as he had accepted the place solely in compliance with the importunities of the minister, who had a high and very just opin- ion of his integrity, the example of his friend now afforded him the best excuse for retirement But the earl of Bute's conduct was the subject of much astonishment and criticism. The assertions which gained most ground among the credulous multitude were, that the earl of Bute, being alarmed at the rising tempest of popular fury, and afraid of a parliamentary inquiry into some of his late measures, had bargained for his personal safety, with his successors in office ; and tliat, though he had quitted an ostensible situation, everything was still governed by his secret influence. The earl of Bute was not driven from office : he left it with powerful majority in his favor ; so that his divesting himself of that support^ and retir- iao' to a private etation, might rather be looked upon as a bold challenge to his ene- mies, and as dictated by a consciousness of unimpeachable rectitude. But whatever might have been the cause of his resigna- tion, it certainly did not abate the popular ferment, as the ends of the popular leaders were not in any respect answered by it The door still remained shut against their admission into office. Grenville was ap- pointed first commissioner of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer ; and his former seat at the head of the admiralty was filled by lord Sandwich. The earls of Halifax and Egremont continued to be the two secretaries of state : Fox was removed to the upper house, on being created lord Holland ; but as no new characters were in- troduced, the conduct of public affairs did not appear to be in the smallest degree af- fected by the late minister's retirement SESSION CLOSES. On the nineteenth of April, just three days after those arrangements in adminis- tration had taken place, his majesty went to the house of lords, and closed the session with a speech, stating, that "an establish- ment of peace, upon conditions so honorable to my crown, and so beneficial to my peo- ple, was highly increased by my receiving from both houses of parliament the strong- est and most grateful expressions of their entire approbation. These articles have been established, and even rendered still more advantageous to my subjects, by tlie defini- tive treaty ; and my expectations have been fully answered by the happy effects which the several allies of my crown have derived from this salutary measure. The powers at war with my good brother the king of Prus- sia, have been induced to agree to such terms of accommodation as that great prince has approved ; and the success, which has attended my negotiation, has necessarily and immediately diffused the blessings of peace through every part of Europe. " I acquamted you with my firm resolution to form my government on a plan of strict economy. The reductions necessary for this purpose shall be completed ; — although the army maintamed in these kingdoms will be inferior in number to that usually kept up in former times of peace, yet I trust that tlie force proposed, with the establishment of the national militia, (whose services I have experienced, and caimot too much com- mend,) will prove a sufficient security for the future. " I have seen, with the highest concern, the great anticipations of the revenue, and the heavy debts unprovided for during the late war, which have reduced you to the unhappy necessity of imposing further bur- dens on my people. Under tliese circum- stances, it is my earnest wish to contribute by every means to theii* relief. The utmost 12 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. frugality shall be observed in the disposition of the supplies which you have granted; and when the accounts of the money arising from the sale of sucli prizes as are vested in tlie crown shall be closed, it is my intention to direct that the produce shall be applied to the public service." THE NORTH BRITON. This speech, though breathing the true v^pirit of a patriot king, and carrying with it an indisputable proof of its sincerity in the promised application of the French prize- money to the public service, was a few days after criticized with the utmost malignity und insolence in a periodical publication en- titled The North Briton. The author of so shameless a libel was .John Wilkes ; he was at that time member of parliament for Ayles- bury. Though he had no pretension to ge- nius, or eloquence, he possessed the more dangerous talent of expertness in seasoning his writings to suit the taste, and to inflame the minds of the vulgar. Perceiving the stoical indifference of the ministry with re- gard to their own persons, he aimed his abuse at majesty itself, and in the forty-fifth number of his paper, animadverted upon the king's speech with such daring acrimony, that the secretaries of state thought them- selves obliged, in vindication of the grossly insulted honor of the sovereign, to take up the author. The process for this purpose was a loose office form, which had been con- stantly practised ever since the revolution, and never, in any instance, censured during that period. It was a warrant of a general nature, signed by lord Halifax, and directed tx) four of his majesty's messengers, com- manding them to apprehend, without speci- fyino^ any names, the authors, printers, and {)ublishers of that seditious and treasonable paper. WILKES SENT TO THE TOWER. In consequence of these orders, George Keamsley, the publisher, and several print- ers were apprehended ; and their examina- tion affording sufficient ground for fixing upon Wilkes as the author, the messengers went to his house on the twenty-ninth of April, late at night, and produced their war- rant. Wilkes excepted to its generality, and as his name was not mentioned in it, he threatened the first man who should offer violence to his person in his own house at that unseasonable hour. The messengers thought proper to retire ; but they returned next morning, and carried him in a coach before one of the secretaries of state, partly, as he alleged, by force. On his refusing to answer any questions relative to the charge brought against him, the following warrant for his commitment was signed by both the secretaries of state, and was ad- dressed to the constable of the Tower, or his deputy : "These are, in his majesty's name, to authorize and require you to receive into your custody the body of John Wilkes, Esq, herewith sent you, for being the author and publisher of a most infamous and seditious libel, entitled. The North Briton, No. XLV. ; tending to inflame the minds and alienate the affections of the people from his majesty, and to excite them to traitorous insurrec- tions against the government ; and to keep him safe and close, until he shall be deliv- ered by due course of law ; and for so doing this shall be your warrant. Given at St. James's, the thirtieth of April, 1763, in the third year of his majesty's reign." A copy of this warrant was readily granted to Wilkes's solicitor by major Rainsford, the commanding officer at the Tower ; but no persons were admitted to speak with the prisoner. Though the like measures had been constantly adopted upon similar occa- sions ; and though the zeal and indignation of the secretaries of state against so auda- cious a delinquent might well excuse much greater severity ; yet the refusal of admit- tance to Wilkes was represented as an in- fringement of the rights of the subject, and a wanton stretch of tyrannical cruelty. The seizure and sealing up of his papers, a thing never omitted upon taking into custody any person charged with being the author of a treasonable libel, was called downright rob- bery, notwithstanding the peculiar delicacy that was observed in the i>resent case : for the under-secretar}'^ of state, and the solicitor to the treasury attended, and invited the friends of Wilkes to be present at sealing up his papers, an operation which had in past times been always performed by the messenger, were he ever so rude or illiterate. Even the committal to the Tower, which was chosen from respect to the person of a member of parliament, was employed by the agents of faction to excite terror, and to swell the popular alarm. Immediately on the first intimation of Wilkes's having been apprehended by the king's messengers, a motion was made in the court of common pleas for an habeas corptcs, which was granted; but the pro- thonotary's office not being open, the habeas corpus could not be sued out till four o'clock in the afternoon, before which time Wilkes had been committed to the Tower. The Monday morning after, the court of common pleas ordered a return to the writ, which having been served upon the messengers only, their return was, that Wilkes was not then in their custody. The court not judg- ing that return to be sufficient, would not suffer it to be filed; and another writ of GEORGE III. 1760-1820. 73 habeas corpus was granted, directed to the constable of the Tower and his officers ; in consequence of which the prisoner was brought up next day, May the third, to Westminster-hall. As soon as Wilkes was conducted to the bar of the court, he made a formal speech, replete with virulent expressions against the ministry, affected compliments to the king, and labored encomiums upon himself as a dauntless champion and persecuted sufferer in the cause of liberty. Pleadings followed on both sides ; and the prisoner was remand- ed to the Tower, till Friday the sixth of May, that the judges might have leisure to consider the case, and to form their opinion ; but, in the intermediate time, his friends and lawyers were to have free access to his person. When Wilkes was again brought to West- minster-hall, he made a second speech, of the same inflammatory tendency as the for- mer, and of which, as it was then cried up as a master-piece of oratory, it may be proper to subjoin a copy. " My lords," said the prisoner, " far be it fVom me to regret that I have passed so many more days in captivity, as it will have afforded you an opportunity of doing, upon mature re- flection and repeated examination, the more signal justice to my country. The liberty of all peers and gentlemen, and what touches rae more sensibly, that of all the middling and inferior class of people, who stand most in need of protection, is in my case this day to be finally decided upon: a question of such importance as to determine at once, whether English liberty be a reality or a shadow. Your own free-born hearts will feel with indignation and compassion all that load of oppression under which I have so long labored. Close imprisonment, the effect of premeditated malice, all access for more than two days denied to me, my house ran- aicked and plundered, my most private and secret concerns divulged, every vile and malignant insinuation, even of high treason itself, no less industriously than falsely cir- culated by my cruel and implacable enemies, together with all the various insolence of OTice, form but a part of my unexampled ill-treatment Such inhuman prmciples of stir-chamber tyranny will, I trust, by this court, upon this solemn occasion, be finally extirpated ; and henceforth every innocent man, however poor and unsupported, may nope to sleep in peace and security in his own house, unviolated by king's messengers find the arbitrary mandates of an overbear- ing secretary of state. " 1 will no longer delay your justice. The nation is impatient to hear, nor can be safe or happy till that is obtained. If the same persecution is, after all, to carry me before Vol. IV. 7 another court, I hope I shall find that the genuine spirit of Mogna Charta, that glori- ous inheritance, that distinguishing charac- teristic of Englishmen, is as religiously re- vered there, as I know it is here, by the great personages before whom I have now the happiness to stand ; and (as in the ever- memorable case of the imprisoned bishops) that an independent jury of free-born Eng- lishmen will persist to determine my fate, as in conscience bound, upon constitutional principles, by a verdict of guilty, or not guilty. I ask no more at the hands of my countrymen." The sentence of the court is the best comment on this speech, which, though seemingly addressed to the judges, was in reality an appeal to the passions of the mul- titude. Lord chief-justice Pratt, in delivering the opinion of the court, stated the case under three heads, which had been chiefly insisted upon in the pleadings : first, the legality of Wilkes's commitment ; secondly, the neces- sity for a specification of those particular passages in the forty-fiflh number of the North Briton, which had been deemed a libel ; and thirdly, Wilkes's privilege as a member of parliament In regard to the first, his lordship remark- ed, that he would consider a secretary of state's warrant, through the whole affair, os nothing superior to the warrant of a common justice of the peace ; and that no magistrate had, in reality, a right, ex officio, to appre- hend any person, without stating the partic- ular crime of which he was accused ; but, at the same time he observed, there v-'ere many precedents where a nice combination of circumstances gave so strong a suspicion of facts, that though the magistrate could not be justified ex officio, he was, neverthe- less, supported in the commitment, even without receiving any particular informa- tion for the foundation of his charge. The word charge, his lordship took notice, was in general much misunderstood, and did not mean the accusation brought against any person taken up, but his commitment by the magistrate before whom he might be brought. Upon the whole of this point, according to the customary rule which had been for a series of years observed by the sages of the law, his lordship was of opinion, that Wilkes's commitment was not illegal. As to the second point in discussion, which Wilkes's counsel had contended, that a spe- cification of the particular passages in the North Briton which were deemed libellous, ought to have been inserted in the body of the warrant, his lordship did not Uiink any such specification necessary ; for even sup- posing the whole of the obnoxious paper to have been copied into the warrant, yet it by 74 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. no means came under the cognizance of the court at that time. The matter then in con- sideration was not the nature of the offence, but the legality of the commitment; the nature of the offence not resting in the bosom of a judge without the assistance of a jury, and not being a proper subject of in- quiry, till regularly brought on to be tried in the usual way of proceeding. With respect to the third head, which was the plea of privilege, his lordship re- marked, that there were but three cases which could possibly affect the privileges of a member of parliament, and these were treason, felony, and the peace. The peace, • as it is written in the institutes of the law, his lordship explained to signify a breach of the peace. He said that the commitment of the seven bishops for endeavoring to dis- turb the peace happened in an arbitrary reign, when there was but one honest judge, out of four in the court of king's bench, and he had declined giving any opinion. "If then," continued his lordship, "the privilege of parliament is to be held sacred and in- violable, except in the three particular cases wherein it is forfeited, it only remains to examine how far Wilkes's privilege is en- dangered in the present instance. He stands accused of writing a libel. A libel, in the sense of the law, is a high misdemeanor, but does not come within the description of trea- son, felony, or breach of the peace. At most, it has but a tendency to disturb the peace, and consequently cannot be sufficient to de^ stroy the privilege of a member of parlia ment." WILKES DISCHARGED. The court then discharged Wilkes, who returned the judges his thanks in the name of the public, of the whole English nation, and of all the subjects of the English crown, for his liberty ; though it is very evident, that he obtained it only under the circumstance of his being a member of par- liament. In the morning after Wilkes's release from^the Tower, he wrote a letter to the two secretaries of state, complaining, that, during his confinement, his house had been robbed : and that, being informed the stolen goods were in the possession of their lord- ships, he insisted upon restitution. Next day he repaired to a justice of peace, and de- manded a warrant to search the houses of the two secretaries ; which was refused by the magistrate. Though nothing could be more impotent and extravagant than such proceedings, yet the secretaries of state thought proper to return, under their own hands, a serious answer to his absurd charge. They took notice of the indecency and scur- rility of his language ; but they very can- didly explained the legal motives for the seizure of his papers, informing him, that such of them as did not lead to a proof of his guilt should be restored, but that the rest would be delivered over to those whose office it was to collect the evidence, and to manage the prosecution against him. Another circumstance happened about the same time, which Wilkes laid before the public. One of the secretaries of state had written to earl Temple, who was lord-lieu- tenant of the county of Buckingham, sig- nifying to him his majesty's pleasure, that Wilkes should be dismissed from being colonel of the militia for that county. This order was communicated to Wilkes with much seeming concern by his lordship, who was himself soon after removed from the lieutenancy of the county, to make way for j lord Despenser, late Sir Francis Dashwood. The letters that passed on this occasion were printed and industriously circulated, as a farther proof of the cruel persecution Wilkes suffered. The rabble, whose pity he thus I endeavored to secure, were incapable of re- flecting, that the libeller of the king and : government of any country is a very im- I proper person to be intrusted with the chief means of its internal security and defence. The reappearance of the North Briton, with all his farther efforts to increase the number of his seditious adherents, was so far from intimidatmg ministry, that an in- formation was filed against him in the court of king's bench, at his majesty's suit, as the author of the aforesaid libel. The printers, and some other persons, who, as well as Mr. Wilkes, had been taken up by general warrants, sought redress at law ; and such was the temper of the times, which, by being diffused among the people, was supposed to have influenced the juries, that they obtained damages greatly beyond their real sufferings, and, possibly, beyond their own most sanguine hopes. These ac- tions were prosecuted in such a manner, that the public attention to them was kept constantly alive. It seemed as if freedom had every day a new conflict to undergo, and obtained every day a new victory. Ad- ministration, on the other hand, opposed them by all the advantages, which the law allows to those who act on the defensive ; and sometimes by the interposal of privilege kept this matter still longer m agitation; insomuch that, until the meeting of parlia- ment, scarcely anything else could enter into the thoughts or conversation of the people. On this point, therefore, it was ex- pected the great trial of strength and skiU in the ensuing session would be made. CHANGES IN THE MINISTRY. While both parties were vigorously pre- paring for the intended struggle, an event took place, which for a few days diverted GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 75 their attention to another object, and seemed at first likely to occasion a change in the ministry. This was the earl of P^gremont's sudden death, of a fit of the apoplexy, on the twenty-first of August. His majesty, upon this event, gave way to some overtures for a coalition of interests. The proposal, which was first made to Pitt by the earl of Bute, was readily embraced by the former, and he appeared at court with great alacri- ty. Grenville offered, for the tranquillity of his majesty's government, to resign his place of first commissioner of the treasury, and to accept of any post that was not utterly in- consistent with his rank in life. The ac- commodation appeared the more practicable, as none of the great leaders testified the smallest unwillingness to be again associat- ed in office with the earl of Bute. But when Pitt, at a second interview with the king, came to propose the particular arrange- ments, it appeared that he wished to engross for himself and his friends all the important offices of the state, and that none but sub- ordinate situations were to be lefl for those to whom the king thought himself bound by the strongest ties of honor and justice. The treaty, therefore, proved ineffectual ; but his majesty's firmness made up for all incon- veniencies, and the administration soon re- lumed to its natural channel. There were at this time two very impor- tant vacancies, that of secretary of state occasioned by lord Egremont's death, and that of president of the council, which had not been filled since the decease of lord Granville. The seals of the former office were given to lord Sandwich, who had been named to go ambassador to Spain ; and the duke of Bedford succeeded to the president's chair. Some other promotions took place on the same occasion, the most remarkable of which were the removal of lord Egmont from the post-office to the admiralty, the duke of Marlborough's acceptance of the privy-seal, and the appointment of the earl of Hillsborough to be first lord of trade and plantations, in the room of lord Shelburne. The earl of Bute's continuance in retire- ment, and several other circumstances which appeared while the late treaty was on foot, made it evident to the world, that the sub- sisting administration did not, from the be- ginning, by any means act under the in- fluence, nor altogether in concurrence with the opinion of that minister, whose resigna- tion had raised them to the direction of af- fairs. Pitt, the duke of Newcastle, and their respective friends, had looked upon the pro- posals made to them as an ncknowledgment, that the persons then in office could not go on without the access'on of their strength : and this mistaken idea had occasioned tlie unreasonable demands of the popular lead- ers, which amounted little short of a pro- scription of the king's most faithful servants. But as soon as the negotiation was broken off, and when they saw the helm of state, which they had just fancied to be within their grasp, intrusted to other hands, they determmed to rally all their forces ; to re- new their attacks on the infirmities of the peace (1) ; to destroy the credit of the ma- gistracy, by representing every step taken to preserve good order as so many strides to- wards the establishment of despotism ; and to render the late exercise of the royal prerogative odious. MEETING OF PARLIAMENT. At the meeting of parliament on the fif- teenth of November, the king made a speech to both houses, stating, amongst the usual matters, as follows : — " To ease my people of some share of those burdens, I have directed, as I promised at the end of last session of parliament, that the money arising from the sales of the prizes vested in the crown should be applied to the public service. It is my in- tention to reserve for the same use, whatever sums shall be produced by the sale of any of the lands belonging to me in the islands in the West Indies, which were ceded to us by the late treaty." PROCEEDINGS RESPECTING WILKES. The instant the commons were returned to their own house from the lords, and be- fore the king's speech was reported to them, according to the usual form, the chancellor of the exchequer acquainted the housp, by his majesty's command, "that his majesty having received information, that John Wilkes, a member of that house, was the author of a most seditious and dangerous libel, published since the last session of par- liament, he had caused the said John Wilkes to be apprehended and secured, in order to his being tried for the same, by due course of law ; and Wilkes, having been discharg- ed out of custody, by the court of common pleas, upon account of his privilege as a member of that house; and having, when called upon by the legal process of the court of king's bench, stood out, and declined to appear and answer to an information, which was exhibited against him, by his majesty's attorney-general, for the same offence; in this situation his majesty, being desirous to show all possible attention to the privileges of the house of commons, in every instance wherein they can be supposed to be con- cerned ; and, at the same time, thinking it of the utmost importance not to suffer the public justice of the kingdom to be eludetl, had chosen to direct the said libel, rnd nlso copies of the examination upon which Wilkes was apprehended and secured, to be laid be- fore that house for their consideration.'^ 76 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Grenville concluded this message with lay- ing the papers on the table ; and with mov- ing a resolution, to which the house unan- imously assented, viz. " that an humble ad- dress be presented to his majesty, to re- turn him the thanks of the house for his most gracious message, and for the tender regard therein expressed for the privileges of the house, and to assure his majesty that the house would forthwith take into their most serious consideration the very important matter communicated by his majesty's mes- sage." Then the house proceeded to examine the papers, which were copies of the North Briton, No. XLV., and of the examinations of Richard Balfe, the printer, and of George Kearsley, the publisher; by which it ap- peared, tliat government had been well founded in the proceedings against Wilkes, as the author of that production. A very long and warm debate ensued. It was strongly urged by the opposition, that no greater liberties had been taken by the au- thor of the obnoxious paper, with regard to his majesty's speech, than what had been common upon former occasions of the same kind ; and that the speech of the king had never been considered in any other light than that of the minister, and had always been treated with equal freedom. But these arguments were easily refuted by a refer- ence to the words of the libel itselfj which far surpassed, in the vulgarity of its abase, and the grossness of its scurrilous reflections on the king's probity as well as his person, the most daring invectives that had ever been uttered against government. It was therefore resolved by a majority of two hundred and seventy-three, against one liundred and eleven, " that the paper, en- titled the North Briton, No. XLV., is a false, scandalous, and seditious libel, containing expressions of the most unexampled inso- lence and contumely towards his majesty, the grossest aspersions upon both houses of parliament, and the most audacious defiance of the authority of the whole legislature ; and most manifestly tending to alienate the affections of the people from his majesty, to withdraw them from their obedience to the laws of the realm, and to excite them to traitorous insurrections." In consequence of this resolution, an or- der was agreed to by the house, that the said paper should be burnt by the hands of the common hangman. Wilkes, who had several times stood up, being now admitted to speak, complained to the house of breach of privilege, by the imprisonment of his per- son, the plundering of his house, the seiz- ure of his papers, and the serving him with a subpoena upon an information in the court of king's bench. As no legal conviction yet lay against Wilkes, of his being the author of the paper, his complaint was perfectly- regular. A more particular hearing of it, and the farther consideration of the king's mes- sage, were adjourned to the twenty-third of November. The commons met on the sLxteenth. The address contained nothing remarkable, ex- cept the congratulations of the house on the auspicious birth of another prince, and on the queen's happy recovery. PRIVILEGES OF PARLIAMENT. On the twenty-third of November, the commons resumed the adjourned considera- tion of his majesty's message of the fifteenth ; and a motion was made, " That privilege of parliament does not extend to the case of writing and publishing seditious libels, nor ought to be allowed to obstruct the ordinary course of the laws, in the speedy and effec- tual prosecution of so heinous and dangerous an offence." As this resolution tended to confine within narrower limits the supposed privileges of every member of the legisla- ture, and was also diametrically opposite to the late determination of the court of com- mon pleas, the ministry were deserted by a few of their usual supporters, and the oppo- sition made a vigorous, though finally inef- fectual stand against it. Pitt exerted him- self with extraordinary ardor in this debate ; ^ and as the extent of his concejitions, the acuteness of his remarks, nrsd the powers of his eloquence, left very little to be i'aid by any other person, on the same side of the ques- tion, his speech, which has been faithfully preserved, precludes every vain attempt to give a more impressive form to the chief ar- guments that were urged against the sur- render of privilege. He represented such a surrender "as highly dangerous to the freedom of parlia- ment, and an infringement on the rights of the people. No man," he said, " could con- demn the paper or libel more than he did ; but he would come at the author fiiirly, — not by an open breach of the constitution, and a contempt of all restraint. This proposed sacrifice of privilege was putting every mem- ber of parliament, who did not vote with the minister, under a perpetual terror of impris- onment. To talk of an abuse of privilege, was to talk against the constitution, against the very being and life of parliament. It was an arraignment of the justice and honor of parliament, to suppose that they would protect any criminal whatever. Whenever a complaint was made against any member, the house could give him up. This privilege had never been abused : it had been reposed in parliament for ages. But take away this privilege, and the whole parliament is laid at the mercy of the crown. Why," contin- ued he, " is a privilege, which has never GEORGE IIL 1760—1820. 77 been abused, to be voted away ] Parliament has no right to vote away its privileges. They are the inherent right of the succeed- ing members of this house, as well as of the present members; and I very much doubt whether a sacrifice made by this house is valid and conclusive against the claim of a future parliament." With respect to the paper itself, or the libel which had given pretence for this re- quest to surrender the privileges of parlia- ment, he observed that the house had alrea- dy voted it a libel — he joined in that vote. He condemned the whole series of North Britons : he called them illiberal, unmanly, and detestable. He abhorred all national re- flections. "The king's subjects," he said, " were one people. Whoever divided them was guilty of sedition. His majesty's com- {)laint was well founded : it was just : it was necessary. The author did not deserve to be ranked among the human species — he was the blasphemer of his God (3) and the libeller of his king. He had no connexion with him: he had no connexion with any «uch writer : he neither associated nor com- municated with any such. It was true that he had friendships, and warm ones : he had obligations, and great ones : but no friend- ships, no obligations could induce him to ap- prove what he firmly condemned. It might be supposed, that he alluded to his noble re- lation [lord Temple]. He was proud to call "him his relation : he was his friend, his bo- som friend, whose fidelity was as unshaken as his virtue. They went into office together, and they came out together : they had lived together, and would die together. He knew nothing of any connexion with the writer of the libel. If there subsisted any, he was to- tally unacquainted with it. The dignity, the honor of parliament had been called upon to 5?npport and protect the purity of his majes- ty's character ; and this they had done by a strong and decisive condemnation of the libel which his majesty had submitted to the consideration of the house. But having done tliis, it was neither consistent with the honor and safety of parliament, nor with the rights and interests of the people, to go one step farther. The rest belonged to the courts below." The other arguments made use of by the opposers of the resolution were little more than repetitions of the doctrine so lately con- firmed by the court of king's bench ; that the privilege of parliament extended to all cases, except treason, felony, and those of- fences in which sureties of the peace might be demanded ; that libels were breaches of the peace only by inference, and by construc- tion, not actually, and in their own nature ; that this doctrine was supported by the high- est law authorities, by the records of parlia- 7* ment, and particularly by two plain resolu- tions of the house of peers, so far as the question concerned their privilege ; and that to relax the rule of privilege, case by case, would be attended with the greatest incon- venience, by rendering the rule itself pre- carious, in consequence of which the judges would neither know how to decide with cer- tainty, nor the subject to proceed with safety in this doubtfiil and perilous business. With whatever plausibility and eloquence Pitt and his party endeavored to support these opinions, the advocates for tlie motion very fully demonstrated their fallacy, and established the contrary doctrine on every ground of popularity, liberty, law, precedent, and reason. They first took a view of the nature of the offence, and showed that a libel was not only productive of consequences injurious to the peace of individuals, but in many cases, pregnant with danger to the safety, and to the very being of the common- wealth. They asserted, that the distinction between actual and constructive breaches of the peace was trifling and sophistical : that the question was concerning the nature and weight of the offence, and not the name by v/hich it was called : that it would be ridiculous to allow a seditious libeller advan- tages which were denied to an ordmary breaker of the peace, when sedition was a crime of much greater guilt and importance than a menacing gesture, or even an actual assault: that the privOege of parliament was a privilege of a civil nature, instituted to preserve the member from being distract- ed in his attention to the business of the na- tion, by litigations concerning his private property, but by no means to prove a protec- tion for crimes. " If," said they, " this dis- tinction of breaches of the peace were to hold, members of parliament might not only libel public and private persons with impu- nity, but might, with the same unpunity, commit many other misdemeanors and of- fences of the grossest nature, and the most destructive to morality and order ; because they, as well as libels, are breaches of the peace, but by construction, and in their con- sequence. If privilege were of this nature, the freedom of the members would be the slavery of the subject, and the danger of the state. "Privilege of parliament," they added, " being defined solely by the discretion of either house for itself, was a matter of the most delicate nature : it was therefore to be used with the utmost moderation. If it should be so exercised as to appear incompatible with the public peace or order, or even, per- haps, with the safety and quiet of individu- als, the people might come to think that they lived under a constitution, injudicious- ly, and even absurdly framed, in which the 78 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. personal liberty of the representatives of a free people might become inconsistent with their own. That the house, instead of en- larging- its immunities beyond their original intention and spirit, — instead of claiming an invidious and no very honorable privilege, ought to stand forward in giving a noble ex- ample of its moderation and its regard to justice. By agreeing to the resolution, it would give this practical lesson, and, at the same time, this comfortable security to the people, that no situation was a sanctuary for those who presumed to violate the law in any of its parts." Such were some of the chief points in- sisted on by those who justified the proposed resolution ; and the debate being adjourned till next day, the question was carried by a majority of one hundred and twenty-five. One of the members was then nominated to go up to the house of lords, to desire a con- ference for obtaining the concurrence of their lordships ; which was accordingly granted ; and their lordships, in a few days after, agreed to the resolution, though not without a more obstinate and violent strug- gle than even that which had taken place in tiie commons. The protest, signed by sev- enteen of them, affords a proof of what has been already remarked, tliat Mr. Pitt left very little room for the display of novelty or of originality on that side of the question. But the speech of lord Lyttleton in support of the resolution and published by himself, though less ardent than Pitt's, has been gen- erally deemed more convincing and unan- swerable. NORTH BRITON BURNED BY THE COM- MON HANGMAN. The majority of the lords concurred in the resolution of the commons on the ques- tion of privilege, and in other resolutions of the lower house relative to the libel; — in the order for its being burned by the com- mon hangman ; and in the propriety of ad- dressing the king to testify their indignation at such unparalleled insolence. But though both houses of parliament, ac- tuated by the strongest motives of loyalty and of true patriotism, had resolved that no plea of privilege should obstruct the regular course of justice in matters of such high concern to the public, and had also ordered the North Briton, No. XLV. to be burned by the common hangman; yet, v/hen tliis order was on the point of being executed at the Royal Exchange, under the immediate direction of the city .sheriffs, Ilarley and Blunt, the mob became so riotous as to rescue the paper from the executioner before it was consumed, and to fling a billet snatched from the fire at Harley's chariot, in consequence of wliich he was slightly wounded. This riot being reported to the lords and com- mons, they took up the matter with becom- ing seriousness ; and resolved, after the lord* had examined Harley, "that the rioters were perturbators of the public peace, dan- gerous to the liberties of this country, and obstructors of the national justice." The sheriffs, at the same time, had the thanks of parliament for their spirited conduct on the occasion; and both houses unanimously joined in an address to his majesty, that he would give directions for the discovery of the rioters. DUEL BETWEEN MARTIN AND WILKES- After these steps, taken by the whole legislative body, to brand the libel itself with the strongest marks of their abhorrence, the commons proceeded in the complaint against Wilkes as the author of it. But their earn- estness in the prosecution was for some tune checked by an accident, which, though per- ilous to Wilkes, proved very useful to his party, by keeping the hopes and spirit of the mob alive, which would probably have ex- pired under an early and final decision of the house against him. In the course of the first day's debate on the kmg's message re- specting the libel, Samuel Martin, member of parliament for Camelford, and late first secretary of the treasury, whose character had been virulently attacked in some of the early numbers of the North Briton, took an opportunity of remarking, " that the author of these papers was a malignant and mfa- mous coward." When the house was up, Wilkes sent a note to Martin, acknowledg- ing himself to be the author. A duel with pistols ensued, in which Wilkes was so dan- gerously wounded, that he could not appear in the house of commons, when the matter of his complaint was to be heard. In con- sequence, therefore, of a letter from Wilkes to the speaker, requestmg that the farther consideration of his case might be deferred until he was able to attend, tlie commons put off" the hearing of evidence on the charge against him as the author of the li- bel ; but decided the other questions resjxDct- ing the plea of privilege, and the criminality of the paper, as has been already related. MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS AUGUSTA. During this delay of the direct proceed- ings of the commons against Wilkes, tiiey received another message from the king, to inform them that his majesty, having re- ceived proposals for a marriage between the princess Augusta and tlie hereditary prince of Brunswick, had agreed to the same ; and as he could not doubt but that sucli an alli- ance would be to the general satisfaction of all his subjects, he promised himself the as- sistance of that house, to enable him to give his eldest sister a portion suitable to the honor and dignity of the crown. The com- mons, tlierefore, as well as the lords, to GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 79 whom the like information was communi- cated, unanimously resolved to address the king to declare their entire satisfection at the prospect of an alliance with so illustri- ous a Protestant family, which had so sig- nally distinguished itself in the defence of the liberties of Europe. The address was presented by the whole house; and they voted eighty thousand pounds as a dowry to her royal highness. The prince arrived in England the twelfth of January following : the nuptials were celebrated on the evening of the sixteenth, in the most splendid man- ner. GENERAL WARRANTS DECLARED IL- LEGAL. Mr. Wilkes, though confined by his \vound, and almost deserted by his party in both houses of parliament, made an effort of another kind, which was crowned with tem- porary success. Encouraged by the verdicts which had been given in favor of several persons taken up, like himself, on general warrants, he commenced an action in the court of common pleas, against Robert Wood, Esq. the late under-secretary of state, for seizing his papers ; and on the sixth of December, after a hearing of near fifteen hours, before lord chief-justice Pratt, and a special jury, he obtained a verdict with lOOOZ. damages, and costs of suit. In the charge given on this occasion by the judge to the jury, his lordship pronounced the warrant, under which Wilkes had been apprehended, unconstitutional, illegal, and absolutely void ; but he also declared, that he was far from wishing a matter of such consequence should rest solely on his opinion, as he was only one, of the twelve judges, and as there was also a still higher court, before which tlie question might be canvassed. " If," said he, "these higher jurisdictions should de- clare my opinion erroneous, I submit, as will become me, and kiss the rod : but I must Fay, I shall always consider it as a rod of iron for the chastisement of the people of Great Britain." It is but justice to so truly respectable a character to observe, in direct contradiction to the insinuations at that time thrown out by some of the intemperate friends of the ministry, that this opinion was not tinctured with party spirit, nor influ- enced by party attachments. It was the re- sult of the most profound knowledge, and of the fullest conviction (4). It was the very opinion, which this great lawyer, when at- torney-general, had stated, with equal can- dor and firmness, to Pitt, who was at that time secretary of state, and who, notwith- standing his learned friend's declaration against the legality of general warrants, thought himself justified by the practice of office, and by the exigency of the occasion, in having recourse to such extraordinary acts of power. So solemn a decision was con- sidered by the opposition as a matter of great triumph. WILKES AVOIDS THE HOUSE OF COM- MONS. On the sixteenth of December, the house of commons, being tired out by repeated de- lays of Wilkes's appearance on account of his wound, and suspecting that there might be some collusion between him and such of the faculty as attended him, made an order that doctor Heberden and Mr. Hawkins, the former a physician and the latter a surgeon, should observe the progress of his cure, and report their opinion to the house. Wilkes declined to admit them, though he had be- fore received their visits at the request of Martin. But in justification of the charac- ters of his own medical attendants, and of the reports they had made from tune to time of the state of his health, he sent for doctor Duncan, one of his majesty's surgeons in ordinary, and Middleton, one of his majes- ty's Serjeant surgeons, observing, in his usual strain of sarcastic humor, " that, as he found the house of commons thought it proper he should be watched, he himself thought two Scotchmen most proper for his spies." It seems, however, that the superior powers of Scotch surgery, or the kind care and concern of the house of commons for Wilkes's speedy recovery, had the happiest eifect : for the house having, on the twen- tieth of December, adjourned during the Christmas holidays, Wilkes found himself well enough, on the twenty-fourth, to set out for France, in order to visit his daugh- ter, who, he said, was then dangerously ill at Paris. The truth is, that Wilkes, very justly intimidated by the decision of all the preliminary questions relative to his case, and by the sentence passed on his seditious libel, seized the present opportunity aflforded him by the adjournment of the conmions, to make his escape. During the recess, it was very confidently asserted by several of Wilkes's friends, that he would attend the house on the nineteenth of January, which was the last day fixed for his appearance. But, when that day arrived, the speaker produced a letter he had receiv- ed by the post from Wilkes at Paris, stating the impossibility of his attending his duty in parliament at the time required, with a paper inclosed, purporting to be a certificate of one of the French king's physicians, and of a surgeon of the French army, relatmg to the state of Wilkes's health, but not au- thenticated before a notary public, nor the signature thereof verified in any manner. Those papers being read, some medical gen- tlemen, wlio attended according to order, were called in and interrogated at the bar. It appeai-ed by their testimony, that Wilkes 80 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. had refused to admit surgeons appointed by that house to examine into the state of his wounds ; and his retreat into France rather indicating a distrust of his cause, than any- thing amiss in his constitution, the house re- solved, that in so doing, he was guilty of a contempt of their authority, and that they would therefore proceed to hear the evidence in support of the charge against him. They considered the letter and the apology he had sent for his non-appearance, together with the certificate that accompanied it, as quite nugatory. If his wound had been in the con dition in which he represented it, a journey to Paris was a strange measure ; and the consequences arose from his own voluntary act WILKES EXPELLED. After the examination of the witnesses against Wilkes had been entered upon by the house, repeated efforts were made by a few of his friends to interrupt, or to procure an adjournment of the farther hearing of evi dence : but, to no purpose. The witnesses were all successively called in ; and their information appearing satisfactory as to the author of the libel, on the atrocious crimi- nality of which the house had already passed sentence, the expulsion of Wilkes was voted by a very considerable majority ; and a new writ was ordered for electing another mem- ber for Aylesbury in his room. To complete the degradation of this late idol of the populace, a book, entitled " An Essay on Woman," which he had privately printed and dispersed among his friends, was presented by one of the secretaries of state to the house of lords. This book, full of the most indecent and profane ribaldry, reflected on the character of a right reverend member of that house (5), whose vast extent of eru- dition and genius added dignity and lustre to his high station. The peers proceeded against the author for a breach of privilege, while he was indicted in the courts below for blasphemy. The warmest of his former advocates were now ashamed to utter a word m his favor ; and even the mob, though they did not disrelish faction, could not digest profaneness: they could forgive party-malice, but were shocked at offences against morali- ty, religion, and common decency. Wilkes was soon run to an outlawry for not appear- ing to the indictments against him ; and the suits, which he had carried on against the secretaries of state, fell of course to the ground. GENERAL WARRANTS. So far the triumph of the ministry was complete. Sentence was passed on the cause, as well as on the person of their most ma- il £-nant slanderer. But the secretaries of state were soon attacked on a point, which could hardly be defended by the utmost ex- ertions of their strength and influence. On the fourteenth of February, a motion wa? made in the house of commons, " that a gen- eral warrant for apprehending and seizing the authors, printers, and publishers of a se- ditious libel, together with their papers, was not warranted by law." The friends of ad- ministration were far from vindicating the practice of general warrants ; but they thought that the abuse of them could not be effectually prevented by a resolution of one branch of the legislature on a single case, and that the remedy should be provided by an act of parliament, distinguishing cases, and specifying those discretionary powers, which the contingent exigencies of govern- ment might require to be vested in a secre- tary of state. They also insisted very strong- ly on the impropriety of deciding in the house of commons a question then depending in a court of judicature. It was thus they en- deavored to ward off the intended blow ; and having, though by a small majority, procured an adjournment of the question till the seven- teenth, one of their friends moved, that after the words, " That a general warrant for ap- prehending and seizing the authors, printers, and publishers of a seditious and treasonable libel, together with their papers is not war- ranted by law ;" might be added, " although such warrant had been issued according to the usage of office, and hath been frequently produced to, and, so far as appears to this house, the validity thereof hath never been debated in the court of king's bench, but the parties thereupon have been freq^ently bailed by the said court" This state of the ques- tion subjected it to new and insurmountable difficulties, because a resolution of the com- mons, so worded, would imply no less than an imputation of perjury on the court of king's bench, for admitting to bail persons committed upon such illegal warrants, in- stead of giving them a free discharge. It was likewise thought a little extraordinary, that the word " treasonable," contained in the earl of Halifax's general warrant, was omitted in the original motion. After a very long and warm debate, it was carried, that the farther consideration of the question should be adjourned for four months, which was, in the usual phrase, civilly dismissing it The minority, however, on this point was so very considerable, being two hundred and twenty against two hundred and thirty- four, that the ministry may rather be said to have escaped than conquered. The whole fabric of their power seemed to be shaken by this contest ; but the progress of the ses- sion showed that the formidable numbers of their opponents were mustered only on this single occasion. On all others there was no great difficulty ; and the whole scheme of the supplies in particular met with the most GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 81 perfect acquiescence. A short account of the plan, on which they were raised, will show how far they were deserving of gene- ral approbation. NEW PLAN OF SUPPLIES. In contriving this new scheme, the minis- try found means to cut oft' one of the prin- cipal sources of popular clamor. Agreeably to the principles which they had laid down in the former session, in which they declared for the most sparing use of taxation, and from the experience concerning the taxes they had then ventured to propose, they now resolved neither to open a loan, nor to have recourse to a lottery ; though it is well known, that, in some respects, these loans and lotteries afford no unpleasing opportuni- ties to a minister of obliging his friends, and strengthening his coimexions. The objects, to which they confined their attention, were first, the settlement of exchequer-bills to the amount of one million eight hundred thou- sand pounds, which had been issued by vir- tue of an act passed in the preceding year, and then made chargeable on the first aids to be granted in the present session ; second- ly, the discharge of two millions of a debt contracted on account of the war, and which still remained to be satisfied ; and, thirdly, the ways and means for the service of the ensuing year. As the bank contract was to be renewed, the treasury availed itself very prudently of so favorable a conjuncture, and stipulated that this body should take a mil- lion of the exchequer-bills for two years, at an interest reduced by one-fourth, and should also pay a fine, on the renewal, of one hun- dred and ten thousand pounds. This was certainly the most beneficial contract ever bafore made with that corporation, whose vast money trade is supported by the credit of government. For the rest of the ex chequer-bills, they struck new ones. They brought to the service of the nation about seven hundred and twenty-three thousand pounds, the produce of the French prizes taken before the declaration of war, and which the king generously bestowed upon the public. They also brought to account what had been long neglected, to the detri- ment of the service, and the reproach of former administrations, the saving on the non-effective men ; and this saving amount- ed to one hundred and forty thousand pounds. With these resources, with the land-tax now grown into a settled and permanent revenue of four shillings in the pound, with the duty nrtoii malt, with two millions taken from the sinking flmd, being the overplus of that fund, joined to some other savings, they paid off the before-mentioned debt, and provided for the current service in all its establishments and contingencies. They justified their em- ployment of the overplus of the sinking fund by former precedents, by the propriety and wisdom of the measure itself, but principal- ly on the credit of having augmented ii by near four hundred thousand pounds in the single article of tea, an immense quantity of which had been brought to pay duty by the prudent measures taken for the preven- tion of smuggling, and the vigilant collec- tion of the revenue. Nothing could more evidently demonstrate the malignant purpose of those writers than their total silence. The points which did the ministry indisputable honor, were the application of the French prize-money by the favor of the crown, at a time when there were, perhaps, other calls, plausible and pressing enough, to divert it another way ; the beneficial contract with the bank, by which one hundred and ten thousand pounda were brought to the service of the year, be- sides the transfer and delayed payment at reduced interest of a million of exchequer- bills; and the saving on the non-effective men, which amounted to so large a sum ; were matters of such striking merit and im- portance, that none but the devoted tools of a party could pass them over unnoticed. Among the ways and means of this session were some regulations of the American trade, and some duties imposed on various articles of import and export in that exten- sive sphere of commerce, which, though they occasioned but little debate at the time, proved very soon afterwards a source of the most violent contests, and gradually led to all the horrors and calamities of a civil war. The fourteenth resolution of the commit- tee of ways and means, which stated, " that towards farther defraying the said expenses, it might be proper to charge certain stamp duties in the said colonies and plantations," was thrown out, or rather postponed to the next session, in order to give the coloniea an opportunity of petitioning against it, should they deem it exceptionable, and of offering some equivalent for the supposed produce of such a tax. But a bill was passed for restraining the increase of paper money in the colonies, by declaring that any such paper, which might be in future issued there, should not be con- sidered as a legal tender in payment It is remarkable, that all those measures, many of which were extremely delicate and haz- ardous, were proposed, acquiesced in, and passed into laws, without the least animad- version, as if the leaders of party, who had been so clamarous about trifles, anticipated with silent joy the fatal issue of such experi- ments, and looked upon them as the probable means of introducing themselves into power, even through the distresses and convulsions of the whole empire. 82 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Among the bills prepared for the royal assent at the close of the session on the eighteenth of April, was one which had for its object the increase of the revenue of the post-office, by correcting and restraining abuses and frauds in the practice of frank- ing. Upon the whole, it was estimated that the loss to the revenue, in consequence of franking amounted to one hundred and sev- enty thousand pounds annually. It there- fore became necessary for a government, which valued itself upon economy, to check those abuses, and to regulate the privilege. It was made felony and transportation for seven years to forge a frank. GENERAL CONWAY DISMISSED. It is unnecessary to make any remarks on the speech, with which his majesty closed this session, as it contained only the usual return of thanks to both houses for their wise and public-spirited exertions ; a renewal of the assurances which his majesty contin- ued to receive of the pacific sentiments of foreign powers ; and an exhortation to em- ploy this season of tranquillity in considering of the most effectual means for perfecting the works of peace, so happily begun. Thus ended the parliamentary campaign for this season ; and the ministry, to whose duration a very short date had been assigned by their adversaries, not only weathered the storms of the session, but seemed to gather new strength to contend with future tempests. In the moment of triumph, and of indigna- tion also at those who had deserted them in the hour of greatest danger, they showed their power and resentment, perhaps too in- discreetly, by dismissing some persons of high military rank from the service, and, among the rest, lieutenant-general Conway, an officer of distinguished merit and abili- ties. So harsh a step admitted, however, of some little excuse. In the debate on general warrants, the division in the com- mons ran so near, as before observed, that the ministry carried the question only by a majority of fourteen. Had the question been decided in favor of the opposition, the monument was to have been illuminated in the same manner as in the year 1732, when the famous excise scheme was defeated; and the greatest testimonies of joy were to have been displayed. Preparations for those purposes having been openly made, were considered as so many insults upon govern- ment; and however the zeal of the citizens or of the uninformed populace might influ- ence them, it was thought indecent in any of the king's servants to countenance such proceedings. The general officer already mentioned was represented as being an im- portant acquisition to the minority, and was charged with not only voting against the court in the debate on general warrants, but with speaking in the most disrespectful terms of the minister's person and capacity for business. The general and his friends very properly insisted upon his being as in- dependent as any other gentleman in tlie house of commons, and that he ought to be as free in giving his vote. The ministry were far from disputing that principle ; but they said, that the king ought to have an equal freedom in employing whom he pleas- ed in the departments that were in his dis- posal (6). NOTES TO CHAPTER VI. 1 All Mr. Pitt's former harsh and outrageous censures of the peace were softened into this courtly phrase, in his conversation with the king. 2 The present duke of York. 3 The orator here alluded to Mr. Wilkes's famous, or rather in- famous " Essay on W^oman." 4 His lordship acquired great pop- ularity hy his judicial decisions on the illegality of general war- rants. The corporation of Dub- lin took the lead in voting him the freedom of their city in a gold box, accompanied with the thanks of the sheriffs and com- mon council for his just and spirited conduct in the late tri- als. The lord-mayor, alder- men, and common council of London improved upon the ex- ample by a vote, that the free- dom of the city should be pre- sented to his lordship, and that he should also be requested to sit for his picture, to be placed in Guildhall, as a lasting me- morial of their gratitude. Sim- ilar compliments were trans- mitted to him from some other communities in England and Ireland ; and the seal of royal approbation was soon after af- fixed to those testimonies of popular esteem, by creating him a peer of the realm. 5 Dr. Warburton, bishop of Glou- cester, whose name was most scurrilously inserted in the title page as the author of the notes. The complaint could not other- wise have been properly brought before the house of lords. 6 In little more than a year after, the general had ample amend* made him for the unpleasant- ness of this dismission, by be- ing appointed one of the secre- taries of state. GEORGE m. 1760—1820. CHAPTER VII. Inquiry into the Causes of the Renewal of Hostilities vnth the Savage Tribes in Amer- ica — Extent of the Governments of Quebec, of East and West Florida — Incitements to War on the Part of the Indians — Military Operations against the Indians, and Peace with them — Impolitic Suppression of the commercial Intercourse between the British and Spanish Plantations, and between the American Colonies and the French Islands — Colonists refuse Compensation for the Stamp Duties — State of the British Logwood-cutters in the Bay of Honduras — French atone for outrage at Turk's Island — Progress of American Stamp Act through both Houses — Prevention of Smuggling — Purchase of the Sovereignty of the Isle of Man — A Regency Bill re- commended by his Majesty — New Administration form£d by the Duke of Cumberland. CAUSES OF DISTURBANCES WITH THE INDIANS. 1763. — The renewal of hostilities on the part of the savages in America was barely noticed, early in the last chapter, among the important concerns of the British ministry ; but any farther details on that head were then postponed, on account of the more im- mediate and more interesting- pressure of domestic occurrences. In order now to lead the reader to a proper idea of the events of that savage war, it will be necessary to trace out the causes which probably gave rise to it ; and to explain the measures, which were cautiously though at first unsuccessfully de- signed to prevent any such disturbances. By the fourth and seventh articles of the treaty of peace, Canada was ceded to Great Britain in its utmost extent. This stretched the northern part of her possessions on the continent of America from one ocean to the other. The cession of Louisiana to the Mis- sissippi, and of the Spanish Florida on both seas, made her American empire complete. No frontiers could be more distinctly defin- ed, nor more perfectly secured. The only care which seemed left for Great Britain, was to render these acquisitions as beneficial in traffic, as they were extensive in terri- tory. In order to come at an exact know- ledge of everything necessary for this pur- pose, it was judged expedient to divide the new acquisitions on the continent into three separate and independent governments. The first and most northerly of these di- visions was called the government of Quebec, the limitation of which within narrower boundaries than those formerly assigned by the French to Canada, excited some surprise and no inconsiderable clamor at home. The southern divisions were more easily adjusted, as the two provinces of East and West Flor- ida were regularly parted by the river Apa- lachicola. The coast of Labrador from the river St. John to Hudson's Straits, and all the neighboring islands in the gulf of St. Laurence, were subject to the authority and mspection of the governor of Newfoundland, their value depending wholly on the fishery. The islands of St. John and Cape Breton were annexed, as their situation required, to Nova Scotia. This distribution of the newly-acquired territories was announced to the public, in a royal proclamation of the seventh of Octo- ber, 1763. Most people were, indeed, as- tonished, to find, that the environs of the great lakes, the fine countries on the whole course of the Ohio and Ouabache, and al- most all that tract of Louisiana which lies on the hither branch of the Mississippi, were left out, and, as it were, disregarded in this boasted plan of territorial regulation. But the ministry had many reasons for such an apparent omission. A consideration of the Indians carried with it no small weight, be- cause it might have given a sensible alarm to that people, if they had seen their whole country formally cantoned out into regular establishments. It was in this idea that the proclamation strictly forbade any purchases or settlements beyond the limits of the three before-mentioned governments, or any ex- tension of the old colonies beyond the heads of the rivers which fall from the westward into the Atlantic ocean ; reserving expressly all the territories behind, as a hunting- ground for the Indians. Another reason, probably, why no disposition had been made of the inland country, was, that the charters of many of the old colonies gave them no other bounds to the westward but the South Sea ; and consequently comprehended almost all the conquered districts. But where the western boundary ought to be settled, was a matter which admitted of great dispute ; and, to all appearance, could only be finally ad- justed by the interposition of parliament. That the ministry were not guilty of any blamable neglect is evident from their earn- est attention to the improvement of those parts which they could perfectly command. In order to invite soldiers and seamen, who had served in the American war, to settle in 84 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the country they had conquered, lots of land were offered to them as the rewards of their services, and in proportion to the rank they held in the army or navy. Every field-officer was to have five thousand acres, every cap- tain three thousand, every subaltern two thousand, every non-commissioned officer two hundred, and every private soldier or seaman fifty. But as no encouragement un- connected with the idea of liberty could be flattering to Englishmen, a civil establish- ment, comprehending a popular representa- tive, agreeably to the plan of the royal governments in the other colonies, was di- rected as soon as the circumstances of these countries would admit of it; and in the mean time, such regulations were provided as held out to every individual the full en- joyment and benefit of the laws of England. And, lastly, that nothing might be wanting for the security of new settlers, and for awing as well as protecting the Indian na- tions, a regular military establishment also was formed there, consisting of ten thousand men, divided into twenty battalions, part of whom were to be employed m the defence of the West India islands. THE INDIANS COMMENCE HOSTILITIES. But though the most prudent steps were thus taken, to avoid giving offence to the Indians on the one hand, and to intimidate their ferocity on the other, they suddenly fell upon the frontiers of the most valuable settlements, and upon all the outlying forts, with such a unanunity in the design, and such persevering fury in the attack, as had not been experienced even in the hottest times of any former war. Various causes concurred to urge them on to this very un- expected violence. The English had treat- ed the savages at all times with too much indifference, but more especially since the close of the French war. The usual pres- ents were omitted. Contrary to the inten- tions of government, settlements were at- tempted beyond the just limits. Purchases, indeed, were made of the lands, and some- times fair ones. But the Indians, conscious of the weakness and facility of their own character in all dealings, have often consid- ered a purchase and an invasion as nearly the same thing. They expect, that the rea- son of enlightened nations will rather aid, than take advantage of their imbecility, and will not suffer them, even when they are willing, to do those things which must end in their ruin when done. They were also alarmed at seeing all the places of strength in the possession of the British troops, and a chain of forts drawn round the best hunting coimtry they had left, which was an object of the more serious concern to them, as such ground became every day more scarce, not only from the gp-adual extending of the British settlements, but from their own bad economy of this single resource of savage life. It was therefore very natural for them to look upon every garrison as the first ad- vances of an encroaching colony; and, in the midst of all these fears, a report having been spread amongst them, that a scheme was formed for their entire extirpation, they did not hesitate a moment longer to take up the hatchet. The Delawares and Shawanese, who, as the cultivation of Pennsylvania advanced, had retired, and settled upon the Ohio, took the lead in this renewal of hostilities. They had even the address to engage the Senecas, one of the five nations to whom they them- selves had been formerly tributaries, to es- pouse their quarrel, and to join in the pro- posed attack on the British forts and colonies. General Amherst, the commander-in-chief, sensible of the danger to which all the Brit- ish conquests were exposed by the sudden breaking out of this war, sent off detach- ments as early as possible to strengthen the chief posts. Detroit was the first, where one of the detachments arrived on the twenty- ninth of July, and where a plan was immedi- ately formed by captain Dalyel, who had the command of these troops, for surprising the savages in their camp, which was about three miles from the fort. The captain set out at the head of two hundred and forty- five men, between two and three o'clock in the morning, with all the precautions possi- ble. He was also attended by two armed boats, to co-operate with the land forces, whose march lay along the bank of the lake, or to cover, if necessary, their retreat. They were not far from the Indian quarters, when they received a brisk fire in their front. In- stantly after it began upon their rear. They were attacked on all sides, and their com- mander fell early in the action. The dark- ness of the night hindered their seeing the enemy; and the whole party was on the point of falling into irremediable confusion. The Indians had been apprized of their de- sign, and had, with their usual subtlety, posted themselves in such a manner behind hedges, and m huts on each side of the road, as gave them a considerable advantage over the exposed assailants. In this emergency, captain Grant, on whom the command of the British troops devolved, saw that nothing was left but a retreat. He also saw that even this could be effected only by first making a spirited attack on the enemy's posts, which was done with great order and resolution. The Indians were driven from the road, and at length repulsed every v/here. Captain Grant then made good his retreat to the boats, which carried off the wounded ; and the rest of the detachment regained the fort, though with great difficulty, and con- GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 85 siderable loss, as very near a third of their cumber fell in the action. At the very time when one party of them was thus foil- ed in their stratagems near Detroit, another more numerous and formidable body invest- ed Fort Pitt, at the distance of more than two hundred miles from the former place. In the mean time general Amherst, fully persuaded, from the importance and situa- tion of Fort Pitt, that it would become one of the principal objects of savage fury, or- dered colonel Bouquet to march to its relief, with a large quantity of provisions and stores under a strong escort. The Indians, who had their scouts all over the country, were no sooner informed of the march of the Eng- lish troops, than they abandoned the blockade of the fort, in order to seize the first favor- able opportunity of cutting off the intended reuiforcement Colonel Bouquet having ad- vanced as far as Ligonier, on the extreme verge of the British settlements, without receiving any intelligence of the position or motions of the enemy, very prudently re- solved to disencumber himself there of the wagons and of a considerable part of the ammunition and provisions; while he pro- ceeded with the troops, and about three hun- dred and forty horses loaded with flour and Guch other supplies as were absolutely neces- sary. Being thus disburdened, the English army entered a rough and mountainous country. Before them lay a dangerous de- file, called Turtle Creek, several miles in length, commanded the whole way by high and craggy hills. It was therefore deemed most advisable not to attempt passing this defile but by night, in order, if possible, to elude the vigilance of their alert enemies. While the colonel and his party were making the necessary arrangements to re- fresh themselves, after a fatiguing march of seventeen miles, the Indians made a sudden attack on his advanced guard, which, being speedily and finnly supported, the enemy was beat off, and even pursued to a conside- rable distance. As soon as the savages w^ere driven from one eminence, they immediately occupied another ; till by constant^reinforce- ments, they were able to surround the whole detachment, and to attack the convoy in the ear, which forced the main body to fall back for its protection. The action now became general; and though the savages poured down on every side in considerable numbers, an setting forth, "That as the affairs of the East India company had been mentioned in parliament last session, it was very probable they might be taken into consideration again : therefore, from the regard they had for the welfare of the company, and that they might have time to prepare their papers for tliat occasion, they informed them, that the par- liament would meet in November," Letters were at the same time read from lord Clive, and from the secret committee at Bengal^ which not only confirmed, but exceeded the accounts that had been formerly received of the great wealth of the company, the extension of its trade, and the firm basis on which, as far as human foresight could judge, its security was now established. The di- rectors still opposed an increase of dividend ; and, upon a motion being made for advanc- ing it to ten per cent., from the ensuing Christmas, they insisted upon a ballot, by which the decision was evaded for a day or two, but was at length carried against them by a considerable majority. Some of the proprietors, however, thought their success in this contest was purchased at too dear a rate, by having drawn upon themselves the eyes of the ministry. A few months more gave them an earnest of what they so justly apprehended. The air of seriousness, which a variety GEORGE in. 1760—1820. 107 of weighty concerns had lately diffused over the nation, was for a little time enlivened by some pleasing occurrences at court, the birth of a princess royal, and the nuptials of the prmcess Carolina Matilda. The cere- mony of the prmcess Carolina Matilda's marriage to the king of Denmark was per- formed on the first of October by the arch- bishop of Canterbury, the duke of York be- ing proxy for his Danish majesty. Next morning, the young queen, accompanied by the duke of Gloucester and a numerous train of attendants, set out from Carlton- house for Harwich, there to embark on board the yacht designed to convey her to Hol- land. She did not reach Denmark till the beginning of November, on the eighth of which she made her public entry into Co- penhagen, when the nuptial ceremony was renewed with extraordinary splendor and magnificence. The satisfaction expressed at the time by the subjects of both crowns, from an idea that the alliance between them would be greatly strengthened by an addi- tional tie of so agreeable a nature, was soon converted into the most painful disap- pointment. In little more than five years after, the amiable Carolina Matilda fell a victim to the malice of a party, and to the wicked intrigues of the queen dowager, who imposed upon her unsuspecting inno- cence, and artfully led her into measures which were made the grounds of the most infamous reproach and crimmation. MEETING OF PARLIAMENT. At the meeting of parliament on the eleventh of November, the king, in his speech to both houses, observed that the high price of wheat, and the extraordinary de- mands for it from abroad, had determined him to call them together so early ; he took notice of the urgent necessity that occasion- ed an exertion of the royal authority, for the preservation of the public safety, by laying an embargo on wheat and flour ; and he re- commended the due consideration of farther expedients to their wisdom: he expressed his concern at the late daring insurrections ; and added, that no vigilance and vigor on his part should be wantmg to bring the of- fenders to justice, and to restore obedience to law and government. His majesty con- cluded with a very few concise remarks on the late commercial treaty with Russia, on the marriage of his sister to the king of Denmark, on the supplies for the current service, and on the continuance of the for- mer pacific posture of afiairs in Europe. The usual motion for an address being made in both houses, various amendments were proposed, reflecting on the late conduct of the privy-council ; but were rejected. BILL OF INDEMNITY. This, however, did not supersede the necessity of bringing a bill into parliament to indemnify all persons who had acted in obedience to the order of council for laying on the embargo. Nobody denied the expe- diency of such a restraint at the time : it was the mode of the transaction which de- served censure, as by it the crown seemed to assume and exercise a power of dispens- ing with the laws, — one of the grievances so expressly provided against at the revolu- tion. The first form of the bill was found to be defective : it provided for tlie Indem- nity of the inferior officers who had acted under the proclamation, while it passed by the council who advised it ; and it had not a preamble fiilly expressive of the illegality of the measure. In these respects the bill was amended and made perfect. But this produced much altercation, especially in the house of lords, where, to the astonishment of most people, the newly-created earl of Chatham, and lord Cambden, the chancellor, opposed the bill, and vindicated the late ex- ertion of prerogative, not only from the pe- culiar circumstances that seemed to influence it, but as a matter of right, asserting that a dispensing power, in cases of state neces- sity, was one of the prerogatives inherent in the crown. This desertion from the side of liberty, to principles so directly opposite, gave a mortal stab to the popularity of those occasional patriots. The fallacy of their pretexts, as well as of their reasonings, was exposed, and the cause of freedom and of the constitution was ably supported by lord Mansfield, lord Temple, and lord Lyttleton. The real motives for the late exertion of power were first inquired into; and then the doctrine of a dispensing power in such cases was very forcibly attacked. " So early as the month of August, you received au- thentic intelligence of the state of the har- vest, the quantity of corn in the kingdom, and of the increase of its price. You then must have had as clear an idea of all the probable consequences as at any time after that period. Why then did you not issue a proclamation for parliament to meet on the sixteenth of September, the day to which it was prorogued 1 You had it in your power to give the members above thirty days notice ; and the calamities which tlireatened the poor might have been averted, without a breach of the constitution. Instead of this, when their distresses were risen to the high- est pitch, you issued, on the tenth of Sep- tember, a proclamation against forestalling, which could not give them the smallest re- lief; and, on the same day, you prorogued the parliament for two months longer, thus precluding the king from availmg himself of their advice or assistance in any emer- gency. Yet you assign the impossibility of convening the parliament as the motive for 108 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. issuing, ill sixteen days after so extraordinary a prorogation, an illegal and unconstitutional order for an embargo. Is it not plain then, that you yourselves are the authors of all those evils, which you say could not be remedied but by the exercise of the dis- pensing power ? — You go farther, and you attempt to justify such censurable conduct on the principle of necessity, that odious and long exploded principle, by which all the evil practices in the reigns of the Stuarts were defended. If the plea of necessity is admitted, and the crown allowed to be the sole judge of that necessity, the power would be unlimited ; because the discretion of the prince and his council might apply it in any instance. So the wisdom of the legislature, said the advocates for the bill, has deprived the crown of all discretionary power over positive laws, and has emancipated acts of parliament from the royal prerogative. The power of suspension, which is but another word for a temporary repeal, resides only in the legislature, the supreme authority of the realm. — The recess of parliament, or the inconvenience of assembling it, are distinc- tions unknown to the constitution. The parliament is always in being: — its acts never sleep : they are not to be evaded by flying into a sanctuary — no, not even that of necessity : — they are of equal force at all times, in all places, and to all persons. — The law is above the king ; and he, as well as the subject, is as much bound by it during the recess, as during the session of parlia- ment. — If the crown has a right to suspend or break through any one law, it must have an equal right to break through them all. — No true distinction can be made between the suspending power and the crown's rais- ing money without the consent of parlia- ment. They are precisely alike, and stand upon the very same ground. They were born twins, lived together, and together it was hoped they were buried at the revolu- tion, past all power of resurrection. — Were the doctrine of suspension, under the pre- tence of necessity, once admitted as consti- tutional, the revolution could be called no- thing but a successful rebellion, or a lawless and wicked invasion of the rights of the crown ; the bill of rights would become a false and scandalous libel, an infamous im- ]X)sition both on prince and people ; and James II. could not be said to have abdicated or forfeited, but to have been robbed of his crown." By such arguments, and others of the like spirit and tendency, did lord Mansfield in particular combat the ill-advis- ed stretch of the prerogative, and reduce the apologists for the measure, however great their ingenuity and eloquence, to the impossibility of a reply. The bill was pass- ed, highly to the satififaction of the public ; and a new proof was given to the admirers of the British constitution, that nothing less than a law could protect from due punish- ment the framers, advisers, or executors of an illegal act. While the parliament discovered so much vigilance in guarding the constitution agauist any encroachment, even under the most popular pretence, they were not less atten- tive to the national distress, on account of which the laws had been dispensed with. On the first day of the session, an address was presented to the king to continue the embargo ; and a bill was on the same day brought in for prohibiting the exportation of corn, malt, meal, flour, bread, biscuit, and starch ; and also the extraction of low wines and spirits from wheat and wheat flour. Four other bills, having for their object the reduction of the high prices of provisions, by encouraging the importation of salted meat and butter from Ireland, of wheat and flour, not only from America, but from any part of Europe, and of oats and oat-meal, rye and rye-meal, from any quarter, all duty free, received the royal assent by commis- sion on the sixteenth of December, when both houses adjourned till January. LAND-TAX REDUCED. 1767. — Among the affairs which came be- fore parliament after the recess, there was one article of the supplies, in the debate on which the chancellor of the exchequer was left in a minority. It had been hitherto usual to take oflf, on the return of peace, any addition that happened to be made to the land-tax for carrying on the war. But as the enormous expenses incurred in the late contest with so many powers were already a heavy burden on the manufacturing part of the nation, it was thought mone prudent to continue the land-tax at four shillings in the pound, than to increase the distresses of the poor by taxing the necessaries of life. Hence the whole land-tax began to be con- sidered as a part of the settled revenue that was to answer the current services of the year. It was then to the great surprise of the ministers, that a resolution passed the house, supported by a considerable majority, which reduced the land-tax to three shil- lings in the pound. This was the more no- ticed as being the first money-bill, in which any minister had been disappointed since the revolution. It considerably damped the warm hopes that had been formed, in the beginning, of the strength and consistence of the new administration, which, it was supposed, would prove irresistible, as acting under the auspices of the earl of Chatham. But this noble lord had lost much of his popularity without doors, and of his influ- ence within, by many parts of his late con- duct He had disgusted by his overbearing GEORGE in. 1760—1820. 109 manner the most respectable and powerful men of every party ; and he had sunk great- ly in the public estimation by his acceptance of a peerage, and by his having first advised, and afterwards defended, upon constitutional grounds, the exercise of the dispensing pre- rogative. Feeling, though too late, the want of additional support, he made several at- tempts in the course of the winter, by offers and concessions not much to his honor, to gain over, or to divide the Bedford or the Newcastle interest But the most that he could obtain from the former was a temporary neutrality. Soon after his lordship fell into so bad a state of health, that he was obliged to relinquish all attention to business. SCRUTINY OF THE EAST INDIA COM- PANY'S AFFAIRS. The want of harmony and decision in the cabinet was still more evident, when the East India aSkirs were brought forward for the consideration of parliament. A commit- tee of the house of commons had been ap- pointed in November to look into the state and condition of the company. Copies of tlieir charters, their treaties, and their cor respondence, as well as exact accounts of tlieir revenue and of the expenses incurred by government in their behalf, were called for, and became the subjects of a rigorous scrutiny. In the course of this business, violent debates frequently arose, in which the principal servants of the crown did not appear to act upon any regular or settled plan. An order was at length made for printing the East India papers ; but it was afterwards countermanded, at the instance of the directors. The next question, which was agitated with increasing violence and diversity of sentiment, was the company's right to their territorial acquisitions. Some contended, that they had no right by their charters to any conquest ; that such posses- sions in the hands of a trading corporation were improper and dangerous ; and that, if it were even legally and politically right that they should hold these territories, yet the vast expenditure of government in pro- tecting them gave it a fair and equitable title to the revenues arising from the conquests. Those, who maintained the rights of the company, denied that any reserve of con- quests had been made in their charters ; and as these were fairly purchased from the na- tion, and confirmed by act of parliament, they said, that a violation of such a bargain would be a dangerous infringement on prop- erty and the public faith. They added, that if government had any claim to the con- quests in India, the courts were open for the trial of that claim ; but the house of com- mons was not, by the constitution, the inter- preter of law, or the decider of legal rights. Though the subject was often resumed, and Vol. TV. 10 debated with great warmth on both sides, yet the house seemed unwilling to determine a question of so much importance ; and even a few of the ministerial speakers declared against coming to any final resolutions on this head, but strenuously recommended an amicable agreement with the company. PROPOSALS OF THE COMPANY ACCEPTED. In the mean time, the proprietors of East India stock had several meetings. At one of their general courts in the beginning of May, the dividend for the ensuing half year was raised from five to six and a quarter per cent., and, about the same time, a scheme of proposals for an accommodation with govern- ment was agreed to. These were laid be- fore the ministry, who now were publicly known to have unfortunately fallen into a state of such distraction, that they had no opinions in common. Accordingly, they shifted the proposals from one to another, without coming to any determination ; so that the company were obliged to state their offers in a petition to parliament. Two sets of proposals for an agreement to last for three years were laid before the house : by the first, the company offered, after deduct- ing four hundred thousand pounds a-year in lieu of their former commercial profits, to divide equally with government the net produce of all their remaining revenues and trade : by the second, they engaged to pay the specific sum of four hundred thousand pounds a-year during the above agreement ; but, in either case, stipulating for some par- ticular indulgence in their trade and in the recruiting service. These latter proposals were accepted by the house, with this difler- ence only, that the agreement was limited to two, instead of three years ; and a bill was drawn up and passed accordingly. THE COMPANY RESTRAINED FROM IN- CREASING THEIR DIVIDEND. But whatever satisfaction the proprietors of East India stock derived from the parlia- mentary acceptance of their offer, it was, in no small degree, abated by some other pro- ceedings which took place soon after. A message from the ministry had been read at the general court which declared the last increase of dividend, recommending to the company to make no augmentation of it, till their affeirs were farther considered. That message not having produced the designed effect, two bills were brought into the house, one for determining the qualifications of voters in trading companies, and the other for farther regulating the making of divi- dends by the East India company. Their late act was rescinded by the last of these bills ; and they were tied down from raising their dividends above ten per cent till the next meeting of parliament The company, in order to ward off a blow which stnick so 110 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. immediately at their privileges, not only pe- titioned against this bill, but offered, in case it was withdrawn, to bind themselves from any farther increase of dividend during the temporary agreement. Their petition and their proposal were equally ineffectual. The bill was carried through, in spite of a pow- erful opposition, one of the secretaries of state and the chancellor of the exchequer being in the minority in the lower house, and a strong protest signed by nineteen lords being entered against it in the upper house. ACT TO RESTRAIN THE ASSEMBLY OF NEW-YORK. Among the different expedients for rais- ing the necessary supplies this year, which amounted to about eight millions and a half, some duties were laid upon glass, tea, paper, and painters' colors imported from Great Britain into America. These duties were equally impolitic and unproductive ; but the conduct of the legislature towards one of tiie colonial assemblies, in another respect, w^as much more defensible. The factious, turbulent spirit, which the stamp-act had ex- cited there, was far from being mollified by the repeal. Not content with many private acts of outrage, and repeated marks of dis- respect to government, the assembly of New- York came to a resolution of paying no regard to an act of last session for pro- viding the troops with necessaries in their quarters; but regulated the provisions ac- cording to their own fancy. This was a clear proof, that they meaned to persist in disa- vowing the jurisdiction of the mother coun- try. When the matter was laid before par- liament, it occasioned warm debates ; and some rigorous measures were proposed. The general opinion, however, was to bring them to temper and to a sense of their duty, by a firm, yet moderate procedure. On this prin- ciple a bill was passed, by which the gov- ernor, council, and assembly of New-York were prohibited from passing any act till they had in every respect complied with the requisition of parliament : a step, which, though confined to one colony, was a lesson to them all, and showed their comparative inferiority when brought in question with the supreme legislative power. As soon as this bill and some others of less importance received the royal assent on the second of .Tuly, the parliament was prorogued. In the speech, with which his majesty closed the session, besides thanking the com- mons for the supplies they had so cheerfully granted for the public service, he said, that his particular acknowledgments were due to them for the provision they had enabled him to make for the more honorable support of his family. He did not here particularly al- lude to the marriage portion of the queen of Denmark, because, in granting this, the com- mons only fulfilled their fonner engage- ments ; but to three annuities of eight thou- sand pounds each, which were settled on his brothers the dukes of York, Gloucester, and Cumberland, in addition to what they before received out of the civil list. It is remark- able that, on the second reading of the bill for this purpose, in the house of lords, a pro- test was entered against it, signed by lord Temple only. The duke of York did not live long to en- joy the liberality of parliament : he expired on the seventeenth of September ; and on the second of November, her majesty was safely delivered of her fourth son, prmce Edward. DEATH OF THE CHANCELLOR OF EX- CHEQUER. During the recess of parliament, another death prematurely and unexpectedly hap- pened on the fourth of September, which, it was supposed, would have proved fatal to a weak and disunited ministry. Charles Townshend, then chancellor of the exche- quer, who seemed likely by his eloquence and abilities to supply the earl of Chatham's place in the house of commons, was cut off by a putrid fever, at the very moment that the increase of his influence and the critical posture of affairs began to allow the fullest scope for the perfect development of his talents and character. Burke, in one of his speeches, made a beautiful allusion to the rising effulgence of Townshend's genius and power, while those of the earl of Chatham appeared to be rapidly declining. " Before this splendid orb," said the orator, " was en- tirely set, and while the western horizon was in a blaze with his descending glory, on the opposite quarter of the heavens arose another luminary, and, for his hour, became lord of the ascendant." At the meeting of parliament on the twenty-fourth of November, when the prin- cipal point recommended to their attention from the throne, was the relief of the peo- ple from the distresses occasioned by the high price of provisions, Conway, one of the secretaries of state, concluded his speech in support of the usual motion for an address of thanks, with a very high panegyric on the late Mr. Townshend's abilities, on the fertility of his resources, and the soundness of his judgment. He said that his much lamented friend had engaged to prepare a plan for the effectual relief of the poor in the article of provisions ; and he had no doubt, if that great man had lived, he would have been able to perform his promise : un- fortunately for the public, his plan was lost with him : it was easy to find a successor to his place, but impossible to find a successor to his abilities, or one equal to the execu- tion of his designs. GEORGE m. 1760—1820. Ill Besides expedients for lowering the high price of provisions, very little business of any particular importance was transacted by parliament before the holidays. The land- tax bill, the bill for continuing the former duties on malt, mum, cider, and perry, the mutiny-bill, and some others of a private as well as public nature, received the royal assent on the twenty-first of December. The house of lords adjourned to the twentieth, and the commons to the fourteenth of Jan- uary. CHANGES IN THE CABINET. This recess afforded leisure for complet- ing several changes that were already be- gun, or resolved upon, in the great offices of state, without any general disarrange- ment of the ministry, which seemed likely to increase their stability and influence. The Bedford party, to whom some overtures had been made by lord Chatham, but without any decisive effect, were at length gained over ; in consequence of which lord Gower was induced to accept the president's chair, now cheerfully resigned by the earl of Northington, whose age, infirmities, and long services gave him just claims to retirement, liord North had been promoted, some days before, to the late Charles Townshend's place as chancellor of the exchequer ; and Thomas Townshend, junior, succeeded lord North in the office of joint paymaster of the forces. Lord Weymouth was soon after nominated secretary of state for the north- ern department, in the room of general Con- way, who was raised to a higher rank in the military line ; and the earl of Hilsborough was appointed to the new office of secretary of state for the colonies. Of the other pro- motions none was sufficiently important to deserve particular notice, except that of Charles Jenkinson, who was made a lord of the treasury in the room of Thomas Towns- hend, and who has since been so eminently distinguished not only by his wisdom in coun- cil, and his eloquence in debate, but by his having exerted his uncommon talents on ob- jects of the most lasting benefit to his coun- try, — the improvement, extension, and se- curity of its commerce. RESTRICTION ON EAST INDIA DIVIDENDS CONTINUED— NULLUM TEMPUS ACT. The act restraining the dividends of the East India company being now expired, a bill was brought in to continue the same re- striction for the ensuing year ; and though it was violently opposed in both houses, it was carried the second time by a very great majority. But the niinijlry w^ere more closely pushed on another point, which was intro- duced into the commone, under the title of nullum tcmpns bill (1), for quieting the pos- sessions of the subject, and securing them from all obsolete claims, particularly those of the crown, against which it was held to be a maxim of law, that no prescription could be pleaded. The bill originated in a litigation between the Bentinck and the Lowther families, in which the revival of the dormant prerogative of resumption by the crown appeared so alarming, because a vast number of estates might, from the loss of authentic deeds, be liable to similar claims, that it was with great difficulty, and by a majority of twenty voices only, that the ministry could obtain a postponement of the bill till the ensuing session. MAGISTRATES OF OXFORD SENT TO NEWGATE. Another circumstance occurs in the pro- ceedings of the house of commons at this period, which may be thought worthy of no- tice, as it affords an instance of plain deal- ing on the part of a venal body of electors, which has been seldom paralleled. The mayor, bailiffs, and principal members of the corporation of Oxford had written to their representatives, proposing to return them at the next election, upon condition that they should advance a certain sum, for paying off an encumbrance which lay heavy on the city. The letter, containing this extraordi- nary and barefaced offer of prostitution, hav- ing been laid before the house, the magis- trates, who signed it, were ordered to ap- pear at the bar, and then committed to New- gate. But, a few days after, a petition was presented from the offending parties, ac- knowledging their guilt, expressing the sincerest sorrow for it, and begging to be released from confinement. In consequence of this petition, they were again brought to the bar of the house, and discharged, afler receiving on their knees a proper reprimand from the speaker. PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED. As the time limited by law for the expi- ration of parliament drew near, and all the public business was satisfactorily dispatched, the king, on the tenth of March, having given his assent to some private bills then »^eady, informed both houses of his intention forthwith to dissolve the parliament, and to call a new one. As soon as his majesty hatl ended, the chancellor, by his command, pro- rogued the parliament; and, in two days after, it was dissolved by proclamation, and writs were issued for electing a new one, returnable the tenth of May. IRISH PARLIAMENTS MADE OCTENNIAL. A viviY popular bill was passed in Ireland this winter, and received the sanction of tlie crown, for confining to eight years the du- ration of parliaments in that kingdom, which before were determined only by the king's death. Nothing could have given higher pleasure to the great body of electors tlian this assurance of a more regular and fre- 112 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. quent exercise of one of their most inesti- mable privileges. Lord Townshend, who was then lord-lieutenant, and who had very much endeared himself to the people by the conciliating manners that adorned his pri- vate character, became, in consequence of the octennial act, almost the idol of the na- tion. The language of the commons of Ire- land was glowing and emphatical. " Happy," said they, " in having devoted our own ex- istence to the liberties of our country, we find ourselves under an indispensable obli- gation, at our approaching dissolution, to ex- press the warmest acknowledgments to a chief governor, in whose administration, and with whose assistance, we have been grati- fied with the noble opportunity of distin- guishing ourselves from our predecessors, by leaving to posterity a monument of our dis- interested love for the people we have the honor to represent; and ah example, that the happiness of our constituents has in our own breasts taken place of every other con- sideration." NOTE TO CHAPTER IX. 1 The object of the bill was to make sixty years' possession of any estate an effeetutl bar against all dor- mant cairns and pretences whatsoever. GEORGE UL 1760—1820. U3 CHAPTER X. General Election — View of Wilkes's Conduct and Adventures since his flight from Jus- tice — Violent Opposition to the Port-duties in America — Acts of the Convention — Debate — Wilkes'' s Petition to the Commons; and his Appeal to the Lords on a Writ of Error — Institution of the Royal Academy — Debate on the American Affairs — Civil List Debt — Hearing of Wilkes's alleged grievances — Successive Expulsions of Mr. Wilkes — War with Hyder Ally in the East Indies — Non-importation Agree- m,ent and other Proceedings in America — Desertions from Ministry — Changes that followed — Endeavors of the Opposition to aggravate Discontent — London Remon- strance^ and his Majesty"* s Answer — Grenville's Bill for regulating the Proceedings on controverted Elections — Partial Repeal of the American Port -duties — Affray be- tween the Townsmen of Boston and the Troops. As soon as the British parliament was dissolved, the thoughts and business of the whole nation appeared to be confined to one object, the choice of representatives; and never, perhaps, was any general election carried on with greater heat and violence in most parts of the kingdom. But one of the elections was attended with such extraordi- nary circumstances as to deserve particular notice. WILKES ELECTED MEMBER FOR MID- DLESEX. It may here be necessary to remind the reader of what has been related in a former part of this work concerning Wilkes, who by his flight from public justice had pro- voked the severest sentence of the house of commons, and had suffered the indictments laid against him in the court of king's-bench to run to an outlawry. In this situation, an exile from his country, distressed in his cir- cumstances, and abandoned by his party, he seemed not only totally ruined, but nearly forgotten. He determined to make a bold attempt, sensible that if it failed of success, the consequences could not place him in a worse state than that in which he was alrea- dy. In pursuance of this resolution, he suddenly appeared in London on the eve of the general election; and though he still lay under the sentence of outlawry, declared himself a candidate to represent the city in parliament. He was received by the mob with loud acclamations, and a great majori- ty of hands appeared in his favor ; but on the poll he was contemptuously rejected. He had no reason, however, to abandon him- self to despair in consequence of this first defeat. He was fully consoled for his fail- ure m the city by a subscription which had been opened for the payment of his debts, and by the earnest he had received of the attachment of the populace. He set up im- mediately for Middlesex ; and the electors in that county consisting chiefly of freeholders of the lowest class, he obtained a signal 10* triumph over one of the old members. The rabble, who had been very tumultuous during the contest, broke out into the most extrava- gant and lawless expressions of joy at the event. The conduct of the ministry during these transactions was unaccountably remiss and impolitic. They had in fact no alternative left them as a plea for indecision or sus- pense. After Wilkes's return to England, in open defiance of the laws and of govern- ment, a pardon from the crown would have been considered rather as an act of weak- ness than of benignity. It was therefore the attorney-general's duty to have him im- mediately taken up as an outlaw ; a step that could neither have excited murmur nor surprise, as being strictly conformable to the ordinary course of justice. When confined, he could have no chance for succeeding in his election ; nor is it likely that he would have made the attempt. The popularity, which he acquired or revived by appearing in public, would have been prevented ; and he might have probably continued as igno- rant of his influence with the people, as they would in general of the strength of their attachment to him. By neglecting at first so easy and rational a mode of proceed- ing, the ministry were afterwards unavoida- bly driven mto the dangerous extremes of harshness and violence. An alarm unhap- pily went forth, that the constitution was wounded by the blows struck at one of the most worthless members of society: and many, who would otherwise have shrunk from the disgrace of espousing his cause as an individual, were glad of a specious pre- tence for making it the cause of the public. On the first day of Easter term, Wilkes appeared in the court of king's-bench, to submit himself, as he pretended, to the laws of his country ; but, in reality, to make an inflammatory speech against the " cruelties of ministerial vengeance," and to charge the chief-justice with having caused the re- 114 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. cords to be materially altered, without which, he said, neither of the two verdicts, found against him, could have been obtained. As he was not brought legally before the court, no proceedings could then be had upon his case ; but lord Mansfield took that opportu- nity of justifying his own conduct in having granted an order for an amendment in the information, by which the word tenor was sub- stituted for purport, — an amendment, which his lordship declared he thought himself bound in duty to grant, and which he could not have refused consistently with the uni- form practice of all the judges. Wilkes, on leaving the court, was received by the sur- rounding multitude with loud huzzas ; but such effectual steps had been taken by the magistrates in Westminster and in the city to intUTiidate the disorderly, that no farther disturbance happened. DISTURBANCES ON ACCOUNT OF WILKES A FEW days afler, Wilkes having been introduced into court in a legal manner, his counsel moved that he might be admitted to bail. The judges were of opmion, that nei- ther he nor any person was bailable after conviction ; and therefore ordered him to be taken into custody and committed to prison. But as he was going thither, attended by two tipstaffs, the mob stopped the coach on Westminster-bridge, and taking out the horses, drew it along the Strand and through the city to Spital-square, where they dis- missed the tipstaffs, and carried their favor- ite in triumph to a tavern. He took an op- portunity, at a late hour, to withdraw in a private manner ; and surrendered himself to the marshal of the king's-bench. Wilkes was not inactive, though in a prison. He took care to feed the flame he hud kindled with fresh supplies of combusti- ble matter. His address to the freeholders of Middlesex, a week afler his commitment, is a curious specimen of the incendiary style. It was published on the fiflh of May, just two days before a hearing was to come on at Westminster-hall, respecting the er- rors of Wilkes's outlawry, and five days be- fore the meeting of the new parliament. The populace behaved with tolerable de- cency at the trial, as their hopes were flat- tered by the appointment of a farther hear- ing the beginning of the next term ; but their infatuation and violence on the other occasion, were attended with melancholy consequences. They assembled in vast mul- titudes round the king's-bench, in the fore- noon of the tenth of May, under the idea of seeing Wilkes ^o to the house of com- mons. Having waited a long time in vain, they demanded him at the prison with loud clamors, and grew very insolent and tumult- uous. Some justices of the peace thought it neceaBary, after enduring much outrage and personal injury, to read the riot-act ; his side the nisam of the Decan, n y tcnLate of high rank in In- dia, and whoL^e territories bordered upon those of the company. But notwithstanding the number of their united forces, and the extraordinary effects of the discipline intro- duced by Hyder, they were defeated with great loss, by colonel Smith, near Trincomal- lee, on the twenty-sixth of September, 1767 ; after which the nizam made a separate peace with the English, yielding up to them a considerable territory, called the Bala gat Carnatic. Hyder, though deserted by his late ally, and though in the month of Feb- ruary following, he received another very severe blow in the loss of his whole navy at Mangalore, was far from betraying any symptoms of dejection or dismay ; but trans- ferred the war to a mountainous part of the country, where his enemies were prevented from doing anything decisive, and where he could avail himself of all the advantages, which the celerity of his own army, com- posed chiefly of horse, gave him in such circumstances. At length, by a series of rapid movements, in which the company's troops were greatly harassed, and their sup- plies often intercepted, he wheeled round them, and rushed with desolating fury into GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 125 the Camatic. This manoeuvre had all tlie effect he could wish. They were immedi- ately obliged to evacuate his territories, and to retire in haste to the defence of their own and of their allies. Thus he recovered, without fighting, some forts and strong posts which they had taken ; and, instead of a fu- gitive retreating before his enemies, and un- able to defend his own dominions, he came as a vindictive and haughty victor to pour destruction into theirs. His cavalry, being now let loose into its proper sphere, spread far and wide its destructive ravages ; while Hyder, with his usual sagacity, avoided a general engagement, and contented himself with attacking detached parties of the Eng- lish army, cutting off their convoys, and wearying them out by their own fruitless endeavors to bring him to action. Other aldventurers, allured by the prospect of plun- der, joined him in great numbers : some of the Maratta princes were on the point of entering into alliances with him ; and no- thing less than the expulsion of the English seemed to be the object of such powerful confederacies. It was at this stage of the war, towards the close of the year 1768, that the accounts were brought away from India, which occasioned so much consternation among the company at home. Even those, w^ho knew that Hyder Ally's whole force was unable to make any impression on the English settlements, were justly apprehen- sive of his incursions into the open prov- inces, which he laid waste, and thereby de- stroyed the company's principal resources for carrying on the war. Their trade, their revenue might be materially injured, though the enemy's success was not such as to en- danger their security. The progress and final issue of the war exactly corresponded with these ideas. Hyder's devastations in the Carnatic were attended with very dis- tressing effects. The Nabob of Arcot, a staunch friend and faithful ally of the com- pany, was nearly ruined. The income of the establishment at Madras being inade- quate to its present exigencies, large remit- tances from Bengal became necessary ; and as these were unavoidably made in a base kind of gold coin, the loss in the difference of exchange only was said to amount to forty thousand pounds. A stop was also put to the usual investments from Madras to China, no silver being now stirring in the country, and the manufactures at a stand from the fear of the enemy. But the most provoking circumstance of all was the ever- watchful sagacity with which Hyder baffled every effort of the company's forces either to check his career, or to bring him to close action. The first defeat, which he had sus- tained from colonel Smith in the year 1767, made him extremelv cautious : and though ii* ^ he was tempted in October 1768, at the head of fourteen thousand horse and six bat- talions of Seapoys, to attack a detachment of four hundred and sixty Europeans, and two thousand three hundred Seapoys, com- manded by colonel Wood, the necessity of retreating, after an obstinate contest of six hours, afforded him another mortifying proof of the superiority of his adversaries, whicl. no numbers, discipline, or exertions on hiK part were able to counterbalance. He there- fore adhered to his predatory plan, and as he had totally laid aside the heavy, unwieldy cannon before used by the Indian princes, and taken care to prevent his troops from being encumbered with baggage, nothing could equal the celerity of his motions. In the month of March 1769, having evaded the English army in the Carnatic, he sud- denly appeared in force at the gates of Mad- ras. The presidency now thought proper to enter into a negotiation for peace, pro- posing a truce of fifty days for that purpose ; but Hyder would grant a cessation of arms for seven days only, in which time articles of accommodation were signed, [April 8d] and the conquests on both sides reciprocally restored. Previous to the knowledge of this event in England, the proprietors of East India stock, alarmed at its continual depres- sion, and struck with the necessity of taking strong measures for the correction of abuses and mismanagement abroad, had determined to send out a committee of supervision to Bengal, with full authority to examine into and rectify the concerns of every depart- ment, and vested with an absolute power of control over all the servants of the company in India. Mr. Vansittart, Mr. Scraflon, and colonel Ford, were nominated supervisors, and sailed from England, in the Aurora frigate, the latter end of September ; but by some unknown and fatal mischance, this ship never arrived at the place of her desti- nation. The very great embarrassments in which the company were afterwards in- volved, and the steps taken by government for their relief and future regulation, will be described in the next chapter. AMERICAN AFFAIRS. The accounts brought over from America in the course of the year, though not so im- mediately alarming as those from the East Indies, afforded but little prospect of future tranquillity in that quarter. As soon as the joint address of both houses of parliament on the subject of the disorders at Boston was published in the colonies, the assembly of Virginia came to several resolutions, as- serting, in very plain terms, the sole right of taxing themselves, the privilege of petition- ing the sovereign for redress of grievances, the law^lness of engaging other provinces to concur in such applications to the throne, 126 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. and the injustice of having accused persons sent to be tried beyond the seas, which, they said, was hig-hiy derogatory to the rights of British subjects. They ordered their speaker to transmit copies of these resolutions to the different assemblies throughout the conti- nent, and to request their concurrence. Next day, May the seventeenth, on being dissolved by the governor, lord Bottetourt, who could not connive at such proceedings, they voted themselves into a convention, and then sign- ed an act of association against importing not only the taxed commodities, but wines and several other articles. The province of Maryland followed the example, in re- spect to the non-importation agreement ; and the North Carolina assembly, adopting, by an express vote, all the other resolutions, were dissolved by governor Tryon. The very first step taken by the general court of Massachusets Bay, when called together in the summer according to their charter, was to present an address to governor Bernard for the removal of the naval and military force stationed in the town and harbor of Boston. He told them, he had no such au- thority ; and as they refused to proceed to business, while surrounded with an armed force, he adjourned the court to the town of Cambridge; soon after which they passed resolutions similar to those of Virginia, and a vote " that the sending an armed force into the colony, under the pretence of assisting the civil power, was highly dangerous to the people, unprecedented, and unconstitu- tional," Being called upon by the governor to declare, whether they would or would not make provision for the troops agreeably to the injunctions of the act of parliament, they answered, that it was inconsistent with their honor, their interest, and their duty, to provide funds for any such purpose. Upon this the governor prorogued them to the tenth of January following, in order to give time for the abatement of their violence, and for the operation of lord Hillsborough's letter on the intended repeal of some obnoxious taxes. The motives, by which the ministry were influenced in resolving upon such a measure, have been already explained ; and as they wished to be enabled to speak with some confidence of its probable effects, be- fore they submitted it to the consideration of the legislature, the parliament, which was to have met in November, was farther pro- rogued to January. CHANGES IN THE CABINET. 1770. — At the opening of the session on the ninth of January, the opposition availed themselves of the opportunity afforded by the usual motion for an address, to introduce their favorite subject: and proposed an amendment, "to assure his majesty that they would ixamediately inquire into the causes of the discontents that prevailed in every part of his dominions." This produced long debates, which were carried on witli great acrimony, but v/ith no other effect than that of discovering a few remarkable deser- tions from the ministry in both houses. The marquis of Granby, commander-in-chief of the forces, voted for the amendment in the commons, and recanted his former opinions in favor of colonel Luttrell, which, he said, arose from his not having duly considered the nice distinction between expulsion and incapacitation. The ministry felt the loss of lord Cambden much more severely. He joined his friend the earl of Chatham, who moved the amendment in the house of lords, where, however, it was negatived by a great majority. Charles Yorke, attorney-general, son of the late lord chancellor Hardwicke, a man of the highest professional ability, accepted the great seal at his majesty's re- quest ; and a patent was immediately ordered for his elevation to the peerage, by the title of lord Morden. But in consequence of his death, which suddenly happened three days after, the seal was put into commission till the beginning of the next year, when it was given to judge Bathurst, lord Mansfield, in the mean time, officiating as speaker of the lords. A vacancy of the latter kind having been occasioned in the commons, at the very same juncture, by Sir John Cust's illness, which soon terminated in his death, two candidates were put in nomination. Sir Fletcher Norton by lord North, and the right honorable Thomas Townshend by lord John Cavendish. In this trial of parliament- ary strength, the minister's friend was cho- sen by a majority of 237 to 121. Before the end of the month the duke of Grafton re- signed, but not in disgust. On the contrary, he declared that he would still continue to support the measures of administration; and he kept his word. Lord North took his place at the head of the treasury, without relin- quishing his former office of chancellor of the exchequer. These changes were fol- lowed by some others. The earl of Bristol choosing the tranquil post of first lord of the bed-chamber, vacated by the earl of Hun- tingdon, the privy-seal was delivered to the earl of Halifax : Mr. Dunning, the solicitor- general, resigned that employment to Mr. Thurlow, a barrister then rising into conse- quence ; and one of the vacant seats at the admiralty board was filled by Charles Fox, who had just begun to attract public notice by an early display of his astonishing talents. EFFORTS OF THE OPPOSITION. The failure of the proposed amendment did not discourage the leaders of opposition from renewing again and again their loud complaints of national grievances, and par- ticularly of the mvaded freedom of election. GEORGE III. 176O->1820. 127 The various motions on this head, which they made in both houses, however diversi- fied in form, were substantially the same ; and as parliament had frequently considered and rejected such motions, it was plain that the giving them a new shape must have been with a view of harassing ministry, and of not only keeping alive the spirit, but aggravating the fury of discontent among the people. In one of the debates, lord Chatham, after affirming that the constitu- tion was violated, expressed a wish, if the breach was not repaired, " that discord might prevail for ever." He even went so far as to justify resistance hi express terms, and said, " that old as he was, he hoped he should see the question brought to issue, and fairly tried between the people and the govern- ment." It was not long before he was gratified by some advances of that kind on the part of the corporation of London. CITY OF LONDON'S REMONSTRANCE TO THE KING. On the fourteenth of March, Mr. Beck- ford, then a second time lord-mayor, attend- ed by the sheriffs, a few of the aldermen, and a great body of the common council, with a prodigious mob, went to St. James's, and there presented to the king what was called " the humble address, remonstrance, and petition of the city of London," though v/ritten in a strain of the most daring and unparalleled insolence. It stated that the complaints made in a former petition re- mained unanswered, and that the injuries were confirmed : that the only judge remova- ble at the pleasure of the crown had been dismissed from his high office for defending in parliament the laws and the constitution : that under the same secret and malign influ- ence, which through each successive admin- istration had defeated every good, and sug- gested every bad intention, the majority of the house of commons had deprived the people of their dearest rights : that the deci- sion on the Middlesex election was a deed more ruinous in its consequences than the levying of ship-money by Charles the first, or the dispensing power by James the sec- ond, — a deed that must vitiate all the future proceedings of the parliament, as the acts of the legislature could no more be valid without a legal house of commons, than without the legal prince on the throne : that representatives of the people were essential to the making of laws: that the present house of commons did not represent the people ; and that its sitting was continued for no other reason but because it was cor- ruptly subservient to the designs of his ma- jesty's ministers. The " humble" petition- ers concluded with reminding his majesty of his coronation-oath, and with assuring themselves that he would dissolve the par- liament, and remove those evil ministers for ever from his council. His majesty replied with great temper and dignity: "I shall always be ready to receive the requests, and to listen to the complaints of my subjects : but it gives me great concern to find that any of them should have been so far misled, as to offer me an address and remonstrance, the contents of which I cannot but consider as disrespectful to me, injurious to my par- liament, and irreconcilable to the principles of the constitution. I have ever made tlie law of the land the rule of my conduct, esteeming it my chief glory to reign over a free people. With this view I have always been careful, as well to execute faithfully the trust reposed in me, as to avoid even the appearance of invading any of those powers which the constitution has placed in other hands. It is only by persevermg in such a conduct, that I can either discharge my own duty, or secure to my subjects the free en- joyment of those rights which my family were called to defend : and while I act upon these principles, I shall have a right to ex- pect, and I am confident I shall continue to receive, the steady and affectionate support of my people." A motion was made in the house of com- mons, on the following day, for a copy of the remonstrance, as well as of his majesty's answer. This motion was carried by a ma- jority of almost three to one, after a wamn debate, in which the lord-mayor, alderman Trecothick, one of the city members, and both the sheriffs Townshend and Saw'bridge, insultingly gloried in the part they had taken in that transaction. The papers having been afterwards laid before the house, and the journals and other records examined, fresh debates arose on a motion for an address to his majesty, and another for the concurrence of the lords, to testify the extreme concern " and indignation which both houses felt at the language of the remonstrance, so little cor- responding with the grateful and affectionate respect justly due to his majesty from all his subjects, and at the same time aspersmg and calumniating one of the branches of the legislature, and expressly denying the le- gality of the present parliament, and the va- lidity of its proceedings. The value and importance of the right of British subjects to petition were enlarged upon with rapture ; but it was afflicting to see the exercise of that riglit so grossly perverted, by being ap- plied to the purpose, not of preser\'ing, but of overturning the constitution, and of propa- gating doctrines, which, if generally adopted, must be fatal to the peace of the kingdom, and tended to the subversion of all lawfiil authority. The opposition to this address was equally outrageous and impotent : the loyalty and good sense of a considerable ma- 128 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. jority of both houses prevailed : the king re- ceived their grateful acknowledgment of his tender regard for the rights of his subjects with great satisfaction. GRENVILLE'S BILL FOR DETERMINING DISPUTED ELECTIONS. In the midst of this season of heat and discussion, which in a greater or less degree was extended to every corner of the king- dom, George Grenville brought in his famous bill for regulating the proceedings of the house of commons on controverted elections. He stated with his usual candor the abuses which had crept in, and the nature of the plan he proposed for their correction. Former- ly, he observed, the trials of contested elec- tions had been always by a select committee, chiefly composed of the most learned and experienced of the house ; and whilst that custom contmued, the litigant parties and the nation at large were generally well satis- fied with the decisions. But, by degrees, the committees of elections having been en- larged, and all who came having voices, a shamefiil partiality prevailed : so that by way of remedy, while Mr. Onslow was speaker, the admirable order, with which he conduct- ed himself, made such as wished for a fair trial of their cause, desire it might be heard at the bar of the house. This method, how- ever, was found to be very defective and in- convenient. The number of the judges, which exceeded that of any other judicature in the world, and their being under no tie of oaths or honor to prevent any secret bias from operating on their minds, left full scope for the influence of friendship, importunity, and party connexion. Custom and example gave a sort of sanction to injustice ; and where so many were concerned, they not only kept one another in countenance, but every individual thought his share in the general guilt or reproach of partiality too in- considerable to give him the least uneasiness. The trying of such questions at the bar was also an insuperable obstruction to all other public business ; and especially in the first session of a new parliament, they took up so much time, that it was almost a matter of surprise how the house could attend to any- thing else. Grenville's bill for remedying these evils was exactly foimded on the con- stitutional idea of trials by jury. He pro- posed that when a petition complaining of undue election was presented, and a day ap- pointed for hearing its merits, against which the parties were to have their witnesses ready, the house on that day should be count- ed ; and if one hundred members were not present, no other business should be gone into until that number assembled, at which time the names of the members in the house were to be put into six urns, from each of which the clerk should alternately draw a name, to the number of forty-nine : the sit- ting members and petitioners might also nominate one each. Lists of the forty-nine were then to be given to the sitting member, the petitioners, their counsel, or agents, who, with the clerk, were to withdraw, and to strike off one alternately, beginning on the part of the petitioners, till the number was reduced to thirteen. These, wuth the two nominees, were to be sworn a select com- mittee, empowered to send for persons, pa- pers, and records ; to examine witnesses ; and finally to determine the matter in dis- pute. Such were the principal outlines of this excellent bill, which, though opposed by some of the ministry, was carried through both houses with irresistible vigor, and re- ceived the royal assent on the twelfth of April. At first the bill was made temporary, that in case the experiment did not succeed, it might expire of itself But its good ef- fects, when reduced to practice, became so evident, that in four years after, an act was passed for rendering it perpetual. Some improvements have since been made in seve- ral of its clauses, but the principle is un- alterably good ; and it remains a lastmg monument of the sound sense, integrity, and patriotism of its author. As his parliament- ary exertions ended with his life soon after the passing of this bill, it may be properly called his last legacy to the British nation. DEBATES RELATIVE TO AMERICA. Very few of the persons who were joined with Grenville in opposition to the ministry at that time, seemed desirous, like him, of sacrificing party considerations to public duty. Their efforts, during the whole ses- sion, had no other tendency than to create confusion, to embarrass government, and eo fully to occupy the time and attention of both houses in useless and violent discus- sions, as to leave very little opportunity for introducing matters of the greatest moment. Even the affairs of the colonies, however pressing and important, were unavoidably postponed from the same cause, the constant succession of debates on the most inflamma- tory and incongruous propositions. It was not till the beginning of March, when any longer delay would have been extremely in- jurious to the usual spring exportations for the American market, that lord North moved the repeal of the obnoxious port duties of 1767, excepting the duty of three-pence per pound on tea, with the continuance of which he thought the Americans could not be justly dissatisfied, as when that was laid on, an- other was taken off by a drawback of twen- ty-five per cent, from the English duties al- lowed to the exporter. But his lordship's most plausible argument for retaining any part of an act, which he admitted to be in- GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 129 consistent with the true spirit of commercial policy, was, that a total repeal would be as- cribed by the colonists, not to the goodness, but to the fears of government ; and would encourage them to make fresh demands, — to rise in their turbulence, instead of return- ing to their duty, " and that a total repeal could not be thought of till America was prostrate at our feet." Governor Pownall's speech in reply, in which he endeavored to demonstrate the inefficacy of a partial repeal, and to enforce the necessity of extending it to the whole act, made such impression on the house, that an amendment conformable to this idea was negatived by a majority of only sixty-two in a division of three hundred and forty-six members. About a month after, alderman Trecothick gave the object of the amendment a new form, by moving for leave to bring in a bill to repeal the American duty on tea. But the question to go into the other orders of the day was carried by the minis- try, on tliis ground, that the motion exactly aimed at doing in a bill what had before been attempted in an amendment ; and that it was contradictory to a well-known rule of the house, to bring on again, in the same sessions, ajiything which had already received a formal negative. RIOT AT BOSTON. But the anti-ministerialists soon found means to renew with much greater asperity the debates on the subject of America, in consequence of some advices of a riot which had taken place at Boston in the beginning' of March. It has been already intimated, that the arrival in that town of some troops, towards the latter end of the year 1768, put a stop to the disorders which then prevailed . there, and established what might be called a sullen and treacherous repose, rather than | a perfect tranquillity. The malcontents were, for some time awed by superior force ; but this force being afterwards diminished by! the departure of two of the regiments for Halifax, the spirit of turbulence and faction broke out upon several occasions. It was not, however, till the beginning of the year 1770, that any serious quarrel took place be- tween the military and the inhabitants of Boston. In a few days after the report of these transactions reached England, alderman Tre- cothick moved for copies of all narratives of any disputes or disturbances between the troops stationed in North America and the inhabitants of the colonies, to be laid before the house, with copies also of the instruc- tions sent out by administration relative to such disturbances. These papers, with a reserve of names and other particulars of material secrecy, beuig obtained, and read on the ninth of May, Burke took occasion thence to draw, or rather to smear over with the blackest colors of personal and political enmity, a frightful picture of the conduct of his majesty's ministers since the repeal of the stamp-act. He concluded a very long and violent declamation with proposing sev- eral resolutions of censure on the late mea- sures of government with regard to the colonies. But the first of his resolutions was negatived by a majority of one hundred and ninety-seven to seventy-nine; and the rest were consigned to the like fate, without any division. A debate on the same subject in the house of lords had nearly a similar issue, the question for adjournment being carried by sixty against twenty-six. Next day. May nineteenth, the business of the sup- plies and some other matters of immediate exigency being satisfactorily settled, the par- liament was prorogued with the usual com- pliments from the throne, and with particu- lar thanks to the commons for having judi- ciously provided for discharging a considera- ble part of the national debt, without laying any farther burden on his majesty's subjects. NOTES TO CHAPTER X. 1 The object of the bill was to make sixty years possession of any estate an effectual bar against all dormant claims and pretences whatsoever. 2 The company were also bound to lend the overplus of their revenues to government at two per cent. ' 3 For instance, fifty members might think he ought to be ex- pelled for the North Briton; fifty more might think so for the Essay on Woman ; and fifty more for the libellous strictures on lord Weymouth's letter; though each of these might ac- quit him of the other accusa- tions ; whilst a hundred might entirely acquit him; and yet the three fifties joining together would expel him. 130 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. CHAPTER XI. Another Remonstrance from the City of London ; with the King^s Answer^ and Beck- ford's Reply — View of Wilkes'' s political Career — Dispute with Spain relative to Falkland Islands — Proceedings of the Commons against Printers ; and Commit- ment of the Lord-Mayor, and of Alderman Oliver to the Tower — Bill for disfran- chising the Members of the Christian Club at New Shoreham — More Remonstrances to the Throne from the City of London — Unsuccessful Attempt to enlarge Religious Liberty — Act for restraining the future Marriages of the Royal Family — Carolina Matilda falls a Victim to the Intrigues of the Queen Dowager of Denmark — Changes in the British Ministry — Committee of Secrecy — The Embarrassments of the East India Company — Charges brought against Lord Clive ; his Acquittal ; and Sui- cide — Bill for Management of the East India Company^s Affairs — Summary of other Proceedings of the Sessions — Expedition against the Caribbs in St. Vincent — Alarming Events in America — Measures adopted by Parliament for maintaining the Authority of Great Britain over the Colonies — Proceedings of the General Con- gress at Philadelphia — The Sense of the Nation taken, by dissolving the Parliament at this Juncture — Dr. Franklin's conciliatory plan — Petition of the City of London — State of Affairs in America — Battle of Lexington — Battle of Bunker's Hill — Meeting and Proceedings of Congress — General Washington appointed commander- in-chief — His character — Expedition to Canada — Forts taken — Quebec besieged — General Montgomery defeated and killed. CITY OF LONDON'S SECOND REMON- STRANCE, AND LORD-MAYOR BECK- FORD'S REPLY TO THE KING. After having- weathered so severe and stormy a season w^ith unremitted exertions, it was natural for the ministry to expect some little interval of calmness and repose. But if they amused themselves with these fond hopes, they were very much disappoint- ed. In four days after the rising of parlia- ment, the throne was assailed with another remonstrance from the city of London, still more reprehensible than the former, con- verting an humble request into an imperi- ous dictate, and urging the dissolution of parliament and the removal of his majesty's ministers as the only means of reparation that were left for the injured electors of Great Britain. As it also contained some very disrespectful strictures on the king's answer to the late address, his majesty was again reduced to the painful necessity of declaring, that he should have been wanting to the public, as well as to himself, if he had not expressed his dissatisfaction at such an address ; and that he should ill deserve to be considered as the father of his people, if he could suffer himself to be prevailed upon to make any use of his prerogative, which he thought inconsistent with the in- terest, and dangerous to the constitution of the kingdom. Beckford, who presented the remonstrance, and who might easily foresee the manner in which it would be received, begged leave to answer the kmg. The re- quest, though unprecedented, was complied with, as it could not be imagined that the lord-mayor would abuse such an instance of the gracious condescension of his sove- reign. But the opportunity was too flatter- ing to Beckford's democratic pride : he re- peated the heads of the remonstrance, be- ginning, as that did, in a strain of affected humility, and concluding with this bold as- sertion, " that whoever had already dared, or should hereafter endeavor, by false insin- uations and suggestions, to alienate his ma- jesty's affections from his loyal subjects in general, and from the city of London in particular, was an enemy to his majesty's person and family, a violator of the public peace, and a betrayer of our happy con- stitution, as it was established at the glo- rious and necessary revolution." The dig- nity of the throne was well sustained by a total disregard of such presumptuous lan- guage. WILKES DISCHARGED FROM PRISON. A LITTLE before this event, 'Wilkes was discharged from the king's-bench prison, the term of his confinement having expired, and securities being given for his future good behavior. The committee of " the support- ers of the bill of rights," as they called themselves, who had received subscriptions for his relief from different parts of the kingdom, and even from America (1), com- promised all his debts, which amounted to very near twenty thousand pounds, besides supplying him with a thousand pounds for his maintenance, paying off his two fines of five hundred pounds each, and defraying the expenses of his three last election? f )r Middlesex, which did not fall much short of GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 131 two thousand pounds. But these were not the only fruits which Wilkes reaped from his audacity and impostures, as well as from the prevalence of faction, the inconceivable folly of the multitude, and the ill-timed, though highly provoked severity of govern- ment A single glance at his farther pro- gress will be sufficient to illustrate this re- mark. The week after his release from prison, he was admitted alderman of Far- rington-Without : he then rose, at very short intervals, to the honors of sheriff in 1771, and of lord-mayor in 1775 : his next care was to secure for himself the more lucra- tive and permanent office of chamberlain : in the year 1774, he and his friend serjeant Glynn were returned for Middlesex without any opposition : in 1780, he was rechosen for tlie same county; and hi 1783, upon a total change of ministry, he succeeded in a motion for having all the declarations, or- ders, and resolutions of the house of com- mons respecting his former incapacity and the decision in favor of colonel Luttrell, ex- punged from the journals. The close of his political career did not prove quite so flat- tering to his vanity. When he ceased to be a supposed object of persecution, he quickly sank, as Grenville had justly predicted, into Ills original insignificance. At the general election in 1790, he met with the most scorn- ful and humiliating rebuff from that very county, and those very people of whom he had been so long the idol. DISPUTES WITH SPAIN RESPECTING THE FALKLAND ISLANDS. At this time the attention both of the public and of government was called off to the probability of a rupture with Spain. A frigate from the southern ocean, which ar- rived at Plymouth on the third of June, brought advices of a formal warning given by the Spaniards to the English to quit a settlement lately made at Falkland islands, though sanctioned by the double right of discovery and possession. These islands which are situated at a small distance from the southern extremity of America, were first observed by captain Davies in the year 1692, but did not receive their present name till the reign of William III. They were afterwards visited by some ships belonging to St Maloes, whence they were called the Malouines by the French, rather from an L-npulse of national vanity, than from any conviction of the validity of tlieir title. The rigor of the climate, the sterility of the soil, and the exposure of all the islands on that coast to almost perpetual storms even in the summer months, were such discouraging circumstances, that above a century and a half elapsed before any European nation attempted to make a settlement there. It was first remarked by lord Anson, on his return from his famous voyage round the globe in 1744, that the possession of a port to the southward of the Brazils would be of signal service to future navigators for refit- ting their ships, and providing them witli necessaries, previous to their passage through the Straits of Magellan, or the doubling Cape Horn ; and among other places eligi- ble for this purpose, he specified Falkland islands. About ten years after, on his lord- ship's advancement to the head of the admi- ralty, a plan in conformity to his ideas was on the point of bemg carried into execution ; but strong remonstrances against it being made by the king of Spain under the old pretence of his exclusive right to all the Magellanic regions, the project, though not expressly given up, was suffered to lie dor- mant. It was revived in the year 1764, under the auspices of lord Egmont, who then presided at the admiralty board, and by whose advice commodore Anson being sent out to take possession of those islands, executed the order with the usual formali- ties; made a settlement; and erected a small fort in the vicinity of a commodious harbor, to which the name of Port Egmont was given. It happened that about the same time a settlement had also been made, and a fortress erected by the celebrated French navigator M. de Bougamville on another of those islands to the eastward of the Eng- lish settlements, imder the name of St. Lew- is. But in consequence of the representa- tions of the court of Madrid to the court of Versailles, this was yielded up in 1766 to the Spaniards, who changed its name to that of Port Solidad. Towards the close of the year 1769, captain Hunt of the Tamer frig- ate, cruising off the islands, fell in with a Spanish schooner belonging to Port Solidad, and, agreeably to what he conceived to be his duty, charged the commander of the schooner to depart from that coast, as it was the property of his Britannic majesty. The schooner obeyed ; but soon returned with an officer on board, bringing with him a letter from the governor of Buenos Ayres, ad- dressed to captain Hunt, in which the gov- ernor in his turn warned the captain to de- part from a coast belonging to the king of Spain ; but on the supposition that captain Hunt's touching at these islands Avas merely accidental, the governor expressed his earn- est desire to show him all possible civilities. Captain Hunt jn reply again asserted hi« sovereign's right with some warmth, and threatened to fire into the Spanish schooner, upon her attempting to enter the harbor. This produced a long altercation by letters between the captain and governor, during which two Spanish frigates, with troops on board for their settlement, arrived at Port Egmont, under pretence of wanting water. 132 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. The commander-in-chief wrote tx) captain Hunt, expressing great surprise at seeing the usual appearances of an English settle- ment there, charging him with a violation of the last peace, and protesting against tlie act in all its parts, at the same tune declar- ing that he would abstain from any other proceeding, till he had acquainted his Cath- olic majesty with this disagreeable transac- tion. Captain Hunt repeated his former arguments on tlie question of right : but as soon as the Spanish frigates, after re- ceiving a supply of water, proceeded on their course, he set sail for England, in or- der to inform government of what had taken place, not thinking it advisable to run any farther risk on his own authority. Two small sloops, tlie Favorite, captain Maltby, and the Swift, captain Farmer, formed the whole force that remained upon the station. When Captain Hunt's advices were laid before the public, they excited no small alarm; for though the Spaniards had not made use of any hostile menaces in direct terms, yet their warning him to quit that coast was generally considered as prepa- ratory to a formal declaration of war. This opinion was farther strengthened by a va- riety of other circumstances. Spain had been for some time very attentive to put r er West India possessions in the best pos- ture of defence, and a formidable armament was known to be fitting out at the Havan- nah. Vigorous preparations were making in the French and Spanish ports at home ; and though these might have been more im- mediately occasioned by the jealousy arising from the progress of the Russians in the Levant, they did not appear to indicate a very friendly disposition towards Great Brit- ain. A fire also which broke out at this juncture in Portsmouth dock-yard, and which in its consequences might have greatly obstructed any sudden maritime ef- forts, was looked upon as part of a settled plan for the ruin of the British navy. Many persons fancied they could trace in it the deep-laid design of an insidious and invete- rate enemy, whose ambition had ever been boundless, and had in general been but little restrained either by the laws of honor or of nations, when they interfered with the gratification of it. In the midst of these fears and suspicions, the British government acted with great discretion, neither neglect- ing the proper means of asserting its right, nor precipitately plunging the nation into any vast or unnecessary expenses. It was resolved in the cabinet that firm, yet tempe- rate representations on the subject should be made to the court of Madrid ; and orders were in the mean time issued for the man- ning and equipment of sixteen sail of the line. While things were going on in this train, the Favorite, one of the sloops which had been left at Port Egmont, arrived oflT the Mother-bank near Portsmouth, on the twen- ty-second of September, and brouglit intel- ligence, that soon after captain Hunt's de- parture, five Spanish frigates and some smaller vessels, with all the apparatus neces- sary for a regular siege, appeared before Port Egmont Captam Farmer, the com- mandant, made some preparations at first to defend the place, but finding it utterly un- tenable, submitted, after a few shots were fired, to a capitulation, by which he and the garrison were allowed to evacuate the set- tlement, and to carry with them what stores they could, the governor of Solidad being made answerable for the remamder. The Spanish commodore, not choosing however that very early intelligence of this outrage should be conveyed to England, enjoined the two captains Farmer and Maltby not to sail without his permission ; and in order to insure compliance, caused the rudder of the Favorite to be taken off and kept on shore for twenty days, when it was restored, and the sloop permitted to depart. It is astonishing with what mdignation the whole kingdom seemed to be inflamed at this insult on the British flag. The speech from the throne at tlie meeting of parlia- ment on the thirteenth of November, in- formed the nation that satisfaction for the injury had been demanded from the court of Spain; that, in case of refusal, neces- sary preparations were making to enforce the demand; and that they v/ould not be discontinued till proper reparation was ob- tained, as well as unequivocal proof that other powers v/ere equally sincere with his majesty in the resolution to preserve the general tranquillity of Europe. The ad- dresses of both houses on this occasion, in spite of all the efforts of faction and malev-. olence, contained the most hearty approba- tion of the steps which had been taken by his majesty, with assurances of effectual support in the progress of such an import- ant affair. Supplies for the augmentation of the army and navy were cheerfully voted; and the increase of the land-tax from three to four shillings in the pound met with no great opposition. 1771. — Though the language of the Span- ish ministry, on the very first remonstrance, was condescending and pacific, yet unex- pected obstacles arose in the course of the negotiation, which rendered their sincerity somewhat questionable. As the doubts of the English cabinet on this head had greatly increased before Christmas, it was deemed advisable to adjourn parliament till the latter end of January, to allow time for de- termining the grand question of peace or GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 133 war, and that the minister might then be enabled to announce decisively on the al- ternative. Lord Weymouth having resign- ed the office of secretary of state for the southern department, the correspondence with Spain was now carried on by his suc- cessor, the earl of Rochford, whose place in the northern department was filled by lord Sandwich. But the latter being soon after removed to the head of the admiralty, in the room of Sir Edward Hawke, the sec- retaryship for the north was conferred on lord Halifax, who gave up the privy-seal to the earl of Suffolk. The great seal was taken out of commission, and given to judge Bathurst ; and de Grey was appointed chief justice of the common pleas. Some other changes took place about the same time; and several of the late Mr. Grenville's friend were introduced into office; by which the ministry gained no inconsiderable accession of talents, as well as of numbers. But lord North was enabled to face par liament with still more confidence, having accomplished the grand object for which the recess had been protracted to a greater length than usual. The very day the com mons met after their adjournment, (January 22,) he informed them, that the Spanish ambassador had that morning signed a de claration, with which his majesty was satis fied, and which should be laid before the house. The like information was commu- nicated to the lords by the earl of Rochford After the papers relative to this affair had been submitted to the mspection of both houses, warm debates arose on the terms of the Spanish declaration, which the members of the opposition asserted to be inadequate and insecure, because though it contained an explicit disavowal of the violence used at Port Egmont, and an engagement to re store everything there precisely to the state in which it was before the tenth of June 1770, it still left room for future disputes, by adding "that his Catholic majesty did not consider this restitution as anywise af- fecting the question concerning the prior right of sovereignty of the islands." But addresses of thanks and approbation were concurred in by a majority of almost three to one in the lords, and of nearly two to one in the commons. They affirmed that the atonement made for the aggression was as ample as could justly be required ; and that ministers would have been in the highest degree reprehensible, had they involved the nation in a war for the sake of so insignifi. cant an object as the reserved pretensions of Spain to one or two barren spots under a stormy sky, in a distant quarter of the globe. The possibility of a similar dispute was precluded by the total evacuation of that settlement about three years after. Vol, IV. 12 The other proceedings of parliament du- ring this session, which ended the eighth of May, aflbrd very few subjects of inter- esting detail. The debates did not lead to any one important measure. Endeavors were used to bring the courts of law into contempt, and to spread abroad a dangerous opinion that the constitutional essence of trials was destroyed by the corruption or servility of the judges, and that the riglit of juries in particular to examine into the innocence or criminality of pretended libels had been restrained by illegal dictates from the bench. Public curiosity was greatly excited by an altercation on this subject, be- tween lord Cambden and lord Mansfield, in the house of peers; but after the boldest challenge given on one side, and as reso- lutely defied on the other, both parties seem- ed disposed to bury the matter in eternal silence. CONTEST BETWEEN SOME PRINTERS AND THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. Formal complaints having been made in the house of commons against two printei-s of public papers, Wheble and Thompson, for breach of privilege by misrepresenting the debates; they were summoned to ap- pear at the bar of the house to answer the charge. As the printers took no notice of this summons, a second order was issued and declared to be fiinal. No more regard being paid to the second order than to ihe first, a motion was made and agreed to, that they should be taken into the custody of the serjeant-at-arms. But the parties havini^' absconded, a proclamation appeared, oi!er- ing a reward of fifty pounds for apprehend- ing them. In the mean time, six other print- ers were, for similar offences, summoned to the bar of the house, five of whom, obeying the summons, were reprimanded and di5- charged ; and the remaining delinquent, Millar, was ordered to be taken into custody for contempt of the notice given him. Wheble being apprehended in consequence of the proclamation, and carried before Wilkes, the sitting alderman at Guildhall, was discharged, and bound over to prose- cute the person who apprehended him. Thompson also was apprehended, and dis- charged in the same manner by alderman Oliver. Millar, being taken into custody by the messenger of the house of commons at his own dwelling, was carried before the lord-mayor (Brass Crosby) and the aldermen Wilkes and Oliver at the Mansion-house. The deputy serjeant-at-arms attending to demand the prisoner, the legality of the warrant was denied, and the printer not only discharged, but the messenger of the house, on pretence of a false arrest, ordered to be committed to prison, in default of bail, which was at first refused, but at length r©- 134 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. luctantly given. The thanks of the corpo- ration of London were voted to the three magistrates; hut two of them, the lord- mayor and alderman Oliver, being members of the house of commons, incurred its se- verest censure for such a daring opposition to its authority. Every part of their pro- ceedings was voted to be a breach of privi- lege : the lord-mayor's clerk, having attend- ed with the minute-book, was obliged to erase the recognisance of Whittam, the inessenger ; and, after several hearings on tJie subject, the two magistrates, instead of concession or apology, resolutely persisting in the justice of their conduct, they were committed prisoners to the Tower. Wilkes had also been ordered to appear at the bar of the house ; but in a letter which he ad- dressed to the speaker, he said he could at- tend only in his place as member for Mid- dlesex. The house, unwillmg to give him fresh consequence by a renewal of former severities, ordered another summons for the eighth of April, and at the same time ap- pointed the ninth as the first day of meet- ing after the Easter recess. The lord- fiiayor and Oliver remained in the Tower till the rising of parliament, when their lib eration was celebrated by the tumultuous rejoicings of the populace. Among the bills that received the royal assent on the last day of the session, there were two which particularly engaged the attention of the public. One was a bill for dislTanchising several electors of New Shore^ ham in Sussex, and for extending the right of voting to the contiguous hundreds. It appeared in evidence before the select com^ mittee, appointed under the Grenville act to try the merits of the late election for this borough, that a great number of the free- men had formed themselves into a society under the name of ' the Christian Club.' This Christian club, notwithstanding its pjoiis appellation, was no better than a mart of venality. A junto was appointed to dis- pose of the borough to the highest bidder. These agents of corruption did not vote themselves, but gave the necessary orders to the rest of the society ; and after the election was decided, the profits were shared equally amongst the whole. The spiritual and constitutional tendency of the bill for incapacitating all the members of such an infamous club were highly and deservedly applauded. CITY OF LONDON'S THIRD AND FOURTH REMONSTRANCES TO THE KING. At that period, the freemen of London seemed to have suspended all exercise of their own will, as well as of their own rea- son; and while they flattered themselves with the idea of setting an example of pub- lic spirit to the whole kingdom, they were in fact the abject, senseless tools of a few factious demagogues. After Mr. Beckford's death,Crosby,Sawbridge,Townsend, Wilkes, and Oliver succeeded to the ostensible di- rection of all the city proceedings. In the first month of Crosby's mayoralty, another remonstrance in the usual strain, and the third of the kind delivered the same year, was agreed to, chiefly through alderman Sawbridge's persuasions. It was little more than the renewal of the former complaints and the former requests, accompanied with a very humble hint, " that the good effects of his majesty's innate goodness had been intercepted by a fatal conspiracy of malevo- lent influence round the throne." His ma- jesty, however, told the remonstrants, " that he could not comply with the prayer of their petition, as he had no reason to alter the opinion expressed in his answer to their last addresses on the subject." The beginning of Crosby's mayoralty was distinguished by another strong proof of disaffection to gov- ernment. Though the manning of the navy, on the eve of an expected rupture with Spain, was the first and most important con- cern of the state, he refused to back the press- warrants issued for that purpose ; and sought to screen himself from the indigna- tion of all real friends to their country, by alleging that the ready concurrence of his official predecessors in the like measures did not remove his doubts of the legality of the practice, and that the city-bounty for the encouragement of seamen was intended to prevent such violences. Alderman Wilkes had just before discharged an impressed man ; and this at a time when " the rotten condition of the navy, the defenceless state of the British dominions, and the inevitable necessity of going to war," under all these disadvantages, were the constant themes of seditious declaimers. The aflfair of the printers afforded the lord-mayor a fresh op- portunity of holding himself out as the champion of the city charters. During the debates in parliament on his and Oliver's conduct, all the avenues to the house were frequently crowded with turbulent mobs, and the lives of several of the ministry were endangered. After the commitment of the two delinquents to the Tower, writs of ha- beas corpus were obtained for them, merely to flatter their vanity by triumphal or rather riotous processions to and from Westminster hall, — not with any hope of their being dis- charged by the judges, as it was well known that no court of law could interfere with the constitutional authority of the house of com- mons over its own members. Their release from the Tower, at the close of the session, was celebrated, as before observed, by acts of outrage; and at the Midsummer elec- tion of sherifi^s, the ductile citizens were GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 135 easily induced to give their assent to a fourth remonstrance, recapitulating- the old griev- ances ; charging the house of commons with some new acts of " enormous wicked- ness and injustice," particularly the impris- onment of the two city magistrates, the erasure of Whittam's recognisance, and the embankment at Durham Yard ; and praying for the speedy dissolution of parliament, and for the removal of his majesty's " wicked and despotic ministers." The framers of this remonstrance wished to provoke, if pos- sible, some singular asperity of reply from the throne ; and it was intended that all the livery should go along with the lord-mayor to deliver it. But neither of these schemes succeeded. On the ninth of July, the day before his lordship was to proceed at the head of the livery to St. James's, he receiv- ed notice from the lord-chamberlain, that it being unprecedented as well as impractica- ble to introduce so numerous a body, no per- son beyond the number allowed by law could be admitted ; and when his lordship, with the usual attendants, presented the re- monstrance next day, they were totally dis- concerted by the cool and dignified firmness of his majesty's answer. '■ 1 shall ever be ready," said he, " to exert my prerogative, as far as I can constitutionally, in redressing any real grievances of my subjects ; and the city of London will always find me disposed to listen to any of their well-founded com- plaints ; it is therefore with concern that I see a part of my subjects still so far misled and deluded, as to renew, in such reprehen- sible terms, a request, with which, I have repeatedly declared, I cannot comply." All those desperate efforts of designing men served only to increase the harmony and to cement the union of the members of administration. No change took place in any of the public departments except those that proceeded from the death of the earl of Halifax, and of lord Strange, both of which happened nearly at the same time, and not long after the rising of parliament. In con- sequence of the former of these events, the earl of Suffolk was appointed secretary of state for the northern department, in the room of the earl of Halifax ; and the duke of Graflon, returning into office, accepted of the privy-seal. I^ord Hyde succeeded lord Strajige as chancellor of the dutchy of Lan- caster. Everything seemed now to promise ministry both tranquillity and permanence. The storm of fiction had in a great measure spent its rage ; and thoufrh some petty at- tempts were made by Wilkes and his asso- ciates to blov/ up once more the spirit of discontent, it soon subsided in a profound calm. A favorable harvest ; the fiourishing state of arts and commerce ; an exemption from the calamities of war, pestilence and famine, which then laid WEiste many other parts of Europe ; in sliort, the union of plen- ty, peace, security, and true liberty, could not but reconcile tlie people of England to a government under which they enjoyed so many blessings. The only allay of this na- tional happiness was towards the end of the year, in consequence of very heavy rains which fell in November, and which occa- sioned, particularly in the northern counties, a more terrible inundation than had been experienced there withm the memory of man. A detail of its ravages would serve only to excite the most painful emotions. It is enough to say that Northumberland, Cum- berland, and Westmoreland exhibited for a few days nothing but scenes of distress and horror. — The usual characteristic humanity of the British nation w^as exerted in afibrd- ing relief to the sufferers. 1772. — As there was no urgent business which required an early attendance, the prorogation of parliament was extended to the twenty-first of January, when they were informed, in a speech from the throne, that the king of Spain's performance of his en- gagement in restoring Port Egmont and Falkland island, and the assurances receiv- ed of the pacific disposition of that court, as well as of other powers, afforded such a prospect of the continuance of a peace, that both houses would be "at liberty to give their whole attention to the establishment of wise and useful regulations of law, and to the extension of our commercial advan- tages." The propriety of maintaining a re- spectable establishment of naval forces was at the same time suggested ; but great plea- sure was expressed at finding, that there would be no necessity to ask any extraordi- nary aid for that purpose. Though the ad- dresses in both houses were carried unani- mously; yet, when a motion was made in the commons, that twenty-five thousand sea- men should be voted for the service of the current year, it was opposed under tlie pre- tence of inconsistency on the part of the ministers, who accompanied a speech, which breathed nothing but effusions of peace, with all the actual preparations for a war. But after a short debate, the house agreed to the motion without a division. Parliament was not inattentive to the other objects which the king had pointed out in general terms. They also entered upon the consideration of the East India af- fairs ; and as these were of the utmost in- tricacy and magnitude, it was deemed ad- visable to appoint a select committee of tliir- t}^-one members, chosen by ballot, to inquire into, and make a faithful report of the late alarming mismanagement and actual state of the company's concerns, — to present to parliament a comprehensive view of the ex- 136 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. istence and extent of the evils, and thereby to enable them in their deliberate wisdom to apply an effectual remedy. The sittings of the committee were continued during the summer. PETITION AGAINST THE 39 ARTICLES. Some attempts were made in the course of the session to enlarge the sphere of reli- gious liberty ; but upon such vague and con- tradictory principles as defeated the possi- bility of their success. The first was a pe- tition from certain clergymen of the estab- lished church, and certain members of the ])rofessions of civil law and physic, who prayed to be relieved from subscription to the thirty-nine articles. The former laid bold claims to the inherent right, which, they said, they held from God alone, to make a full and free use of their private judg- ment in the interpretation of the scriptures ; and they farther asserted, that the necessity imposed on them of acknowledging particu- lar confessions of faith and doctrine, drawn up by fallible men, was an infringement of that right, and a deviation from the liberal and original principles of the church of England : the latter stated, with more mod- esty, the hardship of being obliged, for the purpose of obtaining degrees in their re- spective faculties, to declare their solemn o.ssent to theological tenets, which the course of their studies had not led them to exam- ine, and upon which their private opinions could be of no consequence to society. TIio {K'tition was rejected by a majority of 217 against 71 ; and for the plainest reasons. The clergy could not complain, as not being obliged to accept of benefices contrary to their conscience ; and if scruples arose af- terwards, they had it always in their power to relinquish "their preferments. Every man v/as at liberty to interpret the scripture for liis own private use ; but his being author- ized to do so for others was a matter of a very different nature. All governments had a right to establish such a system of public instruction as should approve itself most conducive to the general good ; and it was necessary that those, who were to become teachers of the people, should be subjected to some test of their conformity and union. The danger of innovations was also suggest- ed, and that, as civil disputes had lately run high, it would be very impolitic to give any opportunity of increasing them by lighting up the flames of religious controversy. It seemed, however, to be the general wish, that the universities would grant relief to the professors of law and physic, in the mat- ters they complained of; though parliament did not think proper to interfere. Several favorable sentiments were also throvv^n out in the debate with regard to the dissentinfr ministers, and some concern was expressed for the hardships they suffered, in being obliged, under severe penalties, to subscribe the articles of a church to which they did not belong, and from which they sought neither promotion nor emolument. So in- viting an opportunity was not neglected by the friends of the dissenters. Leave having been obtained to bring in a bill for their re- lief, it was carried through the house of commons without a division, the number of those who spoke against it by no means correspondmg with their zeal. But it was thrown out, on the second reading in the house of lords, by a majority of almost four to one, who considered the thirty-nine ar- ticles as the grand palladium on which the civil as well as ecclesiastical government of the kingdom depended. ROYAL MARRIAGE ACT. Among the acts passed this session there was one which made a great deal of noise, from the circumstances that gave rise to it, and from its being streimously opposed in every stage of its progress through both houses. This was the act for regulatmg the future marriages of the royal family. It had its origin in the marriage contracted but a few months before by the duke of Cumber- land with Mrs. Horton, relict of colonel Horton and daughter of lord Irnham. A private, though long-suspected marriage of the duke of Gloucester to the countess dowager of Waldegrave, mi?:bt a ■;::<;> have operated on the king's mind, to rocoramend, by a particular message, the consideration of this subject to parliament. The dishonor reflected on the crown by unsuitable al- liances, and former experience of the great evils arising from them, rendered the pro- priety of some restraints very evident ; but it was alleged that they were carried too far in the new act, by being extended to all the descendants of George 11. who might in time comprehend a very numerous description of people. According to the provisions of this act, the marriages contracted by the royal family, from the time of its having passed, are declared null and void, unless the pre- vious approbation of his majesty be obtained ; but in case the parties shall have attained the age of twenty-five years, and give no- tice to the privy-council of their intention of marriage, such marriage shall be held good in law, unless the parliament shall within the space of twelve months declare its disapprobation of the same. DEATH OF THE KING'S MOTHER AND SISTER. Whatever uneasiness the king felt at the disrespectful behavior of both his brothers in marrying without his consent, some other events of a family nature soon after took place, which were to him a source of much keener concern and reflection. His amiable GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 137 mother, the princess dowager of Wales, died on the eighth of Fehruary ; and his sis- ter, the queen of Denmark, had a few days before fallen a victim to the intrigues and boundless ambition of her husband's mother- in-law. This artful woman, eagerly bent on securing, if possible, the succession for her own son, the king's half-brother, left no means untried to alienate the affections of the royal pair from each other. But these attempts not answering her purpose, she en- tered into more desperate schemes, in con- cert with some discarded placemen ; and at length, by the combined efforts of fraud and force, she brought about a revolution at the court of Copenhagen on the sixteenth of January. Under the sanction of a warrant, coinpulsorily obtained from the king, counts Struensee and Brandt, his chief ministers, were thrown into a dungeon ; and the young queen was committed close prisoner to the castle of Cronenburgh. They were charged with a conspiracy to force the king to sign an act of renunciation, and to establish a re- gency, by which the government was to be lodged in the hands of the young queen and the two favorites. The latter suffered on a scaffold about three months after ; but the queen was allowed, through the powerful interposition of England, to retire from the Danish dominions. She and her attendants were conveyed to Germany by a small squad- ron of frigates under the command of cap- tain M'Bride ; and she took up her residence at Zell in the electorate of Hanover, where she died of a malignant fever on the tenth of May 1775, not having then completed the tv/enty-fburth year of her age. Her enemies, though so far successful, did not accomplish their ultimate object. They had ])ropagated scandalous reports of her amours with Struensee ; yet were afraid to question the legitimacy of her issue. In the year 1784, they were all dismissed from office ; and a new council was formed under the auspices of the prince royal, who was now grown up to assert his own rights, and to vmdicate his injured mother's honor. While the political system of Europe seemed to be convulsed by the dismember- ment of Poland, no changes took place in the British admmistration which could either affect its internal strength, or outward con- duct Lord Hillsborough, indeed, resigned his office of secretary of state for the Ameri- can department in August, together with his seat at the head of the board of trade, both of which were bestowed on the earl of Dart- mouth. The resignation was not, however, the effect of any difference with the court, the former nobleman having quitted his places in great good-humor, and being im- mediately afler promoted to an English earl- dom. Lord Stormont, the earl of Mansfield's 12* nephew, was appointed ambassador extraor- dinary at the court of Versailles, in the room of the earl of Harcourt, who succeeded lord Townshend in the government of Ireland ; and the services of the latter were rewarded with the master generalship of the ordnance. The death of the earl of Albemarle afforded an opportunity for promoting general Con- way to the government of the island of Jer- sey ; and Sir Jeffrey Amherst, who succeed- ed him as lieutenant-general of the ordnance, was soon afterwards called to the privy- council. A few promotions were also oc- casioned by the death of the earl of Litch- field. Lord North was soon elected chan- cellor of the university of Oxford ; Mr. Jenkinson succeeded to the joint vice-trea- surership of Ireland, and thereby made a vacancy at the treasury board in England for Fox. It is almost unnecessary to add, that no part of this arrangement indicated the least prevalence of- disunion or intrigue in the cabinet. EAST INDIA COMPANY'S AFFAIRS. 1773. — Both houses of parliament, which had been prorogued the tenth of June, met again on the twenty-sixth of November, to resume, at the king's very earnest desire, the consideration of the East India company's affairs, by the revival, or rather continuance of the select committee ; the appointment of another committee of thirteen members, under the name of the committee of secre- cy, for the purpose of more accurately m- vestigating the various sources of the com- pany's misfortunes, witliout any uimecessary exposure of them to the world ; and an act to restrain the company for a lunited time from sending out supervisors, a measure which then appeared to be equally expen- sive and useless. The objects of inquiry were so various and of so great an extent, that a complete body of information could not be laid before the house till the month of April. But the exigencies of the com- pany requiring immediate relief, and a peti- tion for that purpose being presented to par- liament in the beginning of March, lord North brought forward several resolutions in the course of the month, which were successively agreed to. A loan of one mil- lion four hundred thousand pounds was voted to the company, to save them from a situa- tion little short of absolute bankruptcy ; and, in order to prevent the like disasters from befalling them in future, certain terms were armexed to the loan, on this plain principle, that every creditor, who parts with his money to any applicant, has an undoubted right to insist upon particular conditions, previous to his acquiescence in the request. According to these ideas, it was resolved, that the company's dividend should be re- stricted to six per cent, until the repayment 138 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. of the sum advanced, and that the company be allowed to divide no more than seven per cent until the reduction of their bond debt to a million and a half A fev^r days after, it was moved and carried by the minister, that it was the opinion of the house, it would be more beneficial to the public and to the East India company to let the territorial ac- quisitions remain in the possession of the company for a limited time, not to exceed the term of six years, their charter expiring about that period ; — that no participation of the profits should take place between the public and the company before the above stipulated repayment of the loan, and reduc- tion of the bond debt; — that after these points were settled, three-fourths of the net surplus profits of the company above the sum of eight per cent, upon their capital stock, should be paid into the exchequer for the use of the public, the other fourth being set apart either for farther reducing the com pany's bond debt, or by way of provision for future contingencies ; — and that, as the com- pany had in their warehouse a stock of teas, amounting to about seventeen millions of pounds, which it would be greatly to their ad- vantage to convert into money, they should be allowed to export any quantities of it duty free. The company remonstrated against the hardship of some of these stipu- lations, particularly the limitation of their dividend after the discharge of the loan, the future disposal of their net profits, and, above all, the implied decision against their right to terrritorial acquisitions. But their remonstrances had no weight with parlia- ment: the loan bill passed without the smallest change in any one article; and such was the indignation of the public at the enormous oppressions committed under the name, if not by the express authority of the company, that little compassion or sympathy was excited by the loudness of their exclamations and complaints in this day of their humiliation and distress. As it may appear inconceivable how the company could be precipitated, in the short period which elapsed since the year 1765, from the height of prosperity to a state of em- barrassment bordering upon ruhi, a transient review of the principal causes will be neces- sary to explain the paradox. Soon after the treaty concluded by lord Clive at Eliabad, pernicious monopolies were established by the company's servants in all the newly- acquired provinces ; and as if the exclusive purchase and sale of every article of gene- ral consumption in India was not sufficient to satisfy their avarice, the presidency of Calcutta devised another scheme of legal plunder, which was to declare void at once all the leases held under the government on very low terms by the zemidars and polygars, who constitute the great landed interest of the country. The pretext for this was, that many of these leases had been collusively obtained ; and it was said, that impartiality required they should be now relet without distinction to the high- est bidder. By these means the natives were impoverished ; immense fortunes were made by their oppressors ; but the aggregate receipts of the company's treasury alarm- ingly decreased. As the opulence of Ben- gal, however great, depended solely upon tlie labor and industry of the people, upon commerce, manufactures, and agriculture, it is evident that these could not long flourish under the baneful influence of ra- pacity. The governing rule of trade pursued by the company's servants was to reduce to the lowest extreme of depression the price in the purchase, and to enhance it in the same extravagant degree in the sale. This discouraged the artisan and manufacturer from going to work, and others from buying anything but what was of absolute necessity. The situation of the farmers and husband- men was still more hopeless : they planted in doubt, and reaped in uncertainty. A large proportion of the land was of course left un- tilled ; and this co-operating with a drought in the year 1769, occasioned a general scarcity of provisions, particularly of rice, the great staple of Indian sustenance. It was also said, that some of the monopolists had exerted their power and their foresight in collecting the scanty supplies into stores ; so that the poor Gentoos had no alternative left them but to part with the small remains of their property or to perish with hmiger. It is certain that a dreadful famine, and the plague, its usual concomitant, carried off" in the year 1770 very nearly a fourth part of the entire population of Bengal, or about three millions of unfortunate victims. To these calamities were added the distressing eflfects of the war with Hyder Ally, wan- tonly entered into and shamefully conduct- ed, to gratify the interested views of indi- viduals. In such circumstances, it cannot be deemed wonderful, especially when the great increase of the civil and military es- tablishments in India, and the annual con- tribution to the public expenditure at home, are taken into the account, that the dis- bursements of the company should far ex- ceed the amount of their revenues, and bring them, in a few years, to the verge of bankruptcy. REPORT OF A COMMITTEE. In the reports of the select committee, many other scenes of shocking cruelty were unfolded to public view. The detail would be endless ; but a general idea of their na- ture may be formed from the words of the chairman, who declared, " that, through the GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 139 whole investigation, he could not find a single sound spot whereon to lay his finger, it being all equally one mass of the most unheard-of villanies, and the most notorious corruption." Heavy charges were brought against several of the company's servants, and particularly against lord Clive, who, it was affirmed, had acquired a princely for- tune by rapine, extortion, treachery, and murder. But when a vote of censure on his conduct was moved in the house of com- mons, it was negatived by a large majority, in opposition to the minister; and an end was put to the inquiry. A deep impression was nevertheless made upon the mind of the accused nobleman by the notoriety of some of the facts, and by the odium which from that time attached itself to his char- acter. After a few years passed in a state of wretchedness and despondency, he put a voluntary period to his life, — ^by this melan choly catastrophe demonstrating to mankind the vanity of human pursuits and wishes, and the infinite superiority of conscious vir- tue to all the gifts of fame and fortune. BILL FOR BETTER MANAGEMENT OF INDIA AFFAIRS. The minister, though left in a minority when he supported a motion which led to the impeachment of individuals, found both houses ready to concur in any general plan of reform which might happily prevent the repetition of the like crimes, and the return of similar calamities. With this view a bill was brought in for the better manage- ment of the company's affairs as well in In- dia as in Europe ; of which the chief pro- visions were, "that the court of directors should in future be chosen for the term of four years, instead of being elected annually, six members vacating their seats each year ; — that the qualification for voting should be raised from five hundred to one thousand pounds capital stock, and the time of previ- ous possession be extended from six months to twelve; — that the jurisdiction of the mayor's court at Calcutta be confined to mercantile causes, and a new supreme court of judicature be established in India, con- sisting of a chief-justice and three puisne judges appointed by the king ; — and lastly, that a superiority over the other presiden- cies be given to the presidency of Bengal, the blanks for the names of the members, including the governor and council, being filled up at the time by parliament, and the removal of those officers, as well as a nega- tive on the future nomination of the com- })any, being vested in the crown." It was strongly urged by the minister, in support of those material changes of the old system, that the annual election of directors made them too dependent on their constituents to Ibrm any connected plans, or to adopt any resolute measures: — that the term of six months was too short for a qualification to vote, as it did not preclude temporary pur- chases of stock, merely for that purpose, and that so small a share as five hundred pounds was not a sufficient interest in the company, to entitle the holder to a privilege, the abuse of which might be fatal to the whole body : — that the contraction of powers in the mayor's court at Calcutta was only reducing its jurisdiction within the circle to which it had been originally confined; and that it was a court of merchants ."nd traders, and therefore incompetent to the trial of the many great, momentous, and complicated matters arising from the vast extent of territorial acquisitions; that for these reasons, the erection of a new judi- cature was aljsolutely necessary, and that the appointment of the judges by the crown, emphatically called the fountain of justice, was not only proper, but indispensable, to give a due weight and consequence to their decisions : — that the proposed superiority of one presidency over the rest was not to interfere with their peculiar or internal regulations, but related only to those great objects of general concern, war, peace, and alliances, in deciding on which the exercise of equal and separate powers had frequently been productive of much disorder and con- fusion ; — and that the most effectual check on the abuse of the civil and military au- thority which was thus centered in the presidency of Bengal, would be to make the nomination as well as removal of the mem- bers dependent on the will of the legislature. Petitions against this bill were presented from the city of London, from the East In- dia company, and from the proprietors of five hundred pounds stock'; but without effect. After long and frequently renewed debates, it was carried through the house of commons by a majority of six to one ; and in the house of lords, on the final division, the numbers were 74 to 17. PROCEEDINGS OF THE HOUSE OF COM- MONS. The other proceedings of this session make but little figure, when compared with the magnitude and importance of the East India business. A few of them, however, deserve some notice. The harvest of the year 1772 not having been so productive as to lower the high price of corn in England, and a dreadful scarcity still continuing in other parts of Europe, the attention of par- liament was directed to the distresses of the poor by the speech from the throne ; and the renewal of the provision bills was among the first measures that received the sanction of the legislature. The fraudulent diminu- tion of the gold coin, an enormity which had been carried to the most dangerous ex- 140 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. cess, for which parliament at this time en- deavored to provide a remedy ; and though the act for calling in light gold, and regu- lating its value by its weight, was loudly exclaimed against, especially by bankers, who were obliged to hold money for others, and had received it at its nominal value, yet the loss fell where it could best be borne, upon those who had been gainers by the situation which occasioned it, and who had always profited by the public money. A tax on the nation to make good the deficiency would have opened a door for very gross impositions. Attempts for obtaining an en- largement of the toleration act, and the abolition of all tests at the time of being matriculated or admitted a member of either of the universities, were renewed, but with no better success than in the last session : parliament declined interfering in the regu- lations, which the universities were fully empowered to make for the government of their own body ; and the plan of more liberal indulgence to the dissenters, though it again passed the house of commons by a great majority, was again rejected by the lords. It was almost impossible that any new argu ments could be urged on so trite a subject but the suggestions of former speakers and writers were enforced wath all the variety of illustration which judgment and genhis could superadd to them. Some very ani- mated and eloquent debates were also occa sioned by a late expedition against the Caribbs in the island of St. Vincent. A few of these were descended from the original possessors; but the greater part were the offspring of some African negroes who had been shipwrecked on the coast about a cen- tury before. These tw^o tribes of savages were scattered in huts over the most fertile and valuable part of" the country, of which they had only cleared a few little spots, suf fering the rest to lie covered with wood, uncultivated and unoccupied, without any benefit to others, or to themselves. Soon after the cession of the island to Great Brit- ain, in consequence of the pea.c8 in 1783, repeated applications were made to govern- ment by the English settlers, to obtain from those people the lands, of which they were in fact but the nominal owners, in exchange for another quarter of the island, less sus- ceptible of culture, but as comfortable for their habitation, and as convenient for the support of savage life, as that which they now possessed. Proper instructions for this pnr])ose were accordingly issued by the board of treasury in the year 1763 ; but the Caribbs obstinately refused to part with their lands, to admit of any exchansre, or even to ac- knowledge submission to the government that held out to them ofTers of full compen- sation and security. Ailcr every effort of entreaty and persuasion had been tried in vain, it was at length deemed necessary, in the summer of 1772, to order two regi- ments from North America to join an equal number of troops at St. Vincent's, and to co- operate with the fleet on that station m reducing the refractory savages to obedience. At this period an inquiry was instituted in the house of commons respecting the whole business ; and motions were made conveying the severest censure on the ministry for adopting measures, which were said to be " equally repugnant to the humanity of his majesty's temper, disgraceful to his arms, and derogatory to the character of the British nation." These charges were answered with ability : the motions were negatived ; and, about the same time, [Feb. 17th] the expedition, which gave birth to the inquiry, was also terminated. The Caribbs, after some fierce encounters, agreed to acknow- ledge his majesty's sovereignty without re- serve ; to take an oath of fidelity and alle- giance ; to submit to the laws of the island in all transactions with the w^hite inhabit- ants, while they were allowed to adhere t(j their own customs and usages in their inter- course with each other ; and to cede a large tract of very valuable land to the crown, the districts which they still retained being secured in perpetuity to them and to their posterity. Both houses of parliament continued their deliberations till the first of July, wiien an end was put to the session by a speech from the throne, expressing the utmost satisfac- tion at their zeal, assiduity, and perseverance. His majesty had, the preceding week, aflbrd- ed the highest gratification to a considerable number of his subjects by a review of tha navy at Portsmouth. The resort of company there during the royal visit was unparal- leled; and his majesty left behind him lasting impressions of his benignity and munifi- cence. The remainder of the year rolled away without any remarkable domestic oc- currences ; but the events of the same period in America were very alarming. INCREASING DISCONTENT IN AMERICA. The repeal of the other port duties, while that on tea was continued, had not produced all the good effects which were expected from such a concession. The provincial assemblies persisted in disavowing his ma- jesty's right to keep commissioners of the customs, or to establish any revenue in North America. A lately-adopted measure of ap- pointing the governors and judges of the colonies to be paid by the crown was another source of much discontent. Still, however, tlie ill-humor of the people seemed to vent itself in angry complaints ; and no act of outrage had taken place for the last three years, except the burning of an armed GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 141 schooner at Rhode Island in June 1772. Even this was not occasioned by any popular tumult: it was the momentary impulse of revenge inflicted by a party of smugglers on the commander of that vessel, who had made himself obnoxious by his zeal and vigilance in the execution of the revenue laws. But, in the summer of the current year, an extraordinary accident served to blow into a flame the unsmothered embers of sedition in Massachusets Bay. Dr. Franklin, the agent for that province, had by some unknown means got possession of certain confidential letters written by the governor and the lieutenant-governor to their friends in England, containing an unfavorable repre- sentation of the temper of the people, and the views of the leaders, and tending to show the necessity of more vigorous mea- sures in order to secure the obedience of the colony. These letters were immediately transmitted by the doctor to the assembly then sitting at Boston, who came to several violent resolutions, which they followed up by a petition and remonstrance to the king, charging Hutchinson the governor, and Oli- ver his deputy, with being betrayers of their trusts and of the people they governed, and praying for justice against them and for their speedy removal (2). Fresh fuel was soon after thrown into the blaze of animosity excited by the publication of the letters. The East India company having, in pursu- ance of the act for permitting the exporta- tion of teas duty free, consigned large quantities to their agents in the principal ports of America, the factious leaders there easily persuaded the people, that this was a scheme calculated merely to circumvent them into a compliance with the revenue law, and thereby open the door to an unlim- ited taxation. Meetings were held, first at Philadelphia, and afterwards in several other towns, where resolutions were passed de- claring " this new ministerial plan of import- ation to be a violent attack upon the liberties of America," and pronouncing it to be " the duty of every American to oppose this at- tempt ; and that whoever should directly or indirectly countenance it was an enemy to his country." The consignees were obliged in most places to relinquish their appoint- ments ; and among other inflammatory pa- pers tlien circulated throughout the colonies, a warning was given to the pilots on the river Delaware " not to conduct any of the tea ships into their harbor, as they were sent only for the purpose of enslaving and poison- ing all the Americans." In a similar publi- cation at New- York, those ships were said to be " freighted with fetters forged in Great Britain ;" and every vengeance was denounc- ed against all persons, " who should dare in any manner to contribute to the introduction of such chains." The landing of the tea was everywhere violently resisted ; and sev- eral of the ships returned to England with- out breaking bulk. At Charlestown, after much opposition and tumult, a cargo was permitted to be unloaded, but was immedi- ately lodged in damp unventilated cellars, where it long remained, and finally perished. Some was also landed at New- York under the cannon of a man-of-war ; but the govern- ment there were forced to consent to its being locked up from use. But at Boston the riots, even before the arrival of the ships, rose to a height which made the excesses committed elsewhere appear trivial. The populace surrounded the houses of the con- signees and demanded their resignation, which not being complied with, their doors and windows were broken, and they them- selves narrowly escaped the fury of the mob by flying from the town and taking shelter in Fort William. In vain did the governor issue a proclamation commanding the civil magistrates to suppress the riots : the sheriff was insulted for attempting to read it at one of the illegal meetings in the town-hall. As soon as the ships arrived, the inhabitants met again, and with loud acclamations testified their concurrence in a vote, " that the tea should not be landed, and that it should be sent back in the same bottoms." But clear- ances from the custom-house, and a pass from the governor, beiflg refused, an immense crowd repaired to the quay in the evening of the eighteenth of December, and a num- ber of the most resolute, in the disguise of Mohawk Indians, boarded the vessels, and discharged their cargoes into the sea. 1774. — The ministry not being in posses- sion of these facts at the meeting of the par- liament on the thirteenth of January, no mention was made of American aflfairs in the speech from the throne ; but on the sev- enth of March, a message was delivered from his majesty to both houses, informing them, " that, in consequence of the unwar- rantable practices carried on in North Ame- rica, and particularly of the violent and outrageous proceedings at Boston, with a view of obstructing the commerce of this kingdom, and upon grounds and pretences immediately subversive of its constitution, it was thought fit to lay the whole matter before parliament" — recommending to their serious consideration " what farther regula- tions or permanent provisions might be ne- cessary to be established." This message was accompanied by a great number of pa- pers, which sufficiently showed the daring and seditious spirit that now prevailed all over the continent In the address of thanks for these communications, the house assured his majesty, "that they would not fail to exert every means in their power of efiectu- 142 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ally providing for the due execution of the laws, and securing the just dependence of the colonies on the crown and parliament of Great Britain." The first step taken to accomplish so desirable an end was the in- troduction of a bill, which was rapidly and almost unanimously carried through both houses, for shutting up the port of Boston, and prohibiting the lading or unlading of all goods or merchandise at any place withui its precincts, from and after the first of June, until it should appear to his majesty that peace and obedience to the laws were so far restored in the town of Boston that trade might again be safely carried on, and his majesty's customs be duly collected ; in which case his majesty might by proclama- tion open the harbor ; but not till it should also sufficiently appear, that full compensa- tion had been made to the East India com- pany for the destruction of their tea, and to all others who had suffered by the late riots. The board of customs was, in the mean time, to be removed to the town of Salem. But as the prevention of future enormities was an object of still greater importance than the punishment of those which were past, and as the latter seemed greatly owing to the weakness of the civil power in the colony of Massachusets Bay and to other radical defects in the frame of their govern- ment, it was now proposed to assimilate their constitution more nearly to that of the royal governments in America, and to their prototype the government of Great Britain. For this purpose an act was passed to de- prive the lower house of assembly of the privilege of electing the members of the council, and to vest that privilege in the crown ; to authorize the king, or his substi- tute the governor, to appoint judges, magis- trates, and sheriffs ; to empower the sheriffs to summon and return juries ; and to pro- hibit town meetings from being called by the select-men, unless with the consent of the governor. Such a restraint was deemed necessary, not only to suppress the spirit of faction in the province itself, but to prevent the rest of the colonies from being tainted by its seditious example. The next expe- dient was a bill for the impartial adminis- tration of justice in Massachusets Bay, em- powering the governor, with the advice of the council, in case any person was indict- ed in that province for murder or any other capital offence, and it should appear by in- formation on oath that the fact had been committed in the exercise or aid of magis- tracy in suppressing riots, and that a fair trial could not be had in the province, to send the person so indicted into any other colony, or to Great Britain, to be tried ; the act to continue in force four years. The opposition made to these bills, in their pro- gress through both houses, was equally im- potent and unpopular ; but another act that followed them, for making more effectual provision for the government of the province of Quebec, was violently opposed within doors, and excited much clamor without. The objects of this act were, to secure to the inhabitants of that province the free exercise of their religion, and to the Roman Catholic clergy their rights, agreeably to the articles of capitulation at the time of the surrender of the province ; to confirm the English laws, and a trial by jury in criminal cases, but, in civil cases, to restore the an- cient French laws and a trial without jury, as being more acceptable to the Canadians ; to establish a council, holding their com- missions from and at the pleasure of the king, who were to exercise all the powers of legislation, except that of imposing taxes ; and lastly to extend the limits of the province, which, reaching far to the south- ward behind the other settlements, might be made to serve as a check upon them if ne- A GENERAL CONGRESS CALLED AT PHILADELPHIA. Such were the principal measures adopted this session by the British parliament for maintaining the authority of the mother country over the colonies. Four ships of the line had also been fitted out for Boston ; and as a military force might in like man- ner be necessary to reduce its disorderly inhabitants to obedience, an act was passed to provide commodious quarters for officers and soldiers on that service ; and general Gage, commander-in-chief in America, was appointed governor of Massachusets Bay, in the room of Mr. Hutchinson, who had de- sired leave to come to England. The gen- eral was farther invested with full powers to grant pardons for treasons and all other crimes, and to remit all fines and forfeitures to such oflTenders as should appear to be fit objects of mercy. But the people of Bos- ton did not seem disposed to court his lenity or indulgence. Having just received intel- ligence of the bill for shutting up their port, they were all convened to take it into con- sideration, the very day after the new gov- ernor's arrival. At this meeting, resolutions were passed, and ordered to be transmitted to the other colonies, inviting them to enter into an agreement to stop all imports and exports to and from Great Britain, Ireland, and every part of the West Indies, as the only means, they said, that were left for the salvation of North America and her liber- ties. Copies of the act were also multiplied with the utmost dispatch, and sent to every part of the continent, where they produced the same effects as poets ascribe to the Fu- ry's torch, setting all the countries through GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 143 which they passed in a flame. Addresses from most of the provinces arrived in a sliort time at Boston, exhorting- the inhabitants to persevere in their opposition to such an at- tack on their civil rights, and declaring that all British America considered themselves as sufferers in the common cause. A gene- ral congress was also determined upon ; and Philadelphia being judged commodiously situated for the purpose, the first meeting of delegates from the several colonies was appointed to take place there in the begin- ning of September ; and, in the mean time, engagements, under the title of ' a solemn league and covenant,' were universally en- tered into for the purpose of suspending all commercial intercourse with Great Britain, and renouncing all communication with those who should refuse to sign this cove- nant, notwithstanding a proclamation from general Gage, styling such agreement an unlawful, hostile, and traitorous combination. He was even obliged to dissolve the pro- vincial assembly, having found every other method ineffectual to put a stop to their vio- lent proceedings. But those of the general congress were of a still more alarming ten- dency. The delegates met on the day ap- pointed at Philadelphia : they were fifty-one in number, chosen in such proportions from the different colonies as corresponded with their varied extent and population, though each colony had but one distinct and sepa- rate vote : they sat wdth the doors locked, no person but a member bemg permitted to be present at their deliberations, and all their proceedings, except what they thought fit to make known, being kept profoundly secret. Among their first resolves was a vote which passed unanimously, expressing their deep sense of the suffermgs of their countrymen in the province of Massachusets Bay, under the late unjust, cruel, and op- pressive acts of the British parliament ; tho- roughly approving the wisdom and fortitude of the opposition made to those measures ; and asserting it to be the duty of all Ameri- ca not only to contribute to the relief of the sufferers, but to assist in repelling any force which might be employed to carry such acts into execution. The congress also drew up up and published a declaration of rights, little short of absolute independency, with tlie copy of a formal instrument in writing, signed by the members, and recommended to their constituents, renouncing all inter- course with the mother country, till redress should be obtained for the alleged violation of those rights ; a petition to the king, enu- merating the several grievances, and blend- ing professions of loyalty with a firm de- mand of the abolition of the obnoxious stat- utes, as the only means of restoring harmo- ny between Great Britain and the colonies ; — an apology to the people of England for the suspension of commerce, which, they said, necessity alone and a regard to self- preservation obliged them to adopt ; — a me- morial to the inhabitants of the colonies, designed to explain to them in what man- ner they were all interested in the state of the people of Boston; urging them to a compliance with the non-importation, non- consumption, and non-exportation agree- ment ; and advising them to extend their view^s to the most unhappy events, and to be in all respects prepared for every contin- gency ; — and, lastly, an address to tlie Cana- dians, the object of which was to render them discontented and uneasy under their new form of government, to sow the seeds of discord between them and the mother country, and to induce them to join in the general confederacy. After these public acts, which the congress completed in a session of fifty-two days, it dissolved itself, having previously recommended that an- other congress should be held the tenth of May following. The effects of its decrees were quickly seen throughout the provinces : a spirit of resistance to the British govern- ment discovered itself almost everywhere, but particularly in Massachusets Bay, w^hich was considered as the grand focus of Amer- ican rebellion. The courts of judicature were totally suspended : all persons accept- ing offices under the late laws were de- clared enemies to their country : every step taken by general Gage for the accommoda- tion and security of the troops under his command was obstructed as much as possi- ble : his recall of writs which he had issued for convening the general court of repre- sentatives in October, was disregarded: they met in direct contempt of the authori- ty which forbade them; voted themselves into a provincial congress, with Hancock at their head ; appointed a committee to pre- sent a remonstrance to the governor in a very daring strain ; and on his refusing to recognize them as a lawful assembly, they proceeded to exercise all the functions not only of the legislative, but of the executive power. At one of their subsequent meet- ings, a plan was drawn up for the immediate defence of the province ; magazines of am- munition and stores were provided for twelve thousand militia; and an enrolment was made of 'minute-men, so called from tlieir engaging to turn out witli their arms at a minute's warning. General Gage clearly foresaw the inevitable issue of such pro- ceedings ; but he still confined himself to the mildest measures that were consistent with prudence and necessary caution, being resolved, that, if the sword must be at last unsheathed, it should not appear owing to any precipitancy on his part. He admon- 144 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ished the people, though in vain, not to be ensnared by the provincial congress, nor led by their influence to incur the penalties of sedition, treason, and rebellion : besides for- tifying a narrow isthmus, called Boston Neck, that connects the town with the con- tment, by means of which the inhabitants of that place became in some sort hostages for the behavior of the rest of their coun- trymen, he took care to secure such maga- zines as were within his reach, and to spike the cannon of some batteries, so as to pre- vent their being serviceable to an enemy. The activity of the Americans sometimes defeated his utmost circumspection. An armed body of them made themselves mas- ters of the fort at Portsmouth, in New- Hampshire, and sent off the powder it con- tained to a place of saiety. They also sur- prised another small fort in the same prov- ince, called William and Mary, which was garrisoned by only one officer and five men, to whom they did no personal injury, but took possession of the ammunition and ord nance. A proclamation, which had been issued in England, prohibiting the exporta- tion of military stores, operated as a strong incitement to the eagerness of the colonists to procure such supplies. Mills for making gunpowder, and manufactories for arms, were set up in several places ; and the ad- vice of congress, " to prepare for every con- tmgency," was implicitly followed by all the provinces. A NEW PARLIAMENT. While everything bore the most rebel- lious aspect in America, the British cabinet at home thought it highly necessary, before a blow was struck, to take the sense of the nation on a subject which involved the dear- est interests of the whole empire. A dis- solution of parliament was therefore resolv- ed upon, to give the people an opportunity of manifesting their sentiments in the choice of representatives, and to free the latter from any restraint with regard to a change of system, if it should be deemed advisable. The same house of commons, which had so recently as well as repeatedly given its sanction to vigorous measures, could not, with a good grace, rescind its own most deliberate acts ; but another body of representatives would not be tied down to an involuntary perseverance in support of the resolutions of their predecessors. The proclamation for dissolving the parliament^ was issued on the thirtieth of September ; and the writs for calling a new one were made returnable on the twenty-ninth of No- vember following. On the first day of the meeting of parliament, no competitor for the chair was started against Sir Fletcher Norton ; — as the address of thanks to his majesty for his speech from the throne, of which the disobedience of the colonies con stituted the chief topic, implied a general approbation of the steps taken by his ma- jesty to carry into execution the late law*?, and to restore peace and good order in Mas- sachusets Bay, an amendment was proposed on the side of opposition, and supported by all the powers of their oratory, and all the strength of their numbers. — The latter, however, amounted only to 73 against 264, who voted for the origmal address. No- thmg else of a remarkable nature occurred in parliament before the holidays, except that the estimates, as stated to the commons, were entirely formed upon a peace estab lishment; and that nine out of thirteen peers in the minority signed a protest against the address, bemg the first of the kind which had ever appeared on the jour- nals of the upper house. 1775. — After the recess, a variety of de- bates took place on different systems of co- ercion and lenity with regard to the Ameri- cans, in which much eloquence and party spirit were displayed. The result of all was the passing of two acts ; by the first of which the New-England provinces, as havmg se^ the example of renouncing all intercourse with the parent state, were prohibited from trading to any other country, and from fish- ing on the banks of Newfoundland; ana by the second, the same restraints were extended to the colonies of East and West Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina, and to the countries on the Delaware, which were found to have concurred in the commercial combinations of the people of New-England. But in or- der to leave it still in the power of the colo- nies to avert the calamities unpending over them in consequence of these prohibitory acts, a resolution was moved by the minis- ter, and carried in the house of commons, as the basis of a fiiture agreement, " that when any of the colonies should propose, according to their abilities, to raise their due proportion towards the common defence, such proportion to be raised under the au- thority of the assembly of such province, and to be disposable by parliament ; and when such colony should also engage to pro- vide for the support of the civil govern- ment, and the administration of justice withm such province ; it would be proper, if such proposal should be approved by his majesty in parliament, to forbear, in respect of such colony, to levy any duties or taxes, or to impose any further duties or taxes, ex- cept such as should be necessary for the regulation of trade." FRANKLIN'S EFFORT AT CONCILIATION. Among the conciliatory attempts which were made at that period, the most specific and remarkable was a plan digested in pri- GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 145 vate by Dr. Franklin on the part of the Americans, and Dr. Fothergill and David Barclay on behalf of the British ministry. At one of their conferences, held at the [louse of Dr. Fothergill, on the 4th of De- cember, 1774, before the proceedings of con- gress had reached England, a paper, drawn up by Dr. Franklin, at the request of the two other gentlemen, was submitted to their joint consideration ; which, with a few ad- ditions proposed and agreed to by common consent, was as follows : Hints for Conversation upon the Subject of Terms that might probably produce a durable Union between Britain and the Colonies. 1st. The tea destroyed to be paid for. 2d. The tea-duty act to be repealed, and all the duties that have been received upon it to be repaid into the treasuries of the several provinces from which they have been collected. 3d. The acts of navigation to be all re- enacted m the colonies. 4th. A naval officer to be appointed by the crown to see that these acts are ob- Gerved. 5th. All the acts restraining manufacto- ries in the colonies to be reconsidered. 6th. All duties arising on the acts for i-egulating trade with the colonies, to be for t;;e public use of the respective colonies, and paid into their treasuries. The collectors and custom-house officers to be appointed by each governor, and not bent from England. 7th. In consideration of the Americans maintaining their own peace-establishment, and the monopoly Britain is to have of their commerce, no requisition is to be made from tliem m time of peace. 8th. No troops to enter and quarter in any colony, but with the consent of its legis- lature. 9th. In time of war, on requisition by the kinjT, with consent of parliament, every colony shall raise money by the following rules in proportion, viz. If Britain, on ac- count of the war, raises three shillings in the pound, to its land-tax, then the colonies to add to their last general provincial peace- tax, a sum equal to one-fourth part thereof; and if Britain, on the same account, pay four shillings in the pound, then the colo- nies to add to their last peace-tax, a sum equal to the half thereof; which additional tax is to be granted to his majesty, and to i-e employed in raising and JJaying men for land or sea service, and furnishing provis- ions, transports, or for such other purposes as the king shall require and direct; and tbiOugh no colonv may contribute le*. each Vol. IV. '13 may add as much by voluntary grant as it shall think proper. 10th. Castle William to be restored to the province of Massachusets Bay, and no fortress to be built by the crown in any province, but with the consent of its legis- lature. 11th. The late Massachusets and Quebec acts to be repealed, and a free government granted to Canada. 12th. All judges to be appointed during good behavior, with equally permanent sala- ries to be paid out of the provincial revenues by appointment of the assemblies ; or if the judges are to be appointed during the plea- sure of the crown, let the salaries be durmg the pleasure of the assemblies, as hereto- fore. 13th. Governors to be supported by the assemblies of each province. 14th. If Britain will give up her monopoly of the American commerce, then the aid above mentioned to be given in time of peace, as well as in time of war. 15th. The extension of the act of Henry VIII. concerning treasons to the colonies, to be formally disowned by parliament. 16th. The American admiralty-courts to be reduced to the same powers they have in England, and the acts establishuag them to be re-enacted in America. 17th. All power of internal legislation in the colonies to be disclaimed by parliament On reading this paper a second time, Dr. Franklin gave his reasons at length for each article. The fourteenth article was expunged on the representation of Dr. Fothergfll and David Barclay, that the monopoly of the American commerce would never be given up, and that the proposing of it would only give offence, without answering any good purpose. This paper of hints was communicated to lord Dartmouth by Dr. Fothergill, who also stated the arguments which in conver- sation had been offered in support of them. When objections were made to them, as be- ing humiliating to Great Britain, Dr. Fother- gill replied, " that she had been unjust, and ought to bear the consequences, and alter her conduct — that sooner or later, these or similar measures must be followed, or the empire would be divided and ruined." These hints were handed about among" ministers, and conferences were held on them. The result was, on the 4tli of Feb- ruary, 1775, communicated to Dr. Franklijv in the presence of Dr. Fothergill and David Barclay, which, as far as concerned the lead- ing articles, was as follows : 1. The first article was approved. 146 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 2. The second agreed to so far as related to the tea-act ; but repayment of the duties that had been collected was refused. 3. The third not approved, as it implied a deficiency of power in the parliament that made the acts. 4. The fourth approved. 5. The fifth agreed to, but with a reserve that no change prejudicial to Britahi was to be expected, 6. The sixth agreed to, so far as related to the appropriation of the duties ; but the appointment of the officers and their salaries to remain as at present. 7. The seventh, relating to aids in time of war, agreed to. 8. The eighth, relating to troops, was in- admissible. 9. The ninth could be agreed to with this difference, that no proportion should be ob- served with regard to preceding taxes, but each colony should give at pleasure. 10. The tenth agreed to as to the resti- tution of Castle William ; but the restric- tion on the crown in building fortresses re- fused. 11. The eleventh refused absolutely, ex- cept as to the Boston port-bill, which would be repealed, and the Quebec act might be so fir amended, as to reduce that province to its ancient limits. The other " JMassa- ehusets acts beuig real amendments of their constitution, must for tliat reason be con- thiued, as well as to be a standing example of the power of parliament." 12. The twelfth agreed to, that the judges should be appointed during good behavior, on tlie assemblies providing permanent sala- ries, such as the crown should approve of 13. The thirteenth agreed to, provided the assemblies make provision, as in the preced- ing article. 15. The fifteenth agreed to. 16. Tiie sixteenth agreed to, supposing the duties paid to the colonies' treasuries. 17. The seventeenth inadmissible. At this interview the conversation was shortened by Dr. Franklin's observmg, that while the parliament claimed and exercised a power of internal legislation for the colo- nies, and of altering American constitutions i\t pleasure, there could be no agreement, as that would render the Americans unsafe in every privilege they enjoyed, and would leave them nothing in which they could be secure. On the 16th of February 1775, the three gentlemen again met, when a paper .was produced by David Barclay, entitled, "A plan which it is believed would produce a permanent union between Great Britain and iier colonies." This, in the first article, pro- posed a repeal of the tea-act, on payment being made for the tea destroyed. Dr Franklin agreed to the first part, but con- tended that all the other Massachussets acts should also be repealed ; but this was deem- ed inadmissible. Dr. Franklin declared, that the people of Massachusets would suffer all the hazards and mischiefs of war, rather than admit the alteration of their charters and laws by parliament. He was for securing the unity of the empire, by recognizing the sanctity of charters, and by leaving the provinces to govern them- selves in their internal concerns; but the British ministry could not brook the idea of relinquishing their claim to internal legisla- tion for the colonies, and especially to alter and amend their charters. The first was for communicating the vital principles of liberty to the provinces, but the latter, though dis- posed to redress a few of their existing grievances, would by no means consent to a repeal of the late act of parliament for al- tering the chartered government of Massa- chusets, and least of all to renounce all claim to future amendments of charters, or of mternal legislation for the colonies. Dr. Franklin labored hard to prevent the breach from becoming irreparable, and stated the outlines of a compact which he supposed would procure a durable union of the two countries; but his well-meant en- deavors proved abortive. Finding the minis- try bent on war, unless the colonists would consent to hold their rights, liberties, and charters, at the discretion of a British parliament, and well knowing that his coun- trymen would hazard everything, rather than consent to terms so degrading as well as inconsistent with the spirit of the British constitution, he quitted Great Britain in March 1775, and returned to Philadelphia. Dr. Fothergill wrote to him on the evening before he left London, " That whatever spe- cious pretences were offered, they were all hollow, and that to get a larger field on which to fatten a herd of worthless parasites, was all that was intended." CITY OF I>ONDON PETITIONS IN FAVOR OF THE AMERICANS. The city of London ventured again to breathe a fruitless request. This petition (presented in April) justified the resistance to which the Americans had been driven, upon those same principles of the constitu- tion, whicli actuated our ancestors when they transferred the Imperial crovrn of these realms to the hous« of Brunswick. They moreover beseeched his majesty, to dismiss immediately, and for ever, from his councils, those ministers v/ho had advised the ob- noxious acts, as the first step towards a re- drefjs of tiiose grievances which alarmed and ailiicted the whole people. His majesty answered the petition in the foljowing words : " It is vritii the iitmo:-t astonishment that I GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 147 find any of my subjects capable of encour- aging the rebellious disposition which un- happily exists in some of my colonies in North America. Having entu'e confidence in the wisdom of my parliament, the great council of the nation, I will steadily pursue those measures which they have recom- mended for the support of the constitutional rights of Great Britain, and the protection of the commercial interests of my king- doms." It was now time for the minister to pro- pose some advantages, in lieu of those of which he had deprived the nation by the abolition of the American fisheries. With this view he moved for a committee of the whole house, to consider of the encourage- ment proper to be given to the fisheries of Great Britain and Ireland. The grievances of Ireland demanded a particular attention, as that country had suffered them with a patience unexampled and unexpected. By including trade and commerce in this mo- tion, some members wished to institute an inquiry into the state of Ireland at large, but in this they were opposed by lord North, who was of opinion, that the field of in- quiry, which would, by this alteration, be opened, would prove too large for the pres- ent opportunity. That his lordship, however, might not appear averse to the interests of Ireland, he procured two motions to be pass- ed, by the one of which it w^as declared lawful to export from Ireland clothes and accoutrements for such regiments en the Irish establishment as v/ere employed abroad: by the other, a bounty of five shillings per barrel was allow^ed on all flax-seed imported into Ireland. The principal objections to these motions were, that they effected too little. In the progress of this committee, bounties were granted to the ships of Great Britain and Ireland, for their encouragement in prosecuting the Nev/foundland fishery, and for encouraging the whale fishery in those seas that were to the southward of Greenland and Davis's Straits fisheries ; the several duties upon the importation of oil, blubber, and bone, from Newfoundland, and on the importation of seal-skins, were at the same time taken off! The remainder of this session was em- ployed in the rejection of a variety of pe- titions from the colonists, or those who had tJieir interest most at heart ; a remonstrance and representation of the general assembly of the colony of New- York to the parliament, was introduced by Burke, who moved that it should be brought up. He said, the decent and respectful language in which they con- veyed their sentiments, carried with it some claim on parliamentary attention. Every opinion contained in the paper he granted might not be incontrovertible ; but such was the manner in which their complaints were urged, that he could not help looking on this as a very favorable opportunity for amicably ending our diflferences witli America. The rejection of this motion was followed by that of another, owing to similar circum- stances, in the house of lords, and that, by a petition from the British inhabitants of the province of Quebec, presented by lord Camden. The extension of the limits of Quebec, the establishment of popery, and the common complaints of despotism, form- ed the material part of this latter petition. The debates on it were long and violent ; but, on the side of opposition, very ineffec- tual, the numbers being 88 who opposed it, to 28 lords only who supported it. Among the minority were their royal highnesses of Cumberland and Gloucester. Thus ended the session, in which every step towards the favorite system of coercion seemed to receive an almost universal ap- probation; and in the speech, his majesty expressed the most perfect satisfaction in their conduct. They had maintained, with a firm and steady resolution, the inseparable rights of the crown and the authority of par- liament; they had projected and promoted the commercial interest of tliese kingdoms, and had given convincing proofs of their readiness (as far as the constitution would allow them) to gratify the wishes, and re- move the apprehensions of the subjects in America ; and a persuasion was entertained, that the most salutary effects must, in tlic end, result from measures formed and con- ducted on such principles. His majesty ex- pressed much concern, that the unhappy dis- turbances in some of the colonies had oc- casioned an augmentation of the land forces, and prevented the intended reduction of the naval establishment from being completed ; thanks were returned for the cheerfulness and public spirit with which they had grant- ed the supplies. A favorable representation was made of the pacific disposition of other powers, and the usual assurance given of endeavoring to secure the public tranquillity. The speech concluded with a recommenda- tion, to preserve and cultivate in their several counties the same regard for public order, and the same discernment of their true interests, which had in these times dis- tinguished the character of his majesty's faithful and beloved people; and the con- tinuance of which could not fail to render them happy at home, and respected abroad. STATE OF AFFAIRS IN AMERICA. While such were the impolitic proceed- ings of the British ministry, tlie hostile as- pect of affairs in America became equally alarming, and seemed to accelerate that crisis which all good men deprecated and deplored. The colonists had indulged them- 148 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. selves in an expectation that the people of Great Britain, from a consideration of the dangers and difficulties of a war with the colonies, would have preferred peace and a reconciliation ; but when they were con- vinced of the fallacy of these hopes, they turned their attention to the means of self- defence. It had been the resolution of many never to submit to the operation of the late acts of parliament. Their number daily in- creased, and in the same proportion that Great Britain determined to enforce, did they determine to oppose. Whatever might be the designs of parlia- ment, their acts had a natural tendency to enlarge the demands of the Americans, and to cement their confederacy, by firm princi- ples of union. At first they only claimed exemption from internal taxation, but by the combination of the East India company and the British ministry, an external tax was made to answer all the purposes of a direct internal tax. They therefore, in consistence with their own principles, were constrained to deny the right of taxing in any form for a supply. But they still admitted the pow- er of parliament to bind their trade. This was conceded by congress but a few months before an act passed that they should have no foreign trade, nor be allowed to fish on their own coasts. The British ministry, by their successive acts, impelled the colonists to believe, that while the mother-country re- tained any authority over them, that author- ity would in some shape or other be exerted so as to answer all the purposes of a power to tax. Prudence, policy, and reciprocal interest, urged the expediency of concession ; but pride, false honor, and misconceived dignity, drew in an opposite direction. Undecided claims and doubtful rights, which under the influence of wisdom and humility might have been easily compromised, impercepti- bly widened into an irreconcilable breach. Hatred at length took the place of kind af- fections, and the calamities of war were substituted in lieu of the benefits of com- merce. In civil wars or revolutions, it is a matter of much consequence who strikes the first blow. The compassion of the world is in fevor of the attacked, and the displeasure of good men falls on those who are the first to imbrue their hands in human blood. For the space of nine months afler the arrival of general Gage, the people of Boston con- ducted their opposition with exquisite ad- dress. They avoided every kind of outrage and violence, preserved peace and good or der among themselves, successfully engaged the other colonies to make a common cause with them, and counteracted general Gage 90 effectually as to prevent his doing any thing for his royal master, while by patience and moderation they screened themselves from censure. Though resolved to bear as long as prudence and policy dictated, they were all the time preparing for the last ex- tremity. They were furnishing themselves with arms and ammunition, and training their militia. BATTLE OF LEXINGTON. Provisions were also collected and stored in different places, particularly at Concord, about twenty miles from Boston. General Gage, though zealous for his master's uiter- est, discovered a prevailing desire for a peaceable accommodation. He wished to prevent hostilities, by depriving the inhabit- ants of the means necessary for carrymg them on. With this view he determined to destroy the stores which he knew were col- lected for the support of a provincial army. Wishing to accomplish this without blood- shed, he took every precaution to efiect it by surprise, and without alarming the coun- try. At eleven o'clock at night on the eighteenth of April, eight hundred grena- diers and light infantry, the flower of the royal army, embarked at the Common, land- ed at Phipps's Farm, and marched for Con- cord, under the command of lieutenant-colo- nel Smith. About two in the morning, one hundred and thirty of the Lexington milit.a had assembled to oppose them ; between four and five o'clock in the morning the British regulars made their appearance. Major Pitcaim, wlio led the advanced corps, rode up to tl^f^m, and called out, "Disperse, you rebels ; th'cv,- down your arms and dis- perse." They still continued in a body, on which he advanced nearer, discharged his pistol, and ordered his soldiers to fire. This was done with a huzza. A dispersion of the militia was the consequence, but the firing of the regulars was nevertheless continued. Individuals, finding they were fired upon, though dispersing, returned the fire. Three or four of the militia were killed on the green ; a few more were shot afler they had begun to disperse. The royal detachment proceeded on to Concord, and executed tlieir commission. They disabled two twenty- four-pounders, threw 5001b. of ball into riv- ers and wells, and broke in pieces about six- ty barrels of flour. The king's troops hav- ing done their business, began their retreat towards Boston. This was conducted with expedition, for the adjacent inhabitants had assembled in arms, and began to attack them in every direction. In their return to Lexington they were exceedingly annoyed, both by those who pressed on their rear, and others, who, pouring in on all sides, fired from behind stone walls, and similar coverts, which supplied the place of lines and re- doubts. At Lexington the resfulars v/ere GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. H9 joined by a detachment of nine hundred men, under lord Piercy, which had been sent out by general Gage to support lieuten- ant-colonel Smith. This reinforcement hav- ing two pieces of cannon, awed the provin- cials, and kept them at a greater distance, but they continued a constant, though irreg- ular and scattering fire, which did great ex- ecution. The close firing from behind the walls, by good marksmen, put the regular troops in no small confusion, but they never- theless kept up a brisk retreating fire on the militia and minute-men. A little after sun- set the regulars reached Bunker's Hill, worn down with excessive fatigue, having march- ed that day between thirty and forty miles. On the next day they crossed Charlestown ferry, and returned to Boston. The provincial congress of Ma^sachusets, which was in session at the time of the Lex- ington battle, dispatched an account of it to Great Britain, accompanied with many de- positions, to prove that the British troops were the aggressors. They also made an address to the inhabitants of Great Britain, in which, after complaining of their suffer- ings, they say, "These have not yet detach- ed us from our royal sovereign ; we profess to be his loyal and dutiful subjects ; and though hardly dealt with, as we have been, are still ready, with our lives and fortunes, to defend his person, crown, and dignity; nevertheless, to the persecution and tyranny of his evil ministry, we will not tamely sub- mit. Appealing to heaven for the justice of our cause, we determine to die or be free." From the commencement of hostilities, the dispute between Great Britain and the colo- nies took a new direction. Intelligence that the British troops had marched out of Boston into the country, on some hostile purpose, being forwarded by expresses from one committee to another, great bodies of the militia, not only from Massachusets, but the adjacent colonies, grasped their arms, and marched to oppose them. Hitherto the Americans had no regu- lar army. From principles of policy they cautiously avoided that measure, lest they might subject themselves to the charge of being aggressors. All their military regu- lations were carried on by their militia, and under the old established laws of the land. For the defence of the colonies, the inhab- itants had been, from their early years, en- rolled in companies, and taught the use of arms. The laws for this purpose had never been better observed than for some months previous to the Lexington battle. These military arrangements, which had been pre- viously adopted for defending the colonies from hostile French and Indians, were on this occasion turned against the troops of the parent state. Forts, magazines, and 13* arsenals, by the constitution of the countrj% were in the keeping of his majesty. Imme- diately after the j^exington battle, these were for the most part taken possession of throughout the colonies, by parties of the provincial militia. Ticonderoga, in which was a small royal garrison, was surprised and taken by adventurers from different states. Public money which had been col- lected in consequence of previous grants, was also seized tor common services. The provincial congress of Massachusets voted that "an army of thirty thousand men be immediately raised, that thirteen thousand six hundred be of their own province, and that a letter and delegate be sent to the sev- eral colonies of New-Hampshire, Connecti- cut, and Rhode-Island." In consequence of this vote, the business of recruiting was be- gun, and in a short time a provincial army was paraded in the vicinity of Boston, which, though far below what had been voted by the provincial congress, was much superior in numbers to the royal army. The com- mand of this force was given to general Ward. Resistance therefore being resolved upon by the Americans, the pulpit, the press, the bench, and the bar, severally labored to unite and encourage them. The clergy of New- England were a numerous, learned, and re- spectable body, who had a great ascendency over the minds of their hearers. They con- nected religion and patriotism, and in their sermons and prayers represented the cause of America as the cause of heaven. The synod of New- York and Philadelphia also sent forth a pastoral letter, which was pub- licly read in their churches. This earnestly recommended such sentiments and conduct as were suitable to their situation. Writers and printers followed in the rear of the preachers, and next to them had the great- est hand in animating their countrymen. Gentlemen of the bench and of the bar de- nied the charge of rebellion, and justified the resistance of the colonists. A distinction founded on law between the king and his ministry was introduced. The former, it was contended, could do no wrong. The crime of treason was charged on the latter, for using the royal name to varnish their own unconstitutional measures. The plirase of a ministerial war became common, and was used as a medium for reconciling re- sistance with allegiance. BATTLE OF BUNKER'S HILL. Abol't the latter end of May a great part of the reinforcements ordered' from Great Britain, arrived at Boston. Three British generals, Howe, Burgoyne, and Clinton, whose behavior in the preceding war had gained them great reputation, also arrived on the twenty-fifth of May. General Gage, 150 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. thus reinforced, prepared for acting with more decision ; but before he proceeded to extremities he conceived it due to ancient forms to issue a proclamation, holding forth to the inhabitants the alternative of peace or war. He, therefore, (June 12th,) offered pardon in the king's name to all who should forthwith lay down their arms and return to their respective occupations and peaceable duties, excepting only from the benefit of that pardon Samuel Adams and John Han- cock, whose offences were said to be of too flagitious a nature to admit of any other con- sideration than that of condign punishment. He also proclaimed that not only the persons above named and excepted, but also all their adherents, associates, and correspondents, should be deemed guilty of treason and re- bellion, and treated accordingly. By this proclamation it was also declared, " that as the courts of judicature were shut, martial law should take place, till a due course of justice should be re-established." It was supposed that this proclamation was a pre- lude to hostilities, and preparations were ac- cordingly made by the Americans. A con- siderable height, by the name of Bunker's Hill, just at the entrance of the peninsula of Charlestown, was so situated as to make the possession of it a matter of great conse- quence to either of the contending parties. Orders were therefore issued on the 16th of June, by the provincial commanders, that a detachment of a thousand men should in- trench upon this height. By some mistake. Breed's Hill, high and large, like the other, but situated near Boston, was marked out for the intrenchments, instead of Bunker's Hill. The provincials proceeded to Breed's Hill, and worked with so much diligence, that between midnight and the dawn of the morning they had thrown up a small redoubt about eight rods square. They kept such a profound silence, that they were not heard by the British, on board their vessels, though very near. These having derived their first information of what was going on from the sight of the work near completion, beo-an an incessant firing upon them. The provincials bore this with firmness, and though they were only young soldiers, continued to labor till they had thrown up a small breastwork, extending from the east side of the redoubt to the bottom of the hill. As this eminence overlooked Boston, general Gage thought it necessary to drive the provincials from it. About noon therefore of the 7th, he detached major-general Howe, and brigadier-general Pigot, with the flower of the army, consist- ing of four battalions, ten companies of the grenadiers, and ten of light infantry, with a proportion of field artillery, to effect this business. These troops landed at Moreton's Point, and formed after landing, but remained in that position till they were reinforced by a second detachment of light infantry and grenadier companies, a battalion of land forces, and a battalion of marines, making in the whole near 3000 men. While the troops who first landed were waiting for this reinforcement, the provincials, for their far- ther security, pulled up some adjoining post and rail fences, and set them down in two parallel lines at a small distance from each other, and filled the space between witl hay, which having been lately mowed, remained on the adjacent ground. The king's troops formed in two lines, and advanced slowly, to give their artillery time to demolish the American works. While the British were advancing to the at- tack, they received orders to burn Charles- town. Thousands, both within and without Bos- ton, were anxious spectators of the bloody scene. The honor of British troops beat high in the breasts of many, while others, with a keener sensibility, felt for the liber- ties of a great and growing country. The British moved on but slowly, which gave the provincials a better opportunity for taking aim. The latter, in general reserved them- selves till their adversaries were within ten or twelve rods, but then began a furious dis- charge of small-arms. The stream of the American fire was so incessant, and did so great execution, that the king's troops re- treated in disorder and precipitation. Their officers rallied them. The Americans again reserved their fire till their adversaries were near, and then put them a second time to flight. General Howe and the officers re- doubled their exertions, and were at last successful. By this time the powder of the Americans began so far to fail, that they were not able to keep up the same brisk fire as before. The British also brought some cannon to bear, which raked the inside of the breastwork from end to end. The fire from the ships, batteries, and field artillery, was redoubled. The redoubt was attacked on three sides at once. Under these cir- cumstances a retreat from it was ordered. While these operations were going on «^t the breastwork and redoubt, the British light infantry were attempting to force the left point of the former, that they might toke the American line in flank. Though they exliibited the most undaunted courage, they met with an opposition which called for its greatest exertions. The provincials here, in like manner, reserved their fire till their adversaries were near, and then poured it upon the light infantry, with such an inces- sant stream, and in so true a direction, as mowed down their ranks. The engagement was kept up on both sides with great resolu- tion. The persevering exertions of the king's GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 151 troops could not compel the Americans to re- treat, till they ohserved that their main body had left the hill. This, when begun, ex- posed them to new danger, for it could not be effected but by marching- over Charles- town Neck, every part of which was raked by the shot of the Glasgow man-of-war, and of two floating batteries. The number of Americans engaged amounted only to 1500. It was apprehended that the conquerors would push the advanta- ges they had gained, and march immediately to the American head-quarters at Cambridge, but they advanced no farther than Bunker's Hill ; there they threw up works for their own security. The provincials did the same on Prospect Hill in front of them. Both were guarded against an attack, and both were in a bad condition to receive one. The loss of the peninsula depressed the spirits of the Americans, and their great loss of men produced the same effect on the British. The unexpected resistance of the Americans was such as wiped away the reproaches of cowardice, which had been cast on them by their enemies in Britain. The spirited con- duct of the British officers merited and ob- tained great applause. The provincials were justly entitled to a large portion of fame, for having made the utmost exertions of their adversaries necessary to dislodge them from lines, which were the work only of a single night. SECOND CONGRESS MEETS. It has already been mentioned, that con- gress, previous to its dissolution, on the twenty-sixth of October 1774, recommended to the colonies to choose members for an- other to meet on the tenth of May 1775, unless the redress of their grievances was previously obtained. On their meeting they chose Peyton Ran- dolph for their president, and Charles Thomp- son for their secretary. On the next day Mr. Hancock laid before them a variety of depo- sitions, proving that the king's troops were the aggressors in the late battle at Lexing- ton, together with other papers relative to the great events which had lately taken place in Massachusets : whereupon congress resolved itself into a committee of the whole, to take into consideration the state of Amer- ica. They proceeded in the same line of moderation and firmness, which marked the acts of their predecessors in the past year. The city and county of New- York having applied to congress for advice, how they should conduct themselves with regard to tlie troops expected to land there, they were advised " to act on the defensive so long as might be consistent with their safety; to permit the troops to remain in the barracks so iong as they behaved peaceably, but not to suffer fortifications to be erected, or any steps to be taken for cutting off the commu nication between the town and coimtry." Congress also, on the seventeenth of May, resolved, " That exportation to all parts of British America, which had not adopted their association, should immediately cea.se ;" and that " no provision of any kind, or other ne- cessaries, be furnished to the British fisheries on the American coast" And " that no bill of exchange, drafl, or order of any officer in the British army or navy, their agents or contractors, be received or negotiated, or any money supplied them by any person in America — that no provisions or necessaries of any kind be furnished or supplied to or for the use of the British army or navy, in the colony of Massachusets Bay — that no vessel employed in transporting British troops to America, or from one part of North America to another, or warlike stores or provisions for the said troops, be freiglited or furnished with provisions or any necessariea" These resolutions may be considered as the counterpart of the British acts for restrain- ing the commerce, and prohibiting the fisli- eries of the colonies. They were calculated to bring distress on the British islands m the West Indies, whose chief dependence for subsistence was on the importation of pro- vision from the American continent They also occasioned new difficulties in the sup- port of the British army and fisheries. The colonists were so much indebted to Great Britain, that government bills for the most part found among them a ready market A war in the colonies was therefore made sub- servient to commerce, by increasing the sources of remittance. This enabled the mother country, in a great degree, to supply her troops without shipping money out of the kingdom. From the operation of these resolutions, advantages of this nature were not only cut off, but the supply of the Brit- ish army rendered botli precarious and ex- pensive. The new congress had been convened but a few days, when their venerable president, Peyton Randolph, was under a necessity of returning home. On his departure John Hancock was unanimously chosen his suc- cessor. The objects of deliberation pre- sented to this new congress were, if possible, more important than those which in the pre- ceding year had engaged the attention of their predecessors. In this awful crisis congress had but a choice of difficulties. The New-England states had already organized an army and blockaded general Gage. To desert them would have been contrary to plighted faith and to so\md policy ; to support them would make the war general, and involve all the provinces in one general promiscuous state of hostility. The resolution of the people 152 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. in favor of the latter was fixed, and only- wanted public sanction for its operation. Congress therefore, on the twenty-sixth of May, resolved, " That for the express pur- pose of defending and securing the colonies, and preserving them in safety, against all attempts to carry the late acts of parliament into execution, by force of arms, they be im- mediately put in a state of defence ; but as they wished for a restoration of the harmony formerly subsisting between the mother- country and the colonies, to the promotion of this most desirable reconciliation, an humble and dutiful petition be presented to his majesty. To resist and to petition were coeval resolutions. As freemen they could not tamely submit, but as loyal subjects, wishing for peace as far as was compatible with their rights, they once more, in the character of petitioners, humbly stated their grievances to the common father of the em- pire. To dissuade the Canadians from co- operating with the British, they again ad- dressed them, representing the pernicious tendency of the Quebec act, and apologizing for their taking Ticonderoga and Crown Point, as measures which were dictated by the great law of self-preservation. About the same time congress took measures for warding off the danger that threatened their frontier inhabitants from Indians. Commis- sioners to treat with them were appointed, and a supply of goods for their use was or- dered. A talk was also prepared by con- gress, and transmitted to them, in which the controversy between Great Britain and her colonies was explained, in a familiar Indian style. They were told that they had no concern in the family quarrel, and were urged by the ties of ancient friendship and a common birth-place, to remain at home, keep their hatchet buried deep, and to join neither side. The novel situation of Massachusets made it necessary for the ruling powers of that province to ask the advice of congress on a very interesting subject, " The taking up and exercising the powers of civil govern- ment." For many months they had been kept together in tolerable peace and order by the force of ancient habits, under the simple style of recommendation and advice from popular bodies, invested with no legis- lative authority. But as war now raged in their borders, and a numerous army was ac- tually raised, some more efficient form of government became necessary. At this early day it neither comported with the wishes nor the designs of the colonists to erect forms of government independent of Great Britain; congress therefore recom- mended only such regulations as were im- mediately necessary, and these were con- formed as nearly as possible to the spirit and substance of the charter, and were only to last till a governor of his majesty's appoint- ment would consent to govern the colony according to its charter. On the same principles of necessity, an- other assumption of new powers became unavoidable. The great intercourse that daily took place throughout the colonies, pointed out the propriety of establishing a general post-office. This was accordingly done, and Dr. Franklin, who had by royal authority been dismissed from a similar em- ployment about three years before, was ap- pointed by his country, the head of the new department. While congress was making arrangements for their proposed continental army, it was thought expedient once, more to address the inhabitants of Great Britain, and to publish to the world a declaration setting forth their reasons for taking up arms ; to address the speaker and gentlemen of the assembly of Jamaica, and the inhabitants of Ireland ; and also to prefer a second humble petition to the king. In their address to the inhabit- ants of Great Britain, they again vindicated themselves from the charge of aiming at independency, professed their willingness to submit to the several acts of trade and navi- gation which were passed before the year 1763, recapitulated their reasons for reject- ing lord North's conciliatory motion, stated the hardships they suffered from the opera- tions of the royal army in Boston, and in- sinuated the danger the inhabitants of Britain would be in of losing their freedom, in case their American brethren were subdued. In their declaration, settin^r forth the causes and necessity of their taking up arms, they enumerated the injuries they had re- ceived, and the methods taken by the British ministry to compel their submission; and then said, " We are reduced to the alterna- tive of choosing an unconditional submission to the tyranny of irritated ministers, or re- sistance by force. The latter is our choice. We have counted the cost of this contest, and find nothing so dreadful as voluntary slavery." They asserted " that foreign as- sistance was undoubtedly attainable." This was not founded on any private information, but was an opinion derived from their Icnow- ledge of the principles of policy, by v/hich states usually regulate their conduct towards each other. But their petition to the king, which was drawn up at the same time, produced more solid advantages in favor of the American cause, than any other of their productions. In this, among other things, it was stated, " that, notwithstanding their sufferings, they had retained too high a regard for the king- dom from which they derived their origin, to request such a reconciliation as might, GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 153 in any manner, be inconsistent with her dig- nity and welfare. Attached to his majesty's person, family, and government, with all the devotion that principle and affection can in- spire, connected with Great Britain by the strongest ties that can unite society, and de- ploring every event that tended in any de- gree to weaken them, they not only most fervently desired the former harmony be- tween her and the colonies to be restored, but that a concord might be established be- tween them, upon so firm a basis as to per- petuate its blessings, uninterrupted by any future dissensions, to succeeding generations, in both countries. They, therefore, beseech- ed that his majesty would be pleased to di- rect some mode by which the united appli- cations of his faithful colonists to the throne, in pursuance of their common councils, might be improved into a happy and perma- nent reconciliation." By this last clause, it is said that congress meant that the mother- country should propose a plan for establish ing, by compact, something like a Magna Charta for the colonies. This well-meant petition was presented on September 1st, 1775, by Mr. Penn and Mr. Lee; and on the 4th, lord Dartmouth informed them, " that to it no answer would be given." This slight contributed not a little to the union and perseverance of the colonies. When pressed by the calamities )f war, a doubt would sometimes arise in the minds of scrupulous persons, that they had been too hasty in their opposition to their protecting parent-state. GENERAL WASHINGTON APPOINTED COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. A MILITARY opposition to the armies of Great Britain being resolved upon by the colonies, it became an object of consequence to fix on a proper person to conduct that op- position. On the 15th of June, George Washintrton was, by an unanimous vote, ap- pointed commander-in-chief of all the forces raised, or to be raised, for the defence of the colonies. It was a fortunate circumstance attending his election, that it was accom panied with no competition, and followed by no envy. General Washington, Dr. Ramsay informs us, was born on the 11th of February, 1732 His education was such as favored the pro- duction of a solid mind and a vigorous body Mountain air, abundant exercise in the open country, the wholesome toils of the chase, and the delightful scenes of rural life, ex panded his limbs to an unusual, but graceful and well-proportioned size. His youth was spent in the acquisition of useful knowledge, and in pursuits tending to the improvement of his fortune, or the benefit of his country, Fitted more for active than for speculative life, he devoted the greater proportion of his time to the former ; but this was amply com- pensated by his being frequently in such sit^ nations as called forth the powers of hiw mind, and strengthened them by repeated exercise. Early in life, in obedience to his country's call, he entered the military line, and began his career of fame in opposing that power in concert with whose troops he acquired his last and most distinguished honors. He was with general Braddock in 1755, when that unfortunate officer, from an excess of bravery, chose rather to sacrifice his army than to retreat from an unseen foe. The remains of that unfortunate corps were brought oflT the field of battle chiefly by the address and good conduct of colonel Wash- ington. After the peace of Paris, 1763, he retired to his estate, and with great industry and success pursued the arts of peaceful life. When the proceedmgs of the British parlia- ment alarmed the colonists with apprehen- sions that a blow was levelled at their liber- ties, he again came forward into public view, and was appointed a delegate to the con- gress which met in September, 1774. Pos- sessed of a large proportion of common sense, directed by a sound judgment, he was better fitted for the exalted station to which he was called, than many others who to a greater brilliancy of parts frequently add the eccentricity of original genius. Engaged in the busy scenes of life, he knew human na- ture, and the most proper method of accom- plishing the proposed objects. His passions were subdued, and kept in subjection to rea- son. His soul, superior to party spirit, to prejudice, and illiberal views, moved accord- ing to the impulses it received from an honest heart and a sound judgment. He was habituated to view things on every side, to consider them in all relations, and to trace the possible and probable consequences of proposed measures. Much addicted to close thinking, his mind was constantly employed. By frequent exercise, his understanding and judgment expanded so as to be able to dis- cern truth, and to know what was proper to be done in the most difficult conjunctures. Coeval with the resolutions for raising an army, was another for emitting a sum not exceeding two millions of Spanish milled dollars, in bills of credit, for the defence of America, and the colonies were pledged for the redemption of them. This sum was in- creased from time to time by further emis- sions. The colonies having neither money nor revenue at their command, were forced to adopt this expedient, the only one which was in their power for supporting an army. No one delegate opposed the measure. So great had been the credit of the former emissions of paper in the greater part of the colonies, that very few at that time foresaw or apprehended the consequences of unfund^ 154 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ed paper emissions ; but had all the conse- quences which resulted from this measure in the course of the war been foreseen, it must, notwithstanding", have been adopted. A happy ignorance of future events, com- bined with the ardor of the times, prevented many reflections on this subject, and gave credit and circulation to these bills. When general Washington arrived at Cambridge, July third, he was received with the joyful acclamations of the American army. At the head of his troops he publish- ed a declaration, previously drawn up by congress, in the nature of a manifesto, set- ting forth the reasons for taking up arms. In this, after enumerating various griev- ances of the colonies, and vindicating them from a premeditated design of establishing independent states, it was added, "In our own native land, in defence of the freedom which is our birthright, and which we ever enjoyed till the late violation of it — for the protection of our property, acquired solely by the industry of our forefathers and our- selves, against violence actually offered — we have taken up arms ; we shall lay them down when hostilities shall cease on the part of the aggressors, and all danger of their being renewed shall be removed, — and not before." When general Washington joined the American army, he found the British in- trenched on Bunker's Hill, having also three floating batteries in Mystic river, and a twenty-gun ship below the ferry, between Boston and Charlestown. They had also a battery on Copse's Hill, and were strongly fortified on the Neck. The Americans were intrenched at Winter Hill, Prospect Hill, and Roxbury, communicating with one an- other by small posts, over a distance of ten miles. There were also parties stationed in several towns along the sea-coast. They liad neither engineers to plan suitable works, nor sufficient tools for their erection. Embarrassments from various quarters oc- curred in the formation of a continental army. The appointment of general officers made by congress was not satisfactory. En- terprising leaders had come forward with their followers, on the commencement of hostilities, without scrupulous attention to rank. When these were all blended togeth- er, it was impossible to assign to every offi- cer the station which his services merited, or his vanity demanded. Materials for a good army were collected. The husband- men who flew to arms were active, zealous, and of unquestionable courage ; but to in- troduce discipline and subordination among freemen, who were habituated to think for themselves, was an arduous labor. The want of system and of union, under proper heads, pervaded every department. From the circumstance that the persons em- ployed in providing necessaries for the army, were unconnected with each other, much waste and unnecessary delays were occasioned. The troops of the different col- onies came into service under varied estab- lishments — some were enlisted with the ex- press condition of choosing their officers. The rations promised by the local legisla- tures varied both as to quantity, quality, and price. To form one uniform mass of these discordant materials, and to subject the li- centiousness of independent freemen to the control of military discipline, was a delicate and difficult business. The continental army put under the com- mand of general Washington, amounted to about 14,500 men. These had been so judi- ciously stationed round Boston, as to confine the British to the town, and to exclude them from the forage and provisions which the adjacent country and islands in Boston Bay afforded. The force was thrown hito three grand divisions. General Ward commanded the right wing at Roxbury; general Lee the left at Prospect Hill; and the centre was commanded by general Washington. When some effectual pains had been taken to discipline the army, it was found that the term for which enlistments had ta- ken place, was on the point of expiring. The troops from Connecticut and Rhode-Isl- and were only engaged till the first day of December 1775, and no part of the army longer than the first day of January 1776. Such mistaken apprehensions respecting the future conduct of Great Britain prevailed, that many thought the appearance of a de- termined spirit of resistance would lead to a redress of all their grievances. Towards the close of the year (on the 10th of October) general Gage sailed for England, and the command of the British troops devolved on general Howe. The Massachusets assembly and continent- al congress both resolved to ^t out armed ves- sels to cruise on the American "oast, for the purpose of intercepting warlike stores and supplies designed for the use of the British army. The object was at first limited, but as the prospect of accommodation vanished, it was extended to all British property afloat on the high seas. The Americans were dif- fident of their ability to do anything on the water, in opposition to the greatest naval power in the world ; but from a combination of circumstances, their first attempts were successful. On the 29th of November, the Lee priva- teer, captain Manley, took the brig Nancy, an ordnance vessel from Woolwich, con- taining a large brass mortar, several pieces of brass cannon, a large quantity of arms and ammunition, with all manner of tools, GEORGE UI. 1760—1820. 156 utensils, and machines, necessary for camps and artillery. Had congress sent an order for supplies, they could not have made out a list of articles more suitable to their situa- tion, than what was thus providentially thrown into their hands. In about nine days after, three ships, with various stores for the British army, and a brig from Antigua, with rum, were taken by captain Manley. Before five days more liad elapsed, several other store-ships were captured. By these means the distresses of the British troops in Boston were increased, and supplies for the continental army w^ere procured. Naval captures bemg unexpect- ed, were matter of triumph to tho Ameri- cans, and of surprise to the British. FORT TICOiNDEROGA TAKEN. While these affairs were transactmg, a bold enterprise was undertaken by the Americans against the British possessions on the frontiers of Canada, and this it will be proper to relate before we return to the transactions of the mother country. Situated on a promontory, formed at the junction of the v/aters of Lake George and Lake Champlain, Ticonderoga is the key of all communication between New- York and Canada. Messrs. Deane, Wooster, Parsons, Stevens, and others of Connecticut, planned a scheme for obtaining possession of this valuable post. Having procured a loan of iSOO dollars of public money, and provided a sufficient quantity of powder and ball, tiiey set oif for Bennington, to obtain the co- cperafion of colonel Allen of that place. Two hundred and seventy men, mostly of tiiat brave and hardy people who are called gv-^en mountain boys, were speedily collect- ea at Castleton, which was fixed on as the place of rendezvous. At this place colonel Arnold, who, though attended only wath a servant, was prosecuting the same object, unexpectedly joined them. He had been early chosen a captain of a volunteer com- pany, by the inhabitants of New-Haven, among whom he resided. As soon as he re- C:;ived news of the Lexington battle, he marched off with his company for the vicini- ty of Boston, and arrived there, though 150 miles distant, in a few days. Immediately afler his arrival, he waited on the JMassa- chusets committee of safety, and informed them, that there were at Ticonderoga many pieces of cannon, and a great quantity of valuable stores, and that the fort was in a ruinous condition, and garrisoned only by about 40 men. They appointed him a colo- nel, and commissioned him to raise 400 men, and to take Ticonderoga. The leaders of the party which had previously rendez- voused at Castleton, adnntted colcnel Ar- nold to join them, and it was agreed tl;at colonel Allen should be Uie conmicjider-in- chief of the expedition, and that colonel Ar- nold should be his assistant. They proceed- ed without delay, and arrived in the night of the 9th of May at Lake Champlain, op- posite to Ticonderoga. Allen and Arnold crossed over with 83 men, and landed near the garrison. The commander, surprised in his bed, was called upon to surrender the fort ; he asked by what authority 1 Colonel Allen replied, " I demand it in the name of the great Jehovah, and of the continental congress." No resistance was made, and the fort, with its valuable stores, and forty- eight prisoners, fell into the hands of the Americans. The boats had been sent back for the remainder of the men, but the busi- ness was done before they got over. Colo- nel Seth Warner was sent off with a party to take possession of Crown Point, where a Serjeant and twelve men performed garri- son duty. This was speedily effected. The next object callhig for the attention of the Americans, was to obtain the command of Lake Champlain ; but to accomplish this, it was necessary for them to get possession of a sloop of war, lying at St. John's, at the northern extremity of the lake. With the view of capturing this sloop, it was agreed to man and arm a schooner lying at South Bay, that Arnold should command her, and that Allen should command some ba- teaux on the same expedition. A favorable wind carried the schooner ahead of the ba- teaux, and colonel Arnold got immediate possession of the sloop by surprise., The wind again favoring him, he returned with his prize to Ticonderoga, and rejoined colo- nel Allen. The latter soon went home, and the former, wuth a number of men, agreed to remain there in garrison. In this rapid manner the possession of Ticonderoga, and the command of Lake Champlain, were ob- tained, without any loss, by a few determin- ed men. Intelligence of these events wrs in a few days communicated to congress, which met for the first time, at ten o'clock of the same day in the morning of which Ticonderoga was taken. They rejoiced in the spirit of enterprise displayed by tlieir countrymen, but feared the charge of being aggressors, or of doing anything to widen the breach between Great Britain and tlie colonies ; for an accommodation was at tliat time nearly their unanimous wish. They therefore recommended to the committees of the cities and counties of New- York and Albany, to cause the cannon and stores to be removed from Ticonderoga to the south end of Lake George, and to take an exact inventory of them, " in order that they might be safely returned when the restoration of the former harmony between Great Britain and the colonies, so ardently wished for by the latter, should render it prudent and con- 156 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. sistent with the overruling- law of self-pre- servation." EXPEDITION AGAINST QUEfeEC. Colonel Arnold having begun his mili- tary career with a series of successes, was urged by his native impetuosity to project more extensive operations. On the 13th of June he wrote a letter to congress, strongly urging an expedition into Canada, and offer- ing with 2000 men to reduce the whole province. In his ardent zeal to oppose Great Britain, he had advised the adoption of an offensive war, even before congress had or- ganized an army or appointed a single mili- tary officer. His importunity was at last successful. Such was the increasing fervor of the public mind in 1775, that what in the early part of tlie year was deemed violent and dangerous, was in its progress pro- nounced both moderate and expedient. Sir Guy Carleton, the king's governor in Canada, no sooner heard that the Americans had surprised Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and obtained the command of Lake Cham- plain, than he planned a scheme for their re- covery. Having only a few regular troops under his command, he endeavored to induce the Canadians and Indians to co-operate with him ; but they both declined. He established martial law, that he might compel the in- habitants to take up arms. They declared themselves ready to defend the province, but refused to march out of it, or to commence hostilities on their neighbors. Congress had committed the management of their military arrangements, in this north- ern department, to general Schuyler and general Montgomery. While the former remained at Albany, to attend an Indian treaty, the latter was sent forward to Ticon- deroga, witli a body of troops from New- York and New-England. Soon after reach- ing Ticonderoga, he made a movement down Ijake Champlain. General Schuyler over- took him at Cape la Motte ; whence they moved on to Isle aux Noix. About this time general Schuyler addressed the inhab- itmts, informing them, " that the only views of congress were to restore to them those rights which every subject of the British empire, of whatever religious sentiments he may be, is entitled to ; and that in the exe- cution of these trusts he had received the most positive orders to cherish every Cana- dian, and every friend to the cause of liber- ty, and sacredly to guard their property." The Americans, about 1000 in number, on the 10th of September effected a landing at St John's, which being the first British post in Canada, lies only 115 miles to the north- ward of Ticonderoga. The British picquets were driven into the fort. The environs were then reconnoitred, and the fortifica- tions were foimd to be much stronger thaji had been suspected. This induced the call- ing of a council of war, which recommended a retreat to Isle aux Noix, twelve miles south of St. John's, to throw a boom across the channel, and to erect works for its defence. Soon after this event, an extreme bad state of health mduced general Schuyler to retire to Ticonderoga, and the command devolved on general Montgomery. This enterprising officer in a few days re- turned to the vicinity of St. John's, and opened a battery against it. Ammunition was so scarce that the siege could not be carried on with any prospect of speedy suc- cess. The general detached a small body of troops to attempt the reduction of For Chamblee, only six miles distant. Success attended this enterprise. By its surrender six tons of gunpowder were obtained, which enabled the general to prosecute the siege of St. John's with vigor. The garrison, though straitened for provisions, persevered in defending themselves with unabating for- titude. While general Montgomery was prosecuting this siege, the governor of the province collected at Montreal about 800 men, chiefly militia and Indians. He en- deavored to cross the river St. Laurence with this force, and to land at Longueil, in- tending to proceed thence to attack the be- siegers ; but colonel Warner with 300 green mountain boys and a four-pounder, prevented the execution of the design. The governor's party was suffered to come near the shore, but was then fired upon with such effect as to make them retire, after sustaining great loss. An account of this affair being communi- cated to the garrison in St. .Tohn's, major Preston, the commanding officer, surren- dered, on receiving honorable terms of ca- pitulation. After the reduction of St. John's, general Montgomery proceeded towards Montreal. The few British forces there, unable to stand their ground, repaired for safety on board tlie shipping, in hopes of escaping down tlie river ; but they were prevented by colonel Easton, who was stationed at the point of Sorel river with a number of continental troops, some cannon, and an armed gondola. General Prescot, who was on board with several officers, and about 120 privates, hav- ing no chance to escape, submitted to be prisoners on terms of capitulation. Eleven sail of vessels with all their contents, con- sisting of ammunition, provision, and in- trenching tools, became the property of the provincials. Governor Carleton was about this time conveyed in a boat with muffled paddles by a secret way to the Three Rivers, and thence to Quebec in a few days. When Montreal was evacuated by the troops, the inhabitants applied to general GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 157 Montgomery for a capitulation. lie informed them, tliat as they were defenceless, they could not expect such a concession, but he engaged upon his honor to maintain the in- dividuals and religious communities of the city, in the peaceable enjoyment of their property, and the free exercise of their reli- ^-ion. In all his transactions, he spoke, wrote, jmd acted witli dignity and propriety, and in particular treated the inhabitants with liberality and politeness. Montreal, which at this time surrendered to the provincials, carried on an extensive trade, and contained many of those articles, which from the operation of the resolutions of congress could not be imported into any of the united colonies. From these stores the American soldiers, who had hitherto suf- fered from the want of suitable clothing, obtained a plentiful supply. General Montgomery, after leaving some troops in Montreal, and sending detachments into different parts of the province to en- courage the Canadians, and to forward pro- visions, advanced towards the capital. His little army arrived with expedition before Quebec, Success had hitherto crowned every attempt of general Montgomery, but notwithstanding his situation was very em- ? srrassing. In the choice of difficulties, the genius of Montgomery surmounted many obstacles. During his short career, he con- ducted himself with so much prudence, as to make it doubtful whether we ought to admire most the goodness of the man or the address of the general. About the same time that Canada was in- vaded, in the usual route from New- York, a considerable detachment from the American army at Cambridge was conducted into that royal province by a new and unexpected j^assage. Colonel Arnold, who successfully conducted this bold undertaking, thereby acquired the name of the American Hanni- bal. The most pointed instructions had been given to this corps, to conciliate the affections of the Canadians. It was par- ticularly enjoined upon them, if the son of lord Chatham, then an officer in one of the British regiments in that province, should fail into their hands, to treat him with all possible attention, in return for the great ex- ertions of his father in behalf of American liberty. While general Montgomery lay at Mont- real, colonel Arnold arrived [November 8th] at Point Levy opposite to Quebec. Such was the consternation of the garrison and inhabitants at his unexpected appearance, that had not tlie river intervened, an imme- diate attack in the first surprise and confu- sion, might have been successful. The em- barrassments of the garrison were increased by tlie alysence of Sir Guy Carleton ; that Vou TV. 14 gallant officer, on hearing of Montgomery's invasion, prepared to oppose him in the ex- tremes of the province. While he was collecting a force to attack invaders in one direction, a different corps, emerging out of the depths of an unexplored wilderness, suddenly appeared from another. In a few days after colonel Arnold had arrived at Point Levy, he crossed the river St. Lau- rence, but his chance of succeeding by a coup de main was in that short space great- ly diminished. The critical moment was passed. The panic occasioned by his first appearance had abated, and solid prepara- tions for the defence of the town were adopt- ed. The inhabitants, both English and Ca- nadians, as soon as danger pressed, united for their common defence. Alarmed for their property, they were, at their own re- quest, embodied for its security. The sailois were taken from the shipping in the harbor, and put to the batteries on shore. As colo- nel Arnold had no artillery, after parading some days on the heights near Quebec, he drew oft* his troops, intending nothing more until the arrival of Montgomery, than to cut off supplies from entering the garrison. * At the time the Americans were before Montreal, general Carleton, as has been re- lated, escaped through their hand, and got safe to Quebec. His presence was itself a garrison. The confidence reposed in his talents, inspired the men under his command to make the most determined resistance. General Montgomery having on the first of December effected at Point aux Trem- bles a junction with colonel Arnold, com- menced the siege of Quebec. Towards the end of the year, the tide of fortune began to turn. Dissensions broke out between colonel Arnold and some of his officers, threatening the annihilation of dis- cipline. The continental currency had no circulation in Canada, and all the hard money furnished for the expedition was nearly expended. Difficulties of every kind were daily increasing. The extremities of fatigue were constantly to be encountered. The extremity of winter was fast approach- ing. From these combined circumstances, general Montgomery was impressed with a conviction, that the siege should either be raised, or brought to a summary termination. To storm the place was the only feasible method of effecting the latter purpose ; but this was an undertaking, in which success was but barely possible. The garrison of Quebec at this time con- sisted of about 1.520 men, of which 800 were militia, and 450 were seamen belong- ing to tlie king's frigates, or merchant ships in tlie harbor. The rest were marines, regular^ or colonel Maclean's new raised emigrants. The American army consisted 158 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. of about 800 men. Some had been left at Montreal, and near a third of Arnold's de- tachment, as has been related, had returned to Cambridge. ATTACK ON QUEBEC AND DEATH OF MONTGOiMERY. General Montgomery having divided this little force into four detachments, or- dered two feints to be made against the up- per town, one by colonel Livingston, at the head of the Canadians, against St. John's gate ; and the other by major Brown, against Cape Diamond, reserving to himself and colonel Arnold the two principal attacks against the lower town. At five o'clock in the morning of the 31st of December gene- ral Montgomery advanced against the lower town. He passed the first barrier, and was just opening to attack the second, when he was killed, together with his aid-de-camp, captain John M'Pherson, captain Cheesman, and some others. This so dispirited the men, that colonel Campbell, on whom the command devolved, thought proper to draw them off. In the mean time colonel Arnold, at the head of about 350 men, passed through St. Roch, and approached near a two-gun battery, wdthout being discovered. This he attacked, and though it was well defended, carried it, but with considerable loss. In this attack colonel Arnold received a wound, which made it necessary to carry him off" the field of battle. His party nevertheless continued the assault, and pushing on, made themselves masters of a second barrier ; but finding themselves hemmed in, and without hopes either of success, relief, or retreat, they yielded to numbers, and the advanta- geous situation of their adversaries. The loss of the Americans, in killed and wound- ed, was about 100, and 300 were taken prisoners. This deliverance of Quebec may be con- sidered as a proof how much may be done by one man for the preservation of a coun- try. It also proves that soldiers may in a short time be formed out of the mass of citizens. The conflict being over, the ill will which had subsisted, during the siege, between the royal and provincial troops gave way to sen timents of humanity. The Americans who surrendered, were treated with kindness. Ample provisions were made for their wound- ed, and no unnecessary severity shown to any. Few men have ever fallen in battle so much regretted on both sides as general Montgomery. His well-known character was almost equally esteemed by the friends and foes of the side which he had espoused. In America he was celebrated as a martyr to the liberties of mankind ; in Great Britain as a misguided good man, sacrificing to what he supposed to be the rights of his country. ASPECT OF AFFAIRS. A SERIES of disasters followed the royal cause in the year 1775. General Gage's army was cooped up in Boston, and render- ed useless. In the southern states, where a small force would have made an impression, the royal governors were unsupported. Much was done to irritate the colonists and to ce- ment their union, but very little, either in the way of conquest or concession, to subdue their spirits or conciliate their affections. In this year the people of America gene- rally took their side. Every art was made use of by the popular leaders to attach the inhabitants to their cause; nor were the votaries of the royal interest inactive. But little impression was made by the latter, ex- cept among the uninformed. The great mass of the wealth, learning, and influence, in all the southern colonies, and in most of the northern, was in favor of the American cause. Some aged persons were exceptions to the contrary. Attached to ancient habits, and enjoying the fruits of their industry, they were slow in approving new measures subversive of the former, and endangering the latter. A few who had basked in the sunshine of court favor, were restrained by honor, principle, and interest, from forsaking the fountam of their enjoyments. Some feared the power of Britain, and others doubted the perseverance of America ; but a great majority resolved to hazard every- thing in preference to a tame submission. NOTES TO CHAPTER XI. 1 The assembly of South Caro- lina voted 1500/. to this fund ; and the committee, in their let- ter of thanks for the favor, took care, among other inflammatory sagqestions, to hint that the parliament, as then constituted, had no right to levy taxes either in England or America, and that "demands which were made without authority, should be heard without obedience." 2 This petitic.n having been re ferred by the king to the privy- council, and Dr. Franklin being summoned in his official ca pacity to support the charges the lordiB of the council ut^ds their report to his majesty, " that the petition was founded Upon false and erroneous alle- gations, and that the same is groundless, vexatious, and scan- dalous, and calculated only for the seditious purposes of keep- ing up a spirit of clamor and diecontent ia the province." GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 159 CHAPTER XII. Fatal effects of the War — Meeting of Parliament — Defection of the Duke of Grafton and General Conway from the Ministry — Introduction of foreign troops — Prohibito- ry Bill — Changes in the ministry — Affairs of Ireland — Debates on foreign troops — Conclusion of the Session — Boston evacuated by the British — Siege of Quebec rais- ed — Americans defeated on the Lakes — Unsuccessful attempt upon Charlestown — Preparations against New- York — Declaration of Independence — Americans defeat- ed at Long-Island — New- York taken — Americans retreat into the Jerseys and over the Delaware — Rhode-Island reduced — General Lee made prisoner — Hessians cut off at Trenton — British defeated at Princeton. EFFECTS OF THE WAR. The war in America had no sooner se- riously commenced, than its fatal effects were experienced in the trading world. The manufactures and trade of Great Britain appeared completely at a stand in all the great provincial towns and cities. Bristol and Liverpool, in particular, suffered con- siderably ; and in the latter place, the Afri- can trade being almost annihilated by the war, and numbers of seamen having been thrown out of employ, some dangerous riots took place in the month of August, and were only quelled by the arrival of a military force from Manchester. Notwithstanding the confident boasts of ministry, that the forces which had been voted in the last session were fully adequate to the subjugation of America, it was foimd that they were not sufficient to maintain their ground in the city of Boston. Negotiations for foreign troops, therefore, became absolutely necessary. Russia was applied to in vain, nor could the Dutch be prevailed on to part with their Scotch brig- ade for this nefarious service. With the slave-merchants of Germany the ministers were more successful, and a number of troops were purchased, like cattle, of the princes of Hesse and Brunswick. It is always one of the principal artifices of a weak and bad ministry, to amuse the populace with fabricated plots and conspira- cies to overturn the government. Previous to the meeting of parliament, something of this kind was deemed necessary, and a Mr. Sayre, a banker, an American by birth, was committed to the Tower, on a ridiculous charge of a plot to seize the king on his passage to the house of peers, and to con- vey him out of the kingdom. On an appli- cation, however, by habeas corpus, to the court of king's-bench, the charge appeared so frivolous and ill-founded, that Mr. Sayre was discharged ; and he afterwards recovered in a court of law, lOOOZ. damages against lord Rochford, secretary of state, on an ac- tion for false imprisonment. PARLIAMENT MEETS. The parliamentary session commenced rather earlier than usual, viz. on October 26th. His majesty, in a speech of unusual length, gave the present situation of Ameri- ca as a reason for having called the houses together early. It was observed, that those who had too long successfully labored to in- fluence the people in America by gross mis- representations, and to infuse into then* minds a system of opinions repugnant to the true constitution of the colonies, and to their subordinate relation to Great Britain, now openly avowed their revolt, hostility, and rebellion. They had raised troops, were collecting a naval force, had seized the pub- lic revenue, and assumed to themselves le- gislative, executive, and judicial powers, which they already exercised in the most arbitrary manner, o v'er the persons and prop- erties of their fellow-subjects ; and although many of these unhappy people might still retain their loyalty, too wise not to see the fatal consequences of this usurpation, and might wish to resist it, yet the torrent of vio- lence had been strong enough to compel their acquiescence, till a sufficient force should appear to support them. The rebellious war was now become more general, and was manifestly carried on for the purpose of establishing an independent empire. The object was too important, the spirit of the British nation too high, the re- sources with which God had blessed her too numerous, to give up so many colonies which she had planted with great industry, nursed with great tenderness, encouraged with many commercial advantages, and protected and defended at much expense of blood and treasure. It was now become the part of wisdom, and, in its effects, of clemency, to put a speedy end to these disorders by the most decisive exertions. For this purpose his majesty had increased his naval estab- lishment, and greatly augmented his land forces ; but in such a manner as mififht be least burdensome to the kingdom. His ma- jesty informed them that the most friendly 160 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. offers of foreign service had been made, and, if necessary, should be laid before tliem. He assured them, that when the un- happy and deluded multitude, against whom force was to be directed, should become sensible of their error, he would receive the misled with tenderness and mercy. An apology was made to the commons for the increased demand of supplies, and it was affirmed that the constant employment of his majesty's thoughts, and the most earnest wishes of his heart, tended wholly to the safety and happiness of his people ; and that his majesty saw no probability that the mea- sures which parliament might adopt would be interrupted by disputes with any foreign power. The addresses, in answer to this speech, contained the same sentiments, and the efforts of opposition were powerfully di- rected to avoid the imputation of those ad- dresses being the unanimous voice of the house. GENERAL CONWAY AND THE DUKE OF GRAFTON JOIN THE OPPOSITION. Their arguments were powerfully aided by the defection of general Conway and the duke of Graflon; who, in their respective houses, pleaded the cause of the injured col- onists with great ability, feeling, and cor- rectness. They gave it as their opinion, that if ever a reconciliation could be effected, this was the time to make the attempt, by a repeal of every obnoxious act passed against the Americans since the year 1763. The addresses, however, passed in the original forms in both houses, by prodigious majori- ties. The debates were unusually lonj2', and the questions attended to with unremitting zeal. The duke of Richmond distinguished himself in the house of lords, and was one of nineteen peers who signed a protest against the proceedings of that house. What relates to the employment of Hano- verian troops, conveys the following senti- ments : " that Hanoverian troops should, at the mere pleasure of the ministers, be con- sidered as a part of the British military es- tablishment, and take a rotation of garrison duties, through these dominions, is, in prac- tice and precedent, of the liighest danger to the safety and liberties of this kingdom, and tends wholly to invalidate the wise and salutary declaration of the grand funda- mental law of our glorious deliverer, king William, which has bound together the rights of the subject, and the succession of the throne." Upon this opinion, a few days afler the address had been delivered, the duke of Manchester founded a resolution, I' That bringing into any part of the domin- ions of Great Britain, the electoral troops of his majesty, or any other foreign troops, without the previous consent of parliament, is dangerous and unconstitutional." The Hanoverians, his grace observed, would not be under the command of any military law in those garrisons, and the mutiny act could not extend to them, being confined to those troops only which are specified in it, or voted by parliament. There was no secu- rity in putting fortified places of such im- portance into the hands of foreign troops, and the king had no right to maintain, in any part of his British dominions, any troops to which parliament had not given their consent. On the other hand, the lords in administration said, that the clause in the bill of rights, which is in question, is to be understood with the conditions annexed to it, one of which relates to the bringing of troops within the kingdom, and anotJier mentions the time of peace, and in the pres- ent case neither of those conditions was violated. Nay, the bill of rights, it was said, confirms to the king a power to raise an army, in time of war, in any part of his dominions, both of natives and foreigners — a power which had been exerted on several occasions, without the consent of parliament, and was justified now by necessity. The opposition answered, that the words " willi- in the kingdom," if confined to England alone, would exclude Ireland, Scotland, and other places into which armies of foreigners might be introduced. " However tlie cir- cumstantial quibbling of law might pretend to determine, the measure was certainly contrary to the f-jviiit and intention of the bill of right;--, wL c'i particularly provides against keep in u a standing army without the consent of parliament" They main- tained that no foreign troops had been brought into the kingdom at any time since the revolution, without the previous consent of parliament, either by an address, or by some former treaty which it had ratified ; and the hiring of foreign troops, and after- wards prevailing on parliament to ratify the engagements, had always been censured as an unwarrantable step. In the late war, ministers were exceedingly cautious in this respect, and even after the parliament had agreed to the raising of 4000 Germans for American service, such effectual provision was made for the security of this kingdom, that it was impossible any mischief could ensue. With all the deference king Wil Ham's parliament entertained for that prince, they never would consent to the admission of his Dutch guards into England. Notwith- standing these and other forcible arguments, the previous question was put, and the num- bers were, 75 who voted against, and 32 who supported the motion. A further infraction on the constitution presented itself at this time to the opposi- tion. A new militia-bill which v.-as intro- GEORGE ra. 1760—1820. 161 duced, was said to be subversive of every 1 idea of a constitutional militia, as they were not to be called out except in cases of in- vasion or rebellion, pretences of which might at any time be made ; a minister had it in his power to embody them, and in that case they composed a standing army. The min- istry endeavored to assure the house that their fears on this topic were groundless, and that it was not to be supposed that any min- ister would dare to abuse the power granted to him, and that if he did, he was accounta- ble for it at the risk of his life. This apology, however, did not satisfy the opposition ; part of the Devonshire militia had offered their personal service against all internal enemies ; this was a specimen of what we had to ex- pect from the establishment of this new mi- litia, who were to obey any orders that might be given, no matter by whom ; and where would they, who might differ from adminis- tion in matters of political opinion, find se- curity against the undue exertion of this power, or the misconstruction of the senti- ments of opposition 1 On the contrary it was replied, that the Devonshire militia, by this address, only wished to give a proof of their attachment to the crown, and that it was proper for other societies to do the same, as a counterpart to the addresses of London and Middlesex, and to undeceive the people in the country, who dreaded that nothing less than a revolution was meditated by the present adverse proceedings of some bodies of men. The question being put, the bill was carried by 259 to 50. These debates were followed by the aug- mentation of the land-tax to four shillings in the pound. • This passed with little oppo- sition, excepting some complaints about the want of information. PROHIBITORY BILL. No ministry had, in any preceding war, exerted themselves more to prosecute mili- tary operations against alien enemies, than the present to make the ensuing campaign decisive of the dispute between the mother country and the colonies. One legislative act was still wanting to give full efficacy to the intended prosecution of hostilities. This was brought into parliament in a bill inter- dicting all trade and intercourse with the thirteen united colonies. By it all property of Americans, whether of ships or goods on the high seas, or in harbor, was declared " to be forfeited to the captors, being the officers and crews of his majesty's ships of war." It farther enacted, " that the masters, crews, and other persons found on board captured American vessels, should be entered on board his majesty's vessels of war, and there considered to be in his majesty's service to all intents and purposes, as if they had en- tered of their own accord." This bill also 14* authorized the crown to appoint commission- ers, who, over and above granting pardons to individuals, were empowered to " inquire into general and particular grievances, and to determine whether any colony, or part of a colony, was returned to that state of obe- dience which might entitle it to be received within the king's peace and protection." In that case, upon a declaration from tlie com- missioners, " the restrictions of the proposed law were to cease." It was said, in favor of this bill, that as the Americans were already in a state of war, it became necessary that hostilities should be carried on against them, as was usual against alien enemies : That the more vigorously and extensively military opera- tions were prosecuted, the sooner would peace and order be restored : That as the commissioners went out with the sword in one hand, and terms of conciliation in the other, it was in the power of the colonists to prevent the infliction of any real or ap- parent severities in the proposed statute. In opposition to it, it was said, that treat- ing the Americans as a foreign nation, was marking out the way for their independence. One member observed, that as the indis- criminate rapine of property, authorized by the bill, would oblige the colonists to coa- lesce as one man, its title ought to be, " A bill for carrying more effectually into exe- cution the resolves of the congress." But of all parts of this bill, none was so severely condemned as that clause by which persons taken on board the American vessels, were indiscriminately compelled to serve as com- mon sailors in British ships of war. This was said to be " a refinement of tyranny worse than death." It was also said, " that no man could be despoiled of his goods as a foreign enemy, and at the same time obliged to serve as a citizen, and that compelling captives to bear arms against their families, kindred, friends, and country ; and afler be- ing plundered themselves, to become ac- complices in plundering their brethren ; was imexampled, except among pirates, the out- laws and enemies of human society." To all these high charges the ministry replied, " that the measure was an act of grace and favor; for," said they, "the crews of Ameri- can vessels, instead of being put to death, the legal punishment of their demerits, as traitors and rebels, are by this law to be rated on the king's books, and treated as if they were on the same footing with a great body of his most useful and faithful sub- jects." In the progress of the debates on this bill lord Mansfield declared, "that the ques- tions of original right and wrong were no longer to be considered — ^that they were en- gaged in a war, and must use their utmost 162 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. efibrts to obtain the ends proposed by it ; that they must either fight or be pursued; and I hat the justice of the cause must give way to their present situation." Perhaps no speech, in or out of parliament, operated more extensively on the irritated minds of the colonists than this. CHANGES IN THE CABINET. The recess for the holidays now took place, but previous to it some changes in the ministry had happened which it is proper to notice ; the privy-seal, vacant by the resig- nation of the duke of Grafton, was given to the earl of Dartmouth, who resigned the secretaryship of the American department ; lord George Sackville Germain succeeded him, who once had been attached to opposi- tion and a zealous friend of Mr. Grenville, after whose death he gradua,lly came over to the side of administration, and had voted with them in favor of all the late measures respecting America. Lord Weymouth suc- ceeded the earl of Rochford as secretary for the southern department. IRISH AFFAIRS. 1776. — The first business of any conse- quence, after the recess, related to Ireland. The lord-lieutenant of that kingdom had sent a written message to the house of com- mons, containing a requisition ui the king's name, of 4000 additional troops from that kingdom for the American service, not to be paid by that establishment during their ab- sence, and, if desired by them, to be replaced by an equal number of foreign Protestant troops, the charges of which should be de frayed w^ithout any expense to Ireland. The commons granted 4000 troops, but rejected the offer of foreign troops, and the patriotic members wished rather to embody a part of the nation under the description of volunteers for their internal defence. DEBATE ON FOREIGN TROOPS. The treaties which had been concluded with the landgrave of Hesse Cassel, the duke of Brunswick, and the hereditary prince of Hesse Cassel, for hiring their troops to the king of Great Britain, to be employed in the American service, being on the 29th of Feb- ruary laid before the house of commons, a motion was made thereon for referring them to the committee of supply. This occasion ed a very interesting debate on the propriety and suffer an unprovoked rebellion to termi- of employing foreign troops against the Americans. The measure was supported on the necessity of prosecuting the war, and the impracticability of raising a sufficient number of domestic levies. It was urged, "that foreign troops, inspired with the military maxims and ideas of implicit submission, would be less apt to be biassed by that false lenity which native soldiers might indulge, at the expense of national in- terest" It was said, " Are we to sit still nate in the formation of an independent hos- tile empire 1 " " Are we to sufier our colo- nies, the object of great national expense, and of two bloody wars, to be lost for ever to us, and given away to strangers, from a scruple of employing foreign troops to pre- serve our just rights over colonies for which we have paid so dear a purchase 1 As the Americans, by refusing the obedience and taxes of subjects, deny themselves to be a part of the British empire, and make them- selves foreigners, they cannot complain that foreigners are employed against them." On the other side, the measure was severely condemned ; the necessity of the war was denied, and the nation was represented as disgraced by applying to the petty princes of Germany for succors against her own rebellious subjects. The tendency of the example to induce the Americans to form alliances with foreign powers, was strongly urged. It was said, " Hitherto the colonists have ventured to commit themselves singly in this arduous contest, without having re- course to foreign aid; but it is not to le doubted, that in future they will think them- selves fully justified, both by our example and the laws of self-preservation, to engage foreigners to assist them in opposing iho-e mercenaries, whom we are about to trans- port for their destruction. Nor is it doubtful that, in case of their application, European powers of a rank far superior to that of those petty princes, to whom we have so abjectly sued for aid, will consider themselves to be equally entitled to interfere in the quarrel between us and our colonies." The supposition of the Americans receiv- ing aid from France or Spain, was on this and several other occasions ridiculed, on the idea that these powers would not dare to set to their own colonies the dangerous example of encouraging those of Great Britain in op- posing their sovereign. It was also suppos- ed, that they would be influenced by consid- erations of future danger to their American possessions, from the establishment of an independent empire in their vicinity. A bill for the establishment of a militia in Scotland had been brought in by lord Mount- stewart, on the 8th of December 1775 ; but from want of attendance, and multiplicity of other business, had been neglected during the greater part of the season. It was now brought under consideration ; but, notwith- standing the apparent sanction of adminis- tration, as well as the patronage of the Scots gentlemen, it was at last thrown out by 112 to 95. On this occasion the minister divided with the minority. On the 23d of May his majesty put an end to the session. In the speech, his ma- jesty expressed the usual satisfaction with GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 1G3 their proceedings; that no alteration had taken place in the state of foreign affairs ; the commons were thanked for their readi- ness and dispatch in granting the supplies, which unavoidably were this year extraor- dinary; a proper frugality was promised, and it was observed that they were engaged in a great national cause, the prosecution of which must be attended with great difficul- ties, and much expense ; but when they con- sidered, that the essential rights and inter- ests of the whole empire were deeply con- cerned in the issue of it, and could have no safety or security but in that constitutional subordmation for which they w^ere contend- ing, it afforded a conviction that they could not think any price too high for such objects. His majesty hoped, that his rebellious sub- jects would be awakened to a sense of their errors, and by a voluntary return to their duty, justify the restoration of harmony ; but if a due submission should not be obtained from such motives and dispositions on their part, it was trusted, that it would be effectu- ated by a full exertion of the great force with which they had intrusted him. BOSTON EVACUATED BY THE BRITISH. While these affairs were transacting in England, the troops at Boston were suffer- ing the inconvenience of a blockade. From the 19th of April they were cut off from those refreshments which their situation re- (^uired ; their supplies from Britain did not reach the coast for a long time after they \vere expected. Several were taken by the Anierican cruisers, and others were lost at sea. This was in particular the fate of many of their coal-ships. The want of fuel was peculiarly felt in a climate w^here the winter is both severe and tedious. They relieved themselves in part from their suf- ferings on this account, by the timber of houses which they pulled down and burned. Vessels were dispatched to the West Indies, to procure provisions ; but the islands were so straitened that tliey could afford but little assistance. Armed ships and transports were ordered to Georgia, with an intent to procure rice ; but the people of that prov- ince, with the aid of a party from South Carolina, so effectually opposed them, that of eleven vessels, only two got off safe with their cargoes. It was not till the stock of the garrison was nearly exhausted, that the transports from England entered the port of Boston, and relieved the distresses of the garrison. While the troops within the lines were apprehensive of suffering from want of pro- visions, the troops without were equally un- easy for want of employment. Used to labor and motion on their farms, they relished ill the inactivity and confinement of a camp- life. Fiery spirits declaimed in favor of an assault They preferred a bold spirit of enterprise to that passive fortitude which bears up under present evils, while it waits for favorable junctures. To be in readiness for an attempt of this kind, a council of war recommended to call in 7280 militia-men, from New-Hampshire or Connecticut. This number, added to the regular army before Boston, would have made an operating force of about 17,000 men. The eyes of all were fixed on general Washington, and from him it was unreason- ably expected that he would, by a bold ex- ertion, free the town of Boston from the British troops. The dangerous situation of public affairs led him to conceal the real scarcity of arms and ammunition, and with that magnanimity which is characteristical of great minds, to suffer his character to be assailed, rather than vindicate himself by exposing his many wants. There were not wanting persons who, judging from the su- perior numbers of men in the American army, boldly asserted, that if the commander- in-chief was not desirous of prolonging his importance at the head of an army, he might, by a vigorous exertion, gain posses- sion of Boston. Such suggestions were re- ported and believed by several, while they were uncontradicted by the general, who chose to risk his fame rather than expose his army and his country. Agreeably to the request of the council of war, about 7000 of the militia had ren- dezvoused in February. General Washmg- ton stated to his officers, that the troops in camp, together with the reinforcements which had been called for, and were daily coming in, would amount nearly to 17,000 men — that he had not powder sufficient for a bombardment, and asked their advice whether, as reinforcements might be daily expected to the enemy, it would not be pru- dent, before that event took place, to mak'^ an assault on the British lines. The propo- sition was negatived; but it was recom- mended to take possession of Dorchester Heights. To conceal this design, and to divert the attention of the garrison, a bom- bardment of the town, from other directions commenced, and was carried on for three days with as much briskness as a deficient stock of powder would admit. In this first essay, three of the mortars were broken, either from a defect in their construction, or more probably from ignorance of the proper mode of using them. The night of the 4th of March was fixed upon for taking possession of Dorchester Heights. A covering-party of about 800 men led the way ; these were followed by the carts with the intrenching tools, and 1200 of a working-party, commanded by general Thomas. In the rear, there were 164 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. more than 200 carts, loaded with fascines and hay in bundles. While the cannon were playing" in other parts, the greatest silence was kept by this working-party. The ac- tive zeal of the provincials completed lines of defence by the morning, which astonished the garrison. The difference between Dor- chester Heights on the evening of the 4th, and the morning of the 5th, seemed to re- alize the tales of romance. The admiral informed general Howe, that if the Ameri- cans kept possession of these heights, he would not be able to keep one of his majesty's ships in the harbor. It was therefore determin- ed in a council of war, to attempt to dislodge them. An engagement was hourly expected. It was intended by general Washington, in that case, to force his way into Boston with 4000 men, who were to have embarked at the mouth of Cambridge river. The militia had come forward with great alertness, each bringing three days' provision, in expecta- tion of an immediate assault The men were in high spirits, and impatiently waiting for the appeal. In a few days after, a flag came out of Boston with a paper signed by four select- men, informing, " that they had applied to general Robertson, who, on application to general Howe, was authorized to assure them that he had no intention of burning the town, unless the troops under his com- mand were molested during their embarka tion, or at their departure, by the armed "orce without." When this paper was pre- sented to general Washington, he replied, " that as it was an unauthenticated paper, and without an address, and not obligatory on general Howe, he could take no notice of it;" but at the same time intimated his good wishes for the security of the town. A proclamation was issued by general Howe, ordering all woollen and linen goods to be delivered to Crean Brush, Esq. Shops were opened and stripped of their goods. A licentious plundering took place ; much was carried off, and more was wantonly destroy- ed. These irregularities were forbidden in orders, and the guilty threatened with death, but nevertheless, every mischief which dis- appointed malice could suggest, was com- mitted. The British, amounting to more than 7000 men, evacuated Boston on the 17th of March, leaving their barracks standmg, and also a number of pieces of cannon spiked, four large iron sea-mortars, and stores to the value of 30,000?. They demolished the cas- tle, and knocked off the trunnions of the cannon. Various incidents caused a delay of nine days after the evacuation, before they left Nantasket-road. The evacuation of Boston had been pre- Tiously detennined upon by the British min- istry, from principles of political expedience. Being resolved to carry on the war for pur- poses affecting all the colonies, they con- ceived a central position to be preferable to Boston. Reasoning of this kind had induced the adoption of the measure, but the Ameri- can works on Roxbury expedited its execu- tion. The abandonment of their friends, and the withdrawing their forces from Boston, was the first act of a tragedy in which evacuations and retreats were the scenes which most frequently occurred, and the epilogue of which was a total evacuation of the United States. SIEGE OF QUEBEC RAISED. Though congress and the states made great exertions to support the war in Canada, yet from the fall of Montgomery their in- terest in that colony daily declined. The reduction of Quebec was an object to which their resources were inadequate. Their un- successful assault on Quebec made an im- pression both on the Canadians and Indians unfavorable to their views. By the first of May, so many new troops had arrived, that the American army, in name, amounted to 3000, but from the prevalence of the small- pox, there were only 900 fit for duty. The increasing number of invalids retarded their military operations, and discouraged their friends, while the opposite party was buoyed up with the expectation that the advancing season would soon bring them relief On the 5th of May, the van of the British force, destined for the relief of Quebec, made good its passage through the ice up the river St. Laurence. The expectation of their coming had for some time damped the hopes of the besiegers, and had induced them to think of a retreat. The day before the first of the British reinforcements ar- rived, that measure was resolved upon by a council of war, and arrangements were made for carrying it into execution. Governor Carleton was too great a profi- cient in the art of war, to delay seizing the advantages which the consternation of the besiegers, and the arrival of a reinforcement afforded. A small detachment of soldiers and marines, from the ships which had just ascended the river St. Laurence, being landed and joined to the garrison in Quebec, he marched out at their head to attack the Americans. On his approach, he found everything in confusion ; the late besiegers, abandoning their artillery and military stores, had in great precipitation retreated. In this manner, at the expiration of five months, the mixed siege and blockade of Quebec was raised. The reputation acquired by general Carle- ton in his military character, for bravely and judiciously defending the province com- mitted to his care, was exceeded by the su- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 165 perior applause, merited from the exercise of the virtues of humanity and generosity. Among the numerous sick in the American hospitals, several, incapable of being moved, were left behind. The victorious general proved himself worthy of success, by his treatment of these unfortunate men ; he not only fed and clothed them, but permitted them, when recovered, to return home. Ap- prehending that fear might make some con- ceal themselves in the woods, rather than, by applying for relief, make themselves known, he renjoved their doubts by a procla- mation, [May 10th] in which he engaged, " that as soon as their health was restored, they should have free liberty of returning to their respective provinces." This humane line of conduct was more injurious to the views of the leaders in the American coun- cils, than the severity practised by other British commanders. The truly politic, as well as humane, general Carleton, dismissed these prisoners, after liberally supplying their wants, with a recommendation, "to go home, mind their farms, and keep them- selves and their neighbors from all participa- tion in the unhappy war." The small force which arrived at Quebec in May, was followed by several British regiments, together with the Brunswick troops, in such a rapid succession, that in a few weeks the whole was estimated at thir- teen thousand men. The American? retreated forty-five miles before they stopped. After a short halt, they proceeded to the Sorel, at which place they threw up some slight works for their safety. They were there joined by some battalions coming to reinforce them. About this time, general Thomas, the commander-in-chief in Canada, was seized with the small-pox, and died ; having forbidden his men to inoculate, he conformed to his own rule, and refused to avail himself of that precaution. On his death, the command devolved at first on general Arnold, and afterwards on general Sullivan. It soon became evident that the Americans must abandon the whole province of Canada. The possession of Canada so eminently favored the plans of defence adopted by con- gress, that the province was evacuated with great reluctance. The Americans were not only mortified at the disappointment of their favorite scheme, of annexing it as a four- teenth link in the chain of their confederacy, but apprehended the most serious conse- quences from the ascendency of the British power in that quarter. Anxious to preserve a footing there, they had persevered for a long time in stemming the tide of unfavor- able events. General Gates was about this time ap- Dohated to command in Canada, but on com- ing to the knowledge of the late events in that province, he determined to stop short within the limits of New- York. The scene was henceforth reversed. Instead of medi- tating the recommencement of offensive op- erations, that army which had lately excited so much terror in Canada, was called upon to be prepared for repelling an invasion threatened from that province. The attention of the Americans being ex- clusively fixed on plans of defence, their general officers commanding in the northern department were convened to deliberate on the place and means most suitable for that purpose. To form a judgment on this sub- ject, a recollection of the events of the late war between France and England was of advantage. The same ground was to be fought over, and the same posts to be again contended for. On the confines of I^ke George and Lake Champlain, two inland seas, which stretch almost from the sources of Hudson's river to the St. Laurence, are situated the famous posts of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. These are of primary neces- sity to any power which contends for the possession of the adjacent country, for they afford the most convenient stand either for its annoyance or defence. In the opinion of some American officers. Crown Point, to which the army on the evacuation of Canada had retreated, was the most proper place for erecting works of defence ; but it was other- wise determined by the council convened on this occasion. It was also by their advice resolved to move lower down, and to make the principal work on the strong ground east of Ticonderoga, and especially by every means to endeavor to maintain a naval supe- riority on Lake Champlain. In conformity to these resolutions, general Gates, witli about twelve thousand men, which collected in the course of the summer, was fixed in command of Ticonderoga, and a fleet was constructed at Skenesborough. This was carried on with so much rapidity, that in a short time tliere were afloat in Lake Cham- plain, one sloop, three schooners, and six gondolas, carrying in the whole fifty-eight guns, eighty-six swivels, and four hundred and forty men. Six other vessels were also nearly ready for launching at the same time. The fleet was put under the command of general Arnold, and he was instructed by general Gates to proceed beyond Crown Point, down Lake Champlain to the Split Rock ; but most peremptorily restrained from advancing any farther, as security against an apprehended invasion was the ultimate end of the armament. AMERICANS DEFEATRD ON LAKE CHAM- PLAIN. The expulsion of the American invaders from Canada was but a part of the British 166 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. designs in that quarter. They urged the pursuit no farther than St. John's, but indulg ed the hope of being soon in a condition for passing the lakes, and penetrating through the country to Albany, so as to form a com munication with New- York. The objects they had in view were great, and the obsta- cles in the way of their accomplishment equally so. Before they could advance with any prospect of success, a fleet superior to that of tlie Americans on the lakes was to be constructed. The materials of some large vessels were, for this purpose, brought from England, but their transportation, and the labor necessary to put them together, re- quired both time and patience. The spirit of the British commanders rose in proportion to the difficulties which were to be encoun- tered. Nevertheless it was so late as the month of October before their fleet was pre- pared to face the American naval force on Lake Champlain. The former consisted of the ship Inflexible, mounting eighteen twelve pounders, which was so expeditiously con- structed, that she sailed from St. John's twenty-eight days afl;er laying her keel ; one schooner mounting fourteen, and another twelve six pounders, a flat-bottomed radeau carrying six twenty-four and six twelve pounders, besides howitzers, and a gondola with seven nine pounders. There were also twenty smaller vessels with brass field- pieces, from nine to twenty-four pounders, or with howitzers. Some long-boats were furnished in the same manner. An equal number of large boats acted as tenders. Be- sides these vessels of war, there was a vast number destined for the transportation of the army, its stores, artillery, baggage, and pro- visions. The whole was put under the command of captain Pringle. The naval force of the Americans, from the deficiency of means, was far short of what was brought against them. No one step could be taken towards ac- complishing the designs of the British, on the northern frontiers of New- York, till they had the command of Lake Champlain. With this view their fleet proceeded up the lake, and on the eleventh of October engaged the Americans. The wind was so unfavorable to the British, that their ship Inflexible, and some other vessels of force, could not be brought to action. This lessened the in- equality between the contending fleets so much, that the principal damage sustained by the Americans was the loss of a schooner and gondola. At the approach of night the action was discontinued. The vanquished took the advantage which the darkness af- forded to make their escape. This was effected by general Arnold with great judg- ment and ability. By the next morning the whole fleet under his command was out of sight. The British pursued with all the sail they could crowd. The wind having become more favorable, they overtook the Americans, and on the seventeenth of Oc- tober brought them to action near Crown Point. A smart engagement ensued, and was well supported on both sides for about two hours. Some of the American vessels which were most ahead escaped to Ticon- deroga. Two galleys and five gondolas re- mained, and resisted an unequal force with a spirit approaching to desperation. One of the galleys struck and was taken. General Arnold, though he knew that to escape was impossible, and to resist unavailing, yet, in- stead of surrendering, determined that his people should not become prisoners, nor his vessels a reinforcement to the British. This spirited resolution was executed with a judgment equal to the boldness with which it had been adopted. He ran the Congress ga,lley, on board of which he was, together with the five gondolas, on shore, in such a position as enabled him to land his men and blow up the vessels. In the execution of this perilous enterprise, he paid a romantic attention to a point of honor. He did not quit his own galley till she was in flames, lest the British should board her and strike his flag. The American naval force being nearly destroyed, the British had undisputed pos- session of Lake Champlain. On this event a few continental troops, which had been at Crown Point, retired to their main body at Ticonderoga. General Carleton took pos- session of the ground from which they had retreated, and was there soon joined by his army. He sent out several reconnoitring parties, and at one time pushed forward a strong detachment on both sides of the lake, which approached near to Ticonderoga. Some British vessels appeared at the same time, within cannon-shot of the American works at that place. It is probable he had it in contemplation, if circumstances favor- ed, to reduce the post, and that the apparent strength of the works restrained him from making the attempt, and induced his return to Canada. UNSUCCESSFUL ATTACK ON CHARLES- TOWN. The command of the forces which was destined to make an impression on the south- ern colonies, was by the British ministry committed to general Clinton and Sir Peter Parker ; the former with a small force hav- ing called at New- York, and also visited in Virginia lord Dunmore, the late royal gover- nor of that colony, and finding that nothing could be done at either place, proceeded to Cape Fear river. At Cape Fear a junction was formed be- tween Sir Henry Clinton and Sir Peter GEORGE ni 1760—1820. 167 Parker. They concluded to attempt the re- duction of Charlestown, as being, of all places within the line of their instructions, the object at which " they could strike with the greatest prospect of advantage. They had 2800 land forces, which they hoped, with the co-operation of their shipping, would be fully sufficient. For some months every exertion had been made by the Americans to put the colony of South Carolina, and especially its capital, Charlestown, in a respectable posture of de- fence. In subserviency to this view, works had been erected on Sullivan's Island, which is situated so near the channel leading up to the town, as to be a convenient post for an- noying vessels approaching it On the 18th of July Sir Peter Parker at- tacked the fort on that island, with two fifty- gun ships, the Bristol and Experiment, four frigates, the Active, Acteon, Solebay, and Syren, each of 28 guns ; the Sphynx of 20 guns, the Friendship armed vessel of 22 guns, the Ranger sloop, and Thunder bomb, each of 8 guns. On the fort were mounted 26 cannon, 26, 18, and 9 pounders. The at- tack commenced between ten and eleven in the forenoon, and was continued for upwards of ten hours. The garrison, consisting of 375 regulars and a few militia, under the command of colonel Moultrie, made a most gallant defence. They fired deliberately, for the most part took aim, and seldom missed their object. The ships were torn almost to pieces, and the killed and wounded on board exceeded 200 men. The loss of the garri- son was only ten men killed, and 22 wound- ed. The fort being built of palmetto, was little damaged ; the shqt which struck it were ineffectually buried in its sofl wood. General Clinton had, some time before the engagement, landed with a number of troops on Long-Island, and it was expected that he would have co-operated with Sir Peter Par- ker, by crossing over the narrow passage which divides the two islands, and attacking the fort in it^ unfinished rear ; but the ex- treme danger to which he must unavoidably have exposed his men, induced him to de- cline the perilous attempt. Colonel Thom- son, with 7 or 800 men, was stationed at the east end of Sullivan's Island, to oppose their crossing. No serious attempt was made to land, either from the fleet, or the detachment commanded by Sir Henry Clinton. The firing ceased in the evening, and soon after the ships slipped their cables ; before morn- ing they had retired about two miles from the island. Within a few days more the troops reimbarked, and the whole sailed for New-York. The thanks of congress were given to general Lee, who had been sent on by congress to take the command in Caroli- na, and a^so to colonels Moultrie and Thom- son, for their good conduct on this memora- ble day. In compliment to the commanding officer, the fort from that time was called Fort Moultrie. By the repulse of this armament, the southern states obtained a respite from the calamities of war for two years and a half The defeat the British experienced at Charlestown, seemed in some measure to counterbalance the unfavorable impression, made by their subsequent successes to the northward. The effects of this victory, in animating the Americans, were much greater than could be warranted by the circumstances of the action. As it was the first attack made by the British navy, its unsuccessful issue inspired a confidence which a more exact knowledge of military calculations would have corrected. The circumstance of its happening in the early part of the war, and in one of the weaker provinces, were instru- mental in dispelling the gloom which over- shadowed the minds of many of the colo- nists on hearing of the powerful fleets and numerous armies which were coming against them. PREPARATIONS AGAINST NEW- YORK. The command of the forces which was destined to operate against New- York, in this campaign, was given to admiral lord Howe, and his brother Sir William, officers who, as well from their personal characters, as the known bravery of their family, stood high in the confidence of the British nation. To this service was allotted a very powerful army, consisting of about 30,000 men. This force was far superior to anything that America had hitherto seen. The troops were amply provided with artillery, military stores, and warlike materials of every kind, and were supported by a numerous fleet The admiral and general, in addition to their military powers, were appointed commis- sioners for restoring peace to the colonies. General Howe having in vain waited two months at Halifax for his brother, and the expected reinforcements from England, im- patient of farther delays, on the 10th of June sailed from that harbor, with the force with which he had previously commanded in Boston, and directing his course towards New- York, arrived in the latter end of June oflT Sandy Hook. Admiral lord Howe, with part of the reinforcement from England, ar- rived at Halifax soon after his brother's de- parture. Without dropping anchor he fol- lowed, and soon after joined him near Staten Island. The British general, on his approach, found every part of New- York island, and the most exposed parts of Long-Island, forti- fied and well defended by artillery. About fifly British transports anchored near Staten Island, which had not been so much the ob- 168 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ject of attention. Tke inhabitants, either from fear, policy, or affection, expressed great joy on the arrival of the royal forces. Gen- eral Howe was there met by Tryon, late governor of the province, and by several of the loyalists, who had taken refuge with him in an armed vessel. He was also joined by about sixty persons from New-Jersey, and 200 of the inhabitants of Staten Island were embodied as a royal militia. From these appearances, great hopes were indulged that as soon as the army was in a condition to penetrate into the country, and protect the loyalists, such numbers would flock to their standard as wotild facilitate the attainment of the objects of the campaign. DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. While such wero the arrangements of tJie British generals, a bold and decisive measure was taken by their opponents, which gave a new complexion to the con- test, and was soon productive of the most important consequences. We speak of the declaration of independence. The public mind had been long prepared by pamphlets and harangues for this import- ant step. But in the people the eagerness for independence resulted more from feeling than reasoning. The advantages of an un fettered trade, the prospect of honors and emoluments in administering a new govern ment, were of themselves insufficient mo- tives for adopting this bold measure. But what was wanting from considerations of this kind, was made up by the perseverance of Great Britain in her schemes of coercion and conquest. The determined resolution of the mother-country to subdue the colo- nists, together with the plans she adopted for accomplishing that purpose, and their equally determined resolution to appeal to Heaven rather than submit, made a declara- tion of independence as necessary in 1776, as was the non-importation agreement of 1774, or the assumption of arms in 1775, The last naturally resulted from the first The revolution was not forced on the people by ambitious leaders grasping at supreme power, but every measure of it was forced on congress, by the necessity of the case raid the voice of the people. The motion for declaring the colonies free and independent was first made m congress by Richard Henry Lee of Virginia ; he was warranted in making this motion by the par- ticular instructions of his immediate con- stituents, and also by the general voice of the people of all the states. The debates were continued for some time, and with {»Teat animation. In these John Adams, and .Fohn Dickinson took leading and opposite parts. The former strongly urged the im- mediate dissolution of all political connexion of the colonies with Great Britain, from the voice of the people, from the necessity of the measure in order to obtain foreign as- sistance, from a regard to consistency, and from the prospects of glory and happiness, which opened beyond the war, to a free and independent people. Dickinson urged that the present time was improper for the de- claration of independence, that the war might be conducted with equal vigor with- out it, and that it would divide the Ameri- cans, and unite the people of Great Britain against them. He then proposed that some assurance should be obtained of assistance from a foreign power, before they renounced their connexion with Great Britain, and tha the declaration of independence should b the condition to be offered for this assistance. He likewise stated the disputes that existed between several of the colonies, and pro- posed that some measures for the settlement of them should be determined upon, before they lost sight of that tribunal which had hitherto been the umpire of all their difl^er- ences. After a fiill discussion, the measure of de- claring the colonies free and independent was approved, by nearly an unanimous vote. The anniversary of the day on which this great event took place, has ever since been consecrated by the Americans to religious gratitude and social pleasures ; it is consid- ered by them as the birth-day of their free- dom. The act of the united colonies for sepa- rating themselves from the government of Great Britain, and declaring their independ- ence, was expressed in the following words : "When, in tlie course of human evente, it becomes necessary for one people to dis- solve the political bands which have con- nected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of na- ture and of nature's God entitle them, a de- cent respect to the opinions of mankind re- quires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. " We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ; that they are endowed by their Creator with certaui unalienable rights ; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers frqm the consent of the governed ; that whenever any form of government be- comes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organ- izing its power in such form, as to thera shall seem most likely to effect tlieir safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dic- tate that governments long established GEORGE III. 1760—1820. KiU siiould not be changed for light and transient causes ; and accordingly all experience hath shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursu- ing invariably the same object, evinces a de- sign to reduce them under absolute despot- ism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these col- onies, and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former sys- tems of government. The history of the present king of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an ab- solute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world. "He has refused his assent to laws the most wholesome and necessary for the pub- lic good. " He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of unmediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained ; and when so sus- pended he has utterly neglected to attend to them. "He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of peo- ple, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legisla- ture, a right inestimable to them, and for- midable to tyrants only. " He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and dis- tant from the depository of their public rec- ords, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures. " He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing, with manly firm- ness, his invasions on the rights of the peo- ple. "He has refused, for a long time after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elect- ed; whereby the legislative powers, inca- pable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise ; the state remaining in the mean tune exposed to all the danger of invasion from without, and convulsions within. " He has endeavored to prevent the popu- lation of these states, for that purpose ob- structing the laws for naturalization of for- eigners ; refusing to pass others to encour- age their migration hither, and raising tlie conditions of new appropriations of lands. " He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers. " He has made judges dependent on his Vol. IV. 15 will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. " He has erected a multitude of new of- fices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. " He has kept among us, in time of peace, standing armies, without the consent of our legislatures. " He has affected to render the military independent of, and superior to, the civil power. " He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitu- tion, and unacknowledged by our laws ; giv- ing his assent to their acts of pretended legislation : " For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us : "For protecting them, by a mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states : " For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world : "For imposmg taxes on us without our consent : " For depriving us, in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury : " For transporting us beyond tlie seas to be tried for pretended offences : " For abolishing the free system of Eng- lish laws in a neighboring province, estab- lishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries, so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these colonies : " For taking away our charters, abolish- ing our most valuable laws, and altering fim- damentally the form of our governments : "For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with pow- er to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. " He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection, and waging war against us. " He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. "He is, at this time, transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation, and tyranny already begun, with circumstances of cru- elty and perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civUized nation. " He has constrained our fellow-citizens, taken captive on the high seas, to bear arms against their country, to become the execu- tioners of their friends and bretlu-en, or to fall themselves by their hands. "He has excited domestic insurrections among us, and has endeavored to bring on 170 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the inhabitants of our frontiers the merci- .ess Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes, and conditions. " In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most hum- ble terms. Our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people. " Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts made by their legislature, to extend an unwarrant- able jurisdiction over us. We have remind- ed them of the circumstances of our emi- gration and settlement here. We have ap- pealed to their native justice and magnan- imity, and we have conjured them, by the ties of our common kindred, to disavow these usurpations, which would inevitably interrupt our connexions and correspond- ence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace, friends. " We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in general con- gress assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name and by authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colo- nies are, and of right ought to be, free and INDEPENDENT STATES ; that they are absolv- ed from all allegiance to the British crown ; and that all political connexion between them and the state of Great Britain is and ought to be totally dissolved ; and that, as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor. " John Hancock, President." NKVV GOVERNMENT ARRANGEMENTS. From the promulgation of this declara- tion, everything assumed a new form. The Americans no longer appeared in the char- acter of subjects in arms against their sove- reign, but as an independent people, repel- ling the attacks of an invading foe. The propositions and supplications for reconcilia- tion were done away. The dispute was brought to a single point, whether the late British colonies should be conquered prov- inces, or free and independent states. All political connexion between Great Britain and her colonies being dissolved, the institution of new forms of government oe- came unavoidable. The necessity of this was so urgent, that congress, before the declaration of independence, had recom- mended to the respective assemblies and conventions of the United States to adopt such governments as should, in their opinion, best conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents. During more than twelve months the colonists had been held together by the force of ancient habits, and by laws under the simple style of recom- mendations. The impropriety of proceeding ui courts of justice by the authority of a sovereign against whom the colonies were in arms, was self-evident. The impossibility of governing for any length of time, three millions of people, by the ties of honor, without the authority of law, was equally apparent The rejection of British sove- reignty therefore drew after it the necessity of fixing on some other principle of govern- ment. The genius of the Americans, theu- republican habits and sentiments, naturally led them to substitute the majesty of the people in lieu of discarded royalty. The kingly office was dropped, but in most of the subordinate departments of government, ancient forms and names were retained. Such a portion of power had at all times been exercised by the people and their re- presentatives, that the change of sovereignty was hardly perceptible, and the revolution took place without violence or convulsion. Popular elections elevated private citizens to the same offices which had formerly been conferred by royal appointment. The people felt an uninterrrupted continuation of the blessings of law and government under old names, though derived from a new sove- reignty, and were scarcely sensible of any change in their political constitution. The checks and balances which restrained the popular assemblies under the royal govern- ment, were partly dropped and partly re- tained, by substituting something of the same kind. The temper of the people would not permit that any one man, however ex- alted by office, or distinguished by abilities, should have a negative on the declared sense of a majority of their representatives : but the experience of all ages had taught them the danger of lodging all power in one body of men. A second branch of legisla- ture, consisting of a few select persons, under the name of senate or council, was therefore constituted in eleven of the thir- teen states, and their concurrence made necessary to give the validity of law to the acts of a more numerous branch of popular representatives. New- York and Massachu- sets went one step further. The former GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 171 constituted a council of revision, consisting of the governor and the heads of judicial departments, on whose objecting to any pro- posed law, a reconsideration became neces- sary, and unless it was confirmed by two- thirds of both houses, it could have no ope- ration. A similar power was given to the governor of Massachusets : Georgia and Pennsylvania were the only states whose legislature consisted of only one branch. Though many in these states, and a majority in all the others, saw and acknowledged the propriety of a compounded legislature, yet the mode of creating two branches out of a homogeneous mass of people, was a matter of difficulty. No distinction of ranks existed in the colonies, and none were entitled to any rights, but such as were common to all. Some possessed more wealth than others, but riches and ability were not always asso- ciated. Ten of the eleven states, whose legislatures consisted of two branches, or- dained that the members of both should be elected by the people. This rather made two co-ordinate houses of representatives, than a check on a single one, by the mode- ration of a select few. Maryland adopted a singular plan for constituting an indC' pendent senate. By her constitution, the members of that body were elected for five years, while the members of the house of delegates held their seats only for one. The number of senators w;is only fifteen, and they were all elected indiscriminately from the inhabitants of any part of the state, ex cepting that nine of them were to be resi dents on the west, and six on the east side of the Chesapeak Bay. They were elected not immediately by the people, but by elec tors, two from each county, appointed by the inhabitants for that sole purpose. By these regulations, the senate of Maryland consist ed of men of influence, integrity, and abili- ties ; and such as were a real and beneficial check on the hasty proceedings of a more numerous branch of popular representatives The laws of that state were well digested, and its interests steadily pursued, with a peculiar unity of system ; while elsewhere it too often happened, in the fluctuation of public assemblies, and where the legislative department was not sufficiently checked, that passion and party predominated over principle and public good. Pennsylvania, instead of a legislative council or senate, adopted the expedient of publishing bills after the second reading, for the information of the inhabitants. This had its advantages and disadvantages. It pre- vented the precipitate adoption of new regu- lations, and gave an op|-)ortunity of ascer- taining the sense of the people on those laws by which they were to be bound : but it carried tlie spirit of discussion into every corner, and disturbed the peace and harmony of neighborhoods. By making the business of government the duty of every man, it drew off the attention of many from tlie steady pursuit of their respective businesses. The state of Pennsylvania also adopted another constitution peculiar to itself, under the denomination of a council of censors. These were to be chosen once every seven years, and were authorized to inquire whether the constitution had been preserved ; whether the legislative and executive branch of gov- ernment had performed their duty, or as- sumed to themselves, or exercised other or greater powers than those to which they were constitutionally entitled: to inquire whether the public taxes had been justly laid and collected, and in what manner the public moneys had been disposed of, and whether the laws had been duly executed. However excellent this institution may ap- pear in theory, it is doubtful whether in practice it will answer any valuable end. It most certainly opens a door for discord, and furnishes abundant matter for periodical al- tercation. Either from the disposition of its inhabitants, its form of government, or some other cause, the people of Pennsyl- vania have constantly been in a state of fer- mentation. The end of one public contro- versy has been the beginning of another. From the collision of parties, the minds of the citizens were sharpened, and their ac- tive powers improved ; but internal harmony has been unknown. Those who were out of place so narrowly watched those wlio vi^ere in, that nothing injurious to the public could be easily effected ; but from the fluc- tuation of power, and the total want of per- manent system, nothing great or lasting could with safety be undertaken, or prosecuted to effect. Under all these disadvantages the state flourished, and from the industry and ingenuity of its inhabitants, acquired an un- rivalled ascendency in arts and manufac- tures. This must, in a great measure, be ascribed to the influence of habits of order and industry, that had long prevailed. The Americans agreed in appointing a supreme executive head to each state, with the title either of governor or president. They also agreed in deriving the whole powers of government, either mediately or immediately, from the people. In the east- ern states, and in New-York, their govern- ors were elected by the inhabitants, in tlieir respective towns or counties, and in tlie other states by the legislatures ; but in no case was the smallest title of power exer- cised from hereditary right. New- York was the only state wliich invested its governcr with executi\e authority witliout a council. Such was the extreme jealousy of power which pervaded the American states, tliat 172 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. they did not think proper to trust the man of their choice with the power of executing their own determinations, without obliging him in many cases to take the advice of such counsellors as they thought proper to nominate. The disadvantages of the insti- tution far outweighed its advantages. Had the governors succeeded by hereditary right, a council would have been often necessary to supply the real want of abilities ; but when an individual had been selected by the people as the fittest person for discharg- ing the duties of this high department, to fetter him with a council was either to lessen his capacity of doing good, or to furnish him with a screen for doing evil. It destroyed the secrecy, vigor, and dispatch, which the executive power ought to possess ; and by making government acts the acts of a body, diminished individual responsibility. In some states it greatly enhanced the ex- penses of government, and in all, retarded its operations without any equivalent advan- tages. New- York, in another particular, display- ed political sagacity superior to her neigh- bors. This was in her council of appoint- ment, consisting of one senator from each of her four great election districts author- ized to designate proper persons for filling vacancies in the executive departments of government. Large bodies are far from being the most proper depositories of the power of appointing to offices. The assidu- ous attention of candidates is too apt to bias the voice of individuals in popular assemblies. Besides, in such appointments, the responsi- bility for the conduct of the officer is in a great measure annihilated. The concur- rence of a select few on the nomination of one, seems a more eligible mode for securing a proper choice, than appointments made ei- ther by one, or by a numerous body. In the former case there would be danger of favor- itism ; in the latter, a modest unassuming merit would be overlooked, in favor of the forward and obsequious. A rotation of public officers made a part of most of the American constitutions. Fre- quent elections were required by all, but several proceeded still farther, and deprived tlie electors of the power of continuing the same office in the same hands, after a spe- cified length of time. Young politicians suddenly called from the ordinary walks of life, to make laws and institute forms of government, turned their attention to the histories of ancient republics, and the wri- tings of speculative men on the subject of government. This led them into many er- rors, and occasioned them to adopt opinions, unsuitable to the state of society in America, and contrary to the genius of real republic- anism. The principle of rotation was carried so far, that in some of the states, public officers in several departments scarcely knew their official duty, till they were obliged to retire and give place to others, as ignorant as they had been on their first appointment. If offi- cers had been instituted for the benefit of the holders, the policy of diffusing these benefits would have been proper ; but insti- tuted as they were for the convenience of the public, the end was mar^-ed by such fre- quent changes. By confining the objects of choice, it diminished the privileges of elec- tors, and frequently deprived them of the liberty of choosing the man who, from pre- vious experience, was of all men the most suitable. The favorers of this system of rotation contended for it, as likely to pre- vent a perpetuity of office and power in the same individual or family, and as a secu- rity against hereditary honors. To this it was replied, that free, fair, and frequent elections were the most natural and proper securities for the liberties of the people. It produced a more general diff'usion of political knowledge, but made more smat- terers than adepts in the science of govern- ment. As a farther security for the continuance of republican principles in the American constitution, they agreed in prohibiting all hereditary honors and distinction of ranks. It is not easy to define the pov/or or" the. state legislatures, so as to prevent a clushing between their jurisdiction and that of the general government. On mature delibera- tion it was thought proper, that the former should be abridged of the power of forming any other confederation or alliance — of lay- ing on any imposts or duties that might in- terfere with treaties made by congress — or keeping up any vessels of war, or granting letters of marque or reprisals. The powers of congress were also defined. Of these the principal were as follows : To have the sole and exclusive right of determining on peace and war — of sending and receiving ambassadors — of entering into treaties and alliances — of granting letters of marque and reprisals in time of war — to be the last resort on appeal in all disputes between two or more states — to have the sole and exclu- sive right of regulating the alloy and value of coin — of fixing the standard of weights and measures — regulating the trade and managing all affairs with the Indians — es- tablishing and regulating post-offices — to borrow money or emit bills on the credit of the United States — to build and equip a navy — to agree upon the number of land forces, and to make requisitions from each state for its quota of men, in proportion to the number of its white inhabitants. On the fourth day after the arrival of the GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 173 British off Sandy Hook, confess ratified the declaration of independence; it was published at the head of the American ar- my, and though they were eye-witnesses of the immense force which was preparing to act against them, both officers and pri- vates gave every evidence of their hearty approbation of the decree which severed the colonies from Great Britam, and submit- ted to the decision of the sword, whether they should be free states or conquered prov- inces. PREPARATIONS FOR THE DEFENCE OF NEW-YORK. It had early occurred to general Wash- ington, that the possession of New- York would be with the British a favorite object Its central situation and contiguity to the ocean enabled them to carry with facility the war to any part of the sea-coast. The possession of it was rendered still more valuable by the ease with which it could be maintained. Surrounded on all sides by water, it was defensible by a small number of British ships, against adversaries whose v,^hole navy consisted only of a few frigates. Hudson's river being navigable for ships of the largest size to a great distance, afford- ed an opportunity of severing the eastern from the more southern states, and of pre- venting almost any communication between them. From these well-known advantages, it was presumed by the Americans, that the British would make great exertions to ef- fect the reduction of New- York. General Lee, while the British were yet in posses- sion of the capital of Massachusets, had been detached from Cambridge, to put Long-Isl- and and New- York into a posture of de fence. As the departure of the British from Boston became more certain, the prob- ability of their instantly going to New- York increased the necessity of collecting a force for its safety. It had been therefore agreed in a council of war, that five regiments, to- gether with a rifle battalion, should march without delay to New- York, and that the states of New- York and New-Jersey should be requested to furnish, the former two thousand, and the latter one thousand men for its immediate defence. General Wash- ington soon followed, and early in April fix- ed his head-quarters in that city. A new distribution of the American army took place : part was left in Massachusets, between two and three thousand were ordered to Canada, but the greater part rendezvoused at New York. Experience had taught the Americans the difficulty of attacking an army after it had effected a lodgment They therefore made strenuous exertions to prevent the British from enjoying the advantages in New-York, 15* which had resulted from their having been permitted to land and fortify themselves in Boston. The sudden commencement of hos- tilities in Massachusets, together with the previous undisturbed landing of the royal army, allowed no time for deliberating on a system of war. A change of circumstances indicated the propriety of fixing on a plan for conducting the defence of the new-form- ed states. On this occasion general Wash- ington, after much thought, determined on a war of posts. This mode of conducting military operatiwis gave confidence to the Americans, and besides, it both retarded and alarmed their adversaries. The soldiers in the American army were new levies, and had not yet learned to stand uncovered be- fore the instruments of death ; habituating them to the soimd of fire-arms, while they were sheltered fi-om danger, was one step towards inspiring them with a portion of mechanical courage. The British remem- bered Bunker's Hill, and had no small rever- ence for even slight fortifications, when de- fended by freemen. From views of this kind, works were erected in and about New- York, on Long-Island, and the heights of Haerlem. These, besides batteries, were field redoubts, formed of earth, with a para- pet and ditch. The former were sometimes fraised, and the latter palisadoed, but they were in no uistance formed to sustain a siege. Slight as they were, the campaign was near- ly wasted away before they were so far re- duced, as to permit the royal army to pene- trate into the country. The war having taken a more important turn than in the precedmg year had been foreseen, congress, at the opening of the campaign, found themselves destitute of a force sufficient for their defence. They therefore in June determined on a plan to reinforce their contmental army, by bring- ing into the field a new species of troops, that would be more permanent than the common militia, and yet more easily raised than regulars. With this view they insti- tuted a flying camp, to consist of an inter- mediate corps, between regular soldiers and militia. Ten thousand men were called for from the states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware, to be in constant service to the first day of the ensuing December. Con- gress, at the same time, called for 13,800 of the common militia from Massachusets, Con- necticut, New- York, and New-Jersey. The men for formmg the flying camp, were gen erally procured, but there were great defi- ciencies of the militia, and many of those who obeyed their country's call, manifested a reluctance to submit to the necessary dis- cipline of camps. The uncertainty of the place where the British woidd commence their operations, 174 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. added much to the embarrassments of gene- ral Washington. ATTEMPTS AT NEGOTIATION. The two royal commissioners, admiral and general Howe, thought proper, before they commenced their military operations, to try what might be done in their civil ca- pacity, towards effecting a reunion between Great Britain and the colonies. It was one of the first acts of lord Howe, to send on sliore a circular letter to several of the royal governors in America, informing them of the late act of parliament, "for restoring peace to the colonies, and granting pardon to such as should deserve mercy," and de- siring them to publish a declaration which accompanied the same. In this he informed the colonists of the powers with which his brother and he were intrusted, " of grant- ing general or particular pardons to all those who, though they had deviated from their allegiance, were willing to return to their duty," and of declaring " any colony, prov- ince, county, or town, port, district, or place, to be at the peace of his majesty." Con- gress, impressed with a belief, that the pro- posals of the commissioners, instead of dis- uniting the people, would have a contrary effect, ordered them to be speedily published in the several American newspapers. Had a redress of grievances been at this late hour oPi'ered, though the honor of the states was involved in supporting their late declaration of independence, yet the love of peace, and the bias of great numbers to their parent state, would, in all probability, have made a powerful party for rescinding the act of separation, and for reuniting with Great Britain. But when it appeared that the power of the royal commissioners was little more than to grant pardons, congress ap- pealed to the good sense of the people for the necessity of adhering to the act of inde- pendence. The resolution for publishing the circular letter, and the declaration of the royal commissioners, assigned a reason there- of to be, " that the good people of the Uni- ted States may be informed of what nature are the commissioners, and what the terms, with expectation of which the insidious court of Great Britain had endeavored to amuse and disarm them, and that the few who still remain suspended by a hope, founded either in the justice or moderation of their late king, may now at length be convinced that the valor alone of their country is to save its liberties." About the same time, flags v/ere sent ashore by lord Howe, with a letter directed to George Washington, Esq. which he re- fused to receive, as not being addressed to him with the title due to his rank. In his letter to congress on this subject he wrote as follows : " I would not on any occasion sacrifice essentials to punctilio ; but in this instance I deemed it a duty to my country and appointment, to insist on that respect, which in any other than a public view, I would willingly have waived." Congress applauded his conduct in a public resolution, and at the same tune directed, that no letter or message should be received on any occa- sion whatever, from the enemy, by the com- mander-in-chief, or others the commanders of the American army, but such as were di- rected to them in the characters they seve- rally sustained. Some time afler, adjutant-general Patter- son was sent to New-York by general Howe, with a letter addressed to general Washing- ton, &c. &c. &.C. On an interview, the ad- jutant-general, afler expressing his high es- teem for the person and character of the American general, and declaring, that it was not intended to derogate from the respect due to his rank, expressed his hopes that the et ceteras would remove the impediments to their correspondence. General Wash- ington replied, "That a letter directed to any person in a public character should have some description of it, otherwise it would appear a mere private letter; that it was true the et ceteras implied everything ; but they also implied anything; and that he should therefore decline the receiving of any letter directed to him as a private person, when it related to his public station." A long conference ensued, m which the adju- tant-general observed, "that the commis- sioners were armed with great powers, and would be very happy in effecting an accom- modation." He received for answer, " that from what appeared, their powers were only to grant pardon ; that they who had com- mitted no fault wanted no pardon." Soon after this interview, a letter from Howe, re- specting prisoners, which was properly ad- dressed to Washington, was received. While the British, by their manifestoes and declarations, were endeavoring to separate those who preferred a reconciliation with Great Britain from those who were the friends of independence, congress, by a simi- lar policy, was attempting to detach the for- eigners, who had come with the royal troops, from the service of his Britannic majesty. Before hostilities had commenced, the fol- lowing resolution was adopted, and circu- lated among those on whom it was intended to operate : " Resolved, that these states will receive all such foreigners who shall leave the armies of his Britannic majesty in Ame- rica, and shall choose to become members of any of these states, and they shall be pro- tected in the free exercise of their respec- tive religions, and be invested with the rights, privileges, and immunities of natives, as es- tablished by the laws of these states ; and. GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 175 moreover, that this congress will provide for every such person fifty acres of unappropri- ated lands in some of these states, to be held by him and his heirs as absolute property." The numbers which were prepared to oppose the British, when they should disem- bark, made them for some time cautious of proceeding to their projected land opera- tions ; but the superiority of their navy en- abled them to go by water whithersoever they pleased. On the 12th of July, a British forty-gun ship, with some smaller vessels, sailed up the North River, without receiving any damage of consequence, though fired upon firom the batteries of New- York, Paule's-Hook, Red- Bank, and Govemor's-Island. An attempt was made, not long after, with two fire- ships, to destroy the British vessels in the North River, but without eflfecting anything more than the burning of a tender. They were also attacked with row-galleys, but to little purpose. After some time, the Phoenix and Rose men-of-war came down the river, and joined the fleet. Every eflfort of the Americans from their batteries on land, as well as their exertions on the water, proved ineffectual. The British ships passed with less loss than was generally expected ; but nevertheless the damage they received was such as deterred them from frequently re- peating the experiment. In two or three instances they ascended the North River, and in one or two the East River, but those which sailed up the former speedily return- ed, and by their return a free communica- tion was opened through the upper part of the state. The American army in and near New- York amounted to seventeen thousand two hundred and twenty-five men. These were mostly new troops, and were divided in many small and unconnected posts, some of which were fifteen miles removed from others. The British force about New- York was increasing by frequent successive ar- rivals from Halifax, South Carolina, Florida, the West Indies, and Europe. But so many unforeseen delays had taken place, that the month of August was far advanced before they were in a condition to open the cam- paign. AMERICANS DEFEATED AT LONG- ISLAND. When all things were ready, the British commanders resolved to make their first at- tempt upon Long-Island. Tliis was pre- ferred to New- York, as it abounded with those supplies which their forces required. The British landed, without opposition, between two small towns, Utrecht and Gravesend. The American works protect- ed a small peninsula, having Wallabout Bay to the left, and stretching over to Red Hook on the right, the East River being in their rear. General Sullivan, with a strong force, was encamped within these works at Brooklyn. From the east side of the nar- rows runs a ridge of hills covered with thick wood, about five or six miles in length, which terminates near Jamaica. There were three passes through these hills, one near the narrows, a second on the Flatbush road, and a third on the Bedford road, and they are all defensible. These were the only roads which could be passed from the south side of the hills to the American lines, ex- cept a road which led round the easterly end of the hills to Jamaica. The Americans had eight hundred men on each of these roads, and colonel Miles was placed with his battalion of riflemen, to guard the road fi*om the south of the hills to Jamaica, and to watch the motions of the British. General de Heister, with his Hessians, took post at Flatbush in the evening of the twenty-sixth of August. In the following night the greater part of the British army, commanded by general Clinton, marched to gain the road leading round the easterly end of the hills to Jamaica, and to turn the left of the Americans. He arrived about two hours before day within half a mile of this road. One of his parties fell in with a patrol of American officers, and took them all prisoners, which prevented the early transmission of intelligence. Upon the first appearance of day, general Clinton advanc- ed, and took possession of the heights over which the road passed. General Grant, with the left wing, advanced along the coast by the west road, near the narrows ; but this was intended chiefly as a feint. The guard which was stationed at this road fled without making any resistance. A few of them were afterwards rallied by lord Stirling, who advanced with fifteen hundred men, and took possession of a hill about two miles from the American camp, and in front of general Grant. An attack was made very early in tlie morning of the twenty-seventh of August, by the Hessians from Flatbush, under gene- ral de Heister, and by general Grant on the coast, and was well-supported for a conside- rable time by both sides. The Americans who opposed general de Heister were first informed of the approach of general Clinton, who had come round on their left. They immediately began to retreat to their camp, but were intercepted by the right wing under general Clinton, who got into the rear of their left, and attacked them with his light infantry and dragoons while return- mg to their lines. They were driven back till they were met by the Hessians. They were thus alternately chased and intercept- ed, between general de Heister and general 176 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Clinton. Some of their regiments never- theless found their way to the camp. The Americans under lord Stirling-, consisting of colonel Miles's two battalions, colonel Atlee's, colonel Smallwood's, and colonel Hatche's regiments, who were engaged with general Grant, fought with great resolution for about six hours. They were uninformed of the movements made by general Clinton, till some of the troops under his command had traversed the whole extent of country in their rear. Their retreat was thus inter cepted ; but several, notwithstanding, broke through, and got into the woods; many threw themselves into the marsh, some were drowned, and others perished in the mud, but a considerable number escaped by this way to their lines. The king's troops displayed great valor throughout the whole day. The variety of the ground occasioned a succession of small engagements, pursuits and slaughter, which lasted for many hours. British discipline in every instance triumphed over the native valor of raw troops, who had never been in action, and whose officers were unacquaint- ed with the stratagems of war. In the time of the engagement, and sub- sequent to it, general Washington drew over to Long-Island the greatest part of his army. After he had collected his principal force there, it was his wish and hope that Sir William Howe would attempt to storm the works on the island. These, though in- sufficient to stand a regular siege, were strong enough to resist a coup-de-main. The remembrance of Bunker's Hill, and a desire to spare his men, restrained the British general from making an assault On the contrary, he made demonstrations of pro- ceeding by siege, and broke ground within three hundred yards to the left at Putnam's redoubt. Though general Washington wish- ed for an assault, yet being certain that his works would be untenable when the British batteries should be fully opened, on the thir- tieth of August he called a council of war, to consult on the measures proper to be taken. It was then determined that the ob- jects in view were in no degree proportion- ed to the dangers to which, by a continuance on the island, they would be exposed. Con- formably to this opinion, dispositions were made for an immediate retreat. This com- menced soon after it was dark from two points, the upper and lower ferries on East River. General M'Dougal regulated the em- barkation at one, and colonel Knox at the other. The intention of evacuating the island had been so prudently concealed from the Americans, that they knew not whither they were going, but supposed to attack the enemy. The field artillery, tents, baggage, and about nine thousand men, were convey- ed to the city of New- York over East River, more than a mile wide, in less than thirteen hours, and without the knowledge of the British, though not six hundred yards distant Providence in a remarkable manner favored the retreating army. For some time after the Americans began to cross, the state of the tide and a strong north-east wind made it impossible for them to make use of their sail-boats, and their whole number of row- boats was insufficient for completing the business in the course of the night. But about eleven o'clock the wind died away, and soon after sprung up at south-east, and blew fresh, which rendered the sail-boats of use, and at the same time made the passage from the island to the city, direct, easy, and expeditious. Towards morning an extreme thick fog came up, which hovered over Long- Island, and by concealing the Americans, enabled them to complete their retreat with- out interruption, though the day had begun to dawn some time before it was finished. By a mistake in the transmission of orders, the American Imes were evacuated for about three quarters of an hour before the last embarkation took place; but the British, though so near, that their working parties could be distinctly heard, being enveloped in the fog, knew nothing of the matter. The lines were repossessed and held till six o'clock in the morning, when everything except some heavy cannon was removed. General Mifflin, who commanded the rear- guard, left the lines, and under the cover of the fog got off safe. In about half an hour the fog cleared away, and the British enter- ed the works which had been just relinquish- ed. Had the wind not shifted, the half of the American army could not have crossed, and even as it was, if the fog had not con- cealed their rear, it must have been dis- covered, and could hardly have escaped. General Sullivan, who was taken prisoner on Long-Island, was immediately sent on parole, with the following verbal message from lord Howe to congress, " That though he could not at present treat with them "in that character, yet he was very desirous of having a conference with some of the mem- bers, whom he would consider as private gentlemen — that he, with his brother the general, had full power to compromise the dispute between Great Britain and America, upon terms advantageous to both — that he wished a compact might be settled at a time when no decisive blow was struck, and neither party could say it was compelled to enter into such agreement — that were they disposed to treat, many things which they had not yet asked, might and ought to be granted ; and that if upon conference they found any probable ground of accommoda- tion, the authority of congress would be af- GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 177 terwards acknowledged, to render the treaty complete." Three days after this message was received, general Sullivan was request- ed to inform lord Howe, " That congress be- ing the representatives of the free and inde- pendent states of America, they cannot with propriety send any of their members to con- fer with his lordship in their private char- acters ; but that, ever desirous of establish- ing peace on reasonable terms, they will send a committee of their body, to know whether he has any authority to treat with persons authorized by congress for that pur- pose, on behalf of America, and what that authority is ; and to hear such propositions as he shall think fit to make respecting the same." They elected Dr. Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge, their com- mittee for this purpose. In a few days they met lord Howe on Staten Island, and were received with great politeness. On their re- turn they made a report of their confer- ence, which they summed up by saying, " It did not appear to your committee that his lordship's commission contained any other authority than that expressed in the act of parliament; namely, that of granting par- dons, with such exceptions as the commis- sioners shall think proper to make, and of declaring America, or any part of it, to be in the king's peace on submission : for as to the power of inquiring into the state of America, which his lordship mentioned to us, and of conferring and consulting with any persons the commissioners might think proper, and representing the result of such conversation to the ministry, who, provided the colonies v^^ould subject themselves, might after all, or might not, at their pleasure, make any alterations in the former instruc tions to governors, or propose in parliament any amendment of the acts complained of; we apprehend any expectation from the effect of such a power would have been too uncertain and precarious to be relied on by America, had she still continued in her state of dependence." Lord Howe had ended the conference on his part, by expressing his re- gard for America, and the extreme pain he would suffer in being obliged to distress those whom he so much regarded. Dr Franklin thanked him for his regards, and assured him, "that the Americans would show their gratitude, by endeavoring to less en as much as possible all pain he might feel on their account, by exerting their ut most abilities in taking good care of them- selves." The committee in every respect maintain ed the dignity of congress. Their conduct and sentiments were such as became their character. The friends to independence re- joiced that nothing resulted from this inter- view that might disunite the people. Con- gress, trusting to the good sense of their countrymen, ordered the whole to be print- ed for their information. All the states would have then rejoiced at less beneficial terms than they obtained about seven years after. But Great Britain counted on the certainty of their absolute conquest, or un- conditional submission. Her offers there- fore comported so little with the feelings of America, that they neither caused demur nor disunion among the new-formed states. The unsuccessful termination of the action on the 27th led to consequences more seri- ously alarmmg to the Americans than the loss of their men. The army was univer- sally dispirited. The militia ran off by com- panies. Their example infected the regular regiments. The loose footing on which the militia came to camp, made it hazardous to exercise over them that discipline, without which an army is a mob. To restrain one part of an army while another claimed and exercised the right of doing as they pleased, was no less impracticable than absurd. NEW-YORK TAKEN. A COUNCIL of war recommended to act on the defensive, and not to risk the army for the sake of New- York. To retreat, subject- ed the commander-in-chief to reflections painful to bear, and yet impolitic to refute : to stand his ground, and, by suffering him- self to be surrounded, to hazard the fate of America on one decisive engagement, was contrary to every rational plan of defending the wide-extended states committed to his care. A middle line between abandoning and defending was therefore for a short time adopted. The public stores were moved to Dobb's Ferry, about 26 miles from New- York; 12,000 men were ordered to the northern extremity of New- York Island, and 4500 to remain for the defence of the city, while the remainder occupied the interme- diate space, with orders either to support the city or Kingsbridge, as exigencies might require. Before the British landed, it was impossible to tell what place would be first attacked : this made it necessary to erect works for the defence of a variety of places as well as of New-York. Though every- thing was abandoned when the crisis came that either the city must be relinquished, or the army risked for its defence, yet from the delays occasioned by the redoubts and other works which had been erected on the idea of making the defence of the states a war of posts, a whole campaign was lost to the British, and saved to the Americans. The year began with hopes that Great Britain would recede from her demands, and there- fore every plan of defence was on a tempo- rary system. The declaration of indepen- dence, which the violence of Great Britain forced the colonies to adopt in July, though 178 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. neither foreseen nor intended at the com- mencement of the year, pointed out the ne- cessity of organizing an army on new terms correspondent to the enlarged objects for which they had resolved to contend. Con- gress accordingly, on the 16th of September, determined to raise 88 battalions, to serve during the war. Under these circumstances, to wear away the campaign with as little misfortune as possible, and thereby to gain time for raising a permanent army aga nst the next year, was to the Americans a mat ter of the last importance. Though the commander-in-chief abandoned those works, which had engrossed much time and atten- tion, yet the advantage resulting from the delays they occasioned, far overbalanced the expense incurred by their erection. General Howe having prepared every- thing for a descent on New- York Island, began, on September 15, to land his men under cover of ships of war, between Kepp's Bay and Turtle Bay. A breastwork had been erected in the vicinity, and a party sta- tioned in it to oppose the British, in case of their attempting to land; but on the first appearance of danger, they ran off in con- fusion. The commander-in-chief came up, and in vain attempted to rally them. Though the British in sight did not exceed sixty, he could not, either by example, entreaty, or authority, prevail on a superior force to stand their ground, and face that inconsider- able number. Such dastardly conduct raised a tempest in the usually tranquil mind of genera] Washington. Having embarked in the American cause from the purest princi- ples, he viewed with infinite concern this shameful behavior, as threatening ruin to his country. He recollected the many de- clarations of congress, of the army, and of the inhabitants, preferring liberty to life, and death to dishonor, and contrasted them with their present scandalous flight. Extensive confiscations and numerous attainders pre- sented themselves in full view to his agita- ted mind. He saw, in imagination, new- formed states, with the means of defence in their hands, and the glorious prospects of liberty before them, levelled to the dust, and such constitutions imposed on them as were likely to crush the vigor of the human mind, while the unsuccessful issue of the present struggle would, for ages to come, deter pos- terity from the bold design of asserting their rights. Impressed with these ideas, he hazarded his person for some considerable time in the rear of his own men and in front of the enemy, with his horse's head towards the latter, as if in expectation that by an honorable death he might escape the infamy he dreaded from the dastardly conduct of troops on whom he could place no depend- ence. His aids and the confidential friends around his person, by indirect violence com- pelled him to retire. The royal army, afler a halt of six days at Frog's Neck, advanced on the 18th of October near to New-Rochelle. Afler three days, general Howe moved the right and centre of his army two miles to the north- ward of New-Rochelle, on the road to the White Plains, and there he received a large reinforcement. General Washington, while retreating from New-York Island, was careful to make a front towards the British, from East-Ches- ter almost to White Plains, in order to se- cure the march of those who were behind, and to defend the removal of the sick, the cannon, and stores of his army. In this manner his troops made a line of small de- tached and intrenched camps on the several heights and strong grounds, from Valentine's Hill on the right, to the vicinity of the White Plains on the left. On the 25th of October the royal army moved in two columns, and took a position with the Brunx in front, upon which the Americans assembled their main force at White Plains, behind intrenchments. A general action was hourly expected, and a considerable one took place, in which seve- ral hundreds fell. The Americans were commanded by general M'Dougal, and the British by general Leslie. While they were engaged the American baggage was moved off, in full view of the British army. Soon after this, general Washington changed his front, his left wing stood fast, and his right fell back to some hills. In this position, which was an admirable one in a military point of view, he both desired and expected an action; but general Howe declined it, and drew off his forces towards Dobb's Fer- ry. The Americans afterwards retired to North-Castle. General Washington, with part of his army, crossed the North River, and took post in the neighborhood of Fort Lee. A force of about 7500 men was left at North Castle, under general Lee. The Americans having retired, on the 12th of November Sir William Howe deter- mined to improve the opportunity of their absence, for the reduction of Fort Washing- ton. This, the only post the Americans then held on New- York Island, was under the command of colonel Magaw. The royal army made four attacks upon it. The first, on the north side, was led on by general Kniphausen; the second, on the east, by general Matthews, supported by lord Corn- wallis. The third was under the direction of lieutenant-colonel Sterling, and the fourth was commanded by lord Percy. The troops under Kniphausen, when advancing to the fort, had to pass through a thick wood, which GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 179 was occupied by colonel Rawling's regiment of riflemen, and suflfered very much from their well-du-ected fire. During this attack, a body of the British light infantry advanced against a party of the Americans, who were annoying them from behind rocks and trees, and obliged them to disperse. Lord Percy carried an advance work on his side, and lieutenant-colonel Sterling forced his way up a steep height, and took 170 prisoners. Their out-works being carried, the Ameri- cans left their lines, and crowded into the fort. Colonel Rahl, who led the left wing of Kniphausen's attack, pushed forward, and lodged his column within a hundred yards of the fort, and was there soon joined by the left column. The garrison surrendered on terms of capitulation, by which the men were to be considered as prisoners of war, and the officers to keep their baggage and side-arms. The number of prisoners amount- ed to 2700. The loss of the British, inclu. sive of killed and wounded, was about 1200. Shortly after Fort Washington had surren dered, lord Comwallis with a considerable force passed over to attack Fort Lee, on the opposite Jersey shore. WASHINGTON RETREATS. The garrison was saved by an immediate evacuation, but at the expense of their artil lery and stores. General Washington about this time retreated to Newark. Having abundant reason, from the posture of affairs, to count on the necessity of a farther retreat, he asked colonel Reed — " Should we retreat to the back parts of Pennsylvania, will the Pennsylvanians support us ]" The colonel replied, " If the lower countries are sub- dued and give up, the back countries will do the same." The general replied, " We must retire to Augusta county in Virginia ; numbers will be obliged to repair to us for safety, and we must try what we can do in carrying on a predatory war, and if over- powered, we must cross the Alleghany moun- Uins." While a tide of success was flowing in upon general Howe, he and his brother, as royal commissioners, issued a proclamation, in which they commanded " all persons as- sembled in arms against his majesty's gov- ernment to disband, and all general or pro- vincial congresses to desist from their trea- sonable actings, and to relinquish their usurped power." They also declared, " that every person who, within sixty days, should appear before the governor, lieutenant-gov- ernor, or commander-in-chief of any of his majesty's colonies, or before the general or commanding officer of his majesty's forces, and claim the benefit of the proclamation, and testify his obedience to the laws, by sub- scribing a certain declaration, should obtain a fiill and free pardon of all treasons by him committed, and of all forfeitures and penal- ties for the same." Many who had been in office, and taken an active part in support of the new government, accepted of tJiese of- fers, and made their peace by submission. Some who had been the most vehement in favor of independence, veered round to the strongest side. Men of fortune generally gave way ; the few who stood firm, were mostly to be found in the middle ranks of the people. When it was expected that the conquerors would retire to winter-quarters, they com- menced a new plan of operations, more alarming than all their previous conquests. The reduction of Fort Washington, the evacuation of Fort Lee, and the diminution of the American army, by the departure of those whose time of service had expired, en- cour^ed the British, notwithstanding the severity of the winter, and the badness of the roads, to pursue the remaining incon- siderable continental force, with the prospect of annihilating it. By this turn ojf affairs, the interior country was surprised into con- fusion, and found an enemy within its bowels, without a sufficient army to oppose it. To retreat was the only expedient left. This having commenced, lord Comwallis followed, and was close in the rear of general Wash- ington as he retreated successively to New- ark, to Brunswick, to Princeton, to Trenton, and to the Pennsylvania side of the Dela- ware. The pursuit was urged with so much rapidity, that the rear of the one army pull- ing down bridges was often within sight and shot of the van of the other building them up. On the day general Washington retreated over the Delaware, the British took posses- sion of Rhode-Island without any loss, and at the same time blocked up commodore Hopkins's squadron, and a number of priva- teers, at Providence. In this period, when the American army was relinquishing its general, the people giving up the cause, some of their leaders going over to the enemy, and the British commanders succeeding in every enterprise, general Lee was taken prisoner at Basken- ridge, by lieutenant-colonel Harcourt. This caused a depression of spirits among the Americans, for exceeding any real injury done to their essential interest He had been repeatedly ordered to come forward with his division, and join general Washing- ton ; but these orders were not obeyed. This circumstance, and the dangerous crisis of public affairs, together with his being alone at some distance from the troops which he commanded, begat suspicions that he chose to fall into the hands of the British. Though these apprehensions were without founda- tion, they produced the same extensive mis- chief as if they had been realities. The 180 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Americans had reposed extravagant confi- dence in his military talents, and experience of regular European war. Merely to have lost such an idol of the state at any time, v^^ould have been distressfiil ; but losing hun under circumstances, which favored an opin- ion that, despairing of the American cause, he chose to be taken prisoner, was to many an extinguishment of every hope. By the advance of the British into New- Jersey, the neighborhood of Philadelphia be- came the seat of war. This prevented that undisturbed attention to public business which the deliberations of congress required. They, therefore, on the 12th of December, adjourned themselves to meet in eight days at Baltimore, resolving at the same time, " that general Washington should be pos- sessed of full power to order and direct all things relative to the department and opera- tions of war." The activity of the British in the close of the campaign, seemed in some measure to compensate for their tardiness in the be- ginning of it. Hitherto they had succeeded in every scheme ; they marched up and down the Jersey side of the river Delaware, and tlirough the country, without any molesta- tion. All opposition to the re-establishment of royal government seemed to be on the point of expiring. The Americans had thus far acted without system, or rather feebly executed what had been tardily adopted. Though the war was changed from its first ground, a redress of grievances to a strug- gle for sovereignty, yet some considerable time elapsed before arrangements conforma- ble to this new system were adopted, and a much longer before they were carried into execution. EXERTIONS OF CONGRESS. In proportion as difficulties increased, con- gress redoubled their exertions to oppose them : on the tenth of December they ad- dressed the states in animated language, calculated to remove their despondency, re- new their hopes, and confirm their resolu- tions. They at the same time dispatched gentle- men of character and influence to excite the militia to take the field. General Mifflin was, on this occasion, particularly useful ; he exerted his great abilities in rousing his fellow-citizens, by animated and aflfectionate addresses, to turn out in defence of their endangered liberties. Congress also recommended to each of the United States " to appoint a day of sol- emn fasting and humiliation, to implore of Almighty God the forgiveness of their many sins, and to beg the countenance and assist- ance of his providence in the prosecution of the present just and necessary war." In the dangerous situation to which every- thing dear to the friends of independence was reduced, congress transferred extraor- dinary powers to general Washington, " to raise and collect together, in the most speedy and effectual manner, from any or all of these United States, sixteen battalions of infantry, in addition to those already vot- ed by congress ; to appoint officers for the said battalions of infantry ; to raise, officer, and equip three thousand light-horse, three regiments of artillery, and a corps of engi- neers, and to establish their pay ; to apply to any of the states for such aid of the militia as he shall judge necessary; to form such magazines of provisions, and in such places as he shall think proper ; to displace and appoint all officers under the rank of briga- dier-general, and to fill up all vacancies in every other department in the American armies ; to take, wherever he may be, what- ever he may want for the use of the army, if tlie inhabitants will not sell it, allowing a reasonable price for the same ; to arrest and confine persons who refuse to take the con- tinental currency, or are otherwise disaf- fected to the American cause ; and return to the slates of which they are citizens, their names and the nature of their offences, together with the witnesses to prove them: That the foregoing powers be vested in gen- eral Washington, for and during the term of six months from the date hereof, unless sooner determined by congress." In this hour of extremity, the attention of congress was employed in devising plans to save the states from sinking under the heavy calamities which were bearing them down. It is remarkable, that neither in the present condition, though trying and severe, nor in any other since the declaration of in- dependence, was congress influenced either by force, distress, artifice, or persuasion, to entertain the most distant idea of purchas- ing peace, by returning to the condition of British subjects. So low were they reduced in the latter end of 1776, that some mem- bers, distrustful of- their ability to resist the power of Great Britain, proposed to author- ize their commissioners at the court of France to transfer to that country the same monopoly of their trade which Great Brit- ain had hitherto enjoyed. On examination it was found, that concessions of this kind would destroy the force of many arguments heretofore used in favor of independence, and probably disunite their citizens. It was next proposed to offer a monopoly of certain enumerated articles of produce. To this the variant interests of the different states were so directly opposed, as to occasion a speedy and decided negative. Some pro- posed offering to France a league offensive and defensive, in case she would heartily GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 181 support American independence; but this was also rejected. The more enlightened members ot congress argued, " Though the friendsliip of small states might be purchas- ed, that of France could not." They al- leged, that if she would risk a war with Great Britain, by openly espousing tlieir cause, it would not be so much from the prospect of direct advantages, as from a na- tural desire to lessen the overgrown power of a dangerous rival. It was therefore sup- posed, that the only inducement likely to influence France to an interference, was an assurance that the United States were de- termined to persevere in refusing a return to their former allegiance. Instead of lis- tening to the terms of the royal commis- sioners, or to any founded on the idea of their resuming the character of British sub- jects, it was therefore again resolved, to abide by their declared independence, and proifered freedom of trade to every foreign nation, trusting the event to Providence, and risking all consequences. Copies of these resolutions were sent to the principal courts of Europe, and proper persons were appointed to solicit their friendship to the new-formed states. These dispatches fell into the hands of the British, and were by them published. This was the very thing wished for by congress ; they well knew, t^iat an apprehension of their making up all differences with Great Britain was the prm- cipal objection to the interference of foreign courts, in what was represented to be no more than a domestic quarrel. A resolution adopted in the deepest distress and the worst of times, that congress would listen to no terms of reunion with their parent state, convinced those who wished for the dismemberment of the British empire, that it was sound policy to interfere, so far as would prevent the conquest of the United States. These judicious determmations in the cabinet were accompanied with vigorous exertions in the field. The delay so judi- ciously contrived on the retreat through Jer- sey, afforded time for these volunteer rein- forcements to join general Washington. The number of troops under his command at that time fluctuated between two and three thou sand men. To turn round and face a victo- rious and numerous foe, with this inconsid- erable force, was riskmg nmch ; but the ur- gency of the case required that something should be attempted. The recruiting busi- ness for the proposed new continental army was at a stand, while the British were driv- ing the Americans before themu The pres- ent regular soldiers could, as a matter of right, in less than a week claim their dis- charge, and scarce a single recruit offered to supply their place. Under tliese circum- VoL.IV. 16 stances, the bold resolution was formed of recrossing into the state of Jersey, and at- tacking that part of the enemy which was posted at Trenton. HESSIANS CAI»TURED AT TRENTON. When the Americans retreated over the Delaware, the boats in the vicinity were re- moved out of the way of their pursuers. This arrested their progress : but the Brit- ish commanders, in the security of conquest, cantoned their army at Burlington, Borden- ton, Trenton, and other towns of New-Jer- sey, in daily expectation of being enabled to cross over into Pennsylvania, by means of the ice which is generally formed about that time. In the evening of Christmas-day, general Washington made arrangements for recross- ing the Delaware in three divisions ; at M'Konkey's Ferry, at Trenton Ferry, and at or near Bordenton. The troops which were to have crossed at the two last places, were commanded by generals Ewing and Cadwallader ; they made every exertion to get over, but the quantity of ice was so great, that they could not effect their pur- pose. The main body, which was com- manded by general Washington, crossed at M'Konkey's Ferry, but the ice in the river retarded their passage so long, that it was three o'clock in the morning before the ar- tillery could be got over. On their landing in Jersey, they were formed into two divi- sions commanded by generals Sullivan and Greene, who had under their command brig- adiers lord Stirling, Mercer, and St Clair. One of these divisions was ordered to pro- ceed on the lower, or river road, the other on the upper, or Pennington road. Colonel Stark, with some light troops, was also di- rected to advance near to the river, and to possess himself of that part of the town which is beyond the bridge. The divisions having nearly the same distance to march, were ordered immediately, on forcing the out-guards, to push directly into Trenton, that they might charge the enemy before they had time to form. Though they march- ed different roads, yet they arrived at the enemy's advanced post within three minutes of each other. The out-guards of the Hes- sian troops at Trenton soon fell back, but kept up a constant retreating fire. Their main body being hard pressed by the Amer- icans, who had already got possession of half their artillery, attempted to file off by a road leading towards Princeton, but were checked by a body of troops tliroun in their way. Fmding they were surrounded, they laid down their arms. The number which submitted was twenty-three officers, and eight hundred and eighty-six men. Be- tween thirty and forty of the Hessians were killed and wounded. Colonel Rahl waa 182 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. among the former, and seven of his officers among the latter. Captain Washington, of the Virginia troops, and five or six of the Americans, were wounded ; two were kill- ed, and two or three were frozen to death. Th3 detachment in Trenton consisted of the regiments of Rahl, Losberg, and Knip- hausen, amounting in the whole to about fifteen hundred men, and a troop of British light-horse. About six hundred escaped by the road leading to Bordenton. The British had a strong battalion of light infantry at Princeton, and a force yet re- maining near the Delaware, superior to the American army. General Washington, there- fore, in the evening of the same day, thought it most prudent to recross into Pennsylvania with his prisoners. The effects of this successful enterprise were speedily felt in recruiting the Ameri- can army. About fourteen hundred regular soldiers, whose time of service was on the point of expiring, agreed to serve six weeks longer, on a promised gratuity of ten paper dollars to each. Men of influence were sent to different parts of the country to rouse the militia. The Hessian prisoners, taken on the twenty-sixth, being secured, general Wash- ington recrossed the Delaware, and took possession of Trenton. The detachments v/hich had been distributed over New-Jer- sey, previous to the capture of the Hessians, immediately after tliat event, assembled at Princeton, and were joined by the army from Brunswick, under lord Cornwallis. From this position, on the second of January, 1777, they came forward towards Trenton in great force, hoping, by a vigorous onset, to repair the injury their cause had sustained by the late defeat. Truly delicate was the situa- tion of the feeble American army. To re- treat, was to hazard the city of Philadel- phia, and to destroy every ray of hope which had begun to dawn from their late success. To risk an action with a superior force in front, and a river in the rear, was danger- ous in the extreme. To get round the ad- vanced party of the British, and by pushing forwards to attack in their rear, was deemed preferable to either. The British on their advance from Princeton, about four o'clock in the afternoon, attacked a body of Ameri- cans which were posted, with four field- pieces, a little to the northward of Trenton, and compelled them to retreat. The pur- suing British being checked at the bridge over Sanpink Creek, which runs through that town, by some field-pieces which were posted on the opposite banks of that rivulet, fell back so far as to be out of reach of the cannon, and kindled their fires. The Ameri- cans were dra^vn up on the other side of the creek, and in that position remaioe-:!! till night, cannonading the enemy and receiv- ing their fire. In this critical hour, two ar- mies, on which the success or failure of the American revolution materially depended, were crowded into the small village of Tren- ton, and only separated by a creek, in many places fordable. The British, believing they had all the advantages they could wish for and that they could use them when they pleased, discontmued all further operations, and kept themselves in readiness to make the attack next morning. The next morn- ing presented a scene as brilliant on the one side, as it was unexpected on the other. Soon after it became dark, general Wash- ington ordered all his baggage to be silently removed, and having left guards for the pur- pose of deception, marched with his whole force, by a circuitous route, to Princeton. This manoeuvre was determined upon in a council of war, from a conviction that it would avoid the appearance of a retreat, and at the same time the hazard of an action in a bad position, and that it was the most likely way to preserve the city of Philadel- phia from falling into the hands of the Brit- ish. General Washington also presumed, that firom an eagerness to efface the impres- sions made by the late capture of the Hes- sians at Trenton, the British commanders had pushed forward their principal force, and that of course the remainder in the rear at Princeton was not more than equal to his own. The event verified this conjecture. The more effectually to disguise the depar- ture of the Americans from Trenton, fires were lighted up in front of their camp. These not only gave an appearance of going to rest, but as flame cannot be seen through, concealed from the British what was trans- acting behind them. In this relative posi- tion, they were a pillar of fire to the one army, and a pillar of cloud to the other. Providence favored this movement of the Americans. The weather had been for some time so warm and moist, that the ground was soft, and the roads so deep as to be scarcely passable: but the wind suddenly changed to the north-west, and the ground in a short time was frozen so hard, that when the Americans took up their line of march, they were no more retarded than if tliey had been upon a solid pavement. General Washington reached Princeton early the next morning, and would have completely surprised the British, had not a party, which was on their way to Trenton, descried his troops, when they were about two miles distant, and sent back couriers to alarm their unsuspecting fellow-soldiers in their rear. These consisted of the seven- teenth, the fortieth, and sixty-fifth regiments of British infantry, and some of the royal lih two :;.e.u-pieccB, and three GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 183 troops of light dragoons. The centre of the Americans, consisting of the Philadelphia militia, while on their line of march, was briskly charged by a party of the British, and gave way in disorder. The moment was critical: general Washington pushed forward, and placed himself between his own men and the British, with his horse's head fronting the latter. The Americans, encouraged by his example and exhorta- tions, made a stand, and returned the Brit- ish fire. The general, though between both parties, was providentially uninjured by ei- ther. A party of the British fled into the college, and were there attacked with field- pieces which were fired into it. The seat of the muses became for some time the scene of action. The party which had taken refuge in the college, after receiving a few discharges from the American field-pieces, came out and surrendered themselves pris- oners of war. In the course of the engage- ment, sixty of the British were killed, and a greater number wounded, and about three hundred of them were taken prisoners. The rest made their escape, some by push- ing on towards Trenton, others by return- ing towards Brunswick. The Americans lost only a few ; but colonel Haslet and Pot- ter, and captain Neal, of the artillery, were among the slain. General Mercer received three bayonet- wounds, of which he died in a short time. He was a Scotchman by birth, but from principle and affection had engaged to support the liberties of his adopted coun- try, with a zeal equal to that of any of its native sons. In private life he was amiable, and his character as an officer stood high in the public esteem. While they were fighting in Princeton, the British in Trenton were under arms, and on the point of making an assault on the evacuated camp of the Americans. With so much address had the movement to Princeton been conducted, that though, from the critical situation of the two armies, every ear may be supposed to have been open, and every degree of watchfulness to have been employed, yet general Washing- ton moved completely off the ground with his whole force, stores, baggage, and artil- lery, unknown to, and unsuspected by, his adversaries. The British in Trenton were 80 entirely deceived, that when they heard the report of the artillery at Princeton, though it was in the depth of winter, they supposed it to be thunder. That part of the royal army, which hav- ing escaped from Princeton, retreated to- wards New-Brunswick, was pursued for three or four miles. Another party, which had advanced as far as Maidenhead, on their way to Trenton, hearing the frequent dis- charge of fire-arms in their rear, wheeled round, and marched to the aid of their com- panions. The Americans, by destroying bridges, retarded these, though close in their rear, so long as to gain time for themselves to move off, in good order, to Pluckemin. So great was the consternation of the British at these unexpected movements, that they instantly evacuated both Trenton and Princeton, and retreated with their whole force to New-Brunswick. The American militia collected, and forming themselves into parties, waylaid their enemies, and cut them off whenever an opportunity present- ed. In a few days, they overran the Jerseys. General Maxwell surprised Elizabeth Town, and took near 100 prisoners. Newark was abandoned, and the late conquerors were forced to leave Woodbridge. The royal troops were confined to Amboy and Bruns- wick, which held a water communication with New- York. Thus, in the short space of a month, that part of Jersey, which lies between New-Brunswick and Delaware, was hotb overrun by the British, and recovered by the Americans. The victories of Trenton and Princeton seemed to be like a resurrection from ithe dead to the desponding friends of indepen- dence. A melancholy gloom had in the first twenty-five days of December over- spread the United States ; but from the mem- orable era of the 26th of the same month, their prospects began to brighten. The re- cruiting service, which for some time hatl been at a stand, was successfully renewed ; and hopes were soon indulged, that the commander-in-chief would be enabled to take the field in the spring, with a perma- nent regular force. General Washington retired to Morristown, that he might afford shelter to his suffering army. The American militia had some successful skirmishes with detachments of their adversaries. Within four days after the affair at Princeton, be- tween forty and fifty Waldeckers were kill- ed, wounded, or taken, at Springfield, by an equal number of the same New-Jersey mili- tia, which but a month before suffered the British to overrun their country without opposition. This enterprise was conducted by colonel Spencer, whose gallantry on the occasion was rewarded with the command of a regiment. During the winter movements, which have been just related, the soldiers of both armies underwent great hardships ; but the Americans suffered by far the greater. Many of them were without shoes, though marching over frozen ground, which so gashed their naked feet, that each step was marked with blood: there was scarcely a tent in their whole army : the city of Phila- delphia had been twice laid under contribu- tion to provide them with blankets : officers 184 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. had been appointed to examine every house, and, after leaving a scanty covering for the family, to bring off the rest for the use of the troops in the field ; but notwithstanding these exertions, the quantity procured was far short of decency, much less of comfort. The officers and soldiers of the American army were about this time inoculated in their cantonment at Morristown; as very few of them had ever had the small-pox, the inoculation was nearly universal. The disorder had previously spread among them in the natural way, and proved mortal to many: but after inoculation was introduced, though whole regiments were inoculated in a day, there was little or no mortality from the small-pox, and the disorder was so slight, that from the beginning to the end of it, there was not a single day in which they could not, and if called upon, would not, have turned out and fought the British. To induce the inhabitants to accommodate of- ficers and soldiers in their houses, while under the small-pox, they and their familips were inoculated gratis by the military sur- geons. Thus in a short time, the whole army and the inhabitants in and near Mor- ristown were subjected to the small-pox, and with very little inconvenience to either. Three months, which followed the actions of Trenton and Princeton, passed away with- out any important military enterprise on either side. Major-general Putnam was di- rected to take post at Princeton, and cover the country in the vicinity. He had only a few hundred troops, though he was no more than eighteen miles distant from the strong garrison of the British at Brunswick. At one period he had fewer men for duty than he had miles of frontier to guard. The sit- uation of general Washington at Morris- town was not more eligible. His force was trifling when compared with that of the British ; but the enemy and his own coun- trymen believed the contrary. Their decep- tion was cherished, and artfully continued by the specious parade of a considerable army. Throughout the campaign of 1776, an un- common degree of sickness raged in the American army. Husbandmen, transferred at once from the conveniencies of domestic life, to the hardships of a field encampment, could not accommodate themselves to the sudden change. On the eighth of August, the whole American army before New- York consisted of seventeen thousand two hun- dred and tv/enty-five men, but of that num- ber only ten thousand five hundred and fourteen were fit for duty. These numer- ous sick suflfered much from the want of necessaries; hurry and confusion added much to their distresses : there was besides a real want of the requisites for their relief RESULT OF THE CAMPAIGN. The campaign of 1776 did not end till it had been protracted into the first month of the year 1777. The British had counted on the complete and speedy reduction of their late colonies, but they found the work more difficult of execution than v/as supposed. They wholly failed in their designs on the southern states. In Canada they recovered what in the preceding year they had lost ; drove the Americans out of their borders, and destroyed their fleet on the lakes; but they failed in making their intended impres- sion on the north-western frontier of the states. They obtained possession of Rhode- Island ; but the acquisition was of little ser- vice ; perhaps was of detriment. For near three years several thousand men stationed thereon for its security, were lost to every purpose of active co-operation with the royal forces m the field, and the possession of it secured no equivalent advantages. The British completely succeeded against the city of New- York and the adjacent country; but when they pursued their victories into New-Jersey, and sul divided their army, the recoiling Any r'cnns soon recovered the greater part of what they had lost. Sir William Howe, after having nearly reached Philadelphia, was confined to limits so narrow, that the fee-simple of all he com- manded would not reimburse the expense incurred by its conquest. The war on the part of the Americans, was but barely begun. Hitherto they had engaged with temporary forces for a redress of grievances, but towards the close of this year they made arrangements for raising a permanent army to contend with Great Britain for the sovereignty of the country. To have thus far stood their ground with their new levies, was a matter of great importance, because to them delay was victory, and not to be conquered was to conquer. GEORGE in. 1760-1820. 185 CHAPTER Xin. State of Great Britain in the Summer of 1776 — Meeting of Parliament — Debate on the Proclamation of the American Commissioners — Secession of the Minority — Ha- beas Corpus Act suspended — Fire in Portsmouth Dock- Yard — Shameful Profusion of Ministers — Debates on the Augmentation of the Civil List — Address of the Speaker, Sir F. Norton, to the King — Censured by Ministry — Dispute with Hol- land — Campaign in America — Action on the Brandywine — Philadelphia taken — Battle of German-Town — American Forts taken — Progress of General Burgoyne — Ticonderoga evacuated — British repulsed at Fort Schuyler — Defeat of Colonel Baum — Actiorhs at Stillwater, <^c. — Surrender of Burgoyne — Conclusion of the Campaign. STATE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 1777. — The summer of 1776 passed in England with but little agitation of the pub- lic mind. The pompous accounts which had been detailed by ministry of the suc- cesses of our arms, amused and misled the unthinking many ; and the extensive influ- ence which they had established by means of jobs, loans, contracts, and commissions, silenced all opposition. Even the minority in both houses of parliament, though consist- ing of the most respectable of the ancient nobility of the realm, and of the best fami- lies of the landed interest, were so dispirited by continued disappointments and fruitless efforts, that they even meditated a secession from their public duty. The inattention of the British nation to the deplorable situation, in which the errors and wickedness of the ministry had involved them, is the more extraordinary, when we recollect the ever-wakeful attention of the commercial world to their own interests, and observe, at the same time, that the cap- tures made on the seas by the American cruisers were calculated at no less than one million sterling. The West India islands were also reduced to a state of almost intol- erable distress, from the failure of the usual supplies from America ; and in most of them the necessaries of life had risen to three or four times their usual price. A contemporary historian has remarked, that the speech from the throne at the opening of parliament, on the 31st October 1776, was distinguished by " an unguarded and undignified intemperance of language." Nothing, his majesty observed, could have a'Tfjrdei him so much satisfaction, as to have boen able to inform the houses, at the open- ing of this session, that the troubles in North America were at an end ; but so daring and desperate was the spirit of those leaders whose object had always been dominion and power, that they had now openly renounced all allegiance to the crown, and all political connexion with this country; they had re- 16* jected, with circumstances of indignity and insult, the means of conciliation held out to them under the authority of his majesty's commission, and had presumed to set up their rebellious confederacies for indepen- dent states. If their treason were sufi'ered to take root, much mischief must grow from it, to the safety of his majesty's colonies, the commerce of the kingdom, and indeed the present system of all Europe. One great advantage, however, would be derived from the object of the rebels having been openly avowed, and clearly understood ; we should have unanimity at home, founded in the general conviction of the justice and necessity of our measures. The two houses were informed of the recovery of Canada, and the success on the side of New-York, which, although they had been so important as to give the strongest hopes of the most decisive good consequences, would never- theless not prevent the preparations for an- other campaign. His majesty observed that he continued to receive assurances of amity from the several courts of Europe, but that nevertheless it was necessary we should be in a respectable state of defence at home. An apology was made to the commons for the unavoidable expense. The speech concluded with an assurance that his majesty had no object in this arduous contest but to promote the true interest of all his subjects. No people ever enjoyed more happiness, or live«i under a milder government, than those now revolted provinces; the improvements in every art, of which they boast, declare it ; their numbers, their wealth, their strength by sea and land, which they think sufficient to enable them to make head against the whole power of the mother-country, are ir- refragable proofs of it. — The debates on the addresses, in consequence of this speech, were long and tedious. Addresses, the echo of the speech, were brought forward in both houses; but an amendment, which was in reality another address in a totally ditlerent strain, waa 186 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. moved by lord John Cavendish in the house of commons, and the marquis of Rocking- ham in the house of lords, containing a masterly recapitulation of the manifold er- rors of that system which had caused the entire alienation, and at length the open revolt of so large a part of his majesty's once loyal and affectionate subjects. It concluded with the observation, " that a wise and prov- ident use of the late advantages might be productive of happy effects, as the means of establishing a permanent connexion be- tween Great Britain and her colonies, on principles of liberty, and terms of mutual benefit." " We should look," said this truly excel- lent and admirable address, " with shame and horror on any events that should bow them to any abject and unconditional sub- mission to any power whatsoever — annihi- late their liberties, and subdue them to ser- vile "principles and passive habits by the mere force of foreign mercenary arms." The speech from the throne, under the established and decorous pretext of its being the speech of the minister, was treated with the most contemptuous and sarcastic severi ty. " Where," it was asked, " are those mighty leaders to be found whom the Ame- ricans obey so implicitly, and who govern them with so despotic a rule 1 They have no grandees among them ; their soil is not productive of nobility; in no country are there in fact so few individuals possessed of a commanding or extensive influence ; the president of their supreme assembly was a merchant; the general of their armies a private gentleman. Nothing could be more evident than that a sense of common danger and of common suffering had driven them to the necessity of creating leaders, who were possessed only of such powers as the people had thought it expedient to intrust them with. In the same spirit of falsehood it was asserted, ' that the Americans had rejected with circumstances of indignity and insult the terms of conciliation offered them.' The truth was, that no terms had been offered them but the offer of a pardon on unconditional submission, which the min- isters well knew they would never accept nor was even this mock offer made till the whole system of irritation and oppression was completed by the injustice and cruelty of the capture act, by which they were put out of the protection of the law, and their property held out as common spoil. The position in the speech, so undeniably true ' that no people ever enjoyed greater happi- ness, or lived under a milder government, than these now revolted colonies,' implied the severest censure on those who had so wantonly and wickedly departed from a sys- tem which had produced such noble and wonderful effects." The expectation of una- nimity from the present situation of affairs was, however, said to be of all the parts of this extravagant speech the most ridiculous. " What ! shall we at last concur in mea- sures, because all the mischiefs which were originally predicted have ultimately resulted from them"? Have ministers tlie unparal- leled effrontery to call upon us to give our sanction to that fatal system which we in vain warned and implored them to shun, and which persisted in must terminate in utter ruin ]" On a division, the amendment was rejected in the house of commons by a majority of 242 to 87, and in the house of peers by 91 to 26, fourteen of whom joined in a protest, in which the proposed amend- ment was verbatim inserted, in order that it might remain as a perpetual memorial on the journals of that house. DEBATE ON THE PROCLAMATION OF THE BRITISH COMMISSIONERS IN AMERICA. In a few days after the addresses were presented, lord John Cavendish exhibited in the house a printed paper, purporting to be a proclamation of his majesty's commission- ers in America, and called upon ministers to inform him as to the authenticity of it. This being acknowledged, his lordship expressed in the strongest terms his astonishment at the contempt and indignity offered to the house, who, through the medium of a com- mon newspaper only, were at length inform- ed that they stand engaged to America to undertake a revision of all those laws by which the Americans had conceived them- selves to be aggrieved. Notwithstanding the resentment he felt as a member of the house at this ministerial insolence of conduct, his lordship said that he felt a dawn of joy break in upon his mind at the bare mention of re- conciliation, whatever color the measures might wear that led to so desirable an event. The great object of restoring peace and unity to this distracted empire outweighed so far with him all other present considerations, that he not only would overlook punctilios on this account, but even such matters of real import as would upon any other occa- sion call all his powers into action. On these grounds his lordship moved, " that the house should resolve itself into a committee, to consider of the revisal of all acts of par- liament by which his majesty's subjects in America think themselves aggrieved." SECESSION OF THE MINORITY IN PAR- LIAMENT. The opposition were strenuous in assert- ing, that the crown promised in this procla- mation more than it could grant without permission of parliament ; the crown having only a voice in the passing or repeal of laws, but no power to revise such as the parlia- ment have again and again confirmed con- GEORGE ni. 1760-1820. 187 trary to all endeavors from opposition. No- thing cari be more unjust than to pretend to disarm the Americans previous to a negotia- tion. Such a practice cannot derive a founda- tion even from the most tyrannical edicts or practices ; and after having* by sure and de- liberate degrees impelled the Americans to tlie natural protection, self-defence, to ask them to lay down their arms, and intrust themselves to their mercy, who had undone them, who had tortured them to desperation, is not more absurd than cruel, and not more unlike Britons, than unlike savages. — The question, after great animosity of debate, be- ing put, the motion was rejected by a major- ity of 109 to 47. — This event was followed by that secession, which had been long med- itated, of a great number of the members of opposition, particularly of the Rocking- ham party ; they no longer saw duty or ad- vantage to the public in wasting their time and strength in unavailing attempts to op- pose the resistless determinations of minis- try. They had long ago foretold everything that had happened ; they had made uniform efforts to prevent the impending danger, but they saw that all their efforts now served only to expose them to the resentment of a people infatuated and deluded. We may add, that few circumstances contributed more to open the eyes of the besotted people of England, than this secession. They now felt themselves at the mercy of the ministry, and deserted by all the wisdom and patriot- ism of the nation ; and the dissatisfaction which soon after broke forth in various pa- triotic meetings and resolves, may in part be attributed to this proceeding. HABEAS CORPUS ACT SUSPENDED. Soon after the recess, which continued from December the thirteenth to the twen- ty-first of January, 1777, lord North moved for leave to bring in a bill, to enable his ma- jesty to secure and detain persons charged with, or suspected of the crime of high trea- son committed in America, or on the high seas, or the crime of piracy. The bill was brought in and read the following day (Feb- ruary the 7th), and a motion made, that it should be read a second time on the 10th : But the principal enacting clause appearing in a very alarming point of view, it was strongly combated by such of the opposition as were present. This clause declared all persons taken in the act of high treason, committed in any of the colonies, or on the high seas, or in the act of piracy, or who are or shall be charged with or suspected of any of these crimes, liable to be committed to any common jail, or to any other place of confinement, appointed for that purpose un- der his majesty's sign manual, within any part of his dominions, there to be detained in safe custody, without bail, mainprize, or trial, during the continuance of the law, with a provision, however, enabling a cer- tain number of the privy-council to grant an order for admitting such persons to bail or trial. Of the few members in opposition who happened to be present, Mr. Dunning ani- madverted most severely on the bill now proposed by the minister. He expressed the utmost astonishment, that a bill of such mag- nitude and importance, which was to suspend all the functions of the constitution, should be attempted to be smuggled through a thin house under false colors, before the nation could be apprized of its danger, or their con- stituents have the smallest notice, that they were going to surrender the foundation of all their other rights, and the peculiar char- acteristic of the British government. The alarm excited by this measure re- called a few of the minority gentlemen, who had before refused their attendance, and the debates were renewed with as great vio- lence as ever. Among the manifold objec- tions to this bill, it was remarked, that it was framed with " such treacherous artifice of construction," that by the enacting claus- es, the crown was enabled, at its pleasure, to commit, not only Americans, but any other person resident in the British dominions, without bail or mainprize, to any place of confinement in Great Britam or elsewhere. Thus was the habeas corpus act, that great bulwark of British liberty, completely anni- hilated by a construction of law, which left it in the power of the crown to apprehend, on the slightest suspicion, or pretence of sus- picion, any individual against whom the ven- geance of the court was meant to be direct- ed ; and to convey them beyond the seas to any of the garrisons in Africa or the Indies, far from all hope or possibility of relief At length the minister, with that inconsistency which marked his conduct, explicitly disa- vowed as to himself all design of extending the operation of the bill beyond its open and avowed objects. He said, " that the bill was intended for America, and not for England ; that, as he would ask for no power that was not wanted, so he would scorn to receive it by any covert means; and that, far from wishing to establish any unconstitutional precedent, he neither sought nor wished any powers to be vested in the crown or its min- isters which were capable of being employ- ed to bad or oppressive purposes." He there- fore agreed to receive the amendments pro- posed ; the principal of which were in sub- stance : 1. That the clause empowering his majesty to confine such persons as might be apprehended under this act " in any part of his dominions, should be modified by the in- sertion of the words, " within the realm ;" and secondly, That an additional clause or 188 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. proviso be inserted, " that nothing in this act shall be construed to extend to persons resi- dent in Great Britain." These concessions gave extreme offence to the leaders of the high prerogative party, who had zealously defended the bill in its original state, and who now exclaimed, that they were desert- ed by the minister in a manner which seem- ed calculated to disgrace the whole measure, to confirm all the charges and surmises of their adversaries, and to fix all the odium upon them. " And it was indeed sufficiently evident (a modem writer observes) from the whole conduct of the busmess, that the min- ister, on this as on other occasions, was not admitted into the inmost recesses of the roy- al cabinet." JOHN THE PAINTER'S PLOT. While these affairs were transacting, the ministry were enabled, by a fortunate occur- rence, to raise an alarm in the minds of the people, and still farther to excite their ab- horrence of the Americans. The absurd story of a plot against the government which bad been fabricated in 1775, and on which Mr. Sayre had been committed to the Tower, was not found to answer the purposes of the ministry, and had rather contributed to over- whelm them with disgrace, than to raise their popularity. The instance we have to relate, was more fevorable to their views; either the man in question was really guilty, or the circumstances were involved in such perplexity, that it was impossible to unravel the mystery. In the latter end of the year 1776, a fire was discovered in the rope- house at the royal dock-yard of Portsmouth, which was however extinguished without commimicating to the other magazines. On the seventh of January, a fire also broke out in some warehouses at Bristol ; six or seven of which were consumed. The alarm was instantly raised of plots and incendiaries, and the suspicions of the public were at length directed to an itinerant painter of the name of John Aitken, by birth a Scotchman, but who was said lately to have returned from America, where he had resided some time. As the fire at Bristol had taken place while he was supposed to be in that city, and some suspicious circumstances in his conduct, and his solitary mode of life, had attracted attention, he was arrested soon after his departure from that place. On his examination, however, before the lords of the admiralty, nothing appeared to criminate him, but he was nevertheless committed to prison. In the mean time, every stratagem was employed to draw from him a confes- sion of guilt. Another American painter was enlisted for this purpose, who, by pre- tending to sympathize with the misfortunes of John the Painter, asserted that he had extorted from him a fiill confession of his crimes. This man was almost the sole evi- dence brought forward on the trial, and though a person of infamous character, on his testimony respecting the communications which took place in the prison, John the Painter was condemned and executed. On his way to the place of execution, he is said to have made a confession of his guilt to a certain commissioner of the admiralty, add- ing, that he had been encouraged to the un- dertaking by Silas Deane, one of the Ameri- can agents at Paris. Such are the outlines of this mysterious transaction. The fact was generally be- lieved at the time, though there were some who entertained doubts, even then, concern- ing the truth of every particular. It was thought extraordinary that John the Painter, who was certamly a man of considerable talents, and who knew how much depended upon keeping his own counsel, should un- burden himself at a few interviews to a man who was before a perfect stranger to him, and who, he might justly suspect, was sent purposely to draw from him the fatal secret. The infamous character of the witness was also severely animadverted upon ; and even the confession which he was said to have made to the commissioner of the admiralty, did not serve entirely to remove these doubts. The confession, as to its genuineness, must ultimately rest upon the veracity of that commissioner ; but we are not informed, it was said, what methods were made use of to extort that confession, or what hopes of pardon might have been held out to a mar, who, within sight of the gibbet, considered his case as desperate. The other circum- stances adduced on his trial were too slight to have determined a case where the life of a fellow-creature is depending ; and it must not be forgotten, that the poor victim was a friendless and destitute wretch, without either money or support of any kind, and whose character, from his itinerant mode of life, &c. was involved in suspicion. In a word, however guilty John the Painter might be, we trust the precedent will not operate in other cases : we trust that no person, more innocent or more meritorious, will ever be convicted on circumstantial proof, or on the testimony of such a witness as the person on whose evidence he was condemned. MINISTERIAL PROFUSION. Severe inquiries were about this period instituted in parliament, concerning the ex- penditure of the public money. The ac- counts were said to be in many places ob- scure, and, if anywhere intelligible, they were extravagant, and only calculated to enrich the avaricious contractor at the ex- pense of the public. Lord North assured the house, that great economy had been ob- served, and that in some cases the contract- GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 189 ore were losers ; but in every exigency he had been careful to make such bargains as were most advantageous for the public. The landgrave of Hesse, however, had made a demand for forty-four thousand pounds of levy-money ; this demand was unexpected, and seemingly unfair ; the minister to this replied, that the landgrave quoted the treaty of 1755 as a precedent, and was entitled to tJie advantages both of the former and pres- ent treaties, although his troops had never served in America ; the demand was unex- pected, indeed, but perfectly fair. A very severe and continued debate was daily re- newed in the committee of supply on these subjects, and the minister had scarcely fin- ished his defence, however lame, when he was under a necessity of laying before them a message from his majesty, at a tune very unfavorable for the request contained in it. On the ninth of April 1777, a message was delivered by the minister from the king, in which his majesty expressed " his con- cern in acquamting the house with the diffi- culties he labored under from the debts in- curred by expenses of the civil government, amounting, on the fifth of January preceding, to upwards of six hundred thousand pounds." And the house, on this message, resolving itself into a committee of supply, the min- ister moved, " That the sum of six hundred and eighteen thousand pounds be granted, to enable his majesty to discharge the debts of the civil government ; and that the sum of one hundred thousand pounds per annum, over and above the sum of eight hundred thousand pounds, be granted as a farther provision for the same." These propositions called forth the whole strength of opposition. The gentlemen on that side of the house, while they lamented the degrading situation of the sovereign, and tlie many distresses brought upon indi- viduals, ascribed the debt entirely to the boundless and scandalous profiasion of min- isters, and insisted that the present revenue was, without any possibility of doubt, not only sufficient to answer all the purposes of government, when under the restriction of a prudent economy, but also fully to support the grandeur, splendor, and magnificence of the crown, in a manner suitable to its own dignity, and the greatness of the nation, even in its happiest era. It was too manifest, however, that the debt had been incurred in supporting and carrying on a system of cor ruption. The opposition animadverted on the ac- counts in the most severe manner. They were fabricated, they said, to perplex, and not to give information ; the facts of which their titles announced the discovery, could not bear the light. It was observed, that the large sums of one hundred and seventy-one thousand pounds, and one hundred and four- teen thousand pounds, were charged in two lines for secret service, under the disposal of the two secretaries of the treasury, which could not but seem dangerous as well as mysterious. It was allowed to be right and necessary that the secretaries of state should be allowed money for the purpose of pro- curing foreign intelligence; but that the officers of the treasury, who can have no public connexion beyond their own office, much less any intercourse with foreign states, should be the agents for disposing of the public money in secret service, was most alarming, and had in itself sufficient evi- dence to put an end at once to all doubts as to its design or application. The expense charged under the heads of Cofferer's Office, Board of Works, and Foreign Ministers, was said to be enormous beyond measure. It now appeared, that an attempt was made to realize the wretched policy of James IL viz. the maintaining an army of ambassadors, at the same time that every transaction, either with regard to foreign or domestic affairs, proclaimed aloud the imbecility of ministers, and the folly of their negotiations. Above half a million was stated under the article of the Board of Works, without the least item to show to whom, or for what purpose it was disposed ; or on what palace, house, park, or royal garden it had been ex- pended. But leaving inquiries into past transac- tions, and deductions drawn from them, it was maintained by several members in both houses, that if the revenues proceeding from Wales, Cornwall, the dutcliy of Lancaster, Ireland, the West India islands, American quit-rents, and other sources of smaller con- sequence, were taken into consideration, and added to the civil list establishment, the crown would be found to have possessed, for several years, a revenue of more than a mil- lion sterling : that if the American quit-rents had not been lost, or could be recovered, this revenue, solely in the crown, independent of account, and free from inquiry, would, in a few years, increase in such a degree, as to afford a greater fund of treasure for private disposal than the most powerfiil and arbitrary sovereign in Christendom could boast of Though the revenues of Hanover and Osna- burgh did not come within the cognizance of parliament, they were, however, to be considered as objects of attention m all ques- tions relative to the excessive growing pow- er, and dangerous influence of the crown. Notwithstandmg these arguments, and the detestable light in which the ministry were placed by opposition on the present occasion, the grant of six hundred eighteen thousand three hundred and forty pounds, was, how- ever, carried without a division ; and soon 190 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. after that of one hundred thousand pounds additional revenue, by a great majority. SPEAKER'S ADDRESS TO THE KING. The most remarkable circumstance at- tending this extraordinary grant, was the speech made by the speaker of the house of commons to his majesty, on presenting it a few days afterwards for the royal assent. " In a time, sir," said he, " of public distress, full of diificulty and danger, their constitu- ents laboring under burdens almost too heavy to be borne, your faithful commons, post- poning all other business, have not only granted to your majesty a larg-e present sup- ply, but also a very great additional revenue, great beyond example, great beyond your majesty's highest expense ; but all this, sir, they have done in the well-grounded confi- dence, that you will apply wisely what they have granted liberally." The countenance of the king plainly indicated how little ac- ceptable was this unexpected liberty. On the return of the speaker and the attendant members, the thanks of the house were nevertheless immediately voted him ; yet not without exciting the secret and acrimo- nious resentment of the king's friends, or prerogative party ; one of whom, Rigby, took occasion in a subsequent debate to ar- raign the conduct of the speaker with un- usual vehemence, as conveying little less than an insult on the king, and as equally misrepresenting the sense of parliament and the state of the nation. The sentiments delivered at the bar of the other house, he .said, were not those of the house of com- mons ; he for one totally disclaimed them ; and he had no doubt but the majority of the house thought with him. The speaker ap- pealed to the vote of thanks which had been passed, as a proof that he had not been guil ty of the misrepresentation imputed to him : . and the minister, uneasy at the altercation, intimated his wish that the subject might not be farther discussed. But Fox, imme^ diately rising, declared, " that a serious and direct charge having been brought, the ques- tion was now at issue. Either the speaker had misrepresented the sense of the house or he had not. He should therefore, in order to bring this question to a proper and final decision, move, that the speaker of the house, in his speech to his majesty at the bar of the house of peers, did express with just and proper energy the sentiments of this house." The speaker himself declared, " that he would sit no longer in that chair than he was supported in the free exercise of his duty. He had discharged what he conceived to be his duty, intending only to express the sense of the house ; and from the vote of approbation with which he had been honored, he had reason to believe he was not chargeable with any misrepresenta- tion." The ministers now found themselves involved in a most unpleasant dilemma, and in pressing terms recommended the with- drawing of the motion. This being posi- tively refiised, Rigby moved for the house to adjourn. But the house appearing evi- dently sensible of the degradation which its dignity must sustain from any aflfront ofifered to the chair, he at length thought fit in some degree to concede ; and professed, " that he meant no reflection upon the character of the speaker, but that what he had said was the mere expression of his private opinion, and the result of that freedom of speech which was the right and privilege of every member of that house, without respect of persons ; and that, if what he had advanced was not agreeable to the sense of that house, he would readily withdraw his motion of adjournment ;" which being done. Fox's mo- tion was unanimously carried ; and, to com- plete the triumph, the thanks of the house to the speaker for his conduct in this affair was also moved, and agreed to without op- position. On the seventh of June the session was closed, and his majesty expressed in his speech his entire approbation of the conduct of parliament, lavishing upon them high and flattering compliments for the unquestiona- ble proofs they had given of their clear dis- cernment of the true interests of their coun- try. DISPUTE WITH HOLLAND. While these aflTairs were transacting in parliament, a memorial, in a very unusual style, was delivered by Sir Joseph Yorke, ambassador at the Hague, to the States-gen- eral, in which his excellency declared, " That the king, his master, had hitherto borne with unexampled patience the irregu- lar conduct of the subjects of their high mightinesses, in their interested commerce at St. Eustatia, as also in America. If," said the ambassador, " the measures which your high mightinesses have thought proper to take, had been as efficacious as your as- surances have been amicable, the under- signed would not now have been under the necessity of bringing to the cognizance of your high mightinesses, facts of the most serious nature." His excellency then pro- ceeds to state, that M. Van Graaf, governor of St. Eustatia, had permitted the seizure of an English vessel, by an American pirate, within cannon-shot of the island ; and that he had returned from the fortress of his gov- ernment the salute of a rebel flag : and the ambassador concludes, with demanding, in his majesty's name, and by his express order, from their high mightinesses, a formal dis- avowal of the salute by Fort Orange at St. Eustatia to the rebel ship, and the dismission GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 191 \nd immediate recall of the governor Van Graaf; declaring farther, that until such *jatisfaction is given, they are not to expect, that his majesty will suffer himself to be amused by mere assurances, or that he will delay one instant to take such measures as he shall think due to the interest and digni- ty of his crown. The states, offended at the imperious lan- guage of this memorial, yet acting with their usual caution, did not condescend to give an answer to the British ambassador, but or- dered count Welderen, their resident in Lon- don, to deliver into the king of England's own hand a counter-memorial, in which they complained of the menacing tone of the English court, such as ought not to take j)lace between sovereign and independent }K)wers; adding, however, "that, from the sole motive of demonstrating their regard to Iiis majesty, they have actually dispatched orders to M. Van Graaf, to render himself within the republic without delay, in order to give the necessary information respecting liis conduct ; nor do they scruple to disavow, in the most express manner, any act or mark of honor which may have been given by their officers to any vessels belonging to the colonies of America, so far as it may imply a recognition of American independence." The ministry pretended to be satisfied with this conduct, but secretly meditated a blow against the United Provinces on the very first favorable opportunity. We return now to the most important scene of action, and resume our narrative of the proceedings in America during the campaign of 1777. CAMPAIGN IN AMERICA. Soon afler the declaration of independ- ence, the authority of congress was obtained for raising an army that would be more per- manent than the temporary levies which they had previously brought into the field. h was at first proposed to recruit for the in- definite term of the war; but it being found on experiment that the habits of the people were averse to engagements for such an un- certain period of service, the recruiting of- ficers were instructed to offer the alternative of either enlisting for the war, or for tliree years. Those who engaged on the first con- ditions, were promised a hundred acres of land in addition to their pay and bounty. The troops raised by congress for the service of th? United States were called continent- als. Thouirh, in September 1776, it had been resolved to raise eighty-eight battalions, find in December following, authority was given to general Washington to raise six- teen more, yet very little progress had been m^de in the recruiting business, till afler t.iie battles of Trenton and Princeton. Even atler that pGriod, so much time was necess-a- rily consumed before these new recruits joined the commander-in-chief, that his whole force at Morristown, and the several out-posts, for some time did not exceed fif- teen hundred men ; yet, what is almost in- credible, these fifteen hundred kept as many thousands of the British closely pent up in Brunswick. Almost every party that was sent out by the latter was successfully op- posed by the former, and the adjacent coun- try preserved in a great degree of tranquil- lity. It was matter of astonishment, that the British suffered the dangerous interval be- tween the disbanding of one army and the raising of another, to pass away without at- tempting something of consequence against the remaining shadow of an armed force. Hitherto there had been a deficiency of arms and ammunition, as well as of men ; but in the spring of 1777, a vessel of 24 guns ar- rived from France at Portsmouth in New- Hampshire, with upwards of eleven thou- sand stand of arms, and one thousand bar- rels of powder. Ten thousand stand of arms arrived about the same time in another part of the United States. As the season advanced, the American army in New-Jersey was remforced by the successive arrival of recruits ; but neverthe- less at the opening of the campaign it amounted only to seven thousand two hun- dred and seventy-two men. Towards the latter end of May, general Washington quitted his winter encampment at Morristown, and took a strong position at Middlebrook. Soon after this movement was effected, the British marched from Bruns- wick, and extended their van as far as Som- erset Court-house, but in a few days return- ed to their former station. Sir William Howe, after his retreat to Brunswick, endeavored to provoke general Washington to an engagement, and left no manoeuvre untried, that was calculated to induce him to quit his position. At one time he appeared as if he intended to push on without regarding the army opposed to him. At another he accurately exammed the sit- uation of the American encampment, hoping that some unguarded part might be found on which an attack might be made that would open the way to a general engagement : all these hopes were frustrated ; general Wash- ington knew the full value of his situation. He had too much penetration to lose it from the circumvention of military manoeuvres, and too much temper to be provoked to a dereliction of it. He was well apprized that it was not the interest of his country to com- mit its fortune to a single action. Sir William Howe suddenly relinquished his position in front of the Americans, and retired with his whole force to Amboy. The apparently retreating British were pursued 192 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. by a considerable detachment of the Amer- ican army, and general Washington advanc- ed from Middlebrook to Quibbletown, to be near at hand for the support of his advanced parties. The British general immediately marched his army back from Amboy, with great expedition, hoping to bring on a gene- ral action on equal ground ; but he was dis- appointed. General Washington fell back, and posted his army in such an advantage- ous position, as compensated for the inferior- ity of his numbers. Sir William Howe was now fully convinced of the impossibility of compelling a general engagement on equal terms, and also satisfied that it would be too liazardous to attempt passing the Delaware, while the country was in arms, and the main American army in full force in his rear. He therefore returned to Amboy, and thence passed over to iSiaten Island, resolving to prosecute the objects of the campaign by another route. During the period of these movements, the real designs of general Howe were involved in great obscurity. Though the season for military operations was ad- vanced as far as the month of July, yet his determinate object could not be ascertained. Nothing on his part had hitherto taken place, but alternately advancing and retreating. General Washington's embarrassment on this account was increased by intelligence which arrived, that Burgo3nie was coming in great force towards New- York from Can ada. Apprehending that Sir William Howe would ultimately move up the North River, and that his movements, which looked south' ward, were calculated to deceive, the Amer- ican general detached a brigade to reinforce the northern division of his army. Succes- sive advices of the advance of Burgoyne fa- vored the idea that a junction of the two royal armies near Albany was intended. Some movements were therefore made by general Washington towards Peekskill, and on the other side towards Trenton, while the main army xysls encamped near the Clove, in readiness to march either to the north or south, as the movements of Sir William Howe might require. At length the main body of the royal army, consisting of thirty- six British and Hessian battalions, with a regiment of light-horse, and a loyal provin- cial corps, called the Queen's Rangers, and a powerful artillery, amounting in the whole to about 16,000 men, departed from Sandy- hook, and were reported to steer southward. About the time of this embarkation, a letter from Sir William Howe to general Burgoyne was intercepted. ThLs contained intelligence that the British troops were destined to New- Hampshire. The intended deception was so superficially veiled, that in conjunction with the intelligence of the British embarkation, it produced a contrary effect. Within one I hour after the reception of this intercepted letter, general Washington gave orders to his army to move to the southward, but he was nevertheless so much impressed with a conviction that it was the true interest of Howe to move towards Burgoyne, that he ordered the American army to halt for some time at the river Delaware, suspecting that the apparent movement of the royal army to the southward was a feint calculated to draw him farther from the North River. The British fleet having sailed from Sandy-hook, were a week at sea before they reached Cape Henlopen. At this time and place, for reasons that do not obviously occur, general Howe gave up the idea of approaching Phil adelphia, by ascending the Delaware, and resolved on a circuitous route by the way of the Chesapeak. Perhaps he counted on being joined by large reinforcements from the nu- merous tories in Maryland or Delaware, or perhaps he feared the obstructions which the Pennsylvanians had planted in the Dela- ware. If these were his reasons, he was mistaken in both : from the tories he receiv- ed no advantage, and from the obstructions in the river, his ships could have received no detriment, if he had landed his troops at Newcastle, which was 14 miles nearer Phil- adelphia than the head of Chesapeak Bay. The British fleet, after they had left the capes of the Delaware, had a tedious and uncomfortable passage, being twenty dayfe before they entered the capes of Virginia They ascended the bay with a favorable wind, and on the 25th of August landed at Turkey Point. The circumstance of the British fleet putting out to sea, after they had looked into the Delaware, added to the apprehensions before entertamed, that the whole was a feint calculated to draw the American army farther from the North Riv- er, so as to prevent their being at hand to oppose a junction between Howe and Bur- goyne. Washington therefore fell back to such a middle station, as would enable him either speedily to return to the North River, or advance to the relief of Philadelphia. The British fleet, after leaving the capes of Delaware, were not heard of for near three weeks, except that they had once or twice been seen near the coast steering southward. A council of officers convened atNeshaminy, near Philadelphia, unanimously gave it as their opinion, that Charlestown, in South Carolina, was most probably their object, and that it would be impossible for the army to march in season for its relief It was there- fore concluded to try to repair the loss of Cliarlestown, which was considered as una- voidable, either by attempting something on New- York Island, or, by uniting with the northern army, to give more effectual oppo- sition to ^QTgoyne. A small change of po- GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 193 sition, conformable to this new system, took place. The day before the above resolution was adopted, the British fleet entered the Chesapeak : the intelligence in a few days reached the American army, and dispelled that mist of uncertainty, in which general Howe's movements had been before envel- oped. The American troops were put in motion to meet the British army. Their numbers on paper amounted to 14,000, but their real effective force, on which depend- ence might be placed in the day of battle, did not much exceed 8000 men. Every ap- pearance of confidence was assumed by them as they passed through Philadelphia, that the citizens might be intimidated from joining the British. About the same time a number of the principal inhabitants of that city, being suspected of disaffection to the American cause, were taken into custody and sent to Virginia. Soon after Sir William Howe had landed his troops in Maryland, he put forth a de- claration, in which he informed the inhabit- ants, that he had issued the strictest orders to the troops " for the preservation of regu- larity and good discipline, and that the most exemplary punishment should be inflicted upon those who should dare to plunder the property, or molest the persons, of any of his majesty's well-disposed subjects." It seemed as if, fully apprized of the conse- quences which had resulted from the indis- criminate plunderings of his army in New- Jersey, he was determined to adopt a more politic line of conduct. Whatever his in- tentions might be, they were by no meajis seconded by his troops. ACTION ON THE BRANDYWINE. On the third of September, the royal army set out from the eastern heads of the Chesa- peak, with a spirit which promised to com- pensate for the various delays which had hitherto wasted the campaign. Their tents and baggage were left behind, and they trusted their future accommodation to such quarters as their arms might procure. They advanced with boldness, till they were within two miles of the American army, which was then posted near Newport. General Wash- ington soon changed his position, and took post on the high ground near Chadd's Ford, )n the Brandy wine Creek, with an intention •^f disputing the passage. It was the wish, but by no means the interest, of the Ameri- cans to try their strength in an engage- ment. Their regular troops were not only greatly inferior in discipline, but in numbers, to the royal army. The opinion of the in- habitants, though founded on no circumstan- ces more substantial than tlieir wishes, im- posed a species of necessity on the American general to keep his armjr in front of the en- emy, and to risk an action for the security 1 Vol. IV. 17 of Philadelphia. Instead of this, had he taken the ridge of high mountains on his right, the British must have respected his numbers, and probably would have followed him up the country. In this manner the campaign might have been wasted away in a manner fatal to the invaders ; but the bulk of the American people were so impatient of delays, and had such an overweening conceit of the numbers and prowess of their army, that they could not comprehend the wisdom and policy of manoeuvres to shun a general engagement. On this occasion, necessity dictated that a sacrifice should be made on the altar of pul>- lie opinion. A general action was therefore hazarded; this took place on the 11th of September at Chadd's Ford, on the Brandy- wine, a small stream which empties itself into Christmas Creek, near its conflux with the river Delaware. The royal army advanced at daybreak in two columns, commanded by lieutenant- general Kniphausen, and by lord Comwallis. They first took the direct road to Chadd's Ford, and made a show of passing it, in front of the main body of the Americans ; at the same time the other column moved up on the west side of the Brandy wme to its fork, and crossed both its branches about two o'clock in the afternoon, and then marched down on the east side of it, with the view of turning the right wing of their adversaries. This they effected, and compelled them to retreat with great loss. General Kniphausen amused the Americans with the appearance of crossing the ford, but did not attempt it until lord Cornwallis, having crossed above, and moved down on the opposite side, had commenced his attack, lOiiphausen then crossed the ford, and attacked the troops posted for its defence. These, after a severe conflict, were compelled to give way. The retreat of the Americans soon became gen- eral, and was continued to Chester, under cover of general Weeden's brigade, which came off in good order. The final issue of battles often depends on small circumstan- ces, which human prudence carmot control — one of these occurred here, and prevented general Washington from executing a bold design, to effect which his troops were ac- tually in motion. This was to have crossed the Brandywine, and attacked Kniphausen, while general Sullivan and lord Stirling should keep earl Cornwallis in check. In the most critical moment, general Washing- ton received intelligence which he was obliged to credit, that the column of lord Cornwallis had been only making a feint, and was retummg to join Kniphausen. This prevented the execution of a plan, which, if carried into eflTect, would probably have giv- en a different turn to the events of the day. 194 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. The killed and wounded in the royal army were near six hundred ; the loss of the Amer- icans was twice that number. In the list of their wounded were two of their general officers, the marquis de la Fayette, and gen- eral Woodford. The former was a French nobleman of high rank, who, animated with the love of liberty, had left his native coun- try, and offered his service to congress. While in France, and only nineteen years of age, he espoused the cause of the Ameri- cans with the most disinterested and gener- ous ardor. Having determined to join them, he communicated his intention to the Ameri- can commissioners at Paris. They justly conceived, that a patron of so much import- ance would be of service to their cause, and encouraged his design. Before he had em- barked from France, intelligence arrived in Europe, that the American insurgents, re- duced to two thousand men, were fleeing through Jersey before a British force of thirty thousand. Under these circumstances, the American commissioners at Paris thought it but honest to dissuade him from the present prosecution of his perilous enterprise. It was in vain that they acted so candid a part; his zeal to serve a distressed country was not abated by her misfortunes. Having embarked in a vessel which he purchased for the purpose, he arrived in Charlestown early in 1777, and soon after joined the American army. Congress resolved, that " in consideration of his zeal, illustrious fam- ily, and connexions, he should have the rank of major-general in their army." Indepen- dent of the risk he ran as an American of- ficer, he hazarded his large fortune in con- sequence of the laws of France, and also the confinement of his person, in case of capture, when on his way to the United States, without the chance of being acknow- ledged by any nation ; for his court had for- bidden his proceeding to America, and had dispatched orders to have him confined in the West Indies, if found in that quarter. This gallant nobleman, who under all these disadvantages had demonstrated his good- will to the United States, received a wound in his leg at the battle of Brandy wine ; but he nevertheless continued in the field, and exerted himself both by word and example in rallying the Americans. Other foreign- ers of distinction also shared in the engage- ment. Count Pulaski, a Polish nobleman, the same who a few years before had carried off king Stanislaus from his capital, though surrounded with a numerous body of guards, and a Russian army, fought with the Ameri- cans at Brandywine ; he was a thunderbolt of war, and always sought for the post of danger as the post of honor. Soon after this engagement, congress appointed him com- mander of horse, with the rank of brigadier. ! General Howe persevered in the scheme of gaining the right flank of the Americans. This was no less steadily pursued on the one side, than avoided on the other. Washing- ton came forward in a few days with a reso- lution of risking another action. He ac- cordingly advanced as far as the Warren Tavern on the Lancaster Road. Near that place both armies were on the point of en- gaging with their whole force, but were prevented by a most violent storm of rain, which continued for a whole day and night, When the rain ceased, the Americans found that their ammunition was entirely ruined ; they therefore withdrew to a place of safety. Before a proper supply was procured, the British marched from their position near the White Horse Tavern, down towards the Swedes Ford. The Americans again took post in their front ; but the British, instead of urging an action, began to march up to- wards Reading. To save the stores which had been deposited in that place, Washing- ton took a new position, and left the British in undisturbed possession of the roads which lead to Philadelphia. His troops were worn down with a succession of severe duties; there were in his army above a thousand men who were barefooted, and who had per- formed all their late movements in that con- dition. About this time the Americans sustained a considerable loss by a night at- tack, conducted by general Grey, on a de- tachment of their troops, which was encamp- ed near the Paoli Tavern. The out-posts and pickets were forced without noise about one o'clock in the morning of the twentieth of September. The men had scarcely time to turn out, and when they did, they unfor- tunately paraded in the light of their fires ; this directed the British how and where to proceed ; they rushed in upon them, and put about three hundred to death in a silent manner by a free and exclusive use of the bayonet. The enterprise was conducted with so much address, that the loss of the assailants did not exceed eight. Congress, which after a short residence at Baltimore had returned to Philadelphia, were obliged a second time to consult their safety by flight. They retired at first to Lancaster, and afterwards to York-Town. PHILADELPHIA TAKEN. The bulk of the British army being left m German-Town, Sir William Howe, with a small part, on the twenty-sixth of Septem- ber, made his triumphal entry into Philadel- phia, and was received with the hearty wel- come of numerous citizens, who either from conscience, cowardice, interest or principle, had hitherto separated themselves from the class of active whigs. The possession of the largest city in th( United States, together with the dispersioj GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 195 of that grand council wliich had hitherto conducted their public affairs, were account- ed by the short-sighted as decisive of their fate. The submission of countries, after the conquest of their capital, had often been a thing of course; but in the great contest for the sovereignty of the United States, the question did not rest with a ruler, or a body of rulers, nor was it to be determined by the possession or loss of any particular place. It was the public mind, the sentiments and opinions of the yeomanry of the country which were to decide. Though Philadel phia had become the residence of the Brit- ish army, yet, as long as the bulk of the people of the United States were opposed to their government, the country was unsub- dued. One of the first objects of the British af- ter they had got possession, was to erect batteries to command the river, and to pro- tect the city from any insult by water. The British shipping were prevented from ascending the Delaware, by obstructions, which were fixed near Mud Island. Phila- delphia, though possessed by the British army, was exposed to danger from the Ame- rican vessels in the river. The American frigate Delaware, of thirty-two guns, an- chored within five hundred yards of the un- finished batteries, and being seconded by some smaller vessels, commenced a heavy cannonade upon the batteries and town ; but upon the falling of the tide she ran aground. Being briskly fired upon from the town, while in this condition, she was soon com- pelled to siirrender. The other American vessels, not able to resist the fire from the batteries, after losing one of their number, retired. General Washington having been rein- forced by two thousand five hundred men from Peekskill and Virginia; and havhig been informed that general Howe had de- tached a considerable part of his force for Ireducing the forts on the Delaware, conceiv- ed a design of attacking the British post at prerman-Town. Their line of encampment trossed the town at right angles near its [entre ; the left wing extended to the Schuyl- till, and was covered in front by the mount- td and dismounted chasseurs. The queen's American rangers and a battalion of liffht nfantry were in front of the right. The yrtieth regiment, with another battalion of ig-ht infantry, were posted on the Chesnut Jill road, three quarters of a mile in ad- ^ce. Lord Cornwallis lay at Philadelphia, iith four battalions of grenadiers. A few ' the general officers of the American ar- y, whos-3 advice was rnquestecl on the occa- jon, unanimously recommended an attack ; |id it was agreed that it should be made in ifierent places, to produce the greater con- fusion, and to prevent the several parts of the British forces from affording support to each other. From an apprehension that the Americans, from the want of discipline, would not persevere in a long attack, it was resolved that it should be sudden and vigor- ous, and if unsuccessful to make an expedi- tious retreat. The morning was extremely foggy. — This, by concealing the true situation of the parties, occasioned mistakes, and made so much caution necessary, as to give the Brit- ish time to recover from the effects of their first surprise. From these causes the early promising appearances on the part of the as- sailants were speedily reversed. The Ameri- cans left the field hastily, and all efforts to rally them were ineffectual. Lord Cornwal- lis arrived with a party of light-horse, and joined in the pursuit ; this was continued for some miles. Soon after this battle the British left German-Town, and turned their principal attention towards opening a free communi- cation between their army and their ship- ping. Much industry and ingenuity had been exerted for the security of Philadelphia on- the water-side. Thirteen galleys, two float- ing batteries, two zebeques, one brig, one ship, besides a number of armed boats, fire- ships, and rafts, were constructed or employ- ed for this purpose. The Americans had also built a fort on Mud Island, to which they gave the name of Fort Mifllin, and erected there a considerable battery. This island is admirably situated for the erection of works to annoy shipping on their way up the Delaware. It lies near the middle of the river, about seven miles below Philadelphia : no vessels of burden can come up but by the main ship channel, which passes close to Mud Island, and is very narrow for more than a mile below. Opposite to Fort Mif. flin there is a height, called Red Bank ; this overlooks not only the river, but the neigh- boring country ; on this eminence a battery was erected. Between these two fortresses, which are half a mile distant from each other, the American naval armament for the defence of the river Delaware made their harbor of retreat Two ranges of chevaux- de-frise were also sunk into the channel. These consisted of large pieces of timber strongly framed together, in the manner usual for making the foundation of wharfs in deep water. Several large points of beard- ed iron projecting down the river wore an- nexed to the upper parts of these chevaux- de-frise, and the whole was sunk wit!i stones, so as to be about four feet under the water at low tide. Their prodigious weight and strength could not fail to effect the destruc- tion of any vessels which came upon them. 196 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN Thirty of these machines were sunk about three hundred yards below Fort Mifflin, so as to stretch in a diagonal line across the chan- nel. The only open passage left was be- tween two piers lying close to the fort, and that was secured by a strong boom, and could not be approached but in a direct line to the battery. Another fortification was erected on a high bank on the Jersey-shore, called Billingsport ; and opposite to this, an- other range of chevaux-de-frise was deposit- ed, leaving only a narrow and shoal chan- nel on the one side. There was also a tem- porary battery of two heavy cannon at the mouth of Mantua Creek, about half-way from Red Bank to Billingsport. The British were well apprized, that, without the com- mand of the Delaware, their possession of Philadelphia would be of no advantage. They therefore strained every nerve to open the navigation of that river. To this end lord Howe had early taken the most effec- tual measures for conducting the fleet and transports round from the Chesapeak to the Delaware, and drew them up on the Penn- sylvania shore, from Reedy Island to New- castle. Early in October, a detachment from the British army crossed the Delaware, with a view of dislodging the Americans from Billingsport. On their approach the place was evacuated. As the season advanced, more vigorous measures for removing the obstructions were concerted between the general and the admiral. Batteries were erected on the Pennsylvania shore to assist in dislodging the Americans from Mud Isl- and. At the same time count Donop with two thousand men, having crossed mto New- Jersey, opposite to Philadelphia, marched down on the eastern side of the Delaware, to attack the redoubt at Red Bank. This v/as defended by about four hundred men under the command of colonel Greene. The attack immediately commenced by a smart cannonade, under cover of which the count advanced to the redoubt. This place was intended for a much larger garrison than was then in it ; it had therefore become ne- cessary to run a line in the middle thereof, and one part of it was evacuated. That part was easily carried by the assailants, on which they indulged in loud huzzas for their supposed victory. The garrison kept up a severe, well-directed fire on the assailants, by which they were compelled to retire. They suffered not only in the assault, but in the approach to, and retreat from the fort. Their whole loss in killed and wounded was about four hundred ; count Donop was mor- tally wounded and taken prisoner. Congress resolved to present colonel Greene with a sword for his good conduct on this occasion. An attack about the same time on Fort Mif- flin by men-of-war and frigates was not more successful than the assault on Red Bank. The Augusta man-of-war of sixty-four guns, and the Merlin, two of the vessels which were engaged in it, got aground: the for- mer was fired and blew up ; the latter wa« evacuated. AMERICAN FORTS TAKEN. Though the first attempts of the British for opening the navigation of the Delaware were unsuccessful, they carried their point m another way that was unexpected. The chevaux-de-frise having been sunk some considerable time, the current of the water was diverted by this great bulk into new channels ; in consequence of which the pas- sage between the islands and the Pennsyl- vania shore was so deepened, as to admit vessels of some considerable draught of wa- ter. Through this passage, the Vigilant, a large ship, cut down so as to draw but little water, mounted with 24-pounders, made her way to a position from which she might en- filade the works on Mud Island. This gave the British such an advantage, that the post was no longer tenable. Colonel Smith, who had with great gallantry defended the fort from the latter end of September to the 11th of November, being wounded, was removed to the main. Within five days after his re- moval, major Thayer, who as a volunteer had nobly offered to take charge of this dan- gerous post, was obliged to evacuate it. This event did not take place till the works were entirely beaten down, every piece of cannon dismounted, and one of the British ships so near that she threw grenades into the fort, and killed the men uncovered in the platform. The troops who had so bravely defended Fort Mifflin, made a safe retreat to Red Bank. Within three days af- ter Mud Island was evacuated, the garrison was also withdrawn from Red Bank, on the approach of lord Cornwallis at the head of a large force prepared to assault it. Sora< of the American galleys and armed vessel escaped, by keeping close in with the Jei sey shore, to places of security above Phil? delphia : but seventeen of them were abai doned by their crews and fired. Thus tl British gamed a free communication b- tween their army and shipping. This eve; was to them very desirable. They had bet previously obliged to draw their provisio) from Chester, a distance of sixteen miles, . some risk, and a certain great expense. Tl long-protracted defence of the Delaware d ranged the plans of the British for the y mainder of the campaign, and consequent saved the adjacent country. About this time the chair of congress 1- came vacant by the departure of Hancos afler he had discharged the duties of tl GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 197 office, to great satisfaction, two years and five months. Henry Laurens, of South Car- olina, was unanimously elected his successor. BURGOYNE'S CAMPAIGN. While Sir William Howe was succeed- in;^ in every enterprise in Pennsylvania, a iatal reverse of fortune took place in the north, to which it will not be improper, at this period of our narrative, to direct the reader's attention. To effect a free communication between New- York and Canada, and to maintain the navigation of the hitermediate lakes, was a principal object with the British for the cam- paign of 1777. The Americans, presuming on this, had been early attentive to their se- curity in that quarter. They had resolved to construct a fort on Mount Independence, which is an eminence adjoining the strait on which Ticonderoga stands, and nearly op- posite to that fortress. They had also resolv- ed to obstruct the navigation of the strait by cassoons, to be sunk in the water, and joined so as to serve at the same time for a bridge between the fortifications on the east and west side of it ; and that, to prevent the British from drawing their small craft over land into lake George, the passage of that lake should be obstructed ; that Fort Schuy- ler, the same which had formerly been call- ed Fort Stanwix, should be strengthened, and other fortifications erected near the Mo- hawk river. Requisitions were made by the commanding officer in the department, for thirteen thousand six hundred men, as ne- cessary for the security of this district. The adjacent states were urged to fill up their recruits, and in all respects to be in readi- ness for an active campaign. The British ministry were very sanguine in their hopes, from the consequences of forming a line of communication between New-York and Canada. They considered the New-England people to be the soul of the confederacy, and promised themselves much by severhig them fi-om all free com- munication with the neighboring states. They hoped, when this was accomplished, to be able to surround them so effectually with fleets and armies, and Indian allies, as to compel them to submission. Animated with these expectations, they left nothing undone which might insure the success of tlie plans they had formed for tliis purpose. The regular troops, British and German, allotted to this service, were upwards of seven thousand. As artillery is considered to be particularly usefiil in the American wars, where numerous inhabitants are to be driven out of woods and fastnesses, this part of the service was particularly attended to. The brass train that was sent out, was per- liaps the finest, and the most excellently supplied, both as to officers and men, that 17* had ever been allotted to second the opera- tions of an equal force. In addition to the regulars, it was supposed that the Canadians and the loyalists, in the neighboring states, would add large reinforcements, well calcu- lated for the peculiar nature of the service. Arms and accoutrements were accordingly provided to supply them. Several nations of savages had also been induced to take up the hatchet, as allies to his Britannic ma- jesty. The vast force destined for this service was put under the command of lieutenant- general Burgoyne, an officer whose abilities were well known, and whose spirit of en- terprise and ardor for military fame could not be exceeded. He was supported by ma- jor-general Philips of the artillery, who had established a solid reputation by his good conduct during the late war in Germany, and by major-general Reidesel and briga- dier-general Speecht of the German troops, together with the British generals Frazer, Powell, and Hamilton, all officers of distin- guished merit. The British had also undisputed posses- sion of the navigation of Lake Champlam. The marine force there, with which in the preceding campaign they had destroyed the American shipping on the lakes, was not only entire, but unopposed. A considerable force was left in Canada for its internal security, and Sir Guy Carle- ton's military command was restricted to the limits of that province. Though the British ministry attributed the preservation of Canada to his abilities in 1775 and 1776, yet, by their arrangements for the year 1777, he was only called upon to act a sec- ondary part, in subserviency to the grand expedition committed to general Burgoyne. The plan of the British for their project- ed irruption into the north-western fi-ontier of New- York, consisted of two parts. Gen- eral Burgoyne, with the main body, was to advance by the way of Lake Champlain, with positive orders, as has been said, to force his way to Albany, or at least so far as to effect a junction with the royal army fi*om New- York. A detachment was to ascend the river St. Lawrence, as far as Lake On- tario, and from that quarter to penetrate to- wards Albany, by the way of the Mohawk river. This was put under the command of lieutenant-colonel St Leger, and consisted of about two hundred British troops, a regi- ment of New- York loyalists raised and com- manded by Sir John Johnson, and a large body of savages. Lieutenant-general Bur- goyne arrived in Quebec on the 6th of May, and exerted all diligence to prosecute in due time the objects of the expedition. On the 20th of June he proceeded up Lake Cham- plain, and on the 21st landed near Crown 198 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Point. At this place he met the Indians, gave them a war feast, and made a speech to them. This was well calculated to excite them to take part with the royal army, but at the same time to repress their barbarity. He pointedly forbad them to shed blood when not opposed in arms, and commanded that aged men, women, children, and prisoners, should be held sacred from the knife and the liatchet, even in the heat of actual conflict. A reward was promised for prisoners, and a severe inquiry threatened for scalps, though permission was granted to take them from those who were previously killed in fair op- position. These restrictions were not suffi- cient, as will appear in the sequel, to re- strain their barbarities. The Indians having decidedly taken part with the British army, general Burgoyne issued a proclamation, calculated to spread terror among the inhab- itants. The numbers of his Indian associates were magnified, and their eagerness to be let loose to their prey described in high- sounding words. The force of the British armies and fleets prepared to crush every part of the revolted colonies, was also dis- I)layed in pompous language. Encourage- ment and employment were promised to those who should assist in the re-establish- ment of legal government, and security held out to the peaceable and industrious, who contmued in their habitations. All the ca- lamities of war, arrayed in their most ter- rific forms, were denounced against those who should persevere in a military opposi- tion to the royal forces. FORT TICONDEROGA EVACUATED. General Burgoyne advanced with his army in a few days to Crown Point At this place he issued orders, of which the follow- ing words are a part : " The army embarks to-morrow to approach the enemy. The services required on this expedition are critical and conspicuous. During our pro- gress occasions may occur, in which, nor difficulty, nor labor, nor life, are to be re- garded. This army must not retreat." From Crown Point the royal army proceed- ed to invest Ticonderoga, On their approach to it, they advanced with equal caution and order on both sides of the lake, while their naval force kept in its centre. Within a few days they had surrounded three-fourths of the American works at Ticonderoga and Mount Independence, and had also advanc- ed a work on Sugar Hill which commands both, so far towards completion, that in twenty-four hours it would have been ready to open. In these circumstances general St Clair, the commanding officer, resolved to evacuate the posts at all events ; but con- ceiving it prudent to take the sentiments of the general officers, he called a council of war on the occasion. It was represented to this council, that their whole numbers were not sufficient to man one half of the works, and that as the whole must be on constant duty, it would be impossible for them to sus- tain the necessary fatigue for any length of time, and that as the place would be com- pletely invested on all sides within a day, nothing but an immediate evacuation of the posts could save their troops. The assumption of confident appearances in the garrisons had induced their adver- saries to proceed with great caution. While from this cause they were awed into re- spect, the evacuation was completed with so much secrecy and expedition, that a con- siderable part of the public stores was saved, and the whole would have been embarked, had not a violent gale of wind which sprung up in the night prevented the boats from reaching their station. The retreating army embarked as much of their baggage and stores as they had any prospect of saving on board batteaux, and dispatched them under convoy of five armed galleys to Skenesborough. The main body took its route towards the same place by way of Castleton. The British were no sooner apprized of the retreat of the Ameri- cans than they pursued them. General Frazer, at the head of the light troops, ad- vanced on their main body. Major-general Reidesel was also ordered, with the greater part of the Brunswick troops, to march in the same direction. General Burgoyne in person conducted the pursuit by water. The obstructions to the navigation not having been completed, were soon cut through. The two frigates, the Royal George and the Inflexible, together with the gun-boats, hav- ing effected their passage, pursued with so much rapidity, that in the course of a day the gun-boats came up with and attacked the American galleys near Skenesborough Falls. On the approach of the frigates all opposition ceased ; two of the galleys were taken and three blown up. The Americans set fire to their works, mills, and bateaux. They were now left in the woods destitute of provisions : in this forlorn situation they made their escape up Wood Creek to Fort Anne. Brigadier Frazer pursued the retreat- ing Americans ; came up with, and on the seventh of July attacked their rear-guard at Hubbordton. In the course of tJie engage- ment he was joined by the German troops commanded by general Reidesel. The Amer- icans commanded by colonel Warner made a gallant resistance, but afler sustaining considerable loss, were obliged to give way. Lieutenant-colonel Hall, with the ninth British regiment, was detached from Skenes- borough by general Burgoyne, to take post near Fort Anne. An engagement ensued between this regiment and a few Americans; GEORGE III. 176Q— 1820. 199 but the latter, after a conflict of two hours, fired the fort, and retreated to Fort Edward. The destruction of the galleys and bateaux of the Americans at Skenesborough, and the defeat of their rear, obliged general St. Clair, in order to avoid being between two fires, to change the route of his main body, and to turn off from Castleton to the left. After a fatiguing and distressing march of seven days, he joined general Schuyler at Fort Edward. Their combined forces, in- clusive of the militia, not exceeding in the whole four thousand four hundred men, were not long after, on the approach of general Burgoyne, compelled to retire far- ther into the country bordering on Albany. Such was the rapid torrent of success, which in thi» period of the campaign swept away all opposition from before the royal army, which, after these successes, continued for some days in Skenesborough, waiting for their tents, baggage, and provision. In the mean time general Burgoyne put forth a proclamation, in which he called on the inhabitants of the adjacent towns to send a deputation of ten or more persons from their respective townships, to meet colonel Skene at Castleton, on the fifteenth of July. The troops were at the same time busily employed in opening a road, and clearing a creek, to favor their advance, and to open a passage for the conveyance of their stores. A party of the royal army which had been left behind at Ticonderoga, was equally in- dustrious in carrying gun-boats, provision, vessels, and bateaux over land, into Lake George. An immensity of *labor in every quarter was necessary; but, animated as they were with past successes and fiiture hopes, they disregarded toil and danger. From Skenesborough general Burgoyne directed his course across the country to Fort Edward, on Hudson's River. Though the distance in a right line from one to the other is but a few miles, yet such is the im- practicable nature of the country, and such were the artificial difficulties thrown in his way, that nearly as many days were con- sumed as the distance passed over in a di- rect line would have measured in miles. The Americans under the directions of general Schuyler had cut large trees on both sides of the road, so as to fall across with their branches interwoven. The face of the country was likewise so broken with creeks and marshes, that they had no less than forty bridges to construct, one of which was a log-work over a morass, two miles in extent This difficult march might have been avoided, had general Burgoyne fallen back from Skeneslwrough to Ticonderoga, and thence proceeded by Lake George ; but he declined this route, from an apprehen- sion that a retrograde motion on his part would abate the panic of the enemy. He had also a suspicion that some delay might be occasioned by the American garrison at Fort George, as, in case of his taking that route, they might safely continue to resist to the last extremity, having open in their rear a place of retreat. On the other hand it was presumed, that as soon as they knew that the royal army was marching in a direc- tion which was likely to cut off" their re- treat, they would consult their safety by a seasonable evacuation. In addition to these reasons, he had the advice and persuasion of colonel Skene. That gentleman had been recommended to him as a person proper to be consulted ; his land was so situated, that the opening of a road between Fort Edward and Skenesborough would greatly enhance its value. This circumstance might have made him more urgent in his recommenda- tions of that route, especially as, being the shortest, it bid fair for uniting the royal in- terest with private convenience. The opmion formed by general Burgoyne of the effect of his direct movement from Skenesborough to Fort Edward on the American garrison, was verified by the event ; for being appre- hensive of having their retreat cut ofi^, they abandoned their fort and burnt their vessels. The navigation of Lake George being there- fore left free, provisions and ammunition were brought forward from Fort George to the first navigable parts of Hudson's River : this is a distance of fifteen miles, and the roads of difficult passage. The intricate combination of land and water carriage, to- gether with the insufficient means of trans- portation, and excessive rains, caused such delays, that at the end of fifteen days there were not more than four days' provisions brought forward, nor above ten bateaux in the river. The difficulties of this convey- ance, as well as of the march through the wilderness from Skenesborough to Fort Ed- ward, were encountered and overcome by the royal army with a spirit and alacrity which could not be exceeded. At length, on the thirtieth of July, after incredible fa- tigue and labor, general Burgoyne and the army under his command reached Fort Ed- ward, on Hudson's River. Their exultation on accomplishing what for a long time had been the object of their hopes, was unusually great While the British were retarded in their advance by the combined difficulties of na- ture and art, events took place, which proved the wisdom and propriety of the retreat from Ticonderoga. The army saved by that means, was between the inhabitants and general Burgoyne ; this abated the panic of the people, and became a centre of rendez- vous for them to repair to: on the otlier hand, had they stood tlieir ground at Ticon- 200 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. deroga, they must in the ordinary course of events, in a short time, either have been cut to pieces, or surrendered themselves prison- ers of war. From the adoption of that measure very different events took place. In a few^ days after the evacuation, general Schuyler is- sued a proclamation, calling to the mind of the inhabitants the late barbarities and desolations of the royal army m Jersey ; warning them that they would be dealt with as traitors if they joined the British, and re- < quiring them with their arms to repair to the American standard. Numerous parties were also employed in bringing off public stores, and in felling trees, and throwing ob- structions in the way of the advancing royal army. The terror excited by the Indians, instead of disposing the inhabitants to court British protection, had a contrary effect The friends of the royal cause, as well as its enemies, suffered from their indiscrimi nate barbarities. Occasion was thereby given to inflame the populace, and to blacken the royal cause. The cruelties of the In- dians, and the cause in which they were en- gaged, were associated together, and pre- .'^ented in one view to the alarmed inhabit- ants. All the feeble aid which the royal army received from their Indian auxiliaries, was entirely overbalanced by the odium it brought on their cause, and by that deter- mined spirit of opposition which the dread of their savage cruelties excited. An army was speedily poured forth from the woods and mountains. When they who had be- gun the retreat were nearly wasted away, the spirit of the country immediately sup-* plied their place with a much greater and more formidable force. In addition to these incitements, it was early conjectured, that the royal army, by pushing forward, would be so entangled as not to be able to advance or retreat on equal terms. Men of abilities and of eloquence, influenced with this ex pectation, harangued the inhabitants in their several towns, and set forth in high coloring the cruelties of the savage auxiliaries of Great Britain, and the fair prospects of cap- turing the wliole force of their enemie From the combined influence of these causes, the American army soon amounted to up- wards of thirteen thousand men. While general Buro-oyne was forcing his way down towards Albany, lieutenant-colo- nel St. Leger was co-operating with )iim in the Mohawk country. He had ascended the river St Lawrence, crossed I^ke Ontario, nnd commenced the siege of Fort Schuyler. On the approach of this detachment of the royal army, general Harkimer collected a])ov]t eight thousand of the whig militia of the parts adjacent fi3r the relief of the garrison St Leger, aware of tlie consequences of being attacked in his trenches, detached Sir John Johnson, with some tories and Indians, to lie in ambush, and intercept the advancing militia. The stratagem took effect : the general and his militia were surprised, but several of the Indians were nevertheless killed by their fire. A scene of confusion followed. Some of Harkimer's men ran off, but others posted themselves behind logs, and continued to fight with bravery and success. The loss on the side of the Americans was one hundred and sixty killed, besides the wounded. Among the former w as their gal- lant leader general Harkimer. Several of their killed and wounded were principal in- habitants of that part of the country. Colo- nel St. Leger availed himself of the terror excited on this occasion, and endeavored by strong representations of Indian barbarity to intimidate the garrison into an immediate surrender. He sent verbal and written mes- sages, " demanding the surrender of the fort, and stating the impossibility of their obtain- ing relief, as their friends under general Harkimer were entirely cut off, and as gen- eral Burgoyne had forced his way tlirough the country, and was daily receiving the sub- mission of the inhabitants." He represented " the pains he had taken to soften the Indian?, and to obtain engagements from them, tliat in case of an immediate surrender every man in the garrison should be spared ;" and par- ticularly enlarged on the circumstance, " that the Indians were determined, in case of their meeting with farther opposition, to massacre not only the garrison, but every man, woman, or child, in the Mohawk country." Colonel Gansevort, who commanded in the fort, re- plied, " that being by the United States in- trusted with the charge of the garrison, he was determined to defend it to the last ex- tremity against all enemies whatever, with- out any concern for the consequences of do- ing his duty." BRITISH RJEPULSED AT FORT SCHUYLER. The brave garrison, in its hour of danger, was not forgotten. General Arnold, with a brigade of continental troops, had been pre- viously detached by general Schuyler for their relief, and was then near at hand. Mr. Tost Schuyler, who had been talcen up by the Americans, on suspicion of his being a spy, was promised his life and his estate, on condition that he should go and alarm the Indians with such representations of the numbers marching against them, as would occasion their retreat He immediately pro- ceeded to the camp of the Indians, and be- ing able to converse in their own language, infonned them that vast numbers of hostile Americans were near at hand. They were thoroughly frightened, and determined to go off. St Leger used every art to retain them ; but nothing could change their determiua- GEORGE in. 1760- tion. It is the characteristic of these people, on a reverse of fortune, to betray irresolu- tion, and a total want of that constancy which is necessary to struggle for a length of time with difficulties. They had found the fort stronger and better defended than was expected ; they had lost several head- men in their engagement with general Har- kimer, and had gotten no plunder. These circumstances, added to the certainty of the approach of a reinforcement to their adver- saries, which they believed to be much greater than it really was, made them quite untractable. Part of them instantly de- camped, and the remainder threatened to follow, if the British did not immediately retreat. This measure was adopted, and the siege raised. From the disorder occa sioned by the precipitancy of the Indians, the tents, and much of the artillery and stores of the besiegers, fell into the hands of the garrison. The discontented savages, exasperated by their ill-fortune, are said, on their retreat, to have robbed their British associates of their baggage and provisions. While the fate of Fort Schuyler was in suspense, it occurred to general Burgoyne, on hearing of its being besieged, that a sud- den and rapid movement forward would be of the utmost consequence. As the princi- pal force of his adversaries was in front be- tween him and Albany, he hoped, by ad- vancing on them, to reduce them to the ne- cessity of fighting, or of retreating out of his way to New-England. COLONEL BAUM DEFEATED. With such views, general Burgoyne promised himself great advantages from ad- vancing rapidly towards Albany. The prin- cipal objection against this plausible project, was the difficulty of furnishing provisions lor his troops. To keep up a communica- tion with Fort George, so as to obtain from that garrison regular supplies at a distance daily increasing, was wholly impracticable. The advantages which were expected from the proposed measure, were too dazzling to be easily relinquished. Though the impos- sibility of drawing provisions from the stores in their rear, was known and acknowledged, yet a hope was indulged that they might be elsewhere obtained. A plan was therefore formed to open resources from the plentiful farms of Vermont. Every day's account, and particularly the information of colonel Skene, induced Burgoyne to believe, that one description of the inhabitants of that country were panic-struck, and that another, and by far the most numerous, were friends to the British interest, and only wanted the appearance of a protecting power to show themselves. Relying on this intelligence, he detached only five hundred men, one hundred Indians, and two field-pieces, which he supposed would be fiilly sufficient -fr^r the expedition. The commarul of this force was given to lieutenantrCf)l< III* 1 liimrn, und it was supposed that with it hf* wf)nl(l he. oriiibied to seize upon a magazine of supplies which the Americans had collected at Bennington, and which was only guarded by militia. It was also intended to try the temper of the inhabitants, and to mount the dragoons. On his approaching the place of his destination, he found the American militia stronger than had been supposed ; he therefore took post in the vicmity, intrenched his party, and dis- patched an express to general Burgoyne, with an account of his situation. Colonel Breyman was detached to reinforce him. Though every exertion was made to push forward this reinforcement, yet, from the impracticable face of the country, and de- fective means of transportation, thirty-two hours elapsed before they had marched twenty-four miles. General Stark, who com- manded the American militia at Benning- ton, engaged with them before the junction of the two royal detachments could be ef- fected. On this occasion, about eight hun- dred undisciplined militia, without bayonets, or a single piece of artillery, attacked and routed five hundred regular troops, advan- tageously posted behind intrenchments, fiir- nished with the best arms, and defended with two pieces of artillery. The field-pieces were taken from the party commanded by colonel Baum, and the greatest part of the detachment was either killed or captured. Colonel Breyman arrived on the same ground, and on the same day, but not till the action was over. Instead of meetmg his friends, as he expected, he found him- self briskly attacked. Breyman's troops, though fatigued with their preceding march, behaved with great resolution, but were at length compelled to abandon then- artillery, and retreat. The overthrow of these de- tachments was the first link in a grand chain of causes, which finally drew down ruin on the whole royal army. The confidence with which the Americans were inspired, on find- ing themselves able to defeat regular troops, produced surprising eflTects; it animated their exertions, and filled them with expec- tation of farther success. That military pride, which is the soul of an army, was nurtured by the captured ar- tillery, and other trophies of victory. In pro- portion to the elevation of the Americans, was the depression of their adversaries. Ac- customed to success, as they had been in the preceding part of the campaign, they felt unusual mortification from this unexpected check: though it did not diminish their courage, it abated their confidence. It is not easy to enumerate all the disastrous con- sequences which resulted to the royal army, 202 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. from Ihe failure of their expedition to Ben- nington. These were so extensive, that their loss of men was the least considera- ble ; it deranged every plan for pushing the advantages which had been previously ob- tained. Among other embarrassments, it reduced general Burgoyne to the alterna- tive of halting till he brought forward sup- plies from Fort George, or of advancing without them at the risk of being starved. The former being adopted, the royal army was detained from August sixteenth, to Sep- tember thirteenth. This unavoidable delay gave time and opportunity for the Ameri- cans to collect in great numbers. The defeat of lieutenant-colonel Baum was the first event which for a long time had taken place in favor of the American northern army. From December 1775, it had experienced one misfortune treading on the heels of another, and defeat succeeding defeat. Every moment had been either re- treating or evacuating. The subsequent transactions present a remarkable contrast. Fortune, which, previous to the battle of Bennington, had not for a moment quitted the British standard, seemed, after that event, as if she had totally deserted it, and gone over to the opposite party. SUCCESSIVE DISASTERS OF THE BRITISH. After the evacuation of Ticonderoga, the Americans had fallen back from one place to another, till they at last fixed at Vanshaick's Island. Soon after the retreat- ing system was adopted, congress recalled their general officers, and put general Gates at the head of their northern army. His arrival (on the nineteenth of August) gave fresh vigor to the exertions of the inhabit- ants. The militia, flushed with their recent victory at Bennington, collected in great numbers to his standard ; they soon began to be animated with a hope of capturing the whole British army. When the necessary stores for thirty days' subsistence were brousrht forward from Lake George, gene- ral Burgoyne gave up all communication with the magazines in the rear, and on the thirteenth and fourteenth of September crossed Hudson's River. The movement was the subject of much discussion ; some charg- ed it to the impetuosity of the general, and alleged that it was premature before he was riure of aid from the royal forces posted in New- York : but he pleaded the peremptory orders of his superiors. The rapid advance of Burffoyne, and especially his passage of the North River, added much to the imprac- ticability of his future retreat, and in con- junction with subsequent events made the total niin of his army in a great degree un- avoidable. BATTLE OF STILLWATER. General Burgoyne, after crossing the Hudson, advanced along its side, and in four days encamped on the heights, about two miles from general Gates's camp, which was three miles above Stillwater. The Ameri- cans, elated with their successes at Ben- nington and Fort Schuyler, thought no more of retreating, but came out to meet the ad- vancing British, and engaged them with firmness and resolution. The attack began a little before mid-day of September nine- teenth, between the scouting parties of the two armies. The commanders on both sides supported and reinforced their respective parties. The conflict, though severe, was only partial for an hour and a half; but after a short pause it became general, and con- tinued for three hours without any intermis- sion. A constant blaze of fire was kept up, and both armies seemed to be determined on death or victory. The Americans and British alternately drove and were driven by each other ; men, and particularly officers, dropped every moment, and on every sida Several of the Americans placed themselves in high trees, and as often as they could dis- tinguish an officer's uniform, took him off by deliberately aiming at his person. Few actions have been characterized by more ob- stinacy in attack or defence ; the British re- peatedly tried their bayonets, but without their usual success in the use of that weapon. At length night put an end to the effusion of blood. This hard-fought battle decided nothing, and little else than honor was gain- ed by either army ; but nevertheless it was followed by important consequences: of thesfc one was the diminution of the zeal and alac- rity of the Indians in the British army. The dangerous service in which they were en- gaged, was by no means suited to their hab- its of war : they were disappointed of the plunder they expected, and saw nothing bo- fore them but hardships and danger. Fi- delity and honor were too feeble motives in the minds of savages, to retain them in such an unproductive service. By deserting in the season when their aid would have been most useful, they furnished a second instance of the impolicy of depending upon them. Very little more perseverance was exhibited by the Canadians and other British provin- cials : they also abandoned the British stand- ard, when they found that, instead of a fly- ing and dispirited enemy, they had a nu- merous and resolute force opposed to them. These desertions were not the only disap- pointment which general Burgoyne expe- rienced. From the commencement of the expedition, he had promised himself a strong reinforcement from that part of the British army which was stationed at New- York ; he depended on its being able to force its way to Albany, and to join him there, or in the vicinity. This co-operation, though attempt^ GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 205 ed, failed in the execution, while the expec- tation of it contributed to involve him in some difficulties to which he would not have otherwise been exposed. On the twenty-first of September, gene- ral Burgoyne received intelligence in a ci- pher, that Sir Henry Clinton, who then com- manded in New- York, intended to make a diversion in his favor, by attacking the for- tresses which the Americans had erected on Hudson's River, to obstruct the intercourse between New- York and Albany. In an- swer to this communication he dispatched to Sir Henry Clinton some trusty persons, with a full account of his situation, and with instructions to press the immediate execu- tion of the proposed co-operation, and to as- sure him, that he was enabled in point of provisions, and fixed in his resolution, to hold his present position till the twelfth of October, in the hope of favorable events. The reasonable expectation of a diversion from New- York, founded on this intelligence, made it disgraceful to retreat, and at the same time improper to urge offensive opera- tions. In this posture of affairs, a delay of two or three weeks, in expectation of the promised co-operation from New- York, be- came necessary. In the mean time, the provisions of the royal army were lessening, and the animation and numbers of the Ame- rican army increasing. The New-England people were fully sensible, that their all was at stake, and at the same time sanguine, that by vigorous exertions Burgoyne would be so entangled, that his surrender would be unavoidable. Every moment made the situation of the British army more critical. From the uncertainty of receiving farther supplies, general Burgoyne lessened the sol- diers' provisions. The twelfth of October, the term till which the royal army had agreed to wait for aid from New- York, was fast approaching, and no intelligence of the expected co-operation had arrived. In this alarming situation, it was thought proper to make a movement to the left of the Ameri- cans. The body of troops employed for this purpose consisted of fifteen hundred chosen men, and was commanded by gene- rals Burgoyne, Philips, Reidesel, and Fra- zer. As they advanced, they were checked by a sudden and impetuous attack ; but ma- jor Ackland, at the head of the British gren- adiers, sustained it with great firmness. The Americans extended their attack along the whole front of the German troops, who were posted on the right of the grenadiers, and they also marched a large body round their flank, in order to cut off their retreat. To oppose this bold enterprise, the British light infantry, with a part of the 24th regi- ment, were directed to form a second line, and to cover the retreat of the troops into the camp. In the mean time, the Ameri- cans pushed forward a fresh and a strong reinforcement, to renew the action on Bur- goyne's lefl. That part of his army was obliged to give way, but the light infantry and twenty-fourth regiment, by a quick movement, came to its succor, and saved it from total ruin. The British lines being exposed to great danger, the troops which were nearest to them returned for their de- fence.' General Arnold, with a brigade of continental troops, pushed for the works possessed by lord Balcarras, at the head of the British light infantry; but the brigade having an abatis to cross, and many other obstructions to surmount, was compelled to retire. Arnold left this brigade, and came to Jackson's regiment, which he ordered in- stantly to advance and attack the lines and redoubt in their front, which were defended by lieutenant-colonel Breyman at the head of the German grenadiers. The assailants pushed on with rapidity, and carried the works ; Arnold was one of the first who en- tered them. Lieutenant-colonel Breyman was killed : the troops commanded by him retired firing ; they gained their tents about thirty or forty yards from their works ; but on finding that the assault was general, they gave one fire, after which some retreat- ed to the British camp, but others threw down their arms. The night put an end to the action. This day was fatal to many brave men ; the British officers suffered more than their common proportion. Among their slain, general Frazer, on account of his distin- guished merit, was the subject of particular regret: Sir James Clark, Burgoyne's aid- de-camp, was mortally wounded : the gene- ral himself had a narrow escape ; a shot pass- ed through his hat, and another through his waistcoat: majors Williams and Ackland were taken, and the latter wounded. The loss of the Americans was inconsiderable ; but general Arnold, to whose impetuosity they were much indebted for the success of the day, was among their wounded. They took more than two hundred prisoners, be- sides nine pieces of breiss artillery, and the encampment of a German brigade with all their equipage. The royal troops were under arms the whole of the next day, in expectation of another action ; but nothing more than skirmishes took place. At this time, gene- ral Lincoln, when reconnoitring, received a dangerous wound ; an event which was greatly regretted, as he possessed much of the esteem and confidence of the American army. The position of the British army, afler the action of the seventh, was so dangerous, that an immediate and total change became ne- 204 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. cessary. This hazardous measure was exe- cuted without loss or disorder : the British camp, with all its appurtenances, was re- moved in the course of a single night. The American general now saw a fair prospect of overcoming the army opposed to hun, without exposing his own to the danger of another battle. His measures were therefore principally directed to cut off their retreat, and prevent them from receiving any farther supplies. FORT MONTGOMERY TAKEN BY THE BRITISH. While general Burgoyne was pushing on towards Albany, an unsuccessful attempt to relieve him was made by the British com- mander in New- York. For this purpose, Sir Henry Clmton, on the fifth of October, conducted an expedition up Hudson's River. This consisted of about three thousand men, and was accompanied by a suitable naval force: after making many feints, he landed at Stoney Point, and marched over the mountains to Fort Montgomery, and attacked the different redoubts. The gar- rison, commanded by governor Clinton, a brave and intelligent officer, made a gallant resistance; but as the post had been de- signed principally to prevent the passing of ships, the works on the land-side were in- complete and untenable. When it began to grow dark, the British entered the fort with fixed bayonets. The loss on neither side was great ; governor Clmton, general James Clinton, and most of the officers and men, effected their escape under cover of the thick smoke and darkness that suddenly pre vailed. The reduction of this post furnished the British with an opportunity for opening a passage up the North River; but instead of proceeding forward to Burgoyne's encamp- ment, or even to Albany, they spent seve- ral days in laying waste the adjacent coun try. The Americans destroyed Fort Con- stitution, and also set fire to two new frig- ates and some other vessels. General Tryon at the same time destroyed a settlement, called Contmental Village, which contained barracks for fifteen hundred men, besides many stores. Sir James Wallace with a flying squadron of light frigates, and gene- ral Vaughan with a detachment of land forces, continued on and near the river for several days, desolating the country near its margin. On the thirteenth of October gen- eral Vaughan so completely burned Esopus, a fine flourishing village, that a single house was not left standing, though on his ap- proach the Americans had left the town without making any resistance. Charity would lead us to suppose that these devasta- tions were designed to answer military pur- Their authors might have hoped to divert the attention of general Gates, and thus indirectly relieve general Burgoyne; but if this was intended, the artifice did not take effect The preservation of property was with the Americans only a secondary object. The capturing of Burgoyne prom- ised such important consequences, that they would not suffer any other consideration to interfere with it. General Gates did not make a single movement that lessened the probability of effecting his grand purpose. He wrote an expostulatory letter to Vaugh- an, part of which was in the following terms : " Is it thus your king's generals think to make converts to the royal cause 1 It ia no less surprising than true, that the mea sures they adopt to serve their master, have a quite contrary effect. Their cruelty estab- lishes the glorious act of independence upon the broad basis of the resentment of the peo- ple." Whether policy or revenge led to this devastation of property is uncertain ; but it cannot admit of a doubt that it was far from being the most effectual method of relieving Burgoyne. The passage of the North River was made so practicable by these advantages, that Sir Henry Clinton, with his whole force, amount- ing to three thousand men, might not only have reached Albany, but general Gates's encampment, before the twelfth, the day till which Burgoyne had agreed to wait for aid from New- York. While the British were doing mischief to individuals without serv- ing the cause of their royal master, they might in all probability, by pushing forward about one hundred and thirty-six miles in six days, have brought Gates's army be- tween two fires, at least twenty-four hours before Burgoyne's necessity compelled his submission to articles of capitulation. Why they neglected this opportunity of relieving their suffering brethren, about thirty-six miles to the northward of Albany, when they were only about one himdred miles be- low it, has never yet been satisfactorily ex- plained. SURRENDER OF GENERAL BURGOYNE. Gates posted fourteen hundred men on the heights opposite the fords of Saratoga, and two thousand more in the rear, to pre- vent a retreat to Fort Edward, and fifteen hundred at a ford higher up. Burgoyne, re- ceiving intelligence of these movements, concluded fi-om them, especially from the last, that Gates meant to turn his right. This, if effected, would have entirely in- closed him : to avoid being hemmed in, he resolved on an immediate retreat to Sarato- ga. His hospital, with the sick and wound- ed, were necessarily left behind ; but they were recommended to the humanity of gen- eral Gates, and received from him every in- dulgence their situation required. When GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 205 general Burgoyne arrived at Saratoga, he found that the Americans had posted a con- siderable force on the opposite heights, to impede his passage at that ford. In order to prepare the way for a retreat to Lake George, general Burgoyne ordered a detach- ment of artificers, with a strong escort of British and provincials, to repair the bridges and open the road leading thither. Part of the escort was withdrawn on other duty, and the remainder, on a slight attack of an inconsiderable party of Americans, ran away. TJie workmen, thus left without support, were unable to effect the business on which they had been sent. The only practicable route of retreat which now remained, was by a night march to Fort Edward. Before this attempt could be made, scouts returned with intelligence, that the Americans were intrenched opposite to those fords on the Hudson's River, over which it was proposed to pass, and that they were also in force on the high ground between Fort Edward and Fort George ; they had at the same time parties down the whole shore, and posts, so near as to observe every motion of the royal army. Their position extended nearly round the British, and was by the nature of the g-round in a great measure secured from at' tacks. The royal army could not stand its gTound where it was, from the want of the means necessary for their subsistence ; nor could it advance towards Albany without at- tacking a force greatly superior in number ; nor could it retreat without making good its way over a river, in the face of a strong party, advantageously posted on the opposite side. In case of either attempt, the Ameri- cans were so near as to discover every move- ment, and by means of their bridge could bring their whole force to operate. Truly distressing was the condition of the royal army. Abandoned in the most critical m-oment by their Indian allies, unsupported by their bretliren in New- York, weakened by the timidity and desertion of the Cana- dians, worn down by a series of incessant eiTorts, and greatly reduced in their num- bers by repeated battles, they were invested by an army nearly three times their num- ber, without a possibility of retreat, or of re- plenishing their exhausted stock of provi sions. A continual cannonade pervaded their camp, and rifle and grape-shot fell in many parts of their lines ; they nevertheless re- tained a great share of fortitude. In the mean time the American army was liourly increasing. Volunteers came in from all quarters, eager to share in the glory of destroying or capturing those whom tliey considered as their most dangerous enemies. The thirteenth of October at length arriv- ed : the day was spent in anxious expecta- tion of its producing something of conse- VoL. IV. 18 quence. But as no proepect of assistance appeared, and their provisions were nearlj expended, the hope of receiving any in due time for tiieir relief could not reasonably be farther indulged. General Burgoyne thought proper in the evening to take an account of the provisions left. It was found on inquiry, that they would amount to no more than a scanty subsistence for three days. In this state of distress, a council of war was call- ed, and it was made so general, as to com- prehend both the field officers and the cap- tains. Their unanimous opinion was, that their present situation justified a capitula- tion on honorable terms. A messenger was therefore dispatched to begin this business'. General Gates in the first instance demand- ed, that the royal army should surrender prisoners of war. He also proposed that the British should ground their arms. But gen- eral Burgoyne replied, " This article is in- admissible in every extremity ; sooner than this army will consent to ground their arms in their encampment, they will rush on the enemy, determined to take no quarter." Af- ter various messages a convention was set- tled, by which it was substantially stipulated as follows : " The troops under general Bur- goyne to march out of their camp with the honors of war, and the artillery of the in- trenchments, to the verge of the river, where the arms and artillery are to be left. The arms to be piled by word of command from their own officers. A free passage to be granted to the army under lieutenant-gene- ral Burgoyne to Great Britain, upon condi- tion of not serving again in North America during the present contest, and the port of Boston to be assigned for the entry of the transports to receive the troops whenever general Howe shall so order. The army un- der lieutenant-general Burgo3^ne to march to Massachusets Bay, by the easiest route, and to be quartered in, near, or as conve- nient as possible, to Boston. The troops to be provided with provision by generaf Gates's orders, at the same rate of rations as the troops of his own army. All officers to retain their carriages, bat-horses, and no baggage to be molested or searched- The officers are not, as far as circumstances will admit, to be separated from their men. The officers to be quartered accordmg to then- rank. All corps whatever of lieutenant- general Burgoyne's army to be included in the above articles. All Canadians, and per- sons belonging to the Canadian establish- ment, and other followers of the army, to be permitted to return to Canada, to be con- ducted to the first British post on Lake George, and to be supplied with provisions as the other troops, and to be bound by the same condition of not serving during the present contest. Passports to be granted to 206 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. three officers, to carry dispatches to Siri William Howe, Sir Guy Carleton, and to Great Britain. The officers to be admitted on their parole, and to be permitted to wear their side-arms." Such were the embar- rassments of the royal army, incapable of subsisting where it was, or of making its way to a better situation, that these terms were rather more favorable than they had a right to expect On the other hand, it would not have been prudent for the American gen- eral, at the head of his army, which, though numerous, consisted mostly of militia or new levies, to have provoked the despair of even an inferior number of brave, disciplined, regular troops. General Gates rightly judg- ed that the best way to secure his advan- tages was to use them with moderation. Soon after the convention was signed, the Americans marched into their lines, and were kept there till the royal army had de- posited their arms at the place appointed. The delicacy with which this business was conducted, reflected the highest honor on the American general ; nor did the polite- ness of Gates end here : every circumstance was withheld that could constitute a triumph in the American army. The captive gene- ral was received by his conqueror with re- spect and kindness. A number of the prin- cipal officers of both armies met at general Gates's quarters, and for a while seemed to forget in social and convivial pleasures that 1 they had been enemies. The conduct of j^ general Burgoyne in this interview with |.j^ general Gates was truly dignified, and the t^ historian is at a loss whether to admire most, the magnanimity of the victorious, or the ■n fortitude of the vanquished general. The Britisli troops partook liberally of the ^ plenty that reigned in the American army. It was the more acceptable to them, as they ral were destitute of bread and flour, and had ♦-, only as much meat left as was sufficient for ^j a day's subsistence. ^^ By the convention which has been men tioned, five thousand seven hundred and ninety men v/ere surrendered prisoners The sick and wounded left in camp, when (he British retreated to Saratoga, together with the numbers of the British, German, and Canadian troops, who were killed, wounded, or taken, and who had deserted in the preceding part of the expedition, were reckoned to be four thousand six hundred and eighty-nine. The whole royal force, ex elusive of Indians, was probably about ten thousand. The stores which the American acquired were considerable. The captured £jtillery consisted of thirty-five brass field pieces ; there were also four thousand six hundred and forty-seven muskets, and a va- riety o£ other useful and much wanted ar- ticles, which fell iniO Ijheir hands. The con- tinentals in general Gates's army were nine thousand and ninety-three, the militia four thousand one hundred and twenty-nine, but of the former two thousand one hundred and three were sick or on ftirlough, and five hun- dred and sixty-two of the latter were in the same situation. The number of the militia was constantly fluctuating. In a short time after the convention was signed, general Gates moved forward to stop the devastations of the British on the North River ; but on hearing of the fate of Bur- goyne, Vaughan and Wallace retired to New-York. About the same tune the British, which had been left in the rear of the royal army, destroyed their cannon, and abandoning Ti- conderoga, retreated to Canada. The whole country, after experiencing for several months the confusions of war, was in a mo- ment restored to perfect tranquillity. CONCLUSION OF THE CAMPAIGN. General Washington soon after the de- feat of Burgoyne received a considerable reinforcement from the northern army, which had accomplished that great event. With this increased force he took a position at and near Whitemarsh. The royal army having succeeded in removing the obstruc- tions in the river Delaware, were ready for new enterprises. On the fourth of Decem- ber, Sir William Howe marched out of Philadelphia with almost his whole force, expecting to bring on a general engagement. The next morning he appeared on Chesnut Hill, in front of, and about three miles dis- tant from the right wing of the Americans. On the day following the British changed their ground, and moved to the right. Two days after they moved still farther to the right, and made every appearance of an in- tention to attack the American encampment Some skirmishes took place, and a general action was hourly expected ; but on the morning of the next day, after various marches and countermarches, the British filed off" fi-om their right, by two or three different routes, in full march for Philadel- phia. The position of general Washington, in a military point of view, was admirable : he was so sensible of the advantage of it, that the manoeuvres of Sir William Howe for some days, could not allure him from it. In consequence of the reinforcement lately re- ceived, he had not in any preceding period of the campaign been in an equal condition for a general engagement Though he ar- dently wished to be attacked, yet he would not relinquish a position from \vhich he hoped for reparation for the adversities of the campaign. Thus ended the campaign of 1777. Though Sir William Hov/e's army had lesn crowned with the most brilliant GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 207 success, having gained two considerable vic- tories, and been equally triumphant in many smaller actions, yet the whole amount of this tide of good fortune was no more than a good winter lodging for his troops in Phil- adelphia, whilst the men under his command possessed no more of the adjacent country than what they immediately commanded with their arms. The congress, it is true, was compelled to leave the first seat of their deliberations, and the greatest city in the United States changed a number of its whig inhabitants for a numerous royal army ; but it is as true that the minds of the Americans were, if possible, more hostile to the claims of Great Britain than ever, and their army had gained as much by discipline and expe- rience, as compensated for its diminution by defeats. The events of this campaign were ad- verse to the sanguine hopes which had been entertained of a speedy conquest of the re volted colonies. Repeated proofs had been given, that, though general Washington was very forward to engage when he thought it to his advantage, yet it was im- possible for the royal commander to bring him to action against his consent. By this mode of conducting the defence of the new formed states, two campaigns had been wast ed away, and the work which was original- ly allotted for one, was still unfinished. AMERICAN SUCCESSES AT SEA. It has already been mentioned, that con- gress, in the latter end of November 1775, authorized the capture of vessels laden with stores or reinforcements for their enemies. On the twenty-third of March 1776, they extended this permission so far as to author- ize their inhabitants to fit out armed vessels to cruise on the enemies of the United Col- onies. The Americans henceforth devoted themselves to privateering, and were very successful. In the course of the year they made many valuable captures, particularly of homeward-bound West-India-men. They found no difficulty in selling their prizes; the ports of France were open to them, both in Europe and in the West Indies. In the latter they were sold without any disguise, but in the former a greater regard was paid to appearances. Open sales were not per- mitted in the harbors of France at particu- lar times, but even then they were made at the entrance or offing. In the French West ^ndia islands the in- habitants not only purchased prizes, brought in by American cruisers, but fitted out pri- vateers under American colors and commis- sions, and made captures of British vessels. The American privateers also found coun- tenance in some of the ports of Spain, but not so readily nor so universally as in those of France. The British took many of the American vessels, but they were often of inferior value. Such of them as were laden with provisions, proved a seasonable relief to the West India islands, which otherwise would have suffered from the want of those supplies, which before the war had been usually procured from the neighboring con- tinent The American privateers, in the year 1777, increased in numbers and boldness. They insulted the coasts of Great Britain and Ire- land in a manner that had never before been attempted. The General Mifflin privateer, after making repeated captures, arrived at Brest, and saluted the French admiral. This was returned in form, as to the vessel of an independent power. Lord Stormont, the British ambassador at the court of Versailles, irritated at the countenance given to the Americans, threatened to return immediate- ly to London, unless satisfaction was given, and different measures were adopted by France. An order was issued in consequence of his application, requiring all American vessels to leave the ports of his most chris- tian majesty : but though the order was pos- itive, so many evasions were practised, and the execution of it was so relaxed, that it produced no permanent discouragement of the beneficial intercourse. Immediately after the surrender of the troops commanded by lieutenant-general Burgoyne, they were marched to the vicini- ty of Boston. On their arrival they were quartered in the barracks on Winter and Prospect Hills. The general court of Mas- sachusets passed proper resolutions for pro- curing suitable accommodations for the pris- oners ; but from the general unwillingness of the people to oblige them, and from the feebleness of that authority which the repub- lican rulers had at that time over the prop- erty of their fellow-citizens, it was impossi- ble to provide immediately for so large a number of officers and soldiers, in such a manner as their convenience required, or as from the articles of the convention they might reasonably expect The officers re- monstrated to general Burgoyne, that six or seven of them were crowded together in one room, without any regard to their re- spective ranks, in violation of the seventh article of the convention. General Burgoyne, on the fourteenth of November, forwarded this account to general Gates, and added, " The public faith is broken." This letter bemg laid before congress gave an alarm. It corroborated an apprehension previously entertained, that the captured troops on their embarkation would make a junction with the British garrisons in America, The de- claration of the general, that " the public faith was broken," while in the power of congress, was considered by them as destroy- 208 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ing the security which they before had in his personal honor; for in every event he might adduce his previous notice to justify his future conduct They therefore resolved, " That the embarkation of lieutenant-gene- ral Burgoyne, and the troops under his com- mand, be postponed, till a distinct and expli- cit ratification of the convention of Sarato- ga be properly notified by the court of Great Britain to congress." General Burgoyne explained the intention and construction of the passage alluded to in his letter, and pledged himself, that his officers would join with him in signing any instrument that might be thought necessary for confirming the convention ; but congress would not re- cede from their resolution. They alleged, that it had been often asserted by their ad- versaries, that " faith was not to be kept with rebels," and that therefore they would be de- ficient in attention to the interests of their constituents if they did not require an au- thentic ratification of the convention by na- tional authority before they parted with the captured troops. They urged farther, that by the law of nations, a compact broken in one article was no longer binding in any other. They made a distinction between the suspension and abrogation of the con- vention, and alleged that ground to suspect an intention to violate it, was a justifying reason for suspending its execution on their part till it was properly ratified. The de- sired ratification, if Great Britain was seri- ously disposed to that measure, might have been obtained in a few months, and congress uniformly declared themselves willing to carry it into full effect, as soon as they were secured of its observance by proper authori- ty on the other side. About eight months after, certain royal commissioners made a requisition respecting these troops; offered to ratify the conven- tion, and required permission for their em- barkation. On inquiry it was found that they had no authority to do anything in the matter which would be obligatory on Great Britain. Congress therefore resolved, " That no ratification of the convention, which may be tendered in consequence of powers which only reach that case by construction and im- plication, or which may subject whatever is transacted relative to it, to the future appro- bation or disapprobation of the parliament of Great Britain, can be accepted by con- GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 209 CHAPTER XIV. Meeting of the British Parliament — Debates on the Address — News arrives of Bur- goyne^s defeat — Debates on that subject — Lord North''s conciliatory bills — Alliance between France and America — Debates on the French War — Ways and Means — Address for a War with France — Death and character of Lord Chatham — Relief to the trade of Ireland — To the Roman Catholics — Toulon squadron sails for America — Termination of the Session — Transactions of the royal Commissioners in Amer- ica — Arrival of D'Estaing — Philadelphia evacuated — Ambassador from France to America — Attempt on Rhode-Island — Expedition against East Florida — Savannah taken by the British — Naval preparations — Engagement between Keppel and D'Or- villiers — Trial of Keppel — Trial of Sir H. Palliser. MEETING OF PARLIAMENT. The first successes of general Burgoyne elevated the hopes of the tory party in Eng- land to the highest pitch of extravagance ; and it has been supposed that the meeting of parliament was delayed to an unusual period in order to afford his majesty an op- portunity of congratulating the British senate on the glorious event of the northern expe- dition. The defeat of the German auxilia- ries, which arrived in England previous to the commencement of the session, did not serve entirely to remove the confident hopes of success which this infatuated administra- tion still entertained. In the speech from the throne to both houses on the twentieth of November, his majesty mentioned, " that repeated assurances from foreign powers of their pacific disposition had been received ; but that while the armaments in the ports of France and Spain continued, his majesty had thought it advisable to make a consid- erable augmentation to his naval force, as well to keep the kingdom in a respectable state of security, as to provide an adequate protection to the extensive commerce of his subjects : the commons were informed, that the various services which had been men tioned, would unavoidably require large sup- plies ; and a profession was made that no- thing could relieve his majesty's mind from the concern which it felt for the heavy charge they must bring upon the people, but a conviction of their being necessary for the welfare and essential interests of these kingdoms. The speech concluded, with resolution of steadily pursuing the measures in which they were engaged for the re-estab- lishment of that constitutional subordination, which his majesty was determined to main tain through the several parts of his domin ions, accompanied with a profession of being watchful for an opportunity of putting a stop to the eff'usion of the blood of his subjects ; and a renewal or continuance of the former hope, that the deluded and unhappy multi- tude would return to their allegiance, upon 18* a recollection of the blessings of their gov- ernment, and a comparison with the miseries of their present situation." In answer to this speech, addresses were moved, as usual, full of panegyrics on the speech, and the profound wisdom of the ministry. The conduct of France, during the whole of this year, had been so unequivocal, that an impartial reader can scarcely help admir- ing the effrontery with which ministry had hitherto insisted, .and still continued to in- sist, that her intentions were really pacific. She was not indeed yet arrived at that state of preparation, which would have enabled her to commence hostilities immediately. She occasionally relaxed in certain articles, where the British ministry found themselves obliged to press with more than usual vigor. Thus, when Cunningham, a bold American adventurer, had taken, and carried into Dun- kirk, with a privateer fitted out from that port, the English packet irom Plolland, and sent the mail to the American ministers at Paris, it then became necessary, to save ap- pearances, to imprison Cunningham and his crew. To prevent this from giving any of- fence to the Americans, however, his impris- onment was represented as occasioned by some informality in his commission, which brought him very near, if not within the verge of piracy. Even this was very soon passed over. The American adventurer and ins crew were released from their mock confinement, and he was permitted to pur- chase a much stronger vessel and a better sailer than before, avowedly to infest the British commerce as usual. At another time, when the French Newfoundland fish- ery would have been totally intercepted and destroyed in case of an immediate rupture, and the capture of their seamen would have been more ruinous and irreparable than the loss even of the ships and cargoes, lord Stor- mont obtained an order from tlie French ministers, tliat all the American privateers, with their prizes, should immediately depart SIO fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the kingdom. Expedients, however, were practised on this occasion with such success, that the order was not obeyed in any one instance, though it effectually answered the end held in view by the French court, viz. that of protracting time, by opening a sub- ject of tedious and indecisive controversy, until their ships were safe in port. With regard to the Americans, they had the full- est assurance from M. de Sartine, the French minister, that the king would protect his subjects in trading with them ; and for this purpose, a public instrument was sent to the several chambers of commerce, assuring them of what we have just now related. DEBATES ON THE ADDRESS. Under these circumstances, the marquis of Granby, after stating and lamenting, in a pathetic manner, the ruinous effects of the war, declared himself filled with the most ardent desire for grasping at the present moment of time, and of having the happi- ness even to lay the ground-work of an ac- commodation. He therefore moved an amendment to the address, the substance of which was, "to request of his majesty to adopt some measures for accommodating the differences with America ; and recommend- ing a cessation of all hostilities, as necessary for the effectuating so desirable a purpose ; with an assurance, that the commons were determined to co-operate with him in every measure that could contribute to the re- establishment of peace, and the drawing such lines as should afford sufficient security to the terms of pacification." This motion was seconded with additional arguments by lord John Cavendish, and sup- ported by the opposition in general, on near- ly the following grounds. After three years' war, the expenditure of fifteen millions of money, and the loss of many brave troops, we had no more prospect of bettering our affairs than when we began. Notwithstand- ing the hopes of success yearly held out in the speech, our progress exhibited an unin- ten-upted series of mortifying disappoint- ments and humiliating losses. The state of interest, of the stocks, and of real estates, vjs well as the gazettes, too plainly showed the degree in which our trade had been af- fected ; while the defenceless state of our coasts, and trade fleets, demonstrated that if we were at present incompetent for the pro- tection of national commerce, we should be greatly more so when involved in a war with the house of Bourbon, an event which gen- tlemen in opposition regarded as fast ap- proaching : and this was the time to extri- cate ourselves from our difficulties by a reversal of that ruinous and absurd system of coercion which irritated tlie Americans, strengthened the hands of our enemies, and brought no advantage to ourselves. The debate on the address in the upper house was rendered peculiarly interesting by the presence of lord Chatham, who him- self moved an amendment, " To recommend an immediate cessation of hostilities, and the commencement of a treaty to restore peace and liberty to America, strength and happiness to England, security and perma- nent prosperity to both countries. This, my lords, is yet in our power, and let not the wisdom and justice of your lordships ne- glect the happy and perhaps the only oppor- tunity." His lordship was ably supported by the other lords in opposition. The ministry strongly defended not only the policy but the justice of employing the Indians. If the women and children of the Americans were destroyed by these savages, they only were to blame, who, by their rebellion, had brought upon themselves these calamities. In the course of the debate, lord Suffolk had the effrontery to assert, that the measure was also allowable on principle, for that it was perfectly justifiable to use all the means that God and nature had put into our hands. The whole of these arguments, and par- ticularly the last, excited at once the stern indignation of lord Chatham : he suddenly rose, and gave full vent to his feelings : " To send forth the merciless cannibal thirsting for blood ! — against whom 1 — Your Protest- ant brethren I — to lay waste their country, to desolate their dwellings, and extirpate their race and name, by the aid and instru- mentality of these hell-hounds of war ! Spain can no longer boast pre-eminence in bar- barity. She armed herself with blood- hounds to extirpate the wretched natives of Mexico ; but we, more ruthless, loose these dogs of war against our countrymen in America, endeared to us by every tie that should sanctify humanity. My lords, I sol- emnly call upon your lordships, and upon every order of men in the state, to stamp upon this infamous procedure the indelible stigma of the public abhorrence. More par- ticularly I call upon the holy prelates of our religion to do away this iniquity : let them perform a lustration to purify their country from this deep and deadly sin. My lords, 1 am old and weak, and at present unable to say more ; but my feelings and indignation were too strong to have said less. I could not have slept this night in my bed, nor re- posed my head upon my pillow, without giv- ing this vent to my eternal abhorrence of such enormous and preposterous princi- ples." After this grand effusion, the reader will be surprised to hear, that on the divi- sion, twenty-eight lords only voted in sup- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 211 port of the motion, against ninety-seven who opposed it INTELLIGENCE OF BURGOYNE'S DE- FEAT. On the succeeding day, ministers were completely humbled by the disastrous intel ligence from America. Lord North shed tears ; and the American secretary shrunk, oppressed with shame and disappointment, under the just invectives of the minority. On the fifth, the earl of Chatham moved in the house of lords, " that an address be pre- sented to his majesty, to cause the proper officers to lay before the house copies of all orders and instructions to general Bur- goyne relative to the late expedition from Canada." Holding up a paper in view of the house, his lordship said, that he had the king's speech in his hand, and a deep sense of the public calamity in his heart. That speech, he said, contained a most unfaithful picture of the state of public affairs ; it had a specious outside, was full of hopes, while everything within was full of danger. A system destructive of all faith and confidence had been introduced, his lordship affirmed, within the last fifteen years, at St. James's, by which pliable men, not capable men, had been raised to the highest posts of govern- ment. A few obscure persons had obtained an ascendency where no man should have a personal ascendency, and by the most insidi- ous means the nation had been betrayed into a war of which they now reaped the bitter fruits. The spirit of delusion, his lordship said, had gone forth ; ministers had imposed on the people ; parliament had been induced to sanctify the imposition ; a vision- ary phantom of revenue had been conjured up for the basest of purposes, but it was now for ever vanished. His lordship said, that the abilities of general Burgoyne were con- fessed, his personal bravery not surpassed, his zeal in the service unquestionable. He had experienced no pestilence, nor suffered any of the accidents which sometimes su- persede the wisest and most spirited exer- tions of human industry. What then is the cause of this misfortune 1 — Want of wisdom in our councils, want of ability in our min- isters. His lordship said, the plan of pene- trating into the colonies from Canada was a most wild, uncombined, and mad project; and the mode of carrying on the war was the most bloody, barbarous, and ferocious re- corded in the annals of history. The arms of Britain had been sullied and tarnished by blending the scalping-knife and tomahawk with the sword and firelock. Such a mode of warfare was a contamination which all the waters of the Hudson and the Delaware would never wash away. It was impossi- ble for America to forget or forgive so horrid an injury." In the course of his speech he animad- verted in the severest terms on the language recently held by the archbishop of York. " The pernicious doctrines advanced by that prelate were, he said, the doctrines of At- terbury and Sacheverel. As a whig he ab- jured and detested them ; and he hoped he should yet see the day when they would be deemed libellous, and treated as such." The motion being negatived, his lordship next moved an address to the king, "that all orders and treaties relative to the employ- ment of the Indian savages be laid before the house." Lord Gower rose to oppose the motion, and ^.sserted, " that the noble lord had him- self employed savages without scruple in the operations of the last war." This charge lord Chatham positively and peremptorily denied, and challenged the ministers, if any such instructions of his were to be found, to produce them. If at all employed, they had crept into the service, from the occasional utility of their assistance in unexplored parts of the country. He said, "the late kmg George II. had too much regard for the mili- tary dignity of his people, and also too much humanity, to agree to such a proposal, had it been made to him, and he called upon lord Amherst to declare the truth." Lord Amherst, not able to evade this appeal, reluctantly owned that Indians had been employed on both sides — the French em- ployed them first, he said, and we followed their example ; but that he had been author- ized to take them into his majesty's service by instructions from the minister, his lord- ship would not affirm. The motion was dis- missed by the previous question. LORD NORTH'S CONCILIATORY BILLS. On the seventeenth of February, having given previous notice of his intention, the minister introduced to the house of com- mons some new propositions tending to a reconciliation with America. He said, that his wishes for peace had been frustrated by a variety of misfortunes ; that American tax- ation, he had always believed, could never produce a beneficial revenue, but he had found them taxed when he came into office. He never could have conceived, that the agreement with the East India company would have proved so unfortunate : that the coercive acts had produced effects which he could not foresee ; that his former concilia- tory proposition was so disfigured by obscure discussions as to lose its effect in America ; that the issue of the war had been contrary to all expectation, considering the conduct of the commanders. and the goodness of the troops. His present motions were two, for " a bill for declaring the intentions of the parliament of Great Britain, concerning the exercise of tfie right of imposing taxes 212 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. within his majesty's colonies, provinces, and 1 plantations in North America :" and, " a bill to enable his majesty to appoint commission- ers, with sufficient powers to treat, consult, and agree upon the means of quietmg- the disorders now subsisting in certain of the colonies, plantations, and provinces of North America." His lordship added, that it was intended to appoint five commissioners, and enable them to treat with the congress, as if it were a legal body, to treat with any of the provincial assemblies upon their present constitution, or with any individuals in mili- tary or civil command, general Washington, or any other officer. They were to have a power of suspending hostilities, granting pardons, and restoring all or any of the colo- nies to the form of their ancient constitu- tion ; that should the Americans now claim independence, they should not be required to renounce it, until the treaty had been ratified by the parliament of Great Britain and if the Americans refused a moderate contribution towards the common defence of the empire when reunited, they should be warned, that, in that case, they were not to look for support from it. The minister de^ clared farther, that all these concessions were consistent with his former opinions, and if the question was asked, why they had not been sooner proposed, he should reply, that the moment of victory, for which he had anxiously waited, seemed to him the only proper season for offering terms of con cession. But though the result of the war had proved unfavorable, he woiild no longer delay the desirable and necessary work of reconciliation. "Never, perhaps," observes a modern writer (1), " was the inexpressible absurdity of the ministerial system more apparent than at the present moment. The powers now granted were precisely of the nature of those with which it was the object of the motion made by the duke of Grafton, in the spring of 1775, to invest the former commis^ sioners, lord and general Howe. Had that motion been adopted, the contest might un- questionably have been, with the utmost fa^ cility, amicably and honorably terminated ; but the general aspect of affairs since that period was totally changed. From the de- claration of independence which America had once made, she could never be expected to recede. The strength of Great Britam had been tried, and found unequal to the contest. The measures adopted by the Eng- lish government, particularly in the employ' ment of German mercenaries and Indian savages, had inflamed the resentment of America to the highest pitch. Her recent success had rendered it to the last degree improbable that she would ever again con- sent to recognize, in any shape, or under any modification, the authority of Britain. A treaty of peace, commerce, and alliance, waa all that a just and sound policy, in the pres- ent circumstances, could hope, or would en- deavor to accomplish." The general voice of the country gentle- men was, that as taxation was now given up, peace ought to be procured on any terms, and in the speediest manner. The members in opposition, properly so called, though they approved of the concilia- tory bills, showed no mercy to the conduct of the minister. He was reprobated indeed by both parties in such a manner, as must have made his situation extremely disagree- able. By his own he was asked, as taxation had not been his object, what were the real motives which had induced him 'to begin the warl Had he sported away 30,000 lives, and thirty millions of money, and, in that amusement, put not only the unity, but the existence of the empire, to the utmost hazard, in order to try the spirit of the Americans, and to discover how they would behave in defence of everything that was dear to them 1 Fox in a fine strain of irony complimented the minister on his conversion, and congratu- lated his own party on the acquisition of such a potent auxiliary. He was glad to find that his own propositions did not materially diflfer from those made by Burke three years before. He reminded the house, that though they were then rejected, a war of three years had convinced him that they were really useful. But if the concession should be found ample enough, and then come too late, what pun- ishment would be sufficient for those minis- ters who adjourned parliament, in order to make propositions of concession, and then neglected to do it, until France had con- cluded a treaty with the independent states of America, acknowledging them as such ] He did not speak from surmise ; he had it from authority which he could not question, that the treaty he mentioned had been signed in Paris ten days before, counting from that instant. He therefore wished that ministry would give the house satisfaction on that very interesting point ; for he feared that it would be found, that their present apparently pacific and equitable disposition, with that proposition which seemed to be the result of it, owed their existence to the previous knowledge of this treaty, which must, from its nature, render that proposition as useless to the peace, as it was humiliating to the dignity of Britain. The intimation of Fox, though faintly controverted by the minister, and treated as only matter of rumor, was too well founded ; and the doubts of the ministry completely removed in a few days by a formal notifica- tion of the fact from the French ambassa- dor. GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 213 ALLIANCE BETWEEN FRANCE AND AMERICA. Congress having agreed on the plan of the treaty, which they intended to propose to his most christian majesty, proceeded to elect commissioners to solicit its acceptance. Dr. Franklin, Silas Deane, and Thomas Jef- ferson, were chosen. The latter declining to serve, Arthur Lee, who was then in Lon- don, and had been very serviceable to his country in a variety of ways, was elected in his room. It was resolved, that no mem- ber should be at liberty to divulge anything more of these transactions than " that con- gress had taken such steps as they judged necessary for obtaining foreign alliances." The secret committee were directed to make an effectual lodgment in France of ten thou- sand pounds sterling, subject to the order of these commissioners. Dr. Franklin, who was employed as agent ui the business, and afterwards as minister plenipotentiary at the court of France, was in possession of a greater proportion of foreign fame than any other native of America. By the force of superior abilities, and with but few advan- tages in early life, he had attained the high- est eminence among men of learning, and in many instances extended the empire of science. His genius was vast and compre- hensive, and with equal ease investigated the mysteries of philosophy and the labyrinths of politics. His fame as a philosopher had reached as far as human knowledge is pol- ished or refined. His philanthropy knew no bounds. The prosperity and happiness of the human race were objects which at all times had attracted his attention. Disgusted with Great Britain, and glowmg with the most ardent love for the liberties of his op- pressed native country, he lefl London, where he had resided some years in the character of agent for several of the colo- nies, and early in 1775 returned to Philadel- phia, and immediately afterwards was elect- ed by the legislature of Pennsylvania, to share in the opposition to Great Britain as a member of congress. Shortly after his ap- pointment to solicit the interests of congress in France [October 27], he sailed for that country ; he was no sooner landed [Decem- ber 13] than universally caressed. His fame had smoothed the way for his reception in a public character. Doctor Franklin, Silas Deane, and Arthur Lee, havingrendezvoused at Paris, soon afler [December 28] opened their business in a private audience with the count de Vergennes. At this period congress did not so much expect any direct aid from France, as the indirect relief of a war between that coun- try and Great Britain. To subserve this de- sign, they resolved, that " their commission- ers at the court of France should be fur- nished with warrants and commissions, and authorized to arm and fit for war in the French ports any number of vessels (not ex- ceeding six) at the expense of the United States, to war upon British property, pro- vided they were satisfied this measure would not be disagreeable to the court of France." This resolution was carried into effect, and in the year 1777 marine offi- cers, with American commissions, both sail- ed out of French ports, and carried prizes of British property into them. They could not procure their condemnation m the courts of France, nor sell them publicly, but they nevertheless found ways and means to turn them into money. The commanders of these vessels were sometimes punished by authority to please the English, but they were oflener caressed from another quarter to please the Americans. While private agents on the part of the United States were endeavoring to embroil the two nations, the American commission- ers were urging the ministers of the king of France to accept the treaty proposed by congress. They received assurances of the good wishes of the court of France, but were from time to time informed, that the import- ant transaction required farther considera- tion, and were enjoined to observe the most profound secrecy. Matters remained in this fluctuating state from December 1776 till December 1777. Private encouragement and public discountenance was alternated, but both varied according to the complexion of news from America. The defeat on Long- Island, the reduction of New- York, and the train of disastrous events in 1776, which have already been mentioned, sunk the credit of the Americans very low, and abated much of the national ardor for their support. Their subsequent successes at Trenton and Princeton effaced these impressions, and rekindled active zeal in their behalf The capture of Burgoyne fixed these wavering politics. The success of the Americans in the campaign of 1777, placed them on high ground ; their enmity had proved itself for- midable to Britain, and their friendship be- came desirable to France. The news of the capitulation of Saratoga reached FVance very early in December 1777. The Ameri- can deputies took that opportunity to press for an acceptance of the treaty, which had been under consideration for the preceding twelve months. The capture of Burg03me's army convinced the French, that the oppo- sition of the Americans to Great Britain was not the work of a few men who had got power in their hands, but of the great body of the people, and was likely to be finally successful. It was therefore determined to take them by the hand, and publicly to es- pouse their cause. The commissioners of 214 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. congress, on the sixteenth of December 1777, were informed, by Mr. Gerard, one of the secretaries of the king's council of state, "that it was decided to acknowledge the independence of the United States, and to make a treaty with them : that in the treaty no advantage would be taken of their situa- tion to obtain terms, which otherwise it would not be convenient for them to agree to. It was therefore intended that the terms of the treaty should be such as the new- formed states would be willing to agree to, if they had been long since established, and in the fullness of strength and power, and such as they should approve of when that time should come. That his most christian majesty was fixed in his determination not only to acknowledge, but to support their independence : that in doing this he might probably soon be engaged in a war, yet he should not expect any compensation from the United States on that account. The only condition he should require and rely on would be, that the United States, in no peace to be made, should give up their independ ence, and return to the obedience of the British government." At any time previous to the sixteenth of December 1777, when Mr. Gerard made the foregoing declaration, it was in the power of the British ministry to have ended the American war, and to have established an alliance with the United States, that would have been of great ser vice to both ; but from the same haughtiness which for some time had predominated in their councils, and blinded them to their in^ terests, they neglected to improve the favor able opportunity. Conformably to the preliminaries proposed by Gerard, his most christian majesty Lewis the Sixteenth, on the sixth of February 1778, entered into treaties of amity and commerce, and of alliance, with the United States, on the footing of the most perfect equality and reciprocity. As there was nothing exclusive in the treaty, an opening was left for Great Britain to close the war when she pleased, with all the advantages of future commerce that France had stipulated for herself This ju dicious measure made the establishment of American independence the common cause of all the commercial powers of Europe ; for the question then was, whether the trade of the United States should by the subver- sion of their independence be again monop- olized by Great Britain, or, by the establish- ment of it, laid open on equal terms to all the world. Previous, however, to announcing the de- claration of the French ambassador to the British parliament, the minister's concilia tory bills passed both houses, and the com- missioners were appointed, viz. the earl of Carlisle, Mr. Eden, governor Johnstone, lately become a proselyte to the court, and the commanders-in-chief by sea and land. The impression which was made on all parties by the ill success of the war, and the retraction of the ministers, was now be- come very apparent. So great indeed was the eagerness of all parties to obtain peace and reconciliation with the Americans, that some, even of the gentlemen in office, wish- ed to extend the repeal to all obnoxious acts relative to America : and the minister him- self, in opening his propositions, had declar- ed his willingness to give up all these laws from the tenth of February 1763. The only difference of opinion now upon the subject was concerning the time of carrying it into execution ; that is, whether it should be pre- liminary to, or a consequence of the treaty ? The latter at length prevailed, and a motion for the repeal of the Massachusets charter- act was rejected by one hundred and eighty- one to one hundred and eight. It was after- wards agreed, however, to repeal the tea- act; and Burke having, the same day, moved, that the provisions of the bill should be extended to the West Indies, his motion was likewise agreed to. WAYS AND MEANS. In the debates on the ways and means, some motions were made which exceeding- ly alarmed administration, and even threat- ened the total downfall of their power. In order to raise the interest of six millions, which the minister found it necessary to borrow, he proposed a new tax on houses and wines. This occasioned some debate in the committee of supply on the house-tax, which was considered by the members in opposition as not only a land-tax in effect, but as being also exceedingly disproportion- ate and oppressive, and falling particularly heavy upon the inhabitants of London and Westminster, who already paid so vast a proportion to the land-tax, and whose bur- dens, including poors' rate, window-tax, watch, lights, pavement, and other imposts, amounted in several parishes to more than eight shillings in the pound : whilst, to ren- der it still more grievous, it frequently hap- pened that those who were the least able to bear them, had the heaviest burdens imposed upon them. Such, however, was the present temper of the house, that though the motions were at last agreed to, another was made by a gentleman in office, and closely connected with one branch of the ministry, " That the better to enable his majesty to vindicate the honor and dignity of his crown and domin- ions, in the present exigency of affairs, there be granted one fourth part of the net annual income upon the salaries, fees, and perqui- sites of all offices under the crown, except- GEORGE m. 1760-1820. 215 ing only those held by the speaker of the house of commons, the chancellor, or com- missioners of the great seal, the judges, ministers to foreign parts, commissioners, officers m the army and navy, and all those which do not produce a clear yearly income of two hundred pounds to their possessors ; the tax also extending to all annuities, pen- sions, stipends, or other yearly sums issuing out of the exchequer, or any branch of the revenue; to commence from the twenty- fifth of March 1778, and to continue for one year, and during the American war." This motion, to the astonishment and ter- ror of administration, was carried in the committee by one hundred to eighty-two; and though the ministry summoned all their forces against the ensuing day, in order to oppose it on receiving the report from the committee, it was rejected only by a majori- ty of six ; nor would even this have been the case, had the members in opposition been at all unanimous in its support. DECLARATION OF WAR WITH FRANCE. On the seventeenth of March, the follow- ing message was sent from his majesty to both houses of parliament: "His majesty having been informed, by order of the French king, that a treaty of amity and commerce has been signed between the court of France, and certain persons employed by his majesty's revolted subjects in North America, has judged it necessary to direct, that a copy of the declaration, delivered by the French ambassador to lord viscount Weymouth, be laid before the house of com- mons; and at the same time to acquaint them, that his majesty has thought proper, in consequence of this offensive communi- cation on the part of France, to send orders to his ambassadors to withdraw from that court. His majesty is persuaded, that the justice and good faith of his conduct towards foreign powers, and the sincerity of his wishes to preserve the tranquillity of Eu- rope, will be acknowledged by all the world; and his majesty trusts, that he shall not stand responsible for the disturbance of that tran- quillity, if he should find himself called upon to resent so unprovoked and so unjust an aggression on the honor of his crown, and the essential interests of his kingdom, con- trary to the most solemn assurances, subver- sive of the law of nations, and injurious to the rights of every sovereign power in Eu- rope. His majesty, relying with tlie firmest confidence on the zealous and affectionate support of his faithful people, is determined to be prepared to exert, if it should become necessary, all the forces and resources of his kingdoms ; which he trusts will be ade- quate to repel every insult and attack, and to maintain and uphold the power and repu- tation of this country." The declaration mentioned in the above message, was dated thirteenth of March, and was as follows : " The undersigned ambassador of his most christian majesty has received express or- ders to make the following declaration to the court of London : The United States of North America, who were in full possession of independence, as pronounced by them oa the fourth of July 1776, have proposed to the king to consolidate, by a formal conven- tion, the connexion begun to be established between the two nations, the respective plenipotentiaries have signed a treaty of friendship and commerce, designed to serve as a foundation for their mutual good cor- respondence. His majesty, being determin- ed to cultivate the good understanding sub- sisting between France and Great Britain, by every means compatible with his dignity, and the good of his subjects, thmks it neces- sary to make this proceeding known to the court of London, and to declare at the same time, that the contracting parties have paid great attention not to stipulate any exclusive advantages in favor of the French nation ; and that the United States have reserved the liberty of treating with every nation whatever, upon the same footing of equality and reciprocity. In making this communi- cation to the court of London, the king is firmly persuaded it will find new proofs of his majesty's constant and sincere disposi- tion for peace ; and that his Britannic ma- jesty, animated by the same sentiments, will equally avoid everything that may alter their good harmony ; and that he will par- ticularly take effectual measures to prevent the commerce between his majesty's sub- jects and the United States of North Ameri- ca, from being interrupted, and to cause all the usages received between commercial nations, to be, in this respect, observed ; and all those rules which can be said to subsist between the two crowns of France and Great Britain. In this just confidence, the undersigned ambassador thmks it superflu- ous to acquaint the British minister, that, the king his master being determined to protect effectually the lawful commerce of his subjects, and to maintam the dignity of his flag, his majesty has, in consequence, taken eventual methods, in concert with the United States of North America. Signed, Le M. de Noailles." DEATH OF LORD CHATHAM. On the seventh of April, the duke of Richmond, at the close of the grand com- mittee of inquiry, in which the upper house as well as that of the commons had been during the greater part of the session deep- ly engaged, moved an address to tlie king on the state of the nation. In his speech in support of this address, his grace decla-ed in strong terms his conviction of the nece»- 216 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. sity of an immediate recognition of Ameri- can independence. " The mischief," he said, "whatever might be the magnitude of it, was already done ; America was al- ready lost ; her independence was as firmly established as that of other states. We had sufficient cause for regret, but our lamenta- tion on the subject was of no more avail than it would be for the loss of Normandy or France." On this occasion lord Chatham made his last and most affecting speech in the house of lords. He had long been a prey to those incurable disorders which brought him to his grave, and, at this time, was so exceed- ingly weak, that it was with the utmost difficulty he could be brought into the house. He delivered his speech, however, with ex- traordinary energy, and was heard with mark- ed attention ; but his lordship's speech was cut short by extreme weakness. Lord Chatham, who had appeared greatly moved during the reply, made an eager ef- fort to rise at the conclusion of it, as if la- boring with some great idea, and impatient to give full scope to his feelings ; but, be- fore he could utter a word, pressing his hand on his bosom, he fell down suddenly in a convulsive fit The duke of Cumberland, lord Temple, and other lords near him, caught him in their arms. The house was imme- diately cleared ; and his lordship being car- ried into an adjoining apartment, the debate was adjourned. Medical assistance being ob- tained, his lordship in some degree recovered, and was conveyed to his villa of Hayes in Kent, where, after lingering some few weeks, he expired, May eleventh, 1778, in the sev- entieth year of his age. CHARACTER OF LORD CHATHAM. The decease of this illustrious person de- mands a pause in our narration, and calls for a few general remarks, on his character and abilities. Ambition was his ruling passion, and in seeking to gratify it, we must own, that he sometimes at least em- ployed the means which other courtiers have done, and even sacrificed his private judgment to his advancement. No man, while out of office, ever opposed continent- al and German connexions with more force of argument, with more depth of political sagacity, than he did ; no man, when call- ed to a situation under a sovereign, with whom these connexions were a darling ob- ject, ever more ingeniously defended them. As a minister, we must perhaps allow that lord Chatham had one failing. Formed by nature for the most active and tempestuous scenes, he was too fond of war ; but let it be remembered that he was the only minister of this country that ever had the art of di- recting even the calamities of war to the advantages of the nation. As an orator he, perhaps, yet stands unri- valled in this country. In fire and energy he equalled Demosthenes ; in a vivid fancy, and a promptness of idea, he greatly exceed- ed him. The best speakers of the time shrunk before the amazing force of his eloquence. Lord Mansfield trembled at it ; and even the vigor of lord Holland was found inadequate to the contest. In private life the talents of lord Chatham were alloyed by a mixture of pride and re- serve ; but it was pride united with dignity. He was not selfish, but rather too inattentive to his private aflfairs. He was the man of the public; and though he had certainly equal means with other ministers of amass- ing wealth, he chose rather to leave his fam- ily dependent on the bounty of that country which he had essentially served, than to en- rich them by its plunder. His political system was that of a staunch whig; and though he sometimes conceded to the wishes of the court, as he evidently did with respect to the German connexions, which he described emphatically as " a mill- stone tied about his neck," yet his enemies cannot charge him with ever having made a sacrifice of any great constitutional prin- ciple. On the same evening which terminated the existence of this great statesman, the melancholy event was announced to tlie house of commons by colonel Barre, who, after a short eulogium on his character, moved for an address to the king, request- ing that he would give directions that " the remains of William Pitt, earl of Chatham, be interred at the public expense." The motion was seconded by Townshend, and seemed to receive a very general approba- tion. Notwithstanding the vast eflTusions of sor- row and gratitude which were poured forth, it was, however, well known, that, for some time past, lord Chatham had been so ungra- cious at court, that it was not even thought proper frequently to mention his name there. A gentleman (Rigby) at that time high in office, endeavored, therefore, to evade the motion by a proposal, to erect a monument to his lordship's memory, which, he could not help thinking, would be a more eligible as well as a more lasting testimony of the public gratitude, than merely to defi-ay his funeral expenses. This proposal, however, produced an effect directly contrary to what was intended. The opposition received it with joy ; but, instead of the substitution proposed, they joined it to the original mo- tion, in the following words : " And that a monument be erected in the collegiate church of St. Peter, Westminster, to the memory of that great and excellent states- man, with an inscription expressive of the. GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 217 sentiments of the people on so great and irreparable a loss ; and to assure his majes- ty that this house will make good the ex- pense." Lord John Cavendish arose, and said, he hoped that virtue should not, in this instance, be merely its own reward ; but that the grat- itude of the public to lord Chatham's family, whom he had left destitute of all suitable provision, should be the means of exciting an emulation in those yet unborn to copy such an example. / The minister concurred in these measures in a manner that did him honor ; and the whole house seemed to participate of a gen- eral pleasure in the approbation of them. In consequence of a motion, made by Towns- hend, a bill was brought in and passed, by which an annuity of 4000Z. a-year payable out of the civil-list revenue, was for ever set- tled on those heirs of the late earl, on whom the earldom of Chatham may descend ; and this was followed by a grant of 20,000^. from the commons, for the discharge of the late earl's debts. Though all this passed in the house of commons without any altercation, or with- out a single dissentient voice upon any one proposition, it was otherwise in the house of lords. A motion made by the earl of Shelburne, that the house should attend his funeral, was directly opposed, and the mo- tion lost by the majority of one. The bill for settling an annuity on his descendants was likewise vigorously opposed by a few lords ; however, it was carried, by a majority of 42 to 11. RELIEF TO THE TRADE OF IRELAND. The distresses in which the kingdom of Ireland was involved, in consequence of the war, and the general and loud complaints of the majority of its inhabitants, made it absolutely necessary to attempt something farther for its relief; and in a committee of the whole house, it was resolved, L That the Irish might be permitted to export directly to the British plantations or settlements, all goods, wares, and merchan- dise, being the produce of that kingdom, or of Great Britain, wool and woollen manu- factures only excepted ; as also foreign cer- tificate goods legally imported. n. That a direct importation be allowed of all goods, wares, and merchandise, being the produce of the British plantations, to- bacco only excepted. in. That the direct exportation of glass, manufactured in Ireland, be permitted to all places except Great Britain. IV. That the importation of cotton-yam, the manufacture of Ireland, be allowed, duty free, into Great Britain ; as also, V. The importation of sail-cloth and cordage. Vol. IV. 19 These resolutions excited a very great and general alarm amongst tlie commercial part of the British nation, who seemed to consider the admission of Ireland to any par- ticipation in trade, as equally destructive to their property, and subversive of their rights. After the recess, \ery many instructions and petitions were presented to the house in opposition to them : and it deserves mention, as a striking instance of commercial folly and prejudice, that, in several of the peti- tions, the importation of Irish sail-cloth, and of wrought iron, are particularly specified as ruinous to the same manufactures in Eng- land ; though it was by this time discovered, that, by a positive law of long standing, Ire- land was in actual possession of those very privileges, although the Irish were so far from being able to prosecute these manufac- tures to any purpose of competition with the British, that great quantities of both were annually exported to that country from England. An almost equally great and equally groundless alarm had been taken at the bill passed a few years since, for the free impoilation of woollen yarn into England ; which was by experience found and acknow- ledged to be not merely innocuous, but bene- ficial ;. yet such influence had the apprehen- sions of the public upon the disposition of the house, that the bills founded on the resolutions actually passed, were ultimately dismissed, and some trivial points only con- ceded, not meriting a distinct specification. RELIEF TO ROMAN CATHOLICS. Late in the session, Sir George Saville moved for leave to bring in a bill for the repeal of certain penalties imposed by an act passed in the 10th of king William, en- titled, " an act for preventing the farther growth of popery;" which penalties the mover stated to be, the punishment of popish priests, or Jesuits, as guilty of felony, who should be found to officiate in the services of their church ; the forfeiture of estate to the next Protestant heir, in case of the edu- cation of the Romish possessor abroad ; the power given to the son, or other nearest re- lation, being a Protestant, to take possession of the father's estate during the lifetime of the proprietor; and the depriving Papists of the power of acquiring any legal prop- erty by purchase. Li proposing the repeal of these penalties. Sir George Saville said, " that he meant to vindicate the honor and assert the principles of the Protestant reli- gion, to which all persecution was foreign and adverse. The penalties in question were disgraceful, not only to religion, but to humanity. They were calculated to loosen all the bands of society, to dissolve all so- cial, moral, and religious obligations and du- ties ; to poison the sources of domestic feli- city, and to annihilate every principle of 218 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. lienor." The motion was received with ap- probation, and the bill founded upon it pass- ed without a single negative. A message for a vote of credit excited many severe strictures on the conduct of ministers; and although it not only passed in the committee, but tlie report was re- ceived and agreed to in the house without a division, opposition could not help regretting the miserable situation into which the con- duct of ministers had reduced the country. Intelligence had been received that D'Es- tamg, with twelve ships of the line, had sailed from Toulon about the middle of April, and we had no force in America suf- ficient to oppose him. In answer, ministers endeavored to convince the house, that, if D'Estaing was really destined for America, lord Howe would be able to use such means of defence as would prevent any immediate consequence of moment; if not, admiral Byron, with the fleet under his command, at Portsmouth, could certainly arrive in time to regain any losses that might ensue. It was difficult, however, to persuade the pub- lic, that this tardiness in sending out a proper force accorded with that flourishing state of the navy of which the ministry had boasted. The disputes relative to the northern ex- pedition, were revived on the arrival of general Burgoyne, who was refused admit- tance into the royal presence ; the sun of court-favor no longer shone upon him, and while he remained depressed by ministerial neglect, a court of inquiry was appointed, but the general officers reported, that as he was prisoner on parole to the congress, they could take no cognizance of his conduct. He then demanded a court-martial ; this be- ing refused, he determined to submit his ac- tions to parliamentary inquiry. The inquiry was brought on by Vyner, and seconded by Fox. From the manly and spirited behavior of general Burgoyne on this day, he had no reason to expect favor from the administra- tion, nor much cause to think that they would very deeply interest themselves in an inquiry that bore a more favorable aspect to him than to them. SESSION CLOSES. This session had now been extended be- yond the usual time; it was, however, in both houses moved, that an address should be presented against the prorogation of par- liament, until the present alarming crisis might be terminated. This was rejected by the usual majorities, and on June the third, his majesty closed this tedious session. The commons were thanked for the provision made for the more honorable support of the royal family. The last particular mentioned, refers to a bill passed in the course of the session, for settlmg an annuity of 60,000^. on the six younger princes, of 30,000^. on the five princesses, and of 12,000Z. on the prince and princess, son and daughter to his royal high- ness the duke of Gloucester ; the aniiuities to take eflfect, in the first instance, on the death of his majesty, and in the second, on the death of the duke of Gloucester. PLANS OF CONCILIATION REJECTED BY AMERICA. The conciliatory bills of the minister, even before they had received the sanction of parliament, were copied, and sent across the Atlantic, to lord and general Howe. On their arrival in America, they were sent by a flag to the congress at York-Town. When they were received, congress was uninform- ed of the treaty which their commissioners had lately (on the twenty-first of April) con- cluded at Paris. For upwards of a year, they had not received one line of informa- tion from them on any subject whatever. One packet had in that time been received, but all the letters were taken out before it was put on board the vessel which brought it from France, and blank paper put in their stead. A committee of congress was ap- pointed to examine these bills, and report on them. Their report was brought in the day following, and was unanimously adopted. By this they rejected the proposals of Great Britain. The vigorous and firm language in which congress expressed their rejection of these offers, considered in connexion with the circumstance of their being wholly ig- norant of the late treaty with France, ex- hibits the glowing serenity of fortitude. While the royal commissioners were indus- triously circulating these bills in a partial and secret manner, as if they suspected an intention of concealing them from the com- mon people, congress, trusting to the good sense of their constituents, ordered them to be forthwith printed for the public informa- tion. Having directed the affairs of their country with an honest reference to its wel- fare, they had nothing to fear from the peo- ple knowing and judging for themselves. They submitted the whole to the public ; their act, after some general remarks on the bill, concluded as follows : "From all which it appears evident to your committee, that the said bills are in- tended to operate upon the hopes and fears of the good people of these states, so as to create divisions among them, and a defec- tion from the common cause, now, by the blessing of Divine Providence, drawmg near to a favorable issue : that they are the sequel of that insidious plan, which, from the days of the stamp-act down to the present time, hath involved this country in contention and bloodshed : and that, as in other cases so in this, although circumstances may force them GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 219 at times to recede from their unjustifiable claims, there can be no doubt but they will, as heretofore, upon the first favorable occa- sion, again display that lust of domination which hath rent in twain the mighty empire of Britain. " Upon the whole matter, the committee beg leave .to report it as their opinion, that as ttie Americans united in this arduous contest upon principles of common interest, for the defence of common rights and privi- leges, which union hath been cemented by common calamities, and by mutual good offices and affection, so the great cause for which they contend, and in which all man- kind are interested, must derive its success from the continuance of that union. Where- fore any man or body of men, who should presume to make any separate or partial convention or agreement with commissioners under the crown of Great Britain, or any of them, ought to be considered and treated as open and avowed enemies of these United States. " And further, your committee beg leave to report it as their opinion, that these United States cannot with propriety hold any conference with any commissioners on the part of Great Britain, unless they shall, as a preliminary thereto, either withdraw their fleets and armies, or else, in positive and express terms, acknowledge the inde- pendence of the said States. "And inasmuch as it appears to be the design of the enemies of these States to lull them into a fatal security — to the end that they may act with a becoming weight and importance, it is the opinion of your com- mittee, that the several States be called upon to use the most strenuous exertions to have their respective quotas of continental troops in the field as soon as possible, and that all the militia of the said States be held in readi- ness to act as occasion may require." The conciliatory bills were speedily fol- lowed by the royal commissioners, deputed to solicit their reception. Governor John- stone, lord Carlisle, and Mr. Eden, appoint- ed on this business, attempted to open a ne- gotiation on the subject. They requested general Washington to furnish a passport for their secretary, Dr. Ferguson, with a letter from them to congress ; but this was refused, and the refusal was unanimously approved by congress. They then forward- ed in the usual channel of communication a letter addressed " To his excellency Henry Tjaurens, the president, and other the mem- bers of congress," in which they communi- cated a copy of their commission and of the acts of parliament on w^hich it was founded, and offered to concur in every satisfactory , and just arrangement towards the following among other purposes : " To consent to a cessation of hostilities, both by sea and land. "To restore free intercourse, to revive mutual affection, and renew the common benefits of naturalization, through the seve- ral parts of this empire. " To extend every freedom to trade that our respective interests can require. "To agree that no military forces shall be kept up in the different states of North America, without the consent of the gene- ral congress or particular assemblies. "To concur in measures calculated to discharge the debts of America, and to raise the credit and value of the paper circulation. " To perpetuate our union by a reciprocal deputation of an agent or agents from the different States, who shall have the privilege of a seat and voice in the parliament of Great Britain ; or if sent from Britain, in that case to have a seat and voice in the as- semblies of the different States to which they may be deputed respectively, in order to attend the several interests of those by whom they are deputed. " In short, to establish the power of the respective legislatures in each particular state, to settle its revenue, its civil or mili- tary establishment, and to exercise a perfect freedom of legislation and internal govern- ment, so that the British states throughout North America, acting with us in peace and war under one common sovereign, may have the irrevocable enjoyment of every privi- lege that is short of a total separation of in- terests, or consistent with that union offeree, on which the safety of our common religion and liberty depends." A decided negative having been already given, previous to the arrival of the British commissioners, to the overtures contained in the conciliatory bills, and intelligence of the treaty with France having in the mean time arrived, there was no ground left for farther deliberation. President Laurens therefore, by order of congress, on the seventeenth of June, returned the following answer : " I have received the letter from your ex- cellencies of the ninth instant, with the in- closures, and laid them before congress. Nothing but an earnest desire to spare the farther effusion of human blood could have induced them to read a paper, containing expressions so disrespectful to his most christian majesty, the good and great ally ! of these States ; or to consider propositions I so derogatory to the honor of an independ- j ent nation. " The acts of the British parliament, the j commission from your sovereign, and your ! letter, suppose the people of those fc^tates to i be the subjects of the crown of Great Brit- i ain, and are founded on the idea of depend- I ence, which is utterly inadmissible. 220 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. " I am further directed to inform your ex- cellencies, that congress is inclined to peace, notwithstanding the unjust claims from which this war originated, and the savage manner in which it hath been conducted. They will therefore be ready to enter upon the consideration of a treaty of peace and com- merce, not inconsistent with treaties already subsisting, when the king of Great Britain shall demonstrate a sincere disposition for that purpose. The only solid proof of this disposition will be, an explicit acknowledg- ment of the independence of these States, or the withdrawing his fleets and armies." Though congress could not, consistently with national honor, enter on a discussion of the terms proposed by the British commis- sioners, yet some individuals of their body ably proved the propriety of rejecting them. Among these governor Morris, and W. H. Drayton, with great force of argument and poignancy of wit, justified the decisive mea- sures adopted by their countrymen. These offers of conciliation in a great measure originated in an opinion that the congress was supported by a faction, and that the great body of the people was hos- tile to independence, and well disposed to reunite with Great Britain. The latter of these suppositions was true, till a certain period of the contest; but that period was elapsed. With their new situation, new opinions and attachments had taken place. The political revolution of the government was less extraordinary than that of the style and manner of thinking in the United States. The independent American citizens saw with other eyes, and heard with other ears, than when they were in the condition of British subjects. That narrowness of sentiment, which prevailed in England to- wards France, no loncrer existed among the Americans. The British commissioners, un- apprized of this real change in the public mind, expected to keep a hold on the citi- zens of the United States, by that illiberality which they inherited from their forefathers. Presuming that the love of peace, and the ancient national antipathy to France would counterbalance all other ties, they flattered themselves that by perseverance an impres- sion favorable to Great Britain might yet be made on the mind of America. They there- fore renewed their efforts to open a ne- gotiation with congress, in a letter of the eleventh of July. As they had been inform- ed, in answer to their preceding letter of the tenth of June, that an explicit acknow- ledgment of the independence of the United States, or a withdrawing of their fleets and armies, must precede an entrance on the consideration of a treaty of peace, and as neither branch of this alternative had been complied with, it was resolved by congress that no answer should be f^iven to their re- iterated application. In addition to his public exertions as a commissioner, governor Johnstone endeav- ored to attain the objects on which he had been sent, by opening a private correspond- ence with some of the members of congress, and other Americans of influence. He in particular addressed himself by letter to Henry Laurens, Joseph Reed, and Robert Morris. His letter to Henry Laurens was in these words : " Dear Sir, " I beg to transfer to my friend Dr. Fer- guson, the private civilities which my friends Mr. Manning and Mr. Oswald request in my behalf He is a man of the utmost prob- ity, and of the highest esteem in the repub- lic of letters. " If you should follow the example of Britain in the hour of her insolence, and send us back without a hearmg, I shall hope from private friendship, that I may be per- mitted to see the country, and the worthy characters she has exhibited to the world, upon making the request in any way you may point out." In a letter to Joseph Reed, of April elev- enth, governor Johnstone said, "The man who can be instrumental in bringing us aU to act once more in harmony, and to unite together the various powers which this con- test has drawn forth, will deserve more from the king and people, from patriotism, hu- manity, and all the tender ties that are af- fected Isy the quarrel and reconciliation, than ever was yet bestowed on human kind." On the sixteenth of June he wrote to Robert Morris, " I believe the men who have con- ducted the affairs of America incapable of being influenced by improper motives ; but in all such transactions there is risk ; and f think, that whoever ventures should be se- cured, at the same time that honor and emolument should naturally follow the for- tune of those, who have steered the vessel in the storm, and brought her safely to port. I think Washington and the president have a right to every favor that grateful nations can bestow, if they could once more unite our interests, and spare the miseries and de- vastations of war." To Joseph Reed, private information waa communicated, that it had been intended by governor Johnstone, to offer him, in case of His exerting his abilities to promote a re- union of the two countries, if consistent with Iiis principles and judgment, ten thousand pounds sterling, and any office in the colo- nies in his majesty's gift. To which Reed replied, "I am not worth purchasing, but such as I am, the king of Great Britain is not rich enough to do it." Congress, on the ninth of July, ordered all letters, received GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 221 by members of Congress, from any of the British commissioners, or their agents, or from any subject of the king of Great Brit- ain, of a public nature, to be laid before them. The above letters and information being communicated, congress resolved, " That the same cannot but be considered as direct attempts to corrupt their integrity, and that it is incompatible with the honor of congress to hold any manner of corres- pondence or intercourse with the said George Johnstone, Esquire, especially to negotiate with him upon affairs in which the cause of liberty is interested." Their determination, with the reasons of it, were expressed in the form of a declaration, a copy of which was signed by the president, and sent by a flag to the commissioners at New-York. This was answered by governor Johnstone by an angry publication, in which he denied or explained away what had been alleged against him. Lord Carlisle, Sir Henry Clin- ton, and Mr. Eden, denied their having any knowledge of the matter charged on gov- ernor Johnstone. The commissioners failing in their at- tempts to negotiate with congress, had no resource left, but to persuade the inhabitants to adopt a line of conduct counter to that of their representatives. To this purpose they jyublished a manifesto and proclamation, ad- dressed to congress, the assemblies, and all others the free inhabitants of the colonies, in which they observed, "The policy, as well as the benevolence of Great Britain, liave thus far checked the extremes of war, when they tended to distress a people still considered as our fellow-subjects, and to des- olate a country shortly to become a source of mutual advantage : but when that coun^ try professes the unnatural design not only of estranging herself from us, but of mort gating herself and her resources to our en- emies, the whole contest is changed, and the question is, how far Great Britain may, by every means in her power, destroy or ren- der useless a connexion contrived for her ruin, and for the aggrandizement of France. Under such circumstances the laws of self- preservation must direct the conduct of Great Britam ; and if the British colonies are ta become an accession to France, will direct her to render the accession of as little avail as possible to her enemy." Congress, upon being informed of the de- sign of the commissioners to circulate these papers, declared, that the agents employed to distribute the manifestoes and proclama- tions of the commissioners, were not enti- tled to protection from a flag. They also re- commended to the several states to secure and keep them in close custody; but that they might not appear to hoodwink their 19* constituents, they ordered the manifestoes and proclamation to be printed in the news- papers. The proposals of the commissioners were not more favorably received by the people than they had been by congresa In some places the flags containing them were not received, but ordered instantly to de- part ; in others they were received, and for- warded to congress, as the only proper tri- bunal to take cognizance of them. In no one place, not immediately commanded by the British army, was there any attempt to accept, or even to deliberate on the propri- ety of closing with the offers of Britain. To deter the British from executing their threats of laying waste the country, con- gress, on the thirtieth of October, published to the world a resolution and manifesto, in which they concluded with these words : " We, therefore, the congress of tlie Unit- ed States of America, do solemnly declare and proclaim, that if our enemies presume to execute their threats, or persist in their present career of barbarity, we will take such exemplary vengeance as shall deter others from a like conduct. We appeal to that God who searcheth the hearts of men, for the rectitude of our intentions : and in his holy presence we declare, that as we are not rhoved by any light and hasty sugges- tion of anger and revenge, so through every possible change of fortune we will adhere to this our determmation." This was the last effort of Great Britain, in the way of negotiation, to regain her col- onies. It originated in tolly, and ignorance of the real state of affairs in America. She had begun with wrong measures, and had now got into wrong time. Her concessions, on this occasion, were an implied justifica- tion of the resistance of the colonists. By offering to concede all that they at first ask- ed for, she virtually acknowledged herself to have been the aggressor m an unjust war- Nothing" could be more favorable to the ce- menting of the friendship of the new allies than this unsuccessfiil negotiation. The states had an opportunity of evmcing the sincerity of their engagements, and France abundant reason to believe that, by prevent- ing their being conquered, her favorite scheme of lessening the power of Great Britain would be secured beyond the reach of accident. Afler the termmation of the campaign of 1777, the British army retired to wmter- quarters in Philadelphia, and the American army to Valley Forge. The former enjoy- ed all the conveniencies which an opulent city afforded, while the latter, not half clothed, and more than once on the point of starving, were enduring the severity of a cold winter in a hutted camp. It was well 222 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. for them that the British made no attempt to disturb them, while in this destitute con- dition. The winter and spring passed away with- out any more remarkable events in either army, than a few successful excursions of parties from Philadelphia to the neighboring country, for the purpose of bringing in sup- plies, or destroying property. In one of these, a party of the British proceeded to Borden- ton, and there burned four store-houses full of useful commodities. Before they return- ed to Philadelphia, they burned two frig- ates, nine ships, six privateer sloops, twen- ty-three brigs, with a number of sloops and schooners. Soon after, an excursion from Newport was made by five hundred British and Hes- sians, under the command of lieutenant-colo- nel Campbell. These having landed in the night, marched next morning (May twenty- fifth) in two bodies, the one for Warren, the other for the head of Kickemuet river. They destroyed about seventy flat-bottomed boats, and burned a quantity of pitch, tar, and plank. They also set fire to the meeting- house at Warren, and seven dwelling-houses. At Bristol they burned the church and twen- ty-two houses. FRENCH SQUADRON ARRIVES IN AMER- ICA—PHILADELPHIA EVACUATED. The French squadron, commanded by count D'Estaing, which had sailed from Tou- lon for America, arrived, on the 9th of July, after a passage of eighty-seven days, at the entrance of the Delaware. From an appre- hension of something of this kind, and from the prospect of greater security, it was re- solved in Great Britain forthwith to evacu- ate Philadelphia, and to concentrate the royal force in the city and harbor of New- York. The commissioners brought out the orders for this movement, but knew nothing of the matter : it had an unfriendly influence on their proposed negotiations, but it was indispensably necessary ; for if the French fleet had blocked up the Delaware, and the Americans besieged Philadelphia, the escape of the British from either would have been scarcely possible. On the eighteenth of June the royal army passed over the Delaware into New-Jersey. General Washington, having penetrated into their design of evacuating Philadelphia, had previously detached general Maxwell's brig- ade to co-operate with the Jersey militia in obstructing their progress, till time should be given for his army to overtake them. The British were encumbered with an enormous baggage, which, together with the impedi- ments thrown in their way, greatly retarded their march. The American army having, in pursuit of the British, crossed the Dela- ware, six hundred men were immediately detached under colonel Morgan to reinforce general Maxwell. Washington halted his troops, when they had marched to the vicin- ity of Princeton. The general officers in the American army, being asked by the com- mander-in-chief, "Will it be advisable to hazard a general action V answered in the negative, but recommended a detachment of fifteen hundred men to be immediately sent to act as occasion might serve on the enemy's left flank and rear. This was im- mediately forwarded under general Scott. The British pursued their march without farther interruption than a partial and inde- cisive action at Monmouth, and on the thir- tieth of June reached the neighborhood of Sandy-hook, without the loss of either their covering party or baggage. The American general declined all farther pursuit of the royal army, and soon after drew off" his troops to the borders of the North River. Soon after the battle of Monmouth, the American army took post at the White Plains, a few miles beyond Kingsbridge; and the British, though only a few miles dis- tant, did not molest them. They remained in this position from an early day in July, till a late one in the autumn, and then the Americans retired to Middlebrook in Jersey, where they built themselves huts in the same manner as they had done at Valley Forge. FRENCH AMBASSADOR TO CONGRESS- BRITISH FLEET BLOCKADED IN NEW- YORK. Immediately on the departure of the British from Philadelphia, congress, after an absence of nine months, returned to the for- mer seat of their deliberations. Soon after their return, they were called upon to give a public audience to a minister plenipoten- tiary from the court of France. The person appointed to this office was M. Gerard, the same who had been employed in tlie nego- tiations antecedent to the treaty. The Brit- ish had but barely completed the removal of their fleet and army, from the Delaware and Philadelphia to the harbor and city of New- York, when they received intelligence that the French fleet was on the coast of Amer- ica. Count D'Estaing had with him twelve ships of the line and three frigates : among the former, one carried ninety guns, another eighty, and six seventy-four guns each. Their first object was the surprise of lord Howe's fleet in the Delaware, but they ar- rived too late. In naval history there are few more narrow escapes than that of the British fleet on this occasion. It consisted only of six sixty-four gun ships, three of fifty, and two of forty, with some frigates and sloops. Most of these had been long on ser- vice, and were in a bad condition. Their force, when compared with that of the French fleet, was so greatly mferior, that, GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 223 had the latter reached the mouth of the Del- 1 ously on the coast of America. Admiral fl.^« « ^^oa *aAintia naaaacTP tVipir Pan. Rvrnn'« snnnrlmn hnA m*»f writh hnri «7Pnth^alls of the house ; and then, what would now bear the appearance of too much compul- sion, would have been received with grati- tude. But, at all events, they ought to con- sider that they were then sitting as the representatives of the people, and solely for their advantage and benefit, and that they in duty stood pledged to that people, as their creators, for the faithful discharge of their trust. The authority of the speaker had such an CiTect, that the ministerial party soon found the question going against them. The lord advocate of Scotland, in order to prevent it from being lost, proposed such an amend- ment as he supposed would be rejected by opposition, and consequently that the whole would fall to the ground. The amendment consisted in inserting the words, " That it is now necessary to declare ;" but in this he was mistaken : the amendment was readily and unexpectedly agreed to by the opposite party ; and on a division the numbers were in fivor of the motion two hundred and thirty-three, against it two hundred and fif- teen ; so that the court was left in a minori- ty of eighteen. Dunning then moved, " that it was competent to that house to examine into and correct abuses in the expenditure of the civil-list, as well as in every other Vol. TV. id branch of the public revenue, whenever it shall seem expedient to the house to do so." This was opposed by lord North, who, in the strongest terms, expressed his wishes that the committee would not proceed. The motion was nevertheless agreed to by the house. Mr. Thomas Pitt then moved, " that it was the duty of that house to provide, as far as might be, an immediate and effectual redress of the abuses complained of in the petitions presented to the house from the different counties, cities, and towns in this kingdom." The minister once more earnest- ly implored the committee to desist, but with no effect; the motion was agreed to. Itv/as lastly moved by Fox, " that the resolutions should be immediately reported to the house;" which was deprecated and protested against by lord North, as violent, arbitrary, and con- trary to the established usage of parlia- ment. The motion, however, was carried, and the chairman reporting the resolutions accordingly, they were severally agreed to by the house. On the tenth of April, the committee be- ing resumed, Dunning " congratulated the house upon the late decisions, which he however said, could avail little unless the house proceeded effectually to remedy the grievances complained of by the people. The alarming and increasing influence of the crown being now admitted by a solemn decision of that house, it was incumbent upon them to go from generals to particu- lars. With a view therefore of extirpatmg that corrupt influence, he should move, " that there be laid before the house every session, within seven days after the meeting of parliament, an account of all moneys paid out of the civil revenue, to or for the use of, or in trust for, any member of parlia- ment since the last recess." This was ob- jected to by lord North, the lord-advocate of Scotland, the attorney-general Wedder- bume, &c. but was carried without a divis- ion. Dunning %en moved, " that the per- sons holding the offices of treasurer of the chamber, treasurer of the household, cofferer of the household, comptroller of the house- hold, master of the household, clerks of the green cloth, and their deputies, should be rendered incapable of a seat in that house." This was again opposed, and by the same persons as before ; but on a division was car- ried by a majority of two hundred and fif- teen to two hundred and thirteen voices. So far the patriotic party in parliament had triumphantly proceeded, to the infinite joy of the disinterested and independent part of the public, when the sudden illness of the speaker obliged the house to adjourn to the twenty-fourth of April ; on which day, the committee being resumed, Dunning moved for an address, « that his majesty would b« 254 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. pleased not to dissolve the parliament or prorogue the present session until the ob- jects of the petitions were answered." When the house, after a vehement debate, came to a division on this important ques- tion, it was at once discovered that the un- fortunate illness of the speaker had infected " the very life-blood of their enterprise ;" the motion being rejected by a majority of two hundred and fifty-four to two hundred and three. On the question being carried, Fox rose to speak, but the ministerial party, dreading bis eloquence, especially after such provoca- tion, resolved that he should not be heard. A most extraordinary scene of confusion and disorder ensued ; and the chair being repeatedly called upon to exercise its authori- t}', the speaker at length, with the utmost vehemence of voice, called upon every side of the house to order ; and having caused the bar to be cleared by the proper officers, required and insisted that every member should take his place. The way being thus cleared for Fox, the deserters were condemn- ed to hear their conduct represented in such a manner as perhaps was never done on any occasion in that house before, the severity of which was aggravated by the consciousness that the treatment they received was not unmerited. Fox was seconded in his censure by Dun- ning, and a direct charge of treachery against the nation was brought by both. The counties, they said, depending on the faith of parliament for the redress held out by those resolutions, had relaxed greatly in the measures they had formerly pursued for obtaining it by other means ; and the coun- ty of Cambridge in particular had, upon that dependence, rescinded its own resolu- tion of appointing a committee of associa- tion. They both likewise declared, that the division of this night was totally deci- sive with regard to the petitions; that it amounted to a full and general rejection of their prayer ; and that all hope of obtain- ing any redress for the people in that house was at an end. The minister replied in his usual strain of address ; and the house be- ing now disposed to assent to whatever he said, tlie affair of reformation was totally abandoned, and the remainder of Burke's es- tablishment bill was rejected as fast as it v/as The triumph of the ministry was soon completed, and every attempt at reformation was rendered for ever fruitless in this coun- try by the proceedings of an intolerant and lawless mob. The offence which the repeal of the penal laws against Papists gave to the people of Scotland, and the violent pro- ceedings of the intemperate zealots in that part of the kingdom, have teen already no- ticed. The prejudice was gradually extend- ed to England, and much pains were taken by inflammatory harangues and pamphlets to prejudice the minds of the people against tlie late wise and salutary relaxation of the penal code. It was at length determined to prepare a petition for a repeal of the law in question, which is affirmed to have obtained one hundred and twenty thousand signatures, or marks, of men of the lowest orders of society, whose excess of zeal could be equal- led only by the grossness of their ignorance ; a combination of qualities at once ridiculous and terrible. Lord George Gordon, the presi- dent of the Protestant associations both in England and Scotland, who was also a mem- ber of the house of commons, declined to present this petition, unless he were accom- panied to the house Ijy at least twenty thou- sand men. RIOTS IN LONDON. A PUBLIC meeting of the association was, in consequence, convened in St. George's Fields, June second, 1780, whence it was supposed that not less than fifty thousand persons proceeded in regular divisions, with lord George Gordon at their head, to the house of commons, where their petition was presented by their president. Towards even- ing this multitude began to grow very tu- multuous, and grossly insulted various mem- bers of both houses, compelling them in passing to and from the house to cry, " No Popery !" and to wear blue cockades. During the debates on the petition, lord George Gor- don frequently addressed the mob without, in terms calculated to inflame their passions, and expressly stating to them, " that the people of Scotland had no redress till they pulled down the Popish chapels." After the adjournment of the house, the mob, on this suggestion, immediately proceeded to the demolition of the chapels of the Sardinian and Bavarian ambassadors. The military being ordered out could not prevent the mis- chief, but apprehended various of the ring- leaders. The next day, Saturday, passed quietly ; but on Sunday the rioters reassembled in vast numbers, and destroyed the chapels and pri- vate dwellings belonging to the principal Catholics in the vicinity of Moorfields. On Monday they extended their devasta- tions to other parts of the town ; and Sir George Saville's house, in Leicester Fields, was totally dem.olished by these blind and barbarous bigots-- — that distinguished senator and patriot having had the honor to be the first mover of the bill. On Tuesday, the day appointed for taking the petition into consideration, the mob again surrounded the parliament-house, and re- newed their outrages and in;^ ults. The house, after pat"Kir,g ecme retcluticns adapted to tlie GEORGE HI. 1760—1820. 255 occasion, and expressive of their just indig- nation, immediately adjourned. In the even- ing the populace, now grown more daring than ever, attacked the prison of Newgate, where their comrades were confined, with astonishing resolution; and, setting the building in flames, liberated more than three hundred felons and debtors resident within its walls. Encouraged by the impunity with which they had hitherto acted, they then proceeded to lord Mansfield's house in Bloomsbury Square, which they totally de- molished, his lordship escaping not without difficulty. The prisons of Clerkenwell were also forced, many private houses plundered or destroyed, and scarcely did the night afford any cessation of the riots. On Wednesday, the King's Bench prison, the Fleet, and the house of Langdale, a dis- tiller in Holborn, were marked for destruc- tion ; and as the evening approached, a scene presented itself, the outlines of which may be described, but the human imagination is incapable of conveying those sensations of horror which filled the breasts of those who saw it. At the same instant the King's Bench and Fleet prisons, New Bridewell, the toll-gates on Blackfriars bridge, the lar^e houses at the bottom of Holborn, and various houses in other parts of the town, to the number of thirty-six, were seen in flames. — Some wretches were burned at the houses of distillers ; the spirits were brought out in pail-fuls, and not only common but non-rectified spirits were drunk with avidity. At one time a piece of ruins fell 6n the heads of these devoted miscreants; at another they were discovered nodding over the fire, and so desperately insensible of their situa- tion, and incapable to move, through intoxi- cation, that many of them were seen to drop into eternity, in a manner too shocking for description. The same day attempts were made on the Bank, and the Pay-Office ; but these places being strongly guarded, they failed, and many of the rioters embraced an untimely and unprepared death at the hand of the military, rather than abandon their destructive pursuits. This night was the most dreadful of any ; the numbers of the killed cannot be ascertained ; but as far as report enables us to estimate them, they stand thus ; one hundred and nine killed by asso- ciation troops and guards, one hundred and one by light-horse, and seventy-five died in the hospitals. Those who were present speak of these scenes as exceeding anything recorded in our annals. Before noon on Thursday, the regulars and militia from the country had put a stop to any further devas- tations. In the mean time about two hundred members of the house of commons had the courage to assemble in that place, under the protection of the military. Some resolu- tions were passed ; one was, an assertion of their own privileges ; the second, for a com- mittee of inquiry into the late and present outrages, and for the discovery of their pro- moters and abettors ; a third tor a prosecu- tion by the attorney-general ; and the fourth for an address to his majesty for the reim- bursement of the foreign ministers to the amount of the damages they had sustained by the rioters. But the news of the confla- gration begun in the city arriving, occasion- ed their hasty adjournment. On Thursday the eighth of June, lord George Gordon was taken into custody, and conveyed to the horse-guards, where he underwent an ex- amination before the lord president, lord North, lord Amherst, the secretaries of state, and several lords of the privy-council, and in the evening was committed a close pris- oner to the Tower. He was attended thither by a greater force than ever was known on any similar occasion. Lord George Gordon was in the following year brought to trial for high treason, and acquitted of all the charges ; nor among all those who were ap- prehended, brought to trial, and hanged, were there any proved to belong to that company who assembled in St. George's Fields. Thus ended this disgraceful affair. Though the ministry, however artfully, endeavored to throw tlie whole of the riots on the in- tolerant spirit of the Protestant association, yet it is certain that their own unpopularity greatly served to increase that spirit of dis- content in the people, which, on the slightest occasion, was ready to break out into vio- lence. The American war, and the misery it occasioned, was what gave spirit and vigor to the proceedings of the Protestant associa- tion, and popularity to the mobs which as- sembled. The actual mischief, however, was done by the felons who were rescued from the prisons, joined by a set of miscre- ants, who are ever ready to take the oppor- tunity of any popular commotion to plunder and rob their fellow-citizens. It was determined in a committee of the whole house of commons, that no repeal should take place of the act in favor of the Roman Catholics, as the grievances said to arise from it were imaginary ; they came to resolutions in order to set the conduct of parliament in a fair light, and to undeceive the ill-informed but well-meaning part of the petitioners. On Saturday, July the eighth, his majesty closed this tedious ses- sion with a speech, in which he expressed his satisfaction at the magnanimity and per- severance of his faithful commons. In the course of the summer a special commission was issued for the trial of the rioters, of whom a very great number, con- 256 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. sisting of men very opposite in description and character, were apprehended. Lord chief justice De Grey, whose mild and be- nignant disposition, as well as his infirm health, was ill suited to this painful task, willingly resigning his office ; the attorney- general Wedderburne was advanced to the chief justiceship, under the title of lord Loughborough. The multiplicity combined with the precipitate and indiscriminate se- verity of the sentences passed in his judicial capacity by this magistrate upon the rioters, far exceeded anything known in this country since the days of Judge Jefferies : such in- deed as left the memory of these transac- tions impressed upon the public mind in in- delible characters of blood. On the first of September, a proclamation was issued for the dissolution of the parlia- ment, and for calling a new one. SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR. While intestine violence and riot shook the capital, our fleets abroad met with suc- cess, which served to console the unthink- ing populace for past misfortunes. The close investment of Gibraltar imme- diately succeeded the Spanish declaration of war. It was about the middle of August 1779, when the enemy's troops first began to break ground before that fortress. Though the Spanish batteries were not sufficiently in forwardness to annoy the garrison to any extent, they suffered much from a dreadful scarcity. Thistles, dandelion, &c. were the daily food of multitudes. The squadron, therefore, which had been fitted out, in the latter end of 1779, for the defence of the West Indies, under the command of adiniral Sir George Rodney, was ordered, in its way, to touch at Gibraltar, to relieve it from the blockade, and to convoy thither a considera- ble fleet of transports with necessaries for the garrison. He had been but a few days at sea, when a fortunate chance threw in his way a convoy bound from St. Sebastian to Cadiz, consisting of fifteen sail of mer- chantmen, under the protection of a fine new sixty-four gun ship, and four frigates. The whole fleet was captured by the Eng- lish admiral, who had scarcely adjusted the distribution of his prizes, when, on the six- teenth of January, off Cape St. Vincent, he came in sight of a Spanish squadron of eleven ships of the line, commanded by Don Juan Langra. After a most gallant defence by the Spaniards, their admiral's ship of eighty guns, and three others of seventy, fell into the hands of the English, and were carried to Gibraltar. After having relieved that for- tress, the English admiral sailed about the middle of February with a part of the fleet to the West Indies, leaving the Spanish prizes, with a squadron, under the care of rear-admiral Digby, who in his way home captured a French man-of-war of sixty-four guns. AMERICAN AFFAIRS. The successful defence of Savannah, t(v ge^ther with the subsequent departure of count D'Estaing from the coast of the United States, soon dissipated all apprehensions previously entertained for the safety of Nev/- Yoik. These circumstances pointed out to Su- Henry Clinton the propriety of renewing oflfensive operations. Having effected no- thing of importance for the two preceding campaigns, he turned his attention south- ward, and regaled himself with flattering prospects of easy conquest among the weakei states. The suitableness of the climate tor winter operations, the richness of the coun- try, and its distance from support, designated South Carolina as a proper object of enter- prise. No sooner, therefore, was the depar- ture of the French fleet known and confirm- ed, than Sir Henry Clinton committed the command of the royal army in New- York to lieutenant-general Kniphausen, and embark- ed for the southward, with four flank bat- talions, twelve regiments, and a corps of British, Hessian, and provincials, a powerful detachment of artillery, two hundred and fifty cavalry, together with an ample supply of military stores and provisions. Vice-ad- miral Arbuthnot, with a suitable naval force, undertook to convoy the troops to the placo of their destination. On the twenty-sixtli of December 1779, the whole sailed from New- York. After a tedious and dangerous pas- sage, in wliich part of tlieir ordnance, most of their artillery, and all their cavalry horses were lost, the fleet, on the twenty-first of January 1780, arrived at Tybee in Georgia. In a few days the transports, with the arniy on board, sailed from Savannah for North Edisto, and after a short passage, the troops made good their landing about tliirty miles from Charlestown, and on the eleventh of February took possession of John's Island and Stono Ferry, and soon after of James Island and Wappoo Cut. — A bridge was thrown over the canal, and part of the royal army took post on the banks of Ashley River, opposite to Charlestown. The assembly of the state was sitting when the British landed, but broke up after " delegating to governor Rutledge, and .such of his council as he could conveniently con- sult, a power to do everything necessary for the public good, except the taking away the life of a citizen without a legal trial." The governor immediately ordered the militia to rendezvous. Though the necessity was great, few obeyed the pressing call. A proclama- tion was issued by the governor, under his extraordinary powers, requiring such of the militia as were regidarly drafted, and all the inhabitants and owners of property in GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 257 the town, to repair to the American standard and join the garrison immediately, under pain of confiscation. This severe though necessary measure produced very little ef- fect ; so much was the country dispirited by the late repulse at Savannah. CHARLESTOWN TAKEN. The tedious passage from New- York to Tybee gave the Americans time to fortify Charlestown. This, together with the losses which the royal army had sustained in the late tempestuous weather, induced Sir Henry Clinton to dispatch an order to New- York for reinforcements of men and stores. He also directed major-general Prevost to send on to hun twelve hundred men from the gar- rison of Savannah. Brigadier-general Pat- terson, at the head of this detachment, made his way good over the river Savannah, and through the intermediate country, and soon after joined Sir Henry Clinton near the banks of Ashley River. The royal forces witliout delay proceeded to the siege. At Wappoo on James Island, they formed a depot, and erected fortifications both on that island and on the main, opposite to the south- em and western extremities of Charlestown. An advanced party crossed Ashley River, and soon after broke ground at the distance of eleven hundred yards from the American works. At successive periods, they erected five batteries on Charlestown Neck. The garrison was equally assiduous in preparing for its defence. The works which had been previously thrown up were strengthened and extended. Lines and redoubts were continued across from Cooper to Ashley River. In front of the whole was a strong j'batis, and a wet ditch made by passing a canal from the heads of swamps which run in opposite directions. Between the abatis and the lines, deep holes were dug at short intervals. The lines were made particularly strong on the right and left, and so con- structed as to rake the wet ditch in almost its whole extent. To secure the centre, a horn-work had been erected, which being closed during the siege formed a kind of citadel. Works were also thrown up on all sides of the town, where a landing was prac- ticable. Though the lines were no more than field works, yet Sir Henry Clinton treated them with the respectful homage of three parallels. From the third to the tenth of April, the first parallel was completed, and immediately after the town was sum- moned to surrender. On the twelfth, the batteries were opened, and from that day an almost incessant fire was kept up. About the time the batteries were opened, a work was thrown up near Wando River, nine miles from town, and another at Lempriere's Point, to preserve the communication witli the country by water. A post was also or- 22* dered over the Santee, to favor the coming in of reinforcements, or the retreat of the garrison when necessary. On the twenty- first of March, the British marine force, con- sisting of one ship of fifty guns, two of forty- four guns, four of thirty-two, and the Sand- wich armed ship, crossed the bar in front of Rebellion Road, and anchored in Five Fath- om Hole. The American force opposed to this was the Bricole, which, though pierced for forty-four guns, did not mount half of that number, two of thirty-two guns, one of twenty-eight, two of twenty-six, two of twenty, and the brig Notre Dame of sixteen guns. The first object of its commander, commodore Whipple, was to prevent admiral Arbuthnot from crossing the bar, but en far- ther examination this was found to be im- practicable. He therefore fell back to Fort Moultrie, and afterwards to Charlestown. The crew and guns of alibis vessels, except one, were put on shore to reinforce the bat- teries. On the ninth of April, admiral Arbuthnot weighed anchor at Five Fathom Hole, and with the advantage of a strong southerly wind, and flowing tide, passed Fort Moultrie without stopping to engage it, and anchored near the remains of Fort Johnson. Colonel Pinckney, who commanded on Sullivan's Island, kept up a brisk and well-directed fire on the ships in their passage, which did as great execution as could be expected. To prevent the royal armed vessels from run- ning into Cooper River, eleven vessels were sunk in the channel opposite to the Exchange. The batteries of the besiegers soon obtained a superiority over those of the town. All expectation of succor was at an end : the only hope left was that nine thousand men, the flower of the British army, seconded by a naval force, might fail in storming exten- sive lines defended by less than three thou- sand men. Under these circumstances, the siege was protracted till the eleventh. On that day a great number of the citizens ad- dressed general Lincoln in a petition, ex- pressing their acquiescence in the terms which Sir Henry Clinton had offered, and requesting his acceptance of them. On the reception of this petition, general Lincoln wrote to Sir Henry, and offered to accept the terms before proposed. The royal com- manders, wishing to avoid the extremity of a storm, and unwilling to press to uncondi- tional submission an enemy whose friend- ship they wished to conciliate, returned a favorable answer. A capitulation was signed, and major-general Leslie took possession of the town on the next day. The number which surrendered prisoners of war, inclusive of the militia and every adult male inhabitant, was above five thou- sand ; but the proper garrison at the time of 258 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the surrender did not exceed two thousand five hundred. This was the first instance in which the Americans had attempted to defend a town. The unsuccessfiil event, with its conse- quences, demonstrated the policy of sacrific- ing' the towns of the union, in preference to endangering the whole, by risking too much for their defence. Shortly after the surrender, the command- er-in-chief adopted measures to induce the inhabitants to return to their allegiance. It was stated to them in a hand-bill, which, though without a name, seemed to flow fi*rm authority, " That the helping hand of every man was wanting to re-establish peace and good government: that the commander-in- chief wished not to draw them into danger, while any doubt could remain of his success ; but as that was now certain, he trusted that one and all would heartily join, and give efi^ect to necessary measures for that pur- pose." Those who had families were in- formed, " that they would be permitted to remain at home, and form a militia for the maintenance of peace and good order ; but from those who had no families it v^as ex- pected that they would cheerfully assist in driving their oppressors, and all the miseries of war, from their borders." To such it was promised, " that when on service, they would be allowed pay, ammunition, and provisions, in the same manner as the king's troops." About the same time [May 22,] Sir Henry Clinton, in a proclamation, declared, " That if any person should thenceforward appear in arms in order to prevent the establishment of his majesty's government in that country, or should, under any pretence or authority whatever, attempt to compel any other per- son or persons so to do, or who should hinder the king's faithful subjects from joining his forces, or from performing those duties their allegiance required, such persons should be treated with the utmost severity, and their estates be immediately seized for confisca- tion." In a few days after [June 1,] Sir Henry Clinton and admiral Arbuthnot, in the cliaracter of commissioners for restoring peace, offered to the inhabitants, with some exceptions, " pardon for their past treasona- ble offences, and a reinstatement in the pos- session of all those rights and immunities which they heretofore had enjoyed under a free British government, exempt from taxa- tion, except by their own legislatures." The capital having surrendered, the next object with the Bridsh was to secure the general submission of the whole body of the people. IMPOLITIC PROCEEDINGS IN NORTH CAROLINA. To this end, they posted garrisons in dif- ferent parts of the country to awe the in- habitants. They also marched with upwards of two thousand men towards North Caro- lina. This caused an immediate retreat of some parties of Americans, who had advanc- ed into the northern extremity of South Carolina, with the expectation of relieving Charlestown. One of these, consisting of about three hundred continentals command- ed by colonel Buford, was overtaken at Wa- chaws by lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, and completely defeated. Five out of six of the whole were either killed, or so badly wound- ed, as to be incapable of being moved from the field of battle ; and this took place though they made such ineffectual opposi- tion as only to kill twelve and wound five of the British. This great disproportion of the killed, on the two sides, arose from the circumstance that Tarleton's parly refused quarter to the Americans after they had ceased to resist and laid down their arms. Sir Henry Clinton having left about four thousand men for the southern service, em- barked early in June with the main army for New- York. On his departure the com- mand devolved on lieutenant-general earl Cornwallis. The season of the year, the condition of the army, and the unsettled state of South Carolina, impeded the imme- diate invasion of North Carolina. Earl Corn- wallis dispatched instructions to the princi- pal loyalists in that state to attend to tlie harvest, prepare provisions, and remain quiet till the latter end of August or beginning of September. His lordship committed the care of the frontier to lord Rawdon, and repair- ing to Charlestown, devoted his principal at- tention to the commercial and civil regula- tions of South Carolina. In the mean time, the impossibility of fleeing with their fami- lies and effects, and the want of an army to which the militia of the states might repair, induced the people in the country to aban- don all schemes of farther resistance. At Beaufort, Camden, and Ninety-six, they gen- erally laid down their arms, and submitted either as prisoners or as subjects. Excej)!- ing the extremities of the state bordering on North Carolina, the inhabitants who did not flee out of the country preferred submission to resistance. This was followed by an un- usual calm, and the British believed that tbe state was thoroughly conquered. An oppor- tunity was now given to make an experi- ment from which much was expected, and for the omission of which. Sir Henry Clin- ton's predecessor. Sir William Howe, had been severely censured. It had been con- fidently asserted, that a majority of the Americans were well-affected to the British government, and that, under proper regula- tions, substantial service might be expected from them, in restoring the country to peace. At this crisis every bias in favor of congress GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 259 was removed. Their armies in the southern states were either captured or defeated. There was no regular force to the south- ward of Pennsylvania, which was sufficient to awe the friends of royal government. Every encouragement was held forth to those of the inhabitants who would with arms support the old constitution. Confisca- tion and death were threatened as the con- sequence of opposing its re-establishment. While there was no regular army within four hundred miles to aid the friends of in- dependence, the British were in force post- ed over all the country. The people were thus left to themselves, or rather strongly impelled to abandon an apparently sinking cause, and arrange themselves on the side of the conquerors. Under these favorable circumstances, the experiment was made, for supporting the British interest by the ex- ertion of loyal inhabitants, unawed by Amer- ican armies or republican demagogues. It soon appeared that the disguise which fear had imposed, subsisted no longer than the present danger, and that the minds of the people, though overawed, were actuated by a hostile spirit. In prosecuting the scheme tor obtaining a military aid from the inhab- itants, that tranquillity which previous suc- cesses had procured was disturbed, and that ascendency which arms had gained was in- terrupted. The inducement to submission with many, was a hope of obtaining a respite from the calamities of war, under the shel- ter of British protection. Such were not loss astonished than confounded, on finding themselves virtually called upon to take arms in support of royal government. This was done in the following manner : — After the inhabitants, by the specious promises of protection and security, had generally sub- mitted as subjects, or taken their parole as prisoners of war, a proclamation was issued by Sir Henry Clinton, which set forth, " That it was proper for all persons to take an ac- tive part in settling and securing his majes- ty's government" — And in which it was de- clared, "That all the inhabitants of the province who were then prisoners on parole (those who were taken in Fort Moultrie and Charlestown, and such as were in actual confinement, excepted) should, from and af- ter the twentieth of June, be freed from their paroles, and restored to all the riglits and duties belongmg to citizens and inhabit- ants." And it was in tlie same proclamation farther declared, " that all persons under tlie description above mentioned, who should aflerwards neglect to return to their alle- giance, and to his majesty's government, should be considered as enemies and rebels to the same, and treated accordmgly." It was designed by this arbitrary change of the political condition of the inhabitants, from prisoners to citizens, to bring them into a dilemma which would force them to take an active part in settling and securing the roy- al government. It involved a majority m the necessity of either fleeing out of the country, or of becoming a British militia. With this proclamation tlie declension of British authority commenced ; for though the inhabitants, from motives of fear or con- venience, had generally submitted, the great- est part of them retained an affection for their American brethren, and shuddered at the thought of taking arms against them. Among such it was said, " If we must fight, let it be on the side of America, our friends and countrymen." A great number consid- ering this proclamation as a discharge from their paroles, armed themselves in self-de- fence, being induced to this step by the roy- al menaces, that they who did not return to their allegiance as British subjects, must ex- pect to be treated as rebels, A party always attached to royal govern- ment, though they had conformed to the laws of the state, rejoiced in the ascenden- cy of the royal arms ; but their number was inconsiderable, in comparison with the mul- titude who were obliged by necessity, or in- duced by convenience, to accept of British protection. THE AMERICANS RALLY. While the conquerors were endeavoring to strengthen the party for royal govern- ment, the Americans were not inattentive to their interests. Governor Rutledge, who, during the siege of Charlestown, had been requested by general Lincoln to go out of town, was industriously and successfully ne- gotiating with North Carolina, Virginia, and congress, to obtain a force for checking the progress of the British arms. Representa- tions to the same effect had also been made in due time by general Lincoln. Congress ordered a considerable detachment from their main army to be marched to the south- ward. North Carolina also ordered a large body of militia to take the field. As the British advanced to the upper country of South Carolina, a considerable number of determined whigs retreated before them, and took refuge in North Carolina. In this class was colonel Sumter, a distinguished partisan, w^ho was well qualified for con- ducting military operations. A party of ex- iles from South Carolina made choice of him for their leader. At the head of this little band of freemen, he returned to his own state, and took the field against the victori- ous British, after the inhabitants had gene- rally abandoned all ideas of farther resist- ance. This unexpected impediment to the extension of British conquests, roused all the passions which disappointed ambitior* can inspire. Previous successes had flatter 260 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ed the royal commanders with hopes of dis- tinguished rank among the conquerors of America, but the renewal of hostilities ob- scured the pleasing prospect. Flushed with the victories they had gained in the first of the campaign, and believing everything told them favorable to their wishes, to be true, they conceived that they had little to fear on the south side of Virginia. When expe- rience refuted these hopes, they were trans- ported with indignation against the inhabit- ants, and confined several of them on suspi- cion of their being accessory to the recom- mencement of hostilities. The first effort of renewed warfare was on the twelfth of July, two months after the fall of Charlestown, when one hundred and thirty-three of colonel Sumter's corps attack- ed and routed a detachment of the royal forces and militia, which were posted in a lane at Williamson's plantation. This was the first advantage gained over the British, since their landing in the beginning of the year. The steady persevering friends of America, who were very numerous in the north-western frontier of South Carolina, turned out with great alacrity to join colonel Sumter, though opposition to the British gov- ernment had entirely ceased in every other part of the state. His corps in a few days amounted to six hundred men. With this increase of strength he made a spirited at- tack on a party of the British at Rocky Mount ; but as he had no artillery, and they were secured under cover of earth filled in between logs, he could make no impression upon them, and was obliged to retreat. Sen- sible that the minds of men are influenced by enterprise, and that to keep militia to- gether it is necessary to employ them, this active partisan attacked another of the royal detachments, consisting of the Prince of Wales's regiment, and a large body of to- ries, posted at the Hanging Rock. The Prince of Wales's regiment was almost totally destroyed. From two hundred and seventy-eight it was reduced to nine. The loyalists, who were of that party which had advanced from North Carolina under colonel Bryan, were dispersed. The panic occa- sioned by the fall of Charlestown daily aba- ted. The whig militia on the extremities of tlie state formed themselves into parties, under leaders of their own choice, and some- times attacked detachments of the British army, but more frequently those of their own countrymen, who, as a royal militia, were co-operating with the king's forces. While Sumter kept up the spirits of the people by a succession of gallant enterprises, a respect- able continental force was advancing through the middle states, for the relief of their southern brethren. With the hopes of re- lieving Charlestown, on the twenty-sixth of March orders were given for the Maryland and Delaware troops to march from general Washington's head-quarters to South Caro- lina; but the quarter-master-general was unable to put this detachment in motion as soon as was intended. The manufacturers employed m providing for the army would neither go on with their busmess, nor deliver the articles they had completed, declaring they had suflTered so much from the depreciation of the money, that they would not part with their property without immediate payment. Under these embarrassing circumstances, the southern states required an aid from the northern army, to be marched through the interme- diate space of eight hundred miles. The Maryland and Delaware troops were with great exertions at length enabled to move. After marching through Jersey and Penn- sylvania, they embarked at the head of Elk, and on the sixteenth of April landed at Pe- tersburgh, and hence proceeded through the country towards South Carolina. This force was at first put under the command of major- general baron de Kalb, and afterwards of general Gates. The success of the latter in the northern campaigns of 1776 and 1777, induced many to believe that his presence as commander of the southern army, would reanimate the friends of independence. While baron de Kalb commanded, a council of war had advised him to file off from the direct road to Camden, towards the well- cultivated settlements in the vicinity of the Waxhaws : but general Gates, on taking the command, did not conceive this movement to be necessary, supposing it to be most for the interest of the States that he should pro- ceed immediately with his army on the shortest road to the vicinity of the Britivsh encampments. This led through a barren country, in passing over which, the Ameri- cans severely felt the scarcity of provisions. Their murmurs became audible, and there were strong appearances of mutiny ; but the officers, who shared every calamity in com- mon with the privates, interposed and con- ciliated them to a patient sufferance of their hard lot. They principally subsisted on lean cattle, picked up in the woods. The whole army was under the necessity of using green corn, and peaches, in the place of bread ; they subsisted mdeed for several days on the latter alone. Dysenteries became common in consequence of this diet. The heat of the season, the unhealthiness of the climate, together with insufficient and unwholesome food, threatened destruction to the army. The common soldiers, instead of desponding, began after some time to be merry with their misfortunes. They used " starvation" as a cant word, and vied with each other in burlesquing then* situation : and the wit and GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 261 humor displayed on the occasion contributed not a little to reconcile them to their suffer- ing's. The American army having made its way through a country of pine-barrens, sand- hills, and swamps, on the thirteenth of Au- gust reached Clermont, thirteen miles from Camden. The next day general Stephens arrived with a large body of Virginia militia. As tlie American army approached South Carolina, lord Rawdon concentred his force at Camden. The retreat of the British from their out-posts, the advances of the Ameri- can army, and the impolitic conduct of the conquerors towards their new subjects, con- curred at this juncture to produce a general revolt in favor of congress. The people were daily more dissatisfied with their sit- uation. Tired of war, they had submitted to British government with the expectation of bettering their condition ; but they soon found their mistake. The greatest address should have been practised towards the in- habitants, in order to second the views of the parent state in reuniting the revolted colo- nies to her government. That the people might be induced to return to the condition pf subjects, their minds and affections, as well as their armies, ought to have been conquered. This delicate task was rarely attempted. The officers, privates, and fol- lowers of the royal army, were generally more intent on amassing fortunes by plun- der and rapine, than on promoting a reunion of the dissevered members of the empire. Instead of increasing the number of real friends to royal government, they disgusted those that they found. The high-spirited citizens of Carolma, impatient of their ra- pine and insolence, rejoiced in the prospect of freeing their country from its oppressors. Motives of this kind, together with a pre- vail mg attachment to the cause of independ- ence, induced many to break through all ties to join general Gates, and more to wish hun the completest success. The similarity of language and appear- ance between the British and American ar- mies, gave opportunities for imposing on the inhabitants. Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, with a party, by assuming the name and dress of Americans, passed themselves near Black River for the advance of general Gates's army. Some of the neighboring militia were eagerly collected by Mr. Brad- ley to co-operate with their sup|X)sed friends; but after some time the veil being thrown aside, Bradley and his volunteers were car- ried to Camden, and confined there as pris- oners. GATES DEFEATED.— DISTRESSES OF THE AMERICANS. General Gates, on reaching the frontier of South Carolina, issued a proclamation, in- viting the patriotic citizens " to join heartily in rescuing themselves and their country, from the oppression of a government impos- ed on them by the ruffian hand of conquest." He also gave "assurances of forgiveness and perfect security to sucli of the unfortu- nate citizens as had been induced by the terror of sanguinary punishment, the menace of confiscation, and the arbitrary measures of military domination, apparently to acqui- esce under the British government, and to make a forced declaration of allegiance and support to a tyranny which the indignant souls of citizens resolved on freedom, in- wardly revolted at with horror and detesta- tion," excepting only from this amnesty, " those who in the hour of devastation had exercised acts of barbarity and depredation on the persons and property of their fellow- citizens." The army with which Gates ad- vanced, was, by the arrival of Stephens's militia, increased nearly to four thousand men ; but of this large number, the whole regular force was only nine hundred infan- try, and seventy cavalry. On the approach of Gates, lord Cornwallis hastened from Charlestown to Camden, and arrived there on the fourteenth. The force which his lord.ship found collected on his arrival, was seventeen hundred infantry and three hun- dred cavalry. The inferior number would have justified a retreat, but he chose rather to stake his fortune on the decision of a bat- tle. On the night of the fifteenth, he march- ed from Camden with his whole force, in- tending to attack the Americans in their camp at Clermont. In the same night Gales, after ordering his baggage to the Waxhaws, put his army in motion, with an intention of advancing to an eligible posi- tion, about eight miles from Camden. The American army was ordered to march at ten o'clock, P. M. in the following order : colonel Armand's advance cavalry ; colonel Porterfield's light infantry on the right flank of colonel Armand's, in Indian file, two hun- dred yards from the road. Major Armstrong's light infantry in the same order as colonel Porterfield's on the left flank of the legion advanced guard of foot, composed of the ad- vanced pickets, first brigade of Maryland, second brigade of Maryland, a division of North Carolina, Virginia rear-guard, volun- teer cavalry, upon flanks of the baggage equally divided. The light infantry upon each flank were ordered to march up and support the cavalry, if it should be attacked by the British cavalry, and colonel Armand was directed in that case to stand the attack at all events. The advance of both armies met in the night and engaged. Some of tlie cavalry of Armand's legion being wounded in the first fire, fell back on others, who recoiled so suddenly, that the first Maryland regi- 262 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ment was broken, and the whole line of the army was thrown into confusion. This first impression struck deep, and dispirited the militia. The American army soon recov- ered its order, and both they and their ad- versaries kept their ground, and occasion- ally skirmished through the night. Colonel Porterfield, a most excellent officer, on whose abilities general Gates particularly depended, was wounded in the early part of this night-attack. In the morning, a se- vere and general engagement took place. At the first onset, the great body of the Vir- ginia militia, who formed the left wing of the American army, on being charged with fixed bayonets by the British infantry, threw down their arms, and with the utmost pre- cipitation fled from the field. A considera- ble part of the North Carolina militia fol- lowed the unworthy example ; but the con- tinentals, who formed the right wing of the army, inferior as they were in numbers to the British, stood their ground, and main- tained the conflict with great resolution. Never did men acquit themselves better: for some time they had clearly the advan tage of their opponents, and were in posses- sion of a considerable body of prisoners overpowered at last by numbers, and nearly surrounded by the enemy, they were com polled reluctantly to leave the ground. In justice to the North Carolina militia, it should be remarked that part of the brigade, commanded by general Gregory, acquitted themselves well. The Americans lost the whole of their artillery, eight field-pieces, upwards of two hundred wagons, and the greatest part of their baggage; almost all their officers were separated from their re spective commands. Every corps was bro ken in action, and dispersed. To add to the distresses of the Ameri- cans, the defeat of Gates was immediately followed by the surprise and dispersion of Sumter's corps, by Tarleton's legion, and a detachment of infantry, at Fishing Creek, Though there was no army to oppose lord Cornwallis, yet the season and bad health of his army restramed him from pursuing his conquests. By the complete dispersion of the continental forces, the country was in his power. The present moment of triumph seemed therefore the most favorable conjunc- ture for breaking the spirits of those who were attached to independence. To pre- vent their future co-operation with the ar mies of congress, a severer policy was hence- forward adopted. tFnfortunately for the inhabitants, this was taken up on grounds which involved thousands in distress, and not a few in the loss of life. The British conceived them- selves in possession of the rights of sove- reignty over a conquered country, and that therefore the efforts of the citizens to assert their independence, exposed them to the penal consequences of treason and rebellion. Influenced by these opinions, and transport- ed with indignation against the inhabitants, they violated the rights which are held sa- cred between independent hostile nations. Orders were given by lord Cornwallis, " that all the inhabitants of the province, who had submitted, and who had taken part in this revolt, should be punished with the greatest rigor — that they should be impris- oned, and their whole property taken from them or destroyed." He also ordered in the most positive manner, " that every militia- man, who had borne arms with the British, and afterwards joined the Americans, should be put to death." At Augusta, at Camden, and elsewhere, several of the inhabitants were hanged in consequence of these or- ders. The men who suffered, had been com- pelled, by the necessities of their families, and the prospect of saving their property, to make an involuntary submission to the royal conquerors. Experience soon taught them the inefficacy of these submissions. This, in their opinion, absolved them from the obligations of their engagements to sup- port the royal cause, and left them at liberty to follow their inclinations. To treat men thus circumstanced, with the severity of pun- ishment usually inflicted on deserters and traitors, might have a political tendency to discourage farther revolts; but the impar- tial world must regret that the unavoidable horrors of war should be aggravated by such deliberate eflfusions of human blood. To compel the re-establishment of British government, lord Cornwallis, on the six- teenth of September, about four weeks after his victory, issued a proclamation for the se- questration of all estates belonging to the active friends of independence. By this he constituted " John Cruden, commissioner, with full power and authority, on the re- ceipt of an order or warrant, to take into his possession the estates both real and per- sonal (not included in the capitulation of Charlestown) of those in the service, or act- ing under the authority of the rebel con- gress; and also the estates, both real and personal, of those persons, who, by an open avowal of rebellious principles, or by other notorious acts, manifested a wicked and des- perate perseverance in opposing the re-es- tablishment of his majesty's just and lawful authority ;" and it was farther declared, " That any person or persons obstructing or impeding the said commissioner in the exe- cution of his duty, by the concealment or removal of property or otherwise, should, on conviction, be punished as aiding and abet- ting rebellion." An adherent to independence was now GEORGE in. 1760—1820. 263 considered as one who courted exile, pov erty, and ruin. Many yielded to the tempta- tion, and became British subjects. The mis- chievous effects of slavery, in facilitating tlie conquest of the country, now became apparent. As the slaves had no interest at stake, the subjugation of the state was a matter of no consequence to them. Instead of aiding in its defence, they, by a variety of means, threw the weight of their little influence into the opposite scale. The British ministry, by this flattering posture of affairs, were once more intoxi cated with the hope of subjugating America. New plans were formed, and great expecta- tions indulged, of speedily reuniting the dis- severed members of the empire. It was now asserted, with a confidence bordering on presumption, that such troops as fought at Camden, put under such a commander as lord Cornwallis, would soon extirpate rebel lion so effectually as to leave no vestige of it in America. The British ministry and army, by confidence in their own wisdom and prowess, were duly prepared to give, in their approaching downfall, a usefijl lesson to the world. AMERICAN PROSPECTS BRIGHTEN. The disaster of the army under general Gates overspread at first the fiice of Ameri can affairs with a dismal gloom ; but the day of prosperity to the United States began from that moment to dawn. Their prospects brightened up, while those of their enemies were obscured by disgrace, broken by de- feat, and at last covered with ruin. Elated v/ith their victories, the conquerors grew inore insolent and rapacious, while the real friends of independence became resolute and determined. We have seen Sumter penetrating into South Carolina, and recommencing a mili- tary opposition to British government. Soon after that event, he was promoted by gover- nor Rutledge to the rank of brigadier-gene- ral. About the same time Marion was pro- moted to the same rank, and in the north- eastern extremities of the state successfully prosecuted a similar plan. Opposition to British government was not wholly confined to the parties commanded by Sumter and Marion. It was at no time altogether extinct in the extremities of the state. The disposition to revolt, which had been excited on the approach of general Gates, was not overcome by his defeat. The spirit of the people was overawed, but not subdued. The severity with which revolters w\\o fell into the iiands of the British were treated, induced those who escaped to perse- vere and seek safaty in swamps. The total rout of a party which had joined major Ferguson, operated as a check on the future exertions of the loyalist3. The samei timid caution which made them averse to jommg their countrymen in opposing the claims of Great Britain, restrained them from risking any more in support of the royal cause. Henceforward they waited to see how the scales were likely to incline, and reserved themselves till the British army, by its own unassisted efl^rts, should gain a decided superiority. In a few weeks after the general action near Camden, lord Cornwallis left a small force in that village, and marched with the main army towards Salisbury, intending to push forwards in that direction. While on his way thither, the North Carolina militia was very industrious and successful in an- noying his detachments. Riflemen frequent- ly penetrated near his camp, and from be- hind trees made sure of their objects. The late conquerors found their situation very uneasy, being exposed to unseen dangers if they attempted to make an excursion of only a few hundred yards from their main body. Lord Cornwallis soon after retreated to Winnsborough. As he retired, the militia took several of his wagons, and single men often rode up within gunshot of his army, discharged their pieces, and made their es- cape. The panic occasioned by the defeat of general Gates had in a great measure worn off! The defeat of major Ferguson, and the consequent retreat of lord Conwal- lis, encouraged the American militia to take the field, and the necessity of the times in- duced them to submit to stricter discipline. Sumter, soon after the dispersion of his corps on the eighteenth of August, collected a band of volunteers, partly from new adven- turers, and partly from those who had es- caped on that day. With these, though for three months there was no continental army in the state, he constantly kept the field in support of American independence. He varied his position from time to time about Evoree, Broad, and Tyger Rivers, and had frequent skirmishes with his adversaries. Having mounted his followers, he infested the British parties with frequent excursions, beat up their quarters, intercepted their con- voys, and so harassed them with successive alarms, that their movements could not bo made but with caution and difficulty. His spirit of enterprise was so particularly inju- rious to the British, that they laid many plans for destroymg his force, but they all failed in the execution. On the twelfth of November, he was attacked at Broad River by major Wemys, commanding a corps of infantry and dragoons. In this action the British were defeated, and their command- ing officer taken prisoner. Eight days after he was attacked at Black Stocks, near Ty- srer River, by lieutenant-colonel Tarleton. The attack was besrun witli a hundred and dCy4: HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. seventy dragoons and eighty men of the 63d regiment. A considerable part of Sumter's force had been thrown into a large log barn, ifrom the apertures of which they fired with security. Many of the 63d regiment were killed. Tarleton charged with his cavalry, but being unabl« to dislodge the Americans, retreated, and Sumter was left in quiet pos- session of the field. For the three months which followed the defeat of the American army near Camden, general Gates was industriously preparing to take tlie field. Having collected a force at Hillsbury, he advanced to Salisbury, and very soon after to Charlotte. He had done everything in his power to repair the injuries of his defeat, and was again in a condition to face the enemy ; but from that influence which popular opinion has over public affairs in a commonwealth, congress resolved to supersede him, and to order a court of in- quiry to be held on his conduct While the war raged in South Carolina, the campaign of 1780, in the northern states, was barren of important events. At the close of the preceding campaign, the Amer- ican northern army took post at Morristown, and built themselves huts, agreeably to the practice which had been first introduced at Valley Forge. This position was well cal- culated to cover the country from the ex- cursions of the British, being only twenty miles from New- York. The loyal Americans who had fled within the British lines, commonly called refugees, reduced a predatory war into system. On their petition to Sir Henry Clinton, they had been, in the year 1779, permitted to set up a distinct government in New- York, un- der a jurisdiction called the honorable board of associated loyalists. They had something like a fleet of small privateers and cruisers by the aid of which they committed various depredations. A party of them who had formerly belonged to Massachusets, went to Nantucket, broke open the warehouses, and carried off everything that fell m their way. They also carried off two loaded brigs and two or three schooners. In a proclamation they left, behind them, they observed, " That they had been deprived of their property, and compelled to abandon their dwellings, friends, and connexions : and that they con- ceived themselves warranted by the laws of God and man, to wage war against their persecutors, and to endeavor by every means in their power to obtain compensation for their sufferings." These associated loyalists eagerly embraced every adventure which gratified either their avarice or their re- venge. Their enterprises were highly lu- crative to themselves, and extremely dis- tressing to the Americans, Their know- ledge of the country and superior means of transportation enabled them to make hasty descents and successful enterprises. A war of plunder, in which the feelings of humani- ty were often suspended, and which tended to no valuable public purpose, was carried on in this shameful manner, from the double incitements of profit and revenge. The ad- joining coasts of the continent, and especially the maritime parts of New-Jersey, became scenes of waste and havoc. The distress which the Americans suffered from the diminished value of their currency, though felt in the year 1778, and still more so in the year 1779, did not arrive to its highest pitch till the year 1780. Under th pressure of sufferings from this <)ause, th officers of the Jersey line addressed a me- morial to their state legislature, setting forth, " That four months' pay of a private would not procure for his family a single bushel of wheat ; that the pay of a colonel would not purchase oats for his horse ; that a common laborer or express rider received four times as much as an American officer." A tide of misfortunes from all quarters was, indeed, at this time, pouring in upon the new states. There appeared not, how- ever, in their public bodies, the smallest dis- position to purchase safety by concessions of any sort. They seemed to rise in the midst of their distresses, and to gain strength from the pressure of calamities. When congress could neither command money nor credit for the subsistence of their army, the citizens of Philadelphia formed an association to pro- cure a supply of necessary articles for their sufJermg soldiers. The sum of three hun- dred thousand dollars was subscribed in a few days, and converted mto a bank, the principal design of which was to purchase provisions for the troops in the most prompt and efficacious manner. The advantages of this institution were great, and particular- ly enhanced by the critical time in which it was instituted. The loss of Charlestown, and the subsequent British victories in Caro- lina, produced effects directly the reverse of what were expected. It being the deliberate resolution of the Americans never to return to the government of Great Britain, such unfavorable events as threatened the subver- sion of independence operated as incentives to their exertions. The powers of the committee of congress in the American camp were enlarged so far as to authorize them to frame and execute such plans as, in their opinion, would most effectually draw forth the resources of the country, in co-operating with the armament expected from France. In this character they wrote letters to the states, stimulating them to vigorous exertiona It was agreed to make arrangements for bringing into the field thirty-five thousand effective men, and GEORGE m. 1760-1820. 265 to call on the states for specific supplies of everything necessary for their support To obtain the men it was proposed to complete the regular regiments by drafts from the militia, and to make up what they fell short of thirty-five thousand effectives, by calling forth more of the militia. The tardiness of deliberation in congress was in a great measure done away, by the full powers given to their committee in camp. Accu- rate estimates were made of every article of supply necessary for the ensuing cam- paign. These, and also the numbers of men wanted, were quotaed on the ten north- ern states in proportion to their abilities and numbers. In conformity to these requisi- tions, vigorous resolutions were adopted for carrying them into effect. Where volun- tary enlistments fell short of the proposed number, the deficiencies were, by the laws of several states, to be made up by drafts or lots from the militia. The towns in New- England and the counties in the middle states were respectively called on for a spe- cified number of men. Such was the zeal of the people in New-England, that neigh- bors would otlten club together, to engage one of their number to go into the army. The legislative part of these complicated ar- rangements was speedily passed, but the ex- ecution, though uncommonly vigorous, lag- ged far behind. Few occasions could occur in which it might so fairly be tried, to what extent, in conducting a war, a variety of wills might be brought to act in unison. The result of the experiment was, that however favor- able republics may be to the liberty and hap- piness of the people in the time of peace, they will be greatly deficient in that vigor and dispatch, which military operations re- quire, unless they imitate the policy of mon- archies, by committing the executive depart- ments of government to the direction of a single will. ARRIVAL OF ROCHAMBEAU. WmLE these preparations were making in America, the armament which had been promised by the kmg of France was on its way. As soon as it was known in France, that a resolution was adopted to send out troops to the United States, the young French nobility discovered the greatest zeal to be employed on that service. Court fa- vor was scarcely ever solicited with more earnestness, than was the honor of ser\'ing under general Washington. The number of applicants was much greater than the ser- vice required. The disposition to support the American revolution was not only prev- alent in tlie court of France, but it animated the whole body of the nation. The winds and waves did not second the ardent wishes of the French troops. Though they sailed from France on the first of May, 1790, they Vol. IV. 23 did not reach a port in the United States till the tenth of July following. On that day, to the great joy of the Americans, M. d« Ternay arrived at Rhode-Island, with a squadron of seven sail of the line, five frig- ates, and five smaller armed vessels. He likewise convoyed a fleet of transports witk four old French regiments, besides the le- gion de Lauzun, and a battalion of artillery, amounting in the whole to six thousand men, all under the command of lieutenant-gene - oral count de Rochambeau. To the French as soon as they landed possession was given of the forts and batteries on the island, and by their exertions they were soon put in a high state of defence. Rochambeau de- clared, " that he only brought over the van- guard of a much greater force which was destined for their aid ; that he was ordered by the king his master to assure them, that his whole power should be exerted for their support Admiral Arbuthnot had only four sail of the line at New-York, when M. de Ternay arrived at Rhode Island. This inferiority was in three days reversed, by the arrival of admiral Graves with six sail of the line. The British admiral, having now a superi- ority, proceeded to Rhode-Island. He soon discovered that the French were perfectly secure from any attack by sea. Sir Henry Clinton, who had returned in the preced- ing month with his victorious troops from Charlestown, embarked about eight thou- sand of his best men, and proceeded as far as Huntingdon Bay, on Long-Island, with the apparent design of concurring with the Brit- ish fleet, in attacking the French force at Rhode-Island. When this movement took place, general Washington set his army in motion, and proceeded to Peek's Kill. Had Sir Henry Clinton prosecuted what appear- ed to be his design, general Washington in- tended to have attacked New- York in his absence. Preparations were made for this purpose, but Sir Henry Clinton instantly turned about from Huntingdon Bay towardi New-York. DEFECTION OF ARNOLD. The campaign of 1780 passed away ia the northern states, as has been related, in successive disappointments and reiterated distresses to the American cause. The country was exhausted, the continental cur- rency expiring. While these disasters were openly menacuig the new states, treachery was silently undermining them. A distin- guished officer engaged, for a stipulated sum of money, to betray into the hands of the British an important poet committed te his care. General Arnold, who committed this foul crime, was a native of Connecticut The disposition of the American forces in the year 1780 aflbrded an opportunity ©f 266 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. accomplishing this so much to the advan- tage of the British, that they could well afford a liberal reward for the beneficial treachery. The American army was sta- tioned in the strong-holds of the highlands on both sides of the North River. In this arrangement, Arnold solicited for the com- mand of West Point. This had been called the Gibraltar of America. It was built after the loss of Fort Montgomery, for the de- fence of the North River, and was deemed the most proper for commanding its naviga- tion. Rocky ridges rismg one behind an- other, rendered it incapable of bemg invested by less than twenty thousand men. Though some even then entertained doubts of Ar- nold's fidelity, yet general Washington be- lieving it to be impossible that honor should be wanting in a breast which he knew was the seat of valor, cheerfully granted his request, and intrusted him with the impor- tant post. General Arnold, thus invested with command, carried on a negotiation with Sir Henry Clinton, by which it was agreed that the former should make a disposition of his forces, which would enable the latter to surprise West Point under such circum- stances, that he would have the garrison so completely in his power, that the troops must eitlier lay down their arms or be cut to pieces. The object of this negotiation was the strongest post of the Amerilcans, the thoroughfare of communication between the eastern nnd southern states, and was the re- pository of their most valuable stores. The loss of it would have been severely felt. The agent employed in this negotiation on the part of Sir Henry Clinton, was ma- jor Ansko, adjutant-general of the British army. To favor the necessary communica- tions, tlie Vulture sloop of war had been previously stationed in the North River, as near to Arnold's posts as was practicable, without exciting suspicion. Before this a written correspondence between Arnold and Andre had been for some time carried on under the fictitious names of Gustavus and Anderson. In the night of the twenty-first of September, a boat was sent from the shore to fetch major Andre. Arnold met him at the beach, without the posts of ei- ther army. Their business was not finished till it was too near the dawn of day for An- dre to return to the Vulture. Arnold told him he must be concealed till tlie next night. For that purpose, he was conducted within one of the American posts, against his pre- vious stipulation and knowledge, and con- tinued with Arnold the following day. The boatmen refused to carry him back the next night, as the Vulture, from being exposed to the fire of some cannon brought up to annoy her, had changed her position. Andre's re- turn to New- York by land, was tbep the only practicable mode of escape. To favor this he quitted his uniform, which he had hitherto worn under a surtout, for a com- mon coat, and was furnished with a horse, and under the name of John Anderson, with a passport " to go to the lines of White Plains, or lower if he thought proper, he bemg on public business." He advanced alone and undisturbed a great part of the way. — When he thought himself almost out of danger, he was stopped by three of the New- York mili- tia, who were with others scouting between the out-posts of the two armies. Major An- dre, instead of producing his pass, asked the man who stopped hun, " Where he belonged to," who answered, " To below," meaning New- York. He replied, " So do I," and declared himself a British officer, and pressed that he might not be detained. He soon discovered his mistake. His cap- tors proceeded to search him: several pa- pers were found in his possession. These were secreted in his boots, and were in Arnold's hand- writing ; they contained ex- act returns of the state of the forces, ord- nance, and defences at West Point, with the artillery orders, critical remarks on the works, &c. ANDRE EXECUTED AS A SPY. Andre offered his captors a purse of gold and a new valuable watch, if they would let him pass, and permanent provision and fu- ture promotion, if they would convey and accompany him to New- York. They nobly disdained the proffered bribe, and delivered him a prisoner to lieutenant-colonel Jame- son, who commanded the scouting parties. In testimony of the high sense entertained of the virtuous and patriotic conduct of John Paulding, David Williams, and Isaac Van Vert, the captors of Andre, congress resolv- ed, " That each of them receive annually two hundred dollars in specie during life, and that the board of war be directed to pro- cure for each of them a silver medal, on one side of which should be a shield with this inscription. Fidelity ; and on the other the following motto : Vincit Amor Patrice ; and that the commander-in-chief be requested to present the same, with the thanks of con- gress, for their fidelity, and the eminent ser- vice they had rendered their country." An- dre, when delivered to Jameson, continued - to call himself by the name of Anderson, and asked leave to send a letter to Arnold, to acquaint him with Anderson's detention. This was inconsiderately granted. Arnold, on the receipt of this letter, abandoned everything, and went on board the Vulture sloop of war. Lieutenant-colonel Jameson forwarded to general Washington all the papers found on Andre, tofrether with a let- ter giving an account of the whole affair ; but the express, by taking a different route GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 267 from the general, who was returning from a conference at Hartford with count de Ro- shambeau, missed him. This caused such a delay as gave Arnold time to effect his es- cape. The same packet which detailed the particulars of Andre's capture, brought a letter from him, in which he avowed his name and character, and endeavored to show that he did not come under the de- scription of a spy. He stated, that he held a correspondence with a person under the orders of his general : that his mtention went no farther than meeting that person on neutral ground, for the purpose of intel- ligence ; and that, against his stipulation, his intention, and without his knowledge be- forehand, he was brought within the Amer- ican posts, and had to concert his escape from them ; being taken on his return, he was betrayed into the vile condition of an enemy in disguise. General Washington referred the whole case of major Andre to the examination and decision of a board, consisting of fourteen general officers. On his examination, he voluntarily confessed everything that related to himself, and particularly that he did not come ashore under the protection of a flag. The board did not examine a single wit- ness, but founded their report on his own confession. In this they stated the following facts : " That major Andre came on shore on the night of the twenty-first of Septem- ber, in a private and secret manner, and that he changed his dress within the American Tnes, and under a fei^'ned name and dis- guised habit passed their works, and was ta- ken in a disguised habit when on his way to New- York, and when taken, several papers were found in his possession, which con- tained intelligence for the enemy." From these facts they farther reported it as their opinion, "That major Andre ought to be considered as a spy, and agreeably to the laws and usages of nations, he ought to suf- fer death." Sir Henry Clinton, lieutenant-general Robertson, and the late American general Arnold, wrote pressing letters to general Washington, to prevent the decision of the board of general officers from being carried into effect General Arnold in particular urged, that everything done by major An- dre was done by his particular request, and at a time when he was the acknowledged commanding officer in the department. He contended, " that he had a right to transact all these matters, for which, though wrong, major Andre ought not to suffer." An in- terview also took place between general Robertson, on the part of the British, and general Greene, on the part of the Ameri- cans. Everything was urged by the former, that ingenuity or humanity could suggest for averting the proposed execution ; Greene made a proposition for deliveruig up Andre for Arnold, but found this could not be ac- ceded to by the British. Robertson urged, " that Andre went on shore under the sanc- tion of a flag, aij^^ that being then in Ar- nold's power, he V, is not accountable for hia subsequent actions, which were said to be compulsory." To this it was replied, that " he was employed in the execution of mea- sures very foreign from the objects of flags of truce, and such as they were never meant to authorize or countenance ; and that major Andre in the course of his examination had candidly confessed, that it was impossible for him to suppose that he came on shore under the sanction of a flag." As Greene and Robertson differed so widely, both in their statement of facts, and the inferences they drew from them, the latter proposed to the former, that the opinions of disinterest- ed gentlemen might be taken on the sub- ject, and proposed Kniphausen and Rocham- beau. Robertson also urged that Andre pos- sessed a great share of Sir Henry Clinton's esteem, and that he would be infinitely obliged if he should be spared. He offered that in case Andre was permitted to return with him to New- York, any person what- ever that might be named should be set at liberty. All these arguments and entreaties [having failed, Robertson presented a long I letter from Arnold, in w^hich he endeavored I to exculpate Andre, by acknowledging him- self the author of every part of his conduct, "and particularly insisted on his coming from the Vulture, under a flag which he had sent for that purpose." He declared, that if Andre suffered, he should think himself bound m honor to retaliate. He also observ- ed, " that forty of the principal inhabitants of South Carolina had justly forfeited thfjir lives, which hitherto had been spared only through the clemency of Sir Henry Clinton, but who could no longer extend his mercy if major Andre suffered ; an event which would probably open a scene of bloodshed, at which humanity must revolt." He en- treated Washington by his own honor, and for that of humanity, not to suffer an unjust sentence to touch the life of Andre ; " but if that warning should be disregarded, and Andre suffer, he called Heaven and earth to witness, that he alone should be justly an- swerable for the torrents of blood that might be spilt in consequence." Every exertion was made by the royal commanders to save Andre, but without ef- fect. It was the general opinion of the American army that his life was forfeited, and that national dignity and sound policy required that the forfeiture sliould he ex- acted. The execution was the subject of severt 268 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. censures. Barbarity, cruelty, and murder, were plentifully charged on the Americans ; but the impartial of all nations allowed, that it was warranted by the usages of war. It cannot be condemned, without condemning the maxims of self-preseryation, which have uniformly guided the prci^tice of hostile na^ tions. The finer feelings of humanity might have been gratified, by dispensing with the rigid maxims of war ; but these feelings must be controlled by a regard for the pub- lic safety. Such was the distressed state of the American army, and so abundant were their causes of complaint, that there was much to fear from the contagious nature of treachery. Could it have been reduced to a certamty that there were no more Arnolds in America, perhaps Andre's life might have been spared ; but the necessity of discour- aging farther plots, fixed his fate, and stamp- ed it with the seal of political necessity. If conjectures in the boundless field of possible contingencies were to be indulged, it might be said that it was more consonant to ex- tended humanity to take one life, than by ill-timed lenity to lay a foundation, which probably would occasion not only the loss of many, but endanger the independence of a great country. This grand project terminated with no other alteration in respect of the British, than that of their exchanging one of their best officers for the worst man in the Amer- ican army. Arnold was immediately made a brigadier-general in the service of the king of Great Britain. The failure of the scheme respecting West Point, made it necessary for him to dispel the cloud which oversiiad- Gwed his character, by the performance of some signal service for his new masters. The condition of the American army, af- forded him a prospect of doing something of consequence. He flattered himself that by the allurements of pay and promotion, he should be able to raise a numerous force from among the distressed American sol- diery. He therefore took methods for ac- rr .plishing this purpose, by obviating their scruples, and working on their passions. His first public measure w^as issuing an ad- dress, directed to the inhabitants of America, dated from New- York [October 7th,] five days after Andre's execution. This address was soon followed by another, inscribed to the officers and soldiers of the continental army. This was intended to induce them to follow his example, and engage in the royal service. He informed them, that he was authorized to raise a corps of cavalry and infantry, who were to be on the same footing with the other troops in the British service. To allure the private men, three guineas were oflfered to each, besides pay- ments for their horses, arms, and accoutre- ments. Rank in the British army was also held out to the American officers who would recruit, and bring in a certain number of men, proportioned to the different grades in military service. These oflfers were proposed to unpaid soldiers, who were suffering from tlie want of both food and clothing, and to officers who were in a great degree obliged to support them.selves from their own re- sources, while they were spending the prime of their days, and risking their lives, in the unproductive service of congress. Though they were urged, at a time when the paper currency was at its lowest ebb of deprecia- tion, and the wants and distresses of the American army were at their highest pitch, yet they did not produce tlie intended effect on a single sentinel or officer. Whether the circumstances of Arnold's case added new shades to the crime of desertion, or whether their providential escape from the deep-laid scheme again?;!': Vv'cst Point, gave a higher tone to the Eirruiet's ()f the American sol- diery, cannot i;o unfolded : but either from these or some other causes, desertion wholly ceased at this remarkable period of the war. It is not to be supposed that the Spaniards, on the American fi-ontier, would be totally inactive during these transactions. Don Ber- nardo de Galves, the governor of Louisiana, was one of the first to proclaim the inde- pendence of America ; and in the spring of 1780, assembled a small force at New-Or- leans, and surprised and made himself mas- ter of Mobile, and all the British settlements on the Mississippi. GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 269 CHAPTER XVII. Causes which produced c Rupture with Holland — Armed Neutrality^ Count Byland's Squadron taken — Capture of Mr. Laurens — Declaration of War — Affairs of East Indies — Mr. Cornwall chosen Speaker — Dutch War — India Affairs — Burke's Re- form Bill — Petition of Delegates from Counties — Bill to repeal the Marriage Act — Motion on American War — Session concluded — Attack upon Jersey — Siege of Gibraltar — Capture of St. Eustatia — Campaign in America — Revolt of Pennsyl- vania Line — Arnold's Expedition to Virginia — General Greene appointed to the Command in Carolina — Tarleton defeated by Morgan — Masterly Retreat of the Americans — Battle of Guildford — Lord Cornwallis proceeds to Virginia — Operations in Virginia — Capture of Lord Cornwallis — Expedition of Commodore Johnstone — Operations in the West Indies — Tobago taken — St. Eustatia Convoy taken — East Indies — Hyder Ally defeated — Cheyt Sing — Engagement with the Dutch — Com- bined Fleets in the Channel. CAUSES OF RUPTURE WITH HOLLAND- ARMED NEUTRALITY. The desperation which ill success and ill conduct produced in ministers was never more clearly evinced than in the course of the year 1780. As if Great Britain had not been sufficiently mvolved in the work of bloodshed and devastation ; by the singular diligence and activity of administration a new enemy was conjured up, and added to an already sufficiently powerful combination. One of the causes which provoked the resentment of the British ministry against the States-General has already been no- ticed ; but there were some of a still more important nature, which it is now time to remark. The naval superiority of Great Britain had long been the subject of regret and envy in Europe. As it was the interest, so it seemed to be the wish of the European powers to avail themselves of the present favorable moment to eifect a humiliation of her maritime grandeur. That the flag of all nations must strike to British ships of war, could not be otherwise than mortifying to independent sovereigns. The haughty demand was not their only cause of com- plaint. Various litigations had taken place between the commanders of British armed vessels, and those who were in the service of neutral powers, respecting the extent of that commerce, which was consistent with a strict and fair neutrality. The British in- sisted on the lawfulness of seizing supplies, which were about to be carried to their ene- mies. Having been in the habit of com- manding on the sea, they considered power and right to be synonymous terms. As other nations, from a dread of provoking their ven- geance, had submitted to their claim of do- minion on the ocean, they fancied them- selves invested with authority to control the commerce of independent nations, when it 23* interfered with their views. This haughti- ness worked its own overthrow. The em- press of Russia took the lead in establishing a system of maritime laws, which subverted the claims of Great Britain. On the twenty-sixth of February 1780, a declaration was published by the empress of Russia, addressed to the courts of London, Versailles, and Madrid. In this it was ob- served, "That her Imperial majesty had given such convincing proofs of the strict regard she had for the rights of neutrality, and the liberty of commerce in general, that it might have been hoped her impartial con- duct would have entitled her subjects to tlie enjoyment of the advantages belonging to neutral nations. Experience had however proved the contrary : her subjects had been molested in their navigation by the ships and privateers of the belligerent powers. Her majesty therefore declared, " That she found it necessary to remove these vexations which had been offered to the commerce of Russia ; but before she came to any serious measures, she thought it just and equitable to expose to the world, and particularly to the belligerent powers, the principles she had adopted for her conduct, which were as follows : " That neutral ships should enjoy a free navigation, even from port to port, and on the coasts of the belligerent powers. That all effects belonging to the belligerent pow- ers should be looked on as free on board such neutral ships, with an exception of places actually blocked up or besieged, and with a proviso that they do not carry to the enemy contraband articles." These were limited by an explanation, so as to "comprehend only warlike stores and ammunition;" and her Imperial majesty declared, that "she was firmly resolved to maintain these prin- ciples, and that with the view of protecting the commerce and navigation of her subjects 270 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. she had given orders to fit out a considerable part of her naval force. This declaration was communicated to the States-General, and the empress of Russia invited them to make a common cause with her, so far as such a union might serve to protect com- merce and navigation. Similar communica- tions and invitations were also made to the courts of Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Lis- bon. A civil answer was received from the court of Great Britain, and a very cordial one from the court of France. On this oc- casion it was said by his most christian ma- jesty, that what her Imperial majesty claim- ed from the belligerent powers was nothmg more than the rules prescribed to the French navy." The kings of Sweden and Denmark also formally acceded to the principles and measures proposed by the empress of Rus- sia. The States-General did the same. The queen of Portugal was the only sovereign who refused to concur. The powers en- gaged in this association resolved to support each other against any of the belligerent nations, who should violate the principles which had been laid down in the declaration of the empress of Russia. This combination assumed the name of the armed neutrality. By it a respectable guarantee was procured to a commerce from which France and Spain procured a plentiful supply of articles essentially con- ducive to a vigorous prosecution of the war. The armed neutrality led almost immedi- ately to a rupture with the States-General. — Besides this cause, their conduct had in- deed all along been directed by the narrow and selfish views of trading policy, and not by any sense of former obligations. Few Europeans had a greater prospect of advan- tage from American independence than the Hollanders. The conquest of the United States would have regained to Great Britain a monopoly of their trade ; but the establish- ment of their independence promised to other nations an equal chance of partici- pating therein. As commerce is the soul of the United Netherlands, to have neglect- ed the present opportunity of extending it would have been a deviation from their es- tablished maxims of policy. Former trea- ties framed in distant periods, when other views were predominant, opposed but a feeble barrier to the claims of present in- terest. From the year 1777, Sir Joseph Yorke, the British minister at the Hague, had made representations to their high mightinesses of the clandestine commerce carried on between their subjects and the Americans. He particularly stated that Mr. Van Graaf, the governor of St Eustatia, had permitted an illicit commerce with the Americans ; and had at one time returned the ialute of a vessel carrying their flag. Sir Joseph, therefore, demanded a formal, disavowal of this salute, and the dismission and immediate recall of governor Van Graaf. This demand was answered with a pusillani- mous, temporizing reply. On the twelfth of September 1778, a memorial was present- ed to the States-General from the merchants and others of Amsterdam, in which they complained that their lawful commerce was obstructed by the ships of his Britannic ma- jesty. On the twenty-second of July, 1779, Sir Joseph Yorke demanded of the States- General the succors which were stipulated in the treaty of 1678 : but this was not com- plied with. COUNT BYLAND'S SQUADRON TAKEN. The British government, therefore, being determined to break with Holland, and hav- ing received information, that a large fleet of Dutch merchant-ships, laden with naval and military stores, had sailed for the ports of France, dispatched captain Fielding with a proper force to examine the convoy, and to seize such articles as should be deemed contraband. On the first of January 1780, commodore Fielding fell in with this fleet : and the Dutch admiral peremptorily refus- ing permission to search the ships ; and the boats which commodore Fielding dispatched for that purpose, having been fired at, and prevented from executing his orders; the commodore proceeded to fire a shot ahead of the Dutch admiral, which was answered by a broadside. Count Byland, the Dutch admiral, however, having received one in return, and not being in condition to support the engagement, struck his colors. Most of the suspected vessels escaped during the contest. The admiral, with the rest of his squadron, was brought to Spithead. Strong remonstrances were addressed to the minis- try by the States-General on this transaction, but no satisfaction was obtained. On the seventeenth of April, a most hostile procla- mation was published by tlie king of Great Britain ; but the policy of the Dutch was too deep to be led into the snare laid for them by the British ministry. They saw that more numerous advantages were to be de- rived from the cultivation of a pacific sys- tem, than from precipitating themselves vio- lently into all the calamities of war. CAPTURE OF MR. LAURENS.— DECLARA- TION OF WAR. Another occasion, however, soon pre- sented itself for the English to regard the Dutch as enemies. On the third of Septem- ber the Mercury packet, from Philadelphia for Holland, was captured off" the banks of Newfoundland by the Vestal frigate. On board the packet was Mr. Laurens, late pres- ident of the congress, who was proceeding on a diplomatic commission to the Sta es- general. Before the vessel struck, he had GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 271 thrown his papers overboard ; but the greater part of them were recovered, and submitted to the inspection of the privy-council ; and among them, it is said, was found the sketch of a treaty of amity and commerce between the two republics, which liad been examined and approved by M. Van Berkel, counsellor and grand pensionary of Amsterdam. Mr. Laurens, after having been examined by the privy-council, wsls committed close prisoner to the Tower, on a charge of high treason ; and strong representations were made by tlie British ambassador at the Hague, to the States-General, demanding, that "exem- plary punishment should be inflicted on Van Berkel and his accomplices, as disturbers of the public peace, and violators of the rights of nations." The States-General observed their usual caution on this occasion; but their deliberate proceedings were not agree- able to the British ministry, who actually published a declaration of war against Hol- land on the twentieth of December. INDIAN AFFAIRS. It was not only in Europe and America that Great Britain was involved in the most distressing embarrassments at this disastrous period, but even in the East Indies several causes had occurred to inspire the native powers of India wath general disgust and disapprobation of the politics of England. No regular system was adopted for the gov- ernment of those provinces, which British valor and rapacity had wrested from the na- tive princes of the East. The whole politics of India were committed to the mercenary servants of the company, who were too in- tent upon the acquisition of wealth, to enter- tain any liberal system of policy ; and whose whole time and attention were consequently consumed in low intrigues with the native princes, and in schemes of conquest formed on no regular plan. About the year 1779 the British in India made repeated attempts to interfere in the revolution which had taken place in the IVIahratta government. Ragonaut Row caus- ed his nephew the reigning Paishwa (with the care of w^hom, during his minority, he was solemnly intrusted) to be assassinated, in the hope of securing to himself the sover- eignty. From these circumstances, and from the British presidency at Bombay receiving and protecting Ragonaut the murderer of his nephew, the foundation was laid for that fa- mous confederacy which, in the year 1779, was formed between the Nizam, Hyder Ally, and the Mahrattas, the object of which was no less than the complete expulsion of the British from the continent of India. Early in the year 1780 preparations were made for invading the Mahratta territories, and on the fifteenth of February, general Goddard marched with a considerable force to besiege the city of Ahmedabad, tlie capital of the province of Guzerat, which was taken by storm in five days after the arrival of the British army under its walls ; the reduction of the whole province soon followed. On the third of April following, the general surprised the camp of Scindia and Holkar, and the Mahratta chiefs were forced to re- treat with considerable loss. Some brilliant services were also performed on the side of Bengal. But these successes were more than counterbalanced by the progress made by Hyder Ally, who, having collected a pro- digious force, on the twentieth of July, made his way through the ghauts, or narrow passes in the mountains ; and, at the head of nearly one hundred thousand men, entered without resistance the Carnatic ; and by the tenth of August his cavalry had penetrated even to the vicinity of Madras. In this emergency, Sir Hector Munro hastily assembled the different corps which were scattered through the province, and endeavored to post himself strongly on the Mount, to cover and protect the capital ; and orders were dispatched to colonel Baillie, who commanded in the Guntoor, to hasten back to join the main army, and in the course of his march to endeavor, as much as possi- ble, to intercept the enemy's convoys. In the mean time Hyder formed the siege of Arcot, and Sir Hector thought it an mdis- pensable duty to march to its relief. On the approach of the British general, Hyder rais- ed the siege, but directed the route of his army in such a manner across the course of colonel Baillie's detachment, as effectually to prevent the intended junction. On the sixth of September, the troops of the sultan, under the command of his brother Meer Saib and his son, the since celebrated Tippoo Sultan, encountered colonels Baillie and Fletcher at a place called Perinbancum. All that skill could devise or valor effect, was performed by the British ; and tliough the disparity of force was almost unexam- pled, victory at first declared in favor of col- onel Baillie. Unfortunately, in the moment of success and exultation, the tumbrils which contained the ammunition suddenly blew up, with two dreadful explosions, in the centre of the British lines ; and one whole face of their column was laid open, and the artillery destroyed. The moment of advan- tage was suddenly caught by Tippoo Saib, who forced his way, at the head of his cav- alry, into the broken square ; and the British being deprived of their ammunition, and not, having had even time to form, were, after prodigies of valor, cut to pieces, or made prisoners of war. The British are said to have lost on this occasion about four thou- sand Sepoys, and six hundred Europeans. Immediately after tl)is disastrous event, the 272 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. army, under Sir Hector Munro, retreated, and abandoned Arcot to its fate, which soon fell into the hands of Hyder Ally. Thus ended this unfortunate campaign in India. MR. CORNWALL CHOSEN SPEAKER. While these things were transacting abroad, the ministry had contrived to pro- cure a new parliament at home, modelled for their purposes. It met on the thirty-first of October 1780, when their first business was the choice of a speaker. The great merit and faithful services of Sir Fletcher Norton, were totally obliterated by the quar- rel he had with the minister, as has been already mentioned; and another speaker was determined upon. The business, how- ever, was introduced with the highest com- pliments to the late speaker, and the choice of another was proposed on account of the importance of parliamentary business, which might be productive of debates inconsistent with his precarious state of health ; on which account the American secretary (lord George Germaine) moved that Wolfran Cornwall be appointed to that high office ; and the motion was seconded by Welbore Ellis. The members in opposition expressed the utmost astonishment, not only at the conduct of administration in proposing a new speaker, at the very time that they acknowledged Sir Fletcher Norton to be the most proper of all men to fill the office, but at the strange arguments made use of on the occasion. The health of the speaker was now so firmly established, that the pretence of his want of it, especially when coming from the ministerial side, must be considered as an absolute mockery of the house, and a direct insult upon the gentleman himself. Dunning therefore proposed, that Sir Fletcher Norton should be continued speaker, and his motion was seconded by Thomas Townshend. The late speaker, however, declined the intended honor, and said, that he had come to the house with a full resolution not to stand a candidate for the chair upon any account ; but he declared that he must be an idiot in- deed, if he could believe that his state of health was the reason of the determination of ministry against his being continued in the chair. Cornwall's election was carried by two hundred and three to one hundred and thirty- four. DUTCH WAR. 1781. — On the twenty-fifth of January, the king sent a message to the house by his minister, acquainting them that letters of marque and reprisals had been issued against the Dutch. This communication was no sooner made, than Burke observed, " That, however lightly a war might be thought of by some men, he was one of those who thought it always a most serious matter ; a matter which nothing but the greatest ne- cessity could justify." It was further ob- served by the opposition, " that the British manifesto stated that a treaty was entered into between the city of Amsterdam and America; but the treaty now laid before the house was, in the express terms of it, the plan of a treaty, or the rough draught of a compact, the ratification of which was to depend upon events which might never happen. This declaration of war was also ventured on, contrary to every recent pre- cedent, during a recess. The minister was remmded, that in this manner the house had been betrayed into all the pernicious mea- sures of his administration. In this manner had the house been led into the American war, that fatal source of all our calamities. In this manner had the French rescript been announced ; and afterwards the Spanish re- script, and at length the declaration of war against Holland, our ancient and natural ally. Year after year had the minister ac- quainted the house with a new enemy, but never had he yet brought them the welcome information of a new friend. Much had been said of the provocations we had re- ceived from Holland, and the predominance of a Frencli interest in that country — but had Holland received no provocation from us ] The insolence of the British memorial presented to the States in 1777, contributed more than anything else to the prevalence of the French faction in Holland. It had been stated, as a serious ground of offence, that Holland had not complied with the re- quisition of troops, which, by treaty, she had engaged to furnish. But it was notori- ous, that, in the event of this compliance, Holland would have been immediately in- vaded by France ; and, in conformity with the same treaties, we must then have sent a much greater aid to the assistance of the republic. If the Dutch, at the present pe- riod, had changed their political system re- specting this country, it was owing to tlie criminal conduct of an administration, who had precipitated us into a war, whence all our misfortunes had arisen. In consequence of that war, our American commerce was lost ; and could it be a matter of surprise that the Dutch, a people who existed by commerce, should be desirous to secure a share of it 1 We were abandoned, not by the Dutch only, but by all the powers of Eu- rope, who were all equally convinced, that, under the present wretched administration of aflTairs, whoever became the ally of Great Britain, would only share in her disgrace and her misfortunes." An address to his majesty, however, in favor of the war, was voted by a great ma- jority in the two houses of parliament GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 273 INDIAN AFFAIRS.— BURKE'S REFORM BILL. The crude and improvident politics of lord North and his colleag'ues, had reduced the British poseessions in the East Indies to an unsettled and distracted state. On the fourth of December 1780, a petition was presented to the house of commons from the British inhabitants of Bengal, Bahar, and Grissa, complaining of the injudicious and indiscriminate manner in which the judges of the supreme court endeavored to admin- ister the English laws in those provinces ; and this was seconded by another from the governor-general and council, containing a long statement of the transactions, and re- questing an indemnification from the legal penalties, which, for the preservation of gov- ernment and the country, they had been under the necessity of incurring, by forcibly resisting the proceedings of the chief-justice. Sir Elijah Impey. General Smith, on the twelfth of February, moved that these peti- tions should be referred to a committee gf fifteen members to he chosen by ballot, and to meet in a chamber above-stairs ; and after some time, a bill was introduced by general Smith, founded on the report of the com- mittee of fift.een, for regulating the admin- istration of justice in India, and for indem- nifying the governor-general and council for the resistance made by them to the supreme court. This bill, after some resistance from the law-members, passed both houses, and received the royal assent; it defined and limited the authority of the supreme court, and exempted the governor-general and council of Bengal from its jurisdiction. It declared farther, that no person should be under the cognizance of the supreme court, on account of his being a landholder or far- mer in the provinces of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa ; and that no judicial officers in the country courts should be liable to actions in the supreme court for their decisions. Burke, not being dejected by the rejec- tion of his reform bill last year, on the fif- teenth of February moved for leave to bring in a bill exactly similar, and opened his proposition by stating the powerful motives which engaged him now to resume his un- dertaking; and these were the celebrated resolutions of the late parliament, respect- ing the alarming increase of the influence of the crown ; the general wish and expect- ation of the people, and the direct applica- tions to himself fi-om several of the most considerable counties. Under very unfavorable auspices, the bill was read a second time, when it experienced the weight of that influence it was meant to reduce. It however introduced to public notice the splendid talents of young lord Maitland, and the captivating eloquence of William Pitt, the second son of tlie late earl of Chatham, who in very early youth had been elected a member of the present par- liament, and who now exhibited himself U) an admiring nation as the supposed heir of his talents and virtues. " One great object," Pitt said, "of all the petitions which had been presented, was a recommendation of economy in the public expenditure ; and the design of the present bill was, to carry into effect the wishes of the people, by intro- ducing a substantial system of economy. Besides the benefits which would result from the bill in this respect, it had another object still more important, and that was tlie re- duction of the influence of the crown, an influence which was the more to be dread- ed, because more secret in its attacks, and more concealed in its operations, than the power of prerogative." Pitt adverted to the extraordinary objections which had been made to the bill; it proposed to bring no more than two hundred thousand pounds per annum into the public coffers, and that surn was insignificant, in comparison of the mil- lions annually expended. " What then is the conclusion we are led to deduce 1 The ca- lamities of the present crisis are too great to be benefited by economy. Our expenses are so enormous, that it is useless to give ourselves any concern about them ; we have spent, and are spending, so much, that it is foolish to think of saving anything. Such is the language which the opponents of this bill have virtually employed. It had ala) been said, that the king's civil-list was an irresumable parliamentary grant, and it had been even compared to a private freehold. The weakness of such arguments was their best refutation. The civil-list revenue was granted to his majesty, not for his private use, but for the support of the executive government of the state. His majesty, in fact, was the trustee of the public, subject to parliamentary revision. The parliament made the grant, and undoubtedly had a right to resume it when the pressure of the times rendered such resumption necessary. Upon the whole, he considered the present bill as essential to the being and independence of this country, and he would give it his most determined support." PETITIONS OF COUNTY DELEGATES- PROPOSED MARRIAGE BILL. The existing grievances of the country appeared so much to increase in consequence of the war, and so little prospect of redress was afforded by the last parliament, that an association was formed by several of the most opulent and populous counties, and del- egates were chosen for the purpose of pros- ecuting the object of a parliamentary re- form, with proper vigor and imanimity. A petition prepared by the delegates, and sigo- 274 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ed by themselves only, was presented on the eighth of May, by Mr. Buncombe and Sir George Saville, who moved that it should be referred to a committee of the whole house. The motion was however rejected on the plea that it was a petition not from the parties who complained of the griev- ances, but from persons in a delegated ca- pacity. The numbers were two hundred and twelve, to one hundred and thirty-five. Fox made an effort, in the course of this session, to introduce a bill for the repeal, or at least for a modification, of the famous marriage act. The principal feature in the proposed bill was, that it reduced the legal age for contracting marriage, to eighteen in males, and sixteen in females, and no mar- riage was to be annulled after the parties had cohabited for one year. The bill passed the house of commons, but was rejected by the lords. MOTION ON AMERICAN WAR— SESSION CLOSED. Towards the end of the session. Fox moved the house to resolve itself into a committee, to consider of the American war, for the purpose of devising some means of accommodation. This motion was supported in an animated speech by Pitt, who express- ed his utter abhorrence cf a war, " which was conceived," he said, '' in injustice, nur- tured in folly, and whose footsteps were marked with slaughter and devastation. It exhibited the height of moral depravity and human turpitude. The nation was drained of its best blood and its vital resources, for which nothing was received in return but a series of inefficient victories or disgraceful defeats, victories obtained over men strug- gling in the holy cause of liberty, or defeats which filled the land with mourning for the loss of dear and valuable relatives, slain in a detested and impious quarrel." The mo- tion was rejected by a majority of seventy- three voices. On the eighteenth of July 1781, the ses- sion was closed by a speech, in which his majesty observed, " that the great efforts made by the nation, to surmount the difficul- ties of the present arduous and complicated war, must convmce the world that the an- cient spirit of the British nation was not abated or diminished ; and he was resolved to accept of no terms or conditions of peace, than such as might consist with the honor and dignity of his crown, and the perma- nent interests and security of his people." ATTACK ON JERSEY. We now return to the military transac- tions of this eventful year. On the sixth of January 1781, eight hundred French troops under the command of the baron de Rulle, landed before daybreak on the island of Jer- sey ; and so little expectation was entertaua- ed of any attack, that they passed undiscov- ered to the town of St Hillier, and, to the utter astonishment of the inhabitants, at day- break, the market-place v;as filled with French soldiers. Fortunately the lieuten- ant-governor, major Moses Corbet, had re- ceived information of their landing, time enough to dispatch intelligence to the differ- ent stations of the three regiments in the island, and to the militia. But he was taken prisoner himself by seven o'clock, and im- mediately carried before the French com- mander, who pressed him to sign terms of capitulation, under pain of firing the town and putting the inhabitants to the sword. It was in vain the governor represented, that, being a prisoner, he was deprived of all au- thority, and no capitulation that he could sign would be of any force or efficacy : the general still insisted, and to avoid the con- sequences, the governor ratified the capitu- lation. The king's troops and the militia assem- bled on the heights near the town, under the command of major Pierson, and now in their turn summoned the invaders to surrender themselves prisoners of war. An engage- ment ensued, in which major Pierson was killed ; and the French general being mor- tally wounded, the second in command de- sired Corbet to resume the government, and accept their submission as prisoners of war. The negligence of the lieutenant-governor was afterwards censured by a court-martial, and he was dismissed from his office. SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR. The siege of Gibraltar still continued, and the blockade was renewed after admiral Rodney's departure ; but the Spaniards un- der Don Barcelo were defeated on the sev- enth of June, in an attempt to burn the English shipping in the harbor there. In the command of the channel fleet. Sir Charles Hardy, who died on the nineteenth of May, was succeeded by admiral Geary. He sail- ed in the beginning of June, and was not out many days before he was so fortunate as to intercept a considerable convoy of Frencli West India ships, homeward-bound from St. Domingo, and captured twelve rich vessels. But this advantage was counterbalanced by the loss of almost the whole outward-bound convoy from England to the East and West Indies, which, on the twenty-ninth of July, was taken by the combined fleets, to the number of fifty-five. In the mean time, the court of Spain, mortified at this repeated disappointment, determined to make greater exertions for the reduction of Gibraltar. Their works were carried on with more vigor than ever. Having, on an experiment of twenty months, found the inefficacy of a blockade, they re- solved to try the effects of a bombardment GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 275 Their batteries were mounted with guns of the heaviest metal, and with mortars of the largest dimensions. These disgorged torrents of fire on a narrow spot. It seem- ed as if not only the works, but the rock itself, must have been overwhelmed. All distinction of parts was lost in flame and smoke. This dreadful cannonade continued day and night, almost incessantly, for three weeks, in every twenty-four hours of which one hundred thousand pounds of gunpowder were consumed, and between four and five thousand shot and shells went through the town. It then slackened, but was not inter- mitted during one whole day for upwards of a twelve-month. The fatigues of the gar- rison were extreme ; but the loss of men was less than might have been expected. For the first ten weeks of this unexampled bombardment, the whole number of killed and wounded was only about three hundred. The damage done to the works was trifling. The houses in the town, about five hundred in number, were mostly destroyed. Such of the inhabitants as were not buried in the ruins of their houses, or torn to pieces by the shells, fled to the remote parts of the rock ; but destruction followed them to places which had always been deemed secure. No scene could be more deplorable. Mothers and children clasped in each other's arms, were so completely torn to pieces, that it seemed more like an annihilation, than a dispersion of their shattered fragments. Ladies of the greatest sensibility and most delicate constitutions deemed themselves h ippy to be admitted to a few hours of re- pose in the casement, amidst the noise of a crowded soldiery, and the groans of the wo-mded. At the first onset general Elliot retorted on the besiegers a shower of fire ; but fore- seeing the difficuby of procuring supplies, he soon retrenched, and received with com- parative unconcern the fury and violence of his adversaries. By the latter end of November, the besiegers had brought their works to that state of perfection which they intended. The care and ingenuity employed upon them were extraordinary. The best engineers of France and Spain had united their abilities, and both kingdoms were filled with sanguine expectations of speedy suc- cess. In this conjuncture, when all Europe was in suspense concerning the fate of the garrison, and when, from the prodigious ef- forts made for its reduction, many believed that it could not hold out much longer, a sal- ly was projected and executed, which in about two hours destroyed those works which had required so much time, skill, and labor to accomplish. A body of two thousand chosen men, un- der the command of brigadier-general Ross, marched out about two o'clock in the morn- ing of the twenty-seventh of November 1781, and at the same instant made a general at- tack on the whole exterior front of the lines of the besiegers. The Spaniards gave way on every side, and abandoned their works. The pioneers and artillery-men spread their fire with such rapidity, that in a little time everything combustible was in flames. The mortars and cannon were spiked, and their beds, platforms, and carriages destroyed. The magazines blew up one afl:er another. The loss of the detachment which accom- plished all this destruction, was inconsider- able. This unexpected event disconcerted the besiegers ; but they soon recovered fi-om their alarm, and with a perseverance al- most peculiar to their nation, determined to go on with the siege. Their subsequent exertions and reiterated defeats shall be re- lated in the order of time in which they took place. ST. EUSTATIUS TAKEN. The war with Holland was no sooner resolved upon, than British vengeance burst on the Dutch island of St. Eustatius. This, though intrinsically of little value, had long been the seat of an extensive com- merce. It was the grand free port of the West Indies, and as such was a general market and magazine to all nations. In con- sequence of its neutrality and situation, to- gether with its unbounded fi-eedom of trade, it reaped the richest harvests of commerce, durmg the seasons of warfare among its neighbors ; it was in a particular manner a convenient channel of supply to the Ameri- cans. The island is a natural fortification, and very capable of being made strong ; but as its inhabitants were a motley mixture of transient persons, wholly intent on the gains of commerce, they were more solicitous to acquire property, than attentive to improve those means of security which the island af- forded. On the third of February 1781, Sir George Rodney and general Vaughan, with a large fleet and army, surrounded this isl- and, and demanded a surrender of it and of its dependencies within an hour. Mr. de Graaf returned for answer, " that being utterly incapable of making any defence against the force which invested the island, he must of necessity surrender it, only re- commending the town and its inhabitants to the known and usual clemency of British^ commanders." The wealth accumulated in this barren spot was prodigious. The whole island seemed to be one vast magazine. The storehouses were filled, and the beach cov- ered with valuable commodities. These 276 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. alone, on a moderate calculation, were es- timated to be worth above three millions sterling-. All this property, together with what was found on the island, was indis- criminately seized and declared to be con- fiscated. This valuable booty was farther increased by new arrivals. The conquerors for some time kept up Dutch colors, which decoyed a number of French, Dutch, and American vessels into their hands. Above one hundred and fifty merchant-vessels, most of which were richly laden, were captured. A Dutch fi-igfate of thirty-eight guns, and five small armed vessels, shared the same fiite. The neighboring islands of St Martin and Saba were in like manner reduced. Just before the arrival of the British, thirty large ships, laden with West India commodities, had sailed from Eustatius for Holland, under the convoy of a ship of sixty guns. Admiral Rodney dispatched the Monarch and Pan- ther, with the Sybil frigate, in pursuit of this fleet; the whole of it was overtaken and captured. The Dutch West India company, many of the citizens of Amsterdam, and several Americans, were great sufferers by the cap- ture of this island, and the confiscation of all property found therein, which immediately followed ; but the British merchants were much more so. These, confiding in the ac- knowledged neutrality of the island, and in acts of parliament, had accumulated there great quantities of West India produce as well as European goods. They stated their hard case to admiral Rodney and general Vaughan, and contended that their connex- ion with the captured island was under the sanction of acts of parliament, and that their commerce had been conducted accord- ing to the rules and maxims of trading na- tions. To applications of this kind it was answered, "that the island was Dutch, every- thing in it was Dutch, under the protection of the Dutch flag, and as Dutch it should be treated." The severity with which the victors pro- ceeded drew on them pointed censures, not only from the immediate sufferers, but from all Europe. It must be supposed that they Vv^ere filled with resentment for the sup- {)lies which the Americans received through this channel ; but there is also reason to sus- pect, that the love of gain was cloaked under the specious veil of national policy. While Admiral Rodney and his oflScers were at St. Eustatius, and especially while his fleet was weakened, by a large detach- ment sent off to convoy their booty to Great Britain, the French were silently executing a well-digested scheme, which assured them a naval superiority on the American coast, to the total ruin of the British interest in tlie United States. AMERICAN CAMPAIGN.— REVOLT OF PENNSYLVAIMA LII^E. The campaign in America however com- menced with some favorable omens to the British; for though general Arnold's ad- dress to his countrymen produced no effect in detaching the soldiery of America from the unproductive service of congress, their steadiness could not be accounted for, from any melioration of their circumstances. They still remained without pay, and without such clothing as the season required. They could not be induced to enter the British service ; but their complicated distresses at length broke out into deliberate mutiny. This event, which had been long expected, made its first threatening appearance in the Pennsylvania line. The common soldiers enlisted in that state were for the most part natives of Ireland, but though not bound to America by the accidental tie of birth, they were inferior to none in discipline, courage, or attachment to the cause of independ- ence. They had been, but a few months before, the most active instruments in quell- ing a mutiny of the Connecticut troops, and had on all occasions done their duty to ad- miration. An ambiguity in the terms of their enlistment furnished a pretext for their conduct. A great part of them were enlisted for three years, or during the war ; the three years were expired, and the men insisted that the choice of staying or going remained with them, while the officers con- tended that the choice was in the state. The mutiny was excited by the noncom- missioned officers and privates in the night of the first of January 1781, and soon be- came so universal in the line of that state as to defy all opposition. The whole, ex- cept three regiments, upon a signal for the purpose, turned out under arms without their officers, and declared for a redress of grievances. The officers in vain endeavor- ed to quell them. Several were wounded, and a captain was killed, in attempting it General Wayne presented his pistols, as if about to fire on them ; they held their bayo- nets to his breast, and said, " We love and respect you, but if you fire, you are a dead man. We are not going to the enemy ; on the contrary, if they were now to come out, you should see us fight under your orders with as much alacrity as ever ; but we will be no longer amused ; we are determined on obtaining what is our just due." Deaf to arguments and entreaties, they, to the number of one tliousand three hundred, mov- ed off in a body from Morristown, and pro- ceeded in good order with their arms and six field-pieces to Princeton. They elected tem- porary officers from their own body, and appointed a serjeant-major, who had former- ly deserted from Oie British army, to be GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 277 their commander. General Wayne forwarded provisions after them to prevent their plun- dermg the country for their subsistence. They* invaded no man's property, farther than their immediate necessities made una- voidable. This was readily submitted to by the inhabitants, who had long been used to exactions of the same kind, levied for simi- lar purposes by their lawful rulers. They professed that they had no object in view, but to obtain wliat was justly due to them, nor were their actions inconsistent with that pro- fession. Congress sent a committee of their body consistmg of general Sullivan, Matthews, Atlee, and Dr. Witherspoon, to procure an accommodation. The revoiters were reso- lute in refusing any terms, of which a re dress of their grievances was not the found- ation. Everythmg asked of their country, they might, at any time after the sixth of January, have obtained from the British, by passing over into New- York : this they re- fused. Their sufferings had exhausted their patience, but not their patriotism. Sir Henry Clinton, by confidential messengers, offered to take them under the protection of the British government, to pardon all their past oifences, to have the pay due to them from congress faithfully made up, v/ithout any ex- pectation of military service in return, al- though it would be received if voluntarily offered. It was recommended to them to move behind the South River ; and it was promised, that a detachment of the British troops should be in readmess for their pro- tection as soon as desired. In the mean time, the troops passed over from New- York to Staten Island, and the necessary arrange- ments were made for moving them into New- Jersey, whenever they might be wanted. The royal commander was not less disap- pointed than surprised to find that the faith- ful though revolting soldiers disdained his oflfers. The messengers of Sir Henry Clin- ton were seized and delivered to general Wayne. President Reed and general Pot- ter were appointed, by the council of Penn- sylvania, to accommodate matters with the revoiters. They met at Princeton, and greed to dismiss all whose terms of enlist- ment were completed, and admitted the oath of each soldier to be evidence in his own case. A board of officers tried and con- demned the British spies, and they were in- stantly executed. President Reed offered a purse of one hundred guineas to the muti- neers, as a reward of their fidelity, in deliv- ering up the spies ; but they refused to ac- cept it, saying, " That what tliey had done was only a duty they owed their country, and that they neither desired nor would re- ceive any reward but the approbation of that Vol. IV. 24 country, for which they have so often fought and bled." ARNOLD'S EXPEDITION TO VIRGINIA. While the Americans were suffering the complicated calamities which introduced the year 1781, their adversaries were carrying on the most extensive plan of operation, which had ever been attempted since the war. It had often been objected to tlie Brit- ish commanders, that they had not conducted the war in the manner most likely to efliect the subjugation of the revolted provinces. Military critics, in particular, found fault with them for keeping a large army idle at New- York, which they said, if properly ap- plied, would have been sufficient to make successful impressions at one and the same time on several of the states. The British seem to have calculated the campaign of 1781, with a view to make an experiment of the comparative merit of this mode of conducting military operations. The wai raged in that year, not only in the vicinity of the British head-quarters at New- York, but in Georgia, South Carolina, North Caro- lina, and in Virginia. The latter state, from its peculiar situation, and from the modes of building, planting, and living, which had been adopted by tlie inhabitants, is particu- larly exposed, and lies at the mercy of what- ever army is master of the Chesapeak. These circumstances, together with the pre- eminent rank which Virginia held in the confederacy, pointed out the propriety of making that state tlie object of particular attention. To favor lord Cornwallis's de- signs in the southern states, major-general Leslie, with about two thousand men, had been detached from New- York to the Chesa- peak, in the latter end of 1780 ; but subse- quent events induced his lordship to order him from Virginia to Charlestown, with tlie view of his more effectually co-operating with the army under his own immediate command. Soon after the departure of gen- eral Leslie, Virginia Avas agam invaded by another party from New- York. This v;as commanded by general Arnold, now a briga- dier in the royal army. His force consisted of about sixteen hundred men, and was sup- ported by such a number of armed vessels as enabled him to commit extensive ravages on the unprotected coasts of that well- watered country. On the fifth of January the invad- ers landed about fifteen miles below Rich- mond; and in two days marched into the towm, where they destroyed large quantities of tobacco, salt, rum, sail-cloth, and other merchandise. Successive excursions were made to several other places, in v.^hich the royal army committed similar devastations. In about a fortnight, they marched into Portsmouth, and began to fortify it The 278 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. loss they sustained from the feeble opposi- tion of the dispersed inhabitants was incon- siderable. The havoc made by general Ar- nold, and the apprehension of a design to fix a permanent post in Virginia, induced gene- ral Washington to detacli the marquis de la Fayette, with twelve hundred of the Ameri- can infantry, to that state, and also to urge the French in Rhode-Island to co-operate with him in attempting to capture Arnold and his party. The French commanders eagerly closed with the proposal. Since they had landed in the United States, no proper opportunity of gratifying their passion for military fame had yet presented itself They rejoiced at that which now offered, and indulged a cheerful hope of rendering essential service to their allies, by cutting off the retreat of Arnold's party. With this view, their fleet, with fifteen hundred addi- tional men on board, on the eighth of March sailed from Rhode-Island for Virginia. D'Es- touches, who, since the death of de Ternay in the preceding December, had commanded the French fleet, previous to the sailing of his whole naval force, on the ninth of Feb- ruary dispatched the Eveille, a sixty-four gun sliip, and two frigates, with orders to destroy the British ships and frigates in the Chesapeak. These took or destroyed ten vessels, and captured the Romulus of forty- four guns. On the tenth of March, Arbuth not with a British fleet sailed from Gardi- ner's Bay, in pursuit of D'Estouches. On the sixteenth of the same month, the former overtook and engaged the latter off the Capes of Virginia. The British had the advantage of more guns than the French ; but the lat- ter were much more strongly manned than the former. The contest between the fleets thus nearly balanced, ended without the loss of a ship on either side ; but the British ob- tained the fruits of victory so far as to frus- trate the whole scheme of their adversaries. The French fleet returned to Rhode-Island without effecting the object of the expedi- tion. Thus was Arnold saved from immi- nent danger of falling into the hands of his exasperated countrymen. The day before the French fleet returned to Newport, March twenty-fifth, a convoy arrived in the Chesa- peak from New- York, with major-general Philips, and about two thousand men. This distinguished officer, who having been taken at Saratoga, had been lately exchanged, was appointed to be commander of the royal forces in Virginia. Philips and Arnold soon made a junction, and carried everything be- fore them. They successively defeated those bodies of militia which came in their way. The whole country was open to their ex- cursions. With this expedition, major-general Phil ip8 terminated a life, which in all his pre vious operations had been full of glory. At early periods of his military career, on dif- ferent occasions in a preceding war, he had gained the full approbation of prince Ferdi- nand, under whom he had served in Ger- many. As an officer he was universally admired. Though mucli of the devastations committed by the troops under his command, may be vindicated on the principles of those who hold that the rights and laws of war are of equal obligation with the rights and laws of humanity ; yet the friends of his fame have reason to regret that he did not die three weeks sooner. The successes which, with a few checks, followed the British arms since they had re- duced Savannah and Charlestown, encour- aged them to pursue their object by advanc- ing from south to north. A vigorous invasion of North Carolina was therefore projected, for the business of the winter, which followed general Gates's defeat. GENERAL GREENE SUCCEEDS GATES.— TARLETON DEFEATED. The American army, after its defeat and dispersion on the sixteenth of August 1780, rendezvoused at Hillsborough. In the latter end of the year they advanced to Charlotte- Town, At this place general Gates trans- ferred the command to general Greene, The manly resignation of the one, was equalled by the delicate disinterestedness of the other. Expressions of civility, and acts of friendship and attention, were reciprocally exchanged. With an inconsiderable army, miserably provided, general Greene took the field against a superior British regular force, which had marched in triumph two hundred miles from the sea-coast, and was flushed with successive victories through a whole campaign. Soon after he took the com- mand, he divided his force, and sent general Morgan with a respectable detachment to tlie western extremity of South Carolina, and about the same time marched with the main body to Hicks' Creek, on the north side of the Pedee, opposite the CherawHill. When this irruption was made into the district of Nmety-six, lord Cornwall is was far advanced in his preparations for the in- vasion of North Carolina. To leave gen- eral Morgan in the rear, was contrary to military policy. In order therefore to drive him from his station, and to deter the inhab- itants from joining him, lieutenant-colonel Tarleton was ordered to proceed with about one thousand one hundred men, and " push him to the utmost." He had two field-pieces, and a superiority of infantry in the propor- tion of five to four, and of cavalry in the proportion of three to one. Besides this ui- equality of force, two-thirds of the troops under general Morgan were militia. With GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 279 these fair prospects of success, Tarleton, on the seventeenth of January 1781, engaged Morgan at the Cowpens, with the expecbi- tion of driving him out of kSouth Carolina. The mihtia fell hack. The British advanced and engaged the second line, which, after an obstinate conflict, was compelled to re- treat to the cavalry. In this crisis, lieuten- ant-colonel Washington made a successful charge on captain Ogilvie, who, with about forty dragoons, was cutting down the militia, and forced them to retreat in confusion. Lieutenant-colonel Howard almost at the same moment rallied the continental troops, and charged with fixed bayonets. The ex- ample was instantly followed by the militia. Nothing could exceed the astonishment and confusion of the British, occasioned by these unexpected charges. Their advance fell back on their rear, and communicated a panic to the whole. Two hundred and fifty horse which had not been engaged, fled with pre- cipitation. The pieces of artillery were seized by the Americans, and the greatest confusion took place among the infantry. While they were in this state of disorder, lieutenant-colonel Howard called to them to " lay down their arms," and promised them good quarter. Some hundreds accepted the offer, and surrendered. The first battalion of the seventy-first, and two British light infantry companies, laid down their arms to the American militia, x\ party which had been left some distance in the rear to guard the baggage, was tlie only body of intantry that escaped. MASTERLY RETREAT OF THE AMERI- CANS. Lord Cornwallis, though preparing to extend his conquests northerly, was not in- attentive to the security of South Carolina. Besides the force at Charlestown, he left a considerable body of troops under the com- mand of lord Rawdon. These were princi- pally stationed at Camden, from which cen- tral situation they might easily be drawn forth to defend the frontiers, or to suppress insurrections. To facilitate the intended operations against North Carolina, major Craig, with a detachment of about three hundred men from Charlestown, and a small marine force, took possession of Wilmington. While these arrangements were making, the year 1781 commenced with the fairest prospects to the friends of British govern- ment. The arrival of general Leslie in Charlestown from Virginia, gave earl Corn- wallis a decided superiority, and enabled him to attempt the reduction of North Carolina, with a force sufficient to bear down all prob- able opposition. Arnold was before him in Virginia, wdiile &'outh Carolina in his rear was considered as completely subdued. His lordship had much to hope and little to fear. His admirers flattered him with the exjiect- ation, that his victory at Camden would but prove the dawn of his glory ; and that the events of tlie approaching campaign would immortalize his name, as the conqueror, at least, of the southern states. Whilst lord Cornwallis was indulging these pleasing prospects, ht^ received intelligence, no less unwelcome than unexpected, that Tarleton, his favorite officer, in whom he placed the greatest confidence, instead of driving Mor- gan out of the country, was completely de- feated by hhn. This surprised and morti- fied, but did not discourage his lordship. He hoped by vigorous exertions soon to obtain reparation for the late disastrous event, and even to recover what he had lost. With the expectation of retaking the prisoners captured at the Cowpens, and to obliterate the impression made by the issue of the late action at that place, his lordship instantly determined on the pursuit of general Mor- gan, who had moved oft' towards Virginia with his prisoners. The movements of the royal army in consequence of this determi- nation, induced general Greene immediately to retreat from Hicks' Creek, lest the Brit- ish, by crossing the upper sources of the Pedee, should get between him and the de- tachment, which was encumbered with the prisoners. In this critical situation general Greene left the main army, under the com- mand of general Huger, and rode one hun- dred and fifty miles through the country, to join the detachment under general Morgan, that he might be in front of lord Cornwallis, and direct the motions of both divisions of his army, so as to form a speedy junction between them. Immediately after the ac- tion, on the seventeenth of January, Morgan sent on his prisoners under a proper guard, and having made every arrangement in. his power for their security, retreated with ex- pedition. Nevertheless the British gained ground upon him. Morgan intended to cross the mountains with his detachment and pris- oners, that he might more effectually secure the latter : but Greene, on his arrival, order- ed the prisoners to Charlotteville, and di- rected tlie troops to Guildford court-house, to which place he had also ordered general Huarer to proceed with the main arn^y. The British had urged the pursuit witli so much rapidity, that they reached the Ca- tawba on the evening of the same day on which their fleeing adversaries had crossed it. Before the next morning a heavy fall of rain made that river impassable. The Ameri- cans, confident of the justice of their cause, considered this event as an interposition of Providence in their favor. It is certain, that if the rising of the river had taken place a few hours sooner, general Morgan, with his whole detachment, and five hundred prison- 280 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ers, would have scarcely had any chance of escape. When the flood had subsided so far as to leave the river fordable, a large proportion of the king's troops received or- ders to be in readiness to march at one o'clock in the morning of the first of Feb- ruary. Feints had been made of passing at several diiierent fords, but the. real attempt was made at a ford near M'Cowans, the north banks of which were defended by a small guard of militia, commanded by gen- eral Davidson. The British marched through the river, upwards of five hundred yards v/ide, and about three feet deep, sustaining a constant fire from the militia on the oppD- site bank, without returning it till they had made good their passage. The light infan- try and grenadier companies, as soon as they reached the land, dispersed the Americans, general Davidson, the brave leader of the latter, being killed on the first onset. The militia throughout the neighboring settle- ments v/ere dispirited, and but few of them could be persuaded to take or keep the field. A small party which collected about ten miles from the ford, was attacked and dis- })ersed by lieutenant-colonel Tarleton. All the fords were abandoned, and the whole royal army crossed over without any farther opposition. The passage of the Catawba being effected, the Americans continued to flee and the British to pursue. The former by expeditious movements crossed the Yad- kin, partly in flats, and partly by fording, on the second and third days of February, and secured their boats on the north side. Though the British were close in their rear, yet the want of boats, and the rapid rising of the river from the preceding rains, made their crossing impossible. This second hair- breadth escape was considered by the Ameri- cans as a farther evidence that their cause v/as favored by Heaven. The British having failed in their first scheme of passing the Yadkin, were obliged to cross at the upper fords ; but before this was completed, the two divisions of the American army, on the seventh of February, made a junction at Guildford court-house. Though this had taken place, their combined numbers were so much inferior to the Brit- is'i, that general Greene could not with any propriety risk an action. He therefore call- ed a council of officers, who unanimously concurred in opinion that he ought to retire over the Dan, and to avoid an engagement till he was reinforced. Lord Cornwallis, knowing t'lo inr'T'ority of tlie American force, conceivoii iiopes, by getting between general Greene and Virginia, to cut off his retreat, intercept his supplies and reiiiforce- ments, and oblige him to fight under many disadvantages. With t'nis vic'V, his lordship kept the upper country, ^vhere only the rivers are fordable — supposing that his ad- versaries, from the want of a sufficient num- ber of flats, could not make good their pas- sage in the deep water below, or, in case of their attempting it, he expected to overtake and force them to action before they could cross. In this expectation he was deceived. General Greene by good management elud- ed his lordship. The British urged their pursuit with so much rapidity, that the American light troops were on the fourteenth compelled to retire upwards of forty miles. By the most indefatigable exertions, general Greene had that day transported his army, artillery, and baggage, over the river Dan into Virginia. So rapid was the pursuit, and so narrow the escape, that the van of the pursuing British just arrived as the rear of the Americans had crossed. The hardships and difficulties which the royal army had undergone in this march, were exceeded by the mortification that all their toils and ex- ertions were to no purpose. They conceiv- ed it next to impossible that general Greene could escape without receiving a decisive blow. They therefore cheerfully submitted to difficulties, of which they who reside in cultivated countries can form no adequate ideas. After surmounting incredible hard- ships, when they fancied themselves within grasp of their object, they discovered that all their hopes were blasted. PLANS OF LORD CORNTVALLIS DE- FEATED. The continental army being driven out of North Carolina, lord Cornwallis thought the opportunity favorable for assembling the loyalists. With this view he left the Dan, and proceeded to Hillsborough. On his ar- rival there, he erected the king's standard, and published a proclamation, inviting all loyal subjects to repair to it with their arms and ten days' provision, and assuring them of his readiness to concur with them in effectual measures for suppressing the re- mains of rebellion, and for the re-establish- ment of good order and constitutional gov- ernment. Soon after the king's standard was erected at Hillsborough, some hundreds of the inhabitants rode into the British camp. They seemed to be very desirous of peace, but averse to any co-operation for procuring it. They acknowledged the continentals were chased out of the province, but ex- pressed their apprehensions that they would soon return, and on the whole declined to take any decided part in a cause which yet appeared dangerous. Notwithstanding the indifference or timidity of the loyalists near Hillsborough, lord Cornwallis hoped for sub- stantial aid from the inhabitants between Haw and Deep River. He therefore detach- ed lieutenant-colonel Tarleton with four hun- dred and fifty men to give countenance to GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 281 the friends of royal government in that dis- trict. Greene being informed that many of the inhabitants had joined his lordsliip, and that they were repairing in great numbers to make their submission, was apprehensive that unless some spirited measure was im- mediately taken, the whole country would be lost to the Americans. He therefore concluded, at every hazard, to recross the Dan. This was done by the light troops, {ind these on the next day were followed by the main body, accompanied with a brigade of Virginia n'lilitia. Immediately after the return of the Americans to North Carolina, some of their light troops, commanded by general Pickens and lieutenant-colonel Lee, were detached in pursuit of Tarleton, who liad been sent to encourage the insurrection C'f the loyalists. Three hundred and fifty of these tories commanded by colonel Pyles, ;vhen on their w^ay to join the British, fell in with this light American party, and mis- took them for the royal detachment sent for thsir support The Americans attacked them, laboring under this mistake, to great advantage, and cut them down as they were crying out, " God save the king," and mak- ing protestcitions of their loyalty. Natives of txhe British colonies, who were of this cliaracter, more rarely found mercy than European soldiers. Tarleton was refreshing his legion about a miie from the scene of slaughter. Upon hearing the alarm, he re- crossed the Haw and returned to Hillsbo- rough. On his retreat he cut down several of the royalists, as they were advancing to join the British army, mistaking them for tiie rebel militia of the country. These events, together with the return of the American army, overset all the schemes of lord Cornwallis. The tide of public senti- ment was no longer in his favor. The re- cruiting service in behalf of the royal army was entirely stopped. The absence of the American army, for one fortnight longer, might have turned the scale. The advocates for royal government being discouraged by these adverse accidents, and being also gene- rally deficient in that ardent zeal which characterized the patriots, could not be in- duced to act with confidence. They were so dispersed over a large extent of a thinly settled country, that it was difficult to bring them to unite in any common plan. They had no superintending congress to give sys- tem or concert to their schemes. While each little district pursued separate measures, all were obliged to submit to the American governments. Numbers of them, who were on their way to join lord Cornwallis, struck with terror at the unexpected return of the American army, and the unhappy fate of their brethren, went home to wait events. Their policy wae of that timid kind, which 24* disposed them to be more attentive to per- sonal safety, than to the success of either army. BATTLE OF GUILDFORD. Though general Greene had recrossed, his plan was not to venture upon an imme- diate action, but to keep alive the courage of his party, to depress that of the loyalists, and to harass the foragers and detachments of the British, till reinforcements should ar- rive. While Greene was unequal even to defensive operations, he lay seven days with- in ten miles of Cornwallis's camp, but took a new position every night, and kept it a profound secret where the next was to be. By such frequent movements lord Cornwallis could not gain intelligence of his situation in time to profit by it. He manoeuvred in this manner to avoid an action for three weeks. By the end of that period, two brigades of militia from North Carolina, and one from Virginia, together with four hun- dred regulars raised for eighteen months, joined his army, and gave him a superiority of numbers: he therefore determined no longer to avoid an engagement. Lord Corn- wallis having long sought for this, no longer delay took place on either side. The Ameri- can army consisted of about four thousand four hiindred men, of which more than one half were militia ; the British of about two thousand four hundred, chiefly troops grown veteran in victories. The former was drawn up in three lines ; the front composed of North Carolina militia, the second of Vir- ginia militia, the third and last of conti- nental troops commanded by general Huger and colonel Williams. After a brisk can- nonade in front, the British advanced in three columns ; the Hessians on the right, the guards in the centre, and lieutenant- colonel Webster's brigade on the left ; and attacked the front line. This gave way when their adversaries were at the distance of one hundred and forty yards, from the misconduct of a colonel, who, on the ad- vance of the enemy, called out to an officer at some distance that he would be surround- ed. The alarm was sufficient : without in- quiring into the probability of what had been injudiciously suggested, the militia precipi- tately quitted the field. As one good officer may sometimes mend the face of affairs, so the misconduct of a bad one may mjure a whole army. Untrained men when on the field are similar to each other. The difference of their conduct depends much on inci- dental circumstances, and on none more than the manner of their being led on, and the quality of the officers by whom they are commanded. The Virginia militia stood their ground, and kept up their fire till they were ordered to retreat General Stevens, their com- 282 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. mander, had posted forty riflemen at equal distances, twenty paces in the rear of his brigade, with orders to shoot every man who should leave his post. The continental troops were last engaged, and maintained the conflict with great spirit for an hour and a half At length the discipline of veteran troops gained the day. They broke the second Maryland brigade, turned the Ameri- can left flank, and got in rear of the Virginia brigade. They appeared to be gaining Greene's right, which would have encircled the whole of the continental troops : a re treat was therefore ordered. This was made in good order, and no farther than over the Reedy Fork, a distance of about three miles, Greene halted there, and drew up till he had collected most of the stragglers, and then retired to Speedwell's iron-works, ten miles distant from Guildford. The Ameri- cans lost four pieces of artillery, and two ammimition-wagons. The victory cost the British dear. Their killed and wounded amounted to several hundreds. The guards lost colonel Stuart and three captains, be^ sides subalterns. Colonel Webster, an offi- cer of distinguished merit, died of his wounds, to the great regret of the whole army. Gen- erals O'Hara and Howard, and lieutenant- colonel Tarleton, were wounded. About three hundred of the continentals, and one hundred of the Virginia militia, were killed or wounded. Among the former was major Anderson, of the Maryland line, a most val- uable officer; of the latter were generals Huger and Stevens. The early retreat of the North Carolinians saved them from much loss. The American army sustained a great diminution, by the numerous fugitives, who, instead of rejoining the camp, went to their homes. On the other hand, lord Comwallis suffered so much, that he was in no condi- tion to improve the advantage he had gain- ed. The British had only the name, the Americans, all the good consequences of a victory. General Greene retreated, and lord Comwallis kept the field ; but notwithstand- ing, the British interest in North Carolina was from that day ruined. Soon after this action, (on the eighteenth of March) lord Comwallis issued a proclamation setting forth his complete victory, and calling on all loyal subjects to stand forth, and take an active part in restoring order and good gov- ernment, and offering a pardon and protec- tion to all rebels, murderers excepted, who would surrender themselves on or before the twentieth of April. On the next day after this proclamation was issued, his lordship left his hospital and seventy-flve wounded men, with the numerous loyalists, in the vicinity, and began a march towards Wil- mington, which had the appearance of a re- treat. Major Craig, who for the purposes of co-operating with his lordship, had been stationed at Wilmington, was not able to open a water-communication with the Brit- ish army, while they were in the upper country. The distance, the narrowness of Cape Fear River, the commanding elevation of its banks, and the hostile sentiments of the inhabitants on each side of it, forbade the attempt. The destitute condition of the British army made it necessary to go to these supplies, which for these reasons could not be brought to them. General Greene no sooner received in- formation of this movement of lord Com- wallis, than he put his army in motion to follow him. As he had no means of pro- viding for the wounded, of his own, and the British forces, he wrote a letter to the neigh- boring inhabitants of the Quaker persuasion, in which he mentioned his being brought up a Quaker, and urged them to take care of the wounded on both sides. His recom- mendations prevailed, and the Quakers sup- plied the hospitals with every comfort in their power. Lord Comwallis halted and refreshed his army for about three weeks at Wilmington, and then marched across the country to Pe- tersburgh, in Virginia. The resolution of returning to South Carolina was formed by general Greene. This animated the friends of congress in that quarter. Had the Ameri- can army followed his lordship, the southern states would have considered themselves con- quered ; for their hopes and fears prevailed just as the armies marched north or south. Though lord Comwallis marched through North Carolina to Virginia, yet as the Amer- ican army returned to South Carolina, the people considered that movement of his lord- ship in the light of a retreat. While the two armies were in North Carolina, the whig inhabitants of South Carolina were animated by the gallant ex- ertions of Sumter and Marion. These dis- tinguished partisans, while surrounded with enemies, kept the field. Though the conti- nental army was driven into Virginia, they did not despair of the commonwealth. Hav- ing mounted their followers, their motions were rapid, and their attacks unexpected. With their light troops they intercepted the British convoys of provisions, infested their out-posts, beat up their quarters, and harassed their detachments with such frequent alarms, that they were obliged to be always on their guard. While lord Comwallis was preparing to invade Virginia, general Greene determined to recommence offensive military operations in the southern extreme of the confederacy, in preference to pursuing his lordship into Virginia. General Sumter, w^ho had warmly urged this measure, was about this time au- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 283 thorized tx) raise a state-brigade, to be in service for eighteen months. He had also prepared the militia to co-operate with the returning continentals. With these forces, an offensive v^ar was recommenced in South Carolina, and prosecuted with spirit and suc- cess. Camden, before which the main Ameri- can army was encamped, is a village situ- ated on a plain, covered on the south and east sides by the Wateree and a creek, on the western and northern by six redoubts. It was defended by lord Rawdon, with about nine hundred men. The American army, consisting only of about an equal number of continentals, and between two and three hundred militia, was unequal to the task of carrying this post by storm, or of completely investing it. General Greene, therefore, took a good position, about a mile distant, in expectation of alluring the garrison out of their lines. Lord Rawdon armed his whole force, and with great spirit sallied on the twenty-fifth. An engagement ensued. Vic- tory for some time evidently inclined to the Americans, but in the progress of the ac- tion, the premature retreat of two compa- nies eventually occasioned the defeat of the whole American army. Greene, with his usual firmness, instantly took measures to prevent lord Rawdon from improving the success he had obtained. He retreated with such order, that most of his wounded, and all his artillery, together with a number of prisoners, were carried off. The British re- tired to Camden, and the Americans en- camped about five miles from their former position. Their loss was between two and three hundred. Soon after this action, gene- ral Greene, knowing that the British garri- son could not subsist long in Camden with- out fresh supplies from Charlestown or the country, took such positions as were most likely to prevent their procuring any. On the seventh of May, lord Rawdon re- ceived a reinforcement of four or five hun- dred men, by the arrival of colonel Watson from Pedee. With this increase of strength, he attempted, on the next day, to compel general Greene to another action, but found it to be impracticable. Failing in this de- sign, he returned to Camden, and burned the jail, mills, many private houses, and a great deal of his own baggage. He then evacu- ated the post, and retired to the southward of Santee. His lordship discovered as much prudence in evacuating Camden, as he had shown bravery in its defence. The position of the American army, in a great measure, intercepted supplies from the adjacent coun- try. The British in South Carolina, now cut off from all communication with lord Cornwallis, would have hazarded the capita], by keeping large detachments in their distant out-posts : they therefore resolved to contract their limits, by retiring within the Santee. This measure animated the friends of con- gress in the extremities of the state, and disposed them to co-operate with the Amer- ican army. While operations were carrying on against the small posts, Greene proceeded with his main army, and laid siege to Ninety-six, in which lieutenant-colonel Cruger, with up- wards of five hundred men, was advan- tageously posted. On the left of the besieg- ers was a work, erected m the form of a star; on the right was a strong blockade fort, with two block-houses in it. The town was also picketed in with strong pickets, and surrounded with a ditch, and a bank, near the height of a common parapet. The besiegers were more numerous than the be- sieged, but the disparity was not great. The siege was prosecuted with indefati- gable industry. The garrison defended them- selves with spirit and address. On the twen- ty-fifth of May, the morning after the siege began, a party sallied from the garrison, and drove the advance of the besiegers from their works. The next night, two strong block batteries were erected at the distance of three hundred and fifty yards. Another battery, twenty feet high, was erected with- in two hundred and twenty yards, and soon after a fourth was erected within a hundred yards of the main fort, and lastly, a rifle bat- tery was erected thirty feet high, within thirty yards of the ditch ; from all of which the besiegers fired into the British works. The abatis was turned, and a mine and two trenches were so far extended, as to be within six feet of the ditch. At that inter- esting moment, intelligence was conveyed into the garrison, that lord Rawdon was near at hand with about two tliousand men for their relief These had arrived in Charlestown from Ireland after the siege be- gan, and were marched for Ninety-six on the seventh day after they landed. In these circumstances, general Greene had no al- ternative but to raise the siege, or attempt the reduction of the place by assault. The latter was attempted. Though the assailants displayed great resolution, they failed of success. On this, general Greene raised tlie siege, and retreated over Saluda. His loss in the assault and previous conflicts was about a hundred and fifty men. Lieutenant- colonel Cruger deservedly gained great re- putation by this successful defence. He was particularly indebted to major Greene, who had bravely and judiciously defended that redoubt, for the reduction of which the greatest exertions had been made. I-ord Rawdon, who by rapid marches was near Ninety-six at the time of the assault, pursu- ed the Americans as far as the Enoree riv- 284 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. er ; but without overtaking them. Desist- ing from this fruitless pursuit, he drew off a part of his force from Ninety-six, and fixed a detachment at the Congaree. General Greene, on hearing that the British force was divided, faced about to give them bat- tle. I^rd Rawdon, no less surprised than alarmed at this unexpected movement of his lately retreating foe, abandoned the Conga- ree m two days after he had reached it, and marched to Orangeburgh. General Greene in his turn pursued and offered him battle. His lordship would not venture out, and his adversary was too weak to attack him in his encampment with any prospect of success. Reasons similar to those which induced the British to evacuate Camden, weighed with them about this time to withdraw their troops from Ninety-six. While the American army lay near Orangeburgh, lieu- tenant-colonel Cruger, having evacuated the post he had gallantly defended, was march- ing with the troops of that garrison, through the forks of Edisto, to join lord Rawdon at Orangeburgh. General Greene being un- able to prevent their junction, and still less so to stand before their combined force, re- tired to the high hills of Santee. The evac- uation of Camden having been effected by striking at the posts below it, the same ma- noeuvre was now attempted to induce the British to leave Orangeburgh. With this view, generals Sumter and Marion, with their brigades, and the legion of cavalry, were detached to Monk's Corner and Dor- chester. They moved down different roads, and commenced separate and successful at- tacks, on convoys and detachments, in the vicinity of Charle&town. In this manner was the war carried on. While the British kept their forces compact, they could not cover the country, and the American general had the prudence to avoid fighting. When they divided their army, their detachments were attacked and defeated. While they were in the upper country, liglit parties of Ameri- cans annoyed their small posts in the low^er wettlemente. The people soon found that the late conquerors were not able to afford them their promised protection. The spirit of re- volt became general, and the royal interest daily declined. The British having evacuated all their [wsts to the northward of Santee and Con- f^-aree, and to the westward of Edisto, con- ceived themselves able to hold all that fer- tile country, which is in a great measure inclosed by these rivers. They therefore once more resumed their station near the junction of the Wateree and Congaree. The Americans retired to their former po- sition on the high liills of Santee, and the British took post in the vicinity of Monk's Corner. In the close of the year general Greene moved down into the lower country, and about the same time the British aban- doned their out-posts, and retired with their whole force to the quarter-house on Charles- town Neck. The defence of the country was given up, and the conquerors, who had lately carried their arras to the extremitieis of the state, seldom aimed at anything more than to secure themselves in the vicinity of the capital. The crops which had been planted in the spring of the year under Brit- ish auspices, and with the expectation of af- fording them supplies, fell into the hands of the Americans, and administered to them a seasonable relief A few excursions were afterwards made by the British, and some small enterprises were executed, but nothing of more general consequence occurred than the loss of property, and of individual lives. LORD CORNWALLIS PROCEEDS TO VIR- GINIA. It has already been mentioned that lord Cornwallis, soon after the battle of Guildford, marched to Wilmington in North Carolina. When he had completed that march, various plans of operation were presented to his view. It was said in favor of his proceednig southwardly, that the country between Wil- mington and Camden was barren, and of difficult passage — that an embarkation for Charlestown would be both tedious and dis- graceful, and that a junction with the rcyai forces in Virginia, and the prosecution of solid operations in that quarter, would be the most effectual plan for effecting and secur- ing the submission of the more southern states. Other arguments of apparently equal force urged his return to South Caroling]. Previous to his departure for Virginia, he had received information that general Greene had begun his march for Camden, and he had reason from past experience to fear that if he did not follow him, the inhabitants, ly a second revolt, would give the Am.eric&n army a superiority over the small force left under lord Rawdon. Though his lordship was very apprehensive of danger frcm that quarter, he hoped either that lord Rawdon would be able to stand his ground, or that general Greene would follow the royal army to Virginia ; or in the most unfavorable event he flattered himself, that by the con- quest of Virginia, the recovery of South Carolina would be at any time practicable. His lordship having too much spirit to turn back, and preferring the extensive scale of operations which Virginip-^iresented, to the narrow one of preserving past conquests, determined to leave Carolina to its fate. Be- fore the end of April, he therefore proceed- ed on his march from Wilmington towards Virginia. To favor the passage of the many rivers, v/ith v/hich tlie country is intersect- ed, two boats were mounted on carriages GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 285 and taken along with his army. The king's troops proceeded several days without oppo- sition, and almost without intelligence. The x\mericans made an attempt at tSwifl Creek, and afterwards at Fishing Creek, to stop their progress, but without any effect. The British took the sliortest road to Halifax, and on their arrival there defeated several parties of the Americans, and took some stores, with very little loss on their side. The Roanoke, the Meherrin, and the Notta- way rivers were successfully crossed by the royal army, and with little or no opposition from the dispersed inhabitants. In less than a month the march from Wilmington to Pe- tersburgh was completed. The latter had been fixed upon as the place of rendezvous, ni a private correspondence with general Philips. By this combination of the royal force previously employed in Virginia, with the troops which had marched from Wil- mington, lord Cornwallis was at the head of a very powerful army. This junction was scarcely completed, when lord Cornwallis received lord Rawdon's report of the advan- tage he had gained over general Greene, on the twenty-fifth of the precedmg month. About the same time he received informa- tion that three British regiments had sailed from Cork for Charlestown. These two events eased his mind of all anxiety for South Carolina, and inspired him with brilliant hopes of a glorious campaign. He considered himself as having already subdued both the Carolinas, and as being in a fair way to increase his military fame, by the addition of Virginia to the list of his conquests. By the late combination of the royal forces under Philips and Cornwallis, and by the recent arrival of a reinforcement of fifteen hundred men directly from New- York, Virginia became the principal theatre of operation for the remainder of the cam- paign. The formidable force, thus collected in one body, called for vigorous exertions. The defensive operations, in opposition to it, were principally intrusted to the marquis de la Fayette. Early in the year he had been detached from the main American army on an expedition, the object of which was a co-operation with the French fleet in cap- turing general Arnold. On the failure of this, the marquis marched back as far as the head of Elk. There he received an order to return to Virginia to oppose the British forces, which had become more formidable by tlie arrival of a considerable reinforce- ment, under general Philips. He proceeded without delay to Richmond, and arrived there the day before the British reached ?<'Ianchester, on the opposite side of James River. Thus was the capital of Vinrinia, at that time filled with almost all the mili- tary stores of the state, saved from imminent danger. So great was the superiority of numbers on the side of the British, that the marquis had before him a labor of the great- est difficulty, and was pressed with many embarrassments. In the first moments of the rising tempest, and till he could provide against its utmost rage, he began to retire with his little army, which consisted only of about one thousand regulars, two thou.sand militia, and sixty dragoons. OPERATIONS IN VIRGINIA. Lord Cornwallis advanced from Peters- burgh to James River, which he crossed at W^eston, and thence marching through Hano- ver county, crossed the South Anna, or Pa- munkey river. The marquis followed his motions, but at a guarded distance. The superiority of the British army, especially of their cavalry, which they easily supplied with good horses from the stables and pas- tures of private gentlemen in Virginia, enabled him to traverse the country in all directions. Two distant expeditions were therefore undertaken. The one was to Charlotteville, with the view of capturing the governor and assembly of the state ; the other to Point of Fork, to destroy stores. Lieutenant-colonel Tarleton, to whom the first was committed, succeeded so far as to disperse the assembly, capture seven of its members, and to destroy a great quantity of stores at and near Charlotteville. The other expedition, which was committed to lieuten- ant-colonel Simcoe, was only in part success- ful, for the Americans had previously re- moved most of their stores from Point of Fork. In the course of these marches and counter-marches, immense quantities of prop- erty were destroyed, and some unimportant skirmishes took place. The British made many partial conquests, but these were sel- dom of longer duration than their encamp- ments. The young marquis, with a degree of prudence that would have done honor to an old soldier, acted so cautiously on the de- fensive, and made so judicious a choice of posts, and showed so much vigor and design in his movements, as to prevent any advan- tage being taken of his weakness. In his circumstances, not to be destroyed was tri- umph. He effected a junction at Racoon Ford with general Wayne, who was at the head of eight hundred Pennsylvanians. While this junction was forming, the British got between the American army and its stores, which had been removed from Rich- mond to Albemarle old court-house. The possession of these was an object with botli armies. The marquis, by forced marches, o-ot vvdthin a few miles of tlie British army, when they wer© two days' march from x^lbe- marle old court-house. The British general considered himself as sure of his adversary, for he knew that the stores were his object; 286 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. and he conceived it impracticable for the. marquis to get between him and the stores ; but by a road, in passing which he might be attacked to advantage. The marquis had the address to extricate himself from this difficulty, by opening in tlie night a nearer road to Albemarle old court-house, which had been long disused and was much em- barrassed. To the surprise of lord Cornwal- lis, the marquis fixed himself the next day, June eighteenth, between the British army and the American stores. Lord Cornwallis finding his schemes frustrated, fell back to Richmond. About this time the marquis's army was reinforced by Steuben's troops, and by militia from the parts adjacent. He followed lord Cornwallis, and had the address to impress him with an idea that the Ameri- can army was much greater than it really was. His lordship therefore on the twenty- sixth retreated to Williamsburgh. The day after the main body of the British army ar- rived there, their rear was attacked by an American light corps under colonel Butler, and sustained a considerable loss. It being a principal object of the campaign to fix on a strong permanent post or place of arms in the Chesapeak, for the security of both the army and navy, and Portsmouth and Hampton road having both been pro- nounced mifit for that purpose, York-Town and Gloucester Points were considered as the most likely to accord with the views of the royal commanders. Portsmouth was therefore evacuated, and its garrison trans- ferred to York-Town. Lord Cornwallis ap- plied himself with industry to fortify his new posts, so as to render them tenable by his present army, amounting to seven thou- sand men, against any force that he supposed likely to be brought against them. Count de Grasse, with a French fleet of twenty-eight sail of the line from the West Indies, on the thirtieth of August entered the Chesapeak, and about the same time in- telligence arrived, that the French and Amer- ican arm.ies which had been lately stationed in tlie more northern states, were advancing towards Virginia. Count de Grasse, with- out loss of time, blocked up York River with three large ships and some frigates, and moored the principal part of the fleet in Lyn- haven Bay. Three thousand two hundred French troops, brought in this fleet from the West Indies, commanded by the marquis de St. Simon, were disembarked, and soon after formed a junction with the continental troops under the marquis de la Fayette, and the whole took post at Williamsburgh. An attack on this force was intended, but before all the arrangements subservient to its execution were fixed upon, letters of an early date in September were received by lord Cornwal- lis from Sir Henry Clinton, announcing that he would do his utmost to reinforce the royal army in the Chesapeak, or make every di- version in his power, and that admiral Digby was hourly expected on the coast. On the receipt of this intelligence, earl Cornwallis, not thinking himself justified in hazarding an engagement, abandoned the resolution of attacking the combined force of Fayette and St. Simon. Admiral Graves, with twenty sail of the line, made an efibrt for the relief of lord Cornwallis, but without eflfecting his pur- pose. When he appeared off' the Capes of Virginia, M. de Grasse went out to meet him, and an indecisive engagement took place on the seventh of September. The British were willing to renew the action, but M. de Grasse for good reasons declined it. His chief object in coming out of the Capes was to cover a French fleet of eight line-of-bat- tle ships, which was expected from Rhode- Island. In conformity to a preconcerted plan, count de Barras, commander of this fleet, had sailed for the Chesapeak, about the time de Grasse sailed from the West In- dies for the same place. To avoid the Brit- ish fleet, he had taken a circuit by Bermuda. For fear tliat the British fleet might inter- cept him on his approach to the Capes of Virginia, de Grasse came out to be at hand for his protection. While Graves and de Grasse were manceuvring near the mouth of the Chesapeak, count de Barras passed the former in the night, and got within the Capee of Virginia. This gave the French fleet a decided superiority. Admiral Graves soon took his departure, and M. de Grasse re-en- tered the Chesapeak. All this time, con- formably to the well-digested plan of the campaign, the French and the American forces were marching through the middle states on their way to York-Town. To un- derstand in their proper connexion the great events shortly to be described, it is necessary to go back and trace the remote causes which brought on this grand combination of fleets and armies which put a period to the war. AIDS FROM FRANCE. The fall of Charlestown in May 1780, and the complete rout of the American and south- ern army in August following, together with the increasing inability of the Americans to carry on the war, gave a serious alarm to the friends of independence. In this low ebb of their affairs, a pathetic statement of their distresses was made to their ally the king of France. To give greater efficacy to their solicitations, congress appointed lieu- tenant-colonel John Laurens their special minister, and directed him, after repairing to the court of Versailles, to urge the neces- sity of speedy and effectual succor, and in particular to solicit for a loan of money, and GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 287 the co-operation of a French fleet, in attempt- ing some important enterprise against the common enemy. At this crisis his most Chris- tian majesty gave his American allies a sub- sidy of six millions of livres, and became their security for ten millions more, borrowed for their use in the United Netherlands. A naval co-operation was promised, and a con- junct expedition against their common foe was projected. The American war was now so far in- Tolved in the consequences of naval opera- tions, that a superior French fleet seemed to be the only hinge on which it was likely soon to take a favorable turn. The British army being parcelled in the different sea- ports of the United States, any division of it blocked up by a French fleet, could not long resist the superior combined force which might be brought to operate against it. The marquis de Castries, who directed the marine of France, with great precision calculated the naval force which the British could concentre on the coast of the United States, and disposed his own in such a man- ner as insured him a superiority. In con- formity to these principles, and in subserv- iency to the design of the campaign, M. de Grasse sailed in March 1781 from Brest, with twenty-five sail of the line, several thousand land forces, and a large convoy, amounting to more than two hundred ships. A small part of this force was destined for the East Indies, but M. de Grasse with the greater part sailed for Martinique. The British fleet then in the West Indies had been previously weakened by the departure of a squadron for the protection of the ships which were employed in carrying to Eng- land the booty which had been taken at St. Eustatius. The British admirals Hood and Drake were detached to intercept the out- ward-bound French fleet commanded by M. de Grasse ; but a junction between his force and eight ships of the line, and one of fifty guns, which were previously at Martinique and St. Domingo, was nevertheless effect- ed. By this combination of fi-esh ships from Europe, with the French fleet previously in the West Indies, they had a decided superi- ority. M. de Grasse having finished his business in the West Indies, sailed in the beginning of August xvith a prodigious con- voy. After seeing this out of danger, he directed his course for the Chesapeak, and arrived there, as has been related, on the tliirteenth of the same month. Five days before his arrival in the Chesapeak, the French fleet in Rhode-Island sailed for the same place. These fleets, notwithstanding their original distance from the scene of ac- tion, and from each other, coincided in their operations in an extraordinary maimer, far beyond the reach of military calculation. They all tended to one object and ac one and the same time, and that object was nei- ther known nor suspected by the weak and ill-informed British ministry, till the proper season for counteraction was elapsed. The plan of operations had been so well digested, and was so faithfully executed by the differ- ent commanders, that general Washington and count Rochambeau had passed the Brit- ish head-quarters in New- York, and were considerably advanced in their way to York- Town before count de Grasse had reached the American coast. This was effected in the following manner : Mens, de Barras, aj)- pointed to the command of the French squad- ron at Newport, on the sixth of May arrived at Boston with dispatches for count de Roch- ambeau. An interview soon after took place at Weathersfield, between general Wash- ington, Knox, and Du Portail, on the part of the Americans, and count de Rocham- beau, and the chevalier Chastelleux, on the part of the French. At this interview, an eventual plan of the whole campaign was fixed. This was to lay siege to New-Y^ork in concert with a French fleet, which was to arrive on the coast in the month of Au- gust. It was agreed that the French troops should march towards the North River : the French troops marched from Rhode- Island in June, and early in the following month joined the American army. About the time this junction took place, general Washington marched his army from their winter encampment near Peek's Kill, to the vicinity of Kingsbridge. General Lincoln fell down the North River with a detachment in boats, and took possession of the ground where Fort Independence formerly stood. An attack was made upon him, but was soon dis- continued. The British about this tune re- tired with almost the whole of their force to New- York Island. General Washington hoped to be able to commence operations against New- York, about the middle, or at farthest, the latter end of July. That tardiness of the states, which at other times had brought them near the brink of ruin, was now the accidental cause of real service. Had they sent forward their recruits for the regular army, and their quo- tas of militia, as was expected, the siege of New- York would have commenced in the latter end of July, or early in August. While the season was wasting away in expectation of these reinforcements, lord Comwallis, as has been mentioned, fixed himself near tlie Capes of Virginia. His situation there, the arrival of a reinforcement of three thousand Germans from Europe at New-York, the superior strength of that garrison, the fail- ure of the states, in filling up their battal- ions, and embodying their militia, and espe- cially recent intelligence from count de 288 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Grasse, that his destination was fixed to the Chesapeak, concurred, about the middle of August, to make a total change in the plan cf the campaign. The appearance of an intention to attack New- York was nevertheless kept up. While this deception continued, the allied army on the twenty-fourth of that month crossed the North River, and passed on the way of Phil- adelphia to York-Town. An attempt to reduce the British forces in Virgmia, prom- ised success with more expedition, and to secure an object of nearly equal import- ance with the reduction of New- York. No one can undertake to say what would have been the consequence, if the allied forces had persevered ui their original plan ; but it is evident from the event, that no success could have been greater, or more conducive to the establishment of their schemes, than what resulted from their operations in Vir- ginia. While the attack of New- York was in serious contemplation, a letter from general Washington detailuig the particulars of the intended operations of the campaign being intercepted, it fell mto the hands of Sir Henry Clinton. After the plan was chang- ed, tlie royal commander was so much un- der the impression of the intelligence con tained in the intercepted letter, that he be- lieved every movement towards Virginia to be a feint calculated to draw off his atten- tion from the defence of New- York. Un- der the influence of this opinion, he bent his whole force to strengthen that post, and suffered the French and American armies to pass him without any molestation. When the best opportunity of striking at them w^as elapsed, then for the first time he was brought to believe that the allies had fixed on Virginia for the theatre of their combined operations. As truth may be made to an- swer the purposes of deception, so no feint of attacking New- York could have been more successful than the real intention. In the latter end of August, the American army began their march to Virginia, from the neighborhood of New- York. General Washington had advanced as far as Chester, before he received the news of the arrival of the fleet commanded by Monsieur de Grasse. The French troops marched at the same time, and for the same place. Gene- ral Washington and count Rochambeau reached Williamsburgh on the fourteenth of September. They, with generals Chastel- leux, Du Portail, and Knox, proceeded to visit count de Grasse on board his ship the Ville de Paris, and agreed on a plan of ope- rations. The count afterwards wrote to Washing- ton, that in case a British fleet appeared, " he conceived that he ought to go out and meet them at sea, instead of risking an en- gagement in a confined situation." This alarmed the general. He sent the marquis de la Fayette with a letter to dissuade him from the dangerous measure. This letter and the persuasions of the marquis had the desired efiect. The combined forces proceeded on their way to York-Town, partly by land, and partly down the Chesapeak. The whole, together with a body of Virginia militia, under the command of general Nelson, amounting in the aggregate to twelve thou- sand men, rendezvoused at Williamsburgh on the twenty-fifth of September, and in five days after, moved down to the investiture of York-Town. The French fleet at the same time moved to the mouth of York river, and took a position which was calculated to pre- vent lord Cornwallis either from retreating or receiving succor by water. Previously to the march from Williamsburgh to York- Town, Washington gave out in general or- ders as follows : " If the enemy should be tempted to meet the army on its march, the general particularly enjoins the troops to place their principal reliance on the bayonet, that they may prove the vanity of the boast which the British make of their peculiar prowess in deciding battles with that weapon." The combined army halted in the even- ing, about two miles from York-Town, and lay on their arms all night. About this time lord Cornwallis received a letter from Sir Henry Clmton, announcing the arrival of admiral Digby with three ships of the line from Europe, and the determination of the general and flag oflEicers in New- York to embark five thousand men in a fleet, which vv^ould probably sail on the fifth of October ; that this fleet consisted of twenty-three sail of the line, and that joint exertions of the navy and army would be made for his relief On the night after the receipt of this in- telligence, lord Cornwallis quitted his out- ward position, and retired to one more inward. CAPTURE OF LORD CORNWALLIS. The works erected for the security of York-Town on the right, were redoubts and batteries, with a line of stockade in the rear. A marshy ravine lay in front of the right, over which was placed a large redoubt. The morass extended along the centre, which was defended by a Ime of stockade, and by batteries : on the left of the centre was a horn-work with a ditch, a row of fraise and an abatis. Two redoubts were advanced before the left. The combined forces ad- vanced and took possession of the ground from which the British had retired. About this time the legion cavalry and mounted infantry passed over the river to Gloucester; GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 289 general de Choisy invested the British post on that side so fully, as to cut off all commu- nication between it and the country. In the mean time the royal army was straining every nerve to strengthen their works, and their artillery was constantly employed in Mnpeding the operations of the combined army. On the ninth and tenth of October, the French and Americans opened their bat- teries ; they kept up a brisk and well direct- ed lire from heavy cannon, from mortars, and howitzers. The shells of the besiegers reached the ships in the harbor, and the Charon of forty-four guns and a transport ship were burned. On the tenth a messen- ger arrived with a dispatch from Sir Henry Clinton to lord Cornwallis, dated on the thirtieth of September, which stated various circumstances tending to lessen the proba- bility of relief being obtained, by a direct movement from New- York. Lord Corn- wallis was at this juncture advised to evacu ate York-Town, and after passmg over to Gloucester, to force his way into the coun try. Whether this movement w^ould have been successful, no one can with certainty pronounce ; but it could not have produced any consequences more injurious to the royal interest than those which resulted from de dining the attempt. On the other hand, had this movement been made, and the royal army been defeated or captured in the int& r:or country, and in the mean time had Sir ifenry Clinton, with the promised relief, reached York-Town, the precipitancy of the noble lord would have been perhaps more the subject of censure, than his resolution of standing his ground and resisting to the last extremity. On the eleventh of October the besiegers commenced their second par- allel two hundred yards from the works of the besieged. Two redoubts which were ad^^anced on the left of the British, greatly impeded the progress of the combined ar- mies; it was therefore proposed to carry them by storm. To excite a spirit of emu lation, the reduction of the one was com mitted to the French, of the other to the Americans, and both marched to the assault with unloaded arms. The Americans hav- ing passed the abatis and palisades, they at- tacked on all sides, and carried the redoubt in a few minutes. The French were equally successful on their part. They carried the redoubt as- signed to them with rapidity, but lost a con siderable number of men. These two re doubts Vere included in the second parallel and facilitated the subsequent operations of the besiegers. The British could not witli propriety risk repeated sallies. One was projected at this time, October sixteenth, consisting of four hundred men, commanded by lieutenant-colonel Abercrombie. He pro- VoL. IV. 25 ceeded so far as to force two redoubts, and to spike eleven pieces of cannon. Though the officers and soldiers displayed great bra- very in this enterprise, yet their success produced no essential advantage. The can- non were soon unspiked and rendered fit for service. By this time the batteries of the besiegers were covered with nearly a hundred pieces of heavy ordnance, and the works of the be- sieged were so damaged, that they could scarcely show a single gun. Lord Corn- wallis had now no hope left but from offer- ing terms of capitulation or attempting an escape. He determined on the latter. This, though less practicable than when first pro- posed, was not altogether hopeless. Boata were prepared to receive the troops in the night, and to transport them to Gloucester Point. After one whole embarkation had crossed, a violent storm of wind and rain dispersed the boats employed on this busi- ness, and frustrated the whole scheme. The royal army, thus weakened by division, was exposed to increased danger. Orders were sent to those who had passed, to recross the river to York-Town. With the failure of this scheme the last hope of the British army expired. Longer resist- ance could answer no good purpose, and might occasion the loss of many valuable lives. Lord Cornwallis therefore wrote a letter to general Washington, requesting a cessation of arms for twenty-four hours, and that commissioners might be appointed to digest terms of capitulation. It is remark- able while lieutenant-colonel Laurens, the officer employed by general Washington, on this occasion, was drawing up these articles, that his father was closely confined in the Tower of London, of which lord Cornwallis was constable. By this singular combination of circumstances, his lordship became a pris- oner to the son of his own prisoner. On the nineteenth of October the posts of York and Gloucester were surrendered by a capitulation, the principal articles of which were as follows : The troops to be prisoners of war to congress, and the naval force to France. The officers to retain their side- arms and private property of every kind ; but all property, obviously belonging to the inhabitants of the United States, to be sub- ject to be reclaimed. The soldiers to be kept in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylva- nia, and to be supplied witli the same rations as were allowed to soldiers in the service of congress. A proportion of the officers to march mto the country with the prisoners; the rest to be allowed to proceed on parole to Europe, to New- York, or to ajiy other American maritime post in possession of the British. The honor of marching out with colors flying, which had been refused to 290 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. general Lincoln on his giving up Charlestown, was now refused tx) lord Cornwallis ; and gen- eral Lincoln was appointed to receive the sub- mission of the royal army at York-Town, precisely in the same way his own had been conducted about eighteen months before. Lord Cornwallis endeavored to obtain per- mission for the British and German troops to return to their respective countries, under no other restrictions than an engagement not to serve against France or Am^erica. He also tried to obtain an indemnity for those of the inhabitants who had joined him ; but he was obliged to recede from the former, and also to consent that the loyalists in his camp should be given up to the uncondition- al mercy of their countrymen. His lordship nevertheless obtained permission for the Bo netta sloop of war to pass unexamined to New-York. This gave an opportunity of screening such of them as were most obnox- ious to tlie Americans. The regular troops of France and Amer- ica, employed in this siege, consisted of about seven thousand of the former, and five thou- sand five hundred of the latter ; and they were assisted by about four thousand militia. On the part of the combined army about three hundred were killed or wounded : on the part of the British about five hundred, and seventy were taken in the redoubts, which were carried by assault on the four- teenth of October. The troops of every kind that surrendered prisoners of war ex- ceeded seven thousand men ; but so great was tlie number of sick and wounded, that there v/ere only three thousand capable of bearing arms. A British fleet and an army of seven thou- sand men, destined for the relief of lord Cornwallis, arrived off the Chesapeak on the twenty-fourth of October; but on re- ceiving advice of his lordship's surrender, they returned to Sandy-hook and New- York. Such was the fate of that general, from whose gallantry and previous successes the speedy conquest of the southern states had been so confidently expected. No event during the war promised fairer for overset- ting the independence of at least a part of the confederacy, than his complete victory at Camden ; but by the consequences of that action, his lordship became the occasion of rendering that a revolution, which from his previous success was in danger of terminat- ing as a rebellion. The loss of his army may be considered as the closing scene of the continental war in North America, EXPEDITION OF COMMODORE JOHN- STONE— OPERATIONS IN THE WEST INDIES. In the beginning of the campaign a squad- ron of ships, under the command of commo- dore Johnstone, won sent iP-esinst tie Ca^x^ of Good Hope ; the court of France however not being unapprized of its destination, dis- patched a fleet of superior force from Brest, under the command of M. de Suffrein, to counteract the design of the British commo- dore. The French overtook the English squadron at the Cape de Verd Islands, on the sixteenth of April, and though the latter was at anchor in a neutral port (Port Praya, in the island of St. Jago), and consequently under the protection of the Portuguese flag, proceeded to attack it. The British squad- ron was thrown into some confusion on the first attack, and the conduct of the commo- dore has not escaped censure on this occa- sion. The native valor of the British sea- men, however, soon displayed itself, and the outward-bound India ships which came un- der convoy of the commodore, taking an ac- tive part in the engagement, the French were beaten ofi^, but not without the loss of seventy-seven killed and wounded on the part of the English. The object of the ex- pedition was by this rencounter completely defeated. As before mentioned, a fleet of twenty sail of the line, and a fifty-four gun ship, had sailed from Brest, under the command of M. de Grasse ; and as the French had already eight sail of the line and a fifty gun ship at Martinique and St. Domingo, it was gene- rally supposed they would have a decided superiority in the West Indies. The British fleet was weakened by the admiral's sending a squadron under the command of commo- dore Hotham, with the convoy which con- veyed the Eustatia treasure to England, which reduced his fleet to twenty-one sail of the line. As it was therefore of the ut- most importance to intercept the squadron of de Grasse, admiral Rodney detached the admirals Hood and Drake, with seventeen sail, for that purpose, while he remained him- self at St. Eustatia, with a few ships, for its protection. On the twenty-ninth of April the French fleet appeared in sight of the British admi- ral Hood as he lay in the channel of St. I.>u- cia. The French convoy got safe into tlie harbor of Fort Royal in Martinique, and four ships of the line, and a fifty gun ship out of the same harbor, were enabled to join the French fleet The enem}'-, notwithstand- ing this superiority, appeared desirous of avoiding a general engagement, and after many ineffectual endeavors on the part of the English to gain the wmd, so as to force the French admiral to a decisive action, both fleets ceased firin?", and each claimed the victory. To the French indeed it was aj- most productive of equal consequences; for tliough they lost the greatest number of men in the action, five of the English ships were SQ di^tiibled a£ to be rendered unfit for imme- GEORGE ni. 1760—1620. 291 diate service. Thus the superiority of the enemy in those seas was decided and irre- sistible. M. de Grasse, on the following day, was desirous of bringing the contest to that conclusive point which before he had evad- ed ; but Sir Samuel Hood disappointed him by his masterly movements, by which the English fleet arrived safe at Antigua after being pursued by the French. On the twenty-sixth of May, admiral Rod- ney received intelligence from governor Ferguson that the French fleet had appear- ed off the island of Tobago on the twenty- third ; upon which admiral Drake was dis- patched with six sail of the line and some land forces to its relief Upon reaching the island on the morning of the thirtieth, ad- miral Drake discovered the enemy's fleet of twenty sail, between him and the land : he was therefore obliged to retreat. When admiral Rodney on the fourth of June arriv- ed off" the island, with twenty sail of the line, he found it in possession of the enemy ; the next day he saw the French fleet of twenty-four sail of the line, with which he did not think it prudent to engage on ac- count of their superiority ; he therefore re- turned to Barbadoes. It may be necessary to remark in this place the ill fate which attended the booty seized by the plunderers of St. Eustatia. The homeward-bound convoy, which convey- ed a great part of the property, was almost entirely captured by the French in the chan- nel, on the second of May; and the '.^ind itself was taken on the twenty-sixth of No- vember following, by four ships of the line, and a handful of men, under the command of the marquis de Bouille, and the whole English garrison made prisoners of war. The island of St. Martin submitted at the eame time to the French arms. SUCCESSES IN INDIA— HYDER ALLY DEFEATED. When we turn our attention towards the East Indies, we find the British forces more successful than in the West. After the de- feat of colonel Baillie, the whole Carnatic was evacuated by the British, and Madras itself miglit be considered as in a state of blockade. The arrival of the indefatigable Sir Eyre Coote, in the latter end of 1780, and the vigorous measures which he pursu- ed, effected a sudden and unexpected change, and relieved, almost at a single blow, the Carnatic from the ravages of a dangerous and remorseless enemy. In two days after his arrival he took his seat at the council- board, and produced orders from the supreme government of Bengal, for the suspension of Mr. Whitehill, the president, whose intem- perate conduct had been a chief cause of alienating the aflfections of the Nizam. Upon the arrival of Sir Eyre Coote, the troops were in a wretched state of despond- ency ; the Sepoys deserting, the inhabitants treacherous, and all the resources cut off! The general, therefore, ordered dispatches at the same time to Sir Edward Hughes and to general Goddard, to urge them to be ac- tive in distressing the possessions of Hyder on the Malabar coast, and to promote as much as possible a peace with the Mahrat- tas. In the beginning of the year 1781, Ry- der's force witliin the boundaries of the Car- natic alone was estimated at above one hun- dred thousand men, while that of Sir Eyre Coote did not exceed seven thousand. The two armies encountered near Porto Novo on the first of July. At seven in the mornmg the British troops proceeded from that place, and after an hour's march came in sight of the enemy strongly posted. Hy- der's artillery was well served by Europeans, or those instructed by them, and did consid- erable execution. In this critical situation, a bold movement was necessary ; and the British general determined to turn the right of the enemy. Fortunately the country ac- corded with his wishes, and by this move- ment he was enabled to take the enemy ob- liquely, and avoid the full fi-ont and fire of their works and batteries. In this manner the first line only decided the fortune of the day. Though Hyder, with great dexterity and promptness, formed a new front to re- ceive the British general, and detached a large body of infantry to prevent the second line from obtaining possession of some high grounds, yet at length European order and discipline was victorious over the undisci- plined rabble of an eastern camp. Hyder was obliged to retreat, after leaving three thousand of his best troops dead on the field of battle. In the course of the following month the British gained a second victory over Hyder, after fighting from nine in the morning till sun-set, within about sixteen miles of the city of Trepassore. In the mean time the shipping of Hyder Ally was destroyed by Sir Edward Hughes, in his own ports of Callicut and Mangalore. The Dutch also fatally experienced the valor and enterprise of the British forces in that quarter of the globe. Some gentlemen of the factory at Fort Marlborough, in the month of August, under- took an expedition against Sumatra ; and all the Dutch settlements on the western coast of that island were reduced without any loss. The town and fortress of Negapatam, in the Tanjore country (one of the most valuable of the Dutch settlements on the continent of India), surrendered by capitulation to the English on the twelfth of November, after a siege of twenty-two days. 292 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ENGAGEMENT WITH THE DUTCH. The inactivity of the Dutch has been at- tributed to the treachery of certain persons, employed in high offices of trust under the States-general, secretly in league with the court of London. To harass the trade of Holland, and to pro- tect that of England, a squadron was fitted out at Portsmouth, in the month of June, and the command given to admiral Sir Hyde Parker. The Dutch seemed, at an instant, to awake from their torpid inactivity ; and by the middle of July, a considerable fleet was fitted out in the Texel, under the com- mand of admiral Zoutman, who sailed about that period, with a considerable convoy un- der his protection. The British admiral was then on his return with the convoy from Elsineur. The hostile fleets met and fought on the morning of the fifth of August off the Dogger Bank. The force of the Dutch was seven ships of the line, and ten frigates ; and the British squadron consisted only of six ships of the line, and five frigates, but was superior in weight of metal to the Dutch fleet : the firing on both sides was restrained till the ships came within half-musket shot of each other ; and the action continued with an unceasing fire for three hours and forty minutes, till the vessels on both sides were so shattered that they became unmanagea- ble and unable to form a line to renew the combat. For a considerable time both squad- rons lay to in this condition ; at length the Dutch, with their convoy, bore away for the Texel ; and admiral Parker was in no con- dition to follow them. The English lost one hundred and four men killed, and three hun- dred and thirty-nine wounded ; the loss of the enemy must have been more considera- ble. It was attributed to the neglect of the admiralty that the advantages on the part of the English were not greater. It was owing to the remissness of the same department, that the French fleet from Brest, under the count de Guichen, was permitted to form a junction with the Spanish fleet from Cadiz, in the latter end of July. The combined fleets consisted of forty-nine ships of the line, and carried with them ten thou- sand land forces for the reduction of Minor- ca. After landing the troops upon that island, the combined fleets returned with the arro- gant intention of annihilating, for ever, the naval force of England. The hostile fleets appeared in the British channel before the ministry had any information of their move- ments ; and it was owing to the accidental meeting of a neutral vessel that admiral Darby had time to escape into Torbay with the British fleet. The count de Guichen was for an immediate attack upon the Britisli ships as they lay ; a contrary opinion was supported by M. Boussel, an officer of great reputation, who pointed out the danger there would be in attacking admiral Darby, in his present situation, as they could not bear down upon him in a line of battle abreast, but must go down upon the enemy singly. The Spanish admiral, and the major part of the officers of the fleet, coincided with M. Boussel in opinion : besides, the leaky con- dition of the ships, and the mortality which prevailed among the seamen, were further inducements to refrain from an immediate attack. The combined fleets, after waiting in vain for some time to intercept our homeward- bound ships, were obliged, from the hard weather, which set in about September, to return to port as soon as possible. M. Gui- chen took shelter in Brest ; but though the Spanish squadron was scarcely in a condi- tion to reach its destined port, the etiquette of that frivolous court forbade its entrance into a French harbor. In the beginning of December M. de Gui- chen sailed a they had certainly no just reason to com- plain, as they could have no possible right to claim the advantages of dependence and in- dependence at one and the same time. On the third of September the definitive treaties of peace with France, Spain, and America, were with some alteration signed 5 and also preliminaries of peace with the States-General, by which all the conquests of England were restored, except the town of Negapatnam on the coast of CoromandeJ, which their high mightinesses were at last most reluctantly compelled to cede. In the speech from the throne, at the meeting of parliament on the eleventh of November, his majesty, after noticing the conclusion of peace with France, Spain, and America ; and the ratification of the pre- liminary articles with the States-General ; stated as a principal object of their conside- ration, the situation of the East India com- pany. " The utmost exertions of their wis- dom," he said, " would be required to mairt- tain and improve the valuable advantages de- rived from our India possessions ; and to pro- mote and secure the happiness of the native inhabitants of those provinces." The ad- dress passed without opposition. FOX'S INDIA BILL. On the eighteenth of November, accord- ingly. Fox moved for leave to bring in a bill for vesting the affairs of the East India com- pany in the hands of certain commissioners, for the benefit of the proprietary and the public. The plan proposed by Fox, wat marked with all the characteristics of his ardent, daring, and luminous mind. The total derangement of the finances of the company, and their utter incompetency to govern the vast territories of which they GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 311 had by very questionable means obtained the possession, was too evident to admit of con- tradiction. The evil was notorious, and dif- ficult indeed was the task of devising an adequate remedy. This famous bill proposed to take at once from the directors and pro- prietors, the entire administration, both of their territorial and commercial affairs ; and to vest the management and direction of them in the hands of seven commissioners named in the bill, and irremovable by the crown, except in consequence of an address of either house of parliament. These com- missioners were to be assisted by a subordi- nate board of nine directors, to be named in the first instance by parliament, and after- wards chosen by the proprietors. These commissioners and directors were empowered to enter immediately into pos- session of all lands, tenements, books, re- cords, vessels, goods, merchandise, and secu- rities, in trust for the company. They were required to come to a decision upon every question within a limited time, or to assign a specific reason for their delay. They were never to vote by ballot, and they were al- most in all cases to enter upon their journals the reasons of their vote. They were to submit once in every six months an exact state of their accounts to the court of pro- prietors, and at the beginning of every ses- sion to present a statement of their affairs to both houses of parliament. This bill which vested the government in commissioners, was to continue in force four years, that is, till the year after the next general election. It was accompanied by a second bill, enacting regulations for the fu- ture government of the British territories in Hindostan. It took from the governor-gene- ral all power of acting independently of his council. It declared every existing British power in India incompetent to the acquisi- tion or exchange of any territory in behalf of the company ; — to the acceding to any treaty of partition ; — to the hiring out the company's troops ; to the appointment to office of any person removed for misdemean- or ; — and to the hiring out any property to any civil servant of the company. It pro- hibited all monopolies; and also declared every illegal present recoverable by any per- son for his own sole benefit. But that part of the present bill, upon which the principal value seemed to be placed by its author, re- lated to the Zemindars, or native landholders, whom it employed effectual means to secure in the possession of their respective inher- itances, and to defend from oppression. It particularly endeavored to preclude all vexa- tious and usurious claims that might be made upon them. It therefore prohibited mort- gages, and subjected every doubtful claun to the examination and censure of the com missioners. It is scarcely possible to conceive the as tonishment excited in the house of commons by the disclosure of this system. It was espoused with zeal and enthusiasm by the friends of the minister ; and it was attacked by his opponents with all the vehemence of indignation, and all the energy of invective. It was on one side of the house extolled as a masterpiece of genius, virtue, and ability ; while on the other it was reprobated as a deep and dangerous design, fraught with mischief and ruin. Pitt distinguished him- self on this occasion as a formidable adver- sary of the minister. He acknowledged, " that India indeed wanted a reform, but not such a reform as this. The bill under con- sideration included a confiscation of the property, and a disfranchisement of the mem- bers of the East India company. The influ- ence which would accrue from this bill — a new, enormous, and unexampled influence, I — was indeed in the highest degree alarm- ing. Seven commissioners chosen ostensibly by parliament, but really by administration, were to involve in the vortex of their au- thority, the patronage and treasures of India. The right honorable mover had acknow- ledged himself to be a man of ambition, and it now appeared that he was prepared to sacrifice the king, the parliament, and the people, at the shrine of his ambition. He desired to elevate his present connexions to a situation in which no political convulsions, and no variations of power, might be able to destroy their importance, and terminate their ascendency." On the other hand, Fox with his astonish- mg eloquence and ability vmdicated the hi]]. The arguments of his opponents, he said, might have been adopted with additional propriety, by king James the second. He might have claimed the property of domin- ion ; but what had been the language of the people ] No, you have no property in domin- ion; — dominion was vested in you, as it is in every chief magistrate, for the benefit of the community to be governed. It was a sacred trust delegated by compact. You have abused the trust. You have exercised dominion for the purpose of vexation and tyranny, not of comfort, protection, and good order. We therefore resume the power which was originally ours. I am also (con- tinued Fox,) charged with increasing the influence, and giving an immense acce^ion of power to the crown. But certainly this bill as little augments the influence of the crown, as any measure that could be devised for the government of India, with the slight- est promise of success. The very genius of influence consisted in hope or fear ; fear 312 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. of losing what we had, or hope of gaining more. Make the commissioners removable at will, and you set all the little passions of human nature afloat. Invest them with power, upon the same tenure as the British judges hold their station, removable upon delinquency, punishable upon guilt, but fear- less of danger if they discharge their trust ; and they will be liable to no seducement, and wiU execute their functions with glory to themselves, and for the common good of the country and mankind. This bill pre- sumes the possibility of bad administration, for every word in it breathes suspicion. It supposes that men are but men ; it confides in no integrity ; — it trusts to no character. It annexes responsibility, not only to every action, but even to the inaction of the powers it has created. He would risk (he said) his all upon the excellence of this bill. He would risk upon it whatever was most dear to him, whatever men most valued, the cha- racter of integrity, of talents, of honor, of present reputation and future fame : — these he would stake upon the constitutional safety, the enlarged policy, the equity and wisdom of the measure. Whatever therefore might be the fate of its authors, he had no fear that it would produce to this country every bless- ing of commerce and revenue ; and by ex- tending a generous and humane government over those millions whom the inscrutable dispensations of Providence had placed un- der us in the remotest regions of the earth ; it would consecrate the name of England among the noblest of nations." While the bill was pending in the com- mons, a petition was presented by the East India company, representing the measure as subversive of their charter, and operating as a confiscation of their property without charging against them any specific delm- quency ; without trial, without conviction ; a proceeding contrary to the most sacred privileges of British subjects ; and praying to be heard by counsel against the bill. The city of London also took the alarm, and pre- sented a strong petition to the same effect But it was carried with uncommon rapidity through all its stages in the house of com- mons by decisive majorities, the division on the second reading being two hundred and seventeen to one hundred and three voices. On the ninth of December, Fox, attended by a numerous train of members, presented the bill at the bar of the house of lords. FOX'S BILL THROWN OUT BY THE PEERS. The second reading of the bill took place on the fifteenth of December, when counsel was heard at the bar in behalf of the compa- ny : and on the seventeenth it was moved that the bill be rejected. On this occasion, lord Camden spoke with great ability against tfee bill, which his lordship affirmed to be " in the highest degree pernicious and un- constitutional. To divest the company of the management of their own property, and commercial concerns, was to treat them as Idiots; and he regarded the bill, not so much in the light of a commission of bank- ruptcy as of lunacy. But as a means of throwing an enormous edition of weight into the scale, not of legal, but mmisterial influence, it was still more alarming. Were this bill to pass into a law, his lordship for- cibly declared, we should see the king of England and the king of Bengal contending for superiority in the British parliament." After a vehement debate, the motion of re- jection was carried by ninety-five against seventy-six voices. Such was the concluding scene of an ad- ministration from whose vigor its partisans had conceived the most sanguine hopes; and whose strength had been represented by its enemies so vast and irresistible, as would, in its progress, break down all the barriers of the constitution. As the first di- visions in the upper house were favorable to this bill, it will naturally be imagined that such a sudden and remarkable change of sentiment, must have been occasioned by the intervention of some powerful cause, ade- quate to so extraordinary and unexpected an effect. On the eleventh of December, earl Temple had a conference with his majesty, which appears principally to have turned on the bill then pending in parliament. Though it was generally believed that the most en- tire cordiality and confidence on all points did not subsist between the king and his ministers, yet upon this measure they had obtained his perfect concurrence. It was probably the language that had been held by some of the members in the house of commons, who, in the heat of debate had asserted, that if the bill passed into a law, the crown would be no longer worth wear- ing, that first excited doubts in the royal breast. The monarch considered himself as having been duped and deceived by his con- fidential servants. A card was immediately written, stating, " that his majesty allowed earl Temple to say, that whoever voted for the India bill, was not only not his friend, but would be considered by him as his ene- my. And if these words were not strong enough, earl Temple might use whatever words he might deem stronger, or more to the purpose." An interference of so extraordinary a na- ture, was not likely to pass without animad- version and censure. William Baker, ac- cordingly, moved the house of commons on the seventeenth, the very day that the bill was rejected by the lords; "That it was now necessary to declare, that to report any opinion, or pretended opinion of the king GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 313 upon any bill, or other proceeding depend- inff in either house of parliament, with a view to influence the votes of the members, was a high crime and misdemeanor." After an animated debate, the house divided upon the question, when the resolution was car- ried, by a majority of seventy-three. CONTEST BETWEEN THE CROWN AND THE COMMONS. This contest between the crown and the commons, presented to the public a scene truly novel and interesting. Prerogative and privilege at war, is one of those alarm- ing events, which the wisdom of preceding reigns had taken care to prevent. The crown, therefore, boldly entering the lists with the commons, exhibited a conduct with- out example in the annals of the present royal family. The situation of the prince was critical : he had gone perhaps too far to be able to recede. The ministers were com- mitted upon their Indian system, and could not, without a total sacrifice of personal in- dependence, and the reputation of principle, abandon the scheme. It was impossible to discover a medium to preserve, unwounded, the lienor of both. An entire change of admmistration was therefore determined upon ; and accordingly at midnight, on the eighteenth of Decem- ber, a royal message was sent to the secre- taries of state, demanding the seals of their several departments, and at the same time directing that they should be delivered to the sovereign by the under-secretaries, as a personal interview would be disagreeable. Early next morning, letters of dismission, signed Temple, were sent to the other mem- 1 ers of the cabinet. In a few days after, Pitt was declared first lord of the treasury, and chancellor of the exchequer, the mar- quis of Carmarthen and Thomas Townshend created lord Sydney, were nominated secre taries of state ; lord Thurlow was reinstated as lord-chancellor ; earl Gower as president of the council ; the duke of Rutland was constituted lord privy-seal ; lord Howe placed at the head of the admiralty ; and the duke of Richmond of the ordnance. The earl of Northington was recalled from his govern- ment of Ireland, to which lord Temple, who had retained the seals of secretary only three days, was again appointed to succeed. On the twenty-second of December, the Irouse of commons, being in a committee on the state of the nation, Erskine moved, " That an address be presented to the king, stating, that alarming reports had gone forth of an intended dissolutionof jmrliament, and humbly representing to his majesty, the in- conveniencies and dangers of a prorogation or dissolution in the present conjuncture; and entreating the sovereign to hearken to Vol. IV. 27 the advice of that house, and not to the se- cret advice of particular persons who might have private interests of their own, sepa- rate from the true interests of the king and people." — This address was carried without a division, and on the twenty-fourth was pre- sented to the sovereign, who returned the following answer : " Gentlemen, it has been my constant object to employ the authority intrusted to me by the constitution to its true and only end, the good of my people ; and I am always happy in concurring with the wishes and opinions of my faithful com- mons. I agree with you in thinking, that the support of the public credit and revenue must demand your most earnest and vigilant care. The state of the East Indies is also an object of as much delicacy and import- ance as can exercise the wisdom and justice of parliament. I trust you will proceed in these considerations with all convenient speed, after such an adjournment as the pres- ent circumstances may seem to require ; and I assure you, that I shall not interrupt your meeting, by any exercise of my prerogative, either of prorogation or dissolution." 1784. — The house now with tolerable sat- isfaction adjourned for the usual Christmas recess to the tenth of January, 1784; on which day the committee on the state of the nation was resumed ; and several resolutions were brought forward by Fox, and agreed to by the house ; prohibiting the lords of the treasury from assenting to the acceptance of the company's bills from India ; forbidding also the issue of any of the public money after a prorogation or dissolution of parlia- ment, unless the act of approbation shall have previously passed ; and ordering ac- counts to be laid before the house of the moneys already issued. These resolutions were followed by a motion from the earl of Surrey, "1. That in the present situation of his majesty's dominions it was peculiarly necessary that there should be an adminis- tration that had the confidence of the public. 2. That the late changes in his majesty's councils were accompanied with circum- stances new and extraordinary, and such as did not conciliate the confidence of that house." On this motion the house divided, but it was carried in the affirmative by one hundred and ninety-six to one hundred and forty-two voices. On the sixteenth of January a resolution was moved by lord Charles Spencer, " That the continuance of the present ministers in trusts of the highest importance and respon- sibility, was contrary to the principles of the constitution, and injurious to the interests of the king and people." Upon this ques- tion the house divided, ayes two hundred and five, noes one hundred and eighty-four ; 314 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. so that the antiministerial majority was re- duced by defection from fifty-four to twenty- one voices. About this time the chancellor of the ex- chequer introduced into the house a bill for the better government of India, on princi- ples which left the commercial concerns of the company in their own hands, and estab- lished a board of control, consisting of cer- tain commissioners appointed by the king, possessing a negative on the proceedings of tlie company hi all matters of government. On the motion of commitment, this bill was lost by two hundred and twenty-two agamst two hundred and fourteen — so that the op- position majority was now dimmished by an ominous defection to eight. Whatever hopes the present cabinet might ibrm, from this flattering accession of par- liamentary strength, they were still more encouraged by the addresses of thanks to the Icing lor the removal of his late minis- ters, which now began to pour in from every quarter of the kingdom. In this the city of London took the lead, and hi their address they say, " Your faithfiil citizens lately be- held with infinite concern the progress of a tneasure which equally tended to encroach on the right of your majesty's crown — to annihilate the chartered rights of the East India company — and to raise a power un- known to this free government, and highly inimical to its safety. As this dangerous measure was warmly supported by your ma- jesty's late ministers, we heartily rejoice in their dismission, and humbly thank your majesty for exerting your prerogative in a manner so salutary and constitutional." And concluding in a style widely different from tiie usual tenor of their addresses on former (occasions, they say, "Highly sensible of your majesty's paternal care and afiection for your people, v/e pray the Almighty that you may long reign in peace over a free, a happy, and united nation." Though the dismissal of the late minis- ters originated in a cause merely accidental, and on the part of the crown from a sudden and strong resentment at a supjx)sed inva- Kion of tlie prerogative ; yet the monarch acquired a popularity by the measure that effaced for a time all recollection of former ]e fortreeseg, vrould, in that case, become a pledge and hostage in the hands of the crown ; a circumstance which, in a country like this, must insure unconditional submission to the most ex- travagant claims that despotism could dic- tate. The minutes which contained the opinion of the naval officers, in condemna- tion of the plan, were wholly omitted, be- cause they were mixed with matter of such dangerous import that no chemical process known in the ordnance elaboratory could possibly separate them ; while, on the con- trary, every approving opinion, like a light, oily fluid, floated at the top, and was capable of being presented to the house, pure and untinged by a single particle of the argu- ment and information upon which it was founded." It was thought by many to be impossible, that a man of Pitt's discernment, could be the sincere and cordial advocate of so pre- posterous a scheme ; and it was even men- tioned in the house, by one of his friends, as a topic of report, that in this business he was suspected of acting agamst his own opinion : but, however this may be, certain it is, that he found himself on this occasion very generally deserted by the country gen- tlemen ; and the division was rendered mem- orable by an exact equality of numbers, both the ayes and the noes amounting to one hundred and sixty-nine. The speaker, being of course compelled to give his cast- ing vote, acquired much applause, by de- claring for the rejection of this chimerical, extravagant, and dangerous system. SINKING FUND. The subject which the minister seemed to intend should make the principal figure in this session of parliament, was the pro- posal of a sinking fund for the liquidation of the national debt. On the seventh of Marcli, Pitt moved for the appointment, by ballot, of a select committee of nine persons, to re- port to the house the state of the public revenue and expenditure. The result of their mquiry was laid before the house on the twenty-first of the same montli ; and proved in the highest degree pleasing and satisfactory. The amount of the revenue for the current year was estimated by tlie committee at fifteen millions three hundred and ninety-seven thousand pounds. The permanent expenditure, including the civil- list, and the interests payable on the differ- ent funds, amounted to ten millions five hun- dred and fifly-four thousand pounds. The peace-establishment, allowing eighteen thou- sand men for the navy, and the usual com- plement of seventy regiments for the army, exclusive of life-guards and cavalry, was estimated at tliree millions nine hundred and twenty-four thousand pounds. In all, four- teen miliione four hundred and seventy-eight 324 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. thousand pounds ; of consequence there re- mained a surplus of more than nine hun- dred thousand pounds. Pitt observed upon this report, " that though this was stated to be the annual expenditure, a considerable interval must elapse before this reduction could take place ; this term he fixed at four years. The exceedings of the army, navy, and ordnance, together with the sums ne- cessary for the indemnification of the Amer- ican loyalists, he calculated, would not, du- ring this period, fall short of three millions. There were sums appropriated, during the war, to different services, which had not been expended ; four hundred and fifty thou- sjiad pounds haA already been paid into the Exchequer upon this account. There were, moreover, immense sums in the hands of former paymasters, wliich it was expected would soon be brought to account ; these he conjecturally stated at the sum of one mil- lion. There was a balance of six hundred thousand pounds due to government from tlie East India company. When to these were added the improvements that might yet be made by judicious regulations in the different branches of the revenue, he was not," Pitt said, " he hoped, too sanguine in affirming, that we possessed resources equal to all our ordinary and extraordinary de- mands." The proposition which he now Bubmitted to the house, was, the appropria- tion of the annual sum of one million to be invariably applied to the liquidation of the national debt. This annual million he pro- posed to vest in the hands of certain com- missioners, to be by them applied regularly to the purchase of stock ; so that no sum should ever lie within his grasp large enough to tempt him to violate this sacred deposit. The interests annually discharged, were, < onformably to this plan, to be added to, and incorporated with, the original fund, so that it would operate with a determinate and ac- celerated velocity. This fund was also to be assisted by the annuities granted for dif- ferent times, which would from time to time fall in within the limited period of twenty-eight years, at the expiration of which, Pitt calculated that the fund would produce an income of four millions per an- num. The commissioners to be nominated under the act, were, the chancellor of the exchequer, the speaker of the house of com- mons, the master of the rolls, the governor and deputy-governor of the bank of Eng- land, and the accomptant-general of the high court of chancery. The only amendment of any material con- sequence, suggested on Pitt's plan, was, in the progress of tlie bill, offered by Fox, " that whenever a new loan should hereaf- ter be made, the commissioners should be empowered to accept the loan, or such pro- portion of it, as should be equal to the cash then in their hands ; the interest and dou- ceur annexed to which should be applied to the purposes of the sinking fund." This amendment was readily and candidly ac- cepted by Pitt, and the bill finally passed with great and deserved approbation. CIVIL-LIST IN ARREARS. Notwithstanding the acknowledged ne- cessity of economy in every department of government, it is truly painful to relate, that even before the sinking fund bill passed into a law, a message from the king to the house of commons was delivered by the minister stating, " that it gave him great concern inform them, that it had not been found pos sible to confine the expenses of the civil- list within the annual sum of eight hundred and fifty thousand pounds, now applicable to that purpose. A farther debt had been ne- cessarily incurred, and the king relied on the zeal and affection of his parliament to make provision for its discharge." On this occasion, Pitt stated, " that under Burke's re- form bill an annual reduction of fifty thou- sand pounds from the civil-list had been set apart by parliament for the liquidation by in- stalments of the sum of three hundred thou- sand pounds, then issued in exchequer-bills for the supply of former deficiencies. Of this debt, one hundred and eighty thousand pounds yet remained unpaid, and a fresh debt of thirty thousand pounds had accru- ed." This application was the more extra- ordinary, as at the opening of the session of December 1782, and when Pitt was chan- cellor of the exchequer, the king in his speech from the throne had said, " I have carried into strict execution the several re- ductions in my civil-list expenses, directed by an act of last session ; I have introduced a farther reform in other departments, and suppressed several sinecure places in them. I have by this means so regulated my estab- lishments, that my expenses shall not in fu- ture exceed my income." It is almost su- perfluous to say, that all the arguments of- fered on this head, proved a mere waste of words, and that the money was ultimately voted. BURKE'S CHARGES AGAINST WARREN HASTINGS. The remaining subject of importance that belongs to the history of this session, is the impeachment of Warren Hastings, late gov- ernor-general of Bengal. In undertaking the arduous task of public accuser against this supposed great Indian delinquent, the various difficulties to be encountered, pre- sented such a train of formidable obstacles to the successful prosecution of the accused, as only the spirit, the perseverance, and the inflexibility of Burke could overcome. That powerful Lidia interest, which had defeated GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 325 the scheme of Fox, and effected the ruin of bis administration, was to be exerted in vig- orous hostility to the present measure. It was also obvious, that the opinions of admin- istration were much in favor of the ex-gov- ernor. Burke, however, far from sinking under the pressure of circumstances so in- auspicious to his design, resolutely persisted in his purpose ; and having adopted the an- cient mode of trial by impeachment, he pro- ceeded on the fourth of April 1786, to charge Warren Hastings, Esq. before the house of commons, with high crimes and misdemean- ors, exhibiting at the same time nine distinct articles of accusation, which in a few weeks were uicreased to the number of twenty- two. Hastings, at his own express desire, ap- peared at the bar of the house of commons on the first of May, and delivered in his de- fence an answer to Burke's charges. The defence, hov/ever, was of little service to his cause, and contributed in a very slight degree to the vindication of his character, Though his assertions were bold, his argu- ments were weak, and the language of his defence was beyond all example boastful and arrogant. He even called in question the authority of the house to institute a ju- dicial inquiry into his conduct. The house, unmoved by what they had heard, proceed- ed in the examination of evidence : and the first article of impeachment respecting the Rohilla war was brought formally before the house on the first of June : after a very long debate, the question was decided in favor of # Hastings, ayes for the impeachment being sixty-seven, noes one hundred and nineteen. On the thirteenth of June, the second charge relative to the Rajah of Benares being brought forward, it was resolved by the house, on a division of one hundred and nineteen to seventy-nine voices, " that this charge contained matter of impeachment against the late governor-general of Ben- gal." On the eleventh of July an end was put to these proceedings for the present, by a prorogation of the parliament, which was dismissed with assurances of " the particu- lar satisfaction with which the king had ob- served their diligent attention to the public usiness, and the measures they had adopted for improving the resources of the country." MARGARET NICHOLSON'S ATTEMPT TO ASSASSINATE THE KING. On the second of August, after the rising of parliament, a singular incident occurred, which engrossed for a short time the atten- tion of the public. As the king was alight- ing from his post chariot, at the garden en- trance of St. James's palace, a woman de- cently dressed presented a paper to his ma- jesty ; and while he was in the act of re- ceiving it, she struck with a concealed knife Vol. IV. 28 at his breast. The king happily avoided the blow by drawing back ; and as she was pre- paring to make a second thrust, one of the yeomen caught her arm, and the weapon was wrenched out of her hand. The king, with great temper, exclaimed, " I am not hurt — take care of the poor woman, do not hurt her." On examination before the privy- council, it immediately appeared that the woman was insane. Being asked where she had lately resided, she answered frantically, " That she had been all abroad since that matter of the crown broke out." Being far- ther questioned what matter ] she said, " That the crown was her's ; and that if she had not her right, England would be del- uged in blood for a thousand generations." On being interrogated as to the nature of her right, she refused to answer, saying ui the genuine style of royalty, " That her rights were a mystery." It appeared that this poor maniac, whose name was Marga- ret Nicholson, had presented a petition ten days before, full of wild and incoherent non- sense. Like most other petitions, it had probably never been read, or the person of the petitioner would have been secured. The idea of a judicial process was of course abandoned, and she was consigned to an apartment provided for her in Bethlehem hospital. COMMERCIAL TREATY WITH FRANCE. In the month of September, the king was pleased to appoint a new committee of coun- cil for the consideration of all matters relat- ing to trade and foreign plantations. Of this board, Charles Jenkinson, since, for his long and faithful services, created lord Hawltes- bury, and constituted chancellor of the dutchy of Lancaster, was declared president Under this new commission, a treaty of com- merce was, on September the twenty-sixth, signed between the courts of England and France. Its general principle was to admit the mutual importation and exportation of the commodities of each country at a very low ad valorem duty. The negotiator of this treaty was Eden, who under tlie coali- tion administration had filled the lucrative office of vice-treasurer of Ireland. This was the first memorable defection from that un- fortunate alliance : and it was the more re- markable, as Eden had himself been gene- rally considered as the original projector of the coalition, or at least as the man who might contest that honor with Burke. CONVENTION WITH SPAIN RELATIVE TO THE BAY OF HONDURAS. About the same time a convention was signed with Spain, of some importance, as it finally terminated th^ long subsistmg dis- putes respecting the British settlements on the Mosquito shore and the coast of Hondu- ras. By the present treaty the Mosquito set- 526 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. tlements were formally and explicitly relin- quished, as they had already virtually been by the sixth article of the general treaty of 1783. In return, the boundaries of the Brit- ish settlements on the coast and bay of Hon- duras were somewhat extended. In a politi- cal view this convention answered a valua- ble purpose, as it removed a probable source of national disagreement. But the claims of humanity and justice were not sufficient- ly attended to: for the Mosquito settlers, who had for time immemorial occupied their lands and habitations under the protection of the English government, and who amount- ed to many hundred families in number, were peremptorily commanded to evacuate the country without exception, in the space of eighteen months, nothing farther being stipulated in their favor, than that his Cath- olic majesty " shall order his governors to grant to the said English, so dispersed, all possible facilities for their removal to the settlements agreed upon by the present con- vention." The greatest confusion, conster- nation, and distress among this unhappy peo- ple were the inevitable consequences of this barbarous edict of expulsion, which with the cold-blooded politicians of Europe, at the distance of three thousand miles, passed only for a regulation of commerce. An affecting representation of their distresses, and an humble petition for some sort of indemnifi- cation from the government which had thus shamefully abandoned them to their fate, was subsequently presented to the board of treasury ; but it does not appear to have ex- cited any attention. TREATY WITH FRANCE CONSIDERED BY THE COMMONS. 1787. — The parliament reassembled on January the twenty-third 1787, but no sub- ject of material import came under discus- sion till the twelfth of February, when the house resolved itself into a committee on the commercial treaty with France. On this occasion, Pitt entered into an able and elo- quent vindication of the measure. It was ridiculous to imagine, he said, that the French would consent to yield advantages without the idea of compensation. The trea- ty would doubtless be a benefit to them ; but he did not hesitate to say, it would be a much greater benefit to us. She gained for her wines and other productions a great and opulent market. We did the same for our manufactures to a far greater degree. She procured a market of eight millions of peo- ple, we a market of twenty-four millions. Both nations were disposed and prepared for such a connexion. France, by the peculiar dispensation of Providence, was gifted per- haps more than any other country upon earth with what made life desirable in point of soil, climate, and natural productions, in the most fertile vineyards and the richest bar vests. Britain, on the other hand, possessing these advantages in an inferior degree, had from the happy freedom of its constitution, and the equal security of its laws, risen to a state of commr^rcial grandeur, and acquir- ed the ability of supplying France with the requisite conveniencies of life, in exchange for her natural luxuries. The only real difficulty, respecting the execution of this treaty, arose from its in- consistency with the famous Methuen trea- ty, concluded with Portugal early in the present century ; and in conformity to which the duties on Portugal wines were to bear in future the proportion of only two-thirds of those imported from France and other countries. But this point being candidly conceded by France in the progress of the business, the measure received, as it well deserved, the necessary concurrence and sanction of parliament ; and the whole trans- action terminated greatly to the honor of the minister, and the advantage of the na- tion. EMBARRASSMENTS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES. The subject which next claims our atten- tion, will be found upon every account high- ly interesting. The great personage to whom it relates is the heir apparent of the British crown. In addition to the rank and character of the party, the narrative is ren- dered still more attractive by private anec- dote, by delicacy of situation, and by a new and uncommon circumstance, that alarmed the apprehensions of many, and employed the reflections of all. When his royal high- ness attained the age of majority, A. D. 1783, the sum of fifty thousand pounds per annum only was allotted to him out of the civil-list revenue to defray the whole ex- pense of his establishment. Considering the numerous salaries payable to the officers of his household, this sum was clearly inade- quate to the support of his rank and situa- tion in life ; and the then ministers. Fox and lord North, strongly insisted upon the ne- cessity of fixing the revenue of the prince at one hundred thousand pounds per annum, which the late king had enjoyed as prince of Wales, at a period when the civil-list pro- duced two hundred thousand pounds per an- num less than at present. To this the sove- reign positively objected ; and the prince, to prevent disagreeable consequences, gen- erously declared that he chose to depend on the spontaneous bounty of the king. The obvious result of this miserable economy was, that the prince in the four years which were now elapsed had contracted debts to a large amount ; his negligence as to pecuni- ary concerns being perhaps increased by the consciousness of the extreme difficulty of GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 327 contracting his expenses within the narrow limits of his income. The public, not suffi- ciently adverting to these circumstances, censured the prince with a too rigid severi- ty for the heedlessness and prodigality of his conduct. It was however too notorious to admit of disguise or palliation, that the prince Wcis exempt from none of those youth- ful indiscretions and excesses by which men of high rank in early life are for the most part so unhappily characterized. The prince of Wales, like most other young men, had been more distinguished by a general regard to the fair sex than for any particular individual attachment. A report however of a serious nature had for some time past gained very general credit ; name- ly, that the prince had contracted a secret marriage with Mrs. Fitzherbert, a lady of family, and justly celebrated for her person- al beauty and mental accomplishments. That the prince should not be privately mar- ried, was an event particularly guarded against by the royal marriage act. By this act it was declared that the heir apparent was incapable of marrying till the age of twenty-five years, without his father's con- sent, or, in case of refusal, without the con- sent of both houses of parliament. The marriage therefore, if it had taken place, was null in law. But this was by no means tlic circumstance which made the greatest impression upon the public mind. The lady was educated in the Roman Catholic religion, and the act of settlement which seated the house of Brunswick on the British throne, expressly declared the prince who married a Catholic to have forfeited his right of suc- cession to the crown. To add to the diffi- culties of a situation in the highest degree trying and critical, the prince found his em- barrassments continually increasing, and a large debt already accumulated. In the summer therefore of 1786, the prince applied to the king his father for assistance, but meeting with a peremptory refusal, he im- mediately adopted a resolution, which in every view reflected the highest honor on his character. Suppressing the establish- ment of his household, he formally vested forty thousand pounds per annum of his reve- nue in the hands of trustees for the liquida- tion of his debts. His stud of running horses, his hunters, and even his coach horses were sold by public auction. The elegant im- provements and additions making to the palace of Carlton house were suddenly stop- ped, and the most splendid apartments shut up from use. In this manner he thought proper to retire from the splendor of his sta- tion, rather than forfeit tlie honor of a gen- tleman by practising on the credulity of his creditors. The prince had lived in a state of retire- ment for near a twelvemonth, when he waa persuaded to countenance a proposal for lay- ing the state of his affairs before parliament ; and on the twentietli of April, alderman Newnham, member for the city of I^ondon, gave notice that he would bring forward a motion for an address to the king, prayuig him to take the situation of the prince into consideration, and to grant him such relief as he in his wisdom should think fit, and pledging the house to make good the same. This gave rise to an interesting conversa- tion ; and Newnham was by the minister and many other members earnestly entreated to withdraw his motion, as fertile of inconve- nience and mischief Pitt said, " that by the perseverance of Newnham he should be driv- en to the disclosure of circumstances which he should otherwise have thought it his duty to conceal." Rolle, member for Devonshire, declared, " that the investigation of this question involved in it circumstances which tended immediately to affect the constitution in church and state." Fox, Sheridan, and other gentlemen in the confidence of the prince, declared, " that there was nothing his royal highness less feared than a full and impartial investigation of his conduct ; and nothing that he would more deprecate, than a studied ambiguity or affected tenderness on the pretence of respect and indulgence." Rolle was particularly called upon, but in vain, to explain the extraordinary language he had used. The subject being in a few days resumed, Fox again called the atten- tion of the house to the declaration of Rolle. " To what that declaration alluded (Fox said) it was impossible to ascertain, till the person who made it thought proper to explain his meaning ; but he supposed it must refer to that base and malicious calumny which had been propagated without doors by the ene- mies of the prince, with a view to depreciate his character and injure him in the esteem of his country." Fox further declared, " that the prince had authorized him to as- sert, that as a peer of parliament, he wa* ready in the other house to submit to any the most pointed questions that could be put to him upon the subject, or to afford the king or his ministers the fullest assurances of the utter falsehood of the fact in question." Rolle now thought proper to acknowledge, that the subject upon which Fox had spoken, was the matter to which he alluded as af- fecting both church and state. He said, " that the reports relative to this transaction had made a deep impression upon the minds of all men who loved and venerated the con- stitution. He knew that this thing could not have been accomplished under the formal sanction of law ; but if it existed as a fact, it might be productive of tlie most alarming consequences, and ought to be Kitisfactorily 328 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. cleared up." Fox replied, " that he did not deny the calumny in question merely with regard to the eftect of certain existing laws, but he denied it in toto, in fact as well as in law. The fact not only could never have happened legally, but never did happen any way, and had from the beginning been a vile and malignant falsehood." Rolle rose again, and asked, " whether in what he now assert- ed Fox spoke from direct authority ?" Fox said, he had spoken from direct authority. In consequence of these explicit and authorita- tive asseverations, Rolle was loudly called upon to express his satisfaction : but this he obstinately declined, saying only " that the house would judge for themselves of what had passed." On this Sheridan was provoked to declare, " that if Rolle persisted in his refusal, or otherwise to put the matter into such a state of inquiry as should satisfy him, the house ought to come to a resolution, that it was seditious and disloyal to propagate reports injurious to the prince." Pitt now properly interposed, and protested against so flagrant an attack on the freedom of speech and deliberation in that house. And it must be confessed that Rolle was so far justified as the voice of the public could justify him, in retaining his doubts ; for a general and firm persuasion still prevailed of a secret marriage between the prince and Mrs. Fitz- herbert, though no one presumed to call in question the honor of Fox in the declara- tions made by him in the prince's name, for which he undoubtedly had, or thought he had, sufficient authority, and which operated to the perfect apparent conviction of the house of commons. In this stage of the business an interview, at the desire of the king, took place between the prince of Wales and Pitt at Carlton house ; and the prince was informed, " that if the intended motion were withdrawn, everything might be settled to his royal highness's satisfaction." This being acceded to, a message was delivered by the minister from the king to the house, stating his ma- jesty's great concern, "that from the ac- counts of the prince of Wales, it appeared that he had incurred a debt to a large amount, which, painful as it was to him to propose any addition to the burdens of his people, he v/as mduced by his paternal affection to the prince, to desire the assistance of parlia- men to discharge — on the well-grounded expectation, nevertheless, that the prince would avoid contracting any debts in future ; with a view to which, the king had directed a sum of ten thousand pounds to be paid out of the civil-list, in addition to his former al- lowance ; and he had the satisfaction to ob- serve, that the prince had given the fullest assurance of his determination to confine his future expenses within his income, and had settled a plan, and fixed an order in those expenses, which it was trusted would effect the due execution of his intentions." On the very next day after the accounts referred to in the royal message were laid before the house, and of which the dignified generosity of parliament suflered not the inspection, an address was voted to the king, to request him to direct the sum of one hundred and sixty-one thousand pounds to be paid out of the civil-list for the full discharge of the debts of the prince of Wales, and the farther sum of twenty thousand pounds to complete the repairs of Carlton house. IMPEACHMENT OF HASTINGS VOTED BY THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. The subject of Hastings' impeachment had been resumed early in the present ses- sion, and had occupied a large proportion of time and attention. The primary charge respecting the Rohilla war, brought for- ward towards the conclusion of the session of 1786, had made a deep impression upon the house ; and although Hastings had been acquitted of the charge, it was upon grounds on which it was impossible to rest his future defence. The conduct of the minister in this business had been hitherto indecisive and mysterious ; but the part taken by Jen- kinson, and the party of which he was con- sidered as the head, left no room for doubt as to the secret inclination of the court. Pitt had negatived the dv^Vyf f.r* thv? EoJiilla war, upon the ground that iiab!,:ii^;s had sub- sequent to that event received the highest certificate of legislative approbation, by being nominated, by act of parliament, governor- general of India : and although on the Ben- ares charge he had voted against Hastings, he expressly declared that he did not upon that account consider himself as committed to a final vote of impeachment. The grand question therefore still remained doubtful, when on the seventh of February 1787, Sheridan opened the third charge respecting the Begum princess Oude, with an eloquence and energy which were perhaps never sur- passed, and which, in their consequences, proved completely decisive. On this occa- sion Pitt acted a part which did him great honor. Though the wonderful speech of Sheridan had excited a spirit of enthusiasm in the house, which perhaps no degree of ministerial influence could have counteract- ed, it would be highly invidious and unjust to attribute the decided conduct of Pitt on this memorable night to the dread of being left in a minority, by an attempt to negative the motion. On the contrary, he appeared penetrated with a perfect conviction of the atrocity of the facts, and of the strength of the evidence by which they were supported : and the minister felt all the sympathies of hu- manity, all the energies of virtue awakened GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 329 in his breast, and impelling him to testify, in terms the most explicit and expressive, his detestation of perfidy so vile, of cruelty so remorseless. On a division the numbers were, in favor of the motion one hundred and seventy-five, against it sixty-eight. On the second of March, Pelham opened the charge relative to the Nabob of Fer- ruckabud, which was affirmed by one hun- dred and twelve against fifty voices. On the fifteenth of March, the charge upon the sub- ject of contracts was brought forward by Sir James Erskine ; and on this article the division was ayes sixty, noes twenty-six. Upon the twenty-second of March, the charge relative to Fyzoola Kan was intro- duced by Wyndham ; and was carried on a division of ninety-six against thirty-seven voices. On the second of April, Sheridan opened to the house the charge upon the subject of presents ; and on this occasion he observed, "that the late governor-general had, in every part of his conduct, exhibited proofs of a wild, eccentric, and irregular mind. In pride, in passion, in all things changeable, except in corruption. His re^ venge was a tempest, a tornado involving all within its influence in one common de- struction. But his corruption was regular and systematic, a monsoon blowing uniformly from one point of the compass, and wafting the wealth of India to the same port in one certain direction." Upon a division the numbers appeared ayes one hundred and sixty-five, noes sixty-four. On the nine^ teenth of April the charge respecting the revenues was opened by Francis, who had formerly occupied, with much honor to him^ self, the office of member in the supreme council of India, and who had recently taken his seat as a member of the house of com mons. This charge was confirmed, not- withstanding the unexpected dissent of the minister, by seventy-one to fifty-five voices. On the ninth of May the report made by Burke, from the committee to whom it had been referred to prepare the articles of im- peachment, was confirmed by the house, ayes one hundred and seventy-five, noes eighty-nine. On the following day it was voted that Hastings be impeached ; and Burke accordingly, in the name of the house of commons, and of all the commons of Great Britain, repaired to the bar of the house of lords, and impeached Hastings of high crimes and misdemeanors ; at the same tune acquainting their lordships, that the commons would with all convenient speed exhibit articles against him, and make good the same. On the fourteenth another charge respecting misdemeanors in Oude was added to the former, and voted without a division ; and on the twenty-first Hastings being con ducted to the bar of the house of lords by 28* the serjeant-at-arms, was taken into the cueh tody of the black rod ; but on the motion of the lord chancellor was admitted to bail — himself in twenty thousand pounds, and two sureties, Sullivan and Summer, in ten thou- sand pounds each ; and he was ordered to deliver in an answer to the articles of im- peachment in one month from that time, or upon the second day of the next session of parliament. On the thirtieth of May 1787, the king put an end to the present session by a speech applauding " the measures taken by parlia- ment respecting the reduction of the na- tional debt, and the treaty of navigation and commerce with the most christian king. He spoke of the general tranquillity of Europe, and lamented the dissensions which unhap- pily prevailed amongst the states of the united provinces." INTERFERENCE WITH THE AFFAIRS OF HOLLAND. During the recess of parliament, the at- tention of government was particularly at- tracted by the troubled state of Holland. In the autumn of the year 1787, the dissensions which had long subsisted between the stadt- holder and the states of Holland, had risen to an alarming height, and the ultimate event of the contest seemed to depend greatly on the forbearance or interposition of foreign nations. The French were known to be friendly to the states of Holland, but they were too deeply engaged by their domestic situation, to be able to render them any ef- fectual assistance. On the other hand, the cause of the stadtholder was warmly espous- ed by the king of Prussia, in conjunction with Great Britain. The head of the house of Nassau displayed neither the talents nor the virtues which had for ages been sup- posed attached to that illustrious name. The princess his consort was said to possess a much larger share of spirit as well as un- derstanding. In the month of June 1787, for reasons which have never perfectly tran- spired, her royal highness, then resident at Nimeguen, adopted the bold and hazardous resolution of proceeding in person to the Hague, where the States-General were at that time assembled, accompanied only by the baroness de Wassanaer and a few do- mestics. As might previously be expected, she was arrested in her progress at about a league beyond Schoonhoven, and forced back to Nimeguen. On the tenth of July a me- morial was addressed by the Prussian mon- arch to the states of Holland, in which he affected to consider the indignity offered to the princess of Orange his sister, as a per- sonal insult to himself. To avenge this pre- tended affront, the duke of Brunswick, who commanded the Prussian forces in the con- tiguous dutchy of Clevee, entered Holland 330 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. at the head of an army consisting of about twenty thousand men on the thirteenth of September. The march of the Prussian general bore the appearance of a triumphal procession. On the seventh day from the commencement of the invasion, the prince of Orange made his public entry into the Hague. Amsterdam only made a show of resistance ; but on the tenth of October, that proud capital, now closely invested, opened its gates to the victor. To the astonishment of the world, that republic which maintain ed a contest of eighty years against the power of Spain ; which contended for the empire of the ocean with Great Britain which repulsed the attacks of Louis the fourteenth in the zenith of his glory ; was overrun by the arms of Prussia in a single month. In the whole of this transaction, Prussia acted in intimate and avowed con cert with Great Britain ; and it was on this occasion that the British government con eluded a subsidiary treaty with the land grave of Hesse-Cassel ; by which the latter engaged to furnish England with a body of twelve thousand men at four weeks' notice, for thirty-six thousand pounds per annum So late as the month of September, and just before the duke of Brunswick began his march, France tardily professed her inten tion of assisting the Dutch in case they were attacked by any foreign power. This cir- cumstance animated the court of London to act with spirit and decision, and vigorous naval preparations were made to support the king of Prussia, in opposition to the menac- ing declarations of France. But the object of the Prussian expedition being accom^ plished in a much shorter space of time than could have been previously imagined, the court of Versailles found itself disengaged from all obligations. MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.— CONTI- NENTAL ENGAGEMENTS. In consequence of these transactions, it was found necessary to assemble the parlia- ment of Great Britain somewhat earlier than is usual in time of peace ; and, the ses- sion having commenced on the twenty-sev- enth of November, the king, in his speech to both houses, remarked, "that at the close of the last session, he had informed them of the concern with which he observed the dis- putes unhappily subsisting in the republic of the united provmces. Their situation soon afterwards became more critical and alarming. The king of Prussia having de- manded satisfaction for the insult offered to the princess of Orange his sister, the party which had usurped the government, applied to the most christian king for assistance; and that prince having notified to his majesty his intention of granting their request, the King did not hesitate to declare that he could not remain a quiet spectator, and gave immediate orders for augmenting his forces both by sea and land ; and, in the course of this transaction, he had concluded a subsidi- ary treaty with the Landgrave of Hesse- Cassel. In the mean time, the rapid success of the duke of Brunswick enabled the prov- inces to deliver themselves from the oppres- sion under which they labored ; and all sub- jects of contest being thus removed, an amicable explanation had taken place be- tween the courts of London and Versailles." It is worthy of transient remark, that the language of the speech from the throne, was that of a zealous partisan of the house of Orange. It is inconceivable how the exist- ing government of Holland could, with any color of justice, be stigmatized as an usurp- ation ; for by the constitution of that coun- try, the prince of Orange, as stadtholder, was not a sovereign, but a subject, possess- ing no share of the legislative power ; and though by the formula of 1747, the office was declared hereditary, it was not on that account irrevocable, any more than the he- reditary offices of earl marshal, or great chamberlain, under the English constitution. And the oppressions alluded to in the speech, were certainly nothing more than the usual severities inflicted upon those who presumed to resist the measures of the supreme gov- ernment. It must, however, be confessed, that the prompt and vigorous measures of the English cabinet were absolutely neces- sary to counteract the insidious designs of France in her projected interference in the affairs of Holland, and in this point of view their conduct was highly and deservedly ap- plauded by the nation. The addresses, in answer to the king's speech, were voted with great unanimity in both houses ; and the subsidy to Hesse passed without a dis- sentient vote. In a short time, treaties of alliance were concluded between the courts of London, Berlin, and the Hague ; by which the two former guarantied the stadtholderate in per- petuity to the serene house of Orange, as an essential part of the constitution of the united provinces. By the treaty between the kings of Great Britain and Prussia, each of the high contracting powers engages, in case of attack, to furnish the other with a succor of sixteen thousand infantry, and four thousand cavalry, or an equivalent in mo- ney, within the term of two months from the date of the requisition. Thus was Brit- ain once more fatally entangled in the in- tricate and inextricable toils of continental engagements. "east INDIA DECLARATORY ACT. The most considerable legislative mea- sure of the present session, related to a con- troversy which had arisen between the board GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 331 of control and the East India company. At th'e moment of the general alarm excited by the affairs of Holland, government pro- posed to the directors, to send out four regi- ments of the king's troops, as a reinforce- ment to the army in India, upon condition that the whole expense was defrayed by the company. This proposal was at first partly accepted, but the rumor of war having speedily subsided, the matter was reconsid- ered by the board of direction, and finally rejected. They contended, that lord North's bill of 1781 expressly provided, that the company should pay only for such troops as by their requisition should be sent to India ; and the opinion of different eminent law- yers, who had been consulted on the sub- ject, appeared perfectly to coincide with that of the directors. Part of the troops, however, were already prepared for embark- ation, and the company refusing to admit them on board their ships, the minister, to extricate himself from this perplexing di- lemma, introduced into parliament his fa- mous declaratory act, to show that his own India bill of 1784 had vested in the board of control, and not in the directors, the su- preme power of determining the propriety of every such measure. The declaratory bill met with a most formidable opposition in parliament. Colonel Barre protested that he had from the first discerned the traces of a system of Indian patronage, of which he believed the bill under discussion to be a great advance to the final completion ; and if it should be suffered to pass, a fatal stab would be given to the constitution. The question of commitment was carried by a majority of fifty-seven voices only ; and on being carried into the house of lords, it ex perienced a second opposition not less vio lent than the first. It passed at length, ac companied with a protest, signed by sixteen peers, in which the declaratory bill was reprobated as friendly to corrupt intrigue and cabal — hostile to all good government — and abhorrent to the principles of our constitution. TRIAL OF HASTINGS. 1788. — In the early part of the session Hastings had delivered in his answer to the impeachment of the commons, who imme- diately appointed a committee of managers to make good the same, and the trial com- menced on the fifteenth of February 1788, in Westminster-hall, which was fitted up for the purpose with great magnificence. Burke was four days in making his prelimi- nary speech, which was filled with vehe- ment invective, with much rhetorical exag- geration, and with matter almost wholly ex- traneous to the subject of the impeachment. The friends of Burke extolled this sj:>eech as a more than Ciceronean effort of elo- quence ; but the public considered it injudi- cious, extravagant, and bombastical. On the twenty-second of February, the Benarea charge was opened by Fox ; and concluded on the twenty- fifth by Gray, member for Northumberland, a gentleman whose talents, at a very early period of life, attracted, in an eminent degree, the attention of the house. On the fifteenth of April, the charge relative to the Begums of Oude was brought forward by Adam, and the evidence on this charge was summed up by Sheridan with transcendent ability. BILL TO REGULATE THE SLAVE TRADE. • The last business of importance which, engaged the attention of parliament, was a bill to regulate the transportation of slaves from the coast of Africa to the West Indies. This bill, which was intended merely to es- tablish a certain reasonable proportion be- tween the number of the slaves and tonnage of the ships, was violently and obstinately opposed by petitions from the merchants of London and Liverpool, concerned in the Af- rican trade. Counsel being therefore en- gaged, and witnesses examined, it appeared in evidence, at the bar of the house, that the slaves had not, as was emphatically stated, when stowed together, so much room as a man in his coffin, either in length or breadth. They drew their breath with labo- rious and painful efforts, and many, unable to support the struggle,, died of suffocation. The customary mortality of the voyage ex- ceeded seventeen times the usual estimate of human life. A slave-ship, when full fraught with this cargo of wretchedness and abomination, exhibited at once the extremes of human depravity and human misery. In reviewing this superlatively wicked and de- testable traffic, Pitt, with indignant elo- quence, declared, " that if, as had been as- serted by the members of Liverpool, the trade could not be carried on in any other manner, he would retract what he had said on a former day, and waiving every farther discussion, give his instant vote for the an- nihilation of a traffic thus shocking to hu- manity. He trusted that the house, being now in possession of such evidence as was never before exhibited, would endeavor to extricate themselves from the guilt and re- morse, which every man ought to feel, for having so long overlooked such cruelty and oppression." The bill was carried up, June the eighteenth, to the house of lords, where it was fated to encounter the determined opposition of lord Thurlow, the duke of Chandos, and lord Sidney. The bill, how- ever, had a number of friends, and to the honor of parliament, the nation, and human nature, finally passed by a considerable ma- jority. The king put an end to the session, July 332 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the eleventh, by a speech from the throne, in which he complimented the two houses on their attention and liberality. " His faith ful subjects had every reason," as he affirmed, *' to expect the continuance of the blessings vf peace, and the engagements which he dad recently formed with the king of Prus- sia and the States-General of the united provinces would, he trusted, promote the se- curity and welfare of his own dominions, and contribute to the general tranquillity of Europe." THE KING'S INDISPOSITION. Soon after the recess of parliament, the king, who had been for some time rather in disposed, was advised by his physicians to try the mineral waters of Cheltenham. His majesty accordingly took a journey to that place. His health appeared, during his resi dence there, greatly re-established ; but soon after his arrival at Windsor, late in the sum- mer, his illness returned with new and alarming symptoms. By the end of Octo- ber, it could no longer be concealed that the malady of the king was of a nature peculi- arly afflictive and dreadful. A mental de- rangement had taken place, which rendered him totally incapable of public business. The parliament stood prorogued to the twen- tieth of November. On the fourteenth of that month circular letters were addressed to the members of the legislature, signifying that the indisposition of the sovereign ren- dered it doubtful whether there would be a }X)ssibility of receiving his commands for the further prorogation of parliament. If not, in that case the two houses must of neces- sity assemble, and the attendance of the dif- ferent members was earnestly requested. Parliament being accordingly assembled, the state of the king's health was formally no- tified to the house of peers by the lord-chan- cellor, and to the commons by INIr. Pitt : and as the session of parliament could not be opened in the regular mode, an adjournment of fourteen days was recommended and adopted. Upon the reassembling of parlia- ment, December the fourth, a report of the lx)ard of privy-council was presented to the two houses, containing an examination of the royal physicians ; and it was suggested, that, considering the extreme delicacy of the sub- ject and the person concerned, parliament would do well to rest satisfied without any TYiore direct or express information, especial- ly as the examinations of counsel had been taken upon oath, which the house of com- mons had no power to administer : doubts, however, were started by Fox, Burke, and others of t)ie same party, whether parliament could in this momentous case dispense with that sort of evidence on which they liad been accustomed to proceed. As the minister's chief object was procrastination, the objec- tion was too acceptable to be warmly con- tested, and theretbre, after a trifling debate, a committee of twenty-one persons was ap- pointed in each house to examine and report the sentiments of the royal physicians. The report of the committee was laid upon the table of the house of commons on the tenth of December, when a motion was made by Pitt, for the appointment of another com- mittee to inspect the journals for precedents. " With respect to precedents, there were," said Fox, " notoriously none which applied to the present instance ; and he affirmed, that all that was requisite to their ultimate decision had been obtained by the report now lying upon their table. By that report they had ascertained the incapacity of the sove- reign : and he advanced as a proposition de- ducible from the principles of the constitu- tion, and the analogy of the law of heredita- ry succession, that whenever the sovereign was incapable of exercising the functions of his high office, the heir apparent, if of full age and capacity, had as indisputable a claim to the exercise of the executive au- thority, in the name and on the behalf of the sovereign, during his incapacity, as in the case of his natural demise." Pitt immedi- ately, with much apparent warmth, declared, " that the assertion which had been made by Fox was little short of treason against the constitution; and he pledged himself to prove, that the heir apparent, in the instance in question, had no more right to the exer- cise of the executive power than any other person ; and that it belonged entirely to the two remaining branches of the legislature, to make such a provision for supplying the temporary deficiency as they might think proper. To assert an inherent right in the prince of Wales to assume the government, was virtually to revive those exploded ideas of the divine and indefeasible authority of princes, which had so justly sunk into con- tempt, and almost into oblivion. Kings and princes derive their power from the people, and to the people alone, through the organ of their representatives, did it appertain to decide in cases for which the constitution had made no specific or positive provision." Thus was this famous political question at issue between these two great political rivals ; in which it was remarkable that Fox, the steady, uniform, and powerful ad- vocate of the people, appeared to lean to prerogative ; and Pitt, who had been loudly and justly accused of deserting the princi- ples of liberty, stood forth their intrepid and zealous asserter. All those popular argu- ments and primary axioms of government, on which the friends of freedom delight to dwell, were upon this occasion urged by Pitt with energy and eloquence. If he was sin- cere on this occasion, his sentiments, as will GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 333 appear in the sequel, afterwards underwent an entire revolution. The motion of Pitt for a committee to examine precedents being carried in the commons, a similar motion was the next day made by lord Camden in tlk3 house of peers, and the doctrine of Fox reprobated by his lordship with great severity. It was on the other hand defended with much ability by lord Loughborough and lord Stormont ; the latter of whom concluded his speech with recommending an immediate address to the prince of Wales, entreating him to assume the exercise of the royal authority. The discussion of the abstract question of right having afforded a great and unexpected ad- vantage to the ministry, the duke of York, soon after this debate, in the name of the prince, expressed his wishes, " that the ques- tion might be waived. No claim of right," his highness said, " had been advanced by the prince of Wales ; and he was confident that his brother too well understood the sa- cred principles which seated the house of Brunswick upon the throne, ever to assume or exercise any power, be his claim what it might, that was not derived from the will of the people expressed by their . representa- tives." The duke of Gloucester confirmed the declaration of the duke of York. Lord Thurlow, who had at first consented to take a part in the regency administration, in the arrangement of which the post of lord presi- dent had been assigned to him, now varying the course of his policy, spoke with great energy of his " sentiments of affection to- wards the king. Nothing could be more disgraceful than to desert the sovereign in his distressed and helpless situation. His own debt of gratitude for favors received was ample : when he forgot his king, might God forget him." This pathetic and loyal exclamation, not being perhaps in perfect unison with the acceptance of a place in the new administration, it was rumored to be the result of certain intimations which his lordship recently received of the happy and not very distant prospect of the king's re- covery. This was however as yet a matter of anxious and doubtful speculation. On the sixteenth of December, the house being in a committee on the state of the na- tion, Pitt moved the two following declara- tory resolutions ; first, the interruption of the royal authority ; and, second, that it was the duty of parliament to provide the means of supplying that defect. A vehement de- bate ensued, in the course of which Fox de- clared the principles of the minister to be, that the monarchy was indeed hereditary, but that the executive power ought to be elective. " Where," said he, " is that fa- mous dictum to be found by which the crown is guarded with inviolable sanctity, while its powers are left to the mercy of every assail- ant 1 The prince, it is asserted, has no more right than another person, and at the same time it is acknowledged that parliament is not at liberty to think of any other regent , and all this paradoxical absurdity for the paltry triumph of a vote over a political an- tagonist." The resolution was, however, on a division, carried by two hundred and six- ty-eight against two hundred and four voices. This great point being gained, the ministiy proceeded without delay to convert it to their own advantage. A third resolution passed, on the twenty- third of December, empowering the chan- cellor of Great Britain to affix the great seal to such bill of limitations as might be neces- sary to restrict the power of the future re- gent. This mode of procedure was warmly opposed by lord North. " A person," said his lordship, " is to be set up without power or discretion, and this pageant, this fictitious being, is to give the force of a law to the decisions of the two houses. Was it ever before heard of, that there could be a power of giving assent without the power of refus- ing that assent ] Would any man seriously maintain that the third estate, thus conjured up, is really distinct from the other two ?" 1789.— On the second of January 1789, to complete the singularity and perplexity of the business, died Cornwall, speaker of the house of commons ; and on the fiflJi the vacant chair was fillm by Grenville, brother to lord Temple, and though there were a striking irregularity in entering upon the duties of his office without the previous sanction of royal approbation, yet in this season of novelties, a defect of this sort was scarcely noticed, amid the pressure of af- fairs so much more important. In consequence of some diflference of opin- ion among the royal physicians respecting the state of his majesty's health, Loveden made a motion for a fresh committee to re- examine the physicians on the subject of the king's illness, and the probability of re- covery. This motion having been acceded to, gave rise to a second report, which left the house, with regard to the event, as much in the dark as ever, answering no other purpose than to create delay, of which the minister well knew the value and ad- vantage. A letter was at length AVTitten to the prince of Wales by Pitt, informing his royal highness of the plan meant to be pur- sued : that tile care of the king's person and the disposition of the royal hoii^hold should be committed to the queen, \v uo would b^' this means be vested with the patronage of four hundred places, amongst which were the great offices of lord steward, lord cham- berlain, and the master of the horse. That the power of the prince should not extend 334 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. to the granting any office, reversion, or pen- sion, for any other term than during the king's pleasure, nor to the conferring any peerage. The answer of the prince was firm, dignified, and temperate. He said, " it was with deep regret, that he perceived in the propositions of administration, a project for introducing weakness, disorder, and in- security into every branch of political busi- ness; — for separating the court from the state, and depriving government of its natu- ral and accustomed support ; a scheme for disconnecting authority to command service, from the power of animating it by reward ; and for allotting to him all the invidious du- ties of the kingly station, without the means of softening them to the public by any one act of grace, favor, or benignity." He ob- served, that the plea of public utility must be strong, manifest, and urgent, that could thus require the extinction or suspension of any of those essential rights in the supreme power or its representative, or which could justify the prince in consenting, that in his person an experiment should be made to as- certain with how small a portion of kingly power the executive government of this country could be conducted. In fine, the prince declared, that his conviction of the evils which might otherwise arise, outweigh- ed in his mind every other consideration, and would determine him to undertake the painful trust imposed upon him by that mel- ancholy necessity, which of all the king's subjects he deplored the most. KING'S RECOVERY. The bill intended to carry into effect this wild and dangerous project, the offspring of party interest, and personal ambition, was brought into the house on the sixteenth of January 1789. Long and violent debates ensued ; and in the house of lords, it was accompanied by a protest, signed by the duke of York, at the head of the princes of the blood, and fifly-five other peers, expressive of their highest indignation at the restric- tions thus arbitrarily imposed on the execu- tive authority. These extraordinary and un- precedented proceedings were at length, happily for the public, arrested m their pro- gress by an intimation from the chancellor, that the king was declared by his physicians to be in a state of convalescence. This was followed by a declaration on the tenth of March, that his majesty being perfectly re- covered from his indisposition, had ordered a commission to be issued for holding the parliament m the usual manner. The tidings of the king's recovery diffused the most gen- eral and heartfelt satisfaction. A national thanksgiving was appointed, and the king himself went in solemn procession to the cathedral of St. Paul's, to offer up to the Almighty his grateful devotions on this event. His recovery was also celebrated throughout the kingdom by splendid illumi- nations, and all the other accustomed de- monstrations of joy. PARLIAMENT REGULARLY OPENED. In the speech delivered by the chancellor in the name of the king to the two housed!, his majesty conveyed to them his warmest acknowledgments for the additional proofli they had given of attachment to his persoix, of their concern for the honor and interests of his crown, and the security and good government of his dominions. It very sooa appeared that the last proceedings of the ministry in the regency business were high- ly agreeable to the sovereign. A number of persons holding posts under the government, who had concurred in the measures of op- position, were unceremoniously dismissed from their offices. SHOP TAX REPEALED.— TEST AND COR- PORATION ACTS. One of the earliest topics that engaged the attention of parliament was the unpopu- lar shop-tax. Fox renewed his annual mo- tion for its repeal, to which Pitt did not choose any longer to withhold his assent, though at the same time he affirmed he had heard nothing in the shape of argument which induced him to change his original opinion. Encouraged by the success of this application, Dempster immediately moved for the repeal of the hawkers and pedlar^ tax. This, however, could not be obtained ; but a bill passed to explain and amend tht act, by which the more oppressive clauses were mitigated, and that friendless and in- jured class of persons restored in some mea- sure to their civil and commercial rights. On the eighth of May, Beaufoy introduc- ed the motion which he had two years be- fore submitted to the house, for the repeal of the corporation and test acts. Fox suj> ported the motion with uncommon force of argument. He laid it down as a primary axiom of policy, "that no human govern- ment had jurisdiction over opinions as such, and more particularly over religious opin- ions. It had no right to presume that it knew them, and much less to act upon that presumption. When opinions were produc- tive of acts injurious to society, the law- knew how and where to apply the remedy. If the reverse of this doctrine were adopt- ed, if the actions of men were to be pre- judged from their opinions, it would sow the seeds of everlasting jealousy and dis- trust ; it would give the most unlimited scope to the malignant passions ; it would incite each man to divine the opinions of his neighbor, to deduce mischievous conse- quences from them, and then to prove that he ought to incur disabilities, to be fettered with restrictions, to be harassed with pent^ GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 335 ties. From this intolerant principle had flowed every species of party zeal, every gystem of political persecution, every ex- travagance of religious hate. There were many men not of the establishment, to whose services their country had a claim. Surely a citizen of this description might be per- mitted without danger or absurdity to say — though I dissent from the church, I am a friend to the constitution ; and on religious subjects I am entitled to think and act as I please. Ought the country to be deprived of the benefit she might derive from the talents of such men, and his majesty be pre- vented from dispensing the favors of the crown except to one description of his sub- jects ] The test and corporation acts had subsisted, it was contended, for more than a century. True ; but how had they subsist- ed 1 by repeated suspensions. For the in denmity-bills were, literally speaking, annu al acts. Where then would be the impro- priety of suspending tliem for ever by an act of perpetual operation 1 Let not Great Britain be the last to avail herself of the general improvement of the human under- standing. Indulgence to other sects, a can- did respect for their opinions, a desire to promote charity and good will, were the best proofs that any religion could give of its di- vine origin." Pitt, in an artificial harangue delivered with a great external show of oandor, and decorated with a speciousness of language, opposed the motion. On a di- vision this important question was lost by a majority of only twenty voices. MOTION FOR THE ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE. WiLBERFORCE, at an advanced period of the session, brought forward his long ex- pected motion, relating to the abolition of the Afi*ican slave trade, which was now be- come the theme of public execration. Lord Penryn asserted, in the course of this de- bate, "that to his knowledge, the planters were now willing to assent to any regula- tion of the trade, short of its abolition." In reply to this remark. Fox, with great anima- tion, declared, " that he knew of no such thing, as a * regulation of robbery, and re- striction of murder.' There was no medi- um : the legislature must either abolish the trade, or plead guilty to all the iniquity with which it was attended. This was a traffic which no government could authorize, with- out participation in the infamy." Evidence being heard at the bar of the house for sev- eral successive weeks, it was at length, on the twenty-third of June, moved by alder- man Newnham, " that the farther consider- ation of the subject be deferred to the next session," which was accordmgly carried. The session was terminated August the eleventh 1789, by a speech from the lord chancellor in the name of the sovereign. 836 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. CHAPTER XXI. Meeting of Parliament — Burke's first Philippic against France — The Sentiments of Fox and Sheridan on the same Subject — Opposition to the Motion for Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts — A Reform in Parliament moved by Mr. Flood — and withdrawn — State of Settlements in India — Royal Message announces a Rupture with Spain — The Dispute settled, and a Convention signed — War commenced in India — To defray the Expenses of the Spanish Armament, the Minister proposes seizing the unclaimed Dividends in the Bank — Violently opposed — Compromised — Question whether Impeachments abate or not by a Dissolution of Parliament — Bill in Favor of the Catholics passed — Bill for settling the Rights of Juries in Cases of Libel — The Slave Trade — The Establishment of the Sierra Leona Company — Bill for the better Government of Canada — Burke's Invective against the French Revolution — Answered by Fox — Terminates in a Breach of Friendship — Rupture with Russia — Grounds of the Quarrel — The French Revolution divides the Nation into Parties — Birmingham thrown into a Ferment by an inflammatory and seditious Hand-Bill — Dr. Priestley'' s House, <^c. destroyed. MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.— BURKE'S PHILIPPIC AGAINST FRANCE. While the summer of the year 1789 passed away in England without producing any memorable transaction, it proved a period fruitful of commotion on the conti nent, and will be distinguished to the latest posterity as the epoch of the French revolu- tion. 1790.— The parliament elected in 1784, met for its last session on the twenty-first of January 1790. In the speech from the throne, his majesty slightly glanced at the affairs of France, by observing, that " the internal situation of the different parts of Europe had been productive of events which had engaged his most serious attention." Lord Valletort, in moving the address, took occasion to contrast the tranquil and pros- perous situation of England with the anar- chy and licentiousness of France, and to stigmatize the revolution in that country as an event the most disastrous and fatal to the interests of the French which had ever taken place since the foundation of their monarchy. This language was highly ap- plauded by the old prerogative phalanx, and was a tolerable indication of the light in which the recent transactions in France were viewed by the British court. The sub- ject was resumed upon the debate which took place on February the ninth relative to the army estimates. Mr. Burke observed, " that on a review of all Europe, he did not find that politically we stood in the smallest degree of danger from any one state or king- dom it contained, nor that any foreign powers, but our own allies, were likely to gain a preponderance in the scale. The French had shown themselves the ablest architects of ruin that had hitherto appeared in the world. In one short summer they had com- pletely pulled down their monarchy, their church, their nobility, their law, their army, and their revenue. Were we absolute con- querors, and France, to lie prostrate at our feet, we should blush to impose upon them terms so destructive to all their consequence as a nation, as the durance they had imposed upon themselves. Our present danger, from the example of a people whose character knows no medium, is, with regard to gov- ernment, a danger from licentious violence — a dano-er of being led from admiration to imitation of the excesses of an unprin- cipled, plundering, ferocious, bloody, and ty- rannical democracy — of a people whose gov- ernment is anarchy, and whose religion is atheism. He declared he felt great concern that this strange thing, called a revolution in France, should be compared with the glorious event commonly called' the revolu- tion in England. In truth, the circumstances of our revolution, as it is called, and that of France, are just the reverse of each other in almost every particular, and in the whole spirit of the transaction. What we did was, in truth and substance, not a revolution made, but prevented. We took solid securi- ties ; we settled doubtful questions ; we cor- rected anomalies in our law. In the stable fundamental parts of our constitution v/e made no revolution ; — no, nor any alteration at all. We did not impair the monarchy. The nation kept the same ranks, the same subordinations, the same franchises; the same order in the law, the revenue, and the magistracy ; the same lords, the same com- mons, the same corporations, the same elec- tors. The church was not impaired. Her estates, her majesty, her splendor, her or- ders and gradations continued the same. She was preserved in her full efficiency, and cleared only of that intolerance which v/as GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 337 her weakness and disgrace. Was little done then, because a revolution was not made in her constitution! No— everything was done; because we commenced with reparation, not with ruin. The state flourished; Great Britain rose above the standard of her for- mer self. All the energies of the country were awakened, and a new era of prosperity commenced, which still continues, not only unimpaired, but receiving growth and im- provement under the wasting hand of time." SENTIMENTS OF FOX AND SHERIDAN. Mr. Fox, notwithstanding his personal re- gard and friendship for Burke, thought it necessary, in justice to the rectitude and dignity of his own character, to declare "his total dissent from opinions so hostile to the general principles of liberty ; and which he was grieved to hear from the lips of a man whom he loved and revered — by whose pre- cepts he had been taught, by whose example he had been animated to engage in their de- fence. He vindicated the conduct of the French army, in refusing to act against tlieir fellow-citizens from the aspersions of Burke, who had charged them with abetting an abominable sedition by mutiny and deser- tion; declaring, that if he could view a standing military force with less constitu- tional jealousy than before, it was owing to the noble spirit manifested by the French urmy; who, on becoming soldiers, had proved that they did not forfeit their character as citizens, and would not act as the mere in- struments of a despot. The scenes of blood- shed and cruelty that had been acted in France, no man," said Fox, " could hear of without lamenting. But when the grievous tyranny that the people had so long groaned under was considered, the excesses they had committed in their efforts to shake off the yoke could not excite our astonishment so much as our regret. And as to the contrast Burke had exhibited, respecting the mode in which the two revolutions of England and France were conducted, it must be re- membered, that the situation of the two kingdoms was totally different. In France, a new constitution was to be created. In England, it wanted only to be secured. If the fabric of government in England suffer- ed less alteration, it was because it required less alteration. If a general destruction of the ancient constitution had taken place in France, it was because the whole system was radically hostile to liberty, and that every part of it breathed the direful spirit of des- potism." Sheridan, with still less reserve and attention to personal respect, reprobated the political sentiments which had been ad- vanced by Burke. " The people of France," said Sheridan, " it is true, have committed acts of barbcrity and bloodshed which have Vol. TV. 29 justly excited indignation and abhorrence. He was as ready as Burke to detest the cruelties that had been committed ; but what was the striking lesson, the awfiil moral, that these outrages taught ? A deeper abhorrence of that system of despotic gov- ernment, which had so deformed and cor- rupted human nature ; of a species of govern- ment, that trampled upon the property, the liberty, and lives of its subjects ; that dealt in extortions, dungeons, and torture; and that prepared beforehand a day of sanguina- ry vengeance, when the irritated populace should possess tliemselves of power. The people, unhappily misguided, as they doubt- less were, in particular instances, had how- ever acted rightly in their great object They had placed the supreme authority of the community in those hands by whom alone it could be justly exercised, and had reduced their sovereign to the rank which properly belonged to kings — that of admin- istrator of the laws established by the free consent of the community." This being the first time that the French revolution became a subject of parliamentary investigation, the house appeared, during a long and most interesting discussion, greatly agitated by the shock and conflict of clash- ing opinions : but Pitt preserved a cautious and politic silence as to the merits of tlie revolution, contenting himself for tlie present with lavishly applauding Burke for the zeal- ous and seasonable attachment he had dis- played to the principles of the British con- stitution. OPPOSITION TO A REPEAL OF THE TE^T AND CORPORATION ACTS. The spirit, however, by which the gor- ernment was now actuated, appeared with less reserve in their conduct towards tlie dissenters. Smce the very favorable and flat- tering decision of the last session, relative to the repeal of the test and corporation acts, the dissenters had made the most strenuous and unremitting efforts to increase their par- liamentary friends. They had held provin- cial meetings in every part of the kingdon^i, and in their public resolutions, not only gave the most unequivocal proofs of their joy at the late events in France, but, in contempla- tion of the approaching general election, recommended a preference in favor of such members as had shown themselves friends and advocates of equal and universal liberty. In tlie stead of Beaufoy, a friend and partisan of the minister. Fox was now solicited to move the repeal of the acts in question, to whicli he gave a ready and generous assent On the other hand, the clergy of the church of England were not idle. Jealous of every appearance of encroachment on their ex- clusive privileges, and alarmed at the pre- cipitate downfall of the GtJlican churcli. 338 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. they revived with incredible success the ob- solete and senseless clamor, that the church was in danger. Counter-meetings of the friends of the church were also everywhere convened, in which the repeal of the test was deprecated as fatal to its security and existence. Such were the steps taken by the adverse parties, to impress the nation at large with an idea of the magnitude and importance of a question, which they had hitherto regarded with cool indifference. On the second of March, Fox brought for- ward his motion of repeal, which he sup- ported with a wonderful display of ability. Mr. Pitt, who had opposed the former applications with temper and moderation, now indulged some expressions of asperity. " Neither the merits nor demerits of indi- viduals ought," he said, "to have any in- fluence in the discussion of the present ques- tion ; yet was the conduct of the dissenters liable to just reprehension, who, at the very moment they were reprobating the test laws, discovered an intention of forming as- sociations through the country for the pur- pose of imposing a test upon the members of that house, and judging of their fitness to discharge their parliamentary duty from their votes upon this single occasion. To toleration the dissenters were undoubtedly entitled. They had a right to enjoy their liberty and their property, to entertain their own speculative opinions, and to educate their offspring in such religious sentiments as themselves approved. But the mdispen- sable necessity of a permanent church estab- lishment for the good of the state, required that toleration should not be extended to equality ; if it were, there would be an end for ever to the wise policy of prevention and a door would be opened to the absolute ruin of the constitution." Burke seconded the minister in a speech of far more viru- lence, and in present circumstances there- fore of far more efficacy. He astonished and alarmed the house with reading several passages from the writings of dissenting di- vines on the subject of ecclesiastical estab- lishments, expressed with the usual acrimony and violence of theological polemics. From these testimonies Burke inferred the mvet- erate enmity of the dissenters to the church, and he adjured the house to suffer the fatal incidents which had taken place in France, and the sudden ruin of the Gallican church, to awaken their zeal for the preser- vation of our present happy and excellent establishment." On the division the num- bers were, ayes one hundred and five, noes two hundred and ninety-ibur: so that the majority against the repeal had increased since the last session from twenty to one }]undred and eighty-nine voicetf. MOTION BY MR. FLOOD FOR PARLIA- MENTARY REFORM. Two days after the decision of the house upon this business. Flood, so long celebrated as a patriot and orator in the Irish house of commons, and who had sat some years al- most undistinguished in the British senate, moved for leave to bring in a bill upon the subject of a more equal representation of the people in parliament. Mr. Flood's propo- sition was, that one hundred members should be added to the present house of commons, in a proportional ratio to the population of each county, by the election of the resident householders only. This was a simple and eligible plan of reform, and it was supported by the mover in a very able and eloquent speech. He observed, " that he felt it neces- sary to state a bold truth, which, but from a confidence in the virtue of tlie house," as he said, "he should not have dared to have uttered — that they were not the adequate representatives of the people. That they were the legal representatives he freely ad- mitted ; nay, he would go farther, and say, that they were a highly useful and honora- ble council : a council which, in any other government of Europe, would be a great acquisition. But, to the honor of our coun- try be it spoken, the British constitution en- titled us to somethiag better. Representa- tion," Flood said, " was the great arcanum and wise mystery of our government, by which it excelled all the states of antiquity. Now, in what did representation consist? In this, that as by the general law of politi- cal society the majority was to decide for the whole, the representative must be chosen by a body of constituents who were them- selves a clear majority of the people. He admitted, that property to a certain degree was a necessary requisite to the elective power : that is to say, that franchise ought not to go beyond property, but at the same time it ought to be extended farther than at present. By the existing system these prin- ciples were grossly violated. Th6 free- holders, who originally included the whole property of the kingdom, now constituted only a small part of it. What was worse, the majority of the representatives, who de- cided for the whole, and acted for eight millions of people, were chosen by a num--^ her of electors not exceeding six or eight thousand. A new body of constituents was therefore wanting, and in their appointment two things were to be considered ; one, that they should be numerous enough, because numbers were necessary to the spirit of lib- erty: the other, that they should liave a competent share of property, because prop- erty was conducive to the spirit of order. But be was told this was not the tinie for a GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 339 reform. And why 1 because there were dis- turbances in France. It was for want of a timely and temperate reform that these evils had fallen on France. Mr. Flood was no friend to revolutions, because they were an evil ; he was a friend to timely reform, which rendered revolutions unnecessary. Those who opposed such a reform, might be ene- mies to revolution in their hearts, but were friends to it by their folly. Let the repre- sentative be chosen as he ought to be by the people, and continue to walk worthy of that choice, and Britain would have nothing to dread from the example of France." This motion was vehemently opposed by Windham, the disciple of Burke. " At the close of the American war," Windham said " a deluge of opinions had been let loose, a clamor had been raised, and a parliamentary reform demanded, as a remedy for the evils we felt from it. Happily those wild notions had long since subsided ; the danger, how- ever, was now breaking out afresh ; and were he otherwise a friend to the proposi- tion, he should have objected to it on ac- count of the time at which it was intro- duced. Where was the man who would be mad enough to advise them to repair their house in the hurricane season." Pitt en tirely coincided in these reasonings of Wind ham, and declared, " that were the motion before them the precise proposition he him- self had formerly offered, he should now vote against it from a complete conviction of its actual impropriety. But at a more seasonable opportunity he would most cer- tainly again submit his ideas upon the sub- ject to the consideration of the house." Fox declared he saw no reason why we should be struck with a panic on account of the situation of affairs in France ; and, in allu- sion, to Windham's metaphorical argument, he affirmed, that no season could be more proper to begin a repair than when a hurri- cane was near, and ready to burst forth. Flood, perceiving the general sense of the house, even of those members who had for- merly favored the idea of a parliamentary reform, to be adverse to his motion, at length assented to withdraw it. STATE OF INDIA. DuNDAS, on the thirty-first of March 1790, brought forward his annual statement of the debts and revenues of the East India com- pany. He described, as usual, their situa- tion to be in the highest degree prosperous and flourishing, and offered to the house a new proof of the truth of his assertions, by concluding his eulogium, without asking a loan to enable them to avoid the horrors of insolvency. Through the wise and equita- ble administration of lord Cornwallis, the revenues of Bengal had been advanced du- ring the last year, without the aid of any new imposition, from one million ei^ht hun- dred thousand pounds, to two millions one hundred and fifty thousand pounds. One of the first and most important measures of the new governor-general, was to lease the lands in perpetuity, at an equal valuation, to the actual occupants; and, in alluding to this part of his conduct, his lordship thus forci- bly expresses himself to the directors. " The security of property, and the certainty which each individual will now feel, of being al- lowed to enjoy the fruits of his labors, must operate uniformly as incitements to labor and industry." RUPTURE WITH SPAIN. On the nineteenth of April, Pitt present- ed to the house his annual statement of the national revenue and expenditure. He ex- pressed a peculiar degree of pleasure in be- ing able to announce, that the receipt of ttie exchequer had surpassed that of the year preceding, in the sum of half a million; and he rejoiced, that, from the prospect of an uninterrupted enjoyment of the blessings of peace, still greater accessions might reason- ably be hoped. Before, however, the public had time to partake of the minister's joy, from the consolatory intimations of national peace and prosperity, he was commissioned to deliver to the house. May the fiflh, a royal message of a very different import, and which excited inexpressible astonishment, by announcing a state of things which bore the aspect of war. To elucidate this mat- ter, it is necessary to mention, that the cele- brated circumnavigator Cook, in his last voyage of discovery, touching at different ports on the western coast of North America, purchased from the natives a number of val- uable furs, bearing a high price in the Chi- nese market. In consequence of its being likely to prove a lucrative branch of com- merce, a small association of British mer- chants, resident in the East Indies, formed the project of opening a trade to this part of the world, for the purpose of supplying the Chinese with furs. Accordingly, in the year 1788, a spot of ground was procured from the Indians, and a regular settlement, defended by a slight fortification, established at Nootka Sound, situated about the fiftieth degree of latitude. This being regarded by the Spaniards as a flagrant encroachment on their exclusive rights of sovereignty, the Princessa, a Spanish frigate of twenty-six guns, was dispatched by the viceroy of Mexico, and in May 1789 seized upon the fort, and captured the Iphigenia, and Argo- naut, two English vessels then trading on the coast. At tlie same time, tlie Spanish commandant, hoisting the national standard, declared that the whole line of coast, from Cape Horn to the sixtieth degree of latitude, belonged to the king of Spain. Afler some 340 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. delay, and considerable loss to the proprie- tors, the captured vessels were restored by order of the viceroy, on the supposition, as he stated, " that nothing but ignorance of the rights of Spain could have induced the merchants in question to attempt an estab- lishment on that coast." This transaction was notified to the court of London so long since as the tenth of February, by the Span- ish ambassador; and his excellency at the same time requested, " that measures might be taken for preventing his Britannic majes- ty's subjects from frequenting those coasts, and from carrying on their fisheries in the seas contiguous to the Spanish continent, as derogatory to the mcontestable rights of the crown of Spain." The English minister did not receive this communication in a manner that indicated any disposition to comply with the terms it contained. On the contrary, a demand was immediately advanced on their part, that the vessels seized should be restored, and ade- quate satisfaction granted, previous to any other discussion. The claims of Spain, in relation to her rights of dominion and sove- reignty in America, vv^ere doubtless in the highest degree chimerical; and could per- haps only be equalled in extravagance by the claims of Great Britain. By the treaty of 1763, the 'river Mississippi, flowing in a direct course of fifteen hundred miles, was made the perpetual boundary of the two empires, and the whole country to the west of that vast river belono-ing to his Catholic majesty, by just as valid a tenure a? the country eastward of the river to the king of England. Exclusive of this recent and decisive line of demarkation, by which the relative and political rights of both nations were clearly ascertained, the Spanish court referred to ancient treaties, by which the rights of the crown of Spain were acknow- ledged in their full extent by Great Britain. Charles the third, king of Spain, died De- cember 1788, and his son, Charles the fourth, confiding in the justice of his claims, offered, with dignified candor, to submit the decision of this question to any of the kings of Eu- rope, leaving the choice wholly to his Britan- nic majesty. The royal message presented a statement of the facts relative to this business, and the house unanimously joined in an address to the king, assuring his majesty of " the de- termination of his faithful commons to afford his majesty the most zealous and affectionate support, in such measures as may become requisite for mamtaining the dignity of his majesty's crown, and the essential interests of his dominions." A vote of credit passed the house for the sum of one million, and vigorous military and naval preparations were made in both kingdoms, in the con- templation of an immediate declaration of war. — It must be acknowledged that the hostile procedure of Spain had reduced 'the English ministry to a difficult dilemma. But in consequence of the rash step taken by Spain, the national honor was now at stake. Grey, in moving for papers relative to this transaction, justly observed, " that national honor was not, as some represented it, a visionary thing ; a nation without honor, was a nation without power. In losing this in- estimable attribute, it inevitably lost tJie genuine spring of its spirit, energy, and ac- tion." Burke, however, whose antipathies extended not to Spain, was on this occasion particularly anxious for the preservation of peace. " He hoped," he said, " that the na- tional honor would not be found incompati- ble with the means of amicable accommoda- tion. As we never ought to go to war for a profitable wrong, so we ought never to go to war for an unprofitable right. He there- fore trusted that the intended armament would be considered, not as a measure cal- culated to terminate the war happily, but carry on the negotiation vigorousl3^ Ho wished the war might be avoided. He had seen three wars, and we were gainers by none of them. Our abilities and resources were doubtless great ; but then did a coun- try prove its magnanimity most clearly, when she manifested her moderation to be proportionate to her power." On the tenth of June 1790, the king ter- minated the so-P'i,i!, and in his speech signi- fied the prol ib'Iih/ of a speedy disEolution of the present parhaKient, assuring them in the warmest terms of " the deep and grate- fill sense which he entertained of that afi'ec- tionate and unshaken loyalty, that uniform and zealous regard for the true principles of the constitution, that unremitted attention to the public happiness and prosperity, which had invariably directed all their proceed- ings:" and on the day following the parlia- ment was dissolved by proclamation. Spain, sensible of her inability to contend alone with England, had, in an early stage of the negotiation, applied to the court of France, to know how far she could depend upon the fulfilment of the conditions of the family compact, in case of a rupture with Great Britain. The Spanish memorial upon this subject was, by order of the king, laid before the national assembly, and gave rise to a very interesting report from the diplo- matic committee, presented by the count de Mirabeau. After paying high compliments to the English nation, the report comes to the conclusion, " that it would not be just or honorable to annul the solemn engagements subsisting between France and Spain, at an instant when Spain is threatened with the same dangers which she had repeatedly GEORGE III. 1700—1820. 341 warded off from them." An ardent wish for the establishment of permanent peace and cordial amity with England is notwith- standing the predominant sentiment in this celebrated report. " Perhaps," say they, " the moment is fast approachino-, when Liberty, triumphant m both hemispheres, shall accomplish the wish of philosophy, by delivering the human species from the ne- cessity of war." THE DISPUTE SETTLED. Although the national assembly voted an immediate augmentation of the naval force, the court of Madrid plainly perceived the reluctance of the French nation to engage in a war with England, and yielding there- fore to necessity, complied first with the harsh demand of previous restitution and indemnification, and at length, on the second of October 1790, a convention was signed at the Escurial, by which every point in dis- pute was conceded by Spain. By this con- vention the restoration of the buildings and vessels, and the reparation of the losses sus- tained by British subjects, were secured; the right of navigation and fishery was equally conceded to both nations; illicit commerce with the Spanish settlements pro- hibited ; and the British fishing vessels and others were restricted to ten leagues' dis- tance from the Spanish coast, unaccompanied however by any formal renunciation of sovereignty on the part of Spain. And the two powers were, on the other hand, equally restrained from attempting any settlement nearer to Cape Horn than the most south- erly of the settlements actually formed by Spain. Thus ended a dispute, frivolous in- deed in its origin, but which seemed in its progress to threaten very serious consequen- ces, and which cost Great Britain the sum of three millions in warlike preparations ; though this expense might have been, with great advantage to the interests of England, avoided, by submitting the whole of the dis- pute, in the mode proposed by Spain, to ami- cable arbitration. WAR IN INDIA. But though Great Britain was thus hap- pily rescued from the horrors of war in this quarter of the globe, accident or ambition had at the same time involved our Indian possessions in a state of hostility and blood. — The usurpation, by Hyder Ally, of the sovereignty of Mysore, and the military prowess of his son and successor Tippoo Sultan, are facts already too fully stated to require any repetition. Of all the native princes of India, Tippoo was the most for- midable to the British government, and the most active to disturb its authority, and counteract its interest. The peace of Man- galore in 1784 had, it was supposed, secured his fidelity by very feeble ties; and the 29* splendid embassy which soon after that event he dispatched to France, aflTorded just reason to suspect that some plan was concerted be- tween the old French government and the tyrant of Mysore, for the annoyance of the British settlements in India : but this plan was happily defeated by the same cause which prevented a war with Spain — the French revolution. The increasing power of Tippoo was not less formidable to the Dutch than to the English ; and the vicinity of Cochin, their most flourishing settlement on the continent of India, to the territories of that restless despot, filled them with alarm- ing apprehensions for its safety. But the Dutch, fully sensible of the perilous situa- tion of Cochin, had got possession of two other forts, situated between that place and Mysore, to protect their favorite settlement. The forts of Cranganore and Acottah were however still objects of Tippoo's ambition ; and notwithstanding his father had ceded the former by "agreement to the Dutcli, he marched a formidable force, in June 1789, towards Cranganore, with an avowed design of dispossessing the Dutch, and asserting a claim of right founded on the transactions just related. Unable to retain the forts, and apprehensive for the fate of Cochin itself, the Dutch readily entered into a negotiation with the rajah of Travancore for the pur- chase of them. Tippoo, on being informed of this circumstance, offered a larger sum than the rajah ; but as the latter was the ally of Great Britain, who was consequently bound by treaty to assist him, the Dutch plainly perceived, that by placing them in his hands, they erected a most powerful bar- rier against the encroachments of a turbu- lent and ambitious neighbor. The impru- dence of the rajah in entering upon such a purchase while the title was disputed, drew down upon him the heaviest censures from the government of Madras ; and he was re- peatedly cautioned by Sir Archibald Camp- bell and Mr. Holland his successor, not to proceed in the negotiation. Such however was the ardor and temerity of the rajah in making this acquisition, that he not only con- cluded the purchase with the Dutch, but even treated with the rajah of Cochin, with- out the privity of Tippoo, to whom the latter was an acknowledged tributary. The bargain was concluded in July 1789, though it was not till the fourth of August that the rajah informed the Madras government, through their resident Mr. Powney, that he " was on the point of making the purchase." It was not to be expected that Tippoo would re- main an idle spectator of these transactions. — He insisted on the claim which he re- tained over these forts, on the ground of their being conquered by his father, and in consequence of the subsequent compromise, 342 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. he asserted, and with some plausibility, that in virtue of the feudal lav/s, no transfer of them could be made without his consent as sovereign of Mysore ; and he also alleged, as a further cause of complaint against the rajah, that he had given protection to a num- ber of his rebel subjects. Accordingly, on the twenty-ninth of I3ecember, Tippoomade a direct attack upon the lines of Travancore ; but receiving a remonstrance from the Brit- ish government of Fort St. George, he de- sisted from farther hostilities, and even apolo- gized for his recent conduct, by affirming, " that the attack was occasioned by the ra- jah's people having first fired on his troops ; that notwithstanding this, he immediately ordered his troops to discontinue the attack, and sent back the people whom they had captured." From the twenty-ninth of De- cember to the first of March 1790, Tippoo Sultan remained perfectly quiet, still how- ever asserting his claims to the feudal sove- reignty of the forts, but at the same time offering to submit the object in dispute to the decision of any impartial arbitration. The rajah, who appears all along confident of be- ing supported by the British arms, ventured on the first of March to make an offensive attack on Tippoo's lines. For this extraor- dinary step, the rajah alleged in excuse the hostile preparations of Tippoo in the erec- tion of batteries, &c. &c. An engagement took place ; and war being thus commenced, the British government conceived them- selves bound to take an active part in favor of the rajah their all v. Though the justice of the war may be tairly questioned, yet as the favorite object of the English had long been the humbling of Tippoo, it must be confessed there was at least much policy in selecting the present period for the accom- plishment of such a purpose. — With all the other native powers of India we were not only at peace, but treaties of alliance ex- isted between Great Britain and the two most powerful states in that quarter, the Nizam and the Mahrattas, both of whom de- clared themselves in perfect readiness to ex- ert their utmost force to crush the rising power of Mysore. Unfortunately for Tip- poo, while he was thus exposed to the ven- geance of a powerful confederacy, the dis- tracted state of France cut off all hopes of assistance from his once great and formida- ble ally. Such was the situation of affairs in the east, previous to the meeting of par- liament, which appeared of sufficient im- portance to induce the ministry of Great Britain to involve the nation in the expenses and calamities of war. The new parliament assembled on the twenty-fifth of November 1790. In the speech from the throne his majesty signified "hia satisfaction tliat the differences with Spain were brought to an amicable termi- nation." He observed, "that since the la>rt session of parliament a foundation had been laid for a pacification between Austria and the Porte— that a separate peace had actu- ally taken place between Russia and Swe- den ; but that the war between Russia and the Porte still continued. The principles on which I have hitherto acted," said his majesty, " will make me always desirous of employing the weight and influence of this country in contributing to the restoration of general tranquillity. He observed with con- cern the war m India, occasioned," he said, " by an uprovoked attack on an ally of the British nation ; but which, from the state of our forces in India, and the confidence which the native powers had in the British name, there was a favorable prospect of bringing to a speedy and successful conclusion." On the third of December the chancellor of the exchequer presented to the house, a copy of the convention with Spain, the terms of which were ratified by both houses, but not unanimously : for the documents re- lative to the negotiation being partially with- held, Grey moved for the production of such papers as contained the requisitions made by ministers to the court of Spain ; declar- ing, "that it was utterly impossible to de- cide upon the policy of the late measures without sufficient documents, as the house could not at present determine, whether we might not have gained all the boasted ad- vantages of the convention at a much less expense than had been incurred ; or, whe- ther the late disputes were owing to the rest- less ambition and unjust claims of Spain, or to the rashness, presumption, and ignorance of his majesty's ministers." Fox affirmed, "that by this convention our rights were greatly curtailed." Thus it was evident that the treaty was a treaty of concessions in- stead of acquisitions ; and we had given up what was of infinite value to Spain, and re- tained what could never be of much to our- selves. In the house of lords, the convention was reprobated by the marquis of Lansdowne, in a speech replete with diplomatic informa- tion. His lordship took an extensive review of the politics of Europe from the peace of 1782. He said, " the basis of our politics at that period was a permanent pacific system for Europe. This principle we had pursued with respect to France, in extinguishing all false ideas of rivalship, in leaving nothing undefined, nothing to commissaries, nothing to foreign interference. With respect to Spain, the view was to give the most of what was conceded to the weakest power ; and this was done with the more propriety, as American possessions were no longer the same object with England as formerly. As GEORGE- III. 1760-1620. 843 to Holland, the design was to stipulate in fa- vor of the general freedom and extension of trade, and lo counteract the spirit of com- mercial monopoly which had long distin- guished that power. In pursuance of this system of politics, the commercial treaty with France had been concluded, as well as the convention with Spain respecting the Spanish American main in 1786. At this period the king of Prussia died, and then commenced an entire new system of Eng- lish politics. We had neither secured France nor Spain, nor any other power. By the convention, the fishery was defined to our disadvantage, bemg limited to ten leagiies from the shore. As to the right of tradmg, that was asserted even in the time of Eliza- beth, by the treaty of 1670, and afterwards acknowledged in 1749. But this proceeding at Nootka endangered the whole advantages of our commercial treaty with Spam. We were doing the work of other nations, and North America in particular. He should vote," liis lordship said, "for the previous question : first, to show the Spaniards the true temper of the nation, that we were not restless or insolent, as our enemies repre- sent us : secondly, to preserve our reputa- tion in Europe : and thirdly, to deter future ministers from a similar proceeding." PROPOSAL TO SEIZE UNCLAIMED DIVI- DENDS, TO DEFRAY THE COST OF THE SPANISH ARMAMENT. Whatever truth there may be in the ob- servation of the marquis of Lansdowne, re- lative to other nations enjoying the exclu- sive benefits of the late armament, it is most certain that England was called upon to de- fray its expense, amounting to three mil- lions. That expense Pitt proposed to meet by temporary taxes, with the assistance of five hundred thousand pounds, which he had it in contemplation to take from the un- claimed dividends lying in the bank of Eng- land, the amount of which he estimated at six hundred and sixty thousand pounds. This latter proposition excited a just alarm in all the great chartered companies, and in the commercial and mercantile world in gene- ral. It was urged, " that agreeably to the terms of the original contract between the government and the public creditors, the di- rectors of the bank are constituted trustees for the public. When the money is once paid into the bank, it ceases to be public money, and is instantly converted into pri- vate property, which must tliere remain a sacred deposit till it is claimed by the pri- vate individuals to whom it appertains. Un- der the term unclaimed dividends, is indeed veiled a gross fallacy. Exclusive of the dividends of the last three years, which are not properly unclaimed but merely unre- ceived dividends, the balance amounts scarcely to a fifth part of the sum which the minister proposes to seize." This wa.9 a bold and daring attempt of the minister, but he soon found that it was one of those measures to which the usual complaisance of the house would not be extended, and therefore he consented, by way of compro- mise, to accept of a loan of five hundred thousand pounds from the bank, without in- terest, so long as a floating balance to that amount should remain in the hands of the cashier. WHETHER THE DISSOLUTION OF PAR- LIAMENT AFFECTS IMPEACHMENTS. A SUBJECT of considerable importance came next under the cognizance of parlia- ment. The question in debate was, in sub- stance, whether a prosecution by impeach- ment of the commons, does, or does not, abate by the dissolution of parliament ? Burke introduced the discussion on the sev- enteenth of December, by moving, " that the house do resolve itself into a committee, to take into consideration the state of the im- peachment of- Warren Hastmgs, Esq." This, after some opposition, being carried, he made a second motion, " that an impeach- ment by this house in the name of the com- mons of Great Britain, against Warren Hastings, Esq. for high crimes and misde- meanors, is still pending." The negative of this proposition was supported by the entire corps of lawyers in the house almost with- out an exception. Upon this great question, in the decision of which the honor, the dig- nity, and the authority of the house were so deeply involved, the speaker with peculiar propriety rose and delivered his opinion. " If," said he, " the maxim laid down by the lawyers were admitted to be just, the conse- quence was obvious. The impeachment of a profligate or corrupt minister might, by the insidious intervention of the preroga- tive, at any time be rendered nugatory and abortive. In the view of the constitution, and even by the forms of parliament, the impeachment is preferred not by the house of commons merely, but by all the commons of England; and the. house can be consid- ered, m relation to the prosecution, as no more than the agents and attorneys of the people at large. A second house of con)- mons therefore, though certamly possessing a discretionary power of dropping the pros- ecution, if upon due consideration they are of opinion it does not rest upon a just foun- dation, are as certainly at full liberty to pro- ceed in it, if in their judgment conducive to the safety or interests of the state. In an impeachment of the nature of the present, it would scarcely be imagined that twenty^ two complex articles could by any mode of investigation be decided upon in a single seasion. If then, agreeably to the genius of 344 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the ancient constitution, parliaments them- selves were to be made annual, the labor would be truly Sysiphean, as such a trial never could arrive at a legal termination. Such were the plain dictates of common sense ; but in resorting to rules of law, and precedents of parliament, doubts and difficul- ties presented themselves." Upon a general review of facts and precedents, the speaker gave it as his deliberate and decided judg- ment, that the impeachment was still legally pending. In this opinion Pitt, Fox, and the most eminent parliamentary authorities on both sides, concurred ; and the motion was put and carried without a division. 1791. — This great question, which involv- ed the most important right of the commons, being thus disposed of by the house, Burke on the fourteenth of February brought for- ward a motion for the purpose of shorten- ing the trial of Mr. Hastings. " He ac- knowledged," he said, " that a trial of three years was a hardship upon an individual, but it was upon an individual largely salaried to bear the responsibility annexed to a high situation. Even this hardship might be salu- tary, as it might teach persons in office not only to shun guilt, but suspicion. In the fixed and unalterable course of human af- fairs, it has pleased God to decree that injus- tice should be rapid, and justice slow : yet he was determined to the utmost of his pow- er to remove every just cause of complaint in the future prosecution of the impeach- ment." He therefore moved, "that the managers be instructed to proceed to no other parts of the impeachment, excepting such as relate to contracts, pensions, and al- lowances ;" which was carried with trivial opposition. The resolution of the commons of the twenty-third of December, which decided that an impeachment did not abate by a dis- solution of parliament, was strongly con- tested in the house of lords. On a message from the commons, that they were ready to proceed in their evidence, their lordships appointed a committee to search into prece- dents, which occasioned a suspension of the business till nearly the conclusion of the session. At length the report being made, lord Porchester moved. May the sixteenth, "that their lordships now proceed in the trial." On the division the motion of lord Porchester was carried by a great and deci- sive majority. Thus was this interesting question finally settled to the satisfaction of the public; and their lordships acquainted the house of commons by message, that they were now ready to proceed in the trial. But very little progress was made in it during the short remamder of the session. BILL IN FAVOR OF THE CATHOLICS. The boundaries of religious toleration were this year extended. It is a truth not very flattering to national liberality, that, notwithstanding the boasted radical freedom of our constitution, no country in Europe has been more jealous of their church establish- ment. Scarcely have the Roman Catholic states themselves loaded with a more oppres- sive weight of civil penalties those who dis- sented in religious opinion. A reform in the penal statutes was at this time peculiar- ly called for, since in the year 1790 a large body of Catholic dissenters had formally protested against the temporal power of the pope, against his assumed authority of re- leasing men from their civil obligations, or dispensing with the sacredness of oaths. I was upon this principle that Mitford moved on the twenty-first of February for a com- mittee of the whole house, to enable him " to bring in a bill to relieve, upon conditions and under restrictions, persons called Pro- testant Catholic dissenters, from certain penalties to which Papists are by law sub- ject." When the bill was presented Fox objected to it, not for what it did, but for what it did not contain. He contended for the bill being made general. "Let the statute-book," said this great statesman, " be revised, and strike out all those laws which attach penalties to mere opinions. He re- probated the absurdity and iniquity of those statutes which condemn every man who worships God in his own way, as guilty of treason against the state." This liberal amendment not proving satisfactory to the house, the bill passed in its original shape, RIGHTS OF JURIES IN LIBEL CASES. The cause of liberty was less successful in another instance. The rights of juries had long been in an indefinite and indeter- minate state, particularly in the case of li- bels; and disputes disgraceful in themselves, and injurious to the administration of justice, had frequently arisen between the court and the jury, between the judges and the coun- sel. Fox, ever active in the defence of popular rights, moved for a bill to ascertain the authority of juries in the matter of libel. With respect to the pretended distinction between law and fact. Fox observed, that when a man was accused of murder, a crime consisting of law and fact, the jury every day found a verdict of guilty : and this was also the case in felony and every other crimi- nal indictment. Libels were the only ex- ception, the single anomaly. He contended, that if the jury had no jurisdiction over li- bels, the counsel who addressed them on either side, as to the criminality of the pub- lication, were guilty of a gross and insolent sarcasm. Fox put this matter in a strong point of view, by adverting to the law of treason. It was admitted on all hands, that a writing might be an overt act of treason. GEORGE IIL 1760—1820. 345 In this case, if the court of king's-bench were to say to the jury, 'consider only whether the criminal published the paper — do not consider the nature of it — do not consider whether it correspond to the defi- nition of treason or not' — would Englishmen endure that death should be inflicted with- out a jury having had an opportunity of de- livering their sentiments whether the indi- vidual was or was not guilty of the crime with which he was charged? Having shown that the law of libels was contrary to the original principles of law, Fox said, that if the committee were clear as to this point, their wisest and most proper measure would be to enact a declaratory law respect- ing it : but if they were of opinion that high authorities on the other side made the law doubtful, they might settle the law for the future without any reference to what it had been in times past. Pitt agreed with the principles stated by Fox, but instead of a committee of justice, recommended the bringing in a bill " to remove all doubts re specting the rights and functions of juries in criminal cases," The bill was accord ingly introduced, and passed the commons, but on its transmission to the house of lords, it was opposed on the second reading by the lord chancellor, on pretence of its being too late in the session to discuss a measure of such importance. The principle of the bill was ably defended by the law lords, Camden and Loughborough, with whom lord Gren- ville concurred; but the bill was finally postponed. THE SLAVE TRADE.— SETTLEMENT AT SIERRA LEONA. The evidence on the slave trade bemg at length closed, Mr. Wilberforce, on the eigh teenth of April 1791, brought forward his long expected motion to prevent the further importation of African negroes into the British colonies, which he uitroduced witli a copious and convincmg display of the argu- ments in favor of that measure, grounded upon the obvious principles of justice, hu- manity, and Christianity. But his motion was negatived by a majority of seventy-five voices ; however, the advocates for amelio- rating the condition of that unhappy race, completed at this time the establishment of the Sierra Leona Company, by which they proposed to introduce free labor and the Christian religion into Afi-ica. GOVERNMENT OF CANADA. Upon the fourth of March, Pitt brought in a bill for regulating the government of Canada, by which that territory would be divided into two districts or provinces, with a separate legislature ; to consist of a coun- cil and house of assembly for each province ; the assembly to be chosen by freeholders and occupiers of houses of a certain value, and the conncil to hold their seats for life, with a power in the crown to annex to certain honors an hereditary right of sitting in the council ; besides other salutary provisions for personal liberty, for the Protestant clergy, for the administration of justice, and for limiting taxation to those duties necessary for regulating trade and commerce. Fox opposed the bill, contending that the people should be fully and fairly represent- ed ; but that, in limiting the assembly of one province to sixteen, and the other to thirty persons, parliament would delude the Canadians by a mockery of representation. He also reprobated the election of the repre- sentatives for seven years, contending that in Canada there could be no solid objection to annual, or, at most, triennial elections. He objected that the councils were to be unlimited as to members, by any restriction but the pleasure of the king ; and as to he- reditary honors, he did not think it wise to destroy them where they existed; but to create them where they did not exist, he thought very unwise. He could not account for it, unless it was intended to revive in the west that spirit of chivalry which had fallen into disgrace in a neighboring country. BURKE'S SECOND INVECTIVE ON THE FRENCH REVOLUTION— BREACH OF HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH FOX. Burke took occasion, on the recommit- ment of the bill, to consider the competency of the house to pass it, with reference to the Rights of Man, lately imported from that neighboring kingdom. If this code were admitted, the house should call the inhabit- ants of Canada together, to choose a consti- tution for themselves. The practical effects of that system might be seen in St. Domingo, where hell itself seemed to yawn, and every demon of mischief to overspresid the coun- try. Fox defended his former opinions upon the French revolution, as being upon the whole one of the most glorious events in the history of mankind. He spoke of the revolution, not of the constitution, which still remained to be improved by experience. The rights of man were the basis of the British constitution. Our statute-book re- cognizes the inherent rights of the people as men. These had once been the princi- ples of his right honorable friend, from whom he had learned them. Having been taught by him, that no revolt of a nation was caus- ed without provocation, he rejoiced at the success of a revolution resting on the same basis with our own — the rights of man. Burke said, " that he had differed on many occasions from Fox, and there had been no loss of friendship between them. But there was something in the accursed French con- stitution that envenomed everything." Fox, on hearing this, interrupted him, saying 346 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. '' there was no loss of friendship." Burke replied, " there was : he knew the price of his conduct ; he had done his duty, and their friendship was at an end." Fox, on whom the attention of the house was now eagerly fixed, rose to reply ; but his feelings were too powerful for utterance. All the ideas so long cherished, of gratitude, esteem, and affection, rushed upon his generous and sus- ceptible mind ; and involuntary tears were observed to steal down his cheek. A pro- found and expressive silence pervaded the house. At length Fox, recovering himself, said, " that however events might have al- tered the mind of his right honorable friend, for such he must still call him, he could not easily consent to relinquish and dissolve that intimate connexion which had for twenty- five years subsisted between them. He hoped that Burke would think on past times, and whatever expressions of his had caused the offence, that he would at least believe such was not his intention." The concessions of Fox made no visible impression on the haughty and unbending temper of Burke ; and from this day a schism took place in the politics of the opposition party, which has been productive of very important conse- quences. RUPTURE WITH RUSSIA. The only remaining transaction which fell under the notice of parliament this ses- sion, was the business of our interference between the Porte and Russia, in favor of the former power. The just grounds of the quarrel can only be understood by adverting to the actual situation of affairs on the con tinent. Leopold, king of Hungary, had no sooner assumed the Austrian sceptre, than he resolved on terminating the war with Turkey ; and under the powerful mediation of England and Prussia, a convention was concluded, August 1790, at Reichenbach, after a negotiation of some months, protract- ed in the unavailing hope of retaining pos- session of the important fortress of Belgrade, which, fifty years before, England had ex- erted her utmost influence to secure to the house of Austria. But now, swayed by Prussian counsels, and eagerly solicitous to advance the interests of that upstart and in- solent power, in contra-distinction to those of Austria, the ancient and genuine ally of Britain, she harshly and peremptorily insist- ed on its restitution, in common with all the other Austrian conquests, to the Ottoman Porte. In return, the Austrian Netherlands were guarantied to the house of Austria, and the possession of the imperial crown eventually insured to his Hungarian majesty. The Flemings refusing, notwithstanding their distressful condition, to return to the Austrian dominion, a great military force was sent into the country in the autumn of 1790, under the command of marshal Ben- der, which quickly effected their total re- duction ; and on the first of January 1791, a solemn Te Deum was sung at Brussels in celebration of that happy event. Sweden also, disappointed in her views and projects of ambition, thought proper to sign a sepa- rate peace with Russia, August 1790, on the basis of the former treaties of Abo and Ny- stadt. The courts of London and Berlin, elated with the success of their mediation at Reichenbach, now in high and arrogant lan- guage signified to the empress of Russia their pleasure, that peace should be restored between the Ottoman and Russian empires, on the terms of a general restitution of con- quests. The empress replied, with equal haughtiness, " that she would make peace and war with whom she pleased, without the intervention of any foreign power." Not, however, choosing too far to provoke the re- sentment of these formidable and self-cre- ated arbitrators, she secretly intimated her willingness to conclude a peace with Tur- key, on the condition of retaining the coun- try eastward to the Niester, as a reasonable indemnification for the expenses of the war. This was a waste and desert tract of terri- tory, valuable only for the security it afford- ed to her former acquisitions, and for in- cluding within its limits the strong and im- portant fortress of Oczakow. This being peremptorily refused, the conference broke off,- and the empress determined to support her claims by the sword. Pitt, therefore, on the twenty-eighth of March, delivered a message to the house of commons from his majesty, importing, " that the endeavors which he had used in conjunc- tion with his allies to effect a pacification, not having proved successful, his majesty judged it requisite, in order to add weight to his representations, to make some further augmentation of his naval force." This mes- sage being taken into consideration, Pitt en- larged much on the necessity of attending to the preservation of the balance of power in Europe. " The influence of the Turkish empire," he said, " was of great effect in the general scale. Its present situation was such as to afford just cause of apprehension to other powers ; and to Prussia in particu- lar it must be highly injurious, to suffer the Turkish empire to be diminished in force and consequence. He therefore moved an address, assuring his majesty that his faith- ful commons would make good such ex- penses as may be found necessary." SECOND DISCUSSION OF QUARREL WITH RUSSIA. MINISTER COMPELLED TO GIVE IN. The prospect of a war with Russia, on these frivolous grounds, astonished every thinking individual, alarmed the public, and GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 347 was opposed in the house with the whole strength and talents of opposition. Fox said, " the right honorable mover of the address had enveloped himself in mystery and im- portance, but explained nothing. When the balance of power was mentioned as a rea- son for arming, it ought to be shown how it was endangered. We had no quarrel with the empress of Russia : we had no alliance with Turkey. But by the absurd pride of interfering in the affairs of every sovereign state, we involved ourselves in continual ex- pense, and were exposed to the perpetual hazard of war. It was to second the ambi- tious policy of Prussia, and not for any in- terests of our own, that we were now called upon to arm. The czarina, it was well known, had offered to give up all her con- quests but a barren district, unprofitable and worthless, except for a single place contain- ed in it, which place was Oczakow. But would any one seriously pretend that the balance of Europe depended on the trivial circumstance, whether Oczakow should in future belong to the empire of Russia or of Turkey? That this was even with minis- ters themselves a novel idea, was plain ; for Oczakow had been taken in 1788, and in 1789 his majesty had assured the parliament and the nation, that the situation of affairs was such as promised us a continuance of peace." The question was however carried in favor of tlie address by two hundred and twenty-eight to one hundred and thirty-five. It has been said, and with great truth, tliat this decision of itself was sufficient to demonstrate the necessity of a parliamentary reform : for when the representatives voted for a Russian war, they were so far from speaking the sentiments of the nation, that the people everywhere execrated the mea- sure. Sensible that this was the prevailing opinion of the country, Grey, on the twelfth of April, brought the business once more be- fore the house, by moving a series of resolu tions expressive of the impolicy, inexpedi- ency, and folly of the measure. On the part of the ministry nothing satisfactory was offered. The importance of Oczakow was magnified to a most ridiculous excess. The success of the ministry in former negotia- tions-was triumphantly dwelt upon, and the confidence of the house challenged in terms unusually strong and pointed. Sheridan, with sarcastic keenness, asked the minister " on what basis this confidence was to rest? Did he recollect the different prospect to which we had been directed to turn our eyes in this year Did he recollect that this was the promised millennium, that halcyon year in which we had been flattered, instead of fresh burdens, with a reduction of expense, and a clear surplus for the extinction of the national debt '? The system we had adopted in concert with Prussia, was," he said, " a system of ambition, of vain-glory and in- trigue, and it fastened upon us a concern of all others the most pernicious — that of Eng- lish interference with German politics. As to the doctrine of confidence in ministers, he totally abjured it. The more constitu- tional doctrine was that of suspicion and watchfulness. The minister had indeed risen wonderfully in his demands. He re- collected the time when he had contented himself with asking only for a guarded and rational confidence ; and it was at last grown into a blind and implicit confidence. It ap- peared that the degree of confidence re- quired, rose in an exact ratio to the absurd- ity of the measure to be adopted." On the division, the opposition appeared greatly in- creased, the numbers being, ayes one hun- dred and seventy-nine, noes two hundred and fifly-nine. To enter into a war in the face of such a minority, and in defiance of the opinion of the public, was an undertaking which tlie minister, with all his acknowledged courage, did, not choose to attempt; and therefore, after all the bustling, threatening, and dread- ful preparation, the point in dispute was sud- denly and wisely given up, and Oczakow remained in the possession of Russia. The session of parliament terminated June the tenth, 1791. His majesty expressed his per- fect satisfaction at the zeal with which the two houses had applied themselves to the consideration of the different objects which he had recommended to their attention. DISGRACEFUL RIOTS AT BIRMINGHAM. Soon after the rising of parliament the nation was disgraced by a wanton and un- provoked series of tumults and outrages, which, for the space of four days, spread terror and alarm through the populous town of Birmingham and the adjacent country. It has been already seen that a difference of sentiment on the character of the French revolution gave rise to a heated and violent discussion in parliament, — ill according with the dignity of a legislative assembly. But this cause of discord was not confined to the higher orders of society : it also pervaded the inferior classes ; and considerable pains were taken by ministerial journalists to in- flame the passions of the populace against the asserters of Gallic liberty. On the other hand the whig party and the friends of free- dom in Great Britain rejoiced in the eman- cipation of a neighboring nation, and flatter- ed themselves that they saw in the success of the French revolution not only the anni- hilation of despotism in that country, but the commencement of a new system of politics in Europe, the basis of which was peace, happiness, and mutual concord. In most of the larger towns of Great 348 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Britain, associations were formed for the cielebration of the French revolution on the fourteenth of July : but the opposite party were not indifferent spectators of these pro- ceedings: the most scandalous and inflam- matory msinuations were conveyed in news- papers and pamphlets, stigmatizing the triends of freedom as determined republi- cans, and representing the act of joining in a convivial meeting on the odious fourteenth of July, as an attempt to .overturn the Brit- ish constitution in church and state. A few days previous to the meeting in commemoration of the French revolution at Birmingham, six copies of the most inflam- i-natory and seditious hand-bill, proposing the French revolution as a model to the English, und exciting them to rebellion, were left in a public house by some person unknown. As the contents of this hand-bill found a quick and general circulation, they occasioned a ferment in the town. The magistrates offer- ed a reward of one hundred guineas for dis- covering the author, printer, or publisher of the obnoxious paper ; and the friends of the nieeting intended for the fourteenth publish' od at the same time an advertisement ex- plicitly denying the sentiments and doc- trines of the seditious hand-bill, and disa- vowing all connexion with its author or pub- lisher. The views and intentions of the meeting having, however, been grossly misrepre- sented, and the gentlemen concerned sus- pecting the seditious hand-bill to be an artifice projected by their adversaries thought it most advisable to relinquish the scheme ; and accordingly notice was given to that effect : but, at the pressing instance of several persons dissatisfied with this de- termination, the intention was revived, and the company met at the appointed time to the number of between eighty and ninety The ingenious Keir, well known for his great attainments in chemistry and other branches of philosophy, and a member of the estab- lished church, was placed in the chair. The gentlemen had scarcely met, before the house was surrounded by a tumultuous crowd, who testified their disapprobation by hisses and groans, and by the shout of Church and King, which became the watch- word on this occasion. At five o'clock the com- pany dispersed, and soon afterwards the win- dows in front of the hotel were demolished, and the house otherwise injured ; and not- withstanding the appearance of the magis- trates, the mob forcibly entered and search ed the house in quest of the guests, but for- tunately found none of them remaining. The mob immediately after set on fire and destroyed two meeting-houses of the dis- senters, and from thence proceeded to the house of Dr. Priestley, a dissenting minister, which, with his library and valuable philoso- phical apparatus, manuscripts, and papers, the mob entirely destroyed ; and in like man- ner they continued for three ensuing days to burn the houses and valuable effects of many others of the dissenters who resided near Birmmgham. It was in vain that the magistrates swore in an additional number of constables, as the mob baffled all attempts to disperse them, and compelled the consta- bles to retire, many of whom were wound- ed. On the evening of the third and morn- ing of the fourth day, however, several troops of dragoons arrived and restored tran- quillity. Of these infatuated rioters seven- teen were tried and five were found guilty ; one of whom was reprieved and four exe- cuted : thus terminated a scene that dishon- ored the national history. GEORGE lU. 1760—1820. 349 CHAPTER XXII. Meeting of Parliament — Flattering Picture of the Finances of the Country — Mar- riage of the Duke of York — Motion for Abolition of the Slave Trade — Gradual Abolition carried in the House of Commons — Opposed and delayed in the House of Lords — Westminster Police Bill passes — Neiv Forest Bill, introduced by the Minis- try, rejected — Mr. Rose, charged with Malpractices in Office, acquitted — Ldbel BiU passes — Bill in Favor of the Scottish Episcopalians, passes — The London Corre- sponding Society, and the Society of the Friends of the People, instituted, to obtain a Parliamentary Reform — Notice of a Motion for a Reform in the Representation, alarms Ministers — Royal Proclamation against Seditious Writings — Statement of the Revenues of India — Indian War against Tippoo Saib — Sues for Peace — Granted — Terms. MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.— FLATTER- ING STATE OF FINANCES. 1792. — The latter months of the year 1791 passed over in gloomy silence. The parliament was not convened till the thirty- first of January 1792. The king announced in his speech " the marriage of his son the duke of York with the princess Frederica, daughter of his good brother and ally the king of Prussia. He informed the two houses that a treaty had been concluded, under his mediation and that of his allies, be- tween the emperor and the Ottoman Porte, and that in consequence of their interven- tion, preliminaries had been agreed upon be- tween the latter of those powers and Russia. The general state of affairs in Europe prom- ised a continuance of peace, and he was induced to hope for an immediate reduction of the naval and military establishments." The address of thanks moved by Charles Yorke, and seconded by Sir James Murray, excited some severe animadversions from Fox, who, in allusion to the cession of Oc- zakow to Russia, observed, " that it required no moderate share of assurance for ministers to say to gentlemen who had supported their measures as wise and necessary, ' That which you last session contended for as of the ut- most importance, we have now abandoned as of none. Will you have the goodness to move an address approving of what we have done V " Fox thought it extraordinary that, in mentioning the inestimable blessings of peace and order, no notice was taken of the violent interruption of order which had occurred in the course of the summer. At the close of the eighteenth century we had seen the revival of the spirit and practice of the darkest ages. It would have been well if his majesty had spoken of those riots in the terms they merited. They were not riots for bread — they were not riots in the cause of liberty, which, however highly to be reprobated, had yet some excuse in their principle ; they were riots of men neitlier Vou IV. 30 aggrieved nor complaining — of men who had set on foot an indiscriminate persecution of an entire description of their fellow-citi- zens, including persons as eminent for their ability as blameless in their conduct, and as faithful in their allegiance as this or any country could boast." Pitt deprecated with warmth the invidi- ous revival of a subject so unpleasant and unprofitable, and wished rather to call the attention of the house to the flourishing con- dition of the commerce and finances of the nation^ of which in a short time he proposed submitting to the house a correct statement. Accordingly, in a few days after, the minis- ter brought this subject regularly forward ; and in the course of an eloquent and ani- mated speech, delineated a picture of na- tional prosperity more flattering than even the most glowing imagination had ventured to suggest. " The amount of the permanent revenue, with the land and malt duties an- nexed, from January 1791 to January 1792, he estimated at sixteen millions, seven hun- dred and thirty thousand pounds, being three hundred thousand pounds more than the aggregate of the preceding year. The permanent expenditure, including the in- terest of the debt, the annual million ap- plied towards its extinction, the civil-list, and the military and naval establishments, he calculated at fifteen millions, eight hun- dred and ten thousand pounds, leaving a clear surplus of more than nine hundred thousand pounds. In this state of things he thought himself authorized to propose a re- peal of a part of the more burdensome taxes, to the amount of about two hundred thou- sand pounds per annum : and at the same time apply the sum of four hundred thou- sand pounds to the reduction of the national debt, in aid of the annual million appropri- ated by parliament. In consequence of tlie general improvement of credit, the three per cents would soon rise so high as to ena- ble parliament to efiect a reduction of the 360 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. four, and, as soon as by law redeemable, of the five per cents, which would add the sum of seven hundred thousand pounds, or little less, to the sinking fund. The indefinite additions which might be expected from the increasing produce of the existing taxes, the result of our rapidly increasing com- merce, must mock all calculation. Our ex- ports had risen one third in value since the year 1783, and our internal trade had in- creased in at least an equal proportion. On the continuance of our present prosperity it is indeed impossible to count with certainty; but unquestionably there never was a time when, from the situation of Europe, we might more reasonably expect a durable peace than at the present moment " From the result of the whole, I trust I am entitled to infer, that the scene which we are now contemplating is not the transient efl^ect of accident, not the short-lived prosperity of a day, but the genuine and natural result of regular and permanent causes. We may yet indeed be subject to those fluctuations which often happen in the affairs of a great nation, and which it is impossible to calculate or foresee ; but as far as there can be reliance on human speculations, we have the best ground from the experience of the past to look with satisfaction to the present, and with confidence to the future." Such were the brilliant hopes which in this moment of ministerial exultation the people were taught to indulge, and with such dazzling but de- ceptive splendor rose the morn of a year destined to set in darkness, calamity, and blood. MARRIAGE OF THE DUKE OF YORK. On the seventeenth of February, Pitt pre- sented a copy of the treaty between his ma- jesty and the king of Prussia on the mar- riage of his royal highness the duke of York with the princess Frederica Charlotte Ul- rique Catherine of Prussia. On the seventh of March the house of commons resolved itself into a committee, to take into consideration an establishment for their royal higlmesses the duke and dutchess of York. Sir James Johnstone mentioned Osnaburgh, " which from the best information he had obtained, produced," he said, "thirty-five thousand pounds per an- num; he wished therefore to know from authority exactly how much it was worth ]" He was answered, " that such a question was totally unparliamentary, as that house never considered anything belonging to princes out of the kingdom. Not a word was ever said of his majesty's revenue from Hanover; it was not even thought of in the discussion of his majesty's revenue, on his diflferent applications to parliament for sup- port." Mr. Burden had no hesitation hi say- ing, though it would no doubt have been ex- tremely unparliamentary to mention it, it is highly probable that an alliance of this sort with the Prussian monarch's family was not considered as an event very auspicious to the peace and prosperity of Great Britain. After much desultory conversation, the reso- lutions passed the house; by which these kingdoms stand pledged to grant an allow- ance of thirty thousand pounds per annum to their royal highnesses. THE SLAVE TRADE— ITS GRADUAL AB- OLITION CARRIED IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS. On the second of April, the house resolv- ed itself into a committee to consider of the state of the African slave trade. From the decision on Wilberforce's motion last session, it appeared that the enthusiasm of parlia- ment for the abolition had greatly abated ; while on the other hand that of the public in general had increased. The table of the house of commons was now covered with petitions from all parts of the kingdom, im- ploring in earnest language the abolition of that infamous and inhuman traffic. Wilber- force declared, " that from his exertions in this cause he had found happiness, though not hitherto success. It enlivened his wa- king and soothed his evening hours, and he could not recollect without singular satisfac- tion, that he had demanded justice for mil- lions who could not ask it for themselves." He concluded an able and eloquent speech, by moving the question of abolition. Wil- berforce was powerfully supported by many of the most respectable members of the house ; amongst whom Mr. Whitebread par- ticularly distinguished himself by the ener- gy and animation of his remarks. He ob- served, " that a fatality attended the argu- ments of those who defended this detestable and shocking trade. In an account of sell- ing the stock of a plantation, one of the evidences in favor of the slave-merchants said, ' that the slaves fetched less than the common price, because they were damaged.' Damaged !" exclaimed Mr. Whitebread, " what is this, but an acknowledgment that they were worn down by labor, sickness, by every species of ill treatment. A trade at- tended with such dreadful evils ought not to be thought of— cannot be mentioned without horror, nor continued without violating every moral and religious obligation." In consequence of the ardor displayed by the nation at large in this business, it was at length determined to concede, what it was now become difficult, perhaps danger- ous, to withhold. Dundas, advanced to the dignity of secretary of state by the resigna- tion of the duke of Leeds, and the organ of the interior cabinet in the house of com- mons, now recommended to the house the adoption of a middle and moderate plan. GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 351 such as would reconcile the interests of the West India islands with the eventual aboli- tion of the trade ; and concluded by moving *♦ that the word gradual might be inserted before abolition." Pitt declared his decided disapprobation of the amendment; and in a speech fraught with argument and elo- quence, conjured the house not to postpone even for an hour the great and necessary work of abolition. " Reflect," said Pitt, " on the eighty thousand persons annually torn from their native land ! on the connexions which are broken ! on the friendships, at- tachments, and relationships that are b-jrst asunder ! There is something in the horror of it that surpasses all the bounds of imagi- nation. How shall we repair the mischiefs we have brought upon that continent? If, knowing the miseries we have caused, we refuse even now to put a stop to them, how greatly aggravated will be the guilt of Brit- ain ! Shall we not rather count the days and hours that are suffered to intervene, than to delay the accomplishment of such a work." Fox supp0rted the same side, with a force of argument and energy of expres- sion, equally impressive and convincing. " The honorable gentleman who had propos- ed the amendment called himself," Fox said, " a moderate man ; but he neither felt, nor wished to feel, anything like moderation on the subject The question before the house was simply this; whetiier they should au- thorize by law the commission of crimes in Africa, which in this country would incur the severest penalties, and even an ignomin- ious death 1 Regulations, in this case, would he as disgraceful as they would be impotent. One gentleman had proposed a premium for tlie transportation of females. "What!" exclaimed Fox, " is the kidnapper then to be encouraged by the British legislature to lay a snare for the harmless maid — to snatch her from the arms of her lover or her pa rents — or to separate the wife from her hus- band and children '? He should like," he said, " to see the clause by which this inhu man measure was to be presented to the parliament of England ; he should like to see the man capable of conceiving words to frame such a clause — was there a gentleman in the house bold enough to support itl' The amendment proposed by Dundas was nevertheless carried on the division by a majority of sixty-eight voices. Accordingly he afterwards moved " that the importation of negroes into the British colonies should cease on the first of January 1800." Thig, on the motion of lord Mornington, was aftei great difficulty and debate altered to .Tanua ry the first 1790. A series of resolutions founded on this basis were tlien agreed to, and sent up to the lords for their concur- rence. DELAYED BY THE LORDS. In the upper house these resolutions were fated to meet a very cold reception; and from a large proportion of their lordships a most determined opposition. As this was a favorite measure with the nation, and had indeed been supported in a peculiar manner by the voice of the people, they were high- ly offended to see the duke of Clarence, third son of the king, commence his public career with a violent declamation against the abolition, and invective against its advo- cates ; whom he declared to be actuated by the spirit of political and religious fanati- cism. With a view to protract, and if pos- sible to dismiss the business, the lord chan- cellor moved, " that evidence be heard, not before a select committee, according to the proposition of lord Grenville, but at the bar of the house." This was seconded by lord Hawkesbury, the well-known and inveterate enemy of the abolition. The motion being carried, the business lay over during the re- mainder of the session. WESTMINSTER POLICE BILL PASSED. The next affair of importance that came under the consideration of parliament, was the establishment of a new police for the city and liberty of Westminster. The out- line of the plan was, to establish five prin- cipal offices, to be always open for the ad- ministration of that branch of justice which falls within the jurisdiction of the justices of the peace. To each office three justices were to be appointed, with a salary of three hundred pounds each per annum. The fees paid into all the offices were to be consoli- dated into one fund, which was to be applied towards the discharge of the salaries ; and in order completely to annihilate the odious name and functions of a trading justice, no person in the commission of the peace was to be permitted to receive fees. To unite personal security with general liberty; to preserve inviolate the rights of property; to repress the efforts of violence without es- tablishing a system of tyrannical coercion, is among the most arduous labors of govern- ment and legislation. That the established system required some alteration, no person acquainted with the shameful prostitution of justice which prevailed, could possibly doubt: yet the friends of freedom saw in the new system of regulation, principles deeply hostile to the general liberties of the nation: and they saw in one particular clause, a deviation from that rule of justice, which for centuries had been esteemed the palladium of our constitution. By this clause, the constables were empowered to apprehend such persons as could not give a good account of themselves, and the magis- trate to commit them as incorrigible rogues and vagabonds. As the professed design of 352 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAm. this clause was to facilitate the discovery of a new species of criminals called reputed thieves, it was pointedly asked, what was the definition of a reputed thief] To pun- ish men for acts which they had not com- mitted, but for crimes which they intended to commit, was a new and dangerous prin- ciple in English law. Such a system was only calculated to protect the rich — to pro- cure ease to their pleasures, and to guard the entrance to opera and play-houses. Be- sides this, the bill referred to another act, as the rule of punishment : the vagrant act was the statute alluded to, a statute sufficiently objectionable, both on account of its unde- fined extent, and the extreme severity of the punishments it inflicts. It was true there was an appeal allowed by this act to the quarter sessions, and the persons appre- hended under the present clause might there be acquitted. But still the punish- ment they had suffered in the first instance could not be done away, nor the evils that resulted from their imprisonment remedied. The general principle of the bill was also arraigned in strong terms. It was said, that the system of our constitution required, that justice should be administered throughout the kingdom gratuitously ; that the discre- tionary powers granted to justices of the peace were in many cases exorbitant, and were only endured in consideration of the persons on whom they were conferred. — Was it fit then to grant not only all these, but additional powers, to a new description of magistrates appointed by and receiving salaries from the crown 1 In a word, instead of a system of police, the present measure was considered as a system of influence : but it finally passed into a law. NEW FOREST BILL REJECTED. A BILL was about this period introduced into parliament for inclosing certain parts of the New Forest, under pretence of pro- moting the growth of timber. In the house of lords, this scheme met with unqualified censure from both parties. The lord chan- cellor condemned it in the strongest terms : he said, " his majesty had been imposed on in the business ; and that it was a precedent deeply affecting the constitutional situation of the crown." The ministry grounded their defence on a report of the commissioners of the land revenue, who had recommended an attention to the growth of timber in the kingdom. The bill was however withdrawn, though lord Grenville intimated that some- thing of the kind would be introduced in the succeeding session. MR. ROSE TRIED AND ACQUITTED. In the course of the last summer a trial at bar had taken place between a publican of the name of Smith, and Rose, the secre- tprv of the treasury. The facts and circum- stances ascertained by the evidence given on that trial were so daringly unconstitu- tional, that Thompson, on the thirteenth of March, brought the business regularly be- fore the house of commons. The substance of the evidence on the trial went to charge Rose with having interfered in the West- minster election in an unwarrantable man- ner. It appeared that Smith had some time before been convicted in a penalty of fifty pounds, for an oflence against the excise laws ; and that afterwards, in consequence of services performed by Smith in the course of the election, at the request of Rose, a part of the fine was remitted to him. " There could not possibly exist a doubt about Rose having employed Smith in the election, as the jury had given a verdict in favor of the latter for the full amount of his bill." Thomp- son pressed the object of his motion upon the feelings of the house ; and conjured them to reflect on the consequences of per- mitting a secretary of the treasury to em- ploy the money of the public m supporting the election of a member of that house ; and on the probable effects of suffering the peo- ple to understand that their money was cor- ruptly expended in procuring seats for the friends of the minister ; and concluded by moving for the appointment of a committee to inquire into the abuses complained of. Lambton seconded the motion, and in sup- port of the inquiry stated aiiothor fiC., of a similar nature with that mentioned by the mover. " In the year 1788," he said, " one Hoskins being at that time in prison, at the suit of the solicitor to the lottery, for certain penalties incurred by offences against the lottery act, wrote to the solicitor informing him that he could procure fifty or sixty votes for lord Hood at the Westminster election, provided he could be admitted to bail, and that such bail as he could offer would not be objected to. The solicitor said, he could not do this on his own accord, but must have authority from a higher quarter. The man was afterwards admitted to bail, and his bail were the most miserabl-e wretches that ever offered to commit a perjury ; indeed, so wretched were they, that when they came to take the necessary oaths before the judge at his chambers, though they brought a note from the solicitor signifying his consent, they were actually refused. The fact, how- ever, in conclusion was, that their bail was taken, and Hoskins, agreeable to his en-, gagement, polled sixty votes for lord Hood ; since when, neither he nor his bail had ever been heard of. Lambton having stated this fact, observed, " that the public had paid sev- en hundred pounds out of their pockets to procure votes for lord Hood ; and if minis- ters could, as it suited their own conve- nience, suspend the operation of some laws. GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 353 and remit the consequences of others, the freedom of the country was a shadow and not a substance." Rose, in his defence, stat- ed, " that the penalty in which Smith had been convicted was for brewing beer at home, and it appeared that this beer was small-beer for the use of his own family. That one third of the penalty went to the poor of St. Martin's parish ; the rest to the king : that the vestry of that parish had de- clared their willingness to remit their part of the penalty ; that he had only referred Smith's petition to the board of excise to whose cognizance it properly belonged." He confessed, that during the time of the last general election. Smith came to him, and made a proposition for opening his house, and declared he could detect a number of bad votes which had been given for lord John Townshend ; when he answered — " do so if you can, it will be doing a good thing." Smith found the bad votes he had promised, and at length applied to him to be paid. His answer was, " go to lord Hood's committee, they will pay you." Smith, however, again demanded payment, commenced an action, and obtained a verdict. With regard to the other charge respecting the admission of Hoskins to bail, by sham bail ; Rose protest- ed, " he had never before that day heard of the man's name." Grey contended, that there was ample ground for inquiry, not- withstanding the right honorable gentle- man's defence. Rose had declared that he only transmitted Smith's petition to the board of excise, and protested he had no otherwise interfered. On the contrary, a letter from Rose to Smith was produced, in- viting him to meet Vivian the solicitor to the excise, on this business, at his own house. With respect to Hoskins, whatever the right honorable gentleman might pro- test, the following facts were unquestiona- bly established : — 1. That Hoskins was un- der arrest for penalties incurred under the lottery act to the amount of seven hundred pounds, and that during the election he of- fered to bring sixty votes, provided he was suffered to escape : — 2. That the solicitor to the lottery, who was also agent for lord Hood, said he must consult higher authori- ty: — 3. That Hoskins was suffered to es- cape by two bails being accepted, who were not worth a shilling : — and 4. That lord Hood had since paid his agent's bill, in which there is this curious charge, " to the expense of finding bail for the action against Hos- kms, who engaged to bring up sixty votes, three pounds three shillings." Never, per- haps, were the present ministry reduced to a more perplexing dilemma than on this oc- fflon. If, on the one hand, they granted the inquiry, it would lead to the discovery of scenes disgraceful to their reputation ; and 30* must have terminated in the conviction of Rose : and, on the other hand, to refuse an inquiry in the face of facts so completely substantiated, would amount to a tacit ac- knowledgment of the indefensibility of their cause. Perceiving, therefore, that the pow- ers of eloquence would weigh little against the argument of facts, Pitt contented hinoj self with saying, that he should oppose the inquiry " because there was no one public officer against whom in this business a di- rect charge could be fixed," and, to the as- tonishment of the whole nation, the mmis- ter, by resorting to the unanswerable logic of numbers, was able, in a full house, to dis- miss the motion by a division of two hun- dred and twenty-one against eighty-four voices. The ease with which the minister was able to command so large a majority, in a case which the public deemed completely desperate, proved to a demonstration, that an influence existed somewhere, totally in- compatible with the purity of representa- tion, and that called loudly for a reform in the commons house of parliament. LIBEL BILL PASSES. The libel bill, introduced m the last ses- sion by Fox, and which was lost in the house of lords, was this session triumph- antly carried through both houses, and pass- ed into a law, notwithstanding the violent opposition of the law-lords, Thurlow, Ken- yon, and Batlmrt. The marquis of Lans- downe said, "that the act which declared the judges independent of the crown, would, in fact, be found to render them totally in- dependent of the people, and more than ever dependent on the crown. Before the revo- lution, the judges took no part in politics, or in the debates of that house ; now they were of great weight in every discussion, and oc- cupied so much of the time, that noble lords could hardly obtain an opportunity of speak- ing. For what they knew, they might have a chief-justice at the head of a party in that house, going down, reeking with party rage, to preside on a trial for a libel, published against himself, by some political adversary. For his own part, his lordship declared, he could not frame to his mind a case in which juries did not appear as fully competent to decide conscientiously on the law and the fact blended, as the twelve judges." The law-lords joined in a protest against the bill, which will remain as a perpetual monument of the triumph of equity and common sense, over professional subtilty. BILL IN FAVOR OF SCOTTISH EPISCa PAUANS. Another point was also gained during this session in fevor of the general system of freedom, by a bill introduced into the house of peers by lord Elgin, to relieve the 354 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Scottish Episcopalians from the heavy pen- alties to which they had been long subject. Their warm attachment to the Stuart family rendered them notoriously disaffected to the revolution settlement: but now, that the pretender was dead, they found no more difficulty than other high-flying jacobitical tories of excelling even the loyal in loyalty. An objection, however, was started by the lord chancellor, whether, according to a clause in the present bill, specifying the de- scription of persons to be relieved, the state could with propriety recognize the validity of ordination by bishops exercising their functions independent of the state. And in his profound knowledge in ecclesiastical an- tiquity, his lordship ventured even to inti- mate his doubts, whether bishops could ex- ist in any Christian country not authorized by the state. But his lordship being assured by the bishop of St. David's, who spoke in favor of this " afflicted part of the church of Christ," that Christian bishops existed three hundred years before the happy alli- ance between church and state took place, under the emperor Constantine the Great, his lordship was pleased to declare himself satisfied, and the bill passed without any far- ther opposition. IX)NDON CORRESPONDING SOCIETY, AND FRIENDS 9F THE PEOPLE. Though the various attempts made in the house of commons to obtain a parliamentary reform, had uniformly proved unsuccessful, they were yet far from being unproductive of effects, as they provoked discussions tend- ii^ to make those very evils more apparent, which the legislature peremptorily refused to remedy. From this source, and from the knowledge conveyed through a number of popular tracts on the subject, the public mind was at this period completely informed of the effects of our representative system. In consequence of this general diffusion of knowledge, a number of political societies Avere formed for the purpose of procuring a reform in parliament. One of these socie- ties, composed chiefly of tradesmen, assumed the title of the London Corresponding So- ciety, and adopted in its full extent the cele- brated system of reform, recommended by the duke of Richmond, resting on the basis of universal suffrage and annual parliaments. But though the fate of this society is des- tined to occupy a conspicuous part in the subsequent history of England, there was another formed at this time, which, of all others, attracted most the attention both of government and the nation. The society alluded to, known by the name of the Friends of the People, adopted those principles of reform which Pitt had once supported, and which liad been sanctioned by the approba- bation of the most distinguished advocates for constitutional liberty. About thirty mem- bers of parliament entered their names as members of this association, which also comprehended many of the most eminent characters in the kingdom, whether in re- spect of political or literary ability. After publishing a manly declaration of their sen- timents, the society came to the resolution, that early in the next session a motion of reform should be brought forward in parlia- ment, and that the conduct of the business in the house of commons should be commit- ted to Grey and Erskine, both of whom were members. MOTION FOR REFORM IN PARLIAMENT. In conformity with the views of this so- ciety. Grey, on the thirtieth of April, gave notice of his intention to move, in the course of the ensuing session, for an inquiry into the state of the representation. He had scarcely concluded this intimation, when Pitt rose with unusual vehemence, to reprobate the measure. " Nothing could," he said, " be whispered on this subject which did not in- volve questions of the most extensive, the most serious, the most lasting importance to the people of this country, to the very being of the state. He would confess, that, in one respect, he had changed his opinion upon this subject, and he was not ashamed to own it. He retained his opinion of the propriety of a parliamentary reform, if it could be ob- tained by a general concurrence, pointing harmlessly at its object. But he was afraid, at this moment, that if agreed to by that house, the security of all the blessings we enjoyed would be shaken to the foundation. The present, he asserted, was not a time to make hazardous experiments. Could we forget what lessons had been given to the world within a few years 1 Could it be sup- posed that men felt the situation of this coun- try, as contrasted with that of others, to be deplorable 1 He then noticed the association of the Friends of the People, and its adver- tisements, inviting the public to join the standard of reform. He saw with concern the gentlemen to whom he alluded united with others, who professed not reform only, but direct hostility to the very form of our government, who threatened the extinction of monarchy, hereditary succession, and everything which promoted order and sub- ordination in a state. To his last hour he would resist every attempt of this nature, and if he was called upon either to hazard this, or for ever abandon all hopes of reform, he would say he had no hesitation in prefer- ring the latter alternative." The modera- tion of Fox's language on this occasion, af- forded a striking contrast to the vehemence of the minister. He reminded the house, " that he had never professed to be so san- guine on this subject as the right honorable GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 356 gentleman ; but although less sanguine, he happened to be a little more consistent — for he had early in public life formed an opin- ion of the necessity of a parliamentary re- form, and remained to this hour convinced of that necessity, and the obvious reason was, that the proceedings of the house were sometimes at variance with the opinion of the public. Of the truth and justice of this sentiment, he said, it was only necessary to refer to a recent instance, the Russian arma- ment The declaration of that house was, that we should proceed to hostilities. The declaration of the people was, that we should not : and so strong was that declaration, that it silenced and awed the minister with his triumphant majority. What was the conse- quence 3 That the people of England were at this moment paying the expense of an armament for which they never gave their consent ; and as far as that goes, they pay their money for not being represented, and because their sentiments were not spoken withm the walls of that house. It was the doctrine of implicit confidence ui the minis- ter, that disgusted the people ; a confidence not given to hun Irom the experience of his probity and talents, but merely because he was minister : and whatever calamities he may bring upon the country, no inquiry into his conduct will be granted." Sheridan among other arguments in favor of reform, observed, "that sixty or seventy peerages had been created under the present admin- istration, for no distinguished abilities, for no public services, but merely for their in- terest in returning members to parliament. Here peerages had been bartered for elec- tion interest ; in the sister kingdom they had been all but proved to have been put up to auction for money. The minister failing in his proposition of adding one hundred mem- bers to the house of commons, had almost added as many to the house of peers." Sher- idan remarked, " that an honorable gentle- man (Powis) had called upon all who thought as he did, to protest against the measure. In this he had done wisely ; for to protest was easier than to argue." ROYAL PROCLAMATION AGAINST SEDI- TIOUS WRITINGS. The consternation of the ministers evi- dently appeared by a royal proclamation al- most immediately issued against the public dispersion of all seditious writings, and igainst all illegal correspondencies, exhort- ing the magistrates to vigilance, and the people to submission and obedience. This proclamation being laid before the house. May the twenty-fifth, and an address moved of approbation and support, it was warmly opposed by Grey, and the proclamation itself condemned in severe terms, as an insidious and pernicious measure. Grey declared " that he scarcely knew how to express him- self upon it ; because he hardly could dis- tinguish whether the sentiments which gave birth to it were more impotent or malicioua He mentioned the association of the Friends of the People, and complained that the min- ister, apprehensive of its effects, had con- certed this measure, with an insidious view of separating those who had been long con- nected. No man was ever more delighted with these sinister practices than the right honorable gentleman — he, whose whole po- litical life was a constant tissue of inconsis- tency, of assertion and retraction — he, who never proposed a measure without intending to delude his hearer ; who promised every- thing and performed nothing; who never kept his word with the public ; who studied all the parts of captivating popularity, with- out even intending to deserve it ; and who, from the first step of his political life, was a complete public apostate." He remarked, as one of the objects of this proclamation, " that the king's officers, his commissioners of the peace, and his magistrates were to make diligent inquiry in order to discover the au- thors and publishers of wicked and seditious writings. In other words, a system of espi- onage was to take place by order of the crown. The very idea was surprising as well as odious, that a proclamation should issue from the sovereign of a fi-ee people, commanding such a system to be supported by spies and informers." Pitt expressed his respect for many of the members of the association in question, de- claring, " that he difiered from them only in regard to the time and mode which they had adopted for the attainment of their ob- ject. The association of the friends of the people," he said, " did not come within the scope and purview of the proclamation, which was levelled against the daring and seditious prmciples which had been so in- sidiously propagated amongst the people, under the plausible and delusive appellation of the rights of man." The address was finally carried without a division, and receiv- ing the concurrence of the upper house, was presented in form to the king. It was fol- lowed by addresses from all parts of the kingdom ; and the ministry, finding their strength, commenced prosecutions against a vast number of offenders, amongst whom Thomas Paine stood most conspicuous, and was found guilty of the charge ; but fore- seeing the probability of this event, he had previously absconded to France. STATEMENT OF THE REVENUES OF INDIA. On the fifth of June, Dundas brought for- ward his statement of the revenue and finances of India ; and by an intricate de- duction of figures, he attempted to prove 356 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the surplus of the Bengal revenue for the preceding year to be no less than eleven hundred thousand pounds. The flourishing state of the revenue was, however, remark- ed by Francis to be not precisely the same thing with the flourishing state of the coun- try, which might be ill able to bear the weight of these impositions. The seizures for non-payment of the land revenue were, he said, most alarmingly notorious : and he held in his hand, at that moment, two Ben- gal advertisements, the one announcing the sale of seventeen villages, the other of for- ty-two. The rest of the debate consisted chiefly in desultory conversation concerning the Indian war. As that subject, however, soon afterwards assumed a new aspect, by the fortunate termination effected by lord Cornwallis, a detail of the principal events of the war, from its commencement to the peace concluded in March 1792, has there- tore a strong claim on attention. WAR WITH TIPPOO SAIB. The actual commencement of hostilities may be dated from the engagement between the troops of the rajah of Travancore, sta- tioned at Cranganore for the defence of that fortress, with those of Tippoo Sultan, on the first of May 1790. This event, which was expected by our government, and probably concerted with them, was the signal for a most vigorous preparation for war on the part of tlie British. The grand Carnatic army assembled immediately in the south- ern provinces. The general plan of the campaign was to reduce the Coimbettore country, and all the adjacent territory which lay below the Gauts, or narrow passes be- tween the mountains, and to advance by the Gujelhetty Pass to the siege of Seringapa- tam, the metropolis of Mysore. While such were to be the operations of the grand army under general Meadows, the Bombay army, under general Abercrombie, was to under- take the reduction of the country lying to the west of the Gauts, and afterwards to co- operate with the main army, as circum- stances might direct. In the mean time, the safety of the Carnatic was secured by a force under colonel Kelly, and styled, from its position, the centre army, being stationed in the line between Madras and the passes leading to Mysore. The Poonah Mahrattas and the Nizam, were respectively to pene- trate the enemy's territory in the quarter liordering upon theirs ; and Seringapatam was established as the common centre, wh'^re the whole force was to appear in a collective body. The reduction of Cannanore was general Abercrombie's first object ; and that having been effected, he entered the kingdom of Mysore — which, notwithstanding the pre- tended oppression of the government, exhib- ited everywhere marks of the highest cul- tivation and prosperity. The sultan defend- ing himself with great resolution, and no mean display of military skill, general Mea- dows found himself under the necessity of retreating to the vicinity of Madras ; where, in the month of December 1790, lord Corn- wallis assumed the command of the army in person. The plan of the war was now considera- bly changed, and a grand efll)rt resolved on, to force a passage to Seringapatam through the country lying directly westward of Ma- dras. On the twenty-second of February, the army had marched beyond the Pass of Mug- lee without interruption ; and on the twen- ty-fourth, lord Cornwallis proceeded to Ban- galore. After three days' march, some par- ties of the enemy's horse were discovered, which increased as the army advanced ; and before the British reached within eighteen miles of Bangalore, they burnt all the adja- cent villages, and destroyed the forage. When advanced within ten miles, the sul- tan's army appeared in excellent order, and having taken possession of the heights, can- nonaded the British rear, while his cavalry made an unsuccessful attempt on the bag- gage. The British general encamped before Bangalore on the fifth of March. On the same day colonel Floyd, being dispatched with part of the cavalry to reconnoitre, was tempted to attack Tippoo's rear, which at first appeared to give way, but being quick- ly reinforced, the enemy soon rallied, and compelled the colonel to retreat. On the following day, the Petta, or town, was storm- ed and taken, with the loss of one hundred men. On the twelfth, three batteries were opened on the fort, but they were too distant to effect a breach : on the sixteenth, there- fore, a new battery of nine guns was open- ed at five hundred and fifty yards from the works. On the twenty-first the fort was stormed and taken, with little loss to the British, but with a dreadful carnage of the unresisting garrison : not less than one thou- sand were massacred with the bayonet, and three hundred, mostly wounded, were taken prisoners. On the thirteenth of May, the army, by extraordinary exertions, arrived in view cf the superb capital of Mysore, defended by the sultan in person : such were the rapid movements of lord Cornwallis, that Tippoo had only reached the place four days be- fore his lordship came in sight. On the next day an action took place, in which Tip- poo was said to be defeated ; though he does not appear to have sustained any very con- siderable loss. The swelling of the river Cavery, which surrounds Seringapatam, to- gether with the want of provisions, com- pelled lord Cornwallis to begin his retreat GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 357 to Bangalore, almost before his victory could be announced. General Abercrombie, who had advanced through the Gauts on the op- posite side, with a view to form a junction with lord Cornwallis, was now also obliged to lead back his army, fatigued, harassed, and disappointed, over the mountains they had so lately, and with such difficulty, passed. During these transactions, the troops of the Nizam and the Mahrattas kept distinctly aloof, leaving the burden of the war almost entirely to the British. While the army lay encamped near Seringapatam, a present of fruit was sent from Tippoo to lord Corn- wallis, and some overtures for a separate peace : the present was however returned, with an assurance to the sultan, that no peace could be accepted that did not include the allies. Notwithstanding this disappointment, so solicitous was Tippoo for peace, that lord Cornwallis had scarcely reached Bangalore, when a vakeel arrived with full powers to treat ; but owing, it is said, to some infor- mality in point of etiquette, rather than to any dislike of the object of his mission, all negotiation W£is suspended. Though this campaign was not attended with the success expected, the next, for which lord Cornwallis made unremitting preparations, opened under more favorable auspices. Early in February 1792, the east- ern and western armies, resuming their former plan of operations, effected a junc- tion under the walls of Seringapatam: the forces of the Peishwa and of the Nizam en- camping also at a small distance, and fur- nishing to the British army a plentiful sup- ply of stores and provisions. The sultan was strongly posted to receive them : his front line, or fortified camp, which was situated on the north side of the Cavery, behind a strong bound hedge, was defended by heavy cannon in the redoubts, and by his field train and army stationed to the best ad- vantage. In the front there appeared at least a hundred pieces of cannon, and in the \ fort and island, which formed his second line, there were three times that number. The British commander did not suffer his troops to enjoy a long repose in this station ; for, on the sixth of February, general orders were issued, directing an attack upon the enemy's camp and lines that evening at seven o'clock. The right division, consist- mg of three thousand three hundred infantry, was commanded by general Meadows ; the centre, consisting of three thousand seven hundred, by lord Cornwallis in person ; and the left, which only amounted to one thou- sand seven hundred, by lieutenant-colonel Maxwell. At eight o'clock the whole body was under arms; the evening was calm and serene ; and the troops moved on by the light of the moon in awful silence. Between the hours of ten and eleven at night, the centre column, within a mile of the bound hedge, met the enemy's grand guard, or body of cavalry, who were coming with rockets, &c. to disturb the British camp. Perceiv- ing themselves now completely discovered, the column advanced with uncommon ra- pidity, and entered the lines in less than a quarter of an hour after the intelligence could have reached the enemy. The right column met with greater obstructions ; for being led to a more distant point than wa8 intended by lord Cornwallis, it was consider- ably later in reaching the hedge than the centre column. The battle, however, be- came general throughout the enemy's lines about eleven, and continued till daybreak, when the British had completely disconcerted the sultan's position, and obtained other sig- nal advantages. The battle was continued in different parts during the whole of the seventh. The most desperate conflict took place at the sultan's redoubt, which was de- fended by a small party of British under major Kelly, against three vigorous attacks, seconded by a heavy cannonading from the forts. The enemy havmg quitted every post on the north side of the river, the camp was advanced on the succeeding days as near to the bound hedge as the guns of the fort would permit, and a chain of connecting posts along the northern and eastern sides of the fort was formed, and thus the capital of Mysore was completely invested on its two principal points. TIPPOO SUES FOR PEACE.— GRANTED.— TERMS. Thus pressed in every quarter — his pal- ace and beautiful gardens in possession of the enemy — ^his whole power reduced with- in the narrow limits of a citadel, the defence of which was even doubtful — the hitherto unsubdued spirit of the sultan seems to have given way with his tottering fortunes, and peace, upon almost any terms, was become a desirable object. As a preliminary step to- wardsan accommodation, he released lieuten- ants Chalmers and Nash, who had been taken prisoners, and on their departure presented them with two shawls and five hundred ru- pees. Soon after he dispatched a vakeel to the camp of lord Cornwallis to sue for peace ; which the British general at last granted upon the severe terms, 1. Of his ceding one half of his dominions to the allied powers : 2. Of paying three crores and thirty lacks of rupees, as an indemnification for the ex- penses of the war. 3. The release of all prisoners : and 4 The delivery of two of his sons as hostages for the due performance of the treaty. On the twenty-sixth of February the two princes, each mounted on an elephant, richly caparisoned, proceeded from tlie fort to lord 358 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Corn wallis's camp, where they were received by his lordship with his staff. The eldest, Abul Kalik, was about ten, the youngest, Mooza-ud-Deen, about eight years of age. The princes were attired in white muslin robes, with red turbans richly adorned with pearls. Educated from infancy with the utmost care, the spectators were astonished to behold in these children all the reserve, the politeness, and attention of maturer years. The kindness with which they were received by the British commander, appeared to afford them the highest satisfaction. Some presents were exchanged on both sides, and the whole transaction exhibited a scene at once peculiarly novel, pleasing, and interest- ing. On the nineteenth of March 1792, the definitive treaty, signed by the sultan, was delivered by the young princes, with great solemnity, into the hands of lord Cornwallis ; but the sums specified in the second article not being actually paid, the princes remained for some time longer under the safeguard and custody of his lordship. Thus, fortunately for Britain, terminated a war, which, perhaps, had neither solid justice for its foundation, nor sound policy for its object. The benefits we may yet communicate to the natives of India, remain for time to discover ; but certain it is, the past history of that country but too fully proves, that in those regions the British name has been too often dishonored, and our footsteps too often marked with blood. If an influx of wealth is the sole advantage to be reaped from the extent and security of our eastern dominions, the views of the statesman will be probably answered. If our power is made subservient to the civili- zation and intellectual improvement of the natives, the philosopher will exult in our conquests. If a renovation in the moral and religious condition of the people is produced, even the Christian will rejoice in our victo- ries. Let us then hope that a system of In- dian politics, founded on justice and equity, will be adopted and pursued, till science has illumined the inhabitants of those delightful climates ; till freedom has erected her stand- ard on the ruins of despotism ; and till the affection of the people for the British name supersedes the use of arms, and the havoc, ruin, and calamities of war. GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 359 CHAPTER XXIII. Dr. Price's Sermon on the Love of our Country, before the Revolution Society — Ad- dress of Congratulation to the National Assembly of France from the Society — Burke's celebrated Pamphlet well received by the Tory Faction — Answered by Thomas Paine — Effects produced by the publication of the Rights of Man — Official Complaint by the French Ambassador — The King of the French solicits tJie friendly Offices of his Britannic Majesty to preserve tJie Peace of Europe — Declined by the British Cabinet — Manifestoes against France — Deposition of the King of the French — The British Ambassador leaves Paris — Multitudes of French Priests arrive in England — National Convention of France constituted— Dr. Priestley and Thomas Paine chosen Members — Addresses of the English Society at Paris to the National Convention — The Convention pass the famous Decree of Fraternization — The Eng- lish Government offers Assistance to Holland — Refused — Artifices used to inflame the Passions of the People against the French — Proclamations for calling out the Miiitiay and for assembling Parliament. DR. PRICE'S SERMON ON THE LOVE OF OUR COUNTRY. As we are now approaching a calamitous period, when England was destined to in- terfere in the affairs of France ; and from an honorable and prosperous neutrality, to become the principal in a war which has deluged the continent in blood ; this is per- haps the most proper place to review the causes which eventually involved this na- tion in the contest. In order to trace to their source the trou- bles and dissensions which convulsed this country in the latter months of 1792, it is necessary to revert to the anniversary meet- ing of the revolution society held in the metropolis on the fifth of November 1789. On that day, a sermon was preached before the members by Dr. Price, on " the love of our country." In this discourse, the primary principles of government were stated in a mode which the sanction of a century had rendered familiar to Englishmen; and the great doctrines of liberty inculcated. " The improvement of the world depended," as the preacher affirmed, " on the attention given by men to this topic. Nor will mankind be ever as virtuous and happy as they are ca- pable of being, till the attention to it be- comes universal and efficacious. If we for- get it, we shall be in danger of an idolatry as gross and stupid as that of the ancient heathens, who, after fabricating blocks of wood or stone, fell down and worshipped them." At the conclusion of this discourse, in expatiating on the friendly aspect of the present times to all exertions in the cause of liberty, he broke out into the following eloquent exclamation. " What an eventful period is tliisi I am thankful that I have lived to it : and I could almost say, ' Lord ! now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation.' I have lived to see a diffiision of knowledge which has undermined superstition and error : I have lived to see the rights of men better understood than ever, and nations panting for liberty which seemed to have lost the idea of it. I have lived to see thirty millions of people indignantly and resolutely spurning at slavery, and demanding liberty with an irresistible voice ; their kmg led in triumph, and an arbitrary monarch surren- dering himself to his subjects. After sharing in the benefits of one revolution, I have been spared to be a witness to two other revolutions, both glorious; and now me- thinks I see the ardor for liberty catching and spreading, and a general amendment beginning in human affairs — the dominion of kings changed for the dominion of laws, and the dominion of priests giving way to the dominion of reason and conscience. Be encouraged, all ye friends of freedom, and writers in its defence ! The times are aus- picious. Your labors have not been in vain. Behold kingdoms, admonished by you, start- ing from sleep, breaking their fetters, and claiming justice from their oppressors ! Be- hold the light you have struck out, after setting America free, reflected to France, and there kindled uito a blaze, that lays des- potism in ashes, and warms and illuminates Europe !" ADDRESS OF CONGRATULATION TO THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY. Impressed with these sentiments, the society, whose numbers on this occasion far exceeded those of any former anniversary, unanimously resolved, on the motion of Dr. Price, to offer, in a formal address, " their congratulations to the national assembly, on the event of the late glorious revolution ir France." This being transmitted by their chairman, lord Stanhope, to the duke de la 1 Rochefocault, and laid by that distinguished 360 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. nobleman before the assembly, was received with loud acclamations. " It belonged," said the duke de la Rochefocault, in his re- ply, " to Dr. Price, the apostle of liberty, to propose a motion tending to pay to liberty the fairest homage — that of national preju- dices. In that address is seen the dawn of a glorious day, in which two adverse nations shall contract an intimate union, founded on the similarity of their opinions, and their common enthusiasm for liberty." Also the archbishop of Aix, president of the national assembly, transmitted to lord Stanhope, in a manner the most polite and flattering, the vote of the assembly, relative to the address, stating " that the assembly was deeply affect- ed with this extraordinary proof of esteem, and directing the president to express to the revolution society, the lively sensibility with which the national assembly had received an address, breathing those sentiments of humanity and universal benevolence, that ought to unite together in all countries of the world the true friends of liberty, and the happiness of mankind." BURKE'S CELEBRATED PAMPHLET. In the month of February following, Burke uttered his first furious invective against the French revolution in the house of commons, and, transported with rage and rancor at the high degree of prosperity it had now attained, published, a few months after this memorable speech, a book entitled "Reflections on the French Revolution," written with great force of eloquence and energy of declamation. The object of this elaborate treatise was two-fold : — 1. To ex- pose to the public resentment and indigna- tion, those persons who had in this country manifested their approbation of the revolu- tion in France : and, 2. To place that revo- lution itself in an odious and execrable light, as an event to be deplored, detested, and de- precated. With the most atrocious and un- exampled malignity, he invites and exhorts all Christian princes (in the appendix to this work) to make, what he styles, " a common cause with a just prince, dethroned by rebels and traitors." The deluded people of France, to be rescued from the evils they had brought upon themselves, must, as he affirmed, be subdued : and he intimates that this war, or crusade, is to be conducted on principles different from any former one. " The mode of civilized war," says he, "will not be practised; they must look for no modified hostility; all which is not battle will be military execution." The members of the revolution society, and the other commem- orators of the French revolution, he inveighs against in terms of the most unqualified abuse; and he charges Dr. Price, in par- ticular, with having fulminated in his revo- /Vtion sermon, principles little short of trea- son and rebellion. "His doctrines," says Burke, " affect our constitution in its vital parts. Nothing can be more untrue, than that the crown of this realm is held by his majesty by the choice of the people. Whilst the legal conditions of the compact of sove- reignty are performed, he holds his crown in contempt of their choice." According to this novel and extraordinary mode of reason- ing, in conforming his conduct to the condi- tions of the national choice, he reigns in ac- tual contempt of their choice. From the date of the fatal publication of Burke, who seemed ambitious to signalize himself by setting not merely a kingdom, but the world itself on fire, the nation was divided into two violent and openly hostile parties. The tory faction, which had hith- erto scarcely dared to whisper their dislike, now, under the sanction of Burke's authority, became bold and clamorous in their Tocife- rations. The principles advanced by Burke, ever grateful to the ear of princes, at once obliterated all his past offences, and placed him in the foremost rank of favorites and courtiers. It is true, that the approbation of the minister and his intimate adherents, was at first cautiously bestowed on Burke's novel and daring doctrines ; but as the crisis approached, when the public mind was bet- ter prepared for the declaration of theii sen- timents, they were more open and unequivo- cal in this encouragement of the anti^alli- can orator. ANSWERED BY THOMAS PAINE-EFFECTS PRODUCED BY HIS RIGHTS OF MAN. This extraordinary production gave rise to numberless replies, of which by far the most memorable was that written by Thomas Paine, the author of the famous pamphlet styled Common Sense, which, by its effect on the minds of the people of America, at a most important crisis, prepared the way for the declaration of independency. His present work, Rights of Man, was written with no less power of intellect and force of language. Not content with pointing out and exposing the absurdities, paradoxes, and misrepresentations of Burke — not content with painting, in striking colors, the abuses and corruptions of the existing government ; he, with daring and unhallowed hand, at- tacked the principles of the constitution it- self — describing it as radically vicious and tyrannical ; and reprobating the introduction of aristocracy or monarchy, under whatever modifications, into any form of government, as a flagrant usurpation and invasion of the unalienable rights of man. " When we sur- vey," says this writer, " the wretched con- dition of man under the monarchical and hereditary systems of government, dragged from his home by one power, or driven by another, and impoverished by taxes more GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 361 than by enemies; it becomes evident that those systems are bad, and that a general revolution in the principle and construction of governments is necessary." Paine shortly after produced a second part, combining principle and practice, in which the vices, defects, and imperfections of the British government are examined with a still more critical severity, and the constitution attack- ed and ridiculed with redoubled virulence. These works unfortunately appearing at a time, when a large proportion of the com- munity, and those too the most zealously attached to liberty, were, from causes al- ready specified, in a state of great irritation and discontent ; and the books, notwithstand- ing their absurd and mischievous political positions, being written in a style and man- ner which " came home to men's business and bosoms," innumerable converts were made to their general system ; and such were the pains taken to circulate them amongst the body of the people, that fifty thousand copies were in a short time sold. Political associations were also instituted in every part of the kingdom, professing to have in view the reform of the constitution, many of which were, not without reason, suspected of carrying their views much far- ther. Such were the lamentable conse- quences resulting from the rashness and folly of Burke, whose boasted panacea ope- rated upon the body politic as a most deadly poison; and served to prove that learning and eloquence may subsist in the highest perfection, without being accompanied with a single particle of wisdom. Though the immense circulation of Paine's books was a matter of public notoriety, yet, such was the inattention of government, that for upwards of a year not a single pro- cess haxi been instituted against publisher, printer, or seller of these alarming and li- bellous doctrines. At length, however, when they had operated their full mischief, and the fervor of the first proselytism had abated, the attorney-general filed an information against Thomas Paine in the Easter term of 1792. OFFICIAL COMPLAINT BY THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR. The proclamation against the publication and sale of seditious writings, having inti- mated a belief, that " correspondencies had been entered into with sundry persons in foreign parts," obviously alluding to France ; Chauvelin, who had but a few weeks before arrived here in the capacity of French am bassador, presented immediately an official declaration to lord Grenville, in which he complained that certain expressions in the proclamation appeared to give credit to the erroneous opinions propagated by the ene- mies of France, both as to the hostile inten- VoL. IV. 31 tions of Great Britain towards France, and the treacherous designs of France to pro- mote sedition and confusion in the kingdom of Great Britain : it was expressive of the most pacific and honorable dispositions of France towards this country, and produced an answer from lord Grenville, that breathed the strongest sentiments of peace and amity, with an unequivocal engagement from our king, directly and positively to maintain the treaty of navigation and commerce existing between the two nations. As it was gene- rally suspected in France, that the king of Great Britain had entered into the league of Pilnitz, and was in secret alliance with the courts of Vienna and Berlin, the answer of lord Grenville, when read in the national assembly, was received with boundless ap- plause, as a seasonable pledge of peace, at a time when strong fears were entertained of the hostile intentions of our court. FRANCE SOLICITS THE OFFICES OF BRIT- AIN IN THE PRESERVATION OF PEACE. —DECLINED. France had, on every occasion, since the commencement of her revolution up to this period, expressed a constant and anxious so- licitude to preserve a good understanding with this country. Nothing can be more emphatically expressive of these sentiments, than the note which M. de Chauvelin pre- sented upon this subject to lord Grenville, in which, for the preservation of the peace of Europe, the king of the French urges his Britannic majesty zealously to employ his good offices with his allies, to prevent them from granting to the enemies of France, di- rectly or indirectly, any assistance. The evasive answer of lord Grenville to this official note, sufficiently bespoke the ap- probation with which the English govern- ment viewed the measures of its allies against France. The answer states, " That the same sentiments which engaged his Britannic majesty not to interfere with the internal affairs of France, equally tended to induce him to respect the rights and inde- pendence of other sovereigns^ and particu- larly those of his allies." The slightest ol>- server will perceive an obvious and import- ant diflference between the interference with the internal affairs of an independent state, and the intermediation of a third power to conciliate a quarrel, or prevent a rupture between contending sovereigns. The for- mer encroaches upon the rights and inde- pendence of other powers, — the latter ad- mits and recognizes both. If any doubts should remain of the truth of this observa- tion, it will be completely removed by the subsequent conduct of the British court. MANIFESTOES AGALNST FRANCE- The emperor Leopold finished his phort reign by a sudden death on the first of Mq-f ch 362 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. 1792. This event happened at a most criti- cal moment Strong suspicions were en- tertained of French poison, which were soon removed by the publication of an authentic narrative of his case. He was succeeded by his son Francis I. who was proclaimed em- peror at Frankfort on the fifth of July. The tirst act of his reign was to declare his cor- dial accession to the treaty of Pilnitz ; and from henceforth the courts of Vienna and Berlin joined in public hostilities against France. The court of Vienna published a declaration or manifesto of the reasons which induced her to take up arms against France : — That it depended on those who reign at present over France to make this concert cease immediately, by respecting the tran- quillity and rights of other powers, and to guaranty the essential basis of the French monarchical form of government against the infringements of violence and anarchy. The king of Prussia published a similar declaration. His manifesto^ however, was more diffuse than that of Austria. These manifestoes of the allied powers produced a violent fermentation at Paris. The country was publicly declared to be in danger, and the most vigorous measures were immedi- ately adopted to recruit the army and strengthen the frontiers, A royal proclama- tion was published, setting forth in a strong light the dangers to which France was ex- posed. In consequence of this and other steps taken by the French government, a profusion of volunteers of all ages immedi- ately poured down upon the frontiers with the ardor of the most frantic enthusiasm. Coblentz was at this time the general rendezvous of the French emigrants. Here they had assembled to the number of near twenty thousand ; and the king of Prussia, on his arrival, was received as the illustrious chief, under whose auspices they expected tlie complete restoration of the ancient order of things. The reigning duke of Brunswick had the command of the combined armies which were destined for the great enter- prise of invading France. But before he began his march from Coblentz, in order that the whole world might fully know the views and spirit of his glorious mission, he pub- lished a manifesto in his own name, in which, to a general recapitulation of the reasons assigned by the emperor and the king of Prussia, for combining their forces against France, he subjoins ; " To these high inter- ests, is added another important object, and v;hich both sovereigns have most cordially in view, which is to put an end to that anar- chy which prevails m the interior parts of France ; to put a stop to the attacks made on the throne and the altar, and restore to the king his legitimate power," &c. Then, as commander-in-chief of the two armies, he disavows any pretence to enrich themselves by conquest ; and disclaims any intention to meddle with the internal government of France. But in case of their making any resistance when summoned to surrender, or when attacked ; or of their not preventing conflagrations, murders, and pillage ; or of their removing the king and royal family from Paris ; or of their attempting to force or insult the palace of the Thuilleries ; or of their offering the least violence or outrage to their majesties or the royal family : then does he fulminate his maledictions upon the devoted land ; he denounces instant death to the rebels taken in arms ; decapitation and confiscation to the members of the depart- ments, districts, and municipalities ; military execution to the members of the national assembly, magistrates, and all the inhabit- ants of Paris ; and total destruction to their guilty city. Though this thundering men- ace seemed to threaten vengeance awfully compendious, yet the duke of Brunswick was still reproached with some afflicting qualms of lenity ; and, in less than forty- eight hours, he sent forth a second manifesto, to confirm and heighten the terror of the first, declaring, " that if, contrary to all ex- pectation, by the perfidy or baseness of some inhabitants of Paris, the king, the queen, or any other person of the royal family should be carried off' from that city, all the places and towns whatsoever which shall not have opposed their passage, and shall not have stopped their proceedings, shall incur the same punishments as those infficted on the inhabitants of Paris, and their route shall be marked with a series of exemplary punish- ments justly due to the authors and abettors of crimes for which there is no remission." However carefully the different parties to the convention of Pilnitz concealed their secret stipulations from the eyes of curiosity and of interest ; yet, the faithful historian will not lose sight of the principles upon which they professed to have entered into the confederacy, and upon which they suc- ceeded in engaging this country, as well as most other powers of Europe, in the fatal al- liance. All parties disavowed the right, and disclaimed the intention of interfering with the internal government of France ; and in the same breath they insisted upon the abolition of that change in their internal government which the nation had called for, and which the king himself had accepted and confirmed by oath. The fatal folly of the combined powers, who in their proclamations had asserted, that the king was not sincere in his acceptance of the constitution, sufficed for the Jacobins, to hold him out to the nation as combining with foreign powers to reduce France by force of arms, either to a strange yoke, or to GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 363 a worse than their ancient slavery. What- ever party in France might have still wished for the re-establishment of the ancient un- qualified power of the crown, could not avow tliemselves abettors of the cause of enemies, who were marching into the king- dom in open war. All those who had sworn to support the constitution, were by their oath committed to defend it, against those who were by force attempting to destroy it. Thus, by this ill-judged and fatal declaration, the real cause of royalty in France was irre- trievably deprived of the possibility of any open or efficient support. DEPOSITION OF THE FRENCH KING.— THE BRITISH AMBASSADOR LEAVES PARIS. The grand and fatal question of deposition or forfeiture stood for the ninth of August : but the extreme agitation of the public mind would not permit the subject to be fairly dis- cussed in the assembly. A detail of the aw- ful and terrific scenes of the tenth is foreign from the design of English history, and therefore, it is only necessary to state, that in consequence of the dread transactions of that memorable day, and the virtual deposi- tion of the French monarch, lord Gower, the English ambassador at Paris, received orders from the court of London to quit the king- dom immediately, on the slight and frivolous pretext, that the functions of royalty being suspended, his mission was at an end. This recall was considered by the leading men in France as an ominous and certain indication of the enmity of the British court : never- theless, as a demonstration of their modera- tion, and solicitude for peace, Chauvelin the French ambassador still remained in London, though from this period unacknowledged in any public or authorized capacity. The re- call of the English ambassador at this criti- cal moment, on the ground stated by the English court, seemed to imply that appoint- ments of this nature are a mere matter of form and compliment between sovereigns; but if ambassadors are considered in a high- er and juster light, as the necessary means of intercourse between nation and nation, never could the recall of an ambassador take place at a period when his presence and services were more indispensable. MULTITUDES OF FRENCH PRIESTS AR- RIVE IN ENGLAND. The execution of the decree for banishing all the nonjuring clergymen to Guiana, who should not have quitted the kingdom in four- teen days from its passing, poured thousands of these unfortunate exiles from Normandy, Picardy, and Brittany, upon our coasts of Kent and Sussex, Misery and distress are at all times a sufficient passport to English humanity ; and this amiable characteristic of our countrymen was on this occasion most eminently displayed. Wherever these suf- ferers appeared, they were welcomed, rer lieved, and comforted. The old rivalry of the two nations was forgotten, and our dif- ference from that very religion for which they were persecuted, was swallowed up in a generous feeling for their unfortunate and hapless condition. Never was an opportu- nity of exercising heroic charity more eager- ly embraced, nor benevolence conferred with more glowing sensibility. NATIONAL CONVENTION OF FRANCE CONSTITUTED.— DR. PRIESTLEY AND THOMAS PAINE DECLARED MEMBERS. On the twenty-first of September 1792, the national convention was formally declar- ed to be constituted, and the second national assembly was of course dissolved. " Thus ended," says Brissot, " after a year's exist- ence, that stormy legislature under which the public spirit made such a rapid progress, and the French nation marched with giant strides towards a republic." From this pe- riod commenced what the French term the reign of liberty and equality ; but what their enemies, in derision, call that of anarchy and tyranny. It has been the boast of the French, to have collected from every region into the national convention, whatever talent and spirit could be found to enlighten the intellects, establish the freedom, and insure the happiness of mankind. From this coun- try, they selected Dr. Priestley and Thomas Paine: the former declined, the latter ac- cepted the nomination. If Paine had been thought guilty of seditious or treasonable practices against the state ; and if govern- ment had been desirous of checking the progress of those evils, of which they so loudly complained in their late proclama- tion ; they might certainly with ease have prevented the avowed fomenter of the mis- chief from quitting the kingdom. His elec- tion for the department of Calais, was so well known in England, that the custom- house officers had received early informa- tion of his departure for France, and exam- ined his baggage, with that of Frost, for pro- hibited articles, immediately on their arrival at Dover. This ceremony was performed by the collectors in a manner totally un- known before in this country. They exam- ined all their papers, sealed and unsealed ; and upon their urgmg the illegality of cus- tom-house officers seizing private papers, which were not things under their cosTii- zance — they replied, that they were author- ized to do it by the late proclamation. ADDRESS OF THE ENGLISH SOCIETY AT PARIS TO THE CONVENTION. If the French were opposed by numerous and powerful enemies, they had the consola- tion to know that the friends of liberty in every quarter of the world rejoiced in the success of their revolution. Englishmen in 364 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. particular, ever alive to the blessings of free- dom themselves, took a distinguished and sympathetic part in the struggles of France. There had long existed in Paris a society of British subjects, Mrho, upon receiving the news of the conquest of Brabant, celebrated the joyful event in a general and magnifi- cent festival, and afterwards addressed the convention upon the subject. Some other addresses from our countrymen were pre- sented to the convention in congratulation of their successes. One from the constitu- tional society of London, was presented by their deputies, Joel Barlow and John Frost, who at the same time entreated their accept- ance of one thousand pair of shoes, as a pa- triotic offering to the brave soldiers of liber- ty. As the high-flown terms of applause and admiration contained in this last address, will be repeatedly referred to in the sequel, the insertion of it in this place, will as- sist the reader in forming a just opinion of a subsequent and important transaction. " Whilst foreign plunderers ravage your territories," say these English addressers, " an oppressed part of mankind, forgettmg their own evils, are sensible only of yours, and address their fervent prayers to the God of the universe, that he may be favorable to your cause, with which their's is so inti- mately connected. Degraded by an oppres- sive system of inquisition, the insensible, but continual encroachments of which quickly deprived this nation of its liberty, and re- duced it almost to that abject state of slave- ry from which you have so gloriously eman- cipated yourselves, five thousand English citizens, fired with indignation, have the courage to step forward to rescue their coun- try from that opprobrium, which has been thrown on it by the base conduct of those who are invested with power. We see with concern that the elector of Hanover unites his troops to those of traitors and rob- bers : but the king of England will do well to remember that England is not Hanover. Should he forget this, we will not forget it." The president of the convention, in answer to this address, used expressions full of re- spect and complacency. " The sentiments of five thousand Britons," said he, " devoted openly to the cause of mankind, exist with- out doubt, in the hearts of all the freemen in England." Copies of the address were ordered to be sent to all the armies and de- partments of the republic. DECREE OF FRATERNIZATION. The national convention was now so ela- ted with the amazing progress of their arms, and so confident of the propriety and recti- tude of every measure proposed for their adoption, that they seem to have thought deliberation a drudgery, and reflection su- perfluous. In this spirit a decree was pass- ed by acclamation m the assembly, Novem- ber the nineteenth 1792, hi the following terms : — " The national convention declare, in the name of the French nation, that they will grant fraternity and assistance to all those people who wish to procure liberty. And they charge the executive power to send orders to the generals to give assist- ance to such people, and to defend citizens who have suffered and are now suffering in the cause of liberty." This famous decree, which deserved to be considered in no other light than as a magnificent and empty vaunt, was productive of very serious and import- ant consequences. Two other decrees of the assembly also demand a specific notice : the one erecting the dutchy of Savoy into an eighty-fourth department of the French republic, contrary to a fundamental article of the constitution, by which she renounced all foreign conquest ; the other, on" the cap- ture of Antwerp, declaratory of the freedom of navigation on the river Scheld. THE ENGLISH GOVERNMENT OFFERS AS- SISTANCE TO HOLLAND— REFUSED. It was now that the English government began to discover their alarm at the rapidity and extent of the French conquests. Bra- bant, Flanders, and Liege had been subdued, and seemed perfectly disposed to fraternize with their conquerors. It was well know^n that in Holland a very considerable party of malcontents sought an opportunity oi' de- claring themselves openly against the prince of Orange. Lord Auckland, the English ambassador, was therefore directed to assure their high mightinesses, " that as the theatre of war was brought so near to the confines of their republic, his Britannic majesty was both ready and determined to execute with the utmost good faith the treaty of 1788." The states, in their answer to this declara- tion, professed the strongest belief, " that no hostile intentions were conceived by any of the belligerent powers against them." The native phlegm of the Hollander begat, in the more peaceful and steady, an aversion to bustle and activity : and a rooted hatred of the court party induced numbers to dis- semble the expectation of what they most ardently wished. Hence the frequent and jusj, observation, that we had officially forced their high mightinesses even into a war of defence, against their obvious interest or inclination. ARTIFICES OF MINISTERS TO INFLAME THE PEOPLE AGAINST THE FRENCH. The period was now arrived, when our cabinet was determined to suppress no long- er their approbation of the principles of the grand confederacy. But it was first requi- site to dispose the nation to a proper acqui- escence in their measures. The multitude in all countries act more from feeling than GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 365 judgment Whom they hate or fear, they eagerly persecute, and are seldom delicate in the means, when they find the opportuni- ty of satiating their vengeance. A supreme abhorrence of the French government had been two years since, by Burke, wickedly, but successfully, excited in this country. The causes of the deposition of the French monarch, and the nature of the provocations and injuries which preceded and produced that event, not being sufficiently understood in England, contributed also to make an im- pression very unfavorable on the minds of the generality of the people : and the horrid massacres of September completely aliena- ted their minds from the revolution, although these shocking enormities could not in any rational sense be said to originate in the rev olution, but merely and solely in the opposi' tion made to its establishment. Artful ad- vantage was taken of this disposition ; every wish, every word, and every action, that was disagreeable to ministers, was construed into a dislike of the British constitution, and held to bo an almost unequivocal proof of repub- lican and revolutionary sentiments. The press teemed with inflammatory productions, and the pulpit rung with anathemas against republicans and levellers. Every measure directed against the French, or their admi- rers, however oppressive and illegal, now be- came sanctioned in the object of its direc- tion. The nation was on a sudden struck with terror at the idea of political innova- tion of any kind, and the very name of re- form became the subject of violent and in- discriminate reprobation. Under the impres- sion of this furious prejudice, an association openly countenanced by government was formed in London for the protection of lib- erty and property against republicans and levellers ; and an innumerable multitude of pamphlets, in the popular form of letters, di- alogues, and narratives, admirably fitted to inflame the passions, were by this means cir- culated throughout the kingdom, inculcating an unreserved submission to government, on the old exploded principles of toryism and high churchism. In one of the most notori- ous of these tracts, it was urged, in favor of monarchy, "that the king is in scripture called the Lord's anointed, but who (say these profound politicians) ever heard of an anointed republic 1" The rage of associa- ting spread rapidly through the kingdom ; and in every county, and almost every town, resolutions were subscribed strongly expres- sive of loyalty and attachment to the king and constitution, and abhorrence of all lev- elling and republican doctrines. The popu- lace entering with violence into these senti- ments, and their passions being, by the metJiods now put in practice, dangerously excited, the cry of church and king was vo- 31* ciferated with tremendous clamors from the Tamar to the Tweed ; from the cliffs of Do- ver to the hills of Cheviot After the British cabinet had made such recent and repeated avowals of the right of France to form, alter, and model its internal government without foreign interference — after such unequivocal declarations — of con- tinued neutrality, and the warmest profes- sions of amity and good understanding — it was undoubtedly a task of no small inge- nuity to give a plausible color to their rash and sudden accession to the armed combina- tion of despots. Such a war was not to be undertaken upon open principle: it could not be supported by reason, but what was wanting in solid argument, was abundantly supplied by stratagem and artifice. At this gloomy period, appeals were only made to the passions — the understanding was never consulted. The pathetic case of an unfor- tunate monarch, contrasted with the fero- cious cruelties of a licentious and frantic populace, had successfully seized the feel- ings of a great portion of the British public : and where the mind is preoccupied by ani- mated passion, the voice of cool and sober reason sounds in vain. This disposition is in nature, and the nation was prepared for it by the eloquence and example of Burke. " We are so made," says he, " as to be af^ fected at such spectacles with melancholy sentiments upon the unstable condition of mortal prosperity, and the tremendous un- certainty of human greatness : because in those natural feelings we learn great les- sons ; because in events like these our pas- sions instruct our reason; when kings are hurled from their thrones by the supreme director of this great drama, and become the objects of insult to the base, and pity to the good." The prejudices of the people being thus excited, and " their reason subjected to the instruction of their passions," the nation was brought to concur in a destructive war. THE MILITIA CALLED OUT, AND PAR- LIAMENT ASSEMBLED. As the war, however, could not be sup- ported upon any political justice, as it held out no prospect of interest, nor could be un- dertaken without at least the appearance of violating our solemn engagements; it be- came necessary to devise some domestic urgency to render tlie intended measures of government completely palatable to the na- tion. His majesty was accordingly advised to issue another proclamation, December the first, 1792, announcmg the alarming intelli- gence, " that notwithstanding the late pro- clamation of the twenty-first of May, the utmost industry was still employed by evil- disposed persons within this kingdom, acting in concert with persons in foreign parts, with a view to subvert the laws and established 366 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. constitution of this realm ; and to destroy all order and government therein ; and that a spirit of tumult and disorder thereby ex- cited had lately shown itself in acts of riot and insurrection. — And that, these causes moving him thereto, his majesty had resolved forthwith to embody part of the militia of the kingdom." On the same day, another proclamation was issued for convening the parliament (which stood prorogued to the third of January) on the thirteenth of De- cember ; the law requiring, that if the mili- tia be drawn out during the recess of parlia- ment, and this it can only be in case of in- vasion or actual insurrection, parliament shall be assembled in the space of fourteen days. If credit be given to the language of these proclamations, the political state of the kingdom, which depended upon the wis- dom, vigilance, and energy of government, was at this time in the convulsed agonies of a mortal disease. Without any external hostilities either to make or resist — without the conviction or even accusation of one in dividual, for attempting to excite sedition or insurrection — without the example of one pain, penalty or punishment having been in- flicted upon a person guilty of turbulence or rebellion — his majesty's ministers thought themselves warranted to take these bold and daring measures. Bounties were now of- fered to landsmen and seamen ; naval anna- ments were put into preparation in all the dock-yards; the army was drawn into a focus near the metropolis; and the tower was put into a posture of defence. The public alarm caused by these proceedings was inexpressible. Those who were con- vinced of the existence of a plot, thought it so much the more terrible, from its being invisible and incomprehensible. At this pe- riod of infatuation and terror, the nation was convulsed from the extremities to the centre. Every man looked on his neighbor witli an eye of sullen suspicion. Jealousy sat on every countenance, and banished from the cheerful and domestic circles of life, all the pleasures of social and friendly intercourse. In a word, the timid were agitated with fear- ful apprehensions — the licentious and disor- derly exulted in the prospect of approach- ing commotions — but the reflectii^ few saw through the artifice, and sighed in solitude over Sie misfortunes of their country. GEORGE m. 1760-1820. 367 CHAPTER XXIV. Meeting of Parliament — Fox in Opposition to the Address — Burke fcrr it — Oppo- sition reduced by Desertion — Motions for adjusting Differences with France by Negotiation^ and for sending a Minister to Paris — The French Ambassador's Me- morial on the relative Situation of France and England — Answered by Lord Gren- vUle — Memorial of the Executive Council of France — Lord GrenvUle's Reply — French Ambassador ordered to leave the Kingdom — Message from his Majesty to the Commons on French Affairs — Pitt''s Speech on moving the Address — Opposed by Lord Wycombe — by Whitbread — and by Fox — The French declare War against England and Holland. MEETING OF PARLIAMENT. On the meeting of parliament, which took place on the thirteenth of December 1792, the expressions of the first proclama- tion were repeated in his majesty's speech ; towards the conclusion of which the real views of the court became sufficiently mani- fest It was intimated in the speech, " that his majesty had judged it necessary to em- body a part of the militia, and to call the parliament together within the time limited for that purpose." It stated, as the grounds of these strong measures, tlie seditious prac- tices which had been discovered, and the spirit of tumult and disorder shown in acts of riot and insurrection, which required the interposition of a military force in support of the civil magistrate. " The industry," it asserted " employed to excite discontent on various pretexts, and in different parts of the kingdom, appeared to proceed from a design to attempt the destruction of our happy constitution, and the subversion of all order and government ; and that this design had evidently been pursued in connexion and concert with persons in foreign coun- tries. I have," said his majesty, " carefully observed a strict neutrality in the present war on the contment, and have uniformly abstained from any interference with re- spect to the internal government of France ; but it is impossible for me to see without the most serious uneasiness the strong and increasing indications which have appeared there, of an intention to excite disturbances in other countries, to disregard the rights of neutral nations, and to pursue views of con- quest and aggrandizement, as well as to adopt towards my allies, the States-General, measures which are neither conformable to the law of nations, nor to the positive stipu- lations of existing treaties. Under these circumstances his majesty thought it right to have recourse to those means of preven- tion and internal defence with which he was intrusted by law, and to make some augmentation of his naval and military force." FOX IN OPPOSITION TO THE ADDRESS. On moving the address, in answer to the speech, a memorable debate arose. Never did the strength and superiority of Fox's genius appear perhaps so conspicuous as in this moment of national infatuation. He began by observing, "that his majesty's speech contains a variety of assertions of the most extraordinary nature. It was the duty of that house to inquire into the truth of these assertions, and in discharging this part of his duty, he should consider the speech from the throne as the speech of the minister, which his majesty's confidential servants had advised him to deliver ; and as they were responsible for that advice, to them every observation of his should be ad- dressed. I state it, therefore," said Fox, " to be my firm opinion and belief, that there is not one fact asserted m his majesty's speech which is not false — ^not one asser- tion or insinuation which is not unfounded. Nay, I cannot be so uncandid as to believe, that ministers themselves think them true. The leading and prominent feature o^ the speech is a wanton and base calumny on the people of Great Britain ; an insinuation of so black a nature that it demands the most rigorous inquiry, and the most severe pun- ishment. The next assertion is, that there exists at this moment an insurrection in this kingdom. An insurrection ! — where is it ? where has it reared its head 1 Good God ! an insurrection in Great Britain ! The speech goes on in the same strain of falsehocd and calumny, and says, ' the industry employed to excite discontent on various pretexts, and in different parts of the kingdom, has ap- peared to proceed fi-om a design to attempt the destruction of our happy constitution, and the subversion of all order and govern- ment.' I desire gentlemen to consider tliese words, and I demand of their honor and truth if they believe this assertion to be founded in fiict There have been, as I un- derstand, and as every one must have heard, some slight riots in different parts. I have' heard of a tumult at Shields ; of another at 368 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Leith ; of some riot at Yarmouth, and of something of the same nature at Perth and Dundee. I ask gentlemen if they believe that in each of tliese places the avowed ob- ject of the complaints of the people was not the real one — that the sailors at Shields, Yarmouth, &c. did not really want some in- crease of their wages, but were actuated by a design of overthrowing the constitution 1 Is there a man in England who believes this insinuation to be true ?" Fox next adverting to an expression of Wallace, who, in sec- onding the motion of address, adduced as a proof that there existed in this country a dangerous spirit, ' the drooping and dejected aspect of many persons, when the tidings of Dumourier's surrender arrived in Eng- land,' said — " Admitting the fact in its ut- most extent, could any man who loves the constitution of England, who feels its prin- ciples in his heart, wish success to the duke of Brunswick, after reading a manifesto which violated every doctrme that English- men hold sacred^ which trampled under foot every principle of justice, humanity, and true government ] It is rather extraordinary, that they should think it right to abuse re- publics, at the very moment we are called upon to protect the republic of Holland ; to spread the doctrine that kings only have divine right, may indispose your allies to re- ceive your proposed succor. They may not choose to receive into their country your ad- mirals and generals, who, being appointed by this king, in divine right, must partake of the same anger, and be sworn enemies to all forms of government not so sanctified. — Surely, independent of the falsehood and the danger at home of such doctrines, it is the height of impolicy at this time to hold them in regard even to our neighbors. His majesty, in the next passage of his speech," continued Fox, " brings us to the apprehen- sion of a war. I shall refrain at this time from saying all that occurs to me on this subject, because I wish to keep precisely to the immediate subject : but never surely had this country so much reason to wish for peace ; never was a period so little favora- ble to a rupture with France, or with any power. I am not ready to subscribe exactly to the propriety of a resolution never to go to war unless we are attacked ; but I wish that a motion was proposed by some person to express our disapprobation of entering upon any war, if we can by any honorable Hieans avoid it. Let no man be deterred by the dread of being in a minority. A mi- nority saved this country from a war against Russia. And surely it is our duty, as it is true policy, to exert every means to avert that greatest of national calamities. In 1789 we all must remember that Spain pro- voked this country by an insult, which is a real aggression ; we were all agreed on tlie necessity of the case, but did we go head- long to war 1 No, we determined with be- coming fortitude on an armed negotiation. We did negotiate, and we avoided a war. But now we disdain to negotiate. Why! Because we have no minister at Paris. Why have we no minister there 1 Because France is a republic ! And so we are to pay in the blood and treasure of the people for a punc- tilio ! If there are discontents in the king- dom, sir, this is the way to inflame them. It is of no consequence to any people what is the form of government with which they may have to treat. It is with the governors, whatever may be the form, that in common sense and policy they can have to do, and if they should change their form and change their governors, their course would remain the same. Having no legitimate concern with the internal state of any independent people, the road of common sense is simple and direct. That of pride and punctilio is as tangled as it is serpentine. Is the pre- text the opening of the Scheld ? I cannot believe that such an object can be the real cause. I doubt, even if a war on this pre- text would be undertaken with the approba- tion of the Dutch. What was the conduct of the French themselves under their de- praved old system, when the good of the people never entered into the contemplation of the cabinet 1 The emperor threatened to open the Scheld in 1786. Did the French go to war with him instantly to prevent it 1 No, "they opened a negotiation, and prevent- ed it by interfering with their good offices. Why have not we so interfered 1 Because, forsooth, France is an unanointed republic ! Oh ! miserable, infatuated Frenchmen ! Oh ! lame and inconsiderate politicians! Why, instead of breaking the holy vial of Rheims, why did you not pour some of the sacred oil on the heads of your executive council, tiiat the pride of states might not be forced to plunge themselves and you into the horrors of war, rather than be contaminated by your acquaintance ! The people mmII not be cheat- ed. They will look round, and demand where this danger is to be seen. Is it in England 1 they see it overflowing in expres- sions of loyalty, and yet they libel it with imputations of insurrection. In Ireland you know there is danger, and dare not own it ; though you know that there a most respecta- ble and formidable convention (I call it for- midable, because I know nothing so formi- dable as reason, truth, and justice) will oblige you by the most cogent reasons to give way to demands which the magnanimity of the nation ought to have anticipated — in justice to subjects as attached to their king, as abundantly endowed with every manly- virtue, as any part of the united kingdom. GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 369 And while the claims of generous and ill- treated millions are thus protracted, there is a miserable mockery held out of alarms in England which have no existence, but which are made the pretext of assembling the parliament in an extraordinary way, in order in reality to engage you in a foreign contest What must be the fatal conse- quence, when a well-judging people shall decide, what I sincerely believe, that the whole of this business is a ministerial manoeu- vre 1 A noble lord says he will move for a suspension of the habeas corpus act. I hope not. I have a high respect for the noble lord ; but no motive of personal respect shall make me inattentive to my duty. Come from whom it may, I shall, with my most determined powers, oppose so dreeidful a measure. What, it may be asked, would I propose to do in hours of agitation like the present] I will answer openly. If there is a tendency in the dissenters to discontent, because they conceive themselves unjustly suspected and cruelly calumniated, what should I do"? I would instantly repeal the test and corporation acts, and take from them thereby all cause of complaint. If there were any persons tinctured with a republi- can spirit, because they thought that the re- presentative government was more perfect in a republic, I would endeavor to amend the representation of the commons, and to prove that the house of commons, though not chosen by all, should have no other in- terest than to prove itself the representative of all. If there were men dissatisfied in Scotland, or Ireland, or elsewhere, on ac- count of disabilities and exemptions, of un- just prejudices, and of cruel restrictions, I would repeal the penal statutes, which are a disgrace to our law-book. If there were other complaints of grievances, I would re- dress them where they were really proved ; but above all, I would constantly, cheerfully, patiently listen — I would make it known, that if any man felt, or thought he felt, a grievance, he might come freely to the bar of this house and bring his proofs. And it should be made manifest to all the world, that where they did exist they should be re- dressed ; where they did not, that it should be made manifest. If I were to issue a pro- clamation, this should be my proclamation — * If any man has a grievance, let him bring it to the bar of the commons' house of par- liament, with the firm persuasion of having it honestly investigated.' These are the sub- sidies that I would grant to government. What instead of this is done 1 Suppress the complaint — check the circulation of know- ledge — command that no man shall read — or, that as no man under one hundred pounds a-year can kill a partridge, that no man un- der twenty pounds, or thirty pounds, shall dare to read or think ! I love the constitu- tion," said Fox, " as it is established : it has grown up with me as a prejudice and as a habit, as well as from conviction. I know that it is calculated for the happiness of man, and that its constituent branches of king, lords, and commons, could not be altered or unpaired, without entailing on this country the most dreadful miseries. It is the best adapted to England, because, as the noble earl truly said, the people of England think it the best ; and the safest course is to con- sult the judgment and gratify the predilec- tions of a country. Heartily convinced as I am, however, that to secure the peace, strength, and happiness of the country, we must maintain the constitution against all innovation, yet I do not think so highly and superstitiously of any human institution as to believe it is incapable of being perverted ; on the contrary, I believe that it requires an increasing vigilance on the part of the peo- ple to prevent the decay and dilapidations to which every edifice is subject I think too that we may be laid asleep to our real dan- ger by these perpetual alarms to loyalty, which, in my opinion, are daily sapping the constitution. Under the pretext of guard- ing it from the assaults of republicans and levellers, we run the hazard of leaving it open on the other and more feeble side. We are led insensibly to the opposite danger, that of increasing the power of the crown, and of degrading the influence of the house of commons. Let us only look back to the whole course of the present administration, and we shall see that from their outset to the present day, it has been their invariable object to degrade the house of commons in the eyes of the people, and to diminish its power and influence in every possible way. It was not merely in the outset of then- ca- reer, when they stood up against the de- clared voice of the house of commons, that this spirit was manifested, but uniformly, progressively through their whole ministry, the same disposition has been shown, until at last it came to its full undisguised de- monstration on the question of the Russian war, when the house of commons was de- graded to the lowest state of insignificance and contempt, in being made to retract its own words, and to acknowledge that it was of no consequence or avail what were its sentiments on any one measure. The min- ister has regularly acted upon this sort of principle, to the vilification of the }X)pular branch of the constitution. What is this but to make it appear that the house of com- mons is in reality what Thomas Paine, and writers like him, say it is, namely, that it is not the true representative and organ of the people. Is it not wonderful, that all the true constitutional watchfulness of England 370 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. should be dead to the only true danger that the day exhibits, and that they should be roused only by the idiotic clamor of repub- lican frenzy and of popular insurrection, which do not exist? Sir," concluded Fox, " I have done my duty. I have, with the certainty of opposing myself to the furor of the day, delivered my opinion at more length than I intended, and perhaps I have intruded too long on the indulgence of the house. I have endeavored to persuade you against the indecent haste of committing yourselves to these assertions of an existing insurrection, until you shall make a rigorous inquiry where it is to be found — to avoid involving the peo- ple in the calamity of a war, without at least ascertaining the internal state of the king- dom, and prevent us from falling into the disgrace of being, as heretofore, obliged per- haps in a week to retract every syllable that we are now called upon to say." To carry this into effect, he concluded with moving an amendment, simply pledging the house, *' that inquiry should be made into the facts stated in his majesty's speech." BURKE IN FAVOR OF IT. Burke said, " that this was indeed a day of trial of the constitution. He agreed with an honorable gentleman in regarding the present as a most momentous crisis, but for different reasons from those which he had assigned. He was sensible how closely liberty and monarchy were connected in this country ; that they were never to be found asunder ; that they had flourished together a thousand years; and from this union re- sulted the glory and prosperity of the nation. What he dreaded, should French principles be introduced into this country, was the de- struction of the whole order of civil life. He would affirm, that there was a faction in this country, who wished to submit it to France, in order that our government might be re- formed upon the French system. He would likewise affirm, that the French cherished views upon this country ; that they encour- aged this faction, and were disposed to aid them in their views of overturning our con- stitution. As a proof of this, he should translate from their own gazette the follow- ing account of their proceedings. " The president. — ' You decreed, yester- day, that two deputies of Englishmen should be admitted to the bar. I am going to order it to be opened for them.' — The first deputa- tion being admitted, the spokesman addressed the convention. The president answered the deputation as republicans. — He said, * royalty in Europe was in the agonies of death ; that the declaration of right, now placed by the side of thrones, was a fire which in the end would consume them ; and he even hoped that the time was not far dis- tant when France, England, Scotland, and Ireland — all Europe ! all mankind ! would form but one peaceful family.' — These pro- ceedings," he said, " had taken place on the same day in which there had been a discus- sion in the convention respecting the union of Savoy to France. On that occasion the president had observed, that ' nature pointed out this union ; that France and Savoy were already connected by physical and moral ties.' This gentle people, in adding the country of their neighbors to their own do- minions, only follow the mild laws of na- ture ; whenever they have a mind to make an acquisition of territory, they discover their claim to it to be established by physi- cal and moral ties : no doubt they will soon find out this physical and moral connexion subsisting between them and this country, though we unfortunately have been separat- ed from them by a violent convulsion. If Englishmen," he remarked, " had applied to Louis XVI. to reform our government, and had been favorably received by him, would not this have been considered as an aggres- sion by this country 1 It was indeed a por- tent and prodigy that Englishmen should not be able to find liberty at home, and should be obliged to seek it elsewhere. What ren- dered the factious of this country particular- ly dangerous, was their connexion with the band of French robbers and assassins. The French had declared war against all kings, and of consequence against this country, if it had a khig. — The question now was not whether we should make an address to the throne, but whether we should have a throne at ain He concluded with recommending the unanimity so desirable upon this occa- sion, and with representing the danger which might arise from the progress of the French arms, if not speedily resisted ; their power had already become formidable to the whole of Europe, and if we would not have Europe gone from us, it was necessary that we should interpose by the most effectual means to stop their further career." After a debate of many hours, the house divided, for the amendment fifty, against it two hundred and ninety ! OPPOSITION REDUCED BY DESERTION. In the house of lords the address was carried without a division, but not without a powerful opposition from the duke of Nor- folk, and the lords Lansdowne, Rawdon, and Stanhope. In consequence of the late alarms created by the dreadful apprehension of plots and insurrections, the opposition or whig party had, as it now appeared, suffered a great and melancholy defection. At the head of the seceders in the upper house, were the prince of Wales, the duke of Port- land, lords Fitzwilliam, Spencer, Mansfield, and Loughborough, the last of whom, on the resignation of lord Thurlow, at this period GEORGE HL 1760—1820. 371 was advanced to the chancellorship. And in the lower house, Burke, Windham, Sir Gilbert Elliot, Anstruther, &c. who acquired by this means the popular appellation of Alarmists. MOTIONS FOR A NEGOTIATION WITH FRANCE— AND FOR SENDING A MIN- ISTER TO PARIS. On the bringing up the report, on the suc- ceedmg day, in the house of commons, the debate was resumed with fresh vehemence. Fox most severely censured the ministers for not having interposed the mediation of Great Britain, in order to preserve the peace of Europe. Had we protested against the project concerted at Pilnitz, and armed to prevent the execution of it, England must have acquired such an ascendency in the councils of France as would have completely obviated all the subsequent causes of dissat- isfaction. " If," said Fox, " there exists a discontented or disaffected party in the king- dom, what can so much add to their num- bers, or their influence, as a war, which, by increasing the public burdens till they be- come intolerable, will give proportionable weight to their complaints] He wished, therefore, that war should be avoided, if pos- sible — that negotiation should precede hos- tility. He was fully aware of the arrogant notions of ministers, who perhaps would not condescend to receive a minister from the French republic. If this were the case, let ministers fairly avow it — that the people of England might know how far the essential interests of the nation were sacrificed to a punctilio. Gentlemen should recollect that it was once fashionable to talk of ' a vagrant congress,' of ' one Hancock,' and ' one Adams,' and ' their crew.' But surely the folly of this language had been sufficiently proved." He then moved an amendment, " beseeching his majesty to employ every means of honorable negotiation, for the pur- pose of preventing a war with France." The motion was opposed by Burke in a fran- tic speech, in which he affirmed, " that to send an ambassador to France would be the prelude to the murder of our sovereign." Pitt was at this time not a member of the house, having vacated his seat by the ac- ceptance of the lucrative sinecure of the Cinque ports, void by the death of the earl of Guildford, once so famous under the title of lord North, In the absence of the minis- ter, secretary Dundas entered into a long and elaborate vindication of the measures of administration; and he concluded with a confident prediction, that " if we were forced into a war, it must prove successful and glorious." The amendment was negatived without a division. Not discouraged at the ill success of these attempts. Fox, on the fifteenth of December, moved, at the close of a speech which only served to demonstrate how incompetent are the utmost eflbrts of human wisdom to work ^nviction on mmds distempered by preju- OTDe and passion, " that a minister be sent to Paris to treat with those persons who exer- cise provisionally the executive government of France." " This," he said, " implied neither approbation nor disapprobation of the conduct of the existing French government. It was the policy and practice of every na- tion to treat with the existing government of every other nation with which it had rela- tive interests, without inquiring how that government was constituted, or by what means it acquired possession of power. Was the existing government of Morocco more respectable than that of France 1 Yet we had more than once sent embassies thither, to men reeking from the blood through which they had waded to their thrones. We had ministers at the German courts at the time of the infamous partition of Poland. We had a minister at Versailles when Corsica was bought and enslaved. — But in none of these instances was any sanction given di- rectly or indirectly by Great Britain to these nefarious transactions." In answer to the absurd and puerile ob- jection, that if we agreed to a negotiation, we should not know with whom to negoti- ate, Whitbread asked, with energetic ani- mation, " if we knew with whom we w'ere going to war 1 If there was no difficulty in deciding upon that point, how could we pretend to be at a loss to know with whom we were to make peace 1 Doubtless with that assembly, truly described by his majes- ty as exercising the powers of government in France." Windham had laid it down as an axiom of policy, " that to be justified in negotiat- ing with France, it should be a matter of necessity, not of choice." " Happy, digni- fied opportunity to treat ! " exclaimed Sher- idan, " when necessity — a necessity arising from defeat and discomfiture, from shame and disgrace — shall compel us to negotiate on terms which would leave us completely at their mercy ! How consolatory, to be able to boast that we are at the same time jus- tified and undone ! But we are told," contin- ued Sheridan, "that to treat with France would give offence to the allied powers, with whom we are eventually to co-operate. Are we then prepared to make a common cause on the principles and for the purposes for which those despots have associated? Are the freemen of England ready to sub- scribe to the manifesto of the duke of Bruns- wick ] — that detestable outrage on the rights and feelings of humanity! — that impotent and wretched tissue of pride, folly, and cru- elty, which had steeled the heart and mad- dened the brain of all France ! The ques- tion is not merely whether we shall go to 372 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. war or nof? but on what principle should it be conducted, and to what end directed? To restore the ancient despotism of France ? Impossible ! Disputes and causes of com- plaint existing, how were they to be termi- nated but by some sort of negotiation ] But we were told that the dignity of the nation forbade a public and avowed communication with the present ruling powers in France. Was the dignity of the nation better con- sulted by the mean subterfuge of an indirect and underhand intercourse ] Was it sacri- ficed by a magnanimous frankness, and sus- tained only by dark and insidious disguise 1 Far from recalling the ambassador of Eng- land from Paris at the late perilous crisis, a statesman-like administration would have regarded the post of minister at Paris as the situation which demanded the first and ablest talents of the country. It was a situation which afforded scope and interest for the no- blest mind that ever warmed a human bo- som. The French had been uniformly par- tial, and even prejudiced in favor of the English. What manly sense and generous feeling, and above all, what fair truth and plain dealing might have effected, it was difficult to calculate. But the policy which discarded these, and which substituted in their stead a hollow neutrality, was an error, fatal in its consequences, and for ever to be lamented." The motion was in the end neg- atived without a division. The desertion of the friends of opposition, far from dispiriting the faithful few that re- mained, seemed to animate them to still higher and more ardent exertions of patri- otic zeal. The popular odium incurred at this time by the leaders of opposition, par- ticularly by Fox, in consequence of their generous endeavors to rescue their country from the gulf of ruin, into which it was with such blind and rash precipitancy about to plunge, will appear to posterity scarcely credible. Neither professing a contempt for the public judgment, nor on the other hand yielding for a moment to the tide of popular opinion. Fox published at this period a very animated and dignified address to his consti- tuents, the electors of Westminster ; stat- ing, with admirable force and perspicuity of argument, his reasons for his late parlia- mentary conduct. The conclusion of this celebrated address is peculiarly striking. " Let us not," says he, " attempt to deceive ourselves. Whatever possibility, or even firobability there may be of a counter-revo- ution from internal agitation and discord, the means of producing such an event by external force can be no other than the con- quest of France. — The conquest of France ! O calumniated crusaders, how rational and , moderate were your objects ! O much in- ' jured Louis XI V^ upon what slight grounds have you been accused of restless and im- moderate ambition! O tame and feeble Cervantes, with what a timid pencil and faint colors have you painted the portrait of a disordered imagination!" — And yet this irrational and romantic conquest has been since effected. THE FRENCH AMBASSADOR'S MEMORI- AL ON THE SITUATIONS OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE. Although the determination of the Brit- ish court was from the first sufficiently man- ifest, the government of France left no means unessayed to accomplish an accom- modation. On the seventeenth of Decem- ber, a memorial was presented by Chauvelin to lord Grenville, in which he informs his lordship that the executive council of the French republic, thinking it a duty which they owe to the French nation, not to leave it in the state of suspense into which it has been thrown by the late measures of the British government, have authorized him to demand with openness whether France ought to consider England as a neutral or hostile power ; at the same time being so- licitous, that not the smallest doubt should exist respectmg the disposition of France towards England, and of its desire to remain in peace. In allusion to the decree of the nineteenth of November, Chauvelin says, "that the French nation absolutely reject that false interpretation, by which it might be supposed that the French republic should favor insurrections, or excite disturbance in any neutral or friendly country whatever. In particular, they declare in the most sol- emn manner, that France will not attack Holland so long as that power adheres to the principles of her neutrality." As to the navigation of the Scheld, Chauvelin affirms it to be a question of too little importance to be made the sole cause of a war ; and that it could only be used as a pretext for a pre- meditated aggression. " On this fatal sup- position," he says, " the French nation will accept war : but such a war would be the war not of the British nation, but of the British ministry against the French repub- lic ; and of this he conjures them well to consider the terrible responsibility." ANSWERED BY LORD GRENVILLE. To this commimication lord Grenville re- turned a most arrogant and provoking an- swer. His lordship acknowledged the re- ceipt of a note fi*om Chauvelin, styling him- self mmisteT plenipotentiary of France. He reminds him that the king, since the unhap- py events of the tenth of August, had sus- pended all official communication with France ; and informs him that he cannot he treated with, in the quality and under the form stated in his note. Nevertheless, " un- der a form neither regular nor official," his GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 373 lordship condescends to reply, but iu a mode which could only tend to inflame the differ- ences subsisting between the two nations, and which, far from accepting the conces- sions and explanations made by France, sought only to discover new pretences of cavil and quarrel. In a tone of the most decided and lofty superiority, his lordship says, " If France is really desirous of main- taining friendship and peace with England, she must show herself disposed to renounce her views of aggression and aggrandize- ment, and to confine herself within her own territory, without insulting other govern- ments, without disturbing their tranquillity, without violating their rights." The relin- quishment of her recent conquests being thus haughtily demanded of France as a preliminary of peace, it might be well sup- jX)sod that negotiation was at an end. But the government of France, in the midst of their triumphs, discovered a degree of tem- per and moderation in their intercourse with England as surprising as it was laudable. MEMORIAL OF THE EXECUTIVE COUN- CIL OF FRANCE. 1793. — In answer to the letter of lord Grenville, a memorial was transmitted from Le Brun, minister of foreign aflTairs, in the name of the executive council, dated Janu- ary the fourth 1793, framed in terms of sin- gular wisdom and ability, and forming a striking contrast to tlie pride, petulance, and folly displayed in the communication of the English minister. They begin with repeat- ing " the assurances of theu* sincere desire to maintain peace and harmony between France and England. It is with great re- luctance," say they, " that the republic would see itself forced to a rupture much more contrary to its inclination than its interest." In reference to lord Grenville's refusal to acknowledge Chauvelin in his diplomatic capacity, the council remark, " that in the negotiations now carrying on at Madrid, the principal minister of his catholic majesty did not hesitate to address M, Burgoign, the ambassador of the republic at that court, by the title of minister plenipotentiary of France. But that a defect in point of form might not impede a negotiation, on the suc- cess of which depended the tranquillity of two great nations, they had sent credential letters to Chauvelin, to enable him to treat according to the severity of diplomatic forms. The council repeat, that the decree of the nineteenth of November had been misun- derstooii, and that it was far from being in- tended to favor sedition, being merely appli- cable to the single case wliere the general will of a nation, clearly and unequivocally expressed, should call for the assistance and fraternity of the French nation. Sedition can never exist in the expression of the gen- Vol. IV. 32 eral will. The Dutch were certainly not seditious when they formed the generou* resolution of throwing off" the Spanish yoke; nor was it accounted as a crime to Henry IV. or to queen Elizabeth, that they listened to their solicitations for assistance. As to the right of navigation on the Scheld, the council affirm, that it is a question of abso- lute indifference to England, little interest- ing even to Holland, but of great importance to the Belgians, who were not parties to the treaty of Westphalia, by which they were divested of that right ; but when that nation shall find itself in full possession of its lib- erty, and from any motive whatever shall consent to deprive themselves of the navi- gation of the Scheld, France will not oppose it. With respect to the charge of aggran- dizement, France, they say, has renounced and still renounces all conquest ; and its oc- cupying the Netherlands will continue no longer than the war. — If these explanations appear insufficient, afi;er having done every thing in our power to mamtain peace, we will prepare for war. We shall combat with regret the English, whom we esteem, but we shall combat them without fear." LORD GRENVILLE'S REPLY. The reply of lord Grenville to this memo- rial was couched in terms still more extra- ordinary and irritating than the first His lordship declares, "that he finds nothing satisfactory in the result of it Instead of reparation and retraction, his lordship com- plains, that nothing more is oflfered than an illusory negotiation," — as if England had a right to expect that France would give up every point in dispute previous to any nego- tiation ; or as if the offer of evacuating the Netherlands at the termination of the war, and of leaving the Belgians to settle the question relative to the Scheld, together with the positive disavowal of the offensive mean- ing ascribed to the decree of November the nineteenth, did not form a proper and suf- ficient basis of negotiation. In- fact, by these great concessions, every rational object of negotiation was accomplished; nevertheless, lord Grenville goes on to say, " that these explanations are not considered sufficient, and that all the motives which gave rise to the preparations still continue. If however, under this extra-official form you have any farther explanations to offer," says his lord- ship, " I shall willingly attend to them." In a separate note his lordship informs Chau- velin, that his majesty is not disposed to re- ceive his new letters of credence fi-om tlie French republic. Chauvelin then requested a personal interview with his lordship, which was also refiised. FRENCH AAfBASSADOR ORDERED TO LEAVE THE KINGDOM. At length this extraordinary busin€« was 374 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. brought to a crisis, by a letter from lord Grenville, dated January the twenty-fourth, 1793, in which his lordship sa3's, "I am charged to notify to you, Sir, that the char- acter with which you had been invested at this court, and the functions of which have been so long suspended, being now entirely terminated by the fatal death of his most christian majesty, you have no longer any public character here ; and his majesty has thought fit to order that you should retire from this kingdom within the term of eight days." At this very time, Maret, a confi- dential agent of Le Brun, was on his way to England with fresh dispatches from the ex- ecutive council, and as there is good reason to believe fresh concessions of the highest importance. But on his arrival in London, being informed of the compulsive dismission of Chauvelin, he did not think himself au- thorized to open his commission. He there- fore merely announced his arrival to lord Grenville, but no advances were made to liim on the part of the English. The death of the French monarch was indeed a disastrous and mournful event. It was well known that the executive council, and a great majority of the national conven- tion, were eagerly desirous to avert this fatal catastrophe ; but the violence of the Jacobin fact 'on, and the savage rage of the populace, rendered it impossible. "We may," said Le Brun to a confidential friend, "sacrifice ourselves, without being able to save the life of the king." It was not that the moderate party entertained any doubt of the veracity of the leading charges brought against the king ; for, on this point, there was never any difference of opinion in France; but they discerned innumerable circumstances of palliation, which formed an irresistible claim to compassion and mercy. In England no one attempted to justify the deed; "nor," says an animated writer of that time, " is it the season for extenuation now that the stream of prejudice flows stron.^, and the phantasm of a murdered king stalka before our affrighted imagination." KING'S MESSAGE TO THE COMMONS ON FRENCH AFFAIRS. Ow Monday the twenty-eighth of January, four days after Chauvelin had been ordered to leave the kingdom, the king sent a mes- sage to the house, importing, that, " his ma- jesty had given directions for laying before the house of commons, copies of several pa- pers which have been received from Chau- velin, late minister plenipotentiary from the most christian king, by his majesty's secre- tary of state for foreign affairs, and of the answers returned thereto ; and likewise a copy of an order made by his Tnajesty in | council, and transmitted by his majesty's! comrjaimd to tlie paid Caauvelin, in conse- ; quence of the accounts of the atrocious act, recently perpetrated at Paris. In the pres- ent situation of affairs, his majesty thinks it indispensably necessary to make a further augmentation of his forces by sea and land ; and he relies on the known affection and zeal of the house of commons to enable his ma- jesty to take the most effectual measures, in the present important conjuncture, for main- taining the security and rights of his own dominions, for supporting his allies, and for opposing views of aggrandizement and am- bition on the part of France, which would be at all times dangerous to the general in- terests of Europe, but are peculiarly so when connected with the propagation of principles which lead to the violation of the most sacred duties, and are utterly subversive of the peace and order of all civil society." PITT'S SPEECH ON MOVING THE AD- DRESS. On the first of February, his majesty's message was taken into consideration, when an animated and interesting debate arose, the result of which precluded every hope of amicable accommodation between England and France. It was opened by Mr. Pitt, who began by saying, " that amidst the many important objects arising from the message of his majesty, which now came to be con- sidered, there was one which particularly called for their attention. That attention, indeed, could not fail to be separately direct- ed to that calamitous event, that act of out- rage to every principle of religion, justice and humanity ; an act which in this country, and the whole of Europe, had excited but one general sentiment of indignation and abhorrence, and could not fail to excite the same sentiments in every civilized nation. He should, indeed, better consult his own feelings and those of the house, could he draw a veil over this melancholy event. It was in all its circumstances so fiill of grief and horror, that it must be a wish, in which all united, to tear it, if possible, from their memories, to expunge it from the page of history, and remove it for ever from the ob- servation or comments of mankind. Excidat ille dies a;vo, neu postera credant Secula ? nos cnrU taceamus, et obruta muUa Nocte tegi nostra; patiamur crimina gentis. Such," he continued, " were the words ap- plied by an author of their own, to an occa- sion (the massacre of St. Bartholomew) which had always been deemed the stand- ing reproach of the French nation, aind the horrors and cruelties of which had only been equalled by those atrocious and sanguinary proceedings whiclj had been witnessed in some late instances. But whatever might be their feelings of indignation and abhor- rence with respect to that dreadful and in- huiciUi event to which he had set out witii GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 375 calling their attention, that event now was past ; it was impossible that the present age should not now be contaminated with the guilt and ignominy of having witnessed it, or that the breath of tradition should be pre- vented from handing it down to posterity. They could only now enter their solemn protestation against that event, as contrary to every sentiment of justice and humanity, as violating the most sacred authority of laws, and the strongest principles of natural feeling. Hence, however, they might de- rive a useful theme of reflection — a lesson of salutary warning : for, in this dreadful transaction, they saw concentrated the effect of those principles pushed to their utmost extent, which set out with dissolving all the bonds of legislation by which society were held together, which were established in op- position to every law, divine and human, and presumptuously relying on the authority of wild and delusive theories, rejected all the advantages of the wisdom and experi- ence of former ages, and even the sacred instructions of revelation. While therefore he directed their attention to this transac- tion, he paid not only a tribute to humanity, but he suggested to them a subject of much useful reflection : for, by considering the consequences of these principles, they might be duly warned of their mischievous tenden- cy, and taught to guard against their pro- gress. Indeed he wished that this subject might on the present occasion be considered rather as matter of reason and reflection, than of sentiment. Sentiment was now un- availing ; but reason and reflection might be attended with the most beneficial effects ; and while they pointed out the horrid evils which had disgraced and ruined another country, might preserve our own from ex hibiting a scene of similar calamity and guilt. No consideration indeed could be more connected with a country like this, or of greater importance, than what tended to avert such transactions as had taken place in that neighboring state. Here, where a monarch formed an essential part of the gov- ernment, clothed with that inviolability which was essential to the exercise of the sovereign power ; where the legislature was composed of a mixture of democracy and Aristocracy ; and where, by the benefits of this system, we had been exempted from those mischiefs which in former ages had been produced by despotism, and which were only to be exceeded by those still more hor- rid evils which in the present time had been found to be the fruits of licentiousness and anarchy. The situation of this country, he must, indeed, compare to the temperate zone, which was the situation in every re- spect best fitted for health and enjoyment ; and where, enjoying a mild, beneficial, regu- lated influence, the inhabitants were equally protected from the scorching heats of the torrid, and the rigorous frosts of the frigid zones. Compared with this country, where equal protection was extended to all, and there existed so high a sum of national fe- licity, dreadful indeed was the contrast af- forded in the present situation of France, where there prevailed a system of the ut- most licentiousness and disorder, and anar- chy through a thousand organs operated to produce unnumbered mischiefs. Such a sys- tem could surely never find its way into this happy country, unless industriously import- ed ; and to guard against the introduction of such a system was their first duty and their most important care. His majesty had declined taking any part in the internal gov- ernment of France, and had made a positive declaration to that eflTect. When he took that wise, generous, and disinterested reso- lution, he had reason to expect that the French would m return have respected the rights of himself and his allies, and most of all, that they would not have attempted any internal interference in this country. A pa- per oh the table contained on their part a positive contract to abstain from any of those acts by which they had provoked the indig- nation of this country. In this paper the^ disclaimed all views of aggrandizement ; they gave assurances of their good conduct to neutral nations; they protested against their entertaming an idea of interfering in the government of the country or making any attempts to excite insurrection, upon the express ground that such interference and such attempts would be a violation of the law of nations. They had themselves, by anticipation, passed sentence upon their own conduct ; and the event of this even- ing's discussion would decide, whether that sentence would be confirmed by those who had actually been injured. Durmg the whole summer, while France had been en- gaged in the war with Austria and Prussia, his majesty had in no shape departed from the neutrality which he had engaged to ob- serve, nor did he, by the smallest act, give any reason to suspect his adherence to that system. But what, he would ask, was the conduct of the French 1 Had they also faith- fully observed their part of the agreement, and adhered to the assurances which, on the ground of his majesty's neutrality, they had given, to reject all views of aggrandize- ment, not to interfere with neutral nations, and to respect the rights of his majesty and his allies? What had been their conduct would very soon appear from the statement of facts. They had immediately showed how little sincere they were in their first assurances, by discovering intentions to pur- sue a system of the most unlimited aggran- 376 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN, dizement, if they were not opposed and checked in their career. The first instance of their success in Savoy had been sufficient to unfold the plan of their ambition. They had immediately adopted the course to an- nex it for ever to their own dominions, and had displayed a resolution to do the same, wherever they should carry their arms. That they might not leave any doubt of their intentions, by a formal decree they had stated their plan of overturning every gov- ernment, and substituting their own ; they threatened destruction to all who should not be inclined to adopt their system of free- dom, and, by a horrid mockery, offered fra- ternization, where, if it was refused, they were determined to employ force, and to propagate their principles, where they should fail to gain assent, by the mouths of cannon. They established, in the instruc- tions to the commissioners whom they ap- pointed to enforce the decree with respect to the countries entered by tlieir armies, a standing revolutionary order ; they institut- ed a system of organizing disorganization. And what was the reason they assigned for all this ? ' The period of freedom,' said they, ' must soon come : we must then endeavor, by all means in our power, to accomplish it now, for should this freedom be accomplish- ed by other nations, what then will become of us 1 Shall we then be safe V It is a question indeed which they might well put, ' What will become of us V for justly might they entertain doubts of their safety. They had rendered the Netherlands a province, in substance as well as name, entirely depend- ent upon France. That system, pursued by the jacobin societies, in concert with their correspondents, had given a more fatal blow to liberty than any which it had ever suffer- ed from the boldest attempts of the most as- piring monarch. What had been the cir- cumstances which had attended the tri- umphal entry of general Dumourier 1 De- monstrations of joy inspired by terror, illu- minations imperiously demanded by an arm- ed force. And when the primary assembly met to deliberate, in what circumstances did they assemble 1 With the tree of liberty planted amidst them, and surrounded by a hollow square of French soldiers, a situation surely equally conducive to the ease of their own thoughts, and the freedom of their pub- lic deliberations. And what had happened even since the French had professed their intention of evacuating the territories which they had entered, at the conclusion of the war 1 A deputation had been received from Hainault, requesting that it might be added as an eighty-fifth department. And how had this deputation been received ] Had the re- quest been rejected 1 No, it had only been postponed till a committee should be able to prepare instructions, how those nations, who should be desirous of the same union, should be able to incorporate themselves with France in a regular and formal manner, till the preliminaries should be settled by which it should subject to its government, and add to its territories, every country which should be so unfortunate as to experience the force of its arms, and give to its wild and destruc- tive ambition, only the same limits with those of its power. It was matter of serious consideration, how far such a conduct not only ought to rouse the indignation, but might tend to affect the interests of this country. To show how the French had be- haved with respect to neutral nations, he need only refer to their decree of the nine- teenth of November, which had already been so often mentioned and so amply dis- cussed. He should read an extract from this decree. He then read that passage in which the French granted fraternity to all tlio&e people who should be desirous to gain their freedom, and offer them assistance for that purpose. And that none might be at a loss to know to whom the French nation were disposed to grant this relationship of younger brothers, they had ordered the decree to be printed in all languages, by which it might be perceived that they intended the favor to all nations who chose to accept of it. Some pretended explanations had indeed been giv- en of this decree, but of all these explana- tions he should say nothing but what had already been stated by the noble secretary of state, that they contained only an avowal and a repetition of the offence. The whole of their language, institutions, and conduct, had been directed to the total subversion of every government. To monarchy particu- larly they had testified the most decided aversion, and so violent was their enmity, that they could be satisfied with nothing less than its entire extermination. The bloody sentence, which the hand of the as- sassin had lately carried into execution against their own monarch, was passed against the sovereigns of all countries. Were not these principles intended to be applied in their effects to this government 1 No society in this country, however small in number, however contemptible, however even questionable in existence, had sent ad- dresses to their assembly, in which they had expressed sentiments of sedition and trea- son, which had not been received with a de- gree even of theatrical extravagance, and cherished with all the enthusiasm of conge- nial feeling. Need he then ask if England was not aimed at in this conduct, and if it alone was to be exempted from the conse- quences of a system, the profession of which was anarchy, and which seemed to aspire to establish universal dominion upon the ruin GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 377 of every government 1 On the subject of the violation of the rights of his majesty and his allies, he had already on a former occa- sion spoken at some length. He had stated, that the only claim which the French could have to interfere in the navigation of the Scheld, must either be in the assumed char- acter of sovereign of the Low Countries, or as taking to themselves the office of the ar- biters of Europe. There were the most sol- emn engagements of treaties to protect the Dutch in Sieir exclusive right of navigating the Scheld. An infringement of treaties more notorious and more flagrant perhaps never had occurred, than that which now appeared in the instance of their conduct with respect to the Scheld. For this in- fringement they had advanced some pre- tences, alleging that the exclusive privilege of navigating the Scheld was contrary to certain principles with respect to the rights of rivers. Capricious and wild in their the- ory, and in entire contradiction to whatever had been sanctioned by established practice, they likewise pretend, that the treaty, on which was founded the exclusive right of navigating the Scheld, was antiquated and obsolete, and had become no longer binding, though they had themselves, upon receiving the assurances of his majesty's intentions of neutrality, pledged themselves to an observ- ance of all the subsisting treaties. The pre- tences which they alleged upon this occa- sion were indeed such as equally went to weaken the force of every treaty, to remove every obligation, and destroy all confidence between nations. From what had passed in a former part of the evening, he understood that it would be urged, that the Dutch had made no formal requisition for the support of this country, in order to resist the open- ing of the Scheld by the French, and to en- able them to maintain their right to the ex- clusive navigation of that river. He grant- ed that no such formal requisition had been made. But might there not be prudential reasons for not making this requisition on their part, very different from those which should induce this country to withhold its support 1 When the French opened the Scheld, the Dutch entered their solemn pro- test against that invasion of their rights, which left them at liberty, at any time, to take it up as an act of hostility. If, from the sudden progress of the French arms, and the circumstances of their forces being at their very door, they either from prudence or fear did not think proper to take it up as an immediate commencement of hostilities ; because they had been timid, would England think itself entitled to leave its allies, al ready involved in a situation of imminent danger, to that certain ruin to which they were exposed, in consequence of a system, 32* the principles of which threatened also de- struction to England, to Europe, and to the whole of mankind 1 Thus, in all those three assurances which they had given of their intention to reject any system of aggran- dizement, to atetain from interfering in the government of any neutral country, and to respect the rights of his majesty and of his allies, they haS entirely failed, and in every respect completely reversed that line of con- duct which they had so solemnly pledged themselves to adopt. Whatever they had oflfered under the name of explanations con- tained nothing that either afforded any com- pensation for the past, or was at all satisfac- tory with respect to the future. They had stated, that they would evacuate the Nether- lands at the conclusion of the war — upon a promise so illusory there could not be the smallest grounds of dependence. With re- spect to the decree of the nineteenth of No- vember, they had made no apology for the manner in which they had received sedi- tious addresses from this country. They stated indeed, that it was injurious to them to suppose that they would interfere in any government without a previous express de- claration of the national will : but they had left themselves to judge what was sufficient to constitute that declaration of the national will, and thus allowed this decree, which in fact was nothmg else tlian an advertisement for sedition in every country, to remain in full force ; and what in their opinion was to constitute a declaration of the national will, we could only judge of from the manner in which they had received seditious addresses from a minority in this country, so small, that those who were disposed to put the con- duct of the French in the most favorable point of view, held them out as too con- temptible for notice : these addresses they received as expressive of the sentiments of the people of Great Britain, the great ma- jority of whom he was, however, happy to say, detested their principles — principles which, if once adopted, would involve in them the ruin of our happy constitution, and the destruction of our country, and intro- duce anarchy and all those scenes of horror with which the country which had broached them was now afflicted : but the patience of the house and his strength would fail him should he proceed to state all the facts con- nected with the propositions which he now meant to lay before them. On the twenty- seventh of December, M. Chauvelin, on the part of the executive council, had presented the note complaining of the injurious con- struction of the decree of the nineteenth of November. On the thirty-first of Decem- ber, a member of that executive council (minister of the marine) addressed a letter to all the friends of liberty in the sea-ports; 378 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. from which he would now read some pas- sages. 'The government of England is arming, and the king of Spain, encouraged by this, is preparing to attack us. These two tyrannical powers, after persecuting the patriots on their own territories, think, no doubt, that they shall be able to influence the judgment to be pronounced on the ty- rant Louis. They hope to frighten us : but no — a people who have made themselves free — a people who have driven out of the bosom of France, and as far as the distant borders of the Rhine, the terrible army of the Prussians and Austrians — the people of France will not suffer laws to be dictated to them by a tyrant. The king and his par- liament mean to make war against us. Will the English republicans suffer it 1 Already these free men show their discontent, and the repugnance which they have to bear arms against their brothers the French — Well ! we will fly to their succor ! — we will make a descent on the island — we will lodge there fifty thousand caps of liberty — we will plant there the sacred tree, and we will stretch out our arms to our republican brethren — the tyranny of their government will soon be destroyed.' He called the at- tention of the house to this declaration, which distinguished the English people from the king and the parliament, and to the na- ture of that present which was meant to be made them. While such declarations were made, what could be thought of any expla- nations which were pretended to be given, or what credit was due to the assertions, that they entertained no intentions hostile to the government of this country ? From all these circumstances he concluded, that the conduct and pretensions of the French were such as were neither consistent with the existence or safety of this country, such as that house could not, and he was con- fident, never would, acquiesce in. Their explanations had only been renewed insults, and instead of reverting to those assurances with which they had originally set out, they now showed themselves determined to main- tain the ground, such as it was, upon which they stood witli respect to this country. In the last paper wliich had been delivered, they had given in an ultimatum, stating that, unless you accept such satisfaction as they have thought proper to give, they will prepare for war. Unless you then recede from your principles, or they withdraw it, a war must be the consequence — as to the time, the precise moment, he should not pre- tend to fix it — it would be left open to the last for any satisfactory explanation, but he should deceive them if he should say, that he thought any such explanation would be given, or that it was probable that a war could be avoided : rather than recede from our principles, war was preferable to a peace, which could neither be consistent with the internal tranquillity nor external safety of this country." He then moved an address of thanks to his majesty. OPPOSED BY LORD WYCOMB, WHIT- BREAD, AND FOX. Earl Wycomb said, " that he conceived it to be his most indispensable duty to use every argument in his power to avert from his country so grievous a calamity as that of entering into a war ; a calamity of such a nature, as to leave only a doubt as to the extent of ills which might probably result from it ; and he conjured the house not to agree to the proposed address, till they had well considered the consequence. This country, his lordship said, was in no danger whatever, being equally secured by its in- sular situation, its internal resources, and the strong attachment of the people to the constitution: he conceived, therefore, that we had no ground for alarm on the first point mentioned in the message from his majesty. As to the second point, the security of our allies, his lordship said it was impos- sible we could be told that Prussia had been attacked by France, and of course this part of the message must relate to Holland. If the navigation of the Scheld was the sub- ject of dispute, it appeared to be a matter of indiflference to this country ; except that in one view it would be of great advantage to our commerce and manufactures, by opening a new channel in the best and most convenient situation for sending our manu- factures into all the continent of Europe. From several circumstances it would be idle and impolitic in the Dutch themselves to meditate war, and they seem by no means disposed to do so : shall we then urge them to resistance, and menace France with war] With regard to the new point in his ma- jesty's message, the propagation of French principles, he thought it by no means safe to go to war against principles. If the prin- ciples alluded to were levelling principles, they should be met with contempt : but he by no means reprobated all the French prin- ciples. — Great stress had been laid on the cruelties perpetrated in France; but he could not think they were a proper cause of war : in his opinion these cruelties had all originated in the famous expedition of the duke of Brunswick, which might be called a fraternity of kings for the purpose of im- posing despotism on all Europe. Another ground taken by ministers, he said, was the necessity of preserving the balance of power in Europe — or, the system of Europe : but he could not see why the country should be ready, upon all occasions, to go to war for the benefit of other nations. This system he looked upon to be no more than a politi- cal fiction, a cover for any interference that caprice might dictate. The next thing to GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 379 which he wished to call the attention of the house was the means of carrying on the war. When the present supposed accumu- lation, of which ministers boasted, was ex- hausted, they must have recourse to new taxes ; and if there was no absolute neces- sity for war, why burden the people to main- tain a war, of the issue of which no judg- ment could be formed; and the relative situation of France to this country was such, that the connexion of this country with lier should not, he thought, be put to un- necessary hazard. The war might be car- ried on for some time without any additional duties; but when our resources were ex- liausted, taxes must follow, accompanied by the murmurs, if not execrations, of the people; and he hoped we would not fall into an error with respect to the finances of France, for it had undoubtedly resources which would be sufficient at least for some time. The death of the king of France had been pathetically lamented by ministers ; but they never attempted to interfere, and while they professed peace, used every haughty irritating provocation to war. Upon the whole, he could view the war in no other light than as a revival of the system of extirpation that was the basis of the late American war. He should therefore give Jiis negative to the motion for the address." Whitbread, junr. said, " The house was then to consider whether war was justifiable upon any grounds stated in the papers upon the table, and whether ministers had done their utmost to avert that calamity. To both these he gave a decided negative ; and before he adverted to the grounds stated in the papers, he should say something as to the real cause of the war, as he conceived it would at length appear to be, if war were undertaken. This was no less than the total overthrow of the new system of gov- ernment existing in France: for no other reason could ministers have refused to ac- knowledge the republic. They had admitted of non-official communications : this was an acknowledgment of the power residing in those persons with whom they thus commu- nicated; but they refused to acknowledge the right of those persons to the exercise of the power with which they were invested. This was securing the possibility of joining with the combined powers, whenever a con- venient opportunity might offer, for the over- throw of the new system. He deprecated such an attempt as contrary to the rights of nations. No country had a right to inter- fere with the internal arrangements adopted by another. The national will was supreme in every country ; and tbat alone could con- stitute, alter, or modify forms of government Could any man doubt that the nation willed a republic in France 1 If we attempted to interfere with the disposition of the national will, let us recollect upon what grounds the title of the king of England stood, — upon the will of the nation ; and one of the most despotic sovereigns in Europe, the empress of Russia, owed her elevation to the supposed expression of the national will, at the revo- lution in 1762. She possessed the throne upon no other footing; and what form of government soever any nation willed for it- self, such it had the right to adopt. He now came to the first stated ground of complaint of this country agamst France, — the decree of November the nineteenth ; which decree he did not in itself defend ; but he contend- ed that the explanation which the French had been disposed to give of that decree, was such as to take away all well-grounded apprehensions of any injury designed to this country, and certainly would not justify us in going to war. The next object stated was the aggrandizement of France, which was likely to endanger the balance of Eu- rope. Upon the subject of the balance of Europe, which now appeared to be a matter of such signal importance, he begged to call the attention of the house, and to the general conduct of his majesty's ministers in their endeavors to maintain that balance. At the time the despotic powers had formed a combi- nation against France, which it was not con- ceivable that she could resist — when it ap- peared that the country was to be overrun, and to become an easy prey to the duke of Brunswick, no apprehensions were enter- tained on account of the balance of power ; the same supineness had been visible when the empress of Russia, in the course of the last summer, had taken possession of Poland : but now that the French were victorious, and had defeated their enemies, combined to crush them, the balance of power was in danger ! But the aggrandizement of France was dangerous as connected with the prin- ciples she propagated : he begged to knovv- whether this apprehension was not equally well founded, when applied to the case of Russia] he conceived the principles of des- potism propagated by the sword of the one, as dangerous to the general security of Eu- rope, as the licentiousness propagated by the sword of the other. With regard to the request urged by the British government, that the French should withdraw their troops within their own territory, m order to pave the way to any negotiation with us, he thought such a demand the height of inso- lence. France had been attacked ; she had successfully repelled that attack, and gained possession of the territory of her adversar}-, and had a right to maintain that possession, at least till the conclusion of the war, to en- able her to make advantageous terms for herself We had forced her to an anticipa- tion of her designs on the subject of Brabant She had declared her intentions not to add 380 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the low countries to her own territories ; but to suiFer the Belgians to erect themselves into an independent sovereignty. A hard necessity, indeed, he should conceive it for Great Britain, to be forced to go to war, to maintain to the Dutch the exclusive naviga- tion of the Scheld ; but he had nev^er said that he was against supporting the faith of treaties, where the casus fcRderis was clearly defined. But was it, in this instance, a new and unexercised right of nature for which it was contended? certainly not. Antwerp was a monument of the exercise of that right by her inhabitants ; and he was free to say, that it would give him joy to see the commerce of that once flourishing city re- stored ; for the exclusive navigation of the Scheld had been ' established by force, and consented to by weakness.' But a neces- spry preliminary to these investigations, would have been some precise requisition of the Dutch for the stipulated assistance of her ally. The chancellor of the exchequer had avowed that no such demand had been made; and if the house were to judge of the dispositions of the States-General by their own declarations, he believed it would be found that they did not think it worth their while to go to war for the maintenance of this right. He alluded to the proclamation for a general fast put forth by the States- General on January the tenth, in which they declare that they are then at peace, and that the strict neutrality they observed had hitherto protected them from aggression. A manifest token that they did not consider the free navigation of the Scheld, as assert- ed by the French, a reason for going to war. If then we did go to war on that ground, we should force our allies into it, and not ourselves be involved in it by the terms of our alliance." Whitbread said, " that having gone through the matter contained in the papers, as far as they related to the proba- bility of war, he could find no justification of the conduct of administration. He thought the maintenance of peace, consistently with the dignity, honor, and interests of this country, was perfectly in the power of min- isters : but their conduct and words denoted war." Fox said, " that although some words had fallen from the right honorable gentleman (Pitt), which might lead him to thmk, that war was not absolutely determined upon, yet the general tenor and impression of his speech was such as to induce him to enter somewhat at large into the subject. The crimes, the murders, and the massacres, that had been committed in France, he did not view with less horror, he did not consider as less atrocious, than those who made them the perpetual theme of their declamation, although he put them entirely out of the question in the present debate. The con- demnation and execution of the king, he pronounced an act as disgraceful as any that history recorded ; and whatever opinion he might at any time have expressed in private conversation, he had expressed none cer- tainly in that house, on the justice of bring- ing kings to trial, revenge being unjustifia- ble, and punishment useless, where it could not operate either by way of prevention or example. He saw neither propriety nor wisdom in that house passing judgment on any act committed in another nation, which had no direct reference to us. The general maxim of policy always was, that the crimes perpetrated in one independent state were not cognizable by another. Need he remind the house of our former conduct in this re- spect] Had we not treated, had we not formed alliances with Portugal and with Spain, at the very time when these king- doms were disgraced and polluted by the most shocking and barbarous acts of super- stition and cruelty, of racks, torture, and bummg, under the abominable tyranny of the inquisition? Did we ever make these outrages against reason and humanity a pre- text for war ? Did we ever inquire how the princes with whom we had relative interests either obtained or exercised their power? Why then were the enormities of the French in their own country held up as a cause of war ? Much of these enormities had been attributed to the attack of the combined powers ; but this he neither considered as an excuse, nor would argue as a palliation. If they had dreaded, or had felt an attack, to retaliate on their fellow-citizens, however much suspected, was a proceeding which justice disclaimed; and he had flattered himself, that when men were disclaiming old, and professing to adopt new principles, those of persecution and revenge would be the first that they would discard. He should now show, that all the topics to which Pitt had adverted, were introduced into the de bate to blind the judgment, by rousing the passions, and were none of them the just grounds of war. These grounds were three ; the danger of Holland ; the decree of the French convention of November the nine- teenth ; and the general danger to Europe, from the progress of the French arms. With respect to Holland, the conduct of ministers afforded a fresh proof of their disingenuous- ness. They could not state, that the Dutch had called upon us to fulfil the terms of our alliance. They were obliged to confess, that no such requisition had been made ; but added, that they knew the Dutch were very much disposed to make it Whatever might be the words of the treaty, we were bound in honor, by virtue of that treaty, to protect the Dutch, if they called upon us to do so, but neither by honor nor the treaty till then. The conduct of the Dutch was very unfor- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 381 tunate upon this occasion. In the order for a general fast by the states, it was expressly said, ' That their neutrality seemed to put them into security amidst surrounding armies, and hitherto effectually protected them from molestation.' This he by no means construed into givmg up the opening of the Scheld on their part ; but it pretty clearly showed, that they were not disposed to make it the cause of a war, unless forced to do so by us. But France had broke faith with the Dutch ; was this a cause for us to go to war ? How long was it since we con- sidered a circumstance tending to diminish the good understanding between France and Holland, as a misfortune to this country *? The plain state of the matter was, that we were bound to save Holland from war, or by war if called upon ; and that to force the Dutch into a war at so much peril to them, which they saw and dreaded, was not to ful- fil, but to abuse the treaty. Hence he com- plained of the disingenuous conduct of min- isters, in imputing that to the Dutch, which the Dutch wished to avoid. The decree of the nineteenth of November, he considered as an insult ; and the explanation of the executive council as no adequate satisfac- tion; but the explanation showed that the French were not disposed to insist upon that decree, and that they were inclined to peace ; and then our ministers, with haughtiness un- exampled, told them they had insulted us, but refused to tell them the nature of the satisfaction that we required. It was said, we must have security ; and he was ready to admit that neither a disavowal by the executive council of France, iior a tacit re- peal by the convention, on the intimation of an unacknowledged agent, of a decree, which they might renew the day afler they repealed it, would be a sufficient security. But at least we ought to tell them what we meant by security, for it was the extreme of arrogance to complain of insult without deigning to explain what reparation we re- quired : and he feared an indefinite term was here employed, not for the purpose of obtain- ing, but of precluding satisfaction. Next it was said, they must withdraw their troops from the Austrian Netherlands, before we could be satisfied. Were we then come to that pitch of insolence, as to say to France, ' You have conquered part of an enemy's territory, who made war upon you ; we will not interfere to make peace, but we require you to abandon the advantages you have gained, while he is preparing to attack you anew.' Was this the neutrality we meant to hold out to France 1 ♦ If you are invaded and beaten, we will be quiet spectators ; but if you hurt your enemy, if you enter his territory, we declare war against you.' If the invasion of the Netherlands was what now alarmed us, and that it ought to alarm us if the result was to make the country an appendage to France, there could be no doubt, we ought to have interposed to prevent it in the very first instance ; for it was the natu- ral consequence which every man foresaw of a war between France and Austria. The French now said, they would evacuate the country at the conclusion of the war, and when its liberties were established. Was this sufficient 1 By no means : but we ought to tell what we would deem sufficient, in- stead of saying to them, as we were now . saying, 'this is an aggravation, this is no- thing, and this is insufficient.' That war was unjust which told not an enemy the ground of provocation, and the measure of atonement ; it was as impolitic as unjust ; for without the object of contest, clearly and definitely stated, what opening could there be for treating of peace 1 Before going to war with France, surely the people, who must pay and suffer, ought to be informed on what object they were to fix their hopes for its honorable termination. After five or six years' war, the French might agree to evacuate the Netherlands as the price of peace ; wslb it clear that they would not do so now, if we would condescend to propose it in intelligible terms 1 Surely in such an alternative, the experiment was worth try- ing: but then we had no security against the French principles. — What security would they be able to give us, afler a war which they could not give now 1 With re- spect to the general danger of Europe, the same arguments applied, and to the same ext.pnt. To the general situation and secu- rity of Europe, we had been so scandalously inattentive ; we had seen the entire con- quest of Poland, and the invasion of France, with such marked indifference, that it would be difficult now to take it up with the grace of sincerity ; but even this would be better provided for, by proposing terms before go- ing to war. He had thus shown that none of the professed causes were grounds for going to war. What then remained but the internal government of France, always dis- avowed, but ever kept in mind, and con- stantly mentioned ? The destruction of that government was the avowed object of the combined powers whom it was hoped we were to join ; and we could not join them heartily if our object were one thing while theirs was another ; for in that case the party whose object was first obtained might naturally be expected to make separate terms, and there could be no cordiality nor confidence. To this then we came at last, that we were ashamed to own engaging to aid the restoration of despotism, and collu- sively sought pretexts in the Scheld and the Netherlands. Such would be the real cause of the war, if war we were to have — a war, which he trusted he should soon see as gen- 382 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. erally execrated as it was now thought to be popular. In all decisions on peace or war, it was important to consider what we might lose, and what we could gain. On the one hand, extension of territory was neither ex- pected nor eligible. On the other, although he feared not the threat of the French ma- rine minister, would any man say that our ally might not suffer ; that the events of war might not produce a change in the internal state of Holland, and m the situation of the stadtholder, too afflictmg for him to antici- pate. In weighing the probable danger, every consideration ought to be put into the scale. Was the state of Ireland such as to make war desirable? Tliat was a subject which had been said by some honorable gen tlemen to be too delicate to be touched upon ; but he approved not of that delicacy which taught men to shut their eyes to danger. The state of Ireland he was not afraid to mention. He thought it both promising and alarming; promising, because the govern- ment of this country had forced the govern ment of that to an acknowledgment of the undoubted rights of a great majority of the people of Ireland, after having, in a former session, treated their humble petition with contempt, and in the summer endeavored to stir up the Protestants against the Catholics ; alarming, because the gross misconduct of administration had brought the government and the legislature into contempt in the eyes of the people. If there were any danger from French principles, to go to wa" without necessity was to fight for their propagation. On these principles, as reprobated in the proposed address, he would freely give his opinion. It was not the principles that were bad and to be reprobated, but the abuse of them. From the abuse, not the principles, had flowed all the evils that afflicted France. The use of the word equality by the French was deemed highly objectionable. When taken as they meant it, nothing was more in- nocent ; for what did they say 7 ' all men are equal in respect of their rights.' To this he assented ; all men had equal rights ; equal rights to unequal things ; one man to a shil- ling, another to a thousand pounds ; one man to a cottage, another to a palace ; but the right in both was the same ; an equal right of enjoying, an equal right of inheriting or acquiring ; and of possessing inheritance or acquisition. — The effect of the proposed ad- dress was to condemn, not the abuse of those principles, (and the French had much abused them,) but the principles themselves. To this he could not assent, for they were the principles on which all just and equitable government was founded. He had already differed sufficiently with a right honorable gentleman (Burke) on this subject, not to wish to provoke any fresh difference ; but even against so great an authority he must say, that tlie people are the sovereigns in every state ; that they have a right to change the form of their government, and a right to cashier their governors for misconduct, as the people of this country cashiered James II. not by parliament, or any regular form known to the constitution, but by a conven- tion speaking the sense of the people ; that convention produced a parliament and a king. They elected William to a vacant throne, not only setting aside James, whom they had justly cashiered for misconduct, but his inno- cent son. Again they elected the house of Brunswick, not individually, but by dynasty ; and that dynasty to continue while the terms and conditions on which it was elected are fulfilled, and no longer. He could not ad- mit the right of doing all this but by ac- knowledgmg the sovereignty of the people as paramount to all other laws. But it was said, that although we had once exercised this power, we had in the very act of exer- cising it, renounced it for ever. — We had neither renounced it, nor, if we had been so disposed, was such a renunciation in our power. We elected first an individual, then a dynasty, and lastly, passed an act of parlia- ment in the reign of queen Anne, declaring it to be the right of the people of this realm to do so again without even assigning a rea- son. If there were any persons among us who doubted the superior wisdom of our monarchical form of government, their error was owing to those who changed its strong and irrefragable foundation in the right and choice of the people, to a more flimsy ground of title. Those who proposed repelling opinions by force, the example of the French in the Netherlands might teach the impo- tence of power to repel or introduce. But how was a war to operate in keeping opin- ions supposed dangerous out of this country ? It was not surely meant to beat the French out of their own opinions; and opinions were not like commodities, the importation of which from France war would prevent War, it was to be lamented, was a passion inherent in the nature of man ; and it was curious to observe what at various periods had been the various pretexts. In ancient times wars were made for conquest. To these succeeded wars for religion ; and the opinions of Luther and Calvin were attacked with all the fury of superstition and of power. The next pretext was commerce ; and it would probably be allowed that no nation that made war for commerce ever found the object accomplished, on concluding peace. Now we were to make war about opinions : what was this but recurring again to an exploded cause ; for a war about prin- cij)les in religion was as much a war about opinions, as a war about principles in poli- GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 363 tics. The justifiable grounds of war were insult, injury, or danger. For the first, satis- faction ; for the second, reparation ; for the third, security was the object. Each of these, too, was the proper object of negotia- tion, which ought ever to precede war, ex- cept in case of an attack actually commenced. How had we negotiated 1 Not in any pub- lic or sufficient form, a mode which he sus- pected, and lamented, by his proposing it had been prevented. When the triple league was formed to check the ambition of Louis the fourteenth, the contracting parties did not deal so rigorously by him, as we were now told it was essential to the peace of Europe tliat we should deal by the French. They never told LouiiJ that he must renounce all his conquests, in order to obtain peace But then it was said to be our duty to hate the French for the part they took in the American war. He hed heard of a duty to love, but a duty to hate was new to him. That duty, however, ought to direct our hatred to the old government of France, not to the new, which had no hand in the provo- cation. Unfortunately the new French gov- ernment was admitted to be the successor of the old in nothing but its faults and its of- fences. It was a successor to be hated and to war against ; but it was not a successor to be negotiated with. He feared, however, that war would be the result, and from war apprehending greater evils than he durst name, he should have shrunk from his duty if he had not endeavored to obtain an expo- sition of the distinct causes : of all wars he dreaded that the most which had no definite object, because of such a war it was impos- sible to see the end. Our war with Ameri- ca had a definite object, an unjust one indeed, but still definite ; and after wading through years on years of expense and blooJ, after exhausting invectives and terms of contempt on the vagrant congress, one Adams, one Washington, &c. &c. we were compelled at last to treat with this very congress, and those very men. The Americans, to the honor of their character, committed no such horrid acts as had disgraced the French ; but v.'e were as liberal of our obloquy to the former then, as to the latter now. If we did but know for what we were to fight, we might look forward with confidence, and exert ourselves with unanimity ; but while kept thus in the dark, how many might there be who would believe that we were fighting the battles of despotism. To undeceive those who might fall into this unhappy delusion, it would be no derogation from the dignity of office to grant an explanation. If the right honorable gentleman (Pitt) would but yet consider — if he would but cave the country from a war — above all, a war of! opinion, however inconsistent with hie for- 1 mer declarations his measures might be, he would gladly consent to give him a general indemnity for the whole, and even a vote of thanks. Let not the fatal opinion go abroad that kings had an interest different from that of their subjects ; that between those who had property and those who had none there was not a common cause and common feeling." The question being put on the motion, the address was carried with- out a division. THE FRENCH DECLARE WAR AGAINST BRITAIN AND HOLLAND. These debates are perhaps sufficient to convince the most incredulous that the Brit- ish ministry were determined on war — that they were more solicitous to color the pre- text for hostilities against France, than to obtain satisfaction for the acts of aggression complained of, as appears from the tenor of their proceedings. If in support of these charges any additional proof is wanting, we shall find it amply supplied by a letter from lord Auckland, the English ambassador at the Hague, dated January the twenty- fifth, 1793, and presented to the States- General immediately on the departure of Chauvelin. In this letter, his lordship af- firms to their high mightinesses, in language which sets all ideas of decency and decorum at defiance, that " not four years ago some wretches, assuming the title of philosophers, had the presumption to think themselves capable of establishing a new system of civil society. In order to realize that dream of their vanity, they found it necessary to overthrow and destroy all received notions of subordination, manners, and religion, which have hitherto formed all the security, happiness, and consolation of the human race. Their destructive projects have but too well succeeded. But the effects of the new system which they endeavored to intro- duce served only to show the imbecility and villany of its authors. The events which so rapidly followed each other smce that epoch, surpass in atrocity all which had ever polluted the pages of history. Property, liberty, security, even life itself, have been deemed pla)rthings in the hands of infamous men, who are the, slaves of the most licen- tious passions of rapine, enmity, and ambi- tion." From the conduct of the English government at home, and the very high lan- guage and sentiments conveyed through their diplomatic organs abroad, the French now saw that every hope of peace was vanished. The convention therefore came to a resolution of anticipating the designs of the English and the Dutch, and, by a de- cree unanimously passed on the first of Feb- ruary 1793, declared the republic of France at war with the kinjr of Great Britain, aiid the etadthaMer of Holland. 384 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. CHAPTER XXV. Motion to ascertain the precise grounds of War — Motion for Peace — Barracks — Mo- tion for an Inquiry respecting Sedition — Message on German Auxiliaries — Ways and Means — Traitorous Correspondence Bill — The French propose to treat for Peace, but receive no Reply — Subsidy to Sardinia — Numerous Bankruptcies, and Aid given for relief of Commerce — Motions of Censure on Lord Auckland — Pro- ceedings of British Parliament — Hastings^ Trial — Parliament prorogued — Pro- ceedings of Irish Parliament — Military Transactions on the Continent — Capture of Pondicherry and Tobago — Insurrection of the Royalists in Brittany and Poitou — The French Convention declares War against Spain — Proceedings of the two leading Parties in France — Death of Marat. fOX'S MOTION TO ASCERTAIN THE PRE- CISE GROUNDS OF WAR.— MOTION FOR PEACE.— BARRACKS, &c. As the prevailing opinion of the British public appeared to be for war, but chiefly because the friends of peace feared to be deemed abettors of revolutionary principles, Fox, on the eighteenth of February, moved a series of resolutions, stating that war with France, on the grounds alleged, was neither for the honor nor the interest of this coun- try; that ministers, in their late negotia- tions with the French government, had not taken the proper means for procuring an amicable redress of the grievances com- plained of; and that it was their duty to ad- vise his majesty against entering into en- gagements which might prevent a separate peace. He alleged that his object in making these motions was to procure a declaration of the precise grounds of the war, he being persuaded that the real objects of our minis- ters in going to war were those which they disclaimed ; and that those which they avow- ed were only pretexts. But the resolutions so proposed, and a motion by Grey for an address to his majesty, expressing the opin- ion that the differences between this country and France might have been adjusted by ne- gotiation, and requesting his majesty to em- brace the first opportunity of restoring peace ; — and also a motion by Taylor, in the same month, "that it is the opinion of this house that the uniform and persevering op- position of our ancestors, from time to time, to the erecting barracks in this country, was founded upon a just sense of the true prin- ciples of our most excellent constitution : and that the soldiers should live intermixed j with the people, in order that they might be I connected v.^'ith them ; and that no separate I camp, no barracks, no inland fortresses,! should be allowed ;" — with a motion by Sheridan, on the fourth of March, that the house should resolve itself into a committee, to consider of the seditious practices refer- red to in his majesty's speech, were succes- sively rejected or negatived : so decided a preponderance had the advocates for a war, the course and issue of which it was in vain to conjecture. GERMAN AUXILIARIES. WAYS AND MEANS. — ^TRAITOROUS CORRESPOND- ENCE BILL. A MESSAGE from the king was presented to parliament, on the sixth of March, stating that he had engaged a body of his electored troops in the service of Great Britain, for the purpose of assisting his allies, the States- general, and that he had directed an esti- mate! of the charge to be laid before the house. In a committee of supply, on the eleventh, Pitt brought forward his budget for the current year, estimating the total of the expenses at eleven million one hundred and eighty-two thousand two hundred and thirteen pounds, and of the ways and means at eight million two hundred and ninety- nine thousand six hundred and ninety-six pounds. The deficiency he proposed to raise by loan, and to defray the interest by making permanent the temporary taxes imposed upon occasion of the Spanish armament. He made some remarks which show how little he then contemplated the excessive in- crease of the national debt, and of the taxa- tion consequent thereon, which has since taken place. "I do not think it useless," said he, " to suggest some observations with respect to this war in which we are en- gaged." He said, that the excess of the permanent revenue was then nine hundred thousand pounds above the peace establish- ment; which, even if destroyed by war, would leave the country in possession of all its ordinary revenue. This nine hundred thousand pounds he was desirous to leave as a security against those contingencies to which war is liable. The sum borrowed was four million five hundred thousand pounds ; and the terms were, that for every seventy- two pounds advanced to the public, the lend- er should be entitled to one hundred pounds stock, bearing three per cent. He said, that he expected to have made better terms foj* the loan, but he had not received two oflers on the occasion. Among other resources, the sum of six hundred and seventy-five GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 385 thousand pounds was agreed to be raised by lottery; but several regulations were laid down to diminish the practice of insurance — a species of gambling upon chances which had been very injurious to the lower classes. On the fifteenth of March, the attorney- general, Sir John Scott, introduced a bill denominated the "Traitorous Correspond- ence Bill," by which it was declared to be high treason to supply the existing govern- ment of France with military stores, to pur- chase lands of inheritance in France, to in- vest money in any of the French funds, to underwrite insurances upon ships and goods bound from France to any part of the world, or to go from this country to France, with- out a license under the privy-seal. It like- wise prohibited the return of such British subjects as were already there, unless on giving security to the government. This bill met with much opposition, and several of its more obnoxious clauses were modified in the course of its progress. In the lords it received several modifications, which were agreed to by the commons, and the bill pass- ed into a law. FRENCH PROPOSE TO TREAT FOR PEACE. —SUBSIDY TO SARDINIA— BANKRUPT- CIES— AID TO COMMERCE— CENSURE ON LORD AUCKLAND. Early in April, Le Brun, minister of for- eign affairs in France, addressed a letter to lord Grenville, stating that the French re- public was desirous to terminate all its dif- ferences with Great Britain, and to end a war dreadful to humanity, and requesting a passport for a person vested with full powers for that purpose to the court of London, and he named Maret as the proposed plenipoten- tiary of France ; but the British government did not take any notice of the application ; and about this time a treaty was concluded with the king of Sardinia, by which England bound herself to furnish to his Sardinian majesty a subsidy of two hundred thousand pounds per annum, to be paid three months in advance, and not to conclude a peace with the enemy, without comprehending in it the entire restitution of all the dominions be- longing to this monarch at the time he en- gaged in the war. The unusual number and extent of the bankruptcies which had occurred since the commencement of the war, having engaged the notice of the house of commons, a select committee was appointed to consider of a remedy for this evil, and they recommended an issue of exchequer-bills, to the amount of five million pounds, to commissioners to be nominated for the purpose of lending the same in portions to such mercantile persons as were in temporary distress, upon proper security for the sums advanced, with inter- VoL. rv. 38 est — which operation speedUy restored com- mercial credit. On the twenty-fifth of April, Sheridan moved the house of commons to address his majesty, expressive of the displeasure of tlie house at the memorial lately presented by lord Auckland to the States-General, and stating, that the minister who presented it had departed fi-om the principles on which the house had concurred in the measures for the support of the war. Pitt maintained the right of Britain to repel the unjust attacks of France — to chastise and punish her — and to obtain indemnification for the past, and security for the future. The motion was rejected. Lord Stanhope made a similar motion in the house of peers ; but lord Gren- ville moved an amendment, declaring that the memorial was conformable to the senti- ments of his majesty, and consonant to those principles of justice and policy which it be- came the honor and dignity of the nation to express; which was carried without a division. HASTINGS' TRIAL— PA RUAMENT PRa ROGUED. Oh the sixth of May, Grey brought before the house the question of a reform in the re- presentation. But though the debate occu- pied two days, the motion was negatived by 282 against 41, so decidedly averse to change was the temper of tlie house. Dundas brought in a bill to renew the charter of the East India company for twenty years, which, with a bill to relieve the Ro- man Catholics of Scotland from certain pen- alties and disabilities, imposed upon them by acts which incapacitated them from holding or transmitting landed property, were pass- ed without opposition ; and three thousand pounds per annum was voted for the estab- lishment of a board of agriculture. During the session the counsel for Hast- ings completed his defence on the three last articles, viz. Begums, presents, and con- tracts ; after which, Hastings addressed the court, praying that their lordships would or- der the trial to continue to its final conclu- sion during the present session ; but the fur- ther proceedings were adjourned till the ensuing session. On the twenty-first of June the parliament was prorogued by his majesty. PROCEEDINGS OF THE IRISH PARLIA- MENT The parliament of Ireland met on the tenth of January, and the earl of Westmore- land, the lord-lieutenant, thus expressed him- self: — "I have it in particular command fi-om his majesty to recommend it to you to apply yourselves to the consideration of such measures as may be tlie most likely to strengthen and cement a general union of sentiment, among all classes and descrii>> 386 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. tions of his majesty's Catholic subjects, in support of the establislied constitution. With this view his majesty trusts that the situation of his Catholic subjects will engage your serious attention, and in the consideration of this subject he relies on the wisdom and liberality of his parliament." Early in March the bill of relief was brought into the house of commons by secretary Hobart. Its cliief enacting clause enabled the Catholics to exercise and enjoy all civil and military oiiices, and places of trust or profit under the crown, and also the elective franchise, under certaui restrictions, viz. that it should not be construed to extend to enable any Roman Catholic to sit or vote ui either house of parliament, or to fill the office of lord- lieutenant or lord-chancellor, or judge in either of the three courts of record or ad- miralty, or keeper of the privy-seal, secre- tary of state, lieutenant or custos rotulorum of counties, or privy-counsellor, or master in cliancery, or a general on the staff, or sheriff or sub-sheriff of any county, &c. The bill passed with few dissenting voices; and, though it stopped short of full emancipation, it was supposed to be all that the executive government could, at that time, without too violent an exertion, effect; and upon this account it was received with gratitude and satisfaction. As a further concession to Ire- land, a libel bill, similar to that of England, was passed ; the power of the crown to grant pensions on the Irish establishment was lim- ited to the sum of eighty thousand pounds ; and certain descriptions of placemen and pensioners were excluded from the privilege of sitting in the house of commons. Also, the king declared his acceptance of a limited sum, fixed at two hundred and twenty-five tliousand pounds, for the expenses of his civil- list, m lieu of the hereditary revenues of the crown. Alien and traitorous correspond- ence bills, analagous to those of England, were likewise passed ; as was a bill " to pre- vent the election or appointment of assem- blies, purporting to represent the people, or any description or number of the people, un- der pretence of preparing or presentmg pe- titions, &c. to the king, or either house of parliament, for alteration of matters estab- lished by law, or redress of alleged griev- ances in church or state." MILITARY EVENTS ON THE CONTl NENT— PONDICHERRY AND TOBAGO TAKEN. Military operations upon an extensive scale were carried on in Brabant and Hol- ia,nd, during the winter of 1792, and the early part of the ensuing spring, in which the French army at first acted offensively under Dumouriez, general Miranda, and others; but the allies, under Clairfait, the archduke Charles, and the prince of Saxe Cobourg, gained several signal advantages, which compelled the enemy to raise the siege of Maestricht, and retire precipitately to Antwerp. On the eighteenth of March a general engagement took place on the plains of Neerwinden, which continued from morning till evening, when the French were totally routed, with considerable loss ; and, on the twenty-first, general Dumouriez was posted near Louvain. Here a suspension of hostilities took place, and the French army were allowed to march back to their own frontier, without molestation, on condition of evacuating Brussels, and all the other towns of Brabant, &c. in their possession. On the twenty-seventh of March general Dumouriez held a conference with colonel Mack, an Austrian officer, to whom he inti- mated his design of marching against Paris, with a view of re-establishing the constitu- tional monarchy of 1791 ; and it was agreed that the Imperialists should concur in the accomplishment of this plan ; not advancing, except in case of necessity, beyond the fron- tier of France. The designs of Dumouriez were, however, suspected at Paris, and three commissioners from the executive power were dispatched to Flanders, under the pre- tence of conferring with the general con- cerning the affairs of Belgium. In this in- terview Dumouriez expressed himself with great violence against the Jacobins. " They would ruin France," said he ; " but I will save it, though they should call me a Caesar, a Cromwell, or a Monk." He styled the convention a horde of ruffians ; and declared that this assembly would not exist three weeks longer; that France must have a king ; adding that, since the battle of Gem- appe, he had wept over his success in so bad a cause." On the return of the commission- ers to Paris, Dumouriez was summoned to appear at the bar of the convention, and Bournonville was appointed to supersede him. Four new commissioners also were deputed to the army of the north, with pow- ers to suspend and arrest all officers who should fall under their suspicion. On their arrival at Lisle, March the twenty-eighth, the commissioners transmitted their orders to general Dumouriez, to appear before them, and answers the charges against him : the general, however, answered, that, in the present circumstances, he could not leave the army for a moment ; that, when he did enter Lisle, it would be in order to purge it of traitors ; and that he valued his head too much to submit it to an arbitrary tribunal. The commissioners resolved to proceed to the camp. On the first of April they arriv- ed, in company with Bournonville, at St. Amand, the head-quarters of Dumouriez, and explained to him the object of their mis- sion. The general, finding them inflexible in their purpose, gave tlie signal for a body of soldiers, who were m waiting, and order- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 387 ed Bournonville and the four commissioners, immediately to be conveyed to general Clair- fait's head-qaarters at Tournay, as hostages for the safety of the royal tamily of France. On the morning of tlie tliird, Dumouriez repaired to the camp of Maulde, and ad- dressed the troops, amidst the murmurs of many of the battalions. On the next day he departed with his suite for Conde, which fortress, with Valenciennes, he had engaged to put into the hands of the Austrians ; but on the road he received intelligence that it would not be safe for him to enter the place ; and, in making his retreat, he fell in with a column of volunteer guards, who called to him to surrender ; but, trusting to the swift- ness of his horse, he escaped, with great difficulty, to the quarters of general Mack. His example was followed by general Lamor- liere, the duke de Chartres, son of the duke of Orleans, and some hundreds of private soldiers. On the following day appeared a proclamation from general Dumouriez, con- tainmg a recapitulation of his services to the French republic, an animated picture of the outrages of the Jacobins, and of the mis- chiefs to be apprehended from a continua- tion of anarchy in France, concluding with an exhortation to the French to restore the constitution of 1791, and a declaration on oath that he bore arms only for that purpose. This proclamation was accompanied by a manifesto on the part of the prince of Co- bourg, now commander-in-cliief of the ar- mies of Austria, announcing that the allied powers were no longer to be considered as principals, but merely as auxiliaries, m the war ; that they had no other object than to co-operate with the general, in giving to France her constitutional king, and the con- stitution she formed for herself By this time, however, Antwerp, Breda, and the other conquests of France on the Dutch frontier, were evacuated ; and a considera- ble change had taken place in the aspect of affairs. On the eightli of April, a council was held at Antwerp, at which were pres- ent the prince of Orange, accompanied by the grand pensionary, Vander Spiegel, the prince of Cobourg, counts Metternich, Stah- remberg, &-c. also the Prussian, Spanish, and Neapolitan ambassadors. The whole plan of operations was now changed. About the same time a memorial was presented by lord Auckland to the States-General, in which his lordship stated, in allusion to the capture of the conventional commissioners, " That the divine vengeance seemed not to have been tardy. Some of tlicse detestable regi- cides are now in such a situation, tlmt they can be subjectefl to the sword of the law ; the rest are still in the midst of a people whom they have plunged into an abyss of jevils, and for whom famine, anarchy, and j civil war, are about to prepare new calami- ties. Everything that we see happen, in- duces us to consider as not far distant the end of these wretches, whose madness and atrocities have filled with terror and indig- nation all those who respect the principles of religion, morality, and humanity. The undersigned, therefore, submits to the en- lightened judgment and wisdom of your high mightinesses, whether it would not be proper to employ all the means in your power to prohibit from entering your states in Europe, or your colonies, all those mem- bers of the pretended national convention, or of the pretended executive council, who have directly or indirectly participated in the said crime ; and if they should be dis- covered and arrested, to deliver them up to justice, that they may serve as a lesson and example to mankind." To this memorial the Dutch government declined any reply. General Dampierre, an officer distinguish- ed by his conduct and valor, was now pro- visionally appointed to the chief command, and in a short time he was enabled to lead his troops with confidence into action. A variety of partial, though sharp and bloody engagements, took place between the two armies, in which no decisive advantage was gained. On the eighth of May, general Dampierre advanced in person to dislodge a large body of the enemy, posted near the wood of Vicoigne ; but, exposing himself to the enemy's fire, his thigh was carried off by a cannon-ball, and he died the following day. In this action, the English troops were engaged in the field for the first time in this war, and behaved with intrepidity ; but, by the inexperience of the duke of York, their commander, being ordered to the attack of a strong post in the wood, where they were exposed to the fire of some masked batte- ries, they suffered much. The siege of Va- lenciennes being contemplated, it was de- termined by the allies to attempt an attack upon the fortified camp of Famars, which protected and covered that important for- tress, Conde being already invested. At day- break, on the twenty-third of May, the Brit- ish and Hanoverians under then- royal com- mander, and the Austrians and German auxiliaries, under the prince of Cobourg and general Clairfait, made a joint assault upon the advanced posts of the French. The French were worsted, and in the course of the night they abandoned their camp, re- treating towards Bouchain and Cambray. This success enabled the allies to lay siege to Valenciennes. On the first of June gene- ral Custine arrived to take the command of the armies of the North and the Ardennes; but he was not able to render efioctual re- lief to that fortress. The trenches were opened on tlie foiirteeHth of that month, and about the beeinninir of July, the besiegers had brought two hundred pieces of heavy 388 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. artillery to play upon it. Mines and counter- mines innumerable were formed also in the course of this siege, both by the assailants and the garrison ; and many fierce subter- ranean conflicts were carried on with vari- ous success. On the night of the twenty- fifth of July, however, those under the glacis and horn-work of the fortress were sprung on the part of the besiegers, with complete success, and the English and Austrians seiz- ed the favorable moment for attacking the covered-way, of which they made them- selves masters. On the next day the place surrendered, and the duke of York took pos- session of it, in behalf of the emperor of Germany. Nearly at the same time the garrison of Conde yielded themselves pris- oners of war, after enduring all the rigors of famine; and Mentz submitted, after a long and resolute resistance, to the arms of Prussia. On the eighth of August, the French were driven from the strong position known by the name of Caesar's Camp, near the Scheld ; after which a council of war was held, wherein it was determined that the British, Hanoverians, Dutch, and Hessians, should form a distinct army, not dependent upon the co-operation of the Austrians. This was strongly opposed by the prince of Cobourg and general Clairfait : the British army, however, conducted by the duke of York, immediately decamped, and on the eigh- teenth of August, arrived in the vicinity of Menin, where some severe contests took place, and the post of Lincelles, lost by the Dutch, was recovered at the point of the bayonet, with a signal display of spirit and intrepidity, by the English, though very in- ferior in force, led on by general Sir John J^ke. His royal highness then moved to- wards Dunkirk, and opened trenches before that fortress on the twenty-fourth. Having entertained a secret correspondence with the governor, O'Moran, the duke flattered himself with obtaining speedy possession of the place : that officer, however, had been removed, and the duke lost so much time, from the delay in the arrival of the heavy artillery, and the want of the early co-ope- ration of a naval force, that the French were enabled to make great preparations for the defence, before any progress had been made ; and the duke found himself obliged to raise the siege, leaving behind him his battering cannon, and a large quantity of ammunition. On the other side, general Clairfait invested the town of Quesnoy ; and the prince of Cobourg, who commanded the covering army, having defeated a body of troops which had been sent to its relief, the place surrendered on the eleventh of September. The Aus- trians then laid siege to Maubeuge ; but the French, under general Jourdan, attacked them in their trenches on the fifteenth of October, and, after sustaining a great losg, forced them to raise the siege. Various in- cursions were afterwards made by the French into Maritime Flanders, but, unable to estab- lish a footing there, they were compelled, once more, to retire within their own fron- tier. In the course of the year, Pondicherry, and all the French settlements in the east, were reduced by the British arms ; and the island of Tobago, in the West Indies, be- sides some other possessions of less import- ance, were also taken from the enemy. INSURRECTION OF ROYALISTS IN BRIT- TANY AND POITOU. To effect the subversion of the republican government in France, it was proposed to excite, by a bold and simultaneous effort, the royalist party, who lay concealed in diflTerent parts of the country, but chieffy in the an- cient provinces of Brittany and Poitou, now termed La Vendee and La Loire. Notwith- standing the severe decrees of the conven- tion, immense numbers of emigrants had secretly repaired thither in the winter of 1792, and the vicinity of these departments to the sea afforded every facility for receiv- ing supplies of arms, ammunition, and mo- ney, from Great Britain. The disturbances in these departments were at first consider- ed, by the convention, as arising from the dislike of the populace to the new mode which had been adopted for recruitins" the army; but before the end of Ivlnicli the in- surgents were formidable, and appeared to be organized by previous arrangement They professed to act by the authority of Monsieur, the brother of the king, who had assumed the title of regent. On the twenty- third of March the convention was informed that the insurgents had made themselves masters of the districts of Cholet, Montaigne, and Clisson, and had defeated general Marce, who had been sent to quell them. The city of Nantes was besieged by them, and the number of royalists encamped before the city was estimated at not less than forty thousand. In the beginning of April, gen- eral Berruyere was appointed to command against the insurgents ; but, notwithstand- ing all the exertions which the French rev- olutionary government could make, they had possessed themselves, before the end of April, of more than fifty leagues of the coun- try, had defeated the republicans in two en- gagements, and taken a great number of prisoners, with an immense quantity of ar- tillery and military stores. THE CONVENTION DECLARES WAR WITH SPAIN— PARTIES IN FRANCE— DEATH OF MARAT. On the seventh of March the convention passed a decree of war against his majesty the king of Spain, one cause of which wat< stated to be the zeal of that court in behalf of Louis. Ever since the deposition of that GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 389 ill-fated monarch, two powerful parties, the Gironde and the Mountain, had divided the convention. Brissot, Petion, Vergniaux, and their associates, almost all distinguished by their talents, formed the party of the Gironde. Republicans in principle, they had contrib- uted to weaken the constitutional throne, but they had taken no active part in its overthrow. The revolutionists of the tenth of August, Danton, Robespierre, Chabot, Barbaroux, Fabre d'Eglantine, Couthon, and Collot d'Herbois, assumed the name of the Mountain, and aspired to govern the repub- lic that had been founded on the ruins of the throne. In the month of March the revo- lutionary tribunal was established, to take cognizance of all offences against the safety of the state, and to be fixed in Paris : the judges were to be chosen by the convention, and the jury from the commune of Paris : i.t§ sentences against persons absent were to have the same effect as if they were pres- ent, and from its decision there was no ap- peal. On the seventh of April a committee of public safety was instituted by the con- vention, invested wath almost unlimited pow- er — a power which was soon abused to the worst of purposes, and laid the foundation of a tyraimy the most sanguinary and atro- cious the world had ever witnessed. The defection of Dumouriez contributed in no small degree to the overthrow of the Gironde party, and the destruction of the members of the Bourbon family remaining in the pow- er of the republicans. On the seventh of April it was decreed by the convention that all the members of that family should be de- tained as hostages for the safety of the ar- rested deputies, and that such of them as were not already in the Temple should be removed to Marseilles : the ci-devant duke of Orleans, though a member of the conven- tion, was included in this decree. A consid- erable part of the month of April was spent in discussing and digesting the declaration of rights, which was to serve as a preface to the new constitution. On tlie tenth of May the convention decreed the first article of the new constitution ; viz. " the French republic is one and indivisible." In the mean time, the divisions which had so long subsisted between these two parties ap- proached rapidly to open and avowed hostil- ity. The Mountain party had secured the attachment of the populace of Paris ; and the Jacobin club, of which Marat was pres- ident, had become devoted to this fection. Even the virtues of the Girondists tended to accelerate their ruin ; their humane attempt to save the life of the devoted Louis being urged against them as an unpardonable crime, and as manifesting a culpable indif- ference to the cause of freedom. On tlie fifteenth of April a petition was presented 33* by the communes of the forty-eight sections of Paris, at the bar of the convention, de- manding that twenty-two of the deputies of the Gironde party should be impeached. This party, however, continued to have a preponderance in the convention ; and Ma- rat, a furious leader of the Mountain party, having put his signature to a paper of thft most sanguinary tendency, was accused by the convention, and committed to the Abbey prison ; but such was his influence over the people, whose passions were continually ex- cited by his inflammatory publications, that in a few days he was acquitted by a jury, and returned to the hall of the convention in triumph. At length, on the morning of the thirty-first of May, the commotion every- where visible throughout the capital denoted an approaching crisis: Henriot, the com- mander of the national guard, a man entire- ly devoted to Robespierre, instead of takiiig the proper measures for the protection of the convention, was a party in the plot against it, and many of the representatives were alarmed for their own safety. After the tumult had continued a considerable time, a deputation from the revolutionary committees appeared at the bar, and de- manded the immediate suppression of the commission of twelve, which had been nom- inated on purpose to restrain anarchy ; a revolutionary army of sans-culottes ; a de- cree of accusation agamst twenty-two Gi- ronde deputies; and a diminution in the price of bread. They also insisted that cer- tain deputies should be dispatched to the south, to put a stop to the counter-revolu- tion that prevailed there : and they at the same time suggested the arrest of Claviere, the minister of public contributions, and of Le Brun, the minister of foreign affairs ; but the convention still refused to sacrifice the victims demanded by the conspirators. This, however, was the last effort ; for, two days afterwards, the legislature, finding itself be- sieged and imprisoned in its own hall, was at length intimidated into compliance, and not only decreed the arrest of all the obnox- ious deputies, thirty-six in number, but pro- scribed tlwse who endeavored to avoid death by flight. The vanquished party had wish- ed for a republican form of government, founded on the immutable basis of virtue : the triumphant faction, on the contrary, con- ceding to popular opinions, still maintained all the forms of a commonwealth, but, under the veil of liberty, introduced the most terrible despotism ; and, although they im- mediately drew up a new and seductive constitution, they contrived to euepend all its benefits. These outrages against the deputir* alarmed several departments. The city of Caen resolved not to acknowledge the con- 390 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. vention, or receive any of its decrees, until the imprisoned members were restored to their functions. The departments of Cal- vados, the Rhone, and the Loire, also avowed their determination to disown the conven- tion ; and the first of these actually impris- oned three of the Jacobin deputies, who had been sent thither with a view of propagating tiieir tenets, and supporting their cause. At this critical moment, too, a complete counter- revolution took place at Lyons ; Marseilles was threatened with commotions; Toulon exhibited manifest symptoms of disaffection ; and the cause of the Mountain for a moment appeared desperate. Several of the pro- scribed deputies, having escaped from their confinement, now sought an asylum at Nantes, Rennes, Bourdeaux, Caen, and Ev- reux. Others, abandoning an assembly in which cruelty and injustice preponderated, fled from Paris and joined them, and a gen- eral insurrection of the provinces against the capital was immediately agreed upon. Many of the cities nominated commission- ers for the purpose of concerting with the dBputies from the districts, relative to the tneasures which the present critical state of affairs seemed to render necessary. Suc- cors of men and of money were promised by all ; and the archives of the capital of the Gironde, in which the most zealous of their partisans resided, are said to have contained decrees of adhesion and support on the part of seventy-two departments ; but after the passions of the people had subsided, few could be prevailed upon to embark m so des- perate a cause ; and a civil war soon began to appear odious and impolitic. Wimpffen, the gallant defender of Thion- ville, haxi been chosen as their leader, and De Puisaye was appointed adjutant-general. Conscious that the success of their plan de- pended chiefly on the celerity of their mo- tions, the Girondists wished the troops to begin their march immediately, and even proposed to advance to the capital, where they knew that their friends were both nu- merous and formidable, at the head of the Britons and Normans alone ; but the general, insisting on the advantages likely to ensue from a delay that would enable him to in- crease the number of their partisans, con- tented himself with dispersing proclama- tions ; and, on being summoned to give an account of his conduct by the faction that li&d assumed the reins of government, he re- plied, that he would disclose his motives and intentions at the head of sixty thousand men. On being pressed to advance directly to Paris, without waiting for the arrival of the departmental forces, WimpflTen at lengtli marched towards Vernon, at the head of a small body of troops. The Jacobins, who had assembled some forces in that town, im- mediately sallied forth, and received them with a discharge of artillery. The whole of the insurgents betook themselves to flight, except a single battalion of four hundred men from Finisterre, which, on seeing itself abandoned, retired in good order to Evreux, where the fugitives at length rallied. WimpflTen and De Puisaye concealed them- selves; the proscribed representatives be- took themselves to flight ; some perished by the guillotine, others by fetigue and famine; while the victorious party stained their tri- umph by a series of cruelty, injustice, and bloodshed. An insurrection broke out at Lyons, and a congress of the department was convoked at that city, in which it was resolved to march a force for the reduction of Paris ; the Mountain party was declared to be out- lawed ; and the provisions destined for the armies were intercepted. The cities of Marseilles and Toulon followed the example of Lyons, and entered into that famous con- federacy for dissolving the convention, which has since been distinguished by the name of Federalism. On the twelfth of July the Marseillois issued a manifesto to the Frencli nation, in which they declared that the sit- uation of Paris was equivalent to the decla- ration of war against the whole republic ; and they urged the people to join their standard, and assist in reducing the faction which had usurped the powers of the re- public. On the eighth of July the commit- tee of public safety produced its report con- cerning the imprisoned deputies of the con- vention: it charged Brissot, Petion, and some others, with being the constant favor- ers of royalty ; it alleged that they had con- spired to place a new monarch on the throne, some of them in the person of Louis Capet, and others in that of the duke of York ; Petion was accused of having signed the order, on the tenth of August, to fire on the people from the Thuilleries; and Roland was accused in general terms of persecut- ing the republicans. On these charges the convention declared those who had fled from the decree of arrest traitors to their coun- try, and they were put out of the protection of the law. These outrageous proceedinj?r, on the part of the Mountain junto, produced a reaction, which, in one memorable in- stance, was fatal to one of the most violent of these incendiaries. A female, of the name of Charlotte Corde, enthusiastically attached to the Gironde party, proceeded from Caen, in Normandy, to assassinate Ma- rat, — which she effected at the expense of her own life. Marat was proclaimed a mar- tjrr, and his death ordered to be lamented ae an irreparable loss to the republic. GEORGE in. 1760—1820. 891 CHAPTER XXVI. Reform Societies in Great Britain — Edinburgh Convention — Transportation of the Secretary and two Delegates — French Affairs — Trial and Execution of Queen Marie Antoinette — The Port and Fleet of Toulon surrender to the English — Evacu- ation of Toulon — French Calendar — Extraordinary Efforts to Recruit the French Armies — Operations on the Frontiers of France — Meeting of Parliament — Aug- mentation of the Army and Navy — Motion against the War — Message respecting Democratic Societies, and Suspension of the Habeas Corpus — State Trials — Foreign Troops landed in the Isle of Wight — Augmentation of the Forces — Voluntary Contributions in aid of the War — Enlistment of French Emigrants — Supply — M. la Fayette — Subsidy to Prussia — Prorogation of Parliament — Changes in the Ministry — Military Operations on the Continent — Corsica annexed to the British Crown — Lord Howe's Victory — Other Naval Achievements — Capture of Martinique, St. Lucia, and Guadahupe — Loss of the latter — Acquisitions in St. Domingo. REFORM SOCIETIES IN GREAT BRITAIN. — EDINBURGH CONVENTION.— SECRE- TARY AND TWO MEMBERS TRANS- PORTED. Societies for promoting a reform in the house of commons were, at this period, ex- tremely active throughout the kingdom. In Scotland a party zealous for reform had projected what they termed a National Con- vention; and in October 1793, a meeting was held in Edinburgh, which was attended by delegates from the London Correspond- ing Society, and from other societies of the same description in different parts of Eng- land and Ireland. The London Correspond- ing Society restricted its delegates to the obtaining, by lawful means, imiversal suf- frage and armual parliaments ; but it instruct- ed them, at the same time, to enforce tlie duty of the people to resist any act of the legis- lature repugnant to the original principles of the constitution. The Edmburgh Con- vention foolishly adopted all the forms, names, and proceedings of the French Jacobin Clubs, with such difference and omissions only as their peculiar circumstances rendered neces- sary. The members hailed each other by the republican denomination of Citizen; they divided themselves into sections ; appointed committees of organization, of instruction, of finance, of secrecy, and of emergency ; called their meetings, sittings; granted honors of sittings ; and dated their proceed- ings in the first year of the British Conven- tion, one and indivisible. They at first as- sumed the distinctive appellation of the ' General Convention of the Friends of the People,' but they aflerwards took the name of the ' British Convention of the Delegates of the People,' associated to obtain universal suffrage and annual parliaments; they adopt- ed means for assembling the delegates, at any time when it should be deemed neces- sary for the societies to act, in consequence of any measures of precaution or coercion which the government might adopt; and they were fully prepared to carry their doc- trine of resistance into effect. When they were thus emboldened, by their mcreased numbers, openly to avow tfieir designs, the government thought it time to interrupt their proceedings. On the fiflh and sixth of December the magistrates of Edinburgh repaired to two of the places of meeting, where they seized the papers, and took the secretary and some of the leading members into custody. Three of these were after- wards brought to trial, William Skirving, the secretary, and two of the delegates from the London Corresponding Society, Maurice Margaret, and Joseph Gerald, before the High Court of Justiciary in Scotland, and, being all found guilty, they were sentenced to be transported for fourteen years. FRENCH AFFAIRS.— TRIAL AND EXECU- TION OF THE QUEEN. The Mountain party were now become the sole rulers of France. This dreadful despotism was composed of two councils, one of which was denominated the ' Com- mittee of Public Safety,' the other the ' Com- mittee of General Safety.' The members ought to have been renewed every month ; but the convention had intrusted these com- mittees with the power of imprisoning and judging its members, and therefore no deputy was hardy enough to propose a re- newal of these committees. The prevailing faction now proceeded to atrocities of which no former despotism af- forded an example: its object appeared to be the extermination of all that was great and valuable in society : it attempted to re- duce the community to one level — to degrade, that it might the more severely tyrannize over, its victims : even moderation itself be- 392 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. came a crime to be expiated only by death, and virtue received the reward due to atro- cious crimes. If the father afforded any support to his exiled son, if the daughter vi^rote to her mother from her dungeon, the revolutionary tribunal doomed them to the scaffold. The external profession of the Christian religion was abolished by public decree, and an attempt was made to substi- tute for Christianity a sort of metaphysical paganism. Those ecclesiastics who had seats in the convention publicly abjured their creed, and were not ashamed to declare that they had hitherto deceived the world : the archbishop and clergy of Paris renounc- ed the Christian religion, declaring that they owned no temple but the sanctuary of the Jaws, no God but Liberty, no gospel but the constitution : the revolutionary tribunal con- demned, without distinction and without in- quiry, all the victims whom the tyrants marked out for destruction: proscriptions daily increased, and France was filled with accusers, prisons, and executioners. The number of persons who perished, during this reign of terror, cannot be ascertained by any authentic documents; but the prisons were filled and emptied with a horrid ra- pidity, and the scaffolds flowed daily with blood. The most distinguished victim was the ill-fated queen Marie Antoinette. On the first of August she was suddenly re- moved to the prison of the Conciergerie, where she was treated as the meanest criminal ; and, on the fifteenth of October, she appeared before the tribunal to take her trial, or, to speak more correctly, to hear her doom pronounced. The act of accusa- tion consisted of several charges, the prin- cipal of which stated that she had directed her views to a counter-revolution. One of the most singular of them was, that, in con- junction with the Gironde faction, she in- duced the king and the assembly to declare war against Austria, contrary to every prin- ciple of sound policy and the public welfare; but the last charge was the most infamous, and the most incredible, viz. that, like Ag- rippina, she had held an incestuous com- merce with her own son. The unfortunate Marie Antoinette heard the accusation with calmness, and, as she continued silent, the president called upon her for a reply, when with great dignity she answered, " I held my peace because Nature forbids a mother to reply to such a charge ; but, since I am compelled to it, I appeal to all the mothers who hear me whether it be possi- ble." Not one of the charges was proved ; but, after consultinfr for about an hour, the jury found her guilty of the whole. Witli an unchanged countenance phe heard the sentence of death pronounced, and left the hall without utterins: a single word — with- out addressing herself either to her judgea or the audience. On the succeedmg day, the 16th, at about eleven o'clock, she was taken to execution in the same manner aa the other victims of this dreadful tribunal : she ascended the scaffold with a firm and unhesitating step, and her behavior at the 7 awful moment of dissolution was decent and composed. Her body was interred like that of her husband, in a grave filled with quick- lime. PORT AND FLEET OF TOULON SURREN- DER TO THE BRITISH. The people of Toulon, and the French vice-admiral Trugoff, entered into a nego- tiation with the British admiral, lord Hood, who then commanded in the Mediterranean, for the delivery of the port and fleet into the hands of the English, in trust for Louis the seventeenth — a negotiation was completed, and on the twenty-third of August a body of men were landed from the English fleet, who immediately took possession of Fort Malgue, by means of a detachment under captain Elphinstone, as well as of the bat- teries at the mouth of the harbor. TJie French ships were warped into the inner road, as stipulated ; and, the Spanish admi- ral having joined the British, the combined squadrons anchored in the outer road ; after which one thousand Spaniards were sent on shore to augment the English garrison ; rear- admiral Goodall was declared governor, and rear-admiral Gravina commandant of tlie troops. The condition on which this valua- ble arsenal was put into the hands of a Brit- ish admiral was, that it was only to be con- sidered as a deposit to be preserved for the use of the French king, Louis the seven- teenth, the inhabitants of Toulon declaring their intention of rejecting the constitution ' proposed by the convention, and of adhering to that decreed by the constituent assembly of 1789. It was further stipulated, that, when peace should be re-established in France, the ships and forts which should be put into the hands of the English, should be restored to the French nation in the same state as when they were delivered. The English immediately placed Toulon in a state of defence: the adjacent hills were crowned witli redoubts ; a new fort was con- structed at Malbousquet ; encampments were formed at St. Roch, at Equillete, and at Balaguier, the last of which was termed Little Gibraltar by the French. A detach- ment from the Spanish army in the Rouis- sillon, two thousand Sicilian troops, under brigadier-general Pignatelli, and a detach- ment from the army of the king of Sardinia, were sent to reinforce the garrison. TOULON EVACUATED. In November, general Dagobert was ap- pointed conmiander-in-chief of the besieg- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 393 ing army ; and Napoleon Buonaparte, a na- tive of Corsica, then a subaltern in the artillery, by his able conduct in the siege, laid the foundation of that military fame and power, which afterwards intimidated and oppressed the greater part of continental Europe. About this period, lieutenant-gen- eral O'Hara arrived at Toulon, as governor and commander-in-chief He determined to destroy the new works, termed the Conven tion Battery, and to bring off the artillery and accordingly sent a detachment under the command of major-general David Dun- das, who, notwithstanding considerable dif- ficulties, surprised the redoubt, and fully ef- fected all the objects of the sally ; but the troops, flushed with victory, rushed forward, and descended the hill after the enemy, but were obliged in their turn to retire with precipitation. General O'Hara, on this oc- casion, received a wound in the arm, and was taken prisoner, with several other offi- cers, who fell into the hands of the enemy — whose force amounted to nearly forty thou- sand men. On the other hand, the allied troops, composed of five different nations and languages, never exceeded twelve thou- sand rank and file. With these, now greatly diminished by death and disease, a circum- ference of fifteen miles, for the defence of the town and harbor, was to be occupied and defended by means of eight principal and several intermediate posts, which alone re- quired nearly nine thousand men. The French opened two new batteries on Fort Mulgrave, and stormed the fortification by tliat side which was defended by the Span- iards. Another attack took place on all the posts of Mount Faron, that overlooks Tou- lon, which they occupied. As the enemy now commanded the town, as well as some of the ships, by their shot and shells, it became necessary that a re- treat should take place as speedily as possi- ble. Lord Hood accordingly gave orders for the boats' of the fleet to assemble by eleven o'clock near Fort Malgue for that purpose. He had also settled a plan for de- stroying all the French men-of-war and the arsenal. That service was intrusted to Sir Sidney Smith, who, on entering the dock- yard, found that the artificers had already substituted the three-colored cockade for the white one, and that about six hundred gal- ley-slaves, who had broken their fetters, would have made a determined resistance, had he not pointed the guns of two vessels, to keep them in awe. After tliis he set fire to ten ships of the line, to the arsenal, to the mast-house, to the great store-house, and other buildings ; but the calmness of the evening prevented much of the effect ex- pected from the conflagration. In the mean time, the Spaniards, instead of scuttling and sinking, set fire to the powder-ehips, and they, as well as the English, were foiled in the attempt of cutting the boom, and de- stroying the men-of-war in the basin, in con- sequence of repeated volleys of musketry from the flag-ship and the wall of the royal battery : the Hero and Tliemistocles were, however, set on fire, and the party left for this purpose, after a most desperate service, effected their retreat. By daylight next morning, all the British, Spanish, and Si cilian ships, crowded with the unfortunate inhabitants, were out of the reach of the enemy's vengeance. Admiral Trugoff, on board the Commerce de Marseilles, with the Puissant and Pom pee, two other ships of the line, and the Pearl, Arethusa, and To- paze frigates, with several corvettes, joined the English fleet, with which lord Hood pro- ceeded to Hieres Bay, and there lie landed the men, women, and children. Of thirty- one ships of the line which the English found at Toulon, thirteen were left behind, nine were burnt there, one at Leghorn, and four lord Hood had previously sent away to the French ports of Brest and Rochfort, with five thousand republican seamen. Britain, therefore, obtained only three ships of the line and five frigates, which were all that the admiral was able to take ofT. Thus Toulon was restored to France. Here, as well as at Marseilles and Lyons, the most cruel punishments were inflicted on the royalists ; and the conquerors sullied their victory by a terrible and indiscriminate carnage : workmen were actually invited fi-om all the neighboring departments to de- stroy the principal houses — the population became visibly decreased by the daily butch- ery that took place — the name of Port de la Montaigne was substituted for that of Toulon — and a grand festival decreed in honor of the French army. FRENCH CALENDAR— EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS TO RECRUIT THE ARMIES- OPERATIONS ON THE FRONTIERS. The faction in power at this period, be- ing desirous of effecting the abolition of Christian observances, the convention de- creed a new calendar, by which the year was divided into twelve months, of thirty days each, with five intercalary days, which were dedicated to national festivities : each month was divided into decades, and the day of rest was appointed for every tenth day, instead of every seventh. All Frenchmen were now declared, by a solemn decree of the convention, to be at the service of their country, until its enemies should be chased from the territories of the republic. To supply the wants of the im- mense armies now about to be collected from all quarters, measures of a new and extra- ordinary kind were adopted. Assignats were S94 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. not only fabricated and expended in im- mense quantities, but when this resource began to fail, revolutionary taxes were im- posed. The system of requisition was at length recurred to, and all the necessaries of life appertaining to citizens in easy cir- cumstances, were seized upon in the name of the republic, and for the support of its troops ; while the great cities were crowded with manufactures of saltpetre, the towns were converted into foundries, and the an- cient palaces metamorphosed into arsenals. At the very moment that the idea of a na- tion's rising en masse was ridiculed through- out Europe, the convention, on the proposi- tion of the committee of public safety, had either augmented or created eleven distinct armies, which seemed to form a chain round the frontiers of France. All the unmarried males, from eighteen to forty years of age, were put in permanent requisition, and a draught of three hundred thousand made at one time. These immense resources enabled them to strengthen and new-model the army of the north, extending from Dunkrik to Maubeuge ; that of the Ardennes, reaching from Maubeuge to Longwy; that of the Moselle, from Longwy to Bitche ; that of the Rhine, from Bitche to Porentrui ; that of the Alps, from the Aisne to the borders of the Var ; that of Italy, from the Mari- time Alps to the mouth of the Rhone ; the army of the Oriental Pyrenees, from the mouth of the Rhone to the Garonne ; the army of the Western Pyrenees, from the department of the Upper Pyrenees to the mouth of the Gironde ; the army of the coast of Rochelle, from the mouth of the Gironde to that of the Loire ; the army of the coasts of Brest, from the mouth of the Loire to St. Maloes ; and, lastly, that of the coksts of Cherbourg, from St. Maloes to the northern department. The allies under the duke of Brunswick and general Wurmser were for some time victorious on the banks of the Rhine, but in November the French had become so much superior in number that they were always able to out-flank their opponents. Wurmser, foiled in an attempt to gain possession of Strasburg, retired to Haguenau, where the French, after repeated attacks, obliged the Austrians to retire across the Rhine. The Prussians afterwards relinquished the siege of Landau, and the duke of Brunswick went into winter-quarters at Mentz. On the Spanish border various actions took place between the troops of Spain and France, in which the former were successful ; but the war in this quarter was of very subordinate importance. In Italy the county of Nice was the scene of some actions between the Sardinian and French troops, which were generally favorable to the former; Genoa, which had manifested a disposition to take part with the French, was overawed by the English fleet; and the duke of Tuscany was induced, by the representations of the British minister, to declare against France. MEETING OF PARLIAMENT. 1794. — Parliament assembled on the twenty-first of January, 1794. The king, in his speech, having mentioned the advan- tages obtained by the arms of the confed- erate powers, added, that the circumstances by which their further progress had been impeded not only proved the necessity of vigor and perseverance, but confirmed the expectation of ultimate success. Their ene- mies had derived the means of temporary exertion from a system which had enabled them to dispose arbitrarily of the lives and property of a numerous people ; but these eflTorts, productive as they had been of in- ternal discontent and confusion, tended rap- idly to exhaust the national and real strength of the country. He regretted the necessity of continuing the war ; but he thought he should ill consult the essential interests of his people if he desired peace on any grounds exclusive of a due provision for their permanent safety, and for the inde- pendence and security of Europe. An amendment to the address was moved by the earl of Guildford, who wished for a speedy negotiation, as we had rushed into war without necessity; but the duke of Portland justified the war as strictly defen- sive, and as necessary for the preservation of the Christian religion, political and civil liberty, law, and order. On a division, the address was carried by ninety-seven agamst twelve. In the commons the address wag moved by lord Clifden, to which Fox pro- posed an amendment, recommending to his majesty to treat for a peace with France upon safe and honorable terms, without any reference to its existing form of govern- ment. After a warm debate, which was pro- tracted to a late hour, the address was car- ried by two hundred and seventy-seven against fifty-nine. AUGMENTATION OF THE ARMY AND NAVY.— DEMOCRATIC SOCIETIES— SUS- PENSION OF HABEAS CORPUS ACT. Lord Arden moved for a supply of eighty- five thousand seamen, including twelve thou- sand on^ hundred and fifteen marines, for the service of the present year, and, on the third of the following month, he further moved that the land forces should consist of sixty thousand two hundred and forty-four men, including three thousand three hun- dred and eighty-two invalids, both of which motions were carried. On the twelfth of May a message was de^ livered from his majesty to the two house* of parliament, referring to the seditious GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 395 practices of democratic societies, and inti- mating the necessity of taking measures for baffling their dangerous designs. The pa- pers belonging to these clubs were exam- ined by a committee of the commons ; and, in a report subsequently presented by Pitt, it was affirmed, as the result of the inquiry, that the Society for Constitutional Informa- tion and the London Corresponding Society, under the pretence of reform, aimed at the subversion of the government; that other associations, in different parts of the king- dom, pursued the same object; that they had endeavored to promote a general con- vention of the people ; that they had pro- vided arms for the more effectual prosecu- tion of their nefarious purposes ; that meet- ings of popular delegates took place at Ed- inburgh in 1792, and the following year ; that their proceedings were regulated on tlie French model ; and that, after the dis- persion of this convention, the two leading societies exerted their efforts to procure a similar meeting in England, which should supersede the authority of parliament. The minister, in consequence, proposed that the habeas corpus act should be suspended in cases of treason and sedition. Fox was of opinion that this stretch of power was not justified by the evidence which had been adduced against the associations ; and Sher- idan deprecated, as unconstitutional and dangerous, the grant of an arbitrary power of imprisonment. Burke, however, felt con- vinced that the power in question would not be abused, and that it would be attended with salutary effects ; and Windham ad- vised the strongest measures of coercion. The bill of suspension was rapidly enacted ; and, after spirited debates, an address was voted, promising the strenuous co-operation of the two houses with the executive pow- er, for the suppression of all seditious at- tempts, treasonable conspiracies, &c. STATE TRIALS. The state trials pending at this crisis heightened the alarm which universally pre- vailed. At the Lancaster spring assizes this year, Thomas Walker of Manchester, a strenuous advocate for parliamentary re- form, at whose house meetings for political purposes were occasionally held, was indict- ed for conspiring, with nine other persons, to overturn the constitution by force of arms, and to assist the French in case of invasion. To establish this charge, involving, in its consequences, not only the character, but the life of the accused ; the principal evi- dence adduced was a person of the name of Dunn, whose testimony was so contradicto- ry and absurd, that the prosecution was abandoned by the counsel for the crown ; and Walker was honorably acquitted, with- out being put upon his defence, while his accuser was committed to prison to take hi» trial for perjury. At Edinburgh, on the third of September, Robert Watt, a government spy, was tried and convicted of high treason. It appeared that he had formed a romantic project for seizing, by force, upon the castle of Edin- burgh, as well as upon the persons of the principal judicial and municipal officers of that city, together with the bank and the excise office. This intention he bad com- - municated to several j^rsons, who all refus- ed to come into his plans, except David Downie, an illiterate mechanic. That Watt had conspired to levy war against the king there could be no doubt ; but, as he had not actually levied it, it was contended that his offence did not come withift the legal con- struction of the statute of Edward the Third. The prisoner, in his defence, asserted, and produced letters in court from secretary Dundas in support of that assertion, that he had been retained as a spy in the service of government, and had received money from them for his services. The prisoner's coun- sel, therefore, contended that what their cli- ent had done was with no other view than to arrive more completely at the knowledge f of the secrets of those persons whose con- duct he was to observe, and, by appearing zealous in the same cause, to cover his real intentions of betraying these counsels, and bringing to punishment the enemies of their sovereign. The jury, however, pronounced the prisoner guilty; the judge passed the sentence of death upon him ; and he was consequently executed. Downie w^as also convicted ; but the jury recommended him to mercy, which he had the good fortune to obtain. The state trials of certain persons, mem- bers of the London Corresponding Society, charged with high treason, took place in October, November, and December of this year. They strongly excited popular feel- ings at the time, but proved abortive, all those persons having been acquitted ; and • are chiefly remarkable from the circum- stance of Pitt, the prime minister, having been examined as a witness on the trial o? the celebrated John Home Tooke, the phi- lologist, to prove that the objects of the Cor- responding Society were the same as those of the meetings for reform, which Pitt him- self had promoted and attended in the year 1782, but pursued by different means ; — on which point of distinction Pitt was in a cer- tain degree contradicted by Sheridan, who had attended meetings of that nature in 1782, and was also examined upon the trial of Home Tooke. That the jury acted most conscientiously in acquitting the prisoners of the charge of high treason, there can be no doubt ; but had they been tried for a mia- 396 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. demeanor, they would probably have been convicted. Their acquittal raised the spirits of the disaffected, who openly triumphed in the victory they had obtained ; and when the proceedings against persons charged with political crimes in France were com- pared with these trials, the comparison could not fail to excite, in the breast of every hon- est Briton, the proudest feelings of exulta- tion at the superiority of the British laws. The trials which had taken place in Scot- land, particularly those of Thomas Muir and the reverend Fysche Palmer, the former a Scotch barrister, and the latter a Unitarian preacher at Dundee, who had been convict- ed of sedition in the autumn of 1793, and sentenced to transportation, excited con- siderable alarm among their friends and as- sociates in England, and attracted the atten- tion even of some members of the British senate, who condemned their conduct while they deplored their fate. Several motions were made upon the subject in the house of commons, by Adam a barrister of some emi- nence, implying defects in the Scotch law of sedition, and that the court of justiciary had exceeded their power in substituting the punishment of transportation for that of ban- ishment ; but all these motions were nega- tived, and secretary Dundas contended that the Scottish nation was very happy under its own laws — that the alterations proposed would be a violation of the articles of the Union — and that the reform really wanting was to assimilate the English law of sedi- tion, in a certain degree, to that of Scotland. FOREIGN TROOPS LANDED ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT— AUGMENTATION OF THE FORCES-VOLUNTARY CONTRIBUTIONS —SUPPLY. With a view to co-operate with the loyal- ists in Brittany and the neighboring districts, a body of Hessian troops in the pay of Eng- land, was destined for this service. When these troops arrived from the continent, it was deemed proper to put them into tempo- rary quarters at Portsmouth, in the Isle of Wight, and in other convenient places near the coast. This circumstance was commu- nicated to parliament, in a message from his majesty, on the twenty-seventh of March. As many similar cases had occurred at dif- ferent periods, and as the cause and neces- sity of the measure were so perfectly ob- vious, it was concluded that the usual com- munication of the fact to parliament would be satisfactory : the opposition, however, con- tended that the minister ought to have moved for a bill of indemnity ; and he was charged with having violated the bill of rights and tiie act of settlement. Grey, on the tenth of February, moved, as a resolution of the house, "that to employ foreigners in any situation of military trust, or to bring foreign troops into the kingdom, without the con- sent of parliament first had and obtained, is contrary to law," which motion was nega- tived ; and the subject was afterwards re- newed, in both houses, by propositions for a bill of indemnity, but with no better success, ministers contending that it would be absurd to pretend to indemnify measures which were in themselves justifiable, and not un- constitutional. On the twenty-second of February a mes- sage from his majesty was delivered to par- liament, purporting that the avowed inten- tions of the enemy to invade this country made an increase of the land forces neces- sary ; and an address was voted by the house, assuring his majesty of their zealous con- currence in every exertion which became a brave and loyal people in the prosecution of this just and necessary war. A great aug- mentation of the militia, and an addition of volunteer fencible corps, were accordingly voted ; and the expedient of soliciting volun- tary contributions, by a formal letter written by the secretary of state to the lords-lieu- tenant of the several counties, was success- fully resorted to, though strongly opposed as highly illegal, and contrary to the spirit of the British constitution ; and on the twenty- eighth of March, Sheridan moved, that it was dangerous and unconstitutional for the people of this country to make any loan, &c. to the crown, to be used for any public pur- pose, without the previous consent of par- liament. The question was considered as one which could be neither universally af- firmed nor universally denied, and the mo- tion was negatived by a considerable majori- ty, as was a similar one by lord Lauderdale in the house of peers. Very considerable discussion also arose on a bill introduced by Pitt, on the first of April, for the encourage- ment of those who should voluntarily enrol themselves for the general defence of the kingdom during the war ; and on another, the object of which was to enable French- men to enlist in his majesty's service on the continent, or, in other words, for employing the French emigrants in a military capacity. The requisite supply for the present year amounted to nearly twenty million pounds, and the ways and means included some new taxes, and a loan of eleven million pounds. Persons professing the Roman Catholic reli- gion were exempted from the customary charge of double land-tax. M. LA FA YETPE.— SUBSIDY TO PRUSSIA. General Fitzpatrick moved in the house of commons, on the seventeenth of March, for an address to the throne, beseeching his majesty to intercede with the court of JBer- lin in favor of general La Fayette and his companions. It appeared that the king of Prussia, being applied to for the release of geouge m. 1760-1820. 397 La Fayette, had answered, that he was not his prisoner alone, but that of the confede- rate powers jointly, and that he could be set at liberty only by the consent of all. Pitt denied that La Fayette's conduct had ever been friendly to the genuine cause of liber- ty ; he affirmed that the interference re- quired would be setting- up ourselves as guardians of the consciences of foreign states ; and the motion was negatived by a large majority. On the twenty-eighth of April, Dundas delivered a message from the king, announc- ing a treaty of subsidy with the king of Prussia, and a convention with the States- (jrenerai. Pitt stated that his Prussian ma- jesty had agreed to furnish sixty-two thou- sand four hundred troops, for which his Brit- annic majesty had agreed to pay him fifty thousand pounds per month, one hundred thousand pounds per month for forage, four hundred thousand pounds to put the army in motion, and one hundred thousand pounds on their return; of the aggregate of which sams tlie States-General were to pay four hundred thousand pounds as their proportion. — Over the troops subsidized at this expense the direction and command were still vested in the king of Prussia. The motion of Pitt lor the sum of two million five hundred thousand pounds, to be raised by way of loan on exchequer-bills, in addition to the suy)- plies of the current year, for the purpose of making good this engagement, after being warmly opposed in every stage, ultimately [massed by a great majority. Parliament was prorogued on the eleventh of July by a speech from the throne, in which the king urged the two houses to persevere with increased vigor and exertion in the present arduous contest against a power ir- reconcilably hostile in its principles and spirit to all regular and established govern- m( nts. Various alterations were made in the ad- ministration about this time. Earl Fitzwil- liam was declared president of the council, in the room of earl Camden ; earl Spencer was appointed lord privy-seal ; the duke of Portland was made third secretary of state ; and Windham secretary at war. Before the close of the year, lord Fitzwilliara was pro- moted to the vice-royalty of Ireland, in the room of lord Westmoreland ; and the earl of Mansfield, late lord Stormont, and nephew to the celebrated chief-justice Mansfield, lately deceased, succeeded to tlie presidency of the council. Lord Spencer was placed at the head of the admiralty; and lord Chat- ham, brother to the premier, who had for some years occupied that important depart- ment, was made lord privy-seal. Ten new peers were also created ; and the duke of Portland's services were still further re- VoL. IV. 3^1 warded with a blue riband, and the office of Chancellor of the University of Oxford. MILITARY OPERATIONS ON THE CON- TINENT. The rulers of France having at this time acquired an absolute dominion over tlie per- sons of its inhabitants, and over everything which it contained, by a system of terror, her rulers resolved to extend their sway over the neighboring countries, to enlarge their own boundaries; and to obtain, by plunder, the means of supporting those gi- gantic efforts which they were thus enabled to make, they had armed, at the close of the year 1793, nearly a million of men, three hundred thousand of whom were employed on the northern frontier of the republic. To these the allies had not more than one hun^ dred and forty thousand men to oppose. Be- sides the superiority of numbers, the French army had the advantage of being subject to a unity of command ; while the allies, com- posed of different nations, were commanded by various leaders, w^ho were very far from acting with that cordial spirit of co-opera- tion which was so essentially necessary, not merely to insure success, but to prevent de- feat. The rivalry between Austria and Prussia, and the jealousy which each had conceived of the other, were so visible, that on the sixth of January, the duke of Bruns- wick addressed a letter to the king of Prus- sia, in which he announced the resignation of his command, stating, as his motive, " the unhappy experience that want of connexion, distrust, egotism, and a spirit of cabal, had disconcerted the measures adopted during the two last campaigns ;" and that " when, instead of the prevalence of an imanimous sentiment and tiie same principle, each army acts separate and alone, of its own accord, without any fixed plan, without unanimity, and without principles, the consequences are such as we have seen at Dunkirk, at Maubeuge, and Landau. Heaven preserve your majesty from great misfortunes ! " The resignation of the duke was soon followed by a complaint from the Prussian monarch, of the great expense of the war, and a pn> posal that the states of the empire should provide for the subsistence of his troops ; — a request to which that body did not accede. When the emperor desired that the Diet would order the people in the frontier cir- cles to rise in a mass, the court of Berlin strongly opposed the measure, as fruitleas and dangerous; the general levy did not take place ; and the contingents of the Ger- man princes were deficient The king of Prussia, from the disappoint- ment of various kinds which he had experi- enced, had already determined to withdraw himself from the confederacy. In the month of February certain commisBioners from the 398 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. French republic arrived at Frankfort, under the pretext of negotiating for an exchange of prisoners; but the marked distinction with which they were treated indicated somewhat of different import, and of higher moment. Field-marshal Muliendorf suc- ceeded the duke of Brunswick in the com- mand of the Prussian army ; and an intima- tion to the prince of Cobourg, that he had received orders from his court to march to- wards Cologne, was followed, on the thir- teenth of March, by a proclamation address- ed to the German empire, announcmg his Prussian majesty's actual secession from the grand confederacy. This ruse ^etat ap- pears to have fully answered its intended purpose ; as it was almost immediately fol- lowed by the treaty of subsidy already men- tioned, conformably to which, the sum of nearly two million pounds was to be paid to the court of Berlin, for the service of an ar- my of sixty-two thousand men, to be com- manded by an officer of his Prussian majes- ty's own appointment. A general council of war was convened at Atli, when the projected arrangements of the campaign, on the part of the court of Vienna, were brought forward by general Haddick. A main article of this plan was, that general Ciairfait, an officer of great ability and experience, s?iould be appointed to the command of the auxiliary forces, and that the duke of York should act under his orders, the prince of Cobourg continuing at the head of the grand imperial army. This his royal highness refused with disdain ; and the dispute was only settled by the determi- nation that the emperor himself sliould talie the field in person, and that in him should be vested the supreme command. On the ninth of April his imperial majesty arrived at Brussels, where he was solemnly inaugu- rated duke of Brabant, and thence proceed- ed to Valenciennes, where his presence dif- fused great joy. The whole army was re- viewed by him on the heights above Cateau, on the sixteenth, and on the following day they marched in eight columns to invest Landreci. The French assembled in force at the camp of Csesar, near Cambray, from which they were driven by the confederates on tlie twenty-third, and the investment of Landreci immediately took place. The next day the French made a general assault upon the different posts of the allies in this quar- ter, and were in most instances repulsed ; but the post of Moucron, v/here Ciairfait commanded, was attacked with a superior force by Pichegru in person, and carried, afler a brave resistance. Courtray and Me- nin thus fell into the hands of the republic- ans. In return, the fortress of Landreci, which had repelled the utmost ef!brt8 of prince Eugene m 1712, fsU, afler a short siege, into the hands of the prince of Co- bourg. In the month of June, the French, under general Jourdan, who commanded on the side of the Moselle, passed the Sambre, for the third time in the space of fourteen days, and, after being twice repulsed, laid siege to the town of Charleroi. The prince of Cobourg determuied to make a grand effort for its re- lief. On the twenty-first he reached Ath, and on the twenty-fourth effiscted a junction with the hereditary prince of Orange and general Beaulieu, who commanded in that quarter. The main body of the French ar- my under general Jourdan was strongly post- ed, at this time, in the vicinity of Fleurus, to cover the siege of Charleroi. On the morning of the twenty-sixth the prince of Cobourg hazarded a general attack on this force. The battle continued with unabated fiiry till near the close of the day, by which time the allied army was defeated in every part, and forced, with immense loss, to re- treat to Halle, thirty miles from the scene of action. This was a great and decisive victory. Charleroi, to save which this bloody action was fought, had surrendered on the evening of the twenty-fifth; and Brussels fell, without further resistance, into the hands of the enemy. General Ciairfait was equal- ly unfortunate on the opposite side. Ypres, the key of western Flanders, was besieged by fifty thousand men, commanded by gen- eral Moreau. After a series of engagemente, in which the French were almost uniformly victorious, tlie Austrians were compelled to fall back upon Ghent, and Ypres surrender- ed on the seventeenth of June. The em- peror, with his favorite, general Mack, in utter despair of success, left the army, after having in vain issued proclamation after proclamation, calling upon the inhabitants of the low countries to rise in a mass in or- der to repel the invaders. The duke of York, who had a separate command at Tournay, was attacked, on the tenth of May, by a French force, consisting of thirty thousand men, which he drove back with great loss. The emperor immediately determined to march to his assistance, and a grand attack was concerted, in which the army of general Ciairfait was ordered to co- operate; but the movements of the different columns not being attended with equal suc- cess, the duke, after a succession of severe conflicts, was obliged to fly, and narrowly escaped being mnde prisoner. In company with only an Austrian general and two other gentlemen, he entered a village, supposing it to be in the hands of the allies, but, on turning a corner in full gallop, they found a column of the enemy facing them, which, supposin:? the (luke to be at tlie head of a body cftrocpf!, ;it flrirt feci, after firing a val- GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 399 ley, which killed the Austrian general at his side. Recovering, however, from their error, they pursued the duke and his two compan- ions so closely, that they arrived with great difficulty at Tournay, a position which be- came at length wholly untenable, and was therefore evacuated, the duke retreating in the direction of Antwerp. Just as the fate of the Netherlands had been thus decided, lord Moira arrived from England with a re- inforcement of ten thousand men, at Ostend, the gallant remains of that army which had been destined to re-establish royalty in Brit- tany. His situation was critical, the French being in possession of the country on all sides of him, and it was deemed necessary imme- diately to evacuate the town, and endeavor to force his way, without tents or baggage, through the enemy, to join the army of the allies, which, by great and skilful exertion, he accomplished on the eighth of July : the shipping in the harbor, amounting to one hundred and fifty sail, with the ammunition, stores, &c. on board, took their departure for Flushing. Thus Ostend, and, nearly at the same time, Tournay and Ghent, fell into the hands of the French. In the respective en- gagements which had taken place between Pichegru and the prince of Cobourg, since the battle of Fleurus, the former had great ly the advantage : Mons, Oudenarde, Brus- sels, and Nieuporl, places widely distant, and soon after Mechlin, surrendered to the republican arms, and Antwerp itself was no longer considered as a safe retreat. The stadtholder consequently solicited the States- General to make an extraordinary levy throughout the provinces, but without ef- fect; a revolution in the government was apprehended. About the middle of July general Kleber took possession of Louvain, after defeating general Clairfait, who had possession of the famous camp of the Montagne-de-Fer. The last hope of the allies, that of forming a line of defence from Antwerp to Namur, was now relinquished, Namur being, on the night of the sixteenth, abandoned by general Beau lieu ; and, on the twenty-fourth, the French took quiet possession of Antwerp, the allies having previously set fire to the immense magazines there deposited. Sluys made a brave resistance, but surrendered after a siege of six weeks, the garrison marching out with the honors of war. The strong towns still occupied by the allies, Landreci, Quesnoy, Conde, and Valenciennes, being now completely insulated, successively re verted, almost without resistance, to the French. The army under the duke of York was stationed at Breda, whence, for greater se- curity, it retreated towards Bois-le-Duc. The French forces, under Pichegru, advanc- ing rapidly upon them, to the number of eighty thousand men, about the middle of September, the duke crossed the Maese, and took a fresh position near Grave ; and, at the beginning of October, he encamped under the walls of Nimeguen. The French, cross- ing the Maese, made an attack on the Brit- ish posts in front of that town, and having obliged them to change their position, invest- ed the place. Towards the end of the month his royal highness passed the Waal, leaving general Walmoden with a corps to cover the town of Nimeguen, which was evacuated in great confusion, and with much loss, on the seventh of November. Bois-le-Duc, Breda, and Grave, were also successively reduced. Whilst Pichegru was in Dutch Flanders, the Austrian general. La Tour, was totally defeated by general Jourdan near Liege, which city, and those of Aix-la-Cha- pelle and Juliers, were occupied by the French. The prince of Cobourg was at this period suddenly dismissed from his high com- mand ; and his successor, general Clairfait, was compelled, early in October, to repass the Rhme at Cologne. The French pur- sued, the imperial troops to the very margin of the river ; and, as the rear of the Aus- trian army embarked, the question was loud- ly and insultingly asked, if that was the road to Paris ] About the end of September the siege of Maestricht was formally com- menced, and lasted forty days, during which interval the attack and defence were con- ducted with heroic bravery. The atmosphere seemed filled with balls, bombs, and shells, and scarcely was a place of safety left in the whole circuit of the city. Two thousand buildings, public and private, were said to be destroyed ; and a general storm was in- tended on the fourth of November, when the governor, moved by the situation of the in- habitants, and the entreaties of the magis- trates, consented to articles of capitulation with general Kleber, who entered the place on the same day. The Prussians did not act with much vigor m this campaign, nor were they wholly inactive. Being obliged to make some show of co-operation with the Austrians, they sur- prised the French in their intrenchments at Keyserslautem, and defeated them with con- siderable loss. In July they were attacked by general Desaix, who carried the import- ant posts occupied by prince Hohenloe on the Platoberg, a high mountain in the terri- tory of Deux-Ponts ; and, soon afterwards, the whole chain of posts from Neustadt to the Rhine being assailed with success, both Austrians and Prussians were obliged to re- treat with precipitation. The imperial army recrossed the Rhine, and the Prussians re- tired towards Guntersbloom and Mentz. The recent acquisition of Keyserslautem was 400 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. abandoned to the republicans, who again oc- 1 cupied the cities of Worms, Spire, and Treves. In Spain and Italy also the armies j of the republic were successful. In Novem- ber 1793, they penetrated into the province of Catalonia; and, in the beginning of Feb- ruary followmg a battle was fought near St Jean de Luz, in which the French t^were conquerors. In May another victory was gained near Ceret ; and soon afterwards a third, of more importance than the former two, over the principal Spanish army, posted in the vicinity of Collioure. On the west- ern side the towns of Fontarabia and St. Sebastian fell into the hands of the French. In Italy the Piedmontese had, at the com- mand of the Sardinian monarch, risen in a mass ; but, being destitute of the enthusiasm of liberty, they constituted a body without a soul. The French forced the famous pass of Mount Cenis, took possession of the city and territory of Oneglia, and made them- selves masters of a great part of the open country of that district. CORSICA ANNEXED TO THE BRITISH CROWN. In the Mediterranean the progress of the English arms, subsequently to the evacua- tion of Toulon, was very flattering. Early in February 1794, lord Hood proceeded for Corsica, which was in a state of revolt against the convention, the insurgents hav- ing been excited to this resistance by the English influence, under the conduct of their ancient and popular chief. Paschal Paoli, who had been some years since restored to his country with honor by the Constituent As- sembly. Mortella, Tornelli, and St. Fioren- za, being successively surrendered or evacu- ated, the Corsicans who adhered to the French interest retreated to Bastia, which resisted the united efforts of the Anglo-Cor- sicans and English till the twenty-fourth of May, when it capitulated on honorable terms; and the whole island, excepting Calvi, which held out till August, submitted to the Eng- lish. Letters of convocation were immedi- ately issued for the assembly of the general Consulta, to be held at Corte, the ancient capital of Corsica, on Sunday, the eighth of June : general Paoli was elected president. The representatives of the Corsican nation immediately voted the union of Corsica with the British crown ; a constitutional act was framed accordingly ; and Sir Gilbert Elliot, representative of his Britannic majesty, form- ally accepted this act on his part, and imme- diately assumed the title of viceroy. The Channel fleet put to sea in the spring in search of an enemy which had hitherto eluded pursuit. Lord Howe was particular- ly solicitous to vindicate the honor of his country, as well as to rescue his own char- acter frcMa unmerited reproach; and the powerful armament now under his command left no doubt relative to the result of a con- test On reaching the Lizard a signal was made for the East-Indiamen to proceed on their voyage, under convoy of six sail of the line and a frigate, which were not to sepa- rate from them until their arrival off" Cape Finisterre. Having received information on the nineteenth of May that the Brest fleet was at sea, lord Howe deemed it proper to effect a jimction with the squadron lately detached under rear-admiral Montague to refit and water ; but on hearing, two days after, that the enemy had been seen a few leagues further to the westward, he imme- diately altered his course and steered to- wards them. LORD HOWE'S VICTORY. JjEAN BoN St. Andre, who had been em- ployed at Brest to infuse a spirit of democ- racy into the seamen, acted on this occasion as a national commissioner, having embark- ed on board the flag-ship, carrying one hun- dred and twenty guns, and designated Iji Montague, after the ruling party in the Con- vention. On the twenty-eighth of May, at eight o'clock in the morning, in north lati- tude 47° 33', W. Long. 14° 10', the rival fleets descried each other exactly at the same time ; the wind blew strong from the south-west, accompanied by a very rough sea, and the French possessed the weather- gage. After the advanced frigates had given intimation of this event, earl Howe continued his course, v.^hile the French ad- miral endeavored as nuich as possible to as- sume a regular order of battle upon the star- board tack, a circumstance which greatly facilitated the approach of the English. As the conduct of the enemy, who had now hauled their wind, indicated an intention to avoid a close fight, the British commander displayed the signal for a general chase, and, to prevent their escape, he soon after de- tached rear-admiral Pasley, with a flying squadron, to make an impression on their rear : that officer accordingly, near the close of the day, attacked the Revolutionnaire, a three-decked ship of one hundred and ten guns, which happened to be the sternmost in the line, but without any decisive suc- cess on either side. The rival fleets, con- sisting of twenty-six sail of the line on the part of the French, and twenty-five on that of the British, remained within sight of each other during the whole night, on the star- board tack, and in a parallel direction, with the French still to windward ; but next morning, the twenty-ninth, admiral Villaret- Joyeuse, flushed with the hopes of a victory, wore from van to rear, and instead of flinch- ing from the action, edged down in a line ahead to engage the van of the British fleet. Taking advantage of so favorable an op» GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 401 portunity, lord Howe renewed the signal for passing the enemy's line, and succeeded with some difficulty in obtaining the weather- gage, while the enemy were repulsed by the Barfleur, and two other three-deckers, in an attempt to cut off the Queen and Royal George. At length Villaret tacked again by signal ; and, after a distant can- nonade, stood away in order of battle on the larboard tack, followed by the whole of the British fleet. The second day's action proved equally indecisive as the former, and a thick fog, that intervened during this night and the greater part of the succeeding day, pre- vented the renewal of the engagement. In the mean time, rear-admiral Neilly joined the French commander-in-chief with a re- inforcement of three sail of the line and two frigates : this accession of strength enabled him to detach his crippled ships; and the dawn of the successive day exhibited the two fleets drawn up in order of battle, and prepared to renew the contest. The British admiral, perceiving that there was time suf- ficient for the various ships' companies to take refreshment, made a signal for break- fast, which, by procrastinating the action induced the enemy to believe that their an- tagonists wished to decline the engagement : but they were greatly disappointed ; for in about half an hour lord Howe gave orders for steering the Royal Charlotte alongside the French admiral, which was effected at nine o'clock in the morning; and, while some of the English commanders penetrated the line of battle, and engaged to leeward, others occupied such stations as allowed them to combat with their antagonists to windward. So close and severe was the contest, that the fate of this day depended but little on the exertion of nautical skill : all was hard fighting. In about fifty min- utes after the action had commenced in the centre, admiral Villaret-Joyeuse determined to relinquish the contest : for he now per- ceived several of his ships dismasted, and one of seventy-four guns about to sink ; he at the same time found that six were cap- tured: a great slaughter had also taken place on board his own vessel, in which his captain and many of the crew were killed, while the national commissioner, with most of his officers, were wounded : he accord- ingly crowded off* with all the canvas he could spread, and was immediately followed by most of the ships in his van that were not completely crippled: two or three of these, although dismantled, also got away soon after, under a temporary sail hoisted on the occasion ; for the enemy had, as usual, chiefly aimed at the rigging, and the victors were by this time disabled from pursuing the vanquished: the Queen Charlotte, in particular, was at this period nearly unman- 34* ageable, having lost her forctopmast in the action ; this was soon after followed by the maintopmast, which fell over the side; while the Brunswick, which had lost her mizenmast, and the Queen, also disabled, drifted to leeward, and were exposed to con- siderable danger from the retreating fleet. Two eighty, and five seventy-four gun ships, however, still remained in possession of the victors ; but one of the latter. La Vengeur, went down soon after she was taken posses- sion of, and, though many of the French were saved on this occasion by the humanity of their adversaries, above three hundred went to the bottom. The slaughter on board the French fleet was so great, that in the captured ships alone it amounted to one thousand two hundred and seventy. The British total loss was nine hundred and four. Admiral Montague, who had repaired to England, was immediately dispatched to join earl Howe, and sailed for Brest, partly with a view to fall in with the commander-in- chief, and partly to pick up any crippled ships, which, in case of an action, might take shelter in that port : he accordingly en- countered some of the retreating squadron, and chased them into the outer road. On the succeeding day he descried the main body under Villaret-Joyeuse ; but, notwith- standing the late fatal conflict, that com- mander formed an admirable line of battle, and gave chase ; while the fleet from Amer- ica, consisting of one hundred and sixty sail of merchantmen, supposed to be worth sev- eral millions sterling, but invaluable on ac- count of the distressed state of France, ar- rived in safety on the twelfth of June. The victory of the first of June confer- red great glory on the admiral, and was re- ceived at home with uncommon rejoicing. Large sums of money were subscribed for the benefit of the widows and children of those killed in action. Rear-admirals Bow- yer and Pasley were created baronets, and received a pension of one thousand pounds each per annum. Admirals Graves and Sir Alexander Hood had the honors of the peer- age conferred on them. Earl Howe was pre- sented with a diamond-hilted sword of great value, by the king in person, on board the Queen Charlotte, at Spithead ; and also with a golden chain, to which was suspended a medal, with Victory crowning Britannia on the obverse, and on the reverse a wreath of oak and laurel, encircling his lordship's name, and the date of the action. In De- cember 1796, his majesty was also pleased to transmit gold chains and medals to the flag-officers and captains, who were reported by Lord Howe to have signalized them- selves during the battle with the French fleet On the twenty-third of April, Sir John 402 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Borlase Warren captured two French frig-- ates off Guernsey, atler two hours' fighting. In August he pursued five other French ships of war off Scilly, and, driving two of them under the batteries of the Gamelle roeks, would have proceeded to burn them ; but, with a generosity worthy of his cour- age, abstained from the last rigors of war against an unfortunate enemy, whose wound- ed must have perished had he set their ves- sels on fire. CAPTURE OF MARTINIQUE, &c. The British government prepared a for- midable armament to act against the colo- nies of France in the West Indies. On the third of November, 1793, this expedition sailed ; the land forces consisted of about six thousand troops, under the command of Sir Charles Grey ; and the naval armament, consisting of four ships of war, nine frigates, a bomb-ketch, a few gun-boats, and several store-ships, under Sir John Jervis. Having rendezvoused in Carlisle Bay, Barbadoes, they sailed on the third of February, 1794, to the attack of Martinico, which surrender- ed, after a resolute resistance of seven weeks. Fort Royal was carried by escalade, with extraordinary exertions of valor, par- ticularly on the part of captain Faulknor, of the Zebra, who entered the harbor through the fire of all the batteries, and laid his sloop alongside the walls, which he scaled in de- fiance of repeated volleys of grape-shot. As soon as the reduction of Martinico had been effected, the troops were reimbarked, and landed on the island of St. Lucia, which ca- pitulated on the fourth of April ; and upon the eleventh of tlie same month the fleet and army arrived off Guadaloupe, which, af- ter a short but brave defence, surrendered, with its dependencies, on the twentieth. After these glorious successes Sir Charles Grey returned to Martinico, leaving general Dundas to command at Guadaloupe. About this time a French squadron appeared off the island, from which a body of troops land- ing under the command of a most daring and skilful leader, Victor Hugues, attacked Fort Fleur d'Epee, which they carried by storm ; and the English retreated with con- siderable loss to Fort Louis : this was also soon evacuated, and the troops, shattered and disheartened, t(X)k refuge in Basseterre. Sir Charles Grey, on the first intelligence of this attempt, sailed from St. Kitt's with all the force he could collect, and, landing on the island of Guadaloupe, on the nine- teenth of June, made an attempt on the post of Point-a-Petre on the second of July. After great efforts of valor, however, he was repulsed, with the loss of six hundred men. Upon this the forces were reimbarked, and Basseterre, after a long and vigorous resist- ance, with the whole island and its depend- encies, reverted to its former possessors. Not long after the loss of the island, the brave captain Faulknor, who had so emi- nently contributed to tlie reduction of Mar- tinico, lost his life in an engagement with a frigate near Marie-Galente. More than sev- enty men are said to have been killed in the French vessel, and above one hundred wounded ; while only twenty-nine suffered in the victorious ship. ACQUISITIONS IN ST. DOMINGO. St. Domingo, in a remarkable degree, had suffered the mischievous effects of the French revolution. When the people in the mother country asserted their right to free- dom, the claims of the colonial subjects of France were also recognized ; and a society, called Les Amis des Noirs, (Friends of the Negroes,) warmly supported the pretensions of the slaves to emancipation, and of the mulattoes to all the privileges enjoyed by the white inhabitants. The declaration of rights promulgated by the National Assem- bly increased the ferment which the first in- tellioence of the revolution had produced in the islands ; and violent disturbances and contests were apprehended. Deputies from the different districts of the French part of St. Domingo met, by the king's order, to prevent tumults and reform abuses; but their endeavors were opposed by the parti- sans of the old regime, and the governor dissolved the Assembly. Many of the repre- sentatives sailed to France to justify their conduct ; and, during their absence, Oge, an enterprising mulatto, found means to ex- cite an insurrection ; but it was quickly sup- pressed, and his life was sacrificed to public justice. The claims of his brethren, how- ever, were confirmed by a decree of the ruling assembly of the parent state, which admitted them to all the privileges of French citizens, on the fifteenth of May, 1791. When a new colonial assembly deliberated on the conduct which prudence required at this crisis, the slaves in the neighborhood of Cape Francois attacked the whites, murder- ed a great number of them, and destroyed the plantations. The insurrection soon spread to other districts ; and though many hundreds of the negroes and their confed- erates were slain in battle or perished by famine, they seemed to multiply like the heads of the hydra. Commissioners were sent fi*om France to heal the disorders of the colony ; but they produced, by their mis- conduct, a civil war among the whites, and invited to their aid a body of rebel negroes, who perpetrated a horrible series of massa- cres at Cape Fran9ois, and in June, 1793, burnt the greater part of the town. The convulsions of the colony induced many of the planters to solicit succor frora the British government ; and raajor-general GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 403 Williamson was ordered to detach an arma- ment from Jamaica, to take possession of those settlements which the people might be disposed to surrender. Lieutenant-colo- nel Whitelocke sailed in consequence to Jeremie, and received the submission of the inhabitants ; the town and harbor of St. Nic- olas were also given up to the English ; and to these possessions Leogane, and other towns and districts, were soon added. An expedition was undertaken for the reduction of Cape Tiburon ; and a bribe was offered to general Lavaux for the surrender of Port de Paix. The enterprise succeeded, and the town was taken on the second of February, 1794. The fort of Acul was Btormed by the English ; but at Bombard they were repelled with loss. They defended Cape Tiburon against an army of blacks and mulattoes, who were routed with considerable slaugh- ter. The arrival of a reinforcement from Great Britain, under brigadier-general Whyte, elevated the hopes of the English, and preparations were made for the con- quest of Port-au-Prince. Fort Bizotton waa taken at the point of the bayonet. The un- healthmess of the climate now occasioned a great mortality among tlie troops, and check- ed the extension of their conquests : they soon after lost Leogane and Tiburon. 404 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. CHAPTER XXVII. State of the French Government — Sanguinary Proceedings — Progress of the French in Holland — Escape of the Stadtholder — Embassy to China — Sweden and Denmark ' — Disputes with America — Meeting of Parliament — Proceedings — Earl Fitzwil- liam, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, recalled, and consequent discontents of the Catholics — Marriage of the Prince of Wales — Arrangement respecting his Debts — Ac- quittal of Warren Hastings — Prorogation of Parliament — Naval Affairs — Occur- rences in the West Indies — The French Government concludes Peace with Prussia, Spain, Hanover, Hesse, art of his income, and the revenues of the dutchy of Cornwall. After some discussion, the house, on the suggestion of the chancel- lor of the exchequer, determined that one hundi^ and twenty-five thousand pounds, together with the rents of tlie dutchy of Cornwall, estimated at thirteen thousand pounds, should be settled upon the prince, of which, seventy-eight thousand punde should be applied annually to the liquidation of his debts, amounting, at this period, to upwards of six hundred thousand pounds ; and that a law should be passed to prevent the heir apparent in future from being in- volved in similar difficulties. These propo- sitions met the concurrence of the house, and a jointure of fifty thousand pounds per annum was settled upon the princess of Wales, in tlie event of her surviving his royal highness. WARREN HASTINGS ACQUITTED.— PAR- LIAMENT PROROGUED. The trial of Hastings, which had leisted seven years, was now brought to a conclu- sion. After some debates on the mode of proceeding, it was resolved that the question should be separately put on sixteen points. The greatest number of peers who voted the defendant guilty in any one respect, did not exceed six : the votes of innocence, in some of the charges, were twenty-six ; in others, twenty-three ; in one, nineteen. The chan- cellor intimated the decision of the court to Hastings on the twenty-third of April, who received it in silence, bowed, and retired from the bar. The public in general seemed to be pleased with the acquittal of one who had suflTered so long an arraignment, yet had conducted the afi:airs of his government with spirit and success ; and who, though he had not al- ways regarded the duties of morality, the dictates of virtuous policy, and the senti- ments of humanity and moderation, had pro- moted the interests of his employers, secured their authority, and established their domin- ion. The East India company paid Hastings the costs of his trial, amounting to upwards of seventy thousand pounds, and likewise conferred upon him a pecuniary donation. Parliament was prorogued on the twenty- seventh of June by a speech from the throne, which breathed the air of pacification, and declared it impossible to contemplate the in- ternal situation of the enemy witli whom we were contending without indulging a hope that the present circumstances of France might, in their efi*ects, hasten the re- turn of such a state of order and regular government as might be capable of main- taining the accustomed relations of peace and amity. NAVAL AFFAIRS.— WEST INDIES. In March an engagement took place in the Mediterranean, between two squadrons, nearly equal in force ; the English command- ed by admiral Hotham, and the French by Richery, the latter of which was conveying a large body of troops to Corsica, for the re- capture of that island. The Ca Ira, of 408 mSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. eighty, and the Censeur, of seventy-four guns, struck to the English flag: on the other hand, the French captured the Ber- wick, of seventy-four guns, going out singly to join the fleet ; and the Illustrious of the same rate, being much damaged in the fight, was driven on shore, and lost near Avenza. Soon after this another partial action took place near St. Fiorenzo; and the Alcide, a French ship of the line, struck her colors ; but, from some fatal accident, blew up before she could be taken possession of by the Eng- lish. The skilful retreat of admiral Corn- wallis, with a small squadron of five ships of the line, from a far superior force, is entitled to be mentioned. On the sixteenth of June, near the Penmarks, the Phaeton frigate made a signal for an enemy's fleet, consisting of thirteen line-of-battle ships. At nine the next morning the French began the attack, which was vigorously repelled by the Eng- lish, who kept up a running fight the whole day, without suffering the enemy to gain the least advantage*. At length, by throwing out signals as if to another British fleet in sight, tlie assailants were induced to sheer off. On the twenty-third, however, off" Port L'Orient, the same French squadron actually fell in with another fleet, under lord Brid- port, which captured three of the^ii, the rest of the squadron only escaping into L'Orient by keeping close in shore. On the other hand, the French made, in the month of Oc- tober, a capture of thirty merchantmen from the Mediterranean and Levant, with a ship of the line, constituting part of the convoy. They also made prize of part of a Jamaica fleet ; and, indeed, both in this and the pre- ceding year, the British trade suffered im- mensely from their attacks, while their own declining commerce presented few objects of reprisal for our cruisers and privateers. Notwithstanding their disparity of naval force, the French, after recovering the whole of Guadaloupe, attacked, with success, the fort of Tiburon, in St. Domingo, and made thenriselves masters of St. Eustatius. St. Lucia, after a violent and bloody conflict, was reluctantly evacuated by the governor- general, Stewart ; and Grenada, Dominico, and St. Vmcent's, were preserved with great difficulty. In Jamaica a strife long subsisted with the Maroons, a tribe which on the sur- render of the island by the Spaniards to the English, refused to submit to the latter, and had since occupied the mountainous part of the country. After many conflicts in which they were nearly exterminated, those who remained consented to be removed to Cana- da, where a portion of land was allotted to them. FRENCH MAKE PEACE WITH PRUSSIA, SPAIN, sed of fifteen cohorts, and a council of administration ; each cohort tx) consist of seven grand officers, twen- ty commandants, thirty subonlinate officers, and three hundred and fifty legionaries; the first consul always to be the chief, and the members to be aonointed for life, each with 484 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. proportionate salaries. Joseph Buonaparte, the brother of the first consul, was elected grand master. In the West Indies Buonaparte recovered Guadaloupe, after a sanguinary resistance, and had at first met with some success in St. Domingo, Toussaint L'Ouverture having been induced to submit under promise of par- don : scarcely, however, had he signed the capitulation, when, on a vague and improb- able charge of conspiring against the French government, he was seized in the midst of his family, and with them immediately sent to France. On his arrival he was, without trial or examination, thrown into prison, where in the following year he died, and it has been asserted that he was privately put to death by order of the first consul. On the seizure of Toussaint, the negro generals Des- salines and Christophe, who had also surren- dered, justly fearing the fate of their unfor- tunate colleague, saved themselves by flight ; the insurgents again everywhere assembled; the climate effectually aided their efforts, and general Le Clerc himself at length fell a victim to its malignity. General Rocham- beau succeeded to the command early in No- vember, when a furious and bloody conflict recommenced ; the negro generals recovered possession of the whole island excepting a few maritime towns, of which the French with extreme difficulty maintained posses- sion ; and a country of inestimable value, which, by measures of moderation and con- ciliation, might in all probability have been preserved to France, appeared irrecoverably lost. In Tobago, when intelligence arrived that the island was to be restored to France, the people of color flew to arms, and deter- mined to attack the British troops under brigadier general Carmichael, who had under his command only two hundred men ; but, having gained intelligence of the plot, he seized thirty of the ringleaders, and the French took possession of the island, in vir- tue of the treaty of Amiens. In Dominica a serious alarm was created by the mutiny of an entire regiment of blacks, who put to death captain Cameron and several other officers ; but they were at length totally routed. Whilst these contests prevailed, the French legislative body abrogated the decree of the national convention, abolishing sla- very, and the inhuman traffic was renewed with all the encouragement which it enjoyed under the old French government. DESPARD'S CONSPIRACY. In October of this year a treasonable plot was discovered, of which colonel Edward Marcus Despard, who had distinguished him- self in the service of his country, was the head, and indeed the only individual of any consideration in the conspiracy. The object was the death of tlie kino-, and the subver- sion of the constitution ; but the means by which these traitorous designs were to be effected were so little adapted to the magni- tude of the enterprise, that it seemed scarcely possible that the design should have origin- ated with any man in a sane statie of mind. On the sixteenth of November the colonel and twenty-nine laboring men and soldiers were apprehended at the Oakley Arms in Lambeth ; and on the seventh of February, 1803, the former was arraigned before a spe- cial commission for high treason. After a trial which lasted nearly eighteen hours, and in which very honorable testimony was given to the conduct of the colonel, while in the army, by lord Nelson, Sir Alured Clarke, and Sir Evan Nepean, he was found guilty, but earnestly recommended to mercy, on ac- count of the high testimonials to his charac- ter and eminent services. On the ninth, the court proceeded to the trials of twelve other prisoners, and, after an investigation which continued till the following morning, the jury returned a verdict of guilty against nine ; two were acquitted, and the charge against the other was abandoned. On the twenty-first, colonel Despard and the six ac- complices not recommended to mercy were executed with the usual forms in cases of high treason. NEW PARLIAMENT. On the twenty-third the neM' prl'Virriont was opened by a speech from t: c tij^ciic, in which the king observed that, in his inter- course with foreign powers, he had been ac-» tuated by a sincere desire for the mainte- nance of peace ; but that it was nevertheless impossible to lose sight of that established and wise system of policy by which the in- terests of other states are connected with our own ; and that he could hot be indiflfer- ent to any material change in the relative condition and strength of those states. He expressed his conviction that parliament would concur in the opinion that it was ne- cessary to adopt those means of security which were best calculated to afford the prospect of preserving the blessings of peace. The presage conveyed in this intimation was soon afterwards confirmed by proposals for augmenting the naval and military force of the country. The attention of parliament until the Christmas recess was chiefly occu- pied by financial arrangements, and by a bill introduced into the house of peers by lord Pelham, for appointing commissioners to in- quire into frauds and abuses existing in the naval departments. SYMPTOMS OF HOSTILITY WITH FRANCE. —BRITISH AMBASSADOR QUITS PARIS. The extent of Buonaparte's authority at home only served to render him more im- patient of contradiction abroad ; and as he had succeeded in subduing all opposition in GEORGE III. 1760-1820. 485 his own territories, he imagined that he could as easily silence the reproaches of foreign countries. Having* brought his ne- gotiations in Germany, consequent on the peace of Luneville, to a successful termina- tion, he had plundered at his pleasure the ecclesiastical princes of the empire, to in- demnify those whose territories he had seiz- ed on the French side of the Rhine, and taken care amply to reward those wretched potentates who had displayed the most cow- ardly subserviency to his interests. Among these the petty sovereigns of Baden and Wirtemberg were raised by him to the dig- nity of electors, as preparatory to their sub- sequent elevation to the rank of kings. He had been equally successful in reviving the ancient jealousy between the Prussian mon- arch and the emperor of Germany ; the for- mer of whom was imprudently seduced, by hopes of personal aggrandizement, to en- large the influence and power of an impla- cable enemy, and thus prepared the way for his own destruction. In Italy, also, Buona- parte had assumed the sovereignty under the denomination of President of the Italian Re- public ; for such was the title now adopted by the Cisalpine republic. He had united the kingdom of Sardinia and the dutchy of Parma to France ; and he had taken effec- tual means for riveting the chains of Swit- zerland. Little solicitous to afford proofs of a pa- cific disposition to the only enemy who had resisted him with effect, Buonaparte betray- ed, in all his communications with the Brit- ish cabinet, an overbearing and insupporta- ble pride. First tq Otto, and afterwards to his ambassador, general Andreossi, he sent instructions to complain of the freedom of those animadversions which the public wri- ters of Great Britain passed on his charac- ter and conduct ; and those complaints were reiterated as well by Talleyrand, as by the first consul himself, to lord Whitworth, who, hi November, 1802, repaired to Paris as am- bassador to the French court. He could not be persuaded that the British government was unable to exercise over the press the same unlimited power, the same boundless tyranny, which he himself exercised over every public writer throughout his vast do- minions. It was impossible to make him understand that, in England, the ministers were subject to the same legal restraints as the lowest subject of the realm ; that they could proceed only according to the forms of law ; and that, if what the law deemed a libel should be uttered or written against the first potentate in Europe, he must, in order to punish the offender, have recourse to the same modes of proceeding which are prescribed to Englishmen themselves, under similar circumstances. In the autumn of 41* 1802, he directed his agent, Otto, to prefer charges against certain English public wri- ters ; and against Peltier, who conducted a journal in the French language, entitled VAmhigu. Although, as lord Hawkesbury had pertinently observed, in his instructions to Mr. Merry, who was then at Paris, the French press poured forth constant libels against the English government ; libels, too, authorized by the French cabinet ; although Rheinhardt, the Jacobin representative of Buonaparte at Hamburgh, had violated the neutrality of the senate, and had compelled them to insert a most virulent attack upon the English government in the Hamburgh paper ; although Buonaparte hunself had publicly uttered similar libels ; and although, to use the words of lord Hawkesbury, it might, indeed, with truth be asserted, that the period which had elapsed since the con- clusion of the definitive treaty had been marked with one continued series of aggres- sion, violence, and insult, on the part of the French government; so averse were the British ministers from any conduct which could have even a tendency to produce a renewal of hostilities between the two coun- tries, that they instructed the attorney-gen- eral to file a criminal information agamst Peltier. The cause was tried on the twenty- first of February, 1803, and the defendant was convicted ; but the renewal of hostili- ties was allowed to secure him from punish- ment. At the very time when this trial was pending, the difference between the two governments was such as to render hostili- ties unavoidable. At the latter end of Feb- ruary lord Whitworth had an interview with Buonaparte, in which the latter so far for- got himself as personally to insult the Brit- ish ambassador, and to threaten his govern- ment in the presence of other diplomatic characters. On this occasion he openly avowed his ambitious designs, and clearly developed his views upon Egypt, whither he had dispatched Sebastiani, a Corsican offi- cer, in the ostensible character of a com- mercial agent, to seize every opportunity for promoting the French interest in the Le- vant; he boldly justified his unprincipled usurpations in Switzerland, Piedmont, and Italy ; and peremptorily insisted on the im- mediate evacuation of Malta, as the sine qua non of continued peace. By the treaty of Amiens, the king had stipulated to re- store the island within a given time to the order of St. John, under the express guar- antee of its independence and neutrality by the principal powers of Europe. Circum- stances, however, tending to destroy the in- dependence of the order itself, by depriving it of a considerable portion of its revenue, had subsequently arisen, which rendered it highly imprudent to carry that article of the 486 mSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. treaty into effect. Besides, the stipulaticai had been made with a reference to the rela- tive situation of the contracting parties at the time of concluding the treaty. That situation had experienced a material change by the fresh acquisitions of territory which Buonaparte had afterwards made, and by the consequent addition of power which he had secured. His intentions, too, to dismember the Turkish empire, and to monopolize the commerce of the Levant, objects against which specific provisions were made in the treaty, were too notorious not to call for measures of adequate precaution on the part of Great Britain, whose ministers, indeed were almost to blame for having carried a system of conciliation and concession to so great a length. At last the inutility of every attempt to induce Buonaparte to listen to the claims of justice became so obvious, that the British ambassador received orders to return to England ; and he accordingly left Paris on the twelfth of May, 1803. GRANT TO THE PRINCE OF WALES.— MES- SAGE RESPECTING FRANCE.— WAR. On a message from the king, recommend- ing the embarrassed state of the prince of Wales to the consideration of parliament, a proposition was moved by Addington for granting to his royal highness, out of the consolidated fund, the annual sum of sixty thousand pounds, for three years and a half. This sum, though the prince expressed his gratitude for the liberality of parliament, was not sufficient to meet all his engage- ments, and Calcraft moved that he should be enabled immediately to resume his state and dignity; but it was rejected, and the original proposition passed unanimously. On the eighth of March his majesty sent a message to parliament, announcing that very considerable military preparations were carrying on in the ports of France and Hol- land ; and that he had therefore judged it expedient to adopt additional measures of precaution for the security of his dominions. It was added that, though the preparations referred to were avowedly directed to colo- nial service, yet, as discussions of great importance were then subsisting between his majesty and the French government, the result of which must be uncertain, it was necessary to make such provision as circum- stances might require. An address was unanimously voted, and a resolution was afterwards passed for raising ten thousand additional seamen, including three thousand four hundred marines. A subsequent mes- sage to parliament announced the king's in- tention to call out the militia; and, after some succeeding weeks of suspense, it was stated in another, on the sixteenth of May, that the king had recalled bis ambassador from Paris; that the French minister had left London ; and that his majesty had given directions for laying before the house of com- mons, with as little delay as possible, copies of such papers as would afford the fullest information at this important conjuncture. The message was taken into consideration in the house of lords on the twenty-third of May, when lord Pelham moved the address. The only question was, he observed, whether a distinct and legitimate ground of war was established by the correspondence now on the table. Without going minutely into these documents, he should briefly advert to the principal points in dispute between the two governments ; and, first, with respect to Malta. It would be seen from the papers on the table, that up to a given period his majesty's ministers had taken every step to carry into effect the provisions of the treaty relating to this island. It was about the twenty-seventh of January that the French government began to press, in a very per- emptory manner, for its evacuation ; and it was about that period that ministers thought themselves bound to demand some satis- factory explanation of the pretensions ad- vanced, and the views disclosed, by the French government. Circumstances then existed which rendered it necessary to refer back to what had been the conduct of the First Consul from the period when the treaty was concluded ; and in the course of this view the plain and intelligible inference was, that he had pursued one constant series of acts totally inconsistent with a sincere desire to preserve the peace of the two countries. The answers returned by minis- ters to the complaints of the French gov- ernment regarding the liberty of the press, the residence of the Bourbons, and the countenance afforded by this country to French emigrants, would be found in the correspondence ; and he entertained a con- fident expectation that that language on those subjects was of a nature to meet with universal support and approbation. They had shown, his lordship said, the ut- most reluctance to resort to any measure which might hasten a renewal of hostili- ties ; but the conduct of the French govern- ment could no longer be tolerated, consist- ently with the honor, dignity, and safety of this country. War, then, had become in- evitable ; and it was a war in which the na- tional spirit ought to be exerted in every way which would demonstrate, to a proud and insolent foe, that, while the people of England were not anxious for an oppor- tunity of taking offence, they were sensibly alive to the least imputation of dishonor, and determined on punishing insults with the most exemplary vengeance. The existing administrs^tion appeared at this time to be highly obnoxious to what GEORGE m, 1760—1820. 487 was called the Grenville party; and Pitt and his friends began to manifest towards them unequivocal marks of coldness. MILITARY PREPARATIONS— FINANCE. Parliament was chiefly occupied by sub- jects of finance, and with devising the means of providing for the defence of the country against the threatened invasion. The first and most obvious measure was to render the militia, the constitutional defence of the country, as effective as possible, and a bill for that purpose was brought into the house of commons, by the secretary at war, on the twentieth of May, which passed through its several stages without any ma- terial opposition. But the militia being con- sidered inadequate to the defence of the realm, a message from the crown was sent to parliament on the eighteenth of June, stating that his majesty considered it im- portant for the safety and defence of the nation that a large additional military force should be forthwith raised and assembled, and it was recommended to both houses to take such measures as should appear to be most effectual for accomplishing this pur- pose with the least possible delay. A bill was immediately brought into parliament for embodying a new species of militia, under the denomination of the army of re- serve, to consist of fifty thousand men for England, and ten thousand for Ireland, to be raised by ballot, and confined to the de- fence of the united kingdom : the officers to be appointed from the regular army and the half-pay list: all persons from the age of eighteen to forty-five to be liable to serve, with the exception of those who were ex- empt from the militia ballot, and such volun- teers as were enrolled previously to the date of the last message of his majesty : all poor persons having more than one child under ten years of age were also exempt : the per- sons composing this force to be allowed to volunteer into the regular army. On the sixth of July, this bill obtained the royal as- sent But these measures of defence, how- ever important, were only the precursors of one of the most gigantic magnitude, be- ing no less than arming and training the whole effective male population of Great Britain. This project was presented to the consideration of parliament on the eighteenth of July, and passed into a law, by receiving the royal assent on the twenty-seventh of the same month. This general enrolment, denominated tlie levy en masse, was divided into four difl^erent classes : the first compre- hended all unmarried men between the ages of seventeen and thirty ; the second, unmar- ried men between thirty and fifty; the third, all married men between eeventcen and thirty, not having more than two children under ten years of age ; and the fourth, all under the age of fifty-five, not comprised in the other descriptions. The different classes, who were to be trained and taught the use of arms in their respective parishes, were, in case of actual invasion, liable to be called out by his majesty, in the order specified, to co-operate with the regular army in any part of the kingdom, and to remain embodied until the enemy should be exterminated or driven into the sea. On the thirteenth of June the chancellor of the exchequer proposed to raise, by an in- crease of the customs' duties on sugar, ex- ports, cotton, and tonnage, about two million pounds annually ; and by new duties on the excise of tea, wine, spirits, and malt, six million pounds more. He then presented a plan of a tax on income, imposing a duty on land of one shilling in the pound, to be paid by the landlord, and nine-pence in the pound to be paid by the tenant, together with a tax of one shilling in the pound on all other species of income from one hundred and fifty pounds upwards. The net produce of this revived property-tax was calculated at four million seven hundred thousand pounds, and the whole product of the war taxes at twelve million seven hundred thousand pounds annually, to expire six months after the return of peace. In addition to these grants the other taxes were continued, and the whole of the supplies voted by parlia- ment for the service of the year 1803, amounted to upwards of forty-one million pounds. VOLUNTEER ASSOCIATIONS.— PREPARA- TIONS FOR INVASION BY FRANCE. At this time the preparations for invading Britain, made by France, called forth a si- multaneous burst of loyalty and patriotism from all classes : and in a very brief inter- val upwards of four hundred thousand men in arms appeared ready to defend their na- tive coasts. So numerous, indeed, were these voluntary armed associations, that it rendered the act for raising the levy en masse perfectly superfluous. Buonaparte viewed with astonishment this extraordinary- display of national energy ; and though his preparations for invasion were continued, the intention of carrying them into eflfect is thought to have been secretly abandoned. In addition to tlie grand fleet at Brest, which was supposed to be destined for the invasion of Ireland, an immense number of transports and gun-boats had been ordered to be built, with^the greatest expedition, in the French ports, under the idea that seme thousands of them might force their way across the channel, in epite of the British navy : nnd, in the course of the year, a suf- ficient flotilla was ar-scmbled at Boulogne, to carry over any army tliat France might 488 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. think proper to employ in this desperate en- terprise. ACT FOR RELIEF OF CATHOLICS— AT- TEMPT TO KILL MADE CAPITAL.— VOTE OF THANKS TO VOLUNTEERS.— PRINCE OF WALES REFUSED MILITA- RY PROMOTION. In the course of the session just termi- nated, an act was passed to relieve the Ro- man Catholics from certaui penalties and disabilities to which they were before sub- ject, on subscribing the declaration and oath contained in the act of the thirty-first of the reign of his present majesty. An important addition was also made to the crimmal law of the country : by an act introduced into the house of lords by lord Ellenborough, and on that account called the Ellenborough Act, any person guilty of maliciously shoot- ing, cutting, or stabbing, with an intent to commit murder, although death should not ensue, was made subject to the punishment of death. The same penalty was also at- tached to all attempts to discharge loaded fire-arms with an intent to kill or wound. In the house of commons, Windham had taken occasion to express himself in terms of great asperity and contempt towards the volunteer corps of the country, whom he termed the " depositaries of panic." To ob- viate any supposition that these sentiments were generally concurred in, Sheridan, on the tenth of August, moved the thanks of the house to the volunteer and yeomanry corps of Great Britain, for the zeal and promptitude with which they had associated for the defence of the country. He also moved that returns of the different volun- teer corps be laid before the house, in order that they may be handed down to posterity, by being entered on the journals. Both these motions were agreed to unanimously ; and on the twelfth of August this session was closed by a speech from the throne, on which occasion his majesty expressed his satisfaction at the energy and promptitude which had been displayed in providing for the defence of the country, and for the vig- orous prosecution of the war ; assuring the house, at the same time, that as strict a re- gard would be paid to economy in the public expenditure as was consistent with the ex- ertions necessary to frustrate the designs of the enemy. — At this interesting period the prince of Wales addressed a letter to the prime minister, urging upon him the propri- ety of investing him with an efficient mili- tary rank, and of placing him in a situation v/here his example might contribute to ex- cite the loyal energies of the nation. In re- ply to repeated applications on this subject, his royal highness was informed, that should the enerny so fir succeed as to effect a land- ing, he would have an opportunity of show- ing his zeal at tlie head of his regiment ; but, upon public grounds, his majesty could never permit the prince of Wales to consid- er the army as a profession, or to allow of his being promoted in the service. REBELLION IN IRELAND.— MURDER OF LORD KILWARDEN. Ireland once more became the theatre of rebellion, the instigators of which were a band of political enthusiasts, whose director and principal mover was Robert Emmett, a young man of specious and promising tal- ents, the brother of Thomas Eddis Emmett, who took a prominent part in the rebellion of 1798. He had been so unguarded in his conduct, while the late disturbances existed, as to become an object of the vigilance of government, and had found it prudent to re- side abroad so long as the habeas corpus act was suspended ; but on the removal of that obstacle he returned to Ireland, and arrived there in December, 1802. The death of Dr. Emmett, his father, one of the state physi- cians in Dublin, had placed the sum of two thousand pounds at his disposal ; and with this exchequer he proposed to himself the subversion of the government of Ireland. Though the persons immediately connected with Emmett, Russell, Dowdall, and Coig- ley, the principals in the plot, did not ex- ceed one hundred, yet these infatuated men were so sanguine as to suppose that the spirit of rebellion would, at their bidding, pervade the whole kingdom ; and the usual intimation, the stoppage of the mail-coaches, was to be the signal of revolt in the country, while the first object of the insurgents in the metropolis was to secure the seat of gov- ernment, and the principal persons engaged in its administration. For some days previ- ous to the fatal explosion, information had been conveyed to government of threaten- ing assemblages of the people ; and other indications tended to awaken a suspicion that a rising, as it was termed, was in agita- tion. On Saturday the twenty-third of July, towards evening, the populace began to as- semble in vast numbers in St. James's street and its neighborhood, without having any visible arrangement or discipline. To arm the body thus collected, pikes were delib- erately placed along the sides of the streets, for the accommodation of all who might choose to equip themselves. About nine o'clock the concerted signal that all was in readiness was given by a number of men riding furiously through the principal streets ; but general alarm was not excited until Clarke, the proprietor of a considerable manufactory in the neighborhood of Dublin, and who had that aflemoon apprized gov- ernment of the intention of the insurgents, was shot at and dangerously wounded. About this period a small piece of ordnance, GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 489 which had been in readiness for the pur- pose, was discharged, and a sky-rocket let off at the same moment, so as to be observed throughout the whole city. Emmett, at the head of his chosen band, now sallied forth from the obscurity of his head-quarters in Marshalsea lane, and excited his followers to action. Before they had reached the end of the lane in which they were assembled, one of the party discharged his blunderbuss at colonel Browne, who was passing along the street, when the ball unhappily took effect. From this period, it is remarkable that nothing more is heard of Emmett, or any of his brother conspirators, till we find them beneath the power of the offended laws. The dreadful assassination of the chief- justice of Ireland, Lord Viscount Kilwarden, was the most important and lamented event of this rash and crimuial commotion. This unfortunate nobleman had, on the day of the insurrection, retired to his country-seat, near four miles from Dublin, as was his custom after having passed the week in fulfilling the duties of his exalted situation. On the first intimation of the circumstances which denoted disturbance bemg conveyed to him, his lordship, who, ever since the period of the outrages in 1798, had been in perpetual apprehension of being surprised and assas- sinated by rebels, qrdered out his carriage, and taking with him his daughter and his nephew, the Rev. Richard Wolfe, set off in- stantly for Dublin. Unfortunately the car- riage appeared in Thomas street immediate- ly atler the opening of the depot, and was surrounded by a mob of armed persons. His lordship announced his name, and earnestly prayed for mercy, but in vain. Both he and his nephew fell to the ground, pierced with innumerable wounds ; but the lady was per- mitted to pass through the whole rebel col- umn to the castle without molestation. About half-past ten o'clock the rebels were in their turn attacked, and their mighty projects were all discomfited, in less than an hour, by about one hundred and twenty soldiers. MARTIAL LAW.— EMMETT AND OTHERS EXECUTED. The privy-council issued a proclamation, calling on the magistrates ^o unite their ex- ertions with those of the military power, and offering a reward of one thousand pounds for the discovery and detection of the miscreants who murdered lord Kilwar- den. A reward was also offered to those who should discover the murderer of col. Browne ; and a notice was issued by the lord-mayor, requiring all the inhabitants of Dublin, except yeomen, to keep within doors afler eiirht in the evening. At the same time, bills for suspending the habeas corpus act, and tor placing Ireland under martial law, were passed with uncommon rapidity through their different stages, in the parlia- ment of the united kingdom. Arrangements were also made for sending large bodies of troops from England, and every measure which prudence could suggest was immedi- ately adopted, for the preservation of the public tranquillity. On this occasion, the Roman Catholics, with lord Fingal at their head, came forward in the most loyal and patriotic manner, and, afler expressing their utmost abhorrence of the enormities com- mitted on the twenty-third of July, made an offer to government of their assistance and co-operation. By these and similar exertions the flame of rebellion was completely ex- tinguished. A special commission being issued for the trial of the rebels, Edward Kearney, a cal- enderer, and Thomas Maxwell Roche, an old man nearly seventy years of age, were executed in Thomas street, the focus of the insurrection, and several others experienced a similar fate; but the most important of these judicial proceedings was the trial of Robert Emmett, Esq. who was arraigned on the nineteenth of September, and found guilty on the clearest evidence. On the fol- lowing day this misguided young man, only in the twenty-fourth year of his age, was executed on a temporary gallows in Thomas street In the ensuing month, Thomas Rus- sell also expiated his offences under the hands of the executioner. Coigley and Staf- ford were arraigned on the twenty-ninth of October ; but, in consideration of their hav- mg made a full disclosure of all the circum- stances connected with the conspiracy, no further proceedings were had against them, or any of the remaining prisoners. CAPTURE OF ST. LUCIA, &c.— FRENCH DRIVEN FROM ST. DOMINGO. An expedition dispatched from Barbadoes on the twentieth of June, under lieutenant- general Grinfield and commodore Hood, cap- tured the islands of St. Lucia and Tobago ; and in September the Dutch colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, also sur- rendered. The islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon likewise contributed to swell the conquests of Britain ; and to these successes may be added that of compelling the PVench to abandon the valuable colony of St Do- mingo. The war witli the insurgent ne- groes had been attended with horrid cruel- ties on both sides ; but so long as the French f^eet was master of the sea, their posts on the coasts were effectually defended : on the rupture with England, however, they were reduced to great difficulties ; several places successively fell into the hands of the insurgents ; and Fort Dauphin was taken by the English. The Cape was soon afterwards completely invested by Dessaline, with 490 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. whom Rochambeau at length entered into a negotiation, proposing to give up the place on being allowed to carry off the garrison At this juncture the blockading squadron entered the roads, and a capitulation was signed, by which all the ships of war and merchant vessels belonging to France were to be surrendered to the British, who were to receive the garrison as prisoners of war Thus the French lost all their possessions in the island, except the city of St, Domingo, the capital of that part which formerly be- longed to Spain; and tlie negro chieftains issued a proclamation, declaring the island free and independent. MOVEMENTS IN EUROPE.— INVASION OF HANOVER. In Europe the French armies were imme diately put in motion, and the consular goV' emment, anxious to justify their conduct to the French nation and to Europe, published a declaration, dated the twentieth of May, on the causes which led to the renewal of the war with Great Britain. Orders were issued to increase the forces of the republic to four hundred and eighty thousand men ; the army of Italy was considerably aug- mented ; and large detachments were push- ed forward upon Tarentum, and on all the strong posts in the kingdom of Naples which lay on the Adriatic. During the protracted negotiations, reinforcements were ordered into Holland, and a powerful army was col- lected on the frontiers of Hanover. On the twenty-fifth of May, general Mortier sum- moned the electorate to surrender to the re- publican army, Buonaparte formally profess- ing that he should occupy that country merely as a pledge for the restoration of Malta, and that this violation of the consti- tution of the Germanic empire was only for the purpose of compelling the king of Eng- land to maintain the peace of Amiens. Al- though it was impossible that the electorate could oppose any effectual stand against the power of France, the duke of Cambridge was sent over from England as commander- in-chief in that country, and proclamations were issued, calling upon all the inhabitants capable of bearing arms to rally round their standard. At tlie latter end of May, how- ever, a body of ten thousand French troops passed the river Ems at Mippen, and entered the principality of Osnaburgh, which had been previously evacuated. General Wal- moden, to whom the command of the Hano- verian troops was intrusted, having collected an army of eighteen thousand men, deter- mined to make a stand, first on the Hunte, and afterwards on the Weser ; but at the moment when general Mortier had advanced into- the vicinity of Nieuborg, a deputation arrived from the civil and military authori- ties of Hanover, entreating him to suspend his march ; to which he consented, on con- dition that the invaders should be put in pos- session of all the fortresses ui the electorate, and that the Hanoverian army should en- gage not to serve against France or her al- lies during the war, or until regularly ex- changed. On the fifth of June the French took possession of the city of Hanover, where they found a prodigious quantity of artillery and ammunition. Besides the absolute value of the electorate as a conquest, which ena- bled the enemy to remount their cavalry and recruit their finances, they were now masters of the navigation of the Elbe and the Weser, and, being in the immediate neighborhood of the commercial Hanse towns of Hamburgh and Bremen, were en- abled to levy considerable sums of money on those opulent cities, under the shape of loans. In consequence of these events, the British government blockaded the mouths of the Elbe and Weser, which was in some de- gree a retaliation on Germany for permitting the violation of its territory. This measure occasioned such distress to Hamburgh and Bremen, that they appealed to the king of Prussia, as protector of the neutrality of the northern part of the empire ; but he declined to interfere, and the French were thus left to pursue their exactions with impunity. WAR WITH HOLLAND.— BUONAPARTE'S EXACTIONS.— BRITISH TRAVELLERS IN FRANCE MADE PRISONERS OF WAR. Contrary to her wishes and her inter- ests, Holland was compelled to take part with France. On the seventeenth of June it was announced to parliament that the king had communicated to the Batavian government his disposition to respect their neutrality, provided the French government would do the same ; but as this had not been complied with, and their forces still occu- pied the Dutch territory, he had judged it expedient to recall his minister from the Hague, and to issue letters of marque and reprisal against the Batavian republic. Buo- naparte also compelled the Italian republic to take part in the war ; and he drew pecu- niary assistance from Spain and Portugal in so open a manner, that it rested entirely with the generosity of Great Britain whether they should not be considered as involved in direct acts of hostility. The supplies to his treasury derived from these sources were augmented by the sale of Louisiana to the United States for fifteen million dollars. Early in the year he made a singular over- ture to Louis the XVIIIth at Warsaw, for the resignation of that monarch's claim to the throne of France ; which was met by a most decided refusal. After the declaration of war by England, a step which had never before been resorted to among civilized nations, and which must GEORGE in. 1760—1820. 491 always be regarded as an act of atrocious barbarity and injustice, savoring more of malice than mere political hostility, was taken by the French government. It appear- ed from an article published in the Moni- teur, the official organ of the French gov- ernment, that two English frigates had cap- tured two merchant vessels in the bay of Audierne, without any previous declaration of war, and in manifest violation of the law of nations ; in consequence of which, a de- cree, signed by the First Consul, was issued, directing that all the English, from the age of eighteen to sixty, or persons holding any commissions from his Britannic majesty, then in France, should immediately be con- sidered prisoners of war, to answer for those citizens of the republic who had been ar- rested and made prisoners by the vessels or subjects of his Britannic majesty, previously to any declaration of war. In virtue of this decree, all the nobility, commercial travel- lers, and others, subjects of the king of Eng- land, who had incautiously put themselves within the reach of Buonaparte in France, or were engaged in travelling through any of those countries occupied by the French armies, were either shut up in prisons, or confined to particular limits as prisoners of war upon their parole ; which violation of the law of nations, and of neutral hospitality, was further aggravated by a perfidious prom- ise previously made to the English visitors, that they should enjoy the protection of the government, after the departure of the Brit^ ish ambassador, as extensively as during his residence at Paris. The naval campaign of the present year, in Europe, was not particularly distinguish- ed. On the fourteenth of September, how- ever, the port and town of Granville were successively attacked by Sir James Sauma- rez ; on which occasion the pier was demol- ished, and a number of vessels, intended for the invasion of England, destroyed. On the same day the town and fort of Dieppe were bombarded by captain Owen, in the Immor- talite frigate, with the Theseus and Sulphur bombs. The Dutch ports, from the Zand- voort, in the vicinity of Haarlem, to Sche- veningen, were also severely bombarded on the twenty-eighth of September, and many vessels destroyed. 492 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. CHAPTER XXXIV. Meeting of Parliament — Speech and Address — Martial Law in Ireland — Indisposition of the King — Extension of Irish Militia Service — Motions for Investigation iiito the Naval and Military Force — Formidable Opposition to Ministers — Finance — Change of Administration — Slave Trade — Additional Force Act — Corn Bill — Civil-List Augmentation — India Budget — Parliament prorogued — War in India — Loss and Recapture of Goree — Capture of Surinam — Naval Operations — Attack on the Bou- logne Flotilla — Failure of the Catamaran Project — Repulse of Admiral Linois — Rupture with Spain, and forcible detention of Treasure Ships — Murder of the Duke UEnghien — Complaints against British Envoys — Seizure of Sir George Rumbold — Buonaparte elected Emperor of the French — The Emperor of Germany declared Emperor of Austria — Dispute between France and Russia — Preparations for hos- tilities — Convention between France and Genoa. MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.— MARTIAL LAW IN IRELAND. Parliament assembled on the twenty- second of November, 1803 ; when his ma- jesty, after alluding to the measures adopted for the vigorous prosecution of the war, and adverting to the successes in the West Indies, and the suppression of the Irish rebellion, stated that a convention had been concluded with the king of Sweden, for the purpose of adjusting the differences which had arisen with that power. In reference to the threat of invasion, the king declared that, as he and his people were embarked in one com- mon cause, it was his fixed determination, if occasion should arise, to share their exertions and their dangers in defence of the consti- tution, religion, laws, and independence of the kingdom. The usual addresses were agreed to without opposition. In the com- mons it was stated by the chancellor of the exchequer, in reply to some observations from Fox, that the offices of mediation offered by the court of Russia had been accepted with readiness and gratitude on the part of his majesty's servants : but, although discussions of the greatest moment were commenced in consequence, yet they had not assumed such a shape as to lead to any probability of an amicable arrangement with France. Secretary Yorke brought in a bill to con- tinue two acts ; the one for suspendmg the habeas corpus act in Ireland, and the other for the re-enactment of martial law in that country. This measure, though it excited much discussion, was carried through both houses without producing a single division. The debate which arose on the ninth of De- cember, on the motion of ftie secretary at war to refer the army estimates to a com- mittee of supply, embraced an extensive view of the general defence of the country. The regular force proposed to be voted for the public service amounted to one hundred and sixty-seven thousand men ; the embodied militia of Great Britain and Ireland to one hundred and ten thousand ; and the volunteer corps to upwards of four hundred thousand rank and file in the united kingdom. For the volunteer force of the country, of which about forty-five thousand served without pay, it was proposed to vote the sum of seven hundred and thirty thousand pounds for one year. On this occasion Windham inveighed with great acrimony against the military system adopted by ministers; and pointed out the inferiority of volunteer associations and bodies of reserve to a regular army of genuine soldiers, disciplined for offensive as well as defensive warfare. Pitt, in a very spirited and argumentative manner, defend- ed the system ; but he was desirous that all the volunteer companies should be brought to act in battalions, and, whenever it could be accomplished, in brigades: he proposed to give to every battalion the assistance of a field-officer and an adjutant ; such officers still retaining their rank and pay in the army : and with respect to the number of days for which the corps should be exercised, he was of opinion that about fifly would be sufficient for the next year, and forty for each succeed- ing one. The expense arising from the field- officers and adjutants he estimated at about one hundred and sixty thousand pounds ; and that of the allowance to such volunteers as might, from their circumstances, be obliged to accept of pay, at between three and four hundred thousand pounds more, making an aggregate of about five hundred thousand pounds ; and if, for that sum, a force of nearly four hundred thousand men could be main- tained in gradual and efficient improvement, he affirmed that this would be the cheapest item in the whole of the public expenditure. As to the sea fencibles, he looked upon them as one of the most valuable parts of our force ; and this description of service brought into activity a body of men, who, being chiefly GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 493 pilots and fishermen, could neither be em- ployed in the navy, nor permanently taken from their families. Ix)rd Castlereagh also made an animated reply to the objections urged by Windham against the army of reserve and the volun- teer system. Out of the thirty-five thousand already raised for the army of reserve, seven thousand five hundred, he said, had entered for general service. The military force of the united kingdom was naturally divided into troops on permanent pay, and those lia- ble to service in the event of invasion. Of the first description, there were in Great Britain, and in the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, one hundred and thirty thousand men; and in Ireland fifty thousand. The effective rank and file of the militia in Great Britain and Ireland amounted to eighty-four thousand men ; the regular force to ninety- six thousand, of which twenty-seven thou- sand were for limited service, and sixty-nine thousand disposable for general service. The next grand feature of our military strength consisted in the volunteer force, of which three hundred and forty thousand men, ac- cepted and arrayed, were at present in Great Britain ; and in Ireland it amounted to sev- enty thousand ; to which were to be added twenty-five thousand sea fencibles. The total amount of the whole military force at this crisis stood, therefore, at six hundred and fifteen thousand rank and file ; and if, to this number, officers of every description were added, the whole amount would not be less than seven hundred thousand men. The number of ships of war amounted to four hundred and sixty-nine ; and, in aid of the regular navy, and for the purpose of defend- ing the coast, an armed flotilla, consisting of eight hundred craft of all descriptions, was nearly completed. Since the commence- ment of hostilities there had been issued throe hundred and twelve thousand muskets, sixteen thousand pistols, and seventy-seven thousand pikes. The field-train also, in Great Britain alone, was increased from three hundred and fifty-six to four hundred and sixty pieces of ordnance, completely ap- pointed ; and the stores had been nearly doubled. — Fox applauded the zeal and pa- triotism of the volunteers ; but he could never bring himself to believe that they were sus- ceptible of anything like the efficiency of a regular force. The chancellor of the ex- chequer, on the other hand, stated that lord Moira, the commander-in-chief in Scotland, and lord Cathcart, the commander in Ireland, were so highly satisfied with the steadiness and discipline of the volunteers of Edinburgh and of Dublin, that they had given them an unconditional assurance that they would conduct them with confidence against an invading host. Vol. XV. 42 INDISPOSITION OF THE KING. OPPO- SITION TO MINISTERS.— CHANGE OF ADMINISTRATION. 1804.— On the 14th of February it was announced, by an official bulletin, that the king was much indisposed, and the public sympathy was excited by an apprehension of the return of the malady by which he had been formerly afflicted. The attack, however, was so slight, that there was no necessary suspension of the royal functions ; and on the ninth of March all apprehension was dissipated by the assurance of the lord chancellor, that he had conceived it proper and necessary to have a personal interview with the sovereign, at which due discussion had taken place with respect to the bills sub- mitted for the royal assent ; and he had no hesitation to aver that the result of all that took place on that occasion fully justified him in announcing his majesty's assent to the bills specified in the royal commission. A message from the king, on the twenty- sixth of March, announced a voluntary offer of the Irish militia to extend their services to Great Britain ; and bills passed both houses to enable his majesty to accept the oflTer, and to raise ten thousand additional militia in Ireland. A systematic attack on the ministry was at this time pursued by all the parties in op- position, through the medium of investiga- tions on the military and naval affairs of the empire. This opposition was particularly displayed in the progress of the bill to con- solidate and explain the laws relative to vol- unteers : the course of debate on this sub- ject, however, was interrupted by a motion, of which Pitt had before given notice, on the naval defence of the country ; a ques- tion which was expected more than any other to try the strength of ministry, and even to shake their power to its foundation. On the fifteenth of March, after expressing his expectation that part of the documents which it was his intention to call for would be granted by ministers without resistance, Pitt moved for an address, requesting that his majesty would order to be laid before parliament an account of the number of ships in commission on the thirty-first of De- cem.ber, 1793, on the thirtieth of Septem- ber, 1801, and on the thirty-first of Decem- ber, 1803, specifying the service in which they were respectively employed. He made his motion from a conviction, that, if the pa- pers were granted, it would appear that our naval force was, at the present moment, much inferior, and less adequate to the exi- gency of the danger, than at any period in former times. If these documents were granted, his next motion would be for a copy of the contracts made, and the orders given, by the lords of the admiralty, in 1793, 1797, 494 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. and 1803, with respect to the 'number of gun- vessels to be built. The board of admi- ralty had considered gun-boats peculiarly serviceable for resisting invasion; yet, in the course of a year, they had built only twenty-three ; while the enemy, in the same period, had constructed nearly one thousand. From the period when hostilities were re- newed, our navy ought to have been ni- creasing instead of diminishing; notwith- standing which, government had only con- tracted for the building of two ships of the line in the merchant-yards, when it was well known that, during a war, the building of ships was always neajly suspended in the king's yards, which were then wanted for repairing the damages sustained in the ser- vice. It was also worthy of remark, that in the first year of the late war, our naval establishment was increased from sixteen thousand to seventy-six thousand seamen; whereas, having begun the present war with an establishment of fifty thousand, we had augmented them in the course of the first year to only eighty-six thousand men. Tierney, treasurer of the navy, objected strongly to the production of the papers re- quired, and was at a loss to conceive how the measure could, for a single instant, be entertained by the house, when no cause, no single fact, was brought forward to sup- port it; when every possible energy per- vaded that branch of the public service; when naval skill, vigilance, and activity, v/ere displayed in every quarter ; and when the best officers were employed in every di- rection with the highest honor to themselves, and the most decided advantage to their country. Sheridan delivered a warm eulogy on the character and conduct of earl St Vincent, the first lord of the admiralty ; whilst Fox and others, taking a diflTerent side, supported the motion for inquiry, de- claring that it would terminate to the honor of the admiral. The debate was continued for several hours, when, on a division, the numbers were, for Pitt's motion, one hun- dred and thirty ; against it, two hundred and one. On the twenty-third of April, Fox moved for a committee to revise the several bills which had been proposed for the defence of the country, when Pitt again took a com- prehensive view of its actual state. There was but one point on which he and Fox dif- fered on this occasion ; the power vested in the king by the constitution of calling out all the subjects of his realm to defend the country in case of invasion. Fox was, per- haps, tJie first statesman who ever ventured to question the royal prerogative in this par- ticular; for nothing is more clearly laid down by our law-writers than that the power of calling on every description cf his sub- jects to repair to his standard, when the country is about to be invaded, is vested in the king. Pitt asserted and maintained this principle against Fox, but on other points those rival statesmen agreed; and the re- sult of this concurrence of sentiment was a strong division, in which the ministers had a majority of only fifty- two ; two hundred and four having voted for the motion of Fox, and two hundred and fifty-six against it. Two days after this discussion, another de- bate took place on the same subject, in con- sequence of a motion by secretary Yorke, for the house to resolve itself into a com- mittee on a bill for the suspension of the army of reserve act. This motion was re- sisted by Pitt ; and, on a division, there ap- peared, in support of the ministerial plan, two hundred and forty ; against it, two hun- dred and three ; leaving to ministers a ma- jority of only thirty-seven. Addington then determined on retiring fi-om administration, after he had adjusted the financial concerns of the year. The supplies were estimated at thirty-six million pounds for Great Britain alone; and the ways and means consisted of certain additions to the war taxes, a loan of ten million pounds, and a vote of credit of two million five hundred thousand pounds. On the twelfth of May it was announced that Addington had resigned the office of chancellor of the exchequer, and that Pitt was nominated his successor. It was understood to be his wish to unite, in the public service, as large a portion as possible of the weight, talent, and charac- ter, to be found in public men. Whether he was sincere in his desire to secure the aid of lord Grenville and Mr. Fox may be doubted, because it has been said that he could bear " no rival near his throne," and that he preferred the aid of good second- rate man of business talent ; but he cer- tainly professed to wish for their co-opera- tion, and the personal objection of the king to Fox appeared alone to prevent it : lord Grenville refused to come into office with- out him, but Pitt did not make it the ground of withholding his own services. Under the new arrangement the following mem- bers of Addington's administration retained their stations ; the duke of Portland, presi- dent of the council ; lord Eldon, chancellor ; the earl cf Westmoreland, lord privy-seal ; the earl of Chatham, master-general of the ordnance; and lord Castlereagh, president of the board of control. lord Hawkesbury passed from the office of foreign aflairs to the home-department. The new members were Pitt, first lord of the treasury, and chancellor of the exchequer; lord Melville, first lord of the admiralty ; lord Harrcwby, secretary for foreign affairs ; lord Camden, secretary for tiie department of war and GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 495 colonies ; and lord Mulgrave, chancellor of tlie dutchy of Lancaster, with a seat in the cabinet The government of Ireland re- mained unchanged, with the exception of Wickham, chief secretary, who was suc- ceeded by Sir Evan Nepean. The follow- ing new appointments took place in the sub- ordinate offices of government: William Dundas, secretary at war; Canning, trea- surer of the navy ; George Rose and lord Charles Somerset, joint paymasters of the forces; the duke of Montrose and lord Charles Spencer, joint paymasters-general ; Huskisson and Sturges Bourne, secretaries to the treasury. SLAVE TRADE— CORN BILL.— CIVIL-LIST. —PROROGATION. WiLBERFORCE, on the thirtieth of May, pressed the consideration of the abolition of the African slave trade. After an animated debate, the motion, which was supported by Fox and Pitt, was carried by one hun- dred and twenty-four to forty-nine voices. A bill was consequently brought into parlia- ment, limiting the latest period at which ships were to be allowed to clear out from an Eng- lish port for this traffic to the first of Octo- ber, 1804; and the third reading was car- ried, on the twenty-eighth of June, by sixty- nine against thirty-three. In the house of lords, however, the bill was rejected on the thirtieth of July, on the ground that the late period of the session would prevent the par- ties interested from obtaining cnmpletp jus- tice. A plan for raising and supporting a per- manent military force, and for the general reduction of the additional militia, was intro- duced into parliament on the fifth of June, by Pitt, under the designation of the addi- tional force act. This measure aimed at an establishment not merely to meet the pre- sent circumstances of the country, but to serve as an instrument for the immediate improvement of the existing system, and to supply a sufficient resource to the regular force, should an opportunity offer of employ- ing our troops in foreign warfare. The bill was strenuously opposed by Windham, Fox, Addington, and others, but it was ultimately carried through the lower house by small ministerial majorities ; there appearing, on the last division — for the bill, two hundred and sixty-five ; against it, two hundred and thirty-three. In the upper house, the mea- sure was sanctioned by one hundred and fifty-four against sixty-nine. On the twentieth of June, the corn-laws came under discussion. It has been main- tained that the whole system is prejudicial to the public weal, and that these laws should be altogether repealed, leaving the trade free, and the prices to find their own level ; but in consequence of a report of the house of commons, it was deemed expedient ta have recourse to new legislative regulations. From this report it appeared that the price of corn, from 1791 to 1803, had been irregular, but had, upon an average, yielded a fair price to the grower. The high prices had produced the eflfect of stimulating industry, and bring- ing into cultivation large tracts of waste land ; which, combined with the two last productive seasons, had occasioned such a depreciation in the value of grain, as would, it was said, tend to the discouragement of agriculture, unless immediate relief were af- forded ; and for this purpose, although within the period of the last thirteen years, no less than thirty million pounds had been paid to foreign countries for supplies of grain, it was proposed to have recourse to a bounty" upon exportation — a measure that had not been resorted to for nearly thirty years. With this view a bill was brought into par- liament, allowing exportation when the price of wheat was at or below forty-eight shillings per quarter of eight Winchester bushels, and importation when the average price in the twelve maritime counties of England should exceed sixty-six shillings. The bill passed through the house of commons with- out any formidable opposition, but in the lords some few petitions were presented against it. Earl Stanhope called it " A Bill to starve the Poor," and moved that it be rejected. The measure, however, passed into a law. The house of commons, on the second of July, on the motion of the chancellor of the exchequer, resolved itself into a committee of supply, to which several accounts relative to the augmentation of the civil-list were referred : when the arrears thereof were found to amount to five hundred and ninety thousand pounds. This excess of expendi- ture, it was stated, had arisen from a variety of expenses incurred by services which could not be foreseen in the year 1802, when the house voted the discharge of arrears then due, amounting to about two hundred and thirty thousand pounds. With respect to the future state of the civil-list, it was proposed that several charges upon it should be annu- ally discharged by parliament. These charges amounted to one hundred and thirty-five thousand pounds, and related to fluctuating expenses: many of them arose from the war; others from increased law expenses. The house assented to the propositions of the chancellor of the exchequer almost with- out opposition. Parliament was prorogued on the thirty- first of July, when the king expressed a hope that the exertions of this country might, by their influence on other nations, lead to the re-establishment of a system that would op- pose an effectual barrier to those schemes 496 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. of unbounded ambition which threatened to overwhelm the continent of Europe. SUCCESSFUL WAR IN INDIA. The events of the war in the peninsula of Hindostan must now be adverted to. The peishwa, or Mahratta sovereign of Poonah, having- been expelled from his dominions by Holkar in 1802, concluded a subsidiary treaty with the English company on the last day of the year ; and to effect his restoration a detachment of troops was placed under the command of major-general Arthur Welles- ley, afterwards duke of Wellington, who en- tered the Mahratta territories in March, 1803, and advanced rapidly to Poonah, which was re-entered by its sovereign on the thir- teenth of May. Scindia and the Rajah of Berar were in the mean time negotiating an alliance with Holkar, of which the governor- general, the marquis Wellesley, having ob- tained evidence, it was resolved to employ the whole military force to break so danger- ous a confederacy. General Wellesley, who was opposed to the two latter chieftains, marched against the fortress of Ahmednuo-hur, which he re- duced on the twelfth of August, and then advanced to Aurungabad. On the twenty- third of September, he gained a complete victory at Assaye over a greatly superior force : the Bombay army had also been suc- cessful in the Guzzerat, and gained posses- sion of the territories of Scindia in that province. In September and October, the town and provhice of Cuttack were wrested from the Rajah of Berar, by a force under lieutenant-colonel Harcourt; and in the north, general I^ke, at the head of the iJen- gal army, reduced the strong fortress of Ally Ghur, after driving to a precipitate retreat the forces commanded by Perron, a French officer in the service of Scindia, who in con- .sequence lost his reputation and influence in India. The British general then advanced towards the city of Delhi, and gave battle to the army of Scindia, commanded by Louis Bourquien, over which, after a severe con- flict, he obtained a complete victory, and released the Mogul Emperor, Shah Aulum, who put himself under the protection of the English. General Lake next reduced the fort of Agra, and on the first of November defeated the remainder of Scindia's forces at Laswaree. Meantime general Wellesley entirely defeated the Rajah of Berar on the twenty-eighth of November, in the plains of Argaum, which victory was followed by the capture of the strong fortress of Gamil Ghur. These successes compelled the Rajah to sue for peace ; and a treaty was concluded on the seventeenth of December, by which he ceded the province of Cuttack, with some other territories, and engaged never to take into his service the subject of any state at war with the English. A treaty with Scindia also speedily followed, in which he agreed to cede all his forts, territories, and rights in the Douab, and in the districts northward of the dominions of the rajahs of Jeypoor and Judpoor, together with Baroach in the Guz- zerat, and Ahmednughur in the Deccan. Thus was tlie French interest in India anni- hilated, a powerful confederacy against the English dissolved, and the dominion of the company consolidated. The thanks of par- liament were voted to his excellency, and to all who had shared in the dangers and glo- ries of the contest ; while the king conferred upon general Lake the title of lord Lake, and on general Wellesley the order of the Bath. Goree, on the coast of Africa, was taken by a French force, under the command of chevalier Mahe, in January, and recaptured in March by a small expedition under cap- tain Dickson. On the fifth of May, the rich and unportant colony of Surinam surrendered, to major-general Sir Charles Green; and although the capture was an enterprise of considerable difficulty, this valuable acquisi- tion was obtained with little loss. ATTACK ON THE BOULOGNE FLOTILLA. —FAILURE OF THE CATAMARAN PRO- JECT. The British naval operations of this year consisted almost entirely of exertions rigor- ously to enforce the system of blockade; and in attacks upon the enemy's boats, which either ventured out of the harbor of Boulogne, for the purposes of exercise or menace, or were proceeding from other ports to that depot ; it was, however, impossible to obviate the effects of occasional rumors of invasion. In tJie month of August a gene- ral movement on the opposite coast exhibit- ed every appearance of an approaching at- tack upon some part of tlie British empire ; and at Boulogne, in particular, an extraor- dinary degree of activity prevailed. Of the various armed vessels collected in that im- mense depot, a greater number was brought out into the bay than on any former occasion. Disposed in hostile array, under the protec- tion of their numerous batteries on shore, they were vigorously attacked by the Brit- ish squadron upon that station: the firing was tremendous, and its duration favored the belief that the long threatened inva- sion was at this time to be certainly attempt- ed. Under the influence of this impression, the greatest exertions were made for the public safety ; in the early part of Septem- ber the alarm began to subside : but in the beginning of October, about one hundred and fifty of the enemy's vessels again ven- tured outside the pier. At this period min- isters were induced to sanction a scheme which had been submitted to them by some American projector, and was principally to GEORGE III. 1760—1620. 407 be carried into effect through the medium of copper vessels filled with combustibles, and so constructed as to explode in a given time, by means of clock-work. These ves- sels, called catamarans, were to be fastened to the bottom of the enemy's gun-boats by the aid of a small rajfl, rowed by one man, who, being seated up to the chin in water, might possibly, in a dark night, escape de tection. Fire-ships of different constructions were also to be employed in the projected attack. The most active officers were dis- tributed in different explosion vessels, and the whole was placed under the orders of admiral lord Keith, commanding in the Downs, with instructions to cover the small er force by his powerful squadron. On the second of October his lordship, with a for- midable fleet, anchored at about a league and a half from the north to the west of the port of Boulogne ; and so strongly did min- isters feel interested in the result, that Pitt, and several other members of the cabinet, were induced to witness the scene from Walmer Castle. At a quarter past nine at night, the first detachment of fire-ships was launched, but the vessels of the flotilla opened a passage as they approached, and so effectually avoided them, that they sailed to the rear of the enemy's line without doing any damage. At half-past ten the first ex- plosion-ship blew up, but not the slightest mischief was done either to the ships or bat- teries. A second, a third, and a fourth suc- ceeded, but with no better effect : at length, afler twelve of these ships had exploded, the engagement ceased about four o'clock in the morning, when the English smaller vessels withdrew, without the loss of a man. The enemy's loss, according to their own ac- count, was twenty-five killed and wounded. Thus terminated the catamaran project, on which much time, expense, and ingenuity, had been fruitlessly bestowed. REPULSE OF ADMIRAL LL\OrS. As soon as intelligence of the renewal of the war between Great Britain and France arrived in the East Indies, the French ad- miral, Linois, withdrew from the roads of Pondicherry, and for some time carried on a predatory warfare against the English in that part of the globe : he captured several East-India ships, and, afler making a suc- cessful descent on Fort Marlborough (Ben- coolen), plundered that settlement. He next collected his force, consisting of the Marengo, of eighty guns ; the Semillante and Belle- poule, of forty ; a cutter and brigantine, of eighteen ; and a corvette, of twenty-eight guns ; and stationed his squadron in the In- dian seas, near the entrance of the straits of Malacca, with the determination to cruise in that latitude till the arrival of the home- ward-bound fleet from Canton. On the fiflh 42* of February this fleet, consisting of fifleen of the East-India company's ships from China, twelve country ships, a Portuguese East-Indiaman, and a brig, passed Macao roads, under the command of captain Dance, the senior officer, when the Portuguese ves- sel and one of the China ships parted com- pany. On the fourteenth the squadron under admiral Linois was discovered by the India fleet, when the commodore instantly hoisted the signal for his fleet to form a line of bat- tle in close order. At sun-set the enemy was close upon the rear of the company's ships, but he desisted fi-om any hostile ope- ration during the night. At daybreak on the fifteenth he was seen about three miles to windward, when the vessels under the command of captain Dance hoisted their colors and offered him battle. At one o'clock in the aflernoon, the commodore, apprehen- sive that his rear might be cut off, made tlie signal to attack each of the hostile ships in succession, which was correctly performed. The Royal George, from her advanced situ- ation, sustained the brunt of the action, and got as near the enemy as he would permit ; the Ganges and Earl Camden both opened their fire as soon as their guns could take effect ; but, before any other ship could get into action, the enemy stood away to the eastward, and captain Dance pursued them for two hours, when, fearing that a longer pursuit might endanger the property confided to his care, he anchored in a situation to pro- ceed for the entrance of the straits on the following day. Thus did the gallantry of a fleet of British merchantmen put to flight a French admiral, commanding ships of war superior in force and in men, and preserve from capture a property estimated at one million five hundred thousand pounds. On the arrival of the fleet in England, rewards were distributed with a liberal hand, by the East India company, to the various com- manders and their brave crews; and the wounded, as well as the representatives of the few who fell in the engagement, were munificently rewarded ; while the sovereign conferred upon the commodore the honor of knighthood. RUPTURE WITH SPAIN— DETENTION OF TREASURE SHIPS. While a negotiation was pending be- tween the courts of Madrid and London, admiral Cochrane acquainted the admiralty that preparations on a large scale were making in the port of Ferrol, so that in a few days a formidable squadron would be ready for sea ; and that he had no doubt but the Spanish government waited only for the arrival of a fleet of frigates, containing trea- sures, from South America, to commence open hostilities. On receipt of this informa- tion, captain Moore, with four frigates under 498 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. his command, was ordered to cruise off' Cadiz for the purpose of detaining such Spanish sliips of war, homeward bound, as contained bullion or treasure; and on the fifth of October he fell in with four large frigates, which, on finding themselves pur- sued, formed in line of battle, and conthiued to steer in for Cadiz without regarding his summons to shorten sail. He fired a shot across the bows of the second, which had the desired effect of bringing them to a par- ley, when the Spanish commander was in- formed that captain Moore had orders to de- tain his squadron ; that it was his wish to execute that duty without bloodshed, but the determination to surrender must be made instantly. The answer being unsatisfactory, a close battle ensued; in less than ten minutes the Spanish ship La Mercedes blew up, and the others struck in succession, after sustaining a considerable loss. Except the second captain of the Mercedes, and forty five men, who were picked up by the boats of the Amphion, all on board perished. An affecting calamity attended the loss of this vessel. A gentleman of rank, who was going to Spain in that ship with his whole family, consisting of his lady, four daughters and five sons, had passed with one of the latter on board another frigate before the action commenced, and they had there the horror of witnessing the dreadful catastrophe, which in an instant severed from them their dearest relatives, and de- prived them of a fortune, the accumulation of five and twenty years. The squadron was from Monte Video, Rio de la Plata, and contained upwards of four millions of dollars, of which about eight hundred thou- sand were on board the Mercedes; and the merchandise on board the frigate was also of great value. The admiralty was much blamed for not having sent such a force to intercept these vessels as would have allowed their commander to submit at once, without impeachment to his honor; whereas the equality of strength rendered a san- guinary combat inevitable. The negotia- tions at Madrid were not immediately broken off in consequence of this event ; but after some time spent in fruitless attempts, on the part of Great Britain, to obtain a full disclosure of the existing engagements be- tween France and Spain, his Catholic ma- jesty declared war against England on the twelfth of December. In this year, a British naval officer, captain Wright, died in the prison called the Tem- ple, at Paris, under circumstances which gave rise to the suspicion that his death pro- ceeded from the hands of violence. He had been the fellow-prisoner of Sir Sidney Smith, and, after escaping with that officer from the Temple, had served with him in Egypt and Syria, and was the person who eiTected the landing of Georges, Pichegru, and their com- panions, on the coast of France. On the fifteenth of May, while cruising in the Bay of Quiberon, he was becalmed and made prisoner by the French gun-boats, and did not long survive his captivity. MURDER OF DUKE D'ENGHIEN.— COM- PLAINT AGAINST BRITISH ENVOYS.— SEIZURE OF SIR GEORGE RUMBOLD. The duke D'Enghien, the worthy repre- sentative of the house of Conde, had, since the continental peace, lived in retirement at the town of Ettenheim, in the electorate of Baden. In this neutral territory Buonaparte resolved to seize him ; for which purpose general Caulincourt, with a body of cavalry, entered the electorate on the fifteenth of March, and coming unawares upon the des- tined victim, secured him and several of his friends without difficulty, and even without opposition. The duke was immediately con- veyed to Strasburg, and thence, without any interval of repose, to Paris, where he was conducted to the same prison, the Temple, which had been the last scene of his sove- reign's miseries : he was not, however, per- mitted to remain here, but was hurried away to the castle of Vincennes, where he arrived on the twentieth ; and that same evening, exhausted with fatigue, he was dragged be- fore a military commission, when a pretend- ed trial ensued, and in two hours, without any evidence being produced, the illustrious prisoner was found guilty of having borne arms against the French republic, of having conspired to restore the monarchy, and of being an accomplice in the late conspiracy. In the night, Buonaparte's brother-in-law, Murat, with four other general officers, among whom were his own brother, Louis Buonaparte, and Duroc, the consul's secre- tary, arrived at the castle, under an appro- priate escort of Mamelucs — and the duke was shot by nine Italian grenadiers. He died with the spirit of a Christian soldier, expressing his satisfaction that his execu- tioners were not Frenchmen. This event was first made known in pa- pers printed out of France ; for it was not until after several days that the Paris news- papers contained any narrative on the sub- ject. In private, where men could venture to express an opinion, every Frenchman de- clared his abhorrence of the act. In foreign countries the murder was stigmatized in be- coming terms ; and, in some, solemn funeral obsequies were performed in honor of the victim. Several notes on the illegal seizure of the duke D'Enghien, and the violation of the neutrality of the German empire, were delivered to the diet of Ratisbon, and ad- dressed to the French minister for foreign I affairs, — among which the most spirited were GEORGE in. 1760—1820. 499 those presented by the Russian, Swedish, and Hanoverian ministers. To divert public attention from this atro- city, the French government announced the discovery of another plot, in which they im- plicated the British minister at the court of Munich, Drake, and the envoy to the elector of Wirtemburg-, Spencer Smith : a mass of documents and intercepted letters were pro- duced, from which it appeared that Drake had incautiously given some attention to the representations and projects of Mehee de la Touche, who, having obtained access to him, and made a tender of his services, reported to the French government the result of his intrigues. The correspondence was com- municated to the elector of Bavaria, who declared it impossible for him to have any communication with Drake, or to receive him at his court, and the British envoy of course quitted the Bavarian territories: Spencer Smith was also under the necessity of leav- ing Stutgard. As the papers respecting this transaction were widely distributed, it be- came necessary for the British government to vindicate itself, and a circular letter was addressed by lord Hawkesbury to the foreign ministers in London, which, in repelling the imputation of countenancing projects of as- sassination, maintained the right of bellig- erent powers to avail themselves of any dis- contents existing in the countries with which they may be at war. The exercise of this right was fully sanctioned by the actual state of the French nation, and by the conduct of its government, which had, ever since the commencement of the war, maintained a communication with the disaffected in his majesty's dominions, and had assembled, on the coast of France, a body of Irish rebels for the purpose of aiding their designs. And if any accredited minister at a foreign court had held correspondence with persons in France, with a view to obtain information of the projects of the French government, he had done no more than ministers, under sim- ilar circumstances, had uniformly been con- sidered as having a right to do. These ar- guments were combated in a circular note, authorizing the French envoys to declare to the governments where they resided, that Buonaparte would not recognize the English diplomatic body in Europe, so long as they were not restrained within the lunits of their functions. Shortly after this attempt to place the British diplomatic corps out of the protection of the law of nations, the French govern- ment most daringly infringed that very law. On the twenty-fifth of October, Sir George Rumbold, the English charge d'affaires in the circle of Lower Saxony, was seized at his country-house near Hamburgh by a party of French troops, and conveyed to Paris, im- prisoned in the Temple, and released only on signing a parole not to return to Ham- burgh, or reside within a certain distance of the French territories. The senate of Ham- burgh appealed to the courts of Berlin, Vien- na, and Petersburgh, on this violation of their territory, and an application was made by the British minister for foreign affairs to the Prussian cabinet ; but a remonstrance from that quarter had already been made with success for the liberation of the envoy, and he was conveyed from Cherbourg, by a flag of truce, on board the Niobe frigate, which carried him to Portsmouth, after in vain ap- plying for the restitution of his papers. BUONAPARTE ELECTED EMPEROR OF THE FRENCH. EMPEROR OF GER- MANY DECLARED EMPEROR OF AUS- TRIA. Buonaparte, encouraged by the general state of things, proceeded to ascend the last step on the ladder of ambition, and, when all the previous preparations had been made, addresses were presented to him by the legislative and municipal bodies, and by the different armies, in the months of March, April, and May, beseeching him to become emperor of the French. No extreme of adulation could exceed that by which these addresses were marked : a man whose hands were stained with the blood of an innocent and virtuous prince, was held up as a model of virtue ; and the people, over whom a mil- itary tyranny held despotic sway, were re- presented as supremely happy under his mild and free government. On the eighteenth of May a decree was finally passed by the senate, abolishing the constitution which the senators and consuls themselves had so re- cently sworn to observe and maintain invio late; and declaring Napoleon Buonaparte emperor of the French, and the imperial dignity hereditary in his family. The new emperor then addressed a letter to his bish- ops, in which he ascribed his elevation to Providence, and ordered a Te Deum to be sung in all the churches on the glorious oc- casion. The bishops kept pace in their ad- ulation with the military and civil bodies, and framed prayers adapted to the new order of things ; while, to crown the whole, the Pope was ordered to attend the ceremony of the coronation, and to place the crovra on the head of his " dearest son in Christ, Na- poleon, emperor of the French, who has sig- nified his strong desire to be anointed with the holy unction." This ceremony took place on the nineteenth of November, in the cathedral of Notre Dame, at Paris, — the same church in which, with more zeal, the Parisians had, a ^qw years before, worshif)- ped a naked prostitute, as the Goddess of 500 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Reason, in obedience to the command of Buonaparte's friend and predecessor, Maxi- milian Robespierre. The assumption of the imperial dignity by Buonaparte gave a new interest to the Eolitical concerns of Europe ; and the time ad now arrived when the Germanic body was no longer to be considered as united under one head. In the month of August, the emperor Francis issued a decree, by which his title of emperor of Germany was changed for that of Austria. The council of state de- clared the object of this measure to be " the preservation of that degree of equality which should subsist between the great powers, and the just rank of the house and state of Austria among the nations of Europe." The emperor further urged, that, in conferring upon his family an hereditary imperial title, he was following the example of Russia in the last century, and of France in the pres- ent day. This event was hailed with undis- sembled joy by France and Prussia; and when it was announced to the diet of Ratis- bon, it excited no animadversion, except from the king of Sweden, who considered this change so inseparably connected with the composition of the German empire, that it should be laid before the diet as a subject for deliberation. No tribute could have been more flattering to Buonaparte than this con- cession, which not only made the sovereign, hitherto considered as the first in Europe in point of dignity, more recent in the crea- tion of title than himself, but even recorded his example as one of the motives of the conduct of the emperor Francis. DISPUTE BETWEEN FRANCE AND RUS- SIA—CONVENTION BETWEEN FRANCE AND GENOA. The renewal of the war on the continent had been some time confidently expected, and the appointment of lord Granville Leve- son Gower, as ambassador to the court of St. Petersburgh, served to strengthen the opinion that another continental alliance was on the tapis. On the fifth of May the em- peror of Russia presented an energetic note to the diet of Ratisbon, on the seizure of the duke D'Enghien, expressive of his astonish- ment and concern at the event ; to which the French minister replied, that the first consul felt himself in no way responsible to the emperor on a point which did not con- cern his interest ; and that if his majesty intended to form a new coalition in Europe, and to recommence the war, there was no need of empty pretences. Two months elapsed before a reply was made to this pa- per; but on the twenty-first of July, M. D'Oubril, the Russian charge d'affaires^ complained that it was by no means an an- swer to the note he had delivered. An im- portant correspondence ensued, during which the king of Sweden appeared to be ani- mated with a resolution to support the prin- ciples of the laws of nations, and to make common cause with the emperor Alexander. The emperor of Russia's appeal to the diet of Ratisbon had little effect on the Ger- manic body. The king of Prussia evinced no disposition to resist the aggressions of Buonaparte ; and the majority of the- other states were fearful of the renewal of a con- test, in which they might risk more than they could hope to gain. The emperor Al- exander, in warmly remonstrating against the usurping spirit of France, had insisted upon the evacuation of the kingdom of Na- ples and the north of Germany by the French, and the indemnification of the king of Sardinia. The refusal of compliance oc- casioned the Russian resident to demand his piassports; and both parties made prepara- tions for a renewal of hostilities. Austria, in the mean time, was employed in repair- ing the losses which her armies had sus- tained in the late war, and in improving the condition of her military establishments. Buonaparte spared no effort to acquire the means of meeting the British navy on equal terms. He had now at his disposal the fleets of Spain ; and, by a convention concluded on the twentieth of October, he obtained fi"om Genoa, in return for some commercial advantages, the service of six thousand sea- men during the war, and the use of the har- bors, arsenals, and dock-yards. Thus the port of Genoa was virtually ceded to him, under an engagement that the Ligurian re- public should, at its own expense, enlarge the basin for the reception of ten sail of the line, which were to be immediately con- structed. GEORGE III. 1760—1820 501 CHAPTER XXXV. letter from Buonaparte to His Majesty — The Answer — Addington raised to the Peer- age, and joins the Ministry — Other Appointments — Opening of Parliament — Xing'* s Speech — Supply — Budget — Catholic Claims — Vote of Credit — Proceedings against Lord Melville — Resignation of Lord Sidmouth and the Earl of Buckinghamshire — Illness of Pitt — New Coalition against France — Commencement of Hostilities — Surrender of General Mack — Buonaparte enters Vienna — Advances into Moravia — Movements in Italy — The Archduke Charles falls back towards Vienna — State of the Russian Forces — Battle of Austerlitz — Armistice — 'Return of the Russians — The Archduke Ferdinand defeats a Corps of Bavarians — Treaty of Presburg — Treaty between France and Prussia — French Fleets put to Sea — Attempts on the West India Islands — Lord Nelson's Pursuit — Sir Robert Calder's Engagement with Vil- leneuve — Victory of Trafalgar, and Death of Lord Nelson — War in India — Its Termination — Marquis Cornwallis appointed Governor- General — His Death. LETTER FROM BUONAPARTE. Pitt was employed in laying the founda- tion of a new confederacy against France, as soon as an opportunity should occur for carrying it into effect, when ministers re- ceived a letter, written by Napoleon's own hand, and addressed to his Britannic majesty. This unusual mode of communication, which he had before adopted upon his accession to the office of first consul, was chosen from a professed desire to disengage so important a transaction from the intrigues of cabinets, and the perplexities and delays of diplomacy. After adverting to his recent elevation to the throne of France, and lamenting the un- necessary effusion of blood, he said he con- sidered it no disgrace to take the first step towards conciliation ; for, though peace was the wish of his heart, war had never been inconsistent with his glory. As it had never been customary for the English sovereign to communicate directly with a foreign poten- tate, an answer was returned by lord Mul- grave, addressed to the French minister, in- timating his majesty's wish to procure the blessings of peace on terms compatible with the permanent security of Europe; but stat- ing the impracticability of more fnlly meeting the overture now made, until he had com- municated with the powers of the continent with whom he was engaged in confidential connexions and relations. APPOINTMENTS IN THE MINISTRY- OPENING OF PARLIAMENT.^-SUPPLY. 1805. — Pitt found it expedient to renew his connexion with Addington; and that gentleman having been called up to the house of peers by the title of viscount Sidmouth, was, on the fourteenth of .January, 1805, ap- pointed to succeed the duke of Portland, as president of the council. At the same time lord Mulgrave was appointed secretary for foreign affairs in the place of lord Ilar- rowby, and the earl of Buckinghamshire chancellor of the dutchy of Lancaster. On the fifteenth, the session of parliament was opened by his majesty in person. The speech from the throne announced that the prepara- tions for invasion were still carried on by France with unremitting activity; that Spain, under the control of the French gov- ernment, had issued a declaration of war against this country ; and that the pacific communications from France had been met by a corresponding disposition on the part of his majesty. The usual addresses passed nnanimonsly in both houses. On the twenty-third of January, one hun- dred and twenty thousand men, including marines, were voted by the house of com- mons for the service of the navy, for the year 1805 ; and a sum not exceeding two million eight hundred and eighty-six thou- sand pounds for the payment of the men. At the same time, the sum of two million nine hundred and sixty-four thousand pounds was granted for victualling, and four million six hundred and eighty thousand pounds for wear and tear of shipping, &c. The num- ber of men actually employed in the navy at this time amounted to one hundred and eight thousand. On the fourth of February, the secretary at war moved the army esti- mates of the year, which amounted to twelve million three hundred and ninety-five thou- sand four hundred and ninety pounds seven shillings and sixpence, for three hundred and twelve thousand and forty-eight men, under the different heads of service. In the budget, which was opened on the eighteenth, the minister stated the joint charge of supplies for Great Britain and Ireland at forty-four million five hundred thousand pounds. Among the ways and means were a loan of twenty million pounds for England, and two million five hundred thousand pounds for Ireland; several new war taxes were imposed ; an augmentation of one-fourth was laid on the 502 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. property tax, and of one-half on the duty on salt. This being strongly objected to, as likely to be injurious to the fisheries, considerable modifications were made in their fevor. Petitions from the Roman Catholics of Ireland, praying relief from civil disabilities, gave rise to very interesting discussions ; but the minister declared that existing circum- stances were unfavorable to their claims, and they were rejected by considerable ma- jorities. On the nineteenth of June, in con- sequence of a royal message, relative to ne- gotiations pending with some of the conti- nental powers, a sum not exceeding three million five hundred thousand pounds was granted to his majesty, to enable him to en- ter into such engagements, and to take such measures, as the exigencies of affairs might demand. On the twelfth of July parliament was prorogued by commission. PROCEEDINGS AGAINST LORD MEL- VILLE. In the course of this session proceedings were instituted against a member of admin- istration, which strongly engaged the atten- tion of the public. Amongst the measures for the reformation of the public expendi- ture, meditated or resolved upon by the Ad- dington administration, an inquiry into the abuses of the naval department was one of the most prominent ; and a bill was passed in 1803, appointing commissioners for that purpose. This bill originated in a g-reat de- gree with earl St. Vincent, first lord of the admiralty, a situation to which, on Pitt's re- turn to power, lord Melville was appointed. In the meanwhile, the commissioners had produced several successive reports, one of which, the tenth, appeared to implicate the new first lord of the admiralty, who had, while he filled the office of treasurer of the navy, retained in his hands large sums of the public money, contrary to law. This report Whitbread brought under the consideration of the house of commons in April, observing that the commissioners had done their duty to the public, and it fell to his lot to bring to justice those whom they had exposed. The report involved not only lord Melville, but Alexander Trotter, his paymaster, Mark Sproot, a stock-broker, and others. In ex- hibiting a charge against lord Melville, he did not accuse a mere unprotected indi- vidual : t;hat nobleman had, for a period of thirty years, been in the uninterrupted pos- session of some lucrative office, and had ex- ercised a most extensive influence ; lie had many individuals attached to him by the consciousness of obligation ; and, though not personally present, he had, no doubt, power- ful friends in the house who would be found ready to undertake his defence. Whitbread then referred to the act of 1785, of which lord Melville (then Dundas) was the sup- porter, for regulating the department of treasurer of the navy ; and to the order of council, by which his salary was advanced from two thousand pounds to four thousand pounds a-year, in lieu of all profits, fees, or emoluments, which he might before have derived from the public money lying in his hands. The charges were classed under three heads: first, the having applied the money of the public to other uses than those of the naval department, with which he was connected, in express contempt of an act of parliament ; second, conniving at a system of peculation in an individual, for whose conduct he was officially responsible ; and, third, his participation in that system. To the honor of public men, said Whitbread, charges like this have seldom been prefer- red ; and it is a singular circumstance that the only instance of a similar charge, for a great number of years, was brought against Sir Thomas Rumbold by the noble lord him- self, on the ground of malversations in India. With respect to the first charge, it appeared from the report that there had been, for a number of years, deficiencies in the trea- surer of the navy's department to the amount of upwards of six hundred thousand pounds a-year. When lord Melville was asked a plain question as to the appropriation of this money, he, as well as Trotter, professed total ignorance of the deficiencies ; but by-and-by the paymaster began to recover his recollec- tion, and confessed, that from the year 1786 down to the period at which he was exam- ined, he had been in the habit of drawing out public money, and placing it in the hands of his own bankers. When the commis- sioners inquired a little further, he had the assurance to tell them that they had no right to interfere in his private affairs. Lord Melville, in a letter to the commissioners, acknowledged the fact of advances having been made to him ; but said that he could not give the other information required, be- cause he could not disclose state secrets, and because he was not in possession of the ac- counts of advances made to other depart- ments, having himself committed them to the flames ; and not only had the noble lord destroyed the papers, but he had actually lost all recollection of the whole afikir ! The second charge against lord Melville was, that he connived at the appropriation of pub- lic money to private purposes. Trotter did not deny that he had large sums in the hands of Coutts, his private banker ; but said it was more convenient for the money to be there than in the bank of England, and more secure : and for the truth of this opinion he appealed to lord Melville — to lord Melville, who framed and sanctioned the bill of 1785 ! to lord Melville, who, not satisfied with the regulations of the act of 1785, proposes still GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 503 stricter limitations in 1786 ! For what pur- pose, however, Whitbread asked, was there so constant a fluctuation in Trotter's account at Coutts's ] and why such perpetual drafts for money, in the name of Trotter 7 At the time that he was anxious for the safety of what was passing through his hands, was it always lodged at Coutts's, allowing that to be the place of fittest security 1 No, it was employed in discounting bills, in forming speculations, in gambling on the stock ex- change. No less than thirty-four million pounds of the public property had passed through lord Melville's paymaster's hands ; and, had Trotter's speculations failed, it was not to him, but to his lordship, that the pub- lic had to look for redress. While the people were struggling with the heaviest burdens ever laid upon them. Trotter, and his silent discreet broker, Mark Sprott, were placing their heads together to lay out the public money to the greatest advantage ; and lord Melville never once inquired into his pay- master's proceedings. On the third part of the subject (the suspicion of criminal parti- cipation) Whitbread said that lord Melville had found Trotter clerk to the navy pay- ofRce ; he made him his paymaster, and in a short time his agent. In this situation lord Melville had pecuniary concerns with him to a considerable amount, but was unable to tell the commissioners whether the advances made to him by Trotter were from his own or the public money. The truth was, that lord Melville knew, when he first patronized him, that, though a man of good family, he had no property but what was derived from his salary: it was absolute equivocation, then, to pretend that his lordship could be ignorant of the source whence Trotter was }nabled to supply him with advances. Whit- bread concluded by moving thirteen resolu- tions, founded on the circumstances which he had developed. Pitt, in a long and able speech, remarked that there was no allegation in the report, or even in the speech of Whitbread, that any loss to the public had been sustained by the transactions under consideration. He ad- mitted that the subject was of a grave and v«olemn nature, and that if, in a great money department, irregularities had been commit- ted, though unattended witli loss, it might l)e the duty of the house to set a mark upon i??]ch proceedings ; but all the circumstances of this case were not before them in the re- port, and, till they were investigated, the house could not be in a situation to come to any vote. On the face of the accounts, one hundred tliousand pounds was the whole amount of the advances to lord Melville. It was known that, of all the sums of one hun- dred and sixty million pounds which had passetl tlirough the hands of his lordship. every farthing had been regularly accounted for ; and it would be found that, of the one hundred thousand pounds, which, on the face of the account, was paid to lord Melville, many of the drafts were, in reality, payment* for public services. If this could be made out, as he was mformed it could, it was of itself a conclusive argument for further m- quiry ; he therefore moved that a select com- mittee be appomted to consider tlie tenth report of the commissioners of naval inquiry, and the documents therewith connected; that they examine the same, and report their opinion thereon to the house. At the sug- gestion of Fox, Pitt consented, in the first instance, to move the previous question. Tierney said, that, during the time he wa» treasurer of the navy, he felt no inconveni- ence fi-om a compliance with the act of par- liament, and held that the report of the com- missioners should be taken as conclusive evidence against lord Melville. After a number of observations from the attorney- general, Canning, the master of the rolls, and lord Castlereagh, in favor of a select committee, and from lord Henry Petty, Pon- sonby, Fox, and Mr. Wilberforce, in support of the resolution, the house divided, when there appeared two hundred and sixteen votes for, and two hundred and sixteen against, Whitbread's motion, and the speaker gave his casting vote in its favor. On the tenth of April the chancellor of the exchequer announced to the house of commons that lord Melville had tendered hii» resignation of the office of first lord of the admiralty, which his majesty had accepted. Whitbread said that, had the issue of the debate on Monday been merely of a personal or party nature, he might have been satisfied with lord Melville's removal fi-om the re- sponsibility, dignity, and emolument, attach- ed to the situation which he had resigned ; but he thought it so necessary that his lord- ship should be prevented from ever again polluting with his presence the councils of his sovereign, that, before any other pro- ceeding, he should move an address to the throne, praying his majesty to deprive the noble lord of every civil office held during the pleasure of the crown, and to dismiss him from the councils of the kingdom for ever. Whitbread asked whether Pitt was prepared to give a pledge to this eflfect, and whether Trotter had been dismissed 1 Can- ning replied that he had, but he did not think that the case of lord Melville, which, at the most, amounted to no more than a bare sus- picion, warranted the severity of the pro- ceedings now proposed; and, after a very animated conversation, Whitbread agreed to withdraw his motion, in lieu of which he moved that the resolutions of the former night be laid before his majesty by the whole 604 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. bouse, and on the following day they were presented accordingly. On the sixth of May, Whitbread moved for the erasure of lord Melville's name from the list of privy-counsellors, when Pitt said he had reason to believe that the measure was considered, generally, as expedient; and he had therefore felt it his duty to recom- mend it. He had not given this advice without a bitter pang, but he could not suffer feelings of private friendship to inter- fere with what he found to be the declared sense of a majority of the house. Whit- bread then inquired whether lord Melville lield any place of profit during the pleasure of the crown 1 and, being answered none but for life, he withdrew his motion. The commissioners of naval inquiry had, in the early progress of these discussions, been sedulously occupied in the researches arising out of the tenth report ; and Whit- bread now gave notice of an intention finally to move for an impeachment, which was met on the part of Robert Dundas, son of lord Melville, by a requisition that the noble lord should be previously admitted and lieard by the house. Leave having been obtained from both houses, his lordship, es- corted by the serjeant-at-arms, advanced within the bar on the eleventh of June, and entered upon his defence. He solemnly as- serted that he never knew that Trotter had drawn any money for the purposes of specu- lation, and declared that he had felt highly indignant at the charge that such transac- tions had been conducted with his privity, and that Trotter had enjoyed the advantage of his (lord Melville's) knowledge of the confidential secrets of government. His lordship as positively denied his participa- tion in the profits of Trotter : he admitted that, when the money was drawn for naval purposes, he had suffered him to place it in the liouse of Coutts and Co. until it should be wanted ; but that he had ever given him power to draw money from the bank mdis- criminately, was untrue. He certainly did suppose the paymaster derived a profit from the sums invested in Coutts's hands, but he had never considered it as a clandestine or unlawful proceeding ; and the reason he had not directly disclaimed any share in those profits, when examined before the commit- tee, was because he had that moment been informed of the confiision in which his pay- master's accounts stood, and there was a doubt in his own mind whether he might not unintentionally have received what was his own property from unlawful profits. His lordship referred to two sums of about ten thousand pounds each, the circumstances relative to which he felt equally bound, by private honor and public duty, never to dis- close ; tliough he affirmed that those sums were neither used nor meant to be employ- ed for any object of profit by him. He had certainly directed his agent to procure for him the loan of twenty thousand pounds, for which he had paid regular interest ; but it was not till within the last six weeks that he knew Trotter was the lender of the money. After explaining the nature of his transactions with respect to the loyalty loan, to which he subscribed the sum often thou- sand pounds, his lordship said, when he de- stroyed all vouchers, it was because he con- sidered them useless, and not from the most remote apprehension of danger from their existence. He could scarcely believe that an impeachment was intended; he was equally incredulous with respect to an in- dictment ; and he did not yet despair of re- ceiving justice from his deluded country. Whitbread then said, the excuse offered by lord Melville for not directly answering questions, in consequence of the mixed state of Trotter's accounts, was strange and in- credible. He argued on the suspicious cir- cumstance of refusing to give any account of the two sums of ten thousand pounds, and declared that if his lordship would refer the matter to a jury of honor, consisting of the chancellor of the exchequer, Windham, and any other person of equal integrity, he should, in case they acquitted him, feel sat- isfied. Whitbread concluded by moving that Henry lord viscount Melville be im- peached of high crimes and misdemeanors. A long debate ensued, in the course of w^hich Bond objected to an impeachment as cum- brous and expensive, and moved, as an amendment, that the attorney-general be directed to prosecute lord Melville for the several offences which appeared to have been committed by him. The motion for impeach- ment was rejected by a majority of seventy- seven, and Bond's amendment adopted by two hundred and thirty-eight to two hun- dred and twenty-nine voices : it was, how- ever, ultimately determined, on the twen- ty-fifth of June, that the mode of prosecu- tion by impeachment should be resorted to ; and Whitbread was appointed manager, with directions to acquaint the lords on the following day therewith. On this occasion Pitt delivered his last speech in the senate, and argued strongly in favor of a trial by impeachment, in preference to proceedings by a crimmal prosecution. CHANGES IN THE CABINET— ILLNESS OF PITT. — NEW COALITION AGAINST FRANCE. The British cabinet was still in a divided state ; and the conflicting sentiments of its members threatened to produce a partial change in the ministry, had no subject of paramount interest arisen to call them more strongly into action. It appears tliat, soon GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 505 after the Easter recess, lord Sidmouth sug- gested the propriety of removing lord Mel- ville from the privy-council ; but Pitt, wish- ing to avoid that measure, conceived that both parliament and the country v^^ould be satisfied with the noble lord's resignation of his office as first lord of the admiralty. Neither party was disposed to yield, and lord Sidmouth, the earl of Buckinghamshire, and Mr. Vansittart, expressed their deter- mination to throw up their several appoint- ments ; but this extremity was for the pres- ent averted by the erasure of lord Melville's name from the list of the privy-council, and the vote of impeachment which afterwards passed against that nobleman. However, on the fifth of July, lord Sidmouth went out of office; and his example was followed by the earl of Buckinghamshire. These noblemen were succeeded by earl Camden and lord Harrowby, while lord Castlereagh was appointed to the foreign department, tlie office of first lord of the admiralty hav- ing been previously conferred on Sir Charles Middleton, who was called to the upper house under the title of lord Barham. For more than four years Pitt had labor- ed under all the inconveniencies resulting from a weak stomach, and the consequent fiiilure of appetite ; and it will be easily conceived that mental anxiety is peculiarly c;alculated to aggravate the effects of such a disorder. This anxiety the unprosperous state of affairs on the continent tended fur- ther to increase. The continued encroach- ments of Buonaparte, who had crowned him- self king of Italy at Milan, and annexed Genoa to France, had roused the powers of the continent to resistance, and a treaty be- tween Russia and England had been signed at St. Petersburgh on the eleventh of April, to which Austria and Sweden soon acceded, and of which the object was to restore, in some degree, the balance of power in Europe, by driving the French out of Han- over and the north of Germany ; by estab- lishing the independence of Holland and Switzerland ; by restoring the king of Sar- dinia to his throne ; and by compelling the French to evacuate the kingdom of Naples, and the whole of Italy. This great object it was promised to accomplish by an army of five hundred thousand men, in addition to the forces to be employed by Great Britain, who herself engaged to contribute to the common efforts both by sea and land, and to assist the different powers by subsidies. SURRENDER OF GENERAL MACK— BUa NAPARTE ENTERS VIENNA. — MOVE- MENTS IN ITALY. Whilst two Russian armies of fifty thou- sand men each were advancing towards the Danube, Buonaparte, in whose plans prompt- itude was always the leading feature, deter- VoL. IV. 43 mined to strike a decisive blow at the Aus- trians. Towards the close of August he or- dered the Boulogne flotilla to be dismantled, and the troops to march to the Rhine ; the bulk of his force in Holland and Hanover was also directed to proceed to the banks of the Danube : and, as soon as he received in- telligence that the Austrians had entered Bavaria, he convened the senate, stating, in a speech from the throne, that he was about to place himself at the head of his army. On this occasion two important decrees were proposed : the one for the immediate levy of eighty thousand conscripts, and the other for reorganizing the national guard. Having crossed the Rhine at Kehl, Buona- parte, at the head of one hundred and fifty thousand men, by a series of bold and rapid movements, gained a position between Vi- enna and the Austrian army under general Mack. That army, consisting of nearly ninety thousand men, dispersed over a wide extent of country, was beaten in de- tail, and reduced to thirty thousand, who, with their commander, were blocked up in Ulm. On the seventeenth of October Mack agreed to surrender, and on the twentieth the whole of the Austrian troops in that city laid down their arms before the French em- peror, and, with the exception of the field- officers, who were permitted to return home on their parole, surrendered themselves pris- oners of war, with all their artillery and magazines. Buonaparte, having sent for the Austrian generals, and kept them near his person while the troops defiled, complained of the injustice and aggression of the em- peror : " I desire nothing," said he, " on the continent. France wants only ships, colo- nies, and commerce ; and it is as much your interest as mine that I should have them." The king of Prussia had been provoked to some show of indignation by the march of French troops through part of the Prus- sian neutral territory of Anspach without asking permission, and was disposed to re- sent the insult ; but, on learning the fete of Mack's army, he relapsed into passive neu- trality. Buonaparte, immediately after the capitulation of Ulm, made the most active exertions for the further prosecution of the campaign. The first division of Russians, under general Kutusoff, had already arrived upon the banks of the Inn, and united itself to the Austrians in that quarter : it was of importance, if possible, to attack this force before the arrival of the second division, and with this view the French army, having been joined by the contingents of Bavaria, Baden, and Wirtemburg, advanced by rapid marches towards the Inn, which they passed in the face of the allies, who retreated step by step on the road to Vienna, to effect a junction with the second Russian division, 606 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. which was advancing under general Bux- hovden. In this situation of affairs, the em- peror of Austria, desirous of averting the evils with which he was menaced, hy ne- gotiation, proposed an armistice, in order that negotiations might be commenced for a general peace. Buonaparte demanded that the Russian forces should return home, that the Hungarian levies should be disl)anded, and that the Austrian troops should with- draw from the dutchy of Venice and the Tyrol ; but as tliese terms would place the imperial crown at his mercy, the emperor resolved still to struggle with his difficul- ties, and, perceiving the danger which tlireat- ened his capital, retired with his court to Brunn, in Moravia. Vienna was entered by the French on the thirteenth of November, and Buonaparte, on the second day after that event, proceeded to join the main army in Moravia, which was a-ivancing with such rapidity that the Austrian court found it necessary to remove to Olmutz. The Russians, who had crossed the Danube at Krems, were retiring through that country to unite with the forces under the command of the emperor, and, after suf- fering severely in two spirited actions at Hollbrunn and Guntersdorf, they retreated through Znaim to Brunn, which they were compelled to evacuate on the eighteenth, leaving large quantities of ammunition and provisions. Buonaparte established his head- quarters there on the twentieth, and his main army took up a position at Withau, in face of the Austro-Russian army posted on the plains of Olmutz. The Italian campaign was opened upon the Adige on the eighteenth of October. The /..ustrian army was strongly posted near Verona, on the left bank of the river; while the French troops, under marshal Massena, occupied the city upon the opposite bank. The communication was by means of two bridges, and both parties had guarded against the passage of them by strong works, raised at the opposite extremities. The archduke Charles, however, was not in a condition to imdertake offensive operations: the attack was therefore begun by the French, who forced the Austrian intrenchments ; and the archduke, having obtained information of the disaster at Ulm, fell back towards Vienna. The archduke John, severely pressed in the Tyrol, adopted the same resolution, and, after encountering many difficulties, the two brothers effected a junction at Laybach, in Carniola. Massena, who had advanced closely in pursuit, established a communica- tion with the corps of Ney and Marmont, who, after the reduction of the Tyrol, ap- proafched the Danube to support the main body of the French army. BATTLE OF AUSTERLITZ.— ARMISTICE- TREATY OF PRESBURGH— TREATY BE- TWEEN FRANCE AND RUSSIA. Marshal Davoust, leaving the principal part of the French army at Vienna, pro- ceeded with his division towards Presburgh, when he received overtures from count Palfy, the governor, m the name of the archduke Palatme, proposing that the mili- tary preparations in Hungary should be di^ continued, on condition that the French gen- eral would guaranty the neutrality of that kingdom. To this proposal the marshal readily acceded, and the principal resources of the house of Austria were thus reduced to the army of the archduke Charles, and to the small force of prince John of Lichten- stein, which had united itself to the Russian division under Kutusoff, who, perceiving the difficulties of his situation, sent the baron de Winzingerode to Murat, to propose terms of capitulation ; and a convention was con- cluded, which permitted the Russian army to retire into their own territory ; but Buo- naparte, conceiving them to be in his power, reftised to ratify it. In the mean time, gen- eral Kutusoff had retired with the utmost expedition to Znaim, leaving the division under prince Bagration, consisting of six thousand men, opposed to thirty thousand of the enemy, by whom he was surrounded, when he bravely cut his way through them, and arrived with comparatively little loss at the head-quarters of Wischau. The French pursued their advantages in every direction: on the twentieth of November Buonaparte arrived at Brunn, and received a deputation from the Moravian states, with a bishop at their head; Ney was already master of Brixen ; and Bernadotte occupied Iglau, on the confines of Bohemia. Many prisoners and much baggage fell into their hands in the various encounters ; and, on the twenty- third, they had pushed their reconnoitring parties to the gates of Olmutz. The com- bined forces at that place amounted to nearly one hundred thousand men, of which the Russians formed the greater part ; but they were harassed by constant exertions, and en- feebled by continual privations. The prov- inces to a great distance around them were wasted, and no alternative remained but to commit the fortunes of the campaign to the last desperate valor of their troops. On the arrival of the emperor of Russia in his camp, Buonaparte sent bis aid-de-camp, general Savary, to compliment that prince, and to propose an interview, which he declined, but in return dispatched prince Dobgoruski to explain his sentiments. In the mean time Savary, who had been indiscreetly suffered to remain within the Russian lines for three successive days, had returned to tlie French GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 507 camp, and reported that, in spite of the de- plorable state of their troops, presumption, imprudence, and indiscretion, reigned in their military councils. Availing himself of this intelligence, Buonaparte issued or- ders for his army to retire under cover of the night, as if apprehensive of an engage- ment with so formidable an enemy, and to take up a strong position in the rear, where the troops were throwing up intrenchments, and forming batteries, when prince Dobgo- ruski made his appearance. These disposi tions appear to have been attended with the desired effect. The head-quarters of the emperors of Russia and Germany were re- moved to Austerlitz, and a general attack was commenced at daybreak, on the second of December, in which Buonaparte suc- ceeded in completely insulating the centre of the allies, and, by possessing himself of the heights of Pratzen, decided the fate of the day. The Russians made many brave but fruitless efforts, and at night-fall retreat- ed upon Boscovitz, covered by the Austrian cavalry. The loss of the allies was esti- mated at a fourth part of their force ; and this tremendous conflict, which was styled by the French soldiers. The battle of the three emperors, and by Buonaparte, The bat- tle of Austerlitz, terminated the campaign and the war. The Austrian emperor, dis- mayed by his loss, solicited an immediate armistice ; and on the fourth an interview took place, at the French advanced posts, between Napoleon and the emperor of Aus- tria, when a suspension of arms was agreed upon, the terms of which were, that the French should remain in possession of all their conquests until the conclusion of a de- finitive peace, or the rupture of negotia- tions ; and that, in the latter case, hostilities should not recommence until the expiration of fourteen days. It was further stipulated that the Russian army should evacuate the Austrian states within a limited time ; that there should be no extraordinary raising of troops; and that negotiators should meet, without delay, to form a definitive treaty. The emperor Alexander refused to become a party to these conditions, and on the sixth of December caused his army to withdraw from the Austrian states. Before the arri- val of intelligence announcing the armis- tice, the archduke Ferdinand, who com- manded a corps of twenty thousand Austri- ans in Bohemia, defeated a corps of Bava- rians under general Wrede, and was rapidly advancing in the rear of the French army. Almost at the same period, the archduke Charles advanced from Hungary, within a day's march of Vienna, with a powerful force ; and, on summoning the city to sur- render, was greatly mortified to find him- self reduced to a state of inaction by the suspension of hostilities, and his country prostrate at the foot of a man, who, in the hour of triumph, suffered no generous im- pulse to soften his political resolves. A definitive treaty was signed at Pres- burg on the twenty-sixth of December, the provisions of which were, that the Venetian territory should be united in perpetuity to the kingdom of Italy ; that the royal title assumed by the electors of Bavaria and Wir- temburg should be acknowledged ; that the margraviate of Burgau, the principality of Eichstadt, part of the territory of Passau, the country of the Tyrol, and the lordships of Voralberg, should be ceded to the king of Bavaria; that the Austrian emperor's pos- sessions in Franconia, Suabia, and Bavaria, should be divided between the kings of Ba- varia and Wirtemburg, and the elector of Baden ; that the county of Saltzburg and of Berchtoldsgaden, belonging to the archduke Ferdinand, should be incorporated with the Austrian empire, and that the archduke should receive from the king of Bavaria, in compensation, the territory of Wurtsburg. By this treaty it was estimated that the em- peror lost in subjects more than two million seven hundred thousand souls, and in reve- nue sixteen million of florins, about one mil- lion six hundred thousand pounds sterling ; but the diminution of power and influence which he sustained in abandoning his pos- sessions on the side of Italy, and in relin- quishing the line of country through which he formerly maintained his connexion with Switzerland, was a severe stroke upon his political consequence. A treaty between France and Prussia was also concluded at Vienna, which stipulated that Buonaparte should send no more troops into Hanover, and that the forces of the al- lies should be withdrawn, and replaced by those of Prussia, who, in exchange for Han- over, ceded Anspach and Bayreuth in Fran- conia, Cleves in Westphalia, and Neufchatel and Valengin in Switzerland. ATTEMPTS ON THE WEST INDIES BY FRENCH FLEETS— SIR ROBERT CAl^ DER'S ENGAGEMENT. Whii^t Buonaparte was thus successful on the continent, Great Britain was not less triumphant on her natural element As early as the eleventh of January, a French squadron, consisting of six sail of the line and two frigates, after having been blockad- ed for more than two years in Rochefbrt, ventured out to sea, with the view to unite itself with the more formidable force at Brest ; and on the fifteenth the Toulon fleet, comprising eleven sail of the line, and hav- ing on board nine thousand troops, also push- ed out to sea, without being perceived by the blockading squadron under lord Nelswi ; but after a short cruise was obliged again to 508 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. put into port through stress of weather. On the twenty-second of February, the force which had escaped from Rochefort, having- proceeded to the West Indies, made a de- scent on the island of Dominica, and the town of Roseau was obliged to capitulate : the governor-general Prevost, however, re- treated to St. Rupert's, where he was in vain summoned to surrender ; and the French commander at length abandoned the island, after levying a heavy contribution on the inhabitants of Roseau. He next visited the islands of Nevis and St. Kitt's, both of which were also laid under contribution ; but, on the arrival of admiral Cochrane in the West Indies, this marauding squadron precipitately sailed for France, where it ar- rived in safety. The alarm created in the public mind re- specting the proceedings of the Rochefort squadron had scarcely subsided, when intel- ligence was received that the Toulon fleet, under admiral Villeneuve, was again at sea. On the thirtieth of March this officer sailed to Carthagena ; but, not finding the Spanish ships in that port in readiness, he continued his course unmolested to Cadiz ; and, being there joined by one French and six Spanish sail of the line, he steered to the West In- dies with an accumulated force of eighteen sail of the line, carrying, beside their full complement of seamen, ten thousand vete- ran troops. On the approach of Villeneuve to Cadiz, admiral Sir John Orde, who was blockading that port with five ships of the line, thought it prudent to retire, and succeeded in joining lord Gardner off" Brest. The welcome ac- count, however, soon arrived, that lord Nel- son, who had been cruising in the Mediter- ranean, was in pursuit of the enemy to the West Indies. His lordship, it is true, had only ten ships of the line ; but his name was a tower of strength. On the fourth of June he arrived off" Barbadoes, where he learned that admiral Villeneuve had reached Mar- tinique on the fourteenth of May, but that the Diamond Rock was the only conquest he had achieved ; when, after remaining nearly inactive during three weeks, hearing of the presence of the dreaded Nelson, he set sail on his return, and was immediately followed by his indefatigable opponent, who, having in vain sought him off Cadiz and Cape St. Vincent, in the Bay of Biscay, and on the coast of Ireland, returned to Eng- land, after dispatching nine ships of the line to reinforce lord Gardner off Brest. Hopes were yet entertained that Villeneuve would be intercepted before he could reach any friendly port ; and on the twenty-second of July, his fleet, which now amounted to twen- ty sail of the line, three fifty-gun ships, and five frigates, fell in with Sir Robert Calder, who had only fifteen sail of the line and two frigates, six leagues west of Cape Finisterre, and, after an engagement of four hours, the St. Raphael, of eighty-four guns, and El Firme, of seventy-four, were taken from the enemy, when Sir Robert, from the foggy state of the weather, judged it expedient to put a stop to the action, in order that liis squadron might cover the captures. The night was spent by both fleets in the neces- sary repairs, and on the following morning the enemy seemed disposed to renew the contest, but he never approached nearer the British lines than four leagues ; and on the twenty-fourth, he bore away to the south- east under easy sail. In England the con- duct of Sir Robert Calder became the sub- ject of so much disapprobation, that he de- manded a court-martial, by which he was sentenced to be severely reprimanded, not for fear or cowardice, but for an error in judgment, in not having done his utmost to take or destroy every sliip of the enemy. This officer's fate was considered by the better informed as somewhat hard ; and it is a singular proof of the high confidence then existing in the naval superiority of the country, that an officer should meet reproof, who, with fifteen sail, obtained a partial vic- tory over more than twenty. VICTORY OF TRAFALGAR, AND DEATH OF KELSON. The combined fleets, having at Ferrol augmented their forces to twenty-seven sail of the line, proceedrii to Cadiz ; and scarcely had lord Nelson arraed in London, after his long and persevering cruise, when he was offered the command of an armament suffi- cient to cope with the united naval force of France and her allies, which he willingly accepted, and, hoisting his flag on board the Victory, arrived off Cadiz on the twenty- ninth of September. To induce the enemy to come out to sea, he stationed his main force near Cape St. Mary, and established a line of frigates to communicate their move- ments. On the nineteenth of October, being apprized that a reinforcement of seven sail of the line would shortly join him from Eng- land, his lordship dispatched admiral Louis with six sail to Tetuan lor stores and water. Informed of this event, and supposing the English to be much reduced in strength, ad- miral Villeneuve availed himself of the fa- vorable juncture to obey the positive com- mands which had been issued by his govern- ment : on the next day the fleet under his command got under weigh, and, at daybrealc on the twenty-first, was distinctly seen from the Victorj^'s deck, formed in a close line of battle oflT Cape Trafalgar. Our fleet, which had received the expected reinforcement, consisted of twenty-seven sail of the line and four frigates ; theirs of thirty-three sail GEORGE III. 176&--1820. 509 of the line and seven frigates ; and their su- periority was greater in size and weight of metal than in numbers. Admiral Villeneuve was a skilful seaman ; and his plan of de- fence was as well conceived, and as original, as the plan of attack. The Spaniards were commanded by admiral Gravina ; and four thousand troops were embarked on board the fleet, under the command of general Con- tamin, among whom were several skilful sharp-shooters and Tyrolese riflemen. The British fleet bore up in two columns as they formed in the order of sailing ; and as the mode of attack was unusual, so the structure of the enemy's line was new ; it formed a crescent convexing to leeward, so that, in .leading down to their centre, lord Colling- wood had both their van and rear abaft tiie beam. As the mode of our attack had been previously determined on, few signals were necessary, and none were made, except to direct close order as the lines bore down. The last telegraphic signal issued by the great commander on going into action was, "England expects every man to do his duty ;" and nobly indeed was it performed on this glorious day, for the battle of Trafal- gar is without a parallel in the annals of British victory. The conflict began about noon, when ad- miral Collingwood, in the Royal Sovereign, gallantly cut through the enemy's line about the twelfth ship from his rear, leaving his van unoccupied ; the succeeding ships broke through in all parts astern of their leaders, and engaged their antagonists at the muzzles of their guns. Lord Nelson, on board the Victory, directed his attack on the enemy's line between the tenth and eleventh ships in the van; but, finding it so close that there was not room to pass, he ordered his ship to be run on board the Redoubtable, op- posed to him; his second, the Temeraire, engaged the next ship in the enemy's line, and the others singled out their adversaries according to the order of battle. During nearly four hours the conflict was tremen- dous, particularly in that part of the line where the commander-in-chief had com- menced the onset. The guns of his ship repeatedly set fire to the Redoubtable ; and the British seamen, apprehensive that both ships might be involved in destruction, were employed at intervals during the heat of the fight in throwing buckets of water on the spreading flames. About three in the after- noon the Spanish admiral, with ten sail of the line, joining the frigates to leeward, bore away for Cadiz ; and ten minutes afterwards five of the headmost ships of the enemy's van, under admiral Dumanoir, tacked, and stood to windward of the British line : the sternmost was taken, but the others escaped. The heroic exertions of the British were 43* rewarded by the capture of nineteen ships of the line, with the commander-in-chief, Villeneuve, and two Spanish admirals ; but, a gale of wind coming on from the south- west after the action, only four of the prizes could be saved, which were carried into Gibraltar. The Achille, a French seventy- four, blew up, after her surrender : but two hundred of her men were saved. Admiral Villeneuve was sent to England, and after- wards permitted to return to France, where, as was stated by the French government, he destroyed himself, dreading the conse- quences of a court-martial. In such a battle the loss on both sides must be severe ; that of the victors amount- ed to fifteen hundred men killed and wound- ed : but the deep regret which the efltision of so much brave blood cannot fail to excite was absorbed in the greater sorrow caused by the fall of the commander-in-chief, who was mortally wounded by a musket-shot from the ship with which he was closely en- gaged. He survived the battle about two hours; and the pain of his last moments was soothed by the glad tidings that the hostile flags were striking around him ; when, after breathing his thanks to Heaven for being enabled once more to do his duty to his country, he expired without a groan. Such was the end of this great man, whose career had been eminently brilliant, and whose fate was glorious and triumphant. Before the battle began he entertained a presentiment that this would be the last day of his life, and seemed to look for death with almost as sure an expectation as for victory; but although this gloomy foreboding occu- pied his mind, and though he had more than once observed that the enemy would endeavor to mark him out as one of their victims, yet his lordship, on the mornmg of the twenty- first, put on the stars of the different orders with which he had been invested. His sec- retary and chaplain, apprehensive that these insignia might expose his person to unneces- sary danger, endeavored, but in vain, to pre- vail upon him to take them oflf: to all their entreaties he replied — "In honor I gained them, and in honor I will die with them." The survivors were gratified with the thanks of both houses of parliament ; gold medals were awarded to those who had par- ticularly distinguished themselves on this memorable day ; and, besides the honors and rewards showered upon the family of the fallen hero, the dignity of Baron, with an annuity of two thousand pounds a-year to himself and his two next heirs, was con- ferred upon vice-admiral Collingwood. The four French ships under rear-admiral Dumanoir, which escaped to the southward towards the close of the action off Trafalgar soon shared the fate of their oompauions. 510 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. On the night of the second of November, rear-admiral Sir Richard Strachan, cruising off Ferrol with four ships of the line and three frigates, fell in with what he thought the Rochefort squadron; but they proved to be the fugitives from the combined fleet, to which he immediately gave chase. A little before noon on the fourth, Dumanoir, finding an engagement unavoidable, came to close action ; and, after a well-supported contest, continued for nearly three hours and a half, all the four ships struck to the English, but not till they had become quite unmanage- able. Thus was the naval power of France ^nd her ally reduced to insignificance ; the phantoms of "ships, colonies, and commerce," which had floated before the imagination of Buonaparte, were chased from the regions of probability; and Britain was confirmed in her paramount dominion of the seas. WAR IN INDIA.— DEATH OF LORD CORN- WALLIS. In India a new war was occasioned by the intrigues and aggressions of Jeswunt Rao Holkar, the Mahratta chief, who had usurped the dominions of his brother, and renounced his allegiance to the Peishwa. After a fruitless negotiation, the troops in the Deccan, under general Wellesley, re- duced the fortress of Chandore ; while lord Lake, by a series of skilful and rapid move- ments, compelled him to risk encounters which ultimately led to his discomfiture. On the thirteenth of November, 1804, a large force was totally routed near Deeg ; and on the seventeenth his cavalry was sur- prised and defeated near Feruckabad, Holkar himself escaping with great difficulty from the field. This splendid success would have decided the contest, had not the unexpected defection of the rajah of Bhurtpore enabled the fugitive to repair his desperate fortunes. Early in 1805 lord Lake made several at- tacks on the town of Bhurtpore, in all of which he was repulsed with considerable loss ; but at length the rajah made proposals for peace, which W£is granted to him, and subsequently to Holkar, on terms favorable to the company. In July lord Cornwallis arrived at Madras, as successor to the mar- quis Wellesley, but in such a reduced state of health that he died in the October fol- lowing. GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 511 CHAPTER XXXVI. State of Europe — Meeting of Parliament — Death of Pitt — Change of Ministry — New Military Arrangements — Finance — Prevention of Abuses — Corn Trade with Ireland — Intercourse between the West Indies and America — Slave Trade — Impeachment of Lord Melville — India Affairs — Prorogation of Parliament — Negotiation for Peace — Death of Fox — Ministerial Appointments — Dissolution of Parliament — Admiral Sir J. T. Duckworth's Victory — Other Naval Successes — Capture of the Cape of Good Hope — Unauthorized Expedition to Buenos Ayres — Court-Mar Hal on Sir Home Popham — Dispute with America — Elevation of Joseph Buonaparte to the Throne of Naples — Resistance to the French Arms — Battle of Maida — Occupa- tion of Hanover by Prussia — Consequent Hostility with England and Sweden — Revolution in her Politics — Confederation of the Rhine — Louis Buonaparte declared King of Holland — Titles conferred by Buonaparte on his Followers — Murder of Palm — Fourth Coalition against France — Movements of the French and Prussian Forces — Battle of Auerstadt, or Jena — Its Consequences — Seizure of British Prop- erty at Hamburgh — Buonaparte's Berlin Decree — Negotiation for an Armistice — Advance of the Russians — Their Repulse — Levies — Operations in Silesia — Battle of Eylau — Surrender of Dantzic — Success of the French in Swedish Pomerania — Battle of Friedland — Treaty of Tilsit — War with Turkey and Russia, followed by Hostilities between England and the former — Expeditions to Constantinople and Effypt — Capture of Monte Video — Attack on Buenos Ayres — Its Failure — General Whitelock tried by Court-Martial and cashiered — Capture of Curagoa — Insurrec- tion of the Sepoys in India, STATE OF EUROPE. 1806. — At the commencement of the year 1806, the French and English nations had acquired an absolute and uncontrolled do- minion, the one over the land, and the other over the seas. The battle of Austerlitz had confirmed the military superiority of France, and left her without a rival on the continent; while the victory of Trafalo^ar had decided the naval pre-eminence of England: she was, however, unable to make any serious impression on the power of Buonaparte, who, after the treaty of Presburg, no longer de- terred by the fear of a continental coalition, was at liberty to direct his whole force and energy to her subjugation. If Great Britain had nothing to apprehend from the number of troops Buonaparte might be able to land on the shores of England, other parts of the empire were not equally invulnerable to his attacks. In Ireland, exposed by her griev- ances to the seduction of his emissaries, and accessible by her situation to the invasion of his army, rebellion had been put down, but discontent still existed : the fire which had lately blazed with such fury, was smoth- ered, but not extinguished ; and though the more moderate of the Catholics were ready to postpone the discussion of their claims till the chief obstacle to the redress of their grievances was removed, and the prudent and considerate were disinclined to those violent counsels fi-om which they had already suffered so much, it was not to be supposed that all the Irish Catholics were moderate and prudent, but that many of that body would join themselves to a French army whenever it might make its appearance in their country. MEETING OF PARLIAMENT— DEATH OF PIT1\— CHANGE OF MINISTRY. Affairs were in this posture when par- liament was opened by commission on the twenty-first of January. After suitable con- gratulations on the late naval successes, mixed with regret for the lamented death of the hero by whom they were achieved, the speech stated that his majesty had directed the treaties concluded with foreign powers to be laid before the two houses ; and, while he lamented the late disastrous events on the continent, he congratulated them on the as- surances which he continued to receive from the emperor of Russia. The speech then stated that one million pounds, accruing to the crown from the droits of admiralty, would be applied to the public service of the year ; and concluded by recommending vigilance and exertion against the enemy. An amend- ment to the address was read in both houses, but was not proposed as a motion, on account of the dangerous indisposition of Pitt, who was at that moment on his death-bed. This distinguished statesman had been compelled, at the close of the former session of parliament, to relinquish all active share in public business, and retire to Bath, whence he returned, on the eleventh of January, to his residence on Putney Heath, in a state of debility and exhaustion, augmented by anxi- 512 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ety and disappointment. His constitution, originally delicate, sunk rapidly ; and on the twenty-third of January he expired, in the forty-seventh year of his age, after having enjoyed greater power and popularity, and held the first place in the government of his country for a longer course of years, than any former minister of England. On a mo- tion of the honorable Henry Lascelles, made in the house of commons on the twenty- seventh of January, and carried by a ma- jority of two hundred and fifty-eightto eighty- nine, his remains were interred at the pub- lic expense in Westminster Abbey, by the side of his father. A sum not exceeding forty thousand pounds was voted for the payment of his debts without opposition. He pos- sessed no particular advantages of person or physiognomy; but as a speaker he was thought to be without a rival. His mtegrity was unimpeached; his conduct moral; and, so far was he from making use of his oppor- tunities to acquire wealth, that he died in- solvent. As a financier, he displayed great ability in augmenting the public revenue, and in raising money on public faith; but whilst he was thus adding to the burdens of the people, and entailing a heavy load on posterity, the wealth so acquired was dis- tributed with lavish profusion. Such was his dread of the revolutionary principles which desolated France, that, considering no price too great for the means of opposing them, he carried the practice of subsidizing foreign states to an unprecedented and almost ruinous extent. But, whatever may have been his errors, his exertions in the public service, during a period of unexampled difficulty, were unwearied; and the emphatic words pronounced by the herald over his corpse, " non sibi sed pafrice vixit,''^ were not less just than honorable. Either from confidence in his own powers, or from the love of sway, Pitt seldom asso- ciated himself with men of superior talent, and his death at this critical juncture was considered as a virtual dissolution of the ex- isting administration. His colleagues, be- sides the want of public confidence, were disunited and without a head ; and the loss of their patron dissolved the only tie that bound them. In circumstances so discourag- ing, the surviving members of Pitt's admin- istration resigned to their opponents the reins of government, witliout a struggle; and even refused to retain charge of them, when urged to that duty by the solicitations of the court. Lord Hawkesbury was oflfered the post of premier, but he deemed it too arduous, and on retiring from office received the wardenship of the cinque ports. Every attempt to form an administration from the wreck of the late cabinet having proved unsuccessful, his majesty called in the assistance of lord Grenvillc, and on the third of February the new ministerial ar- rangements were finally settled, embracing the leading members of the three parties, designated by the appellation of the old and new opposition, and the Sidmouth party. The cabinet was composed of the following members : earl Fitzwilliam, president of the council ; lord Erskine, lord chancellor ; vis- count Sidmouth, lord privy-seal ; lord Gren- ville, first lord of the treasury ; lord Ho- wick (late Mr. Grey), first lord of the ad- miralty ; earl Moira, master-general of the ordnance ; earl Spencer, Mr. Fox, and Mr. Windham, secretaries of state for the home, foreign, and war departments; and lord Henry Petty, chancellor of the exchequer. Lord chief justice Ellenborough was also admitted to a seat in the cabinet. The duke of Bedford went to Ireland as lord-lieuten- ant, accompanied by Elliot as chief secreta- ry. Ponsonby was appointed chancellor and keeper of the seals in Ireland, and Sir John Newport chancellor of the Irish exchequer ; lord Minto was appointed president of the board of control ; Sheridan, treasurer of the navy ; general Fitzpatrick, secretary at war ; Sir Arthur Pigott and Sir Samuel Romilly, attorney and solicitor general. In the sub- ordinate offices, likewise, so complete a change had not been eflfected since the com- mencement of Pitt's first administration. Lord Grenville's holding the office of au- ditor of the exchequer, which is incompati- ble with that of first lord of the treasury, rendered it necessary to bring a bill into parliament, to enable him to accept the lat- ter office, without forfeiting the former; and, to palliate the objections that might be made to this equivocal union, his lordship was empowered to name a trustee to hold the office of auditor, so long as he should continue in the situation of first lord of the treasury ; which trustee should be responsi- ble to the auditor for the salary, and to the public for the due execution of his office. The appointment of lord chief justice El- lenborough to a seat in the cabinet was a measure of still more doubtful policy. MILITARY ARRANGEMENTS.— FINANCE. —SLAVE TRADE. On the third of April, Windham submit- ted to the house of commons some important military arrangements. Instead of an en- gagement to serve for life, he proposed that the soldiers in future should be enlisted for a term of years only ; this term to be divi- ded into three periods, of seven years each, for the infantry; and, for the cavalry and artillery, the first period to be ten ; the sec- ond, six ; and the third, five years. At the end of each period the soldier to have a right to claim his discharge, and be entitled to certain advantages proportioned to his GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 13 length of service. Desertion might be pun- ished by the loss of so many years' service ; and though corporal punishments could not, he said, be entirely banished from the army, they might be diminished both in number and severity. The volunteer corps ought only to be formed of persons who would serve at their own expense, and the peasant- ry should be loosely trained to harass and impede an enemy. This training he meant to be compulsory; and that two hundred thousand should be annually liable to that duty. The bills necessary for effecting these arrangements were strongly opposed in eve- ry stage, but finally passed in both houses. On the twenty-eighth day of March the budget was opened by lord Henry Petty, who stated the unredeemed debt of Great Brit- ain and Ireland at nearly five hundred and fifty-six million pounds, and the redeemed «.t one hundred and twenty-seven million pounds, of which the annual charge was nearly twenty-seven million five hundred thousand pounds. The supplies on account of Great Britain were estimated at forty- three million six hundred and eighteen thousand four hundred and seventy-two pounds ; and among the proposed ways and means the most considerable were a loan of eighteen million pounds, and an augmenta- tion of the war taxes to nmeteen million five hundred thousand pounds, to be effected principally by raismg the property tax from six and a half to ten per cent. It was also proposed to raise the war duties on the cus- toms, with certain modifications, from one fourth to one third ; and, in order to cover the interest of the loan, the duty on wine was to be made permanent, and two pounds per ton imposed on pig-iron; the duty on tea was to be equalized ; and a tax on ap- praisements imposed. The property tax bill encountered great opposition, but was pass- ed with some modifications. The tax on iron excited such opposition that it was abandoned, and a tax on private brewers substituted, but this raised a still greater outcry, and the interest of the loan was pro- vided for by an addition of ten per cent, to the assessed taxes. The budget for Ireland was opened by Sir John Newport on the seventh of May, when it appeared that the supply voted for that country was eight million nine hundred and seventy-five thou- sand one hundred and ninety-four pounds; and the ways and means, including a loan of two million pounds, were estimated at nine million one hundred and eighty-one thousand four hundred and fifty-five pounds. Some salutary regulations were adopted in various departments. The balances of the treasurer of the ordnance were ordered to be deposited at the bank of England, and tlie payments to be made by drafts upon that establishment : the same principle was also extended to the excise and customs, to the stamp and post offices, and to the oflBce of surveyor-general of the woods and for- ests ; an act was passed for increasing tlie salaries and abolishing the fees of the cus- tom-house officers of the port of London; and judicious measures were adopted for the settlement of public accounts. The corn trade between Great Britain and Ireland was placed on the same footing as that between the different counties of England, by an act which judiciously allow- ed the free interchange of grain without any bounty, duty, or restraint whatever. An act was also passed for regulating the inter- course between the West Indies and the United States, which vested a discretionary power in his majesty to permit, under cer- tain restrictions, the trade in lumber and provisions carried on by neutrals with the British colonies, with the proviso that no commodities, staves and lumber only ex- cepted, should be imported, which were not of the growth and produce of the countries to which the neutral vessels belonged, and that they should not export the indigenous products of the colonies. The abolition of the slave trade, which had for so many years engrossed the atten- tion of the friends of humanity in this coun- try — which had been supported by the elo- quence of the late prime minister whenever it was brought before parliament, but had as constantly been defeated hy the prevalence of interests which, as minister, he did not choose to oppose — was pursued by the new administration with so much earnestness, that in the present session considerable pro- gress was made towards its accomplishment. A bill was passed, prohibiting the exporta- tion of slaves from the British colonies aft«r the first of January, 1807, and interdicting all subjects of this country from being ac- cessory to the supply of foreign countries with slaves after that period. Another bill soon after passed without opposition, for preventing the increase of the British slave trade, by prohibiting any vessels from em- barking in that traffic which were not al- ready employed therein. The next mea- sure was a resolution moved by Fox on the tenth of June, and which being his last mo- tion, may be said to have closed the parlia- mentary career of that great statesman. The words of the resolution were, " that this house conceiving the African slave trade to be contrary to the principles of jus- tice, humanity, and sound policy, will, with all practicable expedition, take effectual measures for abolishing the said trade, in such manner and at such period as may be deemed advisable." He declared that he was so fully impressed with the vast im' 514 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. portance of attaining the object of his mo- tion, that if, during the almost forty years that he had enjoyed a seat in parhament, he had been so fortunate as to accomplish that, and that only, he could retire from public life with the conscious satisfaction that he had done his duty. The motion was opposed by lord Castlereagh, the members for Liver- pool, and a few in the West India interest; but, on a division, they were only fifteen against one hundred and fourteen, leaving a majority of ninety-nine in favor of the abo- lition. In the lords the same resolution was adopted, on the motion of lord Grenville, by forty-one against twenty. The last step taken on this subject, during the present session, was a joint address from the two houses, beseeching his majesty to take mea- sures for obtainmg the concurrence of for- eign powers in the abolition. IMPEACHMENT OF LORD MELVILLE- PARLIAMENT PROROGUED. The house of commons having resolved to exercise its power of impeachment against lord Melville, managers were duly appoint- ed ; Westminster hall was appropriately fitted up ; and on the twenty-ninth of April the court was opened with the usual forms. The articles, which were ten in number, contained three principal charges. The first was, that, before the tenth of January, 1786, he had applied to his private use and profit various sums intrusted to him as treasurer of the navy. The second was, that he had permitted Trotter, his paymaster, illegally to take from the bank of England large sums issued on account of the treasurer of the navy, and to place those sums in the hands of his private banker. The third was, that he had fraudulently permitted Trotter to apply the said money to purposes of private use and emolument, and had himself de- rived profit therefrom. Lord Melville aver- red that he was not guilty, when Whitbread addressed the court in an elaborate speech, and the solicitor-general recapitulated the evidence. The counsel for lord Melville occupied three days in the defence : on the two following days the managers delivered their reply on the part of the commons : the fiirther proceedings were deferred till the twenty-eighth of May. A motion of thanks to the managers was made on the twenty- third, in the commons, by general Fitzpat- rick, and agreed to with only one dissentient voice. At the appointed period the peers assembled ; the assistance of the judges on certain points of law was resorted to ; and on the twelfth of June their lordships pro- ceeded to deliver their verdict. The result was, that his lordship was acquitted of all the charges ; but on four of the articles the majority in his favor did not amount to dou- ble the number of those who gave a con- trary judgment. The whole number of peers voting was one hundred and thirty-five, and, considering the nature of the proceeding, the trial was conducted with unusual dis- patch. On the twenty-third of July, after a long and busy session, parliament was prorogued by commission. NEGOTIATION FOR PEACE. In February, a project for assassinating Buonaparte was communicated by a foreigner to Fox, who immediately sent a statement of the circumstances to Talleyrand. The French minister, in reply to this letter, took occasion to introduce, unoflficially, an extract from Buonaparte's speech to the Legislative Body, expressive of his wish for peace with England, and his readiness to negotiate, without a moment's delay, agreeably to the treaty of Amiens. Fox considered this com- munication as a distinct overture, and pro- ceeded to answer it in that frank and direct style which is the characteristic of all his public dispatches. He stated the impossi- bility of concluding any treaty unless in con- cert with Russia ; but suggested the practi- cability of some previous discussion of the principal points, and some provisional ar- rangements. A correspondence of some length ensued, in which Talleyrand endea- vored to represent Russia as interposing its authority between two nations fully compe- tent to adjust their own differences: Fox, however, stated explicitly that his majesty was willing to negotiate conjointly with Russia, but not separately ; to which Talley- rand re-urged the former objections, and thus the correspondence closed. Early in June, however, lord Yarmouth, son of the marquis of Hertford, who had been among those detained in France at the commencement of hostilities, arrived in London, and communicated the substance of a conversation with Talleyrand, which had passed at the desire of that minister, for the purpose of conveying the outlines of the terms on which peace might be restored. Three specific offers were held out as in- ducements to Great Britain to treat, viz. the restoration of Hanover; the possession of Sicily, as a consequence of the principle of the uti possidetis ; and a facility in the ar- rangement of the form of treating, which, without recognizing the claim of a joint negotiation, would not impair the advantages which Great Britain and Russia might de- rive from their alliance. Talleyrand, in the first interview with lord Yarmouth after his return to Paris, not only departed entirely from his oflfer of Sicily, but indulged him- self in vain allusions to further demands, and in peremptory representations of the necessity of negotiating with some persons duly empowered to treat. This deviation GEORGE IIL 1760—1820. 515 from the original overtures was viewed by the British ministry as an indication of the little reliance tliat could be placed on the sincerity of the French negotiators; lord Yarmouth was therefore directed to insist generally on the recurrence to the original overtures, and to make the readmission of Sicily the sine qua non of the production of his full powers, which, to avoid all pre- tence of cavil, were conveyed to him with- out delay. In the mean time the Russian plenipotentiary, M. D'Oubril, who had ar- rived at Paris on the tenth of July, had signed a separate peace with the French government, and returned to St. Petersburgh without communicating to lord Yarmouth some of its most material articles. In this posture of affairs lord Lauderdale was dis- patched to Paris. The health of Fox began at this period to decline, and the nomination of his personal friend, and tried political ad- herent, was a pledge that the cabinet con- tinued to promote his views, and consult the spirit of his policy. The first endeavor of lord Lauderdale was to bring back the French government to the basis of the uti possidetis ; but the negotia- tors, Champagny, minister of the interior, and general Clarke, contrived, under vari- ous pretences, to procrastinate, till it be- came the policy of Britain, as well as of France, to await the decision of the court of St. Petersburgh on the treaty which M. D'Oubril had carried thither. On the third of September, a courier brought the intelli- gence to Paris that the emperor of Russia ha^l refused to ratify it; and Talleyrand communicated this information to the Brit- ish negotiator the day after its arrival, as- suring him that France was now prepared to make peace with England on more favor- able terms than she otJberwise would have been disposed to admit ; but, as the abandon- ment of Russia was to be the price, the British cabinet determined not to listen to any such projects. A series of unsatisfac- tory discussions ensued, which lasted until Buonaparte left Paris for the army on the ilhine, accompanied by Talleyrand, and one of the plenipotentiaries, general Clarke, (vhampagny, who remained to conduct the negotiation, was neither authorized to relin- fjuish the claims of Joseph Buonaparte upon Sicily, nor to acquiesce in such an arrange- ment as would have satisfied the court of St„ Petersburgh ; the negotiation was there- fore at an end, and lord Lauderdale returned to England. Ilis passports were accompa- nied by a note, insinuating that the princi- ples of Fox had been abandoned by his col- leagues and successors ; to which lord l^u- derdale delivered a spirited reply. That the English ministers were sincere in their desire for peace ie unquestionable ; but that the commercial part of the nation, at least, did not participate in this wish, is proved by the fact that, though the grounds upon which the discussions had broken off were unknown, the intelligence of lord Lauderdale's departure from Paris was re- ceived at the Royal Exchange in London with triumphant shouts of applause. DEATH OF FOX— MINISTERIAL APPOINT- MENTS.— DISSOLUTION OF THE PAR. LIAMENT. Fox's accession to power, while laboring under indisposition, whatever political hopes it might excite, was a circumstance preg- nant to himself of inconvenience and dan- ger. The business of the house of commons he was, in a few months, obliged to aban- don ; but, with this deduction from his harassing employments, the remainder press- ed too heavily upon him, and it was not long before the most decided indications of dropsy appeared. After a series of increasing lan- guors, this great man closed his connexion with all mortal scenes at Chiswick, at the seat of the duke of Devonshire, on the thir- teenth of September, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. The public regret for his lose subdued for a time the conflicting prejudices of party, and an unanimous homage was paid to those great and amiable qualities which won the cordial affection of his friends, and the generous admiration of his adversa- ries. His funeral, though performed at pri- vate expense, was attended by tlie most dis- tinguished characters in the country, and an immense assemblage of the general popula- tion. In person, he was about the middle size, and, as he advanced in life, very cor- pulent. The independence of his mind and frankness of his manners were unalloyed by any portion of asperity : he was the firm and consistent advocate of liberty, civil and religious; and the powerful and frequent application of his talents to popular purposes procured him the general appellation of "the man of the people." As a public speaker, his manner was not graceful, but it was peculiarly animated and impressive. As a minister, he displayed the same noble sim- plicity and plain dealing which character- ized his conduct in private life. Peace was the darling wish of his heart, though he would have scorned to purchase that bless- ing by the slightest sacrifice of national honor. Having commenced a negotiation, he was spared the pain of seeing the intri- cate policy of modern times triumph over his favorite object ; and with the satisfaction of leaving the old associates of his public career in the employment of the state, and in the consequent possession of rewards and honors, " I die happy" were nearly the last words he uttered. On the death of Fox, lord Howick w«0 616 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. appointed to the foreign office; Grenville, first lord of the admiralty, took the place of lord Howick ; Tierney, president of the board of control, in the place of Grenville, who had succeeded to that office, with a seat in the cabinet, on the appointment of lord Minto to the government of India ; lord Sidmoath to succeed to tlie presidency of the council, from which earl Fitzwilliam, on account of ill health, was desirous to withdraw; and lord Holland, the nephew of Fox, to succeed lord Sidmouth as lord privy-seal. A disso- lution of parliament, after a remarkably short duration, immediately and unexpectedly fol- lowed ; and, though the returns to the new one were such as to add to the weight and influence of the friends of administration in tlie house of commons, the experiment was not, on the whole, attended with much success. ADMIRAL DUCKWORTH'S VICTORY. — CAPTURE OF THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE— SIR HOME POPHAM'S EXPEDI- TION TO BUENOS AYRES. At the close of the preceding year, ad- miral Villaumez, accompanied by Jerome Buonaparte, succeeded in escaping from port, with eleven sail of the line, and a number of frigates. After continuing in company for ten days, the fleet separated into two squadrons, one of which, consisting of five ships of the line, two frigates, and a cor- vette, under the command of admiral Le Seigle, steered for St. Domingo, where a body of troops and a supply of ammunition were disembarked for the use of the colony. On the sixth of February, admiral Sir J. T. Duckworth, with seven ships of the line and four frigates, discovered the enemy to wind- ward of Ocoa bay, and, after a furious action, three ships of the line struck; the other two were driven on shore and burnt, and the smaller vessels got off. The other squadron of Villaumez, amounting to six sail of the line, with three frigates, was originally des- tined for the Cape of Good Hope ; but hav- ing been informed of the capture of that settlement by the English, they steered to the coast of Brazil, and thence to the West indies. In June, admiral Cochrane, who had only four sail of the line and three frigates, discovered them near Barbadoes, but did not consider it safe to hazard an engagement with such a disparity of force ; their ruin, however, was soon after accomplished by the fury of the elements, being separated by a tremendous gale of wind on the eighteenth of August The French admiral's vessel reached the Havannah with extreme difficul- ty, three were destroyed on the American coast, another escaped into Brest, and the Veteran, seventy-four, commanded by Jerome Buonaparte, was stranded on the coast of Brittany. The captain and crew got on shore. Admiral Linois had long; carried on a pre- datory warfare in the Indian seas, and the Isle of France had been the grand depot of the plunder he had collected, whence, in dif- ferent bottoms, it had been transferred to France ; and thither the admiral's ship, the Marengo, of eighty guns, and the Belle Poule, of forty, were this year bending their course, looking forward to the splendid en- joyment of the produce of their toil. These hopes, however, were frustrated by Sir J. B. Warren, with one of the squadrons which had been dispatched in pursuit of Jerome Buonaparte. On the morning of the thir- teenth of March, the French ships were see to windward, and, after a running light o three hours, were compelled to strike, thus affording some atonement for their depreda- tions on our commerce. Five large frigates and two corvettes, with troops on board for the West Indies, having escaped from Rochefort in September, were met at sea by a British squadron under Sir Samuel Hood, who, after a running fight of several hours, captured four of them. The loss of the English was small, but Sir Samuel unfortunately lost his arm. Several distin- guished actions of a minor nature occurred in the course of the year. An expedition against the Cape of Good Hope, consisting of about five thousand troops, under Sir David Baird, with a naval force, comminded by Sir Home Popham, sailed from England in ^August, 1805, and arrived on the fourth of January following. On the eighth the army moved forward, and, having dislodged the enemy's light troops, their main body, estimated at five thousand men, was discovered in motion, to anticipate the approach of the Britisli ; they, however, forced the Batavians to a precipitate retreat. The governor-general, Jansens, seemed dis- posed to maintain himself in the interior ; but general Beresford being sent against him, he was prevailed upon to surrender, on condition of his forces being conveyed to Holland at the expense of the British gov- ernment, and not considered prisoners of war. Sir Home Popham, who in 1804 had been appointed to confer with the insurgent gen- eral Miranda, concerning his views on South America, had long entertained an idea tiiat an expedition should be sent against the Spanish settlements on the Rio de la Plata ; and having been successful at the Cape, he turned his thoughts to the conquest of Bue- nos Ayres, taking upon himself a high and extraordinary degree of responsibility. Hav- ing persuaded Sir David Baird to furnish a small body of troops, imder general Beres- ford, he directed his course to St. Helena, where he obtained a small reinforcement to hia little army, which, after all, did not ex- GEORGE in. 1760—1820. 517 ceed sixteen hundred men, including ma rines. With this inadequate force he arriv- ed at the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, in the beginning of June, and on the twenty-fourth landed the troops without resistance, about twelve miles from Buenos Ayres. After dispersing a body of Spaniards, who fled at the first fire, general Beresford entered the city on the twenty-seventh, the viceroy hav- ing retreated to Cordova with the small body of troops under his command. While the army was thus employed, the line-of-battle ships of the squadron made demonstrations before Monte Video and Maldanado, in which were stationed the regular troops of the col- ony, while the defence of Buenos Ayres, supposed, from its situation, to be less liable to attack, had been committed to the militia. Favorable terms were granted to the inhab- itants, and the property of individuals on shore was respected, but a great booty was made of the public money and commodities, and of the shipping in the river. The Spaniards were at first taken by sur- prise ; but, on recovering fi-om their panic, they collected the few troops they had in the neighborhood, under the direction of Liniers, a French colonel in the Spanish service, who crossed the river in a fog, on the fourth of August, with about one thou- sand men, unobserved by the English cruis- ers. On the twelfth a desperate action took place in the streets and great square of the town, when the English were ultimately compelled to surrender themselves prisoners of war ; but, contrary to the articles of ca- pitulation, they were marched up the coun- try. Their loss amounted to one hundred and sixty-five killed, wounded, and missing, besides thirteen hundred made prisoners. Sir Home Popham blockaded the river till October, when the arrival of troops from the Cape enabled him to attempt Monte Video, in which he was unsuccessful. On the twenty-ninth a body of troops was landed at Maldanado, and the Spaniards were driven from thence and from the isle of Gorriti. Lord Howick, on the nmeteenth of De- cember, announced the recall of Sir Home Popham in terms of severe reprehension; and on the seventeenth of February follow- ing, that officer arrived in London, when he was put under a formal arrest, preparatory to trial by a court-martial, for acting with- out orders, and for leaving the Cape in an unprotected state. After an able defence, tlie court adjudged him to be severely re- primanded. DISPUTE WITH AMERICA. Differences had existed, for a consider- able time, between the United States of America and Spain, arising out of the ill-de- fined boundaries of Louisiana, and the Spon- VoL. IV. 44 iards had made inroads on the district of New-Orleans and the Mississippi, even in those parts which had been unequivocally ceded to the United States. Some disputes be- tween America and the English government also assumed an important character. The complaint of the United States involved three points: first. The practice of impressing Brit- ish seamen found on board American mer- chant vessels on the high seas ; second, The violation of their rights, as neutrals, by seiz- ing and condemning their merchantmen, though engaged in what they considered a lawful commerce ; and, third, The mfringe- ment of their maritime jurisdiction upon their own coasts. On the first point, it was urged that native Americans were impressed on pretence of their being Englishmen, and forced to serve in the British navy ; and the public mind in the United States was in- flamed with exaggerated reports, stating that thousands of their citizens were in this situation. The second ground of complaint arose from a desire, on the part of the Amer- icans, not only to trade with the colonies of a belligerant, in a manner that would not be allowed in a time of peace, but to become the carriers of their produce to the mother country, protecting it, at the same time, mi- der their neutral flag. The third point, which merely required that the extent of their maritime jurisdiction should be defined, admitted of easy arrangement. An amicable adjustment of these diffisr- ences being equally desirable to both parties, a special mission was appointed to England, and conferences were opened in London by lords Holland and Aukland on the part of Great Britain, and by Messrs. Monroe and Pinckney on that of America. After some deliberations respecting an efficient substi- tute for the practice of impressment, the latter consented, though in opposition to their instructions, to pass to the other subjects of negotiation, on receiving an assurance that the right should be exercised with great caution, and immediate redress afforded on representation of any injury. On the subject of intercourse with the colonies of the ene- my, a rule was established for defining the diflference between a continuous and an interrupted voyage; and it was expressly stipulated that upon re-exportation there should remain, after the drawback, 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 guar- antied, and some commercial stipulations were framed for the reciprocal advantage of the two countries; but the American president, Mr. Jefferson, refused to ratify the treaty. 518 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. JOSEPH BUONAPARTE MADE KING OF NAPLES— BATTLE OF MAIDA. The king of Naples, by a treaty con- cluded at Paris, in September, 1805, had engaged to repel, by force, every encroach- ment on his neutrality : scarcely, however, had six weeks elapsed, when a squadron of English and Russian vessels was permitted to land a borly of forces in Naples and its vicinity. This being considered by Buona- parte as an act of perfidy deserving the se- verest punishment, he issued a proclama- tion, on the morning after the signature of the treaty of Presburg, declaring that the Neapolitan dynasty had ceased to reign ; and a French army, under Joseph Buonaparte, who assumed the sovereignty, immediately marched into Naples, when all the fortresses, except Gaeta and another, surrendered by capitulation. The new king was received with those acclamations and addresses which can always be procured by power ; and the heir-apparent retired into his dukedom of Calabria, where general Damas, a French emigrant, was endeavoring to organize a levy en masse : the province, however, was speedily reduced by general Regnier. Sir James Craig, with the English army, accom- panied the royal family to Sicily, and in April was succeeded in his command by Sir John Stuart. Sir Sidney Smith took the command of many were to be occupied and governed by the English squadron destined for the de fence of Sicily. — After throwing succors into Gaeta, which was gallantly defended by the prince of Hesse Philipstal, he took possession of the isle of Capri, and proceeded along the coast, exciting alarm, and keeping up a communication with the Calabrese. At the urgent solicitation of the court of Palermo, the English general consented to employ a part of his force in Calabria, and, on the first of July, landed in the gulf of St Eufemia, near the northern frontier of Ix)wer Calabria, with about four thousand eight hundred men. The French general, Regnier, made a rapid march from Reggio, and on the third encamped at Maida, alwut ten miles distant from the English army, with a force nearly equal, and in daily ex- pectation of reinforcements. Being deter- mined to give battle without delay, Sir John Stuart advanced the next morning, and found the French in a strong position below the village, their force augmented to seven thousand men, the expected detachments havino- joined. Regnier, confident in his superiority, quitted his post to meet the as- sailants on the plain, when the English, not dismayed at the unexpected increase of his numbers, advanced with alacrity to the at- tack ; and, after some firing, both sides pre- pared for close combat ; but the French gave way when the bayonets began to cross, and, the English receiving a reinforcement at this critical juncture, the French precipitately abandoned the field, with the loss of about seven hundred killed and a thousand prisoners. The British loss was forty-five killed and two hundred and eighty-two wounded. This bril- liant action, though it did not lead to the re- covery of Naples, preserved Sicily from inva- sion, and compelled the French to evacuate Calabria. General Stuart, however, aware that his small force would be inadequate to the permanent defence of the country, retired to Sicily, leaving a garrison in the strong fort of Scylla. The fall of Gaeta, which took place soon after the battle of Maida, set at liberty a force of sixteen thousand men, which, in conjunction with the powerful ar- my under Massena, who was sent to subdue the Calabrese, slowly effected that purpose. OCCUPATION OF HANOVER BY PRUSSIA- —CONFEDERATION OF THE RHINE. The court of Prussia, which still vacilla- ted greatly in its politics, addressed a procla- mation on the twenty-seventh of January to the inhabitants of Hanover, in which it was observed, that, after the events which ter- minated in the peace of Presburg, the only means of preserving the country from the flames of war consisted in forming a con- vention with Buonaparte, in virtue of which the states of his Britannic majesty in Ger- Prussia till the return of peace. This pro- ceeding called forth an official note from Fox, addressed to baron Jacobi, the Prussian minister in London, desiring him explicitly to inform his court that no convenience or political arrangement, much less any offer of equivalent or indemnity, would ever in- duce his majesty to consent to the alienation of the electorate. The disposition shown by Prussia to hold Hanover conditionally, did not, however, please Buonaparte, who dic- tated new terms; and another treaty was signed on the fifteenth of February, by whicli Prussia was bound, not only to annex it to her dominions, but to exclude British ves- sels and commerce from her ports. The in- dignity offered to Great Britain by these proceedings demanded prompt retaliation: the rivers Ems, Weser, Elbe, and Trave, were accordingly blockaded ; a general em- bargo was laid on all Prussian vessels in British harbors ; and the English mission at Berlin was recalled. These measures were announced to parliament, on the twenty-first of April, in a message which was answered by unanimous addresses of thanks from both houses; and the strongest animadversions were directed against Prussia for her abject submission to the will of Buonaparte. In addition to her war with England, the subserviency of Prussia to France involved her in hostilities with Sweden. The troops GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 19 of that power, who occupied Luneburg on behalf of the king of England, having op- posed the entrance of the Prussians, were compelled, after a slight resistance, to retreat into Mecklenburg; on which the king of Sweden laid an embargo upon all Prussian vessels in his harbors, and blockaded her ports in the Baltic. To counteract these measures, Prussia was preparing to expel the Swedes from Pomerania, when a new revolution in her politics took place, which gave a different direction to her arms. The feelings of the Prussian nation were hostile to France ; and the queen, young, beautiful, and persuasive, indignant at the usurpations and insults of Buonaparte, joined in the same cause. The first public act of the cabinet of St. Cloud, which gave serious alarm to the court of Berlin, was the investiture of Murat with the dutchies of Berg and Cleves, the latter of which was one of the three prov- inces obtained from Prussia in exchange for Hanover; the other two, Anspach and Bayreuth, being transferred to Bavaria for the dutchy of Berg. But a deeper injury awaited the Prussian government : while La- forest, the French resident at Berlin, was urging the ministers of that court to persist in the measures they had adopted for the retention of Hanover, Lucchesini, the Prus- sian minister at Paris, discovered that the French governmpnt had offered to Great Britain the complete restitution of the elec- toral dominions. Fortunately, however, as Prussia then thought, the negotiation be- tween France and Russia was broken off by the refusal of the court of St. Petersburgh to ratify the treaty concluded by M. D'Oubril. But this event, while it opened to Prussia the prospect of assistance, in case she should be driven to a war with France, disclosed to her further proof of the secret enmity of the cabinet of St. Cloud ; it now appearing, for the first time, that distinct hints had been given to M. D'Oubril, that, if his court was desirous of annexing any part of Polish Prussia to its dominions, no opposition would be interposed by France. The peace of Presburg had lefl the forms of the Germanic constitution entire: the residence of the French troops in Germany, however, in consequence of the protracted occupation of Cattaro by the Russians, ma- tured the establishment of a new confede- ration of princes, at the head of which Buo- naparte should himself be placed. This project was arranged with extvaonlinary promptitude ; and on the twelllb of July the act of confederation was executed at Paris. The members were, the emperor of the French, the kings of Bavaria end V/irtem- burg, the archbisliop of Ratisbon, the elec- tor of Baden, the duke of Bersr, the land- grave of Hesse Darmstadt, and several mi- nor German princes, who, separating them- selves from the Germanic empire, appointed a diet to meet at Frankfort to manage their public concerns, and settle their diflcrences; and chose Buonaparte for their protector. They established among themselves a fede- ral alliance, by which, if one of them enga- ged in a continental war, all tlie others were bound to take part in it, and to contribute their contingent of troops in the following proportions: — France, two hundred thou- sand; Bavaria, thirty thousand; Wirtem- burg, twelve thousand ; Baden, three thou- sand ; Berg, five thousand ; Darmstadt, four thousand; Nassau, Hohenzollern, and others, four thousand ; making a total of two hun- dred and fifty-eight thousand men. A num- ber of petty princes were deprived of their ancient rights of sovereignty, and these were transferred, without equivalent or in- demnity, to the members of this federal union. The imperial city of Nuremberg was given to the king of Bavaria, and that of Frankfort on the Maine to the archbishop of Ratisbon, formerly elector and arch-chancel- lor of the empire, and now prince primate of " the confederation of the Rhine." The house of Austria, thus stripped of its honors, was compelled to lay down the title of Emperor of Germany, which, by a formal deed of renunciation, was resigned by Fran- cis the second, retaining only the more hum- ble one of Emperor of Austria. The acqui- escence of Prussia in these arrangements was purchased by the delusive hope that she would be permitted to form a confederation of states in the north of Germany, under her protection, as the confederation of the Rhine was under that of France: but no sooner had the submission of Austria been secured than Prussia was told that Buona- parte could not permit her to include the Hanseatic towns in her plan, being deter- mined to take them under his own protec- tion ; and, as the elector of Saxony was un- willing to contract the new obligations which Prussia wished to impose on him, France could not see him forced to act against the interests of his people. The elector of Hesse Cassel was invited to join the confederation of the Rhine, and some territorial addition was offered him, but he rejected the proposal, and a resohition was passed, by which he was cut off from access to part of his own states. TITLES CONFERRED BY BUONAPARTE ON HIS FOLLOWERS— MURDER OF PALM. Buonaparte had no sooner abolislied the name of republic in France, thpn he souTht to extinrruish that appellation in the other states of Europe. Amon<'-st other transform- ations, his yo'insrer brother, Louis, was se- lected to be king of Holland, and unwill- 520 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ingly drag-ged from the gaieties of Paris, to rule over a laborious and impoverished people. The new constitution which ac- companied the king- had no guarantee but the will of its author, nor did he attempt to disguise that he considered Holland as virtu- ally a province of France. Buonaparte also strengthened his connexion with Bavaria, by the union of a princess of that house with his step-son, Eugene Beauharnois, whom he adopted as his successor in the kingdom of Italy. He created a number of dutchies in the countries conquered by France, and chiefly in Italy, which he con- ferred on those who had distinguished them- selves in his service. Berthier was created prince of Neufchatel ; Bernadotte, prince of Ponte Corvo; and Talleyrand, prince of Benevento. Many of the marshals and gen- erals were raised to the rank of dukes. Buonaparte's sister, Paulina, the wife of the prince Borghese, received the principality of Guastalla ; and his uncle, cardinal Fesch, was appointed coadjutor and successor of the archbishop of Ratisbon. Whilst Buonaparte was carrying these projects into effect, the pressure of the French armies upon Germany was extreme, and a spirit of resistance was excited in a variety of publications, which soon attract- ed the notice of the French government. Orders were in consequence given for the apprehension of various booksellers, among whom the fate of John Palm, a resident of Nuremberg, an imperial town of Germany, possessing laws and tribunals of its own, at- tracted particular notice. This person, the publisher of a pamphlet, entitled " Germany in the lowest state of degradation," was ar- rested by order of the French government, and dragged to Braunau, charged with the publication of a libel against the French emperor. A court-martial was immediately summoned, and, after sitting for three days, M. Palm was sentenced to be shot, which was carried into execution on the following day. FOURTH COALITION AGAINST FRANCE- BATTLE OF JENA.— BERLIN DECREE. At length the court of Berlin assumed a tone of firmness; the king of Sweden cher- ished the prospect which seemed thus to be afforded of checking the power of Buona- parte ; the Prussian vessels detained in Brit- ish ports were speedily liberated ; and lord Morpeth was dispatched to Berlin, with of- fers of assistance in the fourth coalition that was at this time forming against France. On the twenty-fourth of September Buona- parte quitted Paris, to join the armies : so late, however, as the fifth of October, a dis- patch was delivered from the Prussian out- posts to the French army, which still afford- ed an opening for amicable adjustment. Within a few days after, a declaration, stating the grounds of the war, was pub- lished by the Prussian cabinet. The French, who had for some time been concentrating their forces at Bamberg, ad- vanced in three divisions against the Prus- sian army, which had taken a strong posi- tion along the north of Frankfort on the Maine. The campaign opened on the ninth of October, when the left of the Prussians was turned, and they were compelled to re- treat with considerable loss: on the tenth, the left wing of the French army, under marshal Lannes, was successful at Saalfield, where prince Louis of Prussia was killed. The main body of the Prussians occupied Eysenach, Gotha, Erfurt, and Weimar, but the arrangements of the duke of Bruns- wick, to whom, at the advanced age of sev- enty-one, the chief command was confided, were suddenly changed, in consequence of his right wing being unexpectedly turned by the French, who gained the eastern bank of the Saal, and cut him off from his re- sources. On the morning of the fourteenth the great battle of Auerstadt or Jena commenc- ed, m which two hundred and fifty thousand men, with seven hundred pieces of artillery, scattered death in every direction. The courage and discipline on each side were perhaps equal ; but the military rkill was greatly superior on the \:iiri o'' ' ' -:" I'^ench, and after a most dreadful conflict the Prus- sians were finally defeated in every quarter. Their loss in killed and wounded exceeded twenty thousand ; from thirty to forty thou- sand were made prisoners ; and three hun- dred pieces of cannon, with immense maga- zines, were taken : among the prisoners were more than twenty generals ; marshal Mollendorf was wounded, and the duke of- Brunswick and general Ruchel were killed. The French stated their loss at from four to five thousand men : the victory, however, was complete, and decided the fate of the campaign. All the principal towns in the electorate of Brandenburg, though strongly garrison- ed, surrendered almost without resistance. Spandau and Stettin opened their gates on being invested, and Magdeburg, with a gar- rison of twenty-two thousand men, capitu- lated to Ney, after a few bombs had been thrown into the city. Berlin was entered on the twenty-fifth, and the king of Prussia retreated toKoningsberg, where, with scarce- ly fifty thousand men, he av/aited the arrival of whatever assistance might be afforded by Russia. Mecklenburg was also taken possession of by the French ; and Hanover v/as occu- pied by general Mortier. Their next object ^vas the possession of Hamburgh, M'herc all GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 521 British property was placed under sequestra- tion ; the merchants and bankers were re- quired to exhibit their accounts, summary punishment, by martial law, being denounc- ed ag-ainst those who should make false re- turns ; and the English who remained in the city were put under arrest. These proceedings were the prelude to a decree issued by Buonaparte at Berlin on the twentieth of November, which after- wards became so memorable under the de- ,>*ignation of the " Berlin decree." This edict alleged that England had violated the laws of nations, in considering every individual belonging to a hostile state as an actual en- emy, whether found on board vessels of mer- chandise, or otherwise engaged in commer- cial occupations ; that slie had extended her right of blockade beyond all reasonable lim- its — to places where, with all her naval su- periority, it was impossible for her actually to maintain it ; that the monstrous abuse of this right had no other object but to aggran- dize England by the ruin of the continent ; that all who dealt in English commodities, miglit, therefore, be justly regarded as her accomplices ; and that, as it was a right con- ferred by the laws of nature and of nations, to oppose to an enemy the weapons he em- ploys against his adversary, it was decreed, tliat till the English government should abandon this system, the British isles should be placed hi a state of blockade, and all cor- respondence with her interdicted. This vio- lent decree, and the apprehension of retali- atory measures on the part of England, oc- casioned great dismay in the commercial cities of the contment. OPERATIONS IN SILESIA AND SWEDISH POMERANIA.— TREATY OF TILSIT. After the battle of Jena, Buonaparte ob- tained further success over the detached and broken forces of the king of Prussia, and over several bodies of Russian troops which crossed the Vistula to assist Prussia ; he thus was enabled to overrun all Silesia, to take Breslau and other fortresses, and to lay siege to the city of Dantzic ; but that im- portant place did not surrender till the twenty-seventh of May. He then penetrated into Poland, and after a series of severe con- flicts the French and Russian armies fought on the fourteenth of June the sanguinary and decisive battle of Friedland, which the French classed among their most splendid victories. One of its immediate conse- quences was the capture of Koningsberg, containing large stores of grain, and one hundred and sixty thousand English mus- kets, which had not yet been landed. The Russians retreated towards the Niemen, crossed that river at Tilsit, burned the 44* bridge, and continued their march to the eastward. The emperor Alexander and the king of Prussia, who had been there during the last three weeks, retired to Memel, that town and its territory being all tliat remain- ed in the possession of the latter sovereign. Buonaparte entered Tilsit on the nine- teenth of June ; and on the twenty-second an armistice was concluded, by which it was agreed that there should be an immediate exchange of prisoners, and that plenipoten- tiaries should be instantly appointed to ne- gotiate a peace. Three days afterwards an interview took place between the emperor Alexander and Buonaparte, on a raft which had been constructed upon the Niemen. The conference lasted two hours, and was attended with mutual expressions of regard. On the seventh of July the arrangements of pacification were completed. Prussia was deprived of all her territories on the left bank of the Elbe, and of all her Polish prov- inces, except those situated between Pome- rania and the Newmarke, and ancient Prus- sia, to the north of the little river Netz. The elector, now king of Saxony, took also the title of duke of Warsaw, and was to have free communication by a military road through the Prussian territory, with his new dominions, which were to consist of Thorn, Warsaw, and the rest of Prussian Poland, except that part to the north of the Bug, which was incorporated with the dominions of the emperor Alexander. Dantzic was in future to be an independent town ; East Friesland was added to the kingdom of Hol- land ; a new dominion, under the designa- tion of the kingdom of Westphalia, was formed of the provinces ceded by Prussia, and others in the possession of Buonaparte ; and the recognition of Jerome Buonaparte as its sovereign, also of the kings of Hol- land and Naples, and of all the present and future members of the confederation of the Rhine, was stipulated. Prussia consented to become a party in the maritime war against England ; the emperor of Russia and Buo- naparte mutually guarantied to each other the integrity of their possessions, and of tliose of the other powers included m the treaty ; the offer of a mediation to effect a peace between France and England was ac- cepted, on the condition that England should, within one month, admit it ; and the em- peror of Russia agreed to accept the media- tion of Buonaparte for the conclusion of peace with the Ottoman Porte. The king of Sweden refused to accede to the treaty of Tilsit, and attempted the defence of Pomerania ; but his efforts were unavailing. He, however, succeeded in withdrawing his forces from Stralsund, and returned into Sweden. 522 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. WAR WITH TURKEY AND RUSSIA— EX PEDITION TO CONSTANTIiNOPLE AND EGYPT. Towards the close of the year 1806, war had been declared by Turkey against Rus- sia ; and to oblige the Turks to accede to terms of accommodation, by which a force would be released from this southern war- fare, and enabled to swell the Russian army in Poland, a British fleet, under the com- mand of Sir J. T. Duckworth, advanced through the Dardanelles on the nineteenth f)f February, with orders to bombard Con- stantinople, if certain terms were not ac- ceded to. In passing between Sestos and Abydos they sustained a heavy fire, which they retaliated very severely, and the Turk- ish squadron was driven on shore and burnt by Sir Sidney Smith. The English then an- chored near the Prince's Isles, about eight miles from Constantinople ; and a proposal was made to spare the city on condition that the Turkish fleet should be surrendered, which was of course rejected, and defensive measures being pursued with the greatest activity. Sir J. T. Duckworth prepared for his departure while the passage of the Dar- danelles was still practicable. On the first of March he repassed the castles, in which he sustained considerable loss, and thus, in- stead of producing accommodation between Russia and the Porte, a new power was added to the list of England's enemies. The British agents and settlers in the Turkish territories were exposed to considerable an- noyance ; the seizure and sequestration of English property at Smyrna, Salonica, and other places, were ordered by the Porte, with a promptitude which precluded all op- portunity for precaution ; the power of France over the divan became materially strengthened; and Sebastiana, the French ambassador at Constantinople, was consulted on almost every emergency. In this war between Russia and the Porte, the former was, however, generally successful ; and, to add to the disasters of the Turks, an insur- rection arose during its progress, owing to some new regulations in the dress and dis- cipline of the troops, which terminated in the deposition of the grand seignior, Selim the third, and the proclamation of Mustapha the fourth. By sea, the Russians were equally successful as by land ; and in an en- gagement between the Russian and Turkish fleets, fought on the 1st of .Tuly, near the entrance to the Dardanelles, the latter, con- sisting of eleven sail of the line, was nearly annihilated. The failure of the weak and injudicious attempt on Constantinople was followed by the disappointment of another expedition which was sent against another seat of the Ottoman power. On the sixth of March, a force of five thousand men, under the com- mand of major-general Mackenzie Eraser, sailed from Messina, and having effected a landing near Alexandria, speedily compelled that city to capitulate. Ulterior operations against Rosetta and Rhamanie were unsuc- cessful, and the troops retreated, fighting all the way to Alexandria, where they remained till September, when general Fraser, unable to cope with the enemy, entered into a ne- gotiation ; and having obtained the restora- tion of the British prisoners, consented to evacuate Egypt CAPTURE OF MONTE VIDEO— UNSUC- CESSFUL ATTACK ON BUENOS AYRES. —GENERAL WHITELOCKE CASHIERED. Some hopes were entertained that the reverses in the Mediterranean would be compensated by successes in South America, In October, 1806, ministers had sent out a reinforcement to the river Plate, under the command of Sir Samuel Auchmuty, and convoyed by Sir Charles Stirling, who was appointed to supersede Sir Home Popham m the naval command on that station. On arri- ving at Maldanado, Sir Samuel determined to attack the strong fortress of Monte Video, the key of the river Plate; and on the eighteenth of January the troops, amounting to about four thousand men, were landed near the place, and repulsed a superior force which had been ordered out against them. A battery was erected, which, though ex- posed to the incessant fire of the enemy, effected a practicable breach on the second of February; and orders were issued that the assault should be made next morning, an hour before daybreak. The enemy, in the mean time, had so barricaded the breach with hides, that the head of the assailing column could not in the darkness distinguish it from the untouched wall; and the men remained under a galling fire for a quarter of an hour^ when it was at length discovered by captain Renny, vv^ho fell gloriously as he mounted it ; the gallant soldiers then forced their way into the town, overturning the cannon which had been placed at the head of the principal avenues, and clearing the batteries and the streets with their bayonets. By sunrise all was in possession of the British except the citadel, which soon surrendered ; and early in the morning, highly to the credit of the troops, all was perfectly quiet When intelligence arrived in England of the recapture of Buenos Ayres by the Spaniards, orders were sent by a fast-sailing vessel to direct general Craufiird, who had been sent against Chili with four thousand two hundred men, accompanied by a naval force under admiral Murray, to proceed with his armament to the river Plate. On the fourteenth of June, he reached Monte Video, where he found general Whitelocke, GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 523 who had arrived on the ninth of May from England, with a reinforcement of sixteen hundred men, and to whom was intrusted the chief command of the British forces in South America, with orders to reduce the whole province of Buenos Ayres. Having, after fatiguing marches, nearly surrounded the town, he ordered a general attack to be made on the fifth of July, each corps to enter by the streets opposite to it, and all with unloaded muskets. The service was exe- cuted with great intrepidity, but with the loss of two thousand five hundred men, in killed, wounded, and prisoners. No mode of attack could have been so ill adapted against a town consisting of flat-roofed houses, disposed in regular streets, intersecting each other at right angles. Volleys of grape-shot were poured on our columns in front and in flank as they advanced ; and they were as- sailed also from the house-tops with hand- grenades and other destructive missiles. Sir Samuel Auchmuty succeeded in making himself master of the Plaza de Toros, where he took eighty-two pieces of cannon and an immense quantity of ammunition. General Craufurd with his brigade was cut off from all communication with the other columns, and was obliged to surrender ; as was also lieutenant-colonel Duff", witli a detachment under his command. On the following morn- ing, general Liniers ofl^ered to deliver up the prisoners taken on this occasion, and also those taken from general Beresford, on con- dition that the attack on the town should be discontinued ; and that within two months from that date, Monte Video, and the other stations on the river Plate, occupied by the English troops, should be evacuated. He added that the exasperation of the populace against the English prisoners was unbounded ; and that if hostilities were continued, it would be impossible to insure their safety. These terms were no sooner proposed than they were yielded to by general White- locke, whose conduct called forth the most severe reprehension ; and on his return to England he was tried by a court-martial, cashiered, and declared totally unfit and un- worthy to serve his majesty in any military capacity. CAPTURE OF CURACOA— INSURRECTION IN INDIA. Against these misfortunes, the solitary acquisition of the Dutch island of Curacoa is to be recorded. On the first of January, 1807, the capture was effected with incon- siderable loss, by a squadron of four frigates under the command of captain Brisbane. The tranquillity of British India was in- terrupted in July, 1806, by an insurrection of the sepoys or native troops in the pay of the company, who attacked the European barracks at Vellore, and massacred one hundred and sixty-four men before they were quelled. A rumor, that it was the wish of the British government to convert the sepoys by forcible means to Christianity, was the cause of this disaflfection. 524 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. CHAPTER XXXYII. A new Parliament — The late Negotiations — Finance — Abolition of the Slave Trade — Change of Administration — Dissolution of Parliament — New Election — New Mili- tary Plan — Bill respecting Ireland — Reversions — Prorogation — Expedition against Copenhagen — Capture of the Danish Fleet — War with Denmark — With Russia — Restrictions on Commerce — Action between a British and American Frigate — Cap- ture of the Danish West India Islands — The French enter Portugal — The Royal Family embark for Brazil — Affairs of Spain — Buonaparte's efforts to place his Brother on the Throne — Expedition to Portugal — Convention of Cintra — Advance of the British forces into Spain, under Sir John Moore — His retreat — Battle of Corunna, and death of Sir John Moore. NEW PARLIAMENT— THE LATE NEGO- TIATIONS.— FINANCE. At the meeting of the new parliament on the fifteenth of December, 1806, the royal speech animated the nation to exertions against the enemy. On the second of Jan- uary, 1807, the subject of the late negotia- tion with France for the restoration of a general peace was brought under considera- tion. On this occasion Canning condemned the policy of breaking with Prussia for the sake of Hanover. Prussia had, in the first instance, accepted the transfer of that elec- torate from France, on condition that the possession should not be considered as valid until a general peace should be concluded, or until the consent of the king of Great Britain should be obtained. Buonaparte ac- quiesced for a time ; but no sooner was he relieved from anxiety respecting the Russian armies, than he insisted that the occupation should be absolute, and Prussia had then no choice but war, or compliance at the risk of war with England : she saw this risk, but could not avoid it ; and we fell into the snare. Buonaparte had apprehended the union of Prussia with the two great surviving powers of the confederacy, and wished to have her at his mercy. In the space of three months he beheld her at war with England, and England and Russia separately negotiating for peace. He found means to continue this state of things until the arrangements for the overthrow of Prussia were matured : then the farce was ended, and he hastened to the field of battle. Parliament, after providing for an aug- mentation of the sea and land forces, direct- ed its attention to the improvement of the revenue. Lord Henry Petty, having stated the total amount of the supplies for the year 1807 at forty million five hundred and twen- ty-seven thousand sixty-five pounds eleven shillings and eight pence, and the ways and means at forty-one million one hundred thousand pounds, brought forward a perma- nent plan of finance, which professed to have for its object to provide the means of main- taining the honor and independence of the British empire during the necessary contin- uance of the war, without perceptibly in- creasing the burdens of the country, and with manifest benefit to the interest of the public creditor. This plan was adapted to meet a scale of expenditure nearly equal to that of 1806; and assumed that, during the war, the annual produce of the permanent and tem- porary revenue would continue equal to the produce of that year. Keeping these prem- ises in view, it was proposed that the war loans for the years 1807, 1808, and 1809, should be twelve million pounds annually ; for 1810, fourteen million pounds ; and for each of the ten following years, sixteen mil- lion pounds. Those several loans were to be made a charge on the war taxes, which were estimated to produce twenty-one million pounds annually : this charge to be at the rate of ten per cent, on each loan ; five per cent, for interest, and the remainder as a sinking fimd, which, at compound interest, would redeem any sum of capital debt in fourteen years. The portions of war taxes thus successively liberated, might, if the war should still be prolonged, become applicable in a revolving series, and be again pledged for new loans; it was, however, material, that the property-tax should, in every case, cease on the sixth of April next, after the ratification of a definitive treaty of peace. In the result therefore of the whole mea- sure, there would not be imposed any new taxes for the first three years from this time. New taxes of less than three hundred thou- sand pounds, on an average of seven years, from 1810 to 1816, both inclusive, were all that would be necessary, in order to procure for the country the full benefit of the plan here described, which would continue for twenty years ; during the last ten of which again no new taxes would be required. After repeated discussions the plan was agreed to, and the funds advanced considerably, which gave the minister an opportunity of negoti- GEORGE m. 1760-1820. 525 ating a loan on terms highly advantageous to the public, and yet not unproductive to the contractors. ABOLITION OF THE SLAVE TRADE. At this period the total abolition of the African slave trade was finally accomplished. On the second of January lord Grenville introduced a bill for effecting this glorious object, which was read a first time, and printed. On the fourth of February, coun- sel were heard at the bar of the house, in favor of the continuance of the trade, and on the following day lord Grenville conclu- ded an elaborate speech on the subject, by moving the second reading of the bill, which was principally opposed by the duke of Clar- ence, earls Westmoreland and St. Vincent, and lords Sidmouth, Eldon, and Hawkes- bury. At four o'clock in the morning the house divided, when there appeared for tlie motion one hundred, and against it thirty-six voices. On the tentli the bill was read a third time, and ordered to the commons for the concurrence of that assembly. On the twenty-third lord Howick moved for its com- mitment, when the opponents of this humane law were so much diminished that there ap- peared, on a division, for the question two hundred and eighty-three, and against it only sixteen voices. The bill, which was debated with great animation in all its stages, en- acted, that no vessel should clear out for slaves from any port within the British do- minions after the first of May, 1807, and that no slave should be landed in the colo- nies after the first of March, 1808. On the sixteenth of March, on the motion of lord Henry Petty, the bill was read a third time, and passed without a division. On the eighteenth the bill was carried to the lords for their concurrence in some amendments, when lord Grenville instantly moved that it should be printed, and taken into considera- tion on the twenty-third, on which day the alterations were agreed to. The reason of this haste was, that his majesty, displeased with the introduction of a bill for granting some concessions to Roman Catholic officers, had resolved to displace the existing admin- istration. Though the bill had passed both houses, there was an awful fear, lest it should not receive the royal assent before the ministry was dissolved. On the twenty- fifth of March, at half-past eleven o'clock in the morning, his majesty's message was delivered to the different members of admin- istration, commanding them to wait upon him, to deliver up the seals of their respec- tive offices. It then appeared, that a com- mission for the royal assent to this bill, among others, had been obtained. This commission was instantly opened by the lord /Chancellor (Erskine), and as the clock struck twelve, this important bill became, after a struggle of twenty years, a part of the law of the land ! Thus did Great Britain set an example to the world, which neither the philanthropists of the French republic, nor those of the United States of America, had been sufficiently magnanimous to exhibit. CHANGE OF THE MINISTRY.— DISSOLU- TION OF PARLIAMENT. A BILL, Styled the Roman Catholics' Army and Navy Service Bill, occasioned the dis- missal of the ministry. Its object was to secure to all his majesty's subjects the privi- lege of serving in the army and navy, upon their taking an oath prescribed by act of parliament, and for leavmg to them, as far as convenience would admit, the free exer- cise of their respective religions. Without having for its aim what was called the eman- cipation of tlie Catholics, this bill was adapt- ed to afford them great satisfaction, being doubtless mtended as the precursor of a sys- tem of enlarged toleration : it soon, however, became a matter of notoriety, that the king regarded it as contrary to the obligations of his coronation oath, and, under such circum- stances, ministers immediately abandoned it : but being also required to give a written obligation, pledging themselves never more to propose anything connected with the Catholic question, they resisted the demand, as incompatible with their honor and duty. Some portion of irritation now operated on both sides — the breach had extended too far to admit of being closed — confidence was mutually impaired — and the necessary con- sequence, the resignation of ministers, al- most immediately ensued. The new ministers announced on the twenty-fifth of March, were lord Eldon, chancellor; the earl of Westmoreland, privy- seal ; the duke of Portland, first lord of the treasury; earl Camden, president of the council ; lord Mulgrave, first lord of the admiralty; lord Chatham, master of the ordnance; lord Hawesbury, secretary for the home department; Canning, secretary for foreign affairs; lord Castlereagh, secre- tary for the department of war and colo- nies ; and Perceval, chancellor of the ex- chequer. A justification of the late ministry was sought by a motion made by Brand, that it was contrary to the first duties of the confi- dential servants of the crown, tx3 restraui themselves by any pledge, express or im- plied, from offering to the king any advice that the course of circumstances might ren- der necessary. The majority in favor of the new ministers, in a house of four hundred and eighty-four members, only amounted to thirty-two ; and Canning intimated, that in the event of administration finding any im- pediment from the number of then- oppo- nents, a dissolution of parliament would be 526 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. resorted to. This threat was soon after car- ried into effect, and on the twenty-seventh of April, the session and tlie parliament were brought to an end by a speech from the throne, in which the commissioners were charged to state that his majesty was anxious to recur to the sense of his people, while the events which had recently taken place were yet fresh in their recollection. NEW ELECTION.— MILITARY PLAN—BILL RESPECTING IRELAND.— PARLIAMENT PROROGUED. The general election which succeeded the dissolution of parliament was, in many places, very violently contested, the cry of No Popery, and The Church is in danger, being used for political purposes; and so successfully was it exerted, that of the late ministry Thomas Grenville was the only commoner in the cabinet who resumed his seat for the place he had before represented. The new parliament assembled on the twenty-second of June, when Abbot was unanimously re-elected speaker of the house of commons. The king's speech, which was delivered by commission, stated that, since the events which led to the dissolution, he had received the warmest assurances of sup- port in maintaining the just rights of the crown, and the true principles of the consti- tution. In the lords the address was carried by one hundred and sixty against sixty- seven, and in the commons by three hun- dred and fifty to one hundred and fifty-five, being the fullest house ever known on a similar occasion; and thus the solidity of the present administration was fully estab- lished. A new military plan was introduced by lord Castlereagh, for increasing the regular army from the militia, and for supplying the deficiencies arising from such a transfer by a supplementary militia. Two bills were accordingly passed, through the operation of which it was calculated that thirty-eight thousand men would be added to the military force of the country. A bill was introduced by Sir Arthur Wellesley for suppressing in- surrection in Ireland, and for preventing the disturbance of the peace in that country and another bill was also passed to prevent improper persons from keeping arms. An address was likewise carried in the com- mons, on the motion of Bankes, praying his majesty not to make any grant of an office in reversion, until six weeks after the commencement of the ensuing session. On the fourteenth of August parliament was prorogued. EXPEDITION AGAINST COPENHAGEN.— CAPTURE OF THE DANISH FLEET. The efiforts of Buonaparte to exclude the commerce of England from every part of the continent, and to promote a maritime confederacy against her, rendered it certain that no power which he could control would be permitted to enjoy a free trade ; and hav- ing succeeded in closing the ports of Russia and Prussia against the British flag, Den- mark became involved in a distressing di- lemma. The Berlin decree of Buonaparte, and the British orders of council issued by way of counteraction, placed all inferior powers in a state of submission to the bel- ligerants; and between the dread of France, to whom all her continental territories lay open, on the one hand, and of the English navy on the other, Denmark, though anxious rigidly to preserve her neutrality, was se- verely visited with the calamities of war. Persuaded that sooner or later she must be absorbed in that vortex of domination, from which nearly all the continental powers had been unable to extricate themselves, the British government dispatched to the Baltic an armament of twenty thousand troops, un- der the command of lord Cathcart, with a powerful fleet under admiral Gambler, one of the lords of the admiralty. When the intelligence of this expedition first reached Copenhagen, it was universally supposed, in that city, that the English army was intend- ed to co-operate with the Swedes in Pome- rania; the illusion, however, was speedily dissipated by the arrival of a British envoy in the Danish capital, early in August with instructions to demand the delivery of the fleet into the possession of the British ad- miral, under a solemn stipulation that it should be restored at the conclusion of the war between England and France ; but in case the prince-royal refused to comply, he was to be informed that the British com- manders would' forthwith proceed to hostili- ties. The prince argued upon the proposals made to him with dignity, and finally de- clared his determination to reject them, and to adhere to the line of policy which he had hitherto pursued. The English army landed without oppo- sition on the sixteenth of August, and alter some ineffectual attempts to impede its pro- gress, Copenhagen was closely invested on the land-side, the fleet forming an impene- trable blockade by sea. A proclamation was at the same time issued by the com- manders, notifying to the inhabitants of Zea- land the motives of their undertaking ; the conduct that would be observed towards them ; and an assurance that at any time when the demand of his Britannic majesty should be acceded to, hostilities should cease. Sir Arthur Wellesley was dispatched on the twenty-sixth with a force to disperse troops which were collecting with great rapidity under general Cartenchield which he effec- tually performed. On the evening of the second of September, the land batteries, and GEORGE UI. 1760—1820. 527 the bomb and mortar vessels, opened a tre- mendous fire upon the town, and in a very short time a general conflagration appeared to have taken place. No proposals for ca- pitulation being sent on the two ensuing days, the firing, which had been considerably slackened, was vigorously renewed on the evening of the fourth, and next morning the commandant of the garrison sent out a flag of truce. A capitulation having been settled on the eighth, the British army took possession of the citadel, dock-yards and batteries, under an engagement of restoring them, and of evacuating the island of Zea- land, at the expiration of six weeks, or sooner if possible: no requisitions were made, no contributions were levied, no mili- tary excesses were committed, and the police of the city was regulated by the Danish magistrates. The British admiral immedi- ately began rigging and fitting out the ships that filled the spacious basins where they were laid up in ordinary, sixteen of which were of the line, fifteen were frigates, six brigs, and twenty-five gun-boats ; and at the expiration of the term limited in the capit- ulation, they were all, together with the stores, timber, and every article of naval equipment found in the arsenal and store- houses, conveyed to England, except one iine-of-battle ship that grounded on the isle of Huen, and was destroyed. The English fleet had scarcely quitted the road of Copenhagen, when a number of small armed vessels commenced depreda- tions on our traders in the Baltic with con- siderable success. British property was con- fiscated throughout the Danish dominions, and correspondence with England strictly prohibited. Under these circumstances a declaration was published in justification of the motives which dictated the expedition, wherein it was stated that " his majesty had received the most positive information of the determination of the ruler of France to oc- cupy with a military force the territory of Holstein, for the purpose of excluding Great Britain from her accustomed channels of communication with the continent, or in- ducing or compelling the court of Denmark to close the passage of the Sound against British commerce and navigation, and of availing himself of the aid of the Danish marine for the invasion of Great Britain and Ireland ;" and further, that " Holstein once occupied, Zealand would be at the mercy of France, and the navy of Denmark at her disposal." The expedition was therefore justified as an act of self-preservation. RUSSIA PROCLAIMS WAR WITH ENG- LAND.— RESTRICTIONS ON COMMERCE. The emperor of Russia strongly resented the conduct of England towards Denmark ; and as the treaty of Tilsit had already tended considerably to relax the bond of union be- tween the courts of London and St. Peters- burgh, it was far from improbable that Rus- sia might soon join the league against Brit- ain. Apprehension was at length converted into certainty — the British ambassador was ordered to leave St. Petersburgh — and on the thirty-first of October a declaration of war was issued against England. The em- peror proclaimed anew the principles of the armed neutrality, and engaged that there should be no re-establishment of peace be- tween Russia and England until satisfaction should have been given to Denmark. Buonaparte's efforts to exclude English commerce, and to establish his continental system, were this year continued with rigor- ous perseverance. To embarrass the trade and finances of Great Britain, Europe was obliged, in a great degree, to abandon those luxuries which long habit had almost ren- dered necessary ; and these restrictions were followed, on the part of England, by a sys- tem of retaliation, which deprived multi- tudes in France of the means of honest in- dustry, and even of relief under disease and pain. The distress of the West India plant- ers, in consequence of the exclusion of their produce from the usual markets, excited particular attention; and, to remedy this evil, a committee of the house of commons, appointed to inquire into the means of afford- ing them relief, recommended a decrease of duty upon colonial produce, an advance of bounty upon its importation, and the inter- ruption of the intercourse carried on by American ships between Europe and tlie colonies of Cuba, Porto Rico, Martinique, and Guadaloupe, through the medium of the United States. An order of council, issued on the seventh of January, which prohibited neutral vessels from trading to any port in the possession, or under the control of the enemy, not having answered the desired purpose, additional orders were issued on the eleventh of November, declaring every port from which Great Britain was excluded, to be in a state of blockade ; all trade in the produce and manufactures of these countries was pronounced illegal ; and the vessels employed therein were liable to seizure. — Thus was the communication along the coasts of France and her allies, by means of neutral vessels, completely prohibited; and, though the Americans might still freely trade witli the enemy's colonies for articles of tJieir own consumption, the double re- striction was imposed upon the intercourse by them between France and her colonies, of calling at a British port, and paying a British duty. To avoid tlie losses and hos- tilities which were to be apprehended from the measures respectively adopted by Eng- land and France, the American congress, 528 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. on the twenty-second of December, laid a strict embargo on all the vessels of the Uni- ted States, by which they were prohibited from quitting any of their ports ; and ships from all other nations were commanded to leave the American harbors, with or with- out cargoes, as soon as the act was notified to them. This intelligence created a gene- ral feeling of alarm among commercial men; and the merchants of Liverpool, considering that this act of congress proceeded from our orders in council, petitioned for their speedy removal, but parliament did not think proper to comply with their request. Buonaparte, aware that all restrictions on commerce would, from the situation and pursuits of England, fall upon this country with a much heavier pressure than on France, felt no dis- position to relax in this new species of war- fare ; and accordingly, on the twenty-third of November, a decree was issued from Mil- an, enacting, " that all vessels which, after having touched at England from any nation whatever, shall enter the ports of France, shall be seized and confiscated as well as their cargoes, without exception or distinc- tion of commodities or merchandise." This interdict was, on the nineteenth of the fol- lowing montli, succeeded by a rejoinder to the orders in council of the eleventh of No- vember, by which it was declared that every neutral which submitted to be searched by an English ship, or paid any duty whatso- ever to the English government, should be considered as thereby denationalized; and having forfeited the protection of its own government, should in consequence be liable to seizure as a lawful prize, by French ships of war. Neutral powers were thus placed between confiscation and confiscation. If they proceeded to a French port without first paying a duty upon th^ir cargoes in England, they were liable lo be captured by British cruisers ; and if they came to Eng- land and paid the duty, they then became subject to confiscation in the ports of the enemy. The case was one of extreme hardship; and in this country, where war had not obliterated all sense of moral obli- gation, the justice and the policy of the or- ders in council underwent a severe scru- tiny, and called forth the most anunated discussions. ACTION BETWEEN A BRITISH AND AMER- ICAN FRIGATE— DANISH WEST INDIA ISLANDS SURRENDER. Whilst the orders of council increased the difierences between Great Britain and the United States, an unfortunate occurrence created another ground of dispute. On the twenty-third of June an English man-of- war, the Leopard, captain Humphries, ac*>-I ing under the orders of admiral Berkeley, f fell in with the Chesapeak, American fi/g-l ate, off the Capes of Virginia, and demanded some British deserters, whom she was known to have on board. Her captain refusing to admit the search, the Leopard fired a broad- side, which killed and wounded several of his men : after which the American struck his colors. In consequence of this transac- tion, the president of the United States is- sued a proclamation, ordering the immediate departure of all British ships of war from the harbors and waters of the Union, and, in his message to congress on the twenty- seventh of October, relative to the pending negotiation with Great Britain, he stated that satisfaction had been demanded for the outrage. An investigation m the mean time took place at Halifax, and one of the desert- ers taken on board the Chesapeak was con- demned by a court-martial, and executed. The British ministry hesitated not to declare in parliament their readiness to make every reparation for whatever might appear an un- authorized act of hostility ; and, in a pro- clamation issued for recalling British sea- men, it was stated that force might, if ne- cessary, be exercised for recovering desert- ers on board the merchant-vessels of neu- trals ; but that, with respect to ships of war, a requisition only should be made. By this proclamation the conduct of admiral Berke- ley was tacitly disavowed ; and an envoy was soon after dispatched on a special mis- sion to America, with overtures of concilia- tion, which, however, proved abortive. The Danish West India islands of St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix, surrender- ed in December, without resistance, to a squadron commanded by Sir Alexander Cochrane. FRENCH ENTER PORTUGAL. The French armies entered Spain ; and Buonaparte having publicly declared that the house of Braganza should cease to reign, a large force, under general Junot, entered Portugal ; and on the evening of the twenty- sixth of November had reached Abrantes, within three days' march of Lisbon. At this alarming crisis the prince regent, hav- ing hastily concerted measures with lord Strangford, the English minister at Lisbon, adopted the resolution of transferring the royal family and the seat of the Portuguese government to Brazil. No time having been left for delay, the embarkation was ex- peditiously performed ; and, on the morning of the twenty-ninth, the Portuguese fleet, consisting of eight ships of the line, four frigates, three brigs and a schooner, sailed out of the Tagus, having on board the prince of iirazil, with the whole of the royal fami- V- and a number of persons attached to its *b'lunes. The French troops, who, from the heights in the vicinity of Lisbon, viewed the fleet as it dropped down the river, en- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 529 iered the city without opposition, and treat- ed it as a conquest of the French arms. The migration of the Braganza family, which has no example in modern, and scarcely any in ancient history, was per- formed under the protection of the British navy, Sir Sidney Smith having accompani- ed the royal emigrants to Rio de Janeiro, where they arrived on the ninth of Janua- ry ; and a direct intercourse being thus es- tablished between England and Brazil, a new epoch was formed in the history of commerce. The valuable island of Madei- ra was committed by the Portuguese go- vernment to the protection of the British until the conclusion of a general peace. BUONAPARTE PLACES HIS BROTHER ON THE THRONE OF SPAIN— INSURREC- TION AT MADRID. After Buonaparte had, in the pretended Ciiaracter of a friend and ally, introduced liis armies into Spain, the reigning mon- arch, Charles the fourth, perplexed and har- assed by court intrigues, was induced or compelled to resign his crown to his son, tlie prince of Asturias. The new sovereign, Ferdinand the seventh, with the whole of the royal family, and some of the principal grandees, were, in a mysterious manner, al- lured to take a journey to Bayonne, for the purpose of an interview with Buonaparte, who, having thus secured the two kings, obliged them to sign a formal abdication, tiTul the infants Don Carlos and Don Anto- nio renounced all claim of succession to the Spanish crown. By the French, these abdications and renunciations were repre- sented as voluntary acts ; but by Spain, and the rest of Europe, they were contemplated in a very different light ; an imperial decree was issued by Buonaparte, declaring the throne of Spain to be vacant, by the abdica- tion of the reigning family ; a junta, princi- pally composed of the partisans of France, was convened to meet at iBayonne. Among tlie deputies chosen by the notables to re- present them in the junta was Pedro, bishop of Orense, who excused himself from ac- cepting the trust in a letter to iMurat, then grind duke of Berg, and provisional vice- oy. It was fraught with pure morality and accurate reasoning, covered with a veil of exquisitely fine irony. The bishop of St. Andero's letter on the sa.me occasion, though quite in another style, was as much admi- red : he replied, " I cannot make it conveni- ent to attend, and if I could, I would not." Buonaparte conferred tlie crown of Spain on his brother Joseph, who resigned the crovv'n of Naples in favor of the grand duke of Ber- sition, but ultimately passed into a law. It was agreed that the militia should be re- duced to about three-fifths of its present force by volunteering into the line, and tiiat twenty-four thousand men should be raised to supply the deficiency. The convention of Cintra, and the cir- cumstances which led to the conclusion of that treaty, were brought under the conside- ration of parliament, on the twenty-first of February, by lord Henry Petty, who moved resolutions directly censuring the conven- tion, and attributing the causes to tlie mis- conduct of ministers ; and although it was strenuously contended that to have expell- ed, in the course of a short campaign of three weeks, an array of twenty-five thou- sand French from Portugal, was a brilliant addition to the military glory of the coun- try, the previous question was only carried by two hundred and three against one hun- dred and fifty-eight. CHARGES AGAINST DUKE OF YORK. Colonel Wardle, on the twenty-seventh of January, stated in the commons, that the power of disposing of commissions in the army had been exercised to the worst of purposes, though it had been placed in the hands of a person of high birth and exten- sive influence, for the purpose of defraying the charges of the half-pay list, for the suj)- port of veteran officers, and for increasing the compassionate fund for the aid of offi- cers' widows and orphans; but he could bring positive proof that such commissions had been sold, and the money applied to very different objects. He then proceeded to state, that Mary Anne Clarke, who had lived under the "protection" of the duke of York, with a splendid establishment in Gloucester Place, had been permitted by his royal highness to traffic in commissions ; that she in fact possessed the power of mili- tary promotion ; and that the duke partici- pated in the emoluments which were de- rived from this scandalous, corrupt, and ille- gal traffic. Colonel Wardle concluded by moving for a committee of inquiry into the conduct of the duke of York, in respect to the disposal of military commissions, which, after a long debate, was agreed to; the chancellor of the exchequer observing that publicity had been mentioned as desirable, he was of the same opinion ; and it was therefore determined that the investigation should be conducted before a committee of the whole house. In the course of the cross-e.xaminations much important evidence was adduced, and the charges derived additional strengtli from the means taken by the advocates of 538 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the commander-in-chief to refute them ; as the numerous letters brought to him by their means, of which the prosecutor at first was totally ignorant, placed Wardle, for a time, on high ground. At the close of the evidence, on the twenty-second of Febru- ary, the opinion of the general officers^ who were members of the house of commons, was asked with respect to the improvement of the army in discipline and condition, and whether the system of promotion had not been improved under the administration of the duke of York. Generals Norton and Fitzpatrick, the secretary at war. Sir Ar- thur Wellesley, and general Grosvenor, all answered these questions affirmatively, and pronounced high eulogiums on the charac- ter and conduct of his royal highness. Du- ring this inquiry, which was continued un- interruptedly for three weeks, Mary Anne Clarke was repeatedly examined at the bar, and, by the readiness and smartness of her answers to the infinite number of questions proposed, gave a degree of relief to the protracted examinations. On the twenty- third of February the duke addressed a let- ter to the house of commons, through the medium of the speaker, in which his royal highness, in the most solemn manner, upon his honor as a prince, distinctly asserted his innocence, and claimed from the justice of the house that he should not be condemned without a trial. Wardle, however, moved an address to liis majesty, stating, that after a diligent and laborious inquiry, it had been proved to the satisfaction of the house, that corrupt prac tices had existed to a very great extent in the different departments of the military ad- ministration, and praying that his majesty would be graciously pleased to remove the duke of York from the command of the ar- my. The chancellor of the exchequer pro- posed an amendment, substituting two reso- lutions ; the first, stating that an inquiry had been instituted into the conduct of the com mander-in-chief ; and the second, that it was the opinion of the house that there was no just ground to charge his royal highness with personal corruption or criminal connivance. To this amendment another was moved by Bankes, acquitting the duke of personal cor- ruption or criminal connivance, but express- ing an opinion that abuses could scarcely have existed to the extent proved, without exciting some suspicion in the mind of the commander-in-chief; and suggesting that, after the exposures made by the recent in- quiry, a regard to the public happiness and tranquillity required the removal of the duke of York from the command of the army. The motion and amendments gave rise to many long and animated discussions, in the course of which it was urged, in favor of the original motion, that whatever might be due to the rank of his royal highness, the members of that house should always bear in mind that it was their duty to protect t!ie public interests, and to watch over the se- curity and welfare of the state. By the supporters of the duke of York, it was con- tended that Mary Anne Clarke was wholly unworthy of credit, and that there was no evidence to establish the corrupt participa- tion or criminal connivance of the duke. If it could once be supposed that he was a party in such a conspiracy, how was any distress for money possible, when there was a mint constantly at work] There were then in the army upwards of ten thousand officers; and such was the eagerness for promotion, that there were always persons ready to give ample premiums above tlie regulated price. Had not his royal highness felt secure in conscious innocence, was it to be supposed that he would have ventured to discard Mary Anne Clarke, to withdraw her annuity, to irritate her to the utmost, and to set all her threats at defiance ] It ought to be recollected, that the person against whom the charge was directed, was not only high in office and in rank, but one whose birth placed him so near the crown, that events might one day call him to the throne itself; and yet, by the proceeding now proposed, the house was called upon, on the most ques- tionable evidence, to disgrace itself by pro- nouncing the duke guilty of the lowest and most infamous species of corruption. Jn favor of Bankes's amendment, it was urged that one case, that of doctor O'Meara, rested on the duke's own letter as much as on the evidence of Mary Anne Clarke ; that it was astonishing that the constant applications of this woman did not create some suspicions in the mind of the duke ; and that it was necessary, as a reparation to public morals and decency, to remove him from the com- mand of the army. On the question, whether the house should proceed by address or b}- resolution, there appeared for proceeding by address, one hundred and ninety-nine; by resolution, two hundred and ninety-four; leaving a majority against Bankes's address of ninety-five. A second division then took place on Wardle's motion, which was supported by one hundred and twenty-three, and opposed by three hundred and sixty- four. On the seventeenth of March the chan- cellor of the exchequer brought forward his resolution, modified in these terms : — " that this house having appointed a committee to investigate the conduct of the duke of York, as commander-in-chief, and having carefully considered the evidence which came before the said committee, and finding that per- sonal corruption, and connivance at corrup- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 539 tion, have been imputed to his said royal highness, find it expedient to pronounce a distinct opinion upon the said imputation, and are accordingly of opinion that it is wholly without foundation." This motion was carried by two hundred and seventy- eiglit against one hundred and ninety-six. Previously to the divisions it was generally understood that the duke had come to the determination to resign his office of com- mander-in-chief; and on the twentieth the chancellor of the exchequer informed the house that his royal highness, having obtain- ed a complete acquittal of the charges, was desirous of giving way to that public senti- ment which, however ill-founded, they had unfortunately drawn down upon him ; that, under these circumstances, he had tendered to his majesty his resignation of the office of commander-in-chief, which the king had been graciously pleased to accept. General Sir David Dundas was appointed his succes- sor ; and one of the first consequences of the investigation, was the enactment of a law declaring the brokerage of offices, either in the army, the church, or the state, to be a crime highly penal. TRAFFIC IN INDIA APPOINTMENTS.— CORRUPT PRACTICES IN PARLIAMENT. In the course of the investigation into the duke's conduct, it was ascertained that there was a systematic and almost avowed traffic in East India appointments, as well as in subordinate places under government. These discoveries led to the appointment of a com- mittee of the house of commons, to inquire into the abuse of East India patronage, when it appeared that a vast number of cadet- ships and writerships had been disposed of illegally. Thellusson, one of the directors, deeply implicated in these transactions, was in consequence rejected at the next elec- tion ; and the court determmed that all those young men named by the committee of the house of commons, as having obtained their appointments by corrupt practices, should be deprived of their employments, and recalled from India. The inquiry developed transac- tions intimately connected with the character of the house of commons, and the proceed- ings of some of its most distinguished mem- lors ; and on the twenty-fifth of April, lord Arcliibald Hamilton submitted a motion ^'•rounded on the conduct of lord Castle- rra:^h, wh.o, in the course of the inquiry, admitted that he, m 1805, delivered into the hinds of lord Clancarty a writership, of wliich lie had the gift, for the pur]X)se of exchanging it for a seat in parliament. — This negotiation, which was finally broken o^', was carried on, it appeared, between lord Castlereagh and one Reding, an advertising place broker, who was a perfect stranger to liis lordship. Lord Castlereagh expressed his sorrow that any motives of private friend- ship or of pubhc zeal should have induced him to do anything requiring the cognizance of that house. If he had erred, it was un- intentionally, and he would submit with patience to any censure which he might be thought to have incurred : his lordship then bowed to the chair, and retired ; when lord A. Hamilton moved, that lord Castlereagh had been guilty of a dereliction of his duty, as president of the board of control, a gross violation of his engagements as a ser- vant of the crown, and an attack on the purity and constitution of the house. A long debate ensued, at the close of which the motion was rejected by two hundred and thirteen against one hundred and sixty-seven. A motion was afterwards carried, to the effect, that it was the duty of the house of commons to mamtain and guard the purity and independence of parliament ; but that the intended charge not having been carried into effect, no criminatory proceeding appear- ed to the house to be necessary. The recent exposures led to the intro- duction of a bill by Curwen, which ulti- mately passed into a law, for better securing the purity and independence of parliament, by preventing the procuring or obtaining seats by corrupt practices, and also for the more effectual prevention of bribery. — While this bill was before the house, iMadocks charged the chancellor of the exchequer and lord Castlereagh with corrupt and crimi- nal practices to procure the return of mem- bers to parliament He affirmed that Quintin Dick purchased a seat for Cashel, in Ireland, through the hon. Henry Wellesley, who act- ed on behalf of the treasury ; that on the question brought forward by colonel Wardle, lord Castlereagh intimated the necessity either of his voting with government or of resigning his seat; and that Dick, rather than vote against his conscience, did vacate it. Perceval, in his defence, declined putting in the plea which he said he conscientiously could adduce, until the house should have decided on the propriety of entertaining the charge; and he would then come before them prepared to meet it, and vindicate his own honor. iMadocks's motion was nega- tived. BUDGET— DUTCH COMMISSIONERS. The supplies voted for the year amounted to about fifty-four million pounds; and among the ways and means were war-taxes nine- teen million pounds, and a loan of eleven million pounds for Great Britain ; three mil- lion pounds were also borrowed for Ireland, and six hundred thousand pounds for tlie prince of Brazil, for the liquidation of which the revenues of the island of Madeira liad been assigned, together with a consignment of such produce of Brazil as belonged to the 540 HISTORY OF GRf^AT BRITAIN. prince. The whole loan had been contracted for at the low interest of four pound twelve sliillings and one penny per cent, per an- num. The fourth report of the committee of public expenditure exhibited disclosures regarding the conduct of the commissioners appointed to manage, sell, and dispose of the Dutch ships detained or brought into the ports of Great Britain, which excited con- i>iderable surprise. It appeared that the ap- pointment of the five commissioners took place in 1795 ; that their transactions were nearly brought to a close in 1799 ; and that, as no fixed remuneration had been assigned to them, they charged a commission of five per cent, on the gross proceeds of their sales, Jiinounting to one hundred and thirty-two thousand pounds ; and not satisfied with this enormous allowance, employed the money intrusted to their hands in discounting pri- vate bills for their own emolument. After an animated discussion, the house resolved tliat the commissioners had been guilty of a llagrant violation of public duty. WAR BETWEEN AUSTRIA AND FRANCE. —CAMPAIGN IN GERMANY. Austria, after humbling herself to the French emperor, found it impossible to have peace on terms compatible with independ- ence, and therefore, from the period of the conferences at Erfurth, till Buonaparte cross- eX the Pyrenees for t!«e purpose of putting Iiim.'self at the head of his armies in Spain, she v;ent on completing her military prepa- rations. Tliese were not viewed by France v/ith indifference ; and, from Valladolid, Buonaparte sent his mandate to the princes of the confederation of the Rhine, to fur- nLsh tlieir contingents, and hold themselves in readiness for war ; soon after wliich he 'loJrt Spain, and returned to Paris. In March the preparations for war were prosecuted by lv)th parties with uncommon vigor. The Austrian army was divided into nine corps, ox from thirty to forty thousand men each. The archduke Charles, freed from the inter- ference of the Aulic council, was appointed jreneralissimo, and six of the corps were placed under his immediate command : the -Seventh was sent, under the archduke Fer- tiinand, into Poland ; and the eighth and ninth to Italy, under the archduke John. There were also two corps of reserve, one of them consisting of twenty thousand men, commanded by prince John of Lichtenstein, and the other of ten thousand men, under general Keinmayer, exclusive of the parti- pan corps, and the landv/ehr, or militia. Buonaparte principally relied, at the com- mencement of the war, on the contingents from the confederation of the Rhine, The Bavarians were formed into three divisions, under marshal Lefebvfe, v/ho commanded the allied troops tij] the arrival of Buona- parte. In the mean time the north and v/est of Germany, and the interior of France, were stripped of troops, which proceeded rapidly towards the banks of the Danube. On the side of Italy, prince Eugene, the viceroy, had concentrated a formidable army ; and the Saxon troops, under marshal Berna- dotte, were stationed in the neighborhood of Dresden, to protect that capital from the Austrian army in Bohemia. On the eighth of x\pril, Austria declare^l war against France; and on the nintli, the archduke Charles, having established h.s head-quarters at Dintz, sent formal notice to the French general commanding in Bava ria, that he had received orders to advanc with his troops, and to treat as enemies all who should oppose him.. This notice served as an intimation to the king of Bavaria, who, quitting his capital, repaired to Augsburg. On the following day the Austrians threv/ a bridge of boats over the Inn, between Brannau and Scharding, and advanced slovvly into Bavaria. Three days afterwards, Buo- naparte, having learnt by the telegrapli thot the Austrians had crossed the Inn, quitted Paris, and arrived at Donav/erth on the sev- enteenth, from which place he removed to Ingolstadt. On the nineteenth, marshal Da- voust advanced to the village of Pressing ■, where he defeated a division of tlie Austrirai army. On the stime day another French corps attacked an Austrian division in iron-, while the Bavarians fell upon their rea]-, and completed their rout. These afiairs, and the sanguinary engagements near Aben;-- bergh, Haussen, and Dinzlingen, h-id the ei' jtect of cutting off the left wing of the An- itrian army under general Killer, and draw- ing it back to Land shut. Buonaparte, during the few days Winch he had passed with the army, had made }5ii>i- self completely acquainted with its position;', and had so far ascertained the situation vS the country, as to be able to take advantage of the errors or misfortunes of his enemy. He immediatel}^ attacked the Austrians in front at Ebensberg, where he lost four thou- sand men in storming the bridge ; but Ebens- berg having been set on fire, lieuten-ant- general Ililler continued his retreat till h.e passed the Danube, near Stain, to wait for the archduke. The flank of the Austrian army having been completelv laid open by the battle of Ebensberg, Buonaparte lost not a moment in advancing to Landshut. The Austrian cavalry, v/aich had formed before the city, was driven back by marshal Bcs- sieres; the same fate awaited the infantry; and the town, with thirty pieces of cannon, nine thousond prisoners, and all the maoa- zines established at tliat place, fell into the hand^ of the enemy. On the twenty -sec- ond, Baonaparte aaadved opposite Eckmidil, GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 541 where four corps of the Austrians, amount- ing- to one hundred and ten thousand men, under the immediate command of the arch- duke Charles, were already posted. Never before had these chiefs been opposed to each other ; and, as neither had yet experienced a defeat, the utmost confidence reigned in their respective armies. Buonaparte's mili- tary eye immediately perceiving that the left wing of the Austrian army was disad- vantageously posted, he ordered marshal Lannes to attack it, while their front was opposed by the main body of the French. The contest was long and obstinate ; but, at the close of the day, the archduke's left wing was turned, and he was driven from all his positions. A large body of the Aus- trians, endeavoring to make a stand under cover of the woods near Ratisbon, were driven into the plain, where they suffered dreadfully ; and an attempt to cover the re- treat of the main body by the cavalry was equally unsuccessful. The Austrians en- deavored to make a stand at Ratisbon ; but after three successive charges they gave way, leaving the field covered with eight thousand of their slain, and the French en- tered the city through a breach in the forti- fications, where a sanguinary engagement also took place. In these battles Buonaparte pursued his usual plan of breaking the enemy's forces into detached parts, and then attacking them separately ; and the Austrians, uninstructed by experience, had so disposed their troops as to favor his operations. General Belle- garde did not join the archduke till the day after his disaster. In five days the Austrians lost forty thousand men, and a hundred pieces of cannon. On the ninth of May, Buona- parte, without encountering any formidable resistance in his way from Ratisbon, appear- ed before the gates of Vienna. That city, formerly an important fortress, was in vain besieged by the Turks, and would even now, from the solidity of its ramparts, the strong profile of its works, and its extensive mines, be capable of a protracted resistance, but that palaces now adorn the ramparts, casements and ditches are converted into work-shops, plantations mark the counterscarps, and avenues of trees traverse the glacis, uniting extensive and beautiful suburbs to the body of the place. The archduke Maximilian, who commanded the city, animated and en- couraged the citizens to resistance, as long 9.S the imperfect nature -sf the fortifications and tlieir unskilfulness in the art of war would permit: for twenty-four hours the French howitzers played on the town ; but their destructive fire did not shake tiie con- stancy of the inhabitants, until the commu- nication with the lefl bank was on the point of being cut off, when surrender became in- VoL. IV. 46 dispensable, and the regular iJroops, amounts ing to about four thousand, efiected their re- treat by the great bridge of Tabor, to which they set fire. The emperor, in anticiptition of the advance of the French to Vienna, had taken up his abode at Znaim, in Mo- ravia. After the battle of Eckmuhl the archduke Charles crossed to the north side of the Danube, and retreating towards Bohemia, attempted to gain the capital, by forced marches, before the arrival of the French ; but the capture of Vienna was an object of too much importance not to be attempted by Buonaparte with all his powers, and when the archduke had reached Meissau, he learn- ed that the city had surrendered. Deprived, by this capture, of a point of support for the operations of his army, the archduke fixed his head-quarters, on the sixteenth of May, at Enzersdorf, his outposts extending on the right as far as Krems, while Presburg, low- er down the river, was occupied by his left Buonaparte lost not a moment in determin- ing to attack him, and moved the French army down the south bank of the Danube to Ebersdorf, where two islands divide the river into three branches, each about two hundred yards wide. On the nineteenth of May the French engineers threw two bridges from the right bank of the Danube to the smaller island; and on the twentieth, two other bridges were erected from thence to the Isle of In-der-lobau, which forms a con- venient rendezvous for troops, being about six English miles long, and four and a half broad. The extent of the island afl^ords facil- ities for throwing a bridge across that arm of the river which separates the island from the Marsh field, and there Buonaparte fixed his head-quarters. In three hours a bridge, consisting of fifteen pontoons, was accord- ingly thrown over, and the archduke design- edly permitted part of the enemy to extena themselves along the left bank of the river without molestation. Buonaparte was ac- cordingly left at liberty to fix on the field of battle, and he immediately posted his right wing on the village of Essling, and the left on that of Aspern. On the twenty-first, the archduke Charles ordered an attack in five columns, constituting a force of seventy-five thousand effective men, and during that and the following day was fought the obstinate and sanguinary battle of Aspern, or Essling. On both sides, during this long and severe conflict, were deeds of heroic valor perform- ed. On the night of the twenty-first, gen- oral Baiquant with eight divisions of the second line of the Austrian army, remained in the occupation of Aspern, which, after having been retaken by the French on tlio morning of the twenty-second, was regained by general Baiquant, who entered it by 542 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. storm, though defended by twelve thousand of the enemy's best troops ; and, after a va- riety of fortune, the French, on the night betw^een the twenty-second and twenty- third, retreated from the left bank of the Danube, and took a position in the island of Lobau, their loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, having probably amounted to thir- ty thousand men. The Austrian loss was also severe, being acknowledged by the offi- cial accounts to have exceeded twenty thousand. This was the greatest check which the victorious career of Buonaparte had yet received. The king of Saxony having taken up arms in favor of France, soon found himself stripped of a great part of his dominions ; and the Austrians, possessing a powerful army in that quarter threatened even the newly-formed kingdom of Westphalia, while in these states, as in Hanover also, a formi- dable insurrection sprang up, which, if it had been cherished by the support, either of the British or the Austrians, would have rendered the situation of Buonaparte critical in the extreme. Unfortunately, however, no such aid was afforded ; so that, after hav- ing harassed the French, and prevented the march of troops to the Danube, they were at last crushed by superior numbers and dis- cipline. At the head of these partisans ap- peared two men, well calculated by their character, talents, and influence, to collect and animate their followers. Schill, a major in the Prussian service, found no difficulty in raising the inhabitants of a conquered country ; and, although it does not appear that the corps which he commanded was at any time very numerous, it was formidable by the rapidity of its movements, by its sud- den and unexpected appearance, and by the countenance it afforded to the discontented inhabitants. After traversing the whole of the north of Germany, in different direc- tions, and perplexing and defeating the troops that were opposed to him, Schill was at length compelled to take shelter in Stral- sund, where he died fighting, and several of his adherents were executed as deserters from the king of Prussia. The duke of Brunswick Oels, though in his own person less unfortunate than Schill, did not effect anything more decisive, being at length driven to the necessity of embarking with his little corps for England. In Italy the Austrians were at first emi- nently successful; they soon made them- selves masters of Padua and Vicenza, cross- ed the Adige, and threatened Venice itself; but the victories of Buonaparte in Bavaria rendered it advisable for the archduke John, the Austrian commander in Italy, to measure back his steps. He was closely pursued by the viceroy of Italy, who, having received a reinforcement of ten thousand men, over threw the Austrians beyond the Piave v/ith considerable loss. Advancing towards Vi- enna, the French, on the anniversary of the battle of Marengo, brought the archduke John to another engagement at Raab, in which he was defeated, with the loss of three thousand prisoners. After this engage- ment, the archduke retreated rapidly, and in some disorder, towards Pest, for the purpose of joining the main Austrian army ; and the viceroy, advancing without impediment to Vienna, served to swell the number of com- batants in the approaching great and de- cisive battle of Wagram. OVERTHROW OF THE AUSTRIANS. After the battle of Aspern, Buonaparte continued stationary on the south bank of the Danube till the beginning of July ; but scarcely a day passed without producing a bulletin, the ostensible object of which was to register the rise and fall of the Danube, and to congratulate his army on the ap- proach of the Russians, and the junction of the troops under the viceroy of Italy ; Buona- parte, however, was making the most formi- dable preparations : in a fortnight, general count Bertrand raised a bridge of sixty arches over the Danube to In-der-Lobau, so broad that three carriages could pass abreast, over four hundred fathoms of a rapid river ; and a second bridge, eight feet broad, was constructed for infantry. On the fourth of July the whole of the French army was con- centrated in and about the island of Lobau, which contained magazines of provisions, one hundred pieces of cannon, and twenty mortars, with a communication between it and the left bank of the river, by means of three bridges, raised under cover of artillery in an incredibly short time, under the direc- tion of count Bertrand, and a bridge of boats, each protected by a tete du pont, and other works. In the night of the fourth, which was dark and tempestuous, and when the Austrians, who were strongly intrenched on the opposite bank, were expecting an attack on their right, from a feint made by the ene- my of crossing the river before Essling, a heavy fire was opened on the village of En- zersdorf, which supported the left wing of their army. In the short space of two hours the French army crossed the river, and on the morning of the fifth, they were discov- ered in order of battle on the Austrian left flank. This manoeuvre obliged the archduke Charles to change his front, and quit his in- trenched camp ; otherwise he must have given battle on ground selected by the ene- my. These movements occupied the whole of the fifth, the night of which was spent by Buonaparte in accumulating his force to- wards the centre, which was stationed with- in canhon-shot of the village of Wagram. GEORGE HI. 1760—1820. .543 The battle began at daybreak on the sixth, and soon became general. In every attack the Austrians had rather the advantage ; till Buonaparte, bringing fresh divisions in great superiority and almost the whole of his ar- tillery up to one point, began to batter the Austrian left wing, as if he had been storm- ing a fortress. The left wing having been penetrated, gave way, fighting as it retreat- ed ; as did also the right, which was attack- ed in flank by marshal Davoust. Wagram now fell into the hands of the French ; and tlie Austrians, routed in all quarters, retired towards Moravia. In this battle the French boasted of taking t^n pieces of cannon, and twenty thousand prisoners, among whom were nearly four hundred officers, while they acknowledged their own loss to have been fifteen hundred killed, and nearly four thousand wounded ; but the loss of the Aus- trians was much greater. The French pursued the retreating army as far as Znaim, whither the emperor Fran- cis had retired on the approach of Buona- parte towards Vienna. Here another battle, or rather skirmish, took place, which was terminated by a proposal from the emperor Francis for an armistice : this being imme- diately agreed to, it was signed on the twelfth, and the terms too plainly indicated the extent of the Austrian losses, and the exhausted state of their resources. TREATY OF PEACE.— EFFORTS OF THE TYROLESE. The negotiations for a definitive treaty proceeded very slowly, and were not finally closed till the fifteenth of October. When the terms were made known, they were generally regarded as less unfavorable to Austria than had been anticipated ; the ces- sions made by the emperor Francis were, however, very considerable. To Bavaria were ceded Salsburg, and a portion of terri- tory extending along the banks of the Dan- ube, from Passau to the vicinity of Lintz : to France Austria gave up Fiume and Trieste, with the whole of the country to the south of the Saave, till that river enters Bosnia : the king of Saxony obtained sev- eral villages in Bohemia, and, in Poland, the whole of Western Galicia, from the fron- tiers of Silesia to the Bog, together with the city of Cracow, and a district round it in Eastern Galicia. Russia obtained so much of this latter province as should con- tain four hundred thousand -souls. With re- spect to external politics, the emperor Fran- cis agreed to acknowledge Joseph Buona- parte king of Spain ; to accede to the con- tinental system ; and to break off p.11 inter- course wiih Great Britain. The most mor- tifying condition of this treaty, however, was that by wiiich the Austrian monarch gave up the inhabitants of the Tyrol to Ba- varia ; with a provision, indeed, that Buona- parte should procure for them a complete and full pardon. In every part of Germany peace was now established, except in these mountains, the inhabitants of which, though abandoned by that power in whose favor they had risen in arms, and to whom they had manifested an attachment unbroken by sacrifices and sufferings, still refused sub- mission to the conquerors : the brave Hofer, a man worthy of being a leader among a nation of heroes, animated and directed the actions of his countrymen ; aqd before him, untutored as he was in the aft of war, the experienced troops of Europe fled in dismay. In vain did Buonaparte pour in fresh forces ; all his schemes were foiled; and if, for a short time, the Tyrolese fled before his ar- mies, or appeared not to oppose their pro- gress, it was only to attack them to more advantage in the passes of the moimtains, or to fall on them when they were unpre- pared. On their conquest, however, Buona- parte was determined; and he at length effected it, by pouring in continued rein- forcements, and by the capture and mfamous execution of the gallant Ilofer. ROME ANNEXED TO FRANCE. Whilst Buonaparte was at Vienna, and within a few days of the great battle of As- pern, he caused it to be proclaimed in that city, that from the first of June the papal territory should be united with the French empire. The pope solemnly protested against the violence and injustice by which he had been stripped of his temporal sovereignty, and at the same time issued an act of ex- communication against the French emperor, and all his co-operators in this unprovoked spoliation : the thunders of the Vatican, how- ever, had lost their terrors; and an act, which three centuries ago would have rous- ed to arms all the states of Europe, was now witnessed without one single effort on the part of the surrounding sovereigns. DIVORCE OF BUONAPARTE AND JOSE- PHINE. It had frequently been intimated that Buonaparte intended to divorce Josephine, for the purpose of uniting himself with a younger and more noble bride ; and his quar- rel with the pope, so far from impeding liis object, relieved him from the necessity of asking a sanction which he was aware would have been refused. On the sixteenth of December the design was formally announc- ed to the conservative senate : the project of a decree was submitted to that assembly on the same day ; and before the sitting ter- minated, the law authorizing the divorce was enacted. Buonaparte explained to the assembly the motives by which he was actu- ated; and Josephine declnredthat she will- ingly consented to the divorce, to furtlier 544 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the policy of her husband and the interests of the state. A verbal process was then drawn up, to which was annexed a decree, pronouncing the marriage contract between them to be dissolved. AFFAIRS OF SWEDEN. At the ccmmencement of the contest with Russia, the Swedes had displayed traits of heroism that would have reflected honor on the army of Charles the twelfth ; but, not- withstanding the liberal subsidy granted by Britain, neither the population nor the finances of Sweden were equal to the exi- gency of her present situation. The pro- gress of the Russians in Finland, and the increasing calamities of the war, aggravated by the ravages of a contagious distemper, and the knowledge of the army that it was the fixed purpose of the king again to mea- sure hig strength with Russia and France, excited universal discontent; and a confede- racy was formed against him, which termi- nated in his expulsion from the throne. This bloodless revolution, v/hich took place on the thirteenth of March, 1809, was effected without commotion ; and the diet being as- sembled at Stockholm, the duke of Suder- mania, uncle to Gustavus, was chosen re- gent, and afterwards king, under the title of Charles the thirteenth. On ascending the throne of Sweden, he professed his determination not to consent to any peace with Russia that should be disgraceful to his country, or that should oblige her to take up arras against her faithful ally. Great Britain, and the war was accordingly renew- ed ; misfortune, however, still attended tlie Swedish arms, and peace was at length pur- chased by the sacrifice of Finland. Soon after the conclusion of the treaty with Rus- sia, negotiations were opened between Swe- den and France ; and, on the sixth of Janu- ary, 1810, a treaty was concluded, by which Swedish Pomerania, with the principality of Rugen, was restored to Sweden; the former commercial relations between the two countries were revived ; and Buonaparte prevailed upon his new ally to adopt the continental system, and to exclude British commerce from the ports of the Baltic. EXPEDITfON TO WALCHEREN. After the breaking out of the war be- tween France and Austria, the English gov- ernment made preparations for a formidable expedition, and forty thousand troops were assembled, with thirty-five sail of the line, and about two hundred sail of smaller ves- sels. It was the intention of government to keep its destination secret ; but long be- fore its departure the point of attack was generally known in England, and publicly announced in tlie French journals. The expedition was fitted out in the most com- nlete manner, and the command of tlie armv was conferred on the earl of Chatham, a man unfortunately proverbial for indolence and inactivity : the naval part was under admiral Sir Richard Strachan. On the twenty-eighth of July the armament sailed from the Downs ; and on the first of August Flush ing was invested. On the thirteenth the bombardment commenced, when the town and its inhabitants suflfered dreadfully from Congreve's rockets, but the fortifications were little injured. On the fifteenth the French general Monnet, the commander, demanded a suspension of arms, which was succeeded by the surrender of the town ; and the garrison, comprising more than five thousand troops, were made prisoners of war. Soon afterwards a rumor reached England that no ulterior operations would be undertaken ; and it appeared that no de- cision on this point was made before the twenty-seventh of August, when Sir Rich- ard Strachan, having waited upon lord Chat- ham in person, to learn his lordship's plans, was informed that he had come to the deter- mination not to advance. The French, in the mean time, had not been inactive, and difficulties now presented themselves which might have embarrassed a more able and active commander; every preparation was made to oppose the passage both of our army and navy ; the interior of the Netherlands, and of France, as far as Par's, vrns fti-'ppod of the national guards; and a:i ;.r;;r ,, iuraii- da'ulo for numbers, if not from discipline and experience, had actually been collected for the defence of Antv/erp and the shipping : the naval stores were removed, and prepa- rations were made for conveying the ships up tlie river, beyond the reach of either tils' invading army or navy. Lord Chatham, with a great proportion of the troops, at length returned to England; and the rest found it expedient to give up all their con- quests but the island of Walcheren. This pestilential station it was, after much inde- cision, resolved to keep, for the purpose of shutting up the mouth of the Scheldt, and for enabling our merchants to introduce British merchandise into Holland ; but from this island, the sole fruit of one of the most formidable and expensive expeditions ever sent from this country, we were doomed to be driven by an enemy more cruel and de- structive than the French. A m^alady of the most fatal kind, soon appeared among the troops, and showed the necessity for imme- diate recall ; but it was not till the thirteenth of November, when a great proportion of the forces had either died or been rendered incapable of performing their duty, that the fortifications were ordered to be destroyed ; and on the twenty-third of December tlie island was evacuated in the sight of an en- emy, who, aware that the ravages of disease GEORGE III. would render attack unnecessary, had taken no measures to expel the invaders. A'lTACK ON A FRENCH FLEET— FRENCH CONVOY DESTROYED— MARTINIQUE, CAYENNE, AND BOURBON TAKEN. In the spring of 1809, the French fleet, consisting of eight sail of the line and two frigates, escaped from Brest, and ran into the mouth of the Charente, where, joined hy four sail of the line and two frigates, they nnchored under the batteries ; and lord Coch- rane, in the Imperieuse, being dispatched from England to attack them, a number of vessels, with a supply of Congreve's rockets, joined lord Gambier's fleet, and the prepara- tions for the attack were immediately begun. Tlie fitting up and management of an explo- sion-ship were intrusted to lord Cochrane, who, with one lieutenant and four seamen, committed himself to this floating volcano. On the eleventh of April, the fire-ships, led on by captain Wolridge, and the explosion- ship, bearing its small adventurous crew, proceeded to the attack, favored by a strong northerly wind and the flood tide, when a bcom stretched across the entrance was broken through, and the English advanced, undismayed by the heavy fire from the forts on the Isle of Aix. Lord Cochrane, having approached with his ship as near to the enemy as possible, set fire to the fusee, and, nine minutes after he had quitted her, she blew up with a tremendous explosion. His lordship had no sooner reached his own ship, than he proceeded to attack the French vessels thrown into confusion or driven on shore, and sustained their fire for some time before any other man-of-war entered the liarbor. Early on the twelfl:h, lord Cochrane announced by signal that seven of the ene- my's ships were on shore, and might be destroyed ; but the state of the wind render- ing it hazardous to enter the roads, in which the water was shallow, with the large ships, lord Gambier, who had unmoored, anchored again three miles from the forts, and sent all the small vessels for the attack. Lord Coch- rane, leading the way, opened a fire upon a nhip of fifty-six guns, which struck, and after- vrards three others of the line were forced to strike, all of which were set on fire and destroyed. The other French ships, being got into deep water, moved up the river Charente, where it was impracticable to molest them, but it was unlikely that they could all agam put to sea. Towards the end of October, three sail of the line, four frigates, and twenty large transports, were dispatched from Toulon, imder the French admiral Baudin, to the relief of Barcelona, when lord Collingwood cave orders to admiral Martin to chase them. The sight of the English fleet was the sig- nal for the flight of the French ; and the 46* 1760—1820. 545 line-of-battle ships, with one frigate, ran ashore between Cette and Frontignan, where they were burnt by their crews. The trans- ports took refuge in the bay of Rosas, where, under the shelter of four armed vessels, they seemed to regard themselves secure ; but in this situation they were attacked by captain Hallowell, with the boats of the English squadron, and, after a gallant resistance, the whole were either burnt or brought oflT in the sight of thousands of spectators. In the West Indies, the island of Martinique, and the city of St. Domingo, were added to our numerous possessions; and the colony of Cayenne, under the government of Victor Hughes, fell an easy conquest to a combined attack made by English and Portuguese troops. In the Mediterranean, the small Grecian islands of Zante, Cephalonia, Itha- ca, and Cerigo acknowledged the British flag. DIFFERENCES WITH AMERICA. The differences between England and America this year assumed a more con- firmed character, although both countries professed an anxious desire for the revival of amicable relations. For the purpose of removing one of the most irritating parts of the British orders in council, they were modified, in the beginning of April, so as to permit neutral vessels to trade with any port whatever, except those in a state of actual blockade ; and the blockade was con- fined to France, Holland, and the ports of Italy under the dominion of France. About the time that these regulations were issued, an assurance was given by the Hon, D. M. Erskine, the British minister to the United States, that the orders in council of January and November, 1807, would be withdrawn, as respected the United States, on the tenth of June, in the persuasion that the president would issue a proclamation for the renewal of the mtercourse with Great Britain. In virtue of this assurance, Madison, who had succeeded JeflTerson as president, issued a proclamation on the following day, an- nouncing that the trade between England and America would be renewed on the tenth of June. This pleasing prospect was dis- pelled by the discovery that the arrange- ments entered into by Erskine with the American government, were unauthorized by his instructions, and could not be carried into eflfect. Previously to this arrangement, the American government, finding the em- bargo to fall with a severe pressure upon every part of the community, had raised it as to all otlier nations, and substituted in its stead a system of non-intercoiu*se and non- importation towards England and France. By this act of congress, all voyages to the British and French dominions, and all trade in articles of their manufacture, were pro- 546 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. hibited, with the reservation, however, that if either of the belligerants should so revoke or modify her edicts, that they should cease to violate the commerce of the United States, the trade with that country should be re- newed. A number of American vessels having sailed for Europe on the confidence which they placed in the unratified arrange- ment, the orders of council were suspended in their favor, and Jackson was appointed to succeed Erskine as British envoy to the United States; but the discussions that en^ sued took such an unfavorable turn, that he retired from Washington to New-York, on its being notified that no further communi- cation from him would be received. MINISTERIAL DISPUTES AND CHANGES, —JUBILEE. The ill success of many of the measures of ministers produced dissatisfaction in the nation, and variance among themselves ; and on the twenty-first of September a duel took place between lord Castlereagh and Can ning, two members of the cabinet, and secre taries of state, when, after firing a second time. Canning received his antagonist's ball in his right thigh. This duel was preceded by a letter from lord Castlereagh to Canning, in which his lordship accused the foreign secretary of having clandestinely endeavored to procure his removal from office, on the ground of incapacity for fulfilling its duties. Both of them, before the duel, resigned their offices, as did the duke of Portland, on account of his age and infirmities ; the remaining ministers made proposals to lords Grey and Grenville, which were rejected, and, in consequence, Perceval took the office of first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer ; the marquis of Wellesley was recalled from his embassy in Spain to succeed Canning in the foreign department ; lord Liverpool was transferred from the home to the department of war and colonies ; Ry- der was appointed to succeed lord Liverpool ; and lord Palmerston was at the same time appointed secretary at war, in the room of Sir James Pulteney. Though the events of this disastrous year injured the popularity of ministers, no part of the public displeasure fell upon their ven- erable monarch, who on the twenty-fifth of October commenced the fiftieth year of his reign. The day was celebrated as a jubilee, with thanksgivings, feasts, and illuminations. These loyal demonstrations were mingled with a deep sympathy for the king, now la- boring under the infirmities of age, and af- flicted with almost total blindness, yet en- gaged in war against a power which had shaken every throne in Europe but his own. CAMPAIGN IN SPAIN. In the centre of Spain, marshal Victor at- tacked and defeated tlie idi*ision of the due del Infantado's army, under the command of general Venegas ; while, in the north, Soult made himself master of Ferrol, as well as the fleet moored in the harbor : he after- wards possessed himself of Oporto, without any formidable resistance ; although that place was defended by twenty-four thousand troops and two hundred pieces of cannon. Early in April, the principal Spanish and French armies occupied the following posi- tions : — the marquis del Romana was at Vil- lafranca; general Cuesta, having been join- ed by the division under the due d' Albu- querque, had halted in his retreat before the French at Talavera ; general Reding, hav- ing suflTered severely in an attempt to sur- prise Barcelona, and in a succession of en- gagements near Tarragona, had been rein- forced by the army of general Blake, and was, with that general, employed against the French in Catalonia. Of the French forces, Soult was at Oporto; Ney in the neighborhood of Corunna and Ferrol ; and Victor was advancing towards Lisbon, by Badajoz, with the Spanish force under gen- eral Cuesta in his front. The only engage- ment worthy of notice was fought between marshal Victor and general Cuesta, at Me- dellin, a town of Estremadura, equi-distant from Merida and Truxillo. In this the patri- ots lost, according to the French accounts, fourteen hundred men in killed and wound- ed, with six standards, and all their artil- lery. Such was the state of affairs in Spain when Sir Arthur Wellesley sailed from Portsmouth on the fifteenth of April, and arrived at Lisbon on the twenty-second, to take the command of the British army, which, by reinforcements, sent principally from Ireland, had been increased to thirty thousand men. Sir Arthur determined to dispossess Soult of the city of Oporto, and with this view he assembled the British army at Coimbra on the seventh of May, and advanced towards the Douro. Soult, aware of the magnitude of the opposing force, withdrew the main body of his army, having lost in his retreat by Orense and Penefrel, to Monte Alegre, not less than a fourth of his army, and all his artillery and equipments ; and Oporto fell into the hands of the British almost without resistance. Sir Arthur Wellesley, having placed that city in a proper state of defence, returned to the south of Portugal, to protect Lisbon and its vicinity from the French army, which was advancmg along the Tagus, under marshal Victor. In the north-east of Spain, prodigies of valor had been displayed ; the second siege of Saragossa rivalled the first, and will for ever occupy a distinguished place in the military annals of the country. After tlie GEORGE in. 1760—1820. 547 fall of that city, an unsuccessful attempt was made by general Blake to regain it, in which the Spanish army under his command became exposed to a fatal and inglorious de- feat at Belchite. BATTLE OF TALAVERA. Sir Arthur Wellesley, [See Note C, at the end of this Vol.] having concerted a plan with general Cuesta to attack the cen- tral French armies, and obtain possession of Madrid, a junction of their forces took place In the neighborhood of Plasencia on the twentieth of July ; and the combined army, amounting to about sixty thousand men, of which twenty-four thousand were British, proceeded to Talavera. On the twenty- fifth Joseph Buonaparte and general Sebas- tiani formed a junction with marshal Victor at Toledo, by which their force amounted to forty-seven thousand men ; and it was now obvious that they intended to try the result of a general action. In the afternoon of the twenty-seventh the enemy crossed the Al- berche, and cannonaded the left of the Brit- ish position, while their cavalry attacked the Spanish infantry, hoping to break the ranks and carry the town ; but they were bravely resisted, and finally repulsed. Early in the evening marshal Victor pushed a division along the valley, on the left of a height oc- cupied by general Hill, which he considered the key of the British position; and his efforts to obtain this eminence corresponded with the estimation in which it was held. For a moment the attack was successfiil; but general Hill instantly charged the as- sailants with the bayonet, and regained the post. The French repeated their attack about midnight, but they were again repuls- ed with great slaughter. Both armies passed the night on the field, and several partial engagements were fought before the ensu- ing dawn. The French having ascertained that any attack upon the town, posted as the Spaniards were, was hopeless, at daybreak on the twenty-eighth general Ruffin advanc- ed with three regiments in close columns against the eminence occupied by general Hill, but here they were again driven back, leaving the field covered with their slain. A.bout eleven o'clock, the enemy, finding himself baffled in all his efforts, suspended the attack, and dined upon the field of bat- tle. Wine and bread were at the same time served out to the British troops ; and during this pause in the work of destruction, the men in both armies repaired to a brook to quench their thirst, and stooped to the stream in presence of each other without molesta- tion: numbers of them even shook hands across the brook before the battle recom- menced. At noon, Victor ordered a general attack aioT\g the whole line, and directed his own three divisions against general Hill's position; but they were driven back, and their retrograde movement exposed Sebash tiani's right, which suflTered severely. Their general at length rallied them, and some columns under Vilatte advanced to their support. General Anson's brigade of dra- goons, with general Fane's brigade of heavy cavalry, were ordered to charge them, when the British suffered dreadfully ; but though they failed in breaking the enemy, they de- terred him from any further attempt against the hill. The attack upon the centre, which commenced at the same time, was gallantly resisted by general Campbell, supported by the Spaniards, who turned the flank of the assailants, while the English took their can- non. General Sherbroke repelled the force opposed to him, by a charge of bayonets from the whole division ; but the brigade of guards, advancing too far, exposed them- selves to the fire of the hostile batteries and retiring columns. At this moment, when the fate of the battle appeared worse than doubtful, Sir Arthur Wellesley secured the victory by moving from the heights a bat- talion of the forty-eighth, which, with the assistance of Cotton's brigade of cavalry, enabled the guards to retreat under cover. At the close of the day the enemy were repulsed at all points, and retreated in good order across the Alberche, leaving behind them twenty pieces of cannon. The loss on both sides was severe ; that of the ene- my, who had entire brigades of infantry de- stroyed, was estimated by the English com- mander at ten thousand men. On the same authority it is stated that the British had eight hundred killed, three thousand nine hundred wounded, and six hundred and fifty missing, and the Spaniards twelve hundred and fifty killed and wounded. For this achievement the thanks of parliament were voted to the officers and men, and the com- mander was elevated to the peerage by the title of viscount Wellington. That those honors were well merited is manifest from the skill and prudence of the general-in- chief, in the disposition of his different spe- cies of troops ; and from the great prowess displayed by the troops in an action so long and obstinately contested. The English army had scarcely time to congratulate itself on this victory, before in- telligence arrived that Soult, Ney, and Mor- tier, had advanced through Estremadura, and were already in their rear. A retreat was now indispensable, as Soult had seized at Plasencia the provisions intended for tlie British army ; and as no doubt could be en- tertained that Victor's army would again ad- vance as soon as he heard of the approach of the French forces through Estrcmadura, Cuesta was left at Talavers, where it was ^oped he might be able to maintain liis p©- 548 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. sition ; but in any event, it was understood that he should by no means abandon the wounded. On the third of August the Brit- ish force marched to Oropesa, on the way to Plasencia, with an intention to attack the force under Soult, and in the evening Sir Arthur Wellesley received information that Cuesta meant to quit Talavera immediate- ly; and that, for want of conveyance, he should be obliged to abandon his hospitals. Surrounded with difficulties, with thirty thousand men under Soult pressing upon iiim from the north, and an army equally strong under Victor advancing from the east, the British general determined to retreat over the bridge of Arzobispo, and by a moun- tainous road to take up a position at Deley- tosa, on the way to Truxillo. Here he re- mained unmolested by the French, and was enabled to recruit his army; but finding that the junta were by no means disposed to supply the wants which had prevented his pursuit of the French before the battle of Talavera, he retreated to Badajoz, where, during the remainder of the year, his army continued inactive. SIEGE OF CADIZ. Soon after the battle of Talavera general Venegas, at the head of the army of La Manclia, consisting of about thirty thousand men, was defeated near Toledo by Sebasti- ani, and superseded in the command by the marquis of Areizaga, v/ho, having reassem- bled the forces, and increased them to the number of fifty thousand, advanced ujwn Madrid, and on the nineteenth of November was defeated at Ocana with great loss. The French soon afterwards reduced Cordova and Seville, and thus laid open the road to Cadiz. In old Castile the duke del Parque, at the head of thirty thousand men, after re- pulsing the French at Alba de Tormes, re- treated to the mountains of Faenza, on the borders of Galicia. In Catalonia, Blake was unable to make head against the French Jirmy under Augereau, to whom Gerona, af- ter a long and heroic defence, capitulated on the tenth of December. 1810. — After the battle of Ocana, the French, under Soult, assisted by Victor and Mortier, and accompanied by Joseph Buona- parte in person, advanced into the south of Spain ; and having, on the twentieth of Jan- uary, 1810, penetrated the passes of the Si- <»rra Morena almost without resistance, they e.-'tabiished their head-quarters at Baylen. Sebastiani overran Grenada, and took pos- session of Malaga. Victor occupied Seville on the tenth of February, the supreme Junta assembled there having previously retired to tiie isle of Leon, near Cadiz. This last refug*^ of Spanish independence had been exposed to the greatest danger tlirough their vacilla- tion or treachery, and it was saved by a re- markably rapid march of the duke of Albu- querque, at the head of eight thousand men, from Estremadura. On his arrival at Cadiz he found that the Junta, who were suspected of a design to make terms with Joseph, had been deposed, and the supreme authority vested in a regency. The most vigorous preparations were now made for defence : all persons capable of bearing arms were enrolled ; British troops arrived from Lis- bon and Gibraltar ; and the Spanish fleet, amounting to twenty sail of the line, was moored in the harbor, under the direction of the British admiral Purvis, who brought in his own squadron. The French occupied the shores of the bay, and endeavored to an- noy the shipping and the town, but they did not venture a regular attack upon the isle of Leon ; they, however, took fort Matagor- da, situate but two miles from the city, after it had been bravely defended for two months by a body of British soldiers and sailors. In Catalonia, the Spanish general, O'Don- nel, who had collected a considerable force for the purpose of raising the siege of Ilost- alric, was defeated on the plain of Vich after an obstinate engagement ; and, after a brave resistance of four months, tlie castle of Ilost- alric was taken, by which the French secur- ed the communication between Gerona and Barcelona. In June they captured the im- portant fortresses of Lerida and Mequinen- " za ; but Tortosa, which was besieged imme- diately afterwards, did not surrender until the commencement of the following year. Valencia, for the surprise of which a plan was concerted between Suchet and some traitors within the city, was defended by general Caro, who marched out to attack the French, and defeated them with great slaughter. In the south six thousand French, stationed at Ronda, were surprised by a de- tachment from Algesiras, under general Lacy, and fled in disorder, leaving their arms and ammunition, which were distrib- uted among the mountaineers. The spirit of resistance spreading to the frontiers of Murcia, Sebastiani was ordered into that province, v/here he compelled the Spaniards to retire to Alicante. In August, a Frencli force, posted at Moguer, in the province of Seville, was expelled by a body of Spaniards and English, who, on the approach of a hos- tile reinforcement, retTirned to Cadiz. An- other expedition, undertaken against Mala- ga, hi October, proved unsuccessful, and lord Blaney, who commanded the troops, was taken prisoner. In the month of April the British cabinet made an attempt to rescue the person of Ferdinand out of the hands of Napoleon. The person employed in this mission was an Irish adventurer of the name of Kelly, and the plan, it appears, was concerted with the GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 549 marquis Wellesley, the English secretary of state for foreign affairs, who had placed at Kelly's disposal a squadron off' Quiberon, whence the prince was to embark. Having made his way to Valencay, the residence, or rather tlie place of imprisonment, of Ferdi- nand, Kelly disclosed his intentions to the Infante, Don Antonio, and to the Intendant of the household ; but Ferdmand, on being acquainted with Kelly's visit, informed Ber- themy, the governor of the castle, that an English emissary had found his way thither. Kelly was, in consequence, placed under ar- rest, and the vigilance of the French gov- ernor over the person and suite of the im- becile monarch, if possible, increased. OPERATIONS IN PORTUGAL. Lord Wellington, after the battle of Talavera, determined to confine his opera- tions to the defence of Portugal, till a more auspicious state of afl^airs should arise ; and as the force which this country could send into the Peninsula was small, in comparison with the immense armies of France, and as the Portuguese troops could not at first be expected to equal the British, it was expe- dient to act where inequality of numbers would be compensated by local and artificial strength, and where he would possess the best means of supplying and increasing his force. Lord Wellington accordingly deter- mined to make his stand within the lines of Torres Vedras, a position capable of being rendered impregnable : lying near the Ta- gus, his army could receive reinforcements and supplies readily from England ; and his vicinity to the sea would enable him, in case of exigency, to embark without delay. The French general, on the other hand, would be in the very heart of a hostile country, the inhabitants of which were neither disposed nor able to supply his wants ; and from the nature of the war in the Peninsula, it would be extrfemely difficult to procure the sup- plies from any great distance. To gain time for improving the lines of Torres Vedras, lord Wellington determined to retard the progress of the enemy as much as possible, without hazarding a general engagement ; and, in furtherance of this plan, he advanc- ed, at the commencement of the summer, to the north-eastern frontier of Portugal, his force consisting at that time of about thirty tliousand British, and nearly sixty thousand Spanish and Portuguese. In the beginning of July the hostile ar- mies were posted as follows : a small French corps was stationed before Badajoz, watched by the Spanish r.rmy of Romana, consisting of nine thousand men, and by general Hill, with a British force, amounting to about five thousand. The grand French army under Massena, composed of the divisions of Soult and of Nev, and of laro^e reinforcements brought from France, was posted before Ciu- dad Rodrigo, which fortress he determined to take before he advanced further into Por- tugal. That place made an obstinate de- fence during a terrific and destructive bom- bardment of sixteen days. The head-quar- ters of the English army were in front of Celerico, where the first division, under general Spencer, was stationed ; the second, under general Hill, was at Portalegra ; the third, commanded by general Cole, was can- toned at Garda ; the fourth, under general Picton, was at Pinhel ; and the light division, under general Crawford, including two regi- ments of Portuguese cacadores or marksmen, was advanced close to the French army at Ciudad Rodrigo. Each division had attached to it some Portuguese regiments, with one or more English officers in them, and by whose efforts they had been brought into such order and discipline, that it was reasonably ex- pected they would, in the hour of trial, not disgrace their companions in the field. After the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo, which did not surrender till the fortress was no longer defensible, Massena advanced to the siege of Almeida, and opened his trenches on the fifteenth of August. While a false attack w^as made against the north of the town, two thousand men dug the first paral- lel to a depth of three feet ; and on Sunday the twenty-sixth, at five o'clock in the morn- ing, eleven batteries, mounted with sixty- five pieces of cannon, opened their fire. The garrison consisted of five thousand men, of whose spirit no doubt was entertained ; the city was well provided ; and its works had been placed in so respectable a state, that lord Wellington felt assured of the enemy being detained till late in the season. On the night after the batteries opened, how- ever, the large powder-magazine in the cit- adel blew up with a tremendous explosion. More than half the artillery-men, a great number of the garrison, and many of the in- habitants, perished ; the guns were dis- mounted, and the works no longer defensi- ble. The necessary and almost immediate consequence was the surrender of the place, and all the troops in the garrison were made prisoners of war. On the fall of Almeida, Massena advanced fiirther into Portugal, and lord Wellington, who retreated slowly before him, towards Coimbra, resolved to take up a position on the Sierra de Busaco, which is a high ridge that extends from the Mondego in a northerly direction about eight miles, and there to resist the advance of the French army. In this retreat the se- vere hut efficacious policy was adopted of rendering all the country in the line of march quite iniiospitable to the French, by stripping it of all its inlmbitants, with the whole of their movable property, and by de- 550 ffiSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. stroying what could not be carried off. The British and Portuguese troops were posted along the ridge of the mountain or Sierra, forming the segment of a circle, whose ex- treme points embraced every part of the en- emy's position, and whence every move- ment below could be distinctly observed. On the twenty-sixth of September, the light troops on both sides were engaged through- out the line, and at six o'clock on the fol- lowing morning, the divisions of Ney and Regnier made two desperate attacks upon lord Wellington's position, one on the right, the other on the left of the highest point of the Sierra. Ney's division gained the top of the ridge, but was driven back with the bayonet ; and, another, further to the right, was repulsed before it could reach the top of the mountain. On the left, the attack was made by three divisions, one only of which made any progress towards the sum- mit, and this force, being charged with the bayonet, was driven down with immense loss. The Portuguese soldiers established this day their character for courage and dis- cipline : they were worthy, lord Wellington said, to contend in the same ranks with Brit- ish troops, in that good cause which they af- forded the best hopes of saving. The ene- my, thus repulsed in his attempts to open a passage for his further advance into Portu- gal, accomplished by a manoeuvre what force had failed to effect. On the evening of the twenty-eighth lord Wellington ob- served, as he had anticipated, the French army silently moving round the northern edge of the Sierra, toward Coimbra, which obliged him to quit Busaco, and retreat to the left bank of the Mondego. In the after- noon of the thirtieth the French advanced guard appeared in the front of Coimbra, and the next day lord Wellington fell back upon Leyria, and from thence to the lines of Torres Vedras. So perfectly convinced was the French general that the retreat of lord Wellington was for the purpose of embarking at Lisbon, and that his sole object should be immediate and close pursuit, that he abandoned his wounded at Coimbra, with little or no pro- tection, and advanced without taking tlie precaution to form and establish magazines. On his arrival at Torres Vedras, after recon- noitring the British line, he found their po- sition to be impregnable, and here the error he had committed, in making so incautious an advance, became manifest. These lines, strong by nature, and greatly improved by art, extended to a distance of thirty-five miles, flanked, on one side by the sea, and on the other by the Tagus. The British army was formed into four divisions, each occupying one of the four passes of the mountains. The French force reached the vicinity of Torres Vedras harassed by fa- tigue, straitened for provisions, and without magazines in their rear ; and when the rela- tive strength and situation of the two armiea was known in England, the destruction of the enemy was regarded as inevitable. Mas- sena, however, kept his position in front of Torres Vedras till the fourteenth of Novem- ber, when, being constramed to seek better quarters for the winter, he marched for San- tarem. On the next morning the allied army broke up, and followed the march of the en- emy, hoping that the time for his destruction had now arrived ; but, on examining his po- sition, it was not judged advisable to make an attack ; lord Wellington therefore con- tented himself with fixing his head-quarters at Cartaxo, about ten miles nearer Lisbon, and in these positions the two armies re- mained at the close of the year 1810. In the summer of this year captain Mends, with a small squadron of light vessels hav- ing on board five hundred Spanish troops un- der general Porlier, destroyed all the French batteries, except Castro, from St. Sebastian to St. Andero, on which he found above a hundred pieces of heavy cannon : ■ having thus laid that great extent of sea-coast bare of defence, he obtamed two good anchorages for British vessels. GEORGE in. 1760—1820. 551 CHAPTER XXXIX. Parliament convened — Inquiry as to the Walcheren Expedition — Breach of Privilege — Sir Francis Burdett'^s Motion and Conduct thereon^ and his committal to the Tower — Bullion Question, and other Proceedings — Capture of Amhoyna, Islands of Bourbon, France, Guadaloupe, and Santa Maura — Marriage of Buonaparte — Annexation of Holland to France — Other Annexations — Burning Decrees of Buonaparte — Attempt on Sicily — War with Russia — Differences with the United States — State of Spanish America — The King^s Mental Malady — Regency — Opening of Parliament — Proceedings as to Commercial Distress, and other Affairs — American Disputes — Capture of Java — Naval Actions — Further Measures against British Commerce. PARLIAMENT.— WALCHEREN EXPEDI- TION. Parliament assembled on the twenty- third of January, 1810, and the opening speech, which was read by commission, con- tained but little specific matter besides late disasters, and the necessity of affording fur- ther assistance to Spain and Portugal. Lord Porchester moved for an inquiry into the policy and conduct of the late expedition to Walcheren, by a committee : not a select and secret committee, he said, before whom garbled extracts might be laid by ministers themselves in order to produce a partial de- cision, but a committee of the whole house, by which oral evidence might be examined at the bar. This motion was opposed by min- isters, but was carried against them by a majority of one hundred and ninety-five to one hundred and eighty-six. On the first of February, the day before the investigation commenced, Yorke gave notice that he should, during the inquiry, enforce the standing order of the house for the exclu- sion of strangers. Sheridan deprecated the idea of proceeding in an investigation, in which the nation was so deeply interested, with closed doors, and asked, whether it could be endured that the people should be kept in complete ignorance of what parlia- ment was doing at one of the most awful moments of its existence. A majority of members, however, one hundred and sixty- six to eighty, decided that the standing or- der, for the exclusion of strangers, should remain unaltered. Amongst the papers laid before parliament, was a "copy of the earl of Chatham's statement of his proceedings," dated the fifteenth of October, 1809, pre- sented to the king on the fourteenth of Feb- ruary, 1610. The tenor of the narrative was to impute blame to the naval part of the expedition, and his lordship represented its failure to have arisen, either from insuffi- cient arrangements on the part of the ad- miral. Sir Richard Strachan, or from un- avoidable difficulties, inherent in the nature of the expedition itself, which, being en- tirely of a naval nature, did not come within his province. The presenting of such a document to the sovereign by a military commander, without the intervention of any responsible minister, and without the know- ledge of the accused party, was pronounced a clandestine and unconstitutional attempt to poison the royal ear ; and a motion was made by Whitbread for an address to his majesty, praying that copies of all papers submitted to him by the earl of Chatham, concerning the expedition to the Scheldt, might be laid before the house, was carried, in opposition to ministers, by a majority of seven. This proceeding was followed by a vote of censure, proposed by Whitbread, and amended by Canning, in which lord Chatham's conduct was pronounced highly reprehensible ; and his lordship, to avoid an address to the king for his removal, resign- ed his office of master-general of the ord- nance. The examination of evidence upon the Walcheren expedition occupied the house from the second of February to the twenty- sixth of March, when lord Porchester moved two series of resolutions, to the effect, that the expedition was undertaken under cir- cumstances which aflbrded no rational hope of adequate success, and at the precise sea- son of the year when the disease which had proved so fatal was known to be most pre- valent ; that the advisers of that ill-judged enterprise were therefore highly reprehen- sible; and that their conduct in delaying the evacuation of Walcheren called for the severest censure. — After four nights' debate, tliere appeared, for lord Porchester's resolu- tions, two hundred and twenty-seven, and against them, two hundred and seventy-five voices. The house next decided upon an amendment of general Crawford's, purport- ing, that though the house considered with regret the lives which had been lost, it wait of opinion that his majesty's ministers had proceeded upon good grounds in undertaking the expedition — which amendment, though 552 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN suDstantially at variance with the first part of the resolutions, was carried by a majority of forty. The second set of resolutions, censuring ministers for delaying the evacu- ation of Walcheren, was negatived by two hundred and seventy-five against two hun- dred and twenty-four ; and a resolution, ap- proving their conduct for retaining the island till the time it was abandoned, was carried by two hundred and fifly-five against two hundred and thirty-two. BREACH OF PRIVILEGE.— SIR F. BUR- DETT'S MOTION. The exclusion of strangers from the house of commons, during this inquiry, excited much public observation; and the conduct of Yorke, who moved it, and of Windham, who made some unpopular observations on the practice of reporting debates in the newspapers, being canvassed in some in- stances with too much freedom, Yorke, on the nineteenth of February, complained of a breach of privilege, his conduct in that assembly having been made the subject of discussion in a speaking club called the British Forum; and, on the twenty-first John Gale Jones, the manager of the society, was summoned to the bar, and committed to Newgate. Though several members ex- pressed their doubts of the policy of his commitment, the power of the house to do so was denied by Sir Francis Burdett alone, who, not having been present at the former debate, moved, on the twelfth of March, for the discharge of Jones, on the ground that the house had exceeded its authority, which was negatived by one hundred and fifty- three against fourteen. The speech deliver- ed on this occasion. Sir Francis published in a periodical paper on the twenty-fourth, with a letter prefixed, addressed to his constitu- ents, " denying the power of the house of commons to imprison the people of Eng- land." In consequence of this publication, it was moved by Lethbridge, and decided by a majority, that he had been guilty of pub- lishing a scandalous and libellous paper, re- flecting upon their just rights and privileges; and a motion for his commitment to the Tower was made by Sir Robert Salisbury, and carried, afler a long and animated de- bate, by a majority of one hundred and ninety to one hundred and fifly-two voices. The division did not take place till seven o'clock on the morning of Friday, the sixth of April, when the speaker signed the war- rant, and delivered it to the serjeant-at-arms. That officer was informed by Sir Francis that he would be ready to receive him on the next morning, which being viewed by the Serjeant as implying that he would go peaceably to the Tower, he retired. Sir Francis, however, alleging the illegality of the warrant, refused to go unless con- strained by actual force, which he was de- termined to resist. After taking the opinion of the attorney-general, the serjeant, accom- panied by a number of police officers, and a detachment of troops, forced an entry into his house, and conveyed him to the Tower. As the escort which guarded the prisoner was on its return, a numerous mob attacked them with stones and brickbats, and some shots were fired, by which two or three lives were lost, and several wounded; tlie mob assembled round the house of Sir Francis also committed many outrages in the neigh- borhood. On the tenth, a letter sent by Sir Francis to the speaker, after the receipt of his warrant, became a topic of debate, and a resolution was unanimously passed, de- claring it a high and flagrant breach of the privileges of the house. Sir Francis Burdett commenced actions against the speaker of the house of commons, for issuing the warrant for his arrest and im- prisonment ; against the serjeant-at-arms, for executing the warrant generally, and for breaking open the outer door of his house in its execution ; and against earl Moira, the governor of the Tower, for illegal imprison- ment ; the object of Sir Francis being to as- certain, whether an appeal lay to a court of law, against the proceedings of the house of commons acting as accuser and judge, and affecting the liberty of the subject — if the punishment could be remitted by a court of law, the privilege claimed would be restrict- ed, if not destroyed ; in all which he failed, the plea that the warrant being issued by the authority of the house of commons was a legal instrument, and that therefore the arrest and imprisonment were legal, being admitted. Thus the attempt to overthrow this branch of the privilege of parliament served to confirm it, and gave to the claims of the house of commons a solemn judicial recognition. BULLION QUESTION.— SUPPLIES, &c. Horner, on the first of February, moved for a variety of returns respecting the pres- ent state of the circulating medium, and the trade in bullion, on the production of which a committee was appointed for the purpose of inquiry into the high price of bullion, and its effect on the value of the paper currency. The committee were of opinion, that the evils complained of were to be attributed to an excessive issue of bank of England paper; and it was stated in their report that " a general rise of all prices, a rise in the market price of gold, and a fall in the foreign exchanges, will be the effect of an undue quantity of circulating medium in a country which has adopted a currency not exportable to other countries, or con- vertible at will into a coin that is converti- ble." It was added, that no sufficient rem- GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 553 edy for the present evil, or security for the future, could be pointed out, except the re- peal of the law which suspended the cash payments of the bank, to effect which the committee was aware that some difficulties must be encountered ; but all hazards to the stability of the bank, and all injury to public credit, miglit be obviated, by restricting cash payments for two years from the present time, and by intrustmg to the bank itself tjje charge of conductmg and completing the operation. On the sixteenth of May the budget was brought forward, and the supplies voted for the year amounted to fifty-two million one hundred and eighty-five thousand pounds, of which the proportion for Ireland was six million one hundred and six thousand pounds. The ways and means, without the imposi- tion of any new taxes, were estimated at a surplus of one hundred and forty-one thou- sand two hundred and two pounds over the demand, including, however, a loan of eight million pounds, which was borrowed at the favorable rate of four pound four shillings and three pence three farthings per cent. The foreign subsidies were four hundred thousand pounds for Sicily, and nine hun- dred and eighty thousand pounds for Portu- gal ; and a vote of credit was pEissed for three million pounds. Perceval stated that the official value of the imports was nearly five million pounds more than in the most prosperous year of peace ; that the exports of our manufactures exceeded in amount those of 1802, by eight million pounds ; and that though there was a diminution of nearly four million pounds in the exports of foreign goods, yet the average was highly favorable to the country. He added, that the orders of council had already reduced the receipts of the customs in France from two million five hundred thousand pounds, to five hun- dred thousand pounds, being a diminution of fcur-fifths of their whole amount. Petitions from the Catholics were presented to both houses, and gave rise to protracted discussions, but were rejected by considera- ble majorities. Several measures of reform experienced a similar fate. A bill, intro- duced by Bankes, for rendering perpetual the act preventing the grant of offices in rever sion, was rejected by the lords. Brandt's motion for a committee to inquire into the state of the representation, and into the means of rendering it complete, was nega- tived by a great majority. Various altera- tions were proposed by Sir Samuel Romilly in the criminal code; and it was unani- mously resolved, that the subject of peniten- tiary houses should be taken into considera- tion in the next session. Addresses were voted in both houses, on the motion of lord Holland and Brougham, beseeching his ma- VoL. IV. 47 jesty to persevere in his endeavors to in- duce foreign nations to co-operate in the abolition of the slave-trade. The latter, with great ability and eloquence, exposed the practices of certain persons, even in this country, who carried on that traffic in a clandestine manner, as the penalties were pecuniary, and it was a mere commercial speculation, what risk might be run for a certain profit by an adventure in the slave- trade : and a resolution for taking into con- sideration, early in the next session, such measures as might tend to prevent those violations of the law, was unanimously adopted. The twelfth report of the commissioners of military inquiry disclosed a flagrant in- stance of public delinquency. It appeared that Joseph Hunt, a member of the house of commons, and late treasurer of the board of ordnance, had misapplied certain sums of public money to a considerable amount ; and on the motion of Calcraft; he was expelled the house. The defaulter had, on the plea of ill health, emigrated to Lisbon. On the twenty-first of June, parliament was pro- rogued. CAPTURE OF AMBOYNA AND OTHER ISLANDS. The Dutch settlement of Amboyna, with its dependencies, was carried by a coup de main in February, by an expedition under captain Tucker, who obtained a booty ; and the chief of the spice islands, Banda, with its dependencies, surrendered uncondition- ally to captain Cole, of the Carolina frigate, who conducted the attack with uncommon gallantry and skill. The island of Bourbon, and the Mauritius, or Isle of France, having long aflEbrded shelter to a large number of French privateers, which had captured East India shipping to an enormous amount, ex- peditions were planned against them. The Isle of Bourbon was first attacked, for which purpose a large force was collected under lieutenant-colonel Keating and commodore Rowley, who were preparmg for an assault on St, Dennis, the principal town, when a proposal from the governor for a capitulation was acceded to, and, two days afterwards, the whole island submitted. A body of troops from India and the Cape of Good Hope, amounting to about ten thousand, des- tined for the reduction of the Isle of France, under major-general John Abercrombie, ef- fected a landing on the twenty-ninth of No- vember ; admiral Bertie commanded the na- val force. On the second of December the troops prepared for attackmg the forts ; but on the day following, general de Caen, the French governor, capitulated, on condition that the troops should return to France without being considered as prisoners of war ; by which the Isle of France, an immense 554 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. quantity of stores and valuable merchandise, five large frigates, some smaller ships of war, and twenty-eight merchantmen, with two captured British East-Indiamen, were sur- rendered to his majesty's arms. In the West Indies, the island of Guada- loupe, the last that remained to the French in that part of the world, surrendered, on the fifih of February, to a combined naval and military force, under admiral Sir Alex- ander Cochrane, and lieutenant-general Sir George Beckwith; in the Ionian Sea, the island of Santa Maura, the ancient Leucadia, was taken on the sixteenth of April, by an armament from Zante, under captain Eyre of the Magnificent, and brigadier-general Oswald, after a vigorous resist;ance ; and in the Baltic sea, the island of Anholt was de- fended by captain Maurice and three hun dred and eighty men, against a Danish force of nearly three thousand, which landed there on the twenty-third of March ; but were re pulsed, with the loss of four hundred and four taken, besides many killed and wounded MARRIAGE OF BUONAPARTE— ANNEXA- TION OF HOLLAND TO FRANCE. The marriage of Buonaparte to the arch- dutchess Maria Louisa of Austria, to which his divorce from Josephine, in the close of 1809, was the prelude, took place early in this year. On the twenty-seventh of Feb- ruary he announced to the senate that he had dispatched his cousin, the prince of Neuf- chatel (Berthier), to demand for him the hand of the daughter of the emperor Fran- cis, agreeably to a contract that had been made, and which is supposed to have been a secret article in the treaty of peace. The marriage took place at Vienna on the elev- enth of March, the archduke Charles receiv- ing the hand of his niece, as representative of his old antagonist ; and on the thirteenth the new empress set off on her way to Paris, where the ceremony was repeated on her arrival, with every mark of imperial gran- deur, on the first of April. The train of the bride was supported by four queens ; and after the marriage was concluded, Buona- ]>arte conducted her to St. Cloud, where, three days afterwards, they received the congratulations of the senate. It was at fh-st conceived that the archdutchess was an unwilling, though resigned, victim to the preservation of her family ; but it soon ap- peared that she was delighted with her con- quest over the man who had conquered Eu- rope, while Napoleon equally felicitated him- self in a connexion which seemed to secure the perpetuity of his new dynasty. Proceeding in his plans of encroachment, Buonaparte seized the seven Dutch prov that period, indeed, they had been a depend- ency upon France ; but in some things Louis had not shown himself sufficiently obsequi- ous, especially in the restrictions upon com- merce. On the first of July he resigned his nominal dignity in favor of his two sons, de- claring his queen regent ; and, in a farewell address to the legislative body, he stated the circumstances that had rendered it necessa- , ry for him to sign a treaty with his brother, the emperor, whereby he had been deprived of all authority. He advised them to receive the French with respect and cordiality ; he expressed a warm affection for his late sub- jects ; and, indeed, throughout his short reign, he always appeared as the friend of the people upon whom he had been arbitra- rily imposed. It does not appear to have been the wish, and certainly was not the pol- icy, of Buonaparte to deprive his brother of the regal state to which he had raised him, if he could have made him subservient to his ruling passion of ruining the commerce of Great Britain, or obtaining what he call- ed a maritime peace, by the revocation of the English orders in council. With this view he had, towards the close of 1809, sent for Louis to Paris, and, after many confer- ences, Louis reported to his ministers that there could no longer be any independence or national existence for Holland, should the maritime war be continued ; and as it was possible that the cabinet of London, rather than suffer its annexation to the French em- pire, might be induced to make peace with France, or to change its measures with re- spect to neutral commerce, he directed them to send to England some discreet man of business, to urge the advantages of the in- dependence of Holland to that country. In conformity with this message, which could only be considered as coming from Napoleon himself. Mynheer Peter Cgesar Labouchere arrived in London in February, and had sev- eral conferences with the marquis Welles- ley, who told him, that while the Milan and Berlin decrees remained in force, it was not to be expected that we should relax our ef- forts for self-defence : the orders in council were not the cause, but the consequence of those decrees ; and even were the latter promised to be recalled, it would not be con- venient for England to admit, in principle, that the British measures of reprisals should be discontinued as soon as the cause that provoked them should be removed. The ne- gotiation having thus failed, the annexation was determined upon; the abdication of Louis in favor of his children was consider- ed of no validity, not having been previous- ly concerted with the emperor; and the , mces, which in 1806 he had formed into a | seven provinces were merged in the French kingdom, in favor of his brother Louis. From I empire. GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 555 OTHER ANJ^JEXATrONS.— BURNING DfcXREES. Other annexations were those of the Valais, for the purpose of securing the pas- sage of the Alps by the mountain of Sim- plon, through which a road had been making during the preceding ten years ; and of the Hanse Towns, with the whole territory be- tween the Elbe and the Ems. The elector- ate of Hanover, also, was annexed to the kingdom of Westphalia, and to all the de- pendent kingdoms the conscription laws were extended. In France itself the chains of despotic power were riveted by a rigor- ous police, and restrictions on the liberty of the press. Decrees for seizing and burning English merchandise were carried into exe- cution with great rigor in the Hanse Towns, in France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Prussia, and Denmark ; while the holding of any intercourse with Great Britain, or with British ships, was made felony in the captain of any vessel, who was accordingly liable to be punished with death ; the owner of the ship was to be branded ; and minor punishments were denounced against all who should be in the least concerned in this proliibited traffic, down to the meanest por- ter. The king of Prussia, dejected by the curtailment of his power, and by the death of his beautiful and high-spirited queen, viewed all these chf^nges with apparent un- concern. In Italy the ecclesiastics, by their influence, still maintained th'3 supremacy of the pope ; and a greater concourse than or- dinary of that order having been remarked at Rome, an ordinance was issued, that they should immediately repair to the usual places of their respective residences ; and on symp- toms of dissatisfaction being manifested in the ecclesiastical states, a French corps, twenty thousand strong, was collected in the vicinity of Rome, and the churches and other public buildings were converted into barracks for its accommodation. In Sweden the influence of France was strengthened by an event which may be ranked among the most extraordinary oc- currences of the year. The duke of Suder- mania, who, it will be recollected, had been called to the throne in 1809 by the name of Charles the Thirteenth, being at an advanc-} ed age, and without children, had deemed j it necessary that a successor to the throne should be nominated ; and the states had ac- ! cordingly electo:] Christian Augustus, prince j of Augustenberg, a subject of Denmark, j who repaired to Stockholm in January, 1810, | and took the oath of fidelity to the Swedish [ monarch. On the twenty-ninth of May, I v/liile reviewinu- saud men, who captured nearly the whole of his force; he himself escaping with a few of his attendants. On the tenth of Septeni- 580 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ber nine American vessels encountered six British on Lake Erie, in which unequal con- test the American commander's vessel at one time struck ; but at length the Vv^hole British squadron, reduced to a complete wreck, fell into the hands of the enemy. In the end of October three American armies, each amounting to ten thousand men, marched from different points upon Lower Canada; but this great effort was completely frus- trated, and, on the whole, the campaign was honorable to the British arms. Great Britain did not fully maintain that decided superiority in naval combats which had so long distinguished her, although in none did she suffer disgrace. The preceding year closed with the loss of the English frig- ate Java, captain Lambert, with lieutenant- general Hislop and his staff on board, bound to Bombay. She was met off the coast of Brazil by the American frigate Constitution, captain Bainbridge, of much superior force ; and after a furious action, in which she was dismasted and completely disabled, she sur- rendered to her antagonist in a state which obliged him to set her on fire as soon as the wounded were removed. Captain Lambert and many of his crew were killed. The Peacock British sloop, of eighteen guns, was also sunk in an engagement with the Amer- ican sloop Hornet. The time, however, arrived, in which the British flag was to re- cover its glory. Captain Broke, of the Shan- non frigate, had been cruising for some time near the port of Boston, where the Chesa- peake frigate then lay ; and that the enemy might not be prevented from coming out, by the apprehension of having more than one opponent to deal with, captain Broke, on the first of June, drew up before the harbor in a posture of defiance. Captain Lawrence, of the Chesapeake, accepted the challenge, and put to sea ; while crowds of the inhabitants, in the gi-eatest confidence as to the issue, lined the beach to witness the approaching conflict. After the exchange of two or three broadsides, the Chesapeake fell on board the Shannon, and they were locked together. At this critical moment captain Broke, observing that the enemy flinched from their guns, gave orders to board. In less than ten min- utes, the whole of the British crew were on the decks of the Chesapeake; and in two minutes more the enemy were driven, sword in hand, from every point; the American flag was hauled down ; and the British Union floated over it in triumph. In another min- ute they ceased firing from below, and palled for quarter; and the whole service was performed in fifleen minutes from its commencement. Both ships came out of ac- tion in the most beautiful order, their rigging appearing as perfect as if they had only been exchanging a salute. The Shannon sailed immediately with her prize for Halifax, where captain Lawrence died of his wounds. The loss, on both sides, was very severe for so short a contest ; that of the English being twenty-three killed and fifty-six wounded, and the Americans about seventy killed and one hundred wounded. In St. George's chan* nel the American sloop of war Argus waa also captured by the British sloop Pelican. PARLIAMENT. Parliament was opened so early as the fourth of November, by the prince-regent, with a speech from the throne, of which the new alliances against France, and the war with America, formed the principal topics. The prince declared that no disposition to require from France sacrifices inconsistent with her honor, or just pretensions as a na- tion, would ever be an obstacle to peace; and that he was ready to enter into discus- sions with the United States on principles not inconsistent with the established maxims of public law, and with the maritime rights of the British empire. The addresses on the speech were carried without opposition. After the treaties with Russia and Prussia had been laid before the house, lord Ca»- tlereagh introduced a bill to enable his ma- jesty to accept the services of a proportion of the militia out of the United Kingdom, for the vigorous prosecution of the war. The bill passed through both houses Y>-}tliGat opposition, every possible exurtii n to Lring the great contest on the continent to a speedy issue being considered desirable. The sanc- tion of parliament was also obtained, without, a dissentient voice, for the loan of twenty^- two million pounds, as well as for the aids granted to Sweden, Russia, Prussia, and Aus- tria, either in direct subsidies or in bills of credit. Two millions had been advanced to Portugal, two to Spain, and one to Sweden. The sum to be allowed to Russia and Prussia was estimated at five million pounds; and the advance to be made to Austria consisted of one million pounds, together with one hun- dred thousand stand of arms, and military stores in proportion. Men of all parties concurred in supporting the foreign policy of ministers, and the advocates of peace admitted that there were no means of securing that blessing but by perseverance in the mighty contest which had been so gloriously begun. On the twentieth of December parliament was adjourned until the first of March, 1814. PEACE WITH DENMARK— TRANSFER OF NORWAY.— MURAT JOINS THE ALLIES. Peace between Great Britain and Den- mark was re-established on the fourteenth of January. Britain engaged to restore all her conquests except Heligoland ; prisoners of war, on both sides, were to be released ; Denmark was to join the allies with ten GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 581 thousand men, on receiving a subsidy of four hundred thousand pounds from Eng- land ; and Pomerania to be ceded, by Swe- den, to Denmark, in lieu of Norway. It was not, however, without great reluctance that the king of Denmark parted with one of his crowns, and the people of Norway could not be reconciled to a transfer which militated against their national and political prejudices. Violent commotions consequent- ly took place ; a declaration of Norwegian independence was made ; and prince Chris- tian, hereditary prince of Denmark, was proclaimed regent. Hostilities commenced between Sweden and Norway about the middle of July ; by the latter end of August prince Christian was compelled to relinquish his claims ; and the sceptre of Norway, after having been so long annexed to the Danish dominions, passed into the hands of the king of Sweden. The mortifications of Buonaparte were increased by the defection of Murat, his brother-in-law, who had been created king of Naples by his interest, and who, by a treaty dated the eleventh of January, en- gaged to assist Austria with an army of thirty tlioasand men, and opened his ports to the Eno-lish. In Holland, a body of Eng- lish and Dutch, under Sir Thomas Graham, created a diversion in favor of the allies. WELLINGTOIV CROSSES THE ADOUR— BATTLE OF ORTHES. In the south of France, at the commence- ment of the year, the progress of lord Wel- lington was retarded by the state of the weather ; but as soon as it became tolerably favorable, he resolved to pass the Adour, in which he was greatly assisted by admiral Penrose, with the vessels and boats collect- ed for the service. The army now received its supplies from the little harbor of St. Jean de Luz, which was crowded with English shipping. The Gave d'Oleron was also pass- ed, and Soult withdrew to a commanding position in front of Orthes, where, being re- inforced by general Clausel, he determined to wait the issue of an action. On the twenty-seventh of February lord Welling- ion issued his orders for a general attack, when the French were driven from one po- sition to another, till the rapid advance of Sir Rowland Hill, wlio had forced a passage over the Gave de Pau, above the town, and marched a strong body of cavalry upon the road to St. Sevre, threw them into inextri- cable confusion. On the twenty-eighth, the pursuit was continued to St. Sevre, where general Beresford crossed the upper part of the Adour. On the first of March the ad- vance of the main army was impeded by heavy rains; Sir Rowland Hill, however, proceeded to Aire, which he attacked on the second, and, after an obstinate resistance, 49* the enemy was again put to flight, leaving the road to Bordeaux completely open. The retreat of Soult's army was towards Tou- louse, whither the main body of the British pursued him ; whilst Bayonne was invested by Sir John Hope. In this state of affairs, Buonaparte released Ferdinand the seventh and his brother Don Carlos. ALLIES ENTER FRANCE— TREATY OF CHAUMONT— BATTLE OF CRAONE. The allied armies operating on the Rhine probably exceeded half a million. Prussia and Austria had, between them, an effec- tive force of two hundred and fifty thou- sand ; Russia alone had nearly two hundred thousand ; and to these may be added thirty thousand Swedes, ten thousand Danes, and a large num.ber of troops contributed by the princes of the confederation of the Rhme. — On crossing that important river, the allies issued a proclamation, in which they de- clared that, though victory had conducted them into France, they had not come to make war upon her ; their wish and object were simply, to repel far from them the yoke that the French government endeavor- ed to impose on their respective countries — countries which possessed the same rights to independence and happiness as France. As conquest and splendor were not their ob- jects, they therefore called upon the magis- trates, land-owners, and cultivators, to re- main at their homes, as the progress and stay of the allied armies would be charac- terized by the maintenance of public order, respect to private property, and the most severe discipline. Notwithstanding all they had suffered, they were not animated by a spirit of vengeance ; they knew how to dis- tinguish and separate the ruler of France from France herself: to him they attributed all their calamities ; and not even were they disposed to retaliate on the French nation any of those miseries which the revolution had brought on Europe. — While Buonaparte never made war but for the purpose of con- quest, and to gratify his ambition, other counsels guided the allied monarchs. They, indeed, were ambitious — they, indeed, sought glory ; but their ambition and glory were of a very opposite character from those of Buo- naparte. The only conquest which they de- sired was that of peace ; not such a peace as Buonaparte had often mocked Europe with, but a peace which should secure to their own people, to France, and to Europe, a state of real repose. " We hoped to find it before touching the soil of France; we come hither in quest of it !" Marshal Blucher's army, amounting to eighty thousand men, crossed the Rhine in three columns; general St Priest at Cob. lentz, generals Langeron and DTorck at Caub, and general Sacken at Manheinj; 582 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. while, at the same time, Brabant was enter- ed by fifty thousand men, to co-operate with the forces from England. But it was not only with her troops and money that this country was determined to assist the allies in their glorious purpose of restoring the tranquillity of Europe : as it was natural to suppose that the downfall of Buonaparte, or, if he displayed a sincere desire for peace, a treaty with him, would take place, it was proper, in either case, that Britain, who had done so much, and who was so much inte- rested in the result, should have her repre- sent>ative present with the allied armies; and lord Castlereagh was selected for this purpose. Buonaparte found the French nation very reluctant in coming forward against the in- vaders ; and the regular armies, which still remained to him, were by no means equal to cope with them : they therefore advanced into France with little opposition. By the middle of January part of the allied forces occupied Langres, an ancient and conside- rable town, one hundred miles within the French frontier. The principal armies which Buonaparte had been able to collect were under the command of Marshals Vic- tor and Marmont. The former advanced into Alsace, where he met the Bavarians, under general Wrede; the French, how- ever, were compelled to evacuate this prov- ince, and, being brought to action in Lor- raine, were defeated with great loss, and re- treated on Luneville. The Cossacks, ac- cording to their usual custom, were greatly in advance, having pushed on between Epi- nal and Nancy. The second French army, under Marmont, was ordered to oppose the advance of Blucher ; but neither in relative force nor equipment was it equal to this ob- ject. Marmont, therefore, retreated before the Prussian general to the Saare, behind which river, and within the frontiers of Old France, he took up a position. His retreat was much harassed on one flank by count Sacken, who occupied Worms, Spires, and Deux Fonts ; while, on the other, he was approached by general D'Yorck, who occu- pied Treves and Saar-Louis. From this sketch it is evident that, even within a month after the allies had crossed the Rhine, they were gaining fast upon Paris, while the French armies which had hitherto been collected were quite incompetent to resist them with effect. On the twenty-fiftii of January, Buona- parte left Paris, preceded by Berthier, hav- ing previously confided the regency, during his absence, to Maria Louisa. The French armies about this time were assembling with- in the line of the Meuse ; Chalons-sur-Marne being the point towards which Macdonald, Marmont, Victor, and Mortier, were re- treating from different quarters. The allied armies were also concentrating and pressing on the same point: Blucher by the way of Nancy and Toule; and Schwartzenberg, who had the chief command of the Aus- trian and Russian armies, by Langres and Chaumont. Anxious to prevent the junction of his opponents, Buonaparte moved forward to St. Dizier, and on the twenty-ninth at- tacked Blucher at Brienne, where, after a sanguinary conflict, he remained master of the field. On the first of February he again attacked the Prussian general at La Ro- thiere, where he was beaten with the loss of seventy-three pieces of cannon and of four thousand prisoners, and driven over the Aube to Troyes, from whence the advance of Schwartzenberg compelled him to retreat to Nogent, and abandon the ancient capital of Champagne. This rapid career, which threatened speedy ruin to Buonaparte, stimu- lated him to fresh exertions, and he deter- mined on the plan of concentrating his force at particular points. His first efforts were directed against Blucher, whom he compelled, after a variety of actions, to re- treat. In the mean time, however, prince Schwartzenberg, with the Austrians, was advancing upon Paris, and a corps had gain- ed possession of Fontainbleau on the seven- teenth of February, which obliged Buona- parte to turn his arms on that side; and, after much fighting, Schwartzenberg was compelled to withdraw his positions on the Seine, and establish his head-quarters at Troyes. This city was evacuated by the allies on the twenty-third ; it was, however, recovered on the fourth of March by general Wrede, at which time Buonaparte was marching against Blucher. During these operations the plenipoten- tiaries from the several belligerent powers assembled at Chatillon, where Caulincourt appeared on the part of France. The treaty, which proceeded upon the ground of placing France in the same territorial situation as she stood under her kings, with some ad- dition to her ancient limits, contained a proposition that her capital should be occu- pied by the allied armies till the conclusion of a definitive treaty. Buonaparte, elated by the temporary successes which he had recently gained, seized with fury the paper containing the proposal, exclaiming, while he tore it, " Occupy the French capital ! I am at this moment nearer to Vienna than they are to Paris !" The advantages, how- ever, of the allies were immense : every fortress which fell on either side of the Rhine augmented their means of invasion ; the Oder, the Elbe, and the Rhine, had be- come a triple line of reserves, from which they continually drew reinforcements; and the obstacles that had hitherto retarded tlieir GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 683 progress were daily diminishing. Anxious, however, to ascertain Buonaparte's views and intentions, the allied sovereigns allowed Caulincourt to present a counter-proposition, stipulating only that it should correspond with the spirit and substance of the condi- tions already submitted; and the tenth of March was fixed upon, by mutual consent, as the period at which the fi.nal determina- tion should be made. In the mean time a treaty was signed at Chaumont, by which Austria, Russia, Eng- land, and Prussia, undertook each to bring one hundred and fifty thousand men into the field, and engaged, should Buonaparte re- ject the propositions submitted to him, to employ all their means in a vigorous prose- cution of the war. Britain also engaged to fiirnish a subsidy of five million pounds to be equally divided among the other three pow- ers ; reserving to herself, however, the right of furnishing her contingent in foreign troops, at the rate of twenty pounds per annum for infantry, and thirty pounds for cavalry. The treaty finally stipulated that the league should continue for twenty years, and should extend also to such other powers as might de- termine to join the confederation. At length, on the fifteenth of March, the French pleni- potentiary presented a counter-proposition, demanding that the Rhine should form the boundary of the French empire ; that Ant- werp, Flushing, Nimeguen, and part of Waal, should be ceded to France ; and that Italy, including Venice, should form a kingdom for the viceroy, Eugene Beauharnois. In addition to these claims, he demanded in- demnities for Joseph, Jerome, and Louis Buonaparte; and for the viceroy, as duke of Frankfort. As these demands would con- fer power on France out of all proportion to the other great political bodies of Europe, the ministers of the allied sovereigns de- clared that, to continue the negotiations, un- der the present auspices, would be to re- nounce the objects they had in view, and to betray the confidence reposed in them. Aus- tria herself abandoned Buonaparte to his fate, and the congress was dissolved. Operations were not relaxed in conse- quence of these negotiations. On the fifth of March, Buonaparte was repulsed at Sois- sons, which town, after having twice changed masters, had been most opportunely reduced by Winzingerode and Bulow, at the head of thirty thousand men. He then made a flank movement on Craone, which covered the left wing of Blucher's army, and an obsti- nate engagement ensued, during which the Prussian general detached ten thousand cavalry, with instructions to tlirow them- selves on the flank and rear of tlie French ; but this manoeuvre was unsuccessful, and on the seventh Blucher retreated in admira- ble order upon Laon, where he was joined by the Russians who had evacuated Sois- sons. Here he was attacked by Buonaparte, with his whole force, on the ninth; and, after a severe action on that and the follow- ing day, he retained his position, the French retreating towards Soissons, with the loss of forty-eight pieces of cannon and five thou- sand prisoners. In Blucher Buonaparte found an antagonist, who, in every vicissitude, pre- sented an example of constancy and hero- ism ; and to whose prowess he is said to have paid an involuntary tribute, on one oc- casion, by exclaiming that he would rather fight ten regular generals than that old drunken hussar; for the day after he had totally defeated him, he was sure to find him as ready as ever to renew the combat. In the course of his route, Buonaparte seized Rheims, and continued his march to- wards prince Schwartzenberg, who, on the twenty-first, took a position before Arcis-sur- Aube. After an obstinate engagement, Buo- naparte, apprehensive of a surprise fi-om Blucher, avoided a general action, and re- treated upon Vitry and St. Dizier. His ef- forts were now directed to prevent the junc- tion of Schwartzenberg and Blucher; but in furthering his object, by passing the Aube with his whole army near Vitry, he left him- self open to the bold decision which was im- mediately adopted by the allies, who lost no time in placing themselves between the French army and Paris, and proceeding thither, with a united force of at least two hundred thousand men. On the twenty-fourth of March, prince Schwartzenberg established his head-quar- ters at Vitry; and on the same day field- marshal Blucher arrived, with a large pro- portion of his army, at Chalons. General Winzingerode and CzernicheflT were now dispatched, with ten thousand horse and fifty pieces of cannon, to observe the march of Napoleon on St. Dizier, and to menace his rear. The arrangements being complete, the king of Prussia issued orders to marshal Blucher to direct his force on Paris ; and on the twenty-fifth the Austro-Russian army faced about from Vitry, and took the same direction, by the route of Fete Champenoise, where a junction between the two armies was formed. On their march the allies had the good fortune to intercept a column of five thousand men, escorting from Paris an immense convoy of ammunition and provis- ions for Buonaparte. Tlie grand army es- tablished its head-quarters at Coulommiers on the twenty-seventh, having marcfied twenty-seven leagues in three days, and be- ing now only thirteen leagues from Paris. The plan of tlie nllied sovereigns was to concentrate the whole of their force on the right banks of the Marne ana Ui9 Seine, 584 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. and to attack Paris on the north, by takmg a position on the heights of Montmartre. On the twenty-eighth they continued their progress to Meaux, and in the evening ar- rived in tlie neighborhood of the French metropolis, M^ithout having encountered any formidable obstacle. OCCUPATION OF PARIS— ABDICATION OF BUONAPARTE. Hitherto Buonaparte had displayed to his army the most invincible confidence in the final result of the campaign, considering the armies to which he was opposed as cut oif in their retreat, and inclosed in the heart of France. Roused at length from this de- lusion by intelligence, received on the twenty-seventh, that the allies were march- ing directly on Paris, he advanced to the Aube. On the twenty-ninth at daybreak, whilst preparing to pass that river at the bridge of Doulancourt, a courier arrived with intelligence that marshals Marmont and Mortier, after having fallen back before the enemy, were making dispositions to de- fend the capital ; and, aware of the insuffi- ciency of their means, he foresaw the catas- trophe which was about to destroy the great edifice of liis power. The troops left: for its defence consisted of the remains of the corps which had fallen back before the allied armies ; five or six thousand regulars in gar- rison, commanded by generals Compans and Ornans ; and thirty thousand national guards, of whom eight or ten thousand at the most were fit for active service. This small army, under the immediate command of Joseph Buonaparte, assisted by Mortier and Mar- mont, and the governor-general, Hulin, had taken a position in front of the heights of Montmartre, under cover of some intrench- raents hastily thrown up, and lined with one hundred and fifty pieces of artillery; their line extended to the villages of Pantin, Ro- mainville, and Belleville. The canal, and the nature of the ground altogether, ren- dered this position a strong one, particularly as the allied cavalry had no extent of ground to make a charge. In the interim, Buona- parte had issued orders to defend the capHal to the last extremity, being himself, as he announced, on his march to relieve it. At dawn on the thirtieth, the allies, wishing if poasil fection permitted to every mother but her, tier royal highncFS also addressed a letter to the speaker, inclosing, for the information of the house of commons, the correspond- ence which had passed on this occasion. After the letters had been read, Methuen moved, " that an humble address be present- ed to his royal highness the prince-regent, to pray that he would be graciously pleased to acquaint the house by whose advice he was induced to form tlie 'fixed and unal- teral)le determination never to meet her royal highness the princess of Wales, upon finy occasion, either in public or private.' " — Ministers contended that it was not within the province of the house to interfere in this case ; and the debate, which was carried on with closed doors, terminated in Methuen's consenting to withdraw his motion, from a hope that the rigorous proceeding announc- ed against the princess would not be acted upon at the approaching drawing-rooms. In this expectation the honorable gentleman was disappointed ; but when the subject was .igain resumed on the twenty-third of June, Methuen dwelt more upon the necessity of increasing the establishment of the princess of Wales than on the indignity and injus- tice offered to her ; on which lord Castle- roagh observed that it was the first time parliament had been told that an increased j^rovision for her royal highness was the ob- ject which her friends had in view. His 'nrdship proceeded to state that he had no objection to submit to the house, on a future (lay, a proposal on this subject; and, in con- clusion, adverted to a fact not before gene- rally known, namely, that there was in ex- istence an instrument dated in the year 1809, signed by the prince and princess of Wales, and approved by his majesty, and to which his signature, as well as that of a large proportion of the ministers of the time, was affixed, which provided for a distinct establishment for the princess, and admitted th*^ fact of the separation. On the fourth of July lord Castlereagh proposed that such an increase should be made to the income of the princess as would enable her to main- tain an establishment more suited to her situation in this country; and he thought the most desirable measure would be to raise it to that point to which it would be advanced in the event of the death of the prince-regent: his proposal therefore was, that the net annual sum of fifty thousand TX)nnds should be granted to the princess of Wales, and that the five thousand pounds and seventeen thousand pounds per annum, which she at present enjoyed, should be withheld from the prince-regent's income. This sum was, at her own request, reduced to thirty-five thousand pounds; and the princess shortly afterwards asked, and read- VoL. IV. 50 ily obtained, permission to make a t^ur to the Continent. LORD COCHRANE. Public attention was strongly excited during the session by a prosecution against lord Cochrane and seven others, for a con- spiracy to create a fraudulent advance in the price of the public funds, by circulating false intelligence of the defeat and death of Buonaparte. The trick was carried into ef- fect, with temporary success, on the eleventh of February ; and the whole of the defend- ants being found guilty, the sentence passed on lord Cochrane was, that he pay a fine of five hundred pounds, be imprisoned twelve months, and stand once in the pillory ! this part of the sentence was, however, re- mitted. On the fifth of July the house of commons expelled his lordship by a majority of one hundred and forty to forty-four : he, however, asserted his entire ignorance of the whole plot, that he was placed under disadvantages by the nature of the prosecu- tion and the conduct of the judge : and the electors of Westminster felt so confident of his innocence, that they re-elected him not only without opposition, but in triumph. His name was also erased from among the knights of the Bath. FINANCE. The national income and expenditure were, on the thirteenth of June, brought under the consideration of the house of commons. The whole amount of the joint and separate charges for the service of the year were stated by the chancellor of the exchequer at sixty-seven million five hun- dred and seventeen thousand four hundred and seventy-eight pounds for England ; and for Ireland at eight million one hundred and seven thousand and ninety-four pounds, making the total expense of the year seven- ty-five million six hundred and twenty-four thousand five hundred and seventy-two pounds. To meet the charges upon the public revenue, the taxes and the loans of the year for England would produce sixty- seven million seven hundred and eight thou- sand five hundred and forty-five pounds. The exports of the past year had very con- siderably exceeded those of the most flour- ishing year at any former period. The total amount of the loan for 1814 was twen- ty-four million pounds, being eighteen mil- lion five hundred thousand pounds for Eng- land, and five million five hundred thousand pounds for Ireland; and, from the terms upon which the loan had been negotiated, it might be calculated that the public would remain charged with the yearly interest upon it of four pounds, twelve shillings and one penny per cent. At the close of this statement the usual resolutions were read and agreed to, after a remark from Ponoon- 590 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. by, that the public interest demanded that the property tax should not be collected after the fifth of April next. Apprehen- sions, however, were still entertained that the tax might be renewed ; and the incon- clusive replies given by government to the inquiries made on that subject excited a very deep and general alarm throughout the country. The first place which took measures to petition parliament against the renewal of the tax was the city of London ; and the example of the metropolis was so generally followed, that the voice of the people, which, when distinctly and perse- veringly raised, must always be heard, final- ly prevailed. STATE OF IRELAND. The state of Ireland had, for some time, been such as to call for the adoption of addi- tional measures for securing the public tran- quillity ; and on the eighth of July, Peel, chief secretary for Ireland, proposed the re- newal of a measure which had received the sanction of parliament in 1807. The clause of the insurrection act, which it was now intended to revive, provided that, in case any part of the country should be disturbed, two justices of the peace should be empow- ered to summon an extraordinary sessions of the county, which should consist of seven magistrates; that the lord-lieutenant, in council, on receiving a report from the magistrates so assembled, stating that the ordinary law was inadequate to the preser- vation of tlie public peace, should be em- powered to issue a proclamation, command- ing all resident within the same district to keep within their houses from sun-set to sun-rise ; and that any persons detected out of their houses at the prohibited times, with- out being able to show good cause, should be liable to be transported for seven years. It was also required that the lord-lieutenant should order a special session of the peace to be held, at which the persons offending against this law should be tried, and, if ne- cessary, the trial by jury should, in these cases, be dispensed with. Other provisions sanctioned the employment of the military ; enabled the magistrates to pay domiciliary visits ; and to break open doors if denied ad- mission. The bill was warmly discussed in its several stages, but it ultimately passed both branches of the legislature ; and, at the close of the session, obtained the royal as- sent. Parliament was prorogued, on the thirtieth of July, by the prince-regent in person. TREATY WITH HOLLAND.— CONGRESS OF VIENNA. It was agreed by treaty between Great Britain and Holland, that this country should retain the Cape of Good Hope, Dernerara, Essequibo, and Berbice, but restore Batavia,! Surinam, Cura9oa, and St. Eustatia. A ne- gotiation was also entered into for uniting Great Britain and Hollai|d more closely, by a marriage between the young prince of Orange and the princess Charlotte of Wales; but, from some cause with which the public has never been fully acquamted, though it does not appear that the prince was ever very acceptable to his intended consort, the treaty was not successful. On the twenty-ninth of March, the prince of the Netherlands opened the grand meet- ing of the notables of the country, to take into consideration the plan of the constitu- tion, which was viewed and adopted with acclamation. Decrees were also passed, for the establishment of the freedom of the press ; the restoration of the Dutch language, which had fallen into disuse during the union of Holland with France ; the relief of the inferior clergy ; the solemn observance of the sabbath, and other purposes. The Austrian Netherlands were conferred on the house of Orange, in the hope that so import- ant an acquisition would render it capable of preserving its independence, and main- taining a rank among the sovereigns of Eu- rope. The emperor of Russia and the king of Prussia made their solemn entry into Vienna; and on the first of November the formal in- stallation of the congress took place. The royal personages congregated on this occa- sion consisted of the emperors of Russia and Austria, and the kings of Prussia, Denmark, Wirtemberg, and Bavaria; with ambassa- dors from England, Russia, Austria, Prussia, France, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, and the minor states of Germany. One of the first acts of the congress was to recog- nize a new regal title annexed to the British crown, and to confirm to Hanover the rank of a kingdom, the title of elector being ren- dered unsuitable to present circumstances by the sixth article of the treaty of Paris, by which it was agreed " that the states of Ger- many should remain independent, and joined in a federal union." On tliis ground, several of the powers concurrmg in the treaty had invited the prince-regent to renounce the ancient title and to assume that of king, with some extension of territory, by which the arrangements required for the fiiture welfare of Germany would be facilitated; particularly as all the ancient electors, and the duke of Wirtemberg, had already erected their states into kingdoms. A gen- eral diet assembled on the fifteenth of De- cember, which was opened by the duke of Cambridge, and a constitution was agreed upon on the plan of a representative gov. ernment. In Italy, tire territx)ne8 formerly possessed by the tfovereign hpvise of Sardinia were GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 591 -estored to Victor Emanuel ; and, by a pro- tocol signed in the congress of Vienna on the fourteenth of December, the territory forming, before the French revolutionary wars, the venerable republic of Genoa, was definitively united to the states of his Sar- dinian majesty, contrary to the condition on which Genoa was occupied by a British force. The annexation of all the other dis- tricts in the north of Italy to the Austrian dominion, followed almost as a matter of course. Lord William Bentinck had given the Genoese an assurance that their city would be restored to ita former indepen- dence ; but lord Castlereagh expressed the regret of himself and his brother ministers, that they had not been able to preserve ita separate existence, without the risk of weak- ening the system adopted for Italy ; and to this state-necessity the ancient republic waa obliged to submit, as was that of its old rival, Venice, to the political arrangement which finally annexed it to Austria. Of all the sovereigns by right of French conquest, Mu- rat, king of Naples, alone held his acquisi- tions undisturbed 592 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. CHAPTER XLII. Negotiations vntk America — Campaign in Canada — Failure at Plattshurg — Expedi- tion to Washington — Attacks on Alexandria and Baltimore — Naval Acti&ns — Fail- ure against New- Orleans — Capture of Fort Bowyer — Peace with America — Cap- ture of President frigate — Meeting and Proceedings of Parliament — Return of Buonaparte from Elba, his march to Paris — Measures of allied Powers — State of Paris — Movements of French and allied forces — Buonaparte attacks the Prussians — Battle of Waterloo — Buonaparte's return to Paris — His Abdication — Advance of Allies — Capitulation of Paris — Return of Louis XVIII. — Buonaparte surrenders to the English, is sent to St. Helena — Murat attempts Naples, and loses his Ufc — Parliament reassembled — Corn Laws, and other Measures — Terms imposed upon France — Continental Affairs — Hostilities in India. NEGOTIATION WITH AMERICA— CAM- PAIGN IN CANADA. During the continuance of a conflict in which embattled nations were the actors, and empires the stake — whilst the united armies of all Europe were approaching, and finally occupying, the proud city of Paris — the war between Great Britain and the United States was of a secondary interest. A war so differently affecting the different parts of the Union could not fail to call forth those violent political contentions for which that republic is so much distinguished. At Boston the declaration of war was the sig- nal of a general mourning ; all the ships in the harbor displayed flags half-mast high ; and in that, as in other cities of the north- ern states, public meetings of the inhabitants were held, at which a number of resolutions were passed, stigmatizing the approucliing contest as unnecessary and ruinous, and as tending to a connexion with France, de- structive to American liberty and independ- ence. Immediately afler the declaration a party was formed, called the Peace Party, which combined nearly the whole of the federalists throughout the United States, and by whom a systematic opposition, prin- cipally directed against the national finances, was maintained to the latest period of the war. With the democratic party, and in the southern states in particular, where swarms of privateers were preparing to reap a rich harvest among the West India Islands, the popular sentiment was decidedly in favor of war ; and, of all the cities of America, in this interest, Baltimore stood in the foremost rank in zeal and in violence. The first im- portant event, the capture of the British frigate Guerriere by the Constitution, cre- ated in England astonishment not unmixed with dismay ; whilst in America the contest became in consequence more popular, and the spirit of maritime enterprise more ani- mated and enthusiastic. When the captain and crew of the Constitution landed at Bos- ton, particularly unfavorable to the war as that town had been, they were received with every mark of honor and distinction, and a splendid entertainment was given to captain Hull and his officers. In the interval between the breaking out of the war and the close of tho year, the elections to the offices of government in the United States took place ; and the federal- ists, in common with the English people, cherished the expectation that the power and influence of Madison the president, and the war party in America, were nearly at an end. The disasters in Canada, however, in- stead of rendering the war more generally and decidedly unpopular, changed the dis- like which had been entertained for it in the northern states inlo a determination to pros- ecute the contest with increased vigor. The democratic interest was consequently strengthened ; and, on the second of Decem- ber, the re-election of Madison was secured. Soon afler the American government bad declared war against Great Britain, over- tures of a pacific nature were made by both parties : but although much diplomatic dis- cussion took place on both sides, the negoti- ation proved unsuccessful. In each country the original cause of the war, and the re- sponsibility of its continuance, were imputed to the enemy : admitting, however, the ex- istence of the British orders in council, and the impressment of American seamen, to have justified the United States in declaring war in the first instance, yet, when the for- mer of these evils was removed, and when an offer to suspend hostilities by sea and land was made through the medium of the British authorities in America, in order to adjust the still existing differences, it was the duty of the American government to have accepted the pacific overture. The limits of the right of blockade stand fixed, by the law of nations, upon grounds that ad- mit of no serious dispute ; and, with regard to the impressment of seamen, America did GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 593 not deny that Great Britain had a right to reclaim her own subjects ; and the Enghsh government did not pretend to have any right to impress any who were really and truly American citizens. The whole quar- rel, then, was about the means of asserting these rights ; and had the ministers of both countries sought for peace in the spirit of peace, that inestimable blessing must have been speedily obtained : the conquest of Canada, however, against which, notwith standing all their reverses, the Americans had yet met with sufficient success to give them some hope of its final accomplishment, may be regarded as one of the objects for which they were induced to persevere in the war. At the opening of congress on the seventh of November, 1813, the president announced that Great Britain had declined an offer, which had been made by the emperor Alex- ander, to mediate the existing differences between that power and the United States ; and under such circumstances, the president conceived that a nation proud of its rights, and conscious of its strength, had no choice but in exertion of the one in support of the other. The door of negotiation was not, however, finally closed ; for, while Great Britain was disinclined to commit the deci- sion of the question at issue to the mediation of a power, that, in common with America, might be disposed to circumscribe her mari- time claims, she professed a readiness to nominate plenipotentiaries to treat directly with those of the American government, and expressed an earnest wish that their conferences might result in establishing be- tween the two nations the blessings of peace. This proposal, which was commu- nicated by lord Castlereagh to the American secretary of state on the fourth of Novem- ber, was accepted by the government of the United States without hesitation, and Got- tenburg was fixed upon as the seat of dis- cussion. The negotiations, however, which were removed to Ghent, did not commence till the following August, and then proceed- ed with little prospect of success, although the restoration of peace in Europe had re- moved the principal causes of difference. After the failure of the enemy in their in- vasion of Canada, and attempt upon Mont- real in October, 1813, they were convinced not only that an overwhelming superiority of fierce was of little avail against British troo{)s, but that the inhabitants were not so favorably disposed towards them as they ex- pected. In the course of the year they had, however, acquired the ascendency on Lake Erie ; but, instead of expelling the British firom the Niagara frontier, they had, on the last day of December, lost all their own poete on the river St Lawrence, their strong- 50* est fortress bemg taken, in a masterly style, by colonel Murray, under the orders of gen- eral Drummond, who had been recently ap- pointed to the command in Upper Canada. Sir James Yeo, a naval officer of high repu- tation, who commanded on Lake Ontario, and the American commodore Chauncey, were each indefatigable in preparing for the campaign of 1814, and Sir James was pre- pared for any operation before Chauncey was in a condition to meet him ; but, being unsupported by an adequate land force, no- thing important took place. The Canadian bank of the Niagara became the theatre of a quick succession of obstinate and sangui- nary conflicts; and general Brown, who was opposed to general Drummond, proved himself the ablest of the American land of- ficers; but the struggle closed by leaving the two armies in the same positions they had occupied in tlie spring. FAILURE AT PLATTSBURG. In June and July, after the dethronement of Buonaparte, a numerous fleet arrived in the river St. Lawrence from Bourdeaux, with fourteen thousand of those troops which, under the duke of Wellington, had raised the military reputation of their country to the highest pitch of renown ; but it was not till the third of September that Sir George Prevost entered the American territory, and advanced against Plattsburg, on Lake Cham- plain, in conjunction with a flotilla under captain Downie of the navy. The Ameri- can flotilla, which was somewhat superior in force, lay at anchor in Plattsburg bay. After waiting for the arrival of the British vessels, during which time the American troops were busily employed in improving their defences, and increasing the difficulties of attack, a joint assault was agreed upon ; and, on the morning of the eleventh, captain Downie stood into the bay, and attacked the American squadron. Not a moment was now to be lost on shore ; but, from some un- explained cause, the advance of the army was not sufficiently rapid, and, during an obstinate struggle of more than two hours, the vessels were successively obliged to strike. When the light troops were close in upon their works, and half an hour would have avenged the fall of the gallant Downie, who was mortally wounded early in the ac- tion, the loss of the fleet induced Sir George Prevost to recall them, but they reluctantly yielded this triumph to a weak and undis- ciplined enemy; and in the night he com- menced a precipitate retreat, abandoning a large quantity of stores. The whole loss of the army, in killed and wounded, did not exceed two hundred men ; but the disgrace- ful issue of the expedition had such an ef- fect on the minds of the soldiery, that above eight hundred of them had deserted before 594 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. tlie retreat was concluded. Hitherto it had been considered that Sir George Prevost had ably conducted the defence of Canada ; but he was now recalled to answer to charges preferred against him by Sir James Yeo, for his neglect to co-operate with captain Dow- nie ; he did not, however, live to await his trial. EXPEDITION TO WASHINGTON-ATTACKS ON ALEXANDRIA AND BALTIMORE. A STRONG naval force, with an adequate number of troops, was also dispatched against the American coasts, and their operations were attended with general success. On the nineteenth of August admiral Sir Alex- ander Cochrane and major-general Ross en- tered the Patuxent; and the army, being disembarked, immediately commenced its march for the city of Washington, while ad- miral Cockburn, with a flotilla of armed boats, proceeded up the river on its flank. As these boats opened the reach above Pig-point they perceived the Baltimore flotilla, under com- modore Barney, which had taken refuge in the Patuxent. Those vessels were soon af- terwards discovered to be on fire, and six- teen of them blew up in succession. The seventeenth fell into the hands of the Brit- ish, and several merchant schooners were captured or destroyed. On the twenty-fourth, when the land forces, in number about five thousand, came within five miles of Wash- ington, they encountered about nine thou- sand Americans, whom they completely routed ; and at eight o'clock in the evening they entered the new metropolis of the United States, when they immediately pro- ceeded to set fire to the capitol, including the senate-house and the house of repre- sentatives. The arsenal, the dock-yard, with a frigate nearly ready to be launched, and a sloop of war, the treasury, the war-office, the rope-walk, the president's house, and a great bridge over the Potowmac, were also consigned to the flames. Private property was respected, except some houses from which guns had been discharged at the Brit- ish troops. On the evening of the twenty- fifth the army left Washington, it being ne- cessary to retreat before any great force could be assembled ; and some wounded were necessarily left behind, who were treated with hum.anity. On the thirtieth the whole force reimbarked without molest- ation. The destruction of public buildings, not designed for military purposes, was re- sented, by the Americans, as an insult which one free people ought not to inflict on an- other. This enterprise was followed by an attack on the town of Alexandria, situated lower down the Potowmac. On the twenty- ninth. Fort Washington, by which the river is there protected, surrendered to captain Gordon, of the Seahorse, accompanied by other vessels; and the common-council of Alexandria capitulated, on condition that private property should be respected. All naval and military stores and merchandise, being delivered up, were shipped on board twenty-one vessels which were found in the harbor ; and the British departed, laden with spoil, without sustaining much injury from the batteries on the river. The next object of attack was Baltimore ; and on the twelfth of September the forces under general Ross effected a landing near North Point, about thirteen miles from the town. Having forced an intrenchment which had been drawn across the peninsula, they advanced ; and, while their van-guard was engaged with the riflemen in the woods, a bullet pierced the breast of general Ross, who expired on the spot, deeply lamented by the army. Colonel Broke, who succeeded to the command, attacked and dispersed a large body of Americans ; but, on advancing to the town, he found it so strongly defend- ed, that he was compelled to relinquish the enterprise. NAVAL ACTIONS. Among the losses sustained at this period was that of captain Sir Peter Parker, com- manding the Menelaus, who was mortally wounded while leadmg a body of a hundred seamen against an American force stationed near Bellair ; and the British sloop of war Reindeer was taken by the American sloop Wasp; but this misfortune was fully com- pensated by the capture of the United States frigate Essex, oflf Valparaiso, on the western coast of South America, by the English frig- ate Phcebe, which relieved the British tra-' ders in that quarter from a formidable enemy. An expedition, which sailed from Halifax in July, under general Pilkington, had re- duced Moose Island, and two others in the bay of Passamaquoddy. In September this advantage was followed up by an expedition which caused the enemy to burn a fine frig- ate, called the John Adams, and compelled them to leave the whole district, from that bay to the Penobscot river, in possession of the British. In consequence of the alarm created by these operations, measures w^ere submitted to congress by the American government for making adequate defensive preparations; and it was proposed that the present mili- tary establishment, amounting to sixty-two thousand four hundred and forty-eight men, should be preserved and rendered complete; and that an additional permanent force of at least forty thousand men should be raised for the defence of the cities and frontiers. A bill was accordingly introduced, providing that the white male inhabitants of the Uni- ted States, between the ages of eighteen and forty-five, should be distributed into GEORGE IIL 1760-1820. 595 classes of twenty-five in each ; every class to furnish one able-bodied man to serve du- ring the war ; tliat assessors should deter- mine the territorial precincts of each class, so that the property in each division should be as nearly equal as possible ; that, in case of failure, a penalty should be levied on each class, to be divided among them, in propor- tion to the property of individuals ; and that every five male inhabitants liable to military duty, who should join to furnish one soldier durmg the war, should be exempt from service. FAILURE AT NEW-ORLEANS. In the beginning of December, admiral Cochran^e's squadron arrived at the mouths of the river Mississippi, with a considerable body of troops, commanded by major-gene- ral Keane. The first object was to reduce a flotilla of gun-boats on I^ac Borgne, which was gallantly performed on the fourteenth, by captain Lockyer, with the boats of the squadron. On the twenty-third, the first division of troops, amounting to two thou- sand four hundred men, were landed within six miles of the city, and in the night they were attacked by the Americans ; but, after sustaining some loss, they maintained their position. On the twenty-fifth, on which day ihe second division joined, major-general Sir E. Pakenham, an officer of distinguished merit, who had served in the Peninsula, ar- rived, and took the command. He found the British army posted on a piece of flat ground, with the Mississippi on the left, and a thick wood on the right. The enemy were stationed behind an intrenciiment, ex- tending from the river on their right to the wood on tlieir left, a distance of about a thousand yards. This line was strengtliened with flank-works, and had a canal in front, about four feet deep : on the further bank of the Mississippi the Americans had a bat- tery of twelve guns, which enfiladed the whole front of their position. The disposi- tion for the attack, which was to be made during the night, was formidable ; but unex- pected difficulties, increased by the falling of the river, occasioned considerable delay to the entrance of the armed boats, and the attack did not take place until the columns were discernible from the enemy's line at more than two hundred yards' distance. The troops engaged on each side may be estimated at ten thousand ; and, since the breaking out of the war, no engagement had, perhaps, been fought with so much bravery — none, certainly, with so disastrous a result. The loss of the British, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, amounted to two thousand and forty, including, in the former, the com- mander-in-chief, who fell while bravely en- couraging his men on the edge of the glacis, and among the wounded, generals Gibbs and Keane, the former of whom expired on the following day. The loss of the enemy, ac- cording to the official statement of their general, was incredibly small, not exceed ing seventy-one. General Lambert, on whom the command now devolved, after holding a consultation with admiral Coch- rane, determined to leimbark the troops, and to abandon the enterprise. The con- cluding operation of the war was the cap- ture of Fort Bowyer, on Mobile Point, in the Gulf of Mexico, which, being wholly unable to resist the British force, capitula- ted on the eleventh of February, 1815. PEACE WITH AMERICA— CAPTURE OF THE PRESIDENT FRIGATE. Before these events took place, the la- bors of the plenipotentiaries assembled at Ghent were brought to a close ; a treaty of peace and amity having been signed on the twenty-fourth of December, which was af- terwards ratified by both governments. The treaty, which was negotiated on the part of America by Adams, Bayard, Clay, Russel, and Gallatin, and of Great Britain by lord Gambler, Goulbourn, and Adams, was silent on the grand cause of the war and primary object of dispute, — the right of search ; but, as America abandoned her claim of com- pensation for the captures made under the British orders in council, and omitted all mention of her original pretensions, her re- sistance to the maritime claims of Englaad must be considered as tacitly abandoned. All conquests, on either side, were to be re- stored. — Britain retaining the islands in Pas- samaquoddy bay, which were hers by the treaty of 1783. Under this article the Americans had only the defenceless shore of the Detroit, on the frontier of the two provinces, to offer in exchange for their fortress of Niagara and the important post of Michilimackinac, both of which were still in possession of the British. The Indians were to be restored to the rights and po&- sessions which they held in 1812; it was reciprocally agreed that commissioners should be appointed for settling the disputes respecting boundaries ; and both parties en- gaged to continue their efforts for the entire j abolition of the slave-trade. I The interval between the actual conclu-^ ision of the treaty, and the circulation of j that important intelligence, enabled the Eln- ! glish navy to obtain another triumph. The President, one of the largest frigates yet sent to sea by the United States, command- ed by captain Decatur, accompanied by the Macedonian, armed brig, laden with provi- sions, sailed from New- York during one of those gales in which the blockading squad- ron was driven out to sea. After a long chase the Endymion, captain Hope, came up with the former, when a severe action ensued, m 596 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. which the President, having crippled her adversary in the rigging, was enabled to get ahead. The British frigate Pomona now coming up, the President surrendered, after exchanging a few broadsides. The mutual advantages of a free interchange of com- mercial communication between two coun- tries, whose interest it is at all times to cherish the relations of peace, were resumed shortly after this event; and in both was the termination of the war hailed with un- feigned satisfaction. PARLIAMENT. The session of parliament was opened on the eighth of November, 1814, by a speech from the prince-regent, of which the lead- ing topics were the pending negotiations at Ghent, and the intended congress at Vien- na. Adverting to the supplies for the ensu- ing year, his royal highness regretted the necessity of so large an expenditure, and concluded by recommending that parliament should proceed with due caution in the adop- tion of such regulation as might be neces- .sary for extending the trade of Great Brit- ain, and securing her commercial advan- tages. The usual address was carried with- out a division. RETURN OF BUONAPARTE FROM ELBA. 1815. — Determined on one more despe- rate effort, Napoleon Buonaparte again stood forward to alarm, and it might almost be said, to appal, the surrounding nations. On the twentieth of February, 1815, he laid an embargo on the vessels in the ports of Elba, assembled his guards, and declared his pur- pose of contending for the imperial crown of France. On the twenty-sixth (Sir Neil Campbell, the English commissioner ap- pointed to reside in Elba, being at this time in Italy) he embarked in four vessels, with about a thousand men ; on the first of March, he effected a landing near Cannes ; and in four days the astoundmg news reached the capital. Monsieur, the king's brother, im- mediately set off from Paris with marshal Ney, who treacherously kissed the hand of Louis, and swore to bring his old comrade to the capital in an iron cage. His majesty at the same time convoked an extraordinary meeting of the legislative body, which in- stantly voted addresses, and declared their inviolable attachment to the throne. The king and his ministers adopted such measures as seemed best calculated to in- sure the public safety ; but, unfortunately, the army was rotten at the very core. The French soldiers had never heartily joined with the enemies of their chief; his name and the imperial eagle were still dear to them; and, as they claimed an important share in the establishment of his military ^lory, so they had continued to sympathize m iua disgrace, and to look back with re- gret on those halcyon days when conquered and invaded nations administered to the gratification of their ruling passion. Aware of the disposition of the army, and confi- ding in their attachment, Buonaparte does not appear to have made any specific ar- rangement, or adopted any regular plan of march ; but, as soon as a favorable opportu- nity of escape presented, to have trusted en- tirely to the power of his name and pres- ence. At Grenoble a large quantity of ammuni- tion fell into the hands of Buonaparte, who pushed on, at the head of only six hundred horse, to Lyons, whence the disaffected troops had previously compelled Monsieur to re- tire. Here he halted to refresh his follow- ers ; reviewed the whole of his army, which now made a formidable appearance ; as.su- med the imperial state ; and began to issue proclamations and decrees. The same re- bellious spirit appeared in other places. Mar- shal Ney, having issued a proclamation, da- ted the fourteenth of March, describing the Bourbons as unfit to reign, and recommend- ing his troops to join the august Napoleon, went over to the invader at Lons le Saul- nier. Secure in the support of the army, Buonaparte proceeded on his march, and entered Paris on the evening of the twenti- eth. On the following morning he showed himself at a window in the garden of the Thuilleries ; and, about noon, he reviewed the troops on the Place Carousel. Louis the eighteenth, accompanied by marshals Berthier and Macdonald, had previously left Paris for Lisle, whither Monsieur and mar- shal Marmont were also retiring Avith a con- siderable force. One of the first measures of Buonaparte was to dispatch Caulincourt to invite the archdutchess Maria Louisa to reunite her fortunes with his ; and, for some time, the Parissians were amused witli the expectation that their empress would return. The imperial carriages were ordered from St. Cloud to meet her and her son on their route from Vienna ; their arrival was even announced ; but neither the empress of France nor the king of Rome appeared. An attempt to kidnap the baby monarch proved also unsuccessful. MEASURES OF ALLIED POWERS.— STATE OF PARIS. As soon as the intelligence of Buona- parte's irruption had reached Vienna, the allied powers issued a solemn manifesto, in which they declared, that, by thus break- ing the convention which had established him in the island of Elba, Buonaparte had destroyed the only legal title on which his existence depended ; that, by appearing again in France with projects of confusion and disorder, he had deprived himself of the protection of the law, and had manifested GEORGE III. 1760—1820. i97 to the universe that there could be neither peace nor truce with him ; that he had placed himself without the pale of civil and social relations; and that, as an enemy and disturber of the tranquillity of the world, he had rendered himself liable to public vengeance. The allies, at the same time, expressed their firm determination to maintain entire the treaty of Paris, and to employ all their means, and unite all their efforts, to prevent the peace of Europe from being again troubled. This declaration was followed by a new treaty, signed at Vienna on the twenty-fifth of March, by which the contracting parties solemnly engaged not to lay down their arms but in agreement with each other ; nor until Buonaparte should be wholly and completely deprived of the power of exciting disturbances, and of renewing his attempts to obtain the su- preme power in France. About a fortnight after his return to Paris, Buonaparte severally addressed let- ters to the allied sovereigns, stating that he had been restored by the unanimous wish of the French people, and that he was de- sirous of maintaining peace on the terms which had been settled with the Bourbons. The congress, to which these letters were generally referred, agreed that no answer should be returned to them ; and, both at home and abroad, he found himself surround- ed by difficulties of no ordinary kind. In several parts of France the royalists were in arms ; and, however willing his military associates might be to support him in the absolute dominion he had possessed as em- peror, the republican party, on which he was chiefly obliged to depend, would only receive him as the head of a popular gov- ernment. The liberty of the press, which he reluctantly conceded, facilitated the cir- culation of much that was obnoxious to him ; and the interference of the police, on such occasions, was resented by the repub- licans as an infraction of the promised free- dom. The declarations of the allied pow- ers were also distributed throughout France, in the hope that, by making his danger more apparent, he would be compelled to surrender many sovereign prerogatives. His cabinet became the scene of vehement con- tention, and he was at length induced to conciliate the attachment of the council of state by a solemn promise to adhere to their advice in the formation of a new constitu- tion. Having thus divided their strength and lulled their suspicion, he took advan- tage of their apathy, fled from the Thuille- ries, seized the impregnable palace of Bour- bon, and, surrounded by a body of his guard, he published the outline of a new constitu- tion of his own arrangement, under the singular title of " An additional Act ;" the mode of promulgating which, without the sanction of any public body, was evidently dangerous to national freedom ; and neither the republicans nor the constitutionalists relished this anticipation of the solemn na- tional compact, for which he had appointed the Champ de Mai. The royal charter, subsisting as a fundamental law, could not be innovated upon ; but tlie additional act in some measure confirmed the mass of con- tradictory laws already prescribed by Buo- naparte, and was liable to be modified, lim- ited, and controlled by the old imperial decrees embodied in the constitutions to which this act was proffered as a supple- ment. The assembly of the Champ de Mai was held on the first of June, various arrange- ments having been previously made to in- fluence the votes ; and after a declaration of the arch-chancellor, that the new con- stitution was accepted by an almost unani- mous concurrence of votes, but unaccom- panied by the slightest evidence of their validity, the emperor signed the additional act, to which he swore upon the evangel- ists to adhere. He then distributed his eagles to the troops of the line and the na- tional guard, as they passed before him, and swore to defend their colors. The next point was to assemble the chambers, which took place on the Sunday following, when the representatives elected for their presi- dent Lanjuinais, an individual peculiarly obnoxious to Buonaparte ; but, notwith- standing the chagrin occasioned by this cir- cumstance, he complacently expedited all his civil affairs, such as the installation of his chambers of commons and of peers ; in- formed them that his first duty called him to meet the formidable coalition of empe- rors and kings that threatened their inde- pendence, and that the army and himself would acquit themselves well ; recommend- ing to them the destinies of France, his own personal safety, and, above all, the lib- erty of the press. When the ceremonials were completed, Buonaparte quitted Paris for the frontiers, where, by one of those rapid movements which have so frequently distinguished his career, he put his forces in motion upon the Sambre on the fifteenth of June. MOVEMENTS OF FRENCH AND ALLIED FORCES— BATTLE OF WATERLOO. The close of the last year had left the whole fortified frontier of the Belgic prov- inces on the side of France occupied by strong garrisons, chiefly of English troops, or in the pay of England ; and, since Buo- naparte's return, continued reinforcements had been sent from this country, the whole of which were placed under the command of the duke of Wellington. In the latter 598 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. part of May the Prussian army, under prince Blucher, had arrived in the neigh- borhood of Namur, and frequent confer- ences took place between the two generals relative to co-operation. Buonaparte de- termined to attack them while the Russians and Austrians were too distant to afford succor ; and on the 15th of June, at day- break, the Prussian out-posts on the Sam- bre were driven in : general Ziethen was compelled to retire from Charleroi through Fleurus, to unite himself with the main Prussian army, which lay in the vicinity of St. Amand and Ligny ; and, towards even- ing, an advanced corps of Belgians was driven to the position of Les Quatre Bras. The duke of Wellington, although he had used his best endeavors to gain imme- diate intelligence when Buonaparte joined his army, does not appear to have been very early informed of that event, as, in conse- quence of the want of provisions, and espe- cially of forage, he had found it necessary to disperse his army very much. The British head-quarters were at Brussels. As soon as the movements of the French were ascertained, the whole of the army was ordered to advance upon Les Quatre Bras, and, early in the morning, the prince of Orange reinforced the brigade which had been driven from thence, regained part of the ground, and commanded the communi- cation with Blucher, who was posted on the heights between Brie and Sombref, await- ing the attack of the French, although the fourth corps under Bulowhad not joined. Except the corps of Ney, who was at Frasne, opposed to the British at Les Qua- tre Bras, and of Grouchy, who was in the rear of Fleurus, Buonaparte attacked the Prussians with his whole force, bring- ing up not less than one hundred and ten thousand men against eighty thousand. About three in the aflernoon he carried the village of St. Amand, after a vigorous re- sistance ; and his next efforts were directed against Ligny, where the contest was main- tained with the utmost obstinacy, for five hours. About two hundred cannons from both sides were directed against this unfor- tunate village; and it took fire in many places at once. Sometimes the battle ex- tended along the whole line. About five the Prussians, led by Blucher, in person, recovered St. Amand, and regained the heights ; and at this moment they might have profited greatly by their advantage, if Bulow had arrived; but either the march of this corps had been miscalculated, or the nature and state of the roads had not been taken into the account. From the duke of Wellington he could receive no assistance ; for as many of his troops as had come up were themselves perilously engaged with superior numbers. As evening advanced the situation of the Prussians became more hopeless ; there were no tidings of Bulow ; the British division could with difficulty maintain its own position at Les Quatre Bras ; and Blucher was at length obliged to retire upon Pilly, leaving behind him sixteen pieces of cannon, and a great num- ber of killed and wounded. The retreat, however, was effected with such order that the French did not think it prudent to pur- sue him, and he formed again within a quarter of a league from the field of battle. The gallant marshal, in one of the charges of cavalry, nearly closed his long and illus- trious life, his horse having fallen, mortally wounded, and himself being rode over by the French cuirassiers, who were repulsed and pursued by the Prussian cavalry before he was discovered and remounted. Early in the aflernoon of the same day, the sixteenth, marshal Ney, after skirmish- ing for a considerable time, commenced his grand attack on the British, at Les Quatre Bras, with about forty thousand men ; and the position was maintained, with the most signal intrepidity, by the prince of Orange, the duke of Brunswick, and Sir Thomas Picton, who completely defeated every at- tempt to get possession of it. In this ac- tion the French were not only superior in numbers, but were comparatively fresh, the allies having been marching from the pre- ceding midnight. In pursuing a French division, which was repulsed early in the engagement, some British troops exposed themselves unawares to a body of cuiras- siers, who, taking advantage of an ine- quality of ground, on which corn was grow- ing as high as the shoulders of the tallest man, were posted in ambush ; and the gal- lant forty-second regiment of Highlanders, in particular, suffered most severely. About three o'clock the duke of Wellington came on the field with the British guards. At this period the French had dispossessed the Belgian sharp-shooters from the Bois de Bossu, which enfiladed the British position. General Maitland, with the guards, was instantly ordered to recover this wood, and the service was speedily effected. In this obstinate conflict the British lost many ex- cellent officers ; and had particularly to de- plore their gallant ally, the duke of Bruns- wick, who was killed by a musket-ball. Marshal Blucher, who found himself so much weakened by the battle of Ligny as to be under the necessity of continuing his retreat, concentrated his army near Wavre, about six leagues to the rear of his former position, and considerably farther disjoined from the line of the duke of Wellington's operations. His march was followed by Grouchy, whilst Buonaparte, with the rest GEORGE IIL 1760—1820. 599 of his arm^, made a movement to the left, to unite himself with Ney, and attack the English at Quatre Bras. Blucher's move ment obliged the duke of Wellington to retire upon Genappe, and thence upon Waterloo. The retreat began towards noon on the seventeenth, and was well covered by the cavalry and horse artillery. A large body of French cavalry, headed by lancers, followed with some boldness, espe- cially at Genappe, where the little river which runs through the town is crossed by a narrow bridge ; but the pursuit was not vigorous, and between five and six in the afternoon the whole army reached the ap- pointed ground. The position which the duke of Welling- ton occupied was in front of the village and farm of Mont St. Jean, about a mile and a half in advance of the little town of Water- loo. The rain, which was heavy through- out the night, began to abate about nine in the morning, when Buonaparte, whose head-quarters were then at Planchenois, a farm some little distance in the rear of the French line, and about fifteen miles from Brussels, put his army in motion. His position was on a ridge immediately oppo- site to that of the British, at a distance varying fi-om a thousand to twelve or thirteen Imndred yards; the right on the heights in front of Planchenois ; the centre at a little country tavern and farm, famous from that day in history for its appropriate name of I/i Belle Alliance ; the left leaning on the road to Brussels from Nivelles. The cui- rassiers were in reserve behind, and the imperial guards upon the heights. Grou- chy and Vandamme had been detached to- wards Wavre against the Prussians; and t!ie sixth corps, under count Lobau, with a body of cavalry, was in the rear of the right, ready to oppose a Prussian corps, " which," jsays an official French account, " appeared to have escaped marshal Grouchy, and to threaten to fall upon our right flank." Thinking to bear down the British army by tiint of numbers, he broui^ht against their force, comprising altogether about seventy- five thousand, of which the British did not exceed thirty-three thousand, three corps of infantry, and almost all his cavalry, amount- ing, with artillery, to one hundred and ten thousand men, forty thousand more being in rcscrv*:;, or awaiting the Prussians on the I ight. The two points of the greatest import- ance in the British position were the farm .♦;f Hougoumont, with its wood and garden in front of the right, and that of I..'i Haye ISainte, in front of the left; and, about ten o'clock, Soult and Ney attacked the former with their usual impetuosity. This point VJie duke of Wellington liad strengtijened as much as possible during the night ; and so severe was the contest, that, within half an hour, fifteen hundred men were slain in an orchard not exceeding four acres in ex- tent. Great efforts were made by the as- sailants, who surrounded the house on three sides, and burnt a great part of it to the ground ; but it was defended with the ut- most gallantry to the last. The assault upon Hougoumont was accompanied by a heavy fire from more than two hundred pieces of artillery upon the whole British line ; and, under cover of this fire, repeated attacks had been made, one of which was so serious, and made with such numbers, that it required all the skill of the British commander to post his troops, and all the courage and discipline of his soldiers to withstand the assailants. In this attack Sir Thomas Picton was mortally wound- ed, by a musket-ball in the head, and Sir William Ponsonby was slain by the Polish lancers. On the left of the centre the enemy ob- tained a temporary success. Some light troops of the German legion had been sta- tioned in the farm of La Haye Sainte ; the French succeeded in occupying the com- munication between them and the army ; and, when all the ammunition of the be- sieged was expended, they carried the farm-house, and bayoneted the Hanoverians stationed to defend it. From this position they were never driven, till the grand ad- vance of the British in the evening. The battle continued with the most desperate intrepidity on both sides, Buonaparte con- tinually bringing forward his troops in con- siderable masses, which the British and their allies repulsed. The duke of Wel- lington was every where, and never were his exertions more needfiil ; sometimes he was rallying broken infantry, and some- times placing himself within the squares. No man, indeed, ever had more confidence in his troops, and no troops ever more am- ply returned the confidence which they so well deserved. On this day both men and leaders were put to the proof: none of their former fields of glory, many as they had seen together, had been so stubbornly con- tested, or so dearly won. The carnage, owing partly to the confined extent of the ground, and the consequent intermixture of the contending forces, was such as the Brit- ish army had never before experienced; but it would liave been still greater, had not the ground been soaked with rain, in consequence of which the balls seldom rose after they touched it, and the shells frequently buried themselves in the mud. Buonaparte, about seven in the evening, made a last and desperate eftbrt to force the left of Uie British centre near La Haye 600 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Sainte. The attack was led by marshal Ney with eagerness and precipitancy ; gen- eral Friant fell by his side, and his own horse was killed. He was opposed by the duke of Wellington in person, with such resolution that the assailing columns turn- ed and fled in disorder. At this time, when the thickening cannonade on the French right, and the appearance of troops emerg- ing from the woods, announced that the Prussians were coming up in full force, the British army was ordered to advance, the centre being formed in line, and the battal- ions on the flanks in squares, for their se- curity. The duke himself led them on, and in every point the success was most decisive. The enemy, exhausted by their own repeated and unsuccessful attacks, scarcely waited the charge ; their first line was thrown back upon, and mingled with the second ; all order was abandoned ; the panic spread rapidly ; and the whole army, pressed by the British in front, and by the Prussians on the right and in the rear, fled in irretrievable confusion. Biucher, on proceeding to join the duke of Wellington, left one division of his army at Wavre, under general Thielman, to op- pose marshal Grouchy, before whom he gradually fell back ; and, whilst Buonaparte was vainly encouraging his army with the hope of being succored by the arrival of the marshal, that officer, who appears not to have been aware of the movements on his left, and that the fate of his master would be decided at Waterloo, was advancing on the road to Brussels, exulting in his un- profitable success. It was about half-past seven, at which time it was evident that Buonaparte's attack upon the British had failed, that the duke of Wellington took that great and deri,':i'-e step which crowned liis glory and rsvod Europe. The Prus- sians mad«? their pttack shortly after, under the most favorable circumstances ; and, even if the British army had not repulsed the enemy, Blucher's movement would have been decisive. If the French had succeeded in their efforts against the duke of Wellington, it would have prevented them from profiting by the success : but, being made at the critical moment of their defeat, it rendered the victory complete. A total rout cannot be more fully acknow- ledged than in Buonaparte's own account. "A complete panic," he says, "spread through the whole field of battle ; the men threw themselves in the greatest disorder on the line of communication; soldiers, •cannoneers, caissons, all pressed to this point ; the old guard, which was in reserve, was infected, and was itself hurried along. In an instant the whole army was nothing but a mass of confusion ; all the soldiers of small-arms were mixed pell-mell, and it was utterly impossible to rally a single corps. The enemy, who perceived this astonishing confusion, immediately attack- ed with their cavalry, and increased the disorder; and such was the confusion, owing to night coming on, that it was im- possible to rally the troops and point out to them their error." Buonaparte's station during the battle had been upon the Charleroi road, at the hamlet of La Belle Alliance ; near which post, by a singular coincidence, when night had closed in, and the rout of the enemy was complete, Biucher and Wellington met in the pursuit, and exchanged congratula- tions. As the British and Prussians were now on the same road, and the former, having been twelve hours in action, were greatly fatigued, the duke readily relin- quished the charge of pursuit to his gallant colleague, who declared that he would con- tinue it throughout the night, and gave orders to send the last man and the last horse after the enemy. In this pursuit the Prus- sians took about one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, Buonaparte's travelling equipage, and the whole materiel and bag- gage of the army. An equal number of artillery had been also taken by the British. Such a battle could not be fought without great loss on both sides ; and this victory was indeed achieved by a severe sacrifice. On the side of the victors the total of killed and wounded, exclusive of the Prussians, exceeded thirteen thousand men; among whom were six hundred officers, including eleven generals. The loss of the French must have been tremendous: it is supposed that they left at least twenty thousand men dead on the field ; and, being pursued after the battle by a fresh and inveterate enemy, their numbers were so greatly thinned by slaughter and desertion, that of the hun- dred and fifty thousand men with whom Buonaparte commenced this campaign of four days, not a third part remained in arms, though the prisoners did not exceed seven thousand. The feeling produced in England by this battle, which led to more important conse- quences than have resulted from any in modern times, will never be forgotten. Though accustomed to victory, upon the land as well as upon the seas, the glory of all seemed eclipsed by that of Waterloo. The first consideration was, how to express a due sense of this great exploit — how to manifest a nation's gratitude to the army and its leaders. There remained no fresh distinctions to confer on the duke of Wel- lington ; but two hundred thousand pounds were added to the former grant, that a mag- nificent palace might commemorate the GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 601 event — Every regiment which had been E resent was permitted from thenceforth to ear the word Waterloo upon its colors ; all the privates were to be distinguished in the muster-rolls and pay-lists of their respec- tive corps as Waterloo men, and every subaltern officer and private allowed to reckon that day's work as two years' ser- vice in the account of his time for increase of pay, or for a pension when discharged. A benefit not less important was extended, on this occasion, to the whole army, by a regulation enacting, that henceforward the pensions granted for wounds should rise with the rank to which the officer attained — so that he who was maimed when an en- sign should, when he became a general, receive a general's pension for the injury which he had endured. BUONAPARTES RETURN TO PARIS.— HIS ABDICATION. The allied armies moved upon Paris, where the proceedings of the government evinced how little ability there was to re- sist their progress. Buonaparte, who had twice returned to the capital alone after leading armies to destruction, again has- tened thither, and informed his chamber of peers that he had come to Paris to consult on the means of restoring the materiel of the army, and on the legislative measures which circumstances required. — The two chambers hastily assembled, and, after some discussion, declared their sittings per- manent, and that any attempt to dissolve them was high treason. The ensuing de- bates were full of tumult: one speaker ventured to call for the abdication of the emperor ; several voices seconded the mo- tion ; and in this critical juncture his adhe rents suggested various projects, even pro- posing that he should dissolve the mutinous assembly with an armed force, and assume the dictatorship. On the morning of the twenty-second, the chamber of representa- tives assembled to receive his act of abdi- cation, a measure considered indispensably necessary for the salvation of the country. A long interval of feverish impatience elaps- ed. At length the minister of police ap- peared with a declaration, in which Buona- parte announced that his political life was terminated, and proclaimed his son empe- ror of the French, by the title of Napoleon the second. An address of thanks for the sacrifice he had made was presented by the president, Lanjuinais, at the head of a deputation; and the two chambers, eluding any express recognition of the young Na- poleon, proceeded to nominate a provisional government, of which the members were Carnot, Fouche, Caulincourt, Grenier, and Quinette. Vol. IV. 51 ADVANCE OF ALLIES.— CAPITULATION OF PARIS. The duke of Wellington remained at Waterloo on the nineteenth of June ; and on the twentieth he marched to Malplaquet, and crossed the French boundary, having issued a general order, apprizing the sol- diers that, in marching through the domin- ions of an ally, they were to observe the strictest discipline. This 'order was so well obeyed, that the inhabitants acknowledged that the British paid more respect to public and private property than had even marked the conduct of their own troops. Cambray surrendered on the twenty-fourth; the strong fortress of Peronne was reduced on the twenty-sixth ; on the twenty-eighth thfj duke was at St. Just ; and on the twenty- ninth and thirtieth he passed the Oise. Blu- cher, after carrying Avesnes by escalade, marched upon Laon, under the walls of which Soult, with about four thousand strag- glers, was joined by twenty thousand men, under Grouchy and Vandamme, who had with difficulty and loss effected their retreat from Wavre. At Villars Coteret, a contest between these forces took place, which ter- minated favorably to the Prussians, who im- mediately advanced to the neighborhood of Paris ; and, having passed the Seine, by a combined movement, the two generals com- pletely invested the city on its defenceless side. In the mean time commissioners ap- pointed by the provisional government had repaired to the camp of prince Blucher, and requested a suspension of arms while they proceeded to the head-quarters of the allies with overtures for peace ; but he would only listen to unconditional submission, and the possession of Paris ; he, however, granted them passports to proceed to Haguenau, where the allied sovereigns, who were ad- vancing with a large army, held their head- quarters. After a long but unsatisfactory conference, they returned to Paris, and found the duke of Wellington and prince Blucher ready to enter the capital, in pur- suance of a convention concluded in their absence. The provisional government had invited the marshals and generals to a coun- cil of war, at which it was decided that all re- sistance must be fruitless; and Fouche and Caulincourt proposed that the city should be surrendered to Louis the eighteenth, argu- ing that it would conciliate a family under whose power it was evident they must re- turn. It was, however, finally determined to ofier a capitulation as a mere military transaction, without reference to any politi- cal question. The convention was con- cluded on tlie third of July, and its princi- terms were, that tlie French army should, on the following day, commence 'ts march to take up a position behind t e 602 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Loire, and completely evacuate Paris in three days ; that all the fortified posts and the barriers should be given up ; that pub- lic property, with the exception of that re- lating to war, should be respected; that private persons and property should be equally respected ; and that all individuals in the capital should continue to enjoy their rights and liberties, without being disturbed or called to account, either as to situations held by them, or as to their conduct or po- litical opinions. BUONAPARTE SURRENDERS TO THE ENGLISH.— IS SENT TO ST. HELENA. Buonaparte's abdication was accompan- ied by a kind of farewell proclamation to the army, after which he occupied himself in preparing for a voyage to America ; and on the third of July he arrived at Rochefort, escorted by general Beker, whose orders were to see him speedily embarked on board a small squadron which the pro- visional government had assigned for his conveyance. On the eighth he went on board a small French frigate ; but the port was so closely blockaded by English ves- sels, tlmt escape was impossible, and he sent a flag of truce to the commodore of the British squadron, requesting permission to pass, which was refused. At length, on the fifteenth, after endeavoring to make terms with captain Maitland of the Belierophon, who could only reply that he had no author- ity to enter into any kind of treaty, he sur- rendered at discretion, and was conveyed to England in that vessel, which arrived in Torbay on the twenty-fourth, whence he transmitted a letter to the prince-regent, signed " Napoleon," in these terms : — " Ex- posed to the factions which divide my country, and to the enmity of the great powers of Europe, I have terminated my po- litical career ; and I come, like Themisto- cles, to throw myself upon the hospitality of the British nation. I place myself under the safeguard of their laws, and claim the protection of your royal highness, the most powerful, the most constant, the most gen- erous of my enemies." Buoyed up by the expectation of obtain- ing an asylum in England, he was cheerful and aftable, and soon ingratiated himself with every person on board ; but in England Buonaparte could not be permitted to reside with comfort to himself, or security to Eu- rope ; nor could he have been suffered to emigrate to any neutral country, however distant, where intercourse with his adhe- rents would be practicable. It was there- fore determined that the island of St. Helena should be the place of his residence. Distant twelve hundred miles from the nearest con tinent, containing but one harbor within its circumference, strong by nature, impregna- ble by art, commanding from its declivities a view of the ocean on every side for more than sixty miles, this island, from its soli- tude and security, seemed created for the reception of some illustrious exile. When informed that he would be conveyed to St. Helena, with four of his friends, to be chosen by himself, and twelve domestics, he received the intimation without surprise, but protested against the measure with the utmost energy, alleging, that he had been forced to quit the isle of Elba by the breach of the treaty made with him by the sove- reigns of Europe ; that he had endeavored to avoid hostilities, but had been forced to commence them by the allies themselves ; and that it was not consistent with the prin- ciples of the British constitution to doom him to perpetual banishment without accu- sation and without trial. He was removed on board the Northumberland ; and the offi- cers who surrounded him were instructed to address him by no higher title than that of General. Count Bertrand, the countess, and their children, count and countess Montholon, count Las Cases, and general Gourgaud, with nine men and three women servants, remained with Buonaparte, and the rest were sent on board the Eurotas frigate. Buonaparte's surgeon alone, of all his attendants, refused to accompany him, and his place was supplied by the surgeon of the Belierophon. The Northumberland sailed on the seventh of August, and ar- rived at St. Helena in the middle of Octo- ber. Thus terminated the career of this spoiled child of fortune, who, had he known any bounds to his inordinate ambition, might have been seated in security on the throne of France, with far greater power than any of her monarchs had ever enjoyed. MURAT ATTEMPTS NAPLES.— KILLED. Connected, in some measure, with the movements of Buonaparte, appears to have been the advance of Murat against Austria. Murat, however, was still more unfortunate . than his master. He was defeated in his object of revolutionizing Italy; he failed in his attempt to cut his way through the Aus- trians, at Tolentino, on the third of May ; and he arrived at his capital just in time to escape from it in disguise. His army ca- pitulated on the twenty-first of May, when the Austrians entered the city, and Ferdi- nand the fourth of Sicily was restored to the throne. Murat effected his escape to Toulon, where he remained some time in disguise ; thence he proceeded to Corsica, and assem- bled about four hundred followers, at the head of which, mimicking, as it were, his master, he embarked for the Neapolitan coast ; but his vessels were dispersed in a storm, and, landing with only thirty follow- ers on the eighth of October, he failed in GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 603 exciting an insurrection in his favor, and was arrested, tried, and condemned to be shot. The sentence was put in execution on the fifteenth ; and his behavior, on this occasion, was worthy of a man who had been elevated to an exalted station, for which, however, he possessed few qualities except personal bravery. PARLIAMENT REASSEMBLED.— CORN LAWS. The British parliament reassembled on the ninth of February, when the state of the corn-laws again occupied the attention of the house of commons. On the seventeenth, nine resolutions were moved in a commit- tee, which, after allowing the free ware- housing of grain for re-exportation, or to be taken for home consumption when the price should permit, fixed the average at eighty shillings per quarter for wheat, and proportionally for corn ; that is to say, when British corn should not be below that price, foreign might be admitted duty free. A bill framed on the resolutions was introduced on the first of March, and, after encounter- ing a strong opposition in both houses from the manufacturing and commercial inter- ests, was passed on the twentieth by the lords. The apprehension of dearth, as the immediate consequence of this law, occa- sioned riots, v;hich were not quelled with- out military aid. Experience, however, has shown that the alarm was groundless, the price having fallen so far below the stand- ard as to leave the agricultural part of the community an adequate remuneration, after paying that increase of rents and taxes which had taken place during the war. An important act was passed for extend- ing the trial by jury in civil causes to Scot- land. Its provisions differed in several par- ticulars from those of the English law, and the granting such a trial was in each case optional with the judges : but it was hoped that at no distant period a further extension of the principle would be concurred in, the present measure being favorably received in Scotland. A bill was passed for continuing the re- striction of cash payments by the bank of England till the fifth of July, 1816, a mo- tion for inquiry having been previously negatived. On the twenty-second of May a message was delivered to both houses from the prince- regent, occasioned by the landing of Buo- naparte in France, wliich was followed by documents relative to the engagements con- cluded with the allies. When the subsidies came under the consideration of the house of common!?, lord Castlereagh stated that Austria, Russia, and Prussia, were each prepared to contribute to the common cause a larger force than they had engaged for, and that several of the inferior powers were also to furnish very considerable contin- gents. The sense of both houses was very strongly expressed, not only by the usual supporters of ministers, but by several op- position members, in favor of resistance to Buonaparte ; and a grant of five millions, to make good the engagements with Aus- tria, Russia, and Prussia, was carried by a majority of one hundred and sixty votes to seventeen. The property, or income tax, the inquisi- torial nature of which had rendered it highly unpopular, was doomed to expire in April ; but, as suspicions were entertained that it was in the contemplation of minis- ters to continue it another year, meetings against it were convened all over the coun- try, and a schedule of new and additional taxes, as a partial supply for the deficiency to be occasioned by its extinction, was ac- tually made out, when suddenly, tlie irrup- tion of the Exile of Elba rendered its re- vival, which alone produced the enormous sum of fourteen million pounds per annum, a measure of imperative necessity. The supplies for the year, exclusive of the Irish proportion of nine million seven hundred and sixty thousand eight hundred and four- teen pounds, were stated at seventy-nine million nine hundred and sixty-eight thou- sand one hundred and twelve pounds; and, in aid of this enormous demand, a vote of credit for six million pounds, and two loans for forty-five million pounds were resorted ta A message from the prince-regent on the twenty-seventh of June, announced the marriage of the duke of Cumberland with the widow of the prince of Salms, and a motion was made in the house of commons for an addition to the duke's income ; but, as it appeared that the queen had expressed strong objections to the union, the grant was negatived by one hundred and twenty- six against one hundred and twenty-five. The escape of lord Cochrane from the king's bench prison, his recapture and subsequent liberation, w^ould scarcely be worth noticing, were it not for the remarkable circumstance that, on this occasion, his single voice de- termined the question, and relieved the speaker from the unpleasantness of being called upon to give a casting vote upon a question of considerable delicacy. Parliament was prorogued, on the elev- enth of July, by a speech from the throne. TERMS IMPOSED ON FRANCE. On the twentieth of November, a treaty or convention between the allies and France received the final signatures of the con- tracting powers. In this treaty it was stipu- lated that seven fortresses were to be occu- pied by one hundred and fifty thousand ot the allied troops, at the expense of France, 604 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. for a period not exceeding five years : the pecuniary ipdemnity was settled at seven hundred million francs; and the Ionian islands were declared independent, under the protection of England. During the oc- cupation of Paris, the various states which had suffered from the depredations of Buo- naparte, lost no time in recovering the works of art of which he had deprived them ; and a great number of valuable paintings and national monuments were re- stored to their original owners. On the re-establishment of the kingly government in France, measures were ta- ken for the punishment of those who had been most actively engaged in the late re- bellion ; and, although only a few atoned for their offences with their lives, the cele- brated marshal Ney was among the number. An act of confederation was signed at Vienna on the eighth of June, by which the management of the general affairs of the German states was confided to a diet, com- posed of representatives of all the princes and free cities of the empire ; and as they severally pledged themselves not to make war upon each other, but to submit all dif- ferences to the decision of the diet, the fu- ture tranquillity of Germany is secured so long as the confederacy shall act up to its declared principles. In the final settlement of Europe by congress, Prussia received some important territorial accessions, chiefly firom Saxony, whose king was compelled to submit to the loss of Thuringia, Upper and Lower Lusatia, and Henneberg. This ac- quisition, in addition to Swedish Pomerania, and the recovery of her Polish provinces, restored Prussia to a high rank among the powers of the continent. HOSTILITIES IN INDIA. In the East Indies some disputes between the British government and the state of Nepaul, respecting boundaries, broke out into hostility. Several gallant but unsuc- cessful attempts were made on the strong fort of Kalunga, in one of which general Gillespie was slain ; the fort was at length, however, evacuated by its garrison ; and, after a campaign of unusual difficulty, the country from Kemaoon to the river Sut- ledge was ceded to the English company. About this period the whole island of Ceylon came under the British dominion, the king of Candy, who possessed the inte- rior, having driven the inhabitants, by a se- ries of atrocities, to throw off his yoke. Early in the year general Brownrigg, the governor of the British possessions on the coast, issued a proclamation declaring that he made war on the tyrant alone, and prom- ising protection to his oppressed subjects. An adequate force then penetrated to the capital, amidst the acclamations of the in- habitants ; the king was delivered up, with- out the loss of a single man ; and a treaty was concluded, by which the British au- thority was established in the whole island; the rights and immunities of <:h<^. chiefe were secured, the reli: iui^ >.:' j\.o.ih was established, torture and muliiation were abolished, and no sentence of death was to be executed without a warrant from the British governor. GEORGE UI. 1760—1820. 605 CHAPTER XLIII. Parliament called — Holy Alliance — Marriage of the Princess Charlotte to Prince Leopold — Distressed State of the Country — Riots and Tumults — Expedition against Algiers — East India Affairs — Meeting of Parliament — The Prince-Regent attacked by the Populace — Message as to Illegal Meetings — Relinquishment of Income by Prince-Regent and Ministers — Meeting in Spa-fields and Palace-yard — Commit- ments to the Tower — Loan of Exchequer-Bills for Public Works — Catholic Claims rejected — Lord SidmoutKs Circular — Messages from the Prince-Regent — Disturb- ances at Manchester — State Trials — Death of Princess Charlotte — Foreign Affairs — Meeting and Proceedings of Parliament — Royal Marriages — Education of the Poor and Charitable Institutions — Army of Occupation withdrawn from France — Disturbances at Manchester, <^c. — Death of Queen Charlotte. PARLIAMENT CALLED.— HOLY ALLI- ANCE. 1816, — Parliament assembled on the first of February, 1816. Brougham moved for a copy of a treaty concluded at Paris, on the twenty-sixth of September, between Russia, Austria, and Prussia, and which had received the name of the Holy Alliance. By this singular document, which was couched in the most devout and solemn language, and consisted of three articles, the three potentates, members of difterent Christian churches, declared their resolu- tion, both in their domestic administration and foreign relations, to take for their guide the precepts of the holy religion taught by our Savior. They bound themselves in a fraternity of mutual assistance, regarding themselves as delegated by Providence to govern three branches of one and the same Christian nation, of which the Divine Being was the sole real Sovereign ; and they de- clared that all such powers as should sol- emnly avow the sacred principles which had actuated them, would be received with ardor into this " holy alliance." Brougham observed, that there was something so sin- gular in the language of the treaty, as to warrant no little jealousy. He could not think that it referred to objects merely spiritual : the partition of Poland had been prefaced by language very similar to that now used ; and the proclamation of the em- press Catherine, which wound up that fatal tragedy, was couched in almost the same words. Lord Castlereagh vindicated the motives of the emperor of Russia, and stated that the prince-regent, whose accession to this alliance had been solicited, had ex- pressed his satisfaction in its tendency. He opposed the production of the document itself, on the ground that it was contrary to the practice of parliament to call for copies of treaties to which this country was no party. 51* FINANCE. From an abstract of the net produce of the revenue, in the years ending the fifth of January, 1815, and the fifth of January, 1816, it appeared that, in the former, it amounted to sixty-five million four hun- dred and twenty-nine thousand nine hun- dred and eighty-one pounds; and, in the latter, to sixty-six million four hundred and forty-three thousand eight hundred and two pounds. Notwithstanding this enor- mous produce, the chancellor of the exche- quer acknowledged, on the very first day of the session, that it was his intention to propose a reduced income tax of five pounds per cent. This intention was, however, frustrated by the persevering opposition of the people. On the fifth of March, Vansit- tart, with the view of gaining over the poorer classes, announced, amongst his pro- posed modifications, that incomes of less than one hundred and fifty pounds, and farms of less rent than one hundred and fifty pounds, were to be exempt fi'om the operation of the tax ; and that, upon farms of higher rent, the assessment was to be upon one-third instead of three-fourths of the rent. On that reduced scale, he esti- mated the tax to produce six million pounds annually. It had been proved, however, that, according to the original plan, more than half of the tax had been paid by in- comes of one hundred and fifty pounds a-year and under. Estimating the net pro- duce of the tax at ten per cent, to be twelve million pounds, at five per cent, it would indeed be six million pounds ; but, by tak- ing away, at one stroke, half of the sources of production — incomes of one hundred and fifty pounds a-year and under — tlie produce of the remaining half could not exceed three million pounds." On the final discussion of the subject, on the eighteenth of March, the motion for the continuance of tlie income tax was negatived by two hundred and 606 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. thirty-eight against two hundred and one. This important defeat having exempted the opulent from a heavy assessment, a boon was granted to the mass of the people, by the repeal of the war tax on malt, which had been estimated to produce two million pounds per annum. In bringing forward the budget, on the twenty-seventh of May, the chancellor of the exchequer announced the highly gratifying fact, that the surplus of the preceding year's grants in hand amounted to five million six hundred and sixty-three thousand seven hundred and fifty-five pounds. In their favorite object of maintaining a large standing army, min- isters were successful — the situation of the continent rendering it in some measure necessary. Among the additional ways and means, the sum of three million pounds was ad- vanced by the bank, at three per cent, in- terest, on condition of being permitted to increase their capital by one-fourth. — The restriction on cash payments was subse- quently extended until July, 1818; the English and Irish exchequers were consoli- dated ; and a bill was passed for a new sil- ver coinage, in which the denomination of the coin was raised by a small seignorage, sixty-six instead of sixty-two shillings being allowed to the pound Troy. MARRIAGE OF PRINCESS CHARLOTTE- PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. A MESSAGE from the prince-regent to both houses of parliament, on the fourteenth of March, announced the marriage contract of his daughter, the princess Charlotte Augusta, with his serene highness the prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg ; and, on the motion of the chancellor of the exchequer, an annual sum of sixty thousand pounds was voted to the illustrious pair during their joint lives ; of which ten thousand pounds was to form a sort of privy-purse for her royal highness. If the prince should die first, the whole sum was to be continued to her royal highness; if he should be the survivor, the sum of fifty thousand pounds was to be continued to him: the sum of sixty thousand pounds was also granted by way of outfit. The marriage ceremony was performed on the second of May, at the queen's palace ; and the event called forth the sincere cono-ratulations of the nation. In July, another royal marriage took place between the princess Mary, fourth daughter of his majesty, and her cou- sin, the duke of Gloucester. Their estab- lishments were framed on a scale which rendered an application to the public purse unnecessary. The state of Ireland was brought under discussion in April, by Sir John Newport, who moved for documents to explain the extent and nature of those evils which ren- dered it necessary to maintain there, during peace, an army of twenty-five thousand men. This motion was superseded by an amendment, proposed by Peel, who asserted that the disturbances in that country seemed to be the effect of a systematic opposition to all laws. The debates on the Catholic question were attended with the same re- sults as on former occasions ; but an expec- tation was entertained that they would be renewed in the ensuing session with greater success. A bill relative to the registry and regulation of slaves, which had been intro- duced by Wilberforce towards the close of the last session, became the subject of warm debates, in consequence of a calamitous in- surrection which had taken place at Bar- badoes. A petition from the merchants of Bristol deprecated the measure, as disclo- sing a spirit of interference with the local legislation of the colonies ; and, on the sug- gestion of lord Castlereagh, Wilberforce postponed his intended motion, and moved for papers on the subject. Palmer, who argued that the information arose from ex- pectations, among the slaves, of entire eman- cipation, fostered by the proposed registry bill, moved an amendment, which was car- ried, recommending the colonial authori- ties to promote the moral and religious im- provement, as well as the comfort and hap- piness, of the negroes. Parliament was prorogued on the second of July, when the prince-regent expressed his deep regret at the distresses sustained by many classes of his majesty's subjects, which he hoped would be found to have arisen from causes of a temporary nature. STATE OF THE COUNTRY.— RIOTS. The period had now arrived in which the consequences of so long and expensive a war were to be most severely felt. The system of borrowing could no longer be con- tinued, and the supplies must now be raised within the year. The pressure of agricul- tural and commercial distress was very se- verely felt ; and, in the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and various other parts of the kingdom, tumults of a very serious nature took place. In the Isle of Ely, a kind of organized insurrection burst forth, which Was not suppressed without consid- erable difficulty, and between seventy and eighty rioters were tried by a special com- mission, when twentjr-four were found guilty, of whom five suffered the final exe- cution of the law. Later in the year, the inferior produce of the harvest, the consequent advance in the price of provisions, and the continued depression of trade and commerce, operated most severely upon the poorer classes throuofhout the kingdom. Numerous meet- GEORGE III. ings were hold en to consider the means of alleviating the general distress, and large subscriptions were raised; but at several of the assemblies ostensibly convened for the most benevolent purposes, persons of se- ditious principles came forward to inflame the minds of the people, by asserting that the abolition of places and pensions, and a reform in parliament, would prove a remedy for every evil. Of the meetings of this na- ture, those which were holden in Spa-fields, near London, are the most remarkable. On the fifteenth of November, many thou- sand artisans and others, assembled for the alleged purpose of petitioning for relief un- der their distress, were addressed by a per- son named Hunt, in a long and violent ha- rangue, and it was dcU rmined that a peti- tion to the prince-regent should be pre- sented by him, accompanied by Sir Fran- cis Burdett ; but the latter did not choose to appear in the business, and Hunt was in- formed that it could only be presented at a levee, or through the medium of the home secretary. On the second of December, another meeting was convened to receive the answer to the petition, when an alarm- ing breach of the peace took place. A young man, named Watson, after uttering an in- flammatory harangue, seized a flag from one of the by-standers, and, heading a party of the populace, led them into the city, and attempted to plunder the shop of a gun- smith on Snow-hill. He fired a pistol at a gentleman named Piatt, who was remon- strating with him, and for this offence was apprehended, but in the confusion that en- sued he escaped ; and the riot, which might have produced incalculable mischief, was checked by the spirited conduct of the magistrates, and entirely quelled by the ap- pearance of a military force. During this disturbance, the principal part of the assem- blage remained in Spa-fields, where another petition was determined upon, and another meeting appointed. EXPEDITION AGAINST ALGIERS. For a series of years, the pirates on the coast of Barbary had committed great de- predations on almost every civilized state, and at length ventured to attack the Eng- ^ lishflig. Sir Thomas Maitland, the gover- nor of Malta, proceeded, in consequence, to Tripoli, the government of which acceded to all that he proposed ; and at Tunis every thing was amicably settled by negotiation. These arrangements, however, proving in- eflectual, admiral lord Exmouth, with a por- tion of the Mediterranean fleet, proceeded, in the early part of the present year, first to Tunis, and then to Tripoli, At both these places the deys appeared disposed to accede to any terms ; and his lordship proposed a treaty, for ever prohibiting the making of pnsonemfi^ 1 bf trf'?ite(r^ 1760—1820. Christian slav might be take according to the rope. These etipulationti.\verc reatlil^' agreed to : treaties were signed, ami 4i*4^ fleetTe- turned to Algiers, where lord p]xmouth proposed to the dey a similar treaty, against which, however, he made a firm and reso- lute stand. Lord Exmouth, therefore, de- parted from the interview with a determi- nation to commence hostilities; on which the dey ordered the British consul, M'Don- ald, to be confined, and all the English ves- sels at Oran to be seized. Negotiations, however, were resumed, which ended in an agreement that three months should be al- lowed for obtaining the sanction of the Grand Seignior to the proposed treaty ; and the Tagus fi-igate was appointed to take the dey's ambassador to Constantinople. Scarcely, however, had lord Exmouth reached England, when intelligence arrived of a new and horrible outrage, between three and four hundred Corsican, Neapoli- tan, and Sicilian fishing-boats, employed in the coral fishery, near Tunis, having been attacked by an Algerine frigate, the fortress of Bona also firing upon them. At the same time a corps of cavalry from Bona charged them fiiriously, and the slaughter amongst these poor defenceless creatures was most dreadful. Finding it impracticable to bind the bar- barians by treaties, it was at length resolved to take severe vengeance for their cruelty and perfidy ; and lord Exmouth accordingly sailed from Plymouth, on the twenty-eighth of July, in the Queen Charlotte, of a hun- dred and ten guns, with four other ships of the line, five fi-igates, and several sloops, bombs, &c. Having rendezvoused at Gib- raltar, where he was joined by a Dutch squadron, his lordship proceeded on his voy- age on the fourteenth of August. The Al- gerines, it appeared, had, ever since the end of May, been preparing for the expected attack of our fleet, by removing every arti- cle of value from the town, which was well defended by about one thousand pieces of ordnance. Algiers, rising abruptly from the water's edge, to a great height, was surrounded by a high wall, the southern side of which was adorned with men's heads. The batteries were one above another, strongly constructed and fortified ; and along a tongue of land, which defends the entrance into the inner part of the harbor, and also the approach to it, was a range of strong batteries, which our ships were obliged to pass, to take their station near the town, for the purpose of bombarding it I^ord Exmouth arrived on the twenty-seventh of August ; and, all proposals for conciliation having proved ineffectual, the fleet passed 608 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the batteries, and at three o'clock in the afternoon, the firing commenced. The Queen Charlotte took her station off the extreme point of the tongue, by which she enfiladed the whole line of Ijatteries along it ; and so near was she, that every part of the mole, and what was called the Ma- rine, was visible from her quarter-deck. Both w^ere crowded with spectators, and lord Exmouth waved his hat to them to retire, and signified that he was about to begin hostilities ; but they did not attend to, or perhaps did not comprehend the meaning of his humanely intended warning, and the consequence was, that our first broadside swept off from five hundred to one thou- sand of them. The most advanced of the Algerine navy was a brig, to which the queen Charlotte lashed herself: closer in with the shore, in the bosom of the harbor, were two frigates, and the rest of the Alge- rine vessels behind them. The fury and tremendous nature of the bombardment will never be forgotten. It continued till nearly eleven ; the Algerines fighting all the time with the utmost fury, but yet with great skill and effect. About ten, the land-breeze came on, and it was deemed advisable to take a larger offing during the night. It was extremely dark; but the darkness was illuminated by a violent storm of lightning, with thunder, and by the in- cessant fire of the batteries. Next morning, the city and harbor exhibited a terrible scene of desolation ; four large Algerine frigates, five corvettes, a great number of smaller vessels of all descriptions, the magazines, arsenals, and a large quantity of marine stores, being destroyed, whilst their loss in men was between six and seven thousand : the assailants had also to lament a loss in killed and wounded of more than eight hundred. Lord Exmouth now repeated with effect the proposals which had before been rejected; and the result of this splendid achievement was, that the dey agreed to- tally to abolish Christian slavery ; to deliver up all the slaves in his dominions, to what- ever nation they might belong ; to return all the money he had received for the re- demption of slaves since the commence- ment of the year ; and to make reparation and a public apology to the British consul for all the indignities to which he had been subjected. After the treaties had been negotiated, and the dey had refunded three hundred and eighty-two thousand five hundred dol- lars to the governments of Naples and Sar- dinia, and had released ten hundred and eighty-three Christian slaves, it canie to the knowledge of lord Exmouth that two Span- iards, the one a merchant, and the other the vice-consul of tliat nation, were still held in custody, on pretence that they were prisoners for debt. His lordship immedi- ately insisted on their unconditional re- lease, and prepared for the recommence- ment of hostilities ; in consequence of which they were set at liberty, and not one Chris- tian prisoner remained in Algiers. Our gallant squadron quitted on the third of September ; and lord Exmouth, who was twice slightly wounded during the action, was raised from the dignity of baron to that of viscount, for his services on this occa- sion. A considerable promotion also took place amongst the officers who had so no- bly participated in the chastisement of an unprincipled tyrant. EAST INDIA AFFAIRS. In the East Indies the irritable state of the popular mind, on all subjects connected with their customs, occasioned some dis- turbances, which were not quelled without bloodshed ; and disputes with several of the native powers in the course of the year also occupied the British forces. The Pindarees made an inroad into Guntoer, laid waste that rich district, and committed many acts of wanton barbarity, whilst their movements were so skilfully conducted that they es- caped with most of their booty. The refu- sal of the rajah of Nepaul to ratify the treaty which had been concluded occasion- ed a severe contest between the British and this formidable enemy, which was termi- nated on the fourth of March, by his ac- ceding to the former terms, after being de- feated in a decisive action, and losing an important fortress. For these successes the thanks of parliament were voted to the gov- ernor-general and the army, and the earl of Moira was created marquis of Hastings. That most desirable but laborious work, the arrangement of the statute law under distinct and proper heads, had been long studied by lord Stanhope, whose life had been devoted to scientific pursuits; during the last session he had moved for a commit- tee to consider the best means of accom- plishing the object; but death unfortunately deprived the country of his services before the development of his plans: and it is much to be feared that a considerable time will elapse before any person equally qualified for the task vAW be induced to undertake it. We must not quit the year 1816 without recording the death of Richard Brinsley Sheridan, the last of that great constella- tion of talent which adorned the latter part of the eighteenth century. As an orator he yielded not even to Pitt in flow of dic- tion ; whilst in force and acuteness he may be compared with Fox, and in splendor of imagination with Burke. At the early age of twenty-four he wrote a comedy, which is admitted to be one of the best in the GEORGE m. 1760--1820. 609 English language — The School for Scan- dal; and, had he employed his matchless endowments with ordinary judfrment, no- thing could have obstructed his progress to the highest point of fame : but, attached to convivial pleasures, crusted over with indo- lence, and depressed by fortune, mischiev- ous habits obscured those transcendent pow- ers which might have placed him in the foremost rank of statesmen. He was the consistent advocate of public liberty ; and, could he have been roused to more frequent exertion, would doubtless have enjoyed a still larger share of popularity. MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.— PRINCE-RE- GENT AITACKED. 1817. — On the twenty-eighth of January, 1817, parliament was opened by the prince- regent in person, when the chief topics of the speech were, the continued assurances of amity received from foreign powers ; the splendid success of the bombardment of Al- giers, with the consequent renunciation of the practice of Christian slavery ; and the successful termination of the campaign in India. The annual estimates had been formed under an anxious desire to make every reduction in the public establishments which the safety of the empire and true policy would allow ; but his royal highness regretted to state that there had been a de- ficiency in the produce of the last year's revenue : he trusted, however, that it was to be ascribed to temporary causes ; and he had the consolation to believe that it would be found practicable to provide for the ser- vice without makhig any additions to the burdens of the people. The riotous spirit which had lately dis- played itself again broke out on this occa- sion ; and the prince-regent, on his way to the house, was assailed by tumultuous ex- pressions of disapprobation from an un- usually large concourse of people, whose conduct, on the return of the procession, became more violent, the royal carriage be- ing attacked with stones and other missiles in an alarming manner. This outrage was communicated to the house of peers by lord Sidmouth, when the consideration of the usual address in answer to the speech was postponed till the following day, and a con- ference was held with the house of com- mons, at which a joint address, congratu- lating his royal highness on his escape, was agreed upon. A proclamation was issued, of- fering a reward of one thousand pounds for the apprehension of the oftenders, but they were never discovered. On the ensuing evening earl Grey moved an amendment on the address in answer to the speech, chiefly for the purpose of ex- pressing an opinion that the prince-regent was under a delusion respecting the de^jree and probable duration of the pressure on the resources of the country, which was declared to be much more extensive in its operations, more severe in its effects, more deep and general in its causes, and more difficult to be removed, than that which had prevailed at the termination of any former war. To this declaration was added a pro- fession of regret that his royal highness should not sooner have been advised to adopt measures of the most rigid economy and retrenchment, particularly with respect to our military establishments; and a resolu- tion that the house should go immediately into a committee on the state of the nation. The amendment was negatived without a division ; and a similar one, moved in the commons on the preceding day, was reject- ed by two hundred and sixty-four against one hundred and twelve. Yet facts ere long proved the necessity of making large and general retrenchments, and of reducing taxation. ILLEGAL MEETINGS. On the third of February a message was communicated to both houses, announcing that the prince-regent had ordered to be laid before parliament papers containing an account of certain meetings and combina- tions held in different parts of the country, tending to the disturbance of the public tranquillity, the alienation of the affections of the people from his majesty's person and government, and the overthrow of the whole frame and system of the law and constitu- tion : his royal highness recommended the papers to immediate consideration, and they were referred by each house to a secret committee. RELINQUISHMENT OF INCOME BY THE PRINCE-REGENT AND MINISTERS. Another communication, of a different nature, was made to the house of commons by lord Castlereagh, on the seventh of the same month, previously to his moving for the appointment of a committee of inquiry respecting the income and expenditure of the state. His lordship said that he had it in command from the prince-regent to an- nounce, that, sympathizing with the suffer- ings of a generous people, he had deter- mined upon a cession of fiff:y thousand pounds per annum of that part of his in- come which related to his personal ex- penses, during the continuance of the pres- ent difficulties. At the same time, his lord- ship communicated the intention of minis- ters voluntarily to dispense with one-tenth of their official incomes, while the necessi- ties of the state should require such a con- cession. Lord Camden, one of the tellers of the exchequer, also relinquished, pro tempore, the whole of the enormous profits of that sinecure office, with the exception CIO HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. of two thoasand five hundred pounds, the regulated income of the other tellers. This, it was expected, would effect a saving of sixteen or eighteen thousand pounds a-year. On the reduced scale, the expenditure for the year was estimated at six million five hundred thousand pounds less than that of the preceding year, and a further saving of upwards of one million pounds was cal- culated upon for 1818. The first report of the committee of in- quiry into the income and expenditure, re- lating to the abolition of sinecures, was made on the fifth of May, when Davies Gilbert stated, that, in recommending the suppression of certain offices, it was, at the same time, necessary that his majesty should be enabled to reward meritorious services, by granting pensions according to the du- ration of service and exertions of public officers. A bill, entitled the Civil Services' CompensatioH Bill, was accordingly intro- duced, together with another for abolishing the offices of wardens and justices in Eyre ; and they passed through both houses with little opposition. Notwithstanding the expectation of co- ercive measures to be adopted by govern- ment, a meeting of the populace, headed by Hunt and his friends, under the ostensi- ble motive of petitioning for parliamentary reform, was held in Spa-fields on the tenth of February, and a similar meeting in Pal- ace-yard, Westminster, on the thirteenth, at neither of which anything remarkable occurred. COMMITMENTS TO THE TOWER. The report of the secret committee of the house of lords was presented on the eighteenth of February, and commenced by stating that the committee found that there was no doubt that treasonable con spiracies had been formed in the metropolis and elsewhere, which had for their object the total overthrow of the laws and govern- ment, and the indiscriminate plunder and division of property. That in August last, different meetings had been held in the me- tropolis, arms were purchased, and other measures of the like kind resorted to. At subsequent consultations it was resolved to call a public meeting in Spa-fields, which was fixed for the fifteenth of November. The conspirators had prepared addresses, and circulated them in the gaols, informing the prisoners they would shortly be liber ated, when they would be armed by the provisional government. They were also desired to prepare themselves with tri colored cockades, emblematic of the ap- proaching revolution. Plans were also formed for an attack upon the Tower, pikei were manufactured to arm the people, lead ers were appointed to conduct the assaults in different districts, and fire-arms were dis- tributed amongst those who were consider- ed most worthy of confidence. While these arrangements were forming, the leaders of the conspiracy were found, night after night, in public houses, working up the minds of the people whom they might meet there, so as to render them ready instru- ments to execute any project, however des- perate. Exertions were also made to win over the soldiers to their cause. Tri-colored flags were prepared, together with a ban- ner, on which was inscribed, " The brave soldiers are our friends — treat them kindly ;" and it appeared that, down to the second of December, they had the fullest confidence of success. Communications regularly took place between the conspirators in the me- tropolis, and persons actuated by similar feelings in other parts of the country ; and matters were so regulated as that their ef- forts should be devoted to the same purpose in different quarters at one time ; for which end it was agreed that they should all hold meetings on the same day, and thereby ef- fect a general rising at once ; and this waa to be done under the pretence that they v/ere to petition the prince-regent, the real object being to promote a spirit of insubor- dination ; a contempt of all laws, whether religious or otherwise; an equal division of all property, and a restoration to what was termed natural rights. The next point upon which the report touched was the ex- istence of societies in various parts of the kingdom, under the titles of Hampden clubs, Spencean philanthropists, &c. the intent of which was, under the disguise of constitu- tional proceedings, to extend the plans of devastation and destruction already de- scribed. A reference was then had to the administration of secret oaths, and to the extraordinary measures which were talcen by the conspirators to prevent a discovery of their plots — plots which were found to have existence in all the great manufactur- ing towns throughout the country, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, &c. The last topic alluded to was the publication of in- flammatory and seditious works at a cheap rate, the object of which was to root out all feelings of religion and morality, and to excite hatred and contempt for the existing state of things. The committee, in fine, attributed the late attack upon the prince- regent to the effect produced by those pub- lications ; and expressed it as their decided opinion, that the civil power, as at present constituted, under all the circumstances stated, was insufficient for the preservation of the public peace. On the following even- ing a report similar in object and effect, was presented from the committee of the house of commons. GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 611 In consequence of the circumstances de- veloped by the secret committees of par- liament, four persons, of the names of Wat- son, Preston, Hooper, and Keene, were ap- prehended, and committed to the Tower on a charge of high treason. A reward of five hundred pounds was also offered for the ap- prehension of a man of the name of This- tlewood ; and a further reward of five hun- dred pounds for the junior Watson. The metropolis, indeed, as well as several other parts of the kingdom, was for some time in a state of great alarm. The first parliamentary consequence of the reports of the secret committees was a motion by lord Sidmouth, in the upper house, for the suspension of the habeas cor- pus act until the first of July, then next ensuing. A bill to this effect was passed, and ordered to the commons, where it went through its different stages with rapidity ; and on the fourth of March received the royal assent. In the lords a protest against the measure was signed by eighteen peers, on the ground that the existing laws were adequate to the danger. Lord Castlereagh gave notice of farther measures for the pro- tection of the country against the machina- tions of the disaffected. These were, first, the extending of the act of 1795, for the security of his majesty's person, to that of the prince-regent ; secondly, the embodying into one act the provisions of the act of 1795, relative to tumultuous meetings and debating societies, and the provisions of the act of the thirty-ninth of the king, which declared the illegality of all societies bound together by secret oaths, and of such as ex- tended themselves by fraternized branches over the kingdom ; and, lastly, the making of enactments to punish with the utmost rigor any attempt to gain over soldiers or sailors to act with any association or set of men, or to withdraw them from their alle- giance. Numerous petitions against these proposed restrictions on public liberty, par- ticularly against the suspension of the habeas corpus act, were presented to par- liament ; and in the respective houses they were opposed, in every stage of their rapid progress, by such members as usually stood forward to advocate the privileges of the people : they, however, finally received the sanction of the legislature. EXCHEQUER-BILLS.— CATHOLIC CLAIMS. On the twenty-eighth of April, the chan- cellor of the exchequer, in a committee of the house, proposed that exchequer-bills to an amount not exceeding five hundred thousand pounds, should be issued to com- missioners, to be by tliem applied to the completion of public works ia progress, or about to be commenced ; to encourage the fisheries, and to employ the poor in the dif- ferent parishes of Great Britain, on due se- curity being given for repayment of the sums so advanced. He also moved that the lord-lieutenant of Ireland might be em- powered to advance, out of the consolidated fund of that kingdom, a sum not exceeding two hundred and fifty thousand pounds for the same purposes, under condition of re- payment in a time to be limited. These resolutions were agreed to, and a bill framed upon them was passed. In the course of this session several un- successful attempts were made, by the members of the opposition, to procure the abolition of unnecessary offices, and the re- duction of enormous salaries. Grattan's annual motion in favor of the Irish Catho- lics, was defeated by a majority of twenty- four ; and lord Donoughmore's correspond- ing motion in the upper house was nega- tived by one hundred and forty-two votes against ninety. At the latter end of May, the office of speaker of the house of commons was re- signed, on the ground of illness, by Abbot, on whom the prince-regent immediately conferred the title of baron Colchester, and the right hon. Charles Manners Sutton was elected to succeed him as speaker. SIDMOUTH'S CIRCULAR— MESSAGES FROM PRINCE-REGENT On the assembling of the peers, after the Easter recess, it was ordered, on the mo- tion of earl Grey, that a copy of the circu- lar letter, which had then recently been addressed by the secretary of state for the home department to the lords-lieutenant of counties, relative to seditious or blasphe- mous publications, be laid before the house. In this document lord Sidmouth had stated, that, as it was of the greatest importance to prevent the circulation of blasphemous and seditious pamphlets and writings, he had consulted the law officers of the crown, whether a person found selling or publish- ing such writings might be brought imme- diately before a justice of the peace, by war- rant, to answer for his conduct ; and their opinion was, that a justice of the peace might issue his warrant for the apprehen- sion of a person charged before him, on oath, with the publication of such libels, and compel him to give bail to answer the charge. Under these circumstances, his lordship desired to call the attention of the lords-lieutenant particularly to the subject, and requested that they would notify such opinion to the chairman at the quarter-ses- sions, in order that magistrates might act upon it. Subsequently to the production of this circular, earl Grey introduced the subject to the peers, in a speech replete 612 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. with legal information, in which he con- tended against the principle that a justice of the peace might be called upon by any common informer to decide what was or was not a libel, and to commit or hold to bail, upon his sole judgment, the party ac- cused. His lordship further held that such a specific intimation to magistrates, as to the mode in which they were to construe the law, even supposing the law itself to be clear and undisputed, would have been a high offence against the constitution. Earl Grey's motion, which was for the case which had been submitted to the law offi- cers of the crown, on whose opinion lord Sidmouth's circular to the magistrates had been issued, was supported by lords Erskine and Holland, and opposed by lords Ellen- borough and Eldon ; and, on a division, it was negatived by seventy-five against nine- teen. The subject was introduced into the house of commons by Sir Samuel Romilly, and decided in a similar manner. « The country continuing to be in an alarm- ing state, messages from the prince-regent were sent down to both houses on the third of June, stating that his royal highness had ordered to be laid before parliament papers containing information of practices, meet- ings, and combinations, carried on in dif- ferent parts of the kingdom, tending to dis- turb the public peace and tranquillity, and to endanger the constitution of these realms; and recommending to parliament to take the same into its immediate consideration. The papers produced were accordingly re- ferred, as in a former case, to committees of secrecy. The report of the lords' com- mittee, presented on the twelfth of June, stated, in substance, that having taken into their consideration the subject of the pa- pers communicated to them, and fully con- sidered the statements on which the com- munications were founded, they were of opinion that the spirit of tumult and insur- rection which gave rise to the bill now in operation, for suspending the habeas corpus, had by no means subsided ; and it was only by the vigilance of the magistrates, aided by the operation of the present bill, and their communications with the government, that the spirit of tumult and rebellion was kept down — that active preparations were still going on with a view to subvert the constitution of this country — and that the revival of the said bill for six months longer was absolutely necessary, to secure the public peace. The report from the com- mittee of the house of commons, presented eight days afterwards, traced the history of several plots, from certain proceedings at Manchester, in the month of March, to others in Derbyshire on the ninth of June, concluding in the following words : — " Con- fidently as they (the committee) rely on the loyalty and good disposition of his majesty's subjects (even in those parts of the country in which the spirit of disaffection has shown itself in the most formidable shape), they cannot but express their conviction that it is not yet safe to rely entirely for the pre- servation of the public tranquillity upon the ordinary powers of the law." It was ad- mitted, in the reports, that the evidence laid before the committee had, in a great measure, been derived from the depositions and communications of persons who were more or less implicated in the criminal transactions under consideration, or who had apparently engaged in them with a view of giving information to government ; but ministers defended, and most strenu- ously insisted upon, such an employment of spies as had been alluded to ; and a fur- ther suspension of the habeas corpus act, till the first of March in the ensuing year, was agreed to. On the ninth of July, Wilberforce moved for an address to the prince-regent, submit- ting, in the most dutiful but urgent terms, the expression of our continued but un- ceasing solicitude for the universal and final abolition of the African slave-trade amongst the European powers, which was agreed to without a dissentient voice. During a discussion on matters of finance, the chancellor of the exchequer contended that, if the income-tax had been acted upon, it would have produced a considerable dis- charge of the national encumbrances ; and he could not, therefore, help regretting its repeal. If the encouraging prospects now opening should unhappily fail, he was de- cidedly of opinion that vigorous measures ought to be resorted to for the improvement of our financial situation. That, amidst our difficulties, the improvement in the funds was considerable ; and that the present ses- sion of parliament had dispelled for ever the suggestions of a system of innovation and bad faith, which, for a time, united with other circumstances of the country to lower public credit. He trusted that public credit would still further rise, though at that mo- ment the country was not actually paying more than three per cent, interest on the exchequer-bills. Doubts had been expressed as to the resumption of cash payments by the bank ; but nothing less than an extra- ordinary political or commercial shock would prevent its taking place in July next. The national prospect was improved by the hope of an abundant harvest; and he thought we might reasonably look to a more extensive and productive commercial intercourse. GEORGE ni. 1760—1820. 613 The prorogation of parliament, by a speech from the throne, took place on the twelfth of July. DISTURBANCES AT MANCHESTER.— STATE TRIALS. The disturbances at Manchester, alluded to in the last-mentioned report of the secret committee of the house of commons, ap- pear to have been of a very extraordinary description. At a public meeting held near St. Peter's church, on the third of March, by persons denominating themselves friends of parliamentary reform, notices were is- sued that the espousers of their doctrines should assemble at the same place on the tenth, and proceed thence to the metropo- lis, to present a petition to the prince-re- gent, that they might be enabled to unde- ceive him ! Accordingly, on the appointed day, crowds of people flocked into Manches- ter, from all directions, as early as eight o'clock in the morning; and the instiga- tors, from their temporary stage in a cart, liarangued the multitude, till their vastly- increasing numbers suggested the expedi- ency of putting in force the civil and mili- tary powers. A party of dragoons, accom- panied by the magistrates of the district, t'len appeared amongst them, surrounded tiie erection, and immediately conveyed tiie entire group upon it to the New-Bailey prison. The concourse of auditors was forthwith dispersed without the infliction of any severity. Johnson and Ogden, two of the leaders upon former occasions, had been arrested on the previous morning, and were secured in the New-Bailey. Others were seized by the soldiers on their way to deliver their charge in Salford. A consid- erable number of people set out on their mission to London, taking the rout of Stock- [HJrt ; but above forty of them were recon- ducted to Manchester, and others were se- cured in Stockport. Most of them were provided with knapsacks, &.c. containing blankets and other articles. At one period there was an assemblage of at least thirty thousand people at the meeting ; not more, however, than five hundred penetrated so far as Macclesfield, where a troop of the yeomanry had remained to provide against such a contingency; and no more than twenty persons proceeded into Stafibrdshire. Nothing could be more wretched and pitia- ble than the appearance of the few who reached Macclesfield ; some actually faint- ing through weariness, and all of them without baggage, or any apparent resource with which to proceed twenty miles fur- ther towards London. Thus ended what has since been known under the quaint ap- pellation of the Blanketeering Expedition. In the montli of June the senior Watson wag, with Thistlewood and some others, Vol. IV. 52 put upon his trial, on a charge of hightrea- sori, m the court of King's Bench ; but, chiefly from the discredit thrown on the testimony of the principal witness, named Castles, an accomplice or spy, and a man of bad character, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. In the course of the sum- mer the turbulent disposition of the manu- facturing classes exhibited itself in several of the northern and midland counties, par- ticularly in those of Derby, Nottingham, York, and Lancaster, by many atrocious acts of tumult and outrage ; and it was found expedient to appoint a special com- mission to sit at Derby, for the trial of the offenders. The first four prisoners who were tried were found guilty ; nineteen of the others were then allowed to plead guilty, on an understanding that mercy would be extended to them; and twelve were acquitted, the attorney-general hav- ing declined to call evidence against them. Sentence of death was formally pronounced upon twenty-three of these deluded men ; of whom three — Brandreth, Ludlam, and Turner — suffered the full penalty of the law. . To the machinations of a govern- ment spy, named Oliver, many of them ascribed the criminal acts into which they had been led ; and the employment of such men was very generally condemned, their interest leading them to foment the plots they undertake to reveal. DEATH OF PRINCESS CHARLOTTE. The latter part of the year 1817 was marked by an event that filled the nation with mourning. The princess Charlotte of Wales, whose nuptials had, in the pre- ceding year, afforded so much satisfaction to the country, was in a situation likely to aflbrd an eventual heir to the British throne. Seldom, perhaps, had the hopes and wishes of a whole people been so deeply interested on a similar occasion. At nine o'clock, however, on the night of the fifth of No- vember, her royal highness was delivered of a still-born male child ; and at half-past two on the morning of the sixth she ex- pired, to the inexpressible grief of the royal family ; and throughout the country the in- dications of sorrow were unusually general and sincere. Her royal highness was about the middle size, inclining rather to the em-hon-point, but not so much as to impair the symmetry of her form. Although possessing a lofty spirit, she had nothing of high or fashiona- ble life about her, and preferred the retire- ment of Claremont to the splendor of a court She was of religious habits; an aflfectionate child ; and, as a wife, a model for her sex. FOREIGN AFFAIRS. France was this year relieved from Ksm 614 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. fifth of the army of occupation, the amount of the diminution being thirty thousand men, although she was by no means in a tranquil state. Notwithstanding the re- straint imposed upon her by a foreign force, it had been found necessary to suspend the law for securing personal liberty, and to revive, for a time, the jurisdiction of pre- votal courts, for the sake of summary pro- cedure against persons guilty of seditious practices. In Germany and the other states of Europe, as well as in France, little pro- gress was made in the establishment of free institutions, and in the emancipation of the press from that thraldom in which it had so long been held. In Prussia a strict censor- ship was exercised over all political publi- cations ; and the Rhenish Mercury, a jour- nal which had obtained extensive circula- tion, was even suppressed. The king of Wirtemberg, after declaring that he con- sidered a representative constitution as necessary to the happiness of his people and of himself, dissolved the assembly of his states on their refusing to confirm one pro- posed by himself, and took the administra- tion of the finances into his own hands. In Austria the pecuniary embarrassments of the government were very great, and in Spain the finances were also in a distressed condition, which the want of cordiality be- tween the governors and the governed was little calculated to relieve. In Valencia the people raised the cry of " The Consti- tution !" and were with difficulty reduced to submission, whilst at Barcelona a formi- dable conspiracy was detected. The fanat- ical Ferdinand, in the mean time, signalized his most Catholic zeal by prohibiting all books which impugned the authority of the pope, and the holy tribunal of the inquisi- tion. In South America the contest was protracted with various success; but the thread by which the authority of Spain v/as held had become evidently more slen- der. In Brazil the court evinced little dis- position to return to Europe ; and, Portugal being thus degraded into the rank of a tributary state, a plan for the establishment of an independent government was secretly agitated, but was discovered in time to de- feat its object, and the principal promoters of the measure, general de Andrada and baron Eben, with many of their adherents, were arrested. In the United States Mon- roe succeeded Madison as president, and the country recovered from the temporary pressure which the recent war with Great Britain had occasioned. PARLIAMENT. 1818. — PABLiAMEirr was opened by com- mission, on the twenty-second of January, 1818, and the royal speech was calculated 10 aJiay the cpprfihe^gioas of tuujylt aad conspiracy which had been long enter- tained, and to inspire confidence in the re- sources of the country. Its principal topics were — the continued indisposition of his majesty ; the lamented death of the princess Charlotte; an intimation that the prince- regent had not been unmindfiil of the effect which that sad event must have had on the interests and future prospects of the king- dom (alluding to negotiations then pending for the marriage of some of his younger brothers); an assurance of the continued friendly disposition of foreign powers ; the improved state of industry and public credit ; the restored tranquillity of the country ; the treaties with Spain and Portugal on the abolition of the slave-trade ; a recommend- ation for increasing the number of places of public worship, &c. An address, with very little discussion, was agreed to in each house : in the commons, however, Sir Sam- uel Romilly, in opposing it, severely repro- bated the conduct of ministers under the suspension of the habeas corpus act, re- marking that, in the case of Brandreth, the chief of the Derby insurgents, they had not availed themselves of the powers given them by that measure to prevent the mis- chief which had been threatened, by appre- hending and putting him in confinement, but had allowed him to go on to the perpe- tration of the capital crime, for which his life was ultimately exacted as the forfeit. Lord Castlcreagh, in defending the conduct of ministers, observed, that the doctrine which had been held respecting the trials at Derby, and the assertion that Oliver, the spy, was intimately connected with those transactions, were pregnant with evil, and did not rest on any foundation. In the upper house, a motion for the im- mediate repeal of the suspension of the habeas corpus act, called forth some strong remarks from lord Holland, respecting the partial and suspicious nature of the evi- dence on which that important right had been suspended, and the pernicious prece- dent thus established in a time of profound peace, when nothing had appeared in the state of the country to justify such a pro- ceeding. On the fourth of February lord Castlc- reagh, by command of the prince-regent, brought down to the house of commons a bag of papers respecting the internal state of the country, for the examination of which his lordship proposed that a select commit- tee should be appointed. As this was un- derstood to be a step preliminary to a gen- eral bill of indemnity for all acts performed under the suspension of the habeas corpus act, by which the persons then imprisoneiCOME AND EXPENDITURE. Another select committee was appoint- ed, on the motion of lord Castlereagh, to in- quire into the income and expenditure of the country, from which he anticipated a most favorable result. The receipts for the year ending the fifth of January 1818, were "fifty-one million six hundred and sixty-five thousand four hundred and fifty-eight pounds ; while those for the following year were fifty-foar million sixty-two thousand pounds, showing an increase upon the latter of two million three hundred and ninety- seven thousand pounds : but there were cer- tain arrears of war duties on malt and prop- erty, which reduced the income of 1818 to forty-nine million three hundred and thirty- four thousand nine hundred and twenty- seven pounds, while the arrears to January 1819, amounted only to five hundred and sixty-six thousand six hundred and thirty- nine pounds. The expenditure was also less by about six hundred and fifty thousand pounds than was expected ; and the result was, his lordship said, a total surplus of three million five hundred and fifty-eight thou- sand pounds, applicable to the reduction of the national debt. Allowing one million for the interest on the loan, there remained two million and a half of surplus revenue. Tierney observed that an old debt upon the sinking fund of eight million three hundred thousand pounds, which must be liquidated before one farthing of the surplus in ques- tion could be made available for the expenses of the current year, had been altogether thrown out of view. The various taxes, taken together, exceeded seven millions; but this was the extreme of the amount ap- plicable to the army, the navy, the ordnance, and miscellaneous services : how, then, could it be possible, he asked, that with an income of only seven millions, and an ex- penditure of twenty millions, both ends should be made to meet, and a surplus be left 1 and would it not be a gross delusion to speak of the sinking fund as applicable to the public service, while government were obliged to borrow thirteen millions a year to support it 1 The chancellor of the exchequer observed, that this statement in- cluded certain particulars which could not be admitted in making a fair comparison. By taking the whole charge of the consoli- dated fund and the sinking fund, it had been shown that our expenditure considerably exceeded our receipts. This must neces-l sarily be the case, since so great a part of the war taxes had been abolished. Parliar ment had thought fit to relieve the country from fifteen millions of taxes, and thus they unavoidably prevented the efiect which would have been produced in the redemp- tion of the debt by these fifteen millions an- nually. With respect to any plans of finance for the present year, he should reserve to himself the power of adopting that which the situation of public affairs rendered most expedient. On the third of June the chancellor of the exchequer submitted a series of financial resolutions, which stated that, by the remo- val of certain taxes, the revenue of Great Britain was reduced by eighteen million pounds ; that the interest and charge of the funded and unfunded debt of Ireland ex- ceeded the whole revenue of that country by one million eight hundred thousand pounds ; that it was necessary to provide, by a loan or other means, for the service of the present year, tlie sum of thirteen million pounds, which, deducted from the sinking fund of fifteen million pounds, reduced it to only two million pounds ; and that, for the purpose of raising this sinking fund to five million pounds, it was absolutely necessary to impose new taxes to the amount of three million pounds annually. This sum parlia- ment ultimately agreed to raise by a con- siderable duty on foreign wool, and by smaller duties on various other articles, such as tobacco, tea, coffee, and cocoa-nuts. Two loans of twelve million pounds each were also made ; one of them supplied by the money market, the other derived from the sinking fund. Out of these sums there was to be a surplus, of which five million pounds were to go towards the repayment to the bank recommended by parliament previously to the resumption of cash pay- ments, and five million five hundred and ninety-seven thousand pounds to the redu<)- tion of the unfunded debt. " In adopting this course," observed the ?peaker, in his address to the prince-regent, at the close of the session, " his majesty's faithful commons did not conceal from themselves that they were calling upon the nation for a great exertion; but, well knowing that honor, and character, and independence, have at all times been the first and dearest objects of the hearts of Englishmen, we felt assured that there was no difficulty that the coun- try would not encounter, and no pressure to which she would not cheerfully submit, to enable her to maintain, pure and unimpair- ed, that which has never yet been shaken or sullied, — her public credit and her na tional good faith." CATHOLIC QUESTION. Numerous petitions having been present- GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 623 ed to parliament, both for and against the Catholic claims, this great question of inter- nal policy was again brought before the house of commons by Grattan on the third of May. The causes of disqualification, he observed, were of three kinds : 1. the com- bination of the Catholics ; 2. the danger of a Pretender ; 3. the power of the pope. He msisted that not only all these causes had ceased, but that the consequences annexed to them were no more ; and concluded by moving for a committee of the whole house, to consider the state of the laws by which oaths or declarations are required to be taken or made as qualifications for the en- joyment of offices and the exerciso of civil functions, so far as the same affect Roman Catholics ; and whether it would be expe- dient to alter or modify the same. The mo- tion was lost, on a division, by a majority of only two, the numbers being two hundred and forty-three against two hundred and forty-one. On the seventeenth a corres- ponding motion was submitted to the peers by the earl of Donoughmore, who contend- ed that the position of the Catholic question had been greatly changed. All anti-chris- tian principles and uncharitable surmises were disallowed by its opponents ; and the great objection was limited to an arguable supremacy, which was supposed inherent in a foreign state. If he were allowed to go into the committee, he would, after getting rid of the declaration, next dispose of the oath of supremacy, when there would re- main no vestige of such tests, except the oath of abjuration, now of no practical use, as it aimed at a non-existent family. The bishop of Worcester opposed the motion, on the ground of danger to the church and state. That danger, it was argued by the bishop of Norwich, did not exist ; and we ought to do unto others as we would that they should do unto us. The bishop of Pe- terborough said that, if the present question were one merely of religion, it should have his support ; but it was evident the grand object of the Catholics was political power. The earl of Liverpool argued that the con- cession would not operate to allay animosi- ties in Ireland, and that the interests of the great mass of the people would not be af- fected by it in the smallest degree. The lord chancellor also strenuously opposed the motion, chiefly for the old refuted reason that the Catholics could give no security, by oath, which could reconcile the king's supremacy, in things temporal, with the pope's supremacy, in things ecclesiastical. On a division, the motion was negatived by one hundred and forty-seven ag-iinst one hundred and six. Another effort in behalf of the Catholics was made in the upper house by earl Grey, who introduced a bill " for abrogating so much of the act of the twenty-fifth and thirtieth of Charles the Second as prescribes to all officers, civil and military, and to members of both houses of parliament, a declaration against the doc- trines of transubstantiation and the invoca- tion of saints." The bill was allowed to proceed to the motion for its second reading, when it was thrown out by one hundred and forty-one against eighty-two. FOREIGN ENLISTMENT BILL. A BILL was brought in by the attorney- general on the thirteenth of May, for pro- hibiting the enlistment of British subjects into foreign service, and the equipment of vessels of war without license. The first of these objects, he observed, had been in some measure provided for by the statutes of George the Second, by which it was an offence amounting to felony to enter the service of any foreign state : if neutrality were to be observed, however, it was im- portant that the penalty should be extended to the act of serving unacknowledged pow- ers as well as acknowledged ones; and part of his intention, therefore, was to amend those statutes, by introducing, after the words " king, prince, state, potentate," the words, " colony or district, who do as- sume the powers of a government." Sir James Mackintosh warned the house, that, in whatever manner the motion might be worded, and its real object concealed, the bill ought to be entitled — "A bill for pre- venting British subjects from lending their assistance to the South American cause, or enlisting in the South American service." He stated that the statutes of George the Second, adduced as authority on this occa- sion, were intended merely for the tempo- rary purpose of preventing the formation of Jacobite armies organized in France and Spain, against the peace and tranquillity of England ; and he concluded by repro- bating a measure which was virtually ap enactment to repress the liberty of the South Americans, and to enable Spain to reimpose that yoke of tyranny which they were un- able to bear, which they had nobly shaken off*, and from which he trusted in God they would finally, and for ever, be enabled to extricate themselves. Lord Castlereagh contended that the proposed bill was neces- sary in order to prevent our giving . offence to Spain, whom that house was too just and too generous to oppress, because she was weak, and her fortunes had declined. Was not, he inquired, the proclamation which had been issued about eighteen months be- fore approved both in England and America, as perfectly just in tlie principles of neu- trality which it declared 1 Was it not, he also asked, a breach of that proclamation, when not only individuals, whom, perhaps, 624 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. it might have been impossible to restrain, not only officers in small numbers went out to join the insurrectionary corps, but when there was a regular organization of troops — when regiments regularly formed left England — when ships of war were fitted out in the English ports, and transports were chartered to carry out arms and ammuni- tion'? In the subsequent stages of the bill, ministers candidly avowed that the mea- sure had been suggested by the stipulations of a treaty with Spain, in the year 1814, and by the representations which the min- isters of Ferdinand the Seventh had con- sidered themselves as entitled, by such stipulations, to address to the British gov- ernment. This admission excited some se- vere comments on the character of Ferdi- nand. At length, however, the bill was carried. An act of grace, on the part of the prince- regent, for reversing the attainder of lord Edward Fitzgerald, by which the blood of his two children had become corrupted, was passed without opposition. The preamble of the bill stated that his lordship had never been brought to trial ; that the act of at- tainder did not pass the Irish parliament till some months afler his decease; and that these were sufficient reasons for mitigating the severity of a measure decreed in un- happy and unfortunate times. Wilberforce complained that two great powers had hitherto shown a reluctance to enter into the arrangements necessary for carrying into eflect the total abolition of the slave-trade. It grieved him to cast this re- proach on a great and high-minded people like the French ; and he was still more hurt to find that America was not free from blame. He trusted that all nations would cordially combine in insuring to the inhab- itants of Africa a progress in civilization equal to that of the other quarters of the world; and concluded by moving an ad- dress, entreatmg the prince-regent to renew his endeavors for the attainment of an ob- ject so generally interesting. The address was agreed to unanimously ; and a similar one was voted in the house of lords, on the motion of the marquis of Lansdown. The sum of fifty thousand pounds was granted, on the motion of the chancellor of the exchequer, for the purpose of enabling government to divert the current of emi- gration from the United States to the Cape of Good Hope, the colony to which it was considered that it might be most advan- tageously directed. It was proposed to pay the expense of the passage, and to afford to the emigrant the means of exercising his industry on arriving at the destined spot. A small advance of money would be re- quired from each settler before embarking. to be repaid him in necessaries at the Cape, by which means, and the assistance afforded by government, he would be furnished with a comfortable subsistence until he gathered his crops, which, in that climate, were of rapid growth. The session, which had been of a nature more than usually busy, was closed by the prince-regent in person on the thirteenth of July. The royal speech expressed a con- fident expectation that the measures which had been adopted for the resumption of cash payments would be productive of the most beneficial consequences ; regretted the ne- cessity of additional taxation; anticipated important permanent advantages from the efforts which had been made to meet our financial difficulties; and, in adverting to the seditious spirit which was abroad in the manufacturing districts, avowed a firm de- termination to employ the powers provided by law for its suppression. RADICAL REFORMERS— POPULAR MEET- INGS—ARRESTS. About this time a party which had re- ceived the appellation of Radical Reform- ers, obtained much notice by their active exertions among the lower orders, chiefly of the manufacturing classes. One of their first steps was an application to the magis- trates of^ Manchester to convoke a meeting, for the alleged purpose of petitioning against the corn bill, which was refused ; and, in consequence, the meeting was summoned by an anonymous advertisement. Hunt, who had been selected as the hero of the day, was conducted to tiie place of meeting by an immense multitude, in a sort of tri- umphal procession, and a strong remon- strance to the prince-regent was adopted : the assemblage, however, dispersed with- out tumult. This meeting was followed by many others of a similar nature at Glas- gow, Leeds, Stockport, and other manufac- turing neighborhoods : the strong measures of precaution, however, that were taken by the respective local authorities, had, in most instances, the effect of preserving order and tranquillity, though there was a marked contrast between the peaceable demeanor of the auditors and the inflammatory char- acter of the language in which they were addressed. On these occasions, the want of a true representation of the people was pronounced to be the grand source of all our evils; for which annual parliaments, universal suffrage, and election by ballot, were pointed out as the only cure. At one meeting there was a discussion whether the people had a right to destroy the bank of England ; and some suggestions were thrown out as to the expediency of a division of landed property, and a recurrence to phys- ical force. By some, however, it was con- GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 625 tended that these suggestions, which hap- pily produced no practical results, were made by spies; and it is not improbable that the agents of government, whose duty could not legitimately extend beyond the office of observing and faithfully reporting the proceedings which took place, might occasionally exceed their instructions. One novel and censurable feature of the system was the formation, in Lancashire, of female reform societies. These bodies entered into violent resolutions, and called upon the wives and daughters of manufacturers in different branches to form sister societies, for the purpose of co-operating with the men, and of instilling into their children a deep-rooted hatred of our tyrannical rulers. At Birmingham, where the extensive and almost general distress of the working classes had given greater currency to the new doctrines, the radical reformers hazard ed a bolder experiment than any they had before displayed. This was the election of a member, or, as it was denominated at the tinie, a legislatorial attorney, to represent that great and populous town in the house of commons. At a meeting, holden for this purpose on the twelfth of July, the mana- gers stated that, the issue of a writ being compulsory, they had not thought it neces- sary to wait for a mandate on this occasion but that, in the exercise of their constitu- tional rights, and of the duty of good sub- jects, they should proceed to advise the sovereign by their representative. Sir Charles Wolseley, who had previously de- clared his resolution to claim his seat, should he be elected, was put in nomina- tion, and instantly chosen by an assemblage of fifteen thousand persons. A few days after this performance had been acted, it was resolved, at a meeting in the great unrepresented town of Leeds, that a similar election should take place as soon as an eligible member should be found : but the government at length interfered; Sir Charles Wolseley was taken into cus- tody, on account of seditious expressions used at a meeting at Stockport, in Cheshire ; and an itinerant preacher, of the name of Harrison^ for a similar offence at the same place, was soon afterwards arrested, while he was attending a reform meeting in Lon- don. On these charges they were next year convicted, and sentenced to imprison- ment The Smithfield meeting, at which Har- rison was arrested, took place on the twen- ty-first of July. — Some degree of alarm was naturally felt by the inhabitants of the me- tropolis on this occasion ; and, for the pur- pose of preventing riot or disorder, very ex- tensive and judicious precautions were ta- ken, both by the government and the police. J Vol. IV. 53 Hunt was elected to the chair, and a num- ber of resolutions were passed, to the effect that, as the persons at present composing the house of commons had not been fairly chosen, the meeting could not consider themselves bound in equity by any of their enactments, after the ensuing January. When the officers took Harrison, a few voices proposed resistance, on which Hunt requested them to let him go quietly. " If tliev apprehend me," said he, " I am ready with bail, and will try the question with them. Let me subpoena all of you here ; and then, though they may get three vil- lains to swear away my life, I shall not be afraid when I have fifty thousand witnesses to contradict them. If only thirty of you shotild come day by day, the trial will last for three years!" The remonstrance to the prince-regent, which had been agreed to at a meeting in Palace-yard, Westminster, on the eighth of September, 1818, was again adopted, and numerous speeches followed ; in the course of which Hunt stated that the penny subscriptions to promote the cause of reform, which had been calculated to create^ in a year, a fund of two hundred and fifty-six thousand pounds, amounted, at the expiration of ten months, to only four pounds fourteen shillings and sixpence. This enormous assemblage finally separated without tumult. On the third night following, an atrocioua attempt was made at Stockport to assassi- nate Birch, the deputy constable for that township, by whose exertions both Sir Charles Wolseley and Harrison had been apprehended. Vigorous measures were im- mediately adopted by government for the discovery of the offenders; and, on the thirtieth of July, a proclamation against se- ditious meetings was issued. DISPERSION OF MANCHESTER MEETING. The Manchester reformers, who had posted up notices of a meetmg to be holden on the ninth of August, for the purpose of proceeding to the election of a representa- tive, as at Birmingham, were informed by the magistrates that, as the object of the proposed assemblage was unquestionably il- legal, it would not be suflfered to take place. In consequence of this determination, they relinquished the design, and issued notices of a meeting, for the avowedly legal object of petitioning for a reform in parliament, on the sixteenth of August. An open space in the town, called St Peter's Field, was selected as the place of assembly; and never, upon any former occasion of a simi- lar nature, was so great a number of per- sons known to be present. Some hours be- fore the proceedings were to commence, large bodies began to march in from the neighboring towns and villages, formed five 626 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. deep, many of them armed with stout staves, and preserving a military regularity of step. Each body had its own banner, bearing a motto; and, under a white silk flag, two clubs of female reformers appeared. The numbers collected were estimated at sixty thousand. A band of special constables, stationed on the ground, disposed them- selves so as to form a line of communica- tion from a house where the magistrates were sitting to the stage or wagon fixed for the orators. Soon after the business of the meeting had been opened, a body of yeo- manry cavalry entered the ground, and ad- vanced with drawn swords to the stage: their commanding officer called to Hunt, who was speaking, and told him that he was his prisoner. Hunt, after enjoining the people to be tranquil, and offering to sur- render to any civil officer who should ex- hibit his warrant, was taken into custody by a constable, and several other persons were also apprehended. Some of the yeo- manry now cried out, "Have at their flags !" and they began to strike down the banners which were raised in various parts of the field — when a scene of dreadful confusion arose; numbers were trampled under the feet of men and horses ; many persons, even females, were cut down by sabres; some were killed, and the maimed and wounded amounted to between three and four hun- dred. In a very short time the ground was cleared of its former occupants, and mili- tary patrols were stationed in the princi- pal streets , of the town to preserve tran- quillity. Much difference of opinion has ever since prevailed on this subject; and, perhaps, the Manchester meeting is one of those events, upon which, in all its variety of details, historians will never be found to agree. Whether the riot act were actually read is still a moot point : the reformers and their friends insist that it was not ; the magis- trates and their adherents contend that it was. And certainly if it was read the af- firmative of the proposition would have been more easily established than its nega- tive. The whole appears to have taken place within ten minutes, by which time the field was entirely cleared of its recent occupiers, and filled with different corps of infantry and cavalry. Hunt and his col- leagues were, after a short examination conducted to solitary cells, on a charge of high treason. On the following day notices were issued by the magistrates, by which the practice of military training, alleged to have been carried on in secret, by large bodies of men, for treasonable purposes, was declared to be illegal. Public thanks were, by the same auUioxity, returned to the officers and men of the respective corps engaged in the attack ; and, on the arrival in London of a dispatch from the local au- thorities, a cabinet council was held, the result of which was the return of official letters of thanks to the magistrates, for their prompt, decisive, and efficient measures for the preservation of the public tranquillity, and to all the military engaged, for the sup- port and assistance afforded by them to the civil power. For some days the town of Manchester and its neighborhood were in a state of con- strained quietness, although some further disturbances, in which one or two lives were lost, had taken place. At a meeting held at the crown and anchor, in London, a string of resolutions, strongly censuring the con- duct of the magistrates and military, and returning thanks to Hunt and his colleagues, were unanimously adopted ; as was also a resolution to raise a subscription for defray- hig the expenses of counsel, &.c. in defence of the prisoners. In the same spirit a meet- ing was likewise holden in Smithfield ; and a violent letter was also addressed to the electors of Westminster by Sir Francis Bur- dett, for the writing of which, as a libel, he was afterwards tried and convicted. In pursuance of this letter, an immense multitude assembled in Palace-yard, West- minster, on the second of September, for the purpose of declaring an opinion on the con- duct of the magistrates and yeomanry of Manchester. After speeches which occu- pied three hours in their delivery, by Sir Francis Burdett, and Hobhouse, his col- league in the representation of Westmin- ster, several violent resolutions were adopt- ed, declaring the assemblage at Manchester a lawful meeting ; that the outrage on that occasion was an attempt to destroy by the sword the few remaining liberties of Eng- lishmen, and that it was another lament- able consequence of the want of a real re- presentation ; and an address to the prince- regent, founded thereon, was unanimously agreed to. The circumstances of the Manchester case turned out to be such, that government found it expedient to abandon the threat- ened prosecution of Hunt and his colleagues for high treason, and those persons were ac- cordingly informed that they would be pro- ceeded against for a conspiracy only, which might be bailed ; but Hunt refused to give bail, even, as he said, to the amount of a sin- gle farthing : some of his friends, however, liberated him. His return from Lancaster to Manchester was one long triumphal pro- cession, waited upon by thousands, on horse, on foot, and in carriages, who hailed him with continued shouts of applause. GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 627 HUNT FOUND GUILTY.— EARL FITZWII, LIAM. The grand jury of Lancaster found true bills against Hunt, Johnson, and Moorhouse, and the others who were committed with them on the charge of conspiracy. The prisoners availed themselves of the privi- lege of traversing till the spring assizes of 1820; and, instead of Lancaster, the trial took place at York. After ten days' dura- tion it closed on the tenth of April, when the jury declared Hunt, Johnson, Knight, Healy, and Bamford, guilty of assembling, with unlawful banners, an assembly, for the purpose of moving and inciting the liege subjects of our sovereign lord the king into contempt and hatred of the government and constitution of the realm, as by law estab- lished, and attending at the same. In the ensuing term, Hunt and his associates re- ceived sentence ; Hunt to be imprisoned in the jail of Ilchester two years and six months, and then to find securities for his good behavior for five years ; and Johnson, Bamford, and Healy, to be imprisoned each one year in Lincoln castle, and also to find sureties. The reformers, notwithstanding the tra- gical results of the Manchester meeting, still ventured to assemble, as before, at Leeds, Glasgow, and other towns. The conduct of the Manchester magistrates and yeomanry was there the prominent theme ; ensigns of mourning were exhibited ; hor- rible details were given of the barbarous acts alleged to have been committed ; and the sufferers of the sixteenth of August were eulogized as martyrs, and their mem- ory classed with that of Russell, Hampden, Sidney, and other illustrious names of an- cient times. Rarely, however, where the local authorities refrained from interposing, did any breach of the peace ensue ; but at Paisley, where the flags of the radicals were seized by the magistrates, on their return from the meeting, some riots occurred, which, fortunately, were quelled without bloodshed. The regular opposition, or whig party, throughout the kingdom, seized with avidity wpon the solemn approval which had been given by government, so hastily, as they said, to an illegal act of power ; and the va- rious meetings which were held on this oc- casion were numerously, and some very respectably attended. A large assemblage of the county of York was sanctioned by the presence of earl Fitzwilliam, lord-lieutenant of the west riding, and many other noble- men and gentlemen of high consideration, who delivered their sentiments in very strong language ; and a petition to the prince-regent was adopted, calling loudly for inquiry. In consequence of this pro- ceeding, earl Fitzwilliam was dismissed from his lord-lieutenancy ; an incident which ex- cited much surprise, and was strongly ani- madverted upon. An address of the corpo- ration of London, also calling for inquiry, received from the prince-regent an objurga- tory reply. " With the circumstances which preceded the late meeting at Manchester," said his royal highness, " you must be unac- quainted ; and with those which attended it you appear to have been incorrectly inform- ed. If, however, the laws were really violated on that occasion, by those to whom it immediately belonged to assist in the ex- ecution of them, the tribunals of this coun- try are open to aflford redress ; but to insti- tute an extrajudicial inquiry, under such circumstances as the present, would be manifestly inconsistent with the clearest principles of justice." To counteract these meetings, loyal ad- dresses, and offers for the raising of yeo- manry corps, were zealously promoted by the friends of government. A veteran bat- talion of between ten and eleven thousand men was also formed from the Chelsea pensioners. At Lancaster the grand jury threw out all the bills which had been preferred against individuals by the sufferers of the sixteenth of August. At Oldham, eight miles from Manchester, the coroner's inquest sat for many days on the body of John Lees, one of the unfortunate men alleged to have lost his life in consequence of injuries received on that memorably fatal day. Great tumult was excited on this occasion : the inquest was, in consequence, adjourned to Manches- ter, where it occupied some weeks ; but the whole proceedings were set aside, on the ground of informality, by the court of king's bench. MEETING OF THE PARLIAMENT.— DOC- UMENTS ON STATE OF THE COUNTRY. Amidst the general ferment which had been produced by these circumstances, the meeting of parliament was impatiently wait- ed for by all parties, and it assembled on the twenty-third of November. " I regret to have been under the necessity," observed the prince-regent, in the opening speech, " of calling you together at this period of the year ; but the seditious practices so long prevalent in some of the manufacturing dis- tricts of the country have been continued, with increased activity, since you were last assembled in parliament. They have led to proceedings incompatible with the public tranquillity, and with the peaceful habits of the industrious classes of the community ; and a spirit is now fully manifested, utterly hostile to the constitution of this kingdom, 628 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. and aiming not only at the change of those political institutions which have hitherto constituted the pride and security of this country, but at the subversion of the rights of property and of all order in society. I have given directions that the necessary in- formation on this subject shall be laid before you ; and I feel it to be my indispensable duty to press on your immediate attention the consideration of such measures as may be requisite for the counteraction and sup- pression of a system, which, if not effect- ually checked, must bring confusion and ruin on the nation." On the succeeding day the promised documents respecting the state of popular feeling were produced : they consisted, in part, of the correspondence of official per- sons with the home-secretary ; and, in part, of communications to such persons, made by individuals whose names were withheld. Such of the letters of the Manchester ma- gistrates as had been written previously to the sixteenth of August, expressed appre- hensions that a formidable insurrection was in contemplation: at the same time they bore testimony to the deep distresses of the manufacturing classes, and assigned hun- ger as the natural cause of the willingness of the poor to listen to any project for the melioration of their suiferings. It was stated, in numerous depositions, that the practice of secret military training prevail- ed to a very great extent among the re formers; but only with the view of en abling themselves to march in the sem- blance of military array to their meetings, sticks being the only weapons whicii had been employed. A communication from lord Fitzwilliam, on the state of the west riding of the county of York, represented that the last reform meeting on Hunslet Moor had been less numerously attended than the former ones, and intimated that the rage for holding such meetings might safely be left to die away of itself Sir John Byng, the military commander of the district, stated that simultaneous meetings were to have been held at many neighbor- ing towns, but that the plan had been frus- trated by disunion amongst the leaders. The distress and discontent in this part, where pistols, pikes, and other weapons, were reported to be manufacturing in con- siderable quantities, formed the subject of some of these communications ; and simi- lar representations from the south-west of Scotland, where employment and wages had fallen off in a still more deplorable de- gree, were afforded by others. The grand jury of Cheshire also expressed the alarm which was felt for their lives and proper- ties by the loyal part of the king's subjects. BILL TO PREVEJST TRAVERSING OF IN- DICTMENTS. OTHER RESTRAINING BILLS. The lord chancellor introduced a bill, on the twenty-ninth, which he said he had long contemplated. It had been the prac- tice of the courts to allow defendants, in cases of information or indictments, to im- parle or traverse. As great inconvenience had arisen from this practice, as trials were sometimes delayed till a very remote pe- riod, and as the ends of justice might thus be defeated, the bill would take away from a defendant the right of traversing ; allow- ing the court, however, to postpone his trial upon his showing ground for the delay. — Earl Grey at once entered his protest against the whole of the measures, which, as it appeared, were in preparation, as cal- culated to bring the greatest misery, if not ruin, upon the country. On the second reading earl Grosvenor contended that, whilst the attorney-general was allowed to hold informations over the heads of defend- ants for an indefinite length of time, to abolish the right of traverse was greatly enhancing the grievance. Lord Erskinc also objected to the measure, as depriving the people of an ancient and important privilege. On the other hand, the earl of Liverpool contended that, if their lordships did not pass this bill, they had better at once declare that every description of sedi- tion and blasphemy should be invested witii full toleration. Lord Holland urged that, in fairness, tho nieasure ought to be so or- dered as to le.'isliile on both sides, by pre- venting the delays which occurred by pro- secutions on ex-qfficio informations, as well as by those of indictment ; and, agreeably to this suggestion, the lord chancellor, on the third reading, proposed an additional clause, compelling the attorney-general to bring a defendant to trial within a year, or to enter a noli prosequi. The bill, thus amended, was agreed to without opposition. The other bills rendered necessary by the state of the country were to the follow- ing effect : — An act to render the publica- tion of a blasphemous or seditious libel pun- ishable, on a second conviction, at the dis- cretion of the court, by fine, imprisonment, banishment, or transportation ; and to give power, in cases of a second conviction, to seize the copies of the libel in possession of the publisher ; a stamp-duty equal to that paid by newspapers, on all publications of less than a given number of sheets, with an obligation on all publishers of such pieces to enter into recognizances for the pay- ment of such penalties as might in future be inflicted on them. The press being thus restrained, seditious meetings were to be GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 629 controlled by the following provisions : — That a requisition for the holding of any meeting, other than those regularly called by a sherift^ boroughreeve, or other magis- trate, should be signed by seven household- ers; and that it should be illegal for any persons, not inhabitants of the place in which such meeting was held, to attend it : also, that magistrates should be empower- ed, within certain limitations, to appoint the time and place of meeting. To repel danger from the mustering of an illegal force, it was proposed to prohibit military training, except under the authority of a magistrate or lieutenant of a county ; and, in the disturbed districts, to give to magis- trates the power of seizing arms believed to be collected for unlawful purposes, and also to apprehend and detain persons so car- rying arms. The only one of these bills which passed without opposition was that for the prevention of secret military train- ing. The bill for the seizure of arms, which, under certain circumstances, and in particular districts, authorized search to be made in private houses, by day or night, was strenuously resisted in both houses; and, upon an amendment for omitting the words " or night," the house of commons divided — Ayes forty-six. Noes one hundred and fifty-eight. A clause of the blasphemous and seditious libel bill, by which offenders were, upon a second conviction, subjected to the punishment of transportation, passed the house of lords, but ministers found it expedient to withdraw it in the commons. The penalty of banishment, however, which had been previously unknown to the Eng- lish law, was allowed to be enacted. In its progress the seditious meeting bill was sub- jected to a modification, by which all meet- ings held in any room or building were ex- empted from its operation. Several limita- tions of the bill for subjecting small publi- cations to the newspaper stamp-duty were also introduced. On the following evening the marquis of Lansdown moved for a select committee to inquire into the state of the nation, and more especially of those which were called disturbed districts. The principle called radicalism, his lordship said, existed in ex- actly the same proportion as distress, the agricultural part of the country being yet untainted, whilst in the cotton manufactur- ing districts of both England and Scotland the spirit of radicalism had reached its height. The distress arose from the long war, which gave us the whole carrying trade of the world — which created a fixed capital that still existed — and filled the markets without the possibility of finding a vent for them. It was also increased by the poor laws, the paper currency, and the 53* spirit of excessive speculation. Adverting to the expedients which liad been proposed for the alleviation of distress by the ad- vancement of temjKjrary loans to encourage labor, he said there were two other points of a more extended nature : one was to take off" duties on articles which had con- siderably decreased in various districts — such as tea, which had been greatly re- duced in consumption, and was subject to much smuggling from America and other parts ; the other point was the establishment of favorable commercial treaties, which government had not yet succeeded in ac- complishing. He alluded, in particular, to the timber trade with Norway, which, he said, had been neglected, to encourage the growth of an inferior article in Canada, which prevented Norway taking in return many of our articles of commerce. The marquis Wellesley deprecated the seditious designs and views of the reformers, and thought the discussion of the restriction bills ought to be proceeded with in preference to any inquiry. Lord Erskine contended that the country was by no means in so alarming a state as at the time of the state trials in 1794. The existing laws were sufficient to remove the evils complained of, and to pun- ish the guilty. He ridiculed the evidence which appeared in the papers lately laid be- fore parliament, with a view to prove a treasonable or seditious meeting at Man- chester ; and contended that there was no- thing illegal in marching to a place of public meeting. Lord Grenville could not consider the designs as originating in the distress, which he hoped was only temporary. Such distress gave facilities to factious men, which they otherwise would not possess ; but the root of the evil lay much deeper. The pro- moters of the new system here, taking the French revolution as their model, had de- luged the country with blasphemous publi- cations. On the Manchester occasion, he considered the conduct of the magistrates to have been not only free from blame, but highly meritorious. The motion was neg- atived. Unfavorable as the time appeared for a discussion on parliamentary reform, lord John Russell was not deterred from calling the attention of the house of commons to the unrepresented towns, many of which had risen into great commercial wealth and importance, while certain boroughs had sunk into decay, and had become unfit to enjoy the privilege of sending representa- tives. He adduced examples, from the his- tory of parliament, to show that the principle of change had been often acknowledged, and the suffrage withdrawn and conferred on various occasions. Afler explaining his views he proposed several resolutions, tend- 630 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. ing to establish the principle of change which he had laid down, and some rules respecting the voters of disfranchised places, on whom corruption should not have been proved. The last resolution was for the disfranchise- ment of the borough of Grampound, the cor- ruption of which had already been proved to the house. On the suggestion of lord Castlereagh, who manifested a willingness to concur in the objects of the motion to a certain degree, lord John Russell withdrew it, and a few days afterwards brought in a bill for the disfranchisement of Grampound, and the transfer of its representation to some populous town. CESSION OF PARGA.— RESTORATION OF JAVA. Much animadversion was excited in the political circles by the fulfilment of a con- vention, concluded in 1815, between Great Britain and Turkey, by which the fortress and territory of Parga, on the western coast of Greece, then protected by the British flag, were to be ceded to the Porte, under a stip- ulation that those inhabitants who chose to emigrate should receive an indemnification for the fixed property which they would be compelled to abandon. This spirited people were the last of the free Christian Greeks of Epirus who had resisted the intrigues and aggressions of Ali Pacha : in 1807, after the treaty of Tilsit had given the Ionian Isles to Buonaparte, they had solicited and obtain- ed a French garrison from Corfu ; and in 1814 they had placed themselves under British protection. Finding the fate of their country irrevocable, they all chose to emi- grate, rather than expose themselves to the vindictive malignity of the Turk ; and an estimate was made of their buildings, lands, and plantations, amounting to nearly five hundred thousand pounds; but the compen- sation ultimately obtained for them was less than a third of that sum. In a more distant quarter discussions arose which likewise exposed the foreign policy of England to severe criticism. Avail- ing themselves of certain defects in the treaty for the restoration of Java, the Dutch commissioners committed various aggres- sions in the Malayne Archipelago, and par- ticularly against the sultan of Palambang, which drew forth a strong protest from the British functionary. Sir Thomas Raffles, di- rected against the whole political system acted upon by those commissioners, as being exclusively suited to the views of their own government, and hostile to existing engage- ments with the native princes. In Hanover various salutary reforms were effected ; in Wirtemberg the plan of a con- stitution was accepted by the representative assembly. CHANGE IN THE KING'S HEALTH- DEATH OF THE DUKE OF KENT. The protracted existence of the venera- ble monarch who had so long swayed the British sceptre was now drawing to a close. In the month of November the hitherto firm health of his majesty underwent a sudden alteration; and, although the dangerous symptoms were for a time removed, a gen- eral feebleness and decay ensued, which portended no very distant dissolution. In the midst of the anxiety caused by this change, the public regret was excited by the loss of the duke of Kent, who was seized with an inflammation on the lungs, and ex- pired, after a short illness, on the twenty- first of January 1820, in the fifty-third year of his age. In person his royal highness was manly and noble, in stature tall, in man- ners dignified, yet affable. He was easy of access, temperate in habits, and in the army acquired the reputation of personal courage. In politics he took no very active part, but attached liimself to the whig or popular party : and, whenever any charitable object was to be promoted, his name and presence needed little solicitation. He left an infant daughter, named Alexandrina Victoria. DEATH OF GEORGE THE THIRD— CON- CLUDING REMARKS. On the twenty-ninth of January, eight days after the death of the duke of Kent, his venerable father expired without a struggle, in the sixtieth year of his reign and the eighty-second of his age. Over the last nine years of his life an awful veil had been drawn. In the periods of the deepest na- tional solicitude his mind had felt no inter- est ; in the hour of the most acute domestic feeling his eye had been tearless: almost the last time that this venerable sovereign appeared in public was on the day when his people, with one accord, devoted themselves to rejoicing in honor of his completion of the fiftieth year of his reign, a period far beyond the common term of dominion. He was blind ; but, as he rode through the as- sembled thousands of his subjects, he was indeed the object of veneration and love. In a few weeks a most afflicting domestic calamity, the death of the princess Amelia, bowed him to the dust. The anguish of the father was too great for a wounded spirit to bear : his reason forsook him, and it never returned. It is remarkable of the departed sover- eign, that, although he felt, and frequently expressed, an anxious desire to obtain and preserve to his subjects the blessings of peace with other nations, and was untainted by ambition, yet that he was involved for nearly one half of his long reign in wars more extensive, sanguinary, and costly, than GEORGE III. 1760—1820. 631 any upon record. With the exception of the war which commenced in 1756, before his accession to the throne, the rest may be traced, in a great degree, to the disposition of his majesty to assert and .maintain his first positions upon political topics ; hence the prevailing sentiments of the general mass of his subjects did not always concur with his, in respect of the expediency of his wars, and recourse was frequently had by his ministers to artifices and delusions, for the purpose of exciting popular inter- ests and feelings in support of wars, the real motives of which were not always avowed. In the treaties of peace which were ne- gotiated during his reign, his ministers were remarkably injudicious and unfortu- nate. By the peace of 1763, Great Britain, though triumphant, surrendered the Ha- vannah and several other important colo- nial acquisitions, to obtain the status quo ante bellum for German allies, whom she had previously subsidized, and assisted with a large army to fight their own battles, but who have never since made or manifested any grateful return for her sacrifices. So unfortunate and mismanaged was the first war with the United States of Amer- ica, that the peace of 1783, (of which Sheridan justly observed, that " every per- son was glad, and no one was proud,") was vindicated by one of the then ministers, be- cause, " if peace had not been concluded, the naval superiority of France, Spain, and Holland, would have enabled them to take Jamaica, or to invade Great Britain within a year, — because defensive w^ar must ter- minate in certain ruin, — because to hazard an engagement at sea, would have been equivalent to a surrender of the kingdom, — and because the protraction of the war would have endangered public credit, and public bankruptcy might have dissolved the government." The peace of 1801, besides having been impracticable in its provisions, eifected anything rather than the ostensible object of the war, " indemnity for the past and security for the future ;" and the peace of 1814, and the subsequent conventions, ex- hibited to the world the before incredible example of a nation at the zenith of power and glory, and the benefactor or conqueror of all those with whom she had to nego- tiate, voluntarily and unconditionally sur- rendering the most valuable possessions in both the Indies without compensation, or even stipulating for any local commercial advantage, though she well knew the ava- ricious jealousy of some, and the restless intrigues of others of the powers to whom she made those wanton sacrifices. Still more unjustifiable was the cession of Ge- noa and Its territory to the house of Savoy, contrary to an express stipulation upon which Genoa had received a British gar- rison. No sovereign, however, enjoyed the af- fectionate loyalty of the English nation more entirely ; and hence the influence of his personal character had a considerable and evident effect in countervailing jacobin principles. The personal character of a king can never be a matter of indifference: in private life the example of George the third and his illustrious consort contributed much to the improvement of public morals. In too many instances the rascination of the throne has been sufficient to throw a veil of factitious splendor over the vices of those who occupied it : princes, indeed, appeared formerly to be in some degree exempted from the obligation of those duties of de- cency and morality by which the million were bound ; but, during the reign we have been recording, station and rank were viewed with jealous scrutiny, and afforded little protection to the frailties of their pos- sessors. If the example of George the third could not make all men uniformly moral, it did all that could be done by the practice of the humblest domestic virtues, the most unaffected piety, and the most exemplary regularity. His conduct as a husband, a father, and a master, secured the respect of all who beheld him nearly, and was ap- proved by the moral feelings of the whole nation. His intellectual faculties, not originally of the very highest order, were clouded by the constitutional malady, which exhibited itself at rather an early period of his life; but, though the powers of his mind were by no means brilliant, he possessed a prac- tical understanding, which, as far as ordi- nary affairs were concerned, commonly led him to a right judgment of men and things ; and he showed remarkable address in find- ing occasions for displacing obnoxious min- isters, and in ruling through the medium of subservient parliaments. In his applica- tion to business he was regular and steady, and always appeared perfectly competent to the subjects submitted to his considera- tion. His education had been rather neg- lected ; but he had cultivated a habit of continual inquiry in his intercourse with others — an intercourse which, from the frankness of his disposition, was less lim- ited than might be supposed ; and, aided by a retentive memory, he had thus ac- quired a variety of useful knowledge, of a description the most likely to turn to good account in the exercise of the duties of his station ; for he was systematic in all his habits of life, though his civil-list was so 632 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. often in arrear of debt from some unex- plained cause. On coming to the crown, he laid his com- mands upon the duke of York to discontinue card-playing on a Sunday, and openly to acknowledge his obedience to the royal will in this respect. The injunction was under- stood and obeyed in the politest circles. He also did his utmost to suppress those perni- cious assemblies, masquerades — a species of amusement which, it is to be hoped, will never be nationalized in England. The king, however, was neither an anchorite nor a recluse. He was fond of the theatre ; and to his taste and judgment the amateurs of the histrionic art are indebted for most of those improvements which constitute the boast of modern days. The costume of the stage underwent a thorough reform — the licentiousness of dramatic writers was effectually curbed — and many of the scenes which Dryden and Congreve did not blush to avow, would not for a moment be tole- rated by an audience of the present time. In literary taste George the third was sup- posed to be somewhat deficient ; but he col- lected a noble library, and, during his reign, literature certainly was not neglected. In addition to the great names of Johnson and Goldsmith, those of Cowper and Burns, Pa- ley and Blair, Robertson and Gibbon, with innumerable others, will testify to future ages that intellectual pursuits were duly appreciated. The graphic arts may be said to have re- ceived a character and establishment in this reign. In January, 1765, a charter of in- corporation was given to a society of art- ists, whose exhibitions had been commenced five years before ; and the royal bounty pre- sented them with an annual donation of a hundred pounds. The Royal Academy was instituted some years afterwards. Previ- ously to that period there was no such thing as an English school of art : now the con- noisseur may distinguish, in our public ex- hibitions, portraits which compete with the best works of Vandyke, and historical pieces that are not unworthy of the noblest times of Italy. Every branch of domestic and commer- cial arts rapidly attained to excellence du- ring his reign. The furniture and fitting up of our houses partake of the same re- finement. ■ Formerly the originals of our cabinet works, even to the tables and chairs, were French ; our mantel-pieces, our mir- rors, and our pictures, were Italian. The tide has turned : our manufactures of all sorts, no less for their taste in imagination than for their skill in execution, are now .admired all over the continent. Maritime discovery made astonishing progress in the reign of George the third. When Jefferies was geographer to the king, that artist, however high in reputation for talent and knowledge, was obliged, by the necessity of the case, to inscribe ^'^ parts unknown'^ over a great portion of the earth's superficies : the discoveries of the immor- tal Cook, Carteret, King, Vancouver, and others, have reduced the terra incognitcb within narrow limits, which become every day more and more contracted. By those geographical discoveries our knowledge of natural history, of the vegetable as well as of the animal world, has been greatly aug- mented. Nor was the royal bounty con- fined to discoveries on the face of the globe: the penetrating telescope of Dr. Herschell owes its powers and its comple- tion to the munificence of the king ; and whatever we know of the Georgium Sidus and other newly-discovered planets, of the lesser satellites of Saturn, of the celestial nebulffi, and of other astronomical phe- nomena, must be attributed to the zeal for the advancement of science that honored while it gratified the monarch by whom it was encouraged. In every branch of science and the me- chanical artsj this reign is distinguished by the most important discoveries. The appli- cation of the steam-engine to every branch of manufactures, and even to propelling vessels at sea ; the improvements in cotton and other machinery; the application of gas to the purposes of light ; the safety- lamp, and other chemical discoveries of Sir Humphry Davy and others : all these, and far more than these, had their origin in this reign. Agriculture, the basis of national pros- perity, experienced much royal attention, and many consequent benefits. Numerous statutes were passed for converting barren wastes into arable land, for draining marshes, for forming roads, constructing bridges, ca- nals, ports, with other improvements, all contributing to facilitate the intercourse of the kingdom, and consequently favoring the transit of agricultural productions. The king made a point of obtaining more than a theoretical acquaintance with a subject of such vital importance. He established an experimental farm ; he procured from Spain the most valuable specimens of the superior races of Merino sheep ; and he al- lowed the breed to be disposed of to noble- men and gentlemen who were inclined to engage in the speculation. Several letters in Young's " Annals of Agriculture," un- der the signature of John Robinson, are understood to have been furnished by George the third. The progress of great public works in the midst of apparently interminable wars was truly surprising. In London a new GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 633 mint, a new custom-house, and many other splendid structures, were erected at the na- tional cost ; whilst three bridges over the river Thames, docks and canals in every part of the kingdom, and a numberless va- riety of stupendous undertakings, were car- ried into effect by individual subscription. The system of education invented by Jo- seph Lancaster, a member of the Society of Friends, was first introduced under the immediate patronage of the king, who on this occasion benevolently expressed his wish "that every poor child in his domin- ions might be able to read his bible, and have a bible to read." The merit of the system, however, though first introduced into England by Lancaster, was said to be due to Dr. Bell, who had previously prac- tised it, or a somewhat similar method, at Madras ; and a national society, on his plan, was formed by the bishops and other digni- taries and members of the church, with the duke of York at their head, the chil- dren of which were bound to conform to the ceremonies of the established religion ; and thus was a laudable and zealous rivalry excited in the work of well-doing. In an age vi'hen education was thus eagerly promoted, the growth of knowledge could not be slow; and indeed in every branch, political, commercial, and literary, the progress of improvement was unparal- leled. In political knowledge, the publica- tion of the debates in both houses of par- liament, which was first permitted in this reign, but which, though only tacitly per- mitted, can never now be withheld, achiev- ed more than any single event that we cp,n anticipate. The universal diffusion of pub- lic papers, and the spirit of political inquiry, of which they may be said to be both cause and effect, have also gone far to remove the mystery in which politics were wont to be involved. That influence behind the throne, which, early in the reign, was eloquently, but with some exaggeration, stated to be greater than the throne itself, had so dimin- ished before its close, that the secret his- tory of the court has now little effect on the politics of the day ; and whilst the admin- istration is controlled by a popular assem- bly, the proceedings of which are diurnally laid before the public, that public will be nearly as competent to judge of the mo- tives and merits of the various measures pursued as those with whom they originate. It has been popularly objected against the late king, that he governed too much upon tory maxims, and was too little mind- ful of the principles which placed his family on the throne. It is certainly true that the whig party was excluded throughout nearly the whole of his reign ; they came in twice by the mere force of circumstances, but were each time driven out, after a few months' continuance in office, on the first pretext which enabled the court to obtain the co-operation of tlie people for their ex- clusion. The first and second Georges were compelled, by the circumstances of their situation, and the peculiar tenure by which they held the crown, sedulously to discoun- tenance the old tory doctrines of passive obedience and divine right; but with the terror of the Pretender, it might always have been foreseen, would die the whiggism of the Brunswicks. Assuming, indeed, that the term implies the support of the popular rather than the monarchical part of our constitution, it is difficult to understand in what sense a king is expected to be a whig. The possession of power so naturally cre- ates a disposition to preserve, and even to extend, that power, that, in attributing to princes a participation of this our common nature, we are certainly urging no objec- tion peculiar to monarchy. The counter- acting powers vested in the other parts of our political machinery prove that the ope- ration of this principle was fiilly foreseen, and adequately provided for. It cannot, however, be altogether maintained that the tory ministers of George the third have been, practically, less whigs than their im- mediate predecessors ; government, on the contrary, has considerably abated of that high tone which it habitually held in the former reigns ; and this was, indeed, to be expected when the great aristocratic fami- lies which formed the strength of the whig party ceased to be the regular organs of the will of the crown, their opponents being, both by connexion and property, of less in- trinsic weight. Yet the political influence of a certain portion of the aristocracy has been increased in this reign, by the eleva- tion of several proprietors of borough towns to the house of peers. The increasing influence of the crown was also a subject of popular outcry tlirough- out this reign ; and that its patronage enor- mously grew with the growth of our estab- lishments and the augmentation of the revenue and expenditure, is certain; but the consequent influence of government must be viewed in connexion with the great increase of wealth among those upon whom that influence had to work ; for it is obvious that the same amount of patronage that would bribe a poor country, would be inadequate to affect a rich one; and, al- though the general state of society yet pre- sents much for the philanthropist to de- plore, that Great Britain is a rich one would not be doubted if it were possible to de- scribe her and her inhabitants as they were, 634 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. in all respects, at the commencement and at the close of the reign ; a period during which no country and no people that ever existed could, we are convinced, exhibit greater alterations, and, in general, greater improvements. The state of the country, as it is displayed in its agriculture, manu- factures, and commerce — the state of the roads and the means of internal communi- cation — the connexion formed with foreign countries for commercial purposes, and the means by which that was carried on, as well as the effects it produced on domestic life, manners, and pursuits — the great ad- vances in all branches of science and arts ; — these, and a thousand other points, would form the topics of comparison between Great Britain in 1760 and Great Britain in 1820. The population of the island, which, in the former reign, was little more than eight millions, was, at the latter period, little less than doubled ; and if to this we add that of Ireland, the absentees in our vari- ous colonies and dependencies, and the na- tives of those distant possessions, upwards of sixty millions of persons now hold alle- giance to the British crown. During the first and the last wars of this reign, Great Britain was able not only to make the most unprecedented military ex- ertions, but her navy proved itself, at the same time, more than a match for the whole maritime force of Europe. It destroyed or blockaded the fleets of France, Holland, Denmark, and Spain ; and when Russia for a while assumed the character of an ene- my, it met the fleet of Russia also with alacrity and success. At one time the ships of war at sea exceeded six hundred, which, added to those in ordinary, building, re- pairing, &c. made a grand total of more than eleven hundred. To man this navy required a force of nearly one hundred and sixty thousand seamen and marines ; where- as, in the war which raged when his ma- jesty came to the throne, seventy thousand or seventy-five thousand were thought to be the utmost that the nation could furnish. That the mercantile navy of Britain has in- creased in a wonderful ratio needs no other proof than the necessity felt by our mer- chants for enlarging the principal ports of the kingdom by means of extensive docks and other accommodations — as at Hull, Liv- erpool, London, and elsewhere. These were found to be absolutely indispensable, not only for the accommodation of the East and West India trades, but for the recep- tion of vessels from all parts of the globe. In 1760 the amount of British shipping was stated at four hundred and seventy-one thousand two hundred and forty-one tons ; and in 1812 it was stated by Mr. Colquhoun at two million one hundred and sixty-three thousand ninety-four tons; exclusive of the shipping of Ireland. In the year 1760, the net customs' duties paid into the exchequer amounted to only one million nine hundred and sixty-nine thousand nine hundred and thirty-four pounds. In 1815 the consolidated customs, with the annual duties and war taxes, amounted to ten million four hundred and eighty-seven thousand five hundred and twenty-two pounds ; the consolidated ex- cise, with the annual duties and war taxes, amounted to twenty-six million five hun- dred and sixty-two thousand four hundred and thirty-two pounds; and the stamps, post-office, assessed taxes, property-tax, land-tax, &c. produced twenty-nine million three hundred and ninety-three thousand eight hundred and forty-eight pounds ; ma- king a total net revenue of sixty-six million four hundred and forty-three thousand eight hundred and two pounds! Pitt estimated the total income of the country at one hun- dred million pounds ; but, according to sub- sequent calculations, more accurately made, it is considered to be almost, if not quite, one hundred and fifty million pounds. That a great debt, whether public or pri- vate, is a great evil, cannot be denied ; and the national debt, which originated in the days of king William, has certainly been most enormously increased during this reign. At the accession of queen Anne it amounted to upwards of sixteen million pounds. During the administration of Sir Robert Walpole it was thought, by well- informed persons, that it might be increas- ed to one hundred million pounds; but a hundred millions was the ne plus ultra; there it must stop ; and that was the point of national bankruptcy. By the war of the American revolution, however, to the great joy of the foreign enemies and rivals of England — to the great alarm of foreign- ers who had property and dealings with her — and to the terror of the whole king- dom — it was augmented to the sum of two hundred and fifty-seven million pounds ! and, notwithstanding the operation of the sinking fund, the amount of nominal capi- tal of the public debt is now about eight hundred and fifty million pounds, including the unfunded debt. That the consciousness of the nation be- ing in a state of retrogression since the peace of 1815, should have spread a gloom over the concluding years of the reign, cannot be matter of surprise ; but, if every- thing could recede in its due proportion, relief would be certain, and not very dis- tant : whilst the prices of agricultural pro- GEORGE m. 1760—1820. 635 duce and of mannfactures were gradually receding towards the point from which they started at the French revolution, the large sum annually payable for interest on the national debt not only afforded slender scope for reduction, but became the more difficult to be raised as the value of pro- duce declined. From the difficulties, how- ever, which have been overcome, from the triumphs which have been enjoyed, the genuine patriot must feel warranted, amidst a season of temporary ^loom, in looking forward to bright and golden times, bear- ing in mind that the progress of know- ledge, which cannot now be impeded, must favor the pursuits of peace, and infuse a hatred of war ; and that, after the career of glory has been so honorably run by Great Britain, her rulers are more than ever bound, now that her swords are turn- ed into plowshares, and her spears into pruning-hooks, to cultivate peace on earth, and go«d-will towards men. 636 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. CHAPTER I, GEORGE IV. Accession of King George IV. — The King''s Declaration to his CcuncU — Proclamation of his Majesty — King^s Illness and Recovery — Detailed Ceremonial of the late King's lying in Slate and Royal Funeral — Parliament Dissolved by Commission — Discov- ery of Cato-Street Conspiracy — Detection, Trial, and Execution of Thistlewood and others — Tumultuous Proceedings in the North — Attack on the Soldiery at Bonny- muir — Defeat of those concerned therein — Trial of disaffected persons — Conduct of Ministry — General Election — New Parliament — King''s First Speech — Proceedings in Parliament — Lord John RussePs Motion on Elective Franchise — Allusion to the Queen's Arrival — Revision and Amendment of Criminal Code — Education of the Poor — State of Agriculture — Afflicting position of Public Affairs — Petition of Lon- don Merchants — Ways and Means for 1820 — Delicate situation oftUeir Majesties — Commission of Inquiry — Mr. Brougham's Proposition to Government — Proposed Compromise with the Queen — Offer of fifty thousand pounds a-year to the Queen — Queen's Narrative — Her Majesty's Progress — Mission of Lord Hutchinson — Sudden departure of her Majesty from St. Omers — Landing of Queen Caroline in England — The King's Message to Parliament — The Queen's Communication to House of Commons — Proceedings in the Commons — Statement of Ministers — Proceedings in the Hou^e of Lords — Bill of Pains and Penalties — Account of Trial — Speeches therein — Bill abandoned by Ministers — Parliament prorogued — State of Conti- nental Affairs ACCESSION OF KING GEORGE IV.— 1820. Called to the throne of his ancestors, by the death of his venerated father, George the Fourth took upon himself the actual sovereignty of these realms, which he had already presided over many years as regent, during the distressing malady of his august predecessor. The peculiarly felicitous fea- tures attending his persona] assumption of regality, were such as to promise to the na- tion something proudly pre-eminent in the history of reigns. Differing essentially in each particular from the situation of his pa- rent, at a similar epoch, who came to the throne in the midst of a protracted war, at an early period of life, with a character lit tie known to the nation, less to the world, and wholly unused to govern, or any of the arts of polity — the present monarch, from age, habits of general intercourse, universal knowledge, much experience as a ruler, and at the blissful period of profound peace, had to contend with no jarring opinions on the probable exercise of that sway, the results of which the people had often witnessed ; and being generally successful through a varied series of political difficulties and crit- ical emergencies, and graced as it had been by a long career of surpassingly splendid and brilliant victories, flattering to the na- tional pride, they had as long admired. In pursuance of established usage, the cabinet ministers assembled on the morning subsequent to the demise of the late king. When his majesty held his first court at Carlton house, which was numerously and brilliantly attended by all ranks and parties, who eagerly offered their homage to the reigning monarch, the reappointment of the lord chancellor, and several ministers, was the first exercise of sovereign power, the oaths of allegiance being administered to those present. A council was, in compli- ance with the royal ordinance, immediately holden ; and all his late majesty's privy- counsellors then in attendance were sworn as members of his present majesty's council, and took their seats at the board according- ly. Thus regularly convened, the new sov- ereign made the following declaration. KING'S DECLARATION TO COUNCIL. " I HAVE directed that you should be as- sembled here, in order that I may discharge the painful duty of announcing to you the death of the king, my beloved father. " It is impossible for me adequately to ex- press the state of my feelings upon this mel- ancholy occasion ; but I have the consola- tion of knowing, that the severe calamity with which his majesty has been afflicted for so many years, has never effaced from the minds of his subjects the impressions created by his many virtues; and his exam- ple will, I am persuaded, live for ever in the grateful remembrance of his country. "Called upon, in consequence of his ma- jesty's indisposition, to exercise the prerog- atives of the crown on his behalf, it was the first wish of my heart to be allowed to re- store into his hands the powers with which I was intrusted. It has pleased Almighty God to determine otherwise, and I have not GEORGE IV. 1820. G37 been insensible to the advantages which I have derived from administerinir in my dear fiither's name the government of this reahn. " The support which I have received from parliament and the country, in times the most eventful, and under the most arduous circumstances, could alone inspire me with that confidence which my present station demands. " The experience of the past will, I trust, satisfy all classes of my people, that it will ever be my most anxious endeavor to pro- mote their prosperity and happiness, and to maintain unimpaired the religion, laws, and liberties of the kingdom." As a subsequent act, the king, with the usual solemnities, and in conformity to the law, took the customary oaths, including that in the Scotch ritual, for the security of the national church of Scotland. These gracious declarations, with the form for the proclamation of the new monarch, were then agreed upon, and signed by the distinguished personages present. PROCLAMATION OF HIS MAJESTY. The proclamation of his majesty took ?lace publicly in the metropolis on Monday, anuary thirty-first. To account for this apparent delay, it is only necessary to call to attention, that the late king expired on the Saturday evening, the following morn- ing being Sunday, January thirtieth, the an- niversary of the martyrdom of Charles L, a solemn fast is appointed by our church, and consequently this pageant would have been inadmissible. On the same day, Monday, the members of parliament were sworn in, and immediately adjourned till the seven- teenth of February. . KING'S ILLNESS AND RECOVERY. During this recess, and treading as it were upon the heels of the ceremony of proclamation, the public attention was most powerfully excited, and the sympathies of the nation aroused, by distressing reports of the state of his majesty's health ; an illness supposed to have originated from agitation of spirits, arising from the domestic afflic- tion he had sustained in the rapidly succeed- ing loss of two such near relatives as a brother and a father : added to this, his ma- jesty, who was scarcely recovered from an attack of gout, had incautiously exposed himself to the inclemency of the season, by standing a length of time under the portico of his palace, that his admiring people might behold their monarch, while, amidst their enthusiastic plaudits, and loudly lengthened demonstrations of grateful and joyful huzzas, they hailed, and the heralds, for the first time, proclaimed him by his royal style and titles aa George the Fourth. The appre- hensions respecting his majesty were not lessened, when the official bulletin an- Vol. IV. 54 nounced the king's illness to proceed from inflammation of tJie lungs — that being the identical disease which had so unexpectedly proved fatal to the duke of Kent only a week previous. The melancholy ideas which this seeming fatality originated were fortunately not confirmed. The king was declared out of danger after nine days ; but a long time passed ere he gained his pristine health. To add to this sombre view of aftairs, the nation was occupied in preparing for the mournful rites due to departed worth and majesty, and never was grief more strongly indicated, or sorrow more generally manifested, not more by the universal sable habits of the people, than by the saddened deportment of all ranks concerned in, or viewing the ob- sequies of the late king, which took place on Wednesday evening, February 16th. CEREMONIAL OF LATE KING'S LYING IN STATE AND ROYAL FUNERAL. As the minutiae of these funeral transac- tions may hereafter be deemed interesting, without further apology it is observed, that soon after ten o'clock on Tuesday morning, the preparations were completed for the mournful ceremonial of his majesty's re- mains lying in state ; and the gates of Wind- sor castle were then thrown open for the admission of the public, many hundreds of whom had been anxiously waiting for some hours. The public were, in the first place, admitted by the grand entrance to the upper ward, or square of the Black Horse. The entrance was parted by a strong railing, diverging within the ward to the right and left, so that the stream of company, which incessantly poured in, was by that means directed at once to the north-eastern tower of the quadrangle, commonly called Eger- ton's tower. At the door four marshal's men were stationed, with their silver-tipped staves, and Vi^earing, in addition to their state uniforms, ample scarfs of black silk, with crape hatbands, and sword-knots. As- cending the winding stairs of the tower, the visitor, after passing through an ante-cham- ber, filled with marshal's men and yeomen of the guard, entered at once into St George's hall, where the departed sover- eign had been accustomed to hold the chap- ter of the knights of the garter. The throne and its canopy were covered with black cloth, and at the foot of the steps was a slight railing, also covered with black. Over the hall, diagonally to the door of the guard- chamber, matting was laid down, with a black cord on each side, to confine the com- pany to the space it occupied ; and on the other sides were stationed privates of the life-guards, with their arms reversed. This apartment had a very impressive eflTecL It led at once to the king's guard-chamber and state apartments, where the knights of 638 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. the garter, in the absence of the sovereign, dine at an installation. The lofty walls of this apartment were entirely covered with the armor of past ages ; bills and partizans, coats of mail, helmets, cuirasses, and glaives; bucklers and shields; matchlocks, broad- swords, pistols, daggers, muskets, and the armor of Edward the Black Prince. The visitors were, in this chamber also, separa- ted from the great body of the apartment by a cord covered with black ; and in the open space, yeomen of the guard were assembled in groups, who, not being immediately upon duty, waited here to relieve their comrades. Their costume was the same, in form, as their ordinary one, save that it was entirely of black cloth, with crape round the cap, and the' arms of England embroidered in gold, silver, and colors. Their partizans had also a covering of black cloth. From this apartment the spectator passed through an ante-chamber; the floor, ceiling, and walls, entirely covered with sable drapery, and lighted at intervals by silver sconces, each bearing two small wax-lights; just sufficient to show a long line of yeomen of the guard, leaning on their crape-clothed partizans as motionless as statues. He then entered the presence chamber, in which re- posed the remains of the beloved monarch. The whole of this noble apartment was en- tirely covered with fine purple cloth, and illuminated by a profusion of silver sconces. On a raised platform, at the opposite ex- tremity, appeared the coffin supported upon tressels, and covered with a pall of rich pur- ple velvet, lined with white satin, and orna- mented at each side by three escutcheons, and on the top were deposited the kingly crown of England, and the electoral one of Hanover, on two purple velvet cushions, superbly fringed and tasseled with gold. On each side of the coffin were three stupen- dous wax-lights, in massive silver candle- sticks, and over it a radiated canopy of pur- ple cloth ; the cornice was also adorned with escutcheons. At the head of the coffin was seated the earl of Delawarr and lord Graves, the lords in waiting ; and colonel Whatley, colonel King, Sir George Campbell, and Sir Cavendish Bradshaw, the grooms in waiting. At the feet stood the pursuivants, in official costume, but uncovered, and about the apart- ment were a number of the band of gentle- men pensioners, in their state dresses, with crape scarfs. Thence the company passed through the king's drawing-room and its ante-chambers, and descended by the stair- ease in the western tower, where king John resided during the time of his contest with his barons; and thence out through the quadrangle, by the grand southern entrance. At four o'clock, the hour announced for closing the public ceremony of the day, the gates were shut. At break of day on Wednesday, the sol- emn toll of the great bell in the belfry of the castle was heard, and the royal standard was seen hanging half-staff" down, on the round tower of the keep. At sun-rise the thunder of cannon was heard in the park. From that period till sun-set, the artillery, without intermission, continued firing five- minute guns throughout the day ; and from sun-set they fired minute-guns till the con- clusion of the funeral ceremony. A little before ten o'clock, the wax-lights in the sil- ver sconces having been replenished, and the lords and grooms in waiting, the pages of the bed-chamber, the heralds, the pur- suivants, the gentlemen pensioners, and the other state attendants, having taken their station around the royal coffin, the grand entrance to the upper court of the castle was thrown open to the impatient public, who rushed forward in all directions ; and, in despite of the utmost exertions of the police and military, the pressure continued more or less throughout the morning. At four o'clock the ceremony of the royal re- mains lying in state was at an end, and the gates were closed against thousands of per- sons, who, up to that moment, had been pressing forward for admission. Through- out the whole of the preceding night, pre- parations had been making in St. George's chapel. Three additional chandeliers were suspended from the roof along the centre of the choir, and a double sconce affixed to each of the stalls. Superb communion ser- vices of plate, from the different chapels royal, were arranged upon the communion table, the steps of which were covered with fine purple cloth. A raised platform cover- ed with black cloth was erected down the south aisle, and up the nave of the choir, with a railing on each side to prevent inter- ruption to the procession from the specta- tors. In the north aisle seats were erected, tier above tier, for the accommodation of those persons who might be able to obtain tickets from the lord high steward ; and the organ loft, which was not capable of afford- ing accommodation to more than ninety persons, was fitted up for the nobility. Be- fore the communion table, and over the opening of the subterraneous passages lead- ing to the mausoleum of the royal family, a superb canopy of roya'l blue velvet was placed, supported by four slight pillars, wreathed with velvet and gold. The can- opy was in the shape of a parallelogram, with the roof of the sweeping Chinese con- tour, and surrounded with a Gothic fretwork cornice in dead gold. From this cornice descended a festooned drapery of royal blue GEORGE rv.— 1820. 039 velvet, richly fringed and tasseled, of the same color, and each festoon was further adorned with a royal escutcheon. To the right and left of the altar, diagonally, seats were placed in tiers for the foreign ambas- sadors, and the whole floor of the choir was covered with black cloth. As the evening advanced, the Eton scholars, assembled un- der their respective masters, to the number of more than five hundred, clothed in deep mourning-, walked two and two to the gate of the hundred steps, where they were ad mitted through the cloisters to the interior of the royal chapel, and took up their sta- tion in the north aisle. After the public ceremony of lying in state, and when the visitors were all ex- cluded from the castle, the lords in waiting and the other state attendants still remained with the royal corpse till seven o'clock, when his royal highness the duke of York, as chief mourner, took his seat at the head of the coffin, under the canopy, in lieu of the lords in waiting, and he continued sit- tmg there during the lapse of two hours. In the interim, the persons who were to take part in the procession were assembled in St. George's hall, and there marshalled by Sir George Nayler, the Windsor herald. At nine o'clock the duke of York left the presence-chamber, and the yeomen of the guard, under the superintendence of the Exon, proceeded to remove the coffin of their royal master dov/n the grand staircase to the vestibule, where it was placed upon the car; and, in a few minutes afterwards, the procession set forward. The covered way was flanked on each side by a double rank of the foot-guards, with their arms reversed, and a single rank of mounted life-guards, every fourth man having a lighted flambeau. As the proces- sion issued from the palace, the silver trum- pets of the household commenced the per- formance of the "Dead march in Saul," in which they were joined by the bands of the several regiments on duty as they ad- vanced. The progress of tlie procession was extremely slow ; the discharge of the minute-guns adding greatly to the effect of the grand impressive scene. The proces- sion having reached the porch of the chapel, the knight-marshal's men, with trumpets and drums, filed off without the doors. At the entrance, the royal corpse was received by the very reverend the dean, attended by the choirs, who fell in immediately before Blanc Coursier, king-at-arms, bearing the crown of Hanover. The whole then pro- ceeded down the south aisle, and up the nave to the choir. As they advanced, the organ performed Dr. Croft's funeral ser- vice, " I am the resurrection and the life, saith the Lord." This occupied the time till the royal dukes, their supporters, and the other members of the procession, had reached their respective seats. The chief mourner sat on a chair at the head of the corpse, and the other princes of the blood- royal were seated near him. The lord chamberlain of his majesty's household (the marquis of Hertford) took his seat at the foot of the corpse, and the supporters of the pall and canopy arranged themselves on each side. The part of the service before the interment was then read by the dean ; the choir chaunted the psalms. Kent's an- them, " Hear my prayer, O Lord," was then performed, followed by "I heard a voice from heaven." The service then pro- ceeded to the collect, immediately preceding which, the celebrated anthem, composed by Handel for the funeral of queen Caroline, was performed by the whole choir. The royal corpse was lowered into the grave exactly at ten minutes after ten ; and as the consecrated earth was sprinkled upon its cover, the guards, who during the cere- mony had stood with their arms reversed, instantly recovered and grounded them on the pavement of the north and south aisle. At this solemn moment. Sir Isaac Heard, garter king-at-arms, came forward in his superb and embroidered mantle, and pro- nounced the style and titles of his late ma- jesty. At the conclusion of the mournful ceremony, the royal dukes slowly quitted the choir at the side-door, followed by a long train of the great officers of state, the nobility, and others, and proceeded to the chapter-house, whence they immediately went to their apartments in the castle, and the nobility repaired to their carriages; but it was long after midnight before the different courts of the castle were entirely cleared of the sorrowing multitude who at- tended to see their late royal master's re- mains deposited in a mausoleum, the con- struction of which was originally designed under his own superintendence, and com- pleted by the kind orders and attention of his son, our present beloved monarch. PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED. The illness of the sovereign was a two- fold source of regret and inconvenience, as it precluded his majesty from receiving the addresses of the house of lords and com- mons on the throne, and also from going to dissolve the parliament in person. Our constitutional laws requiring the dissolu- tion to take place within the next six months following the demise of the king, it was decided that the parliament should be closed by commission on the twenty-eiahth of February — wlien the lord chancellor deliy- ered the subsequent speech : " My Ij^rds and Gentlemen, " We are commanded by his majesty to 640 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. inform you, that it is a great disappoint- ment to his majesty, that on this first and solemn occasion he is prevented, by indis- position, from meeting- you in person. " It would have been a consolation to his majesty, to give utterance in this place to those feelings, with which his majesty and the nation alike deplore the loss of a sove- reign, the common father of all his people. " The king commands us to inform you, that in determining to call without delay the new parliament, his majesty has been influenced by a consideration of what is most expedient for public business, as well as most conducive to general convenience. "Gentlemen of the House of Commons, "We are directed by his majesty to thank you for the provision which you have made for the several branches of the pub- lic service from the commencement of the present year, and during the interval which must elapse before a new parliament can be assembled. " My Lords and Gentlemen, " We are commanded to inform you, that, in taking leave of the present parliament, his majesty cannot refrain from conveying to you his warmest assurances of the sense which his majesty entertains of the import- ant services which you have rendered the country. " Deeply as his majesty lamented that designs and practices such as those which you have been recently called upon to re- press, should have existed in this free and happy country, he cannot sufficiently com- mend the prudence and firmness with which you directed your attention to the means of counteracting them. " If any doubt had remained as to the nature of those principles by which the peace and happiness of the nation were so seriously menaced, or of the excesses to which they were likely to lead, the flagrant and sanguinary conspiracy which has lately been detected, must open the eyes of the most incredulous, and must vindicate to the whole world the justice and expediency of those measures to which you judged it ne- cessary to resort, in defence of the laws and constitution of the kingdom." DISCOVERY OF CATO-STREET CON- SPIRACY. The conspiracy thus glanced at in the speech of the lords commissioners, was one of the most desperate plots that could have been conceived by bad men for the worst of purposes; the object contemplated being no less than an attempt to overthrow the existing government, and plunge these realms into anarchy and lawless confusion. I'T^iis, as it appeared, was to be effected by the projected assassination of his majesty's ministers. The chief leader implicated in this ex- travagantly atrocious and absurd plot, was a person called Arthur Thistlewood ; ori- ginally bred to the drug trade, at Newark, in Nottinghamshire ; then a subaltern offi- cer in the militia, and subsequently in a regiment of the line in the West Indies. Having resigned his commission, imbued with republican principles, after passing some time in America, he visited France, at that period of the revolution when the sanguinary despot Robespierre had just ex- piated his guilty career on the public scaf- fold ; and it is presumed that the scenes he there witnessed confirmed the opinions upon which he finally acted. As an accomplice of doctor Watson, he was tried with him ; and on his acquittal he challenged lord Sidmouth, then secretary of state for the home department: — this drew upon him the prosecution of his lordship, and a sen- tence of fine and imprisonment. When liberated, he seems to have nourished ideas of the utmost turpitude ; to realize which he devoted all his time — associating with none but the most debased of the lowest class, who, stimulated by similar doctrines, were worthy coadjutors in such a cause. A nucleus of disappointed revenge, he gath- ered together a number of individuals des- perate as himself, and, with their aid, re*- solved to destroy the ministers and aholish the government. The next in consequence were Ings, a butcher; Davison, a Creole; Brunt and Tidd, shoemakers. — The plan, as finally arranged by this horde of assassins, was so detestably wicked, so pregnant with dan- ger to themselves in theory, and attended with such little probability of success in practice, that it requires all the strength of corroborating evidence — not only of spies, accomplices, and more creditable wit- nesses — ere the human mind can reconcile such a union of madness and delinquency. It was resolved, after a series of meet- ings, that delay was useless ; and poverty ,^ as they admitted, goading them to the at- tempt, Wednesday, twenty-third of Feb- ruary, was fixed upon for the individual murder of the ministers, at their respective houses. On the preceding Sunday the plan was arranged as follows: — Forty or fifty men were to devote themselves to the task of assassination ; under no less pledge than a forfeiture of their own lives, in case of failure, through any want of address or de- termination, while executing the diabolical project. Other detachments were simul- taneously to seize upon the field-pieces, at the London light-horse station in Gray's Inn Lane, and the artillery ground. Possessed of these cannon, the Mansion-house was to be used as the palace of the provisional GEORGE IV. 1820. 641 government — the bajik was to be attacked — and the metropolis was to be set fire to in various points. Similar meetings were held on the Monday and Tuesday ; on which last day one of the conspirators, named Edwards, hitbrmed Thistlewood that a cabinpt dinner would take place on the morrow. Thistle- wood's doubts being removed by the an- nouncement in the newspaper, and it being specified therein that the dinner w^ould be ^t^iven at lord Harro why's house in Grosve- nor square, on the Wednesday, he exultingly observed, — " As there has not been a dinner for such a length of time, there will no doubt be fourteen or sixteen there, and it will be a rare haul to dispatch them all together !" Pursuant to the plan of operations now set- tled, one of their body was to go with a note addressed to lord Harrowby : when the house door was opened, a band of the conspirators were to rush in — and while one party were occupied in seizing the domestics, and pre- venting any one below making their escape, another was to effect their entrance to the room which contained the ministers, and massacre them all. It was a peculiar pro- vision that the heads of lords Castlereagh and Sidi:50uth were to be brought away as trophies of success. From the house of lord Harrowby a few of the number were instan- taneously to repair to the barracks, in King- street, Portman-square, where, after firing the straw depot of the cavalry by means of fire-balls, they were to co-operate with the remainder in executing the other parts of the scheme already detailed. In the interim strict watch was kept upon lord Harrowby's dwelling, in order to ascertain that none of the police or military entered, or were con- cealed in its neighborhood. The whole of the day was passed by them in preparations for the intended plot : weapons and ammuni- tion were prepared, and proclamations writ- ten, to afiix on those places that were to be set fire to. Durhig this period these infat- uated wretches rendezvoused gradually; and about six o'clock in the evening, they met in a stable, in an obscure street, called Cato-street, near the Edgeware road. This place they had hired a short time previous : it comprised, besides the stable, two rooms above it, the ascent to which was by a ladder only. In the largest room, having taken the precaution to post a sentinel below, the conspirators were to be seen to the number of twenty-four or twenty-five, by the glim- mering ray of one or two small candles, ad- justing their accoutrements on an old carpen- ter's bench, and exulting in the fast approach- ing consummation of this scene of blood. DETECTION— TRIAL, AND EXECUTION OF THISTLEWOOD. Amongst their number was one disaffect- ed to the cause. This spy, the above named 54* Edwards, had for some time been in the pay of the administration, and gave regular in- telligence to his employers of all particulars connected with this foul and extraordinary transaction. Every precautionary method was adopted to lull suspicion : the apparent preparations for the banquet were continu- ed at lord Harrowby's mansion, till eight o'clock in the evening, and by these means the conspirators were detected with arms in their hands. To effect this, a large party of constables, under the direction of the ma- gistrate Mr. Birnie, proceeded to Cato-street, where it was intended they should be sup- ported by a detachment of the Coldstream guards. The police officers reached their destination about eight, immediately enter- ed the stable, ascended the ladder, and dis- covered the conspirators in the lofl, (for it was nothing better,) on the point of setting out to execute their meditated object. The principal officer required them to surrender, and Smithers, one of the active police con- stables, dashing forward to secure Thistle- wood, received his sword through his body, and instantly fell. The candles were now blown out, the conflict became general; some of the gang rushed down the ladder, the officers grappling with them, while others forced their way from a window sit- uated in the back of the loft. At this junc- ture the military, commanded by captain Fitzclarence, arriving, two conspirators were secured in the act of escaping ; and by the co-operation of the police and soldiers, seven more were taken that evening, and securely conveyed to Bond-street. Thistlewood, who had escaped in the first moment of confu- sion, was seized next morning in bed, in the neighborhood of Finsbury-square, and some others were apprehended in the two follow- ing days. March the twenty-seventh true bills of indictment for the charge of high treason, were returned against eleven of the prison- ers. And April the seventeenth, a commis- sion for the purpose being regularly opened, Thistlewood was put on his trial. The chief witness adduced, was a conspirator named Adams, who, after escaping from Cato-street, had been arrested on the followinj;;f Friday, and kept in custody until he was orought forward to give his testimony in support of the prosecution. The trial lasted three QOys, when the accused was found guilty, on th.^t part of the indictment which charged him " with having conspired to levy," and with " having levied war against the king." Ings, Tidd, Brunt, and Davidson, were severa ^y tried and convicted. The other six being permitted to withdraw their origmal plea, now pleaded guilty ; and it appearing, that one of the number who had attended the meeting in Cato-street, was ignorant of its 642 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. destined purpose, he was graciously pardon- ed ; while the sentence of the remaining five was commuted into transportation for the term of their natural lives. The throng of spectators assembled at the execution of the criminals was immense ; and commensurate was the disgust mani- fested at that part of the sentence, which displayed the horrid spectacle of mangling and decapitating the reeking remains of these miserably deluded men. This tribute of justice to violated laws, occupied in its shocking details, nearly an hour and a quarter; during which a strong body of cavalry lined the streets in the vicinity, and very considerable augmentations of all branches of the military, w^ere assembled in the metropolis, pending the trial until the final execution of the sentence. TUMULTUOUS PROCEEDINGS IN THE NORTH. This extraordinary and desperate plot, was confined to a very limited number of infatuated wretches, unconnected with the revolutionary partisans, who, in this instance, seemed to have no share with them. Still little doubt remains that the general feeling of discontent, so diffusively spread abroad, was the foundation on which Thistlewood and his gang confidently looked for support and triumph. The spirit of discontent had been a length- ened time smothering, and at last broke forth in some districts in a very appalling man- ner. About the middle of March much alarm prevailed in and about Glasgow ; it being known that numbers of the class of artisans, and others, who wished to pursue their quiet avocations, unmixed with the noisy turmoil of political convulsions, had been repeatedly menaced by the adherents of riot and confusion. This had gained such a height, that they imagined they could not, without endangering the safety of their fam- ilies, persevere in the conduct of peaceful and loyal subjects. The panic which was now prevalent, on Sunday the second of April received an accession, when, on that morning, a treasonable proclamation was discovered posted on the walls of Glasgow, its neighboring towns and villages. This proclamation, supposed to emanate from " the Committee for the formation of a Provisional Government," recommended the proprietors, and those concerned in large manufactories, to suspend their employ- ments till order should be insured by the organization alluded to. This paper like- wise enjoined all parties to desist from their avocations, denouncing as enemies and trai- tors to their king and country, whoever should attempt by force of arms, or other- wise, aught against the projected political amelioration. The fruits of this inflammatory placard exhibited themselves on the Monday. The weavers and colliers, in Paisley and Glas- gow, declined work; and this baneful ex- ample spread through the numerous bodies of Wrights, iron-founders, masons, and ma- chine-makers, &c. Several of the cotton mills commenced their usual routine ; but being presently disturbed by threatening visitors, most of their workmen did not re- turn afler breakfast, or absented themselves in the latter part of the day. Glasgow now exhibited a most extraordinary aspect: the streets were crowded with throngs of arti- sans, idly loitering away their time, and waiting in anxious suspense for the first burst of the promised revolution, which was to commence at a moment, and to emanate from persons and powers invisible, and un- known. As these persons and powers re- mained shrouded in their original mystery, rumor, at the time, was busy in imputing the whole as a fabrication of political es- pionage, with what degree of truth is not evident. Suffice it to observe, that if any secret hope of disorder was nourished, it happily was not realized ; the people then conjugated, did not attempt by any open act to violate the public peace, the far greater number of them seeming to be swayed more by motives of curiosity and dread of these secret agitators, than by any revolutionary fervor or desire of change to plunge the country into confusion. ATTACK ON SOLDIERY AT BONNYMUIR Resistance to the public authorities did on one occasion show itself On the Wed- nesday, an individual of the Stirling yeo- manry, proceeding from Kilsyth to Falkirk, fell in with a radical squad, armed in a heterogeneous manner with muskets, pikes, and pistols, — these demanding his arms, which he refused to surrender ; afler seve- ral ineffectual shots were discharged at him, he escaped uninjured to his former quarters at Kilsyth. The commanding offi- cer immediately detached eleven cavalry, and an equal number of yeomanry, to scour the road leading to Falkirk, and clear it, if possible, of the insurgents. The military soon came in sight of them. The insur- gents, augmented in number, had, in the interim, found some arms and food in the neighboring houses, and were now posted advantageously on a rising ground in Bon- ny muir, commanding an extensive view of country. This, on the advance of the cav- alry, the insurgents subsequently abandon- ed, and now sought the protection of a wall, from behind which they fired several times: the commander of the detachment requi- ring them to surrender their arms, received in answer a volley therefrom, accompanied witli a loud cheer, and a remark that they GEORGE IV. 1820. 643 came there to fight Secured by the stone wall in front from an immediate charge, the cavalry were compelled, as well by that opposition as the mossy and plashy state of the ground, to make a circuitous approach to a gap which offered a readier access. Observing this intention, the rebels hur- ried to the gap for the purpose of disputing the entrance, but the better half hurried off to their different homea DEFEAT AND TRIAL OF DISAFFECTED PERSONS. Those who still made a show of resist- ance, were instantly scattered; many of them severely wounded, and nineteen pris- oners were taken. Besides the commander of the troops who was wounded, three of the soldiery received hurts, one horse also being killed, and three wounded. The majority of those implicated in this petty insurrection, had arrived that morning from Glasgow, hoping to find, as prearranged, a considerable number from the neighboring districts, associated on Bonnymuir. The plan it appeared was to have marched forth- with — to have taken possession of the Car- ron iron-works — to have equipped them- selves therefrom with arms, particularly artillery, and thence to have instituted a regular plan of offensive military opera- tions. These intentions were defeated by the judicious precautions of the magistracy, who, in promptly co-operating with the military, prevented the evil-minded from caching the proposed rendezvous. So that mstead of the four or five thousand expect- ed to muster there, there were found about fifty only, whose strength of infatuation made them true to their engagements, in despite of rational prudence. Open resist- ance was thus crushed. The failure of this Quixotic attempt tended on the one hand to extinguish the hopes of the deluders, by the defection of those heretofore deluded, who, resuming their former habits of indus- try, in a few days the threatened storm passed over, and that part of the country displayed no further signs of political agi- tation. A special commission being held in the different counties where these treasonable acts had taken place ; all persons who were in custody were brought to trial : and, on this occasion, though numerous sentences were recorded, the royal clemency evinced itself by extending mercy to all but three. One of these had been long known as an organizer of sedition; the other two had been taken in open resistance, at the affair with the cavalry before-mentioned. The execution of these three delinquents differ- ed materially from that of Thistlowood and his coadjutors, — in as far as the Scotch reb- els died, some of them penitent of their po- litical guilt, and all of them sensibly af- fected with proper feelings of morality and religion. CONDUCT OF MINISTRY. In taking a retrospect of the many mo- mentous cares which occupied the attention of ministers; the earliest transaction, and one which, from its peculiar delicacy, ob- truded itself on the public eye, was the unhappy prelude to those proceedings against the consort of the reigning mon- arch, which afterwards convulsed the king- dom from one extremity to the other. After advising the queen's name to be omitted in the liturgy, which omission was sanctioned by an order of council ; a case of alleged misconduct out of the realms was submit- ted to the consideration of the crown-law- yers, who gave it as their decided opinion, that no indictment could be supported on these premised grounds. The solidity of which opinion can be alone duly estimated when treating hereafter more fiilly on this head. GENERAL ELECTION. On issuing the writs for the return of in- dividuals to sit in parliament, the cities of London and Westminster took the lead; and during their elections, as well as throughout the kingdom, every nerve was strained, every influence used by all parties, to bring in those individuals whose after- exertions promised to be most conducive to their several views : and as these returns became public, the characteristics of the various members elected were scrutinized, and the consequent assemblage of the sen- ate looked for with considerable anxiety by the great class of the community. NEW PARLIAMENT. On the twenty-first of April, the new parliament began to assemble, till the twen- ty-third was occupied by the several mem- bers taking the requisite oaths. — On that day the right honorable Charles Manners Sutton was unanimously rechosen as speaker of the house of commons. And on the twenty-seventh, his majesty opened his first parliament in person, by delivering a gra- cious speech from the throne in the follow- ing terms : KING'S FIRST SPEECH. " I HAVE taken the earliest occasion of assembling you here, after having recurred to the sense of my people. " In meeting you personally for the first time since the death of my beloved father, I am anxious to assure you, that I shall al- ways continue to imitate his great example, in unceasing attention to the public inter- ests, and in paternal solicitude for the wel- fare and happiness of all classes of my sub- jects. "I have received from foreign powers 644 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. renewed assurances of their friendly dispo- sition, and of their earnest desire to culti- vate with me the relations of peace and amity. " Gentlemen of the House of Commons, " The estimates for the present year will be laid before you. " They have been framed upon principles of strict economy ; but it is to me matter of the deepest regret, that the state of the country has not allowed me to dispense with those additions to our military force which I announced at the commencement of the last session of parliament, " The first object to which your attention will be directed is, the provision to be made for the support of the civil government, and of the honor and dignity of the crown. " I leave entirely at your disposal my in- terest in the hereditary revenues: and I cannot deny myself the gratification of de daring, that so far from desiring any ar rangement which might lead to the impo sition of new burdens upon my people, or even might diminish, on my account, the amount of the reductions incident to my accession to the throne, I can have no wish under circumstances like the present, that any addition whatever should be made to the settlement adopted by parliament in the year 1816. " My Lords and Gentlemen, " Deeply as I regret that the machina- tions and designs of the disaffected should have led, in some parts of the country, to acts of open violence and insurrection, I cannot but express my satisfaction at the promptitude with which those attempts have been suppressed by the vigilance and activity of the magistrates, and by the zeal ous co-operation ef all those of my sub' jects, whose exertions have been called forth to support the authority of the laws. " The wisdom and firmness manifested by the late parliament, and the due execu tion of the laws, have greatly contributed to restore confidence tliroughout the king dom ; and to discountenance those princi' pies of sedition and irreligion which had been disseminated with such malignant per severance, and had poisoned the minds of the ignorant and unwary. "I rely upon the continued support of parliament in my determination to main tain, by all the means intrusted to my hand?, the public safety and tranquillity. " Deploring, as we all must, the distress v^/hich still unha.])pily prevails among many of the laboring classes of the community, und anxiously looking forward to its re- moval or mitigation, it is, in the mean time, our common duty, effectually -to protect the loyal, the peaceable, and industrious, against those practices of turbulence and intimida- tion, by which the period of relief can only be deferred, and by which the pressure of the distress has been incalculably aggra- vated. " I trust that an awakened sense of the dangers which they have hicurred, and of the arts which have been employed to se- duce them, will bring back by far the greater part of those who have been un- happily led astray, and will revive in them that spirit of loyalty, that due submission to the laws, and that attachment to the con- stitution, which subsist unabated in the hearts of the great body of the people, and which, under the blessing of Divine Provi- dence, have secured to the British nation the enjoyment of a larger share of practi- cal freedom, as well as of prosperity and happiness, than have fallen to the lot of any other nation in the world." PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.— LORD JOHN RUSSEL'S MOTION ON ELECTIVE FRANCHISE. One of the first acts of the legislature referred to a subject of vital import to the constitution. Proof having been given du- ring the preceding parliament, that the ut- most venality prevailed in the borough of Grampound, wherein it was substantiated, that the greater portion, nearly amounting to the whole, of the electors, were in the habit of selling their votes ; of which of- fence several had been convicted ; lord John Russel, upon the issue of these indict- ments, had brought forward a bill in the house of commons, for the purpose of dis- franchising that borough, and transferring the right of election to Leeds. This im- portant measure, his lordship seized the earliest opportunity of pursuing ; and the necessary preliminaries having been ad- justed, a second reading of the bill was moved on the nineteenth of May, though scarcely any opposition disclosed itself against the deserved punishments of this highly corrupted borough : — of which one of their corporate body, in palliation, made use of these remarkable words : " That there 'mi^ht he perhaps two or three voters who hod not taken bribes.''^ Yet in the mode of disposing of the franchise, much conflict of opinion arose. Before any dis- cussion could take place on the essential point of forfeiture, eventful circumstances so completely engrossed the attention of parliament, that the measure fell through, the session havincr closed, without any final decision on the bill in question. ALLUSION TO QUEEN'S ARRIVAL. The circumstances referred to originated in the unexpected arrival of her majesty queen Caroline, who, after several yeare travelling in foreign countries, now return- ed to England. The general explosion of GEORGE IV. 1820. 645 sympathies excited by this event, and the ever-to-be-regretted proceedings instanta- neously following it, annihilated as it were all other matters of import, to which the attention of parliament was tributary. Still, as various transactions necessarily preceded this, we must continue our parliamentary records. REVISION AND AMENDMENT OF CRIMI- NAL CODE. In this period. Sir James Mackintosh distinguished himself as a philanthropist, in benevolently devoting his time, and great knowledge of jurisprudence, to a renewed plan for ameliorating the system of crimi- nal laws ; — and these exertions, on renewal, met with much success. In the preceding session, a committee had been deputed to take this important subject under their con- sideration ; and, so far as related to punish- ment of a capital nature, had recommended considerable modifications. Complying with these suggested ideas, on the ninth of May, Sir James moved for leave to bring in six bills to amend our penal code. Three out of these six different bills, afler much and lengthened discussion, and some alter- cation in the house of peers, were finally carried through both houses of the legisla- ture. Of these three bills, the first was to repeal the acts by which stealing privately in shops to the value of forty shillings was made a capital offence ; but, upon the sug- gestion of the lord chancellor Eldon, it still subjected to capital punishment those who should privately steal in shops to a value exceeding ten pounds. The second bill which passed was for the repealing certain acts of parliament, which visited with capital punishment a class of actions, that were in fact either no moral offence, or, from their obsoleteness, could at most be deemed but misdemeanors ; such as rendering it a capital crime for an Egyp- tian to reside or remain one year in the kingdom; notorious thieves residing in Cumberland or Northumberland, was still a capital offence by the statute-book ; as was any one being found in disguise in the mint, or for any one injuring Westminster bridge. The third bill went to repeal those clauses of certain acts of parliament which consti- tuted the offences specified in them capital, and which, by this amended act, would be converted from capital into simple felonies. Of the offences thus modified were enu- merated the taking away of any maid, wife, or widow, for the sake of her fortune ; the receiving of stolen goods; the destroying of trees ; the breaking down the banks of rivers; the wounding of cattle; sending threatening letters; and all the capital of- fences created by the bankrupt laws, and the marriage act. For these several crimes, differing as they did in consequence, the indiscriminate punishment of death was (as the statute-book stood then unrepealed) still the sentence of the law. By this bill, with certain exceptions in particular cases, that heaviest punishment death was now com- muted for transportation, imprisonment, or hard labor, within the discretionary powers of the court. The ultimate success of these bills, ac- companied, as they were, with the modifi- cations of the house of peers, is a convinc- ing proof, if such were wanting, of the progressive march of reason and humanity, which in the present time may be looked upon with complacency as the precursor of more triumphs over prejudices, however inveterate. England's criminal code had too long been disgraced with these atro- cious anomalies: at length those blemishes in the statute-book were beheld, acknow- ledged, and partially erased. Sir Samuel Romilly's hand may be said to have wiped the first stains therefrom ; and his name will long be remembered by an admiring posterity, for the perseverance with which he attacked those prejudices which protect- ed such statutes, and for the strenuous ef- forts he made, during the whole of his life, to ameliorate our criminal jurisprudence. Sir James Mackintosh, worthily pursuing the steps of his predecessor, and equally zealous in the cause of humanity, must be cheered by the progress he has made in so righteous a cause ; and thus encouraged, a continuation of his labors will doubtless re- ward him by the final accomplishment of his virtuous and benevolent attempt The attention given to this subject by its parti- sans is a source of eternal renown. Never- fading wreaths of civic honor should be en- twined round the brows of Romilly and Mackintosh — and the parliament of 1820 will be gratefully hailed by every friend to the honor of his country, for having passed these laws, so much milder in their import, and beneficial in their influence. EDUCATION OF THE POOR. Mr. Brougham, having rendered an im- portant service to his country in his efforts to establish a system for the detection and remedy of existing abuses in the manage- ment and appropriation of various charita- ble funds and establishments, early this ses- sion brouofht forward a plan for the educa- tion of the poor. This subject, of the ut- most importance — embracing so much to interest the better feelings of society, and opening so fine a field for discussion — was not to receive the desired concurrence of all parties. Accordinsrly Mr. Brougham's measure did not at this period experience the support it needed : and having obtained 646 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. leave to bring in his bill, which was read on the eleventh of July for the first time, the measure unfortunately fell to the ground, STATE OF AGRICULTURE. The member for Surrey, Mr. Holme Sum- ner, moved for a select committee to take into consideration the agricultural state of the country, — the table of the house being loaded with petitions from all parts of the kingdom, complaining of its agricultural distress. The general prayer of these pe- titions was for some further restriction upon the importation of foreign corn, under a conviction that the before-mentioned ca- lamity was much aggravated by the large importations of grain from different parts of the continent. These views of intended relief, gratifying as they might be to the agriculturalists, were not indulged with equal complacency by the classes engaged in manufactures and general commerce — who, equally oppressed by the peculiar spirit of the times, were loud in their out- cries of distress, which could not meet al- leviation, but on the contrary must expe- rience much increase by any measure, how- ever plausible, tending to raise the price of corn. The debates resulting from the mo- tion of the member for Surrey, occupied the house for a considerable time ; and when the bill came to be argued, those debates were protracted to a considerable length — and every minutia connected with the im- portant questions which that motion in- volved, elicited the best endeavors of the commercial and landed interests; and in their conflicting opinions, as well as those on both sides of the house, great ability was displayed. AFFLICTING POSITION OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS. Though this bill promised much, yet it was speedily discovered that no immediate remedy for existing evil could possibly be devised ; and the only hope of effectually removing the general distress must arise from the lenient hand of time — when a continuance of peace, and a perseverance in rigid economy and efficient retrench- ment, might authorize a gradual and liberal diminution of taxation, and a general and improved increase of foreign markets. — These lengthened discussions were humil- iating to national feeling, and painful to humanity, by the statements adduced of political and private wretchedness, appa- rently irremediable, which at that time ex- isted in many parts of the kingdom. De- preciated as our landed property was then in value, and darkly as the clouds impended over our national prosperity, it yet was a never-failing source of true consolation to every thinking person, who contemplated with a great degree of satisfaction the ex- panded views of liberal and enlightened policy which actuated the greater mem- bers of ministry and opposition, whilst ar- guing on these subjects of leading import. And the natural inference deduced from the candor manifested by all parties was such as to warrant the well-grounded hope of the most beneficial results to the real interests of the community, from the lauda- ble endeavors of the house in their future parliamentary labors. PETITION OF LONDON MERCHANTS. As the period of misfortune will some- times achieve miracles, so the present crisis produced a most important petition from the great body of London merchants, enumer- ating the many and serious difficulties un- der which the commerce of the country labored, which was introduced to the con- sideration of the commons by Mr. A. Ba- ring, preluded by an able and well-digest- ed speech. This petition possessed, among other remarkable features, the abandonment of many ancient errors of the mercantile system, and the consequent prayer for a commerce unrestricted by monopoly, and fraught with an entire freedom of trade, which it recommended, as being most es- sentially conducive to promote individual enterprise, and national prosperity. WAYS AND MEANS FOR 1820. On the nineteenth of June, the chancel- lor of the exchequer brought forward the usual statement of financial arrangements for the service of the year. On the subject of the army estimates, its expenditure, which for the year 1819 had been taken at eight million seven hundred and eighty- two thousand pounds, received an increase of eight hundred and four thousand pounds ; which made an aggregate of nine million five hundred and eighty-six thousand pounds, a sum rendered necessary by the augment- ation of force the situation of the country demanded. The estimate of naval expen- diture also went beyond that of the pre- ceding year by one hundred and fifty thou- sand pounds ; being now calculated at six million five hundred and eighty-six thou- sand pounds. The sum total for the service of the current year, including the interest of the national debt, was estimated at fifty millions five hundred thousand pounds. The ways and means proposed to meet this enormous charge upon the empire, were, exclusive of permanent revenues, the con- tinuation of the customary annual taxes, amounting to three million pounds, — the sum of two million five hundred thousand pounds, from the produce of the temporary excise duties, which had remained in force since the war, — two hundred and forty thousand pounds arising from lottery, — old naval stores, two hundred and sixty thou- GEORGE IV. 1820. C47 sand pounds, — a loan of five million pounds, — seven million pounds of exchequer-bills to be funded, — together with twelve million pounds, taken from the sinking fund. These various items comprised the budget, and will be found to form in the aggregate the required sum, amounting to thirty million pounds. DELICATE SITUATION OF THEIR MAJES- TIES. The attention of the legislature was now aroused, and this posture of parliamentary affairs suddenly arrested, and remained so for a considerable lapse of time, being al- most exclusively devoted to the unhapjjy situation of their majesties. The reader will remember, that reference has before been had to the proceedings which arose in consequence of charges exhibited against the queen, whilst in her subordinate sta- tion, as princess of Wales; the consequence of which proceedings was the full and tri- umphant exoneration and acquittal of her royal highness, coupled with the disgrace of her accusers. From that period she had remained in great privacy, nearly amount- ing to total seclusion; though afterwards when, in pursuance of the advice of friends, or her own inclinations, she went abroad, her mode of life varied, passing in rapid succession through many distant countries. Whilst thus occupied in travelling, her name wag seldom brought before the pub- lic ; and except in the casual perusal of an occasional extract from foreign newspapers, none seemed to remember her long absence from England. Though the million then appeared so regardless, subsequent disclo- sures have evinced that the conduct of her royal highness, during her residence abroad, had been visited with strict scrutiny, and a formal inquiry had been instituted, in or- der, if possible, to ascertain what belief might be aflbrded to reports which had spread about, in their nature affecting her character most materially. Rumors of an extremely prejudicial complexion were cur- rent on the continent, charging the princess of Wales with no less a dereliction of her high station, than that of living in a state of habitual adultery, with an individual whom she had rapidly raised from the ob- scure situation of her courier, to that of the first post in her household. COMMISSION OF INQUIRY. Av inquiry into the truth or falsehood of so serious a charge was now absolutely ne- cessary. And, accordingly, it appears, that the English government appointed commis- sioners, who repaired to Germany and the Italian states, for the purpose of collecting evidence, touching those transactions, which were so repeatedly stated to have occurred. The labors of these commissioners, in their collecting of evidence, was not made pub- lic, nor were any measures of publicity then adopted by the government, arising out of the information obtained from the Milan committee. MR. BROUGHAM'S PROPOSITION TO GOVERNMENT. In consequence of these reported move- ments, it is supposed, in the month of June, 1819, Mr. Brougham, the acknowledged legal adviser and confidential servant of the princess of Wales, communicated a propo- sition to the earl of Liverpool, then prime minister to the prince-regent, that the in- come of thirty-five thousand pounds per annum, at that time enjoyed by her royal highness, but which was to expire at the demise of the late king, should, in lieu of terminating at that premised period, be se- cured to her for her natural life ; and that upon this arrangement taking place, the princess should undertake to reside abroad permanently; and not assume, at any fu- ture time, the title or rank of queen of England. This singular proposal was, at the period, stated to be made without the cognizance or authority of the princess, or any knowledge of it on her part. Such being the circumstances attending this fact, government accordingly replied, that there would be no indisposition on its part, at the proper epoch, to give due attention to the principle on which the proposal rested, pro- vided it received the sanction of her roya! highness ; and in this manner was that ne- gotiation then disposed of PROPOSED COMPROMISE WITH QUEEN. By the accession of the king, when de facto, the princess, his consort, became queen of England, it then was imperative, that government should decide upon the line of conduct which was to be observed respecting her ; and, in their determina- tion, they appear to have selected a mode of compromise, which, to say nothing either in extenuation or otherwise, would at least have prevented the odious trial that after- wards took place. This compromise was founded upon the basis of Mr. Brougliam's former proposal, and now required of the queen the quiet renouncement, or a priori, the non-assumption of her title, with her permanent exile from the realm. Such a serious determination on the part of the ministry, must have resulted from a vei^' strong, if not thorough, conviction on their minds of her majesty's delinquency ; with a consequent persuasion of the absolute ne- cessity for such compromise v.-ith guilt, to insure the paramount safety and welfare of the constitution and the nation. Upon weaker grounds than these, it would bo impossible to screen the conduct of minis- ters, by urging aught in their defence. 648 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. That their after-measures were concerted upon, and connected with, the decision to refuse all public recognition of her title, as strongly as possible, may be gathered from their very first act, after the king's acces- sion ; when her name as princess of Wales was as a preliminary necessarily expunged from the church liturgy, and the omission of it in her character of queen was, as al- ready cursorily mentioned, wholly omitted by order of council. OFFER OF FIFTY THOUSAND A- YEAR TO QUEEN. The next step taken by ministers was an effort to obtain some declaration from her majesty, recognizing on her part the same principles. To effect this, Mr. Brougham was again applied to, and to him a memo- randum was confided to be communicated to the queen. This memorandum contain- ed the terras on which government would treat with her majesty, and which was an exact transcript of those Mr. Brougham had originated, save that on the point of allow- ance, in lieu of the thirty-five thousand pounds proposed by him, it was suggested to augment the sum to fifty thousand pounds yearly. The verbiage of which memoran- dum was as follows : " 15th April, 1820. " The act of the 54th George III. cap. 160, recognized the separation of the prince-re- gent firom the princess of Wales, and allot- ted a separate provision for the princess. This provision was to continue during the life of his late majesty; and to determine at his demise. In consequence of that event, it has altogether ceased, and no provision can be made for her, until it shall please his majesty to recommend to parliament an ar- rangement for that purpose. "The king is willing to recommend to parliament to enable his majesty to settle an annuity of fifty thousand pounds a-year upon the queen, to be enjoyed by her during her natural life ; and in lieu of any claim of jointure or otherwise, provided she will en- gage not to come into any part of the British dominions, and provided she engages to take some other name or title, than that of queen ; and not to exercise any of the rights or priv- ileges of queen, other than with respect to the appointment of law-officers, or to any proceedings in courts of justice. The an- nuity to cease upon the violation of these engagements, namely, upon her coming into any part of the British dominions, or her assuming the title of queen, or her exercis- ing any of the rights or privileges of queen, other than above excepted, after the annuity shall have been settled upon her. On her consent to an engagement on the above con- ditions, Mr. Brougham is desired to obtain a declaration to this effect, signed by her- self, and at the same time a full authority to conclude with such persons as his majesty may appoint a formal engagement upon these principles." A fact no less extraordinary avowed itself, that this memorandum transmitted to Mr. Brougham, by lord Liverpool, by some fatal- ity was not communicated to her majesty, until, in the course of subsequent proceed- ings, some allusion being made to it by his lordship, in a note addressed to the queen on the ninth of June ; when in her reply thereto, on the next day, she commands Mr. , Brougham to state, " that the memorandum of April fifteenth, 1820, which the proposi- tion made through lord Hutchinson had ap- peared to supersede, has also been now sub- mitted to her majesty for the first time." The proposition now alluded to, as made through the medium of lord Hutchinson, arose from a tissue of difficulties and ex- tremely delicate circumstances, which will be dilated upon as the history proceeds. In the interim, it is highly necessary and prop- er to observe, the great distance at which Mr. Brougham was stationed from his illus- trious client, offered no inconsiderable bar to that prompt dispatch, which was so pe- culiarly desirable to have been observed on an occasion of such first-rate importance. The queen, who was engaged in a travel- ling excursion, had passed about three months in the French dominions, and on quitting Toulon on the twenty-sixth Jan- serve, that he did not recollect a single in- stance, in cases of adultery, where the ac- tual fact was fully proved in evidence. The crime was always to be inferred from accompanying circumstances, which left no doubt of the fact upon the mind of a ra- tional and intelligent man. On this point of proof he would beg leave to quote the opinion of one of the most enlightened judges that ever sat in this country. He had received this opinion from one of his learned friends, who had taken notes of it at the time it was pronounced by the learn- ed judge. It was in the case of Loveden v. Loveden, before Sir William Scott, in the consistory court, in the year 1809. The learned judge then stated, that there was no necessity in a case of that nature to prove the actual fact of the adultery, for that could not be proved in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, where there was still no doubt of its having taken place. The uniform rule was, that where facts were proved which directly led to the con- clusion that the act of adultery had been committed, such proof must be taken as sufficient. Now let the house for a moment look at the case in this light : — Suppose an adulterous intercourse really to have ex- isted, how would that intercourse have man- ifested itselfl How but from the habitual conduct of the parties ] To screen such an intimacy from the eyes of attendants was impossible; and let their lordshij^ direct their attention to the scenes which had been constantly occurring — to the scenes which, in continued detail, had been de- scribed by the witnesses. Their lordships would remember the ball which took place at the house upon the sea-shore, while the princess was at Naples. To that ball her royal highness went, accompanied only (for the purpose of dressing and preparation) by the waiting-maid Dumont, and by Bergami ; two apartments, a dressing-room and an ante-room, being allotted to her use. For her first character, that of a Neapolitan peasant, the princess was dressed by the waiting-maid ; she went into the ball-room, stayed a short time, returned for the pur- pose of changing her dress, and did change it entirely ; the chamber-maid all the while being left in the ante-room, and the courier being in her dressing-room during the ope- ration. Now the house could not but have noticed the style of Mr. Williams's cross- examination as to that transaction. The witness had merely been asked whether there were not persons of rank and consid- eration in the ball-room below. But it had been said that, even admitting all these facts, they did not amount to evidence of 670 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. adultery. Could any man look at a prin- cess, locked up in her bed-room for nearly an hour, and changing her dress with the assistance of her courier, and entertain any doubt upon the subject 1 The thing did not stop there; there was another change of dress; her royal highness assumed the character of a Turkish lady ; and in that character, for the second time, went down stairs arm-in-arm with this courier, this common footman, this man accustomed to wait behind her chair ; and what happened tlieni why, almost instantly, the courier returned. (The solicitor-general then re- peated the other heads of Majochi's testi- mony.) All this, however, rested upon the testimony of Majochi, who was, of course, a witness unworthy of belief That wit- ness had been cross-examined once, twice, and because Carlton-house had been some- how introduced, he had just now been cross- examined for the third time : he (the soli- citor-general) had attended most diligently to the first cross-examination ; he had since read the evidence as it appeared upon the minutes; and he did declare that, as it ap- peared to him, during a cross-examination of seven hours, extending over a period of three years, and going through a variety of complicated facts, in no one instance had that witness been betrayed into inconsist- ency. Certainly the witness had repeatedly used the phrase (perhaps of equivocal im- port,) "I do not remember;" and the changes which had been rung upon that circumstance might produce an impression upon low minds, although it could produce none upon the minds of their lordships. But it was impossible not to perceive the artifice — the let us have a few more " non mi ricordos ;" and it was equally impossible not to perceive that to the questions pro- posed the witness could return no other answer. The learned counsel then reca- pitulated the evidence of Grotano Paturzo, which, he contended, was calculated to make a deep and lasting impression. Be- fore he quitted Naples he begged to allude to what had taken place at the theatre of Saint Carlos. The wife of the heir appa- rent of the throne of Great Britain, at that time holding the supreme government of the country, having about her a suite of ladies and gentlemen, was desirous of going in private. Surely she might have selected some respectable person of her suite, some respectable inhabitant of Naples, some proper and decent companion, without ma- terially infringing upon the privacy of the transaction; but she chose her chamber- maid and her courier. It was a rainy night ; dark, gloomy, and tempestuous; a hired carriage was drawn up at a private door at the bottom of the garden ; they traversed the terrace, the garden ; got into the hired carriage at the private door, proceeded to the theatre, and there met with such a re- ception as obliged them to retreat and re- turn home. To what conclusion did this occurrence lead the mind of every man ac- quainted with such transactions. He next adverted to the occurrences at Genoa, where the chamber of Bergami was again imme- diately contiguous to that of the princess, and where numerous instances occurred, clearly demonstrating the familiarity which subsisted between them. There too she became surrounded with the family of her favorite, and received his child, his mother, and his sister, into her suite. To another point. — It appeared that the princess, while at Genoa, had gone to look at a house in a secluded spot, and at some distance from the city. What was the recommendation of that house ] that it was far from Genoa ; far from the English. Let their lordships look to the evidence of Sacchi, and they would find — what? why, that during the whole of the journey through Germany and through the Tyrol, the greatest anxiety had been shown by her royal highness to avoid the English upon every occasion : the first question to be put on arriving at any place was, whether English of rank were at hand? If that question was answered in the affirmative, the party proceeded to other quarters. From Genoa, being joined by lady Charlotte Campbell, the princess pro- ceeded to Milan. Lady Charlotte Camp- bell, however, did not travel with her royal highness, and shortly after quitted her alto- gether ; from which time no English lady of rank or station remained in her suite. A lady of honor was then it appeared to be procured at Milan. And who had been chosen to fill that situation '? The sister of Bergami. No foreigner of rank ; no Eng- lish lady of respectability ; but the sister of Bergami, the countess of Oldi. Was that lady in any way fitted for the office 1 The princess spoke little Italian ; the count- ess spoke only the Italian of the lower or- ders, and no French. They were so situ- ated, that little communication, and no con- versation, could take place between them. It was upon these facts, which had been called trifling by the other side, but which he did not look upon as trifling; it was upon those incidental facts — facts which could not be invented or exaggerated by witnesses, that the learned gentleman re- lied for confirmation of his case ; and those persons must wilfully shut their eyes against conviction, whose inferences and conclu- sions were other than his own. These facts were followed by others, not less conclu- sive. There was one circumstance of the gold chain at Venice — and the still more GEORGE IV. 1820. 671 prominent fact of Dumont having actually seen Bergami pass through her chamber into the room of the princess. In cases like the present, everything was to be in- ferred from the general conduct of the par- ties; and it had been clearly shown that the princess and Bergami were constantly conducting themselves like lovers, or like man and wife, during the day, while every preparation was made to prevent the inter- ruption of their intercourse during the night. The familiarities at the Villa d'Este were not spoken to by one, two, or three wit- nesses, but by such a body of testimony as set doubt at defiance. Walking arm-in- arm in the gardens, alone in a canoe upon the lake — embracing and kissing each other — where such intimacies were proved even between persons in an equal rank of life, accompanied by a constant anxiety for ac- cess to the bed-chamber of each other, no court could refuse to draw the inference that adultery had been committed. To go through the whole series of evidence would only be to fatigue the house: but what would be said to the testimony of Ragaz- zoni with respect to the statues, to the fig- ures of Adam and Eve 1 He remembered that in the very case upon which he had already stated to the house the judgment of Sir William Scott — in that very case a letter had been produced written by the lady to her lover, in which she related some circumstances of an indecent nature. To th9,t letter, as evidence, the learned judge had most particularly adverted ; saying, that no woman would hive so written to a man unless an adulterous intercourse had taken place between them. That observa- tion applied most fully to the case in point. Her royal highness went subsequently to Catania, and he begged to call their lord- ships* attention to what passed there, be- cause It was most important. There was a particular arrangement of apartments, which, in consequence of the indisposition of Bergami, was afterwards altered. Her royal highness slept in the room adjoining that of Mademoiselb Dumont and her sis- ter Marietta Bron, ard on the other side of that room slept the countess of Oldi. Ber- gami being ill, he was put into the room previously occupied bj^ the countess of Oldi, and the countess was placed in the apart- ment of her royal highness. It would be seen, therefore, that up to this period Du- mont and her sister slept between the apart- ment occupied by Bcrg&mi and that allotted to her royal highness^ They were in the habit of going to breakfast about nme o'clock ; the door which communicated with their room was sometimes open, sometimes closed ; but on one particular morning, hap- pening to remain beyond the ueual time (to the best of her recollection, her sister be- ing present,) about the hour of ten, her royal highness, carrying the pillows on which she was accustomed to sleep, came out of the room of Bergami, She saw Du- mont — she eyed her, and passed into her o^yn room, contrary to her usual custom, without saying anything. He believed that no questions were put as to that part of the case by the learned counsel on the other side; but their lordships, in the discharge of that important duty, which had been casJ, upon them, thought it necessary that some questions should be asked, to ascertain whether a large portion of time had not been passed by her royal highness in the bed-room of Bergami. Their lordships ask- ed, whether Dumont had quitted the room that morning 1 To which she answered, that she had not. How long had she been awake? She answered two hours. Whether, during that time, her royal highness passed through the rooml Her answer was, no. Then the inference was, that certainly for two hours her royal highness had been in the bed-room of the courier. When he stated this fact, he was aware that it would be again said, that it depended on the evi- dence of Dumont, and therefore it became necessary, as much of what he had to in- troduce rested on her credit, fortified and supported as it was by corroborative state- ments, to say a word or two with respect to what had been thrown out on the other side, for the purpose of impeaching her tes- timony. — The learned counsel then in- geniously commented on the letters which had been produced on the cross-examina- tion of Dumont, and contended that they were clearly written by her, not in sin- cerity, but for the purpose of meeting the eye of the princess and Bergami, with a view to promote the interests of her sister. If what the counsel on the other side were saying was correct — if there were no ground for casting an imputation on the character of her royal highness — if there were nothing mysterious in the conduct of this courier — if Bergami were advanced in the service solely on account of his merits, and the respect he bore to an honorable mistress — if such were his situation, and the character of his connexion, what was the inevitable conclusion to which it led 1 Could there be a more desirable witness than that man himself, to contradict the testimony of Dumont? She spoke of his conduct when the three parties only were present, not on one occasion, but many. If the connexion of Bergami with her royal highness were such as was alleged in the bill, he certainly could not appear at their lordships' bar : but if it were a pure con- nexion, unsullied by those circumstances 672 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. which he (the solicitor-general) had stated, why was he not opposed to this witness] Why was he not brought forward to contra- dict Dumoni — to show that a base attack was made on the character and honor of the most amiable princess in the world — to prove that Dumont had been falsely accusing her royal highness with crimes that were never committed 1 Having made these ob- servations on the statement of his learned friend, relative to the testimony of this wit- ness, he called on their lordships to consider the whole of the evidence, to take all the story together, and to see whether she was ultimately contradicted in any point that could destroy the inference to which her testimony must evidently lead. He asked of their lordships to mark the evidence on both sides, and to mark how the case then stood. At Milan this man had been em- ployed as a courier in general Pino's ser- vice. He afterwards was admitted to the t'ame rank in her royal higness's household. But in the course of a few months he be- came her royal highness's equerry, then her chamberlain, then, by her influence, knight of Malta, then Baron de la Franchini, then knight of the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem, and then grand master of the order which her royal highness herself created. They would find him also possessed of a consid- erable property at the very gates of Milan. The man who had been a few years before living in a prison (for what reason he knew not), who had received three livres a day from general Pino — they found this man suddenly covered with orders and honors. For what ca,use ? for what service 1 for what talents? He asked this because, when their lordships considered it together with the other facts, it strengthened and confirmed the statement of the witnesses, and made it almost impossible to adduce any other cause for the extraordinary love which her royal highness manifested towards this man but that which was alleged. But to proceed. A vessel was hired for the purpose of mak- ing a long voyage, and her royal highness went on board at Augusta. [The solicitor- general here repeated the evidence relative to the transactions on board the polacre.] Here were five witnesses speaking of what passed on board the polacre — deposing to circumstances that took place in the pres- ence of a person who was in the suite of her royal highness at the time, and who was still in her service. Why then were they not contradicted 1 As the case now stood, had he not stated sutficient to convince their lordships' minds of what was passing, at that important period, between those par- ties'? The learned gentleman now recapitu- lated the remainder of the evidence, ad- verting to the licentiousness which marked the proceedings at the Barona ; the dance of the man Mahomed ; the midnight occur- rences at Charnitz, where Dumont was driven from her royal highness's chamber to make way for Bergami; the events at Carlsrhue ; and the subsequent transactions at Baden, Vienna, and Trieste, — at which latter place Bergami was seen coming out of his own room in his drawers and slippers, and going into that of the countess of Oldi, which had a communication with the cham- ber of the princess. All those facts proved an adulterous intercourse at that period, and by circumstances too which mutually con- firmed each other. He would now call their lordships' recollection to the evidence of two witnesses — the last that were called before them — he meant Rastelli and Sacchi. [Here he restated their evidence, and con- tended with great force that they confirmed in every particular the testimony of those persons who had gone before them.] On the ninth of September, upon the ap- plication of her majesty's counsel, the far- ther consideration of the bill was adjourned to Tuesday the third of October ; at which time it was stated they would be prepared to enter upon HER MAJESTY'S DEFENCE. Mr. Brougham accordingly commenced his address to the house on behalf of her majesty, — a speech which occupied the whole of that, and the greater part of the following day. This speech has been so much admired, that any attempt at abbrevi- ating it, would only spoil what is considered too fine and perfect an example of legal oratory, to admit of mutilation. Suffice it to observe, his lengthened address contained a summary of events during twenty-six years, from the period of her majesty's first arrival in this country, "as niece of our sovereign, intended consort of his royal heir, and herself not remote in title to the crown of England." After detailing all the occur- rences which took place between her arri- val in 1794, and her departure for the con- tinent in 1814, he then, in a most able man- ner, commented on the several evidences brought forward in support of the prosecu- tion, ably contrasting the discrepancies be- tween their respective depositions in chief, and those which were extracted by the in- genious mode of cross-examinations adopted by her majesty's advocates — commenting most powerfully on these contradictions as they arose, and witli the coruscations of a luminous display of forensic and impassioned eloquence, bearing down all opposition to truth, wherever such appeared. — Adverting to former proceedings instituted against his illustrious client, he took occasion to eulo- gize Pitt, Perceval, and Whitbread, as her early defenders — her firm, dauntless, and GEORGE IV. 1820. 678 able advocates. And when death had swept all these away, the approaching rumbling- of the storm, he said, commenced, though it was stayed by her last friend, her daugh ter : when that sole support was gone, all that might be dreaded by her immediately took place, had she not possessed the con Bciousness of innocence. After ridiculing most forcibly the evidence, from Majochi to Dumont, in a strain of irony so levelled that it cannot be shortened without losing all its point, — he next, with equal felicity, assails the Milan commission ; the proffer of the increased annuity by ministers ; and deduces from her majesty's rejection of it an irref ragable presumption of her innocence. Then he attacks the character of the Italian wit nesses, developing the motives which might naturally induce them to enlist in a cause of persecution, for filthy lucre — with the power exercised to bring them to the bar of their lordships' house, and the pains taken in drilling them for the manoeuvres dis played there: contrasting the proceedings during the reign of Henry VIII. with the present time. By these commentaries upon the mass of evidence, after entering into a line of defence too voluminous to be here repeated, he concludes his elaborate address in the manner hereunder recited : " The queen is now, and has been long placed in a singular, in a most embarrassing eituation. Her mind, from recent as well as former events, must be naturally disposed to put a painful construction on the conduct and motives of all by whom she is surround ed. She has been inured to this by a long and uninterrupted course of persecution — by much and severe oppression, abroad and at home, by manifold frauds upon her be- nevolence and generous credulity — by the malice and treachery of spies and servants — ^by those hidden artifices which it was im- possible always to trace. This last scene was not calculated to form an exception in her mind to the conduct habitually pursued by those who surrounded her. All she had witnessed in Italy, all she witnessed since her arrival here, down to the last day of this proceeding — the witnesses who ap- peared against her, the manner in which tliey conducted themselves, the nature of their testimony, were all calculated to fill with general suspicion and distrust, an otherwise unsuspecting breast. It is the portion of those who have been persecuted by enemies — it is their unhappy, but un- avoidable lot, to be liable to suspicion — not to know to whom they dare trust. This distrust, forced on the mind by a recollec- tion of unceasing plots and artifice, must, no doubt, render her majesty extremely fearfiil and circumspect with respect to any witness she mar be disposed to call in her Vol. IV. 57 defence. Her majesty, for aught I know, may now be harboring in her breast a viper of the same brcwd as Dumont, I mean the sister of that person, one with whom she corresponded, and, as she said, in cipher ; but this I do not believe. All these circum- stances are calculated to prescribe suspicion, as a duty, in her majesty's present situation. It is alien to an innocent creature, but it is one of these guards that innocence is obliged to have recourse to, when surrounded by such persons as the Grimms, tlie Omptedas, the Douglases, and the still less scrupulous Majochis, Dumonts, and Sacchis. We shall show, that at the time Dumont represented Bergami as having returned with a passport, and spending the night in the princess's rooms, that preparations were then actually making for the journey ; that so for from remaining there during the night, they en- tered the carriage in an hour and a half after his arrival; that the whole of this period was employed in getting ready the baggage ; and that while this business was going forward, the queen's door continued always open : her servants were constantly passing, so that they might easily have seen anything that occurred in the room. They all came in and out as often as Bergami, making preparations for the journey, whilst the princess was reclined on the bed in a travelling-dress, in which she had lain down, determined at whatever hour the passport arrived to resume her course. How has it happened that in no one instance have two witnesses been called to establish a single fact 1 Why was this omitted, when it might be done without difliculty? Why, but for this plain reason, that it would not be pru- dent to call forward one for the purpose of swearing, and another with a view to con- firmation. If two witnesses had been called to one fact, it was likely that in the cross- examination they might contradict each other, and therefore it was that my learned friends prudently abstained from having re- course to so dangerous an experiment. One circumstance was alluded to, to the truth of which, if true, a number of witnesses might have been called. The circumstance I mean, is that which is stated to have taken place at the masquerade. It must have been known to numbers that her majesty appeared there ; that she was hissed in consequence of the indecency of her dress. These were circumstances which, upon a public occa- sion, could not possibly have been concealed. The hissing must ere long have been known at Naples, and not only there, but to the surrounding country, and all the cities round about, "Et omnibus aliis opidis." What has become of V. Tyson ? Why has she not been called? I will tell you the reason — she is Dot an Italian. If the facts stated be 674 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. true, there were the most important reasons for calling this witness : she was one of the queen's servants — she had the care of the linen, superintended it ; the practice of call- ing washerwomen was not novel ; they were called in the Douglas plot ; rendered wise, however, by experience, no attempt was made to bring them forward on the present occasion. I contend, that as the case now stands, I am not bound to call wit- nesses ; and I submit that there is no neces- sity for it. If your lordships believe what has been stated by the witnesses against her majesty, there is proof positive of adul tery. If you believe Sacchi, Bergami has been seen twice going into the bed-room of the princess, and not returning. If you be- lieve him, and some more of the witnesses, in all they have sworn to, she is not only guilty of the crime alleged against her in the bill, but she is as bad even as Messalina. If, however, they are not worthy of credit — if they have sworn to these circumstances, knowing them to be false, we must conclude them to be more vile than those jacobins who, in the progress of the French revolu- tion, attempted to affix so unnatural a charge upon Marie Antoinette. The fairest repu- tation, when attacked in this manner, can- not possibly escape but in one way. It is not possible to overturn the charge by con- tending testimony, because the plotter, on such occasions, takes care that there is only one who can swear — he selects, for exam- ple, the time and place in which any of your lordships may be found alone. You may be in the place at the time mentioned. A direct contradiction under such circum- stances is impossible. What does the court do before whom such a case is brought 1 They will direct the acquittal of the person accused, if the most trifling falsehood, and in the most unimportant particular, should be detected in the evidence of the base in- former. I call upon your lordships now to act upon the same principle. I ask only this protection for her majesty — a protection which justice and innocence demand. Much has been said of the situation of Bergami previous to his entering the service of the queen : it has been said that this circum- stance alone, contrasted with the sphere of life in which he now moves, is quite suf ficient to excite suspicion. My lords, it cannot be denied that he has been elevated to a situation by his illustrious mistress, far above that in which he formerly moved, and sorry I should be, indeed, if, in this country, such a circumstance could lay a foundation for a serious charge. If raising a meritori- ous servant to a place of trust, was to be insinuated as matter of criminality, God for- bid we should ever see the day when all stations may not be open to all men accord- ing to their merits. I beg, however, to re- mind your lordships, that the rapidity of his promotion was quite overstated. The man- ner of it shows, that he earned it gradually by the faithfulness of his character and the propriety of his conduct, and it tends also to show the little credit that is to be given to some part of the evidence. Dumont stated, if she is to be believed, that, in the short space of three weeks after he was taken into service, the princess promoted him to her bed ; yet after this he still con- tinued to act as courier ; he dined with the servants at Genoa, and only once sat at the princess's table by accident. It was only towards the close of the period immediately previous to their voyage, that he was ad- mitted to her table. He proceeded by slow degrees in the service of the queen, travel- ling first on horseback as courier, then in a carriage by himself, and subsequently made chamberlain. This is utterly inconsistent, if you suppose the queen to be that insane, infatuated woman, she has been described. Would she, if thus violently attached, al- low her paramour to remain even a day in a degrading situation. This does not re- semble the manner in which love usually rewards the object on whom it is fixed. It rather resembles the slow progress by which merit struggles through difficulties to the place it is worthy of Bergami was no com- mon man, but a person of merit. His origin was not low, for his father possessed a mod- erate property in the north of Italy. He got into difficulties, like many Italian gen- tlemen, and soon sold his estate to pay his father's debts. He was certainly reduced, but still a reduced gentleman, and recog- nized as such in general Fine's service, for he dined at his table during the Spanish campaign. The general respected him, and he was universally esteemed by all those whom he served. They encouraged him to hope for better things, els knowing his former situation and his present merit. It was an Austrian nobleman who proposed him as a courier in the service of the queen, and he was hired by the chamberlain with- out her majesty's knowledge. This noble- man expressed a hope that he would be pro- moted, as he had seen better days. It was almost a condition of his engagement that he should go as a courier, and be subse- quently raised to a better station, if he ren- dered himself worthy of it. My lords, I do not dwell upon this as an important cir- cumstance. I do not think it is material to the defence. I think I have already dis- posed of the case by the comments I have made upon the evidence. I thought it ne- cessary, however, to dwell on the circum- stance, as it had been a common topic of conversation. If her majesty had been GEORGE IV. 1820. 075 charged with secret guilt, against which it is not easy to provide defence — had she been charged with what could have fallen under the observation of those with whom she could have associated as friends or equals — with any improper courses in pub- lic intercourse, I could have stood upon high ground indeed. I could have easily refuted every insinuation of this kind, to whatever period of her life it might have been at- tached — whether before she visited this country, or while she continued in it. I hold in my hand a testimonial, written by his late majesty, which cannot be read without the deepest feelings of sorrow and respect for his character. It proves the light in which he viewed her at that time, and whom, both then and ever after, he loved with a more tender recollection than any of the rest of her family. The plainness, the honesty, intelligence, and manly sense of this note, written in 1804, could not be sufficiently admired : it is thus — " Windsor Castle, Nov. 13, 1804. *' My dearest Daughter-in-law and Niece, " Yesterday, I and the rest of my family had an interview with the prince of Wales at Kew : care was taken on all sides to avoid all subjects of altercation, or explanation ; consequently, the conversation was neither instructive or entertaining: but it leaves the prince of Wales in a situation to show whether his desire to return to his family ' is only verbal or real, which time alone can show. I am not idle in my endeavors to make inquiries that may enable me to com- municate some plan for the advantage of the dear child. You and I with so much reason must interest ourselves: and its ef- fecting my having the happiness of living with you, is no small incentive to my form- ing some idea on the subject, but you may depend upon their not being decided upon without your thorough and cordial concur- rence ; for your authority as mother, it is my object to support. Believe me at all times, my dearest daughter-in-law and M' niece, your most affectionate father-in-law and uncle, " George R." This was the opinion, and these were the sentiments, of a man not ignorant of the rules of society, or deficient in his know- ledge of the human heart. Here he showed all the anxiety of a tender and affectionate parent for the happiness and welfare of a child, and evinced all those sentiments in favor of the interests of the princess of Wales, which the consciousness alone of the purity of her conduct, and the extent of her merits, could have excited. I mi^ht now read to your lordships a letter from his illustrious successor, not in the same tone, not indicative of the same regard — but by no means indicative of any want of confi- dence, or any desire to trammel his royal consort in that course of life which her own feelings might suggest. I allude to that letter which has been so often before your lordships in other shapes, and which I do not think necessary now to repeat. In that letter he expressed his wish that they should live apart. Their inclinations, he said, were not in their power, and their mutual happiness would be best consulted by their living asunder, under any plan which might seem most conducive to their comforts. There was no indication that her conduct should be made a subject of observation, or that her seclusion should be interrupted by the rigor of a scrutinizing agency — such as had brought the present bill of pains and penalties into life. (A cry of " Read the letter," from the ministerial benches.) Mr, Brougham immediately read the fol- lowing letter : — " Madam — As lord Cholmondeley informs me that you wish I would define, in writing, the terms upon which we are to live, I shall endeavor to explain myself upon that head with as much clearness, and with as nmeh propriety, as the nature of the subject will admit Our inclinations are not in our power ; nor should either of us be held an- swerable for the other, because nature has not made us suitable to each other. Tran- quil and comfortable society is, however, in our power; let our intercourse, therefore, be restricted to that ; and I will distinctly subscribe to the condition which you re- quired through lady Cholmondeley, that, even in the event of any accident happen- ing to my daughter, which I trust Provi- dence will in its mercy avert, I shall not infringe the terms of the restriction, by proposing, at any period, a connexion of a more particular nature. I shall now finally close this disagreeable correspond- ence ; trusting that, as we have completely explained ourselves to eac'.i other, the rest of our lives will be passed in uninterrupted tranquillity. I am, madam, with great truth, very sincerely yours, (Signed) "George P." My lords, — I do not mean to call this, as it has been termed by others, a letter of^ li- cense ; but I think that such an epistle must make it a matter of natural wonder to the minds of all by whom it has been heanl, to find that ever after the individual by whom it had been received should have been made the object of a more especial watch- fulness, and should have been exposed to an increased rigor of observation. Such, how- ever, my lords, is the state of this case ; and it is under these circumstances tliat her 676 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. majesty is now unexpectedly drag-ged to your bar. The secret agency by which she has been haunted, at length effected the first step towards her destruction ; but, thank God ! their machinations must here cease. The innocence, and the purity of my illustrious client have been assailed, but I trust with confidence, that the base efforts of her calumniators will recoil upon them selves. Your lordships have attentively regarded the evidence as it has been sub- mitted to your notice. You have no doubt watched the character of the witnesses, and I am satisfied you will agree with me, that not one of those witnesses is entitled to the slightest credit. No single fact of the hei- nous charges which have been made has been supported by a single individual en- titled to credit. Good witnesses were within the reach of her majesty's accusers, persons entitled to confidence and belief; but these had been studiously avoided. The plot has been discovered by the means of those prin- ciples which invariably apply to such cases. It has been exposed to the open glare of day, by the case breaking down in some of those parts which, however ingeniously got up^s a whole, were left exposed to attack. The great features of the plan have been preserved with a studious regard to ulti- mate success ; but some of the minor fortifi- cations, from a belief that their weakness would not be discovered, were left unpro- tected. It is by this means that justice has triumphed— it is by such trifles that the weightiest and most serious accusations have, even after having received the sup- port of great and good men, been laid pros- trate. I shall be excused by your lordships for quoting an authority from Scripture, in support of this proposition. The passage to which I allude, recites a case in which the judges of that day, the elders, were ar- raigned against the accused — and in which, when they were on the eve of pronouncing an unjust judgment, with the full persuasion of its justice, the victim was rescued from the gripe of destruction which was about to grasp her, by the simple circumstance of a contradiction respecting a tamarisk tree. Such had been the case in the present in- stance. Majochi, Dumont, Sacchi, and all the other herd of witnesses, who had been called, deposed with unblushing confidence and with an undeviating accuracy to all the main features of the charges, which it was their object, as well as their interest, to sustain, and might have eventually suc- ceeded, but for the aid and interposition of that Divine Providence which wills not that the guilty shall triumph. When such a case as this is before you — when such evidence is brought to support it, can you hesitate as to the opinion which it becomes your bounden duty to forral Can you, upon evidence which would be inadequate to prove the most trifling debt — which would be too impotent to deprive a subject of the commonest civil right — which would be rejected in the most ordinary court of justice as insufficient to establish the lowest offence — can you, I say, upon such scandal- ous and barefaced perjury, in this, the highest court which is known to the law of the land, entertain a charge so monstrous as that which has for its object the ruin of the honor of an English queen] What would be said by the people of England — what would be said by the world at large — if, upon this species of proof, acting, as you do, as judges and legislators, you v/ere to pass a bill, which must for ever debase and degrade an injured, an innocent woman 1 My lords, — I pray your lordships to pause, standing as you do on the brink of a preci- pice, before you form your judgment — a judgment which, if pronounced in favor of the bill now under your lordships' consider- ation, will fail in its object, and will return upon those who give it. Save the country, my lords, from the horrors of such an oc- currence ; save yourselves from the conse- quences of an event by which you would risk the situation you hold in that country of which you are the ornament, but in which you would cease to flourish if no lo!]ger served by the people. Like the blos^^om torn from its parent stem, and dragged from the root by which its beauties were sus- tained, once deprived of the confidence, and esteem, and support of your fellow-men, you must wither and decay. Then, my lords, I say, save that country, that you may con- tinue to adorn it — save the crown, the peo- ple, and the aristocracy — shake not the al- tar itself, which would not be less endan- gered than its kindred throne. Your lord- ships willed — the king willed that the queen of these realms should be left without the solemn service of the church. In the ab- sence of this solemnity, she sustained no loss, for she still enjoyed the heartfelt pray- ers of the people. Her majesty wants not my prayers — but I now ardently and sin- cerely supplicate the throne of grace, that mercy may be poured down on the people in a larger proportion than their rulers de- serve, and that your hearts may be turned towards justice." He was followed by Mr. Williams, in an equal strain of impressive eloquence ; in which the learned counsel adverted to a great variety of prominent points, sworn to in the prosecution, which he stated he should be enabled to give the clearest con- tradiction to, by the testimony that would now be adduced. The examination of wit- nesses on behalf of her majesty then began GEORGE IV. 1820. 677 on the fifth of October, and was continued till the twenty-fourth — when Mr. Denman proceeded to sum up the evidence for the defence in a speech which lasted two suc- cessive days, and which it is wholly im- practicable to give even an outline of, be- ing, as it was, a retrospective view of the whole proceedings, as contrasted in de- fence and prosecution, with the compre- hensive and ably applied illustrative re- marks of such a counsellor and such an orator as her majesty's solicitor-general,-^ who, at the conclusion of his eloquent harangue, made use of the following re- markably nervous language : " There is one topic, my lords, on which it is impossible for me not to comment. We have been told that the conduct of her majesty furnishes an inference in support of the charges in the preamble. I am ready that the defence shall stand or fall by that test ; and I ask, whether it is possible for a person so depraved, in the first place, to have turned away all her servants, at the moment when they had possessed them- selves of the most important and damning secrets, and afterwards to have proceeded in that \o\v attachment, that disgusting de bauchery with an individual who had been elevated for the most criminal purposes, in defiance of all the principles with which human nature was ever acquainted? It is one of the consequences of such an infatu- ation that it destroys all worldly considera- tions — ' Not Caesar's empress would I deign to prove.' And if so, would her majesty not have been willing to hide her head in any part of the continent, in the enjoyment of that luxuri- ous profusion, in which she had been tempt- ed, by offers from this country, to continue even with great splendor ] Would she not have been most anxious to retire to Pesaro, or to the Lake of Como, and there to ex- pend upon her favorite the vast income to be appropriated to her use 1 Is it possible to believe, that, after the loss of all that makes life dear, and character valuable — after vice and profligacy had become her daily habits — that her majesty would have «?prung to this country, irritated and stung by nothing but this detestable accusation 1 Look, my lords, at the conduct of her name- less and unseen persecutor, and then at the conduct of my illustrious client. For a se- ries of years she has been the object of un- ceasing persecution. The death of her only daughter was immediately followed by this frightful conspiracy. The decease of her last remaining protector, whose life, while it was prolonged, was still a protection, though his affection could no longer be dis- played, succeeded not long afterwards. It was announced to her, not in the language 57* of kind respect, or even of decent condo- lence, but in a shape which forestalled the decision of parliament upon this great ques- tion. Cardinal Gonsalvi was the mstrument of stripping her of her rank, and of de- priving her of those honors to which her station in society laid claim. Her title as princess Caroline of England was stated in the face of her passport ; and the first trans- action of this new reign, in which even traitors were spared and felons pardoned by a lavish exertion of the royal prerogative of mercy, was the most illegal and unchris- tian act yet recorded in the annals of the British monarchy. To the queen it was no new reign of peace and amnesty, but the commencement of a prosecution in which malignity and falsehood were united for her destruction. Her name was excluded from the liturgy ; but when it was forbidden that the prayers of the people should be offered up for her, their hearts made a full com- pensation for that odious exercise of unjust authority. Under such circumstances, what shall we say to the bill before the house 1 As a divorce bill it exists no more ; the mere fact that the crime imputed was com- mitted six years ago, dismisses it with con- tempt ; and the fact of the letter of license, written so recently after the marriage cere- mony was performed, is of itself an an- swer to any claim on the part of the hus- band. But it is a bill of pains and penal- ties — a bill of degradation, dethronement, and disgrace ; and, if your lordships shall determine to proceed against this perse- cuted and injured woman, I can only say, that it is your pleasure to do so. But sure I am that your honor as peers, your justice as judges, and your feeling as men, will compel you to take part with the oppressed, instead of giving the victory to the op- pressor. I was about to observe that there were certain individuals, who had not been called as witnesses — simply for this reason — that our case is already proved, and that we do not think it decent, or consistent with the principles of justice, to overload the minutes already so unwieldy, by ad- mitthig that we are bound to go a single step ferther. We have often heard of challenges and defiances — we have been told that Bergami might be called to the bar, to state that the whole charge was a fiction ; but this is one of the unparalleled circumstances of this extraordinary case. PVom the beginning of the world no in- stance is to be found where an individual charged with adultery has been called to disprove it Yet, for the first time, we are to be compelled to put him to his oath ! The answer is in a word — there is either a case against us, or there is no case ; if there is no case, there is no occasion for us to caU 678 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. a witness ; and if there be a case, no man would believe the supposed adulterer, when he was put forward to deny the fact. On this subject the nicest casuists might per- haps dispute, with a prospect of success, on either side of the proposition ; but I firmly believe that the feelings of mankind would justly triumph over the strictness of morality, and that a witness so situated would be held more excusable to deny upon liijs oath so dear a confidence, than to be- trtiy the partner of his guilt. Even perjury would be thought a venial crime, compared with the exposure of the victim of his adul- tery. — Surely, for the sake of dragging for- ward such a witness, the principles of our nature and of the heart of man are not to be repealed even upon this occasion, to which so many principles have been made the sacrifice. Recollect, my lords, that this is a criminal prosecution of the highest kind, and requiring the clearest and strong- est evidence — evidence collected and manu- factured during six years of unceasing vigi- lance and unremitting persecution. We have heard of the distinction of a queen of grace and favor, and a queen of right and law ; but her majesty has been taught, by bitter experience, the wide diflference be- tween a husband of affection and guardian- ship, and a husband of jealousy and perse- cution! After all ties, divine and human, have been broken upon his part, he still thinks it possible to exact, from the alien- ated and injured object before you, the most scrupulous attention, not only to the sub- stantial virtues of her sex, but to the most insignificant appearances of feminine deco- rum. Let me ask you, then, what is it that can justify you in passing such a bill? Without looking to the principle (for your lordships know that I am not at liberty to do so, and I only advert to it that I may not be supposed to waive any objection,) I say that there is not one page of evidence in this whole volume to warrant you in giv- ing it your sanction. There is not a single piece of evidence proceeding from any re- spectable quarter, which has not been an- swered or explained, and the inventors of the most minute fabrications have been fol- lowed with success through many of their windings and minute ramifications. — I know that rumors are abroad of the most vague, but, at the same time, of the most injurious character ; I have heard them even at the very moment we were defending her ma- jesty against charges, which, compared with the rumors, are clear, comprehensible, and tangible. We have heard, and hear daily, with alarm, that there are persons, and these not of the lowest condition, and not confined to individuals connected with the public press — ^not even excluded from your august assembly — who are industri- ously circulating the most odious and atro- cious calumnies against her majesty. Can this fact be? and yet can we live in the world, in these times, and not know it to be a fact? We know, that if a juryman, upon such an occasion, should be found to possess any knowledge on the subject of inquiry, we should have a right to call him to the bar as a witness. " Come forward," we might say, "and let us confront you with our evidence : let us see whether no explanation can be given of the fact you assert, and no refutation effectually appli- ed." But to any man who could even be suspected of so base a practice as whisper- ing calumnies to judges, distilling leprous venom into the ear of jurors, the queen might well exclaim, " Come forth, thou slanderer ; and let me see thy face ! If thou wouldst equal the respectability even of an Italian witness, come forth and depose in open court. As thou art, thou art worse than an Italian assassin, because while I am boldly and manfully meeting my accu- sers, thou art planting a dagger unseen in my bosom, and converting thy poisoned stiletto into the semblance of the sword of justice." I would fain say, my lords, that it is utterly impossible that this can be true ; but I cannot say it, because the fact stares me in the face ; I read it even in the public papers, and had I not known of its exist- ence in the debasement of human nature, I would have held it impossible that any one, with the heart of a man, or with the honor of a peer, should so debase his heart and degrade his honor ? I would charge him as a judge — I would impeach him as a judge ; and, if it were possible for the blood royal of England to descend to a course so dis- graceful, I should fearlessly assert, that it was more just that such conduct should de- prive him of his right to succession, than that all the facts alleged against her ma- jesty, even if true to the last letter of the charge, should warrant your lordships in passing this bill of degradation and divorce. I well know that there are persons, to whom, under the circumstances, I think it right to allude, who have had an opportunity of reading a vast variety of depositions against the conduct of the queen. To those noble individuals I may distinctly say, " You, at all events, must vote for an acquittal. I know nothing of the facts brought before your secret committee, but I know that it is impossible for any rational or honorable man to have presented such a case as has been proved at the bar, as a ground for de- grading and dethroning the majesty of Eng- land." ^ The facts proved before that com- mittee must have been of a more grave, more disgusting, and more infamous de- GEORGE IV. 1820. 679 scription, and whether they have been proved, or whether the witnesses publicly examined, have not dared to swear up to their original depositions, I am confident that the committee never meant it to go forth, that a case of key-holes and chamber- pots, but of notorious and undeniable guilt, ought to be the ground-work of this public prosecution. Then, I ask your lordships, has that case been made out ] Is there any man, who can read the evidence brought against the queen without a perfect con- viction that she has been most malignantly traduced ] What the boatmen on the Lake of Como may have said to those who were gaping wide for slander, I know not : what reports may have been circulated by her enemies, I know not ; what the result would have been, had the facts stated been estab- lished, I know not; but I do know, that they have not been proved — that they are false, calumnious, and detestable. Nay, I say one word more to your lordships — I know that a supposition prevails, that a spirit has gone abroad, dangerous to the constitution and government. I have heard it said, that a spirit of mischief was ac- tively jSit work among the friends of her majesty : but the same person who uttered that memorable expression, in a few weeks was obliged to admit that it was false, be- cause the truth could not be concealed, that ■the whole of the generous population of England had enlisted themselves with ar- dor on the side of the innocent and the in- jured. At the same time, it is possible that both may be true ; the sound and middling classes of society may feel acutely for the situation of her majesty ; and there may be, also, some apostles of mischief lurking in a corner, meditating a blow at the con- stitution, and ready to avail themselves of any opportunity for open violence. If that be so, the generous sympathy to which I have alluded would be aggravated by a ver- dict of guilty ; while those mischievous and disaffected men woul^ deprecate nothing half so much as to see your lordships, in the face of the power of the crown, ven- turing to pronounce a verdict of acquittal for a defendant so prosecuted. I trust your lordships will not allow the idea of having fear imputed to you to divert you from the straight course of your duty ; it would be the worst of injustice to the accused, and the worst of cowardice in yourselves. I say, therefore, if your own minds are satisfied that all that has been proved has been scat- tered " like dew-drops from the lion's mane," you will never hold yourselves jus- tified in pronouncing a verdict contrary to the evidence, because your conduct may be imputed to the dread of a mob, or, to use tne jargon of the day, which I detest, the apprehension of a radical attack. You have but one course to pursue, and that course is straight forward — it is to acquit her majesty at once of those odious charges. We may truly say, that as there never was such a trial, so there never existed such means of accusation. Before I conclude, I must be permitted to say, that during the whole of this proceeding (though person- ally I have every reason to thank the house for its kindness and indulgence) the highest gratification resulting to my mind has been, that with my learned friend I have been joined upon this great occasion. We have tbught the battles of morality, Christianity, and civilized society, throughout the world ; and, in the language of the dying warrior, I may say : " In this glorious and well foughten field We kept together in our chivalry." While he was achieving the immortal victory, the illustrious triumph, and protect- ing innocence and truth, by the adamantine shield of his prodigious eloquence, it has been my lot to discharge only a few random arrows at the defeated champions of this disgraceful cause. The liouse will believe me when I say, that I witnessed the dis- play of his surprising faculties with no other feelings than a sincere gratification that the triumph was complete : and admiration and delight, that the victory of the queen was accomplished. This is an inquiry, my lords, unprecedented in the history of the world : the down-sitting and up-rising of this illus- trious lady have been sedulously and anx- iously watched : she uttered no word that had not to pass through this severe ordeal. Her daily looks have been remarked, and scarcely even her thoughts escaped the un- paralleled and disgraceful assiduity of her malignant enemies. It is an inquisition, also, of a most solemn kind. I know no- thing in the whole race of human affairs, nothing in the whole view of eternity, which can even remotely resemble it; but the great day when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed ! " He who the sword of heaven will bear Should be as holy as severe !" And if your lordships have been furnished with powers, which I might almost say scarcely omniscience itself possesses, to ar- rive at the secrets of tliis female, you will think that it is your duty to imitate the justice, beneficence, and wisdom of that benignant Being, who, not in a case like this, where innocence is manifest, but when guilt was detected, and vice revealed, said, " If no accuser can come forward to con- demn thee, neither do I condemn thee ; go, and sin no more." Dr. Lushington followed, on October twenty-sixth, and here an abstract of hut 680 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. speech can be given : He commenced by stating, that if he had been left to the free exercise of his own discretion on the pres- ent occasion, he should certainly decline offering any observations to their lordships, because he felt conscious that it was utterly impossible for his humble exertions to add anything to the great and splendid address of his learned friend (Mr. Denman) who had preceded him. He now, however, ad- dressed their lordships by the desire of his learned coadjutors, and he felt a consolation under his conscious inability to the task, that her majesty's defence rested on a basis so solid that the observations even of an unskilful advocate could scarcely weaken it. In surveying this case, and the charges on which it was founded, some observations occurred to his mind which he would shortly lay before the house. The first was the age of the royal accused. Was ever an in- stance known in the annals of accusations of this kind, that the person against whom the charge was made was of the age of fifty ? No : he would defy any one to cite a precedent so preposterous or ridiculous. But who ever imagined a case like the present 1 In addition to the circumstance of the age of the accused, there was here that of a husband, who had been for twenty- four years separated from his wife ; sepa- rated, not by any desire on her part, but by his own caprice, by his own act and choice — not in consequence of any misconduct of that wife, but by his pursuit of some way- v/ard indulgence — some capricious fancy. In this way had been broken, for self-grati- fication, those bonds which the laws of God and man had formed. How, then, did the case stand 1 Were his majesty a simple subject, was there a man in the world who would say that he was entitled to any con- sideration whatever in an application for di- vorce — that it was possible he could have an injury founded on such a complaint, for v/hich he could claim redress 1 As a hus- band, then, the king had no right to seek redress. But then it was said that this ap- plication was not in the name of the king, and that the law in the case of a subject was not applicable to the sovereign. Let, how- ever, no one presume to say that he is eman- cipated from obedience to the laws of God ; for that assertion, of whomsoever it be made, was founded in untruth and falsehood. It was also said that rank and station in the wife required a more rigid observance of duties than in the husband ; but was there any duty which was not reciprocal ? Was it not so with respect to matrimonial rights ? And was it to be said that there was one law for women and another for men 1 Or did superiority of rank make the engage- ment taken at the altar of God less binding ] Was the private individual to be told that there was one divine law for him, and an- other for the sceptered monarch? What was the plighted troth of the husband — what the promise made at the altar 1 To love and to comfort. But how was that promise observed] Where was the love] where the comfort] Where should he look for one or the other] The comfort: — what traces were there of it ] If he went back to 1806, was it to be found there ] or must he look for it in 1813, at that period of cruel interference, when the intercourse between the mother and the daughter was prohibited] Was it to be sought for at the period when the mother was exiled to a foreign land ? No : there it did not exist ; for wherever she went the spirit of persecution followed her. It was inconceivable that a wife thus deserted, thus persecuted, should now be told that she has been unmindful of her duty, whilst the husband who was pledged to protect her, had allowed her to pass through the world without a friend to guard her honor. He regretted the discussion of these topics. He knew well that, when the acts of kings were brought before the public, there were individuals who dwelt with triumphant satisfaction on the expo- sure. No man could feel the difficulty of his situation more than he did, when called upon, in the performance of a solemn duty, to dwell ujwn such painful considerations: but he owed it to himself and to his client to speak out boldly. There were individuals without number, always anxious to see the failings of kings, that they might turn them into derision. He would, therefore, say as little as possible upon this ungrateful sub- ject. It was almost needless to follow it through all its bearings ; but if he were in one of those courts where cases of this kind are usually decided, what should he say to the husband who, insensible of his own honor, allows his wife for a series of years to live unprotected, and then to offer her fifty thousand pounds a-year to live abroad, knowing, as he did, that she is in a course of adultery, but without giving one direc- tion that the adulterous intercourse should cease before she enjoys the large income proffered to her ] What would he say to an individual so acting towards his wife ] who said to her, not in the language of par- don and admonition, which his learned friend had repeated, * Go, and sin no more,' — but 'Go and indulge your appetites, continue your adulterous intercourse, and you shall be furnished with ample means for living in splendor with your paramour!' lie was happy that he was not under the necessity of introducing another topic. He was glad to state that in this case he was not called upon by any consideration of duty towards GEORGE IV. 1820. 681 his illustrious client, to say one word by way of recrimination ; he thanked God, and the wisdom of his learned colleagues, who had so advised her majesty, that the case upon which they built their hopes of ac- quittal was one of perfect innocence, and that, by avoiding- recrimination, he should save the house and the country from all its consequences. Their lordships could not, unless fully prepared to violate the laws of God and man, declare against his client. That venerable bench of bishops, who formed part of the judges, could not, without vio- lating the holy tenets of that gospel which they preached and inculcated, pronounce against the wife of their sovereign. The laws of God and of the country were upon her side, and he was sure that it was not there that they would be violated. The learned counsel then proceeded to take a luminous and comprehensive view of the whole of the evidence for and against her majesty, applying himself particularly to those topics which might have escaped Mr. Denman, and arguing, in the clearest and most conclusive manner, that the only correct inference to be drawn from the whole was the innocence of his illustrious client. He concluded by saying, that he left the honor and character of the queen in the hands of the house: — with the most perfect confidence he left her, not to the mercy, but to the justice of their lordships. On the twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth, the king's attorney-general, and solicitor- general, replied with much diffusiveness to the arguments of the counsel for the queen. The witnesses for the prosecution and de- fence, with the several pleadings of the re- spective council, being gone through, the lords, on the second of November, proceed- ed to debate the question, " Whether the Bill of Pains and Penalties should be read a second time)" — In this discussion, all the principal speakers, as well as many other peers, delivered their opmions at consider- able length, such as to occasion adjourn- ments from day to day, until the sixth in stant — when the house divided upon the important question of the second reading of the bill, equivalent to the question in other courts, of GUILTY, or NOT GUILTY, accordiug to the evidence. THE DIVISION. The lord chancellor having called upon each peer, he rose in his place, and said, " Content," or " Non-content." The result was : — Contents, one hundred and twenty- three ; non-contents, ninety-five ; majority for the second reading, twenty-eight. List of Peers who voted for and against the second reading of the Degradation and Divorce Bill. For the second reading. Dukes of York, Clarence, Beaufort, Rut- land, Newcastle, Northumberland, Welling- ton, Athol, and Montrose. Marquises Conyngham, Anglesea, Cam- den, Northampton, Exeter, Headfort, Tho- mand, Cornwallis, Buckingham, Lothian, Queensberry, Winchester. Earls Harcourt, Brooke and Warwick, Portsmouth, Pomfret, Macclesfield, Ayles- ford, Balcarras, Hume, Coventry, Rochford, Abingdon, Shaftesbury, Cardigan, Winchel- sea, Stamford, Bridgewater, Huntingdon, Westmoreland, Harrowby, St Germains, Brownlow, Whitworth, Verulam, Cathcart, Mulgrave, Lonsdale, Orford, Manvers, Rosse, Nelson, Powis, Limerick, Donough- more, Belmore, Mayo, Longford, Mount Cashel, Kingston, Liverpool, Digby, Mount Edgecombe, Abergavenny, Aylesbury, Bath- urst, Chatham. Viscounts Exmouth, Lake, Sidmouth, Melville, Curzon, Sydney, Falmouth, and Hereford. Barons Somers, Rodney, Middleton, Na- pier, Colville, Gray, Salfoun, Forbes, Prud- hoe, Harris, Ross or Glasgow, Meldrum, Hill, Combermere, Hopetoun, Gambler, Manners, Ailsa, Lauderdale, Sheffield, Red- esdale, St. Helens, Northwick, Bolton, El- don, C. Baynmg, Carrington, De Dunsta- ville, Brodrick, Stewart of Garlics, Stewart of Castle Stewart, Douglas, Morton, Green- ville, Suffield, Montagu, Gordon, (Huntley), and Saltersford. Archbishops Canterbury and Tuam. Bishops London, St. Asaph, Worcester, St. J)avids, Ely, Chester, Peterborough, Llandaft) Cork and Rosse, and Gloucester. Against the second reading. Dukes of Gloucester, Somerset, Hamil- ton, Argyll, Leinster, Graflon, Portland, Devonshire, Bedford, Richmond, (St. Albans, absent from illness). Marquises Bath, Stafford, and Lans- down. Earls de Lawarr, Ilchester, Darlington, Egremont, Fitzwilliam, Stanhope, Cowper, Dartmouth, Oxford, Roseberry, Jersey, Al- bemarle, Plymouth, Essex, Thanet, Den- bigh, Suffolk, Pembroke, Derby, Blesington, Morley, Minto, Harewood, Grey, Gosford, Romney, Rosslyn, Caledon, Enniskillen, Farnham, Carrick, Carnarvon, Mansfield, Fortescue, Grosvenor, Hilsborough, (Mar- quis of Downshire). Viscounts Granville, Anson, Duncan, Hood, Torrington, Bolingbroke. Barons Ashburton, Bagot, Walsinghara, Dynevor, Foley, Hawke, Ducie, Holland, Grantham, King, Belhaven, Cliflon (Darn- ley), Say and Sole, Howard of Effingham, De la Zouch, Clinton, Dacre, Audley, D« 682 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. Clifford, Breadalbane, Erskine, Arden, El- lenborough, Alvanley, Loftus, (M. Ely), Fitzgibbon, Calthorpe, Dawnay, Yarbo- rough, Dandas, Selsea, Mendip, Auckland, Gage, Fisherwick, (M. Donegall), Amherst, Kenyon, Sherborne and Berwick. Archbishop of York. PROTESTS AGAINST THE SECOND READ- ING OF THE BILL OF PAINS AND PEN- ALTIES. Dissentient, No. I. Nov. 6, 1820. Because the second reading of the bill is equivalent to a decision that adulterous in- tercourse (the only foundation on which the bill can rest) has been satisfectorily proved. Because that adulterous intercourse has been inferred, but not proved ; and in a doubtful case, in which the imputed guilt is not proved, although innocence be not established, the benefit of that doubt, con- formably to the principles of British justice, must be given to the defendant. Essex (first reason only), Hilsborough (first reason only), Kenyon, Orford, Somer- set, Selsea, Roseberry, Morley (first reason only), Leinster, Mansfield, Enniskillen, Richmond and Lenox, Jersey (first reason only), Carrick, Grafton (first reason only), Anson (ditto), Darlington (ditto), Belhaven (ditto). Dissentient, No. II. — Because this pro- ceeding, from its nature, cannot be assimi- lated to a common indictment, in which a conviction upon one count alone, out of many, is sufficient. And because, although enough has been proved in evidence to satisfy us of the ex- istence of guilt, yet as evidence on many of the allegations has been contradicted, in some disproved, and in others is so suspi- cious as to be laid wholly out of the case, we are of opinion that it is inexpedient to proceed further in this measure. Plymouth, Dynevor, Grantham, Denbigh, Clinton, (second reason only). Gage (second reason), Ilchester. The following peers also protested against the bill upon general grounds : Dissentient, No. III. — William Freder- ick, Lansdown, Jersey, Grey, Plymouth, Fitzgibbon, Albemarle, Hamilton and Bran- don, Duncan, Hilsborough, Wentworth (Fitzwilliam), Derby, Anson, Yarborough, Sherborne, Cowper, Audley, Kenyon, Car- rick, Selsea, Foley, Arden, Egremont, Tor- ringiton, Suffolk and Berks, Loftus (Ely), Morley, Granville, Richmond and Lennox, Bedford, Fortescue, Darlington, Belhaven, Grafton, Breadalbane, Auckland, Dawnay (Downe), Mendip (Clifden), Leinster, Hawke, Gosford, Romney, Roseberry, Scott (Portland), Thanet, Hood, Ashburton, How- ard of Effingham, Alvanley, Carnarvon, Dundas, Caledon, Sundridge (duke of Ar- gyll,) Ducie, King, Rosslyn, Bacre, Cal- thorpe, Grantham and Ellenborough. PROTEST FROM HER MAJESTY. Tuesday, November 7. — We believe the order of the day was about to be read, when lord Dacre stated, that since he had cora^ into the house this morning, a protest, with respect to its proceedings, on the part of her majesty the queen, had been unexpect- edly put into his hands to be presented. It might, perhaps, surprise their lordships that such a paper should have been placed in his hands, as he had taken no part in the proceedings on this important case ; and he ought to apologize to their lordships for not having at an earlier stage expressed his opinion of it. His objection to bills of pains and penalties for the punishment of moral turpitude long since committed, was so invincibly strong, that he never felt the least hesitation in declaring it. He hoped that the protest which had been placed in his hands would be liberally heard by the house ; but whatever were his sentiments on the proceedings in general, he must ob* ject to the practice of judges, jury, and prosecutors, all voting in this case against the queen. With respect to the protest now intrusted to him, he would acknow- ledge that there was no precedent for re- ceiving it; but the country would form their opinion of the conduct of the house, and precedent ought never to interrupt the equitable course of justice and of truth. He had scarcely had time to read over the protest of the queen, but it appeared that in the face of her family, the house, and the country, she solemnly protested against the proceedings in that house, as contrary to the constitution, to the spirit of the laws, and the principles of common justice. The noble lord concluded with reading her ma- jesty's protest, which was couched in the following terms : PROTEST. " Caroline, Regina. " To the lords spiritual and temporal, in parliament assembled. " The queen has learnt the decision of the lords upon the bill now before them. In the face of parliament, of her family, and of her country, she does solemnly protest against it. " Those who avowed themselves her pros- ecutors have presumed to sit in judgment on the question between the queen and themselves. "Peers have given their votes against her who have heard the whole evidence for the charge, and absented themselves during her defence. " Others have come to the discussion from the secret committee, with minds bi- GEORGE IV. 1820. 683 assed by a mass of slander, which her ene- mies have not dared to bring forward in the light. "The queen does not avail herself of her right to appear before the committee, for to her the details of the measure must be a matter of indifference ; and unless the course of these unexampled proceedings should bring the bill before the other branch of the legislature, she will make no reference whatever to the treatment experienced by her during the last twenty-five years. " She now most deliberately, and before God, asserts, that she is wholly innocent of the crime laid to her charge, and she awaits with unabated confidence the final result of this unparalleled investigation. (Signed) " Caroline, Regina." The four following days were passed in debating the expediency of the divorce clause, and on this point the lords spiritual took the chief part. On a division there appeared, contents one hundred and twenty- nine, non-contents sixty-two, majority in favor of the divorce clause sixty-seven. The minority in the house of lords that voted for expunging the divorce clause, were lords Hill, Rodney, Yarborough, Sal- toun, Bayning, Kenyon, Hopetoun, Suffield, Calthorpe, Combermere, Sidney, Curzon, Falmouth ; bishops of Chester, Cork, Peter- borough, Gloucester, St. Asaph, St. David's, Ely, Worcester ; earls of Winchelsea, Cour- town, Mount Cashel, Romney, Stamford, Brownlow, Fitzwilliam, Stanhope, Balcar- ras, Dartmouth, Aylesford, Verulam, Mor- ton, Portsmouth, Caledon, Lauderdale, St. Germains, Aylesbury, Macclesfield, Lons- dale, Mount-Edgecombe, Famham, Pomfret, Whitworth, Mayo, Shaftesbury ; marquis Cornwallis; dukes of Clarence, Portland, Beaufort ; archbishops of York and Tuam ; cabinet-ministers — Sidmouth, Melville, Ba- thurst, Harrowby, Mulgrave, Liverpool, Westmoreland, Wellington, Eldon C. On the tenth of November, the order of the day for the third reading of the bill of divorce and degradation, against the queen, being moved by the earl of Liverpool, there appeared on a division of the house, — for the third reading, one hundred and eight, against it ninety-nine, majority in favor of the measure nine. On declaring which, lord Dacre observed, that he had been intrusted with a petition from her majesty, praymg to be heard by counsel against the passing of the bill. RILL ABANDONED BY MINISTER& The earl of Liverpool said that he appre- hended such a course would be rendered unnecessary by what he was about to state. He could not be ignorant of the state of pub- lic feeling with regard to this measure, and it appeared to be the q)inion of the house that the bill should be read a third time only by a majority of nine votes. Had the third reading been carried by as considerable a number of peers as the second, he and his noble colleagues would have felt it their duty to persevere with the bill, and to send it down to the other branch of the legisla- ture. In the present state of the country, however, and with the division of sentiment, so nearly balanced, just evinced by their lordships, they had come to the determina- tion not to proceed further with it It was his intention, accordingly, to move that tlie question " that the bill do pass now," be al- tered to " this day six months." His lordship's motion was agreed to, and the house immediately adjourned to the twenty-third of November. The house of commons had also adjourned to the same day, and Mr. Brougham sent a written com- munication to the speaker, as also to lord Castlereagh, that a message would be de- livered from her majesty. The speaker re- turned for answer, that he should take the chair at a quarter before two o'clock. In pursuance of which arrangement, he en- tered the house punctually, and immediately after two new members had been sworn in, and two new writs had been moved for, Mr. Denman rose with a paper in his hand, which he stated was a communication from her majesty; at this moment, the deputy- usher of the black rod entered the house, amidst the loudest cries for " Mr. Denman, and read, read," from near fifty members. Mr. Denman continued standing with the queen's message in his hand, whilst the usher of the black rod attempted to deliver a message from the lords, but it was only in dumb show, for though his lips appeared to move, not a syllable met the ear. The usher then withdrew, and after a short pause, Mr. Tierney rose, and remarked that as not one word of what the deputy-usher had delivered could have been heard, from whence could the speaker know what the message was ] or whether he was wanted at all in the other house ? Mr. Bennett ex- claimed, " this is a scandal to the country ;" during which, the speaker rose, and proceed- ed down the body of the house, amidst cries of " shame, shame," and loud hisses from the opposition benches, lord Castlereagh, the chancellor of the exchequer, and other min- isterial members accompanying him to the house of lords, where the commission for the prorogation of parliament was read, and the chancellor, in his majesty's name, imme- diately prorogued the parliament to the twenty-third of January. So terminated the proceedings of the legislatorial trial in the house of lords, against her majesty Caroline Amelia Eliza- 684 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. beth, queen-consort of king George the Fourth. That this procedure should elicit, as it manifestly did, great and extraordinary displays of feeling in all quarters, cannot be denied. For though by our wisely de- vised state axiom, we are taught to believe, that by no possibility "can the king do wrong ;" neither would the gallant princi- ples of Britons suffer them to credit, to the extent adduced, that a queen could be so far lost to herself, and her situation. While therefore one party imputed to her crimes of a deeper dye than appertained to a Messa- lina, — another exalted her beyond the com- mon lot of humanity. And though different bodies of the community were so decidedly at variance on the respective merits of the case, as to be wholly blinded by their pas- sions and prejudices according to the side they politically espoused, there was not wanting an intermediate and most valuable class of reflective beings, who could not help deploring such development had ever been advised ; as besides the discordant feuds that it had introduced into the bosom of many a hitherto peaceful family — decorum and morals had been daily violated, in the grossest manner, by details of a most brutal description, which defaced the columns of the public prints, and defiled the journals of the house where the trial pended. Inde- pendent of the abstract positions that " there is one law for all classes," that when " mar- ried persons separate by consent, they be- come free, and that the complaining party should come into court with clean hands," as inquiry was instituted, according to min- isterial statements, merely to secure a purity of succession ; there could be no necessity for such inquiry, when time had prevented any hope or fear of children being produced by the queen ; and the insidious set-off on ^e other side, that his majesty wished this measure to pass, that he might marry again, has proved delusive and nugatory, no such desire or event having taken place, since death has severed that tie, which proved too strong to be dissolved by any other power. Of the necessity of these proceedings, under every feature of the case, and after the failure of conciliatory measures, little doubt remains; but the policy of it may surely be discussed, and the question of the truth or falsehood of the allegations, pro- duced against an unfortunate queen, will long be disputed by posterity. They who give credence to the evidence brought for- ward in support of the bill of pains and pen- alties, will be compelled to accede to a ver- dict of guilty ; while they, who deem the greater part of the witnesses as corruptly perjured, will not only at once acquit her ma- jesty, but gladly anathematize the wretches, howerer exalted, who, itimulated by any view of power, place, or provocation, could descend to the far greater crime of suborn- ing them for so base a purpose. Those who feel any curiosity to become more acquainted with this ever-to-be-regret- ted exposure of royal domestic misery and affliction, can refer to the authentic records of the trial at large. Whilst commenting upon this subject it must be stated, that the public feeling expressed on this abandon- ment of the bill, and the thereby implied triumph of her majesty, was most imequivo- cal. On the evening of the day on which the bill was left to its fate, as well as on the following Saturday and Monday, illu- minations took place in all parts of the me- tropolis; and the demonstrations of joy, ex- ultation, and triumph, were on these nights as strongly exhibited by the populace, and bore an equal resemblance to those display- ed on any occasion of general rejoicing. In most parts of the kingdom similar scenes took place; and congratulatory addresses were abundantly voted to her majesty from various corporations, fraternities, and pub- lic bodies, who for a lengthened period filled the approaches to Brandenburgh house, with all the pageantry of processions, on the days appointed for their reception by the queen. November twenty-ninth. — Her majesty, preceded by a numerous cavalcade of gen- tlemen on horseback, led by Sir Robert Wilson, went in state to the metropolitan church of St. Paul's, to return public thanks; on which occasion, the concourse of per- sons assembled was so immense, rallying round the different illustrative banners borne in the line of march, that with the most extreme difficulty could the queen's carriage proceed from Temple Bar to the cathedral. The acclamations of the count- less multitude were loud, and continued, but the greatest attention to order was ob- served ; and the day concluded, contrary to the predictive fears of many, without the slightest accident or indecorum taking place. During the entire year of 1820, the public attention in Great Britain was thus powerfully excited, and almost ab- sorbed, by the domestic affairs of the royal family. In the endeavor to achieve impos- sibilities, by proving too much, politicians, in common with other men, generally over- reach themselves — the event verifies the remark : for, had the propounders of this trial contented themselves with half a case, or at least one containing half the alleged criminality, it would have worn a face of greater probability, and compelled those engaged in the defence to gainsay the evi- dence by fact more than declamation. As it was, the chivalric disposition of English- men, ever eager to espouse the weaker GEORGE IV. 1820. 685 Bide, and championize^ if the term may be allowed, the cause of what was made to appear, in glowing colors, a highly op- pressed, helpless, and deserted female, en- listed all the generous sentiments of JBrit- ons in aid of the impassioned oratory of the queen's advocates ; and thus the names of Brougham, Denman, Williams, and Lush- ington, were entwined together, as a wreath of perennial bloom, by the independence of civism, — resounded at public meetings, and crowned the goblets of convivial boards in every corner of these realms, long after their three months' labor in the cause of a royal mistress had terminated. Controver- sies and heart-burnings did not expire with this famed trial ; but, as while pending, this bill of pains and penalties had engrossed all attention, and obstructed all business, so, now it was withdrawn, it unfortunately continued to occupy the private as well as public mind, to the exclusion of other sub- jects, more intimately connected with the domestic interests and foreign relations of Uie nation and the individual. DEATH OF THE DUTCHESS OF YORK. On the sixth of August in this highly momentous year, expired Frederica Char- lotte Ulrica, the consort of his royal high- ness the duke of York, the eldest brother of the king. The dutchess was in the fifty- fourth year of her age. Her royal highness was the eldest daughter of the late king of Prussia, by his first wife, Elizabeth Ulrica Christiana, princess of Brunswick Wolfen- buttel. The dutchess of York was a pat- tern of the milder and retiring virtues, strongly devoted to exercises of charity, and diffusive benevolence. She passed her time almost wholly, except when public oc- casions called her forth, in a state of com- parative seclusion at the country-seat de- nominated Oatland's Park, in Surrey, where she died ; and in the neighboring village church of Walton was, at her express de- sire, privately interred. FRANCE.— HER POLITICS. Reverting to foreign affairs, from the domestic aspect of Great Britain, we are led to contemplate the general posture of Europe at this period ; and in so doing, we discern in the position of the neighboring nation of France the gradual development of measures, in the progressive operation of that change, which a lengthened chain of imperious circumstances had effected in that so strangely agitated country. The restoration of the ancient dynasty of the Capets, consequent on those important wars which had so lon^ convulsed the world, re- quired the adoption of many new schemes of government ; and the alteration of the laws respecting elections appeared to be a paramount object with tlie ministers of Vou IV. 58 Louis XVni. M. Decases, who at this pe- riod was deemed the minister possessed of the greatest influence, had prepared a new projet of laws on this important matter, which he was prevented by indisposition alone from propounding to the chamber of deputies. Pending this delay the due de Berri was assassinated by one Louvel, as he was coming forth from the opera-house. Whether the murderer, a ci-devant soldier, was to be considered in the light of a fanat- ical enthusiast, or as a political tool, re- mains as yet a secret ; but certain it is, that the untimely death of this prince, who was the younger nephew of the king, and the sole member of the immediate family of Louis XVIII., who promised to continue his line of heirs to the throne, was much de- plored. The horror excited by this event gave great strength to the ultra-royalists ; and an extreme fermentation of opinion en- sued in the chamber of deputies, which finally spread itself through every part of the kingdom. The ministers, in conse^ quence, considered it a measure of pru- dence to yield somewhat to public preju- dice, and to content themselves with a part of the projected measure ; well knowing, that if they persisted in carrying every- thing, they ran the mortifying risk of not effecting anything. Accordingly, M. de Serre, who had been reappointed to his for- mer post of keeper of the seals, informed the chamber, that he and his colleagues were willing to abandon the plan proposed to such extent as to put an end to the pres- ent system of direct election, provided that an additional number of deputies, to be se- lected by the wealthiest class of voters, were allowed an introduction to the legisla- tive body. This alteration of direct elec- tion, or in fact nomination, of senators, though apparently bettered by the new mode proposed, tended to introduce re- straints of no small importance on the free- dom of election to the house of deputies ; and after a trial for superiority, the two contending parties at length effected a compromise. According to the plan finally adopted, while the two hundred and fifty- eight members (being the original number of the chamber as it then was constituted) were to be returned by the electoral col- leges of the several districts, comprising all persons of thirty years old and upwards; one hundred and seventy-two additional deputies were to be chosen by departmental colleges, which were to be composed of one- fourth of the body of electors, that fourth being made up of those who paid the larg- est contributions to the public service — so that, in addition to the three estates already represented, in some degree in imitation of the British constitutionid assemblies and its 686 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. monarch, France now presented to view in her lower house the political anomaly of two species of deputies, or, in fact, a fourth estate. The trial of liOuvel, who had mur- dered the due de Berri, which had been so long delayed, in the delusive hope that he would reveal his accomplices, or at least make some political discoveries, took place so late as the fifth and sixth days of June, before the chamber of peers. This assassin continued stedfast to his former declara- tion, that he had no accomplice whatever ; but added, that he had long- brooded in si- lent meditation over the deed of horror, without communicating the slightest hint of his intention to a single human being : and had perpetrated it, because he thought such an act essentially necessary to the welfare of France, in whose cause he died. He was consequently pronounced guilty, and sentenced to decapitation, which he underwent, being executed on the seventh of June. ATTEMPT TO DESTROY THE DUTCHESS DE BERRI. The dutchess de Berri was pregnant at the period of her husband's assassination. This unborn infant was the only hope of the zealous royalists, being now the sole remaining chance of a lineal male decend- ant of Louis XIV. ; as the cr'own, in failure of issue by the dutchess, would have de- volved upon the Orleans family, the idea of which was peculiarly obnoxious to the zealous partisans of the house of Bourbon. Attempts of a diabolical nature were twice made to frustrate the regular course of natural probabilities on this occasion — the first on the twenty-eighth of April, and the last on the sixth of May — by placing light- ed petards close to the apartments occupied by the dutchess, so that their violent and unexpected explosion, as it was n)ost atro- ciously imagined, could not fail to throw her into such a sudden state of terror as must induce a miscarriage. Both attempts, however, failed ; and in the second the un- manly culprit was seized. He was named Gravier, and had formerly been an officer under Napoleon. He and an accomplice were both condemned to suffer death ; but in consequence of the intercession of the dutchess, their punishment was commuted into that of hard labor for life. On Sep- tember the twenty-ninth, the widowed dutchess de Berri vv^as safely delivered of a posthumous son, who immediately re- ceived the title of duke of Bourdeaux, and who is the declared legitimate heir to the crown of France. The loyalists were de- lighted in an extreme degree at the birth of a prince, as by the Saliquc lav/ of that kingdom, females are excluded from inher- iting the throne — and consequently, bad it been so, the succession must have gone away from the Capet line, which would then have become extinct. STATE OF SPANISH AFFAIRS. Spain at this epoch, after her long and arduous struggle for liberty and her king, was groaning under the oppressive yoke of the ungratefiil and bigoted despot, Ferdi- nand the "seventh, — with whom, in contra- diction to many political declarations, the fanaticism of mopks had more credit than the valor of soldiers. An American expe- dition was still contemplated by the besot- ted councils of the Spanish government; and, preparations being completed, an army, comprising upwards of sixteen thousand men, was assembled in the vicinity of Ca- diz, the beginning of the month of Decem- ber, 1819. Transactions which took place in the preceding June incontestably proved the general spirit of the officers as hostile to the men and measures included in the sway of Ferdinand. Though that conspi- racy failed in its ultimate object, the very troops who had eflected the suppression of it were now in a state of extreme insubor- dination themselves, insomuch as to have made their own terms, and amongst those, terms had obtained an exemption from serv- ing in the new world. Count Abisbal, even that individual who had arrested the pro- gress of the former revolt, was at this junc- ture considered so little deserving of a con- tinuation of the royal confidence, that the command of the army had been taken from him, and he was gone into retirement. Ac^ cordingly, in the month of December, a new plan of insurrection was matured among the troops then cantoned in and round about Cadiz ; at the head of which conspiracy were prominent colonel Riego and lieutenant-colonel Quiroga. It was planned, amongst other things, that the lat- ter should effect his escape from a convent in the neighborhood, wherein he was de- tained under arrest — immediately join two battalions quartered at Alcala los Gazules, and march with them on the first of Jan- uary towards Cadiz. On the same day, Riego, who was stationed at Los Cabezas with the second battalion of the regiment of the Asturias, was to proceed with that corps to the head-quarters at Arcos, and there seize the persons of the commander- in-chief, count de Calderon, and such of the other superior officers as could not be trust- ed. Riego, on the first of January, having proclaimed, amid the enthusiastic acclama- tions of his troops, the constitution as adopt- ed by the cortes in 1812, reached Arcos early on the following morning, — when he surprised the commander-in-chief, with his whole staff. Joined by tlje garrison of tliat t.iwn, and the ssecond battalion of the Se- GEORGE IV. 1820. 687 ville regiment from Villa Marten, he lost no time, but entered Bornos on the third of January, and was there strengthened by a battalion of the regiment of Arragon ; and at Xeres and Port St. Mary, he received a farther accession of force. With this body of troops he hastened directly to effect a juncture with Quiroga, who had made his escape ; but was delayed in his march by the sudden swelling of the rivers and the bad state of the roads ; so that he was not able to arrive at the Isle of Leon before the magistracy of Cadiz had manned and strengthened the lines called Cortadura, and by those means arrested for a time his progress in that quarter. The united forces before these lines consisted of seven bat- talions, and assumed the title of the na- tional army. Quiroga was commander-in- chief, with Riego as second in command. In the course of a few days this national army was joined by a detachment, com- prising the brigade, artillery, cavalry, and infantry, which had been detached for the purpose of occupying Port St. Mary. On the twelfth of January, at midnight, the troops obtained the possession of the arsenal of the Caraccas ; which step was followed by two successive attacks made on the Cor- tadura, the first by the troops without the lines, and the second, on January twenty- fourth, by their partisans in the city ; but neither of them were attended by success. — Such were the first movements of the revolution in Spain. Ferdinand's adherents were in the rp.Qnn time very active. Don Manuel Freyre, -vho had beBn declared captain-general of Andalusia, issued several proclamations in reply to those proceeding from the patriotic party ; and having assembled such troops at Seville as he thought reliance might be placed upon, after throwing some succors into Cadiz, established his head-quarters at Port St. Mary by the twenty-seventh of January. — The patriots, from being baffled in all their attempts upon Cadiz, now changed their plan of operations. March- ing with a detachment of fifteen hundred men, Riego entered Algesiras on the first of February, where, though meeting with much cordial reception and good wishes, he was unable to recruit his forces; and in the attempt to rejoin Quiroga he found himself suddenly intercepted by Don Joseph O'Don- nel, the brother of count Abisbal, who had cut off all communication between the Isle of Leon and Algesiras. Thus situated, the patriot general resolved to march into Gren- ada ; and on the eighteenth of February gained Malaga, though closely pursued by O'Donnel. Accordingly, he passed the Guadalquivir at Cordova, on the eighth of March, having been constantly harassed by the close pursuit of the opposing, and su- perior force. On his arrival at Bienvoinda, on the eleventh, Riego's troops were by all these casualties broken and reduced in num- ber to about three hundred men. This be^ ing too inconsiderable a force to act any longer together as an army, the patriot band, after many privations and difficulties, were compelled to separate at the foot of the Ronda mountains, for the purpose of each individual saving himself by conceal- ment or flight. — In the mean time Quiroga found himself in a situation of no less jeopardy ; being in fact shut up in the Isle of Leon, with the skeleton of an army, by various privations and hardships reduced in numerical strength to less than four thou- sand men, and these becoming hourly more and more depressed through inactivity, and in imminent danger of suffering total de- struction by the want of provisions, which now became dreadfully apparent. Though these disastrous mischances so gloomily frowned upon the primary leaders of the revolution, the sun of success fetill gleamed upon the patriotic cause, and was gradually diffusing its radiance in other parts of the Spanish kingdoms. Gallicia witnessed an energetic rising of the peo- ple, who fully, and indeed from predisposi- tion perhaps, without difficulty, ultimately triumphed over the executive and its au- thorities. This branch of the revolt had been concerted, and was chiefly effected, by some officers of the garrison at Corun- na; who, at the time that Venegas the captain-general of the province was in the act of holding a levee, raised the cry of " The nation for ever !" and, after disarm- ing the guards of state, entered the room where Venegas was surrounded by his vis- itors. Those officers who were present at the levee immediately joined their party, and simultaneously with drawn swords pro- claimed that constitution which they de- clared themselves ready to die in the de- fence of. The patriots invited Venegas to assume the command, by placing himself at the head of this new order of aflairs ; but this he refused ; and accordingly, both him- self and his staff were put under arrest, though at the same time they were treated in the most respectful manner. A new cap- tain-general of the province was appointed, in the person of colonel Acevedo — a su- preme junta constituted — and the garrison received in addition a patriotic corps of two thousand militia. Ferrol, Vigo, and Pente- vedra, displayed a similar enthusiastic spirit of devotional patriotism, and about the same period the since justly celebrated and esteemed Mina appeared in Navarre, in support of the constitution, which he so ef- fectually aided and there proclaimed. At 688 HISTORY OP GREAT BRITAIN. this important crisis, count Abisbal, who had, with the skill of a consummate politi- cian, carefully watched the progress of these events from their development, now openly espoused the patriotic cause, and from his powerful co-operation, achieved the triumph of the revolutionary party. By his influence, a plan was matured for pro- claiming the constitution, with the assist- g,nce of the officers commanding in La Man- cha ; in this plan was included Don Joseph O'Donnel, the brother of Abisbal, who was at that moment following up the overthrow of Riego, but who, by this new arrange- ment, was to lend important assistance to the cause of the patriots. Count Abisbal, for these purposes, left Madrid on the third March, was joined by some of the body guard at Aranjuez, and on the next day, with the support of his brother's regiment, surprised the governor of Ocana, whom he placed in arrest, and followed this step with a proclamation of the constitution. From the instant of count Abisbal's defection, Ferdinand could only screen himself by ap- parent submission. The power that had declared in favor of the constitution, and which was now arrayed against Ferdinand, was composed of his own household troops, commanded by the same individuals, whose influence with the soldiery had once before saved him, and from whose hands alone safety could be rationally anticipated again. In this posture of affairs, delay must have been fatal. The king lost no time in pub- lishing an official document, in which he set forth his royal intention of immediately assembling the cortes, for the purpose of re- dressing grievances and remedying every national abuse. The populace of Madrid, upon the first promulgation of this testi- mony of the weakness of the royal cause, assembled without delay in vast multitudes in the immediate precincts of the palace, and, with the fervor of those meetings, de- manded the constitution, with such outcries of violent clamor, that great apprehensions were entertained for the king's personal se- curity. Influenced by these terrors, Ferdi- nand issued the same evening a circular letter to the different authorities of Madrid, declaring that " the will of the people having been pronounced," he had resolved to swear to the constitution, as sanctioned by the cortes in 1812. This circular was followed by the immediate establishment of a su- preme junta, composed of men of principles known to be favorable to the new order of things. All persons implicated in the late proceedings, and imprisoned for state offen- ces, were liberated ; the liberty of the press was henceforward declared, and the total abolition of the inquisition resolved upon. Tidings of the transactions which had taken place in La Mancha and Gallicia, now reached Cadiz, where general Freyre had just arrived. The enthusiasm of the peo- ple was wrought to such height, that Freyre wisely determined to yield to their wishes. On the ninth of March, the very day of his arrival, he gave public intimation in the square of Antonio, that he would put up the stone of the constitution at ten o'clock on the following morning, and that it should be sworn to immediately when done. The populace, not contented with this declaration, vehemently exclaimed " No delay ! — now, now !" which was reiterated with such ar- dor and earnestness, that the general drew from his pocket the book of the constitution, which having kissed, he concluded by say- ing, " Now, then, the oath is taken ; to- morrow the remaining and requisite solem- nities shall be performed." A flag was subsequently unfurled with this inscription, " The constitution for ever, and Freyre our Regenerator." MASSACRE AT CADIZ. On the following day a most disgraceful and horrid outrage was committed by the troops in Cadiz, which must tend to entail upon them disgrace, coeval with the pen of history, which hesitates while it records such perfidy. In this infamous breach of faith, however, it is on all sides admitted, that general Freyre had no participation. The stone of the constitution was carried into the midst of the square of St. Antonio, as the preparatory step to the ceremony. The municipal authorities were to form themselves into a procession, as assistants at the regular proclamation of the constitu- tion, and orders had been issued from the head-quarters of the general, that all the houses should be decorated, and the city publicly illuminated for three successive nights. A message had been dispatched to the island of St. Leon, inviting general Quiroga and his staff" to be present on the occasion. The general himself did not at-- tend the invitation, but deputed four of his personal staff" to witness this celebration of popular triumph. Nothing could exceed the joy and felicity of the inhabitants of Cadiz, on this memorable morning, the tenth of March, when the whole city exhibited one scene of pleasure and hilarity. Smiles enlightened every face, and gladness shone around, while each eye was waiting the arrival of the general, each ear strained to catch the appointed hour of ten. This grati- fying spectacle was soon, however, to be converted into one of far different complex- ion, for as the clock struck, the troops rushed forth, and firing volleys upon the gazing throng, dealt death promiscuously around, whilst shouting forth " Ferdinand for ever, and down with the constitution." The ut- GEORGE IV. 1820. 689 most, consternation and appalling terror now took possession of the crowds assembled, and the defenceless people flying from their murderous assailants, trampled down each other to avoid death. The officers disap- peared with the dispersion of the populace; the brutal soldiery, left without control, threw off all subordination and revelled in every unjustifiable excess ; and the whole city, from a scene of universal joy and prom- ised security, was in one instant converted into the resemblance of a place delivered over to all the horrors of military execution and pillage, after a protracted siege. This out- rageous violation of public faith, this hor- rible exhibition of savage policy and brutal violence, continued from ten in the morn- ing until eight in the evening, when the officers once more interfered, and finally succeeded in withdrawing the infuriated troops to their several quarters, after a car- nage of ten hours, which bestrewed the streets with four hundred dead bodies of men, women, and children, whose number of wounded was fully proportionate. Tran^ quillity was not restored in the town, ere the lapse of two days, at which time in formation was received, that Ferdinand had accepted the constitution. The troops having no further pretext for resistance, submitted in sullen silence. No more acts of open violence occurred, but yet it can not be wondered at, that neither soldiers or citizens deemed themselves safe, until they were removed to a distance from each other. The governor Valdeo, and the military commander Campania, were dis- placed, and within a week after the exe crable massacre of their fellow-countrymen the troops were marched away, to the great relief of the suffering inhabitants. The army of the Isle of Leon, which was now of considerable force, on the united suggestion of Riego and Quiroga, was ordered not to separate until the assembly of the cortes ; and at the same time, in some recompense of their services, the rank of field-marshal was bestowed on both these chiefs of the revolution. Very soon afterwards, field- marshal Quiroga was elected a member of the cortes, and the sole command of this army devolved upon Riego. On the ninth of July, the functions of the supreme junta expired, at which period the cortes assem- bled, and the revolution was thought to be finally and solidly established through every part of the kingdom. KING OPENS THE CORTES. A SPEECH from the king opened the cortes, which immediately proceeded to the fulfilment of their various and important duties. During their sittings, divers politi- cal schemes appeared in overt act, and many disturbances broke out in Andalusia, 58* Catalonia, Estremadura, Gallicia, and Va- lencia; in Estremadura, an individual named Morales, having prevailed upon some of the Bourbon cavalry to join him, acquired by such accession an importance far beyond his deserts. These occurrences induced several of the most zealous revolutionists among the body of the cortes, to urge min- isters to the adoption of stronger and more decisive measures against the adversaries of the new constitution. The grasping ambition of some of their own partisans was another fertile source of embarrassment to the constitutionalists, which tended to para- lyze their efforts for the public good. RIEGO'S DISGRACE. Among these discontented chiefs, Riego particularly distinguished himself. It had been resolved that the army of the Isle of Leon should be disbanded ; and as a com- pensation for the loss of that military com- mand, Riego was nominated captain-general of Gallicia. This change not suiting with the powerful ambition of his mind, he re- paired- to the capital to protest against the measure ; but finding all his arguments and endeavors useless, and wholly failing in his remonstrances with the administration, he essayed to overawe the cortes by dint of his popularity with the lower orders of the peo- ple, and his influence in the several political clubs with which Madrid at that time abound- ed. Government, however, acted with be- coming firmness, refusing to submit to a dic- tator : laws were enacted to prevent the recurrence of abuses originating from fac- tious clubs and assemblies — several of the most active rioters were subjected to pun- ishment — and Riego himself, being stript of his office of captain-general, was banished to his native town of Oviedo. CORTES CLOSES. The first session of the cortes closed on the ninth of November, when a speech was read to them in the name of the king, who, under the pretext of sickness, remained at the Escurial. Previous to their final sepa- ration, however, the cortes resolved, among many other measures strongly indicating distrust of the monarch, that three-fourths of their whole number should invariably re- main at their posts, to be in readiness to counteract any scheme which might arise prejudicial to public welilire. The long and continued absence of this infatuated sove- reign from the capital gave great umbrage to the populace and constitutionalists, as his m.otions could not be so well ascertained at the Escurial as they might be at Madrid. Nor did it appear tiiat this jealousy was with- out foundation ; for on the sixteenth of No- vember, only one week after the closing of the cortes, Ferdinand being still resident at the Escurial, nominated general Carvajal 690 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. to the government of New Castile, without causing the appointment to be duly counter- signed, as was requisite, by the proper min- isters. The permanent deputation of the cortes, in conjunction with the municipal body of the capital, immediately met ; and, whilst the whole population of the city was in a state of the utmost exasperation, they drew up and presented to his majesty a most energetic and decisive remonstrance, in which, among various other matters, they pointed out the absolute necessity of the king's residing at Madrid. In one part of this timely address they observed — " Your majesty's absence has occasioned apprehen- sions that are aggravated by nominations to important employments, of persons noto- riously opposed to the constitutional system, which your majesty has sworn to preserve, and which we are all ready to defend to the last drop of our blood. We are com- pelled, sire, to say, that without some pub- lic manifestation to the new institutions, of a nature to destroy every hope in their most determined enemies, confidence cannot be re-established. This manifestation, in our opinion, can be none other than your ma- jesty's return to the midst of your children, and the immediate extraordinary convoca- tion of the cortes." FERDINAND RETURNS TO MADRID. The king, in apparent compliance with this address, returned unwillingly on the twenty-first of November to the capital ; and shortly after, the commands in the dif- ferent provinces were, with an increased spirit of reluctance on his part, bestowed on the most violent partisans of the revolu- tion. — Among those so distinguished, the ambitious Riego was appointed captain-gen- eral of Arragon : whilst Morales, the leader of the Estremaduran disturbances, with a few of his adherents, fled for safety into Portugal; but being taken by the Portu- guese, he was delivered over by them to the Spanish authorities. The army was now completely organized, arid received the king's sanction : it was arranged as a peace establishment, to consist of sixty-six thou- sand, eight hundred and twenty-eight men, which was to be doubled in the event of war. The three regiments of Swiss sol- diers were suppressed ; and throughout the different provinces large enrolments of mi- litia took place. — Such, at this eventful pe- riod, was the political state of Spain, towards which all Europe turned its eyes with an extreme anxiety of expectation, viewing the extraordinary spectacle of a country in which the spirit of firm resistance to a faithless, cruel, and bigoted monarch had displayed itself in such an unparalleled manner, and hitherto with such successful and triumph- ant results. REVOLUTIONARY MOVEMENTS IN POR- TUGAL. The neighboring state of Portugal could not remain long unaffected by the eruption which had shaken the Spanish kingdom. Similar causes produce similarity of effects. The removal of the monarch and his court to the Brazils had tended to make the no- bles less loyal in their inclinings ; and the community, seeing themselves as it were abandoned by the royal family, now that the necessity for their exile no longer existed, were more easily swayed by the resident nobility; whilst the army, in addition to many othet causes of discontent, were sorely mortified by the circumstance of marshal Beresford being continued in the supreme command, and about a hundred British offi- cers still retaining their commissions, now that the war was concluded, and during a period which promised a long continuance of peace. Marshal Beresford had sailed for Rio Janeiro in the month of April, and during his absence the spirit of revolution i first manifested itself at Oporto ; which was ripened into open revolt against the author- ities, under the auspices of Don Bernardo Correa de Castro Sepulveda, a young noble- man, and commander of the eighteenth regi- ment. On the twenty-fourth of August an address was read to the regiments stationed there, inviting them to assist in the estab- lishment of a constitutional government. This invitation was hailed by the assembled troops with loud acclamations ; and subse- quently, in the presence of the governor, the bishop, and the city magistrates, a pro- visional junta was appointed, consisting of sixteen members, charged with the govern- ment of the country until the cortes should meet. This junta, as a preliminary mea- sure, made a declaration of their reverence for the rights and immunities of the church, and of all the constituted authorities, joined to a most devoted attachment to the mon- archy established in the house of Braganza. The English officers were informed that they were to enjoy a continuance of their respective ranks and emoluments until the meeting of the cortes should take place : but they were strictly enjoined not to take any part whatever in the events then pass- ing. On the other hand, the regency at Lisbon sent forth a proclamation, on the twenty-ninth of August, deprecating the whole of the transactions which had taken place at Oporto — condemning it as an illegal conspiracy, and declaring that it was vested in the sovereign alone, the right of convoking the cortes. Ultimately discover- ing that the defection of the soldiery waa general in all the provinces, they yielded to necessity, and published a proclamation fgr the speedy assemblage of the cortes. — GEORGE IV. 1820. 691 Don Sepulveda had in the interim marched to attack count Amarante, the commander of Trosos Montes, who, finding himself abandoned by his troops, soug-ht refuge in Gallicia ; by which Sepulveda reached Co- imbra unopposed, and proceeded forthwith to the capital, followed by the provisional junta. September fifteenth — a day always celebrated with military pomp by the gar- rison of Lisbon, as the anniversary of the deliverance of Portugal from the oppres- sion of a foreign yoke, in defiance of the attempts of the regency to prevent it — the sixteenth regiment mustered in the Rocio, the principal square of the metropolis, at three o'clock in the afternoon, and were speedily joined by the tenth regiment from the castle, the fourth from Campo D'Ou- rique, the artillery from the Caes dos Sal- vados, and the cavalry from Alcantara — until both the Rocio and the Praca were filled with troops, headed by their officers, and in full order of march. Aided by this army, the constitution was proclaimed ; the regency-halls were opened ; and a new set of governors appointed. During these pro- ceedings the troops remained quietly on the ground till near eleven at night, when they marched back, according to orders, to their several quarters, in the highest regularity : — and thus was this great change brought about, without the most trifling disturbance, or slightest indication of riot. The Oporto junta entered Lisbon on the first of Octo- ber, and the northern and southern armies arrived shortly after. This was followed by the union of the two juntas, who were then divided into two sections, one of them be- ing charged with the ordinary cares of ad- ministration, and the other with such duties as were necessary for assembling the cortes. MARSHAL BERESFORD ARRIVES BE- FORE LISBON. Nine days from this, lord Beresford re- turned from Rio Janeiro, in his Britannic majesty's ship the Vengeur, and cast an- chor in the Tagus. His lordship expressed an extreme desire to land, and requested permission to be allowed so to do, in the capacity of a simple British subject, having various affairs of a private nature to settle in Portugal. The public alarm excited by his arrival was so great, that it was deemed necessary from motives combining the mar- shal's personal safety, as well as to pre- serve the public tranquillity, to refuse a compliance with this request, as well as to use every possible means to hasten his de- parture, without suffering him to have any private communication with the shore. — Finding matters thus imperatively conduct- ed, marshal Beresford at length sailed for England in the Arabella packet; and after his departure, captain Maitland delivered a sum of money to the junta, from the Ven- feur, which he had conveyed from Rio aneiro, for the purpose of paying the army. Strong and serious differences of opinion were now elicited between the two junta* of Lisbon and Oporto; the former one be- ing desirous of adhering without deviation to the ancient forms and principles of the constitution, while the latter, far more tend- ing to democracy, was anxious to adopt the constitution of Spain in its most ample form. The leader of the violent party was Sil- veira, who succeeded in obtaining a decree, that the cortes should be elected as in Spain, according to the population, and that one deputy should be returned for every thirty thousand inhabitants. Not content with this success, they prevailed with the troops to assemble on the eleventh of November, round the palace, where the junta were then engaged in deliberation, and in obe- dience to their tumultuous clamors, the junta also decreed, that the constitution of Spain should be adopted in its fiillest ex- tent. The command of the army was then conferred upon one of their most active and zealous partisans, whilst Silveira him- self assumed the department of foreign af- fairs. In consequence of these measures, the more moderate party of the junta now withdrew from the council, and one hun- dred and fifty officers of the army threw up their commissions. These events filled the kingdom with consternation, and Texeira, commander-in-chief at Lisbon, by whose influence they had been consummated, soon saw cause to repent the part he had achiev- ed. Sepulveda now strenuously exerted himself to make the army sensible of their erroneous proceeding on the eleventh, and was so far successful, that on the seven- teenth November a military council was convened, consisting of general officers, and others, commanders of divisions, who came to a series of resolutions, which enumerated, " that the public welfare required that those members who lately desired their discharge, should resume their fiinctions; that the election of deputies to the cortes be made according to the Spanish system, but that no other part of the Spanish constitution be enacted, except when the cortes shall meet and adopt it, with such alterations aa they shall judge proper." The effect of these declaratory resolutions, was the im- mediate reascendancy of the moderate party, by whom Silveira was stript of all power, ordered to quit the city within two hours, and to retire to his estates at Canal es, from whence he was not to depart, upon any pretext, without first having obtained per- mission of the executive. These changes were hailed with unbounded applause by the people at large, who now began to look 692 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. forward with confidence and hope to the meeting of the cortes ; which expectation was not then to be realized, as they did not assemble till nearly a year afterwards. In several other parts of Europe, the minds of the people were also much agitated by the spirit of free and bold inquiry ; and conse- quently the system of governments em- bracing general representation, obtained numerous proselytes wherever such opin- ions were suffered to be promulgated. POLITICAL MOVEMENTS AT NAPLES, &c Naples made an effort at obtaining a constitution, founded on the representative system, and the king was compelled to cede to the remonstrances of the people, backed as they were by the military. On the sixth of July, he issued a proclamation, promis- ing to publish the basis of a constitutional code within a week. A deputation from the army was immediately sent to Naples, to insist that his majesty should adopt the broad principle of the Spanish constitution, within the space of twenty-four hours. Upon receiving this demand, he instantly resolved to lay aside the exercise of his royal functions ; and on the same evening, he declared his eldest son, the duke of Ca- labria, vicar-general of the kingdom. On the following day, the vicar-general announced his acceptance of the Spanish constitution, and at the same time, the king confirmed this act of his son, and for the due observance of it, pledged his royal faith. On the ninth, the revolutionary army made its triumphal entry into Naples; the vicar-general named the provisional junta ; and on the thirteenth, both himself and his royal father swore fidelity to the new con- stitution, in the presence of the assembled junta. The leaders of the revolution im- mediately dispatched ambassadors to the principal European courts, but their envoys were received and acknowledged only at Madrid ; Austria did not even attempt to disguise her feelings, or dissemble her hos- tile intent, but sent forth the most violent proclamations against the new government, anathematizing the Carbonari, the supposed instigators of the revolutionary proceed- ings, forbidding the exportation of any military stores to Naples, and ultimately sealed this frank avowal of her sentiments, by preparations for assembling a large army in Italy in the most prompt and effective manner. MEETLNG OF SOVEREIGNS. In the latter end of October, a meeting of the emperors of Russia and Austria, with the king of Prussia, took place at Troppau, to deliberate on the necessary measures which the existing state of Naples called upon them imperiously to adopt. The re- sult of which conference was, that the re- gal triumvirate, by letters dated the twen- tieth November, invited the Neapolitan monarch to give them the meeting at Lay- bach ; and on the thirteenth of December, he accordingly embarked on board the Eng- lish ship Vengeur, from whence he landed at Leghorn, and arrived at Lay bach on De- cember the twenty-eighth. The parliament of Naples, although they did not at all ap- prove of the sovereign's removal, ventured no measures in opposition thereto. REVOLUTION IN SICILY. Whilst these occurrences were taking place in Naples, scenes of greater anarchy and more sanguinary disorder, were trans- acting in Sicily. The news of the acceptr ance and adoption of the Spanish constitu- tion, reached Palermo on the fourteenth, and the intelligence gave rise to the most enthusiastic demonstrations of exulting joy. On the following morning, which happened to be the grand national festival of the Si- cilians, some trivial circumstance roused the popular indignation against general Church, an Englishman, employed in the Neapolitan army, which ended in his being assaulted, and the plundering of his house. The multitude having by these acts com- menced a career of misguided, lawless per- secution and outrage, proceeded to the most desperate excesses ; eight hundred galley- slaves were immediately liberated and arm- ed ; and this insurrection being led on by a Franciscan monk, called Vaglica, suc- cessfully attacked the garrison. The regu- lar troops being overpowered by this brutal force, every species of atrocity was with- out hesitation committed; many persons were killed in the heat of the conflict, be- sides a considerable number, among whom were the princes Aci and Cattolica, who were deliberately butchered after it was concluded. On the seventeenth July, an attempt was made to form some sort of pro- visional government ; a junta was appoint- ed, a civic guard established, and the gal- ley-slaves were commanded to surrender their arms and depart from the city. These arrangements were but of short duration, being subsequently overthrown, and a new junta formed, of which prince Pateno was nominated the president; till, on the twen- ty-fifth September, a Neapolitan army, com- manded by Floristan Pepe, arrived before Palermo, which capitulated on the fifth of October ; on the next day Pepe took pos- session of the town, and immediately pro- claimed the Spanish constitution. It was expressly stipulated by the capitulation, that the Sicilian states-general were to decide, whether the parliament of Sicily should be declared independent, or be united to that of Naples. The Neapolitan legislature, however, wholly annulled this article ; and GEORGE IV. 1820. 693 a new general, with large reinforcements for the army, was speedily sent to succeed Pejpe, who was thus removed. The junta being first dissolved, the Nea- politans gave the earliest proof of the prac- tical application of their ardent love of free- dom, and their devotion to liberal principles, by levying the most unjustifiable contribu- tions, and treating Palermo, not as an in- tegral part of their states, but in all re- spects as a foreign town subjugated by the success of their arms, and entitled thereby to endure every severity from the hands of a triumphant and savage conqueror. ASSEMBLY OF THE POLISH DIET. Whilst the more genial shores of France, Spain, Portugal, and Italy, were subjected to divers political explosions, whilst liberty was attenjpting some amelioration of men and manners in those realms, the north of Europe remained in a comparatively qui- escent state, unvisited by any occurrence of material interest, unless indeed the trans- actions of the diet of Poland be deemed worthy of consideration. The Autocrat of all the Russias, with a policy replete with worldly wisdom, had continued as a boon to this annexation to his widely-extended dominions, the title of an independent kingdom ; flattering this ancient (though dismembered) nation, with the right of having its own military force, and its diet or legislative assembly, com- posed as formerly of two separate cham- bers. In conformity with this arrangement, or act of sovereign grace, the emperor Al- exander himself opened the session with an address, highly adapted to beget full confi- dence in the various measures he therein propounded to their legislatorial considera- tion. The measures he recommended were of an extremely popular aspect, consisting in "a modification of the constitution of the senate," a " plan of a criminal as well as a civil code." None of these measures, though strenuously debated, met with final adop- tion ; and on the closing of the sessions on the first of October, his imperial majesty, in his speech, expressed his extreme disap- pointment at the rejection of these minis- terial projets. Notwithstanding the resist- ance of the diet to his will, this powerful monarch continued the same line of polit- ical forbearance, and far from visiting Po- land with any further indications of his an- ger, pursued that laudably wise path towards it, which, by upholding and patronizing every scheme, likely to extend the com- mercial intercourse of that nominal king- dom, with the other parts of his vast do- minions, is rapidly tending to consolidate his colossal power, as supreme ruler of that empire, of almost unnumbered millions of civilized and barbaric subjects committed to his sway. 694 fflSTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. CHAPTER II. Opening of Parliament — His Majesty's Speech — Debates on the Conduct of Ministers relative to the Queen — Country Petitions to restore Queen^s Name to Liturgy — Queen's Message to the House of Commons — Provision for her Majesty — Discussion on the Question of Emancipating the Catholics — Bill for Relief of Catholics intro- duced and passed through the House of Commons — Rejected in the House of Lords- Borough of Grampound disfranchised — The Franchise transferred to the County of York — Committee to inquire into Cause of Agricultural Distress — Report of Com- mittee — Bank of England resumption of Cash Payments— Ways and Means for the current Year — Parliament prorogued — Death of Napoleon, ex-Emperor of France, in Captivity at St. Helena — Situation of the Queen — Her Conduct, and Correspond- ence with Officers of State — Coronation of George IV. OPENING OF PARLIAMENT. 1821. — The first public occurrence which took place this year was the assembly of parliament; on which occasion the king went in state to the house of lords, and opened the session by delivering a most g-racious speech from the throne. DEBATES ON THE CONDUCT OF MINIS- TERS RELATIVE TO QUEEN. The debates in both houses, consequent on the usual motions for addresses of thanks to the sovereign in grateful return for the royal speech, were long, and warmly con- tested ; and strongly indicated the feelings and opinions of the ministerial partisans, as well as of those adhering to the opposition, on the various important topics touched upon therein ; and chiefly upon the line of con- duct which government had displayed to- wards the queen : — a conduct which was more scrutinizingly developed, and severely- commented on, by the members in opposi- tion to ministers in the house of commons, than in the lords. Immediately after the assembled house had heard the speech read by the speaker, on their return, lord Ar- chibald Hamilton gave notice of a motion touching the omission of her majesty's name in the liturgy ; and he was followed by Mr. Wetherell — a gentleman eminent in the law, and who to this period had invariably supported the ministry — who immediately moved for the production of certain papers and documents relating to the mode of in- sertion of the names of the king, queen, and other branches of the royal family, in the collects and litanies of the Liturgy, inclu- ding the period from the reign of James the first to the present day ; and for the several orders of council for the insertion, omission, or change of such names, from the com- mencement of the reign of Henry the eighth. An objection was made by lord Castlereagh to such a motion being brought forward without previous notice — suggesting the propriety of his withdrawing it for the pres- ent. This suggestion was not attended to ; Mr. Wetherell persisted in his motion; on which lord Castlereagh moved the previous question, and thus pressed to a division. Mr. Wetherell's motion was negatived by a ma- jority of ninety-one : the numbers being two hundred and sixty votes against one hun- dred and sixty-nine. The marquis of Ta- vistock, on the following day, gave notice, that on the fifth of February it was his in- tention to move a resolution expressive of the opinion of the house on the conduct of ministers, in the late proceedings which they had instituted against the queen. COUNTRY PETITIONS. During this period the attention of the house was daily occupied, for a considerable portion of its time, with listening to the multifarious petitions which were presented from every part of the kingdom, complain- ing of the late proceedings against her majesty. Most of these numerous petition- ers expressed in the strongest terms of reprobation their dislike of the government- al measures ; and prayed for the restoration of her majesty's name to the Liturgy, and that the house would exert its utmost in- fluence in advising the king to dismiss from his councils his present ministers — whose misconduct, as they alleged, had very se- riously endangered the dignity of the crown, and greatly disturbed the peace, harmony, and welfare of the nation, by their pernicious advice. Several of the members to whom the presentation of these petitions had been intrusted, embraced the opportunity of de- livering their own sentiments upon the subjects thereof; and many speeches were embued with all the warmth of feeling, flow of language, and force of eloquence, which such an occasion might be expected to produce. Lord Archibald Hamilton's motion, of which he had given due notice, came before the house on the twenty-sixth of January ; and was couched in the follow- ing form : — " That the order in council of GEORGE IV. 1821. 695 the twelfth of February, 1820, under which the name of her majesty, Caroline, queen- consort, has been omitted in the liturgy, and in the accustomed prayers of the church, appears to this house to have been a measure ill advised and inexpedient." This motion orig-inated a very long and animated debate, during which much legal lore, and deep as well as antiquarian research into history, were elicited by Sir James Mackintosh and Mr. Wetherell — who severally supported the motion, and argued in strong and able terms, that the said order in council was not only inexpedient but illegal. In reply to these assertions the attorney-general and solici- tor-general contended the point of necessity, and also that it was not illegal ; and the form- er learned gentleman observed, that the act of uniformity gave a power to omit as well as to alter or change^ as was evident from the fact, that the Liturgy annexed to that act, and which Mr. Wetherell had so rightly considered as part of it, contains a blank in the place of the name of queen, which, without such vested power of addition or omission, could never have been supplied. The conduct of government was defended by lord Castlereagh, in a most luminous speech, in which, after ably refuting the several allegations adduced, he concludes in the following remarkable terms : " For myself," said his lordship, " I can safely affirm, that I have acted as the nature of the case absolutely required ; and were that act to be done again, I would pursue exactly the same line of conduct — a line which I feel to be in no degree a matter of option, but an imperative duty. In a case so surrounded by difficulties, government did not act without deliberation. No doubt they were embarrassed by the prospect of the use which would be made o^ the ques- tion by the seditious and disaffected. It is to be regretted, too, that the law on the case is not more clear; but as the case stood, had they at first inserted her name in the Liturgy, while such heavy charges against her lay on the council table, and had afterwards been compelled to erase it on account of the confirmation of those charges, the moral indignation of the coun- try would have overwhelmed us. But it was said, that the queen was now proved innocent — that she had been tried and ac- quitted — and that her name should now be restored as matter of course. As to the opinion of gentlemen opposite on this point, it has not with me much weight: and I will tell them why; because their conviction was as strong before the evidence was given as after. I will admit, however, that tech- nically she may be said to be acquitted ; and therefore may claim the posoession of those privileges to which she had strictly a legal ri^ht ; but the insertion of her name in the liturgy is not a matter of right; and when her character has been eo far affected by the evidence in support of the charges against her, that one hundred and twenty- three peers had pronounced her guilty, the crown cannot be advised to grant this or any other matter of grace and favor, which it is at the pleasure of the crown to grant or withhold. Towards the queen, person- ally, I repeat, I feel compassion. When once the proceedings against her had closed, ministers were resolved to move no further measures on the subject; but since they who affect to be her friends have renewed the discussion, be theirs the odium, and theirs the mischief which must result from its useless agitation. But I cannot be silent upon her conduct, since she has been so in- fatuated as to deliver herself into the hands of a party which I believe to have views dangerous to the public tranquillity and the constitution. I jfeel I cannot honor her more in a political than in a moral point of view. Has she not, in her answers to ad- dresses, reviled the king, degraded the crown, and vilified both houses of parlia- ments But, thank God, the country is com- ing to its senses. I do not doubt, that if parliament pursue its tone of dignified de- termination, the efforts of that party will soon expire in despair. Your path of duty is plain. You ought either to sustain the actual government in unimpaired honor and character, that its usefulness to the country may not be diminished ; or you should, by a fair, tangible, and manly proceeding, put an end at once to the present cabinet." When this statement of his lordship was ended, Mr. Brougham followed in favor of lord A. Hamilton's motion. In allusion to his assertion on a previous occasion, that the queen was not degraded by the omission of her name in the liturgy, he confessed that he was then unwilling to allow that the queen was degraded by that act : " It was not for me, at that time, to declare that my royal mistress was degraded, when she had to meet all the terrors of the threatened in- vestigation ; I say, the ' terrors' of the in- vestigation ; not that innocence should be exposed to danger from injustice or inquiry, but her majesty was on the brink of an investigation in which innocence was no security ; in which she was to be met by perjured men and perjured women ; and by bribing men and bribing women ; where the long arm of power, and the long puree of«.n administration stretched their influence over Italian hands and Italian hearts ; over hearts ready to crouch to the one, over hands greedy to snatch at the other. From such trial, from such a threatened prosecution the most guiltless might shrink without in- 696 fflSTORY OP GREAT BRITAIN. •currin^ for a moment the imputation of crime i" In the conclusion of his speech, Mr. Brougham happily contended, that gentle- men, who thought variously on one point, but who agreed on others, should choose the point on which they could unite, not that on which th«y differed. Most of them thought the omission of the queen's name illegal, «ome doubted its illegality ; all were clear as to its being inexpedient and ill-advised. "The queen," said Mr. Brougham, "has been acquitted — she must be treated as if she Md never been tried: or there is no justice in England. What is the object of ray noble friend's motion? — To call back the attention of parliament to the weighty affairs from which it had been distracted, to give opportunity, (which, while this over- whelming subject occupied the country, could not be afforded,) to consider the dis- tresses of a people, who now, unmindful of their own sufferings, poured forth their gen- erous and disinterested petitions in favor of their persecuted queen." The result of this motion of lord Archi- bald Hamilton, was evaded by the question of adjournment being carried, which pro- duced ayes three hundred and ten, noes two hundred and nine, leaving a ministerial ma- jority of a hundred and one votes. So died the first attempt to bring before parliament the conduct of ministers, as re- lating to her majesty. A second endeavor was then made in the shape of a distinct and specific charge of misconduct, which was ushered to the notice of the house by the marquis of Tavistock, in the shape of a motion for a vote of censure upon the entire proceedings held by government towards her majesty. His lordship stated, " his pur- pose was not merely to obtain from the house an expression of their sense of the late proceedings against her majesty, but to drive the present ministers from power." Mr. Lambton seconded this motion, and while so doing, roundly charged ministers with being guilty of the grossest inconsist- ency and mismanagement, throughout the whole of these proceedings, which he fully and ably detailed from the omission of her majesty's name in the liturgy, to the cir- cumstances attending the prorogation of the last session of parliament. After a lengthen- ed debate, which occupied two entire even- ings, the house on its division presented the following appearance, ayes one hundred and seventy-eight, noes three hundred and twen- ty-four ; thus was the motion of the marquis lost by a majority against it of one hundred and forty-six votes. The third and last attack during the ses- sion, which ministers had to combat against, respecting the lamentable procedure against the queen, was in consequence of a motion brought forward by Mr. John Smith, and seconded by Mr. Tennyson, the form of which was as follows : " That the house having taken into consideration the circum- stance of the queen's name not being in- serted in the collects, prayers, and litanies of the church ; and also the numerous pe- titions from the people, addressed to this house, complaining thereof; is of opinion, that under all existing circumstances, it is highly expedient that her majesty's name should be inserted in the said collects, prayers, and litanies ; and that such a mea- sure would greatly tend to remove the dis- contents that exist on that subject in the pub- lic mind." The numbers, on a division of th house, were one hundred and seventy-eight in favor of the motion ; against it, two hun- dred and ninety-eight ; being a majority on the side of ministers of one hundred and twenty. The above majorities having so decisively declared the sentiments of the house upon the conduct of ministers, as connected with the late proceedings against her majesty, it was deemed by their opponents as useless to persist, and the matter went to rest for the present, the question not being resumed during the session. THE QUEEN'S MESSAGE. On the point of the future provision for the queen, the ministry had come to a reso- lution to propose in the house of commons, that his majesty should be enabled to grant an annual sum not exceeding fifty thousand pounds, out of the consolidated fund, for the separate use and establishment of her ma- jesty. When the day arrived for the house to go into a committee on this subject, Mr, Brougham rose and stated, that he had re- ceived the queen's commands to present to the hcuse the following message : " Caroline, R. " The queen having learned that the house of commons has appointed this day for taking into consideration the part of the king's most gracious speech, which relates to her, deems it necessary to declare, that she is duly sensible of his majesty's conde- scension in recommending an arrangement respecting her to the consideration of par- liament She is aware that this recom- mendation must be understood as referring to a provision for the support of her estate and dignity; and from what has lately passed, she is apprehensive that such a provision may be unaccompanied by the possession of her rights and privileges in the ample manner wherein former queens- consort, her royal predecessors, have been wont, in times past, to enjoy them. It is far from the queen's inclination needlessly to throw obstacles in the way of a settle- ment, which she desires, in common with GEORGE IV. 1821. 697 the whole country, and which she feels per- iuaded, the best interests of all parties equally require : and being most anxious to avoid anything that might create irritation, »he cautiously abstains from any observation on the unexampled predicaments in which she is placed ; but she feels it due to the house, and to herself, respectfully to declare that she perseveres in the resolution of de- clining any arrangement, while her name continues to be excluded from the liturgy." Some warmth of debate ensued upon reading this message ; and upon discussing the grant to her majesty, to which it had reference, lord Castlereagh remarked, that undoubtedly the queen had a right to ab- stain from receiving any benefit from the grant. Her majesty, on a former occasion, had declared that she would not take any money except from parliament. " She is misinformed," observed his lordship ; " she is travelling into those unconstitutional er- rors she had been before led into. Her law advisers might have informed her that it was from the crown only, and not from par- liament, that she could receive any pecuni- ary grant. With respect to her majesty, parliament could not be disturbed from its course by her interference : she might, if she plepsed, reject the grant, when it came ro her in a proper shape ; but the house had nothing to do with her objections now ; it was for them to proceed to the order of the day on his majesty's gracious communica- tion." Mr. Brougham, in defending the message, observed — " the noble lord charges upon it a want of respect to this house, and an at- tempt to dictate as to its proceedings. The message appears to me perfectly unobjec- tionable on this head. The interpretation of its language was, that her majesty under- stood from the votes of the house, which she was entitled to read, that provision was to be made for her that night ; and she says, that under the circumstances in which she has been placed, she cannot barter her honor for money; and, therefore, in respectful language, she warns the house against the grant." PROVISION FOR HER MAJESTY. The motion of lord Castlereagh was then carried, securing to her majesty an annual provision of fifty thousand pounds, during the term of her natural life ; and this grant parliament eventually voted. DISCUSSION ON THE QUESTION OF CATHOLIC EMANCIPATION. Catholic emancipation was the next sub- ject of import which engrossed the atten- tion of parliament. On the twenty-eighth of February, Mr. Plunkett (who now ap- peared as chief advocate of the Catholic claims, in consequence of Mr. Grattan's Vol. rV. 59 death), prefaced this question by a most able and lucid speech, which received the accla- mations of all parties in the house, and in concluding moved, — "That the house do resolve itself into a committee of the whole house, to consider the state of the laws by which (3aths or declarations are required to be taken for the enjoyment of offices, or the exercise of civil functions, so far as the same affect his majesty's Roman Catholic subjects, and wliether it would be expedient in any, or what manner, to alter or modify the same; and subject to what provisions or regulations." The motion was favored by a majority of two hundred and twenty- seven, whilst the minority was two hundred and twenty-one ; consequently it was gained by six votes. On the second of March, the house, in pursuance of the success attend- ant on the former motion, resolved itself into a committee, to take into consideration the various claims of the Roman Catholics ; and on the motion of Mr. Plunkett, certain resolutions were agreed to without discus- sion — of which the following may be deemed an abstract : " First, that those parts of the oaths required to be taken as qualifications for certain offices, which related to the be- lief of transubstantiation, the invocation of saints, and the idolatrous nature of the sac- rifice of the mass, might be safely repealed, as concerning opinions merely speculative and dogmatical, not affecting the allegiance or civil duty of the subject. Secondly, that that part of the oath of supremacy, which expressed the denial of all spiritual jurisdic- tion or authority in these realms, might be so explained, as to remove the scruples en- tertained by the king's Roman Catholic subjects with respect to taking it ; by de- claring that the sense in which the word spiritual is used, accordmg to the injunc- tions issued by queen Elizabeth in the first year of her reign, and explained by the thirty-seventh article of the church, im- ports merely, that the kings of this realm should govern all estates and degrees com- mitted to their charge by God, whether they be ecclesiastical or temporal, and re- strain with the civil sword the stubborn smd evil-doer. By another resolution, the com- mittee declared the necessity of accompany- ing such act and repeal by such exceptions and regulations as were necessary for the preservation of the Protestant succession to the crown, and maintaining inviolate the Protestant churches of England, Ireland, and Scotland, as by law established." BILL FOR RELIEF OF CATHOLICS PASSED IN THE COMMONS, REJECTED IN THE LORDS. Bills framed on the basis of the above resolutions were subsequently introduced by Mr. Plunkett; and after many discus- 698 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. sions (of which the utter impracticability of furnishing even an outline must be re- gretted), these bills were finally passed, and transmitted to the house of peers. Fortune did not continue to smile so favorably upon the measure in this new arena. Lord Don- ouohmore undertook the conduct of the first bill in the upper house, where, though he advocated the cause with great zeal, it was doomed to receive strenuous opposition from the earl of Liverpool and the lord chancel- lor; and in the second day's debate, his royal highness the duke of York, the pre- sumptive heir to the throne, declared him- self as decidedly hostile to the bill — con- sidering it as a measure pregnant with dan- ger, not only to the throne, but to the church and constitution. " Educated," said his royal bigness, " in the principles of the established church, the more I inquire, and the more I think, I am the more persuaded that her in- terests are inseparable from those of the constitution : I consider her as an integral part of that constitution, and I pray that she may long remain so. At the same time, there is no man less an enemy to toleration than myself, but I distinguish between the allowance of the free exercise of religion, and the granting of political power." This bill, embracing in its enactments so much to occupy the attention of the statesman and the subject in general — on which such con- flict of opinion prevails — and w^hich, inter- esting as it does every class of society in the kingdom, can never be duly understood in theory — afler it had undergone a discus- sion, though long, yet scarce adequate to its consequence, was thrown out by a major- ity of thirty-nine ; the house dividing on the question of its second reading, contents, one hundred and twenty, non-contents, one hun- dred and fifty-nine. On this momentous occasion, many of the peers took part in the debate, and twenty-seven bishops voted on tlie occasion either personally or by proxy — of which number two only, the bishops of Norwich and Rochester, were among the contents. PARLIAMENTARY REFORM. During this session, the question of par- liamentary reform was on two occasions agitated, in pursuance of plans introduced to the house by its most efficient advocates; the first by Mr. Lambton, member for Dur- Iiam, and the second by lord John Russel. It is only to be observed, that these measures met with rejection. BOROUGH OF GRAMPOUND. An act of practical reform, however, took place, which ought to be regarded as a con- vincing proof of the desire of the "major part of our representative body to utterly dis- countenance and remedy the system of cor- ruption, so long a prevailing error in the election of members returned for boroughs. On the twelfth of February lord John Rus- sel, with the pertinacity of doing good, moved that the house resolve itself into a committee on the bill for the disfranchise- ment of the borough of Grampound, and proposed, in lieu thereof, that the franchise so lost should be transferred to Leeds. This proposition received the assenting voice of the house of commons ; but in the house of lords the earl of Liverpool raised objections to the franchise being transferred to Leeds, on account of the extreme difficulty of es- tablishing a due and proper scale of quali- fication for voters. His lordship subse- quently moved as an amendment, that, in place of this proposed transfer, two addi- tional members should be returned for the county of York. This amendment was car- ried ; and with this alteration the bill, upon being returned to the commons, passed. DISTRESSFUL STATE OF COUNTRY. A CONTINUATION of depreciated prices still prevailing, considerable distress was felt by all classes of the community ; but though most individuals sufl:ered, it bore with more than common pressure on those engaged in pursuits connected with agri- culture; and important as it was to both landlord and tenant, to ameliorate their re- spective conditions, the difficulty was in devising the requisite means; arid in the comprehensive wisdom of the legislature, alleviation could alone be hoped for. In the beginning of the session, numerous pe- titions had been presented from every cor- ner of the kingdom, praying that the house would interpose for the investigation and removal of the embarrassments, which fell so heavily upon agricultural property and agriculturists. In furtherance of these pe- titions, Mr. Gooch, on the seventh March, moved for "a select committee to whicli these petitions should be referred, which should investigate the allegations contain- ed in them, and report their observations thereon to the house." The motion being agreed to, a committee was accordingly nominated. THE REPORT OF AGRICULTURAL COxM- MITTEE. The report of this committee was pre- sented to tlie house on the eighteenth June ; it stated that the complaints of the petition- ers were founded in fact, in so far as they represented, that at the present price of corn, the returns to the occupier of an ara- ble farm, after allowing for the interest of his investments, are by no means adequate to his charges and outgoings; it also ac- knowledged, " that the committee, after a long and anxious inquiry, had not been able to discover any means calculated immedi- ately to relieve the present pressure." GEORGE IV. 1821. GU9 " >So far," the report stated, " as the pressure arises from superabundant har- vests, it is beyond the application of any letjislative provision ; so far as it is the re- sult of the increased vahie of money, it is not one peculiar to the farmer, but extends to many other classes of society. That re- sult, however, is the more severely felt by the tenant, in consequence of its coinci- dence with an overstocked market, espe- cially if he be farming with a borrowed capital, and under the eng-agements of a lease ; and it has hitherto been further ag- gravated by the comparative slowness with which prices generally, and j)a,rticularly the price of labor, accommodate themselves to a change in the value of money. From this last circumstance, the departure from our ancient standard, in proportion as it was prejudicial to all creditors of money, and persons dependent upon fixed incomes, v/as a benefit to the active capital of the coun- try ; and the same classes have been oppo- sitely affected by a return to that standard. The restoration of it has also embarrassed the land owner in proportion as his estate has been encumbered with mortgages and other fixed payments assigned upon it, du- ring the depreciation of money. The only alleviation for this evil is to be looked for in such a gradual reduction of the rate of t!ie interest of ironey belmv the legal 'minimum, as may iii il:e those encumbrances a lighter burden upon the landed interests of the kingdom ; and this reduction, if peace continues, there is every room to i'ope for. The difficulties in which the al- terations of our currency have involved the farming, the manufacturing, and the tra- ding interests of the country, must diminish in proportion as contracts, prices, and labor, adjust themselves to the present value of money." In commenting upon this public docu- ment, it may be necessary to attempt the reconcilement of some apparent contradic- tions, and this is an act of great delicacy, inasmuch as being unacquainted with the precise data on which this legislatorial pro- duction was founded, the arguments con- tained therein can alone be scrutinized, un- connected with the evidence which sjave rise to it. The subject being of import- ance, necessarily originates a commensu- rate diffidence in the inquiry. There is at first a seemin.iy paradox, in ascribing the distressful pressure of this period to the : uperabundant harvest, as it might be con- onded, that the superabundance of any commodity, however low in its price, in the hands of its pof>£;essor, must be compensated for by that very superabundance. So though the over supply of grain in the mar- ket lowers the price to the grower, yet the capability of abundance to bring such sup- ply, counterbalances its lowness of price by the ratio of increase, which a sujH.ra- bundant harvest supplies him witli to carry to that market. On the contrary, it may be observed, that the expense of niising and preparino- the grain for sale, in a measure met the idea contained in this report, since though commodities were lowered in value on the peace, labor still maintained nearly its war price. Again, in agreeing with the committee, that the pressure of the distress was not peculiarly confined to the farmer, but extended to many, indeed, it might with truth be alleged, to all classes of society ; for the variation in the price of corn must necessarily affect all other articles ; and agreeing that the general pressure then experienced was occasioned by the increas- ed value of money ; yet the doctrine does not appear to be fiilly substantiated, that such increase in the value of money was the consequence of a restoration of the an- cient standard. Viewing this assertion, barely in connexion with this document, unsupported by other facts, it might be im* agined that some amazing change had arisen in the currency of the realm : that it had been deteriorated by authority till now, when by some act of state it had been restored to its original value. Such has not been the case ; — no order of the coun- cil, no edict of the king, no parliamentary act exists, or can he traced, by which the least alteration in the British guinea, or its aliquot parts in gold or silver, has been al- lowed ; their Vv'eight and fineness remained immutable, during the adverse periods of penury and prosperity. But though so un- changed, in the sterile season of the bank restrictions, coin, from its scarcity, com- manded a higher price than its relative value; and when a metallic currency was restored, its intrinsic worth was conse- quently, by the fruitfulness of the supply, lowered. A contemporary writer has ob- served, that "there must then be some other cause, which lessened the compara- tive value of money, in regard to commodi- ties, totally distinct from a diminution of the intrinsic value of the coin ; and this cause may be found in the proceedings of Mr. Pitt in the year 1797, when, interfering further than any among the most absolute of our monarchs had ever dared to do witli the coin of the realm ; this bold financier, though he did not deteriorate its intrinsic \Vorth, or raise its nominal value, as some had done, suspended its use altogether. From the moment, therefore, tlint the u?t3 of gold coin was thus, by law, dispensed with, until the period of the resumption of cash payments by the Imnk of England, there v/as no i-eal standard in Great Britain 700 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. by which tlie owner of any commodity, or the possessor of lands or houses, could se- cure to themselves a certain profit, or a steady income from their property : for such was the monstrous mischief of Mr. Pitt's suspension act, that, by compulsively sub- stituting- a circulation of paper credit in the place of gold, it subjected all real property to the uncertain fluctuation of a rise or fall of prices merely nominal, according- as the horizon of public credit appeared bright or stormy to the greedy eye of speculative avarice. A direct debasement of the coin to any fixed intrinsic value, by which the worth of property and the price of labor might still have been correctly measured, would have been a blessing to the country, compared with all the private miseries and public mischiefs that have resulted, and are yet to follow the fatal order of council of the twenty-seventh February, 1797. In- stead of characterizing that measure, there- fore, as a departure from the ancient stand- ard, or an alteration of the currency, as this report does, it is our fervent hope, that some future committee of the representa- tives of the people, will not hesitate to call it by its right name, affix some public stig- ma upon a policy so devoid of justice and of wisdom, and discover some means of ren- dering it impossible for any future minis- ter, by a similar act, to complete the ruin of the country." When this report of the before-mention- ed committee was made public, it extin- guished the hopes which had been enter- tained from their labors, and despondent indeed was the common mind, that no dis- covery for the distresses of the agricultural classes could be made. It now became more and more evident to the unprejudiced observer, that the chain of events which had induced the fatal policy of Mr. Pitt, in suspending the use of coin, and thereby in- undating this country with a floating paper medium, in too many instances nominal, and consequently easily attained by the speculatist, — w^as, now things had returned to their original level of solid metallic cur- rency, productive of chief, if not of all the evils, which oppressed and nearly over- whelmed, not alone the agricultural but de- pendent thereon, the manufacturing, com- mercial, and every other branch of the com- munity. In this state no remedy could be applied, no effectual relief contemplated, but from the gradual progression of time and remission of taxation, which might re- store tlie coin of the realm to its ancient and natural mode of operation and value. RESUMPTIOX OF CASH PAYMENTS. At such a crisis, fortunately for the coun- try, the governor and directors of the bank of England, true to the interest of their establishment and the community — boldly renouncing all the former ideas which in- terest, presumption, or power had induced them to adopt, and so long persevere in — swayed by this enlightened policy, they anticipated the period prefixed by law for the resumption of cash payments, and not only voluntarily opened their hoards to the holders of their notes, but in this session of parliament succeeded in obtaining an act which hastened the final removal of the re- striction by a whole year. By this act it was made imperative on the bank of England to pay all demands upon it in cash, after the first of May 1822, in the place of the first of May in the next year of 1823. The remaining transaction of this session which from its import demands especial re- cord, was the chancellor of the exchequer's statement of the supplies required for the year, and his estimated ways and means. The total amount of supplies voted for the various services constituted the sum of eighteen million twenty-one thousand eight hundred pounds, to which was added, in- terest of exchequer-bills one million pounds ; with two hundred and ninety thousand pounds for the sinking fund on the same ; as well as seven hundred and six thousand four hundred pounds for Irish treasury bills and public works — making in the whole twenty million eighteen thousand two hun- dred pounds. BUDGET FOR 1S21. The ways and means were stated as fol- lows : — Annual taxes, four million pounds ; temporary excise duties, one million five hundred thousand pounds; lottery, two hun- dred thousand pounds ; old stores, one hun- dred and sixty-three thousand four hundred pounds ; from the pecmiiary indemnity paid by France, five hundred thousand pounds ; repayment of exchequer-bills lent for public works, one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds ; surplus of ways and means for 1820, eighty-one thousand six htmdred and thirty pounds. In further aid of the ways and means, there was taken from the sinking fund of Great Britain a loan of twelve mil- lion five hundred thousand pounds; and from the sinking fund of Ireland, five hun- dred thousand pounds; increase of capital of bank of Ireland, four hundred and sixty- one thousand five hundred and thirty-nine pounds — making a total of ways and means, twenty million thirty-one thousand five hundred and sixty-nine pounds. Supplies voted, twenty million eighteen thousand two hundred pounds — excess of ways and means, thirteen thousand three hundred and sixty-nine pounds. After this view of the ways and means for the year, the chancellor of the exchequer proceeded to state the probable amount of GEORGE IV. 1821. 701 ihe revenue, and deduced thorofrom that the g-eneral rev.enue would be fifty-five mil- lion eleven thousand one hundred and four- teen poun'Js ; while the total expenditure, including the supplies, was sixty-eight mil- lion two hundred and twenty-ono thousand eight hundred pounds. Thus exhibiting the pleasing prospect of an expenditure under that of the foregoing year, of no less a sum than three million pounds — a view of finance highly gratifying in itself, as indicative of what might be anticipated from a continua- tion of the joint system of peace and re- trenchment. VOTE OF INCREASED ANNUITY TO DUKE OF CLARFNCE. Nearly the last act of this parliamentary session was the vote of an annuity of six thousand pounds to the duke of Clarence. His royal highness had declined a similar grant on a former occasion ; but on the sixth of June lord Castlereagh informed the house, that as, since the period of the aforesaid declining, the situation of tlie royal duke had materially changed, (being now mar- ried,) he was desirous of availing himself t)f the favorable intentions of parliament, for the augmentation of his income to an equal amount with that of his royal brother. The labors of the session being finished, parliament was prorogued on the eleventh of July, when a speech was delivered in his majesty's name by commission. DEATH OF NAPOLEON, EX-EMPEROR OF FRANCE, IN CAPTIVITY AT ST. HELENA. From the eventful period that Napoleon, the ex-eniiperor of France, became the cap- tive of St. Helena, the wonderful and almost talismanic influence connected for so many years with the bare mention of his name, gradually diminished ; and even the intelli- gence of his death, which reached England in the beginning of July in this year, created but a slight sensation, in comparison with the effect that would have been produced all over Europe by the same event, had it occurred before the battle of Waterloo, or at any time that he exercised absolute rule over that immense nation, swelled by those tributary kingdoms which aclmowledged his power. Various and contradictory accounts of the state of his health, and of his mode of life, had been propagated in England and France, during his detention at St. Helena; and many complaints were made to the British government respecting the regulations en- forced upon the ex-emperor, the partners of his exile, and the servants who followed him in his misfortunes. It was alleged that restraints were imposed, and privations ex- acted, which the most timid caution against escape could not justify ; and that a system of petty insults and puerile annoyances was 59* adopted towards tlie imperial prisoner, which produced upon such a mind as Napoleon's more cruel tortures than if his body had been fottered with the heaviest chains. Many volumes detailing the treatment of Napoleon were published — according to which, and if the facts related be strictly true, it is to be lamented that the honor of Great Britain will suffer in the opinion of posterity for the absence, on this occasion, of the usual national generosity to a pros- trate foe. The custody of Napoleon was a trust, which demanded in its exercise the most magnanimous feelings, combined with the highest principles of chivalric honor, and an understanding soaring far above the petty prejudices of the vulgar politician. Upon these points, as well as for a detail of the transactions of St. Helena subsequent to the arrival of Napoleon, we must refer our readers to divers contemporary publica- tions ; and shall leave them to form their own opinion upon circumstances too loosely stated, and of too recent occurrence, to re- ceive the seal of history, countersigned by truth and impartiality. Whatever opinion posterity may pro- nounce upon the line of conduct pursued by the government of Great Britain towards the most formidable enemy that ever ap- peared in arms against her, when that enemy was subjugated to her power, and held his life in her hands, however busy malevolent report had been, it was in a great degree gratifying to the feelings of Englishmen to find the odious and infamous msinuation that his dissolution was accelerated by poison for ever annihilated by the infallible evidence produced on the inspection of the body after his decease. The official detail of these circumstances was transmitted to tlie earl of Bathurst, one of his majesty's secretaries of state, by Sir Hudson Lowe, in the following dispatch : — " St. Helena, 6th May, 1821. " My Lord, " It falls to my duty to inform your lord- ship, that Napoleon Bonaparte expired at about ten minutes before six o'clock in the evening of the 5th instant, afler an illness which had confined him to his apartments since the 17th of March last He was at- tended during the early parts of his indis- position, from the 17th to the 31st March by his own medical assistant, professor Automarchi, alone. During the latter pe- riod from the 1st April to the 5th May, he received the daily visits of Dr. Arnott, of his majesty's 20th regiment, generally in conjunction with professor Automarchi, Dr. Short, physician to the forces, and Dr. Mit- chell, principal medical officer of the royal navy on the station, whose services, as well 702 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. as those of any other medical persons on the island, had been offered, were called upon in consultation by professor Automarchi, on the 3d of May ; but they had not an oppor- tunity afforded to them of seeing the patient Dr. Arnott was with him at the moment of his decease, and saw him expire. Captain Crokatt, orderly officer in attendance, and Drs. Short and Mitchell, saw the body im- mediately afterwards. Dr. Arnott remained with the body during the night. Early this morning, at about seven o'clock, I proceeded to the apartment where the body lay, accom- panied by rear-admiral Lambert, naval com- mander-in-chief on this station ; the marquis de Montchenu, commissioner of his majesty the king of France, charged with the same duty also on the part of his majesty the em- peror of Austria ; brigadier-general Coffin, second in command of the troops ; Thomas H. Brooke and Thomas Greentree, Esqrs. members of the council in the government of this island; and captains Brown, Henry, and Marryat of the royal navy. After view- ing the person of Napoleon Buonaparte, which lay with the face uncovered, we re- tired. An opportunity was afterwards af- forded, with the concurrence of the persons who had composed the family of Napoleon Buonaparte, to as many officers as were desirous, naval and military, to the hon. the East India company's officers, and civil ser- vants, and to various other individuals resi- dent here, to enter the room in which the body lay, and to view it " At two o'clock, this day, the body was opened in the presence of the following medical gentlemen : — " Dr. Short, M. D. ; Dr. Mitchell, M. D. ; Dr. Arnott, M. D. ; Dr. Burton, M. D. ; of his majesty's sixty-sixth regiment, and Mat- thew Livingstone, Esq. surgeon in the East India company's service. Professor Auto- marchi assisted at the dissection: general Bertrand and count Montholon were pres- ent. After a careful examination of the several internal parts of the body, the whole of the medical gentlemen concurred in a report on their appearance. This report is inclosed. I shall cause the body to be in- terred with the honors due to a general officer of the highest rank. I have intrusted this dispatch to captain Crokatt, of his ma- jesty's twentieth regiment, who was the orderly officer in attendance upon the per- son of Napoleon Buonaparte at the time of his decease. He embarks on board his majesty's sloop Heron, which rear-admiral Lambert has detached from the squadron under his command with the intelligence. " I have, &c. "H. Lowe, Lieiit.-Geny The medical report in the above dispatch was couched in the followinfr terms: — " LoNGWooD, St. Helena, » Qth May, 1821. " Report of appearance on dissection of the body of Napoleon Bonaparte. " On a superficial view, the body appear- ed very fat, which state was confirmed by the first incision down its centre, where the fat was upwards of an inch and a half over the abdomen. On cutting through the car- tilages of the ribs, and exposing the cavity of the thorax, a trifling adhesion of the left pleura was found to the pleura costalis. About three ounces of reddish fluid were contained in the left cavity; and nearly eight ounces in the right The lungs were quite sound. The pericardium was natural, and contained about an ounce of fluid. The heart was of the natural size, but thickly covered with fat. The auricles and ven- tricles exhibited nothing extraordinary, ex- cept that the muscular part appeared rather paler than natural. Upon opening the ab- domen the omentum was found remarkably fat, and upon opening the stomach, that viscus was found the seat of the disease. Strong adhesions connected the whole su- perior surface, particularly about the pyloric extremity to the concave surface of the left lobe of the liver ; and on separating these, an ulcer, which penetrated the coats of the stomach, was discovered one inch from the pylorus sufficient to allow the passage of the little finger. The internal surface of the stomach to nearly its whole extent was a mass of cancerous disease or schirrous portions advancing to cancer ; this was par- ticularly noticed near the pylorus. The cardiac extremity, for a small space near the termination of the cesophagus, was the only part appearing in a healthy state. The stomach was filled with a large quantity of fluid resembling coftee-grounds. The con- vex surface of the left lobe of the liver ad- hered to the diaphragm. With the excep- tion of the adhesions occasioned by the dis- ease in the stomach, no one unhealthy ap- pearance presented itself in the liver. The remainder of the abdominal viscera were in a healthful state. A slight peculiarity in the formation of the left kidney was ob- served. (Signed) THOMAS SHORT, M. D. and principal medical officer. ARCHD. ARNOTT, M. D. surgeon, twen- tieth regiment. CHARLES MITCHELL, M. D. surgeon, H. M. S. Vieo. FRANCIS BUF.TON, M. D. surgeon, sixtv-sixth regiment. MATTflEW LIVINGSTONE, surgeon, H. C. service." This report clearly shows, that the dis- order which occasioned the death of Napo- leon was a cancer in the stomach, to which it is probable he had an hereditary disposi- GEORGE rv. 1821. 703 tion, his father having died of the same disease at the early age of thirty-five. The pain which the ex-emperor endured from this complaint for a long period prior to his dissolution, was very acute, being, according to his description, as if a knife had been thrust into his body, and broken short off! Whatever impetuosity he formerly display- ed, he, however, bore this excruciating tor- ture with remarkable patience, and never was heard to utter a single complaint. His thoughts in his last hours were apparently fixed upon his son, and upon France. The bust of the young prince was placed by his express command at the foot of the bed upon which he expired ; it was the object to which his eyes constantly turned, and to which his ideas may be supposed as con- stantly to have reverted. The last words which were heard to fall from him were in conformity to this idea, being a repetition of " Tefe"— " ilrmee"— » Fife"—" France:' Publicity being now courted, it was de- termined that the body of Napoleon should lie in state, that the inhabitants of the island in general might have an opportunity of viewing his remains. The corpse, dressed in a green uniform, which the ex-emperor had worn, was extended on the small tent- bedstead, on which he was accustomed to rest during his campaigns, and on this bed- stead was spread the blue cloth cloak which he wore at the battle of Marengo; the decoration of the legion of honor was placed on his side ; and a small crucifix upon his heart. The climate of the island rendered it ex- pedient to hasten the interment, and the ninth of May was appointed for that cere- mony. Napoleon himself had marked out the spot in which it was his desire to be buried, in a wild sequestered little valley, about a mile distant from his residence, and very near a spring, over which the branches of two willow-trees formed a delightful shade. To this secluded place it was the fi-equent custom of Napoleon to retire alone ; and among the meditations which he in- dulged in that " rude solitude," it is now evident that the consideration of his mor- tality was one. There is not perhaps to be found in the whole range of history a more striking contrast than the condition of this individual thus presents to the contempla- tion of mankind — the captive of the rock of St Helena, measuring out a little space of ground to form his secluded grave ; and the captain of millions of idolizing war- riors, the imperial potentate, the arbiter of nations, to whose ambitious mind the dream of universal empire seemed within his grasp. MUitary honors due to the remains of a general of the first rank were paid to thoee of the late emperor. The selected spot having been previously consecrated, the funeral procession was ar- ranged in the following order : Napoleon Bertrand, The Priests in full son Robes. of the Marshal. Dr. Amott, 20th Regt. Napoleon's Physician. THE BODY, Grenadiers. In a car, drawn by Grenadiers. four horses. Twenty-four grenadiers to carry the body down a steep hill where the car could not go. Count Napoleon's horse led by Marshal Montholon. two servants. Bertrand. Madame Bertrand and Daughter in an open vehic e. Servants. Naval Officers. / Staff Officers. Members of Council. General Coffin. Marquis de Montchenu. The Admiral. The Governor. Lady Lowe and Daughter, in Servants. an open vehicle. Servants Servants. Dragoons. St. Helena Volunteers. St Helena Regiment St Helena Artillery. Sixtv-sixth Regiment Royal Marines. Twentieth Regiment Royal Artillery. The grave was fourteen feet deep, very wide at the top, the lower part chambered to receive the coffin. The body was in- closed in three coffins, mahogany, lead, and oak ; the heart in a silver cup, filled with spirits, and the stomach preserved in an- other silver cup, were both deposited in the coffin ; notwithstanding the earnest desire of counts Bertrand and Montholon to be permitted to take the former to Europe, and the request of Napoleon's surgeon to retain the latter. One large stone covered the whole of the lower chamber, which thus n received the entire remains of Napoleon Buonaparte ; and the grave was then filled up with solid masonry, clamped with iron. Immediately afl;er the funeral of Napo- leon, the establishment which had been so expensive to Great Britain, amounting to nearly half a million per annum, was bro- ken up. Counts Bertrand and Montholon, with the rest of the faithful followers, and the household of the late emperor, repaired to Europe. On his arrival in France, count Bertrand was received in a manner which reflects much honor on the restored mon- arch of that kingdom, who justly appre- ciating the merits of that fidelity the count had so nobly proved to his chosen master, rewarded it, by restoring to him his rank and honors in the army by a royal ordi- nance. The will of Napoleon was brought 704 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. over by the count, and was duly registered in the prerogative court of the archbishop of Canterbury. It bears date April four- teenth, 1821 ; and there are three codicils annexed dated seven days later. This will appears principally to have been made for the purpose of rewarding, as far as Jiis means permitted him, such of his friends, officers, and domestics, as the testator con- ceived to have the most peculiar claims upon his remembrance ; and the funds out of which these legacies were to be paid, consisted of the sum of six millions of francs, which he had deposited with the banker, La Fitte, at the period of his de- parture from Paris, in 1815. The common lot of mortality having overtaken Napoleon, it may be instructive to the human mind to comment shortly upon his extraordinary elevation ; nor is it wholly unworthy of remark, that he furnishes an additional example and monition to despe- rate politicians, that it is not the originally factious character which gains by tumult, but that in general they become speedy vic- tims at the altar of ambition, and are usu- ally, after the first tide of success, swept away by the million into their original state ; happy only should they escape ulti- mate destruction, during the evanescent reign of anarchy and confusion, which pre- ludes and rules most revolutionary pro- ceedings. So was it with Napoleon, — whilst France was deluged in blood by the successive mobs and usurping demagogues of a day, — he, in the humble capacity of a sublieutenant of artillery, contemplated the storm safe in his obscurity. The siege of Toulon first evinced his skill in gunnery ; his talents as an engineer : and the era of liberty and ecjuality opposing no bar to pro- motion, his rise was extremely rapid to the chief command of the army of Italy ; his victories were as surprising ; fortune favor- ed all his schemes, and seemed, while hold- ing the balance, to smile on her favorite child; for into whichever scale he threw his sword, it as surely and speedily prepon- derated against all opposing powers of sin- gle or allied forces, at that period. His Egyptian campaign sullied his former suc- cesses ; yet he returned to his adopted coun- try at an eventful period, in time to com- mand her destinies, first as consul, and sub- sequently as emperor ; to this he added the titles of king of Italy, protector of the con- federates of the Rhine, and the Helvetic confederacy ; instituting two orders of chiv- alry, he bestowed the iron crown and le- gion of honor on all his military and other dependants deserving favor, and created a halo of enthusiasm throughout France, fa- vorable to his views of universal and abso- lute sovereignty ; his nobles, his marshals, his dignitaries and savans, rallied round and supported his cause to the last, with their councils, their treasures, and their lives; nor at Elba was his welfare neglected, — or even in his final exile was he deserted by them ; he possessed the skill of Elizabeth, in availing himself by every means of the talents of the country, and, by fostering, made them appear his own, and subservient to the splendor of his career. Resemblin;;- Cromwell in many particulars of religious and subservient policy, skill as a command- er, and knowledge as a negotiator, he went beyond him in assuming the purple robe of imperial sway; and while he pursued his game of political chess, he not only check- mated a king whenever he pleased, but played with kingdoms, and, considering crowns as baubles, transferred the regal -dignity at his caprice to various brandies of his own family, having at one period Naples, Spain, Holland, Westphalia, and Italy, erected into kingdoms, and governed by his brothers and near relatives; his mother and sisters were queens and prin- cesses ; his uncle a cardinal ; nor did his aggrandizement rest here, but by his matri- monial alliance with the house of Austria, he consolidated his power, so that ,had not his own destructive ambition undermined the splendid edifice which his talents and his fortune had erected, it must have stood against ordinary events and combinations, in perennial and overtowering pride. As it proved. Providence wisely ordained the poi- son sliould contain its own antidote ; and his sudden rise, declension, and fall, will long stand as a lesson of morality, while it hands down to after ages the unparalleled biography in the greater class of heroes, rulers, and uncommon men, — of Napoleon, cidevant emperor of the Gauls. SITUATION OF THE QUEEN. DujiufG the period that the utmost atten- tion of parliament was devoted to the various subjects, of which a mere outline has been attempted, the public mind was excited to a very extraordinary degree, by the violence of party writers, both for and against the government. At this momentous era, the state of the public press of England was a source of melancholy regret to every un- prejudiced mind and well-wisher to the country. The sordid lust of gain had so entirely vanquished the cause of truth, so completely subjugated the spirit of candid inquiry, on which the value of a free press alone depends, that the best feelings of Eng- lishmen were wantonly sported with, by the hirelings of party ; and public opinion, by dint of venal pens, was as frequently the result of error a.s of truth. In this position of affairs, the popular indignation was a roused by the peculiarly unfortunate situation of GEORGE IV. 1821. 705 the queen; a situation which roused the passions of the people in a surprising man- ner. Her majesty, by the result of her trial, was left in a state of an unforeseen and very delicate nature ; possessed of her pre- rogatives of queen-consort, whilst the dis- closures made during the examination of witnesses, added to the influence of the highest example, precluded her from that class of society, from which alone it might naturally be expected a queen of England ought to select her circle of associates and friends. Such combination of circumstances operating as an exclusion, threw this ill- fated princess into close alliance with a party notoriously opposed to the then existing ad- ministration ; and which party, biassed by political motives, did not disdain to add to their phalanx, on this occasion, the conjunc- tive aid of the radical faction, who eagerly embraced so rare an opportunity of assailing royalty itself, under the wily paradox of es- pousing a royal cause. The kingdom now presented the un pleas- ing appearance of a house divided against itself; and doubtless much art had been resorted to on all sides to widen a breach which fatally existed, and which Providence ruling the predominant good sense of the nation at large, prevented from becoming as mischievous in its results as it was por- tentous in its opening. If, under the dire- ful influence of deeply lacerated feeling, and encouraged by the evil counsel and ill- timed flatteries of those surrounding her, her majesty was induced to consider her cause as one for which the people at large were willing to incur all risks, and brave all dangers, it is a subject rather begetting regret than surprise. Some such fallacious persuasion must doubtless have caused her to cherish, by every possible means, that popularity which she viewed as the strength that upheld her, and which she invariably resorted to, whenever occasion presented itself It cannot be denied, that in unison with the warm-heartedness of the British nation, the feelings of the populace, in com mon with a great majority of the public at large, continued firmly in favor of the queen ; and even when she finally drew for the allowance voted to her, in contradiction to her solemn pledge to parliament that she never would accept it, — even then excuses for her dilemma were sought for, in the mis takes into which it was presumed certain advisers had plunged her. This was the public sentiment held respecting her ma jesty, when an approaching event opened a new field for general discussion. The ceremony of the king's coronation had been originally fixed for the first of August in the year now past: the return of her majesty Iiad rendered this arrange- ment nugatory, by the necessity to postpone the ceremony ; and it had become a ques- tion much debated, whether, under the va- riety of circumstance, and in the existing state of the public mind, a coronation would take place or not. — On this subject each party had opinions ; and in these the com- munity participated. It was observed that the king had of late appeared more fre- quently in public ; and when he visited in state the three principal theatres of the me- tropolis, the acclamations of the audiences equalled, if they did not surpass in enthusi- asm, those which were heard within tlie same walls in honor of the queen's presence. In- deed his reception was so highly flattering that it realized lord Castlereagh's prognos- ticated assertion in the house of commons, on the close of the late trial, " That in six months he had no doubt his majesty would be the most popular man in his dominions." ANNOUNCED CORONATION. Early in the month a proclamation was issued, which announced his majesty's plea- sure, that this much-discussed solemnity of coronation should take place on the nine- teenth of July ; and the consequent prepa- rations for its celebration were immediately proceeded in. CONDUCT OF THE QUEEN. On the twenty-fifth of June, a memorial was presented to the privy-council from her majesty, preferring a formal claim to be crowned in like manner with her royal pre- decessors. An answer was returned to her majesty, that the law officers of the crown would be consulted on the subject. In fijr- therance of this procedure, on the third of July a memorial was addressed by her ma- jesty to the king, praying to be heard by her law officers before the privy-council — which accordingly assembled at Whitehall, for the purpose of hearing counsel on both sides. Mr. Brougham contended for the queen's legal right to be crowned, evincing great research, learning, and ability, but resting his chief argument on the plea of long and uniform practice. Mr. Denman strength- ened Mr. Brougham's argument in a very able and eloquent speech, which, together with that of his colleague, occupied the attention of the coimcil during two sittings. On the ninth, the council again assem- bled, and the attorney-general argued against the claim preferred by her majesty. He "admitted that usage would be evidence of right ; but if it could be shown tliat such usage had originated in the permission of another party, there would be an end of that right. There was an evident distinction between the coronation of a king, and that of a queen. The former was accompanied by important political acts; the recognition 706 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. by the people, and the engagement by the king to maintain the laws. The latter was a mere ceremony. But even the coronation of the king was not necessary to his posses- sion of the crown ; that act emanated from himself; and he had the sole direction of the time, manner, and place of its performance. The right assumed as inherent in the queen- consort, was not once alluded to by any writer on the law and constitution of the country ; or by any of those who had treat- ed of the privileges peculiar to the queen- consort. With respect to usage, the coun- sel on the other side must admit, that since the reign of Henry the eighth, the majority of instances was against them ; there were since that period seven instances of queens- consort who had not been crowned ; and only six who had." The solicitor-general followed his learned colleague nearly in the same line of argument; and Mr, Brougham having replied, the privy-council adjourned The decision of the council, delivered at its next meeting, on the tenth, was, that " as it appeared to them that the queens- consort of this realm are not of right enti- tled to be crowned at any time, her majesty the queen is not of right entitled to be crowned at the time specified in her majes- ty's memorial." CORRESPONDENCE OF THE QUEEN WITH OFFICERS OF STATE. When the queen, on the morning of the eleventh of July, received through the me dium of her chamberlain, lord Hood, this decision of the privy-council, she instantly returned an answer in her own name to lord Sidmouth, stating to his lordship " her fixed determination of being present on the nineteenth, and therefore demanding that a suitable place might be appointed for her." His lordship, in answer thereto, informed her majesty, that he was commanded by the king to refer her majesty to the earl of Liverpool's letter, in which the earl had al ready stated " that the king having deter- mined that the queen should form no part of the ceremonial of his coronation, it was, therefore, his royal pleasure that the queen should not attend the said ceremony." Lord Sidmouth further stated, that it was not his majesty's pleasure to comply with the ap- plication contained in her letter, — Still per severing in her resolution, her majesty caused the following letter to be addressed to his grace of Norfolk, as earl marshal : *' My lord, — Her majesty has command- ed me to say, as it is her intention to be hi Westminster Abbey on the nineteenth in stant, during the ceremony of the corona tion of the king, your grace is required to appoint persons to receive her majesty at the door of the Abbey, to conduci her to her seat. The hour her majesty has named to be there is half-past eight o'clock. I have the honor to be, &lc. "Hood." " Brandenburgh House, July 15. " To his grace the duke of Norfolk." To this letter the duke of Norfolk re- plied, that having delegated his authority at the ensuing ceremony to a deputy, (lord Howard of Effingham), he had transmitted to him her. majesty's letter, which he doubt- ed not would receive immediate attention ; and on the next day the acting earl mar- shal sent to lord Hood the following reply to the queen's application : " 9, Mansfield Street, July 16. "My lord,— The duke of Norfolk having transmitted to me, as appointed to do the duties of the office of earl marshal of Eng- land at the ceremony of the approaching coronation, your lordship's letter to his grace, of the fifteenth instant, I thought it incumbent on me to lay the same before viscount Sidmouth, the secretary of state for the home department ; and have just learnt from his lordship in reply, that hav- ing received a letter, dated the eleventh instant, from the queen, in which her ma- jesty was pleased to inform him of her in- tention to be present at the ceremony of the nineteenth, the day fixed for his majes- ty's coronation, and to demand that a suita- ble place should be appointed for her majes- ty, he was commanded by the king to ac- quaint her majesty, that it was not his ma- jesty's pleasure to comply with the appli- cation contained in her majesty's letter ; I have accordingly to request that your lord- ship will make my humble representation to her majesty of the impossibility, under these circumstances, of my having the hon- or of obeying her majesty's commands, i have the honor to be, my lord, " Your lordship's most obedient " humble servant, "Howard of Effingham, " Acting as earl marshal of England." " The lord viscount Hood." Her majesty next applied to the arch- bishop of Canterbury as follows : — " Her majesty communicates to his grace the archbishop of Canterbury, that as his majesty the king has thought fit to refuse her being crowned at the same time with the king, the queen must trust that there can be no objection to her majesty's receiv- ing that right on the following week, whilst the Abbey still remains in a state of preparation for the august ceremony, with- out any additional expense to the nation ; that her majesty does not wish it from any desire of participating in the mere form and ceremony of a coronation, but as a just right, which her majesty would not aban- don without doing a manifest injury, not GEORGE IV. 1821. 707 only to herself, but to future queens-con- sort, to the British nation, and to posterity. " Brandenbiirgh House^ July 15//i." This notification was instantly replied to by his grace. ^^ Lambeth Place, July Ibth. " The archbishop of Canterbury has the honor to acknowledge, with all humility, the receipt of her majesty's communica- tion. Her majesty is undoubtedly aware that the archbishop cannot stir a single step in the subject matter of it without the com- mands of the king." Thus repulsed in her various applica- tions to the different authorities, which the queen was instigated to make, lest her ene- mies might suppose her deficient in any of the legal means of securing a reception in Westminster Abbey on the day of the king's coronation, suitable to her high rank and dignity, no other way seemed open for her majesty, but the publication of the follow- ing high-spirited and well-written protest, on the seventeenth of July : — HER MAJESTY'S PROTEST AGAINST THE DECISION OF THE PRIVY-COUNCIL RE- LATIVE TO HER CORONATION. " Caroline R. " To the king's most excellent majesty. " The protest and remonstrance of Caroline queen of Great Britain and Ireland. " Your majesty having been pleased to refer to your privy-council the queen's me- morial, claiming as of right to celebrate the ceremony of her coronation on the nineteenth of July, being the day appointed for the celebration of your majesty's royal coronation, and lord viscount Sidmouth, one of your majesty's principal secretaries of state, having communicated to the queen the judgment pronouncing against her ma- jesty's claim ; in order to preserve her just rights, and those of her successors, and to prevent the said minute being in after times referred to, as deriving validity from her majesty's supposed acquiescence in the determination therein expressed, the queen feels it to be her bounden duty to enter her most deliberate and solemn protest against the said determination ; and to affirm and maintain, that by the laws, usages, and cus- toms of this realm, from time immemorial, the queen-consort ought of right to be crowned at the same time with the king's majesty. In support of this claim of right her majesty's law officers have proved be- fore the said council, from the most ancient and authentic records, that queens-consort of this realm have, from time immemorial, participated in the ceremony of the corona- tion with their royal husbands. The few exceptions that occur demonstrate, from the peculiar circumstances in Avhich they originated, tliat the right itself v/as never questioned, though the exercise of it was from necessity suspended, or from motives ot policy declined. " Her majesty has been taught to believe that the most valuable laws of this country depend upon, and derive their authority from custom ; that your majesty's royal prerogatives stand upon the same basis : the authority of ancient usage cannot there- fore be rejected without shaking that foun- dation upon which the most important rights and institutions of the country de- pend. " Your majesty's council, however, with- out controverting any of the facts or rea- sons upon which the claim made on the part of her majesty has been supported, have expressed a judgment in opposition to such right. But the queen can place no confidence in that judgment, when she re- collects that the principal individuals by whom it has been pronounced were former- ly her successful defenders ; that their opinions have varied with their interest, and that they have since become the most active and powerful of her persecutors: still less can she confide in it, when her majesty calls to mind that the leading members of that council, when in the ser- vice of your majesty's royal father, report- ed in the most solemn form, that documents reflecting upon her majesty were satisfac- torily disproved as to the most important parts, and that the remainder was unde- serving of credit. Under this declared con- viction, they strongly recommended to your majesty's royal father to bestow his favor upon the queen, then princess of Wales, though in opposition to your majesty's de- clared wishes. But when your majesty had assumed the kingly power, these same ad- visers, in another minute of council, re- canted their former judgment, and referred to and adopted these very same documents, as a justification of one of your majesty's harshest measures towards the queen — the separation of her majesty from her affec- tionate and only child. " The queen, like your majesty, descend- ed from a long race of kings, was the daughter of a sovereign house, connected by the ties of blood w^ith the most illustri- ous families in Europe, and her not unequal alliance with your majesty was formed in full confidence that the faith of the king and the people was equally pledged to se- cure to her all those honors and rights which had been enjoyed by her royal pre- decessors. In that alliance her majesty be- lieved that she exchanged the protection of her femily for that of a royal husband, and of a free and noble-minded nation. From your majesty the queen has experi- enced 'only the bitter disappointment of 708 HISTORY OF GREAT BRITAIN. every hope she had indulged. In the at- tachment of the people she has found that powerful and decided protection which has been her steady support and her unfailing consolation. Submission from a subject to injuries of a private nature may be matter of expedience — from a wife it may be mat- ter of necessity — but never can it be the duty of a queen to acquiesce in the in- fringement of those rights which belong to her constitutional character. "The queen does therefore repeat her most solemn and deliberate protest against the decision of the said council, considering it only as the sequel of that course of per- secution under which her majesty has so long and so severely suffered, and which decision, if it is to furnish a precedent for future times, can have no other effect, than to fortify oppression with the forms of law, and to give to injustice the sanction of authority. The protection of the sub- ject, from the highest to the lowest, is not only the true, but the only legitimate ob- ject of all power ; and no act of power can be legitimate which is not founded on those principles of eternal justice, without which law is but the mask of tyranny, and power the instrument of despotism. " Queen's House, July 17th." The publication of this protest immedi- ately preceded her majesty's endeavor to deliver it personally into the hands of the king on the day of his coronation, in which attempt her majesty wholly failed. The above public acts of the queen, de- tailing her avowed and fixed determina- tion, under all hazards and circumstances, to be present at the coronation, occasioned expectations, that the celebration of that august ceremonial would be interrupted, if not prevented, by some infraction of the public peace : but these expectations were, highly to the honor and wisdom of the nation, wholly falsified. On the nineteenth of July, the ceremony of the king's coronation was performed with a degree of magnificence unequalled upon any former occasion. In the course of the day, the queen presented herself at the door of Westminster-hall, and demanded admission ; but this was refused by the door-keepers, and her majesty was thus de- barred from any participation in the cere- monies. In the metropolis, the public were ad- mitted gratis to all the principal theatres ; a balloon ascended, with an ssronaut, about noon, from the Green Park; and after a variety of entertainments for the amuse- ment of the populace in Hyde Park during the day, in the evening there was a display of the most brilliant fire-works in the same place, under the direction of Sir William Congreve. All classes of the people, in every part of the kingdom, partook of the festivity of this memorable day : the de- monstrations of joy being general through- out the kingdom. NOTES TO MILLER. Note A, p. 69. " We thought it our duty," said one of those par- liaments, " to remonstrate to your majesty, that the registering that edict and declaration is irrecon- cilable with your glory, the good of the sUite, amd the rights of mankiivd. Whatsoever savors of con- straint, wounds the honor of the throne. A manly and respectful freedom has always been the glory of every prince, under whose reign the subjects have made it their guide. "Your people, sire, are unhappy : all things pro- claim this sad truth. Your courts of parliament, the only voice of the nation, cease not to tell it. No, sire, it is but too true ; and we cannot too often repeat it, — ^your people are miserable. " Itis not from this day, that we are to date the calamities which desolate the several parts of your state. Your parliaments have found them- selves more than once under a necessity to lay be- fore you the sad description of them. Your ma- jesty could not behold it, without being affected. But what does it signify to the felicity of French- men, that their sovereign shares, by reflection, in the evils they really suffer, if the mercenary spirit, v/hich devours them, is substituted to that, which ought to proscribe and punish it ? " The termination of the war ought to put an end to our misery. Peace should have introduced in France the sweets, with which it is attended among all other nations. The capital of the king- dom was preparing to celebrate the return thereof, and with shouts of joy to dedicate a monument t!e.<7. Appointed viceroy of Ireland, 440. Issues "act of amnesty, ib. Goe.x ambassador to France, 478. Signs treaty of peac*-. ib. Appointed governor general of India, second time, dies there, 510. , admiral, distinguished retreat, 408. Coronation of George III. and queen, 30. Corsica, annexed to the British crown, 400. Evacu- ated, 416. Co.<<.tim Mir, his attempt against India r<>mp«ny. 9a His cruelties, massacres prisoners at Patna. 94. Cotton, Charles, Sir, noticed, 532. , Stapylton, Sir, his success, 565. County delegates, 273. Country, disturbed state of the. 613. Craig, major, noticed, 282. Craone, battle of, 583. Crawford, general, noticed, 48. CrilUm, due de, conducts siege of Gibraltar, 301. 716 INDEX TO MILLER. Criminal law, noticed, 536. Code, 620. Crosby, Brass, lord mayor, discharges Millar, the printer ; orders the deputy serjeant-at-arms into cus- tody, who finds bail, 133. Is sent to the Tower, 134 ; refuses to back press-warrants, ib. Cruden, John, appointed commissioner with extraor- dinary powers, 262. Cruger, lieutenant-colonel, his defence of Ninety-six in America, 283. Cuba restored to Spain, 63. Cumberland, duke of, noticed, dies, 91. , 2d do. marries Mrs. Horton, 136. , 3d do. his marriage, 603. Ctmningham, the American privateer, his conduct, 209. Imprisoned by France, released, &c., ib. Curtis, captain, his heroism and humanity, 302. Cushing, Mr. noticed, 116. Cast, John, Sir, illness and death of, 126. Cyder, duty on, levied, 70. Czernicheff, visits England, 587. Dalrymplc, Sir Hew, noticed, 531 . Dalyel, captain, his plan for surprising the American savages, 84. Danish fleet, capture of, 526. West-India Islands, surrender of, 528. Darby, admiral, escapes, 292. Dartmouth, lord, receives American petition, 153. Dashwood, Sir Francis, resigns ofiice, 71. Created lord Despencer, 74. Daun, marshal, noticed, 43. Davies, captain, discovers the Falkland islands, 131. Davison, general, killed, 280. Deane, Silas, noticed, 188. Death of earl Egremont, 75. Of lord Chatham, 216. Of the emperor Paul of Russia, 474. Of the prin- cess Charlotte, 613. Q,ueen Charlotte, 618. Duke of Kent, 630. Of George the 3d, king of England ; his character, ib. Debates on the expediency of the German war, 34. Defence of it, 35. On the proclamation of the Brit- ish commissioners in America, 186. On the peace, 482. In cabinet on Mr. Pitt's proposal of war with Spain, 31. On the address, 210. On the manifesto of American commissioners, 229. On Irish affairs, 246. On the peace, 305. On the war, 464. Debts, of the civil-list, 481. Decan, Nizam of, noticed, 124. Decatur, captain, noticed, 59.5. Declaration of war with Spain, 39. Of American in- dependence, 168. Of war with France, 215. Decline of lord North's influence, 293. Decree of fraternization, 364. Defeat of the hereditary prince, 17. Total of the Spaniards at Gibraltar, 302. Of the ministry, 296. Its dissolution, 297. Defection of Arnold from America, 265. Defenders in Ireland, 433. Deficiencies of the civil-list, 17. JVote to chapter 1. Delawares, nation of, noticed, 84. Delegates, county, 273. Democratic societies, 395. Dempster, friendly to hawkers and pedlars, 321. Denmark, Frederick V. king of, noticed, 67. Chris- tian VII., noticed, 68. Neutrality of, 405. Peace with, 580. Dennevitz, battle of, 577. Descent on Martinico, 49. Despard's conspiracy, 484. Dickenson, John, noticed, 168. Dieppe, bombarded, 491. Differences in the ministry, 117. Between France and America, 417. With the United States of America, 556. Difficulties about the mutual retaining of possessions, 19. Digby, admiral, captures French man-of-war, 256. Directory of France elected, 410. Overthrown, 461. Disasters to royal cause in America, 158. Discussions on the peace, 63. On American affairs, 119. Of quarrel with Russia, 347. Dismission of general Conway, 82. Of ministry, 313. Dispute between directors of East India company and proprietors, 106. With Spain about the Falkland Lslands, 131. With Spain settled, 341. Between France and Russia, 500. With Holland, 190. Disaffection in America, 115. Dissenters, bill for relief of, 136. Protestant bill to relieve, 230. To secure their privileges, bill, 569. Dissolution of parliament, 17. Of parliament whether it affects impeachment, 343. Distilleries, 536. Distresses of the Americans, 262. Disturbances on account of Wilkes, 114. in La Vendee terminated, 415. Dividends, unclaimed, proposal to seize, 343. Documents on state of the country, 627. Dol, bishop of, murdered, 409. Domingo, St. expedition to, 483. Donop, count, mortally wounded and taken prisoner, 196. Dougal, M', general, noticed, 176. Douglas, Sir James, noticed, 50. Sir John and lady, noticed, 571. Doula Sujah, noticed, 94. Arms against English, 95. Surrenders unconditionally, 96. Dowdeswell, Mr. appointed chancellor of exchequer, 91. Noticed, 104. Drake, admiral, noticed, 287. , ambassador at Munich, 499. Draper, colonel, his plan for invading the Philippine islands, 54. Drayton, W. H. noticed, 220. Dresden, battle of, 577. Droits of admiralty, 535. Duckworth, admiral, sent against Minorca, 448. His victory, 516. Advances through the Dardanelles, 522. Duel, between Wilkes and Martin, 78. Between Pitt and Tierney, 432. Between Castlereagh and Canning, 546. Dumouriez, general, noticed, 386. His conduct, ib. Duncan, doctor, noticed, 79. lord, his victory, 425. Dunkirk, its fortifications and harbor to be demol- ished, 62. Dundas, his escape, 316. , Sir David, retires, 560. Dunning, resigns his ofiice of solicitor-general, 126. His motion on the influence of the crown, 252. Dutch fleet captured, 416. Delivered up by admiral Story, 460. Commissioners, 540. Duty, additional, on ale and strong beer, 14. On beer, causes tumult in London, 41. E. Easton, colonel, noticed, 156. Eckmuhl, battle of, 541. Eden, Mr. appointed American commissioner, 214. Edinburgh convention, 391. Its secretary and two members transported, ib. Education of the poor, 617. Effects of the late king's partiality to his native do- minions, 11. Ruinous, of American war, 159. Egmont, lord, continues in office, 91. EgremonVs, lord, refutation of the Spanish ambassa- dor's manifesto, 38. Egypt, affairs of, 453, 468. Expedition to, 474. Elbert, colonel, his surrender, 238. Eldon, lord-chancellor, noticed, 471. Elections, new, 526. Elholm, captain, noticed, 241. Eliabad, capture of, 96. Elizabeth, princess, sister to the king of France, exe- cuted, 404. , princess, her marriage, 616. Eloquence of Burke and Grenville contrasted, 121. Elliott, lieutenant-general, noticed, 51. , general, his conduct, 275. Great foresight, 301 Defeats all attempts against Gibraltar, 302. Ellis, Welbore, noticed, 272. Appointed secretary, 295. Embarrassments of the prince of Wales, 326. Embargo on Russian, Swedish, and Danish vessels, 472. Emmett and others executed, 489. Emperor of Germany declared " Emperor of Austria," 500. Engagement between Keppel and d'Orvilliers, 227. Enghien, due d', murder of, 498. England declares war against Holland, 411. Assists Portugal, 46. English ambassador recalled from Madrid, 37. Gov- ernment offer assistance to Holland, 364. Refused, ib. Army return from the Continent, 410. Enlistment, 535. Foreign, bill, 623. Entertainment given to royal family at Guildhall, 30. Envoys, British, complaint against, 499. Equipment of squadron of men-of-war and trans ports, 24. Erskint moves an address, 313. INDEX TO MILLER. 717 Escape of the stadtholder, 405. Establishment of civil-list, 13. Estaing, d', his fleet noticed, 218. Wounded, 241. Estauches, d', his command, 278. Etries, marshal d', noticed, 44. Europe, movements iii, 490. State of, 511. Eustatia, St. taken, 275. Its prodigious wealth, ib. Conduct obi^erved on its capture, 276. Ewi,\fr, general, noticed, 181. ExchtifUer- Bills, 611. Exertions of congress, 180. Exmoulh, lord, his expedition, 607. Expedition against Belleisle, 24. Against East Flori- da, 225. To North Holland, 460. Of commodore Johnstone, 290. Expenditure, national, 622. Expulsion of Wilkes from house of commons, 80. Of the Austrians from Italy, 426. Eyre, captain, noticed, 554. Failure at Porto Rico and Santa Cruz, 425. Falkland Islands, disputes with Spain respecting them, 131. Family compact, some account of it, 27. How avow- ed, 36. Farmer, captain, noticed, 132. Fayette, marquis de la, wounded, 194. Marches into Virginia, 285. His military conduct, ib. Further noticed, 397. Ferdinand, prince, his plan of attack, 21. IV. king of Naples, abdicates, and comes on board an English man-of-war, 448. VII. of Spain, restoration of, 567. Ferguson, governor, noticed, 291. , doctor, noticed, 219. Fielding, commodore, captures a Dutch squadron, 270. Mnaiiccs, 431, 463, 487, 524, 5:«, 589, 605. Flattering state of, 349, 420, 481. Fishery, Newfoundland, rights established, 61. Fitzgerald, Edward, lord, taken, 434. Fitzherbert, appointed plenipotentiary for peace, 304. . Mrs. noticed, 327. Fitzwilliam, lord, affirms India companv's bankruptcy, 309. Recalled from Ireland, 406. Displaced, 627. Fleet prison burnt, 255. Fletc/fer;'co\rtnc\, his disaster, 271. , Sir Robert, commands Indian army, 95. Cap- tures fort of Chanda Gheer ; its governor's remark- able speech, 96. Takes Eliabad, ib. Fleury, lieutenant-colonel, 236. Flood, Mr. his motion for parliamentary reform, 338. Florida ceded by Spain, 61. Forbes, lieutenant, noticed, 53. Ford, colonel, noticed, 125. Foreign affairs, 614. Troops landed on Isle of Wight, 396. Forest, New, bill, 352. Fortescue, lord, his remarks on the house of peers, 299. Fortifications, proposed new plan of, ;i22. Forts reduced by marquis of Granby, 16. Fothergill, doctor, noticed, 145. His letter to Frank- lin, 147. Fox, Charles, noticed, 62. Appointed lord of the ad- miralty, 126. His ironical speech, 212. His re- marks, 231. Remarkable oration, 254. Introduces his Marriage Act. 274. India Bill thrown out by the peers, 312. Elected for Westminster, though not returned by high bailiff. 315. Obtains damages f^r this in King's Bench. 316. His remarks on Irish bill, 321. Amends Sinking Fund, 324. His senti- ments on slave trade, 335. His sentiments on French revolution, 337. Feelings on Burke's breach of friendship, 346. In opposition to the address, 368. Opposes address, 380. His motion to ascertain the precise grounds of war, 384. Sends intelligence to Talleyrand of plot to assassinate Buonaparte, 514. His wish for peace ; death and character, 515. France, duplicity of her ministry, 19. Negotiation for peace with, resumed, 25. Her conduct towards Por- tugal, 45. Declaration of war, 46. Disasters sus- tained by, 56. Sends warlike stores to America, 192. Preliminaries of peace with, 304. Commercial treaty with, 325. Considered by the commons, 326. Affairs of, glanced at, 336. Its revolution, 337. So- licits offices of Britain in preserving peace, 361. Delivered, ib. Manifestoes against, 362. National convention of, constituted, 363. Declares war against Britain and Holland, 383. Queen of, her trial and execution, 392. Makes peace with Spain, 408. Hesse Casael and Tuicanv, ib. Princetf of, exchanged for deputies delivered to Austria by Du mouriez, 409. State of, 417. Her measures against British commerce, 4)H. Internal affairs of, 428 Makes peace with Austria, 468. With Austria. Russia, and Prussia, 507. AnnexationH to, 554. Terms imposed on, 605. France, Isle of, capitulates. 553. Franklin, doctor, noticed. 141. His effort at concilia- tion, 145. Plan founded thereon, ib. Appointed head of post-office in America, 152. His reply to lord Howe, 177. Ambassador to France, 213. Fraier, general, killed, 203. Frederick, William, brother to George III., dies, 91. VI. ascends the throne of Denmark, 538. , William, king of Prussia, dies, 428. Frederica, princess of Prussia, married to duke of York, .350. French, advantageous position of the, 15. Squadron arrives in America, 222. Ambassador to congress, ib. Fleet on the English coast, 242. Fleet defeated by Rodney, 300. Ambassador, official complaint by, 361. Disposition of the king, 363. Priests arrive in multitudes in England, ib. Ambassador's me- morial on situation of England and France answer- ed by lord Grenviile, 373. Ambassador ordered to leave England, 374. Convention, proposes to treat for peace, 385. Declares war against Spain, 388. Affairs, 391. Calendar, 393. Extraordinary efforts of, to recruit army, 394. Government, state of, 404. Its sanguinary proceedings, ib. Progress in Hol- land, 405. Successful in West Indies, 408. Makes peace with Prussia, ib. New constitution, 409. Land in Wales, 426. Compel the emperor to make peace, 427. Land at Killala, and surrender, 441. Ho.stile movement of, against Switzerland, 444. Enter Berne, enforce a new constitution, ib. Re- turn- from Syria to Egypt, 455. Directory over- thrown, 461. Evacuate Egypt, 476. New consti- tution, 483. Driven from St. Domingo, 490. Fleets attempt to capture West India islands, 507. En- ter Portugal, 528. Fleet, attack on, 545. Convoy destroyed, ib. captain, deceived into a surrender of his post, 241. Friends of the people, society of, 353. Fritzlar, capture of, with several magazines, 6J6. Fucntes, count de, his manifesto, 38. G. Oage, general, noticed, 117. His judicious conduct, ib. Appointed governor, 142. Oalloway, his charge against general Howe, 232. Oalves, Bernardo, don de, takes Mobile, 268. Oansevort, colonel, his message, 200. Gardiner, major, noticed, 238. Gates, general, his conduct towards Burgoyne's army, 206. Defeated, 261. Succeeded by Greene, 278. Galleon, from Manilla to Acapulco, taken, 55. Oaudaloupe, isle of, capitulates, 554. Restored to France, 61. Geary, admiral, captures a rich squadron, 274. Genoa, evacuated, 467. Gentoos, distressed state of, 138. George III. king of England, accession to the throne. 11. First meets his council at Carlton-house; his declaration to them ; subscribes instrument to main- tain church of Scotland; proclamation of; adds duke of York and earl of Bute to list of privy -coun- sellors, 12. Prorogues parliament ; his first speech to both houses of parliament, ib. Proposes plan for securing independence of judges, 15. His speech on closing parliament, ib. His sentiments on the prop- er use of conquests, 17. Exempt fVom personal or political prejudices, 29. His choice of a consort, ib. Speech to parliament, 33. Message to commons, announcing proposed nuptials of his sister princess Augusta with prince duke of Brunswick. 78. Be- stows 72,300/. French prize-moneys in aid of the nation ; illness and recovery, 90. Institutes royal academy. 118. His death, 630. Character of bis reign, 631. Germaine, lord George Sackville, appointed secretary for America, 162. His information to parliament. 294. Created a peer, 295. German confederacy, sums voted for support of, 13. War debated on the, 31. Protested against, 40 Auxiliaries, 384. Germany, campaign of, 17. Empress queen of, notic ed, 68. Emperor of, mediator for peace, 384. Eiu- 718 INDEX TO MILLER. peror of, his manifesto against France, 362. Makes peace with Fiance, 507. Campaign in, 550. Oibraltar, its siege raised, 302. Conipietelj' relieved, ib. Ooddard, general, storms Ahmedabah, 270. Gordon, lord George, president of the Protestant as- sociations, 254. Presents petition to house of com- mons, ib. Committed to the Tower, 255. Tried for high treason, and acquitted, ib. Ooree restored to France, 62. Taken, 496. Oower, lord, noticed, 103. His charge against lord Chatham, 211. Oovernment, form of independent American, 170. Of Canada, 345. Grafton, duke of, resigns office, 102. Joins opposi- tion, 160. Graham, lieutenant-general, his exploits, 562. Ac- tivity, 565. Graiihj, marquis of, reduces forts in the neighborhood of Fritzlar, 16, Recommends accommodation with America, 210. Grant, captain, noticed, 84. , noticed, 175. — , general, his expedition, 241. Granville, lord, noticed, 75. Grattan, his address, 298. Vote of money to him, ib. Graves, admiral, fleet of, 265. Grcathead, Henry, rewarded for his invention of life- boat, 482. Greenwich hospital, abuses, 232. Greene, colonel, presented with a sword by congress, 196. Succeeds Gates, 278. Gregory, general, his brigade, 262. Grenada, island of, its capture, 50. Taken, 416. Grenville, Mr. George, noticed, 59. His speech in fa- vor of taxing America, 99. , bill for determining disputed elections, 128. Receives royal assent, ib. , lord, reply to Prince-Regent, 629. Grey, lord, do. 629. , major-general, 225. His nickname, ib. , De, appointed lord chief-justice; resigns the bench, 256. Gnichen, count de, joins Spanish fleet, 292. Guildhall, entertainment given to their majesties, 30. Gustavus, king of Sweden, expelled the throne, 544. H. Habeas corpus act, suspended, 187. Suspension of, 395. Continued, 406. Suspended in Ireland, 492. Hadjield, fires at the king, 466. Halifax, earl of, noticed, 59. Appointed privy-seal ; his death, 135. Hall, lieutenant-colonel, noticed, 198. Hammond, Sir Andrew Snape, examined by com- mons, 231. Hancock, John, noticed, 116. Elected president of congress, 151. , general, noticed, 223. Hanomer, makes peace with France, 408. Occupation of, 472, 518. Invasion of, 490. Harcourt, earl of, appointed lord-lieutenant, 137. , lieutenant-colonel, takes general Lee, 179, Hardships of American campaign, 184. Hardwicke, lord-chancellor, noticed, 126. Hardy, Sir Charles, retires with his fleet, 242. Dies, 279. Harkimer, general, assembles militia, 200. Killed, ib. Hartland, admiral, noticed, 227. Harlcy, sheriff", wounded by London mob, 78. Harrison, his invention of time-piece, 41. Rewarded by parliament for it, ib. Harvey, captain, noticed, 52. Haslet, colonel, killed, 183. Hastings, Warren, vote of censure on, 299. Burke's charge against him, 324. His trial, 331. Resumed, 344. Trial adjourned till next session, 384. And acquittal, 407. Hatche, colonel, noticed, 176. Havannah, armament against it, 50. Description of its harbor, 51. Surrender of, 53. Immense booty found there, 54. Hawke, Sir Edward, removed, 133. Hawkers' tax, 320. Much relieved, 334. Hawkeshury, lord, signs preliminary treaty, 478. Hawkins, doctor, noticed, 79. Heherden, doctor, noticed, 79. Heister, general de, commander of Hessians in Ame rica, 175. Helder, battle of the, 460. Helvetic, republic, formed by France, 444. Hermione, Spanish register-ship, captured, 54. Hertford, earl of, noticed, 91. Hessians, captured at Trenton, 181. Hexham, riot at, 14. High bailiff of Westminster, his conduct in refusing to return Fox, 316. Hill, general, his conduct, 564. , lord, noticed, 588. Hillsborough, earl of, noticed, 75. Appointed colonial secretary, HI. His circular letter. 119. His Majesty George III. first speech to both houses of parliament, 12. Hoche, general, noticed, 409. Hofer, the Tyrolese chief, his talents, 543. Holland, lord, creation of, 71. , noticed, 91. Concludes alliance, offensive and defensive with France, 411. Made a republic, 417. Declares war against Britain, ib. Its annex- ation to France, 554. Revolution in, 578. Treaty with, 590. Holy ^alliance, 605. Honduras, right of cutting logwood ceded to England, 62. Convention relative to, 325. Honors conferred on officers, 588. Hood, admiral, created an Irish peer, 300. Hope, captain, noticed, 595. , general, do. 533. Hopkins, commodore, blockaded by English, 179. Horner, noticed, 532. Horton, Mrs. noticed as marrying the duke of Cum- berland, 136. Hoste, captain, his victory, 561. Hotham, commodore, sailing of his squadron, 240. His v'3tory, 407. Houghton, general, his gallant death, 563. Howard, general, wounded, 282. Howe, colonel, noticed, 51. , general, do. 149. , Sir William, do. 167. , general Robert, noticed, 225. , lord, his victory, 400. Huger, general, left in command of American army, 279. Wounded, 282. Hughes, Sir Edward, noticed, 291. Destroys shipping of Hyder Ally, ib. Takes Trincomal6, 301. Hull, general, his surrender, 570. Humbert, general, noticed, 441. Hunt, captain, noticed, 131. , member of parliament, expelled for peculation, 553. , orator, noticed, 625. Found guilty, 627. Huntingdon, earl of, leaves office, 126. Hutchinson, governor, noticed, 141. Leaves America for England, 142. Hyde, lord, appointed chancellor of Lancaster, 135. Hyder, Ally, noticed, 124 His character and conduct, ib. Defeated, 29L His death, 309. I. Ulegal meetings, 609. Illegality of general warrants, 79. Illness of king George III., 90, 332. Illuminations on king's recovery, 334. Impeachment of Hastings, voted by house of com- mons, 329. In parliament, whether affected by its dissolution, ;M3. Impey, Sir Elijah, chief-justice of India, proceedings of, 273. Impolitic proceedings in North Carolina, 2.58. Income, relinquishment of, by ministers, 69. Na- tional, 622. Income, tax, 449. Repealed, 481. Independency of the judges secured, 15. India company, Mir Cossim's attempt against, 92. Stock debates, 105. Indemnity bill of, 107. Scru- tiny of it^ affairs, 109. Its proposals accepted, ib Petition parliament, 110. Restrained from increas- ing their dividend, ib. Act renewed, 111. Extra- ordinary fall of stock, 124. Loan bill passed, 137. Traflic in appointments, 539. India, court of judicature, instituted in, 137. Successes in, 291. Fox's bill, 310. Thrown out by the peers, 312. Declaratory act, 331. State of 339. War in, 341. Statement of its revenues, 355. Successful war in, 356. Insurrection in, 523. Hostilities in 604. Affairs of, 608. INDEX TO MILLER. 719 Iihiian affairs, 271, 273, 309. Indiana, of America, cause of diPtnrbances with. 83. Commence hostilities, 84. Treaty with, 86. Join Biirgoyrie's army, 198. Their barbarities, ib. Dis- mayed by Schuyler's account, 200. Indies, West, proceedings in, 484. Indisposition of the kin?, 493. Infiexihility of the Ensjlish secretary Chatham, 26. Influence, secret, alluded to, 91. Inglejield, captain, noticed, 300. Inquiries, as to failure of negotiation, 27. Insolvent act, 15. Repeal of compelling clause, 34. Instructions to ambassador at Madrid, 39. Insurrection of royalists in Brittany and Poitou, 388. Intelligence of Burgoyne's defeat, 211. Interference with affairs of Holland, 329. Inundations, remarkable, in consequence of heavy rains, 135. Invasion of England, 476. Ireland, advantageous acts in favor of, 147. Offers to raise volunteer force, 1G2. Accepted and raised, 242. Its trade relieved, 217. Affairs of. 2r(8. French attempt to invade, 416. Union with, proposed, 450. Proceedings thereon, 451. Martiallaw in, 4i)2. Bill respecting, 52t). State of, 580. Irish parliament make overtures. 111. Commercial propositions, 322. Parliament, proceedings of, 386. Origin and progress of Rebellion, 432. Rebellion, objects of it, 440. Insurrection, close of it, 442. Irishmen, united societies of, 433. Irnham, lord, noticed, 136. Irwin, inventor of the marine chair, 41. Receives re- ward from parliament, ib. Italy, campaign in, 457. Affairs of, 537. Jackson, (spy) his employment by France, 433. Jaffa, capture of, 453. Jaffier, Mir, noticed, 93. James II. king, noticed; opinion of hia abdication, 108. Jameson, lieutenant-colonel, receiveg Andr6 prisoner, 2i)6. Jay, ambassador from America, 405. Java, capture of, 585. Restoration of it, 630. Jefferson, Thomas, noticed, 213. Jena, battle of, 520. Jcvkinson, Charles, Esq. appointed lord of treasury ; his talents. 111. Jenner, doctor, receives vote of parliament for his invaluable discovery of vaccination (or cow pox), 482. Jernis, Sir John, his victory; created a peer, 424. John, (the painter) his plot, 188. John, St. island, ceded to Britain, 63. Johnson, Sir W. noticed, 86. , Sir John, do. 197- Johnstone, governor, named commissioner to America, 214. His attempts by private correspondence pre- judicial, 220. , commodore, his expedition, 290. Jointure granted to the c(ueen, 33. Jones, Paul, his conduct, 242. His naval actione, 243. His surrender demanded as a pirate, 245. Jonrdan, noticed, 415. Jubilee of reign of king George III. obserTcd, 546. Judges made independent, 15. Juries, rights of, in libel cases, 344. Kalb, baron de, general, noticed, 260. Kearsley, George, printer of North Briton, Ti. Keatinfr, colonel, noticed, 553. Kempevfelt, admiral, retreats, 292. Kent, duke of. his marriage, 616. Death and cbarac< ter, 630. Kcppel, major-general, noticed. 51. , commodore, noticed, 51. Capture* a fleet of French nieruharitmen. 56. , admiral. comnin'idH prand fleet, 2?M. Tal ps two French frigates. 227. Engages D'OrviJIiers; his trial and acquittal, 228. Kilwardcn, lord, murder of, 489. Kinir George III. hie iinsl speech. 12. I!liif« '/', 90. Proc«>eriing8 thereon ; recovery, ib. SabstaiM'C of his speech. 107. Reply to city remonstrance, 130. Royal conduct, ib. Reviews navy at Portsoi outb, 140. Speech to parliament, 293. Dp. 3i0. A J CQipt to assassinate him, 325. His humanity thereon, ib. Speech to both houses, .3.32. lndiap<^mition, ib. Re- covery, 334. Returns thanks at St. Paul's cathe- dral, ib. Speech, STW. Message to commons on French affairs, 374. Presents sword and medal to earl Howe, 401. Transmits medals to flag officers and captains, ib. Speech, 407. Assaulted going to parliament, 412. His sp^-ech there, ib. Attempt on his life, 466. Return of illness, 472. His regard to his coronation-oath, 470. Indisposition of, 493. Speech, 502. Completes fifty years' reign, 54(5. Re- joicings in consequence, ib. Malady, 557. Increase of it, 566. Change in the health of, 630. His death and character, ib. King's Bench Prison, burnt, 255. Kingsborough, lord, set at liberty ; Wexford delivered to him, 4.39. Kinnon, general M', mortally wounded, 564. Kniphausen, general, noticed, 178. Knox, colonel, noticed, 176. , general, takes St. Vincent, 416. Lake, lord, his services, 510. Land Tax, reduced, 108 ; increased, 138 ; redemption of, 431. Langara, Don Juan, defeated and taken prisoner, 256. Langdale, Mr. (distiller) house burnt by rioters, 256. Lauderdale, lord, proceeds to Paris to negotiate, 515- Laudohn, marshal, noticed, 44. Laurens, Henry, elected president of congress, 197. His letter to the British commissioners, 219. Taken prisoner, 270. Committed to the Tower for high treason, 271. , lieutenant-colonel, remarkable situation of. Lauriston, colonel, arrives with treaty of peace, 478. Laws of Militia, amended, 41. Lee, colonel, noticed, 49. , Mr. do. 153. , general, do. 154. , Henry Richard, first mover of American inde- pendence, 167. , major, noticed ; captures British garrison at Powles Hook, 237. Lefebvre. general, his conduct, 461. Leipsic, battle of, 557. Lennox, lord George, 48. Leslie, major-general, takes possession of Charles- town, 257. Lexington, battle of, 148. Libel cases, rights of juries in, 344. bill passes, 352. Life-boat noticed, 482. Lincoln, general, wounded, 201. Linois, admiral, repulsed, 497. Livingstone, colonel, noticed, 158. Loan of 1,200,000/., 14. Interest provided for by ad- ditional duty on ale, ib. To India company of 1,400,000/., 137. To Germany, 406. Logwood, right of cutting it ceded to Britain, 62. London, negotiation at, 19. City of, its remonstrance to the king, 127. Sends up a second, 130. A third and fourth, VM Petitions in favor of America, 146. Loudon, earl of, noticed, 48. Longitude, reward for ascertaining the, 41. Lffughborough, lord, (Wedderburne) tries London riot- ers by special commission, 256. Made lord-chan- cellor, 370. Louis XVII. dies in the temple, 409. XVIIL withdraws from Venetian territories, 414. His entrance into Paris, 586. Lovel, general, noticed, 237. Lowndes, president, noticed, 240. Lowther, Sir James, his motion, 293. Lucia, St. taken, 416. Luekner, general, noticed, 44. Luttrell. colonel, vacates his seat in parliament ; ofh poses Wilkes ; state of the poll ; consequences, 121 Lutzen, battle of, 576. Lynch, Sir William, noticed, 117. Lynedoch, lord, noticed, 588. Lyf.tlef.4m, lord. 78. Celebrated speech of, ib. His patriotism, 107. M. Macurtnef, earl, sent ambasMdor to China, 40S. Mack, general, surrender of, 505. 720 INDEX TO MILLER. Mackintosh, Sir James, noticed, 620. Macleane, colonel, noticed, 237. - Macnamara, captain, noticed, 55. Madeira, occupied by Britain, 474. Madrid, insurrection at, 52D. Evacuated by the French, ib. Capture of, 565. Mafraw, colonel, capitulates at Fort Washington, 179. Mahrattas, noticed, 97. Maida, battle of, 518. Maitland, lieutenant-coionel, noticed, 240. , lord, his splendid talents, 273. Marlborough., duke of, noticed, 75. Malmsbury, lord, sent ambassador to France, 429. Malta taken, 469. Maltby, captain, noticed, 132. Maltese, proj)erty in Spain seized, 483. Man, Isle of, its sovereignty purchased, 90. Manchester, disturbances at, 613, 615. Meeting, dis- persion of, 625. , duke of, resolution in house of peers, ICO. Manilla, governor of, his character, 54. Its capt'jre, 55. Saved from justly merited pillage, though taken by storm, ib. Mauley, captain, captures an ordnance vessel from England, 154. Mansfield, lord, his patriotism, 107. His opinion of the American war, 161. House in London destroy- ed during riots, 255. Mantua, its surrender, 426. Marat, death of, 390. Marengo, battle of, 467. Maria Louisa, archdutchess of Austria, her marriage, 554. Marion, general, noticed, 263. Maroon war terminates, 408. Marriage bill proposed, 273. of the duke of York, 350. of the prince of Wales, 407. Martial Law, 489. Martinico, isle of, descent on, 49. Its surrender, 50. Restored with Marigalante to France, 61. Taken, 402. Massachusetts, votes an army to defend her state, 149. Matthews, general, noticed, 178. Maxwell, general, surprises Elizabeth Town, 183. MPherson, John, captain, killed, 158. Mecklenburg, princess Charlotte of, chosen by George III. as queen, 29. Meeting of new parliament, 33. Of parliament, 209, 229, 336. In the navy, 422. Mehee de la Touche, noticed, 499. Melville, lord, proceedings against, 502. Resigns situation, 503. Erased from privy-council, 505. Impeached, 514. Memo-nal of navy officers presented to the king, 228- of French executive, 373. Replied to by lord Grenville, ib. Mends, captain, hi.s squadron, sources of, 550. Mercer, general, receives three bayonet wounds, whiiii occasion his death, 183. Message r<3spectinff France, 486. Messages, from Prince-Regent, 611. Mettemich, prince, visits England, 587. Middleton, surgeon, noticed, 79. Miles, colonel, noticed, 175. Military events on the Continent, 386. Operations on the Continent, 397. Preparations, 487. Arrange- ments, 512. Plan of lord Castlereagh, 526. Militia, ballot, productive of riot, 14. New, uncon- stitutional, 161. Bill to raise Scotch, 162. Reject- ♦"d, ib. Regulations, 232. Called out, 365. Extend their services, 432. Consolidation of laws, 482. Local, noticed, 535. Augmentation of, 537. Ministers, relinquish income, 609. Ministerial appointments, 515. Disputes and changes, S-lfi. Differences, 566. Negotiations, 567. Profu- sion, 188. Ministry, conduct of, 32, Steps taken by, 33. Change of, 102. Defeat of, 297. Di.ssolved, ib. New, ib. Oatvoted and resign, 305. A new one, 313. New one formed, 471. New, its members, 494. Appoint- ments in the, 501. New, 512. Change of the, 525. Minorca, restored, C2. Taken, 299. Capture of, 448, Jifiquelon, ishi of, given to France, 63. Miraheau, count de, report of, 340. Miranda, general, noticed, 516. Mir Cossim, noticed, 92, Hia attrropt a^atcet the India company, details of it, ib. Miscondtut of the Ada^iralty, aW Mifford, Sir John, resigns the situation of speaker on accepting the office of lord-chancellor of Ireland, with title of lord Redesdale, 4B1. Monckion, general, commands successful expedition against Martinico, 50. Mora, besieged, surrender of island. 63. Motion on American war, 274. Of censure on lord Sandwich, 230. For abolition of slave-trade, 335. Of Mr. Flood, for parliamentary reform, 338. For reform in parliament, 354. For negotiation with France, 371. For sending minister to Paris, ib. For peace, barracks, &;c. 384. Against American war, 274. Monte- Fideo, capture of, 522. Moore, Sir John, noticed, 532. Retreat, battle of Co- runna, &.c. 533. Moscow, destruction of, 570. Mosquito settlers c-vacuate Honduras, 326. Motives of national policy for encouraging pacific proposals, 59. for a general peace, 304. Movements of French forces, 597. Of allied forces, ib Murders in metropolis, 567. Murat, joins the allies, 580. Advances against Aus- tria, 602. Returns to Naples ; killed, 603. N. J^aples, made a republic, 456. J^ational force, increase of, 420. income, C22. expenditure, 622. Jfaval preparations, 226. Affairs, 407. Mutiny, 422 Operations, 424, 468. Actions, 476, 594, 561. En- gagements, 580. J^egapatam, surrender of, 291. J^egotiation for peace with France, 25. Main points of disputes in, ib. Candid inquiry into, 27. For peace, unsuccessful, 418. Renewed and broken off, 429. JVei^, lord O', mortally wounded, 439. JVctZsora, Samuel, rebel chief, 436. J^Telson, commodore, his gallantry, 424. Bombards Cadiz, 425. His victory of the Nile, 446. Goza capitulates to his squadron, 449. His victory at CoiKjnhagen, 472. Attacks Boulogne Flotilla, 476. His celebrated signal, 509. Gains victory of Tra- falgar ; death, ib. JVew ministry, its memb'ers, 297. Administration,302. Parliament, 315. J^ewcastle, duke of, his death, 118. J^cwfoundlan d, taken by the French; retaken, 56. Right of fishing settled, 61. Loss of vessels at, 417. J^ewgate prison burnt during riots, 265. J^icholson, Margaret, lier attempt to assassinate the king, 325. JVivernois, duke de, arrives in London to negotiate peace, 62. His speech to the king, ib. JVoailles, M. de, his declaration, 215. JiTootka Sound, settlement at, 339. J^orth, lord, appointed chancellor of exchequer. 111. Elected chancellor of Oxford, 137. His conciliato- ry bills, 211. Announces the dissolution of minis- try, 297. jsTorthington, lord-chancellor, condemns ministerial measures, 102. Jforthumberland, duke of, his dismissal, 91. JVorton, Sir Fletcher, speech on the increasing influ- ence of the crown, 252. Norway, transfer of, 580. JSTullum Tempus Jlct introduced, opposed by minis- ters, 111. Objects of the rebellion in Ireland, 440. Oliver, alderman, committed to the Tower, 134. Operations of the French fleet, 240. In Virginia, 28.1. In the Weet Indies, 290. On the frontiers, 21t3. In La Vendue, 408. On the Rhino. 410. In Italy and Germany, 414. In Silesia, 521. In Swedish Piimerania, ib. Opv,tsition, its efforts, 126. Reduced by desertion, 370. "I'o a repeal of the test and corfwration acts, 337 Orange Siteieties, 433. Ordeni in couiuil, repeal of, 568. Orlaans, New, failure at^ S&5. Gi1h-<*,. batUe of, 581. INDEX TO MILLER, 721 OrvilHcrs, count de, sails from BrcBt, 227. Ossory, Upper, earl of, his motion on Irish affairs, 346. Ostnnd. expedition against, 448. Otto, M. signs preliminary treaty in London, 478. Oude, nabob of, treaty with, 97. Outcry, violent, against new duty on beer, 14. Outrage against the king, 411. Overtures made by courts of Madrid and Versailles, 57. Oxford, mayor and bailiffs, sent to Newgate, 111. Paine, Thomas, his answer to Burke, 360. Pallister, Sir H. his trial, 228. Palm, murder of, 520. Papal authority ended, 445. Parga, cession of, 630. Paris, negotiation at, 18. Insurrection in, 409. Oc- cupation of, 584. Convention of, 586. State of, 596. Capitulation of, 601. Parker, Sir H. engages Dutch fleet, 292. Parliament dissolved, 15. Assembly of a new, 33. Closes, 42. Opened with speech from throne, 63. Closed, 71. Opens, 75. Proceedings respecting Wilkes, ib. Privileges of, ib. Assembles, 99. Al- ways existing, 108. Dissolved, 111. Of Ireland made octennial, ib. Its language as regards lord Townshend, 112. Prorogued at a remarkable crisis, 124. A new one assembled, 144. Meeting of, 159. Meets, 244. Dissolved, 315. Meeting of, 319. Meeting of, 330. Regularly opened, 334. Meeting of, 336. Dissolved, 340. Whether its dissolution affects impeachment, 343. Meeting, 349. Assem- bled, 365. Meets, 367. Prorogued, 385. Meeting of, 394. Meeting of, 406. Proceedings of, ib. Pro- rogued, 407. Dissolved, 413. New, 418. Meeting of, 430. Meeting of, 471. Meeting of, 480. New, 485. Meeting of, 492. Prorogation of, 495. Open- ing of, 501. Meeting, 511. Prorogued, 514. Dis- solution of 515. New, 524. Dissolution of, 525. New assembly of, 526. Prorogued, ib. Assembles, 535. Prorogation of, 536. Corrupt practices in, 539. Assembled, 566. Meeting of, 571. Proceedings of, 573. Closed, 575. Reassembles, 588. Opened, 596. Reassembled, 603. Called, 605. Meeting of, 609. Opened, 614. Dissolved, 617. Convoked, 621. Meeting of, 627. Parliamentary privilege, 77. Reform, 320. Proceed- ings, 535, .588, 606. Supplies, 81. Partiality of George II. for his native dominions, 11. Parties in France, 389. Patva, taken by India company, 93. Paul, emperor of Russia, succeeds his mother, 418. His death, 474. Peace, overtures for, from France and Spain, 57. Uni* versally desired, 60. Negotiations for, ib. Prelim- inaries signed, 62. General motives for, 304. With the Mahrattas, 309. Negotiations for, unsuccess- ful, 419. Between Austria and France, 468. Be- tween Great Britain and France, 477. Of Amiens, 478. Sentiments on the, 480. Negotiation for, 514. Signed, 586. Perceval, assassination of, 567. Character; provision for his family, ib. Peter III. succeeds to empire of Russia, 42. Mild and popular regulations; foreign politics; desire of peace ; alliance with Prussia, ib. Principles of re- form ; deposition and death, 43. Petition of Wilkes to commons, 118. Petitions in favor of debtors produce Insolvent Act, 14. In favor of America, 100. Of county delegates, 273. Against American war, 294. Philippine islands, invasion of, and capture, 54. Philadelphia taken, 194. Evacuated, 222. Pichegru, his campaign, 405. Pierson, major, killed, 274. Pitt, (lord Chatham) unfavorable to peace, 19. His proposal of war with Spain, 31. Interview with the king, and resignation of office, 32. His conduct, ib. Remarkable speech on taxing America, 99. Sent for by king to form new ministry, 102. , Mr. Thomas, his speech on influence of the crown, 253. , William, his eloquence, 99. Reform bill, 309. His communication to the commons, 314. India bill, 316. Sinking fund, 323. Motion for parlia- mentary reform, 320. Remarks on slave-trade, 331. Proposal to seize unclaimed dividends, 343. Speech Vol. IV. 61 on moving address, 383. Message relative to peace 412. His duel, 431. Speech on the right of searclv 471. Resigns, ib. Motion on naval defence, 493. Returns to office, 494. His illness, 505. Death, 511. Vote of ujoney to pay his debts; public fu- neral, 512. Plan of attack of prince Ferdinand. 16. Plans of conciliation rejected by America, 218. Of lord Cornwallis defeated, 286. Points of dispute in negotiation with France, 26. Poland, kingdom of, dismembered, 137. Pondicherry capitulates, 2:M. Taken, 386. Poor, education of the, 617. Pope, the, dies at Valence, 445. Restoration of, 587. Popham, Sir Home, his expedition to Buenos Ayres, 51(). Recalled ; tried and reprimanded, 517. Popular meetings, 624. Population of England, ascertained by authority, 470. Returns of, ib. Act, returns of, 569. Porto Rico, failure at, 425. Portugal, relief of, vote for, 41. Conduct of France and Spain towards, 45. Receives the assistance of Great Britain, 46. Invasion of, 474. Operations in, 549. Pownall, governor, his speech on America, 129. Powys, Mr. motion against American war, 293. Poynings' law protested against in Ireland, 298. Pratt, lord chief-justice, 73. His opinion on Wilkes's commitm«!nt to Tower, ib. Remarkable charge to jury, 79. Preparations for funeral of George II., 12. War, 365. By France for invasion of England, 487. Price, Dr. his sermon, 359. Priestley, Dr. his house destroyed by mob, 348. De- clared a member of convention of France, 363. Princess Royal of England, marriage of, 428. Printers, contest between, and commons, 133. Privilege, breach of, 5.')2. Proclamation of George III., 11. Of commissioners to America, 179. Progress of French in Holland, 405. Prohibitory bill, American, 161. Property tax augmented, 501. Proposal of a congress at Augsburg, 18. Proposals of French for peace, rejected, 462. Proposed marriage bill, 274. Proposition for peace, 298. Protest, popular, against the continuation of German war, 40. Of lords against repealing the Stamp Act, 101. In house of peers, 160. Provision for service of ensuing year, 34. Prussia, subsidy to, 14. Of extraordinary change in situation of, 42. Success of, 43. Makes peace with France, 408. King of, his manifesto against France, 428. King Frederick William III. dies, 362. De- Clares war against France, 576. King of, visits England, 587. Makes peace with France, 507. Occupies Hanover, 518. Subserviency to Franca, 519. Prussian operations in campaign, 44. Public testimony of joy on accession of George III., 12. Privy-conncW assemble on death of George IT., IL Take oath of fidelity to king George III., ib. a. Quakers, petition against the slave-trade, 310. Quebec, expedition against, 156. Attack of, 158. Siege of, raised, 164. Queen Charlotte of England, nuptials of, 33. Message of commons to her majesty, ib. Dowry granted her, ib. Jointure granted to her, 34. Council of, its members, 587. Quibcron bay, unsuccessful expedition to, 406. Radical reformers, 624. Randolph, Peyton, chosen president of congress, 151. Rawlings\ colonel, destructive riflemen, 179. Reason for a negotiation at London and Paris, 18. Rebellion in Ireland, its origin, progress, 432. Sui>- pression of, 439, 4^. Recall of British ambassador from Madrid, 37. Span ish from London, ib. Recovery of the king, 334. Reduction of forts by Granby, 16. Of land-tax, 108. Refiutioju on commercial intercourse, 322. 722 INDEX TO MILLER. Reform hills, 298. Parliamentary motion for, 338. Societies in Great Britain, 391. Regency act, 90. Bill noticed, 334. Bill, 557. Relief to Roman Catholics, 217. To the trade of Ire- land, ib. Remarks on the alliances with continental powers, 35. Concluding ones, 631. Repeal of shop tax, 334. Of compelling clause of in- solvent act, 34. Result of American campaign, 184. Restoration of the forfeited estates in Scotland, 318. Restraining Bills, 628. Retreat of marshal Broglio, 16. Of the Spaniards from Portugal, 49. Its consequences, ib. Return of English army from the continent, 410. Revolt of America predicted, 99. Of Pennsylvania Line, 276. Revolution Society, 359. In France, 336. Rewards for ascertaining the longitude, 41. Rhode- Island, tumultuous proceedings at, 141. Richmond, duke of, appointed minister, 102. Signs protest against proceedings of lords, 160. His plan of fortifications, 322. Righy, arraigns the speaker's conduct, 190. Riots at Hexham, 14. At Boston, 129. In Scotland against Catholicism, 244. In London, 254. At Bir- mingham, 347. In various parts of England, 568. In Spa fields, 607. Rochambeau, general count, arrives in America with army from France, 265. Rochford, earl of, remonstrates at Madrid, 89. Rockingham, marquis of, appointed minister, 91. La- mented death, 302. Rodney, admiral, relieves Gibraltar, 256. Takes Span- ish convoy, ib. Defeats Don Juan de Langara, ib. Takes St. "Eustatia, 275. Defeats French fleet, 300. Created a peer, ib. Roleia, battle of, 531. Romana, marquis, landed in Spain, 530. Rome, revolution at, 445. Annexed to France, 543. King of, created, 561. Ross, general, destroys Spanish batteries, 275. Killed, 594. Rose, Mr. tried and acquitted, 352. Royal academy instituted, 118. Marriage act, 136. Annuities, 218. Proclamation against seditious writings, 355. Rulle, baron de, attacks Jersey, 274. Mortally wound- ed, ib. Rumbold, Sir Thomas, bill of pains and penalties against, 299. , Sir George, seizure of, 498. /Jy-ptwre with Spain, 339. Settled, 341. Russia, 346. Discussion on it, 347. Russia, death of empress of, 42. Succession of Peter III. to the throne of, ib. Deposition and death; succession of Catherine II., 43. Mediates for a peace, 304. Makes peace with France, 507. De- clares war with England, 527. Invasion of, 569. Rutledge, John, elected governor, 238. S. Sackville, lord, his elevation to the peerage, 295. Pro- ceedings thereon, ib. Salamanca, battle of, 565. Salt tax, augmented, 501. Santa Cruz, failure at, 425. Maura, taken, 554. Sardinia, subsidy to, 385. Sartine, his assurances to America, 210. Savannah, taken by the English, 226. Its siege rais- ed, 240. Saumarez, Sir James, his action, 477. Savoy, duchy of, made a French department, 364. Saville, Sir George, biil in favor of Roman Catholics, 217. House destroyed by rioters, 2.54. Sayre, Mr. committed to the Tower, 159. Scarcity of corn, 412. , great, 46G. A renewal of it, 470. Scottish Episcopalians, bill in favor of. 352. Secret intrijraes of Fr^^nch, at court of Madrid, 19. Secession of the minority in parliament, 187. Senegal, secured to England. G2. Seringapaiam, capture of, 45S. Sheriffs of London, assaulted while attending the burning of Wilkes's North Briton, 78. Sheridan's remarks on India bill, 317. On fortifica tione, 323. Sentiments on French principles, 337. Shirley, takes Dutch forts, 301. Shop tax, repealed, 334. Shoreham, Jifew, electors disfranchised for venality, 134. Sicily, attempt on it, 555. Sickness, uncommon in American army, 184. Sidmouth, lord, his circular, 611. Siege of Quebec raised, 164. Of Gibraltar, 256, 275. Extraordinary fatigues of garrison, 275. Sierra Leone, settlement of, 345. Sinking fund, 323. Slave merchants of Germany, 159. trade, petition of Quakers against, 310. Bill to regulate it, 331. Its abolition moved, 335. Evi- dence on, 345. Its gradual abolition carried in commons, 350. Delayed by the lords, 351. Pro- ceedings in, 495. Further steps to abolish, 513. Its abolition, 525. Smith, general, his motion on Indian affairs, 273. , colonel, defeats Hyder Ally, 124. , the publican, his connexion with Rose, 353. , Sir Sydney, W. his services at Toulon, 393. Defence of Acre, 454. Destroys Turkish squadron, 522. Smolensko, burnt, 569. Smuggling, measures for preventing, 90. Spain, conferences with, 30. Propose war with ; pro- ductive of warm debates in cabinet, 31. Conduct of, towards Portugal, 45. Declares war, 46. Disas- ters sustained by, 56. Preliminaries of peace with, .304. Convention with, 325. Rupture with, 339. Settled, 341. Makes peace with France, 408. De- clares war against Britain, 417. Rupture with, 497. Campaign in, 546. Successes in, 547, 578. Spaniards, their success, 47. Spanish ambassador recalled, 37. His manifesto on leaving London, 38. War declared, 39. Cause, 536. America, state of, 556. Speaker of house of commons retires, 15. Gives cast- ing vote against fortification bill, 323. Abbott gives casting vote agaijist lord Melville, 503. Re- signs office, 611. Speech of George III. for making judges independent, 15. Of his majesty on closing parliament ; its re- markable features, ib. Royal, 620. Stadtholder, escapes, 405. /Itamp act, American, passed, 89. Repealed, 102. St. Lucia, island of, captured, 50. Restored to France 61. St. Pierre, isle of, given to France, 61. Stattnf India, 496. of Great Britain, 185, 606. trials, 395. St. Vincent, island of, captured, 50. Restored to France, 61. Stormont, lord, his application to the French court, 209. Strelitz, princess Charlotte of Mecklenburg, selected by George III. as his queen, 29. Stuart, Sir John, his victory at Maida, 518. Subsidy to Prussia, 14, 397. Several, 463. Successes in India, 291. Successive disasters of the British army, 202. Sums granted for the support of the German confede- racy, 13. Sumter, colonel, a distinguished partisan, his success, 259. Supervisors of India leave England, 125. Supply of parliament voted, 13. For the year, 412. For service of ensuing year, 34, 501. Supplies, 413. The second, estimate for the year, 553. Suppression of the Irish rebellion, 439. Surinam, capture of, 461. Surrenders, 496. Surrender of general Burgoyne, 205. Survey of hostile operations during suspension of treaty, 20. Suspension of habeas corpus act, 394. Suwarrow, general, his command, 457. Conduct, 459. Dies, ib. Sutton, Manners, elected speaker, 611. Sweden, affairs of, 544. Charles XIII. ascends the throne of, ib. Elects Bernadotte king, 555. Swedes, efforts of the, 536. Conduct of their king, ib. Switzerland, hostile movements of French against, 444. Its constitution changed, ib. Campaign in, 457. Affiirs of, 483. Symptoms of hostility with France, 484. INDEX TO MILLER. 723 Tdlavera, battle of, 547. Tarleton, colonel, victory of, 258. His manoeuvre and success, 261. Defeated, 279. Tarragona, loss of, 564. Failure of, 579. Tax on cider and perry, 70. On land reduced, 108. On shops repealed, 334. Taxes, new, rejected by commons, 297. Taxing colonies, debates and proceedings in England as to rights, 100. Tea destroyed at Boston, 141. Temple, his resignation, 32. Confers with Pitt, 103. His patriotism, 107. Remarkable card sent to him, 312. Test and corporation acts, 334. Their repeal op- posed, 337. Thanksgiving for recovery of the king, 334. Tliurlow, appointed solicitor-general, 26. Created a baron on being made lord-chancellor, 244. Ticonderoga, fort, taken, 155. Evacuated, 198. Time-piece, Harrison's, 41. Tippoo Saib, his success, 271. Conduct, 341. War against him, 356. His conduct in the field, ib. Cap- ital invested, ib. Sues for peace ; terms granted ; reflections thereon, 357. Hostile preparations, 455. Conduct and death, 456. Title, royal, new, 470. Titles conferred by Buonaparte, 520. Tobago, surrender of, 50. Taken, 386. Toleration act, proposed alteration, 559. Toll-gates at Blackfriars-bridge burnt, 255. Toulouse, battle of, 586. Tooke, John Home, tried and acquitted, 395. Elected member of parliament, &c. 472. Tortosa, surrender of, 562. Total defeat of Spaniards at Gibraltar, 301. Toulon, its port and fleet surrender to the British, 392. Evacuated, 393. Tower, commitments to, 610. Townsend, marquis, made master of ordnance, 137. Trafalgar, victory of, 508. Traitorous correspondence bill, 384. Travancore, rajah of, treats to purchase Dutch forts, 341. Traversing of indictments ; bill to prevent, 628. Treasure-ships, detention of, 497. 'Treaty for peace with France broken, 28. With the Indians, 86. With the nabob of Oude, 97. With the elector of Hesse and the duke of Brunswick, for having soldiers, 162. Commercial, with France, 325. Considered by commons, ib. Of Campo Formio, 427. Of Tilsit, 521. Of peace between Austria and France, 543. Trial of Hastings, 331. Trials, state, 613. And executions for treason, 440. Trinidad, capture of, 425. Triple assessment, 431. Tumult in London occasioned by duty on beer, 41. Turkey declares war against Russia, 522. Turk's islands, 89. Tuscany makes peace with France, 408. Tyrawley, lord, recalled from Portugal, 48. Tyrolese, efl!brts of the, 543. U. Union with Ireland, proposed, 450. Proceedings there- on, ib. Completed, 465. Universal disposition towards peace, 58. Unsuccessful attack on Penobscot, 237. Vaccination, noticed, 482. Valencia d' Alcantara surprised by general Burg03Tie, 48. , loss of, 564. Valletort, lord, his contrast of England and France, 3.36. Vaughan, general, burns Esopus, 204. Takes St. Eustatia, 275. Vendee, La, civil war of, 415. Termination, 416. Vendean successes, 388. Vergcnnes. count de, confers with American commis- sioners, 213. Vcmon, Sir Edward, sails from Madras, 234. Vice-chancellor appointed, 573. Vicissitudes of the campaign in Germany, 17 Ficfory of Graebcnstein, 44. Of lord Howe, 401. Of the Nile, 446. Victories, naval, 49. Vienna, congress at, 590. Vimiera, battle of, 531. Violent debates respecting Wilkes, 120. Debates, 244. Vincent, St. taken, 416. Virginia, descent on, 234. Visitors, royal, to England, 587. Vittoria, battle of, 578. Voluntary contributions, 396. Volunteer companies, 233. Associations, 487. Volunteers, vote of thanks to, 488. Volunteering of militia, 432. Vote for the relief of Portugal, 41. Votes of censure on various persons connected with India, 299. Vyner institutes parliamentary inquiry into conduct of Burgoyne 218. W. Walcheren, expedition to, 544. Inquiry into the policy and conduct of it, 551. Wales, princess dowager of, mother to George III. her death, 136. , prince of, his birth, 54. His embarrassments, 326. Consequences, ib. Answer to Pitt, 334. Mar- riage, 407. Debts arranged, ib. Claims of his for arrears ; grant to him of 60,000/. for three years and a half, 486. Refused military promotion, 488. Made regent, 557. Retains old ministry, 558. His letter approving them, ib. Delivers speech from throne, 575. His letter to the queen, 588. Ad- dresses parliament, 596. Attacked going to house, 609. Relinquishes income, ib. Speech to parlia- ment, 614. , princess of, charges against, 571. Writes letter to the king, 572. To the speaker, 573. Re- port of commissioners, ib. Receives letter from queen ; answer ; her letter to her husband, 588. Letter to the speaker, ib. Allowance voted her, 589. Leaves England, ib. Wall, general, his letter, 37. Wallace, attorney general, recommends a truce with America, 296. , Sir James, his services, 204. Captured by D'Estaing, 240. Want of harmony in the cabinet, 504. War, German, debate on the expediency of, 34. In- genious defence of it, 36. Declared against Spain. 39. In Germany protested against, ib. Declared by France and Spain against Portugal, 46. De- clared by Spain, 232. In India, 233, 341. With Tippoo Saib, 356. With Holland, 411. Unpopular- ity of the, ib. With Russia, 469. With Holland, 490. In India, 490. Between Austria and France, 540. Wardle, colonel, noticed, 538. Warrants, general, 72. Declared illegal, 79. Washington, general, appointed to chief command of American army. 153. His biography, ib. Diflicul- ties attending his situation, 154. Establishes a war of pests, 173. Refuses to receive letter from royal commissioners, ib. His reason for such re- fusal to congress, ib. His patriotic conduct, 178. Retreats to Newark, ib. His question to colonel Reed, ib. Continues his retreat, ib. Invested with extraordinary powers, 180. Retreats to Princeton, 182. Heroism, 183. State of his army, 195. Ad- vantages of his position at Whitemarsh, 206. His situation, 236. His general order, 288. Resigns his government, 417. , expedition to, 594. Warren, Sir John Borlase, captures French ftigates, 402. Naval victorv. 442. Waterloo, battle of, 598. Watson, colonel, reinforces lord Rawdon, 383. Watt, (the state spv,) executed, 395. Ways and means, 120, 214, 384. Webb, (late secretary to treasury,) charges against him, 118. Wechabitts, sect of, 556. Welderen, count, delivers memorial toGeorge HI., 191 Wellesley, marquis, his preparations against Tippoc Saib, 456. . general, his success in India. 496. Arrives at Corunna, 530. Gains battles of Roleia and Vi ^24 INDEX TO MILLER. miera; sails from England; arrives at Lisbon, 531. Takes Oporto, 546. Gains battle of Talavera, 547. Created viscount Wellington, ib. Forms the lines of Torres Vedras, 549. Quits Basaco, 550. Falls back to Torres Vedras, ib. Raises siege of Ba- dajoz, 564. Wellington, captures Ciudad Rodrigo; created by Cortes duke thereof, 564. Captures Badajoz, ib. Enters Spain, 565. Gains victory of Salamanca, ib. Captures Madrid, ib. Appointed generalissimo of Spain ; created earl and marquis, 566. Gains battle of Vittoria, 578. Enters France, 579. Crosses the Adour, 581. Gains battle of Toulouse, 586. Created marquis, duke, &c. 588. Gains battle of Waterloo, 598. Further grant, 600. Enters Paris, 601. West Indies, operations in, 290, 408. Islands lost, 299. British success in the, 416. Attempt on, by French fleets, 507. Westminster scrutiny closed, 319. Police bill passed, 351. Weymouth, lord, his letter to chairman of Lambeth quarter sessions, 120. Whittam, messenger, city proceedings against him, 134. White, colonel John, remarkable exploit of, 241. Whitehill, president suspended, 291. Whitelock, general, cashiered, 522. Wilkes, John, his North Briton, 75. No. 45 of it, ib. Committed to the Tower, ib. Brought up to West- minster hall by Habeas Corpus, 73. His speech to the judges, ib. Discharged from custody, 74. Re- turns thanks to the court, ib. Dismissed from com- mand of militia, ib. His North Briton ordered by commons to be burnt by common hangman, 76. Wounded in a duel with Mr. Martin, 78. Avoids house of commons, 79. Goes to France, ib. Ex- pelled the house, 80. His essay on women ; con- demned; outlawed, ib. Starts as a candidate for London ; elected member for Middlesex, 113. Ad- dresses court of king's bench, ib. Disturbances on his account, 114. Imprisoned and fined 500^., ib. Petitions house of commons, 118. Appeals on a writ of error to lords, ib. Violent debates respect- ing him, 120. Motion for expelling him house of commons, 121. Expelled and re-elected for Middle- sex, 123. Subscriptions raised for him, 130. Elect- ed for Middlesex a third time, 131. Discharged from prison, ib. Chosen alderman, sheriff, lord-mayor, and chamberlain, ib. Rcchosen twice more for Middlesex; obtains the expunging of proceedings of commons from journal subsequent to declension of popularity, ib. Discharges Wheble the printer. 133. Ordered to appear at bar of house of commons; his letter to speaker ; declining to obey, 134. William Henry, prince, third son of George III. cre- ated duke of Clarence, 91. Windows, new duty on, 317. Winter, admiral de, defeated, 425. Wirtemburg, prince of, his marriage, 428. Xavier, prince of Saxony, 44. Yarmouth, lord, arrives from captivity in France, 514. Communicates message from Talleyrand, ib. Yeomanry, force, of Ireland, 434. York, duke of, added to privy-council on accession of George III., 12. , duke of, second son of George III. ; his mar- riage, 350. Allowance granted him thereon, ib. His campaign, '^SS. Returns to England, 405. Ap- pointed field-marshal and commander-in-chief, 411. Lands in Holland, 460. Campaign, ib. Negotiates and reaches England, 461. Charges preferred against him, 537. Resigns office, 539. Restored as com- mander-in-chief, 560. York, J\rew, act passed to restrain its assemblies, 110. Preparations against, 167. Do. for its defence, 173. Taken, 177. Yorke, Charles, accepts the great seal ; elevated to peerage ; sudden death, 126. , Sir Joseph, presents memorial to states-gen- eral, 190. , archbishop of, his political language, 211. Yorck, d', visits England, 587. Zaddah, Sha, noticed, 92. Arms against England, 96. Zoutman, admiral, noticed, 292. THE END. ^'""^ror^ii^AYvSE -t^