The History of England, Vol. II

State of the Nation immediately after the Revolution..... Account of the new Ministry..... The Convention converted into a Parliament..... Mutiny in the Army..... The Coronation, and abolition of Hearth-money..... The Commons vote a Sum of Money to indemnify the Dutch..... William’s Efforts in Favour of the Dissenters..... Act for a Toleration..... Violent disputes about the Bill for a Comprehension..... The Commons address the King to summon a Convocation of the Clergy..... Settlement of the Revenue..... The King takes Umbrage at the Proceedings of the Whig-party..... Heats and Animosities about the Bill of Indemnity recommended by the King..... Birth of the Duke of Gloucester..... Affairs of the Continent..... War declared against France..... Proceedings in the Convention of Scotland, of which the Duke of Hamilton is chosen President..... Letters to the Convention from King William and King James..... They recognise the authority of King William..... They vote the Crown vacant, and pass an Act of settlement in favour of William and Mary..... They appoint Commissioners to make a Tender of the Crown to William, who receives it on the conditions they propose..... Enumeration of their Grievances..... The Convention is declared a Parliament, and the Duke of Hamilton King’s Commissioner..... Prelacy abolished in that Kingdom..... The Scots dissatisfied with the King’s Conduct..... Violent disputes in the Scotch Parliament..... which is adjourned..... A Remonstrance presented to the King—The Castle of Edinburgh besieged and taken-The Troops of King William defeated at Killycrankie..... King James cordially received by the French King..... Tyrconnel temporizes with King William..... James arrives in Ireland..... Issues five Proclamations at Dublin..... Siege of Londonderry..... The Inhabitants defend themselves with surprising Courage and Perseverance..... Cruelty of Rosene, the French General..... The Place is relieved by Kirke..... The Inniskilliners defeat and take General Maccarty..... Meeting of the Irish Parliament..... They repeal the Act of Settlement..... Pass an Act of Attainder against Absentees..... James coins base Money..... The Protestants of Ireland cruelly oppressed..... Their Churches are seized by the Catholics, and they are forbid to assemble on pain of Death..... Admiral Herbert worsted by the French Fleet in an Engagement near Ban-try- bay..... Divers Sentences and Attainders reversed in Parliament..... Inquiry into the Cause of Miscarriages in Ireland..... Bills passed in this Session of Parliament.

STATE OF THE NATION IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE REVOLUTION.

The constitution of England had now assumed a new aspect. The maxim of hereditary indefeisible right was at length renounced by a free parliament. The power of the crown was acknowledged to flow from no other fountain than that of a contract with the people. Allegiance and protection were declared reciprocal ties depending upon each other. The representatives of the nation made a regular claim of rights in behalf of their constituents; and William III. ascended the throne in consequence of an express capitulation with the people. Yet, on this occasion, the zeal of the parliament towards their deliverer seems to have overshot their attachment to their own liberty and privileges: or at least they neglected the fairest opportunity that ever occurred, to retrench those prerogatives of the crown to which they imputed all the late and former calamities of the kingdom. Their new monarch retained the old regal power over parliaments in its full extent. He was left at liberty to convoke, adjourn, prorogue, and dissolve them at his pleasure. He was enabled to influence elections, and oppress corporations. He possessed the right of choosing his own council; of nominating all the great officers of the state, and of the household, of the army, the navy, and the church. He reserved the absolute command of the militia: so that lie remained master of all the instruments and engines of corruption and violence, without any other restraint than his own moderation, and prudent regard to the claim of rights, and principle of resistance on which the revolution was founded. In a word, the settlement was finished with some precipitation, before the plan had been properly digested and matured; and this will be the case in every establishment formed upon a sudden emergency in the face of opposition. It was observed, that the king, who was made by the people, had it in his power to rule without them; to govern jure divino though he was created jure humano: and that, though the change proceeded from a republican spirit, the settlement was built upon tory maxims; for the execution of his government continued still independent of his commission, while his own person remained sacred and inviolable. The prince of Orange had been invited to England by a coalition of parties, united by a common sense of danger; but this tie was no sooner broken than they flew asunder and each resumed its original bias. Their mutual jealousy and rancour revived, and was heated by dispute into intemperate zeal and enthusiasm. Those who at first acted from principles of patriotism were insensibly warmed into partizans; and king William soon found himself at the head of a faction. As he had been bred, a Calvinist, and always expressed an abhorrence of spiritual persecution, the presbyter-ians, and other protestant dissenters, considered him as their peculiar protector, and entered into his interests with the most zealous fervour and assiduity. For the same reasons the friends of the church became jealous of his proceedings, and employed all their influence, first in opposing his elevation to the throne, and afterwards in thwarting his measures. Their party was espoused by all the friends of the lineal succession; by the Roman catholics; by those who were personally attached to the late king; and by such as were disgusted by the conduct and personal deportment of William since his arrival in England. They observed, That, contrary to his declaration, he had plainly aspired to the crown; and treated his father-in-law with insolence and rigour; that his army contained a number of foreign papists, almost equal to that of the English Roman catholics whom James had employed; that the reports so industriously circulated about the birth of the prince of Wales, the treaty with France for enslaving England, and the murder of the earl of Essex-reports countenanced by the prince of Orange-now appeared to be without foundation; that the Dutch troops remained in London, while the English forces were distributed in remote quarters; that the prince declared the first should be kept about his person, and the latter sent to Ireland; that the two houses out of complaisance to William, had denied their late sovereign the justice of being heard in his own defence; and that the Dutch had lately interfered with the trade of London, which was already sensibly diminished. These were the sources of discontent, swelled up by the resentment of some noblemen and other individuals, disappointed in their hopes of profit and preferment.

ACCOUNT OF THE NEW MINISTRY.

William began his reign with a proclamation, for confirming all protestants in the offices which they enjoyed on the first day of December; then he chose the members of his council, who were generally staunch to his interest, except the archbishop of Canterbury and the earl of Nottingham, and these were admitted in complaisance to the church-party, which it was not thought adviseable to provoke. 001 [See note A, at the end of this Vol.] Nottingham and Shrewsbury were appointed secretaries of state; the privy-seal was bestowed upon the marquis of Halifax; the earl of Danby was created president of the council. These two noblemen enjoyed a good share of the king’s confidence, and Nottingham was considerable as head of the church-party: but the chief favourite was Bentinck, first commoner on the list of privy-counsellors, as well as groom of the stole and privy purse. D’Averquerque was made master of the horse, Zuylestein of the robes, and Sehomberg of the ordnance: the treasury, admiralty, and chancery were put in commission; twelve able judges were chosen;* and the diocese of Salisbury being vacated by the death of Dr. Ward, the king of his own free motion filled it with Burnet, who had been a zealous stickler for his interest; and in a particular manner instrumental in effecting the revolution. Sancroft, archbishop of Canterbury, refused to consecrate this ecclesiastic, though the reasons of his refusal are not specified; but, being afraid of incurring the penalties of a premunire, he granted a commission to the bishop of London, and three other suffragans, to perform that ceremony. Burnet was a prelate of some parts, and great industry; moderate in his notions of church discipline, inquisitive, meddling, vain, and credulous. In consequence of having incurred the displeasure of the late king, he had retired to the continent and fixed his residence in Holland, where he was naturalized, and attached himself to the interest of the prince of Orange, who consulted him about the affairs of England. He assisted in drawing up the prince’s manifesto, and wrote some other papers and pamphlets in defence of his design. He was demanded of the States by the English ambassador as a British fugitive, outlawed by king James, and excepted in the act of indemnity. Nevertheless, he came over with William in quality of his chaplain; and, by his intrigues, contributed in some measure to the success of that expedition. The principal individuals that composed this ministry have been characterized in the history of the preceding reigns. We have had occasion to mention the fine talents, the vivacity, the flexibility of Halifax; the plausibility, the enterprising genius, the obstinacy of Danby; the pompous eloquence, the warmth, and ostentation of Nottingham; the probity and popularity of Shrewsbury. Godolphin, now brought into the treasury, was modest, silent, sagacious, and upright. Mordaunt, appointed first commissioner of that board, and afterwards created earl of Monmouth, was open, generous, and a republican in his principles. Delamere, chancellor of the exchequer, promoted in the sequel to the rank of earl of Warrington, was close and mercenary. Obsequiousness, fidelity, and attachment to his master, composed the character of Bentinck, whom the king raised to the dignity of earl of Portland. The English favourite, Sidney, was a man of wit and pleasure, possessed of the most engaging talents for conversation and private friendship, but rendered unfit for public business by indolence and inattention. He was ennobled, and afterwards created earl of Romney; a title which he enjoyed with several successive posts of profit and importance. The stream of honour and preferment ran strong in favour of the whigs, and this appearance of partiality confirmed the suspicion and resentment of the opposite party.

* Sir John Holt was appointed lord chief justice of the king’s bench, and Sir Henry Pollexfen of the common pleas: the earl of Devonshire was made lord steward of the household, and the earl of Dorset lord chamberlain.—Ralph.

THE CONVENTION CONVERTED INTO A PARLIAMENT.

The first resolution taken in the new council was to convert the convention into a parliament, that the new settlement might be strengthened by a legal sanction, which was now supposed to be wanting, as the assembly had not been convoked by the king’s writ of summons. The experiment of a new election was deemed too hazardous; therefore the council determined that the king should, by virtue of his own authority, change the convention into a parliament, by going to the house of peers with the usual state of a sovereign, and pronouncing a speech from the throne to both houses. This expedient was accordingly practised. 002 [See note B, at the end of this Vol.] He assured them he should never take any step that would diminish the good opinion they had conceived of his integrity. He told them that Holland was in such a situation as required their immediate attention and assistance; that the posture of affairs at home likewise demanded their serious consideration; that a good settlement was necessary, not only for the establishment of domestic peace, but also for the support of the protestant interest abroad: that the affairs of Ireland were too critically situated to admit the least delay in their deliberations; he therefore begged they would be speedy and effectual in concerting such measures as should be judged indispensably necessary for the welfare of the nation. The commons returning to their house, immediately passed a vote of thanks to his majesty, and made an order that his speech should be taken into consideration. After the throne had been declared vacant by a small majority of the peers, those who opposed that measure had gradually withdrawn themselves from the house, so that very few remained but such as were devoted to the new monarch. These therefore brought in a bill for preventing all disputes concerning the present parliament. In the meantime, Mr. Hambden, in the lower house, put the question, Whether a king elected by the lords spiritual and temporal, and the commons assembled at Westminster, coming to and consulting with the said lords and commons, did not make as complete a parliament and legislative power and authority as if the said king should cause new elections to be made by writ? Many members affirmed that the king’s writ was as necessary as his presence to the being of a legal parliament, and as the convention was defective in this particular, it could not be vested with a parliamentary authority by any management whatsoever. The whigs replied, That the essence of a parliament consisted in the meeting and co-operation of the king, lords, and commons; and that it was not material whether they were convoked by writ or by letter: they proved this assertion by examples deduced from the history of England: they observed that a new election would be attended with great trouble, expense, and loss of time; and that such delay might prove fatal to the protestant interest in Ireland, as well as to the allies on the continent. In the midst of this debate the bill was brought down from the lords, and being read, a committee was appointed to make some amendments. These were no sooner made than the commons sent it back to the upper house, and it immediately received the royal assent. By this act the lords and commons assembled at Westminster were declared the two houses of parliament to all intents and purposes: it likewise ordained, That the present act, and all other acts to which the royal assent should be given before the next prorogation, should be understood and adjudged in law to begin on the thirteenth day of February: that the members, instead of the old oaths of allegiance and supremacy, should take the new oath incorporated in this act under the ancient penalty; and that the present parliament should be dissolved in the usual manner. Immediately after this transaction a warm debate arose in the house of commons about the revenue, which the courtiers alleged had devolved with the crown upon William, at least during the life of James, for which term the greater part of it had been granted. The members in the opposition affirmed that these grants were vacated with the throne; and at length it was voted, That the revenue had expired. Then a motion was made, That a revenue should be settled on the king and queen; and the house resolved it should be taken into consideration. While they deliberated on this affair they received a message from his majesty, importing that the late king had set sail from Brest with an armament to invade Ireland. They forthwith resolved to assist his majesty with their lives and fortunes; they voted a temporary aid of four hundred and twenty thousand pounds, to be levied by monthly assessments, and both houses waited on the king to signify this resolution. But this unanimity did not take place till several lords spiritual as well as temporal had, rather than take the oaths, absented themselves from parliament. The nonjuring prelates were Sancroft, archbishop of Canterbury; Turner, bishop of Ely; Lake, of Chichester; Ken, of Bath and Wells; White, of Peterborough; Lloyd, of Norwich; Thomas, of Worcester; and Frampton, of Gloucester. The temporal peers who refused the oath were the duke of Newcastle; the earls of Clarendon, Litchfield, Exeter, Yarmouth, and Stafford; the lords Griffin and Stawel. Five of the bishops withdrew themselves from the house at one time; but before they retired one of the number moved for a bill of toleration, and another of comprehension, by which moderate dissenters might be reconciled to the church, and admitted into ecclesiastical benefices. Such bills were actually prepared and presented by the earl of Nottingham, who received the thanks of the house for the pains he had taken. From this period the party averse to the government of William were distinguished by the appellation of Nonjurors. They rejected the notion of a king de facto, as well as all other distinctions and limitations; and declared for the absolute power and divine hereditary indefeisible right of sovereigns.

MUTINY IN THE ARMY.

This faction had already begun to practise against the new government. The king having received some intimation of their designs from intercepted letters, ordered the earl of Arran, sir Robert Hamilton, and some other gentlemen of the Scottish nation, to be apprehended and sent prisoners to the Tower. Then he informed the two houses of the step he had taken, and even craved their advice with regard to his conduct in such a delicate affair which had compelled him to trespass upon the law of England. The lords thanked him for the care he took of their liberties, and desired he would secure all disturbers of the peace: but the commons empowered him by a bill to dispense with the habeas-corpus act till the seventeenth day of April next ensuing. This was a stretch of confidence in the crown which had not been made in favour of the late king, even while Argyle and Monmouth were in open rebellion. A spirit of discontent had by this time diffused itself through the army, and become so formidable to the court, that the king resolved to retain the Dutch troops in England and send over to Holland in their room such regiments as were most tinctured with disaffection. Of these the Scottish regiment of Dumbarton, commanded by mareschal Schomberg, mutinied on its march to Ipswich, seized the military chest, disarmed the officers who opposed their design, declared for king James, and with four pieces of cannon began their march for Scotland. William, being informed of this revolt, ordered general Ginckel to pursue them with three regiments of Dutch dragoons, and the mutineers surrendered at discretion. As the delinquents were natives of Scotland, which had not yet submitted in form to the new government, the king did not think proper to punish them as rebels, but ordered them to proceed for Holland according to his first intention. Though this attempt proved abortive, it made a strong impression upon the ministry, who were divided among themselves and wavered in their principles. However, they used this opportunity to bring in a bill for punishing mutiny and desertion, which in a little time passed both houses and received the royal assent.

CORONATION—ABOLITION OF HEARTH-MONEY.

The coronation oath 003 [See note C, at the end of this Vol.] being altered and explained, that ceremony was performed on the eleventh day of April, the bishop of London officiating, at the king’s desire, in the room of the metropolitan, who was a malcontent; and next day the commons in a body waited on the king and queen at Whitehall, with an address of congratulation. William, with a view to conciliate the affections of his new subjects, and check the progress of clamour and discontent, signified in a solemn message to the house of commons, his readiness to acquiesce in any measure they should think proper to take for a new regulation or total suppression of the hearth-money, which he understood was a grievous imposition on his subjects; and this tax was afterwards abolished. He was gratified with an address of thanks, couched in the warmest expressions of duty, gratitude, and affection, declaring they would take such measures in support of his crown, as would convince the world that he reigned in the hearts of his people.

THE COMMONS VOTE MONEY TO INDEMNIFY THE DUTCH.

He had, in his answer to their former address, assured them of his constant regard to the rights and prosperity of the nation: he had explained the exhausted state of the Dutch; expatiated upon the zeal of that republic for the interests of Britain, as well as the maintenance of the protestant religion; and expressed his hope that the English parliament would not only repay the sums they had expended in his expedition, but likewise further support them to the utmost of their ability against the common enemies of their liberties and religion. He had observed that a considerable army and fleet would be necessary for the reduction of Ireland and the protection of Britain, and he desired they would settle the revenue in such a manner that it might be collected without difficulty and dispute. The sum total of the money expended by the states-general in William’s expedition amounted to seven millions of guilders, and the commons granted six hundred thousand pounds for the discharge of this debt, incurred for the preservation of their rights and religion. They voted funds for raising and maintaining an army of two-and-twenty thousand men, as well as for equipping a numerous fleet: but they provided for no more than half a year’s subsistence of the troops, hoping the reduction of Ireland might be finished in that term; and this instance of frugality the king considered as a mark of their diffidence of his administration. The whigs were resolved to supply him gradually, that he might be the more dependent upon their zeal and attachment; but he was not at all pleased with their precaution.

WILLIAM’S EFFORTS IN FAVOUR OF DISSENTEES.

William was naturally biassed to Calvinism, and averse to persecution. Whatever promises he had made, and whatever sentiments of respect he had entertained for the church of England, he seemed now in a great measure alienated from it by the opposition he had met with from its members, particularly from the bishops who had thwarted his measures. By absenting themselves from parliament, and refusing the oath, they had plainly disowned his title and renounced his government. He therefore resolved to mortify the church, and gratify his own friends at the same time, by removing the obstacles affixed to nonconformity, that all protestant dissenters should be rendered capable of enjoying and exercising civil employments. When he gave his assent to the bill for suspending the habeas-corpus act, he recommended the establishment of a new oath in lieu of those of allegiance and supremacy: he expressed his hope that they would leave room for the admission of all his protestant subjects who should be found qualified for the service; he said, such a conjunction would unite them the more firmly among themselves, and strengthen them against their common adversaries. In consequence of this hint, a clause was inserted in the bill for abrogating the old and appointing the new oaths, by which the sacramental test was declared unnecessary in rendering any person capable of enjoying any office or employment. It was, however, rejected by a great majority in the house of lords. Another clause for the same purpose, though in different terms, was proposed by the king’s direction, and met with the same fate, though in both cases several noblemen entered a protest against the resolution of the house. These fruitless efforts in favour of dissenters augmented the prejudice of the churchmen against king William, who would have willingly compromised the difference by excusing the clergy from the oaths, provided the dissenters might be exempted from the sacramental test: but this was deemed the chief bulwark of the church, and therefore the proposal was rejected. The church party in the house of lords moved, That instead of inserting a clause obliging the clergy to take the oaths, the king should be empowered to tender them; and, in case of their refusal, they should incur the penalty, because deprivation, or the apprehensions of it, might make them desperate and excite them to form designs against the government. This argument had no weight with the commons, who thought it was indispensably necessary to exact the oaths of the clergy, as their example influenced the kingdom in general, and the youth of the nation were formed under their instructions. After a long and warm debate, all the mitigation that could be obtained was a clause empowering the king to indulge any twelve clergymen, deprived by virtue of this act, with a third part of their benefices during pleasure. Thus the ancient oaths of allegiance and supremacy were abrogated: the declaration of non-resistance in the act of uniformity was repealed: the new oath of allegiance was reduced to its primitive simplicity, and the coronation-oath rendered more explicit. The clergy were enjoined to take the new oaths before the first day of August, on pain of being suspended from their office for six months, and of entire deprivation, in case they should not take them before the expiration of this term. They generally complied, though with such reservations and distinctions as were not much for the honour of their sincerity.

ACT FOR A TOLERATION.

The king, though baffled in his design against the sacramental test, resolved to indulge the dissenters with a toleration; and a bill for this purpose being prepared by the earl of Nottingham, was, after some debate, passed into a law, under the title of an act for exempting their majesties’ protestant subjects, dissenting from the church of England, from the penalties of certain laws. It enacted, That none of the penal laws should be construed to extend to those dissenters who should take the oaths to the present government, and subscribe the declaration of the thirtieth year of the reign of Charles II. provided that they should hold no private assemblies or conventicles with the doors shut; that nothing should be construed to exempt them from the payment of tithes or other parochial duties: that, in case of being chosen into the office of constable, churchwarden, overseer, &c. and of scrupling to take the oaths annexed to such offices, they should be allowed to execute the employment by deputy: that the preachers and teachers in congregations of dissenting protestants who should take the oaths, subscribe the declaration, together with all the articles of religion, except the thirty-fourth and the two succeeding articles, and part of the twentieth, should be exempted from the penalties decreed against non-conformists, as well as from serving upon juries, or acting in parish offices: yet all justices of the peace were empowered to require such dissenters to subscribe the declaration and take the oaths; and, in case of refusal, to commit them to prison without bail or mainprize. The same indulgence was extended to anabaptists, and even to quakers, on their solemn promise before God to be faithful to the king and queen, and their assenting by profession and asseveration to those articles which the others ratified upon oath: they were likewise required to profess their belief in the Trinity and the Holy Scriptures. Even the papists felt the benign influence of William’s moderation in spiritual matters: he rejected the proposal of some zealots, who exhorted him to enact severe laws against popish recusants. Such a measure, he observed, would alienate all the papists of Europe from the interests of England, and might produce a new Catholic league which would render the war a religious quarrel; besides, he would not pretend to screen the protestants of Germany and Hungary, while he himself should persecute the Catholics of England. He therefore resolved to treat them with lenity; and though they were not comprehended in the act, they enjoyed the benefit of the toleration.

VIOLENT DISPUTES ABOUT THE BILL FOR A COMPREHENSION.

We have observed that, in consequence of the motion made by the bishops when they withdrew from parliament, a bill was brought into the house of lords for uniting their majesties’ protestant subjects. This was extremely agreeable to the king, who had the scheme of comprehension very much at heart. In the progress of the bill a warm debate arose about the posture of kneeling at the sacrament, which was given up in favour of the dissenters. Another no less violent ensued upon the subsequent question, “Whether there should be an addition of laity in the commission to be given by the king to the bishops and others of the clergy, for preparing such a reformation of ecclesiastical affairs as might be the means of healing divisions, and correcting whatever might be erroneous or defective in the constitution.” A great number of the temporal lords insisted warmly on this addition, and when it was rejected four peers entered a formal protest. Bishop Burnet was a warm stickler for the exclusion of the laity; and, in all probability, manifested this warmth in hopes of ingratiating himself with his brethren, among whom his character was very far from being popular. But the merit of this sacrifice was destroyed by the arguments he had used for dispensing with the posture of kneeling at the sacrament; and by his proposing in another proviso of the bill, that the subscribers, instead of expressing assent or consent, should only submit with a promise of conformity.

THE COMMONS ADDRESS THE KING TO SUMMON A CONVOCATION.

The bill was with difficulty passed in the house of lords, but the commons treated it with neglect. By this time a great number of malcontent members, who had retired from parliament, were returned with a view to thwart the administration, though they could not prevent the settlement. Instead of proceeding with the bill they presented an address to the king, thanking him for his gracious declaration and repeated assurances that he would maintain the church of England as by law established; a church whose doctrine and practice had evinced its loyalty beyond all contradiction. They likewise humbly besought his majesty to issue writs for calling a convocation of the clergy, to be consulted in ecclesiastical matters according to the ancient usage of parliaments; and they declared they would forthwith take into consideration proper methods for giving ease to protestant dissenters. Though the king was displeased at this address, in which the lords also had concurred, he returned a civil answer by the mouth of the earl of Nottingham, professing his regard for the church of England, which should always be his peculiar care, recommending the dissenters to their protection, and promising to summon a convocation as soon as such a measure should be convenient. This message produced no effect in favour of the bill which lay neglected on the table. Those who moved for it had no other view than that of displaying their moderation: and now they excited their friends to oppose it with all their interest. Others were afraid of espousing it lost they should be stigmatized as enemies to the church; and a great number of the most eminent presbyterians wore averse to a scheme of comprehension, which diminished their strength and weakened the importance of the party. Being therefore violently opposed on one hand, and but faintly supported on the other, no wonder it miscarried. The king however was so bent upon the execution of his design, that it was next session revived in another form though with no better success.

SETTLEMENT OF THE REVENUE.

The next object that engrossed the attention of the parliament was the settlement of a revenue for the support of the government. Hitherto there had been no distinction of what was allotted for the king’s use, and what was assigned for the service of the public; so that the sovereign was entirely master of the whole supply. As the revenue in the late reigns had been often embezzled and misapplied, it was now resolved that a certain sum should be set apart for the maintenance of the king’s household and the support of his dignity; and that the rest of the public money should be employed under the inspection of parliament. Accordingly, since this period, the commons have appropriated the yearly supplies to certain specified services; and an account of the application has been constantly submitted to both houses at the next session. At this juncture the prevailing party, or the whigs, determined that the revenue should be granted from year to year, or at least for a small term of years; that the king might find himself dependent upon the parliament, and merit the renewal of the grant by a just and popular administration. In pursuance of this maxim, when the revenue fell under consideration, they, under pretence of charges and anticipations which they had not time to examine, granted it by a provisional act for one year only. The civil list was settled at six hundred thousand pounds, chargeable with the appointments of the queen dowager, the prince and princess of Denmark, the judges, and mareschal Schomberg, to whom the parliament had already granted one hundred thousand pounds, in consideration of his important services to the nation. The commons also voted that a constant revenue of twelve hundred thousand pounds should be established for the support of the crown in time of peace.

THE KING TAKES UMBRAGE AT THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE WHIG PARTY.

The king took umbrage at these restraints laid upon the application of the public money, which were the most salutary fruits of the revolution. He considered them as marks of diffidence by which he was distinguished from his predecessors; and thought them an ungrateful return for the services he had done the nation. The tories perceived his disgust, and did not fail to foment his jealousy against their adversaries, which was confirmed by a fresh effort of the whigs in relation to a militia. A bill was brought into the house for regulating it in such a manner as would have rendered it in a great measure independent both of the king and the lords-lieutenants of counties. These being generally peers, the bill was suffered to lie neglected on the table, but the attempt confirmed the suspicion of the king, who began to think himself in danger of being enslaved by a republican party. The tories had, by the channel of Nottingham, made proffers of service to his majesty; but complained at the same time that as they were in danger of being prosecuted for their lives and fortunes, they could not, without an act of indemnity, exert themselves in favour of the crown, lest they should incur a persecution from their implacable enemies.

HEATS AND ANIMOSITIES ABOUT THE BILL OF INDEMNITY.

These remonstrances made such an impression on the king, that he sent a message to the house by Mr. Hambden, recommending a bill of indemnity as the most effectual means for putting an end to all controversies, distinctions, and occasions of discord. He desired it might be prepared with all convenient expedition, and with such exceptions only as should seem necessary for the vindication of public justice, the safety of him and his consort, and the settlement and welfare of the nation. An address of thanks to his majesty was unanimously voted. Nevertheless, his design was frustrated by the backwardness of the whigs, who proceeded so slowly on the bill that it could not be brought to maturity before the end of the session. They wanted to keep the scourge over the heads of their enemies until they should find a proper opportunity for revenge; and, in the meantime, restrain them from opposition by the terror of impending vengeance. They affected to insinuate that the king’s design was to raise the prerogative as high as it had been in the preceding reigns; and that he for this purpose pressed an act of indemnity, by virtue of which he might legally use the instruments of the late tyranny. The earls of Monmouth and Warrington industrously infused these jealousies into the minds of their party: on the other hand, the earl of Nottingham inflamed William’s distrust of his old friends: both sides succeeded in kindling an animosity, which had like to have produced confusion, notwithstanding the endeavours used by the earls of Shrewsbury and Devonshire, to allay those heats and remove the suspicions that mutually prevailed.

BIRTH OF THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER.

It was now judged expedient to pass an act for settling the succession of the crown according to the former resolution of the convention. A bill for this purpose was brought into the lower house, with a clause disabling papists from succeeding to the throne: to this the lords added, “Or such as should marry papists,” absolving the subject in that case from allegiance, The bishop of Salisbury, by the king’s direction, proposed that the princess Sophia, duchess of Hanover, and her posterity, should be nominated in the act of succession as the next protestant heirs, failing issue of the king and Anne princess of Denmark. These amendments gave rise to warm debates in the lower house, where they were vigorously opposed, not only by those who wished well in secret to the late king and the lineal succession, but likewise by the republican party, who hoped to see monarchy altogether extinguished in England by the death of the three persons already named in the bill of succession. The lords insisted upon their amendments, and several fruitless conferences were held between the two houses. At length the bill was dropt for the present in consequence of an event which in a great measure dissipated the fears of a popish successor. This was the delivery of the princess Anne, who, on the twenty-seventh day of July, brought forth a son, christened by the name of William, and afterwards created duke of Gloucester.

AFFAIRS OF THE CONTINENT.

In the midst of these domestic disputes, William did not neglect the affairs of the continent. He retained all his former influence in Holland, as his countrymen had reason to confide in his repeated assurances of inviolable affection. The great scheme which he had projected of a confederacy against France began at this period to take effect. The princes of the empire assembled in the diet, solemnly exhorted the emperor to declare war against the French king, who had committed numberless infractions of the treaties of Munster, Osnabruck, Nimeguen, and the truce, invaded their country without provocation, and evinced himself an inveterate enemy of the holy Roman empire. They therefore besought his imperial majesty to conclude a treaty of peace with the Turks, who had offered advantageous terms, and proceed to an open rupture with Louis, in which case they would consider it as a war of the empire, and support their head in the most effectual manner. The states-general published a declaration against the common enemy, taxing him with manifold infractions of the treaty of commerce; with having involved the subjects of the republic in the persecution which he had raised against the protestants; with having cajoled and insulted them with deceitful promises and insolent threats; with having plundered and oppressed the Dutch merchants and traders in France; and, finally, with having declared war against the states without any plausible reason assigned. The elector of Brandenburg denounced war against France as a power whose perfidy, cruelty, and ambition, it was the duty of every prince to oppose. The marquis de Castanaga, governor of the Spanish Netherlands, issued a counter declaration to that of Louis, who had declared against his master. He accused the French king of having laid waste the empire, without any regard to the obligations of religion and humanity, or even to the laws of war; of having countenanced the most barbarous acts of cruelty and oppression; and of having intrigued with the enemies of Christ for the destruction of the empire. The emperor negotiated an alliance offensive and defensive with the states-general, binding the contracting parties to co-operate with their whole power against France and her allies. It was stipulated that neither side should engage in a separate treaty on any pretence whatsoever; that no peace should be admitted until the treaties of Westphalia, Osnabruck, Minister, and the Pyrenees, should have been vindicated; that, in case of a negotiation for a peace or truce, the transactions on both sides should be communicated bona fide; and that Spain and England should be invited to accede to the treaty. In a separate article, the contracting powers agreed, that, in case of the Spanish king’s dying without issue, the states-general should assist the emperor with all their forces to take possession of that monarchy: that they should use their friendly endeavours with the princes electors, their allies, towards elevating his son Joseph to the dignity of king of the Romans, and employ their utmost force against France should she attempt to oppose his elevation.

WAR DECLARED AGAINST FRANCE.

William, who was the soul of this confederacy, found no difficulty in persuading the English to undertake a war against their old enemies and rivals. On the sixteenth day of April, Mr. Hambden made a motion for taking into consideration the state of the kingdom with respect to France, and foreign alliances; and the commons unanimously resolved, that, in case his majesty should think fit to engage in a war with France, they would, in a parliamentary way, enable him to carry it on with vigour. An address was immediately drawn up and presented to the king, desiring that he would seriously consider the destructive methods taken of late years by the French king against the trade, quiet, and interest of the nation, particularly his present invasion of Ireland, and supporting the rebels in that kingdom. They did not doubt but the alliances already made, and those that might hereafter be concluded by his majesty, would be sufficient to reduce the French king to such a condition, that it should not be in his power to violate the peace of Christendom, nor prejudice the trade and prosperity of England; in the mean time they assured his majesty he might depend upon the assistance of his parliament, according to the vote which had passed in the house of commons. This was a welcome address to king William. He assured them that no part of the supplies which they might grant for the prosecution of the war should be misapplied; and, on the seventh day of May, he declared war against the French monarch. On this occasion, Louis was charged with having ambitiously invaded the territories of the emperor, and denounced war against the allies of England, in violation of the treaties confirmed under the guarantee of the English crown; with having encroached upon the fishery of Newfoundland, invaded the Caribbee Islands, taken forcible possession of New-York and Hudson’s-bay, made depredations on the English at sea, prohibited the importation of English manufactures, disputed the right of the flag, persecuted many English subjects on account of religion, contrary to express treaties and the law of nations, and sent an armament to Ireland, in support of the rebels of that kingdom.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE CONVENTION.

Having thus described the progress of the revolution in England, we shall now briefly explain the measures that were prosecuted in Scotland, towards the establishment of William on the throne of that kingdom. The meeting of the Scottish convention was fixed for the fourteenth day of March; and both parties employed all their interest to influence the election of members. The duke of Hamilton, and all the presbyterians, declared for William. The duke of Gordon maintained the castle of Edinburgh for his old master; but, as he had neglected to lay in a store of provisions, he depended entirely upon the citizens for subsistence. The partisans of James were headed by the earl of Balcarras, and Graham viscount Dundee, who employed their endeavours to preserve union among the individuals of their party; to confirm the duke of Gordon, who began to waver in his attachment to their sovereign; and to manage their intrigues in such a manner as to derive some advantage to their cause from the transactions of the ensuing session. When the lords and commons assembled at Edinburgh, the bishop of that diocese, who officiated as chaplain to the convention, prayed for the restoration of king James. The first dispute turned upon the choice of a president. The friends of the late king set up the marquis of Athol in opposition to the duke of Hamilton; but this last was elected by a considerable majority; and a good number of the other party, finding their cause the weakest, deserted it from that moment. The earls of Lothian and Tweedale were sent as deputies, to require the duke of Gordon, in the name of the estates, to quit the castle in four-and-twenty hours, and leave the charge of it to the protestant officer next in command. The duke, though in himself irresolute, was animated by Dundee to demand such conditions as the convention would not grant. The négociation proving ineffectual, the states ordered the heralds, in all their formalities, to summon him to surrender the castle immediately, on pain of incurring the penalties of high treason; and he refusing to obey their mandate, was proclaimed a traitor. All persons were forbid, under the same penalties, to aid, succour, or correspond with him; and the castle was blocked up with the troops of the city.

LETTERS TO THE CONVENTION FROM KING WILLIAM AND KING JAMES.

Next day an express arrived from London, with a letter from king William to the estates; and, at the same time, another from James was presented by one Crane, an English domestic of the abdicated queen. William observed that he had called a meeting of their estates at the desire of the nobility and gentry of Scotland assembled at London, who requested that he would take upon himself the administration of their affairs. He exhorted them to concert measures for settling the peace of the kingdom upon a solid foundation; and to lay aside animosities and factions, which served only to impede that salutary settlement. He professed himself sensible of the good effects that would arise from an union of the two kingdoms; and assured them he would use his best endeavours to promote such a coalition. A committee being appointed to draw up a respectful answer to these assurances, a debate ensued about the letter from the late king James. This they resolved to favour with a reading, after the members should have subscribed an act, declaring that notwithstanding any thing that might be contained in the letter for dissolving the convention, or impeding their procedure, they were a free and lawful meeting of the states; and would continue undissolved until they should have settled and secured the protestant religion, the government, laws, and liberties of the kingdom. Having taken this precaution, they proceeded to examine the letter of the late sovereign, who conjured them to support his interest as faithful subjects, and eternize their names by a loyalty suitable to their former professions. He said he would not fail to give them such a speedy and powerful assistance as would enable them to defend themselves from any foreign attempt; and even to assert his right against those enemies who had depressed it by the blackest usurpations and unnatural attempts, which the Almighty God would not allow to pass unpunished. He offered pardon to all those who should return to their duty before the last day of the month; and threatened to punish rigorously such as should stand out in rebellion against him and his authority.

THE CONVENTION RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF KING WILLIAM.

This address produced very little effect in favour of the unfortunate exile, whose friends were greatly outnumbered in this assembly. His messenger was ordered into custody, and afterwards dismissed with a pass instead of an answer. James, foreseeing this contempt, had, by an instrument dated in Ireland, authorised the archbishop of Glasgow, the earl of Balcarras, and the viscount Dundee, to call a convention of the estates at Stirling. These three depended on the interest of the marquis of Athol and the earl of Mar, who professed the warmest affection for the late king; and they hoped a secession of their friends would embarrass the convention, so as to retard the settlement of king William. Their expectations, however, were disappointed. Athol deserted their cause; and Mar suffered himself to be intercepted in his retreat. The rest of their party were, by the vigilance of the duke of Hamilton, prevented from leaving the convention, except the viscount Dundee, who retreated to the mountains with about fifty horse, and was pursued by order of the estates. This design being frustrated, the convention approved and recognized, by a solemn act, the conduct of the nobility and gentlemen who had entreated the king of England to take upon him the administration. They acknowledged their obligation to the prince of Orange, who had prevented the destruction of their laws, religion, and fundamental constitution; they besought his highness to assume the reins of government for that kingdom; they issued a proclamation requiring all persons, from sixteen to sixty, to be in readiness to take arms when called upon for that purpose; they conferred the command of their horse-militia upon sir Patrick Hume, who was formerly attainted for having been concerned in Argyle’s insurrection; they levied eight hundred men for a guard to the city of Edinburgh, and constituted the earl of Leven their commander; they put the militia all over the kingdom into the hands of those on whom they could rely; they created the earl of Mar governor of Stirling-castle; they received a reinforcement of five regiments from England under the command of Mac-kay, whom they appointed their general; and they issued orders for securing all disaffected persons. Then they dispatched lord Ross with an answer to king William’s letter, professing their gratitude to their deliverer, and congratulating him upon his success. They thanked him for assuming the administration of their affairs, and assembling a convention of their estates.

They declared they would take effectual and speedy measures for securing the protestant religion, as well as for establishing the government, laws, and liberties of the kingdom. They assured him they would, as much as lay in their power, avoid disputes and animosities; and desired the continuance of his majesty’s care and protection.

CROWN VOTED VACANT, AND AN ACT OF SETTLEMENT PASSED.

After the departure of lord Ross, they appointed a committee, consisting of eight lords, eight knights, and as many burgesses, to prepare the plan of a new settlement: but this resolution was not taken without a vigorous opposition from some remaining adherents of the late king, headed by the archbishop of Glasgow; all the other prelates, except he of Edinburgh, having already deserted the convention. After warm debates, the committee agreed in the following vote:—“The estates of the kingdom of Scotland find and declare, That king James VII. being a profest papist, did assume the royal power, and act as a king, without ever taking the oath required by law; and had, by the advice of evil and wicked counsellors, invaded the fundamental constitution of this kingdom, and altered it from a legal and limited monarchy to an arbitrary despotic power, and had governed the same to the subversion of the protestant religion, and violation of the laws and liberties of the nation, inverting all the ends of government; whereby he had forfaulted the right of the crown, and the throne was become vacant.” When this vote was reported, the bishop of Edinburgh argued strenuously against it, as containing a charge of which the king was innocent; and he proposed that his majesty should be invited to return to his Scottish dominions. All his arguments were defeated or overruled, and the house confirmed the vote, which was immediately enacted into a law by a great majority. The lord president declared the throne vacant, and proposed that it might be filled with William and Mary, king and queen of England. The committee was ordered to prepare an act for settling the crown upon their majesties, together with an instrument of government for securing the subjects from the grievances under which they laboured.

THE CROWN TENDERED TO WILLIAM.

On the eleventh day of April, this act, with the conditions of inheritance, and the instrument, were reported, considered, unanimously approved, and solemnly proclaimed at the market-cross of Edinburgh, in presence of the lord president, assisted by the lord provost and magistracy of the city, the duke of Queensbury, the marquisses of Athol and Douglas, together with a great number of the nobility and gentry. At the same time they published another proclamation, forbidding all persons to acknowledge, obey, assist, or correspond with the late king James; or by word, writing, or sermon, to dispute or disown the royal authority of king William and queen Mary; or to misconstrue the proceedings of the estates, or create jealousies or misapprehensions with regard to the transactions of the government, on pain of incurring the most severe penalties. Then, having settled the coronation oath, they granted a commission to the earl of Argyle for the lords, to sir James Montgomery for the knights, and to sir John Dalrymple for the boroughs, empowering them to repair to London, and invest their majesties with the government. This affair being discussed, the convention appointed a committee to take care of the public peace, and adjourned to the twenty-first day of May. On the eleventh day of that month, the Scottish commissioners being introduced to their majesties at Whitehall, presented first a preparatory letter from the estates, then the instrument of government, with a paper containing a recital of the grievances of the nation; and an address desiring his majesty to convert the convention into a parliament. The king having graciously promised to concur with them in all just measures for the interest of the kingdom, the coronation oath was tendered to their majesties by the earl of Argyle. As it contained a clause, importing that they should root out heresy, the king declared, that he did not mean by these words that he should be under an obligation to act as a persecutor: the commissioners replying that such was not the meaning or import of the oath, he desired them, and others present, to bear witness to the exception he had made.

THE CONVENTION STATE THEIR GRIEVANCES.

In the meantime lord Dundee exerted himself with uncommon activity in behalf of his master. He had been summoned by a trumpet to return to the convention, refused to obey the citation on pretence that the whigs had made an attempt upon his life; and that the deliberations of the estates were influenced by the neighbourhood of English troops, under the command of Mackay. He was forthwith declared a fugitive, outlaw, and rebel. He was rancorously hated by the pres-byterians, on whom he had exercised some cruelties as an officer under the former government: and for this reason the states resolved to inflict upon him exemplary punishment. Parties were detached in pursuit of him and Balcarras. This last fell into their hands, and was committed to a common prison; but Dundee fought his way through the troops that surrounded him, and escaped to the Highlands, where he determined to take arms in favour of James, though that prince had forbid him to make any attempt of this nature until he should receive a reinforcement from Ireland. While this officer was employed in assembling the clans of his party, king William appointed the duke of Hamilton commissioner to the convention parliament. The post of secretary for Scotland was bestowed upon lord Melvil, a weak and servile nobleman, who had taken refuge in Holland from the violence of the late reigns: but the king depended chiefly for advice upon Dalrymple lord Stair, president of the college of justice, an old crafty fanatic, who for forty years had complied in all things with all governments. Though these were rigid pres-byterians, the king, to humour the opposite party, admitted some individuals of the episcopal nobility to the council-board; and this intermixture, instead of allaying animosities, served only to sow the seeds of discord and confusion. The Scottish convention, in their detail of grievances, enumerated the lords of the articles; the act of parliament in the reign of Charles II. by which the king’s supremacy was raised so high that he could prescribe any mode of religion according to his pleasure; and the superiority of any office in the church above that of presbyters. The king in his instructions to the lord commissioner, consented to the regulation of the lords of the articles, though he would not allow the institution to be abrogated; he was contented that the act relating to the king’s supremacy should be rescinded, and that the church government should be established in such a manner as would be most agreeable to the inclinations of the people.

PRELACY ABOLISHED IN SCOTLAND.

On the seventeenth day of June, duke Hamilton opened the Scottish parliament, after the convention had assumed this name, in consequence of an act passed by his majesty’s direction; but the members in general were extremely chagrined when they found the commissioners so much restricted in the affair of the lords of the articles, which they considered as their chief grievance. 008 [See note D, at the end of this Vol.] The king permitted that the estates should choose the lords by their own suffrages, and that they should be at liberty to reconsider any subject which the said lords might reject. He afterwards indulged the three estates with the choice of eleven delegates each, for this committee, to be elected monthly, or oftener if they should think fit: but even these concessions proved unsatisfactory while the institution itself remained. Their discontents were not even appeased by the passing of an act abolishing prelacy. Indeed their resentment was inflamed by another consideration, namely, that of the king’s having given seats in the council to some individuals attached to the hierarchy. They manifested their sentiments on this subject by bringing in a bill excluding from any public trust, place, or employment under their majesties, all such as had been concerned in the encroachments of the late reign, or had discovered disaffection to the late happy change, or in any way retarded or obstructed the designs of the convention. This measure was prosecuted with great warmth; and the bill passed through all the forms of the house, but proved ineffectual for want of the royal assent.

DISPUTES IN THE PARLIAMENT.

Nor were they less obstinate in the affair of the judges whom the king had ventured to appoint by virtue of his own prerogative. The malcontents brought in a bill declaring the bench vacant, as it was at the restoration; asserting their own right to examine and approve those who should appointed to fill it; providing that if in time to come any such total vacancy should occur, the nomination should be in the king or queen, or regent for the time being, and the parliament retain the right of approbation; and that all the clauses in the several acts relating to the admission of the ordinary lords of session, and their qualifications for that office, should be ratified and confirmed for perpetual observation. Such was the interest of this party, that the bill was carried by a great majority, notwithstanding the opposition of the ministers, who resolved to maintain the king’s nomination even in defiance of a parliamentary resolution. The majority, exasperated at this open violation of their privileges, forbade the judges whom the king had appointed to open their commissions, or hold a session until his majesty’s further pleasure should be known: on the other hand they were compelled to act by the menaces of the privy-council. The dispute was carried on with great acrimony on both sides, and produced such a ferment, that before the session opened, the ministry thought proper to draw a great number of forces into the neighbourhood of Edinburgh to support the judges in the exercise of their functions.

SCOTCH PARLIAMENT ADJOURNED.

The lord commissioner, alarmed at this scene of tumult and confusion, adjourned the house till the eighth day of October; a step which, added to the other unpopular measures of the court, incensed the opposition to a violent degree. They drew up a remonstrance to the king, complaining of this adjournment while the nation was yet unsettled, recapitulating the several instances in which they had expressed their zeal and affection for his majesty; explaining their reasons for dissenting from the ministry in some articles; beseeching him to consider what they had represented, to give his royal assent to the acts of parliament which they had prepared, and take measures for redressing all the other grievances of the nation. This address was presented to the king at Hampton-court. William was so touched with the reproaches it implied, as if he had not fulfilled the conditions on which he accepted the crown of Scotland, that he, in his own vindication, published his instructions to the commissioner; and by these it appeared that the duke might have proceeded to greater lengths in obliging his countrymen. Before the adjournment, however, the parliament had granted the revenue for life; and raised money for maintaining a body of forces, as well as for supporting the incidental expense of the government for some months; yet part of the troops in that kingdom were supplied and subsisted by the administration of England. In consequence of these disputes in the Scottish parliament, their church was left without any settled form of government; for, though the hierarchy was abolished, the presbyterian discipline was not yet established, and ecclesiastical affairs were occasionally regulated by the privy-council, deriving its authority from that very act of supremacy, which, according to the claim of rights, ought to have been repealed.

THE CASTLE OF EDINBURGH BESIEGED.

The session was no sooner adjourned than sir John Lanier converted the blockade of Edinburgh castle into a regular siege, which was prosecuted with such vigour that in a little time the fortifications were ruined, and the works advanced at the foot of the walls, in which the besiegers had made several large breaches. The duke of Gordon, finding his ammunition expended, his defences destroyed, his intelligence entirely cut off, and despairing of relief from the adherents of his master, desired to capitulate, and obtained very favourable terms for his garrison; but he would not stipulate any conditions for himself, declaring that he had so much respect for all the princes descended from king James VI. that he would not affront any of them so far as to insist upon terms for his own particular: he therefore, on the thirteenth day of June, surrendered the castle and himself at discretion. All the hopes of James and his party were now concentred in the viscount Dundee, who had assembled a body of Highlanders, and resolved to attack Mackay, on an assurance he had received by message, that the regiment of Scottish dragoons would desert that officer, and join him in the action. Mackay having received intimation of this design, decamped immediately, and by long marches retired before Dundee, until he was reinforced by Ramsey’s dragoons, and another regiment of English infantry: then he faced about, and Dundee in his turn retreated into Lochaber. Lord Murray, son of the marquis of Athol, assembled his vassals, to the number of twelve hundred men, for the service of the regency; but he was betrayed by one of his own dependents, who seized the castle of Blair for Dundee, and prevailed upon the Athol men to disperse, rather than fight against James their lawful sovereign.

KING WILLIAM’S TROOPS DEFEATED.

The viscount was by this time reduced to great difficulty and distress. His men had not for many weeks tasted bread or salt, or any drink but water: instead of five hundred infantry, three hundred horse, with a supply of arms, ammunition, and provision, which James had promised to send from Ireland, he received a reinforcement of three hundred naked recruits; but the transports with the stores fell into the hands of the English. Though this was a mortifying disappointment, he bore it without repining; and, far from abandoning himself to despair, began his march to the castle of Blair, which was threatened with a seige by general Mackay. When he reached this fortress, he received intelligence that the enemy had entered the pass of Killycrankie, and he resolved to give them battle without delay. He accordingly advanced against them, and a furious engagement ensued, though it was not of long duration. The Highlanders having received and returned the fire of the English, fell in among them sword in hand with such impetuosity, that the foot were utterly broke in seven minutes. The dragoons fled at the first charge in the utmost consternation. Dundee’s horse, not exceeding one hundred, broke through Mackay’s own regiment; the earl of Dumbarton, at the head of a few volunteers, made himself master of the artillery: twelve hundred of Mackay’s forces were killed on the spot, five hundred taken prisoners, and the rest fled with great precipitation for some hours, until they were rallied by their general, who was an officer of approved courage, conduct, and experience. Nothing could be more complete or decisive than the victory which the Highlanders obtained; yet it was clearly purchased with the death of their beloved chieftain the viscount Dundee, who fell by a random shot in the engagement, and his fate produced such confusion in his army as prevented all pursuit. He possessed an enterprising spirit, undaunted courage, inviolable fidelity, and was peculiarly qualified to command the people who fought under his banner. He was the life and soul of that cause which he espoused, and after his death it daily declined into ruin and disgrace. He was succeeded in command by colonel Cannon, who landed the reinforcement from Ireland; but all his designs miscarried; so that the clans, wearied with repeated misfortunes, laid down their arms by degrees, and took the benefit of a pardon which king William offered to those who should submit within the time specified in his proclamation.

KING JAMES CORDIALLY RECEIVED BY THE FRENCH KING.

After this sketch of Scottish affairs, it will be necessary to take a retrospective view of James, and relate the particulars of his expedition to Ireland. That unfortunate prince and his queen were received with the most cordial hospitality by the French monarch, who assigned the castle of St. Germain for the place of their residence, supported their household with great magnificence, enriched them with presents, and undertook to re-establish them on the throne of England. James, however, conducted himself in such a manner as conveyed no favourable idea of his spirit and understanding. He seems to have been emasculated by religion: he was deserted by that courage and magnanimity for which his youth had been distinguished. He did not discover great sensibility at the loss of his kingdom. All his faculties were swallowed up in bigotry. Instead of contriving plans for retrieving his crown, he held conferences with the Jesuits on topics of religion. The pity which his misfortunes excited in Louis was mingled with contempt. The pope supplied him with indulgencies, while the Romans laughed at him in pasquinades: “There is a pious man, (said the archbishop of Rheims ironically,) who has sacrificed three crowns for a mass.” In a word, he subjected himself to the ridicule and raillery of the French nation.

TYRCONNEL TEMPORIZES WITH WILLIAM.

All the hope of re-ascending the British throne depended upon his friends in Scotland and Ireland. Tyr-connel, who commanded in this last kingdom, was confirmed in his attachment to James by the persuasions of Hamilton, who had undertaken for his submission to the prince of Orange. Nevertheless, he disguised his sentiments, and temporized with William, until James should be able to supply him with reinforcements from France, which he earnestly solicited by private messages. In the meantime, with a view to cajole the protestants of Ireland, and amuse king William with hope of his submission, he persuaded the lord Mountjoy, in whom the protestants chiefly confided, and baron Rice, to go in person with a commission to James, representing the necessity of yielding to the times, and of waiting a fitter opportunity to make use of his Irish subjects. Mountjoy, on his arrival at Paris, instead of being favoured with an audience by James, to explain the reasons which Tyrconnel had suggested touching the inability of Ireland to restore his majesty, was committed prisoner to the Bastile, on account of the zeal with which he had espoused the protestant interest. Although Louis was sincerely disposed to assist James effectually, his intentions were obstructed by the disputes of his ministry. Louvois possessed the chief credit in council; but Seignelai enjoyed a greater share of personal favour, both with the king and madame de Maintenon, the favourite concubine. To this nobleman, as secretary for marine affairs, James made his chief application; and he had promised the command of the troops destined for his service to Latisun, whom Louvois hated. For these reasons this minister thwarted his measures, and retarded the assistance which Louis had promised towards his restoration.

JAMES ARRIVES IN IRELAND.

Yet notwithstanding all his opposition, the succours were prepared and the fleet ready to put to sea by the latter end of February. The French king is said to have offered an army of fifteen thousand natives of France to serve in this expedition; but James replied, that he would succeed by the help of his own subjects, or perish in the attempt. Accordingly, he contented himself with about twelve hundred British subjects, 010 [See note E, at the end of this Vol.] and a good number of French officers, who were embarked in the fleet at Brest, consisting of fourteen ships of the line, seven frigates, three fire-ships, with a good number of transports. The French king also supplied him with a considerable quantity of arms for the use of his adherents in Ireland; accommodated him with a large sum of money, superb equipages, store of plate, and necessaries of all kinds for the camp and the household. At parting he presented him with his own cuirass, and embracing him affectionately, “The best thing I can wish you (said he) is, that I may never see you again.” On the seventh day of March, James embarked at Brest, together with the count D’Avaux, who accompanied him in quality of ambassador, and his principal officers. He was detained in the harbour by contrary winds till the seventeenth day of the month, when he set sail, and on the twenty-second landed at Kinsale in Ireland. By this time, king William perceiving himself amused by Tyrconnel, had published a declaration, requiring the Irish to lay down their arms and submit to the new government. On the twenty-second day of February, thirty ships of war had been put in commission, and the command of them conferred upon admiral Herbert; but the armament was retarded in such a manner by the disputes of the council and the king’s attention to the affairs of the continent, that the admiral was not in a condition to sail till the beginning of April, and then with part of his fleet only. James was received with open arms at Kinsale, and the whole country seemed to be at his devotion; for although the protestants in the North had declared for the new government, their strength and number was deemed inconsiderable when compared with the power of Tyrconnel. This minister had disarmed all the other protestant subjects in one day, and assembled an army of thirty thousand foot, and eight thousand cavalry, for the service of his master.

ISSUES FIVE PROCLAMATIONS AT DUBLIN.

In the latter end of March, James made his public entry into Dublin, amidst the acclamations of the inhabitants. He was met at the castle-gate by a procession of popish bishops and priests in their pontificals, bearing the host, which he publicly adored. He dismissed from the council-board the lord Granard, judge Keating, and other protestants, who had exhorted the lord lieutenant to an accommodation with the new government. In their room he admitted the French ambassador, the bishop of Chester, colonel Darrington, and, by degrees, the principal noblemen who accompanied him in the expedition. On the second day after his arrival in Dublin, he issued five proclamations: the first recalled all the subjects of Ireland who had abandoned the kingdom, by a certain time, on pain of outlawry and confiscation, and requiring all persons to join him against the prince of Orange. The second contained expressions of acknowledgement to his catholic subjects for their vigilance and fidelity, and an injunction to such as were not actually in his service, to retain and lay up their arms until it should be found necessary to use them for his advantage. By the third he invited the subjects to supply his army with provisions; and prohibited the soldiers to take anything without payment. By the fourth he raised the value of the current coin; and in the fifth he summoned a parliament to meet on the seventh day of May, at Dublin. Finally, he created Tyrconnel a duke, in consideration of his eminent services.

SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY.

The adherents of James in England pressed him to settle the affairs of Ireland immediately, and bring over his army either to the north of England, or the west of Scotland, where it might be joined by his party, and act without delay against the usurper; but his council dissuaded him from complying with their solicitations, until Ireland should be totally reduced to obedience. On the first alarm of an intended massacre, the protestants of Londonderry had shut their gates against the regiment commanded by the earl of Antrim, and resolved to defend themselves against the lord lieutenant. They transmitted this resolution to the government of England, together with an account of the danger they incurred by such a vigorous measure, and implored immediate assistance. They were accordingly supplied with some arms and ammunition, but did not receive any considerable reinforcement till the middle of April, when two regiments arrived in Loughfoyl, under the command of Cunningham and Richards. By this time king James had taken Coleraine, invested Killmore, and was almost in sight of Londonderry. George Walker, rector of Donaghmore, who had raised a regiment for the defence of the protestants, conveyed this intelligence to Lundy the governor. This officer directed him to join colonel Grafton, and take post at the Long-causey, which he maintained a whole night against the advanced guard of the enemy; until being overpowered by numbers, he retreated to Londonderry and exhorted the governor to take the field, as the army of king James was not yet completely formed. Lundy assembling a council of war, at which Cunningham and Richards assisted; they agreed, that as the place was not tenable, it would be imprudent to land the two regiments, and that the principal officers should withdraw themselves from Londonderry, the inhabitants of which would obtain the more favourable capitulation in consequence of their retreat. An officer was immediately dispatched to king James with proposals of a negotiation; and lieutenant-general Hamilton agreed that the army should halt at the distance of four miles from the town. Notwithstanding this preliminary, James advanced at the head of his troops; but met with such a warm reception from the besieged, that he was fain to retire to St. John’s Town in some disorder. The inhabitants and soldiers in garrison at Londonderry were so incensed at the members of the council of war, who had resolved to abandon the place, that they threatened immediate vengeance. Cunningham and Richards retired to their ships, and Lundy locked himself in his chamber. In vain did Walker and major Baker exhort him to maintain his government. Such was his cowardice or treachery, that he absolutely refused to be concerned in the defence of the place, and he was suffered to escape in disguise with a load of match upon his back; but he was afterwards apprehended in Scotland, from whence he was sent to London to answer for his perfidy or misconduct.

COURAGEOUS DEFENCE.

After his retreat, the townsmen chose Mr. Walker and major Baker for their governors, with joint authority; but this office they would not undertake until it had been offered to colonel Cunningham, as the officer next in command to Lundy. He rejected the proposal, and with Richards returned to England, where they were immediately cashiered. The two new governors, thus abandoned to their fate, began to prepare for a vigorous defence; indeed their courage seems to have transcended the bounds of discretion, for the place was very ill fortified; their cannon, which did not exceed twenty pieces, were wretchedly mounted; they had not one engineer to direct their operations; they had a very small number of horse; the garrison consisted of people unacquainted with military discipline; they wore destitute of provisions; they were besieged by a king in person, at the head of a formidable army, directed by good officers, and supplied with all the necessary implements for a siege or battle. This town was invested on the twentieth day of April; the batteries were soon opened, and several attacks were made with great impetuosity; but the besiegers were always repulsed with considerable loss. The townsmen gained divers advantages in repeated sallies, and would have held their enemies in the utmost contempt, had they not been afflicted with a contagious distemper, as well as reduced to extremity by want of provisions. They were even tantalized in their distress; for they had the mortification to see some ships which had arrived with supplies from England, prevented from sailing up the river by the batteries the enemy had raised on both sides, and a boom with which they had blocked up the channel. At length a reinforcement arrived in the Lough, under the command of general Kirke, who had deserted his master and been employed in the service of king William. He found means to convey intelligence to Walker, that he had troops and provisions on board for their relief, but found it impracticable to sail up the river: he promised, however, that he would land a body of forces at the Inch, and endeavour to make a diversion in their favour-, when joined by the troops at Inniskilling, which amounted to five thousand men, including two thousand cavalry. He said he expected six thousand men from England, where they were embarked before he set sail. He exhorted them to persevere in their courage and loyalty, and assured them he would come to their relief at all hazards. These assurances enabled them to bear their miseries a little longer, though their numbers daily diminished. Major Baker dying, his place was filled with colonel Michel-burn, who now acted as colleague to Mr. Walker.

CRUELTY OF ROSENE.

King James having returned to Dublin to be present at the parliament, the command of his army devolved to the French general Rosene, who was exasperated at such an obstinate opposition by a handful of half-starved militia. He threatened to raze the town to its foundations, and destroy the inhabitants without distinction of age or sex, unless they would immediately submit themselves to their lawful sovereign. The governors treated his menaces with contempt, and published an order that no person, on pain of death, should talk of surrendering. They had now consumed the last remains of their provisions, and supported life by eating the flesh of horses, dogs, cats, rats, mice, tallow, starch, and salted hides, and even this loathsome food began to fail. Rosene, finding him deaf to all his proposals, threatened to wreak his vengeance on all the protestants of that country, and drive them under the walls of Londonderry, where they should be suffered to perish by famine. The bishop of Meath being informed of this design, complained to king James of the barbarous intention, entreating his majesty to prevent its being put in execution. That prince assured him that he had already ordered Rosene to desist from such proceeding: nevertheless, the Frenchman executed his threats with the utmost rigour. Parties of dragoons were detached on this cruel service: after having stripped all the protestants for thirty miles round, they drove these unhappy people before them like cattle, without even sparing the enfeebled old men, nurses with infants at their breasts, tender children, women just delivered, and some even in the pangs of labour. Above four thousand of these miserable objects were driven under the walls of Londonderry. This expedient, far from answering the purpose of Rosene, produced quite a contrary effect. The besieged were so exasperated at this act of inhumanity, that they resolved to perish rather than submit to such a barbarian. They erected a gibbet in sight of the enemy, and sent a message to the French general, importing that they would hang all the prisoners they had taken during the siege, unless the protestants whom they had driven under the walls should be immediately dismissed. This threat produced a negotiation, in consequence of which the protestants were released after they had been detained three days without tasting food. Some hundreds died of famine or fatigue; and those who lived to return to their own habitations, found them plundered and sacked by the papists, so that the greater number perished for want, or were murdered by the straggling parties of the enemy; yet these very people had for the most part obtained protections from king James, to which no respect was paid by his general.

THE PLACE IS RELIEVED BY KIRKE

The garrison of Londonderry was now reduced from seven to five thousand seven hundred men, and these were driven to such extremity of distress, that they began to talk of killing the popish inhabitants and feeding on their bodies. In this emergency Kirke, who had hitherto lain inactive, ordered two ships laden with provisions to sail up the river under convoy of the Dartmouth frigate. One of them, called the Mountjoy, broke the enemy’s boom; and all the three, after having sustained a very hot fire from both sides of the river, arrived in safety at the town to the inexpressible joy of the inhabitants. The army of James were so dispirited by the success of this enterprise, that they abandoned the siege in the night and retired with precipitation, after having lost about nine thousand men before the place. Kirke no sooner took possession of the town, than Walker was prevailed upon to embark for England with an address of thanks from the inhabitants to their majesties for the seasonable relief they had received.

THE INNISKILLINEES DEFEAT AND TAKE GENERAL MACARTY.

The Inniskilliners were no less remarkable than the people of Londonderry for the valour and perseverance with which they opposed the papists. They raised twelve companies, which they regimented under the command of Gustavus Hamilton, whom they chose for their governor. They proclaimed William and Mary on the eleventh day of March, and resolved in a general council to maintain their title against all opposition. The lord Gilmoy invested the castle of Groin belonging to the protestants in the neighbourhood of Inniskilling, the inhabitants of which threw succours into the place, and compelled Gilmoy to retire to Belturbet. A detachment of the garrison, commanded by lieutenant-colonel Lloyd, took and demolished the castle of Aughor, and they gained the advantage in several skirmishes with the enemy. On the day that preceded the relief of Londonderry, they defeated six thousand Irish papists at a place called Newton-Butler, and took their commander Macarty, commonly called lord Moncashel.

MEETING OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.

The Irish parliament being assembled at Dublin, according to the proclamation of king James, he, in a speech from the throne, thanked them for the zeal, courage, and loyalty they had manifested; extolled the generosity of the French king, who had enabled him to visit them in person; insisted upon executing his design of establishing liberty of conscience as a step equally agreeable to the dictates of humanity and discretion, and promised to concur with them in enacting such laws as would contribute to the peace, affluence, and security of his subjects. Sir Richard Neagle, being chosen speaker of the commons, moved for an address of thanks to his majesty, and that the count D’Avaux should be desired to make their acknowledgments to the most christian king for the generous assistance he had given to their sovereign. These addresses being drawn up with the concurrence of both houses, a bill was brought in to recognize the king’s title, to express their abhorence of the usurpation by the prince of Orange, as well as of the defection of the English. Next day James published a declaration, complaining of the calumnies which his enemies had spread to his prejudice; expatiating upon his own impartiality in preferring his protestant subjects; his care in protecting them from their enemies, in redressing their grievances, and in granting liberty of conscience; promising that he would take no step but with the approbation of parliament; offering a free pardon to all persons who should desert his enemies and join with him in four-and-twenty days after his landing in Ireland, and charging all the blood that might be shed upon those who should continue in rebellion.

THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT REPEALED.

His conduct, however, very ill agreed with this declaration; nor can it be excused on any other supposition but that of his being governed, in some cases against his own inclination, by the count D’Avaux and the Irish catholics, on whom his whole dependence was placed. As both houses were chiefly filled with members of that persuasion, we ought not to wonder at their bringing in a bill for repealing the act of settlement, by which the protestants of the kingdom had been secured in the possession of their estates. These were by this law divested of their lands, which reverted to the heirs of those catholics to whom they belonged before the rebellion. This iniquitous bill was framed in such a manner, that no regard was paid to such protestant owners as had purchased estates for valuable considerations; no allowance was made for improvements, nor any provision for protestant widows; the possessor, and tenants were not even allowed to remove their stock and corn. When the bill was sent up to the lords, Dr. Dopping, bishop of Meath, opposed it with equal courage and ability, and an address in behalf of the purchasers under the act of settlement was presented to the king by the earl of Granard; but notwithstanding these remonstrances, it received the royal assent, and the protestants of Ireland were mostly ruined.

THEY PASS AN ACT OF ATTAINDER.

Yet in order to complete their destruction, an act of attainder was passed against all protestants, whether male or female, whether of high or low degree, who were absent from the kingdom, as well as against all those who retired into any part of the three kingdoms, which did not own the authority of king James, or corresponded with rebels, or were any ways aiding, abetting, or assisting them, from the first day of August in the preceding year. The number of protestants attainted by name in this act amounted to about three thousand, including two archbishops, one duke, seventeen earls, seven countesses, as many bishops, eighteen barons, three-and-thirty baronets, one-and-fifty knights, eighty-three clergymen, who were declared traitors, and adjudged to suffer the pains of death and forfeiture. The individuals subjected to this dreadful proscription, were even cut off from all hope of pardon and all benefit of appeal; for by a clause in the act, the king’s pardon was deemed null unless enrolled before the first day of December. A subsequent law was enacted, declaring Ireland independent of the English parliament. This assembly passed another act, granting twenty thousand pounds per annum out of the forfeited estates to Tyrconnel, in acknowledgment of his signal services: they imposed a tax of twenty thousand pounds per month for the service of the king: the royal assent was given to an act for liberty of conscience; they enacted that the tithes payable by papists should be delivered to priests of that communion: the maintenance of the protestant clergy in cities and corporations was taken away; and all dissenters were exempted from ecclesiastical jurisdictions. So that the established church was deprived of all power and prerogative, notwithstanding the express promise of James, who had declared, immediately after his landing, that he would maintain the clergy in their rights and privileges.

JAMES COINS BASE MONEY.

Nor was the king less arbitrary in the executive part of his government, if we suppose that he countenanced the grievous acts of oppression that were daily committed upon the protestant subjects of Ireland; but the tyranny of his proceedings may be justly imputed to the temper of his ministry, consisting of men abandoned to all sense of justice and humanity, who acted from the dictates of rapacity and revenge, inflamed with all the acrimony of religious rancour. Soldiers were permitted to live upon free quarter; the people were robbed and plundered; licenses and protections were abused in order to extort money from the trading part of the nation. The king’s old stores were ransacked; the shops of tradesmen and the kitchens of burghers were pillaged, to supply the mint with a quantity of brass, which was converted into current coin for his majesty’s occasions; an arbitrary value was set upon it, and all persons were required and commanded to take it in payment under the severest penalties, though the proportion between its intrinsic worth and currency was nearly as one to three hundred. A vast sum of this counterfeit coin was issued in the course of one year, and forced upon the protestants in payment of merchandize, provision, and necessaries for the king’s service. James, not content with the supply granted by parliament, imposed, by his own authority, a tax of twenty thousand pounds per month on chattels, as the former was laid upon lands. This seems to have been a temporary expedient during the adjournment of the two houses, as the term of the assessment was limited to three months; it was however levied by virtue of a commission under the seals, and seems to have been a stretch of prerogative the less excusable, as he might have obtained the money in a parliamentary way. Understanding that the protestants had laid out all their brass money in purchasing great quantities of hides, tallow, wool, and corn, he assumed the despotic power of fixing the prices of these commodities, and then bought them for his own use. One may see his ministers were bent upon the utter destruction of those unhappy people.

PROTESTANT CHURCHES SEIZED BY THE CATHOLICS.

All vacancies in public schools were supplied with popish teachers. The pension allowed from the exchequer to the university of Dublin was cut off; the vice-provost, fellows, and scholars, were expelled: their furniture, plate, and public library were seized without the least shadow or pretence, and in direct violation of a promise the king had made to preserve their privileges and immunities. His officers converted the college into a garrison, the chapel into a magazine, and the apartments into prisons; a popish priest was appointed provost; one Maccarty, of the same persuasion, was made library-keeper, and the whole foundation was changed into a catholic seminary. When bishoprics and benefices in the gift of the crown became vacant, the king ordered the profits to be lodged in the exchequer, and suffered the cures to be totally neglected. The revenues were chiefly employed in the maintenance of Romish bishops and priests, who grew so insolent under this indulgence, that in several places they forcibly seized the protestant churches. When complaint was made of this outrage, the king promised to do justice to the injured, and in some places actually ordered the churches to be restored; but the popish clergy refused to comply with this order, alleging, that in spirituals they owed obedience to no earthly power but the holy see, and James found himself unable to protect his protestant subjects against a powerful body which he durst not disoblige. Some ships appearing in the bay of Dublin, a proclamation was issued forbidding the protestants to assemble in any place of worship, or elsewhere, on pain of death. By a second, they were commanded to bring in their arms on pain of being treated as rebels and traitors. Luttrel, governor of Dublin, published an ordinance by beat of drum, requiring the farmers to bring in their corn for his majesty’s horses within a certain day, otherwise he would order them to be hanged before their own doors. Brigadier Sarsfield commanded all protestants of a certain district to retire to the distance of ten miles from their habitations on pain of death; and in order to keep up the credit of the brass money, the same penalty was denounced, in a proclamation, against any person who should give more than one pound eighteen shillings for a guinea.

ACTION WITH THE FRENCH FLEET.

All the revenues of Ireland, and all the schemes contrived to bolster up the credit of the base coin, would have proved insufficient to support the expenses of the war, had not James received occasional supplies from the French monarch. After the return of the fleet which had conveyed him to Ireland, Louis sent another strong squadron, commanded by Chateau Benault, as a convoy to some transports laden with arms, ammunition, and a large sum of money for the use of king James. Before they sailed from Brest, king William, being informed of their destination, detached admiral Herbert from Spithead with twelve ships of the line, one fire-ship, and four tenders, in order to intercept the enemy. He was driven by stress of weather into Mil-ford-haven, from whence he steered his course to Kin-sale, on the supposition that the French fleet had sailed from Brest, and that in all probability he should fall in with them on the coast of Ireland. On the first day of May he discovered them at anchor in Bantry-bay, and stood in to engage them, though they were greatly superior to him in number. They no sooner perceived him at day-break, than they weighed, stood out to windward, formed their line, bore down, and began the action, which was maintained for two hours with equal valour on both sides, though the English fleet sustained considerable damage from the superior fire of the enemy. Herbert tacked several times in hope of gaining the weather-gage; but the French admiral kept his wind with uncommon skill and perseverance. At length the English squadron stood off to sea, and maintained a running fight till five in the afternoon, when Chateau Renault tacked about and returned into the bay, content with the honour he had gained. The loss of men was inconsiderable on both sides; and where the odds were so great, the victor could not reap much glory. Herbert retired to the isles of Scilly, where he expected a reinforcement; but being disappointed in this expectation, he returned to Portsmouth in very ill humour, with which his officers and men were infected. The common sailors still retained some attachment to James, who had formerly been a favourite among them; and the officers complained that they had been sent upon this service with a force so much inferior to that of the enemy. King William, in order to appease their discontent, made an excursion to Portsmouth, where he dined with the admiral on board the ship Elizabeth, declared his intention of making him an earl in consideration of his good conduct and services, conferred the honour of knighthood on the captains Ashby and Shovel, and bestowed a donation of ten shillings on every private sailor.

DIVERS SENTENCES REVERSED.

The parliament of England thought it incumbent upon them not only to raise supplies for the maintenance of the war in which the nation was involved, but also to do justice with respect to those who had been injured by illegal or oppressive sentences in the late reigns. The attainders of lord Russel, Algernon Sidney, alderman Cornish, and lady Lisle, were now reversed. A committee of privileges was appointed by the lords to examine the case of the earl of Devonshire, who in the late reign had been fined thirty thousand pounds for assaulting colonel Culpepper in the presence-chamber. They reported that the court of king’s bench, in overruling the earl’s plea of privilege of parliament, had committed a manifest breach of privilege; that the fine was excessive and exhorbitant, against the great charter, the common right of the subject, and the law of the realm. The sentence pronounced upon Samuel Johnson, chaplain to lord Russel, in consequence of which he had been degraded, fined, scourged, and set in the pillory, was now annulled, and the commons recommended him to his majesty for some ecclesiastical preferment. He received one thousand pounds in money, with a pension of three hundred pounds for his own life and that of his son, who was moreover gratified with a place of one hundred pounds a year; but the father never obtained any ecclesiastical benefice. Titus Oates seized this opportunity of petitioning the house of lords for a reversal of the judgments given against him on his being convicted of perjury. The opinions of all the judges and counsel at the bar were heard on this subject, and a bill of reversal passed the commons; but the peers having inserted some amendments and a proviso, a conference was demanded, and violent heats ensued. Oates, however, was released from confinement, and the lords, with the consent of the commons, recommended him to his majesty for a pardon, which he obtained, together with a comfortable pension. The committee appointed to inquire into the cases of the state-prisoners, found sir Robert Wright, late lord chief justice, to have been concerned in the cruelties committed in the west after the insurrection of Monmouth; as also one of the ecclesiastical commissioners, and guilty of manifold enormities. Death had by this time delivered Jefferies from the resentment of the nation. Graham and Burton had acted as solicitors in the illegal prosecutions carried on against those who opposed the court in the reign of Charles II.; these were now reported guilty of having been instrumental in taking away the lives and estates of those who had suffered the loss of either under colour of law for eight years last past; of having, by malicious indictments, informations, and prosecutions of quo warranto, endeavoured the subversion of the protestant religion, and the government of the realm; and of having wasted many thousand pounds of the public revenue in the course of their infamous practices.

INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSE OF MISCARRIAGES IN IRELAND.

Nor did the misconduct of the present ministry escape the animadversion of the parliament. The lords having addressed the king to put the Isle of Wight, Jersey, Guernsey, Scilly, Dover-castle, and the other fortresses of the kingdom, in a posture of defence, and to disarm the papists, empowered a committee to inquire into the miscarriages in Ireland, which were generally imputed to the neglect of the marquisses of Cærmarthan and Halifax. They presented an address to the king, desiring the minute-book of the committee for Irish affairs might be put into their hands; but his majesty declined gratifying them in this particular: then the commons voted that those persons who had advised the king to delay this satisfaction were enemies to the kingdom. William, alarmed at this resolution, allowed them to inspect the book, in which they found very little for their purpose. The house resolved, that an address should be presented to his majesty, declaring that the succour of Ireland had been retarded by unnecessary delays; that the transports prepared were not sufficient to convey the forces to that kingdom; and that several ships had been taken by the enemy, for want of proper convoy. At the same time the question was put, whether or not they should address the king against the marquis of Halifax. But it was carried in the negative by a small majority. Before this period, Howe, vice-chamberlain to the queen, had moved for an address against such counsellors as had been impeached in parliament, and betrayed the liberties of the nation. This motion was levelled at Cæmarthen and Halifax, the first of whom had been formerly impeached of high treason, under the title of earl of Danby; and the other was charged with all the misconduct of the present administration. Warm debates ensued, and in all probability the motion would have been carried in the affirmative, had not those who spoke warmly in behalf it suddenly cooled in the course of the dispute. Some letters from king James to his partisans being intercepted, and containing some hints of an intended invasion, Mr. Hambden, chairman of the committee of the whole house, enlarged upon the imminent danger to which the kingdom was exposed, and moved for a further supply to his majesty. In this unexpected motion he was not seconded by one member. The house, however, having taken the letters into consideration, resolved to draw up an address to the king, desiring him to secure and disarm all papists of note; and they brought in a bill for attainting several persons in rebellion against their majesties; but it was not finished during this session.

BILLS PASSED IN THIS SESSION.

Another bill being prepared in the house of lords, enjoining the subjects to wear the woollen manufacture at certain seasons of the year, a petition was presented against it by the silk-weavers of London and Canterbury, assembled in a tumultuous manner at Westminster. The lords refused their petition, because this was an unusual manner of application. They were persuaded to return to their respective places of abode; precautions were taken against a second riot; and the bill was unanimously rejected in the upper house. This parliament passed an act, vesting in the two universities the presentations belonging to papists: those of the southern counties being given to Oxford; and those of the northern to Cambridge, on certain specified conditions, Courts of conscience were erected at Bristol, Gloucester, and Newcastle; and that of the marches of Wales was abolished as an intolerable oppression. The protestant clergymen, who had been forced to leave their benefices in Ireland, were rendered capable of holding any living in England, without forfeiting their title to their former preferment, with the proviso that they should resign their English benefices when restored to ‘those they had been obliged to relinquish. The statute of Henry IV. against multiplying gold and silver was now repealed; the subjects were allowed to melt and refine metals and ores, and extract gold and silver from them, on condition that it should be brought to the Mint, and converted into money, the owners receiving its full value in current coin. These, and several other bills of smaller importance being passed, the two houses adjourned to the twentieth clay of September, and afterwards to the nineteenth day of October.

CHAPTER II.

Duke of Schomberg lands with an Army in Ireland..... The Inniskilliners obtain a Victory over the Irish..... Schomberg censured for his Inactivity..... The French worsted at Walcourt..... Success of the Confederates in Germany..... The Turks defeated at Pacochin, Nissa, and Widen..... Death of Pope Innocent XI..... .King William becomes unpopular..... A good Number of the Clergy refuse to take the Oaths..... The King grants a Commission for reforming Church Discipline..... Meeting of the Convocation..... Their Session discontinued by repeated Prorogations..... Proceedings in Parliament..... The Whigs obstruct the Bill of Indemnity..... The Commons resume the Inquiry into the Cause of the Miscarriages in Ireland..... King William irritated against the Whigs..... Plot against the Government by Sir James Montgomery discovered by Bishop Burnet..... Warm Debates in Parliament about the Corporation Bills..... The King resolves to finish the Irish War in Person ..... General Ludlow arrives in England, but is obliged to withdraw..... Efforts of the Jacobites in Scotland..... The Court Interest triumphs over all Opposition in that Country..... The Tory Interest prevails in the New Parliament of England..... Bill for recognising their Majesties..... Another violent Contest about the Bill of Abjuration..... King William lands in Ireland..... King James marches to the Boyne..... William resolves to give him battle..... Battle of the Boyne..... Death and Character of Schomberg..... James embarks for France..... William enters Dublin and publishes his Declaration..... The French obtain a Victory over the English and Dutch Fleets off Beachy- head..... Torrington committed Prisoner to the Tower..... Progress of William in Ireland..... He Invests Limerick; but is obliged to raise the Siege, and returns to England..... Cork and Kinsale reduced by the Earl of Marlborough ..... Lausun and the French Forces quit Ireland..... The Duke of Savoy joins the Confederacy..... Prince Waldeck defeated at Fleurus..... The Archduke Joseph elected King of the Romans..... Death of the Duke of Lorrain..... Progress of the War against the Turks..... Meeting of the Parliament..... The Commons comply with all the King’s Demands..... Petition of the Tories in the City of London..... Attempt against the Marquis of Cærmarthen..... The King’s Voyage to Holland..... He assists at a Congress..... Returns to England.

SCHOMBERG LANDS WITH AN ARMY.

Though the affairs of Ireland were extremely pressing, and the protestants of that country had made repeated application for relief, the succours were retarded either by disputes among the ministers, or the neglect of those who had the management of the expedition, in such a manner that king James had been six months in Ireland before the army was embarked for that kingdom. At length eighteen regiments of infantry, and five of dragoons, being raised for that service, a train of artillery provided, and transports prepared, the duke of Sehomberg, on whom king William had conferred the chief command of this armament, set out for Chester, after he had in person thanked the commons for the uncommon regard they had paid to his services, and received assurances from the house, that they would pay particular attention to him and his army. On the thirteenth day of August he landed in the neighbourhood of Carrickfergus with about ten thousand foot and dragoons, and took possession of Belfast, from whence the enemy retired at his approach to Carrickfergus, where they resolved to make a stand. The duke having refreshed his men, marched thither, and invested the place; the siege was carried on till the twenty-sixth clay of the month, when the breaches being practicable, the besieged capitulated, on condition of marching out with their arms, and as much baggage as they could carry on their backs; and of their being conducted to the next Irish garrison, which was at Newry. During this siege the duke was joined by the rest of his army from England; but he had left orders for conveying the greater part of the artillery and stores from Chester directly to Carlingford. He now began his march through Lisburne and Hillsborough, and encamped at Drummore, where the protestants of the north had been lately routed by Hamilton; thence he proceeded to Loughbrillane, where he was joined by the horse and dragoons of Inniskilling. Then the enemy abandoned Newry and Dundalk, in the neighbourhood of which Sehomberg encamped on a low damp ground, having the town and river on the south, and surrounded on every other part by hills, bogs, and mountains.

THE INNISKILLINERS OBTAIN A VICTORY.

His army, consisting chiefly of new-raised men little inured to hardship, began to flag under the fatigue of marching, the inclemency of the weather, and scarcity of provisions. Here he was reinforced by the regiments of Kirke, Hanmer, and Stuart; and would have continued his march to Drogheda, where he understood Rosene lay with about twenty thousand men, had he not been obliged to wait for the artillery, which was not yet arrived at Carlingford. King James, having assembled all his forces, advanced towards Schomberg, and appeared before his intrenchments in order of battle; but the duke, knowing they were greatly superior in number of horse, and that his own army was undisciplined, and weakened by death and sickness, restrained his men within the lines, and in a little time the enemy retreated. Immediately after their departure, a conspiracy was discovered in the English camp, hatched by some French papists, who had insinuated themselves into the protestant regiments. One of these, whose name was Du Plessis, had written a letter to the ambassador D’Avaux, promising to desert with all the papists of the three French regiments in Schomberg’s army. This letter being found, Du Plessis and five accomplices were tried by a court-martial, and executed. About two hundred and fifty papists being discovered in the French regiments, they were sent over to England, from thence to Holland. While Schomberg remained in this situation, the Inniskilliners made excursions in the neighbourhood, under the command of colonel Lloyd; and on the twenty-seventh day of September they obtained a complete victory over five times their number of the Irish. They killed seven hundred on the spot, and took O’Kelly their commander, with about fifty officers, and a considerable booty of cattle. The duke was so pleased with their behaviour on this occasion, that they received a very honourable testimony of his approbation.

SCHOMBERG CENSURED.

Meanwhile, the enemy took possession of James-Town, and reduced Sligo, one of the forts of which was gallantly defended by St. Sauver, a French captain, and his company of grenadiers, until he was obliged to capitulate for want of water and provisions. A contagious distemper still continued to rage in Schomberg’s camp, and swept off a great number of officers and soldiers; so that in the beginning of next spring, not above half the number of those who went over with the general remained alive. He was censured for his inactivity, and the king, in repeated letters, desired him to hazard an engagement, provided any opportunity should occur; but he did not think proper to run the risk of a battle, against an enemy that was above thrice his number, well disciplined, healthy, and conducted by able officers. Nevertheless, he was certainly blameable for having chosen such an unwholesome situation. At the approach of winter he retired into quarters, in hopes of being reinforced with seven thousand Danes, who had already arrived in Britain. These auxiliaries were stipulated in a treaty which William had just concluded with the king of Denmark. The English were not more successful at sea than they had proved in their operations by land. Admiral Herbert, now created earl of Torrington, having sailed to Ireland with the combined squadrons of England and Holland, made a fruitless attempt upon Cork, and lost a great number of seamen by sickness, which was imputed to bad provisions. The Dartmouth ship of war fell into the hands of the enemy, who infested the channel with such a number of armed ships and privateers, that the trade of England sustained incredible damage.

THE FRENCH WORSTED AT WALCOURT.

The affairs of France wore but a gloomy aspect on the continent, where all the powers of Europe seemed to have conspired her destruction. King William had engaged in a new league with the states-general, in which former treaties of peace and commerce were confirmed. It was stipulated, that in case the king of Great Britain should be attacked, the Dutch should assist him with six thousand infantry, and twenty ships of the line; and that, provided hostilities should be committed against the states-general, England should supply them with ten thousand infantry, and twenty ships of war. This treaty was no sooner ratified, than king William dispatched the lord Churchill, whom he had by this time created earl of Marlborough, to Holland, in order to command the British auxiliaries in that service to the number of eleven thousand, the greater part of which had been in the army of king James when the prince of Orange landed in England. The earl forthwith joined the Dutch army, under the command of prince Waldeck, who had fixed his rendezvous in the county of Liege, with a view to act against the French army commanded by the mareschal D’Humieres; while the prince of Vaudemont headed a little army of observation, consisting of Spaniards, Dutch, and Germans, to watch the motions of Calvo in another part of the Low-Countries. The city of Liege was compelled to renounce the neutrality, and declare for the allies. Mareschal D’Humieres attacked the foragers belonging to the army of the states at Walcourt, in the month of August; an obstinate engagement ensued, and the French were obliged to retreat in confusion, with the loss of two thousand men, and some pieces of artillery. The army of observation levelled part of the French lines on the side of Courtray, and raised contributions on the territories of the enemy.

SUCCESS OF THE CONFEDERATES IN GERMANY.

The French were almost entire masters of the three ecclesiastical electorates of Germany. They possessed Mentz, Triers, Bonne, Keiserswaert, Philipsburgh, and Landau. They had blown up the castle of Heildelberg, in the Palatinate, and destroyed Manheim. They had reduced Worms and Spiers to ashes; and demolished Frankendahl, together with several other fortresses. These conquests, the fruits of sudden invasion, were covered with a numerous army, commanded by the mareschal de Duras; and all his inferior generals were officers of distinguished courage and ability. Nevertheless, he found it difficult to maintain his ground against the different princes of the empire. The duke of Lorraine, who commanded the imperial troops, invested Mentz, and took it by capitulation; the elector of Brandenburgh, having reduced Keiserswaert, undertook the siege of Bonne, which the garrison surrendered after having made a long and vigorous defence. Nothing contributed more to the union of the German princes than their resentment of the shocking barbarity with which the French had plundered, wasted, and depopulated their country. Louis having, by his intrigues in Poland and at Constantinople, prevented a pacification between the emperor and the Ottoman Porte, the campaign was opened in Croatia, where five thousand Turks were defeated by a body of Croates between Vihitz and Novi. The prince of Baden, who commanded the imperialists on that side, having thrown a bridge over the Morava at Passarowitz, crossed that river, and marched in quest of a Turkish army amounting to fifty thousand men, headed by a seraskier. On the thirteenth day of August he attacked the enemy in their intrenchments near Patochin, and forced their lines, routed them with great slaughter, and took possession of their camp, baggage, and artillery. They returned to Nissa, where the general finding them still more numerous than the imperialists, resolved to make a stand, and encamped in a situation that was inaccessible in every part except the rear, which he left open for the convenience of a retreat. Through this avenue he was, on the twenty-fourth day of September, attacked by the prince of Baden, who, after a desperate resistance, obtained another complete victory, enriched his troops with the spoil of the enemy, and entered Nissa without opposition. There he found above three thousand horses and a vast quantity of provisions. Having reposed his army for a few days in this place, he resumed his march against the Turks, who had chosen an advantageous post at Widen, and seemed ambitious of retrieving the honour they had lost in the two former engagements. The Germans attacked their lines without hesitation; and though the Musselmen fought with incredible fury, they were a third time defeated with great slaughter. This defeat was attended with the loss of Widen, which being surrendered to the victor, he distributed his troops in winter quarters, and returned to Vienna covered with laurels.

DEATH OF POPE INNOCENT XI.

The French were likewise baffled in their attempt upon Catalonia, where the duke de Noailles had taken Campredon in the month of May. Leaving a garrison in this place, he retreated to the frontiers of France, while the duke de Villa Hermosa, at the head of a Spanish army, blocked up the place and laid Rousillon under contribution. He afterwards undertook the siege in form, and Noailles marched to its relief; but he was so hard pressed by the Spaniards that he withdrew the garrison, dismantled the place, and retreated with great precipitation. The French king hoped to derive some considerable advantage from the death of Pope Innocent XL which happened on the twelfth day of August. That pontiff had been an inveterate enemy to Louis ever since the affair of the franchises, and the seizure of Avignon. 016 [See note F, at the end of this Vol.] Cabals were immediately formed at Eome by the French faction against the Spanish and Imperial interest. The French cardinals, de Bouillon and Bonzi, accompanied by Furstemberg, repaired to Eome with a large sum of money. Peter Ottoboni, a Venetian, was elected pope, and assumed the name of Alexander VIII. The duke de Chaulnes, ambassador from France, immediately signified in the name of his master, that Avignon should be restored to the patrimony of the church; and Louis renounced the franchises in a letter written by his own hand to the pontiff. Alexander received these marks of respect with the warmest acknowledgments; but when the ambassador and Furstemberg besought him to re-examine the election of the bishop of Cologne, which had been the source of so much calamity to the empire, he lent a deaf ear to their solicitations. He even confirmed the dispensations granted by his predecessor to the prince of Bavaria, who was thus empowered to take possession of the electorate, though he had not yet attained the age required by the canons. Furstemberg retired in disgust to Paris, where Louis immediately gratified him with the abbey of St. Germains.

KING WILLIAM BECOMES UNPOPULAR.

King William found it an easier task to unite the councils of Europe against the common enemy than to conciliate and preserve the affections of his own subjects, among whom he began visibly to decline in point of popularity. Many were dissatisfied with his measures; and a great number even of those who exerted themselves for his elevation had conceived a disgust from his personal deportment, which was very unsuitable to the manners and disposition of the English people. Instead of mingling with his nobility in social amusements and familiar conversation, he maintained a disagreeable reserve which had all the air of sullen pride; he seldom or never spoke to his courtiers or attendants, he spent his time chiefly in the closet retired from all communication; or among his troops in a camp he had formed at Hounslow; or in the exercise of hunting, to which he was immoderately addicted. This had been prescribed to him by physicians as necessary to improve his constitution, which was naturally weak, and by practice had become so habitual that he could not lay it aside. His ill health co-operating with his natural aversion to society, produced a peevishness which could not fail of being displeasing to those who were near his person: this was increased by the disputes in his cabinet, and the opposition of those who were professed enemies to his government, as well as by the alienation of his former friends. As he could not breathe without difficulty in the air of London, he resided chiefly at Hampton-court, and expended considerable sums in beautifying and enlarging that palace; he likewise purchased the house at Kensington of the earl of Nottingham; and such profusion in the beginning of an expensive war gave umbrage to the nation in general. Whether he was advised by his counsellors, or his own sagacity pointed out the expediency of conforming with the English humour, he now seemed to change his disposition, and in some measure adopt the manners of his predecessors. In imitation of Charles II. he resorted to the races at Newmarket; he accepted an invitation to visit Cambridge, where he behaved himself with remarkable affability to the members of the university; he afterwards dined with the lord-mayor of London, accepted the freedom of the city, and condescended so far as to become sovereign-master of the company of grocers.

A GOOD NUMBER OF THE CLERGY REFUSE TO TAKE THE OATHS.

While William thus endeavoured to remove the prejudices which had been conceived against his person, the period arrived which the parliament had prescribed for taking the oaths to the new government. Some individuals of the clergy sacrificed their benefices to their scruples of conscience, and absolutely refused to take oaths that were contrary to those they had already sworn in favour of their late sovereign. These were distinguished by the epithet of nonjurors: but their number bore a very small proportion to that of others, who took them with such reservations and distinctions as redounded very little to the honour of their integrity. Many of those who had been the warmest advocates for non-resistance and passive obedience, made no scruple of renouncing their allegiance to king James, and complying with the present act, after having declared that they took the oaths in no other sense than that of a peaceable submission to the powers that were. They even affirmed that the legislature itself had allowed the distinction between a king de facto and a king de jure, as they had dropped the word “rightful” when the form was under debate. They alleged that as prudence obliged them to conform to the letter of the oath, so conscience required them to give it their own interpretation. Nothing could be more infamous and of worse tendency than this practice of equivocating in the most sacred of all obligations. It introduced a general disregard of oaths, which hath been the source of universal perjury and corruption. Though this set of temporizers were bitterly upbraided both by the nonjurors and the papists, they all concurred in representing William as an enemy to the church; as a prince educated in the doctrines of Calvin, which he plainly espoused, by limiting his favour and preferment to such as were latitudinarians in religion, and by his abolishing episcopacy in Scotland. The presbyterians in that kingdom now tyrannized in their turn. They were headed by the earl of Crawford, a nobleman of a violent temper and strong prejudices. He was chosen president of the parliament by the interest of Melvil, and oppressed the episcopalians in such a manner that the greater part of them from resentment became well-wishers to king James. Every circumstance of the hardships they underwent was reported in England; and the earl of Clarendon, as well as the suspended bishops, circulated these particulars with great assiduity. The oaths being rejected by the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishops of Ely, Chichester, Bath and Wells, Peterborough and Gloucester, they were suspended from their functions, and threatened with deprivation. Lake of Chichester, being seized with a dangerous distemper, signed a solemn declaration, in which he professed his adherence to the doctrine of non-resistance and passive obedience, which he believed to be the distinguishing characteristic of the church of England. After his death this paper was published, industriously circulated, and extolled by the party as an inspired oracle pronounced by a martyr to religious truth and sincerity.

THE KING GRANTS A COMMISSION FOR REFORMING CHURCH DISCIPLINE.

All the clamour that was raised against the king could not divert him from prosecuting the scheme of comprehension. He granted a commission under the great seal to ten bishops and twenty dignitaries of the church, authorizing them to meet from time to time in the Jerusalem chamber, to prepare such alterations of the liturgy and the canons, and such proposals for the reformation of ecclesiastical courts as might most conduce to the good order, edification, and uniting of the church, and tend to reconcile all religious differences among the protestant subjects of the kingdom. A cry was immediately raised against this commission, as an ecclesiastical court illegal and dangerous. At their first meeting the authority of the commission was questioned by Sprat, bishop of Rochester, who retired in disgust, and was followed by Mew of Winchester, and the doctors Jane and Aldrich. These were averse to any alteration of the forms and constitution of the church in favour of an insolent and obstinate party, which ought to have been satisfied with the toleration they enjoyed. They observed that an attempt to make such alteration would divide the clergy, and bring the liturgy into disesteem with the people, as it would be a plain acknowledgment that it wanted correction. They thought they should violate the dignity of the church by condescending to make offers which the dissenters were at liberty to refuse; and they suspected some of their colleagues of a design to give up episcopal ordination—a step inconsistent with their honour, duty, oaths, and subscriptions.

MEETING OF THE CONVOCATION.

The commissioners, notwithstanding this secession, proceeded to debate with moderation on the abuses of which the dissenters had complained, and corrected every article that seemed liable to any just objection; but the opposite party employed all their art and industry to inflame the minds of the people. The two universities declared against all alterations, and those who promoted them. The king himself was branded as an enemy to the hierarchy; and they bestirred themselves so successfully in the election of members for the convocation, that they procured a very considerable majority. At their first meeting the friends of the comprehension scheme proposed Dr. Tillotson, clerk of the closet to his majesty, as prolocutor; but the other party carried it in favour of Dr. Jane, who was counted the most violent churchman in the whole Assembly. In a Latin speech to the bishop of London as president, he, in the name of the lower house, asserted that the liturgy of England needed no amendment, and concluded with the old declaration of the barons, “Nolumus leges Angliæ mutari. We will not suffer the laws of England to be changed.” The bishop, in his reply, exhorted them to moderation, charity, and indulgence towards their brethren the dissenters, and to make such abatements in things indifferent as might serve to open a door of salvation to multitudes of straying christians. His injunctions, however, produced no favourable effect; the lower house seemed to be animated by a spirit of opposition. Next day the president prorogued them, on pretence that the royal commission, by which they were to act, was defective for want of being sealed, and that a prorogation was necessary until that sanction should be obtained. In this interval means were used to mollify their non-compliant tempers, but all endeavours proved ineffectual. When they met again, the earl of Nottingham delivered the king’s commission to both houses, with a speech of his own, and a message from his majesty, importing that he had summoned them out of a pious zeal to do every thing that might tend to the best establishment of the church of England, which should always enjoy his favour and protection. He exhorted them to lay aside all prejudice, and consider calmly and impartially whatever should be proposed: he assured them he would offer nothing but what should be for the honour, peace, and advantage of the protestant religion in general, and particularly of the church of England.

THEIR SESSION PROROGUED.

The bishops adjourning to the Jerusalem chamber, prepared a zealous address of thanks to his majesty, which, being sent to the lower house for their concurrence, met with violent opposition. Amendments were proposed; a conference ensued, and, after warm debates, they agreed upon a cold address, which was accordingly presented. The majority of the lower house, far from taking any measures in favour of dissenters, converted all their attention to the relief of their nonjuring brethren. Zealous speeches were made in behalf of the suspended bishops; and Dr. Jane proposed that something might be done to qualify them to sit in the convocation. This, however, was such a dangerous point as they would not venture to discuss; yet, rather than proceed upon the business for which they had been assembled, they began to take cognizance of some pamphlets lately published, which they conceived to be of dangerous consequence to the christian religion. The president and his party, perceiving the disposition of the house, did not think proper to communicate any proposal touching the intended reformation, and the king suffered the session to be discontinued by repeated prorogations.

PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.

The parliament meeting on the nineteenth day of October, the king, in a speech of his own composing, explained the necessity of a present supply to carry on the war. He desired that they might be speedy in their determinations on this subject, for these would in a great measure influence the deliberations of the princes and states concerned in the war against France, as a general meeting of them was appointed to be held next month at the Hague, to settle the operations of the ensuing campaign. He concluded with recommending the dispatch of a bill of indemnity, that the minds of his subjects might be quieted, and that they might unanimously concur in promoting the honour and welfare of the kingdom. As several inflammatory bills and disputes, which had produced heats and animosities in the last session, were still depending, the king, after having consulted both houses, resolved to put an end to those disputes by a prorogation. He accordingly went to the house of lords and prorogued the parliament till the twenty-first day of October, by the mouth of the new speaker, sir Robert Atkins; the marquis of Halifax having resigned that office. When they re-assembled, the king referred them to his former speech: then the commons unanimously resolved to assist his majesty in reducing Ireland, and in joining with his allies abroad for a vigorous prosecution of the war against France: for these purposes they voted a supply of two millions.

THE WHIGS OBSTRUCT THE INDEMNITY BILL.

During this session the whigs employed all their influence and intrigues in obstructing the bill of indemnity, which they knew would open a door for favour and preferment to the opposite party, which began to gain ground in the king’s good graces. With this view they revived the prosecution of the state prisoners. A committee was appointed to prepare a charge against Burton and Graham. The commons resolved to impeach the earls of Peterborough, Salisbury, and Castlemain, sir Edward Hales, and Obadiah Walker, of high treason, for having been reconciled to the church of Rome, contrary to the laws of the realm. A bill was ordered to be brought in to declare the estate of the late lord chancellor Jefferies forfeited to the crown, and attaint his blood; but it met with such opposition that the measure was dropped: the house however agreed, that the pecuniary penalties incurred by those persons who had exercised offices contrary to the laws against popish recusants, should be speedily levied and applied to the public service. The lord Griffin being detected in maintaining a correspondence with king James and his partizans, was committed to the Tower; but as no other evidence appeared against him than written letters, found in the false bottom of a pewter bottle, they could not help consenting to his being released upon bail, as they had lately resolved that Algernon Sidney was unjustly condemned in the reign of Charles II. because nothing but writings had been produced against him at his trial. The two houses concurred in appointing a committee to inquire who were the advisers and prosecutors in taking away the lives of lord Russel, colonel Sydney, sir Thomas Armstrong, alderman Cornish, and others; and who were chiefly concerned in the arbitrary practices touching the writs of quo warranto, and the surrender of charters. This inquiry was levelled at the marquis of Halifax, who had concurred with the ministry of Charles in all these severities. Though no proof appeared upon which votes or addresses could be founded, that nobleman saw it was necessary for him to withdraw himself from the administration; he therefore resigned the privy-seal, which was put in commission, and reconciled himself to the tories, of whom he became the patron and protector.

INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSE OF THE MISCARRIAGES IN IRELAND RESUMED.

The commons likewise resumed the examination of the miscarriages in Ireland, and desired the king would appoint commissioners to go over and inquire into the condition of the army in that kingdom. Schomberg, understanding that he had been blamed in the house of commons for his inactivity, transmitted to the king a satisfactory vindication of his own conduct; and it appeared that the miscarriages in Ireland were wholly owing to John Shales, purveyor-general to the army. The commons immediately presented an address to his majesty, praying that Shales might be taken into custody; that all his papers, accounts, and stores, should be secured; and that duke Schomberg might be empowered to fill his place with a more able purveyor. The king gave them to understand that he had already sent orders to the general for that purpose. Nevertheless, they in another petition requested his majesty to name those who had recommended Shales to his service, as he had exercised the same office under king James, and was suspected of treasonable practices against the government. William declined gratifying their request; but he afterwards sent a message to the house, desiring them to recommend a certain number of commissioners to superintend such provisions and preparations as might be necessary for that service, as well as to nominate certain persons to go over and examine the state of the army in Ireland. The commons were so mollified by this instance of his condescension, that they left the whole affair to his own direction, and proceeded to examine other branches of misconduct. Instances of mismanagement appeared so numerous and so flagrant, that they resolved upon a subsequent address, to explain the ill conduct and success of his army and navy; to desire he would find out the author of these miscarriages, and for the future intrust unsuspected persons with the management of affairs. They ordered the victuallers of the fleet to be taken into custody, on suspicion of their having furnished the navy with unwholesome provisions, and new commissioners were appointed. Bitter reproaches were thrown out against the ministry. Mr. Hambden expressed his surprise that the administration should consist of those very persons whom king James had employed, when his affairs were desperate, to treat with the prince of Orange, and moved that the king should be petitioned in an address to remove such persons from his presence and councils. This was a stroke aimed at the earl of Nottingham, whose office of secretary Hambden desired to possess; but his motion was not seconded, the court-members observing that James did not depute these lords to the prince of Orange because they were attached to his own interest, but for a very different reason, namely, that they were well known to disapprove of his measures, and therefore would be the more agreeable to his highness. The house however voted an address to the king, desiring that the authors of the miscarriages might be brought to condign punishment.

WILLIAM IRRITATED AGAINST THE WHIGS.

In the sequel, the question was proposed, Whether a placeman ought to have a seat in the house? and a very warm debate ensued: but it was carried in the affirmative, on the supposition that by such exclusion the commonwealth would be deprived of some of the ablest senators of the kingdom. But what chiefly irritated William against the whigs was their backwardness in promoting the public service, and their disregard of the earnest desire he expressed to see his revenue settled for life. He said his title was no more than a pageant, and the worst of all governments was that of a king without treasure. Nevertheless, they would not grant the civil list for a longer term than one year. They began to think there was something arbitrary in his disposition. His sullen behaviour in all probability first infused this opinion, which was strengthened and confirmed by the insinuations of his enemies. The Scots who had come up to London to give an account of the proceedings in their parliament, were infected with the same notion. One Simpson, a presbyterian of that country, whom the earl of Portland employed as a spy, had insinuated himself into the confidence of Nevil Payne, an active and intelligent partisan and agent of king James; by which means he supplied the earl with such intelligence as raised him to some degree of credit with that minister. This he used in prepossessing the earl against the king’s best friends, and infusing jealousies which were soon kindled into mutual distrust and animosity.

PLOT AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.

Sir James Montgomery, who had been a warm advocate for the revolution, received advice that the court suspected him and others of disaffection, and was employed in seeking evidence by which they might be prosecuted. They were equally alarmed and incensed at this intimation, and Payne seized the opportunity of seducing them into a correspondence with the exiled king. They demanded the settlement of the presbytery in Scotland, and actually engaged in a treaty for his restoration. They reconciled themselves to the duke of Queensbury, and the other noblemen of the episcopal party: they wrote to James for a supply of money, arms, and ammunition, together with a reinforcement of three thousand men from Dunkirk. Montgomery had acquired great interest among the whigs of England, and this he-employed in animating them against the king and the ministry. He represented them as a set of wicked men, who employed infamous spies to insnare and ruin the fast friends of the government, and found means to alienate them so much from William, that they began to think in earnest of recalling their banished prince The duke of Bolton and the earl of Monmouth were almost persuaded into a conspiracy for this purpose; they seemed to think James was now so well convinced of his former errors, that they might trust him without scruple. Montgomery and Payne were the chief managers of the scheme, and they admitted Ferguson into their councils, as a veteran in the arts of treason. In order to blast William’s credit in the city, they circulated a report that James would grant a full indemnity, separate himself entirely from the French interest, and be contented with a secret connivance in favour of the Roman catholics. Montgomery’s brother assured the bishop of Salisbury that a treaty with king James was absolutely concluded, and an invitation subscribed by the whole cabal. He said this paper would be sent to Ireland by the way of France, as the direct communication was difficult; and he proposed a method for seizing it before it should be conveyed out of the kingdom. Williamson, the supposed bearer of it, had obtained a pass for Flanders, and a messenger being sent in pursuit of him, secured his clothes and portmanteau; but after a very strict examination nothing appeared to justify the intelligence. Williamson had previously delivered the papers to Simpson, who hired a boat at Deal, and arrived in safety at France. He returned with large assurances, and twelve thousand pounds were remitted to the Scottish undertakers. Montgomery the informer seeing his intelligence falsified, lost his credit with the bishop, and dreading the resentment of the other party, retired to the continent. The conspirators loudly complained of the false imputations they had incurred. The pretended discoveries were looked upon as fictions of the ministry, and the king on this occasion suffered greatly in the opinion of his subjects.

DEBATES ABOUT THE CORPORATION BILLS.

The tories still continued to carry on a secret negotiation with the court. They took advantage of the ill-humour subsisting between the king and the whigs; and promised large supplies of money provided this parliament should be dissolved and another immediately convoked. The opposite party, being apprized of their intention, brought a bill into the house of commons for restoring corporations to their ancient rights and privileges. They knew their own strength at elections consisted in these corporations; and they inserted two additional severe clauses against those who were in any shape concerned in surrendering charters. The whole power of the tories was exerted against this clause; and now the whigs vied with them in making court to his majesty, promising to manifest the most submissive obedience should this bill be enacted into a law. The strength of the tories was now become so formidable to the house, that they out-voted the other party, and the clauses were rejected; but the bill passed in its original form. The lords debated upon the point, Whether a corporation could be forfeited or surrendered? Lord chief justice Holt and two other judges declared their opinion in the affirmative: the rest thought otherwise, as no precedents could be produced farther back than the reign of Henry VIII. when the abbeys were surrendered; and this instance seemed too violent to authorize such a measure in a regular course of administration. The bill, however, passed by one voice only. Then both parties quickened their applications to the king, who found himself so perplexed and distracted between two factions which he equally feared, that he resolved to leave the government in the queen’s hands and retire to Holland. He communicated this design to the marquis of Carmarthen, the earl of Shrewsbury, and some other noblemen, who pressed him to lay aside his resolution, and even mingled tears with their remonstrances.

THE KING RESOLVES TO FINISH THE IRISH WAR IN PERSON.

He at length complied with their request, and determined to finish the Irish war in person. This design was far from being agreeable to the parliament. His friends dreaded the climate of that country, which might prove fatal to his weak constitution. The well-wishers of James were afraid of that prince’s being hard pressed, should William take the field against him in person.

Both houses, therefore, began to prepare an address against this expedition. In order to prevent this remonstrance, the king went to the parliament, and formally signified his resolution. After his speech they were prorogued to the second day of April. On the sixth day of February they were dissolved by proclamation, and a new parliament was summoned to meet on the twentieth day of March. During this session, the commons, in an address to the king, desired that a revenue of fifty thousand pounds might be settled upon the prince and princess of Denmark, out of the civil list; and his majesty gratified them in this particular: yet the warmth and industry with which the friends of the princess exerted themselves in promoting the settlement, produced a coldness and misunderstanding between the two sisters; and the subsequent disgrace of the earl of Marlborough was imputed to the part which his wife acted on the occasion. She was lady of the bed-chamber, and chief confidant to the princess, whom she strenuously advised to insist upon the settlement rather than depend upon the generosity of the king and queen.

LUDLOW ARRIVES IN ENGLAND, BUT IS OBLIGED TO WITHDRAW.

About this period general Ludlow, who at the restoration had been excepted from the act of indemnity, as one of those who sat in judgment upon Charles I. arrived in England, and offered his service in reducing Ireland, where he had formerly commanded. Though a rigid republican, he was reputed a conscientious man, and a good officer. He had received some encouragement to come over, and probably would have been employed had not the commons interposed. Sir Edward Seymour, who enjoyed by grant an estate in Wiltshire which had formerly belonged to Ludlow, began to be in pain for his possession. He observed in the house, that the nation would be disgraced should one of the J parricides be suffered to live in the kingdom. An address was immediately presented to the king, desiring a proclamation might be issued promising a reward for apprehending general Ludlow. This was accordingly published; but not before he had landed in Holland, from whence he returned to Vevay in Switzerland, where he wrote the memoirs of his life, and died after an exile of thirty years.

EFFORTS OF THE JACOBITES IN SCOTLAND.

While king William fluctuated between two parties in England, his interest in Scotland had well nigh given way to a coalition between the original Jacobites and Montgomery’s party of discontented presbyterians. Colonel Cannon, who succeeded the viscount Dundee in command, after having made several unsuccessful efforts in favour of the late king’s interest, retired into Ireland; and the highlanders chose sir Hugh Cameron for their leader. Under him they renewed their incursions with the better prospect of success, as several regiments of the regular troops had been sent to reinforce the army of Schomberg. James assisted them with clothes, arms, and ammunition, together with some officers, amongst whom was colonel Bucan, appointed to act as their chief commander. This officer, at the head of fifteen hundred men, advanced into the shire of Murray, in hopes of being joined by other malcontents; but he was surprised and routed by sir Thomas Livingstone, while major Ferguson destroyed the places they possessed in the Isle of Mull; so that the highlanders were obliged to retire and conceal themselves among their hills and fastnesses. The friends of James, despairing of doing any thing effectual for his service in the field, converted all their attention to the proceedings in parliament; where they imagined their interest was much stronger than it appeared to be upon trial. They took the oaths without hesitation, and hoped, by the assistance of their new allies, to embroil the government in such a manner that the majority of the people would declare for a restoration. But the views of these new cemented parties were altogether incompatible, and their principles diametrically opposite. Notwithstanding their concurrence in parliament, the earl of Melvil procured a small majority. The opposition was immediately discouraged: some individuals retracted, rather than fall with a sinking cause; and mutual jealousies began to prevail. The leaders of the coalition treated separately with king James; made inconsistent demands; reciprocally concealed their negotiations; in a word, they distrusted and hated one another with the most implacable resentment.

THE COURT INTEREST PREVAILS.

The earls of Argyle, Annandale, and Breadalbane, withdrew from their councils and repaired to England. Montgomery, terrified at their defection, went privately to London, after he had hinted something of the plot to Melvil, and solicited a pass from the queen, which was refused. Annandale, having received information that Montgomery had disclosed all the particulars of the negotiation, threw himself upon the queen’s mercy, and discovered all he knew of the conspiracy. As lie had not treated with any of the malcontents in England, they remained secure from his evidence; but he informed against Nevil Payne, who had been sent down as their agent to Scotland, where he now resided. He was immediately apprehended by the council of that kingdom, in consequence of a letter from the earl of Nottingham; and twice put to the torture, which he resolutely bore, without discovering his employers. Montgomery still absconded in London, soliciting a pardon; but finding he could not obtain it, except on condition of making a full discovery, he abandoned his country, and chose to die in exile rather than betray his confederates. This disunion of the conspirators, and discovery of the plot, left the earl of Melvil in possession of a greater majority; though even this he was fain to secure by overstraining his instructions in the articles of patronage, and the supremacy of the crown, which he yielded up to the fury of the fanatic presbyterians, contrary to the intention of king William. In lieu of these, however, they indulged him with the tax of chimney or hearth-money; as well as with a test to be imposed upon all persons in office or parliament, declaring William and Mary their lawful sovereigns, and renouncing the pretended title of king James. All the laws in favour of episcopacy were repealed. Threescore of the presbyterian ministers, who had been ejected at the restoration, were still alive; and these the parliament declared the only sound part of the church. The government of it was lodged in their hands; and they were empowered to admit such as they should think proper to their assistance. A few furious fanatics being thus associated, proceeded with ungovernable violence to persecute the episcopal party, exercising the very same tyranny against which they themselves had so loudly exclaimed.

THE TORY INTEREST PREVAILS IN THE NEW PARLIAMENT.

While the presbyterian interest thus triumphed in Scotland, the two parties that divided England employed their whole influence and attention in managing the elections for a new parliament; and the tories obtained the victory. The king seemed gradually falling into the arms of this party. They complained of their having been totally excluded from the lieutenancy of London at the king’s accession to the crown; and now a considerable number of the most violent tories in the city were admitted into the commission by the interest and address of the bishop of London, the marquis of Carmarthen, and the earl of Nottingham. To gratify that party, the earls of Monmouth and Warrington were dismissed from their employments; nay, when the parliament met on the twentieth day of March, the commons chose for their speaker sir John Trevor, a violent partisan of that faction, who had been created master of the rolls by the late king. He was a bold artful man, and undertook to procure a majority to be at the devotion of the court, provided he should be supplied with the necessary sums for the purposes of corruption. William, finding there was no other way of maintaining his administration in peace, thought proper to countenance the practice of purchasing votes, and appointed Trevor first commissioner of the great seal. In his speech to the new parliament, he gave them to understand that he still persisted in his resolution of going in person to Ireland. He desired they would make a settlement of the revenue, or establish it for the present as a fund of credit, upon which the necessary sums for the service of government might be immediately advanced; he signified his intention of sending to them an act of grace, with a few exceptions, that he might manifest his readiness to extend his protection to all his subjects, and leave no colour of excuse for raising disturbances in his absence, as he knew how busy some ill-affected men were in their endeavours to alter the established government; he recommended an union with Scotland, the parliament of which had appointed commissioners for that purpose; he told them he should leave the administration in the hands of the queen, and desired they would prepare an act to confirm her authority; he exhorted them to dispatch the business for which they were assembled, to avoid debates, and expressed his hope that they should soon meet again to finish what might be now left imperfect.

BILL FOR RECOGNISING THEIR MAJESTIES.

The commons, in compliance with his request, voted a supply of twelve hundred thousand pounds, one million of that sum to be raised by a clause of credit in the revenue bills; but he could not prevail upon them to settle the revenue for life. They granted, however, the hereditary excise for that term, but the customs for four years only. They considered this short term as the best security the kingdom could have for frequent parliaments; though this precaution was not at all agreeable to their sovereign. A poll-bill was likewise passed, other supplies were granted, and both parties seemed to court his majesty by advancing money on those funds of credit. The whigs, however, had another battery in reserve. They produced, in the upper house, a bill for recognising their majesties as the rightful and lawful sovereign of these realms, and for declaring all the acts of the last parliament to be good and valid. The tories were now reduced to a very perplexed situation. They could not oppose the bill without hazarding the interest they had so lately acquired, nor assent to it without solemnly renouncing their former arguments and distinctions. They made no great objections to the first part, and even proposed to enact, That those should be deemed good laws for the time to come; but they refused to declare them valid for that which was past. After a long debate, the bill was committed; yet the whigs lost their majority on the report; nevertheless, the bill was recovered, and passed with some alteration in the words; in consequence of a nervous spirited protest, signed Bolton, Macclesfield, Stamford, Newport, Bedford, Her bert, Suffolk, Monmouth, Delamere, and Oxford. The whole interest of the court was thrown into the scale with this bill, before it would preponderate against the tories; the chiefs of whom, with the earl of Nottingham at their head, protested in their turn. The same party in the house of commons were determined upon a vigorous opposition; and in the mean time some trifling objections were made, that it might be committed for amendment; but their design was prematurely discovered by one of their faction, who chanced to question the legality of the convention, as it was not summoned by the king’s writ. This insinuation was answered by Somers the solicitor general, who observed, that if it was not a legal parliament, they who were then met, and who had taken the oaths enacted by that parliament, were guilty of high treason; the laws repealed by it were still in force: it was their duty therefore to return to king James; and all concerned in collecting and paying the money levied by the acts of that parliament were highly criminal. The tories were so struck with these arguments that the bill passed without further opposition, and immediately received the royal assent. Thus the settlement was confirmed by those very people who had so loudly exclaimed against it as illegal; but the whigs, with all their management, would not have gained their point had not the court been interested in the dispute.

There was another violent contest between the two parties, on the import of a bill requiring all subjects in office to abjure king James on pain of imprisonment. Though the clergy were at first exempted from this test, the main body of the tories opposed it with great vehemence; while the whigs, under countenance of the ministry, supported it with equal vigour. It produced long and violent debates; and the two factions seemed pretty equally balanced. At length the tories represented to the king that a great deal of precious time would be lost in fruitless altercation; that those who declared against the bill would grow sullen and intractable, so as to oppose every other motion that might be made for the king’s service; that, in case of its being carried, his majesty must fall again into the hands of the whigs, who would renew their former practices against the prerogative; and many individuals, who were now either well affected to him, or at least neutral, would become Jacobites from resentment. These suggestions had such weight with king William, that he sent an intimation to the commons, desiring they would drop the debate and proceed to matters that were more pressing. The whigs in general were disgusted at this interposition; and the earl of Shrewsbury, who had interested himself warmly in behalf of the bill, resented it so deeply that he insisted on resigning his office of secretary of state. The king, who revered his talents and integrity, employed Dr. Tillotson and others, who were supposed to have credit with the earl, to dissuade him from quitting his employment; but he continued deaf to all their remonstrances, and would not even comply with the request of his majesty, who pressed him to keep the seals until he should return from Ireland. Long debates were likewise managed in the house of lords upon the bill of abjuration, or rather an oath of special fidelity to William, in opposition to James. The tories professed themselves willing to enter into a negative engagement against the late king and his adherents; but they opposed the oath of abjuration with all their might: and the house was so equally divided that neither side was willing to hazard a decision, so that all the fruit of their debates was a prolongation of the session.

KING WILLIAM LANDS IN IRELAND.

An act was prepared for investing the queen with the administration during the king’s absence; another for reversing the judgment on a quo warranto against the city of London, and restoring it to its ancient rights and privileges; at length the bill of indemnity so cordially recommended by the king passed both houses. 021 [See note G, at the end of this Vol.] On the twenty-first day of May, the king closed the session with a Short speech, in which he thanked them for the supplies they had granted, and recommended to them a punctual discharge of their duties in their respective counties, that the peace of the nation might not be interrupted in his absence. The houses were adjourned to the seventh day of July, when the parliament was prorogued and adjourned successively. As a further security for the peace of the kingdom, the deputy-lieutenants were authorized to raise the militia in case of necessity. All papists were prohibited to stir above five miles from their respective places of abode; a proclamation was published for apprehending certain disaffected persons; sir John Cochran and Ferguson were actually arrested on suspicion of treasonable practices. On the fourth day of June the king set out for Ireland, attended by prince George of Denmark, the duke of Ormond, the earls of Oxford, Scarborough, Manchester, and many other persons of distinction: on the fourteenth day of the month he landed at Carrickfergus, from whence he immediately proceeded to Belfast, where he was met by the duke of Schomberg, the prince of Wirtemberg, major-general Kirke, and other officers. By this time colonel Wolsey, at the head of a thousand men, had defeated a strong detachment of the enemy near Belturbat; sir John Lanier had taken Bedloe castle; and that of Charlemont, a strong post of great importance, together with Balingary near Cavan, had been reduced. King William having reposed himself for two or three days at Belfast, visited the duke’s head-quarters at Lis-burne; then advancing to Hillsborough, published an order against pressing horses, and committing violence on the country people. When some of his general officers proposed cautious measures, he declared he did not come to Ireland to let the grass grow under his feet. He ordered the army to encamp and be reviewed at Loughbrilland, where he found it amount to six-and-thirty thousand effective men, well appointed. Then he marched to Dundalk; and afterwards advanced to Ardee, which the enemy had just abandoned.

JAMES MARCHES TO THE BOYNE.

King James trusted so much to the disputes in the English parliament, that he did not believe his son-in-law would be able to quit that kingdom; and William had been six days in Ireland before he received intimation of his arrival. This was no sooner known than he left Dublin under the guard of the militia commanded by Luttrel, and with a reinforcement of six thousand infantry, which he had lately received from France, joined the rest of his forces, which now almost equalled William’s army in number, exclusive of about fifteen thousand men who remained in different garrisons. He occupied a very advantageous post on the bank of the Boyne, and, contrary to the advice of his general officers, resolved to stand battle. They proposed to strengthen their garrisons and retire to the Shannon to wait the effect of the operations at sea. Louis had promised to equip a powerful armament against the English fleet, and send over a great number of small frigates to destroy William’s transports, as soon as their convoy should be returned to England. The execution of this scheme was not at all difficult, and must have proved fatal to the English army; for their stores and ammunition were still on board; the ships sailed along the coast as the troops advanced in their march; and there was not one secure harbour into which they could retire on any emergency. James, however, was bent upon hazarding an engagement; and expressed uncommon confidence and alacrity. Besides the river which was deep, his front was secured by a morass and a rising ground, so that the English army could not attack him without manifest disadvantage.

WILLIAM RESOLVES TO GIVE HIM BATTLE

King William marched up to the opposite bank of the river, and, as he reconnoitred their situation, was exposed to the fire of some field-pieces which the enemy purposely planted against his person. They killed a man and two horses close by him; and the second bullet, rebounding from the earth, grazed upon his right shoulder so as to carry off part of his clothes and skin, and produce a considerable contusion. This accident, which he bore without the least emotion, created some confusion among his attendants, which the enemy perceiving, concluded he was killed, and shouted aloud in token of their joy. The whole camp resounded with acclamation; and several squadrons of their horse were drawn down towards the river as if they had intended to pass it immediately and attack the English army. The report was instantly communicated from place to place until it reached Dublin; from thence it was conveyed to Paris, where, contrary to the custom of the French court, the people were encouraged to celebrate the event with bonfires and illuminations. William rode along the line to show himself to the army after this narrow escape. At night he called a council of war, and declared his resolution to attack the enemy in the morning. Schomberg at first opposed his design; but finding the king determined, he advised that a strong detachment of horse and foot should that night pass the Boyne at Slane-bridge, and take post between the enemy and the pass of Duleck, that the action might be the more decisive. This council being rejected, the king determined that early in the morning lieutenant-general Douglas, with the right wing of infantry, and young Schomberg, with the horse, should pass at Slane-bridge, while the main body of foot should force their passage at Old-bridge, and the left at certain fords between the enemy’s camp and Drogheda. The duke, perceiving his advice was not relished by the Dutch generals, retired to his tent, where the order of battle being brought to him, he received it with an air of discontent, saying, It was the first that had ever been sent him in that manner. The proper dispositions being made, William rode quite through the army by torchlight, and then retired to his tent, after having given orders for the soldiers to distinguish themselves from the enemy by wearing green boughs in their hats during the action.

BATTLE OF THE BOYNE.

At six o’clock in the morning, general Douglas, with young Schomberg, the earl of Portland, and Auverquerque, marched towards Slane-bridge, and passed the river with very little opposition. When they reached the farther bank, they perceived the enemy drawn up in two lines, to a considerable number of horse and foot, with a morass in their front, so that Douglas was obliged to wait for a reinforcement. This being arrived, the infantry was led on to the charge through the morass, while count Schomberg rode round it with his cavalry to attack the enemy in flank. The Irish, instead of waiting the assault, faced about and retreated towards Duleck with some precipitation; yet not so fast but that Schomberg fell in among their rear and did considerable execution. King James however soon reinforced his left wing from the centre; and the count was in his turn obliged to send for assistance. At this juncture, king William’s main body, consisting of the Dutch guards, the French regiments, and some battalions of English, passed the river, which was waist high, under a general discharge of artillery. King James had imprudently removed his cannon from the other side; but he had posted a strong body of musqueteers along the bank, behind hedges, houses, and some works raised for the occasion. These poured in a close fire upon the English troops before they reached the shore; but it produced very little effect: then the Irish gave way; and some battalions landed without further opposition. Yet, before they could form, they were charged with great impetuosity by a squadron of the enemy’s horse; and a considerable body of their cavalry and foot, commanded by general Hamilton, advanced from behind some little hillocks to attack those that were landed, as well as to prevent the rest from reaching the shore. His infantry turned their backs and fled immediately; but the horse charged with incredible fury, both upon the bank and in the river, so as to put the unformed regiments in confusion. Then the duke of Schomberg, passing the river in person, put himself at the head of the French protestants, and pointing to the enemy, “Gentlemen,” said he, “those are your persecutors;” with these words he advanced to the attack, where he himself sustained a violent onset from a party of the Irish horse which had broke through one of the regiments, and were now on their return. They were mistaken for English, and allowed to gallop up to the duke, who received two severe wounds in the head; but the French regiments being now sensible of their mistake, rashly threw in their fire upon the Irish while they were engaged with the duke, and instead of saving, shot him dead upon the spot. The fate of this general had well nigh proved fatal to the English army, which was immediately involved in tumult and disorder; while the infantry of king James rallied, and returned to their posts with a face of resolution. They were just ready to fall upon the centre, when king William having passed with the left wing, composed of the Danish, Dutch, and Inniskilling horse, advanced to attack them on the right. They were struck with such a panic at his appearance that they made a sudden halt, and then facing about, retreated to the village of Dunore. There they made such a vigorous stand that the Dutch and Danish horse, though headed by the king in person, recoiled; even the Inniskillmers gave way; and the whole wing would have been routed, had not a detachment of dragoons, belonging to the regiment of Cunningham and Livison, dismounted, and lined the hedges on each side of the defile through which the fugitives were driven. There they did such execution upon the pursuers as soon checked their ardour. The horse, which were broken, had now time to rally, and returning to the charge, drove the enemy before them in their turn. In this action general Hamilton, who had been the life and soul of the Irish during the whole engagement, was wounded and taken—an incident which discouraged them to such a degree, that they made no further efforts to retrieve the advantage they had lost. He was immediately brought to the king, who asked him if he thought the Irish would make any further resistance; and he replied, “Upon my honour, I believe they will; for they have still a good body of horse entire.” William, eyeing him with a look of disdain, repeated, “Your honour! your honour!” but took no other notice of his having acted contrary to his engagement, when he was permitted to go to Ireland on promise of persuading Tyrconnel to submit to the new government. The Irish now abandoned the field with precipitation; but the French and Swiss troops, that acted as their auxiliaries under Lausun, retreated in good order, after having maintained the battle for some time with intrepidity and perseverance.

DEATH OF SCHOMBERG.

As king William did not think proper to pursue the enemy, the carnage was not great. The Irish lost fifteen hundred men, and the English about one-third of that number; though the victory was dearly purchased, considering the death of the gallant duke of Schomberg, who fell in the eighty-second year of his age, after having rivalled the best generals of the time in military reputation. He was descended of a noble family in the Palatinate, and his mother was an English woman, daughter of lord Dudley. Being obliged to leave his country on account of the troubles by which it was agitated, he commenced a soldier of fortune, and served successively in the armies of Holland, England, France, Portugal, and Brandenburgh. He attained to the dignities of mareschal in France, grandee in Portugal, generalissimo in Prussia, and duke in England. He professed the protestant religion; was courteous and humble in his deportment; cool, penetrating, resolute, and sagacious; nor was his probity inferior to his courage. This battle likewise proved fatal to the brave Caillemote, who had followed the duke’s fortunes, and commanded one of the protestant regiments. After having received a mortal wound, he was carried back through the river by four soldiers, and though almost in the agonies of death, he with a cheerful countenance encouraged those who were crossing to do their duty, exclaiming, “A la gloire, mes enfans; à la gloire. To glory, my lads; to glory!” The third remarkable person who lost his life on this occasion was Walker the clergyman, who had so valiantly defended Londonderry against the whole army of king James. He had been very graciously received by king William, who gratified him with a reward of five thousand pounds, and a promise of further favour; but his military genius still predominating, he attended his royal patron in this battle, and being shot in the belly, died in a few minutes. The persons of distinction who fell on the other side were the lords Dongan and Carlingford, sir Neile O’Neile, and the marquis of Hoequincourt. James himself stood aloof during the action on the hill of Dunmore, surrounded with some squadrons of horse; and seeing victory declare against him, retired to Dublin without having made the least effort to re-assemble his broken forces. Had he possessed either spirit or conduct, his army might have been rallied, and reinforced from his garrisons, so as to be in a condition to keep the field, and even act upon the offensive; for his loss was inconsiderable, and the victor did not attempt to molest his troops in their retreat—an omission which has been charged upon him as a flagrant instance of misconduct. Indeed, through the whole of this engagement, William’s personal courage was much more conspicuous than his military skill.

JAMES EMBARKS FOR FRANCE.

King James no sooner arrived at Dublin than he assembled the magistrates and council of the city, and in a short speech resigned them to the fortune of the victor. He complained of the cowardice of the Irish; signified his resolution of leaving the kingdom immediately; forbade them, on their allegiance, to burn or plunder the city after his departure; and assured them, that, though he was obliged to yield to force, he would never cease to labour for their deliverance. Next day he set out for Waterford, attended by the duke of Berwick, Tyrconnel, and the marquis of Powis. He ordered all the bridges to be broken down behind him, and embarked in a vessel which had been prepared for his reception. At sea he fell in with the French squadron, commanded by the Sieur de Foran, who persuaded him to go on board one of his frigates, which was a prime sailer. In this he was safely conveyed to France, and returned to the place of his former residence at St. Germain’s. He had no sooner quitted Dublin than it was also abandoned by all the papists. The protestants immediately took possession of the arms belonging to the militia, under the conduct of the bishops of Meath and Limerick. A committee was formed to take charge of the administration; and an account of these transactions was transmitted to king William, together with a petition that he would honour the city with his presence.

WILLIAM ENTERS DUBLIN.

On the morning after the battle of the Boyne, William sent a detachment of horse and foot, under the command of M. Mellionere, to Drogheda, the governor of which surrendered the place without opposition. The king at the head of the army began his march for Dublin, and halted the first night at Bally-Breghan; where, having received advice of the enemy’s retreat from the capital, he sent the duke of Ormond with a body of horse to take possession. These were immediately followed by the Dutch guards, who secured the castle. In a few days the king encamped at Finglas, in the neighbourhood of Dublin, where he was visited by the bishops of Meath and Limerick, at the head of the protestant clergy, whom he assured of his favour and protection. Then he published a declaration of pardon to all the common people who had served against him, provided they should return to their dwellings and surrender their arms by the first day of August. Those that rented lands of popish proprietors who had been concerned in the rebellion, were required to retain their rents in their own hands until they should have notice from the commissioners of the revenue to whom they should be paid. The desperate leaders of the rebellion, who had violated the laws of the kingdom, called in the French, authorized the depredations which had been committed upon protestants, and rejected the pardon offered to them on the king’s first proclamation, were left to the event of war, unless by evident demonstrations of repentance they should deserve mercy, which would never be refused to those who were truly penitent. The next step taken by king William was to issue a proclamation reducing the brass money to nearly its intrinsic value. In the meantime, the principal officers in the army of James, after having seen him embark at Waterford, returned to their troops, determined to prosecute the war as long as they could be supplied with means to support their operations.

VICTORY GAINED BY THE FRENCH.

During these transactions, the queen, as regent, found herself surrounded with numberless cares and perplexities. Her council was pretty equally divided into whigs and tories, who did not always act with unanimity. She was distracted between her apprehensions for her father’s safety and her husband’s life: she was threatened with an invasion by the French from abroad, and with an insurrection by the Jacobites at home. Nevertheless she disguised her fears, and behaved with equal prudence and fortitude. Advice being received that a fleet was ready to sail from Brest, lord Torrington hoisted his flag in the Downs, and sailed round to St. Helen’s, in order to assemble such a number of ships as would enable him to give them battle. The enemy being discovered off Plymouth on the twentieth day of June, the English admiral, reinforced with a Dutch squadron, stood out to sea with a view to intercept them at the back of the Isle of Wight, should they presume to sail up the channel, not that he thought himself strong enough to cope with them in battle. Their fleet consisted of seventy-eight ships of war, and two-and-twenty fire-ships; whereas, the combined squadrons of England and Holland did not exceed six-and-fifty; but he had received orders to hazard an engagement if he thought it might be done with any prospect of success. After the hostile fleets had continued five days in sight of each other, lord Torrington bore down upon the enemy off Beachy-head, on the thirtieth day of June, at day-break. The Dutch squadron, which composed the van, began the engagement about nine in the morning; in about half an hour the blue division of the English were close engaged with the rear of the French; but the red, which formed the centre, under the command of Torrington in person, did not fill the line till ten o’clock, so that the Dutch were almost surrounded by the enemy, and, though they fought with great valour, sustained considerable damage. At length the admiral’s division drove between them and the French, and in that situation the fleet anchored about five in the afternoon, when the action was interrupted by a calm. The Dutch had suffered so severely, that Torrington thought it would be imprudent to renew the battle; he therefore weighed anchor in the night, and with the tide of flood retired to the eastward. The next day the disabled ships were destroyed, that they might not be retarded in their retreat. They were pursued as far as Rye; an English ship of seventy guns being stranded near Winchelsea, was set on fire and deserted by the captain’s command. A Dutch ship of sixty-four guns met with the same accident, and some French frigates attempted to burn her; but the captain defended her so vigorously that they were obliged to desist, and he afterwards found means to carry her safe to Holland. In this engagement the English lost two ships, two sea-captains, and about four hundred men; but the Dutch were more unfortunate: six of their great ships were destroyed. Dick and Brackel, rear-admirals, were slain, together with a great number of inferior officers and seamen. Torrington retreated without further interruption into the mouth of the Thames; and, having taken precaution against any attempts of the enemy in that quarter, returned to London, the inhabitants of which were overwhelmed with consternation.

TORRINGTON COMMITTED TO THE TOWER.

The government was infected with the same panic. The ministry pretended to believe that the French acted in concert with the malcontents of the nation; that insurrections in the different parts of the kingdom had been projected by the Jacobites; and that there would be a general revolt in Scotland. These insinuations were circulated by the court agents in order to justify, in the opinion of the public, the measures that were deemed necessary at this juncture; and they produced the desired effect. The apprehensions thus artfully raised among the people inflamed their aversion to nonjurors and Jacobites. Addresses were presented to the queen by the Cornish tinners, by the lieutenancy of Middlesex, and by the mayor, aldermen, and lieutenancy of London, filled with professions of loyalty and promises of supporting their majesties as their lawful sovereigns, against all opposition. The queen at this crisis exhibited remarkable proofs of courage, activity, and discretion. She issued out proper orders and directions for putting the nation in a posture of defence, as well as for refitting and augmenting the fleet; she took measures for appeasing the resentment of the states-general, who exclaimed against the earl of Torrington for his behaviour in the late action. He was deprived of his command, and sent prisoner to the Tower; and commissioners were appointed to examine the particular circumstances of his conduct. A camp was formed in the neighbourhood of Torbay, where the French seemed to threaten a descent. Their fleet, which lay at anchor in the bay, cannonaded a small village called Teign-mouth. About a thousand of their men landed without opposition, set fire to the place, and burned a few coasting vessels; then they re-embarked and returned to Brest, so vain of this achievement that they printed a pompous account of their invasion. Some of the whig partizans published pamphlets and diffused reports, implying that the suspended bishops were concerned in the conspiracy against the government; and these arts proved so inflammatory among the common people, that the prelates thought it necessary to print a paper, in which they asserted their innocence in the most solemn protestations. The court seems to have harboured no suspicion against them, otherwise they would not have escaped imprisonment. The queen issued a proclamation for apprehending the earls of Litchfield, Aylesbury, and Castlemain; viscount Preston; the lords Montgomery and Bellasis; sir Edward Hales, sir Robert Tharold, sir Robert Hamilton, sir Theophilus Oglethorpe, colonel Edward Sackville, and some other officers. These were accused of having conspired with other disaffected persons to disturb and destroy the government, and of a design to concur with her majesty’s enemies in the intended invasion. The earl of Torrington continued a prisoner in the Tower till next session, when he was brought into the house of commons and made a speech in his own defence. His case produced long debates in the upper house, where the form of his commitment was judged illegal: at length he was tried by a court-martial appointed by the commissioners of the admiralty, though not before an act had passed, declaring the power of a lord high-admiral vested in those commissioners. The president of the court was sir Ralph Délavai, who had acted as vice-admiral of the blue in the engagement. The earl was acquitted, but the king dismissed him from the service; and the Dutch exclaimed against the partiality of his judges.

PROGRESS OF WILLIAM IN IRELAND.

William is said to have intercepted all the papers of his father-in-law and Tyrconnel, and to have learned from them not only the design projected by the French to burn the English transports, but likewise the undertaking of one Jones, who engaged to assassinate king William. No such attempt however was made, and in all probability the whole report was a fiction, calculated to throw an odium on James’ character. On the ninth day of July, William detached general Douglas with a considerable body of horse and foot towards Athlone, while he himself, having left Trelawny to command at Dublin, advanced with the rest of his army to Inchiquin in his way to Kilkenny. Colonel Grace, the governor of Athlone for king James, being summoned to surrender, fired a pistol at the trumpeter, saying, “These are my terms.” Then Douglas resolved to undertake the siege of the place, which was naturally very strong, and defended by a resolute garrison. An inconsiderable breach was made, when Douglas, receiving intelligence that Sarsfield was on his march to the relief of the besieged, abandoned the enterprise after having lost above four hundred men in the attempt. The king continued his march to the westward; and, by dint of severe examples, established such order and discipline in his army, that the peasants were secure from the least violence. At Carlow he detached the duke of Ormond to take possession of Kilkenny, where that nobleman regaled him in his own castle, which the enemy had left undamaged. While the army encamped at Carrick, major-general Kirke was sent to Waterford, the garrison of which, consisting of two regiments, capitulated upon condition of marching out with their arms and baggage, and being conducted to Mallow. The fort of Duncannon was surrendered on the same terms. Here the lord Dover and the lord George Howard were admitted to the benefit of the king’s mercy and protection.

HE INVESTS LIMERICK; IS OBLIGED TO RAISE THE SIEGE.

On the first day of August, William being at Chapel-Izard, published a second declaration of mercy, confirming the former, and even extending it to persons of superior rank and station, whether natives or foreigners, provided they would, by the twenty-fifth day of the month, lay down their arms and submit to certain conditions. This offer of indemnity produced very little effect, for the Irish were generally governed by their priests, and the news of the victory which the French fleet had obtained over the English and Dutch, was circulated with such exaggerations as elevated their spirits, and effaced all thoughts of submission. The king had returned to Dublin with a view to embark for England, but receiving notice that the designs of his domestic enemies were discovered and frustrated, that the fleet was repaired, and the French navy retired to Brest, he postponed his voyage and resolved to reduce Limerick; in which Monsieur Boisseleau commanded as governor, and the duke of Berwick and colonel Sarsfield acted as inferior officers. On the ninth day of August, the king having called in his detachment and advanced into the neighbourhood of the place, summoned the commander to deliver the town; and Boisseleau answered, that he imagined the best way to gain the good opinion of the prince of Orange, would be a vigorous defence of the town which his majesty had committed to his charge. Before the place was fully invested, colonel Sarsfield, with a body of horse and dragoons, passed the Shannon in the night, intercepted the king’s train of artillery on its way to the camp, routed the troops that guarded it, disabled the cannon, destroyed the carriages, waggons, and ammunition, and returned in safety to Limerick. Notwithstanding this disaster, the trenches were opened on the seventeenth day of the month, and a battery was raised with some cannon brought from Waterford. The siege was carried on with vigour, and the place defended with great resolution. At length the king ordered his troops to make a lodgment in the covered way or counterscarp, which was accordingly assaulted with great fury; but the assailants met with such a warm reception from the besieged, that they were repulsed with the loss of twelve hundred men either killed on the spot or mortally wounded. This disappointment, concurring with the badness of the weather, which became rainy and unwholesome, induced the king to renounce his undertaking. The heavy baggage and cannon being sent away, the army decamped and marched towards Clonmel. William having constituted the lord Sydney and Thomas Coningsby lords justices of Ireland, and left the command of the army with count Solmes, embarked at Duncannon with prince George of Denmark on the fifth of September, and next day arrived in King road, near Bristol, from whence he repaired to Windsor.

CORK AND KINSALE REDUCED.

About the latter end of this month the earl of Marlborough arrived in Ireland with five thousand English troops, to attack Cork and Kinsale in conjunction with a detachment from the great army, according to a scheme he had proposed to king William. Having landed his soldiers without much opposition in the neighbourhood of Cork, he was joined by five thousand men under the prince of Wirtemberg, between whom and the earl a dispute arose about the command; but this was compromised by the interposition of La Mellionere. The place being invested, and the batteries raised, the besiegers proceeded with such rapidity that a breach was soon effected. Colonel Mackillicut the governor demanded a parley, and hostages were exchanged; but he rejected the conditions that were offered, and hostilities recommenced with redoubled vigour. The duke of Grafton, who served on this occasion as a volunteer, was mortally wounded in one of the attacks, and died regretted as a youth of promising talents. Preparations being made for a general assault, the besieged thought proper to capitulate, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war. Besides the governor and colonel Bicaut, the victor found the earls of Clancarty and Tyrone among the individuals of the garrison. Marlborough having taken possession of Cork, detached brigadier Villiers with a body of horse and dragoons to summon the town and forts of Kinsale, and next day advanced with the rest of the forces. The old fort was immediately taken by assault; but sir Edward Scott, who commanded the other, sustained a regular siege until the breach was practicable, and then obtained an honourable capitulation. These maritime places being reduced, all communication between France and the enemy on this side of the island was cut off, and the Irish were confined to Ulster, where they could not subsist without great difficulty. The earl of Marlborough having finished this expedition in thirty days, returned with his prisoners to England, where the fame of this exploit added greatly to his reputation.

THE FRENCH FORCES QUIT IRELAND.

During these transactions count de Lausan, commander of the French auxiliaries in Ireland, lay inactive in the neighbourhood of Galway, and transmitted such a lamentable account of his situation to the court of France, that transports were sent over to bring home the French forces. In these he embarked with his troops, and the command of the Irish forces devolved to the duke of Berwick, though it was afterwards transferred to M. St. Ruth. Lausan was disgraced at Versailles for having deserted the cause before it was desperate: Tyrconnel, who accompanied him in his voyage, solicited the French court for a further supply of officers, arms, clothes, and ammunition for the Irish army, which he said would continue firm to the interest of king James if thus supported. Meanwhile they formed themselves into separate bodies of freebooters, and plundered the country, under the appellation of rapparees: while the troops of king William either enjoyed their ease in quarters, or imitated the rapine of the enemy; so that between both the poor people were miserably harassed.

SAVOY JOINS THE CONFEDERACY.

The affairs of the continent had not yet undergone any change of importance, except in the conduct of the duke of Savoy, who renounced his neutrality, engaged in an alliance with the emperor and king of Spain; and, in a word, acceded to the grand confederacy. He had no sooner declared himself, than Catinat the French general entered his territories at the head of eighteen thousand men, and defeated him in a pitched battle near Saluces, which immediately surrendered to the conqueror. Then he reduced Savillana, Villa Franca, with several other places, pursued the duke to Carignan, surprised Suza, and distributed his forces in winter quarters, partly in Provence and partly in the duchy of Savoy, which St. Ruth had lately reduced under the dominion of France. The duke finding himself disappointed in the succours he expected from the emperor and the king of Spain, demanded assistance of the states-general and king William: to this last he sent an ambassador, to congratulate him upon his accession to the throne of England. The confederates in their general congress at the Hague, had agreed that the army of the states under prince Waldeck should oppose the forces of France, commanded by the duke of Luxembourg in Flanders; while the elector of Brandenburgh should observe the marquis de Boufflers on the Moselle: but before the troops of Brandenburgh could be assembled, Boufflers encamped between the Sambre and the Mouse, and maintained a free communication with Luxembourg.

PRINCE WALDECK DEFEATED.

Prince Waldeck understanding that this general intended to cross the Sambre between Namur and Charleroy, in order to lay the Spanish territories under contribution, decamped from the river Piéton, and detached the count of Berlo with a great body of horse to observe the motions of the enemy. He was encountered by the French army near Fleuras, and slain: and his troops, though supported by two other detachments, were hardly able to rejoin the main body, which continued all night in order of battle. Next day they were attacked by the French, who were greatly superior to them in number: after a very obstinate engagement the allies gave way, leaving about five thousand men dead upon the field of battle. The enemy took about four thousand prisoners, and the greatest part of their artillery; but the victory was dearly bought. The Dutch infantry fought with surprising resolution and success. The duke of Luxembourg owned with surprise, that they had surpassed the Spanish foot at the battle of Rocroy. “Prince Waldeck, said he, ought always to remember the French horse; and I shall never forget the Dutch infantry.” The Dutch general exerted himself with such activity, that the French derived very little advantage from their victory. The prince being reinforced with the five English regiments, nine thousand Hanoverians, ten thousand from the bishopric of Liege and Holland, joined the elector of Brandenburgh; so that the confederate army amounted to five-and-fifty thousand men, and they marched by the way of Genap to Bois-Seigneur-Isaac. They were now superior to Luxembourg, who thought proper to fortify his camp, that he might not be obliged to fight except with considerable advantage. Nevertheless, prince Waldeck would have attacked him in his intrenchments, had he not been prohibited from hazarding another engagement by an express order of the states-general; and when this restriction was removed, the elector would not venture a battle.

ARCHDUKE JOSEPH ELECTED KING.

By this time the emperor’s son Joseph was by the electoral college chosen king of the Romans; but his interest sustained a rude shock in the death of the gallant duke of Lorraine, who was suddenly seized with a quin-sey at a small village near Lintz, and expired, not without suspicion of having fallen a sacrifice to the fears of the French king, against whom he had formerly declared war as a sovereign prince unjustly expelled from his territories. He possessed great military talents, and had threatened to enter Lorraine at the head of forty thousand men, in the course of the ensuing summer. The court of France, alarmed at this declaration, is said to have had recourse to poison, for preventing the execution of the duke’s design. At his death the command of the imperial army was conferred upon the elector of Bavaria. This prince having joined the elector of Saxony, advanced against the Dauphin, who had passed the Rhine at Fort-Louis with a considerable army, and intended to penetrate into Wirtemberg; but the duke of Bavaria checked his progress, and he acted on the defensive during the remaining part of the campaign. The emperor was less fortunate in his efforts against the Turks, who rejected the conditions of peace he had offered, and took the field under a new vizier. In the month of August, count Tekeli defeated a body of imperialists near Cronstadt, in Transylvania; then convoking the states of that province at Albajulia, he compelled them to elect him their sovereign; but his reign was of short duration. Prince Louis of Baden, having taken the command of the Austrian army, detached four regiments into Belgrade, and advanced against Tekeli, who retired into Valachia at his approach. Meanwhile the grand vizier invested Belgrade, and carried on his attacks with surprising resolution. At length a bomb falling upon a great tower in which the powder magazine of the besieged was contained, the place blew up with a dreadful explosion. Seventeen hundred soldiers of the garrison were destroyed; the walls and ramparts were overthrown; the ditch was filled up, and so large a breach was opened that the Turks entered by squadrons and battalions, cutting in pieces all that fell in their way. The fire spread from magazine to magazine until eleven were destroyed; and in the confusion the remaining part of the garrison escaped to Peterwaradin. By this time the imperialists were in possession of Transylvania, and cantoned at Cronstadt and Clausinburgh. Tekeli undertook to attack the province on one side, while a body of Turks should invade it on the other: these last were totally dispersed by prince Louis of Baden; but prince Augustus of Hanover, whom he had detached against the count, was slain in a narrow defile, and his troops were obliged to retreat with precipitation. Tekeli however did not improve this advantage: being apprized of the fate of his allies, and afraid of seeing his retreat cut off by the snow that frequently chokes up the passes of the mountains, he retreated again to Valachia, and prince Louis returned to Vienna.

MEETING OF THE PARLIAMENT.

King William having published a proclamation requiring the attendance of the members on the second day of October, both houses met accordingly, and he opened the session with a speech to the usual purport. He mentioned what he had done towards the reduction of Ireland; commended the behaviour of the troops; told them the supplies were not equal to the necessary expense; represented the danger to which the nation would be exposed unless the war should be prosecuted with vigour; conjured them to clear his revenue, which was mortgaged for the payment of former debts, and enable him to pay off the arrears of the army; assured them that the success of the confederacy abroad would depend upon the vigour and dispatch of their proceedings; expressed his resentment against those who had been guilty of misconduct in the management of the fleet; recommended unanimity and expedition; and declared, that whoever should attempt to divert their attention from those subjects of importance which he had proposed, could neither be a friend to him nor a well-wisher to his country. The late attempt of the French upon the coast of England, the rumours of a conspiracy by the Jacobites, the personal valour which William had displayed in Ireland, and the pusillanimous behavour of James, concurred in warming the resentment of the nation against the adherents of the late king, and in raising a tide of loyalty in favour of the new government. Both houses presented separate addresses of congratulation to the king and queen, upon his courage and conduct in the field, and her fortitude and sagacity at the helm in times of danger and disquiet. The commons, pursuant to an estimate laid before them of the next year’s expenses, voted a supply of four millions for the maintenance of the army and navy, and settled the funds for that purpose.

COMMONS COMPLY WITH THE KING’S DEMANDS.

They proposed to raise one million by the sale of forfeited estates in Ireland: they resolved that a bill should be brought in for confiscating those estates, with a clause, empowering the king to bestow a third part of them on those who had served in the war, as well as to grant such articles and capitulations to those who were in arms, as he should think proper. This clause was rejected; and a great number of petitions were offered against the bill, by creditors and heirs who had continued faithful to the government. These were supposed to have been suggested by the court, in order to retard the progress of the bill; for the estates had been already promised to the king’s favourites: nevertheless, the bill passed the lower house, and was sent up to the lords, among whom it was purposely delayed by the influence of the ministry. It was at this juncture that lord Torrington was tried and acquitted, very much to the dissatisfaction of the king, who not only dismissed him from the service, but even forbade him to appear in his presence. When William came to the house of lords to give the royal assent to a bill for doubling the excise, he told the parliament that the posture of affairs required his presence at the Hague; that, therefore, they ought to lose no time in perfecting such other supplies as were still necessary for the maintenance of the army and navy; and he reminded them of making some provision for the expense of the civil government. Two bills were accordingly passed for granting to their majesties the duties of goods imported, for five years; and these, together with the mutiny-bill, received the royal assent: upon which occasion the king observed, that if some annual provision could be made for augmenting the navy, it would greatly conduce to the honour and safety of the nation. In consequence of this hint, they voted a considerable supply for building additional ships of war,* and proceeded with such alacrity and expedition, as even seemed to anticipate the king’s desires. This liberality and dispatch were in a great measure owing to the management of lord Godolphin, who was now placed at the head of the treasury, and sir John Somers, the solicitor-general. The place of secretary of state, which had remained vacant since the resignation of the earl of Shrewsbury, was now filled with lord Sidney; and sir Charles Porter was appointed one of the justices of Ireland in the room of this nobleman.

* This supply was raised by the additional duties upon beer, ale, and other liquors. They also provided in the bill, that the impositions on wines, vinegar, and tobacco, should be made a fund of credit: that the surplus of the grants they had made, after the current service was provided for, should be applicable to the payment of the debts contracted by the war: and, that it should be lawful for their majesties to make use of five hundred thousand pounds out of the said grants, on condition of that sum being repaid from the revenue.—Ralph.

PETITION OF THE TORIES.

Notwithstanding the act for reversing the proceedings against the city charter, the whigs had made shift to keep possession of the magistracy: Pilkington continued mayor, and Eobinson retained the office of chamberlain. The tories of the city, presuming upon their late services, presented a petition to the house of commons, complaining, That the intent of the late act of parliament, for reversing the judgment on the quo warranto, was frustrated by some doubtful expression; so that the old aldermen elected by commission under the late king’s great seal still acted by virtue of that authority: that sir Thomas Pilkington was not duly returned as mayor by the common-hall: and, that he and the aldermen had imposed Mr. Leonard Eobinson upon them as chamberlain, though another person was duly elected into that office: that divers members of the common-council were illegally excluded, and others, duly elected, were refused admittance. They specified other grievances, and petitioned for relief. Pilkington and his associates undertook to prove that those allegations were either false or frivolous; and presented the petition as a contrivance of the Jacobites to disturb the peace of the city, that the supply might be retarded and the government distressed. In the late panic which overspread the nation, the whigs had appeared to be the monied men, and subscribed largely for the security of the settlement they had made, while the tories kept aloof with a suspicious caution. For this reason the court now interposed its influence in such a manner, that little or no regard was paid to their remonstrance.

ATTEMPT AGAINST CARMARTHEN.

The marquis of Cærmarthen, lord president, who was at the head of the tory interest in the ministry, and had acquired great credit with the king and queen, now fell under the displeasure of the opposite faction: and they resolved if possible to revive his old impeachment. The earl of Shrewsbury, and thirteen other leading men, had engaged in this design. A committee of lords was appointed to examine precedents, and inquire whether impeachments continued in statu quo from parliament to parliament. Several such precedents were reported; and violent debates ensued: but the marquis eluded the vengeance of his enemies in consequence of the following question: “Whether the earls of Salisbury and Peterborough, who had been impeached in the former parliament for being reconciled to the church of Rome, shall be discharged from their bail?” The house resolved in the affirmative, and several lords entered a protest. The commons having finished a bill for appointing commissioners to take and state the public accounts, and having chosen the commissioners from among their own members, sent it up to the house of lords. There the earl of Rochester moved, That they should add some of their number to those of the commons: they accordingly chose an equal number by ballot; but Rochester himself being elected, refused to act: the others followed his example, and the bill passed without alteration. On the fifth day of January, the king put an end to the session with a speech, in which he thanked them for the repeated instances they had exhibited of their affection to his person and government. He told them, it was high time for him to embark for Holland: recommended unanimity; and assured them of his particular favour and protection. Then lord chief baron Atkins signified his majesty’s pleasure, that the two houses should adjourn themselves to the thirty-first day of March.*

* In this year the English planters repossessed themselves of part of the inland of St. Christopher, from which they had been driven by the French.

THE KING’S VOYAGE TO HOLLAND.

William, having settled the affairs of the nation, set out for Margate on the sixth day of January; but the ship in which he proposed to embark being detained by an easterly wind and hard frost, he returned to Kensington. On the sixteenth, however, he embarked at Gravesend with a numerous retinue, and set sail for Holland under convoy of twelve ships of war commanded by admiral Rooke. Next day, being informed by a fisherman that he was within a league and a half of Goree, he quitted the yacht and went into an open boat, attended by the duke of Ormond, the earls of Devonshire, Dorset, Portland, and Monmouth, with Auverquerque and Zuylestcin, Instead of landing immediately, they lost sight of the fleet, and, night coming on, were exposed in very severe weather to the danger of the enemy and the sea, which ran very high for eighteen hours, during which the king and all his attendants were drenched with sea-water. When the sailors expressed their apprehensions of perishing, the king asked if they were afraid to die in his company? At day-break, he landed on the isle of Goree, where he took some refreshment in a fisherman’s hut; then he committed himself to the boat again, and was conveyed to the shore in the neighbourhood of Masslandsluys. A deputation of the states received him at Hounslardyke: about six in the evening he arrived at the Hague, where he was immediately complimented by the states-general, the states of Holland, the council of state, the other colleges, and the foreign ministers. He afterwards, at the request of the magistrates, made his public entry with surprising magnificence; and the Dutch celebrated his arrival with bonfires, illuminations, and other marks of tumultuous joy. He assisted at their different assemblies; informed them of his successes in England and Ireland; and assured them of his constant zeal and affection for his native country.

HE ASSISTS AT A CONGRESS.

At a solemn congress of the confederate princes, he represented in a set speech the dangers to which they were exposed from the power and ambition of France; and the necessity of acting with vigour and dispatch. He declared he would spare neither his credit, forces, nor person, in concurring with their measures; and that in the spring he would come at the head of his troops to fulfil his engagements. They forthwith resolved to employ two hundred and twenty-two thousand men against France in the ensuing campaign. The proportions of the different princes and states were regulated; and the king of England agreed to furnish twenty thousand. He supplied the duke of Savoy so liberally, that his affairs soon assumed a more promising aspect. The plan of operations was settled, and they transacted their affairs with such harmony that no dispute interrupted their deliberations. In the beginning of March, immediately after the congress broke up, the siege of Mons was undertaken by the French king in person, accompanied by the Dauphin, the dukes of Orleans and Chartres. The garrison consisted of about six thousand men, commanded by the prince of Bergue: but the besiegers carried on their works with such rapidity as they could not withstand. King William no sooner understood that the place was invested, than he ordered prince Waldeck to assemble the army, determined to march against the enemy in person. Fifty thousand men were soon collected at Halle, near Brussels: but when he went thither, he found the Spaniards had neglected to provide carriages, and other necessaries for the expedition. Meanwhile, the burghers of Mons, seeing their town in danger of being utterly destroyed by the bombs and cannon of the enemy, pressed the governor to capitulate, and even threatened to introduce the besiegers: so that he was forced to comply, and obtained very honourable conditions. William, being apprized of this event, returned to the Hague, embarked for England, and arrived at Whitehall on the thirteenth day of April.*

* A few days before his arrival, great part of the palace of Whitehall was consumed by fire, through the negligence of a female servant.

CHAPTER III.

Conspiracy against the Government by Lord Preston and others..... The King fills up the vacant Bishoprics..... Affairs of Scotland..... Campaign in Flanneitt..... Progress of the Trench in Piedmont..... Election of a New Pope....The Emperor’s Success against the Turks..... Affairs of Ireland..... General Ginckel reduces Athlone..... Defeats the Irish at Aghrim..... Undertakes the Siege of Limerick..... The French and Irish obtain an honourable Capitulation..... Twelve Thousand Irish Catholics are transported to France..... Meeting of the English Parliament..... Discontent of the Nation..... Transactions in Parliament..... Disputes concerning the Bill for regulating Trials in Cases of High Treason..... The English and Dutch Fleets baffled by the French..... The King disobliges the Presbyterians of Scotland..... The Earl of Breadalbane undertakes for the Submission of the Highlanders..... Massacre of Glencoe..... Preparations for a Descent upon England..... Declaration of King James..... Efforts of his Friends in England..... Precautions taken by the Queen for the Defence of the Nation..... Admiral Russel puts to Sea..... He obtains a complete Victory over the French Fleet off La Bogue..... Troops embarked at St. Helen’s for a Descent upon France..... The Design laid aside..... The Troops landed at Ostend..... The French King takes Namur in sight of King William..... The Allies are defeated at Steenkirk..... Extravagant rejoicings in France on Account of this Victory..... Conspiracy against the Life of King William, hatched by the French Ministry..... Miscarriage of a Design upon Dunkirk..... The Campaign is inactive on the Rhine and in Hungary..... The Duke of Savoy invades Dauphiné..... The Duke of Hanover created an Elector of the Empire.

A CONSPIRACY.

A conspiracy against the government had been lately discovered. In the latter end of December, the master of a vessel who lived at Barking, in Essex, informed the marquis of Carmarthen that his wife had let out one of his boats to carry over some persons to France, and that they would embark on the thirteenth day of the month. This intelligence being communicated to the king and council, an order was sent to captain Billop to watch the motion of the vessel and secure the passengers. He accordingly boarded her at Gravesend, and found in the hold lord Preston, Mr. Ashton, a servant of the late queen, and one Elliot. He likewise seized a bundle of papers, some of which were scarce intelligible; among the rest, two letters supposed to be written by Turner, bishop of Ely, to king James and his queen, under fictitious names. The whole amounted to an invitation to the French king to assist king James in re-ascending the throne upon certain conditions, while William should be absent from the kingdom; but the scheme was ill laid, and countenanced but by a very few persons of consideration, among whom the chiefs were the earl of Clarendon, the bishop of Ely, lord Preston, his brother Mr. Graham, and Penn the famous quaker. Notwithstanding the outcries which had been made against the severities of the late government, Preston and his accomplice Ashton were tried at the Old Bailey for compassing the death of their majesties king William and queen Mary; and their trials were hurried on without any regard to their petitions for delay. Lord Preston alleged in his defence that the treasons charged upon him were not committed in the county of Middlesex, as laid in the indictment; that none of the witnesses declared he had any concern in hiring the vessel; that the papers were not found upon him; that there ought to be two credible witnesses to every fact, whereas the whole proof against him rested on similitude of hands and mere supposition. He was, nevertheless, found guilty. Ashton behaved with great intrepidity and composure. He owned his purpose of going to France in pursuance of a promise he had made to general Worden, who, on his death-bed, conjured him to go thither and finish some affairs of consequence which he had left there depending, as well as with a view to recover a considerable sum of money due to himself. He denied that he was privy to the contents of the papers found upon him; he complained of his having been denied time to prepare for his trial; and called several persons to prove him a protestant of exemplary piety and irreproachable morals. These circumstances had no weight with the court. He was brow-beaten by the bench, and found guilty by the jury, as he had the papers in his custody; yet there was no privity proved; and the whig party themselves had often expressly declared, that of all sorts of evidence that of finding papers in a person’s possession is the weakest, because no man can secure himself from such danger. Ashton suffered with equal courage and decorum. In a paper which he delivered to the sheriff, he owned his attachment to king James; he witnessed to the birth of the prince of Wales; denied his knowledge of the contents of the papers that were committed to his charge; complained of the hard measure he had met with from the judges and the jury, but forgave them in the sight of heaven. This man was celebrated by the nonjurors as a martyr to loyalty; and they boldly affirmed, that his chief crime in the eyes of the government was his having among his baggage an account of such evidence as would have been convincing to all the world concerning the birth of the prince of Wales, which by a great number of people was believed supposititious.* Lord Preston obtained a pardon; Elliot was not tried, because no evidence appeared against him; the earl of Clarendon was sent to the Tower, where he remained some months, and he was afterwards confined to his own house in the country—an indulgence which he owed to his consanguinity with the queen, who was his first cousin. The bishop of Ely, Graham, and Penn, absconded; and a proclamation was issued for apprehending them as traitors.

* To one of the pamphlets published on this occasion, is annexed a petition to the present government in the name of king James’s adherents, importing, that some grave and learned person should be authorized to compile a treatise, showing the grounds of William’s title; and declaring, that in case the performance should carry conviction along with it, they would submit to that title, as they had hitherto opposed it from a principle of conscience. The best answer that could be made to this summons was Locke’s book upon government, which appeared at this period.—Ralph.

THE KING FILLS UP THE BISHOPRICS.

This prelate’s being concerned in a conspiracy, furnished the king with a plausible pretence for filling up the vacant bishoprics. The deprived bishops had been given to understand, that an act of parliament might be obtained to excuse them from taking the oaths, provided they would perform their episcopal functions; but as they declined this expedient, the king resolved to fill up their places at his return from Holland. Accordingly, the archbishopric of Canterbury was conferred upon Dr. Tillotson,* one of the most learned, moderate, and virtuous ecclesiastics of the age, who did not accept of this promotion without great reluctance, because he foresaw that he should be exposed to the slander and malevolence of that party which espoused the cause of his predecessor. The other vacant Sees were given to divines of unblemished character; and the public in general seemed very well satisfied with this exertion of the king’s supremacy. The deprived bishops at first affected all the meekness of resignation. They remembered those shouts of popular approbation by which they had been animated in the persecution they suffered under the late government; and they hoped the same cordial would support them in their present affliction; but finding the nation cold in their concern, they determined to warm it by argument and declamation. The press groaned with the efforts of their learning and resentment, and every essay was answered by their opponents. The nonjurors affirmed that Christianity was a doctrine of the cross; that no pretence whatever could justify an insurrection against the sovereign; that the primitive christians thought it their indispensable duty to be passive under every invasion of their rights; and that non-resistance was the doctrine of the English church, confirmed by all the sanctions that could be derived from the laws of God and man. The other party not only supported the natural rights of mankind, and explained the use that might be made of the doctrine of non-resistance in exciting fresh commotions, but they also argued that if passive obedience was right in any instance, it was conclusively so with regard to the present government; for the obedience required by scripture was indiscriminate. “The powers that be are ordained of God—let every soul be subject to the higher powers.” From these texts they inferred that the new oaths ought to be taken without scruple, and that those who refused them concealed party under the cloak of conscience. On the other hand, the fallacy and treachery of this argument were demonstrated. They said, it levelled all distinctions of justice and duty; that those who taught such doctrines attached themselves solely to possession, however unjustly acquired; that if twenty different usurpers should succeed one another, they would recognize the last, notwithstanding the allegiance they had so solemnly sworn to his predecessor, like the fawning spaniel that followed the thief who mounted his master’s horse after having murdered the right owner. They also denied the justice of a lay-deprivation, and with respect to church government started tire same distinctions “De jure and de facto” which they had formerly made in the civil administration. They had even recourse to all the bitterness of invective against Tillotson and the new bishops, whom they reviled as intruders and usurpers; their acrimony was chiefly directed against Dr. Sherlock, who had been one of the most violent sticklers against the revolution, but thought proper to take the oaths upon the retreat of king James from Ireland. They branded him as an apostate who had betrayed his cause, and published a review of his whole conduct, which proved a severe satire upon his character. Their attacks upon individuals were mingled with their vengeance against the government; and indeed the great aim of their divines, as well as of their politicians, was to sap the foundation of the new settlement. In order to alienate the minds of the people from the interests of the reigning prince, they ridiculed his character; inveighed against his measures; they accused him of sacrificing the concerns of England to the advantage of his native country; and drew invidious comparisons between the wealth, the trade, the taxes, of the last and of the present reign. To frustrate these efforts of the malcontents, the court employed their engines to answer and recriminate; all sorts of informers were encouraged and caressed; in a proclamation issued against papists and other disaffected persons, all magistrates were enjoined to make search, and apprehend those who should, by seditious discourses and libels, presume to defame the government. Thus the revolutioners commenced the professed enemies of those very arts and practices which had enabled them to bring their scheme to perfection.

* Beveridge was promoted to the See of Bath and Wells, Fowler to that of Gloucester, Cumberland to Peterborough, Moor to Norwich, Grove to Chicester, and Patrick to Ely.

AFFAIRS-OF SCOTLAND.

The presbyterians in Scotland acted with such folly, violence, and tyranny, as rendered them equally odious and contemptible. The transactions in their general assembly were carried on with such peevishness, partiality, and injustice, that the king dissolved it by an act of state, and convoked another for the month of November in the following year. The episcopal party promised to enter heartily into the interests of the new government, to keep the highlanders quiet, and induce the clergy to acknowledge and serve king William, provided he would balance the power of Melvil and his partisans in such a manner as would secure them from violence and oppression; provided the episcopal ministers should be permitted to perform their functions among those people by whom they were beloved; and’ that such of them as were willing to mix with the presbyterians in their judicatories should be admitted without any severe imposition in point of opinion. The king, who was extremely disgusted at the presbyterians, relished the proposal, and young Dalrymple, son of lord Stair, was appointed joint secretary of state with Melvil. He undertook to bring over the majority of the Jacobites, and a great number of them took the oaths; but at the same time they maintained a correspondence with the court of St. Germains, by the connivance of which they submitted to William that they might be in a condition to serve James the more effectually. The Scottish parliament was adjourned by proclamation to the sixteenth day of September. Precautions were taken to prevent any dangerous communication with the continent; a committee was appointed to put the kingdom in a posture of defence; to exercise the powers of the regency in securing the enemies of the government; and the earl of Home, with sir Peter Fraser and sir Æneas Macpherson, were apprehended and imprisoned.

CAMPAIGN IN FLANDERS.

The king having settled the operations of the ensuing campaign in Ireland, where general Ginckel exercised the supreme command, manned his fleet by dint of pressing sailors, to the incredible annoyance of commerce; then leaving the queen as before at the helm of government in England, he returned to Holland accompanied by lord Sidney, secretary of state, the earls of Marlborough and Portland, and began to make preparations for taking the field in person. On the thirtieth day of May, the duke of Luxembourg having passed the Scheld at the head of a large army, took possession of Halle, and gave it up to plunder in sight of the confederates, who were obliged to throw up intrenchments for their preservation. At the same time the marquis de Boufflers, with a considerable body of forces, intrenched himself before Liege with a view to bombard that city. In the beginning of June, king William took upon himself the command of the allied army, by this time reinforced in such a manner as to be superior to the enemy. He forthwith detached the count de Tilly with ten thousand men to the relief of Liege, which was already reduced to ruins and desolation by the bombs, bullets, and repeated attacks of Boufflers, who now thought proper to retreat to Dinant. Tilly having thus raised the siege, and thrown a body of troops into Huy, rejoined the confederate army, which had been augmented ever since his departure with six thousand men from Brandenburgh, and ten thousand Hessians commanded by the landgrave in person. Such was the vigilance of Luxembourg, that William could not avail himself of his superiority. In vain he exhausted his invention in marches, counter-marches, and stratagems, to bring on a general engagement; the French marshal avoided it with such dexterity as baffled all his endeavours. In the course of this campaign the two armies twice confronted each other; but they were situated in such a manner that neither could begin the attack without a manifest disadvantage. While the king lay encamped at Court-sur-heure, a soldier, corrupted by the enemy, set fire to the fusees of several bombs, the explosion of which might have blown up the whole magazine and produced infinite confusion in the army, had not the mischief been prevented by the courage of the men who guarded the artillery; even while the fusees were burning, they disengaged the waggons from the line, and overturned them down the side of a hill, so that the communication of the fire was intercepted. The person who made this treacherous attempt being discovered, owned he had been employed for this purpose by the duke of Luxembourg. He was tried by a court-martial and suffered the death of a traitor. Such perfidious practices not only fix an indelible share of infamy on the French general, but prove how much the capacity of William was dreaded by his enemies. King William, quitting Court-sur-heure, encamped upon the plain of St. Girard, where he remained till the fourth day of September, consuming the forage and exhausting the country. Then he passed the Sambre near Jemeppe, while the French crossed it at La Busiere, and both armies marched towards Enghien. The enemy, perceiving the confederates were at their heels, proceeded to Gramont, passed the Lender, and took possession of a strong camp between Aeth and Oudenarde; William followed the same route, and encamped between Aeth and Leuse. While he continued in his post, the Hessian forces and those of Liege, amounting to about eighteen thousand men, separated from the army and passed the Meuse at Naimir; then the king returned to the Hague, leaving the command to prince Waldeck, who forthwith removed to Leuse, and on the twentieth day of the month began his march to Cambron. Luxembourg, who watched his motions with a curious eye, found means to attack him in his retreat so suddenly that his rear was surprised and defeated, though the French were at last obliged to retire. The prince continued his route to Cambron, and in a little time both armies retired into winter quarters. In the meantime, the Duke de Noailles besieged and took Urgel in Catalonia, while a French squadron, commanded by the count d’Etrées, bombarded Barcelona and Alicant.

The confederates had proposed to act vigorously in Italy against the French; but the season was far advanced before they were in a condition to take the field. The emperor and Spain had undertaken to furnish troops to join the duke of Savoy; and the maritime powers contributed their proportion in money. The elector of Bavaria was nominated to the supreme command of the imperial forces in that country; the marquis de Leganez, governor of the Milanese, acted as trustee for the Spanish monarch; duke Schomberg, son of that groat general who lost his life at the Boyne, lately created duke of Leinster, managed the interest of William, as king of England and stadtholder, and commanded a body of the Vaudois paid by Great Britain. Before the German auxiliaries arrived, the French had made great progress in their conquests. Catinat besieged and took Villa-Franca, Nice, and some other fortifications; then he reduced Villana and Carmagnola, and detached the marquis de Feuquieres to invest Coni, a strong fortress garrisoned by the Vaudois and French refugees. The duke of Savoy was now reduced to the brink of ruin. He saw almost all his places of strength in the possession of the enemy; Coni was besieged; and La Hoguette, another French general, had forced the passes of the valley of Aoste, so that he had free admission into the Verceillois, and the frontiers of the Milanese. Turin was threatened with a bombardment; the people were dispirited and clamorous, and their sovereign lay with his little army encamped on the hill of Montcallier, from whence he beheld his towns taken, and his palace of Rivoli destroyed. Duke Schomberg exhorted him to act on the offensive, and give battle to Catinat while that officer’s army was weakened by detachments, and prince Eugene* supported his remonstrance; but this proposal was vehemently opposed by the marquis de Leganez, who foresaw that if the duke should be defeated, the French would penetrate into the territories of Milan. The relief of Coni, however, was undertaken by prince Eugene, who began his march for that place with a convoy guarded by two-and-twenty hundred horse; at Magliano he was reinforced by five thousand militia; Bulonde, who commanded at the siege, no sooner heard of his approach than he retired with the utmost precipitation, leaving behind some pieces of cannon, mortars, bombs, arms, ammunition, tents, provisions, utensils, with all his sick and wounded. When he joined Catinat he was immediately put under arrest, and afterwards cashiered with disgrace. Hoguette abandoned the valley of Aoste; Feuquieres was sent with a detachment to change the garrison of Casal; and Catinat retired with his army towards Villa Nova d’Aste.

* Prince Eugene of Savoy, who in the sequel rivalled the fame of the greatest warriors of antiquity, was descended on the father’s side from the house of Savoy, and on the mother’s from the family of Soissons, a branch of the house of Bourbon. His father was Eugene Maurice, of Savoy, count of Soissons, colonel of the Switzers, and governor of Champagne and Brie: his mother was the celebrated Olimpia de Mancini, niece of Cardinal Mazarine. Eugene finding himself neglected at the court of France, engaged as a soldier of fortune in the service of the emperor, and soon distinguished himself by his great military talents: he was, moreover, an accomplished gentleman, learned, liberal, mild, and courteous; an unshaken friend; a generous enemy; an invincible captain; a consummate politician.

ELECTION OF A NEW POPE.

The miscarriage of the French before Coni affected Louvois, the minister of Louis, so deeply, that he could not help shedding tears when he communicated the event to his master, who told him with great composure that he was spoiled by good fortune. But the retreat of the French from Piedmont had a still greater influence over the resolutions of the conclave at Rome, then sitting for the election of a new pope in the room of Alexander VIII., who died in the beginning of February. Notwithstanding the power and intrigues of the French faction headed by cardinal d’Etrées, the affairs of Piedmont had no sooner taken this turn than the Italians joined the Spanish and Imperial interest, and cardinal Pignatelli, a Neapolitan, was elected pontiff. He assumed the name of Innocent, in honour of the last pope known by that appellation, and adopted all his maxims against the French monarch. When the German auxiliaries arrived under the command of the elector of Bavaria, the confederates resolved to give battle to Catinat; but he repassed the Po, and sent couriers to Versailles to solicit a reinforcement. Then prince Eugene invested Carmagnola, and carried on the siege with such vigour that in eleven days the garrison capitulated. Meanwhile the marquis de Hoquincourt undertook the conquest of Montmelian, and reduced the town without much resistance. The castle, however, made such a vigorous defence that Catinat marched thither in person; and, notwithstanding all his efforts, the place held out till the second day of December, when it surrendered on honourable conditions.

THE EMPEROR’S SUCCESS AGAINST THE TURKS.

This summer produced nothing of importance on the Rhine. The French endeavoured to surprise Mentz, by maintaining a correspondence with one of the emperor’s commissioners; but this being discovered, their design was frustrated. The imperial army, under the elector of Saxony, passed the Rhine in the neighbourhood of Manheim; and the French, crossing the same river at Philipsburgh, reduced the town of Portzheim in the marquisate of Baden-Dourlach. The execution of the scheme projected by the emperor for this campaign, was prevented by the death of his general, the elector of Saxony, which happened on the second day of September. His affairs wore a more favourable aspect in Hungary, where the Turks were totally defeated by prince Louis of Baden on the banks of the Danube. The imperialists afterwards undertook the siege of Great Waradin in Translyvania; bitt this was turned into a blockade, and the place was not surrendered till the following spring. The Turks were so dispirited by the defeat, by which they had lost the grand vizier, that the emperor might have made peace upon very advantageous terms; but his pride and ambition overshot his success. He was weak, vain, and superstitious; he imagined that now the war of Ireland was almost extinguished, king William, with the rest of his allies, would be able to humble the French power, though he himself should not co-operate with heretics, whom he abhorred; and that, in the meantime, he should not only make an entire conquest of Transylvania, but also carry his victorious arms to the gates of Constantinople, according to some ridiculous prophecy by which his vanity had been flattered. The Spanish government was become so feeble, that the ministry, rather than be at the expense of defending the Netherlands, offered to deliver the whole country to king William, either as monarch of England, or stadtholder of the United Provinces. He declined this offer, because he knew the people would never be reconciled to a protestant government; but he proposed that the Spaniards should confer the administration of Flanders upon the elector of Bavaria, who was ambitious of signalizing his courage, and able to defend the country with his own troops and treasure. This proposal was relished by the court of Spain; the emperor imparted it to the elector, who accepted the office without hesitation; and he was immediately declared governor of the Low Countries by the council of state at Madrid. King William, after his return from the army, continued some time at the Hague settling the operations of the ensuing campaign. That affair being discussed, he embarked in the Maese, and landed in England on the nineteenth day of October.

AFFAIRS OF IRELAND.

Before we explain the proceedings in parliament, it will be necessary to give a detail of the late transactions in Ireland. In the beginning of the season, the French king had sent a large supply of provisions, clothes, and ammunition, for the use of the Irish at Limerick, under the conduct of Monsieur St. Ruth, accompanied by a great number of French officers furnished with commissions from king James, though St. Kuth issued all his orders in the name of Louis. Tyrconnel had arrived in January with three frigates and nine vessels, laden with succours of the same nature; otherwise the Irish could not have been so long kept together. Nor indeed could these supplies prevent them from forming separate and independent bands of rapparees, who plundered the country, and committed the most shocking barbarities. The lords justices, in conjunction with general Ginckel, had taken every step their prudence could suggest to quiet the disturbances of the country, and prevent such violence and rapine, of which the soldiers in king William’s army were not entirely innocent. The justices had issued proclamations denouncing severe penalties against those who should countenance or conceal such acts of cruelty and oppression: they promised to protect all papists who should live quietly within a certain frontier line; and Ginckel gave the catholic rebels to understand that he was authorized to treat with them, if they were inclined to return to their duty. Before the armies took the field, several skirmishes had been fought between parties; and these had always turned out so unfortunate to the enemy, that their spirits were quite depressed, while the confidence of the English rose in the same proportion.

St. Euth and Tyrconnel were joined by the rapparees, and general Ginckel was reinforced by Mackay, with those troops which had reduced the highlanders in Scotland. Thus strengthened, he, in the beginning of June, marched from Mullingar to Ballymore, which was garrisoned by a thousand men under colonel Bourke, who, when summoned to surrender, returned an evasive answer. But, when a breach was made in the place, and the besiegers began to make preparations for a general assault, his men laid down their arms and submitted at discretion. The fortifications of this place being repaired and augmented, the general left a garrison for its defence, and advanced to Athlone, situated on the other side of the Shannon, and supported by the Irish army encamped almost under its walls. The English town on the hither side of the river was taken sword in hand, and the enemy broke down an arch of the bridge in their retreat. Batteries were raised against the Irish town, and several unsuccessful attempts were made to force the passage of the bridge, which was defended with great vigour. At length it was resolved, in a council of war, that a detachment should pass at a ford a little to the left of the bridge, though the river was deep and rapid, the bottom foul and stony, and the pass guarded by a ravelin, erected for that purpose. The forlorn hope consisted of sixty grenadiers in armour, headed by captain Sandys and two lieutenants. They were seconded by another detachment, and this was supported by six battalions of infantry. Never was a more desperate service, nor was ever exploit performed with more valour and intrepidity. They passed twenty a-breast in the face of the enemy, through an incessant shower of balls, bullets, and grenades. Those who followed them took possession of the bridge, and laid planks over the broken arch. Pontoons were fixed at the same time, that the troops might pass in different places. The Irish were amazed, confounded, and abandoned the town in the utmost consternation; so that in half an hour it was wholly secured by the English, who did not lose above fifty men in this attack. Mackay, Tetteau, and Ptolemache, exhibited proofs of the most undaunted courage in passing the river; and general Ginckel, for his conduct, intrepidity, and success on this occasion, was created earl of Athlone. When St. Ruth was informed, by express, that the English had entered the river, he said, it was impossible they should pretend to take a town which he covered with his army, and that he would give a thousand pistoles if they would attempt to force a passage. Sarsfield insisted upon the truth of the intelligence, and pressed him to send succours to the town; he ridiculed this officer’s fears, and some warm expostulation passed between them. Being at length convinced that the English were in possession of the place, he ordered some detachments to drive them out again; but the cannon of their own works being turned against them, they found the task impracticable, and that very night their army decamped. St. Ruth, after a march of ten miles, took post at Aghrim; and having, by drafts from garrisons, augmented his army to five-and-twenty thousand men, resolved to hazard a decisive engagement.

Ginckel, having put Athlone in a posture of defence, passed the Shannon and marched up to the enemy, determined to give them battle, though his forces did not exceed eighteen thousand, and the Irish were posted in a very advantageous situation. St. Ruth had made an admirable disposition, and taken every precaution that military skill could suggest. His centre extended along a rising ground, uneven in many places, intersected with banks and ditches, joined by lines of communication, and fronted by a large bog almost impassable. His right was fortified with intrenchments, and his left secured by the castle of Aghrim. He harangued his army in the most pathetic strain, conjuring them to exert their courage in defence of their holy religion, in the extirpation of heresy, in recovering their ancient honours and estates, and in restoring a pious king to the throne, from whence he had been expelled by an unnatural usurper. He employed the priests to enforce his exhortations; to assure the men that they might depend upon the prayers of the church; and that, in case they should fall in battle, the saints and angels would convey their souls to heaven. They are said to have sworn upon the sacrament that they would not desert their colours, and to have received an order that no quarter should be given to the French heretics in the army of the prince of Orange. Ginckel had encamped on the Roscommon side of the river Sue, within three miles of the enemy: after having reconnoitred their posture, he resolved, with the advice of a council of war, to attack them on Sunday the twelfth day of July. The necessary orders being given, the army passed the river at two fords and a stone bridge, and, advancing to the edge of the great bog, began about twelve o’clock to force the two passages, in order to possess the ground on the other side. The enemy fought with surprising fury, and the horse were several times repulsed; but at length the troops upon the right carried their point by moans of some field pieces. The day was now so far advanced, that the general determined to postpone the battle till next morning; but perceiving some disorder among the enemy, and fearing they would decamp in the night, he altered his resolution and ordered the attack to be renewed. At six o’clock in the evening the left wing of the English advanced to the right of the Irish, from whom they met with such a warm and obstinate reception, that it was not without the most surprising efforts of courage and perseverance that they at length obliged them to give ground; and even then they lost it by inches. St. Ruth, seeing them in danger of being overpowered, immediately detached succours to them from his centre and left wing. Mackay no sooner perceived them weakened by these detachments, then he ordered three battalions to skirt the bog and attack them on the left, while the centre advanced through the middle of the morass, the men wading up to the waist in mud and water. After they had reached the other side, they found themselves obliged to ascend a rugged hill fenced with hedges and ditches; and these were lined with musqeteers, supported at proper intervals with squadrons of cavalry. They made such a desperate resistance, and fought with such impetuosity, that the assailants were repulsed into the middle of the bog with great loss, and St. Ruth exclaimed—“Now will I drive the English to the gates of Dublin.” In this critical conjuncture Ptolemache came tip with a fresh body to sustain them, rallied the broken troops, and renewed the charge with such vigour that the Irish gave way in their turn, and the English recovered the ground they had lost, though they found it impossible to improve their advantage. Mackay brought a body of horse and dragoons to the assistance of the left wing, and first turned the tide of battle in favour of the English. Major-general Rouvigny, who had behaved with great gallantry during the whole action, advanced with five regiments of cavalry to support the centre; when St. Kuth, perceiving his design, resolved to fall upon him in a dangerous hollow way which he was obliged to pass. For this purpose he began to descend Kircommodon-hill with his whole reserve of horse; but in his way was killed by a cannon-ball. His troops immediately halted, and his guards retreated with his body. His fate dispirited the troops, and produced such confusion as Sarsfield could not remedy; for though he was next in command, he had been at variance with St. Ruth since the affair at Athlone, and was ignorant of the plan he had concerted. Rouvigny having passed the hollow way without opposition, charged the enemy in flank, and bore down all before him with surprising impetuosity; the centre redoubled their efforts and pushed the Irish to the top of the hill, and then the whole line giving way at once from right to left threw down their arms. The foot fled towards a bog in their rear, and their horse took the route by the highway to Loughneagh; both were pursued by the English cavalry, who for four miles made a terrible slaughter. In the battle, which lasted two hours, and in the pursuit, above four thousand of the enemy were slain and six hundred taken, together with all their baggage, tents, provisions, ammunition, and artillery, nine-and-twenty pair of colours, twelve standards, and almost all the arms of the infantry. In a word, the victory was decisive, and not above eight hundred of the English were killed upon the field of battle. The vanquished retreated in great confusion to Limerick, where they resolved to make a final stand in hope of receiving such succours from France as would either enable them to retrieve their affairs, or obtain good terms from the court of England. There Tyrconnel died of a broken heart, after having survived his authority and reputation. He had incurred the contempt of the French, as well as the hatred of the Irish, whom he had advised to submit to the new government rather than totally ruin themselves and their families.

Immediately after the battle detachments were sent to reduce Portumny, Bonnachar, and Moorcastle, considerable passes on the Shannon, which were accordingly secured. Then Ginckel advanced to Galway, which he summoned to surrender; but he received a defiance from lord Dillon and general D’Ussone who commanded the garrison. The trenches were immediately opened; a fort which commanded the approaches to the town was taken by assault; six regiments of foot and four squadrons of horse passed the river on pontoons, and the place being wholly invested, the governor thought proper to capitulate. The garrison marched out with the honours of war, and was allowed safe conduct to Limerick. Ginckel directed his march to the same town, which was the only post of consequence that now held out for king James. Within four miles of the place he halted until the heavy cannon could be brought from Athlone. Hearing that Luttrel had been seized by the French general D’Ussone, and sentenced to be shot for having proposed to surrender, he sent a trumpet to tell the commander that if any person should be put to death for such a proposal, he would make retaliation on the Irish prisoners. On the twenty-fifth day of August the enemy were driven from all their advanced posts: captain Cole, with a squadron of ships, sailed up the Shannon, and his frigates anchored in sight of the town. On the twenty-sixth day of the month the batteries were opened, and a line of contra-vallation was formed; the Irish army lay encamped on the other side of the river, on the road to Killalow, and the fords were guarded with four regiments of their dragoons. On the fifth day of September, after the town had been almost laid in ruins by the bombs, and large breaches made in the wails by the battering cannon, the guns were dismounted, the out-forts evacuated, and such other motions made as indicated a resolution to abandon the siege. The enemy expressed their joy in loud acclamations; but this was of short continuance. In the night the besiegers began to throw a bridge of pontoons over the river about a mile higher up than the camp, and this work was finished before morning. A considerable body of horse and foot had passed when the alarm was given to the enemy, who were seized with such consternation, that they threw down their arms and betook themselves to flight, leaving behind them their tents, baggage, two pieces of cannon, and one standard. The bridge was immediately removed nearer the town and fortified; all the fords and passes were secured, and the batteries continued firing incessantly till the twenty-second day of the month, when Ginckel passed over with a division of the army and fourteen pieces of cannon. About four in the afternoon the grenadiers attacked the forts that commanded Thomond-bridge, and carried them sword in hand after an obstinate resistance. The garrison had made a sally from the town to support them; and this detachment was driven back with such precipitation, that the French officer on command in that quarter, fearing the English would enter pell-mell with the fugitives, ordered the bridge to be drawn up, leaving his own men to the fury of a victorious enemy. Six hundred were killed, two hundred taken prisoners, including many officers, and a great number were drowned in the Shannon.

THE FRENCH AND IRISH OBTAIN AN HONOURABLE CAPITULATION.

Then the English made a lodgement within ten paces of the bridge-foot; and the Irish, seeing themselves surrounded on all sides, determined to capitulate. General Sarsfield and colonel Wahop signified their resolution to Scrvenmore and Rouvigny; hostages were exchanged; a negotiation was immediately begun, and hostilities ceased on both sides of the river. The lords justices arrived in the camp on the first day of October, and on the fourth the capitulation was executed, extending to all the places in the kingdom that were still in the hands of the Irish. The Roman catholics were restored to the enjoyment of such liberty in the exercise of religion as was consistent with the laws of Ireland, and conformable with that which they possessed in the reign of Charles II. All persons whatever were entitled to the protection of these laws, and restored to the possession of their estates, privileges, and immunities, upon their submitting to the present government, and taking the oath of allegiance to their majesties king William and queen Mary, excepting however certain persons who were forfeited or exiled. This article even extended to all merchants of Limerick, or any other garrison possessed by the Irish, who happened to be abroad, and had not borne arms since the declaration in the first year of the present reign, provided they should return within the term of eight months. All the persons comprised in this and the forgoing article were indulged with a general pardon of all attainders, outlawries, treasons, misprisons of treason, premunires, felonies, trespasses, and other crimes and misdemeanors whatsoever, committed since the beginning of the reign of James II.; and the lords justices promised to use their best endeavours towards the reversal of such attainders and outlawries as had passed against any of them in parliament. In order to allay the violence of party and extinguish private animosities, it was agreed that no person should be sued or impleaded on either side for any trespass, or made accountable for the rents, tenements, lands, or houses he had received or enjoyed since the beginning of the war. Every nobleman and gentleman comprised in these articles was authorized to keep a sword, a case of pistols, and a gun, for his defence or amusement. The inhabitants of Limerick and other garrisons were permitted to remove their goods and chattels, without search, visitation, or payment of duty. The lords justices promised to use their best endeavours that all persons comprehended in this capitulation should for eight months be protected from all arrests and executions for debt or damage; they undertook that their majesties should ratify these articles within the space of eight months, and use their endeavours that they might be ratified and confirmed in parliament. The subsequent article was calculated to indemnify colonel John Brown, whose estate and effects had been seized for the use of the Irish army by Tyrconnel and Sarsfield, which last had been created Lord Lucan by king James, and was now mentioned by that title. All persons were indulged with free leave to remove with their families and effects to any other country except England and Scotland. All officers and soldiers in the service of king James, comprehending even the rapparees, willing to go beyond sea, were at liberty to inarch in bodies to the places of embarkation, to be conveyed to the continent with the French officers and troops. They were furnished with passports, convoys, and carriages by land and water; and general Gluckel engaged to provide seventy ships, if necessary, for their transportation, with two men of war for the accommodation of their officers, and to serve as a convoy to the fleet. It was stipulated, That the provisions and forage for their subsistence should be paid for on their arrival in France; that hostages should be given for this indemnification, as well as for the return of the ships; that all the garrisons should march out of their respective towns and fortresses with the honours of war; that the Irish should have liberty to transport nine hundred horses; that those who should choose to stay behind might dispose of themselves according to their own fancy, after having surrendered their arms to such commissioners as the general should appoint; that all prisoners of war should be set at liberty on both sides; that the general should provide two vessels to carry over two different persons to France with intimation of this treaty; and that none of those who were willing to quit the kingdom should be detained on account of debt, or any other pretence.—This was the substance of the famous treaty of Limerick, which the Irish Roman catholics considered as the great charter of their civil and religious liberties. The town of Limerick was surrendered to Ginckel; but both sides agreed that the two armies should intrench themselves till the Irish could embark, that no disorders might arise from a communication.

TWELVE THOUSAND IRISH CATHOLICS ARE TRANSPORTED TO FRANCE.

The protestant subjects of Ireland were extremely disgusted at these concessions made in favour of vanquished rebels, who had exercised such acts of cruelty and rapine. They complained, That they themselves, who had suffered for their loyalty to king William, were neglected, and obliged to sit down with their losses; while their enemies, who had shed so much blood in opposing his government, were indemnified by the articles of the capitulation, and even favoured with particular indulgencies. They were dismissed with the honours of war; they were transported at the government’s expense, to fight against the English in foreign countries; an honourable provision was made for the rapparees, who were professed banditti; the Roman catholic interest in Ireland obtained the sanction of regal authority; attainders were overlooked, forfeitures annulled, pardons extended, and laws set aside, in order to effect a pacification. Ginckel had received orders to put an end to the war at any rate, that William might convert his whole influence and attention to the affairs of the continent. When the articles of capitulation were ratified, and hostages exchanged for their being duly executed, about two thousand Irish foot, and three hundred horse, began their march for Cork, where they proposed to take shipping for France, under the conduct of Sarsfield; but three regiments refusing to quit the kingdom, delivered up their arms and dispersed to their former habitations. Those who remained at Limerick embarked on the seventh day of November, in French transports; and sailed immediately to France, under the convoy of a French squadron which had arrived in the bay of Dangle immediately after the capitulation was signed. Twelve thousand men chose to undergo exile from their native country rather than submit to the government of king William. When they arrived in France they were welcomed by a letter from James, who thanked them for their loyalty, assured them they should still serve under his commission and command, and that the king of France had already given orders for their being new clothed and put into quarters of refreshment.

MEETING OF THE ENGLISH PARLIAMENT.

The reduction of Ireland being thus completed, baron Ginckel returned to England, where he was solemnly thanked by the house of commons for his great services, after he had been created earl of Athlone by his majesty. When the parliament met on the twenty-second day of October, the king in his speech insisted upon the necessity of sending a strong fleet to sea early in the season, and of maintaining a considerable army to annoy the enemy abroad, as well as to protect the kingdom from insult and invasion; for which purposes, he said, sixty-five thousand men would be barely sufficient. Each house presented an address of congratulation upon his majesty’s safe return to England, and on the reduction of Ireland: they promised to assist him to the utmost of their power, in prosecuting the war with France; and, at the same time, drew up addresses to the queen, acknowledging her prudent administration during his majesty’s absence. Notwithstanding this appearance of cordiality and complaisance, a spirit of discontent had insinuated itself into both houses of parliament, and even infected great part of the nation.

A great number of individuals who wished well to their country, could not, without anxiety and resentment, behold the interest of the nation sacrificed to foreign connexions, and the king’s favour so partially bestowed upon Dutchmen in prejudice to his English subjects. They observed, that the number of forces he demanded was considerably greater than that of any army which had ever been paid by the public, even when the nation was in the most imminent danger; that instead of contributing as allies to the maintenance of the war upon the continent, they had embarked as principals and bore the greatest part of the burden, though they had the least share of the profit. They even insinuated that such a standing army was more calculated to make the king absolute at home, than to render him formidable abroad; and the secret friends of the late king did not fail to enforce these insinuations. They renewed their animadversions upon the disagreeable part of his character; they dwelt upon his proud reserve, his sullen silence, his imperious disposition, and his base ingratitude, particularly to the earl of Marlborough, whom he had dismissed from all his employments immediately after the signal exploits he had performed in Ireland. The disgrace of this nobleman was partly ascribed to the freedom with which he had complained of the king’s undervaluing his services, and partly to the intrigues of his wife, who had gained an ascendancy over the princess Anne of Denmark, and is said to have employed her influence in fomenting a jealousy between the two sisters. The malcontents of the whiggish faction, enraged to find their credit declining at court, joined in the cry which the Jacobites had raised against the government. They scrupled not to say, that the arts of corruption were shamefully practised to secure a majority in parliament; that the king was as tender of the prerogative as any of his predecessors had ever been; and that he even ventured to admit Jacobites into his council, because they were known tools of arbitrary power. These reflections alluded to the earls of Rochester and Kanelagh, who, with sir Edward Seymour, had been lately created privy-counsellors. Rochester entertained very high notions of regal authority; he proposed severity as one of the best supports of government; was clear in his understanding, violent in his temper, and incorrupt in his principles. Ranelagh was a man of parts and pleasure, who possessed the most plausible and winning address; and was capable of transacting the most important and intricate affairs, in the midst of riot and debauchery. He had managed the revenue of Ireland in the reign of Charles II.; he enjoyed the office of paymaster in the army of King James, and now maintained the same footing under the government of William and Mary. Sir Edward Seymour was the proudest commoner in England, and the boldest orator that ever filled the speaker’s chair. He was intimately acquainted with the business of the house, and knew every individual member so exactly, that with one glance of his eye he could prognosticate the fate of every motion. He had opposed the court with great acrimony, questioned the king’s title, censured his conduct, and reflected upon his character. Nevertheless, he now became a proselyte, and was brought into the treasury.

TRANSACTIONS IN PARLIAMENT.

The commons voted three millions, four hundred and eleven thousand, six hundred and seventy-five pounds, for the use of the ensuing year: but the establishment of funds for raising these supplies was retarded, partly by the ill-humour of the opposition, and partly by intervening affairs that diverted the attention of the commons. Several eminent merchants presented a petition to the house against the East-India company, charging them with manifold abuses; at the same time, a counter-petition was delivered by the company, and the affair referred to the examination of a committee appointed for that purpose. After a minute inquiry into the nature of the complaints, the commons voted certain regulations with respect to the stock and the traffic; and resolved to petition his majesty, that, according to the said regulations, the East-India company should be incorporated by charter. The committee was ordered to bring in a bill for this establishment; but divers petitions being presented against it, and the company’s answers proving unsatisfactory, the house addressed the king to dissolve it, and grant a charter to a new company. He said it was an affair of great importance to the trade of the kingdom; therefore, he would consider the subject, and in a little time return a positive answer. The parliament was likewise amused by a pretended conspiracy of the papists in Lancashire, to raise a rebellion and restore James to the throne. Several persons were seized, and some witnesses examined: but nothing appeared to justify the information. At length one Fuller, a prisoner in the king’s bench, offered his evidence, and was brought to the bar of the house of commons, where he produced some papers. He obtained a blank pass from the king for two persons, who he said would come from the continent to give evidence. He was afterwards examined at his own lodgings, where he affirmed that colonel Thomas Délavai and James Hayes were the witnesses for whom he had procured the pass and the protection. Search was made for them according to his direction, but no such persons were found. Then the house declared Fuller a notorious impostor, cheat, and false accuser. He was, at the request of the commons, prosecuted by the attorney-general, and sentenced to stand in the pillory; a disgrace which he accordingly underwent.

A bill for regulating trials in cases of high treason having been laid aside by the lords in the preceding session, was now again brought upon the carpet, and passed the lower house. The design of this bill was to secure the subject from the rigours to which he had been exposed in the late reigns: it provided, That the prisoner should be furnished with a copy of his indictment, as also of the panel, ten days before his trial; and, that his witnesses should be examined upon oath as well as those of the crown. The lords, in their own behalf, added a clause enacting, That upon the trials of any peer or peeress, for treason or misprison of treason, all the peers who have a right to sit and vote in parliament, should be duly summoned to assist at the trial; that this notice should be given twenty days before the trial; and that every peer so summoned, and appearing, should vote upon the occasion. The commons rejected this amendment; and a free conference ensued. The point was argued with great vivacity on both sides, which served only to inflame the dispute, and render each party the more tenacious of their own opinion. After three conferences that produced nothing but animosity, the bill was dropped; for the commons resolved to bear the hardships of which they complained, rather than be relieved at the expense of purchasing a new privilege to the lords; and without this advantage, the peers would not contribute to their relief.

THE ENGLISH AND DUTCH FLEETS BAFFLED BY THE FRENCH.

The next object that engrossed the attention of the lower house, was the miscarriage of the fleet during the summer’s expedition. Admiral Russel, who commanded at sea, having been joined by a Dutch squadron, sailed in quest of the enemy; but as the French king had received undoubted intelligence that the combined squadrons were superior to his navy in number of ships and weight of metal, he ordered Tourville to avoid an engagement. This officer acted with such vigilance, caution, and dexterity, as baffled all the endeavours of Russel, who was moreover perplexed with obscure and contradictory orders. Nevertheless, he cruised all summer either in the channel or in soundings, for the protection of the trade, and in particular secured the homeward-bound Smyrna fleet, in which the English and Dutch had a joint concern amounting to four millions sterling. Having scoured the channel, and sailed along great part of the French coast, he returned to Torbay in the beginning of August, and received fresh orders to put to sea again, notwithstanding his repeated remonstrances against exposing large ships to the storms that always blow about the time of the equinox. He therefore sailed back to soundings, where he continued cruising till the second day of September, when he was overtaken by a violent tempest, which drove him into the channel, and obliged him to make for the port of Plymouth. The weather being hazy, he reached the Sound with great difficulty: the Coronation, a second-rate, foundered at anchor off the Ram-head; the Harwich, a third-rate, bulged upon the rocks and perished; two others ran ashore, but were got off with little damage; but the whole fleet was scattered and distressed. The nation murmured at the supposed misconduct of the admiral, and the commons subjected him to an inquiry: but when they examined his papers, orders, and instructions, they perceived he had adhered to them with great punctuality, and thought proper to drop the prosecution out of tenderness to the ministry. Then the house took into consideration some letters which had been intercepted in a French ship taken by sir Ralph Delaval. Three of these are said to have been written by king James, and the rest sealed with his seal. They related to the plan of an insurrection in Scotland, and in the northern parts of England: Legge, lord Dartmouth, with one Crew, being mentioned in them as agents and abettors in the design, warrants were immediately issued against them; Crew absconded, but lord Dartmouth was committed to the Tower. Lord Preston was examined touching some ciphers which they could not explain, and, pretending ignorance, was imprisoned in Newgate, from whence however he soon obtained his release. The funds for the supplies of the ensuing year being established, and several acts* passed relating to domestic regulations, the king on the twenty-fourth day of February closed the session with a short speech, thanking the parliament for their demonstrations of affection in the liberal supplies they had granted, and communicating his intention of repairing speedily to the continent. Then the two houses, at his desire, adjourned themselves to the twelfth day of April, and the parliament was afterwards prorogued to the twenty-ninth day of May, by proclamation. 035 [See note H, at the end of this Vol.]

* The laws enacted in this session were those: an act for abrogating the oath of supremacy in Ireland, and appointing other oaths; an act for taking away clergy from some offenders, and bringing others to punishment; an act against deer-stealing; an act for repairing the highways, and settling the rates of carriage of goods; an act for the relief of creditors against fraudulent devices; an act for explaining and supplying the defects of former laws for the settlement of the poor; an act for the encouragement of the breeding and feeding of cattle; and an act for ascertaining the tithes of hemp and flax.

THE KING DISOBLIGES THE PRESBYTERIANS OF SCOTLAND.

The king had suffered so much in his reputation by his complaisance to the presbyterians of Scotland, and was so displeased with the conduct of that stubborn sect of religionists, that he thought proper to admit some prelatists into the administration. Johnston, who had been sent envoy to the elector of Brandenburgh was recalled, and with the master of Stair, made joint secretary of Scotland; Melvil, who had declined in his importance, was made lord privy-seal of that kingdom; Tweedale was constituted lord chancellor; Crawford retained the office of president of the council; and Lothian was appointed high commissioner to the general assembly. The parliament was adjourned to the fifteenth day of April, because it was not yet compliant enough to be assembled with safety; and the episcopal clergy were admitted to a share of the church government. These measures, instead of healing the divisions, served only to inflame the animosity of the two parties. The episcopalians triumphed in the king’s favour, and began to treat their antagonists with insolence and scorn: the presbyterians were incensed to see their friends disgraced, and their enemies distinguished by the royal indulgence. They insisted upon the authority of the law, which happened to be upon their side: they became more than ever sour, surly, and implacable; they refused to concur with the prelatists or abate in the least circumstances of discipline; and the assembly was dissolved without any time or place assigned for the next meeting. The presbyterians pretended an independent right of assembling annually, even without a call from his majesty; they therefore adjourned themselves, after having protested against the dissolution. The king resented this measure as an insolent invasion of the prerogative, and conceived an aversion to the whole sect, who in their turn began to lose all respect for his person and government.

As the highlanders were not yet totally reduced, the earl of Breadalbane undertook to bring them over, by distributing sums of money among their chiefs; and fifteen thousand pounds were remitted from England for this purpose. The clans being informed of this remittance, suspected that the earl’s design was to appropriate to himself the best part of the money, and when he began to treat with them made such extravagant demands that he found his scheme impracticable. He was therefore obliged to refund the sum he had received; and he resolved to wreak his vengeance with the first opportunity on those who had frustrated his intention. He who chiefly thwarted his negotiation was Macdonald of Glencoe, whose opposition rose from a private circumstance which ought to have had no effect upon a treaty that regarded the public weal. Macdonald had plundered the lands of Breadalbane during the course of hostilities; and this nobleman insisted upon being indemnified for his losses, from the other’s share of the money which he was employed to distribute. The highlander not only refused to acquiesce in these terms, but, by his influence among the clans, defeated the whole scheme, and the earl in revenge devoted him to destruction. King William had by proclamation offered an indemnity to all those who had been in arms against him, provided they would submit and take the oaths by a certain day; and this was prolonged to the close of the present year, with a denunciation of military execution against those who should hold out after the end of December. Macdonald, intimidated by this declaration, repaired on the very last day of the month to Fort-William, and desired that the oaths might be tendered to him by colonel Hill, governor of that fortress. As this officer was not vested with the power of a civil magistrate, he refused to administer them; and Macdonald set out immediately for Inverary, the county-town of Argyle. Though the ground was covered with snow, and the weather intensely cold, he travelled with such diligence, that the term prescribed by the proclamation was but one day elapsed when he reached the place, and addressed himself to sir John Campbell, sheriff of the county, who, in consideration of his disappointment at Fort-William, was prevailed upon to administer the oaths to him and his adherents. Then they returned to their own habitations in the valley of Glencoe, in full confidence of being protected by the government to which they had so solemnly submitted.

MASSACRE OF GLENCOE.

Breadalbane had represented Macdonald at court as an incorrigible rebel, as a ruffian inured to bloodshed and rapine, who would never be obedient to the laws of his country, nor live peaceably under any sovereign. He observed, that he had paid no regard to the proclamation, and proposed that the government should sacrifice him to the quiet of the kingdom, in extirpating him with his family and dependents by military execution. His advice was supported by the suggestions of the other Scottish ministers; and the king, whose chief virtue was not humanity, signed a warrant for the destruction of those unhappy people, though it does not appear that he knew of Macdonald’s submission. An order for this barbarous execution, signed and countersigned by his majesty’s own hand, being transmitted to the master of Stair, secretary for Scotland, this minister sent particular directions to Livingstone, who commanded the troops in that kingdom, to put the inhabitants of Glencoe to the sword, charging him to take no prisoners, that the scene might be more terrible. In the month of February, captain Campbell of Glenlyon, by virtue of an order from major Duncanson, marched into the valley of Glencoe with a company of soldiers belonging to Argyle’s regiment, on pretence of levying the arrears of the land-tax and hearth-money. When Macdonald demanded whether they came as friends or enemies, he answered, as friends, and promised upon his honour that neither he nor his people should sustain the least injury. In consequence of this declaration, he and his men were received with the most cordial hospitality, and lived fifteen days with the men of the valley in all the appearance of the most unreserved friendship. At length the fatal period approached. Macdonald and Campbell having passed the day together, parted about seven in the evening, with mutual professions of the warmest affection. The younger Macdonald, perceiving the guards doubled, began to suspect some treachery, and communicated his suspicion to his brother; but neither he nor the father would harbour the least doubt of Campbell’s sincerity: nevertheless the two young men went forth privately to make further observations. They overheard the common soldiers say they liked not the work; that though they would have willingly fought the Macdonalds of the Glen fairly in the field, they held it base to murder them in cool blood, but that their officers were answerable for the treachery. When the youths hastened back to apprize their father of the impending danger, they saw the house already surrounded; they heard the discharge of muskets, the shrieks of women and children; and, being destitute of arms, secured their own lives by immediate flight. The savage ministers of vengeance had entered the old man’s chamber, and shot him through the head. He fell down dead in the arms of his wife, who died next day distracted by the horror of her husband’s fate. The laird of Auchintrincken, Macdonald’s guest, who had, three months before this period, submitted to the government, and at this very time had a protection in his pocket, was put to death without question. A boy of eight years, who fell at Campbell’s feet imploring mercy, and offering to serve him for life, was stabbed to the heart by one Drummond a subaltern officer. Eight-and-thirty persons suffered in this manner, the greater part of whom were surprised in their beds, and hurried into eternity before they had time to implore the divine mercy. The design was to butcher all the males under seventy that lived in the valley, the number of whom amounted to two hundred; but some of the detachments did not arrive soon enough to secure the passes; so that one hundred and sixty escaped. Campbell having perpetrated this cruel massacre, ordered all the houses to be burned, made a prey of all the cattle and effects that were found in the valley, and left the helpless women and children, whose fathers and husbands he had murdered, naked and forlorn, without covering, food, or shelter, in the midst of the snow that covered the whole face of the country, at the distance of six long miles from any inhabited place. Distracted with grief and horror, surrounded with the shades of night, shivering with cold, and appalled with the apprehension of immediate death from the swords of those who had sacrificed their friends and kinsmen, they could not endure such a complication of calamities, but generally perished in the waste, before they could receive the least comfort or assistance. This barbarous massacre, performed under the sanction of king William’s authority, answered the immediate purpose of the court by striking terror into the hearts of the Jacobite high-landers; but at the same time excited the horror of all those who had not renounced every sentiment of humanity, and produced such an aversion to the government, as all the arts of a ministry could never totally surmount. A detail of the particulars was published at Paris, with many exaggerations, and the Jacobites did not fail to expatiate on every circumstance, in domestic libels and private conversation. The king, alarmed at the outcry which was raised upon this occasion, ordered an inquiry to be set on foot, and dismissed the master of Stair from his employment of secretary: he likewise pretended that he had subscribed the order amidst a heap of other papers, without knowing the purport of it; but as he did not severely punish those who had made his authority subservient to their own cruel revenge, the imputation stuck fast to his character; and the highlanders, though terrified into silence and submission, were inspired with the most implacable resentment against his person and administration.

PREPARATIONS FOR A DESCENT UPON ENGLAND.

A great number in both kingdoms waited impatiently for an opportunity to declare in behalf of their exiled monarch, who was punctually informed of all these transactions, and endeavoured to make his advantage of the growing discontent. King William having settled the domestic affairs of the nation, and exerted uncommon care and assiduity in equipping a formidable fleet, embarked for Holland on the fifth day of March, and was received by the states-general with expressions of the most cordial regard. While he was here employed in promoting the measures of the grand confederacy, the French king resolved to invade England in his absence, and seemed heartily engaged in the interest of James, whose emissaries in Britain began to bestir themselves with uncommon assiduity in preparing the nation for his return. One Lant, who was imprisoned on suspicion of distributing his commissions, had the good fortune to be released, and the papists of Lancashire dispatched him to the court of St. Germain’s with an assurance that they were in a condition to receive their old sovereign. He returned with advice that king James would certainly land in the spring; and that colonel Parker and other officers should be sent over with full instructions, touching their conduct at and before the king’s arrival. Parker accordingly repaired to England, and made the Jacobites acquainted with the whole scheme of a descent, which Louis had actually concerted with the late king. He assured them that their lawful sovereign would once more visit his British dominions, at the head of thirty thousand effective men, to be embarked at La Hogue; that the transports were already prepared, and a strong squadron equipped for their convoy; he therefore exhorted them to be speedy and secret in their preparation, that they might be in readiness to take arms and co-operate in effecting his restoration. This officer, and one Johnson a priest, are said to have undertaken the assassination of king William; but before they could execute their design his majesty set sail for Holland.

DECLARATION OF KING JAMES.

Meanwhile James addressed a letter to several lords who had been formerly members of his council, as well as to divers ladies of quality and distinction, intimating the pregnancy of his queen, and requiring them to attend as witnesses at the labour. He took notice of the injury his family and honour had sustained, from the cruel aspersions of his enemies concerning the birth of his son, and as Providence had now favoured him with an opportunity of refuting the calumny of those who affirmed that the queen was incapable of child-bearing, he assured them in the name of his brother the French king, as well as upon his own royal word, that they should have free leave to visit his court and return after the labour.*

* The letter was directed not only for privy counsellors, but also to the duchesses of Somerset and Beaufort, the marchioness of Halifax, the countesses of Derby, Mulgrave, Rutland, Brooks, Nottingham, Lumley, and Danby, the ladies Fitzharding and Fretchville, those of sir John Trevor, speaker of the house of commons, sir Edward Seymour, sir Christopher Musgrave, the wives of sir Thomas Stamford, lord-mayor of London, sir William Ashhurst and sir Richard Levert, the sheriffs, and, lastly, to Dr. Chamberlain, the famous practitioner in midwifery.

This invitation however no person would venture to accept. He afterwards employed his emissaries in circulating a printed declaration, importing that the king of France had enabled him to make another effort to retrieve his crown; and that although he was furnished with a number of troops sufficient to untie the hands of his subjects, he did not intend to deprive them of their share in the glory of restoring their lawful king and their ancient government. He exhorted the people to join his standard. He assured them that the foreign auxiliaries should behave with the most regular discipline, and be sent back immediately after his re-establishment. He observed, that when such a number of his subjects were so infatuated as to concur with the unnatural design of the prince of Orange, he had chosen to rely upon the fidelity of his English army, and refused considerable succours that were offered to him by his most christian majesty; that when he was ready to oppose force with force, he nevertheless offered to give all reasonable satisfaction to his subjects who had been misled, and endeavoured to open their eyes with respect to the vain pretences of his adversary, whose aim was not the reformation but the subversion of the government; that when he saw himself deserted by his army, betrayed by his ministers, abandoned by his favourites, and even his own children, and at last rudely driven from his own palace by a guard of insolent foreigners, he had for his personal safety taken refuge in France: that his retreat from the malice and cruel designs of the usurper had been construed into an abdication, and the whole constitution of the monarchy destroyed by a set of men illegally assembled, who, in fact, had no power to alter the property of the meanest subject. He expressed his hope that by this time the nation had fairly examined the account, and from the losses and enormous expense of the three last years, were convinced that the remedy was worse than the disease; that the beginning, like the first years of Nero’s reign, would in all probability be found the mildest part of the usurpation, and the instruments of the new establishment live to suffer severely by the tyranny they had raised; that even though the usurpation should continue during his life, an indisputable title would survive in his issue, and expose the kingdom to all the miseries of a civil war. He not only solicited but commanded his good subjects to join him, according to their duty and the oaths they had taken. He forbade them to pay taxes or any part of the revenue to the usurper. He promised pardon, and even rewards, to all those who should return to their duty, and to procure in his first parliament an act of indemnity, with an exception of certain persons * whom he now enumerated.

* Those excepted were the duke of Ormond, the marquis of Winchester, the earls of Sunderland, Bath, Danhy, and Nottingham; the lords Newport, Delamere, Wiltshire, Colchester, Cornhury, Dunblain, and Churchill; the bishops of London and St. Asaph; sir Robert Howard, sir John Worden, sir Samuel Grimstone, sir Stephen Fox, sir George Treby, sir Basil Dixwell, sir James Oxenden; Dr. John Tillotson, Dr. Gilbert Burnet; Francis Russel, Richard Lovison, John Trenchard, Charles Duncomb, citizens of London; Edwards, Stapleton, and Hunt, fishermen, and all others who had offered personal indignities to him at Feyersham; or had been concerned in the barbarous murder of John Ashton Cross, or any other who had suffered death for their loyalty; and all spies, or such as had betrayed his council during his late absence from England.

He declared that all soldiers who should quit the service of the usurper and enlist under his banners, might depend upon receiving their pardon and arrears; and that the foreign troops, upon laying clown their arms, should be paid and transported to their respective countries. He solemnly protested that he would protect and maintain the church of England, as by law established, in all her rights, privileges, and possessions: he signified his resolution to use his influence with the parliament for allowing liberty of conscience to all his subjects, as an indulgence agreeable to the spirit of the christian religion, and conducive to the wealth and prosperity of the nation. He said his principal care should be to heal the wounds of the late distractions; to restore trade by observing the act of navigation, which had been lately so much violated in favour of strangers; to put the navy in a flourishing condition; and to take every step that might contribute to the greatness of the monarchy and the happiness of the people. He concluded with professions of resignation to the Divine Will, declaring that all who should reject his offers of mercy, and appear in arms against him, would be answerable to Almighty God for all the blood that should be spilt, and all the miseries in which these kingdoms might be involved by their desperate and unreasonable opposition.

While this declaration operated variously on the minds of the people, colonel Parker, with some other officers, enlisted men privately for the service of James, in the counties of York, Lancaster, and in the bishopric of Durham: at the same time, Fountaine and Holeman were employed in raising two regiments of horse at London, that they might join their master immediately after his landing. His partisans sent captain Lloyd with an express to lord Melfoot, containing a detail of these particulars, with an assurance that they had brought over rear-admiral Carter to the interest of his majesty. They likewise transmitted a list of the ships that composed the English fleet, and exhorted James to use his influence with the French king, that the count do Tourville might be ordered to attack them before they should be joined by the Dutch squadron. It was in consequence of this advice that Louis commanded Tourville to fall upon the English fleet, even without waiting for the Toulon squadron commanded by the marquis D’Etrees. By this time James had repaired to La Hogue, and was ready to embark with his army, consisting of a body of French troops, together with some English and Scotch refugees, and the regiments which had been transported from Ireland by virtue of the capitulation of Limerick.

PRECAUTIONS TAKEN BY THE QUEEN FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE NATION.

The ministry of England was informed of all these particulars, partly by some agents of James who betrayed his cause, and partly by admiral Carter, who gave the queen to understand he had been tampered with; and was instructed to amuse the Jacobites with a negotiation. King William no sooner arrived in Holland than he hastened the naval preparations of the Dutch, so that their fleet was ready for sea sooner than was expected; and when he received the first intimation of the projected descent, he detached general Ptolemache with three of the English regiments from Holland. These, reinforced with other troops remaining in England, were ordered to encamp in the neighbourhood of Portsmouth. The queen issued a proclamation, commanding all papists to depart from London and Westminster: the members of both houses of parliament were required to meet on the twenty-fourth day of May, that she might avail herself of their advice in such a perilous conjuncture. Warrants were expedited for apprehending divers disaffected persons; and they withdrawing themselves from their respective places of abode, a proclamation was published for discovering and bringing them to justice. The earls of Scarsdale, Litchfield, and Newburgh; the lords Griffin, Forbes, sir John Fenwick, sir Theophilus Oglethorpe, and others, found means to elude the search. The earls of Huntingdon and Marlborough were sent to the Tower; Edward Ridley, Knevitt, Hastings, and Robert Ferguson, were imprisoned in Newgate. The bishop of Rochester was confined to his own house; the lords Brudenal and Fanshaw were secured; the earls of Dunmore, Middleton, and sir Andrew Forrester, were discovered in a quaker’s house, and committed to prison with several other persons of distinction. The trainbands of London and Westminster were armed by the queen’s direction, and she reviewed them in person: admiral Russell was ordered to put to sea with all possible expedition; and Carter, with a squadron of eighteen sail, continued to cruise along the French coast to observe the motions of the enemy.

ADMIRAL RUSSEL PUTS TO SEA.

On the eleventh day of May, Russel sailed from Rye to St. Helen’s, where he was joined by the squadron under Delaval and Carter. There he received a letter from the earl of Nottingham, intimating that a report having been spread of the queen’s suspecting the fidelity of the sea-officers, her majesty had ordered him to declare in her name that she reposed the most entire confidence in their attachment, and believed the report was raised by the enemies of the government. The flag-officers and captains forthwith drew up a very loyal and dutiful address, which was graciously received by the queen, and published for the satisfaction of the nation. Russel, being reinforced by the Dutch squadrons commanded by Allemonde, Callemberg, and Vandergoes, set sail for the coast of France on the eighteenth day of May, with a fleet of ninety-nine ships of the line, besides frigates and fire-ships. Next day, about three o’clock in the morning, he discovered the enemy under the count de Tour-ville, and threw out the signal for the line of battle, which by eight o’clock was formed in good order, the Dutch in the van, the blue division in the rear, and the red in the centre. The French fleet did not exceed sixty-three ships of the line, and as they were to windward Tourville might have avoided an engagement; but he had received a positive order to fight, on the supposition that the Dutch and English squadrons had not joined. Louis indeed was apprised of their junction before they were descried by his admiral, to whom he dispatched a countermanding order by two several vessels; but one of them was taken by the English, and the other did not arrive till the day after the engagement.

HE OBTAINS A COMPLETE VICTORY OVER THE FRENCH.

Tourville therefore, in obedience to the first mandate, bore down alongside of Russel’s own ship, which he engaged at a very small distance. He fought with great fury till one o’clock, when his rigging and sails being considerably damaged, his ship, the Rising-Sun, which carried one hundred and four cannon, was towed out of the line in great disorder. Nevertheless the engagement continued till three, when the fleets were parted by a thick fog: when this abated, the enemy were descried flying to the northward, and Russel made the signal for chasing. Part of the blue squadron came up with the enemy about eight in the evening, and engaged them half an hour, during which admiral Carter was mortally wounded. Finding himself in extremity, he exhorted his captain to fight as long as the ship could swim, and expired with great composure. At length the French bore away for Conquet road, having lost four ships in this day’s action. Next day, about eight in the morning, they were discovered crowding away to the westward, and the combined fleets chased with all the sail they could carry, until Russel’s foretopmast came by the board. Though he was retarded by this accident, the fleet still continued the pursuit, and anchored near Cape La Hogue. On the twenty-second of the month, about seven in the morning, part of the French fleet was perceived near the Race of Alderney, some at anchor, and some driving to the eastward with the tide of flood. Russel and the ships nearest him immediately slipped their cables and chased. The Rising Sun having lost her masts, ran ashore near Cherbourg, where she was burned by sir Ralph Delaval, together with the Admirable, another first-rate, and the Conquérant of eighty guns. Eighteen other ships of their fleet ran into La Hogue, where they were attacked by sir George Rooke, who destroyed them and a great number of transports laden with ammunition, in the midst of a terrible fire from the enemy, and in sight of the Irish camp. Sir John Ashby, with his own squadron and some Dutch ships, pursued the rest of the French fleet, which escaped through the Race of Alderney by such a dangerous passage as the English could not attempt without exposing their ships to the most imminent hazard. This was a very mortifying defeat to the French king, who had been so long flattered with an uninterrupted series of victories; it reduced James to the lowest ebb of despondence, as it frustrated the whole scheme of his embarkation, and overwhelmed his friends in England with grief and despair. Some historians allege that Russel did not improve his victory with all advantages that might have been obtained before the enemy recovered their consternation. They say his affection to the service was in a great measure cooled by the disgrace of his friend the earl of Marlborough; that he hated the earl of Nottingham, by whose channel he received his orders; and that he adhered to the letter rather than to the spirit of his instructions. But this is a malicious imputation, and a very ungrateful return for his manifold services to the nation. He acted in this whole expedition with the genuine spirit of a British admiral. He plied from the Nore to the Downs with a very scanty wind through the dangerous sands, contrary to the advice of all his pilots; and by this bold passage effected a junction of the different squadrons, which otherwise the French would have attacked singly and perhaps defeated. He behaved with great gallantry during the engagement, and destroyed about fifteen of the enemy’s capital ships; in a word, he obtained such a decisive victory, that during the remaining part of the war the French would not hazard another battle by sea with the English.

Russel having ordered Sir John Ashby and the Dutch admiral Callemberg to steer towards Havre de Grace, and endeavour to destroy the remainder of the French fleet, sailed back to St. Helen’s that the damaged ships might be refitted, and the fleet furnished with fresh supplies of provisions and ammunition; but his principal motive was to take on board a number of troops provided for a descent upon France, which had been projected by England and Holland, with a view to alarm and distract the enemy in their own dominions. The queen was so pleased with the victory that she ordered thirty thousand pounds to be distributed among the sailors. She caused medals to be struck in honour of the action; and the bodies of admiral Carter and captain Hastings, who had been killed in the battle, to be interred with great funeral pomp. In the latter end of July seven thousand men, commanded by the duke of Leinster, embarked on board transports to be landed at St. Maloes, Brest, or Rochefort, and the nation conceived the most sanguine hopes of this expedition. A council of war, consisting of land and sea officers, being held on board the Breda to deliberate upon the scheme of the ministry, the members unanimously agreed that the season was too far advanced to put it in execution. Nevertheless, the admiral having detached sir John Ashby with a squadron to intercept the remains of the French fleet in their passage from St. Maloes to Brest, set sail for La Hogue with the rest of the fleet and transports; but in a few days the wind shifting, lie was obliged to return to St. Helen’s.

The queen immediately dispatched the marquis of Carmarthen, the earls of Devonshire, Dorset, Nottingham, and Rochester, together with the lords Sidney and Cornwallis, to consult with the admiral, who demonstrated the impracticability of making an effectual descent upon the coast of France at that season of the year. The design was therefore laid aside, and the forces were transported to Flanders. The higher the hopes of the nation had been raised by this armament, the deeper they felt their disappointment. A loud clamour was raised against the ministry as the authors of this miscarriage. The people complained that they were plundered and abused; that immense sums were extorted from them by the most grievous impositions; that, by the infamous expedient of borrowing upon established funds, their taxes were perpetuated; that their burdens would daily increase; that their treasure was either squandered away in chimerical projects or expended in foreign connexions, of which England was naturally independent. They were the more excusable for exclaiming in this manner, as their trade had suffered grievously by the French privateers which swarmed in the Channel. In vain the merchants had recourse to the Admiralty, which could not spare particular convoys while large fleets were required for the defence of the nation. The French king having nothing further to apprehend from the English armament, withdrew his troops from the coast of Normandy; and James returned in despair to St. Germain’s, where his queen had been in his absence delivered of a daughter, who was born in the presence of the archbishop of Paris, the keeper of the seals, and other persons of distinction.

THE FRENCH TAKE NAMUR IN SIGHT OF KING WILLIAM.

Louis had taken the field in the latter end of May. On the twentieth day of that month he arrived at his camp in Flanders with all the effeminate pomp of an Asiatic emperor, attended by his women and parasites, his band of music, his dancers, his opera, and, in a word, by all the ministers of luxury and sensual pleasure. Having reviewed his army, which amounted to about one hundred and twenty thousand men, he undertook the siege of Namur, which he invested on both sides of the Sambre with about one-half of his army, while the other covered the siege under the command of Luxembourg. Namur is situated on the conflux of the Meuse and the Sambre. The citadel was deemed one of the strongest forts in Flanders, strengthened with a new work contrived by the famous engineer Coehorn, who now defended it in person. The prince de Barbason commanded the garrison, consisting of nine thousand men. The place was well supplied, and the governor knew that king William would make strong efforts for its relief, so that the besieged were animated with many concurring considerations. Notwithstanding these advantages, the assailants carried on their attacks with such vigour that in seven days after the trenches were opened, the town capitulated and the garrison retired into the citadel. King William, being joined by the troops of Brandenburgh and Liege, advanced to the Mehaigne at the head of one hundred thousand effective men, and encamped within cannon shot of Luxembourg’s army, which lay on the other side of the river. That general however had taken such precautions, that the king of England could not interrupt the siege nor attack the French lines without great disadvantage. The besiegers, encouraged by the presence of their monarch, and assisted by the superior abilities of Vau-ban their engineer, repeated their attacks with such impetuosity that the fort of Cohorn was surrendered after a very obstinate defence, in which he himself had been dangerously wounded. The citadel being thus left exposed to the approaches of the enemy, could not long withstand the violence of their operations; the two covered ways were taken by assault. On the twentieth of May the governor capitulated, to the unspeakable mortification of king William, who saw himself obliged to lie inactive at the head of a powerful army, and be an eye-witness of the loss of the most important fortress in the Netherlands. Louis having taken possession of the place, returned in triumph to Versailles, where he was flattered with all the arts of adulation; while William’s reputation suffered a little from his miscarriage, and the prince of Barbason incurred the suspicion of treachery or misconduct.

THE ALLIES DEFEATED AT STEENKIRK.

Luxembourg having placed a strong garrison in Namur, detached Bounders with a body of troops to La Bassiere, and with the rest of his army encamped at Soignies. The king of England sent off detachments towards Liege and Ghent; and on the sixth day of July posted himself at Genap, resolved to seize the first opportunity of retrieving his honour by attacking the enemy. Having received intelligence that the French general was in motion and intended to take post between Steenkirk and Enghien, he passed the river Senne in order to anticipate his purpose; but in spite of all his diligence Luxembourg gained his point, and William encamped at Lembecq, within six miles of the French army. Here he resolved in a council of war to attack the enemy, and every disposition was made for that purpose. The heavy baggage he ordered to be conveyed to the other side of the Senne; and one Millevoix, a detected spy, was compelled by menaces to mislead Luxembourg with false intelligence, importing that he need not be alarmed at the motions of the allies, who intended the next day to make a general forage. On the twenty-fourth day of July, the army began to move from the left in two columns, as the ground would not admit of their marching in an extended front. The prince of Wirtemberg began the attack on the right of the enemy at the head of ten battalions of English, Danish, and Dutch infantry; he was supported by a considerable body of British horse and foot, commanded by lieutenant-general Mackay. Though the ground was intersected by hedges, ditches, and narrow defiles, the prince marched with such diligence that he was in a condition to begin the battle about two in the afternoon, when he charged the French with such impetuosity that they were driven* from their posts, and their whole camp became a scene of tumult and confusion. Luxembourg, trusting to the intelligence he had received, allowed himself to be surprised, and it required the full exertion of his superior talents to remedy the consequences of his neglect. He forthwith forgot a severe indisposition under which he then laboured; he rallied his broken battalions; he drew up his forces in order of battle, and led them to the charge in person. The duke de Chartres, who was then in the fifteenth year of his age, the dukes of Bourbon and Vendôme, the prince of Conti, and a great number of volunteers of the first quality, put themselves at the head of the household troops, and fell with great fury upon the English, who were very ill supported by count Solmes, the officer who commanded the centre of the allies. The prince of Wirtemberg had taken one of the enemies’ batteries, and actually penetrated into their lines; but finding himself in danger of being overpowered by numbers, he sent an aidecamp twice to demand succours from Solmes, who derided his distress, saying, “Let us see what sport these English bull-dogs will make.” At length, when the king sent an express order commanding him to sustain the left wing, he made a motion with his horse, which could not act while his infantry kept their ground, and the British troops, with a few Dutch and Danes, bore the whole brunt of the engagement. They fought with surprising courage and perseverance against dreadful odds; and the event of the battle continued doubtful, until Bouflîers joined the French army with a great body of dragoons. The allies could not sustain the additional weight of this reinforcement, before which they gave way, though the retreat was made in tolerable order, and the enemy did not think proper to prosecute the advantage they had gained. In this action the confederates lost the earl of Angus, general Mackay, sir John Lanier, sir Robert Douglas, and many other gallant officers, together with about three thousand men left dead on the spot, the same number wounded or taken, a great many colours and standards, and several pieces of cannon.

EXTRAVAGANT REJOICINGS IN FRANCE.

The French however reaped no solid advantage from this victory, which cost them about three thousand men, including the prince of Turenne, the marquis de Bellefond, Tilladet, and Fernacon, with many officers of distinction: as for Millevoix the spy, he was hanged on a tree on the right wing of the allied army. King William retired unmolested to his own camp; and notwithstanding all his overthrows, continued a respectable enemy, by dint of invincible fortitude and a genius fruitful in resources. That he was formidable to the French nation, even in the midst of his ill success, appears from divers undeniable testimonies, and from none more than from the extravagance of joy expressed by the people of France on the occasion of this unimportant victory. When the princes who served in the battle returned to Paris, the roads through which they passed were almost blocked up with multitudes; and the whole air resounded with acclamation. All the ornaments of the fashion peculiar to both sexes adopted the name of Steenkirk: every individual who had been personally engaged in the action was revered as a being of a superior species, and the transports of the women rose almost to a degree of frenzy.

CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE LIFE OF WILLIAM.

The French ministry did not entirely depend upon the fortune of the war for the execution of their revenge against king William, They likewise employed assassins to deprive him of life in the most treacherous manner.

When Louvois died, his son the marquis de Barbesieux, who succeeded him in his office of secretary, found among his papers the draft of a scheme for this purpose, and immediately revived the design by means of the chevalier de Grandval, a captain of dragoons in the service. He and colonel Parker engaged one Dumont, who undertook to assassinate king William. Madame de Maintenon, and Paparel, paymaster to the French army, were privy to the scheme, which they encouraged: the conspirators are said to have obtained an audience of king James, who approved of their undertaking, and assured them of his protection; but that unfortunate monarch was unjustly charged with the guilt of countenancing the intended murder, as they communicated nothing to him but an attempt to seize the person of the prince of Orange. Dumont actually enlisted in the confederate army, that he might have the better opportunity to shoot the king of England when he should ride out to visit the linos, while Grandval and Parker repaired to the French camp, with orders to Luxembourg to furnish them with a party of horse for the rescue of Dumont, after the blow should be struck. Whether this man’s heart failed him, or he could not find the opportunity he desired, after having resided some weeks in the camp of the allies, he retired to Hanover; but still corresponded with Grandval and Barbesieux. This last admitted one Leofdale, a Dutch baron, into the secret, and likewise imparted it to monsieur Chanlais, quarter-master general of the French army, who animated Grandval and Leefdale with the promise of a considerable reward, and promised to cooperate with Parker for bringing off Dumont, for this assassin still persisted in his undertaking. Leefdale had been sent from Holland on purpose to dive to the bottom of this conspiracy, in consequence of advice given by the British envoy at Hanover, where Dumont had dropped some hints that alarmed his suspicion. The Dutchman not only insinuated himself into the confidence of the conspirators, but likewise inveigled Grandval to Eyndhoven, where he was apprehended. Understanding that Dumont had already discovered the design to the duke of Zell, and that he himself had been betrayed by Leefdale, he freely confessed all the particulars without enduring the torture; and, being found guilty by a court-martial, was executed as a traitor.

About this period the duke of Leinster arrived at Ostend, with the troops which had been embarked at St. Helen’s. He was furnished with cannon sent down the Meuse from Maestricht, and reinforced by a large detachment from the king’s camp at Gramont, under the command of general Ptolemache. He took possession of Furnes, was joined by the earl of Portland and M. d’Auverquerque, and a disposition was made for investing Dunkirk; but on further deliberation the enterprise was thought very dangerous, and therefore laid aside. Furnes and Dixmuyde, lately reduced by brigadier Ramsay, were strengthened with new works, and secured by strong garrisons. The cannon were sent back, and the troops returning to Ostend, re-embarked for England. This fruitless expedition, added to the inglorious issue of the campaign, increased the ill humour of the British nation. They taxed William with having lain inactive at Gramont with an army of one hundred thousand men, while Luxembourg was posted at Courtray with half that number. They said, if he had found the French lines too strong to be forced, he might have passed the Scheld higher up, and not only laid the enemy’s conquests under contribution, but even marched into the bowels of France; and they complained that Furnes and Dixmuyde were not worth the sums expended in maintaining their garrisons. On the twenty-sixth day of September king William left the army under the command of the elector of Bavaria, and repaired to his house at Loo: in two days after his departure the camp at Gramont was broke up; the infantry marched to Marienkerke, and the horse; to Caure. On the sixteenth day of October, the king receiving intelligence that Boufflers had invested Charleroy, and Luxembourg taken post in the neighbourhood of Condé, ordered the troops to be instantly reassembled between the village of Ixells and Halle, with design to raise the siege, and repaired to Brussels, where he held a council of war, in which the proper measures were concerted. He then returned to Holland, leaving the command with the elector of Bavaria, who forthwith began his march for Charleroy. At his approach Boufflers abandoned the siege, and moved towards Philip-ville. The elector having reinforced the place, and thrown supplies into Aeth, distributed his forces into winter-quarters. Then Luxembourg, who had cantoned his army between Condé, Leuzet, and Tournay, returned to Paris, leaving Boufflers to command in his absence.

THE CAMPAIGN INACTIVE ON THE RHINE AND IN HUNGARY.

The allies had been unsuccessful in Flanders, and they were not fortunate in Germany. The landgrave of Hesse Cassol undertook the siege of Eberemburgh, which, however, he was obliged to abandon. The duke de Lorges, who commanded the French forces on the Rhine, surprised, defeated, and took the duke of Wirtemberg, who had posted himself with four thousand horse near Ridelsheim, to check the progress of the enemy. Count Tallard having invested Rhinefield, the landgrave marched to its relief with such expedition that the French wore obliged to desist and retreat with considerable damage. The elector of Saxony had engaged to bring an army into the field; but he complained that the emperor left the burden of the war with France upon the princes, and converted his chief power and attention to the campaign in Hungary. A jealousy and misunderstanding ensued: Schoning the Saxon general, in his way to the hot baths at Dablitz in Bohemia, was seized by the emperor’s order on suspicion of having maintained a private correspondence with the enemy, and very warm expostulations on this subject passed between the courts of Vienna and Dresden. Schoning was detained two years in custody; and at length released on condition that he should never be employed again in the empire. The war in Hungary produced no event of importance. The ministry of the Ottoman Porte was distracted by factions, and the seraglio threatened with tumults. The people were tired of maintaining an unsuccessful war; the vizier was deposed; and in the midst of this confusion, the garrison of great Waradin, which had been blocked up by the imperialists during the whole winter, surrendered on capitulation. Lord Paget, the English ambassador at Vienna, was sent to Constantinople with powers to mediate a peace; but the terms offered by the emperor were rejected at the Porte: the Turkish army lay upon the defensive, and the season was spent in a fruitless negotiation.

THE DUKE INVADES DAUPHINE.

The prospect of affairs in Piedmont was favourable for the allies; but the court of France had brought the pope to an accommodation, and began to tamper with the duke of Savoy. M. Chanlais was sent to Turin with advantageous proposals, which however the duke would not accept, because he thought himself entitled to better terms, considering that the allied army in Piedmont amounted to fifty thousand effective men, while Catinat’s forces were not sufficient to defend his conquests in that country. In the month of July the duke marched into Dauphiné, where he plundered a number of villages, and reduced the fortress of Guillestre; then passing the river Darance, he invested Ambrun, which, after a siege of nine days, surrendered on capitulation: he afterwards laid all the neighbouring J towns under contribution. Here duke Schomberg, who commanded the auxiliaries in the English pay, published a declaration in the name of king William, inviting the people to join his standard, assuring them that his master had no other design in ordering his troops to invade France, but that of restoring the noblesse to their ancient splendour, their parliaments to their former authority, and the people to their just privileges. He even offered his protection to the clergy, and promised to use his endeavours for reviving the edict of Nantes, which had been guaranteed by the kings of England. These offers, however, produced little effect; and the Germans ravaged the whole country in revenge for the cruelties which the French had committed in the Palatinate. The allied army advanced from Ambrun to Gap, on the frontiers of Provence, and this place submitted without opposition. The inhabitants of Grenoble, the capital of Dauphiné, and even of Lyons, were overwhelmed with consternation; and a fairer opportunity of humbling France could never occur, as that part of the kingdom had been left almost quite defenceless; but this was fatally neglected, either from the spirit of dissension which began to prevail in the allied army, or from the indisposition of the duke of Savoy, who was seized with the small-pox in the midst of this expedition; or, lastly, from his want of sincerity, which was shrewdly suspected. He is said to have maintained a constant correspondence with the court of Versailles, in complaisance to which he retarded the operations of the confederates. Certain it is, he evacuated all his conquests, and about the middle of September quitted the French territories, after having pillaged and laid waste the country through which he had penetrated.* In Catalonia the French attempted nothing of importance during this campaign, and the Spaniards were wholly inactive in that province.

* At this period queen Mary, understanding that the protestant Vaudois were destitute of ministers to preach or teach the gospel, established a fund from her own privy purse to maintain ten preachers, and as many schoolmasters, in the valleys of Piedmont.

THE DUKE OF HANOVER CREATED AN ELECTOR OF THE EMPIRE.

The protestant interest in Germany acquired an accession of strength by the creation of a ninth electorate in favour of Ernest Augustus, duke of Hanover. He had by this time renounced all his connexions with France, and engaged to enter heartily into the interest of the allies, in consideration of his obtaining the electoral dignity. King William exerted himself so vigorously in his behalf at the court of Vienna, that the emperor agreed to the proposal, in case the consent of the other electors could be procured. This assent, however, was extorted by the importunities of the king of England, whom he durst not disoblige. Leopold was blindly bigotted to the religion of Rome, and consequently averse to a new creation that would weaken the catholic interest in the electoral college. He therefore employed his emissaries to thwart the duke’s measures. Some protestant princes opposed him from motives of jealousy, and the French king used all his artifice and influence to prevent the elevation of the house of Hanover. When the duke had surmounted all this opposition, so far as to gain over a majority of the electors, new objections were started. The emperor suggested that another popish electorate should be created to balance the advantage which the Lutherans would reap from that of Hanover; and he proposed that Austria should be raised to the same dignity; but violent opposition was made to this expedient, which would have vested the emperor with a double vote in the electoral college. At length, after a tedious negotiation, the duke of Hanover, on the nineteenth day of December, was honoured with the investiture as elector of Brunswick; created great marshal of the empire, and did homage to the emperor: nevertheless, he was not yet admitted into the college, because he had not been able to procure the unanimous consent of all the electors.*

* In the beginning of September the shock of an earthquake was felt in London, and many other parts of England, as well as in France, Germany, and the Netherlands. Violent agitations of the same kind had happened about two months before in Sicily and Malta; and the town of Port-Royal in Jamaica was almost totally ruined by the earthquake: the place was so suddenly overflowed, that about fifteen hundred persons perished.

CHAPTER IV.

False Information against the Earl of Marlborough, the Bishop of Rochester, and others..... Sources of National Discontent..... Dissension between the Queen and the Prince’s Anne of Denmark..... The House of Lords vindicate their Privileges in behalf of their imprisoned Members..... The Commons present Addresses to The King and Queen..... They acquit Admiral Russel, and resolve to advise his Majesty..... They comply with all the Demands of the Ministry..... The Lords present an Address of Advice to the King..... The Dispute between the Lords and Commons concerning Admiral Russel..... The Commons address the King..... They establish the Land tax and other Impositions..... Burnet’s Pastoral Letter burned by the Hangman..... Proceedings of the Lower House against the Practice of kidnapping Men for the Service..... The two Houses address the King on the Grievances of Ireland ..... An Account of the Place-bill, and that for triennial Parliaments..... The Commons petition his Majesty that he would dissolve the East India Company..... Trial of Lord Mohan for Murder..... Alterations in the Ministry..... The king repairs to the Continent, and assembles the Confederate Army in Flanders..... The French reduce Huy..... Luxembourg resolves to attack the Allies..... who are defeated at Landen..... Charleroy is besieged and taken by the Enemy..... Campaign on the Rhine..... The Duke of Savoy is defeated by Catinat in the Plain of Marsaglia..... Transactions in Hungary and Catalonia..... Naval Affairs..... A Fleet of Merchant Ships under Convoy of Sir George Rooke attacked, and partly destroyed by the French Squadrons ..... Wheeler’s Expedition to the West Indies..... Benbow bombards St. Maloes..... The French King has recourse to the Mediation of Denmark..... Severity of the Government against the Jacobites..... Complaisance of the Scottish Parliament..... The King returns to England, makes some Changes in the Ministry, and opens the Session of Parliament..... Both Houses inquire into the Miscarriages by Sea..... The Commons grant a vast Sum for the Services of the ensuing Year..... The King rejects the Bill against free and impartial Proceedings in Parliament; and the Lower House remonstrates on this Subject..... Establishment of the Bank of England..... The East India Company obtain a now Charter..... Bill for a general Naturalization dropped..... Sir Francis Wheeler perishes in a Storm..... The English attempt to make a Descent in Camaret Bay, but are repulsed with Loss..... They bombard Dieppe, Havre-de-Grace, Dunkirk, and Calais..... Admiral Russel sails for the Mediterranean, relieves Barcelona, and winters at Cadiz..... Campaign in Flanders..... The Allies reduce Huy..... The Prince of Baden passes the Rhine, but is obliged to repass that River..... Operations in Hungary..... Progress of the French in Catalonia..... State of the War in Piedmont..... The King returns to England..... The Parliament meets..... The Bill for Triennial Parliaments receives the Royal Assent..... Death of Archbishop Tillotson and of Queen Mary..... Reconciliation between the King and the Princess of Denmark.

THE EARL OF MARLBOROUGH, BISHOP OF ROCHESTER, &c, FALSELY ACCUSED.

While king William seemed wholly engrossed by the affairs of the continent, England was distracted by domestic dissension, and overspread with vice, corruption, and profaneness. Over and above the Jacobites, there was a set of malcontents whose number daily increased. They not only murmured at the grievances of the nation, but composed and published elaborate dissertations upon the same subject. These made such impressions upon the people, already irritated by heavy burdens, distressed in their trade, and disappointed in their sanguine expectations, that the queen thought it necessary to check the progress of those writers by issuing out a proclamation offering a reward to such as would discover seditious libellers. The earl of Marlborough had been committed to the Tower on the information of one Robert Young, a prisoner in Newgate, who had forged that nobleman’s hand-writing, and contrived the scheme of an association in favour of king James, to which he affixed the names of the earls of Marlborough and Salisbury, Sprat, bishop of Rochester, the lord Cornbury, and sir Basil Firebrace. One of his emissaries had found means to conceal this paper in a certain part of the bishop’s house at Bromley in Kent, where it was found by the king’s messengers, who secured the prelate in consequence of Young’s information. But he vindicated himself to the satisfaction of the whole council; and the forgery of the informer was detected by the confession of his accomplice. The bishop obtained his release immediately and the earl of Marlborough was admitted to bail in the court of king’s bench.

SOURCES OF NATIONAL DISCONTENT.

So many persons of character and distinction had been imprisoned during this reign upon the slightest suspicion, that the discontented part of the nation had some reason to insinuate they had only exchanged one tyrant for another. They affirmed that the habeas-corpus act was either insufficient to protect the subject from false imprisonment, or had been shamefully misused. They expatiated upon the loss of ships, which had lately fallen a prey to the enemy; the consumption of seamen; the neglect of the fisheries; the interruption of commerce, in which the nation was supplanted by her allies, as well as invaded by her enemies; the low ebb of the kingdom’s treasure, exhausted in hiring foreign bottoms, and paying foreign troops to fight foreign quarrels; and the slaughter of the best and bravest of their countrymen, whose blood had been lavishly spilt in support of connexions with which they ought to have had no concern. They demonstrated the mischiefs that necessarily arose from the unsettled state of the nation. They observed that the government could not be duly established until a solemn declaration should confirm the legality of that tenure by which their majesties possessed the throne; that the structure of parliaments was deficient in point of solidity, as they existed entirely at the pleasure of the crown, which would use them no longer than they should be found necessary in raising supplies for the use of the government. They exclaimed against the practice of quartering soldiers in private houses contrary to the ancient laws of the land, the petition of rights, and the subsequent act on that subject passed in the reign of the second Charles. They enumerated among their grievances the violation of property, by pressing transport ships into the service without settling any fund of payment for the owners; the condition of the militia, which was equally burdensome and useless; the flagrant partiality in favour of allies, who carried on an open commerce with France, and supplied the enemy with necessaries, while the English laboured under the severest prohibitions, and were in effect the dupes of those very powers whom they protected. They dwelt upon the ministry’s want of conduct, foresight, and intelligence, and inveighed against their ignorance, insolence, and neglect, which were as pernicious to the nation as if they had formed a design of reducing it to the lowest ebb of disgrace and destruction. By this time, indeed, public virtue was become the object of ridicule, and the whole kingdom was overspread with immorality and corruption; towards the increase of which many concurring circumstances happened to contribute. The people were divided into three parties, namely, the Williamites, the Jacobites, and the discontented Revolutioners; these factions took all opportunities to thwart, to expose, and to ridicule the measures and principles of each other, so that patriotism was laughed out of doors as an hypocritical pretence. This contention established a belief that every man consulted his own private interest at the expense of the public, a belief that soon grew into a maxim almost universally adopted. The practice of bribing a majority in parliament had a pernicious influence upon the morals of all ranks of people, from the candidate to the lowest borough elector. The expedient of establishing funds of credit for raising supplies to defray the expenses of government, threw large premiums and sums of money into the hands of low sordid usurers, brokers, and jobbers, who distinguished themselves by the name of the monied interest. Intoxicated by this flow of wealth, they affected to rival the luxury and magnificence of their superiors; but being destitute of sentiment and taste to conduct them in their new career, they ran into the most absurd and illiberal extravagancies. They laid aside all decorum; became lewd, insolent, intemperate, and riotous. Their example was caught by the vulgar. All principle, and even decency, was gradually banished; talent lay uncultivated, and the land was deluged with a tide of ignorance and profligacy.

DISSENSION BETWEEN THE QUEEN AND PRINCESS ANNE.

King William having ascertained the winter quarters of the army, and concerted the operations of the ensuing campaign with the states-general and the ministers of the allies, set sail for England on the fifteenth day of October; on the eighteenth landed at Yarmouth, was met by the queen at Newhall, and passed through the city of London to Kensington amidst the acclamations of the populace. He received a congratulatory address from the lord-mayor and aldermen, with whom he dined in public by invitation. A day of thanksgiving was appointed for the victory obtained at sea. The lustring company was established by patent, and the parliament met on the fourth day of November. The house of lords was deeply infected with discontent, which in some measure proceeded from the dissension between the queen and her sister, the princess of Denmark, which last underwent every mortification which the court could inflict. Her guards were taken away; all honours which had been paid to her rank by the magistrates of Bath, where she sometimes resided, and even by the ministers of the church where she attended at divine service, were discontinued by the express order of his majesty. Her cause was naturally espoused by those noblemen who had adhered to her in her former contest with the king about an independent settlement; and these were now reinforced by all the friends of the earl of Marlborough, united for a double tie; for they resented the disgrace and confinement of that lord, and thought it their duty to support the princess Anne under a persecution incurred by an attachment to his countess. The earl of Shrewsbury lived in friendship with Marlborough, and thought he had been ungratefully treated by the king; the marquis of Halifax befriended him from opposition to the ministry; the earl of Mulgrave for an opportunity to display his talents, and acquire that consideration which he thought due to his merit. Devonshire, Montague, and Bradford, joined in the same cause from principle; the same pretence was used by the earls of Stamford, Monmouth, Warrington, and other whigs, though in effect they were actuated by jealousy and resentment against those by whom they had been supplanted. As for the Jacobites, they gladly contributed their assistance to promote any scheme that had a tendency to embroil the administration.

THE LORDS VINDICATE THEIR PRIVILEGES.

The king, in his speech to parliament, thanked them for their last supplies, congratulated them upon the victory obtained at sea, condoled them on the bad success of the campaign by land, magnified the power of France, represented the necessity of maintaining a great force to oppose it, and demanded subsidies equal to the occasion. He expressed his reluctance to load them with additional burdens, which he said could not be avoided, without exposing his kingdom to inevitable destruction. He desired their advice towards lessening the inconveniences of exporting money for the payment of the forces. He intimated a design of making a descent upon France; declared he had no aim but to make his subjects a happy people; and that he would again cheerfully expose his life for the welfare of the nation. The lords, after an adjournment of three days, began with great warmth to assert their privileges, which they conceived had been violated in the cases of the earl of Marlborough and the other noblemen who had been apprehended, committed to prison, and afterwards admitted to bail by the court of king’s-bench. These circumstances being fully discussed in a violent debate, the house ordered lord Lucas, constable of the Tower, to produce the warrants of commitment, and the clerk of the king’s-bench to deliver the affidavit of Aaron Smith, the court solicitor, upon which the lords had been remanded to prison. At the same time the whole affair was referred to a committee, empowered to send for persons, papers, and records. The judges were ordered to attend: Aaron Smith was examined touching the evidence against the committed lords. The committee reported their general resolution, which produced a vehement dispute. The opinion of the judges was unsatisfactory to both parties; the debate was referred to a committee of the whole house, in which it was resolved and declared, as the sense of that assembly, that in pursuance of the habeas-corpus act, it was the duty of the judges and gaol-delivery to discharge the prisoner on bail if committed for high treason, unless it be made appear, upon oath, that there are two witnesses against the said prisoner, who cannot be produced in that term, session, or general gaol-delivery. They likewise resolved it was the intention of the said statute, that in case there should be more than one prisoner to be bailed or remanded, there must be oath made that there are two witnesses against each prisoner, otherwise he cannot be remanded to prison. These resolutions were entered in the books as standing directions to all future-judges, yet not without great opposition from the court members. The next debate turned upon the manner in which the imprisoned lords should be set at liberty. The contest became so warm that the courtiers began to be afraid, and proposed an expedient which was put in practice. The house adjourned to the seventeenth day of the month, and at its next meeting was given to understand that the king had discharged the imprisoned noblemen. After another warm debate, a formal entry was made in the journals, importing, That the house being informed of his majesty’s having given directions for discharging the lords under bail in the king’s-bench, the debate about that matter ceased. The resentment of the peers being thus allayed, they proceeded to take his majesty’s speech into consideration.

THE COMMONS PRESENT ADDRESSES TO THE KING AND QUEEN.

The commons having voted an address of thanks, and another, praying that his majesty’s foreign alliances should be laid before them, determined on a bill for regulating trials in cases of high treason. They passed a vote of thanks to admiral Russel, his officers and seamen, for the victory they had obtained, and then proceeded to an inquiry, Why that victory had not been pursued? why the descent had not been made? and why the trade had not been better protected from the enemy’s cruisers? The admiral having justified his own conduct, they commanded the lords of the admiralty to produce copies of all the letters and orders which had been sent to the admiral; they ordered Russel to lay before them his answers; and the commissioners of the transports, victuallers, and office of ordnance, to deliver in an account of their proceedings. They then presented addresses to the king and queen, acknowledging the favour of God in restoring him to his people; congratulating him upon his deliverance from the snares of his open and secret enemies; and assuring him they would, according to his majesty’s desire in his most gracious speech, be always ready to advise and assist him in the support of his government. The queen was thanked for her gracious and prudent administration during his majesty’s absence; they congratulated her on their signal deliverance from a bold and cruel design formed for their destruction, as well as on the glorious victory which her fleet had gained; and they assured her that the grateful sense they had of their happiness under her government, should always be manifested in constant returns of duty and obedience.

After this formal compliment, the house, instead of proceeding to the supplies, insisted upon perusing the treaties, public accounts, and estimates, that they might be in a condition to advise as well as to assist his majesty. Being indulged with those papers, they passed a previous vote that a supply should be given; then they began to concert their articles of advice. Some of the members loudly complained of partiality to foreign generals, and particularly reflected upon the insolence of count Solmes, and his misconduct at Steenkirk. After some warm altercation, the house resolved one article of their advice should be, that his majesty would be pleased to fill up the vacancies that should happen among the general officers, with such only as were natives of his dominions, and that the commander-in-chief of the English should be an Englishman. Their next resolution implied, that many of the great affairs of the government having been for some time past unsuccessfully managed, the house should advise his majesty to prevent such mischiefs for the future, by employing men of knowledge, ability, and integrity. Individual members inveighed bitterly against cabinet councils, as a novelty in the British system of government by which the privy-council was jostled out of its province. They complained that all the grievances of the nation proceeded from the vicious principles of the ministry: they observed, that he who opposed the establishment could not be expected to support it with zeal. The earl of Nottingham was mentioned by name, and the house resolved that his majesty should be advised to employ in his councils such persons only whose principles obliged them to support his rights against the late king, and all other pretenders. Marlborough’s interest still predominated among the commons. His friend Russel acquitted himself to the satisfaction of the house, and shifted the blame of the miscarriage upon his enemy the earl of Nottingham, by declaring that twenty days elapsed between his first letter to that nobleman and his lordship’s answer. The earl’s friends, of whom there was a great number in the house, espoused his cause with great vigour, and even recriminated upon Russel; so that a very violent debate ensued. Both parties agreed that there had been mismanagement in the scheme of a descent. It was moved, that one cause of the miscarriage was the want of giving timely and necessary orders, by those to whom the management of the affair was committed. The house divided, and it was carried in the affirmative by one voice only. At the next sitting of the committee, sir Richard Temple proposed they should consider how to pay the forces abroad, by means of English manufactures, without ex porting money. They resolved that the house should be moved to appoint a committee to take this expedient into consideration. Sir Francis Wilmington was immediately called upon to leave the chair, and the speaker resumed his place. All that had been done was now void, as no report had been made; and the committee was dissolved. The house however revived it, and appointed a day for its sitting; but before it could resume its deliberations, admiral Russel moved for its being adjourned, and all its purposes were defeated.

The court agents had by this time interposed, and secured a majority by the infamous arts of corruption. The commons no longer insisted upon their points of advice. Their whole attention was now centered in the article of assistance. They granted about two millions for the maintenance of three-and-thirty thousand seamen, the building of some additional ships of war, and the finishing of Plymouth dock; and seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds to supply the deficiency of the quarterly poll. The estimates of the land-service were not discussed without tedious debates and warm disputes. The ministry demanded fifty-four thousand men, twenty thousand of whom should be kept at home for the defence of the nation, while the rest should serve abroad in the allied army. Many members declared their aversion to a foreign war, in which the nation had no immediate concern and so little prospect of success. Others agreed that the allies should be assisted on the continent with a proportion of British forces; but that the nation should act as an auxiliary, not as a principal, and pay no more than what the people would cheerfully contribute to the general expense. These reflections, however, produced no other effect than that of prolonging the debate. Ministerial influence had surmounted all opposition. The house voted the number of men demanded. Such was their servile complaisance, that when they examined the treaties by which the English and Dutch contracted equally with the German princes, and found that, notwithstanding these treaties, Britain bore two-thirds of the expense, they overlooked this flagrant instance of partiality, and enabled the king to pay the proportion. Nay, their maxims were so much altered, that, instead of prosecuting their resentment against foreign generals, they assented to a motion that the prince of Wirtemberg, the major-generals Tetteau and La Forest, who commanded the Danish troops in the pay of the states-general, should be indulged with such an addition to their appointments as would make up the difference between the pay of England and that of Holland. Finally, they voted above two millions for the subsistence of the land forces, and for defraying extraordinary expenses attending the war upon the continent, including subsidies to the electors of Saxony and Hanover.

THE LORDS PRESENT AN ADDRESS OF ADVICE TO THE KING.

The house of lords meanwhile was not free from animosity and contention. The Marlborough faction exerted themselves with great vivacity. They affirmed, it was the province of their house to advise the sovereign: like the commons, they insisted upon the king’s having asked their advice because he had mentioned that word in his speech, though he never dreamed that they would catch at it with such eagerness. They moved, that the task of digesting the articles of advice should be undertaken by a joint committee of both houses; but all the dependents of the court, including the whole bench of bishops, except Watson of St. David’s, were marshalled to oppose this motion, which was rejected by a majority of twelve; and this victory was followed with a protest of the vanquished. Notwithstanding this defeat, they prosecuted their scheme of giving advice; and after much wrangling and declamation, the house agreed in an address of remonstrance, advising and beseeching his majesty, That the commanding officer of the British forces should be an Englishman; that English officers might take rank of those in the confederate armies, who did not belong to crowned heads; that the twenty thousand men to be left for the defence of the kingdom should be all English, and commanded by an English general; that the practice of pressing men for the fleet should be remedied; that such officers as were guilty of this practice should be cashiered and punished; and, lastly, that no foreigners should sit at the board of ordnance. This address was presented to the king, who received it coldly, and said he would take it into consideration.

Then the lords resolved to inquire into the miscarriage of the purposed descent, and called for all the papers relating to that affair; but the aim of the majority was not so much to rectify the errors of the government, as to screen Nottingham, and censure Russel. That nobleman produced his own book of entries, together with the whole correspondence between him and the admiral, whom he verbally charged with having contributed to the miscarriage of the expedition. This affair was referred to a committee. Sir John Ashby was examined. The house directed the earl to draw up the substance of his charge; and these papers were afterwards delivered to a committee of the commons, at a conference by the lord-president, and the rest of the committee above. They were offered for the inspection of the commons, as they concerned some members of that house, by whom they might be informed more fully of the particulars they contained. At another conference which the commons demanded, their committee declared, in the name of the house, That they had read and well considered the papers which their lordships had sent them, and which they now returned: that finding Mr. Russel, one of their members, often mentioned in the said papers, they had unanimously resolved, that admiral Russel, in his command of the fleets during the last summer’s expedition, had behaved with fidelity, courage, and conduct. The lords irritated at this declaration, and disappointed in their resentment against Russel, desired a free conference between the committees of both houses. The earl of Rochester told the commons, he was commanded by the house of lords to inform them that their lordships looked upon the late vote and proceeding of the lower house, in returning their papers, to be irregular and unparliamentary, as they had not communicated to their lordships the lights they had received, and the reason upon which their vote was founded. A paper to the same purport was delivered to colonel Granville, who promised to present it to the commons, and make a faithful report of what his lordship had said. Thus the conference ended, and the inquiry was discontinued.

THE COMMONS ADDRESS THE KINO.

The lower house seemed to be as much exasperated against the earl of Nottingham as the lords were incensed at Russel. A motion was made that his majesty should be advised to appoint such commissioners of the board of admiralty as were of known experience in maritime affairs. Although this was overruled, they voted an address to the king, praying, that for the future, all orders for the engagement of the fleet might pass through the hands of the said commissioners; a protest by implication against the conduct of the secretary. The consideration of ways and means was the next object that engrossed the attention of the lower house. They resolved that a rate of four shillings in the pound, for one year, should be charged upon all lands according to their yearly value; as also upon all personal estates, and upon all offices and employments of profit, other than military offices in the army and navy. The act founded on this resolution empowered the king to borrow money on the credit of it, at seven per cent. They further enabled him to raise one million on the general credit of the exchequer, by granting annuities. They laid several new duties on a variety of imports. They renewed the last quarterly poll, providing that in case it should not produce three hundred thousand pounds, the deficiencies might be made up by borrowing on the general credit of the exchequer. They continued the impositions on wine, vinegar, tobacco, and sugar, for five years; and those on East-India goods for four years. They laid a new imposition of eight per cent, on the capital stock of the East-India company, estimated at seven hundred and forty-four thousand pounds; of one per cent, on the African; of five pounds on every share of the stock belonging to the Hudson’s Bay company; and they empowered his majesty to borrow five hundred thousand pounds on these funds, which were expressly established for maintaining the war with vigour.*

* The French king hearing how liberally William was supplied, exclaimed, with some emotion, “My little cousin the prince of Orange is fixed in the saddle—but, no matter, the last Louis d’or must carry it.”

BURNET’S PASTORAL LETTER BURNED.

The money-bills were retarded in the upper house by the arts of Halifax, Mulgrave, and other malcontents. They grafted a clause on the land-tax bill, importing, that the lords should tax themselves. It was adopted by the majority, and the bill sent with this amendment to the commons, by whom it was unanimously rejected as a flagrant attempt upon their privileges. They demanded a conference, in which they declared that the clause in question was a notorious encroachment upon the right the commons possessed, of regulating all matters relating to supplies granted by parliament. When this report was debated in the house of lords, the earl of Mulgrave displayed uncommon powers of eloquence and argument, in persuading the house, that, by yielding to this claim of the commons, they would divest themselves of their true greatness, and nothing would remain but the name and shadow of a peer, which was but a pageant. Notwithstanding all his oratory, the lords relinquished their clause, declaring, at the same time, that they had agreed to pass the bill without alteration, merely in regard to the present urgent state of affairs, as being otherwise of opinion that they had a right to insist upon their clause. A formal complaint being made in the house of commons against the pamphlet entitled, “King William and Queen Mary Conquerors,” as containing assertions of dangerous consequence to their majesties, to the liberty of the subject, and the peace of the kingdom, the licenser and printer were taken into custody. The book being examined, resolved that it should be burned by the hands of the common hangman, and that the king should be moved to dismiss the licenser from his employment. The same sentence they pronounced upon a pastoral letter of bishop Burnet, in which this notion of conquest had been at first asserted. The lords, in order to manifest their sentiments on the same subject, resolved, That such an assertion was highly injurious to their majesties, inconsistent with the principles on which the government was founded, and tending to the subversion of the rights of the people. Bohun the licenser was brought to the bar of the house, and discharged upon his own petition, after having been reprimanded on his knees by the speaker.

Several members having complained that their servants had been kidnapped and sent to serve as soldiers in Flanders, the house appointed a committee to inquire into the abuses committed by press-masters; and a suitable remonstrance was presented to the king, who expressed his indignation at this practice, and assured the house that the delinquents should be brought to exemplary punishment. Understanding however in the sequel, that the methods taken by his majesty for preventing this abuse had not proved, effectual, they resumed their inquiry, and proceeded with, uncommon vigour on the information they received. A great number of persons who had been pressed were discharged by order of the house; and captain Winter, the chief undertaker for this method of recruiting the army, was carried by the sergeant before the lord chief justice, that he might be prosecuted according to law.

THE TWO HOUSES ADDRESS THE KING.

Before the heats occasioned by this unpopular expedient were allayed, the discontent of the nation was further inflamed by complaints from Ireland, where lord Sidney was said to rule with despotic authority. These complaints were exhibited by sir Francis Brewster, sir William Gore, sir John Macgill, lieutenant Stafford, Mr. Stone, and Mr. Kerne. They were examined at the bar of the house, and delivered an account of their grievances in writing. Both houses concurred in this inquiry; which, being finished, they severally presented addresses to the king. The lords observed, That there had been great abuses in disposing of the forfeited estates; that protections had been granted to the Irish not included in the articles of Limerick; so that protestants were deprived of the benefit of the law against them; that the quarters of the army had not been paid according to the provision made by parliament; that a mayor had been imposed upon the city of Dublin for two years successively, contrary to the ancient privileges and charter; that several persons accused of murder had been executed without proof; and one Sweetman, the most guilty, discharged without prosecution. The commons spoke more freely in their address; they roundly explained the abuses and mismanagement of that government, by exposing the protestant subjects to the free quarter and violence of a licentious army; by recruiting the troops with Irish papists who had been in open rebellion against his majesty; by granting protections to Irish Roman-catholics, whereby the course of the law was stopped; by reversing outlawries for high treason not comprehended in the articles of Limerick; by letting the forfeited estates at undervalue, to the prejudice of his majesty’s revenue; by embezzling the stores left in the towns and garrisons by the late king James, as well as the effects belonging to the forfeited estates, which might have been employed for the better preservation of the kingdom; and, finally, by making additions to the articles of Limerick after the capitulation was signed and the place surrendered. They most humbly besought his majesty to redress these abuses, which had greatly encouraged the papists, and weakened the protestant interest in Ireland. The king graciously received both addresses, and promised to pay a particular regard to all remonstrances that should come from either house of parliament; but no material step was taken against the lords Sidney, Athlone, and Coningsby, who appeared to have engrossed great part of the forfeitures by grants from the crown; and even commissioner Culliford, who had been guilty of the most grievous acts of oppression, escaped with impunity.

ACCOUNT OF THE PLACE AND TRIENNIAL PARLIAMENT BILLS.

The old whig principle was not yet wholly expelled from the lower house. The undue influence of the court was exerted in such an open scandalous manner, as gave offence to the majority of the commons. In the midst of all their condescension, sir Edward Hussey, member for Lincoln, brought in a bill touching free and impartial proceedings in parliament. It was intended to disable all members of parliament from enjoying places of trust and profit, and particularly levelled against the officers of the army and navy, who had insinuated themselves into the house in such numbers, that this was commonly called the officers’ parliament. The bill passed the house of commons, and was sent up to the lords, by whom it was read a second time and committed; but the ministry employing their whole strength against it, on the report it was thrown out by a majority of two voices. The earl of Mulgrave again distinguished himself by his elocution, in a speech that was held in great veneration by the people; and, among those who entered a protest in the journals of the house when the majority rejected the bill, was prince George of Denmark, duke of Cumberland. The court had not collected themselves from the consternation produced by such a vigorous opposition, when the earl of Shrewsbury produced another bill for triennial parliaments, providing that there should be an annual session; that if, at the expiration of three years, the crown should not order the writs to be issued, the lord chancellor, or keeper, or commissioner of the great seal, should issue them ex officio, and by authority of this act, under severe penalties. The immediate object of this bill was the dissolution of the present parliament, which had already sat three sessions, and began to be formidable to the people from its concessions to the ministry. The benefits that would accrue to the constitution from the establishment of triennial parliaments were very well understood, as these points had been frequently discussed in former reigns. The courtiers now objected, that frequent elections would render the free-holders proud and insolent, encourage faction among the electors, and entail a continual expense upon the member, as he would find himself obliged, during the whole time of the sitting, to behave like a candidate, conscious how soon the time of election would revolve. In spite of the ministerial interest in the upper house, the bill passed, and contained a proviso that the present parliament should not continue any longer than the month of January next ensuing. The court renewed its efforts against it in the house of commons, where nevertheless it was carried, with some alterations which the lords approved. But all these endeavours were frustrated by the prerogative of the king, who, by refusing his assent, prevented its being enacted into a law.

It was at the instigation of the ministry that the commons brought in a bill for continuing and explaining certain temporary laws then expiring or expired. Among these was an act for restraining the liberty of the press, which owed its original to the reign of Charles II., and had been revived in the first year of the succeeding reign. The bill passed the lower house without difficulty, but met with warm opposition in the house of lords; a good number of whom protested against it, as a law that subjected all learning and true information to the arbitrary will of a mercenary, and perhaps ignorant licenser, destroyed the properties of authors, and extended the evil of monopolies. The bill for regulating trials was dropped, and, in lieu of it, another produced for the preservation of their majesties’ sacred persons and government; but this too was rejected by the majority in consequence of the ministry’s secret management. The East India company narrowly escaped dissolution. Petitions and counter-petitions were delivered into the house of commons; the pretensions on both sides were carefully examined; a committee of the whole house resolved, that there should be a new subscription of a joint stock, not exceeding two millions five hundred thousand pounds, to continue for one-and-twenty years. The report was made and received, and the public expected to see the affair brought to a speedy issue; but the company had recourse to the same expedients which had lately proved so successful in the hands of the ministry. Those who had been the most warm in detecting their abuses suddenly cooled; and the prosecution of the affair began to languish. Not but that the house presented an address to his majesty, praying that he would dissolve the company upon three years’ warning, according to the condition of their charter. He told them he would consider their address, and they did not further urge their remonstrance. The bill for ascertaining the commissions and salaries of the judges, to which the king had refused the royal assent in the last session, was revived, twice read, and rejected; and another for preventing the exportation and melting of the coin, they suffered to lie neglected on the table. On the fourteenth day of March the king put an end to the session, after having thanked the parliament for so great testimonies of their affection, and promised the supplies should not be misapplied. He observed that the posture of affairs called him abroad, but that he would leave a sufficient number of troops for the security of the kingdom; he assured them he would expose his person upon all occasions for the advantage of these kingdoms; and use his utmost endeavours to make them a flourishing nation. 046 [See note I, at the end of this Vol.]

TRIAL OF LORD MOHUN—ALTERATIONS IN THE MINISTRY.

During the course of this session, lord Mohun was indicted and tried by the peers in Westminster-hall, as an accomplice in the murder of one Montford a celebrated comedian, the marquis of Carmarthen acting as lord-steward upon this occasion. The judges having been consulted, the peers proceeded to give their judgments seriatim, and Mohun was acquitted by a great majority. The king, who from his first accession to the throne had endeavoured to trim the balance between the whigs and tories, by mingling them together in his ministry, made some alterations at this period that savoured of the same policy. The great seal, with the title of lord keeper, was bestowed upon sir John Somers, who was well skilled in the law, and in many other branches of polite and useful literature. He possessed a remarkable talent for business, in which he exerted great patience and assiduity; was gentle, candid, and equitable; a whig in principles, yet moderate, pacific, and conciliating. Of the same temper was sir John Trenchard, now appointed secretary of state. He had been concerned with the duke of Monmouth, and escaped to the continent, where he lived some years; was calm, sedate, well acquainted with foreign affairs, and considered as a leading man in his party. These two are said to have been promoted at the recommendation of the earl of Sunderland, who had by this time insinuated himself into the king’s favour and confidence; though his success confirmed the opinion which many entertained of his having betrayed his old master. The leaders of the opposition were sir Edward Seymour, again become a malcontent, and sir Christopher Mus-grave, a gentleman of Cumberland, who though an extravagant tory from principle, had refused to concur with all the designs of the late king. He was a person of a grave and regular deportment, who had rejected many offers of the ministry, which he opposed with great violence; yet on some critical occasions his patriotism gave way to his avarice, and he yielded up some important points in consideration of large sums which he received from the court in secret. Others declared war against the administration, because they thought their own talents were not sufficiently considered. Of these the chief were Paul Foley and Robert Harley. The first was a lawyer of good capacity, extensive learning, and virtuous principles; but peevish, obstinate, and morose. He entertained a very despicable opinion of the court; and this he propagated with equal assiduity and success. Harley possessed a good fund of learning; was capable of uncommon application, particularly turned to politics. He knew the forms of parliament, had a peculiar dexterity at protracting and perplexing debates; and cherished the most aspiring ambition. Admiral Russel was created treasurer of the household; but the command of the fleet was vested in the hands of Killigrew, Délavai, and Shovel. Sir George Rooke was declared vice-admiral of the red, and John lord Berkeley of the blue division; their rear-admirals were Matthew Aylmer and David Mitchel.

THE KING ASSEMBLES THE CONFEDERATE ARMY IN FLANDERS.

The king having visited the fleet and fortifications at Portsmouth, given instructions for annoying the enemy by sea, and left the administration in the hands of the queen, embarked on the last day of March, near Gravesend, and arrived in Holland on the third of April. The troops of the confederates were forthwith ordered to assemble: but while he was employed in making preparations for the campaign, the French king actually took the field, attended by madame de Maintenon, and all the court ladies. His design was supposed to be upon some town in Brabant: his army amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand men, completely armed, and abundantly supplied with all necessaries for every sort of military operation. King William immediately took possession of the strong camp at Parke near Lou-vain, a situation which enabled him to cover the places that were most exposed. Understanding that the French emissaries had sown the seeds of dissension between the bishop and chapter of Liege, he sent the duke of Wirtemberg thither, to reconcile the different parties, and concert measures for the further security of the place. He reinforced the garrison with nine battalions; and the elector palatine lay with his troops in readiness to march to its relief. William likewise threw reinforcements into Maestricht, Huy, and Char-leroy; and he himself resolved to remain on the defensive, at the head of sixty thousand men, with a numerous train of artillery.

THE FRENCH REDUCE HUY.

Louis having reviewed his army at Gemblours, and seen his designs upon Brabant defeated by the diligence of his antagonist, detached Boufflers with twenty thousand men to the Upper Rhine to join the dauphin, who commanded in that quarter; then leaving the conduct of his forces in the Netherlands to the duke de Luxembourg, he returned with his court to Versailles. Immediately after his departure, Luxembourg fixed his head-quarters at Mildert; and king William strengthened his camp on that side with ten battalions and eight-and-twenty pieces of cannon. The enemy’s convoys were frequently surprised by detachments from the garrison of Charleroy; and a large body of horse, foot, and dragoons, being drafted out of Liege and Maestricht, took post at Huy, under the command of the count de Tilly, so as to straiten the French in their quarters. These however were dislodged by Luxembourg in person, who obliged the count to pass the Jaar with precipitation, leaving behind three squadrons and all his baggage, which fell into the hands of the enemy. This check however was balanced by the success of the duke of Wirtemberg, who, at the head of thirteen battalions of infantry and twenty squadrons of horse, forced the French lines between the Scheldt and the Lys, and laid the whole country as far as Lisle under contribution. On that very day, which was the eighteenth of July, Luxembourg marched towards Huy, which was next morning invested by M. de Villeroy. The other covered the siege, and secured himself from the allies by lines of contravallation. Before their batteries began to play, the town capitulated. On the twenty-third day of the month the garrison mutined, the castles were surrendered, the governor remained a prisoner, and his men were conducted to Liege. The confederate army advanced in order to relieve the town; but the king being apprised of its fate, detached ten battalions to reinforce the garrison of Liege, and next day returned to Neer-Hespen.

THE DUKE OF LUXEMBOURG RESOLVES TO ATTACK THE ALLIES.

Luxembourg made a motion towards Liege as if he had intended to besiege the place; and encamped at Hellecheim, about seven leagues from the confederates. Knowing how much they were weakened by the different detachments which had been made from their army, he resolved to attack them in their camp, or at least fall upon their rear should they retreat at his approach. On the twenty-eighth day of July he began his march in four columns, and passed the Jaar near its source, with an army superior to the allies by five-and-thirty thousand men. The king of England at first looked upon this motion as a feint to cover the design upon Liege; but receiving intelligence that their whole army was in full march to attack him in his camp, he resolved to keep his ground, and immediately drew up his forces in order of battle. His general officers advised him to repass the Geete; but he chose to risk a battle, rather than expose the rear of his army in repassing that river. His right wing extended as far as Neer-Winden, along the Geete, covered with hedges, hollow ways, and a small rivulet; the left reached to Neer-Landen; and these two villages were joined by a slight intrenchment which the king ordered to be thrown up in the evening. Brigadier Ramsay, with the regiments of O’Farrel, Mackay, Lauder, Leven and Monroe, were ordered to the right of the whole army, to line some hedges and hollow ways on the farther side of the village of Lare. Six battalions of Brandenburgh were posted to the left of this village; and general Dumont, with the Hanoverian infantry, possessed the village of Neer-Winden, which covered part of the camp, between the main body and the right wing of the cavalry. Neer-Landen, on the left, was secured by six battalions of English, Danes, and Dutch. The remaining infantry was drawn up in one line behind the intrenchment. The dragoons upon the left guarded the village of Donnai upon the brook of Beck, and from thence the left wing of horse extended to Neer-Landen, where it was covered by this rivulet.

The king having visited all the posts on horseback, and given the necessary orders, reposed himself about two hours in his coach; and early in the morning sent for his chaplain, whom he joined in prayer with great devotion. At sun-rising the enemy appeared drawn up in order of battle; and the allies began to play their cannon with good success. About eight in the morning they attacked the villages of Lare and Neer-Winden with great fury; and twice made themselves masters of these posts, from whence they were as often repulsed.

The allies still kept their ground; and the duke of Berwick was taken by his uncle brigadier Churchill. Then the French made an attack upon the left wing of the confederates at Neer-Landen; and after a very obstinate dispute, were obliged to give way, though they still kept possession of the avenues. The prince of Conti, however, renewed the charge with the flower of the French infantry; and the confederates being overpowered, retreated from the village, leaving the camp in that part exposed. Villeroy marching this way with a body of horse, was encountered and repulsed by the count D’Arco, general of the Bavarian cuirassiers; and the duke de Chartres narrowly escaped being taken. Meanwhile Luxembourg, the prince of Conti, the count de Marsin, and the marshal de Joyeuse, charged on the right, and in different parts of the line with such impetuosity as surmounted all resistance. The camp of the confederates was immediately filled with French troops: the villages of Lare and Neer-Winden were taken after a long and desperate dispute. The Hanoverian and Dutch horse being broken, the king in person brought the English cavalry to their assistance. They fought with great gallantry; and for some time retarded the fate of the day. The infantry were rallied, and stood firm until all their ammunition was expended. In a word, they were scarce able to sustain the weight of such a superiority in point of number, when the marquis D’Harcourt joined the enemy from Huy, with two-and-twenty fresh squadrons, which immediately turned the scale in their favour. The elector of Bavaria, after having made extraordinary efforts, retreated with great difficulty over the bridge to the other side of the river, where he rallied the troops in order to favour the retreat of those who had not passed. The king seeing the battle lost, and the whole army in confusion, retired with the infantry to Dormul on the brook of Beck, where the dragoons of the left wing were posted, and then ordered the regiments of Wyndham, Lumley, and Calway, to cover his retreat over the bridge at Neer-Hespen, which he effected with great difficulty. Now all was tumult, rout, and consternation; and a great number of the fugitives threw themselves into the river, where they were drowned. This had like to have been the fate of the brave earl of Athlone; the duke of Ormond was wounded in several places, and taken prisoner by the enemy; and the count de Solmes was mortally wounded. Ptolemache brought off the greater part of the English infantry with great gallantry and conduct; as for the baggage, it had been sent to Liege before the engagement; but the confederates lost sixty pieces of cannon, and nine mortars, a great number of standards and colours,* with about seven thousand men killed and wounded in the action. It must be owned that the allies fought with great valour and perseverance; and that king William made prodigious efforts of courage and activity to retrieve the fortune of the day. He was present in all parts of the battle; he charged in person both on horseback and on foot, where the danger was most imminent. His peruke, the sleeve of his coat, and the knot of his scarf, were penetrated by three different musket bullets; and he saw a great number of soldiers fall on every side of him. The enemy bore witness to his extraordinary valour. The prince of Conti, in a letter to his princess which was intercepted, declared that he saw the prince of Orange exposing himself to the greatest dangers; and that such valour richly deserved the peaceable possession of the crown he wore. Yet here, as in every other battle he fought, his conduct and disposition were severely censured. Luxembourg having observed the nature of his situation immediately before the engagement, is said to have exclaimed, “Now I believe Waldeck is really dead;” alluding to that general’s known sagacity in choosing ground for an encampment. Be that as it will, he paid dear for his victory. His loss in officers and men exceeded that of the allies; and he reaped no solid advantage from the battle. He remained fifteen days inactive at Waren, while king William recalled the duke of Wirtemberg, and drafting troops from Liege and other garrisons, was in a few days able to hazard another engagement.

* The duke of Luxembourg sent such a number of standards and ensigns to Paris during the course of this war, that the prince of Conti called him the Upholsterer of Notre Dame, a church in which those trophies were displayed.

CHARLEBOY TAKEN BY THE ENEMY.

Nothing remarkable happened during the remaining part of the Campaign, until Luxembourg, being rejoined by Boufflers with a strong reinforcement from the Rhine, invested Charleroy. He had taken his measures with such caution and dexterity, that the allies could not frustrate his operations, without attacking his lines at a great disadvantage. The king detached the elector of Bavaria and the duke of Wirtemberg, with thirty battalions and forty squadrons, to make a diversion in Flanders; but they returned in a few days without having attempted any thing of consequence. The garrison of Charleroy defended the place with surprising valour, from the tenth of September to the eleventh of October, during which period they had repulsed the assailants in several attacks; but at length despairing of relief, the governor capitulated on the most honourable conditions: the reduction of the place was celebrated with a Te Deum, and other rejoicings at Paris. Louis however, in the midst of all his glory, was extremely mortified when he reflected what little advantage he had reaped from all his late victories. The allies had been defeated successively at Fleurus, Steenkirk, and Landen; yet in a fortnight after each of those battles William was always in a condition to risk another engagement. Formerly Louis had conquered half of Holland, Flanders, and Franche-Comté, without a battle; whereas, now he could not with his utmost efforts, and after the most signal victories, pass the frontiers of the United Provinces. The conquest of Charleroy concluded the campaign in the Netherlands, and both armies went into winter-quarters.

CAMPAIGN ON THE RHINE.

The French army on the Rhine, under De Lorges, passed that river in the month of May at Philipsburgh, and invested the city of Heidelberg, which they took, plundered, and reduced to ashes. This general committed numberless barbarities in the Palatinate, which he ravaged without even sparing the tombs of the dead. The French soldiers on this occasion seem to have been actuated by the most brutal inhumanity. They butchered the inhabitants, violated the women, plundered the houses, rifled the churches, and murdered the priests at the altar. They broke open the electoral vault, and scattered the ashes of that illustrious family about the streets. They set fire to different quarters of the city; they stripped about fifteen thousand of the inhabitants, without distinction of age or sex, and drove them naked into the castle, that the garrison might be the sooner induced to capitulate. There they remained like cattle in the open air, without food or covering, tortured between the horrors of their fete and the terrors of a bombardment. When they were set at liberty, in consequence of the fort’s being surrendered, a great number of them died along the banks of the Neckar, from cold, hunger, anguish, and despair. These enormous cruelties, which would have disgraced the arms of a Tartarian freebooter, were acted by the express command of Louis XIV. of France, who has been celebrated by so many venal pens, not only as the greatest monarch, but also as the most polished prince of Christendom. De Lorges advanced towards the Neckar against the prince of Baden, who lay encamped on the other side of the river; but in attempting to pass, he was twice repulsed with considerable damage. The dauphin joining the army, which now amounted to seventy thousand men, crossed without opposition; but found the Germans so advantageously posted, that he would not hazard an attack; having therefore repassed the river, he secured Stutgard with a garrison, sent detachments into Flanders and Piedmont, and returned in August to Versailles. In Piedmont the allies were still more unfortunate. The duke of Savoy and his confederates seemed bent upon driving the French from Casal and Pignerol. The first of these places was blocked up, and the other actually invested. The fort of St. Bridget that covered the place was taken, and the town bombarded. Meanwhile Catinat being reinforced, descended into the plains. The duke was so apprehensive of Turin that he abandoned the siege of Pignerol, after having blown up the fort, and marched in quest of the enemy to the plain of Mar-saglia, in the neighbourhood of his capital. On the fourth day of October, the French advanced upon them from the hills between Orbasson and Prosasque, and a desperate engagement ensued. The enemy charged the left wing of the confederates sword in hand with incredible fury; though they were once repulsed, they renewed the attack with such impetuosity that the Neapolitan and Milanese horse were obliged to give way, and disordered the German cavalry. These falling upon the foot, threw the whole wing into confusion. Meanwhile the main body and the other wing sustained the charge without flinching, until they were exposed in flank by the defeat of the cavalry; then the whole front gave way. In vain the second line was brought up to sustain them; the horse turned their backs, and the infantry was totally routed. In a word, the confederates were obliged to retire with precipitation, leaving their cannon and about eight thousand men killed or wounded on the field of battle. The duke of Schomberg having been denied the post which was his due, insisted upon fighting at the head of the troops maintained by the king of Great Britain, who were posted in the centre, and behaved with great gallantry under the eye of their commander. When the left wing was defeated, the count de los Torres desired he would take upon him the command, and retreat with the infantry and right wing; but he refused to act without the order of his highness, and said things were come to such a pass that they must either conquer or die. He continued to animate his men with his voice and example, until he received a shot in the thigh. His valet seeing him fall, ran to his assistance, and called for quarter, but was killed by the enemy before he could be understood. The duke being taken at the same instant, was afterwards dismissed upon his parole, and in a few days died at Turin, universally lamented on account of his great and amiable qualities. The earl of Warwick and Holland, who accompanied him as a volunteer, shared his fate in being wounded and taken prisoner; but he soon recovered his health and liberty. This victory was as unsubstantial as that of Landen, and almost as dear in the purchase; for the confederates made an obstinate defence, and yielded solely to superior number. The duke of Savoy retreated to Moncalier, and threw a reinforcement into Coni, which Catinat would not venture to besiege, so severely had he been handled in the battle. He therefore contented himself with laying the country under contribution, reinforcing the garrisons of Casal, Pignerol, and Suza, and making preparations for repassing the mountains. The news of this victory no sooner reached Paris, than Louis dispatched M. de Chanlais to Turin, with proposals for detaching the duke of Savoy from the interest of the allies; and the pope, who was now become a partisan of France, supported the negotiation with his whole influence; but the French king had not yet touched upon the right string. The duke continued deaf to all his addresses.

TRANSACTIONS in HUNGARY and CATALONIA.

France had been alike successful in her intrigues at the courts of Rome and Constantinople. The vizier at the Porte had been converted into a pensionary and creature of Louis; but the war in which the Turks had been so long and unsuccessfully engaged, rendered him so odious to the people, that the grand seignor deposed him in order to appease their clamours. The English and Dutch ambassadors at Constantinople forthwith renewed their mediation for a peace with the emperor; but the terms they proposed were still rejected with disdain. In the meantime general Heusler, who commanded the imperialists at Transylvania, reduced the fortresses of Jeno and Villaguswar. In the beginning of July the duc de Croy assumed the chief command of the German army, passed the Danube and the Saave, and invested Belgrade. The siege was carried on for some time with great vigour, but at length abandoned at the approach of the vizier, who obliged the imperialists to repass the Saave, and sent out parties which made incursions into Upper-Hungary. The power of France had never been so conspicuous as at this juncture, when she maintained a formidable navy at sea, and four great armies in different parts of Europe. Exclusive of the operations in Flanders, Germany, and Piedmont, the count de Noailles invested Eoses in Catalonia, about the latter end of May, while at the same time it was blocked up by the French fleet under the command of the count D’Etrées. In a few days the place was surrendered by capitulation, and the castle of Ampurias met with the same fate. The Spanish power was reduced to such a degree, that Noailles might have proceeded in his conquests without interruption, had he not been obliged to detach part of his army to reinforce Catinat in Piedmont.

NAVAL AFFAIRS.

Nothing could be more inglorious for the English than their operations by sea in the course of this summer. The king had ordered the admirals to use all possible despatch in equipping the fleets, that they might block up the enemy in their own ports and protect the commerce, which had suffered severely from the French privateers. They were however so dilatory in their proceedings, that the squadrons of the enemy sailed from their harbours before the English fleet could put to sea. About the middle of May it was assembled at St. Helen’s, and took on board five regiments intended for a descent on Brest; but this enterprise was never attempted. When the English and Dutch squadrons joined, so as to form a very numerous fleet, the public expected they would undertake some expedition of importance; but the admirals were divided in opinion, nor did their orders warrant their executing any scheme of consequence. Killigrew and Délavai did not escape the suspicion of being disaffected to the service; and France was said to have maintained a secret correspondence with the malcontents in England. Louis had made surprising efforts to repair the damage which his navy had sustained. He had purchased several large vessels and converted them into ships of war; he had laid an embargo on all the shipping of his kingdom until his squadrons were manned; he had made a grand naval promotion to encourage the officers and seamen; and this expedient produced a wonderful spirit of activity and emulation. In the month of May his fleet sailed to the Mediterranean in three squadrons, consisting of seventy-one capital ships, besides bomb-ketches, fire-ships, and tenders.

In the beginning of June, the English and Dutch fleets sailed down the channel. On the sixth, sir George Rooke was detached to the Straits with a squadron of three-and-twenty ships as convoy to the Mediterranean trade. The grand fleet returned to Torbay, while he pursued his voyage, having taken under his protection about four hundred merchant ships belonging to England, Holland, Denmark, Sweden, Hamburgh, and Flanders. On the sixteenth his scouts discovered part of the French fleet under Cape St. Vincent; next day their whole navy appeared, to the amount of eighty sail. Sixteen of these plied up to the English squadron, while the vice-admiral of the white stood off to sea to intercept the ships under convoy. Sir George Rooke, by the advice of the Dutch vice-admiral Vandergoes, resolved if possible to avoid an engagement, which could only tend to their absolute ruin. He forthwith sent orders to the small ships that were near the land to put into the neighbouring ports of Faro, St. Lucar, and Cadiz, while he himself stood off with an easy sail for the protection of the rest. About six in the evening, ten sail of the enemy came up with two Dutch ships of war commanded by the captains Schrijver and Vander-Poel, who seeing no possibility of escaping, tacked in shore, and, thus drawing the French after them, helped to save the rest of the fleet. When attacked they made a most desperate defence, but at last were overpowered by numbers and taken. An English ship of war and a rich pinnace were burned; nine-and-twenty merchant vessels were taken, and about fifty destroyed by the counts de Tourville and D’Etrées. Seven of the largest Smyrna ships fell into the hands of M. de Cotlegon, and four he sunk in the bay of Gibraltar. The value of the loss sustained on this occasion amounted to one million sterling. Meanwhile Rooke stood off with a fresh gale, and on the nineteenth sent home the Lark ship of war with the news of his misfortune; then he bore away for the Madeiras, where having taken in wood and water, he set sail for Ireland, and on the third day of August arrived at Cork with fifty sail, including ships of war and trading vessels. He detached captain Fairborne to Kinsale with all his squadron except six ships of the line, with which, in pursuance of orders, he joined the great fleet then cruising in the chops of the channel. On the twenty-fifth day of August they returned to St. Helen’s, and the four regiments were landed. On the nineteenth day of September, fifteen Dutch ships of the line and two frigates set sail for Holland; and twenty-six sail, with seven fire-ships, were assigned as guard-ships during the winter.

EXPEDITION TO THE WEST INDIES.

The French admirals, instead of pursuing Rooke to Madeira, made an unsuccessful attempt upon Cadiz, and bombarded Gibraltar, where the merchants sunk their ships that they might not fall into the hands of the enemy. Then they sailed along the coast of Spain, destroyed some English and Dutch vessels at Malaga, Alicant, and other places, and returned in triumph to Toulon. About this period sir Francis Wheeler returned to England with his squadron from an unfortunate expedition in the West Indies. In conjunction with colonel Codrington, governor of the Leeward Islands, he made unsuccessful attempts upon the islands of Martinique and Dominique. Then he sailed to Boston in New England with a view to concert an expedition against Quebec, which was judged impracticable. He afterwards steered for Placentia in Newfoundland, which he would have attacked without hesitation; but the design was rejected by a majority of voices in the council of war. Thus disappointed, he set sail for England, and arrived at Portsmouth in a very shattered condition, the greater part of his men having died in the course of this voyage.

BENBOW BOMBARDS ST. MALOES.

In November another effort was made to annoy the enemy. Commodore Benbow sailed with a squadron of twelve capital ships, four bomb-ketches, and ten brigantines, to the coast of St. Maloes, and anchoring within half a mile of the town, cannonaded and bombarded it for three days successively. Then his men landed on an island where they burned a convent. On the nineteenth they took the advantage of a dark night, a fresh gale, and a strong tide, to send in a fire-ship of a particular contrivance, styled the Infernal, in order to burn the town; but she struck upon a rock before she arrived at the place, and the engineer was obliged to set her on fire and retreat. She continued burning for some time, and at last blew up with such an explosion as shook the whole town like an earthquake, unroofed three hundred houses, and broke all the glass and earthenware for three leagues around. A capstan that weighed two hundred pounds was transported into the place, and falling upon a house, levelled it to the ground; the greatest part of the wall towards the sea tumbled down; and the inhabitants were overwhelmed with consternation, so that a small number of troops might have taken possession without resistance, but there was not a soldier on board. Nevertheless the sailors took and demolished Quince-fort, and did considerable damage to the town of St. Maloes, which had been a nest of privateers that infested the English commerce. Though this attempt was executed with great spirit and some success, the clamours of the people became louder and louder. They scrupled not to say that the councils of the nation were betrayed; and their suspicions rose even to the secretary’s office. They observed, that the French were previously acquainted with all the motions of the English, and took their measures accordingly for their destruction. They collected and compared a good number of particulars that seemed to justify their suspicion of treachery. But the misfortunes of the nation in all probability arose from a motley ministry divided among themselves, who, instead of acting in concert for the public good, employed all their influence to thwart the views and blacken the reputations of each other. The people in general exclaimed against the marquis of Carmarthen, the earls of Nottingham and Rochester, who had acquired great credit with the queen, and, from their hatred to the whigs, betrayed the interests of the nation.

THE FRENCH KING HAS RECOURSE TO THE MEDIATION OF DENMARK.

But if the English were discontented, the French were miserable in spite of all their victories. That kingdom laboured under a dreadful famine, occasioned partly from unfavourable seasons, and partly from the war, which had not left hands sufficient to cultivate the ground. Notwithstanding all the diligence and providence of their ministry in bringing supplies of corn from Sweden and Denmark, their care in regulating the price and furnishing the markets, their liberal contributions for the relief of the indigent, multitudes perished of want, and the whole kingdom was reduced to poverty and distress. Louis pined in the midst of his success. He saw his subjects exhausted by a ruinous war, in which they had been involved by his ambition. He tampered with the allies apart, in hopes of dividing and detaching them from the grand confederacy; he solicited the northern crowns to engage as mediators for a general peace. A memorial was actually presented by the Danish minister to king William, by which it appears that the French king would have been contented to purchase a peace with some considerable concessions; but the terms were rejected by the king of England, whose ambition and revenge were not yet gratified, and whose subjects, though heavily laden, could still bear additional burdens.

The Jacobites had been very attentive to the progress of dissatisfaction in England, which they fomented with their usual assiduity. The late declaration of king James had been couched in such imperious terms as gave offence even to some of those who favoured his interest. The earl of Middleton therefore, in the beginning of the year, repaired to St. Germain’s and obtained another, which contained the promise of a general pardon without exception, and every other concession that a British subject could demand of his sovereign. About the latter end of May, two men named Canning and Dormer were apprehended for dispersing copies of this paper, tried at the Old Bailey, found guilty of not only dispersing but also of composing a false and seditious libel, sentenced to pay five hundred marks a-piece, to stand three times in the pillory, and find sureties for their good behaviour. But no circumstance reflected more disgrace on this reign than the fate of Anderton, the supposed printer of some tracts against the government. He was brought to trial for high treason; he made a vigorous defence in spite of the insults and discouragement he sustained from a partial bench. As nothing but presumptions appeared against him, the jury scrupled to bring in a verdict that would affect his life, until they were reviled and reprimanded by judge Treby, then they found him guilty. In vain recourse was had to the queen’s mercy; he suffered death at Tyburn, and left a paper protesting solemnly against the proceedings of the court, which he affirmed was appointed not to try but to convict him, and petitioning heaven to forgive his penitent jury. The severity of the government was likewise exemplified in the case of some adventurers, who having equipped privateers to cruise upon the English, under joint commissions from the late king James and Louis XIV., happened to be taken by the English ships of war. Dr. Oldys, the king’s advocate, being commanded to proceed against them as guilty of treason and piracy, refused to commence the prosecution; and gave his opinion in writing that they were neither traitors nor pirates. He supported his opinion by arguments before the council; these were answered by Dr. Littleton, who succeeded him in the office from which he was dismissed; and the prisoners were executed as traitors. The Jacobites did not fail to retort those arts upon the government which their adversaries had so successfully practised in the late reign. They inveighed against the vindictive spirit of the administration, and taxed it with encouraging informers and false witnesses—a charge for which there was too much foundation.

The friends of James in Scotland still continued to concert designs in his favour; but their correspondence was detected, and their aims defeated, by the vigilance of the ministry in that kingdom. Secretary Johnston not only kept a watchful eye over all their transactions, but by a dexterous management of court liberality and favour, appeased the discontents of the presbyterians so effectually, that the king ran no risk in assembling the parliament. Some offices were bestowed upon the leaders of the kirk party, and the duke of Hamilton, being reconciled to the government, was appointed commissioner. On the eighteenth day of April the session was opened, and the king’s letter, replete with the most cajoling expressions, being read, the parliament proceeded to exhibit undeniable specimens of their good humour. They drew up a very affectionate answer to his majesty’s letter; they voted an addition of six new regiments to the standing forces of the kingdom; they granted a supply of above one hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling to his majesty; they enacted a law for levying men to serve on board the royal navy; they fined all absentees, whether lords or commons, and vacated the seats of all those commissioners who refused to take the oath of assurance, which was equivalent to an abjuration of king James; they set on foot an inquiry about an intended invasion; they published some intercepted letters supposed to be written to king James by Nevil Payne, whom they committed to prison and threatened with a trial for high treason; but he eluded the danger by threatening in his turn to impeach those who had made their peace with the government; they passed an act for the comprehension of such of the episcopal clergy as should condescend to take the oaths by the tenth day of July. All that the general assembly required of them was, an offer to subscribe the confession of faith, and to acknowledge presbytery as the only government of the Scottish church; but they neither submitted to these terms, nor took the oaths within the limited time, so that they forfeited all legal right to their benefices. Nevertheless they continued in possession, and even received private assurances of the king’s protection. It was one of William’s political maxims to court his domestic enemies; but it was never attended with any good effect. This indulgence gave offence to the presbyterians, and former distractions began to revive.

THE KING RETURNS TO ENGLAND.

The king having prevailed upon the states-general to augment their land forces and navy for the service of the ensuing campaign, embarked for England, and arrived at Kensington on the thirtieth day of October. Finding the people clamorous and discontented, the trade of the nation decayed, the affairs of state mismanaged, and the ministers recriminating upon one another, he perceived the necessity of changing hands, and resolved to take his measures accordingly. Sunderland, his chief counsellor, represented that the tories were averse to the continuance of a war which had been productive of nothing but damage and disgrace; whereas, the whigs were much more tractable, and would bleed freely, partly from the terror of invasion and popery, partly from the ambition of being courted by the crown, and partly from the prospect of advantage, in advancing money to the government on the funds established by parliament; for that sort of traffic which obtained the appellation of the monied interest was altogether a whig-gish institution. The king revolved these observations in his own mind; and, in the meantime, the parliament met on the seventh day of November, pursuant to the last prorogation. In his speech, he expressed his resentment against those who were the authors of the miscarriages at sea; represented the necessity of increasing the land forces and the navy; and demanded a suitable supply for these purposes. In order to pave the way to their condescension, he had already dismissed from his council the earl of Nottingham, who, of all his ministers, was the most odious to the people. His place would have been immediately filled with the earl of Shrewsbury; but that nobleman suspecting this was a change of men rather than of measures, stood aloof for some time, until he received such assurances from the king as quieted his scruples, and then he accepted the office of secretary. The lieutenancy for the city of London, and all other commissions over England, were altered with a view to favour the whig interest; and the individuals of that party were indulged with many places of trust and profit; but the tories were too powerful in the house of commons to be exasperated, and therefore a good number of them were retained in office.

BOTH HOUSES INQUIRE INTO THE MISCARRIAGES BY SEA.

On the sixth day of the session, the commons unanimously resolved to support their majesties and their government; to inquire into miscarriages; and to consider of means for preserving the trade of the nation. The Turkey company was summoned to produce the petitions they had delivered to the commissioners of the Admiralty for convoy: lord Falkland, who sat at the head of that board, gave in copies of all the orders and directions sent to sir George Rooke concerning the Straits fleet, together with a list of all the ships at that time in commission. It appeared, in the course of this inquiry, that the miscarriage of Rooke’s fleet was in a great measure owing to the misconduct of the admirals, and the neglect of the victualling-office; but they were screened by a majority. Mr. Harley, one of the commissioners for taking and stating the public accounts, delivered a report, which contained a charge of peculation against lord Falkland. Rainsford, receiver of the rights and perquisites of the navy, confessed that he had received and paid more money than that which was charged in the accounts; and, in particular, that he had paid four thousand pounds to lord Falkland by his majesty’s order. This lord had acknowledged before the commissioners, that he had paid one half of the sum, by the king’s order, to a person who was not a member of either house; and that the remainder was still in his hands. Rainsford owned he had the original letter which he received from Falkland, demanding the money; and this nobleman desiring to see it, detained the voucher; a circumstance that incensed the commons to such a degree, that a motion was made for committing him to the Tower, and debated with great warmth, but was at last over-ruled by the majority. Nevertheless, they agreed to make him sensible of their displeasure, and he was reprimanded in his place. The house of lords having also inquired into the causes of the miscarriages at sea, very violent debates arose, and at length the majority resolved, that the admirals had done well in the execution of the orders they had received. This was a triumph over the whig lords, who had so eagerly prosecuted the affair, and now protested against the resolution not without great appearance of reason. The next step of the lords was to exculpate the earl of Nottingham, as the blame seemed to lie with him on the supposition that the admirals were innocent. With a view therefore to transfer this blame to Trenchard, the whiggish secretary, the earl gave the house to understand that he had received intelligence from Paris in the beginning of June, containing a list of the enemy’s fleet and the time of their sailing; that this was communicated to a committee of the council, and particularly imparted to secretary Trenchard, whose province it was to transmit instructions to the admirals. Two conferences passed on this subject between the lords and commons. Trenchard delivered in his defence in writing; and was in his turn screened by the whole efforts of the ministry, in which the whig influence now predominated. Thus an inquiry of such national consequence, which took its rise from the king’s own expression of resentment against the delinquents, was stifled by the arts of the court, because it was likely to affect one of its creatures; for, though there was no premeditated treachery in the case, the interest of the public was certainly sacrificed to the mutual animosity of the ministers. The charge of lord Falkland being resumed in the house of commons, he appeared to have begged and received of the king the remaining two thousand pounds of money which had been paid by Rainsford: he was therefore declared guilty of a high misdemeanor and breach of trust, and committed to the Tower; from whence however he was in two days discharged upon his petition.

VAST SUMS GRANTED FOR THE SERVICES OF THE ENSUING YEAR.

Harley, Foley, and Harcourt, presented to the house a state of the receipts and issues of the revenue, together with two reports from the commissioners of accounts concerning sums issued for secret services, and to members of parliament. This was a discovery of the most scandalous practices in the mystery of corruption, equally exercised on the individuals of both parties, in occasional bounties, grants, places, pensions, equivalents, and additional salaries. The malcontents therefore justly observed, the house of commons was so managed that the king could baffle any bill, quash all grievances, stifle accounts, and rectify the articles of Limerick. When the commons took into consideration the estimates and supplies of the ensuing year, the king demanded forty thousand men for the navy, and above one hundred thousand for the purposes of the land service. Before the house considered these enormous demands, they granted four hundred thousand pounds by way of advance, to quiet the clamours of the seamen, who were become mutinous and desperate for want of pay, upwards of one million being due to them for wages. Then the commons voted the number of men required for the navy; but they were so ashamed of that for the army, that they thought it necessary to act in such a manner as should imply that they still retained some regard for their country. They called for all the treaties subsisting between the king and his allies; they examined the different proportions of the troops furnished by the respective powers; they considered the intended augmentations, and fixed the establishment of the year at four-score and three thousand, one hundred, and twenty-one men, including officers. For the maintenance of these they allotted the sum of two millions, five hundred and thirty thousand, five hundred and nine pounds. They granted two millions for the navy, and about five hundred thousand pounds, to make good the deficiencies of the annuity and poll bills; so that the supplies for the year amounted to about five millions and a half, raised by a land-tax of four shillings in the pound, by two more lives in the annuities, a further excise on beer, a new duty on salt, and a lottery.

Though the malcontents in parliament could not withstand this torrent of profusion, they endeavoured to distress the court interest, by reviving the popular bills of the preceding session; such as that for regulating trials in cases of high treason, the other for the more frequent calling and meeting of parliaments, and that concerning free and impartial proceedings in parliament. The first was neglected in the house of lords; the second was rejected; the third was passed by the commons, on the supposition that it would be defeated in the other house. The lords returned it with certain amendments, to which the commons would not agree: a conference ensued; the peers receded from their corrections, and passed the bill, to which the king however refused his assent. Nothing could be more unpopular and dangerous than such a step at this juncture. The commons, in order to recover some credit with the people, determined to disapprove of his majesty’s conduct. The house formed itself into a committee, to take the state of the kingdom into consideration. They resolved, that whoever advised the king to refuse the royal assent to that bill, was an enemy to their majesties and the kingdom. They likewise presented an address, expressing their concern that he had not given his consent to the bill; and beseeching his majesty to hearken for the future to the advice of his parliament, rather than to the counsels of particular persons, who might have private interests of their own, separate from those of his majesty and his people. The king thanked them for their zeal, professed a warm regard for their constitution, and assured them he would look upon all parties as enemies who should endeavour to lessen the confidence subsisting between the sovereign and the people. The members in the opposition were not at all satisfied with this general reply. A day being appointed to take it into consideration, a warm debate was maintained with equal eloquence and acrimony. At length the question being put that an address should be made for a more explicit answer, it passed in the negative by a great majority.

ESTABLISHMENT OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND.

The city of London petitioned that a parliamentary provision should be made for the orphans, whose fortunes they had scandalously squandered away. Such an application had been made in the preceding session, and rejected with disdain, as an imposition on the public; but now those scruples were removed, and the house passed a bill for this purpose, consisting of many clauses, extending to different charges on the city lands, aqueducts, and personal estates; imposing duties on binding apprentices, constituting freemen, as also upon wines and coals imported into London. On the twenty-third day of March these bills received the royal assent; and the king took that opportunity of recommending despatch, as the season of the year was far advanced, and the enemy diligently employed in making preparations for an early campaign. The scheme of a national bank, like those of Amsterdam and Genoa, had been recommended to the ministry as an excellent institution, as well for the credit and security of the government, as the increase of trade and circulation. One project was invented by Dr. Hugh Chamberlain, proposing the circulation of tickets on land security; but William Paterson was author of that which was carried into execution, by the interest of Michael Godfrey and other active projectors. The scheme was founded on the motion of a transferable fund, and a circulation by bill on the credit of a large capital. Forty merchants subscribed to the amount of five hundred thousand pounds, as a fund of ready money, to circulate one million at eight per cent, to be lent to the government; and even this fund of ready money bore the same interest. When it was properly digested in the cabinet, and a majority in parliament secured for its reception, the undertakers for the court introduced it into the house of commons, and expatiated upon the national advantages that would accrue from such a measure. They said it would rescue the nation out of the hands of extortioners and usurers, lower interest, raise the value of land, revive and establish public credit, extend circulation, consequently improve commerce, facilitate the annual supplies, and connect the people the more closely with the government. The project was violently opposed by a strong party, who affirmed that it would become a monopoly, and engross the whole money of the kingdom; that, as it must infallibly be subservient to government views, it might be employed to the worst purposes of arbitrary power; that instead of assisting it would weaken commerce, by tempting people to withdraw their money from trade and employ it in stock-jobbing; that it would produce a swarm of brokers and jobbers to prey upon their fellow-creatures, encourage fraud and gaming, and further corrupt the morals of the nation. Notwithstanding these objections, the bill made its way through the two houses, establishing the funds for the security and advantage of the subscribers; empowering their majesties to incorporate them by the name of the governor and company of the bank of England, under a proviso, that at any time after the first day of August, in the year one thousand seven hundred and five, upon a year’s notice, and the repayment of the twelve hundred thousand pounds, the said corporation should cease and determine. The bill likewise contained clauses of appropriation for the services of the public. The whole subscription was filled in ten clays after its being opened; and the court of directors completed the payment before the expiration of the time prescribed by the act, although they did not call in more than seven hundred and twenty thousand pounds of the money subscribed. All these funds proving inadequate to the estimates, the commons brought in a bill to impose stamp duties upon all vellum, parchment, and paper, used in almost every kind of intercourse between man and man; and they crowned the oppression of the year with another grievous tax upon carriages, under the name of a bill for licensing and regulating hackney and stage coaches.

EAST INDIA COMPANY’S CHArTER.

The commons, in a clause of the bill for taxing several joint-stocks, provided, that in case of a default in the payment of that tax, within the time limited by the act, the charter of the company so failing should be deemed void and forfeited. The East India company actually neglected their payment, and the public imagined the ministry would seize this opportunity of dissolving a monopoly against which so many complaints had been made; but the directors understood their own strength; and, instead of being broken, obtained the promise of a new charter. This was no sooner known, than the controversy between them and their adversaries was revived with such animosity, that the council thought proper to indulge both parties with a hearing. As this produced no resolution, the merchants who opposed the company petitioned, that, in the meanwhile, the new charter might be suspended. Addresses of the same kind were presented by a great number of clothiers, linen-drapers, and other dealers. To these a written answer was published by the company; the merchants printed a reply, in which they undertook to prove that the company had been guilty of unjust and unwarrantable actions, tending to the scandal of religion, the dishonour of the nation, the reproach of our laws, the oppression of the people, and the ruin of trade. They observed, that two private ships had exported in one year three times as many cloths as the company had exported in three years. They offered to send more cloth and English merchandise to the Indies in one year than the company had exported in five; to furnish the government with five hundred tons of saltpetre for less than one half of the usual price; and they represented, that the company could neither load the ships they petitioned for in England, nor reload them in the East Indies. In spite of all these remonstrances, the new charter passed the great seal; though the grants contained in it were limited in such a manner that they did not amount to an exclusive privilege, and subjected the company to such alterations, restrictions, and qualifications, as the king should direct before the twenty-ninth day of September. This indulgence, and other favours granted to the company, were privately purchased of the ministry, and became productive of a loud outcry against the government. The merchants published a journal of the whole transaction, and petitioned the house of commons that their liberty of trading to the East Indies might be confirmed by parliament. Another petition was presented by the company, praying that their charter might receive a parliamentary sanction. Both parties employed all their address in making private application to the members. The house having examined the different charters, the book of their new subscriptions, and every particular relating to the company, resolved that all the subjects of England had an equal right to trade to the East Indies unless prohibited by act of parliament.

GENERAL NATURALIZATION BILL.

But nothing engrossed the attention of the public more than a bill which was brought into the house for a general naturalization of all foreign protestants. The advocates for this measure alleged, That great part of the lands of England lay uncultivated; that the strength of a nation consisted in the number of inhabitants; that the people were thinned by the war and foreign voyages, and required an extraordinary supply; that a great number of protestants, persecuted in France and other countries, would gladly remove to a land of freedom, and bring along with them their wealth and manufactures; that the community had been largely repaid for the protection granted to those refugees who had already settled in the kingdom. They had introduced several new branches of manufacture, promoted industry, and lowered the price of labour; a circumstance of the utmost importance to trade, oppressed as it was with taxes, and exposed to uncommon hazard from the enemy. The opponents of the bill urged with great vehemence, That it would cheapen the birthright of Englishmen; that the want of culture was owing to the oppression of the times; that foreigners being admitted into the privileges of the British trade, would grow wealthy at the expense of their benefactors, and transfer the fortunes they had gained into their native country; that the reduction in the price of labour would be a national grievance, while so many thousands of English manufacturers were starving for want of employment, and the price of provisions continued so high that even those who were employed could scarce supply their families with bread; that the real design of the bill was to make such an accession to the dissenters as would render them an equal match in the body politic for those of the church of England; to create a greater dependence on the crown, and, in a word, to supply a foreign head with foreign members. Sir John Knight, a member of the house, in a speech upon this subject, exaggerated the bad consequences that would attend such a bill, with all the wit and virulence of satire: it was printed and dispersed through the kingdom, and raised such a flame among the people as had not appeared since the revolution. They exclaimed, that all offices would be conferred upon Dutchmen, who would become lord-danes, and prescribe the modes of religion and government; and they extolled sir John Knight as the saviour of the nation. The courtiers, incensed at the progress of this clamour, complained in the house of the speech which had been printed; and sir John was threatened with expulsion and imprisonment. He therefore thought proper to disown the paper, which was burned by the hands of the common hangman. This sacrifice served only to increase the popular disturbance, which rose to such a height of violence, that the court party began to tremble; and the bill was dropped for the present.

Lord Coningsby and Mr. Porter had committed the most flagrant acts of oppression in Ireland. These had been explained during the last session by the gentlemen who appealed against the administration of lord Sidney, but they were screened by the ministry; and therefore the earl of Bellamont now impeached them in the house of commons, of which he and they were members. After an examination of the articles exhibited against them, the commons, who were by this time at the devotion of the court, declared, that, considering the state of affairs in Ireland, they did not think them fit grounds for an impeachment.—In the course of this session, the nation sustained another misfortune in the fate of sir Francis Wheeler, who had been appointed commander-in-chief of the Mediterranean squadron. He received instructions to take under his convoy the merchant ships bound to Turkey, Spain, and Italy; to cruise thirty days in a certain latitude for the protection of the Spanish plate-fleet homeward bound; to leave part of his squadron at Cadiz as convoy to the trade for England; to proceed with the rest to the Mediterranean; to join the Spanish fleet in his return; and to act in concert with them, until he should be joined by the fleet from Turkey and the Straits, and accompany them back to England. About the latter end of October he set sail from Saint Helen’s, and in January arrived at Cadiz with the ships under his convoy. There leaving rear-admiral Hopson, he proceeded for the Mediterranean. In the bay of Gibraltar he was overtaken by a dreadful tempest, under a lee-shore, which he could not possibly weather, and where the ground was so foul that no anchor would hold. This expedient however was tried. A great number of ships were driven ashore, and many perished. The admiral’s ship foundered at sea, and he and all his crew were buried in the deep, except two Moors who were miraculously preserved. Two other ships of the line, three ketches, and six merchant ships were lost. The remains of the fleet were so much shattered, that, instead of prosecuting their voyage, they returned to Cadiz in order to be refitted, and sheltered from the attempts of the French squadrons, which were still at sea under the command of Chateau-Renaud and Cabaret. On the twenty-fifth day of April, the king-closed the session with a speech in the usual style, and the parliament was prorogued to the eighteenth day of September. 053 [See note K, at the end of this Vol.]

THE ENGLISH ATTEMPT TO MAKE A DESCENT IN CAMARET-BAY.

Louis of France being tired of the war, which had impoverished his country, continued to tamper with the duke of Savoy, and, by the canal of the pope, made some offers to the king of Spain, which were rejected. Meanwhile he resolved to stand upon the defensive during the ensuing campaign, in every part but Catalonia, where his whole naval force might co-operate with the count de Noailles, who commanded the land army. King William having received intelligence of the design upon Barcelona, endeavoured to prevent the junction of the Brest and Toulon squadrons, by sending Russel to sea as early as the fleet could be in a condition to sail; but before he arrived at Portsmouth, the Brest squadron had quitted that harbour. On the third day of May the admiral sailed from St. Helen’s with the combined squadrons of England and Holland, amounting to ninety ships of the line, besides frigates, fire-ships, and tenders. He detached captain Pritchard of the Monmouth with two fire-ships, to destroy a fleet of French merchant ships near Conquet-bay; and this service being performed, he returned to St. Helen’s, where he had left Adm. Cloudesley Shovel with a squadron, to take on board a body of land forces intended for a descent upon the coast of France. These being embarked under the command of general Ptolemache, the whole fleet sailed again on the twenty-ninth of May. The land and sea officers, in a council of war, agreed that part of the fleet designed for this expedition should separate from the rest and proceed to Camaret-bay, where the forces should be landed. On the fifth day of June, lord Berkeley, who commanded this squadron, parted with the grand fleet, and on the seventh anchored between the bays of Camaret and Bertaume. Next day the marquis of Carmarthen, afterwards duke of Leeds, who served under Berkeley as rear-admiral of the blue, entered Camaret-bay with two large ships and six frigates, to cover the troops in landing. The French had received intelligence of the design, and taken such precautions, under the conduct of the celebrated engineer Vauban, that the English were exposed to a terrible fire from new erected batteries, as well as from a strong body of troops, and though the ships cannonaded them with great vigour, the soldiers could not maintain any regularity in landing. A good number were killed in the open boats before they reached the shore; and those who landed were soon repulsed, in spite of all the endeavours of general Ptolemache, who received a wound in the thigh, which proved mortal. Seven hundred soldiers are said to have been lost on this occasion, besides those who were killed on board of the ships. The Monk ship of war was towed off with great difficulty; but a Dutch frigate of thirty guns fell into the hands of the enemy.

After this unfortunate attempt, lord Berkeley, with the advice of a council of war, sailed back for England, and at St. Helen’s received orders from the queen to call a council, and deliberate in what manner the ships and forces might be best employed. They agreed to make some attempt upon the coast of Normandy. With this view they set sail on the fifth day of July. They bombarded Dieppe, and reduced the greatest part of the town to ashes. Thence they steered to Havre-de-Grace, which met with the same fate. They harassed the French troops who marched after them along shore. They alarmed the whole coast, and filled every town with such consternation that they would have been abandoned by the inhabitants had not they been detained by military force. On the twenty-sixth of July, lord Berkeley returned to St. Helen’s, where he quitted the fleet, and the command devolved upon sir Cloudesley Shovel. This officer having received instructions to make an attempt upon Dunkirk, sailed round to the Downs, where he was joined by M. Meesters, with six-and-twenty Dutch pilots. On the twelfth of September he appeared before Dunkirk; and next day sent in the Charles galley, with two bomb-ketches, and as many of the machines called infernals. These were set on fire without effect, and the design miscarried; then Shovel steered to Calais, which having bombarded with little success, he returned to the coast of England; and the bomb-ketches and machines were sent into the river Thames.

ADMIRAL RUSSEL RELIEVES BARCELONA.

During these transactions, admiral Russel with the grand fleet sailed for the Mediterranean; and being joined by rear-admiral Neville from Cadiz, together with Callemberg and Evertzen, he steered towards Barcelona, which was besieged by the French fleet and army. At his approach, Tourville retired with precipitation into the harbour of Toulon; and Noailles abandoned his enterprise. The Spanish affairs were in such a deplorable condition, that without this timely assistance the kingdom must have been undone. While he continued in the Mediterranean, the French admiral durst not venture to appear at sea, and all his projects were disconcerted. After having asserted the honour of the British flag in those seas during the whole summer, he sailed in the beginning of November to Cadiz, where, by an express order of the king, he passed the winter, during which he took such precautions for preventing Tourville from passing the Straits, that he did not think proper to risk the passage.

CAMPAIGN IN FLANDERS.

It will now be necessary to describe the operations on the continent. In the middle of May king William arrived in Holland, where he consulted with the states-general. On the third day of June he repaired to Beth-lem-abbey near Louvain, the place appointed for the rendezvous of the army; and there he was met by the electors of Bavaria and Cologn. In a few days a numerous army was assembled, and every thing seemed to promise an active campaign. On the third day of June the dauphin assumed the command of the French forces, with which Luxembourg had taken post between Mons and Maubeuge; and passing the Sambre, encamped at Fleuras, but on the eighteenth he removed from thence, and took up his quarters between St. Tron and Wanheim; while the confederates lay at Roosbeck. On the eleventh of July, the dauphin marched in four columns to Oerle upon the Jaar, where he pitched his camp. On the twenty-second the confederates marched to Romale; then the dauphin took the route to Vignamont, where he secured his army by entrenchments, as his forces were inferior in number to those of the allies; and as he had been directed by his father to avoid an engagement. In this situation both armies remained till the fifteenth day of August, when king William sent the heavy baggage to Louvain; and on the eighteenth made a motion to Sombref. This was no sooner known to the enemy than they decamped; and having marched all night, posted themselves between Temploux and Masy, within a league and a half of the confederates. The king of England resolved to pass the Scheld, and with this view marched by the way of Nivelle and Soignes to Chievres; from thence he detached the duke of Wirtemberg, with a strong body of horse and foot, to pass the river at Oudenarde, while the elector of Bavaria advanced with another detachment to pass it at Pont de Espieres. Notwithstanding all the expedition they could make, their purpose was anticipated by Luxembourg, who being apprised of their route had detached four thousand horse, with each a foot soldier behind the trooper, to reinforce M. de Valette who commanded that part of the French line. These were sustained by a choice body of men, who travelled with great expedition without observing the formalities of a march. Mareschal de Villeroy followed the same route with all the cavalry of the right wing, the household troops, and twenty field-pieces; and the rest of the army was brought up by the dauphin in person. They marched with such incredible diligence, that the elector of Bavaria could scarce believe his own eyes when he arrived in sight of the Scheld and saw them intrenching themselves on the other side of the river. King William having reconnoitred their disposition, thought it impracticable to pass at that place; and therefore marched down the river to Oudenarde, where a passage had been already effected by the duke of Wirtemberg. Here the confederates passed the Scheld on the twenty-seventh day of the month; and the king fixed his head-quarters at Wanneghem. His intention was to have taken possession of Courtray, and established winter-quarters for a considerable part of his army in that district; but Luxembourg having posted himself between that place and Menin, extended his lines in such a manner that the confederates could not attempt to force them, nor even hinder him from subsisting his army at the enginse (expense ?) of the castellany of Courtray, during the remainder of the campaign. This surprising march was of such importance to the French king, that he wrote with his own hand a letter of thanks to his army; and ordered that it should be read to every particular squadron and battalion.

THE ALLIES REDUCE HUY.

The king of England, though disappointed in his scheme upon Courtray, found means to make some advantage of his superiority in number. He drafted troops from the garrison of Liege and Maestricht; and on the third day of September reinforced his body with a large detachment from his own camp, conferring the command upon the duke of Holstein-Ploen, with orders to undertake the siege of Huy. Next day the whole confederate forces passed the Lys, and encamped at Wouterghem. From thence the king with a part of the army marched to Roselsær; this diversion obliged the dauphin to make considerable detachments for the security of Ypres and Menin on the one side, and to cover Furnes and Dunkirk on the other. At this juncture, a Frenchman, being seized in the very act of setting fire to one of the ammunition waggons in the allied army, confessed he had been employed for this purpose by some of the French generals, and suffered death as a traitor. On the sixteenth day of the month the duke of Holstein-Ploen invested Huy, and earned on the siege with such vigour that in ten days the garrison capitulated. The king ordered Dixmuyde, Deynse, Ninove, and Tirelemont, to be secured for winter quarters to part of the army; the dauphin returned to Versailles; William quitted the camp on the last day of September; and both armies broke up about the middle of October.

The operations on the Rhine were preconcerted between king William and the prince of Baden, who had visited London in the winter. The dispute between the emperor and the elector of Saxony was compromised; and this young prince dying during the negotiation, the treaty was perfected by his brother and successor, who engaged to furnish twelve thousand men yearly, in consideration of a subsidy from the court of Vienna. In the beginning of June, mareschal de Lorges passed the Rhine at Philipsburgh, in order to give battle to the imperialists encamped at Halibron. The prince of Baden, who was not yet joined by the Saxons, Hessians, nor by the troops of Munster and Paderborn, dispatched couriers to quicken the march of these auxiliaries, and advanced to Eppingen, where he proposed to wait till they should come up; but on the fifteenth, receiving undoubted intelligence that the enemy were in motion towards him, he advanced to meet them in order of battle. De Lorges concluded that this was a desperate effort, and immediately halted to make the necessary preparations for an engagement. This pause enabled prince Louis to take possession of a strong pass near Sintzheim, from which he could not easily be dislodged. Then the mareschal proceeded to Viseloch, and ravaged the adjacent country, in hopes of drawing the imperialists from their intrenchments. The prince being joined by the Hessians, resolved to beat up the quarters of the enemy; and the French general being apprised of his design, retreated at midnight with the utmost precipitation. Having posted himself at Ruth, he sent his heavy baggage to Philipsburgh; then he moved to Gonsbergh in the neighbourhood of Manheim, repassed the Rhine, and encamped between Spires and Worms. The prince of Baden being joined by the allies, passed the river by a bridge of boats near Hagenbach, in the middle of September; and laid the country of Alsace under contribution. Considering the advanced season of the year this was a rash undertaking; and the French general resolved to profit by his enemy’s temerity. He forthwith advanced against the imperialists, foreseeing that should they be worsted in battle, their whole army would be ruined. Prince Louis, informed of his intention, immediately passed the Rhine; and this retreat was no sooner effected than the river swelled to such a degree that the island in the middle, and a great part of the camp he had occupied, was overflowed. Soon after this incident both armies retired into winter-quarters. The campaign in Hungary produced no event of importance. It was opened by the new vizier, who arrived at Belgrade in the middle of August: and about the same time Caprara assembled the imperial army in the neighbourhood of Peterwaraden. The Turks passed the Saave in order to attack their camp, and carried on their approaches with five hundred pieces of cannon; but made very little progress. The imperialists received reinforcements; the season wasted away; a feud arose between the vizier and the chain of the Tartars; and the Danube being swelled by heavy rains, so as to interrupt the operations of the Turks, their general decamped in the night of the first of October. They afterwards made an unsuccessful attempt upon Titul, while the imperial general made himself master of Giula. In the course of this summer the Venetians, who were also at war with the Turks, reduced Cyclut, a place of importance on the river Naranta, and made a conquest of the island of Scio in the Archipelago.

PROGRESS OF THE FRENCH.

We have already observed that the French king had determined to act vigorously in Catalonia. In the beginning of May, the duke de Noailles advanced at the head of eight and twenty thousand men to the river Ter, on the opposite bank of which the viceroy of Catalonia was encamped with sixteen thousand Spaniards. The French general passed the river in the face of this army, and attacked their intrenchments with such impetuosity, that in less than an hour they were totally defeated. Then he marched to Palamos, and undertook the siege of that place, while at the same time it was blocked up by the combined squadrons of Brest and Toulon. Though the besieged made an obstinate defence, the town was taken by storm, the houses were pillaged, and the people put to the sword, without distinction of age, sex, or condition. Then he invested Gironne, which in a few days capitulated. Ostalric met with the same fate, and Noailles was created viceroy of Catalonia by the French king. In the beginning of August he distributed his forces into quarters of refreshment along the river Ter-dore, resolving to undertake the siege of Barcelona, which was saved by the arrival of admiral Russel. The war languished in Piedmont, on account of a secret negotiation between the king of France and the duke of Savoy; notwithstanding the remonstrances of Rouvigny earl of Galway, who had succeeded the duke of Schomberg in the command of the British forces in that country. Casal was closely blocked up by the reduction of Fort St. George, and the Vaudois gained the advantage in some skirmishes in the valley of Ragclas; but no design of importance was executed.*

* In the course of this year, M. du Casse, governor of St. Domingo, made an unsuccessful attempt upon the Island of Jamaica; and M. St. Clair, with four men of war, formed a design against St. John’s, Newfoundland; but he was repulsed with loss by the valour of the inhabitants.

England had continued very quiet under the queen’s administration, if we except some little commotions occasioned by the practices, or pretended practices, of the Jacobites. Prosecutions were revived against certain gentlemen of Lancashire and Cheshire, for having been concerned in the conspiracy formed in favour of the late king’s projected invasion from Normandy. These steps were owing to the suggestions of infamous informers, whom the ministry countenanced. Colonel Parker and one Crosby were imprisoned, and bills of treason found against them; but Parker made his escape from the Tower, and was never retaken, though a reward of four hundred pounds was set upon his head. The king having settled the affairs of the confederacy at the Hague, embarked for England on the eighth of November, and next day landed at Margate. On the twelfth he opened the session of parliament with a speech, in which he observed that the posture of affairs was improved both by sea and land since they last parted; in particular, that a stop was put to the progress of the French arms. He desired they would continue the act of tonnage and poundage, which would expire at Christmas; he reminded them of the debt for the transport ships employed in the reduction of Ireland; and exhorted them to prepare some good bill for the encouragement of seamen. A majority in both houses was already secured; and in all probability he bargained for their condescension by agreeing to the bill for triennial parliaments. This Mr. Harley brought in by order of the lower house immediately after their first adjournment; and it kept pace with the consideration of the supplies. The commons having examined the estimates and accounts, voted four millions, seven hundred sixty-four thousand, seven hundred and twelve pounds, for the service of the army and navy. In order to raise this sum they continued the land tax; they renewed the subsidy of tonnage and poundage for five years, and imposed new duties on different commodities.* The triennial bill enacted, that a parliament should be held once within three years at least; that within three years at farthest after the dissolution of the parliament then subsisting, and so from time to time for ever after, legal writs under the great seal should be issued by the direction of the crown for calling, assembling, and holding another new parliament; that no parliament should continue longer than three years at farthest, to be accounted from the first day of the first session; and that the parliament then subsisting should cease and determine on the first day of November next following, unless their majesties should think fit to dissolve it sooner. The duke of Devonshire, the marquis of Halifax, the earls of Weymouth and Aylesbury, protested against this bill, because it tended to the continuance of the present parliament longer than, as they apprehended, was agreeable to the constitution of England.

* They imposed certain rates and duties upon marriages, births, and burials, bachelors, and widows. They passed an act for laying additional duties upon coffee, tea, and chocolate, towards paying the debt due for the transport ships: and another, imposing duties on glass ware, stone, and earthen bottles, coal, and culm.

DEATH OF ARCHBISHOP TILLOTSON AND OF QUEEN MARY

While this bill was depending, Dr. John Tillotson, archbishop of Canterbury, was seized with a fit of the dead palsy in the chapel of Whitehall, and died on the twenty-second day of November, deeply regretted by the king and queen, who shed tears of sorrow at his decease; and sincerely lamented by the public, as a pattern of elegance, ingenuity, meekness, charity, and moderation. These qualities he must be allowed to have possessed, notwithstanding the invectives of his enemies, who accused him of puritanism, flattery, and ambition; and charged him with having conduced to a dangerous schism in the church, by accepting the archbishopric during the life of the deprived Sancroft. He was succeeded in the metropolitan See by Dr. Tennison, bishop of Lincoln, recommended by the whig-party which now predominated in the cabinet. The queen did not long survive her favourite prelate. In about a month after his decease she was taken ill of the smallpox, and the symptoms proving dangerous, she prepared herself for death with great composure. She spent some time in exercises of devotion and private conversation with the new archbishop; she received the sacrament with all the bishops who were in attendance; and expired on the twenty-eighth day of December, in the thirty-third year of her age, and in the sixth of her reign, to the inexpressible grief of the king, who for some weeks after her death could neither see company nor attend to the business of state. Mary was in her person tall and well-proportioned, with an oval visage, lively eyes, agreeable features, a mild aspect, and an air of dignity. Her apprehension was clear, her memory tenacious, and her judgment solid. She was a zealous protestant, scrupulously exact in all the duties of devotion, of an even temper, and of a calm and mild conversation. She was ruffled by no passion, and seems to have been a stranger to the emotions of natural affection; for she ascended without compunction the throne from which her father had been deposed, and treated her sister as an alien to her blood. In a word, Mary seems to have imbibed the cold disposition and apathy of her husband; and to have centered all her ambition in deserving the epithet of an humble and obedient wife. 056 [See note L, at the end of this Vol.]

RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE KING AND THE PRINCESS OF DENMARK.

The princess Anne being informed of the queen’s dangerous indisposition, sent a lady of her bed-chamber to desire she might be admitted to her majesty; but this request was not granted. She was thanked for her expression of concern; and given to understand, that the physicians had directed that the queen should be kept as quiet as possible. Before her death, however, she sent a forgiving message to her sister; and after her decease, the earl of Sunderland effected a reconciliation between the king and the princess, who visited him at Kensington, where she was received with uncommon civility. He appointed the palace of St. James for her residence, and presented her with the greater part of the queen’s jewels. But a mutual jealousy and disgust subsisted under these exteriors of friendship and esteem. The two houses of parliament waited on the king at Kensington, with consolatory addresses on the death of his consort; their example was followed by the regency of Scotland, the city and clergy of London, the dissenting ministers, and almost all the great corporations in England.*

* The earls of Rochester and Nottingham are said to have started a doubt, whether the parliament was not dissolved by the queen’s death; but this dangerous motion met with no countenance.

CHAPTER V. WILLIAM.

Account of the Lancashire Plot..... The Commons inquire into the Abuses which had crept into the Army..... They expel and prosecute some of their own Members for Corruption in the Affair of the East India Company..... Examination of Cooke, Acton, and others..... The Commons impeach the Duke of Leeds..... The Parliament is prorogued..... Session of the Scottish Parliament..... They inquire into the Massacre of Glencoe..... They pass an Act for erecting a Trading Company to Africa and the Indies..... Proceedings in the Parliament of Ireland..... Disposition of the Armies in Flanders..... King William undertakes the Siege of Namur..... Famous Retreat of Prince Vaudemont..... Brussels is bombarded by Villeroy..... Progress of the Siege of Namur..... Villeroy attempts to relieve it..... The Besiegers make a desperate Assault..... The Place capitulates..... Boufflers is arrested by order of King William..... Campaign on the Rhine and in Hungary..... The Duke of Savoy takes Casal..... Transactions in Catalonia..... The English Fleet bombard’s St. Maloes and other places on the Coast of France..... Wilmot’s expedition to the West Indies..... A new Parliament..... They pass the Bill for regulating Trials in Cases of High Treason..... Resolutions with respect to the new Coinage..... The Commons address the King to recall a Grant he had made to the Earl of Portland..... Another against the new Scottish Company..... Intrigues of the Jacobites..... Conspiracy against the life of William..... Design of an Invasion defeated..... The two Houses engage in an Association for the Defence of his Majesty..... Establishment of a Land Bank..... Trial of the Conspirators..... The Allies burn the Magazine at Civet..... Louis the Fourteenth makes Advances towards a Peace with Holland..... He detaches the Duke of Savoy from the Confederacy..... Naval Transactions..... Proceedings in the Parliaments of Scotland and Ireland..... Zeal of the English Commons in their Affection to the King..... Resolutions touching the Coin and the support of Public Credit..... Enormous Impositions..... Sir John Fen- wick is apprehended..... A Bill of Attainder being brought into the House against him produces violent Debates..... His Defence..... The Bill passes..... Sir John Fenwick is beheaded..... The Earl of Monmouth sent to the Tower..... Inquiry into Miscarriages by Sea..... Negotiations at Ryswick..... The French take Barcelona..... Fruitless Expedition of Admiral Neville to the West Indies..... The Elector of Saxony is chosen King of Poland..... Peter the Czar of Muscovy travels in Disguise with his own Ambassadors ..... Proceedings in the Congress at Ryswick..... The Ambassadors of England, Spain, and Holland, sign the Treaty..... A general Pacification.

ACCOUNT OF THE LANCASHIRE PLOT.

THE kingdom now resounded with the complaints of the papists and malcontents, who taxed the ministry with subornation of perjury in the case of the Lancashire gentlemen who had been persecuted for the conspiracy. One Lunt, an Irishman, had informed sir John Trench-ard, secretary of state, that he had been sent from Ireland with commissions from king James to divers gentlemen in Lancashire and Cheshire; that he had assisted in buying arms and enlisting men to serve that king in his projected invasion of England; that he had been twice despatched by those gentlemen to the court of St. Germain’s, assisted many Jacobites in repairing to France, helped to conceal others that came from that kingdom; and that all those persons told him they were furnished with money by sir John Friend, to defray the expense of their expeditions. His testimony was confirmed by other infamous emissaries, who received but too much countenance from the government. Blank warrants were issued, and filled up occasionally with such names as the informers suggested. These were delivered to Aaron Smith, solicitor to the treasury, who with messengers accompanied Lunt and his associates to Lancashire, under the protection of a party of Dutch horse-guards commanded by one captain Baker. They were empowered to break open houses, seize papers, and apprehend persons, according to their pleasure; and they committed many acts of violence and oppression. The persons against whom these measures were taken, being apprized of the impending danger, generally retired from their own habitations. Some, however, were taken and imprisoned; a few arms were secured; and in the house of Mr. Standish, at Standish-hall, they found the draft of a declaration to be published by king James at his landing. As this prosecution seemed calculated to revive the honour of a stale conspiracy, and the evidences were persons of abandoned characters, the friends of those who were persecuted found no great difficulty in rendering the scheme odious to the nation. They even employed the pen of Ferguson, who had been concerned in every plot that was hatched since the Rye-house conspiracy. This veteran, though appointed housekeeper to the excise-office, thought himself poorly recompensed for the part he had acted in the revolution, became dissatisfied, and upon this occasion published a letter to sir John Trenchard on the abuse of power. It was replete with the most bitter invectives against the ministry, and contained a great number of flagrant instances in which the court had countenanced the vilest corruption, perfidy, and oppression. This production was in every body’s hand, and had such an effect upon the people, that when the prisoners were brought to trial at Manchester, the populace would have put the witnesses to death had they not been prevented by the interposition of those who were friends of the accused persons, and had already taken effectual measures for their safety. Lunt’s chief associate in the mystery of information was one Taaffe, a wretch of the most profligate principles, who, finding himself disappointed in his hope of reward from the ministry, was privately gained over by the agents for the prisoners. Lunt, when desired in court to point out the persons whom he had accused, committed such a mistake as greatly invalidated his testimony; and Taaffe declared before the bench, that the pretended plot was no other than a contrivance between himself and Lunt in order to procure money from the government. The prisoners were immediately acquitted, and the ministry incurred a heavy load of popular odium, as the authors or abettors of knavish contrivances to insnare the innocent. The government, with a view to evince their abhorrence of such practices, ordered the witnesses to be prosecuted for a conspiracy against the lives and estates of the gentlemen who had been accused; and at last the affair was brought into the house of commons. The Jacobites triumphed in their victory. They even turned the battery of corruption upon the evidence for the crown, not without making a considerable impression. But the cause was now debated before judges who were not at all propitious to their views. The commons having set on foot an inquiry, and examined all the papers and circumstances relating to the pretended plot, resolved that there was sufficient ground for the prosecution and trials of the gentlemen at Manchester; and that there was a dangerous conspiracy against the king and government. They issued an order for taking Mr. Standish into custody; and the messenger reporting that he was not to be found, they presented an address to the king, desiring a proclamation might be published offering a reward for apprehending his person. The peers concurred with the commons in their sentiments of this affair; for complaints having been laid before their house also by the persons who thought themselves aggrieved, the question was put whether the government had cause to prosecute them, and carried in the affirmative, though a protest was entered against this vote by the earls of Rochester and Nottingham. Notwithstanding these decisions, the accused gentlemen prosecuted Lunt and two of his accomplices for perjury at the Lancaster assizes, and all three were found guilty. They were immediately indicted by the crown for a conspiracy against the lives and liberties of the persons they had accused. The intention of the ministry in laying this indictment was to seize the opportunity of punishing some of the witnesses for the gentlemen who had prevaricated in giving their testimony; but their design being discovered, the Lancashire men refused to produce their evidence against the informers; the prosecution dropped of consequence, and the prisoners were discharged.

INQUIRY INTO THE ABUSES IN THE ARMY.

When the commons were employed in examining the state of the revenue, and taking measures for raising the necessary supplies, the inhabitants of Royston presented a petition, complaining that the officers and soldiers of the regiment belonging to colonel Hastings, which was quartered upon them, exacted subsistence-money, even on pain of military execution. The house was immediately kindled into a flame by this information. The officers and Pauncefort, agent for the regiment, were examined: then it was unanimously resolved that such a practice was arbitrary, illegal, and a violation of the rights and liberties of the subject. Upon further inquiry, Pauncefort and some other agents were committed to the custody of the sergeant, for having neglected to pay the subsistence money they had received for the officers and soldiers. He was afterwards sent to the Tower, together with Henry Guy, a member of the house and secretary to the treasury, the one for giving and the other for receiving a bribe to obtain the king’s bounty. Pauncefort’s brother was likewise committed for being concerned in the same commerce. Guy had been employed, together with Trevor the speaker, as the court-agent for securing a majority in the house of commons; for that reason he was obnoxious to the members in the opposition, who took this opportunity to brand him, and the courtiers could not with any decency screen him from their vengeance. The house having proceeded in this inquiry, drew up an address to the king, enumerating the abuses which had crept into the army, and demanding immediate redress. He promised to consider the remonstrance and redress the grievances of which they complained. Accordingly, he cashiered colonel Hastings; appointed a council of officers to sit weekly and examine all complaints against any officer and soldier; and published a declaration for the maintenance of strict discipline, and the due payment of quarters. Notwithstanding these concessions, the commons prosecuted their examinations: they committed Mr. James Craggs, one of the contractors for clothing the army, because he refused to answer upon oath to such questions as might be put to him by the commissioners of accounts. They brought in a bill for obliging him and Mr. Richard Harnage, the other contractor, together with the two Paunceforts, to discover how they had disposed of the sums paid into their hands on account of the army, and for punishing them in case they should persist in their refusal. At this period they received a petition against the commissioners for licensing hackney-coaches. Three of them, by means of an address to the king, were removed with disgrace for having acted arbitrarily, corruptly, and contrary to the trust reposed in them by act of parliament.

Those who encouraged this spirit of reformation, introduced another inquiry about the orphans’ bill, which was said to have passed into an act by virtue of undue influence. A committee being appointed to inspect the chamberlain’s books, discovered that bribes had been given to sir John Trevor, speaker of the house, and Mr. Hungerford, chairman of the grand committee. The first being voted guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor, abdicated the chair, and Paul Foley was appointed speaker in his room. Then sir John and Hungerford were expelled the house: one Nois, a solicitor for the bill, was taken into custody because he had scandalized the commons, in pretending he was engaged to give great sums to several members, and denying this circumstance on his examination. The reformers in the house naturally concluded that the same arts had been practised in obtaining the new charter of the East India company, which had been granted so much against the sense of the nation. Their books were subjected to the same committee that carried on the former inquiry, and a surprising scene of venality and corruption was soon disclosed. It appeared that the company, in the course of the preceding year, had paid near ninety thousand rounds in secret services, and that sir Thomas Cooke, one of the directors, and a member of the house, had been the chief managers of this infamous commerce. Cooke, refusing to answer, was committed to the Tower, and a bill of pains and penalties brought in obliging him to discover how the sum mentioned in the report of the committee had been distributed. The bill was violently opposed in the upper house by the duke of Leeds, as being contrary to law and equity, and furnishing a precedent of a dangerous nature. Cooke, agreeably to his own petition, being brought to the bar of the house of lords, declared that he was ready and willing to make a full discovery, in case he might be favoured with an indemnifying vote to secure him against all actions and suits, except those of the East India company which he had never injured. The lords complied with his request and passed a bill for this purpose, to which the commons added a penal clause, and the former was laid aside.

EXAMINATION OF COOKE, ACTON, AND OTHERS.

When the king went to the house to give the royal assent to the money-bills, he endeavoured to discourage this inquiry by telling the parliament that the season of the year was far advanced, and the circumstances of affairs extremely pressing, he therefore desired they would despatch such business as they should think of most importance to the public, as he should put an end to the session in a few days. Notwithstanding this shameful interposition, both houses appointed a joint committee to lay open the complicated scheme of fraud and iniquity. Cooke, on his first examination, confessed that he had delivered tallies for ten thousand pounds to Francis Tyssen, deputy-governor, for the special service of the company; an equal sum to Richard Acton, for employing his interest in preventing a new settlement, and endeavouring to establish the old company; besides two thousand pounds by way of interest and as a further gratuity; a thousand guineas to colonel Fitzpatrick, five hundred to Charles Bates, and three hundred and ten to Mr. Molinenx, a merchant, for the same purpose; and he owned that sir Basil Firebrace had received forty thousand pounds on various pretences. He said he believed the ten thousand pounds paid to Tyssen had been delivered to the king by sir Josiah Child, as a customary present which former kings had received, and that the sums paid to Acton were distributed among some members of parliament. Firebrace being examined, affirmed that he had received the whole forty thousand pounds for his own use and benefit; but that Bates had received sums of money, which he understood were offered to some persons of the first quality. Acton declared that ten thousand pounds of the sum which he had received was distributed among persons who had interest with members of parliament, and that great part of the money passed through the hands of Craggs, who was acquainted with some colonels in the house and northern members. Bates owned he had received the money in consideration of using his interest with the duke of Leeds in favour of the company; that this nobleman knew of the gratuity; and that the sum was reckoned by his grace’s domestic, one Robart, a foreigner, who kept it in his possession until this inquiry was talked of, and then it was returned. In a word, it appeared by this man’s testimony, as well as by that of Firebrace on his second examination, that the duke of Leeds was not free from corruption, and that sir John Trevor was a hireling prostitute.

THE DUKE OF LEEDS IMPEACHED.

The report of the committee produced violent altercations, and the most severe strictures upon the conduct of the lord president. At length the house resolved that there was sufficient matter to impeach Thomas, duke of Leeds, of high crimes and misdemeanors, and that he should be impeached thereupon. Then it was ordered that Mr. comptroller Wharton should impeach him before the lords in the name of the house and of all the commons in England. The duke was actually in the middle of a speech for his own justification, in which he assured the house, upon his honour, that he was not guilty of the corruptions laid to his charge, when one of his friends gave him intimation of the votes which had passed in the commons. He concluded his speech abruptly, and repairing to the lower house, desired he might be indulged with a hearing. He was accordingly admitted, with the compliment of a chair, and leave to be covered. After having sat a few minutes, he took off his hat and addressed himself to the commons in very extraordinary terms. Having thanked them for the favour of indulging him with a hearing, he said that house would not have been then sitting but for him. He protested his own innocence with respect to the crime laid to his charge. He complained that this was the effect of a design which had been long formed against him. He expressed a deep sense of his being under the displeasure of the parliament and nation, and demanded speedy justice. They forthwith drew up the articles of impeachment, which being exhibited at the bar of the upper house, he pleaded not guilty, and the commons promised to make good their charge; but by this time such arts had been used as all at once checked the violence of the prosecution. Such a number of considerable persons were involved in this mystery of corruption, that a full discovery was dreaded by both parties. The duke sent his domestic Robart out of the kingdom, and his absence furnished a pretence for postponing the trial. In a word, the inquiry was dropped; but the scandal stuck fast to the duke’s character.

In the midst of these deliberations, the king went to the house on the third day of May, when he thanked the parliament for the supplies they had granted; signified his intention of going abroad; assured them he would place the administration of affairs in persons of known care and fidelity; and desired that the members of both houses would be more than ordinarily vigilant in preserving the public peace. The parliament was then prorogued to the eighteenth of June. 058 [See note M, at the end of this Vol.] The king immediately appointed a regency to govern the kingdom in his absence; but neither the princess of Denmark nor her husband were intrusted with any share in the administration—a circumstance that evinced the king’s jealousy, and gave offence to a great part of the nation. 059 [See note N, at the end of this Vol.]

THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT.

A session of parliament was deemed necessary in Scotland, to provide new subsidies for the maintenance of the troops of that kingdom, which had been so serviceable in the prosecution of the war. But as a great outcry had been raised against the government on account of the massacre of Glencoe, and the Scots were tired of contributing towards the expense of a war from which they could derive no advantage, the ministry thought proper to cajole them with the promise of some national indulgence. In the meantime, a commission passed the great seal for taking a precognition of the massacre, as a previous step to the trial of the persons concerned in that perfidious transaction. On the ninth day of May, the session was opened by the marquis of Tweedale, appointed commissioner, who, after the king’s letter had been read, expatiated on his majesty’s care and concern for their safety and welfare; and his firm purpose to maintain the presbyterian discipline in the church of Scotland. Then he promised, in the king’s name, that if they would pass an act for establishing a colony in Africa, America, or any other part of the world where a colony might be lawfully planted, his majesty would indulge them with such rights and privileges as he had granted in like cases to the subjects of his other dominions. Finally, he exhorted them to consider ways and means to raise the necessary supplies for maintaining their land forces, and for providing a competent number of ships of war to protect their commerce. The parliament immediately voted an address of condolence to his majesty on the death of the queen; and they granted one hundred and twenty thousand pounds sterling for the service of the ensuing year, to be raised by a general poll-tax, a land-tax, and an additional excise.

THEY INQUIRE INTO THE MASSACRE OF GLENCOE.

Their next step was to desire the commissioner would transmit their humble thanks to the king for his care to vindicate the honour of the government and the justice of the nation, in ordering a precognition to be taken with respect to the slaughter of Glencoe. A motion was afterwards made that the commissioners should exhibit an account of their proceedings in this affair; accordingly a report, consisting of the king’s instructions, Dalrymple’s letters, the depositions of witnesses, and the opinion of the committee, was laid before the parliament. The motion is said to have been privately influenced by secretary Johnston, for the disgrace of Dalrymple, who was his rival in power and interest. The written opinion of the commissioners, who were creatures of the court, imported, That Macdonald of Glencoe had been perfidiously murdered; that the king’s instructions contained nothing to warrant the massacre; and that secretary Dalrymple had exceeded his orders. The parliament concurred with this report. They resolved, That Livingston was not to blame for having given the orders contained in his letters to lieutenant-colonel Hamilton; that this last was liable to prosecution; that the king should be addressed to give orders, either for examining major Duncanson in Flanders, touching his concern in this affair, or for sending him home to be tried in Scotland; as also, that Campbell of Glenlyon; captain Drummond, lieutenant Lindsey, ensign Lundy, and sergeant Barber, should be sent to Scotland, and prosecuted according to law, for the parts they had acted in that execution. In consequence of these resolutions, the parliament drew up an address to the king, in which they laid the whole blame of the massacre upon the excess in the master of Stair’s letters concerning that transaction. They begged that his majesty would give such orders about him, as he should think fit for the vindication of his government; that the actors in that barbarous slaughter might be prosecuted by the king’s advocate according to law; and that some reparation might be made to the men of Glencoe who escaped the massacre, for the losses they had sustained in their effects upon that occasion, as their habitations had been plundered and burned, their lands wasted, and their cattle driven away; so that they were reduced to extreme poverty. Notwithstanding this address of the Scottish parliament, by which the king was so solemnly exculpated, his memory is still loaded with the suspicion of having concerted, countenanced, and enforced this barbarous execution, especially as the master of Stair escaped with impunity, and the other actors of the tragedy, far from being punished, were preferred in the service. While the commissioners were employed in the inquiry, they made such discoveries concerning the conduct of the earl of Breadalbane, as amounted to a charge of high treason; and he was committed prisoner to the castle of Edinburgh; but it seems he had dissembled with the highlanders by the king’s permission, and now sheltered himself under the shadow of a royal pardon.

THEY PASS AN ACT FOR ERECTING A TRADING COMPANY.

The committee of trade, in pursuance of the powers granted by the king to his commissioner, prepared an act for establishing a company trading to Africa and the Indies, empowering them to plant colonies, hold cities, towns, or forts, in places uninhabited, or in others with the consent of the natives; vesting them with an exclusive right, and an exemption for one-and-twenty years from all duties and impositions. This act was likewise confirmed by letters patent under the great seal, directed by the parliament, without any further warrant from the crown. Paterson, the projector, had contrived the scheme of a settlement upon the isthmus of Darien, in such a manner as to carry on a trade in the South Sea as well as in the Atlantic; nay, even to extend it as far as the East Indies: a great number of London merchants, allured by the prospect of gain, were eager to engage in such a company, exempted from all manner of imposition and restriction. The Scottish parliament likewise passed an act in favour of the episcopal clergy, decreeing, That those who should enter into such engagements to the king as were by law required, might continue in their benefices under his majesty’s protection, without being subject to the power of presbytery. Seventy of the most noted ministers of that persuasion took the benefit of this indulgence. Another law was enacted, for raising nine thousand men yearly to recruit the Scottish regiments abroad; and an act for erecting a public bank; then the parliament was adjourned to the seventh day of November.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.

Ireland began to be infected with the same factions which had broke out in England since the revolution: lord Capel, lord-deputy, governed in a very partial manner, oppressing the Irish papists without any regard to equity or decorum. He undertook to model a parliament in such a manner that they should comply with all the demands of the ministry; and he succeeded in his endeavours by making such arbitrary changes in offices as best suited his purpose. These precautions being taken, he convoked a parliament for the twenty-seventh day of August, when he opened the session with a speech, expatiating upon their obligations to king-William, and exhorting them to make suitable returns to such a gracious sovereign. He observed, that the revenue had fallen short of the establishment; so that both the civil and military lists were greatly in debt; that his majesty had sent over a bill for an additional excise, and expected they would find ways and means to answer the demands of the service. They forthwith voted an address of thanks, and resolved to assist his majesty to the utmost of their power, against all his enemies, foreign and domestic. They passed the bill for an additional excise, together with an act for taking away the writ “De heretico comburendo;” another annulling all attainders and acts passed in the late pretended parliament of king James; a third to prevent foreign education; a fourth for disarming papists; and a fifth for settling the estates of intestates. Then they resolved, That a sum not exceeding one hundred and sixty-three thousand three hundred and twenty-five pounds, should be granted to his majesty; to be raised by a poll-bill, additional customs, and a continuation of the additional excise. Sir Charles Porter, the chancellor, finding his importance diminished, if not entirely destroyed, by the assuming disposition and power of the lord-deputy, began to court popularity by espousing the cause of the Irish against the severity of the administration, and actually formed a kind of tory interest which thwarted lord Capel in all his measures. A motion was made in parliament to impeach the chancellor for sowing discord and division among his majesty’s subjects; but being indulged with a hearing by the house of commons, he justified himself so much to their satisfaction, that he was voted clear of all imputation by a great majority. Nevertheless, they, at the end of the session, sent over an address, in which they bore testimony to the mild and just administration of their lord-deputy.

DISPOSITION OF THE ARMIES.

King William having taken such steps as were deemed necessary for preserving the peace of England in his absence, crossed the sea to Holland in the middle of May, fully determined to make some great effort in the Netherlands that might aggrandize his military character, and humble the power of France which was already on the decline. That kingdom was actually exhausted in such a manner that the haughty Louis found himself obliged to stand upon the defensive against enemies over whom he had been used to triumph with uninterrupted success. He heard the clamours of his people which he could not quiet; he saw his advances to peace rejected; and to crown his misfortunes, he sustained an irreparable loss in the death of Francis de Montmorency, duke of Luxembourg, to whose military talents he owed the greatest part of his glory and success. That great officer died in January at Versailles, in the sixty-seventh year of his age; and Louis lamented his death the more deeply, as he had not another general left in whose understanding he could confide. The conduct of the army in Flanders was intrusted to mareschal Villeroy, and Boufflers commanded a separate army though subject to the other’s orders. As the French king took it for granted that the confederates would have a superiority of numbers in the field, and was well acquainted with the enterprising genius of their chief, he ordered a new line to be drawn between Lys and the Scheld; he caused a disposition to be made for covering Dunkirk, Ypres, Tournay, and Namur; and laid injunctions on his general to act solely on the defensive. Meanwhile, the confederates formed two armies in the Netherlands. The first consisted of seventy battalions of infantry, and eighty-two squadrons of horse and dragoons, chiefly English and Scots, encamped at Ærseele, Caneghem, and Wouterghem, between Thield and Deynse, to be commanded by the king in person, assisted by the old prince of Vaudemont. The other army, composed of sixteen battalions of foot and one hundred and thirty squadrons of horse, encamped at Zellich and Hamme, on the road from Brussels to Dendermonde, under the command of the elector of Bavaria, seconded by the duke of Holstein-Ploen. Major-general Ellemberg was posted near Dixmuyde with twenty battalions and ten squadrons; and another body of Brandenburg and Dutch troops, with a reinforcement from Liege, lay encamped on the Mehaigne, under the conduct of the baron de Heyden, Lieutenant-general of Brandenburgh, and the count de Berlo, general of the Liege cavalry. King-William arrived in the camp on the fifth clay of July, and remained eight days at Ærseele. Then he marched to Bekelar, while Villeroy retired behind his lines between Menin and Ypres, after having detached ten thousand men to reinforce Boufflers, who had advanced to Pont d’Espieres; but he too retreating within his lines, the elector of Bavaria passed the Scheld and took post at Kirkhoven; at the same time the body under Heyden advanced towards Namur.

WILLIAM UNDERTAKES THE SIEGE OF NAMUR.

The king of England having by his motions drawn the forces of the enemy on the side of Flanders, directed the baron de Heyden and the earl of Athlone, who commanded forty squadrons from the camp of the elector of Bavaria, to invest Namur, and this service was performed on the third day of July; but as the place was not entirely surrounded, mareschal Boufflers threw himself into it with such a reinforcement of dragoons as augmented the garrison to the number of fifteen thousand chosen men. King William and the elector brought up the rest of the forces, which encamped on both sides of the Sambre and the Mose, and the lines of circumvallation were begun on the sixth day of July under the direction of the celebrated engineer, general Coehorn. The place was formerly very strong, both by situation and art; but the French, since its last reduction, had made such additional works that both the town and citadel seemed impregnable. Considering the number of the garrison and the quality of the troops, commanded by a mareschal of France distinguished by his valour and conduct, the enterprise was deemed an undeniable proof of William’s temerity. On the eleventh the trenches were opened, and next day the batteries began to play with incredible fury. The king receiving intelligence of a motion made by a body of French troops with a view to intercept the convoys, detached twenty squadrons of horse and dragoons to observe the enemy.

FAMOUS RETREAT OF PRINCE VAUDEMONT.

Prince Vaudemont, who was left at Roselsær with fifty battalions, and the like number of squadrons, understanding that Villeroy had passed the Lys in order to attack him, took post with his left near Grammen, his right by Ærseele and Caneghem, and began to fortify his camp with a view to expect the enemy. Their vanguard appearing on the evening of the thirteenth at Dentreghem, he changed the disposition of his camp, and intrenched himself on both sides. Next day, however, perceiving Villeroy’s design was to surround him by means of another body of troops commanded by M. Montai, who had already passed the Scheld for that purpose, he resolved to avoid an engagement, and effected a retreat to Ghent, which is celebrated as one of the most capital efforts of military conduct. He forthwith detached twelve battalions and twelve pieces of cannon to secure Newport, which Villeroy had intended to invest; but that general now changed his resolution, and undertook the siege of Dixmuyde, garrisoned by eight battalions of foot and a regiment of dragoons, commanded by major-general Ellemberg, who in six-and-thirty hours after the trenches were opened, surrendered himself and his soldiers prisoners of war. This scandalous example was followed by colonel O’Farrel, who yielded up Deynse on the same shameful conditions, even before a battery was opened by the besiegers. In the sequel, they were both tried for their misbehaviour; Ellemberg suffered death, and O’Farrel was broke with infamy. The prince of Vaudemont sent a message to the French general, demanding the garrisons of those two places, according to a cartel which had been settled between the powers at war; but no regard was paid to this remonstrance. Villeroy, after several marches and countermarches, appeared before Brussels on the thirteenth day of August, and sent a letter to the prince of Berghem, governor of that city, importing that the king his master had ordered him to bombard the town, by way of making reprisals for the damage done by the English fleet to the maritime towns of France; he likewise desired to know in what part the electress of Bavaria resided, that he might not fire into that quarter. After this declaration, which was no more than an unmeaning compliment, he began to bombard and cannonade the place with red-hot bullets, which produced conflagrations in many different parts of the city, and frightened the electress into a miscarriage. On the fifteenth, the French discontinued their firing, and retired to Enghein.

During these transactions, the siege of Namur was prosecuted with great ardour under the eye of the king of England; while the garrison defended the place with equal spirit and perseverance. On the eighteenth day of July, major-general Ramsay and lord Cutis, at the head of five battalions, English, Scots, and Dutch, attacked the enemy’s advanced works on the right of the counterscarp. They were sustained by six English battalions commanded by brigadier-general Fitzpatrick; while eight foreign regiments, with nine thousand pioneers, advanced on the left under major-general Salish. The assault was desperate and bloody, the enemy maintaining their ground for two hours with undaunted courage; but at last they were obliged to give way, and were pursued to the very gates of the town, though not before they had killed or wounded twelve hundred men of the confederate army. The king was so well pleased with the behaviour of the British troops, that during the action he laid his hand upon the shoulder of the elector of Bavaria, and exclaimed with emotion, “See, my brave English.” On the twenty-seventh the English and Scots, lander Ramsay and Hamilton, assaulted the counterscarp, where they met with prodigious opposition from the fire of the besieged. Nevertheless, being sustained by the Dutch, they made a lodgement on the foremost covered-way before the gate of St. Nicholas, as also upon part of the counterscarp. The valour of the assailants on this occasion was altogether unprecedented, and almost incredible; while on the other hand the courage of the besieged was worthy of praise and admiration. Several persons were killed in the trenches at the side of the king, and among these Mr. Godfrey, deputy-governor of the bank of England, who had come to the camp to confer with his majesty about remitting money for the payment of the army. On the thirtieth day of July the elector of Bavaria attacked Vauban’s line that surrounded the works of the castle. General Coehorn was present in this action, which was performed with equal valour and success. They not only broke the line, but even took possession of Coehorn’s fort, in which however they found it impossible to effect a lodgement. On the second day of August, lord Cutts, with four hundred English and Dutch grenadiers, attacked the salient angle of a demi-bastion, and lodged himself on the second counterscarp. The breaches being now practicable, and preparations made for a general assault, count Guiscard the governor capitulated for the town on the fourth of August; and the French retired into the citadel, against which twelve batteries played upon the thirteenth. The trenches meanwhile were carried on with great expedition, notwithstanding all the efforts of the besieged, who fired without ceasing, and exerted amazing diligence and intrepidity in defending and repairing the damage they sustained. At length the annoyance became so dreadful from the unintermitting showers of bombs and red-hot bullets, that Boufflers, after having made divers furious sallies, formed a scheme for breaking through the confederate camp with his cavalry. This however was prevented by the extreme vigilance of king William.

After the bombardment of Brussels, Villeroy, being-reinforced with all the troops that could be drafted from garrisons, advanced towards Namur with an army of ninety thousand men; and prince Vaudemont, being joined by the prince of Hesse with a strong body of forces from the Rhine, took possession of the strong camp at Masy, within five English miles of the besieging army. The king understanding that the enemy had reached Fleurus, where they discharged ninety pieces of cannon as a signal to inform the garrison of their approach, left the conduct of the siege to the elector of Bavaria, and took upon himself the command of the covering army, in order to oppose Villeroy, who being further reinforced by a detachment from Germany, declared that he would hazard a battle for the relief of Namur. But when he viewed the posture of the allies near Masy, he changed his resolution and retired in the night without noise. On the thirtieth day of August, the besieged were summoned to surrender, by count Horn, who in a parley with the count de Lamont, general of the French infantry, gave him to understand that mareschal Villeroy had retired towards the Mehaigne; so that the garrison could not expect to be relieved. No immediate answer being returned to this message, the parley was broke off, and the king resolved to proceed without delay to a general assault, which he had already planned with the elector and his other generals. Between one and two in the afternoon, lord Cutts, who desired the command though it was not his turn of duty, rushed out of the trenches of the second line, at the head of three hundred grenadiers, to make a lodgement in the breach of Terra-nova, supported by the regiments of Coulthorp, Buchan, Hamilton, and Mackay; while colonel Marselly with a body of Dutch, the Bavarians, and Brandenburghers, attacked at two other places. The assailants met with such a warm reception, that the English grenadiers were repulsed, even after they had mounted the breach, lord Cutts being for some time disabled by a shot in the head. Marselly was defeated, taken, and afterwards killed by a. cannon ball from the batteries of the besiegers. The Bavarians by mistaking their way were exposed to a terrible fire, by which their general count Rivera, and a great number of their officers, were slain: nevertheless, they fixed themselves on the outward intrenchment on the point of the Coehorn next to the Sambre, and maintained their ground with amazing fortitude. Lord Cutts, when his wound was dressed, returned to the scene of action, and ordered two hundred chosen men of Mackay’s regiment, commanded by lieutenant Cockle, to attack the face of the salient angle next to the breach sword in hand, while the ensigns of the same regiment should advance and plant their colours on the pallisadoes. Coekle and his detachment executed the command he had received with admirable intrepedity. They broke through the pallisadoes, drove the French from the covered way, made a lodgement in one of the batteries, and turned the cannon against the enemy. The Bavarians being thus sustained, made their post good. The major-generals La Cave and Schwerin lodged themselves at the same time on the covered way; and though the general assault did not succeed in its full extent, the confederates remained masters of a very considerable lodgement, nearly an English mile in length. Yet this was dearly purchased with the lives of two thousand men, including many officers of great rank and reputation. During the action the elector of Bavaria signalised his courage in a very remarkable manner, riding from place to place through the hottest of the fire, giving his directions with notable presence of mind, according to the emergency of circumstances, animating the officers with praise and promise of preferment, and distributing handfuls of gold among the private soldiers.

On the first day of September, the besieged having obtained a cessation of arms that their dead might be buried, the count de Guiscard appearing on the breach, desired to speak with the elector of Bavaria. His highness immediately mounting the breach, the French governor offered to surrender the fort of Cohorn; but was given to understand, that if he intended to capitulate, he must treat for the whole. This reply being communicated to Boufflers, he agreed to the proposal: the cessation was prolonged, and that very evening the capitulation was finished. Villeroy, who lay encamped at Gemblours, was no sooner apprised of this event by a triple discharge of all the artillery, and a running fire along the lines of the confederate army, than he passed the Sambre near Charleroy with great precipitation; and having reinforced the garrison of Dinant, retreated towards the lines in the neighbourhood of Mons. On the fifth day of September the French garrison, which was now reduced from fifteen to five thousand five hundred men, evacuated the citadel of Namur. Boufflers, in marching out, was arrested in name of his Britannic majesty, by way of reprisal for the garrisons of Dixmuyde and Deynse, which the French king had detained contrary to the cartel subsisting between the two nations. The mareschal was not a little discomposed at this unexpected incident, and expostulated warmly with Mr. Dyckvelt, who assured him that the king of Great Britain entertained a profound respect for his person and character. William even offered to set him at liberty, provided he would pass his word that the garrisons of Dixmuyde and Deynso should be sent back, or that he himself would return in a fortnight. He said that he could not enter into any such engagement, as he did not know his master’s reasons for detaining the garrisons in question. He was therefore reconveyed to Namur; from thence removed to Maestricht, and treated with great reverence and respect, till the return of an officer whom he had despatched to Versailles with an account of his captivity. Then he engaged his word, that the garrisons of Dixmuyde and Deynse should be sent back to the allied army. He was immediately released and conducted in safety to Dinant. When he repaired to Versailles, Louis received him with very extraordinary marks of esteem and affection. He embraced him in public with the warmest expressions of regard; declared himself perfectly well satisfied with his conduct; created him a duke and peer of France; and presented him with a very large sum, in acknowledgment of his signal services.

CAMPAIGN ON THE RHINE.

After the reduction of Namur, which greatly enhanced the military character of king William, he retired to his house at Loo, which was his favourite place of residence, leaving the command to the elector of Bavaria; and about the latter end of September both armies began to separate. The French forces retired within their lines. A good number of the allied troops were distributed in different garrisons; and a strong detachment marched towards Newport, under the command of the prince of Wirtemberg, for the security of that place. Thus ended the campaign in the Netherlands. On the Rhine nothing of moment was attempted by either army. The mareschal de Lorges, in the beginning of June, passed the Rhine at Philipsburgh; and posting himself at Brucksal, sent out parties to ravage the country. On the eleventh of the same month the prince of Baden joined the German army at Steppach, and on the eighth day of July was reinforced by the troops of the other German confederates, in the neighbourhood of Wiselock. On the nineteenth the French retired without noise, in the night, towards Manheim, where they repassed the river without any interruption from the imperial general; then he sent off a large detachment to Flanders. The same step was taken by the prince of Baden; and each army lay inactive in their quarters for the remaining part of the campaign. The command of the Germans in Hungary was conferred upon the elector of Saxony; but the court of Vienna was so dilatory in their preparations, that he was not in a condition to act till the middle of August. Lord Paget had been sent ambassador from England to the Ottoman Porte, with instructions relating to a pacification; but before he could obtain an audience the sultan died, and was succeeded by his nephew Mustapha, who resolved to prosecute the war in person. The warlike genius of this new emperor afforded but an uncomfortable prospect to his people, considering that Peter, the czar of Muscovy, had taken the opportunity of the war in Hungary, to invade the Crimea and besiege Azoph; so that the Tartars were too much employed at home to spare the succours which the sultan demanded. Nevertheless, Mustapha and his vizier took the field before the imperialists could commence the operations of the campaign, passed the Danube, took Lippa and Titul by assault, stormed the camp of general Veterani, who was posted at Lugos with seven thousand men, and who lost his life in the action. The infantry were cut to pieces, after having made a desperate defence; but the horse retreated to Caronsebes, under the conduct of general Trusches. The Turks after this exploit retired to Orsowa. Their navy meanwhile surprised the Venetian fleet at Scio, where several ships of the republic were destroyed, and they recovered that island, which the Venetians thought proper to abandon; but in order to balance this misfortune, these last obtained a complete victory over the pacha of Negropont in the Morea.

THE DUKE OF SAVOY TAKES CASAL.

The French king still maintained a secret negotiation with the duke of Savoy, whose conduct had been for some time mysterious and equivocal. Contrary to the opinion of his allies, he undertook the siege of Casal, which was counted one of the strongest fortifications in Europe, defended by a numerous garrison, abundantly supplied with ammunition and provisions. The siege was begun about the middle of May; and the place was surrendered by capitulation in about fourteen days, to the astonishment of the confederates, who did not know that this was a sacrifice by which the French court obtained the duke’s forbearance during the remaining part of the campaign. The capitulation imported, that the place should be restored to the duke of Mantua, who was the rightful proprietor; that the fortifications should be demolished at the expense of the allies; that the garrison should remain in the fort till that work should be completed; and hostages were exchanged for the performance of these conditions. The duke understood the art of procrastination so well, that September was far advanced before the place was wholly dismantled; and then he was seized with an ague, which obliged him to quit the army.

TRANSACTIONS IN CATALONIA.

In Catalonia the French could hardly maintain the footing they had gained. Admiral Russel, who wintered at Cadiz, was created admiral, chief-commander, and captain general of all his majesty’s ships employed, or to be employed, in the narrow-seas and in the Mediterranean. He was reinforced by four thousand five hundred soldiers, under the command of brigadier-general Stewart; and seven thousand men, Imperialists as well as Spaniards, were drafted from Italy for the defence of Catalonia. These forces were transported to Barcelona under the convoy of admiral Nevil, detached by Russel for that purpose. The affairs of Catalonia had already changed their aspect. Several French parties had been defeated. The Spaniards had blocked up Ostalric and Castel-Follit: Noailles had been recalled, and the command devolved to the duke de Vendôme, who no sooner understood that the forces from Italy were landed, than he dismantled Ostalric and Castel-Follit, and retired to Palamos. The viceroy of Catalonia and the English admiral having resolved to give battle to the enemy and reduce Palamos, the English troops were landed on the ninth day of August, and the allied army advanced to Palamos. The French appeared in order of battle; but the viceroy declined an engagement. Far from attacking the enemy he withdrew his forces, and the town was bombarded by the admiral. The miscarriage of this expedition was in a great measure owing to a misunderstanding between Russel and the court of Spain. The admiral complained that his catholic majesty had made no preparations for the campaign; that he had neglected to fulfil his engagements with respect to the Spanish squadron which ought to have joined the fleets of England and Holland; that he had taken no care to provide tents and provisions for the British forces. On the twenty-seventh day of August he sailed for the coast of Provence, where the fleet was endangered by a terrible tempest; then he steered down the Straits, and toward the latter end of September arrived in the bay of Cadiz. There he left a number of ships under the command of sir David Mitchel, until he should be joined by sir George Rooke who was expected from England, and returned home with the rest of the combined squadrons.

THE ENGLISH FLEET BOMBARDS ST. MALOES, &c.

While admiral Russel asserted the British dominion in the Mediterranean, the French coasts were again insulted in the channel by a separate fleet under the command of lord Berkeley of Stratton, assisted by the Dutch admiral Allemonde. On the fourth day of July they anchored before St. Maloes, which they bombarded from nine ketches covered by some frigates, which sustained more damage than was done to the enemy. On the sixth, Granville underwent the same fate, and then the fleet returned to Portsmouth. The bomb vessels being refitted, the fleet sailed round to the Downs, where four hundred soldiers were embarked for an attempt upon Dunkirk, under the direction of Meesters the famous Dutch engineer, who had prepared his infernals and other machines for the service. On the first day of August the experiment was tried without success. The bombs did some execution; but two smoke ships miscarried. The French had secured the Ris-bank and wooden forts with piles, bombs, chains, and floating batteries, in such a manner that the machine-vessels could not approach near enough to produce any effect. Besides, the councils of the assailants were distracted by violent animosities. The English officers hated Meesters, because he was a Dutchman, and had acquired some credit with the king; he on the other hand treated them with disrespect. He retired with his machines in the night, and refused to co-operate with lord Berkeley in his design upon Calais, which was now put in execution. On the sixteenth he brought his batteries to bear upon this place, and set fire to it in different quarters; but the enemy had taken such precautions as rendered his scheme abortive.

EXPEDITION TO THE WEST INDIES.

A squadron had been sent to the West Indies under the joint-command of captain Robert Wilmot and colonel Lilingston, with twelve hundred land forces. They had instructions to co-operate with the Spaniards in Hispaniola, against the French settlements on that island, and to destroy their fisheries on the banks of Newfoundland in their return. They were accordingly joined by seventeen hundred Spaniards raised by the president of St. Domingo; but instead of proceeding against Petit-Guavas, according to the directions they had received, Wilmot took possession of Port François, and plundered the country for his own private advantage, notwithstanding the remonstrances of Lilingston, who protested against his conduct. In a word, the sea and land officers lived in a state of perpetual dissension; and both became extremely disagreeable to the Spaniards, who soon renounced all connexion with them and their designs. In the beginning of September the commodore set sail for England, and lost one of his ships in the gulph of Florida. He himself died in his passage; and the greater part of the men being swept off by an epidemical distemper, the squadron returned to Britain in a most miserable condition. Notwithstanding the great efforts the nation had made to maintain such a number of different squadrons for the protection of commerce, as well as to annoy the enemy, the trade suffered severely from the French privateers, which swarmed in both channels and made prize of many rich vessels. The marquis of Cærmarthen, being stationed with a squadron off the Scilly islands, mistook a fleet of merchant ships for the Brest fleet, and retired with precipitation to Milford-Haven. In consequence of this retreat, the privateers took a good number of ships from Barbadoes, and five from the East-Indies, valued at a million sterling. The merchants renewed their clamour against the commissioners of the Admiralty, who produced their orders and instructions in their own defence. The marquis of Cærmarthen had been guilty of flagrant misconduct on this occasion; but the chief source of those national calamities was the circumstantial intelligence transmitted to France from time to time by the malcontents of England; for they were actuated by a scandalous principle which they still retain, namely, that of rejoicing in the distress of their country.

A NEW PARLIAMENT.

King William, after having conferred with the states of Holland and the elector of Brandenburgh who met him at the Hague, embarked for England on the nineteenth day of October, and arrived in safety at Margate, from whence he proceeded to London, where he was received as a conqueror, amidst the rejoicings and acclamations of the people. On the same day he summoned a council at Kensington, in which it was determined to convoke a new parliament. While the nation was in good humour, it was supposed that they would return such members only as were well affected to the government; whereas the present parliament might proceed in its inquiries into corruption and other grievances, and be the less influenced by the crown, as their dependence was of such short duration. The parliament was therefore dissolved by proclamation, and a new one summoned to meet at Westminster on the twenty-second day of November. While the whole nation was occupied in the elections, William, by the advice of his chief confidants, laid his own disposition under restraint in another effort to acquire popularity. He honoured the diversions of Newmarket with his presence, and there received a compliment of congratulation from the university of Cambridge. Then he visited the earls of Sunderland, Northampton, and Montague, at their different houses in the country; and proceeded with a splendid retinue to Lincoln, from whence he repaired to Welbeck, a seat belonging to the duke of Newcastle in Nottinghamshire, where he was attended by Dr. Sharp, archbishop of York, and his clergy. He lodged one night with lord Brooke at Warwick castle, dined with the duke of Shrewsbury at Ryefort, and by the way of Woodstock, made a solemn entry into Oxford, having been met at some distance from the city by the duke of Or-mond, as chancellor of the university, the vice-chancellor, the doctors in their habits, and the magistrates in their formalities. He proceeded directly to the theatre, where he was welcomed in an elegant Latin speech; he received from the chancellor on his knees the usual presents of a large English Bible, and book of Common-Prayer, the cuts of the university, and a pair of gold-fringed gloves. The conduits ran with wine, and a magnificent banquet was prepared; but an anonymous letter being found in the street, importing that there was a design to poison his majesty, William refused to eat or drink in Oxford, and retired immediately to Windsor. Notwithstanding this abrupt departure, which did not savour much of magnanimity, the university chose sir William Trumball, secretary of state, as one of their representatives in parliament.

BILL FOR REGULATING TRIALS IN CASES OF HIGH-TREASON.

The whig interest generally prevailed in the elections, though many even of that party were malcontents; and when the parliament met, Foley was again chosen speaker of the commons. The king in his first speech extolled the valour of the English forces; expressed his concern at being obliged to demand such large supplies from his people; observed that the funds had proved very deficient, and the civil list was in a precarious condition; recommended to their compassion the miserable situation of the French protestants; took notice of the bad state of the coin; desired they would form a good bill for the encouragement and increase of seamen; and contrive laws for the advancement of commerce. He mentioned the great preparations which the French were making for taking the field early; in treated them to use despatch; expressed his satisfaction at the choice which his people had made of their representatives in the house of commons; and exhorted them to proceed with temper and unanimity. Though the two houses presented addresses of congratulation to the king upon his late success, and promised to assist him in prosecuting the war with vigour, the nation loudly exclaimed against the intolerable burdens and losses to which they were subjected by a foreign scheme of politics, which, like an unfathomable abyss, swallowed up the wealth and blood of the kingdom. All the king’s endeavours to cover the disgusting side of his character had proved ineffectual; he was still dry, reserved, and forbidding; and the malcontents inveighed bitterly against his behaviour to the princess Anne of Denmark. When the news of Namur’s being reduced arrived in England, this lady congratulated him upon his success in a dutiful letter, to which he would not deign to send a reply, either by writing or message, nor had she or her husband been favoured with the slightest mark of regard since his return to England. The members in the lower house, who had adopted opposing maxims either from principle or resentment, resolved that the crown should purchase the supplies with some concession in favour of the people. They therefore brought in the so long contested bill for regulating trials in cases of high treason, and misprison of treason; and considering the critical juncture of affairs, the courtiers were afraid of obstructing such a popular measure. The lords inserted a clause, enacting, that a peer should be tried by the whole peerage; and the commons at once assented to this amendment. The bill provided, that persons indicted for high treason, or misprison of treason, should be furnished with a copy of the indictment five days before the trial; and indulged with council to plead in their defence; that no person should be indicted but upon the oaths of two lawful witnesses swearing to overt-acts; that in two or more distinct treasons of divers kinds, alleged in one bill of indictment, one witness to one, and another witness to another, should not be deemed two witnesses; that no person should be prosecuted for any such crime, unless the indictment be found within three years after the offence committed, except in case of a design or attempt to assassinate or poison the king, where this limitation should not take place; that persons indicted for treason, or misprison of treason, should be supplied with copies of the panel of the jurors, two days at least before the trial, and have process to compel their witnesses to appear; that no evidence should be admitted of any overt-act not expressly laid in the indictment; that this act should not extend to any impeachment, or other proceeding in parliament; nor to any indictment for counterfeiting his majesty’s coin, his great seal, privy seal, sign manual, or signet.

RESOLUTIONS WITH RESPECT TO A NEW COINAGE.

This important affair being discussed, the commons proceeded to examine the accounts and estimates, and voted above five millions for the service of the ensuing year. The state of the coin was by this time become such a national grievance as could not escape the attention of parliament. The lords prepared an address to the throne, for a proclamation to put a stop to the currency of diminished coin; and to this they desired the concurrence of the commons. The lower house, however, determined to take this affair under their own inspection. They appointed a committee of the whole house to deliberate on the state of the nation with respect to the currency. Great opposition was made to a recoinage, which was a measure strenuously recommended and supported by Mr. Montague, who acted on this occasion by the advice of the great mathematician sir Isaac Newton. The enemies of this expedient argued, that should the silver coin be called in, it would be impossible to maintain the war abroad, or prosecute foreign trade, inasmuch as the merchant could not pay his bills of exchange, nor the soldier receive his subsistence; that a stop would be put to all mutual payment; and this would produce universal confusion and despair. Such a reformation could not be effected without some danger and difficulty; but it was become absolutely necessary, as the evil daily increased, and in a little time must have terminated in national anarchy. After long and vehement debates, the majority resolved to proceed with all possible expedition to a new coinage. Another question arose, Whether the new coin, in its different denominations, should retain the original weight and purity of the old; or the established standard be raised in value? The famous Locke engaged in this dispute against Mr. Lowndes, who proposed that the standard should be raised; the arguments of Mr. Locke were so convincing, that the committee resolved the established standard should be preserved with respect to weight and fineness. They likewise resolved, that the loss accruing to the revenue from clipped money, should be borne by the public. In order to prevent a total stagnation, they further resolved, that after an appointed day no clipped money should pass in payment, except to the collectors of the revenue and taxes, or upon loans or payments into the exchequer; that after another day to be appointed, no clipped money of any sort should pass in any payment whatsoever; and that a third day should be fixed for all persons to bring in their clipped money to be recoined, after which they should have no allowance upon what they might offer. They addressed the king to issue a proclamation agreeably to these resolutions; and on the nineteenth day of December it was published accordingly. Such were the fears of the people, augmented and inflamed by the enemies of the government, that all payment immediately ceased, and a face of distraction appeared through the whole community. The adversaries of the bill seized this opportunity to aggravate the apprehensions of the public. They inveighed against the ministry as the authors of this national grievance; they levelled their satire particularly at Montague; and it required uncommon fortitude and address to avert the most dangerous consequences of popular discontent. The house of commons agreed to the following resolutions: that twelve hundred thousand pounds should be raised by a duty on glass windows, to make up the loss on the clipped money; that the recompence for supplying the deficiency of clipped money should extend to all silver coin, though of a coarser alloy than the standard; that the collectors and receivers of his majesty’s aids and revenues should be enjoined to receive all such monies; that a reward of five per cent, should be given to all such persons as should bring in either milled or broad undipped money, to be applied in exchange of the clipped money throughout the kingdom; that a reward of threepence per ounce should be given to all persons who should bring wrought plate to the mint to be coined; that persons might pay in their whole next year’s land-tax in clipped money, at one convenient time to be appointed for that purpose; that commissioners should be appointed in every county to pay and distribute the milled and broad undipped money, and the new coined money in lieu of that which was diminished. A bill being prepared agreeably to these determinations, was sent up to the house of lords, who made some amendments which the commons rejected; but in order to avoid cavils and conferences, they dropped the bill and brought in another without the clauses which the lords had inserted. They were again proposed in the upper house and over-ruled by the’ majority; and on the twenty-first day of January the bill received the royal assent, as did another bill enlarging the time for purchasing annuities and continuing the duties on low wines. At the same time the king passed the bill of trials for high treason, and an act to prevent mercenary elections. Divers merchants and traders petitioned the house of commons that the losses in their trade and payments, occasioned by the rise of guineas, might be taken into consideration. A bill was immediately brought in for taking off the obligation and encouragement for coining guineas for a certain time; and then the commons proceeded to lower the value of this coin, a task in which they met with great opposition from some members, who alleged that it would foment the popular disturbances. At length, however, the majority agreed that a guinea should be lowered from thirty to eight-and-twenty shillings, and afterwards to six-and-twenty. At length a clause was inserted in the bill for encouraging people to bring plate to the mint, settling the price of a guinea at two-and-twenty shillings, and it naturally sunk to its original value of twenty shillings and sixpence. Many persons, however, supposing that the price of gold would be raised the next session, hoarded up their guineas; and upon the same supposition, encouraged by the malcontents, the new coined silver money was reserved, to the great detriment of commerce. The king ordered mints to be erected in York, Bristol, Exeter, and Chester, for the purpose of the re-coinage, which was executed with unexpected success, so that in less than a year the currency of England, which had been the worst, became the best coin in Europe.

At this period the attention of the commons was diverted to an object of a more private nature. The earl of Portland, who enjoyed the greatest share of the king’s favour, had obtained a grant of some lordships in Derbyshire. While the warrant was depending, the gentlemen of that county resolved to oppose it with all their power. In consequence of a petition, they were indulged with a hearing by the lords of the treasury. Sir William Williams, in the name of the rest, alleged that the lordships in question were the ancient demesnes of the prince of Wales, absolutely unalienable; that the revenues of those lordships supported the government of Wales in paying the judges and other salaries; that the grant was of too large an extent for any foreign subject; and that the people of the county were too great to be subject to any foreigner. Sundry other substantial reasons were used against the grant, which, notwithstanding all their remonstrances, would have passed through the offices, had not the Welsh gentlemen addressed themselves by petition to the house of commons. Upon this occasion, Mr. Price, a member of the house, harangued with great severity against the Dutch in general, and did not even abstain from sarcasms upon the king’s person, title, and government. The objections started by the petitioners being duly considered, were found so reasonable that the commons presented an address to the king, representing that those manors had been usually annexed to the principality of Wales, and settled on the princes of Wales for their support; that many persons in those parts held their estates by royal tenure under great and valuable compositions, rents, royal payments, and services to the crown and princes of Wales; and enjoyed great privileges and advantages under such tenure. They therefore besought his majesty to recall the grant which was in diminution of the honour and interest of the crown; and prayed that the said manors and lands might not be alienated without the consent of parliament. This address met with a cold reception from the king, who promised to recall the grant which had given such offence to the commons, and said he would find some other way of showing his favour to the earl of Portland.

The people in general entertained a national aversion to this nobleman: the malcontents inculcated a notion that he had made use of his interest and intelligence to injure the trade of England, that the commerce of his own country might flourish without competition. To his suggestions they imputed the act and patent in favour of the Scottish company, which was supposed to have been thrown in as a bone of contention between the two kingdoms. The subject was first started in the house of lords, who invited the commons to a conference; a committee was appointed to examine into the particulars of the act for erecting the Scottish company; and the two houses presented a joint address against it, as a scheme that would prejudice all the subjects concerned in the wealth and trade of the English nation. They represented, that in consequence of the exemption from taxes and other advantages granted to the Scottish company, that kingdom would become a free port for all East and West India commodities; that the Scots would be enabled to supply all Europe at a cheaper rate than the English could afford to sell their merchandise for, therefore England would lose the benefit of its foreign trade; besides, they observed that the Scots would smuggle their commodities into England, to the great detriment of his majesty and his customs. To this remonstrance the king replied that he had been ill served in Scotland; but that he hoped some remedies would be found to prevent the inconveniencies of which they were apprehensive. In all probability he had been imposed upon by the ministry of that kingdom; for in a little time he discarded the marquis of Tweedale, and dismissed both the Scottish secretaries of state, in lieu of whom he appointed lord Murray, son to the marquis of Athol. Notwithstanding the king’s answer, the committee proceeded on the inquiry, and, in consequence of their report confirming a petition from the East India company, the house resolved that the directors of the Scottish company were guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor in administering and taking an oath de fideli in this kingdom, and that they should be impeached for the same. Meanwhile, Roderick Mackenzie, from whom they had received their chief information, began to retract his evidence, and was ordered into custody; but he made his escape and could not be retaken, although the king at their request issued a proclamation for that purpose. The Scots were extremely incensed against the king when they understood he had disowned their company, from which they had promised themselves such wealth and advantage. The settlement of Darien was already planned and afterwards put in execution, though it miscarried in the sequel, and had like to have produced abundance of mischief.

INTRIGUES OF THE JACOBITES.

The complaints of the English merchants who had suffered by the war were so loud at this juncture, that the commons resolved to take their case into consideration. The house resolved itself into a committee to consider the state of the nation with regard to commerce, and having duly weighed all circumstances, agreed to the following resolutions: that a council of trade should be established by act of parliament, with powers to take measures for the more effectual preservation of commerce; that the commissioners should be nominated by parliament, but none of them have seats in the house; that they should take an oath acknowledging the title of king William as rightful and lawful; and abjuring the pretensions of James, or any other person. The king considered these resolutions as an open attack upon his prerogative, and signified his displeasure to the earl of Sunderland, who patronised this measure; but it was so popular in the house, that in all probability it would have been put in execution, had not the attention of the commons been diverted from it at this period by the detection of a new conspiracy. The friends of king James had, upon the death of queen Mary, renewed their practices for effecting a restoration of that monarch, on the supposition that the interest of William was considerably weakened by the decease of his consort. Certain individuals, whose zeal for James overshot their discretion, formed a design to seize the person of king William, and convey him to France, or put him to death in case of resistance. They had sent emissaries to the court of St. Germain’s to demand a commission for this purpose, which was refused. The earl of Aylesbury, lord Montgomery, son to the marquis of Powis, sir John Fenwick, sir John Friend, captain Charnock, captain Porter, and one Mr. Goodman, were the first contrivers of this project. Charnock was detached with a proposal to James, that he should procure a body of horse and foot from France to make a descent in England, and they would engage not only to join him at his landing, but even to replace him on the throne of England.

These offers being declined by James, on pretence that the French king could not spare such a number of troops at that juncture, the earl of Aylesbury went over in person, and was admitted to a conference with Louis, in which the scheme of an invasion was actually concerted. In the beginning of February the duke of Berwick repaired privately to England, where he conferred with the conspirators, assured them that king James was ready to make a descent with a considerable number of French forces, distributed commissions, and gave directions for providing men, arms, and horses, to join him at his arrival. When he returned to France, he found every thing prepared for the expedition. The troops were drawn down to the sea-side; a great number of transports were assembled at Dunkirk; monsieur Gabaret had advanced as far as Calais with a squadron of ships, which, when joined by that of Du Bart at Dunkirk, was judged a sufficient convoy; and James had come as far as Calais in his way to embark. Meanwhile the Jacobites in England were assiduously employed in making preparations for a revolt. Sir John Friend had very near completed a regiment of horse; considerable progress was made in levying another by sir William Perkins; sir John Fenwick had enlisted four troops; colonel Tempest had undertaken for one regiment of dragoons; colonel Parker was preferred to the command of another; Mr. Curzon was commissioned for a third; and the malcontents intended to raise a fourth in Suffolk, where their interest chiefly prevailed.

CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE LIFE OF WILLIAM.

While one part of the Jacobites proceeded against William in the usual way of exciting an insurrection, another, consisting of the most desperate conspirators, had formed a scheme of assassination. Sir George Barclay, a native of Scotland, who had served as an officer in the army of James, a man of undaunted courage, a furious bigot in the religion of Rome, yet close, circumspect, and determined, was landed with other officers in Romneymarsh, by one captain Gill, about the beginning of January, and is said to have undertaken the task of seizing or assassinating king William. He imparted his design to Harrison, alias Johnston, a priest, Char-nock, Porter, and sir William Perkins, by whom it was approved; and he pretended to have a particular commission for this service. After various consultations, they resolved to attack the king on his return from Richmond, where he commonly hunted on Saturdays; and the scene of their intended ambuscade was a lane between Brentford and Turnham-Green. As it would be necessary to charge and disperse the guards that attended the coach, they agreed that their number should be increased to forty horsemen, and each conspirator began to engage proper persons for the enterprise. When their complement was full, they determined to execute their purpose on the fifteenth day of February. They concerted the manner in which they should meet in small parties without suspicion, and waited with impatience for the hour of action. In this interval some of the underling actors, seized with horror at the reflection of what they had undertaken, or captivated with the prospect of reward, resolved to prevent the execution of the design by a timely discovery. On the eleventh day of February, one Fisher informed the earl of Portland of the scheme, and named some of the conspirators; but his account was imperfect. On the thirteenth however he returned with a circumstantial detail of all the particulars. Next day the earl was accosted by one Pendergrass, an Irish officer, who told his lordship he had just come from Hampshire at the request of a particular friend, and understood that he had been called up to town with a view of engaging him in a design to assassinate king William. He said, he had promised to embark in the undertaking, though he detested it in his own mind, and took this first opportunity of revealing the secret, which was of such consequence to his majesty’s life. He owned himself a Roman catholic, but declared that he did not think any religion could justify such a treacherous purpose. At the same time he observed, that as he lay under obligations to some of the conspirators, his honour and gratitude would not permit him to accuse them by name; and that he would upon no consideration appear as an evidence. The king had been so much used to fictitious plots and false discoveries, that he paid little regard to the informations until they were confirmed by the testimony of another conspirator called La Rue, a Frenchman, who communicated the same particulars to brigadier Levison, without knowing the least circumstance of the other discoveries. Then the king believed there was something real in the conspiracy; and Pendergrass and La Rue were severally examined in his presence. He thanked Pendergrass in particular for this instance of his probity; but observed that it must prove ineffectual unless he would discover the names of the conspirators; for, without knowing who they were, he should not be able to secure his life against their attempts. At length Pendergrass was prevailed upon to give a list of those he knew, yet not before the king had solemnly promised that he should not be used as an evidence against them, except with his own consent. As the king did not go to Richmond on the day appointed, the conspirators postponed the execution of their design till the Saturday following. They accordingly met at different houses on the Friday, when every man received his instructions. There they agreed, that after the perpetration of the parricide, they should ride in a body as far as Hammersmith, and then dispersing, enter London by different avenues. But on the morning, when they understood that the guards were returned to their quarters, and the king’s coaches sent back to the Mews, they were seized with a sudden damp, on the suspicion that their plot was discovered. Sir George Barclay withdrew himself, and every one began to think of providing for his own safety. Next night, however, a great number of them were apprehended, and then the whole discovery was communicated to the privy council. A proclamation was issued against those that absconded; and great diligence was used to find sir George Barclay, who was supposed to have a particular commission from James for assassinating the prince of Orange; but he made good his retreat, and it was never proved that any such commission had been granted.

DESIGN OF AN INVASION DEFEATED.

This design and the projected invasion proved equally abortive. James had scarce reach Calais when the duke of Wirtemberg despatched his aidecamp from Flanders to king William, with an account of the purposed descent. Expresses with the same tidings arrived from the elector of Bavaria and the prince de Vaude-mont. Two considerable squadrons being ready for sea, admiral Russel embarked at Spithead and stood over to the French coast with about fifty sail of the line. The enemy were confounded at his appearance, and hauled in their vessels under the shore, in such shallow water that he could not follow and destroy them; but he absolutely ruined their design, by cooping them up in their harbours. King James, after having tarried some weeks at Calais, returned to St. Germain’s. The forces were sent back to the garrisons from which they had been drafted; the people of France exclaimed, that the malignant star which ruled the destiny of James had blasted this and every other project formed for his restoration. By means of the reward offered in the proclamation, the greater part of the conspirators were betrayed or taken. George Harris, who had been sent from France with orders to obey sir George Barclay, surrendered himself to sir William Trumball, and confessed the scheme of assassination in which he had been engaged. Porter and Pendergrass were apprehended together. This last insisted upon the king’s promise that he should not be compelled to give evidence; but when Porter owned himself guilty, the other observed he was no longer bound to be silent, as his friend had made a confession; and they were both admitted as evidences for the crown.

THE TWO HOUSES FORM AN ASSOCIATION FOR THE DEFENCE OF HIS MAJESTY.

After their examination, the king, in a speech to both houses, communicated the nature of the conspiracy against his life, as well as the advices he had received touching the invasion; he explained the steps he had taken to defeat the double design, and professed his confidence in their readiness and zeal to concur with him in every thing that should appear necessary for their common safety. That same evening the two houses waited upon him at Kensington in a body, with an affectionate address, by which they expressed their abhorrence of the villanous and barbarous design which had been formed against his sacred person, of which they besought him to take more than ordinary care. They assured him they would to their utmost defend his life, and support his government against the late king James and all other enemies; and declared, that in case his majesty should come to a violent death, they would revenge it upon his adversaries and their adherents. He was extremely well pleased with this warm address, and assured them in his turn he would take all opportunities of recommending himself to the continuance of their loyalty and affection. The commons forthwith empowered him by bill to secure all persons suspected of conspiring against his person and government. They brought in another, providing, that in case of his majesty’s death, the parliament then being should continue until dissolved by the next heir in succession to the crown, established by act of parliament; that if his majesty should chance to die between two parliaments, that which had been last dissolved should immediately re-assemble, and sit for the despatch of national affairs. They voted an address to desire that his majesty would banish by proclamation all papists to the distance of ten miles from the cities of London and Westminster; and give instructions to the judges going on the circuits to put the laws in execution against Roman catholics and nonjurors. They drew up an association, binding themselves to assist each other in support of the king and his government, and to revenge any violence that should be committed on his person. This was signed by all the members then present; but as some had absented themselves on frivolous pretences, the house ordered, that in sixteen days the absentees should either subscribe or declare their refusal. Several members neglecting to comply with this injunction within the limited time, the speaker was ordered to write to those who were in the country, and demand a peremptory answer; and the clerk of the house attended such as pretended to be ill in town. The absentees finding themselves pressed in this manner, thought proper to sail with the stream, and sign the association, which was presented to the king by the commons in a body, with a request that it might be lodged among the records in the Tower, as a perpetual memorial of their loyalty and affection. The king received them with uncommon complacency; declared that he heartily entered into the same association; that he should be always ready to venture his life with his good subjects against all who should endeavour to subvert the religion, laws, and liberties of England; and he promised that this and all other associations should be lodged among the records of the Tower of London. Next day the commons resolved, that whoever should affirm an association was illegal, should be deemed a promoter of the designs of the late king James, and an enemy to the laws and liberties of the kingdom. The lords followed the example of the lower house in drawing up an association; but the earl of Nottingham, sir Edward Seymour, and Mr. Finch, objected to the words rightful and lawful as applied to his majesty. They said as the crown and its prerogatives were vested in him, they would yield obedience, though they could not acknowledge him as their rightful and lawful king.

Nothing could be more absurd than this distinction, started by men who had actually constituted part of the administration; unless they supposed that the right of king William expired with queen Mary. The earl of Rochester proposed an expedient in favour of such tender consciences, by altering the words that gave offence; and this was adopted accordingly. Fifteen of the peers, and ninety-two commoners, signed the association with reluctance. It was, however, subscribed by all sorts of people in different parts of the kingdom; and the bishops drew up a form for the clergy, which was signed by a great majority. The commons brought in a bill, declaring all men incapable of public trust, or of sitting in parliament, who would not engage in this association. At the same time the council issued an order for renewing all the commissions in England, that those who had not signed it voluntarily should be dismissed from the service as disaffected persons.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A LAND-BANK.

After these warm demonstrations of loyalty, the commons proceeded upon ways and means for raising the supplies. A new bank was constituted as a fund, upon which the sum of two millions five hundred and sixty-four thousand pounds should be raised; and it was called the land-bank, because established on land securities. This scheme, said to have been projected by the famous Dr. Chamberlain, was patronised by the earl of Sunderland, and managed by Foley and Harley; so that it seemed to be a tory plan which Sunderland supported, in order to reconcile himself to that party. 067 [See note O, at the end of this Vol.] The bank of England petitioned against this bill, and were heard by their counsel; but their representations produced no effect, and the bill having passed through both houses, received the royal assent. On the twenty-seventh day of April the king closed the session with a short but gracious speech; and the parliament was prorogued to the sixteenth day of June.

Before this period some of the conspirators had been brought to trial. The first who suffered was Robert Charnock, one of the two fellows of Magdalen-college, who, in the reign of James, had renounced the protestant religion; the next were lieutenant King and Thomas Keys, which last had been formerly a trumpeter, but of late servant to captain Porter. They were found guilty of high treason, and executed at Tyburn. They delivered papers to the sheriff, in which they solemnly declared, that they had never seen or heard of any commission from king James for assassinating the prince of Orange; Charnock in particular observed, that he had received frequent assurances of the king’s having rejected such proposals when they had been offered; and that there was no other commission but that for levying war in the usual form. Sir John Friend and sir William Perkins were tried in April. The first, from mean beginnings, had acquired great wealth and credit, and always firmly adhered to the interests of king James. The other was likewise a man of fortune, violently attached to the same principles, though he had taken the oaths to the present government as one of the six clerks in chancery. Porter and Blair, another evidence, deposed, that sir John Friend had been concerned in levying men under a commission from king James, and that he knew of the assassination plot, though not engaged in it as a personal actor. He endeavoured to invalidate the testimony of Blair, by proving him guilty of the most shocking ingratitude. He observed that both the evidences were reputed papists. The curate of Hackney, who officiated as chaplain in the prisoner’s house, declared upon oath, that after the revolution he used to pray for king William, and that he had often heard sir John Friend say that though he could not comply with the present government, he would live peaceably under it, and never engage in any conspiracy. Mr. Hoadley, father of the present bishop of Winchester, added, that the prisoner was a good protestant, and frequently expressed his detestation of king-killing principles. Friend himself owned he had been with some of the conspirators at a meeting in Leadenhall-street, but heard nothing of raising men, or any design against the government. He likewise affirmed that a consultation to levy war was not treason; and that his being at a treasonable consult could amount to no more than a misprison of treason. Lord chief justice Holt declared, that although a bare conspiracy, or design to levy war, was not treason within the statute of Edward III., yet if the design or conspiracy be to kill, or depose, or imprison the king, by the means of levying war, then the consultation and conspiracy to levy war becomes high treason though no war be actually levied. The same inference might have been drawn against the authors and instruments of the revolution. The judge’s explanation influenced the jury, who, after some deliberation, found the prisoner guilty. Next day sir William Perkins was brought to the bar, and upon the testimony of Porter, Ewebank, his own groom, and Haywood, a notorious informer, was convicted of having been concerned not only in the invasion, but also in the design against the king’s life. The evidence was scanty, and the prisoner having been bred to the law, made an artful and vigorous defence: but the judge acted as counsel for the crown; and the jury decided by the hints they received from the bench. He and sir John Friend underwent the sentence of death, and suffered at Tyburn on the third day of April. Friend protested before God that he knew of no immediate descent purposed by king James, and therefore had made no preparations; that he was utterly ignorant of the assassination scheme; that he died in the communion of the church of England, and laid down his life cheerfully in the cause for which he suffered. Perkins declared, upon the word of a dying man, that the tenour of the king’s commission which he saw was general, directed to all his loving subjects, to raise and levy war against the prince of Orange and his adherents, and to seize all forts, castles, &c, but that he neither saw nor heard of any commission particularly levelled against the person of the prince of Orange. He owned, however, that he was privy to the design; but believed it was known to few or none but the immediate undertakers. These two criminals were in their last moments attended by Collier, Snatt, and Cook, three nonjuring clergymen, who absolved them in the view of the populace, with an imposition of hands; a public insult on the government which did not pass unnoticed. Those three clergyman were presented by the grand jury for having countenanced the treason by absolving the traitors, and thereby encouraged other persons to disturb the peace of the kingdom. An indictment being preferred against them, Cook and Snatt were committed to Newgate; but Collier absconded, and published a vindication of their conduct, in which he affirmed that the imposition of hands was the general practice of the primitive church. On the other hand, the two metropolitans and twelve other bishops subscribed a declaration, condemning the administration of absolution without a previous confession made, and abhorrence expressed, by the prisoners of the heinous crimes for which they suffered.

In the course of the same month, Rookwood, Cranborne, and Lowick, were tried as conspirators by a special commission in the king’s-bench, and convicted on the joint testimony of Porter, Harris, La Rue, Bertram, Fisher, and Pendergrass. Some favourable circumstances appeared in the case of Lowick. The proof of his having been concerned in the design against the king’s life was very defective; many persons of reputation declared he was an honest, good natured, inoffensive man; and he himself concluded his defence with the most solemn protestation of his own innocence. Great intercession was made for his pardon by some noblemen; but all their interest proved ineffectual. Cranborne died in a transport of indignation, leaving a paper which the government thought proper to suppress. Lowick and Rookwood likewise delivered declarations to the sheriff, the contents of which as being less inflammatory were allowed to be published. Both solemnly denied any knowledge of a commission from king James to assassinate the prince of Orange; the one affirming that he was incapable of granting such an order; and the other asserting that he, the best of kings, had often rejected proposals of that nature. Lowick owned that he would have joined the king at his landing; but declared he had never been concerned in any bloody affair during the whole course of his life. On the contrary, he said he had endeavoured to prevent bloodshed as much as lay in his power; and that he would not kill the most miserable creature in the world, even though such an act would save his life, restore his sovereign, and make him one of the greatest men in England. Rookwood alleged he was engaged by his immediate commander, whom he thought it was his duty to obey, though the service was much against his judgment and inclination. He professed his abhorrence of treachery even to an enemy. He forgave all mankind, even the prince of Orange, who as a soldier, he said, ought to have considered his case before he signed his death warrant; he prayed God would open his eyes, and render him sensible of the blood that was from all parts crying against him, so as he might avert a heavier execution than that which he now ordered to be inflicted. The next person brought to trial was Mr. Cooke, son of sir Miles Cooke, one of the six clerks in chancery. Porter and Goodman deposed that he had been present at two meetings at the King’s-head tavern in Leadenhall-street, with the lords Aylesbury and Montgomery, sir William Perkins, sir John Fenwick, sir John Friend, Charnock, and Porter. The evidence of Goodman was invalidated by the testimony of the landlord and two drawers belonging to the tavern, who swore that Goodman was not there while the noblemen were present. The prisoner himself solemnly protested, that he was ever averse to the introduction of foreign forces; that he did not so much as hear of the intended invasion until it became the common topic of conversation; and that he had never seen Goodman at the King’s-head. He declared his intention of receiving the blessed sacrament, and wished he might perish in the instant if he now spoke untruth. No respect was paid to these asseverations. The solicitor-general Hawles, and lord chief-justice Treby, treated him with great severity in the prosecution and charge to the jury, by whom he was capitally convicted. After his condemnation, the court-agents tampered with him to make further discoveries; and after his fate had been protracted by divers short reprieves, he was sent into banishment. From the whole tenour of these discoveries and proceedings, it appears that James had actually meditated an invasion; that his partisans in England had made preparations for joining him on his arrival; that a few desperadoes of that faction had concerted a scheme against the life of king William; that in prosecuting the conspirators, the court had countenanced informers; that the judges had strained the law, wrested circumstances, and even deviated from the function of their office, to convict the prisoners; in a word, that the administration had used the same arbitrary and unfair practices against those unhappy people, which they themselves had in the late reigns numbered among the grievances of the kingdom.

THE ALLIES BURN THE MAGAZINE AT GIVET.

The warmth, however, manifested on this occasion may have been owing to national resentment of the purposed invasion. Certain it is, the two houses of parliament and the people in general were animated with extraordinary indignation against France at this juncture. The lords besought his majesty in a solemn address to appoint a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God for having defeated the barbarous purpose of his enemies; and this was observed with uncommon zeal and devotion. Admiral Russel, leaving a squadron for observation on the French coast, returned to the Downs; but sir Cloudesley Shovel, being properly prepared for the expedition, subjected Calais to another bombardment, by which the town was set on fire in different parts, and the inhabitants were overwhelmed with consternation. The generals of the allied army in Flanders resolved to make some immediate retaliation upon the French for their unmanly design upon the life of king William, as they took it for granted that Louis was accessary to the scheme of assassination. That monarch, on the supposition that a powerful diversion would be made by the descent on England, had established a vast magazine at Givet, designing, when the allies should be enfeebled by the absence of the British troops, to strike some stroke of importance early in the campaign. On this the confederates now determined to wreak their vengeance. In the beginning of March the carl of Athlone and monsieur de Coehorn, with the concurrence of the duke of Holstein-Ploen, who commanded the allies, sent a strong detachment of horse, drafted from Brussels and the neighbouring garrisons, to amuse the enemy on the side of Charleroy, while they assembled forty squadrons, thirty battalions, with fifteen pieces of cannon, and six mortars, in the territory of Namur. Athlone with a part of this body invested Dinant, while Coehorn with the remainder advanced to Givet. He forthwith began to batter and bombard the place, which in three hours was on fire, and by four in the afternoon wholly destroyed, with the great magazine it contained. Then the two generals joining their forces returned to Namur without interruption. Hitherto the republic of Venice had deferred acknowledging king William; but now they sent an extraordinary embassy for that purpose, consisting of signiors Soranzo and Venier, who arrived in London, and on the first day of May had a public audience. The king on this occasion knighted Soranzo as the senior ambassador, and presented him with the sword according to custom. On that day, too, William declared in council that he had appointed the same regency which had governed the kingdom during his last absence, and embarking on the seventh at Margate, arrived at Orange-Polder in the evening, under convoy of vice-admiral Aylmer. This officer had been ordered to attend with a squadron, as the famous Du Bart still continued at Dunkirk, and some attempt of importance was apprehended from his enterprising genius.*

* Some promotions were made before the king left England. George Hamilton, third son of the duke of that name, was for his military services in Ireland and Flanders created earl of Orkney. Sir John Lowther was ennobled by the title of baron Lowther and viscount Lonsdale; sir John Thompson made baron of Haversham; and the celebrated John Locke appointed one of the commissioners of trade and plantation.

LOUIS MAKES ADVANCES TOWARDS A PEACE WITH HOLLAND.

The French had taken the field before the allied army could be assembled; but no transaction of consequence distinguished this campaign either upon the Rhine or in Flanders. The scheme of Louis was still defensive on the side of the Netherlands, while the active plans of king William were defeated by want of money. All the funds for this year proved defective: the land-bank failed, and the national bank sustained a rude shock in its credit. The loss of the nation upon the recoinage, amounted to two millions two hundred thousand pounds; and though the different mints were employed without interruption, they could not for some months supply the circulation, especially as great part of the new money was kept up by those who received it in payment, or disposed of it at an unreasonable advantage. The French king having exhausted the wealth and patience of his subjects, and greatly diminished their number in the course of this war, began to be diffident of his arms, and employed all the arts of private negotiation. While his minister D’Avaux pressed the king of Sweden to offer his mediation, he sent Callieres to Holland with proposals for settling the preliminaries of a treaty.

He took it for granted that as the Dutch were a trading people, whose commerce had greatly suffered in the war, they could not be averse to a pacification; and he instructed his emissaries to tamper with the malcontents of the republic, especially with the remains of the Louvestein faction, which had always opposed the schemes of the stadtholder. Callieres met with a favourable reception from the states, which began to treat with him about the preliminaries, though not without the consent and concurrence of king William and the rest of the allies. Louis, with a view to quicken the effect of this negotiation, pursued offensive measures in Catalonia, where his general the duke de Vendome attacked and worsted the Spaniards in their camp near Ostalrick, though the action was not decisive; for that general was obliged to retreat after having made vigorous efforts against their intrenchments. On the twentieth day of June, mareschal de Lorges passed the Rhine at Philips-burg and encamped within a league of Eppingen, where the Imperial troops were obliged to intrench themselves, under the command of the prince of Baden, as they were not yet joined by the auxiliary forces. The French general after having faced him about a month, thought proper to repass the river. Then he detached a body of horse to Flanders, and cantoned the rest of his troops at Spires, Franckendahl, Worms, and Ostofen. On the last day of August the prince of Baden retaliated the insult, by passing the Rhine at Mentz and Cocsheim. On the tenth he was joined by general Thungen, who commanded a separate body, together with the militia of Suabia and Franconia, and advanced to the camp of the enemy, who had reassembled; but they were posted in such a manner that he would not hazard an attack. Having therefore cannonaded them for some days, scoured the adjacent country by detached parties, and taken the little castle of Wiezengen, he repassed the river at Worms on the seventh day of October: the French likewise crossed at Philipsburgh in hopes of surprising general Thungen, who had taken post in the neighbourhood of Strasbourg; but he retired to Eppingen before their arrival, and in a little time both armies were distributed in winter quarters. Peter, the czar of Muscovy, carried on the siege of Azoph with such vigour, that the garrison was obliged to capitulate after the Russians had defeated a great convoy sent to its relief. The court of Vienna forthwith engaged in an alliance with the Muscovite emperor; but they did not exert themselves in taking advantage of the disaster which the Turks had undergone. The Imperial army, commanded by the elector of Saxony, continued inactive on the river Marosch till the nineteenth day of July, then they made a feint of attacking Temiswaer; but they inarched towards Betzkerch, in their route to Belgrade, on receiving advice that the grand seignor intended to besiege Titul. On the twenty-first day of August, the two armies were in sight of each other. The Turkish horse attacked the Imperialists in a plain near the river Begue, but were repulsed. The Germans next day made a show of retreating, in hopes of drawing the enemy from their intrenchments. The stratagem succeeded. On the twenty-sixth the Turkish army was in motion. A detachment of the Imperialists attacked them in flank as they marched through a wood. A very desperate action ensued, in which the generals Heusler and Poland, with many other gallant officers, lost their lives. At length the Ottoman horse were routed; but the Germans were so roughly handled, that on the second day after the engagement they retreated at midnight, and the Turks remained quiet in their intrenchments.

In Piedmont the face of affairs underwent a strange alteration. The duke of Savoy, who had for some time been engaged in a secret negotiation with France, at length embraced the offers of that crown, and privately signed a separate treaty of peace at Loretto, to which place he repaired on a pretended pilgrimage. The French king engaged to present him with four millions of livres by way of reparation for the damage he had sustained, to assist him with a certain number of auxiliaries against all his enemies, and to effect a marriage between the duke of Burgundy and the princess of Piedmont, as soon as the parties should be marriageable. The treaty was guaranteed by the pope and the Venetians, who were extremely desirous of seeing the Germans driven out of Italy. King William being apprized of this negotiation, communicated the intelligence to the earl of Galway, his ambassador at Turin, who expostulated with the duke upon this defection; but he persisted in denying any such correspondence, until the advance of the French army enabled him to avow it without fearing the resentment of the allies whom he had abandoned. Catinat marched into the plains of Turin at the head of fifty thousand men, an army greatly superior to that of the confederates. Then the duke imparted to the ministers of the allies the proposals which France had made; represented the superior strength of her army; the danger to which he was exposed; and, finally, his inclination to embrace her offers. On the twelfth of July a truce was concluded for a month, and afterwards prolonged till the fifteenth of September. He wrote to all the powers engaged in the confederacy, except King William, expatiating on the same topics, and soliciting their consent. Though each in particular refused to concur, he on the twenty-third day of August signed the treaty in public which he had before concluded in private. The emperor was no sooner informed of his design, than he took every step which he thought could divert him from his purpose. He sent the count Mansfeldt to Turin with proposals for a match between the king of the Romans and the princess of Savoy, as well as with offers to augment his forces and his subsidy; but the duke had already settled his terms with France, from which he would not recede. Prince Eugene, though his kinsman, expressed great indignation at his conduct. The young prince de Commercy was so provoked at his defection that he challenged him to single combat, and the duke accepted of his challenge; but the quarrel was compromised by the intervention of friends, and they parted in an amicable manner. He had concealed the treaty until he should receive the remaining part of the subsidies due to him from the confederates. A considerable sum had been remitted from England to Genoa for his use; but lord Galway no sooner received intimation of his new engagement, than he put a stop to the payment of this money, which he employed in the Milanese for the subsistence of those troops that were in the British service. King William was encamped at Gemblours when the duke’s envoy notified the separate peace which his master had concluded with the king of France. Though he was extremely chagrined at the information, he dissembled his anger and listened to the minister without the least emotion. One of the conditions of this treaty was, that within a limited time the allies should evacuate the duke’s dominions, otherwise they should be expelled by the joint forces of France and Savoy. A neutrality was offered to the confederates; and this being rejected, the contracting powers resolved to attack the Milanese. Accordingly when the truce expired, the duke, as generalissimo of the French king, entered that duchy and undertook the siege of Valentia; so that in one campaign he commanded two contending armies. The garrison of Valentia, consisting of seven thousand men, Germans, Spaniards, and French protestants, made an obstinate defence; and the duke of Savoy prosecuted the siege with uncommon impetuosity. But after the trenches had been open for thirteen days, a courier arrived from Madrid with an account of his catholic majesty’s having agreed to the neutrality for Italy. This agreement imported that there should be a suspension of arms until a general peace could be effected; and that the Imperial and French troops should return to their respective countries. Christendom had well nigh been embroiled anew by the death of John Sobieski, king of Poland, who died at the age of seventy in the course of this summer, after having survived his faculties and reputation. As the crown was elective, a competition arose for the succession. The kingdom was divided by factions; and the different powers of Europe interested themselves warmly in the contention.

NAVAL TRANSACTIONS.

Nothing of consequence had been lately achieved by the naval force of England. When the conspiracy was first discovered, sir George Rooke had received orders to return from Cadiz, and he arrived in the latter end of April. While he took his place at the board of admiralty, lord Berkeley succeeded to the command of the fleet, and in the month of June set sail towards Ushant in order to insult the coast of France. He pillaged and burned the villages on the islands Grouais, Houat, and Hey die; made prize of about twenty vessels; bombarded St. Martin’s on the isle of Ehé, and the town of Olonne, which was set on fire in fifteen different places with the shells and carcasses. Though these appear to have been enterprises of small import, they certainly kept the whole coast of France in perpetual alarm. The ministry of that kingdom were so much afraid of invasion, that between Brest and Goulet they ordered above one hundred batteries to be erected, and above sixty thousand men were continually in arms for the defence of the maritime places. In the month of May rear-admiral Benbow sailed with a small squadron in order to block up Du Bart in the harbour of Dunkirk; but that famous adventurer found means to escape in a fog, and steering to the eastward attacked the Dutch fleet in the Baltic under a convoy of five frigates. These last he took, together with half the number of the trading ships; but falling in with the outward bound fleet convoyed by thirteen ships of the line, he was obliged to burn four of the frigates, turn the fifth adrift, and part with all his prizes except fifteen, which he carried into Dunkirk.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE PARLIAMENTS OF SCOTLAND AND IRELAND.

The parliament of Scotland met on the eighth day of September, and lord Murray, secretary of state, now earl of Tullibardine, presided as king’s commissioner. Though that kingdom was exhausted by the war and two successive bad harvests, which had driven a great number of the inhabitants into Ireland, there was no opposition to the court measures. The members of parliament signed an association like that of England. They granted a supply of one hundred and twenty thousand pounds for maintaining their forces by sea and land. They passed an act for securing their religion, lives, and properties, in case his majesty should come to an untimely death. By another they obliged all persons in public trust to sign the association, and then the parliament was adjourned to the eighth day of December. The disturbances of Ireland seemed now to be entirely appeased. Lord Capel dying in May, the council, by virtue of an act passed in the reign of Henry VIII., elected the chancellor, sir Charles Porter, to be lord justice and chief governor of that kingdom, until his majesty’s pleasure should be known. The parliament met in June: the commons expelled Mr. Sanderson, the only member of that house who had refused to sign the association, and adjourned to the fourth day of August. By that time sir Charles Porter and the earls of Montrath and Drogheda were appointed lords justices, and signified the king’s pleasure that they should adjourn. In the beginning of December the chancellor died of an apoplexy.

ZEAL OF THE ENGLISH COMMONS IN THEIR AFFECTION TO THE KING.

King William being tired of an inactive campaign, left the army under the command of the elector of Bavaria, and about the latter end of August repaired to his palace at Loo, where he enjoyed his favourite exercise of stag-hunting. He visited the court of Brandenburgh at Cleves; conferred with the states of Holland at the Hague; and, embarking for England, landed at Margate on the sixth day of October. The domestic economy of the nation was extremely perplexed at this juncture from the sinking of public credit, and the stagnation that necessarily attended a recoinage. These grievances were with difficulty removed by the clear apprehension, the enterprising genius, the unshaken fortitude of Mr. Montague, chancellor of the exchequer, operating upon a national spirit of adventure, which the monied interest had produced. The king opened the session of parliament on the twentieth day of October, with a speech importing that overtures had been made for a negotiation, but that the best way of treating with France would be sword in hand. He therefore desired they would be expeditious in raising the supplies for the service of the ensuing year, as well as for making good the funds already granted. He declared that the civil list could not be supported without their assistance. He recommended the miserable condition of the French protestants to their compassion. He desired they would contrive the best expedients for the recovery of the national credit. He observed that unanimity and despatch were now more than ever necessary, for the honour, safety, and advantage of England. The commons having taken this speech into consideration, resolved that they would support his majesty and his government, and assist him in the prosecution of the war; that the standard of gold and silver should not be altered; and that they would make good all parliamentary funds. Then they presented an address in a very spirited strain, declaring, that notwithstanding the blood and treasure of which the nation had been drained, the commons of England would not be diverted from their firm resolutions of obtaining by war a safe and honourable peace. They therefore renewed their assurances that they would support his majesty against all his enemies at home and abroad. The house of lords delivered another to the same purpose, declaring that they would never be wanting or backward on their parts in what might be necessary to his majesty’s honour, the good of his kingdoms, and the quiet of Christendom. The commons, in the first transports of their zeal, ordered two seditious pamphlets to be burned by the hands of the common hangman. They deliberated upon the estimates, and granted above six millions for the service of the ensuing-year. They resolved that a supply should be granted for making good the deficiency of parliamentary funds, and appropriated several duties for this purpose.

RESOLUTIONS TOUCHING THE COIN, &c.

With respect to the coin they brought in a bill repealing an act for taking off the obligation and encouragement of coining guineas for a certain time, and for importing and coining guineas and half guineas, as the extravagant price of those coins which occasioned this act was now fallen. They passed a second bill for remedying the ill state of the coin; and a third, explaining an act in the preceding session for laying duties on low wines and spirits of the first extraction. In order to raise the supplies of the year, they resolved to tax all persons according to the true value of their real and personal estates, their stock upon land and in trade, their income by offices, pensions, and professions. A duty of one penny per week for one year was laid upon all persons not receiving alms. A further imposition of one farthing in the pound per week was fixed upon all servants receiving four pounds per annum as wages, and upwards to eight pounds a-year inclusive. Those who received from eight to sixteen pounds were taxed at one halfpenny per pound. An aid of three shillings in the pound for one year was laid upon all lands, tenements, and hereditaments, according to their true value. Without specifying the particulars of those impositions, we shall only observe that, in the general charge, the commons did not exempt one member of the commonwealth that could be supposed able to bear any part of the burden. Provision was made that hammered money should be received in payment of these duties at the rate of five shillings and eightpence per ounce. All the deficiencies on annuities and monies borrowed on the credit of the exchequer, were transferred to this aid. The treasury was enabled to borrow a million and a half at eight per cent, and to circulate exchequer bills to the amount of as much more. To cancel these debts the surplus of all the supplies, except the three-shilling-aid, was appropriated. The commons voted one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds for making good the deficiency in recoining the hammered money, and the recompence for bringing in plate to the mint. This sum was raised by a tax or duty upon wrought plate, paper, pasteboard, vellum, and parchment, made or imported. Taking into consideration the services and the present languishing state of the bank, whose notes were at twenty per cent, discount, they resolved that it should be enlarged by new subscriptions, made by four-fifths in tallies struck on parliamentary funds, and one-fifth in bank-bills or notes; that effectual provision should be made by parliament for paying the principal of all such tallies as should be subscribed into the bank, out of the funds agreed to be continued; that an interest of eight per cent, should be allowed on all such tallies; and that the continuance of the bank should be prolonged to the first day of August, in the year one thousand seven hundred and ten. That all assignments of orders or tallies subscribed into the bank should be registered in the exchequer; that before the day should be fixed for the beginning of the new subscriptions, the old should be made one hundred per cent., and what might exceed that value should be divided among the old members; that all the interest due on those tallies which might be subscribed into the bank-stock, at that time appointed for subscriptions, to the end of the last preceding quarter on each tally, should be allowed as principal; that liberty should be given by parliament to enlarge the number of bank-bills to the value of the sum that should be so subscribed over and above the twelve hundred thousand pounds, provided they should be obliged to answer such bills on demand, and in default thereof be answered by the exchequer out of the first money due to them; that no other bank should be erected or allowed by act of parliament during the continuance of the bank of England; that this should be exempted from all tax or imposition; that no act of the corporation should forfeit the particular interest of any person concerned therein; that provision should be made to prevent the officers of the exchequer, and all other officers and receivers of the revenue, from diverting, delaying, or obstructing the course of payments to the bank; that care should be taken to prevent the altering, counterfeiting, or forging any bank bills or notes; that the estates and interest of each member in the stock of the corporation should be made a personal estate; that no contract made for any bank stock to be bought or sold, should be valid in law or equity unless actually registered in the bank books within seven days, and actually transferred within fourteen days after the contract should be made. A bill upon these resolutions was brought in under the direction of the chancellor of the exchequer: it related to the continuation of tonnage and poundage upon wine, vinegar, and tobacco, and comprehended a clause for laying an additional duty upon salt for two years and three quarters. All the several branches constituted a general fund, since known by the name of the general mortgage, without prejudice to their former appropriations. The bill also provided that the tallies should bear eight per cent, interest; that from the tenth of June for five years they should bear no more than six per cent, interest; and that no premium or discount upon them should be taken. In case of the general funds proving insufficient to pay the whole interest, it was provided that every proprietor should receive his proportion of the product, and the deficiency be made good from the next aid; but should the fund produce more than the interest, the surplus was destined to operate as a sinking fund for the discharge of the principal. In order to make up a deficiency of above eight hundred thousand pounds occasioned by the failure of the land-bank, additional duties were laid upon leather; the time was enlarged for persons to come in and purchase the annuities payable by several former acts, and to obtain more certain interest in such annuities.

Never were more vigorous measures taken to support the credit of the government; and never was the government served by such a set of enterprising undertakers. The commons having received a message from the king touching the condition of the civil list, resolved that a sum not exceeding five hundred and fifteen thousand pounds should be granted for the support of the civil list for the ensuing year, to be raised by a malt tax and additional duties upon mum sweets, cyder, and perry. They likewise resolved that an additional aid of one shilling in the pound should be laid upon land, as an equivalent for the duty of ten per cent, upon mixed goods. Provision was made for raising one million four hundred thousand pounds by a lottery. The treasury was empowered to issue an additional number of exchequer bills to the amount of twelve hundred thousand pounds, every hundred pounds bearing interest at the rate of fivepence a-day, and ten per cent, for circulation; finally, in order to liquidate the transport-debt, which the funds established for that purpose had not been sufficient to defray, a money-bill was brought in to oblige pedlars and hawkers to take out licenses, and pay for them at certain stated prices. One cannot without astonishment reflect upon the prodigious efforts that were made upon this occasion, or consider without indignation the enormous fortunes that were raised up by usurers and extortioners from the distresses of their country. The nation did not seem to know its own strength, until it was put to this extraordinary trial; and the experiment of mortgaging funds succeeded so well, that later ministers have proceeded in the same system, imposing burden upon burden, as if they thought the sinews of the nation could never be overstrained.

SIR JOHN FENWICK IS APPREHENDED, CONDEMNED, AND BEHEADED.

The public credit being thus bolstered up by the singular address of Mr. Montague, and the bills passed for the supplies of the ensuing year, the attention of the commons was transferred to the case of sir John Fen-wick, who had been apprehended in the month of June at New Romney, in his way to France. He had when taken written a letter to his lady by one Webber, who accompanied him; but this man being seized, the letter was found, containing such a confession as plainly evinced him guilty. He then entered into a treaty with the court for turning evidence, and delivered a long information in writing, which was sent abroad to his majesty. He made no discoveries that could injure any of the Jacobites, who, by his account, and other concurring testimonies, appeared to be divided into two parties, known by the names of compounders and non-com-pounders. The first, headed by the earl of Middleton, insisted upon receiving security from king James that the religion and liberties of England should be preserved; whereas the other party, at the head of which was the earl of Melfort, resolved to bring him in without conditions, relying upon his own honour and generosity. King William having sent over an order for bringing Fenwick to trial, unless he should make more material discoveries, the prisoner, with a view to amuse the ministry until he could take other measures for his own safety, accused the earls of Shrewsbury, Marlborough, and Bath, the lord Godolphin, and admiral Russel, of having made their peace with king James, and engaged to act for his interest. Meanwhile his lady and relations tampered with the two witnesses, Porter and Goodman. The first of these discovered those practices to the government; and one Clancey, who acted as agent for lady Fenwick, was tried, convicted of subornation, fined, and set in the pillory; but they had succeeded better in their attempts upon Goodman, who disappeared; so that one witness only remained, and Fenwick began to think his life was out of danger. Admiral Russel acquainted the house of commons that he and several persons of quality had been reflected upon in some informations of sir John Fenwick; he therefore desired that he might have an opportunity to justify his own character. Mr. secretary Trumball produced the papers, which having been read, the commons ordered that sir John Fenwick should be brought to the bar of the house. There he was exhorted by the speaker to make an ample discovery; which, however, he declined, except with the proviso that he should first receive some security that what he might say should not prejudice himself. He was ordered to withdraw until they should have deliberated on his request. Then he was called in again, and the speaker told him that he might deserve the favour of the house by making a full discovery. He desired he might be indulged with a little time to recollect himself, and promised to obey the command of the house. This favour being denied, he again insisted upon having security; which they refusing to grant, he chose to be silent, and was dismissed from the bar. The house voted that his informations reflecting upon the fidelity of several noblemen, members of the house, and others, upon hearsay, were false and scandalous, contrived to undermine the government, and create jealousies between the king and his subjects in order to stifle the conspiracy.

A motion being made for leave to bring in a bill to attaint him of high treason, a warm debate ensued, and the question being put, was carried in the affirmative by a great majority. He was furnished with a copy of the bill, and allowed the use of pen, ink, paper, and counsel. When he presented a petition praying that his counsel might be heard against passing the bill, they made an order that his counsel should be allowed to make his defence at the bar of the house; so that he was surprised into an irregular trial, instead of being indulged with an opportunity of offering objections to their passing the bill of attainder. He was accordingly brought to the bar of the house; and the bill being read in his hearing, the speaker called upon the king’s counsel to open the evidence. The prisoner’s counsel objected to their proceeding to trial, alleging that their client had not received the least notice of their purpose, and therefore could not be prepared for his defence; but that they came to offer their reasons against the bill. The house, after a long debate, resolved, that he should be allowed further time to produce witnesses in his defence; that the counsel for the king should likewise be allowed to produce evidence to prove the treasons of which he stood indicted; and an order was made for his being brought to the bar again in three days. In pursuance of this order he appeared, when the indictment which had been found against him by the grand jury was produced; and Porter was examined as an evidence. Then the record of Clancey’s conviction was read; and one Roe testified that Deighton, the prisoner’s solicitor, had offered him an annuity of one hundred pounds to discredit the testimony of Goodman. The king’s counsel moved, that Goodman’s examination, as taken by Mr. Vernon, clerk of the council, might be read. Sir J. Powis and sir Bartholomew Shower, the prisoner’s counsel, warmly opposed this proposal; they affirmed that a deposition taken when the party affected by it was not present to cross-examine the deposer, could not be admitted in a case of five shillings value; that though the house was not bound by the rules of inferior courts, it was nevertheless bound by the eternal and unalterable rules of justice; that no evidence, according to the rules of law, could be admitted in such a case but that of living witnesses; and that the examination of a person who is absent was never read to supply his testimony. The dispute between the lawyers on this subject gave rise to a very violent debate among the members of the house. Sir Edward Seymour, sir Richard Temple, Mr. Harley, Mr. Harcourt, Mr. Manly, sir Christopher Musgrave, and all the leaders of the tory party, argued against the hardship and injustice of admitting this information as an evidence. They demonstrated that it would be a step contrary to the practice of all courts of judicature, repugnant to the common notions of justice and humanity, diametrically opposite to the last act for regulating trials in cases of high treason, and of dangerous consequences to the lives and liberties of the people. On the other hand, lord Cutts, sir Thomas Lyttleton, Mr. Montague, Mr. Smith of the treasury, and Trevor the attorney-general, affirmed that the house was not bound by any form of law whatsoever; that this was an extraordinary case in which the safety of the government was deeply concerned; that though the common law might require two evidences in cases of treason, the house had a power of deviating from those rules in extraordinary cases; that there was no reason to doubt of sir John Fenwick’s being concerned in the conspiracy; that he or his friends had tampered with Porter; and that there were strong presumptions to believe the same practices had induced Goodman to abscond. In a word, the tories, either from party or patriotism, strenuously asserted the cause of liberty and humanity by those very arguments which had been used against them in the former reigns; while the wings, with equal violence and more success, espoused the dictates of arbitrary power and oppression, in the face of their former principles, with which they were now upbraided. At length the question was put, whether or not the information of Goodman should be read? and was carried in the affirmative by a majority of seventy-three voices. Then two of the grand jury who had found the indictment, recited the evidence which had been given to them by Porter and Goodman; lastly, the king’s counsel insisted upon producing the record of Cooke’s conviction, as he had been tried for the same conspiracy. The prisoner’s counsel objected, that if such evidence was admitted, the trial of one person in the same company would be the trial of all; and it could not be expected that they who came to defend sir John Fenwick only, should be prepared to answer the charge against Cooke. This article produced another vehement debate among the members; and the whigs obtained a second victory. The record was read, and the king’s counsel proceeded to call some of the jury who served on Cooke’s trial to affirm that he had been convicted on Goodman’s evidence. Sir Bartholomew Shower said he would submit it to the consideration of the house, whether it was just that the evidence against one person should conclude against another standing at a different bar, in defence of his life? The parties were again ordered to withdraw; and from this point arose a third debate, which ended as the two former to the disadvantage of the prisoner. The jury being examined, Mr. Sergeant Gould moved, that Mr. Vernon might be desired to produce the intercepted letter from sir John Fenwick to his lady. The prisoner’s counsel warmly opposed this motion, insisting upon their proving it to be his hand writing before it could be used against him; and no further stress was laid on this evidence. When they were called upon to enter on his defence, they pleaded incapacity to deliver matters of such importance after they had been fatigued with twelve hours’ attendance. The house resolved to hear such evidence as the prisoner had to produce that night. His counsel declared that they had nothing then to produce but the copy of a record; and the second resolution was, that he should be brought up again next day at noon. He accordingly appeared at the bar, and sir J. Powis proceeded on his defence. He observed that the bill under consideration affected the lives of the subjects; and such precedents were dangerous; that sir John Fenwick was forthcoming in order to be tried by the ordinary methods of justice; that he was actually under process, had pleaded, and was ready to stand trial; that if there was sufficient clear evidence against him, as the king’s sergeant had declared, there was no reason for his being deprived of the benefit of such a trial as was the birthright of every British subject; and if there was a deficiency of legal evidence, he thought this was a very odd reason for the bill. He took notice that even the regicides had the benefit of such a trial; that the last act for regulating trials in cases of treason proved the great tenderness of the laws which affected the life of the subject; and he expressed his surprise that the very parliament which had passed that law should enact another for putting a person to death without any trial at all. He admitted that there had been many bills of attainder, but they were generally levelled at outlaws and fugitives; and some of them had been reversed in the sequel as arbitrary and unjust. He urged that this bill of attainder did not allege or say that sir John Fenwick was guilty of the treason for which he had been indicted; a circumstance which prevented him from producing witnesses to that and several matters upon which the king’s counsel had expatiated. He said they had introduced evidence to prove circumstances not alleged in the bill, and defective evidence of those that were; that Porter was not examined upon oath; that nothing could be more severe than to pass sentence of death upon a man, corrupt his blood, and confiscate his estate, upon parole evidence; especially of such a wretch who, by his own confession, had been engaged in a crime of the blackest nature, not a convert to the dictates of conscience, but a coward, shrinking from the danger by which he had been environed, and even now drudging for a pardon. He invalidated the evidence of Goodman’s examination. He observed that the indictment mentioned a conspiracy to call in a foreign power; but as this conspiracy had not been put in practice, such an agreement was not a sufficient overt-act of treason, according to the opinion of Hawles the solicitor-general, concerned in this very prosecution. So saying, he produced a book of remarks which that lawyer had published on the cases of lord Russel, colonel Sidney, and others, who had suffered death in the reign of Charles II. This author, said he, takes notice, that a conspiracy or agreement to levy war is not treason without actually levying war; a sentiment in which he concurred with lord Coke, and lord chief-justice Hales. He concluded with saying, “We know at present on what ground we stand; by the statute of Edward III. we know what treason is; by the two statutes of Edward VI. and the late act, we know what is proof; by the Magna Charta we know we are to be tried per legem terræ el per judicium parium, by the law of the land and the judgment of our peers; but if bills of attainder come into fashion, we shall neither know what is treason, what is evidence, nor how nor where we are to be tried.” He was seconded by sir Bartholomew Shower, who spoke with equal energy and elocution; and their arguments were answered by the king’s counsel. The arguments in favour of the bill imported that the parliament would not interpose except in extraordinary cases; that here the evidence necessary in inferior courts being defective, the parliament, which was not tied down by legal evidence, had a right to exert their extraordinary power in punishing an offender, who would otherwise escape with impunity; that as the law stood, he was but a sorry politician that could not ruin the government, and yet elude the statute of treason; that if a plot, after being discovered, should not be thoroughly prosecuted, it would strengthen and grow upon the administration, and probably at length subvert the government; that it was notorious that parties were forming for king James; persons were plotting in every part of the kingdom, and an open invasion was threatened; therefore this was a proper time for the parliament to exert their extraordinary power; that the English differed from all other nations in bringing the witnesses and the prisoner face to face, and requiring two witnesses in cases of treason; nor did the English law itself require the same proof in some cases as in others, for one witness was sufficient in felony, as well as for the treason of coining; that Fenwick was notoriously guilty, and deserved to feel the resentment of the nation; that he would have been brought to exemplary punishment in the ordinary course of justice, had he not eluded it by corrupting evidence and withdrawing a witness. If this reasoning be just, the house of commons has a right to act in diametrical opposition to the laws in being; and is vested with a despotic power over the lives and fortunes of their constituents, for whose protection they are constituted. Let us therefore reflect upon the possibility of a parliament debauched by the arts of corruption into servile compliance with the designs of an arbitrary prince, and tremble for the consequence. The debate being finished, the prisoner was, at the desire of admiral Russel, questioned with regard to the imputations he had fixed upon that gentleman and others from hearsay; but he desired to be excused on account of the risk he ran while under a double prosecution, if any thing which should escape him might be turned to his prejudice.

After he was removed from the bar, Mr. Vernon, at the desire of the house, recapitulated the arts and practices of sir John Fenwick and his friends to procrastinate the trial. The bill was read a second time; and the speaker asking, If the question should be put for its being committed? the house was immediately kindled into a new flame of contention. Hawles, the solicitor-general, affirmed that the house in the present case should act both as judge and jury. Mr. Harcourt said he knew of no trial for treason but what was confirmed by Magna Charta, by a jury, the birthright and darling privilege of an Englishman, or per legem terræ, which includes impeachments in parliament; that it was a strange trial where the person accused had a chance to be hanged, but none to be saved; that he never heard of a juryman who was not on his oath, nor of a judge who had not power to examine witnesses upon oath, and who was not empowered to save the innocent as well as to condemn the guilty. Sir Thomas Lyttleton was of opinion that the parliament ought not to stand upon little niceties and forms of other courts when the government was at stake. Mr. Howe asserted that to do a thing of this nature, because the parliament had power to do it, was a strange way of reasoning; that what was justice and equity at Westminster-hall, was justice and equity every where; that one bad precedent in parliament was of worse consequence than an hundred in Westminster-hall, because personal or private injuries did not foreclose the claims of original right; whereas the parliament could ruin the nation beyond redemption, because it could establish tyranny by law. Sir Richard Temple, in arguing against the bill, observed that the power of parliament is to make any law, but the jurisdiction of parliament is to govern itself by the law; to make a law, therefore, against all the laws in England was the ultimum remedium et pessimum, never to be used but in case of absolute necessity. He affirmed that by this precedent the house overthrew all the laws of England; first, in condemning a man upon one witness; secondly, in passing an act without any trial. The commons never did nor can assume a jurisdiction of trying any person: they may for their own information hear what can be offered; but it is not a trial where witnesses are not upon oath. All bills of attainder have passed against persons that were dead or fled, or without the compass of the law: some have been brought in after trials in Westminster-hall; but none of those have been called trials, and they were generally reversed. He denied that the parliament had power to declare anything treason which was not treason before. When inferior courts were dubious, the case might be brought before parliament to judge whether it be treason or felony; but then they must judge by the laws in being, and this judgment was not in the parliament by bill but only in the house of lords. Lord Digby, Mr. Harley, and colonel Granville, spoke to the same purpose. But their arguments and remonstrances had no effect upon the majority, by whom the prisoner was devoted to destruction. The bill was committed, passed, and sent up to the house of lords, where it produced the longest and warmest debates which had been known since the Restoration. Bishop Burnet signalized his zeal for the government by a long speech in favour of the bill, contradicting some of the fundamental maxims which he had formerly avowed in behalf of the liberties of the people. At length it was carried by a majority of seven voices; and one-and-forty lords, including eight prelates, entered a protest couched in the strongest terms against the decision.

When the bill received the royal assent, another act of the like nature passed against Barclay, Holmes, and nine other conspirators who had fled from justice, in case they should not surrender themselves on or before the twenty-fifth day of March next ensuing. Sir John Fenwick solicited the mediation of the lords in his behalf, while his friends implored the royal mercy. The peers gave him to understand that the success of his suit would depend upon the fulness of his discoveries. He would have previously stipulated for a pardon, and they insisted upon his depending on their favour. He hesitated some time between the fears of infamy and the terrors of death, which last he at length chose to undergo rather than incur the disgraceful character of an informer. He was complimented with the axe in consideration of his rank and alliance with the house of Howard, and suffered on Tower-hill with great composure. In the paper which he delivered to the sheriff, he took God to witness that he knew not of the intended invasion until it was the common subject of discourse, nor was he engaged in any shape for the service of king James. He thanked those noble and worthy persons who had opposed his attainder in parliament; protested before God that the information he gave to the ministry he had received in letters and messages from France; and observed that he might have expected mercy from the prince of Orange, as he had been instrumental in saving his life by preventing the execution of a design which had been formed against it—a circumstance which in all probability induced the late conspirators to conceal their purpose of assassination from his knowledge. He professed his loyalty to king James, and prayed heaven for his speedy restoration.

EARL OF MONMOUTH SENT TO THE TOWER.

While Fenwick’s affair was in agitation, the earl of Monmouth had set on foot some practices against the duke of Shrewsbury. One Matthew Smith, nephew to sir William Perkins, had been entertained as a spy by this nobleman, who finding his intelligence of very little use or importance, dismissed him as a troublesome dependent. Then he had recourse to the earl of Monmouth, into whom he infused unfavourable sentiments of the duke, insinuating that he had made great discoveries which from sinister motives were suppressed. Monmouth communicated those impressions to the earl of Portland, who enlisted Smith as one of his intelligencers. Copies of the letters he had sent to the duke of Shrewsbury were delivered to secretary Trumball sealed up for the perusal of his majesty at his return from Flanders. When Fenwick mentioned the duke of Shrewsbury in his discoveries, the earl of Monmouth resolved to seize the opportunity of ruining that nobleman. He, by the channel of the duchess of Norfolk, exhorted lady Fenwick to prevail upon her husband to persist in his accusation, and even dictated a paper of directions. Fenwick rejected the proposal with disdain, as a scandalous contrivance; and Monmouth was so incensed at his refusal that when the bill of attainder appeared in the house of lords, he spoke in favour of it with peculiar vehemence. Lady Fenwick, provoked at this cruel outrage, prevailed upon her nephew the earl of Carlisle to move the house that sir John might be examined touching any advices that had been sent to him with relation to his discoveries. Fenwick being interrogated accordingly, gave an account of all the particulars of Monmouth’s scheme, which was calculated to ruin the duke of Shrewsbury by bringing Smith’s letters on the carpet. The duchess of Norfolk and a confidant were examined and confirmed the detection. The house called for Smith’s letters, which were produced by sir William Trumball. The earl of Monmouth was committed to the Tower and dismissed from all his employments. He was released however at the end of the session, and the court made up all his losses in private lest he should be tempted to join the opposition.

INQUIRY INTO MISCARRIAGES BY SEA.

The whigs, before they were glutted with the sacrifice of Fenwick, had determined to let loose their vengeance upon sir George Rooke, who was a leader in the opposite interest. Sir Cloudesley Shovel had been sent with a squadron to look into Brest, where, according to the intelligence which the government had received, the French were employed in preparing for a descent upon England; but this information was false. They were busy in equipping an armament for the West Indies, under the command of M. Pointis, who actually sailed to the coast of New Spain and took the city of Carfehagena. Rooke had been ordered to intercept the Toulon squadron in its way to Brest; but his endeavours miscarried. The commons in a committee of the whole house resolved to inquire why this fleet was not intercepted; Rooke underwent a long examination, and was obliged to produce his journal, orders, and letters. Shovel and Mitchel were likewise examined; but nothing appearing to the prejudice of the admiral, the house thought proper to desist from their prosecution. After they had determined on the fate of Fenwick, they proceeded to enact several laws for regulating the domestic economy of the nation; among others they passed an act for the more effectual relief of creditors in cases of escape, and for preventing abuses in prisons and pretended privileged places. Ever since the reformation certain places in and about the city of London, which had been sanctuaries during the prevalence of the popish religion, afforded asylum to debtors, and were become receptacles of desperate persons who presumed to set the law at defiance. One of these places called White-friars was filled with a crew of ruffians, who every day committed acts of violence and outrage; but this law was so vigorously put in execution that they were obliged to abandon the district, which was soon filled with more creditable inhabitants. On the sixteenth day of April the king closed the session with a short speech, thanking the parliament for the great supplies they had so cheerfully granted, and expressed his satisfaction at the measures they had taken for retrieving the public credit. Before he quitted the kingdom he ventured to produce upon the scene the earl of Sunderland, who had hitherto promoted his councils behind the curtain. That politician was now sworn of the privy council, and gratified with the office of lord-chamberlain, which had been resigned by the earl of Dorset, a nobleman of elegant talents and invincible indolence, severe and poignant in his writings and remarks upon mankind in general, but humane, good-natured, and generous to excess, in his commerce with individuals.

NEGOTIATIONS AT RYSWICK.

William having made some promotions * and appointed a regency, embarked on the twenty-sixth day of April for Holland, that he might be at hand to manage the negotiation for a general peace.

* Somers was created a baron, and appointed lord-chancellor of England; admiral Russel was dignified with the title of earl of Orford. In February the earl of Aylesbury, who had been committed on account of the conspiracy, was released upon bail; but this privilege was denied to lord Montgomery, who had been imprisoned in Newgate on the same account.

By this time the preliminaries were settled between Callieres the French minister, and Mr. Dykvelt in behalf of the states-general, who resolved, in consequence of the concessions made by France, that, in concert with their allies, the mediation of Sweden might be accepted. The emperor and the court of Spain, however, were not satisfied with those concessions; yet his imperial majesty declared he would embrace the proffered mediation, provided the treaty of Westphalia should be re-established; and provided the king of Sweden would engage to join his troops with those of the allies, in case France should break through the stipulation. This proposal being delivered, the ministers of England and Holland at Vienna presented a joint memorial, pressing his imperial majesty to accept the mediation without reserve, and name a place at which the congress might be opened. The emperor complied with reluctance. On the fourteenth day of February all the ministers of the allies, except the ambassador of Spain, agreed to the proposal; and next day signified their assent in form to M. Lillienroot, the Swedish plenipotentiary. Spain demanded, as a preliminary, that France should agree to restore all the places mentioned in a long list which the minister of that crown presented to the assembly. The emperor proposed that the congress should be held at Aix-la-Chapelle, or Franckfort, or some other town in Germany. The other allies were more disposed to negotiate in Holland. At length the French king suggested, that no place would be more proper than a palace belonging to king William called Newbourg-house, situated between the Hague and Delft, close by the village of Ryswick; and to this proposition the ministers agreed. Those of England were the earl of Pembroke, a virtuous, learned, and popular nobleman, the lord Villiers, and sir Joseph Williamson: France sent Harlay and Crecy to the assistance of Callieres. Louis was not only tired of the war, on account of the misery in which it had involved his kingdom; but in desiring a peace he was actuated by another motive. The king of Spain had been for some time in a very ill state of health, and the French monarch had an eye to the succession: this aim could not be accomplished while the confederacy subsisted; therefore he eagerly sought a peace, that he might at once turn his whole power against Spain as soon as Charles should expire. The emperor harboured the same design upon the Spanish crown, and for that reason interested himself in the continuance of the grand alliance. Besides, he foresaw he should in a little time be able to act against France with an augmented force. The czar of Muscovy had engaged to find employment for the Turks and Tartars. He intended to raise the elector of Saxony to the throne of Poland; and he had made some progress in a negotiation with the circles of the Rhine for a considerable body of auxiliary troops. The Dutch had no other view but that of securing a barrier in the Netherlands. King William insisted upon the French king’s acknowledging his title; and the English nation wished for nothing so much as the end of a ruinous war. On the tenth day of February, Callieres, in the name of his master, agreed to the following preliminaries: That the treaties of Westphalia and Nimeguen should be the basis of this negotiation; that Strasbourg should be restored to the empire, and Luxembourg to the Spaniards, together with Mons, Charleroy, and all places taken by the French in Catalonia since the treaty of Nimeguen; that Dinant should be ceded to the bishop of Liege, and all reunion since the treaty of Nimeguen be made void; that the French king should make restitution of Lorraine, and, upon conclusion of the peace, acknowledge the prince of Orange as king of Great Britain, without condition or reserve. The conferences were interrupted by the death of Charles XI. king of Sweden, who was succeeded by his son Charles, then a minor: but the queen and five senators, whom the late king had by will appointed administrators of the government, resolved to pursue the mediation, and sent a new commission to Lillienroot for that purpose. The ceremonials being regulated with the consent of all parties, the plenipotentiaries of the emperor delivered their master’s demands to the mediator on the twenty-second day of May, and several German ministers gave in the pretensions the respective princes whom they represented.

THE FRENCH TAKE BARCELONA.

Meanwhile the French king, in the hope of procuring more favourable terms, resolved to make his last effort against the Spaniards in Catalonia and in the Netherlands, and to elevate the prince of Conti to the throne of Poland; an event which would have greatly improved the interest of France in Europe. Louis had got the start of the confederates in Flanders, and sent thither a very numerous army commanded by Catinat, Villeroy, and Boufflers. The campaign was opened with the siege of Aeth, which was no sooner invested than king William, having recovered of an indisposition, took the field, and had an interview with the duke of Bavaria, who commanded a separate body. He did not think proper to interrupt the enemy in their operations before Aeth, which surrendered in a few days after the trenches were opened; but contented himself with taking possession of an advantageous camp, where he covered Brussels, which Villeroy and Boufflers had determined to besiege. In Catalonia the duke of Vendôme invested Barcelona, in which there was a garrison of ten thousand regular soldiers, besides five thousand burghers who had voluntarily taken arms on this occasion. The governor of the place was the prince of Hesse d’Armstadt, who had served in Ireland; and been vested with the command of the Imperial troops which were sent into Spain. The French general being reinforced from Provence and Languedoc, carried on his approaches with surprising impetuosity; and was repulsed in several attacks by the valour of the defendants. At length the enemy surprised and routed the viceroy of Catalonia; and flushed with this victory, stormed the outworks, which had been long battered with their cannon. The dispute was very bloody and obstinate; but the French, by dint of numbers, made themselves masters of the covered-way and two bastions. There they erected batteries of cannon and mortars, and fired furiously on the town, which however the prince of Hesse resolved to defend to the last extremity. The court of Madrid, however, unwilling to see the place entirely ruined, as in all probability it would be restored at the peace, despatched an order to the prince to capitulate; and he obtained very honourable terms, after having made a glorious defence for nine weeks; in consideration of which he was appointed viceroy of the province. France was no sooner in possession of this important place, than the Spaniards became as eager for peace as they had been before averse to a negotiation.

EXPEDITION OF ADMIRAL NEVIL TO THE WEST INDIES.

Their impatience was not a little inflamed by the success of Pointis in America, where he took Carthagena, in which he found a booty amounting to eight millions of crowns. Having ruined the fortifications of the place, and received advice that an English squadron under admiral Nevil had arrived in the West Indies, with a design to attack him in his return, he bore away for the straits of Bahama. On the twenty-second day of May he fell in with the English fleet, and one of his fly-boats was taken; but such was his dexterity, or good fortune, that he escaped after having been pursued five days, during which the English and Dutch rear-admirals sprang their fore-top-masts and received other damage, so that they could not proceed. Then Nevil steered to Carthagena, which he found quite abandoned by the inhabitants, who after the departure of Pointis had been rifled a second time by the buccaneers, on pretence that they had been defrauded of their share of the plunder. This was really the case; they had in a great measure contributed to the success of Pointis, and were very ill rewarded. In a few days the English admiral discovered eight sail of their ships, two of which were forced on the shore and destroyed, two taken and the rest escaped. Then he directed his course to Jamaica, and by the advice of the governor, sir William Beeston, detached rear-admiral Meeze with some ships and forces to attack Petit-Guavas, which he accordingly surprised, burned, and reduced to ashes. After this small expedition, Nevil proceeded to the Havannah on purpose to take the galleons under his convoy for Europe, according to the instructions he had received from the king; but the governor of the place, and the general of the plate-fleet, suspecting such an offer, would neither suffer him to enter the harbour, nor put the galleons under his protection. He now sailed through the gulf of Folrida to Virginia, where he died of chagrin, and the command of the fleet devolved on captain Dilkes, who arrived in England on the twenty-fourth day of October, with a shattered squadron half manned, to the unspeakable mortification of the people, who flattered themselves with the hopes of wealth and glory from this expedition. Pointis steering to the banks of Newfoundland, entered the bay of Conceptione, at a time when a stout English squadron, commanded by commodore Norris, lay at anchor in the bay of St. John. This officer being informed of the arrival of a French fleet, at first concluded that it was the squadron of M. Nesmond come to attack him, and exerted his utmost endeavours to put the place in a posture of defence; but afterwards understanding that it was Pointis returning with the spoil of Carthagena, he called a council of war, and proposed to go immediately in quest of the enemy. He was however over-ruled by a majority, who gave it as their opinion that they should remain where they were without running unnecessary hazard. By virtue of this scandalous determination, Pointis was permitted to proceed on his voyage to Europe; but he had not yet escaped every danger. On the fourteenth day of August he fell in with a squadron under the command of captain Harlow, by whom he was boldly engaged till night parted the combatants. He was pursued next day; but his ships sailing better than those of Harlow, he accomplished his escape, and on the morrow entered the harbour of Brest. That his ships, which were foul, should out-sail the English squadron, which had just put to sea, was a mystery which the people of England could not explain. They complained of having been betrayed through the whole course of the West Indian expedition. The king owned he did not understand marine affairs, the entire conduct of which he abandoned to Russel, who became proud, arbitrary, and unpopular, and was supposed to be betrayed by his dependents. Certain it is, the service was greatly obstructed by faction among the officers, which with respect to the nation had all the effects of treachery and misconduct.

THE ELECTOR OF SAXONY IS CHOSEN KING OF POLAND.

The success of the French in Catalona, Flanders, and the West Indies, was balanced by their disappointment in Poland. Louis encouraged by the remonstrance of the abbé de Polignac, who managed the affairs of France in that kingdom, resolved to support the prince of Conti as a candidate for the crown, and remitted great sums of money which wore distributed among the Polish nobility. The emperor had at first declared for the son of the late king; but finding the French party too strong for his competitor, he entered into a negotiation with the elector of Saxony, who agreed to change his religion, to distribute eight millions of florins among the Poles, to confirm their privileges, and advance with his troops to the frontiers of that kingdom. Having performed these articles, he declared himself a candidate, and was publicly espoused by the Imperialists. The duke of Lorraine, the prince of Baden, and don Livio Odeschalchi, nephew to pope Innocent, were likewise competitors; but finding their interest insufficient, they united their influence with that of the elector, who was proclaimed king of Poland. He forthwith took the oath required, procured an attestation from the Imperial court of his having changed his religion, and marched with his army to Cracow, where he was crowned with the usual solemnity. Louis persisted in maintaining the pretensions of the prince of Conti, and equipped a fleet at Dunkirk for his convoy to Dantzick in his way to Poland. But the magistrates of that city, who had declared for the new king, would not suffer his men to land, though they offered to admit himself with a small retinue. He therefore went on shore at Marien-burgh, where he was met by some chiefs of his own party; but the new king Augustus acted with such vigilance, that he found it impracticable to form an army; besides he suspected the fidelity of his own Polish partizans; he therefore refused to part with the treasure he had brought, and in the beginning of winter returned to Dunkirk.

THE CZAR OF MUSCOVY TrAVELS IN DISGUISE.

The establishment of Augustus on the throne of Poland was in some measure owing to the conduct of Peter the czar of Muscovy, who having formed great designs against the Ottoman Porte, was very unwilling to see the crown of Poland possessed by a partizan of France, which was in alliance with the grand seignor. He therefore interested himself warmly in the dispute, and ordered his general to assemble an army on the frontiers of Lithuania, which by over-awing the Poles that were in the interest of the prince of Conti, considerably influenced the election. This extraordinary legislator, who was a strange compound of heroism and barbarity, conscious of the defects in his education, and of the gross ignorance that overspread his dominions, resolved to extend his ideas, and improve his judgment by travelling; and that he might be the less restricted by forms, or interrupted by officious curiosity, he determined to travel in disguise. He was extremely ambitious of becoming a maritime power, and in particular of maintaining a fleet in the Black-sea; and his immediate aim was to learn the principles of ship-building. He appointed an embassy for Holland, to regulate some points of commerce with the states-general. Having intrusted the care of his dominions to persons in whom he could confide, he now disguised himself, and travelled as one of their retinue. He first disclosed himself to the elector of Brandenburgh in Prussia, and afterwards to king William, with whom he conferred in private at Utrecht. He engaged himself as a common labourer with a ship-carpenter in Holland, whom he served for some months with wonderful patience and assiduity. He afterwards visited England, where he amused himself chiefly with the same kind of occupation. From thence he set out for Vienna, where receiving advices from his dominions, that his sister was concerned in managing intrigues against his government, he returned suddenly to Moscow, and found the machinations of the conspirators were already baffled by the vigilance and fidelity of the foreigners to whom he had left the care of the administration. His savage nature, however, broke out upon this occasion; he ordered some hundreds to be hanged all round his capital; and a good number were beheaded, he himself with his own hands performing the office of executioner.

CONGRESS AT RYSWICK.

The negotiations at Ryswick proceeded very slowly for some time. The Imperial minister demanded, that Franco should make restitution of all the places and dominions she had wrested from the empire since the peace of Munster, whether by force of arms or pretence of right. The Spaniards claimed all they could demand by virtue of the peace of Nimeguen and the treaty of the Pyrenees. The French affirmed, that if the preliminaries offered by Callieres were accepted, these propositions could not be taken into consideration. The Imperialists persisted in demanding a circumstantial answer, article by article. The Spaniards insisted upon the same manner of proceeding, and called upon the mediator and Dutch ministers to support their pretensions. The plenipotentiaries of France declared, they would not admit any demand or proposition contrary to the preliminary articles; but were willing to deliver in a project of peace in order to shorten the negotiations, and the Spanish ambassadors consented to this expedient. During these transactions the earl of Portland held a conference with mareschal Boufflers near Halle, in sight of the two opposite armies, which was continued in five successive meetings. On the second day of August they retired together to a house in the suburbs of Halle, and mutually signed a paper, in which the principal articles of the peace between France and England were adjusted. Next day king William quitted the camp, and retired to his house at Loo, confident of having taken such measures for a pacification as could not be disappointed. The subject of this field negotiation is said to have turned upon the interest of king James, which the French monarch promised to abandon; others however suppose that the first foundation of the partition treaty was laid in this conference. But in all probability, William’s sole aim was to put an end to an expensive and unsuccessful war, which had rendered him very unpopular in his own dominions, and to obtain from the court of France an acknowledgment of his title, which had since the queen’s death become the subject of dispute. He perceived the emperor’s backwardness towards a pacification, and foresaw numberless difficulties in discussing such a complication of interests by the common method of treating; he therefore chose such a step as he thought would alarm the jealousy of the allies, and quicken the negotiation at Ryswick. Before the congress was opened, king James had published two manifestoes, addressed to the catholic and protestant princes of the confederacy, representing his wrongs, and craving redress; but his remonstrances being altogether disregarded, he afterwards issued a third declaration, solemnly protesting against all that might or should be negotiated, regulated, or stipulated with the usurper of his realms, as being void of all rightful and lawful authority. On the twentieth day, of July the French ambassadors produced their project of a general peace, declaring at the same time that should it not be accepted before the last day of August, France would not hold herself bound for the conditions she now offered; but Caunitz, the emperor’s plenipotentiary, protested he would pay no regard to this limitation. On the thirtieth of August, however, he delivered to the mediators an ultimatum, importing that he adhered to the treaties of Westphalia and Nimeguen, and accepted of Strasbourg with its appurtenances; that he insisted upon the restitution of Lorraine to the prince of that name; and demanded that the church and chapter of Liege should be re-established in the possession of their incontestable rights. Next day the French plenipotentiaries declared that the month of August being now expired, all their offers were vacated; that therefore the king of France would reserve Strasbourg, and unite it with its dependencies to his crown for ever; that in other respects he would adhere to the project, and restore Barcelona to the crown of Spain; but that these terms must be accepted in twenty days, otherwise he should think himself at liberty to recede. The ministers of the electors and princes of the empire joined in a written remonstrance to the Spanish plenipotentiaries, representing the inconveniencies and dangers that would accrue to the Germanic body from France being in possession of Luxembourg, and exhorting them in the strongest terms to reject all offers of an equivalent for that province. They likewise presented another to the states-general, requiring them to continue the war according to their engagements, until France should have complied with the preliminaries. No regard however was paid to either of these addresses. Then the Imperial ambassadors demanded the good offices of the mediator on certain articles; but all that he could obtain of France was, that the term for adjusting the peace between her and the emperor should be prolonged till the first day of November, and in the meantime an armistice be punctually observed. Yet even these concessions were made on condition that the treaty with England, Spain, and Holland, should be signed on that day, even though the emperor and empire should not concur.

THE AMBASSADORS SIGN THE TREATY.

Accordingly on the twentieth day of September, the articles were subscribed by the Dutch, English, Spanish, and French ambassadors, while the Imperial ministers protested against the transaction, observing this was the second time that a separate peace had been concluded with France; and that the states of the empire, who had been imposed upon through their own credulity, would not for the future be so easily persuaded to engage in confederacies. In certain preparatory articles settled between England and France, king William promised to pay a yearly pension to queen Mary D’Esté, of fifty thousand pounds, or such sum as should be established for that purpose by act of parliament. The treaty itself consisted of seventeen articles. The French king engaged, that he would not disturb or disquiet the king of Groat Britain in the possession of his realms or government; nor assist his enemies, nor favour conspiracies against his person. This obligation was reciprocal. A free commerce was restored. Commissaries were appointed to meet at London and settle the pretensions of each crown to Hudson’s bay, taken by the French during the late peace, and retaken by the English in the course of the war; and to regulate the limits of the places to be restored, as well as the exchanges to be made. It was likewise stipulated, that, in case of a rupture, six months should be allowed to the subjects of each power for removing their effects; that the separate articles of the treaty of Nimeguen, relating to the principality of Orange, should be entirely executed; and that the ratifications should be exchanged in three weeks from the day of signing. The treaty between France and Holland imported a general armistice, a perpetual amity, a mutual restitution, a reciprocal renunciation of all pretensions upon each other, a confirmation of the peace of Savoy, a re-establishment of the treaty concluded between France and Brandenburgh in the year I one thousand six hundred and seventy-nine, a comprehension of Sweden, and all those powers that should be named before the ratification, or in six months after the conclusion of the treaty. Besides, the Dutch ministers concluded a treaty of commerce with France, which was immediately put in execution. Spain had great reason to be satisfied with the pacification, by which the recovered Gironne, Eoses, Barcelona, Luxembourg, Charleroy, Mons, Courtray, and all the towns, fortresses, and territories taken by the French in the province of Luxembourg, Namur, Brabant, Flanders, and Hainault, except eighty-two towns and villages claimed by the French; this dispute was left to the decision of commissaries; or in case they should not agree, to the determination of the states-general. A remonstrance in favour of the French protestant refugees in England, Holland, and Germany, was delivered by the earl of Pembroke to the mediators, in the name of the protestant allies, on the day that preceded the conclusion of the treaty; but the French plenipotentiaries declared in the name of their master, that as he did not pretend “to prescribe rules to king William about the English subjects, he expected the same liberty with respect to his own.” No other effort was made in behalf of those conscientious exiles; the treaties were ratified, and the peace proclaimed at Paris and London.

A GENERAL PACIFICATION.

The emperor still held out, and perhaps was encouraged to persevere in his obstinacy by the success of his arms in Hungary, where his general, prince Eugene of Savoy, obtained a complete victory at Zenta over the forces of the grand seignor, who commanded his army in person. In this battle, which was fought on the eleventh day of September, the grand vizier, the aga of the janissaries, seven-and-twenty pachas, and about thirty thousand men, were killed or drowned in the river Theysse six thousand were wounded or taken, together with all their artillery, tents, baggage, provisions, and ammunition, the grand seignor himself escaping with difficulty; a victory the more glorious and acceptable, as the Turks had a great superiority in point of number, and as the Imperialists did not lose a thousand men during the whole action. The emperor perceiving that the event of this battle had no effect in retarding the treaty, thought proper to make use of the armistice, and continue the negotiation after the forementioned treaties had been signed. This was likewise the case with the princes of the empire; though those of the protestant persuasion complained that their interest was neglected. In one of the articles of the treaty, it was stipulated that in the places to be restored by France, the Roman catholic religion should continue as it had been re-established. The ambassadors of the protestant princes joined in a remonstrance, demanding that the Lutheran religion should be restored in those places where it had formerly prevailed; but this demand was rejected, as being equally disagreeable to France and the emperor. Then they refused to sign the treaty, which was now concluded between France, the emperor, and the catholic princes of the empire. By this pacification, Triers, the Palatinate, and Lorraine, were restored to their respective owners. The countries of Spanheim and Valdentz, together with the duchy of Deux Ponts, were ceded to the king of Sweden. Francis Louis Palatine was confirmed in the electorate of Cologn; and cardinal Furstemberg restored to all his rights and benefices. The claims of the duchess of Orleans upon the Palatinate were referred to the arbitration of France and the emperor; and in the meantime the elector Palatine agreed to supply her highness with an annuity of one hundred thousand florins. The ministers of the protestant princes published a formal declaration against the clause relating to religion, and afterwards solemnly protested against the manner in which the negotiation had been conducted. Such was the issue of a long and bloody war, which had drained England of her wealth and people, almost entirely ruined her commerce, debauched her morals, by encouraging venality and corruption, and entailed upon her the curse of foreign connexions, as well as a national debt which was gradually increased to an intolerable burden. After all the blood and treasure which had been expended, William’s ambition and revenge remained unsatisfied. Nevertheless, he reaped the solid advantage of seeing himself firmly established on the English throne; and the confederacy, though not successful in every instance, accomplished their great aim of putting a stop to the encroachments of the French monarch. They mortified his vanity, they humbled his pride and arrogance, and compelled him to disgorge the acquisitions which, like a robber, he had made in violation of public faith, justice, and humanity. Had the allies been true to one another; had they acted from genuine zeal for the common interests of mankind; and prosecuted with vigour the plan which was originally concerted, Louis would in a few campaigns have been reduced to the most abject state of disgrace, despondence, and submission; for he was destitute of true courage and magnanimity. King William having finished this important transaction, returned to England about the middle of November, and was received in London amidst the acclamations of the people, who now again hailed him as their deliverer from a war, by the continuance of which they must have been infallibly beggared.

CHAPTER VI.

State of Parties..... Characters of the Ministers..... The Commons reduce the Number of standing Forces to Ten Thousand..... They establish the Civil list; and assign Funds for paying the National Debts..... They take Cognisance of fraudulent Endorsements of Exchequer Bills..... Anew East-India Company constituted by act of parliament..... .Proceedings against a Book written by William Molineux of Dublin, and against certain Smugglers of Alamodes and Lustrings from France..... Society for the Reformation of Manners..... The Earl of Portland resigns his Employments..... The King disowns the Scottish Trading Company..... He embarks for Holland..... First Treaty of Partition..... Intrigues of France at the Court of Madrid..... King William is thwarted by his now Parliament..... He is obliged to send away his Dutch Guards..... The Commons address the King against the Papists..... The Parliament prorogued..... The Scottish Company make a Settlement on the Isthmus of Darien; which however they are compelled to abandon..... Remonstrances of the Spanish Court against the Treaty of Partition ..... The Commons persist in their Resolutions to mortify the King..... Inquiry into the Expedition of Captain Kidd..... A Motion made against Burnet, bishop of Sarum..... Inquiry into the Irish Forfeitures..... The Commons pass a Bill of Resumption, and a severe Bill against Papists..... The old East-India Company re-established..... Dangerous Ferment in Scotland..... lord Homers dismissed from his Employments..... Second Treaty of Partition..... Death of the Duke of Gloucester..... The King sends a Fleet into the Baltic, to the Assistance of the Swedes..... The second Treaty of Partition generally disagreeable to the European Powers..... The French Interest prevails at the Court of Spain..... King William finds means to allay the heats in Scotland ..... The King of Spain dies, after having bequeathed his Dominions by Will to the Duke of Anjou..... The French King’s Apology for accepting the Will ..... The States-general owns Philip as King of Spain..... Anew Ministry and a new Parliament..... The Commons unpropitious to the Court—-The Lords are more condescending..... An intercepted Letter from the Earl of Melfort to his Brother..... Succession of the Crown settled upon the Princess Sophia, Elect ress Dowager of Hanover, and the Protestant Heirs of her Body..... The Duchess of Savoy protests against this Act..... Ineffectual Negotiation with France..... Severe Addresses from both Houses, in relation to the Partition Treaty..... William is obliged to acknowledge the King of Spain..... The two Houses seem to enter into the King’s Measures..... The Commons resolve to wreak their Vengeance on the old Ministry..... The earls of Portland and Oxford, the Lords Sotners and Halifax, are impeached..... Disputes between the two Houses..... The House of Peers acquits the impeached Lords ..... Petition of Kent..... Favourable end of the Session..... Progress of Prince Eugene in Italy..... Sketch of the Situation of Affairs in Europe..... Treaty of Alliance between the Emperor and the maritime Powers..... Death of King James..... The French King owns the pretended Prince of Wales as King of England..... Addresses to King William on that subject..... New Parliament..... The King’s last Speech to both Houses received with great Applause..... Great Harmony between the King and Parliament..... The two Houses pass the Bill of Abjuration..... The Lower House justifies the Proceedings of the Commons in the preceding Parliament..... Affairs of Ireland ..... The King recommends an Union of the two Kingdoms..... He falls from his Horse..... His Death..... And Character.

WHEN the king opened the session of parliament on the third day of December, he told them the war was brought to the end they all proposed, namely, an honourable peace. He gave them to understand there was a considerable debt on account of the fleet and army; that the revenues of the crown had been anticipated. He expressed his hope that they would provide for him during his life, in such a manner as would conduce to his own honour and that of the government. He recommended the maintenance of a considerable navy; and gave it as his opinion, that for the present England could not be safe without a standing army. He promised to rectify such corruptions and abuses as might have crept into any part of the administration during the war; and effectually to discourage profaneness and immorality. Finally, he assured them that as he had rescued their religion, laws, and liberties, when they were in the extremest danger, so he should place the glory of his reign in preserving and leaving them entire to latest posterity. To this speech the commons replied in an address, by a compliment of congratulation upon the peace, and an assurance, that they would be ever ready to assist and support his majesty, who had confirmed them in the quiet possession of their rights and liberties, and by putting an end to the war fully completed the work of their deliverance. Notwithstanding these appearances of good humour, the majority of the house, and indeed the whole nation, were equally alarmed and exasperated at a project for maintaining a standing army, which was countenanced at court, and even recommended by the king in his speech to the parliament. William’s genius was altogether military. He could not bear the thought of being a king without power. He could not without reluctance dismiss those officers who had given so many proofs of their courage and fidelity. He did not think himself safe upon the naked throne, in a kingdom that swarmed with malcontents who had so often conspired against his person and government. He dreaded the ambition and known perfidy of the French king, who still retained a powerful army. He foresaw that a reduction of the forces would lessen his importance both at home and abroad; diminish the dependence upon his government; and disperse those foreigners in whose attachment he chiefly confided. He communicated his sentiments on this subject to his confidant, the earl of Sunderland, who knew by experience the aversion of the people to a standing army; nevertheless he encouraged him with hope of success, on the supposition that the commons would see the difference between an army raised by the king’s private authority, and a body of veteran troops maintained by consent of parliament for the security of the kingdom. This was a distinction to which the people paid no regard. All the jealousy of former parliaments seemed to be roused by the bare proposal; and this was inflamed by a national prejudice against the refugees, in whose favour the king had betrayed repeated marks of partial indulgence. They were submissive, tractable, and wholly dependent upon his will and generosity. The Jacobites failed not to cherish the seeds of dissatisfaction, and reproach the whigs who countenanced this measure. They branded that party with apostacy from their former principles. They observed that the very persons who in the late reigns endeavoured to abridge the prerogative, and deprive the king of that share of power which was absolutely necessary to actuate the machine of government, were now become advocates for maintaining a standing army in time of peace; nay, and impudently avowed, that their complaisance to the court in this particular was owing to their desire of excluding from all share in the administration a faction disaffected to his majesty, which might mislead him into more pernicious measures. The majority of those who really entertained revolution principles, opposed the court from apprehension that a standing army, once established, would take root and grow into an habitual maxim of government; that should the people be disarmed and the sword left in the hands of mercenaries, the liberties of the nation must be entirely at the mercy of him by whom these mercenaries should be commanded. They might overawe elections, dictate to parliaments, and establish a tyranny, before the people could take any measures for their own protection. They could not help thinking it was possible to form a militia, that, with the concurrence of a fleet, might effectually protect the kingdom from the dangers of an invasion. They firmly believed that a militia might be regularly trained to arms, so as to acquire the dexterity of professed soldiers; and they did not doubt they would surpass those hirelings in courage, considering that they would be animated by every concurring motive of interest, sentiment, and affection. Nay, they argued, that Britain, surrounded as it was by a boisterous sea, secured by floating bulwarks, abounding with stout and hardy inhabitants, did not deserve to be free if her sons could not protect their liberties without the assistance of mercenaries, who were indeed the only slaves of the kingdom. Yet among the genuine friends of their country, some individuals espoused the opposite maxims. They observed that the military system of every government in Europe was now altered, that war was become a trade, and discipline a science not to be learned but by those who made it their sole profession; that therefore, while France kept up a large standing army of veterans ready to embark on the opposite coast, it would be absolutely necessary for the safety of the nation to maintain a small standing force, which should be voted in parliament from year to year. They might have suggested another expedient which in a few years would have produced a militia of disciplined men. Had the soldiers of this small standing army been enlisted for a term of years, at the expiration of which they might have claimed their discharge, volunteers would have offered themselves from all parts of the kingdom, even from the desire of learning the use and exercise of arms, the ambition of being concerned in scenes of actual service, and the chagrin of little disappointments or temporary disgusts, which yet would not have impelled them to enlist as soldiers on the common terms of perpetual slavery. In consequence of such a succession, the whole kingdom would soon have been stocked with members of a disciplined militia, equal if not superior to any army of professed soldiers. But this scheme would have defeated the purpose of the government, which was more afraid of domestic foes than of foreign enemies; and industriously avoided every plan of this nature, which could contribute to render the malcontents of the nation more formidable.

CHARACTERS OF THE MINISTERS.

Before we proceed to the transactions of parliament in this session, it may not be amiss to sketch the outlines of the ministry as it stood at this juncture. The king’s affection for the earl of Portland had begun to abate in proportion as his esteem for Sunderland increased, together with his consideration for Mrs. Villiers, who had been distinguished by some particular marks of his majesty’s favour. These two favourites are said to have supplanted Portland, whose place in the king’s bosom was now filled by Van Keppel, a gentleman of Guelderland who had first served his majesty as a page, and afterwards acted as private secretary. The earl of Portland growing troublesome, from his jealousy of this rival, the king resolved to send him into honourable exile, in quality of an ambassador-extraordinary to the court of France; and Trumball, his friend and creature, was dismissed from the office of secretary, which the king conferred upon Vernon, a plodding man of business who had acted as under-secretary to the duke of Shrewsbury. This nobleman rivalled the earl of Sunderland in his credit at the council-board, and was supported by Somers, lord chancellor of England, by Russel now earl of Orford, first lord of the admiralty, and Montague, chancellor of the exchequer. Somers was an upright judge, a plausible statesman, a consummate courtier, affable, mild, and insinuating. Orford appears to have been rough, turbulent, factious, and shallow. Montague had distinguished himself early by his poetical genius; but he soon converted his attention to the cultivation of more solid talents. He rendered himself remarkable for his eloquence, décemment, and knowledge of the English constitution. To a delicate taste he united an eager appetite for political studies. The first catered for the enjoyments of fancy; the other was subservient to his ambition. He at the same time was the distinguished encourager of the liberal arts, and the professed patron of projectors. In his private deportment he was liberal, easy, and entertaining; as a statesman, bold, dogmatical, and aspiring.

THE NUMBER OF STANDING FORCES REDUCED TO TEN THOUSAND.

The terrors of a standing army had produced such an universal ferment in the nation, that the dependents of the court in the house of commons durst not openly oppose the reduction of the forces; but they shifted the battery, and employed all their address in persuading the house to agree that a very small number should be retained. When the commons voted, That all the forces raised since the year one thousand six hundred and eighty should be disbanded, the courtiers desired the vote might be re-committed, on pretence that it restrained the king to the old tory regiments, on whose fidelity he could not rely. This motion however was overruled by a considerable majority. Then they proposed an amendment, which was rejected, and afterwards moved, That the sum of five hundred thousand pounds per annum should be granted for the maintenance of guards and garrisons. This provision would have maintained a very considerable number; but they were again disappointed, and fain to embrace a composition with the other party, by which three hundred and fifty thousand pounds were allotted for the maintenance of ten thousand men; and they afterwards obtained an addition of three thousand marines. The king was extremely mortified at these resolutions of the commons; and even declared to his particular friends, that he would never have intermeddled with the affairs of the nation had he foreseen they would make such returns of ingratitude and distrust. His displeasure was aggravated by the resentment against Sunderland, who was supposed to have advised the unpopular measure of retaining a standing army. This nobleman dreading the vengeance of the commons, resolved to avert the fury of the impending storm, by resigning his office and retiring from court, contrary to the entreaties of his friends, and the earnest desire of his majesty.

CIVIL LIST ESTABLISHED, &c.

The house of commons, in order to sweeten the unpalatable cup they had presented to the king, voted the sum of seven hundred thousand pounds per annum for the support of the civil list, distinct from all other services. Then they passed an act prohibiting the currency of silver hammered coin, including a clause for making out new exchequer-bills, in lieu of those which were or might be filled up with endorsements; they framed another to open the correspondence with France, under a variety of provisos; a third for continuing the imprisonment of certain persons who had been concerned in the late conspiracy; a fourth, granting further time for administering oaths with respect to tallies and orders in the exchequer and bank of England. These bills having received the royal assent, they resolved to grant a supply, which, together with the funds already settled for that purpose, should be sufficient to answer and cancel all exchequer-bills, to the amount of two millions seven hundred thousand pounds. Another supply was voted for the payment and reduction of the army, including half-pay to such commission officers as were natural born subjects of England. They granted one million four hundred thousand pounds, to make good deficiencies. They resolved, That the sum of two millions three hundred and forty-eight thousand one hundred and two pounds, was necessary to pay off arrears, subsistence, contingencies, general-officers, guards, and garrisons; of which sum eight hundred and fifty-five thousand five hundred and two pounds, remained in the hands of the pay-master. Then they took into consideration the subsidies due to foreign powers, and the sums owing to contractors for bread and forage. Examining further the debts of the nation, they found the general debt of the navy amounted to one million three hundred and ninety-two thousand seven hundred and forty-two pounds. That of the ordnance was equal to two hundred and four thousand one hundred and fifty-seven pounds. The transport debt contracted for the reduction of Ireland and other services, did not fall short of four hundred and sixty-six thousand four hundred and ninety-three pounds; and they owed nine-and-forty thousand nine hundred and twenty-nine pounds, for quartering and clothing the army which had been raised by one act of parliament in the year 1677, and disbanded by another in the year 1679. As this enormous load of debt could not be discharged at once, the commons passed a number of Arotes for raising sums of money, by which it was considerably lightened; and settled the funds for those purposes by the continuation of the land tax, and other impositions. With respect to the civil list, it was raised by a new subsidy of tonnage and poundage, the hereditary and temporary excise, a weekly portion from the revenue of the post-office, the first-fruits and tenths of the clergy, the fines in the alienation office, and post-fines, the revenue of the wine-license, money arising by sheriffs, proffers, and compositions in the exchequer; and seizures, the income of the duchy of Cornwall, the rents of all other crown lands in England or Wales, and the duty of four and a half per cent, upon specie from Barbadoes and the Leeward-islands. The bill imported, That the overplus arising from these funds should be accounted for to parliament. Six hundred thousand pounds of this money was allotted for the purposes of the civil list: the rest was granted for the jointure of fifty thousand pounds per annum, to be paid to queen Mary d’Esté, according to the stipulation at Ryswick; and to maintain a court for the duke of Gloucester, son of the princess Anne of Denmark, now in the ninth year of his age; but the jointure was never paid; nor would the king allow above fifteen thousand pounds per annum for the use of the duke of Gloucester, to whom Burnet, bishop of Salisbury, was appointed preceptor.

COGNIZANCE TAKEN OF FRAUDULENT ENDORSEMENTS OF EXCHEQUER BILLS.

The commons having discussed the ways and means for raising the supplies of the ensuing year, which rose almost to five millions, took cognizance of some fraudulent endorsements of exchequer bills, a species of forgery which had been practised by a confederacy, consisting of Charles Duncomb, receiver-general of the excise, Bartholomew Burton, who possessed a place in that branch of the revenue, John Knight, treasurer of the customs, and Reginald Marriot, a deputy-teller of the exchequer. This last became evidence, and the proof turning out very strong and full, the house resolved to make examples of the delinquents. Duncomb and Knight, both members of parliament, were expelled and committed to the Tower; Burton was sent to Newgate; and bills of pains and penalties were ordered to be brought in against them. The first, levelled at Duncomb, passed the lower house, though not without great opposition, but was rejected in the house of lords by the majority of one voice. Duncomb, who was extremely rich, is said to have paid dear for his escape. The other two bills met with the same fate. The peers discharged Duncomb from his confinement; but he was recommitted by the commons, and remained in custody till the end of the session. While the commons were employed on ways and means, some of the members in the opposition proposed, that one fourth part of the money arising from improper grants of the crown, should be appropriated to the service of the public; but this was a very unpalatable expedient, as it affected not only the whigs of king William’s reign, but also the tories who had been gratified by Charles II. and his brother. A great number of petitions were presented against this measure, and so many difficulties raised, that both parties agreed to lay it aside. In the course of this inquiry, they discovered that one Railton held a grant in trust for Mr. Montague, chancellor of the exchequer. A motion was immediately made, that he should withdraw; but passed in the negative by a great majority. Far from prosecuting this minister, the house voted it was their opinion, That Mr. Montague, for his good services to the government, did deserve his majesty’s favour.

A NEW EAST INDIA COMPANY CONSTITUTED BY ACT OF PARLIAMENT.

This extraordinary vote was a sure presage of success in the execution of a scheme which Montague had concerted against the East India company. They had been sounded about advancing a sum of money for the public service, by way of loan, in consideration of a parliamentary settlement; and they offered to raise seven hundred thousand pounds on that condition: but before they formed this resolution, another body of merchants, under the auspices of Mr. Montague, offered to lend two millions at eight per cent, provided they might be gratified with an exclusive privilege of trading to the East Indies. This proposal was very well received by the majority in the house of commons. A bill for this purpose was brought in, with additional clauses of regulation. A petition was presented by the old company, representing their rights and claims under so many royal charters; the regard due to the property of above a thousand families interested in the stock; as also to the company’s property in India, amounting to forty-four thousand pounds of yearly revenue. They alleged they had expended a million in fortifications; that during the war they had lost twelve great ships, worth fifteen hundred thousand pounds; that since the last subscription they had contributed two hundred and ninety-five thousand pounds to the customs, with above eighty-five thousand pounds in taxes; that they had furnished six thousand barrels of gunpowder on a very pressing occasion: and eighty thousand pounds for the circulation of exchequer bills, at a very critical juncture, by desire of the lords of the treasury; who owned that their compliance was a very important service to the government. No regard being paid to their remonstrances, they undertook to raise the loan of two millions, and immediately subscribed two hundred thousand pounds as the first payment. The two proposals being compared and considered by the house, the majority declared for the bill, which was passed, and sent up to the house of lords. There the old company delivered another petition, and was heard by counsel; nevertheless the bill made its way, though not without opposition, and a formal protestation by one-and-twenty lords, who thought it was a hardship upon the present company; and doubted whether the separate trade allowed in the bill, concurrent with a joint stock, might not prove such an inconsistency as would discourage the subscription. This act, by which the old company was dissolved, in a great measure blasted the reputation of the whigs, which had for some time been on the decline with the people. They had stood up as advocates for a standing army; they now unjustly superseded the East India company; they were accused of having robbed the public by embezzling the national treasure, and amassing wealth by usurious contracts, at the expense of their fellow subjects groaning under the most oppressive burdens. Certain it is, they were at this period the most mercenary and corrupt undertakers that had ever been employed by any king or administration since the first establishment of the English monarchy.

The commons now transferred their attention to certain objects in which the people of Ireland were interested. Colonel Michelburn, who had been joint governor of Londonderry with Dr. Walker during the siege of that place, petitioned the house in behalf of himself, his officers, and soldiers, to whom a considerable sum of money was due for subsistence; and the city itself implored the mediation of the commons with his majesty, that its services and sufferings might be taken into consideration. The house having examined the allegations contained in both petitions, presented an address to the king, recommending the citizens of Londonderry to his majesty’s favour; that they might no longer remain a ruinous spectacle to all, a scorn to their enemies, and a discouragement to well affected subjects: they likewise declared that the governor and garrison did deserve some special marks of royal favour, for a lasting monument to posterity. To this address the king replied, that he would consider them according to the desire of the commons. William Molineux, a gentleman of Dublin, having published a book to prove that the kingdom of Ireland was independent of the parliament of England, the house appointed a committee to inquire into the cause and nature of this performance. An address was voted to the king, desiring he would give directions for the discovery and punishment of the author. Upon the report of the committee, the commons in a body presented an address to his majesty, representing the dangerous attempts which had been lately made by some of his subjects in Ireland, to shake off their subjection and dependence upon England; attempts which appeared not only from the bold and pernicious assertions contained in a book lately published, but more fully and authentically by some votes and proceedings of the commons in Ireland. These had, during their last session, transmitted an act for the better security of his majesty’s person and government, whereby an English act of parliament was pretended to be re-enacted with alterations obligatory on the courts of justice and the great seal of England. The English commons, therefore, besought his majesty to give effectual orders for preventing any such encroachments for the future, and the pernicious consequences of what was past, by punishing those who had been guilty thereof: that he would take care to see the laws which direct and restrain the parliament of Ireland punctually observed, and discourage everything which might have a tendency to lessen the dependence of Ireland upon England. This remonstrance was graciously received, and the king-promised to comply with their request.

The jealousy which the commons entertained of the government in Ireland, animated them to take other measures that ascertained the subjection of that kingdom. Understanding that the Irish had established divers woollen manufactures, they in another address entreated his majesty to take measures for discouraging the woollen manufactures in Ireland, as they interfered with those of England, and promote the linen manufacture, which would be profitable to both nations. At the same time, receiving information the French had seduced some English manufacturers, and set up a great work for cloth-making in Picardy, they brought in a bill for explaining and better executing former acts for preventing the exportation of wool, fullers earth, and scouring clay; and this was immediately passed into a law. A petition being presented to the house by the lustring company, against certain merchants who had smuggled alamodes and lustrings from France, even during the war; the committee of trade was directed to inquire into the allegations, and all the secrets of this traffic were detected. Upon the report the house resolved, That the manufacture of alamodes and lustrings set up in England had been beneficial to the kingdom; that there had been a destructive and illegal trade carried on during the war, for importing these commodities, by which the king had been defrauded of his customs, and the English manufactures greatly discouraged; that, by the smuggling vessels employed in this trade, intelligence had been carried into France during the war, and the enemies of the government conveyed from justice. Stephen Seignoret Rhene, Baudoin, John Goodet, Nicholas Santini, Peter de Hearse, John Pierce, John Dumaitre, and David Barreau, were impeached at the bar of the house of lords; and, pleading guilty, the lords imposed fines upon them according to their respective circumstances. They were in the meantime committed to Newgate until those fines should be paid; and the commons addressed the king, that the money might be appropriated to the maintenance of Greenwich hospital. The house having taken cognizance of this affair, and made some new regulations in the prosecution of the African trade, presented a solemn address to the king, representing the general degeneracy and corruption of the age, and beseeching his majesty to command all his judges, justices, and magistrates, to put the laws in execution against profaneness and immorality. The king professed himself extremely well pleased with this remonstrance, promised to give immediate directions for a reformation, and expressed his desire that some more effectual provision might be made for suppressing impious books, containing doctrines against the Trinity; doctrines which abounded at this period, and took their origin from the licentiousness and profligacy of the times.

SOCIETY FOR THE REFOrMATION OF MANNERS.

In the midst of such immorality, Dr. Thomas Bray, an active divine, formed a plan for propagating the gospel in foreign countries. Missionaries, catechisms, liturgies, and other books for the instruction of ignorant people, were sent to the English colonies in America. This laudable design was supported by voluntary contribution; and the bill having been brought into the house of commons for the better discovery of estates given to superstitious uses, Dr. Bray presented a petition, praying that some part of these estates might be set apart for the propagation of the reformed religion in Maryland, Virginia, and the Leeward islands. About this period, a society for the reformation of manners was formed under the king’s countenance and encouragement. Considerable collections were made for maintaining clergymen to read prayers at certain hours in places of public worship, and administer the sacrament every Sunday. The members of this society resolved to inform the magistrates of all vice and immorality that should fall under their cognizance; and with that part of the fines allowed by law to the informer, constitute a fund of charity. The business of the session being terminated, the king on the third day of July prorogued the parliament, after having thanked them in a short speech for the many testimonies of their affection he had received; and in two days after the prorogation it was dissolved.*

* On the fifth day of January, a fire breaking out at Whitehall through the carelessness of a laundress, the whole body of the palace, together with the new gallery, council- chamber, and several adjoining apartments were entirely consumed; but the banqueting-house was not affected.

THE EARL OF PORTLAND RESIGNS.

In the month of January the earl of Portland had set out on his embassy to France, where he was received with very particular marks of distinction. He made a public entry into Paris with such magnificence as is said to have astonished the French nation. He interceded for the protestants in that kingdom, against whom the persecution had been renewed with redoubled violence: he proposed that king James should be removed to Avignon, in which case his master would supply him with an honourable pension; but his remonstrances on both subjects proved ineffectual. Louis, however, in a private conference with him at Marli, is supposed to have communicated his project of the partition-treaty. The earl of Portland, at his return to England, finding himself totally eclipsed in the king’s favour by Keppel, now created earl of Albemarle, resigned his employments in disgust; nor could the king’s solicitations prevail upon him to resume any office in the household, though he promised to serve his majesty in any other shape, and was soon employed to negotiate the treaty of partition. If this nobleman miscarried in the purposes of his last embassy at the court of Versailles, the agents of France were equally unsuccessful in their endeavours to retrieve their commerce with England which the war had interrupted. Their commissary, sent over to London with powers to regulate the trade between the two nations, met with insuperable difficulties. The parliament had burdened the French commodities with heavy duties which were already appropriated to different uses; and the channel of trade was in many respects entirely altered. The English merchants supplied the nation with wines from Italy, Spain, and Portugal; with linen from Holland and Silesia; and manufactures of paper, hats, stuffs, and silks, had been set up and successfully carried on in England by the French refugees.

THE KING DISOWNS THE SCOTTISH TRADING COMPANY.

By this time a ferment had been raised in Scotland by the opposition and discouragements their new company had sustained. They had employed agents in England, Holland, and Hamburgh, to receive subscriptions. The adventurers in England were intimidated by the measures which had been taken in parliament against the Scottish company. The Dutch East India company took the alarm, and exerted all their interest to prevent their countrymen from subscribing; and the king permitted his resident at Hamburgh to present a memorial against the Scottish company to the senate of that city. The parliament of Scotland being assembled by the earl of Marchmont as king’s commissioner, the company presented it with a remonstrance containing a detail of their grievances, arising from the conduct of the English house of commons, as well as from the memorial presented by the king’s minister at Hamburgh, in which he actually disowned the act of parliament and letters patent which had passed in their favour, and threatened the inhabitants of that city with his majesty’s resentment in case they should join the Scots in their undertaking. They represented that such instances of interposition had put a stop to the subscriptions in England and Hamburgh, hurt the credit of the company, discouraged the adventurers, and threatened the entire ruin of a design in which all the most considerable families of the nation were deeply engaged. The parliament having taken their case into consideration, sent an address to his majesty representing the hardships to which the company had been exposed, explaining how far the nation in general was concerned in the design, and entreating that he would take such measures as might effectually vindicate the undoubted rights and privileges of the company. This address was seconded by a petition from the company itself, praying that his majesty would give some intimation to the senate of Hamburgh, permitting the inhabitants of that city to renew the subscriptions they had withdrawn; that, as a gracious mark of his royal favour to the company, he would bestow upon them two small frigates then lying useless in the harbour of Burnt Island; and that, in consideration of the obstructions they had encountered, he would continue their privileges and immunities for such longer time as should seem reasonable to his majesty. Though the commissioner was wholly devoted to the king, who had actually resolved to ruin this company, he could not appease the resentment of the nation; and the heats of parliament became so violent that he was obliged to adjourn it to the fifth day of November. In this interval the directors of the company, understanding from their agent at Hamburgh that the address of the parliament and their own petition had produced no effect in their favour, wrote a letter of complaint to the lord Seafield, secretary of state, observing that they had received repeated assurances of the king’s having given orders to his resident at Hamburgh touching their memorial, and entreating the interposition of his lordship that justice might be done to the company. The secretary in his answer promised to take the first convenient opportunity of representing the affair to his majesty; but he said this could not be immediately expected, as the king was much engaged in the affairs of the English parliament. This declaration the directors considered, as it really was, a mere evasion, which helped to alienate the minds of that people from the king’s person and government.

HE EMBARKS FOR HOLLAND.

King William at this time revolved in his own mind a project of far greater consequence to the interest of Europe—namely, that of settling the succession to the throne of Spain, which in a little time would be vacated by the death of Charles IL, whose constitution was already exhausted. He had been lately reduced to extremity, and his situation was no sooner known in France than Louis detached a squadron towards Cadiz, with orders to intercept the plate fleet, in case the king of Spain should die before its arrival. William sent another fleet to protect the galleons; but it arrived too late for that service, and the nation loudly exclaimed against the tardiness of the equipment. His catholic majesty recovered from his disorder, contrary to the expectation of his people; but continued in such an enfeebled and precarious state of health, that a relapse was every moment apprehended. In the latter end of July king William embarked for Holland, on pretence of enjoying a recess from business which was necessary to his constitution. He was glad of an opportunity to withdraw himself for some time from a kingdom in which he had been exposed to such opposition and chagrin. But the real motive of his voyage was a design of treating with the French king remote from the observation of those who might have penetrated into the nature of his negotiation. He had appointed a regency to govern the kingdom in his absence; and, as one of the number, nominated the earl of Marlborough, who had regained his favour and been constituted governor of the duke of Gloucester. At his majesty’s departure, sealed orders were left with the ministry directing that sixteen thousand men should be retained in the service, notwithstanding the vote of the commons by which the standing army was limited to ten thousand. He alleged that the apprehension of troubles which might arise at the death of king Charles induced him to transgress this limitation; and he hoped that the new parliament would be more favourable. His enemies, however, made a fresh handle of this step to depreciate his character in the eyes of the people.

FIRST TREATY OF PARTITION.

Having assisted at the assembly of the states-general, and given audience to divers ambassadors at the Hague, he repaired to his house at Loo, attended by the earls of Essex, Portland, and Selkirk. There he was visited by count Tallard the French minister, who had instructions to negotiate the treaty concerning the Spanish succession. The earl of Portland, by his majesty’s order, had communicated to Secretary Vernon the principal conditions which the French king proposed; he himself wrote a letter to lord chancellor Somers, desiring his advice with regard to the propositions, and full powers under the great seal, with blanks to be filled up occasionally, that he might immediately begin the treaty with count Tallard. At the same time he strictly enjoined secrecy. The purport of Portland’s letter was imparted to the duke of Shrewsbury and Mr. Montague, who consulted with the chancellor and Vernon upon the subject, and the chancellor wrote an answer to the king as the issue of their joint deliberation; but before it reached his majesty, the first treaty of partition was signed by the earl of Portland and sir Joseph Williamson. The contracting powers agreed, that in case the king of Spain should die without issue, the kingdom of Naples and Sicily, with the places depending on the Spanish monarchy, and situated on the coast of Tuscany or the adjacent islands; the marquisate of Final, the province of Guipuscoa, all places on the French side of the Pyrenees, or the other mountains of Navarre, Alva, or Biscay, on the other side of the province of Guipuscoa, with all the ships, vessels, and stores,—should devolve upon the dauphin in consideration of his right to the crown of Spain, which, with all its other dependencies, should descend to the electoral prince of Bavaria, under the guardianship of his father; that the duchy of Milan should he settled on the emperor’s second son, the archduke Charles; that this treaty should be communicated to the emperor and the elector of Bavaria, by the king of England and the states-general; that if either should refuse to agree to this partition, his proportion should remain in sequestration until the dispute should be accommodated; that in case the electoral prince of Bavaria should die before his father, then the elector and his other heirs should succeed him in those dominions; and should the archduke reject the duchy of Milan, they agreed that it should be sequestered and governed by the prince of Vaudemont. It may be necessary to observe that Philip IV., father to the present king of Spain, had settled his crown by will on the emperor’s children; that the dauphin was son to Maria-Theresa, daughter of the same monarch, whose right to the succession Louis had renounced in the most solemn manner; as for the electoral prince of Bavaria, he was grandson to a daughter of Spain. This treaty of partition was one of the most impudent schemes of encroachment that tyranny and injustice ever planned. Louis, who had made a practice of sacrificing all ties of honour and good faith to the interest of his pride, vanity, and ambition, foresaw that he should never be able to accomplish his designs upon the crown of Spain while William was left at liberty to form another confederacy against them. He therefore resolved to amuse him with a treaty, in which he would seem to act as umpire in the concerns of Europe. He knew that William was too much of a politician to be restricted by notions of private justice; and that he would make no scruple to infringe the laws of particular countries, or even the rights of a single nation, when the balance of power was at stake. He judged right in this particular. The king of England lent a willing ear to his proposals, and engaged in a plan for dismembering a kingdom in despite of the natives, and in violation of every law human or divine.

INTRIGUES OF FRANCE AT THE COURT OF MADRID.

While the French king cajoled William with this negotiation, the marquis d’Harcourt, his ambassador to Spain, was engaged in a game of a different nature at Madrid. The queen of Spain, suspecting the designs of France, exerted all her interest in behalf of the king of the Romans, to whom she was nearly related. She new-modelled the council, bestowed the government of Milan on prince Vaudemont, and established the prince of Hesse Darmstadt as viceroy of Catalonia. Notwithstanding all her efforts, she could not prevent the French minister from acquiring some influence in the Spanish councils. He was instructed to procure the succession of the crown for one of the dauphin’s sons, or at least to hinder it from devolving upon the emperor’s children. With a view to give weight to his negotiations, the French king ordered an army of sixty thousand men to advance towards the frontiers of Catalonia and Navarre, while a great number of ships and galleys cruised along the coast, and entered the harbours of Spain. Harcourt immediately began to form his party; he represented that Philip IV. had no power to dispose of his crown against the laws of nature and the constitution of the realm; that, by the order of succession, the crown ought to descend to the children of his daughter in preference to more distant relations; that if the Spaniards would declare in favour of the dauphin’s second son, the duke of Anjou, they might train him up in the manners and customs of their country. When he found them averse to this proposal, he assured them that his master would approve of the electoral prince of Bavaria rather than consent to the succession’s devolving upon a son of the emperor. Nay, he hinted that if they would choose a sovereign among themselves, they might depend upon the protection of his most christian majesty, who had no other view than that of preventing the house of Austria from becoming too formidable to the liberties of Europe. The queen of Spain, having discovered the intrigues of this minister, conveyed the king to Toledo, on pretence that the air of Madrid was prejudicial to his health. Harcourt immediately took the alarm. He supposed her intention was to prevail upon her husband in his solitude to confirm the last will of his father; but his doubts were all removed when he understood that the count de Harrach, the Imperial ambassador, had privately repaired to Toledo. He forthwith took the same road, pretending to have received a memorial from his master with a positive order to deliver it into the king’s own hand. He was given to understand that the management of foreign affairs had been left to the care of cardinal Corduba at Madrid, and that the king’s health would not permit him to attend to business. The purport of the memorial was, an offer of French forces to assist in raising the siege of Ceuta in Barbary, which the Moors had lately undertaken; but this offer was civilly declined. Harcourt, not yet discouraged, redoubled his efforts at Madrid, and found means to engage cardinal Portocarrcro in the interests of his master. In the meantime Louis concluded an alliance with Sweden, under the pretext of preserving and securing the common peace by such means as should be adjudged most proper and convenient. During these transactions king William was not wanting in his endeavours to terminate the war in Hungary, which had raged fifteen years without intermission. About the middle of August, lord Paget and Mr. Colliers, ambassadors from England and Holland, arrived in the Turkish camp near Belgrade, and a conference being opened under their mediation, the peace of Carlowitz was signed on the twenty-sixth day of January By this treaty, the emperor remained in possession of all his conquests; Caminieck was restored to the Poles; all the Morea, with several fortresses in Dalmatia, were ceded to the Venetians; and the czar of Muscovy retained Azoph during a truce of two years: so that the Turks by this pacification lost great part of their European dominions. The cardinal primate of Poland, who had strenuously adhered to the prince of Conti, was prevailed upon to acknowledge Augustus; and the commotions in Lithuania being appeased, peace was established through all Christendom.

In the beginning of December the king arrived in England, where a new parliament had been chosen and prorogued on account of his majesty’s absence, which was prolonged by contrary winds and tempestuous weather. His ministry had been at very little pains to influence the elections, which generally fell upon men of revolution-principles, though they do not seem to have been much devoted to the person of their sovereign; yet their choice of sir Thomas Lyttleton for speaker, seemed to presage a session favourable to the ministry. The two houses being convened on the sixth day of December, the king in his speech observed that the safety, honour, and happiness of the kingdom would in a great measure depend upon the strength which they should think proper to maintain by sea and land. He desired they would make some further progress in discharging the national debt; contrive effectual expedients for employing the poor; pass good bills for the advancement of trade, and the discouragement of profaneness; and act with unanimity and despatch. The commons of this new parliament were so irritated at the king’s presuming to maintain a greater number of troops than their predecessors had voted, that they resolved he should feel the weight of their displeasure. They omitted the common compliment of an address; they resolved that all the forces of England, in English pay, exceeding seven thousand men, should be forthwith disbanded; as also those in Ireland exceeding twelve thousand; and that those retained should be his majesty’s natural born subjects. A bill was brought in on these resolutions and prosecuted with peculiar eagerness, to the unspeakable mortification of king William, who was not only extremely sensible of the affront, but also particularly chagrined to see himself disabled from maintaining his Dutch guards and the regiments of French refugees, to which he was uncommonly attached. Before the meeting of the parliament, the ministry gave him to understand that they should be able to procure a vote for ten or twelve thousand, but they would not undertake for a greater number. He professed himself dissatisfied with the proposal, observing that they might as well disband the whole as leave so few. The ministers would not run the risk of losing all their credit by proposing a greater number; and, having received no directions on this subject, sat silent when it was debated in the house of commons.

Such was the indignation of William, kindled by this conduct of his ministry and his parliament, that he threatened to abandon the government, and had actually penned a speech to be pronounced to both houses on that occasion; but he was diverted from this purpose by his ministry and confidants, and resolved to pass the bill by which he had been so much offended. Accordingly, when it was ready for the royal assent, he went to the house of peers, where having sent for the commons, he told them that although he might think himself unkindly used in being deprived of his guards, which had constantly attended him in all his actions; yet, as he believed nothing could be more fatal to the nation than any distrust or jealousy between him and his parliament, he was come to pass the bill according to their desire.

At the same time, for his own justification, and in discharge of the trust reposed in him, he declared that in his own judgment the nation was left too much exposed; and that it was incumbent upon them to provide such a strength as might be necessary for the safety of the kingdom. They thanked him in an address for this undeniable proof of his readiness to comply with the desires of his parliament. They assured him he should never have reason to think the commons were undutiful or unkind; for they would on all occasions stand by and assist him in the preservation of his sacred person, and in the support of his government, against all his enemies whatsoever. The lords presented an address to the same effect; and the king assured both houses he entertained no doubts of their loyalty and affection. He forthwith issued orders for reducing the army to the number of seven thousand men, to be maintained in England under the name of guards and garrisons; and hoping the hearts of the commons were now mollified, he made another effort in favour of his Dutch guards, whom he could not dismiss without the most sensible regret. Lord Ranelagh was sent with a written message to the commons, giving them to understand that the necessary preparations were made for transporting the guards who came with him into England, and that they should embark immediately, unless out of consideration to him, the house should be disposed to find a way for continuing them longer in the service; a favour which his majesty would take very kindly. The commons, instead of complying with his inclination, presented an address, in which they professed unspeakable grief that he should propose anything to which they could not consent with due regard to the constitution which he had come over to restore, and so often hazarded his royal person to preserve. They reminded him of the declaration, in which he had promised that all the foreign forces should be sent out of the kingdom. They observed, that nothing conduced more to the happiness and welfare of the nation than an entire confidence between the king and people, which could no way be so firmly established as by intrusting his sacred person with his own subjects, who had so eminently signalized themselves during the late long and expensive war. They received a soothing answer to this address, but remained firm to their purpose, in which the king was fain to acquiesce; and the Dutch guards were transported to Holland. At a time when they declared themselves so well pleased with their deliverer, such an opposition in an affair of very little consequence savoured more of clownish obstinacy than of patriotism. In the midst of all their professions of regard, they entertained a national prejudice against himself and all the foreigners in his service. Even in the house of commons, his person was treated with great disrespect in virulent insinuations. They suggested that he neither loved nor trusted the English nation; that he treated the natives with the most disagreeable reserve, and chose his confidants from the number of strangers that surrounded him; that after every session of parliament, he retired from the kingdom to enjoy an indolent and inglorious privacy with a few favourites. These suggestions were certainly true. He was extremely disgusted with the English, whom he considered as malicious, ignorant, and ungrateful, and he took no pains to disguise his sentiments.

THE COMMONS ADDRESS THE KING.

The commons having effected a dissolution of the army, voted fifteen thousand seamen, and a proportionable fleet, for the security of the kingdom; they granted one million four hundred and eighty-four thousand and fifteen pounds for the services of the year, to be raised by a tax of three shillings in the pound upon lands, personal estates, pensions, and offices. A great number of priests and Roman catholics, who had been frighted away by the revolution, were now encouraged by the treaty of Ryswick to return, and appeared in all public places of London and Westminster with remarkable effrontery. The enemies of the government whispered about that the treaty contained a secret article in favour of those who professed that religion; and some did not even scruple to insinuate that William was a papist in his heart. The commons, alarmed at the number and insolence of those religionists, desired the king, in an address, to remove by proclamation all papists and nonjurors from the city of London and parts adjacent, and put the laws in execution against them, that the wicked designs they were always hatching might be effectually disappointed. The king gratified them in their request of a proclamation, which was not much regarded; but a remarkable law was enacted against papists in the course of the ensuing session. The old East India company, about this period, petitioned the lower house to make some provision that their corporation might subsist for the residue of the term of twenty-one years granted by his majesty’s charter; that the payment of the five pounds per cent. by the late act for settling the trade to the East Indies, might be settled and adjusted in such a manner as not to remain a burden on the petitioners; and that such further considerations might be had for their relief, and for the preservation of the East India trade, as should be thought reasonable. A bill was brought in upon the subject of this petition, but rejected at the second reading. Discontents had risen to such a height, that some members began to assert they were not bound to maintain the votes and credit of the former parliament; and, upon this maxim, would have contributed their interest towards a repeal of the act made in favour of the new company: but such a scheme was of too dangerous consequence to the public credit to be carried into execution.

That spirit of peevishness which could not be gratified with this sacrifice, produced an inquiry into the management of naval affairs, which was aimed at the earl of Orford, a nobleman whose power gave umbrage, and whose wealth excited envy. He officiated both as treasurer of the navy and lord commissioner of the admiralty, and seemed to have forgot the sphere from which he had risen to title and office. The commons drew up an address complaining of some unimportant articles of mismanagement in the conduct of the navy; and the earl was wise enough to avoid further prosecution by resigning his employments. On the fourth day of May the king closed the session with a short speech, hinting dissatisfaction at their having neglected to consider some points which he had recommended to their attention; and the parliament was prorogued to the first of June.* In a little time after this prorogation, his majesty appointed a regency; and on the second day of June embarked for Holland.

* About the latter end of March, the earl of Warwick and lord Mohun were tried by their peers in Westminster-hall, for the murder of captain Richard Coote, who had been killed in a midnight combat of three on each side. Warwick was found guilty of manslaughter, and Mohun acquitted.

THE SCOTTISH COMPANY MAKE A SETTLEMENT ON THE ISTHMUS OF DARIEN.

In Ireland nothing of moment was transacted. The parliament of that kingdom passed an act for raising one hundred and twenty thousand pounds on lands, tenements, and hereditaments, to defray the expense of maintaining twelve thousand men, who had been voted by the commons of England; then the assembly was prorogued. A new commission afterwards arrived at Dublin, constituting the duke of Bolton, the earls of Berkeley and Galway, lords-justices of Ireland. The clamour in Scotland increased against the ministry, who had disowned their company, and in a great measure defeated the design from which they had promised themselves such heaps of treasure. Notwithstanding the discouragements to which their company had been exposed, they fitted out two of four large ships which had been built at Hamburgh for their service. These were laden with a cargo for traffic, with some artillery and military stores; and the adventurers embarking to the number of twelve hundred, they sailed from the Frith of Edinburgh, with some tenders, on the seventeenth day of July in the preceding year. At Madeira they took in a supply of wine, and then steered to Crab-island in the neighbourhood of St. Thomas, lying between Santa-Cruz and Porto Rico. Their design was to take possession of this little island; but when they entered the road, they saw a large tent pitched upon the strand, and the Danish colours flying. Finding themselves anticipated in this quarter, they directed their course to the coast of Darien, where they treated with the natives for the establishment of their colony, and taking possession of the ground, to which they gave the name of Caledonia, began to execute their plan of erecting a town under the appellation of New Edinburgh, by the direction of their council, consisting of Patterson the projector, and six other directors. They had no sooner completed their settlement, than they wrote a letter to the king containing a detail of their proceedings. They pretended they had received undoubted intelligence that the French intended to make a settlement on that coast; and that their colony would be the means of preventing the evil consequences which might arise to his majesty’s kingdom and dominions from the execution of such a scheme. They acknowledged his goodness in granting those privileges by which their company was established; they implored the continuance of his royal favour and protection, as they had punctually adhered to the conditions of the act of parliament, and the patent they had obtained.

By this time, however, the king was resolved to crush them effectually. He understood that the greater part of their provisions had been consumed before they set sail from Scotland, and foresaw that they must be reduced to a starving condition if not supplied from the English colonies. That they might be debarred of all such assistance, he sent orders to the governors of Jamaica and the other English settlements in America, to issue proclamations prohibiting, under the severest penalties, all his majesty’s subjects from holding any correspondence with the Scottish colony, or assisting it in any shape with arms, ammunition, or provisions; on pretence that they had not communicated their design to his majesty, but had peopled Darien in violation of the peace subsisting between him and his allies. Their colony was doubtless a very dangerous encroachment upon the Spaniards, as it would have commanded the passage between Porto-Bello and Panama, and divided the Spanish empire in America. The French king complained of the invasion, and offered to supply the court of Madrid with a fleet to dislodge the interlopers. Colonna, marquis de Canales, the Spanish ambassador at the court of London, presented a memorial to king William, remonstrating against the settlement of this colony as a mark of disregard, and a breach of the alliance between the two crowns; and declaring that his master would take proper measures against such hostilities. The Scots affirmed that the natives of Darien were a free people, who the Spaniards had in vain attempted to subdue; that therefore they had an original and incontrovertible right to dispose of their own lands, part of which the company had purchased for a valuable consideration. But there was another cause more powerful than the remonstrances of the Spanish court to which this colony fell a sacrifice; and that was the jealousy of the English traders and planters. Darien was said to be a country abounding with gold, which would in a little time enrich the adventurers. The Scots were known to be an enterprising and pertinacious people; and their harbour near Golden Island was already declared a free port. The English apprehended that their planters would be allured into this new colony by the double prospect of finding gold and plundering the Spaniards; that the buccaneers in particular would choose it as their chief residence; that the plantations of England would be deserted; that Darien would become another Algiers; and that the settlement would produce a rupture with Spain, in consequence of which the English effects in that kingdom would be confiscated. The Dutch too are said to have been jealous of a company which in time might have proved their competitors in the illicit commerce to the Spanish main; and to have hardened the king’s heart against the new settlers, whom he abandoned to their fate, notwithstanding the repeated petitions and remonstrances of their constituents. Famine compelled the first adventurers to quit the coast: a second recruit of men and provisions was sent thither from Scotland; but one of their ships, laden with provisions, being burnt by accident, they likewise deserted the place. Another reinforcement arrived, and being better provided than the two former, might have maintained their footing; but they were soon divided into factions that rendered all their schemes abortive. The Spaniards advanced against them; when finding themselves incapable of withstanding the enemy, they solicited a capitulation, by virtue of which they were permitted to retire. Thus vanished all the golden dreams of the Scottish nation, which had engaged in this design with incredible eagerness, and even embarked a greater sum of money than ever they had advanced upon any other occasion. They were now not only disappointed in their expectations of wealth and affluence, but a great number of families were absolutely ruined by the miscarriage of the design, which they imputed solely to the conduct of king William. The whole kingdom of Scotland seemed to join in the clamour that was raised against their sovereign, taxed him with double dealing, inhumanity, and base ingratitude, to a people who had lavished their treasure and best blood in support of his government, and in the gratification of his ambition; and had their power been equal to their animosity, in all probability a rebellion would have ensued.

REMONSTRANCES OF THE SPANISH COURT.

William meanwhile enjoyed himself at Loo, where he was visited by the duke of Zell, with whom he had long cultivated an intimacy of friendship. During his residence in this place, the earl of Portland and the grand pensionary of Holland frequently conversed with the French ambassador, count Tallard, upon the subject of the Spanish succession. The first plan of the partition being defeated by the death of the young prince of Bavaria, they found it necessary to concert another, and began a private negotiation for that purpose. The court of Spain, apprized of their intention, sent a written remonstrance to Mr. Stanhope, the English minister at Madrid, expressing their resentment at this unprecedented method of proceeding, and desiring that a stop might be put to those intrigues, seeing that the king of Spain would of himself take the necessary steps for preserving the public tranquillity in case he should die without heirs of his body. A representation of the same kind was made to the ministers of France and Holland; the marquis de Canales, the Spanish ambassador at London, delivered a memorial to the lords-justices couched in the most virulent terms against this transaction, and even appealing from the king to the parliament. This Spaniard was pleased with an opportunity to insult king William, who hated his person, and had forbid him the court, on account of his appearing covered in his majesty’s presence. The regency had no sooner communicated this paper to the king, than he ordered the ambassador to quit the kingdom in eighteen days, and to remain within his own house till the time of his departure. He was likewise given to understand that no writing would be received from him or any of his domestics. Mr. Stanhope was directed to complain at Madrid of the affront offered to his master, which he styled an insolent and saucy attempt to stir up sedition in the kingdom, by appealing to the people and parliament of England against his majesty. The court of Spain justified what their minister had done, and in their turn ordered Mr. Stanhope to leave their dominions. Don Bernardo de Quiros, the Spanish ambassador in Holland, prepared a memorial on the same subject to the states-general; which however they refused to accept. These remonstrances did not interrupt the negotiation, in which Louis was so eager that he complained of William as if he had not employed his whole influence in prevailing upon the Dutch to signify their accession to the articles agreed upon by France and England; but his Britannic majesty found means to remove this jealousy.

THE COMMONS PERSIST IN THEIR RESOLUTIONS.

About the middle of October, William returned to England, and conferred upon the duke of Shrewsbury the office of chamberlain, vacant since the resignation of Sunderland. * Mr. Montague at the same period resigned his seat at the treasury-board, together with the chancellorship of the exchequer; either foreseeing uncommon difficulty in managing a house of commons after they had been dismissed in ill humour, or dreading the interest of his enemies, who might procure a vote that his two places were inconsistent. The king opened the session of parliament on the sixteenth day of November, with a long speech, advising a further provision for the safety of the kingdom by sea and land, as well as the repairs of ships and fortifications; exhorting the commons to make good the deficiencies of the funds, discharge the debts of the nation, and provide the necessary supplies. He recommended some good bill for the more effectual preventing and punishing unlawful and clandestine trading; and expressed a desire that some method should be taken for employing the poor, which were become a burden to the kingdom. He assured them his resolutions were to countenance virtue and discourage vice; and that he would decline no difficulties and dangers where the welfare and prosperity of the nation was concerned. He concluded with these words: “Since then our aims are only for the general good, let us act with confidence in one another; which will not fail, with God’s blessing, to make me a happy king, and you a great and flourishing people.” The commons were now become wanton in their disgust. Though they had received no real provocation, they resolved to mortify him with their proceedings. They affected to put odious interpretations on the very harmless expression of “Let us act with confidence in one another.” Instead of an address of thanks, according to the usual custom, they presented a sullen remonstrance, complaining that a jealousy and distrust had been raised of their duty and affection; and desiring he would show marks of his high displeasure towards all persons who had presumed to misrepresent their proceedings to his majesty. He declared, in his answer, that no person had ever dared to misrepresent their proceedings, and that if any should presume to impose upon him by such calumnies, he would treat them as his worst enemies.

* Villers, earl of Jersey, who had been sent ambassador to France, was appointed secretary of state in the room of the duke of Shrewsbury. This nobleman was created lord chamberlain; the earl of Manchester was sent ambassador extraordinary to France; the earl of Pembroke was declared lord-president of the council; and lord viscount Lonsdale keeper of the privy-seal.

INQUIRY INTO THE EXPEDITION Of CAPTAIN KIDD.

The house was not in a humour to be appeased with soothing promises and protestations; they determined to distress him by prosecuting his ministers. During the war the colonies of North America had grown rich by piracy. One Kidd, the master of a sloop, undertook to suppress the pirates, provided the government would furnish him with a ship of thirty guns well manned. The board of admiralty declaring that such a number of seamen could not be spared from the public service, Kidd was equipped by the private subscription of the lord Chancellor, the duke of Shrewsbury, the earls of Romney, Orford, and Bellamont, sir Edward Harrison, and colonel Livingstone of New York. The king promised to contribute one-half of the expense, and reserved to himself one-tenth of the profits; but he never advanced the money. Kidd being thus equipped, and provided with a commission to act against the French, as well as to make war on certain pirates therein mentioned by name, set sail from Plymouth; but instead of cruising on the coast of America, he directed his course to the East Indies, where he himself turned pirate, and took a rich ship belonging to the Moors. Having divided his booty with his crew, ninety of whom left him in order to join other adventurers, he burned his own ship and sailed with his prize to the West Indies. There he purchased a sloop in which he steered for North America, leaving part of his men in the prize, to remain in one of the Leeward Islands until they should receive further instructions. Arriving on the coast of New York, he sent one Emmet to make his peace with the earl of Bellamont, the governor of that province, who inveigled him into a negotiation, in the course of which he was apprehended. Then his lordship sent an account of his proceedings to the secretary of state, desiring that he would send for the prisoners to England, as there was no law in that colony for punishing piracy with death, and the majority of the people favoured that practice. The admiralty, by order of the lords-justices, despatched the ship Rochester to bring home the prisoners and their effects; but, after having been tossed for some time with tempestuous weather, this vessel was obliged to return to Plymouth in a shattered condition. This incident furnished the malcontents with a colour to paint the ministry as the authors and abettors of a piratical expedition, which they wanted to screen from the cognizance of the public. The old East India company had complained to the regency of the capture made by Kidd in the East Indies, apprehending, as the vessel belonged to the Moors, they should be exposed to the resentments of the Mogul. In the beginning of December, this subject being brought abruptly into the house of commons, a motion was made, That the letters patent granted to the earl of Bellamont and others, of pirates’ goods, were dishonourable to the king, against the laws of nations, contrary to the laws and statutes of the land, invasive of property, and destructive of trade and commerce. A warm dispute ensued, in the course of which some members declaimed with great bitterness against the chancellor and the duke of Shrewsbury, as partners in a piratical scheme; but these imputations were refuted, and the motion was rejected by a great majority. Not but they might have justly stigmatized the expedition as a little mean adventure, in which those noblemen had embarked with a view to their own private advantage.

While this affair was in agitation among the commons, the attention of the upper house was employed upon the case of Dr. Watson, bishop of St. David’s. This prelate was supposed to have paid a valuable consideration for his bishopric; and, after his elevation, had sold the preferments in his gift with a view of being reimbursed. He was accused of simony; and, after a solemn hearing before the archbishop of Canterbury and six suffragans, convicted and deprived. Then he pleaded his privilege: so that the affair was brought into the house of lords, who refused to own him as a peer after he had ceased to be a bishop. Thus disappointed, he had recourse to the court of delegates, by whom the archbishop’s sentence was confirmed. The next effort that the commons made, with a view of mortifying king William, was to raise a clamour against Dr. Burnet, bishop of Sarum. He was represented in the house as a very unfit preceptor for the duke of Gloucester, both as a Scottish man, and author of that pastoral letter which had been burned by order of the parliament, for asserting that William had a right to the crown from conquest. A motion was made for addressing his majesty that this prelate might be dismissed from his employment, but rejected by a great majority. Burnet had acted with uncommon integrity in accepting the trust. He had declined the office, which he was in a manner forced to accept. He had offered to resign his bishopric, thinking the employment of a tutor would interfere with the duty of a pastor. He insisted upon the duke’s residence all the summer at Windsor, which is in the diocese of Sarum, and added to his private charities the whole income of his new office.

INQUIRY INTO THE IRISH FORFEITURES.

The circumstance on which the anti-courtiers built their chief hope of distressing or disgracing the government, was the inquiry into the Irish forfeitures, which the king had distributed among his own dependents. The commissioners appointed by parliament to examine these particulars, were Annesley, Trenchard, Hamilton, Langford, the earl of Drogheda, sir Francis Brewster, and sir Richard Leving. The first four were actuated by all the virulence of faction; the other three were secretly guided by ministerial influence. They began their inquiry in Ireland, and proceeded with such severity as seemed to flow rather from resentment to the court, than from a love of justice and abhorrence of corruption. They in particular scrutinized a grant of an estate which the king had made to Mrs. Villiers, now countess of Orkney, so as to expose the king’s partiality for that favourite, and subject him to an additional load of popular odium. In the course of their examination the earl of Drogheda, Leving, and Brewster, opposed the rest of the commissioners in divers articles of the report, which they refused to sign, and sent over a memorial to the house of commons explaining their reasons for dissenting from their colleagues. By this time, however, they were considered as hirelings of the court, and no regard was paid to their representations. The others delivered their report, declaring that a million and a half of money might be raised from the sale of the confiscated estates; and a bill was brought in for applying them to the use of the public. A motion being made to reserve a third part for the king’s disposal, it was overruled: then the commons passed an extraordinary vote, importing that they would not receive any petition from any person whatsoever concerning the grants, and that they would consider the great services performed by the commissioners appointed to inquire into the forfeited estates. They resolved, That the four commissioners who had signed the report had acquitted themselves with understanding, courage, and integrity; and, That sir Richard Leving, as author of groundless and scandalous aspersions cast upon his four colleagues, should be committed prisoner to the Tower. They afterwards came to the following resolution, which was presented to the king in form of an address,—That the procuring and passing those grants had occasioned great debts upon the nation, and heavy taxes upon the people, and highly reflected upon the king’s honour; and, That the officers and instruments concerned in the same had highly failed in the performance of their trust and duty. The king answered, That he was not only led by inclination, but thought himself obliged in justice to reward those who had served well in the reduction of Ireland, out of the estates forfeited to him by the rebellion in that kingdom. He observed, that as the long war had left the nation much in debt, their taking just and effectual ways for lessening that debt and supporting public credit was what, in his opinion, would best contribute to the honour, interest, and safety of the kingdom. This answer kindled a flame of indignation in the house. They forthwith resolved, That the adviser of it had used his utmost endeavours to create a misunderstanding and jealousy between the king and his people.

THE COMMONS PASS A BILL OF RESUMPTION.

They prepared, finished, and passed a bill of resumption. They ordered the report of the commissioners, together with the king’s promise and speeches, and the former resolutions of the house touching the forfeited estates in Ireland, to be printed and published for their justification; and they resolved, That the procuring or passing exorbitant grants by any member now of the privy council, or by any other that had been a privy councillor in this or any former reign, to his use or benefit, was a high crime or misdemeanor. That justice might be done to purchasers and creditors in the act of resumption, thirteen trustees were authorized and empowered to hear and determine all claims relating to those estates, to sell them to the best purchasers; and the money arising from the sale was appropriated to pay the arrears of the army. It passed under the title of a bill for granting an aid to his majesty by the sale of forfeited and other estates and interests in Ireland; and that it might undergo no alteration in the house of lords, it was consolidated with the money-bill for the service of the year. In the house of lords it produced warm debates; and some alterations were made which the commons unanimously rejected. They seemed to be now more than ever exasperated against the ministry, and ordered a list of the privy council to be laid before the house. The lords demanded conferences, which served only to exasperate the two houses against each other; for the peers insisted upon their amendments, and the commons were so provoked at their interfering in a money-bill, that they determined to give a loose to their resentment. They ordered all the doors of their house to be shut that no members should go forth. Then they took into consideration the report of the Irish forfeitures, with the list of the privy councillors; and a question was moved, That an address should be made to his majesty to remove John lord Somers, chancellor of England, from his presence and councils for ever. This however was carried in the negative by a great majority. The king was extremely chagrined at the bill, which he considered as an invasion of his prerogative, an insult on his person, and an injury to his friends and servants; and he at first resolved to hazard all the consequences of refusing to pass it into a law; but he was diverted from his purpose by the remonstrances of those in whom he chiefly confided.* He could not, however, dissemble his resentment. He became sullen, peevish, and morose; and his enemies did not fail to make use of this additional ill humour as a proof of his aversion to the English people. Though the motion against the chancellor had miscarried, the commons resolved to address his majesty that no person who was not a native of his dominions, except his royal highness prince George of Denmark, should be admitted into his majesty’s councils in England or Ireland. This resolution was levelled against the earls of Portland, Albemarle, and Galway; but before the address could be presented, the king went to the house of peers, and having passed the bill which had produced such a ferment, with some others, commanded the earl of Bridge-water, speaker of the house in the absence of the chancellor, who was indisposed, to prorogue the parliament to the twenty-third day of May.

* Consisting of the lord-chancellor, the lord-president, the lord privy-seal, the lord-steward of the household, the earl of Bridge-water, first commissioner of the admiralty, the earl of Marlborough, the earl of Jersey, and Mr. Montague.

A SEVERE BILL PASSED AGAINST THE PAPISTS.

In the course of this session the commons having prosecuted their inquiry into the conduct of Kidd, brought in a bill for the more effectual suppressing of piracy, which passed into a law; understanding afterwards that Kidd was brought over to England, they presented an address to the king desiring that he might not be tried, discharged, or pardoned, till the next session of parliament; and his majesty complied with their request. Boiling still with indignation against the lord chancellor, representing the necessity of an immediate parliament. It was circulated about the kingdom for subscriptions, signed by a great number of those who sat in parliament, and presented to the king by lord Boss, who with some others was deputed for that purpose. The king told them they should know his intention in Scotland; and in the meantime adjourned their parliament by proclamation. The people exasperated at this new provocation, began to form the draft of a second national address, to be signed by the shires and boroughs of the kingdom; but before this could be finished, the king wrote a letter to the duke of Queensberry and the privy council of that nation, which was published for the satisfaction of the people. He professed himself grieved at the nation’s loss, and willing to grant what might be needful for the relief and ease of the kingdom. He assured them he had their interest at heart; and that his good subjects should have convincing proofs of his sincere inclination to advance the wealth and prosperity of that his ancient kingdom. He said he hoped this declaration would be satisfactory to all good men; that they would not suffer themselves to be misled; nor give advantage to enemies and ill-designing persons, ready to seize every opportunity of embroiling the government. He gave them to understand that his necessary absence had occasioned the late adjournment; but as soon as God should bring him back, their parliament should be assembled. Even this explanation, seconded by all the credit and address of his ministers, failed in allaying the national ferment, which rose to the very verge of rebellion.

LORD SOMERS DISMISSED.

The king, who from his first accession to the throne had veered occasionally from one party to another, according to the circumstances of his affairs and the opposition he encountered, was at this period so incensed and embarrassed by the caprice and insolence of the commons, that he willingly lent an ear to the leaders of the tories, who undertook to manage the parliament according to his pleasure, provided he would part with some of his ministers who were peculiarly odious to the commons. The person against whom their anger was chiefly directed was the lord chancellor Somers, the most active leader of the whig party. They demanded his dismission, and the king exhorted him to resign his office; but he refusing to take any step that might indicate a fear of his enemies or a consciousness of guilt, the king sent a peremptory order for the seals by the lord Jersey, to whom Somers delivered them without hesitation. They were successively offered to lord chief justice Holt, and Trevor the attorney-general, who declined accepting such a precarious office. Meanwhile the king granted a temporary commission to three judges to sit in the court of chancery; and at length bestowed the seals, with the title of lord keeper, on Nathan Wright, one of the sergeants at law, a man but indifferently qualified for the office to which he was now preferred. Though William seemed altogether attached to the tories and inclined to a new parliament, no person appeared to take the lead in the affairs of government; and, indeed, for some time the administration seemed to be under no particular direction.

SECOND TREATY OF PARTITION.

During the transactions of the last session, the negotiation for a second partition treaty had been carried on in London by the French minister Tallard, in conjunction with the earls of Portland and Jersey, and was soon brought to perfection. On the twenty-first day of February the treaty was signed in London; and on the twenty-fifth of the next month it was subscribed at the Hague by Briord, the French envoy, and the plenipotentiaries of the states-general. By this convention the treaty of Ryswiek was confirmed. The contracting parties agreed, that, in case of his catholic majesty’s dying without issue, the dauphin should possess, for himself and his heirs, the kingdoms of Naples and Sicily, the islands of St. Stephano, Porto Hercole, Orbitello, Telamone, Porto Longone, Piombino, the city and marquisate of Final, the province of Guipuscoa, the duchies of Lorraine and Bar; in exchange for which last, the duke of Lorraine should enjoy the duchy of Milan; but that the county of Biche should remain in sovereignty to the prince of Vaudemont; that the archduke Charles should inherit the kingdom of Spain and all its dependencies in and out of Europe; but in case of his dying without issue, it should devolve to some other child of the emperor, excepting him who might succeed as emperor or king of the Romans: that this monarchy should never descend to a king of France or dauphin; and that three months should be allowed to the emperor, to consider whether or not he would accede to this treaty. Whether the French king was really sincere in his professions at this juncture, or proposed this treaty with a view to make a clandestine use of it at the court of Spain for more interested purposes, it is not easy to determine; at first however it was concealed from the notice of the public, as if the parties had resolved to take no step in consequence of it during the life of his catholic majesty.

In the beginning of July the king embarked for Holland, after having appointed a regency to govern the kingdom in his absence. On the twenty-ninth day of the same month the young duke of Gloucester, the only remaining child of seventeen which the princess Anne had borne, died of a malignant fever, in the eleventh year of his age. His death was much lamented by the greater part of the English nation, not only on account of his promising talents and gentle behaviour, but also, as it left the succession undetermined, and might create disputes of fatal consequence to the nation. The Jacobites openly exulted in an event which they imagined would remove the chief bar to the interest of the prince of Wales; but the protestants generally turned their eyes upon the princess Sophia, electress dowager of Hanover, and grand-daughter of James I. It was with a view to concert the establishment of her succession, that the court of Brunswick now returned the visit of king William. The present state of affairs in England, however, afforded a very uncomfortable prospect. The people were generally alienated from the person and government of the reigning king, upon whom they seem to have surfeited. The vigour of their minds was destroyed by luxury and sloth; the severity of their morals was relaxed by a long habit of venality and corruption. The king’s health began to decline, and even his faculties decayed apace. No person was appointed to ascend the throne when it should become vacant. The Jacobite faction alone was eager, vigilant, enterprising and elate. They despatched Mr. Graham, brother of lord Preston, to the court of St. Germain’s, immediately after the death of the duke of Gloucester; they began to bestir themselves all over the kingdom. A report was spread that the princess Anne had privately sent a message to her father, and that Britain was once more threatened with civil war, confusion, anarchy, and ruin.

A FLEET SENT INTO THE BALTIC.

In the meantime King William was not inactive. The kings of Denmark and Poland, with the elector of Brandenburgh, had formed a league to crush the young-king of Sweden, by invading his dominions on different sides. The Poles actually entered Livonia, and undertook the siege of Riga; the king of Denmark, having demolished some forts in Holstein, the duke of which was connected with Sweden, invested Tonninghen. The Swedish minister in England demanded that assistance of William which had been stipulated in a late renewal of the ancient treaty between England and Sweden. The states of Holland were solicited to the same purpose. Accordingly, a fleet of thirty sail, English and Dutch, was sent to the Baltic under the command of sir George Rooke, who joined the Swedish squadron, and bombarded Copenhagen, to which the Danish fleet had retired. At the same time the duke of Lunenbourg, with the Swedish forces which happened to be at Bremen, passed the Elhe, and marched to the assistance of the duke of Holstein. The Danes immediately abandoned the siege of Tonninghen, and a body of Saxons, who had made an irruption into the territories of the duke of Brunswick, were obliged to retreat in disorder. By the mediation of William, a negotiation was begun for a treaty between Sweden and Denmark, which in order to quicken, Charles the young king of Sweden made a descent upon the isle of Zealand. This was executed with great success. Charles was the first man who landed; and here he exhibited such marks of courage and conduct, far above his years, as equally astonished and intimidated his adversaries. Then he determined to besiege Copenhagen; a resolution that struck such terror into the Danes, that they proceeded with redoubled diligence in the treaty, which was brought to a conclusion, between Denmark, Sweden, and Holstein, about the middle of August. Then the Swedes retired to Schonen, and the squadrons of the maritime powers returned from the Baltic.

SECOND TREATY OF PARTITION.

When the new partition treaty was communicated by the ministers of the contracting parties to the other powers of Europe, it generally met with a very unfavourable construction. Saxony and the northern crowns were still embroiled with their own quarrels, consequently could not give much attention to such a remote transaction. The princes of Germany appeared cautious and dilatory in their answers, unwilling to be concerned in any plan that might excite the resentment of the house of Austria. The elector of Brandenburgh in particular had set his heart upon the regal dignity, which he hoped to obtain from the favour and authority of the emperor. The Italian states were averse to the partition treaty, from their apprehension of seeing France in possession of Naples and other districts of their country. The duke of Savoy affected a mysterious neutrality, in hopes of being, able to barter his consent for some considerable advantage. The Swiss cantons declined acceding as guarantees. The emperor expressed his astonishment that any disposition should be made of the Spanish monarchy without the consent of the present possessor, and the states of the kingdom. He observed, that neither justice nor decorum could warrant the contracting powers to compel him, who was the rightful heir, to accept a part of his inheritance within three months, under penalty of forfeiting even that share to a third person not yet named; and he declared that he could take no final resolution until he should know the sentiments of his catholic majesty, on an affair in which their mutual interest was so nearly concerned. Leopold was actually engaged in a negotiation with the king of Spain, who signed a will in favour of his second son Charles; yet he took no measures to support the disposition, either by sending the archduke with a sufficient force to Spain, or by detaching troops into Italy.

THE FRENCH INTEREST PREVAILS AT THE COURT OF SPAIN.

The people of Spain were exasperated at the insolence of the three foreign powers who pretended to parcel out their dominions. Their pride took the alarm at the prospect of their monarchy’s being dismembered; and their grandees repined at the thoughts of losing so many lucrative governments which they now enjoyed. The king’s life became every day more and more precarious, from frequent returns of his disorder. The ministry was weak and divided, the nobility factious, and the people discontented. The hearts of the nation had been alienated from the house of Austria, by the insolent carriage and rapacious disposition of the queen Mariana. The French had gained over to their interests the cardinal Portocarrero, the marquis de Monterey, with many other noblemen and persons of distinction. These perceiving the sentiments of the people, employed their emissaries to raise a general cry that France alone could maintain the succession entire; that the house of Austria was feeble and exhausted, and any prince of that line must owe his chief support to detestable heretics. Portocarrero tampered with the weakness of his sovereign. He repeated and exaggerated all these digestions; he advised him to consult Pope Innocent XII. on this momentous point of regulating the succession. That pontiff, who was a creature of France, having taken the advice of a college of cardinals, determined that the renunciation of Maria Theresa was invalid and null, as being founded upon compulsion, and contrary to the fundamental laws of the Spanish monarchy. He therefore exhorted king Charles to contribute to the propagation of the faith, and the repose of Christendom, by making a new will in favour of a grandson of the French monarch. This admonition was seconded by the remonstrance of Portocarrero; and the weak prince complied with the proposal. In the meantime the king of France seemed to act heartily as a principal in the treaty of partition. His ministers at foreign courts co-operated with those of the maritime powers in soliciting the accession of the different potentates in Europe. When count Zinzendorf, the imperial ambassador at Paris, presented a memorial, desiring to know what part France would act should the king of Spain voluntarily place a grandson of Louis upon the throne, the marquis de Torcy answered in writing, that his most christian majesty would by no means listen to such a proposal; nay, when the emperor’s minister gave them to understand that his master was ready to begin a separate negotiation with the court of Versailles, touching the Spanish succession, Louis declared he could not treat on that subject without the concurrence of his allies.

The nature of the partition-treaty was no sooner known in England, than condemned by the most intelligent part of the nation. They first of all complained, that such an important affair should be concluded without the advice of parliament. They observed that the scheme was unjust, and the execution of it hazardous; that in concerting the terms, the maritime powers seemed to have acted as partizans of France; for the possession of Naples and the Tuscan ports would subject Italy to her dominion, and interfere with the English trade to the Levant and Mediterranean; while Guipuscoa, on any future rupture, would afford another inlet into the heart of the Spanish dominions; they, for these reasons, pronounced the treaty destructive of the balance of power, and prejudicial to the interest of England. All these arguments were trumpeted by the malcontents, so that the whole kingdom echoed with the clamour of disaffection. Sir Christopher Musgrave, and others of the tory faction, began to think in earnest of establishing the succession of the English crown upon the person of the prince of Wales. They are said to have sent over Mr. Graham to St. Germain’s with overtures to this purpose, and an assurance that a motion would be made in the house of commons, to pass a vote that the crown should not be supported in the execution of the partition treaty. King William was not ignorant of the censure he had undergone, and not a little alarmed to find himself so unpopular among his own subjects. That he might be the more able to bestow his attention effectually upon the affairs of England, he resolved to take some measures for the satisfaction of the Scottish nation. He permitted the parliament of that kingdom to meet on the twenty-eighth day of October, and wrote a letter to them from his house at Loo, containing an assurance that he would concur in every thing that could be reasonably proposed for maintaining and advancing the peace and welfare of their kingdom. He promised to give his royal assent to such acts as they should frame for the better establishment of the presbyterian discipline; for preventing the growth of popery, suppressing vice and immorality, encouraging piety and virtue, preserving and securing personal liberty, regulating and advancing trade, retrieving the losses, and promoting the interest of their African and Indian companies. He expressed his concern that he could not assert the company’s right of establishing a colony at Darien, without disturbing the peace of Christendom, and entailing a ruinous war on that his ancient kingdom. He recommended unanimity and despatch in raising competent taxes for their own defence; and told them he had thought fit to continue the duke of Queensberry in the office of high commissioner. Notwithstanding this soothing address, the national resentment continued to rage, and the parliament seemed altogether intractable. By this time the company had received certain tidings of the entire surrender of their settlement; and on the first day of the session, they represented to parliament, that, for want of due protection abroad, some persons had been encouraged to break in upon their privileges even at home. This remonstrance was succeeded by another national address to the king, who told them he could not take any further notice of that affair, since the parliament was now assembled; and he had already made a declaration, with which he hoped all his faithful subjects would be satisfied. Nevertheless he found it absolutely necessary to practise other expedients for allaying the ferment of that nation. His ministers and their agents bestirred themselves so successfully, that the heats in parliament were entirely cooled, and the outcry of the people subsided into unavailing murmurs. The parliament resolved, that in consideration of their great deliverance by his majesty, and as next, under God, their safety and happiness wholly depended on his preservation and that of his government, they would support both to the utmost of their power, and maintain such forces as should be requisite for those ends. They passed an act for keeping on foot three thousand men for two years, to be maintained by a land-tax. Then the commissioner produced the king’s letter, desiring to have eleven hundred men on his own account to the first day of June following; they forthwith complied with this request, and were prorogued to the sixth of May. The supernumerary troops were sent over to the states-general; and the earl of Argyle was honoured with the title of duke, as a recompence for having concurred with the commissioners in managing this session of parliament.

DEATH OF THE KING OF SPAIN.

King William had returned to England on the eighteenth day of October, not a little chagrined at the perplexities in which he found himself involved; and in the beginning of the next month, he received advice that the king of Spain was actually dead. He could not be surprised at this event, which had been so long-expected; but it was attended with a circumstance which he had not foreseen. Charles, by his last will, had declared the duke of Anjou, second son of the dauphin, the sole heir of the Spanish monarchy. In case this prince should die without issue, or inherit the crown of France, he willed that Spain should devolve to the duke of Berry: in default of him, and children, to the archduke Charles and his heirs; failing of whom, to the duke of Savoy and his posterity. He likewise recommended a match between the duke of Anjou and one of the archduchesses. When this testament was first notified to the French court, Louis seemed to hesitate between his inclination and engagements to William and the states-general. Madame de Maintenon is said to have joined her influence to that of the dauphin, in persuading the king to accept of the will; and Pontchartrain was engaged to support the same measure. A cabinet-council was called in her apartment. The rest of the ministry declared for the treaty of partition; the king affected a kind of neutrality. The dauphin spoke for his son with an air of resolution he had never assumed before; Pontchartain seconded his argument; madame de Main-tenon asked, what the duke of Anjou had done to provoke the king, that he should be barred of his right to that succession? Then the rest of the members espoused the dauphin’s opinion; and the king owned himself convinced by their reasons. In all probability the decision of this council was previously settled in private. After the will was accepted, Louis closeted the duke of Anjou, to whom he said in presence of the marquis des Rois, “Sir, the king of Spain has made you a king. The grandees demand you; the people wish for you, and I give my consent, remember only, you are a prince of France. I recommend to you to love your people, to gain their affection by the lenity of your government, and to render yourself worthy of the throne you are going to ascend.” The new monarch was congratulated on his elevation by all the princes of the blood; nevertheless, the duke of Orleans and his son protested against the will, because the archduke was placed next in succession to the duke of Berry, in bar of their right as descendants of Anne of Austria, whose renunciation could be of no more force than that of Maria-Theresa. On the fourth day of December the new king set out for Spain, to the frontiers of which he was accompanied by his two brothers.

When the will was accepted, the French minister de Torcy endeavoured to justify his master’s conduct to the earl of Manchester, who resided at Paris in the character of ambassador from the court of London. He observed, that the treaty of partition was not likely to answer the end for which it had been concerted; that the emperor had refused to accede; that it was relished by none of the princes to whom it had been communicated; that the people of England and Holland had expressed their discontent at the prospect of France being in possession of Naples and Sicily; that if Louis had rejected the will, the archduke would have had a double title derived from the former will, and that of the late king; that the Spaniards were so averse to the division of their monarchy, there would be a necessity for conquering the whole kingdom before the treaty could be executed; that the ships to be furnished by Great Britain and Holland would not be sufficient for the purposes of such a war, and it was doubtful whether England and the states-general would engage themselves in a greater expense. He concluded with saying, That the treaty would have been more advantageous to France than the will, which the king accepted purely from a desire of preserving the peace of Europe. His master hoped therefore that a good understanding would subsist between him and the king of Great Britain. The same reasons were communicated by Briod, the French ambassador at the Hague, to the states-general. Notwithstanding this address, they ordered their envoy at Paris to deliver a memorial to the French king, expressing their surprise at his having accepted the will; and their hope, that as the time specified for the emperor’s acceding to the treaty was not expired, his most christian majesty would take the affair again into his consideration, and adhere to his engagements in every article. Louis in his answer to this memorial, which he despatched to all the courts of Europe, declared that what he chiefly considered was the principal design of the contracting parties, namely, the maintenance of peace in Europe; and that, true to his principle, he only departed from the words that he might the better adhere to the spirit of the treaty.

PHILIP ACKNOWLEDGED KING OF SPAIN.

With this answer he sent a letter to the states, giving them to understand that the peace of Europe was so firmly established by the will of the king of Spain, in favour of his grandson, that he did not doubt their approbation of his succession to the Spanish crown. The states observed, that they could not declare themselves upon an affair of such consequence, without consulting their respective provinces. Louis admitted the excuse, and assured them of his readiness to concur with whatever they should desire for the security of the Spanish Netherlands. The Spanish ambassador at the Hague presented them with a letter from his new master, who likewise notified his accession to all the powers of Europe, except the king of England. The emperor loudly exclaimed against the will, as being more iniquitous than the treaty of partition; and threatened to do himself justice by force of arms. The Spaniards, apprehending that a league would be formed between his imperial majesty and the maritime powers for setting aside the succession of the duke of Anjou, and conscious of their own inability to defend their dominions, resigned themselves entirely to the protection of the French monarch. The towns in the Spanish Netherlands and the duchy of Milan admitted French garrisons: a French squadron anchored in the port of Cadiz; and another was detached to the Spanish settlements in the West Indies. Part of the Dutch army that was quartered at Luxembourg, Mon, and Namur, were made prisoners of war, because they would not own the king of Spain, whom their masters had not yet acknowledged. The states were overwhelmed with consternation by this event, especially when they considered their own naked situation, and reflected that the Spanish garrisons might fall upon them before they could assemble a body of troops for their defence. The danger was so imminent, that they resolved to acknowledge the king of Spain without further hesitation, and wrote a letter to the French king for that purpose; this was no sooner received, than orders were issued for sending back their battalions.

A NEW MINISTRY, AND A NEW PARLIAMENT.

How warmly soever king William resented the conduct of the French king, in accepting the will so diametrically opposite to his engagements, he dissembled his chagrin; and behaved with such reserve and apparent indifference, that some people naturally believed he had been privy to the transaction. Others imagined that he was discouraged from engaging in a new war by his bodily infirmities, which daily increased, as well as by the opposition in parliament to which he should be inevitably exposed. But his real aim was to conceal his sentiments until he should have sounded the opinions of other powers in Europe, and seen how far he could depend upon his new ministry. He now seemed to repose his chief confidence in the earl of Rochester, who had undertaken for the tories, and was declared lord-lieutenant of Ireland. Lord Godolphin was appointed first commissioner of the treasury, lord Tankerville succeeded lord Lonsdale, lately deceased, as keeper of the privy-seal, and sir Charles Hedges was declared secretary of state, in the room of the earl of Jersey; but the management of the commons was intrusted to Mr. Robert Harley, who had hitherto opposed the measures of the court with equal virulence and ability. These new undertakers, well knowing they should find it very difficult, if not impossible, to secure a majority in the present parliament, prevailed on the king to dissolve it by proclamation; then the sheriffs were changed according to their nomination, and writs issued for a new parliament to meet on the sixth day of February. During this interval, count Wratislaw arrived in England, as ambassador from the emperor, to explain Leopold’s title to the Spanish monarchy, supported by repeated entails and renunciations, confirmed in the most solemn treaties. This minister met with a very cold reception from those who stood at the helm of affairs. They sought to avoid all connexions, that might engage their country as a principal in another war upon the Continent; smarting as they were from the losses and incumbrances which the last had entailed upon them and their posterity. They seemed to think that Louis, rather than involve himself in fresh troubles, would give all the security that could be desired for maintaining the peace of Europe; or even should this be refused, they saw no reason for Britain exhausting her wealth and strength to support a chimerical balance, in which her interest was but remotely concerned. It was their opinion, that by keeping aloof she might render herself more respectable. Her reserve would overawe contending powers; they would in their turn sue for her assistance, and implore her good offices; and, instead of declaring herself a party, she would have the honour to decide as arbitress of their disputes. Perhaps they extended this idea too far; and, in all probability, their notions were inflamed by a spirit of faction. They hated the whigs as their political adversaries, and detested the war, because it had been countenanced and supported by the interest of that party. The king believed that a conjunction of the two monarchies of France and Spain would prove fatal to the liberties of Europe; and that this could not be prevented by any other method than a general union of the other European powers. He certainly was an enthusiast in his sentiments of this equilibrium; and fully convinced that he himself, of all the potentates in Christendom, was the only prince capable of adjusting the balance. The imperial ambassador could not therefore be long ignorant of his real purpose, as he conversed with the Dutch favourites, who knew and approved of their master’s design, though he avoided a declaration until he should have rendered his ministers more propitious to his aim. The true secret, however, of that reserve with which count Wratislaw was treated at his first arrival, was a private negotiation which the king had set on foot with the regency of Spain, touching a barrier in the Netherlands. He proposed that certain towns should be garrisoned with English and Dutch troops, by way of security against the ambitious designs of France; but the regency were so devoted to the French interest, that they refused to listen to any proposal of this nature. While this affair was in agitation, William resolved to maintain a wary distance from the emperor; but when his efforts miscarried, the ambassador found him much more open and accessible.*

* This year was distinguished by a glorious victory which the young king of Sweden obtained in the nineteenth year of his age. Riga continued invested by the king of Poland, while Peter the czar of Muscovy made his approaches to Narva, at the head of a prodigious army, purposing, in violation of all faith and justice, to share the spoils of the youthful monarch. Charles landed at Revel, compelled the Saxons to abandon the siege of Riga, and having supplied the place, marched with a handful of troops against the Muscovites, who had undertaken the siege of Narva. The czar quitted his army with some precipitation, as if he had been afraid of hazarding his person, while Charles advanced through ways that were thought impracticable, and surprised the enemy. He broke into their camp before they had the least intimation of his approach, and totally routed them after a short resistance. He took a great number of prisoners, with all their baggage, tents, and artillery, and entered Narva in triumph.

The parliament meeting on the sixth, was prorogued to the tenth day of February, when Mr. Harley was chosen speaker by a great majority, in opposition to sir Richard Onslow. The king had previously told sir Thomas Lyttleton, it would be for his service that he should yield his pretensions to Harley at this juncture; and that gentleman agreed to absent himself from the house on the day of election. The king observed in his speech, that the nation’s loss in the death of the duke of Gloucester, had rendered it absolutely necessary for them to make further provision for the succession of the crown in the protestant line; that the death of the king of Spain had made such an alteration in the affairs of the Continent, as required their mature deliberation. The rest of his harangue turned upon the usual topics of demanding supplies for the ensuing year, reminding them of the deficiencies and public debts, recommending to their inquiry the state of the navy and fortifications; exhorting them to encourage commerce, employ the poor, and proceed with vigour and unanimity in all their deliberations. Though the elections had been generally carried in favour of the tory interest, the ministry had secured but one part of that faction. Some of the most popular leaders, such as the duke of Leeds, the marquis of Normanby, the earls of Nottingham, Seymour, Musgrave, Howe, Finch, and Showers, had been either neglected or found refractory, and resolved to oppose the court measures with all their influence. Besides, the French king, knowing that the peace of Europe would in a great measure depend on the resolutions of the English parliament, is said to have distributed great sums of money in England, by means of his minister Tallard, in order to strengthen the opposition of the house of commons. Certain it is, the nation abounded at this period with the French coins called louis d’ors and pistoles; but whether this redundancy was owing to a balance of trade in favour of England, or to the largesses of Louis, we shall not pretend to determine. We may likewise observe, that the infamous practice of bribing electors had never been so flagrant as in the choice of representatives for this parliament. This scandalous traffic had been chiefly carried on by the whig party, and therefore their antagonists resolved to spare no pains in detecting their corruption. Sir Edward Seymour distinguished himself by his zeal and activity; he brought some of these practices to light, and, in particular, stigmatized the new East-India company for having been deeply concerned in this species of venality. An inquiry being set on foot in the house of commons, several elections were declared void; and divers persons who had been illegally returned, were first expelled the house, and afterwards detained in prison. Yet these prosecutions were carried on with such partiality, as plainly indicated that they flowed rather from party zeal than from patriotism.

A great body of the commons had resolved to present an address to his majesty, desiring he would acknowledge the king of Spain; and the motion in all probability would have been carried by a considerable majority, had not one bold and lucky expression given such a turn to the debate, as induced the anti-courtiers to desist. One Mr. Monckton, in the heat of his declamation against this measure, said he expected the next vote would be for owning the pretended prince of Wales. Though there was little or no connexion between these two subjects, a great many members were startled at the information, and deserted the measure, which was dropped accordingly. The king’s speech being taken into consideration, the house resolved to support his majesty and his government; to take such effectual measures as might best conduce to the interest and safety of England, and the preservation of the protestant religion. This resolution was presented in an address to the king, who received it favourably. At the same time, he laid before them a memorial he had received from the states-general, and desired their advice and assistance in the points that constituted the substance of the remonstrance. The states gave him to understand, that they had acknowledged the duke of Anjou as king of Spain; that France had agreed to a negotiation, in which they might stipulate the necessary conditions for securing the peace of Europe; and that they were firmly resolved to do nothing without the concurrence of his majesty and their other allies. They therefore begged he would send a minister to the Hague, with necessary powers and instructions to co-operate with them in this negotiation; they told him that in case it should prove ineffectual, or Holland be suddenly invaded by the troops which Louis had ordered to advance towards their frontiers, they relied on the assistance of England, and hoped his majesty would prepare the succours stipulated by treaty, to be used should occasion require. The memorial was like-wise communicated to the house of lords. Meanwhile the commons desired that the treaties between England and the states-general should be laid before the house. These being perused, they resolved upon an address, to desire his majesty would enter into such negotiations with the states-general, and other potentates, as might most effectually conduce to the mutual safety of Great Britain and the united provinces, as well as to the preservation of the peace of Europe, and to assure him of their support and assistance in performance of the treaty subsisting between England and the states-general. This resolution however was not carried without great opposition from those who were averse to the nation involving itself in another war upon the continent. The king professed himself extremely well pleased with this address, and told them he would immediately order his ministers abroad to act in concert with the states-general and other powers, for the attainment of those ends they proposed.

AN INTERCEPTED LETTER.

He communicated to the commons a letter, written by the earl of Melfort to his brother the earl of Perth, governor to the pretended prince of Wales. It had been mislaid by, accident, and came to London in the French mail. It contained a scheme for another invasion of England, together with some reflections on the character of the earl of Middleton, who had supplanted him at the court of St. Germain’s. Melfort was a mere projector, and seems to have had no other view than that of recommending himself to king James, and bringing his rival into disgrace. The house of lords, to whom the’ letter was also imparted, ordered it to be printed. Next day they presented an address, thanking his majesty for his care of the protestant religion; desiring all the treaties made since the last war might be laid before them; requesting him to engage in such alliances as he should think proper for preserving the balance of power in Europe; assuring him of their concurrence; expressing their acknowledgment for his having communicated Melfort’s letter; desiring he would give orders for seizing the horses and arms of disaffected persons; for removing papists from London; and for searching after those arms and provisions of war mentioned in the letter; finally, they requested him to equip speedily a sufficient fleet for the defence of himself and the kingdom. They received a gracious answer to this address, which was a further encouragement to the king to put his own private designs in execution; towards the same end the letter contributed not a little, by inflaming the fears and resentment of the nation against France, which in vain disclaimed the earl of Melfort as a fantastical schemer, to whom no regard was paid at the court of Versailles. The French ministry complained of the publication of this letter, as an attempt to sow jealousy between the two crowns; and as a convincing proof of their sincerity, banished the earl of Melfort to Angers.

SUCCESSION OF THE CROWN SETTLED.

The credit of exchequer bills was so lowered by the change of the ministry, and the lapse of the time allotted for their circulation, that they fell nearly twenty per cent, to the prejudice of the revenue, and the discredit of the government in foreign countries. The commons having taken this affair into consideration, voted, That provision should be made from time to time for making good the principal and interest due on all parliamentary funds; and afterwards passed a bill for renewing the bills of credit, commonly called exchequer bills. This was sent up to the lords on the sixth day of March, and on the thirteenth received the royal assent. The next object that engrossed the attention of the commons, was the settlement of the succession to the throne, which the king had recommended to their consideration in the beginning of the session. Having deliberated on this subject, they resolved, That for the preservation of the peace and happiness of the kingdom, and the security of the protestant religion, it was absolutely necessary that a further declaration should be made of the limitation and succession of the crown in the protestant line, after his majesty and the princess, and the heirs of their bodies respectively; and that further provision should be first made for the security of the rights and liberties of the people. Mr. Harley moved, That some conditions of government might be settled as preliminaries, before they should proceed to the nomination of the person, that their security might be complete. Accordingly, they deliberated on this subject, and agreed to the following resolutions; That whoever shall hereafter come to the possession of this crown, shall join in communion with the church of England as by law established; that in case the crown and imperial dignity of this realm shall hereafter come to any person, not being a native of this kingdom of England, this nation be not obliged to engage in any war for the defence of any dominions or territories which do not belong to the crown of England, without the consent of parliament; that no person who shall hereafter come to the possession of the crown, shall go out of the dominions of England, Scotland, or Ireland, without consent of parliament; that, from and after the time that the further limitation by this act shall take effect, all matters and things relating to the well-governing of this kingdom, which are properly cognizable in the privy-council, by the laws and customs of the realm, shall be transacted there, and all resolutions taken thereupon shall be signed by such of the privy-council as shall advise and consent to the same; that, after the limitation shall take effect, no person born out of the kingdom of England, Scotland, or Ireland, or the dominions thereunto belonging, although he be naturalized, and made a denizen (except such as are born of English parents), shall be capable to be of the privy-council, or a member of either house of parliament, or to enjoy any office or place of trust, either civil or military, or to have any grant of lands, tenements, or hereditaments from the crown to himself, or to any others in trust for him; that no person who has an office or place of profit under the king, or receives a pension from the crown, shall be capable of serving as a member of the house of commons; that, after the limitation shall take effect, judges’ commissions be made quamdiu se bene gesserint, and their salaries ascertained and established; but upon the address of both houses of parliament, it may be lawful to remove them; but no pardon under the great seal of England be pleadable to an impeachment by the commons in parliament. Having settled these preliminaries, they resolved, that the princess Sophia, duchess dowager of Hanover, be declared the next in succession to the crown of England, in the protestant line, after his majesty, and the princess, and the heirs of their bodies respectively; and, that the further limitation of the crown be to the said princess Sophia and the heirs of her body, being protestants. A bill being formed on these resolutions, was sent up to the house of lords, where it met with some opposition from the marquis of Normanby; a protest was likewise entered against it by the earls of Huntingdon and Plymouth, and the lords Guilford and Jeffries. Nevertheless it passed without amendments, and on the twelfth day of June received the royal assent: the king was extremely mortified at the preliminary limitations, which he considered as an open insult on his own conduct and administration; not but that they were necessary precautions, naturally suggested by the experience of those evils to which the nation had been already exposed, in consequence of raising a foreign prince to the throne of England. As the tories lay under the imputation of favouring the late king’s interest, they exerted themselves zealously on this occasion to wipe off the aspersion, and insinuate themselves into the confidence of the people; hoping that in the sequel they should be able to restrain the nation from engaging too deep in the affairs of the continent, without incurring the charge of disaffection to the present king and government. The act of settlement being passed, the earl of Macclesfield was sent to notify the transaction to the electress Sophia, who likewise received from his hands the order of the garter.

The act of succession gave umbrage to all the popish princes, who were more nearly related to the crown than this lady, whom the parliament had preferred to all others. The duchess of Savoy, grand-daughter to king Charles I. by her mother, ordered her ambassador, count Maffei, to make a protestation to the parliament of England, in her name, against all resolutions and decisions contrary to her title, as sole daughter to the princess Henrietta, next in succession to the crown of England, after king William and the princess Anne of Denmark. Two copies of this protest, Maffei sent in letters to the lord keeper and the speaker of the lower house, by two of his gentlemen, and a public notary to attest the delivery; but no notice was taken of the declaration. The duke of Savoy, while his minister was thus employed in England, engaged in an alliance with the crowns of France and Spain, on condition, That his catholic majesty should espouse his youngest daughter without a dowry; that he himself should command the allied army in Italy, and furnish eight thousand infantry, with five-and-twenty hundred horse, in consideration of a monthly subsidy of fifty thousand crowns.

INEFFECTUAL NEGOTIATION with FRANCE.

During these transactions, Mr. Stanhope, envoy extraordinary to the states-general, was empowered to treat with the ministers of France and Spain, according to the addresses of both houses of parliament. He represented, that though his most christian majesty had thought fit to deviate from the partition-treaty, it was not reasonable that the king of England should lose the effect of that convention; he therefore expected some security for the peace of Europe; and for that purpose insisted upon certain articles, importing, That the French king should immediately withdraw his troops from the Spanish Netherlands; that for the security of England, the cities of Ostend and Nieuport should be delivered into the hands of his Britannic majesty; that no kingdom, provinces, cities, lands, or places, belonging to the crown of Spain, should ever be yielded or transferred to the crown of France, on any pretence whatever; that the subjects of his Britannic majesty should retain all the privileges, rights, and immunities, with regard to their navigation and commerce in the dominions of Spain, which they enjoyed at the death of his late catholic majesty; and also all such immunities, rights, and franchises, as the subjects of France, or any other power, either possess for the present, or may enjoy for the future; that all treaties of peace and conventions between England and Spain should be renewed; and that a treaty formed on these demands should be guaranteed by such powers as one or other of the contractors should solicit and prevail upon to accede. Such likewise were the proposals made by the states-general, with this difference, that they demanded as cautionary towns, all the strongest places in the Netherlands. Count D’A vaux, the French minister, was so surprised at these exorbitant demands, that he could not help saying, They could not have been higher, if his master had lost four successive battles. He assured them that his most christian majesty would withdraw his troops from the Spanish Netherlands as soon as the king of Spain should have forces of his own sufficient to guard the country; with respect to the other articles, he could give no other answer, but that he would immediately transmit them to Versailles. Louis was filled with indignation at the insolent strain of those proposals, which he considered as a sure mark of William’s hostile intentions. He refused to give any other security for the peace of Europe, than a renewal of the treaty of Ryswick; and he is said to have tampered, by means of his agents and emissaries, with the members of the English parliament, that they might oppose all steps tending to a new war on the continent.

SEVERE ADDRESSES FROM BOTH HOUSES.

King William certainly had no expectation that France would close with such proposals; but he was not without hope that her refusal would warm the English nation into a concurrence with his designs. He communicated to the house of commons the demands which had been made by him and the states-general; and gave them to understand, that he would from time to time make them acquainted with the progress of the negotiation. The commons suspecting that his intention was to make them parties in a congress which he might conduct to a different end from that which they proposed, resolved to signify their sentiments in the answer to this message. They called for the treaty of partition, which being read, they voted an address of thanks to his majesty, for his most gracious declaration that he would make them acquainted with the progress of the negotiation; but they signified their disapprobation of the partition treaty, signed with the great seal of England, without the advice of the parliament which was then sitting, and productive of ill consequences to the kingdom, as well as to the peace of Europe, as it assigned over to the French king such a large portion of the Spanish dominion. Nothing could be more mortifying to the king than this open attack upon his own conduct, yet he suppressed his resentment, and without taking the least notice of their sentiments with respect to the partition treaty, assured them that he should be always ready to receive their advice on the negotiation which he had set on foot according to their desire. The debates in the house of commons upon the subject of the partition treaty rose to such violence, that divers members, in declaiming against it, transgressed the bounds of decency. Sir Edward Seymour compared the division which had been made of the Spanish territories, to a robbery on the highway; and Mr. Howe did not scruple to say it was a felonious treaty: an expression which the king resented to such a degree, that he declared he would have demanded personal satisfaction with his sword, had he not been restrained by the disparity of condition between himself and the person who had offered such an outrageous insult to his honour. Whether the tories intended to alienate the minds of the nation from all foreign connexions, or to wreak their vengeance on the late ministers, whom they hated as the chiefs of the whig party, certain it is, they now raised an universal outcry against the partition treaty, which was not only condemned in public pamphlets and private conversation, but even brought into the house of lords as an object of parliamentary censure. In the month of March a warm debate on this subject was begun by Sheffield marquis of Nonnanby, and carried on with great vehemence by other noblemen of the same faction. They exclaimed against the article by which so many territories were added to the crown of France; they complained, that the emperor had been forsaken; that the treaty was not communicated to the privy-council or ministry, but clandestinely transacted by the earls of Portland and Jersey; that the sanction of the great seal had been unjustly and irregularly applied, first to blank powers, and afterwards to the treaty itself. The courtiers replied, that the king had engaged in a treaty of partition at the desire of the emperor, who had agreed to every article except that relating to the duchy of Milan, and afterwards desired, that his majesty would procure for him the best terms he could obtain; above all things recommending secrecy, that he might not forfeit his interest in Spain, by seeming to consent to the treaty; that foreign negotiations being intrusted to the care of the crown, the king lay under no legal obligation to communicate such secrets of state to his council; far less was he obliged to follow their advice; and that the keeper of the great seal had no authority for refusing to apply it to any powers or treaty which the king should grant or conclude, unless they were contrary to law, which had made no provision for such an emergency.*

* In the course of this debate, the earl of Rochester reprehended some lords for speaking disrespectfully of the French king, observing that it was peculiarly incumbent on peers to treat monarchs with decorum and respect, as they derived their dignity from the crown. Another affirming that the French king was not only to be respected, but likewise to be feared: a certain lord replied, “He hoped no man in England need to be afraid of the French king; much less the peer who spoke last, who was too much a friend to that monarch to fear anything from his resentment.”

The earl of Portland, apprehending that this tempest would burst upon his head, declared on the second day of the debate, that he had, by the king’s order, communicated the treaty, before it was concluded, to the earls of Pembroke and Marlborough, the lords Lonsdale, Somers, Halifax, and secretary Vernon. These noblemen owned, that they had been made acquainted with the substance of it: that when they excepted to some particulars, they were told his majesty had carried the matter as far as it could be advanced, and that he could obtain no better terms; thus assured that every article was already settled, they said they no longer insisted upon particulars, but gave their advice that his majesty should not engage himself in any measure that would produce a new war, seeing the nation had been so uneasy under the last. After long debates, and great variety as well as virulence of altercation, the house agreed to an address in which they disapproved of the partition treaty, as a scheme inconsistent with the peace and safety of Europe, as well as prejudicial to the interest of Great Britain. They complained, that neither the instructions given to his plenipotentiaries, nor the draft of the treaty itself, had been laid before his majesty’s council. They humbly besought him, that for the future he would, in all matters of importance, require and admit the advice of his natural born subjects of known probity and fortune; and that he would constitute a council of such persons, to whom he might impart all affairs which should any way concern him and his dominions. They observed, that interest and natural affection to their country would incline them to every measure that might tend to its welfare and prosperity; whereas strangers could not be so much influenced by these considerations; that their knowledge of the country would render them more capable than foreigners could be of advising his majesty touching the true interests of his kingdom; that they had exhibited such repeated demonstrations of their duty and affection, as must convince his majesty of their zeal in his service; nor could he want the knowledge of persons fit to be employed in all his secret and arduous affairs; finally, as the French king appeared to have violated the treaty of partition, they advised his majesty, in future negotiations with that prince, to proceed with such caution as might imply a real security.

WILLIAM IS OBLIGED TO ACKNOWLEDGE THE KING OF SPAIN.

The king received this severe remonstrance with his usual phlegm; saying, it contained matter of very great moment; and he would take care that all treaties he made should be for the honour and safety of England. Though he deeply felt this affront, he would not alter his conduct towards the new ministers; but he plainly perceived their intention was to thwart him in his favourite measure, and humble him into a dependence upon their interest in parliament. On the last day of March, he imparted to the commons the French king’s declaration, that he would grant no other security than a renewal of the treaty of Ryswick; so that the negotiation seemed to be at an end. He likewise communicated two resolutions of the states-general, with a memorial from their envoy in England, relating to the ships they had equipped with a view to join the English fleet, and the succours stipulated in the treaty concluded in the year 1677, which they desired might be sent over with all convenient expedition. The house having considered this message, unanimously resolved to desire his majesty would carry on the negotiations in concert with the states-general, and take such measures therein as might most conduce to their safety; they assured him they would effectually enable him to support the treaty of 1677, by which England was bound to assist them with ten thousand men, and twenty ships of war, in case they should be attacked. Though the king was nettled at that part of this address, which, by confining him to one treaty, implied their disapprobation of a new confederacy, he discovered no signs of emotion; but thanked them for the assurance they had given, and told them he had sent orders to his envoy at the Hague, to continue the conferences with the courts of Franco and Spain. On the nineteenth day of April, the marquis de Torcy delivered to the earl of Manchester, at Paris, a letter from the new king of Spain to his Britannic majesty, notifying his accession to that throne, and expressing a desire of cultivating a mutual friendship with the king and crown of England. How averse soever William might have been to any correspondence of this sort, the earl of Rochester and the new ministers importuned him in such a manner to acknowledge Philip, that he at length complied with their entreaties, and wrote a civil answer to his most catholic majesty. This was a very alarming incident to the emperor, who was bent upon a war with the two crowns, and had determined to send prince Eugene with an army into Italy, to take possession of the duchy of Milan as a fief of the empire. The new pope Clement XI., who had succeeded to the papacy in the preceding year, was attached to the French interest; the Venetians favoured the emperor; but they refused to declare themselves at this juncture.

The French king consented to a renewal of the negotiations at the Hague; but in the meantime tampered with the Dutch deputies, to engage them in a separate treaty. Finding them determined to act in concert with the king of England, he protracted the conferences in order to gain time, while he erected fortifications and drew lines on the frontiers of Holland, divided the princes of the empire by his intrigues, and endeavoured to gain over the states of Italy. The Dutch meanwhile exerted themselves in providing for their own security. They reinforced their garrisons, purchased supplies, and solicited succours from foreign potentates. The states wrote a letter to king William, explaining the danger of their situation, professing the most inviolable attachment to the interest of England, and desiring that the stipulated number of troops should be sent immediately to their assistance. The three Scottish regiments which he had retained in his own pay, were immediately transported from Scotland. The letter of the states-general he communicated to the house of commons, who having taken it into consideration, resolved to assist his majesty to support his allies in maintaining the liberty of Europe; and to provide immediate succours for the states-general, according to the treaty of 1677. The house of peers, to whom the letter was also communicated, carried their zeal still farther. They presented an address, in which they desired his majesty would not only perform the articles of any former treaty with the states-general, but also engage with them in a strict league offensive and defensive, for their common preservation; and invite into it all the princes and states that were concerned in the present visible danger arising from the union of Franco and Spain. They exhorted him to enter into such alliances with the emperor as his majesty should think necessary, pursuant to the ends of the treaty concluded in the year 1689. They assured him of their hearty and sincere assistance, not doubting that Almighty God would protect his sacred person in so righteous a cause; and that the unanimity, wealth, and courage of his subjects would carry him with honour and success through all the difficulties of a just war. Lastly, they took leave humbly to represent, that the dangers to which his kingdom and allies had been exposed, were chiefly owing to the fatal counsels that prevented his majesty’s sooner meeting his people in parliament.

These proceedings of both houses could not but be very agreeable to the king, who expressed his satisfaction in his answer to each apart. They were the more remarkable, as at this very time considerable progress was made in a design to impeach the old ministry. This deviation therefore from the tenour of their former conduct, could be owing to no other motive than a sense of their own danger, and resentment against France, which, even during the negotiation, had been secretly employed in making preparations to surprise and distress the states-general. The commons having expressed their sentiments on this subject, resumed the consideration of the partition treaty. They had appointed a committee to examine the journals of the house of lords, and to report their proceedings in relation to the treaty of partition. When the report was made by sir Edward Seymour, the house resolved itself into a committee to consider the state of the nation; after warm debates they resolved, That William earl of Portland, by negotiating and concluding the treaty of partition, was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor. They ordered sir John Leveson Gower to impeach him at the bar of the house of lords; and named a committee to prepare the articles of his impeachment. Then, in a conference with the lords, they desired to know the particulars of what had passed between the earl of Portland and secretary Vernon, in relation to the partition treaty, as also what other information they had obtained concerning negotiations or treaties of partition of the Spanish monarchy. The lords demurring to this demand, the lower house resolved to address the king, That copies of both treaties of partition, together with all the powers and instructions for negotiating those treaties, should be laid before them. The copies were accordingly produced, and the lords sent down to the commons two papers containing the powers granted to the earls of Portland and Jersey for signing both treaties of partition. The house afterwards ordered, That Mr. secretary Vernon should lay before them all the letters which had passed between the earl of Portland and him, in relation to those treaties; and he thought proper to obey their command. Nothing could be more scandalously partial than the conduct of the commons on this occasion. They resolved to screen the earl of Jersey, sir Joseph Williamson, and Mr. Vernon, who had been as deeply concerned as any others in that transaction; and pointed all their vengeance against the earls of Portland and Orford, and the lords Somers and Halifax. Some of the members even tampered with Kidd, who was now a prisoner in Newgate, to accuse lord Somers as having encouraged him in his piracy. He was brought to the bar of the house and examined; but he declared that he had never spoke to lord Somers; and that he had no order from those concerned in the ship, but that of pursuing his voyage against the pirates in Madagascar. Finding him unfit for their purpose, they left him to the course of law; and he was hanged with some of his accomplices.

EARL OF ORFORD, &c, IMPEACHED.

Lord Somers, understanding that he was accused in the house of commons of having consented to the partition treaty, desired that he might be admitted and heard in his own defence. His request being granted, he told the house that when he received the king’s letter concerning the partition treaty, with an order to send over the necessary powers in the most secret manner, he thought it would have been taking too much upon him to put a stop to a treaty of such consequence when the life of the king of Spain was so precarious; for, had the king died before the treaty was finished, and he been blamed for delaying the necessary powers, he could not have justified his own conduct, since the king’s letter was really a warrant; that, nevertheless, he had written a letter to his majesty objecting to several particulars in the treaty, and proposing other articles which he thought were for the interest of his country; that he thought himself bound to put the great seal to the treaty when it was concluded; that, as a privy counsellor, he had offered his best advice, and as chancellor, executed his office according to his duty. After he had withdrawn, his justification gave rise to a long debate which ended in a resolution, carried by a majority of seven voices, That John lord Somers, by advising his majesty to conclude the treaty of partition, whereby large territories of the Spanish monarchy were to be delivered up to France, was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor. Votes to the same effect were passed against Edward carl of Orford, and Charles lord Halifax; and all three were impeached at the bar of the upper house. But the commons knowing that those impeachments would produce nothing in the house of lords, where the opposite interest predominated, they resolved to proceed against the accused noblemen in a more expeditious and effectual way of branding their reputation. They voted and presented an address, to the king, desiring he would remove them from his councils and presence for ever, as advisers of a treaty so pernicious to the trade and welfare of England. They concluded by repeating their assurance that they would always stand by and support his majesty to the utmost of their power, against all his enemies both at home and abroad. The king, in his answer, artfully overlooked the first part of the remonstrance. He thanked them for their repeated assurances; and told them he would employ none in his service but such as should be thought most likely to improve that mutual trust and confidence between him and his people, which was so necessary at that conjuncture, both for their own security and the preservation of their allies.

DISPUTES BETWEEN THE TWO HOUSES.

The lords, incensed at this step of the commons, which they considered as an insult upon their tribunal, and a violation of common justice, drew up and delivered a counter-address, humbly beseeching his majesty that he would not pass any censure upon the accused lords until they should be tried on the impeachments, and judgments be given according to the usage of parliament. The king was so perplexed by these opposite representations, that he knew not well what course to follow. He made no reply to the counter-address; but allowed the names of the impeached lords to remain in the council-books. The commons having carried their point, which was to stigmatize those noblemen and prevent their being employed for the future, suffered the impeachments to be neglected until they themselves moved for trial. On the fifth day of May the house of lords sent a message to the commons, importing, That no articles had as yet been exhibited against the noblemen whom they had impeached. The charge was immediately drawn up against the earl of Orford: him they accused of having received exorbitant grants from the crown; of having been concerned with Kidd the pirate; of having committed abuses in managing and victualling the fleet when it lay on the coast of Spain; and lastly, of having advised the partition treaty. The earl, in his own defence, declared that he had received no grant from the king except a very distant reversion, and a present of ten thousand pounds after he had defeated the French at La Hogue; that in Kidd’s affair he had acted legally, and with a good intention towards the public, though to his own loss; that his accounts with regard to the fleet which he commanded had been examined and passed; yet he was ready to waive the advantage, and justify himself in every particular; and he absolutely denied that he had given any advice concerning the treaty of partition. Lord Somers was accused of having set the seals to the powers, and afterwards to the treaties; of having accepted some grants; of having been an accomplice with Kidd; and of having some guilt of partial and dilatory proceedings in chancery. He answered every article in the charge; but no replication was made by the commons either to him or the earl of Orford. When the commons were stimulated by another message from the peers, relating to the impeachments of the earl of Portland and lord Halifax, they declined exhibiting articles against the former on pretence of respect for his majesty; but on the fourteenth of June, the charge against Halifax was sent up to the lords. He was taxed with possessing a grant in Ireland, without paying the produce of it according to the law lately enacted concerning those grants; with enjoying another grant out of the forest of Deane, to the waste of the timber and the prejudice of the navy; with having held places that were incompatible, by being at the same time commissioner of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer; and with having advised the two treaties of partition. He answered, that his grant in Ireland was of debts and sums of money, and within the act concerning confiscated estates; that all he had ever received from it did not exceed four hundred pounds, which, if he was bound to repay, a common action would lie against him; but every man was not to be impeached who did not discharge his debts at the very day of payment. He observed, that as his grant in the forest of Deane extended to weedings only, it could occasion no waste of timber nor prejudice to the navy; that the auditor’s place was held by another person, until he obtained the king’s leave to withdraw from the treasury; that he never saw the first treaty of partition, nor was his advice asked upon the subject; that he had never heard of the second but once before it was concluded; and then he spoke his sentiments freely on the subject. This answer, like the others, would have been neglected by the commons, whose aim was now to evade the trials, had not the lords pressed them by messages to expedite the articles. They even appointed a day for Orford’s trial, and signified their resolution to the commons. These desired that a committee of both houses should be named for settling preliminaries, one of which was, That the lord to be tried should not sit as a peer; and the other imported, That those lords impeached for the same matter should not vote in the trial of each other. They likewise desired that lord Somers should be first tried. The lords made no objection to this last demand; but they rejected the proposal of a committee consisting of both houses, alleging that the commons were parties, and had no title to sit in equality with the judges, or to settle matters relating to the trial; that this was a demand contrary to the principles of law and rules of justice, and never practised in any court or nation. The lords, indeed, had yielded to this expedient in the popish plot, because it was a case of treason, in which the king’s life and safety of the kingdom were concerned, while the people were jealous of the court, and the whole nation was in a ferment; but at present the times were quiet, and the charge amounted to nothing more than misdemeanors; therefore the lords could not assent to such a proposal as was derogatory from their jurisdiction. Neither would they agree to the preliminaries; but on the twelfth day of June resolved, That no peer impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors should, upon his trial, be without the bar; and that no peer impeached could be precluded from voting on any occasion except in his own trial. Divers messages passed between the two houses,—the commons still insisting upon a committee to settle preliminaries; at length the dispute was brought to a free conference.

THE IMPEACHED LORDS ACQUITTED.

Meanwhile the king, going to the house of peers, gave the royal assent to the bill of succession. In his speech he expressed his warm acknowledgments for their repeated assurances of supporting him in such alliances as should be most proper for the preservation of the liberty of Europe, and for the security of England and the states-general. He observed that the season of the year was advanced; that the posture of affairs absolutely required his presence abroad; and he recommended despatch of the public business, especially of those matters which were of the greatest importance. The commons thanked him in an address for having approved of their proceedings: they declared they would support him in such alliances as he should think fit to make in conjunction with the emperor and the states-general, for the peace of Europe, and reducing the exorbitant power of France. They then resumed their dispute with the upper house. In the free conference, lord Haversham happened to tax the commons with partiality, in impeaching some lords and screening others who were equally guilty of the same misdemeanors. Sir Christopher Musgrave and the managers for the commons immediately withdrew; this unguarded sally being reported to the house, they immediately resolved, That John lord Haversham had uttered most scandalous reproaches and false expressions, highly reflecting upon the honour and justice of the house of commons, tending to a breach in the good correspondence between the two houses, and to the interruption of the public justice of the nation; that the said lord Haversham should be charged before the lords for the said words; that the lords should be desired to proceed in justice against him, and to inflict upon him such punishment as so high an offence against the commons did deserve. The commons had now found a pretence to justify their delay; and declared they would not renew the conference until they should have received satisfaction. Lord Haversham offered to submit to a trial; but insisted on their first proving the words which he was said to have spoken. When this declaration was imparted to the commons, they said the lords ought to have censured him in a summary way, and still refused to renew the conference. The lords, on the other hand, came to a resolution, That there should not be a committee of both houses concerning the trial of the impeached lords. Then they resolved, That lord Somers should be tried at Westminster-hall on Tuesday the seventeenth day of June, and signified this resolution to the lower house; reminding them, at the same time, of the articles against the earl of Portland. The commons refused to appear, alleging they were the only judges, and that the evidence was not yet prepared. They sent up the reasons of their nonappearance to the house of lords, where they were supported by the new ministry and all the malcontents, and produced very warm debates. The majority carried their point piecemeal by dint of different votes, against which very severe protests were entered. On the day appointed for the trial, they sent a message to the commons that they were going to Westminster-hall. The other impeached lords asked leave, and were permitted to withdraw. The articles of impeachment against lord Somers, and his answers, being read in Westminster-hall, and the commons not appearing to prosecute, the lords adjourned to their own house, where they debated concerning the question that was to be put. This being settled, they returned to Westminster-hall; and the question being put, “That John lord Somers be acquitted of the articles of impeachment against him, exhibited by the house of commons, and all things therein contained; and, That the impeachment be dismissed,” it was carried by a majority of thirty-five. The commons, exasperated at these proceedings, resolved, That the lords had refused justice to the commons; that they had endeavoured to overturn the right of impeachment lodged in the commons by the ancient constitution of the kingdom; that all the ill consequences which might attend the delay of the supplies given for the preservation of the public peace, and the maintenance of the balance of Europe, would be owing to those who, to procure an indemnity for their own crimes, had used their utmost endeavours to make a breach between the two houses. The lords sent a message to the commons, giving them to understand that they had acquitted lord Somers and dismissed the impeachment, as nobody had appeared to support the articles; and that they had appointed next Monday for the trial of the earl of Orford. They resolved, That unless the charge against lord Haversham should be prosecuted by the commons before the end of the session, the lords would adjudge him innocent; that the resolutions of the commons on their late votes, contained most unjust reflections on the honour and justice of the peers; that they were contrived to cover their affected and unreasonable delays in prosecuting the impeached lords; that they manifestly tended to the destruction of the judicature of the lords; to the rendering trials on impeachments impracticable for the future, and to the subverting the constitution of the English government; that therefore, whatever ill consequence might arise from the so long deferring the supplies for this year’s service, wore to be attributed to the fatal counsel of the putting off the meeting of a parliament so long, and to the unnecessary delays of the house of commons. On the twenty-third day of June, the articles of impeachment against Edward earl of Orford were read in Westminster-hall; but the house of commons having previously ordered that none of the members should appear at this pretended trial, those articles were not supported, so that his lordship was acquitted and the impeachment dismissed. Next day the impeachments against the duke of Leeds, which had lain seven years neglected, together with those against the earl of Portland and lord Halifax as well as the charge against lord Haversham, were dismissed for want of prosecution. Each house ordered a narrative of these proceedings to be published; and their mutual animosity had proceeded to such a degree of rancour as seemed to preclude all possibility of reconciliation. The commons, in the whole course of this transaction, had certainly acted from motives of faction and revenge; for nothing could be more unjust, frivolous, and partial, than the charge exhibited in the articles of impeachment, their anticipating address to the king, and their affected delay in the prosecution. Their conduct on this occasion was so flagrant as to attract the notice of the common people, and inspire the generality of the nation with disgust. This the whigs did not fail to augment by the arts of calumny, and, in particular, by insinuating that the court of Versailles had found means to engage the majority of the commons in its interest.

PETITION OF KENT.

This faction had, since the beginning of this session, employed their emissaries in exciting a popular aversion to the tory ministers and members, and succeeded so well in their endeavours, that they formed a scheme of obtaining petitions from different counties and corporations that should induce the commons to alter their conduct, on the supposition that it was contrary to the sense of the nation. In execution of this scheme, a petition signed by the deputy-lieutenants, above twenty justices of the peace, the grand jury and freeholders of the county of Kent, had been presented to the house of commons on the eighteenth of May, by five gentlemen of fortune and distinction. The purport of this remonstrance was to recommend union among themselves, and confidence in his majesty, whose great actions for the nation could never be forgotten without the blackest ingratitude; to beg they would have regard to the voice of the people; that their religion and safety might be effectually provided for; that their loyal addresses might be turned into bills of supply; and that his most sacred majesty might be enabled powerfully to assist his allies before it should be too late. The house was so incensed at the petulance of the petition, that they voted it scandalous, insolent, and seditious; and ordered the gentlemen who had presented it to be taken into custody. They were afterwards committed to the Gate-house, where they remained till the prorogation of parliament; but they had no reason to repine at their imprisonment, which recommended them to the notice and esteem of the public. They were visited and caressed by the chiefs of the whig interest, and considered as martyrs to the liberties of the people. Their confinement gave rise to a very extraordinary paper, entitled, “A memorial from the gentlemen, freeholders, and inhabitants of the counties of———, in behalf of themselves and many thousands of the good people of England.” It was signed Legion, and sent to the speaker in a letter, commanding him, in the name of two hundred thousand Englishmen, to deliver it to the house of commons. In this strange expostulation, the house was charged with illegal and unwarrantable practices in fifteen particulars; a new claim of right was ranged under seven heads; and the commons were admonished to act according to their duty, as specified in this memorial, on pain of incurring the resentment of an injured nation. It was concluded in these words—“For Englishmen are no more to be slaves to parliaments than to kings-our name is Legion, and we are many.” The commons were equally provoked and intimidated by this libel, which was the production of one Daniel de Foe, a scurrilous party-writer in very little estimation. They would not, however, deign to take notice of it in the house; but a complaint being made of endeavours to raise tumults and seditions, a committee was appointed to draw up an address to his majesty, informing him of those seditious endeavours, and beseeching him to provide for the public peace and security.

The house, however, perceiving plainly that they had incurred the odium of the nation, which began to clamour for a war with France, and dreading the popular resentment, thought fit to change their measures with respect to this object, and present the address we have already mentioned, in which they promised to support him in the alliances he should contract with the emperor and other states in order to bridle the exorbitant power of France. They likewise proceeded in earnest upon the supply, and voted funds for raising about two millions seven hundred thousand pounds to defray the expense of the ensuing year. They voted thirty thousand seamen, and resolved that ten thousand troops should be transported from Ireland to Holland, as the auxiliaries stipulated in the treaty of 1677 with the states-general. The funds were constituted of a land-tax, certain duties on merchandise, and a weekly deduction from the excise, so as to bring down the civil list to six hundred thousand pounds, as the duke of Gloucester was dead, and James’ queen refused her allowance. They passed a bill for taking away all privileges of parliament in legal prosecutions during the intermediate prorogations; their last struggle with the lords was concerning a bill for appointing commissioners to examine and state the public accounts. The persons nominated for this purpose were extremely obnoxious to the majority of the peers, as violent partizans of the tory faction; when the bill, therefore, was sent up to the lords, they made some amendments which the commons rejected. The former animosity between the two houses began to revive, when the king interrupted their disputes by putting an end to the session on the twenty-fourth day of Juno, after having thanked the parliament for their zeal in the public service, and exhorted them to a discharge of their duties in their several counties. He was, no doubt, extremely pleased with such an issue of a session that had began with a very inauspicious aspect. His health daily declined; but he concealed the decay of his constitution, that his allies might not be discouraged from engaging in a confederacy of which he was deemed the head and chief support. He conferred the command of the ten thousand troops destined for Holland upon the earl of Marlborough, and appointed him at the same time his plenipotentiary to the states-general, a choice that evinced his discernment and discretion; for that nobleman surpassed all his contemporaries both as a general and a politician. He was cool, penetrating, intrepid, and persevering, plausible, insinuating, artful, and dissembling.

PROGRESS OF PRINCE EUGENE.

A regency being established, the king embarked for Holland in the beginning of July. On his arrival at the Hague he assisted at an assembly of the states-general, whom he harangued in very affectionate terms, and was answered with great cordiality; then he made a progress round the frontiers to examine the state of the garrisons, and gave such orders and directions as he judged necessary for the defence of the country. Meanwhile, the French minister D’Avaux, being recalled from the Hague, delivered a letter to the states from the French king, who complained that they had often interrupted the conferences, from which no good fruits were to be expected; but he assured them it wholly depended upon themselves whether they should continue to receive marks of his ancient friendship for their republic. The letter was accompanied by an insolent memorial, to which the states-general returned a very spirited answer. As they expected nothing now but hostilities from France, they redoubled their diligence in making preparations for their own defence. They repaired their fortifications, augmented their army, and hired auxiliaries. King William and they had already engaged in an alliance with the king of Denmark, who undertook to furnish a certain number of troops in consideration of a subsidy; and they endeavoured to mediate a peace between Sweden and Poland; but this they could not effect. France had likewise offered her mediation between those powers in hopes of bringing over Sweden to her interest; and the court of Vienna had tampered with the king of Poland; but he persisted in his resolution to prosecute the war. The Spaniards began to be very uneasy under the dominion of their new master. They were shocked at the insolence of his French ministers and attendants, and much more at the manners and fashions which they introduced. The grandees found themselves very little considered by their sovereign, and resented his economy; for he had endeavoured to retrench the expense of the court, which had used to support their magnificence. Prince Eugene, at the head of the Imperial army, had entered Italy by Vicenza, and passed the Adige near Carpi, where he defeated a body of five thousand French forces. The enemy were commanded by the duke of Savoy, assisted by mareschal Catinat and the prince of Vaudemont, who did not think proper to hazard an engagement; but mareschal Villeroy arriving in the latter end of August with orders to attack the Imperialists, Catinat retired in disgust. The new general marched immediately towards Chiari, where prince Eugene was intrenched, and attacked his camp; but met with such a reception that he was obliged to retire with the loss of five thousand men. Towards the end of the campaign the prince took possession of all the Mantuan territories, except Mantua itself, and Goito, the blockade of which he formed. He reduced all the places on the Oglio, and continued in the field during the whole winter, exhibiting repeated marks of the most invincible courage, indefatigable vigilance, and extensive capacity in the art of war. In January he had well nigh surprised Cremona, by introducing a body of men through an old aqueduct. They forced one of the gates, by which the prince and his followers entered; Villeroy, being awakened by the noise, ran into the street where he was taken; and the town must have been infallibly reduced, had prince Eugene been joined by another body of troops which he had ordered to march from the Parmesan and secure the bridge. These not arriving at the time appointed, an Irish regiment in the French service took possession of the bridge, and the prince was obliged to retire with his prisoner.

SITUATION OF AFFAIRS IN EUROPE.

The French king, alarmed at the activity and military genius of the Imperial general, sent a reinforcement to his army in Italy, and the duke of Vendôme to command his forces in that country; he likewise importuned the duke of Savoy to assist him effectually; but that prince having obtained all he could expect from France, became cold and backward. His second daughter was by this time married to the new king of Spain, who met her at Barcelona, where he found himself involved in disputes with the states of Catalonia, who refused to pay a tax he had imposed until their privileges should be confirmed; and he was obliged to gratify them in this particular. The war continued to rage in the north. The young king of Sweden routed the Saxons upon the river Danu: thence he marched into Courland and took possession of Mittau without opposition; while the king of Poland retired into Lithuania. In Hungary the French emissaries endeavoured to sow the seeds of a new revolt. They exerted themselves with indefatigable industry in almost every court of Christendom. They had already gained over the elector of Bavaria, and his brother the elector of Cologn, together with the dukes of Wolfenbuttle and Saxe-Gotha, who professed neutrality, while they levied troops and made such preparations for war as plainly indicated that they had received subsidies from France. Louis had also extorted a treaty of alliance from the king of Portugal, who was personally attached to the Austrian interest; but this weak prince was a slave to his ministers, whom the French king had corrupted. During this summer, the French coasts were over-awed by the combined fleets of England and Holland under the command of sir George Rooke, who sailed down the channel in the latter end of August, and detached vice-admiral Benbow with a strong squadron to the West Indies. In order to deceive the French king with regard to the destination of this fleet, king William demanded the free use of the Spanish harbours, as if his design had been to send a squadron to the Mediterranean; but he met with a repulse, while the French ships were freely admitted. About this period the king revoked his letters-patent to the commissioners of the admiralty, and constituted the earl of Pembroke lord high-admiral of England, in order to avoid the factions, the disputes, and divided counsels of a board. The earl was no sooner promoted to this office than he sent captain Loades with three frigates to Cadiz, to bring home the sea-stores and effects belonging to the English in that place before the war should commence; and this piece of service was successfully performed. The French king, in order to enjoy all the advantages that could be derived from his union with Spain, established a company to open a trade with Mexico and Peru; and concluded a new Assiento treaty for supplying the Spanish plantations with negroes. At the same time he sent a strong squadron to the port of Cadiz. The French dress was introduced into the court of Spain; and by a formal edict, the grandees of that kingdom and the peers of France were put on a level in each nation. There was no vigour left in the councils of Spain; her finances were exhausted; and her former spirit seemed to be quite extinguished; the nobility were beggars, and the common people overwhelmed with indigence and distress. The condition of France was not much more prosperous. She had been harassed by a long war, and now saw herself on the eve of another, which in all probability would render her completely miserable.

TREATY OF ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE EMPEROR AND THE MARITIME POWERS.

These circumstances were well known to the emperor and the maritime powers, and served to animate their negotiations for another grand alliance. Conferences were opened at the Hague; and on the seventh day of September a treaty was concluded between his Imperial majesty, England, and the states-general. The objects proposed were to procure satisfaction to the emperor in the Spanish succession, and sufficient security for the dominions and commerce of the allies. They engaged to use their endeavours for recovering the Spanish Netherlands as a barrier between Holland and France, and for putting the emperor in possession of the duchy of Milan, Naples, and Sicily, with the lands and islands upon the coast of Tuscany belonging to the Spanish dominions. They agreed that the king of England and the states-general should keep and possess whatever lands and cities they should conquer from the Spaniards in the Indies; that the confederates should faithfully communicate their designs to one another; that no party should treat of peace or truce but jointly with the rest; that they should concur in preventing the union of France and Spain under the same government, and hinder the French from possessing the Spanish Indies; that in concluding a peace, the confederates should provide for the maintenance of the commerce carried on by the maritime powers to the dominions taken from the Spaniards, and secure the states by a barrier; that they should at the same time settle the exercise of religion in the new conquests; that they should assist one another with all their forces in case of being invaded by the French king, or any other potentate, on account of this alliance; that a defensive alliance should remain between them even after the peace; that all kings, princes, and states should be at liberty to engage in this alliance. They determined to employ two months to obtain by amicable means the satisfaction and security which they demanded; and Stipulated that within six weeks the treaty should be ratified.

DEATH OF KING JAMES.

On the sixteenth day of September king James expired at St. Germain’s, after having laboured under a tedious indisposition. This unfortunate monarch, since the miscarriage of his last attempt for recovering his throne, had laid aside all thoughts of worldly grandeur, and devoted his whole attention to the concerns of his soul. Though he could not prevent the busy genius of his queen from planning new schemes of restoration, he was always best pleased when wholly detached from such chimerical projects. Hunting was his chief diversion; but religion was his constant care. Nothing could be more harmless than the life he led; and in the course of it he subjected himself to uncommon penance and mortification. He frequently visited the poor monks of la Trappe, who were much edified by his humble and pious deportment. His pride and arbitrary temper seem to have vanished with his greatness. He became affable, kind, and easy to all his dependents; and his religion certainly opened and improved the virtues of his heart, though it seemed to impair the faculties of his soul. In his last illness he conjured his son to prefer his religion to every worldly advantage, and even to renounce all thoughts of a crown if he could not enjoy it without offering violence to his faith. He recommended to him the practice of justice and christian forgiveness; he himself declaring that he heartily forgave the prince of Orange, the emperor, and all his enemies. He died with great marks of devotion, and was interred, at his own request, in the church of the English Benedictines in Paris without any funeral solemnity.

LOUIS OWNS THE PRETENDED PRINCE OF WALES AS KING OF ENGLAND.

Before his death he was visited by the French king, who seemed touched with his condition, and declared that, in case of his death, he would own his son as king of England. This promise James’ queen had already extorted from him by the interest of madame de Main-tenon and the dauphin. Accordingly, when James died, the pretended prince of Wales was proclaimed king of England at St. Germain’s, and treated as such at the court of Versailles. His title was likewise recognised by the king of Spain, the duke of Savoy, and the pope. William was no sooner informed of this transaction, than he despatched a courier to the king of Sweden, as guarantee of the treaty of Ryswick, to complain of this manifest violation. At the same time he recalled the earl of Manchester from Paris, and ordered him to return without taking an audience of leave. That nobleman immediately withdrew, after having intimated to the marquis de Torcy the order he had received. Louis, in vindication of his own conduct, dispersed through all the courts of Europe a manifesto, in which he affirmed, that in owning the prince of Wales as king of England, he had not infringed any article of the treaty of Ryswick, He confessed that in the fourth article he had promised that he would not disturb the king of Great Britain in the peaceable possession of his dominions; and he declared his intention was to observe that promise punctually. He observed that his generosity would not allow him to abandon the prince of Wales or his family; that he could not refuse him a title which was due to him by birth; that he had more reason to complain of the king of Great Britain and the states-general, whose declarations and preparations in favour of the emperor might be regarded as real contraventions to treaties; finally, he quoted some instances from history in which the children enjoyed the titles of kingdoms which their fathers had lost. These reasons, however, would hardly have induced the French king to take such a step, had not he perceived that a war with England was inevitable; and that he should be able to reap some advantages in the course of it from espousing the cause of the pretender.

The substance of the French manifesto was published in London, by Poussin the secretary of Tallard, who had been left in England as agent for the court of Versailles. He was now ordered to leave kingdom, which was filled with indignation at Louis for having pretended to declare who ought to be their sovereign. The city of London presented an address to the lords-justices, expressing the deepest resentment of the French king’s presumption; assuring his majesty that they would at all times exert the utmost of their abilities for the preservation of his person, and the defence of his just rights, in opposition to all invaders of his crown and dignity. Addresses of the same nature were sent up from all parts of the kingdom, and could not but be agreeable to William. He had now concerted measures for acting with vigour against France; and he resolved to revisit his kingdom after having made a considerable progress in a treaty of perpetual alliance between England and the states-general, which was afterwards brought to perfection by his plenipotentiary, the earl of Marlborough. The king’s return, however, was delayed a whole month by a severe indisposition, during which the Spanish minister de Quiros hired certain physicians to consult together upon the state and nature of his distemper. They declared that he could not live many weeks; and this opinion was transmitted to Madrid. William however baffled the prognostic, though his constitution had sustained such a rude shock that he himself perceived his end was near. He told the earl of Portland he found himself so weak that he could not expect to live another summer; but charged him to conceal this circumstance until he should be dead. Notwithstanding this near approach to dissolution, he exerted himself with surprising diligence and spirit in establishing the confederacy, and settling the plan of operations. A subsidiary treaty was concluded with the king of Prussia, who engaged to furnish a certain number of troops. The emperor agreed to maintain ninety thousand men in the field against France; the proportion of the states was limited to one hundred and two thousand; and that of England did not exceed forty thousand, to act in conjunction with the allies.

On the fourth day of November the king arrived in England, which he found in a strange ferment, produced from the mutual animosity of the two factions. They reviled each other in words and writing with all the falsehood of calumny, and all the bitterness of rancour; so that truth, candour, and temperance, seemed to be banished by consent of both parties. The king had found himself deceived in his new ministers, who had opposed his measures with all their influence. He was particularly disgusted with the deportment of the earl of Rochester, who proved altogether imperious and intractable; and, instead of moderating, inflamed the violence of his party. The king declared the year in which that nobleman directed his councils was the un-easiest of his whole life. He could not help expressing his displeasure in such a coldness of reserve, that Rochester told him he would serve his majesty no longer since he did not enjoy his confidence. William made no answer to this expostulation, but resolved he should see him no more. The earl, however, at the desire of Mr. Harley, became more pliant and submissive; and, after the king’s departure for Holland, repaired to his government of Ireland, in which he now remained exerting all his endeavours to acquire popularity. William foreseeing nothing but opposition from the present spirit of the house of commons, closeted some of their leaders with a view to bespeak their compliance; but finding them determined to pursue their former principles, and to insist upon their impeachments, he resolved, with the advice of his friends, to dissolve the parliament. This step he was the more easily induced to take, as the commons were become extremely odious to the nation in general, which breathed nothing but war and defiance against the French monarch. The parliament was accordingly dissolved by proclamation, and another summoned to meet on the thirtieth day of December.

THE KING’S LAST SPEECH TO BOTH HOUSES.

Never did the two parties proceed with such heat and violence against each other, as in their endeavours to influence the new elections. The whigs, however, obtained the victory, as they included the monied-interest, which will always prevail among the borough electors. Corruption was now reduced into an open and avowed commerce; and, had not the people been so universally venal and profligate that no sense of shame remained, the victors must have blushed for their success. Though the majority thus obtained was staunch to the measures of the court, the choice of speaker fell upon Mr. Harley, contrary to the inclination of the king, who favoured sir Thomas Lyttleton; but his majesty’s speech was received with universal applause. It was so much admired by the well-wishers to the revolution, that they printed it with decorations in the English, Dutch, and French languages. It appeared as a piece of furniture in all their houses, and as the king’s last legacy to his own and all protestant people. In this celebrated harangue, he expatiated upon the indignity offered to the nation by the French king’s acknowledging the pretended prince of Wales; he explained the dangers to which it was exposed by his placing his grandson on the throne of Spain; he gave them to understand he had concluded several alliances according to the encouragement given him by both houses of parliament, which alliances should be laid before them, together with other treaties still depending. He observed, that the eyes of all Europe were upon this parliament; and all matters at a stand until their resolution should be known: therefore no time ought to be lost. He told them they had yet an opportunity to secure for themselves and their posterity the quiet enjoyment of their religion and liberties, if they were not wanting to themselves, but would exert the ancient vigour of the English nation; but he declared his opinion was that should they neglect this occasion, they had no reason to hope for another. He said it would be necessary to maintain a great strength at sea, and a force on land proportionable to that of their allies. He pressed the commons to support the public credit, which could not be preserved without keeping sacred that maxim, That they shall never be losers who trust to the parliamentary security. He declared that he never asked aids from his people without regret; that what he desired was for their own safety and honour at such a critical time; and that the whole should be appropriated to the purposes for which it was intended. He expressed his willingness that the accounts should be yearly submitted to the inspection of parliament. He again recommended despatch, together with good bills for employing the poor, encouraging trade, and suppressing vice. He expressed his hope that they were come together determined to avoid disputes and differences, and to act with a hearty concurrence for promoting the common cause. He said he should think it as great a blessing as could befal England, if they were as much inclined to lay aside those unhappy fatal animosities which divided and weakened them, as he was disposed to make all his subjects safe and easy, even as to the highest offences committed against his person. He conjured them to disappoint the hopes of their enemies by their unanimity. As he had always shown, and always would show, how desirous he was to be the common father of all his people, he desired they would lay aside parties and divisions, so as that no distinction should be heard of amongst them, but of those who were friends to the protestant religion and present establishment, and of those who wished for a popish prince and a French government. He concluded by affirming, that if they in good earnest desired to see England hold the balance of Europe, and be indeed at the head of the protestant interest, it would appear by their improving the present opportunity, The lords immediately drew up a warm and affectionate address, in which they expressed their resentment of the proceedings of the French king in owning the pretended prince of Wales for king of England. They assured his majesty they would assist him to the utmost of their power against all his enemies: and when it should please God to deprive them of his majesty’s protection, they would vigorously assist and defend against the pretended prince of Wales, and all other pretenders whatsoever, every person and persons who had right to succeed to the crown of England by virtue of the acts of parliament for establishing and limiting the succession. On the fifth day of January. an address to the same effect was presented by the commons, and both met with a very gracious reception from his majesty. The lords, as a further proof of their zeal, having taken into consideration the dangers that threatened Europe, from the accession of the duke of Anjou to the crown of Spain, drew up another address explaining their sense of that danger; stigmatizing the French king as a violator of treaties; declaring their opinion that his majesty, his subjects, and allies, could never be safe and secure until the house of Austria should be restored to their rights, and the invader of the Spanish monarchy brought to reason; and assuring his majesty that no time should be lost, nor any thing wanting on their parts, which might answer the reasonable expectations of their friends abroad; not doubting but to support the reputation of the English name, when engaged under so great a prince, in the glorious cause of maintaining the liberty of Europe.

The king, in order to awake the confidence of the commons, ordered Mr. secretary Vernon to lay before them copies of the treaties and conventions he had lately concluded, which were so well approved that the house unanimously voted the supply. By another vote they authorized the exchequer to borrow six hundred thousand pounds at six per cent, for the service of the fleet, and fifty thousand pounds for the subsistence of guards and garrisons. They deliberated upon the state of the navy, with the debt due upon it, and examined an estimate of what would be necessary for extraordinary repairs. They called for an account of that part of the national debt for which no provision had been made. The ordered the speaker to write to the trustees for the forfeited estates in Ireland, to attend the house with a full detail of their proceedings in the execution of that act of parliament. On the ninth day of January, they unanimously resolved, That leave be given to bring in a bill for securing his majesty’s person, and the succession of the crown in the protestant line, for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended prince of Wales, and all other pretenders, and their open and secret abettors. They resolved to address his majesty that he would insert an article in all his treaties of alliance, importing, That no peace should be made with France until his majesty and the nation have reparation for the great indignity offered by the French king, in owning and declaring the pretended prince of Wales king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. They agreed to maintain forty thousand men for the sea service, and a like number by land, to act in conjunction with the forces of the allies, according to the proportions settled by the contracting powers. The supplies were raised by an imposition of four shillings in the pound upon lands, annuities, pensions, and stipends, and on the profits arising from the different professions; by a tax of two and one-half per cent, on all stock in trade and money at interest; of five shillings in the pound on all salaries, fees, and perquisites; a capitation tax of four shillings; an imposition of one per cent, on all shares in the capital stock of any corporation or company which should be bought, sold, or bargained for; a duty of sixpence per bushel on malt, and a farther duty on mum, cyder, and perry.

THE BILL OF ABJURATION PASSED.

The commons seemed to vie with the lords in their zeal for the government. They brought in a bill for attainting the pretended prince of Wales, which being sent up to the other house, passed with an additional clause of attainder against the queen, who acted as regent for the pretender. This however was not carried without great opposition in the house of lords. When the bill was sent back to the commons, they excepted to the amendment as irregular. They observed that attainders by bill constituted the most rigorous part of the law; and that the stretching of it ought to be avoided. They proposed that the queen should be attainted by a separate bill. The lords assented to the proposal; and the bill against the pretended prince of Wales passed. The lords passed another for attainting the queen; however it was neglected in the house of commons. But the longest and warmest debates of this session were produced by a bill, which the lords brought in, for abjuring the pretended prince of Wales, and swearing to the king by the title of rightful and lawful king, and his heirs, according to the act of settlement. It was proposed that this oath should be voluntary, tendered to all persons, and their subscription or refusal recorded without any other penalty. This article was violently opposed by the earl of Nottingham, and the other lords of the tory interest. They observed, that the government was first settled with another oath, which was like an original contract; so that there was no occasion for a new imposition; that oaths relating to men’s opinions had been always considered as severe impositions; and that a voluntary oath was in its own nature unlawful. During these disputes, another bill of abjuration was brought into the house of commons by sir Charles Hedges, that should be obligatory on all persons who enjoyed employments in church or state; it likewise included an obligation to maintain the government in king, lords, and commons, and to maintain the church of England, together with the toleration for dissenters. Warm debates arose upon the question, Whether the oath should be imposed or voluntary; and at length it was carried for imposition by the majority of one voice. They agreed to insert an additional clause, declaring it equally penal to compass or imagine the death of her royal highness the princess Anne of Denmark, as it was to compass or imagine the death of the king’s eldest son and heir. In the house of peers this bill was strenuously opposed by the tories; and when, after long debates, it passed on the twenty-fourth day of February, ten lords entered a protest against it, as an unnecessary and severe imposition.

The whole nation now seemed to join in the cry for a war with France. Party heats began to abate; the factions in the city of London were in a great measure moderated by the union of the two companies trading to the East Indies, which found their mutual interest required a coalition. The tories in the house of commons having concurred so heartily with the inclinations of the people, resolved, as far it lay in their power, to justify the conduct of their party in the preceding parliament. They complained of some petitions and addresses which had reflected upon the proceedings of the last house of commons, and particularly of the Kentish petition. The majority, however, determined that it was the undoubted right of the people of England to petition or address the king for the calling, sitting, or dissolving of parliaments, and for the redressing of grievances; and that every subject under any accusation, either by impeachment or otherwise, had a right to be brought to a speedy trial. A complaint being likewise made that the lords had denied the commons justice in the matter of the late impeachments, a furious debate ensued; and it was carried by a very small majority that justice had not been denied. In some points, however, they succeeded: in the case of a controverted election at Maidstone, between Thomas Blisse and Thomas Culpepper, the house resolved, That the latter had been not only guilty of corrupt, scandalous, and indirect practices, in endeavouring to procure himself to be elected a burgess, but likewise being one of the instruments in promoting and presenting the scandalous, insolent, and seditious petition, commonly called the Kentish petition, to the last house of commons, was guilty of promoting a scandalous, villainous, and groundless reflection upon that house, by aspersing the members with receiving French money, or being in the interest of France; for which offence he was ordered to be committed to Newgate, and to be prosecuted by his majesty’s attorney-general. They also resolved, That to assert that the house of commons is not the only representative of the commons of England, tends to the subversion of the rights and privileges of the house of commons, and the fundamental constitution of the government of this kingdom; that to assert that the house of commons have no power of commitment, but of their own members, tends to the subversion of the constitution of the house of commons; that to print or publish any books or libels reflecting upon the proceedings of the house of commons, or any member thereof, for or relating to his service therein, is a high violation of the rights and privileges of the house of commons. Notwithstanding these transactions, they did not neglect the vigorous prosecution of the war. They addressed his majesty to interpose with his allies that they might increase their quotas of land forces, to be put on board the fleet in proportion to the numbers his majesty should embark. When they had settled the sums appropriated to the several uses of the war, they presented a second address desiring he would provide for the half-pay officers in the first place, in the recruits and levies to be made. The king assured them it was always his intention to provide for those officers. He went to the house of peers and gave the royal assent to an act appointing commissioners to take, examine, and determine the debts due to the army, navy, and the transport service; and also to take an account of prizes taken during the war.

AFFAIRS OF IRELAND.

The affairs of Ireland were not a little embarrassed by the conduct of the trustees appointed to take cognizance of the forfeited estates. Their office was extremely odious to the people as well as to the court, and their deportment was arbitrary and imperious. Several individuals of that kingdom, provoked by the insolence of the trustees on one hand, and encouraged by the countenance of the courtiers on the other, endeavoured by a circular letter to spirit up the grand jury of Ireland against the act of resumption: petitions were presented to the king, couched in very strong terms, affirming that it was injurious to the protestant interest, and had been obtained by gross misinformations. The king having communicated these addresses to the house, they were immediately voted scandalous, false, and groundless; and the commons resolved, That notwithstanding the complaints and clamours against the trustees, it did not appear to the house but those complaints were groundless; nevertheless they afterwards received several petitions imploring relief against the said act; and they ordered that the petitioners should be relieved accordingly. Proposals were delivered in for incorporating such as should purchase the said forfeitures, on certain terms therein specified, according to the rent-roll, when verified and made good to the purchasers; but whereas in this rent-roll the value of the estates had been estimated at something more than seven hundred and sixteen thousand pounds, those who undertook to make the purchase affirmed they were not worth five hundred thousand pounds; and thus the affair remained in suspense.

THE KING RECOMMENDS AN UNION.

With respect to Scotland, the clamours of that kingdom had not yet subsided. When the bill of abjuration passed in the house of peers, the earl of Nottingham had declared that although he differed in opinion from the majority in many particulars relating to that bill, yet he was a friend to the design of it; and in order to secure a protestant succession, he thought an union of the whole island was absolutely necessary. He therefore moved for an address to the king that he would dissolve the parliament of Scotland now sitting, as the legality of it might be called in question, on account of its having been originally a convention; and that a new parliament should be summoned that they might treat about an union of the two kingdoms. The king had this affair so much to heart, that even when he was disabled from going to the parliament in person, he sent a letter to the commons expressing an eager desire that a treaty for this purpose might be set on foot, and earnestly recommending this affair to the consideration of the house; but as a new parliament in Scotland could not be called without a great risk, while the nation was in such a ferment, the project was postponed to a more favourable opportunity.

HE FALLS FROM HIS HORSE.

Before the king’s return from Holland, he had concerted with his allies the operations of the ensuing campaign. He had engaged in a negotiation with the prince of Hesse D’Armstadt, who assured him that if he would besiege and take Cadiz, the admiral of Castile, and divers other grandees of Spain, would declare for the house of Austria. The allies had also determined upon the siege of Keyserswaert, which the elector of Cologn had delivered into the hands of the French; the elector of Hanover had resolved to disarm the princes of Wolfenbuttle; the king of the Romans, and prince Louis of Baden, undertook to invest Landau; and the emperor promised to send a powerful reinforcement to prince Eugene in Italy; but William did not live to see these schemes put in execution. His constitution was by this time almost exhausted, though he endeavoured to conceal the effects of his malady, and to repair his health by exercise. On the twenty-first day of February, in riding to Hampton-court from Kensington, his horse fell under him, and he himself was thrown upon the ground with such violence as produced a fracture in his collar-bone. His attendants conveyed him to the palace of Hampton-court, where the fracture was reduced by Ronjat, his sergeant-surgeon. In the evening he returned to Kensington in his coach, and the two ends of the fractured bone having been disunited by the jolting of the carriage, were replaced under the inspection of Bidloo, his physician. He seemed to be in a fair way of recovering till the first day of March, when his knee appeared to be inflamed, with great pain and weakness. Next day he granted a commission under the great seal to several peers, for passing the bills to which both houses of parliament had agreed; namely, the act of attainder against the pretended prince of Wales, and another in favour of the quakers, enacting, That their solemn affirmation and declaration should be accepted instead of an oath in the usual form.

HIS DEATH AND CHARACTER.

On the fourth day of March the king was so well recovered of his lameness that he took several turns in the gallery at Kensington; but sitting down on a couch where he fell asleep, he was seized with a shivering, which terminated in a fever and diarrhoea. He was attended by sir Thomas Millington, sir Richard Black-more, sir Theodore Colledon, Dr. Bidloo, and other eminent physicians; but their prescriptions proved ineffectual. On the sixth he granted another commission for passing the bill for the malt tax, and the act of abjuration; and being so weak that he could not write his name, he, in presence of the lord-keeper and the clerks of parliament, applied a stamp prepared for the purpose. The earl of Albemarle arriving from Holland, conferred with him in private on the posture of affairs abroad; but he received his informations with great coldness, and said, “Je tire vers ma fin—I approach the end of my life.” In the evening he thanked Dr. Bidloo for his care and tenderness, saying, “I know that you and the other learned physicians have done all that your art can do for my relief; but, finding all means ineffectual, I submit.” He received spiritual consolation from archbishop Tennison, and Burnet bishop of Salisbury; on Sunday morning the sacrament was administered to him. The lords of the privy-council and divers noblemen attended in the adjoining apartments, and to some of them who were admitted he spoke a little. He thanked lord Auverquerque for his long and faithful services; he delivered to lord Albemarle the keys of his closet and scrutoire, telling him he knew what to do with them. He inquired for the earl of Portland; but being speechless before that nobleman arrived, he grasped his hand and laid it to his heart, with marks of the most tender affection. On the eighth day of March he expired, in the fifty-second year of his age, after having reigned thirteen years. The lords Lexington and Scarborough, who were in waiting, no sooner perceived that the king was dead, than they ordered Ronjat to untie from his left arm a black ribbon, to which was affixed a ring containing some hair of the late queen Mary. The body being opened and embalmed, lay in state for some time at Kensington; and on the twelfth day of April was deposited in a vault of Henry’s chapel in Westminster-abbey. In the beginning of May, a will which he had intrusted with Monsieur Schuylemberg was opened at the Hague. In this he had declared his cousin prince Frison of Nassau, stadtholder of Friesland, his sole and universal heir, and appointed the states-general his executors. By a codicil annexed, he had bequeathed the lordship of Breevert, and a legacy of two hundred thousand guilders, to the earl of Albemarle.

William III. was in his person of the middle stature, a thin body, a delicate constitution, subject to an asthma and continual cough from his infancy. He had an aquiline nose, sparkling eyes, a large forehead, and a grave solemn aspect. He was very sparing of speech; his conversation was dry, and his manner disgusting, except in battle, when his deportment was free, spirited, and animating. In courage, fortitude, and equanimity, he rivalled the most eminent warriors of antiquity; and his natural sagacity made amends for the defects in his education, which had not been properly superintended. He was religious, temperate, generally just and sincere, a stranger to violent transports of passion, and might have passed for one of the best princes of the age in which he lived, had he never ascended the throne of Great Britain. But the distinguishing criterion of his character was ambition. To this he sacrificed the punctilios of honour and decorum, in deposing his own father-in-law and uncle; and this he gratified at the expense of the nation that raised him to sovereign authority. He aspired to the honour of acting as umpire in all the contests of Europe; and the second object of his attention was the prosperity of that country to which he owed his birth and extraction. Whether he really thought the interests of the continent and Great Britain were inseparable, or sought only to drag England into the confederacy as a convenient ally, certain it is he involved these kingdoms in foreign connexions which in all probability will be productive of their ruin. In order to establish this favourite point, he scrupled not to employ all the engines of corruption by which the morals of the nation were totally debauched. He procured a parliamentary sanction for a standing army, which now seems to be interwoven in the constitution. He introduced the pernicious practice of borrowing upon remote funds; an expedient that necessarily hatched a brood of usurers, brokers, contractors, and stock-jobbers, to prey upon the vitals of their country. He entailed upon the nation a growing debt, and a system of politics big with misery, despair, and destruction. To sum up his character in a few words—William was a fatalist in religion, indefatigable in war, enterprising in politics, dead to all the warm and generous emotions of the human heart, a cold relation, an indifferent husband, a disagreeable man, an ungracious prince, and an imperious sovereign.

NOTES:

001 (return)
[ Note A, p. 1. The council consisted of the prince of Denmark, the archbishop of Canterbury, the duke of Norfolk, the marquises of Halifax and Winchester, the earls of Danby, Lindsey, Devonshire, Dorset, Middlesex, Oxford, Shrewsbury, Bedford, Bath, Macclesfield, and Nottingham; the viscounts Fauconberg, Mordaunt, Newport, Lumley; the lords Wharton, Montague, Delamere, Churchill; Mr. Bentinck, Mr. Sidney, sir Robert Howard, sir Henry Capel, Mr. Powle, Mr. Russel, Mr. Hambden, and Mr. Boseawen.]

002 (return)
[ Note B, p. 2. This expedient was attended with an insurmountable absurdity. If the majority of the convention could not grant a legal sanction to the establishment they had made, they could never invest the prince of Orange with a just right to ascend the throne; for they could not give what they had no right to bestow; and if he ascended the throne without a just title, he could have no right to sanctify that assembly to which he owed his elevation. When the people are obliged, by tyranny or other accidents, to have recourse to the first principles of society, namely, their own preservation, in electing a new sovereign, it will deserve consideration, whether that choice is to be effected by the majority of a parliament which has been dissolved, indeed by any parliament whatsoever, or by the body of the nation assembled in communities, corporations, by tribes or centuries, to signify their assent or dissent with respect to the person proposed as their sovereign. This kind of election might be attended with great inconvenience and difficulty, but these cannot possibly be avoided when the constitution is dissolved by setting aside the lineal succession to the throne. The constitution of England is founded on a parliament consisting of kings, lords, and commons; but when there is no longer a king, the parliament is defective, and the constitution impaired: the members of the lower house are the representatives of the people, expressly chosen to maintain the constitution in church and state, and sworn to support the rights of the crown, as well as the liberties of the nation; but though they are elected to maintain, they have no power to alter, the constitution. When the king forfeits the allegiance of his subjects, and it becomes necessary to dethrone him, the power of so doing cannot possibly reside in the representatives who are chosen, under certain limitations, for the purposes of a legislature which no longer exists; their power is of course at an end, and they are reduced to a level with other individuals that constitute the community. The right of altering the constitution, therefore, or of deviating from the established practice of inheritance in regard to the succession of the crown, is inherent in the body of the people; and every individual has an equal right to his share in the general determination, whether his opinion be signified viva voce, or by a representative whom he appoints and instructs for that purpose. It may be suggested, that the prince of Orange was raised to the throne without any convulsion, or any such difficulties and inconveniencies as we have affirmed to be the necessary consequences of a measure of that nature. To this remark we answer, that, since the Revolution, these kingdoms have been divided and harassed by violent and implacable factions, that eagerly seek the destruction of each other: that they have been exposed to plots, conspiracies, insurrections, civil wars, and successive rebellions, which have not been defeated and quelled without vast effusion of blood, infinite mischief, calamity, and expense to the nation: that they are still subjected to all those alarms and dangers which are engendered by a disputed title to the throne, and the efforts of an artful pretenders that they are necessarily wedded to the affairs of the continent, and their interest sacrificed to foreign connexions, from which they can never be disengaged. Perhaps all these calamities might have been prevented by the interposition of the prince of Orange. King James, without forfeiting the crown, might have been laid under such restrictions that it would not have been in his power to tyrannize over his subjects, either in spirituals or temporals. The power of the militia might have been vested in the two houses of parliament, as well as the nomination of persons to fill the great offices of the church and state, and superintend the economy of the administration in the application of the public money; a law might have passed for annual parliaments, and the king might have been deprived of his power to convoke, adjourn, prorogue, and dissolve them at his pleasure. Had these measures been taken, the king must have been absolutely disabled from employing either force or corruption in the prosecution of arbitrary designs, and the people must have been fairly represented in a rotation of parliaments, whose power and influence would have been but of one year’s duration.]

003 (return)
[ Note C, p. 3. The new form of the coronation-oath consisted in the following questions and answers:—“Will you solemnly promise and swear to govern the people of this kingdom of England, and the dominions thereto belonging, according to the statutes in parliament agreed on, and the laws and customs of the same?”—“I solemnly promise so to do.”

“Will you, to the utmost of your power, cause law and justice in mercy to be executed in all your judgments?” “I will.” “Will You, to the utmost of your power, maintain the laws of God, the true profession of the Gospel, and the Protestant reformed religion as by law established; and will you preserve unto the bishops and clergy of this realm, and to the churches committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges as by law do or shall appertain unto them or any of them?”—“All this I promise to do.”

Then the king or queen, laying his or her hand upon the Gospels, shall say, “The things which I have here before promised, I will perform and keep. So help me God.”]

008 (return)
[ Note D, p. 8. The lords of the articles, by the gradual usurpation of the crown, actually constituted a grievance intolerable in a free nation. The king empowered the commissioner to choose eight bishops, whom he authorized to nominate eight noblemen: these together choose eight barons and eight burgesses; and this whole number, in conjunction with the officers of state as supernumeraries, constituted the lords of the articles. This committee possessed the sole exclusive right and liberty of bringing in motions, making overtures for redressing wrongs, and proposing means and expedients for the relief and benefit of the subjects.—Proceedings of the Scots Parliament vindicated.]

010 (return)
[ Note E, p. 10. James in this expedition was attended by the duke of Berwick, and by his brother Mr. Fitzjames, grand prior, the duke of Powis, the earls of Dover, Melfort, Abercorn, and Seaforth; the lords Henry and Thomas Howard, the lords Drummond, Dungan, Trendrauglit, Buchan, Hunsdon, and Brittas; the bishops of Chester and Galway; the late lord chief justice Herbert; the marquis d’Estrades, M. de Rosene, mareschal decamp; Mamoe, Pusignan, and Lori, lieutenant-general; Prontee, engineer-general; the marquis d’Albeville, sir John Sparrow, sir Roger Strictland, sir William Jennings, sir Henry Bond, sir Charles Carney, sir Edward Vaudrey, sir Charles Murray, sir Robert Parker, sir Alphonso Maiolo, sir Samuel Foxon, and sir William Wallis; by the colonels Porter, Sarsfield, Anthony and John Hamilton, Simon and Henry Luttrel, Ramsay, Dorrington, Sutherland, Clifford, Parker, Parcel, Cannon, and Fielding, with about two-and-twenty other officers of inferior rank.]

016 (return)
[ F, p. 16. The franchises were privileges of asylum, annexed not only to the ambassadors at Rome, but even to the whole district in which any ambassador chanced to live. This privilege was become a terrible nuisance, inasmuch as it afforded protection to the most atrocious criminals, who filled the city with rapine and murder. Innocent XI. resolving to remove this evil, published a bull, abolishing the franchises; and almost all the catholic powers of Europe acquiesced in what he had done, upon being duly informed of the grievance. Louis XIV. however, from a spirit of pride and insolence, refused to part with anything that looked like a prerogative of his crown. He said the king of France was not the imitator, but a pattern and example for other princes. He rejected with disdain the mild representations of the pope; he sent the marquis de Lavarden as his ambassador to Rome, with a formidable train, to insult Innocent even in his own city. That nobleman swaggered through the streets of Rome like a bravo, taking all opportunities to affront the pope, who excommunicated him in revenge. On the other hand, the parliament of Paris appealed from the pope’s bull to a future council. Louis caused the pope’s nuncio to be put under arrest, took possession of Avignon, which belonged to the see of Rome, and set the holy father at defiance.]

021 (return)
[G, p. 21. The following persons were exempted from the benefit of this act:—William, marquis of Powis; Theophilus, earl of Huntingdon; Robert, earl of Sunderland; John, earl of Melfort; Roger, earl of Castlemain; Nathaniel, lord bishop of Durham; Thomas, lord bishop of Saint David’s; Henry, lord Dover; lord Thomas Howard; sir-Edward Hales, sir Francis Withers, sir Edward Lutwych, sir Thomas Jenner, sir Nicholas Butler, sir William Herbert, sir Richard Holloway, sir Richard Heath, sir Roger l’Estrange William Molineux, Thomas Tynde-sly, colonel Townley, colonel Lundy, Robert Brent, Edward Morgan, Philip Burton, Richard Graham, Edward Petre, Obadiah Walker, Matthew Crone, and George lord Jeffries, deceased.]

035 (return)
[ H, p. 35. In the course of this session, Dr. Welwood, a Scottish physician, was taken into custody, and reprimanded at the bar of the house of commons, for having reflected upon that house in a weekly paper, entitled Mercurius Reformatus; but, as it was written in defence of the government, the king appointed him one of his physicians in ordinary. At this period, Charles Montague, afterwards earl of Halifax, distinguished himself in the house of commons by his fine talents and eloquence. The privy seal was committed to the earl of Pembroke; lord viscount Sidney was created lord-lieutenant of Ireland; sir John Somers appointed attorney-general; and the see of Lincoln, vacant by the death of Barlow, conferred upon Dr. Thomas Tennison, who had been recommended to the king as a divine remarkable for his piety and moderation.]

046 (return)
[ I, p. 46. The other laws made in this session were those that follow:—An act for preventing suits against such as had acted for their majesties’ service in defense of this kingdom. An act for raising the militia in the year 1693. An act for authorizing the judges to empower such persons, other than common attorneys and solicitors, as they should think fit, to take special bail, except in London, Westminster, and ten miles round. An act to encourage the apprehending of highwaymen. An act for preventing clandestine marriages. An act for the regaining, encouraging, and settling the Greenland trade. An act to prevent malicious informations in the court of King’s Bench, and for the more easy reversal of outlawries in that court. An Act for the better discovery of judgments in the courts of law. An Act for delivering declarations to prisoners for debt. An act for regulating proceedings in the Crown Office. An act for the more easy discovery and conviction of such as should destroy the game of this kingdom, And an act for continuing the acts for prohibiting all trade and commerce with France, and for the encouragement of privateers.]

053 (return)
[ K, p. 53. Besides the bills already mentioned, the parliament in this session passed an act for taking and stating the public accounts—another to encourage ship-building—a third for the better disciplining the navy—the usual militia act—and an act enabling his majesty to make grants and leases in the duchy of Cornwall. One was also passed for renewing a clause in an old statute, limiting the number of justices of the peace in the principality of Wales. The duke of Norfolk brought an action in the court of King’s Bench against Mr. Germaine, for criminal conversation with his duchess. The cause was tried, and the jury brought in their verdict for one hundred marks, and costs of suit, in favour of the plaintiff.

Before the king embarked, he gratified a good number of his friends with promotions. Lord Charles Butler, brother to the duke of Ormond, was created lord Butler, of Weston in England, and earl of Arran in Ireland. The earl of Shrewsbury was honoured with the title of duke. The earl of Mulgrave, being reconciled to the court measures, was gratified with a pension of three thousand pounds, and the title of marquis of Normanby. Henry Herbert was ennobled by the title of baron Herbert, of Cherbury. The earls of Bedford, Devonshire, and Clare, were promoted to the rank of dukes. The marquis of Caermarthen was made duke of Leeds; lord viscount Sidney, created earl of Romney; and viscount Newport, earl of Bedford. Russel was advanced to the head of the admiralty board. Sir George Rooke and sir John Houblon were appointed joint-commissioners in the room of Killegrew and Délavai. Charles Montague was made chancellor of the exchequer; and sir William Trumbal and John Smith commisioners of the treasury, in the room of sir Edward Seymour and Mr. Hambden.]

056 (return)
[ L, p. 56. Her obsequies were performed with great magnificence. The body was attended from Whitehall to Westminster Abbey by all the judges, sergeants at law, the lord-mayor and aldermen of the city of London, and both houses of parliament; and the funeral sermon was preached by Dr. Tennison, archbishop of Canterbury. Dr. Kenn, the deprived bishop of Bath and Wells, reproached him in a letter, for not having called upon her majesty on her death-bed to repent of the share she had in the Revolution. This was answered by another pamphlet. One of the Jacobite clergy insulted the queen’s memory, by preaching on the following text: “Go now, see this cursed woman, and bury her, for she is a king’s daughter.” On the other hand, the lord-mayor, aldermen, and common council of London came to a resolution to erect her statue, with that of the king, in the Royal Exchange.]

058 (return)
[ M, p. 58. In the course of this session, the lords inquired into the particulars of the Mediterranean expedition, and presented an address to the king, declaring, that the fleet in those seas had conduced to the honour and advantage of the nation. On the other hand, the commons, in an address, besought his majesty to take care that the kingdom might be put on an equal footing and proportion with the allies, in defraying the expense of the war.

The coin of the kingdom being greatly diminished and adulterated, the earls of Rochester and Nottingham expatiated upon this national evil in the house of lords: an act was passed, containing severe penalties against clippers; but this produced no good effect. The value of money sunk in the exchange to such a degree, that a guinea was reckoned adequate to thirty shillings; and this public disgrace lowered the credit of the funds and of the government. The nation was alarmed by the circulation of fictitious wealth, instead of gold and silver, such as bank bills, exchequer tallies, and government securities. The malcontents took this opportunity to exclaim against the bank, and even attempted to shake the credit of it in parliament; but their endeavours proved abortive—the monied interest preponderated in both houses.]

059 (return)
[ N, p. 58. The regency was composed of the archbishop of Canterbury; Somers, lord-keeper of the great seal; the earl of Pembroke, lord-privy-seal; the duke of Devonshire, lord-steward of the household; the duke of Shrewsbury, secretary of state; the earl of Dorset, lord-chamberlain; and the lord Godolphin, first commissioner of the treasury. Sir John Trenchard dying, his place of secretary was filled by sir William Trumbal, an eminent civilian, learned, diligent, and virtuous, who had been envoy at Paris and Constantinople. William Nassau de Zulycrstein, son of the king’s natural uncle, was created baron of Enfield, viscount Tunbridge, and earl of Rochibrd. Ford, lord Grey of Werke, was made viscount Glendale, and earl of Tankerville. The month of April of this year was distinguished by the death of the famous George Saville, marquis of Halifax, who had survived, in a good measure, his talents and reputation.]

067 (return)
[ Note 0, p. 67. The commons resolved, That a fund, redeemable by parliament, be settled in a national land bank, to be raised by new subscriptions; That no person be concerned in both banks at the same time; That the duties upon coals, culm, and tonnage of ships be taken off, from the seventeenth day of March; That the sum of two millions five hundred and sixty-four thousand pounds be raised on this perpetual fund, redeemable by parliament; That the new bank should be restrained from lending money but upon land securities, or to the government in the exchequer; That for making up the fund of interest for the capital stock, certain duties upon glass wares, stone and earthen bottles, granted before to the king for a term of years, be continued to his majesty, his heirs, and successors; That a further duty be laid upon stone and earthen ware, and another upon tobacco-pipes. This bank was to lend out five hundred thousand pounds a-year upon land securities, at three pounds ten shillings per cent, per annum, and to cease and determine, unless the subscription should be full, by the first day of August next ensuing.

The most remarkable laws enacted in this session were these:—An act for voiding all the elections of parliament men, at which the elected had been at any expense in meat, drink, or money, to procure votes.

Another against unlawful and double returns. A third, for the more easy recovery of small tithes. A fourth, to prevent marriages without license or banns. A fifth, for enabling the inhabitants of Wales to dispose of all their personal estates as they should think fit: this law was in bar of a custom that had prevailed in that country—the widows and younger children claimed a share of the effects, called their reasonable part, although the effects had been otherwise disposed of by will or deed. The parliament likewise passed an act for preventing the exportation of wool, and encouraging the importation thereof from Ireland. An act for encouraging the linen manufactures of Ireland. An act for regulating juries. An act for encouraging the Greenland trade. An act of indulgence to the quakers, that their solemn affirmation should be accepted instead of an oath. And an act for continuing certain other acts that were near expiring. Another bill passed for the better regulating elections for members of parliament; but the royal assent was denied. The question was put in the house of commons, That whosoever advised his majesty not to give his assent to that bill was an enemy to his country; but it was rejected by a great majority.]

MAPS:

QUEEN ANNE

CHAPTER VII.

Anne succeeds to the Throne..... She resolves to fulfil the Engagements of her Predecessor with his Allies..... A French Memorial presented to the States-general..... The Queen’s Inclination to the Tories..... War declared against France..... The Parliament prorogued..... Warm Opposition to the Ministry in the Scottish Parliament..... They recognize her Majesty’s Authority..... The Queen appoints Commissioners to treat of an Union between England and Scotland..... State of Affairs on the Continent..... Keiserswaert and Landau taken by the Allies..... Progress of the Earl of Marlborough in Flanders..... He narrowly escapes being taken by a French Partisan..... The Imperialists are worsted at Fridlinguen..... Battle of Luzzara in Italy..... The King of Sweden defeats Augustus at Lissou in Poland..... Fruitless expedition to Cadiz by the Duke of Ormond and Sir George Booke..... They take and destroy the Spanish Galleons at Vigo..... Admiral Benbow’s Engagement with Ducasse in the West Indies..... The Queen assembles a new Parliament..... Disputes between the two Houses..... The Lords inquire into the Conduct of Sir George Rooke..... The Parliament make a Settlement on Prince George of Denmark..... The Earl of Marlborough created a Duke..... All Commerce and Correspondence prohibited between Holland and the two Crowns of France and Spain..... A Bill for preventing occasional Conformity..... It miscarries..... Violent Animosity between the two Houses produced by the Inquiry into the Public Accounts..... Disputes between the two Houses of Convocation..... Account of the Parties in Scotland..... Dangerous Heats in the Parliament of that Kingdom..... The Commissioner is abandoned by the Cavaliers..... He is in Danger of his Life, and suddenly prorogues the Parliament..... Proceedings of the Irish Parliament..... They pass a severe Act against Papists..... The Elector of Bavaria defeats the Imperialists at Scardingen, and takes Possession of Ratisbon..... The Allies reduce Bonne..... Battle of Eckeren..... The Prince of Hesse is defeated by the French at Spirebath..... Treaty between the Emperor and the Duke of Savoy..... The King of Portugal accedes to the Grand Alliance..... Sir Cloudesley Shovel sails with a Fleet to the Mediterranean..... Admiral Graydon’s bootless Expedition to the West Indies..... Charles King of Spain arrives in England.

ANNE SUCCEEDS TO THE THRONE.

William was succeeded as sovereign of England by Anne princess of Denmark, who ascended the throne in the thirty-eighth year of her age, to the general satisfaction of all parties. Even the Jacobites seemed pleased with her elevation, on the supposition that as in all probability she would leave no heirs of her own body, the dictates of natural affection would induce her to alter the succession in favour of her own brother. She had been taught to cherish warm sentiments of the tories, whom she considered as the friends of monarchy, and the true sons of the church; and they had always professed an inviolable attachment to her person and interest; but her conduct was wholly influenced by the countess of Marlborough, a woman of an imperious temper and intriguing genius, who had been intimate with the princess from her tender years, and gained a surprising ascendancy over her. Anne had undergone some strange vicissitudes of fortune in consequence of her father’s expulsion, and sustained a variety of mortifications in the late reign, during which she conducted herself with such discretion as left little or no pretence for censure or resentment. Such conduct indeed was in a great measure owing to a natural temperance of disposition not easily ruffled or inflamed. She was zealously devoted to the church of England, from which her father had used some endeavours to detach her before the Revolution; and she lived in great harmony with her husband, to whom she bore six children, all of whom she had already survived. William had no sooner yielded up his breath, than the privy-council in a body waited on the new queen, who, in a short but sensible speech, assured them that no pains nor diligence should be wanting on her part to preserve and support the religion, laws, and liberties of her country, to maintain the succession in the protestant line, and the government in church and state, as by law established. She declared her resolution to carry on the preparations for opposing the exorbitant power of France, and to assure the allies that she would pursue the true interest of England, together with theirs, for the support of the common cause. The members of the privy-council having taken the oaths, she ordered a proclamation to be published, signifying her pleasure that all persons in office of authority or government at the decease of the late king, should so continue till further directions. By virtue of an act passed in the late reign, the parliament continued sitting even after the king’s death. Both houses met immediately, and unanimously voted an address of condolence and congratulation; and in the afternoon the queen was proclaimed. Next day the lords and commons severally attended her with an address, congratulating her majesty’s accession to the throne; and assuring her of their firm resolution to support her against all her enemies whatsoever. The lords acknowledged that their great loss was no otherwise to be repaired but by a vigorous adherence to her majesty and her allies, in the prosecution of those measures already concerted to reduce the exorbitant power of France. The commons declared they would maintain the succession of the crown in the protestant line, and effectually provide for the public credit of the nation. These addresses were graciously received by the queen, who, on the eleventh day of March, went to the house of peers with the usual solemnity, where, in a speech to both houses, she expressed her satisfaction at their unanimous concurrence with her opinion, that too much could not be done for the encouragement of their allies in humbling the power of France; and desired they would consider of proper methods towards obtaining an union between England and Scotland. She observed to the commons that the revenue for defraying the expenses of civil government was expired; and that she relied entirely on their affection for its being supplied in such a manner as should be most suitable to the honour and dignity of the crown. She declared it should be her constant endeavour to make them the best return for their duty and affection, by a careful and diligent administration for the good of all her subjects. “And as I know my own heart to be entirely English (continued she) I can very sincerely assure you, there is not any thing you can expect or desire from me which I shall not be ready to do for the happiness and prosperity of England; and you shall always find me a strict and religious observer of my word.” These assurances were extremely agreeable to the parliament; and she received the thanks of both houses. Addresses of congratulation were presented by the bishop and clergy of London; by the dissenters in and about that city; and by all the counties, cities, towns, and corporations of England. She declared her attachment to the church; she promised her protection to the dissenters; and received the compliments of all her subjects with such affability as ensured their affection.

THE ENGAGEMENTS OF HER PREDECESSOR WITH HIS ALLIES FULFILLED.

William’s death was no sooner known at the Hague, than all Holland was filled with consternation. The states immediately assembled, and for some time gazed at each other in silent fear and astonishment. They sighed, wept, and interchanged embraces and vows that they would act with unanimity, and expend their clearest blood in defence of their country. Then they despatched letters to the cities and provinces, informing them of this unfortunate event, and exhorting them to union and perseverance. The express from England having brought the queen’s speech to her privy-council, it was translated and published to revive the drooping spirits of the people. Next day pensionary Fagel imparted to the states of Holland a letter which he had received from the earl of Marlborough, containing assurances, in the queen’s name, of union and assistance. In a few days, the queen wrote a letter in the French language to the States, confirming these assurances; it was delivered by Mr. Stanhope, whom she had furnished with fresh credentials as envoy from England. Thus animated, the states resolved to prosecute vigorous measures; their resolutions were still more inspirited by the arrival of the earl of Marlborough, whom the queen honoured with the order of the garter, and invested with the character of ambassador-extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the states-general; he was likewise declared captain general of her forces both at home and abroad. He assured the states that her Britannic majesty would maintain the alliances which had been concluded by the late king, and do every thing that the common concerns of Europe required. The speech was answered by Dickvelt, president of the week, who, in the name of the states, expressed their hearty thanks to her majesty, and their resolutions of concurring with her in a vigorous prosecution of the common interest.

A FRENCH MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO THE STATES-GENERAL.

The importance of William’s life was evinced by the joy that diffused itself through the kingdom of France at the news of his decease. The person who first brought the tidings to Calais, was imprisoned by the governor until his information was confirmed. The court of Versailles could hardly restrain their transports so as to preserve common decorum; the people of Paris openly rejoiced at the event; all decency was laid aside at Rome, where this incident produced such indecent raptures, that cardinal Grimani, the imperial minister, complained of them to the pope, as an insult on his master the emperor, who was William’s friend, confederate, and ally. The French king despatched credentials to Barré, whom the count D’Avaux had left at the Hague to manage the affairs of France, together with instructions to renew the negotiation with the states, in hope of detaching them from the alliance. This minister presented a memorial implying severe reflections on king William, and the past conduct of the Dutch; and insinuating that now they had recovered their liberty, the court of France hoped they would consult their true interest. The count de Goes, envoy from the emperor, animadverted on these expressions in another memorial, which was likewise published; the states produced in public an answer to the same remonstrance, expressing their resentment at the insolence of such insinuations, and their veneration for the memory of their late stadtholder. The earl of Marlborough succeeded in every part of his negotiation. He animated the Dutch to a full exertion of their vigour; he concerted the operations of the campaign; he agreed with the states-general and the imperial minister, that war should be declared against France on the same day at Vienna, London, and the Hague; and on the third of April embarked for England, after having acquired the entire confidence of those who governed the United Provinces.

QUEEN’S INCLINATION TO THE TORIES.

By this time the house of commons in England had settled the civil list upon the queen for her life. When the bill received the royal assent, she assured them that one hundred thousand pounds of this revenue should be applied to the public service of the current year; at the same time she passed another bill for receiving and examining the public accounts. A commission for this purpose was granted in the preceding reign, but had been for some years discontinued; and indeed always proved ineffectual to detect and punish those individuals who shamefully pillaged their country. The villany was so complicated, the vice so general, and the delinquents so powerfully screened by artifice and interest, as to elude all inquiry. On the twenty-fourth day of March the oath of abjuration was taken by the speaker and members, according to an act for the further security of her majesty’s person, and the succession of the crown in the protestant line, and for extinguishing the hopes of the pretended prince of Wales. The queen’s inclination to the tories plainly appeared in her choice of ministers. Doctor John Sharp, archbishop of York, became her ghostly director and counsellor in all ecclesiastical affairs; the earl of Rochester was continued lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and enjoyed a great share of her majesty’s confidence; the privy-seal was intrusted to the marquis of Normandy; the earl of Nottingham and sir Charles Hedges were appointed secretaries of state; the earl of Abingdon, viscount Weymouth, lord Dartmouth, sir Christopher Musgrave, Grenville, Howe, Gower, and Harcourt, were admitted as members of the privy-council, together with sir Edward Seymour, now declared comptroller of the household. The lord Godolphin declined accepting the office of lord high-treasurer, until he was over-ruled by the persuasions of Marlborough, to whose eldest daughter his son was married. This nobleman refused to command the forces abroad, unless the treasury should be put into the hands of Godolphin, on whose punctuality in point of remittances he knew he could depend. George, prince of Denmark, was invested with the title of generalissimo of all the queen’s forces by sea and land; and afterwards created lord high admiral, the earl of Pembroke having been dismissed from this office with the offer of a large pension, which he generously refused. Prince George, as admiral, was assisted by a council, consisting of sir George Rooke, sir David Mitch el, George Churchill, and Richard Hill. Though the legality of this board was doubted, the parliament had such respect and veneration for the queen, that it was suffered to act without question.

WAR DECLARED AGAINST FRANCE.

A rivalship for the queen’s favour already appeared between the earls of Rochester and Marlborough. The former, as first cousin to the queen, and chief of the tory faction, maintained considerable influence in the council; but even there the interest of his rival predominated. Marlborough was not only the better courtier, but by the canal of his countess, actually directed the queen in all her resolutions. Rochester proposed in council, that the English should avoid a declaration of war with France, and act as auxiliaries only. He was seconded by some other members; but the opinion of Marlborough preponderated. He observed, that the honour of the nation was concerned to fulfil the late king’s engagements; and affirmed that France could never be reduced within due bounds, unless the English would enter as principals in the quarrel. This allegation was supported by the dukes of Somerset and Devonshire, the earl of Pembroke, and the majority of the council. The queen being resolved to declare war, communicated her intention to the house of commons, by whom it was approved; and on the fourth day of May the declaration was solemnly proclaimed. The king of France was, in this proclamation, taxed with having taken possession of great part of the Spanish dominions; with designing to invade the liberties of Europe; and obstruct the freedom of navigation and commerce; with having offered an unpardonable insult to the queen and her throne, by taking upon him to declare the pretended prince of Wales king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The three declarations of the emperor, England, and the states-general, which were published in one day, did not fail to disconcert, as well as to provoke the French monarch. When his minister De Torcy recited them in his hearing, he spoke of the queen with some acrimony; but with respect to the states-general, he declared with great emotion, that “Messieurs the Dutch merchants should one day repent of their insolence and presumption, in declaring war against so powerful a monarch;” he did not, however, produce his declaration till the third day of July.

THE PARLIAMENT PROROGUED.

The house of commons, in compliance with the queen’s desire, brought in a bill empowering her majesty to name commissioners to treat with the Scots for an union of the two kingdoms. It met with warm opposition from sir Edward Seymour and other tory members, who discharged abundance of satire and ridicule upon the Scottish nation; but the measure seemed so necessary at that juncture, to secure the protestant succession against the practices of France and the claims of the pretender, that the majority espoused the bill, which passed through both houses, and on the sixth day of May received the royal assent, together with some bills of less importance. The enemies of the late king continued to revile his memory. 107 [See note P, at the end of this Vol.] They even charged him with having formed a design of excluding the princess Anne from the throne, and of introducing the elector of Hanover as his own immediate successor. This report had been so industriously circulated, that it began to gain credit all over the kingdom. Several peers interested themselves in William’s character, and a motion was made in the upper house that the truth of this report should be inquired into. The house immediately desired that those lords who had visited the late king’s papers, would intimate whether or not they had found any among them relating to the queen’s succession, or to the succession of the house of Hanover. They forthwith declared that nothing of that sort appeared. Then the house resolved, That the report was groundless, false, villanous, and scandalous, to the dishonour of the late king’s memory, and highly tending to the disservice of her present majesty, whom they besought to give orders that the authors or publishers of such scandalous reports should be prosecuted by the attorney-general. The same censure was passed upon some libels and pamphlets tending to inflame the factions of the kingdom, and to propagate a spirit of irreligion. 108 [See note Q, at the end of this Vol.] On the twenty-first day of May, the commons in an address advised her majesty to engage the emperor, the states-general, and her other allies, to join with her in prohibiting all intercourse with France and Spain; and to concert such methods with the states-general as might most effectually secure the trade of her subjects and allies. The lords presented another address, desiring the queen would encourage her subjects to equip privateers, as the preparations of the enemy seemed to be made for a piratical war, to the interruption of commerce; they likewise exhorted her majesty to grant commissions or charters to all persons who should make such acquisitions in the Indies, as she in her great wisdom should judge most expedient for the good of her kingdoms. On the twenty-fifth day of May the queen having passed several public and private bills, 109 [See note R, at the end of this Vol.] dismissed the parliament by prorogation, after having in a short speech thanked them for their zeal, recommended unanimity, and declared she would carefully preserve and maintain the act of toleration.

WARM OPPOSITION TO THE MINISTRY IN THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT.

In Scotland a warm contest arose between the revolutioners and those in the opposition, concerning the existence of the present parliament. The queen had signified her accession to the throne in a letter to her privy-council for Scotland, desiring they would continue to act in that office until she should send a new commission. Meanwhile she authorized them to publish a proclamation ordaining all officers of state, counsellors, and magistrates, to act in all things conformably to the commissions and instructions of his late majesty until new commissions should be prepared. She likewise assured them of her firm resolution to protect them in their religion, laws, and liberties, and in the established government of the church. She had already, in presence of twelve Scottish counsellors, taken the coronation-oath for that kingdom; but those who wanted to embroil the affairs of their country, affirmed that this was an irregular way of proceeding, and that the oath ought to have been tendered by persons deputed for that purpose either by the parliament or the privy council of the kingdom. The present ministry, consisting of the duke of Queensberry, the earls of Marchmont, Melvil, Seafield, Hyndford, and Selkirk, were devoted to revolution principles, and desirous that the parliament should continue, in pursuance of a late act for continuing the parliament that should be then in being, six months after the death of the king, and that it should assemble in twenty days after that event. The queen had, by several adjournments, deferred the meeting almost three months after the king’s decease; and therefore the anti-revolutioners affirmed that it was dissolved. The duke of Hamilton was at the head of this party which clamoured loudly for a new parliament. This nobleman, together with the marquis of Tweedale, the carls Marshal and Kothes, and many other noblemen, repaired to London in order to make the queen acquainted with their objections to the continuance of the present parliament. She admitted them to her presence and calmly heard their allegations; but she was determined by the advice of her privy-council for that kingdom, who were of opinion that the nation was in too great a ferment to hazard the convocation of a new parliament. According to the queen’s last adjournment, the parliament met at Edinburgh on the ninth day of June, the duke of Queensberry having been appointed high commissioner. Before the queen’s commission was read, the duke of Hamilton for himself and his adherents, declared their satisfaction at her majesty’s accession to the throne, not only on account of her undoubted right by descent, but likewise because of her many personal virtues and royal qualities. He said they were resolved to sacrifice their lives and fortunes in defence of her majesty’s right against all her enemies whatever; but, at the same time, they thought themselves bound in duty to give their opinion that they were not warranted by law to sit and act as a parliament. He then read a paper to the following effect:—That forasmuch as, by the fundamental laws and constitution of this kingdom, all parliaments do dissolve on the death of their sovereign, except in so far as innovated by an act in the preceding reign, that the parliament in being at his majesty’s decease should meet and act what might be needful for the defence of the true protestant religion as by law established, and for the maintenance of the succession to the crown as settled by the claim of right, and for the preservation and security of the public peace; and seeing these ends are fully answered by her majesty’s succession to the throne, we conceive ourselves not now warranted by law to meet, sit, or act; and therefore do dissent from anything that shall be done or acted. The duke having recited this paper, and formally protested against the proceedings of the parliament, withdrew with seventy-nine members amidst the acclamations of the people.

THEY RECOGNISE HER MAJESTY’S AUTHORITY.

Notwithstanding their secession, the commissioner, who retained a much greater number, produced the queen’s letter signifying her resolution to maintain and protect her subjects in the full possession of their religion, laws, liberties, and the presbyterian discipline. She informed them of her having declared war against France; she exhorted them to provide competent supplies for maintaining such a number of forces as might be necessary for disappointing the enemy’s designs, and preserving the present happy settlement; and she earnestly recommended to their consideration an union of the two kingdoms. The duke of Queensberry and the carl of Marchmont having enforced the different articles of this letter, committees were appointed for the security of the kingdom, for controverted elections, for drawing up an answer to her majesty’s letter, and for revising the minutes. Meanwhile the duke of Hamilton and his adherents sent the lord Blantyre to London with an address to the queen, who refused to receive it, but wrote another letter to the parliament expressing her resolution to maintain their dignity and authority against all opposers. They, in answer to the former, had assured her that the groundless secession of some members should increase and strengthen their care and zeal for her majesty’s service. They expelled sir Alexander Bruce for having given vent to some reflections against presbytery. The lord advocate prosecuted the faculty of advocates before the parliament for having passed a vote among themselves in favour of the protestation and address of the dissenting members. The faculty was severely reprimanded; but the whole nation seemed to resent the prosecution. The parliament passed an act for recognising her majesty’s royal authority; another for adjourning the court of judicature called the session; a third declaring this meeting of parliament legal, and forbidding any person to disown, quarrel with, or impugn the dignity and authority thereof, under the penalty of high treason; a fourth for securing the true protestant religion and presbyterian church government; a fifth for a land tax; and a sixth, enabling her majesty to appoint commissioners for an union between the two kingdoms.

THE QUEEN APPOINTS COMMISSIONERS TO TREAT OF AN UNION.

The earl of Marchmont, of his own accord, and even contrary to the advice of the high commissioner, brought in a bill for abjuring the pretended prince of Wales; but this was not supported by the court party, as the commissioner had no instructions how to act on the occasion. Perhaps the queen and her English ministry resolved to keep the succession open in Scotland as a check upon the whigs and house of Hanover. On the thirtieth day of June the commissioner adjourned the parliament, after having thanked them for their cheerfulness and unanimity in their proceedings; and the chiefs of the opposite parties hastened to London to make their different representations to the queen and her ministry. In the meantime she appointed commissioners for treating about the union, and they met at the Cockpit on the twenty-second day of October. On the twentieth day of the next month they adjusted preliminaries, importing, That nothing agreed on among themselves should be binding except ratified by her majesty and the respective parliaments of both nations; and that unless all the heads proposed for the treaty were agreed to, no particular thing agreed on should be binding. The queen visited them in December, in order to quicken their mutual endeavours. They agreed that the two kingdoms should be inseparably united into one monarchy, under her majesty, her heirs, and successors, and under the same limitations according to the Acts of Settlement; but when the Scottish commissioners proposed that the rights and privileges of their company trading to Africa and the Indies should be preserved and maintained, such a difficulty arose as could not be surmounted, and no further progress was made in this commission. The tranquillity of Ireland was not interrupted by any new commotion. That kingdom was ruled by justices whom the earl of Rochester had appointed; and the trustees for the forfeited estates maintained their authority.

STATE OF AFFAIRS ON THE CONTINENT.

While Britain was engaged in these civil transactions, her allies were not idle on the continent. The old duke of Zell, and his nephew, the elector of Brunswick, surprised the dukes of Wolfenbuttle and Saxe-Gotha, whom they compelled to renounce their attachments to France, and concur in the common councils of the empire. Thus the north of Germany was reunited to the interest of the confederates; and the princes would have been in a condition to assist them effectually, had not the neighbourhood of the war in Poland deterred them from parting with their forces. England and the states-general endeavoured in vain to mediate a peace between the kings of Sweden and Poland. Charles was become enamoured of war and ambitious of conquest. He threatened to invade Saxony through the dominions of Prussia. Augustus retired to Cracow, while Charles penetrated to Warsaw, and even ordered the cardinal-primate to summon a diet for choosing a new king. The situation of affairs at this juncture was far from being favourable to the allies. The court of Vienna had tampered in vain with the elector of Bavaria, who made use of this negotiation to raise his terms with Louis. His brother, the elector of Cologn, admitted French garrisons into Liege and all his places on the Rhine. The elector of Saxony was too hard pressed by the king of Sweden to spare his full proportion of troops to the allies; the king of Prussia was overawed by the vicinity of the Swedish conqueror; the duke of Savoy had joined his forces to those of France, and overrun the whole state of Milan; and the pope, though he professed a neutrality, evinced himself strongly biassed to the French interests.

KEISEESWAERT AND LANDAU TAKEN.

The war was begun in the name of the elector-palatine with the siege of Keiserswaert, which was invested in the month of April by the prince of Nassau-Saarburgh, mareschal-du-camp to the emperor: under this officer the Dutch troops served as auxiliaries, because war had not yet been declared by the states-general. The French garrison made a desperate defence. They worsted the besiegers in divers sallies, and maintained the place until it was reduced to a heap of ashes. At length the allies made a general attack upon the counterscarp and ravelin, which they carried after a very obstinate engagement, with the loss of two thousand men. Then the garrison capitulated on honourable terms, and the fortifications were razed. During this siege, which lasted from the eighteenth day of April to the middle of June, count Tallard posted himself on the opposite side of the Rhine, from whence he supplied the town with fresh troops and ammunition, and annoyed the besiegers with his artillery; but finding it impossible to save the place, he joined the grand army commanded by the duke of Burgundy in the Netherlands. The siege of Keiserswaert was covered by a body of Dutch troops under the earl of Athlone, who lay encamped in the duchy of Cleve. Meanwhile general Coehorn, at the head of another detachment, entered Flanders, demolished the French lines between the forts of Donat and Isabella, and laid the chatellaine of Bruges under contribution; but a considerable body of French troops advancing under the marquis de Bedmar, and the count de la Motte, he overflowed the country, and retired under the Avails of Sluys. The duke of Burgundy, who had taken the command of the French army under Bouifflers, encamped at Zanten near Cleve, and laid a scheme for surprising Nimeguen; in which, however, he was baffled by the vigilance and activity of Athlone, who, guessing his design, marched thither and encamped under the cannon of the town. In the beginning of June, Landau was invested by prince Louis of Baden: in July, the king of the Romans arrived in the camp of the besiegers with such pomp and magnificence as exhausted his father’s treasury. On the ninth day of September the citadel was taken by assault, and then the town surrendered.

PROGRESS OF THE EARL OF MARLBOROUGH.

When the earl of Marlborough arrived in Holland, the earl of Athlone, in quality of veldt-mareschal, insisted upon an equal command with the English general; but the states obliged him to yield this point in favour of Marlborough, whom they declared generalissimo of all their forces. In the beginning of July he repaired to the camp at Nimeguen, where he soon assembled an army of sixty thousand men, well provided with all necessaries; then he convoked a council of the general officers to concert the operations of the campaign. On the sixteenth day of the month he passed the Maese, and encamped at Overasselt, within two leagues and a half of the enemy, who had entrenched themselves between Goch and Gedap. He afterwards repassed the river below the Grave, and removed to Gravenbroeck, where he was joined by the British train of artillery from Holland. On the second day of August, he advanced to Petit Brugel, and the French retired before him, leaving Spanish Guelderkind to his discretion. He had resolved to hazard an engagement, and issued orders accordingly; but he was restrained by the Dutch deputies, who were afraid of their own interest in case the battle should have proved unfortunate. The duke of Burgundy, finding himself obliged to retreat before the allied army, rather than expose himself longer to such a mortifying indignity, returned to Versailles, leaving the command to Boufflers, who lost the confidence of Louis by the ill success of this campaign. The deputies of the states-general having represented to the earl of Marlborough the advantages that would accrue to Holland, from his dispossessing the enemy of the places they maintained in the Spanish Guelderland, by which the navigation of the Maese was obstructed, and the important town of Maestricht in a manner blocked up, he resolved to deliver them from such a troublesome neighbourhood. He detached general Schultz with a body of troops to reduce the town and castle of Werk, which were surrendered after a slight resistance. In the beginning of September he undertook the siege of Venlo, which capitulated on the twenty-fifth day of the month, after fort St. Michael had been stormed and taken by lord Cutts and the English volunteers, among whom the young earl of Huntingdon distinguished himself by very extraordinary acts of valour. Then the general invested Euremonde, which he reduced after a very obstinate defence, together with the fort of Stevensuaert, situated on the same river. Boufflers, confounded at the rapidity of Marlborough’s success, retired towards Liege in order to cover that city; but, at the approach of the confederates, he retired with precipitation to Tongeren, from whence he directed his route towards Brabant, with a view to defend such places as the allies had no design to attack. When the earl of Marlborough arrived at Liege, he found the suburbs of St. Walburgh had been set on fire by the French garrison, who had retired into the citadel and the Chartreux. The allies took immediate possession of the city; and in a few days opened the trenches against the citadel, which was taken by assault. On this occasion, the hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel charged at the head of the grenadiers, and was the first person who mounted the breach. Violani the governor, and the duke of Charost, were made prisoners. Three hundred thousand florins in gold and silver were found in the citadel, besides notes for above one million drawn upon substantial merchants in Liege, who paid the money. Immediately after this exploit, the garrison of the Chartreux capitulated on honourable terms, and were conducted to Antwerp. By the success of this campaign the earl of Marlborough raised his military character above all censure, and confirmed himself in the entire confidence of the states-general, who, in the beginning of the season, had trembled for Nimeguen, and now saw the enemy driven back into their own domains.

HE NARROWLY ESCAPES BEING TAKEN BY A FRENCH PARTISAN.

When the army broke up in November, the general repaired to Maestricht, from whence he proposed to return to the Hague by water. Accordingly he embarked in a large boat, with five-and-twenty soldiers under the command of a lieutenant. Next morning he was joined at Ruremonde by Coehorn in a larger vessel, with sixty men, and they were moreover escorted by fifty troopers, who rode along the bank of the river. The large boat outsailed the other, and the horsemen mistook their way in the dark. A French partisan, with five-and-thirty men from Gueldres, who lurked among the rushes in wait for prey, seized the rope by which the boat was drawn, hauled it ashore, discharged their small arms and hand-grenades, then rushing into it, secured the soldiers before they could put themselves in a posture of defence. The earl of Marlborough was accompanied by general Opdam, and mynheer Gueldermalsen, one of the deputies, who were provided with passports. The earl had neglected this precaution; but recollecting he had an old passport for his brother general Churchill, he produced it without any emotion, and the partisan was in such confusion that he never examined the date. Nevertheless, he rifled their baggage, carried off the guard as prisoners, and allowed the boat to proceed. The governor of Venlo receiving information that the earl was surprised by a party and conveyed to Gueldres, immediately marched out with his whole garrison to invest that place. The same imperfect account being transmitted to Holland, filled the whole province with consternation. The states forthwith assembling, resolved that all their forces should march immediately to Gueldres, and threaten the garrison of the place with the utmost extremities unless they would immediately deliver the general. But, before these orders could be despatched, the earl arrived at the Hague, to the inexpressible joy of the people, who already looked upon him as their saviour and protector.

THE IMPERIALISTS ARE WORSTED AT FEIDLINGUEN.

The French arms were not quite so unfortunate on the Rhine as in Flanders. The elector of Bwaria surprised the city of Ulm in Suabia by a stratagem, and then declared for France, which had by this time complied with all his demands. The diet of the empire assembled at Batisbon were so incensed at his conduct in seizing the city of Ulm by perfidy, that they presented a memorial to his Imperial majesty, requesting he would proceed against the elector according to the constitutions of the empire. They resolved, by a plurality of voices, to declare war in the name of the empire against the French king and the duke of Anjou, for having invaded several fiefs of the empire in Italy, the archbishopric of Cologn, and the diocese of Liege; and they forbade the ministers of Bavaria and Cologn to appear in the general diet. In vain did these powers protest against their proceedings. The empire’s declaration of war was published and notified, in the name of the diet, to the cardinal of Limberg, the emperor’s commissioner. Meanwhile the French made themselves masters of Neuburgh, in the circle of Suabia, while Louis prince of Baden, being weakened by sending off detachments, was obliged to lie inactive in his camp near Fridlinguen. The French army was divided into two bodies, commanded by the marquis de Villars and the count de Guiscard; and the prince thinking himself in danger of being enclosed by the enemy, resolved to decamp. Villars immediately passed the Rhine to fall upon him in his retreat, and an obstinate engagement ensuing, the Imperialists were overpowered by numbers. The prince having lost two thousand men, abandoned the field of battle to the enemy, together with his baggage, artillery, and ammunition, and retired towards Stauffen without being pursued. The French army, even after they had gained the battle, were unaccountably seized with such a panic, that if the Imperial general had faced them with two regiments he would have snatched the victory from Villars, who was upon this occasion saluted mareschal of France by the soldiers; and next day the town of Fridlinguen surrendered. The prince being joined by some troops under general Thungen and other reinforcements, resolved to give battle to the enemy; but Villars declined an engagement, and repassed the Rhine. Towards the latter end of October, count Tallard and the marquis de Lo-marie, with a body of eighteen thousand men, reduced Triers and Traerbach; on the other hand, the prince of Hesse-Cassel, with a detachment from the allied army at Liege, retook from the French the towns of Zinch, Lintz, Brisac, and Andernach.

BATTLE OF LUZZARA, IN ITALY.

In Italy prince Eugene laboured under a total neglect of the Imperial court, where his enemies, on pretence of supporting the king of the Romans in his first campaign, weaned the emperor’s attention entirely from his affairs on the other side of the Alps, so that he left his best army to moulder away for want of recruits and reinforcements. The prince thus abandoned could not prevent the duke de Vendôme from relieving Mantua, and was obliged to relinquish some other places he had taken. Philip, king of Spain, being inspired with the ambition of putting an end to the war in this country, sailed in person for Naples, where he was visited by the cardinal-legate with a compliment from the pope; yet he could not obtain the investiture of the kingdom from his holiness. The emperor, however, was so disgusted at the embassy which the pope had sent to Philip, that he ordered his ambassador at Eome to withdraw. Philip proceeded from Naples to Final under convoy of the French fleet which had brought him to Italy; here he had an interview with the duke of Savoy, who began to be alarmed at the prospect of the French king’s being master of the Milanese; and, in a letter to the duke de Vendôme, he forbade him to engage prince Eugene until he himself should arrive in the camp. Prince Eugene, understanding that the French army intended to attack Luzzara and Guastalla, passed the Po with an army of about half the number of the enemy, and posted himself behind the dike of Zero in such a manner that the French were ignorant of his situation. He concluded that on their arrival at the ground they had chosen, the horse would march out to forage, while the rest of the army would be employed in pitching tents and providing for their refreshment. His design was to seize that opportunity of attacking them, not doubting that he should obtain a complete victory; but he was disappointed by mere accident. An adjutant with an advanced guard had the curiosity to ascend the dike in order to view the country, when he discovered the Imperial infantry lying on their faces, and their horse in the rear, ranged in order of battle. The French camp was immediately alarmed, and as the intermediate ground was covered with hedges which obliged the assailants to defile, the enemy were in a posture of defence before the Imperialists could advance to action; nevertheless, the prince attacked them with great vivacity in hopes of disordering their line, which gave way in several places; but night interposing, he was obliged to desist, and in a few days the French reduced Luzzara and Guastalla. The prince, however, maintained his post, and Philip returned to Spain without having obtained any considerable advantage.

THE KING OF SWEDEN DEFEATS AUGUSTUS AT LISSOU.

The French king employed all his artifice and intrigues in raising up new enemies against the confederates. He is said to have bribed count Mansfield, president of the council of war at Vienna, to withhold the supplies from prince Eugene in Italy. At the Ottoman Porte he had actually gained over the vizier, who engaged to renew the war with the emperor. But the mufti and all the other great officers were averse to the design, and the vizier fell a sacrifice to their resentment. Louis continued to broil the kingdom of Poland by means of the cardinal-primate. The young king of Sweden advanced to Lissou, where he defeated Augustus. Then he took possession of Cracow, and raised contributions; nor could he be persuaded to retreat, although the Muscovites and Lithuanians had ravaged Livonia, and even made an irruption into Sweden.

FRUITLESS EXPEDITION TO CADIZ.

The operations of the combined squadrons at sea did not fully answer the expectation of the public. On the twelfth day of May, sir John Munden sailed with twelve ships to intercept a French squadron appointed as a convoy to a new viceroy of Mexico, from Corunna to the West Indies. On the twenty-eighth day of the month, he chased fourteen sail of French ships into Corunna.

Then he called a council of war, in which it was agreed that as the place was strongly fortified, and by the intelligence they had received, it appeared that seventeen of the enemy’s ships of war rode at anchor in the harbour, it would be expedient for them to follow the latter part of their instructions, by which they were directed to cruise in soundings for the protection of the trade. They returned accordingly, and being distressed by want of provisions, came into port to the general discontent of the nation. For the satisfaction of the people, sir John Munden was tried by a court-martial and acquitted; but as this miscarriage had rendered him very unpopular, prince George dismissed him from the service. We have already hinted that king William had projected a scheme to reduce Cadiz, with intention to act afterwards against the Spanish settlements in the West Indies. This design queen Anne resolved to put in execution. Sir George Rooke commanded the fleet, and the duke of Ormond was appointed general of the land forces destined for this expedition. The combined squadrons amounted to fifty ships of the line, exclusive of frigates, fire-ships, and smaller vessels; and the number of soldiers embarked was not far short of fourteen thousand. In the latter end of June the fleet sailed from St. Helen’s; on the twelfth of August they anchored at the distance of two leagues from Cadiz. Next day the duke of Ormond summoned the duke de Brancaccio, who was governor, to submit to the house of Austria; but that officer answered he would acquit himself honourably of the trust reposed in him by the king. On the fifteenth the duke of Ormond landed with his forces in the bay of Bulls, under cover of a smart fire from some frigates, and repulsed a body of Spanish cavalry; then he summoned the governor of Fort St. Catharine’s to surrender, and received an answer, importing, that the garrison was prepared for his reception. A declaration was published in the Spanish language, intimating, that the allies did not come as enemies to Spain, but only to free them from the yoke of France, and assist them in establishing themselves under the government of the house of Austria. These professions produced very little effect among the Spaniards, who were either cooled in their attachment to that family, or provoked by the excesses of the English troops. These having taken possession of Fort St. Catharine and Port St. Mary’s, instead of protecting, plundered the natives, notwithstanding the strict orders issued by the duke of Ormond to prevent this scandalous practice; even some general officers were concerned in the pillage. A battery was raised against Montagorda fort opposite to the Puntal; but the attempt miscarried, and the troops were re-embarked.

SPANISH GALLEONS TAKEN and DESTROYED.

Captain Hardy having been sent to water in Lagos bay, received intelligence that the galleons from the West Indies had put into Vigo under convoy of a French squadron. He sailed immediately in quest of sir George Rooke, who was now on his voyage back to England, and falling in with him on the sixth day of October, communicated the substance of what he had learned. Rooke immediately called a council of war, in which it was determined to alter their course and attack the enemy at Vigo. He forthwith detached some small vessels for intelligence, and received a confirmation that the galleons and the squadron commanded by Chateau Renault, were actually in the harbour. They sailed thither, and appeared before the place on the eleventh day of October. The passage into the harbour was narrow, secured by batteries, forts, and breast-works on each side; by a strong boom, consisting of iron chains, top-masts, and cables, moored at each end of a seventy-gun ship, and fortified within by five ships of the same strength lying athwart the channel with their broadsides to the offing. As the first and second rates of the combined fleets were too large to enter, the admirals shifted their flags into smaller ships; and a division of five-and-twenty English and Dutch ships of the line, with their frigates, fire-ships, and ketches, was destined for the service. In order to facilitate the attack, the duke of Ormond landed with five-and-twenty hundred men, at the distance of six miles from Vigo, and took by assault a fort and platform of forty pieces of cannon at the entrance of the harbour. The British ensign was no sooner seen flying at the top of this fort than the ships advanced to the attack. Vice-admiral Hop-son, in the Torbay, crowding all his sail, ran directly against the boom, which was broken by the first shock; then the whole squadron entered the harbour through a prodigious fire from the enemy’s ships and batteries. These last, however, were soon stormed and taken by the grenadiers who had been landed. The great ships lay against the forts at each side of the harbour, which in a little time they silenced, though vice-admiral Hop-son narrowly escaped from a fire-ship by which he was boarded. After a very vigorous engagement, the French, finding themselves unable to cope with such an adversary, resolved to destroy their ships and galloons, that they might not fall into the hands of the victors. They accordingly burned and ran ashore eight ships and as many advice-boats; but ten ships of war were taken, together with eleven galleons. Though they had secured the best part of their plate and merchandize before the English fleet arrived, the value of fourteen millions of pieces of eight, in plate and rich commodities, was destroyed in six galleons that perished; and about half that value was brought off by the conquerors; so that this was a dreadful blow to the enemy, and a noble acquisition to the allies. Immediately after this exploit, sir George Rooke was joined by sir Cloudesley Shovel, who had been sent out with a squadron to intercept the galleons. This officer was left to bring home the prizes and dismantle the fortifications, while Rooke returned in triumph to England.

BENBOW’S ENGAGEMENT WITH DU CASSE.

The glory which the English acquired in this expedition was in some measure tarnished by the conduct of some officers in the West Indies. Thither admiral Benbow had been detached with a squadron of ten sail in the course of the preceding year. At Jamaica he received intelligence that monsieur Du Casse was in the neighbourhood of Hispaniola, and resolved to beat up to that island. At Leogane he fell in with a French ship of fifty guns, which her captain ran ashore and blew up. He took several other vessels, and having alarmed Petit-Guavas, bore away for Donna Maria bay, where he understood that Du Casse had sailed for the coast of Carthagena. Benbow resolved to follow the same course; and on the nineteenth of August discovered the enemy’s squadron near Saint Martha, consisting of ten sail, steering along shore. He formed the line, and an engagement ensued, in which he was very ill seconded by some of his captains. Nevertheless, the battle continued till night, and he determined to renew it next morning, when he perceived all his ships at the distance of three or four miles astern, except the Ruby, commanded by captain George Walton, who joined him in plying the enemy with chase guns. On the twenty-first these two ships engaged the French squadron; and the Ruby was so disabled that the admiral was obliged to send her back to Jamaica. Next day the Greenwich, commanded by Wade, was five leagues astern; and the wind changing, the enemy had the advantage of the weather-gage. On the twenty-third the admiral renewed the battle with his single ship unsustained by the rest of the squadron. On the twenty-fourth his leg was shattered by a chain-shot; notwithstanding which accident, he remained on the quarter-deck in a cradle and continued the engagement. One of the largest ships of the enemy lying like a wreck upon the water, four sail of the English squadron poured their broadsides into her, and then ran to leeward without paying any regard to the signal for battle. Then the French bearing down upon the admiral with their whole force, shot away his main-top-sail-yard, and damaged his rigging in such a manner that he was obliged to lie by and refit, while they took their disabled ship in tow. During this interval he called a council of his captains, and expostulated with them on their behaviour. They observed, that the French were very strong, and advised him to desist. He plainly perceived that he was betrayed, and with the utmost reluctance returned to Jamaica, having not only lost a leg, but also received a large wound in his face, and another in his arm, while he in person attempted to board the French admiral. Exasperated at the treachery of his captains, he granted a commission to rear-admiral Whetstone and other officers, to hold a court-martial and try them for cowardice. Hudson, of the Pendennis, died before his trial: Kirby and Wade were convicted, and sentenced to be shot: Constable, of the Windsor, was cashiered and imprisoned: Vincent, of the Falmouth, and Fogg, the admiral’s own captain of the Breda, were convicted of having signed a paper that they would not fight under Benbow’s command; but as they behaved gallantly in the action, the court inflicted upon them no other punishment than that of a provisional suspension. Captain Walton had likewise joined in the conspiracy while he was heated with the fumes of intoxication, but he afterwards renounced the engagement, and fought with admirable courage until his ship was disabled. The boisterous manner of Benbow had produced this base confederacy. He was a rough seamen; but remarkably brave, honest, and experienced. 112 [See note S, at the end of this Vol.] He took this miscarriage so much to heart, that he became melancholy, and his grief co-operating with the fever occasioned by his wounds, put a period to his life. Wade and Kirby were sent home in the Bristol; and, on their arrival at Plymouth, shot on board of the ship, by virtue of a dead warrant for their immediate execution, which had lain there for some time. The same precaution had been taken in all the western ports, in order to prevent applications in their favour.

A NEW PARLIAMENT.

During these transactions the queen seemed to be happy in the affection of her subjects. Though the continuance of the parliament was limited to six months after the king’s decease, she dissolved it by proclamation before the term was expired; and issued writs for electing another, in which the tory interest predominated. In the summer the queen gave audience to the count de Platens, envoy-extraordinary from the elector of Hanover; then she made a progress with her husband to Oxford, Bath, and Bristol, where she was received with all the marks of the most genuine affection. The new parliament meeting on the twentieth day of October, Mr. Harley was chosen speaker. The queen in her speech, declared that she had summoned them to assist her in carrying on the just and necessary war in which the nation was engaged. She desired the commons would inspect the accounts of the public receipts and payments, that if any abuses had crept into the management of the finances, they might be detected and the offenders punished. She told them that the funds assigned in the last parliament had not produced the sums granted; and that the deficiency was not supplied even by the one hundred thousand pounds which she had paid from her own revenue for the public service. She expressed her concern for the disappointment at Cadiz, as well as for the abuses committed at Port St. Mary’s, which had obliged her to give directions for the strictest examination of the particulars. She hoped they would find time to consider of some better and more effectual method to prevent the exportation of wool, and improve that manufacture, which she was determined to encourage. She professed a firm persuasion, that the affection of her subjects was the surest pledge of their duty and obedience. She promised to defend and maintain the church as by law established; and to protect her subjects in the full enjoyment of all their rights and liberties. She protested, that she relied on their care of her: she said her interest and theirs were inseparable; and that her endeavours should never be wanting to make them all safe and happy. She was presented with a very affectionate address from either house, congratulating her upon the glorious success of her arms, and those of her allies, under the command of the earl of Marlborough: but that of the commons was distinguished by an implicated reproach on the late reign, importing, that the wonderful progress of her majesty’s arms under the earl of Marlborough had signally “retrieved” the ancient honour and glory of the English nation. This expression had excited a warm debate in the house, in the course of which many severe reflections were made on the memory of king William. At length the question was put, whether the word “retrieved” should remain? and carried in the affirmative by a majority of one hundred.

DISPUTES BETWEEN THE TWO HOUSES.

The strength of the tories appeared in nothing more conspicuous than in their inquiry concerning controverted elections. The borough of Hindon, near Salisbury, was convicted of bribery, and a bill brought in for disfranchising the town; yet no vote passed against the person who exercised this corruption, because he happened to be a tory. Mr. Howe was declared duly elected for Gloucestershire, though the majority of the electors had voted for the other candidate. Sir John Packington exhibited a complaint against the bishop of Worcester and his son, for having endeavoured to prevent his election: the commons having taken it into consideration, resolved, that the proceedings of William lord bishop of Worcester, and his son, had been malicious, unchristian, and arbitrary, in high violation of the liberties and privileges of the commons of England. They voted an address to the queen, desiring her to remove the father from the office of lord-almoner; and they ordered the attorney-general to prosecute the son, after his privilege as member of the convocation should be expired. A counter address was immediately voted and presented by the lords, beseeching her majesty would not remove the bishop of Worcester from the place of lord-almoner, until he should be found guilty of some crime by due course of law; as it was the undoubted right of every lord of parliament, and of every subject of England, to have an opportunity to make his defence before he suffers any sort of punishment. The queen said she had not as yet received any complaint against the bishop of Worcester; but she looked upon it as her undoubted right to continue or displace any servant attending upon her own person, when she should think proper. The peers having received this answer, unanimously resolved, That no lord of their house ought to suffer any sort of punishment by any proceedings of the house of commons, otherwise than according to the known and ancient rules and methods of parliament. When the commons attended the queen with their address against the bishop, she said she was sorry there was occasion for such a remonstrance, and that the bishop of Worcester should no longer continue to supply the place of her almoner. This regard to their address was a flagrant proof of her partiality to the tories, who seemed to justify her attachment by their compliance and liberality.

THE LORDS INQUIRE INTO THE CONDUCT OF SIR GEORGE ROOKE.

In deliberating on the supplies, they agreed to all the demands of the ministry. They voted forty thousand seamen, and the like number of land forces, to act in conjunction with those of the allies. For the maintenance of these last, they granted eight hundred and thirty-three thousand eight hundred and twenty-six pounds; besides three hundred and fifty thousand pounds for guards and garrisons; seventy thousand nine hundred and seventy-three pounds for ordnance; and fifty-one thousand eight hundred and forty-three pounds for subsidies to the allies. Lord Shannon arriving with the news of the success at Vigo, the queen appointed a day of thanksgiving for the signal success of her arms under the earl of Marlborough, the duke of Ormond, and sir George Rooke; and on that day, which was the twelfth of November, she went in state to St. Paul’s church, attended by both houses of parliament. Next day the peers voted the thanks of their house to the duke of Ormond for his services at Vigo, and, at the same time, drew up an address to the queen, desiring she would order the duke of Ormond and sir George Rooke to lay before them an account of their proceedings: a request with which her majesty complied. These two officers were likewise thanked by the house of commons: vice-admiral Hopson was knighted, and gratified with a considerable pension. The duke of Ormond, at his return from the expedition, complained openly of Rooke’s conduct, and seemed determined to subject him to a public accusation; but that officer was such a favourite among the commons, that the court was afraid to disoblige them by an impeachment, and took great pains to mitigate the duke’s resentment. This nobleman was appointed lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and Rooke was admitted into the privy-council. A motion however being made in the house of lords, that the admiral’s instructions and journals relating to the last expedition might be examined, a committee was appointed for that purpose, and prepared an unfavourable report; but it was rejected by a majority of the house; and they voted, That sir George Rooke had done his duty, pursuant to the councils of war, like a brave officer, to the honour of the British nation.

On the twenty-first day of November, the queen sent a message to the house of commons by Mr. Secretary Hedges, recommending further provision for the prince her husband, in case he should survive her. This message being considered, Mr. Howe moved, that the yearly sum of one hundred thousand pounds should be settled on the prince, in case he should survive her majesty. No opposition was made to the proposal; but warm debates were excited by a clause in the bill, exempting the prince from that part of the act of succession by which strangers, though naturalized, were rendered incapable of holding employments. This clause related only to those who should be naturalized in a future reign; and indeed was calculated as a restriction upon the house of Hanover. Many members argued against the clause of exemption, because it seemed to imply, that persons already naturalized would be excluded from employments in the next reign, though already possessed of the right of natural-born subjects, a consequence plainly contradictory to the meaning of the act. Others opposed it, because the lords had already resolved by a vote, that they would never pass any bill sent up from the commons, to which a clause foreign to the bill should be tacked; and this clause they affirmed to be a tack, as an incapacity to hold employments was a circumstance altogether distinct from a settlement in money. The queen expressed uncommon eagerness in behalf of this bill; and the court influence was managed so successfully that it passed through both houses, though not without an obstinate opposition, and a formal protest by seven-and-twenty peers.

The earl of Marlborough arriving in England about the latter end of November, received the thanks of the commons for his great and signal services, which were so acceptable to the queen, that she created him a duke, gratified him with a pension of five thousand pounds upon the revenue of the post office during his natural life; and in a message to the commons, expressed a desire that they would find some method to settle it on the heirs male of his body. This intimation was productive of warm debates, during which sir Christopher Musgrave observed, that he would not derogate from the duke’s eminent services; but he affirmed his grace had been very well paid for them by the profitable employments which he and his duchess enjoyed. The duke, understanding that the commons were heated by the subject, begged her majesty would rather forego her gracious message in his behalf, than create any uneasiness on his account, which might embarrass her affairs, and be of ill consequence to the public. Then she sent another message to the house, signifying that the duke of Marlborough had declined her interposition. Notwithstanding this declaration, the commons in a body presented an address, acknowledging the eminent services of the duke of Marlborough, yet expressing their apprehension of making a precedent to alienate the revenue of the crown, which had been so much reduced by the exorbitant grants of the late reign, and so lately settled and secured by her majesty’s unparalleled grace and goodness. The queen was satisfied with their apology; but their refusal in all probability helped to alienate the duke from the tories, with whom he had been hitherto connected.

COMMERCE PROHIBITED BETWEEN HOLLAND, FRANCE, AND SPAIN.

In the beginning of January, the queen gave the house of commons to understand, that the states-general had pressed her to augment her forces, as the only means to render ineffectual the great and early preparations of the enemy. The commons immediately resolved, that ten thousand men should be hired, as an augmentation of the forces to act in conjunction with the allies; but on condition that an immediate stop should be put to all commerce and correspondence with France and Spain on the part of the states-general. The lords presented an address to the queen on the same subject, and to the same effect; and she owned that the condition was absolutely necessary for the good of the whole alliance. The Dutch, even after the declaration of war, had carried on a traffic with the French; and at this very juncture Louis found it impossible to make remittances of money to the elector of Bwaria in Germany, and to his forces in Italy, except through the channel of English, Dutch, and Geneva merchants. The states-general, though shocked at the imperious manner in which the parliament of England prescribed their conduct, complied with the demand without hesitation, and published a prohibition of all commerce with the subjects of France and Spain.

BILL FOR PREVENTING OCCASIONAL CONFORMITY.

The commons of this parliament had nothing more at heart than a bill against occasional conformity. The tories affected to distinguish themselves as the only true friends to the church and monarchy; and they hated the dissenters with a mixture of spiritual and political disgust. They looked upon these last as an intruding sect, which constituted great part of the whig faction that extorted such immense sums of money from the nation in the late reign, and involved it in pernicious engagements, from whence it had no prospect of deliverance. They considered them as encroaching schismatics that disgraced and endangered the hierarchy; and those of their own communion, who recommended moderation, they branded with the epithets of lukewarm christians, betrayers, and apostates. They now resolved to approve themselves zealous sons of the church, by seizing the first opportunity that was in their power to distress the dissenters. In order to pave the way to this persecution, sermons were preached, and pamphlets were printed, to blacken the character of the sect, and inflame the popular resentment against them. On the fourth day of November, Mr. Bromley, Mr. St. John, and Mr. Annesley, were ordered by the house of commons to bring in a bill for preventing occasional conformity. In the preamble, all persecution for conscience sake was condemned: nevertheless it enacted, that all those who had taken the sacrament and test for offices of trust, or the magistracy of corporations, and afterwards frequented any meeting of dissenters, should be disabled from holding their employments, pay a fine of one hundred pounds, and five pounds for every day in which they continued to act in their employment after having been at any such meeting: they were also rendered incapable of holding any other employment, till after one whole year’s conformity; and, upon a relapse, the penalties and time of incapacity were doubled. The promoters of the bill alleged, that an established religion and national church were absolutely necessary, when so many impious men pretended to inspiration, and deluded such numbers of people: that the most effectual way to preserve this national church, would be the maintenance of the civil power in the hands of those who expressed their regard to the church in their principles and practice: that the parliament, by the corporation and test acts, thought they had raised a sufficient barrier to the hierarchy, never imagining that a set of men would rise up, whose consciences would be too tender to obey the laws, but hardened enough to break them: that, as the last reign began with an act in favour of dissenters, so the commons were desirous that in the beginning of her majesty’s auspicious government an act should pass in favour of the church of England: that this bill did not intrench on the act of toleration, or deprive the dissenters of any privileges they enjoyed by law, or add any thing to the legal rights of the church of England: that occasional conformity was an evasion of the law, by which the dissenters might insinuate themselves into the management of all corporations: that a separation from the church, to which a man’s conscience will allow him occasionally to conform, is a mere schism, which in itself was sinful, without the superaddition of a temporal law to make it an offence: that the toleration was intended only for the ease offender consciences, and not to give a license for occasional conformity: that conforming and non-conforming were contradictions; for nothing but a firm persuasion that the terms of communion required are sinful and unlawful, could justify the one; and this plainly condemns the other. The members who opposed the bill argued, that the dissenters were generally well affected to the present constitution: that to bring any real hardship upon them, or give rise to jealousies and fears at stich a juncture, might be attended with dangerous consequences; that the toleration had greatly contributed to the security and reputation of the church, and plainly proved that liberty of conscience and gentle measures were the most effectual means for increasing the votaries of the church, and diminishing the number of dissenters: that the dissenters could not be termed schismatics without bringing a heavy charge upon the church of England, which had not only tolerated such schism, but even allowed communion with the reformed churches abroad: that the penalties of this bill were more severe than those which the laws imposed on papists, for assisting at the most solemn act of their religion: in a word, that toleration and tenderness had been always productive of peace and union, whereas persecution had never failed to excite disorder and extend superstition. Many alterations and mitigations were proposed, without effect. In the course of the debate, the dissenters were mentioned and reviled with great acrimony; and the bill passed the lower house by virtue of a considerable majority.

The lords, apprehensive that the commons would tack it to some money-bill, voted, that the annexing any clause to a money-bill was contrary to the constitution of the English government, and the usage of parliament. The bill met with a very warm opposition in the upper house, where a considerable portion of the whig interest still remained. These members believed that the intention of the bill was to model corporations, so as to eject all those who would not vote in elections for the tories. Some imagined this was a preparatory step towards a repeal of the toleration; and others concluded that the promoters of the bill designed to raise such disturbances at home as would discourage the allies abroad, and render the prosecution of the war impracticable. The majority of the bishops, and among these Burnet of Sarum, objected against it on the principles of moderation, and from motives of conscience. Nevertheless, as the court supported this measure with its whole power and influence, the bill made its way through the house, though not without alterations and amendments, which were rejected by the commons. The lower house pretended, that the lords had no right to alter any fines and penalties that the commons should fix in bills sent up for their concurrence, on the supposition that those were matters concerning money, the peculiar province of the lower house; the lords ordered a minute inquiry to be made into all the rolls of parliament since the reign of Henry the Seventh; and a great number of instances were found, in which the lords had begun the clauses imposing fines and penalties, altered the penalties which had been fixed by the commons, and even changed the uses to which they were applied. The precedents were entered in the books; but the commons resolved to maintain their point without engaging in any dispute upon the subject. After warm debates, and a free conference between the two houses, the lords adhered to their amendments, though this resolution was carried by a majority of one vote only; the commons persisted in rejecting them; the bill miscarried, and both houses published their proceedings, by way of appeal to the nation. 114 [See note T, at the end of this Vol.] A bill was now brought into the lower house, granting another year’s consideration to those who had not taken the oath abjuring the pretended prince of Wales. The lords added three clauses, importing, that those persons who should take the oath within the limited time might return to their benefices and employments, unless they should be already legally filled; that any person endeavouring to defeat the succession to the crown, as now limited by law, should be deemed guilty of high treason; and that the oath of abjuration should be imposed upon the subjects in Ireland. The commons made some opposition to the first clause; but at length the question being put, Whether they should agree to the amendments, it was carried in the affirmative by one voice.

INQUIRY INTO THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS.

No object engrossed more time, or produced more violent debates, than did the inquiry into the public accounts. The commissioners appointed for this purpose pretended to have made great discoveries. They charged the earl of Ranelagh, paymaster-general of the army, with flagrant mismanagement. He acquitted himself in such a manner as screened him from all severity of punishment; nevertheless, they expelled him from the house for a high crime and misdemeanor, in misapplying several sums of the public money; and he thought proper to resign his employment. A long address was prepared and presented to the queen, attributing the national debt to mismanagement of the funds; complaining that the old methods of the exchequer had been neglected; and that iniquitous frauds had been committed by the commissioners of the prizes. Previous to this remonstrance, the house, in consequence of the report of the committee, had passed several severe resolutions, particularly against Charles lord Halifax, auditor of the receipt of the exchequer, as having neglected his duty, and been guilty of a breach of trust. For these reasons they actually besought the queen, in an address, that she would give directions to the attorney-general to prosecute him for the said offences; and she promised to comply with their request. On the other hand, the lords appointed a committee to examine all the observations which the commissioners of accounts had offered to both houses. They ascribed the national debt to deficiencies in the funds: they acquitted lord Halifax, the lords of the treasury, and their officers, whom the commons had accused; and represented these circumstances in an address to the queen, which was afterwards printed with the vouchers to every particular. This difference blew up a fierce flame of discord between the two houses, which manifested their mutual animosity in speeches, votes, resolutions, and conferences. The commons affirmed, that no cognizance the lords could take of the public accounts would enable them to supply any deficiency, or appropriate any surplusage of the public money; that they could neither acquit nor condemn any person whatsoever, upon any inquiry arising originally in their own house; and that their attempt to acquit Charles lord Halifax was unparliamentary. The lords insisted upon their right to take cognizance originally of all public accounts; they affirmed, that in their resolutions, with respect to lord Halifax, they had proceeded according to the rules of justice. They owned however that their resolutions did not amount to any judgment or acquittal; but that finding a vote of the commons reflected upon a member of their house, they thought fit to give their opinion in their legislative capacity. The queen interposed by a message to the lords, desiring they would despatch the business in which they were engaged. The dispute continued even after this intimation; one conference was held after another, at length both sides despaired of an accommodation. The lords ordered their proceedings to be printed, and the commons followed their example. On the twenty-seventh day of February, the queen, having passed all the bills that were ready for the royal assent, ordered the lord-keeper to prorogue the parliament, after having pronounced a speech in the usual style. She thanked them for their zeal, affection, and despatch; declared, she would encourage and maintain the church as by law established; desired they would consider some further laws for restraining the great license assumed for publishing scandalous pamphlets and libels; and assured them, that all her share of the prizes which might be taken in the war, should be applied to the public service. By this time the earl of Eochester was entirely removed from the queen’s councils. Finding himself outweighed by the interest of the duke of Marlborough and lord Godolphin, he had become sullen and intractable; and, rather than repair to his government of Ireland, chose to resign the office, which, as we have already observed, was conferred upon the duke of Ormond, an accomplished nobleman, who had acquired great popularity by the success of the expedition to Vigo. The parties in the house of lords were so nearly matched, that the queen, in order to ascertain an undoubted majority in the next session, created four new peers, 115 [See note-J, at the end of this Vol.] who had signalized themselves by the violence of their speeches in the house of commons.

DISPUTES BETWEEN THE TWO HOUSES OF CONVOCATION.

The two houses of convocation, which were summoned with the parliament, bore a strong affinity with this assembly, by the different interests that prevailed in the upper and lower. The last, in imitation of the commons, was desirous of branding the preceding reign; and it was with great difficulty that they concurred with the prelates in an address of congratulation to her majesty. Then their former contest was revived. The lower house desired, in an application to the archbishop of Canterbury and his suffragans, that the matters in dispute concerning the manner of synodical proceedings, and the right of the lower house to hold intermediate assemblies, might be taken into consideration and speedily determined. The bishops proposed, that in the intervals of sessions, the lower house might appoint committees to prepare matters; and when business should be brought regularly before them, the archbishop would regulate the prorogations in such a manner, that they should have sufficient time to sit and deliberate on the subject. This offer did not satisfy the lower house, which was emboldened to persist in its demand by a vote of the commons. These, in consequence of an address of thanks from the clergy, touching Mr. Lloyd, son to the bishop of Worcester, whom they ordered to be prosecuted after his privilege as member of the convocation should be expired, had resolved, that they would on all occasions assert the just rights and privileges of the lower house of convocation. The prelates refused to depart from the archbishop’s right of proroguing the whole convocation with consent of his suffragans. The lower house proposed to refer the controversy to the queen’s decision. The bishops declined this expedient, as inconsistent with the episcopal authority, and the presidency of the archbishop. The lower house having incurred the imputation of favouring presbytery, by this opposition to the bishops, entered in their books a declaration, acknowledging the order of bishops as superior to presbyters, and to be a divine apostolical institution. Then they desired the bishops in an address to concur in settling the doctrine of the divine apostolical right of episcopacy, that it might be a standing rule of the church. They likewise presented a petition to the queen, complaining, that in the convocation called in the year 1700, after an interruption of ten years, several questions having arisen concerning the rights and liberties of the lower house, the bishops had refused a verbal conference; and afterwards declined a proposal to submit the dispute to her majesty’s determination; they therefore fled for protection to her majesty, begging she would call the question into her own royal audience. The queen promised to consider their petition, which was supported by the earl of Nottingham; and ordered their council to examine the affair, how it consisted with law and custom. Whether their report was unfavourable to the lower house, or the queen was unwilling to encourage the division, no other answer was made to their address. The archbishop replied to their request presented to the upper house, concerning the divine right of presbytery, that the preface to the form of ordination contained a declaration of three orders of ministers from the times of the apostles; namely, bishops, priests, and deacons, to which they had subscribed; but he and his brethren conceived, that without a royal license, they had not authority to attempt, enact, promulge, or execute any canon, which should concern either doctrine or discipline. The lower house answered this declaration in very petulant terms; and the dispute subsisted when the parliament was prorogued. But these contests produced divisions through the whole body of the clergy, who ranged themselves in different factions, distinguished by the names of high-church and low-church. The first consisted of ecclesiastical tories; the other included those who professed revolution principles, and recommended moderation towards the dissenters. The high-church party reproached the other as time-servers, and presbyterians in disguise; and were in their turn stigmatized as the friends and abettors of tyranny and persecution. At present, however, the tories both in church and state triumphed in the favour of their sovereign. The right of parliaments, the memory of the late king, and even the act limiting the succession of the house of Hanover, became the subjects of ridicule. The queen was flattered as possessor of the prerogatives of the ancient monarchy; the history written by her grandfather, the earl of Clarendon, was now for the first time published, to inculcate the principles of obedience, and inspire the people with an abhorrence of opposition to an anointed sovereign. Her majesty’s hereditary right was deduced from Edward the Confessor, and as heir of his pretended sanctity and virtue, she was persuaded to touch persons afflicted with the king’s evil, according to the office inserted in the Liturgy for this occasion.

ACCOUNT OF PARTIES IN SCOTLAND.

The change of the ministry in Scotland seemed favourable to the episcopalians and anti-revolutioners of that kingdom. The earls of Marchmont, Melvil, Selkirk, Leven, and Hyndford, were laid aside; the earl of Seafield was appointed chancellor; the duke of Queensberry and the lord viscount Tarbat, were declared secretaries of state; the marquis of Annandale was made president of the council, and the earl of Tullibardin, lord privy-seal. A new parliament having been summoned, the earl of Seafield employed his influence so successfully, that a great number of anti-revolutioners were returned as members. The duke of Hamilton had obtained from the queen a letter to the privy-council in Scotland, in which she expressed her desire that the presbyterian clergy should live in brotherly love and communion with such dissenting ministers of the reformed religion as were in possession of benefices, and lived with decency, and submission to the law. The episcopal clergy, encouraged by these expressions in their favour, drew up an address to the queen, imploring her protection; and humbly beseeching her to allow those parishes in which there was a majority of episcopal freeholders, to bestow the benefice on ministers of their principles. This petition was presented by Dr. Skeen and Dr. Scot, who were introduced by the duke of Queensberry to her majesty. She assured them of her protection and endeavours to supply their necessities; and exhorted them to live in peace and christian love with the clergy, who were by law invested with the church-government in her ancient kingdom of Scotland. A proclamation of indemnity having been published in March, a great number of Jacobites returned from France and other countries, pretended to have changed their sentiments, and took the oaths, that they might be qualified to sit in parliament. They formed an accession to the strength of the anti-revolutioners and episcopalians, who now hoped to out-number the presbyterians, and outweigh their interest. But this confederacy was composed of dissonant parts, from which no harmony could be expected. The presbyterians and revolutioners were headed by the duke of Argyle. The country party of malcontents, which took its rise from the disappointments of the Darien settlement, acted under the auspices of the duke of Hamilton and marquis of Tweedale; and the earl of Hume appeared as chief of the anti-revolutioners. The different parties who now united, pursued the most opposite ends. The majority of the country party were friends to the revolution, and sought only redress of the grievances which the nation had sustained in the late reign. The anti-revolutioners considered the accession and government of king William as an extraordinary event, which they were willing to forget, believing that all parties were safe under the shelter of her majesty’s general indemnity. The Jacobites submitted to the queen, as tutrix or regent for the prince of Wales, whom they firmly believed she intended to establish on the throne. The whigs under Argyle, alarmed at the coalition of all their enemies, resolved to procure a parliamentary sanction for the revolution.

DANGEROUS HEATS IN THE PARLIAMENT.

The parliament being opened on the sixth day of May at Edinburgh, by the duke of Queensberry as commissioner, the queen’s letter was read, in which she demanded a supply for the maintenance of the forces, advised them to encourage trade, and exhorted them to proceed with wisdom, prudence, and unanimity. The duke of Hamilton immediately offered the draft of a bill for recognising her majesty’s undoubted right and title to the imperial crown of Scotland, according to the declaration of the estates of the kingdom, containing the claim of right. It was immediately received; and at the second reading, the queen’s advocate offered an additional clause, denouncing the penalties of treason against any person who should question her majesty’s right and title to the crown, or her exercise of the government, from her actual entry to the same. This, after a long and warm debate, was carried by the concurrence of the anti-revolutioners. Then the earl of Hume produced the draft of a bill for the supply; immediately after it was read, the marquis of Tweedale made an overture, that, before all other business, the parliament would proceed to make such conditions of government, and regulations in the constitution of the kingdom, to take place after the decease of her majesty and the heirs of her body, as should be necessary for the preservation of their religion and liberty. This overture and the bill were ordered to lie upon the table; and in the meantime the commissioner found himself involved in great perplexity. The duke of Argyle, the marquis of Annandale, and the earl of Marchmont, gave him to understand in private, that they were resolved to move for an act ratifying the revolution; and for another confirming the presbyterian government; that they would insist upon their being discussed before the bill of supply, and that they were certain of carrying the points at which they aimed. The commissioner now found himself reduced to a very disagreeable alternative. There was a necessity for relinquishing all hope of a supply, or abandoning the anti-revolutioners, to whom he was connected by promises of concurrence. The whigs were determined to oppose all schemes of supply that should come from the cavaliers; and these last resolved to exert their whole power in preventing the confirmation of the revolution and the presbyterian discipline. He foresaw that on this occasion the whigs would be joined by the duke of Hamilton and his party, so as to preponderate against the cavaliers. He endeavoured to cajole both parties; but found the task impracticable. He desired in parliament, that the act for the supply might be read, promising that they should have full time afterwards to deliberate on other subjects. The marquis of Tweedale insisted upon his overture; and after warm debates, the house resolved to proceed with such acts as might be necessary for securing the religion, liberty, and trade of the nation, before any bill for supply or other business should be discussed. The marquis of Athol offered an act for the security of the kingdom, in case of her majesty’s decease; but before it was read, the duke of Argyle presented his draft of a bill for ratifying the revolution, and all the acts following thereupon, An act for limiting the succession after the death of her majesty, and the heirs of her body, was produced by Mr. Fletcher of Saltoun. The earl of Rothes recommended another, importing, that after her majesty’s death, and failing heirs of her body, no person coming to the crown of Scotland, being at the same time king or queen of England, should as king or queen of Scotland, have power to make peace or war without the con* sent of parliament. The earl of Marchmont recited the draft of an act for securing the true protestant religion and presbyterian government; one was also suggested by sir Patrick Johnston, allowing the importation of wines, and other foreign liquors. All these bills were ordered to lie upon the table. Then the earl of Strath-more produced an act for toleration to all protestants in the exercise of religious worship. But against this the general assembly presented a most violent remonstrance; and the promoters of the bill, foreseeing that it would meet with great opposition, allowed it to drop for the present. On the third day of June, the parliament passed the act for preserving the true reformed protestant religion, and confirming presbyterian church government, as agreeable to the word of God, and the only government of Christ’s church within the kingdom. The same party enjoyed a further triumph in the success of Argyle’s act, for ratifying and perpetuating the first act of king William’s parliament; for declaring it high treason to disown the authority of that parliament, or to alter or renovate the claim of right or any article thereof. This last clause was strenuously opposed; but at last the bill passed with the concurrence of all the ministry, except the marquis of Athol and the viscount Tarbat, who began at this period to correspond with the opposite party.

THE COMMISSIONER IS ABANDONED BY THE CAVALIERS.

The cavaliers thinking themselves betrayed by the duke of Queensberry, who had assented to these acts, first expostulated with him on his breach of promise, and then renounced his interest, resolving to separate themselves from the court, and jointly pursue such measures as might be for the interest of their party. But of all the bills that were produced in the course of this remarkable session, that which produced the most violent altercation was the act of security, calculated to abridge the prerogative of the crown, limit the successor, and throw a vast additional power into the hands of the parliament. It was considered paragraph by paragraph; many additions and alterations were proposed, and some adopted; inflammatory speeches were uttered; bitter sarcasms retorted from party to party; and different votes passed on different clauses. At length, in spite of the most obstinate opposition from the ministry and the cavaliers, it was passed by a majority of fifty-nine voices. The commissioner was importuned to give it the royal assent; but declined answering their entreaties till the tenth day of September. Then he made a speech in parliament, giving them to understand that he had received the queen’s pleasure, and was empowered to give the royal assent to all the acts voted in this session, except the act for the security of the kingdom. A motion was made to solicit the royal assent in an address to her majesty; but the question being put, it was carried in the negative by a small majority. On the sixth day of the same month, the earl of Marchmont had produced a bill to settle the succession on the house of Hanover. At first the import of it was not known; but when the clerk in reading it mentioned the princess Sophia, the whole house was kindled into a flame. Some proposed that the overture should be burned; others moved that the earl might be sent prisoner to the castle; and a general dissatisfaction appeared in the whole assembly. Not that the majority in parliament were averse to the succession in the house of Hanover; but they resolved to avoid a nomination without stipulating conditions; and they had already provided, in the act of security, that it should be high treason to own any person as king or queen after her majesty’s decease, until he or she should take the coronation oath, and accept the terms of the claim of right, and such conditions as should be settled in this or any ensuing parliament.

HE IS IN DANGER OF HIS LIFE.

Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, a man of undaunted courage and inflexible integrity, who professed republican principles, and seemed designed by nature as a member of some Grecian commonwealth, after having observed that the nation would be enslaved should it submit, either willingly or by commission, to the successor of England, without such conditions of government as should secure them against the influence of an English ministry, offered the draft of an act, importing, that after the decease of her majesty, without heirs of her body, no person being successor to the English throne should succeed to the crown of Scotland but under the following limitations, which, together with the coronation oath and claim of right, they should swear to observe: namely, that all offices and places, civil and military, as well as pensions, should for the future be conferred by a parliament to be chosen at every Michaelmas head-court, to sit on the first day of November, and adjourn themselves from time to time till the ensuing Michaelmas; that they should choose their own president; that a committee of six-and-thirty members, chosen out of the whole parliament, without distinction of estates, should, during the intervals of parliament, be vested, under the king, with the administration of the government, act as his council, be accountable to parliament, and call it together on extraordinary occasions. He proposed that the successor should be nominated by the majority; declaring for himself that he would rather concur in nominating the most rigid papist with those conditions, than the truest protestant without them. The motion was seconded by many members; and though postponed for the present, in favour of an act of trade under the consideration of the house, it was afterwards resumed with great warmth. In vain the lord-treasurer represented that no funds were as yet provided for the army, and moved for a reading of the act presented for that purpose; a certain member observed, that this was a very unseasonable juncture to propose a supply, when the house had so much to do for the security of the nation; he said they had very little encouragement to grant supplies when they found themselves frustrated of all their labour and expense for these several months; and when the whole kingdom saw that supplies served for no other use but to gratify the warice of some insatiable ministers. Mr. Fletcher expatiated upon the good consequences that would arise from the act which he had proposed. The chancellor answered, that such an act was laying a scheme for a commonwealth, and tending to innovate the constitution of a monarchy. The ministry proposed a state of a vote, whether they should first give a reading to Fletcher’s act or to the act of subsidy. The country party moved that the question might be, “Overtures for subsidies, or overtures for liberty.” Fletcher withdrew his act, rather than people should pervert the meaning of laudable designs. The house resounded with the cry of “Liberty or Subsidy.” Bitter invectives were uttered against the ministry. One member said it was now plain the nation was to expect no other return for their expense and toil than that of being loaded with a subsidy, and being obliged to bend their necks under the yoke of slavery, which was prepared for them from that throne; another observed, that as their liberties were suppressed, so the privileges of parliament were like to be torn from them; but that he would venture his life in defence of his birthright, and rather die a free man than live a slave. When the vote was demanded, and declined by the commissioner, the earl of Roxburgh declared, that if there was no other way of obtaining so natural and undeniable a privilege of parliament, they would demand it with their swords in their hands. The commissioner, foreseeing this spirit of freedom and contradiction, ordered the foot-guard to be in readiness, and placed a strong guard upon the eastern gate of the city. Notwithstanding these precautions, he ran the risk of being torn to pieces; and, in this apprehension, ordered the chancellor to inform the house that the parliament should proceed upon overtures for liberty at their next sitting. This promise allayed the ferment which had begun to rise. Next day the members prepared an overture, implying, that the elective members should be chosen for every seat at the Michaelmas head courts; that a parliament should be held once in two years at least; that the short adjournments de die in diem should be made by the parliaments themselves as in England; and that no officer in the army, customs, or excise, nor any gratuitous pensioner, should sit as an elective member. The commissioner being apprised of their proceedings, called for such acts as he was empowered to pass, and having given the royal assent to them, prorogued the parliament to the twelfth day of October. 117 [See note X, at the end of this Vol.] Such was the issue of this remarkable session of the Scottish parliament, in which the duke of Queensberry was abandoned by the greatest part of the ministry; and such a spirit of ferocity and opposition prevailed, as threatened the whole kingdom with civil war and confusion. The queen conferred titles upon those who appeared to have influence in the nation 118 [See note Y, at the end of this Vol.] and attachment to her government, and revived the order of the thistle, which the late king had dropped.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.

Ireland was filled with discontent by the behaviour and conduct of the trustees for the forfeited estates. The earl of Rochester had contributed to foment the troubles of the kingdom by encouraging the factions which had been imported from England. The duke of Ormond was received with open arms as heir to the virtues of his ancestors, who had been the bulwarks of the protestant interest in Ireland. He opened the parliament on the twenty-first day of September, with a speech to both houses, in which he told them that his inclination, his interest, and the examples of progenitors, were indispensable obligations upon him to improve every opportunity to the advantage and prosperity of his native country. The commons having chosen Allen Broderick to be their speaker, proceeded to draw up very affectionate addresses to the queen and the lord lieutenant. In that to the queen they complained that their enemies had misrepresented them, as desirous of being independent of the crown of England; they, therefore, to vindicate themselves from such false aspersions, declared and acknowledged that the kingdom of Ireland was annexed and united to the imperial crown of England. In order to express their hatred of the trustees, they resolved, that all the protestant freeholders of that kingdom had been falsely and maliciously misrepresented, traduced, and abused, in a book entitled, “The Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Irish Forfeitures;” and it appearing that Francis Annesley, member of the house, John Trenchard, Henry Langford, and James Hamilton, were authors of that book, they further resolved, that these persons had scandalously and maliciously misrepresented and traduced the protestant freeholders of that kingdom, and endeavoured to create a misunderstanding and jealousy between the people of England and the protestants of Ireland. Annesley was expelled the house, Hamilton was dead, and Trenchard had returned to England. They had finished the inquiry before the meeting of this parliament; and sold at an undervalue the best of the forfeited estates to the sword-blade company of England. This, in a petition to the Irish parliament, prayed that heads of a bill be brought in for enabling them to take conveyance of lands in Ireland; but the parliament was very little disposed to confirm the bargains of the trustees, and the petition lay neglected on the table. The house expelled John Asgil, who, as agent to the sword-blade company, had offered to lend money to the public in Ireland, on condition that the parliament would pass an act to confirm the company’s purchase of the forfeited estates. His constituents disowned his proposal; and when he was summoned to appear before the house, and answer for his prevarication, he pleaded his privilege as member of the English parliament. The commons, in a representation of the state and grievances of the nation, gave her majesty to understand that the constitution of Ireland had been of late greatly shaken; and their lives, liberties, and estates, called in question, and tried in a manner unknown to their ancestors; that the expense to which they had been unnecessarily exposed by the late trustees for the forfeited estates, in defending their just rights and titles, had exceeded in value the current cash of the kingdom; that their trade was decayed, their money exhausted; and that they were hindered from maintaining their own manufactures; that many protestant families had been constrained to quit the kingdom in order to earn a livelihood in foreign countries; that the want of frequent parliaments in Ireland had encouraged evil-minded men to oppress the subject; that many civil officers had acquired great fortunes in that impoverished country, by the exercise of corruption and oppression; that others, in considerable employments, resided in another kingdom, neglecting personal attendance on their duty, while their offices were ill executed, to the detriment of the public, and the failure of justice. They declared, that it was from her majesty’s gracious interposition alone they proposed to themselves relief from those their manifold grievances and misfortunes. The commons afterwards voted the necessary supplies, and granted one hundred and fifty thousand pounds to make good the deficiencies of the necessary branches of the establishment.

A SEVERE ACT PASSED AGAINST PAPISTS.

They appointed a committee to inspect the public accounts, by which they discovered that above one hundred thousand pounds had been falsely charged as a debt upon the nation. The committee was thanked by the house for having saved this sum, and ordered to examine what persons were concerned in such a misrepresentation, which was generally imputed to those who acted under the duke of Ormond. He himself was a nobleman of honour and generosity, addicted to pleasure, and fond of popular applause; but he was surrounded by people of more sordid principles, who had ingratiated themselves into his confidence by the arts of adulation. The commons voted a provision for the half-pay officers; and abolished pensions to the amount of seventeen thousand pounds a-year, as unnecessary branches of the establishment. They passed an act settling the succession of the crown after the pattern set them by England; but the most important transaction of this session was a severe bill to prevent the growth of popery. It bore a strong affinity to that which had passed three years before in England; but contained more effectual clauses. Among others it enacted, that all estates of papists should be equally divided among the children, notwithstanding any settlement to the contrary, unless the person to whom they might be settled should qualify themselves by taking the oaths, and communicating with the church of England. The bill was not at all agreeable to the ministry in England, who expected large presents from the papists, by whom a considerable sum had been actually raised for this purpose. But as they did not think proper to reject such a bill while the English parliament was sitting, they added a clause which they hoped the parliament of Ireland would refuse: namely, that no persons in that kingdom should be capable of any employment, or of being in the magistracy of any city, who did not qualify themselves by receiving the sacrament according to the test act passed in England. Though this was certainly a great hardship on the dissenters, the parliament of Ireland sacrificed this consideration to their common security against the Roman catholics, and accepted the amendment without hesitation. This affair being discussed, the commons of Ireland passed a vote against a book entitled, “Memoirs of the late king James II.” as a seditious libel. They ordered it to be burned by the hands of the common hangman; and the bookseller and printer to be prosecuted. When this motion was made, a member informed the house that in the county of Limerick the Irish papists had begun to form themselves into bodies, to plunder the protestants of their arms and money; and to maintain a correspondence with the disaffected in England. The house immediately resolved, that the papists of the kingdom still retained hopes of the accession of the person known by the name of the Prince of Wales in the life-time of the late king James, and now by the name of James III. In the midst of this zeal against popery and the pretender, they were suddenly adjourned by the command of the lord-lieutenant, and broke up in great animosity against that nobleman. 119 [See note Z, at the end of this Vol.]

THE ELECTOR TAKES POSSESSION OF RATISBON.

The attention of the English ministry had been for some time chiefly engrossed by the affairs of the continent. The emperor agreed with the allies that his son, the archduke Charles should assume the title of king of Spain, demand the infanta of Portugal in marriage, and undertake something of importance, with the assistance of the maritime powers. Mr. Methuen, the English minister at Lisbon, had already made some progress in a treaty with his Portuguese majesty; and the court of Vienna promised to send such an army into the field as would in a little time drive the elector of Bavaria from his dominions. But they were so dilatory in their preparations, that the French king broke all their measures by sending powerful reinforcements to the elector, in whose ability and attachment Louis reposed great confidence. Mareschal Villars, who commanded an army of thirty thousand men at Strasburgh, passed the Rhine and reduced fort Kehl, the garrison of which was conducted to Philipsburgh. The emperor, alarmed at this event, ordered count Schlick to enter Bwaria on the side of Saltsburgh, with a considerable body of forces; and sent another, under count Stirum, to invade the same electorate by the way of Newmark, which was surrendered to him after he had routed a party of Bavarians; the city of Amberg met with the same fate. Meanwhile count Schlick defeated a body of militia that defended the lines of Saltsburgh, and made himself master of Biedt, and several other places. The elector assembling his forces near Brenau, diffused a report that he intended to besiege Passau, to cover which place Schlick advanced with the greatest part of his infantry, leaving behind his cavalry and cannon. The elector having by this feint divided the Imperialists, passed the bridge of Scardingen with twelve thousand men, and, after an obstinate engagement, compelled the Imperialists to abandon the field of battle; then he marched against the Saxon troops which guarded the artillery, and attacked them with such impetuosity that they were entirely defeated. In a few days after these actions, he took Newburgh on the Inn by capitulation. He obtained another advantage over an advanced post of the Imperialists near Burgenfeldt, commanded by the young prince of Brandenburgh Anspach, who was mortally wounded in the engagement. He advanced to Batisbon, where the diet of the empire was assembled, and demanded that he should be immediately put in possession of the bridge and gate of the city. The burghers immediately took to their arms, and planted cannon on the ramparts; but when they saw a battery erected against them, and the elector determined to bombard the place, they thought proper to capitulate, and comply with his demands. He took possession of the town on the eighth day of April, and signed an instrument obliging himself to withdraw his troops as soon as the emperor should ratify the diet’s resolution for the neutrality of Ratisbon. Mareschal Villars having received orders to join the elector at all events, and being reinforced by a body of troops under count Tallard, resolved to break through the lines which the prince of Baden had made at Stolhoffen. This general had been luckily joined by eight Dutch battalions, and received the French army, though double his number, with such obstinate resolution, that Villars was obliged to retreat with great loss, and directed his route towards Offingen. Nevertheless he penetrated through the Black Forest, and effected a junction with the elector. Count Stirum endeavoured to join prince Louis of Baden; but being attacked near Schwemmingen, retired under the cannon of Nortlingen.

THE ALLIES REDUCE BONNE.

The confederates were more successful on the Lower Rhine and in the Netherlands. The duke of Marlborough crossed the sea in the beginning of April, and assembling the allied army, resolved that the campaign should be begun with the siege of Bonne, which was accordingly invested on the twenty-fourth day of April. Three different attacks were carried on against this place: one by the hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel; another by the celebrated Coehorn; and a third by lieutenant-general Fagel. The garrison defended themselves vigorously till the fourteenth day of May, when the fort having been taken by assault, and the breaches rendered practicable, the marquis d’Alegre, the governor, ordered a parley to be beat; hostages were immediately exchanged; on the sixteenth the capitulation was signed; and in three days the garrison evacuated the place in order to be conducted to Luxembourg. During the siege of Bonne, the mareschals Boufflers and Villeroy advanced with an army of forty thousand men towards Tongeren, and the confederate army, commanded by M. d’Auverquerque, was obliged at their approach to retreat under the cannon of Maestricht. The enemy having taken possession of Tongeren, made a motion against the confederate army, which they found already drawn up in order of battle, and so advantageously posted, that, notwithstanding their great superiority in point of number, they would not hazard an attack, but retired to the ground from whence they had advanced. Immediately after the reduction of Bonne, the duke of Marlborough, who had been present at the siege, returned to the confederate army in the Netherlands, now amounting to one hundred and thirty squadrons, and fifty-nine battalions. On the twenty-fifth day of May, the duke having passed the river Jecker in order to give battle to the enemy, they marched with precipitation to Boekwren, and abandoned Tongeren, after having blown up the walls of the place with gunpowder. The duke continued to follow them to Thys, where he encamped, while they retreated to Hannye, retiring as he advanced. Then he resolved to force their lines: this service was effectually performed by Coehorn, at the point of Callo, and by baron Spaar, in the county of Waes, near Stoken. The duke had formed the design of reducing Antwerp, which was garrisoned by Spanish troops under the command of the marquis de Bedmar. He intended with the grand army to attack the enemy’s lines on the side of Louvaine and Mechlin: he detached Coehorn with his flying camp on the right of the Scheldt towards Dutch Flanders, to amuse the marquis de Bed-mar on that side; and he ordered the baron Opdam, with twelve thousand men, to take post between Eckeren and Capelle, near Antwerp, that he might act against that part of the lines which was guarded by the Spanish forces.

BATTLE OF ECKEREN.

The French generals, in order to frustrate the scheme of Marlborough, resolved to cut off the retreat of Opdam. Boufflers, with a detachment of twenty thousand men from Villeroy’s army, surprised him at Eckeren, where the Dutch were put in disorder; and Opdam, believing all was lost, fled to Breda. Nevertheless, the troops rallying under general Schlangenburg, maintained their ground with the most obstinate valour till night, when the enemy was obliged to retire, and left the communication free with fort Lillo, to which place the confederates marched without further molestation, having lost about fifteen hundred men in the engagement. The damage sustained by the French was more considerable. They were frustrated in their design, and had actually abandoned the field of battle; yet Louis ordered Te Deum to be sung for the victory; nevertheless Boufflers was censured for his conduct on this occasion, and in a little time totally disgraced. Opdam presented a justification of his conduct to the states-general; but by this oversight he forfeited the fruits of a long service, during which he had exhibited repeated proofs of courage, zeal, and capacity. The states honoured Schlangenburg with a letter of thanks for the valour and skill he had manifested in this engagement; but in a little time they dismissed him from his employment on account of his having given umbrage to the duke of Marlborough, by censuring his grace for exposing such a small number of men to this disaster. After this action, Villeroy, who lay encamped near Saint Job, declared he waited for the duke of Marlborough, who forthwith advanced to Hoogstraat, with a view to give him battle; but at his approach the French general, setting fire to his camp, retired within his lines with great precipitation. Then the duke invested Huy, the garrison of which, after a vigorous defence, surrendered themselves prisoners of war on the twenty-seventh day of August. At a council of war held in the camp of the confederates, the duke proposed to attack the enemies’ lines between the Mehaigne and Leuwe, and was seconded by the Danish, Hanoverian, and Hessian generals; but the scheme was opposed by the Dutch officers, and the deputies of the states, who alleged that the success was dubious, and the consequences of forcing the lines would be inconsiderable; they therefore recommended the siege of Limburgh, by the reduction of which they would acquire a whole province, and cover their own country, as well as Juliers and Gueldres, from the designs of the enemy. The siege of Limburgh was accordingly undertaken. The trenches were opened on the five-and-twentieth day of September, and in two days the place was surrendered; the garrison remaining prisoners of war. By this conquest the allies secured the country of Liege, and the electorate of Cologn, from the incursions of the enemy; before the end of the year they remained masters of the whole Spanish Guelderland, by the reduction of Gueldres, which surrendered on the seventeenth day of September, after having been long blockaded, bombarded, and reduced to a heap of ashes, by the Prussian general Lottum. Such was the campaign in the Netherlands, which in all probability would have produced events of greater importance, had not the duke of Marlborough been restricted by the deputies of the states-general, who began to be influenced by the intrigues of the Louvestein faction, ever averse to a single dictator.

PRINCE OF HESSE DEFEATED BY THE FRENCH.

The French king redoubled his efforts in Germany. The duke de Vendôme was ordered to march from the Milanese to Tyrol, and there join the elector of Bwaria, who had already made himself master of Inspruck. But the boors rising in arms, drove him out of the country before he could be joined by the French general, who was therefore obliged to return to the Milanese. The Imperialists in Italy were so ill supplied by the court of Vienna, that they could not pretend to act offensively. The French invested Ostiglia, which, however, they could not reduce; but the fortress of Barsillo, in the duchy of Beggio, capitulating after a long blockade, they took possession of the duke of Modena’s country. The elector of Bwaria rejoining Villars, resolved to attack count Stirum, whom prince Louis of Baden had detached from his army. With this view they passed the Danube at Donawert, and discharged six guns as a signal for the marquis D’Usson, whom they had left in the camp at Lavingen, to fall upon the rear of the imperialists, while they should charge them in front. Stirum no sooner perceived the signal than he guessed the intention of the enemy, and instantly resolved to attack D’Usson before the elector and the mareschal should advance. He accordingly charged him at the head of some select squadrons with such impetuosity, that the French cavalry were totally defeated; and all his infantry would have been killed and taken, had not the elector and Villars come up in time to turn the fate of the day. The action continued from six in the morning till four in the afternoon, when Stirum, being overpowered by numbers, was obliged to retreat to Norlin-gen, with the loss of twelve thousand men, and all his baggage and artillery. In the meantime the duke of Burgundy, assisted by Tallard, undertook the siege of Old Brisac, with a prodigious train of artillery. The place was very strongly fortified, though the garrison was small and ill provided with necessaries. In fourteen days the governor surrendered the place, and was condemned to lose his head for having made such a slender defence. The duke of Burgundy returned in triumph to Versailles, and Tallard was ordered to invest Landau. The prince of Hesse-Cassel being detached from the Netherlands for the relief of the place, joined the count of Nassau-Weilbourg, general of the Palatine forces, near Spires, where they resolved to attack the French in their lines. But by this time Mons. Pracon-tal, with ten thousand men, had joined Tallard, and enabled him to strike a stroke which proved decisive. He suddenly quitted his lines, and surprised the prince at Spirebach, where the French obtained a complete victory after a very obstinate and bloody engagement, in which the prince of Hesse distinguished himself by uncommon marks of courage and presence of mind. Three horses were successively killed under him, and he slew a French officer with his own hand. After incredible efforts, he was fain to retreat with the loss of some thousands. The French paid dear for their victory, Pracontal having been slain in the action. Nevertheless they resumed the siege, and the place was surrendered by capitulation. The campaign in Germany was finished by the reduction of Augsburg by the elector of Bwaria, who took it in the month of December, and agreed to its being secured by a French garrison.

TREATY BETWEEN THE EMPEROR AND THE DUKE OF SAVOY.

The emperor’s affairs at this juncture wore a very unpromising aspect. The Hungarians were fleeced and barbarously oppressed by those to whom he intrusted the government of their country. They derived courage from despair. They seized this opportunity, when the emperor’s forces were divided, and his councils distracted, to exert themselves in defence of their liberties. They ran to arms under the auspices of prince Ragotzki. They demanded that their grievances should be redressed, and their privileges restored. Their resentment was kept up by the emissaries of France and Bwaria, who likewise encouraged them to persevere in their revolt, by repeated promises of protection and assistance. The emperor’s prospect, however, was soon mended by two incidents of very great consequence to his interest. The duke of Savoy foreseeing how much he should be exposed to the mercy of the French king, should that monarch become master of the Milanese, engaged in a secret negotiation with the emperor, which, notwithstanding all his caution, was discovered by the court of Versailles. Louis immediately ordered the duke of Vendôme to disarm the troops of Savoy that were in his army, to the number of two-and-twenty thousand men; to insist upon the duke’s putting him in possession of four considerable fortresses; and demand that the number of his troops should be reduced to the establishment stipulated in the treaty of 1696. The duke, exasperated at these insults, ordered the French ambassador, and several officers of the same nation, to be arrested. Louis endeavoured to intimidate him by a menacing letter, in which he gave him to understand that since neither religion, honour, interest, nor alliances, had been able to influence his conduct, the duke de Vendôme should make known the intentions of the French monarch, and allow him four-and-twenty hours to deliberate on the measures he should pursue. This letter was answered by a manifesto: in the meantime the duke concluded a treaty with the court of Vienna; acknowledged the archduke Charles as king of Spain; and sent envoys to England and Holland. Queen Anne, knowing his importance as well as his selfish disposition, assured him of her friendship and assistance; and both she and the states sent ambassadors to Turin. He was immediately joined by a body of imperial horse under Visconti, and afterwards by count Staremberg, at the head of fifteen thousand men, with whom that general marched from the Modenese in the worst season of the year, through an enemy’s country, and roads that were deemed impassable. In vain the French forces harassed him in his march, and even surrounded him in many different places on the route: he surmounted all these difficulties with incredible courage and perseverance, and joined the duke of Savoy at Canelli, so as to secure the country of Piedmont. The other incident which proved so favourable to the imperial interest, was a treaty by which the king of Portugal acceded to the grand alliance. His ministry perceived that should Spain be once united to the crown of France, their master would sit very insecure upon his throne. They were intimidated by the united fleets of the maritime powers, which maintained the empire of the sea; and they were allured by the splendour of a match between their infanta and the archduke Charles, to whom the emperor and the king of the Romans promised to transfer all their pretensions to the Spanish crown. By this treaty, concluded at Lisbon between the emperor, the queen of Great Britain, the king of Portugal, and the states-general, it was stipulated that king Charles should be conveyed to Portugal by a powerful fleet, having on board twelve thousand soldiers, with a great supply of money, arms, and ammunition; and that he should be joined immediately upon his landing by an army of eight-and-twenty thousand Portuguese.

SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL SAILS WITH A FLEET.

The confederates reaped very little advantage from the naval operations of this summer. Sir George Rooke cruised in the channel, in order to alarm the coast of France, and protect the trade of England. On the first day of July, sir Cloudesley Shovel sailed from St. Helen’s with the combined squadrons of England and Holland: he directed his course to the Mediterranean, and being reduced to great difficulty by want of water, steered to Altea, on the coast of Valentia, where brigadier Seymour landed, and encamped with five-and-twenty hundred marines. The admiral published a short manifesto, signifying that he was not come to disturb but to protect the good subjects of Spain, who should swear allegiance to their lawful monarch the archduke Charles, and endeavour to shake off the yoke of France. This declaration produced little or no effect; and the fleet being watered, sir Cloudesley sailed to Leghorn. One design of this armament was to assist the Cevennois, who had in the course of the preceding year been persecuted into a revolt on account of religion, and implored the assistance of England and the states-general. The admiral detached two ships into the gulf of Narbonne, with some refugees and French pilots, who had concerted signals with the Cevennois; but the mareschal de Montrevil having received intimation of their design, took such measures as prevented all communication; and the English captains having repeated their signals to no purpose, rejoined sir Cloudesley at Leghorn. This admiral, having renewed the peace with the piratical states of Barbary, returned to England without having taken one effectual step for annoying the enemy, or attempted any thing that looked like the result of a concerted scheme for that purpose. The nation naturally murmured at the fruitless expedition, by which it had incurred such a considerable expense. The merchants complained that they were ill supplied with convoys. The ships of war were victualled with damaged provisions; and every article of the marine being mismanaged, the blame fell upon those who acted as council to the lord high-admiral.

ADMIRAL GRAYDON’S BOOTLESS EXPEDITION.

Nor were the arms of England by sea much more successful in the West Indies. Sir George Rooke, in the preceding year, had detached from the Mediterranean captain Hovenden Walker, with six ships of the line and transports, having on board four regiments of soldiers, for the Leeward islands. Being joined at Antigua by some troops under colonel Codrington, they made a descent upon the island of Guadaloupe, where they razed the fort, burned the town, ravaged the country, and reimbarked with precipitation, in consequence of a report that the French had landed nine hundred men on the back of the island. They retired to Nevis, where they must have perished by famine, had they not been providentially relieved by vice-admiral Graydon, in his way to Jamaica. This officer had been sent out with three ships to succeed Benbow, and was convoyed about one hundred and fifty leagues by two other ships of the line. He had not sailed many days when he fell in with part of the French squadron, commanded by Du Casse, on their return from the West Indies, very full and richly laden. Captain Cleland, of the Montagu, engaged the sternmost; but he was called off by a signal from the admiral, who proceeded on his voyage without taking-further notice of the enemy. When he arrived at Jamaica, he quarrelled with the principal planters of the island; and his ships beginning to be crazy, he resolved to return to England. He accordingly sailed through the gulf of Florida, with a view to attack the French at Placentia in Newfoundland; but his ships were dispersed in a fog that lasted thirty days; and afterwards the council of war which he convoked were of opinion that he could not attack the settlement with any prospect of success. At his return to England, the house of lords, then sitting, set on foot an inquiry into his conduct. They presented an address to the queen, desiring she would remove him from his employments; and he was accordingly dismissed. The only exploit that tended to distress the enemy was performed by rear-admiral Dilkes, who in the month of July sailed to the coast of France with a small squadron; and, in the neighbourhood of Granville, took or destroyed about forty ships and their convoy. Yet this damage was inconsiderable, when compared to that which the English navy sustained from the dreadful tempest that began to blow on the twenty-seventh day of November, accompanied with such flashes of lightning, and peals of thunder, as overwhelmed the whole kingdom with consternation. The houses in London shook from their foundations, and some of them falling buried the inhabitants in their ruins. The water overflowed several streets, and rose to a considerable height in Westminster-hall. London bridge was almost choked with the wrecks of vessels that perished in the river. The loss sustained by the capital was computed at a million sterling; and the city of Bristol suffered to a prodigious amount; but the chief national damage fell upon the navy. Thirteen ships of war were lost, together with fifteen hundred seamen, including rear-admiral Beaumont, who had been employed in observing the Dunkirk squadron, and was then at anchor in the Downs, where his ship foundered. This great loss, however, was repaired with incredible diligence, to the astonishment of all Europe. The queen immediately issued orders for building a greater number of ships than that which had been destroyed; and she exercised her bounty for the relief of the shipwrecked seamen, and the widows of those who were drowned, in such a manner as endeared her to all her subjects.

CHARLES KING OF SPAIN ARRIVES IN ENGLAND.

The emperor having declared his second son, Charles, king of Spain, that young prince set out from Vienna to Holland, and at Dusseldorp was visited by the duke of Marlborough, who, in the name of his mistress, congratulated him upon his accession to the crown of Spain. Charles received him with the most obliging courtesy. In the course of their conversation, taking off his sword he presented it to the English general, with a very gracious aspect, saying, in the French language, “I am not ashamed to own myself a poor prince. I possess nothing but my cloak and sword; the latter may be of use to your grace; and I hope you will not think it the worse for my wearing it one day.”—“On the contrary,” replied the duke, “it will always put me in mind of your majesty’s just right and title, and of the obligations I lie under to hazard my life in making you the greatest prince in Christendom.” This nobleman returned to England in October and king Charles embarking for the same kingdom, under convoy of an English and Dutch squadron, arrived at Spithead on the twenty-sixth day of December. There he was received by the dukes of Somerset and Marlborough, who conducted him to Windsor; and on the road he was met by prince George of Denmark. The queen’s deportment towards him was equally noble and obliging; and he expressed the most profound respect and veneration for this illustrious princess. He spoke but little; yet what he said was judicious; and he behaved with such politeness and affability, as conciliated the affection of the English nobility. After having been magnificently entertained for three days, he returned to Portsmouth, from whence on the fourth of January he sailed for Portugal, with a great fleet commanded by sir George Rooke, having on board a body of land forces under the duke of Schomberg. When the admiral had almost reached Cape Finisterre, he was driven back by a storm to Spithead, where he was obliged to remain till the middle of February. Then being favoured with a fair wind, he happily performed the voyage to Lisbon, where king Charles was received with great splendour, though the court of Portugal was overspread with sorrow excited by the death of the infanta, whom the king of Spain intended to espouse. In Poland all hope of peace seemed to vanish. The cardinal-primate, by the instigation of the Swedish king, whose army lay encamped in the neighbourhood of Dantzick, assembled a diet at Warsaw, which solemnly deposed Augustus, and declared the throne vacant. Their intention was to elect young Sobieski, son of their late monarch, who resided at Breslau in Silesia: but their scheme was anticipated by Augustus, who retired hastily into his Saxon dominions, and seizing Sobieski, with his brother, secured them as prisoners at Dresden.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Commons revive the Bill against occasional Conformity..... Conspiracy trumped up by Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat..... The Lords present a Remonstrance to the Queen..... The Commons pass a Vote in favour of the Karl of Nottingham..... Second Remonstrance of the Lords..... Further Disputes between the two Houses..... The Queen grants the first Fruits and the tenths to the poor Clergy..... Inquiry into Naval Affairs..... Trial of Lindsay..... Meeting of the Scottish Parliament..... Violent Opposition to the Ministry in that Kingdom..... Their Parliament pass the Act of Security..... Melancholy Situation of the Emperor’s Affairs..... The duke of Marlborough marches at the head of the Allied Army into Germany..... He defeats the Bavarians at Schellenberg..... Fruitless Negotiation with the Elector of Bavaria..... The Confederates obtain a complete Victory at Hochstadt..... Siege of Landau..... The Duke of Marlborough returns to England..... State of the War in different parts of Europe..... Campaign in Portugal..... Sir George Rooke takes Gibraltar, and worsts the French Fleet in a Battle off Malaga..... Session of Parliament in England..... An Act of Alienation passed against the Scots..... Manor of Woodstock granted to the Duke of Marlborough..... Disputes between the two Houses on the Subject of the Aylesbury Constables..... The Parliament dissolved..... Proceedings in the Parliament of Scotland..... They pass an Act for a Treaty of Union with England..... Difference between the Parliament and Convocation in Ireland..... Fruitless Campaign on the Moselle..... The Duke of Marlborough forces the French lines in Brabant..... He is prevented by the Deputies of the States from attacking the French Army..... He visits the Imperial Court of Vienna..... State of the War on the Upper Rhine, in Hungary, Piedmont, Portugal, and Poland..... Sir Thomas Dilkes destroys part of the French Fleet, and relieves Gibraltar..... The Earl of Peterborough and Sir Cloudesley Shovel reduce Barcelona..... The Karl’s surprising Progress in Spain..... New Parliament in England..... Bill for a Regency in case of the Queen’s Decease..... Debates in the House of Lords upon the supposed Danger to which the Church was exposed..... The Parliament prorogued..... Disputes in the Convocation..... Conferences opened for a Treaty of Union with Scotland..... Substance of the Treaty.

BILL AGAINST OCCASIONAL CONFORMITY.

When the parliament met in October, the queen in her speech took notice of the declaration by the duke of Savoy, and the treaty with Portugal, as circumstances advantageous to the alliance. She told them, that although no provision was made for the expedition to Lisbon, and the augmentation of the land forces, the funds had answered so well, and the produce of prizes been so considerable, that the public had not run in debt by those additional services; that she had contributed out of her own revenue to the support of the circle of Suabia, whose firm adherence to the interest of the allies deserved her seasonable assistance. She said, she would not engage in any unnecessary expense of her own, that she might have the more to spare towards the ease of her subjects. She recommended despatch and union, and earnestly exhorted them to avoid any heats or divisions that might give encouragement to the common enemies of the church and state. Notwithstanding this admonition, and the addresses of both houses, in which they promised to avoid all divisions, a motion was made in the house of commons for renewing the bill against occasional conformity, and carried by a great majority. In the new draft, however, the penalties were lowered and the severest clauses mitigated. As the court no longer interested itself in the success of this measure, the house was pretty equally divided with respect to the speakers, and the debates on each side were maintained with equal spirit and ability; at length it passed, and was sent up to the lords, who handled it still more severely. It was opposed by a small majority of the bishops, and particularly by Burnet of Sarum, who declaimed against it as a scheme of the papists to set the church and protestants at variance. It was successively attacked by the duke of Devonshire, the earl of Pembroke, the lords Haversham, Mohun, Ferrars, and Wharton. Prince George of Denmark absented himself from the house; and the question being put for a second reading, it was carried in the negative; yet the duke of Marlborough and lord Godolphin entered their dissent against its being rejected, although the former had positively declared that he thought the bill unseasonable. The commons having perused a copy of the treaty with Portugal, voted forty thousand men, including five thousand marines, for the sea service of the ensuing year; and a like number of land forces, to act in conjunction with the allies, besides the additional ten thousand: they likewise resolved, that the proportion to be employed in Portugal should amount to eight thousand. Sums were granted for the maintenance of these great armaments, as well as for the subsidies payable to her majesty’s allies; and funds appointed equal to the occasion. Then they assured the queen, in an address, that they would provide for the support of such alliances as she had made, or should make with the duke of Savoy.

CONSPIRACY OF SIMON FRASER, LORD LOVAT.

At this period the nation was alarmed by the detection of a conspiracy said to be hatched by the Jacobites of Scotland. Simon Fraser, lord Lovat, a man of desperate enterprise, profound dissimulation, abandoned morals, and ruined fortune, who had been outlawed for having ravished a sister of the marquis of Athol, was the person to whom the plot seems to have owed its origin. He repaired to the court of St. Germain’s, where he undertook to assemble a body of twelve thousand highlanders to act in favour of the pretender, if the court of France would assist them with a small reinforcement of troops, together with officers, arms, ammunition, and money. The French king seemed to listen to the proposal; but as Fraser’s character was infamous, he doubted his veracity. He was therefore sent back to Scotland with two other persons, who were instructed to learn the strength and sentiments of the clans, and endeavour to engage some of the nobility in the design of an insurrection. Fraser had no sooner returned, than he privately discovered the whole transaction to the duke of Queensberry, and undertook to make him acquainted with the whole correspondence between the pretender and the Jacobites. In consequence of this service he was provided with a pass, to secure him from all prosecution; and made a progress through the highlands, to sound the inclination of the chieftains. Before he set out on this circuit, he delivered to the duke a letter from the queen dowager at St. Germain’s, directed to the marquis of Athol: it was couched in general terms, and superscribed in a different character; so that, in all probability, Fraser had forged the direction with a view to ruin the marquis, who had prosecuted him for the injury done to his sister. He proposed a second journey to France, where he should be able to discover other more material circumstances; and the duke of Queensberry procured a pass for him to go to Holland from the earl of Nottingham, though it was expedited tinder a borrowed name. The duke had communicated his discovery to the queen without disclosing his name, which he desired might be concealed: her majesty believed the particulars, which were confirmed by her spies at Paris, as well as by the evidence of sir John Maclean, who had lately been convoyed from France to England in an open boat, and apprehended at Feldstone. This gentleman pretended at first that his intention was to go through England to his own country, in order to take the benefit of the queen’s pardon; and this in all probability was his real design; but being given to understand that he would be treated in England as a traitor, unless he should merit forgiveness by making important discoveries, he related all he knew of the proposed insurrection. From his informations the ministry gave directions for apprehending one Keith, whose uncle had accompanied Fraser from France, and knew all the intrigues of the court of St. Germain’s. He declared that there was no other design on foot, except that of paving the way for the pretender’s ascending the throne after the queen’s decease. Ferguson, that veteran conspirator, affirmed that Fraser had been employed by the duke of Queensberry to decoy some persons whom he hated into a conspiracy, that he might have an opportunity to effect their ruin; and by the discovery establish his own credit, which began to totter. Perhaps there was too much reason for this imputation. Among those who were seized at this time was a gentleman of the name of Lindsay, who had been under-secretary to the earl of Middleton. He had returned from France to Scotland in order to take the benefit of the queen’s pardon, under the shelter of which he came to England, thinking himself secure from prosecution. He protested he knew of no designs against the queen or her government; and that he did not believe she would ever receive the least injury or molestation from the court of St. Germain’s. The house of lords having received intimation of this conspiracy, resolved, that a committee should be appointed to examine into the particulars; and ordered that sir John Maclean should be next day brought to their house. The queen, who was far from being pleased with this instance of their officious interposition, gave them to understand by message, that she thought it would be inconvenient to change the method of examination already begun; and that she would in a short time inform the house of the whole affair. On the seventeenth day of December the queen went to the house of peers, and having passed the bill for the land-tax, made a speech to both houses, in which she declared that she had unquestionable information of ill practices and designs carried on by the emissaries of France in Scotland. The lords persisting in their resolution to bring the inquiry into their own house, chose their select committee by ballot; and, in an address, thanked her majesty for the information she had been pleased to communicate.

A REMONSTRANCE PRESENTED TO THE QUEEN.

The commons, taking it for granted that the queen was disobliged at these proceedings of the upper house—which indeed implied an insult upon her ministry, if not upon herself—presented an address, declaring themselves surprised to find that when persons suspected of treasonable practices were taken into custody by her majesty’s messengers in order to be examined, the lords, in violation to the known laws of the land, had wrested them out of her hands, and arrogated the examination solely to themselves; so that a due inquiry into the evil practices and designs against her majesty’s person and government, might in a great measure be obstructed. They earnestly desired that she would suffer no diminution of the prerogative; and they assured her they would, to the utmost of their power, support her in the exercise of it at home, as well as in asserting it against all invasions whatsoever. The queen thanked them for their concern and assurances; and was not ill pleased at the nature of the address, though the charge against the peers was not strictly true; for there were many instances of their having assumed such a right of inquiry. The upper house deeply resented the accusation. They declared, that by the known laws and customs of parliament, they had an undoubted right to take examinations of persons charged with criminal matters, whether those persons were or were not in custody. They resolved, That the address of the commons was unparliamentary, groundless, without precedent, highly injurious to the house of peers, tending to interrupt the good correspondence between the two houses, to create an ill opinion in her majesty of the house of peers, of dangerous consequence to the liberties of the people, the constitution of the kingdom, and privileges of parliament. They presented a long remonstrance to the queen, justifying their own conduct, explaining the steps they had taken, recriminating upon the commons, and expressing the most fervent zeal, duty, and affection to her majesty. In her answer to this representation, which was drawn up with elegance, propriety, and precision, she professed her sorrow for the misunderstanding which had happened between the two houses of parliament, and thanked them for the concern they had expressed for the rights of the crown and the prerogative; which she should never exert so willingly as for the good of her subjects, and the protection of their liberties.

Among other persons seized on the coast of Sussex on their landing from France, was one Boucher, who had been aidecamp to the duke of Berwick. This man, when examined, denied all knowledge of any conspiracy: he said, that being weary of living so long abroad, and having made some unsuccessful attempts to obtain a pass, he had chosen rather to cast himself on the queen’s mercy than to remain longer in exile from his native country. He was tried and condemned for high treason, yet continued to declare himself ignorant of the plot. He proved that in the war of Ireland, as well as in Flanders, he had treated the English prisoners with great humanity. The lords desisted from the prosecution; he obtained a reprieve, and died in Newgate. On the twenty-ninth day of January, the earl of Nottingham told the house that the queen had commanded him to lay before them the papers containing all the particulars hitherto discovered of the conspiracy in Scotland; but that there was one circumstance which could not yet be properly communicated without running the risk of preventing a discovery of greater importance. They forthwith drew up and presented an address, desiring that all the papers might be immediately submitted to their inspection. The queen said she did not expect to be pressed in this manner immediately after the declaration she had made; but in a few days the earl of Nottingham delivered the papers, sealed, to the house, and all the lords were summoned to attend on the eighth day of February, that they might be opened and perused. Nottingham was suspected of a design to stifle the conspiracy. Complaint was made in the house of commons that he had discharged an officer belonging to the late king James, who had been seized by the governor of Berwick. A warm debate ensued, and at length ended in a resolve, That the earl of Nottingham, one of her majesty’s principal secretaries of state, for his great ability and diligence in the execution of his office, for his unquestionable fidelity to the queen and her government, and for his steady adherence to the church of England as by law established, highly merited the trust her majesty had reposed in him. They ordered the speaker to present this resolution to the queen, who said, she was glad to find them so well satisfied with the earl of Nottingham, who was trusted by her in so considerable an office. They perused the examinations of the witnesses which were laid before them, without passing judgment or offering advice on the subject; but they thanked her majesty for having communicated those particulars, as well as for her wisdom and care of the nation. When the lords proceeded with uncommon eagerness in their inquiry, the lower house, in another address, renewed their complaints against the conduct of the peers, which they still affirmed was without a precedent. But this was the language of irritated faction, by which indeed both sides were equally actuated. The select committee of the lords prosecuted the inquiry, and founded their report chiefly on the confession of sir John Maclean, who owned that the court of St. Germain’s had listened to Lovat’s proposal; that several councils had been held at the pretender’s court on the subject of an invasion; and that persons were sent over to sound some of the nobility in Scotland. But the nature of their private correspondence and negotiation could not be discovered. Keith had tampered with his uncle to disclose the whole secret; and this was the circumstance which the queen declined imparting to the lords until she should know the success of his endeavours, which proved ineffectual. The uncle stood aloof; and the ministry did not heartily engage in the inquiry. The house of lords having finished these examinations, and being warmed with violent debates, voted that there had been dangerous plots between some persons in Scotland and the courts of France and St. Germain’s; and that the encouragement for this plotting arose from the not settling the succession to the crown of Scotland in the house of Hanover. These votes were signified to the queen in an address; and they promised, that when the succession should be thus settled, they would endeavour to promote the union of the two kingdoms upon just and reasonable terms. Then they composed another representation in answer to the second address of the commons touching their proceedings. They charged the lower house with want of zeal in the whole progress of this inquiry. They produced a great number of precedents to prove that their conduct had been regular and parliamentary; and they, in their turn, accused the commons of partiality and injustice in vacating legal elections. The queen, in answer to this remonstrance, said, she looked upon any misunderstanding between the two houses as a very great misfortune to the kingdom; and that she should never omit anything in her power to prevent all occasions of them for the future.

DISPUTES BETWEEN THE TWO HOUSES.

The lords and commons, animated by such opposite principles, seized every opportunity of thwarting each other. An action having been brought by one Matthew Ashby against William White and the other constables of Aylesbury, for having denied him the privilege of voting in the last election, the cause was tried at the assizes, and the constables were cast with damages. But an order was given in the queen’s bench to quash all the proceedings, since no action had ever been brought on that account. The cause being moved by writ of error into the house of lords, was argued with great warmth; at length it was carried by a great majority, that the order of the queen’s bench should be set aside, and judgment pronounced according to the verdict given at the assizes. The commons considered these proceedings as encroaching on their privileges. They passed five different resolutions, importing, That the commons of England, in parliament assembled, had the sole right to examine and determine all matters relating to the right of election of their own members; that the practice of determining the qualifications of electors in any court of law would expose all mayors, bailiffs, and returning officers, to a multiplicity of vexatious suits and insupportable expenses, and subject them to different and independent jurisdictions, as well as to inconsistent determinations in the same case, without relief; that Matthew Ashby was guilty of a breach of privilege, as were all attorneys, solicitors, counsellors, and sergeants-at-law, soliciting, prosecuting, or pleading, in any case of the same nature. These resolutions, signed by the clerk, were fixed upon the gate of Westminster-hall. On the other hand, the lords appointed a committee to draw up a state of the case; and, upon their report, resolved, That every person being wilfully hindered to exercise his right of voting, might maintain an action in the queen’s courts against the officer by whom his vote should be refused, to assert his right, and recover damage for the injury; that an assertion to the contrary was destructive of the property of the subjects, against the freedom of elections, and manifestly tended to the encouragement of partiality and corruption; that the declaring of Matthew Ashby guilty of a breach of privilege of the house of commons, was an unprecedented attempt upon the judicature of parliament, and an attempt to subject the law of England to the votes of the house of commons. Copies of the case, and these resolutions, were sent by the lord-keeper to all the sheriffs of England, to be circulated through all the boroughs of their respective counties.

THE QUEEN’S BOUNTY to the POOR CLERGY.

On the seventh day of February, the queen ordered secretary Hedges to tell the house of commons that she had remitted the arrears of the tenths to the poor clergy; that she would grant her whole revenue arising out of the first fruits and tenths, as far as it should become free from incumbrance, as an augmentation of their maintenance; that if the house of commons could find any method by which her intentions to the poor clergy might be made more effectual, it would be an advantage to the public, and acceptable to her majesty. The commons immediately brought in a bill enabling her to alienate this branch of the revenue, and create a corporation by charter, to direct the application of it to the uses proposed; they likewise repealed the statute of mortmain, so far as to allow all men to bequeath by will, or grant by deed, any sum they should think fit to give towards the augmentation of benefices. Addresses of thanks and acknowledgment from all the clergy of England were presented to the queen for her gracious bounty; but very little regard was paid to Burnet, bishop of Sarum, although the queen declared that prelate author of the project. He was generally hated, either as a Scot, a low-churchman, or a meddling partisan.

INQUIRY INTO NAVAL AFFAIRS.

In March, an inquiry into the condition of the navy was begun in the house of lords. They desired the queen in an address to give speedy and effectual orders that a number of ships, sufficient for the home service, should be equipped and manned with all possible expedition. They resolved, that admiral Graydon’s not attacking the four French ships in the channel, had been a prejudice to the queen’s service, and a disgrace to the nation; that his pressing men in Jamaica, and his severity towards masters of merchant vessels and transports, had been a great discouragement to the inhabitants of that island, as well as prejudicial to her majesty’s service; and they presented an address against him, in consequence of which he was dismissed. They examined the accounts of the earl of Oxford, against which great clamour had been raised; and taking cognizance of the remarks made by the commissioners of the public accounts, found them false in fact, ill-grounded, and of no importance. The commons besought the queen to order a prosecution on account of ill practices in the earl of Ranelagh’s office; and they sent up to the lords a bill for continuing the commission on the public accounts. Some alterations were made in the upper house, especially in the nomination of commissioners; but these were rejected by the commons. The peers adhering to their amendments, the bill dropped, and the commission expired. No other bill of any consequence passed in this session, except an act for raising recruits, which empowered justices of the peace to impress idle persons for soldiers and marines. On the third day of April the queen went to the house of peers, and having made a short speech on the usual topics of acknowledgment, unity, and moderation, prorogued the parliament to the fourth day of July. The division still continued between the two houses of convocation; so that nothing of moment was transacted in that assembly, except their address to the queen upon her granting the first fruits and tenths for the augmentation of small benefices. At the same time, the lower house sent their prolocutor with a deputation to wait upon the speaker of the house of commons, to return their thanks to that honourable house for having espoused the interest of the clergy; and to assure them that the convocation would pursue such methods as might best conduce to the support, honour, interest, and security of the church as now by law established. They sent up to the archbishop and prelates divers representations, containing complaints, and proposing canons and articles of reformation; but very little regard was paid to their remonstrances.

TRIAL OF LINDSAY.

About this period the earl of Nottingham, after having ineffectually pressed the queen to discard the dukes of Somerset and Devonshire, resigned the seals. The carl of Jersey and sir Edward Seymour were dismissed; the earl of Kent was appointed chamberlain, Harley secretary of state, and Henry St. John secretary of war. The discovery of the Scottish conspiracy was no sooner known in France, than Louis ordered Fraser to be imprisoned in the Bastile. In England, Lindsay being sentenced to die for having corresponded with France, was given to understand that he had no mercy to expect, unless he would discover the conspiracy, He persisted in denying all knowledge of any such conspiracy; and scorned to save his life by giving false information. In order to intimidate him into a confession, the ministry ordered him to be conveyed to Tyburn, where he still rejected life upon the terms proposed; then he was carried back to Newgate, where he remained some years; at length he was banished, and died of hunger in Holland. The ministers had been so lukewarm and languid in the investigation of the Scottish conspiracy, that the whigs loudly exclaimed against them as disguised Jacobites, and even whispered insinuations, implying, that the queen herself had a secret bias of sisterly affection for the court of St. Germain’s. What seemed to confirm this allegation was the disgrace of the duke of Queensberry, who had exerted himself with remarkable zeal in the detection; but the decline of his interest in Scotland was the real cause of his being laid aside at this juncture.

THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT.

The design of the court was to procure in the Scottish parliament the nomination of a successor to the crown, and a supply for the forces, which could not be obtained in the preceding session. Secretary Johnston, in concert with the marquis of Tweedale, undertook to carry these points in return for certain limitations on the successor, to which her majesty agreed. The marquis was appointed commissioner. The office of lord-register was bestowed upon Johnston; and the parliament met on the sixth day of July. The queen, in her letter, expressed her concern that these divisions should have risen to such a height, as to encourage the enemies of the nation to employ their emissaries for debauching her good subjects from their allegiance. She declared her resolution to grant whatever could in reason be demanded for quieting the minds of the people. She told them she had empowered the marquis of Tweedale to give unquestionable proofs of her determination to maintain the government in church and state, as by law established in that kingdom; to consent to such laws as should be found wanting for the further security of both, and for preventing all encroachments for the future. She earnestly exhorted them to settle the succession in the protestant line, as a step absolutely necessary for their own peace and happiness, the quiet and security of all her dominions, the reputation of her affairs abroad, and the improvement of the protestant interest through all Europe. She declared that she had authorized the commissioners to give the royal assent to whatever could be reasonably demanded, and was in her power to grant, for securing the sovereignty and liberties of that her ancient kingdom. The remaining part of the letter turned upon the necessity of their granting a supply, the discouragement of vice, the encouragement of commerce, and the usual recommendation of moderation and unanimity.

VIOLENT OPPOSITION TO THE MINISTRY.

The duke of Hamilton presented a resolve, that the parliament would not name a successor to the crown, until the Scots should have concluded a previous treaty with England in relation to commerce and other concerns. This motion produced a warm debate, in the course of which Fletcher of Saltoun expatiated upon the hardships and miseries which the Scots had sustained since the union of the two crowns under one sovereign, and the impossibility of bettering their condition, unless they should take care to anticipate any design that tended to a continuation of the same calamities. Another resolve was produced by the earl of Rothes, importing, that the parliament should proceed to make such limitations and conditions of the government as might be judged proper for rectifying the constitution—for vindicating and securing the sovereignty and independency of the nation; and that then parliament would take into consideration the other resolve offered by the duke of Hamilton, for a treaty previous to the nomination of a successor. This proposal was seconded by the court party, and violent heats ensued. At length sir James Falconer of Phesdo offered an expedient, which neither party could refuse with any show of moderation. He suggested a resolve, that the parliament would not proceed to the nomination of a successor until the previous treaty with England should be discussed; and that it would make the necessary limitations and conditions of government before the successor should be nominated. This joint resolve being put to the vote, was carried by a great majority. The treaty with England was neglected, and the affair of the succession consequently postponed. The duke of Athol moved, that her majesty should be desired to send down the witnesses and all the papers relating to the conspiracy, that, after due examination, those who were unjustly accused might be vindicated, and the guilty punished according to their demerits. The commissioner declared, that he had already written, and would write again to the queen on that subject. The intention of the cavaliers was to convict the duke of Queensberry of malice and calumny in the prosecution of that affair, that they might wreak their vengeance upon him for that instance of his animosity, as well as for his having deserted them in the former session. He found means however to persuade the queen, that such an inquiry would not only protract the session, but also divert them from the settlement of the succession, and raise such a ferment as might be productive of tragical consequences. Alarmed at these suggestions, she resolved to prevent the examination, and gave no answer to the repeated applications made by her parliament and ministers. Meanwhile the duke of Queensberry appeased his enemies in Scotland, by directing all his friends to join in the opposition.

THEY PASS THE ACT OF SECURITY.

The duke of Hamilton again moved, that the parliament should proceed to the limitations, and name commissioners to treat with England previous to all other business, except an act for a land tax of two months necessary for the immediate subsistence of the forces. The earl of Marchmont proposed an act to exclude all popish successors; but this was warmly opposed, as unseasonable, by Hamilton and his party, A bill of supply being offered by the lord justice Clerk, the cavaliers tacked to it great part of the act of security, to which the royal assent had been refused in the former session. Violent debates arose; so that the house was filled with rage and tumult. The national spirit of independence had been wrought up to a dangerous pitch of enthusiasm. The streets were crowded with people of all ranks, exclaiming against English influence, and threatening to sacrifice as traitors to their country all who should embrace measures that seemed to favour a foreign interest. The commissioner and his friends were confounded and appalled. Finding it impossible to stem the torrent, he, with the concurrence of the other ministers, wrote a letter to the queen, representing the uncomfortable situation of affairs, and advising her majesty to pass the bill encumbered as it was with the act of security. Lord Godolphin, on whose council she chiefly relied, found himself involved in great perplexity. The tories had devoted him to destruction. He foresaw that the queen’s concession to the Scots in an affair of such consequence, would furnish his enemies with a plausible pretence to arraign the conduct of her minister; but he chose to run that risk rather than see the army disbanded for want of a supply, and the kingdom left exposed to an invasion. He therefore seconded the advice of the Scottish ministers; and the queen authorized the commissioner to pass the bill that was depending. The act provided, that in case of the queen’s dying without issue a parliament should immediately meet and declare the successor to the crown, different from the person possessing the throne of England, unless before that period a settlement should be made in parliament of the rights and liberties of the nation, independent of English councils; by another clause they were empowered to arm and train the subjects, so as to put them in a posture of defence. The Scottish parliament having, by a laudable exertion of spirit, obtained this act of security, granted the supply without further hesitation; but not yet satisfied with this sacrifice, they engaged in debates about the conspiracy, and the proceedings of the house of lords in England, which they termed an officious intermeddling in their concerns, and an encroachment upon the sovereignty and independency of the nation, They drew up an address to the queen, desiring that the evidence and papers relating to the plot might be subjected to their examination in the next session. Meanwhile, the commissioner, dreading the further progress of such an ungovernable ferocity, prorogued the parliament to the seventh day of October. The act of security being transmitted to England, copies of it were circulated by the enemies of Godolphin, who represented it as a measure of that minister; and the kingdom was filled with murmurs and discontent. People openly declared, that the two kingdoms were now separated by law so as never to be rejoined. Reports were spread that great quantities of arms had been conveyed to Scotland, and that the natives were employed in preparations to invade England. All the blame of these transactions was imputed to lord Godolphin, whom the tories determined to attack, while the other party resolved to exert their whole influence for his preservation; yet, in all probability, he owed his immediate support to the success of his friend the duke of Marlborough.

SITUATION OF THE EMPEROR’S AFFAIRS.

Nothing could be more deplorable than the situation to which the emperor was reduced in the beginning of the season. The malcontents in Hungary had rendered themselves formidable by their success; the elector of Bavaria possessed all the places on the Danube as far as Passau, and even threatened the city of Vienna, which must have been infallibly lost, had the Hungarians and Bavarians acted in concert. By the advice of prince Eugene, the emperor implored the assistance of her Britannic majesty; and the duke of Marlborough explained to her the necessity of undertaking his relief. This nobleman in the month of January had crossed the sea to Holland, and concerted a scheme with the deputies of the states-general for the operations of the ensuing campaign. They agreed that general Averquerque should lie upon the defensive with a small body of troops in the Netherlands, while the main army of the allies should act upon the Rhine, under the command of the duke of Marlborough. Such was the pretext under which this consummate general concealed another plan, which was communicated to a few only in whose discretion he could confide. It was approved by the pensionary and some leading men, who secured its favourable reception with the states-general when it became necessary to impart the secret to that numerous assembly. In the meantime, the preparations were made on pretence of carrying the war to the banks of the Moselle.

MARLBOROUGH MARCHES WITH THE ALLIED ARMY INTO GERMANY.

In the month of April, the duke, accompanied by his brother general Churchill, lieutentant-general Lumley, the earl of Orkney, and other officers of distinction, embarked for Holland, where he had a long conference with a deputation of the states concerning a proposal of sending a large army towards the Moselle. The deputies of Zealand opposed this measure of sending their troops to stich a distance so strenuously, that the duke was obliged to tell them in plain terms he had received orders to march thither with the British forces. He accordingly assembled his army at Maestricht, and on the eight day of May began his march into Germany. The French imagined his intention was to begin the campaign with the siege of Traerbach, and penetrate into France along the Moselle. In this persuasion they sent a detachment to that river, and gave out that they intended to invest Huy, a pretence to which the duke paid no regard. He continued his route by Bedburgh, Kerpenord, Kalsecken; he visited the fortifications of Bonne, where he received certain advice that the recruits and reinforcements for the French army in Bavaria had joined the elector at Villigen. He redoubled his diligence, passed the Neckar on the third of June, and halted at Ladenburgh; from thence he wrote a letter to the states-general, giving them to understand that he had the queen’s orders to march to the relief of the empire, and expressing his hope that they would approve the design, and allow their troops to share the honour of the expedition By the return of a courier he received their approbation, and full power to command their forces He then proceeded to Mildenheim, where he was visited by prince Eugene; and these two great men, whose talents were congenial, immediately contracted an intimacy of friendship, Next day prince Louis of Baden arrived in the camp at Great Hippach, He told the duke, his grace was come to save the empire, and to give him an opportunity of vindicating his honour, which he knew was at the last stake in the opinion of some people. The duke replied he was come to learn of him how to serve the empire: that they must be ignorant indeed who did not know that the prince of Baden, when his health permitted him, had preserved the empire and extended its conquests.

Those three celebrated generals agreed that the two armies should join, that the command should be alternately vested in the duke and prince Louis from day to day, and that prince Eugene should command a separate army on the Rhine, Prince Louis returned to his army on the Danube, prince Eugene set out for Philipsburgh; the duke of Marlborough being joined by the imperial army under prince Louis of Baden at Wastertellen, prosecuted his march by Elchingen, Gingen, and Landthaussen. On the first day of July he was in sight of the enemy’s entrenchments at Dillingen, and encamped with his right at Amerdighem, and his left at Onderin-gen. Understanding that the elector of Bavaria had detached the best part of his infantry to reinforce the count D’Arco, who was posted behind strong lines at Schellenberg near Donawert, he resolved to attack their entrenchments without delay On the second day of July he advanced towards the enemy, and passed the river Wermitz; about five o’clock in the afternoon the attack was begun by the English and Dutch infantry, supported by the horse and dragoons. They were very severely handled, and even obliged to give way, when prince Louis of Baden marching up at the head of the imperialists to another part of the line, made a diversion in their favour. After an obstinate resistance they forced the entrenchments, and the horse entering with the infantry, fell so furiously upon the enemy, already disordered, that they were routed with great slaughter. They fled with the utmost trepidation to Donawert and the Danube, leaving six thousand men dead on the field of battle, The confederates took sixteen pieces of cannon, thirteen pairs of colours, with all the tents and baggage. Yet the victory was dearly purchased; some thousands of the allies were slain in the attack, including many gallant officers, among whom were the generals Goor and Beinheim, and count Stirum was mortally wounded. Next day the Bavarian garrison abandoned Donawert, of which the confederates took immediate possession, while the elector passed the Danube in his march to the river Leche, lest the victors should cut off his retreat to his own country. The confederates having crossed the Danube on several bridges of pontoons, a detachment was sent to pass the Leche, and take post in the country of the elector, who had retired under the cannon of Augsburgh. The garrison of Neuburgh retiring to Ingoldstadt, the place was secured by the confederates, and the count de Frize was detached with nine battalions and fifteen squadrons to invest the town of Rain. Advice arriving from prince Eugene that the mareschals Villeroy and Tallard had passed the Rhine at Fort Kehl, with an army of five-and-forty thousand men, to succour the elector of Bavaria, the generals of the allies immediately detached prince Maximilian of Hanover with thirty squadrons of horse as a reinforcement to the prince. In a few days Rain surrendered, and Aicha was taken by assault. The emperor no sooner received a confirmation of the victory of Schellenberg, than he wrote a letter of acknowledgment to the duke of Marlborough, and ordered count Wratislau to intimate his intention of investing him with the title of prince of the empire, which the duke declined accepting until the queen interposed her authority at the desire of Leopold.

FRUITLESS NEGOTIATION WITH THE ELECTOR.

The allies advanced within a league of Augsburgh, and though they found the elector of Bavaria too securely posted under the cannon of that city to be dislodged or attacked with any prospect of success, they encamped with Friedburgh in the centre, so as to cut off all communication between him and his dominions. The duke of Marlborough having reduced him to this situation, proposed very advantageous terms of peace, provided he would abandon the French interest, and join the imperialists in Italy. His subjects seeing themselves at the mercy of the allies, pressed him to comply with these offers rather than expose his country to ruin and desolation. A negotiation was begun, and he seemed ready to sign the articles, when hearing that mareschal Tallard had passed the Black Forest to join him with a great body of forces, he declared that since the king of France had made such powerful efforts to support him, he thought himself obliged in honour to continue firm in his alliance. The generals of the allies were so exasperated at this disappointment, that they sent out detachments to ravage the country of Bavaria as far as Munich: upwards of three hundred towns, villages, and castles were inhumanly destroyed, to the indelible disgrace of those who countenanced and conducted such barbarbous practices. The elector, shocked at these brutal proceedings, desired, in a letter to the duke of Marlborough, that a stop might be put to acts of violence so opposite to true glory. The answer he received implied, that it was in his own power to put an end to them by a speedy accommodation. Incensed at this reply, he declared that since they had obliged him to draw the sword, he would throw away the scabbard. The duke and prince Louis finding it impracticable to attack the elector in his strong camp, resolved to undertake the siege of Ingoldstadt, and for that purpose passed the Paer near the town of Schrobbenhausen, where they encamped, with their left at Closterburgh. On the fifth day of August the elector of Bavaria marched to Biberach, where he was joined by Tallard. He resolved to pass the Danube at Lawingen to attack prince Eugene, who had followed the French army from the lines of Bichi, and lay encamped at Hochstadt. Next day, however, he made a motion that disappointed the enemy. Nevertheless, they persisted in their design of passing the Danube and encamping at Blenheim. The allies resolved that prince Louis should undertake the siege of Ingoldstadt, whilst prince Eugene and the duke should observe the elector of Bavaria. Advice being received that he had actually crossed the Danube at Lawingen, the duke of Marlborough joined the forces of prince Eugene at the camp of Munster on the eleventh day of August, prince Louis having by this time marched off towards the place he intended to besiege. Next day the duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene observed the posture of the enemy, who were advantageously posted on a hill near Hochstadt, their right being covered by the Danube and the village of Blenheim, their left by the village of Lutzengen, and their front by a rivulet, the banks of which were steep, and the bottom marshy.

THE CONFEDERATES OBTAIN A COMPLETE VICTORY AT HOCHSTADT.

Notwithstanding these difficulties, the generals resolved to attack them immediately, rather than lie inactive until their forage and provisions should be consumed. They were moreover stimulated to this hazardous enterprise by an intercepted letter to the elector of Bavaria, from mareschal Villeroy, giving him to understand that he had received orders to ravage the country of Wirtem-berg, and intercept all communication between the Rhine and the allied army. The dispositions being made for the attack, and the orders communicated to the general officers, the forces advanced into the plain on the thirteenth day of August, and were ranged in order of battle. The cannonading began about nine in the morning, and continued on both sides till one in the afternoon. The French and Bavarians amounted to about sixty thousand men, Mareschal Tallard commanded on the right, and posted twenty-seven battalions, with twelve squadrons, in the village of Blenheim, supposing that there the allies would make their chief effort: their left was conducted by the elector of Bavaria, assisted by Marsin, a French general of experience and capacity. The number of the confederates did not exceed fifty-five thousand: their right was under the direction of prince Eugene, and their left commanded by the duke of Marlborough. At noon the battle was begun by a body of English and Hessians under major-general Wilkes, who having passed the rivulet with difficulty, and filed off to the left in the face of the enemy, attacked the village of Blenheim with great vigour; but were repulsed after three successive attempts. Meanwhile the troops in the centre, and part of the right wing, passed the rivulet on planks in different places, and formed on the other side without any molestation from the enemy. At length, however, they were charged by the French horse with such impetuosity, and so terribly galled in flank by the troops posted at Blenheim, that they fell in disorder, and part of them repassed the rivulet; but a reinforcement of dragoons coming up, the French cavalry were broke in their turn, and driven to the very hedges of the village of Blenheim. The left wing of the confederates being now completely formed, ascended the hill in a firm compacted body, charged the enemy’s horse, which could no longer stand their ground, but rallied several times as they gave way. Tallard, in order to make a vigorous effort, ordered ten battalions to fill up the intervals of his cavalry. The duke, perceiving his design, sent three battalions of the troops of Zell to sustain his horse. Nevertheless, the line was a little disordered by the prodigious fire from the French infantry, and even obliged to recoil about sixty paces: but the confederates advancing to the charge with redoubled ardour, routed the French horse; and their battalions being thus abandoned, were cut in pieces. Tallard, having rallied his broken cavalry behind some tents that were still standing, resolved to draw off the troops he had posted in the village of Blenheim, and sent an aidecamp to Marsdin, who was with the elector of Bavaria on the left, to desire he would face the confederates with some troops to the right of the village of Oberklau, so as to keep them in play, and favour the retreat of the forces from Blenheim. That officer assured him he was so far from being in a condition to spare troops, that he could hardly maintain his ground. The fate of the day was now more than half decided. The French cavalry being vigorously attacked in flank, were totally defeated. Part of them endeavoured to gain the bridge which they had thrown over the Danube between Hochstadt and Blenheim, but they were so closely pursued, that those who escaped the slaughter threw themselves into the river, where they perished. Tallard, being surrounded, was taken near a mill behind the village of Sonderen, together with the marquis de Montperouz, general of horse, the major-generals de Seppeville, de Silly, de la Valiere, and many other officers of distinction. While these occurrences passed on the loft wing, Marsin’s quarters at the village of Oberklau, in the centre, were attacked by ten battalions under the prince of Holsteinbeck, who passed the rivulet with undaunted resolution; but before he could form his men on the other side, he was overpowered by numbers, mortally wounded, and taken prisoner. His battalions being supported by some Danish and Hanoverian cavalry, renewed the charge, and were again repulsed: at length the duke of Marlborough in person brought up some fresh squadrons from the body of reserve, and compelled the enemy to retire. By this time prince Eugene had obliged the left wing of the enemy to give ground, after having surmounted a great number of difficulties, sustained a very obstinate opposition, and seen his cavalry, in which his chief strength seemed to lie, three times repulsed. The duke of Marlborough had no sooner defeated the right wing, than he made a disposition to reinforce the prince, when he understood from an aidecamp that his highness had no occasion for assistance; and that the elector, with monsieur de Mar-sin, had abandoned Oberklau and Luteingen. They were pursued as far as the villages of Morselingen and Teissenhoven, from whence they retreated to Dillingen and Lawingen. The confederates being now masters of the field of battle, surrounded the village of Blenheim, in which, as we have already observed, twenty-seven battalions and twelve squadrons were posted. These troops seeing themselves cut off from all communication with the rest of their army, and despairing of being able to force their way through the allies, capitulated about eight in the evening, laid down their arms, delivered their colours and standards, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war, on condition that the officers should not be rifled. This was one of the most glorious and complete victories that ever was obtained. Ten thousand French and Bavarians were left dead on the field of battle: the greater part of thirty squadrons of horse and dragoons perished in the river Danube: thirteen thousand were made prisoners: one hundred pieces of cannon were taken, with twenty-four mortars, one hundred and twenty-nine colours, one hundred and seventy-one standards, seventeen pair of kettle-drums, three thousand six hundred tents, thirty-four coaches, three hundred laden mules, two bridges of boats, fifteen pontoons, fifteen barrels and eight casks filled with silver. Of the allies, about four thousand five hundred men were killed, and about eight thousand wounded or taken. The loss of the battle was imputed to two capital errors committed by Tallard; namely, his weakening the centre by detaching such a number of troops to the village of Blenheim, and his suffering the confederates to pass the rivulet, and form unmolested. Certain it is, these circumstances contributed to the success of the duke of Marlborough, who rode through the hottest of the fire with the calmest intrepidity, giving his orders with that presence of mind and deliberation which were so peculiar to his character. When he next day visited Tallard, he told that general he was sorry such a misfortune should happen personally to one for whom he had a profound esteem. The mareschal congratulated him on having vanquished the best troops in the world; a compliment to which the duke replied, that he thought his own the best troops in the world, seeing they had conquered those upon whom the mareschal had bestowed such an encomium.

SIEGE OF LANDAU.

The victorious generals having by this decisive stroke saved the house of Austria from entire ruin, and entirely changed the face of affairs in the empire, signified their opinion to prince Louis of Baden, that it would be for the advantage of the common cause to join all their forces and drive the French out of Germany, rather than lose time at the siege of Ingoldstadt, which would surrender of course. This opinion was confirmed by the conduct of the French garrison at Augsburg, who quitted that place on the sixteenth day of August. The magistrates sent a deputation, craving the protection of the duke of Marlborough, who forthwith ordered a detachment to take possession of that important city. The duke having sent mareschal de Tallard under a guard of dragoons to Frankfort, and disposed of the other prisoners of distinction in the adjacent places, encamped at Sefillingen, within half a league of Ulm. Here he held a conference with the princes Eugene and Louis of Baden, in which they agreed that, as the enemy retreated towards the Bhine, the confederate army should take the same rout, excepting three-and-twenty battalions and some squadrons to be left for the siege of Ulm, under general Thungen. They began their march on the twenty-sixth day of August, by different routes, to the general rendezvous at Bruschal near Philipsburgh. Then they resolved that prince Louis of Baden should undertake the siege of Landau, in order to secure the circle of Suabia from the incursions of that garrison. Considering the consternation that prevailed all over France, nothing could be more impolitic than this measure, which gave the enemy time for recollection, and recruiting their forces. It was a proposal on which the prince of Baden insisted with uncommon obstinacy. He was even suspected of corruption: he was jealous of the glory which the duke of Marlborough had acquired, and such a bigoted papist, that he repined at the success of an heretical general. On the twelfth day of September he marched towards Landau with the troops destined for the siege; and the duke of Marlborough, with prince Eugene, encamped at Croon Weissenburgh to cover the enterprise. By this time Ulm had surrendered to Thungen, even before the trenches were opened. Villeroy advanced with his army towards Landau, as if he had intended to attack the confederates; but retired without having made any attempt for the relief of the place, which was defended with the most obstinate valour till the twenty-third day of November, when the besiegers having lodged themselves on the counterscarp, the breaches being practicable, and the dispositions made for a general assault, the garrison capitulated upon honourable conditions. The king of the Romans had arrived in the camp, that he might have the credit of taking the place, the command of which he bestowed on the count de Frize, who had before defended it with equal courage and ability.

MARLBOROUGH RETURNS TO ENGLAND.

The next enterprise which the confederates undertook was the siege of Traerbach. The hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel, being intrusted with the direction of the attacks, invested the castle in the beginning of November. Though it was strongly fortified and well defended, he carried on his operations with such spirit and assiduity, that in about six weeks the garrison surrendered the place on honourable terms. In the meantime the duke of Marlborough repaired to Berlin, where he negotiated for a reinforcement of eight thousand Prussians, to serve under prince Eugene in Italy during the next campaign. Thence he proceeded to the court of Hanover, where, as in all other places, he was received with particular marks of distinction. When he arrived at the Hague, he was congratulated by the states-general on his victories at Schellenberg and Blenheim, and as much considered in Holland as if he had been actually stadt-holder. He had received a second letter from the emperor couched in the warmest terms of acknowledgment, and was declared prince of the empire. In December he embarked for England, where he found the people in a transport of joy, and was welcomed as a hero who had retrieved the glory of the nation.

STATE OF THE WAR IN EUROPE.

In Flanders nothing of moment was executed, except the bombardment of Bruges and Namur by baron Spaar, with nine thousand Dutch troops; and two attempts upon the French lines, which were actually penetrated by Auverquerque, though he was not able to maintain the footing he had gained. The elector of Bavaria, who had retired to Brussels after his defeat, formed a scheme for surprising the Dutch general at the end of the campaign, and assembled all his troops at Tirlemont: but the French court, apprehensive of his temerity, sent Villeroy to watch his conduct, and prevent his hazarding an engagement, except with a fair prospect of advantage. The mareschal finding him determined to give battle at all events, represented the improbability of succeeding against an enemy so advantageously posted; and the ill consequences of a repulse: but finding the elector deaf to all his remonstrances, he flatly refused to march, and produced the king’s order to avoid an engagement. In Italy the French met with no opposition. The duke of Savoy, being unable to face the enemy in the field, was obliged to lie inactive. He saw the duke de Vendome reduce Vercelli and Ivrea, and undertake the siege of Verac; while he posted his little army on the other side of the Po, at Crescentino, where he had a bridge of communication by which he supplied the place occasionally with fresh troops and provisions. The place held out five months against all the efforts of the French general: at length, the communication being cut off, the duke of Savoy retired to Chivas. He bore his misfortunes with great equanimity, and told the English minister that though he was abandoned by the allies, he would never abandon himself. The emperor had neglected Italy that he might act with more vigour against Ragotzki and the Hungarian malcontents, over whom he obtained several advantages; notwithstanding which they continued formidable, from their number, bravery, and resolution. The ministers of the allies pressed Leopold to enter into a negotiation for a peace with those rebels, and conferences were opened; but he was not sincerely disposed to an accommodation, and Ragotzki aimed at the principality of Transylvania, which the court of Vienna would not easily relinquish. The emperor was not a little alarmed by a revolution at the Ottoman porte, until the new sultan despatched a chiaus to Vienna, with an assurance that he would give no assistance to the malcontents of Hungary. In Poland, the diet being assembled by the cardinal-primate, Stanislaus Lezinski, palatine of Posnania, was elected and proclaimed king, and recognised by Charles of Sweden, who still maintained his army by contributions in that country, more intent upon the ruin of Augustus than upon the preservation of his own dominions; for he paid no regard to the progress of the Muscovites, who had ravaged Livonia, reduced Narva, and made incursions into Sweden. Augustus retreated into his Saxon dominions, which he impoverished in order to raise a great army with which he might return to Poland; the pope espoused the interest of this new convert, so far as to cite the cardinal-primate to appear at Rome, and give an account of the share he had in the Polish troubles. The protestants of the Cevennois, deriving courage from despair, became so troublesome to the government of France, that Louis was obliged to treat them with lenity: he sent mareschal Villars against them with a fresh reinforcement, but at the same time furnished him with instructions to treat for an accommodation. This officer immediately commenced a negotiation with Cavalier, the chief of the revolters; and a formal treaty was concluded, by which they were indulged with liberty of conscience: but these articles were very ill observed by the French ministry.

CAMPAIGN IN PORTUGAL.

In Portugal, the interest of king Charles wore a very melancholy aspect. When he arrived at Lisbon, he found no preparations made for opening the campaign. The Portuguese ministry favoured the French in secret; the people were averse to heretics; the duke of Schom-berg was on ill terms with Fagel, the Dutch general; the Portuguese forces consisted of raw undisciplined peasants; and the French ambassador had bought up the best horses in the kingdom; so that the troopers could not be properly mounted. The king of Portugal had promised to enter Spain with Charles by the middle of May; but he was not ready till the beginning of June, when they reached Santaran. By this time they had published their respective manifestoes; Charles displaying his title to the crown of Spain, and promising pardon to all his subjects who would in three months join his army; and the king of Portugal declaring, that his sole aim in taking up arms was to restore liberty to the Spanish nation, oppressed by the power of France, as Avell as to assert the right of Charles to that monarchy. The present possessor, whom they mentioned by the name of the duke of Anjou, had already anticipated their invasion. His general, the duke of Berwick, entering Portugal, took the town of Segura by stratagem. The governor of Salvaterra surrendered at discretion; Cebreros was reduced without much opposition; Zode-bre was abandoned by the inhabitants; and the town of Lhana la Viella was taken by assault. Portugal was at the same time invaded in different parts by the marquis de Jeoffreville, prince Tserclas de Tilly, and the marquis de Villadarias. Two Dutch battalions were attacked and taken by the duke of Berwick at Sodreira Formosa. Then he passed the Tagus, and joined prince Tserclas. King Philip arriving in the army, invested Portalegre; and the garrison, including an English regiment of foot commanded by colonel Stanhope, were made prisoners of war. The next place he besieged was Castel Davide, which met with the same fate. On the other hand, the marquis Das Minas, in order to make a diversion, entered Spain with fifteen thousand men, took Feuenta Grimaldo in Castile, by assault, defeated a body of French and Spaniards commanded by Don Ronquillo, and made himself master of Manseinto. The weather growing excessively hot, Philip sent his troops into quarters of refreshment; and the allies followed his example. Duke Schomberg finding his advice very little regarded by the Portuguese ministry, and seeing very little prospect of success, desired leave to resign his command, which the queen bestowed upon the earl of Galway, who, with a reinforcement of English and Dutch troops, arrived at Lisbon on the thirtieth day of July. About the latter end of September, the two kings repaired to the camp near Almeida, resolving to invade Castile; but they found the river Aguada so well guarded by the duke of Benvick, that they would not attempt a passage. They therefore retired into the territories of Portugal, and the army was put into winter quarters. The Spaniards were now so weakened by detachments sent with the marquis de Villadarias towards Gibraltar, that the duke of Berwick could not execute any scheme of importance during the remaining part of the campaign.

SIR GEORGE KOOKE TAKES GIBRALTAR.

The arms of England were not less fortunate by sea than they had been upon the Danube. Sir George Rooke having landed king Charles at Lisbon, sent a squadron to cruise off Cape Spartell, under the command of rear admiral Dilkes, who on the twelfth of March, engaged and took three Spanish ships of war, bound from St. Sebastian’s to Cadiz. Rooke received orders from the queen to sail to the relief of Nice and Villa Franca, which were threatened with a siege by the duke de Vendôme; at the same time he was pressed by king Charles to execute a scheme upon Barcelona, projected by the prince of Hesse d’Armstadt, who declared his opinion, that the Catalonians would declare for the house of Austria, as soon as they should be assured of proper support and protection. The ministry of England understanding that the French were employed in equipping a strong squadron at Brest, and judging it was destined to act in the Mediterranean, sent out sir Cloudesley Shovel with a considerable fleet, to watch the motions of the Brest squadron; and he was provided with instructions how to act, in case it should be sailed to the Mediterranean. Meanwhile, sir George Rooke, in compliance with the entreaties of King Charles, sailed with the transports under his convoy to Barcelona, and on the eighteenth of May appeared before the city. Next day the troops were landed by the prince of Hesse, to the number of two thousand, and the Dutch ketches bombarded the place; but by this time the governor had secured the chiefs of the Austrian party; and the people exhibiting no marks of attachment to king Charles, the prince re-embarked his soldiers, from an apprehension of their being attacked and overpowered by superior numbers. On the sixteenth day of June, sir George Rooke, being joined by sir Cloudesley Shovel, resolved to proceed up the Mediterranean in quest of the French fleet, which had sailed thither from Brest, and which Rooke had actually discovered, in the preceding month, on their voyage to Toulon. On the seventeenth day of July the admiral called a council of war in the road of Tetuan, when they resolved to make an attempt upon Gibraltar, which was but slenderly provided with a garrison. Thither they sailed, and on the twenty-first day of the month the prince of Hesse landed on the isthmus with eighteen hundred marines; then he summoned the governor to surrender, and was answered, that the place would be defended to the last extremity. Next day the admiral gave orders for cannonading the town; perceiving that the enemy were driven from their fortifications at the south mole-head, he commanded captain Whi-taker to arm all the boats, and assault that quarter. The captains Hicks and Juniper, who happened to be nearest the mole, immediately manned their pinnaces, and entered the fortifications sword in hand. The Spaniards sprung a mine, by which two lieutenants, and about a hundred men were killed or wounded. Nevertheless, the two captains took possession of a platform, and kept their ground until they were sustained by captain Whi-taker, and the rest of the seamen, who took by storm a redoubt between the mole and the town. Then the governor capitulated; and the prince of Hesse entered the place, amazed at the success of this attempt, considering the strength of the fortifications, which might have been defended by fifty men against a numerous army.

A sufficient garrison being left with his highness, the admiral returned to Tetuan to take in wood and Water; and when he sailed, on the ninth day of August, he descried the French fleet, to which he gave chase with all the sail he could spread. On the thirteenth he came up with it, as it lay in a line off Malaga ready to receive him, to the number of two-and-fifty great ships, and four-and-twenty galleys, under the command of the count de Tholouse, high-admiral of France, with the inferior flags of the white and blue divisions. The English fleet consisted of three-and-fifty ships of the line, exclusive of frigates, but they were inferior to the French in number of guns and men, as well as in weight of metal, and altogether unprovided with galleys, from which the enemy reaped great advantage during the engagement. A little after ten in the morning the battle began, with equal fury on both sides, and continued to rage with doubtful success till two in the afternoon, when the van of the French gave way; nevertheless, the fight was maintained till night, when the enemy bore away to leeward. The wind shifting before morning, the French gained the weather-gage; but they made no use of this advantage; for two successive days the English admiral endeavoured to renew the engagement, which the count de Tholouse declined, and at last he disappeared. The loss was pretty equal on both sides, though not a single ship was taken or destroyed by either; but the honour of the day certainly remained with the English. Over and above the disadvantages we have enumerated, the bottoms of the British fleet were foul, and several large ships had expended all their shot long before the battle ceased; yet the enemy were so roughly handled, that they did not venture another engagement during the whole war. The French king, in order to raise the drooping spirits of his people, claimed the victory, and published an account of the action, which, at this distance of time, plainly proves that he was reduced to the mean shift of imposing upon his subjects, by false and partial representations. Among other exaggerations in this detail, we find mention made of mischief done to French ships by English bombs; though nothing is more certain than that there was not one bomb vessel in the combined fleet. The French academy, actuated by a servile spirit of adulation, caused a medal to be struck on the occasion, which, instead of perpetuating the glory of their prince, served only to transmit their own shame to posterity. After the battle, sir George Rooke sailed to Gibraltar to refit, and leaving a squadron with sir John Leake, set sail for England on the twenty-fourth day of August. He arrived in September, and was received by the ministry, and the people in general, with those marks of esteem and veneration which were due to his long services and signal success; but he was still persecuted with a spirit of envy and detraction. Philip king of Spain, alarmed at the reduction of Gibraltar, sent the marquis de Villadarias with an army to retake it. The siege lasted four months, during which the prince of Hesse exhibited many shining proofs of courage and ability. The place was supplied with men and provisions by convoys from Lisbon, until monsieur de Pointis put a stop to that communication, by entering the bay with a strong squadron; but he was obliged to retire at the approach of sir John Leake and admiral Vanderdussen; and the marquis de Villadarias, having made little or no progress on land, thought proper to abandon the enterprise.

SESSION OF PARLIAMENT IN ENGLAND.

The parliament of England meeting on the twenty-ninth day of October, the queen in her speech, observed, that the great and remarkable success with which God had blessed her arms, produced unanimous joy and satisfaction through all parts of the kingdom; and that a timely improvement of the present advantages would enable her to procure a lasting foundation of security for England, as well as a firm support for the liberty of Europe. She declared her intention was to be kind and indulgent to all her subjects. She expressed her hope that they would do nothing to endanger the loss of this opportunity; and that there would be no contention among them, but an emulation to promote the public welfare. Congratulatory addresses were voted and presented by both houses. They were equal in their professions of duty and affection to the queen; but the addresses imbibed a very different colour from the different sanctions by which the two houses were influenced. The lords congratulated her on the great and glorious success of her arms under the command of the duke of Marlborough, without deigning to mention sir George Rooke, who had defeated the French navy at sea, and added the important fortress of Gibraltar to the British conquests. On the other hand, the commons affected to mention the battle of Blenheim, and Rooke’s naval victory, as events of equal glory and importance. However they might be warped by prejudice against individuals, they did not suffer the war to languish for want of supplies. Having taken into consideration the services of the army and navy, they voted that the queen should be desired to bestow her bounty on the seamen and land forces who had behaved themselves so gallantly. Then they deliberated upon the different articles of national expense, and granted four millions six hundred and seventy thousand nine hundred and thirty-one pounds, for the occasion’s of the ensuing year, to be raised by a land tax, by the sale of annuities, and other expedients. These measures were taken with such expedition, that the land tax received the royal assent on the ninth day of December; when the queen, in a short speech, thanked the commons for their despatch, which she considered a sure pledge of their affection.

AN ACT OF ALIENATION PASSED.

The high church party took this occasion to promote the bill against occasional conformity, which was revived and brought into the house in a new model by Mr. William Bromley, who moved that it might be tacked to the land-tax bill, and sent up to the lords for their concurrence. The court no longer espoused this measure, and the violent party was weakened by defection. After a warm and tedious debate, the tack was rejected by a great majority. The bill, however, passed the house of commons, and was sent up to the lords on the fourteenth day of December, when it would hardly have excited a debate had not the queen been present, and desirous of hearing what could be said on both sides of the question. For the information and satisfaction of her majesty the subject was again discussed, and all the arguments being repeated, the bill was rejected by a majority of one-and-twenty voices. The next subject on which the house of lords employed their attention, was the late conduct of the Scottish parliament. The lord Haversham, in a set speech, observed, that the settlement of the succession in Scotland had been postponed, partly because the ministry for that kingdom were weak and divided; partly from a received opinion that the succession was never sincerely and cordially intended by those who managed the affairs of Scotland in the cabinet-council. He expatiated on the bad consequences that might attend the act of security, which he styled a bill of exclusion, and particularly mentioned that clause by which the heritors and boroughs were ordained to exercise their fencible men every month. He said the nobility and gentry of Scotland were as learned and brave as any nation in Europe, and generally discontented: that the common people were very numerous, very stout, and very poor; and he asked who was the man that could tell what such a multitude, so armed, and so disciplined, might do under such leaders could opportunities suit their intention. He recommended these circumstances to the consideration of the house, and concluded with these words of Lord Bacon, “Let men beware how they neglect or suffer matter of troubles to be prepared, for no man can forbid the sparks that may set all on fire.” The lords resolved to consider these subjects on the twenty-ninth day of November, when the queen repaired to the house of peers to hear the debates, and by her presence moderate the heat of both parties. The earl of Nottingham reflected so severely on the memory of king William, that he would have been sent to the Tower, had not the lords declined any such motion out of respect to her majesty. After much declamation on the Scottish act of security, the grand committee of the peers, by the advice of lord Wharton, resolved that the queen should be enabled by act of parliament on the part of England, to name commissioners to treat about an union with Scotland, provided that the parliament of Scotland should first appoint commissioners on their part for the same purpose; that no Scotsmen should enjoy the privileges of Englishmen, except such as were settled in England, Ireland, and the plantations, and such as were or might be in the sea or land service, until an union could be effected, or the succession settled as in England: that the traffic by cattle from Scotland to England should be prevented: that the lord admiral should issue orders for taking such vessels as should be found trading from Scotland to France, or to the ports of any of her majesty’s enemies: and that care should be taken to prevent the exportation of English wool into Scotland. On these resolutions a bill was formed for an entire union, and passed the house on the twentieth day of December. The lords presented an address to the queen, representing that they had duly weighed the dangerous and pernicious effects that were likely to be produced by divers acts of parliament lately passed in Scotland: that they were of opinion the safety of the kingdom required that speedy and effectual orders should be given to put Newcastle in a posture of defence, to secure the port of Tynemouth, and repair the fortifications of Hull and Carlisle. They likewise advised her majesty to give directions for disciplining the militia of the four northern counties; for providing them with arms and ammunition; for maintaining a competent number of regular troops on the northern borders of England, as well as in the north of Ireland; and for putting the laws in execution against papists. The queen promised that a survey should be made of the places they had mentioned, and laid before parliament, and that she would give the necessary directions upon the other articles of the address. The commons seemed to concur with the lords in their sentiments of the Scottish act of security. They resolved that a bill should be brought in for the effectual securing the kingdom of England from the apparent dangers that might arise from several acts lately passed in the parliament of Scotland, and this was formed on nearly the same resolutions which had been taken in the upper house. The bill sent down by the lords was thrice read, and ordered to lie on the table, but they passed their own, to take effect at Christmas, provided before that time the Scots should not settle the succession. When it was offered to the lords they passed it without any amendment, contrary to the expectation and even to the hope of some members who were no friends to the house of Hanover, and firmly believed the lords would have treated this bill with the same contempt which had been manifested for that which they had sent down to the commons.

The duke of Marlborough, at his first appearance in the house after his return to England, was honoured with a very extraordinary eulogium, pronounced by the lord-keeper, in the name of the peers of England; and a compliment of the same nature was presented to him by a committee of the house of commons. Doctor Delaune, vice-chancellor of Oxford, accompanied by the principal members of the University, attended the queen with an address of congratulation upon the success of her arms in Germany, under the admirable conduct and invincible courage of the duke of Marlborough; and at sea, under the most brave and faithful admiral sir George Booke. He received a civil answer from her majesty, though now she took umbrage at Booke’s being raised upon a level with the duke of Marlborough, whose great victories had captivated her administration, and whose wife had alienated her affection from the tories. The commons perceiving how high he stood in her majesty’s esteem, and having been properly tutored for the purpose, took into consideration the great services of the duke; and, in an address, besought her majesty to consider some proper means to perpetuate the memory of such noble actions. In a few days she gave them to understand, by a message that she was inclined to grant the interest of the crown in the honour and manor of Woodstock and hundred of Wooton, to the duke of Marlborough and his heirs; and that as the lieutenancy and rangership of the parks, with the rents and profits of the manors and hundreds, were granted for two lives, she wished that incumbrance could be removed. A bill was immediately brought in, enabling the queen to bestow these honours and manors on the duke of Marlborough and his heirs, and the queen was desired to advance the money for clearing the incumbrances. She not only complied with this address, but likewise ordered the comptroller of her works to build in Woodstock-park a magnificent palace for the duke, upon a plan much more solid than beautiful. By this time sir George Rooke was laid aside, and the command of the fleet bestowed upon sir Cloudesley Shovel, now declared rear-admiral of England. Mareschal de Tallard, with the other French generals taken at Hochstadt, arrived on the sixteenth of December in the river Thames, and were immediately conveyed to Nottingham and Lichfield, attended by a detachment of the royal regiment of horse guards. They were treated with great respect, and allowed the privilege of riding ten miles around the places of their confinement.

DISAGREEMENT ON THE SUBJECT OF THE AYLESBURY CONSTABLES.

While the house of commons, in two successive addresses, thanked the queen for the treaty which the duke of Marlborough had concluded with Prussia concerning the troops to be sent to the duke of Savoy, and desired she would use her interest with the allies that they might next year furnish their complete proportions of men by sea and land; the lords examined into all the proceedings at sea and all the instructions of the admiralty, and presented an address to the queen, explaining all the different articles of mismanagement. She promised to consider them particularly, and give such directions upon them as might be most for the advantage of the public service. The remaining part of the session was consumed in disputes and altercations between the two houses on the subject of the Aylesbury constables, who were sued by five other inhabitants for having denied them the right of voting at the election. These five persons were committed to Newgate by order of the house of commons. They moved for a habeas-corpus in the King’s Bench, but the court would take no cognizance of the affair. Two of the prisoners petitioned the queen that their case might be brought before her majesty in parliament. The commons, in an address, besought the queen to refuse granting a writ of error in this case, which would tend to the overthrowing the undoubted rights and privileges of the commons of England. She assured them she would not do any thing to give them just cause of complaint, but this matter relating to the course of judicial proceedings being of the highest importance, she thought it necessary to weigh and consider very carefully what might be proper for her to do in a thing of so great concern. They voted all the lawyers, who had pleaded on the return of the habeas-corpus in behalf of the prisoners, guilty of a breach of privilege, and ordered them to be taken into custody. They likewise ordered the prisoners to be removed from Newgate into the custody of their serjeant-at-arms, lest they should have been discharged by the queen’s granting writs of error. The prisoners, finding themselves at the mercy of the exasperated commons, petitioned the lords for relief. The upper house passed six different resolutions against the conduct of the commons, as being an obstruction to justice, and contrary to Magna Charta. The lower house demanded a conference, in which they insisted upon the sole right of determining elections: they affirmed that they only could judge who had a right of voting, and that they were judges of their own privileges, in which the lords could not intermeddle.

THE PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED.

The upper house demanded a free conference, which proved ineffectual. New resolutions were taken by the commons, diametrically opposite to those of the peers; who, on the other hand, attended the queen with along representation of all the particulars relating to this affair. They affirmed that the proceedings of the house of commons against the Aylesbury men, were wholly new and unprecedented: that it was the birthright of every Englishman, who apprehended himself injured, to seek for redress in her majesty’s courts of justice: that if any power could control this right, and prescribe when he should, and when he should not, be allowed the benefit of the laws, he ceased to be a freeman, and his liberty and property were precarious. They requested, therefore, that no consideration whatever should prevail with her majesty to suffer an obstruction to the known course of justice, but that she would be pleased to give effectual orders for the immediate issuing of the writs of error. The queen assured them that she would have complied with their request, but finding an absolute necessity for putting an immediate end to the session, she knew there could be no further proceedings on that matter. On the very day, which was the fourteenth of March, she went to the house of lords and passed the bills that were ready for the royal assent. Then she thanked the parliament for having despatched the public business: she warned them to avoid the fatal effects of animosity and dissension: and ordered the lord keeper to prorogue them to Thursday the first of May; but on the fifth of April they were dissolved by proclamation, and another was published for calling a new parliament. The queen, accompanied by the prince of Denmark, made an excursion to Newmarket, and afterwards dined by invitation with the university of Cambridge, where she conferred the honour of knighthood upon Dr. Ellis the vice-chancellor, upon James Montague, counsel for the University, and upon the celebrated Isaac Newton, mathematical professor. The two houses of convocation still continued at variance. The lower house penned petulant representations, and the archbishop answered them by verbal reprehension and admonition. The tory interest was now in the wane. The duke of Buckinghamshire was deprived of the privy-seal, and that office conferred on the duke of Newcastle, a nobleman of powerful influence with the whig party. The earl of Montague was created marquis of Mounthermer and duke of Montague; the earl of Peterborough and lord Cholmondeley were chosen of the privy-council; and lord Cutts was sent to command the troops in Ireland under the duke of Ormond.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT.

The ministry of Scotland was now entirely changed. The marquis of Tweedale and Johnston having been found unequal to the undertaking, were dismissed. The duke of Queensberry resumed the management of affairs in that kingdom under the title of lord privy-seal, and the office of commissioner was conferred upon the young duke of Argyle, who succeeded to his father’s influence among the presbyterians. He was a nobleman possessed of good natural talents, which had not been neglected; candid, open, and sincere; brave, passionate, and aspiring; had he been endued with a greater share of liberality, his character would have been truly heroic. At this juncture he was instructed to procure an act of the Scottish parliament, settling the protestant succession, or to set on foot a treaty for the union of the two kingdoms. At the opening of the session in June, the members were divided into three parties, namely, the cavaliers or Jacobites, the revolutioners, the squadrone volante, or flying squadron, headed by the marquis of Tweedale, who disclaimed the other two factions, and pretended to act from the dictates of conscience alone. The parliament was adjourned to the third day of July, when her majesty’s letter was read, earnestly recommending the settlement of the succession in the protestant line, and an act for a commission to treat of an union between the two kingdoms. The marquis of Annandale proposed that the parliament should proceed on the limitations and conditions of government: that a committee should be appointed to consider the condition of the coin and the commerce of the nation. The earl of Mar moved that the house would, preferable to all other business, consider the means for engaging in a treaty with England. After a long debate they resolved to proceed on the coin and the commerce. Schemes for supplying the nation with money by a paper credit were presented by Dr. Hugh Chamberlain and John Law, but rejected. The house resolved that any kind of paper credit, by the circulation of bills, was an improper expedient, and appointed a council to put the laws relating to trade in execution. The duke of Hamilton proposed that the parliament should not proceed to the nomination of a successor until the treaty with England should be discussed, and the limitations settled. This proposal being approved, a draft of an answer to her majesty’s letter was presented by the marquis of Tweedale. Two different forms of an act for a treaty with England were offered by the earl of Mar and the marquis of Lothian: others were produced concerning the elections of officers of state, and the regulation of commerce.

ACT PASSED FOR A TREATY OF UNION.

The chief aim of the cavaliers was to obstruct the settlement of the succession, and with that view they pressed the project of limitations, to which they knew the court would never assent. A motion being made to grant the first reading to an act of commission for a treaty with England, the duke of Hamilton insisted on the limitations, and a vote being stated in these terms, “Proceed to consider the act for a treaty of limitation,” the latter was carried in favour of the cavaliers. On the twenty-second day of August an act for this purpose was approved; and next day an act for a triennial parliament, which the courtiers were enabled to defeat. They likewise passed an act, ordaining, that the Scottish ambassadors representing Scotland should be present when the sovereign might have occasion to treat with foreign princes and states, and be accountable to the parliament of Scotland. Fletcher of Saltoun, presented a scheme of limitations that savoured strongly of republican principles. He afterwards enlarged upon every article, endeavouring to prove that they were absolutely necessary to prevent the consequences of English influence; to enable the nation to defend its rights and liberties; to deter ministers of state from giving bad advice to their sovereign; to preserve the courts of judicature from corruption, and screen the people from tyranny and oppression. The earl of Stair having argued against these limitations, Fletcher replied, “It is no wonder he opposed the scheme; for, had such an act subsisted, his lordship would have been hanged for the bad counsel he had given to king James; for the concern he had in the massacre of Glencoe; and for his conduct since the revolution.” The next subject on which the parliament deliberated was the conspiracy. A motion being made that the house might know what answer the queen had returned to their address in the last session, the chancellor delivered to the clerk register the papers relating to the plot, that they might be perused by the members: but these being copies, and the evidences remaining at London, no further progress was made in the affair. Yet the duke of Athol, in a distinct narrative of the pretended conspiracy, boldly accused the duke of Queensberry of having endeavoured to mislead the queen by false accusations against her good subjects. When the act for a treaty of union fell under consideration, a draft for that purpose, presented by the earl of Mar, was compared with the English act, importing, that the queen should name and appoint not only the commissioners for England, but likewise for Scotland.

Fletcher did not fail to inveigh against the imperious conduct of the English parliament in this affair. He exhorted the house to resent such treatment, and offered the draft of an address to her majesty on the subject, but this the house rejected. Duke Hamilton proposed that a clause might be added to the act, importing, that the union should nowise derogate from any fundamental laws, ancient privileges, offices, rights, liberties, and dignities of the Scottish nation. This occasioned a long debate; and a question being put, was carried in the negative. Another clause was proposed, that the Scottish commissioners should not begin to treat until the English parliament should have rescinded their clause enacting that the subjects of Scotland should be adjudged and taken as aliens after the twenty-fifth day of December. The courtiers, considering the temper of the house, would not venture to oppose this motion directly, but proposed that the clause should be formed into a separate act, and the expedient was approved. Though the Duke of Athol entered a vigorous protest, to which the greater part of the cavaliers and all the squadrone adhered, comprehending four-and-twenty peers, seven-and-thirty barons, and eighteen boroughs, the act for the treaty of union was, after much altercation, finished, empowering commissioners to meet and treat of an union; but restraining them from treating of any alterations of the church government as by law established. Whilst this important subject was under consideration, the duke of Hamilton, to the amazement of his whole party, moved that the nomination of the commissioners should be left to the queen. Fourteen or fifteen of the cavaliers ran out of the house in a transport of indignation, exclaiming that they were deserted and basely betrayed by the duke of Hamilton. A very hot debate ensued, in the course of which the duke was severely handled by those whom he had hitherto conducted: but at length the question being put whether the nomination should be left to the queen or to the parliament, the duke’s motion was approved by a very small majority. He afterwards excused himself for his defection, by saying he saw it was in vain to contend, and that since the court had acquired a great majority, he thought he might be allowed to pay that compliment to his sovereign. He was desirous of being in the commission, and the duke of Argyle promised he should be nominated. The queen refusing to honour him with that mark of distinction, Argyle would not suffer himself to be named, and threatened to oppose the union, but means were found to appease his resentment. Two drafts of an address being presented by the earl of Sutherland and Fletcher of Saltoun, beseeching her majesty to use her endeavours with the parliament of England to rescind that part of their act which declared the subjects of Scotland aliens; and an overture of a bill being offered, ordaining that the Scottish commissioners should not enter upon the treaty of union until that clause should be repealed; the courtiers moved that the parliament should proceed by way of order to their commissioners, and by address to her majesty. After some debate, the house assenting to this proposal, the order and address was drawn up and approved. The great and weighty affair of the treaty being at length happily transacted, though not without a protest by Athol and his adherents, the parliament granted a supply of fifty thousand pounds, and the house was adjourned to the twentieth day of December; then the queen declaring the earl of Mar secretary of state in the room of the marquis of Annandale, who was appointed lord president of the council.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT AND CONVOCATION IN IRELAND.

In Ireland, the parliament met at Dublin on the fifth day of March, and voted one hundred and fifty thousand pounds for the support of the necessary branches of the establishment. A dispute arose between the commons and the lower house of convocation, relating to the tithes of hemp and flax, ascertained in a clause of a bill for the better improvement of the hempen and flaxen manufactures of the kingdom. The lower house of convocation presented a memorial against this clause as prejudicial to the rights and properties of the clergy. The commons voted the person who brought it in guilty of a breach of privilege, and ordered him to be taken into custody. Then they resolved that the convocation were guilty of a contempt and breach of the privilege of that house. The convocation presuming to justify their memorials, the commons voted that all matters relating to it should be razed out of the journals and books of convocation. The duke of Ormond, dreading the consequences of such heats, adjourned the parliament to the first day of May, when the houses meeting again, came to some resolutions that reflected obliquely on the eon-vocation as enemies to her majesty’s government and the protestant succession. The clergy, in order to acquit themselves of all suspicion, resolved in their turn that the church and nation had been happily delivered from popery and tyranny by king William at the revolution: that the continuance of these blessings were due, under God, to the auspicious reign and happy government of her majesty queen Anne: that the future security and preservation of the church and nation depended wholly, under God, on the succession of the crown as settled by law in the protestant line: that if any clergyman should by word or writing declare anything in opposition to these resolutions, they should look upon him as a sower of divisions among the protestants, and an enemy to the constitution. They levelled another resolution against the presbyterians, importing, that to teach or to preach against the doctrine, government, rites, or ceremonies of the church, or to maintain schools or seminaries for the education of youth, in principles contrary to those of the established church, was a contempt of the ecclesiastical laws of the kingdom; of pernicious consequence; and served only to continue and widen the unhappy schisms and divisions in the nation. In June the parliament was prorogued to the same month of the following year: then the duke of Ormond embarked for England, leaving the administration in the hands of sir Richard Cox, lord chancellor, and lord Cutts, the commander-in-chief of the queen’s forces, who were appointed lords-justices during the duke’s absence.

CAMPAIGN ON THE MOSELLE.

During these transactions in Great Britain and Ireland, the allies had not been remiss in their preparations for the ensuing campaign. The duke of Marlborough had fixed upon the Moselle for the scene of action; and magazines of all sorts were formed at Triers. On the thirteenth day of March the duke embarked for Holland, where he prevailed upon the states-general to contribute their troops for the execution of his project. Having concerted with the deputies of the states and the Dutch generals the necessary measures for opening the campaign, he set out for Maestricht in order to assemble his army. On the fifth day of May the emperor Leopold died at Vienna, and was succeeded on the imperial throne by his eldest son Joseph, king of the Romans, a prince who resembled his father in meekness of disposition, narrowness of intellect, and bigotry to the Romish religion. On the fifteenth of June the English troops passed the Maese, and continued their march towards the Moselle, under the command of general Churchill; and the duke set out for Cruetznach, to confer with prince Louis of Baden, who excused himself on pretence of being much indisposed. Marlborough visited him at Castadt, where in a conference they resolved that a sufficient number of German troops should be left for the security of the lines of Lauterburg and Stolhoffen, under the command of general Thungen, and that prince Louis of Baden should march with a large detachment towards the Saar, to act in concert with the duke of Marlborough. The confederate army passed the Moselle and the Saar in the beginning of June, and encamped at Elft in sight of the enemy, who retired with great precipitation, and intrenched themselves in the neighbourhood of Coningsmarcheren. The duke’s design was to besiege Saar-Louis; but prince Louis failed in the performance of his engagement: he feigned himself sick, and repaired to the bath at Schlangenbacle, leaving the small number of imperial troops he conducted as far as Cruetznach, under the command of the count de Frize. He was suspected of treachery; but probably acted from envy of the duke’s military reputation.*

* The duke of Marlborough finding himself obliged to retreat, sent a note with a trumpeter to Villars, containing an apology for decamping:—“Do me the justice, said he, to believe that my retreat is entirely owing to the failure of the prince of Baden; but that my esteem for you is still greater than my resentment of his conduct.”

THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH FORCES THE FRENCH LINES IN BRABANT.

While this nobleman sustained such a mortifying disappointment on the Moselle, the French did not fail to take advantage of their superiority in the Netherlands, where general d’Auverquerque was obliged to stand on the defensive. They invested Huy, and carried on their operations so vigorously, that in a few days the garrison were obliged to surrender themselves prisoners of war; then Villeroy undertook the reduction of Liege, and actually began his works before the citadel. Marlborough was no sooner informed of the enemy’s progress than he marched to Triers, where, in a council, it was resolved that the army should return to the Netherlands. The troops were in motion on the nineteenth of June, and marched with such expedition that they passed the Maese on the first day of July. Villeroy having received advice of the duke’s approach, abandoned his enterprise, and retired to Tonegren, from whence he retreated within his lines, that reached from Marche aux Dames on the Mouse, along the Mehaigne as far as Lenuive. Marlborough having joined d’Auverquerque, sent general Scholten with a detachment to invest Huy, and in a few days the garrison surrendered at discretion. The English general, resolving to strike some stroke of importance that should atone for his disappointment on the Moselle, sent general Hompesch to the states, with a proposal for attacking the French lines; and obtained their permission to do whatever he should think proper for the good of the common cause. Then he explained the scheme in two successive councils of war, by which at length it was approved and resolved upon, though some Dutch generals declared themselves against the undertaking. The enemy were posted along the lines, amounting to one hundred battalions, and one hundred and forty-six squadrons. The allied army did not much exceed that number. In order to divide them, d’Auverquerque made a false motion, and passed the Mehaigne as if he had intended to attack the lines about Messelin. The stratagem succeeded. The French weakened the other parts by strengthening that which was on the side of the Gerbise towards Namur. The duke of Marlborough having made the disposition, the army began to march in the night between the seventeenth and eighteenth of July, in order to force a passage of the French lines at Heylesem, the castle of Wauge, and the villages of Wauge, Neerhespen, and Oostmalen. These posts were taken with very little difficulty; but before the infantry could come up, the enemy advanced with fifty squadrons and twenty battalions, and began to fire from eight pieces of cannon with triple barrels, which did considerable execution. The duke perceiving that they were continually reinforced from the other parts of the lines, ordered the horse to charge their cavalry, which were soon broken and routed; but rallying behind their infantry, interlined with foot, and joined by fresh squadrons, they advanced again towards the allies, who were now sustained by their infantry, and moved forward to renew the charge. After a warm though short engagement, the enemy’s horse were defeated with great slaughter. The infantry, seeing themselves abandoned in the plain, retreated in great disorder, between the villages of Heylesem and Golsteven, where they were joined by the rest of their army, and formed again in order of battle. Meanwhile the duke of Marlborough ordered all his troops to enter the lines; and extended his right towards the great Geete before Tirlemont, where the enemy had left the battalion of Montluc, which surrendered at discretion. In this action the confederates took the marquis d’Alegre and the count de Home, lieutenant-generals, one major-general, two brigadier-generals, with many other officers, and a great number of common soldiers; a large heap of standards, four colours, one pair of kettle-drums, and ten pieces of cannon. In the action, as the duke of Marlborough advanced to the charge at the head of several squadrons, a Bavarian officer rode up to attack him sword in hand; but in raising himself on his stirrups to strike with the greater advantage, he fell from his horse and was immediately slain.

The body of troops commanded by monsieur d’Alegre being thus defeated with little or no loss to the confederates, the elector of Bavaria and the mareschal de Villeroy passed the great Geete and the Deule, with great expedition, and took possession of the strong camp at Parck, their left extending to Eoselser, and their right to Winselen against the height of Louvain. Next day the duke of Marlborough, marching through the plain of Parck, took twelve hundred prisoners, who could not keep pace with the rest of the enemy’s forces; and in the evening he encamped with the right at the abbey of Vliersbeck, and the left before Bierbcek, under the cannon of Louvain. He detached lieutenant-gen-carl Henkelum, the duke of Wirtemberg, and count Oxienstiern, with a considerable body of forces, to attack some posts on the Deule which were slenderly guarded. Their advanced guard accordingly passed the river and repulsed the enemy; but for want of timely support, they were obliged to pass it and retire. On the third of August baron Spaar, with a body of Dutch troops, marched to Raboth on the canal of Bruges, forced the French lines at Lovendegen, and took four forts by which they were defended; but receiving advice that the enemy were on their march towards him, he retired to Mildegem, and carried with him several hostages as security for the payment of the contributions he had raised. On the fifteenth the duke moved from Mildert to Corbais; next day he continued his march to Genap, from whence he advanced to Fischer-mont. On the seventeenth general d’Auverquerque took the post of Waterloo; and next day the confederate army was drawn up in order of battle before the enemy, who extended from Overysche, near the wood of Soignies, to Neerysche, with the little river Ysche in their front, so as to cover Brussels and Louvain. The duke of Marlborough proposed to attack them immediately, before they should recollect themselves from their consternation; and d’Auverquerque approved of the design; but it was opposed by general Schlangenburg and other Dutch officers, who represented it in such a light to the deputies of the states, that they refused to concur in the execution. The duke being obliged to relinquish the scheme, wrote an expostulatory letter to the states-general, complaining of their having withdrawn that confidence which they had reposed in him while he acted Germany. This letter being published at the Hague, excited murmurs among the people, and the English nation were incensed at the presumption of the deputies, who wrote several letters in their own justification to the states-general; but these had no effect upon the populace, by whom the duke was respected even to a degree of adoration. The states being apprised of the resentment that prevailed over all England, and that the earl of Pembroke, lord-president of the council, was appointed as envoy-extraordinary to Holland, with instructions to demand satisfaction, thought proper to anticipate his journey by making submissions to the duke, and removing Schlangenburg from his command. The confederate army returned to Corbais, from whence it inarched to Perwitz, where it encamped. The little town of Sout-Leeuwe, situated in the middle of a morass, and constituting the chief defence of the enemy’s lines, being taken by a detachment under the command of lieutenant-general Dedem, the duke ordered the lines from this place to Wasseigne to be levelled, and the town of Tirlemont to be dismantled; then passing the Demer, he encamped on the nineteenth day of September at Aerschot. About the latter end of the month he marched to Heventlials; from hence the duke repaired to the Hague, where he had several conferences with the pensionary. In a few days he returned to the army, which decamping from Heventlials, marched to Clampthout. On the twenty-fourth day of October, the count de Noyelles invested Santvliet, which surrendered before the end of the month.

HE VISITS THE COURT OF VIENNA.

At this period the duke, in consequence of pressing letters from the emperor, set out for Vienna in order to concert the operations for the ensuing campaign, and other measures of importance, in which the concerns of the allies were interested. In his way he was magnificently entertained by the elector Palatine, and him of Triers, and complimented by the magistracy of Frankfort, where he conferred with prince Louis of Baden. On the twelfth of November he arrived at Vienna, where he was treated with the highest marks of distinction and cordial friendship by their imperial majesties. His son-in-law, the earl of Sunderland, had been sent thither as envoy-extraordinary; and now they conferred together with the emperor and his ministers. They resolved to maintain the war with redoubled vigour. The treaties were renewed, and provision made for the security of the duke of Savoy. The emperor, in consideration of the duke’s signal service to the house of Austria, presented him with a grant of the lordship of Mindel-heim in Suabia, which was now erected into a principality of the Roman empire. In his return with the earl of Sunderland he visited the courts of Berlin and Hanover, where he was received with that extraordinary respect which was due to his character; and arrived at the Hague on the fourteenth day of December. There he settled the operations of the next campaign with the states-general, who consented to join England in maintaining an additional body of ten thousand men reinforcement to the army of prince Eugene in Italy. While the allies were engaged in the siege of Santvliet, the elector of Bavaria sent a detachment, under the command of don Marcello de Grimaldi, to invest Diest, the garrison of which were made prisoners of war.

STATE OF THE WAR ON THE UPPER RHINE, IN HUNGARY, &c.

On the Upper Rhine, mareschal Villars besieged and took Homburgh, and passed the Rhine at Strasburgh on the sixth day of August. Prince Louis of Baden arriving in the camp of the Imperialists at Stolhoffen, not only obliged him to retire, but having passed the river, forced the French lines at Hagenau; then he reduced Drusenheim and Hagenau, but attempted no enterprise equal to the number of his army, although the emperor had expostulated with him severely on his conduct, and he had now a fair opportunity of emulating the glory of Marlborough, upon whom he looked with the eyes of an envious rival. In Italy a battle was fought at Casano, between prince Eugene and the duke de Vendôme, with dubious success. The duke de Feuillade reduced Chivas, and invested Nice, which, after an obstinate defence, surrendered in December. All the considerable places belonging to the duke of Savoy were now taken, except Coni and Turin; and his little army was reduced to twelve thousand men, whom he could hardly support. His duchess, his clergy, and his subjects in general, pressed him to submit to the necessity of his affairs; but he adhered to the alliance with surprising fortitude. He withstood the importunities of his duchess, excluded all the bishops and clergy from his councils; and when he had occasion for a confessor, he chose a priest occasionally either from the Dominicans or Franciscans. The campaign in Portugal began with a very promising aspect. The allies invaded Spain by the different frontiers of Beyra and Alentejo. Their army, under the command of the Condo das Galveas, undertook the siege of Valencia D’Alcantara in May, and took it by assault; Albuquerque surrendered upon articles, and then the troops were sent into quarters of refreshment. The marquis de las Minas, who commanded the Portuguese in the province of Beyra, reduced the town of Salva-terra, plundered and burned Sarca, but was obliged to retire to Panamacos at the approach of the enemy. Towards the end of September the confederates, being reassembled, invested Badajox, by the advice of the earl of Gal-way, who lost his right hand by a cannon ball, and was obliged to be carried off; so that the conduct of the siege was left to General Fagel. He had made considerable progress towards the reduction of the place, when the marquis de Thessé found means to throw in a powerful reinforcement, and then the confederates abandoned the enterprise. The war continued to rage in Hungary with various success. Ragotzki, though frequently worsted, appeared still in arms, and ravaged the country, which became a scene of misery and desolation. In Poland the old cardinal-primate owned Stanislaus, but died before the coronation, which was performed by the bishop of Cujavia. In the beginning of winter king Augustus had passed through Poland in disguise to the Muscovite army, which was put under his command in Lithuania; and the campaign was protracted through the whole winter season, notwithstanding the severity of the weather in that northern climate. In the spring the Swedish general, Reinchild, obtained a complete victory over the Saxon army, which was either cut in pieces or taken, with their camp, baggage, and artillery; yet the war was not extinguished. The king of Sweden continued obstinately deaf to all proposals of peace, and was become as savage in his manners, as brutal in his revenge.

THE FRENCH FLEET DESTROYED, &c.

At sea the arms of the allies were generally prosperous. Philip of Spain, being obstinately bent upon retaking Gibraltar, sent mareschal de Thessé to renew the siege, while de Pontis was ordered to block up the place by sea with his squadron. These French officers carried on the siege with such activity, that the prince of Hesse despatched an express to Lisbon with a letter, desiring sir John Leake to sail immediately to his assistance. This admiral having been reinforced from England by sir Thomas Dilkes, with five sail of the line and a body of troops, set sail immediately; and on the tenth day of March descried five ships of war hauling out of the bay of Gibraltar. These were commanded by de Pontis in person, to whom the English admiral gave chase. One of them struck, after having made a very slight resistance; and the rest ran ashore to the westward of Marbella, where they were destroyed. The remaining part of the French squadron had been blown from their anchors, and taken shelter in the bay of Malaga; but now they slipped their cables and made the best of their way to Toulon. The mareschal de Thessé, inconsequence of this disaster, turned the siege of Gibraltar into a blockade, and withdrew the greater part of his forces. While sir John Leake was employed in this expedition, sir George Byng, who had been ordered to cruise in soundings for the protection of trade, took a ship of forty guns from the enemy, together with twelve privateers, and seven vessels richly laden from the West Indies.

BARCELONA REDUCED BY SIR C. SHOVEL AND LORD PETERBOROUGH.

But the most eminent achievement of this summer was the reduction of Barcelona, by the celebrated earl of Peterborough and sir Cloudesley Shovel, who sailed from St. Helen’s in the latter end of May with the English fleet, having on board a body of five thousand land forces; and on the twentieth day of June arrived at Lisbon; where they were joined by sir John Leake and the Dutch admiral Allemonde. In a council of war, they determined to put to sea with eight-and-forty ships of the line, which should be stationed between cape Spartel and the bay of Cadiz, in order to prevent the junction of the Toulon and Brest squadrons. The prince of Hesse-d’Armstadt arriving from Gibraltar, assured king Charles that the province of Catalonia and the kingdom of Valencia were attached to his interest; and his majesty, being weary of Portugal, resolved to accompany the earl of Peterborough to Barcelona. He accordingly embarked with him on board of the Ranelagh; and the fleet sailed on the twenty-eighth day of July, the earl of Galway having reinforced them with two regiments of English dragoons. At Gibraltar they took on board the English guards, and three old regiments, in lieu of which they left two new raised battalions. On the eleventh day of August they anchored in the bay of Altea, where the earl of Peterborough published a manifesto in the Spanish language, which had such an effect that all the inhabitants of the place, the neighbouring villages, and adjacent mountains, acknowledged king Charles as their lawful sovereign. They seized the town of Denia for his service; and he sent thither a garrison of four hundred men under the command of major-general Ramos. On the twenty-second they arrived in the bay of Barcelona: the troops were disembarked to the eastward of the city, where they encamped in a strong situation, and were well received by the country people. King Charles landed amidst the acclamations of an infinite multitude from the neighbouring towns and villages, who threw themselves at his feet, exclaiming, “Long live the king!” and exhibiting all the marks of the most extravagant joy. The inhabitants of Barcelona were well affected to the house of Austria, but overawed by a garrison of five thousand men under the duke de Popoli, Velasco, and other officers devoted to the interest of king Philip. Considering the strength of such a garrison, and the small number of Dutch and English troops, nothing could appear more desperate and dangerous than the design of besieging the place; yet this was proposed by the prince of Hesse d’Armstadt, who served in the expedition as a volunteer, strongly urged by king Charles, and approved by the earl of Peterborough and sir Cloudesley Shovel. The city was accordingly invested on one side; but, as a previous step to the reduction of it, they resolved to attack the fort of Montjuic, strongly situated on a hill that commanded the city. The out-works were taken by storm, with the loss of the gallant prince of Hesse, who was shot through the body, and expired in a few hours: then the earl of Peterborough began to bombard the body of the fort; and a shell chancing to fall into the magazine of powder, blew it up, together with the governor and some of the best officers: an accident which struck such a terror into the garrison, that they surrendered without further resistance.

THE EARL’S PROGRESS IN SPAIN.

This great point being gained, the English general erected his batteries against the town, with the help of the Miquelets and seamen; the bomb ketches began to fire with such execution, that in a few days the governor capitulated, and on the fourth day of October king Charles entered in triumph. 136 [See note K, at the end of this Vol.] All the other places in Catalonia declared for him, except Roses; so that the largest and richest province of Spain was conquered with an army scarce double the number of the garrison of Barcelona. King Charles wrote a letter with his own hand to the queen of England, containing a circumstantial detail of his affairs, the warmest expressions of acknowledgment, and the highest encomiums on her subjects, particularly the earl of Peterborough. In a council of war it was determined that the king and the earl should continue in Catalonia with the land forces; that sir Cloudesley Shovel should return to England; that five-and-twenty English and fifteen Dutch ships of war should winter at Lisbon under the command of sir John Leake and the Dutch rear-admiral Wassenaer; and that four English and two Dutch frigates should remain at Barcelona. Don Francisco de Velasco was transported to Malaga with about a thousand men of his garrison; the rest voluntarily engaged in the service of king Charles, and six other regiments were raised by the states of Catalonia. The count de Cifuentas, at the head of the Miquelets and Catalans attached to the house of Austria, secured Tar-ragonia, Tortosa, Lerida, San-Mattheo, Gironne, and other places. Don Raphael Nevat, revolting from Philip with his whole regiment of horse, joined general Ramos at Denia, and made themselves masters of several places of importance in the kingdom of Valencia. Flushed with such unexpected success, they penetrated to the capital of the same name, which they surprised, together with the marquis de Villa-Gracia, the viceroy, and the archbishop. These advantages however were not properly improved. The court of Charles was divided into factions, and so much time lost in disputes, that the enemy sent a body of six thousand men into the kingdom of Valencia, under the command of the conde de las Torres, who forthwith invested San-Mattheo, guarded by colonel Jones at the head of five hundred Miquelets. This being a place of great consequence on account of its situation, the earl of Peterborough marched thither with one thousand infantry, and two hundred dragoons; and by means of feigned intelligence artfully conveyed to the conde, induced that general to abandon the siege with precipitation, in the apprehension of being suddenly attacked by a considerable army. Peterborough afterwards took possession of Nules, and purchasing horses at Castillon de la Plana, began to form a body of cavalry which did good service in the sequel. Having assembled a little army, consisting of ten squadrons of horse and dragoons, and four battalions of regular troops, with about three thousand militia, he marched to Molviedro, which was surrendered to him by the governor, brigadier Mahoni. Between this officer and the duke d’Arcos, the Spanish general, he excited such jealousies by dint of artifices, not altogether justifiable even in war, that the duke was more intent upon avoiding the supposed treachery of Mahoni than upon interrupting the earl’s march to Valencia, where the inhabitants expressed uncommon marks of joy at his arrival. About this period a very obstinate action happened at St. Istevan de Litera, where the chevalier d’Asfeldt, with nine squadrons of horse and dragoons, and as many battalions of French infantry, attacked colonel Wills at the head of a small detachment; but this last being supported by lieutenant-general Cunningham, who was mortally wounded in the engagement, repulsed the enemy, though three times his number, with the loss of four hundred men killed upon the spot. The troops on both sides fought with the most desperate valour, keeping up their fire until the muzzles of their pieces met, and charging each other at the point of the bayonet. The only misfortune that attended the English arms in the course of this year, was the capture of the Baltic fleet homeward-bound, with their convoy of three ships of war, which were taken by the Dunkirk squadron under the command of the count de St. Paul, though he himself was killed in the engagement. When an account of this advantage was communicated to the French king, he replied with a sigh, “Very well, I wish the ships were safe again in any English port, provided the count de St. Paul could be restored to life.” After the death of the famous du Bart, this officer was counted the best seaman in France.

NEW PARLIAMENT IN ENGLAND.

The kingdom of England was now wholly engrossed by the election of members for the new parliament. The tories exerted themselves with great industry, and propagated the cry of the church’s being in danger; a cry in which the Jacobites joined with great fervour; but, notwithstanding all their efforts in words and writing, a majority of whigs was returned; and now the lord Godolphin, who had hitherto maintained a neutrality, thought proper openly to countenance that faction. By his interest, co-operating with the influence of the duchess of Marlborough, sir Nathan Wright was deprived of the great seal, which was committed to Mr. William Cowper, with the title of lord-keeper. This was a lawyer of good extraction, superior talents, engaging manners, and eminence in his profession. He was staunch to whig principles, and for many years had been considered as one of their best speakers in the house of commons. The new parliament meeting on the twenty-fifth day of October, a violent contest arose about the choice of a speaker. Mr. Bromley was supported by the tories, and the whigs proposed Mr. John Smith, who was elected by a majority of forty-three voices. The queen in her speech represented the necessity of acting vigorously against France, as a common enemy to the liberties of Europe; she commended the fortitude of the duke of Savoy, which she said was without example; she told them her intention was to expedite commissions for treating of an union with Scotland; she earnestly recommended an union of minds and affections among her people; she observed, that some persons had endeavoured to foment animosities, and even suggested in print that the established church was in danger; she affirmed that such people were enemies to her and the kingdom, and meant only to cover designs which they durst not publicly own, by endeavouring to distract the nation with unreasonable and groundless distrusts and jealousies; she declared she would always affectionately support and countenance the church of England, as by law established; that she would inviolably maintain the toleration; that she would promote religion and virtue, encourage trade, and every thing else that might make them a happy and flourishing people.

BILL FOR A REGENCY.

The majority in both houses now professed the same principles, and were well disposed to support the queen in all her designs. They first presented the usual addresses in the warmest terms of duty and affection. Then the commons drew up a second, assuring her they would, to the utmost of their power, assist her in bringing the treaty of union to a happy conclusion. They desired that the proceedings of the last session of parliament, relating to the union and succession, might be laid before the house. The lords had solicited the same satisfaction; and her majesty promised to comply with their request. The lower house having heard and decided in some cases of controverted elections, proceeded to take into consideration the estimates for the service of the ensuing year, and granted the supplies without hesitation. In the house of lords, while the queen was present, lord Haversham, at the end of a long speech, in which he reflected upon the conduct of the duke of Marlborough, both on the Moselle and in Brabant, moved for an address to desire her majesty would invite the presumptive heir to the crown of England to come and reside in the kingdom. This motion was earnestly supported by the duke of Buckingham, the earls of Rochester, Nottingham, and Anglesea. They said there was no method so effectual to secure the succession as that of the successor’s being upon the spot, ready to assume and maintain his or her right against any pretender; and they observed, that in former times, when the throne of England was vacant, the first comer had always succeeded in his pretensions. The proposal was vehemently opposed by the whigs, who knew it was disagreeable to the queen, whom they would not venture to disoblige. They argued, that a rivalry between the two courts might produce distractions, and be attended with very ill consequences; and observed, that the princess Sophia had expressed a full satisfaction in the assurances of the queen, who had promised to maintain her title. The question being put, was carried in the negative by a great majority. The design of the tories in making this motion, was to bring the other party into disgrace either with the queen or with the people. Their joining in the measure would have given umbrage to their sovereign; and, by opposing it, they ran the risk of incurring the public odium as enemies to the protestant succession: but the pretence of the tories was so thin, the nation saw through it; and the sole effect the motion produced was the queen’s resentment against the whole party. Burnet, bishop of Sarum, proposed, that provision might be made for maintaining the public quiet in the interval between the queen’s decease and the arrival of her successor; the motion was seconded by the lord-treasurer, and a bill brought in for the better security of her majesty’s person and government, and of the succession to the crown of England. By this act a regency was appointed, of the seven persons that should possess the offices of archbishop of Canterbury, lord-chancellor, or lord-keeper, lord-treasurer, lord-president, lord privy-seal, lord high-admiral, and the lord chief-justice of the queen’s bench. Their business was to proclaim the next successor through the kingdom of England, and join with a certain number of persons named as regents by the successor, in three lists to be sealed up and deposited with the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord-keeper, and the ministry residentiary of Hanover. It was enacted, that these joint regencies should conduct the administration; that the last parliament, even though dissolved, should reassemble, and continue sitting for six months after the decease of her majesty. The bill met with a warm opposition from the tories, and did not pass the upper house without a protest. It was still further obstructed in the house of commons even by some of the whig party, who were given to understand that the princess Sophia had expressed an inclination to reside in England. Exceptions were likewise taken to that clause in the bill, enacting, that the last parliament should be reassembled. They affirmed, that this was inconsistent with part of the act by which the succession was at first settled; for among other limitations, the parliament had provided, that when the crown should devolve to the house of Hanover, no man who had either place or pension should be capable of sitting in the house of commons. After tedious disputes and zealous altercations, they agreed that a certain number of offices should be specified as disqualifying places. This self-denying clause, and some other amendments, produced conferences between the two houses, and at length the bill passed by their mutual assent. Lord Haversham moved for an inquiry into the miscarriages of the last campaign, hoping to find some foundation for censure in the conduct of the duke of Marlborough; but the proposal was rejected as invidious; and the two houses presented an address to the queen, desiring she would preserve a good correspondence among all the confederates. They likewise concurred in repealing the act by which the Scots had been alienated, and all the northern counties alarmed with the apprehension of a rupture between the two nations. The lord Shannon and brigadier Stanhope arriving with an account of the expedition to Catalonia, the queen communicated the good news in a speech to both houses, expressing her hope that they would enable her to prosecute the advantages which her arms had acquired. The commons were so well pleased with the tidings, that they forthwith granted two hundred and fifty thousand pounds for her majesty’s proportion in the expense of prosecuting the successes already gained by king Charles III. for the recovery of the monarchy of Spain to the house of Austria. On the fifteenth day of November, the queen gave the royal assent to an act for exhibiting a bill to naturalize the princess Sophia, and the issue of her body.

These measures being taken, the sixth day of December was appointed for inquiring into those dangers to which the tories affirmed the church was exposed; and the queen attended in person, to hear the debates on this interesting subject. The earl of Eochester compared the expressions in the queen’s speech at the beginning of the session, to the law enacted in the reign of Charles II. denouncing the penalties of treason against those who should call the king a papist; for which reason, he said, he always thought him of that persuasion. He affirmed that the church’s danger arose from the act of security in Scotland, the absence of the successor to the crown, and the practice of occasional conformity. He was answered by lord Halifax, who, by way of recrimination, observed that king Charles II. was a Roman-catholic, at least his brother declared him a papist after his death; that his brother and successor was a known Roman-catholic, yet the church thought herself secure; and those patriots who stood up in its defence were discountenanced and punished: nay, when the successor ascended the throne, and the church was apparently in the most imminent danger by the high commission court and otherwise, the nation was then indeed generally alarmed; and every body knew who sat in that court, and entered deeply into the measures which were then pursued. Compton, bishop of London, declared that the church was in danger, from profaneness, irreligion, and the licentiousness of the press. He complained, that sermons were preached wherein rebellion was countenanced, and resistance to the higher powers encouraged. He alluded to a sermon preached before the lord mayor by Mr. Hoadly, now bishop of Winchester. Burnet of Sarum said, the bishop of London was the last man who ought to complain of that sermon; for if the doctrine it contained was not good, he did not know what defence his lordship could make for his appearing in arms at Nottingham. He affirmed the church would be always subject to profaneness and irreligion, but that they were not now so flagrant as they usually had been; he said the society set up for reformation in London and other cities, had contributed considerably to the suppression of vice; he was sure the corporation for propagating the gospel had done a great deal towards instructing men in religion, by giving great numbers of books in practical divinity; by erecting libraries in country parishes; by sending many able divines to the foreign plantations, and founding schools to breed up children in the christian knowledge; though to this expense very little had been contributed by those who appeared so wonderfully zealous for the church. The archbishop of York expressed his apprehension of danger from the increase of dissenters, particularly from the many academies they had instituted; he moved, that the judges might be consulted with respect to the laws that were in force against such seminaries, and by what means they might be suppressed. Lord Wharton moved, that the judges might also be consulted about means of suppressing schools and seminaries held by non-jurors, in one of which the sons of a noble lord in that house had been educated. To this sarcasm the archbishop replied, that his sons were indeed taught by Mr. Ellis, a sober virtuous man; but that when he refused the oath of abjuration, they were immediately withdrawn from his instructions. Lord Wharton proceeded to declare, that he had carefully perused a pamphlet entitled “The Memorial,” which was said to contain a demonstration that the church was in danger; but all he could learn was, that the duke of Buckingham, the earls of Rochester and Nottingham, were out of place; that he remembered some of these noblemen sat in the high commission court, and then made no complaint of the church’s being in danger. Patrick, bishop of Ely, complained of the heat and passion manifested by the gentlemen belonging to the universities, and of the undutiful behaviour of the clergy towards their bishops. He was seconded by Hough of Litchfield and Coventry, who added, that the inferior clergy calumniated their bishops, as if they were in a plot to destroy the church, and had compounded to be the last of their order. Hooper of Bath and Wells, expatiated on the invidious distinction implied in the terms “high church,” and “low church.” The duke of Leeds asserted, that the church could not be safe without an act against occasional conformity. Lord Somers recapitulated all the arguments which had been used on both sides of the question: he declared his own opinion was, that the nation was happy under a wise and just administration; that for men to raise groundless jealousies at that juncture, could mean no less than an intention to embroil the people at home, and defeat the glorious designs of the allies abroad. The debate being finished, the question was put, Whether the church of England was in danger? and carried in the negative by a great majority: then the house resolved, that the church of England, as by law established, which was rescued from the extremest danger by king William III. of glorious memory, is now, by God’s blessings under the happy reign of her majesty, in a most safe and nourishing condition; and that whoever goes about to suggest or insinuate that the church is in danger, under her majesty’s administration, is an enemy to the queen, the church, and the kingdom. Next day the commons concurred in this determination, and joined the lords in an address to the queen, communicating this resolution, beseeching her to take effectual measures for making it public, and also for punishing the authors and spreaders of the seditious and scandalous reports of the church’s being in danger. She accordingly issued a proclamation containing the resolution of the two houses, and offering a reward for discovering the author of the memorial of the church of England, and for apprehending David Edwards, a professed papist, charged upon oath to be the printer and publisher of that libel.

THE PARLIAMENT PROROGUED.

After a short adjournment, a committee of the lower house presented the thanks of the commons to the duke of Marlborough, for his great services performed to her majesty and the nation in the last campaign, and for his prudent negotiations with her allies. This nobleman was in such credit with the people, that when he proposed a loan of five hundred thousand pounds to the emperor, upon a branch of his revenue in. Silesia, the money was advanced immediately by the merchants of London. The kingdom was blessed with plenty; the queen was universally beloved; the people in general were zealous for the prosecution of the war; the forces were well paid; the treasury was punctual; and, though a great quantity of coin was exported for the maintenance of the war, the paper currency supplied the deficiency so well, that no murmurs were heard, and the public credit flourished both at home and abroad. All the funds being established, one in particular for two millions and a-half by way of annuities for ninety-nine years, at six and a-half per cent., and all the bills having received the royal assent, the queen went to the house of peers on the nineteenth day of March, where, having thanked both houses for the repeated instances of their affection which she had received, she prorogued the parliament to the twenty-first day of May following.*

* Among other bills passed during this session, was an act for abridging and reforming some proceedings in the common law and in chancery.

The new convocation, instead of imitating the union and harmony of the parliament, revived the divisions by which the former had been distracted, and the two houses seemed to act with more determined rancour against each other. The upper house having drawn tip a warm address of thanks to the queen for her affectionate care of the church, the lower house refused to concur, nor would they give any reason for their dissent. They prepared another in a different strain, which was rejected by the archbishop. Then they agreed to divers resolutions, asserting their right of having what they offered to the upper house received by his grace and their lordships. In consequence of this dissension the address was dropped, and a stop put to all further communication between the two houses. The dean of Peterborough protested against the irregularities of the lower house. The queen, in a letter to the archbishop, signified her resolution to maintain her supremacy, and the due subordination of presbyters to bishops. She expressed her hope that he and his suffragans would act conformably to her resolution, in which case they might be assured of the continuance of her favour and protection: she required him to impart this declaration to the bishops and clergy, and to prorogue the convocation to such time as should appear most convenient. When he communicated this letter to the lower house, the members were not a little confounded: nevertheless, they would not comply with the prorogation, but continued to sit in defiance of her majesty’s pleasure.

CONFERENCES OPENED FOR A TREATY OF UNION WITH SCOTLAND.

The eyes of Great Britain were now turned upon a transaction of the utmost consequence to the whole island; namely, the treaty for an union of the two kingdoms of England and Scotland. The queen having appointed the commissioners 139 [See note 2 A, at the end of this Vol.] on both sides, they met on the sixteenth day of April, in the council chamber of the Cockpit near Whitehall, which was the place appointed for the conferences. Their commissions being opened and read by the respective secretaries, and introductory speeches being pronounced by the lord-keeper of England, and the lord chancellor of Scotland, they agreed to certain preliminary articles, importing, that all the proposals should be made in writing; and every point, when agreed, reduced to writing; that no points should be obligatory, till all matters should be adjusted in such a manner as would be proper to be laid before the queen and the two parliaments for their approbation; that a committee should be appointed from each commission, to revise the minutes of what might pass, before they should be inserted in the books by the respective secretaries; and that all the proceedings during the treaty should be kept secret. The Scots were inclined to a federal union, like that of the United Provinces; but the English were bent upon an incorporation, so that no Scottish parliament should ever have power to repeal the articles of the treaty. The lord-keeper proposed that the two kingdoms of England and Scotland should be for ever united into one realm, by the name of Great Britain: that it should be represented by one and the same parliament; and that the succession of this monarchy, failing of heirs of her majesty’s body, should be according to the limitations mentioned in the act of parliament passed in the reign of king William, intituled, an act for the further limitation of the crown, and the better securing the rights and liberties of the subject. The Scottish commissioners, in order to comply in some measure with the popular clamour of their nation, presented a proposal implying that the succession to the crown of Scotland should be established upon the same persons mentioned in the act of king William’s reign; that the subjects of Scotland should for ever enjoy all the rights and privileges of the natives in England, and the dominions thereunto belonging; and that the subjects of England should enjoy the like rights and privileges in Scotland; that there should be a free communication and intercourse of trade and navigation between the two kingdoms, and plantations thereunto belonging; and that all laws and statutes in either kingdom, contrary to the terms of this union, should be repealed. The English commissioners declined entering into any considerations upon these proposals, declaring themselves fully convinced that nothing but an entire union could settle a perfect and lasting friendship between the two kingdoms. The Scots acquiesced in this reply, and both sides proceeded in the treaty without any other intervening dispute. They were twice visited by the queen, who exhorted them to accelerate the articles of a treaty that would prove so advantageous to both kingdoms. At length they were finished, arranged, and mutually signed, on the twenty-second of July, and next day presented to her majesty, at the palace of St. James’s, by the lord-keeper, in the name of the English commissioners; at the same time a sealed copy of the instrument was likewise delivered by the lord chancellor of Scotland; and each made a short oration on the subject, to which the queen returned a very gracious reply. That same day she dictated an order of council, that whoever should be concerned in any discourse or libel, or in laying wagers relating to the union, should be prosecuted with the utmost rigour of the law.

SUBSTANCE OF THE TREATY.

In this famous treaty it was stipulated, that the succession to the united kingdom of Great Britain should be vested in the princess Sophia, and her heirs, according to the acts already passed in the parliament of England: that the united kingdoms should be represented by one and the same parliament: that all the subjects of Great Britain should enjoy a communication of privileges and advantages: that they should have the same allowances, encouragements, and drawbacks; and be under the same prohibitions, restrictions, and regulations, with respect to commerce and customs: that Scotland should not be charged with the temporary duties on some certain commodities: that the sum of three hundred and ninety-eight thousand and eighty-five pounds ten shillings, should be granted to the Scots, as an equivalent for such parts of the customs and excise charged upon that kingdom in consequence of the union, as would be applicable to the payment of the debts of England, according to the proportion which the customs and excise of Scotland bore co those of England: that, as the revenues of Scotland might increase, a further equivalent should be allowed for such proportion of the said increase as should be applicable to the payment of the debts of England: that the sura to be paid at present, as well as the monies arising from the future equivalents, should be employed in reducing the coin of Scotland to the standard and value of the English coin; in paying off the capital stock and interest due to the proprietors of the African company, which should be immediately dissolved; in discharging all the public debts of the kingdom of Scotland; in promoting and encouraging manufactures and fisheries, under the direction of commissioners to be appointed by her majesty, and accountable to the parliament of Great Britain: that the laws concerning public right, policy, and civil government, should be the same throughout the whole united kingdom; but that no alteration should be made in laws which concerned private right, except for evident utility of the subjects within Scotland: that the court of session and all other courts of judicature in Scotland, should remain as then constituted by the laws of that kingdom, with the same authority and privileges as before the union; subject, nevertheless, to such regulations as should be made by the parliament of Great Britain: that all heritable offices, superiorities, heritable jurisdictions, offices for life, and jurisdictions for life, should be reserved to the owners, as rights and property, in the same manner as then enjoyed by the laws of Scotland: that the rights and privileges of the royal boroughs in Scotland should remain entire after the union: that Scotland should be represented in the parliament of Great Britain by sixteen peers and forty-five commoners, to be elected in such a manner as should be settled by the present parliament of Scotland: that all peers of Scotland, and the successors to their honours and dignities, should, from and after the union, be peers of Great Britain, and should have rank and precedency next and immediately after the English peers of the like orders and degrees, at the time of the union; and before all peers of Great Britain of the like orders and degrees, who might be created after the union: that they should be tried as peers of Great Britain, and enjoy all privileges of peers, as fully as enjoyed by the peers of England, except the right and privilege of sitting in the house of lords, and the privileges depending thereon, and particularly the right of sitting upon the trials of peers: that the crown, sceptre, and sword of state, the records of parliament, and all other records, rolls, and registers whatsoever, should still remain as they were, within that part of the united kingdom called Scotland: that all laws and statutes in either kingdom, so far as they might be inconsistent with the terms of these articles, should cease and be declared void by the respective parliaments of the two kingdoms.—Such is the substance of that treaty of union which was so eagerly courted by the English ministry, and proved so unpalatable to the generality of the Scottish nation.

CHAPTER IX.

Battle of Ramillies, in which the French are defeated..... The Siege of Barcelona raised by the English fleet..... Prince Eugene obtains a complete victory over the French at Turin..... Sir Cloudesley Shovel sails with a reinforcement to Charles king of Spain..... the king of Sweden marches into Saxony..... The French King demands Conferences for a Peace..... Meeting of the Scottish Parliament..... Violent Opposition to the Union..... The Scots in general averse to the Treaty, which is nevertheless confirmed in their Parliament..... Proceedings in the English Parliament..... The Commons approve of the Articles of the Union..... The Lords pass a Bill for the Security of the Church of England..... Arguments used against the Articles of the Union, which, however, are confirmed by Act of Parliament..... The Parliament revived by Proclamation..... The Queen gives audience to a Muscovite Ambassador..... Proceedings in Convocation..... France threatened with total Ruin..... The Allies are defeated at Almanza..... Unsuccessful Attempt upon Toulon..... Sir Cloudesley Shovel wrecked on the Rocks of Scilly..... Weakness of the Emperor on the Upper Rhine..... Interview between the King of Sweden and the Duke of Marlborough..... Inactive Campaign in the Netherlands..... Harley begins to form a Party against the Duke of Marlborough..... The Nation discontented with the Whig Ministry..... Meeting of the first British Parliament..... Inquiry into the State of the War in Spain..... Gregg, a Clerk in the Secretary’s Office, detected in a Correspondence with the French Ministry..... Harley resigns his Employments..... The Pretender embarks at Dunkirk for Scotland..... His design is defeated..... State of the Nation at that Period..... Parliament dissolved..... The French surprise Ghem and Bruges..... They are routed at Oudenarde..... The Allies invest Lisle..... They defeat a large Body of French Forces at Wynendale..... The Elector of Bavaria attacks Brussels..... Lisle surrendered..... Ghent taken, and Bruges abandoned..... Conquest of Minorca by General Stanhope..... Rupture between the Pope and the Emperor..... Death of Prince George of Denmark..... The new Parliament assembled..... Naturalization Bill..... Act of Grace..... Disputes about the Muscovite Ambassador compromised.

THE FRENCH DEFEATED AT THE BATTLE OF RAMILLIES.

While this treaty was on the carpet at home, the allied arms prospered surprisingly in the Netherlands, in Spain, and in Piedmont. The French king had resolved to make very considerable efforts in these countries; and, indeed, at the beginning of the campaign his armies were very formidable. He hoped that, by the reduction of Turin and Barcelona, the war would be extinguished in Italy and Catalonia. He knew that he could out-number any body of forces that prince Louis of Baden should assemble on the Rhine; and he resolved to reinforce his army in Flanders, so as to be in a condition to act offensively against the duke of Marlborough. This nobleman repaired to Holland in the latter end of April, and conferred with the states-general. Then he assembled the army between Borschloen and Groes Waren, and found it amounted to seventy-four battalions of foot, and one hundred and twenty-three squadrons of horse and dragoons, well furnished with artillery and pontoons. The court of France having received intelligence that the Danish and Prussian troops had not yet joined the confederates, ordered the elector of Bavaria and the mareschal Villeroy to attack them before the junction could be effected. In pursuance of this order they passed the Deule on the nineteenth day of May, and posted themselves at Tirlemont, being superior in number to the allied army. There they were joined by the horse of the army, commanded by mareschal Marsin, and encamped between Tirlemont and Judoigne. On Whitsunday, early in the morning, the duke of Marlborough advanced with his army in eight columns towards the village of Ramillies, being by this time joined by the Danes; and he learned that the enemy were in march to give him battle. Next day the French generals perceiving the confederates so near them, took possession of a strong camp, the right extending to the tomb of Hautemont, on the side of the Mehaigne; their left to Anderkirk; and the village of Ramillies being near their centre. The confederate army was drawn up in order of battle, with the right wing near Foltz on the brook of Yause, and the left by the village of Franquenies, which the enemy had occupied. The duke ordered lieutenant-general Schultz, with twelve battalions and twenty pieces of cannon, to begin the action by attacking Eamillies, which was strongly fortified with artillery. At the same time velt-mareschal d’Auverquerque on the left commanded colonel Wertmuller, with four battalions and two pieces of cannon, to dislodge the enemy’s infantry posted among the hedges of Franquenies. Both these orders were successfully executed. The Dutch and Danish horse of the left wing charged with great vigour and intrepidity, but were so roughly handled by the troops of the French king’s household, that they began to give way, when the duke of Marlborough sustained them with the body of reserve, and twenty squadrons drawn from the right, where a morass prevented them from acting. In the meantime, he in person rallied some of the broken squadrons, in order to renew the charge, when his own horse falling, he was surrounded by the enemy, and must have been either killed or taken prisoner, had not a body of infantry come seasonably to his relief. When he remounted his horse, the head of colonel Brienfield, his gentleman of the horse, was carried off by a cannon ball while he held the duke’s stirrup. Before the reinforcement arrived, the best part of the French mousquetaires were cut in pieces. All the troops posted in Ramillies were either killed or taken. The rest of the enemy’s infantry began to retreat in tolerable order, under cover of the cavalry on their left wing, which formed themselves in three lines between Ossuz and Anderkirk; but the English horse having found means to pass the rivulet which divided them from the enemy, fell upon them with such impetuosity, that they abandoned their foot, and were terribly slaughtered in the village of Anderkirk. They now gave way on all sides. The horse fled three different ways, but were so closely pursued that very few escaped. The elector of Bavaria and the mareschal de Villeroy saved themselves with the utmost difficulty. Several waggons of the enemy’s van-guard breaking down in a narrow pass, obstructed the way in such a manner that the baggage and artillery could not proceed; nor could their troops defile in order. The victorious horse being informed of this accident, pressed on them so vigorously that great numbers threw down their arms and submitted. The pursuit was followed through Judoigne till two o’clock in the morning, five leagues from the field of battle, and within two of Louvaine. In a word, the confederates obtained a complete victory. They took the enemy’s baggage and artillery, about one hundred and twenty colours or standards, six hundred officers, six thousand private soldiers, and about eight thousand were killed or wounded.*

* The French impute the loss of this battle to the misconduct of Villeroy, who, it must be owned, made a most wretched disposition. When he returned to Versailles, where he expected to meet with nothing else but reproaches, Louis received him without the least mark of displeasure, saying, “Mr. Mareschal, you and I are too old to be fortunate.”

Prince Maximilian and prince Monbason lost their lives; the major-general Palavicini and Mizieres were taken, together with the marquasses de Bar, de Nonant, and de la Beaume, (this last the son of the mareschal de Tallard,) monsieur de Montmorency, nephew to the duke of Luxembourg, and many other persons of distinction. The loss of the allies did not exceed three thousand men, including prince Louis of Hesse, and Mr. Bentinck, who were slain in the engagement. The French generals retired with precipitation to Brussels, while the allies took possession of Louvaine, and next day encamped at Bethlem. The battle of Eamillies was attended with the immediate conquest of all Brabant. The cities of Louvaine, Mechlin, Brussels, Antwerp, Ghent, and Bruges, submitted without resistance, and acknowledged king Charles. Ostend, though secured by a strong garrison, was surrendered after a siege of ten days. Menin, esteemed the most finished fortification in the Netherlands, and guarded by six thousand men, met with the same fate. The garrison of Dendermonde surrendered themselves prisoners of war; and Aeth submitted on the same conditions. The French troops were dispirited. The city of Paris was overwhelmed with consternation. Louis affected to bear his misfortunes with calmness and composure; but the constraint had such an effect upon his constitution, that his physicians thought it necessary to prescribe frequent bleeding, which he accordingly underwent. At his court no mention was made of military transactions: all was solemn, silent, and reserved.

THE SIEGE OF BARCELONA RAISED.

Had the issue of the campaign in Catalonia been such as the beginning seemed to prognosticate, the French king might have in some measure consoled himself for his disgraces in the Netherlands. On the sixth day of April king Philip, at the head of a numerous army, undertook the siege of Barcelona, while the count de Thoulouse blocked it up with a powerful squadron. The inhabitants, animated by the presence of king Charles, made a vigorous defence; and the garrison was reinforced with some troops from Gironne and other places. But, after the fort of Montjuic was taken, the place was so hard pressed, that Charles ran the utmost risk of falling into the hands of the enemy; for the carl of Peterborough, who had marched from Valencia with two thousand men, found it impracticable to enter the city. Nevertheless, he maintained his post upon the hills; and, with surprising courage and activity, kept the besiegers in continual alarm. At length, sir John Leake sailed from Lisbon with thirty ships of the line; and on the eighth day of May arrived in sight of Barcelona. The French admiral no sooner received intelligence of his approach, than he set sail for Toulon. In three days after his departure, king Philip abandoned the siege and retired in great disorder, leaving behind his tents, with the sick and wounded. On the side of Portugal, the duke of Berwick was left with such an inconsiderable force as proved insufficient to defend the frontiers. The earl of Galway, with an army of twenty thousand men, undertook the siege of Alcantra; and in three days the garrison, consisting of four thousand men, were made prisoners of war. Then he marched to Placentia, and advanced as far as the bridge of Almaris; but the Portuguese would penetrate no farther until they should know the fate of Barcelona. When they understood the siege was raised, they consented to proceed to Madrid. Philip guessed their intention, posted to that capital, and sent his queen with all his valuable effects to Burgos, whither he followed her in person, after having destroyed everything that he could not carry away. About the latter end of June, the earl of Galway entered the city without resistance; but the Spaniards were extremely mortified to see an army of Portuguese, headed by an heretic, in possession of their capital. King Charles loitered away his time in Barcelona, until his competitor recovered his spirits, and received such reinforcements as enabled him to return to Madrid with an army equal to that commanded by the earl of Galway. This general made a motion towards Arragon, in order to facilitate his conjunction with Charles, who had set out by the way of Saragossa, where he was acknowledged as sovereign of Arragon and Valencia. In the beginning of August this prince arrived at the Portuguese camp with a small reinforcement; and in a few days was followed by the carl of Peterborough, at the head of five hundred dragoons. The two armies were now pretty equal in point of number; but as each expected farther reinforcements, neither chose to hazard an engagement. The earl of Peterborough, who aspired to the chief command, and hated the prince of Lichtenstein, who enjoyed the confidence of king Charles, retired in disgust; and embarking on board an English ship of war, set sail for Genoa. The English fleet continued all the summer in the Mediterranean; they secured Carthagena, which had declared for Charles; they took the town of Alicant by assault, and the castle by capitulation. Then sailing out of the Straits, one squadron was detached to the West Indies, another to lie at Liston, and the rest were sent home to England.

PRINCE EUGENE OBTAINS A COMPLETE VICTORY OVER THE FRENCH.

Fortune was not more propitious to the French in Italy than in Flanders. The duke de Vendôme having been recalled to assume the command in Flanders after the-battle of Ramillies, the duke of Orleans was placed at the head of the army in Piedmont, under the tutorage and direction of the mareschal de Marsin. They were ordered to besiege Turin, which was accordingly invested in the month of May, and the operations carried on till the beginning of September. Great preparations had been made for this siege. It was not undertaken until the duke of Savoy had rejected all the offers of the French monarch, which were sufficient to have shaken a prince of less courage and fortitude. The duke de la Feuillade having finished the lines of circumvallation and contravallation, sent his quarter-master-general with a trumpet to offer passports and a guard for the removal of the duchess and her children. The duke of Savoy replied, that he did not intend to remove his family, and that the mareschal might begin to execute his master’s orders whenever he should think fit; but, when the siege began with uncommon fury, and the French fired red-hot balls into the place, the two duchesses, with the young prince and princesses, quitted Turin, and retired to Quierasco, from whence they were conducted through many dangers into the territories of Genoa. The duke himself forsook his capital in order to put himself at the head of his cavalry; and was pursued from place to place by five and forty squadrons, under the command of the count d’Aubeterre. Notwithstanding the very noble defence which was made by the garrison of Turin, which destroyed fourteen thousand of the enemy during the course of the siege, the defences were almost ruined, their ammunition began to fail, and they had no prospect of relief but from prince Eugene, who had numberless difficulties to en-counter before he could march to their assistance. The duke de Vendôme, before he left Italy, had secured all the fords of the Adige, the Mincio, and the Oglio, and formed such lines and intrenchments as he imagined would effectually hinder the Imperial general from arriving in time to relieve the city of Turin. But the prince surmounted all opposition; passed four great rivers in despite of the enemy, and reached the neighbourhood of Turin on the thirteenth day of August. There, being joined by the duke of Savoy, he passed the Po between Montcalier and Cavignan. On the fifth day of September they took a convoy of eight hundred loaded mules: next day they passed the Doria, and encamped with the right on the bank of that river before Pianessa, and the left on the Stura before the Veneria. The enemy were intrenched, having the Stura on their right, the Doria on their left, and the convent of Capuchins, called Notre Dame de la Campagne, in their centre. When prince Eugene approached Turin, the duke of Orleans proposed to march out of the intrenchments and give him battle; and this proposal was seconded by all the general officers, except Marsin, who, finding the duke determined, produced an order from the French king commanding the duke to follow the mareschal’s advice. The court of Versailles was now become afraid of hazarding an engagement against those who had so often defeated their armies; and this officer had private instructions to keep within the trenches. On the seventh day of September the confederates marched up to the entrenchments of the French in eight columns, through a terrible fire from forty pieces of artillery, and were formed in order of battle within half cannon-shot of the enemy. Then they advanced to the attack with surprising resolution, and met with such a warm reception as seemed to stop their progress. Prince Eugene perceiving this check, drew his sword, and putting himself at the head of the battalions on the left, forced the entrenchments at the first charge. The duke of Savoy met with the same success in the centre, and on the right near Lucengo. The horse advanced through the intervals of the foot, left for that purpose; and breaking in with vast impetuosity, completed the confusion of the enemy, who were defeated on all hands, and retired with precipitation to the other side of the Po, while the duke of Savoy entered his capital in triumph. The duke of Orleans exhibited repeated proofs of the most intrepid courage, and received several wounds in the engagement. Mareschal de Marsin fell into the hands of the victors, his thigh being shattered with a ball, and died in a few hours after the amputation. Of the French army about five thousand men were slain on the field of battle; a great number of officers, and upwards of seven thousand men were taken, together with two hundred and fifty-five pieces of cannon, one hundred and eighty mortars, an incredible quantity of ammunition, all the tents and baggage, five thousand beasts of burden, ten thousand horses belonging to thirteen regiments of dragoons, and the mules of the commissary-general, so richly laden that this part of the booty alone was valued at three millions of livres. The loss of the confederates did not exceed three thousand men killed or disabled in the action, besides about the same number at the garrison of Turin, which had fallen since the beginning of the siege. This was such a fatal stroke to the interest of Louis, that madame de Main-tenon would not venture to make him folly acquainted with the state of his affairs. He was told that the duke of Orleans had raised the siege of Turin at the approach of prince Eugene, but he knew not that his own army was defeated and ruined. The spirits of the French were a little comforted in consequence of an advantage gained about this time by the count de Medavigrancey, who commanded a body of troops left in the Mantuan territories. He surprised the prince of Hesse in the neighbourhood of Castiglione, and obliged him to retire to the Adige with the loss of two thousand men; but this victory was attended with no consequence in their favour. The duke of Orleans retreated into Dauphiné, while the French garrisons were driven out of every place they occupied in Piedmont and Italy, except Cremona, Valenza, and the castle of Milan, which were blocked up by the confederates.

SIR C. SHOVEL SAILS WITH A REINFORCEMENT TO CHARLES.

Over and above these disasters which the French sustained in the course of this campaign, they were miserably alarmed by the project of an invasion from Britain, formed by the marquis de Guiscard, who, actuated by a family disgust, had abandoned his country and become a partisan of the confederates. He was declared a lieutenant-general in the emperor’s army, and came over to London, after having settled a correspondence with the malcontents in the southern parts of France. He insinuated himself into the friendship of Henry St. John, secretary of war, and other persons of distinction. His scheme of invading France was approved by the British ministry, and he was promoted to the command of a regiment of dragoons destined for that service. About eleven thousand men were embarked under the conduct of Earl Rivers, with a large train of artillery; and the combined squadrons, commanded by sir Cloudesley Shovel, set sail from Plymouth on the thirteenth day of August. Next day they were forced into Torbay by contrary winds, and there they held a council of war to concert their operations, when they discovered that Guiscard’s plan was altogether chimerical, or at least founded upon such slight assurances and conjectures as could not justify their proceeding to execution. An express was immediately despatched to the admiralty with the result of this council; and, in the meantime, letters arrived at court from the earl of Galway, after his retreat from Madrid to Valencia, soliciting succours with the most earnest entreaties. The expedition to France was immediately postponed, and sir Cloudesley Shovel was ordered to make the best of his way to Lisbon, there to take such measures as the state of the war in Spain should render necessary. Guiscard and his officers being set on shore, the fleet sailed with the first fair wind, and towards the latter end of October arrived at Lisbon. On the twenty-eighth day of the next month the king of Portugal died, and his eldest son and successor being but eighteen years of age, was even more than his father influenced by a ministry which had private connexions with the court of Versailles. Nevertheless, sir Cloudesley Shovel and Earl Rivers, being pressed by letters from king Charles and the earl of G-alway, sailed to their assistance in the beginning of January; and on the twenty-eighth arrived at Alicant, from whence the earl of Rivers proceeded by land to Valencia, in order to assist at a general council of war. The operations of the ensuing campaign being concerted, and the army joined by the reinforcement from England, earl Rivers, disliking the country, returned with the admiral to Lisbon.

THE KING OF SWEDEN MARCHES INTO SAXONY.

Poland was at length delivered from the presence of the king of Sweden, who in the beginning of September suddenly marched through Lusatia into Saxony; and in a little time laid that whole electorate under contribution. Augustus being thus cut off from all resource, resolved to obtain peace on the Swede’s own terms, and engaged in a secret treaty for this purpose. In the meantime the Poles and Muscovites attacked the Swedish forces at Kalish in Great Poland, and by dint of numbers routed them with great slaughter. Notwithstanding this event, Augustus ratified the treaty, by which he acknowledged Stanislaus as true and rightful king of Poland, reserving to himself no more than the empty title of sovereign. The confederates were not a little alarmed to find Charles in the heart of Germany, and the French court did not fail to court his alliance; but he continued on the reserve against all their solicitations. Then they implored his mediation for a peace; and he answered, that he would interpose his good offices as soon as he should know they would be agreeable to the powers engaged in the grand alliance.

THE FRENCH KING DEMANDS CONFERENCES FOR A PEACE.

The pride of Louis was now humbled to such a degree as might have excited the compassion of his enemies. He employed the elector of Bavaria to write letters in his name to the duke of Marlborough and the deputies of the states-general, containing proposals for opening a congress. He had already tampered with the Dutch, in a memorial presented by the marquis d’Alegre. He likewise besought the pope to interpose in his behalf. He offered to cede either Spain and the West Indies, or Milan, Naples, and Sicily, to king Charles; to give up a barrier for the Dutch in the Netherlands; and to indemnify the duke of Savoy for the ravages that had been committed in his dominions. Though his real aim was’ peace, yet he did not despair of being able to excite such jealousies among the confederates as might shake the basis of their union. His hope was not altogether disappointed. The court of Vienna was so much alarmed at the offers he had made, and the reports circulated by his emissaries, that the emperor resolved to make himself master of Naples before the allies should have it in their power to close with the proposals of France. This was the true motive of his concluding a treaty with Louis in the succeeding winter, by which the Milanese was entirely evacuated, and the French king at liberty to employ those troops in making strong efforts against the confederates in Spain and the Netherlands. The Dutch were intoxicated with success, and their pensionary, Heinsius, entirely influenced by the duke of Marlborough, who found his account in the continuance of the war, which at once gratified his warice and ambition; for all his great qualities were obscured by the sordid passion of accumulating wealth. During the whole war the allies never had such an opportunity as they now enjoyed to bridle the power of France effectually, and secure the liberties of the empire; and indeed, if their real design was to establish an equal balance between the houses of Austria and Bourbon, it could not have been better effected than by dividing the Spanish monarchy between these two potentates. The accession of Spain, with all its appendages, to either, would have destroyed the equilibrium which the allies proposed to establish. But other motives contributed to a continuation of the war. The powers of the confederacy were fired with the ambition of making conquests; and England in particular thought herself intitled to an imdemnification for the immense sums she had expended. Animated by these concurring considerations, queen Anne and the states-general rejected the offers of France; and declared that they would not enter into any negotiation for peace, except in concert with their allies.

MEETING OF THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT.

The tories of England began to meditate schemes of opposition against the duke of Marlborough. They looked upon him as a selfish nobleman, who sacrificed the interest of the nation, in protracting a ruinous war for his own private advantage. They saw their country oppressed with an increasing load of taxes, which they apprehended would in a little time become an intolerable burden; and they did not doubt but at this period such terms might be obtained as would fully answer the great purpose of the confederacy. This indeed was the prevailing opinion among all the sensible people of the nation who were not particularly interested in the prosecution of the war, either by being connected with the general, or in some shape employed in the management of the finances. The tories were likewise instigated by a party spirit against Marlborough, who, by means of his wife, was in full possession of the queen’s confidence, and openly patronized the whig faction. But the attention of people in general was now turned upon the Scottish parliament, which took into consideration the treaty of union lately concluded between the commissioners of both kingdoms. On the third day of October the duke of Queensberry, as high commissioner, produced the queen’s letter, in which she expressed her hope that the terms of the treaty would be acceptable to her parliament of Scotland. She said, an entire and perfect union would be the solid foundation of a lasting peace: it would secure their religion, liberty, and property; remove the animosities that prevailed among themselves, and the jealousies that subsisted between the two nations: it would increase their strength, riches, and commerce: the whole island would be joined in affection, and free from all apprehensions of different interests: it would be enabled to resist all its enemies, support the protestant interest everywhere, and maintain the liberties of Europe. She renewed her assurance of maintaining the government of their church; and told them, that now they had an opportunity of taking such steps as might be necessary for its security after the union. She demanded the necessary supplies. She observed, that the great success with which Almighty God had blessed her arms, afforded the nearer prospect of a happy peace, with which they would enjoy the full advantages of this union: that they had no reason to doubt but the parliament of England would do all that should be necessary on their part to confirm the union: finally, she recommended calmness and unanimity in deliberating on this great and weighty affair, of such consequence to the whole island of Great Britain.

VIOLENT OPPOSITION TO THE UNION.

Hitherto the articles of the union had been industriously concealed from the knowledge of the people: but the treaty being recited in parliament, and the particulars divulged, such a flame was kindled through the whole nation as had not appeared since the restoration. The cavaliers or Jacobites had always foreseen that this union would extinguish all their hopes of a revolution in favour of the pretender. The nobility found themselves degraded in point of dignity and influence, by being excluded from their seats in parliament. The trading part of the nation beheld their commerce saddled with heavy duties and restrictions, and considered the privilege of trading to the English plantations as a precarious and uncertain prospect of advantage. The barons, or gentlemen, were exasperated at a coalition by which their parliament was annihilated, and their credit destroyed. The people in general exclaimed, that the dignity of their crown was betrayed; that the independency of their nation had fallen a sacrifice to treachery and corruption; that whatever conditions might be speciously offered, they could not expect they would be observed by a parliament in which the English had such a majority. They exaggerated the dangers to which the constitution of their church would be exposed from a bench of bishops, and a parliament of episcopalians. This consideration alarmed the presbyterian ministers to such a degree, that they employed all their power and credit in waking the resentment of their hearers against the treaty, which produced an universal ferment among all ranks of people. Even the most rigid puritans joined the cavaliers in expressing their detestation of the union; and laying aside their mutual animosities, promised to co-operate in opposing a measure so ignominous and prejudicial to their country. In parliament, the opposition was headed by the dukes of Hamilton and Athol, and the marquis of Annandale. The first of these noblemen had wavered so much in his conduct, that it is difficult to ascertain his real political principles. He was generally supposed to favour the claim of the pretender; but he was afraid of embarking too far in his cause, and avoided violent measures in the discussion of the treaty, lest he should incur the resentment of the English parliament, and forfeit the estate he possessed in that kingdom. Athol was more forward in his professions of attachment to the court of St. Germain’s; but he had less ability, and his zeal was supposed to be inflamed by resentment against the ministry. The debates upon the different articles of the treaty were carried on with great heat and vivacity, and many shrewd arguments were used against this scheme of incorporating the union. One member affirmed, that it would furnish a handle to any aspiring prince to overthrow the liberties of all Britain; for if the parliament of Scotland could alter, or rather subvert its constitution, this circumstance might be a precedent for the parliament of Great Britain to assume the same power: that the representatives for Scotland would, from their poverty, depend upon those who possessed the means of corruption; and having expressed so little concern for the support of their own constitution, would pay very little regard to that of any other. “What!” said the duke of Hamilton, “shall we in half an hour give up what our forefathers maintained with their lives and fortunes for many ages? Are here none of the descendants of those worthy patriots who defended the liberty of their country against all invaders; who assisted the great king Robert Bruce to restore the constitution, and revenge the falsehood of England and the usurpation of Baliol? Where are the Douglasses and Campbells? Where are the peers, where are the barons, once the bulwark of the nation? Shall we yield up the sovereignty and independency of our country, when we are commanded by those we represent to preserve the same, and assured of their assistance to support us?” The duke of Athol protested against an incorporating union, as contrary to the honour, interest, fundamental laws, and constitution of the kingdom of Scotland, the birthright of the peers, the rights and privileges of the barons and boroughs, and to the claim of right, property, and liberty of the subjects. To this protest nineteen peers and forty-six commoners adhered. The earl-marshal entered a protest, importing, that no person being successor to the crown of England should inherit that of Scotland, without such previous limitations as might secure the honour and sovereignty of the Scottish crown and kingdom, the frequency and power of parliament, the religion, liberty, and trade of the nation, from English or any foreign influence. He was seconded by six-and-forty members. With regard to the third article of the union, stipulating, that both kingdoms should be represented by one and the same parliament, the country party observed that, by assenting to this expedient, they did in effect sink their own constitution, while that of England underwent no alteration: that in all nations there are fundamentals which no power whatever can alter: that the rights and privileges of parliament being one of those fundamentals among the Scots, no parliament, or any other power, could ever legally prohibit the meeting of parliaments, or deprive any of the three estates of its right of sitting or voting in parliament, or give up the rights and privileges of parliament: but that by this treaty the parliament of Scotland was entirely abrogated, its rights and privileges sacrificed, and those of the English parliament substituted in their place. They argued that though the legislative power in parliament was regulated and determined by a majority of voices; yet the giving up the constitution, with the rights and privileges of the nation, was not subject to suffrage, being founded on dominion and property, and therefore could not be legally surrendered without the consent of every person who had a right to elect and be represented in parliament. They affirmed, that the obligation laid on the Scottish members to reside so long in London in attendance on the British parliament, would drain Scotland of all its money, impoverish the members, and subject them to the temptation of being corrupted. Another protest was entered by the marquis of Annandale against an incorporating union, as being odious to the people, subversive of the constitution, sovereignty, and claim of right, and threatening ruin to the church as by law established. Fifty-two members joined in this protestation. Almost every article produced the most inflammatory disputes. The lord Belhaven enumerated the mischiefs which would attend the union in a pathetic speech, that drew tears from the audience, and is at this day looked upon as a prophecy by great part of the Scottish nation. Addresses against the treaty were presented to parliament by the convention of boroughs, the commissioners of the general assembly, the company trading to Africa and the Indies, as well as from several shires, stewartries, boroughs, towns, and parishes, in all the different parts of the kingdom, without distinction of whig or tory, episcopalian or presbyterian. The earl of Buchan for the peers, Lockhart of Camwarth for the barons, sir William Stuart in behalf of the peers, barons, boroughs, the earls of Errol and Marischal for themselves, as high-constable and earl-marshal of the kingdom, protested severally against the treaty of union.

While this opposition raged within doors, the resentment of the people rose to transports of fury and revenge. The more rigid presbyterians, known by the name of Cameronians, chose officers, formed themselves into regiments, provided horses, arms, and ammunition, and marching to Dumfries, burned the articles of union at the Market-cross, justifying their conduct in a public declaration. They made a tender of their attachment to duke Hamilton, from whom they received encouragement in secret. They reconciled themselves to the episcopalians and the cavaliers: they resolved to take the route to Edinburgh, and dissolve the parliament; while the duke of Athol undertook to secure the pass of Stirling with his highlanders, so as to open the communication between the western and northern parts of the kingdom. Seven or eight thousand men were actually ready to appear in arms at the town of Hamilton, and march directly to Edinburgh, under the duke’s command, when that nobleman altered his opinion, and despatched private couriers through the whole country, requiring the people to defer their meeting till further directions. The more sanguine cavaliers accused his grace of treachery, but in all likelihood he was actuated by prudential motives. He alleged, in his own excuse, that the nation was not in a condition to carry on such an enterprise, especially as the English had already detached troops to the border, and might in a few days have wafted over a considerable reinforcement from Holland. During this commotion among the Cameronians, the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow were filled with tumults. Sir Patrick Johnston, provost of Edinburgh, who had been one of the commissioners for the union, was besieged in his own house by the populace, and would have been torn in pieces had not the guards dispersed the multitude. The privy-council issued a proclamation against riots, commanding all persons to retire from the streets whenever the drum should beat; ordering the guards to fire upon those who should disobey this command, and indemnifying them from all prosecution for maiming or slaying the lieges. These guards were placed all round the house in which the peers and commons were assembled, and the council received the thanks of the parliament for having thus provided for their safety. Notwithstanding these precautions of the government, the commissioner was constantly saluted with the curses and imprecations of the people as he passed along: his guards were pelted, and some of his attendants wounded with stones as they sat by him in the coach, so that he was obliged to pass through the streets on full gallop.

Against all this national fury the dukes of Queensberry and Argyle, the earls of Montrose, Seafield, and Stair, and the other noblemen attached to the union, acted with equal prudence and resolution. They argued strenuously against the objections that were started in the house. They magnified the advantages that would accrue to the kingdom from the privileges of trading to the English plantations, and being protected in their commerce by a powerful navy; as well as from the exclusion of a popish pretender, who they knew was odious to the nation in general. They found means, partly by their promises, and partly by corruption, to bring over the earls of Roxburgh and Marchmont, with the whole squadron who had hitherto been unpropitious to the court. They disarmed the resentment of the clergy, by promoting an act to be inserted in the union, declaring the presbyterian discipline to be the only government in the church of Scotland, unalterable in all succeeding times, and a fundamental article of the treaty. They soothed the African company with the prospect of being indemnified for the losses they had sustained. They amused individuals with the hope of sharing the rest of the equivalent. They employed emissaries to allay the ferment among the Cameronians, and disunite them from the cavaliers, by canting, praying, and demonstrating the absurdity, sinfulness, and danger of such a coalition. These remonstrances were reinforced by the sum of twenty thousand pounds, which the queen privately lent to the Scottish treasury, and which was now distributed by the ministry in such a manner as might best conduce to the success of the treaty. By these practices they diminished, though they could not silence, the clamour of the people, and obtained a considerable majority in parliament, which out-voted all opposition. Not but that the duke of Queensberry at one time despaired of succeeding, and being in continual apprehension for his life, expressed a desire of adjourning the parliament, until by time and good management he should be able to remove those difficulties that then seemed to be insurmountable. But the lord-treasurer Godolphin, who foresaw that the measure would be entirely lost by delay, and was no judge of the difficulties, insisted upon his proceeding. It was at this period that he remitted the money, and gave directions for having forces ready at a call, both in England and Ireland. At length the Scottish parliament approved and ratified all the articles of the union with some small variation. Then they prepared an act for regulating the election of the sixteen peers and forty-five commoners to represent Scotland in the British parliament. This being touched with the sceptre, the three estates proceeded to elect their representatives. The remaining part of the session was employed in making regulations concerning the coin, in examining the accounts of their African company, and providing for the due application of the equivalent, which was scandalously misapplied. On the twenty-fifth day of March the commissioner adjourned the parliament, after having, in a short speech, taken notice of the honour they had acquired in concluding an affair of such importance to their country. Having thus accomplished the great purpose of the court, he set out for London, in the neighbourhood of which he was met by above forty noblemen in their coaches, and about four hundred gentlemen on horseback. Next day he waited upon the queen at Kensington, from whom he met with a very gracious reception. Perhaps there is not another instance upon record of a ministry’s having carried a point of this importance against such a violent torrent of opposition, and contrary to the general sense and inclination of a whole exasperated people. The Scots were persuaded that their trade would be destroyed, their nation oppressed, and their country ruined, in consequence of the union with England, and indeed their opinion was supported by very plausible arguments. The majority of both nations believed that the treaty would produce violent convulsions, or at best prove ineffectual. But we now see it has been attended with none of the calamities that were prognosticated; that it quietly took effect, and fully answered all the purposes for which it was intended. Hence we may learn that many great difficulties are surmounted, because they are not seen by those who direct the execution of any great project; and that many schemes, which theory deems impracticable, will yet succeed in the experiment.

PROCEEDINGS in the ENGLISH PARLIAMENT.

The English parliament assembling on the third day of December, the queen, in her speech to both houses, congratulated them on the glorious successes of her arms. She desired the commons would grant such supplies as might enable her to improve the advantages of this successful campaign. She told them that the treaty of union, as concluded by the commissioners of both kingdoms, was at that time under the consideration of the Scottish parliament; and she recommended despatch in the public affairs, that both friends and enemies might be convinced of the firmness and vigour of their proceedings. The parliament was perfectly well disposed, to comply with all her majesty’s requests. Warm debates were presented by both houses. Then they proceeded to the consideration of the supply, and having examined the estimates in less than a week, voted near six millions for the service of the ensuing year. Nevertheless, in examining the accounts some objections arose. They found that the extraordinary supplies for the support of king Charles of Spain, amounted to eight hundred thousand pounds more than the sums provided by parliament. Some members argued that very ill consequences might ensue, if a ministry could thus run the nation in debt, and expect the parliament should pay the money. The courtiers answered, that if anything had been raised without necessity, or ill applied, it was reasonable that those who were in fault should be punished; but as this expense was incurred to improve advantages, at a time when the occasion could not be communicated to parliament, the ministry was rather to be applauded for their zeal, than condemned for their liberality. The question being put, the majority voted that those sums had been expended for the preservation of the duke of Savoy, for the interest of king Charles against the common enemy, and for the safety and honour of the nation. When the speaker presented the money-bills, he told her, that as the glorious victory obtained by the duke of Marlborough at Ramillies, was fought before it could be supposed the armies were in the field, so it was no less surprising that the commons had granted supplies to her majesty, before the enemy could well know that the parliament was sitting. The general was again honoured with the thanks of both houses. The lords in an address besought the queen to settle his honours on his posterity. An act was passed for this purpose; and, in pursuance of another address from the commons, a pension of five thousand pounds out of the post-office was settled upon him and his descendants. The lords and commons having adjourned themselves to the last day of December, the queen closed the year with triumphal processions. As the standards and colours taken at Blenheim had been placed in Westminster-hall, so now those that had been brought from the field of Ramillies were put up in Guildhall, as trophies of that victory. About this time the earls of Kent, Lindsey, and Kingston, were raised to the rank of marquisses. The lords Wharton, Paulet, Godolphin, and Cholmondeley, were created earls. Lord Walden, son and heir-apparent to the earl of Suffolk, obtained the title of earl of Bindon. The lord-keeper Cowper, and sir Thomas Pelham, were ennobled as barons.

THE COMMONS APPROVE OF THE ARTICLES OF THE UNION.

The parliament being assembled after their short recess, the earl of Nottingham moved for an address to the queen, desiring her majesty would order the proceedings of the commissioners for the union, as well as those of the Scottish parliament on the said subject, to be laid before them. He was seconded by the duke of Buckingham and the earl of Rochester; and answered by the earl of Godolphin, who told them they needed not doubt but that her majesty would communicate those proceedings, as soon as the Scottish parliament should have discussed the subject of the union. The lords Wharton, Somers, and Halifax observed, that it was for the honour of the nation that the treaty of union should first come ratified from the parliament of Scotland; and that then and not before, it would be a proper time for the lords to take it into consideration. On the twenty-eighth clay of January, the queen in person told both houses that the treaty of union, with some additions and alterations, was ratified by an act of the Scottish parliament: that she had ordered it to be laid before them; and hoped it would meet with their concurrence and approbation. She desired the commons would provide for the payment of the equivalent, in case the treaty should be approved. She observed to both houses, that now they had an opportunity of putting the last hand to a happy union of the two kingdoms; and that she should look upon it as a particular happiness if this great work, which had been so often attempted without success, could be brought to perfection in her reign. When the commons formed themselves into a committee of the whole house, to deliberate on the articles of the union, and the Scottish act of ratification, the tory party, which was very weak in that assembly, began to start some objections. Sir John Packington disapproved of this incorporating union, which he likened to a marriage with a woman against her consent. He said it was a union carried on by corruption and bribery within doors, by force and violence without; that the promoters of it had basely betrayed their trust, in giving up their independent constitution, and he would leave it to the judgment of the house, to consider whether or not men of such principles were fit to be admitted into their house of representatives. He observed that her majesty, by the coronation oath, was obliged to maintain the church of England as by law established; and likewise bound by the same oath to defend the presbyterian kirk of Scotland in one and the same kingdom. Now, said he, after this union is in force, who shall administer this oath to her majesty? It is not the business of the Scots, who are incapable of it, and no well-wishers to the church of England. It is then only the part of the bishops to do it, and can it be supposed that those reverend persons will, or can act a thing so contrary to their own order and institution, as thus to promote the establishment of the presbyterian church government in the united kingdom? He added, that the church of England being established jure divino, and the Scots pretending that the kirk was also jure divino, he could not tell how two nations that clashed in so essential an article could unite; he therefore thought it proper to consult the convocation about this critical point. A motion was made, that the first article of the treaty, which implies a peremptory agreement to an incorporating union, should be postponed; and that the house should proceed to the consideration of the terms of the intended union, contained in the other articles. This proposal being rejected, some tory members quitted the house; and all the articles were examined and approved without further opposition. The whigs were so eager in the prosecution of this point, that they proceeded in a very superficial manner, and with such precipitation as furnished their enemies with a plausible pretence to affirm, that they had not considered the treaty with the coolness and deliberation which an affair of this importance required.

Before the lords began to investigate the articles of the union, they, at the instance of the archbishop of Canterbury, brought in a bill for the security of the church of England, to be inserted as a fundamental and essential part of that treaty. It passed through both houses without opposition, and received the royal assent. On the fifteenth clay of February, the debates concerning the union began in the house of lords, the queen being present, and the bishop of Sarum chairman of the committee. The earls of Rochester, Anglesea, and Nottingham, argued against the union; as did the bishop of Bath and Wells. Lord Haversham, in a premeditated harangue, said the question was, whether two nations independent in their sovereignties, that had their distinct laws and interests, their different forms of worship, church-government, and order, should be united into one kingdom? He supposed it a union made up of so many mismatched pieces, of such jarring incongruous ingredients, that should it ever take effect, it would carry the necessary consequences of a standing power and force to keep them from falling asunder and breaking in pieces every moment. Pie repeated what had been said by lord Bacon, that an unity pieced up by direct admission of contrarieties in the fundamental points of it, is like the toes of Nebuchadnezzar’s image, which were made of iron and clay—-they may cleave together, but would never incorporate. He dissented from the union for the sake of the good old English constitution, in which he dreaded some alteration from the additional weight of sixty-one Scottish members, and these too returned by a Scottish privy-council. He took notice, that above one hundred Scottish peers, and as many commoners, were excluded from sitting and voting in parliament, though they had as much right of inheritance to sit there as any English peer had of sitting in the parliament of England. He expressed his apprehension of this precedent; and asked what security any peer of England had for this right and privilege of peerage, which those lords had not. He said, If the bishops would weaken their own cause, so far as to give up the two great points of episcopal ordination and confirmation; if they would approve and ratify the act for securing the presbyterian church-government in Scotland, as the true protestant religion and purity of worship; they must give up that which had been contended for between them and the presbyterians for thirty years, and been defended by the greatest and most learned men in the church of England. He objected to the exempting articles, by which heritable offices and superiorities were reserved. He affirmed that the union was contrary to the sense of the Scottish nation; that the murmurs of the people had been so loud as to fill the whole kingdom; and so bold as to reach even to the doors of the parliament; that the parliament itself had suspended their beloved clause in the act of security for arming the people; that the government had issued a proclamation pardoning all slaughter, bloodshed, and maiming committed upon those who should be found in tumults. From these circumstances he concluded, that the Scottish nation was averse to an incorporating union, which he looked upon as one of the most dangerous experiments to both nations. Lord North and Grey complained of the small and unequal proportion of the land-tax imposed upon Scotland. The earl of Nottingham said it was highly unreasonable that the Scots, who were by the treaty let into all the branches of the English trade, and paid so little towards the expense of the government, should moreover have such a round sum by way of equivalent. The same topics were insisted on by the lords North and Grey, Guernsey, Granville, Stawel, and Abingdon. The earl of Nottingham, after having opposed every article separately, concluded with words to this effect; “As sir John Maynard said to the late king at the revolution, that having buried all his contemporaries in Westminster-hall, he was afraid, if his majesty had not come in that very juncture of time, he might have likewise outlived the very laws; so, if this union do pass, as I have no reason to doubt but it will, I may justly affirm I have outlived all the laws, and the very constitution of England: I, therefore, pray to God to avert the dire effects which may probably ensue from such an incorporating union.”

These arguments and objections were answered by the lord-treasurer Godolphin, the earls of Sunderland and Wharton, the lords Townshend, Halifax, and So-mers, the bishops of Oxford, Norwich, and Sarum. They observed that such an important measure could not be effected without some inconveniences; but that these ought to be borne in consideration of the greatness of the advantage: that the chief dangers to which the church was exposed arose from France and popery; and this union would effectually secure it against these evils: that Scotland lay on the weakest side of England, which could not be defended but by an expensive army. Should a war break out between the two nations, and Scotland be conquered, yet even in that case it would be necessary to keep it under with a standing army, which any enterprising prince might model for his ambitious purposes, and joining with the Scots, enslave his English dominion; that any union after a conquest would be compulsive, consequently of short duration; whereas now it was voluntary, it would be lasting; that with regard to ecclesiastical affairs, all heats and animosities might be allayed by soft and gentle management. The cantons of Switzerland, though they professed different religions, were yet united in one general body; and the diet of Germany was composed of princes and states, among whom three different persuasions prevailed; so that two sorts of discipline might very well subsist under one legislature. If there was any danger on either side, it threatened the Scots much more than the English, as five hundred and thirteen members could certainly be too hard for forty-five; and in the house of lords, six-and-twenty bishops would always preponderate against sixteen peers from Scotland. Notwithstanding all the opposition made by the lords of the tory interest, every article was approved by a great majority, though not without a good number of protestations; and a bill of ratification was prepared in the lower house by sir Simon Harcourt, the solicitor-general, in such an artful manner as to prevent all debates. All the articles, as they passed in Scotland, were recited by way of preamble, together with the acts made in both parliaments for the security of the several churches; and, in conclusion, there was one clause by which the whole was ratified and enacted into a law. By this contrivance, those who were desirous of starting new difficulties found themselves disabled from pursuing their design. They could not object to the recital, which was barely matter of fact; and they had not strength sufficient to oppose the general enacting clause. On the other hand, the whigs promoted it with such zeal that it passed by a majority of one hundred and fourteen, before the others had recollected themselves from the surprise which the structure of the bill had occasioned. It made its way through the house of lords with equal despatch; and, when it received the royal sanction, the queen expressed the utmost satisfaction. She said she did not doubt but it would be remembered and spoke of hereafter to the honour of those who had been instrumental in bringing it to such a happy conclusion. She desired that her subjects of both kingdoms should from henceforward behave with all possible respect and kindness towards one another, that so it might appear to all the world they had hearts disposed to become one people.

PARLIAMENT REVIVED BY PROCLAMATION.

As the act of union did not take place till the first of May, a great number of traders in both kingdoms resolved to make advantage of this interval. The English proposed to export into Scotland such commodities as entitled them to a drawback, with a view to bring them back after the first of May. The Scots, on the other hand, as their duties were much lower than those in England, intended to import great quantities of wine, brandy, and other merchandise, which they could sell at a greater advantage in England after the union, when there would be a free intercourse between the two nations. Some of the ministers had embarked in this fraudulent design, which alarmed the merchants of England to such a degree, that they presented a remonstrance to the commons. Resolutions were immediately taken in the house against these practices, and a bill was prepared; but the lords apprehending that it in some measure infringed the articles of the union, and that it might give umbrage to the Scottish nation, it was dropped. The frauds had been in a good measure prevented by the previous resolutions of the house; and the first day of May was now at hand; so that the bill was thought unnecessary. On the twenty-fourth day of April the queen prorogued the parliament, after having given them to understand that she would continue by proclamation the lords and commons already assembled, as members in the first British parliament on the part of England, pursuant to the powers vested in her by the acts of parliament of both kingdoms, ratifying the treaty of union. The parliament was accordingly revived by proclamation, and another issued to convoke the first parliament of Great Britain for the twenty-third day of October. The Scots repaired to London, where they were well received by the queen, who bestowed the title of duke on the earls of Roxburgh and Montrose. She likewise granted a commission for a new privy-council in that kingdom, to be in force till the next session of parliament, that the nation might not be disgusted by too sudden an alteration of outward appearances. The first of May was appointed as a day of public thanksgiving; and congratulatory addresses were sent up from all parts of England; but the university of Oxford prepared no compliment; and the Scots were wholly silent on this occasion.

THE QUEEN GIVES AUDIENCE TO A MUSCOVITE AMBASSADOR.

In the course of this session the commons, in an address to the queen, desired she would resettle the islands of St. Christopher’s and Nevis in the West Indies, which had been ravaged by the enemy. They likewise resolved, that an humble address should be presented to her majesty, praying she would concert measures for suppressing a body of pirates who had made a settlement on the island of Madagascar, as also for recovering and preserving the ancient possessions, trade, and fishery in Newfoundland. The French refugees likewise delivered a remonstrance to the queen, recapitulating the benefits which the persecuted protestants in France had reaped from the assistance of her royal progenitors, acknowledging their own happiness in living under her gentle government, among a people by whom they had been so kindly entertained when driven from their native country; and imploring her majesty’s interposition and good offices in favour of their distressed and persecuted brethren abroad. She graciously received this address, declaring she had always great compassion for the unhappy circumstances of the protestants in France; that she would communicate her thoughts on this subject to her allies; and she expressed her hope that such measures might be taken as should effectually answer the intent of their petition. In the month of May she granted an audience to an ambassador-extraordinary from the czar of Muscovy, who delivered a letter from his master, containing complaints of king Augusts, who had maltreated the Russian troops sent to his assistance, concluded a dishonourable peace with Charles king of Sweden, without the knowledge of his allies, and surrendered count Patkul, the Muscovite minister, as a deserter, to the Swedish monarch, contrary to the law of nations, and even to the practice of barbarians. He therefore desired her Britannic majesty would use her good offices for the enlargement of the count, and the other Russian prisoners detained at Stockholm; and that she would take into her protection the remains of the Russian auxiliaries upon the Rhine, that they might either enter into the service of the allies, or be at liberty to return in safety to their own country. The queen actually interposed in behalf of Patkul; but her intercession proved ineffectual, and that unhappy minister was put to death with all the circumstances of wanton barbarity. As many severe and sarcastic writings had lately appeared in which the whigs and ministry were reviled, and reflections hinted to the prejudice of the queen’s person, the government resolved to make examples of the authors and publishers of these licentious productions. Dr. Joseph Browne was twice pilloried for a copy of verses, intituled “The Country Parson’s Advice to the Lord-Keeper,” and a letter which he afterwards wrote to Mr. Secretary Hailey. William Stevens, rector of Sutton in Surrey, underwent the same sentence, as author of a pamphlet called “A Letter to the Author of the Memorial of the Church of England.” Edward Ward was fined and set in the pillory, for having written a burlesque poem on the times, under the title of “Hudibras Redivivus;” and the same punishment was inflicted upon William Pittes, author of a performance, intituled “The Case of the Church of England’s Memorial fairly stated.”

PROCEEDINGS IN CONVOCATION.

The lower house of convocation still continued to wrangle with their superiors; and though they joined the upper house in a congratulatory address to the queen on the success of her arms, they resolved to make application to the commons against the union. The queen being apprised of their design, desired the archbishop to prorogue them for three weeks, before the expiration of which the act of union had passed in parliament. The lower house delivered a representation to the bishops, in which they affirmed no such prorogation had ever been ordered during the session of parliament. The bishops found in their records seven or eight precedents of such prorogations, and above thirty instances of the convocation having sat sometimes before, and sometimes after, a session of parliament; nay, sometimes even when the parliament was dissolved. The queen, informed of these proceedings, wrote a letter to the archbishop, intimating that she looked upon the lower house as guilty of an invasion of her royal supremacy; and that if any thing of the same nature should be attempted for the future, she would use such means for punishing offenders as the law warranted. The prolocutor absenting himself from the convocation, the archbishop pronounced sentence of contumacy against him. The lower house, in a protestation, declared this sentence unlawful and altogether null. Nevertheless the prolocutor made a full submission, with which the archbishop was satisfied, and the sentence was repealed. About this period the earl of Sunderland was appointed one of the secretaries of state, in the room of sir Charles Hedges. This change was not effected without great opposition from Harley, who was in his heart an enemy to the duke of Marlborough and all his adherents; and had already, by his secret intrigues, made considerable progress in a scheme for superseding the influence of the duchess.

FRANCE THREATENED WITH TOTAL RUIN.

The French king at this juncture seemed to be entirely abandoned by his former good fortune. He had sustained such a number of successive defeats as had drained his kingdom of people, and his treasury was almost exhausted. He endeavoured to support the credit of his government by issuing mint-bills, in imitation of the bank-notes of England; but, notwithstanding all his precautions, they passed at a discount of three-and-fifty per cent. The lands lay uncultivated; the manufactures could be no longer carried on; and the subjects perished with famine. The allies, on the other hand, seemed to prosper in every quarter. They had become masters of the greatest part of the Netherlands, in consequence of the victory at Ramillies; the army of king Charles was considerably reinforced; a scheme was formed for the conquest of Toulon, by the troops of the emperor and the duke of Savoy, supplied with a large sum of money by queen Anne, and assisted by the combined fleets of England and Holland, under the command of sir Cloudesley Shovel. In a word, France seemed to be reduced to the verge of destruction, from which nothing in all probability could have saved her but the jealousy and misconduct of the confederates. Louis, by virtue of his capitulation with the emperor in Italy, was enabled to send such reinforcements into Spain as turned the fortune of the war in that country; while the distractions in the council of king Charles prevented that unanimity and concurrence without which no success can be expected. The earl of Peterborough declared against an offensive war, on account of the difficulty of finding subsistence in Castile; and advised Charles to trust to the expedition against Toulon. This opinion he sent from Italy, to which he had withdrawn.

THE ALLIES ARE DEFEATED AT ALMANZA.

Charles, however, was persuaded to penetrate once more to Madrid, and give battle to the enemy wherever they should appear. On the thirteenth day of March the army was assembled at Caudela, to the number of sixteen thousand men; under the auspices of the marquis das Minas, to whom the earl of Galway was second in command. They marched towards Yecla, and undertook the siege of Vilena; but having received intelligence that the duke of Berwick was in the neighbourhood, they advanced on the fourteenth day of April in four columns towards the town of Almanza, where the enemy were drawn up in order of battle, their number being considerably superior to that of the confederates. The battle began about two in the afternoon, and the whole front of each army was fully engaged. The English and Dutch squadrons on the left, sustained by the Portuguese horse of the second line, were overpowered after a gallant resistance. The centre, consisting chiefly of battalions from Great Britain and Holland, obliged the enemy to give way, and drove their first upon their second line; but the Portuguese cavalry on the right being broken at the first charge, the foot betook themselves to flight; so that the English and Dutch troops being left naked on the flanks, were surrounded and attacked on every side. In this dreadful emergency they formed themselves into a square, and retired from the field of battle. By this time the men were quite spent with fatigue, and all their ammunition exhausted: they were ignorant of the country, abandoned by their horse, destitute of provisions, and cut off from all hope of supply. Moved by these dismal considerations, they capitulated and surrendered themselves prisoners of war, to the amount of thirteen battalions. The Portuguese, and part of the English horse, with the infantry that guarded the baggage, retreated to Alcira, where they were joined by the earl of Galway, with about five and twenty hundred dragoons which he had brought from the field of battle. About three thousand men of the allied army were killed upon the spot, and among that number brigadier Killegrew, with many officers of distinction. The earl of Galway, who charged in person at the head of Guiscard’s dragoons, received two deep cuts in the face. The marquis das Minas was run through the arm, and saw his concubine, who fought in the habit of an Amazon, killed by his side: the lords Tyrawley, Mark Ker, and colonel Glayton, were wounded: all their artillery, together with an hundred and twenty colours and standards, and about ten thousand men, were taken; so that no victory could be more complete; yet it was not purchased without the loss of two thousand men slain in the action, including some officers of eminence. The duke of Berwick, who commanded the troops of king Philip, acquired a great addition of fame by his conduct and behaviour before and during the engagement; but his authority was superseded by the duke of Orleans, who arrived in the army immediately after the battle. This prince seemed to entertain some private views of his own; for he took no effectual step to improve the victory. He began a private negotiation with the earl of Galway, during which the two armies lay inactive on the banks of the Cinca; and he concluded the campaign with the siege of Lerida, which was surrendered by capitulation on the second day of November: then the troops on both sides went into winter quarters. The earl of Galway and the Marquis das Minas embarked at Barcelona for Lisbon, and general Carpenter remained commander of the English forces quartered in Catalonia, which was now the only part of Spain that remained to king Charles.

UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT UPON TOULON.

The attempt upon Toulon by the duke of Savoy and prince Eugene might have succeeded, if the emperor, notwithstanding the repeated remonstrances of the maritime powers, had not divided his army in Italy, by detaching a considerable body through the ecclesiastical state towards Naples, of which he took possession without any difficulty. Besides, ten thousand recruits destined for the Imperial forces in Italy were detained in Germany, from an apprehension of the king of Sweden, who remained in Saxony, and seemed to be upon very indifferent terms with the emperor. With the assistance of the English and Dutch fleets, the duke of Savoy and prince Eugene passed the Var 149 [See note 2 B, at the end of this Vol.] on the eleventh day of July, at the head of an army of thirty thousand men, and marched directly towards Toulon, whither the artillery and ammunition were conveyed on board of the combined squadrons. The French king was extremely alarmed at this attempt, as five thousand pieces of cannon, vast magazines, and the best part of his fleet, were in the harbour of Toulon, and ran the greatest risk of being entirely taken or destroyed. The whole kingdom of France was filled with consternation when they found their enemies were in the bosom of their country. The monarch resolved to leave no stone unturned for the relief of the place, and his subjects exerted themselves in a very extraordinary manner for its preservation. The nobility of the adjacent provinces armed their servants and tenants, at the head of whom they marched into the city: they coined their plate, and pawned their jewels for money to pay the workmen employed upon the fortifications; and such industry was used, that in a few days the town and harbour, which had been greatly neglected, were put in a good posture of defence. The allies took possession of the eminences that commanded the city, and the ordnance being landed, erected batteries. From these they began to cannonade and bombard the city, while the fleet attacked and reduced two forts at the entrance of the Mole, and co-operated in the siege with their great guns and bomb-ketches. The garrison was numerous, and defended the place with great vigour. They sunk ships in the entrance to the Mole: they kept up a prodigious fire from the ramparts: they made desperate sallies, and even drove the besiegers from one of their posts with great slaughter. The French king, alarmed at this design of his enemies, ordered troops to march towards Toulon from all parts of his dominions. He countermanded the forces that were on their route to improve the victory of Almanza: a great part of the army under Villars on the Bhine was detached to Provence, and the court of Versailles declared, that the duke of Burgundy should march at the head of a strong army to the relief of Toulon. The duke of Savoy being apprized of these preparations, seeing no hope of reducing the place, and being apprehensive that his passage would be intercepted, resolved to abandon his enterprise. The artillery being re-embarked, with the sick and wounded, he decamped in the night, under favour of a terrible bombardment and cannonading from the English fleet, and retreated to his own country without molestation.* Then he undertook the reduction of Susa, the garrison of which surrendered at discretion. By this conquest he not only secured the key to his own dominions, but also opened to himself a free passage into Dauphiné.

* Had the duke of Savoy marched with expedition from the Var, he would have found Toulon defenceless; but he lingered in such a manner as gives reason to believe he was not hearty in the enterprise; and his operations were retarded by a difference between him and his kinsman prince Eugene.

SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVEL WRECKED.

Sir Cloudesley Shovel having left a squadron with sir Thomas Dilkes for the Mediterranean service, set sail for England with the rest of the fleet, and was in soundings on the twenty-second day of October. About eight o’clock at night his own ship, the Association, struck upon the rocks of Scilly, and perished with every person on board. This was likewise the fate of the Eagle and the Romney: the Firebrand was dashed in pieces on the rocks; but the captain and four-and-twenty men saved themselves in the boat: the Phoenix was driven on shore: the Royal Anne was saved by the presence of mind and uncommon dexterity of sir George Byng and his officers: the St. George, commanded by lord Dursley, struck upon the rocks, but a wave set her afloat again. The admiral’s body being cast ashore, was stripped and buried in the sand; but afterwards discovered and brought into Plymouth, from whence it was conveyed to London, and interred in Westminster-abbey. Sir Cloudesley Shovel was born of mean parentage in the county of Suffolk; but raised himself to the chief command at sea, by his industry, valour, skill, and integrity. On the upper Rhine the allies were unprosperous.150 [See note C, at the end of this Vol.] The prince of Baden was dead, and the German army so inconsiderable, that it could not defend the lines of Buhl against the mareschal de Villars, who broke through this work, esteemed the rampart of Germany, reduced Rastadt, defeated a body of horse, laid the duchy of Wirtemberg under contribution, took Stutgard and Schorndorf; and routed three thousand Germans intrenched at Lorch, under the command of general Janus, who was made prisoner. In all probability, this active officer would have made great progress towards the restoration of the elector of Bavaria, had not he been obliged to stop in the middle of his career, in consequence of his army’s being diminished by sending off detachments to Provence. The Imperial army retired towards Hailbron, and the command of it was, at the request of the emperor and allies, assumed by the elector of Hanover, who restored military discipline, and acted with uncommon prudence and circumspection; but he had not force sufficient to undertake any enterprise of importance.

INTERVIEW BETWEEN THE KING OF SWEDEN AND THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH.

In the month of April, the duke of Marlborough set out from the Hague for Leipsic, with a letter from the queen to Charles XII. of Sweden, whose designs were still so mysterious, that the confederates could not help being alarmed at his being in the heart of Germany. The duke was pitched upon as the most proper ambassador, to soothe his vanity and penetrate into his real intention.*

* When the duke arrived in his coach at the quarters of count Piper, of whom he had demanded an audience, he was given to understand that the count was busy, and obliged to wait half an hour before the Swedish minister came down to receive him. When he appeared at last, the duke alighted from his coach, put on his hat, passed the count without saluting him, and went aside to the wall, where having staid some time, he returned and accosted him with the most polite address.

He found this original character not simple, but sordid in his appearance and economy, savage in his deportment, ferocious, illiterate, stubborn, implacable, and reserved. The English general assailed him on the side of his vanity, the only part by which he was accessible. “Sire,” said he, “I present to your majesty a letter, not from the chancery, but from the heart of the queen my mistress, and written with her own hand. Had not her sex prevented her from taking so long a journey, she would have crossed the sea to see a prince admired by the whole universe. I esteem myself happy in having the honour of assuring your majesty of my regard; and I should think it a great happiness, if my affairs would allow me, to learn under so great a general as your majesty, what I want to know in the art of war.” Charles was pleased with this overstrained compliment, which seems to have been calculated for a raw unintelligent barbarian, unacquainted with the characters of mankind. He professed particular veneration for queen Anne, as well as for the person of her ambassador, and declared he would take no steps to the prejudice of the grand alliance. Nevertheless, the sincerity of this declaration has been questioned. The French court is said to have gained over his minister, count Piper, to their interest. Certain it is, he industriously sought occasion to quarrel with the emperor, and treated him with great insolence, until he submitted to all his demands. The treaty being concluded upon the terms he thought proper to impose, he had no longer the least shadow of pretence to continue his disputes with the court of Vienna; and therefore began his march for Poland, which was by this time overrun by the czar of Muscovy.

INACTIVE CAMPAIGN in the NETHERLANDS.

The duke of Marlborough returning from Saxony, assembled the allied army at Anderlach near Brussels, about the middle of May; and, understanding that the elector of Bavaria and the duke de Vendôme, who commanded the French forces, had quitted their lines, he advanced to Soignies with a design to engage them in the plain of Fleuras. But receiving certain intelligence that the enemy were greatly superior to the allies in number, by the help of drafts from all the garrisons, he retreated towards Brussels, and took post at Mildert; while the French advanced to Gemblours. Both armies lay inactive until the enemy sent off a large detachment towards Provence. Then the duke of Marlborough and general D’Auverquerque resolved to attack them in their fortified camp at Gemblours. But they retreated with such celerity from one post to another, that the confederates could not come up with them until they were safely encamped with their right at Pont-a-Tresin, and their left under the cannon of Lisle, covered with the river Schelde, and secured by intrenchments. The allies chose their camp at Helchin, and foraged under the cannon of Tournay, within a league of the enemy; but nothing could induce them to hazard an engagement; and both armies went into winter quarters in the latter end of October. The duke of Marlborough set out for Franckfort, where he conferred with the electors of Mentz, Hanover, and Palatine, about the operations of the next campaign: then he returned to the Hague, and having concerted the necessary measures with the deputies of the states-general, embarked for England in the beginning of November.

A PARTY FORMED AGAINST MARLBOROUGH.

The queen’s private favour was now shifted to a new object. The duchess of Marlborough was supplanted by Mrs. Masham, her own kinswoman, whom she had rescued from indigence and obscurity. This favourite succeeded to that ascendancy over the mind of her sovereign which the duchess had formerly possessed. She was more humble, pliable, and obliging than her first patroness, who had played the tyrant, and thwarted the queen in some of her most respected maxims. Her majesty’s prepossession in favour of the tories and high-churchmen was no longer insolently condemned and violently opposed. The new confidant conformed to all her prejudices, and encouraged all her designs with assent and approbation. In political intrigues she acted as associate, or rather auxiliary, to Mr. Secretary Harley, who had insinuated himself into the queen’s good graces, and determined to sap the credit of the duke of Marlborough and the earl of Godolphin. His aim was to unite the tory interest under his own auspices, and expel the whigs from the advantages they possessed under the government. His chief coadjutor in this scheme was Henry St. John, afterwards lord Bolingbroke, a man of warm imagination and elegant taste, penetrating, eloquent, ambitious, and enterprising, whose talents were rather specious than solid, and whose principles were loose and fluctuating. He was at first contented to act in an inferior capacity, subservient to the designs of the secretary; but, when he understood the full extent of his own parts and influence, he was fired with the ambition of eclipsing his principal, and from the sphere of his minister raised himself to the character of his rival These politicians, with the assistance of sir Simon Har court, a colleague of uncommon ability and credit, exerted their endeavours to rally and reconcile the disunited tories, who were given to understand that the queen could no longer bear the tyranny of the whigs: that she had been always a friend in her heart to the tory and high-church party; and that she would now exhibit manifest proof of her inclination. She accordingly bestowed the bishoprics of Chester and Exeter upon sir William Dawes and Dr. Blackall, who though otherwise of unblemished characters, had openly condemned the revolution.

The people in general began to be sick of the whig ministry, whom they had formerly caressed. To them they imputed the burdens under which they groaned; burdens which they had hitherto been animated to bear by the pomp of triumph and uninterrupted success. At present they were discouraged by the battle of Almanza, the miscarriage of the expedition against Toulon, the loss of sir Cloudesley Shovel, and the fate of four ships of the line, destroyed or taken by a squadron under the command of messieurs Forbin and Du Guai Trouin, two of the most enterprising sea-officers in the French service. No new advantage had been obtained in the Netherlands: France, instead of sinking under the weight of the confederacy, seemed to rise with fresh vigour from every overthrow: the English traders had lately sustained repeated losses for want of proper convoys; the coin of the nation was visibly diminished, and the public credit began to decline. The tories did not fail to inculcate and exaggerate these causes of discontent, and the ministry were too remiss in taking proper steps for the satisfaction of the nation. Instead of soothing, by gentle measures and equal administration, the Scots, who had expressed such aversion to the union, they treated them in such a manner as served to exasperate the spirits of that people. A stop was put to their whole commerce for two months before it was diverted into the new channel. Three months elapsed before the equivalent was remitted to that kingdom, and it was afterwards applied with the most shameful partiality. Seizures of wines and other merchandise imported from thence into England, were made in all the northern parts with an affectation of severity and disdain: so that the generality of the Scottish nation loudly exclaimed against the union and the government. The Jacobites were again in commotion. They held conferences: they maintained a correspondence with the court of St. Germains: a great number of the most rigid whigs entered so far into their measures as to think a revolution was absolutely necessary to preserve the liberties, independence, and commerce of their country: the pretender’s birth-day was publicly celebrated in many different parts of the kingdom, and everything seemed to portend an universal revolt. Ireland continued quiet under the administration of the earl of Pembroke, whom the queen had appointed lord-lieutenant of that kingdom. A parliament having met at Dublin in the month of July, presented addresses of congratulation to her majesty on the late union of the two kingdoms. The commons having inspected the public accounts, resolved, that the kingdom had been put to excessive charge, by means of great arrears of rent returned by the late trustees, as due out of the forfeited estates, which returns were false and unjust; and that an humble representation should be laid before her majesty on this subject. They passed another laudable resolution in favour of their own manufactures. They granted the necessary supplies, and having finished several bills for the royal assent, were prorogued on the twenty-ninth day of October.

MEETING OP THE FIRST BRITISH PARLIAMENT.

It was on the twenty-third of the same month that the first parliament of Great Britain assembled at Westminster, when the queen in her speech to both houses palliated the miscarriages in Provence and in Spain: represented the necessity of making further efforts against the common enemy; and exhorted them to be upon their guard against those who endeavoured to sow jealousies in the commonwealth. The commons in their address expressed the continuance of their former zeal and devotion to her majesty’s government; but, in the house of lords, the earl of Wharton expatiated upon the scarcity of money, the decay of trade, and the mismanagement of the navy. He was seconded by lord Somers and the leaders of the tory party, who proposed that, previous to every measure, they should consider the state of the nation. The design of Wharton and Somers was to raise the earl of Orford once more to the head of the admiralty; and the tories, who did not perceive their drift, hoped, in the course of the inquiry, to fix the blame of all mismanagement upon the whig ministers. A day being fixed for this examination, the house received a petition from the sheriffs and merchants of London, complaining of great losses by sea for want of cruisers and convoys, and the complaints were proved by witnesses. The report was sent to the lord-admiral, who answered all the articles separately: then the tories moved for an address, in which the blame of the miscarriages might be laid upon the ministry and cabinet-council; but the motion was overruled: the queen was presented with a bare representation of the facts, and desired that she would take the proper measures for preventing such evils for the future. The commons made some progress in an inquiry of the same nature, and brought in a bill for the better securing the trade of the kingdom. They cheerfully granted the supplies for the service of the ensuing year. They prepared another bill for repealing the Scottish act of security, and that about peace and war, which had excited such jealousy in the English nation. They resolved that there should be but one privy-council in the kingdom of Great Britain: that the militia of Scotland should be put on the same footing with that of England: that the powers of the justices of the peace should be the same through the whole island: that the lords of justiciary in Scotland should go circuits twice in the year; that the writs for electing Scottish members to serve in the house of commons should be directed, and returns made, in the same manner as practised in England. An act being formed on these resolutions, they brought in a bill for preserving the trade with Portugal: then they considered the state of the war in Spain.

INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF THE WAR IN SPAIN.

When the queen passed these bills, she recommended an augmentation in the aids and auxiliaries granted to the king of Spain and the duke of Savoy. This intimation produced a debate in the house of lords on the affairs of Spain. The services of the earl of Peterborough were extolled by the earl of Rochester and lord Haver-sham, who levelled some oblique reflections on the earl of Galway. Several lords enlarged upon the necessity of carrying on the war until king Charles should be fully established upon the throne of Spain. The earl of Peterborough said they ought to contribute nine shillings in the pound rather than make peace on any other terms: he declared himself ready to return to Spain, and serve even under the earl of Galway. The earl of Rochester repeated a maxim of the old duke of Schom-berg, that attacking France in the Netherlands was like taking a bull by the horns. He therefore proposed that the allies should stand on the defensive in Flanders, and detach from thence fifteen or twenty thousand men into Catalonia. He was seconded by the earl of Nottingham; but warmly opposed by the duke of Marlborough, who urged that the great towns in Brabant which he had conquered could not be preserved without a considerable number of men; and that if the French should gain any advantage in Flanders from their superiority in point of number, the discontented party in Holland, which was very numerous, and bore with impatience the burden of the war, would not fail crying aloud for peace. Being challenged by Rochester to show how troops could be procured for the service of Italy and Spain, he assured the house that measures had been already concerted with the emperor for forming an army of forty thousand men under the duke of Savoy, for sending powerful succours to king Charles. This declaration finished the debate, which issued in an affectionate address to her majesty. The lords resolved, that no peace could be safe and honourable for her majesty and her allies, if Spain and the Spanish West Indies were suffered to continue in the power of the house of Bourbon. They presented an address, in which they desired she would press the emperor to send powerful succours to Spain under the command of prince Eugene, with all possible expedition, to make good his contract with the duke of Savoy, and strengthen the army on the Rhine, which was now happily put under the conduct of that wise and valiant prince, the elector of Hanover. The commons concurred in this remonstrance, in consequence of which the queen desired the emperor to bestow the command in Spain upon prince Eugene. The court of Vienna, however, did not comply with this request, but sent thither count Staremberg, who, of all the German generals, was next to the prince in military reputation. The commons now proceeded to consider of ways and means, and actually established funds for raising the supply, which amounted to the enormous sum of six millions.

At this period Mr. Harley’s character incurred suspicion, from the treachery of William Gregg, an inferior clerk in his office, who was detected in a correspondence with monsieur Chamillard, the French king’s minister. When his practices were detected he made an ample confession, and pleading guilty to his indictment at the Old Bailey, was condemned to death for high-treason. At the same time, John Bara and Alexander Valiere were committed to Newgate for corresponding with the enemy; and Claude Baud, secretary to the duke of Savoy’s minister, was, at the request of his master, apprehended for traitorous practices against her majesty and her government. A committee of seven lords being appointed to examine these delinquents, made a report to the house, which was communicated to the queen, in an address, importing, that Gregg had discovered secrets of state to the French minister: that Alexander Valiere and John Bara had managed a correspondence with the governors and commissaries of Calais and Boulogn; and, in all probability, discovered to the enemy the stations of the British cruisers, the strength of their convoys, and the times at which the merchant ships proceeded on their voyages; that all the papers in the office of Mr. Secretary Harley had been for a considerable time exposed to the view of the meanest clerks, and that the perusal of all the letters to and from the French prisoners had been chiefly trusted to Gregg, a person of a very suspicious character, and known to be extremely indigent. The queen granted a reprieve to this man, in hope of his making some important discovery, but he really knew nothing of consequence to the nation. He was an indigent Scot, who had been employed as a spy in his own country, and now offered his services to Chamillard, with a view of being rewarded for his treachery; but he was discovered before he had reaped any fruits from his correspondence. As he had no secrets of importance to impart, he was executed at Tyburn, where he delivered a paper to the sheriff, in which he declared Mr. Harley entirely ignorant of all his treasonable connexions, notwithstanding some endeavours that were made to engage him in an accusation of that minister.

The queen had refused to admit the earl of Peterborough into her presence until he should have vindicated his conduct, of which king Charles had complained in divers letters. He was eagerly desirous of a parliamentary inquiry. His military proceedings, his negotiations, his disposal of the remittances, were taken into consideration by both houses; but he produced such a number of witnesses and original papers to justify every transaction, that his character triumphed in the inquiry, which was dropped before it produced any resolution in parliament. Then they took cognizance of the state of affairs in Spain, and found there had been a great deficiency in the English troops at the battle of Almanza. This, however, was explained so much to their satisfaction, that they voted an address to the queen, thanking her for having taken measures to restore the affairs in Spain, and provide foreign troops for that service. The bill for rendering the union more complete, met with a vigorous opposition in the house of lords from the court-party, on account of the clause enacting, that, after the first of May, there should be but one privy-council in the kingdom of Great Britain. The ministry, finding it was strenuously supported by all the tories and a considerable number of the other faction, would have compromised the difference, by proposing that the privy-council of Scotland should continue to the first day of October. They hinted this expedient, in hope of being able to influence the ensuing elections; but their design being palpable, the motion was overruled, and the bill received the royal assent: a court of exchequer, however, was erected in Scotland upon the model of that in England. The execution of Gregg, and the examination of Valiere and Bara, who had acted as smugglers to the coast of France, under the protection of Harley, to whom they engaged for intelligence, affected the credit of that minister, who was reviled and traduced by the emissaries of the whig party. The duke of Marlborough and the earl of Godolphin, being apprised of his secret practices with Mrs. Masham, wrote to the queen that they could serve her no longer, should Mr. Harley continue in the post of secretary. Being summoned to the cabinet-council, they waited on her in person, and expostulated on the same subject. She endeavoured to appease their resentment with soft persuasion, which had no effect; and when they retired from court, to the astonishment of all the spectators, she repaired in person to the council. There Mr. Secretary Harley began to explain the cause of their meeting, which was some circumstance relating to foreign affairs. The duke of Somerset said, he did not see how they could deliberate on such matters while the general and treasurer were absent: the other members observed a sullen silence; so that the council broke up, and the queen found herself in danger of being abandoned by her ministers. Next day her majesty sent for the duke of Marlborough, and told him that Harley should immediately resign his office, which was conferred upon Mr. Henry Boyle, chancellor of the exchequer; but she deeply resented the deportment of the duke and the earl of Godolphin, from whom she entirely withdrew her confidence. Sir Simon Harcourt, attorney-general, sir Thomas Mansel, comptroller of the household, and Mr. St. John, relinquished their several posts upon the disgrace of Harley.

THE PRETENDER EMBARKS AT DUNKIRK FOR SCOTLAND.

The kingdom was at this period alarmed with a threatened invasion from France. The court of St. Germain’s had sent over one colonel Hook with credentials to Scotland, to learn the situation, number, and ability of the pretender’s friends in that country. This minister, by his misconduct, produced a division among the Scottish Jacobites. Being a creature of the duke of Perth, he attached himself wholly to the duke of Athol, and those other zealous partisans who were bent upon receiving the pretender without conditions; and he neglected the duke of Hamilton, the earl-marshal, and other adherents of that house, who adopted the more moderate principles avowed by the earl of Middleton, At his return to France, he made such a favourable report of the disposition and power of the Scottish nation, that Louis resolved to equip an armament, and send over the pretender to that kingdom. His pretence was to establish that prince on the throne of his ancestors; but his real aim was to make a diversion from the Netherlands, and excite a revolt in Great Britain, which should hinder queen Anne from exerting herself against France on the continent. He began to make preparations for this expedition at Dunkirk, where a squadron was assembled under the command of the chevalier de Fourbin; and a body of land forces were embarked with monsieur de Gace, afterwards known by the appellation of the mareschal de Matignon. The pretender, who had assumed the name of the chevalier de St. George, was furnished with services of gold and silver plate, sumptuous tents, rich clothes for his life-guards, splendid liveries, and all sorts of necessaries even to profusion. Louis at parting presented him with a sword studded with valuable diamonds, and repeated what he had formerly said to this adventurer’s father: “He hoped he should never see him again.” The pope contributed to the expense of this expedition, and accommodated him with divers religious inscriptions, which were wrought upon his colours and standards. Queen Anne being informed of these preparations, and the design of the French monarch, communicated to the commons the advices which she had received from Holland and the Netherlands, touching the destination of the Dunkirk armament; both houses concurred in an address, assuring her they would assist her majesty with their lives and fortunes against the pretended prince of Wales, and all her other enemies. Then they passed a bill, enacting, that the oath of abjuration should be tendered to all persons, and such as refused to take it should be in the condition of convicted recusants. By another, they suspended the habeas-corpus act till October, with relation to persons apprehended by the government on suspicion of treasonable practices. The pretender and his adherents were proclaimed traitors and rebels; and a bill was passed, discharging the clans of Scotland from all vassalage to those chiefs who should take up arms against her majesty.

Transports were hired to bring over ten British battalions from Ostend; a large fleet being equipped with incredible diligence, sailed from Deal towards Dunkirk, under the conduct of sir John Leake, sir George Byng, and lord Dursley. The French imagined that Leake had sailed to Lisbon, and that Britain was unprovided of ships of war; so that they were amazed and confounded when this fleet appeared off Mardyke: a stop was immediately put to the embarkation of their troops; frequent expresses were despatched to Paris; the count de Fourbin represented to the French king the little probability of succeeding in this enterprise, and the danger that would attend the attempt; but he received positive orders to embark the forces, and set sail with the first favourable wind.

The British fleet being forced from their station by severe weather on the fourteenth day of March, the French squadron sailed on the seventeenth from the road of Dunkirk; but the wind shifting, it anchored in Newport-pits till the nineteenth in the evening, when they set sail again with a fair breeze, steering their course to Scotland. Sir George Byng having received advice of their departure, from an Ostend vessel sent out for that purpose by major-general Cadogan, gave chase to the enemy, after having detached a squadron, under admiral Baker, to convoy the troops that were embarked at Ostend for England. On the tenth day of March the queen went to the house of peers, where, in a speech to both houses, she told them that the French fleet had sailed; that sir George Byng was in pursuit of them; and that ten battalions of her troops were expected every day in England. This intimation was followed by two very warm addresses from the lords and commons, in which they repeated their assurances of standing by her against all her enemies. They exhorted her to persevere in supporting the common cause, notwithstanding this petty attempt to disturb her dominions; and levelled some severe insinuations against those who endeavoured to foment jealousies between her majesty and her most faithful servants. Addresses on the same occasion were sent up from different parts of the kingdom; so that the queen seemed to look with contempt upon the designs of the enemy. Several regiments of foot, with some squadrons of cavalry, began their march for Scotland; the earl of Leven, commander-in-chief of the forces in that country, and governor of the castle of Edinburgh, hastened thither to put that fortress in a posture of defence, and to make the proper dispositions to oppose the pretender at his landing. But the vigilance of sir George Byng rendered all these precautions unnecessary. He sailed directly to the Frith of Edinburgh, where he arrived almost as soon as the enemy, who immediately took the advantage of a land breeze, and bore away with all the sail they could carry. The English admiral gave chase; and the Salisbury, one of their ships, was boarded and taken. At night monsieur de Fourbin altered his course, so that next day they were out of reach of the English squadron. The pretender desired they would proceed to the northward, and land him at Inverness, and Fourbin seemed willing to gratify his request; but the wind changing, and blowing in their teeth with great violence, he represented the danger of attempting to prosecute the voyage; and, with the consent of the chevalier de St. George and his general, returned to Dunkirk, after having been tossed about a whole month in very tempestuous weather. In the meantime sir George Byng sailed up to Leith road, where he received the freedom of the city of Edinburgh in a golden box, as a testimony of gratitude for his having delivered them from the dreadful apprehensions under which they laboured.

STATE OF THE NATION AT THAT PERIOD.

Certain it is, the pretender could not have chosen a more favourable opportunity for making a descent upon Scotland. The people in general were disaffected to the government on account of the union; the regular troops under Leven did not exceed five-and-twenty hundred men, and even great part of these would in all probability have joined the invader; the castle of Edinburgh was destitute of ammunition, and would in all appearance have surrendered at the first summons; in which case the Jacobites must have been masters of the equivalent money lodged in that fortress: a good number of Dutch ships, loaded with cannon, small arms, ammunition, and a large sum of money, had been driven on shore in the shire of Angus, where they would have been seized by the friends of the pretender, had the French troops been landed; and all the adherents of that house were ready to appear in arms. In England, such a demand was made upon the bank, by those who favoured the invasion, and those who dreaded a revolution, that the public credit seemed to be in danger. The commons resolved, that whoever designedly endeavoured to destroy or lessen the public credit, especially at a time when the kingdom was threatened with an invasion, was guilty of a high crime and misdemeanor, and an enemy to her majesty and the kingdom. The lord treasurer signified to the directors of the bank, that her majesty would allow for six months an interest of six per cent, upon their bills, which was double the usual rate; and considerable sums of money were offered to them by this nobleman, as well as by the dukes of Marlborough, Newcastle, and Somerset. The French, Dutch, and Jewish merchants, whose interest was in a peculiar manner connected with the safety of the bank, exerted themselves for its support; and the directors having called in twenty per cent, upon their capital stock, were enabled to answer all the demands of the timorous and disaffected. All the noblemen and persons of distinction in Scotland, suspected of an attachment to the court of St. Germain’s, were apprehended, and either imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh, or brought up to London to be confined in the Tower or in Newgate. Among these was the duke of Hamilton, who found means to make his peace with the whig ministers; and, in a little time, the other prisoners were admitted to bail. 153 [See note 2 D, at the end of this Vol.]

PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED.

On the first day of April the parliament was prorogued, and afterwards dissolved by proclamation. Writs were issued out for new elections, together with a proclamation commanding all the peers of North Britain to assemble at Holyrood-house in Edinburgh, on the seventeenth day of June, to elect sixteen peers to represent them in the ensuing British parliament, pursuant to the twenty-second article of the treaty of union. After the dissolution of the parliament, the lords Griffin and Clermont, two sons of the earl of Middleton, and several Scottish and Irish officers who had been taken on board the Salisbury, were brought to London and imprisoned in the Tower or in Newgate. Lord Griffin being attainted by outlawry, for high treason committed in the reign of king William, was brought to the bar of the court of king’s bench, and a rule made for his execution; but he was reprieved from month to month, until he died a natural death in prison. The privy-council of Scotland was dissolved; the duke of Queensberry was created a British peer, by the title of baron of Ripon, marquis of Beverley, and duke of Dover; and the office of secretary at war, vacant by the resignation of Henry St. John, was bestowed upon Robert Walpole, a gentleman who had rendered himself considerable in the house of commons, and whose conduct Ave shall have occasion to mention more at large in the sequel. About the same time a proclamation was issued for distributing prizes, in certain proportions, to the different officers and seamen of the royal navy; a regulation that still prevails.

THE FRENCH SURPRISE GHENT AND BRUGES.

The French king, not at all discouraged by the miscarriage of his projected invasion, resolved to improve the advantages he had gained on the continent during the last campaign, and indeed he made efforts that were altogether incredible, considering the consumptive state of his finances. 154 [See note 2 E, at the end of this Vol.] He assembled a prodigious army in the Netherlands, under the command of the duke of Burgundy, assisted by Vendôme, and accompanied by the duke of Berry and the chevalier de St. George. The elector of Bavaria was destined to the command of the troops on the Rhine, where he was seconded by the duke of Berwick; and the mareschal de Villeroy was sent to conduct the forces in Dauphiné. About the latter end of March, the duke of Marlborough repaired to the Hague, where he was met by prince Eugene: these two celebrated generals conferred with the pensionary Heinsius, and the deputies of the states-general. Then they made an excursion to Hanover, where they prevailed upon the elector to be satisfied with acting upon the defensive in his command on the Rhine, and spare part of his forces, that the confederates might be enabled to make vigorous efforts in the Netherlands. The prince proceeded to Vienna, and the duke immediately returned to Flanders, where he assembled the army towards the latter end of May. On the twenty-fifth day of that month, the duke de Vendôme marched to Soignies, and posted himself within three leagues of the confederates, who were encamped at Billinghen and Halle. The duke of Marlborough having received intelligence that the enemy were on their march by Bois-Seigneur-Isaac to Braine-la-Leuwe, concluded their intention was to take post on the banks of the Deule, to hinder the allies from passing that river, and to occupy Louvaine. He, therefore, commanded the army to march all night, and on the third day of June encamped at Terbank, general d’Auverquerque fixing his quarters in the suburbs of Louvaine, while the French advanced no farther than Genap and Braine-la-Leuwe. As they were more numerous than the confederates, and headed by a prince of the blood, the generals of the allies at first expected that they would hazard a battle; but their scheme was to retrieve by stratagem the places they lost in Flanders. The elector of Bavaria had rendered himself extremely popular in the great towns; the count de Bergeyck, who had considerable interest among them, was devoted to the house of Bourbon; the inhabitants of the great cities were naturally inconstant and mutinous, and particularly dissatisfied with the Dutch government. The French generals resolved to profit by these circumstances. A detachment of their troops, under the brigadiers la Faile and Pasteur, surprised the city of Ghent, in which there was no garrison; at the same time the count de la Motte, with a strong body of forces, appeared before Bruges, which was surrendered to him without opposition; then he made a fruitless attempt upon Damme, and marched to the little fort of Plassendhal, which he took by assault. The duke of Marlborough was no sooner apprised of the enemy’s having sent a strong detachment towards Tabize, than he marched from Terbank, passed the canal, and encamped at Anderlach. The French crossed the Senne at Halle and Tabize, and the allies resolved to attack them next morning; but the enemy passed the Dender in the night with great expedition; and the duke of Marlborough next day encamped at Asche, where he was joined by prince Eugene, who had marched with a considerable reinforcement of Germans from the Moselle. The enemy understanding that this general was on his march, determined to reduce Oudenarde, the only pass on the Schelde possessed by the confederates; and invested it on the ninth day of July, hoping to subdue it before the allies could be reinforced. The duke of Marlborough was immediately in motion, and made a surprising march from Asche, as far as Herselingen, where he was joined by the reinforcement. Then he took possession of the strong camp at Lessines, which the French had intended to occupy in order to cover the siege of Oudenarde.

Thus disappointed, the French generals altered their resolution, abandoned Oudenarde, and began to pass the Schelde at Gavre. The two generals of the confederates were bent upon bringing them to an engagement. Cadogan was sent with sixteen battalions and eight squadrons to repair the roads, and throw bridges over the Schelde below Oudenarde. The army was in motion about eight o’clock, and marched with such expedition, that by two in the afternoon the horses had reached the bridges over which Cadogan and his detachment were passing. The enemy had posted seven battalions in the village of Heynem, situated on the banks of the Schelde, and the French household troops were drawn up in order of battle on the adjacent plain, opposite to a body of troops under major-general Bantzaw, who were posted behind a rivulet that ran into the river. The duke de Vendôme intended to attack the confederates when one half of their army should have passed the Schelde; but he was thwarted by the duke of Burgundy, who seemed to be perplexed and irresolute. This prince had ordered the troops to halt in their march to Gavre, as if he had not yet formed any resolution; and now he recalled the squadrons from the plain, determined to avoid a battle. Vendôme remonstrated against this conduct, and the dispute continued till three in the afternoon, when the greater part of the allied army had passed the Schelde without opposition. Then the duke of Burgundy declared for an engagement, and Vendôme submitted to his opinion with great reluctance, as the opportunity was now lost, and the army unformed. Major-general Grimaldi was ordered to attack Rantzaw with the horse of the king’s household, who, finding the rivulet marshy, refused to charge, and retired to the right. Meanwhile Cadogan attacked the village of Heynem, which he took, with three of the seven battalions by which it was guarded. Bantzaw, passing the rivulet, advanced into the plain and drove before him several squadrons of the enemy. In this attack the electoral prince of Hanover, his late majesty George IL, charged at the head of Bulau’s dragoons with great intrepidity. His horse was shot under him, and colonel Laschky killed by his side. Divers French regiments were entirely broken, and a good number of officers and standards fell into the hands of the Hanoverians. The confederates continued still passing the river, but few or none of the infantry were come up till five in the afternoon, when the duke of Argyle arrived with twenty battalions, which immediately sustained a vigorous assault from the enemy. By this time the French were drawn up in order of battle; and the allies being formed as they passed the river, both armies were engaged through the whole extent of their lines about seven in the evening. Europe had not for many years produced two such noble armies: above one hundred general officers appeared in the field, and two hundred and fifty colonels fought at the head of their respective regiments. The number of the French exceeded that of the allies by twelve thousand; but their generals were divided, their forces ill-disposed; and the men dispirited by the uninterrupted success of their adversaries. They seemed from the beginning averse to an engagement, and acted in hurry and trepidation. Nevertheless, the action was maintained until general d’Auverquerque and count Tilly, who commanded on the left of the allies, obliged the right of the enemy to give ground; and the prince of Orange, with count Oxienstern, attacked them in flank with the Dutch infantry. Then they began to give way, and retired in great confusion. The duke de Vendôme, alighting from his horse, rallied the broken battalions, called the officers by name, conjured them to maintain the honour of their country, and animated the men with his voice and example. But notwithstanding all his endeavours, they were forced back among the enclosures in great confusion. Some regiments were cut in pieces; others desired to capitulate; and if the darkness had not interposed, their whole army would have been ruined. The night coming on, so that it became impossible to distinguish friends from enemies, the two generals ordered the troops to cease firing, and the enemy took this opportunity of escaping by the road which leads from Oudenarde to Ghent. The duke de Vendôme seeing the French forces flying in the utmost terror and precipitation, formed a rear-guard of about five-and-twenty squadrons, and as many battalions, with which he secured the retreat. To this precaution the safety of their army was entirely owing; for at day-break the duke of Marlborough sent a large detachment of horse and foot, under the lieutenant-generals Bulau and Lumley, to pursue the fugitives; but the hedges and ditches that skirted the road were lined with the French grenadiers in such a manner, that the cavalry could not form, and they were obliged to desist. The French reached Ghent about eight in the morning, and marching through the city, encamped at Lovendegen on the canal. There they thought proper to cast up intrenchments, upon which they planted their artillery, which they had left at Gavre with their heavy baggage. About three thousand were slain on the field of battle; two thousand deserted; and about seven thousand were taken, including a great number of officers, together with ten pieces of cannon, above an hundred standards and colours, and four thousand horses. The loss of the allies did not amount to two thousand men; nor was one officer of distinction killed on their side during the whole engagement.*

* Among the officers who were engaged in this battle, old general d’Auverquerque and the duke of Argyle distinguished themselves by the most extraordinary valour and activity.

After the confederates had rested two days on the field of battle, a detachment was ordered to level the French lines between Ypres and the Lys; another was sent to raise contributions as far as Arras; they ravaged the country, and struck terror even into the city of Paris. While the allies plundered the province of Picardy, a detachment from the French army, under the chevalier de Rozen, made an irruption into Dutch-Flanders, broke through the lines of Bervilet, which had been left unguarded, and made a descent upon the island of Cadsandt, which they laid under contribution.

THE ALLIES INVEST LISLE.

The generals of the allies now undertook an enterprise, which, in the opinion of the French generals, savoured of rashness and inconsiderate self-sufficiency. This was the siege of Lisle, the strongest town in Flanders, provided with all necessaries, stores of ammunition, and a garrison reinforced with one and twenty battalions of the best troops in France, commanded by mareschal de Boufflers in person. But these were not the principal difficulties which the allies encountered. The enemy had cut off the communication between them and their magazines at Antwerp and Sas-Fan-Ghent; so that they were obliged to bring their convoys from Ostend along a narrow causeway, exposed to the attack of an army more numerous than that with which they sat down before Lisle. On the thirteenth of August it was invested on one side by prince Eugene, and on the other by the prince of Orange-Nassau, stadtholder of Friesland; while the duke of Marlborough encamped at Hel-chin, to cover the siege. The trenches were opened on the twenty-second day of August, and carried on with that vigour and alacrity which is always inspired by victory and success. The dukes of Burgundy and Vendôme being now joined by the duke of Berwick, resolved, if possible, to relieve the place; and made several marches and counter-marches for this purpose. Marlborough being apprized of their intention, inarched out of his lines to give them battle, being reinforced by a considerable body of troops from the siege, including Augustus king of Poland, and the landgrave of Hesse, as volunteers; but the enemy declined an engagement, and the allies returned to their camp, which they fortified with an intrenchment. On the seventh day of September, the besiegers took by assault the counterscarp of Lisle, after an obstinate action, in which they lost a thousand men. The French generals continued to hover about the camp of the confederates, which they actually cannonaded; and the duke of Marlborough again formed his army in order of battle; but their design was only to harass the allies with continual alarms, and interrupt the operations of the siege. They endeavoured to surprise the town of Aeth, by means of a secret correspondence with the inhabitants; but the conspiracy was discovered before it took effect. Then they cut off all communication between the besiegers and the Schelde, the banks of which they fortified with strong intrenchments, and a prodigious number of cannon; so that now all the stores and necessaries were sent to the camp of the confederates from Ostend. On the twenty-first day of September, prince Eugene, who was in the trenches, seeing the troops driven by the enemy from a lodgement they had made on the counterscarp of the tenaille, rallied and led them back to the charge; but being wounded over the left eye with a musket-shot, he was obliged to retire, and for some days the duke of Marlborough sustained the whole command, both in the siege and of the covering army. On the twenty-third the tenaille was stormed, and a lodgement made along the covered way. Mareschal Boufflers having found means to inform the duke de Vendôme that his ammunition was almost expended, this general detached the chevalier de Luxembourg, with a body of horse and dragoons, to supply the place with gunpowder, every man carrying a bag of forty pounds upon the crupper. They were discovered in passing through the camp of the allies, and pursued to the barrier of the town, into which about three hundred were admitted; but a great number were killed by the confederates, or miserably destroyed by the explosion of the powder which they carried.

The next attempt of the French generals was to intercept a convoy from Ostend. The count de la Motte marched from Ghent, with about two and twenty thousand men, to attack this convoy, which was guarded by six thousand of the allies, commanded by major-general Webb. This officer made such an admirable disposition by the wood of Wynendale, and received the enemy with such a close fire, that, after a very warm action that lasted two hours, they retired in the utmost confusion, notwithstanding their great superiority in number, leaving six thousand men killed upon the field of battle; the loss of the allies not exceeding nine hundred and twelve officers and soldiers. This was the most honourable exploit performed during the whole war, and of such consequence to the confederates, that if the convoy had been taken, the siege must have been raised. The duke de Vendôme ordered the dikes between Bruges and Newport to be cut, so as to lay the whole country under water, in hopes of destroying the communication between Ostend and the camp of the confederates; and, after a regular siege, he took colonel Caulfield, and a body of British troops posted in the village of Leffinghen, by whose means the convoys had been forwarded to the duke of Marlborough. On the twenty-second of October, mareschal Boufflers desired to capitulate for the town of Lisle: next day the articles were signed: on the twenty-fifth the allies took possession of the place, and the mareschal retired into the citadel with the remains of his garrison, which, from twelve thousand, was reduced to less than the half of that number. A negotiation was begun for the surrender of the citadel; but Boufflers made such extravagant demands as were rejected with disdain. Hostilities were renewed on the twenty-ninth day of the month; and the earl of Stair was detached to provide corn for the army in the districts of Fumes and Dixmuyde. During these transactions, veldt-mareschal D’Auverquerque died at Roselser, in the sixty-seventh year of his age, after having, in above thirty campaigns, exhibited innumerable proofs of uncommon courage, ability, and moderation. The duke de Vendôme did not despair of obliging the confederates to abandon their enterprise: the French ministers at Rome and Venice publicly declared the allied army was cooped up in such a manner, that it must either raise the siege or be famished. The elector of Bavaria, with a detachment of ten thousand men, marched to Brussels, and attacked the counterscarp with incredible fury; but was repulsed by the garrison, under the command of general Paschal, and retired with precipitation, when he understood that the duke of Marlborough was in motion to relieve the place. This nobleman and prince Eugene no sooner understood the danger to which Brussels was exposed, than they marched with the covering army to the Schelde, which they passed in pontoons without opposition, notwithstanding the formidable works which the French had raised. They now abandoned them with precipitation, to the surprise of the confederates, who had laid their account with the loss of a thousand men in the attack. Having passed the river between Eskenaffe and Hauterive, as well as at other places, they marched to Oudenarde, where they received intelligence that the elector had retreated. Then prince Eugene returned to Lisle, and the duke of Marlborough proceeded to Brussels, where he was received with joy and acclamation. He afterwards took post at Oudenarde, so as to maintain a communication with prince Eugene.

LISLE SURRENDERED, GHENT TAKEN, AND BRUGES ABANDONED.

The besiegers having made lodgements and raised batteries on the second counterscarp of the citadel, sent a message to Boufflers, intimating, that if he would surrender before the opening of the batteries, he should have an honourable capitulation; otherwise he and his garrison must be made prisoners of war. He chose to avoid the last part of the alternative: hostages were exchanged on the eighth day of December, and the articles signed on the tenth; when the mareschal and his garrison marched out with the honours of war, and were conducted to Douay. In this great enterprise, spirit and perseverance made amends for want of foresight and skill, which was flagrant on the side of the confederates; yet their success was owing in a great measure to the improvidence and misconduct of the besieged. The French generals never dreamed that the allies would attempt any thing of consequence after the reduction of Lisle, considering the advanced season of the year, and therefore they returned to Paris, after having distributed their army into winter quarters. But their indefatigable antagonists were determined to strike another stroke of importance before their forces should separate. On the twentieth day of December they invested the city of Ghent on all sides; and on the thirtieth, when the batteries were ready to open, the count de la Motte, who commanded the garrison, desired to capitulate. On the third day of January, 1708, he marched out with thirty battalions and sixteen squadrons, which were conducted to Tournay; while the duke of Argyle, with six British battalions, took possession of the town and citadel. Then the enemy abandoned Bruges, Plassendahl, and Leffengen; and the generals of the allies, having settled the plan of winter quarters, repaired to Holland, leaving their forces under the command of count Tilly. The French king was confounded and dismayed at these conquests in the Netherlands. Nor was he easy on the side of Dauphiné: in spite of all the vigilance and activity of Villars, the duke of Savoy made himself master of the important fortresses of Exilles, La Perouse, the valley of St. Martin, and Fenestrells; so that by the end of the campaign he had secured a barrier to his own frontiers, and opened a way into the French provinces, after having made a diversion in favour of king Charles, by obliging the enemy to send a strong detachment from Rousillon to the assistance of Villars.

CONQUEST OF MINORCA.

The campaign in Catalonia was productive of a great event. Count Guido de Staremberg arrived at Barcelona on the last day of April; but the Imperial troops brought from Italy by admiral Leake did not land in time to relieve Tortosa, which the duke of Orleans besieged and took, together with Denia, the garrison of which were made prisoners of war, contrary to the articles of capitulation. These losses, however, were abundantly made up to the allies by the conquest of Sardinia and Minorca. Sir John Leake, having taken on board a handful of troops, under the conduct of the marquis d’Alconzel, set sail for Cagliari, and summoned the viceroy to submit to king Charles. As he did not send an immediate answer, the admiral began to bombard the city, and the inhabitants compelled him to surrender at discretion. The greater part of the garrison enlisted themselves in the service of Charles. The deputies of the states being assembled by the marquis d’Alconzel, acknowledged that prince as their sovereign, and agreed to furnish his army with thirty thousand sacks of corn, which were accordingly transported to Catalonia, where there was a great scarcity of provisions. Major-general Stanhope having planned the conquest of Minorca, and concerted with the admiral the measures necessary to put it in execution, obtained from count Staremberg a few battalions of Spaniards, Italians, and Portuguese; at the head of these he embarked at Barcelona with a fine train of British artillery, accompanied by brigadier Wade and colonel Petit, an engineer of great reputation. They landed on the island about ten miles from St. Philip’s fort, on the 26th of August, with about eight hundred marines, which augmented their number to about three thousand. Next day they erected batteries; and general Stanhope ordered a number of arrows to be shot into a place, to which papers were affixed, written in the Spanish and French languages, containing threats, that all the garrison should be sent to the mines if they would not surrender before the batteries were finished. The garrison consisted of a thousand Spaniards, and six hundred French marines, commanded by colonel la Jonquire, who imagined that the number of the besiegers amounted to at least ten thousand, so artfully had they been drawn up in sight of the enemy. The batteries began to play, and in a little time demolished four towers that served as out-works to the fort; then they made a breach in the outward wall, through which brigadier Wade, at the head of the grenadiers, stormed a redoubt, with such extraordinary valour as struck the besieged with consternation. On the second or third day they thought proper to beat a parley, and capitulate, on condition that they should march out with the honours of war: that the Spaniards should be transported to Murcia, and the French to Toulon. These last, however, were detained, by way of reprisal for the garrison of Denia. The Spanish governor was so mortified when he learned the real number of besiegers, that on his arrival at Murcia, he threw himself out of a window in despair, and was killed upon the spot. La Jonquire was confined for life, and all the French officers incurred their master’s displeasure. Fort St. Philip being thus reduced, to the amazement of all Europe, and the garrison of Fort Fornelles having surrendered themselves prisoners to the admirals Leake and Whitaker, the inhabitants gladly submitted to the English government, for king Philip had oppressed and deprived them of their privileges: general Stanhope appointed colonel Petit governor of Fort St. Philip, and deputy-governor of the whole island. After this important conquest he returned to the army in Spain, where an unsuccessful attempt to surprise Tortosa, finished the operations of the campaign.

RUPTURE BETWEEN THE POPE AND THE EMPEROR.

The British fleet not only contributed to the reduction of Minorca, but likewise overawed the pope, who had endeavoured to form a league of the princes in Italy against the emperor. This pontiff had manifested his partiality to the house of Bourbon in such a palpable manner, that his Imperial majesty ordered monsieur de Bonneval to march with the troops that were in Italy, reinforced by those belonging to the duke of Modena, and invade the duchy of Ferrara. He accordingly took possession of Comachio and some other places, pretending they were allodial estates belonging to the duke of Modena, and fiefs of the emperor, to which the holy see had no lawful claim. The viceroy of Naples was forbid to remit any money to Rome; and the council of the kingdom drew up a long memorial, containing the pretensions of his catholic majesty, which struck at the very foundation of the pope’s temporal power. His holiness wrote a long remonstrance to the emperor on the injustice of those proceedings, and declared that he would assert his cause though he should lose his life in the contest. He forthwith began to raise an army, and revived a plan of forming a league among the princes and states of Italy for their mutual defence. Sir John Leake had received orders to bombard Civita-Vecchia, in resentment for the pope’s having countenanced the pretender’s expedition to Great Britain; but as the emperor and duke of Savoy hoped to effect an accommodation with the court of Rome, they prevailed upon the English admiral to suspend hostilities until they should have tried the method of negotiation. The marquis de Prie, a Piedmontese nobleman, was sent as ambassador to Rome; but the pope would not receive him in that quality. Elated with the promises of France, he set the emperor at defiance; and his troops having surprised a body of Imperialists, were so barbarous as to cut them all in pieces. The duke of Savoy having ended the campaign, the troops of the emperor, which had served under that prince, were ordered to march into the papal territories, and drove the forces of his holiness before them, without any regard to number. Bologna capitulated; and Rome began to tremble with the apprehension of being once more sacked by a German army. Then the pope’s courage failed; he was glad to admit the marquis de Prie as envoy from the emperor. He consented to disband his new levies; to accommodate the Imperial troops with winter quarters in the papal territories; to grant the investiture of Naples to king Charles; and to allow at all times a passage to the Imperial troops through his dominions. On the Upper Rhine the electors of Bavaria and Hanover were so weak, that they could not undertake any thing of consequence against each other. In Hungary the disputes still continued between the emperor and the malcontents. Poland was at length delivered from the oppression exercised by the king of Sweden, who marched into the Ukraine against the czar of Muscovy, notwithstanding the submission with which that monarch endeavoured to appease his indignation. During the course of this year the English merchants sustained no considerable losses by sea: the cruisers were judiciously stationed, and the trade was regularly supplied with convoys. In the West Indies, commodore Wager destroyed the admiral of the galleons, and took the rear-admiral on the coast of Carthagena. Had the officers of his squadron done their duty, the greatest part of the fleet would have fallen into his hands. At his return to Jamaica, two of his captains were tried by a court-martial and dismissed from the service.

DEATH OF PRINCE GEORGE OF DENMARK.

The court of England was about this time not a little disquieted by the consequences of an outrage committed on the person of the count de Matueof, the Muscovite ambassador. He was publicly arrested at the suit of a laceman, and maltreated by the bailiffs, who dragged him to prison, where he continued until he was bailed by the earl of Feversham. Incensed at this insult, he demanded redress of the government, and was seconded in his remonstrances by the ministers of the emperor, the king of Prussia, and several other foreign potentates. The queen expressed uncommon indignation against the authors of this violence, who were immediately apprehended, and orders were given to prosecute them with the utmost severity of the law. Matueof repealed his complaints with great acrimony; and Mr. Secretary Boyle assured him, in the queen’s name, that he should have ample satisfaction. Notwithstanding this assurance, he demanded a pass for himself and family; refused the ordinary presents at his departure; and retired to Holland. From thence he transmitted a memorial, with a letter from the czar to the queen, insisting upon her punishing with death all the persons concerned in violating the law of nations upon the person of his ambassador. Such punishment being altogether inconsistent with the laws of England, the queen and her ministry were extremely perplexed, and held several councils to deliberate upon the measures proper to be taken on such an occasion. On the twenty-eighth day of October, prince George of Denmark died of an asthma and dropsy, with which he had been long afflicted. He was a prince of an amiable rather than a shining character, brave, good-natured, modest, and humane, but devoid of great talents and ambition. He had always lived in harmony with the queen, who, during the whole term of their union, and especially in his last illness, approved herself a pattern of conjugal truth and tenderness. At his death the earl of Pembroke was created lord-high-admiral, the earl of Wharton promoted to the government of Ireland, and lord Somers appointed president of the council. Notwithstanding these promotions of the whig noblemen, the duke of Marlborough declined apace in his credit with the queen, who privately consulted and reposed her chief confidence in Mr. Harley, though he had no visible concern in the administration.

THE NEW PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED.

The new parliament, in which the whig interest still preponderated, was assembled on the sixteenth day of November, when they were given to understand by a commission under the great seal, that the archbishop of Canterbury, the chancellor, the lord-treasurer, the lord steward, and the master of the horse, were appointed to represent the person of her majesty, whom decency would not permit to appear in the house so soon after the death of her consort. Sir Richard Onslow being chosen speaker of the lower house with the queen’s approbation, the chancellor, in a speech to both houses, recommended the vigorous prosecution of the war, telling them her majesty hoped they would enable her to make a considerable augmentation for preserving and improving the advantages which the allies had gained in the Netherlands; that she desired they would prepare such bills as might confirm and render the union effectual; and that if they would propose means for the advancement of trade and manufacture, she would take pleasure in enacting such provisions. Both houses having presented addresses of condolence and congratulation, on the death of prince George, and the success of her majesty’s arms during the last campaign, the commons took cognizance of controverted elections, which were decided with shameful partiality for the whig faction. Then they proceeded to consider the different branches of the supply; they approved of an augmentation of ten thousand men, which was judged necessary for the more vigorous prosecution of the war; and they voted above seven millions for the service of the ensuing year. The bank agreed to circulate two millions five hundred thousand pounds in exchequer bills for the government, on condition that the term of their continuance should be prolonged for one-and-twenty years; and that their stock of two millions, two hundred and one thousand, one hundred and seventy-one pounds, should be doubled by a new subscription. The two-thirds subsidy was appropriated for the interest of the money raised by this expedient.

NATURALIZATION BILL.

Great debates having arisen about Scottish elections, the house considered the petitions and representations that were delivered, touching the incapacity of the eldest sons of Scottish peers, excluded from sitting in the parliament of Great Britain. Counsel being heard upon the subject, that incapacity was confirmed; and new writs were issued, that new members might be elected for the shires of Aberdeen and Linlithgow, in the room of William lord Haddo, and James lord Johnston. Petitions were likewise presented to the house of lords by some Scottish peers, concerning their right of voting and signing proxies. After warm debates, the house, upon a division, determined that a Scottish lord created a peer of Great Britain should no longer retain his vote in Scotland; and that the noblemen who were in the castle of Edinburgh had a right to sign proxies, after having taken the oaths to the government. The Scottish peers and commoners that sat in the British parliament were divided into two factions. The duke of Queensberry was in great credit with the Queen and the lord-treasurer, by whose interest he was appointed secretary of state for Scotland. His influence in elections was so great, that all offices in that kingdom were bestowed according to his recommendation. He was opposed by the dukes of Hamilton, Montrose, and Roxburgh, who were supported by the earl of Sunderland and lord Somers; so that the whole interest in that country was engrossed by one or other member of the ministry. A bill for a general naturalization of all protestants was brought into the house, and notwithstanding violent opposition from the tories, both among the lords and commons, was enacted into a law. The whigs argued for this bill, as a measure that would encourage industry, improve trade and manufacture, and repair the waste of men which the war had occasioned; but one of their chief motives was to throw an addition of foreigners into the balance against the landed interest. The tories pleaded that a conflux of aliens might prove dangerous to the constitution; that they would retain a fondness for their native countries, and, in times of war, act as spies and enemies; that they would insinuate themselves into places of trust and profit; become members of parliament; and by frequent intermarriages contribute to the extinction of the English race: that they would add to the number of the poor, already so expensive; and share the bread of the labourers and tradesmen of England.

ACT OF GRACE.

An inquiry being set on foot in both houses concerning the late intended invasion in Scotland, lord Haversham and the other tory members endeavoured to demonstrate, that proper precautions had not been taken for the security of that kingdom, even after the ministry had received undoubted intelligence of the pretender’s design; that since the attempt had miscarried, many persons of quality had been apprehended and severely used by the government, on pretended suspicion of high treason; though in all probability the aim of the ministry, in confining those persons, was to remove all possibility of their opposing the court at the ensuing elections for members of parliament. These assertions were supported by many incontested facts and shrewd arguments, notwithstanding which, the majority were so little disposed to find fault, that the inquiry issued in a joint address to the queen, containing resolutions, that timely and effectual care had been taken to disappoint the designs of her majesty’s enemies, both at home and abroad. A bill, however, was brought into the house of lords, under the title of “An act for improving the union of the two kingdoms.” It related to trials for treason in Scotland, which by this law were regulated according to the manner of proceeding in England, with some small variation. The Scottish members opposed it as an encroachment upon the form of their laws; and they were joined by those who had laid it down as a maxim to oppose all the court measures; nevertheless, the bill passed through both houses, and received the royal assent. Yet, in order to sweeten this unpalatable medicine, the queen consented to an act of grace, by which all treasons were pardoned, except those committed on the high seas; an exception levelled at those who had embarked with the pretender. Major-general Webb, who had been defrauded of his due honour, in a partial representation of the battle of Wynendale, transmitted by Cardonnel, secretary to the duke of Marlborough, was now thanked by the house of commons for the great and eminent services which he had performed in that engagement. This motion was made by the tories; and the whigs did not fail to procure a compliment of the same nature to the duke of Marlborough, even before he returned to England. When the news of Ghent’s being taken arrived, the lords and commons congratulated the queen on this last effort of a glorious campaign; and the duke at his arrival was thanked, in the name of the peers, by the lord chancellor. As he was supposed to have brought over proposals of peace, the two houses, in an address, desired the queen would insist on the demolition of Dunkirk, which was a nest of pirates that infested the ocean, and did infinite prejudice to the commerce of England. The queen promised to comply with their request. But she was not a little surprised at the next address they presented, humbly entreating, that she would have such indulgence to the hearty desires of her subjects, as to entertain thoughts of a second marriage. She told them, that the provision she had made for the protestant succession would always be a proof how much she had at heart the future happiness of the kingdom; but the subject of this address was of such a nature, that she was persuaded they did not expect a particular answer.

DISPUTES ABOUT THE MUSCOVITE AMBASSADOR COMPROMISED.

The laws having been found insufficient to punish capitally the authors of the insult offered to the Muscovite ambassador, a bill was brought into the house of commons for preserving the privileges of ambassadors and other foreign ministers; and passed through both houses, as did another, to prevent the laying of wagers relating to the public, a practice which had been carried to a degree of infatuation; and by which many unwary persons fell a sacrifice to crafty adventurers. On the fourteenth day of March, the commons voted the sum of one hundred and three thousand, two hundred and three pounds, for the relief of the inhabitants of Nevis and St. Christopher’s, who had suffered by the late invasion; and on the twenty-first day of April, the parliament was prorogued. The Muscovite ambassador continued to write expostulatory letters to Mr. Secretary Boyle, who at last owned that the laws of the kingdom did not admit of such punishment as he demanded. An information was tried in the court of king’s bench for her majesty against Thomas Morton, laceman, and thirteen other persons concerned in the insult, of which they were found guilty; and the special matter of the privileges of ambassadors was to be argued next term before the judges. Meanwhile, the queen, by way of satisfaction to the czar, condescended to make solemn excuses by her ambassador; to repair Matueof’s honour by a letter, and indemnify him for all his costs and damages: concessions with which the czar and his ambassador declared themselves well satisfied. The convocation had been summoned, chosen, and returned with a new parliament; but as the old spirit was supposed to prevail in the lower house, the queen, by writ to the archbishop, ordered him. to prorogue it from time to time, until the session of parliament was finished.

CHAPTER X.

Negotiation for Peace ineffectual..... The Allied Army besieges and takes Tour-nay..... The French are defeated at Malplaquet..... Mons surrendered..... Campaign in Spain..... The French King’s Proposals of treating rejected by the States-general..... Account of Dr. Sacheverel..... He is impeached by the Commons..... His Trial..... Debates upon it in the House of Lords..... He is silenced for three Years..... Conferences at Gertruydenburgh..... Pride and Obstinacy of the Dutch..... Douay besieged and taken by the Confederates, as well as Bethune, Aire, and St. Venant..... King Charles obtains a Victory over Philip at Saragossa, and enters Madrid..... Battle of Villaviciosa..... The Whig Ministry disgraced..... The Parliament is dissolved..... Meeting of the New Parliament..... The Duke of Marlborough insulted and reviled..... Inquiry into the Conduct of the War in Spain..... Severe Votes in the House of Commons against those who invited over the poor Palatines..... Harley stabbed at the Council Board by Guiscard; and created Earl of Oxford..... Death of the Emperor Joseph..... Representation by the Commons to the Queen..... Proceedings in the Convocation..... The Duke of Marlborough continues to command the Allied Army..... He surprises the French Lines..... Reduces Bouchain..... The Duke of Argyle commands the British Troops in Spain..... King Charles elected Emperor..... Expedition to Canada..... Insolence of the Jacobites in Scotland..... A Negotiation set on Foot between the Courts of France and England..... Prior is sent to Fountainbleau..... Ménager arrives privately in England..... The French King’s Proposals disagreeable to the Allies..... Violent Debate upon them in the House of Lords..... The Duke of Hamilton’s Title of Duke of Brandon disallowed..... Bill against occasional Conformity passes..... Duke of Marlborough dismissed from all his Employments..... Twelve new Peers created..... Prince Eugene of Savoy arrives in England..... Walpole expelled the House of Commons..... Votes against the Duke of Marlborough..... Resolutions against the Barrier-treaty and the Dutch..... Acts unfavourable to the Presbyterian Discipline in Scotland.

NEGOTIATION FOR PEACE INEFFECTUAL.

The French king was by this time reduced to such a state of humiliation by the losses of the last campaign, and a severe winter, which completed the misery of his subjects, that he resolved to sacrifice all the considerations of pride and ambition, as well as the interest of his grandson, to his desire of peace, which was now become so necessary and indispensable. He despatched the president Rouillé privately to Holland, with general proposals of peace, and the offer of a good barrier to the states-general, still entertaining hopes of being able to detach them from the confederacy. This minister conferred in secret with Buys and Vanderdussen, the pensionaries of Amsterdam and Gouda, at Moerdyke, from whence he was permitted to proceed to Woerden, between Leyden and Utrecht. The states immediately communicated his proposals to the courts of Vienna and Great Britain. Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough arrived at the Hague in April, and conferred with the grand pensionary Heinsius, Buys, and Vanderdussen, on the subject of the French proposals, which were deemed unsatisfactory. Rouillé immediately despatched a courier to Paris, for further instructions; and the duke of Marlborough returned to England, to make the queen acquainted with the progress of the negotiation. Louis, in order to convince the states of his sincerity, sent the marquis de Torcy, his secretary for foreign affairs, to the Hague, with fresh offers, to which the deputies would make no answer until they knew the sentiments of the queen of Great Britain. The duke of Marlborough crossed the seas a second time accompanied by the lord Townshend, as ambassador-extraordinary and joint plenipotentiary; prince Eugene being likewise at the Hague, the conferences were begun. The French minister declared that his master would consent to the demolition of Dunkirk; that he would abandon the pretender, and dismiss him from his dominions; that he would acknowledge the queen’s title and the protestant succession; that he would renounce all pretensions to the Spanish monarchy, and cede the places in the Netherlands which the states-general demanded for their barrier; that he would treat with the emperor on the footing of the treaty concluded at Rys-wick, and even demolish the fortifications of Strasburgh. The ministers of the allies, rendered proud and wanton by success, and seeing their own private interest in the continuation of the war, insisted upon the restitution of the Upper and Lower Alsace to the empire; upon the French monarch’s restoring Strasburgh in its present condition; upon his ceding the town and castellany of Lisle, demolishing Dunkirk, New Brisac, Fort-Louis, and Hunningen. In a word, their demands were so insolent, that Louis would not have suffered them to be mentioned in his hearing, had not he been reduced to the last degree of distress. One can hardly read them without feeling a sentiment of compassion for that monarch, who had once given law to Europe, and been so long accustomed to victory and conquest. Notwithstanding the discouraging despatches he had received from the president Rouillé, after his first conferences with the deputies, he could not believe that the Dutch would be so blind to their own interest, as to reject the advantages in commerce, and the barrier which he had offered. He could not conceive that they would choose to bear the burden of excessive taxes in prosecuting a war, the events of which would always be uncertain, rather than enjoy the blessings of peace, security, and advantageous commerce: he flattered himself that the allies would not so far deviate from their purposed aim of establishing a balance of power, as to throw such an enormous weight into the scale of the house of Austria, which cherished all the dangerous ambition and arbitrary principles, without the liberality of sentiment peculiar to the house of Bourbon. In proportion as they rose in their demands, Louis fell in his condescension. His secretary of state, the marquis de Torcy, posted in disguise to Holland, on the faith of a common blank passport. He solicited, he soothed, he supplicated, and made concessions in the name of his sovereign. He found the states were wholly guided by the influence of prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough. He found these generals elated, haughty, overbearing, and implacable. He in private attacked the duke of Marlborough on his weakest side: he offered to that nobleman a large sum of money, provided he would effect a peace on certain conditions. The proposal was rejected. The duke found his enemies in England increasing, and his credit at court in the wane; and he knew that nothing but a continuation of the war, and new victories, could support his influence in England. Torcy was sensible that his country was utterly exhausted, that Louis dreaded nothing so much as the opening of the campaign; and he agreed to those articles upon which they insisted as preliminaries. The French king was confounded at these proposals; he felt the complicated pangs of grief, shame, and indignation. He rejected the preliminaries with disdain. He even deigned to submit his conduct to the judgment of his subjects. His offers were published, together with the demands of the allies. His people interested themselves in the glory of their monarch. They exclaimed against the cruelty and arrogance of his enemies. Though impoverished and half-starved by the war, they resolved to expend their whole substance in his support; and rather to fight his battles without pay, than leave him in the dire necessity of complying with such dishonourable terms. Animated by these sentiments, they made such efforts as amazed the whole world. The preliminaries being rejected by the French king, Rouillé was ordered to quit Holland in four-and-twenty hours; and the generals of the confederates resolved to open the campaign without further hesitation.

THE ALLIED ARMY TAKE TOURNAY.

Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough proceeded to Flanders, and towards the end of June the allied army encamped in the plain of Lisle, to the number of one hundred and ten thousand fighting men. At the same time, the mareschal Villars, accounted the most fortunate general in France, assembled the French forces in the plain of Lens, where he began to throw up intrenchments. The confederate generals having observed his situation, and perceiving he could not be attacked with any probability of success, resolved to undertake the siege of Tournay, the garrison of which Villars had imprudently weakened. Accordingly, they made a feint upon Ypres, in order to deceive the enemy, and convert all their attention to that side, while they suddenly invested Tournay on the twenty-seventh day of June. Though the garrison did not exceed twelve I weakened battalions, and four squadrons of dragoons, the place was so strong, both by art and nature, and lieutenant de Surville, the governor, possessed such admirable talents, that the siege was protracted contrary to the expectation of the allies, and cost them a great number of men, notwithstanding all the precautions that could be taken for the safety of the troops. As the besiegers proceeded by the method of sap, their miners frequently met with those of the enemy under ground, and fought with bayonet and pistol. The volunteers on both sides presented themselves to these subterraneous combats, in the midst of mines and countermines ready primed for explosion. Sometimes they were kindled by accident, and sometimes sprung by design; so that great numbers of those brave men were stifled below, and whole battalions blown into the air, or buried in the rubbish. On the twenty-eighth day of July, the besiegers having effected a practicable breach, and made the necessary dispositions for a general assault, the enemy offered to capitulate: the town was surrendered upon conditions, and the garrison retired to the citadel. Surville likewise entered into a treaty about giving up the citadel: the articles being sent to the court of Versailles, Louis would not ratify them, except upon condition that there should be a general cessation in the Netherlands till the fifth day of September. Hostilities were renewed on the eighth day of August, and prosecuted with uncommon ardour and animosity. On the thirtieth, Surville desired to capitulate on certain articles, which were rejected by the duke of Marlborough, who gave him to understand that he had no terms to expect, but must surrender at discretion. At length, his provisions being quite exhausted, he was obliged io surrender himself and his garrison prisoners of war, though they were permitted to return to France, on giving their parole that they would not act in the field until a like number of the allies should be released.

THE FRENCH ARE DEFEATED.

The next object that attracted the eyes of the confederates was the city of Mons, which they resolved to besiege with all possible expedition. They passed the Schelde on the third day of September, and detached the prince of Hesse to attack the French lines from the Haisne to the Sombre, which were abandoned at his approach. On the seventh day of September, mareschal de Boufflers arrived in the French camp at Quievrain, content to act in an inferior capacity to Villars, although his superior in point of seniority. The duke of Marlborough having received advice that the French were on their march to attack the advanced body under the prince of Hesse, decamped from Havre in order to support that detachment. On the ninth the allies made a motion to the left, by which the two armies were brought so near each other that a mutual cannonading ensued. The French army, amounting to one hundred and twenty thousand men, were posted behind the woods of La Merte and Tanières, in the neighbourhood of Malplaquet. The confederates, nearly of the same number, encamped with the right near Sart and Bleron, and the left on the edge of the wood of Lanière; the head quarters being at Blaregnies. The enemy, instead of attacking the allies, began to fortify their camp, which was naturally strong, with triple intrenchments. In a word, they were so covered with lines, hedges, intrenchments, cannon and trees laid across, that they seemed to be quite inaccessible. Had the confederates attacked them on the ninth, the battle would not have been so bloody, and the victory would have proved more decisive; for they had not then begun to secure the camp; but Marlborough postponed the engagement until they should be reinforced by eighteen battalions which had been employed in the siege of Tournay; and in the meantime, the French fortified themselves with incredible diligence and despatch. On the eleventh day of September, early in the morning, the confederates, favoured by a thick fog, erected batteries on each wing and in the centre; and about eight o’clock, the weather clearing up, the attack began. Eighty-six battalions on the right, commmanded by general Schuylemburgh, the duke of Argyle, and other generals, and supported by two-and-twenty battalions under count Lottum, attacked the left of the enemy with such vigour, that, notwithstanding their lines and barricadoes, they were in less than an hour driven from their intrenchments into the woods of Sart and Tanières. The prince of Orange and baron Fagel, with six-and-thirty Dutch battalions, advanced against the right of the enemy, posted in the wood of La Merte, and covered with three intrenchments. Here the battle was maintained with the most desperate courage on both sides. The Dutch obliged the French to quit the first intrenchment; but were repulsed from the second with great slaughter. The prince of Orange persisted in his efforts with incredible perseverance and intrepidity, even after two horses had been killed under him, and the greater part of his officers either slain or disabled. The French fought with an obstinacy of courage that bordered on despair, till seeing their lines forced, their left wing and centre giving way, and their general, Villars, dangerously wounded, they made an excellent retreat towards Bavay, under the conduct of Boufflers, and took post between Quesnoy and Valenciennes. The field of battle they abandoned to the confederates, with about forty colours and standards, sixteen pieces of artillery, and a good number of prisoners; but this was the dearest victory the allies had ever purchased. About twenty thousand of their best troops were killed in the engagement; whereas the enemy did not lose half that number, and retired at leisure, perfectly recovered of that apprehension with which they had been for some years inspired and overawed by the successes of their adversaries. On the side of the allies, count Lottum, general Tettau, count Oxienstern, and the marquis of Tullibar-dine, were killed, with many other officers of distinction. Prince Eugene was slightly wounded in the head; lieutenant-general Webb received a shot in the groin. The duke of Argyle, who distinguished himself by extraordinary feats of valour, escaped unhurt; but several musket-balls penetrated through his clothes, his hat, and periwig. In the French army, the chevalier de St. George charged twelve times with the household troops, and in the last was wounded with a sword in the arm. The mareschal de Villars confidently asserted, that if he himself had not been disabled, the confederates would certainly have been defeated.

MONS SURRENDERED.

Considering the situation of the French, the number of their troops, and the manner in which they were fortified, nothing could be more rash and imprudent than the attack, which cost the lives of so many gallant men, and was attended with so little advantage to the conquerors. Perhaps the duke of Marlborough thought a victory was absolutely necessary to support his sinking interest at the court of Great Britain. His intention was to have given battle before the enemy had intrenched themselves; but prince Eugene insisted upon delaying the action until the reinforcement should arrive from Tournay. The extraordinary carnage is imputed to the impetuosity of the prince of Orange, whose aim through this whole war was to raise himself into consideration with the states-general by signal acts of military prowess. The French having retired to Valenciennes, the allies were left at liberty to besiege Mons, which capitulated about the end of October; and both armies were distributed in winter quarters. The campaign on the Rhine produced nothing but one sharp action, between a detachment of the French army commanded by the count de Borgh, and a body of troops under count Merci, who had passed the Rhine in order to penetrate into Franche-compte. The Imperial officer was worsted in this encounter, with the loss of two thousand men; obliged to repass the river, and retire to Fribourg. In Piedmont, velt-mareschal Thaun commanded the confederates in the room of the duke of Savoy, who refused to take the field until some differences, which had arisen between the emperor and him, should be adjusted. Thaun’s design was to besiege Briançon; but the duke of Berwick had taken such precautions as frustrated his intention, though part of the troops under the French general were employed in suppressing an insurrection of the Camisars, and other malcontents in the Vivaraz. These were entirely defeated in a pitched battle; and Abraham, one of their leaders, being taken, was broke alive upon the wheel; three-and-twenty were hanged, and the other prisoners sent to the galleys. The pope delayed acknowledging king Charles under various pretences, in hopes that the campaign would prove favourable to the house of Bourbon; till at length the emperor giving him to understand that his army should take up their winter quarters in the ecclesiastical state, his holiness solemnly owned Charles as king of Spain, Naples, and Sicily.

CAMPAIGN IN SPAIN.

The military operations in Spain and Portugal were unfavourable to the allies. On the seventh of May, the Portuguese and English were defeated at Caya by the Spaniards, under the command of the mareschal de Bay. The castle of Alicant, guarded by two English regiments, had been besieged, and held out during a whole winter. At length the chevalier d’Asfeldt ordered the rock to be undermined, and having lodged two hundred barrels of gunpowder, gave Syburg the governor to understand, that two of his officers might come out and see the condition of the works. This offer being accepted, Asfeldt in person accompanied them to the mine: he told them he could not bear the thoughts of seeing so many brave men perish in the ruins of a place they had so gallantly defended, and allowed them four-and-twenty hours to consider on the resolution they should take. Syburg continued deaf to his remonstrances; and, with an obstinacy that savoured more of stupidity than of valour, determined to stand the explosion. When the sentinels that were posted on the side of the hill gave notice, by a preconcerted signal, that fire was set to the mine, the governor ordered the guard to retire, and walked out to the parade accompanied by several officers. The mine being sprung, the rock opened under their feet, and they falling into the chasm, it instantly closed, and crushed them to death. Notwithstanding this dreadful incident, colonel d’Albon, who succeeded to the command, resolved to defend the place to the last extremity. Sir Edward Whitaker sailed from Barcelona to the relief of the place; but the enemy had erected such works as effectually hindered the troops from landing. Then general Stanhope, who commanded them, capitulated with the Spanish general for the garrison, which marched out with all the honours of war, and was transported to Minorca, where the men were put into quarters of refreshment. On the frontiers of Catalonia, general Starem-berg maintained his ground, and even annoyed the enemy. He passed the Segra, and reduced Balaguer; having left a strong garrison in the place, he repassed the river, and sent his forces into winter quarters. The most remarkable event of this summer was the battle of Poultowa, in which the king of Sweden was entirely defeated by the czar of Muscovy, and obliged to take refuge at Bender, a town of Moldavia, in the Turkish dominions. Augustus immediately marched into Poland against Stanislaus, and renounced his own resignation, as if it had been the effect of compulsion. He formed a project with the kings of Denmark and Prussia to attack the Swedish territories in three different places; but the emperor and maritime powers prevented the execution of this scheme, by entering into a guarantee for preserving the peace of the empire. Nevertheless, the king of Denmark declared war against Sweden, and transported an army over the Sound of Schonen; but they were attacked and defeated by the Swedes, and obliged to re-embark with the utmost precipitation. The war still continued to rage in Hungary, where, however, the revolters were routed in many petty engagements.

FRENCH KING’S PROPOSALS OF TREATING REJECTED BY THE STATES-GENERAL.

Though the events of the summer had been less unfavourable to France than Louis had reason to expect, he saw that peace was as necessary as ever to his kingdom; but he thought he might now treat with some freedom and dignity. His minister, Torcy, maintained a correspondence with Mr. Petkum, resident of the duke of Holstein at the Hague: he proposed to this minister, that the negotiation should be renewed; and demanded passes, by virtue of which the French plenipotentiaries might repair in safety to Holland. In the meantime, the French king withdrew his troops from Spain, on pretence of demonstrating his readiness to oblige the allies in that particular; though this measure was the effect of necessity, which obliged him to recall those troops for the defence of his own dominions. The states-general refused to grant passes to the French ministers; but they allowed Petkum to make a journey to Versailles. In the interim king Philip published a manifesto, protesting against all that should be transacted at the Hague to his prejudice. Far from yielding Spain and the Indies to his competitor, he declared his intention of driving Charles from those places that were now in his possession. He named the duke of Alba and count Bergheyck for his plenipotentiaries, and ordered them to notify their credentials to the maritime powers; but no regard was paid to their intimation. Philip tampered likewise with the duke of Marlborough; and the marquis de Torcy renewed his attempts upon that general; but all his application and address proved ineffectual. Petkum brought back from Versailles a kind of memorial, importing, that those motives which influenced the French before the campaign was opened, no longer subsisted; that the winter season naturally produced a cessation of arms, during which he would treat of a general and reasonable peace, without restricting himself to the form of the preliminaries which the allies had pretended to impose; that, nevertheless, he would still treat on the foundation of those conditions to which he had consented, and send plenipotentiaries to begin the conference with those of the allies on the first day of January. The states-general inveighed against this memorial, as a proof of the French king’s insincerity; though he certainly had a right to retract those offers they had formerly rejected. They came to a resolution, that it was absolutely necessary to prosecute the war with rigour; and they wrote pressing letters on the subject to all their allies.

ACCOUNT OF DE SACHEVEREL.

The parliament of Great Britain being assembled on the fifteenth day of November, the queen in her speech told both houses that the enemy had endeavoured, by false appearances and deceitful insinuations of a desire after peace, to create jealousies among the allies: that God Almighty had been pleased to bless the arms of the confederates with a most remarkable victory and other successes, which had laid France open to the impression of the allied arms, and consequently rendered peace more necessary to that kingdom than it was at the beginning of the campaign. She insisted upon the expediency of prosecuting the advantages she had gained, by reducing that exorbitant and oppressive power which had so long threatened the liberties of Europe. The parliament were as eager and compliant as ever.. They presented congratulatory addresses: they thanked the duke of Marlborough for his signal services; while great part of the nation reproached him with having wantonly sacrificed so many thousand lives to his own private interest and reputation. In less than a month the commons granted upwards of six millions for the service of the ensuing year, and established a lottery, with other funds, to answer this enormous supply. On the thirteenth day of December, Mr. Dolben, son to the late archbishop of York, complained to the house of two sermons preached and published by Dr. Henry Sacheverel, rector of St. Saviour’s in Southwark, as containing positions contrary to revolution principles, to the present government, and the protestant succession. Sacheverel was a clergyman of narrow intellects, and an overheated imagination. He had acquired some popularity among those who had distinguished themselves by the name of high-churchmen, and took all occasions to vent his animosity against the dissenters. At the summer assizes at Derby, he had held forth in that strain before the judges; on the fifth day of November, in Saint Paul’s church, he, in a violent declamation, defended the doctrine of non-resistance; inveighed against the toleration and dissenters; declared the church was dangerously attacked by her enemies, and slightly defended by her false friends: he sounded the trumpet for the church, and exhorted the people to put on the whole armour of God. Sir Samuel Garrard, the lord mayor, countenanced this harangue, which was published under his protection, extolled by the tories, and circulated all over the nation. The complaint of Mr. Dolben against Sacheverel, was seconded in the house of commons by sir Peter King and other members. The most violent paragraphs were read: the sermons were voted scandalous and seditious libels. Sacheverel, being brought to the bar of the house, acknowledged himself the author of both, and mentioned the encouragement he had received from the lord mayor to print that which was entitled, “The Perils of False Brethren.” Sir Samuel, who was a member, denied he had ever given him such encouragement. The doctor being ordered to withdraw, the house resolved he should be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors; and Mr. Dolben was ordered to impeach him at the bar of the house of lords, in the name of all the commons of England. A committee was appointed to draw up articles, and Sacheverel was taken into custody. At the same time, in order to demonstrate their own principles, they resolved that the reverend Mr. Benjamin Hoadly, rector of St. Peter-le-Poor, for having often justified the principles on which her majesty and the nation proceeded in the late happy revolution, had justly merited the favour and recommendation of the house; and they presented an address to the queen, beseeching her to bestow some dignity in the church on Mr. Hoadly, for his eminent service both to the church and state. The queen returned a civil answer, though she paid no regard to their recommendation. Hoadly was a clergyman of sound understanding, unblemished character, and uncommon moderation, who, in a sermon preached before the lord mayor of London, had demonstrated the lawfulness of resisting wicked and cruel governors, and vindicated the late revolution. By avowing such doctrines, he incurred the resentment of the high churchmen, who accused him of having preached up rebellion. Many books were written against the maxims he professed. These he answered; and, in the course of the controversy, acquitted himself with superior temper, judgment, and solidity of argument. He as well as Bishop Burnet and several other prelates, had been treated with great virulence in Sacheverel’s sermon, and the-lord treasurer was scurrilously abused under the name of Volpone. The doctor being impeached at the bar of the upper house, petitioned that he might be admitted to bail; but this indulgence was refused, and the commons seemed bent upon prosecuting him with such severity as gave disgust to men of moderate principles. Meanwhile the tories were not idle. They boldly affirmed that the whigs had formed a design to pull down the church, and that this prosecution was intended to try their strength before they could proceed openly to the execution of their project. These assertions were supported, and even credited by great part of the clergy, who did not fail to alarm and inflame their hearers; while emissaries were employed to raise a ferment among the populace, already prepared with discontent, arising from a scarcity which prevailed in almost every country of Europe. The ministers magnified the dangers to which the church was exposed, from dissenters, whigs, and lukewarm prelates. These they represented as the authors of a ruinous war, which in a little time would produce universal famine; and as the immediate encouragers of those Palatine refugees who had been brought over, to the number of six thousand, and maintained by voluntary contributions, until they could be conveniently transported into Ireland and the plantations of America. The charity bestowed upon those unhappy strangers exasperated the poor of England, who felt severely the effects of the dearth, and helped to fill up the measure of popular discontent. The articles against Dr. Sacheverel being exhibited, his person was committed to the deputy-usher of the black rod, but afterwards the lords admitted him to bail. Then he drew up an answer to the charge, in which he denied some articles, and others he endeavoured to justify or extenuate. The commons having sent up a replication, declaring they were ready to prove the charge, the lords appointed the twenty-seventh day of February for the trial in Westminster-hall.

HIS TRIAL.

The eyes of the whole kingdom were turned upon this extraordinary trial. It lasted three weeks, during which all other business was suspended; and the queen herself was every day present, though in quality of a private spectator. The managers for the commons were sir Joseph Jekyl, Mr. Eyre, solicitor-general, sir Peter King, recorder of the city of London, lieutenant-general Stanhope, sir Thomas Parker, and Mr. Robert Walpole, treasurer of the navy. The doctor was defended by sir Simon Harcourt and Mr. Phipps, and assisted by Dr. Atterbury, Dr. Smallridge, and Dr. Friend. A vast multitude attended him every day to and from Westminster-hall, striving to kiss his hand, and praying for his deliverance, as if he had been a martyr and confessor. The queen’s sedan was beset by the populace, exclaiming, “God bless your majesty and the church. We hope your majesty is for Dr. Sacheverel.” They compelled all persons to lift their hats to the doctor as he passed in his coach to the temple, where he lodged; and among these some members of parliament, who were abused and insulted. They destroyed several meeting houses; plundered the dwelling houses of eminent dissenters; and threatened to pull down those of the lord chancellor, the earl of Wharton, and the bishop of Sarum. They even proposed to attack the bank, so that the directors were obliged to send to Whitehall for assistance. The horse and foot guards were immediately sent to disperse the rioters, who fled at their approach. Next day the guards were doubled at Whitehall, and the train bands of Westminster continued in arms during the whole trial. The commons entreated the queen, in an address, to take effectual measures for suppressing the present tumults, set on foot and fomented by papists, nonjurors, and other enemies to her title and government. She expressed a deep sense of their care and concern, as well as a just resentment at these tumultuous and violent proceedings. She published a proclamation for suppressing the tumults; and several persons being apprehended, were afterwards tried for high-treason. Two of them were convicted and sentenced to die, but neither suffered. The commons presented another address of thanks to her majesty for her gracious answer to their first remonstrance. They took this occasion to declare, that the prosecution of the commons against Dr. Henry Sacheverel proceeded only from the indispensable obligation they lay under to vindicate the late happy revolution, the glory of their royal deliverer, her own title and administration, the present established and protestant succession, together with the toleration and the quiet of the government. When the doctor’s counsel had finished his defence, he himself recited a speech, wherein he solemnly justified his intentions towards the queen and her government, and spoke in the most respectful terms of the revolution and the protestant succession. He maintained the doctrine of “non-resistance” in all cases whatsoever, as a maxim of the church in which he was educated, and by many pathetical expressions endeavoured to excite the compassion of the audience. He was surrounded by the queen’s chaplains, who encouraged and extolled him as the champion of the church; and he was privately favoured by the queen herself, who could not but relish a doctrine so well calculated for the support of regal authority.

DEBATES UPON IT IN THE LORDS.

On the tenth day of March, the lords being adjourned to their own house, the earl of Nottingham proposed the following question:—“Whether, in prosecutions by impeachments for high crimes and misdemeanors, by writing or speaking, the particular words supposed to be criminal are necessary to be expressly specified in such impeachments?” The judges being consulted, were unanimously of opinion, that, according to law, the grounds of an indictment or impeachment ought to be expressly mentioned in both. One of the lords having suggested that the judges had delivered their opinions according to the rules of Westminster-hall, and not according to the usage of parliament, the house resolved, that in impeachments they should proceed according to the laws of the land, and the law and usage of parliament. On the sixteenth day of the month, the queen being in the house incognita, they proceeded to consider whether or not the commons had made good the articles exhibited against Dr. Sacheverel. The earl of Wharton observed, that the doctor’s speech was a full confutation and condemnation of his sermon: that all he had advanced about non-resistance and unlimited obedience was false and ridiculous: that the doctrine of passive obedience, as urged by the doctor, was not reconcileable to the practice of churchmen: that if the revolution was not lawful, many in that house, and vast numbers without, were guilty of blood, murder, rapine, and injustice; and that the queen herself was no lawful sovereign, since the best title she had to the crown was her parliamentary title, founded upon the revolution. He was answered by the lord Haversham in a long speech. Lord Ferrers said, if the doctor was guilty of some foolish unguarded expressions, he ought to have been tried at common law. The earl of Scarborough observed, the revolution was a nice point, and above the law; he moved that they should adjourn the debate, and take time to consider before they gave judgment. Dr. Hooper, bishop of Bath and Wells, allowed the necessity and legality of resistance in some extraordinary cases; but was of opinion, that this maxim ought to be concealed from the knowledge of the people, who are naturally too apt to resist; that the revolution was not to be boasted of, or made a precedent; but that a mantle ought to be thrown over it, and it should be called a vacancy or abdication. He said the original compact were dangerous words, not to be mentioned without great caution; that those who examined the revolution too nicely were no friends to it; and that there seemed to be a necessity for preaching up non-resistance and passive obedience at that time, when resistance was justified. The duke of Argyle affirmed, that the clergy in all ages had delivered up the rights and privileges of the people, preaching up the king’s power, in order to govern him the more easily; and therefore they ought not to be suffered to meddle with politics. The earl of Anglesea owned the doctor had preached nonsense; but said, that was no crime. The duke of Leeds distinguished between resistance and revolution; for had not the last succeeded, it would have certainly been rebellion, since he knew of no other but hereditary right. The bishop of Salisbury justified resistance from the book of Maccabees; he mentioned the conduct of queen Elizabeth, who assisted the Scots, the French, and the states-general, in resisting their different sovereigns, and was supported in this practice both by her parliaments and her convocations. He observed that king Charles I. had assisted the citizens of Rochelle in their rebellion; that Manwayring incurred a severe censure from the parliament, for having broached the doctrine of the divine right of kings; and that though this became a favourite maxim after the restoration, yet its warmest asserters were the first who pleaded for resistance when they thought themselves oppressed. The archbishop of York, the duke of Buckingham, and other leaders of the tory interest, declared that they never read such a piece of madness and nonsense as Sacheverel’s sermon; but they did not think him guilty of a misdemeanor. Next day, Dr. Wake, bishop of Lincoln, accused Sacheverel of having made a strange and false representation of the design for a comprehension, which had been set on foot by archbishop Sancroft, and promoted by the most eminent divines of the church of England. He was of opinion that some step should be taken for putting a stop to such preaching, as, if not timely corrected, it might kindle heats and animosities that would endanger both church and state. Dr. Trimnel, bishop of Norwich, expatiated on the insolence of Sacheverel, who had arraigned archbishop Grindal, one of the eminent reformers, as a perfidious prelate, for having favoured and tolerated the discipline of Geneva. He enlarged upon the good effects of the toleration. He took notice of Sacheverel’s presumption in publishing inflammatory prayers, declaring himself under persecution, while he was prosecuted for offending against the law, by those who in common justice ought to be thought the fairest accusers, and before their lordships, who were justly acknowledged to be the most impartial judges. In discussing the fourth article, the bishop of Salisbury spoke with great vehemence against Sacheverel, who, by inveighing against the revolution, toleration, and union, seemed to arraign and attack the queen herself; since her majesty had so great a share in the first, had often declared she would maintain the second, and that she looked upon the third as the most glorious event of her reign. He affirmed that nothing could be more plain than the doctor’s reflecting upon her majesty’s ministers; and that he had so well marked out a noble peer there present, by an ugly and scurrilous epithet which he would not repeat, that it was not possible to mistake his meaning. Some of the younger peers could not help laughing at this undesigned sarcasm upon the lord-treasurer, whom Sacheverel had reviled under the name of Volpone; they exclaimed, “Name him, name him;” and in all probability the zealous bishop, who was remarkable for absence of mind and unguarded expressions, would have gratified their request, had not the chancellor, interposing, declared that no peer Was obliged to say more than he should think proper.

After obstinate disputes, and much virulent altercation, Sacheverel was found guilty by a majority of seventeen voices; and four-and-thirty peers entered a protest against this decision. He was prohibited from preaching for the term of three years: his two sermons were ordered to be burnt by the hands of the common hangman, in presence of the lord mayor and the two sheriffs of London and Middlesex. The lords likewise voted that the executioner should commit to the same fire the famous decree passed in the convocation of the university of Oxford, asserting the absolute authority and indefeasible right of princes. A like sentence was denounced by the commons upon a book intituled, “Collections of Passages referred to by Dr. Sacheverel, in his Answer to the Articles of Impeachment.” These he had selected from impious books lately published, and they were read by his counsel, as proofs that the church was in danger. The lenity of the sentence passed upon Sacheverel, which was in a great measure owing to the dread of popular resentment, his friends considered as a victory obtained over a whig faction, and they celebrated their triumph with bonfires and illuminations.

On the fifth day of April, the queen ordered the parliament to be prorogued, after having, in her speech to both houses, expressed her concern for the necessary occasion which had taken up great part of their time towards the latter end of the session. She declared that no prince could have a more true and tender concern for the welfare and prosperity of the church than she had, and should always have; and she said it was very injurious to take a pretence from wicked and malicious libels, to insinuate that the church was in danger by her administration.

CONFERENCES AT GERTRUYDENBURGH.

The French king, seeing the misery of his people daily increase, and all his resources fail, humbled himself again before the allies, and by the means of Petkum, who still corresponded with his ministers, implored the states-general that the negotiation might be resumed. In order to facilitate their consent, he despatched a new project of pacification, in which he promised to renounce his grandson, and to comply with all their other demands, provided the electors of Cologn and Bavaria should be re-established in their estates and dignities. These overtures being rejected, another plan was offered, and communicated to the plenipotentiaries of the emperor and queen of Great Britain. Then Petkum wrote a letter to the marquis de Torcy, intimating, that the allies required his most christian majesty should declare, in plain and expressive terms, that he consented to all the preliminaries, except the thirty-seventh article, which stipulated a cessation of arms, in case the Spanish monarchy should be delivered to king Charles in the space of two months. He said the allies would send passports to the French ministers, to treat of an equivalent for that article. Louis was even forced to swallow this bitter draught. He signified his consent, and appointed the mareschal D’Uxelles and the abbé Polignac his plenipotentiaries. They were not suffered, however, to enter Holland, but were met by the deputies Buys and Vanderdussen, at Gertruydenburgh. Meanwhile, the states desired the queen of England to send over the duke of Marlborough to assist them with his advice in these conferences. The two houses of parliament seconded their request in a joint address to her majesty, who told them she had already given directions for his departure; and said she was glad to find they concurred with her in a just sense of the duke’s eminent services. Both the letter and the addresses were procured by the interest of Marlborough, to let the queen see how much that nobleman was considered both at home and abroad. But she was already wholly alienated from him in her heart, and these expedients served only to increase her disgust.

PRIDE AND OBSTINACY OF THE DUTCH.

The French ministers were subjected to every species of mortification. They were in a manner confined to a small fortified town, and all their conduct narrowly watched. Their accommodation was mean: their letters were opened; and they were daily insulted by injurious libels. The Dutch deputies would hear of no relaxation, and no expedient for removing the difficulties that retarded the negotiation. In vain the plenipotentiaries declared, that the French king could not with decency, or the least regard to his honour, wage war against his own grandson: the deputies insisted upon his effecting the cession of Spain and the Indies to the house of Austria; and submitting to every other article specified in the preliminaries. Nay, they even reserved to them selves a power of making ulterior demands after the preliminaries should be adjusted. Louis proposed that some small provision should be made for the duke of Anjou, which might induce him to relinquish Spain the more easily. He mentioned the kingdom of Arragon; and this hint being disagreeable to the allies, he demanded Naples and Sicily. When they urged that Naples was already in possession of the house of Austria, he restricted the provision to Sicily and Sardinia. He offered to deliver up four cautionary towns in Flanders, as a security for Philip’s evacuating Spain; and even promised to supply the confederates with a monthly sum of money, to defray the expense of expelling that prince from his dominions, should he refuse to resign them with a good grace. The substance of all the conferences was communicated to lord Townshend, and count Kinzendorf, the Imperial plenipotentiary; but the conduct of the deputies was regulated by the pensionary Heinsius, who was firmly attached to prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough, more averse than ever to a pacification. The negotiation lasted from the nineteenth day of March to the twenty-fifth of July, during which term the conferences were several times interrupted, and a great many despatches and new proposals arrived from Versailles. At length the plenipotentiaries returned to France, after having sent a letter to the pensionary, in which they declared that the proposals made by the deputies were unjust and impracticable; and complained of the unworthy treatment to which they had been exposed. Louis resolved to hazard another campaign, not without hope that there might be some lucky incident in the events of war, and that the approaching revolution in the English ministry, of which he was well apprized, would be productive of a more reasonable pacification. The states-general resolved, that the enemy had departed from the foundation on which the negotiation had begun, and studied pretences to evade the execution of the capital points, the restitution of Spain and the Indies: and, in short, that France had no other view than to sow and create jealousy and disunion among the allies. Lord Townshend, in a memorial, assured them that the queen entirely approved their resolution, and all the steps they had taken in the course of the negotiation; and that she was firmly resolved to prosecute the war with all possible vigour, until the enemy should accept such terms of peace as might secure the tranquillity of the christian world.

DOUAY, BETHUNE, AIRE, &c. TAKEN BY THE CONFEDERATES.

The conferences did not retard the operation of the campaign. Prince Eugene and the duke of Marlborough set out from the Hague on the fifteenth day of March for Tournay, in order to assemble the forces which were quartered on the Maese, in Flanders, and Brabant. On the twentieth of April, they suddenly advanced to Pont-a-Vendin, in order to attack the lines upon which the French had been at work all the winter, hoping by these to cover Douay and other frontier towns, which were threatened by the confederates. The troops left for the defence of the lines retired without opposition. The allies having laid bridges over the scarp, the duke of Marlborough with his division passed the river and encamped at Vitri. Prince Eugene remained on the other side and invested Douay, the enemy retiring towards Cambray. Mareschal Villars still commanded the French army, which was extremely numerous and well appointed, considering the distress of that kingdom. Indeed, the number was augmented by that distress; for many thousands saved themselves from dying of hunger, by carrying arms in the service. The mareschal having assembled all his forces, passed the Schelde, and encamped at Boucham, declaring that he would give battle to the confederates: an alteration was immediately made in the disposition of the allies, and proper precautions taken for his reception. He advanced in order of battle; but having viewed the situation of the confederates, he marched back to the heights of St. Lawrence, where he fixed his camp. His aim was, by continual alarms, to interrupt the siege of Douay, which was vigorously defended by a numerous garrison, under the command of monsieur Albergotti, who made a number of successful sallies, in which the besiegers lost a great number of men. They were likewise repulsed in several assaults; but still proceeded with unremitted vigour until the besieged, being reduced to the last extremity, were obliged to capitulate on the twenty-sixth of June, fifty days after the trenches had been opened. The generals finding it impracticable to attack the enemy, who were posted within strong lines from Arras towards Miramont, resolved to besiege Bethune, which was invested on the fifteenth day of July, and surrendered on the twenty-ninth of August. Villars marched out of his intrenchments with a view to raise the siege; but he did not think proper to hazard an engagement: some warm skirmishes, however, happened between the foragers of the two armies. After the reduction of Bethune, the allies besieged at one time the towns of Aire and St. Venant, which were taken without much difficulty. Then the armies broke up, and marched into winter quarters.

KING CHARLES, OBTAINING A VICTORY AT SARAGOSSA, ENTERS MADRID.

The campaign on the Rhine was productive of no military event; nor was anything of consequence transacted in Piedmont. The duke of Savoy being indisposed and out of humour, the command of the forces still continued vested in count Thaun, who endeavoured to pass the Alps, and penetrated into Dauphiné; but the duke of Berwick had cast up intrenchments in the mountains, and taken such precautions to guard them, as baffled all the attempts of the Imperial general. Spain was much more fruitful of military incidents. The horse and dragoons in the army of king Charles, headed by general Stanhope, attacked the whole cavalry of the enemy at Almennara. Stanhope charged in person, and with his own hand slew general Amessaga, who commanded the guards of Philip. The Spanish horse were entirely routed, together with nine battalions that escaped by favour of the darkness; and the main body of the army retired with precipitation to Lerida. General Starem-berg pursued them to Saragossa, where he found them drawn up in order of battle; and an engagement ensuing on the ninth day of August, the enemy were totally defeated: five thousand of their men were killed, seven thousand taken, together with all their artillery, and a great number of colours and standards. King Charles entered Saragossa in triumph, while Philip with the wreck of his army retreated to Madrid. Having sent his queen and son to Vittoria, he retired to Valladolid, in order to collect his scattered forces so as to form another army. The good fortune of Charles was of short duration. Stanhope proposed that he should immediately secure Pampeluna, the only pass by which the French king could send troops to Spain; but this salutary scheme was rejected. King Charles proceeded to Madrid, which was deserted by all the grandees; and he had the mortification to see that the Castilians were universally attached to his competitor.

BATTLE OF VILLAVICIOSA.

While his forces continued cantoned in the neighbourhood of Toleda, the king of France, at the request of Philip, sent the duke de Vendôme to take the command of the Spanish army, which was at the same time reinforced by detachments of French troops. Vendôme’s reputation was so high, and his person so beloved by the soldiery, that his presence was almost equivalent to an army. A great number of volunteers immediately assembled to signalize themselves under the eye of this renowned general. The Castilians were inspired with fresh courage, and made surprising efforts in favour of their sovereign; so that in less than three months after his defeat at Saragossa, he was in a condition to go in quest of his rival. Charles, on the other hand, was totally neglected by the courts of Vienna and Great Britain, which took no steps to supply his wants, or enable him to prosecute the advantages he had gained. In the beginning of November his army marched back to Saragossa, and was cantoned in the neighbourhood of Cifuentes, where Staremberg established his head-quarters. General Stanhope, with the British forces, was quartered in the little town of Brihuega, where, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, he found himself suddenly surrounded by the whole Spanish army. As the place was not tenable, and he had very little ammunition, he was obliged, after a short but vigorous resistance, to capitulate and surrender himself and all his forces prisoners of war, to the amount of two thousand men, including three lieutenant-generals, one major-general, one brigadier, with all the colonels and officers of the respective regiments. He was greatly censured for having allowed himself to be surprised; for if he had placed a guard upon the neighbouring hills, according to the advice of general Carpenter, he might have received notice of the enemy’s approach in time enough to retire to Cifuentes. Thither he had detached his aide-camp with an account of his situation on the appearance of the Spanish army; and Staremberg immediately assembled his forces. About eleven in the forenoon, they began to march towards Brihuega; but the roads were so bad that night overtook them before they, reached the heights in the neighbourhood of that place. Staremberg is said to have loitered away his time unnecessarily, from motives of envy to the English general, who had surrendered before his arrival. The troops lay all night on their arms near Villaviciosa, and on the twenty-ninth were attacked by the enemy, who doubled their number. Staremberg’s left wing was utterly defeated, all the infantry that composed it having been either cut in pieces or taken; but the victors instead of following up the blow began to plunder the baggage; and Staremberg with his right wing fought their left with surprising valour and perseverance till night. Then they retired in disorder, leaving him master of the field of battle and of all their artillery. Six thousand of the enemy were killed on the spot; but the allies had suffered so severely that the general could not maintain his ground. He ordered the cannon to be nailed up, and marched to Saragossa, from whence he retired to Catalonia. Thither he was pursued by the duke de Vendôme, who reduced Belaguer, in which he had left a garrison, and compelled him to take shelter under the walls of Barcelona. At this period the duke de Noailles invested Gironne, which he reduced notwithstanding the severity of the weather; so that Philip, from a fugitive, became in three months absolute master of the whole Spanish monarchy, except the province of Catalonia, and even that lay open to his incursions. Nothing of consequence was achieved on the side of Portugal, from whence the earl of Galway returned to England by the queen’s permission. The operations of the British fleet, during this summer, were so inconsiderable as scarce to deserve notice. Sir John Norris commanded in the Mediterranean, and with a view to support the Camisars, who were in arms in the Cevennois, sailed to Port Cette, within a league of Marseilles, and at the distance of fifteen from the insurgents. The place surrendered, without opposition, to about seven hundred men that landed under the command of major-general Suissan, a native of Languedoc. He likewise made himself master of the town and castle of Eyde; but the duke de Noailles advancing with a body of forces to join the duke de Roquelaire, who commanded in those parts, the English abandoned their conquests, and re-embarked with precipitation. After the battle of Poultowa the czar of Muscovy reduced all Livonia; but he and king Augustus agreed to a neutrality for Pomerania. The king of Sweden continued at Bender, and the grand seignor interested himself so much in favour of that prince, as to declare war against the emperor of Russia. Hostilities were carried on between the Swedish and Danish fleets with various success. The malcontents in Hungary sustained repeated losses during the summer; but they were encouraged to maintain the war by the rupture between the Ottoman Porte and Russia. They were flattered with hopes of auxiliaries from the Turks; and expected engineers and money from the French monarch.

THE WHIG MINISTRY DISGRACED.

In England, the effects of those intrigues which had been formed against the whig ministers began to appear. The trial of Sacheverel had excited a popular spirit of aversion to those who favoured the dissenters. From all parts of the kingdom addresses were presented to the queen, censuring all resistance as a rebellious doctrine, founded upon anti-monarchial and republican principles. At the same time counter-addresses were procured by the whigs, extolling the revolution and magnifying the conduct of the present parliament. The queen began to express her attachment to the tories, by mortifying the duke of Marlborough. Upon the death of the earl of Essex, she wrote to the general desiring that the regiment which had been commanded by that nobleman should be given to Mr. Hill, brother to Mrs. Masham, who had supplanted the duchess of Marlborough in the queen’s friendship, and was, in effect, the source of this political revolution. The duke represented to her majesty in person, the prejudice that would redound to the service from the promotion of such a young officer over the heads of a great many brave men, who had exhibited repeated proofs of valour and capacity. He expostulated with his sovereign on this extraordinary mark of partial regard to the brother of Mrs. Masham, which he could not help considering as a declaration against himself and his family, who had so much cause to complain of that lady’s malice and ingratitude. To this remonstrance the queen made no other reply, but that he would do well to consult his friends. The earl of Godolphin enforced his friend’s arguments, though without effect; and the duke retired in disgust to Windsor. The queen appeared at council without taking the least notice of his absence, which did not fail to alarm the whole whig faction. Several noblemen ventured to speak to her majesty on the subject, and explain the bad consequences of disobliging a man who had done such eminent services to the nation. She told them his services were still fresh in her memory; and that she retained all her former kindness for his person. Hearing, however, that a popular clamour was raised, and that the house of commons intended to pass some votes that would be disagreeable to her and her new counsellors, she ordered the earl of Godolphin to write to the duke to dispose of the regiment as he should think proper, and return to town immediately. Before he received this intimation, he had sent a letter to the queen desiring she would permit him to retire from business. In answer to this petition, she assured him his suspicions were groundless, and insisted upon his coming to council. The duchess demanded an audience of her majesty, on pretence of vindicating her own character from some aspersions. She hoped to work upon the queen’s tenderness, and retrieve the influence she had lost. She protested, argued, wept, and supplicated; but the queen was too well pleased with her own deliverance from the tyranny of the other’s friendship, to incur such slavery for the future. All the humiliation of the duchess served only to render herself the more contemptible. The queen heard her without exhibiting the least sign of emotion, and all she would vouchsafe, was a repetition of these words—“You desired no answer, and you shall have none;” alluding to an expression in a letter she had received from the duchess. As an additional mortification to the ministry, the office of lord chamberlain was transferred from the duke of Kent to the duke of Shrewsbury, who had lately voted with the tories, and maintained an intimacy of correspondence with Mr. Harley. The interest of the duke of Marlborough was not even sufficient to prevent the dismissal of his own son-in-law, the earl of Sunderland, from the post of secretary of state, in which he was succeeded by lord Dartmouth.

The queen was generally applauded for thus asserting her just prerogative, and setting herself free from an arbitrary cabal, by which she had been so long kept in dependence. The duke of Beaufort went to court on this occasion, and told her majesty he was extremely glad that he could now salute her queen in reality. The whole whig party were justly alarmed at these alterations. The directors of the bank represented to her majesty the prejudice that would undoubtedly accrue to public credit from a change of the ministry. The emperor and the states-general interposed in this domestic revolution. Their ministers at London presented memorials, explaining in what manner foreign affairs would be influenced by an alteration in the British ministry. The queen assured them, that, whatever changes might be made, the duke of Marlborough should be continued in his employments. In the month of August the earl of Godolphin was divested of his office, and the treasury put in commission, subjected to the direction of Harley, appointed chancellor of the exchequer and under-treasurer. The earl of Rochester was declared president of the council in the room of lord Somers; the staff of lord steward being taken from the duke of Devonshire, was given to the duke of Buckingham; and Mr. Boyle was removed from the secretary’s office to make way for Mr. Henry St. John. The lord chancellor having resigned the great seal, it was first put in commission, and afterwards given to sir Simon Harcourt. The earl of Wharton surrendered his commission of lord-lieutenant of Ireland, which the queen conferred on the duke of Ormond. The earl of Orford withdrew himself from the board of admiralty; and Mr. George Granville was appointed secretary of war in the room of Mr. Eobert Walpole. The command of the forces in Portugal was bestowed upon the earl of Portmore; the duke of Hamilton was appointed lord-lieutenant of the county palatine of Lancaster. In a word, there was not one whig left in any office of state, except the duke of Marlborough, who would have renounced his command, had not he been earnestly dissuaded by his particular friends from taking such a step as might have been prejudicial to the interests of the nation. That the triumph of the tories might be complete, the queen dissolved the whig parliament, after such precautions were taken as could not fail to influence the new election in favour of the other party.

To this end nothing so effectually contributed as did the trial of Sacheverel, who was used as an instrument and tool to wind and turn the passions of the vulgar. Having been presented to a benefice in North Wales, he went in procession to that country with all the pomp and magnificence of a sovereign prince. He was sumptuously entertained by the university of Oxford, and different noblemen, who, while they worshipped him as the idol of their faction, could not help despising the object of their adoration. He was received in several towns by the magistrates of the corporation in their formalities, and often attended by a body of a thousand horse. At Bridgenorth he was met by Mr. Creswell, at the head of four thousand horse, and the like number of persons on foot, wearing white knots edged with gold, and three leaves of gilt laurel in their hats. The hedges were for two miles dressed with garlands of flowers, and lined with people; and the steeples covered with streamers, flags, and colours. Nothing was heard but the cry of “The church and Dr. Sacheverel.” The clergy were actuated by a spirit of enthusiasm, which seemed to spread like a contagion through all ranks and degrees of people, and had such an effect upon the elections for the new parliament, that very few were returned as members but such as had distinguished themselves by their zeal against the whig administration. Now the queen had the pleasure to see all the offices of state, the lieutenancy of London, the management of corporations, and the direction of both houses of parliament, in the hands of the tories. When these met on the twenty-fifth day of November, Mr. Bromley was chosen speaker without opposition. The queen, in her speech, recommended the prosecution of the war with vigour, especially in Spain. She declared herself resolved to support the church of England; to preserve the British constitution according to the union; to maintain the indulgence by law allowed to scrupulous consciences; and to employ none but such as were heartily attached to the protestant succession in the house of Hanover. The lords, in their address, promised to concur in all reasonable measures towards procuring an honourable peace. The commons were more warm and hearty in their assurances, exhorting her majesty to discountenance all such principles and measures as had lately threatened her royal crown and dignity—measures which, whenever they might prevail, would prove fatal to the whole constitution, both in church and state. After this declaration they proceeded to consider the estimates, and cheerfully granted the supplies for the ensuing year, part of which was raised by two lotteries. In the house of peers, the earl of Scarborough moved that the thanks of the house should be returned to the duke of Marlborough; but the duke of Argyle made some objections to* the motion, and the general’s friends, dreading the consequence of putting the question, postponed the consideration of this proposal until the duke should return from the continent. The earl of Peterborough was appointed ambassador-extraordinary to the Imperial court; the earl of Rivers was sent in the same quality to Hanover; Mr. Richard Hill was nominated envoy-extraordinary to the United Provinces, as well as to the council of state appointed for the government of the Spanish Netherlands, in the room of lieutenant-general Cadogan. Meredith, Macartney, and Honey wood, were deprived of their regiments, because in their cups they had drank confusion to the enemies of the duke of Marlborough.

DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH INSULTED.

This nobleman arrived in England towards the latter end of December. He conferred about half an hour in private with the queen, and next morning assisted at a committee of the privy-council. Her majesty give him to understand that he needed not expect the thanks of the parliament as formerly; and told him she hoped he would live well with her ministers. He expressed no resentment at the alterations which had been made; but resolved to acquiesce in the queen’s pleasure, and retain the command of the army on her own terms. On the second day of January, the queen sent a message to both houses, intimating that there had been an action in Spain to the disadvantage of king Charles; that the damage having fallen particularly on the English forces, she had given directions for sending and procuring troops to repair their loss, and hoped the parliament would approve her conduct. Both houses seized this opportunity of venting their spleen against the old ministry. The history of England is disgraced by the violent conduct of two turbulent factions, which, in their turn, engrossed the administration and legislative power. The parliamentary strain was quite altered. One can hardly conceive how resolutions so widely different could be taken on the same subject, with any shadow of reason and decorum. Marlborough, who but a few months before had been so highly extolled and caressed by the representatives of the people, was now become the object of parliamentary hatred and censure, though no sensible alteration had happened in his conduct or success. That hero, who had retrieved the glory of the British arms, won so many battles, subdued such a number of towns and districts, humbled the pride and checked the ambition of France, secured the liberty of Europe, and, as it were, chained victory to his chariot wheels, was in a few weeks dwindled into an object of contempt and derision. He was ridiculed in public libels, and reviled in private conversation. Instances were every where repeated of his fraud, warice, and extortion; his insolence, cruelty, ambition, and misconduct; even his courage was called in question; and this consummate general was represented as the lowest of mankind. So unstable is the popularity of every character that fluctuates between two opposite tides of faction.

INQUIRY INTO THE CONDUCT OF THE WAR IN SPAIN.

The lords, in their answer to the queen’s message, declared, that as the misfortune in Spain might have been occasioned by some preceding mismanagement, they would use their utmost endeavours to discover it, so as to prevent the like for the future. They set on foot an inquiry concerning the affairs of Spain; and the earl of Peterborough being examined before the committee, imputed all the miscarriages in the course of that war to the earl of Galway and general Stanhope. Notwithstanding the defence of Galway, which was clear and convincing, the house resolved, that the earl of Peterborough had given a faithful and honourable account of the councils of war in Valencia: that the earl of Galway, lord Tyrawley, and general Stanhope, in advising an offensive war, had been the unhappy occasion of the battle of Almanza, the source of our misfortunes in Spain, and one great cause of the disappointment of the expedition to Toulon, concerted with her majesty. They voted that the prosecution of an offensive war in Spain was approved and directed by the ministers, who were therefore justly blameable, as having contributed to all our misfortunes in Spain, and to the disappointment of the expedition against Toulon; that the earl of Peterborough, during his command in Spain, had performed many great and eminent services; and if his opinion had been followed, it might have prevented the misfortunes that ensued. Then the duke of Buckingham moved, that the thanks of the house should be given to the earl for his remarkable and eminent services; and these he actually received from the mouth of the lord-keeper Harcourt, who took this opportunity to drop some oblique reflections upon the mercenary disposition of the duke of Marlborough. The house, proceeding in the inquiry, passed another vote, importing, that the late ministry had been negligent in managing the Spanish war, to the great prejudice of the nation. Finding that the Portuguese troops were posted on the right of the English at the battle of Almanza, they re solved, that the earl of Galway, in yielding this point, had acted contrary to the honour of the imperial crown of Great Britain. These resolutions they included in an address to the queen, who had been present during the debates, which were extremely violent; and to every separate vote was attached a severe protest. These were not the proceedings of candour and national justice, but the ebullitions of party zeal and rancorous animosity.

While the lords were employed in this inquiry, the commons examined certain abuses which had crept into the management of the navy; and some censures were passed upon certain persons concerned in contracts for victualling the seamen. The inhabitants of St. Olave’s and other parishes presented a petition, complaining that a great number of Palatines, inhabiting one house, might produce among them a contagious distemper; and in time become a charge to the public, as they were destitute of all visible means of subsistence. This petition had been procured by the tories, that the house of commons might have another handle for attacking the late ministry. A committee was appointed to inquire upon what invitation or encouragement those Palatines had come to England. The papers relating to this affair being laid before them by the queen’s order, and perused, the house resolved, that the inviting and bringing over the poor Palatines of all religions, at the public expense, was an extravagant and unreasonable charge to the kingdom, and a scandalous misapplication of the public money, tending to the increase and oppression of the poor, and of dangerous consequence to the constitution in church and state; and that whoever advised their being brought over was an enemy to the queen and kingdom. Animated by the heat of this inquiry, they passed the bill to repeal the act for a general naturalization of all protestants; but this was rejected in the house of lords. Another bill was enacted into a law, importing, that no person should be deemed qualified for representing a county in parliament, unless he possessed an estate of six hundred pounds a-year; and restricting the qualification of burgess to half that sum. The design of this bill was to exclude trading people from the house of commons, and to lodge the legislative power with the land-holders. A third act passed, permitting the importation of French wine in neutral bottoms: a bill against which the whigs loudly exclaimed, as a national evil, and a scandalous compliment to the enemy.

HARLEY STABBED AT THE COUNCIL BOARD.

A violent party in the house of commons began to look upon Harley as a lukewarm tory, because he would not enter precipitately into all their factious measures; they even began to suspect his principles, when his credit was re-established by a very singular accident. Guiscard, the French partisan, of whom mention hath already been made, thought himself very ill rewarded for his services, with a precarious pension of four hundred pounds, which he enjoyed from the queen’s bounty. He had been renounced by St. John, the former companion of his pleasures; he had in vain endeavoured to obtain an audience of the queen, with a view to demand more considerable appointments. Harley was his enemy, and all access to her majesty was denied. Enraged at these disappointments, he attempted to make his peace with the court of France, and offered his services, in a letter to one Moreau, a banker in Paris. This packet, which he endeavoured to transmit by the way of Portugal, was intercepted, and a warrant issued out to apprehend him for high-treason. When the messenger disarmed him in St. James’s Park, he exhibited marks of guilty confusion and despair, and begged that he would kill him directly. Being conveyed to the cockpit, in a sort of frenzy, he perceived a penknife lying upon a table, and took it up without being perceived by the attendants. A committee of council was immediately summoned, and Guiscard brought before them to be examined. Finding that his correspondence with Moreau was discovered, he desired to speak in private with secretary St. John, whom in all probability he had resolved to assassinate. His request being refused, he said, “That’s hard! not one word!” St. John being out of his reach, he stepped up to Mr. Harley, and exclaiming, “Have at thee, then!” stabbed him in the breast with the penknife which he had concealed. The instrument broke upon the bone, without penetrating into the cavity; nevertheless he repeated the blow with such force that the chancellor of the exchequer fell to the ground. Secretary St. John, seeing him fall, cried out, “The villain has killed Mr. Harley!” and drew his sword. Several other members followed his example, and wounded Guiscard in several places. Yet he made a desperate defence, until he was overpowered by the messengers and servants, and conveyed from the council-chamber, which he had filled with terror, tumult, and confusion. His wounds, though dangerous, were not mortal; but he died of a gangrene occasioned by the bruises he had sustained. This attempt upon the life of Harley, by a person who wanted to establish a traitorous correspondence with France, extinguished the suspicions of those who began to doubt that minister’s integrity. The two houses of parliament, in an address to the queen, declared their belief that Mr. Harley’s fidelity to her majesty, and zeal for her service, had drawn upon him the hatred of all the abettors of popery and faction. They besought her majesty to take all possible care of her sacred person; and, for that purpose, to give directions for causing papists to be removed from the cities of London and Westminster. A proclamation was published, ordering the laws to be strictly put in execution against papists. When Harley appeared in the house of commons after his recovery, he was congratulated upon it by the speaker, in a florid and fulsome premeditated speech. An act was passed, decreeing, that an attempt upon the life of a privy-counsellor should be felony without benefit of clergy. The earl of Rochester dying, Harley became sole minister, was created baron of Wigmore, and raised to the rank of earl by the noble and ancient title of Oxford and Mortimer: to crown his prosperity, he was appointed lord-treasurer, and vested with the supreme administration of affairs.

DEATH OF THE EMPEROR JOSEPH.

The commons empowered certain persons to examine all the grants made by king William, and report the value of them, as well as the considerations upon which they were made. Upon their report a bill was formed and passed that house; but the lords rejected it at the first reading. Their next step was to examine the public accounts, with a view to fix an imputation on the earl of Godolphin. They voted that above five-and-thirty millions of the money granted by parliament remained unaccounted for. This sum, however, included some accounts in the reigns of king Charles and king William. One half of the whole was charged to Mr. Bridges, the pay-master, who had actually accounted for all the money he had received, except about three millions, though these accounts had not passed through the auditor’s office. The commons afterwards proceeded to inquire into the debts of the navy, that exceeded five millions, which, with many other debts, were thrown into one stock, amounting to nine millions four hundred and seventy-one thousand three hundred and twenty-five pounds. A fund was formed for paying an interest or annuity of six per cent, until the principal should be discharged; and with this was granted a monopoly of a projected trade in the South Sea, vested in the proprietors of navy-bills, debentures, and other public securities, which were incorporated for this purpose. Such was the origin of the South Sea Company, founded upon a chimerical supposition that the English would be permitted to trade upon the coast of Peru in the West Indies. Perhaps the new ministry hoped to obtain this permission, as an equivalent for their abandoning the interest of king Charles, with respect to his pretensions upon Spain. By this time the emperor Joseph had died of the small-pox without male issue; so that his brother’s immediate aim was to succeed him on the Imperial throne. This event was, on the twentieth day of April, communicated by a message from the queen to both houses. She told them that the states-general had concurred with her in a resolution to support the house of Austria; and that they had already taken such measures as would secure the election of Charles as head of the empire.

The house of commons, in order to demonstrate their attachment to the church, in consequence of an address from the lower house of convocation, and a quickening message from the queen, passed a bill for building fifty new churches in the suburbs of London and Westminster, and appropriated for this purpose the duty upon coals, which had been granted for the building of St. Paul’s, now finished. This imposition was continued until it should raise the sum of three hundred and fifty thousand pounds. At the close of the session, the commons presented a remonstrance or representation to the queen, in which they told her that they had not only raised the necessary supplies, but also discharged the heavy debts of which the nation had so long and justly complained. They said that, in tracing the causes of this debt, they had discovered fraud, embezzlement, and misapplication of the public money; that they who of late years had the management of the treasury, were guilty of a notorious breach of trust and injustice to the nation, in allowing above thirty millions to remain unaccounted for; a purposed omission that looked like a design to conceal embezzlements. They begged her majesty would give immediate directions for compelling the several imprest accountants speedily to pass their accounts. They expressed their hope that such of the accountants as had neglected their duty in prosecuting their accounts, ought no longer to be intrusted with the public money. They affirmed, that from all these evil practices and worse designs of some persons, who had, by false professions of love to their country, insinuated themselves into her royal favour, irreparable mischief would have accrued to the public, had not her majesty, in her great wisdom, seasonably discovered the fatal tendency of such measures, and removed from the administration those who had so ill answered her majesty’s favourable opinion, and in so many instances grossly abused the trust reposed in them. They observed, that her people could with greater patience have suffered the manifold injuries done to themselves, by the frauds and depredations of such evil ministers, had not the same men proceeded to treat her sacred person with undutifulness and disregard. This representation being circulated through the kingdom, produced the desired effect of inflaming the minds of the people against the late ministry. Such expedients were become necessary for the execution of Oxford’s project, which was to put a speedy end to a war that had already subjected the people to grievous oppression, and even accumulated heavy burdens to be transmitted to their posterity. The nation was inspired by extravagant ideas of glory and conquest, even to a rage of war-making; so that the new ministers, in order to dispel those dangerous chimeras, were obliged to take measures for exciting their indignation and contempt against those persons whom they had formerly idolized as their heroes and patriots. On the twelfth day of June, the queen, having given the royal assent to several public and private bills, made an affectionate speech to both houses. She thanked the commons, in the warmest expressions, for having complied with all her desires; for having baffled the expectations of her enemies in finding supplies for the service of the ensuing year; in having granted greater sums than were ever given to any prince in one session; and in having settled funds for the payment of the public debts, so that the credit of the nation was restored. She expressed her earnest concern for the succession of the house of Hanover; and her fixed resolution to support and encourage the church of England as by law established. Then the parliament was prorogued.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE CONVOCATION.

Of the convocation which was assembled with the new parliament, the lower house chose Dr. Atterbury their prolocutor. He was an enterprising ecclesiastic, of extensive learning, acute talents, violently attached to tory principles, and intimately connected with the prime minister Oxford; so that he directed all the proceedings in the lower house of convocation in concert with that minister. The queen, in a letter to the archbishop, signified her hope that the consultations of the clergy might be of use to repress the attempts of loose and profane persons. She sent a license under the broad seal, empowering them to sit and do business in as ample a manner as ever had been granted since the reformation. They were ordered to lay before the queen an account of the excessive growth of infidelity and heresy, as well as of other abuses, that necessary measures might be taken for a reformation. The bishops were purposely slighted and overlooked, because they had lived in harmony with the late ministers. A committee being appointed to draw up a representation of the present state of the church and religion, Atterbury undertook the task, and composed a remonstrance that contained the most keen and severe strictures upon the administration, as it had been exercised since the time of the revolution. Another was penned by the bishops in more moderate terms; and several regulations were made, but in none of these did the two houses agree. They concurred, however, in censuring some tenets favouring Arianism, broached and supported by Mr. Whiston, mathematical professor in Cambridge. He had been expelled the university, and wrote a vindication of himself, dedicated to the convocation. The archbishop doubted whether this assembly could proceed against a man for heresy: the judges were consulted, and the majority of them gave in their opinion that the convocation had a jurisdiction. Four of them professed the contrary sentiment, which they maintained from the statutes made at the reformation. The queen, in a letter to the bishops, said, that as there was now no doubt of their jurisdiction, she expected that they would proceed in the matter before them. Fresh scruples arising, they determined to examine the book, without proceeding against the author, and this was censured accordingly. An extract of the sentence was sent to the queen; but she did not signify her pleasure on this subject, and the affair remained in suspense. Whiston published a work in four volumes, justifying his doctrine, and maintaining that the apostolical constitutions were not only canonical, but also preferable in point of authority to the epistles and the gospels.

THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH CONTINUES TO COMMAND THE ALLIED ARMY.

The new ministry had not yet determined to supersede the duke of Marlborough in the command of the army. This was a step which could not be taken without giving umbrage to the Dutch and other allies. He therefore set out for Holland in the month of February, after the queen had assured him that he might depend upon the punctual payment of the forces. Having conferred with the deputies of the states about the operations of the campaign, he, about the middle of April, assembled the army at Orchies, between Lisle and Douay; while mareschal de Villars drew together the French troops in the neighbourhood of Cambray and Arras. Louis had by this time depopulated as well as impoverished his kingdom; yet his subjects still flocked to his standard with surprising spirit and attachment. Under the pressure of extreme misery they uttered not one complaint of their sovereign; but imputed all their calamities to the pride and obstinacy of the allies. Exclusive of all the other impositions that were laid upon that people, they consented to pay the tenth penny of their whole substance; but all their efforts of loyalty and affection to their prince would have been ineffectual, had not the merchants of the kingdom, by the permission of Philip, undertaken repeated voyages to the South Sea, from whence they brought home immense treasures; while the allies took no steps for intercepting these supplies, though nothing could have been more easy for the English than to deprive the enemy of this great resource, and convert it to their own advantage. Had a squadron of ships been annually employed for this purpose, the subjects of France and Spain must have been literally starved, and Louis obliged to submit to such terms as the confederates might have thought proper to impose. Villars had found means to assemble a very numerous army, with which he encamped behind the river Sanset, in such an advantageous post as could not be attacked with any prospect of success. Meanwhile the duke of Marlborough passed the Scarpe, and formed his camp between Douay and Bouchain, where he was joined by prince Eugene on the twenty-third day of May. This general, however, did not long remain in the Netherlands. Understanding that detachments had been made from the army of Villars to the Rhine, and that the elector of Bavaria intended to act in the empire, the prince, by order from the court of Vienna, marched towards the upper Rhine with the Imperial and Palatine troops, to secure Germany. The Duke of Marlborough repassing the Scarpe, encamped in the plains of Lens, from whence he advanced towards Aire, as if he had intended to attack the French lines in that quarter. These lines beginning at Bouchain on the Schelde, were continued along the Sanset and the Scarpe to Arras, and thence along the Upper Scarpe to Canché. They were defended by redoubts and other works in such a manner, that Villars judged they were impregnable, and called them the Ne plus ultra of Marlborough.

This nobleman advancing within two leagues of the French lines, ordered a great number of fascines to be made, declaring he would attack them the next morning; so that Villars drew all his forces on that side, in full expectations of an engagement. The duke, on the supposition that the passage of the Sanset by Arleux would be left unguarded, had ordered the generals Cadogan and Hompesch to assemble twenty battalions and seventeen squadrons from Douay and the neighbouring garrisons, to march to Arleux, where they should endeavour to pass the Sanset. Brigadier Sutton was detached with the artillery and pontoons, to lay bridges over the canal near Groulezen and over the Scarpe at Vitry, while the duke with the whole confederate army began his march for the same place about nine in the evening. He proceeded with such expedition, that by five in the morning he passed the river at Vitry. There he received intelligence that Hompesch had taken possession of the passes on the Sanset and Schelde without opposition, the enemy having withdrawn their detachments from that side just as he had imagined. He himself, with his vanguard of fifty squadrons, hastened his march towards Arleux, and before eight of the clock arrived at Bacá-Bachuel, where in two hours he was joined by the heads of the columns into which he hadj divided his infantry. Villars being certified of his intention, about two in the morning decamped with his whole army, and putting himself at the head of the king’s household troops, marched all night with such expedition, that about eleven in the forenoon he was in sight of the duke of Marlborough, who had by this time joined count Hompesch. The French general immediately retreated to the main body of his army, which had advanced to the high road between Arras and Cambray, while the allies encamped upon the Schelde, between Oisy and Estrun, after a march of ten leagues without halting, scarce to be paralleled in history. By this plan, so happily executed, the duke of Marlborough fairly outwitted Villars, and, without the loss of one man, entered the lines which he had pronounced impregnable. This stroke of the English general was extolled as a masterpiece of military skill, while Villars was exposed to the ridicule even of his own officers. The field-deputies of the states-general proposed that he should give battle to the enemy, who passed the Schelde at Crevecoeur in order to cover Bouchain; but the duke would not hazard an engagement, considering how much the army was fatigued by the long march; and that any misfortune, while they continued within the French lines, might be fatal. His intention was to besiege Bouchain; an enterprise that was deemed impracticable, inasmuch as the place was situated in a morass, strongly fortified, and defended by a numerous garrison, in the neighbourhood of an army superior in number to that of the allies. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, and the dissuasions of his own friends, he resolved to undertake the siege; and, in the meantime, despatched brigadier Sutton to England with an account of his having passed the French lines; which was not at all agreeable to his enemies. They had prognosticated that nothing would be done during this campaign, and began to insinuate that the duke could strike no stroke of importance without the assistance of prince Eugene. They now endeavoured to lessen the glory of his success; and even taxed him with having removed his camp from a convenient situation to a place where the troops were in danger of starving. Nothing could be more provoking than this scandalous malevolence to a great man who had done so much honour to his country, and was then actually exposing his life in her service.

BOUCHAIN REDUCED.

On the tenth day of August Bouchain was invested, and the duke of Marlborough exerted himself to the utmost extent of his vigilance and capacity, well knowing the difficulties of the undertaking, and how much his reputation would depend upon his success. Villars had taken every precaution that his skill and experience could suggest, to baffle the endeavours of the English general. He had reinforced the garrison to the number of six thousand chosen men, commanded by officers of known courage and ability. He made some efforts to raise the siege; but they were rendered ineffectual by the consummate prudence and activity of the duke of Marlborough. Then he laid a scheme for surprising Douay, which likewise miscarried. If we consider that the English general, in the execution of his plan, was obliged to form lines, erect regular forts, raise batteries, throw bridges over a river, make a causeway through a deep morass, provide for the security of convoys against a numerous army on the one side, and the garrisons of Condé and Valenciennes on the other, we must allow this was the boldest enterprise of the whole war; that it required all the fortitude, skill, and resolution of a great general, and all the valour and intrepidity of the confederate troops, who had scarce ever exhibited such amazing proofs of courage upon any other occasion as they now displayed at the siege of Bouchain. In twenty days after the trenches were opened, the garrison were obliged to surrender themselves prisoners of war; and this conquest was the last military exploit performed by the duke of Marlborough: the breaches of Bouchain were no sooner repaired than the opposite armies began to separate, and the allied forces were quartered in the frontier towns, that they might be at hand to take the field early in the spring. They were now in possession of the Maese, almost as far as the Sambre; of the Schelde from Tournay; and of the Lys as far as it is navigable. They had reduced Spanish Guelderland, Limburg, Brabant, Flanders, and the greatest part of Hainault; they were masters of the Scarpe; and by the conquest of Bouchain, they had opened to themselves a way into the very bowels of France. All these acquisitions were owing to the valour and conduct of the duke of Marlborough, who now returned to the Hague, and arrived in England about the middle of November.

DUKE OF ARGYLE COMMANDS THE BRITISH TROOPS IN SPAIN.

The queen had conferred the command of her forces in Spain upon the duke of Argyle, who was recalled from the service in Flanders for that purpose. He had long been at variance with the duke of Marlborough; a circumstance which recommended him the more strongly to the ministry. He landed at Barcelona on the twenty-ninth of May, and found the British troops in the utmost distress for want of subsistence. The treasurer had promised to supply him liberally; the commons had granted one million five hundred thousand pounds for that service. All their hopes of success were fixed on the campaign in that kingdom; and indeed the army commanded by the duke de Vendôme was in such a wretched condition, that if Staremberg had been properly supported by the allies, he might have obtained signal advantages. The duke of Argyle, having waited in vain for the promised remittances, was obliged, to borrow money on his own credit, before the British troops could take the field. At length Staremberg advanced towards the enemy, who attacked him at the pass of Prato del Key, where they were repulsed with considerable damage. After this action the duke of Argyle was seized with a violent fever, and conveyed back to Barcelona. Vendôme invested the castle of Cardona, which was vigorously defended till the end of December, when a detachment being sent to the relief of the place, defeated the besiegers, killed two thousand on the spot, and took all their artillery, ammunition, and baggage. Staremberg was unable to follow the blow; the duke of Argyle wrote pressing letters to the ministry, and loudly complained that he was altogether unsupported; but all his remonstrances were ineffectual: no remittances arrived; and he returned to England without having been able to attempt any thing of importance. In September, king Charles, leaving his queen at Barcelona, set sail for Italy, and at Milan had an interview with the duke of Savoy, where all disputes were compromised. That prince had forced his way into Savoy and penetrated as far as the Rhine; but he suddenly halted in the middle of his career, and after a short campaign repassed the mountains. Prince Eugene, at the head of the German forces, protected the electors at Frankfort from the designs of the enemy, and Charles was unanimously chosen emperor; the electors of Cologn and Bavaria having been excluded from voting, because they lay under the ban of the empire. The war between the Ottoman Porte and the Muscovites was of short duration. The czar advanced so far into Moldavia, that he was cut off from all supplies, and altogether in the power of his enemy. In this emergency, he found means to corrupt the grand vizier in private, while in public he proposed articles of peace that were accepted. The king of Sweden, who was in the Turkish army, charged the vizier with treachery, and that minister was actually disgraced. The grand seignor threatened to renew the war; but he was appeased by the czar’s surrendering Azoph.

EXPEDITION TO CANADA.

The English ministry had conceived great expectations from an expedition against Quebec and Placentia, in North America, planned by colonel Nicholson, who had taken possession of Nova Scotia, and garrisoned Porte Royal, to which he gave the name of Anapolis. He had brought four Indian chiefs to England, and represented the advantages that would redound to the nation in point of commerce, should the French be expelled from North America. The ministers relished the proposal. A body of five thousand men was embarked in transports, under the command of brigadier Hill, brother to Mrs. Masham; and they sailed from Plymouth in the beginning of May, with a strong squadron of ships commanded by sir Hovenden Walker. At Boston in New England, they were joined by two regiments of provincials; and about four thousand men, consisting of American planters, Palatines, and Indians, rendezvoused at Albany, in order to march by land into Canada, while the fleet sailed up the river of that name. On the twenty-first day of August they were exposed to a violent storm, and driven among rocks, where eight transports perished, with about eight hundred men. The admiral immediately sailed back to Spanish-river bay, where it was determined, in a council of war, that as the fleet and forces were victualled for ten weeks only, and they could not depend upon a supply of provisions from New England, they should return home without making any further attempt. Such was the issue of this paltry expedition, intrusted to the direction of an officer without talents and experience.

In the Irish parliament held during the summer, the duke of Ormond and the majority of the peers supported the tory interest, while the commons expressed the warmest attachment to revolution principles. The two houses made strenuous representations, and passed severe resolutions against each other. After the session, sir Constantine Phipps, the chancellor, and general Ingoldsby, were appointed justices in the absence of the duke of Ormond, who returned to England in the month of November. In Scotland the Jacobites made no scruple of professing their principles and attachments to the pretender. The duchess of Gordon presented the faculty of advocates with a silver medal, representing the chevalier de St. George; and on the reverse the British islands, with the motto “Redditte.” After some debate, it was voted, by a majority of sixty-three voices against twelve, that the duchess should be thanked for this token of her regard. This task was performed by Dundas of Arnistoun, who thanked her grace for having presented them with a medal of their sovereign lord the king; hoping, and being confident, that her grace would very soon have an opportunity to compliment the faculty with a second medal, struck upon the restoration of the king and royal family, upon the finishing rebellion, usurping tyranny, and whiggery. An account of this transaction being laid before the queen, the lord-advocate was ordered to inquire into the particulars. Then the faculty were so intimidated that they disowned Dundas, and Home his accomplice. They pretended that the affair of the medal had been transacted by a party at an occasional meeting, and not by general consent; and, by a solemn act, they declared their attachment to the queen and the protestant succession. The court was satisfied with this atonement; but the resident from Hanover having presented a memorial to the queen, desiring that Dundas and his associates might be prosecuted, the government removed sir David Dalrymple from his office of lord-advocate, on pretence of his having been too remiss in prosecuting those delinquents; and no further inquiry was made into the affair.

NEGOTIATION BETWEEN THE COURTS OF FRANCE AND ENGLAND.

For some time the negotiation for peace had been carried on between the court of France and the new ministers, who had a double aim in this measure; namely, to mortify the whigs and the Dutch, whom they detested, and to free their country from a ruinous war, which had all the appearance of becoming habitual to the constitution. They foresaw the risk they would run by entering into such measures, should ever the opposite faction regain the ascendency; they knew the whigs would employ all their art and influence, which was very powerful, in obstructing the peace, and in raising of popular clamour against the treaty. But their motives for treating were such as prompted them to undervalue all those difficulties and dangers. They hoped to obtain such advantages in point of commerce for the subject? of Great Britain, as would silence all detraction. They did not doubt of being able to maintain the superiority which they had acquired in parliament; and perhaps some of them cherished views in favour of the pretender, whose succession to the crown would have effectually established their dominion over the opposite party. The earl of Jersey, who acted in concert with Oxford, sent a private message to the court of France, importing the queen’s desire of peace, representing the impossibility of a private negotiation, as the ministry was obliged to act with the utmost circumspection, and desiring that Louis would propose to the Dutch a renewal of the conferences, in which case the English plenipotentiaries should have such instructions that it would be impossible for the states-general to prevent the conclusion of the treaty. This intimation was delivered by one Gualtier, an obscure priest, who acted as chaplain to count Gallas the Imperial ambassador, and had been employed as a spy by the French ministry, since the commencement of hostilities. His connexion with lord Jersey was by means of that nobleman’s lady, who professed the Roman catholic religion. His message was extremely agreeable to the court of Versailles. He returned to London with a letter of compliment from the marquis de Torcy to the earl of Jersey, in which that minister assured him of his master’s sincere inclination for peace, though he was averse to a renewal of the conferences with the states-general. Gualtier wrote a letter to Versailles, desiring, in the name of the English ministry, that his most christain majesty would communicate to them his proposals for a general peace, which they would communicate to the states-general, that they might negotiate in concert with their allies. A general answer being made to this intimation, Gualtier made a second journey to Versailles, and brought over a memorial, which was immediately transmitted to Holland. In the meantime, the pensionary endeavoured to renew the conferences in Holland. Petkum wrote to the French ministry, that if his majesty would resume the negotiation, in concert with the queen of Great Britain, he should certainly have reason to be satisfied with the conduct of the Dutch deputies. This proposal Louis declined, at the desire of the English ministers.

The states-general having perused the memorial, assured queen Anne that they were ready to join with her in contributing to the conclusion of a durable peace; but they expressed a desire that the French king would communicate a more particular plan for securing the interest of the allied powers, and for settling the repose of Europe. Gualtier was once more sent to Versailles, accompanied by Mr. Prior, who had resided in France as secretary to the embassies of the earls of Portland and Jersey. This gentleman had acquired some reputation by his poetical talents; was a man of uncommon ability, and insinuating address, and perfectly devoted to the tory interest. He was empowered to communicate the preliminary demands of the English; to receive the answer of the French king; and demand whether or not king Philip had transmitted a power of treating to his grandfather. He arrived incognito at Fontainbleau, and presented the queen’s memorial, in which she demanded a barrier for the Dutch in the Netherlands, and another on the Rhine for the empire; a security for the Dutch commerce, and a general satisfaction to all her allies. She required that the strong places taken from the duke of Savoy should be restored; and that he should possess such towns and districts in Italy as had been ceded to him in treaties between him and his allies: that Louis should acknowledge queen Anne and the protestant succession; demolish the fortifications of Dunkirk; and agree to a new treaty of commerce; that Gibraltar and Port Mahon should be yielded to the crown of England; that the negro trade in America, at that time carried on by the French, should be ceded to the English, together with some towns on that continent, where the slaves might be refreshed. She expected security that her subjects trading to Spain should enjoy all advantages granted by that crown to the most favoured nation; that she should be put in possession of Newfoundland and Hudson’s Bay, either by way of restitution or cession; and that both nations should continue to enjoy whatever territories they might be possessed of in North America at the ratification of the treaties. She likewise insisted upon a security that the crowns of France and Spain should never be united on the same head. Her majesty no longer insisted upon Philip’s being expelled from the throne of Spain by the arms of his own grandfather. She now perceived that the exorbitant power of the house of Austria would be as dangerous to the liberty of Europe as ever that of the family of Bourbon had been, in the zenith of its glory. She might have remembered the excessive power, the insolence, the ambition of Charles V. and Philip II. who had enslaved so many countries, and embroiled all Europe. She was sincerely desirous of peace, from motives of humanity and compassion to her subjects and fellow-creatures; she was eagerly bent upon procuring such advantages to her people as would enable them to discharge the heavy load of debt under which they laboured, and recompense them in some measure for the blood and treasure they had so lavishly expended in the prosecution of the war. These were the sentiments of a christian princess; of an amiable and pious sovereign, who bore a share in the grievances of her subjects, and looked upon them with the eyes of maternal affection. She thought she had the better title to insist upon those advantages, as they had been already granted to her subjects in a private treaty with king Charles.

MENAGER ARRIVES PRIVATELY in ENGLAND.

As Prior’s powers were limited in such a manner that he could not negotiate, Mr. Ménager, deputy from the city of Rouen to the board of trade, accompanied the English minister to London, with full powers to settle the preliminaries of the treaty. On his arrival in London, the queen immediately commissioned the duke of Shrewsbury, the earls of Jersey, Dartmouth, Oxford, and Mr. St. John, to treat with him; and the conferences were immediately begun. After long and various disputes, they agreed upon certain preliminary articles, which, on the eighth day of October, were signed by the French minister, and by the two secretaries of state, in consequence of a written order from her majesty. Then Ménager was privately introduced to the queen at Windsor. She told him she was averse to war; that she would exert all her power to conclude a speedy peace; that she should be glad to live upon good terms with the king of France, to whom she was so nearly allied in blood; she expressed her hope that there would be a closer union after the peace between them, and between their subjects, cemented by a perfect correspondence and friendship. The earl of Strafford, who had been lately recalled from the Hague where he resided as ambassador, was now sent back to Holland, with orders to communicate to the pensionary the proposals of peace which France had made; to signify the queen’s approbation of them, and propose a place where the plenipotentiaries should assemble. The English ministers now engaged in an intimate correspondence with the court of Versailles; and mareschal Tallard being released from his confinement at Nottingham, was allowed to return to his own country on his parole. After the departure of Ménager, the preliminaries were communicated to count Gallas the emperor’s minister, who, in order to inflame the minds of the people, caused them to be translated, and inserted in one of the daily papers. This step was so much resented by the queen, that she sent a message desiring he would come no more to court; but that he might leave the kingdom as soon as he should think proper. He took the hint, and retired accordingly; but the queen gave the emperor to understand, that any other minister he should appoint would be admitted by her without hesitation.

THE FRENCH KING’S PROPOSALS DISAGREEABLE TO THE ALLIES.

The states of Holland, alarmed at the preliminaries, sent over Buys, as envoy-extraordinary, to intercede with the queen that she would alter her resolutions: but she continued steady to her purpose; and the earl of Strafford demanded the immediate concurrence of the states, declaring, in the queen’s name, that she would look upon any delay, on their part, as a refusal to comply with her propositions. Intimidated by this declaration, they agreed to open the general conferences at Utrecht on the first day of January. They granted passports to the French ministers; while the queen appointed Robinson, bishop of Bristol, and the earl of Strafford, her plenipotentiaries at the congress. Charles, the new emperor, being at Milan, when he received a copy of the preliminaries, wrote circular letters to the electors and the princes of the empire, exhorting them to persist in their engagements to the grand alliance. He likewise desired the states-general to join councils with him in persuading the queen of England to reject the proposals of France, and prosecute the war; or at least to negotiate on the foundation of the first preliminaries, which had been signed by the marquis de Torcy. He wrote a letter to the same purpose to the queen of Great Britain, who received it with the most mortifying indifference. No wonder that he should zealously contend for the continuance of a war, the expense of which she and the Dutch had hitherto almost wholly defrayed. The new preliminaries were severely attacked by the whigs, who ridiculed and reviled the ministry in word and writing. Pamphlets, libels, and lampoons, were today published by one faction, and to-morrow answered by the other. They contained all the insinuations of malice and contempt, all the bitterness of reproach, and all the rancour of recrimination. In the midst of this contention, the queen despatched the earl of Rivers to Hanover, with an assurance to the elector that his succession to the crown should be effectually ascertained in the treaty. The earl brought back an answer in writing; but, at the same time, his electoral highness ordered baron de Bothmar, his envoy in England, to present a memorial to the queen, representing the pernicious consequences of Philip’s remaining in possession of Spain and the West Indies. This remonstrance the baron published, by way of appeal to the people, and the whigs extolled it with the highest encomiums; but the queen and her ministers resented this step as an officious and inflammatory interposition.

The proposals of peace made by the French king were disagreeable even to some individuals of the tory party; and certain peers, who had hitherto adhered to that interest, agreed with the whigs to make a remonstrance against the preliminary articles. The court being apprised of their intention, prorogued the parliament till the seventh day of December, in expectation of the Scottish peers, who would cast the balance in favour of the ministry. In her speech, at the opening of the session, she told them that notwithstanding the arts of those who delighted in war, the place and time were appointed for a congress; and that the states-general had expressed their entire confidence in her conduct. She declared her chief concern should be to secure the succession of the crown in the house of Hanover; to procure all the advantages to the nation which a tender and affectionate sovereign could procure for a dutiful and loyal people; and to obtain satisfaction for all her allies. She observed, that the most effectual way to procure an advantageous peace, would be to make preparations for carrying on war with vigour. She recommended unanimity, and prayed God would direct their consultations. In the house of lords, the earl of Nottingham, who had now associated himself with the whigs, inveighed against the preliminaries as captious and insufficient, and offered a clause to be inserted in the address of thanks, representing to her majesty that, in the opinion of the house, no peace could be safe or honourable to Great Britain or Europe, if Spain and the West Indies should be allotted to any branch of the house of Bourbon. A violent debate ensued, in the course of which the earl of Anglesea represented the necessity of easing the nation of the burdens incurred by an expensive war. He affirmed that a good peace might have been procured immediately after the battle of Ramillies, if it had not been prevented by some persons who prolonged the war for their own private interest. This insinuation was levelled at the duke of Marlborough, who made a long speech in his own vindication. He bowed to the place where the queen sat incognito; and appealed to her, whether, while he had the honour to serve her majesty as a general and plenipotentiary, he had not constantly informed her and her council of all the proposals of peace which had been made; and had not desired instructions for his conduct on that subject. He declared, upon his conscience, and in presence of the Supreme Being, before whom he expected soon to appear, that he was ever desirous of a safe, honourable, and lasting peace; and that he was always very far from entertaining any design of prolonging the war for his own private advantage, as his enemies had most falsely insinuated. At last the question being put, whether the earl of Nottingham’s advice should be part of the address; it was carried in the affirmative by a small majority. The address was accordingly presented, and the queen, in her answer, said she should be very sorry any one could think she would not do her utmost to recover Spain and the West Indies from the house of Bourbon. Against this advice, however, several peers protested, because there was no precedent for inserting a clause of advice in an address of thanks; and because they looked upon it as an invasion of the royal prerogative. In the address of the commons there was no such article; and, therefore, the answer they received was warm and cordial.

The duke of Hamilton claiming a seat in the house of peers, as duke of Brandon, a title he had lately received, was opposed by the anti-courtiers, who pretended to foresee great danger to the constitution from admitting into the house a greater number of Scottish peers than the act of union allowed. Counsel was heard upon the validity of his patent. They observed that no objection could be made to the queen’s prerogative in conferring honours; and that all the subjects of the united kingdom were equally capable of receiving honour. The house of lords had already decided the matter, in admitting the duke of Queensberry upon his being created duke of Dover. The debate was managed with great ability on both sides; the Scottish peers united in defence of the duke’s claim; and the court exerted its whole strength to support the patent. Nevertheless, the question being put, whether Scottish peers, created peers of Great Britain since the union, had a right to sit in that house; it was carried in the negative by a majority of five voices; though not without a protest signed by the lords in the opposition. The Scottish peers were so incensed at this decision, that they drew up a representation to the queen, complaining of it as an infringement of the union, and a mark of disgrace put upon the whole peerage of Scotland. The bill against occasional conformity was revived by the earl of Nottingham, in more moderate terms than those that had been formerly rejected; and it passed both houses by the connivance of the whigs, upon the earl’s promise, that if they would consent to this measure, he would bring over many friends to join them in matters of greater consequence. On the twenty-second day of December, the queen, being indisposed, granted a commission to the lord-keeper and some other peers to give the royal assent to this bill, and another for the land-tax. The duke of Devonshire obtained leave to bring in a bill for giving precedence over all peers to the electoral prince of Hanover, as the duke of Cambridge. An address was presented to the queen, desiring she would give instructions to her plenipotentiaries to consult with the ministers of the allies in Holland before the opening of the congress, that they might concert the necessary measures for proceeding with unanimity, the better to obtain the great ends proposed by her majesty.

DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH DISMISSED FROM ALL HIS EMPLOYMENTS.

The commissioners for examining the public accounts having discovered that the duke of Marlborough had received an annual present of five or six thousand pounds from the contractors of bread to the army, the queen declared in council that she thought fit to dismiss him from all his employments, that the matter might be impartially examined. This declaration was imparted to him in a letter under her own hand, in which she took occasion to complain of the treatment she had received. She probably alluded to the insolence of his duchess; the subjection in which she had been kept by the late ministry; and the pains lately taken by the whigs to depreciate her conduct, and thwart her measures with respect to the peace. The duke wrote an answer to her majesty, vindicating himself from the charge which had been brought against his character; and his two daughters, the countess of Sunderland and the lady Railton, resigned their places of ladies in the bed-chamber. The ministry, in order to ascertain a majority in the house of lords, persuaded the queen to take a measure which nothing but necessity could justify. She created twelve peers at once, 173 [See note 2 F, at the end of this Vol.] and on the second of January they were introduced into the upper house without opposition. The lord-keeper delivered to the house a message from the queen, desiring they would adjourn to the fourteenth day of the month. The anti-courtiers alleged, that the queen could not send a message to any one house to adjourn, but ought to have directed it to both houses. This objection produced a debate, which was terminated in favour of the court by the weight of the twelve new peers.

PRINCE EUGENE ARRIVES IN ENGLAND.

At this period prince Eugene arrived in England with a letter to the queen from the emperor, and instructions to propose a new scheme for prosecuting the war. His errand was far from being agreeable to the ministry; and they suspected that his real aim was to manage intrigues among the discontented party who opposed the peace. Nevertheless, he was treated with that respect which was due to his quality and eminent talents. The ministers, the nobility, and officers of distinction, visited him at his arrival. He was admitted to an audience of the queen, who received him with great complacency. Having perused the letter which he delivered, she expressed her concern that her health did not permit her to speak with his highness as often as she could wish; but that she had ordered the treasurer and secretary St. John to receive his proposals, and confer with him as frequently as he should think proper. He expressed extraordinary respect for the duke of Marlborough, notwithstanding his disgrace. The lord-treasurer, while he entertained him at dinner, declared that he looked upon that day as the happiest in the whole course of his life, since he had the honour to see in his house the greatest captain of the age. The prince is said to have replied, “If I am, it is owing to your lordship.” Alluding to the disgrace of Marlborough, whom the earl’s intrigues had deprived of all military command. When bishop Burnet conversed with him about the scandalous libels that were every day published against the duke, and in particular mentioned one paragraph, in which the author allowed he had been once fortunate, the prince observed, it was the greatest commendation that could be bestowed upon him, as it implied that all his other successes were owing to his courage and conduct. While the nobility of both parties vied with each other in demonstrations of respect for this noble stranger; while he was adored by the whigs, and admired by the people, who gazed at him in crowds when he appeared in public; even in the midst of all these caresses, party riots were excited to insult his person, and some scandalous reflections upon his mother were inserted in one of the public papers. The queen treated him with distinguished marks of regard; and, on her birth-day, presented him with a sword worth five thousand pounds. Nevertheless, she looked upon him as a patron and friend of that turbulent faction to which she owed so much disquiet. She knew he had been pressed to come over by the whig noblemen, who hoped his presence would inflame the people to some desperate attempt upon the new ministry; she was not ignorant that he held private conferences with the duke of Marlborough, the earl of Sunderland, the lord Somers, Halifax, and all the chiefs of that party; and that he entered into a close connexion with the baron de Bothmar, the Hanoverian envoy, who had been very active in fomenting the disturbances of the people.

WALPOLE EXPELLED.

Her majesty, who had been for some time afflicted with the gout, sent a message to both houses on the seventeenth day of January, signifying that the plenipotentiaries were arrived at Utrecht; and that she was employed in making preparations for an early campaign; she hoped, therefore, that the commons would proceed in giving the necessary despatch to the supplies. The lord-treasurer, in order to demonstrate his attachment to the protestant succession, brought in a bill which had been proposed by the duke of Devonshire, giving precedence to the whole electoral family, as children and nephews of the crown; and, when it was passed into an act, he sent it over to Hanover by Mr. Thomas Harley. The sixteen peers for Scotland were prevailed upon, by promise of satisfaction, to resume their seats in the upper house, from which they had absented themselves since the decision against the patent of the duke of Hamilton; but whatever pecuniary recompence they might have obtained from the court, on which they were meanly dependent, they received no satisfaction from the parliament. The commons, finding Mr. Walpole very troublesome in their house, by his talents, activity, and zealous attachment to the whig interest, found means to discover some clandestine practices in which he was concerned as secretary at war, with regard to the forage-contract in Scotland. The contractors, rather than admit into their partnership a person whom he had recommended for that purpose, chose to present his friend with five hundred pounds. Their bill was addressed to Mr. Walpole, who endorsed it, and his friend touched the money. 174 [See note 2 G, at the end of this Vol.] This transaction was interpreted into a bribe. Mr. Walpole was voted guilty of corruption, imprisoned in the Tower, and expelled the house. Being afterwards re-chosen by the same borough of Lynn-Begis, which he had before represented, a petition was lodged against him, and the commons voted him incapable of being elected a member to serve in the present parliament.

Their next attack was upon the duke of Marlborough, who was found to have received a yearly sum from sir Solomon Medina, a Jew, concerned in the contract for furnishing the army with bread; to have been gratified by the queen with ten thousand pounds a-year to defray the expenses of intelligence; and to have pocketed a deduction of two and a half per cent, from the pay of the foreign troops maintained by England. It was alleged, in his justification, that the present from the Jew was a customary perquisite, which had always been enjoyed by the general of the Dutch army; that the deduction of two and a half per cent, was granted to him by an express warrant from her majesty; that all the articles of the charge joined together did not exceed thirty thousand pounds, a sum much inferior to that which had been allowed to king William for contingencies; that the money was expended in procuring intelligence, which was so exact that the duke was never surprised; that none of his parties were ever intercepted or cut off; and all the designs were by these means so well concerted, that he never once miscarried. Notwithstanding these representations, the majority voted that his practices had been unwarrantable and illegal; and that the deduction was to be accounted for as public money. These resolutions were communicated to the queen, who ordered the attorney-general to prosecute the duke for the money he had deducted by virtue of her own warrant. Such practices were certainly mean and mercenary, and greatly tarnished the glory which the duke had acquired by his military talents, and other shining qualities.

RESOLUTIONS AGAINST THE BARRIER-TREATY AND THE DUTCH.

The commons now directed the stream of their resentment against the Dutch, who had certainly exerted all their endeavours to overwhelm the new ministry, and retard the negotiations for peace. They maintained an intimate correspondence with the whigs of England. They diffused the most invidious reports against Oxford and secretary St. John. Buys, their envoy at London, acted the part of an incendiary, in suggesting violent measures to the malcontents, and caballing against the government. The ministers, by way of reprisal, influenced the house of commons to pass some acrimonious resolutions against the states-general. They alleged that the states had been deficient in their proportion of troops, both in Spain and in the Netherlands, during the whole course of the war; and that the queen had paid above three millions of crowns in subsidies, above what she was obliged to advance by her engagements. They attacked the barrier-treaty, which had been concluded with the states by lord Townshend after the conferences at Gertruydenburgh. By this agreement, England guaranteed a barrier in the Netherlands to the Dutch; and the states bound themselves to maintain, with their whole force, the queen’s title and the protestant succession. The tories affirmed that England was disgraced by engaging any other state to defend a succession which the nation might see cause to alter; that, by this treaty, the states were authorized to interpose in British councils; that, being possessed of all those strong towns, they might exclude the English from trading to them, and interfere with the manufactures of Great Britain. The house of commons voted, that in the barrier-treaty there were several articles destructive to the trade and interest of Great Britain, and therefore highly dishonourable to her majesty; that the lord viscount Townshend was not authorized to conclude several articles in that treaty; that he and all those who had advised its being ratified were enemies to the queen and kingdom. All their votes were digested into a long representation presented to the queen, in which they averred that England, during the war, had been overcharged nineteen millions; a circumstance that implied mismanagement or fraud in the old ministry. The states, alarmed at these resolutions, wrote a respectful letter to the queen, representing the necessity of a barrier for the mutual security of England and the United Provinces. They afterwards drew up a large memorial in vindication of their proceedings during the war; and it was published in one of the English papers. The commons immediately voted it a false, scandalous, and malicious libel, reflecting upon the resolutions of the house; and the printer and publisher were taken into custody, as guilty of a breach of privilege.

ACTS UNFAVOURABLE TO THE PRESBYTERIAN DISCIPLINE IN SCOTLAND.

They now repealed the naturalization act. They passed a bill granting a toleration to the episcopal clergy in Scotland, without paying the least regard to a representation from the general assembly to the queen, declaring that the act for securing the presbyterian government was an essential and fundamental condition of the treaty of union. The house, notwithstanding this remonstrance, proceeded with the bill, and inserted a clause prohibiting civil magistrates from executing the sentences of the kirk-judicatories. The episcopal, as well as the presbyterian clergy, were required to take the oaths of abjuration, that they might be upon an equal footing in case of disobedience; for the commons well knew that this condition would be rejected by both from very different motives. In order to exasperate the presbyterians with further provocations, another act was passed for discontinuing the courts of judicature during the Christmas holidays, which had never been kept by persons of that persuasion. When this bill was read for the third time, sir David Dalrymple said, “Since the house is resolved to make no toleration on the body of this bill, I acquiesce; and only desire it may be intituled, A bill for establishing jacobitism and immorality.” The chagrin of the Scottish presbyterians was completed by a third bill, restoring the right of patronage, which had been taken away when the discipline of the kirk was last established. Prince Eugene having presented a memorial to the queen touching the conduct of the emperor during the war, and containing a proposal with relation to the affairs of Spain, the queen communicated the scheme to the house of commons, who treated it with the most contemptuous neglect. The prince, finding all his efforts ineffectual, retired to the continent, as much displeased with the ministry, as he had reason to be satisfied with the people of England. The commons having settled the funds for the supplies of the year, amounting to six millions, the treasurer formed the plan of a bill appointing commissioners to examine the value and consideration of all the grants made since the revolution. His design was to make a general resumption; but, as the interest of so many noblemen was concerned, the bill met with a very warm opposition; notwithstanding which it would have certainly passed, had not the duke of Buckingham and the earl of Strafford absented themselves from the house during the debate.

CHAPTER XI.

The Conferences opened at Utrecht..... The Queen’s Measures obstructed by the Allies..... Death of the Dauphin and his Son..... The Queen demands Philip’s Renunciation of the Crown of France..... The Duke of Ormond takes the Command of the British Forces in Flanders..... He is restricted from acting against the Enemy..... Debate in the House of Lords on this Subject..... A loyal Address of the Commons..... Philip promises to renounce the Crown of France..... The Queen communicates the Plan of the Peace in a Speech to both Houses of Parliament..... Exceptions taken to some of the Articles in the House of Lords..... A motion for a Guaranty of the Protestant Succession by the Allies rejected in the House of Commons..... The Duke of Ormond declares to Prince Eugene, that he can no longer cover the siege of Quesnoy..... Irruption into France by General Grovestein..... The Foreign Troops in British pay refuse to march with the Duke of Ormond, who proclaims a Cessation of Arms, and seizes Ghent and Bruges..... The Allies defeated at Denain..... Progress of the Conferences at Utrecht..... The Duke of Hamilton and Lord Mohun are killed in a Duel..... The Duke of Marlborough retires to the Continent..... The States-general sign the Barrier- treaty..... The other Allies become more tractable..... The Peace with France signed at Utrecht..... Both Houses of Parliament congratulate the Queen on the Peace..... Substance of the Treaty with France..... Objections to the Treaty of Commerce..... Debates in the House of Lords on the Malt-tax for Scotland..... The Scottish Lords move for a Bill to dissolve the Union..... Address of the Commons about Dunkirk..... Violence of Parties in England..... Proceedings of the Parliament of Ireland..... New Parliament in England..... Writers employed by both Parties..... Treaty of Rastadt between the Emperor and France—Principal Articles in the Treaty between Great Britain and Spain..... Meeting of the Parliament..... The House of Lords takes Cognizance of a Libel against the Scots..... Mr. Steel expelled the House of Commons..... Precautions by the Whigs for the Security of the Protestant Succession..... Debates in the House of Lords concerning the Pretender and the Catalans..... They Address the Queen to set a Price on the Head of the Pretender..... A Writ demanded for the Electoral Prince of Hanover, as Duke of Cambridge..... Death of the Princess Sophia..... Bill to prevent the growth of Schism..... Another against all who should list, or be enlisted, in a Foreign Service..... The Parliament prorogued..... The Treasurer disgraced..... Precautions taken for securing the Peace of the Kingdom..... Death and Character of Queen Anne.

In the month of January the conferences for peace began at Utrecht. The earl of Jersey would have been appointed the plenipotentiary for England, but he dying after the correspondence with the court of France was established, the queen conferred that charge upon Robinson, bishop of Bristol, lord privy-seal, and the earl of Strafford. The chief of the Dutch deputies named for the congress, were Buys and Vanderdussen; the French king granted his powers to the mareschal D’Uxelles, the abbot (afterwards cardinal) de Polignac, and Menager, who had been in England. The ministers of the emperor and Savoy likewise assisted at the conferences, to which the empire and the other allies likewise sent their plenipotentiaries, though not without reluctance. As all these powers, except France, entertained sentiments very different from those of her Britannic majesty, the conferences seemed calculated rather to retard than accelerate a pacification. The queen of England had foreseen and provided against these difficulties. Her great end was to free her subjects from the miseries attending an unprofitable war, and to restore peace to Europe; and this aim she was resolved to accomplish in spite of all opposition. She had also determined to procure reasonable terms of accommodation for her allies, without, however, continuing to lavish the blood and treasure of her people in supporting their extravagant demands. The emperor obstinately insisted upon his claim to the whole Spanish monarchy, refusing to give up the least tittle of his pretensions; and the Dutch adhered to the old preliminaries which Louis had formerly rejected. The queen saw that the liberties of Europe would be exposed to much greater danger from an actual union of the Imperial and Spanish crowns in one head of the house of Austria, than from a bare possibility of Spain’s being united with France in one branch of the house of Bourbon. She knew by experience the difficulty of dethroning Philip, rooted as he was in the affections of a brave and loyal people; and that a prosecution of this design would serve no purpose but to protract the war, and augment the grievances of the British nation. She was well acquainted with the distresses of the French, which she considered as pledges of their monarch’s sincerity. She sought not the total ruin of that people, already reduced to the brink of despair. The dictates of true policy dissuaded her from contributing to her further conquest in that kingdom, which would have proved the source of contention among the allies, depressed the house of Bourbon below the standard of importance which the balance of Europe required it should maintain, and aggrandize the states-general at the expense of Great Britain. As she had borne the chief burden of the war, she had a right to take the lead, and dictate a plan of pacification; at least, she had a right to consult the welfare of her own kingdom, in delivering, by a separate peace, her subjects from those enormous loads which they could no longer sustain; and she was well enough aware of her own consequence, to think she could not obtain advantageous conditions.

THE QUEEN’S MEASURES OBSTRUCTED.

Such were the sentiments of the queen; and her ministers seem to have acted on the same principles, though perhaps party motives may have helped to influence their conduct. The allies concurred in opposing with all their might any treaty which could not gratify their different views of avarice, interest, and ambition. They practised a thousand little artifices to intimidate the queen, to excite a jealousy of Louis, to blacken the characters of her ministers, to raise and keep up a dangerous ferment among the people, by which her life and government were endangered. She could not fail to resent these efforts, which greatly perplexed her measures, and obstructed her design. Her ministers were sensible of the dangerous predicament in which they stood. The queen’s health was much impaired; and the successor countenanced the opposite faction. In case of their sovereign’s death, they had nothing to expect but prosecution and ruin for obeying her commands; they saw no hope of safety, except in renouncing their principles, and submitting to their adversaries; or else in taking such measures as would hasten the pacification, that the troubles of the kingdom might be appeased, and the people be satisfied with their conduct, before death should deprive them of their sovereign’s protection. With this view they advised her to set on foot a private negotiation with Louis, to stipulate certain advantages for her own subjects in a concerted plan of peace; to enter into such mutual confidence with that monarch, as would anticipate all clandestine transactions to her prejudice, and in some measure enable her to prescribe terms for her allies. The plan was judiciously formed; but executed with too much precipitation. The stipulated advantages were not such as she had a right to demand and insist upon; and without all doubt better might have been obtained, had not the obstinacy of the allies abroad, and the violent conduct of the whig faction at home, obliged the ministers to relax in some material points, and hasten the conclusion of the treaty.

DEATH OF THE DAUPHIN AND HIS SON.

The articles being privately regulated between the two courts of London and Versailles, the English plenipotentiaries at Utrecht were furnished with general powers and instructions, being ignorant of the agreement which the queen had made with the French monarch touching the kingdom of Spain, which was indeed the basis of the treaty. This secret plan of negotiation, however, had well nigh been destroyed by some unforeseen events that were doubly afflicting to Louis. The dauphin died of the small-pox in the course of the preceding year, and his title had been conferred upon his son the duke of Burgundy, who now expired on the last day of February, six days after the death of his wife, Mary Adelaide of Savoy. The parents were soon followed to the grave by their eldest offspring the duke of Bretagne, in the sixth year of his age; so that of the duke of Burgundy’s children, none remained alive but the duke of Anjou, the late French king, who was at that time a sickly infant. Such a series of calamities could not fail of being extremely shocking to Louis in his old age; but they were still more alarming to the queen of England, who saw that nothing but the precarious life of an unhealthy child divided the two monarchies of France and Spain, the union of which she resolved by all possible means to prevent. She therefore sent the abbé Gualtier to Paris, with a memorial representing the danger to which the liberty of Europe would be exposed, should Philip ascend the throne of France; and demanding that his title should be transferred to his brother the duke of Berry, in consequence of his pure, simple, and voluntary renunciation.

THE QUEEN DEMANDS PHILIP’S RENUNCIATION OF THE CROWN.

Meanwhile the French plenipotentiaries at Utrecht were prevailed upon to deliver their proposals in writing, under the name of specific offers, which the allies received with indignation. They were treated in England with universal scorn. Lord Halifax, in the house of peers, termed them trifling, arrogant, and injurious to her majesty and her allies. An address was presented to the queen, in which they expressed their resentment against the insolence of France, and promised to assist her with all their power in prosecuting the war until a safe and honourable peace should be obtained. The plenipotentiaries of the allies were not less extravagant in their specific demands, than the French had been arrogant in their offers. In a word, the ministers seemed to have been assembled at Utrecht rather to start new difficulties, and widen the breach, than to heal animosities and concert a plan of pacification. They amused one another with fruitless conferences, while the queen of Great Britain endeavoured to engage the states-general in her measures, that they might treat with France upon moderate terms, and give law to the rest of the allies. She departed from some of her own pretensions, in order to gratify them with the possession of some towns in Flanders She consented to their being admitted into a participation of some advantages in commerce; and ordered the English ministers at the congress to tell them, that she would take her measures according to the return they should make on this occasion. Finding them still obstinately attached to their first chimerical preliminaries, she gave them to understand that all her offers for adjusting the differences were founded upon the express condition, that they should come into her measures, and co-operate with her openly and sincerely; but they had made such bad returns to all her condescension towards them, that she looked upon herself as released from all engagements. The ministers of the allies had insisted upon a written answer to their specific demands; and this the French plenipotentiaries declined, until they should receive fresh instructions from their master. Such was the pretence for suspending the conferences; but the real bar to a final agreement between England and France, was the delay of Philip’s renunciation, which at length however arrived, and produced a cessation of arms.

THE DUKE OF ORMOND TAKES THE COMMAND OF THE BRITISH FORCES.

In the meantime the duke of Ormond, who was now invested with the supreme command of the British forces, received a particular order that he should not hazard an engagement. Louis had already undertaken for the compliance of his grandson. Reflecting on his own great age, he was shocked at the prospect of leaving his kingdom involved in a pernicious war during a minority; and determined to procure a peace at all events. The queen, knowing his motives, could not help believing his protestations, and resolved to avoid a battle, the issue of which might have considerably altered the situation of affairs, and consequently retarded the conclusion of the treaty. Preparations had been made for an early campaign. In the beginning of March the earl of Albemarle, having assembled a body of thirty-six battalions, marched towards Arras, which he reduced to a heap of ashes by a most terrible cannonading and bombardment. In May the duke of Ormond conferred with the deputies of the states-general at the Hague, and assured them that he had orders to act vigorously in the prosecution of the war. He joined prince Eugene at Tournay; and on the twenty-sixth day of May, the allied army passing the Schelde, encamped at Haspre and Solemnes. The Imperial general proposed that they should attack the French army under Villars; but by this time the duke was restrained from hazarding a siege or battle; a circumstance well known to the French commander, who therefore abated of his usual vigilance. It could not be long concealed from prince Eugene and the deputies, who forthwith despatched an express to their principals on this subject, and afterwards presented a long memorial to the duke, representing the injury which the grand alliance would sustain from his obedience of such an order. He seemed to be extremely uneasy at his situation; and in a letter to secretary St. John, expressed a desire that the queen would permit him to return to England.

Prince Eugene, notwithstanding the queen’s order, which Ormond had not yet formally declared, invested the town of Quesnoy, and the duke furnished towards this enterprise seven battalions and nine squadrons of the foreign troops maintained by Great Britain. The Dutch deputies at Utrecht expostulating with the bishop of Bristol upon the duke’s refusing to act against the enemy, that prelate told them that he had lately received an express, with a letter from her majesty, in which she complained, that, as the states-general had not properly answered her advances, they ought not to be surprised if she thought herself at liberty to enter into separate measures in order to obtain a peace for her own conveniency. When they remonstrated against such conduct as contradictory to all the alliances subsisting between the queen and the states-general, the bishop declared his instructions further imported, that considering the conduct of the states towards her majesty, she thought herself disengaged from all alliances and engagements with their high mightinesses. The states and the ministers of the allies were instantly in commotion. Private measures were concerted with the elector of Hanover, the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, and some other princes of the empire, concerning the troops belonging to those powers in the pay of Great Britain. The states-general wrote a long letter to the queen, and ordered their envoy at London to deliver it into her own hand. Count Zinzendorf, the emperor’s plenipotentiary, despatched expresses to his master, to prince Eugene, and to the Imperial ambassador at London. The queen held a council at Kensington upon the subject of the letter; and a fresh order was sent to the duke of Ormond, directing him to concur with the general of the allies in a siege.

On the twenty-eighth day of May, lord Halifax, in the house of peers, descanted upon the ill consequences of the duke’s refusing to co-operate with prince Eugene, and moved for an address, desiring her majesty would order the general to act offensively in concert with her allies. The treasurer observed, it was prudent to avoid a battle on the eve of a peace, especially considering they had to do with an enemy so apt to break his word. The earl of Wharton replied, this was a strong reason for keeping no measures with such an enemy. When Oxford declared that the duke of Ormond had received orders to join the allies in a siege, the duke of Marlborough affirmed it was impossible to carry on a siege without either hazarding a battle, in case the enemy should attempt to relieve the place, or shamefully abandoning the enterprise. The duke of Argyle having declared his opinion, that since the time of Julius Caesar there had not been a greater captain than prince Eugene of Savoy, observed, that, considering the different interests of the house of Austria and of Great Britain, it might not consist with prudence to trust him with the management of the war, because a battle won or lost might entirely break off a negociation of peace, which in all probability was near being concluded. He added, that two years before, the confederates might have taken Arras and Cambray, instead of amusing themselves with the insignificant conquests of Aire, Bethune, and St. Venant. The duke of Devonshire said he was, by proximity of blood, more concerned than any other in the reputation of the duke of Ormond; and therefore could not help expressing his surprise, that any one would dare to make a nobleman of the first rank, and so distinguished a character, the instrument of such proceedings. Earl Paulet answered, that nobody could doubt the duke of Ormond’s courage; but he was not like a certain general, who led troops to the slaughter to cause a great number of officers to be knocked on the head, that he might fill his pockets by disposing of their commissions. The duke of Marlborough was so deeply affected by this reflection, that though he suppressed his resentment in the house, he took the first opportunity to send lord Mohun to the earl with a message, importing, that he should be glad to come to an explanation with his lordship about some expressions he had used in that clay’s debate; and desiring his company to take the air in the country. The earl understood his meaning; but could not conceal his emotion from the observation of his lady, by whose means the affair was communicated to the earl of Dartmouth, secretary of state. Two sentinels were immediately placed at his lordship’s gate: the queen, by the canal of lord Dartmouth, desired the duke of Marlborough would proceed no farther in the quarrel; and he assured her he would punctually obey her majesty’s commands. The earl of Oxford assured the house, that a separate peace was never intended; that such a peace would be so base, so knavish, and so villanous, that every one who served the queen knew they must answer it with their heads to the nation; but that it would appear to be a safe and glorious peace, much more to the honour and interest of the nation, than the first preliminaries insisted upon by the allies. The question being put for adjourning, was, after a long debate, carried in the affirmative; but twenty lords entered a protest. The earl of Strafford, who had returned from Holland, proposed that they should examine the negotiations of the Hague and Gertruyden-burgh, before they considered that of Utrecht. He observed, that in the former negotiations the French ministers had conferred only with the pensionary, who communicated no more of it to the ministers of the allies than what was judged proper to let them know; so that the Dutch were absolute masters of the secret. He asserted that the states-general had consented to give Naples and Sicily to king Philip; a circumstance which proved that the recovery of the whole Spanish monarchy was looked upon as impracticable. He concluded with a motion for an address to her majesty, desiring that the papers relating to the negotiations of the Hague and Gertruydenburgh should be laid before the house. This was carried without a division.

In the house of commons Mr. Pulteney moved for an address, acquainting her majesty that her faithful commons were justly alarmed at the intelligence received from abroad, that her general in Flanders had declined acting offensively against France in concurrence with her allies; and beseeching her majesty that he might receive speedy instructions to prosecute the war with the utmost vigour. This motion was rejected by a great majority. A certain member having insinuated that the present negotiation had been carried on in a clandestine and treacherous manner, Mr. secretary St. John said, he hoped it would not be accounted treachery to act for the good and advantage of Great Britain; that he gloried in the small share he had in the transaction; and whatever censure he might undergo for it, the bare satisfaction of acting in that view would be a sufficient recompence and comfort to him during the whole course of his life. The house resolved, that the commons had an entire confidence in her majesty’s promise, to communicate to her parliament the terms of the peace before it should be concluded; and that they would support her against all such persons, either at home or abroad, as should endeavour to obstruct the pacification. The queen thanked them heartily for this resolution, as being dutiful to her, honest to their country, and very seasonable at a time when so many artifices were used to obstruct a good peace, or to force one disadantageous to Britain. They likewise presented an address, desiring they might have an account of the negotiations and transactions at the Hague and Gertruydenburgh, and know who were then employed as her majesty’s plenipotentiaries.

PHILIP PROMISES TO RENOUNCE THE CROWN OF FRANCE.

The ministry, foreseeing that Philip would not willingly resign his hopes of succeeding to the crown of France, proposed an alternative, that, in case of his preferring his expectation of the crown of France to the present possession of Spain, this kingdom, with the Indies, should be forthwith ceded to the duke of Savoy; that Philip, in the meantime, should possess the duke’s hereditary dominions, and the kingdom of Sicily, together with Montserrat and Mantua; all which territories should be annexed to France at Philip’s succession to that crown, except Sicily, which should revert to the house of Austria. Louis seemed to relish this expedient, which, however, was rejected by Philip, who chose to make the renunciation rather than quit the throne upon which he was established. The queen demanded that the renunciation should be ratified in the most solemn manner by the states of France; but she afterwards waived this demand, in consideration of its being registered in the different parliaments. Such forms are but slender securities against the power, ambition, and interest of princes. The marquis de Torcy frankly owned, that Philip’s renunciation was of itself void, as being contrary to the fundamental laws and constitution of the French monarchy; but it was found necessary for the satisfaction of the English people. Every material article being now adjusted between the two courts, particularly those relating to the king of Spain, the commerce of Great Britain, and the delivery of Dunkirk, a suspension of arms prevailed in the Netherlands, and the duke of Ormond acted in concert with mareschal de Villars.

THE QUEEN COMMUNICATES THE PLAN OF THE PEACE TO PARLIAMENT.

On the sixth day of June, the queen going to the house of peers communicated the plan of peace to her parliament, according to the promise she had made. After having premised that the making peace and war was the undoubted prerogative of the crown, and hinted at the difficulties which had arisen both from the nature of the affair, and numberless obstructions contrived by the enemies of peace, she proceeded to enumerate the chief articles to which both crowns had agreed, without, however, concluding the treaty. She told them she had secured the protestant succession, which France had acknowledged in the strongest terms; and that the pretender would be removed from the French dominions; that the duke of Anjou should renounce for himself and his descendants all claim to the crown of France; so that the two monarchies would be for ever divided. She observed, that the nature of this proposal was such as would execute itself; that it would be the interest of Spain to support the renunciation; and in France, the persons entitled to the succession of that crown upon the death of the dauphin, were powerful enough to vindicate their own right. She gave them to understand that a treaty of commerce between England and France had been begun, though not yet adjusted; but provision was made, that England should enjoy the same privileges that France granted to the most favoured nation; that the French king had agreed to make an absolute cession of the island of St. Christopher’s, which had hitherto been divided between the two nations, that he had also consented to restore the whole bay and straits of Hudson; to deliver the island of Newfoundland, with Placentia; to cede Annapolis, with the rest of Arcadia or Nova Scotia; to demolish the fortifications of Dunkirk; to leave England in possession of Gibraltar, Port-Mahon, and the whole island of Minorca; to let the trade of Spain in the West Indies be settled as it was in the reign of his late catholic majesty; she signified that she had obtained for her subjects the assiento, or contract, for furnishing the Spanish West Indies with negroes for the term of thirty years, in the same manner as it had been enjoyed by the French. With respect to the allies, they declared, that France offered to make the Rhine the barrier of the empire; to yield Brisac, Fort Kehl, and Landau, and raze all the fortresses both on the other side of the Rhine, and in the islands of that river; that the protestant interest in Germany would be re-settled on the footing of the treaty of Westphalia; that the Spanish Netherlands, the kingdoms of Naples and Sardinia, the duchy of Milan, and the places belonging to Spain on the coast of Tuscany, might be yielded to his Imperial majesty; but the disposition of Sicily was not yet determined; that the demands of the states-general with relation to commerce, and the barrier in the Low Countries, would be granted with a few exceptions, which might be compensated by other expedients; that no great progress had yet been made upon the pretensions of Portugal; but that those of Prussia would be admitted by France without much difficulty; that the difference between the barrier demanded by the duke of Savoy in the year one thousand seven hundred and nine, and that which France now offered, was very inconsiderable; that the elector palatine should maintain his present rank among the electors; and that France would acknowledge the electoral dignity in the house of Hanover. Such, were the conditions which the queen hoped would make some amends to her subjects, for the great and unequal burden they had borne during the whole course of the war. She concluded with saying, she made no doubt but they were fully persuaded that nothing would be neglected on her part, in the progress of this negotiation, to bring the peace to a happy and speedy issue; and she expressed her dependence upon the entire confidence and cheerful concurrence of her parliament. An address of thanks and approbation was immediately voted, drawn up, and presented to the queen by the commons in a body. When the house of lords took the speech into consideration, the duke of Marlborough asserted, that the measures pursued for a year past were directly contrary to her majesty’s engagements with the allies; that they sullied the triumphs and glories of her reign, and would render the English name odious to all nations. The earl of Strafford said, that some of the allies would not have shown such backwardness to a peace, had they not been persuaded and encouraged to carry on the war by a member of that illustrious assembly, who maintained a secret correspondence with them, and fed them with hopes that they would be supported by a strong party in England. In answer to this insinuation against Marlborough, lord Cowper observed, that it could never be suggested as a crime in the meanest subject, much less in any member of that august assembly, to hold correspondence with the allies of the nation; stich allies especially whose interest her majesty had declared to be inseparable from her own, in her speech at the opening of the session; whereas it would be a hard matter to justify and reconcile either with our laws, or with laws of honour and justice, the conduct of some persons in treating clandestinely with the common enemy without the participation of the allies. This was a frivolous argument. A correspondence with any persons whatsoever becomes criminal, when it tends to foment the divisions of one’s country, and arm the people against their sovereign. If England had it not in her power, without infringing the laws of justice and honour, to withdraw herself from a confederacy which she could no longer support, and treat for peace on her own bottom, then was she not an associate but a slave to the alliance. The earl of Godolphin affirmed, that the trade to Spain was such a trifle as deserved no consideration; and that it would continually diminish until it should be entirely engrossed by the French merchants. Notwithstanding these remonstrances against the plan of peace, the majority agreed to an address, in which they thanked the queen for her extraordinary condescension in communicating those conditions to her parliament; and expressed an entire satisfaction with her conduct. A motion was made for a clause in the address, desiring her majesty would take such measures in concert with her allies, as might induce them to join with her in a mutual guarantee. A debate ensued: the question was put, and the clause rejected. Several noblemen entered a protest, which was expunged from the journals of the house by the decision of the majority.

In the house of commons, a complaint was exhibited against bishop Fleetwood, who, in a preface to four sermons which he had published, took occasion to extol the last ministry at the expense of the present administration. This piece was voted malicious and factious, tending to create discord and sedition amongst her majesty’s subjects, and condemned to be burned by the hands of the common hangman. They presented an address to the queen, assuring her of the just sense they had of the indignity offered to her, by printing and publishing a letter from the states-general to her majesty; and desiring she would so far resent such insults, as to give no answer for the future to any letters or memorials that should be thus ushered into the world as inflammatory appeals to the public. Mr. Hampden moved for an address to her majesty, that she would give particular instructions to her plenipotentiaries, that in the conclusion of the treaty of peace, the several powers in alliance with her majesty might be guarantees for the protestant succession in the illustrious house of Hanover. The question being put, was carried in the negative. Then the house resolved, that they had such confidence in the repeated declarations her majesty had made of her concern for assuring to these kingdoms the protestant succession, as by law established, that they could never doubt of her taking the proper measures for the security thereof; that the house would support her against faction at home and her enemies abroad; and did humbly beseech her, that she would be pleased to discountenance all those who should endeavour to raise jealousies between her majesty and her subjects, especially by misrepresenting her good intentions for the welfare of her people. The queen was extremely pleased with this resolution. When it was presented, she told them that they had shown themselves honest asserters of the monarchy, zealous defenders of the constitution, and real friends to the protestant succession. She thought she had very little reason to countenance a compliment of supererogation to a prince who had caballed with the enemies of her administration. On the twenty-first day of June the queen closed the session with a speech, expressing her satisfaction at the addresses and supplies she had received; she observed, that should the treaty be broke off, their burdens would be at least continued, if not increased; that Britain would lose the present opportunity of improving her own commerce, and establishing a real balance of power in Europe; and that though some of the allies might be gainers by a continuance of the war, the rest would suffer in the common calamity. Notwithstanding the ferment of the people, which was now risen to a very dangerous pitch, addresses approving the queen’s conduct, were presented by the city of London and all the corporations in the kingdom that espoused the tory interest. At this juncture the nation was so wholly possessed by the spirit of party, that no appearance of neutrality or moderation remained.

During these transactions the trenches were opened before Quesnoy, and the siege carried on with uncommon vigour under cover of the forces commanded by the duke of Ormond. This nobleman, however, having received a copy of the articles signed by the marquis de Torcy, and fresh instructions from the queen, signified to the prince Eugene and the Dutch deputies, that the French king had agreed to several articles demanded by the queen, as the foundation of an armistice; and among others to put the English troops in immediate possession of Dunkirk; that he could therefore no longer cover the siege of Quesnoy, as he was obliged by his instructions to march with the British troops, and those in the queen’s pay, and declare a suspension of arms as soon as he should be possessed of Dunkirk. He expressed his hope that they would readily acquiesce in these instructions, seeing their concurrence would act as the most powerful motive to induce the queen to take all possible care of their interests at the congress; and he endeavoured to demonstrate that Dunkirk, as a cautionary town, was a place of greater consequence to the allies than Quesnoy. The deputies desired he would delay his march for five days, that they might have time to consult their principals, and he granted three days without hesitation. Prince Eugene observed, that his marching off with the British troops, and the foreigners in the queen’s pay, would leave the allies at the mercy of the enemy; but he hoped these last would not obey the duke’s order. He and the deputies had already tampered with their commanding officers, who absolutely refused to obey the duke of Ormond, alleging, that they could not separate from the confederacy without express directions from their masters, to whom they had despatched couriers. An extraordinary assembly of states was immediately summoned to meet at the Hague. The ministers of the allies were invited to the conferences. At length the princes, whose troops were in the pay of Britain, assured them that they would maintain them under the command of Prince Eugene for one month at their own expense, and afterwards sustain half the charge, provided the other half should be defrayed by the emperor and states-general.

IRRUPTION INTO FRANCE BY GENERAL GROVESTEIN.

The bishop of Bristol imparted to the other plenipotentiaries at Utrecht the concessions which France would make to the allies; and proposed a suspension of arms for two months, that they might treat in a friendly manner, and adjust the demands of all the confederates. To this proposal they made no other answer but that they had no instructions on the subject. Count Zinzendorf, the first Imperial plenipotentiary, presented a memorial to the states-general, explaining the danger that would result to the common cause from a cessation of arms; and exhorting them to persevere in their generous and vigorous resolutions. He proposed a renewal of the alliance for recovering the Spanish monarchy to the house of Austria, and a certain plan for prosecuting the war with redoubled ardour. Prince Eugene, in order to dazzle the confederates with some bold enterprise, detached major-general Grovestein with fifteen hundred cavalry to penetrate into the heart of France. This officer, about the middle of June, advanced into Champaigne, passed the Noire, the Maese, the Moselle, and the Saar, and retired to Traerbach with a rich booty and a great number of hostages, after having extorted contributions as far as the gates of Metz, ravaged the country, and reduced a great number of villages and towns to ashes. The consternation produced by this irruption reached the city of Paris; the king of France did not think himself safe at Versailles with his ordinary guards; all the troops in the neighbourhood of the capital were assembled about the palace. Villars sent a detachment after Grovestein, as soon as he understood his destination; but the other had gained a day’s march of the French troops, which had the mortification to follow him so close, that they found the flames still burning in the villages he had destroyed. By way of retaliation, major-general Pasteur, a French partisan, made an excursion beyond Bergen-op-zoom, and ravaged the island of Tortola belonging to Zealand.

FOREIGN TROOPS IN BRITISH PAY REFUSE TO MARCH WITH ORMOND.

The earl of Strafford having returned to Holland, proposed a cessation of arms to the states-general, by whom it was rejected. Then he proceeded to the army of the duke of Ormond, where he arrived in a few days after the reduction of Quesnoy, the garrison of which were made prisoners of war on the fourth day of July. The officers of the foreign troops had a second time refused to obey a written order of the duke; and such a spirit of animosity began to prevail between the English and allies, that it was absolutely necessary to effect a speedy separation. Prince Eugene resolved to undertake the siege of Landresy: a design is said to have been formed by the German generals, to confine the duke on pretence of the arrears that were due to them, and to disarm the British troops lest they should join the French army. In the meantime, a literary correspondence was maintained between the English general and the mareschal de Villars. France having consented to deliver up Dunkirk, a body of troops was transported from England under the command of brigadier Hill, who took possession of the place on the seventh day of July; the French garrison retired to Winoxberg. On the sixteenth of the same month prince Eugene marched from his camp at Haspre, and was followed by all the auxiliaries in the British pay, except a few battalions of the troops of Holstein-Gottorp, and Walef’s regiment of dragoons, belonging to the state of Liege.

Landresy was immediately invested; while the duke of Ormond, with the English forces, removed from Chateau-Cambresis, and encamped at wensne-le-Secq, proclaimed by sound of trumpet a cessation of arms for two months. On the same day the like armistice was declared in the French army. The Dutch were so exasperated at the secession of the English troops, that the governors would not allow the earl of Strafford to enter Bouchain, nor the British army to pass through Douay, though in that town they had left a great quantity of stores, together with their general hospital. Prince Eugene and the Dutch deputies, understanding that the duke of Ormond had begun his march towards Ghent, began to be in pain for that city, and sent count Nassau Woodenburgh to him with a written apology, condemning and disavowing the conduct and commandants of Bouchain and Douay; but, notwithstanding these excuses, the English troops afterwards met with the same treatment at Tournay, Oudenarde, and Lisle: insults which were resented by the whole British nation. The duke, however, pursued his march, and took possession of Ghent and Bruges for the queen of England; then he reinforced the garrison of Dunkirk, which he likewise supplied with artillery and ammunition. His conduct was no less agreeable to his sovereign, than mortifying to the Dutch, who never dreamed of leaving Ghent and Bruges in the hands of the English, and were now fairly outwitted and anticipated by the motions and expedition of the British general.

THE ALLIES DEFEATED AT DENAIN.

The loss of the British forces was soon severely felt in the allied army. Villars attacked a separate body of their troops, encamped at Denain, under the command of the earl of Albemarle. Their intrenchments were forced, and seventeen battalions either killed or taken. The earl himself and all the surviving officers were made prisoners. Five hundred waggons loaded with bread, twelve pieces of brass cannon, a large quantity of ammunition and provisions, a great number of horses, and considerable booty fell into the hands of the enemy. This advantage they gained in sight of prince Eugene, who advanced on the other side of the Schelde to sustain Albemarle; but the bridge over that river was broke down by accident, so that he was prevented from lending the least assistance. Villars immediately invested Marchiennes, where the principal stores of the allies were lodged. The place was surrendered on the last day of July; and the garrison, consisting of five thousand men, were conducted prisoners to Valenciennes. He afterwards undertook the siege of Douay; an enterprise, in consequence of which prince Eugene abandoned his design on Landresy, and marched towards the French in order to hazard an engagement. The states, however, would not run the risk; and the prince had the mortification to see Douay reduced by the enemy. He could not even prevent their retaking Quesnoy and Bouchain, of which places they were in possession before the tenth day of October. The allies enjoyed no other compensation for their great losses, but the conquest of Fort Knocque, which was surprised by one of their partisans.

PROGRESS OF THE CONFERENCES AT UTRECHT.

The British ministers at the congress continued to press the Dutch and other allies to join in the armistice; but they were deaf to the proposal, and concerted measures for a vigorous prosecution of the war. Then the earl of Strafford insisted upon their admitting to the congress the plenipotentiaries of king Philip; but he found them equally averse to this expedient. In the beginning of August, secretary St. John, now created lord viscount Bolingbroke, was sent to the court of Versailles incognito, to remove all obstructions to the treaty between England and France. He was accompanied by Mr. Prior and the Abbé Gualtier, treated with the most distinguished marks of respect, caressed by the French king and the marquis de Torcy, with whom he adjusted the principal interests of the duke of Savoy and the elector of Bavaria. He settled the time and manner of the renunciation, and agreed to a suspension of arms by sea and land for four months between the crowns of France and England; this was accordingly proclaimed at Paris and London. The negotiation being finished in a few days, Bolingbroke returned to England, and Prior remained as resident at the court of France. The states-general breathed nothing but war; the pensionary Heinsius pronounced an oration in their assembly, representing the impossibility of concluding a peace without losing the fruits of all the blood and treasure they had expended. The conferences at Utrecht were interrupted by a quarrel between the domestics of Ménager and those of the count de Rechteren, one of the Dutch plenipotentiaries. The populace insulted the earl of Strafford and the marquis del Borgo, minister of Savoy, whose master was reported to have agreed to the armistice. These obstructions being removed, the conferences were renewed, and the British plenipotentiaries exerted all their rhetoric, both in public and private, to engage the allies! in the queen’s measures. At length the duke of Savoy was prevailed upon to acquiesce in the offers of France. Mr. Thomas Harley had been sent ambassador to Hanover, with a view to persuade the elector that it would be for his interest to co-operate with her majesty; but that prince’s resolution was already taken. “Whenever it shall please God,” said he, “to call me to the throne of Britain, I hope to act as becomes me for the advantage of my people; in the meantime, speak to me as to a German prince, and a prince of the empire.” Nor was she more successful in her endeavours to bring over the king of Prussia to her sentiments. In the meantime, lord Lexington was appointed ambassador to Madrid, where king Philip solemnly swore to observe the renunciation, which was approved and confirmed by the Cortez. The like renunciation to the crown of Spain was afterwards made by the princes of France; and Philip was declared incapable of succeeding to the crown of that realm. The court of Portugal held out against the remonstrances of England, until the Marquis de Bay invaded that kingdom at the head of twenty thousand men, and undertook the siege of Campo-Major, and they found they had no longer any hope of being assisted by her Britannic majesty. The Portuguese minister at Utrecht signed the suspension of arms on the seventh day of November, and excused this step to the allies as the pure effect of necessity. The English troops in Spain were ordered to separate from the army of count Starem-berg, and march to the neighbourhood of Barcelona, where they were embarked on board an English squadron commanded by sir John Jennings, and transported to Minorca.

THE DUKE OF HAMILTON AND LORD MOHUN ARE KILLED IN A DUEL.

The campaign being at an end in the Netherlands, the duke of Ormond returned to England, where the party disputes were become more violent than ever. The whigs affected to celebrate the anniversary of the late king’s birth-day, in London, with extraordinary rejoicings. Mobs were hired by both factions; and the whole city was filled with riot and uproar. A ridiculous scheme was contrived to frighten the lord-treasurer with some squibs in a band-box, which the ministers magnified into a conspiracy. The duke of Hamilton having been appointed ambassador-extraordinary to the court of France, the whigs were alarmed on the supposition that this nobleman favoured the pretender. Some dispute arising between the duke and lord Mohun, on the subject of a lawsuit, furnished a pretence for a quarrel. Mohun, who had been twice tried for murder, and was counted a mean tool, as well as the hector of the whig party, sent a message by general Macartney to the duke, challenging him to single combat. The principals met by appointment in Hyde Park, attended by Macartney and colonel Hamilton. They fought with such fury, that Mohun was killed upon the spot, and the duke expired before he could be conveyed to his own house. Macartney disappeared, and escaped in disguise to the continent. Colonel Hamilton declared upon oath before the privy-council, that when the principals engaged, he and Macartney followed their example; that Macartney was immediately disarmed; but the colonel seeing the duke fall upon his antagonist, threw away the swords, and ran to lift him up; that while he was employed in raising the duke, Macartney, having taken up one of the swords, stabbed his grace over Hamilton’s shoulder and retired immediately. A proclamation was issued, promising a reward of five hundred pounds to those who should apprehend or discover Macartney, and the duchess of Hamilton offered three hundred pounds for the same purpose. The tories exclaimed against this event as a party-duel; they treated Macartney as a cowardly assassin; and affirmed that the whigs had posted others of the same stamp all round Hyde Park, to murder the duke of Hamilton, in case he had triumphed over his antagonist, and escaped the treachery of Macartney. The whigs, on the other hand, affirmed that it was altogether a private quarrel; that Macartney was entirely innocent of the perfidy laid to his charge; that he afterwards submitted to a fair trial, at which colonel Hamilton prevaricated in giving his evidence, and was contradicted by the testimony of divers persons who saw the combat at a distance. The duke of Marlborough, hearing himself accused as the author of those party mischiefs, and seeing his enemies grow every day more and more implacable, thought proper to retire to the continent, where he was followed by his duchess. His friend Godolphin had died in September, with the general character of an able, cool, dispassionate minister, who had rendered himself necessary to four successive sovereigns, and managed the finances with equal skill and integrity. The duke of Shrewsbury was nominated ambassador to France in the room of the duke of Hamilton; the duke d’Aumont arrived at London in the same quality from the court of Versailles; and about the same time the queen granted an audience to the marquis de Monte-leone, whom Philip had appointed one of his plenipotentiaries at the congress.

THE STATES-GENERAL SIGN THE BARRIER-TREATY.

In vain had the British ministers in Holland endeavoured to overcome the obstinacy of the states-general, by alternate threats, promises, and arguments. In vain did they represent that the confederacy against France could be no longer supported with any prospect of success; that the queen’s aim had been to procure reasonable terms for her allies; but that their opposition to her measures prevented her from obtaining such conditions as she would have a right to demand in their favour, were they unanimous in their consultations. In November, the earl of Strafford presented a new plan of peace, in which the queen promised to insist upon France’s ceding to the states the city of Tournay, and some other places which they could not expect to possess should she conclude a separate treaty. They now began to waiver in their councils. The first transports of their resentment having subsided, they plainly perceived that the continuation of the war would entail upon them a burden which they could not bear, especially since the duke of Savoy and the king of Portugal had deserted the alliance; besides, they were staggered by the affair of the new barrier, so much more advantageous than that which France had proposed in the beginning of the conferences. They were influenced by another motive, namely, the apprehension of new mischiefs to the empire from the king of Sweden, whose affairs seemed to take a favourable turn at the Ottoman Porte, through the intercession of the French monarch. The czar and king Augustus had penetrated into Pomerania; the king of Denmark had taken Staden, reduced Bremen, and laid Hamburgh under contribution; but count Steenbock, the Swedish general, defeated the Danish army in Mecklenburg, ravaged Holstein with great barbarity, and reduced the town of Altena to ashes. The grand seignor threatened to declare war against the czar, on pretence that he had not performed some essential articles of the late peace; but his real motive was an inclination to support the king of Sweden. This disposition, however, was defeated by a powerful party at the Porte, who were averse to war. Charles, who still remained at Bender, was desired to return to his own kingdom, and given to understand that the sultan would procure him a safe passage. He treated the person who brought this intimation with the most outrageous insolence, rejected the proposal, fortified his house, and resolved to defend himself to the last extremity. Being attacked by a considerable body of Turkish forces, he and his attendants fought with the most frantic valour. They slew some hundreds of the assailants; but at last the Turks set fire to the house, so that he was obliged to surrender himself and his followers, who were generally sold for slaves. He himself was conveyed under a strong guard to Adrianople. Meanwhile the czar landed with an army in Finland, which he totally reduced. Steenbock maintained himself in Tonningen until all his supplies were cut off; and then he was obliged to deliver himself and his troops prisoners of war. But this reverse was not foreseen when the Dutch dreaded a rupture between the Porte and the Muscovites, and were given to understand that the Turks would revive the troubles in Hungary. In that case, they knew the emperor would recall great part of his troops from the Netherlands, where the burden of the war must lie upon their shoulders. After various consultations in their different assemblies, they came into the queen’s measures, and signed the barrier-treaty.

Then the plenipotentiaries of the four associated circles presented a remonstrance to the British ministers at Utrecht, imploring the queen’s interposition in their favour, that they might not be left in the miserable condition to which they had been reduced by former treaties. They were given to understand, that if they should not obtain what they desired, they themselves would be justly blamed as the authors of their own disappointment; that they had been deficient in furnishing their proportion of troops and other necessaries, and left the whole burden of the war to fall upon the queen and the states in the Netherlands; that when a cessation was judged necessary, they had deserted her majesty to follow the chimerical projects of prince Eugene; that while she prosecuted the war with the utmost vigour, they had acted with coldness and indifference; but when she inclined to peace they began to exert themselves in prosecuting hostilities with uncommon eagerness; that, nevertheless, she would not abandon their interests, but endeavour to procure for them as good conditions as their preposterous conduct would allow her to demand. Even the emperor’s plenipotentiaries began to talk in more moderate terms. Zinzendorf declared that his master was very well disposed to promote a general peace, and no longer insisted on a cession of the Spanish monarchy to the house of Austria. Philip’s ministers, together with those of Bavaria and Cologn, were admitted to the congress; and now the plenipotentiaries of Britain acted as mediators for the rest of the allies.

PEACE WITH FRANCE.

The pacification between France and England was retarded, however, by some unforeseen difficulties that arose in adjusting the commerce and the limits of the countries possessed by both nations in North America. A long dispute ensued; and the duke of Shrewsbury and Prior held many conferences with the French ministry; at length it was compromised, though not much to the advantage of Great Britain; and the English plenipotentiaries received an order to sign a separate treaty. They declared to the ministers of the other powers, that they and some other plenipotentiaries were ready to sign their respective treaties on the eleventh day of April. Count Zinzendorf endeavoured to postpone this transaction until he should be furnished with fresh instructions from Vienna; and even threatened that if the states should sign the peace contrary to his desire, the emperor would immediately withdraw his troops from the Netherlands. The ministers of Great Britain agreed with those of France, that his Imperial majesty should have time to consider whither he would or would not accept the proposals; but this time was extended no farther than the first day of June; nor would they agree to a cessation of arms during that interval. Meanwhile the peace with France was signed in different treaties by the plenipotentiaries of Great Britain, Savoy, Prussia, Portugal, and the states-general. On the fourteenth day of the month, the British plenipotentiaries delivered to count Zinzendorf, in writing, “Offers and demands of the French king for making peace with the house of Austria and the empire.” The count and the ministers of the German princes exclaimed against the insolence of France, which had not even bestowed the title of emperor on Joseph; but wanted to impose terms upon them with relation to the electors of Cologn and Bavaria.

The treaties of peace and commerce between England and France being ratified by the queen of England, the parliament was assembled on the ninth day of April. The queen told them the treaty was signed, and that in a few days the ratifications would be exchanged. She said, what she had done for the protestant succession, and the perfect friendship subsisting between her and the house of Hanover, would convince those who wished well to both, and desired the quiet and safety of their country, how vain all attempts were to divide them. She left it entirely to the house of commons to determine what force might be necessary for the security of trade by sea, and for guards and garrisons. “Make yourselves safe,” said she, “and I shall be satisfied. Next to the protection of the Divine Providence, I depend upon the loyalty and affection of my people. I want no other guarantee.” She recommended to their protection those brave men who had exposed their lives in the service of their country, and could not be employed in time of peace. She desired they would concert proper measures for easing the foreign trade of the kingdom, for improving and encouraging manufactures and the fishery, and for employing the hands of idle people. She expressed her displeasure at the scandalous and seditious libels which had been lately published.

She exhorted them to consider of new laws to prevent this licentiousness, as well as for putting a stop to the impious practice of duelling. She conjured them to use their utmost endeavours to calm the minds of men at home, that the arts of peace might be cultivated; and that groundless jealousies, contrived by a faction, and fomented by party rage, might not effect that which their foreign enemies could not accomplish. This was the language of a pious, candid, and benevolent sovereign, who loved her subjects with a truly parental affection. The parliament considered her in that light. Each house presented her with a warm address of thanks and congratulation, expressing, in particular, their inviolable attachment to the protestant succession in the illustrious house of Hanover. The ratifications of the treaty being exchanged, the peace was proclaimed on the fifth of May, with the usual ceremonies, to the inexpressible joy of the nation in general. It was about this period that the chevalier de St. George conveyed a printed remonstrance to the ministers at Utrecht, solemnly protesting against all that might be stipulated to his prejudice. The commons, in a second address, had besought her majesty to communicate to the house in due time the treaties of peace and commerce with France; and now they were produced by Mr. Benson, chancellor of the exchequer.

THE TREATY WITH FRANCE.

By the treaty of peace the French king obliged himself to abandon the pretender, and acknowledge the queen’s title and the protestant succession; to raze the fortifications of Dunkirk within a limited time, on condition of receiving an equivalent; to cede Newfoundland, Hudson’s Bay, and St. Christopher’s to England; but the French were left in possession of Cape Breton, and at liberty to dry their fish in Newfoundland. By the treaty of commerce a free trade was established, according to the tariff of the year one thousand six hundred and sixty-four, except in some commodities that were subjected to new regulations in the year sixteen hundred and ninety-nine. It was agreed that no other duties should be imposed on the productions of France imported into England than those that were laid on the same commodities from other countries; and that commissaries should meet at London to adjust all matters relating to commerce; as for the tariff with Spain, it was not yet finished. It was stipulated, that the emperor should possess the kingdom of Naples, the duchy of Milan, and the Spanish Netherlands; that the duke of Savoy should enjoy Sicily, with the title of king; that the same title, with the island of Sardinia, should be allotted to the elector of Bavaria, as an indemnification for his losses; that the states-general should restore Lisle and its dependencies; that Namur, Charleroy, Luxembourg, Ypres, and Newport, should be added to the other places they already possessed in Flanders; and that the king of Prussia should have Upper Gueldre, in lieu of Orange and the other states belonging to that family in Franche Compté. The king of Portugal was satisfied; and the first day of June was fixed as the period of time granted to the emperor for consideration.

A day being appointed by the commons to deliberate upon the treaty of commerce, very just and weighty objections were made to the eighth and ninth articles, importing, that Great Britain and France should mutually enjoy all the privileges in trading with each other that either granted to the most favoured nation; and that no higher customs should be exacted from the commodities of France, than those that were drawn from the same productions of any other people. The balance of trade having long inclined to the side of France, severe duties had been laid on all the productions and manufactures of that kingdom, so as almost to amount to a total prohibition. Some members observed, that by the treaty between England and Portugal, the duties charged upon the wines of that country were lower than those laid upon the wines of France; that should they now be reduced to an equality, the difference of freight was so great, that the French wines would be found much cheaper than those of Portugal; and, as they were more agreeable to the taste of the nation in general, there would be no market for the Portuguese wines in England; that should this be the case, the English would lose their trade with Portugal, the most advantageous of any traffic which they now carried on; for it consumed a great quantity of their manufactures, and returned a yearly sum of six hundred thousand pounds in gold. Mr. Nathaniel Gould, formerly governor of the bank, affirmed, that as France had since the revolution encouraged woollen manufactures, and prepared at home several commodities which formerly they drew from England; so the English had learned to make silk stuffs, paper, and all manner of toys, formerly imported from France; by which means an infinite number of artificers were employed, and a vast sum annually saved to the nation; but these people would now be reduced to beggary, and that money lost again to the kingdom, should French commodities of the same kind be imported under ordinary duties, because labour was much cheaper in France than in England, consequently the British manufactures would be undersold and ruined. He urged, that the ruin of the silk manufacture would be attended with another disadvantage. Great quantities of woollen cloths were vended in Italy and Turkey, in consequence of the raw silk which the English merchants bought up in those countries; and, should the silk manufacture at home be lost, those markets for British commodities would fail of course. Others alleged, that if the articles of commerce had been settled before the English troops separated from those of the confederates, the French king would not have presumed to insist upon such terms, but have been glad to comply with more moderate conditions. Sir William Wyndham reflected on the late ministry, for having neglected to make an advantageous peace when it was in their power. He said that Portugal would always have occasion for the woollen manufactures and the corn of England, and be obliged to buy them at all events. After a violent debate, the house resolved, by a great majority, that a bill should be brought in to make good the eighth and ninth articles of the treaty of commerce with France. Against these articles, however, the Portuguese minister presented a memorial, declaring, that should the duties on French wines be lowered to the same level with those that were laid on the wines of Portugal, his master would renew the prohibition of the woollen manufactures and other products of Great Britain. Indeed, all the trading part of the nation exclaimed against the treaty of commerce, which seems to have been concluded in a hurry, before the ministers fully understood the nature of the subject. This precipitation was owing to the fears that their endeavours after peace would miscarry, from the intrigues of the whig faction, and the obstinate opposition of the confederates.

THE SCOTTISH LORDS MOVE FOR A BILL TO DISSOLVE THE UNION.

The commons having granted an aid of two shillings in the pound, proceeded to renew the duty on malt for another year, and extended this tax to the whole island, notwithstanding the warm remonstrances of the Scottish members, who represented it as a burden which their country could not bear. They insisted upon an express article of the union, stipulating, that no duty should be laid on the malt in Scotland during the war which they affirmed was not yet finished, inasmuch as the peace with Spain had not been proclaimed. During the adjournment of the parliament, on account of the Whit-sun-holidays, the Scots of both houses, laying aside all party distinctions, met and deliberated on this subject. They deputed the duke of Argyle, the earl of Mar, Mr. Lockhart, and Mr. Cockburn, to lay their grievances before the queen. They represented that their countrymen bore with great impatience the violation of some articles of the union; and that the imposition of such an insupportable burden as the malt-tax would in all probability prompt them to declare the union dissolved. The queen, alarmed at this remonstrance, answered, that she wished they might not have cause to repent of such a precipitate resolution; but she would endeavour to make all things easy. On the first day of June, the earl of Findlater, in the house of peers, represented that the Scottish nation was aggrieved in many instances: that they were deprived of a privy-council, and subjected to the English laws in cases of treason: that their nobles were rendered incapable of being created British peers; and that now they were oppressed with the insupportable burden of a malt-tax, when they had reason to expect they should reap the benefit of peace: he therefore moved, that leave might be given to bring in a bill for dissolving the union, and securing the protestant succession to the house of Hanover. Lord North and Grey affirmed, that the complaints of the Scots were groundless; that the dissolution of the union was impracticable; and he made some sarcastic reflections on the poverty of that nation. He was answered by the earl of Eglinton, who admitted the Scots were poor, and therefore unable to pay the malt-tax. The earl of Hay, among other pertinent remarks upon the union, observed, that when the treaty was made, the Scots took it for granted that the parliament of Great Britain would never load them with any imposition that they had reason to believe grievous. The earl of Peterborough compared the union to a marriage. He said that though England, who must be supposed the husband, might in some instances prove unkind to the lady, she ought not immediately to sue for a divorce, the rather because she had very much mended her fortune by the match. Hay replied, that marriage was an ordinance of God, and the union no more than a political expedient. The other affirmed, that the contract could not have been more solemn, unless, like the ten commandments, it had come from heaven: he inveighed against the Scots, as a people that would never be satisfied; that would have all the advantages resulting from the union, but would pay nothing by their good will, although they had received more money from England than the amount of all their estates. To these animadversions the duke of Argyle made a very warm reply. “I have been reflected on by some people,” said he, “as if I was disgusted, and had changed sides; but I despise their persons, as much as I undervalue their judgment.” He urged, that the malt-tax in Scotland was like taxing land by the acre throughout England, because land was worth five pounds an acre in the neighbourhood of London, and would not fetch so many shillings in the remote countries. In like manner, the English malt was valued at four times the price of that which was made in Scotland; therefore, the tax in this country must be levied by a regiment of dragoons. He owned he had a great share in making the union, with a view to secure the protestant succession; but he was now satisfied this end might be answered as effectually if the union was dissolved; and, if this step should not be taken, he did not expect long to have either property left in Scotland, or liberty in England. All the whig members voted for the dissolution of that treaty which they had so eagerly promoted; while the tories strenuously supported the measure against which they had once argued with such vehemence. In the course of the debate, the lord-treasurer observed, that although the malt-tax were imposed, it might be afterwards remitted by the crown. The earl of Sunderland expressed surprise at hearing that noble lord broach a doctrine which tended to establish a despotic dispensing power and arbitrary government. Oxford replied, his family had never been famous, as some others had been, for promoting and advising arbitrary measures. Sunderland, considering this expression as a sarcasm levelled at the memory of his father, took occasion to vindicate his conduct, adding, that in those days the other lord’s family was hardly known. Much violent altercation was discharged At length the motion for the bill was rejected by a small majority, and the malt-bill afterwards passed with great difficulty.

Another bill being brought into the house of commons for rendering the treaty of commerce effectual, such a number of petitions were delivered against it, and so many solid arguments advanced by the merchants who were examined on the subject, that even a great number of tory members were convinced of the bad consequences it would produce to trade, and voted against the ministry on this occasion; so that the bill was rejected by a majority of nine voices. At the same time, however, the house agreed to an address thanking her majesty for the great care she had taken of the security and honour of her kingdoms in the treaty of peace; as also for having laid so good a foundation for the interest of her people in trade. They likewise besought her to appoint commissioners to treat with those of France, for adjusting such matters as should be necessary to be settled on the subject of commerce, that the treaty might be explained and perfected for the good and welfare of her people. The queen interpreted this address into a full approbation of the treaties of peace and commerce, and thanked them accordingly in the warmest terms of satisfaction and acknowledgment. The commons afterwards desired to know what equivalent should be given for the demolition of Dunkirk; and she gave them to understand that this was already in the hands of his most christian majesty: then they besought her that she would not evacuate the towns of Flanders that were in her possession, until those who were entitled to the sovereignty of the Spanish Netherlands should agree to such articles for regulating trade as might place the subjects of Great Britain upon an equal footing with those of any other nation. The queen made a favourable answer to all their remonstrances. Such were the steps taken by the parliament during this session with relation to the famous treaty of Utrecht, against which the whigs exclaimed so violently, that many well-meaning people believed it would be attended with the immediate ruin of the kingdom; yet under the shadow of this very treaty, Great Britain enjoyed a long term of peace and tranquillity. Bishop Burnet was heated with an enthusiastic terror of the house of Bourbon. He declared to the queen in private, that any treaty by which Spain and the West Indies were left in the hands of king Philip, must in a little time deliver all Europe into the hands of France: that, if any such peace was made, the queen was betrayed, and the people ruined: that in less than three years she would be murdered, and the fires would blaze again in Smithfield. This prelate lived to see his prognostic disappointed; therefore he might have suppressed this anecdote of his own conduct.

VIOLENCE OF PARTIES IN ENGLAND.

On the twenty-fifth day of June the queen signified, in a message to the house of commons, that her civil list was burdened with some debts incurred by several articles of extraordinary expense; and that she hoped they would empower her to raise such a sum of money upon the funds for that provision as would be sufficient to discharge the incumbrances, which amounted to five hundred thousand pounds. A bill was immediately prepared for raising this sum on the civil list revenue, and passed through both houses with some difficulty. Both lords and commons addressed the queen concerning the chevalier de St. George, who had repaired to Lorraine. They desired she would press the duke of that name, and all the princes and states in amity with her, to exclude from their dominions the pretender to the imperial crown of Great Britain. A public thanksgiving for the peace was appointed and celebrated with great solemnity; and on the sixteenth day of July the queen closed the session with a speech which was not at all agreeable to the violent whigs, because it did not contain one word about the pretender and the protestant succession. From these omissions, they concluded that the dictates of natural affection had biassed her in favour of the chevalier de St. George. Whatever sentiments of tenderness and compassion she might feel for that unfortunate exile, the acknowledged son of her own father, it does not appear that she ever entertained a thought of altering the succession as by law established. The term of Sacheverel’s suspension being expired, extraordinary rejoicings were made upon the occasion. He was desired to preach before the house of commons, who thanked him for his sermon; and the queen promoted him to the rich benefice of St. Andrew’s, Holborn. On the other hand the duke d’Aumont, ambassador from France, was insulted by the populace. Scurrilous ballads were published against him both in the English and French languages. He received divers anonymous letters, containing threats of setting fire to his house, which was accordingly burned to the ground, though whether by accident or design he could not well determine. The magistracy of Dunkirk, having sent a deputation with an address to the queen, humbly imploring her majesty to spare the port and harbour of that town, and representing that they might be useful to her own subjects, the memorial was printed and dispersed, and the arguments it contained were answered and refuted by Addison, Steele, and Maynwaring. Commissioners were sent to see the fortifications of Dunkirk demolished. They were accordingly razed to the ground; the harbour was filled up; and the duke d’Aumont returned to Paris in the month of November. The queen, by her remonstrances to the court of Versailles, had procured the enlargement of one hundred and thirty-six protestants from the galleys: understanding afterwards that as many more were detained on the same account, she made such application to the French ministry that they too were released. Then she appointed general Ross her envoy-extraordinary to the king of France.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.

The duke of Shrewsbury being nominated lord-lieutenant of Ireland, assembled the parliament of that kingdom on the twenty-fifth day of November, and found the two houses still at variance, on the opposite principles of whig and tory. Allan Broderick being chosen speaker of the commons, they ordered a bill to be brought in to attaint the pretender and all his adherents. They prosecuted Edward Lloyd for publishing a book entitled, “Memoirs of the chevalier de St. George;” and they agreed upon an address to the queen, to remove from the chancellorship sir Constantine Phipps, who had countenanced the tories of that kingdom. The lords, however, resolved that chancellor Phipps had, in his several stations, acquitted himself with honour and integrity. The two houses of convocation presented an address to the same purpose. They likewise complained of Mr. Molesworth for having insulted them, by saying, when they appeared in the castle of Dublin, “They that have turned the world upside down are come hither also:” and he was removed from the privy-council. The duke of Shrewsbury received orders to prorogue this parliament, which was divided against itself, and portended nothing but domestic broils. Then he obtained leave to return to England, leaving chancellor Phipps, with the archbishop of Armagh and Tuam, justices of the kingdom.

NEW PARLIAMENT IN ENGLAND.

The parliament of England had been dissolved; and the elections were managed in such a manner as to retain the legislative power in the hands of the tories; but the meeting of the new parliament was delayed by repeated prorogations to the tenth day of December; a delay partly owing to the queen’s indisposition; and partly to the contests among her ministers. Oxford and Bolingbroke were competitors for power, and rivals in reputation for ability. The treasurer’s parts were deemed the more solid; the secretary’s more shining; but both ministers were aspiring and ambitious. The first was bent upon maintaining the first rank in the administration, which he had possessed since the revolution in the ministry; the other disdained to act as a subaltern to the man whom he thought he excelled in genius, and equalled in importance. They began to form separate cabals, and adopt different principles. Bolingbroke insinuated himself into the confidence of lady Masham, to whom Oxford had given some cause of disgust. By this communication he gained ground in the good opinion of his sovereign, while the treasurer lost it in the same proportion. Thus she who had been the author of his elevation, was now used as the instrument of his disgrace. The queen was sensibly affected with these dissensions, which she interposed her advice and authority, by turns, to appease; but their mutual animosity continued to rankle under an exterior accommodation. The interest of Bolingbroke was powerfully supported by sir Simon Harcourt, the chancellor, sir William Wyndham, and Mr. Secretary Bromley. Oxford perceived his own influence was on the wane, and began to think of retirement. Meanwhile the earl of Peterborough was appointed ambassador to the king of Sicily, and set out for Turin. The queen retired to Windsor, where she was seized with a very dangerous inflammatory fever. The hopes of the Jacobites visibly rose; the public funds immediately fell; a great run was made upon the bank, the directors of which were overwhelmed with consternation, which was not a little increased by the reports of an armament equipped in the ports of France. They sent one of their members to represent to the treasurer the danger that threatened the public credit. The queen being made acquainted with these occurrences, signed a letter to sir Samuel Stancer, lord-mayor of London, declaring, that now she was recovered of her late indisposition, she would return to the place of her usual residence, and open the parliament on the sixteenth day of February. This intimation she sent to her loving subjects of the city of London, to the intent that all of them, in their several stations, might discountenance those malicious rumours, spread by evil-minded persons, to the prejudice of credit, and the eminent hazard of the public peace and tranquillity. The queen’s recovery, together with certain intelligence that the armament was a phantom, and the pretender still in Lorraine, helped to assuage the ferment of the nation, which had been industriously raised by party-writings. Mr. Richard Steele published a performance, intituled, “The Crisis,” in defence of the revolution and the protestant establishment, and enlarging upon the danger of a popish successor. On the other hand, the hereditary right to the crown of England was asserted in a large volume, supposed to be written with a view to pave the way for the pretender’s accession. One Bedford was apprehended, tried, convicted, and severely punished, as the publisher of this treatise.

TREATY OF RASTADT BETWEEN THE EMPEROR AND FRANCE.

While England was harrassed by these intestine commotions, the emperor, rejecting the terms of peace proposed by France, resolved to maintain the war at his own expense, with the assistance of the empire. His forces on the Rhine commanded by prince Eugene, were so much out-numbered by the French under Villars, that they could not prevent the enemy from reducing the two important fortresses of Landau and Fribourg. His imperial majesty hoped that the death of Queen Anne, or that of Louis XIV. would produce an alteration in Europe that might be favourable to his interest; and he depended on the conduct and fortune of prince Eugene for some lucky event in war. But finding himself disappointed in all these expectations, and absolutely unable to support the expense of another campaign, he hearkened to overtures of peace that were made by the electors of Cologn and Palatine; and conferences were opened at the castle of Al-Rastadt, between prince Eugene and mareschal de Villars, on the twenty-sixth day of November. In the beginning of February these ministers separated, without seeming to have come to any conclusion; but all the articles being settled between the two courts of Vienna and Versailles, they met again in the latter end of the month: the treaty was signed on the third day of March, and orders were sent to the governors and commanders on both sides to desist from all hostilities. By this treaty, the French king yielded to the emperor old Brisac, with all its dependencies, Fribourg, the forts in the Brisgau and Black Forest, together with Fort Khel. He engaged to demolish the fortifications opposite to Huningen, the fort of Sellingen, and all between that and Fort Louis. The town and fortress of Landau were ceded to the king of France, who acknowledged the elector of Hanover. The electors of Bavaria and Cologn were restored to all their dignities and dominions. The emperor was put in immediate possession of the Spanish Netherlands; and the king of Prussia was permitted to retain the high quarters of Guelders. Finally, the contracting parties agreed that a congress should be opened on the first of May, at Baden in Switzerland, for terminating all differences; and prince Eugene and mareschal de Villars were appointed their first plenipotentiaries.

The ratifications of the treaty between Great Britain and Spain being exchanged, the peace was proclaimed on the first day of March, in London; and the articles were not disagreeable to the English nation. The kingdoms of France and Spain were separated for ever. Philip acknowledged the protestant succession, and renounced the pretender. He agreed to a renewal of the treaty of navigation and commerce concluded in the year one thousand six hundred and sixty seven. He granted an exclusive privilege to the English for furnishing the Spanish West Indies with negroes, according to the assiento contract.*

* The assiento contract stipulated that from the first day of May, 1713, to the first of May, 1743, the company should transport into the West Indies one hundred forty-four thousand negroes, at the rate of four thousand eight hundred negroes a year; and pay for each negro thirty-three pieces of eight and one third, in full for all royal duties.

He ceded Gibraltar to England, as well as the island of Minorca, on condition that the Spanish inhabitants should enjoy their estates and religion. He obliged himself to grant a full pardon to the Catalans, with the possession of all their estates, honours, and privileges, and to yield the kingdom of Sicily to the duke of Savoy. The new parliament was opened by commission in February, and sir Thomas Hanmer was chosen speaker of the house of commons. On the second day of March, the queen being carried in a sedan to the house of lords, signified to both houses that she had obtained an honourable and advantageous peace for her own people, and for the greatest part of her allies; and she hoped her interposition might prove effectual to complete the settlement of Europe. She observed, that some persons had been so malicious as to insinuate that the protestant succession, in the house of Hanover, was in danger under her government; but that those who endeavoured to distract the minds of men with imaginary dangers, could only mean to disturb the public tranquillity. She said, that after all she had done to secure the religion and liberties of her people, she could not mention such proceedings without some degree of warmth; and she hoped her parliament would agree with her, that attempts to weaken her authority, or to render the possession of the crown uneasy to her, could never be proper means to strengthen the protestant succession. Affectionate addresses were presented by the lords, the commons, and the convocation; but the ill-humour of party still subsisted, and was daily inflamed by new pamphlets and papers. Steele, supported by Addison and Halifax, appeared in the front of those who drew their pens in defence of whig principles; and Swift was the champion of the ministry.

THE LORDS TAKE COGNIZANCE OF A LIBEL AGAINST THE SCOTS.

The earl of Wharton complained in the house of lords of a libel, intitled, “The public spirit of the whigs set forth in their generous encouragement of the author of the Crisis.” It was a sarcastic performance, imputed to lord Bolingbroke and Swift, interspersed with severe reflections upon the union, the Scottish nation, and the Duke of Argyle in particular. The lord-treasurer disclaimed all knowledge of the author, and readily concurred in an order for taking into custody John Mor-phew the publisher, as well as John Barber, printer of the gazette, from whose house the copies were brought to Morphew. The earl of Wharton said it highly concerned the honour of that august assembly, to find out the villain who was author of that false and scandalous libel, that justice might be done to the Scottish nation. He moved, that Barber and his servants might be examined; but next clay the earl of Mar, one of the secretaries of state, declared, that, in pursuance to her majesty’s command, he had directed John Barber to be prosecuted. Notwithstanding this interposition, which was calculated to screen the offenders, the lords presented an address, beseeching her majesty to issue out her royal proclamation, promising a reward to any person who should discover the author of the libel, which they conceived to be false, malicious, and factious, highly dishonourable and scandalous to her majesty’s subjects of Scotland, most injurious to her majesty, and tending to the ruin of the constitution. In compliance with their request, a reward of three hundred pounds was offered; but the offender remained safe from all detection.

MR. STEELE EXPELLED THE HOUSE.

The commons having granted the supplies, ordered a bill to be brought in for securing the freedom of parliaments, by limiting the number of officers in the house of commons, and it passed through both houses with little difficulty. In March, a complaint was made of several scandalous papers, lately published under the name of Richard Steele, esquire, a member of the house. Sir William Wyndham observed, that some of that author’s writings contained insolent injurious reflections on the queen herself, and were dictated by the spirit of rebellion. Steele was ordered to attend in his place; some paragraphs of his works were read; and he answered them with an affected air of self-confidence and unconcern. A day being appointed for his trial, he acknowledged the writings, and entered into a more circumstantial defence. He was assisted by Mr. Addison, general Stanhope, and Mr. Walpole; and attacked by sir William Wyndham, Mr. Foley, and the attorney-general. Whatever could be urged in his favour was but little regarded by the majority, which voted, that two pamphlets, entitled, “The Englishman, and the Crisis,” written by Richard Steele, esquire, were scandalous and seditious libels; and that he should be expelled the house of commons.

WHIGS’ PRECAUTION FOR SECURING THE PROTESTANT SUCCESSION.

The lords taking into consideration the state of the nation, resolved upon addresses to the queen, desiring they might know what steps had been taken for removing the pretender from the dominions of the duke of Lorraine; that she would impart to them a detail of the negotiations for peace, a recital of the instances which had been made in favour of the Catalans, and an account of the monies granted by parliament since the year one thousand seven hundred and ten, to carry on the war in Spain and Portugal. They afterwards agreed to other addresses, beseeching her majesty to lay before them the debts and state of the navy, the particular writs of Noli Prosequi granted since her accession to the throne, and a list of such persons as, notwithstanding sentence of outlawry or attainder, had obtained licenses to return into Great Britain, or other of her majesty’s dominions, since the revolution. Having voted an application to the queen in behalf of the distressed Catalans, the house adjourned itself to the last day of March. As the minds of men had been artfully irritated by false reports of a design undertaken by France in behalf of the pretender, the ambassador of that crown at the Hague disowned it in a public paper, by command of his most christian majesty. The suspicions of many people, however, had been too deeply planted, by the arts and insinuations of the whig leaders, to be eradicated by this or any other declaration; and what served to rivet their apprehensions, was a total removal of the whigs from all the employments, civil and military, which they had hitherto retained. These were now bestowed upon professed tories, some of whom were attached at bottom to the supposed heir of blood. At a time when the queen’s views were maliciously misrepresented; when the wheels of her government were actually impeded, and her servants threatened with proscription by a powerful, turbulent, and implacable faction; no wonder that she discharged the partisans of that faction from her service, and filled their places with those who were distinguished by a warm affection to the house of Stuart, and by a submissive respect for the regal authority. Those were steps which her own sagacity must have suggested; and which her ministers would naturally advise, as necessary for their own preservation. The whigs were all in commotion, either apprehending or affecting to apprehend that a design was formed to secure the pretender’s succession to the throne of Great Britain.

Their chiefs held secret consultations with baron Schutz, the resident from Hanover. They communicated their observations to the elector; they received his instructions; they maintained a correspondence with the duke of Marlborough; and they concerted measures for opposing all efforts that might be made against the protestant succession upon the death of the queen, whose health was by this time so much impaired, that every week was believed to be the last of her life. This conduct of the whigs was resolute, active, and would have been laudable, had their zeal been confined within the bounds of truth and moderation; but they, moreover, employed all their arts to excite and encourage the fears and jealousies of the people.

The house of peers resounded with debates upon the Catalans, the pretender, and the danger that threatened the protestant succession. With respect to the Catalans, they represented, that Great Britain had prevailed upon them to declare for the house of Austria, with promise of support; and that these engagements ought to have been made good. Lord Bolingbroke declared that the queen had used all her endeavours in their behalf; and that the engagements with them subsisted no longer than king Charles resided in Spain. They agreed, however, to an address, acknowledging her majesty’s endeavours in favour of the Catalans, and requesting she would continue her interposition in their behalf. With respect to the pretender, the whig lords expressed such a spirit of persecution and rancorous hate, as would have disgraced the members of any, even the lowest assembly of christians. Not contented with hunting him from one country to another, they seemed eagerly bent upon extirpating him from the face of the earth, as if they had thought it was a crime in him to be born. The earl of Sunderland declared, from the information of the minister of Lorraine, that, notwithstanding the application of both houses to her majesty during the last session, concerning the pretender’s being removed from Lorraine, no instances had yet been made to the duke for that purpose. Lord Bolingbroke affirmed that he himself had made those instances, in the queen’s name, to that very minister before his departure from England. The earl of Wharton proposed a question: “Whether the protestant succession was in danger under the present administration?” A warm debate ensued, in which the archbishop of York and the earl of Anglesea joined in the opposition to the ministry. The earl pretended to be convinced and converted by the arguments used in the course of the debate. He owned he had given his assent to the cessation of arms, for which he took shame to himself, asking pardon of God, his country, and his conscience. He affirmed, that the honour of his sovereign, and the good of his country, were the rules of his actions; but that, without respect of persons, should he find himself imposed upon, he durst pursue an evil minister from the queen’s closet to the Tower, and from the Tower to the scaffold. This conversion, however, was much more owing to a full persuasion that a ministry divided against itself could not long subsist, and that the protestant succession was firmly secured. He therefore resolved to make a merit of withdrawing himself from the interests of a tottering administration, in whose ruin he might be involved. The duke of Argyle charged the ministers with mal-administration, both within those walls and without: he offered to prove that the lord-treasurer had yearly remitted a sum of money to the Highland clans of Scotland, who were known to be entirely devoted to the pretender. He affirmed that the new-modelling of the army, the practice of disbanding some regiments out of their turn, and removing a great number of officers, on account of their affection to the house of Hanover, were clear indications of the ministry’s designs: that it was a disgrace to the nation to see men, who had never looked an enemy in the face, advanced to the posts of several brave officers, who, after they had often exposed their lives for their country, were now starving in prison for debt, on account of their pay being detained. The treasurer, laying his hand upon his breast, said he had on so many occasions given such signal proofs of affection to the protestant succession, that he was sure no member of that august assembly did call it in question. He owned he had remitted, for two or three years past, between three and four thousand pounds to the Highland clans; and he hoped the house would give him an opportunity to clear his conduct in that particular: with respect to the reformed officers, he declared he had given orders for their being immediately paid. The protestant succession was voted out of danger by a small majority.

Lord Halifax proposed an address to the queen, that she would renew her instances for the speedy removing the pretender out of Lorraine; and that she would, in conjunction with the states-general, enter into a guarantee of the protestant succession in the house of Hanover. The earl of Wharton moved, that in the address her majesty should be desired to issue a proclamation, promising a reward to any person who should apprehend the pretender dead or alive. He was seconded by the duke of Bolton, and the house agreed that an address should be presented. When it was reported by the committee, lord North and Grey expatiated upon the barbarity of setting a price on any one’s head: he proved it was an encouragement to murder and assassination; contrary to the precepts of Christianity; repugnant to the law of nature and nations; inconsistent with the dignity of such an august assembly, and with the honour of a nation famed for lenity and mercy. He was supported by lord Trevor, who moved that the reward should be promised for apprehending and bringing the pretender to justice, in case he should land or attempt to land in Great Britain or Ireland. The cruelty of the first clause was zealously supported and vindicated by the lords Cowper and Halifax; but by this time the earl of Anglesea and some others, who had abandoned the ministry, were brought back to their former principles by promise of profitable employments, and the mitigation was adopted by a majority of ten voices. To this address, which was delivered by the chancellor and the whig lords only, the queen replied in these words: “My lords, it would be a real strengthening to the succession in the house of Hanover, as well as a support to my government, that an end were put to those groundless fears and jealousies which have been so industriously promoted. I do not at this time see any occasion for such a proclamation. Whenever I judge it to be necessary, I shall give my orders for having it issued. As to the other particulars of this address, I will give proper directions therein.” She was likewise importuned, by another address, to issue out a proclamation against all Jesuits, popish priests, and bishops, as well as against all such as were outlawed for adhering to the late king James and the pretender. The house resolved that no person, not included in the articles of Limerick, and who had borne arms in France and Spain, should be capable of any employment, civil or military: and that no person, a natural born subject of her majesty, should be capable of sustaining the character of a public minister from any foreign potentate. These resolutions were aimed at sir Patrick Lawless, an Irish papist, who had come to England with a credential letter from king Philip, but now thought proper to quit the kingdom.

A WRIT DEMANDED FOR THE ELECTORAL PRINCE OF HANOVER.

Then the lords in the opposition made an attack upon the treasurer, concerning the money he had remitted to the Highlanders; but Oxford silenced his opposers, by asserting, that in so doing he had followed the example of king William, who, after he had reduced that people, thought fit to allow yearly pensions to the heads of clans, in order to keep them quiet. His conduct was approved by the house; and lord North and Grey moved that a day might be appointed for considering the state of the nation, with regard to the treaties of peace and commerce. The motion was seconded by the earl of Clarendon, and the thirteenth day of April fixed for this purpose. In the meantime, baron Schutz demanded of the chancellor a writ for the electoral prince of Hanover, to sit in the house of peers as duke of Cambridge, intimating that his design was to reside in England. The writ was granted with reluctance; but the prince’s design of coming to England was so disagreeable to the queen, that she signified her disapprobation of such a step in a letter to the princess Sophia. She observed, that such a method of proceeding would be dangerous to the succession itself, which was not secure any other way, than as the prince who was in actual possession of the throne maintained her authority and prerogative: she said a great many people in England were seditiously disposed; so she left her highness to judge what tumults they might be able to raise, should they have a pretext to begin a commotion; she, therefore, persuaded herself that her aunt would not consent to any thing which might disturb the repose of her and her subjects. At the same time she wrote a letter to the electoral prince, complaining that he had formed such a resolution without first knowing her sentiments on the subject; and telling him plainly that nothing could be more dangerous to the tranquillity of her dominions, to the right of succession in the Hanoverian line, or more disagreeable to her, than such conduct at this juncture. A third letter was written to the elector, his father; and the treasurer took this opportunity to assure that prince of his inviolable attachment to the family of Hanover.

The whig lords were dissatisfied with the queen’s answer to their address concerning the pretender, and they moved for another address on the same subject, which was resolved upon, but never presented. They took into consideration the treaties of peace and commerce, to which many exceptions were taken; and much sarcasm was expended on both sides of the dispute; but at length the majority carried the question in favour of an address, acknowledging her majesty’s goodness in delivering them, by a safe, honourable, and advantageous peace with France, from the burden of a consuming land war, unequally carried on, and become at last impracticable. The house of commons concurred in this address, after having voted that the protestant succession was out of danger; but these resolutions were not taken without violent opposition, in which general Stanhope, Mr. Lechmere, and Mr. Walpole, chiefly distinguished themselves. The letters which the queen had written to the electoral house of Hanover were printed and published in England, with a view to inform the friends of that family of the reasons which prevented the duke of Cambridge from executing his design of residing in Great Britain. The queen considered this step as a personal insult, as well as an attempt to prejudice her in the opinion of her subjects: she therefore ordered the publisher to be taken into custody. At this period the princess Sophia died, in the eighty-fourth year of her age; and her death was intimated to the queen by baron Bothmar, who arrived in England with the character of envoy-extraordinary from the elector of Hanover. This princess was the fourth and youngest daughter of Frederick, elector Palatine, king of Bohemia, and Elizabeth daughter of king James I. of England. She enjoyed from nature an excellent capacity, which was finely cultivated; and was in all respects one of the most accomplished princesses of the age in which she lived. At her death the court of England appeared in mourning; and the elector of Brunswick was prayed for by name in the liturgy of the church of England. On the twelfth day of May, sir William Wyndham made a motion for a bill to prevent the growth of schism, and for the further security of the church of England as by law established. The design of it was to prohibit dissenters from teaching in schools and academies. It was accordingly prepared, and eagerly opposed in each house as a species of persecution. Nevertheless, it made its way through both, and received the royal assent; but the queen dying before it took place, this law was rendered ineffectual.

Her majesty’s constitution was now quite broken; one fit of sickness succeeded another; what completed the ruin of her health was the anxiety of her mind, occasioned partly by the discontents which had been raised and fomented by the enemies of her government; and partly by the dissensions among her ministers, which were now become intolerable. The council chamber was turned into a scene of obstinate dispute and bitter altercation. Even in the queen’s presence the treasurer and secretary did not restrain from mutual obliquy and reproach. Oxford advised moderate measures, and is said to have made advances towards a reconciliation with the leaders of the whig party. As he foresaw it would soon be their turn to domineer, such precautions were necessary for his own safety. Bolingbroke affected to set the whigs at defiance; he professed a warm zeal for the church; he soothed the queen’s inclinations with the most assiduous attention. He and his coadjutrix insinuated, that the treasurer was biassed in favour of the dissenters, and even that he acted as a spy for the house of Hanover. In the midst of these disputes and commotions the Jacobites were not idle. They flattered themselves that the queen in secret favoured the pretensions of her brother; and they depended upon Bolingbroke’s attachment to the same interest. They believed the same sentiments were cherished by the nation in general. They held private assemblies both in Great Britain and in Ireland. They concerted measures for turning the dissensions of the kingdom to the advantage of their cause. They even proceeded so far as to enlist men for the service of the pretender. Some of these practices were discovered by the earl of Wharton, who did not fail to sound the alarm. A proclamation was immediately published, promising a reward of five thousand pounds for apprehending the pretender, whenever he should land or attempt to land in Great Britain. The commons voted an address of thanks for the proclamation; and assured her majesty, that they would cheerfully aid and assist her, by granting the sum of a hundred thousand pounds, as a further reward to any who should perform so great a service to her majesty and her kingdom. The lords likewise presented an address on the same subject. Lord Bolingbroke proposed a bill, decreeing the penalties of high treason against those who should list or be enlisted in the pretender’s service. The motion was approved, and the penalty extended to all those who should list or be enlisted in the service of any foreign prince or state, without a license under the sign manual of her majesty, her heirs, or successors.

THE PARLIAMENT PROROGUED.

On the second day of July, the lords took into consideration the treaty of commerce with Spain; and a great number of merchants being examined at the bar of tha house, declared that unless the explanation of the third, fifth, and eighth articles, as made at Madrid after the treaty was signed, were rescinded, they could not carry on their commerce without losing five and twenty per cent. After a long debate, the house resolved to address the queen for all the papers relating to the negotiation of the treaty of commerce with Spain, with the names of the persons who advised her majesty to that treaty. To this address she replied, that understanding the three explanatory articles of the treaty were not detrimental to the trade of her subjects, she had consented to their being ratified with the treaty. The earl of Wharton represented, that if so little regard was shown to the addresses of that august assembly to the sovereign, they had no business in that house. He moved for a remonstrance, to lay before her majesty the insuperable difficulties that attended the Spanish trade on the footing of the late treaty; and the house agreed to his motion. Another member moved, that the house should insist on her majesty’s naming the person who advised her to ratify the three explanatory articles. This was a blow aimed at Arthur Moore, a member of the lower house, whom lord Bolingbroke had consulted on the subject of the treaty. He was screened by the majority in parliament; but a general court of the South Sea company resolved, upon a complaint exhibited by captain Johnson, that Arthur Moore, while a director, was privy to and encouraged the design of carrying on a clandestine trade, to the prejudice of the corporation, contrary to his oath, and in breach of the trust reposed in him; that therefore, he should be declared incapable of being a director of, or having any employment in, this company. The queen had reserved to herself the quarter-part of the assiento contract, which she now gave up to the company, and received the thanks of the upper house; but she would not discover the names of those who advised her to ratify the explanatory articles. On the ninth day of July, she thought proper to put an end to the session with a speech on the usual subjects. After having assured them that her chief concern was to preserve the protestant religion, the liberty of her subjects, and to secure the tranquillity of her kingdom, she concluded in these words—“But I must tell you plainly, that these desirable ends can never be obtained, unless you bring the same dispositions on your parts; unless all groundless jealousies, which create and foment divisions among you, be laid aside; and, unless you show the same regard for my just prerogative, and for the honour of my government, as I have always expressed for the rights of my people.”

After the peace had thus received the sanction of the parliament, the ministers, being no longer restrained by the tie of common danger, gave a loose to their mutual animosity. Oxford wrote a letter to the queen containing a detail of the public transactions; in the course of which he endeavoured to justify his own conduct, and expose the turbulent and ambitious spirit of his rival. On the other hand, Bolingbroke charged the treasurer with having invited the duke of Marlborough to return from his voluntary exile, and maintained a private correspondence with the house of Hanover. The duke of Shrewsbury likewise complained of his having presumed to send orders to him in Ireland, without the privity of her majesty and the council. In all probability his greatest crime was his having given umbrage to the favourite, lady Masham. Certain it is, on the twenty-seventh day of July, a very acrimonious dialogue passed between that lady, the chancellor, and Oxford, in the queen’s presence. The treasurer affirmed he had been wronged and abused by lies and misrepresentations, but he threatened vengeance, declaring that he would leave some people as low as he had found them when they first attracted his notice. In the meantime he was removed from his employment; and Bolingbroke seemed to triumph in the victory he had obtained. He laid his account with being admitted as chief minister into the administration of affairs; and is said to have formed a design of a coalition with the duke of Marlborough, who at this very time embarked at Ostend for England. Probably, Oxford had tried to play the same game, but met with a repulse from the duke, on account of the implacable resentment which the duchess had conceived against that minister.

PRECAUTIONS TAKEN FOR SECURING THE PEACE OF THE KINGDOM.

Whatever schemes might have been formed, the fall of the treasurer was so sudden, that no plan was established for supplying the vacancy occasioned by his disgrace. The confusion that incessantly ensued at court, and the fatigue of attending a long cabinet-council on this event, had such an effect upon the queen’s spirits and constitution, that she declared she should not outlive it, and was immediately seized with a lethargic disorder. Notwithstanding all the medicines which the physicians could prescribe, the distemper gained ground so fast, that next day, which was the thirtieth of July, they despaired of her life. Then the committee of the council assembled at the Cockpit adjourned to Kensington. The dukes of Somerset and Argyle, informed of the desperate situation in which she lay, repaired to the palace; and, without being summoned, entered the council-chamber. The members were surprised at their appearance; but the duke of Shrewsbury thanked them for their readiness to give their assistance at such a critical juncture, and desired they would take their places. The physicians having declared that the queen was still sensible, the council unanimously agreed to recommend the duke of Shrewsbury as the fittest person to fill the place of lord-treasurer. When this opinion was intimated to the queen, she said they could not have recommended a person she liked better than the duke of Shrewsbury. She delivered to him the white staff, bidding him use it for the good of her people. He would have returned the lord-chamberlain’s staff, but she desired he would keep them both; so that he was at one time possessed of the three greatest posts in the kingdom, under the titles of lord-treasurer, lord-chamberlain, and lord-lieutenant of Ireland. No nobleman in England better deserved such distinguishing marks of his sovereign’s favour. He was modest, liberal, disinterested, and a warm friend to his country. Bolingbroke’s ambition was defeated by the vigour which the dukes of Somerset and Argyle exerted on this occasion. They proposed that all privy-counsellors in or about London should be invited to attend, without distinction of party. The motion was approved; and lord Somers, with many other whig members, repaired to Kensington. The council being thus reinforced, began to provide for the security of the kingdom. Orders were immediately despatched to four regiments of horse and dragoons quartered in remote counties, to march up to the neighbourhood of London and Westminster. Seven of the ten British battalions in the Netherlands were directed to embark at Ostend for England with all possible expedition; an embargo was laid upon all shipping; and directions given for equipping all the ships of war that could be soonest in a condition for service. They sent a letter to the elector of Brunswick, signifying that the physicians had despaired of the queen’s life; informing him of the measures they had taken; and desiring he would, with all convenient speed, repair to Holland, where he should be attended by a British squadron to convey him to England, in case of her majesty’s decease. At the same time they despatched instructions to the earl of Strafford, to desire the states-general would be ready to perform the guarantee of the protestant succession. The heralds-at-arms were kept in waiting with a troop of horse guards, to proclaim the new king as soon as the throne should become vacant. Precautions were taken to secure the sea-ports; to overawe the Jacobites in Scotland; and the command of the fleet was bestowed upon the earl of Berkeley.

DEATH AND CHARACTER OF ANNE.

The queen continued to doze in a lethargic insensibility, with very short intervals, till the first day of August in the morning, when she expired in the fiftieth year of her age, and in the thirteenth of her reign. Anne Stuart, queen of Great Britain, was in her person of the middle size, well proportioned. Her hair was of the dark brown colour, her complexion ruddy; her features were regular, her countenance was rather round than oval, and her aspect more comely than majestic. Her voice was clear and melodious, and her presence engaging. Her capacity was naturally good, but not much cultivated by learning; nor did she exhibit any marks of extraordinary genius or personal ambition. She was certainly deficient in that vigour of mind by which a prince ought to preserve his independence, and avoid the snares and fetters of sycophants and favourites; but whatever her weakness in this particular might have been, the virtues of her heart were never called in question. She was a pattern of conjugal affection and fidelity, a tender mother, a warm friend, an indulgent mistress, a munificent patron, a mild and merciful princess, during whose reign no subject’s blood was shed for treason. She was zealously attached to the church of England from conviction rather than from prepossession, unaffectedly pious, just, charitable, and compassionate. She felt a mother’s fondness for her people, by whom she was universally beloved with a warmth of affection which even the prejudice of party could not abate. In a word, if she was not the greatest, she was certainly one of the best and most unblemished sovereigns that ever sat upon the throne of England, and well deserved the expressive, though simple epithet, of “The good queen Anne.”

NOTES:

107 (return)
[ Note P, p. 107. In their hours of debauch, they drank to the health of Sorrel, meaning the horse that fell with the king; and, under the appellation of the little gentleman in velvet, toasted the mole that raised the hill over which the horse had stumbled. As the beast had formerly belonged to sir John Fenwick, they insinuated that William’s fate was a judgment upon him for his cruelty to that gentleman; and a Latin epigram was written on the occasion.]

108 (return)
[ Note Q, p. 107. Doctor Binkes, in a sermon preached before the convocation, on the thirtieth day of January, drew a parallel between the sufferings of Christ and those of king Charles, to which last he gave the preference, in point of right, character, and station.]

109 (return)
[ Note R, p. 107. During this short session, the queen gave her assent to an act for laying a duty upon land; to another for encouraging the Greenland trade; to a third for making good the deficiencies and the public credit; to a fourth for continuing the imprisonment of Counter, and other conspirators against king William; to a fifth for the relief of protestant purchasers of the forfeited estates of Ireland; to a sixth, enlarging the time for taking the oath of abjuration; to a seventh, obliging the Jews to maintain and provide for their protestant children.]

112 (return)
[ Note S, p. 112. When one of his lieutenants expressed his sorrow for the loss of the admiral’s leg, “I am sorry for it too (replied the gallant Benbow), but I had rather have lost them both than have seen this dishonour brought upon the English nation. But, do you hear? If another shot should take me off, behave like brave men, and fight it out.” When Du Casse arrived at Carthagena, he wrote a letter to Benbow to this effect:

“Sir, I had little hope on Monday last but to have supped in your cabin; but it pleased God to order it otherwise. I am thankful for it. As for those cowardly captains who deserted you, hang them up; for, by God they deserve it.—Yours, “Du Casse.”]

114 (return)
[ Note T p. 114. While this bill was depending, Daniel De Foe published a pamphlet, intituled, “The Shortest Way with the Dissenters; or, Proposals for the Establishment of the Church.” The piece was a severe satire on the violence of the church party. The commons ordered it to be burned by the hands of the common hangman, and the author to be prosecuted. He was accordingly committed to Newgate, tried, condemned to pay a fine of two hundred pounds, and stand in the pillory.]

115 (return)
[ Note U, p. 115. These were John Granville, created baron Granville of Potheridge, in the county of Devon; Heneage Finch, baron of Guernsey, in the county of Southampton; sir John Leveson Gower, baron Gower of Sittenham, in Yorkshire; and Francis Seymour Conway, youngest son of sir Edward Seymour, made baron Conway of Bagley, in the county of Warwick. At the same time, however, John Harvey, of the opposite faction, was created baron of Ickworth, in the county of Suffolk; and the marquis of Normanby was honoured with the title of duke of Buckinghamshire.]

117 (return)
[ Note X, p. 117. Though the queen refused to pass the act of security, the royal assent was granted to an act of limitation on the successor, in which it was declared, that no king or queen of Scotland should have power to make war or peace without consent of parliament. Another law was enacted, allowing French wines and other liquors to be imported in neutral bottoms. Without this expedient, it was alleged that the revenue would have been insufficient to maintain the government. An act passed in favour of the company trading to Africa and the Indies; another for a commission concerning the public accounts; a third for punishing slanderous speeches and writings. The commission for treating of a union with England was vacated, with a prohibition to grant any other commission for that purpose without consent of parliament; and no supply having been provided before the adjournment, the army and expense of government were maintained upon credit.]

118 (return)
[ Note Y, p. 117. The marquis of Athol, and the marquis of Douglas, though this last was a minor, were created dukes. Lord Tarbat was invested with the title of earl of Cromarty; the viscount Stair and Roseberry were promoted to the same dignity; lord Boyle was created earl of Glasgow; James Stuart of Bute, earl of Bute; Charles Hope of Hopetoun, earl of Hopetoun; John Crawford of Kilbirnie, viscount Garnock; and sir James Primrose of Carrington, viscount Primrose.]

119 (return)
[ Note Z, p.118. They had, besides the bills already mentioned, passed an act for an additional excise on beer, ale, and other liquors; another encouraging the importation of iron and staves; a third for preventing popish priests from coming into the kingdom; a fourth securing the liberty of the subject, and for prevention of imprisonment beyond seas; and a fifth for naturalizing all protestant strangers.]

136 (return)
[ Note K, p. 136 Voltaire, upon what authority we know not, tells us, that during the capitulation the German and Catalonian troops found means to climb over the ramparts into the city, and began to commit the most barbarous excesses. The viceroy complained to Peterborough that his soldiers had taken an unfair advantage of the treaty, and were actually employed in burning, plundering, murdering, and violating the inhabitants. The earl replied, “They must then be the troops of the prince of Hesse: allow me to enter the city with my English forces; I will save it from ruin, oblige the Germans to retire, and march back again to our present situation.” The viceroy trusted his honour, and forthwith admitted the earl with his troops. He soon drove out the Germans and Catalonians, after having obliged them to quit the plunder they had taken; and by accident he rescued the duchess of Popoli from the hands of two brutal soldiers, and delivered her to her husband. Having thus appeased the tumult, and dispelled the horrors of the citizens, he returned to his former station, leaving the inhabitants of Barcelona amazed at such an instance of magnanimity and moderation in a people whom they had been taught to consider as the most savage barbarians.]

139 (return)
[ Note 2 A, p. 139. The English commissioners were, Thomas lord archbishop of Canterbury; William Cowper, lord-keeper of the great seal; John lord archbishop of York; Sidney lord Godolphin, lord-high-treasurer of England; Thomas earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, president of the council; John duke of Newcastle, keeper of the privy-seal; William duke of Devonshire, steward of the household; Charles duke of Somerset, master of the horse; Charles duke of Bolton, Charles earl of Sunderland, Evelyn earl of Kingston, Charles earl of Carlisle, Edward earl of Orford, charles viscount Townshend, Thomas lord Wharton, Ralph lord Grey, John lord Powlet, John lord Somers, Charles lord Halifax, William Cavendish marquis of Harrington, John Manners marquis of Grandby; sir Charles Hedges and Robert Harley, principal secretaries of state; John Smith; Henry Boyle, chancellor of the exchequer; sir John Holt, chief justice of the Queen’s Bench; sir Thomas Trevor, chief justice of the Common Pleas; sir Edward Northey, attorney-general; sir Simon Harcourt, solicitor-general; sir John Cook; and Stephen Waller, doctor of laws.—The Scottish commissioners were, James earl of Seafield, lord-chancellor of Scotland; James duke of Queensberry, lord-privy-seal; John earl of Mar, and Hugh earl of Loudon, principal secretaries of state; John earl of Sutherland, John earl of Morton, David earl of Wemys, David earl of Leven, John earl of Stair, Archibald earl of Eoseberry, David earl of Glasgow, lord Archibald Campbell, Thomas viscount Duplin, lord William Eoss, sir Hugh Dalrymple, president of the session; Adam Cockbum of Ormistoun, lord-justice-clerk; sir Eobert Dundas, of Arnistoun, Eobert Stuart of Tillieultrie, lords of the session; Mr. Francis Montgomery, one of the commissioners of the treasury; sir David Dalrymple, one of her majesty’s solicitors; sir Alexander Ogilvie, receiver-general; sir Patrick Johnston, provost of Edinburgh; sir James Smollet of Bonhill; George Lock-hart of Carwath; William Morrison of Petgongrange; Alexander Grant; William Seton of Pitmidden, John Clerk of Pennycook, Hugh Montgomery, Daniel Stuart, and Daniel Campbell.]

149 (return)
[ Note 2 B, p. 149 This passage was effected to the astonishment of the French, who thought the works they had raised on that river were impregnable. The honour of the enterprise was in a great measure owing to the gallantry of sir John Norris and the English seamen. That brave officer, embarking in boats with six hundred sailors and marines, entered the river, and were rowed within musket shot of the enemy’s works, where they made such a vigorous and unexpected attack, that the French were immediately driven from that part of their in-trenchments; then sir John landed with his men, clambered over the works that were deemed inaccessible, and attacking the defendants sword in hand, compelled them to fly with the utmost precipitation. This detachment was sustained by sir Cloudesly Shovel in person. The duke of Savoy, taking advantage of the enemy’s consternation, passed the river almost without opposition.]

150 (return)
[ Note 2C, p. 149. In the month of May, three ships of the line, namely, the Royal Oak, of seventy-six guns, commanded by commodore baron Wyldo; the Grafton, of seventy guns, captain Edward Acton; and the Hampton-Court, of seventy guns, captain George Clements, sailed as convoy to the West India and Portugal fleet of merchant-ships, amounting to five-and-forty sail. They fell in with the Dunkirk squadron, consisting of ten ships of war, one frigate, and four privateers, under the command of M. de Forbin. A furious action immediately ensued, and notwithstanding the vast disproportion in point of number, was maintained by the English commodore with great gallantry, until captain Acton was killed, captain Clements mortally wounded, and the Grafton and Hampton-Court were taken, after having sunk the Salisbury, at that time in the hands of the French; then the commodore, having eleven feet water in his hold, disengaged himself from the enemy, by whom he had been surrounded, and ran his ship aground near Dungenness; but she afterwards floated, and he brought her safe into the Downs. In the meantime, the French frigate and privateers made prize of twenty-one English merchant-ships of great value, which, with the Grafton and Hampton-Court, Forbin conveyed in triumph to Dunkirk. In July, the same active officer took fifteen ships belonging to the Eussian company, off the coast of Lapland; in September, he joined another squadron fitted out at Brest, under the command of the celebrated M. du Guai Tronin, and these attacked, off the Lizard, the convoy of the Portugal fleet, consisting of the Cumberland, captain Richard Edwards, of eighty guns; the Devonshire, of eighty; the Royal Oak, of seventy-six; the Chester and Ruby, of fifty guns each. Though the French squadron did not fall short of twelve sail of the line, the English captains maintained the action for many hours with surprising valour. At length the Devonshire was obliged to yield to superior numbers; the Cumberland blew up; the Chester and Ruby were taken; the Royal Oak fought her way through the midst of her enemies, and arrived safe in the harbour of Kinsale; and the Lisbon fleet saved themselves, by making the best of their way during the engagement. Since the battle off Malaga, the French king had never dared to keep the sea with a large fleet, but carried on a kind of piratical war of this sort, in order to distress the trade of England. He was the more encouraged to pursue these measures, by the correspondence which his ministers carried on with some wretches belonging to the admiralty, and other officers, who basely betrayed their country in transmitting to France such intelligence concerning the convoys appointed for the protection of commerce, as enabled the enemy to attack them at advantage. In the course of this year the French fishery, stages, ships, and vessels in Newfoundland were taken, burned, and destroyed, by captain John Underdown, of the Falkland.]

153 (return)
[ Note 2 D, p. 153. Three Camisars, or protestants, from the Cevennois, having made their escape, and repaired to London, acquired about this time the appellation of French prophets, from their enthusiastic gesticulations, effusions, and convulsions; and even formed a sect of their countrymen. The French refugees, scandalized at their behaviour, and authorized by the bishop of London, as superior of the French congregations, resolved to inquire into the mission of these pretended prophets, whose names were Elias Marion, John Cavalier, and Durand Rage. They were declared impostors and counterfeits. Notwithstanding this decision, which was confirmed by the bishops, they continued their assemblies in Soho, under the countenance of sir Richard Bulkeley and John Lacy. They reviled the ministers of the established church; they denounced judgments against the city of London, and the whole British nation; and published their predictions, composed of unintelligible jargon. Then they were prosecuted at the expense of the French churches, as disturbers of the public peace, and false prophets. They were sentenced to pay a fine of twenty marks each, and stand twice on a scaffold, with papers on their breasts, denoting their offence; a sentence which was executed accordingly at Charing-Cross, and the Royal Exchange.

In the course of this year, Mr. Stanhope, who was resident from the queen at the court of Charles, concluded a treaty of commerce with this monarch, which would have proved extremely advantageous to Great Britain, had he been firmly established on the throne of Spain. It was stipulated that the English merchants should enjoy the privilege of importing all kinds of merchandise from the coast of Barbary into the maritime places of Spain, without paying any higher duty than if that merchandise had been the produce of Great Britain; and that even these duties should not be paid till six months after the merchandise should be landed and sold, and merchants giving security for the customs. It was agreed that the whole commerce of the Spanish West Indies should be carried on by a joint company of Spanish and British merchants; and in the interim, as the greater part of that country was in the hands of Philip, his competitor consented that the British subjects should trade freely in all the ports of the West Indies with ten ships of five hundred tons each, under such convoy as her Britannic majesty should think fit to appoint.]

154 (return)
[ Note 2 E, p. 154. Before the opening of the campaign, a very daring enterprise was formed by one colonel Queintern, a partisan in the Imperial army. This man laid a scheme for carrying off the dauphin of France from the court of Versailles. He selected thirty men of approved valour for this undertaking. He procured passes for them, and they rendezvoused in the neighbourhood of Paris. On the twenty-fourth day of March, in the evening, he and his accomplices stopped a coach and six, with the king’s liveries, and arrested the person who was in it, on the supposition of his being a prince of the blood. It was, however, M. de Barringhen, the king’s first equerry. This officer they mounted on a spare horse, and set out for the Low Countries; but, being little acquainted with the roads, they did not reach Chantilly till next morning, when they heard the tocsin, or alarm-bell, and thence concluded that detachments were sent out in pursuit of them. Nevertheless, they proceeded boldly, and would certainly have carried the point, had not Queintern halted three hours for the refreshment of his prisoner, who complained of his being indisposed. He likewise procured a chaise, and ordered the back of it to be lowered for his convenience. These acts of humanity retarded him so much, that he was overtaken by a detachment of horse at Ham, within three hours’ ride of a place of safety. Finding himself surrounded, he thought proper to surrender, and M. de Berringhen treated him with great generosity, for the civilities he had experienced at his hands. He carried him back to Versailles, and lodged him in his own apartments. Madame de Berringhen made him a considerable present; and the king ordered him and his companions to be discharged, on account of the courage and humanity they had displayed.]

173 (return)
[ Note 2 F, p. 173. Lord Compton and lord Bruce, sons of the earls of Northampton and Aylesbury, were called up by writ to the house of peers. The other ten were these: lord Duplin of the kingdom of Scotland, created baron Hay of Bed warden, in the county of Hereford; lord viscount Windsor of Ireland, made baron Mountjoy, in the Isle of Wight; Henry Paget, son of lord Paget, created baron Burton, in the county of Stafford; sir Thomas Mansel, baron Mansel of Margam, in the county of Glamorgan; sir Thomas Willoughby, baron Middleton, of Mittleton, in the county of Warwick; sir Thomas Trevor, baron Trevor of Bronham, in the county of Bedford; George Granville, baron Lansdown of Bidde-ford, in the county of Devon; Samuel Masham, baron Masham of Oats, in the county of Essex; Thomas Foley, baron Foley of Kidderminster, in the county of Worcester; and Allen Bathurst, baron Bathurst of Bathels-den, in the county of Bedford. On the first day of their being introduced, when the question was put about adjourning, the earl of Wharton asked one of them, “Whether they voted by their foreman?”]

174 (return)
[ Note 2 G, p. 174. The commissioners appointed for taking, stating, and examining the public accounts, having made their report touching the conduct of Mr. Walpole, the house, after a long debate, came to the following resolutions: 1. That Robert Walpole, esq., a member of this house, in receiving the sum of five hundred guineas, and in taking a note for five hundred more, on account of two contracts for forage of her majesty’s troops, quartered in North Britain, made by him when secretary at war, pursuant to a power granted to him by the late lord-treasurer, is guilty of a high breach of trust and notorious corruption. 2. That the said Robert Walpole, esq., be, for the said offence, committed prisoner to the Tower of London, during the pleasure of this house; and that Mr. Speaker do issue his warrant accordingly. 3. That the said Robert Walpole, esq., be, for the said offence, also expelled the house, and that the report of the commissioners of public accounts be taken into further consideration this day se’nnight. It appeared from the depositions of witnesses, that the public had been defrauded considerably by these contracts. Very severe speech was made in the house, and next day published, reflecting upon Mr. Walpole, as guilty of the worst kind of corruption; and sir Peter King declared in the house, that he deserved hanging as well as he deserved imprisonment and expulsion.]

MAPS:

GEORGE I.

CHAPTER I.

GEORGE I.

State of Parties in Great Britain..... King George proclaimed..... The Civil List presennted to his Majesty by the Parliament..... The Electoral Prince created Prince of Wales..... The King arrives in England..... The Tories totally excluded from the Royal Favour..... Pretender’s Manifesto..... New Parliament..... Substance of the King’s first Speech..... Lord Bolingbroke withdraws himself to France..... Sir William Wyndham reprimanded by the Speaker..... Committee of Secrecy..... Sir John Norris sent with a Fleet to the Baltic..... Discontent of the Nation..... Report of the Secret Committee..... Resolutions to impeach Lord Bolingbroke, the Earl of Oxford, the Duke of Or-mond, and the Earl of Strafford..... The Earl of Oxford sent to the Tower..... The Proclamation Act..... The King declares to both Houses that a Rebellion is begun..... The Duke of Ormond and Lord Bolingbroke attainted..... Intrigues of the Jacobites..... Death of Louis XIV..... The Earl of Marsets up the Pretender’s Standard in Scotland..... Divers Members of the Lower House taken into custody..... The Pretender proclaimed in the North of England by the Earl of Derwentwater and Mr. Forster..... Mackintosh crosses the Frith of Forth into Lothian and joins the English Insurgents..... who are attacked at Preston, and surrender at Discretion..... Battle at Dunblane..... The Pretender arrives in Scotland..... He retires again to France..... Proceedings of the Irish Parliament..... The Rebel Lords are impeached, and plead Guilty..... The Earl of Derwentwater and Lord Kenmuir are beheaded..... Trials of Rebels..... Act for Septennial Parliaments..... Duke of Argyle disgraced..... Triple Alliance between England, France, and Holland..... Count Gyllenburgh, the Swedish Minister in London, arrested..... Account of the Oxford Riot..... The King demands an extraordinary Supply off the Commons..... Division in the Ministry..... The Commons pass the South Sea Act, the Bank Act, and the General Fund Act..... Trial of the Earl of Oxford..... Act of Indemnity..... Proceedings in the Convocation with regard to Dr. Hoadley, Bishop of Bangor.

STATE OF PARTIES.

It may be necessary to remind the reader of the state of parties at this important juncture. The Jacobites had been fed with hopes of seeing the succession altered by the earl of Oxford. These hopes he had conveyed to them in a distant, undeterminate, and mysterious manner, without any other view than that of preventing them from taking violent measures to embarrass his administration. At least, if he actually entertained at one time any other design, he had, long before his disgrace, laid it wholly aside, probably from an apprehension of the danger with which it must have been attended, and seemed bent upon making a merit of his zeal for the house of Hanover; but his conduct was so equivocal and unsteady, that he ruined himself in the opinion of one party without acquiring the confidence of the other. The friends of the pretender derived fresh hopes from the ministry of Bolingbroke. Though he had never explained himself on this subject, he was supposed to favour the heir of blood, and known to be an implacable enemy to the whigs, who were the most zealous advocates for the protestant succession. The Jacobites promised themselves much from his affection, but more from his resentment; and they believed the majority of the tories would join them on the same maxims. All Bolingbroke’s schemes of power were defeated by the promotion of the duke of Shrewsbury to the office of treasurer; and all his hopes blasted by the death of the queen, on whose personal favour he depended. The resolute behaviour of the dukes of Somerset and Argyle, together with the diligence and activity of a council in which the whig interest had gained the ascendancy, completed the confusion of the tories, who found themselves without a head, divided, distracted, and irresolute. Upon recollection, they saw nothing so eligible as silence and submission to those measures which they could not oppose with any prospect of success. They had no other objection to the succession in the house of Hanover but the fear of seeing the whig faction once more predominant; yet they were not without hope that their new sovereign, who was reputed a prince of sagacity and experience, would cultivate and conciliate the affection of the tories, who were the landholders and proprietors of the kingdom, rather than declare himself the head of a faction which leaned for support on those who were enemies to the church and monarchy, on the bank and the monied interest, raised upon usury and maintained by corruption. In a word, the whigs were elated and overbearing; the tories abashed and humble; the Jacobites eager, impatient, and alarmed at a juncture which, with respect to them, was truly critical.

KING GEORGE PROCLAIMED.

The queen had no sooner resigned her last breath than the privy-council met, and the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord-chancellor, and the Hanoverian resident, Kreyenburgh, produced the three instruments in which the elector of Brunswick had nominated the persons * to be added as lords-justices to the seven great officers of the realm.

* These were the dukes of Shrewsbury, Somerset, Bolton, Devonshire, Kent, Argyle, Montrose, and Roxburgh; the earls of Pomfret, Anglesea, Carlisle, Nottingham, Abingdon, Scarborough, and Or-ford; lord viscount Townshend, and lords Halifax and Cowper.

Orders were immediately issued for proclaiming king George in England, Scotland, and Ireland. The regency appointed the earl of Dorset to carry to Hanover the intimation of his majesty’s accession, and attend him in his journey to England. They sent the general officers in whom they could confide to their respective posts; they reinforced the garrison of Portsmouth; they appointed Mr. Addison their secretary; while Bolingbroke was obliged to stand at the door of the council-chamber with his bag and papers, and underwent every species of mortification. On the whole, king George ascended the throne of Great Britain in the fifty-fifth year of his age, without the least opposition, tumult, or sign of popular discontent; and the unprejudiced part of the nation was now fully persuaded that no design had ever been concerted by Queen Anne and her ministry in favour of the pretender. The mayor of Oxford received a letter, requiring him to proclaim the pretender. This being communicated to the vice-chancellor, a copy of it was immediately transmitted to Mr. secretary Bromley, member of Parliament for the university; and the vice-chancellor offered a reward of one hundred pounds to any person who should discover the author. It was either the production of some lunatic, or a weak contrivance to fix an odium on that venerable body.

THE CIVIL LIST GRANTED TO THE KING.

The parliament having assembled pursuant to the act which regulated the succession, the lord chancellor, on the fifth day of August, made a speech to both houses in the name of the regency. He told them that the privy-council appointed by the elector of Brunswick had proclaimed that prince under the name of king George, as the lawful and rightful sovereign of these kingdoms; and that they had taken the necessary care to maintain the public peace. He observed, that the several branches of the public revenue were expired by the demise of her late majesty; and recommended to the commons the making such provision, in that respect, as might be requisite to support the honour and dignity of the crown. He likewise expressed his hope that they would not be wanting in anything that might conduce to the establishing and advancing of the public credit. Both houses immediately agreed to addresses, containing the warmest expressions of duty and affection to their new sovereign, who did not fail to return such answers as were very agreeable to the parliament of Great Britain. In the meantime the lower house prepared and passed a bill, granting to his majesty the same civil list which the queen had enjoyed, with additional clauses for the payment of arrears due to the troops of Hanover which had been in the service of Great Britain; and for a reward of one hundred thousand pounds, to be paid by the treasury to any person who should apprehend the pretender in landing, or attempting to land, in any part of the British dominions. Mr. Craggs, who had been despatched to Hanover before the queen died, returning on the thirteenth day of August with letters from the king to the regency, they went to the house of peers; then the chancellor, in another speech to both houses, intimated his majesty’s great satisfaction in the loyalty and affection which his people had universally expressed at his accession. Other addresses were voted on this occasion. The commons finished the bill for the civil list, and one for making some alterations in an act for a state-lottery, which received the royal assent from the lords-justices. Then the parliament was prorogued.

THE ELECTORAL PRINCE CREATED PRINCE OF WALES.

Mr. Prior having notified the queen’s death to the court of Versailles, Louis declared that he would inviolably maintain the treaty of peace concluded at Utrecht, particularly with relation to the settlement of the British crown in the house of Hanover. The earl of Strafford having signified the same event to the states of Holland, and the resident of Hanover having presented them with a letter, in which his master claimed the performance of their guarantee, they resolved to perform their engagements, and congratulated his electoral highness on his succession to the throne of Great Britain. They invited him to pass through their dominions, and assured him that his interests were as dear to them as their own. The chevalier de St. George no sooner received the news of the queen’s death, than he posted to Versailles, where he was given to understand that the king of France expected he should quit his territories immediately; and he was accordingly obliged to return to Lorraine. By this time Mr. Murray had arrived in England from Hanover, with notice that the king had deferred his departure for some days. He brought orders to the regency to prepare a patent for creating the prince-royal prince of Wales; and for removing lord Bolingbroke from his post of secretary. The seals were taken from this minister by the dukes of Shrewsbury and Somerset, and lord Cowper, who at the same time sealed up all the doors of his office.

THE KING ARRIVES IN ENGLAND.

King George having vested the government of his German dominions in a council, headed by his brother prince Ernest, set out with the electoral prince from Herenhausen on the thirty-first day of August; and in fire days arrived at the Hague, where he conferred with the states-general. On the sixteenth day of September he embarked at Orange Polder, under convoy of an English and Dutch squadron, commanded by the earl of Berkeley, and next day arrived at the Hope. In the afternoon the yacht sailed up the river; and his majesty, with the prince, were landed from a barge at Greenwich about six in the evening. There he was received by the duke of Northumberland, captain of the life-guards, and the lords of the regency. From the landing place he walked to his house in the park, accompanied by a great number of the nobility and other persons of distinction, who had the honour to kiss his hand as they approached. When he retired to his bed-chamber, he sent for those of the nobility who had distinguished themselves by their zeal for his succession; but the duke of Ormond, the lord-chancellor, and lord Trevor, were not of the number. Next morning the earl of Oxford presented himself with an air of confidence, as if he had expected to receive some particular mark of his majesty’s favour; but he had the mortification to remain a considerable time undistinguished among the crowd, and then was permitted to kiss the king’s hand without being honoured with any other notice. On the other hand, his majesty expressed uncommon regard for the duke of Marlborough, who had lately arrived in England, as well as for all the leaders of the whig party.

THE TORIES TOTALLY EXCLUDED FROM THE ROYAL FAVOUR.

It was the misfortune of this prince, as well as a very great prejudice to the nation, that he had been misled into strong prepossessions against the tories, who constituted such a considerable part of his subjects. They were now excluded from all share of the royal favour, which was wholly engrossed by their enemies; these early marks of aversion, which he was at no pains to conceal, alienated the minds of many from his person and government, who would otherwise have served him with fidelity and affection. An instantaneous and total change was effected in all offices of honour and advantage. The duke of Ormond was dismissed from his command, which the king restored to the duke of Marlborough, whom he likewise appointed colonel of the first regiment of foot guards, and master of the ordnance. The great seal was given to lord Cowper; the privy seal to the earl of Wharton; the government of Ireland to the earl of Sunderland. The duke of Devonshire was made steward of the household; lord Townshend and Mr. Stanhope were appointed secretaries of state; the post of secretary for Scotland was bestowed upon the duke of Montrose. The duke of Somerset was constituted master of the horse; the duke of St. Alban’s captain of the band of pensioners; and the duke of Argyle commander-in-chief of the forces in Scotland. Mr. Pulteney became secretary at war; and Mr. Walpole, who had already undertaken to manage the house of commons, was gratified with the double place of paymaster to the army and to Chelsea-hospital. A new privy-council was appointed, and the earl of Nottingham declared president; but all affairs of consequence were concerted by a cabinet-council, or junto, composed of the duke of Marlborough, the earls of Nottingham and Sunderland, the lords Halifax, Townshend, and Somers, and general Stanhope. The regency had already removed sir Constantine Phipps and the archbishop of Armagh from the office of lords-justices in Ireland, and filled their places in the regency of that kingdom with the archbishop of Dublin and tire earl of Kildare. Allan Broderick was appointed chancellor; another privy-council was formed, and the duke of Ormond was named as one of the members. The treasury and admiralty were put into commission; all the governments were changed; and, in a word, the whole nation was delivered into the hands of the whigs. At the same time the prince-royal was declared prince of Wales, and took his place in council. The king was congratulated on his accession in addresses from the two universities, and from all the cities and corporations in the kingdom. He expressed particular satisfaction at these expressions of loyalty and affection. He declared in council his firm purpose to support and maintain the churches of England and Scotland as they were by law established; an aim which he imagined might be effectually accomplished, without impairing the toleration allowed by law to protestant dissenters, and so necessary to the trade and riches of the kingdom; he, moreover, assured them he would earnestly endeavour to render property secure; the good effects of which were no where so clearly seen as in this happy nation. Before the coronation he created some new peers, and others were promoted to higher titles.* On the twentieth day of October he was crowned in Westminster with the usual solemnity, at which the earl of Oxford and lord Bolingbroke assisted.**

* James lord Chandos, was created earl of Carnarvon; Lewis lord Kockingham, earl of that name; Charles lord Ossulton, earl of Tankerville; Charles lord Halifax, earl of Halifax; Heneage lord Guernsey, earl of Aylesford; John lord Hervey, earl of Bristol; Thomas lord Pelham, earl of Clare; Henry earl of Thommond, in Ireland, viscount Tadcaster; James viscount Castleton, in Ireland, baron Sanderson; Bennet lord Sherrard, in Ireland, baron of Har-borough; Gervase lord Pierrepont, in Ireland, baron Pierrepont in the county of Bucks; Henry Boyle, baron of Carleton in the county of York; sir Richard Temple, baron of Cobham; Henry lord Paget, earl of Uxbridge. ** In the month of October the princess of Wales arrived in England with her two eldest daughters, the princesses Anne and Amelia.

On that very day the university of Oxford, in full convocation, unanimously conferred the degree of doctor of civil law on sir Constantine Phipps, with particular marks of honour and esteem. As the French king was said to protract the demolition of Dunkirk, Mr. Prior received orders to present a memorial to hasten this work, and to prevent the canal of Mardyke from being finished. The answer which he received being deemed equivocal, this minister was recalled, and the earl of Stair appointed ambassador to the court of France, where he prosecuted this affair with uncommon vigour. About the same time general Cadogan was sent as plenipotentiary to Antwerp, to assist at the barrier-treaty, negotiated there between the emperor and the states-general.

PRETENDER’S MANIFESTO.

Meanwhile the number of malcontents in England was considerably increased by the king’s attachment to the whig faction. The clamour of the church’s being in danger was revived; jealousies were excited; seditious libels dispersed; and dangerous tumults raised in different parts of the kingdom. Birmingham, Bristol, Chippenham, Norwich, and Reading, were filled with licentious riot. The party cry was, “Down with the whigs! Sacheverel for ever!” Many gentlemen of the whig faction were abused; magistrates in towns, and justices in the country, were reviled and insulted by the populace in the execution of their office. The pretender took this opportunity to transmit, by the French mail, copies of a printed manifesto to the dukes of Shrewsbury, Marlborough, Argyle, and other noblemen of the first distinction. In this declaration he mentioned the good intentions of his sister towards him, which were prevented by her deplorable death. He observed that his people, instead of doing him and themselves justice, had proclaimed for their king a foreign prince, contrary to the fundamental and incontestable laws of hereditary right, which their pretended acts of settlement could never abrogate. These papers being delivered to the secretaries of state, the king refused an audience to the marquis de Lamberti, minister from the duke of Lorraine, on the supposition that this manifesto could not have been prepared or transmitted without the knowledge and countenance of his master. The marquis having communicated this circumstance to the duke, that prince absolutely denied his having been privy to the transaction, and declared that the chevalier de St. George came into Lorraine by the directions of the French king, whom the duke could not disoblige without exposing his territories to invasion. Notwithstanding this apology, the marquis was given to understand that he could not be admitted to an audience until the pretender should be removed from the dominions of his master; he therefore quitted the kingdom without further hesitation. Religion was still mingled in all political disputes. The high churchmen complained that impiety and heresy daily gained ground from the connivance, or at least the supine negligence, of the whig prelates. The lower house of convocation had, before the queen’s death, declared that a book published by Dr. Samuel Clarke, under the title of “The Scripture Doctrine of the Trinity,” contained assertions contrary to the catholic faith. They sent up extracts from this performance to the bishops, and the doctor wrote an answer to their objections. He was prevailed upon to write an apology, which he presented to the upper house; but apprehending it might be published separately, and misunderstood, he afterwards delivered an explanation to the bishop of London. This was satisfactory to the bishops; but the lower house resolved that it was no recantation of his heretical assertions. The disputes about the Trinity increasing, the archbishops and bishops received directions, which were published, for preserving unity in the church, the purity of the christian faith concerning the holy Trinity, and for maintaining the peace and quiet of the state. By these every preacher was restricted from delivering any other doctrine than what is contained in the holy scriptures with respect to the Trinity, and from intermeddling in any affairs of state or government. The like prohibition was extended to those who should write, harangue, or dispute on the same subjects.

NEW PARLIAMENT.

The parliament being dissolved, another was called by a very extraordinary proclamation, in which the king complained of the evil designs of men disaffected to his succession; and of their having misrepresented his conduct and principles. He mentioned the perplexity of public affairs, the interruption of commerce, and the heavy debts of the nation. He expressed his hope that his loving subjects would send up to parliament the fittest persons to redress the present disorders; and that in the elections, they would have a particular regard to such as had expressed a firm attachment to the protestant succession when it was in danger. It does not appear that the protestant succession was ever in danger. How then was this declaration to be interpreted? People in general construed it into a design to maintain party distinctions, and encourage the whigs to the full exertion of their influence in the elections; into a renunciation of the tories; and as the first flash of that vengeance which afterwards was seen to burst upon the heads of the late ministry. When the earl of Strafford returned from Holland, all his papers were seized by an order from the secretary’s office. Mr. Prior was recalled from France, and promised to discover all he knew relating to the conduct of Oxford’s administration. Uncommon vigour was exerted on both sides in the elections; but, by dint of the monied interest, which prevailed in most of the corporations through the kingdom, and the countenance of the ministry, which will always have weight with needy and venal electors, a great majority of whigs was returned both in England and Scotland.

THE KING’S FIRST SPEECH.

When this new parliament assembled on the seventeenth day of March, at Westminster, Mr. Spencer Compton was chosen speaker of the commons. On the twenty-first day of the month, the king appeared in the house of lords and delivered to the chancellor a written speech, which was read in presence of both houses. His majesty thanked his faithful and loving subjects for that zeal and firmness they had shown in defence of the protestant succession, against all the open and secret practices which had been used to defeat it. He told them that some conditions of the peace, essential to the security and trade of Great Britain, were not yet duly executed; and that the performance of the whole might be looked upon as precarious, until defensive alliances should be formed to guarantee the present treaties. He observed, that the pretender boasted of the assistance he expected in England, to repair his former disappointment; that great part of the national trade was rendered impracticable; and that the public debts were surprisingly increased ever since the fatal cessation of arms. He gave the commons to understand that the branches of the revenue, formerly granted for the support of the civil government, were so far encumbered and alienated, that the produce of the funds which remained, and had been granted to him, would fall short of what was at first designed for maintaining the honour and dignity of the crown; that as it was his and their happiness to see a prince of Wales who might in due time succeed him on the throne, and to see him blessed with many children, these circumstances would naturally occasion an expense to which the nation had not been for many years accustomed; and, therefore, he did not doubt but they would think of it with that affection which he had reason to hope from his commons. He desired that no unhappy divisions of parties might divert them from pursuing the common interests of their country. He declared that the established constitution in church and state should be the rule of his government; and that the happiness, ease, and prosperity of his people should be the chief care of his life. He concluded with expressing his confidence, that with their assistance he should disappoint the designs of those who wanted to deprive him of that blessing which he most valued—the affection of his people.

Speeches suggested by a vindictive ministry better became the leader of an incensed party, than the father and sovereign of a divided people. This declaration portended measures which it was the interest of the crown to avoid, and suited the temper of the majority in both houses, which breathed nothing but destruction to their political adversaries. The lords, in their address of thanks, professed their hope that his majesty, assisted by the parliament, would be able to recover the reputation of the kingdom in foreign parts, the loss of which they hoped to convince the world by their actions was by no means to be imputed to the nation in general. The tories said this was an invidious reflection, calculated to mislead and inflame the people, for the reputation of the kingdom had never been so high as at this very juncture. The commons pretended astonishment to find that any conditions of the late peace should not yet be duly executed; and that care was not taken to form such alliances as might have rendered the peace not precarious. They declared their resolution to inquire into these fatal miscarriages; to trace out those measures whereon the pretender placed his hopes, and bring the authors of them to condign punishment. These addresses were not voted without opposition. In the house of lords, the dukes of Buckingham and Shrewsbury, the earl of Anglesea, the archbishop of York, and other peers both secular and ecclesiastical, observed, that their address was injurious to the late queen’s memory, and would serve only to increase those unhappy divisions that distracted the kingdom. In the lower house, sir William Wyndham, Mr. Bromley, Mr. Ship-pen, general Ross, sir William Whitelock, and other members, took exceptions to passages of the same nature in the address which the commons had prepared. They were answered by Mr. Walpole, Mr. Pulteney, and Mr. secretary Stanhope. These gentlemen took occasion to declare, that notwithstanding the endeavours which had been used to prevent a discovery of the late mismanagements, by conveying away several papers from the secretary’s office, yet the government had sufficient evidence left to prove the late ministry the most corrupt that ever sat at the helm; that those matters would soon be laid before the house, when it would appear that a certain English general had acted in concert with, if not received orders from, mareschal de Villars. Lord Bolingbroke, who had hitherto appeared in public, as usual, with remarkable serenity, and spoke in the house of lords with great freedom and confidence, thought it was now high time to consult his personal safety. He accordingly withdrew to the continent, leaving a letter which was afterwards printed in his justification. In this paper, he declared he had received certain and repeated informations, that a resolution was taken to pursue him to the scaffold; that if there had been the least reason to hope for a fair and open trial, after having been already prejudged, unheard, by the two houses of parliament, he should not have declined the strictest examination. He challenged the most inveterate of his enemies to produce any one instance of criminal correspondence, or the least corruption in any part of the administration in which he was concerned. He said, if his zeal for the honour and dignity of his royal mistress, and the true interest of his country, had any where transported him to let slip a warm and unguarded expression, he hoped the most favourable interpretation would be put upon it. He affirmed that he had served her majesty faithfully and dutifully in that especially which she had most at heart, relieving her people from a bloody and expensive war; and that he had always been too much an Englishman to sacrifice the interest of his country to any foreign ally whatsoever.

In the midst of all this violence against the late ministers, friends were not wanting to espouse their cause in the face of opposition; and even in some addresses to the king their conduct was justified. Nay, some individuals had courage enough to attack the present administration. When a motion was made in the house of commons to consider the king’s proclamation for calling a new parliament, sir William Whitelock, member for the university of Oxford, boldly declared it was unprecedented and unwarrantable. Being called upon to explain himself, he made an apology. Nevertheless, sir William Wyndham rising up said, the proclamation was not only unprecedented and unwarrantable, but even of dangerous consequence to the very being of parliaments. When challenged to justify his charge, he observed, that every member was free to speak his thoughts. Some exclaimed, “The Tower! the Tower!” A warm debate ensued; sir William being ordered to withdraw, was accompanied by one hundred and twenty-nine members; and those who remained in the house resolved, that he should be reprimanded by the speaker. He was accordingly rebuked, for having presumed to reflect on his majesty’s proclamation, and having made an unwarrantable use of the freedom of speech granted by his majesty. Sir William said he was not conscious of having offered any indignity to his majesty, or of having been guilty of a breach of privilege; that he acquiesced in the determination of the house; but had no thanks to give to those gentlemen who, under pretence of lenity, had subjected him to this censure.

COMMITTEE OF SECRECY.

On the ninth day of April, general Stanhope delivered to the house of commons fourteen volumes, consisting of all the papers relating to the late negotiations of peace and commerce, as well as to the cessation of arms; and moved that they might be referred to a select committee of twenty persons, who should digest the substance of them under proper heads, and report them, with their observations, to the house. One more was added to the number of this secret committee, which was chosen by ballot, and met that same evening. Mr. Eobert Wal-pole, original chairman, being taken ill, was succeeded in that place by Mr. Stanhope. The whole number was subdivided into three committees. To each a certain number of books was allotted; and they carried on the inquiry with great eagerness and expedition. Before this measure was taken, Dr. Gilbert Burnet, bishop of Sarum, died of a pleuritic fever, in the seventy-second year of his age. Immediately after the committee had begun to act, the whig party lost one of their warmest champions, by the death of the marquis of Wharton, a nobleman possessed of happy talents for the cabinet, the senate, and the common scenes of life; talents which a life of pleasure and libertinism did not prevent him from employing with surprising vigour and application. The committee of the lower house taking the civil list into consideration, examined several papers relating to that revenue. The tories observed, that from the seven hundred thousand pounds granted annually to king William, fifty thousand pounds were allotted to the late queen, when princess of Denmark; twenty thousand pounds to the duke of Gloucester; and twice that sum, as a dowry, to James’ queen; that nearly two hundred thousand pounds had been yearly deducted from the revenues of the late queen’s civil list, and applied to other uses; notwithstanding which deduction, she had honourably maintained her family, and supported the dignity of the crown. In the course of the debate, some warm altercation passed between lord Guernsey and one of the members, who affirmed that the late ministry had used the whigs, and indeed the whole nation, in such a manner, that nothing they should suffer could be deemed a hardship. At length the house agreed that the sum of seven hundred thousand pounds clear should be granted for the civil list during his majesty’s life. A motion being made for an address against pensions, it was opposed by Mr. Walpole, and over-ruled by the majority. The lords passed the bill for regulating the land forces, with some amendments.

SIR JOHN NORRIS SENT WITH A FLEET TO THE BALTIC.

On the eighteenth day of May, sir John Norris sailed with a strong squadron to the Baltic, in order to protect the commerce of the nation, which had suffered from the king of Sweden, who caused all ships trading to those parts to be seized and confiscated. That prince had rejected the treaty of neutrality concerted by the allies for the security of the empire; and considered the English and Dutch as his enemies. The ministers of England and the states-general had presented memorials to the regency of Sweden; but finding no redress, they resolved to protect their trade by force of arms. After the Swedish general, Steenbock, and his army were made prisoners, count Wellen concluded a treaty with the administrator of Holstein-Gottorp, by which the towns of Stetin and Wisma were sequestered into the hands of the king of Prussia; the administrator engaged to secure them, and all the rest of Swedish Pomerania, from the Poles and Muscovites; but as the governor of Pomerania refused to comply with this treaty, those allies marched into the province, subdued the island of Eugen, and obliged Stetin to surrender. Then the governor consented to the sequestration, and paid to the Poles and Muscovites four hundred thousand rix dollars, to indemnify them for the expense of the siege. The king of Sweden returning from Turkey, rejected the treaty of sequestration, and insisted upon Stetin’s being restored, without his repaying the money. As this monarch likewise threatened to invade the electorate of Saxony, and chastise his false friend; king George, for the security of his German dominions, concluded a treaty with the king of Denmark, by which the duchies of Bremen and Verden, which had been taken from the Swedes in his absence, were made over to his Britannic majesty, on condition that he should immediately declare war against Sweden. Accordingly he took possession of the duchies in October, published a declaration of war against Charles in his German dominions; and detached six thousand Hanoverians to join the Danes and Prussians in Pomerania. These allies reduced the islands of Rugen and Uledon, and attacked the towns of Wismar and Stralsund, from which last place Charles was obliged to retire in a vessel to Schohen. He assembled a body of troops with which he proposed to pass the Sound upon the ice, and attack Copenhagen; but was disappointed by a sudden thaw. Nevertheless he refused to return to Stockholm, which he had not seen for sixteen years; but remained at Carlscroon, in order to hasten his fleet for the relief of Wismar.

DISCONTENT OF THE NATION.

The spirit of discontent and disaffection seemed to gain ground every day in England. Notwithstanding proclamations against riots, and orders of the justices for maintaining the peace, repeated tumults were raised by the malcontents in the cities of London and Westminster. Those who celebrated the anniversary of the king’s birth-day with the usual marks of joy and festivity, were insulted by the populace; but next day, which was the anniversary of the restoration, the whole city was lighted up with bonfires and illuminations, and echoed with the sound of mirth and tumultuous rejoicing. The people even obliged the life-guards, who patroled through the streets, to join in the cry of “High-church and Ormond!” and in Smithfield they burned the picture of king William. Thirty persons were imprisoned for being concerned in these riots. One Bournois, a schoolmaster, who affirmed that king George had no right to the crown, was tried and scourged through the city, with such severity that in a few days he expired in the utmost torture. A frivolous incident served to increase the popular ferment. The shirts allowed to the first regiment of guards, commanded by the duke of Marlborough, were so coarse that the soldiers could hardly be persuaded to wear them. Some were thrown into the garden of the king’s palace, and into that which belonged to the duke of Marlborough. A detachment, in marching through the city, produced them to the view of the shop-keepers and passengers, exclaiming, “These are the Hanover shirts.” The court being informed of this clamour, ordered those new shirts to be burned immediately; but even this sacrifice, and an advertisement published by the duke of Marlborough in his own vindication, did not acquit that general of suspicion that he was concerned in this mean species of peculation. A reward of fifty pounds was offered by the government to any person that would discover one captain Wight, who, by an intercepted letter, appeared to be disaffected to king George; and Mr. George Jefferies was seized at Dublin with a packet directed to Dr. Jonathan Swift, dean of St. Patrick’s. Several treasonable papers being found in this packet, were transmitted to England; Jefferies was obliged to give bail for his appearance; and Swift thought proper to abscond.

REPORT OF THE SECRET COMMITTEE.

The house of lords, to demonstrate their abhorrence of all who should engage in conspiracies against their sovereign, rejected with indignation a petition presented to them in behalf of Blackburne, Casils, Barnarde, Meldrum, and Chambers, who had hitherto continued prisoners, for having conspired against the life of king William. On the ninth day of June, Mr. Walpole, as chairman of the secret committee, declared to the house of commons that the report was ready; and in the meantime moved, that a warrant might be issued by Mr. Speaker, for apprehending several persons, particularly Mr. Matthew Prior and Mr. Thomas Harley, who being in the house, were immediately taken into custody. Then he recited the report, ranged under these different heads: the clandestine negotiation with monsieur Ménager; the extraordinary measures pursued to form the congress at Utrecht; the trifling of the French plenipotentiaries, by the connivance of the British ministers; the negotiation about the renunciation of the Spanish monarchy; the fatal suspension of arms; the seizure of Ghent and Bruges, in order to distress the allies and favour the French; the duke of Ormond’s acting in concert with the French general; the lord Bolingbroke’s journey to France to negotiate a separate peace; Mr. Prior’s and the duke of Shrewsbury’s negotiation in France; the precipitate conclusion of the peace at Utrecht. The report being read, sir Thomas Hanmer moved that the consideration of it should be adjourned to a certain day; and that in the meantime the report should be printed for the perusal of the members: he was seconded by the tories: a debate ensued; and the motion was rejected by a great majority.

This point being gained, Mr. Walpole impeached Henry lord viscount Bolingbroke of high treason, and other high crimes and misdemeanors. Mr. Hungerford declared his opinion, that nothing mentioned in the report, in relation to lord Bolingbroke, amounted to high treason; and general Eoss expressed the same sentiment. Then lord Coningsby standing up, “The worthy chairman,” said he, “has impeached the hand, but I impeach the head: he has impeached the clerk, and I the justice; he has impeached the scholar, and I the master. I impeach Eobert earl of Oxford and earl Mortimer of high treason, and other high crimes and misdemeanors.” Mr. Auditor Harley, the earl’s brother, spoke in vindication of that minister. He affirmed he had done nothing but by the immediate command of his sovereign; that the peace was a good peace, and approved as such by two parliaments; and that the facts charged to him in the report amounted only to misdemeanors; if the sanction of a parliament, which is the representative and legislature of the nation, be not sufficient to protect a minister from the vengeance of his enemies, he can have no security. Mr. Atiditor Foley, the earl’s brother-in-law, made a speech to the same purpose; sir Joseph Jekyll, a staunch whig, and member of the secret committee, expressed his doubt whether they had sufficient matter or evidence to impeach the earl of high treason. Nevertheless the house resolved to impeach him without a division. When he appeared in the house of lords next day, he found himself deserted by his brother peers as infectious; and retired with signs of confusion. Prior and Harley having been examined by such of the committee as were justices of the peace for Middlesex, Mr. Walpole informed the house that matters of such importance appeared in Prior’s examination, that he was directed to move them for that member’s being closely confined. Prior was accordingly imprisoned, and cut off from all communication. On the twenty-first day of June, Mr. Secretary Stanhope impeached James duke of Ormond of high treason, and other high crimes and misdemeanors. Mr. Archibald Hutchinson, one of the commissioners of trade, spoke in favour of the duke. He expatiated on his noble birth and qualifications; he enumerated the great services performed to the crown and nation by his grace and his ancestors; he observed, that in the whole course of his late conduct, he had only obeyed the queen’s commands; and he affirmed that all allegations against him could not in the rigour of the law be construed into high treason. Mr. Hutchinson was seconded by general Lumley, who urged that the duke of Ormond had on all occasions given signal proofs of his affection for his country, as well as of personal courage; and that he had generously expended the best part of his estate, by living abroad in a most noble and splendid manner, for the honour of his sovereign. Sir Joseph Jekyll said, if there was room for mercy, he hoped it would be shown to that noble, generous, and courageous peer, who had in a course of many years exerted those great accomplishments for the good and honour of his country; that, as the statute of Edward III., on which the charge of high treason against him was to be grounded, had been mitigated by subsequent acts, the house ought not, in his opinion, to take advantage of that act against the duke, but only impeach him of high crimes and misdemeanors. General Ross, sir William Wyndham, and the speakers of that party, did not abandon the duke in this emergency; but all their arguments and eloquence were lost upon the other faction, by which they were greatly out-numbered The question being put, was carried for the impeachment of the duke of Ormond, who perceiving every thing conducted by a furious spirit of revenge, and that he could not expect the benefit of an impartial trial, consulted his own safety by withdrawing himself from the kingdom. On the twenty-second day of June, the earl of Strafford was likewise impeached by Mr. Aislaby, for having advised the fatal suspension of arms, and the seizing of Ghent and Bruges; as well as for having treated the most serene house of Hanover with insolence and contempt. He was also defended by his friends, but overpowered by his enemies.

EARL OF OXFORD SENT TO THE TOWER.

When the articles against the earl of Oxford were read in the house, a warm debate arose upon the eleventh, by which he was charged with having advised the French king in what manner Tournay might be gained from the states-general. The question being put, whether this article amounted to high-treason; sir Robert Raymond, formerly solicitor-general, maintained the negative, and was supported not only by sir William Wyndham and the tories, but also by sir Joseph Jekyll. This honest patriot said it was ever his principle to do justice to every body, from the highest to the lowest; and that it was the duty of an honest man never to act by a spirit of party; that he hoped he might pretend to have some knowledge of the laws of the kingdom; and would not scruple to declare, that in his judgment the charge in question did not amount to high-treason. Mr. Walpole answered with great warmth, that there were several persons both in and out of the committee, who did not in the least yield to that member in point of honesty, and who were superior to him in the knowledge of the laws, yet were satisfied that the charge specified in the eleventh article amounted to high-treason. This point being decided against the earl, and the other articles approved by the house, lord Conningsby, attended by the whig members, impeached the earl of Oxford at the bar of the house of lords, demanding at the same time that he might be sequestered from parliament, and committed to safe custody. A motion was made, that the consideration of the articles might be adjourned. After a short debate the articles were read; then the tory lords moved that the judges might be consulted. The motion being rejected, another was made, that the earl should be committed to safe custody. This occasioned another debate, in which he himself spoke to the following purpose: that the whole charge might be reduced to the negotiations and conclusions of the peace; that the nation wanted a peace, he said, nobody would deny; that the conditions of the peace were as good as could be expected, considering the backwardness and reluctancy which some of the allies showed to come into the queen’s measures; that the peace was approved by two successive parliaments; that he had no share in the affair of Tournay, which was wholly transacted by that unfortunate nobleman who has thought fit to step aside; that for his own part, he always acted by the immediate directions and commands of the late queen, without offending against any known law; and, being justified by his own conscience, was unconcerned for the life of an insignificant old man; that, if ministers of state, acting by the immediate commands of their sovereign, are afterwards to be made accountable for their proceedings, it might one day or other be the case with all the members of that august assembly; that he did not doubt their lordships, out of regard to themselves, would give him an equitable hearing; and that in the prosecution of the inquiry it would appear he had merited not only the indulgence, but even the favour of his government. “My lords,” said he, “I am now to take my leave of your lordships, and of this honourable house, perhaps for ever; I shall lay down my life with pleasure in a cause favoured by my late dear royal mistress. When I consider that I am to be judged by the justice, honour, and virtue of my peers, I shall acquiesce, and retire with great content; and, my lords, God’s will be done.” The duke of Shrewsbury having acquainted the house that the earl was very much indisposed with the gravel, he was suffered to remain at his own house in custody of the black-rod; in his way thither he was attended by a great multitude of people crying, “High-church, Ormond and Oxford for ever!” Next day he was brought to the bar; where he received a copy of the articles, and was allowed a month to prepare his answer. Though Dr. Mead declared that if the earl should be sent to the Tower his life would be in danger, it was carried, on a division, that he should be conveyed thither on the sixteenth day of July. During the debate, the earl of Anglesea observed, that these impeachments were disagreeable to the nation, and that it was to be feared such violent measures would make the sceptre shake in the king’s hands. This expression kindled the whole house into a flame. Some members cried, “To the Tower!” some, “To order!” The earl of Sunderland declared, that if these words had been spoken in another place, he would have called the person that had spoken them to an account; in the meantime he moved that the noble lord should explain himself. Anglesea, dreading the resentment of the house, was glad to make an apology; which was accepted. The earl of Oxford was attended to the Tower by a prodigious concourse of people, who did not scruple to exclaim against his persecutors. Tumults were raised in Staffordshire, and other parts of the kingdom, against the whig party, which had depressed the friends of the church and embroiled the nation. The house of commons presented an address to the king, desiring that the laws might be vigorously executed against the rioters. They prepared the proclamation-act, decreeing, that if any persons to the number of twelve, unlawfully assembled, should continue together one hour after having been required to disperse by a justice of peace or other officer, and heard the proclamation against riots read in public, they should be deemed guilty of felony without benefit of clergy.

THE KING DECLARES TO BOTH HOUSES THAT A REBELLION IS BEGUN.

When the king went to the house of peers on the twentieth day of July, to give the royal assent to this and some other bills, he told both houses that a rebellion was actually begun at home; and that the nation was threatened with an invasion from abroad. He therefore expected that the commons would not leave the kingdom in a defenceless condition, but enable him to take such measures as should be necessary for the public safety. Addresses in the usual style were immediately presented by the parliament, the convocation, the common-council and lieutenancy of London, and the two universities; but that of Oxford was received in the most contemptuous manner; and the deputies were charged with disloyalty, on account of a fray which had happened between some recruiting officers and the scholars of the university. The addresses from the kirk of Scotland, and the dissenting ministers of London and Westminster, met with a much more gracious reception. The parliament forthwith passed a bill, empowering the king to secure suspected persons, and to suspend the habeas-corpus act in that time of danger. A clause was added to a money-bill, offering the reward of one hundred thousand pounds to such as should seize the pretender dead or alive. Sir George Byng was sent to take the command of the fleet. General Earle repaired to his government of Portsmouth; the guards were encamped in Hyde-park; lord Irwin was appointed governor of Hull, in the room of brigadier Sutton, who, together with lord Windsor, the generals Ross, Webb, and Stuart, were dismissed from the service. Orders were given for raising thirteen regiments of dragoons, and eight of infantry; and the trained bands were kept in readiness to suppress tumults. In the midst of these transactions, the commons added six articles to those exhibited against the earl of Oxford. Lord Bolingbroke was impeached at the bar of the house of lords by Mr. Walpole. Bills being brought in to summon him and the duke of Ormond to surrender themselves by the tenth of September, or, in default thereof, to attaint them of high treason, they passed both houses and received the royal assent. On the last day of August, the commons agreed to the articles against the earl of Strafford, which being presented to the house of lords, the earl made a speech in his own vindication. He complained that his papers had been seized in an unprecedented manner. He said, if he had in his letters or discourse dropped any unguarded expressions against some foreign ministers, while he had the honour to represent the crown of Great Britain, he hoped they would not be accounted criminal by a British house of peers; he desired he might be allowed a competent time to answer the articles brought against him, and have duplicates of all the papers which had either been laid before the committee of secrecy, or remained in the hands of government, to be used occasionally in his justification. This request was vehemently opposed by the leaders of the other party, until the earl of Hay represented that, in all civilized nations, all courts of judicature, except the inquisition, allowed the persons arraigned all that was necessary for their justification; and that the house of peers of Great Britain ought not, in this case, to do any thing contrary to that honour and equity for which they were so justly renowned throughout all Europe. This observation made an impression on the house, which resolved that the earl should be indulged with copies of such papers as he might have occasion to use in his defence.

DUKE OF ORMOND AND LORD BOLINGBROKE ATTAINTED.

On the third day of September, Oxford’s answer was delivered to the house of lords, who transmitted it to the commons. Mr. Walpole, having heard it read, said it contained little more than a repetition of what had been suggested in some pamphlets and papers which had been published in vindication of the late ministry; that it was a false and malicious libel, laying upon his royal mistress the blame of all the pernicious measures he had led her into, against her own honour, and the good of his country; that it was likewise a libel on the proceedings of the commons, since he endeavoured to clear those persons who had already confessed their guilt by flight. After some debate, the house resolved, that the answer of Robert earl of Oxford should be referred to the committee appointed to draw up articles of impeachment, and prepare evidence against the impeached lords; and that the committee should prepare a replication to the answer. This was accordingly prepared and sent up to the lords. Then the committee reported, that Mr. Prior had grossly prevaricated on his examination, and behaved with great contempt of their authority. The duke of Ormond and lord viscount Bolingbroke having omitted to surrender themselves within the limited time, the house of lords ordered the earl-marshal to raze out of the list of peers their names and armorial bearings. Inventories were taken of their personal estates; and the duke’s achievements, as knight of the garter, were taken down from St. George’s chapel at Windsor. A man of candour cannot, without an emotion of grief and indignation, reflect upon the ruin of the noble family of Ormond, in the person of a brave, generous, and humane nobleman, to whom no crime was imputed but that of having obeyed the commands of his sovereign. About this period the royal assent was given to an act for encouraging loyalty in Scotland. By this law the tenant who continued peaceable while his lord took arms in favour of the pretender, was invested with the property of the lands he rented; on the other hand, it was decreed that the lands possessed by any person guilty of high treason should revert to the superior of whom they were held, and be consolidated with the superiority; and that all entails and settlements of estates, since the first day of August, in favour of children, with a fraudulent intent to avoid the punishment of the law due to the offence of high treason, should be null and void. It likewise contained a clause for summoning suspected persons to find bail for their good behaviour, on pain of being denounced rebels. By virtue of this clause all the heads of the jacobite clans, and other suspected persons, were summoned to Edinburgh; and those who did not appear were declared rebels.

INTRIGUES OF THE JACOBITES.

By this time the rebellion was actually begun in Scotland. The dissensions occasioned in that country by the union had never been wholly appeased. Ever since the queen’s death, addresses were prepared in different parts of Scotland against the union, which was deemed a national grievance; and the Jacobites did not fail to encourage this aversion. Though the hopes of dissolving that treaty were baffled by the industry and other arts of the revolutioners, who secured a majority of whigs in parliament, they did not lay aside their designs of attempting something of consequence in favour of the pretender; but maintained a correspondence with the malcontents of England, a great number of whom were driven by apprehension, hard usage, and resentment, into a system of politics which otherwise they would not have espoused. The tories finding themselves totally excluded from any share in the government and legislature, and exposed to the insolence and fury of a faction which they despised, began to wish in earnest for a revolution. Some of them held private consultations, and communicated with the Jacobites, who conveyed their sentiments to the chevalier de St. George, with such exaggerations as were dictated by their own eagerness and extravagance. They assured the pretender that the nation was wholly disaffected to the new government; and indeed the clamours, tumults, and conversation of the people in general countenanced this assertion. They promised to take arms, without further delay, in his favour; and engaged that the tories should join them at his first landing in Great Britain. They therefore besought him to come over with all possible expedition, declaring that his appearance would produce an immediate revolution. The chevalier resolved to take the advantage of this favourable disposition. He had recourse to the French king, who had always been the refuge of his family. Louis favoured him in secret; and, notwithstanding his late engagements with England, cherished the ambition of raising him to the throne of Great Britain. He supplied him privately with sums of money to prepare a small armament in the port of Havre, which was equipped in the name of Depine d’Anicaut; and, without all doubt, his design was to assist him more effectually in proportion as the English should manifest their attachment to the house of Stuart. The duke of Ormond and lord Bolingbroke, who had retired to France, finding themselves condemned unheard, and attainted, engaged in the service of the chevalier, and corresponded with the tories of England.

DEATH OF LOUIS XIV.

All these intrigues and machinations were discovered and communicated to the court of London by the earl of Stair, who then resided as English ambassador at Paris. He was a nobleman of unquestioned honour and integrity, generous, humane, discerning, and resolute. He had signalized himself by his valour, intrepidity, and other military talents, during the war in the Netherlands; and he now acted in another sphere with uncommon vigour, vigilance, and address. He detected the chevalier’s scheme while it was yet in embryo, and gave such early notice of it as enabled the king of Great Britain to take effectual measures for defeating the design. All the pretender’s interest in France expired with Louis XIV., that ostentatious tyrant, who had for above half a century sacrificed the repose of Christendom to his insatiate vanity and ambition. At his death, which happened on the first day of September, the regency of the kingdom devolved to the duke of Orleans, who adopted a new system of politics, and had already entered into engagements with the king of Great Britain. Instead of assisting the pretender, he amused his agents with mysterious and equivocal expressions, calculated to frustrate the design of the expedition. Nevertheless, the more violent part of the Jacobites in Great Britain believed he was at bottom a friend to their cause, and depended upon him for succour. They even extorted from him a sum of money by dint of importunities, and some arms; but the vessel was shipwrecked, and the cargo lost upon the coast of Scotland.

THE EARL OF MAR SETS UP THE PRETENDER’S STANDARD.

The partisans of the pretender had proceeded too far to retreat with safety, and therefore resolved to try their fortune in the field. The earl of Mar repaired to the Highlands, where he held consultations with the marquasses of Huntley and Tullibardine, the earls Marischal and Southesk, the generals Hamilton and Gordon, with the chiefs of the Jacobite clans. Then he assembled three hundred of his own vassals, proclaimed the pretender at Castletown, and set up his standard at Brae-Mar, on the sixth day of September. By this time the earls of Home, Winton, and Kinnoul, lord Deskford, and Lockhart of Carnwath, with other persons suspected of disaffection to the present government, were committed prisoners to the castle of Edinburgh; and major-general Whetham marched with the regular troops which were in that kingdom to secure the bridge at Stirling. Before these precautions were taken, two vessels had arrived at Arbroath from Havre, with arms, ammunition, and a great number of officers, who assured the earl of Mar that the pretender would soon be with them in person. The death of Louis the XIV. struck a general damp upon their spirits; but they laid their account with being joined by a powerful body in England. The earl of Mar, by letters and messages, pressed the chevalier to come over without further delay. He, in the meantime, assumed the title of lieutenant-general of the pretender’s forces, and published a declaration, exhorting the people to take arms for their lawful sovereign. This was followed by a shrewd manifesto, explaining the national grievances, and assuring the people of redress. Some of his partisans attempted to surprise the castle of Edinburgh; but were prevented by the vigilance and activity of colonel Stuart, lieutenant-governor of that fortress. The duke of Argyle set out for Scotland, as commander-in-chief of the forces in North Britain: the earl of Sutherland set sail in the Queen-borough ship-of-war for the North, where he proposed to raise his vassals for the service of government; and many other Scottish peers returned to their own country in order to signalize their loyalty to king George.

In England the practices of the Jacobites did not escape the notice of the ministry. Lieutenant-colonel Paul was imprisoned in the gate-house for enlisting men in the service of the pretender. The titular duke of Powis was committed to the Tower; lords Lansdown-e and Duplin were taken into custody; and a warrant was issued for apprehending the earl of Jersey. The king desired the consent of the lower house to seize and detain sir William Wyndham, sir John Packington, Mr. Edward Harvey of Combe, Mr. Thos. Forster, Mr. John Anstis, and Mr. Corbet Kynaston, who were members of the house, and suspected of favouring the invasion. The commons unanimously agreed to the proposal, and presented an address signifying their approbation. Harvey and Anstis were immediately secured. Forster, with the assistance of some popish lords, assembled a body of men in Northumberland’ sir John Packington being examined before the council, was dismissed for want of evidence: Mr. Kynaston absconded; sir William Wyndham was seized at his own house in Somersetshire, by colonel Huske and a messenger, who secured his papers: he found means, however, to escape from them; but afterwards surrendered himself: and, having been examined at the council-board, was committed to the Tower. His father-in-law, the duke of Somerset, offered to become bound for his appearance; and being rejected as bail, expressed his resentment so warmly that the king thought proper to remove him from the office of master of the horse. On the twenty-first day of September, the king went to the house of lords and passed the bills that were ready for the royal assent. Then the chancellor read his majesty’s speech, expressing his acknowledgment and satisfaction, in consequence of the uncommon marks of their affection he had received; and the parliament adjourned to the sixth day of October.

The friends of the house of Stuart were very numerous in the western counties, and began to make preparations for an insurrection. They had concealed some arms and artillery at Bath, and formed a design to surprise Bristol; but they were betrayed and discovered by the emissaries of the government, which baffled all their schemes, and apprehended every person of consequence suspected of attachment to that cause. The university of Oxford felt the rod of power on that occasion. Major-general Pepper, with a strong detachment of dragoons, took possession of the city at day-break, declaring he would use military execution on all students who should presume to appear without the limits of their respective colleges. He seized tenor eleven persons, among whom was one Lloyd, a coffee-man; and made prize of some horses and furniture belonging to colonel Owen and other gentlemen. With this booty he retreated to Abingdon; and Handasyde’s regiment of foot was afterwards quartered in Oxford to overawe the university. The ministry found it more difficult to suppress the insurgents in the northern counties. In the month of October the earl of Derwentwater and Mr. Forster took the field with a body of horse, and being joined by some gentlemen from the borders of Scotland, proclaimed the pretender in Warkworth, Morpeth, and Alnwick. The first design was to seize the town of Newcastle, in which they had many friends; but they found the gates shut upon them, and retired to Hexham; while general Carpenter having assembled a body of dragoons, resolved to march from Newcastle and attack them before they should be reinforced. The rebels retiring northward to Woller, were joined by two hundred Scottish horse under the lord viscount Kenmuir, and the earls of Carnwath and Winton, who had set up the pretender’s standard at Moffat, and proclaimed him in different parts of Scotland. The rebels thus reinforced advanced to Kelso, having received advice that they would be joined by Mackintosh, who had crossed the Forth with a body of Highlanders.

MACKINTOSH JOINS THE ENGLISH INSURGENTS.

By this time the earl of Mar was at the head of ten thousand men well armed. He had secured the pass of the Tay at Perth, where his head-quarters were established, and made himself master of the whole fruitful province of Fife, and all the sea-coast on that side of the Frith of Edinburgh. He selected two thousand five hundred men, commanded by brigadier Mackintosh, to make a descent upon the Lothian side, and join the Jacobites in that county, or such as should take arms on the borders of England. Boats were assembled for this purpose; and notwithstanding all the precautions that could be taken by the king’s ships in the Frith to prevent the design, about fifteen hundred chosen men made good their passage in the night, and landed on the coast of Lothian, having crossed an arm of the sea about sixteen miles broad, in open boats that passed through the midst of the king’s cruisers. Nothing could be better concerted, or executed with more conduct and courage, than was this hazardous enterprise. They amused the king’s ships with marches and counter-marches along the coast, in such a manner that they could not possibly know where they intended to embark. The earl of Mar, in the meantime, marched from Perth to Dumblane as if he had intended to cross the Forth at Stirling bridge; but his real design was to divert the duke of Argyle from attacking his detachment which had landed in Lothian. So far the scheme succeeded. The duke, who had assembled some troops in Lothian, returned to Stirling with the utmost expedition, after having secured Edinburgh and obliged Mackintosh to abandon his design on that city. This partisan had actually taken possession of Leith, from whence he retired to Seaton-house, near Prestonpans, which he fortified in such a manner that he could not be forced without artillery. Here he remained until he received an order across the Frith from the earl of Mar to join lord Kenmuir and the English at Kelso, for which place he immediately began his march, and reached it on the twenty-second day of October, though a good number of his men had deserted on the route.

The lord Kenmuir, with the earls of Winton, Nithsdale, and Carnwath, the earl of Derwentwater, and Mr. Forster with the English insurgents, arriving at the same time, a council of war was immediately called. Winton proposed that they should march immediately into the western parts of Scotland and join general Gordon, who commanded a strong body of Highlanders in Argyleshire. The English insisted upon crossing the Tweed and attacking general Carpenter, whose troops did not exceed nine hundred dragoons. Neither scheme was executed. They took the route to Jedburgh, where they resolved to leave Carpenter on one side and penetrate into England by the western border. The Highlanders declared they would not quit their own country, but were ready to execute the scheme proposed by the earl of Winton. Means however were found to prevail upon one half of them to advance, while the rest returned to the Highlands. At Brampton, Forster opened his commission of general, which had been sent to him by the earl of Mar, and proclaimed the pretender. They continued their march to Penrith, where the sheriff, assisted by lord Lonsdale and the bishop of Carlisle, had assembled the whole posse-comitatus of Cumberland, amounting to twelve thousand men, who dispersed with the utmost precipitation at the approach of the rebels. From Penrith, Forster proceeded by way of Kendal and Lancaster to Preston, from whence Stanhope’s regiment of dragoons and another of militia immediately retired, so that he took possession of the place without resistance. General Willis marched against the enemy with six regiments of horse and dragoons, and one battalion of foot commanded by colonel Preston. They had advanced to the bridge of Ribble before Forster received intelligence of their approach. He forthwith began to raise barricadoes, and put the place in a posture of defence. On the twelfth day of November the town was briskly attacked in two different places; but the king’s troops met with a very warm reception, and were repulsed with considerable loss. Next day general Carpenter arrived with a reinforcement of three regiments of dragoons, and the rebels were invested on all sides. The Highlanders declared they would make a sally sword in hand, and either cut their way through the king’s troops or perish in the attempt, but they were over-ruled. Forster sent colonel Oxburgh with a trumpet to general Willis, to propose a capitulation. He was given to understand that the general would not treat with rebels; but in case of their surrendering at discretion, he would prevent his soldiers from putting them to the sword until he should receive further orders. He granted them time to consider till next morning, upon their delivering the earl of Derwentwater and Mackintosh as hostages. When Forster submitted, this Highlander declared he could not promise the Scots would surrender in that manner. The general desired him to return to his people, and he would forthwith attack the town, in which case every man of them should be cut to pieces. The Scottish noblemen did not choose to run the risk, and persuaded the Highlanders to accept the terms that were offered. They accordingly laid down their arms, and were put under a strong guard. All the noblemen and leaders were secured. Major Nairn, captain Lockhart, captain Shaftoe, and ensign Erskine, were tried by a court-martial as deserters, and executed. Lord Charles Murray, son of the duke of Athol, was likewise condemned for the same crime, but reprieved. The common men were imprisoned at Chester and Liverpool, the noblemen and considerable officers were sent to London, conveyed through the streets pinioned like malefactors, and committed to the Tower and to Newgate.

BATTLE AT DUMBLANE.

The day on which the rebels surrendered at Preston was remarkable for the battle of Dumblane, fought between the duke of Argyle and the earl of Mar, who commanded the pretender’s forces. This nobleman had retreated to his camp at Perth, when he understood the duke was returned from Lothian to Stirling. But being now joined by the northern clans under the earl of Sea-forth, and those of the west commanded by general Gordon, who had signalized himself in the service of the czar of Muscovy, he resolved to pass the Forth in order to join his southern friends, that they might march together into England. With this view he advanced to Auchterarder, where he reviewed his army, and rested on the eleventh day of November. The duke of Argyle, apprised of his intention, and being joined by some regiments of dragoons from Ireland, determined to give him battle in the neighbourhood of Dumblane. On the twelfth day of the month, Argyle passed the Forth at Stirling, and encamped with his left at the village of Dumblane, and his right towards Sheriffmuir. The earl of Mar advanced within two miles of his camp, and remained till day-break in order of battle; his army consisted of nine thousand effective men, cavalry as well as infantry. In the morning the duke, understanding they were in motion, drew up his forces, which did not exceed three thousand five hundred men, on the heights to the north-east of Dumblane; but he was outflanked both on the right and left. The clans that formed part of the centre and right wing of the enemy, with Glengary and Clanronald at their head, charged the left of the king’s army sword in hand, with such impetuosity that in seven minutes both horse and foot were totally routed with great slaughter; and general Whetham, who commanded them, fled at full gallop to Stirling, where he declared that the royal army was totally defeated. In the meantime the duke of Argyle, who commanded in person on the right, attacked the left of the enemy, at the head of Stair’s and Evan’s dragoons, and drove them two miles before him, as far as the water of Allan; yet in that space they wheeled about and attempted to rally ten times; so that he was obliged to press them hard that they might not recover from their confusion. Brigadier Wightman followed in order to sustain him with three battalions of infantry; while the victorious right wing of the rebels having pursued Whetham a considerable way, returned to the field and formed in the rear of Wightman to the amount of five thousand men. The duke of Argyle returning from the pursuit, joined Wightman, who had faced about and taken possession of some enclosures and mud wails in expectation of being attacked. In this posture both armies fronted each other till the evening, when the duke drew off towards Dumblane, and the rebels retired to Ardoch, without mutual molestation. Next day the duke marching back to the field of battle, carried off the wounded, with four pieces of cannon left by the army, and retreated to Stirling. Few prisoners were taken on either side: the number of the slain might be about five hundred of each army, and both generals claimed the victory. This battle was not so fatal to the Highlanders as the loss of Inverness, from which sir John Mackenzie was driven by Simon Fraser, lord Lovat, who, contrary to the principles he hitherto professed, secured this important post for the government; by which means a free communication was opened with the north of Scotland, where the earl of Sutherland had raised a considerable body of vassals. The marquis of Huntley and the earl of Seaforth were obliged to quit the rebel army, in order to defend their own territories; and in a little time submitted to king George: a good number of the Frasers declared with their chief against the pretender: the marquis of Tullibardine withdrew from the army to cover his own country; and the clans, seeing no likelihood of another action, began to disperse according to custom.

THE PRETENDER ARRIVES IN SCOTLAND.

The government was now in a condition to send strong reinforcements to Scotland. Six thousand men that were claimed of the states-general, by virtue of the treaty, landed in England, and began their march for Edinburgh: general Cadogan set out for the same place, together with brigadier Petit, and six other engineers; and a train of artillery was shipped at the Tower for that country, the duke of Argyle resolving to drive the earl of Mar out of Perth, to which town he retired with the remains of his forces. The pretender having been amused with the hope of seeing the whole kingdom of England rise up as one man in his behalf; and the duke of Ormond having made a fruitless voyage to the western coast, to try the disposition of the people, he was now convinced of the vanity of his expectation in that quarter; and, as he knew not what other course to take, he resolved to hazard his person among his friends in Scotland, at a time when his affairs in that kingdom were absolutely desperate. From Bretagne he posted through part of France in disguise, and embarking in a small vessel at Dunkirk, hired for that purpose, arrived on the twenty-second day of December at Peterhead with six gentlemen in his retinue, one of whom was the marquis of Tynemouth, son to the duke of Berwick. He passed through Aberdeen incognito, to Fetterosse, where he was met by the earls of Mar and Marischal, and about thirty noblemen and gentlemen of the first quality. Here he was solemnly proclaimed: his declaration, dated at Com-mercy, was printed and circulated through all the parts in that neighbourhood; and he received addresses from the episcopal clergy, and the laity of that communion in the diocese of Aberdeen. On the fifth day of January he made his public entry into Dundee; and on the seventh arrived at Scone, where he seemed determined to stay until the ceremony of his coronation should be performed. From thence he made an excursion to Perth, where he reviewed his forces. Then he formed a regular council; and published six proclamations: one for a general thanksgiving on account of his safe arrival; another enjoining the ministers to pray for him in the churches; a third establishing the currency of foreign coins; a fourth summoning the meeting of the convention of estates; a fifth ordering all sensible men to repair to his standard; and a sixth, fixing the twenty-third day of January for his coronation. He made a pathetic speech in a grand council, at which all the chiefs of his party assisted. They determined, however, to abandon the enterprise, as the king’s army was reinforced by the Dutch auxiliaries, and they themselves were not only reduced to a small number, but likewise destitute of money, arms, ammunition, forage, and provision; for the duke of Argyle had taken possession of Burntisland, and transported a detachment to Fife, so as to cut off Mar’s communication with that fertile country.

Notwithstanding the severity of the weather, and a prodigious fall of snow which rendered the roads almost impassable, the duke, on the twenty-ninth of January began his march for Dumblane, and next day reached Tullibardine, where he received intelligence that the pretender and his forces had, on the preceding day, retired towards Dundee. He forthwith took possession of Perth; and then began his march to Aberbrothick, in pursuit of the enemy. The chevalier de St. George being thus hotly pursued, was prevailed upon to embark on board a small French ship that lay in the harbour of Montrose. He was accompanied by the earls of Mar and Melfort, the lord Drummond, lieutenant-general Bulkley, and other persons of distinction, to the number of seventeen. In order to avoid the English cruisers, they stretched over to Norway, and coasting along the German and Dutch shores, arrived in five days at Grave-line. General Gordon, whom the pretender had left commander-in-chief of the forces, assisted by the earl Marischal, proceeded with them to Aberdeen, where he secured three vessels to sail northward, and take on board the persons who intended to make their escape to the continent. Then they continued their march through Strathspey and Strathdown, to the hills of Badenoch, where the common people were quietly dismissed. This retreat was made with such expedition, that the duke of Argyle, with all his activity, could never overtake their rear-guard, which consisted of a thousand horse commanded by the earl Marischal. Such was the issue of a rebellion that proved fatal to many noble families; a rebellion which in all probability would never have happened, had not the violent measures of a whig ministry kindled such a flame of discontent in the nation, as encouraged the partisans of the pretender to hazard a revolt.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.

The parliament of Ireland, which met at Dublin on the twelfth day of November, seemed even more zealous, if possible, than that of England, for the present administration. They passed bills for recognizing the king’s title; for the security of his person and government; for setting a price on the pretender’s head; and for attainting the duke of Ormond. They granted the supplies without opposition. All those who had addressed the late queen in favour of sir Constantine Phipps, then lord chancellor of Ireland, were now brought upon their knees, and censured as guilty of a breach of privilege. They desired the lords-justices would issue a proclamation against the popish inhabitants of Limerick and Gal-way, who, presuming upon the capitulation signed by king William, claimed an exemption from the penalties imposed upon other papists. They engaged in an association against the pretender, and all his abettors. They voted the earl of Anglesea an enemy to the king and kingdom, because he advised the queen to break the army, and prorogue the late parliament; and they addressed the king to remove him from his council and service. The lords-justices granted orders for apprehending the earls of Antrim and Westmeath, the lords Natterville, Cahir, and Dillon, as persons suspected of disaffection to the government. Then they adjourned the two houses.

THE REBEL LORDS ARE IMPEACHED.

The king in his speech to the English parliament, which met on the ninth of January, told them he had reason to believe the pretender was landed in Scotland; he congratulated them on the success of his arms in suppressing the rebellion; on the conclusion of the barrier-treaty between the emperor and the states-general, under his guarantee; on a convention with Spain that would deliver the trade of England to that kingdom, from the new impositions and hardships to which it was subjected in consequence of the late treaties. He likewise gave them to understand, that a treaty for renewing all former alliances between the crown of Great Britain and the states-general was almost concluded; and he assured the commons he would freely give up all the estates that should become forfeited to the crown by this rebellion, to be applied towards defraying the extraordinary expense incurred on this occasion. The commons, in their address of thanks, declared that they would prosecute, in the most vigorous and impartial manner, the authors of those destructive councils which had drawn down such miseries upon the nation. Their resolutions were speedy, and exactly conformable to this declaration. They expelled Mr. Forster from the house. They forthwith impeached the earls of Derwentwater, Nithsdale, Carnwath, and Winton; lords Widdrington, Kenmuir, and Nairn. These noblemen being brought to the bar of the house of lords, heard the articles of impeachment read on the tenth day of January, and were ordered to put in their answers on the sixteenth. The impeachments being lodged, the lower house ordered a bill to be brought in for continuing the suspension of the habeas-corpus act; then they prepared another to attaint the marquis of Tullibardine, the earls of Mar and Linlithgow, and lord John Drummond. On the twenty-first day of January, the king gave the royal assent to the bill for continuing the suspension of the habeas-corpus act. He told the parliament that the pretender was actually in Scotland heading the rebellion, and assuming the style and title of king of these realms; he demanded of the commons such supply as might discourage any foreign power from assisting the rebels. On Thursday the nineteenth day of January, all the impeached lords pleaded guilty to the articles exhibited against them, except the earl of Winton, who petitioned for a longer time on various pretences. The rest received sentence of death on the ninth day of February, in the court erected in Westminster-hall, where the lord-chancellor Cowper presided as lord high-steward on that occasion. The countess of Nithsdale and lady Nairn threw themselves at the king’s feet, as he passed through the apartments of the palace, and implored his mercy in behalf of their husbands; but their tears and entreaties produced no effect. The council resolved that the sentence should be executed, and orders were given for that purpose to the lieutenant of the Tower, and the sheriffs of London and Middlesex.

EARL OF DEEWENTWATER AND LORD KENMUIR ARE BEHEADED.

The countess of Derwentwater, with her sister, accompanied by the duchesses of Cleveland and Bolton, and several other ladies of the first distinction, was introduced by the dukes of Richmond and St. Alban’s into the king’s bed-chamber, where she invoked his majesty’s clemency for her unfortunate consort. She afterwards repaired to the lobby of the house of peers, attended by the ladies of the other condemned lords, and above twenty others of the same quality, and begged the intercession of the house; but no regard was paid to their petition. Next day they petitioned both houses of parliament. The commons rejected their suit. In the upper house, the duke of Richmond delivered a petition from the earl of Derwentwater, to whom he was nearly related, at the same time declaring that he himself should oppose his solicitation. The earl of Derby expressed some compassion for the numerous family of lord Nairn. Petitions from the rest were presented by other lords, moved with pity and humanity. Lord Town-shend and others vehemently opposed their being read. The earl of Nottingham thought this indulgence might be granted; the house assented to his opinion, and agreed to an address, praying his majesty would reprieve such of the condemned lords as should seem to deserve his mercy. To this petition the king answered, that on this and all other occasions, he would do what he thought most consistent with the dignity of his crown and the safety of his people. The earl of Nottingham, president of the council, his brother the earl of Aylesbury, chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, his son lord Finch, one of the lords of the treasury, his kinsman lord Guernsey, master of the jewel-office, were altogether dismissed from his majesty’s service. Orders were despatched for executing the earls of Derwentwater and Nithsdale, and the viscount of Kennruir, immediately; the others were respited to the seventh day of March. Nithsdale made his escape in woman’s apparel, furnished and conveyed to him by his own mother. On the twenty-fourth day of February, Derwentwater and Kenmuir were beheaded on Tower-hill. The former was an amiable youth, brave, open, generous, hospitable, and humane. His fate drew tears from the spectators, and was a great misfortune to the country in which he lived. He gave bread to multitudes of people whom he employed on his estate; the poor, the widow, and the orphan rejoiced in his bounty. Kenmuir was a virtuous nobleman, calm, sensible, resolute, and resigned. He was a devout member of the English church; but the other died in the faith of Rome: both adhered to their political principles. On the fifteenth day of March, Winton was brought to trial, and being convicted, received sentence of death.

TRIALS OF REBELS.

When the king passed the land-tax bill, which was ushered in with a very extraordinary preamble, he informed both houses of the pretender’s flight from Scotland. In the beginning of April a commission for trying the rebels met in the court of common-pleas, when bills of high treason were found against Mr. Forster, Mackintosh, and twenty of their confederates. Forster escaped from Newgate, and reached the continent in safety; the rest pleaded not guilty, and were indulged with time to prepare for their trials. The judges appointed to try the rebels at Liverpool, found a considerable number guilty of high treason. Two-and-twenty were executed at Preston and Manchester; about a thousand prisoners submitted to the king’s mercy, and petitioned for transportation. Pitts, the keeper of Newgate, being suspected of having connived at Forster’s escape, was tried for his life at the Old-Bailey, and acquitted. Notwithstanding this prosecution, which ought to have redoubled the vigilance of the jailors, brigadier Mackintosh, and several other prisoners, broke from Newgate, after having mastered the keeper and turnkey, and disarmed the sentinel. The court proceeded with the trials of those that remained, and a great number were found guilty; four or five were hanged, drawn, and quartered, at Tyburn; and among these was one William Paul, a clergyman, who, in his last speech, professed himself a true and sincere member of the church of England, but not of the revolution schismatical church, whose bishops had abandoned the king, and shamefully given up their ecclesiastical rights, by submitting to the unlawful, invalid, lay-deprivations authorized by the prince of Orange.

ACT FOR SEPTENNIAL PARLIAMENTS.

Though the rebellion was extinguished, the flame of national dissatisfaction still continued to rage: the severities exercised against the rebels increased the general discontent; for now the danger was blown over, their humane passions began to prevail. The courage and fortitude with which the condemned persons encountered the pains of death in its most dreadful force, prepossessed many spectators in favour of the cause by which those unhappy victims were animated. In a word, persecution, as usual, extended the heresy. The ministry, perceiving this universal dissatisfaction, and dreading the revolution of a new parliament, which might wrest the power from their faction, and retort upon them the violence of their own measures, formed a resolution equally odious and effectual to establish their administration. This was no other than a scheme to repeal the triennial act, and by a new law to extend the term of parliaments to seven years. On the tenth day of April, the duke of Devonshire represented, in the house of lords, that triennial elections served to keep up party divisions; to raise and foment feuds in private families; to produce ruinous expenses, and give occasion to the cabals and intrigues of foreign princes; that it became the wisdom of such an august assembly to apply proper remedies to an evil that might be attended with the most dangerous consequences, especially in the present temper of the nation, as the spirit of rebellion still remained unconquered. He therefore proposed a bill for enlarging the continuance of parliaments. He was seconded by the earls of Dorset and Rockingham, the duke of Argyle, Lord Townshend, and the other chiefs of that party. The motion was opposed by the earls of Nottingham, Abingdon, and Paulet. They observed, that frequent parliaments were required by the fundamental constitution of the kingdom, ascertained in the practice of many ages; that the members of the lower house were chosen by the body of the nation, for a certain term of years, at the expiration of which they could be no longer representatives of the people, who, by the parliament’s protracting its own authority, would be deprived of the only remedy which they have against those who, through ignorance or corruption, betrayed the trust reposed in them; that the reasons in favour of such a bill were weak and frivolous; that, with respect to foreign alliances, no prince or state could reasonably depend upon a people to defend their liberties and interests, who should be thought to have given up so great a part of their own; nor would it be prudent in them to wish for a change in that constitution under which Europe had of late been so powerfully supported; on the contrary, they might be deterred from entering into any engagements with Great Britain, when informed by the preamble of the bill, that the popish faction was so dangerous as to threaten destruction to the government; they would apprehend that the administration was so weak as to want so extraordinary a provision for its safety; that the gentlemen of Britain were not to be trusted; and that the good affections of the people were restrained within the limits of the house of commons. They affirmed that this bill, far from preventing the expense of elections, would rather increase it, and encourage every species of corruption; for the value of a seat would always be in proportion to the duration of a parliament, and the purchase would rise accordingly; that a long parliament would yield a greater temptation, as well as a better opportunity to a vicious ministry, to corrupt the members, than they could possibly have when the parliaments were short and frequent; that the same reasons urged for passing the bill to continue this parliament for seven years, would be at least as strong, and, by the conduct of the ministry, might be made much stronger before the end of that term, for continuing and even perpetuating their legislative power, to the absolute subversion of the third estate of the realm. These arguments served only to form a decent debate, after which the bill for septennial parliaments passed by a great majority, though twenty peers entered a protest. It met with the same fate in the lower house, where many strong objections were stated to no purpose. They were represented as the effects of party spleen; and, indeed, this was the great spring of action on both sides. The question for the bill was carried in the affirmative; and in a little time it received the royal sanction.

DUKE OF ARGYLE DISGRACED.

The rebellion being utterly quelled, and all the suspected persons of consequence detained in safe custody, the king resolved to visit his German dominions, where he foresaw a storm gathering from the quarter of Sweden. Charles XII. was extremely exasperated against the elector of Hanover, for having entered into the confederacy against him in his absence, particularly for his having purchased the duchies of Bremen and Verden, which constituted part of his dominions; and he breathed nothing but revenge against the king of Great Britain. It was with a view to avert this danger, or prepare against it, that the king now determined upon a voyage to the continent. But as he was restricted from leaving his British dominions by the act for the further limitation of the crown, this clause was repealed in a new bill that passed through both houses without the least difficulty. On the twenty-sixth day of June, the king closed the session with a speech upon the usual tonics, in which, however, he observed, that the numerous instances of mercy he had shown served only to encourage the faction of the pretender, whose partisans acted with such insolence and folly, as if they intended to convince the world that they were not to be reclaimed by gentle methods. He intimated his purpose of visiting his dominions in Germany; and gave them to understand, that he had constituted his beloved son, the prince of Wales, guardian of the kingdom in his absence. About this period general Macartney, who had returned to England at the accession of king George, presented himself to trial for the murder of the duke of Hamilton. The deposition of colonel Hamilton was contradicted by two park-keepers; the general was acquitted of the charge, restored to his rank in the army, and gratified with the command of a regiment. The king’s brother, prince Ernest, bishop of Osnabruck, was created duke of York and Albany, and earl of Ulster. The duke of Argyle, and his brother the earl of Hay, to whom his majesty owed, in a great measure, his peaceable accession to the throne, as well as the extinction of the rebellion in Scotland, were now dismissed from all their employments. General Carpenter succeeded the duke in the chief command of the forces in North Britain, and in the government of Port Mahon; and the duke of Montrose was appointed lord-register of Scotland in the room of the earl of Hay.

THE TRIPLE ALLIANCE.

On the seventh day of July, the king embarked at Gravesend, landed on the ninth in Holland, through which he passed incognito to Hanover, and from thence set out for Pyrmont. His aim was to secure his German dominions from the Swede, and Great Britain from the pretender. These two princes had already begun to form a design, in conjunction, of invading his kingdom. He knew the duke of Orleans was resolved to ascend the throne of France, in case the young king, who was a sickly child, should die without male issue. The regent was not ignorant that Philip of Spain would powerfully contest that succession, notwithstanding his renunciation; and he was glad of an opportunity to strengthen his interest by an alliance with the maritime powers of England and Holland. The king of England sounded him on this subject, and found him eager to engage in such an association. The negotiation was carried on by general Cadogan for England, the abbé du Bois for France, and the pensionary Heinsius for the states-general. The regent readily complied with all their demands. He engaged that the pretender should immediately depart from Wignon to the other side of the Alps, and never return to Lorraine or France on any pretence whatsoever; that no rebellious subjects of Great Britain should be allowed to reside in that kingdom; and that the treaty of Utrecht, with respect to the demolition of Dunkirk, should be fully executed to the satisfaction of his Britannic majesty. The treaty contained a mutual guarantee of all the places possessed by the contracting powers; of the protestant succession on the throne of England, as well as of that of the duke of Orleans to the crown of France, and a defensive alliance, stipulating the proportion of ships and forces to be furnished to that power which should be disturbed at home or invaded from abroad. The English people murmured at this treaty. They said an unnecessary umbrage was given to Spain, with which the nation had great commercial connexions; and that on pretence of an invasion, a body of foreign troops might be introduced to enslave the kingdom.

COUNT GYLLENBURGH ARRESTED.

His majesty was not so successful in his endeavours to appease the king of Sweden, who refused to listen to any overtures until Bremen and Verden should be restored. These the elector of Hanover resolved to keep as a fair purchase; and he engaged in a confederacy with the enemies of Charles, for the maintenance of this acquisition. Meanwhile his rupture with Sweden was extremely prejudicial to the commerce of England, and had well nigh entailed upon the kingdom another invasion, much more formidable than that which had so lately miscarried. The ministers of Sweden resident at London, Paris, and the Hague, maintained a correspondence with the disaffected subjects of Great Britain. A scheme was formed for the Swedish king’s landing on this island with a considerable body of forces, where he should be joined by the malcontents of the united kingdom. Charles relished the enterprise, which flattered his ambition and revenge; nor was it disagreeable to the czar of Muscovy, who resented the elector’s offer of joining the Swede against the Russians, provided he would ratify the cession of Bremen and Verden. King George having received intimation of these intrigues, returned to England towards the end of January, and ordered a detachment of foot-guards to secure count Gyllenburgh, the Swedish minister, with all his papers. At the same time, sir Jacob Bancks and Mr. Charles Caesar were apprehended. The other foreign ministers took the alarm, and remonstrated to the ministry upon this outrage committed against the law of nations. The two secretaries, Stanhope and Methuen, wrote circular letters to them, assuring them that in a clay or two they should be acquainted with the reasons that induced the king to take such an extraordinary step. They were generally satisfied with this intimation; but the marquis de Monteleone, ambassador from Spain, expressed his concern that no other way could be found to preserve the peace of the kingdom, without arresting the person of a public minister, and seizing all his papers, which were the sacred repositories of his masters’s secrets; he observed, that in whatever manner these two facts might seem to be understood, they very sensibly wounded the law of nations. About the same time baron Gortz, the Swedish residentiary in Holland, was seized with his papers at Arnheim, at the desire of king George, communicated to the states by Mr. Loathes, his minister at the Hague. The baron owned he had projected the invasion, a design that was justified by the conduct of king George, who had joined the princes in confederacy against the king of Sweden, without having received the least provocation; who had assisted the king of Denmark in subduing the duchies of Bremen and Verden, and then purchased them of the usurper; and who had, in the course of this very summer, sent a strong squadron of ships to the Baltic, where it joined the Danes and Russians against the Swedish fleet.

ACCOUNT OF THE OXFORD RIOT.

When the parliament of Great Britain met on the twentieth day of February, the king informed them of the triple alliance he had concluded with France and Holland. He mentioned the projected invasion; told them he had given orders for laying before them copies of the letters which had passed between the Scottish ministers on that subject; and he demanded of the commons such supplies as should be found necessary for the defence of the kingdom. By those papers it appeared that the scheme projected by baron Gortz was very plausible, and even ripe for execution; which, however, was postponed until the army should be reduced, and the Dutch auxiliaries sent back to their own country. The letters being read in parliament, both houses presented addresses, in which they extolled the king’s prudence in establishing such conventions with foreign potentates as might repair the gross defects, and prevent the pernicious consequences, of the treaty of Utrecht, which they termed a treacherous and dishonourable peace; and they expressed their horror and indignation at the malice and ingratitude of those who had encouraged an invasion of their country. He likewise received an address of the same kind from the convention; another from the dissenting ministers; a third from the university of Cambridge; but Oxford was not so lavish of her compliments. At a meeting of the vice-chancellor and heads of that university, a motion was made for an address to the king, on the suppression of the late unnatural rebellion, his majesty’s safe return, and the favour lately shown to the university, in omitting, at their request, the ceremony of burning in effigy the devil, the pope, the pretender, the duke of Ormond, and the earl of Mar, on the anniversary of his majesty’s accession. Dr. Smallridge, bishop of Bristol, observed, that the rebellion had been long suppressed; that there would be no end of addresses should one be presented every time that his majesty returned from his German dominions; that the late favour they had received was overbalanced by a whole regiment now quartered upon them; and that there was no precedent for addressing a king upon his return from his German dominions. The university thought they had reason to complain of the little regard paid to their remonstrances, touching a riot raised in that city by the soldiers there quartered, on pretence that the anniversary of the prince’s birthday had not been celebrated with the usual rejoicings. Affidavits had been sent up to the council, which seemed to favour the officers of the regiment. When the house of lords deliberated upon the mutiny-bill, by which the soldiers were exempted from arrests for debts, complaint was made of their licentious behaviour at Oxford; and a motion was made that they should inquire into the riot. The lords presented an address to the king, desiring that the papers relating to that affair might be laid before the house. These being perused, were found to be recriminations between the Oxonians and the officers of the regiment. A warm debate ensued, during which the earl of Abingdon offered a petition from the vice-chancellor of the university, the mayor and magistrates of Oxford, praying to be heard. One of the court members observing that it would be irregular to receive a petition while the house was in a grand committee, a motion was made that the chairman should leave the chair; but this being carried in the negative, the debate was resumed, and the majority agreed to the following resolutions:—That the heads of the university, and mayor of the city, neglected to make public rejoicings on the prince’s birth-day; that the officers having met to celebrate that day, the house in which they had assembled was assaulted, and the windows were broken by the rabble; that this assault was the beginning and occasion of the riots that ensued. That the conduct of the mayor seemed well justified by the affidavits produced on his part; that the printing and publishing the depositions upon which the complaints relating to the riots at Oxford were founded, while that matter was under the examination of the lords of the committee of the council, before they had time to come to any resolution touching the same, was irregular, disrespectful to his royal highness, and tending to sedition. An inquiry of this nature, so managed, did not much redound to the honour of such an august assembly.

The commons passed a bill prohibiting all commerce with Sweden, a branch of trade which was of the utmost consequence to the English merchants. They voted ten thousand seamen for the ensuing year; granted about a million for the maintenance of guards, garrisons, and land-forces; and passed the bill relating to mutiny and desertion. The house likewise voted four-and-twenty thousand pounds for the payment of four battalions of Munster, and two of Saxe-Gotha, which the king had taken into his service, to supply the place of such as might be, during the rebellion, drawn from the garrisons of the states-general to the assistance of England. This vote, however, was not carried without a violent debate. The demand was inveighed against as an imposition, seeing no troops had ever served. A motion was made for an address, desiring that the instructions of those who concluded the treaties might be laid before the house; but this was over-ruled by the majority. The supplies were raised by a land-tax of three shillings in the pound, and a malt-tax. What the commons had given was not thought sufficient for the expense of the year; therefore Mr. secretary Stanhope brought a message from his majesty, demanding an extraordinary supply, that he might be the better enabled to secure his kingdoms against the danger with which they were threatened from Sweden; and he moved that a supply should be granted to his majesty for this purpose. Mr. Shippen observed it was a great misfortune that the king was as little acquainted with the parliamentary proceedings as with the language of the country: that the message was unparliamentary and unprecedented; and, in his opinion, penned by some foreign minister: he said he had been often told that his majesty had retrieved the honour and reputation of the nation; a truth which appeared in the flourishing condition of trade; but that the supply demanded seemed to be inconsistent with the glorious advantages which his majesty had obtained for the people. He was seconded by Mr. Hungerford, who declared that for his part he could not understand what occasion there was for new alliances; much less that they should be purchased with money. He expressed his surprise that a nation so lately the terror of France and Spain should now seem to fear so inconsiderable an enemy as the king of Sweden. The motion was supported by Mr. Boscawen, sir Gilbert Heathcote, and others; but some of the whigs spoke against it; and Mr. Robert Walpole was silent. The speaker, and Mr. Smith, one of the tellers of the exchequer, opposed this unparliamentary way of demanding the supply: the former proposed that part of the army should be disbanded, and the money applied towards the making good such new engagements as were deemed necessary. After several successive debates, the resolution for a supply was carried by a majority of four voices.

* This year was rendered famous by a complete victory which, prince Eugene obtained over the Turks at Peterwaradin upon the Danube. The battle was fought upon the fifth day of August. The Imperial army did not exceed sixty thousand men; that of the infidels amounted to one hundred and fifty thousand, commanded by the grand vizier, who was mortally wounded in the engagement. The infidels were totally defeated, with the loss of all their tents, artillery, and baggage, so that the victors obtained an immense booty.

DIVISION IN THE MINISTRY.

The ministry was now divided within itself. Lord Townshend had been removed from the office of secretary of state, by the intrigues of the earl of Sunderland; and he was now likewise dismissed from the place of lord-lieutenant of Ireland. Mr. Robert Walpole resigned his posts of first commissioner of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer: his example was followed by Mr. Pulteney, secretary at war, and Mr. Methuen, secretary of state. When the affair of the supply was resumed in the house of commons, Mr. Stanhope made a motion for granting two hundred and fifty thousand pounds for that purpose. Mr. Pulteney observed, that having resigned his place, he might no w act with the freedom becoming an Englishman: he declared against the manner of granting the supply, as unparliamentary and unprecedented. He said he could not persuade himself that any Englishman advised his majesty to send such a message; but he doubted not the resolution of a British parliament would make a German ministry tremble. Mr. Stanhope having harangued the house in vindication of the ministry, Mr. Smith answered every article of his speech: he affirmed, that if an estimate of the conduct of the ministry in relation to affairs abroad was to be made from a comparison of their conduct at home, they would not appear altogether so faultless as they were represented. “Was it not a mistake,” said he, “not to preserve the peace at home, after the king had ascended the throne with the universal applause and joyful acclamations of all his subjects? Was it not a mistake, upon the breaking out of the rebellion, not to issue a proclamation, to offer pardon to such as should return home peaceably, according to the custom on former occasions of the same nature? Was it not a mistake, after the suppression of the rebellion and the trial and execution of the principal authors of it, to keep up animosities, and drive people to despair, by not passing an act of indemnity, by keeping so many persons under hard and tedious confinement; and by granting pardons to some, without leaving them any means to subsist? Is it not a mistake, not to trust a vote of parliament for making good such engagements as his majesty should think proper to enter into; and instead of that, to insist on the granting this supply in such an extraordinary manner? Is it not a mistake, to take this opportunity to create divisions, and render some of the king’s best friends suspected and obnoxious? Is it not a mistake, in short, to form parties and cabals in order to bring in a bill to repeal the act of occasional conformity?” A great number of members had agreed to this measure in private, though at this period it was not brought into the house of commons. After a long debate the sum was granted. These were the first-fruits of Britain’s being wedded to the interests of the continent. The elector of Hanover quarrelled with the king of Sweden; and England was not only deprived of a necessary branch of commerce, but even obliged to support him in the prosecution of the war. The ministry now underwent a new revolution. The earl of Sunderland and Mr. Addison were appointed secretaries of state; Mr. Stanhope became first commission of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer.

THE COMMONS PASS THE SOUTH-SEA ACT, &c.

On the sixth day of May, the king, going to the house of peers, gave the parliament to understand that the fleet under sir George Byng, which had sailed to the Baltic to observe the motions of the Swedes, was safely arrived in the Sound. He said he had given orders for the immediate reduction of ten thousand soldiers, as well as directions to prepare an act of indemnity. He desired they would take proper measures for reducing the public debts with a just regard to parliamentary credit; and that they would go through the public business with all possible despatch and unanimity. Some progress had already been made in deliberations upon the debt of the nation, which was comprehended under the two heads of redeemable and irredeemable incumbrances. The first had been contracted with a redeemable interest; and these the public had a right to discharge: the others consisted of long and short annuities granted for a greater or less number of years, which could not be altered without the consent of the proprietors. Mr. Robert Walpole had projected a scheme for lessening the interest and paying the capital of those debts, before he resigned his place in the exchequer. He proposed, in the house of commons, to reduce the interest of redeemable funds, and offer an alternative to the proprietors of annuities. His plan was approved; but, when he resigned his places, the ministers made some small alterations in it, which furnished him with a pretence for opposing the execution of the scheme. In the course of the debate, some warm altercation passed between him and Mr. Stanhope, by which it appeared they had made a practice of selling places and reversions. Mr. Hungerford, standing up, said he was sorry to see two such great men running foul of one another; that, however, they ought to be looked upon as patriots and fathers of their country; and since they had by mischance discovered their nakedness, the other members ought, according to the custom of the East, to turn their backs upon them, that they might not be seen in such a shameful condition. Mr. Boscawen moved that the house would lay their commands upon them, that no further notice should be taken of what had passed. He was seconded by Mr. Methuen: tha house approved of the motion; and the speaker took their word and honour that they should not prosecute their resentment. The money corporations having agreed to provide cash for such creditors as should be willing to receive their principal, the house came to certain resolutions, on which were founded the three bills that passed into laws, under the names of “The South-Sea act, the Bank act, and the General Fund act.” The original stock of the South-Sea company did not exceed nine millions four hundred and seventy-one thousand three hundred and twenty-five pounds; but the funds granted being sufficient to answer the interest of ten millions at six per cent., the company made up that sum to the government, for which they received six hundred thousand pounds yearly, and eight thousand pounds a-year for management. By this act they declared themselves willing to receive five hundred thousand pounds, and the eight thousand for management. It was enacted, that the company should continue a corporation until the redemption of their annuity, towards which not less than a million should be paid at a time. They were likewise required to advance a sum not exceeding two millions, towards discharging the principal and interest due on the four lottery funds of the ninth and tenth years of queen Anne. By the Bank act the governors and company declared themselves willing to accept an annuity of eighty-eight thousand seven hundred and fifty-one pounds, seven shillings and tenpence halfpenny, or the principal of one million seven hundred and seventy-five thousand and twenty-seven pounds, seventeen shillings and tenpence halfpenny, in lieu of the present annuity, amounting to one hundred and six thousand five hundred and one pounds, thirteen shillings and fivepence. They also declared themselves willing to discharge, and deliver up to be cancelled, as many exchequer-bills as amounted to two millions, and to accept of an annuity of one hundred thousand pounds, being after the rate of five per cent, redeemable after one year’s notice; to circulate the remaining exchequer-bills at three per cent, and one penny per day. It was enacted, that the former allowances should be continued to Christmas, and then the bank should have for circulating the two millions five hundred and sixty-one thousand and twenty-five pounds remaining exchequer-bills, an annuity of seventy-six thousand eight hundred and thirty pounds, fifteen shillings, at the rate of three pounds per cent, till redeemed, over and above the one penny a-day for interest. By the same acts the bank was required to advance a sum not exceeding two millions five hundred thousand pounds, towards discharging the national debt, if wanted, on condition that they should have five pounds per cent, for as much as they might advance, redeemable by parliament. The General Fund act recited several acts of parliament, for establishing the four lotteries in the ninth and tenth years of the late queen, and stated the annual produce of the several funds, amounting in all to seven hundred and twenty-four thousand eight hundred and forty-nine pounds, six shillings and tenpence one-fifth. This was the General Fund; the deficiency of which was to be made good annually out of the first aids granted by parliament. For the regular payment of all such annuities as should be made payable by this act, it was enacted, that all the duties and revenues mentioned therein should continue for ever, with the proviso, however, that the revenues rendered by this act perpetual should be subject to redemption. This act contained a clause by which the sinking fund was established. The reduction of interest to five per cent, producing a surplus or excess upon the appropriated funds, it was enacted, that all the monies arising from time to time, as well for the surplus, by virtue of the acts for redeeming the funds of the hank and of the South-Sea Company, as also for the surplus of the duties and revenues by this act appropriated to make good the general fund, should be appropriated and employed for the discharging the principal and interest of such national debt as was incurred before the twenty-fifth of December of the preceding year, in such a manner as should be directed and appointed by any future act of parliament, to be discharged out of the game, and for no other use, intent, or purpose whatsoever.

TRIAL OF THE EARL OF OXFORD.

The earl of Oxford, who had now remained almost two years a prisoner in the Tower, presented a petition to the house of lords, praying that his imprisonment might not be indefinite. Some of the tory lords affirmed that the impeachment was destroyed and determined by the prorogation of parliament, which superseded the whole proceedings; but the contrary was voted by a considerable majority. The thirteenth day of June was fixed for the trial; and the house of commons made acquainted with this determination. The commons appointed a committee to inquire into the state of the earl’s impeachment; and, in consequence of their report, sent a message to the lords demanding longer time to prepare for trial. Accordingly the day was prolonged to the twenty-fourth of June; and the commons appointed the committee, with four other members, to be managers for making good the articles of impeachment. At the appointed time the peers repaired to the court in Westminster-hall, where lord Cowper presided as lord steward. The commons were assembled as a committee of the whole house; the king, the rest of the royal family, and the foreign ministers, assisted at the solemnity; the earl of Oxford was brought from the Tower; the articles of impeachment were read, with his answers, and the replication of the commons. Sir Joseph Jekyll standing up to make good the first article, lord Har-court signified to their lordships that he had a motion to make, and they adjourned to their own house. There he represented that a great deal of time would be unnecessarily consumed in going through all the articles of the impeachment; that if the commons would make good the two articles for high treason, the earl of Oxford would forfeit both life and estate, and there would be an end of the matter; whereas to proceed on the method proposed by the commons, would draw the trial on to a prodigious length. He therefore moved that the commons might not be permitted to proceed until judgment should be first given upon the articles of high treason. He was supported by the earls of Anglesea and Nottingham, the lord Trevor, and a considerable number of both parties; and though opposed by the earl of Sunderland, the lords Coningsby and Parker, the motion was carried in the affirmative. It produced a dispute between the two houses. The commons, at a conference, delivered a paper containing their reasons for asserting it as their undoubted right to impeach a peer either for treason, or for high crimes and misdemeanors; or, should they see occasion, to mix both in the same accusation. The house of lords insisted on their former resolution; and, in another conference, delivered a paper wherein they asserted it to be a right inherent in every court of justice, to order and direct such methods of proceeding as it should think fit to be observed in all causes that fell under its cognizance. The commons demanded a free conference, which was refused. The dispute grew more and more warm. The lords sent a message to the lower house, importing that they intended presently to proceed on the trial of the earl of Oxford. The commons paid no regard to this intimation; but adjourned to the third day of July. The lords, repairing to Westminster-hall, took their places, ordered the earl to be brought to the bar, and made proclamation for his accusers to appear. Having waited a quarter of an hour, they adjourned to their own house, where, after some debate, the earl was acquitted upon a division; then returning to the hall, they voted that he should be set at liberty. Oxford owed his safety to the dissensions among the ministers, and to the late change in the administration. In consequence of this, he was delivered from the persecution of Walpole; and numbered among his friends the dukes of Devonshire and Argyle, the earls of Nottingham and Hay, and lord Townshend. The commons, in order to express their sense of his demerit, presented an address to the king, desiring he might be excepted out of the intended act of grace. The king promised to comply with their request; and in the meantime forbade the earl to appear at court. On the fifteenth day of July, the earl of Sunderland delivered in the house of peers the act of grace, which passed through both houses with great expedition. From this indulgence were excepted the earl of Oxford, Mr. Prior, Mr. Thomas Harley, Mr. Arthur Moore; Crisp, Nodes, O’Bryan, Redmarne the printer, and Thompson; as also the assassinators in Newgate, and the clan of Macgregor in Scotland. By virtue of this act, the earl of Carnwath, the lords Widrington and Nairn, were immediately discharged; together with all the gentlemen under sentence of death in Newgate, and those that were confined on account of the rebellion in the Fleet, the Marshalsea, and other prisons of the kingdom. The act of grace being prepared for the royal assent, the king went to the house of peers on the fifteenth day of July, and having given his sanction to all the bills that were ready, closed the session with a speech on the usual topics.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE CONVOCATION WITH REGARD TO DR. HOADLEY.

The proceedings in the convocation turned chiefly upon two performances of Dr. Hoadley, bishop of Bangor. One was intituled, “A Preservative against the Principles and Practices of the Nonjurors;” the other was a sermon preached before the king, under the title of “The Nature of the Kingdom of Christ.” An answer to this discourse was published by Dr. Snape, master of Eton college, and this convocation appointed a committee to examine the bishop’s two performances. They drew up a representation in which the Preservative and the Sermon were censured, as tending to subvert all government and discipline in the church of Christ; to reduce his kingdom to a state of anarchy and confusion; to impugn and impeach the royal supremacy in causes ecclesiastical, and the authority of the legislature to enforce obedience in matters of religion by civil sanctions. The government thought proper to put a stop to these proceedings by a prorogation; which, however, inflamed the controversy. A great number of pens were drawn against the bishop, but his chief antagonists were Dr. Snape and Dr. Sherlock, whom the king removed from the office of his chaplains; and the convocation has not been permitted to sit and do business since that period.

CHAPTER II.

Difference between King George and the Czar of Muscovy..... The King of Sweden is killed at Frederickstadt..... Negotiation for a Quadruple Alliance..... Proceedings in Parliament..... James Shepherd executed for a Design against the King’s Life..... Parliament prorogued..... Nature of the quadruple Alliance..... Admiral Byng sails to the Mediterranean..... He destroys the Spanish Fleet off Cape Passaro..... Remonstrances of the Spanish Ministry..... Disputes in Parliament touching the Admiral’s attacking the Spanish Fleet..... Act for strengthening the Protestant Interest——War declared against Spain..... Conspiracy against the Regent of France..... Intended Invasion by the Duke of Ormond..... Three hundred Spaniards land and are taken in Scotland..... Account of the Peerage Bill..... Count Merci assumes the Command of the Imperial Army in Sicily..... Activity of Admiral Byng..... The Spanish Troops evacuate Sicily..... Philip obliged to accede to the quadruple Alliance..... Bill for securing the Dependency of Ireland upon the Crown of Great Britain..... South Sea Act..... Charters granted to the Royal and London Assurance Offices..... Treaty of Alliance with Sweden..... The Prince of Hesse elected King of Sweden..... Effects of the South Sea Scheme..... The Bubble breaks..... A Secret Committee appointed by the House of Commons..... Inquiry carried on by both Houses..... Death of Earl Stanhope and Mr. Craggs, both Secretaries of State..... The Estates of the Directors of the South Sea Company are confiscated..... Proceedings of the Commons with respect to the Stock of the South Sea Company.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE KING AND THE CZAR OF MUSCOVY.

During these transactions, the negotiations of the north were continued against the king of Sweden, who had penetrated into Norway, and advanced towards Christianstadt, the capital of that kingdom. The czar had sent five-and-twenty thousand Russians to assist the allies in the reduction of Wismar, which he intended to bestow upon his niece, lately married to the duke of Mecklenburgh-Schwerin: but before his troops arrived the place had surrendered, and the Russians were not admitted into the garrison; a circumstance which increased the misunderstanding between him and the king of Great Britain. Nevertheless, he consented to a project for making a descent upon Schonen, and actually took upon him the command of the allied fleet; though he was not at all pleased to see sir John Norris in the Baltic, because he had formed designs against Denmark, which he knew the English squadron would protect. He suddenly desisted from the expedition against Schonen, on pretence that the season was too far advanced; and the king of Denmark published a manifesto, remonstrating against his conduct on this occasion. By this time baron Gortz had planned a pacification between his master and the czar, who was discontented with all his German allies, because they opposed his having any footing in the empire. This monarch arrived at Amsterdam in December, whether he was followed by the czarina; and he actually resided at the Hague when king George passed through it, in returning to his British dominions, but he declined an interview with the king of England. When Gyllenburgh’s letters were published in London, some passages seemed to favour the supposition of the czar’s being privy to the conspiracy. His minister at the English court presented a long memorial, complaining that the king had caused to be printed the malicious insinuations of his enemies. He denied his having the least concern in the design of the Swedish king. He charged the court of England with having privately treated of a separate peace with Charles, and even with having promised to assist him against the czar, on condition that he would relinquish his pretensions to Bremen and Verden. Nevertheless, he expressed an inclination to re-establish the ancient good understanding, and to engage in vigorous measures for prosecuting the war against the common enemy. The memorial was answered by the king of Great Britain, who assured the czar he should have reason to be fully satisfied, if he would remove the only obstacle to their mutual good understanding; in other words, withdraw the Russian troops from the empire. Notwithstanding these professions, the two monarchs were never perfectly reconciled.

THE KING OF SWEDEN IS KILLED.

The czar made an excursion to the court of France, where he concluded a treaty of friendship with the regent, at whose earnest desire he promised to recall his troops from Mecklenburgh. At his return to Amsterdam, he had a private interview with Gortz, who, as well as Gyllenburgh, had been set at liberty. Gortz undertook to adjust all difference between the czar and the king of Sweden within three months; and Peter engaged to suspend all operations against Sweden until that term should be expired. A congress was opened at Abo, between the Swedish and Russian ministers, but the conferences were afterwards removed to Aland. By this convention, the czar obliged himself to assist Charles in the conquest of Norway; and they promised to unite all their forces against the king of Great Britain should he presume to interpose. Both were incensed against that prince; and one part of their design was to raise the pretender to the throne of England. Baron Gortz set out from Aland for Frederickstadt in Norway, with the plan of peace: but, before he arrived, Charles was killed by a cannon ball from the town, as he visited the trenches, on the thirtieth of November. Baron Gortz was immediately arrested, and brought to the scaffold by the nobles of Sweden, whose hatred he had incurred by his insolence of behaviour. The death of Charles was fortunate for king George. Sweden was now obliged to submit; while the czar, the king of Denmark, and the elector of Hanover, kept possession of what they had acquired in the course of the war.

NEGOTIATION FOR A QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE.

Thus Bremen and Verden were secured in the house of Hanover; an acquisition towards which the English nation contributed by her money, as well as by her arms; an acquisition made in contradiction to the engagements into which England entered when king William became guarantee for the treaty of Travendahl; an acquisition that may be considered as the first link of a political chain by which the English nation were dragged back into expensive connexions with the continent. The king had not yet received the investiture of the duchies; and, until that should be procured, it was necessary to espouse with warmth the interests of the emperor. This was another source of misunderstanding between Great Britain and Spain. Prince Eugene gained another complete victory over a prodigious army of the Turks at Belgrade, which was surrendered to him after the battle. The emperor had engaged in this war as an ally of the Venetians, whom the Turks had attacked and driven from the Morea. The pope considered it as a religious war against the infidels, and obtained repeated assurances from the king of Spain that he would not undertake any thing against the emperor while he was engaged in such a laudable quarrel. Philip had even sent a squadron of ships and galleys to the assistance of the Venetians. In the course of this year, however, he equipped a strong armament, the command of which was bestowed on the marquis de Lede, who sailed from Barcelona in July, and landing at Cagliari in Sardinia, which belonged to the emperor, made a conquest of the whole island. At the same time, the king of Spain endeavoured to justify these proceedings by a manifesto, in which he alleged that the archduke, contrary to the faith of treaties, encouraged and supported the rebellion of his subjects in Catalonia, by frequent succours from Naples and other places; and that the great inquisitor of Spain had been seized, though furnished with a passport from his holiness. He promised however to proceed no further, and suspend all operations, that the powers of Europe might have time and opportunity to contrive expedients for reconciling all differences, and securing the peace and balance of power in Italy; nay, he consented that this important affair should be left to the arbitration of king George and the states-general. These powers undertook the office. Conferences were begun between the ministers of the emperor, France, England, and Holland; and these produced, in the course of the following year, the famous quadruple alliance. In this treaty it was stipulated, that the emperor should renounce all pretensions to the crown of Spain, and exchange Sardinia for Sicily with the duke of Savoy; that the succession to the duchies of Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia, which the queen of Spain claimed by inheritance as princess of the house of Farnese, should be settled on her eldest son, in case the present possessors should die without male issue. Philip, dissatisfied with this partition, continued to make formidable preparations by sea and land. The king of England and the regent of France interposed their admonitions to no purpose. At length his Britannic majesty had recourse to more substantial arguments, and ordered a strong squadron to be equipped with all possible expedition. 206 [See note 2 H, at the end of this Vol.]

PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.

On the third day of November, the princess of Wales was delivered of a prince, the ceremony of whose baptism was productive of a difference between the grandfather and the father. The prince of Wales intended that his uncle, the duke of York, should stand godfather. The king ordered the duke of Newcastle to stand for himself. After the ceremony, the prince expressed his resentment against this nobleman in very warm terms. The king ordered the prince to confine himself within his own apartment; and afterwards signified his pleasure that he should quit the palace of St. James’. He retired with the princess to a house belonging to the earl of Grantham; but the children were detained at the palace. All peers and peeresses, and all privy-counsellors and their wives, were given to understand, that in case they visited the prince and princess they should have no access to his majesty’s presence; and all who enjoyed posts and places under both king and prince, were obliged to quit the service of one or other at their option. When the parliament met on the twenty-first day of November, the king, in his speech, told both houses that he had reduced the army to very near one half, since the beginning of the last session: he expressed his desire that all those who were friends to the present happy establishment, might unanimously concur in some proper method for the greater strengthening the protestant interest, of which, as the church of England was unquestionably the main support and bulwark, so would she reap the principal benefit of every advantage accruing from the union and mutual charity of all protestants. After the addresses of thanks, which were couched in the usual style, the commons proceeded to take into consideration the estimates and accounts, in order to settle the establishment of the army, navy, and ordnance. Ten thousand men were voted for the sea service. When the supply for the army fell under deliberation, a very warm debate ensued upon the number of troops necessary to be maintained. Sir William Wyndham, Mr. Shippen, and Mr. Walpole, in a long elaborate harangue, insisted upon its being reduced to twelve thousand. They were answered by Mr. Craggs, secretary at war, and sir David Dalrymple. Mr. Shippen, in the course of the debate, said the second paragraph of the king’s speech seemed rather to be calculated for the meridian of Germany than for Great Britain; and it was a great misfortune that the king was a stranger to our language and constitution. Mr. Lechmere affirmed this was a scandalous invective against the king’s person and government; and moved that he who uttered it should be sent to the Tower. Mr. Shippen, refusing to retract or excuse what he had said, was voted to the Tower by a great majority; and the number of standing forces was fixed at sixteen thousand three hundred and forty-seven effective men.

On account of the great scarcity of silver coin, occasioned by the exportation of silver and the importation of gold, a motion was made to put a stop to this growing evil, by lowering the value of gold specie. The commons examined a representation which had been made to the treasury by sir Isaac Newton, master of the mint, on this subject. Mr. Caswel explained the nature of a clandestine trade carried on by the Dutch and Ham-burghers, in concert with the Jews of England and other traders, for exporting the silver coin and importing gold, which being coined at the mint yielded a profit of fifteen pence upon every guinea. The house, in an address to the king, desired that a proclamation might be issued, forbidding all persons to utter or receive guineas at a higher rate than one-and-twenty shillings each. His majesty complied with that request: but people hoarding up their silver in hopes that the price of it would be raised, or in apprehension that the gold would be lowered still farther, the two houses resolved that the standard of the gold and silver coins of the kingdom should not be altered in fineness, weight, or denomination, and they ordered a bill to be brought in to prevent the melting down of the silver coin. At this period, one James Shepherd, a youth of eighteen, apprentice to a coachmaker, and an enthusiast in jacobitism, sent a letter to a nonjuring clergyman, proposing a scheme for assassinating king George. He was immediately apprehended, owned the design, was tried, condemned, and executed at Tyburn. This was likewise the fate of the marquis de Palleotti, an Italian nobleman, brother to the duchess of Shrewsbury. He had, in a transport of passion, killed his own servant; and seemed indeed to be disordered in his brain. After he had received sentence of death, the king’s pardon was earnestly solicited by his sister the duchess, and many other persons of the first distinction; but the common people became so clamorous, that it was thought dangerous to rescue him from the penalties of the law, which he accordingly underwent in the most ignominious manner. No subject produced so much heat and altercation in parliament during this session, as did the bill for regulating the land-forces, and punishing mutiny and desertion: a bill which was looked upon as an encroachment upon the liberties and constitution of England, inasmuch as it established martial law, which wrested from the civil magistrate the cognizance of crimes and misdemeanors committed by the soldiers and officers of the army; a jurisdiction inconsistent with the genius and disposition of the people. The dangers that might accrue from such a power were explained in the lower house by Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Harley, and Mr. Robert Walpole, which last, however, voted afterwards for the bill. In the house of lords, it was strenuously opposed by the earls of Oxford, Strafford, and lord Harcourt. Their objections were answered by lord Carteret. The bill passed by a great majority; but divers lords entered a protest. This affair being discussed, a bill was brought in for vesting in trustees the forfeited estates in Britain and Ireland, to be sold for the use of the public; for giving relief to lawful creditors by determining the claims, and for the more effectual bringing into the respective exchequers the rents and profits of the estates till sold. The time of claiming was prolonged; the sum of twenty thousand pounds was reserved out of the sale of the estates in Scotland, for erecting schools; and eight thousand pounds for building barracks in that kingdom. The king having signified, by a message to the house of commons, that he had lately received such information from abroad, as gave reason to believe that a naval force employed where it should be necessary, would give weight to his endeavours; he therefore thought fit to acquaint the house with this circumstance, not doubting but that in case he should be obliged, at this critical juncture, to exceed the number of men granted this year for the sea-service, the house would provide for such exceeding. The commons immediately drew up and presented an address, assuring his majesty that they would make good such exceedings of seamen as he should find necessary to preserve the tranquillity of Europe. On the twenty-first day of March, the king went to the house of peers, and having passed the bills that were ready for the royal assent, ordered the parliament to be prorogued.*

* Earl Cowper, lord chancellor, resigned the great seal, which was at first put in commission, but afterwards given to lord Parker, as high chancellor. The earl of Sunderland was made president of the council, and first commissioner of the treasury. Lord Stanhope and Mr. Craggs were appointed secretaries of state. Lord Stanhope and lord Cadogan were afterwards created earls.

NATURE OF THE QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE.

The king of Spain, by the care and indefatigable diligence of his prime minister, cardinal Alberoni, equipped a very formidable armament, which, in the beginning of June, set sail from Barcelona towards Italy; but the destination of it was not known. A strong squadron having been fitted out in England, the marquis de Monteleone, ambassador from Spain, presented a memorial to the British ministry, importing that so powerful an armament in time of peace could not but give umbrage to the king his master, and alter the good intelligence that subsisted between the two crowns. In answer to this representation, the ministers declared that the king intended to send admiral Byng with a powerful squadron into the Mediterranean, to maintain the neutrality in Italy. Meanwhile, the negotiations between the English and French ministers produced the quadruple alliance, by which king George and the regent prescribed a peace between the emperor, the king of Spain, and the king of Sicily, and undertook to compel Philip and the Savoyard to submit to such conditions as they had concerted with his Imperial majesty. These powers were allowed only three months to consider the articles, and declare whether they would reject them, or acquiesce in the partition. Nothing could be more contradictory to the true interests of Great Britain than this treaty, which destroyed the balance in Italy, by throwing such an accession of power into the hands of the house of Austria. It interrupted the commerce with Spain; involved the kingdom in an immediate war with that monarchy; and gave rise to all the quarrels and disputes which have arisen between England and Spain in the sequel. The states-general did not approve of such violent measures, and for some time kept aloof; but at length they acceded to the quadruple alliance, which indeed was no other than a very expensive compliment to the emperor, who was desirous of adding Sicily to his other Italian dominions.

ADMIRAL BYNG SAILS.

The king of England had used some endeavours to compromise the difference between his Imperial majesty and the Spanish branch of the house of Bourbon. Lord Stanhope had been sent to Madrid with a plan of pacification, which being rejected by Philip as partial and iniquitous, the king determined to support his mediation by force of arms. Sir George Byng sailed from Spithead on the fourth day of June, with twenty ships of the line, two fire-ships, two bomb-vessels, and ample instructions how to act on all emergencies. He arrived off Cape St. Vincent on the thirtieth day of the month, and despatched his secretary to Cadiz, with a letter to colonel Stanhope, the British minister at Madrid, desiring him to inform his most catholic majesty of the admiral’s arrival in those parts, and lay before him this article of his instructions: “You are to make instances with both parties to cease from using any further acts of hostility: but in case the Spaniards do still insist, with their ships of war and forces, to attack the kingdom of Naples, or other the territories of the emperor in Italy, or to land in any part of Italy, which can only be with a design to invade the emperor’s dominions, against whom only they have declared war by invading Sardinia; or, if they should endeavour to make themselves masters of the kingdom of Sicily, which must be with a design to invade the kingdom of Naples; in which case you are, with all your power, to hinder and obstruct the same. If it should so happen that at your arrival with our fleet under your command, in the Mediterranean, the Spaniards should already have landed any troops in Italy in order to invade the emperor’s territories, you shall endeavour amicably to dissuade them from persevering in such an attempt, and offer them your assistance to help them to withdraw their troops, and put an end to all further acts of hostility. But in case these your friendly endeavours should prove ineffectual, you shall, by keeping company with, or intercepting their ships or convoy; or if it be necessary, by openly opposing them, defend the emperor’s territories from any further attempt.” When cardinal Alberoni perused these instructions, he told colonel Stanhope, with some warmth, that his master would run all hazards, and even suffer himself to be driven out of Spain, rather than recall his troops, or consent to a suspension of arms. He said the Spaniards were not to be frightened; and he was so well convinced that the fleet would do their duty, that in case of their being attacked by Admiral Byng, he should be in no pain for the success. Mr. Stanhope presenting him with a list of the British squadron, he threw it upon the ground with great emotion. He promised, however, to lay the admiral’s letter before the king, and to let the envoy know his majesty’s resolution. Such an interposition could not but be very provoking to the Spanish minister, who had laid his account with the conquest of Sicily, and for that purpose prepared an armament which was altogether surprising, considering the late shattered condition of the Spanish affairs. But he seems to have put too much confidence in the strength of the Spanish fleet. In a few days he sent back the admiral’s letter to Mr. Stanhope, with a note under it, importing that the chevalier Byng might execute the orders he had received from the king his master.

HE DESTROYS THE SPANISH FLEET.

The admiral, in passing by Gibraltar, was joined by vice-admiral Cornwall with two ships. He proceeded to Minorca, where he relieved the garrison of Port-Mahon. Then he sailed for Naples, where he arrived on the first day of August, and was received as a deliverer; for the Neapolitans had been under the utmost terror of an invasion from the Spaniards. Sir George Byng received intelligence from the viceroy, count Daun, who treated him with the most distinguishing marks of respect, that the Spanish army, amounting to thirty thousand men, commanded by the marquis de Lede, had landed in Sicily, reduced Palermo and Messina, and were then employed in the siege of the citadel belonging to this last city; that the Piedmontese garrison would be obliged to surrender if not speedily relieved; that an alliance was upon the carpet between the emperor and the king of Sicily, which last had desired the assistance of the Imperial troops, and agreed to receive them into the citadel of Messina. The admiral immediately resolved to sail thither, and took under his convoy a reinforcement of two thousand Germans for the citadel, under the command of general Wetzel. He forthwith sailed from Naples, and on the ninth day of August was in sight of the Faro of Messina. He despatched his own captain with a polite message to the marquis de Lede, proposing a cessation of arms in Sicily for two months, that the powers of Europe might have time to concert measures for restoring a lasting peace; and declaring, that should this proposal be rejected, he would, in pursuance of his instructions, use all his force to prevent further attempts to disturb the dominions his master had engaged to defend. The Spanish general answered, that he had no powers to treat, and consequently could not agree to an armistice, but should obey his orders, which directed him to reduce Sicily for his master the king of Spain. The Spanish fleet had sailed from the harbour of Messina on the day before the English squadron appeared. Admiral Byng supposed they had retired to Malta, and directed his course towards Messina, in order to encourage and support the garrison in the citadel. But in doubling the point of Faro, he descried two Spanish scouts, and learned from the people of a felucca from the Calabrian shore, that they had seen from the hills the Spanish fleet lying to in order of battle. The admiral immediately detached the German troops to Reggio, under the convoy of two ships of war. Then he stood through the Faro after the Spanish scouts that led him to their main fleet, which before noon he descried in line of battle, amounting to seven-and-twenty sail large and small, besides two fire-ships, four bomb-vessels, and seven galleys. They were commanded in chief by don Antonio de Castanita, under whom were the four rear-admirals Chacon, Mari, Guevara, and Cammock. At sight of the English squadron they stood away large, and Byng gave chase all the rest of the day. In the morning, which was the eleventh of August, rear-admiral de Mari, with six ships of war, the galleys, fire-ships, and bomb-ketches, separated from the main fleet, and stood in for the Sicilian shore. The English admiral detached captain Walton with five ships in pursuit of them; and they were soon engaged. He himself continued to chase their main fleet; and about ten o’clock the battle began. The Spaniards seemed to be distracted in their councils, and acted in confusion. They made a running fight; yet the admirals behaved with courage and activity, in spite of which they were all taken, except Cammock, who made his escape with three ships of war and three frigates. In this engagement, which happened off Cape Passaro, captain Haddock of the Grafton signalized his courage in an extraordinary manner. On the eighteenth the admiral received a letter* from captain Walton, dated off Syracuse, intimating that he had taken four Spanish ships of war, together with a bomb-ketch, and a vessel laden with arms: and that he had burned four ships of the line, a fire-ship, and a bomb vessel.

* This letter is justly deemed a curious specimen of the laconic style. “Sir,—We have taken and destroyed all the Spanish ships and vessels which were upon the coast; the number as per margin. I am, &c. G. WALTON.”

Had the Spaniards followed the advice of rear-admiral Cammock, who was a native of Ireland, sir George Byng would not have obtained such an easy victory. That officer proposed that they should remain at anchor in the road of Paradise, with their broadsides to the sea; in which case the English admiral would have found it a very difficult task to attack them; for the coast is so bold, that the largest ships could ride with a cable ashore; whereas farther out the currents are so various and rapid, that the English squadron could not have come to anchor, or lie near them in order of battle; besides the Spaniards might have been reinforced from the army on shore, which would have raised batteries to annoy the assailants. Before king George had received an account of this engagement from the admiral, he wrote him a letter with his own hand, approving his conduct. When sir George’s eldest son arrived in England with a circumstantial account of the action, he was graciously received, and sent back with plenipotentiary powers to his father, that he might negotiate with the several princes and states of Italy, as he should see occasion. The son likewise carried the king’s royal grant to the officers and seamen, of all the prizes they had taken from the Spaniards. Notwithstanding this victory, the Spanish army carried on the siege of the citadel of Messina with such vigour, that the governor surrendered the place by capitulation on the twenty-ninth day of September. A treaty was now concluded at Vienna between the emperor and the duke of Savoy. They agreed to form an army for the conquest of Sardinia in behalf of the duke; and in the meantime this prince engaged to evacuate Sicily; but until his troops could be conveyed from that island, he consented that they should co-operate with the Germans against the common enemy. Admiral Byng continued to assist the Imperialists in Sicily during the best part of the winter, by scouring the seas of the Spaniards, and keeping the communication open between the German forces and the Calabrian shore, from whence they were supplied with provisions. He acted in this service with equal conduct, courage, resolution, and activity. He conferred with the viceroy of Naples and the other Imperial generals, about the operations of the ensuing campaign, and count Hamilton was despatched to Vienna to lay before the emperor the result of their deliberations; then the admiral set sail for Mahon, where the ships might be refitted and put in a condition to take the sea in the spring.

REMONSTRANCES OF THE SPANISH MINISTRY.

The destruction of the Spanish fleet was a subject that employed the deliberations and conjectures of all the politicians in Europe. Spain exclaimed against the conduct of England, as inconsistent with the rules of good faith, for the observation of which she had always been so famous. The marquis de Monteleone wrote a letter to Mr. secretary Craggs, in which he expostulated with him upon such an unprecedented outrage. Cardinal Alberoni, in a letter to that minister, inveighed against it as a base unworthy action. He said the neutrality of Italy was a weak pretence, since every body knew that neutrality had long been at an end; and that the prince’s guarantees of the treaty of Utrecht were entirely discharged from their engagements, not only by the scandalous infringements committed by the Austrians in the evacuation of Catalonia and Majorca; but also because the guarantee was no longer binding than till a peace was concluded with France. He taxed the British ministry with having revived and supported this neutrality, not by an amicable mediation, but by open violence, and artfully abusing the confidence and security of the Spaniards. This was the language of disappointed ambition. Nevertheless it must be owned that the conduct of England, on this occasion, was irregular, partial, and precipitate.

The parliament meeting on the eleventh day of November, the king in his speech declared that the court of Spain had rejected all his amicable proposals, and broke through their most solemn engagements for the security of the British commerce. To vindicate, therefore, the faith of his former treaties, as well as to maintain those he had lately made, and to protect and defend the trade of his subjects, which had in every branch been violently and unjustly oppressed, it became necessary for his naval forces to check their progress; that notwithstanding the success of his arms, that court had lately given orders at all the ports of Spain and of the West Indies to fit out privateers against the English. He said he was persuaded that a British parliament would enable him to resent such treatment; and he assured them that his good brother, the regent of France, was ready to concur with him in the most vigorous measures. A strong opposition was made in both houses to the motion for an address of thanks and congratulation proposed by lord Carteret. Several peers observed that such an address was, in effect, to approve a sea-fight, which might be attended with dangerous consequences, and to give the sanction of that august assembly to measures which, upon examination, might appear either to clash with the law of nations or former treaties, or to be prejudicial to the trade of Great Britain; that they ought to proceed with the utmost caution and maturest deliberation, in an affair wherein the honour as well as the interest of the nation were so highly concerned. Lord Strafford moved for an address, that sir George Byng’s instructions might be laid before the house. Earl Stanhope replied, that there was no occasion for such an address, since by his majesty’s command he had already laid before the house the treaties of which the late sea-fight was a consequence; particularly the treaty for a defensive alliance between the emperor and his majesty, concluded at Westminster on the twenty-fifth day of May, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixteen; and the treaty of alliance for restoring and settling the public peace, signed at London on the twenty-second day of July. He affirmed that the court of Spain had violated the treaty of Utrecht, and acted against the public faith in attacking the emperor’s dominions, while he was engaged in a war against the enemies of Christendom; that they had rejected his majesty’s friendly offices and offers for mediating an accommodation. He explained the cause of his own journey to Spain, and his negotiations at Madrid. He added, it was high time to check the growth of the naval power of Spain, in order to protect and secure the trade of the British subjects which had been violently oppressed by the Spaniards. After a long debate, the motion was carried by a considerable majority. The same subject excited disputes of the same nature in the house of commons, where lord Hinchinbroke moved that, in their address of thanks, they should declare their entire satisfaction in those measures which the king had already taken for strengthening the protestant succession, and establishing a lasting tranquillity in Europe. The members in the opposition urged that it was unparliamentary and unprecedented, on the first day of the session, to enter upon particulars; that the business in question was of the highest importance, and deserved the most mature deliberation; that, before they approved the measures which had been taken, they ought to examine the reasons on which those measures were founded. Mr. Robert Walpole affirmed that the giving sanction, in the manner proposed, to the late measures, could have no other view than that of screening ministers, who were conscious of having begun a war against Spain, and now wanted to make it the parliament’s war. He observed, that instead of an entire satisfaction, they ought to express their entire dissatisfaction with such conduct as was contrary to the law of nations, and a breach of the most solemn treaties. Mr. secretary Craggs, in a long speech, explained the nature of the quadruple alliance, and justified all the measures which had been taken. The address, as moved by lord Hinchinbroke, was at length carried, and presented to his majesty. Then the commons proceeded to consider the supply. They voted thirteen thousand five hundred sailors; and twelve thousand four hundred and thirty-five men for the land service. The whole estimate amounted to two millions two hundred and fifty-seven thousand five hundred eighty-one pounds, nineteen shillings. The money was raised by a land-tax, malt-tax, and lottery.

ACT FOR STRENGTHENING THE PROTESTANT INTEREST.

On the thirteenth day of December, earl Stanhope declared, in the house of lords, that in order to unite the hearts of the well affected to the present establishment, he had a bill to offer under the title of “An act for strengthening the protestant interest in these kingdoms.” It was accordingly read, and appeared to be a bill repealing the acts against occasional conformity, the growth of schism, and some clauses in the corporation and test acts. This had been concerted by the ministry in private meetings with the most eminent dissenters. The tory lords were astonished at this motion, for which they were altogether unprepared. Nevertheless they were strenuous in their opposition. They alleged that the bill, instead of strengthening, would certainly weaken the church of England, by plucking off her best feathers, investing her enemies with power, and sharing with churchmen the civil and military employments of which they were then wholly possessed. Earl Cowper declared himself against that part of the bill by which some clauses of the test and corporation acts were repealed; because he looked upon those acts as the main bulwark of our excellent constitution in church and state, which ought to be inviolably preserved. The earl of Hay opposed the bill, because, in his opinion, it infringed the pacta conventa of the treaty of union, by which the bonds both of the church of England and of the church of Scotland were fixed and settled; and he was apprehensive, if the articles of the union were broke with respect to one church, it might afterwards be a precedent to break them with respect to the other. The archbishop of Canterbury said the acts which by this bill would be repealed, were the main bulwark and supporters of the English church; he expressed all imaginable tenderness for well-meaning conscientious dissenters; but he could not forbear saying, some among that sect made a wrong use of the favour and indulgence shown to them at the revolution, though they had the least share in that happy event; it was therefore thought necessary for the legislature to interpose, and put a stop to the scandalous practice of occasional conformity. He added, that it would be needless to repeal the act against schism, since no advantage had been taken of it to the prejudice of the dissenters. Dr. Hoadley, bishop of Bangor, endeavoured to prove that the occasional and schism acts were in effect persecuting laws; and that by admitting the principle of self-defence and self-preservation in matters of religion, all the persecutions maintained by the heathens against the professors of Christianity, and even the popish inquisition, might be justified. With respect to the power of which many clergymen appeared so fond and so zealous, he owned the desire of power and riches was natural to all men; but that he had learned both from reason and from the gospel, that this desire must be kept within due bounds, and not intrench upon the rights and liberties of their fellow-creatures and countrymen. After a long debate, the house agreed to leave out some clauses concerning the test and corporation acts: then the bill was committed, and afterwards passed. In the lower house it met with violent opposition, in spite of which it was carried by the majority.

WAR DECLARED AGAINST SPAIN.

The king on the seventeenth day of December, sent a message to the commons, importing that all his endeavours to procure redress for the injuries done to his subjects by the king of Spain having proved ineffectual, he had found it necessary to declare war against that monarch. When a motion was made for an address, to assure the king they would cheerfully support him in the prosecution of the war, Mr. Shippen and some other members said, they did not see the necessity of involving the nation in a war on account of some grievances of which the merchants complained, as these might be amicably redressed. Mr. Stanhope assured the house that he had presented five-and-twenty memorials to the ministry of Spain on that subject without success. Mr. Methuen accounted for the dilatory proceeds of the Spanish court in commercial affairs, by explaining the great variety of regulations in the several provinces and ports of that kingdom. It was suggested that the ministry paid very little regard to the trade and interest of the nation, inasmuch as it appeared by the answer from the secretary of state to the letter of the marquis de Monteleone, that they would have overlooked the violation of the treaties of commerce, provided Spain had accepted the conditions stipulated in the quadruple alliance; for it was there expressly said, that his majesty the king of Great Britain did not seek to aggrandize himself by any new acquisitions, but was rather inclined to sacrifice something of his own to procure the general quiet and tranquillity of Europe. A member observed, that nobody could tell how far that sacrifice would have extended, but certainly it was a very uncommon stretch of condescension. This sacrifice was said to be the cession of Gibraltar and Port Mahon, which the regent of France had offered to the king of Spain, provided he would accede to the quadruple alliance. Horatio Walpole observed, that the disposition of Sicily in favour of the emperor was an infraction of the treaty of Utrecht; and his brother exclaimed against the injustice of attacking the Spanish fleet before a declaration of war. Notwithstanding all these arguments and objections, the majority agreed to the address; and such another was carried in the upper house without a division. The declaration of war against Spain was published with the usual solemnities; but this war was not a favourite of the people, and therefore did not produce those acclamations that were usual on such occasions.

CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE REGENT OF FRANCE.

Meanwhile cardinal Alberoni employed all his intrigues, power, and industry, for the gratification of his revenge. He caused new ships to be built, the sea ports to be put in a posture of defence, succours to be sent to Sicily, and the proper measures to be taken for the security of Sardinia. He, by means of the prince de Cellamare, the Spanish ambassador at Paris, caballed with the malcontents of that kingdom, who were numerous and powerful. A scheme was actually formed for seizing the regent, and securing the person of the king. The duke of Orleans owed the first intimation of this plot to king George, who gave him to understand that a conspiracy was formed against his person and government. The regent immediately took measures for watching the conduct of all suspected persons; but the whole intrigue was discovered by accident. The prince de Cellamare intrusted his despatches to the abbé Portocarrero, and to a son of the marquis de Monteleone. These emissaries set out from Paris in a post-chaise, and were overturned. The postillion overheard Portocarrero say, he would not have lost his portmanteau for a hundred thousand pistoles. The man, at his return to Paris, gave notice to the government of what he had observed. The Spaniards, being pursued, were overtaken and seized at Poictiers, with the portmanteau, in which the regent found two letters that made him acquainted with the particulars of the conspiracy. The prince de Cellamare was immediately conducted to the frontiers: the duke of Maine, the marquis de Pompadore, the cardinal de Polignac, and many other persons of distinction, were committed to different prisons. The regent declared war against Spain on the twenty-ninth day of December; and an army of six-and-thirty thousand men began its march towards that kingdom in January, under the command of the duke of Berwick.

INTENDED INVASION BY ORMOND.

Cardinal Alberoni had likewise formed a scheme in favour of the pretender. The duke of Ormond repairing to Madrid, held conferences with his eminence; and measures were concerted for exciting another insurrection in Great Britain. The chevalier de St. George quitted Urbino by stealth; and embarking at Netteno, landed at Cagliari in March. From thence he took his passage to Roses in Catalonia, and proceeded to Madrid, where he was received with great cordiality, and treated as king of Great Britain. An armament had been equipped of ten ships of war and transports, having on board six thousand regular troops, with arms for twelve thousand men. The command of this fleet was bestowed on the duke of Ormond, with the title of captain-general of his most catholic majesty. He was provided with declarations in the name of that king, importing, that for many good reasons he had sent part of his land and sea forces into England and Scotland, to act as auxiliaries to king James. His Britannic majesty, having received from the regent of France timely notice of this intended invasion, offered, by proclamations, rewards to those that should apprehend the duke of Ormond, or any gentleman embarked in that expedition. Troops were ordered to assemble in the north, and in the west of England: two thousand men were demanded of the states-general: a strong squadron was equipped to oppose the Spanish armament; and the duke of Orleans made a proffer to king George of twenty battalions for his service.

THREE HUNDRED SPANIARDS LAND AND ARE TAKEN IN SCOTLAND.

His majesty having communicated to both houses of parliament the repeated advices he had received touching this projected descent, they promised to support him against all his enemies. They desired he would augment his forces by sea and land, and assured him they would make good the extraordinary expense. Two thousand men were landed from Holland, and six battalions of Imperialists from the Austrian Netherlands. The duke of Ormond sailed from Cadiz, and proceeded as far as Cape Finisterre, where his fleet was dispersed and disabled by a violent storm, which entirely defeated the purposed expedition. Two frigates, however, arrived in Scotland, with the earls Marischal and Seaforth, the marquis of Tullibardine, some field-officers, three hundred Spaniards, and arms for two thousand men. They were joined by a small body of Highlanders, and possessed themselves of Donan castle. Against these adventurers general Wightman marched with a body of regular troops from Inverness. They had taken possession of the pass at Glenshiel; but, at the approach of the king’s forces, retired to the pass at Strachell, which they resolved to defend. They were attacked and driven from one eminence to another till night, when the Highlanders dispersed; and next day the Spaniards surrendered themselves prisoners of war. Marischal, Seaforth, and Tullibardine, with some officers, retired to one of the western isles, in order to wait an opportunity of being conveyed to the continent.

ACCOUNT OF THE PEERAGE BILL.

On the last day of February the duke of Somerset represented, in the house of lords, that the number of peers being very much increased, especially since the union of the two kingdoms, it seemed absolutely necessary to take effectual measures for preventing the inconveniences that might attend the creation of a great number of peers to serve a present purpose; an expedient which had been actually taken in the late reign. He therefore moved that a bill should be brought in to settle and limit the peerage, in such a manner that the number of English peers should not be enlarged beyond six above the present number, which, upon failure of male issue, might be supplied by new creations: that instead of the sixteen elective peers from Scotland, twenty-five should be made hereditary on the part of that kingdom; and that this number, upon failure of heirs-male, should be supplied from the other members of the Scottish peerage. This bill was intended as a restraint upon the prince of Wales, who happened to be at variance with the present ministry. The motion was supported by the duke of Argyle, now lord-steward of the household, the earls of Sunderland and Carlisle. It was opposed by the earl of Oxford, who said, that although he expected nothing from the crown, he would never give his vote for lopping off so valuable a branch of the prerogative, which enabled the king to reward merit and virtuous actions. The debate was adjourned to the second day of March, when earl Stanhope delivered a message from the king, intimating, that as they had under consideration the state of the British peerage, he had so much at heart the settling it upon such a foundation as might secure the freedom and constitution of parliaments in till future ages, that he was willing his prerogative should not stand in the way of so great and necessary a work. Another violent debate ensued between the two factions. The question here, as in almost every other dispute, was not whether the measure proposed was advantageous to the nation? but, whether the tory or the whig interest should predominate in parliament? Earl Cowper affirmed, that the part of the bill relating to the Scottish peerage, was a manifest violation of the treaty of union, as well as a flagrant piece of injustice, as it would deprive persons of their right, without being heard, and without any pretence or forfeiture on their part. He observed, that the Scottish peers excluded from the number of the twenty-five, would be in a worse condition than any other subjects in the kingdom; for they would be neither electing nor elected, neither representing nor represented. These objections were overruled; several resolutions were taken agreeably to the motion, and the judges were ordered to prepare and bring in the bill. This measure alarmed the generality of Scottish peers, as well as many English commoners, who saw in the bill the avenues of dignity and title shut up against them; and they did not fail to exclaim against it as an encroachment upon the fundamental maxims of the constitution. Treaties were written and published on both sides of the question; and a national clamour began to arise, when earl Stanhope observed, in the house, that as the bill had raised strange apprehensions, he thought it advisable to postpone the further consideration of it till a more proper opportunity. It was accordingly dropped, and the parliament prorogued on the eighteenth day of April, on which occasion his majesty told both houses that the Spanish king had acknowledged the pretender.

COUNT MERCI ASSUMES THE COMMAND OF THE IMPERIAL ARMY

The king having appointed lords-justices to rule the kingdom in his absence, embarked in May for Holland, from whence he proceeded to Hanover, where he concluded a peace with Ulrica, the new queen of Sweden. By this treaty Sweden yielded for ever to the royal and electoral house of Brunswick the duchies of Bremen and Verden, with all their dependencies; king George obliged himself to pay a million of rix-dollars to the queen of Sweden; and to renew, as king of Great Britain and elector of Hanover, the alliances formerly subsisting between his predecessors and that kingdom. He likewise mediated a peace between Sweden and his former allies, the Danes, the Prussians, and the Poles. The czar, however, refused to give up his schemes of conquest. He sent his fleet to the Scheuron, or Bates of Sweden, where his troops landing to the number of fifteen thousand, committed dreadful outrages: but sir John Norris, who commanded an English squadron in those seas, having orders to support the negotiations, and oppose any hostilities that might be committed, the czar, dreading the fate of the Spanish navy, thought proper to recall his fleet. In the Mediterranean, admiral Byng acted with unwearied vigour in assisting the Imperialists to finish the conquest of Sicily. The court of Vienna had agreed to send a strong body of forces to finish the reduction of that island; and the command in this expedition was bestowed upon the count de Merci, with whom sir George Byng conferred at Naples. This admiral supplied them with ammunition and artillery from the Spanish prizes. He took the whole reinforcement under his convoy, and saw them safely landed in the bay of Patti, to the number of three thousand five hundred horse, and ten thousand infantry. Count Merci thinking himself more than a match for the Spanish forces commanded by the marquis de Lede, attacked him in a strong camp at Franca-Villa, and was repulsed with the loss of five thousand men, himself being dangerously wounded in the action. Here his army must have perished for want of provisions, had they not been supplied by the English navy.

ACTIVITY OF ADMIRAL BYNG.

Admiral Byng no sooner learned the bad success of the attack at Franca-Villa, than he embarked two battalions from the garrison of Melazzo, and about a thousand recruits, whom he sent under a convoy through the Baro to Scheso-bay, in order to reinforce the Imperial army. He afterwards assisted at the council ol war with the German generals, who, in consequence of his advice, undertook the siege of Messina. Then he repaired to Naples, where he proposed to count Gallas, the new viceroy, that the troops destined for the conquest of Sardinia should be first landed in Sicily, and co-operate towards the conquest of that island. The proposal was immediately despatched to the court of Vienna. In the meantime, the admiral returned to Sicily, and assisted at the siege of Messina. The town surrendered; the garrison retired into the citadel; and the remains of the Spanish navy, which had escaped at Passaro, were now destroyed in the Mole. The emperor approved of the scheme proposed by the English admiral, to whom he wrote a very gracious letter, intimating that he had despatched orders to the governor of Milan to detach the troops designed for Sardinia to Vado, in order to be transported into Italy. The admiral charged himself with the performance of this service. Having furnished the Imperial army before Messina with another supply of cannon, powder, and shot, upon his own credit, he set sail for Vado, where he surmounted numberless difficulties started by the jealousy of count Bonneval, who was unwilling to see his troops, destined for Sardinia, now diverted to another expedition, in which he could not enjoy the chief command. At length admiral Byng saw the forces embarked, and convoyed them to Messina, the citadel of which surrendered in a few days after their arrival. By this time the marquis de Lede had fortified a strong post at Castro-Giovanne, in the centre of the island; and cantoned his troops about Aderno, Palermo, and Catenea. The Imperialists could not pretend to attack him in this situation, nor could they remain in the neighbourhood of Messina on account of the scarcity of provisions. They would, therefore, have been obliged to quit the island during the winter, had not the admiral undertaken to transport them by sea to Trapani, where they could extend themselves in a plentiful country. He not only executed this enterprise, but even supplied them with corn from Tunis, as the harvests of Sicily had been gathered into the Spanish magazines. It was the second day of March before the last embarkation of the Imperial troops were landed at Trapani.

THE SPANISH TROOPS EVACUATE SICILY.

The marquis de Lede immediately retired with his army to Alcamo, from whence he sent his mareschal de camp to count Merci and the English admiral, with overtures for evacuating Sicily. The proposals were not disagreeable to the Germans: but sir George Byng declared that the Spaniards should not quit the island while the war continued, as he foresaw that these troops would be employed against France or England. He agreed however with count Merci, in proposing that if the marquis would surrender Palermo and retire into the middle part of the island, they would consent to an armistice for six weeks, until the sentiments of their different courts should be known. The marquis offered to surrender Palermo, in consideration of a suspension of arms for three months; but, while this negotiation was depending, he received advice from Madrid that a general peace was concluded. Nevertheless, he broke off the treaty in obedience to a secret order for that purpose. The king of Spain hoped to obtain the restitution of St. Sebastian’s, Fontarabia, and other places taken in the course of the war, in exchange for the evacuation of Sicily, Hostilities were continued until the admiral received advice from the earl of Stair, at Paris, that the Spanish ambassador at the Hague had signed the quadruple alliance. By the same courier packets were delivered to the count de Merci and the marquis de Lede, which last gave the admiral and Imperial general to understand that he looked upon the peace as a thing concluded, and was ready to treat for a cessation of hostilities. They insisted on his delivering up Palermo; on the other hand he urged, that, as their masters were in treaty for settling the terms of evacuating Sicily and Sardinia, he did not think himself authorised to agree to a cessation, except on condition that each party should remain on the ground they occupied, and expect further orders from their principals. After a fruitless interview between the three chiefs at the Cassine de Rossignola, the Imperial general resolved to undertake the siege of Palermo; with this view he decamped from Alcamo on the eighteenth day of April, and followed the marquis de Lede, who retreated before him and took possession of the advantageous posts that commanded the passes into the plain of Palermo; but count Merci, with indefatigable diligence, marched over the mountains, while the admiral coasted along shore, attending the motions of the army. The Spanish general perceiving the Germans advancing into the plain, retired under the cannon of Palermo, and fortified his camp with strong entrenchments. On the second day of May the Germans took one of the enemy’s redoubts by surprise, and the marquis de Lede ordered all his forces to be drawn out to retake this fortification: both armies were on the point of engaging, when a courier arrived in a felucca with a packet for the marquis, containing full powers to treat and agree about the evacuation of the island, and the transportation of the army to Spain. He forthwith drew off his army; and sent a trumpet to the general and admiral, with letters, informing them of the orders he had received: commissioners were appointed on each side, the negotiations begun, and the convention signed in a very few days. The Germans were put in possession of Palermo, and the Spanish army marched to Tauromini, from whence they were transported to Barcelona.

PHILIP OBLIGED TO ACCEDE TO THE QUADRUPLE ALLIANCE.

The admiral continued in the Mediterranean until he had seen the islands of Sicily and Sardinia evacuated by the Spaniards, and the mutual cessions executed between the emperor and the duke of Savoy, in consequence of which four battalions of Piedmontese troops were transported from Palermo to Sardinia, and took possession of Cagliari in the name of their master. In a word, admiral Byng bore such a considerable share in this war of Sicily, that the fate of the island depended wholly on his courage, vigilance, and conduct. When he waited on his majesty at Hanover, he met with a very gracious reception. The king told him he had found out the secret of obliging his enemies as well as his friends; for the court of Spain had mentioned him in the most honourable terms, with respect to his candid and friendly deportment in providing transports and other necessaries for the embarkation of their troops, and in protecting them from oppression. He was appointed treasurer of the navy, and rear-admiral of Great Britain: in a little time the king ennobled him, by the title of viscount Torrington: he was declared a privy-counsellor, and afterwards made knight of the bath at the revival of that order. During these occurrences in the Mediterranean, the duke of Berwick advanced with the French army to the frontiers of Spain, where he took Port-Passage and destroyed six ships of war that were on the stocks; then he reduced Fontarabia and St. Sebastian’s, together with Port Antonio in the bottom of the bay of Biscay. In this last exploit the French were assisted by a detachment of English seamen, who burned two large ships unfinished, and a great quantity of naval stores. The king of England, with a view to indemnify himself for the expense of the war, projected the conquest of Corunna in Biscay, and of Peru in South America. Four thousand men, commanded by lord Cobham, were embarked at the Isle of Wight, and sailed on the twenty-first day of September, under convoy of five ships of war conducted by admiral Mighels. Instead of making an attempt upon Corunna, they reduced Vigo with very little difficulty; and Point-a-Vedra submitted without resistance: here they found some brass artillery, small arms, and military stores, with which they returned to England. In the meantime captain Johnson, with two English ships of war, destroyed the same number of Spanish ships in the port of Ribadeo, to the eastward of Cape Ortegas, so that the naval power of Spain was totally ruined. The expedition to the West Indies was prevented by the peace. Spain being oppressed on all sides, and utterly exhausted, Philip saw the necessity of a speedy pacification. He now perceived the madness of Alberoni’s ambitious projects. That minister was personally disagreeable to the emperor, the king of England, and the regent of France, who had declared they would hearken to no proposals while he should continue in office: the Spanish monarch, therefore, divested him of his employment, and ordered him to quit the kingdom in three weeks. The marquis de Beretti Landi, minister from the court of Madrid at the Hague, delivered a plan of pacification to the states; hat it was rejected by the allies; and Philip was obliged at last to accede to the quadruple alliance.

BILL FOR SECURING THE DEPENDENCY OF IRELAND UPON THE CROWN.

On the fourteenth day of November, king George returned to England, and on the twenty-third opened the session of parliament with a speech, in which he told them that all Europe, as well as Great Britain, was on the point of being delivered from the calamities of war by the influence of British arms and councils. He exhorted the commons to concert proper means for lessening the debts of the nation, and concluded with a panegyric upon his own government. It must be owned he had acted with equal vigour and deliberation in all the troubles he had encountered since his accession to the throne. The addresses of both houses were as warm as he could desire. They in particular extolled him for having interposed in behalf of the protestants of Hungary, Poland, and Germany, who had been oppressed by the practices of the popish clergy, and presented to him memorials containing a detail of their grievances. He and all the other protestant powers warmly interceded in their favour, but the grievances were not redressed. The peerage bill was now revived by the duke of Buckingham; and, in spite of all opposition, passed through the house of lords. It had been projected by earl Stanhope, and eagerly supported by the earl of Sunderland; therefore, Mr. Robert Walpole attacked it in the house of commons with extraordinary vehemence. Here too it was opposed by a considerable number of whig members; and, after warm debates, rejected by a large majority. The next object that engrossed the attention of the parliament was a bill for better securing the dependency of Ireland upon the crown of Great Britain. Maurice Annesley had appealed to the house of peers in England, from a decree of the house of peers in Ireland, which was reversed. The British peers ordered the barons of the exchequer in Ireland to put Mr. Annesley in possession of the lands he had lost by the decree in that kingdom. The barons obeyed this order; and the Irish house of peers passed a vote against them, as having acted in derogation to the king’s prerogative in his high court of parliament in Ireland, as also of the rights and privileges of that kingdom, and of the parliament thereof; they likewise ordered them to be taken into custody of the usher of the black rod: they transmitted a long representation to the king, demonstrating their right to the final judicature of causes: and the duke of Leeds, in the upper house, urged fifteen reasons to support the claim of the Irish peers. Notwithstanding these arguments, the house of lords in England resolved that the barons of the exchequer in Ireland had acted with courage, according to law, in support of his majesty’s prerogative, and with fidelity to the crown of Great Britain. They addressed the king to confer on them some marks of his royal favour, as a recompence for the ill usage they had undergone. Finally, they prepared the bill, by which the Irish house of lords was deprived of all right to pass sentence, affirm, or reverse any judgment or decree, given or made in any court within that kingdom. In the house of commons it was opposed by Mr. Pitt, Mr. Hungerford, lords Molesworth and Tyr-connel; but was carried by the majority, and received the royal assent.

SOUTH-SEA ACT

The king having recommended to the commons the consideration of proper means for lessening the national debt, was a prelude to the famous South-Sea act, which became productive of so much mischief and infatuation The scheme was projected by sir John Blunt, who had been bred a scrivener, and was possessed of all the cunning, plausibility, and boldness requisite for such an undertaking. He communicated his plan to Mr. Aislaby, the chancellor of the exchequer, as well as to one of the secretaries of state. He answered all their objections; and the project was adopted. They foresaw their own private advantage in the execution of their design, which was imparted in the name of the South-Sea company, of which Blunt was a director, who influenced all their proceedings. The pretence for the scheme was to discharge the national debt, by reducing all the funds into one. The bank and South-Sea company outbid each other. The South-Sea company altered their original plan, and offered such high terms to government, that the proposals of the bank were rejected; and a bill was ordered to be brought into the house of commons, formed on the plan presented by the South-Sea company. While this affair was in agitation, the stock of that company rose from one hundred and thirty to near four hundred, in consequence of the conduct of the commons, who had rejected a motion for a clause in the bill, to fix what share in the capital stock of the company should be vested in those proprietors of the annuities who might voluntarily subscribe; or how many year’s purchase in money they should receive in subscribing, at the choice of the proprietors.

In the house of lords, the bill was opposed by lord North and Grey, earl Cowper, the dukes of Wharton, Buckingham, and other peers; they affirmed it was calculated for enriching a few and impoverishing a great number: that it countenanced the fraudulent and pernicious practice of stock-jobbing, which diverted the genius of the people from trade and industry: that it would give foreigners the opportunity to double and treble the vast sums they had in the public funds; and they would be tempted to realize and withdraw their capital and immense gains to other countries; so that Great Britain would be drained of all its gold and silver; that the artificial and prodigious rise of the South-Sea stock was a dangerous bait, which might decoy many unwary people to their ruin, alluring them by a false prospect of gain to part with the fruits of their industry, to purchase imaginary riches; that the addition of above thirty millions capital would give such power to the South-Sea company, as might endanger the liberties of the nation; for by their extensive interest they would be able to influence most, if not all the elections of the members; and, consequently, over-rule the resolutions of the house of commons. Earl Cowper urged, that in all public bargains the individuals of the administration ought to take care, that thay shall be more advantageous to the state than to private persons; but that a contrary method had been followed in the contract made with the South-Sea company; for, should the stocks be kept at the advanced price to which they had been raised by the oblique arts of stock-jobbing, either that company or its principal members would gain above thirty millions, of which no more than one-fourth part would be given towards the discharge of the national debts. He apprehended that the re-purchase of annuities would meet with insuperable difficulties; and, in such case, none but a few persons who were in the secret, who had bought stocks at a low rate, and afterwards sold them at a high price, would in the end be gainers by the project. The earl of Sunderland answered their objections. He declared that those who countenanced the scheme of the South-Sea company, had nothing in view but the advantage of the nation. He owned that the managers for that company had undoubtedly a prospect of private gain, either to themselves or to their corporation; but, he said, when the scheme was accepted, neither the one nor the other could foresee that the stocks would have risen to such a height; that if they had continued as they were, the public would have had the far greater share of the advantage accruing from the scheme; and should they be kept up to the present high price, it was but reasonable that the South-Sea company should enjoy the profits procured to it by the wise management and industry of the directors, which would enable it to make large dividends, and thereby accomplish the purpose of the scheme. The bill passed without amendment or division; and on the seventh day of April received the royal assent. By this act the South-Sea company was authorised to take in, by purchase or subscription, the irredeemable debts of the nation, stated at sixteen millions five hundred forty-six thousand four hundred and eighty-two pounds, seven shillings and one penny farthing, at such times as they should find convenient before the first day of March of the ensuing year, and without any compulsion on any of the proprietors, at such rates and prices as should be agreed upon between the company and the respective proprietors. They were likewise authorised to take in all the redeemable debts, amounting to the same sum as that of the irredeemables, either by purchase, by taking subscriptions, or by paying off the creditors. For the liberty of taking in the national debts, and increasing their capital stock accordingly, the company consented that their present, and to be increased annuity, should be continued at five per cent, till Midsummer, in the year one thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven; from thence to be reduced to four per cent, and be redeemable by parliament. In consideration of this, and other advantages expressed in the act, the company declared themselves willing to make such payments into the receipt of the exchequer as were specified for the use of the public, to be applied to the discharge of the public debts incurred before Christmas, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixteen. The sums they were obliged to pay for the liberty of taking in the redeemable debts, four years and a half’s purchase for all long and short annuities that should be subscribed, and one year’s purchase for such long annuities as should not be subscribed, amounted on the execution of the act to about seven millions. For enabling the company to raise this sum, they were empowered to make calls for money from their members; to open books of subscription; to grant annuities redeemable by the company; to borrow money upon any contract or bill under their common seal, or on the credit of their capital stock; to convert the money demanded of their members into additional stock, without, however, making any addition to the company’s annuities, payable out of the public duties. It was enacted, that out of the first monies arising from the sums paid by the company into the exchequer, such public debts, carrying interest at five per cent, incurred before the twenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixteen, founded upon any former act of parliament, as were now redeemable, or might be redeemed by the twenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and twenty-two, should be discharged in the first place: that then all the remainder should be applied towards paying off so much of the capital stock of the company as should then carry an interest of five per cent. It was likewise provided, that, after Midsummer in the year one thousand seven hundred and twenty-seven, the company should not be paid off in any sums being less than one million at a time.

CHARTERS GRANTED TO THE ROYAL AND LONDON ASSURANCE OFFICES.

The heads of the Royal-Assurance and London-Assurance companies, understanding that the civil-list was considerably in arrears, offered to the ministry six hundred thousand pounds towards the discharge of that debt, on condition of their obtaining the king’s charter, with a parliamentary sanction, for the establishment of their respective companies. The proposal was embraced; and the king communicated it in a message to the house of commons, desiring their concurrence. A bill was immediately passed, enabling his majesty to grant letters of incorporation to the two companies. It soon obtained the royal assent; and, on the eleventh day of June, an end was put to the session. This was the age of interested projects, inspired by a venal spirit of adventure, the natural consequence of that warice, fraud, and profligacy, which the monied corporations had introduced. This of all others is the most unfavourable era for an historian. A reader of sentiment and imagination cannot be entertained or interested by a dry detail of such transactions as admit of no warmth, no colouring, no embellishment, a detail which serves only to exhibit an inanimate picture of tasteless vice and mean degeneracy.

TREATY OF ALLIANCE WITH SWEDEN.

By this time an alliance offensive and defensive was concluded at Stockholm between king George and the queen of Sweden, by which his majesty engaged to send a fleet into the Baltic to act against the czar of Muscovy, in case that monarch should reject reasonable proposals of peace. Peter loudly complained of the insolent interposition of king George, alleging that he had failed in his engagements, both as elector of Hanover and king of Great Britain. His resident at London presented a long memorial on this subject, which was answered by the British and Hanoverian ministry. These recriminations served only to inflame the difference. The czar continued to prosecute the war, and at length concluded a peace without a mediator. At the instances, however of king George and the regent of France, a treaty of peace was signed between the queen of Sweden and the king of Prussia, to whom that princess ceded the city of Stetin, the district between the rivers Oder and Pehnne, with the isles of Wollin and Usedom. On the other hand, he engaged to join the king of Great Britain in his endeavours to effect a peace between Sweden and Denmark, on condition that the Danish king should restore to queen Ulrica that part of Pomerania which he had seized; he likewise promised to pay to that queen two millions of rix-dollars in consideration of the cessions she had made. The treaty between Sweden and Denmark was signed at Frederickstadt in the month of June, through the mediation of the king of Great Britain, who became guarantee for the Dane’s keeping possession of Sleswick. He consented, however, to restore the Upper Pomerania, the isle of Rugen, the city of Wismar, and whatever he had taken from Sweden during the war, in consideration of Sweden’s renouncing the exemption from toll in the Sound and the two Belts, and paying to Denmark six hundred thousand rix-dollars.

THE PRINCE OF HESSE ELECTED KING OF SWEDEN.

Sir John Norris had again sailed to the Baltic with a strong squadron to give weight to the king’s mediation. When he arrived at Copenhagen he wrote a letter to prince Dolgorouki, the czar’s ambassador at the court of Denmark, signifying that he and the king’s envoy at Stockholm were vested with full powers to act jointly or separately in quality of plenipotentiaries, in order to effect a peace between Sweden and Muscovy, in the way of mediation. The prince answered that the czar had nothing more at heart than peace and tranquillity; and in case his Britannic majesty had any proposals to make to that prince, he hoped the admiral would excuse him from receiving them, as they might be delivered in a much more compendious way. The English fleet immediately joined that of Sweden as auxiliaries; but they had no opportunity of acting against the Russian squadron, which secured itself in Revel. Ulrica, queen of Sweden, and sister to Charles XII., had married the prince of Hesse, and was extremely desirous that he should be joined with her in the administration of the regal power. She wrote a separate letter to each of the four States, desiring they would confer on him the sovereignty; and after some opposition from the nobles, he was actually elected king of Sweden. He sent one of his general officers to notify his elevation to the czar, who congratulated him upon his accession to the throne: this was the beginning of a negotiation which ended in peace, and established the tranquillity of the North. In the midst of these transactions, king George set out from England for his Hanoverian dominions; but before he departed from Great Britain, he was reconciled to the prince of Wales, through the endeavours of the duke of Devonshire and Mr. Walpole, who, with earl Cowper, lord Townshend, Mr. Methuen, and Mr. Pulteney, were received into favour, and re-united with the ministry. The earls of Dorset and Bridgewater were promoted to the title of dukes; lord viscount Castleton was made an earl; Hugh Boscawen was created a baron, and viscount Falmouth; and John Wallop baron, and viscount Lymington.

EFFECTS OF THE SOUTH-SEA SCHEME.

While the king was involved at Hanover in a labyrinth of negotiations, the South-Sea scheme produced a kind of national delirium in his English dominions. Blunt, the projector, had taken the hint of his plan from the famous Mississippi scheme formed by Law, which in the preceding year had raised such a ferment in France, and entailed rain upon many thousand families of that kingdom. In the scheme of Law there was something substantial. An exclusive trade to Louisiana promised some advantage; though the design was defeated by the frantic eagerness of the people. Law himself became the dupe of the regent, who transferred the burden of fifteen hundred millions of the king’s debts to the shoulders of the subjects, while the projector was sacrificed as the scape-goat of the political iniquity. The South-Sea scheme promised no commercial advantage of any consequence. It was buoyed up by nothing but the folly and rapaciousness of individuals, which became so blind and extravagant, that Blunt, with moderate talents, was able to impose upon the whole nation, and make tools of the other directors, to serve his own purposes and those of a few associates. When this projector found that the South-Sea stock did not rise according to his expectation upon the bill’s being passed, he circulated a report that Gibraltar and Port-Mahon would be exchanged for some places in Teru; by which means the English trade to the South-Sea would be protected and enlarged. This rumour, diffused by his emissaries, acted like a contagion. In five days the directors opened their books for a subscription of one million, at the rate of three hundred pounds for every hundred pounds capital. Persons of all ranks crowded to the house in such a manner that the first subscription exceeded two millions of original stock. In a few days this stock advanced to three hundred and forty pounds; and the subscriptions were sold for double the price of the first payment. Without entering into a detail of the proceedings, or explaining the scandalous arts that were practised to enhance the value of the stock, and decoy the unwary, we shall only observe, that by the promise of prodigious dividends and other infamous arts, the stock was raised to one thousand; and the whole nation infected with the spirit of stock-jobbing to an astonishing degree. All distinction of party, religion, sex, character, and circumstances, were swallowed up in this universal concern, or in some such pecuniary project. Exchange-Alley was filled with a strange concourse of statesmen and clergymen, churchmen and dissenters, whigs and tories, physicians, lawyers, tradesmen, and even with multitudes of females. All other professions and employments were utterly neglected; and the people’s attention wholly engrossed by this and other chimerical schemes, which were known by the denomination of bubbles. New companies started up every day under the countenance of the prime nobility. The prince of Wales was constituted governor of the Welsh copper company; the duke of Chandos appeared at the head of the York-buildings company; the duke of Bridgewater formed a third, for building houses in London and Westminster. About an hundred such schemes were projected and put in execution, to the ruin of many thousands. The sums proposed to be raised by these expedients amounted to three hundred millions sterling, which exceeded the value of all the lands in England. The nation was so intoxicated with the spirit of adventure, that people became a prey to the grossest delusion. An obscure projector, pretending to have formed a very advantageous scheme, which, however, he did not explain, published proposals for a subscription, in which he promised that in one month the particulars of his project should be disclosed. In the meantime he declared that every person paying two guineas should be entitled to a subscription for one hundred pounds, which would produce that sum yearly. In one forenoon this adventurer received a thousand of these subscriptions; and in the evening set out for another kingdom. The king, before his departure, had issued a proclamation against these unlawful projects; the lords-justices afterwards dismissed all the petitions that had been presented for charters and patents; and the prince of Wales renounced the company of which he had been elected governor. The South-Sea scheme raised such a flood of eager avidity and extravagant hope, that the majority of the directors were swept along with it, even contrary to their own sense and inclination; but Blunt and his accomplices still directed the stream.

The infatuation prevailed till the eighth day of September, when the stock began to fall. Then did some of the adventurers awake from their delirium. The number of the sellers daily increased. On the twenty-ninth day of the month the stock had sunk to one hundred and fifty; several eminent goldsmiths and bankers, who had lent great sums upon it, were obliged to stop payment and abscond. The ebb of this portentous tide was so violent, that it bore down everything in its way; and an infinite number of families were overwhelmed with ruin. Public credit sustained a terrible shock; the nation was thrown into a dangerous ferment; and nothing was heard but the ravings of grief, disappointment, and despair. Some principal members of the ministry were deeply concerned in these fradulent transactions; when they saw the price of stock sinking daily, they employed all their influence with the bank to support the credit of the South-Sea company. That corporation agreed, though with reluctance, to subscribe into the stock of the South-Sea company, valued at four hundred per cent., three millions five hundred thousand pounds, which the company was to repay to the bank on Lady-day and Michaelmas of the ensuing year. This transaction was managed by Mr. Robert Walpole, who, with his own hand, wrote the minute of agreement, afterwards known by the name of the bank contract. Books were opened at the bank to take in a subscription for the support of public credit; and considerable sums of money were brought in. By this expedient the stock was raised at first, and those who contrived it seized the opportunity to realize. But the bankruptcy of goldsmiths and the sword-blade company, from the fall of South-Sea stock, occasioned such a run upon the bank, that the money was paid away faster than it could be received from the subscription. Then the South-Sea stock sunk again; and the directors of the bank, finding themselves in danger of being involved in that company’s ruin, renounced the agreement; which indeed they were under no obligation to perform, for it was drawn up in such a manner as to be no more than the rough draft of a subsequent agreement, without due form, penalty, or clause of obligation. All expedients having failed, and the clamours of the people daily increasing, expresses were despatched to Hanover, representing the state of the nation, and pressing the king to return. He accordingly shortened his intended stay in Germany, and arrived in England on the eleventh day of November.

A SECRET COMMITTEE APPOINTED BY THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

The parliament being assembled on the eighth day of December, his majesty expressed his concern for the unhappy turn of affairs, which had so deeply affected the public credit at home: he earnestly desired the commons to consider of the most effectual and speedy methods to restore the national credit, and fix it upon a lasting establishment. The lower house was too much interested in the calamity to postpone the consideration of that subject. The members seemed to lay aside all party distinctions, and vie with each other in promoting an inquiry, by which justice might be done to the injured nation. They ordered the directors to produce an account of all their proceedings. Sir Joseph Jekyll moved that a select committee might be appointed to examine the particulars of this transaction. Mr. Walpole, now paymaster of the forces, observed, that such a method would protract the inquiry, while the public credit lay in a bleeding condition. He told the house he had formed a scheme for restoring public credit; but, before he would communicate this plan, desired to know whether the subscriptions of public debts and incumbrances, money-subscriptions and other contracts made with the South-Sea company, should remain in the present state. After a warm debate, the question was carried in the affirmative, with this addition, “Unless altered for the ease and relief of the proprietors, by a general court of the South-Sea company, or set aside in due course of law.” Next day Walpole produced his scheme,—to ingraft nine millions of South-Sea stock into the bank of England, and the like sum into the East India company, on certain conditions. The house voted, that proposals should be received from the bank, and those two companies on this subject. These being delivered the commons resolved, that an engrossment of nine millions of the capital stock of the South-Sea company into the capital stock of the bank and East-India company, as proposed by these companies, would contribute very much to the restoring public credit. A bill upon this resolution was brought in, passed through both houses, and received the royal assent. Another bill was enacted into a law, for restraining the sub-governor, deputy-governor, directors, treasurer, under-treasurer, cashier, secretary, and accountants, of the South-Sea company, from quitting the kingdom till the end of the next session of parliament; and for discovering their estates and effects, so as to prevent them from being transported or alienated. A committee of secrecy was chosen by ballot, to examine all the books, papers, and proceedings relating to the execution of the South-Sea act.

The lords were not less eager than the commons to prosecute this inquiry, though divers members in both houses were deeply involved in the guilt and infamy of the transaction. Earl Stanhope said the estates of the criminals, whether directors or not directors, ought to be confiscated, to repair the public losses. He was seconded by lord Carteret, and even by the earl of Sunderland. The duke of Wharton declared he would give up the best friend he had should he be found guilty. He observed, that the nation had been plundered in a most flagrant and notorious manner; therefore, they ought to find out and punish the offenders severely, without respect to persons. The sub and deputy-governors, the directors and officers of the South-Sea company, were examined at the bar of the house. Then a bill was brought in, disabling them to enjoy any office in that company, or in the East-India company, or in the bank of England. Three brokers were likewise examined, and made great discoveries. Knight, the treasurer of the South-Sea company, who had been entrusted with the secrets of the whole affair, thought proper to withdraw himself from the kingdom. A proclamation was issued to apprehend him; and another for preventing any of the directors from escaping out of the kingdom. At this period, the secret committee informed the house of commons that they had already discovered a train of the deepest villany and fraud that hell ever contrived to ruin a nation, which in due time they would lay before the house; in the meanwhile, they thought it highly necessary to secure the persons of some of the directors and principal officers of the South-Sea company, as well as to seize their papers. An order was made to secure the books and papers of Knight, Surman, and Turner. The persons of sir George Caswell, sir John Blunt, sir John Lambert, sir John Fellows, and Mr. Grigsby, were taken into custody; sir Theodore Janssen, Mr. Sawbridge, sir Robert Chaplain, and Mr. Eyles, were expelled the house and apprehended. Mr. Aislaby resigned his employments of chancellor of the exchequer and lord of the treasury; and orders were given to remove all directors of the South-Sea company from the places they possessed under the government.

The lords, in the course of their examination, discovered that large portions of South-Sea stock had been given to several persons in the administration and house of commons, for promoting the passing of the South-Sea act. The house immediately resolved, that this practice was a notorious and most dangerous species of corruption: that the directors of the South-Sea company having ordered great quantities of their stock to be bought for the service of the company, when it was at a very high price, and on pretence of keeping up the price of stock; and at the same time several of the directors, and other officers belonging to the company, having, in a clandestine manner, sold their own stock to the company, such directors and officers were guilty of a notorious fraud and breach of trust, and their so doing was one great cause of the unhappy turn of affairs that had so much affected public credit. Many other resolutions were taken against that infamous confederacy, in which, however, the innocent were confounded with the guilty. Sir John Blunt refusing to answer certain interrogations, a violent debate arose about the manner in which he should be treated. The duke of Wharton observed, that the government of the best princes was sometimes rendered intolerable to their subjects by bad ministers: he mentioned the example of Sejanus, who had made a division in the imperial family, and rendered the reign of Cladius hateful to the Romans. Earl Stanhope conceiving this reflection was aimed at him, was seized with a transport of anger. He undertook to vindicate the ministry; and spoke with such vehemence as produced a violent headache, which obliged him to retire. He underwent proper evacuations, and seemed to recover; but next day, in the evening, became lethargic, and being seized with a suffocation, instantly expired. The king deeply regretted the death of this favourite minister, which was the more unfortunate as it happened at such a critical conjuncture; and he appointed lord Town-shend to fill his place of secretary. Earl Stanhope was survived but a few days by the other secretary Mr. Craggs, who died of the small-pox on the sixteenth day of February. Knight, the cashier of the South-Sea company, being seized at Tirlemont by the vigilance of Mr. Gandot, secretary to Mr. Loathes the British resident at Brussels, was confined in the citadel of Antwerp. Application was made to the court of Vienna, that he should be delivered to such persons as might be appointed to receive him; but he had found means to interest the states of Brabant in his behalf. They insisted upon their privilege granted by charter, that no person apprehended for any crime in Brabant should be tried in any other country. The house of commons expressed their indignation at this frivolous pretence; instances were renewed to the emperor; and in the meantime Knight escaped from the citadel of Antwerp.

SEVERE RESOLUTIONS AGAINST THE SOUTH-SEA COMPANY.

The committee of secrecy found, that, before any subscription could be made, a fictitious stock of five hundred and seventy-four thousand pounds had been disposed of by the directors, to facilitate the passing the bill. Great part of this was distributed among the earl of Sunderland, Mr. Craggs, senior, the duchess of Kendal, the countess of Platen and her two nieces, Mr. Secretary Craggs, and Mr. Aislaby chancellor of the exchequer. In consequence of the committee’s report, the house came to several severe, though just, resolutions against the directors and officers of the South-Sea company; and a bill was prepared for the relief of the unhappy sufferers. Mr. Stanhope, one of the secretaries of the treasury, charged in the report with having large quantities of stock and subscriptions, desired that he might have an opportunity to clear himself. His request was granted; and the affair being discussed, he was cleared by a majority of three voices. Fifty thousand pounds in stock had been taken by Knight for the use of the earl of Sunderland. Great part of the house entered eagerly into this inquiry; and a violent dispute ensued. The whole strength of the ministry was mustered in his defence. The majority declared him innocent: the nation in general was of another opinion. He resigned his place of first commissioner in the treasury, which was bestowed upon Mr. Robert Walpole; but he still retained the confidence of his master. With respect to Mr. Aislaby, the evidence appeared so strong against him, that the commons resolved, he had promoted the distinctive execution of the South-Sea scheme, with a view to his own exorbitant profit, and combined with the directors in their pernicious practices to the ruin of public credit. He was expelled the house, and committed to the Tower. Mr. Craggs, senior, died of a lethargy, before he underwent the censure of the house. Nevertheless they resolved that he was a notorious accomplice with Robert Knight, and some of the directors, in carrying on their scandalous practices; and therefore, that all the estate of which he was possessed, from the first day of December in the preceding year, should be applied towards the relief of the unhappy sufferers in the South-Sea company. The directors, in obedience to the orders of the house, delivered in inventories of their estates, which were confiscated by act of parliament, towards making good the damages sustained by the company, after a certain allowance was deducted for each according to his conduct and circumstances.

The delinquents being thus punished by the forfeiture of their fortunes, the house converted their attention to means for repairing the mischiefs which the scheme had produced. This was a very difficult task, on account of the contending interests of those engaged in the South-Sea company, which rendered it impossible to relieve some but at the expense of others. Several wholesome resolutions were taken, and presented with an address to the king, explaining the motives of their proceedings. On the twenty-ninth day of July, the parliament was prorogued for two days only. Then his majesty going to the house of peers, declared that he had called them together again so suddenly, that they might resume the consideration of the state of public credit. The commons immediately prepared a bill upon the resolutions they had taken. The whole capital stock, at the end of the year one thousand seven hundred and twenty, amounted to about thirty-seven millions eight hundred thousand pounds. The stock allotted to all the proprietors did not exceed twenty-four millions five hundred thousand pounds; the remaining capital stock belonged to the company in their corporate capacity. It was the profit arising from the execution of the South-Sea scheme; and out of this the bill enacted, that seven millions should be paid to the public. The present act likewise directed several additions to be made to the stock of the proprietors, out of that possessed by the company in their own right; it made a particular distribution of stock, amounting to two millions two hun dred thousand pounds; and upon remitting five millions of the seven to be paid to the public, annihilated two millions of their capital. It was enacted, that, after these distributions, the remaining capital stock should be divided among all the proprietors. This dividend amounted to thirty-three pounds six shillings and eight-pence per cent, and deprived the company of eight millions nine hundred thousand pounds. They had lent above eleven millions on stock unredeemed; of which the parliament discharged all the debtors, upon their paying ten per cent. Upon this article the company’s loss exceeded six millions nine hundred thousand pounds, for many debtors refused to make any payment. The proprietors of the stock loudly complained of their being deprived of two millions; and the parliament in the sequel revived that sum which had been annihilated. While this affair was in agitation, petitions from counties, cities, and boroughs, in all parts of the kingdom, were presented to the house, crying for justice against the villany of the directors. Pamphlets and papers were daily published on the same subject; so that the whole nation was exasperated to the highest pitch of resentment. Nevertheless, by the wise and vigorous resolutions of the parliament, the South-Sea company was soon in a condition to fulfil their engagements with the public; the ferment of the people subsided; and the credit of the nation was restored.

CHAPTER III.

Bill against Atheism and Immorality postponed..... Session closed..... Alliances between Great Britain, France, and Spain..... Plague at Marseilles..... Debates in the House of Lords about Mr. Law the Projector..... Sentiments of some Lords touching the War with Spain..... Petition of the Quakers..... The Parliament dissolved..... Rumours of a Conspiracy..... The Bishop of Rochester is committed to the Tower..... New Parliament..... Declaration of the Pretender..... Report of the Secret Committee..... Bill of Pains and Penalties against the Bishop of Rochester..... Who is deprived and driven into perpetual Exile..... Proceedings against those concerned in the Lottery at Hamburgh..... Affairs of the Continent..... Clamour in Ireland on account of Wood’s Coinage..... Death of the Duke of Orleans..... An Act for lessening the Public Debts..... Philip King of Spain abdicates the Throne..... Abuses in Chancery..... Trial of the Earl of Macclesfield..... Debates about the Debts of the Civil List..... A Bill in favour of the late Lord Bolingbroke..... Treaty of Alliance between the Courts of Vienna and Madrid..... Treaty of Hanover..... Approved in Parliament..... Riots in Scotland on account of the Malt- tax..... A small Squadron sent to the Baltic..... Admiral Hosier’s Expedition to the West Indies..... Disgrace of the Duke de Ripperda..... Substance of the King’s Speech to Parliament..... Debate in the House of Lords upon the approaching Rupture with the Emperor and Spain..... Memorial of Mr. Palms, the Imperial Resident at London..... Conventions with Sweden and Hesse-Cassel..... Vote of Credit..... Siege of Gibraltar by the Spaniards..... Preliminaries of Peace..... Death and Character of George I. King of Great Britain.

BILL AGAINST ATHEISM.

During the infatuation produced by this infamous scheme, luxury, vice, and profligacy, increased to a shocking degree of extravagance. The adventurers, intoxicated by their imaginary wealth, pampered themselves with the rarest dainties, and the most expensive wines that could be imported; they purchased the most sumptuous furniture, equipage, and apparel, though without taste or discernment; they indulged their criminal passions to the most scandalous excess; their discourse was the language of pride, insolence, and the most ridiculous ostentation; they affected to scoff at religion and morality, and even to set heaven at defiance. The earl of Nottingham complained in the house of lords of the growth of atheism, profaneness, and immorality; and a bill was brought in for suppressing blasphemy and profaneness. It contained several articles seemingly calculated to restrain the liberty granted to nonconformists by the laws of the last session: for that reason it met with violent opposition. It was supported by the archbishop of Canterbury, the earl of Nottingham, lords Bathurst and Trevor, the bishops of London, Winchester, and Litchfield and Coventry. One of these said, he verily believed the present calamity occasioned by the South-Sea project, was a judgment of God on the blasphemy and profaneness of the nation. Lord Onslow replied, “That noble peer must then be a great sinner, for he has lost considerably by the South-Sea scheme.” The duke of Wharton, who had rendered himself famous by his wit and profligacy, said he was not insensible of the common opinion of the town concerning himself, and gladly seized this opportunity of vindicating his character, by declaring he was far from being a patron of blasphemy, or an enemy to religion. On the other hand, he could not but oppose the bill, because he conceived it to be repugnant to the holy scripture. Then pulling an old family bible from his pocket, he quoted several passages from the epistles of St. Peter and St. Paul; concluding with a desire that the bill might be thrown out. The earl of Peterborough declared, that though he was for a parliamentary king, yet he did not desire to have a parliamentary God, or a parliamentary religion; and, should the house declare for one of this kind, he would go to Rome and endeavour to be chosen a cardinal; for he had rather sit in a conclave than with their lordships upon those terms. After a vehement debate, the bill was postponed to a long day, by a considerable majority. The season was far advanced before the supplies were granted; and at length they were not voted with that cheerfulness and good humour which the majority had hitherto manifested on such occasions. On the sixteenth day of June, the king sent a message to the house of commons, importing, that he had agreed to pay a subsidy to the crown of Sweden, and he hoped they would enable him to make good his engagements. The leaders of the opposition took fire at this intimation. They desired to know whether this subsidy, amounting to seventy-two thousand pounds, was to be paid to Sweden over and above the expense of maintaining a strong squadron in the Baltic? Lord Molesworth observed, that, by our late conduct, we were become the allies of the whole world, and the bubbles of all our allies: for we were obliged to pay them well for their assistance. He affirmed that the treaties which had been made with Sweden at different times, were inconsistent and contradictory; that our late engagements with that crown were contrary to the treaties subsisting with Denmark, and directly opposite to the measures formerly concerted with the czar of Muscovy. He said, that in order to engage the czar to yield what he had gained in the course of the war, the king of Prussia ought to give up Stetin, and the elector of Hanover restore Bremen and Verden; that, after all, England had no business to intermeddle with the affairs of the empire; that we reaped little or no advantage by our trade to the Baltic, but that of procuring naval stores; he owned that hemp was a very necessary commodity, particularly at this juncture; but he insisted that if due encouragement were given to some of our plantations in America, we might be supplied from thence at a much cheaper rate than from Sweden and Norway. Notwithstanding these arguments, the Swedish supply was granted; and, in about three weeks, their complaisance was put to another proof. They were given to understand, by a second message, that the debts of the civil list amounted to five hundred and fifty thousand pounds; and his majesty hoped they would empower him to raise that sum upon the revenue, as he proposed it should be replaced in the civil list, and reimbursed by a deduction from the salaries and wages of all officers, as well as from the pensions and other payments from the crown. A bill was prepared for this purpose, though not without warm opposition; and, at the same time, an act passed for a general pardon. On the tenth day of August, the king closed the session with a speech, in which he expressed his concern for the sufferings of the innocent, and a just indignation against the guilty, with respect to the South-Sea scheme. These professions were judged necessary to clear his own character, which had incurred the suspicion of some people, who whispered that he was not altogether free from connexions with the projectors of that design; that the emperor had, at his desire, refused to deliver up Knight; and that he favoured the directors and their accomplices.

ALLIANCE BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, AND SPAIN.

Lords Townshend and Carteret were now appointed Secretaries of state; and the earl of Hay was vested with the office of lord privy-seal of Scotland. In June the treaty of peace between Great Britain and Spain was signed at Madrid. The contracting parties engaged to restore mutually all the effects seized and confiscated on both sides. In particular, the king of England promised to restore all the ships of the Spanish fleet which had been taken in the Mediterranean, or the value of them, if they were sold. He likewise promised, in a secret article, that he would no longer interfere in the affairs of Italy: and the king of Spain made an absolute cession of Gibraltar and Port Mahon. At the same time a defensive alliance was concluded between Great Britain, France, and Spain. All remaining difficulties were referred to a congress at Cambray, where they hoped to consolidate a general peace, by determining all differences between the emperor and his catholic majesty. In the meantime the powers of Great Britain, France, and Spain, engaged, by virtue of the present treaty, to grant to the duke of Parma a particular protection for the preservation of his territories and rights, and for the support of his dignity. It was also stipulated that the states-general should be invited to accede to this alliance. The congress at Cambray was opened; but the demands on both sides were so high, that it proved ineffectual. In the meantime, the peace between Russia and Sweden was concluded, on condition that the czar should retain Livonia, Ingria, Estonia, part of Carelia, and of the territory of Wyburg, Riga, Revel, and Nerva, in consideration of his restoring part of Finland, and paying two millions of rix-dollars to the king of Sweden. The personal animosity subsisting between king George and the czar seemed to increase. Bastagif, the Russian resident at London, having presented a memorial that contained some unguarded expressions, was ordered to quit the kingdom in a fortnight. The czar published a declaration at Petersburgh, complaining of this outrage, which, he said, ought naturally to have engaged him to use reprisals; but as he perceived it was done without any regard to the concerns of England, and only in favour of the Hanoverian interest, he was unwilling that the English nation should suffer for a piece of injustice in which they had no share. He, therefore, granted to them all manner of security, and free liberty to trade in all his dominions. To finish this strange tissue of negotiations, king George concluded a treaty with the Moors of Africa, against which the Spaniards loudly exclaimed.

PLAGUE AT MARSEILLES.

In the course of this year pope Clement XI. died; and the princess of Wales was delivered of a prince, baptized by the name of William-Augustus, the late duke of Cumberland. A dreadful plague raging at Marseilles, a proclamation was published, forbidding any person to come into England, from any part of France between the Bay of Biscay and Dunkirk, without certificates of health. Other precautions were taken to guard against contagion. An act of parliament had passed in the preceding session, for the prevention of infection, by building pest-houses, to which all infected persons, and all persons of an infected family, should be conveyed; and by drawing trenches and lines round any city, town, or place infected. The king, in his speech at opening the session of parliament on the nineteenth day of October, intimated the pacification of the north, by the conclusion of the treaty between Muscovy and Sweden. He desired the house of commons to consider of means for easing the duties upon the imported commodities used in the manufactures of the kingdom. He observed, that the nation might be supplied with naval stores from our own colonies in North America; and that their being employed in this useful and advantageous branch of commerce, would divert them from setting up manufactures which directly interfered with those of Great Britain. He expressed a desire that, with respect to the supplies, his people might reap some immediate benefit from the present circumstances of affairs abroad; and he earnestly recommended to their consideration, means for preventing the plague, particularly by providing against the practice of smuggling.

DEBATES IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS ABOUT MR. LAW.

One of the first objects that attracted the attention of the upper house was the case of John Law, the famous projector. The resentment of the people on account of his Mississippi scheme had obliged him to leave France. He retired to Italy; and was said to have visited the pretender at Rome. From thence he repaired to Hanover; and returned to England from the Baltic, in the fleet commanded by sir John Norris. The king favoured him with a private audience; he kept open house, and was visited by great numbers of persons of the first quality. Earl Coningsby represented in the house of lords that he could not but entertain some jealousy of a person who had done so much mischief in a neighbouring kingdom; who, being immensely rich, might do a great deal more hurt here, by tampering with those who were grown desperate, in consequence of being involved in the calamity occasioned by the fatal imitation of his pernicious projects. He observed, that this person was the more dangerous, as he had renounced his natural affection to his country, his allegiance to his lawful sovereign, and his religion, by turning Roman catholic. Lord Carteret replied, that Mr. Law had, many years ago, the misfortune to kill a gentleman in a duel; but, having at last received the benefit of the king’s clemency, and the appeal lodged by the relations of the deceased being taken off, he was come over to plead his majesty’s pardon. He said there was no law to keep an Englishman out of his country; and, as Mr. Law was a subject of Great Britain, it was not even in the king’s power to hinder him from coming over. After some dispute, the subject was dropped, and this great projector pleaded his pardon in the king’s bench according to the usual form.

SENTIMENTS OF SOME LORDS TOUCHING THE WAR.

The ministry had by this time secured such a majority in both houses, as enabled them to carry any point without the least difficulty. Some chiefs of the opposition they had brought over to their measures, and among the rest lord Harcourt, who was created a viscount, and gratified with a pension of four thousand pounds. Nevertheless they could not shut the mouths of the minority, who still preserved the privilege of complaining. Great debates were occasioned by the navy debt, which was increased to one million seven hundred thousand pounds. Some members in both houses affirmed, that such extraordinary expense could not be for the immediate service of Great Britain; but, in all probability, for the preservation of foreign acquisitions. The ministers answered, that near two-thirds of the navy debts were contracted in the late reign; and the parliament acquiesced in this declaration; but in reality the navy debt had been unnecessarily increased, by keeping seamen in pay during the winter, and sending fleets to the Mediterranean and Baltic in order to support the interests of Germany. The duke of Wharton moved that the treaty with Spain might be laid before the house. The earl of Sunderland said it contained a secret article which the king of Spain desired might not be made public until after the treaty of Cambray should be discussed. The question was put, and the duke’s motion rejected. The earl of Strafford asserted, that as the war with Spain had been undertaken without necessity or just provocation, so the peace was concluded without any benefit or advantage; that, contrary to the law of nations, the Spanish fleet had been attacked without any declaration of war; even while a British minister and a secretary of state were treating amicably at Madrid; that the war was neither just nor politic, since it interrupted one of the most valuable branches of the English commerce, at a time when the nation groaned under the pressure of heavy debts, incurred by the former long expensive war. He therefore moved for an address to his majesty, desiring that the instructions given to sir George Byng, now lord Torrington, should be laid before the house. This motion being likewise, upon the question, rejected, a protest was entered. They voted an address, however, to know in what manner the king had disposed of the ships taken from the Spaniards. Disputes arose from the bill to prevent infection. Earl Cowper represented, that the removal of persons to a lazaret, or pest-house, by order of the government, and the drawing lines and trenches round places infected, were powers unknown to the British constitution; inconsistent with the lenity of a free government, such as could never be wisely or usefully put in practice; the more odious, because copied from the arbitrary government of France; and impracticable, except by military compulsion. Those obnoxious clauses were accordingly repealed, though not without great opposition. Indeed, nothing can be more absurd than a constitution that will not admit of just and necessary laws and regulations to prevent the dire consequences of the worst of all calamities. Such restrictions, instead of favouring the lenity of a free government, would be the most cruel imposition that could be laid on a free people, as it would act in diametrical opposition to the great principles of society, which is the preservation of the individual.

PETITION OF THE QUAKERS..

The quakers having presented a petition to the house of commons, praying that a bill might be brought in for omitting in their solemn affirmation the words “In the presence of Almighty God,” the house complied with their request: but the bill gave rise to a warm debate among the peers. Dr. Atterbury, bishop of Rochester, said he did not know why such a distinguishing mark of indulgence should be allowed to a set of people who were hardly christians. He was supported by the archbishop of York, the earl of Strafford, and lord North and Grey. A petition was presented against the bill by the London clergy, who expressed a serious concern lest the minds of good men should be grieved and wounded, and the enemies of Christianity triumph, when they should see such condescension made by a christian legislature to a set of men who renounce the divine institutions of Christ; particularly that by which the faithful are initiated into his religion, and denominated christians. The petition, though presented by the archbishop of York, was branded by the ministry as a seditious libel, and rejected by the majority. Then, upon a motion by the earl of Sunderland, the house resolved that such lords as might enter protestations with reasons, should do it before two o’clock on the next sitting day, and sign them before the house rises. The supplies being granted, and the business of the session despatched as the court was pleased to dictate, on the seventh day of March the parliament was prorogued. In a few days it was dissolved, and another convoked by proclamation. In the election of members for the new parliament, the ministry exerted itself with such success as returned a great majority in the house of commons, extremely well adapted for all the purposes of an administration. *

* The earl of Sunderland died in April, after having incurred a great load of popular odium, from his supposed connexions with the directors of the South-Sea company. He was a minister of abilities, but violent, impetuous, and headstrong. His death was soon followed by that of his father-in-law, the great duke of Marlborough, whose faculties had been for some time greatly impaired. He was interred in Westminster-abbey, with such profusion of funeral pomp, as evinced the pride and ostentation, much more than the taste and concern, of those who directed his obsequies. He was succeeded as master of the ordnance, and colonel of the first regiment of foot guards, by earl Cadogan.

In the beginning of May, the king is said to have received from the duke of Orleans full and certain information of a fresh conspiracy formed against his person and government. A camp was immediately formed in Hyde-Park. All military officers were ordered to repair to their respective commands. Lieutenant-general Macartney was despatched to Ireland, to bring over some troops from that kingdom. Some suspected persons were apprehended in Scotland: the states of Holland were desired to have their auxiliary or guarantee troops in readiness to be embarked; and colonel Churchill was sent to the court of France with a private commission. The apprehension raised by this supposed plot affected the public credit. South-Sea stock began to fall, and crowds of people called in their money from the bank. Lord Townshend wrote a letter to the mayor of London, by the king’s command, signifying his majesty’s having received unquestionable advices that several of his subjects had entered into a wicked conspiracy, in concert with traitors abroad, for raising a rebellion in favour of a popish pretender; but that he was firmly assured the authors of it neither were nor would be supported by any foreign power. This letter was immediately answered by an affectionate address from the court of aldermen; and the example of London was followed by many other cities and boroughs. The king had determined to visit Hanover, and actually settled a regency, in which the prince of Wales was not included: but now this intended journey was laid aside; the court was removed to Kensington, and the prince retired to Richmond. The bishop of Rochester having been seized with his papers, was examined before a committee of the council, who committed him to the Tower for high-treason. The earl of Orrery, lord North and Grey, and Mr. Cockran and Mr. Smith from Scotland, and Mr. Christopher Layer, a young gentleman of the Temple, were confined in the same place. Mr. George Kelly, an Irish clergyman, Mr. Robert Cotton of Huntingdonshire, Mr. Bingly, Mr. Fleetwood, Neynoe, an Irish priest, and several persons, were taken into custody; and Mr. Shippen’s house was searched. After bishop Atterbury had remained a fortnight in the Tower, sir Constantine Phipps presented a petition to the court at the Old Bailey, in the name of Mrs. Morris, that prelate’s daughter, praying that, in consideration of the bishop’s ill state of health, he might be either brought to a speedy trial, bailed, or discharged: but this was over-ruled. The churchmen through the whole kingdom were filled with indignation at the confinement of a bishop, which they said was an outrage upon the church of England, and the episcopal order. Far from concealing their sentiments on this subject, the clergy ventured to offer up public prayers for his health, in almost all the churches and chapels of London and Westminster. In the meantime, the king, attended by the prince of Wales, made a summer progress through the western counties.

NEW PARLIAMENT.

The new parliament being assembled on the ninth day of October, his majesty made them acquainted with the nature of the conspiracy. He said the conspirators had, by their emissaries, made the strongest instances for succours from foreign powers, but were disappointed in their expectations. That nevertheless, confiding in their numbers, they had resolved once more, upon their own strength, to attempt the subversion of his government. He said they had provided considerable sums of money, engaged great numbers of officers from abroad, secured large quantities of arms and ammunition; and, had not the plot been timely discovered, the whole nation, and particularly the city of London, would have been involved in blood and confusion. He expatiated upon the mildness and integrity of his own government; and inveighed against the ingratitude, the implacability, and madness of the disaffected, concluding with an assurance that he would steadily adhere to the constitution in church and state, and continue to make the laws of the realm the rule and measure of all his actions. Such addresses were presented by both houses, as the fears and attachment of the majority may be supposed to have dictated on such an occasion. A bill was brought into the house of lords for suspending the habeas-corpus act for a whole year, but they were far from being unanimous in agreeing to such an unusual length of time. By this suspension they, in effect, vested the ministry with a dictatorial power over the liberties of the people.

DECLARATION OF THE PRETENDER.

The opposition in the house of commons was so violent, that Mr. Robert Walpole found it necessary to alarm their apprehensions by a dreadful story of a design to seize the bank and exchequer, and to proclaim the pretender on the Royal Exchange. Their passions being inflamed by this ridiculous artifice, they passed the bill, which immediately received the royal assent. The duke of Norfolk being brought from Bath, was examined before the council, and committed to the Tower on suspicion of high-treason. On the sixteenth day of November, the king sent to the house of peers the original and printed copy of a declaration signed by the pretender. It was dated at Lucca, on the twentieth day of September, in the present year, and appeared to be a proposal addressed to the subjects of Great Britain and Ireland, as well as to all foreign princes and states. In this paper, the chevalier de St. George having mentioned the late violation of the freedom of elections, conspiracies invented to give a colour to new oppressions, infamous informers, and the state of proscription in which he supposed every honest man to be, very gravely proposed, that if king George would relinquish to him the throne of Great Britain, he would, in return, bestow upon him the title of king in his native dominions, and invite all Other states to confirm it; he likewise promised to leave to king George his succession to the British dominions secure, whenever, in due course, his natural right should take place. The lords unanimously resolved that this declaration was a false, insolent, and traitorous libel; and ordered it to be burned at the Royal Exchange. The commons concurred in these resolutions. Both houses joined in an address, expressing their utmost astonishment and indignation at the surprising insolence of the pretender; and assuring his majesty they were determined to support his title to the crown with their lives and fortunes. The commons prepared a bill for raising one hundred thousand pounds upon the real and personal estates of all papists, or persons educated in the popish religion, towards defraying the expenses occasioned by the late rebellion and disorders. This bill, though strenuously opposed by some moderate members as a species of persecution, was sent up to the house of lords; together with another obliging all persons being papists in Scotland, and all persons in Great Britain, refusing or neglecting to take the oaths appointed for the security of the king’s person and government, to register their names and real estates. Both these bills passed through the upper house without amendment, and received the royal sanction.

REPORT OF THE SECRET COMMITTEE.

Mr. Layer being brought to his trial at the king’s bench, on the twenty-first day of November, was convicted for having enlisted men for the pretender’s service, in order to stir up a rebellion, and received sentence of death. He was reprieved for some time, and examined by a committee of the house of commons: but he either could not, or would not, discover the particulars of the conspiracy, so that he suffered death at Tyburn, and his head was fixed up at Temple-bar. Mr. Pulteney, chairman of the committee, reported to the house, that, from the examination of Layer and others, a design had been formed by persons of figure and distinction at home, in conjunction with traitors abroad, for placing the pretender on the throne of these realms: that their first intention was to procure a body of foreign troops to invade the kingdom at the time of the late elections; but that the conspirators being disappointed in this expectation, resolved to make an attempt at the time that it was generally believed the king intended to go to Hanover, by the help of such officers and soldiers as could pass into England unobserved, from abroad, under the command of the late duke of Ormond, who was to have landed in the river with a great quantity of arms provided in Spain for that purpose; at which time the Tower was to have been seized. That this scheme being also defeated by the vigilance of the government, they deferred their enterprise till the breaking up of the camp; and, in the meantime, employed their agents to corrupt and seduce the officers and soldiers of the army: that it appeared from several letters and circumstances, that the late duke of Ormond, the duke of Norfolk, the earl of Orrery, lord North and Grey, and the bishop of Rochester, were concerned in this conspiracy; that their acting agents were Christopher Layer and John Plunket, who travelled together to Rome; Dennis Kelly, George Kelly, and Thomas Carte, nonjuring clergymen; Neynoe the Irish priest, who by this time was drowned in the river Thames in attempting to make his escape from the messenger’s house; Mrs. Spilman, alias Yallop, and John Sample.

BILL OF PAINS AND PENALTIES AGAINST THE BISHOP OF ROCHESTER.

This pretended conspiracy, in all likelihood, extended no farther than the first rudiments of a design that was never digested into any regular form; otherwise the persons said to be concerned in it must have been infatuated to a degree of frenzy: for they were charged with having made application to the regent of France, who was well known to be intimately connected with the king of Great Britain. The house of commons, however, resolved, that it was a detestable and horrid conspiracy for raising a rebellion, seizing the Tower and the city of London, laying violent hands upon the persons of his most sacred majesty and the prince of Wales, in order to subvert our present happy establishment in church and state, by placing a popish pretender upon the throne: that it was formed and carried on by persons of figure and distinction, and their agents and instruments, in conjunction with traitors abroad. Bills were brought in and passed, for inflicting pains and penalties against John Plunket and George Kelly, who were by these acts to be kept in close custody during his majesty’s pleasure, in any prison in Great Britain; and that they should not attempt to escape on pain of death, to be inflicted upon them and their assistants. Mr. Yonge made a motion for a bill of the same nature against the bishop of Rochester. This was immediately brought into the house, though sir William Wyndham affirmed that there was no evidence against him but conjectures and hearsay. The bishop wrote a letter to the speaker, importing, that, though conscious of his own innocence, he should decline giving the house any trouble that day, contenting himself with the opportunity of making his defence before another, of which he had the honour to be a member. Counsel being heard for the bill, it was committed to a grand committee on the sixth day of April, when the majority of the tory members quitted the house. It was then moved, that the bishop should be deprived of his office and benefice, and banished the kingdom for ever. Mr. Lawson and Mr. Oglethorpe spoke in his favour.

The bill being passed, and sent up to the lords, the bishop was brought to his trial before them on the ninth of May. Himself and his counsel having been heard, the lords proceeded to consider the articles of the bill. When they read it a third time, a motion was made to pass it, and then a long and warm debate ensued. Earl Paulet demonstrated the danger and injustice of swerving in such an extraordinary manner from the fixed rules of evidence. The duke of Wharton having summed up the depositions, and proved the insufficiency of them, concluded with saying, that, let the consequences be what they would, he hoped such a hellish stain would never sully the lustre and glory of that illustrious house, as to condemn a man without the least evidence. Lord Bathurst spoke against the bill with equal strength and eloquence. He said, if such extraordinary proceedings were countenanced, he saw nothing remaining for him and others to do, but to retire to their country houses, and there, if possible, quietly enjoy their estates within their own families, since the least correspondence, the least intercepted letter, might be made criminal. He observed, that cardinal Mazarin boasted, that if he had but two lines of any man’s writing, he could, by means of a few circumstances, attested by witnesses, deprive him of his life at his pleasure. Turning to the bench of bishops, who had been generally unfavourable to Dr. Atterbury, he said he could hardly account for the inveterate hatred and malice some persons bore the learned and ingenuous bishop of Rochester, unless they were intoxicated with the infatuation of some savage Indians, who believe they inherited not only the spoils, but even the abilities of any great enemy whom they had killed in battle. The bill was supported by the duke of Argyle, the earl of Seafield, and Lord Lechmere, which last was answered by earl Cowper. This nobleman observed, that the strongest argument urged in behalf of the bill was necessity; but that, for his part, he saw no necessity that could justify such unprecedented and such dangerous proceedings, as the conspiracy had above twelve months before been happily discovered, and the effects of it prevented: that, besides the intrinsic weight and strength of the government, the hands of those at the helm had been still further fortified by the suspension of the habeas-corpus act, and the additional troops which had been raised. He said the known rules of evidence, as laid down at first and established by the law of the land, were the birth-right of every subject in the nation, and ought to be constantly observed, not only in the inferior courts of judicature, but also in both houses of parliament, till altered by the legislature; that the admitting of the precarious and uncertain evidence of the clerks of the post-office, was a very dangerous precedent. In former times, said he, it was thought very grievous that in capital cases a man should be affected by similitude of hands; but here the case is much worse, since it is allowed that the clerks of the post-office should carry the similitude of hands four months in their minds. He applauded the bishop’s noble deportment in declining to answer before the house of commons, whose proceedings in this unprecedented manner, against a lord of parliament, was such an encroachment on the prerogative of the peerage, that if they submitted to it, by passing the bill, they might be termed the last of British peers, for giving up their ancient privileges. The other party were not so solicitous about answering reasons, as eager to put the question, when the bill passed, and a protest was entered. By this act the bishop was deprived of all offices, benefices, and dignities, and rendered incapable of enjoying any for the future: he was banished the realm, and subjected to the pains of death in case he should return, as were all persons who should correspond with him during his exile. Dr. Friend, the celebrated physician, who was a member of the house of commons, and had exerted himself strenuously in behalf of the bishop, was now taken into custody on suspicion of treasonable practices.

PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THOSE CONCERNED IN THE LOTTERY AT HAMBURGH.

The next object that excited the resentment of the commons was the scheme of a lottery to be drawn at Hamburgh in the king’s German dominions. The house appointed a committee to inquire into this and other lotteries at that time on foot in London. The scheme was published, on pretence of raising a subscription for maintaining a trade between Great Britain and the king’s territories on the Elbe; but it was a mysterious scene of iniquity, which the committee, with all their penetration, could not fully discover. They reported, however, that it was an infamous fraudulent undertaking, whereby many unwary persons had been drawn in, to their great loss: that the manner of carrying it on had been a manifest violation of the laws of the kingdom: that the managers and agents of this lottery had, without any authority for so doing, made use of his majesty’s royal name, thereby to give countenance to the infamous project, and induce his majesty’s subjects to engage or be concerned therein. A bill was brought in to suppress this lottery; and to oblige the managers of it to make restitution of the money they had received from the contributors. At the same time the house resolved, That John lord viscount Barrington had been notoriously guilty of promoting, abetting, and carrying on their fraudulent undertaking; for which offence he should be expelled the house. The court of Vienna having erected an East-India company at Os-tend, upon a scheme formed by one Colebrooke an English merchant, sir Nathaniel Gould represented to the house of commons the great detriment which the English East-India company had already received, and were likely further to sustain, by this Ostend company. The house immediately resolved, That for the subjects of this kingdom to subscribe, or be concerned in encouraging any subscription, to promote an East-India company now erecting in the Austrian Netherlands, was a high crime and misdemeanor; and a law was enacted for preventing British subjects from engaging in that enterprise. By another act, relating to the South-Sea company, the two millions of stock which had been annihilated were revived, added to the capital, and divided among the proprietors. A third law passed, for the more effectual execution of justice in a part of Southwark called the Mint, where a great number of debtors had taken sanctuary, on the supposition that it was a privileged place. On the twenty-seventh clay of May the session was closed, with a speech that breathed nothing but panegyric, acknowledgment, and affection to a parliament which had complied with all his majesty’s wishes.

AFFAIRS OF THE CONTINENT.

His majesty having ennobled the son of Mr. Robert Walpole, in consideration of the father’s services, made a good number of church promotions. He admitted the imprisoned lords and gentlemen to bail; granted a pardon to lord Bolingbroke; and ordered the bishop of Rochester to be conveyed to the continent. Then he himself set out for Hanover, leaving the administration of his kingdoms in the hands of a regency, lord Har-court being one of the justices. The king was attended by the two secretaries, lords Townshend and Carteret, who were counted able negotiators. The affairs of the continent had begun to take a new turn. The interests and connexions of the different princes were become perplexed and embarrassed; and king George resolved to unravel them by dint of negotiation. Understanding that a treaty was on the carpet between the czar and the king of Sweden, favourable to the duke of Holstein’s pretensions to Sleswick, the possession of which the elector of Hanover had guaranteed to Denmark, his majesty began to be in pain for Bremen and Verden. The regent of France and the king of Spain had now compromised all differences; and their reconciliation was cemented by a double marriage between Philip’s sons and the regent’s daughters. The former proposed new treaties to England; but insisted upon the restitution of Gibraltar and Port-Mahon, as well as upon the king’s openly declaring against the Ostend company. His Britannic majesty was apprehensive, that, should the emperor be hard pressed on that subject, he might join the czar and the king of Sweden, and promote their designs in favour of the duke of Holstein. On the other hand, all the Italian powers exclaimed against the treaty of London. The pope had protested against any thing that might have been decided at Cambray to the prejudice of his right. Memorials to the same effect had been presented by the king of Sardinia, the dukes of Tuscany, Parma, and Modena. France and Spain were inclined to support these potentates against the house of Austria. Europe seemed to be on the eve of a new war. King George was entangled in such a variety of treaties and interests, that he knew not well how to extricate himself from the troublesome engagements he had contracted. By declaring for the emperor, he must have countenanced the new establishment at Ostend, which was so prejudicial to his British subjects, and incurred the resentment of France, Spain, and their allies of Italy. In renouncing the interest of the emperor, he would have exposed his German dominions. In vain he exhorted the emperor to relax in his disputes with Spain, and give up the Ostend company, which was so detrimental and disagreeable to his faithful allies; the court of Vienna promised in general to observe the treaties which it had concluded, but declined entering into any particular discussion; so that all his majesty’s endeavours ended in contracting closer connexions with Prussia and Denmark. All those negotiations carried on, all those treaties concluded by king George, with almost every prince and state in Christendom, which succeeded one another so fast, and appear at first view so intricate and unaccountable, were founded upon two simple and natural principles, namely, the desire of ascertaining his acquisitions as elector of Hanover, and his resolution to secure himself against the disaffection of his British subjects, as well as the efforts of the pretender.

CLAMOUR IN IRELAND ON ACCOUNT OF WOOD’S COINAGE.

Great Britain at this period enjoyed profound tranquillity. Ireland was a little ruffled by an incident which seemed to have been misrepresented to the people of that kingdom. William Wood had obtained a patent for furnishing Ireland with copper currency, in which it was deficient. A great clamour was raised against this coin. The parliament of that kingdom, which met in September, resolved, that it would be prejudicial to the revenue, destructive of trade, and of dangerous consequence to the rights of the subject; that the patent had been obtained by misrepresentation; that the halfpence wanted weight; that, even if the terms of the patent had been complied with, there would have been a great loss to the nation; that granting the power of coinage to a private person had ever been highly prejudicial to the kingdom, and would at all times be of dangerous consequence. Addresses from both houses were presented to the king on this subject. The affair was referred to the lords of the privy-council of England. They justified the conduct of the patentee, upon the report of Sir Isaac Newton and other officers of the Mint, who had made an assay and trial of Wood’s halfpence, and found he had complied with the terms of the patent. They declared that this currency exceeded in goodness, fineness, and value of metal, all the copper money which had been coined for Ireland, in the reigns of king Charles II., king James II., king William and queen Mary. The privy-council likewise demonstrated, that his majesty’s predecessors had always exercised the undoubted prerogative of granting patents for copper coinage in Ireland to private persons: that none of these patents had been so beneficial to the kingdom as this granted to William Wood, who had not obtained it in an unprecedented manner, but after a reference to the attorney and solicitor-general, and after Sir Isaac Newton had been consulted in every particular: finally, they proved, by a great number of witnesses, that there was a real want of such money in Ireland. Notwithstanding this decision, the ferment of the Irish nation was industriously kept up by clamour, pamphlets, papers, and lampoons, written by dean Swift and other authors; so that Wood voluntarily reduced his coinage from the value of one hundred thousand to forty thousand pounds. Thus the noise was silenced. The commons of Ireland passed an act for accepting the affirmation of the quakers instead of an oath; and voted three hundred and forty thousand pounds towards discharging the debt of the nation, which amounted to about double that sum.

DEATH OF THE DUKE OF ORLEANS.

In the month of October, England lost a worthy nobleman in the death of earl Cowper, who had twice discharged the office of lord-chancellor, with equal discernment and integrity. He was profoundly skilled in the laws of his country; in his apprehension quick and penetrating; in his judgment clear and determinate. He possessed a manly eloquence; his manner was agreeable, and his deportment graceful. This year was likewise remarkable for the death of the duke of Orleans, regent of France, who, since the decease of Louis XIV., had ruled that nation with the most absolute authority. He was a prince of taste and spirit, endowed with shining talents for empire, which he did not fail to display, even in the midst of effeminate pursuits and idle debauchery. From the infirm constitution of the infant king, he had conceived hopes of ascending the throne, and taken his measures accordingly; but the young monarch’s health began to be established, and all the duke’s schemes were defeated by an apoplexy, of which he died, in the fiftieth year of his age, after having nominated the duke of Bourbon as prime-minister. King George immediately received assurances of the good disposition of the French court, to cultivate and even improve the good understanding so happily established between France and Great Britain. The king arrived in England on the eighteenth day of December; and on the ninth day of January the parliament was assembled. His majesty, in his speech, recommended to the commons the care of the public debts; and he expressed his satisfaction at seeing the sinking fund improved and augmented, so as to put the debt of the nation into a method of being speedily and gradually discharged.

AN ACT FOR LESSENING THE PUBLIC DEBTS.

This was the repeated theory of patriotism, which unhappily for the subjects, was never reduced to practice; not but that a beginning of such a laudable work was made in this very session, by an act for lessening the public debts. This law provided that the annuities at five per cent, charged on the general fund by a former act, except such as had been subscribed into the South-Sea, together with the unsubscribed blanks of the lottery in the year one thousand seven hundred and fourteen, should be paid off at Lady-day of the year next ensuing, with the money arising from the sinking fund. The ministry, however, did not persevere in this path of prudent economy. The commons granted all the supplies that were demanded. They voted ten thousand seamen; and the majority, though not without violent opposition, agreed to maintain four thousand additional troops, which had been raised in the preceding year; so that the establishment of the land-forces amounted to eighteen thousand two hundred and sixty-four. The expense of the year was defrayed by a land-tax and malt-tax. The commons having despatched the supply, took into consideration a grievance arising from protections granted by foreign ministers, peers and members of parliament, under which profligate persons used to screen themselves from the prosecution of their just creditors. The commons resolved, That all protections granted by members of that house should be declared void, and immediately withdrawn. The lords made a declaration to the same purpose, with an exception to menial servants, and those necessarily employed about the estates of peers.*

* The duke of Newcastle was now appointed secretary of state; the duke of Grafton, lord-chamberlain; and lord Carteret, lord-lieutenant of Ireland.—The king instituted a professorship for the modern languages in each university.— In the month of May died Robert Harley, earl of Oxford and earl Mortimer, who had been a munificent patron of genius and literature; and completed a very valuable collection of manuscripts.—The practice of inoculation for the small-pox was by this time introduced into England from Turkey. Prince Frederic, the two princesses Amelia and Carolina, the duke of Bedford and his sister, with many other persons of distinction, underwent the operation with success.—Dr. Henry Sacheverel died in June, after having bequeathed five hundred pounds to the late bishop of Rochester.

On the twenty-fourth day of April, his majesty closed the session in the usual manner, made some alterations in the disposition of the great officers of state, and sent Mr. Horatio Walpole as ambassador-extraordinary to the court of France.

PHILIP, KING OF SPAIN, ABDICATES THE THRONE.

In the beginning of this year, Philip king of Spain, retiring with his queen to the monastery of St. Ildefonso, sent the marquis of Grimaldi, his principal secretary of state, to his son Louis prince of Asturias, with a solemn renunciation of the crown, and a letter of advice in which he exhorted him to cultivate the Blessed Virgin with the warmest devotion, and put himself and his kingdoms under her protection. The renunciation was published through the whole monarchy of Spain; and the council of Castile resolved, That Louis might assume the reins of government without assembling the Cortez. The English minister at Paris was instructed to interpose in behalf of the French protestants, against whom a severe edict had been lately published; but his remonstrances produced no effect. England, in the meantime, was quite barren of such events as deserve a place in history. The government was now firmly established on the neck of opposition; and commerce flourished even under the load of grievous impositions.

ABUSES IN CHANCERY.

The next parliament, which met on the twelfth day of November, seemed to be assembled for no other purpose than that of establishing funds for the expense of the ensuing year; yet the session was distinguished by a remarkable incident—namely, the trial of the earl of Macclesfield, lord-chancellor of England. This nobleman had connived at certain venal practices touching the sale of places, and the money of suitors deposited with the masters of chancery, so as to incur the general reproach of the nation. He found it necessary to resign the great seal in the beginning of January, 1725. On the ninth day of the ensuing month, the king sent a message to the commons, importing, That his majesty having reason to apprehend that the suitors in the court of chancery were in danger of losing a considerable sum of money, from the insufficiency of some of the masters, thought himself obliged, in justice and compassion to the said sufferers, to take the most speedy and proper method the law would allow for inquiring into the state of the master’s accounts, and securing their effects for the benefit of the suitors; and his majesty having had several reports laid before him, in pursuance of the directions he had given, had ordered the reports to be communicated to the house, that they might have as full and as perfect a view of this important affair as the shortness of the time, and the circumstances and nature of the proceedings, would admit.

TRIAL OF THE EARL OF MACCLESFIELD.

These papers being taken into consideration, sir George Oxenden observed, that enormous abuses had crept into the high court of chancery; that the crimes and misdemeanors of the late lord-chancellor were many and various, but might be reduced to the following heads —that he had embezzled the estates and effects of many widows, orphans, and lunatics; that he had raised the offices of masters in chancery to an exorbitant price; trusting in their hands large sums of money belonging to suitors, that they might be enabled to comply with his exorbitant demands, and that in several cases he had made divers irregular orders. He therefore moved, That Thomas earl of Macclesfield should be impeached of high crimes and misdemeanors. Mr. Pulteney moved, That this affair might be left to the consideration of a select committee. Sir William Wyndham asserted, That in proceeding by way of impeachment upon reports from above, they would make a dangerous precedent; and seem to give up the most valuable of their privileges, the inquest after state criminals. The question being put, it was carried for the impeachment. The earl was accordingly impeached at the bar of the upper house; a committee was appointed to prepare articles; and a bill was brought in, to indemnify the masters in chancery from the penalties of the law, upon discovering what consideration they had paid for their admission to their respective offices. The trial lasted twenty days; the earl was convicted of fradulent practices; and condemned in a fine of thirty thousand pounds, with imprisonment until that sum should be paid. He was immediately committed to the Tower, where he continued about six weeks; but upon producing the money he was discharged; and sir Peter King, now created baron of Oakham, succeeded him in the office of chancellor.

DEBATES ABOUT THE DEBTS OF THE CIVIL LIST.

His majesty, on the eighth day of April, gave the house of commons to understand, that having been engaged in some extraordinary expenses, he hoped he should be enabled to raise a sum of money, by making use of the funds lately established for the payment of the civil list annuities, in order to discharge the debts contracted in the civil government. Mr. Pulteney, cofferer of the household, moved for an address, That an account should be laid before the house of all monies paid for secret service, pensions, and bounties, from the twenty-fifth day of March, in the year one thousand seven hundred and one, to the twenty-fifth of the same month in the present year. This address being voted, a motion was made to consider the king’s message. Mr. Pulteney urged, that this consideration should be postponed until the house should have examined the papers that were the subject of the address. He expressed his surprise that a debt amounting to above five hundred thousand pounds should be contracted in three years; he said, he did not wonder that some persons should be so eager to make good the deficiencies of the civil-list, since they and their friends enjoyed such a share of that revenue; and he desired to know whether this was all that was due, or whether they should expect another reckoning? This gentleman began to be dissatisfied with the measures of the ministry; and his sarcasms were aimed at Mr. Walpole, who undertook to answer his objections. The commons took the message into consideration, and passed a bill, enabling his majesty to raise a sum, not exceeding one million, by exchequer bills, loans, or otherwise, on the credit of the deductions of sixpence per pound, directed by an act of parliament of the seventh year of his majesty, and of the civil-list revenues, at an interest not exceeding three pounds per cent, till repayment of the principal.

BILL IN FAVOUR OF THE LATE LORD BOLINGBROKE.

On the twentieth day of April, a petition was presented to the house by lord Finch in behalf of Henry St. John, late viscount Bolingbroke, praying that the execution of the law with respect to his forfeitures might be suspended, as a pardon had suspended it with respect to his life. Mr. Walpole signified to the house, by his majesty’s command, that, seven years before, the petitioner had made humble application and submission to the king, with assurances of duty, allegiance, and fidelity; that, from his behaviour since that time, his majesty was convinced of his being a fit object of his mercy, and consented to his petitioning the house. The petition being read, Mr. Walpole declared himself fully satisfied that the petitioner had sufficiently atoned for his past offences; and therefore deserved the favour of that house, so far as to enable him to enjoy the family inheritance that was settled upon him, which he could not do by virtue of his majesty’s pardon, without an act of parliament. Lord Finch moved, That a bill might be brought in for this purpose, and was warmly opposed by Mr. Methuen, comptroller of the household, who represented Bolingbroke as a monster of iniquity. His remonstrance was supported by lord William Paulet and Mr. Onslow; nevertheless, the bill was prepared, passed through both houses, and received the royal assent. An act being passed for disarming the highlanders of Scotland, another for regulating elections within the city of London, a third for reducing the interest of several bank annuities, together with some bills of a private nature, the parliament was prorogued in May, after the king had, in the warmest terms of acknowledgment, expressed his approbation of their conduct. Then he appointed lords-justices to govern the nation in his absence; and set out in June for his German dominions.*

* On the fifth day of December the princess of Wales was delivered of a princess, christened by the name of Lotvisa, and afterwards married to the king of Denmark. She died December the nineteenth, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-one.—Immediately after the session of parliament, the king revived the order of the Bath, thirty-eight in number, including the sovereign.—William Bateman was created baron of Calmore in Ireland, and viscount Bateman; and sir Kobert Walpole, who had been one of the revived knights of the Bath, was now honoured with the order of the Garter.

TREATY OF ALLIANCE.

The tide of political interest on the continent had begun to flow in a new channel, so as to render ineffectual the mounds which his Britannic majesty had raised by his multiplicity of negotiations. Louis, the Spanish monarch, dying soon after his elevation to the throne, his father Philip resumed the crown which he had resigned, and gave himself up implicitly to the conduct of his queen, who was a princess of indefatigable intrigue and insatiate ambition. The infanta, who had been married to Louis XV. of France, was so disagreeable to her husband, that the whole French nation began to be apprehensive of a civil war in consequence of his dying without male issue; he therefore determined, with the advice of his council, to send back the infanta, as the nuptials had not been consummated; and she was attended to Madrid by the marquis de. Monteleone. The queen of Spain resented this insult offered to her daughter; and, in revenge, dismissed mademoiselle de Beaujolois, one of the regent’s daughters, who had been betrothed to her son don Carlos. As the congress at Cambray had proved ineffectual, she offered to adjust her differences with the emperor, under the sole mediation of Great Britain. This was an honour which king George declined. He was averse to any undertaking that might interrupt the harmony subsisting between him and the court of Versailles; and he had taken umbrage at the emperor’s refusing to grant the investiture of Bremen and Verden except upon terms which he did not choose to embrace. The peace between the courts of Vienna and Madrid, which he refused to mediate, was effected by a private negotiation, under the management of the duke de Ripperda, a native of the states-general, who had renounced the protestant religion, and entered into the service of his catholic majesty. By two treaties, signed at Vienna in the month of April, the emperor acknowledged Philip as king of Spain and the Indies, promised that he would not molest him in the possession of those dominions that were secured to him by the treaty of Utrecht. Philip renounced all pretensions to the dominions in Italy and the Netherlands, adjudged to the emperor by the treaty of London; Charles granted the investiture of the dukedoms of Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia, to the eldest son of the queen of Spain, in default of heirs in the present possessors, as masculine fiefs of the empire. Spain became guarantee of the Austrian succession, according to the pragmatic sanction, by which the dominions of that house were settled on the emperors’s heirs general, and declared to be a perpetual, indivisible, and inseparable feoffment of the primogeniture. By the commercial treaty of Vienna, the Austrian subjects were entitled to advantages in trade with Spain, which no other nation enjoyed. His catholic majesty guaranteed the Ostend East India company; and agreed to pay an annual subsidy of four millions of piastres to the emperor. Great sums were remitted to Vienna; the Imperial forces were augmented to a formidable number; and other powers were solicited to engage in this alliance, to which the court of Petersburgh actually acceded.

TREATY OF HANOVER.

The kind of Great Britain took the alarm. The emperor and he had for some time treated each other with manifest coolness. He had reason to fear some attempts upon his German dominions, and projected a defensive treaty with France and Prussia. This alliance, limited to the term of fifteen years, was negotiated and concluded at Hanover in the month of September. It implied a mutual guarantee of the dominions possessed by the contracting parties, their rights and privileges, those of commerce in particular, and an engagement to procure satisfaction to the protestants of Thorn, who had lately been oppressed by the catholics, contrary to the treaty of Oliva. The king having taken these precautions at Hanover, set out on his return for England; embarked at Helvoetsluys in the middle of December; and after having been exposed to the fury of a dreadful storm, was landed with great difficulty at Rye, from whence he proceeded by land to London. The parliament meeting on the twentieth day of the next month, he gave them to understand that the distressed condition of some of their protestant brethren abroad, and the negotiations and engagements contracted by some foreign powers, which seemed to have laid the foundation of new troubles and disturbances in Europe, and to threaten his subjects with the loss of several of the most advantageous branches of their trade, had obliged him to concert with other powers such measures as might give a check to the ambitious views of those who were endeavouring to render themselves formidable, and put a stop to the further progress of such dangerous designs. He told them that the enemies of his government were already very busy, by their instruments and emissaries in those courts whose measures seemed most to favour their purposes, in soliciting and promoting the cause of the pretender. One sees, at first sight, that the interests of Germany dictated the treaty of Hanover; but, in order to secure the approbation of Great Britain, upon which the support of this alliance chiefly depended, it was judged necessary to insert the articles relating to commerce and the protestant religion, as if the engagement had been contracted purely for the advantage and glory of England. In a word, the ministry began now to ring the changes upon a few words that have been repeated ever since, like cabalistical sounds, by which the nation has been enchanted into a very dangerous connexion with the concerns of the continent. They harangued, they insisted upon the machinations of the disaffected, the designs of a popish pretender, the protestant interest, and the balance of power, until these expressions became absolutely terms of ridicule with every person of common sense and reflection. The people were told that the emperor and the king of Spain, exclusive of the public treaties concluded at Vienna, had entered into private engagements, importing that the Imperialists should join the Spaniards in recovering Gibraltar and Port-Mahon by force of arms, in case the king of England should refuse to restore them amicably, according to a solemn promise he had made: that a double marriage should take place between the two infants of Spain, and the two archduchesses of Austria; and that means should be taken to place the pretender on the throne of Great Britain.

When the treaties of Vienna and Hanover fell under consideration of the house of commons, Horatio Walpole, afterwards termed in derision, “the balance master,” opened the debate with a long unanimated oration, giving a detail of the affairs of Europe since the treaty of Utrecht. He enumerated the barrier-treaty, the convention for executing that treaty, the defensive alliance with the emperor, the other with the most christian king and the states-general, another convention, the quadruple alliance, the congress at Cambray, the treaty of Hanover, and that of Vienna. He explained the nature of each engagement. He said the main design of the treaty of commerce concluded between the emperor and the king of Spain, was to countenance and support the East-India company established at Ostend, which interfered so essentially with the East-India companies of England and Holland, and was directly contrary to several solemn treaties still in force. He enlarged upon the danger to which the balance of power would be exposed, should the issue male of this projected marriage between the houses of Austria and Spain ever possess the imperial dignity and the kingdom of Spain together. The reader will take notice that this very man was one of those who exclaimed against that article of the treaty of Utrecht, which prevented the power of those two houses from being immediately united in the person of the emperor. He did not forget to expatiate upon the pretended secret engagement concerning Gibraltar and Minorca, and the king’s pious concern for the distressed protestants of Thorn in Poland. In vain did Mr. Shippen urge that the treaty of Hanover would engage the British nation in a war for the defence of the king’s German dominions, contrary to an express provision made in the act of limitation. These arguments had lost all weight. The opposition was so inconsiderable, that the ministry had no reason to be in pain about any measure they should propose. An address was voted and delivered to his majesty, approving the alliance he had concluded at Hanover, in order to obviate and disappoint the dangerous views and consequences of the treaty of peace betwixt the emperor and the king of Spain: and promising to support his majesty against all insults and attacks that should be made upon any of his territories, though not belonging to the crown of Great Britain. An address of the same kind was presented by the house of lords in a body. A bill was brought in, empowering the commissioners of the treasury to compound with Mr. Richard Hampden, late treasurer of the navy, for a debt he owed to the crown, amounting to eight-and-forty thousand pounds. This deficiency was occasioned by his embarking in the South-Sea scheme. The king recommended his petition; and the house complied with his request, in consideration of his great-grandfather, the famous John Hampden, who made such a noble stand against the arbitrary measures of the first Charles.

The malt-tax was found so grievous to Scotland, that the people refused to pay it, and riots were excited in different parts of the kingdom. At Glasgow, the populace, armed with clubs and staves, rifled the house of Daniel Campbell, their representative in parliament, who had voted for the bill, and maltreated some excisemen who attempted to take an account of the malt. General Wade, who commanded the forces in Scotland, had sent two companies of soldiers, under the command of captain Bushel, to prevent or appease a disturbance of this nature. That officer drew up his men in the street, where they were pelted with stones by the multitude, which he endeavoured to disperse by firing among them without shot. This expedient failing, he ordered his men to load their pieces with ball, and at a time when the magistrates were advancing towards him in a body, to assist him with their advice and influence, he commanded the soldiers to fire four different ways, without the sanction of the civil authority. About twenty persons were killed or wounded on this occasion. The people seeing so many victims fall, were exasperated beyond all sense of danger. They began to procure arms, and breathed nothing but defiance and revenge. Bushel thought proper to retreat to the castle of Dumbarton, and was pursued above five miles hy the enraged multitude. General Wade being informed of this transaction, assembled a body of forces; and being accompanied by Duncan Forbes, lord-advocate, took possession of Glasgow. The magistrates were apprehended and conveyed prisoners to Edinburgh, where the lords justiciary having taken cognizance of the affair, declared them innocent; so that they were immediately discharged. Bushel was tried for murder, convicted, and condemned; but instead of undergoing the penalties of the law, he was indulged with a pardon, and promoted in the service. Daniel Campbell having petitioned the house of commons, that he might be indemnified for the damage he had sustained from the rioters, a bill passed in his favour, granting him a certain sum to be raised from an imposition laid upon all the beer and ale brewed in the city of Glasgow. The malt-tax was so sensibly felt in Scotland, that the convention of the royal burghs presented a remonstrance against it, as a grievous burden, which their country could not bear: petitions to the same purpose were delivered to the commons from different shires in that kingdom.

On the twenty-fourth day of March, the king sent a message to the house by sir Paul Methuen, desiring an extraordinary supply, that he might be able to augment his maritime force, and concert such other measures as should be necessary in the present conjuncture. A debate ensued, but the majority complied with the demand. Some members in the upper house complained that the message was not sent to both houses of parliament, and this suggestion gave rise to another debate, in which lord Bathurst and others made some melancholy reflections upon the state of insignificance to which the peers of England were reduced. Such remarks, however, were very little minded by the ministry, who had obtained a complete victory over all opposition. The supplies, ordinary and extraordinary, being granted, with every thing else which the court thought proper to ask, and several bills passed for the regulation of civil economy, the king dismissed the parliament on the twenty-fourth day of May.

A SQUADRON SENT TO THE BALTIC.

By this time Peter the czar of Muscovy was dead, and his empress Catharine had succeeded him on the Russian throne. This princess had begun to assemble forces in the neighbourhood of Petersburgh, and to prepare a formidable armament for a naval expedition. King George, concluding that her design was against Sweden, sent a strong squadron into the Baltic, under the command of sir Charles Wager, in order to anticipate her views upon his allies. The English fleet being joined at Copenhagen by a Danish squadron, alarmed the court of Russia, which immediately issued orders for reinforcing the garrisons of Wilbourg, Cronstadt, Revel, and Riga. The English admiral, having had an audience with his Swedish majesty, steered towards Revel, and sent thither a lieutenant, with a letter from the king of Great Britain to the czarina. This was an expostulation, in which his majesty observed, that he and his allies could not fail of being alarmed at her great preparations by sea and land. He complained that measures had been taken at her court in favour of the pretender; that his repeated instances for establishing a lasting friendship with the crown of Russia had been treated with neglect; and he gave her to understand, that he had ordered his admiral to prevent her ships from coming out of her harbours, should she persist in her resolution to execute the designs she had projected. The czarina, in her answer to the king, expressed her surprise that she had not received his majesty’s letter until his fleet was at anchor before Revel, since it would have been more agreeable to the custom established among sovereigns, and to the amity which had so long subsisted between her kingdoms and the crown of Great Britain, to expostulate with her on her armament, and expected her answer before he had proceeded to such an offensive measure. She assured him that nothing was farther from her thoughts than any design to disturb the peace of the North; and with regard to the pretender, it was a frivolous and stale accusation, which had been frequently used as a pretext to cover all the unkind steps lately undertaken against the Russian empire. Sir Charles Wager continued in his station until he received certain intelligence that the Russian galleys were laid up in their winter harbour; then he set sail for the coast of Denmark, from whence he returned to England in the month of November.

ADMIRAL HOSIER’S EXPEDITION.

King George, that he might not seem to convert all his attention to the affairs of the North, had equipped two other squadrons, one of which was destined for the West Indies, under the command of admiral Hosier: the other, conducted by sir John Jennings, having on board a body of land-forces, sailed from St. Helen’s on the twentieth day of July, entered the bay of St. Antonio, then visited Lisbon, from whence he directed his course to the bay of Bulls near Cadiz, and cruised off Cape St. Mary’s, so as to alarm the coast of Spain and fill Madrid with consternation. Yet he committed no act of hostility: but was treated with great civility by the Spanish governor of Cadiz, who supplied him with refreshments. Rear-admiral Hosier, with seven ships of war, had sailed in April for the Spanish West-Indies, with instructions to block up the galleons in the port of that country; or should they presume to come out, to seize and bring them to England. Before his arrival at the Bastimentos, near Porto-Bello, the treasure, consisting of above six millions sterling, had been unloaded and carried back to Panama, in pursuance of an order sent by an advice-boat which had the start of Hosier. This admiral lay inactive on that station, until he became the jest of the Spaniards. He returned to Jamaica, where he found means to reinforce his crews; then he stood over to Carthagena. The Spaniards had by this time seized the English South-Sea ship at La Vera Cruz, together with all the vessels and effects belonging to that company. Hosier in vain demanded restitution: he took some Spanish ships by way of reprisal, and continued cruising in those seas until the greater part of his men perished deplorably by the diseases of that unhealthy climate, and his ships were totally rained by the worms. This brave officer, being restricted by his orders from obeying the dictates of his courage, seeing his best officers and men daily swept off by an outrageous distemper, and his ships exposed to inevitable destruction, is said to have died of a broken heart; while the people of England loudly clamoured against this unfortunate expedition, in which so many lives were thrown away, and so much money expended, without the least advantage to the nation. It seems to have been a mean piratical scheme to rob the court of Spain of its expected treasure, even while a peace subsisted between the two nations. The ministry of Great Britain indeed alleged, that the Spanish king had entered into engagements in favour of the pretender.

DISGRACE OF THE DUKE DE RIPPERDA.

The dukes of Ormond and Wharton,* and the earl Marischal, were certainly at Madrid; and the duke de Ripperda, now prime-minister of Spain, dropped some expressions to the English envoy that implied some such design, which however the court of Madrid positively denied.

* The duke of Wharton having consumed his fortune in riot and extravagance, repaired to the court of Vienna, from whence he proceeded to Rome, and offered his service to the pretender. There he received the order of the garter, and the title of duke of Northumberland. He was sent by the chevalier de St. George with credentials to the court of Madrid, where he abjured the protestant religion, married a lady of the queen of Spain’s bed-chamber, and obtained the rank and appointment of a lieutenant-colonel in the Spanish service.

Ripperda, as a foreigner, fell a sacrifice to the jealousy of the Spanish ministers. He was suddenly dismissed from his employments, with a pension of three thousand pistoles. He forthwith took refuge in the house of Vandermeer the Dutch ambassador, who was unwilling to be troubled with such a guest. He therefore conveyed the duke in his coach to the house of colonel Stanhope, the British minister, whose protection he craved and obtained. Nevertheless, he was dragged from thence by force, and committed prisoner to the castle of Segovia. He afterwards made his escape, and sheltered himself in England from the resentment of his catholic majesty. Colonel Stanhope complained of this violation of the law of nations, which the Spanish ministers endeavoured to excuse. Memorials and letters passed between the two courts, and every thing tended to a rupture. The king of Spain purchased ships of war; began to make preparations for some important undertaking; and assembled an army of twenty thousand men at St. Roch, on pretence of rebuilding the old castle of Gibraltar. Meanwhile the states-general and the king of Sweden acceded to the treaty of Hanover: but the king of Prussia, though his majesty’s son-in-law, was detached from the alliance by the emperor, with whom he contracted new engagements.

SUBSTANCE OF THE KING’S SPEECH.

On the seventeenth day of January, the British parliament was opened with a long elaborate speech, importing that the proceedings and transactions of the emperor and king of Spain, and the secret offensive alliance concluded between them, had laid the foundation of a most exorbitant and formidable power; that they were directly levelled against the most valuable and darling interests and privileges of the British nation, which must either give up Gibraltar to Spain, and acquiesce in the emperor’s usurped exercise of commerce, or resolve vigorously to defend their undoubted rights against those reciprocal engagements, contracted in defiance and violation of all national faith, and the most solemn treaties. He assured them, that one of those secret articles was the placing the pretender on the throne of Great Britain; and another the conquest of Gibraltar and Port Mahon. He affirmed that those combinations extended themselves into Russia; and that the English fleet seasonably prevented such designs as would have opened a way to the invasion of these kingdoms. He exhorted the commons to grant such supplies as should be necessary for the defence of then-country, and for making good his engagements with the allies of Great Britain. He told them that the king of Spain had ordered his minister residing in England to quit the kingdom; and that he had left a memorial little short of a declaration, in which he insisted upon the restitution of Gibraltar. He did not fail to touch the energetic strings which always moved their passions: the balance of power in Europe, the security of the British commerce, the designs of a popish pretender, the present happy establishment, the religion, liberties, and properties of a protestant people. Such addresses of thanks were penned in both houses as the ministers were pleased to dictate; yet not without opposition from a minority, which was far from being formidable, though headed by chiefs of uncommon talents and resolution. The commons voted twenty thousand seamen, besides six-and-twenty thousand three hundred and eighty-three men for the land service; and, to defray the extraordinary expense, a land-tax of four shillings in the pound was granted.

DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS.

The house of lords having taken into consideration the letters and memorials between the ministers of Great Britain, France, and Spain, and the papers relating to the accession of the states-general to the treaty of Hanover, a warm debate ensued. Lord Bathurst took notice that the accession of the states-general to the treaty was upon condition that this their act should be approved and ratified by the king of Great Britain, the most christian king, and the king of Prussia; but that the minister of his Prussian majesty had refused to sign the act of accession, which was therefore of no effect: that if the court of France should, for the same reason, think itself disengaged from the Hanover alliance, Britain alone would be obliged to bear the burden of an expensive war against two of the greatest potentates of Europe. He said he could not see any just reason for a rupture with Spain; that indeed the duke de Ripperda might have dropped some indiscreet expressions; he was known to be a man of violent temper; and he had been solemnly disavowed by his catholic majesty; that, in the memorial left by the Spanish ambassador, he imputed the violent state of affairs between the two crowns to the ministers of England; and mentioned a positive promise made by the king of Great Britain for the restitution of Gibraltar; that methods of accommodation might be tried before the kingdom engaged in a war which must be attended with dangerous consequences; that the nation was loaded with a debt of fifty millions; and, in order to maintain such a war, would be obliged to raise seven millions yearly; an annual sum by which the people would soon be exhausted. He observed, that in some papers laid before the house, mention was made of great sums distributed in divers places, to bring certain measures to bear. He declared, that for his own part, he had touched neither Spanish nor English gold; he was neither a Spaniard nor a Frenchman, but a true Englishman, and so long as he had the honour to sit in that house, he would speak and act for the good of his country. He therefore desired their lordships seriously to consider the matter before them, which was of the last consequence and importance to the whole nation. He said nothing could be gained by the war, should it prove successful: and every thing would be lost should it be unprosperous. He was answered by lord Town-shend, Who affirmed that his majesty had received positive and certain information with respect to the secret article of alliance between the courts of Vienna and Madrid, in favour of the pretender, though the safety of the state did not permit him to lay these advices before the parliament. After much altercation, the majority resolved, that the measures his majesty had thought fit to take were honourable, just, and necessary for preventing the execution of the dangerous engagement entered into in favour of the pretender; for preserving the dominions belonging to the crown of Great Britain by solemn treaties, and particularly those of Gibraltar and the island of Minorca; and for maintaining to his people their most valuable rights and privileges of commerce, and the peace and tranquillity of Europe. Seventeen lords entered a protest against this resolution. Disputes of the same nature arose from the same subject in the lower house. Lord Townshend had affirmed in the house of peers, that no promise of restoring Gibraltar bad been made: sir Kobert Walpole owned such a promise in the house of commons: a motion was made for an address, desiring these engagements might be laid before the house; another member moved for a copy of the memorial presented by Mr. Pointz to the king of Sweden, and for the secret offensive article between the courts of Vienna and Madrid; a third motion was made to address the king for such memorials and representations from the courts of Sweden and Denmark, as induced him, in the course of the preceding year, to send a squadron to the Baltic. In the account of the money granted for the service of the last year, there was an article of one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds charged in general terms as issued out for other engagements and expenses, over and above such as were specified. Mr. Pulteney moved for an address on this subject; but each of these motions was rejected on a division: and the majority concurred in an address of thanks to his majesty, for the great wisdom of his conduct. They expressed the most implicit confidence in his goodness and discretion: they promised to support him in all such further measures as he should find necessary and expedient for preventing a rupture, as well as for consulting the honour and advantage of these kingdoms.

His majesty’s speech gave such umbrage to the court of Vienna, that Mr. Palms, the Imperial resident at London, was ordered to present a warm memorial to the king, and afterwards to publish it to the whole nation. In this bold remonstrance, the king was charged with having declared from the throne, as certain and undoubted facts, several things that were either wrested, misrepresented, or void of all foundation. The memorialist affirmed, that the treaty of Vienna was built on the quadruple alliance; that the treaty of commerce was calculated to promote the mutual and lawful advantages of the subjects of both parties, agreeably to the law of nations; and in no respect prejudicial to the British nation. He declared that there was no offensive alliance concluded between the two crowns; that the supposed article relating to the pretender was an absolute falsehood; that the insinuation with respect to the siege of Gibraltar was equally untrue, his master having made no engagements with the king of Spain, but such as were specified in the treaty communicated to his Britannic majesty. He said, however, the hostilities notoriously committed in the West Indies, and elsewhere, against the king of Spain, in violation of treaties, seemed to justify that prince’s undertaking the siege of Gibraltar. Finally, he demanded, in the name of his Imperial majesty, suitable reparation for the injury his honour had sustained from such calumnious imputations. Both houses of parliament expressed their indignation at the insolence of this memorial, in an address to his majesty; and Mr. Palms was ordered to depart the kingdom. Virulent declarations were presented by the ministers of the emperor and the king of Great Britain to the diet of the empire at Ratisbon; and such personal reflections retorted between these two potentates, that all hope of reconciliation vanished.

CONVENTIONS WITH SWEDEN AND HESSE-CASSEL.

King George, in order to secure himself against the impending storm, entered into more strict engagements with the French king; and agreed to pay fifty thousand pounds for three years to the king of Sweden, in consideration of that prince’s holding in readiness a body of ten thousand troops for the occasions of the alliance. He concluded a fresh treaty with the king of Denmark, who promised to furnish a certain number of auxiliaries, on account of a large subsidy granted by the king of France. The proportions of troops to be sent into the field in case of a rupture were ascertained. His Britannic majesty engaged for four-and-twenty thousand men, and a strong squadron to be sent into the Baltic. He made a convention with the prince of Hesse-Cassel, who undertook to provide eight thousand infantry, and four thousand horse, in consideration of seventy-four thousand pounds, to be paid by Great Britain immediately, and fifty thousand pounds more in case the troops should be required, besides their pay and subsistence. Such was the fruit of all the alliances so industriously planned since the accession of king George to the throne of Great Britain. In the day of his trouble the king of Prussia, who had espoused his daughter, deserted his interest; and the states-general stood aloof. For the security of his German dominions, he had recourse to the king of France, who was a precarious ally; to the kings of Sweden and Denmark, and the principality of Hesse-Cassel: but none of these powers would contribute their assistance without being gratified with exorbitant subsidies, though the danger was common, and the efforts ought to have been equal. Instead of allies, they professed themselves mercenaries. Great Britain paid them for the defence of their own dominions: she, moreover, undertook to maintain a powerful fleet for their safety. Is there any Britain so weak as to think, or so fool-hardy as to affirm, that this was a British quarrel?

VOTE OF CREDIT.

For the support of those expensive treaties, Mr. Scroope, secretary of the treasury, moved in the house of commons, that in the malt-tax bill they should insert a clause of appropriation, empowering the king to apply such sums as should be necessary for defraying the expenses and engagements which had been, or should be made before the twenty-fifth day of September, in concerting such measures as he should think most conducive to the security of trade, and restoring the peace of Europe. To little purpose did the members in the opposition urge that this method of asking and granting supplies was unparliamentary; that such a clause would render ineffectual that appropriation of the public money, which the wisdom of all parliaments had thought a necessary security against misapplication, which was the more to be feared as no provision was made to call any person to account for the money that should be disposed of by virtue of this clause; that great sums had already been granted; that such an unlimited power ought never to be given in a free government; that such confidence in the crown might, through the influence of evil ministers, be attended with the most dangerous consequences; that the constitution could not be preserved, but by a strict adherence to those essential parliamentary forms of granting supplies upon estimates, and of appropriating these supplies to services and occasions publicly avowed and judged necessary; that such clauses, if not seasonably checked, would become so frequent as in time to lodge in the crown and in the ministers an absolute and uncontrollable power of raising money upon the people, which by the constitution is, and with safety can only be, lodged in the whole legislature. The motion was carried, the clause added, and the bill passed through the other house without amendment, though not without opposition. Notwithstanding this vote of credit, sir William Yonge moved, that towards the supply granted to the king, the sum of three hundred and seventy thousand pounds should be raised by loans on exchequer bills, to be charged on the surplus of the duties on coal and culm, which was reserved for the parliament’s disposal. Though this motion was vigorously opposed by sir Joseph Jekyll and Mr. Pulteney, as a dangerous deviation from several votes and acts of parliament, by which the exceed-ings of the public funds were appropriated to the discharge of the national debt, or to the increase of the sinking fund, it was carried by the majority.

SIEGE OF GIBRALTAR

On the fifteenth day of May the parliament was prorogued, after the king had acknowledged their zeal, liberality, and despatch; and given them to understand that the siege of Gibraltar was actually begun. The trenches were opened before this fortress on the eleventh day of February, by the Conde de las Torres, at the head of twenty thousand men. The place was well provided for a defence; and the old earl of Portmore, who was governor, embarked with a reinforcement from England, under convoy of a fleet commanded by sir Charles Wager. He arrived at Gibraltar in the beginning of April, where he landed the troops, with a great quantity of ammunition, warlike stores, and four-and-twenty pieces of cannon. At the same time, five hundred men arrived from Minorca; so that the garrison amounted to six thousand, plentifully supplied with fresh provisions from the coast of Barbary, and treated the efforts of the besiegers with great contempt. The states-general, being apprehensive of an attempt upon their barrier in the Netherlands, desired the king would hold in readiness the ten thousand auxiliaries stipulated in the treaty. These were immediately prepared for embarkation, and the forces of England were augmented with thirty new raised companies. Sir John Norris set sail with a powerful fleet for the Baltic, and was joined by a Danish squadron; but the czarina dying on the seventeenth day of May, he had no occasion to commit hostilities, as the Russian armament was laid aside.

PRELIMINARIES OF PEACE.

Meanwhile the powers at variance, though extremely irritated against each other, were all equally averse to a war that might again embroil all Europe. The king of France interposed his mediation, which was conducted by the duke de Richlieu, his ambassador at Vienna. Plans and counterplans of pacification were proposed between the two crowns and the allies. At length all parties agreed to twelve preliminary articles which were signed in May at Paris, by the ministers of the Hanoverian alliance, and afterwards at Vienna, by the Imperial and Spanish ambassadors. These imported, that hostilities should immediately cease; that the charter of the Ostend company should be suspended for seven years; and that a congress should in four months be opened at Aix-la-Chapelle, for adjusting all differences, and consolidating the peace of Europe. This congress was afterwards transferred to Soissons, for the conveniency of the French minister, whose presence was necessary at court. The siege of Gibraltar was raised, after it had lasted four months, during which the Spaniards lost a great number of men by sickness, while the garrison sustained very little damage. The court of Madrid, however, started some new difficulties, and for some time would not consent to the restitution of the South-Sea ship, which had been detained at La Vera-Cruz, in the West Indies; so that sir Charles Wager continued to cruise on the coast of Spain: but these objections were removed in the sequel.

DEATH AND CHARACTER OF GEORGE I.

King George, having appointed a regency, embarked at Greenwich on the third day of June, and landing in Holland on the seventh, set out on his journey to Hanover. He was suddenly seized with a paralytic disorder on the road: he forthwith lost the faculty of speech, became lethargic, and was conveyed in a state of insensibility to Osnabruck. There he expired on Sunday the eleventh day of June, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, and in the thirteenth of his reign.—George I. was plain and simple in his person and address, grave and composed in his deportment, though easy, familiar, and facetious in his hours of relaxation. Before he ascended the throne of Great Britain, he had acquired the character of a circumspect general, a just and merciful prince, a wise politician, who perfectly understood, and steadily pursued, his own interest. With these qualities, it cannot be doubted but that he came to England extremely well disposed to govern his new subjects according to the maxims of the British constitution, and the genius of the people; and if ever he seemed to deviate from these principles, we may take it for granted that he was misled by the venal suggestions of a ministry whose power and influence were founded on corruption. 229 [See note 2 I, at the end of this Vol.]

NOTES:

206 (return)
[ Note 2 H, p. 206. The pretender, who resided at Urbino, having received intelligence from Paris, that there was a design formed against his life, pope Clement XL gave directions that all foreigners in that neighbourhood, especially English, should be arrested. The earl of Peterborough arriving at Bologna, with a few armed followers, was seized with all his papers. Being interrogated, he said he came to pass some time in Italy for the benefit of the air. He was close confined for a whole month in fort Urbino, and his attendants were sent to prison. Nothing appearing to justify the suspicion, he was dismissed with uncommon civility. The king demanding reparation for this insult, the pope wrote with his own hand a letter to an ally of Great Britain, declaring that the legate of Bologna had violently and unjustly, without the knowledge of his holiness, caused the earl of Peterborough to be seized upon suspicions which proved to be ill-grounded. The cardinal legate sent a declaration to the English admiral in the Mediterranean, that he had asked forgiveness of his holiness, and now begged pardon of his Britannic majesty, for having unadvisedly arrested a peer of Great Britain on his travels.]

229 (return)
[ Note 2 I, p. 229. George I. married the princess Sophia Dorothy, daughter and heiress of the duke of Zell, by whom he had king George II. and the late queen of Prussia. The king’s body was conveyed to Hanover, and interred among his ancestors. From the death of Charles II. to this period, England had made a considerable figure in every branch of literature. Dr. Atterbury and Dr. Clarke distinguished themselves in divinity—Mr. Whiston wrote in defence of Arianism—John Locke shone forth the great restorer of human reason—the earl of Shaftesbury raised an elegant, though feeble, system of moral philosophy—Berkeley, afterwards bishop of Cloyne in Ireland, surpassed all his contemporaries in subtle and variety of metaphysical arguments, as well as in the art of deduction—lord Bolingbroke’s talents as a metaphysician have been questioned since his posthumous works appeared—great progress was made in mathematics and astronomy, by Wallis, Halley, and Flamstead—the art of medicine owed some valuable improvements to the classical Dr. Friend, and the elegant Dr. Mead. Among the poets of this era, we number John Philips, author of a didactic poem, called Cyder, a performance of real merit; he lived and died in obscurity—William Congreve, celebrated for his comedies, which are not so famous for strength of character and power of humour, as for wit, elegance, and regularity—Vanburgh, who wrote with more nature and fire, though with less art and precision—Steele, who in his comedies successfully engrafted modern characters on the ancient drama—Farquhar, who drew his pictures from fancy rather than from nature, and whose chief merit consists in the agreeable pertness and vivacity of his dialogue—Addison, whose fame as a poet greatly exceeded his genius, which was cold and enervate; though he yielded to none in the character of an essayist, either for style or matter—Swift, whose muse seems to have been mere misanthropy; he was a cynic rather than a poet, and his natural dryness and sarcastic severity would have been unpleasing, had not he qualified them, by adopting the extravagant humour of Lueian and Rabelais—Prior, lively, familiar, and amusing—Rowe, solemn, florid, and declamatory—Pope, the prince of lyric poetry; unrivalled in satire, ethics, and polished versification—the agreeable Parnel—the wild, the witty, and the whimsical Garth—Gay, whose fables may vie with those of La Fontaine, in native humour, ease, and simplicity, and whose genius for pastoral was truly original. Dr. Bentley stood foremost in the list of critics and commentators. Sir Christopher Wren raised some noble monuments of architecture. The most remarkable political writers were Davenant, Hare, Swift, Steele, Addison, Bolingbroke, and Trenchard.]

GEORGE II.

CHAPTER I.

George II. ascends the Throne of Great Britain..... Characters of the principal Persons concerned in the ministry..... Debates in Parliament concerning the Civil- list..... Changes and Promotions..... New Parliament..... Violent Dispute concerning the National Debt..... Vote of Credit..... A double Marriage between the Houses of Spain and Portugal..... liberality of the Commons..... Debates on the Subsidies of Hesse-Cassel and Wolfenbuttle..... Committee for inspecting the Gaols——Address touching the Spanish Depredations..... A Sum voted to the King on account of Arrears due on the Civil-list Revenue..... Proceedings in the House of Lords..... Wise conduct of the Irish Parliament..... Abdication of the King of Sardinia..... Death of Pope Benedict XIII..... Substance of the King’s Speech to both Houses..... Objections to the Treaty of Seville in the House of Lords..... Opposition in the Lower House to a standing Army..... Bill prohibiting Loans to Foreign Princes or States..... Charter of the East-India Company prolonged..... The Emperor resents the Treaty of Seville..... Seven Indian Chiefs arrive in England..... Revolution at Constantinople..... England infested with Robbers, Assassins, and Incendiaries..... Bill against Pensioners sitting as Members in the House of Commons..... Treaty of Vienna..... Death of the Duke of Parma..... Don Carlos takes Possession of his Territories—France distracted by religious Disputes..... The Ministry violently opposed in Parliament..... Debate on a standing Army..... Account of the Charitable Corporation..... Revival of the Salt-tax..... Mr. Pulteney’s name struck out of the List of Privy-counsellors..... The King sets out for Hanover

GEORGE II. ASCENDS THE THRONE.

At the accession of George II. the nation had great reason to wish for an alteration of measures. The public debt, notwithstanding the boasted economy and management of the ministers; notwithstanding the sinking fund, which had been extolled as a growing treasure sacred to the discharge of national incumbrances, was now increased to fifty millions two hundred and sixty-one thousand two hundred and six pounds, nineteen shillings and eightpence three farthings. The kingdom was bewildered in a labyrinth of treaties and conventions, by which it stood engaged in pecuniary subsidies to many powers upon the continent, with whom its real interests could never be connected. The wealth of the nation had been lavished upon those foreign connexions, upon unnecessary wars, and fruitless expeditions. Dangerous encroachments had been made upon the constitution, by the repeal of the act for triennial parliaments; by frequent suspensions of the habeas-corpus act upon frivolous occasions; by repealing clauses in the act of settlement; by votes of credit; by habituating the people to a standing army; and, above all, by establishing a system of corruption, which at all times would secure a majority in parliament. The nature of prerogative, by which the liberties of the nation had formerly been often endangered, was now so well understood, and so securely restrained, that it could no longer be used for the same oppressive purposes; besides, an avowed extension of the prerogative required more ability, courage, and resolution, than the present ministry could exert. They understood their own strength, and had recourse to a more safe and effectual expedient. The vice, luxury, and prostitution of the age, the almost total extinction of sentiment, honour, and public spirit, had prepared the minds of men for slavery and corruption. The means were in the hands of the ministry; the public treasure was at their devotion; they multiplied places and pensions, to increase the number of their dependants; they squandered away the money of the nation without taste, discernment, decency, or remorse; they enlisted an army of the most abandoned emissaries, whom they employed to vindicate the worst measures, in the face of truth, common sense, and common honesty; and they did not fail to stigmatize as Jacobites, and enemies to the government, all those who presumed to question the merit of their administration.

CHARACTERS OF THE PRINCIPAL PERSONS CONCERNED IN THE MINISTRY.

The supreme direction of affairs was not yet engrossed by a single minister. Lord Townshend had the reputation of conducting the external transactions relating to treaties and negotiations. He is said to have understood that province, though he did not always follow the dictates of his own understanding. He possessed an extensive fund of knowledge; and was well acquainted with the functions of his office. The duke of Newcastle, his colleague, was not remarkable for any of these qualifications; he owed his promotion to his uncommon zeal for the illustrious house of Hanover, and to the strength of his interest in parliament, rather than to his judgment, precision, or any other intellectual merit. Lord Carteret, who may be counted an auxiliary, though not immediately concerned in the administration, had distinguished himself in the character of envoy at several courts in Europe. He had attained an intimate knowledge of all the different interests and connexions subsisting among the powers of the continent; and he infinitely surpassed all the ministers in learning and capacity. He was indeed the only man of genius employed under this government. He spoke with ease and propriety, his conceptions were just and lively; his inferences bold; his counsels vigorous and warm. Yet he depreciated his talents, by acting in a subordinate character to those whom he despised; and seemed to look upon the pernicious measures of a bad ministry with silent contempt, rather than with avowed detestation. The interior government of Great Britain was chiefly managed by sir Robert Walpole, a man of extraordinary talents, who had from low beginnings raised himself to the head of the treasury. Having obtained a seat in the lower house, he declared himself one of the most forward partisans of the whig faction. He was endued with a species of eloquence, which, though neither nervous nor elegant, flowed with great facility, and was so plausible on all subjects, that even when he misrepresented the truth, whether from ignorance or design, he seldom failed to persuade that part of his audience for whose hearing his harangue was chiefly intended. He was well acquainted with the nature of the public funds, and understood the whole mystery of stock-jobbing. This knowledge produced a connexion between him and the money-corporations, which served to enhance his importance. He perceived the bulk of mankind were actuated by a sordid thirst of lucre; he had sagacity enough to convert the degeneracy of the times to his own advantage; and on this, and this alone, he founded the whole superstructure of his subsequent administration. In the late reign he had by dint of speaking decisively to every question, by boldly impeaching the conduct of the tory ministers, by his activity in elections, and engaging as a projector in the schemes of the monied interest, become a leading member in the house of commons. By his sufferings under the tory parliament, he attained the rank of a martyr to his party. His interest, his reputation, and his presumption daily increased; he opposed Sunderland as his rival in power, and headed a dangerous defection from the ministry, which evinced the greatness of his influence and authority. He had the glory of being principally concerned in effecting a reconciliation between the late king and the prince of Wales; then he was re-associated in the administration with additional credit; and, from the death of the earls of Sunderland and Stanhope, he had been making long strides towards the office of prime minister. He knew the maxims he had adopted would subject him to the hatred, the ridicule, and reproach of some individuals, who had not yet resigned all sentiments of patriotism, nor all views of opposition; but the number of these was inconsiderable, when compared to that which constituted the body of the community; and he would not suffer the consideration of such antagonists to come in competition with his schemes of power, affluence, and authority. Nevertheless, low as he had humbled anti-ministerial association, it required all his artifice to elude, all his patience and natural phlegm to bear, the powerful arguments that were urged, and the keen satire that was exercised against his measures and management, by a few members in the opposition. Sir William Wyndham possessed all the energy of elocution; Mr. Shippen was calm, intrepid, shrewd and sarcastic; Mr. Pulteney inherited from nature a good understanding, which he had studiously cultivated. He was one of the most learned members in the house of commons, extremely well qualified to judge of literary productions; well read in history and politics; deeply skilled in the British constitution, the detail of government, and the nature of the finances. He spoke with freedom, fluency, and uncommon warmth of declamation, which was said to be the effect of personal animosity to sir Robert Walpole, with whom he had been formerly connected.

DEBATES IN PARLIAMENT CONCERNING THE CIVIL LIST.

An express arriving on the fourteenth day of June, with an account of the king’s death, his late majesty king George II. repaired from Richmond, where he received this intelligence, to Leicester-house; and the members of the privy-council being assembled, were sworn a-new. The king declared his firm purpose to preserve the constitution in church and state, and to cultivate those alliances which his father had made with foreign princes. At the same time, he took and subscribed the oath for the security of the church of Scotland, as required by the act of union. Next day he was proclaimed king of Great Britain. The parliament assembled in pursuance of the act made for that purpose; but was immediately prorogued by commission to the twenty-seventh day of the month. All the great officers of state continued in their places; sir Robert Walpole kept possession of the treasury; and the system of politics which the late king had established underwent no sort of alteration. The king, in his speech to both houses at the opening of the session, professed a fixed resolution to merit the love and affection of his people, by maintaining them in the full enjoyment of their religious and civil rights. He promised to lessen the public expense as soon as the circumstances of affairs would permit: he observed to the commons, that the grant of the greatest part of the civil list revenues was now determined; and that it would be necessary for them to make a new provision for the support of him and his family: lastly, he recommended it to both houses to dispatch the business that should be necessarily brought before them, as the season of the year and the circumstances of time required their presence in the country. Addresses of condolence and congratulation being drawn up and presented, the commons, in a committee of the whole house, took into consideration a motion for a supply to his majesty. Sir Robert Walpole having observed, that the annual sum of seven hundred thousand pounds granted to, and settled on, the late king, had fallen short every year; and that his present majesty’s expenses were likely to increase, by reason of the largeness of his family, moved, that the entire revenues of the civil list, which produced about eight hundred thousand pounds per annum, should be settled on the king during his life. Mr. Shippen opposed this motion, as inconsistent with the trust reposed in them as representatives of the people, who ought to be very frugal in exercising the right of giving away the public money. He said, the sum of seven hundred thousand pounds was not obtained for his late majesty without a long and solemn debate; and every member who contended for it at that time, allowed it to be an ample royal revenue: that, although his majesty’s family should be enlarged, a circumstance which had been urged as one reason for the motion, he presumed the appointments of prince Frederick would not be much inferior to those settled on his present majesty when he was prince of Wales: besides, it was to be hoped that many personal, many particular expenses in the late reign, especially those for frequent journeys to Hanover, would be discontinued, and entirely cease. He observed, that the civil list branches in the queen’s reign did not often exceed the sum of five hundred and fifty thousand pounds; nevertheless, she called upon her parliament but once, in a reign of thirteen years, to pay the debts contracted in her civil government; and these were occasioned by the unparalleled instances of her piety and generosity. She gave the first-fruits and tenths, arising to nineteen thousand pounds a-year, as an augmentation of the maintenance of the poor clergy. She bestowed five thousand pounds per annum, out of the post-office, on the duke of Marlborough: she suffered seven hundred pounds to be charged weekly on the same office, for the service of the public: she expended several hundred thousand pounds in building the castle of Blenheim: she allowed four thousand pounds annually to prince Charles of Denmark: she sustained great loses by the tin contract: she supported the poor Palatines: she exhibited many other proofs of royal bounty: and immediately before her death she had formed a plan of retrenchment, which would have reduced her yearly expenses to four hundred and fifty-nine thousand nine hundred and forty-one pounds. He affirmed, that a million a-year would not be sufficient to carry on the exorbitant expenses, so often and so justly complained of in the house of commons: that over and above the yearly allowance of seven hundred thousand pounds, many occasional taxes, many excessive sums were raised, and all sunk in the bottomless gulf of secret service. Two hundred and fifty thousand pounds were raised in defiance of the ancient parliamentary methods, to secure the kingdom from a Swedish invasion; then the two insurance offices were erected, and paid near three hundred thousand pounds for their charters: our enmity with Sweden being changed into an alliance, a subsidy of seventy-two thousand pounds was implicitly granted, to fulfil some secret engagements with that crown: four and twenty thousand pounds were given for burning merchant ships arrived from infected places, though the goods which ought to have been destroyed for the public safety were afterwards privately sold: a sum of five hundred thousand pounds was demanded, and granted, for paying the debts of the civil list; and his majesty declared by message, he was resolved to retrench his expenses for the future. Notwithstanding this resolution, in less than four years, a new demand of the like sum was made and granted to discharge new incumbrances: the Spanish ships of war which admiral Byng took in the Mediterranean, were sold for a considerable sum of money: one hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds were granted in the last session, to be secretly disposed of for the public utility; and there was still a debt in the civil government, amounting to above six hundred thousand pounds. He took notice, that this amazing extravagance happened under the conduct of persons pretending to surpass all their predecessors in the knowledge and care of the public revenue: that as none of these sums had been accounted for, they were, in all probability, employed in services not fit to be owned. He said, he heartily wished that Time, the great discoverer of hidden truths and concealed iniquities, might produce a list of all such as had been perverted from their public duty by private pensions: who had been the hired slaves and the corrupt instruments of a profuse and vain-glorious administration. He proposed, that instead of granting an addition to the civil list, they should restrict that revenue to a certain sum, by concluding the question with these words, “in like manner as they were granted and continued to his late majesty, so as to make up the clear yearly sum of seven hundred thousand pounds.” To these particulars, which were indeed unanswerable, no reply was made. Even this mark of decency was laid aside, as idle and superfluous. The house agreed to the motion; and a bill was brought in for the better support of his majesty’s household. The commons having received a message from the king, desiring they would make further provision for the queen his consort, resolved, That in case she should survive his majesty, the sum of one hundred thousand pounds should be settled upon her for life, charged upon the revenues of the civil list, together with his majesty’s palace of Somerset-house, and Richmond Old-park. A bill was formed on this resolution, which, as well as the other, passed both bouses, and received the royal assent on the seventeenth day of July, when the king, in a speech to both houses, expressed his satisfaction with their conduct, and congratulated them on the wealth and glory of the nation, by which they had acquired such weight in holding the balance of Europe. Then the lord-chancellor prorogued the parliament to the twenty-ninth day of August; but on the seventh day of that month a proclamation was issued for dissolving this, and convoking another.

In the interim some changes were made in different departments of civil economy. Lord viscount Torrington was placed at the head of the admiralty; the earl of Westmoreland was appointed first lord commissioner of trade and plantations. Philip Dormer Stanhope, earl of Chesterfield, a nobleman remarkable for his wit, eloquence, and polished manners, was nominated ambassador to the Hague. The privy-council being dissolved, another was appointed of the members then present. The duke of Devonshire was dignified with the place of president; and the duke of St. Alban’s was appointed master of the horse. On the eleventh day of October, the coronation of the king and queen was performed at Westminster-Abbey, with the usual solemnity.* By this time the courts of France and Spain were perfectly reconciled; all Europe was freed from the calamities of war; and the peace of Great Britain suffered no interruption, except from some transient tumults among the tinners of Cornwall, who, being provoked by a scarcity of corn, rose in arms and plundered the granaries of that county.

* King George II. ascended the throne in the forty-fourth year of his age. On the second day of September, 1705, he espoused the princess Wilhelmina Charlotte Caroline, daughter to John Frederick, marquis of Brandenburgh Anspach, by whom he had two sons, Frederick Louis, prince of Wales, born at Hanover on the thirty-first day of January, 1707, and William Augustus, born at London on the fifteenth day of April, 1721. She had likewise borne four princesses, namely, Anne, Amelia, Caroline, Mary, and was afterwards delivered of Louisa, married in the sequel to the king of Denmark.

NEW PARLIAMENT.

The elections in England and Scotland for the parliament having succeeded on the new system, according to the wishes of the ministry, the two houses met on the twenty-third day of January, when the commons unanimously chose for their speaker Arthur Onslow, esquire, knight of the shire for Surrey, a gentleman of extensive knowledge, worth, and probity; grave, eloquent, venerable, and every way qualified for the discharge of that honourable and important office. The king, in his speech to this new parliament, declared, that by the last advices from abroad, he had reason to hope the difficulties which had hitherto retarded the execution of the preliminaries, and the opening of the congress, would soon be entirely removed; in the meantime, he represented the absolute necessity of continuing the preparation which had hitherto secured the nation, and prevented an open rupture in Europe. He promised, that his first care should be to reduce, from time to time, the expense of the public, as often, and as soon as the interest and safety of his people would permit such reduction. He expressed an earnest desire of seeing the foundation laid of an effectual scheme for the increase and encouragement of seamen in general, that they might be invited rather than compelled into the service of their country. Finally, he recommended unanimity, zeal, and despatch of the public business. Those speeches, penned by the minister, were composed with a view to soothe the minds of the people into an immediate concurrence with the measures of the government; but without any intention of performing those promises of economy, reformation, and national advantage. The two houses seemed to vie with each other in expressions of applause and affection to his majesty. The lords, in their address, hailed him as the best of kings, and the true father of his country. The commons expressed the warmest sense of gratitude for the blessings they enjoyed in his reign, though it was not yet eight months old. They approved of all his transactions; they promised to support him in all his undertakings; and declared they would cheerfully grant whatever supplies should be wanted for the public service. Having considered the estimates which were laid before them by order of his majesty, they voted two-and-twenty thousand nine hundred and fifty-five men for guards and garrisons; and fifteen thousand seamen for the service of the ensuing year. They granted two hundred and thirty thousand nine hundred and twenty-three pounds, for the maintenance of twelve thousand Hessian troops; a subsidy of fifty thousand pounds to the king of Sweden; and half that sum to the duke of Brunswick Wolfenbuttle.* The expense of the year amounted to four millions, raised by a land-tax of three shillings in the pound, a malt-tax, and by borrowing of the bank one million seven hundred and fifty thousand pounds, for which annuities to the amount of seventy thousand pounds, to be raised by duties on coals imported into the city of London, were granted to that corporation.

* Nothing could be a greater burlesque upon the negotiation than this treaty of alliance concluded with the petty duke of Wolfenbuttle, who very gravely guarantees to his Britannic majesty the possession of his three kingdoms, and obliges himself to supply his majesty with five thousand men, in consideration of an annual subsidy of five-and- twenty thousand pounds for four years.

VIOLENT DISPUTE CONCERNING THE NATIONAL DEBT.

All these sums, however, were not granted without question. The number of land-forces occasioned a debate; and the Hessian auxiliaries were not allowed without dispute and opposition. When they deliberated on the loan of the bank, Mr. Pulteney observed, that the shifting of funds was but perpetuating taxes, and putting off the evil day; that notwithstanding the great merit which some persons had built on the sinking fund, it appeared that the national debt had been increased since the setting up of that pompous project. Some warm altercation passed between him and sir Robert Walpole on this subject. The lord-mayor, aldermen, and common-council of London, presented a petition, setting forth, that the duties already laid upon coals and culm imported into London, affected the trade of that city only; that the inequality of the burden was a great discouragement to their manufactures, and a hardship upon all the trading inhabitants. The petition was rejected, and the tax imposed. The house having addressed the king for a particular and distinct account of the distribution of two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, charged to have been issued for securing the trade and navigation of the kingdom, and preserving and restoring the peace of Europe, he declined granting their request, but signified in general that part of the money had been issued and disbursed by his late majesty, and the remainder by himself, for carrying on the same necessary services, which required the greatest secrecy. Such a message in the reign of King William would have raised a dangerous flame in the house of commons.

Mr. W. Pulteney inveighed against such a vague and general way of accounting for the public money, as tending to render parliaments altogether insignificant, to cover embezzlements, and to screen corrupt and rapacious ministers. The commons having taken into consideration the state of the national debt, examined the accounts, and interrogated the proper officers. A motion was made by a court member, that it appeared the monies already issued and applied towards discharging the national debts, together with a sum to be issued at Lady-day, amounted to six millions six hundred and forty-eight thousand seven hundred and sixty two pounds, five shillings and one penny one farthing. In vain did the leaders of the opposition expose the fallacious tendency of this motion. In vain did they demonstrate the fraudulent artifice used in drawing up the accounts; the motion was carried; and several resolutions were taken on the state of the national debts. In the particular account of these debts, upon which the house resolved to form a representation to his majesty, an article of three hundred thousand pounds relating to the duty upon wrought plate was totally omitted. This extraordinary omission being discovered, gave rise to a very warm debate, and to very severe reflection against those who superintended the public accounts. This error being rectified, a committee appointed for the purpose drew up the representation, containing a particular detail of the national debts discharged and incurred since the twenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixteen, with a state of the sinking fund and of the public credit. The draft being approved by the house, was presented to the king-, who received it graciously. He took this opportunity of saying, that the provision made for gradually discharging the national debts was now become so certain and considerable, that nothing but some unforeseen event could alter or diminish it; a circumstance that afforded the fairest prospect of seeing the old debts discharged without any necessity of incurring new incumbrances.

This answer, fraught with many other expressions of fatherly tenderness for his people, paved the way for a message to the house, demanding a vote of credit to fulfil certain engagements entered into, and concerted, with the advice and concurrence of the last parliament, for securing the trade and navigation of the kingdom, and for restoring and preserving the peace of Europe. Though a debate ensued upon this message, the majority resolved that an address should be presented to his majesty, declaring the duty and fidelity of the commons, their entire confidence in his royal care and goodness, and their readiness to enable his majesty to fulfil his engagements, A vote of credit passed accordingly. During this session, the peers were chiefly employed in examining copies of several treaties and alliances which the king submitted to their perusal; they likewise prepared a bill for amending the statute of limitation, which, however, did not pass into a law; they considered the state of the national debt, a subject fruitful of debates; they passed the mutiny bill, and those that were sent up from the commons touching the supplies; together with an act obliging ships arriving from infected places, to perform quarantine; and some others of a more private nature. These bills having received the royal assent, the king closed the session on the twenty-eighth day of May, when he thanked the commons for the effectual supplies they had raised, and, in particular, for having empowered him to borrow five hundred thousand pounds for the discharge of wages due to the seamen employed in the navy.

A DOUBLE MARRIAGE BETWEEN THE HOUSES OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.

England was at this period quite barren of remarkable events. The king’s uncle, Ernest Augustus, prince of Brunswick, duke of York, and bishop of Osnabruck, died on the third day of August, and was succeeded in the bishopric by the elector Cologn, according to the pactum by which Osnabruck is alternately possessed by the house of Brunswick and that elector. In the beginning of December, his majesty’s eldest son prince Frederick arrived in England from Hanover, where he had hitherto resided, was introduced into the privy-council, and created prince of Wales. Signior Como, resident from the duke of Parma, was ordered to quit the kingdom, because his master paid to the pretender the honours due to the king of Great Britain. The congress opened at Soissons, for determining all disputes among the powers of Europe, proved ineffectual. Such difficulties occurred in settling and reconciling so many different pretensions and interests, that the contracting parties in the alliance of Hanover proposed a provisional treaty, concerning which no definitive answer was given as yet by the courts of Vienna and Madrid. The fate of Europe, therefore, continued in suspense; the English fleet lay inactive and rotting in the West-Indies; the sailors perished miserably, without daring to avenge their country’s wrongs; while the Spanish cruisers committed depredations with impunity on the commerce of Great Britain. The court of Spain, at this juncture, seemed cold and indifferent with regard to a pacification with England. It had renewed a good understanding with France, and now strengthened its interests by a double alliance of marriage with the royal family of Portugal. The infanta of this house was betrothed to the prince of Asturias; while the Spanish infanta, formerly affianced to the French king, was now matched with the prince of Brazil, eldest son of his Portuguese majesty. In the month of January, the two courts met in a wooden house built over the little river Coya, that separates the two kingdoms, and there the princesses were exchanged.

LIBERALITY OF THE COMMONS.

The parliament of Great Britain meeting according to their last prorogation on the twenty-first day of January, the king in his speech communicated the nature of the negotiation at the congress. Pie demanded such supplies as might enable him to act vigorously in concert with his allies, provided his endeavours to establish an advantageous peace should miscarry; and he hinted that the dilatory conduct of the courts of Vienna and Madrid proceeded in a great measure from the hopes that were given of creating discontents and divisions among the subjects of Great Britain. This suggestion was a ministerial artifice to inflame the zeal and resentment of the nation, and intimidate the members in the opposition. Accordingly the hint was pursued, and in the addresses from both houses, that could not fail of being agreeable, considering the manner in which they were dictated, particular notice was taken of this article; both peers and commons expressed their detestation and abhorrence of those, who, by such base and unnatural artifices, suggested the means of distressing their country, and clamoured at the inconveniencies which they themselves had occasioned. In these addresses, likewise, the parliament congratulated his majesty on the arrival of the prince of Wales in his British dominions; and the commons sent a particular compliment to his royal highness on that occasion, The estimates having been examined in the usual form, the house voted fifteen thousand seamen for the ensuing year; but the motion for continuing the same number of land-forces which had been allowed in the preceding year, was not carried without dispute. All the arguments against a standing army in time of peace, as inconsistent with the British constitution, and dangerous to the liberties of the people, were repeated with great vivacity by Mr. Shippen and Mr. W. Pulteney. These, however, were answered, and represented as absurd, by Mr. Horatio Walpole and Mr. D., two staunch adherents of the minister. The first had, in despite of nature, been employed in different negotiations; he was blunt, awkward, and slovenly, an orator without eloquence, an ambassador without dignity, and a plenipotentiary without address. The other had natural parts and acquired knowledge; spoke with confidence; and in dispute was vain, sarcastic, petulant, and verbose.

DEBATES ON THE SUBSIDIES OF HESSE-CASSEL AND WOLFENBUTTLE.

The subsidies to Sweden, Hesse-Cassel, and Wolfen-buttle were continued, notwithstanding the remonstrances of sir Joseph Jekyll, Mr. Lutwyche, and Mr. Pulteney; which last observed, that as the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, and the duke of Brunswick-Wolfen-buttle, usually maintained a certain number of troops in their pay, it was but reasonable that Great Britain should defray no more than the expense of the additional forces which those powers had raised, in consequence of their conventions with the king of England. Sir Robert Walpole perceiving that this remark made an impression on the house, thought it necessary to vindicate his measure. He expatiated upon the wisdom of the late king, in concluding the Hanover alliance. He affirmed, that the convention with Hesse-Cassel had prevented a war in the empire, for which the court of Vienna had made great preparations; that the emperor had not only augmented his own forces by the help of Spanish subsidies, but also retained the troops of three electors; and if he had not been overawed by the Hessians, would certainly have rejected the preliminaries, and all other advances towards a pacification; that, therefore, they ought not to grudge an expense which had already proved so beneficial to the tranquillity of Europe. Sir Joseph Jekyll replied, that whatever gloss might be put upon such measures, they were repugnant to the maxims by which England in former times had steered and squared its conduct with relation to its interest abroad; that the navy was the natural strength of Great Britain—its best defence and security; but if, in order to avoid a war, they should be so free-hearted as to buy and maintain the forces of foreign princes, they were never like to see an end of such extravagant expenses. This gentleman, who exercised the office of master of the rolls, had approved himself a zealous defender of whig principles, was an able lawyer, a sensible speaker, and a conscientious patriot. The supplies were raised by a continuation of the land-tax, the duties upon malt, cyder, and perry, an additional imposition on unmalted corn used in distilling, and by sale of annuities to the bank not exceeding fifty thousand pounds per annum.

COMMITTEE FOR INSPECTING THE GAOLS.

Petitions were delivered to the house of commons from the merchants of London, Liverpool, and Bristol, complaining of the interruptions they had suffered in their trade for several years, by the depredations of the Spaniards in the West Indies. These being considered, the house ordered the lords of the admiralty to produce the other memorials of the same kind which they had received, that they might be laid before the congress at Soissons: then they addressed his majesty for copies of all the letters and instructions which had been sent to admiral Hosier, and those who succeeded him in the command of the West-India squadron. Mr. Oglethorpe, having been informed of shocking cruelties and oppressions exercised by gaolers upon their prisoners, moved for an examination into these practices, and was chosen chairman of a committee appointed to inquire into the state of the gaols in the kingdom. They began with the Fleet-prison, which they visited in a body; there they found sir William Rich, baronet, loaded with irons, by order of Bambridge the warden, to whom he had given some slight cause of offence. They made a discovery of many inhuman barbarities which had been committed by that ruffian, and detected the most iniquitous scenes of fraud, villany, and extortion. When the report was made by the committee, the house unanimously resolved, That Thomas Bambridge, acting warden of the Fleet, had wilfully permitted several debtors to escape; had been guilty of the most notorious breaches of trust, great extortions, and the highest crimes and misdemeanors in the execution of his office; that he had arbitrarily and unlawfully loaded with irons, put into dungeons, and destroyed prisoners for debt, under his charge, treating them in the most barbarous and cruel manner, in high violation and contempt of the laws of the kingdom. John Huggins, esquire, who had been warden of the Fleet-prison, was subjected to a resolution of the same nature. The house presented an address to the king, desiring he would direct his attorney-general forthwith to prosecute these persons and their accomplices, who were committed prisoners to Newgate. A bill was brought in, disabling Bambridge to execute the office of warden; another for the better regulating the prison of the Fleet, and for more effectually preventing and punishing arbitrary and illegal practices of the warden of the said prison.*

* It afterwards appeared that some of the members of this inquest were actuated by other motives than those they professed; and the committee was suffered to sink into oblivion.

ADDRESS TOUCHING THE SPANISH DEPREDATIONS.

Other merchants complained by petition of the losses they sustained by the Spaniards. The house, in a grand committee, deliberated on this subject, inquired into the particulars, examined evidence, and drew up an address to the king, desiring his majesty would be graciously pleased to use his utmost endeavours for preventing such depredations; for procuring just and reasonable satisfaction; and for securing to his subjects the free exercise of commerce and navigation to and from the British colonies in America. The king assured them he would use his best endeavours to answer the desires and expectations of his people, in an affair of so much importance; and they, in another address, thanked him for his gracious answer. They did not, however, receive such a satisfactory reply to a former address, touching the sum of sixty thousand pounds that had been stated in the public account, without specification of the particular uses to which it was applied. His majesty gave them to understand that the money had been issued and disbursed for secret services; and that a distinct and particular account of the distribution of it could not be given without a manifest prejudice to the public. A bill was prepared for the more effectual preventing bribery and corruption in elections for members of parliament; and it passed through the house without opposition; but their attention was chiefly employed upon the Spanish depredations, which had raised a great clamour through the whole kingdom, and excited very warm disputes in parliament; for they were generally reputed the fruits of negligence, incapacity, or want of vigour in the ministers.. The commons having made further progress in the inquiry, and received fresh petitions from the merchants, passed some resolutions, in which the Spaniards were accused of having violated the treaties subsisting between the two crowns; and with having treated inhumanly the masters and crews of ships belonging to Great Britain. They justified the instructions given to admiral Hosier, to seize and detain the flota and galleons of Spain, until justice and satisfaction should be rendered to his majesty and his allies; nay, even declared that such seizure would have been just, prudent, and necessary, tending to prevent an open rupture, and to preserve the peace and tranquillity of Europe. They again addressed the king to use his endeavours to procure satisfaction; and he promised to comply with their request.

Mr. Scroope, member for Bristol, moved for an address entreating his majesty to order an account of the produce of the civil list revenues for one year to be laid before the house. The address was presented, the account produced, and the house, in a grand committee, took this affair into consideration. The courtiers affirmed that they fell short of the eight hundred thousand pounds settled upon his majesty; and Mr. Scroope proposed that the sum of one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds should be granted to the king, on account of those deficiencies and arrears. The motion was vigorously opposed by Mr. Pulteney and other members. They expressed their surprise that it should be made so late in the session, when no further demand of money could be reasonably expected; and they said it was the more extraordinary, because it appeared in the former session, from the examination of the accounts then before the house, that the revenues of the civil list produced yearly a much greater sum than that for which they were given. Mr. Pulteney moved, that the accounts and papers should be referred to the examination of a select committee, properly empowered to investigate the truth. The ministers opposed this motion; and the question being put, it passed in the negative. The majority voted the sum demanded; and in a bill for settling the price of imported corn, they inserted the resolution for granting to his majesty the sum of one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds, on account of arrears due on the civil list revenues.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS.

The house of lords having prepared a bill for the more effectual punishment of forgery, which was passed into a law, and ordered the judges to bring in another on the report of a committee appointed to consider the case of imprisoned debtors, at length deliberated upon the state of the nation, particularly the positive demand made by the court of Spain for the restitution of Gibraltar, grounded in a letter written by the late king to his catholic majesty. From a copy of the letter laid before the house, it plainly appeared that king George I. had consented to this restitution. A motion being made for a resolution, importing, that for the honour of his majesty, and the preservation and security of the trade and commerce of the kingdom, effectual care should be taken in the present treaty that the king of Spain should renounce all claim and pretension to Gibraltar and Minorca, in plain and strong terms; a debate ensued, and the question being put, passed in the negative, though not without a protest. Then the majority resolved, that the house did entirely rely upon his majesty, that he would, for maintaining the honour and securing the trade of this kingdom, take effectual care in the present treaty to preserve his undoubted right to Gibraltar and Minorca. When the house examined the papers relating to the Spanish depreciations, many severe reflections were uttered against the conduct of the ministry; and a motion was made, to resolve that Hosier’s expedition was an unreasonable burden on the nation; but this too was rejected, and occasioned another protest. Nor did the clause in the corn-bill, for granting one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds to his majesty, pass through the house of peers without warm opposition. Divers lords alleged, that, instead of a deficiency in the civil list revenues, there was a considerable surplus; that this was a new grant, and a new burden on the people; that the nation was loaded, not to complete but to augment the surplus designed for the civil list; and this at a time when the public debts were increased; when the taxes were heavily felt in all parts of the country; when the foreign trade of Britain was encumbered and diminished; when her manufactures were decayed, her poor multiplied, and she was surrounded by many other national calamities. They observed, that if the produce of the civil list revenue should not amount to the yearly sum of eight hundred thousand pounds, the deficiency must be made good to his majesty by the public; whereas no provision was made, by which, if the produce of these revenues should exceed that sum, the surplus could accrue to the benefit of the public; that, by this precedent, not only real deficiencies were to be made good, but also supplies were to be given for arrears standing out at the end of the year, which should come on before the supplies could be granted, though the supply given to make good arrears in one year would certainly increase the surplusages in another; that the revenues of the civil list were variable in their own nature, and even when there is a deficiency in the produce, there might be arrears in the receipt; these might be easily increased by the management of designing ministers, by private directions to receivers, and by artful methods of stating accounts. All these arguments, and other objections equally strong and plausible, against this unconsionable and unparliamentary motion, served only to evince the triumph of the ministry over shame and sentiment, their contempt of public spirit, and their defiance of the national reproach.*

* The peers that distinguished themselves in the opposition were Beaufort, Strafford, Craven, Foley, Litchfield, Scarsdale, Grower, Mountjoy, Plymouth, Bathurst, Northampton, Coventry, Oxford and Mortimer, Willoughby de Broke, Boyle, and Warrington.

WISE CONDUCT OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.

The king had, on the twenty-fourth day of March, given the royal assent to five bills; and on the fourteenth day of May the same sanction was given to thirty other bills, including an act enabling the queen to be regent in the kingdom during his majesty’s absence without taking the oaths, and another for the relief of insolvent debtors. At the same time two-and-thirty private bills were passed: then the king expressed his approbation of the parliament, signified his intention to visit his German dominions, and ordered the chancellor to prorogue both houses. His majesty having appointed the queen regent of the realm, set out for Hanover on the seventeenth day of May, in order to remove a petty misunderstanding which had happened between that electorate and the court of Berlin. Some Hanoverian subjects had been pressed or decoyed into the service of Prussia; and the regents of Hanover had seized certain Prussian officers by way of reprisal. The whole united kingdom of Great Britain at this juncture enjoyed uninterrupted repose; and commerce continued to increase, in spite of all restriction and discouragement. The people of Ireland found themselves happy under the government of lord Carteret; and their parliament, assembling in the month of September, approved themselves the fathers of their country. They established funds for the discharge of their national debt, and for maintaining the expense of government: they enacted wholesome laws for the encouragement of manufactures, trade, and agriculture; and they formed wise regulations in different branches of civil economy. Some time after this session, which was conducted with so much harmony and patriotism, lord Carteret returned to England; and was succeeded by the duke of Dorset in the government of that kingdom. In the month of May, Charles lord Townshend resigned the seals, which were given to colonel Stanhope, now created earl of Harrington; so that sir Robert Walpole now reigned without a rival. James earl of Waldegrave was appointed ambassador to the court of France, which about that time was filled with joy by the birth of a dauphin.

ABDICATION OF THE KING OF SARDINIA.

In the month of September, Victor Amadeus king of Sardinia, resigned his crown to his son Charles Emanuel, prince of Piedmont. The father reserved to himself a revenue of one hundred thousand pistoles per annum, retired to the castle of Chamberry, and espoused the countess dowager of St. Sebastian, who declined the title of queen, but assumed that of marchioness of Somerive. Though the congress at Soissons proved abortive, conferences were begun at Seville between the plenipotentiaries of England, France, and Spain; and a treaty was concluded on the ninth day of November, not only without the concurrence of the emperor, but even contrary to his right, as established by the quadruple alliance. On this subject he communicated an imperial commissorial decree to the states of the empire assembled in the diet at Eatisbon, which was answered by the French minister de Chavigny. In October, Peter II., czar of Muscovy and grandson of Peter I., died in the fifteenth year of his age, at Muscow, and was succeeded on the Russian throne by the princess Anne Ivanowna, second daughter of John Alexowitz, elder brother of the first Peter, and widow of Frederic William duke of Courland. The following month was rendered remarkable by the death of pope Benedict XIII., in whose room cardinal Laurence Corsini was raised to the pontificate, and assumed the name of Clement XII.

SUBSTANCE OF THE KING’S SPEECH.

The British parliament assembling on the thirteenth day of January, the king gave them to understand that the peace of Europe was now established by the treaty of Seville, built upon the foundation of former treaties, and tending to render more effectual what the contracting powers in the quadruple alliance were before engaged to see performed. He assured them that all former conventions made with Spain in favour of the British trade and navigation were renewed and confirmed: that the free uninterrupted exercise of their commerce was restored: that the court of Spain had agreed to an ample restitution and reparation for unlawful seizures and depredations: that all rights, privileges, and possessions, belonging to him and his allies, were solemnly re-established, confirmed, and guaranteed; and that not one concession was made to the prejudice of his subjects. He told them he had given orders for reducing a great number of his land-forces, and for laying up great part of the fleet; and observed ‘that there would be a considerable saving in the expense of the current year. After both houses had presented their addresses of thanks and congratulation to the king on the peace of Seville, the lords took that treaty into consideration, and it did not pass inquiry without severe animadversion.

OBJECTIONS TO THE TREATY OF SEVILLE.

The lords in the opposition excepted to the article by which the merchants of Great Britain were obliged to make proof of their losses at the court of Spain. They said this stipulation was a hardship upon British subjects, and dishonourable to the nation: that few would care to undertake such a troublesome and expensive journey, especially as they had reason to apprehend their claims would be counterbalanced by the Spaniards; and after all they would have no more than the slender comfort of hoping to obtain that redress by commissaries which they had not been able to procure by plenipotentiaries. They thought it very extraordinary that Great Britain should be bound to ratify and guarantee whatever agreement should be made between the king of Spain and the duke of Parma and Tuscany, concerning the garrisons once established in their countries; that the English should be obliged to assist in effectuating the introduction of six thousand Spanish troops into the towns of Tuscany and Parma, without any specification of the methods to be taken, or the charge to be incurred, in giving that assistance: that they should guarantee for ever, not only to Don Carlos, but even to all his successors, the possession of the estates of Tuscany and Parma; a stipulation which in all probability would involve Great Britain in endless quarrels and disputes about a country with which they had no concern. They affirmed that the treaty of Seville, instead of confirming other treaties, was contradictory to the quadruple alliance, particularly in the article of introducing Spanish troops into Tuscany and Parma in the room of neutral forces stipulated by the former alliance; and agreeing that they should there remain until Don Carlos and his successors should be secure and exempt from all events. They complained that these alterations from the tenor of the quadruple alliance, were made without the concurrence of the emperor, and even without inviting him to accede; an affront which might alienate his friendship from England, and hazard the loss of such an ancient, powerful, and faithful ally; they declared that throughout the whole treaty there seemed to be an artful omission of any express stipulation to secure Great Britain in her right to Gibraltar and Minorca. Such was the substance of the objections made to the peace: then lord Bathurst moved for a resolution that the agreement on the treaty of Seville, to secure the succession of Don Carlos to the duchies of Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia, with Spanish troops, was a manifest violation of the fifth article of the quadruple alliance, tending to involve the nation in a dangerous and expensive war, and to destroy the balance of power in Europe. The question was put, and the motion rejected. Such too was the fate of two other motions, to resolve that Great Britain’s right of sovereignty, dominion, possession, and claim to Gibraltar and Minorca, were not ascertained by the treaty of Seville: and that the stipulations in that treaty for repairing the losses of the British merchants were insufficient and precarious. The majority, far from stigmatizing this transaction, resolved, that the treaty did contain all necessary stipulations for maintaining and securing the honour, dignity, rights, and possessions of the crown: that all due care was taken therein for the support of the trade of the king dom, and for repairing the losses sustained by the British merchants. On these resolutions an address of approbation was founded: but when a motion was made for an address to his majesty, that he would order to be laid before the house a list of all pensions payable to the crown, it was immediately resolved in the negative. Divers contests of the same kind arose upon the mutiny-bill, the pension-bill, and the maintenance of twelve thousand Hessians; but the ministry bore down all opposition, though their triumphs were clogged with vigorous protests, which did not fail to make impression upon the body of the people.

OPPOSITION TO A STANDING ARMY.

Nor was the success of the court interest in the house of commons altogether pure, and free from exception and dispute. When the charge of the land forces fell under the consideration of the commons, and Mr. Henry Pelham, secretary at war, moved that the number of effective men for the land service of the ensuing year should be fixed at seventeen thousand seven hundred and nine, Mr. Pulteney insisted upon its being reduced to twelve thousand. Mr. Shippen affirmed that Mr. Pelham’s motion was a flat negative to the address for which he voted on the first day of the session, as it plainly implied a distrust of the validity of the late treaty, which he then assured the house would immediately produce all the blessings of an absolute peace, and deliver the kingdom from the apprehensions and inconveniences of a war. He said the motion tended directly towards the establishment of an army in Great Britain, which he hoped would never be so far germanized as tamely to submit to a military government. He observed, that the nation could have no occasion for all the troops that were demanded, considering the glorious scene of affairs which was now opened to all Europe. “They are not necessary,” said he, “to awe Spain into a firm adherence to its own treaty; they are not necessary to force the emperor into an immediate accession, nor are they in any sort necessary for the safety of his majesty’s person and government. Force and violence are the resort of usurpers and tyrants only; because they are, with good reason, distrustful of the people whom they oppress; and because they have no other security for the continuance of their unlawful and unnatural dominion, than what depends entirely on the strength of their armies.” The motion, however, was carried in the affirmative.

BILL PROHIBITING LOANS.

Another warm debate was excited by a bill which the courtiers brought in, to prevent any subjects of Great Britain from advancing sums of money to foreign princes or states, without having obtained license from his majesty, under his privy-seal or some great authority. The minister pretended that this law was proposed to disable the emperor, who wanted to borrow a great sum of the English merchants, from raising and maintaining troops to disturb the tranquillity of Europe. The bill contained a clause empowering the king to prohibit by proclamation all such loans of money, jewels, or bullion: the attorney-general was empowered to compel, by English bill, in the court of exchequer, the effectual discovery, on oath, of any such loans; and it was enacted, that in default of an answer to any such bill, the court should decree a limited sum against the person refusing to answer. Mr. Daniel Pulteney, a gentleman of uncommon talents and ability, and particularly acquainted with every branch of commerce, argued strenuously against this bill, as a restraint upon trade that would render Holland the market of Europe, and the mart of money to the nations of the continent. He said that by this general prohibition, extending to all princes, states, or potentates, the English were totally disabled from assisting their best allies: that, among others, the king of Portugal frequently borrowed money of the English merchants residing within his dominions; that while the licensing power remained in the crown, the licenses would be issued through the hands of the minister, who by this new trade might gain twenty, thirty, or forty thousand a-year: that the bill would render the exchequer a court of inquisition: and that whilst it restrained our merchants from assisting the princes and powers of Europe, it permitted our stockjobbers to trade in their funds without interruption. Other arguments of equal weight were enforced by Mr. Barnard, a merchant of London, who perfectly understood trade in all its branches, spoke with judgment and precision, and upon all occasions steadily adhered to the interest and liberties of his country. After having explained his reasons, he declared he should never consent to a bill which he deemed a violation of our fundamental laws, a breach of our dearest liberties, and a very terrible hardship on mankind. Sir William Wyndham distinguished himself on the same side of the question: the bill was vindicated by sir Robert Walpole, Mr. Pelham, and sir Philip Yorke, attorney-general; and being supported by the whole weight of ministerial influence, not only passed through the house, but was afterwards enacted into a law.

CHARTER OF THE EAST-INDIA COMPANY.

The subsidies were continued to the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel and the duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttle, in spite of all that could be urged against these extraneous incumbrances; and the supply for the ensuing year was granted according to the estimates which the ministry thought proper to produce, amounting to about two millions two hundred and eighty thousand pounds. It must be owned, however, for the credit of the session, that the house appropriated one million of the surplusses arising from the sinking fund towards the discharge of the national debt; and by another act extinguished the duties upon salt, by which expedient the subject was eased of a heavy burden, not only in being freed from the duty, but also from a considerable charge of salaries given to a great number of officers employed to collect this imposition. They likewise encouraged the colony of Carolina with an act, allowing the planters and traders of that province to export rice directly to any part of Europe southward of Cape Finisterre; and they permitted salt from Europe to be imported into the colony of New York. The term of the exclusive trade granted by act of parliament to the East India company drawing towards a period, many considerable merchants and others made application forbeing incorporated and vested with the privilege of trading to those countries, proposing to lay that branch of trade open to all the subjects of Great Britain on certain conditions. In consideration of an act of parliament for this purpose, they offered to advance three millions two hundred thousand pounds, for redeeming the fund and trade of the present East India company. This proposal was rejected; and the exclusive privilege vested in the company was, by act of parliament, protracted to the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-six, upon the following conditions: That they should pay into the exchequer the sum of two hundred thousand pounds towards the supplies of the year, without interest or addition to their capital stock: that the annuity or yearly fund of one hundred and sixty thousand pounds, payable to them from the public, should be reduced to one hundred and twenty-eight thousand: that after the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-six, their right to the exclusive trade should be liable to be taken away by parliament, on three years’ notice, and repayment of their capital.

THE EMPEROR RESENTS THE TREATY OF SEVILLE.

On the fifteenth day of May, the king went to the house of peers and closed the session. In his speech he expressed his joy, that, notwithstanding all the clamours which were raised, the parliament had approved of those matters which, he said, could not fail to inspire all mankind with a just detestation of those incendiaries, who, by scandalous libels, laboured to alienate the affections of his people; to fill their minds with groundless jealousies and unjust complaints, in dishonour of him and his government, and in defiance of the sense of both houses of parliament.*

* In the course of the session the commons passed a bill for making more effectual the laws in being, for disabling persons from being chosen members of parliament who enjoyed any pension during pleasure, or for any number of years, or any offices holden in trust for them, by obliging all persons hereafter to be chosen to serve the commons in parliament to take the oath therein mentioned. In all probability this bill would not have made its way through the house of commons, had not the minister been well assured it would stick with the upper house, where it was rejected at the second reading, though not without violent opposition.

The emperor was so much incensed at the insult offered him in the treaty of Seville, with respect to the garrisons of Tuscany and Parma, that he prohibited the subjects of Great Britain from trading in his dominions: he began to make preparations for war, and actually detached bodies of troops to Italy with such despatch as had been very seldom exerted by the house of Austria. Yet the article of which he complained was not so much a real injury as an affront put upon the head of the empire; for eventual succession to those Italian duchies had been secured to the infant, Don Carlos, by the quadruple alliance; and all that the emperor required was, that this prince should receive the investiture of them as fiefs of the empire.

ARRIVAL OF SEVEN INDIAN CHIEFS.

In Great Britain, this year was not distinguished by any transaction of great moment. Seven chiefs of the Cherokee nations of Indians in America were brought to England by sir Alexander Cumin. Being introduced to the king, they laid their crown and regalia at his feet; and by an authentic deed acknowledged themselves subjects to his dominion, in the name of all their compatriots, who had vested them with full powers for this purpose. They were amazed and confounded at the riches and magnificence of the British court: they compared the king and queen to the sun and moon, the princes to the stars of heaven, and themselves to nothing. They gave their assent in the most solemn manner to articles of friendship and commerce, proposed by the lords commissioners of trade and plantations; and being loaded with presents of necessaries, arms, and ammunition, were re-conveyed to their own country, which borders on the province of South Carolina. In the month of September, a surprising revolution was effected at Constantinople, without bloodshed or confusion. A few mean Janissaries displayed a flag in the streets, exclaiming that all true Mussulmen ought to follow them, and assist in reforming the government. They soon increased to the number of one hundred thousand, marched to the seraglio, and demanded the grand vizier, the kiaja, and captain pacha. These unhappy ministers were immediately strangled. Their bodies being delivered to the insurgents, were dragged through the streets, and afterwards thrown to the dogs to be devoured. Not content with this sacrifice, the revolters deposed the grand seignor Achmet, who was confined to the same prison from whence they brought his nephew Machmut, and raised this last to the throne, after he had lived seven-and-twenty years in confinement.

England was at this period, infested with robbers, assassins, and incendiaries, the natural consequences of degeneracy, corruption, and the want of police in the interior government of the kingdom. This defect, in a great measure, arose from an absurd notion, that laws necessary to prevent those acts of cruelty, violence, and rapine, would be incompatible with the liberty of British subjects; a notion that confounds all distinctions between liberty and brutal licentiousness, as if that freedom was desirable, in the enjoyment of which people find no security for their lives or effects. The peculiar depravity of the times was visible even in the conduct of those who preyed upon the commonwealth. Thieves and robbers were now become more desperate and savage than ever they had appeared since mankind was civilized. In the exercise of their rapine, they wounded, maimed, and even murdered the unhappy sufferers, through a wantonness of barbarity. They circulated letters demanding sums of money from certain individuals, on pain of reducing their houses to ashes, and their families to ruin; and even set fire to the house of a rich merchant in Bristol, who had refused to comply with their demand. The same species of villany was practised in different parts of the kingdom; so that the government was obliged to interpose, and offer a considerable reward for discovering the ruffians concerned in such execrable designs.

BILL AGAINST PENSIONERS SITTING AS MEMBERS IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

In the speech with which the king opened the session of parliament on the twenty-first day of January, he told them that the present critical conjuncture seemed in a very particular manner to deserve their attention; that as the transactions then depending in the several courts of Europe were upon the point of being determined, the great event of peace or war might be very much affected by their first resolutions, which were expected by different powers with great impatience. He said, the continuance of that zeal and vigour with which they had hitherto supported him and his engagements, must at this time be of the greatest weight and importance, both with regard to his allies, and to those who might be disposed before the season of action to prevent, by an accommodation, the fatal consequences of a general rupture. The former scene was repeated. Both houses, in their addresses, promised to support his majesty in all his engagements; yet the members of the opposition demonstrated the absurdity of promising to fulfil engagements before they could possibly know whether or not they were for the service of Great Britain. Another bill was brought into the house of commons, to prevent pensioners from sitting as members of parliament; and, after a third reading, carried up to the lords for their concurrence. When the supply fell under consideration, the debates were renewed upon the subsidies to the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel and the duke of Wolfenbuttle, which, however, were continued; and every article was granted according to the estimates given in for the expense of the ensuing year. Two petitions being presented to the commons, representing the delays of justice occasioned by the use of the Latin tongue in proceedings at law, a bill was brought in for changing this practice, and enacting, that all those processes and pleadings should be entered in the English language. Though one would imagine that very little could be advanced against such a regulation the bill met with warm opposition, on pretence that it would render useless the ancient records which were written in that language, and introduce confusion and delay of justice, by altering the established form and method of pleading: in spite of these objections it passed through both houses, and obtained the royal assent. A great number of merchants from different parts of the kingdom having repeated their complaints of depredations and cruelties committed by the Spaniards in the West Indies, their petitions were referred to the consideration of a grand committee. Their complaints upon examination appeared to be well founded. The house presented an address to the king, desiring his majesty would be graciously pleased to continue his endeavours to prevent such depredations for the future; to procure full satisfaction for the damages already sustained; and to secure to the British subjects the full and uninterrupted exercise of their trade and navigation to and from the British colonies in America. The hill against pensions produced a warm debate in the house of lords, where it was violently opposed by the dukes of Newcastle and Argyle; the earl of Hay, and Dr. Sherlock, bishop of Bangor. This prelate, in a remarkable speech, represented it as a scheme to enlarge the power of the house of commons, and to break the balance between the powers essential to the constitution, so as sooner or later to prove the ruin of the whole. The great barrier provided against bribery and corruption by this bill, consisted in an oath to be imposed on all members of the lower house, by which they must have solemnly sworn and declared, that they had not directly, nor indirectly, any pension during pleasure, or for any number of years, or any office in part, or in the whole, held for them, or for their benefit, by any persons whatsoever; and that they would not accept any such pensions or offices, without signifying the same to the house within fourteen days after they should be received or accepted. The bill was vindicated as just and necessary by the earls of Winchelsea and Strafford, lord Bathurst, and lord Carteret, who had by this time joined as an auxiliary in the opposition. 237 [See note 2 K, at the end of this Vol.]

TREATY OF VIENNA.

The house of peers proceeded to consider the state of the national debt: they read a bill for the free importation of wool from Ireland into England, which was fiercely opposed, and laid aside, contrary to all the rules of sound policy. They passed the bill for carrying on proceedings at law in the English language; and a fruitless motion was made by lord Bathurst for an address, to desire his majesty would give directions for discharging the Hessian troops that were in the pay of Great Britain. On the seventh day of May the parliament was prorogued, after the king had given them to understand that all apprehensions of war were now happily removed, by a treaty signed at Vienna between him and the emperor. He said it was communicated to the courts of France and Spain, as parties to the treaty of Seville, the execution of which it principally regarded; and that it likewise was submitted to the consideration of the states-general. He observed, that the conditions and engagements into which he had entered on this occasion were agreeable to that necessary concern which the British nation must always have for the security and preservation of the balance of power in Europe; and that this happy turn, duly improved with a just regard to former alliances, yielded a favourable prospect of seeing the public tranquillity re-established.

DEATH OF THE DUKE OF PARMA.

In the month of January the duke of Parma died, after having made a will, in which he declared his duchess was three months advanced in her pregnancy; entreating the allied powers of Europe to have compassion upon his people, and defer the execution of their projects until his consort should be delivered. In case the child should be still-born, or die after the birth, he bequeathed his dominions and allodial estates to the infant Don Carlos of Spain; and appointed five regents to govern the duchy. Notwithstanding this disposition, a body of Imperial troops immediately took possession of Parma and Placentia, under the command of general Stampa, who declared they should conduct themselves with all possible regularity and moderation, and leave the administration entirely to the regents whom the duke had appointed. They publicly proclaimed in the market-place, that they took possession of these duchies for the infant Don Carlos; and that if the duchess dowager should not be delivered of a prince, the said infant might receive the investiture from the emperor whenever he would, provided he should come without an army. Though these steps seemed to threaten an immediate war, the king of Great Britain and the states-general interposed their mediation so effectually with the court of Vienna, that the emperor desisted from the prosecution of his design; and on the sixteenth day of March concluded at Vienna a treaty with his Britannic majesty, by which he consented to withdraw his troops from Parma and Placentia. He agreed, that the king of Spain might take possession of these places in favour of his son Don Carlos, according to the treaty of Seville. He likewise agreed that the Ostend company, which had given such umbrage to the maritime powers, should be totally dissolved, on condition that the contracting powers concerned in the treaty of Seville should guarantee the pragmatic sanction, or succession of the Austrian hereditary dominion to the heirs female of the emperor, in case he should die without male issue. The Dutch minister residing at the Imperial court did not subscribe this treaty, because, by the maxims received in that republic, and the nature of her government, he could not be vested with full powers so soon as it would have been necessary: nevertheless the states-general were, by a separate article, expressly named as a principal contracting party.

DON CARLOS TAKES POSSESSION OF HIS TERRITORIES.

On the twenty-second day of July, a new treaty was signed at Vienna between the emperor and the kings of Great Britain and Spain, tending to confirm the former. In August, a treaty of union and defensive alliance between the electorates of Saxony and Hanover was executed at Dresden. The court of Spain expressing some doubts with regard to the pregnancy of the duchess of Parma, she underwent a formal examination by five midwives of different nations, in presence of the elder duchess dowager, several ladies of quality, three physicians and a surgeon; and was declared with child: nevertheless, after having kept all Europe in suspense for six months, she owned she had been deceived; and general Stampa, with the Imperial forces, took formal possession of the duchies of Parma and Placenta. Spain and the great duke of Tuscany having acceded to the last treaty of Vienna, the crown of Great Britain engaged to equip an armament that should convoy Don Carlos to his new dominions. Accordingly, sir Charles Wager sailed with a strong squadron from Portsmouth on the twenty-sixth day of August; and in September arrived at Barcelona, where-, being joined by the Spanish fleet and transports, they sailed together to Leghorn; from whence the admiral returned to England. Don Carlos passed through part of France, and embarking at Anti-bes on board of the Spanish galleys, arrived at Leghorn in December. Then the Imperial general withdrew his forces into the Milanese; and the infant took possession of his new territories.

FRANCE DISTRACTED BY RELIGIOUS DISPUTES.

During these transactions France was distracted by religious disputes, occasioned by the bull Unigenitus thundered against the doctrines of Jansenius; a bull which had produced a schism in the Gallican church, and well nigh involved that country in civil war and confusion. It was opposed by the parliaments and lay tribunals of the kingdom; but many bishops, and the Jesuits in general, were its most strenuous assertors. All the artifices of priestcraft were practised on both sides to inflame the enthusiasm, and manage the superstition of the people. Pretended miracles were wrought at the tomb of abbé Paris, who had died without accepting the bull, consequently was declared damned by the abettors of that constitution. On the other hand, the Jesuites exerted all their abilities and industry in preaching against the Jansenists; in establishing an opinion of their superior sanctity; and inspiring a spirit of quietism among their votaries, who were transported into the delirium of possession, illumination, and supernatural converse. These arts were often used for the most infamous purposes. Female enthusiasts were wrought up to such a violence of agitation, that nature fainted under the struggle, and the pseudo saint seized this opportunity of violating the chastity of his penitent. Such was said to be the case of mademoiselle la Cadiere, a young gentlewoman of Toulon, abused in this manner by the lust and villany of Père Girard, a noted Jesuit, who underwent a trial before the parliament of Aix, and very narrowly escaped the stake.

THE MINISTRY VIOLENTLY OPPOSED.

The parliament of Great Britain meeting on the thirteenth day of January, the king in his speech declared, that the general tranquillity of Europe was restored and established by the last treaty of Vienna; and Don Carlos was actually possessed of Parma and Placentia; that six thousand Spaniards were quietly admitted and quartered in the duchy of Tuscany, to secure, by the express consent and agreement of the great duke, the reversion of his dominions; and that a family convention was made between the courts of Spain and Tuscany for preserving mutual peace and friendship in the two houses. He told the commons, that the estimates for the service of the current year would be considerably less than those of former years. He recommended unanimity; he observed that his government had no security but what was equally conducive to their happiness, and to the protection of his people: that their prosperity had no foundation but in the defence and support of his government. “Our safety,” said he, “is mutual, and our interests are inseparable.” The opposition to the court measures appears to have been uncommonly spirited during the course of this session. The minister’s motions were attacked with all the artillery of elocution. His principal emissaries were obliged to task their faculties to their full exertion, to puzzle and perplex where they could not demonstrate and convince, to misrepresent what they could not vindicate, and to elude the arguments which they could not refute. In the house of commons, lord Hervey, lately appointed vice-chamberlain of his majesty’s household, made a motion for an address of thanks, in which they should declare their entire approbation of the king’s conduct, acknowledge the blessings they enjoyed tinder his government, express their confidence in the wisdom of his councils, and declare their readiness to grant the necessary supplies. This member, son to the earl of Bristol, was a nobleman of some parts, which, however, were more specious than solid. He condescended to act as a subaltern to the minister, and approved himself extremely active in forwarding all his designs, whether as a secret emissary or public orator; in which last capacity he appears to have been pert, frivolous, and frothy. His motion was seconded by Mr. Clutterbuck, and opposed by sir Wilfred Lawson, Mr. Shippen, Mr. W. Pulteney, sir William Wyndham, and Mr. Oglethorpe. They did not argue against a general address of thanks; but exposed the absurdity and bad tendency of expressions which implied a blind approbation of all the measures of the ministry. Sir Wilfred Lawson observed, that notwithstanding the great things we had done for the crown of Spain, and the favours we had procured for the royal family of that kingdom, little or no satisfaction had as yet been received for the injuries our merchants had sustained from that nation. Mr. Pulteney took notice, that the nation, by becoming guarantee to the pragmatic sanction, laid itself under an obligation to assist the Austrian family when attacked by any potentate whatever, except the grand seignor; that they might be attacked when it would be much against the interest of the kingdom to engage itself in a war upon any foreign account; that it might one day be for the interest of the nation to join against them, in order to preserve the balance of Europe, the establishing of which had already cost England such immense sums of money. He insisted upon the absurdity of concluding such a number of inconsistent treaties; and concluded with saying, that if affairs abroad were now happily established, the ministry which conducted them might be compared to a pilot, who, though there was a clear, safe, and straight channel into port, yet took it in his head to carry the ship a great way about, through sands, rocks, and shallows; who, after having lost a great number of seamen, destroyed a great deal of tackle and rigging, and subjected the owners to an enormous expense, at last by chance hits the port, and triumphs in his good conduct. Sir William Wyndham spoke to the same purpose. Mr. Oglethorpe, a gentlemen of unblemished character, brave, generous, and humane, affirmed that many other things related more nearly to the honour and interest of the nation, than did the guarantee of the pragmatic sanction. He said he wished to have heard that the new works at Dunkirk had been entirely razed and destroyed; that the nation had received full and complete satisfaction for the depredations committed by the natives of Spain; that more care was taken in disciplining the militia, on whose valour the nation must chiefly depend in case of invasion; and that some regard had been shown to the oppressed protestants in Germany. He expressed his satisfaction to find that the English were not so closely united to France as formerly; for he had generally observed that when two dogs were in a leash together, the stronger generally ran away with the weaker; and this he was afraid had been the case between France and Great Britain. The motion was vigorously defended by Mr. Pelham, paymaster of the forces, and brother to the duke of Newcastle, a man whose greatest fault was his being concerned in supporting the measures of a corrupt ministry. In other respects he was liberal, candid, benevolent, and even attached to the interest of his country, though egregiously mistaken in his notions of government. On this occasion, he insisted that it was no way inconsistent with the honour or dignity of that house to thank his majesty in the most particular terms, for every thing he had been pleased to communicate in his speech from the throne; that no expressions of approbation in the address could be any way made use of to prevent an inquiry into the measures which had been pursued, when the treaties should be laid before the house. He said, at the opening of a session the eyes of all Europe were turned towards Great Britain, and from the parliament’s first resolves all the neighbouring powers judged of the unanimity that would ensue between his majesty and the representatives of his people; that their appearing jealous or diffident of his majesty’s conduct, would weaken his influence upon the councils of foreign states and potentates, and perhaps put it out of his power to rectify any false step that might have been made by his ministers. His arguments were reinforced by a long speech from Mr. H. Walpole. The question was put, the motion carried, and the address presented.

DEBATE ON A STANDING ARMY.

The next subject of debate was the number of land-forces. When the supply fell under consideration, sir W. Strickland, secretary at war, moved that the same number which had been maintained in the preceding year should be continued in pay. On the other hand, lord Morpeth having demonstrated the danger to which the liberties of the nation might be exposed, by maintaining a numerous standing army in time of peace, made a motion that the number should be reduced to twelve thousand. A warm debate ensuing, was managed in favour of the first motion by lord Hervey, sir Robert Walpole and his brother, Mr. Pelham, and sir Philip Yorke, attorney-general. This gentleman was counted a better lawyer than a politician, and shone more as an advocate at the bar than as an orator in the house of commons. The last partisan of the ministry was sir William Yonge, one of the lords commissioners in the treasury; a man who rendered himself serviceable and necessary by stooping to all compliances, running upon every scent, and haranguing on every subject, with an even uninterrupted tedious flow of full declamation, composed of assertions without veracity, conclusions from false premises, words without meaning, and language without propriety. Lord Morpeth’s motion was espoused by Mr. Watkin Williams Wynne, a gentleman of an ancient family and opulent fortune in Wales, brave, open, hospitable, and warmly attached to the ancient constitution and hierarchy; he was supported by Mr. Walter Plummer, who spoke with weight, precision, and severity; by sir W, Wyndham, Mr. Shippen, Mr. W. Pulteney, and Mr. Barnard. The courtiers argued that it was necessary to maintain such a number of land-forces as might defeat the designs of malcontents, secure the interior tranquillity of the kingdom, defend it from external assaults, overawe its neighbours, and enable it to take vigorous measures in case the peace of Europe should be re-embroiled. They affirmed, the science of war was so much altered, and acquired so much attention, that no dependance was to be placed upon a militia; that all nations were obliged to maintain standing armies, for their security against the encroachments of neighbouring powers; that the number of troops in Great Britain was too inconsiderable to excite the jealousy of the people, even under an ambitious monarch; that his majesty never entertained the least thought of infringing the liberties of his subjects; that it could not be supposed that the officers, among whom were many gentlemen of family and fortune, would ever concur in a design to enslave their country; and that the forces now in pay could not be properly deemed a standing army, inasmuch as they were voted and maintained from year to year by the parliament, which was the representative of the people. To these arguments the members in the opposition replied, that a standing force in time of peace was unconstitutional, and had been always thought dangerous; that a militia was as capable of discipline as a standing army, and would have more incentives to courage and perseverance; that the civil magistrate was able to preserve the peace of the country; that the number of the malcontents was altogether contemptible, though it might be considerably augmented by maintaining a standing army, and other such arbitrary measures; that other nations had been enslaved by standing armies; and howsoever they might find themselves necessitated to depend upon a military force for security against encroaching neighbours, the case was very different with regard to Great Britain, for the defence of which nature had provided in a peculiar manner; that this provision was strengthened and improved by a numerous navy, which secured her dominion of the sea; and, if properly disposed, would render all invasion impracticable, or at least ineffectual; that the land-army of Great Britain, though sufficient to endanger the liberties of an unarmed people, could not possibly secure such an extent of coast, and therefore could be of very little service in preventing an invasion; that though they had all imaginable confidence in his majesty’s regard to the liberty of the subjects, they could not help apprehending, that should a standing army become part of the constitution, another prince of more dangerous talents, and more fatal designs, might arise, and employ it for the worst purposes of ambition; that though many officers were gentlemen of honour and probity, these might be easily discarded, and the army gradually moulded into quite a different temper. By these means, practised in former times, an army had been new modelled to such a degree, that they turned their swords against the parliament for whose defence they had been raised, and destroyed the constitution both in church and state; that with respect to its being wholly dependent on the parliament, the people of England would have reason to complain of the same hardship, whether a standing army should be declared at once indispensable, or regularly voted from year to year, according to the direction of the ministry; that the sanction of the legislature granted to measures which in themselves are unconstitutional, burdensome, odious, and repugnant to the genius of the nation, instead of yielding consolation, would serve only to demonstrate that the most effectual method of forging the chains of national slavery, would be that of ministerial influence operating upon a venal parliament. Such were the reasons urged against a standing army, of what number soever it might be composed; but the expediency of reducing the number from about eighteen thousand to twelve thousand, was insisted upon as the natural consequence of his majesty’s declaration, by which they were given to understand that the peace of Europe was established; and that he had nothing so much at heart as the ease and prosperity of his people. It was suggested, that if eighteen thousand men were sufficient on the supposed eve of a general war in Europe, it was surely reasonable to think that a less number would suffice when peace was perfectly re-established. Whatever effect these reasons had upon the body of the nation, they made no converts in the house, where the majority resolved that the standing army should be maintained without reduction. Mr. Plummer complained that the country was oppressed by an arbitrary method of quartering soldiers, in an undue proportion, upon those publicans who refused to vote in elections according to the direction of the ministry. Mr. Pulteney asserted, that the money raised for the subsistence of eighteen thousand men in England, would maintain sixty thousand French or Germans, or the same number of almost any other people on the continent. Sir William Wyndham declared, that eighteen thousand of the English troops in the late war were maintained on less than two-thirds of the sum demanded for the like number; but no regard was paid to these allegations.

THE CHARITABLE CORPORATION.

The next object of importance that attracted the notice of the house, was the state of the charitable corporation. This company was first erected in the year one thousand seven hundred and seven. Their professed intention was to lend money at legal interest to the poor upon small pledges; and to persons of better rank upon an indubitable security of goods impawned. Their capital was at first limited to thirty thousand pounds, but, by licenses from the crown, they increased it to six hundred thousand pounds, though their charter was never confirmed by act of parliament. In the month of October, George Robinson, esquire, member for Mar-low, the cashier, and John Thompson, warehouse-keeper of the corporation, disappeared in one day. The proprietors, alarmed at this incident, held several general courts, and appointed a committee to inspect the state of their affairs. They reported, that for a capital of above five hundred thousand pounds no equivalent was found; inasmuch as their effects did not amount to the value of thirty thousand, the remainder having been embezzled by means which they could not discover. The proprietors, in a petition to the house of commons, represented that by the most notorious breach of trust in several persons to whom the care and management of their affairs were committed, the corporation had been defrauded of the greatest part of their capital; and that many of the petitioners were reduced to the utmost degree of misery and distress; they therefore prayed, that as they were unable to detect the combinations of those who had ruined them, or to bring the delinquents to justice, without the aid of the power and authority of parliament, the house would vouchsafe to inquire into the state of the corporation, and the conduct of their managers; and give such relief to the petitioners as to the house should seem meet. The petition was graciously received, and a secret committee appointed to proceed on the inquiry. They soon discovered a most iniquitous scene of fraud, which had been acted by Robinson and Thompson, in concert with some of the directors, for embezzling the capital, and cheating the proprietors. Many persons of rank and quality were concerned in this infamous conspiracy; some of the first characters in the nation did not escape suspicion and censure. Sir Robert Sutton and sir Archibald Grant were expelled the house of commons, as having had a considerable share in those fraudulent practices; a bill was brought in to restrain them and other delinquents from leaving the kingdom, or alienating their effects. In the meantime, the committee received a letter from signior John Angelo Belloni, an eminent banker at Rome, giving them to understand, that Thompson was secured in that city, with all his papers, and confined to the castle of St. Angelo; and that the papers were transmitted to his correspondent at Paris, who would deliver them up, on certain conditions stipulated in favour of the prisoner. This letter was considered as an artifice to insinuate a favourable opinion of the pretender, as if he had taken measures for securing Thompson, from his zeal for justice and affection for the English people. On this supposition, the proposals were rejected with disdain; and both houses concurred in an order that the letter should be burned at the Royal Exchange, by the hands of the common hangman. The lower house resolved, that it was an insolent and audacious libel, absurd and contradictory; that the whole transaction was a scandalous artifice, calculated to delude the unhappy, and to disguise and conceal the wicked practices of the professed enemies to his majesty’s person, crown, and dignity.

REVIVAL OF THE SALT-TAX.

No motion during this session produced such a warm contest, as did that of sir Robert Walpole, when, after a long preamble, he proposed that the duties on salt, which about two years before had been abolished, should now be revived and given to his majesty, his heirs and successors, for the term of three years. In order to sweeten this proposal, he declared that the land-tax for the ensuing year should be reduced to one shilling in the pound. All the members of the country party were immediately in commotion. They expressed their surprise at the grossness of the imposition. They observed, that two years had scarcely elapsed since the king, in a speech from the throne, had exhorted them to abolish some of the taxes that were the most burdensome to the poor: the house was then of opinion, that the tax upon salt was the most burdensome and the most pernicious to the trade of the kingdom, of all the impositions to which the poor was subjected, and therefore it was taken off; but that no good reason could be produced for altering their opinion so suddenly, and resolving to grind the faces of the poor, in order to ease a few rich men of the landed interest. They affirmed, that the most general taxes are not always the least burdensome: that after a nation is obliged to extend their taxes farther than the luxuries of their country, those taxes that can be raised with the least charge to the public are the most convenient and easiest to the people: but they ought carefully to avoid taxing those things which are necessary for the subsistence of the poor. The price of all necessaries being thus enhanced, the wages of the tradesman and manufacturer must be increased; and where these are high the manufacturers will be undersold by those of cheaper countries. The trade must of consequence be ruined; and it is not to be supposed that the landed gentlemen would choose to save a shilling in the pound from the land-tax, by means of an expedient that would ruin the manufactures of his country, and decrease the value of his own fortune. They alleged that the salt-tax particularly affected the poor, who could not afford to eat fresh provisions; and that, as it formerly occasioned murmurs and discontents among the lower class of people, the revival of it would, in all probability, exasperate them into open sedition. They observed, that while it was exacted in England, a great number of merchants sent their ships to Ireland, to be victualled for their respective voyages; that since it had been abolished, many experiments had been successfully tried with salt for the improvement of agriculture, which would be entirely defeated by the revival of this imposition. They suggested that the land-tax was raised at a very small expense, and subject to no fraud, whereas that upon salt would employ a great number of additional officers in the revenue, wholly depending upon the ministry, whose influence in elections they would proportionably increase. They even hinted, that this consideration was one powerful motive for proposing the revival of an odious tax, which was in effect an excise, and would be deemed a step towards a general excise upon all sorts of provisions. Finally, they demonstrated that the salt-tax introduced numberless frauds and perjuries in different articles of traffic. Sir Robert Walpole endeavoured to obviate all these objections in a long speech, which was minutely answered and refuted in every article by Mr. Pulteney. Nevertheless, the question being put, the minister’s motion was carried in the affirmative, and the duty revived; yet, before the bill passed, divers motions were made, and additional clauses proposed by the members in the opposition. New debates were raised on every new objection, and the courtiers were obliged to dispute their ground by inches.

MR. PULTENEY’S NAME STRUCK OUT OF THE LIST OF PRIVY-COUNSELLORS.

The pension-bill was revived, and for the third time rejected in the house of lords. A bill for the encouragement of the sugar colonies passed through the lower house with great difficulty, but was lost among the peers: another, for the better securing the freedom of parliaments, by further qualifying members to sit in the house of commons, was read the third time, and thrown out upon the question. A committee had been appointed to inquire into a sale of the estate which had belonged to the late earl of Denventwater. It appeared by the report, that the sale had been fraudulent; a bill was prepared to make it void; Dennis Bond, esquire, and Serjeant Birch, commissioners for the sale of the forfeited estates, were declared guilty of notorious breach of trust, and expelled the house, of which they were members: George Robinson, esquire, underwent the same sentence on account of the part he acted in the charitable corporation, as he and Thompson had neglected to surrender themselves, according to the terms of a bill which had passed for that purpose. During this session, five members of parliament were expelled for the most sordid acts of knavery; a sure sign of national degeneracy and dishonour. All the supplies were granted, and among other articles, the sum of two-and-twenty thousand six hundred and ninety-four pounds, seven shillings and sixpence, for the agio or difference of the subsidies payable to the crown of Denmark, in pursuance of the treaty subsisting between the late king and that monarch; but this was not obtained without a violent dispute. Mr. Pulteney, who bore a considerable share in all these debates, became in a little time so remarkable as to be thought worthy of a very particular mark of his majesty’s displeasure. The king, on the first day of July, called for the council-book, and with his own hand struck the name of William Pulteney, esquire, out of the list of privy-counsellors; his majesty further ordered him to be put out of all the commissions of the peace. The several lord-lieutenants, from whom he had received deputations, were commanded to revoke them; and the lord-chancellor and secretaries of state were directed to give the necessary orders for that purpose.

THE KING SETS OUT FOR HANOVER.

Nor did the house of peers tamely and unanimously submit to the measures of the ministry. The pension-bill being read, was again rejected, and a protest entered. A debate arose about the number of standing forces; and the earl of Chesterfield argued for the court motion. The earl of Oxford moved that they might be reduced to twelve thousand effective men. The earl of Winchelsea observed, that a standing army rendered ministers of state more daring than otherwise they would be, in contriving and executing projects that were grievous to the people; schemes that could never enter into the heads of any but those who were drunk with excess of power. The marquis of Tweedale, in reasoning against such a number as the ministry proposed, took occasion to observe, that not one shilling of the forfeited estates was ever applied to the use of the public; he likewise took notice, that the eighteen thousand men demanded as a standing force, were modelled in such a manner, that they might be speedily augmented to forty thousand men on any emergency. The duke of Argyle endeavoured to demonstrate the danger of depending for the safety of the kingdom upon an undisciplined militia, a fleet, or an army of auxiliaries. Then he represented the necessity of having recourse to a regular army in case of invasion; and, after all, acknowledged that the number proposed was no way sufficient for that purpose. All his arguments were answered and refuted in an excellent speech by lord Carteret; nevertheless, victory declared for the minister. The parliament having granted every branch of the supply, towards the payment of which they borrowed a sum from the sinking fund, and passed divers other acts for the encouragement of commerce and agriculture, the king, on the first day of June, gave the royal assent to the bills that were prepared, and closed the session, after having informed both houses that the states-general had acceded to the treaty of Vienna; that he had determined to visit his German dominions, and to leave the queen regent in his absence. He accordingly set out for Hanover in the beginning of June. By this time the pragmatic sanction was confirmed by the diet of the empire, though not without a formal protest by the electors Palatine, Bavaria, and Saxony.

CHAPTER II.

Remarkable Instance of Suicide..... Affairs of the Continent..... Meeting of the Parliament..... Address to the King touching the Spanish Depredations..... The Excise Scheme proposed by Sir Robert Walpole..... Opposition to the Scheme..... Bill for a Dower to the Princess Royal——Debate in the House of Lords concerning the Estates of the late Directors of the South-Sea Company..... Double Election of a King in Poland..... The Kings of France, Spain, and Sardinia, join against the Emperor..... The Prince of Orange arrives in England..... Altercation in the House of Commons..... Debate about the Removal of the Duke of Bolton and Lord Viscount Cobham from their respective Regiments..... Motion for the Repeal of the Septennial Act..... Conclusion of a remarkable Speech by Sir W. Wyndham...... Message from the King for Powers to augment the Forces in the Intervals between the two Parliaments..... Opposition in the House of Peers..... Parliament dissolved..... Dantzic besieged by the Russians..... Philipsburgh taken by the French..... Don Carlos takes possession of Naples..... Battle of Parma..... The Imperialists are again worsted at Gustalla..... An Edict in France, compelling the British Subjects in that Kingdom to enlist in the French Army..... New Parliament in Great Britain..... Debate on a Subsidy to Denmark..... Petition of some Scottish Noblemen to the House of Peers..... Bill explaining an Act of the Scottish Parliament touching wrongous Imprisonment..... Misunderstanding between the Courts of Spain and Portugal..... Sir John Norris sails with a strong Squadron to Lisbon..... Preliminaries signed by the Emperor and the King of France..... Proceedings in Parliament..... Bill for preventing the Retail of Spiritous Liquors..... Another for the Relief of Quakers in the Article of Tithes..... Mortmain Act..... Remarkable Riot at Edinburgh..... Rupture between the Czarina and the Ottoman Porte..... The Session of Parliament opened by Commission..... Motion in both Houses for a Settlement on the Prince of Wales..... Fierce Debate on this Subject..... Scheme by Sir John Barnard for reducing the Interest of the National Debt..... Bill against the City of Edinburgh..... Play-house Bill.

REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF SUICIDE.

The most remarkable incident that distinguished this year in England was a very uncommon instance of suicide; an act of despair so frequent among the English, that in other countries it is objected to them as a national reproach. Though it may be generally termed the effect of lunacy proceeding from natural causes operating on the human body, in some few instances it seems to have been the result of cool deliberation. Richard Smith, a bookbinder, and prisoner for debt within the liberties of the king’s bench, persuaded his wife to follow his example in making away with herself, after they had murdered their little infant. This wretched pair were, in the month of April, found hanging in their bed-chamber, at about a yard’s distance from each other; and in a separate apartment the child lay dead in a cradle. They left two papers enclosed in a short letter to their landlord, whose kindness they implored in favour of their dog and cat. They even left money to pay the porter who should carry the enclosed papers to the person for whom they were addressed. In one of these the husband thanked that person for the marks of friendship he had received at his hands; and complained of the ill offices he had undergone from a different quarter. The other paper, subscribed by the husband and wife, contained the reasons which induced them to act such a tragedy on themselves and their offspring. This letter was altogether surprising for the calm resolution, the good humour, and the propriety with which it was written. They declared, that they withdrew themselves from poverty and rags—evils that, through a train of unlucky accidents, were become inevitable. They appealed to their neighbours for the industry with which they had endeavoured to earn a livelihood. They justified the murder of their child, by saying, it was less cruelty to take her with them, than to leave her friendless in the world, exposed to ignorance and misery. They professed their belief and confidence in Almighty God, the fountain of goodness and beneficence, who could not possibly take delight in the misery of his creatures; they therefore resigned up their lives to him without any terrible apprehensions; submitting themselves to those ways which, in his goodness, he should appoint after death. These unfortunate suicides had been always industrious and frugal, invincibly honest, and remarkable for conjugal affection.

AFFAIRS OF THE CONTINENT.

Trustees having been appointed by charter to superintend a new settlement in Georgia, situated to the southward of Carolina in America, Mr. Oglethorpe, as general and governor of the province, embarked at Gravesend, with a number of poor families, to plant that colony. The king of Spain having equipped a very powerful armament, the fleet sailed on the fourth of June from the road of Alicant, under the command of the count de Montemar, and arrived on the coast of Barbary in the neighbourhood of Oran, where a considerable body of troops was landed without much opposition. Next day, however, they were attacked by a numerous army of Moors, over whom they obtained a complete victory. The bey or governor of Oran immediately retired with his garrison, and the Spaniards took possession of the place, from which they had been driven in the year one thousand seven hundred and eight. The strong fort of Mazalaquivir was likewise surrendered to the victors at the first summons; so that this expedition answered all the views with which it had been projected. Victor Amadasus, the abdicated king of Sardinia, having, at the instigation of his wife, engaged in some intrigues in order to reascend the throne, his son, the reigning king, ordered his person to be seized at Montcalier, and conveyed to Rivoli, under a strong escort. His wife, the marchioness de Spigno, was conducted to Seva. The old king’s confessor, his physician, and eight-and-forty persons of distinction, were imprisoned. The citadel of Turin was secured with a strong garrison; and new instructions were given to the governor and senate of Chamberri. The dispute which had long subsisted between the king of Prussia and the young prince of Orange, touching the succession to the estates possessed by king William III. as head of the house of Orange, was at last accommodated by a formal treaty signed at Berlin and Dieren. The Dutch were greatly alarmed about this time with an apprehension of being overwhelmed by an inundation, occasioned by worms, which were said to have consumed the piles and timber-work that supported their dykes. They prayed and fasted with uncommon zeal, in terror of this calamity, which they did not know how to avert in any other manner. At length they were delivered from their fears by a hard frost, which effectually destroyed those dangerous animals. About this time, Mr. Dieden, plenipotentiary from the elector of Hanover, received, in the name of his master, the investiture of Bremen and Verden from the hands of the emperor.

MEETING OF THE PARLIAMENT.

The history of England at this period cannot be very interesting, as it chiefly consists in an annual revolution of debates in parliament,—debates, in which the same arguments perpetually recur on the same subjects. When the session was opened on the sixteenth day of January, the king declared that the situation of affairs, both at home and abroad, rendered it unnecessary for him to lay before the two houses any other reasons for calling them together, but the ordinary dispatch of the public business, and his desire of receiving their advice in such affairs as should require the care and consideration of parliament. The motion made in the house of commons for an address of thanks, implied, that they should express their satisfaction at the present situation of affairs both at home and abroad. The motion was carried, notwithstanding the opposition of those who observed, that the nation had very little reason to be pleased with the present posture of affairs; that the French were employed in fortifying and restoring the harbour of Dunkirk, contrary to the faith of the most solemn treaties; that the British merchants had received no redress for the depredations committed by the Spaniards; that the commerce of England daily decreased; that no sort of trade throve but the traffic of Change-alley, where the most abominable frauds were practised; and that every session of parliament opened a new scene of villany and imposition.

ADDRESS TO THE KING.

The pension-bill was once more revived, and lost again in the house of peers. All the reasons formerly advanced against a standing army were now repeated; and a reduction of the number insisted upon with such warmth, that the ministerial party were obliged to have recourse to the old phantom of the pretender. Sir Archer Croft said, a continuation of the same number of forces was the more necessary, because, to his knowledge, popery was increasing very fast in the country; for in one parish which he knew, there were seven popish priests; and that the danger from the pretender was the more to be feared, because they did not know but he was then breeding his son a protestant. Sir Robert Walpole observed, that a reduction of the army was the chief thing wished for and desired by all the Jacobites in the kingdom; that no reduction had ever been made but what gave fresh hopes to that party, and encouraged them to raise tumults against the government; and he did not doubt but that, if they should resolve to reduce any part of the army, there would be post-horses employed that very night to carry the good news beyond sea to the pretender. His brother Horatio added, that the number of troops then proposed was absolutely necessary to support his majesty’s government, and would be necessary as long as the nation enjoyed the happiness of having the present illustrious family on the throne. The futility, the self-contradiction, and the ridiculous absurdity of these suggestions, were properly exposed; nevertheless, the army was voted without any reduction. Sir Wilfred Lawson having made a motion for an address to the king, to know what satisfaction had been made by Spain for the depredations committed on the British merchants, it was, after a violent debate, approved and the address presented. The king in answer to this remonstrance gave them to understand, that the commissaries of the two crowns had been so long delayed by unforeseen accidents, that the conferences were not opened till the latter end of the preceding February; and that as the courts of London and Madrid had agreed that the term of three years stipulated for finishing the commission should be computed from their first meeting, a perfect account of their proceedings could not as yet be laid before the house of commons. A bill had been long depending for granting encouragement to the sugar colonies in the West Indies; but, as it was founded upon a prohibition that would have put a stop to all commerce between the French islands and the British settlements in North America, it met with a very warm opposition from those who had the prosperity of those northern colonies at heart. But the bill being patronised and supported by the court interest, surmounted all objections, and afterwards passed into a law. While the commons deliberated upon the supply, sir Robert Walpole moved, that five hundred thousand pounds should be issued out of the sinking fund for the service of the ensuing year. Sir William Wyndham, Mr. Pulteney, and sir John Barnard, expatiated upon the iniquity of pillaging a sacred deposit, solemnly appropriated to the discharge of the national debt. They might have demonstrated the egregious folly of a measure, by which the public, for a little temporary ease, lost the advantage of the accumulating interest which would have arisen from the sinking fund, if properly managed and reserved. All objections vanished before the powers of ministerial influence, which nothing now could check but the immediate danger of popular commotion. Such hazardous interposition actually defeated a scheme which had been adopted by the minister, and even before its appearance alarmed all the trading part of the nation.

THE EXCISE SCHEME PROPOSED.

The house having resolved itself into a committee, to deliberate upon the most proper methods for the better security and improvement of the duties and revenues charged upon tobacco and wines, all the papers relating to these duties were submitted to the perusal of the members; the commissioners of the customs and excise were ordered to attend the house, the avenues of which were crowded with multitudes of people; and the members in the opposition waited impatiently for a proposal, in which they thought the liberties of their country so deeply interested. In a word, there had been a call of the house on the preceding day. The session was frequent and full; and both sides appeared ready and eager for the contest when sir Robert Walpole broached his design. He took notice of the arts which had been used to prejudice the people against his plan before it was known. He affirmed that the clamours occasioned by these prejudices had originally risen from smugglers and fradulent dealers, who had enriched themselves by cheating the public; and that these had been strenuously assisted and supported by another set of men, fond of every opportunity to stir up the people of Great Britain to mutiny and sedition. He expatiated on the frauds that were committed in that branch of the revenue arising from the duties on tobacco; upon the hardships to which the American planters were subjected by the heavy duties payable on importation, as well as by the ill usage they had met with from their factors and correspondents in England, who, from being their servants, were now become their masters; upon the injury done to the fair trader; and the loss sustained by the public with respect to the revenue. He asserted that the scheme he was about to propose would remove all these inconveniencies, prevent numberless frauds, perjuries, and false entries, and add two or three hundred thousand pounds per annum to the public revenue. He entered into a long detail of frauds practised by the knavish dealers in those commodities; he recited the several acts of parliament that related to the duties on wine and tobacco; he declared he had no intention to promote a general excise; he endeavoured to obviate some objections that might be made to his plan, the nature of which he at length explained. He proposed to join the laws of excise to those of the customs; that the further subsidy of three farthings per pound charged upon imported tobacco, should be still levied at the custom-house, and payable to his majesty’s civil list as heretofore; that then the tobacco should be lodged in warehouses, to be appointed for that purpose by the commissioners of the excise; that the keeper of each warehouse, appointed likewise hy the commissioners, should have one lock and key, and the merchant-importer have another; and that the tobacco should be thus secured until the merchant should find vent for it, either by exportation or home consumption; that the part designed for exportation should be weighed at the customhouse, discharged of the three farthings per pound which had been paid at its first importation, and then exported without further trouble; that the portion destined for home consumption should, in presence of the warehouse-keeper, be delivered to the purchaser, upon his paying the inland duty of fourpence per pound weight, to the proper officer appointed to receive it; by which means the merchant would be eased of the inconvenience of paying the duty upon importation, or of granting bonds and finding sureties for the payment, before he had found a market for the commodity; that all penalties and forfeitures, so far as they formerly belonged to the crown, should for the future be applied to the use of the public; that appeals in this, as well as in all other cases relating to the excise, should be heard and determined by two or three of the judges, to be named by his majesty; and in the country, by the judge of assize upon the next circuit, who should hear and determine such appeals in the most summary manner, without the formality of proceedings in courts of law or equity.

Such was the substance of the famous excise scheme, in favour of which sir Robert Walpole moved that tha duties and subsidies on tobacco should, from and after the twenty-fourth day of June, cease and determine. The debate which ensued was managed and maintained by all the able speakers on both sides of the question. Sir Robert Walpole was answered by Mr. Perry, member for the city of London. Sir Paul Methuen joined in the opposition. Sir John Barnard, another representative of London, distinguished himself in the same cause.

He was supported by Mr. Pulteney, sir William Wyndham, and other patriots. The scheme was espoused by sir Philip Yorke, appointed lord-chief-justice of the king’s-bench, and ennobled in the course of the ensuing year. Sir Joseph Jekyll approved of the project, which was likewise strenuously defended by lord Hervey, sir Thomas Robinson, sir William Yonge, Mr. Pelham, and Mr. Wilmington, which last excelled all his contemporaries of the ministry in talents and address. Those who argued against the scheme, accused the minister of having misrepresented the frauds and made false calculations. With respect to the supposed hardships under which the planters were said to labour, they affirmed that no planter had ever dreamed of complaining, until instigated by letters and applications from London: that this scheme, far from relieving the planters, would expose the factors to such grievous oppression, that they would not be able to continue the trade, consequently the planters would be entirely ruined; and, after all, it would not prevent those frauds against which it was said to be provided: that from the examination of the commissioners of the customs, it appeared that those frauds did not exceed forty thousand pounds per annum, and might in a great measure be abolished, by a due execution of the laws in being; consequently this scheme was unnecessary, would be ineffectual in augmenting the revenue, destructive to trade, and dangerous to the liberties of the subject, as it tended to promote a general excise, which was in all countries considered as a grievous oppression. They suggested that it would produce an additional swarm of excise officers and warehouse-keepers, appointed and paid by the treasury, so as to multiply the dependents on the crown, and enable it still further to influence the freedom of elections: that the traders would become slaves to excisemen and warehouse-keepers, as they would be debarred all access to their commodities, except at certain hours, when attended by those officers: that the merchant, for every quantity of tobacco he could sell, would be obliged to make a journey, or send a messenger to the office for a permit, which could not be obtained without trouble, expense, and delay: and that should a law be enacted in consequence of this motion, it would in all probability be some time or other used as a precedent for introducing excise laws into every branch of the revenue; in which case the liberty of Great Britain would be no more. In the course of this debate, sir Robert Walpole took notice of the multitudes which had beset all the approaches to the house. He said it would be an easy task for a designing seditious person to raise a tumult and disorder among them: that gentlemen might give them what name they should think fit, and affirm they were come as humble suppliants; but he knew whom the law called sturdy beggars: and those who brought them to that place could not be certain but that they might behave in the same manner. This insinuation was resented by sir John Barnard, who observed that merchants of character had a right to come down to the court of requests, and lobby of the house of commons, in order to solicit their friends and acquaintance against any scheme or project which they might think prejudicial to their commerce: that when he came into the house, he saw none but such as deserved the appellation of sturdy beggars as little as the honourable gentleman himself, or any gentleman whatever.

After a warm dispute, the motion was carried by a majority of sixty-one voices. Several resolutions were founded on the proposal: and to these the house agreed, though not without another violent contest. The resolutions produced a bill, against which petitions were preferred by the lord-mayor, aldermen, and common-council of London, the city of Coventry and Nottingham. A motion was made that counsel should be heard for the city of London; but it was rejected by the majority, and the petitions were ordered to lie upon the table. Had the minister encountered no opposition but that which appeared within doors, his project would have certainly been carried into execution; but the whole nation was alarmed, and clamoured loudly against the excise-bill. The populace still crowded around Westminster-hall, blocking up all the avenues to the house of commons. They even insulted the persons of those members who had voted for the ministry on this occasion; and sir Robert Walpole began to be in fear of his life. He therefore thought proper to drop the design, by moving that the second reading of the bill might be postponed till the twelfth day of June. Then complaint being made of the insolence of the populace, who had maltreated several members, divers resolutions were taken against those tumultuous crowds and their abettors; these resolves were communicated to the lord-mayor of London, the sheriff of Middlesex, and the high-bailiff of Westminster. Some individuals were apprehended in the court of requests, as having fomented the disturbances; but they were soon released. The miscarriage of the bill was celebrated with public rejoicings in London and Westminster, and the minister was burned in effigy by the populace. After the miscarriage of the excise scheme, the house unanimously resolved to inquire into the frauds and abuses in the customs; and a committee of twenty-one persons was chosen by ballot for this purpose.

BILL FOR A DOWER TO THE PRINCESS ROYAL.

The subsequent debates of this session were occasioned by a bill to prevent the infamous practice of stock-jobbing, which with great difficulty made its way to the house of lords, who proposed some amendments, in consequence of which it was laid aside; and succeeded by another bill establishing a lottery, to raise five hundred thousand pounds for the relief of those who had suffered by the charitable corporation. After having undergone some alteration, it passed through both houses and obtained the royal assent. The king, by message to parliament, had signified his intention to give the princess royal in marriage to the prince of Orange, promising himself their concurrence and assistance, that he might be enabled to bestow such a portion with his eldest daughter as should be suitable to the occasion. The commons immediately resolved, that but of the monies arising from the sale of lands in the island of St. Christopher’s, his majesty should be empowered to apply fourscore thousand pounds as a marriage dower for his daughter; and a clause for this purpose was inserted in the bill, for enabling his majesty to apply five hundred thousand pounds out of the sinking fund for the service of the current year.

The opposition in the house of lords was still more animated, though ineffectual. The debates chiefly turned upon the pension bill, the number of land forces, and a motion made by lord Bathurst for an account of the produce of the forfeited estates which had belonged to the directors of the South-Sea company. The trustees for these estates had charged themselves with a great sum of money, and the lords in the opposition thought they had a right to know how it had been disposed. The ministry had reasons to stifle this inquiry, and therefore opposed it with all their vigour. Nevertheless, the motion was carried after a warm dispute, and the directors of the South-Sea company were ordered to lay the accounts before the house. From this it appeared that the large sums of money arising from the forfeited estates had been distributed among the proprietors, by way of dividend, even before recourse was had to parliament for directions in what manner that produce should be applied: lord Bathurst, therefore, moved for a resolution of the house that the disposal of this money, by way of dividend, without any order or direction of a general court for that purpose, was a violation of the act of parliament made for the disposal thereof, and a manifest injustice done to the proprietors of that stock. The duke of Newcastle, in order to gain time, moved, that as the account was confused, and almost unintelligible, the present directors of the company might be ordered to lay before the house a further and more distinct account of the manner in which the money had been disposed. A violent contest ensued, in the course of which the house divided, and of fifty-seven peers who voted for the delay, forty-six were such as enjoyed preferment in the church, commissions in the army, or civil employments under the government. At length lord Bathurst waived his motion for that time; then the house ordered that the present and former directors of the South-Sea company, together with the late inspectors of their accounts, should attend and be examined. They were accordingly interrogated, and gave so little satisfaction, that lord Bathurst moved for a committee of inquiry; but the question being put, was carried in the negative: yet a very strong protest was entered by the lords in the opposition. The next subject of altercation was the bill for misapplying part of the produce of the sinking fund. It was attacked with all the force of argument, wit, and declamation, by the earl of Strafford, lords Bathurst and Carteret, and particularly by the earl of Chesterfield, who had by this time resigned his staff of lord-steward of the household, and renounced all connexion with the ministry. Lord Bathurst moved for a resolution, importing that, in the opinion of the house, the sinking fund ought for the future to be applied, in time of peace and public tranquillity, to the redemption of those taxes which were most prejudicial to the trade, most burdensome on the manufactures, and most oppressive on the poor of the nation. This motion was overruled, and the bill adopted by the majority. On the eleventh of June, the king gave the royal assent to the bills that were prepared, and closed the session with a speech, in which he took notice of the wicked endeavours that had been lately used to inflame the minds of the people by the most unjust misrepresentations.

DOUBLE ELECTION OF A KING OF POLAND.

Europe was now reinvolved in fresh troubles by a vacancy on the throne of Poland. Augustus died at Warsaw in the end of January, and the neighbouring powers were immediately in commotion. The elector of Saxony, son to the late king, and Stanislaus, whose daughter was married to the French monarch, declared themselves candidates for the Polish throne. The emperor, the czarina, and the king of Prussia, espoused the interests of the Saxon: the king of France supported the pretensions of his father-in-law. The foreign ministers at Warsaw forthwith began to form intrigues among the electors: the marquis de Monti, ambassador from France, exerted himself so successfully, that he soon gained over the primate, and a majority of the catholic dietines, to the interests of Stanislaus; while the Imperial and Russian troops hovered on the frontiers of Poland. The French king no sooner understood that a body of the emperor’s forces was encamped at Silesia, than he ordered the duke of Berwick to assemble an army on the Rhine, and take measures for entering Germany in case the Imperialists should march into Poland. A French fleet set sail for Dantzic, while Stanislaus travelled through Germany in disguise to Poland, and concealed himself in the house of the French ambassador at Warsaw. As the day of election approached, the Imperial, Russian, and Prussian ministers delivered in their several declarations, by way of protest, against the contingent election of Stanislaus, as a person proscribed, disqualified, depending upon a foreign power, and connected with the Turks and other infidels. The Russian general Lasci entered Poland at the head of fifty thousand men: the diet of the election was opened with the usual ceremony on the twenty-fifth day of August. Prince Viesazowski, chief of the Saxon interest, retired to the other side of the Vistula, with three thousand men, including some of the nobility who adhered to that party. Nevertheless, the primate proceeded to the election: Stanislaus was unanimously chosen king; and appeared in the electoral field, where he was received with loud acclamations. The opposite party soon increased to ten thousand men; protested against the election, and joined the Russian army, which advanced by speedy marches. King Stanislaus finding himself unable to cope with such adversaries, retired with the primate and French ambassador to Dantzic, leaving the palatine of Kiow at Warsaw. This general attacked the Saxon palace, which was surrendered upon terms: then the soldiers and inhabitants plundered the houses belonging to the grandees who had declared for Augustus, as well as the hotel of the Russian minister. In the meantime, the Poles, who had joined the Muscovites, finding it impracticable to pass the Vistula before the expiration of the time fixed for the session of the diet, erected a kelo at Cracow, where the elector of Saxony was chosen and proclaimed by the bishop of Cracow, king of Poland, under the name of Augustus III., on the sixth day of October. They afterwards passed the river, and the palatine of Kiow retiring towards Cracow, they took possession of Warsaw, where in their turn they plundered the palaces and houses belonging to the opposite party.

CONFEDERACY AGAINST THE EMPEROR.

During these transactions, the French king concluded a treaty with Spain and Sardinia, by which those powers agreed to declare war against the emperor. Manifestoes were published reciprocally by all the contracting powers. The duke of Berwick passed the Rhine in October, and undertook the seige of fort Kehl, which in a few days was surrendered on capitulation: then he repassed the river and returned to Versailles. The king of Sardinia having declared war against the emperor, joined a body of French forces commanded by mareschal de Villars, and drove the Imperialists out of the Milanese. His Imperial majesty, dreading the effects of such a powerful confederacy against him, offered to compromise all differences with the crown of Spain, under the mediation of the king of Great Britain; and Mr. Keene, the British minister at Madrid, proposed an accommodation. Philip expressed his acknowledgments to the king of England, declaring, however, that the emperor’s advances were too late, and that his own resolutions were already taken. Nevertheless, he sent orders to the count de Montijo, his ambassador at London, to communicate to his Britannic majesty the motives which had induced him to take these resolutions. In the meantime he detached a powerful armament to Italy, where they invested the Imperial fortress of Aula, the garrison of which was obliged to surrender themselves prisoners of war. The republic of Venice declared she would take no share in the disputes of Italy; the states-general signed a neutrality with the French king for the Austrian Netherlands, without consulting the emperor or the king of Great Britain; and the English councils seemed to be altogether pacific.

ARRIVAL OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE.

In November the prince of Orange arrived at Greenwich, in order to espouse the princess royal; but the marriage was postponed on account of his being taken ill: and he repaired to Bath, in Somersetshire, to drink the water for the recovery of his strength. Henrietta, the young duchess of Marlborough, dying about this time, the title devolved to her sister’s son, the earl of Sunderland. Lord King resigning his office of chancellor, it was conferred upon Mr. Talbot, solicitor-general, together with the title of baron; a promotion that reflected honour upon those by whom it was advised. He possessed the spirit of a Roman senator, the elegance of an Atticus, and the integrity of a Cato. At the meeting of the parliament in January, the king told them, in his speech, that though he was no way engaged in the war which had begun to rage in Europe, except by the good offices he had employed among the contending powers, he could not sit regardless of the present events, or be unconcerned for the consequences of a war undertaken and supported by such a powerful alliance. He said, he had thought proper to take time to examine the facts alleged on both sides, and to wait the result of the councils of those powers that were more immediately interested in the consequences of the rupture. He declared he would concert with his allies, more particularly with the states-general of the United Provinces, such measures as should be thought most advisable for their common safety, and for restoring the peace of Europe. In the meantime, he expressed his hope that they would make such provision as should secure his kingdom, rights, and possessions from all dangers and insults, and maintain the respect due to the British nation. He said, that whatever part it might in the end be most reasonable for him to act, it would in all views be necessary, when all Europe was preparing for arms, to put his kingdom in a posture of defence. The motion for an address of thanks produced as usual a debate in both houses, which, it must be owned, appears to have proceeded from a spirit of cavilling, rather than from any reasonable cause of objection.

ALTERCATION IN THE COMMONS.

The house of commons resolved to address his majesty for a copy of the treaty of Vienna. Sir John Rushout moved for another, desiring that the letters and instructions relating to the execution of the treaty of Seville, should be submitted to the inspection of the commons; but, after a hard struggle, it was over-ruled. The next motion was made by Mr. Sandys, a gentleman who had for some time appeared strenuous in the opposition, and wrangled with great perseverance. He proposed that the house should examine the instructions which had been given to the British minister in Poland, some years before the death of king Augustus, that they might be the better able to judge of the causes which produced this new rupture among the powers of Europe. The motion being opposed by all the court members, a contest ensued, in the course of which Mr. Pulteney compared the ministry to an empyric, and the constitution of England to his patient. This pretender in physic, said he, being consulted, tells the distempered person there were but two or three ways of treating his disease; and he was afraid that none of them would succeed. A vomit might throw him into convulsions that would occasion immediate death; a purge might bring on a diarrhoea that would carry him off in a short time; and he had been already bled so much, and so often, that he could bear it no longer. The unfortunate patient, shocked at this declaration, replies, “Sir, you have always pretended to be a regular doctor; but now I find you are an arrant quack. I had an excellent constitution when I first fell into your hands, but you have quite destroyed it; and now I find I have no other chance for saving my life, but by calling for the help of some regular physician.” In the debate, the members on both sides seemed to wander from the question, and indulge themselves in ludicrous personalities. Mr. H. Walpole took occasion to say, that the opposition treated the ministry as he himself was treated by some of his acquaintances with respect to his dress. “If I am in plain clothes,” said he, “then they call me a slovenly dirty fellow; and if by chance I wear a laced suit, they cry, What, shall such an awkward fellow wear fine clothes?” He continued to sport in this kind of idle buffoonery. He compared the present administration to a ship at sea. As long as the wind was fair, and proper for carrying us to our designed port, the word was, “Steady! steady!” but when the wind began to shift and change, the word was necessarily altered to “Thus, thus, and no nearer.” The motion was overpowered by the majority; and this was the fate of several other proposals made by the members in the opposition. Sir John Barnard presented a petition from the druggists, and other dealers in tea, complaining of the insults and oppression to which they were subjected by the excise laws, and imploring relief. Sir John and Mr. Perry, another of the city members, explained the grievous hardships which those traders sustained, and moved that the petition might be referred to the consideration of the whole house. They were opposed by Mr. Winnington, sir W. Yonge, and other partisans of the ministry; and these skirmishes brought on a general engagement of the two parties, in which every weapon of satire, argument, reason, and truth, was wielded against that odious, arbitrary, and oppressive method of collecting the public revenue. Nevertheless, the motion in favour of the sufferers was rejected. When the commons deliberated upon the supply, Mr. Andrews, deputy-paymaster of the army, moved for an addition of eighteen hundred men to the number of land forces which had been continued since the preceding year. The members in the opposition disputed this small augmentation with too much heat and eagerness. It must be acknowledged, they were by this time irritated into such personal animosity against the minister, that they resolved to oppose all his measures, whether they might or might not be necessary for the safety and advantage of the kingdom. Nor indeed were they altogether blameable for acting on this maxim, if their sole aim was to remove from the confidence and councils of their sovereign, a man whose conduct they thought prejudicial to the interests and liberties of their country. They could not, however, prevent the augmentation proposed; but they resolved, if they could not wholly stop the career of the ministry, to throw in such a number of rubs as should at least retard their progress. The duke of Bolton and lord Cobham had been deprived of the regiments they commanded, because they refused to concur in every project of the administration. It was in consequence of their dismission, that lord Morpeth moved for a bill to prevent any commissioned officer, not above the rank of a colonel, from being removed, unless by a court-martial, or by address of either house of parliament. Such an attack on the prerogative might have succeeded in the latter part of the reign of the first Charles; but at this juncture could not fail to miscarry; yet it was sustained with great vigour and address. When the proposal was set aside by the majority, Mr. Sandys moved for an address to the king, desiring to know who advised his majesty to remove the duke of Bolton and lord Cob-ham from their respective regiments. He was seconded by Mr. Pulteney and sir William Wyndham; but the ministry foreseeing another tedious dispute, called for the question, and the motion was carried in the negative. The next source of contention was a bill for securing the freedom of parliament, by limiting the number of officers in the house of commons. It was read a first and second time; but when a motion was made for its being committed, it met with a powerful opposition, and produced a warm debate that issued in a question which, like the former, passed in the negative. A clergyman having insinuated in conversation that sir William Milner, baronet, member for York, received a pension from the ministry, the house took cognizance of this report; the clergyman acknowledged at the bar that he might have dropped such a hint from hearsay. The accused member protested, upon his honour, that he never did nor ever would receive place, pension, gratuity, or reward from the court, either directly or indirectly, for voting in parliament, or upon any other account whatever. The accusation was voted false and scandalous, and the accuser taken into custody; but in a few days he was discharged upon his humble petition, and his begging pardon of the member whom he had calumniated. The duty upon salt was prolonged for eight years; and a bill passed against stock-jobbing.

MOTION FOR THE REPEAL OF THE SEPTENNIAL ACT.

But the subject which of all others employed the eloquence and abilities on both sides to the most vigorous exertion, was a motion made by Mr. Bromley, who proposed that a bill should be brought in for repealing the septenntal act, and for the more frequent meeting and calling of parliaments. The arguments for and against septennial parliaments have already been stated. The ministry now insisted upon the increase of papists and Jacobites, which rendered it dangerous to weaken the hands of the government; they challenged the opposition to produce one instance in which the least encroachment had been made on the liberties of the people since the septennial act took place; and they defied the most ingenious malice to prove that his present majesty had ever endeavoured to extend any branch of the prerogative beyond its legal bounds. Sir John Hinde Cotton affirmed, that in many parts of England the papists had already begun to use all their influence in favour of those candidates who were recommended by the ministers as members in the ensuing parliament. With respect to his majesty’s conduct, he said he would not answer one word; but as to the grievances introduced since the law was enacted for septennial parliaments, he thought himself more at liberty to declare his sentiments. He asserted, that the septennial law itself was an encroachment on the rights of the people; a law passed by a parliament that made itself septennial. He observed, that the laws of treason with regard to trials were altered since that period; that in former times a man was tried by a jury of his neighbours, within the county where the crimes alleged against him were said to be committed; but by an act of a septennial parliament he might be removed and tried in any place where the crown, or rather the ministry, could find a jury proper for their purpose; where the prisoner could not bring any witnesses in his justification, without an expense which perhaps his circumstances would not bear. He asked, if the riot act was not an encroachment on the rights of the people? An act by which a little dirty justice of the peace, the meanest and vilest tool a minister can use, who, perhaps subsists by his being in the commission, and may be deprived of that subsistence at the pleasure of his patron, had it in his power to put twenty or thirty of the best subjects in England to immediate death, without any trial or form but that of reading a proclamation. “Was not the fatal South-Sea scheme,” said he, “established by the act of a septennial parliament? And can any man ask, whether that law was attended with any inconvenience; to the glorious catalogue I might have added the late excise bill, if it had passed into a law; but, thank heaven, the septennial parliament was near expiring before that famous measure was introduced.”

CONCLUSION OF A REMARKABLE SPEECH BY SIR W. WYNDHAM.

Sir William Wyndham concluded an excellent speech, that spoke him the unrivalled orator, the uncorrupted Briton, and the unshaken patriot, in words to this effect:—“Let us suppose a man abandoned to all notions of virtue and honour, of no great family, and but a mean fortune, raised to be chief minister of state, by the concurrence of many whimsical events; afraid or unwilling to trust any but creatures of his own making; lost to all sense of shame and reputation; ignorant of his country’s true interest; pursuing no aim but that of aggrandizing himself and his favourites; in foreign affairs trusting none but those who, from the nature of their education, cannot possibly be qualified for the service of their country, or give weight and credit to their negotiations. Let us suppose the true interest of the nation by such means neglected, or misunderstood, her honour tarnished, her importance lost, her trade insulted, her merchants plundered, and her sailors murdered; and all these circumstances overlooked, lest his administration should be endangered. Suppose him next possessed of immense wealth, the plunder of the nation, with a parliament chiefly composed of members whose seats are purchased, and whose votes are bought at the expense of the public treasure. In such a parliament suppose all attempts made to inquire into his conduct, or to relieve the nation from the distress which has been entailed upon it by his administration. Suppose him screened by a corrupt majority of his creatures, whom he retains in daily pay, or engages in his particular interest, by distributing among them those posts and places which ought never to be bestowed upon any but for the good of the public. Let him plume himself upon his scandalous victory, because he has obtained a parliament like a packed jury ready to acquit him at all adventures. Let us suppose him domineering with insolence over all the men of ancient families, over all the men of sense, figure, or fortune in the nation; as he has no virtue of his own, ridiculing it in others, and endeavouring to destroy and corrupt it in all. With such a minister, and such a parliament, let us suppose a case which I hope will never happen: a prince upon the throne, uninformed, ignorant, and unacquainted with the inclinations and true interest of his people, weak, capricious, transported with unbounded ambition, and possessed with insatiable warice. I hope such a case will never occur; but, as it possibly may, could any greater curse happen to a nation than such a prince on the throne, advised, and solely advised by such a minister, and that minister supported by such a parliament? The nature of mankind cannot be altered by human laws; the existence of such a prince or such a minister we cannot prevent by act of parliament; but the existence of such a parliament I think we may prevent; as it is much more likely to exist, and may do more mischief, while the septennial law remains in force than if it were repealed; therefore, I am heartily for its being repealed.” Notwithstanding the most warm, the most nervous, the most pathetic remonstrances in favour of the motion, the question was put, and it was suppressed by mere dint of number.

The triumph of the ministry was still more complete in the success of a message delivered from the crown in the latter end of the session, when a great many members of the other party had retired to their respective habitations in the country. Sir Robert Wal-pole delivered this commission to the house, importing that his majesty might be enabled to augment his forces, if occasion should require such an augmentation, between the dissolution of this parliament and the election of another. Such an important point, that was said to strike at the foundation of our liberties, was not tamely yielded; but, on the contrary, contested with uncommon ardour. The motion for taking the message into consideration was carried in the affirmative; and an address presented to the king, signifying their compliance with his desire. In consequence of a subsequent message, they prepared and passed a bill, enabling his majesty to settle an annuity of five thousand pounds for life on the princess royal, as a mark of his paternal favour and affection.

PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED.

The opposition in the house of peers kept pace with that in the house of commons, and was supported with equal abilities, under the auspices of the lords Bathurst and Carteret, the earls of Chesterfield and Abingdon. The duke of Marlborough made a motion for a bill to regulate the army, equivalent to that which had been rejected in the lower house; and it met with the same fate after a warm dispute. Then lord Carteret moved for an address to the king, that he would be graciously pleased to acquaint the house who advised his majesty to remove the duke of Bolton and lord viscount Cobham from their respective regiments, and what crimes were laid to their charge. This proposal was likewise rejected, at the end of a debate in which the duke of Argyle observed, that two lords had been removed, but only one soldier lost his commission. Such a great majority of the Scottish representatives had always voted for the ministry since the accession of the late king, and so many of these enjoyed places and preferments in the gift of the crown, that several attempts were made by the lords in the opposition to prevent for the future the ministerial influence from extending itself to the elections of North Britain. Accordingly, two motions for this purpose were made by the carl of Marchmont and the duke of Bedford; and sustained by the earls of Chesterfield, Winchelsea, and Stair, lords Willoughby de Broke, Bathurst, and Carteret. They were opposed by the dukes of Newcastle and Argyle, the earl of Cholmondeley, earl Paulet, lord Hervey, now called up by a writ to the house of peers, and lord Talbot. The question being put on both, they were of course defeated; and the earl of Stair was deprived of his regiment of dragoons, after having performed the most signal services to the royal family, and exhausted his fortune in supporting the interest and dignity of the crown. Strenuous protests were entered against the decision of the majority concerning the king’s message, demanding a power to augment his forces during the recess of parliament; as also against a bill for enabling his majesty to apply the sum of one million two hundred thousand pounds out of the sinking fund for the service of the current year. The business of the session being despatched, the king repaired to the house of lords on the sixteenth day of April, and having passed all the bills that were ready for the royal assent, took leave of this parliament, with the warmest acknowledgment of their zeal, duty, and affection. It was at first prorogued, then dissolved, and another convoked by the same proclamation. On the fourteenth day of March, the nuptials of the prince of Orange and the princess royal were solemnized with great magnificence; and this match was attended with addresses of congratulation to his majesty from different parts of the kingdom.

DANTZIC BESIEGED BY THE RUSSIANS.

The powers at war upon the continent acted with surprising vigour. The Russian and Saxon army invested the city of Dantzic, in hopes of securing the person of king Stanislaus. The town was strong, the garrison numerous, and animated by the examples of the French and Poles, made a very obstinate defence. For some time they were supplied by sea with recruits, arms, and ammunition. On the eleventh day of May a reinforcement of fifteen hundred men was landed from two French ships of war and some transports, under fort Wechselmunde, which was so much in want of provisions, that they were not admitted; they therefore re-embarked, and sailed back to Copenhagen. But afterwards a larger number was landed in the same place, and attacked the Russian intrenchments, in order to force their way into the city. They were repulsed in this attempt, but retired in good order. At length the Russian fleet arrived, under the command of Admiral Gordon, and now the siege was carried on with great fury. Fort Wechselmunde was surrendered; the French troops capitulated, and were embarked in the Russian ships, to be conveyed to some port in the Baltic. Stanislaus escaped in the disguise of a peasant to Marienwarder in the Prussian territories. The city of Dantzic submitted to the dominion of Augustus III., king of Poland, and was obliged to defray the expense of the war to the Russian general count de Munich, who had assumed the command after the siege was begun. The Polish lords at Dantzic signed an act of submission to king Augustus, who, on the tenth day of July, arrived at the convent of Oliva. There a council was held in his presence. The recusant noblemen took the oath which he proposed. Then a general amnesty was proclaimed; and the king set out on his return to Dresden.

PHILIPSBURGH TAKEN BY THE FRENCH.

On the Rhine the French arms bore down all resistance. The count de Belleisle besieged and took Traerbach. The duke of Berwick, at the head of sixty thousand men, invested Philipsburgh, while prince Eugene was obliged to remain on the defensive, in the strong camp at Heilbron, waiting for the troops of the empire. On the twelfth day of June, the duke of Berwick, in visiting the trenches, was killed by a cannon-ball, and the command devolved upon the marquis d’Asfeldt who carried on the operations of the siege with equal vigour and capacity. Prince Eugene being joined by the different reinforcements he expected, marched towards the French lines; but found them so strong that he would not hazard an attack; and such precautions taken, that with all his military talents he could not relieve the besieged. At length general Watgenau, the governor, capitulated, after having made a noble defence, and obtained the most honourable conditions. Prince Eugene retired to Heidelberg; and the campaign ended about the beginning of October. The Imperial arms were not more successful in Italy. The infant Don Carlos had received so many invitations from the Neapolitan nobility, that he resolved to take possession of that kingdom. He began his march in February, at the head of the Spanish forces; published a manifesto, declaring he was sent by his father to relieve the kingdom of Naples from the oppression under which it groaned; and entered the capital amidst the acclamations of the people; while the count de Visconti, the German viceroy, finding himself unable to cope with the invaders, thought proper to retire, after having thrown succours into Gaeta and Capua. When he arrived at Nocera, he began to assemble the militia, with intent to form a camp at Barletta. The count de Montemar marched with a body of forces against this general, and obtained over him a complete victory at Bitonto in Apuglia, on the twenty-fifth of May, when the Imperialists were entirely routed, and a great number of principal officers taken prisoners. Don Carlos being proclaimed, and acknowledged king of Naples, created the count de Montemar duke of Bitonto; reduced Gaeta, and all other parts of the kingdom which were garrisoned with Imperial troops; and resolved to subdue the island of Sicily. About twenty thousand troops being destined for this expedition, were landed in the road of Solanto in August, under the command of the new duke of Bitonto, who being favoured by the natives, proceeded in his conquests with great rapidity. The people acknowledged Don Carlos as their sovereign, and took arms in support of his government; so that the Imperial troops were driven before them, and the Spaniards possessed the whole kingdom, except Messina, Syracuse, and Trepani, when the infant determined to visit the island in person.

BATTLE OF PARMA.

While Don Carlos was thus employed in the conquest of Naples and Sicily, the Imperialists were hard pressed in Lombardy by the united forces of France and Piedmont, commanded by the king of Sardinia and the old mareschal duke de Villars. In the month of January they undertook the siege of Tortona, which they reduced; while the troops of the emperor began to pour in great numbers into the Mantuan. In the beginning of May, count Merci, who commanded them, passed the Po in the face of the allies, notwithstanding all the skill of Villars, obliged him to retreat from the banks of that river, and took the castle of Colorno. The old French general being taken ill, quitted the army, and retired to Turin, where in a little time he died; and the king of Sardinia retiring to the same place, the command of the allied forces devolved upon the mareschal de Coigny. The confederates were posted at Sanguina, and the Imperialists at Sorbola, when the count de Merci made a motion to San Prospero, as if he intended either to attack the enemy, or take possession of Parma. The mareschal de Coigny forthwith made a disposition for an engagement; and, on the twenty-ninth day of June, the Imperial general having passed the Parma, began the attack with great impetuosity. He charged in person at the head of his troops, and was killed soon after the battle began. Nevertheless, the prince of Wirtem-berg assuming the command, both armies fought with great obstinacy from eleven in the forenoon till four in the afternoon, when the Imperialists retired towards Monte Cirugalo, leaving five thousand men dead on the field of battle, and among these many officers of distinction. The loss of the allies was very considerable, and they reaped no solid fruits from their victory.

THE IMPERIALISTS ARE AGAIN WORSTED.

The Imperial forces retreated to Reggio, and from thence moved to the plains of Carpi, on the right of the Secchia, where they received some reinforcements; then general count Konigsegg arriving in the camp, took upon himself the command of the army. His first step was to take post at Quingentolo, by which motion he secured Mirandola, that was threatened with a siege. On the fifteenth of February he forded the river Secchia, and surprised the quarters of mareschal de Broglio, who escaped in his shirt with great difficulty. The French retired with such precipitation, that they left all their baggage behind, and above two thousand were taken prisoners. They posted themselves under Gustalla, where, on the nineteenth day of the month, they were vigorously attacked by the Imperialists, and a general engagement ensued. Konigsegg made several desperate efforts to break the French cavalry, upon which, however, he could make no impression. The infantry on both sides fought with uncommon ardour for six hours, and the field was covered with carnage. At length the Imperial general retreated to Lazara, after having lost above five thousand men, including the prince of Wirtemberg, the generals Valpareze and Colminero, with many other officers of distinction; nor was the damage sustained by the French greatly inferior to that of the Germans, who repassed the Po, and took post on the banks of the Oglio. The allies crossed the same river, and the marquis de Maillibois was sent with a detachment to attack Mirandola; but the Imperialists marching to the relief of the place, compelled him to abandon the enterprise; then he rejoined his army, which retired under the walls of Cremona, to wait for succours from Don Carlos. So little respect did the French court pay to the British nation at this juncture, that in the month of November, an edict was published at Paris, commanding all the British subjects in France, who were not actually in employment, from the age of eighteen to fifty, to quit the kingdom in fifteen days, or enlist in some of the Irish regiments, on pain of being treated as vagabonds, and sent to the galleys. This edict was executed with the utmost rigour. The prisons of Paris were crowded with the subjects of Great Britain, who were surprised and cut off from all communication with their friends, and must have perished by cold and hunger, had not they been relieved by the active charity of the Jansenists. The earl of Waldegrave, who then resided at Paris, as ambassador from the king of Great Britain, made such vigorous remonstrances to the French ministry upon this unheard of outrage against a nation with which they had been so long in alliance, that they thought proper to set the prisoners at liberty, and publish another edict, by which the meaning of the former was explained away.

NEW PARLIAMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN.

While these transactions occurred on the continent, the king of Great Britain augmented his land-forces; and warm contests were maintained through the whole united kingdom in electing representatives for the new parliament. But in all these struggles the ministerial power predominated; and the new members appeared with the old complexion. The two houses assembled on the fourteenth day of January, and Mr. Onslow was re-elected speaker. The leaders of both parties in all debates, were the self-same persons who had conducted those of the former parliament; and the same measure were pursued in the same manner. The king in his speech at the opening of the session, gave them to understand, that he had concerted with the states-general of the United Provinces such measures as were thought most advisable for their common safety, and for restoring the peace of Europe; that they had considered on one side the pressing applications made by the Imperial court both in England and Holland, for obtaining succours against the powers at war with the house of Austria; and, on the other side, the repeated professions made by the allies of their sincere disposition to put an end to the present troubles upon honourable and solid terms; that he and the states-general had concurred in a resolution to employ their joint and earnest instances to bring matters to a speedy and happy accommodation; that their good offices were at length accepted; and in a short time a plan would be offered to the consideration of all parties engaged in the war, as a basis for a general negotiation of peace. He told them he had used the power vested in him by the last parliament with great moderation; and concluded a treaty with the crown of Denmark of great importance in the present conjuncture. He observed, that whilst many of the principal powers of Europe were actually engaged in a war, Great Britain must be more or less affected with the consequences; and as the best concerted measures are liable to uncertainty, the nation ought to be prepared against all events. He therefore expressed his hope, that his good subjects would not repine at the necessary means of procuring the blessings of peace and universal tranquillity, or of putting him in a condition to act that part which it might be necessary and incumbent upon him to take. The address of thanks produced a dispute as usual, which ended with an acquiescence in the motion The house, in a grand committee on the supply, resolved, That thirty thousand seamen should be employed for the service of the ensuing year; and that the land-forces should be augmented to the number of twenty-five thousand seven hundred and forty-four effective men. But these resolutions were not taken without dispute and division. The minister’s opponents not only reproduced all the reasons which had been formerly advanced against a standing army, but they opposed this augmentation with extraordinary ardour, as a huge stride towards the establishment of arbitrary power. They refuted those fears of eternal broils on which the ministry pretended to ground the necessity of such an augmentation; and they exposed the weak conduct of the administration, in having contributed to destroy the balance of power, by assisting Spain against the emperor in Italy, so as to aggrandize the house of Bourbon.

DEBATE ON A SUBSIDY TO DENMARK.

Sir William Wyndham moved, that the estimate of the navy for the ensuing year might be referred to a select committee. He expressed his surprise, that notwithstanding the vast sums which had been yearly raised, and the long continuance of the peace, the people had not been quite delivered of any one tax incurred in the preceding war. He said, he could not comprehend how it was possible to find pretences for exposing the nation to such exorbitant charges; and he took notice of some unconsionable articles in the accounts of the navy-debt that lay upon the table. He was seconded by Mr. Sandys, and supported by sir J. Jekyll and Mr. Pulteney; but after some debate, the motion was carried in the negative. When the new treaty with Denmark fell under consideration in a grand committee, Mr. H. Walpole moved, that the sum of fifty-six thousand two hundred and fifty pounds, should be granted to his majesty as a subsidy to the Dane, pursuant to the said treaty, for the service of the ensuing year. The demand did not meet with immediate compliance. All the leaders in the opposition exclaimed against the subsidy as unnecessary and unreasonable. They observed, that as the English had no particular interest of their own for inducing them to engage in the present war, but only the danger to which the balance of power might be exposed by that event; and as all the powers of Europe were as much, if not more, interested than the English in the preservation of that balance, should it ever be really endangered, they would certainly engage in its defence, without receiving any valuable consideration from Great Britain; but should the English be always the first to take the alarm upon any rupture, and offer bribes and pensions to all the princes in Europe, the whole charge of preserving that balance would fall upon Great Britain; every state would expect a gratification from her, for doing that which it would otherwise be obliged to do for its own preservation; even the Dutch might at last refuse to assist in trimming this balance, unless Britain should submit to make the grand pensionary of Holland a pensionary of England, and take a number of their forces into English pay. The debate having had its free course, the question was put, and the motion approved by the majority. The ministry allowed a bill to be brought in for limiting the number of officers in the house of commons; but at the second reading it was rejected upon a division, after a learned debate, in which it appeared that the opposition had gained a valuable auxiliary in the person of lord Pol-worth, son to the earl of Marchmont, a nobleman of elegant parts, keen penetration, and uncommon vivacity, who spoke with all the fluency and fervour of elocution.

PETITION OF SOME SCOTTISH NOBLEMEN.

The minority in the house of lords were not less vigilant and resolute in detecting and opposing every measure which they thought would redound to the prejudice of their country. But the most remarkable object that employed their attention during this session, was a very extraordinary petition subscribed by the dukes of Hamilton, Queensberry, and Montrose, the earls of Dundonald, Marchmont, and Stair, representing that undue influence had been used for carrying on the election of the sixteen peers of Scotland. The duke of Bedford, who delivered their petition to the house, proposed a day for taking it into consideration; and to this they agreed. It was afterwards moved, that the consideration of it should be adjourned to a short day, before which the petitioners should be ordered to declare whether they intended to controvert the last election of all the sixteen peers, or the election of any, and which of them. This affair was of such an unprecedented nature, that the house seemed to be divided in opinion about the manner in which they ought to proceed. The partisans of the ministry would have willingly stifled the inquiry in the beginning; but the petitioners were so strenuously supported in their claim to some notice, by the earls of Chesterfield, Abingdon, and Strafford, the lords Bathurst and Carteret, that they could not dismiss it at once with any regard to decorum. The order of the house, according to the motion explained above, being communicated by the lord-chancellor to the petitioners, they waited on him with a declaration, importing, that they did not intend to controvert the election or return of the sixteen peers for Scotland; but they thought it their duty to lay before their lordships the evidence of such facts and undue methods as appeared to them to be dangerous to the constitution; and might in future elections equally affect the right of the present sixteen peers, as that of the other peers of Scotland, if not prevented by a proper remedy. This declaration being repeated to the house, the duke of Devonshire made a motion, that the petitioners might be ordered to lay before the house in writing, instances of those undue methods and illegal practices upon which they intended to proceed, and the names of the persons they suspected to be guilty. He was warmly opposed by the country party; and a long debate ensued, after which the question was carried in favour of the motion, and the order signified to the petitioners. Next day their answer was read to the house to this effect: That as they had no intention to state themselves accusers, they could not take upon them to name particular persons who might have been concerned in those illegal practices; but who they were would undoubtedly appear to their lordships upon their taking the proper examinations: nevertheless, they did humbly acquaint their lordships, that the petition was laid before them upon information that the list of the sixteen peers for Scotland had been framed previous to the election, by persons in high trust under the crown; that this list was shown to peers, as a list approved by the crown; and was called the king’s list, from which there was to be no variation, unless to make way for one or two particular peers, on condition they should conform to measures; that peers were solicited to vote for this list, without the liberty of making any alteration; that endeavours were used to engage peers to vote for this list by promise of pensions, and offices civil and military to themselves and relations, as well as by offers of money: that sums were given for this purpose; that pensions, offices, and releases of debts owing to the crown, were actually granted to peers who concurred in voting for this list, and to their relations; that on the day of election a battalion of his majesty’s troops were drawn up in the Abbey-court of Edinburgh, contrary to custom, and without any apparent cause but that of over-awing the electors. This answer gave rise to another violent dispute; but the majority voted it unsatisfactory, and the petition was rejected, though the resolution was clogged with a vigorous protest.

Notwithstanding this discouragement, the earl of Abingdon moved, that although the petition was dismissed, an inquiry might be set on foot touching an affair of such consequence to the liberties of the kingdom. The earl of Hay declaring his belief that no such illegal methods had been practised, the other produced a pamphlet, intituled, The Protests of a great Number of Noble Lords, entered by them at the last Election of Peers for Scotland. Exceptions being taken to a pamphlet, as an object unworthy of their notice, lord Bathurst exhibited an authentic copy of those protests, extracted from the journal of that election, signed by the two principal clerks, and witnessed by two gentlemen then attending in the lobby. These were accordingly read, and plainly demonstrated the truth of the allegations contained in the petition. Nothing could be more scandalous, arrogant, and shamefully flagrant, than the conduct and deportment of those who acted the part of understrappers to the ministry on this occasion. But all this demonstration, adorned and enforced by the charms and energy of eloquence, was like preaching in a desert. A motion was made for adjourning, and carried in the affirmative: a protest was entered, and the whole affair consigned to oblivion. Divers other motions were made successively by the lords in the opposition, and rejected by the invincible power of a majority. The uninterrupted success of the ministry did not, however, prevent them from renewing the struggle as often as an opportunity offered. They disputed the continuation of the salt-tax, and the bill for enabling the king to apply the sum of one million out of the sinking fund for the service of the current year, though success did not attend their endeavours. They supported with all their might a bill sent up from the commons, explaining and amending an act of the Scottish parliament, for preventing wrongous imprisonment, and against undue delays in trials. This was all the natives of Scotland had in lieu of the habeas-corpus act; though it did not screen them from oppression. Yet the earl of Hay undertook to prove they were on a footing with their neighbours of England in this respect; and the bill was thrown out on a division. The session was closed on the fifteenth of May, when the king in his speech to both houses declared that the plan of pacification, concerted between him and the states-general, had not produced the desired effect. He thanked the commons for the supplies they had granted with such cheerfulness and despatch. He signified his intention to visit his German dominions; and told them he should constitute the queen regent of the realm in his absence. Immediately after the prorogation his majesty embarked for Holland, in his way to Hanover.

MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE COURTS OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.

By this time the good understanding between the courts of Madrid and Lisbon was destroyed by a remarkable incident. The Portuguese ambassador at Madrid having allowed his servants to rescue a criminal from the officers of justice, all the servants concerned in that rescue were dragged from his house to prison, by the Spanish king’s order, with circumstances of rigour and disgrace. His Portuguese majesty being informed of this outrage, ordered reprisals to be made upon the servants of the Spanish ambassador in Lisbon. The two ministers withdrew abruptly to their respective courts. The two monarchs expressed their mutual resentment. The king of Spain assembled a body of troops on the frontiers of Portugal; and his Portuguese majesty had recourse to the assistance of king George. Don Marcos Antonio d’Alzeveda was despatched to London with the character of envoy-extraordinary; and succeeded in his commission according to his wish. In a little time after the king’s departure from England, sir John Norris sailed from Spithead with a powerful squadron, in order to protect the Portuguese against the Spaniards; and on the ninth day of June arrived at Lisbon, where he was welcomed as a deliverer. Mr. Keene, the British envoy at the court of Spain, had communicated to his catholic majesty the resolution of his master to send a powerful squadron to Lisbon, with orders to guard that coast from insults, and secure the Brazil fleet, in which the merchants of Great Britain were deeply interested. Don Joseph Patinho, minister of his catholic majesty, delivered a memorial to Mr. Keene, representing that such an expedition would affect the commerce of Spain, by intimidating foreign merchants from embarking their merchandise in the flota. But, in all probability, it prevented a rupture between the two crowns, and disposed the king of Spain to listen to terms of accommodation.

PRELIMINARIES SIGNED BY THE EMPEROR AND THE KING OF FRANCE.

The powers in alliance against the house of Austria having rejected the plan of pacification concerted by the king of Great Britain and the states-general, Mr. Wal-pole, ambassador at the Hague, presented a memorial to their high mightinesses, desiring they would, without loss of time, put themselves in a posture of defence by an augmentation of their forces by sea and land; that they might take such vigorous steps in concert with Great Britain, as the future conjuncture of affairs might require. But before they would subject themselves to such expense, they resolved to make further trial of their influence with the powers in alliance against the emperor; and conferences were renewed with the ministers of those allies. The affairs of Poland became more and more unfavourable to the interest of Stanislaus; for though a great number of the Polish nobility engaged in a confederacy to support his claim, and made repeated efforts in his behalf, the palatine of Kiow submitted to Augustus; and even his brother the primate, after having sustained a long imprisonment, and many extraordinary hardships, was obliged to acknowledge that prince his sovereign. In Italy, the arms of the allies still continued to prosper. Don Carlos landed in Sicily, and reduced the whole island almost without opposition; while the Imperialists were forced to abandon all the territories they possessed in Italy, except the Mantuan. The emperor being equally unable to cope with the French armies on the Rhine, implored succours of the czarina, who sent thirty thousand men to his assistance. This vigorous interposition, and the success of Augustus in Poland, disposed the court of Versailles to a pacification. A secret negotiation was begun between France and the house of Austria; and the preliminaries were signed without the concurrence or knowledge of Spain, Sardinia, and the maritime powers. In these articles it was stipulated that France should restore all the conquests she had made in Germany; that the reversion of the dukedom of Tuscany should be vested in the duke of Lorraine; that Lorraine should be allotted to king Stanislaus, and after his death be united to the crown of France; that the emperor should possess the Milanese, the Mantuan, and Parma; that the king of Sardinia should enjoy Vigevano and Novara; that Don Carlos should be acknowledged king of Naples and Sicily, and retain the island of Elba, with all the Spanish territories on the coast of Tuscany; and that France should guarantee the pragmatic sanction.

PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.

The king of Great Britain returned from Hanover to England in the month of November; and on the fifteenth day of January opened the session of parliament. On this occasion he congratulated them on the near prospect of a general peace in Europe in consequence of the preliminary articles which the emperor and the king of France had agreed; and of which he had expressed his approbation, as they did not differ in any essential point from the plan of pacification which he and the states-general had offered to the belligerent powers. He told them that he had already ordered a considerable reduction to be made in his forces both by sea and land; but at the same time observed it would be necessary to continue some extraordinary expense, until a more perfect reconciliation should be established among the several powers of Europe. An address of thanks was unanimously voted, presented, and graciously received. After the house had received several petitions from different counties and gentlemen, complaining of undue influence in elections for members of parliament, it proceeded to consider of the supply, and sir Charles Wager moving that fifteen thousand seaman should be employed for the service of the ensuing year, the proposal was approved without opposition. But this was not the case with a motion made by Mr. Pulteney, “That the ordinary estimates of the navy should be referred to a select committee.” The ministry discouraged all such prying measures: a debate was produced, the house divided, and the motion was rejected. Such was the fate of a motion for raising the supplies within the year, made by Mr. Sandys, and supported by sir John Barnard, Mr. Willimot, and other patriots, who demonstrated that this was a speedy and practicable expedient for discharging the national debt, lowering the interest of money, reducing the price of labour, and encouraging a spirit of commerce.

BILL FOR THE RELIEF OF QUAKERS IN THE ARTICLE OF TITHES.

The bill for limiting the number of officers in the house of commons was again revived. The king was empowered to borrow six hundred thousand pounds, chargeable on the sinking fund, for the service of the ensuing year, though this power was not easily granted; and the house resolved to lay a duty of twenty shillings per gallon on all spirituous liquors, after it had appeared to the committee appointed for that purpose, that those spirits were pernicious to the health and morals of the people. To this resolution was added another, which amounted to a total prohibition, namely, that fifty pounds should be yearly paid to his majesty for a license to be annually taken out by every person who should vend, barter, or utter any such spirituous liquors. Mr. Walter Plummer, in a well concerted speech, moved for the repeal of some clauses in the Test act: these he represented as a species of persecution, in which protestant dissenters were confounded with the Roman catholics and enemies to the establishment. He was sustained by lord Polworth and Mr. Heathcote; but sir Robert Walpole was joined by Mr. Shippen against the motion, as dangerous to the established church; and the question being put, it was carried in the negative.

When sir Joseph Jekyll presented to the house, according to order, a bill founded on the resolutions they had taken against spirituous liquors, sir Robert Walpole acquainted them, by his majesty’s command, that as the alterations proposed to be made by that bill in the duties charged upon all spirituous liquors might, in a great degree, affect some part of the civil list revenues, his majesty, for the sake of remedying so great an evil as was intended by that bill to be prevented, did consent to accept any other revenue of equal value, to be settled and appropriated in lieu of his interest in the said duties. The bill was read a second time, and consigned to a committee of the whole house; but that for limiting the number of officers in the house of commons was thrown out at the second reading. Petitions against the bill touching the retail of spirituous liquors, were presented by the traders to the British sugar colonies, by the merchants of Bristol and Liverpool, representing the hardships to which they would be exposed by a law which amounted to a prohibition of rum and spirits distilled from molasses. In consequence of these remonstrances, a mitigating clause was inserted, in favour of the composition known by the name of punch, and distillers were permitted to exercise any other employment. The sum of seventy thousand pounds was voted for making good the deficiencies that might happen in the civil list by this bill, which at length passed through the house, though not without reiterated disputes and warm altercation. Violent opposition was likewise made to a bill for the relief the people called quakers, who offered a petition, representing, that though from motives of conscience they refused the payment of tithes, church-rates, oblations, and ecclesiastical dues, they were exposed to grievous sufferings by prosecution in the exchequer, ecclesiastical, and other courts, to the imprisonment of their persons, and the ruin of them and their families. A bill being prepared for their relief, was read and printed; then petitions were preferred against it by the clergy of Middlesex, and of many other parts of the kingdom. Counsel was heard in behalf of those petitioners, and several alterations proposed in the bill, which after long and repeated debates surmounted all opposition, and was sent up to the lords.

MORTMAIN ACT.

In the month of February the king had sent two members of the privy-council to the prince of Wales, with a message, proposing a marriage between his royal highness and the princess of Saxe-gotha. The proposal being agreeable to the prince, the marriage was celebrated on the twenty-seventh day of April. Upon this occasion Mr. Pulteney moved for an address of congratulation to his majesty, and was supported by Mr. George Lyttleton and Mr. William Pitt, who seized this opportunity of pronouncing elegant panegyrics on the prince of Wales and’ his amiable consort. These two young members soon distinguished themselves in the house by their eloquence and superior talents. The attention of the house was afterwards converted to a bill for the preventing of smuggling; and another for explaining the act for the more effectual preventing bribery and corruption in the election of members to serve in parliament. Both made their way through the lower house, and were sent up to the lords for their concurrence. The number of land forces voted for the service of the current year was reduced to seventeen thousand seven hundred and four effective men. The supplies were raised by the malt-tax and land-tax at two shillings in the pound, additional duties on mum, cider, and perry, stamped vellum, parchment, and paper; and by an act empowering his majesty to borrow six hundred thousand pounds of the sinking fund. In this session the parliament repealed the old statutes of England and Scotland against conjuration, witchcraft, and dealing with evil spirit’s. The commons likewise prepared a bill to restrain the disposition of lands in mortmain, whereby they became unalienable. Against this measure petitions were presented by the two universities, the colleges of Eton, Winchester, and Westminster, and divers hospitals that subsisted by charitable donations. In favour of the universities and colleges a particular exempting clause was inserted. Several other amendments were made in the bill, which passed through both houses, and obtained the royal assent. Among the acts passed in this session, was one for naturalizing her royal highness the princess of Wales; and another for building a bridge across the Thames from New Palace-yard, in the city of Westminster, to the opposite shore in the county of Surrey. The points chiefly debated in the house of lords were the address of thanks for his majesty’s speech, the mortmain bill, the Quakers’ bill, which was thrown out, and that for the prevention of smuggling, which did not pass without division and protest. On the twentieth day of May the king closed the session with a speech, in which he told both houses that a farther convention, touching the execution of the preliminaries, had been made and communicated to him by the emperor and most christian king, and that negotiations were carrying on by the several powers engaged in the late war, in order to settle a general pacification. He expressed great concern at seeing such seeds of dissatisfaction sown among his people; he protested it was his desire, and should be his care, to preserve the present constitution in church and state, as by law established; he recommended harmony and mutual affection among all protestants of the nation, as the great security of that happy establishment; and signified his intention to visit his German dominions. Accordingly, the parliament was no sooner prorogued than he set out for Hanover, after having appointed the queen regent in his absence.

REMARKABLE RIOT AT EDINBURGH.

Such a degree of licentiousness prevailed over the whole nation, that the kingdom was filled with tumult and riots, which might have been prevented by proper regulations of the civil government in a due execution of the laws. The most remarkable of these disturbances happened at Edinburgh, on the seventh day of September. John Porteous, who commanded the guard paid by that city, a man of brutal disposition and abandoned morals, had, at the execution of a smuggler, been provoked by some insults from the populace to order his men, without using the previous formalities of the law, to fire with shot among the crowd; by which precipitate order several innocent persons lost their lives. Porteous was tried for murder, convicted, and received sentence of death; but the queen, as guardian of the realm, thought proper to indulge him with a reprieve. The common people of Edinburgh resented this lenity shown to a criminal, who was the object of their detestation. They remembered that pardons had been granted to divers military delinquents in that country, who had been condemned by legal trial. They seemed to think those were encouragements to oppression; they were fired by a national jealousy; they were stimulated by the relations and friends of those who had been murdered; and they resolved to wreak their vengeance on the author of that tragedy, by depriving him of life on the very day which the judges had fixed for his execution. Thus determined, they assembled in different bodies about ten o’clock at night. They blocked up the gates of the city, to prevent the admission of the troops that were quartered in the suburbs. They surprised and disarmed the town guards; they broke open the prison doors; dragged Porteous from thence to the place of execution; and, leaving him hanging by the neck on a dyer’s pole, quietly dispersed to their several habitations. This exploit was performed with such conduct and deliberation as seemed to be the result of a plan formed by some persons of consequence; it, therefore, became the object of a very severe inquiry.

RUPTURE BETWEEN THE CZARINA AND THE OTTOMAN PORTE.

During this summer a rupture happened between the Turks and the Russians, which last reduced the city of Azoph on the Black Sea, and overrun the greatest part of Crim Tartary. The czarina declared war against the Ottoman Porte, because the Tartars of the Crimea had made incursions upon her frontiers; and, when she complained of these disorders to the vizier, she received no satisfaction; besides, a large body of Tartars had, by order of that minister, marched through the Russian provinces in despite of the empress, and committed terrible havoc in their route. The emperor was obliged to engage as a party in this war, by a treaty offensive and defensive, which he had many years before concluded with the czarina. Yet, before he declared himself, he joined the maritime powers in offering his mediation to the sultan, who was very well disposed to peace; but the czarina insisted upon her retaining Azoph, which her forces had reduced; and this preliminary article being rejected, as dishonourable to the Ottoman empire, the court of Vienna began to make preparations for war. By this time all the belligerent powers in Italy had agreed to the preliminaries of peace concluded between the emperor and France. The duke of Lorraine had espoused the emperor’s eldest daughter, the archduchess Maria Theresa, and ceded Lorraine to France, even before he succeeded to Tuscany. Don Carlos was crowned king of Sicily; Stanislaus abdicated the crown of Poland; and Augustus was universally acknowledged sovereign of that kingdom. The preliminaries were approved and accepted by the diet of the empire; the king of Spain sent orders for his troops to evacuate Tuscany; and the provinces in Italy yielded to the house of Austria. Prince Eugene, who had managed the interest of the emperor on this occasion, did not live to see the happy fruits of this negotiation. He died at Vienna, in April, at the age of seventy-three, leaving behind him the character of an invincible hero and consummate politician. He was not long survived by count Staremberg, another Imperial general who ranked next to the prince in military reputation. About the same time Great Britain sustained a national loss in the death of lord chancellor Talbot, who, by his worth, probity, and acquired accomplishments, had dignified the great office to which he had been raised. He died universally lamented, in the month of February, at the age of fifty-two, and was succeeded on the bench by lord Hardwicke.

THE SESSION OF PARLIAMENT OPENED

The king being indisposed, in consequence of having been fatigued by a very tempestuous passage from Holland, the parliament was prorogued from the twenty-first day of January to the first of February, and then the session was opened by commission. The lord chancellor, as one of the peers authorised by this commission, made a speech in his majesty’s name to both houses. With respect to foreign affairs, he told them that the respective acts of cession being exchanged, and orders given for the evacuation and possession of the several countries and places by the powers concerned, according to the allotment and disposition of the preliminary articles, the great work of re-establishing the general tranquillity was far advanced; that, however, common prudence called upon them to be very attentive to the final conclusion of the new settlement. He said his majesty could not without surprise and concern observe the many contrivances and attempts carried on, in various shapes, and in different parts of the nation, tumultuously to resist and obstruct the execution of the laws, and to violate the peace of the kingdom. He observed, that the consideration of the height to which those audacious practices might rise, if not timely suppressed, afforded a melancholy prospect, and required particular attention, lest they should affect private persons in the quiet enjoyment of their property, as well as the general peace and good order of the whole. After the commons had agreed to an address, and heard counsel on some controverted elections, they proceeded to take the supply into consideration. They voted ten thousand men for the sea-service. They continued for the land-service the same number they had maintained in times of tranquillity, amounting to seventeen thousand seven hundred and four; but this measure was not adopted without opposition; the money was raised by the land and malt-taxes, reinforced with one million granted out of the sinking fund.

MOTION IN BOTH HOUSES FOR A SETTLEMENT ON THE PRINCE OF WALES.

The chief subject of contention that presented itself in the course of this session, was a motion which Mr. Pulteney made for an address to his majesty, that he would be pleased to settle one hundred thousand pounds a year upon the prince of Wales. He represented that such provision was conformable to the practice of ancient times; that what he proposed had been enjoyed by his present majesty in the life-time of his father; and that a settlement of this nature was reasonable and necessary to ascertain the independency of the apparent heir to the crown. The motion was vigorously opposed by sir Robert Walpole, as an encroachment on the prerogative; as an officious intermeddling in the king’s family affairs; and as an effort to set his majesty and the prince at variance. But a misunderstanding, it seems, had already happened in the royal family. The minister, in the midst of his harangue, told the house by his majesty’s command, that on the preceding day the king had sent a message to the prince by several noblemen of the first quality, importing, that his majesty had given orders for settling a jointure upon the princess of Wales, suitable to her high rank and dignity, which he would in a proper time lay before parliament, in order to be rendered more certain and effectual; that, although his royal highness had not thought fit, by any application to his majesty, to desire that his allowance of fifty thousand pounds might be rendered less precarious, the king, to prevent the bad consequences which he apprehended might follow from the undutiful measures which his majesty was informed the prince had been advised to pursue, would grant to his royal highness, for his majesty’s life, the said fifty thousand pounds per annum, to be issued out of the civil list revenues, over and above the prince’s revenues arising from the duchy of Cornwall, which his majesty thought a very competent allowance, considering his own numerous issue, and the great expense which did and must necessarily attend an honourable provision for the whole royal family; that the prince, by a verbal answer, desired their lordships to lay him with all humility at his majesty’s feet; to assure him that he did, and ever should, retain the utmost duty for his royal person; that he was very thankful for any instance of his majesty’s goodness to him or to the princess, and particularly for his majesty’s gracious intention of settling a jointure upon her royal highness; but that, as to the message, the affair was now out of his hands, and therefore he could give no answer to it; that his royal highness afterwards used many dutiful expressions towards his majesty; adding, “Indeed, my lords, it is in other hands, and I am sorry for it;” or words to that effect. Sir Robert Walpole then endeavoured to demonstrate, that the annual sum of fifty thousand pounds was as much as the king could afford to allow for the prince’s maintenance; and he expatiated upon the bad consequences that might ensue, if the son should be rendered altogether independent of the father.

These suggestions did not pass unanswered. Sir Robert Walpole had asserted, that the parliament had no right to interfere in the creation or maintenance of a prince of Wales; and that in the case of Richard II., who, upon the death of his father, the Black Prince, was created prince of Wales, in consequence of an address or petition from parliament, that measure was in all probability directed by the king himself. In answer to this assertion, it was observed, that probably the king would not have been so forward in creating his grandson prince of Wales, if he had not been forced into this step by his parliament; for Edward in his old age fell into a sort of love dotage, and gave himself entirely up to the management of his mistress, Alice Pierce, and his second son, the duke of Lancaster; a circumstance that raised a most reasonable jealousy in the Black Prince, at that time on his death-bed, who could not but be anxious about the safety and right of his only son, whom he found he was soon to leave a child in the hands of a doating grandfather and an ambitious aspiring uncle. The supporters of the motion observed, that the allowance of fifty thousand pounds was not sufficient to defray the prince’s yearly expense, without alloting one shilling for acts of charity and munificence; and that the several deductions for land taxes and fees reduced it to forty-three thousand pounds. They affirmed, that his whole income, including the revenues of the duchy of Cornwall, did not exceed fifty-two thousand pounds a-year, though, by his majesty’s own regulation, the expense of the prince’s household amounted to sixty-three thousand. They proved that the produce of the civil list exceeded nine hundred thousand pounds, a sum above one hundred thousand pounds a-year more than was enjoyed by his late majesty; and that, in the first year of the late king, the whole expense of his household and civil government did not much exceed four hundred and fifty thousand pounds a-year. They observed, that the parliament added one hundred and forty thousand pounds annually for acts of charity and bounty, together with the article of secret-service money; and allowed one hundred thousand pounds for the maintenance of the prince of Wales; that the article of secret-service money had prodigiously increased in the late reign; by an account which happened to be laid before the parliament, it appeared that vast sums of money had been given for purposes which nobody understood, and to persons whom nobody knew. In the beginning of the following session several members proposed that this extraordinary account should be taken into consideration; but the inquiry was warded off by the other party, who declared that the parliament could not examine any account which had been presented to a former session. The debate was fierce and long; and ended in a division, by which the motion was rejected. A motion of the same nature was made by lord Carteret in the house of peers, and gave rise to a very keen dispute, maintained by the same arguments, and issuing in the same termination.

SCHEME FOR REDUCING THE INTEREST OF THE NATIONAL DEBT.

The next remarkable contest was occasioned by a motion of sir Robert Walpole, who proposed the sum of one million should be granted to his majesty, towards redeeming the like sum of the increased capital of the South-Sea company, commonly called the South-Sea annuities. Several members argued for the expediency of applying this sum to the payment of the debt due to the Bank, as part of that incumbrance was saddled with an interest of six per cent., whereas the interest paid for the other sums that constituted the public debt did not exceed four per cent. Many plausible arguments were offered on both sides of the question; and at length the motion was carried in the affirmative. The house having resolved itself into a committee to consider of the national debt, sir John Barnard made a motion, for enabling his majesty to raise money either by the sale of annuities, or by borrowing at an interest not exceeding three per cent., to be applied towards redeeming the South-Sea annuities; and that such of the said annuitants as should be inclined to subscribe their respective annuities, should be preferred to all others. He said, that even those public securities which bore an interest of three per cent, only, were sold at a premium in ‘Change-alley: he was therefore persuaded, that all those who were willing to give a premium for a three per cent, security, would gladly lend their money to the government at the same interest, should books of subscription be opened for that purpose, with an assurance that no part of the principal should be paid off for fourteen years. He expatiated on the national advantages that would accrue from a reduction of interest. From easy and obvious calculations he inferred, that in a very little time the interest upon all the South-Sea annuities would be reduced from four to three per cent., without any danger to public credit, or breach of public faith; that then the produce of the sinking fund would amount to fourteen hundred thousand pounds per annum, to be applied only towards redeeming the capital of the several trading companies; he proved that this measure would bring every one of them so much within the power of parliament, that they would be glad to accept of three per cent, interest on any reasonable terms; in which case the sinking-fund would rise to one million six hundred thousand pounds per annum. Then the parliament might venture to annihilate one half of it, by freeing the people from the taxes upon coals, candles, soap, leather, and other such impositions as lay heavy upon the poor labourers and manufacturers; the remaining part of the sinking-fund might be applied towards the discharge of those annuities and public debts which bore an interest of three per cent, only, and afterwards towards diminishing the capitals of the several trading companies till the term of fourteen years should be expired; then the sinking-fund would again amount to above a million yearly, which would be sufficient for paying them off, and freeing the nation entirely from all its incumbrances. This salutary scheme was violently opposed by alderman Heathcote, and other partisans of the ministry; yet all their objections were refuted; and, in order to defeat the project, they were obliged to have recourse to artifice. Mr. Winnington moved, that all the public creditors, as well as the South-Sea annuitants, should be comprehended. Sir John Barnard demonstrated that it might be easy for the government to borrow money at three per cent, sufficient for paying off such of the proprietors of four-and-twenty millions as were not willing to accept of that interest; but it would be extremely difficult to borrow enough to satisfy the proprietors of four-and-forty millions, who might choose to have their principal rather than such an interest. Nevertheless, resolutions were founded on this and other alterations of the original scheme; and a bill was immediately prepared. It produced many other debates, and was at last postponed by dint of ministerial influence. The same venerable patriot, who projected this scheme, moved that, as soon as the interest of all the national redeemable debt should be reduced to three per cent., the house would take off some of the heavy taxes which oppressed the poor and the manufacturers: but this motion was rejected by the majority.

BILL AGAINST THE CITY OF EDINBURGH.

The last disputes of this session were excited by a bill sent down from the lords for punishing the magistrates and city of Edinburgh, on account of the murder of John Porteous. In the beginning of the session, lord Carteret recapitulated the several tumults and riots which had lately happened in different parts of the kingdom. He particularly insisted upon the atrocious murder of captain Porteous, as a flagrant insult upon the government, and a violation of the public peace, so much the more dangerous, as it seemed to have been concerted and executed with deliberation and decency. He suspected that some citizens of Edinburgh had been concerned in the murder; not only from this circumstance, but likewise because, notwithstanding the reward of two hundred pounds which had been offered by proclamation for the discovery of any person who acted in that tragedy, not one individual had as yet been detected. He seemed to think that the magistrates had encouraged the riot, and that the city had forfeited its charter; and he proposed a minute inquiry into the particulars of the affair. He was seconded by the duke of Newcastle and the earl of Hay; though the last nobleman differed in opinion with him in respect to the charter of the city, which, he said, could not be justly forfeited by the fault of the magistracy. The lords resolved, That the magistrates and other persons from whom they might obtain the necessary information concerning this riot, should be ordered to attend; and that an address should be presented to his majesty, desiring that the different accounts and papers relating to the murder of captain Porteous, might be submitted to the perusal of the house. These documents being accordingly examined, and all the witnesses arrived, including three Scottish judges, a debate arose about the manner in which these last should be interrogated, whether at the bar, at the table, or on the woolsacks. Some Scottish lords asserted, that they had a right to be seated next to the judges of England; but after a long debate this claim was rejected, and the judges of Scotland appeared at the bar in their robes. A bill was brought in to disable Alexander Wilson, esquire, lord-provost of Edinburgh, from enjoying any office or place of magistracy in the city of Edinburgh, or elsewhere in Great Britain; for imprisoning the said Alexander Wilson; for abolishing the guard of that city; and for taking away the gates of the Netherbow-port, so as to open a communication between the city and the suburbs, in which the king’s troops are quartered. The duke of Argyle, in arguing against this bill, said he could not think of a proceeding more harsh or unprecedented than the present, as he believed there was no instance of the whole weight of parliamentary indignation, for such he called a proceeding by a bill ex post facto, falling upon any single person, far less upon any community, for crimes that were within the reach of the inferior courts of justice; for this reason he observed, that if the lord-provost and citizens of Edinburgh should suffer in the terms of the present bill, they would suffer by a cruel, unjust, and fantastical proceeding; a proceeding of which the worst use might be made, if ever the nation should have the misfortune to fall under a partial self-interested administration. He told them he sat in the parliament of Scotland when that part of the treaty of Union relating to the privileges of the royal burghs, was settled on the same footing as religion; that is, they were made unalterable by any subsequent parliament of Great Britain. Notwithstanding the eloquence and warmth of his remonstrance, the bill was sent down to the house of commons, where it produced a violent contest. The commons set on foot a severe scrutiny into the particular circumstances that preceded and attended the murder of Porteous; from the examination of the witnesses, it appeared that no freeman or citizen of Edinburgh was concerned in the riot, which was chiefly composed of country people, excited by the relations of some unhappy persons whom Porteous and his men had slain at the execution of the smuggler; and these were assisted by ‘prentice-boys and the lowest class of vagabonds that happened to be at Edinburgh; that the lord-provost had taken all the precautions to prevent mischief that his reflection suggested; that he even exposed his person to the rage of the multitude, in his endeavour to disperse them; and that, if he had done amiss, he erred from want of judgment rather than from want of inclination to protect the unhappy Porteous. It likewise appeared that Mr. Lindsay, member for the city of Edinburgh, had gone in person to general Moyle, commander of the forces in North Britain, informed him of the riot, implored his immediate assistance, and promised to conduct his troops into the city; and that his suit was rejected, because he could not produce a written order from the magistracy, which he neither could have obtained in such confusion, nor ventured to carry about his person through the midst of an enraged populace. The Scottish members exerted themselves with uncommon vivacity in defence of their capital. They were joined by sir John Barnard, lord Cornbury, Mr. Shippen, and Mr. Oglethorpe. Lord Polworth declared, that if any gentleman would show where one argument in the charge against the lord-provost and the city of Edinburgh had been proved, he would that instant give his vote for the commitment of the bill. He said, if gentlemen would lay their hands upon their hearts, and ask themselves, whether they would have voted in this manner had the case of Edinburgh been that of the cities of Bristol, York, or Norwich, he was persuaded they would have required that every tittle of the charge against them should have been fully and undeniably proved. Some amendments and mitigations being inserted in the bill, it passed the house, was sent back to the lords, who agreed to the alterations, and then received the royal assent.

PLAY-HOUSE BILL.

The next effort of the minister was obliquely levelled at the liberty of the press, which it was much for his interest to abridge. The errors of his conduct, the mystery of that corruption which he had so successfully reduced to a system, and all the blemishes of his administration, had been exposed and ridiculed, not only in political periodical writings produced by the most eminent hands, but likewise in a succession of theatrical pieces, which met with uncommon success among the people. He either wanted judgment to distinguish men of genius, or could find none that would engage in his service; he therefore employed a set of wretched authors, void of understanding and ingenuity. They undertook the defence of his ministry, and answered the animadversions of his antagonists. The match was so extremely unequal, that, instead of justifying his conduct, they exposed it to additional ridicule and contempt; and he saw himself in danger of being despised by the whole nation. He resolved to seize the first opportunity to choke those canals through which the torrent of censure had flowed upon his character. The manager of a play-house communicated to him a manuscript farce, intituled, The Golden Rump, which was fraught with treason and abuse upon the government, and had been presented to the stage for exhibition. This performance was produced in the house of commons. The minister descanted upon the insolence, the malice, the immorality, and the seditious calumny which had been of late propagated in theatrical pieces. A bill was brought in to limit the number of playhouses; to subject all dramatic writings to the inspection of the lord chamberlain; and to compel them to take out a license for every production before it could appear on the stage. Notwithstanding a vigorous opposition, this bill passed through both houses with extraordinary despatch, and obtained the royal sanction. In this debate the earl of Chesterfield distinguished himself by an excellent speech, that will ever endear his character to all the friends of genius and literature, to all those who are warmed with zeal for the liberties of their country. “Our stage,” said he, “ought certainly to be kept in due bounds; but for this purpose, our laws as they stand at present are sufficient. If our stage-players at any time exceed those bounds, they ought to be prosecuted; they may be punished. We have precedents, we have examples of persons punished for things less criminal than some pieces which have been lately represented; a new law must, therefore unnecessary; and in the present case it cannot be unnecessary without being dangerous. Every unnecessary restraint is a fetter upon the legs, is a shackle upon the hands, of liberty. One of the greatest blessings we enjoy, one of the greatest blessings a people can enjoy, is liberty. But every good in this life has its allay of evil. Licentiousness is the allay of liberty. It is an ebullition, an excrescence; it is a speck upon the eye of the political body, which I can never touch but with a gentle, with a trembling hand; lest I destroy the body, lest I injure the eye, upon which it is apt to appear. If the stage becomes at any time licentious, if a play appears to be a libel upon the government, or upon any particular man, the king’s courts are open; the law is sufficient to punish the offender. If poets and players are to be restrained, let them be restrained as other subjects are, by the known laws of their country; if they offend, let them be tried as every Englishman ought to be, by God and their country. Do not let us subject them to the arbitrary will and pleasure of any one man. A power lodged in the hands of a single man to judge and determine without limitation, control, or appeal, is a sort of power unknown to our laws, inconsistent with our constitution. It is a higher, a more absolute power than we trust even to the king himself; and, therefore, I must think we ought not to vest any such power in his majesty’s lord-chamberlain.” His arguments had no effect, though the house admired his elocution; and the play-house bill passed into a law. On the twenty-first day of June the king made a short speech to both houses, and the lord chancellor prorogued the parliament.

CHAPTER III.

The Russians take Oczakow..... Death of Gaston de Medeis, Duke of Tuscany..... Death of Caroline, Queen Consort of England..... Dispute in Parliament about the Standing Army..... Spanish Depredations..... Motives of the Minister for avoiding a War..... Address to the King on the Subject of the Depredations..... Bill for Securing the Trade, of his Majesty’s Subjects in America..... Debates in the House of Lords..... Birth of Prince George..... Admiral Haddock sails with a Squadron to the Mediterranean..... Progress of the War against the Turks..... Dispute and Rupture between Hanover and Denmark..... Sir Robert Walpole extols the Convention in the House of Commons—-Motion for an Address, that the Representations, Letters, &c, relating to the Spanish Depredations, should be laid before the House..... Petitions against the Convention..... Substance of that Agreement..... Debate in the House of Commons on the Convention..... Secession of the chief Members in the Opposition..... Debate in the House of Lords upon an Address to his Majesty touching the Convention..... Message from the Throne touching a Subsidy to Denmark, and a Power to augment the Forces of the Kingdom..... Parliament prorogued..... The King of Spain publishes a Manifesto..... The Emperor and Czarina conclude a Peace with the Turks..... Preparations for War in England..... Apology in the House of Commons for the seceding Members..... Pension Bill revived, and lost..... Porto Bello taken by Admiral Vernon..... Hard Frost..... Marriage of the Princess Mary to the Prince of Hesse..... Strong Armament sent to the West Indies..... Death of the Emperor and Czarina..... Proceedings in Parliament..... Seamen’s Bill..... Discontents against the Ministry..... Motion for removing Sir Robert Walpole from his Majesty’s Councils and Presence for ever..... Debate on the Mutiny Bill..... Proceedings in the House of Lords..... Close of the last Session of this Parliament

THE RUSSIANS TAKE OCZAKOW.

A congress had been opened at Niemerow in Poland, to compromise the differences between the czarina and the grand seignor; but this proving ineffectual, the emperor declared war against the Turks, and demanded assistance from the diet of the empire. He concerted the operations of the campaign with the empress of Muscovy. It was agreed that the Imperialists, under count Seckendorf, should attack Widdin in Servia; while the Russians, commanded by count de Munich, should penetrate to the Ukraine, and besiege Oczakow, on the Roristhenes. They accordingly advanced against this place, which was garrisoned by twenty thousand men, and on the side of the Roristhenes defended by eighteen galleys. The Muscovites carried on their approaches with such impetuosity and perseverance, that the Turks were terrified at their valour, and in a few days capitulated. Among those who signalized themselves by uncommon marks of prowess in these attacks, was general Keith, now field-marshal in the Prussian service, who was dangerously wounded on this occasion. Meanwhile count Seckendorf, finding it impossible to reduce Widdin without a squadron of ships on the Danube, turned his arms against Nissa, which was surrendered to him on the eight-and-twentieth day of July; but this was the farthest verge of his good fortune. The Turks attacked the post which the Imperialists occupied along the Danube. They took the fort of Padudil, burned the town of Has in Wallachia, and plundered the neighbouring villages. The prince of Saxe-Hilburghausen, who had invested Bagnalack in Bosnia, was defeated, and obliged to repass the Saave. Count Seckendorf was recalled to Vienna; and the command of the army devolved upon count Philippe. Count Kevenhuller was obliged to retreat from Servia; and Nissa was retaken by the Mussulmen. The conferences at Niemerow were broken off; and the Turkish plenipotentiaries returned to Constantinople.

The kingdom of Poland now enjoyed the most perfect repose under the dominion of Augustus. Ferdinand, the old duke of Courland, dying without issue, the succession was disputed by the Teutonic order and the kingdom of Poland, while the states of Courland claimed a right of election, and sent deputies to Petersburgh, imploring the protection of the czarina. A body of Russian troops immediately entered that country; and the states elected the count de Biron, high chamberlain to the empress of Muscovy. The elector of Cologn, as grand-master of the Teutonic order, protested against this election; but the king of Poland agreed to it, on certain conditions settled at Dantzic with the commissiaries of the new duke and those of the czarina. In the month of July, John Gaston de Medicis, great duke of Tuscany, died at Florence; and the prince de Craon took possession of his territories in the name of the duke of Lorraine, to whom the emperor had already granted the eventual investiture of that duchy.

DEATH OF CAROLINE, QUEEN CONSORT.

In England the attention of the public was attracted by an open breach in the royal family. The princess of Wales had advanced to the very last month of her pregnancy before the king and queen were informed of her being with child. She was twice conveyed from Hampton-Court to the palace of St. James’, when her labour-pains were supposed to be approaching; and at length was delivered of a princess in about two hours after her arrival. The king being apprised of this event, sent a message by the earl of Essex to the prince, expressing his displeasure at the conduct of his royal highness, as an indignity offered to himself and the queen. The prince deprecated his majesty’s anger in several submissive letters, and implored the queen’s mediation. The princess joined her entreaties to those of his royal highness; but all their humility and supplication proved ineffectual. The king, in another message sent by the duke of Grafton, observed, that the prince had removed the princess twice in the week immediately preceding the day of her delivery, from the place of his majesty’s residence, in expectation of her labour; and both times, on his return, industriously concealed from the knowledge of the king and queen every circumstance relating to this important affair; that at last, without giving any notice to their majesties, he had precipitately hurried the princess from Hampton-Court in a condition not to be named; that the whole tenor of his conduct, for a considerable time, had been so entirely void of all real duty to the king, that his majesty had reason to be highly offended with him. He gave him to understand, that until he should withdraw his regard and confidence from those by whose instigation and advice he was directed and encouraged in his unwarrantable behaviour to his majesty and the queen, and return to his duty, he should not reside in the palace; he therefore signified his pleasure that he should leave St. James’, with all his family, when it could be done without prejudice or inconvenience to the princess. In obedience to this order the prince retired to Kew, and made other efforts to be readmitted into his majesty’s favour, which, however, he could not retrieve. Whatever might have been his design in concealing so long from the king and queen the pregnancy of the princess, and afterwards hurrying her from place to place in such a condition, to the manifest hazard of her life, his majesty had certainly cause to be offended at this part of his conduct; though the punishment seems to have been severe, if not rigorous; for he was not even admitted into the presence of the queen his mother, to express his duty to her in her last moments, to implore her forgiveness, and receive her last blessing. She died of a mortification in her bowels, on the twentieth day of November, in the fifty-fifth year of her age, regretted as a princess of uncommon sagacity, and as a pattern of conjugal virtue.

DISPUTE IN PARLIAMENT.

The king opened the session of parliament on the twenty-fourth day of January, with a short speech recommending the despatch of the public business with prudence and unanimity. Each house presented a warm address of condolence on the queen’s death, with which he seemed to be extremely affected. Though the house of commons unanimously sympathised with the king in his affliction, the minister still met with contradiction in some of his favourite measures. One would imagine that all the arguments for and against a standing army in time of peace had been already exhausted; but, when it was moved that the same number of land forces which they had voted in the preceding year should be continued in pay for the ensuing year, the dispute was renewed with surprising vivacity, and produced some reasons which had not been suggested before. The adherents of the minister fairly owned, that if the army should be disbanded, or even considerably reduced, they believed the tory interest would prevail; that the present number of forces was absolutely necessary to maintain the peace of the kingdom, which was filled with clamour and discontent, as well as to support the whig interest; and that they would vote for keeping up four times the number, should it be found expedient for that purpose. The members in the opposition replied, that this declaration was a severe satire on the ministry, whose conduct had given birth to such a spirit of discontent. They said it was in effect a tacit acknowledgment, that what they called the whig interest was no more than an inconsiderable party, which had engrossed the administration by indirect methods; which acted contrary to the sense of the nation; and depended for support upon a military power, by which the people in general were overawed, and consequently enslaved. They affirmed, that the discontent of which the ministry complained, was in a great measure owing to that very standing army, which perpetuated their taxes, and hung over their heads as the instruments of arbitrary power and oppression. Lord Polworth explained the nature of whig principles, and demonstrated that the party which distinguished itself by this appellation, no longer retained the maxims by which the whigs were originally characterised. Sir John Hinde Cotton, who spoke with the courage and freedom of an old English baron, declared, he never knew a member of that house who acted on true whig principles, vote for a standing army in time of peace. “I have heard of whigs,” said he, “who opposed all unlimited votes of credit; I have heard of whigs who looked upon corruption as the greatest curse that could befall any nation; I have heard of whigs who esteemed the liberty of the press to be the most valuable privilege of a free people, and triennial parliaments as the greatest bulwark of their liberties; and I have heard of a whig administration which has resented injuries done to the trade of the nation, and revenged insults offered to the British flag.” The ministry triumphed as usual, and the same number of forces was continued.

SPANISH DEPREDATIONS.

Ever since the treaty of Seville, the Spaniards in America had almost incessantly insulted and distressed the commerce of Great Britain. They disputed the right of English traders to cut logwood in the bay of Campeachy, and gather salt in the island of Tortugas; though that right was acknowledged by implication in all the treaties which had been lately concluded between the two nations. The captains of their armed vessels, known by the name of guarda-costas, had made a practice of boarding and plundering British ships, on pretence of searching for contraband commodities, on which occasions they had behaved with the utmost insolence, cruelty, and rapine. Some of their ships of war had actually attacked a fleet of English merchant ships at the island of Tortugas, as if they had been at open enmity with England. They had seized and detained a great number of British vessels, imprisoned their crews, and confiscated their cargoes, in violation of treaties, in defiance of common justice and humanity. Repeated memorials were presented to the court of Spain, by the British ambassador at Madrid. He was amused with evasive answers, vague promises of inquiry, and cedulas of instructions sent to the Spanish governors in America, to which they paid no sort of regard. Not but that the Spaniards had reason to complain in their turn, of the illicit commerce which the English traders from Jamaica and other islands, carried on with their subjects on the continent of South America; though this could not justify the depredations and cruelties which the commanders of the guarda-costas had committed, without provocation or pretence.

MOTIVES FOR AVOIDING A WAR.

The merchants of England loudly complained of these outrages; the nation was fired with resentment, and cried for vengeance; but the minister appeared cold, phlegmatic, and timorous. He knew that a war would involve him in such difficulties as must of necessity endanger his administration. The treasure which he now employed for domestic purposes, must in that case be expended in military armaments; the wheels of that machine on which he had raised his influence would no longer move; the opposition would of consequence gain ground, and the imposition of fresh taxes, necessary for the maintenance of the war, would fill up the measure of popular resentment against his person and ministry. Moved by these considerations, he industriously endeavoured to avoid a rupture, and to obtain some sort of satisfaction by dint of memorials and negotiations, in which he betrayed his own fears to such a degree, as animated the Spaniards to persist in their depredations, and encouraged the court of Madrid to disregard the remonstrances of the British ambassador. But this apprehension of war did not proceed from Spain only; the two branches of the house of Bourbon were now united by politics, as well as by consanguinity; and he did not doubt that in case of a rupture with Spain, they would join their forces against Great Britain. Petitions were delivered to the house by merchants from different parts of the kingdom, explaining the repeated violences to which they had been exposed, and imploring relief of the parliament. These were referred to a committee of the whole house; and an order was made to admit the petitioners, if they should think fit, to be heard by themselves or by counsel. Sir John Barnard moved for an address to the king, that all the memorials and papers relating to the Spanish depredations should be laid before the house; and this, with some alteration proposed by sir Robert Walpole, was actually presented. In compliance with the request, an enormous multitude of letters and memorials was produced.

The house, in a grand committee, proceeded to hear counsel for the merchants, and examine evidence; by which it appeared that amazing acts of wanton cruelty and injustice had been perpetrated by Spaniards on the subjects of Great Britain. Mr. Pulteney expatiated upon these circumstances of barbarity. He demonstrated, from treaties, the right of the British traders to the logwood of Campeachy, and to the salt of Tortugas; he exposed the pusillanimity of the minister, and the futility of his negotiations; he moved for such resolutions as would evince the resentment of an injured nation, and the vigour of a British parliament. These were warmly combated by sir Robert Walpole, who affirmed, that they would cramp the ministers in their endeavours to compromise these differences; that they would frustrate their negotiations, intrench upon the king’s prerogative, and precipitate the nation into an unnecessary and expensive war. Answers produced replies, and a general debate ensued. A resolution was reported; but the question being put for recommitting it, was carried in the negative. The house, however, agreed to an address, beseeching his majesty to use his endeavours to obtain effectual relief for his injured subjects, to convince the court of Spain that his majesty could no longer suffer such constant and repeated insults and injuries to be carried on, to the dishonour of his crown, and to the ruin of his trading subjects; and assuring him, that in case his royal and friendly instances with the catholic king should miscarry, the house would effectually support his majesty in taking such measures as honour and justice should make it necessary for him to pursue. To this address the king made a favourable answer.

BILL FOR SECURING THE TRADE IN AMERICA.

The next important subject on which both sides exercised their talents, was a bill prepared and brought in by Mr. Pulteney, for the more effectual securing the trade of his majesty’s subjects in America. This was no other than the revival of part of two acts passed in the reign of queen Anne, by which the property of all prizes taken from the enemy was vested in the captors; while the sovereign was empowered to grant commissions or charters to any persons or societies, for taking any ships, goods, harbours, lands, or fortifications of the nation’s enemies in America, and for holding and enjoying the same as their own property and estate for ever. The ministry endeavoured to evade the discussion of this bill, by amusing the house with other business, until an end should be put to the session. A mean artifice was practised with this view; and some severe altercation passed between sir Robert Walpole and Mr. Pulteney. At length the bill was read, and gave rise to a very long and warm contest, in which the greatest orators of both sides found opportunities to display their eloquence and satire. Mr. Pulteney defended the bill with all the ardour of paternal affection; but, notwithstanding his warmest endeavours, it was rejected upon a division.

When the mutiny bill was sent up to the house of lords, a long debate arose upon the number of troops voted for the ensuing year. Lord Carteret explained the situation of affairs, in almost every nation of Europe, with great conciseness and precision. He demonstrated the improbability of a rupture between Great Britain and any power against which a land army could be of any service. He examined the domestic circumstances of the nation; and proved that whatever discontents there might be in the kingdom, there was little or no disaffection, and no seeming design to overturn or disturb the government. In answer to an argument, that such a number of regular forces were necessary for preventing or quelling tumults, and for enabling the civil magistrate to execute the laws of his country, he expressed his hope that he should never see the nation reduced to such unfortunate circumstances: he said, a law which the civil power was unable to execute, must either be in itself oppressive, or such a one as afforded a handle for oppression. In arguing for a reduction of the forces, he took notice of the great increase of the national expense. He observed, that before the revolution, the people of England did not raise above two millions for the whole of the public charges; but now what was called the current expense, for which the parliament annually provided, exceeded that sum; besides the civil list, the interest due to the public creditors, and the sinking fund, which, added together, composed a burden of six millions yearly. The earl of Chesterfield, on the same subject, affirmed, that slavery and arbitrary power were the certain consequences of keeping up a standing army for any number of years. It is the machine by which the chains of slavery are rivetted upon a free people. They may be secretly prepared by corruption; but, unless a standing army protected those that forged them, the people would break them asunder, and chop off the polluted hands by which they were prepared. By degrees a free people must be accustomed to be governed by an army; by degrees that army must be made strong enough to hold them in subjection. England had for many years been accustomed to a standing army, under the pretence of its being necessary to assist the civil power; and by degrees the number and strength of it have been increasing. At the accession of the late king it did not exceed six thousand; it soon amounted to double that number, which has been since augmented under various pretences. He therefore concluded, that slavery, under the disguise of an army for protecting the liberties of the people, was creeping in upon them by degrees; if no reduction should be made, he declared he should expect in a few years to hear some minister, or favourite of a minister, terrifying the house with imaginary plots and invasions, and making the tour of Europe in search of possible dangers, to show the necessity of keeping up a mercenary standing army, three times as numerous as the present. In spite of those suggestions, the standing army maintained its ground. The same noblemen, assisted by lord Bathurst, distinguished themselves in a debate upon the Spanish depredations, which comprehended the same arguments that were used in the house of commons. They met with the same success in both. Resolutions equivalent to those of the lower house were taken; an address was presented; and his majesty assured them he would repeat, in the most pressing manner, his instances at the court of Spain, in order to obtain satisfaction and security for his subjects trading to America. This assurance was renewed in his speech at the close of the session, on the twentieth of May, when the parliament was prorogued.

BIRTH OF PRINCE GEORGE.

At this period the princess of Wales was delivered of a son, who was baptised by the name of George, now king of Great Britain. His birth was celebrated with uncommon rejoicings: addresses of congratulation were presented to the king by the two universities, and by almost all the cities and communities of the kingdom. But the prince of Wales still laboured under the displeasure of his majesty, who had ordered the lord-chamberlain to signify in the gazette, that no person who visited the prince should be admitted to the court of St. James’. His royal highness was divested of all the external marks of royalty, and lived like a private gentleman, cultivating the virtues of a social life, and enjoying the best fruits of conjugal felicity. In the latter end of this month, rear-admiral Haddock set sail with a strong squadron for the Mediterranean, which it was hoped would give weight to the negotiation of the British minister at the court of Madrid. The act to discourage the retail of spirituous liquors had incensed the populace to such a degree, as occasioned numberless tumults in the cities of London and Westminster. They were so addicted to the use of that pernicious compound, known by the appellation of gin or geneva, that they ran all risks rather than forego it entirely; and so little regard was paid to the law by which it was prohibited, that in less than two years twelve thousand persons within the bills of mortality were convicted of having sold it illegally. Nearly one half of that number were cast in the penalty of one hundred pounds; and three thousand persons paid ten pounds each, for an exemption from the disgrace of being committed to the house of correction.

PROGRESS of the WAR AGAINST the TURKS.

The war maintained by the emperor and the czarina against the Ottoman Porte, had not yet produced any decisive event. Count Seckendorf was disgraced and confined on account of his ill success in the last campaign. General Doxat was tried by a council of war at Belgrade, and condemned to death, for having surrendered to the enemy the town of Nissa, in which he commanded. The diet of the empire granted a subsidy of fifty Roman months to the emperor, who began to make vigorous preparations for the ensuing campaign; but, in the meantime, Ragotski, vaivode of Transylvania, revolted against the house of Austria, and brought a considerable army into the field, under the protection of the grand seignor. He was immediately proclaimed a rebel, and a price set upon his head by the court of Vienna. The Turks taking the field early, reduced the forts of Usitza and Meadia, and undertook the siege of Orsova; which however they abandoned at the approach of the Imperial army, commanded by the grand duke of Tuscany, assisted by count Konigsegg. The Turks, being reinforced, marched back and attacked the Imperialists, by whom they were repulsed after an obstinate engagement. The Germans, notwithstanding this advantage, repassed the Danube; and then the infidels made themselves masters of Orsova, where they found a fine train of artillery, designed for the siege of Widdin. By the conquest of this place, the Turks laid the Danube open to their galleys and vessels; and the Germans retired under the cannon of Belgrade. In the Ukraine, the Russians, under general count Munich, obtained the advantage over the Turks in two engagements; and general Lasci routed the Tartars of the Crimea; but they returned in greater numbers, and harassed the Muscovites in such a manner, by intercepting their provisions, and destroying the country, that they were obliged to abandon the lines of Precops.

DISPUTE BETWEEN HANOVER AND DENMARK.

In the month of October, an affair of very small importance produced a rupture between the king of Denmark and the elector of Hanover. A detachment of Hanoverians took by assault the castle of Steinhurst, belonging to the privy-counsellor Wederkop, and defended by thirty Danish dragoons, who had received orders to repel force by force. Several men were killed on both sides before the Hanoverians could enter the place, when the garrison was disarmed, and conducted to the frontiers. This petty dispute about a small territory, which did not yield the value of one thousand pounds a-year, had well nigh involved Hanover in a war, which, in all probability, Great Britain must have maintained; but this dispute was compromised by a convention between the king of England and Denmark.

The session of parliament was opened on the first day of February, when the king in his speech to both houses, gave them to understand that a convention was concluded and ratified between him and the king of Spain, who had obliged himself to make reparation to the British subjects for their losses, by certain stipulated payments; the plenipotentiaries were named and appointed for regulating, within a limited time, all those grievances and abuses which had hitherto interrupted the commerce of Great Britain in the American seas; and for settling all matters in dispute, in such a manner as might for the future prevent and remove all new causes and pretences of complaint. The motion for an address of approbation was disputed as usual. Though the convention was not vet laid before the house, the nature of it was well known to the leaders of the opposition. I Sir William Wyndham observed, that if the ministry had made the resolutions taken by the parliament in the last session the foundation of their demands; if they had discovered a resolution to break off all treating, rather than depart from the sense of parliament, either a defensive treaty might have been obtained, or by this time the worst would have been known; but, by what appeared from his majesty’s speech, the convention was no other than a preliminary; and, in all probability, a very bad preliminary. He supposed the minister had ventured to clothe some of his creatures with full powers to give up the rights of the nation; for they might do it if they durst. Sir Robert Walpole, in answer to these suggestions, affirmed, that the ministry had on this occasion obtained more than ever on like occasions was known to be obtained; that they had reconciled the peace of their country with her true interest; that this peace was attended with all the advantages that the most successful arms could have procured; that future ages would consider this as the most glorious period of our history, and do justice to the councils that produced the happy event, which every gentleman divested of passion and prejudice was ready to do; and which, he believed, the present age, when rightly informed, would not refuse. In a word, he extolled his own convention with the most extravagant encomiums.

The house resolved to address the king, that copies of all the memorials, representations, letters, and papers, presented to his majesty, or his secretary of state, relating to depredations, should be submitted to the peru sal of the house; but some members in the opposition were not contented with this resolution. Then Mr. Sandys, who may be termed the “motion-maker,” moved for an address, desiring that the house might inspect all letters written, and instructions given by the secretaries of state, or commissioners of the admiralty, to any of the British governors in America, or any commander-in-chief, or captains of his majesty’s ships of war, or his majesty’s minister at the court of Spain, or any of his majesty’s consuls in Europe, since the treaty of Seville, relating to losses which the British subjects had sustained by means of depredations committed by the subjects of Spain in Europe and America. This was an unreasonable proposal, suggested by the spirit of animosity and faction. Mr. H. Walpole justly observed, that a compliance with such an address might lay open the most private transactions of the cabinet, and discover secrets that ought, for the good of the kingdom, to be concealed. It would discover to the court of Spain the ultimatum of the king’s demands and concessions, and the nation would thereby be deprived of many advantages which it might reap, were no such discovery made. He said, that as soon as the differences betwixt the two courts should arrive at such a crisis, and not before, the consuls were instructed to give notice to the merchants that they might retire in time with their effects; but should such instruction come to the knowledge of the Spaniards, it would be a kind of watch-word to put them on their guard, and unavoidably occasion the ruin of many thousands of British subjects. Certain it is, no government could act either in external or domestic affairs with proper influence, dignity, and despatch, if every letter and instruction relating to an unfinished negotiation should be exposed to the view of such a numerous assembly, composed of individuals actuated by motives in themselves diametrically opposite. The motion being rejected by the majority, the same gentleman moved again for an address, that his majesty would give directions for laying before the house copies of such memorials or representations as had been made, either to the king of Spain or to his ministers, since the treaty of Seville, relating to the depredations committed in Europe or America. A debate ensued; and, upon a division, the question passed in the negative.

PETITIONS AGAINST THE CONVENTION.

The house, in a committee of supply, voted twelve thousand seamen for the service of the ensuing year, and the standing army was continued without reduction, though powerfully attacked by the whole strength of the opposition. The commons likewise ordered an address to his majesty, for the copies of several memorials since the treaty of Seville, touching the rights of Great Britain, or any infraction of treaties which had not been laid before them. These were accordingly submitted to the inspection of the house. By this time the convention itself was not only presented to the commons, but also published for the information of the people. Divers merchants, planters, and others trading to America, the cities of London and Bristol, the merchants of Liverpool, and owners of sundry ships which had been seized by the Spaniards, offered petitions against the convention, by which the subjects of Spain were so far from giving up their groundless and unjustifiable practice of visiting and searching British ships sailing to and from the British plantations, that they appeared to have claimed the power of doing it as a right; for they insisted that the differences which had arisen concerning it should be referred to plenipotentiaries, to be discussed by them without even agreeing to abstain from such visitation and search during the time that the discussion of this affair might last. They therefore prayed that they might have an opportunity of being heard, and allowed to represent the great importance of the British trade to and from the plantations in America; the clear and un disputable right which they had to enjoy it, without being stopped, visited, or searched by the Spaniards, on any pretence whatsoever; and the certain inevitable destruction of all the riches and strength derived to Great Britain from that trade, if a search of British ships sailing to and from their own plantations should be tolerated upon any pretext, or under any restrictions, or even if the freedom of this navigation should continue much longer in a state of uncertainty. These petitions were referred to the committee appointed to consider of the convention. Another remonstrance was likewise presented by the trustees for establishing the colony of Georgia, setting forth that the king of Spain claimed that colony as part of his territories; and that by the convention, the regulation of the limits of Carolina and Florida was referred to the determination of plenipotentiaries; so that the colony of Georgia, which undoubtedly belonged to the crown of Great Britain, was left in dispute, while the settlers remained in the most precarious and dangerous situation. It was moved that the merchants should be heard by their counsel; but the proposal was strenuously opposed by the ministry, and rejected upon a division.

This famous convention, concluded at the Pardo on the fourteenth day of January, imported, that within six weeks to be reckoned from the day on which the ratifications were exchanged, two ministers plenipotentiaries should meet at Madrid, to confer, and finally regulate the respective pretentions of the two crowns, with relation to the trade and navigation in America and Europe, and to the limits of Florida and Carolina, as well as concerning other points which remained likewise to be adjusted, according to the former treaties subsisting between the two nations: that the plenipotentiaries should finish their conferences within the space of eight months: that in the meantime no progress should be made in the fortifications of Florida and Carolina: that his catholic majesty should pay to the king of Great Britain, the sum of ninety-five thousand pounds, for a balance due to the crown and subjects of Great Britain, after deduction made of the demands of the crown and subjects of Spain: that this sum should be employed for the satisfaction, discharge, and payment of the demands of the British subjects upon the crown of Spain: that this reciprocal discharge, however, should not extend or relate to the accounts and differences which subsisted and were to be settled between the crown of Spain and the assiento company, nor to any particular or private contracts that might subsist between either of the two crowns, or their ministers, with the subjects of the other; or between the subjects of each nation respectively: that his catholic majesty should cause the sum of ninety-five thousand pounds to be paid at London within four mouths, to be reckoned from the day on which the ratifications were exchanged. Such was the substance of that convention, which alarmed and provoked the merchants and traders of Great Britain, excited the indignation of all those who retained any regard for the honour of their country, and raised a general cry against the minister who stood at the helm of administration.

DEBATE ON THE CONTENTION.

The eyes of the whole kingdom were now turned upon the house of commons. The two contending parties summoned their whole force for the approaching dispute; on the day appointed for considering the convention, four hundred members had taken their seats by eight in the morning. In a committee of the whole house, certain West India merchants and planters were heard against the convention; so that this and the following day were employed in reading papers, and obtaining information. On the eighth clay of March, Mr. H. Walpole having launched out in the praise of that agreement, moved for an address of approbation to his majesty. He was seconded by Mr. Campbell of Pembrokeshire; and the debate began with extraordinary ardour. He who first distinguished himself in the lists was sir Thomas Sanderson, at that time treasurer to the prince of Wales, afterwards earl of Scarborough. All the officers and adherents of his royal highness had joined the opposition; and he himself on this occasion sat in the gallery, to hear the debate on such an important transaction. Sir Thomas Sanderson observed, that the Spaniards by the convention, instead of giving us reparation, had obliged us to give them a general release. They had not allowed the word satisfaction to be so much as once mentioned in the treaty. Even the Spanish pirate who had cut off the ear of captain Jenkins, 260 [See note 2 L at the end of this Vol.] and used the most insulting expression towards the person of the king—an expression which no British subject could decently repeat—an expression which no man that had a regard for his sovereign could ever forgive—even this fellow lived to enjoy the fruits of his rapine, and remained a living testimony of the cowardly tameness and mean submission of Great Britain; of the triumphant haughtiness and stubborn pride of Spain. Lord Gage, one of the most keen spirited and sarcastic orators in the house, stated in this manner the account of the satisfaction obtained from the court of Spain by the convention; the losses sustained by the Spanish depredations amounted to three hundred and forty thousand pounds; the commissary by a stroke of his pen reduced his demand to two hundred thousand pounds; then forty-five thousand were struck off for prompt payment; he next allotted sixty thousand pounds as the remaining part of a debt pretended to be due to Spain, for the destruction of her fleet by sir George Byng, though it appeared by the instructions on the table, that Spain had been already amply satisfied on that head; these deductions reduced the balance to ninety-five thousand pounds; but the king of Spain insisted upon the South-Sea company’s paying immediately the sum of sixty-eight thousand pounds, as a debt due to him on one head of accounts, though in other articles his catholic majesty was indebted to the company a million over and above the demand; the remainder to be paid by Spain did not exceed seven-and-twenty thousand pounds, from which she insisted upon deducting whatever she might have already given in satisfaction for any of the British ships that had been taken; and on being allowed the value of the St. Theresa, a Spanish ship which had been seized in the port of Dublin. Mr. W. Pitt, with an energy of argument and diction peculiar to himself, declaimed against the convention, as insecure, unsatisfactory, and dishonourable to Great Britain. He said the great national objection, the searching of British ships, was not admitted, indeed, in the preamble; but stood there as the reproach of the whole, as the strongest evidence of the fatal submission that followed; on the part of Spain, an usurpation, an inhuman tyranny claimed and exercised over the American seas: on the part of England, an undoubted right by treaties, and from God and nature, declared and asserted in the resolutions of parliament, were now referred to the discussion of plenipotentiaries, upon one and the same equal footing. This undoubted right was to be discussed and regulated; and if to regulate be to prescribe rules, as in all construction it is, that right was, by the express words of the convention, to be given up and sacrificed; for it must cease to be any thing from the moment it is submitted to limitation. Mr. Lyttelton, with equal force and fluency, answered the speech of Mr. H. Walpole. “After he had used many arguments to persuade us to peace,” said he, “to any peace, good or bad, by pointing out the dangers of a war, dangers I by no means allow to be such as he represents them, he crowned all those terrors with the name of the pretender. It would be the cause of the pretender. The pretender would come. Is the honourable gentleman sensible what this language imports? The people of England complain of the greatest wrongs and indignities; they complain of the interruption, the destruction of their trade; they think the peace has left them in a worse condition than before; and in answer to all these complaints, what are they told? Why, that their continuing to suffer all this, is the price they must pay to keep the king and his family on the throne of these realms. If this were true, it ought not to be owned; but it is far from truth; the very reverse is true. Nothing can weaken the family; nothing shake the establishment, but such measures as these, and such language as this.” He affirmed, that if the ministers had proceeded conformably to the intentions of parliament, they would either have acted with vigour, or have obtained a real security in an express acknowledgment of our right not to be searched as a preliminary, sine qua non, to our treating at all. Instead of this, they had referred it to plenipotentiaries. “Would you, sir,” said he, “submit to a reference, whether you may travel unmolested from your house in town to your house in the country? Your right is clear and undeniable, why would you have it discussed? but much less would you refer it, if two of your judges belonged to a gang which has often stopped and robbed you in your way thither before.” The ministers, in vindication of the convention, asserted, that the satisfaction granted by Spain was adequate to the injury received; that it was only the preliminary of a treaty which would remove all causes of complaint; that war was always expensive and detrimental to a trading nation, as well as uncertain in its events; that France and Spain would certainly join their forces in case of a rupture with Great Britain; that there was not one power in Europe upon which the English could depend for effectual assistance; and that war would favour the cause and designs of a popish pretender. The house, upon a division, agreed to the address; but when a motion was made for its being recommitted, the two parties renewed the engagement with redoubled eagerness and impetuosity. Sir William Wyndham and Mr. Pulteney poured all the thunder of their eloquence against the insolence of Spain, and the concessions of the British ministry. Sir Robert Walpole exerted all his fortitude and dexterity in defence of himself and his measures, and the question being put, the resolutions for the address were carried by a small majority.

SECESSION OF THE CHIEF MEMBERS IN THE OPPOSITION.

Then sir William Wyndham, standing up, made a pathetic remonstrance upon this determination. “This address,” said he, “is intended to convince mankind, that the treaty under our consideration is a reasonable and an honourable treaty. But if a majority of twenty-eight in such a full house should fail of that success; if the people should not implicitly resign their reason to a vote of this house, what will be the consequence? Will not the parliament lose its authority? Will it not be thought, that even in the parliament we are governed by a faction? and what the consequence of this may be, I leave to those gentlemen to consider, who are now to give their vote for this address: for my own part, I will trouble you no more, but, with these my last words, I sincerely pray to Almighty God, who has so often wonderfully protected these kingdoms, that he will graciously continue his protection over them, by preserving us from that impending danger which threatens the nation from without, and likewise from that impending danger which threatens our constitution from within.” The minister was on this occasion deserted by his usual temper, and even provoked into personal abuse. He declared, that the gentleman who was now the mouth of his opponents, had been looked upon as the head of those traitors, who, twenty-five years before, conspired the destruction of their country and of the royal family, in order to set a popish pretender upon the throne; that he was seized by the vigilance of the then government, and pardoned by its clemency; but all the use he had ungratefully made of that clemency, was to qualify himself according to law, that he and his party might sometime or other have an opportunity to overthrow all law. He branded them all as traitors, and expressed his hope, that their behaviour would unite all the true friends of the present happy establishment. To such a degree of mutual animosity were both sides inflamed, that the most eminent members of the minority actually retired from parliament; and were by the nation in general revered as martyrs to the liberty of the people.

THE HOUSE OF LORDS DEBATE UPON AN ADDRESS TO HIS MAJESTY.

The dispute occasioned by the convention in the house of lords, was maintained with equal warmth, and perhaps with more abilities. After this famous treaty had been considered, lord Carteret suggested, that possibly one of the contracting powers had presented a protest or declaration, importing that she acceded to such or such a measure, only upon condition that the terms of that protest or declaration should be made good. He said, that until his mind should be free from the most distant suspicion that such a paper might exist in the present case, he could not form a just opinion of the transaction himself, nor communicate to their lordships any light which might be necessary for that purpose. The adherents to the ministry endeavoured to evade his curiosity in this particular, by general assertions; but he insisted on his suspicion with such perseverance, that at length the ministry produced the copy of a declaration made by the king of Spain before he ratified the convention, signifying that his catholic majesty reserved to himself, in its full force, the right of being able to suspend the assiento of negroes, in case the company should not pay within a short time the sum of sixty-eight thousand pounds sterling, owing to Spain on the duty of negroes, or on the profit of the ship Caroline; that under the validity and force of this protest, the signing of the said convention might be proceeded on, and in no other manner. In the debate that ensued, lord Carteret displayed a surprising extent of political knowledge, recommended by all the graces of elocution, chaste, pure, dignified, and delicate. Lord Bathurst argued against the articles of convention with his usual spirit, integrity, and good sense, particularly animated by an honest indignation which the wrongs of his country had inspired. The earl of Chesterfield attacked this inglorious measure with all the weight of argument, and all the poignancy of satire. The duke of Argyle, no longer a partisan of the ministry, inveighed against it as infamous, treacherous, and destructive, with all the fire, impetuosity, and enthusiasm of declamation. It was defended with unequal arms by the duke of Newcastle, the earl of Cholmondeley, lord Hervey, the lord chancellor, the bishop of Salisbury, and in particular by the earl of Hay, a nobleman of extensive capacity and uncommon erudition; remarkable for his knowledge of the civil law, and seemingly formed by nature for a politician; cool, discerning, plausible, artful, and enterprising, staunch to the minister, and invariably true to his own interest. The dispute was learned, long, and obstinate; but ended as usual in the discomfiture of those who had stigmatized the treaty. The house agreed to an address, in which they thanked his majesty for his gracious condescension in laying before them the convention. They acknowledged his great prudence in bringing the demands of his subjects for their past losses, which had been so long depending, to a final adjustment; in procuring an express stipulation for a speedy payment; and in laying a foundation for accomplishing the great and desirable ends of obtaining future security, and preserving the peace between the two nations. They declared their confidence in his royal wisdom, that in the treaty to be concluded in pursuance of the convention, proper provisions would be made for the redress of the grievances of which the nation had so justly complained; they assured his majesty, that in case his just expectations should not be answered, the house would heartily and zealously concur in all such measures as should be necessary to vindicate his majesty’s honour, and to preserve to his subjects the full enjoyment of all those rights to which they were entitled by treaty and the law of nations. This was a hard won victory. At the head of those who voted against the address we find the prince of Wales. His example was followed by six dukes, two-and-twenty earls, four viscounts, eighteen barons, four bishops, and their party was reinforced by sixteen proxies. A spirited protest was entered and subscribed by nine-and-thirty peers, comprehending all the noblemen of the kingdom who were most eminent for their talents, integrity, and virtue.

A message having been delivered to the house from his majesty, importing, that he had settled nine-and-thirty thousand pounds per annum on the younger children of the royal family; and desiring their lordships would bring in a bill to enable his majesty to make that provision good out of the hereditary revenues of the crown, some lords in the opposition observed that the next heir to the crown might look upon this settlement as a mortgage of his revenue, which a parliament had no power to make; that formerly no daughter of the royal family was ever provided for by parliament, except the eldest, and that never was by way of annuity, but an express provision of a determinate sum of money paid by way of dowry. These objections were overruled; and the house complied with his majesty’s request. Then the duke of Newcastle produced a subsidy-treaty, by which his majesty obliged himself to pay to the king of Denmark seventy thousand pounds per annum, on condition of the Dane’s furnishing to his Britannic majesty a body of six thousand men, when demanded. At the same time his grace delivered a message from the king, desiring the house would enable him to fulfil this engagement; and also to raise what money and troops the exigency of affairs, during the approaching recess, might require. Another vehement dispute arose from this proposal. With respect to the treaty, lord Carteret observed, that no use could be made of the Danish troops in any expedition undertaken against Spain, because it was stipulated in the treaty that they should not be used either in Italy, or on board of the fleet, or be transported in whole or in part beyond sea, after they should have marched out of the territories of Denmark, except for the defence of the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland; nay, should France join against the English, the Danes could not act against that power or Spain, except as part of an army formed in Germany or Flanders. This body of Danes may be said, therefore, to have been retained for the defence and protection of Hanover; or, if the interest of Britain was at all consulted in the treaty, it must have been in preventing the Danes from joining their fleets to those of France or Spain. Then he argued against the second part of the message with great vivacity. He said nothing could be more dangerous to the constitution than a general and unlimited vote of credit. Such a demand our ancestors would have heard with amazement, and rejected with scorn. He affirmed that the practice was of modern date in England; that it was never heard of before the revolution; and never became frequent until the nation was blessed with the present wise administration. He said, if ever a general vote of credit and confidence should become a customary compliment from the parliament to the crown at the end of every session, or as often as the minister might think fit to desire it, parliaments would grow despicable in the eyes of the people; then a proclamation might be easily substituted in its stead, and happy would it be for the nation if that should be sufficient; for when a parliament ceases to be a check upon ministers, it becomes a useless and unnecessary burden on the people. The representatives must always be paid some way or other; if their wages are not paid openly and surely by their respective constituents, as they were formerly, a majority of them may in future times be always ready to accept of wages from the administration, and these must come out of the pockets of the people. The duke of Argyle and the earl of Chesterfield enlarged upon the same topics. Nevertheless, the house complied with the message; and presented an address, in which they not only approved of the treaty with Denmark, but likewise assured his majesty they would concur with his measures, and support him in fulfilling his engagements, as well as in making such further augmentation of his forces by sea and land, as he should think necessary for the honour, interest, and safety of these kingdoms.

PARLIAMENT PROROGUED.

The same message being communicated to the commons, they voted seventy thousand five hundred and eighty-three pounds for the subsidy to Denmark, and five hundred thousand pounds for augmenting the forces on any emergency. As Great Britain stood engaged by the convention to pay to the crown of Spain the sum of sixty thousand pounds in consideration of the ships taken and destroyed by sir George Byng, which sum was to be applied to the relief of the British merchants who had suffered by the Spanish depredations, the commons inserted in a bill a clause providing for this sum to be paid by the parliament. When the bill was read in the house of lords, a motion was made by lord Bathurst for an address, to know, whether Spain had paid the money stipulated by the convention, as the time limited for the payment of it was now expired. The duke of Newcastle, by his majesty’s permission, acquainted the house that it was not paid, and that Spain had as yet given no reason for the non-payment. Then a day was appointed to consider the state of the nation, when lord Carteret moved for a resolution, that the failure of Spain in this particular was a breach of the convention, a high indignity to his majesty, and an injustice to the nation; but, after a warm debate, this motion was overruled by the majority. The minister, in order to atone in some measure for the unpopular step he had taken in the convention, allowed a salutary law to pass for the encouragement of the woollen manufacture, and two bills in behalf of the sugar colonies; one permitting them, for a limited time, to export their produce directly to foreign parts, under proper restrictions; and the other making more effectual provisions for securing the duties laid upon the importation of foreign sugars, rum, and molasses, into Great Britain, and his majesty’s plantations in America. The supplies being voted, the funds established, and the crown gratified in every particular, the king closed the session with a speech on the fourteenth day of June, when the chancellor in his majesty’s name prorogued the parliament. 262 [See note 2 M, at the end of this Vol.]

THE KING OF SPAIN PUBLISHES A MANIFESTO.

Letters of marque and reprisal were granted against the Spaniards; a promotion was made of general officers; the troops were augmented; a great fleet was assembled at Spithead; a reinforcement sent out to admiral Haddock; and an embargo laid on all merchant ships outward-bound. Notwithstanding these preparations of war, Mr. Keen, the British minister at Madrid, declared to the court of Spain, that his master, although he had permitted his subjects to make reprisals, would not be understood to have broken the peace; and that this permission would be recalled as soon as his catholic majesty should be disposed to make the satisfaction which had been so justly demanded. He was given to understand, that the king of Spain looked upon those reprisals as acts of hostility; and that he hoped, with the assistance of heaven and his allies, he should be able to support a good cause against his adversaries. He published a manifesto in justification of his own conduct, complaining that admiral Haddock had received orders to cruise with his squadron between the capes St. Vincent and St. Mary, in order to surprise the Assogue ships; that letters of reprisal had been published at London in an indecent style, and even carried into execution in different parts of the world. He excused his non-payment of the ninety-five thousand pounds stipulated in the convention, by affirming that the British court had first contravened the articles of that treaty, by the orders sent to Haddock; by continuing to fortify Georgia; by reinforcing the squadron at Jamaica; and by eluding the payment of the sixty-eight thousand pounds due to Spain from the South-Sea company, on the assiento for negroes. The French ambassador at the Hague declared that the king his master was obliged by treaties to assist his catholic majesty by sea and land, in case he should be attacked; he dissuaded the states-general from espousing the quarrel of Great Britain; and they assured him they would observe a strict neutrality, though they could not avoid furnishing his Britannic majesty with such succours as he could demand, by virtue of the treaties subsisting between the two powers. The people of England were inspired with uncommon alacrity at the near prospect of war, for which they had so long clamoured; and the ministry seeing it unavoidable, began to be earnest and effectual in their preparations.

THE EMPEROR AND CZARINA CONCLUDE A PEACE WITH THE TURKS.

The events of war were still unfavourable to the emperor. He had bestowed the command of his army upon velt-mareschal count Wallis, who assembled his forces in the neighbourhood of Belgrade; and advanced towards Crotska, where he was attacked by the Turks with such impetuosity and perseverance, that he was obliged to give ground, after a long and obstinate engagement, in which he lost above six thousand men. The earl of Crawford, who served as a volunteer in the Imperial army, signalised his courage in an extraordinary manner on this occasion, and received a dangerous wound of which he never perfectly recovered. The Turks were afterwards worsted at Jabouka; nevertheless, their grand army invested Belgrade on the side of Servia, and carried on the operations of the siege with extraordinary vigour. The emperor, dreading the loss of this place, seeing his finances exhausted, and his army considerably diminished, consented to a negotiation for peace, which was transacted under the mediation of the French ambassador at the Ottoman Porte. The count de Neuperg, as Imperial plenipotentiary, signed the preliminaries on the first day of September. They were ratified by the emperor, though he pretended to be dissatisfied with the articles; and declared that his minister had exceeded his powers. By this treaty the house of Austria ceded to the grand seignor, Belgrade, Sabatz, Servia, Austrian Wallachia, the isle and fortress of Orsova, with the fort of St. Elizabeth; and the contracting powers agreed that the Danube and the Saave should serve as boundaries to the two empires. The emperor published a circular letter, addressed to his ministers at all the courts of Europe, blaming count Wallis for the bad success of the last campaign, and disowning the negotiations of count Neuperg; nay, these two officers were actually disgraced, and confined in different castles. This, however, was no other than a sacrifice to the resentment of the czarina, who loudly complained that the emperor had concluded a separate peace, contrary to his engagements with the Russian empire. Her general, count Munich, had obtained a victory over the Turks at Choczim in Moldavia, and made himself master of that place, in which he found two hundred pieces of artillery; but the country was so ruined by the incursions of the Tartars, that the Muscovites could not subsist in it during the winter. The czarina finding herself abandoned by the emperor, and unable to cope with the whole power of the Ottoman empire, took the first opportunity of putting an end to the war upon honourable terms. After a short negotiation, the conferences ended in a treaty, by which she was left in possession of Azoph, on condition that its fortifications should be demolished; and the ancient limits were re-established between the two empires.

PREPARATIONS FOR WAR IN ENGLAND.

A rupture between Great Britain and Spain was now become inevitable. The English squadron in the Mediterranean had already made prize of two rich Caracca ships. The king had issued orders for augmenting his land forces, and raising a body of marines; and a great number of ships of war were put in commission. Admiral Vernon had been sent to the West Indies, to assume the command of the squadron in those seas, and to annoy the trade and settlements of the Spaniards. This gentleman had rendered himself considerable in the house of commons, by loudly condemning all the measures of the ministry, and bluntly speaking his sentiments, whatever they were, without respect of persons, and sometimes without any regard to decorum. He was counted a good officer, and this boisterous manner seemed to enhance his character. As he had once commanded a squadron in Jamaica, he was perfectly well acquainted with those seas; and in a debate upon the Spanish depredations, he chanced to affirm, that Porto Bello on the Spanish main might be easily taken; nay, he even undertook to reduce it with six ships only. This officer was echoed from the mouths of all the members in the opposition. Vernon was extolled as a another Drake or Raleigh; he became the idol of a party, and his praise resounded from all corners of the kingdom. The minister, in order to appease the clamours of the people on this subject, sent him as commander-in-chief to the West Indies. He was pleased with an opportunity to remove such a troublesome censor from the house of commons; and, perhaps, he was not without hope, that Vernon would disgrace himself and his party, by failing in the exploit he had undertaken. His catholic majesty having ordered all the British ships in his harbours to be seized and detained, the king of England would keep measures with him no longer, but denounced war against him on the twenty-third day of October. Many English merchants began to equip privateers, and arm their trading vessels to protect their own commerce, as well as to distress that of the enemy. The session of parliament was opened in November, when the king, in his speech to both houses, declared, that he had augmented his forces by sea and land, pursuant to the power vested in him by parliament for the security of his dominions, the protection of trade, and the annoyance of the enemy; and he expressed his apprehension, that the heats and animosities which had been industriously fomented throughout the kingdom, encouraged Spain to act in such a manner as rendered it necessary for him to have recourse to arms. In answer to this speech, affectionate addresses were presented by both houses, without any considerable opposition.

The seceding members had again resumed their seats in the house of commons; and Mr. Pulteney thought proper to vindicate the extraordinary step which they had taken. He said, they thought that step was necessary, as affairs then stood, for clearing their characters to posterity from the imputation of sitting in an assembly, where a determined majority gave a sanction to measures evidently to the disgrace of his majesty and the nation. He observed, that their conduct was so fully justified by the declaration of war against Spain, that any further vindication would be superfluous; for every assertion contained in it had been almost in the same words insisted upon by those who opposed the convention: “every sentence in it,” added he, “is an echo of what was said in our reasonings against that treaty; every positive truth which the declaration lays down, was denied with the utmost confidence by those who spoke for the convention; and, since that time, there has not one event happened which was not then foreseen and foretold.” He proposed, that in maintaining the war, the Spanish settlements in the West Indies should be attacked; and that the ministry should not have the power to give up the conquests that might be made. He said he heartily wished, for his majesty’s honour and service, that no mention had been made of heats and animosities, in the king’s speech; and gave it as his opinion, that they should take no notice of that clause in their address. He was answered by sir Robert Walpole, who took occasion to say, he was in no great concern lest the service of his majesty or the nation should suffer by the absence of those members who had quitted the house; he affirmed, the nation was generally sensible, that the many useful and popular acts which passed towards the end of the last session, were greatly forwarded and facilitated by the secession of those gentlemen; and, if they were returned only to oppose and perplex, he should not be at all sorry to see them secede again.

PENSION-BILL REVIVED AND LOST.

Mr. Pulteney revived the bill which he had formerly prepared for the encouragement of seamen. After a long dispute, and eager opposition by the ministry, it passed both houses, and obtained the royal assent. Mr. Sandys having observed, that there could be no immediate use for a great number of forces in the kingdom; and explained how little service could be expected from raw and undisciplined men; proposed an address to the king, desiring that the body of marines should be composed of drafts from the old regiments; that as few officers should be appointed as the nature of the case would permit; and he expressed his hope, that the house would recommend this method to his majesty, in tender compassion to his people, already burdened with many heavy and grievous taxes. This scheme was repugnant to the intention of the ministry, whose aim was to increase the number of their dependents, and extend their parliamentary interest, by granting a great number of commissions. The proposal was, therefore, after a long debate, rejected by the majority. Motions wore made for an inquiry into the conduct of those who concluded the convention; but they were overruled. The pension-bill was revived, and so powerfully supported by the eloquence of sir William Wyndham, Mr. Pulteney, and Mr. Lyttelton, that it made its way through the commons to the upper house, where it was again lost, upon a division, after a very long debate. As the seamen of the kingdom expressed uncommon aversion to the service of the government, and the fleet could not be manned without great difficulty, the ministry prepared a bill, which was brought in by sir Charles Wager, for registering all seamen, watermen, fishermen, and lightermen, throughout his majesty’s dominions. Had this bill passed into a law, a British sailor would have been reduced to the most abject degree of slavery; had he removed from a certain district allotted for the place of his residence, he would have been deemed a deserter, and punished accordingly; he must have appeared when summoned, at all hazards, whatever might have been the circumstances of his family, or the state of his private affairs; had he been encumbered with debt, he must have either incurred the penalties of this law, or lain at the mercy of his creditors; had he acquired by industry, or received by inheritance, an ample fortune, he would have been liable to be torn from his possessions, and subjected to hardships which no man would endure but from the sense of fear or indigence. The bill was so vigorously opposed by sir John Barnard and others, as a flagrant encroachment upon the liberties of the people, that the house rejected it on the second reading.

PORTO BELLO TAKEN by ADMIRAL VERNON.

The king having by message communicated to the house his intention of disposing of the princess Mary in marriage to prince Frederick of Hesse; and expressing his hope that the commons would enable him to give a suitable portion to his daughter, they unanimously resolved to grant forty thousand pounds for that purpose; and presented an address of thanks to his majesty for having communicated to the house this intended marriage. On the thirteenth day of March a ship arrived from the West Indies, despatched by admiral Vernon, with an account of his having taken Porto Bello, on the isthmus of Darien, with six ships only, and demolished all the fortifications of the place. The Spaniards acted with such pusillanimity on this occasion, that their forts were taken almost without bloodshed. The two houses of parliament joined in an address of congratulation upon the success of his majesty’s arms; and the nation in general was wonderfully elated by an exploit which was magnified much above its merit. The commons granted every thing the crown thought proper to demand. They provided for eight-and-twenty thousand land-forces, besides six thousand marines. They enabled his majesty to equip a very powerful navy; they voted the subsidy to the king of Denmark; and they empowered their sovereign to defray certain extraordinary expenses not specified in the estimates. To answer these uncommon grants, they imposed a land-tax of four shillings in the pound; and enabled his majesty to deduct twelve hundred thousand pounds from the sinking fund; in a word, the expense of the war, during the course of the ensuing year, amounted to about four millions. The session was closed on the twenty-ninth day of April, when the king thanked the commons for the supplies they had so liberally granted, and recommended union and moderation to both houses.

During the greatest part of this winter, the poor had been grievously afflicted in consequence of a severe frost, which began at Christmas, and continued till the latter end of February. The river Thames was covered with such a crust of ice, that a multitude of people dwelt upon it in tents, and a great number of booths were erected for the entertainment of the populace. The navigation was entirely stopped; the watermen and fishermen were disabled from earning a livelihood; the fruits of the earth were destroyed by the cold, which was so extreme, that many persons were chilled to death; and this calamity was the more deeply felt, as the poor could not afford to supply themselves with coals and fuel, which were advanced in proportion to the severity and continuance of the frost. The lower class of labourers, who worked in the open air, were now deprived of all means of subsistence; many kinds of manufacture were laid aside, because it was found impracticable to carry them on. The price of all sorts of provisions rose almost to a dearth; even water was sold in the streets of London. In this season of distress, many wretched families must have perished by cold and hunger, had not those of opulent fortunes been inspired with a remarkable spirit of compassion and humanity. Nothing can more redound to the honour of the English nation, than did those instances of benevolence and well-conducted charity which were then exhibited. The liberal hand was not only opened to the professed beggar, and the poor that owned their distress, but uncommon pains were taken to find out and relieve those more unhappy objects, who, from motives of false pride or ingenuous shame, endeavoured to conceal their misery.

These were assisted almost in their own despite. The solitary habitations of the widow, the fatherless, and the unfortunate, were visited by the beneficent, who felt for the woes of their fellow-creatures; and to such as refused to receive a portion of the public charity, the necessaries of life were privately conveyed, in such a manner as could least shock the delicacy of their dispositions.

MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS MARY TO THE PRINCE OF HESSE.

In the beginning of May, the king of Great Britain set out for Hanover, after having appointed a regency, and concerted vigorous measures for distressing the enemy. In a few days after his departure, the spousals of the princess Mary were celebrated by proxy, the duke of Cumberland representing the prince of Hesse, and in June the princess embarked for the continent. About the same time, a sloop arrived in England with despatches from admiral Vernon, who, since his adventure at Porto Bello, had bombarded Carthagena, and taken the fort of San Lorenzo, on the river of Chagre, in the neighbourhood of his former conquest. This month was likewise marked by the death of his Prussian majesty, a prince by no means remarkable for great or amiable qualities. He was succeeded on the throne by Frederick his eldest son, the late king of that realm, who has so eminently distinguished himself as a warrior and legislator. In August, the king of Great Britain concluded a treaty with the landgrave of Hesse, who engaged to furnish him with a body of six thousand men for four years, in consideration of an annual subsidy of two hundred and fifty thousand crowns.

STRONG ARMAMENT SENT TO THE WEST INDIES.

Meanwhile, preparations of war were vigorously carried on by the ministry in England. They had wisely resolved to annoy the Spaniards in their American possessions. Three ships of war, cruising in the bay of Biscay, fell in with a large Spanish ship of the line, strongly manned, and took her after a very obstinate engagement; but the Assogue ships arrived with the treasure in Spain, notwithstanding the vigilance of the English commanders, who were stationed in a certain latitude to intercept that flota. One camp was formed on Hounslow-heath; and six thousand marines lately levied were encamped on the Isle of Wight, in order to be embarked for the West Indies. Intelligence being received that a strong squadron of Spanish ships of war waited at Ferrol for orders to sail to their American settlements, sir John Norris sailed with a powerful fleet from Spithead to dispute their voyage; and the duke of Cumberland served in person as a volunteer in this expedition; but, after divers fruitless efforts, he was, by contrary winds, obliged to lie inactive for the greatest part of the summer in Torbay; and, upon advice that the French and Spanish squadrons had sailed to the West Indies in conjunction, the design against Ferrol was wholly laid aside. In September, a small squadron of ships, commanded by commodore Anson, set sail for the South-Sea, in order to act against the enemy on the coast of Chili and Peru, and co-operate occasionally with admiral Vernon across the isthmus of Darien. The scheme was well laid, but ruined by unnecessary delays and unforeseen accidents. But the hopes of the nation centered chiefly in a formidable armament designed for the northern coast of now Spain, and his catholic majesty’s other settlements on that side of the Atlantic. Commissions had been issued for raising a regiment of four battalions in the English colonies of North America, that they might be transported to Jamaica, and join the forces from England. These, consisting of the marines and detachments from some old regiments, were embarked in October at the Isle of Wight, under the command of lord Cathcart, a nobleman of approved honour, and great experience in the art of war; and they sailed under convoy of sir Chaloner Ogle, with a fleet of seven-and-twenty ships of the line, besides frigates, fire-ships, bomb-ketches, and tenders. They were likewise furnished with hospital ships and store ships, laden with provisions, ammunition, all sorts of warlike implements, and every kind of convenience. Never was an armament more completely equipped, and never had the nation more reason to hope for extraordinary success.

DEATH OF THE EMPEROR AND CZARINA.

On the twentieth day of October, Charles VI., emperor of Germany, the last prince of the house of Austria, died at Vienna, and was succeeded in his hereditary dominions by his eldest daughter’, the archduchess Maria Theresa, married to the grand duke of Tuscany. Though this princess succeeded as queen of Hungary, by virtue of the pragmatic sanction guaranteed by all the powers in Europe, her succession produced such contests as kindled a cruel war in the empire. The young king of Prussia was no sooner informed of the emperor’s death, than he entered Silesia at the head of twenty thousand men; seized certain fiefs to which his family laid claim; and published a manifesto, declaring that he had no intention to contravene the pragmatic sanction. The elector of Bavaria refused to acknowledge the archduchess as queen of Hungary and Bohemia; alleging, that he himself had pretensions to those countries, as the descendant of the emperor Ferdinand I., who was head of the German branch of the house of Austria. Charles VI. was survived but a few days by his ally, the czarina Anne Iwanowna, who died in the forty-fifth year of her age, after having bequeathed her crown to Iwan, or John, the infant son of her niece, the princess Anne of Mecklenburgh, who had been married to Anthony Ulrick, duke of Brunswick Lunenberg-Bevern. She appointed the duke of Courland regent of the empire, and even guardian of the young czar, though his own parents were alive; but this disposition was not long maintained.

PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.

The king of Great Britain having returned to England from his German dominions, the session of parliament was opened in November. His majesty assured them, on this occasion, that he was determined to prosecute the war vigorously, even though France should espouse the cause of Spain, as her late conduct seemed to favour this supposition. He took notice of the emperor’s death, as an event which in all likelihood would open a new scene of affairs in Europe; he therefore recommended to their consideration the necessary supplies for putting the nation in such a posture that it should have nothing to fear from any emergency. Finally, he desired them to consider of some proper regulations for preventing the exportation of corn, and for more effectual methods to man the fleet at this conjuncture. The commons, after having voted an address of thanks, brought in a bill for prohibiting the exportation of corn and provisions, for a limited time, out of Great Britain, Ireland, and the American plantations. This was a measure calculated to distress the enemy, who were supposed to be in want of these necessaries. The French had contracted for a very large quantity of beef and pork in Ireland, for the use of their own and the Spanish navy; and an embargo had been laid upon the ships of that kingdom. The bill met with a vigorous opposition; yet the house unanimously resolved that his majesty should be addressed to lay an immediate embargo upon all ships laden with corn, grain, starch, rice, beef, pork, and other provisions, to be exported to foreign parts. They likewise resolved that the thanks of the house should be given to vice-admiral Vernon, for the services he had, done to his king and country in the West Indies. One William Cooley was examined at the bar of the house, and committed to prison, after having owned himself author of a paper, intituled, “Considerations upon the Embargo on Provision of Victual.” The performance contained many shrewd and severe animadversions upon the government, for having taken a step which, without answering the purpose of distressing the enemy, would prove a grievous discouragement to trade, and ruin all the graziers of Ireland. Notwithstanding the arguments used in this remonstrance, and several petitions that were presented against the corn-hill, it passed by mere dint of ministerial influence. The other party endeavoured, by various motions, to set on foot an inquiry into the orders, letters, and instructions, which had been sent to admiral Vernon and admiral Haddock; but all such investigations were carefully avoided.

A very hot contest arose from a bill which the ministry brought in, under the specious title of, A bill for the encouragement and increase of seamen, and for the better and speedier manning his majesty’s fleet. This was a revival of the oppressive scheme which had been rejected in the former session; a scheme by which the justices of the peace were empowered to issue warrants to constables and head-boroughs, to search by day or night for such seafaring men as should conceal themselves within their respective jurisdictions. These searchers were vested with authority to force open doors in case of resistance; and encouraged to this violence by a reward for every seaman they should discover; while the unhappy wretches so discovered were dragged into the service, and their names entered in a register to be kept at the navy or the admiralty-office. Such a plan of tyranny did not pass uncensured. Every exceptionable clause produced a warm debate, in which sir John Barnard, Mr. Pulteney, Mr. Sandys, lord Gage, Mr. Pitt, and Mr. Lyttelton, signalized themselves nobly in defending the liberties of their fellow-subjects. Mr. Pitt having expressed a laudable indignation at such a large stride towards despotic power, in justification of which nothing could be urged but the plea of necessity, Mr. Horatio Walpole thought proper to attack him with some personal sarcasms. He reflected upon his youth: and observed that the discovery of truth was very little promoted by pompous diction and theatrical emotion. These insinuations exposed him to a severe reply. Mr. Pitt standing up again, said, “He would not undertake to determine whether youth could be justly imputed to any man as a reproach; but he affirmed that the wretch, who, after having seen the consequences of repeated errors, continues still to blunder, and whose age has only added obstinacy to stupidity, is surely the object of either abhorrence or contempt, and deserves not that his grey head should secure him from insults; much more is he to be abhorred, who, as he has advanced in age, has receded from virtue, and becomes more wicked with less temptation; who prostitutes himself for money which he cannot enjoy; and spends the remains of his life in the ruin of his country.”—Petitions were presented from the city of London and county of Gloucester against the bill, as detrimental to the trade and navigation of the kingdom, by discouraging rather than encouraging sailors, and destructive to the liberties of the subject; but they were both rejected as insults upon the house of commons. After very long debates, maintained on both sides with extraordinary ardour and emotion, the severe clauses were dropped, and the bill passed with amendments.

DISCONTENTS AGAINST THE MINISTRY.

But the most remarkable incident of this session was an open and personal attack upon the minister, who was become extremely unpopular all over the kingdom. The people were now, more than ever, sensible of the grievous taxes under which they groaned; and saw their burdens daily increasing. No effectual attempts had as yet been made to annoy the enemy. Expensive squadrons had been equipped; had made excursions, and returned without striking a blow. The Spanish fleet had sailed first from Cadiz, and then from Ferrol, without any interruption from admiral Haddock, who commanded the British squadron in the Mediterranean, and who was supposed to be restricted by the instructions he had received from the ministry, though in fact his want of success was owing to accident. Admiral Vernon had written from the West Indies to his private friends, that he was neglected, and in danger of being sacrificed. Notwithstanding the numerous navy which the nation maintained, the Spanish privateers made prize of the British merchant ships with impunity. In violation of treaties, and in contempt of that intimate connexion which had been so long cultivated between the French and English ministry, the king of France had ordered the harbour and fortifications of Dunkirk to be repaired; his fleet had sailed to the West Indies in conjunction with that of Spain; and the merchants of England began to tremble for Jamaica; finally, commerce was in a manner suspended, by the practice of pressing sailors into the service, and by the embargo which had been laid upon ships in all the ports of Great Britain and Ireland. These causes of popular discontent, added to other complaints which had been so long repeated against the minister, exaggerated and inculcated by his enemies with unwearied industry, at length rendered him so universally odious, that his name was seldom or never mentioned with decency, except by his own dependents.

MOTION FOR REMOVING SIR R. WALPOLE FROM HIS MAJESTY’S COUNCILS.

The country party in parliament seized this opportunity of vengeance. Mr. Sandys went up to sir Robert Walpole in the house, and told him, that on Friday next he should bring a charge against him in public. The minister seemed to be surprised at this unexpected intimation; but, after a short pause, thanked him politely for this previous notice, and said he desired no favour, but fair play.*

* Upon this occasion he misquoted Horace. “As I am not conscious of any crime,” said he, “I do not doubt of being able to make a proper defence, Nil conscire sibi nulli pallescere culpæ.” He was corrected by Mr. Pulteney; but insisted on his being in the right, and actually laid a wager on the justness of the quotation.

Mr. Sandys, at the time which he had appointed for this accusation, stood up, and in a studied speech entered into a long deduction of the minister’s misconduct. He insisted upon the discontents of the nation, in consequence of the measures which had been for many years pursued at home and abroad. He professed his belief that there was not a gentleman in the house who did not know that one single person in the administration was the chief, if not the sole adviser and promoter of all those measures. “This,” added he, “is known without doors, as well as within; therefore, the discontents, the reproaches, and even the curses of the people, are all directed against that single person. They complain of present measures; they have suffered by past measures; they expect no redress; they expect no alteration or amendment, whilst he has a share in directing or advising our future administration. These, sir, are the sentiments of the people in regard to that minister; these sentiments we are in honour and duty bound to represent to his majesty; and the proper method for doing this, as established by our constitution, is to address his majesty to remove him from his councils.” He then proceeded to explain the particulars of the minister’s misconduct in the whole series of his negotiations abroad. He charged him with having endeavoured to support his own interest, and to erect a kind of despotic government, by the practice of corruption; with having betrayed the interest and honour of Great Britain in the late convention; with having neglected to prosecute the war against Spain; and he concluded with a motion for an address to the king, that he would be pleased to remove sir Robert Walpole from his presence and councils for ever. He was answered by Mr. Pelham, who undertook to defend or excuse all the measures which the other had condemned; and acquitted himself as a warm friend and unshaken adherent. Against this champion sir John Barnard entered the lists, and was sustained by Mr. Pulteney, who, with equal spirit and precision, pointed out and exposed all the material errors and malpractices of the administration. Sir Robert Walpole spoke with great temper and deliberation in behalf of himself. With respect to the article of bribery and corruption, he said if any one instance had been mentioned; if it had been shown that he ever offered a reward to any member of either house, or ever threatened to deprive any member of his office or employment, in order to influence his voting in parliament, there might have been some ground for this charge; but when it was so generally laid, he did not know what he could say to it, unless to deny it as generally and as positively as it had been asserted.—Such a declaration as this, in the hearing of so many persons, who not only knew, but subsisted by his wages of corruption, was a strong proof of the minister’s being dead to all sense of shame, and all regard to veracity. The debate was protracted by the court members till three o’clock in the morning, when about sixty of the opposite party having retired, the motion was rejected by a considerable majority.

DEBATE ON THE MUTINY BILL.

A bill was brought in for prohibiting the practice of insuring ships belonging to the enemies of the nation; but it was vigorously opposed by sir John Barnard and Mr. Willimot, who demonstrated that this kind of traffic was advantageous to the kingdom; and the scheme was dropped. Another warm contest arose upon a clause of the mutiny bill, relating to the quartering of soldiers upon innkeepers and publicans, who complained of their being distressed in furnishing those guests with provisions and necessaries at the rates prescribed by law or custom. There were not wanting advocates to expatiate upon the nature of this grievance, which, however, was not redressed. A new trade was at this time opened with Persia, through the dominions of the czar, and vested with an exclusive privilege in the Russian company, by an act of parliament. The commons voted forty thousand seamen for the service of the ensuing year, and about thirty thousand men for the establishment of land-forces. They provided for the subsidies granted to the king of Denmark and the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel; and took every step which was suggested for the ease and the convenience of the government.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS.

The parties in the house of lords were influenced by the same motives which actuated the commons. The duke of Argyle, who had by this time resigned all his places, declared open war against the ministry. In the beginning of the session, the king’s speech was no sooner reported by the chancellor, than this nobleman stood up and moved that a general address of thanks should be presented to his majesty, instead of a recapitulation of every paragraph of the king’s speech, re-echoed from the parliament to the throne, with expressions of blind approbation, implying a general concurrence with all the measures of the minister. He spoke on this subject with an astonishing impetuosity of eloquence, that rolled like a river which had overflowed its banks and deluged the whole adjacent country. The motion was supported by lord Bathurst, lord Carteret, the earl of Chesterfield, and lord Gower, who, though they displayed all the talents of oratory, were outvoted by the opposite party, headed by the duke of Newcastle, the earl of Cholmondeley, lord Hervey, and the lord-chancellor. The motion was rejected, and the address composed in the usual strain. The same motions for an inquiry into orders and instructions which had miscarried in the lower house, were here repeated with the same bad success; in the debates which ensued, the young earls of Halifax and Sandwich acquired a considerable share of reputation, for the strength of argument and elocution with which they contended against the adherents of the ministry. When the house took into consideration the state of the army, the duke of Argyle having harangued with equal skill and energy on military affairs, proposed that the forces should be augmented by adding new levies to the old companies, without increasing the number of officers; as such an augmentation served only to debase the dignity of the service, by raising the lowest of mankind to the rank of gentlemen; and to extend the influence of the minister, by multiplying his dependents. He therefore moved for a resolution, that the augmenting the army by raising regiments, as it is the most unnecessary and most expensive method of augmentation, was also the most dangerous to the liberties of the nation. This proposal was likewise overruled, after a short though warm contention. This was the fate of all the other motions made by the lords in the opposition, though the victory of the courtiers was always clogged with a nervous and spirited protest. Two days were expended in the debate produced by lord Carteret’s motion for an address, beseeching his majesty to remove sir Robert Walpole from his presence and councils for ever. The speech that ushered in this memorable motion would not have disgraced a Cicero. It contained a retrospect of all the public measures which had been pursued since the revolution. It explained the nature of every treaty, whether right or wrong, which had been concluded under the present administration. It described the political connexions subsisting between the different powers in Europe. It exposed the weakness, the misconduct, and the iniquity of the minister, both in his foreign and domestic transactions. It was embellished with all the ornaments of rhetoric, and warmed with a noble spirit of patriotic indignation. The duke of Argyle, lord Bathurst, and his other colleagues, seemed to be animated with uncommon fervour, and even inspired by the subject.

A man of imagination, in reading their speeches, will think himself transported into the Roman senate, before the ruin of that republic. Nevertheless, the minister still triumphed by dint of numbers; though his victory was dearly purchased. Thirty peers entered a vigorous protest, and Walpole’s character sustained such a rude shock from this opposition, that his authority seemed to be drawing near a period. Immediately after this contest was decided, the duke of Marlborough moved for a resolution, that any attempt to inflict any kind of punishment on any person, without allowing him an opportunity to make his defence, or without any proof of any crime or misdemeanor committed by him, is contrary to natural justice, the fundamental laws of the realm, and the ancient established usage of parliament; and is a high infringement of the liberties of the subject. It was seconded by the duke of Devonshire and lord Lovel; and opposed by lord Gower, as an intended censure on the proceedings of the day. This sentiment was so warmly espoused by lord Talbot, who had distinguished himself in the former debate, that he seemed to be transported beyond the bounds of moderation. He was interrupted by the earl of Cholmondeley, who charged him with having violated the order and decorum which ought to be preserved in such an assembly. His passion was inflamed by this rebuke; he declared himself an independent lord; a character which he would not forfeit for the smiles of a court, the profit of an employment, or the reward of a pension; he said, when he was engaged on the side of truth, he would trample on the insolence that should command him to suppress his sentiments.—On a division, however, the motion was carried.

In the beginning of April, the king repairing to the house of peers, passed some acts that were ready for the royal assent. Then, in his speech to both houses, he gave them to understand, that the queen of Hungary had made a requisition of the twelve thousand men stipulated by treaty; and that he had ordered the subsidy troops of Denmark and Hesse-Cassel to be in readiness to march to her assistance. He observed, that in this complicated and uncertain state of affairs, many incidents might arise, and render it necessary for him to incur extraordinary expenses for maintaining the pragmatic sanction, at a time when he could not possibly have recourse to the advice and assistance of his parliament. He therefore demanded of the commons such a supply as might be requisite for these ends; and promised to manage it with all possible frugality. The lower house, in their address, approved of all his measures; declared they would effectually support him against all insults and attacks that might be made upon any of his territories, though not belonging to the crown of Great Britain; and that they would enable him to contribute, in the most effectual manner, to the support of the queen of Hungary. Sir Robert Walpole moved, that an aid of two hundred thousand pounds should be granted to that princess. Mr. Shippen protested against any interposition in the affairs of Germany. He expressed his dislike of the promise which had been made to defend his majesty’s foreign dominions; a promise, in his opinion, inconsistent with that important and inviolable law, the act of settlement; a promise which, could it have been foreknown, would perhaps have for ever precluded from the succession that illustrious family to which the nation owed such numberless blessings, such continued felicity. The motion however passed, though not without further opposition; and the house resolved, that three hundred thousand pounds should be granted to his majesty, to enable him effectually to support the queen of Hungary. Towards the expense of this year, a million was deducted from the sinking fund; and the land-tax continued at four shillings in the pound. The preparations for this war had already cost five millions. The session was closed on the twenty-fifth day of April, when the king took his leave of this parliament with warm expressions of tenderness and satisfaction. Henry Bromley, Stephen Fox, and John Howe, three members of the lower house who had signalized themselves in defence of the minister, were now ennobled, and created barons of Montford, Ilchester, and Chedworth. A camp was formed near Colchester; and the king having appointed a regency, set out in May for his German dominions.*

* Sir William Wyndham died the preceding year, deeply regretted as an orator, a patriot, and a man, the constant assertor of British liberty, and one of the chief ornaments of the English nation.—In the course of the same year, general Oglethorpe, governor of Georgia, had, with some succours obtained from the colony of Carolina, and a small squadron of king’s ships, made an attempt upon Fort Angus- tine, the capital of Spanish Florida; and actually reduced some small forts in the neighbourhood of the place; but the Carolinians withdrawing in disgust, dissensions prevailing among the sea officers, the hurricane months approaching, and the enemy having received a supply and reinforcement, he abandoned the enterprise, and returned to Georgia.

CHAPTER IV.

The Army under lord Cathcart and Sir Chaloner Ogle proceeds to the West Indies..... Nature of the Climate on the Spanish Main..... Admiral Vernon sails to Carthagena..... Attack of Tort Lasar..... Expedition to Cuba..... Rupture between the Queen of Hungary and the king of Prussia..... Battle of Molwitz..... The king of Great Britain concludes a Treaty of Neutrality with Franco for the Electorate of Hanover..... A Body of French Forces join the Elector of Bavaria..... He is crowned kind of Bohemia at Prague..... Fidelity of the Hungarians..... War between Russia and Sweden..... Revolution in Russia..... The Spanish and French Squadrons pass unmolested by the English Admiral in the Mediterranean..... Inactivity of the naval Power of Great Britain..... Obstinate Struggle in electing Members in the new Parliament..... Remarkable Motion in the House of Commons by Lord Noel Somerset..... The Country Party obtain a Majority in the House of Commons..... Sir Robert Walpole created Earl of Orford..... Change in the Ministry..... Inquiry into the Administration of Sir Robert Walpole..... Obstructed by the new ministry..... Reports of the Secret Committee..... The elector of Bavaria chosen Emperor..... The king of Prussia gains the battle at Czaslaw..... Treaty at Breslau..... The French Troops retire under the Cannon of Prague..... A fresh Body sent with the Mareschal de Mallebois to bring them off..... Extraordinary retreat of M. de Belleisle-The king of Great Britain forms an Army in Flanders..... Progress of the War between Russia and Sweden..... The King of Sardinia declares for the House of Austria..... Motions of the Spaniards in Italy and Savoy..... Conduct of Admiral Matthews in the Mediterranean..... Operations in the West Indies..... The Attention of the Ministry turned chiefly on the Affairs of the Continent..... Extraordinary Motion in the House of Lords by Earl Stanhope..... Warm and obstinate Debate on the Repeal of the Gin-Act..... Bill for quieting Corporations..... Convention between the Emperor and the Queen of Hungary..... Difference between the King of Prussia and the Elector of Hanover..... The King of Great Britain obtains a victory over the French at Dettingen..... Treaty of Worms..... Conclusion of the Campaign..... Affairs in the North..... Battle of Campo Santo..... Transactions of the British Fleet in the Mediterranean..... Unsuccessful Attempts upon the Spanish Settlements in the West Indies

ARMY UNDER LORD CATHCART AND SIR CHALONER OGLE.

The British armament had by this time proceeded to action in the West Indies. Sir Chaloner Ogle, who sailed from Spithead, had been overtaken by a tempest in the Bay of Biscay, by which the fleet, consisting of about one hundred and seventy sail, were scattered and dispersed. Nevertheless he prosecuted his voyage, and anchored with a view to provide wood and water, in the neutral island of Dominica, where the intended expedition sustained a terrible shock in the death of the gallant lord Cathcart, who was carried off by a dysentery. The loss of this nobleman was the more severely felt, as the command of the land-forces devolved upon general Wentworth, an officer without experience, authority, and resolution. As the fleet sailed along the island of Hispaniola, in its way to Jamaica, four large ships of war were discovered; and sir Chaloner detached an equal number of his squadron to give them chase, while he himself proceeded on his voyage. As those strange ships refused to bring to, lord Augustus Fitz-roy, the commodore of the four British ships, saluted one of them with a broadside, and a smart engagement ensued. After they had fought during the best part of the night, the enemy hoisted their colours in the morning, and appeared to be part of the French squadron, which had sailed from Europe tinder the command of the marquis d’Antin, with orders to assist the Spanish admiral De Torres, in attacking and distressing the English ships and colonies. War was not yet declared between France and England; therefore hostilities ceased; the English and French commanders complimented each other; excused themselves mutually for the mistake which had happened; and parted friends, with a considerable loss of men on both sides.

NATURE OF THE CLIMATE ON THE SPANISH MAIN.

In the meantime sir Chaloner Ogle arrived at Jamaica, where he joined vice-admiral Vernon, who now found himself at the head of the most formidable fleet and army that ever visited those seas, with full power to act at discretion. The conjoined squadrons consisted of nine-and-twenty ships of the line, with almost an equal number of frigates, fire-ships, and bomb-ketches, well manned, and plentifully supplied with all kinds of provisions, stores, and necessaries. The number of seamen amounted to fifteen thousand; that of the land-forces, including the American regiment of four battalions, and a body of negroes enlisted at Jamaica, did not fall short of twelve thousand. Had this armament been ready to act in the proper season of the year, under the conduct of wise experienced officers, united in councils, and steadily attached to the interest and honour of their country, the Havannah, and the whole island of Cuba, might have been easily reduced; the whole treasure of the Spanish West Indies would have been intercepted; and Spain must have been humbled into the most abject submission. But several unfavourable circumstances concurred to frustrate the hopes of the public. The ministry had detained sir Chaloner Ogle at Spithead without any visible cause, until the season for action was almost exhausted; for, on the continent of new Spain, the periodical rains begin about the end of April; and this change in the atmosphere is always attended with epidemical distempers which render the climate extremely unhealthy; besides, the rain is so excessive, that for the space of two months no army can keep the field.

ADMIRAL VERNON SAILS TO CARTHAGENA.

Sir Chaloner Ogle arrived at Jamaica on the ninth day of January; and admiral Vernon did not sail on his intended expedition till towards the end of the month. Instead of directing his course towards the Havannah, which lay to leeward, and might have been reached in less than three days, he resolved to beat up against the wind to Hispaniola, in order to observe the motion of the French squadron, commanded by the marquis d’Antin. The fifteenth day of February had elapsed before he received certain information that the French admiral had sailed for Europe, in great distress for want of men and provisions, which he could not procure in the West Indies. Admiral Vernon thus disappointed, called a council of war, in which it was determined to proceed for Carthagena. The fleet being supplied with wood and water at Hispaniola, set sail for the continent of New Spain, and on the fourth of March, anchored in Playa Grande, to the windward of Carthagena. Admiral de Torres had already sailed to the Havannah; but Carthagena was strongly fortified, and the garrison reinforced by the crews of a small squadron of large ships, commanded by don Bias de Lesco, an officer of experience and reputation. Here the English admiral lay inactive till the ninth, when the troops were landed on the island of Tierra Bomba, near the mouth of the harbour, known by the name of Boca-chica, or Little-mouth, which was surprisingly fortified with castles, batteries, booms, chains, cables, and ships of war. The British forces erected a battery on shore, with which they made a breach in the principal fort, while the admiral sent in a number of ships to divide the fire of the enemy, and co-operate with the endeavours of the army. Lord Aubrey Beauclerc, a gallant officer who commanded one of these ships, was slain on this occasion. The breach being deemed practicable, the forces advanced to the attack; but the forts and batteries were abandoned; the Spanish ships that lay athwart the harbour’s mouth were destroyed or taken, the passage was opened, and the fleet entered without further opposition. Then the forces were re-embarked with the artillery, and landed within a mile of Carthagena, where they were opposed by about seven hundred Spaniards, whom they obliged to retire. The admiral and general had contracted a hearty contempt for each other, and took all opportunities of expressing their mutual dislike; far from acting vigorously in concert for the advantage of the community, they maintained a mutual reserve, and separate cabals; and each proved more eager for the disgrace of his rival, than zealous for the honour of the nation.

The general complained that the fleet lay idle while his troops were harassed and diminished by hard duty and distemper. The admiral affirmed, that his ships could not lie near enough to batter the town of Carthagena; he upbraided the general with inactivity and want of resolution to attack the fort of Saint Lazar which commanded the town, and might be taken by scalade. Wentworth, stimulated by these reproaches, resolved to try the experiment. His forces marched up to the attack; but the guides being slain, they mistook their route, and advanced to the strongest part of the fortification, where they were moreover exposed to the fire of the town. Colonel Grant, who commanded the grenadiers, was mortally wounded; the scaling-ladders were found too short; the officers were perplexed for want of orders and directions; yet the soldiers sustained a severe fire for several hours with surprising intrepidity, and at length retreated, leaving about six hundred killed or wounded on the spot. Their number was now so much reduced, that they could no longer maintain their footing on shore; besides, the rainy season had begun with such violence, as rendered it impossible for them to live in camp. They were, therefore, re-embarked; and all hope of further success immediately vanished. The admiral, however, in order to demonstrate the impracticability of taking the place by sea, sent in the Gallicia, one of the Spanish ships which had been taken at Boca-chica, to cannonade the town, with sixteen guns mounted on one side, like a floating battery. This vessel, manned by detachments of volunteers from different ships, and commanded by captain Hore, was warped into the inner harbour, and moored before day, at a considerable distance from the walls, in very shallow water. In this position she stood the fire of several batteries for some hours, without doing or sustaining much damage; then the admiral ordered the men to be brought off in boats, and the cables to be cut; so that she drove with the sea-breeze upon a shoal, where she was soon filled with water. This exploit was absurd, and the inference which the admiral drew from it altogether fallacious. He said it plainly proved that there was not depth of water in the inner harbour sufficient to admit large ships near enough to batter the town with any prospect of success. This indeed was the case in that part of the harbour to which the Gallicia was conducted; but a little farther to the left he might have stationed four or five of his largest ships abreast, within pistol shot of the walls; and if this step had been taken when the land-forces marched to the attack of Saint Lazar, in all probability the town would have been surrendered.

EXPEDITION TO CUBA.

After the re-embarkation of the troops, the distempers peculiar to the climate and season began to rage with redoubled fury; and great numbers of those who escaped the vengeance of the enemy perished by a more painful and inglorious fate. Nothing was heard but complaints and execrations; the groans of the dying, and the service for the dead; nothing was seen but objects of woe, and images of dejection. The conductors of this unfortunate expedition agreed in nothing but the expediency of a speedy retreat from this scene of misery and disgrace. The fortifications of the harbour were demolished, and the fleet returned to Jamaica.—The miscarriage of this expedition, which had cost the nation an immense sum of money, was no sooner known in England, than the kingdom was filled with murmurs and discontent, and the people were depressed in proportion to that sanguine hope by which they had been elevated. Admiral Vernon, instead of undertaking any enterprise which might have retrieved the honour of the British arms, set sail from Jamaica with the forces in July, and anchored at the south-east part of Cuba, in a bay, on which he bestowed the appellation of Cumberland harbour. The troops were landed, and encamped at the distance of twenty miles farther up the river, where they remained totally inactive, and subsisted chiefly on salt and damaged provisions, till the month of November, when, being considerably diminished by sickness, they were put on board again, and re-conveyed to Jamaica. He was afterwards reinforced from England by four ships of war, and about three thousand soldiers; but he performed nothing worthy of the reputation he had acquired; and the people began to perceive that they had mistaken his character.

RUPTURE BETWEEN THE QUEEN OF HUNGARY AND THE KING OF PRUSSIA.

The affairs on the continent of Europe were now more than ever embroiled. The king of Prussia had demanded of the court of Vienna part of Silesia, by virtue of old treaties of co-fraternity, which were either obsolete or annulled; and promised to assist the queen with all his forces in case she should comply with his demand; but this being rejected with disdain, he entered Silesia at the head of an army, and prosecuted his conquests with great rapidity. In the meantime the queen of Hungary was crowned at Presburgh, after having signed a capitulation, by which the liberties of that kingdom were confirmed; and the grand duke her consort was, at her request, associated with her for ten years in the government. At the same time the states of Hungary refused to receive a memorial from the elector of Bavaria.

During these transactions, his Prussian majesty made his public entrance into Breslau, and confirmed all the privileges of the inhabitants. One of his generals surprised the town and fortress of Jablunka, on the confines of Hungary; prince Leopold of Anhalt-Dessau, who commanded another army which formed the blockade of Great Glogau, on the Oder, took the place by scalade, made the generals Wallis and Reyski prisoners, with a thousand men that were in garrison; here likewise the victor found the military chest, fifty pieces of brass cannon, and a great quantity of ammunition.

The queen of Hungary had solicited the maritime powers for assistance, but found them fearful and backward. Being obliged, therefore, to exert herself with the more vigour, she ordered count Neuperg to assemble a body of forces, and endeavour to stop the progress of the Prussians in Silesia. The two armies encountered each other in the neighbourhood of Neiss, at a village called Molwitz; and, after an obstinate dispute, the Austrians were obliged to retire with the loss of four thousand men killed, wounded, or taken. The advantage was dearly purchased by the king of Prussia. His kinsman Frederick, margrave of Brandenburgh, and lieutenant-general Schuylemberg, were killed in the engagement, together with a great number of general officers, and about two thousand soldiers. After this action, Brieg was surrendered to the Prussian, and he forced the important pass of Fryewalde, which was defended by four thousand Austrian hussars. The English and Dutch ministers, who accompanied him in his progress, spared no pains to effect an accommodation; but the two sovereigns were too much irritated against each other to acquiesce in any terms that could be proposed. The queen of Hungary was incensed to find herself attacked, in the day of her distress, by a prince to whom she had given no sort of provocation; and his Prussian majesty charged the court of Vienna with a design either to assassinate or carry him off by treachery; a design which was disowned with expressions of indignation and disdain. Count Neuperg being obliged to abandon Silesia, in order to oppose the Bavarian arms in Bohemia, the king of Prussia sent thither a detachment to join the elector, under the command of count Deslau, who, in his route, reduced Glatz and Neiss, almost without opposition; then his master received the homage of the Silesian states at Breslau, and returned to Berlin. In December, the Prussian army was distributed in winter-quarters in Moravia, after having taken Olmutz, the capital of that province; and in March his Prussian majesty formed a camp of observation in the neighbourhood of Magdeburgh.

A TREATY OF NEUTRALITY CONCLUDED WITH FRANCE FOR HANOVER.

The elector of Hanover was alarmed at the success of the king of Prussia, in apprehension that he would become too formidable a neighbour. A scheme was said to have been proposed to the court of Vienna, for attacking that prince’s electoral dominions, and dividing the conquest; but it was never put in execution. Nevertheless, the troops of Hanover were augmented; the auxiliary Danes and Hessians in the pay of Great Britain were ordered to be in readiness to march; and a good number of British forces encamped and prepared for embarkation. The subsidy of three hundred thousand pounds, granted by parliament, was remitted to the queen of Hungary; and every thing seemed to presage the vigorous interposition of his Britannic majesty. But in a little time after his arrival at Hanover, that spirit of action seemed to flag, even while her Hungarian majesty tottered on the verge of ruin. France resolved to seize this opportunity of crushing the house of Austria. In order to intimidate the elector of Hanover, mare-schal Mallebois was sent with a numerous army into Westphalia; and this expedient proved effectual. A treaty of neutrality was concluded; and the king of Great Britain engaged to vote for the elector of Bavaria at the ensuing election of an emperor. The design of the French court was to raise this prince to the Imperial dignity, and furnish him with such succours as should enable him to deprive the queen of Hungary of her hereditary dominions.

A BODY OF FRENCH FORCES JOIN THE ELECTOR OF BAVARIA.

While the French minister at Vienna endeavoured to amuse the queen with the strongest assurances of his master’s friendship, a body of five-and-thirty thousand men began their march for Germany, in order to join the elector of Bavaria; another French army was assembled upon the Rhine; and the count de Belleisle being provided with large sums of money, was sent to negotiate with different electors. Having thus secured a majority of voices, he proceeded to Munich, where he presented the elector of Bavaria with a commission, appointing him generalissimo of the French troops marching to his assistance; and now the treaty of Nymphen-burgh was concluded. The French king engaged to assist the elector with his whole power, towards raising him to the Imperial throne: the elector promised, that after his elevation he would never attempt to recover any of the towns or provinces of the empire which France had conquered; that he would, in his Imperial capacity, renounce the barrier-treaty; and agree that France should irrevocably retain whatever places she should subdue in the Austrian Netherlands. The next step of Belleisle was to negotiate another treaty between France and Prussia, importing, that the elector of Bavaria should possess Bohemia, Upper Austria, and the Tyrolese; that the king of Poland should be gratified with Moravia and Upper Silesia; and that his Prussian majesty should retain Lower Silesia, with the town of Neiss and the county of Glatz. These precautions being taken, the count do Belleisle repaired to Franck-fort, in quality of ambassador and plenipotentiary from France, at the Imperial diet of election. It was in this city that the French king published a declaration, signifying, that as the king of Great Britain had assembled an army to influence the approaching election of an emperor, his most christain majesty, as guarantee of the treaty of Westphalia, had ordered some troops to advance towards the Rhine, with a view to maintain the tranquillity of the Germanie body, and secure the freedom of the Imperial election.

In July, the elector of Bavaria being joined by the French forces tinder mareschal Broglio, surprised the Imperial city of Passau, upon the Danube; and entering Upper Austria at the head of seventy thousand men, took possession of Lintz, where he received the homage of the states of that country. Understanding that the garrison of Vienna was very numerous, and that count Palfi had assembled thirty thousand Hungarians in the neighbourhood of this capital, he made no farther progress in Austria, but marched into Bohemia, where he was reinforced by a considerable body of Saxons, under the command of count Rutowski, natural son to the late king of Poland. By this time his Polish majesty had acceded to the treaty of Nymphenburgh, and declared war against the queen of Hungary, on the most frivolous pretences. The elector of Bavaria advanced to Prague, which was taken in the night by scalade; an achievement in which Maurice count of Saxe, another natural son of the king of Poland, distinguished himself at the head of the French forces. In December the elector of Bavaria made his public entry into his capital, where he was proclaimed king of Bohemia, and inaugurated with the usual solemnities; then he set out for Franckfort, to be present at the diet of election.

At this period the queen of Hungary saw herself abandoned by all her allies, and seemingly voted to destruction. She was not, however, forsaken by her courage; nor destitute of good officers, and an able ministry. She retired to Presburgh, and in a pathetic Latin speech to the states, expressed her confidence in the loyalty and valour of her Hungarian subjects. The nobility of that kingdom, touched with her presence and distress, assured her unanimously that they would sacrifice their lives and fortunes in her defence. The ban being raised, that brave people crowded to her standard; and the diet expressed their sentiments against her enemy by a public edict, excluding for ever the electoral house of Bavaria from the succession to the crown of Hungary; yet, without the subsidy she received from Great Britain, their courage and attachment would have proved ineffectual. By this supply she was enabled to pay her army, erect magazines, complete her warlike preparations, and put her strong places in a posture of defence. In December, her generals Berenclau and Mentzel, defeated count Thoring, who commanded eight thousand men, at the pass of Scardingen, and opening their way to Bavaria, laid the whole country under contribution; while count Khevenhuller retook the city of Lintz, and drove the French troops out of Austria. The grand seignor assured the queen of Hungary, that far from taking advantage of her troubles, he should seize all opportunities to convince her of his friendship; the pope permitted her to levy a tenth on the revenues of the clergy within her dominions; and even to use all the church plate for the support of the war.

WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND SWEDEN.

As the czarina expressed an inclination to assist this unfortunate princess, the French court resolved to find her employment in another quarter. They had already gained over to their interest count Gyllenburgh, prime minister and president of the chancery in Sweden. A dispute happening between him and Mr. Burnaby, the British resident at Stockholm, some warm altercation passed: Mr. Burnaby was forbid the court, and published a memorial in his own vindication; on the other hand, the king of Sweden justified his conduct in a rescript sent to all the foreign ministers. The king of Great Britain had proposed a subsidy-treaty to Sweden, which, from the influence of French councils, was rejected. The Swedes having assembled a numerous army in Finland, and equipped a large squadron of ships, declared war against Eussia upon the most trifling pretences; and the fleet putting to sea, commenced hostilities by blocking up the Russian ports in Livonia. A body of eleven thousand Swedes, commanded by general Wrangle, having advanced to Willmenstrand, were in August attacked and defeated by general Lasci, at the head of thirty thousand Russians. Count Lewenhaup, who commanded the main army of the Swedes, resolved to take vengeance for this disgrace, after the Russian troops had retired into winter quarters. In December he marched towards Wybourg; but receiving letters from the prince of Hesse-Hombourg, and the marquis de la Chetardie, the French ambassador at Petersburgh, informing him of the surprising revolution which had just happened in Russia, and proposing a suspension of hostilities, he retreated with his army in order to wait for further instructions; and the two courts agreed to a cessation of arms for three months.

REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA.

The Russians had been for some time discontented with their government. The late czarina was influenced chiefly by German councils, and employed a great number of foreigners in her service. These causes of discontent produced factions and conspiracies; and when they were discovered, the empress treated the authors of them with such severity as increased the general disaffection. Besides, they were displeased at the manner in which she had settled the succession. The prince of Brunswick Lunenberg Bovern, father to the young czar, was not at all agreeable to the Russian nobility; and his consort, the princess Anne of Mecklenburgh, having assumed the reins of government during her son’s minority, seemed to follow the maxims of her aunt the late czarina. The Russian grandees and generals, therefore, turned their eyes upon the princess Elizabeth, who was daughter of Peter the Great, and the darling of the empire. The French ambassador gladly concurred in a project for deposing a princess who was well affected to the house of Austria. General Lasci approved of the design, which was chiefly conducted by the prince of Hesse-Hombourg, who, in the reigns of the empress Catharine and Peter II., had been generalissimo of the Russian army. The good will and concurrence of the troops being secured, two regiments of guards took possession of all the avenues of the imperial palace at Petersburgh. The princess Elizabeth, putting herself at the head of one thousand men, on the fifth day of December entered the winter palace, where the princess of Mecklenburgh and the infant czar resided. She advanced into the chamber where the princess and her consort lay, and desired them to rise and quit the palace, adding that their persons were safe; and that they could not justly blame her for asserting her right. At the same time, the counts Osterman, Golofhairkin, Mingden, and Munich, were arrested; their papers and effects were seized, and their persons conveyed to Schlisselbourgh, a fortress on the Neva. Early in the morning the senate assembling, declared all that had passed since the reign of Peter II. to be usurpation; and that the imperial dignity belonged of right to the princess Elizabeth: she was immediately proclaimed empress of all the Russias, and recognized by the army of Finland. She forthwith published a general act of indemnity; she created the prince of Hesse-Hombourg generalissimo of her armies; she restored the Dolgorucky family to their honours and estates; she recalled and rewarded all those who had been banished for favouring her pretensions; she mitigated the exile of the duke of Courland, by indulging him with a maintenance more suitable to his rank; she released general Wrangle, count Wasaburgh, and the other Swedish officers who had been taken at the battle of Willmenstrand; and the princess Anne of Mecklenburgh, with her consort and children, were sent under a strong guard to Riga, the capital of Livonia.

Amidst these tempests of war and revolution, the states-general wisely determined to preserve their own tranquillity. It was doubtless their interest to avoid the dangers and expense of a war, and to profit by that stagnation of commerce which would necessarily happen among their neighbours that were at open enmity with each other; besides, they were over-awed by the declarations of the French monarch on one side; by the power, activity, and pretensions of his Prussian majesty on the other; and they dreaded the prospect of a stadtholder at the head of their army. These at least were the sentiments of many Dutch patriots, reinforced by others that acted under French influence. But the prince of Orange numbered among his partisans and adherents many persons of dignity and credit in the commonwealth; he was adored by the populace, who loudly exclaimed against their governors, and clamoured for a war without ceasing. This national spirit, joined to the remonstrances and requisitions made by the courts of Vienna and London, obliged the states to issue orders for an augmentation of their forces; but these were executed so slowly, that neither France nor Prussia had much cause to take umbrage at their preparations. In Italy, the king of Sardinia declared for the house of Austria; the republic of Genoa was deeply engaged in the French interest; the pope, the Venetians, and the dukedom of Tuscany were neutral; the king of Naples resolved to support the claim of his family to the Austrian dominions in Italy, and began to make preparations accordingly. His mother, the queen of Spain, had formed a plan for erecting these dominions into a monarchy for her second son Don Philip; and a body of fifteen thousand men being embarked at Barcelona, were transported to Orbitello, under the convoy of the united squadrons of France and Spain. While admiral Haddock, with twelve ships of the line, lay at anchor in the bay of Gibraltar, the Spanish fleet passed the straits in the night, and was joined by the French squadron from Toulon. The British admiral sailing from Gibraltar, fell in with them in a few days, and found both squadrons drawn up in line of battle. As he bore down upon the Spanish fleet, the French admiral sent a flag of truce, to inform him that as the French and Spaniards were engaged in a joint expedition, he should be obliged to act in concert with his master’s allies. This interposition prevented an engagement. The combined fleets amounting to double the number of the English squadron, admiral Haddock was obliged to desist; and proceeded to Port-Mahon, leaving the enemy to prosecute their voyage without molestation. The people of England were incensed at this transaction, and did not scruple to affirm that the hands of the British admiral were tied up by the neutrality of Hanover.*

* In the month of July, two ships of Haddock’s squadron falling In with three French ships of war, captain Barnet, the English commodore, supposing them to be Spanish register ships, fired a shot in order to bring them to; and they refusing to comply with this signal, a sharp engagement ensued; after they had fought several hours, the French commander ceased firing, and thought proper to come to an explanation, when he and Barnet parted with mutual apologies.

In the course of this year a dangerous conspiracy was discovered at New York, in North America. One Hewson, a low publican, had engaged several negroes in a design to destroy the town, and massacre the people. Fire was set to several parts of the city; nine or ten negroes were apprehended, convicted, and burned alive. Hewson, with his wife, and a servant maid privy to the plot, were found guilty and hanged, though they died protesting their innocence.

INACTIVITY OF THE NAVAL POWER OF GREAT BRITAIN.

The court of Madrid seemed to have shaken off that indolence and phlegm which had formerly disgraced the councils of Spain. They no sooner learned the destination of commodore Anson, who had sailed from Spithead in the course of the preceding year, than they sent Don Pizzaro with a more powerful squadron upon the same voyage, to defeat his design. He accordingly steered the same course, and actually fell in with one or two ships of the British armament, near the straits of Magellan; but he could not weather a long and furious tempest, through which Mr. Anson proceeded into the South-Sea. One of the Spanish ships perished at sea; another was wrecked on the coast of Brazil; and Pizzaro bore away for the Rio de la Plata, where he arrived with the three remaining ships, in a shattered condition, after having lost twelve hundred men by sickness and famine. The Spaniards exerted the same vigilance and activity in Europe. Their privateers were so industrious and successful, that in the beginning of this year they had taken, since the commencement of the war, four hundred and seven ships belonging to the subjects of Great Britain, valued at near four millions of piastres. The traders had therefore too much cause to complain, considering the formidable fleets which were maintained for the protection of commerce. In the course of the summer, sir John Norris had twice sailed towards the coast of Spain, at the head of a powerful squadron, without taking any effectual step for annoying the enemy, as if the sole intention of the ministry had been to expose the nation to the ridicule and contempt of its enemies. The inactivity of the British arms appears the more inexcusable, when we consider the great armaments which had been prepared. The land forces of Great Britain, exclusive of the Danish and Hessian auxiliaries, amounted to sixty thousand men; and the fleet consisted of above one hundred ships of war, manned by fifty-four thousand sailors.

The general discontent of the people had a manifest influence upon the election of members for the new parliament, which produced one of the most violent contests between the two parties which had happened since the revolution. All the adherents of the prince of Wales concurred with the country party, in opposition to the minister; and the duke of Argyle exerted himself so successfully among the shires and boroughs of Scotland, that the partisans of the ministry could not secure six members out of the whole number returned from North Britain. They were, however, much more fortunate in the election of the sixteen peers, who were chosen literally according to the list transmitted from court. Instructions were delivered by the constituents to a great number of members returned for cities and counties, exhorting and requiring them to oppose a standing army in time of peace; to vote for the mitigation of excise laws; for the repeal of septennial parliaments; and for the limitation of placemen in the house of commons. They likewise insisted upon their examining into the particulars of the public expense, and endeavouring to redress the grievances of the nation. Obstinate struggles were maintained in all parts of the united kingdoms with uncommon ardour and perseverance; and such a national spirit of opposition prevailed, that, notwithstanding the whole weight of ministerial influence, the contrary interest seemed to preponderate in the new parliament.

REMARKABLE MOTION IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS BY LORD SOMERSET.

The king returned to England in the month of October; and on the first day of December the session was opened. Mr. Onslow being re-chosen speaker, was approved of by his majesty, who spoke in the usual style to both houses. He observed, that the former parliament had formed the strongest resolutions in favour of the queen of Hungary, for the maintenance of the pragmatic sanction; for the preservation of the balance of power, and the peace and liberties of Europe; and that if the other powers which were under the like engagements with him had answered the just expectations so solemnly given, the support of the common cause would have been attended with less difficulty. He said, he had endeavoured, by the most proper and early applications, to induce other powers that were united with him by the ties of common interest, to concert such measures as so important and critical a conjuncture required; that where an accommodation seemed necessary, he had laboured to reconcile princes whose union would have been the most effectual means to prevent the mischiefs which had happened, and the best security for the in terest and safety of the whole. He owned his endeavours had not hitherto produced the desired effect; though he was not without hope that a just sense of approaching danger would give a more favourable turn to the councils of other nations. He represented the necessity of putting the kingdom in such a posture of defence as would enable him to improve all opportunities of maintaining the liberties of Europe, and defeat any attempts that should be made against him and his dominions; and he recommended unanimity, vigour, and despatch. The house of commons having appointed their several committees, the speaker reported the king’s speech; and Mr. Herbert moved for an address of thanks, including an approbation of the means by which the war had been prosecuted. The motion being seconded by Mr. Trevor, lord Noel Somerset stood up and moved, that the house would in their address desire his majesty not to engage these kingdoms in a war for the preservation of his foreign dominions. He was supported by that incorruptible patriot Mr. Shippen, who declared he was neither ashamed nor afraid to affirm that thirty years had made no change in any of his political opinions. He said he was grown old in the house of commons; that time had verified the predictions he had formerly uttered; and that he had seen his conjectures ripened into knowledge. “If my country,” added he, “has been so unfortunate as once more to commit her interest to men who propose to themselves no advantage from their trust but that of selling it, I may, perhaps, fall once more under censure for declaring my opinion, and be once more treated as a criminal for asserting what they who punish me cannot deny; for maintaining that Hanoverian maxims are inconsistent with the happiness of this nation; and for preserving the caution so strongly inculcated by those patriots who framed the Act of Settlement, and conferred upon the present royal family their title to the throne.” He particularized the instances in which the ministry had acted in diametrical opposition to that necessary constitution; and he insisted on the necessity of taking some step to remove the apprehensions of the people, who began to think themselves in danger of being sacrificed to the security of foreign dominions. Mr. Gibbon, who spoke on the same side of the question, expatiated upon the absurdity of returning thanks for the prosecution of a war which had been egregiously mismanaged. “What!” said he, “are our thanks to be solemnly returned for defeats, disgrace, and losses, the ruin of our merchants, the imprisonment of our sailors, idle shows of armaments, and useless expenses?” Sir Robert Walpole having made a short speech in defence of the first motion for an address, was answered by Mr. Pulteney, who seemed to be animated with a double proportion of patriot indignation. He asserted, that from a review of that minister’s conduct since the beginning of the dispute with Spain, it would appear that he had been guilty not only of single errors, but of deliberate treachery; that he had always co-operated with the enemies of his country, and sacrificed to his private interest the happiness and honour of the British nation. He then entered into a detail of that conduct against which he had so often declaimed; and being transported by an overheated imagination, accused him of personal attachment and affection to the enemies of the kingdom. A charge that was doubtless the result of exaggerated animosity, and served only to invalidate the other articles of imputation that were much better founded. His objections were overruled; and the address, as at first proposed, was presented to his majesty.

THE COUNTRY PARTY OBTAIN A MAJORITY IN THE COMMONS.

This small advantage, however, the minister did not consider as a proof of his having ascertained an undoubted majority in the house of commons. There was a great number of disputed elections; and the discussion of these was the point on which the people had turned their eyes, as the criterion of the minister’s power and credit. In the first which was heard at the bar of the house, he carried his point by a majority of six only; and this he looked upon as a defeat rather than a victory. His enemies exulted in their strength; as they knew they should be joined, in matters of importance, by several members who voted against them on this occasion. The inconsiderable majority that appeared on the side of the administration, plainly proved that the influence of the minister was greatly diminished, and seemed to prognosticate his further decline. This consideration induced some individuals to declare against him as a setting sun, from whose beams they could expect no further warmth. His adherents began to tremble; and he himself had occasion for all his art and equanimity. The court interest was not sufficient to support the election of their own members for Westminster. The high-bailiff had been guilty of some illegal practices at the poll; and three justices of the peace had, on pretence of preventing riots, sent for a military force to overawe the election. A petition presented by the electors of Westminster was taken into consideration by the house; and the election was declared void by a majority of four voices. The high-bailiff was taken into custody; the officer who ordered the soldiers to march, and the three justices who signed the letter, in consequence of which he acted, were reprimanded on their knees at the bar of the house.

SIR ROBERT WALPOLE CREATED EARL OF ORFORD.

The country party maintained the advantage they had gained in deciding upon several other controverted elections; and sir Robert Walpole tottered on the brink of ruin. He knew that the majority of a single vote would at any time commit him prisoner to the Tower, should ever the motion be made; and he saw that his safety could be effected by no other expedient but that of dividing the opposition. Towards the accomplishment of this purpose he employed all his credit and dexterity. His emissaries did not fail to tamper with those members of the opposite party who were the most likely to be converted by their arguments. A message was sent by the bishop of Oxford to the prince of Wales, importing, That if his royal highness would write a letter of condescension to the king, he and all his counsellors should be taken into favour; that fifty thousand pounds should be added to his revenue; four times that sum be disbursed immediately for the payment of his debts; and suitable provision be made in due time for all his followers. The prince declined this proposal. He declared that he would accept no such conditions while sir Robert Walpole continued to direct the public affairs; that he looked upon him as a bar between his majesty and the affections of his people; as the author of the national grievances both at home and abroad; and as the sole cause of that contempt which Great Britain had incurred in all the courts of Europe. His royal highness was now chief of this formidable party, revered by the whole nation—a party which had gained the ascendancy in the house of commons; which professed to act upon the principles of public virtue; which demanded the fall of an odious minister, as a sacrifice due to an injured people; and declared that no temptation could shake their virtue; that no art could dissolve the cement by which they were united. Sir Robert Walpole, though repulsed in his attempt upon the prince of Wales, was more successful in his other endeavours. He resolved to try his strength once more in the house of commons, in another disputed election; and had the mortification to see the majority augmented to sixteen voices. He declared he would never more sit in that house; and next day, which was the third of February, the king adjourned both houses of parliament to the eighteenth day of the same month. In this interim sir Robert Walpole was created earl of Orford, and resigned all his employments.

CHANGE IN THE MINISTRY.

At no time of his life did he acquit himself with such prudential policy as he now displayed. He found means to separate the parts that composed the opposition, and to transfer the popular odium from himself to those who had professed themselves his keenest adversaries. The country-party consisted of the tories, reinforced by discontented whigs, who had either been disappointed in their own ambitious views, or felt for the distresses of their country, occasioned by a weak and worthless administration. The old patriots, and the whigs whom they had joined, acted upon very different, and, indeed, upon opposite principles of government; and there-fore they were united only by the ties of convenience. A coalition was projected between the discontented whigs, and those of the same denomination who acted in the ministry. Some were gratified with titles and offices; and all were assured, that in the management of affairs a new system would be adopted, according to the plan they themselves should propose. The court required nothing of them, but that the earl of Orford should escape with impunity. His place of chancellor of the exchequer was bestowed upon Mr. Sandys, who was likewise appointed a lord of the treasury; and the earl of Wilmington succeeded him as first commissioner of that board. Lord Harrington, being dignified with the title of carl, was declared president of the council; and in his room lord Carteret became secretary of state. The duke of Argyle was made master-general of the ordnance, colonel of his majesty’s royal regiment of horse guards, field-marshal and commander-in-chief of all the forces in South-Britain; but, finding himself disappointed in his expectations of the coalition, he, in less than a month, renounced all these employments. The marquis of Tweedale was appointed secretary of state for Scotland, a post which had been long suppressed; Mr. Pulteney was sworn of the privy-council, and afterwards created earl of Bath. The earl of Winchelsea and Nottingham was preferred to the head of the admiralty, in the room of sir Charles Wager; and, after the resignation of the duke of Argyle, the earl of Stair was appointed field-marshal of all his majesty’s forces, as well as ambassador-extraordinary to the states-general. On the seventeenth day of February the prince of Wales, attended by a numerous retinue of his adherents, waited on his majesty, who received him graciously, and ordered his guards to be restored. Lord Carteret and Mr. Sandys were the first who embraced the offers of the court, without the consent or privity of any other leaders in the opposition, except that of Mr. Pulteney; but they declared to their friends, they would still proceed upon patriot principles; that they would concur in promoting an inquiry into past measures; and in enacting necessary laws to secure the constitution from the practices of corruption. These professions were believed, not only by their old coadjutors in the house of commons, but also by the nation in general. The reconciliation between the king and the prince of Wales, together with the change in the ministry, were celebrated with public rejoicings all over the kingdom; and immediately after the adjournment nothing but concord appeared in the house of commons.

INQUIRY INTO THE ADMINISTRATION OF SIR ROBERT WALPOLE.

But this harmony was of short duration. It soon appeared, that those who had declaimed the loudest for the liberties of their country, had been actuated solely by the most sordid and even the most ridiculous motives of self-interest. Jealousy and mutual distrust ensued between them and their former confederates. The nation complained, that, instead of a total change of men and measures, they saw the old ministry strengthened by this coalition; and the same interest in parliament predominating with redoubled influence. They branded the new converts as apostates and betrayers of their country; and in the transports of their indignation, they entirely overlooked the old object of their resentment. That a nobleman of pliant principles, narrow fortune, and unbounded ambition, should forsake his party for the blandishments of affluence, power, and authority, will not appear strange to any person acquainted with the human heart; but the sensible part of mankind will always reflect with amazement upon the conduct of a man, who seeing himself idolized by his fellow-citizens, as the first and firmest patriot in the kingdom, as one of the most shining ornaments of his country, could give up all his popularity, and incur the contempt or detestation of mankind, for the wretched consideration of an empty title, without office, influence, or the least substantial appendage. One cannot, without an emotion of grief, contemplate such an instance of infatuation—one cannot but lament that such glory should have been so weakly forfeited; that such talents should have been lost to the cause of liberty and virtue. Doubtless he flattered himself with the hope of one day directing the councils of his sovereign; but this was never accomplished, and he remained a solitary monument of blasted ambition. Before the change in the ministry, Mr. Pulteney moved, that the several papers relating to the conduct of the war, which had been laid before the house, should be referred to a select committee, who should examine strictly into the particulars, and make a report to the house of their remarks and objections. The motion introduced a debate; but, upon a division, was rejected by a majority of three voices. Petitions having been presented by the merchants of London, Bristol, Liverpool, Glasgow, and almost all the trading towns in the kingdom, complaining of the losses they had sustained by the bad conduct of the war, the house resolved itself into a committee to deliberate on these remonstrances. The articles of the London petition were explained by Mr. Glover, an eminent merchant of that city. Six days were spent in perusing papers and examining witnesses; then the same gentleman summed up the evidence, and in a pathetic speech endeavoured to demonstrate, that the commerce of Great Britain had been exposed to the insults and rapine of the Spaniards, not by inattention or accident, but by one uniform and continued design. This inquiry being resumed after the adjournment, copies of instructions to admirals and captains of cruising ships were laid before the house: the commons passed several resolutions, upon which a bill was prepared for the better protecting and securing the trade and navigation of the kingdom. It made its way through the lower house; but was thrown out by the lords. The pension-bill was revived and sent up to the peers, where it was again rejected, lord Carteret voting against that very measure which he had so lately endeavoured to promote. On the ninth day of March, lord Limerick made a motion for appointing a committee to inquire into the conduct of affairs for the last twenty years; he was seconded by sir John St. Aubyn, and supported by Mr. Velters Cornwall, Mr. Phillips, Mr. W. Pitt, and lord Percival, the new member for Westminster, who had already signalized himself by his eloquence and capacity. The motion was opposed by sir Charles Wager, Mr. Pelham, and Mr. Henry Pox, surveyor-general to his majesty’s works, and brother to lord Ilchester. Though the opposition was faint and frivolous, the proposal was rejected by a majority of two voices.

Lord Limerick, not yet discouraged, made a motion on the twenty-third day of March, for an inquiry into the conduct of Robert earl of Orford, for the last ten years of his administration; and, after a sharp debate, it was carried in the affirmative. The house resolved to choose a secret committee by ballot; and in the meantime presented an address to the king, assuring him of their fidelity, zeal, and affection.

Sir Robert Godschall having moved for leave to bring in a bill to repeal the act for septennial parliaments, he was seconded by sir John Barnard; but warmly opposed by Mr. Pulteney and Mr. Sandys; and the question passed in the negative. The committee of secrecy being chosen, began to examine evidence, and Mr. Paxton, solicitor to the treasury, refusing to answer such questions as were put to him, lord Limerick, chairman of the committee, complained to the house of his obstinacy. He was first taken into custody; and still persisting in his refusal, committed to Newgate. Then his lordship moved, that leave should be given to bring in a bill for indemnifying evidence against the earl of Orford; and it was actually prepared by a decision of the majority. In the house of lords it was vigorously opposed by lord Carteret, and as strenuously supported by the duke of Argyle; but fell upon a division, by the weight of superior numbers. Those members in the house of commons who heartily wished the inquiry might be prosecuted, were extremely incensed at the fate of this bill. A committee was appointed to search the journals of the lords for precedents; their report being read, lord Strange, son to the earl of Derby, moved for a resolution, “That the lords refusing to concur with the commons of Great Britain, in an indemnification necessary to the effectual carrying on the inquiry now depending in parliament, is an obstruction to justice, and may prove fatal to the liberties of this nation.”—This motion, which was seconded by lord Quarendon, son of the earl of Lichfield, gave rise to a warm debate; and Mr. Sandys declaimed against it, as a step that would bring on an immediate dissolution of the present form of government. It is really amazing to see with what effrontery some men can shift their maxims, and openly contradict the whole tenor of their former conduct. Mr. Sandys did not pass uncensured: he sustained some severe sarcasms on his apostacy from sir John Hinde Cotton, who refuted all his objections; nevertheless, the motion passed in the negative. Notwithstanding this great obstruction, purposely thrown in the way of the inquiry, the secret committee discovered many flagrant instances of fraud and corruption in which the earl of Orford had been concerned. It appeared, that he had granted fraudulent contracts for paying the troops in the West Indies; that he had employed iniquitous arts to influence elections; that for secret service, during the last ten years, he had touched one million four hundred fifty-three thousand four hundred pounds of public money; that above fifty thousand pounds of this sum had been paid to authors and printers of newspapers and political tracts, written in defence of the ministry; that on the very day which preceded his resignation, he had signed orders on the civil list revenues for above thirty thousand pounds; but as the cash remaining in the exchequer did not much exceed fourteen thousand pounds, he had raised the remaining part of the thirty thousand, by pawning the orders to a banker. The committee proceeded to make further progress in their scrutiny, and had almost prepared a third report, when they were interrupted by the prorogation of parliament.

The ministry finding it was necessary to take some step for conciliating the affection of the people, gave way to a bill for excluding certain officers from scats in the house of commons. They passed another for encouraging the linen manufacture; a third for regulating the trade of the plantations; and a fourth to prevent the marriage of lunatics. They voted forty thousand seamen, and sixty-two thousand five hundred landmen, for the service of the current year. They provided for the subsidies to Denmark and Hesse-Cassel, and voted five hundred thousand pounds to the queen of Hungary. The expense of the year amounted to near six millions, raised by the land-tax at four shillings in the pound, by the malt-tax, by one million from the sinking-fund, by annuities granted upon it for eight hundred thousand pounds, and a loan of one million six hundred thousand pounds from the bank. In the month of July, John lord Gower was appointed keeper of his majesty’s privy-seal; Allen lord Bathurst was made captain of the band of pensioners; and on the fifteenth day of the month, Mr. Pulteney took his seat in the house of peers as earl of Bath. The king closed the session in the usual way, after having given them to understand, that a treaty of peace was concluded between the queen of Hungary and the king of Prussia, under his mediation; and that the late successes of the Austrian arms were in a great measure owing to the generous assistance afforded by the British nation.

THE ELECTOR OF BAVARIA CHOSEN EMPEROR.

By this time great changes had happened in the affairs of the continent. The elector of Bavaria was chosen emperor of Germany at Franckfort on the Maine, and crowned by the name of Charles VII. on the twelfth day of February. Thither the imperial diet was removed from Batisbon; they confirmed his election, and indulged him with a subsidy of fifty Roman months, amounting to about two hundred thousand pounds sterling. In the meantime the Austrian general, Khevenhuller, ravaged his electorate, and made himself master of Munich the capital of Bavaria; he likewise laid part of the palatinate under contribution, in resentment for that elector’s having sent a body of his troops to reinforce the Imperial army. In March, count Saxe, with a detachment of French and Bavarians, reduced Egra; and the Austrians were obliged to evacuate Bavaria, though they afterwards returned. Khevenhuller took post in the neighbourhood of Passau, and detached general Beraclau to Dinglesing on the Iser, to observe the motions of the enemy, who were now become extremely formidable. In May, a detachment of French and Bavarians advanced to the castle of Hilk-Ersberg on the Danube, with a view to take possession of a bridge over the river; the Austrian garrison immediately marched out to give them battle, and a severe action ensued, in which the Imperialists were defeated.

THE KING OF PRUSSIA GAINS THE BATTLE AT CZASLAW.

In the beginning of the year the queen of Hungary had assembled two considerable armies in Moravia and Bohemia. Prince Charles of Lorraine, at the head of fifty thousand men, advanced against the Saxons and Prussians, who thought proper to retire with precipitation from Moravia, which they had invaded. Then the prince took the route to Bohemia; and marshal Broglio, who commanded the French forces in that country, must have fallen a sacrifice, had not the king of Prussia received a strong reinforcement, and entered that kingdom before his allies could be attacked. The two armies advanced towards each other; and on the seventeenth of May joined battle at Czaslaw, where the Austrians at first gained a manifest advantage, and penetrated as far as the Prussian baggage; then the irregulars began to plunder so eagerly, that they neglected every other consideration. The Prussian infantry took this opportunity to rally; the battle was renewed, and after a very obstinate contest, the victory was snatched out of the hands of the Austrians, who were obliged to retire with the loss of five thousand men killed, and twelve hundred taken by the enemy. The Prussians paid dear for the honour of remaining on the field of battle; and from the circumstances of this action, the king is said to have conceived a disgust to the war. When the Austrians made such progress in the beginning of the engagement, he rode off with great expedition, until he was recalled by a message from his general, the count de Schwerin, assuring his majesty that there was no danger of a defeat. Immediately after this battle, he discovered an inclination to accommodate all differences with the queen of Hungary. The earl of Hyndford, ambassador from the court of Great Britain, who accompanied him in this campaign, and was vested with full powers by her Hungarian majesty, did not fail to cultivate this favourable disposition; and on the first day of June, a treaty of peace between the two powers was concluded at Breslau. The queen ceded to his Prussian majesty the Upper and Lower Selesia, with the county of Glatz in Bohemia; and he charged himself with the payment of the sum lent by the merchants of London to the late emperor, on the Silesian revenues. He likewise engaged to observe a strict neutrality during the war, and to withdraw his forces from Bohemia in fifteen, days after the ratification of the treaty, in which were comprehended the king of Great Britain elector of Hanover, the czarina, the king of Denmark, the states-general, the house of Wolfenbuttle, and the king of Poland elector of Saxony, on certain conditions, which were accepted.

The king of Prussia recalled his troops; while mare-schal Broglio, who commanded the French auxiliaries in that kingdom, and the count de Belleisle, abandoned their magazines and baggage, and retired with precipitation under the cannon of Prague. There they intrenched themselves in an advantageous situation; and prince Charles being joined by the other body of Austrians, under prince Lobkowitz, encamped in sight of them on the hills of Girinsnitz. The grand duke of Tuscany arrived in the Austrian army, of which he took the command; and the French generals offered to surrender Prague, Egra, and all the other places they possessed in Bohemia, provided they might be allowed to march off with their arms, artillery, and baggage. The proposal was rejected, and Prague invested on all sides about the end of July. Though the operations of the siege were carried on in an awkward and slovenly manner, the place was so effectually blocked up, that famine must have compelled the French to surrender at discretion, had not very extraordinary efforts been made for their relief. The emperor had made advances to the queen of Hungary. He promised that the French forces should quit Bohemia, and evacuate the empire; and he offered to renounce all pretensions to the kingdom of Bohemia, on condition that the Austrians would restore Bavaria; but these conditions were declined by the court of Vienna. The king of France was no sooner apprized of the condition to which the generals Broglio and Belleisle were reduced, than he sent orders to mareshal Maillebois, who commanded his army on the Bhine, to march to their relief. His troops were immediately put in motion; and when they reached Amberg in the Upper Palatinate, were joined by the French and Imperialists from Bavaria. Prince Charles of Lorraine having received intelligence of their junction and design, left eighteen thousand men to maintain the blockade of Prague, under the command of general Festititz, while he himself, with the rest of his army, advanced to Hay-don on the frontiers of Bohemia. There he was joined by count Khevenhuller, who from Bavaria had followed the enemy, now commanded by count Seckendorf, and the count de Saxe. Seckendorf however was sent back to Bavaria, while mareschal Maillebois entered Bohemia on the twenty-fifth day of September. But he marched with such precaution, that prince Charles could not bring him to an engagement. Meanwhile Festititz, for want of sufficient force, was obliged to abandon the blockade of Prague; and the French generals being now at liberty, took post at Leutmaritz. Maillebois advanced as far as Kadan; but seeing the Austrians possessed of all the passes of the mountains, he marched back to the palatinate, and was miserably harassed in his retreat by prince Charles, who had left a strong body with prince Lobkowitz to watch the motions of Belleisle and Broglio.

EXTRAORDINARY RETREAT OF M. DE BELLEISLE.

These generals seeing themselves surrounded on all hands, returned to Prague, from whence Broglio made his escape in the habit of a courier, and was sent to command the army of Maillebois, who was by this time disgraced. Prince Lobkowitz, who now directed the blockade of Prague, had so effectually cut off all communication between that place and the adjacent country, that in a little time the French troops were reduced to great extremity, both from the severity of the season, and the want of provisions. They were already reduced to the necessity of eating horse flesh, and unclean animals; and they had no other prospect but that of perishing by famine or war, when their commander formed the scheme of a retreat, which was actually put in execution. Having taken some artful precautions to deceive the enemy, he, in the middle of December, departed from Prague at midnight, with about fourteen thousand men, thirty pieces of artillery, and some of the principal citizens as hostages for the safety of nine hundred soldiers whom he had left in garrison. Notwithstanding the difficulties he must have encountered at that season of the year, in a broken and unfrequented road, which he purposely chose, he marched with such expedition, that he had gained the passes of the mountains before he was overtaken by the horse and hussars of prince Lobkowitz. The fatigue and hardships which the miserable soldiers underwent are inexpressible. A great number perished in the snow, and many hundreds, fainting with weariness, cold, and hunger, were left to the mercy of the Austrian irregulars, consisting of the most barbarous people on the face of the earth. The count de Belleisle, though tortured with the hip-gout, behaved with surprising resolution and activity. He caused himself to be carried on a litter to every place where he thought his presence was necessary, and made such dispositions, that the pursuers never could make an impression upon the body of his troops; but all his artillery, baggage, and even his own equipage, fell into the hands of the enemy. On the twenty-ninth day of December, he arrived at Egra, from whence he proceeded to Alsace without further molestation; but when he returned to Versailles, he met with a very cold reception, notwithstanding the gallant exploit which he had performed. After his escape, prince Lobkowitz returned to Prague, and the small garrison which Belleisle had left in that place surrendered upon honourable terms; so that this capital reverted to the house of Austria.

THE KING OF GREAT BRITAIN FORMS AN ARMY IN FLANDERS.

The king of Great Britain resolved to make a powerful diversion in the Netherlands, and in the month of April, ordered sixteen thousand effective men to be embarked for that country; but as this step was taken without any previous concert with the states-general, the earl of Stair, destined to the command of the forces in Flanders, was in the meantime appointed ambassador-extraordinary and plenipotentiary to their high mightinesses, in order to persuade them to co-operate vigorously in the plan which his Britannic majesty had formed; a plan by which Great Britain was engaged as a principal in a foreign dispute, and entailed upon herself the whole burden of an expensive war, big with ruin and disgrace. England, from being the umpire, was now become a party in all continental quarrels; and, instead of trimming the balance of Europe, lavished away her blood and treasure in supporting the interest and allies of a puny electorate in the north of Germany. The king of Prussia had been at variance with the elector of Hanover. The duchy of Mecklenburgh was the avowed subject of dispute; but his Prussian majesty is said to have had other more provoking causes of complaint, which however he did not think proper to divulge. The king of Great Britain found it convenient to accommodate these differences. In the course of this summer the two powers concluded a convention, in consequence of which the troops of Hanover evacuated Mecklenburgh, and three regiments of Brandenburgh took possession of those bailiwicks that were mortgaged to the king of Prussia. The elector of Hanover being now secured from danger, sixteen thousand troops of that country, together with the six thousand auxiliary Hessians, began their march for the Netherlands; and about the middle of October arrived in the neighbourhood of Brussels, where they encamped. The earl of Stair repaired to Ghent, where the British forces were quartered: a body of Austrians was assembled; and though the season was far advanced, he seemed determined upon some expedition; but all of a sudden the troops were sent into winter-quarters. The Austrians retired to Luxembourg; the English and Hessians remained in Flanders; and the Hanoverians marched into the county of Liege, without paying any regard to the bishop’s protestation.

PROGRESS OF THE WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND SWEDEN.

The states-general had made a considerable augmentation of their forces by sea and land; but, notwithstanding the repeated instances of the earl of Stair, they resolved to adhere to their neutrality; they dreaded the neighbourhood of the French; and they were far from being pleased to see the English get footing in the Netherlands. The friends of the house of Orange began to exert themselves; the states of Groningen and West Friesland protested, in favour of the prince, against the promotion of foreign generals which had lately been made; but his interest was powerfully opposed by the provinces of Zealand and Holland, which had the greatest weight in the republic. The revolution in Russia did not put an end to the war with Sweden. These two powers had agreed to an armistice of three months, during which the czarina augmented her forces in Finland.

She likewise ordered the counts Osterman and Munich, with their adherents, to be tried; they were condemned to death, but pardoned on the scaffold, and sent in exile to Siberia. The Swedes, still encouraged by the intrigues of France, refused to listen to any terms of accommodation, unless Carelia, and the other conquests of the czar Peter, should be restored. The French court had expected to bring over the new empress to their measures; but they found her as well disposed as her predecessor to assist the house of Austria. She remitted a considerable sum of money to the queen of Hungary; and at the same time congratulated the elector of Bavaria on his elevation to the Imperial throne. The ceremony of her coronation was performed in May, with great solemnity, at Moscow; and in November she declared her nephew, the duke of Holstein-Gottorp, her successor, by the title of grand prince of all the Russias. The cessation of arms being expired, general Lasci reduced Fredericksheim, and obliged the Swedish army, commanded by count Lewenhaupt, to retire before him, from one place to another, until at length they were quite surrounded near Helsingsors. In this emergency the Swedish general submitted to a capitulation, by which his infantry were transported by sea to Sweden; his cavalry marched by land to Abo; and his artillery and magazines remained in the hands of the Russians. The king of Sweden being of an advanced age, the diet assembled in order to settle the succession; and the duke of Holstein-Gottorp, as grandson to the eldest sister of Charles XII., was declared next heir to the crown. A courier was immediately despatched to Moscow, to notify to the duke this determination of the diet; and this message was followed by a deputation; but when they understood that he had embraced the religion of the Greek church, and been acknowledged successor to the throne of Russia, they annulled his election for Sweden, and resolved that the succession should not be re-established until a peace should be concluded with the czarina. Conferences were opened at Abo for this purpose. In the meantime, the events of war had been so long unfortunate for Sweden, that it was absolutely necessary to appease the indignation of the people with some sacrifice. The generals Lewenhaupt and Bodenbrock were tried by a court-martial for misconduct; being found guilty and condemned to death, they applied to the diet, by which the sentence was confirmed. The term of the subsidy-treaty between Great Britain and Denmark expiring, his Danish majesty refused to renew it; nor would he accede to the peace of Breslau. On the other hand, he became subsidiary to France, with which also he concluded a new treaty of commerce.

THE KING OF SARDINIA DECLARES FOR THE HOUSE OF AUSTRIA.

The court of Versailles were now heartily tired of maintaining the war in Germany, and had actually made equitable proposals of peace to the queen of Hungary, by whom they were rejected. Thus repulsed, they redoubled their preparations; and endeavoured, by advantageous offers, to detach the king of Sardinia from the interest of the house of Austria. This prince had espoused a sister to the grand duke, who pressed him to declare for her brother, and the queen of Hungary promised to gratify him with some territories in the Milanese; besides, he thought the Spaniards had already gained too much ground in Italy; but, at the same time, he was afraid of being crushed between France and Spain, before he could be properly supported. He therefore temporized, and protracted the negotiation, until he was alarmed at the progress of the Spanish arms in Italy, and fixed in his determination by the subsidies of Great Britain. The Spanish army assembled at Rimini under the duke de Montemar; and being joined by the Neapolitan forces, amounted to sixty thousand men, furnished with a large train of artillery. About the beginning of May, they entered the Bolognese; then the king of Sardinia declaring against them, joined the Austrian army commanded by count Traun; marched into the duchy of Parma; and understanding that the duke of Modena had engaged in a treaty with the Spaniards, dispossessed that prince of his dominions. The duke de Montemar, seeing his army diminished by sickness and desertion, retreated to the kingdom of Naples, and was followed by the king of Sardinia as far-as Rimini.

Here he received intelligence that Don Philip, third son of his catholic majesty, had made an irruption into Savoy with another army of Spaniards, and already taken possession of Chamberri, the capital. He forthwith began his march for Piedmont. Don Philip abandoned Savoy at his approach, and retreating into Dauphiné, took post under the cannon of fort Barreaux. The king pursued him thither, and both armies remained in sight of each other till the month of December, when the marquis de Minas, an active and enterprising general, arrived from Madrid, and took upon him the command of the forces under Don Philip. This general’s first exploit was against the castle of Aspremont, in the neighbourhood of the Sardinian camp. He attacked it so vigorously, that the garrison was obliged to capitulate in four-and-forty hours. The loss of this important post compelled the king to retire into Piedmont, and the Spaniards marched back into Savoy, where they established their winter quarters. In the meantime the duke de Montemar, who directed the other Spanish army, though the duke of Modena was nominal generalissimo, resigned his command to count Gages, who attempted to penetrate into Tuscany; but was prevented by the vigilance of count Traun, the Austrian general. In December he quartered his troops in the Bolognese and Romagna; while the Austrians and Piedmontese were distributed in the Modenese and Parmesan. The pope was passive during the whole campaign; the Venetians maintained their neutrality, and the king of the two Sicilies was overawed by the British fleet in the Mediterranean.

The new ministry in England had sent out admiral Matthews to assume the command of this squadron, which had been for some time conducted by Lestock, an inferior officer, as Haddock had been obliged to resign his commission on account of his ill state of health. Matthews was likewise invested with the character of minister-plenipotentiary to the king of Sardinia and the states of Italy. Immediately after he had taken possession of his command, he ordered captain Norris to destroy five Spanish galleys which had put into the bay of St. Tropez; and this service was effectually performed. In May he detached commodore Rowley, with eight sail, to cruise off the harbour of Toulon; and a great number of merchant ships belonging to the enemy fell into his hands. In August he sent commodore Martin with another squadron into the bay of Naples, to bombard that city, unless his Sicilian majesty would immediately recall his troops, which had joined the Spanish army, and promise to remain neutral during the continuance of the war. Naples was immediately filled with consternation; the king subscribed to these conditions; and the English squadron rejoined the admiral on the road of Hieres, which he had chosen for his winter station. Before this period he had landed some men at St. Remo, in the territories of Genoa, and destroyed the magazines that were erected for the use of the Spanish army. He had likewise ordered two of his cruisers to attack a Spanish ship of the line which lay at anchor in the port of Ajaccio, in the island of Corsica; but the Spanish captain set his men on shore, and blew up his ship, rather than she should fall into the hands of the English.

OPERATIONS IN THE WEST INDIES.

In the course of this year admiral Vernon and general Wentworth made another effort in the West Indies. They had in January received a reinforcement from England, and planned a new expedition, in concert with the governor of Jamaica, who accompanied them in their voyage. Their design was to disembark the troops at Porto-Bello, and march across the isthmus of Darien to attack the rich town of Panama. They sailed from Jamaica on the ninth day of March, and on the twenty-eighth arrived at Porto-Bello. There they held a council of war, in which it was resolved, that as the troops were sickly, the rainy season begun, and several transports not yet arrived, the intended expedition was become impracticable. In pursuance of this determination, the armament immediately returned to Jamaica, exhibiting a ridiculous spectacle of folly and irresolution.*

* In May, two English frigates, commanded by captain Smith and captain Stuart, fell in with three Spanish ships of war, near the island of St. Christopher’s. They forthwith engaged, and the action continued till night, by the favour of which the enemy retired to Porto Rico in a scattered condition.—In the month of September, the Tilbury ship of war, of sixty guns, was accidentally set on fire, and destroyed, off the island of Hispaniola, on which occasion one hundred and twenty-seven men perished; the rest were saved by captain Hoare of the Defiance, who happened to be on the same cruise.

In August, a ship of war was sent from thence, with about three hundred soldiers, to the small island of Rattan in the bay of Honduras, of which they took possession. In September, Vernon and Wentworth received orders to return to England with such troops as remained alive; these did not amount to a tenth part of the number which had been sent abroad in that inglorious service. The inferior officers fell ignobly by sickness and despair, without an opportunity of signalizing their courage, and the commanders lived to feel the scorn and reproach of their country. In the month of June the new colony of Georgia was invaded by an armament from St. Augustine, commanded by Don Marinel de Monteano, governor of that fortress. It consisted of six-and-thirty ships, from which four thousand men were landed at St. Simon’s; and began their march for Frederica. General Oglethorpe, with a handful of men, took such wise precautions for opposing their progress, and harassed them in their march with such activity and resolution, that after two of their detachments had been defeated, they retired to their ships and totally abandoned the enterprise.

In England the merchants still complained that their commerce was not properly protected, and the people clamoured against the conduct of the war. They said, their burdens were increased to maintain quarrels with which they had no concern; to defray the enormous expense of inactive fleets and pacific armies. Lord Carteret had by this time insinuated himself into the confidence of his sovereign, and engrossed the whole direction of public affairs. The war with Spain was now become a secondary consideration, and neglected accordingly; while the chief attention of the new minister was turned upon the affairs of the continent. The dispute with Spain concerned Britain only. The interests of Hanover were connected with the troubles of the empire. By pursuing this object he soothed the wishes of his master, and opened a more ample field for his own ambition. He had studied the policy of the continent with peculiar eagerness. This was the favourite subject of his reflection, upon which he thought and spoke with a degree of enthusiasm. The intolerable taxes, the poverty, the ruined commerce of his country, the iniquity of standing armies, votes of credit, and foreign connexions, upon which he had so often expatiated, were now forgotten or overlooked. He saw nothing but glory, conquest, or acquired dominion. He set the power of France at defiance; and as if Great Britain had felt no distress, but teemed with treasure which she could not otherwise employ, he poured forth her millions with a rash and desperate hand, in purchasing beggarly allies, and maintaining mercenary armies. The earl of Stair had arrived in England towards the end of August, and conferred with his majesty. A privy-council was summoned; and in a few days that nobleman returned to Holland. Lord Carteret was sent with a commission to the Hague in September; and when he returned, the baggage of the king and the duke of Cumberland, which had been shipped for Flanders, was ordered to be brought on shore. The parliament met on the sixteenth day of November, when his majesty told them, that he had augmented the British forces in the low countries with sixteen thousand Hanoverians and the Hessian auxiliaries, in order to form such a force, in conjunction with the Austrian troops, as might be of service to the common cause at all events. He extolled the magnanimity and fortitude of the queen of Hungary, as well as the resolute conduct of the king of Sardinia, and that prince’s strict adherence to his engagements, though attacked in his own dominions. He mentioned the requisition made by Sweden, of his good offices for procuring a peace between that nation and Eussia; the defensive alliances which he had concluded with the czarina, and with the king of Prussia; as events which could not have been expected, if Great Britain had not manifested a seasonable spirit and vigour in defence and assistance of her ancient allies, and in maintaining the liberties of Europe. He said the honour and interest of his crown and kingdoms, the success of the war with Spain, the re-establishment of the balance and tranquillity of Europe, would greatly depend on the prudence and vigour of their resolution. The marquis of Tweedale moved for an address of thanks, which was opposed by the earl of Chesterfield, for the reasons so often urged on the same occasion; but supported by lord Carteret on his new-adopted maxims, with those specious arguments which he could at all times produce, delivered with amazing serenity and assurance. The motion was agreed to, and the address presented to his majesty. About this period a treaty of mutual defence and guarantee between his majesty and the king of Prussia, was signed at Westminster. In the house of commons Mr. Lyttelton made a motion for reviving the place-bill; but it was opposed by a great number of members who had formerly been strenuous advocates for this measure, and rejected upon a division. This was also the fate of a motion made to renew the inquiry into the conduct of Robert earl of Orford. As many strong presumptions of guilt had appeared against him in the reports of the secret committee, the nation had reason to expect that this proposal would have been embraced by a great majority; but several members, who in the preceding session had been loud in their demands of justice, now shamefully contributed their talents and interest in stifling the inquiry.

EXTRAORDINARY MOTION IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS.

When the house of lords took into consideration the several estimates of the expense occasioned by the forces in the pay of Great Britain, earl Stanhope, at the close of an elegant speech, moved for an address, to beseech and advise his majesty, that in compassion to his people, loaded already with such numerous and heavy taxes, such large and growing debts, and greater annual expenses than the nation at any time before had ever sustained, he would exonerate his subjects of the charge and burden of those mercenaries who were taken into the service last year, without the advice or consent of parliament. The motion was supported by the earl of Sandwich, who took occasion to speak with great contempt of Hanover; and, in mentioning the royal family, seemed to forget that decorum which the subject required. He had, indeed, reason to talk with asperity on the contract by which the Hanoverians had been taken into the pay of Great Britain. Levy-money was charged to the account, though they were engaged for one year only, and though not a single regiment had been raised on this occasion; they had been levied for the security of the electorate; and would have been maintained if England had never engaged in the affairs of the continent. The duke of Bedford enlarged upon the same subject. He said it had been suspected, nor was the suspicion without foundation, that the measures of the English ministry had long been regulated by the interest of his majesty’s electoral territories; that these had been long considered as a gulf into which the treasures of Great Britain had been thrown; that the state of Hanover had been changed, without any visible cause, since the accession of its princes to the throne of England; affluence had begun to wanton in their towns, and gold to glitter in their cottages, without the discovery of mines, or the increase of their commerce; and new dominions had been purchased, of which the value was never paid from the revenues of Hanover. The motion was hunted down by the new ministry, the patriot lord Bathurst, and the earl of Bath, which last nobleman declared, that he considered it as an act of cowardice and meanness, to fall passively down the stream of popularity, to suffer his reason and integrity to be overborne by the noise of vulgar clamours, which had been raised against the measures of government by the low arts of exaggeration, fallacious reasonings, and partial representations. This is the very language which sir Robert Walpole had often used against Mr. Pulteney and his confederates in the house of commons. The associates of the new secretary pleaded the cause of Hanover, and insisted upon the necessity of a land-war against France, with all the vehemence of declamation. Their suggestions were answered; their conduct was severely stigmatized by the earl of Chesterfield, who observed, that the assembling an army in Flanders, without the concurrence of the states-general, or any other power engaged by treaty, or bound by interest, to support the queen of Hungary, was a rash and ridiculous measure; the taking sixteen thousand Hanoverians into British pay, without consulting the parliament, seemed highly derogatory to the rights and dignity of the great council of the nation, and a very dangerous precedent to future times; that these troops could not be employed against the emperor, whom they had already recognised; that the arms and wealth of Britain alone were altogether insufficient to raise the house of Austria to its former strength, dominion, and influence; that the assembling an army in Flanders would engage the nation as principals in an expensive and ruinous war, with a power which it ought not to provoke, and could not pretend to withstand in that manner; that while Great Britain exhausted herself almost to ruin, in pursuance of schemes founded on engagements to the queen of Hungary, the electorate of Hanover, though under the same engagements, and governed by the same prince, did not appear to contribute any thing as an ally to her assistance, but was paid by Great Britain for all the forces it had sent into the field, at a very exorbitant price; that nothing could be more absurd and iniquitous than to hire these mercenaries, while a numerous army lay inactive at home, and the nation groaned under such intolerable burdens. “It may be proper,” added he, “to repeat what may be forgotten in the multitude of other objects, that this nation, after having exalted the elector of Hanover from a state of obscurity to the crown, is condemned to hire the troops of that electorate to fight their own cause; to hire them at a rate which was never demanded before; and to pay levy-money for them, though it is known to all Europe that they were not raised for this occasion.” All the partisans of the old ministry joined in the opposition to earl Stanhope’s motion, which was rejected by the majority. Then the earl of Scarborough moved for an address, to approve of the measures which had been taken on the continent; and this was likewise carried by dint of numbers. It was not, however, a very eligible victory; what they gained in parliament they lost with the people. The new ministers became more odious than their predecessors; and people began to think that public virtue was an empty name.

But the most severe opposition they underwent was in their endeavours to support a bill which they had concerted, and which had passed through the house of commons with great precipitation; it repealed certain duties on spirituous liquors, and licenses for retailing these liquors; and imposed others at an easier rate. When those severe duties, amounting almost to a prohibition, were imposed, the populace of London were sunk into the most brutal degeneracy, by drinking to excess the pernicious spirit called gin, which was sold so cheap that the lowest class of the people could afford to indulge themselves in one continued state of intoxication, to the destruction of all morals, industry, and order. Such a shameful degree of profligacy prevailed, that the retailers of this poisonous compound set up painted boards in public, inviting people to be drunk at the small expense of one penny; assuring them they might be dead drunk for two-pence, and have straw for nothing. They accordingly provided cellars and places strewed with straw, to which they conveyed those wretches who were overwhelmed with intoxication. In these dismal caverns they lay until they recovered some use of their faculties, and then they had recourse to the same mischievous potion; thus consuming their health, and ruining their families, in hideous receptacles of the most filthy vice, resounding with riot, execration, and blasphemy. Such beastly practices too plainly denoted a total want of all policy and civil regulations, and would have reflected disgrace upon the most barbarous community. In order to restrain this evil, which was become intolerable, the legislature enacted that law which we have already mentioned. But the populace soon broke through all restraint. Though no license was obtained, and no duty paid, the liquor continued to be sold in all corners of the streets, informers were intimidated by the threats of the people, and the justices of the peace, either from indolence or corruption, neglected to put the law in execution. The new ministers foresaw that a great revenue would accrue to the crown from a repeal of this act; and this measure they thought they might the more decently take, as the law had proved ineffectual; for it appeared that the consumption of gin had considerably increased every year since those heavy duties were imposed. They therefore pretended, that should the price of the liquor be moderately raised, and licenses granted at twenty shillings each to the retailers, the lowest class of people would be debarred the use of it to excess; their morals would of consequence be mended; and a considerable sum of money might be raised for the support of the war, by mortgaging the revenue arising from the duty and the licenses. Upon these maxims the new bill was founded, and passed through the lower house without opposition; but among the peers it produced the most obstinate dispute which had happened since the beginning of this parliament. The first assault it sustained was from lord Hervey, who had been divested of his post of privy-seal, which was bestowed on lord Gower, and these two noblemen exchanged principles from that instant. The first was hardened into a sturdy patriot, the other suppled into an obsequious courtier. Lord Hervey, on this occasion, made a florid harangue upon the pernicious effects of that destructive spirit they were about to let loose upon their fellow-creatures. Several prelates expatiated on the same topics; but the earl of Chesterfield attacked the bill with the united powers of reason, wit, and ridicule. Lord Carteret, lord Bathurst, and the earl of Bath, were numbered among its advocates; and shrewd arguments were advanced on both sides of the question. After very long, warm, and repeated debates, the bill passed without amendments, though the whole bench of bishops voted against it; and we cannot help owning, that it has not been attended with those dismal consequences which the lords in the opposition foretold. When the question was put for committing this bill, and the earl of Chesterfield saw the bishops join in his division, “I am in doubt,” said he, “whether I have not got on the other side of the question; for I have not had the honour to divide with so many lawn sleeves for several years.”

BILL FOR QUIETING CORPORATIONS.

By the report of the secret committee, it appeared that the then minster had commenced prosecutions against the mayors of boroughs who opposed his influence in the election of members of parliament. These prosecutions were founded on ambiguities in charters, or trivial informalities in the choice of magistrates. An appeal on such a process was brought into the house of lords; and this evil falling under consideration, a bill was prepared for securing the independency of corporations; but as it tended to diminish the influence of the ministry, they argued against it with their usual eagerness and success; and it was rejected on a division. The mutiny bill and several others passed through both houses. The commons granted supplies to the amount of six millions, raised by the land-tax, the malt-tax, duties on spirituous liquors and licenses, and a loan from the sinking fund. In two years the national debt had suffered an increase of two millions four hundred thousand pounds.

On the twenty-first day of April the session was closed in the usual manner. The king, in his speech to both houses, told them, that, at the requisition of the queen of Hungary, he had ordered his army, in conjunction with the Austrians, to pass the Rhine for her support and assistance; that he continued one squadron of ships in the Mediterranean, and another in the West Indies. He thanked the commons for the ample supplies they had granted; and declared it was the fixed purpose of his heart to promote the true interest and happiness of his kingdoms. Immediately after the prorogation of parliament he embarked for Germany, accompanied by the duke of Cumberland, lord Carteret, and other persons of distinction.

CONVENTION BETWEEN THE EMPEROR AND THE QUEEN OF HUNGARY.

At this period the queen of Hungary seemed to triumph over all her enemies. The French were driven out of Bohemia and part of the Upper Palatinate; and their forces under mareschal Broglio were posted on the Danube. Prince Charles of Lorraine, at the head of the Austrian army, entered Bavaria; and in April obtained a victory over a body of Bavarians at Braunau; at the same time, three bodies of Croatians penetrating through the passes of the Tyrolese, ravaged the whole country to the very gates of Munich. The emperor pressed the French general to hazard a battle; but he refused to run the risk, though he had received a strong reinforcement from France. His Imperial majesty thinking himself unsafe in Munich, retired to Augsburgh; mareschal Seckendorf retreated with the Bavarian troops to Ingoldstadt, where he was afterwards joined by mareschal Broglio, whose troops had in this retreat been pursued and terribly harassed by the Austrian cavalry and hussars. Prince Charles had opened a free communication with Munich, which now for the third time fell into the hands of the queen of Hungary. Her arms likewise reduced Friedberg and Landsperg, while prince Charles continued to pursue the French to Dona-wert, where they were joined by twelve thousand men from the Bhine. Broglio still avoided an engagement, and retreated before the enemy to Hailbron. The emperor being thus abandoned by his allies, and stripped of all his dominions, repaired to Franckfort, where he lived in indigence and obscurity. He now made advances towards an accommodation with the queen of Hungary. His general, Seckendorf, had an interview with count Khevenhuller at the convent of Lowerscon-field, where a convention was signed. This treaty imported, that the emperor should remain neuter during the continuance of the present war, and that his troops should be quartered in Franconia; that the queen of Hungary should keep possession of Bavaria till the peace; that Braunau and Scarding should be delivered up to the Austrians; that the French garrison of Ingoldstadt should be permitted to withdraw, and be replaced by Bavarians; but that the Austrian generals should be put in possession of all the artillery, magazines, and warlike stores belonging to the French, which should be found in the place. The governors of Egra and Ingoldstadt refusing to acquiesce in the capitulation, the Austrians had recourse to the operations of war; and both places were reduced. In Ingoldstadt they found all the emperor’s domestic treasure, jewels, plate, pictures, cabinets, and curiosities, with the archives of the house of Bavaria, the most valuable effects belonging to the nobility of that electorate, a prodigious train of artillery, and a vast quantity of provisions, arms, and ammunition.

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRUSSIA AND THE ELECTOR OF HANOVER.

The French king, baffled in all the efforts he had hitherto made for the support of the emperor, ordered his minister at Franckfort to deliver a declaration to the diet, professing himself extremely well pleased to hear they intended to interpose their mediation for terminating the war. He said, he was no less satisfied with the treaty of neutrality which the emperor had concluded with the queen of Hungary; an event of which he was no sooner informed, than he had ordered his troops to return to the frontiers of his dominions, that the Germanic body might be convinced of his equity and moderation. To this declaration the queen of Hungary answered in a rescript, that the design of France was to embarrass her affairs, and deprive her of the assistance of her allies; that the elector of Bavaria could not be considered as a neutral party in his own cause; that the mediation of the empire could only produce a peace either with or without the concurrence of France; that in the former case no solid peace could be expected; in the latter, it was easy to foresee, that France would pay no regard to a peace in which she should have no concern. She affirmed, that the aim of the French king was solely to gain time to repair his losses, that he might afterwards revive the troubles of the empire. The elector of Mentz, who had favoured the emperor, was now dead, and his successor inclined to the Austrian interest. He allowed this rescript to be entered in the journal of the diet, together with the protests which had been made when the vote of Bohemia was suppressed in the late election. The emperor complained in a circular letter of this transaction, as a stroke levelled at his imperial dignity; and it gave rise to a warm dispute among the members of the Germanic body. Several princes resented the haughty conduct, and began to be alarmed at the success of the house of Austria; while others pitied the deplorable situation of the emperor. The kings of Great Britain and Prussia, as electors of Hanover and Brandenburgh, espoused opposite sides in this contest. His Prussian majesty protested against the investiture of the duchy of Saxe Lawenburgh, claimed by the king of Great Britain; he had an interview with general Seckendorf at Anspach; and was said to have privately visited the emperor at Franckfort.

THE ENGLISH OBTAIN A VICTORY OVER THE FRENCH.

The troops which the king of Great Britain had assembled in the Netherlands, began their march for the Rhine in the latter end of February, and in May they encamped near Hoech on the river Maine, under the command of the earl of Stair. This nobleman sent major-general Bland to Franckfort, with a compliment to the emperor, assuring him, in the name of his Britannic majesty, that the respect owing to his dignity should not be violated, nor the place of his residence disturbed. Notwithstanding this assurance, the emperor retired to Munich, though he was afterwards compelled to return, by the success of the Austrians in Bavaria. The French king, in order to prevent the junction of the British forces with prince Charles of Lorraine, ordered the mareschal de Noailles to assemble sixty thousand men upon the Maine; while Coigny was sent into Alsace with a numerous army to defend that province, and oppose prince Charles should he attempt to pass the Rhine. The mareschal de Noailles, having secured the towns of Spire, Worms, and Oppenheim, passed the Rhine in the beginning of June, and posted himself on the east side of that river, above Franckfort. The earl of Stair advanced towards him, and encamped at Killen-bach, between the river Maine and the forest of d’Armstadt; from this situation he made a motion to Aschaffenburgh, with a view to secure the navigation of the Upper Maine; but he was anticipated by the enemy, who lay on the other side of the river, and had taken possession of the posts above so as to intercept all supplies. They were posted on the other side of the river, opposite to the allies, whose camp they overlooked; and they found means, by their parties and other precautions, to cut off the communication by water between Franckfort and the confederates. The duke of Cumberland had already come to make his first campaign, and his majesty arrived in the camp on the ninth day of June. He found his army, amounting to about forty thousand men, in danger of starving; he received intelligence that a reinforcement of twelve thousand Hanoverians and Hessians had reached Hanau; and he resolved to march thither, both with a view to effect the junction, and to procure provisions for his forces. With this view he decamped on the twenty-sixth day of June. He had no sooner quitted Aschaffenburgh, than it was seized by the French general; he had not marched above three leagues when he perceived the enemy, to the number of thirty thousand, had passed the river farther down, at Selingenstadt, and were drawn up in order of battle at the village of Dettingen, to dispute his passage. Thus he found himself cooped up in a very dangerous situation. The enemy had possessed themselves of Aschaffenburgh behind, so as to prevent his retreat; his troops were confined in a narrow plain, bounded by hills and woods on the right, flanked on the left by the river Maine, on the opposite side of which the French had erected batteries that annoyed the allies on their march; in the front a considerable part of the French army was drawn up, with a narrow pass before them, the village of Dettingen on their right, a wood on their left, and a morass in the centre. Thus environed, the confederates must either have fought at a very great disadvantage, or surrendered themselves prisoners of war, had not the duke de Gramont, who commanded the enemy, been instigated by the spirit of madness to forego these advantages. He passed the defile, and advancing towards the allies, a battle ensued. The French horse charged with great impetuosity, and some regiments of British cavalry were put in disorder; but the infantry of the allies behaved with such intrepidity and deliberation, tinder the eye of their sovereign, as soon determined the fate of the day; the French were obliged to give way, and repass the Maine with great precipitation, having lost about five thousand men, killed, wounded, or taken. Had they been properly pursued, before they recollected themselves from their first confusion, in all probability they would have sustained a total overthrow. The earl of Stair proposed that a body of cavalry should be detached on this service; but his advice was overruled. The loss of the allies in this action amounted to two thousand men. The generals Clayton and Monroy were killed; the duke of Cumberland, who exhibited uncommon proofs of courage, was shot through the calf of the leg; the earl of Albemarle, general Huske, and several other officers of distinction, were wounded. The king exposed his person to a severe fire of cannon as well as musquetry; he rode between the first and second lines with his sword drawn, and encouraged the troops to fight for the honour of England. Immediately after the action he continued his inarch to Hanau, where he was joined by the reinforcement. The earl of Stair sent a trumpet to mareschal de Noailles, recommending to his protection the sick and wounded that were left on the field of battle; and these the French general treated with great care and tenderness. Such generosity softens the rigours of war, and does honour to humanity.

TREATY OF WORMS.

The two armies continued on different sides of the river till the twelfth day of July, when the French general receiving intelligence that prince Charles of Lorraine had approached the Neckar, he suddenly retired, and repassed the Rhine between Worms and Oppenheim. The king of Great Britain was visited by prince Charles and count Khevenhuller at Hanau, where the future operations of the campaign were regulated. On the twenty-seventh day of August, the allied army passed the Rhine at Mentz, and the king fixed his head-quarters in the episcopal palace of Worms. Here the forces lay encamped till the latter end of September, when they advanced to Spire, where they were joined by twenty thousand Dutch auxiliaries from the Netherlands. Mareschal Noailles having retreated into Upper Alsace, the allies took possession of Germersheim, and demolished the intrenchments which the enemy had raised on the Queich; then they returned to Mentz, and in October were distributed into winter-quarters, after an inactive campaign that redounded very little to the honour of those by whom the motions of the army were conducted. In September a treaty had been concluded at Worms between his Britannic majesty, the king of Sardinia, and the queen of Hungary. She engaged to maintain thirty thousand men in Italy; the king of Sardinia obliged himself to employ forty thousand infantry and five thousand horse, in consideration of his commanding the combined army, and receiving an annual subsidy of two hundred thousand pounds from Great Britain. As a further gratification, the queen yielded to him the city of Placentia, with several districts in the duchy of Pavia, and in the Nwarese; and all her right and pretensions to Final, at present possessed by the re public of Genoa, which, they hoped, would give it up, on being repaid the purchase money, amounting to three hundred thousand pounds. This sum the king of England promised to disburse; and moreover to maintain a strong squadron in the Mediterranean, the commander of which should act in concert with his Sardinian majesty. Finally, the contracting powers agreed, that Final should be constituted a free port, like that of Leghorn. Nothing could be more unjust than this treaty, by which the Genoese were negotiated out of their property. They had purchased the marquisate of Final of the late emperor for a valuable consideration, and the purchase had been guaranteed by Great Britain. It could not, therefore, be expected that they would part with this acquisition to a prince whose power they thought already too formidable; especially on condition of its being made a free port, to the prejudice of their own commerce. They presented remonstrances against this article, by their ministers at the courts of London, Vienna, and Turin; and, as very little regard was paid to their representations, they threw themselves into the arms of France and Spain for protection.

After the battle of Dettingen, colonel Mentzel, at the head of a large body of irregulars belonging to the queen of Hungary, made an irruption into Lorraine, part of which they ravaged without mercy. In September prince Charles, with the Austrian army, entered the Brisgaw, and attempted to pass the Rhine; but mareschal Coigny had taken such precautions for guarding it on the other side, that he was obliged to abandon his design, and marching back into the Upper Palatinate, quartered his troops in that country, and in Bavaria. By this time the earl of Stair had solicited and obtained leave to resign his command. He had for some time thought himself neglected; and was unwilling that his reputation should suffer on account of measures in which he had no concern. In October the king of Great Britain returned to Hanover, and the army separated. The troops in British pay marched back to the Netherlands, and the rest took their route to their respective countries. The states-general still wavered between their own immediate interest and their desire to support the house of Austria. At length, however, they supplied her with a subsidy, and ordered twenty thousand men to march to her assistance, notwithstanding the intrigues of the marquis de Fenelon, the French ambassador at the Hague, and the declaration of the king of Prussia, who disapproved of this measure, and refused them a passage through his territories to the Rhine.

AFFAIRS IN THE NORTH.

Sweden was filled with discontents, and divided into factions. The generals Bodenbrock and Lewenhaupt were beheaded, having been sacrificed as scape-goats for the ministry. Some unsuccessful efforts by sea and land were made against the Russians. At last the peace of Abo was concluded; and the duke of Holstein-Utin, uncle to the successor of the Russian throne, was chosen as next heir to the crown of Sweden. A party had been formed in favour of the prince of Denmark; and the order of the peasants actually elected him as successor. The debates in the college of nobles rose to a very dangerous degree of animosity, and were appeased by an harangue in Swedish verse, which one of the senators pronounced. The peasants yielded the point, and the succession was settled on the duke of Holstein. Denmark, instigated by French councils, began to make preparations of war against Sweden; but a body of Russian auxiliaries arriving in that kingdom, under the command of general Keith, and the czarina declaring she would assist the Swedes with her whole force, the king of Denmark thought proper to disarm. It had been an old maxim of French policy to embroil the courts of the North, that they might be too much employed at home to intermeddle in the affairs of Germany, while France was at war with the house of Austria. The good understanding between the czarina and the queen of Hungary was at this period destroyed, in consequence of a conspiracy which had been formed by some persons of distinction at the court of Petersburgh, for removing the empress Elizabeth, and recalling the princess Anne to the administration. This design being discovered, the principal conspirators were corporally punished, and sent in exile to Siberia. The marquis de Botta, the Austrian minister who had resided at the court of the czarina, was suspected of having been concerned in the plot; though the grounds of this suspicion did not appear until after he was recalled, and sent as ambassador to the court of Berlin. The empress demanded satisfaction of the queen of Hungary, who appointed commissioners to inquire into his conduct, and he was acquitted; but the czarina was not at all satisfied of his innocence. In February a defensive treaty of alliance was concluded between the princess and the king of Great Britain.

BATTLE OF CAMPO-SANTO.

By this time France was deprived of her ablest minister, in the death of the cardinal de Fleury, who had for many years managed the affairs of that kingdom. He is said to have possessed a lively genius, and an insinuating address; to have been regular in his deportment, and moderate in his disposition; but at the same time he has been branded as deceitful, dissembling, and vindictive. His scheme of politics was altogether pacific; he endeavoured to accomplish his purposes by raising and fomenting intrigues at foreign courts; he did not seem to pay much regard to the military glory of France; and he too much neglected the naval power of that kingdom. Since Broglio was driven out of Germany, the French court affected uncommon moderation. They pretended that their troops had only acted as auxiliaries while they remained in the empire; being, however, apprehensive of an irruption into their own dominions, they declared that those troops were no longer to be considered in that light, but as subjects acting in the service of France. The campaign in Italy proved unfavourable to the Spaniards. In the beginning of February count Gages, who commanded the Spanish army in the Bolognese, amounting to four-and-twenty thousand men, passed the Penaro, and advanced to Cam-po-Santo, where he encountered the Imperial and Pied-montese forces, commanded by the counts Traun and Aspremont. The strength of the two armies was nearly equal. The action was obstinate and bloody, though indecisive. The Spaniards lost about four thousand men, killed, wounded, or taken. The damage sustained by the confederates was not quite so great. Some cannon and colours were taken on both sides; and each claimed the victory. Count Gages repassed the Penaro; retreated suddenly from Bologna; and marched to Rimini in the ecclesiastical state, where he fortified his camp in an advantageous situation, after having suffered severely by desertion. Count Traun remained inactive in the Modenese till September, when he resigned his command to prince Lobkowitz. This general entered the Bolognese in October, and then advanced towards count Gages, who, with his forces, now induced to seven thousand, retreated to Fano; but afterwards took possession of Pesaro, and fortified all the passes of the river Froglia. The season was far advanced before the Spanish troops, commanded by don Philip in Savoy, entered upon action. In all probability, the courts of Versailles and Madrid carried on some private negotiation with the king of Sardinia. This expedient failing, don Philip decamped from Chamberri in the latter end of August, and defiling through Dauphiné towards Briancon, was joined by the prince of Conti, at the head of twenty thousand French auxiliaries. Thus reinforced, he attacked the Piedmontese lines at Chateau Dauphine; but was repulsed in several attempts, and obliged to retreat with considerable loss. The French established their winter quarters in Dauphiné and Provence; and the Spaniards maintained their footing in Savoy.

TRANSACTIONS OF THE BRITISH FLEET.

The British fleet, commanded by admiral Matthews, overawed all the states that bordered on the Mediterranean. This officer, about the end of June, tinder-standing that fourteen xebecks, laden with artillery and ammunition for the Spanish army, had arrived at Genoa, sailed thither from the road of Hieres, and demanded of the republic that they would either oblige these vessels with the stores to quit their harbour, or sequester their lading until a general peace should be established. After some dispute, it was agreed that the cannon and stores should be deposited in the castle of Bonifacio, situated on a rock at the south end of Corsica; and that the xebecks should have leave to retire without molestation. The Corsicans had some years before revolted, and shaken off the dominion of the Genoese, under which their island had remained for many centuries. They found themselves oppressed, and resolved to assert their freedom. They conferred the sovereign authority on a German adventurer, who was solemnly proclaimed by the name of king Theodore. He had supplied them with some arms and ammunition, which he had brought from Tunis; and amused them with promises of being assisted by foreign powers in retrieving their independency; but as these promises were not performed, they treated him so roughly, that he had thought proper to quit the island, and they submitted again to their old masters. The troubles of Corsica were now revived. Theodore revisited his kingdom, and was recognised by the principal chiefs of the island. He published a manifesto; he granted a general pardon to all his subjects who should return to their obedience; he pretended to be countenanced and supported by the king of Great Britain and the queen of Hungary. He was certainly thought a proper instrument to perplex and harass the Genoese, and supplied at this juncture with a sum of money to purchase arms for the Corsicans; but a change soon happened in the British ministry, and then he was suffered to relapse into his original obscurity. Admiral Matthews, though he did not undertake any expedition of importance against the maritime towns of Spain, continued to assert the British empire at sea through the whole extent of the Mediterranean. The Spanish army under don Philip was no sooner in motion, than the English admiral ordered some troops and cannon to be disembarked for the security of Villa-Franca. Some stores having been landed at Civita-Vecchia, for the use of the Spanish forces under count Gages, Matthews interpreted this transaction into a violation of the neutrality which the pope had professed, and sent thither a squadron to bombard the place. The city of Eome was filled with consternation; and the pope had recourse to the good offices of his Sardinian majesty, in consequence of which the English squadron was ordered to withdraw. The captains of single cruising ships, by their activity and vigilance, wholly interrupted the commerce of Spain; cannonaded and burned some towns on the seaside, and kept the whole coast in continual alarm. 283 [See note 2 N, at the end of this Vol.]

FRUITLESS ATTEMPTS UPON THE SPANISH SETTLEMENTS.

In the West Indies some unsuccessful efforts were made by an English squadron, commanded by commodore Knowles. He attacked La Gueir on the coast of Carraccas, in the month of February; but met with such a warm reception, that he was obliged to desist, and make the best of his way for the Dutch island Curacoa, where he repaired the damage he had sustained. His ships being refitted, he made another attempt upon Porte Cavallo in April, which like the former miscarried. Twelve hundred marines being landed in the neighbourhood of the place, were seized with such a panic, that it was found necessary to re-embark them without delay. Then the commodore abandoned the enterprise and sailed back to his station at the Leeward Islands, without having added much to his reputation, either as to conduct or resolution. On the continent of America the operations of the war were very inconsiderable. General Oglethorpe having received intelligence that the Spaniards prepared for another invasion from St. Augustine, assembled a body of Indians, as a reinforcement to part of his own regiment, with the highlanders and rangers, and in the spring began his march, in order to anticipate the enemy. He encamped for some time in the neighbourhood of St. Augustine, by way of a defiance; but they did not think proper to hazard an engagement; and as he was in no condition to undertake a siege, he returned to Georgia. In October the princess Louisa, youngest daughter of his Britannic majesty, was married by proxy, at Hanover, to the prince-royal of Denmark, who met her at Altona, and conducted her to Copenhagen.

CHAPTER V.

Debate in Parliament against the Hanoverian Troops..... Supplies granted..... Projected Invasion of Great Britain..... A French Squadron sails up the English Channel..... The Kingdom is put in a Posture of Defence..... The Design of the French defeated..... War between France and England..... Dill against those who should correspond with the Sons of the Pretender..... Naval Engagement off Toulon..... Advances towards Peace made by the Emperor..... Treaty of Franckfort..... Progress of the French King in the Netherlands..... Prince Charles of Lorraine passes the Rhine..... The King of Prussia makes an Irruption into Bohemia..... Campaign in Bavaria and Flanders..... The King of Naples joins Count Gages in Italy-Battle of Coni..... Return of Commodore Anson..... Sir John Balchen perishes at Sea...... Revolution in the British Ministry..... Session of Parliament..... Death of the Emperor Charles VII...... Accommodation between the Queen of Hungary and the young Elector of Bavaria..... The King of Prussia gains two successive Battles at Friedberg and Sohr over the Austrian and Saxon Forces..... Treaty of Dresden..... The Grand Duke of Tuscany elected Emperor of Germany..... The Allies are defeated at Fontenoy..... The King of Sardinia is almost stripped of his Dominions..... The English Forces take Cape Breton..... The Importance of this Conquest..... Project of an Insurrection in Great Britain..... The eldest Son of the Chevalier de St. George lands in Scotland..... Takes Possession of Edinburgh..... Defeats Sir John Cope at Preston-Pans..... Efforts of the Friends of Government in Scotland..... Precautions taken in England..... The Prince Pretender reduces Carlisle, and penetrates as far as Derby..... Consternation of the Londoners..... The Rebels retreat into Scotland..... They invest the Castle of Stirling..... The King’s Troops under Hawley are worsted at Falkirk..... The Duke of Cumberland assumes the Command of the Forces in Scotland..... The Rebels undertake the Siege of Fort-William

The discontents of England were artfully inflamed by anti-ministerial writers, who not only exaggerated the burdens of the people, and drew frightful pictures of the distress and misery which, they said, impended over the nation, but also employed the arts of calumny and misrepresentation, to excite a jealousy and national quarrel between the English and Hanoverians. They affirmed that in the last campaign the British general had been neglected and despised; while the councils of foreign officers, greatly inferior to him in capacity, quality, and reputation, had been followed, to the prejudice of the common cause; that the British troops sustained daily insults from their own mercenaries, who were indulged with particular marks of royal favour; that the sovereign himself appeared at Dettingen in a Hanoverian scarf; and that his electoral troops were of very little service in that engagement. Though the most material of these assertions were certainly false, they made a strong impression on the minds of the people, already irritated by the enormous expense of a continental war maintained for the interest of Germany. When the parliament met in the beginning of December, a motion was made in the house of peers by the earl of Sandwich, for an address, beseeching his majesty to discontinue the Hanoverian troops in British pay, in order to remove the popular discontent, and stop the murmurs of the English troops abroad. He was supported by the duke of Bedford, the earl of Chesterfield, and all the leaders in the opposition, who did not fail to enumerate and insist upon all the circumstances we have mentioned. They moreover observed, that better troops might be hired at a smaller expense; that it would be a vain and endless task to exhaust the national treasure in enriching a hungry and barren electorate; that the popular dissatisfaction against these mercenaries was so general, and raised to such violence, as nothing but their dismission could appease; that if such hirelings should be thus continued from year to year, they might at last become a burden entailed upon the nation, and be made subservient, under some ambitious prince, to purposes destructive of British liberty. These were the suggestions of spleen and animosity: for, granting the necessity of a land war, the Hanoverians were the most natural allies and auxiliaries which Great Britain could engage and employ. How insolent soever some few individual generals of that electorate might have been in their private deportment, certain it is their troops behaved with great sobriety, discipline, and decorum; and in the day of battle did their duty with as much courage and alacrity as any body of men ever displayed on the like occasion. The motion was rejected by the majority; but, when the term for keeping them in the British pay was nearly expired, and the estimates for their being continued the ensuing year were laid before the house, the earl of Sandwich renewed his motion. The lord-chancellor, as speaker of the house, interposing, declared that by their rules a question once rejected could not be revived during the same session. A debate ensued, and the second motion was over-ruled. The Hanoverian troops were voted in the house of commons; nevertheless, the same nobleman moved in the tipper house, that the continuing sixteen thousand Hanoverians in British pay was prejudicial to his majesty’s true interest, useless to the common cause, and dangerous to the welfare and tranquillity of the nation. He was seconded by the duke of Marlborough, who had resigned his commission in disgust; and the proposal gave birth to another warm dispute: but victory declared, as usual, for the ministry.

In the house of commons they sustained divers attacks. A motion was made for laying a duty of eight shillings in the pound on all places and pensions. Mr. Grenville moved for an address, to beseech his majesty that he would not engage the British nation any further in the war on the continent, without the concurrence of the states-general on certain stipulated proportions of force and expense, as in the late war. These proposals begat vigorous debates, in which the country party were always foiled by dint of superior number. Such was the credit and influence of the ministry in parliament, that although the national debt was increased by above six millions since the commencement of the war, the commons indulged them with an enormous sum for the expense of the ensuing year. The grants specified in the votes amounted to six millions and a half; to this sum were added three millions and a half paid to the sinking fund in perpetual taxes; so that this year’s expense rose to ten millions. The funds established for the annual charge were the land and malt taxes; one million paid by the East India company for the renewal of their charter, twelve hundred thousand pounds by annuities, one million from the sinking fund, six-and-thirty thousand pounds from the coinage, and six hundred thousand pounds by a lottery—an expedient which for some time had been annually repeated; and which, in a great measure, contributed to debauch the morals of the public, by introducing a spirit of gaming, destructive of all industry and virtue.

PROJECTED INVASION OF GREAT BRITAIN.

The dissensions of the British parliament were suddenly suspended by an event that seemed to unite both parties in the prosecution of the same measures. This was the intelligence of an intended invasion. By the parliamentary disputes, the loud clamours, and the general dissatisfaction of the people in Great Britain, the French ministry were persuaded that the nation was ripe for a revolt. This belief was corroborated by the assertions of their emissaries in different parts of Great Britain and Ireland. These were papists and Jacobites of strong prejudices and warm imaginations, who saw things through the medium of passion and party, and spoke rather from extravagant zeal than from sober conviction. They gave the court of Versailles to understand, that if the chevalier de St. George, or his eldest son Charles Edward, should appear at the head of a French army in Great Britain, a revolution would instantly follow in his favour. This intimation was agreeable to cardinal de Tencin, who, since the death of Fleury, had borne a share in the administration of France. He was of a violent enterprising temper. He had been recommended to the purple by the chevalier de St. George, and was seemingly attached to the Stuart family. His ambition was flattered with the prospect of giving a king to Great Britain; of performing such eminent service to his benefactor, and of restoring to the throne of their ancestors a family connected by the ties of blood with all the greatest princes of Europe. The ministry of France foresaw, that even if this aim should miscarry, a descent upon Great Britain would make a considerable diversion from the continent in favour of France, and embroil and embarrass his Britannic majesty, who was the chief support of the house of Austria, and all its allies. Actuated by these motives, he concerted measures with the chevalier de St. George at Rome, who being too much advanced in years to engage personally in such an expedition, agreed to delegate his pretensions and authority to his son Charles, a youth of promising talents, sage, secret, brave, and enterprising, amiable in his person, grave, and even reserved in his deportment. He approved himself in the sequel composed and moderate in success, wonderfully firm in adversity; and though tenderly nursed in all the delights of an effeminate country, and gentle climate, patient almost beyond belief of cold, hunger, and fatigue. Such was the adventurer now destined to fill the hope which the French ministry had conceived, from the projected invasion of Great Britain.

A FRENCH SQUADRON SAILS UP THE ENGLISH CHANNEL.

Count Saxe was appointed by the French king commander of the troops designed for this expedition, which amounted to fifteen thousand men. They began their march to Picardy, and a great number of vessels was assembled for their embarkation at Dunkirk, Calais, and Boulogne. It was determined that they should be landed in Kent, under convoy of a strong squadron equipped at Brest, and commanded by monsieur de Roquefeuille, an officer of experience and capacity. The chevalier de St. George is said to have required the personal service of the duke of Ormond, who excused himself on account of his advanced age; be that as it will, prince Charles departed from Rome about the end of December, in the disguise of a Spanish courier, attended by one servant only, and furnished with passports by cardinal Aquaviva. He travelled through Tuscany to Genoa, from whence he proceeded to Savona, where he embarked for Antibes, and prosecuting his journey to Paris, was indulged with a private audience of the French king; then he set out incognito for the coast of Picardy. The British ministry being apprized of his arrival in France, at once comprehended the destination of the armaments prepared at Brest and Boulogne. Mr. Thompson, the English resident at Paris, received orders to make a remonstrance to the French ministry, on the violation of those treaties by which the pretender to the crown of Great Britain was excluded from the territories of France. But he was given to understand, that his most christian, majesty would not explain himself on that subject, until the king of England should have given satisfaction on the repeated complaints which had been made to him, touching the infractions of those very treaties which had been so often violated by his orders. In the month of January, M. de Roquefeuille sailed from Brest, directing his course up the English channel, with twenty ships of war. They were immediately discovered by an English cruiser, which ran into Plymouth; and the intelligence was conveyed by land to the board of admiralty. Sir John Norris was forthwith ordered to take the command of the squadron at Spithead, with which he sailed round to the Downs, where he was joined by some ships of the line from Chatham, and then he found himself at the head of a squadron considerably stronger than that of the enemy.

The KINGDOM PUT IN A STATE OF DEFENCE.

Several regiments marched to the southern coast of England; all governors and commanders were ordered to repair immediately to their respective posts; the forts at the mouths of the Thames and Medway were put in a posture of defence; and directions were issued to assemble the Kentish militia, to defend the coast in case of an invasion. On the fifteenth day of February, the king sent a message to both houses of parliament, intimating the arrival of the pretender’s son in France, the preparations at Dunkirk, and the appearance of a French fleet in the English channel. They joined in an address, declaring their indignation and abhorrence of the design formed in favour of a popish pretender; and assuring his majesty, that they would, with the warmest zeal and unanimity, take such measures as would enable him to frustrate and defeat so desperate and insolent an attempt. Addresses of the same kind were presented by the city of London, both universities, the principal towns of Great Britain, the clergy, the dissenting ministers, the quakers, and almost all the corporations and communities of the kingdom. A requisition was made of the six thousand auxiliaries, which the states-general were by treaty obliged to furnish on such occasions; and these were granted with great alacrity and expedition. The earl of Stair, forgetting his wrongs, took this opportunity of offering his services to government, and was re-invested with the chief command of the forces in Great Britain. His example was followed by several noblemen of the first rank. The duke of Montague was permitted to raise a regiment of horse; and orders were sent to bring over six thousand of the British troops from Flanders, in case the invasion should actually take place. His majesty was, in another address from parliament, exhorted to augment his forces by sea and land; the habeas corpus act was suspended for six months, and several persons of distinction were apprehended on suspicion of treasonable practices; a proclamation was issued for putting the laws in execution against papists and nonjurors, who were commanded to retire ten miles from London; and every precaution was taken which seemed necessary for the preservation of the public tranquillity.

THE DESIGN OF THE FRENCH DEFEATED.

Meanwhile the French court proceeded with their preparations at Boulogne and Dunkirk, under the eye of the young pretender; and seven thousand men were actually embarked. M. de Roquefeuille sailed up the channel as far as Dungeness, a promontory on the coast of Kent, after having detached M. de Barreil, with five ships to hasten the embarkation at Dunkirk. While the French admiral anchored off Dungeness, he perceived, on the twenty-fourth day of February, the British fleet, under sir John Norris, doubling the South-Foreland from the Downs; and though the wind was against him, taking the opportunity of the tide to come up and engage the French squadron. Roquefeuille, who little expected such a visit, could not be altogether composed, considering the great superiority of his enemies; but the tide failing, the English admiral was obliged to anchor two leagues short of the enemy. In this interval, M. de Roquefeuille called a council of war, in which it was determined to avoid an engagement, weigh anchor at sun-set, and make the best of their way to the place from whence they had sot sail. This resolution was favoured by a very hard gale of wind, which began to blow from the north-east, and carried them down the channel with incredible expedition. But the same storm which, in all probability, saved their fleet from destruction, utterly disconcerted the design of invading England. A great number of their transports was driven ashore and destroyed, and the rest were so damaged that they could not be speedily repaired. The English were now masters at sea, and their coast was so well guarded, that the enterprise could not be prosecuted with any probability of success. The French generals nominated to serve in this expedition returned to Paris, and the young pretender resolved to wait a more favourable opportunity. In the meantime he remained in Paris, or that neighbourhood, incognito, and almost totally neglected by the court of France. Finding himself in this disagreeable situation, and being visited by John Murray of Broughton, who magnified the power of his friends in Great Britain, he resolved to make some bold effort, even without the assistance of Louis, in whose sincerity he had no faith, and forthwith took proper measures to obtain exact information touching the number, inclinations, and influence of his father’s adherents in England and Scotland. The French king no longer preserved any measures with the court of London; the British resident at Paris was given to understand, that a declaration of war must ensue; and this was actually published on the twentieth day of March. The king of Great Britain was taxed with having dissuaded the court of Vienna from entertaining any thoughts of an accommodation; with having infringed the convention of Hanover; with having exercised piracy upon the subjects of France, and with having blocked up the harbour of Toulon. On the thirty-first day of March, a like denunciation of war against France was published at London amidst the acclamations of the people.

BILL AGAINST THOSE WHO SHOULD CORRESPOND WITH THE PRETENDER’S SONS.

The commons of England, in order to evince their loyalty, brought in a bill, denouncing the penalties of high treason against those who should maintain correspondence with the sons of the pretender. In the upper house, lord Hardwicke, the chancellor, moved, that a clause should be inserted, extending the crime of treason to the posterity of the offenders, during the lives of the pretender’s sons. The motion, which was supported by the whole strength of the ministry, produced a warm debate, in which the duke of Bedford, the earl of Chesterfield, the lords Talbot and Horvey, argued against it in the most pathetic manner, as an illiberal expedient, contrary to the dictates of humanity, the law of nature, the rules of common justice, and the precepts of religion; an expedient that would involve the innocent with the guilty, and tend to the augmentation of ministerial power, for which purpose it was undoubtedly calculated. Notwithstanding these suggestions, the clause was carried in the affirmative, and the bill sent back to the commons, where the amendment was vigorously opposed by lord Strange, lord Guernsey, Mr. W. Pitt, and other members, by whom the original bill had been countenanced; * the majority, however, declared for the amendment, and the bill obtained the royal assent. The session of parliament was closed in May, when the king told them that the French had made vast preparations on the side of the Netherlands; and that the states-general had agreed to furnish the succours stipulated by treaties.

* The opposition had sustained a heavy blow in the death of the duke of Argyle, a nobleman of shining qualifications for the senate and the field, whose character would have been still more illustrious, had not some parts of his conduct subjected him to the suspicion of selfishness and inconstancy. He was succeeded in that title by his brother, Archibald earl of Hay.

NAVAL ENGAGEMENT OFF TOULON.

By this time an action had happened in the Mediterranean, between the British fleet commanded by admiral Matthews, and the combined squadrons of France and Spain, which had been for some time blocked up in the harbour of Toulon. On the ninth day of February they were perceived standing out of the road, to the number of four-and-thirty sail; the English admiral immediately weighed from Hieres bay; and on the eleventh, part of the fleets engaged. Matthews attacked the Spanish admiral, Don Navarro, whose ship, the Real, was a first rate, mounted with above an hundred guns. Rear-admiral Rowley singled out M. de Court, who commanded the French squadron; and a very few captains followed the example of their commanders; but vice-admiral Lestock, with his whole division, remained at a great distance astern; and several captains, who were immediately under the eye of Matthews, behaved in such a manner as reflected disgrace upon their country. The whole transaction was conducted without order or deliberation. The French and Spaniards would have willingly avoided an engagement, as the British squadron was superior to them in strength and number. M. de Court, therefore, made the best of his way towards the Straits’ mouth, probably with intention to join the Brest squadron; but he had orders to protect the Spanish fleet; and as they sailed heavily, he was obliged to wait for them, at the hazard of maintaining a battle with the English. Thus circumstanced, he made sail and lay-to by turns; so that the British admiral could not engage them in proper order; and as they outsailed his ships, he began to fear they would escape him altogether should he wait for vice-admiral Lestock, who was so far astern. Under this apprehension he made the signal for engaging, while that for the line of battle was still displayed; and this inconsistency naturally introduced confusion. The fight was maintained with great vivacity by the few who engaged. The Real being quite disabled, and lying like a wreck upon the water, Mr. Matthews sent a fire-ship to destroy her; but the expedient did not take effect. The ship ordered to cover this machine did not obey the signal; so that the captain of the fire-ship was exposed to the whole fire of the enemy. Nevertheless he continued to advance until he found the vessel sinking; and being within a few yards of the Real, he set fire to the fusees. The ship was immediately in flames, in the midst of which he and his lieutenant, with twelve men, perished. This was likewise the fate of the Spanish launch, which had been manned with fifty sailors to prevent the fire-ship from running on board the Real. One ship of the line belonging to the Spanish squadron, struck to captain Hawke, who sent a lieutenant to take possession of her; she was afterwards retaken by the French squadron; but was found so disabled that they left her deserted, and she was next day burned by order of admiral Matthews. At night the action ceased; and the admiral found his own ship so much damaged, that he moved his flag into another. Captain Cornwall fell in the engagement, after having exhibited a remarkable proof of courage and intrepidity; but the loss of men was very inconsiderable. Next day the enemy appeared to leeward, and the admiral gave chase till night, when he brought to, that he might be joined by the ships astern. They were perceived again on the thirteenth at a considerable distance, and pursued till the evening. In the morning of the fourteenth, twenty sail of them were seen distinctly, and Lestock with his division had gained ground of them considerably by noon; but admiral Matthews displayed the signal for leaving off chase, and bore away for Port Mahon, to repair the damage he had sustained. Meanwhile the combined squadrons continued their course towards the coast of Spain. M. de Court, with his division, anchored in the road of Alicant; and Don Navarro sailed into the harbour of Carthagena. Admiral Matthews, on his arrival at Minorca, accused Lestock of having misbehaved on the day of action; suspended him from his office, and sent him prisoner to England, where, in his turn, he accused his accuser. Long before the engagement, these two officers had expressed the most virulent resentment against each other. Matthews was brave, open, and undisguised; but proud, imperious, and precipitate. Lestock had signalized his courage on many occasions, and perfectly understood the whole discipline of the navy; but he was cool, cunning, and vindictive. He had been treated superciliously by Matthews, and in revenge took advantage of his errors and precipitation. To gratify this passion, he betrayed the interest and glory of his country; for it is not to be doubted, but that he might have come up in time to engage; and, in that case, the fleets of France and Spain would, in all likelihood, have been destroyed; but he intrenched himself within the punctilios of discipline, and saw with pleasure his antagonist expose himself to the hazard of death, ruin, and disgrace. Matthews himself, in the sequel, sacrificed his duty to his resentment, in restraining Lestock from pursuing and attacking the combined squadrons on the third day after the engagement, when they appeared disabled and in manifest disorder, and would have fallen an easy prey had they been vigorously attacked. One can hardly, without indignation, reflect upon these instances in which a community has so severely suffered from the personal animosity of individuals. The miscarriage off Toulon became the subject of a parliamentary inquiry in England. The commons, in an address to the throne, desired that a court-martial might be appointed to try the delinquents. By this time Lestock had accused Matthews, and all the captains of his division who misbehaved on the day of battle. The court-martial was constituted, and proceeded to trial. Several commanders of ships were cashiered; vice-admiral Lestock was honourably acquitted, and admiral Matthews rendered incapable of serving for the future in his majesty’s navy. All the world knew that Lestock kept aloof, and that Matthews rushed into the hottest part of the engagement. Yet the former triumphed on his trial, and the latter narrowly escaped the sentence of death for cowardice and misconduct. Such decisions are not to be accounted for, except from prejudice and faction. The war in Germany, which had been almost extinguished in the last campaign, began to revive, and raged with redoubled violence. The emperor had solicited the mediation of his Britannic majesty, for compromising the differences between him and the court of Vienna. Prince William of Hesse-Cassel had conferred with the king of England on this subject; and a negotiation was begun at Hanau. The emperor offered to dismiss the French auxiliaries, provided the Austrians would evacuate his hereditary dominions. Nay, prince William and lord Carteret, as plenipotentiaries, actually agreed to preliminaries, by which his Imperial majesty engaged to renounce the alliance of France, and throw himself into the arms of the maritime powers; to resign all pretensions to the succession of the house of Austria; and to revive the vote of Bohemia in the electoral college, on condition of his being re-established in the possession of his dominions, recognised as emperor by the queen of Hungary, and accommodated with a monthly subsidy for his maintenance, as his own territories were exhausted and impoverished by the war. By a separate article, the king of Great Britain promised to furnish him with three hundred thousand crowns, and to interpose his good offices with the queen of Hungary, that his electoral dominions should be favourably treated. These preliminaries, though settled, were not signed. The court of Vienna was unwilling to part with their conquests in Bavaria and the Upper Palatinate. The queen trusted too much to the valour of her troops, and the wealth of her allies, to listen to such terms of accommodation; and whatever arguments were used with the king of Great Britain, certain it is the negotiation was dropped, on pretence that the articles were disapproved by the ministry of England. The emperor, environed with distress, renewed his application to the king of Great Britain; and even declared that he would refer his cause to the determination of the maritime powers; but all his advances were discountenanced; and the treaty of Worms dispelled all hope of accommodation. In this manner did the British ministry reject the fairest opportunity that could possibly occur of terminating the war in Germany with honour and advantage, and of freeing their country from that insufferable burden of expense under which she groaned.

TREATY OF FRANCKFORT.

The inflexibility of the house of Austria, and its chief ally, proved serviceable to the emperor. The forlorn situation of this unfortunate prince excited the compassion of divers princes; they resented the insolence with which the head of the empire had been treated by the court of Vienna; and they were alarmed at the increasing power of a family noted for pride, tyranny, and ambition. These considerations gave rise to the treaty of Franckfort, concluded in May between the emperor, the king of Prussia, the king of Sweden as landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, and the elector palatine. They engaged to preserve the constitution of the empire, according to the treaty of Westphalia, and to support the emperor in his rank and dignity. They agreed to employ their good offices with the queen of Hungary, that she might be induced to acknowledge the emperor, to restore his hereditary dominions, and give up the archives of the empire that were in her possession. They guaranteed to each other their respective territories; the disputes about the succession of the late emperor they referred to the decision of the states of the empire; they promised to assist one another in case of being attacked; and they invited the king of Poland, the elector of Cologn, and the bishop of Liege, to accede to this treaty. Such was the confederacy that broke all the measures which had been concerted between the king of Great Britain and her Hungarian majesty, for the operations of the campaign. In the meantime, the French king declared war against this princess, on pretence that she was obstinately deaf to all terms of accommodation, and determined to carry the war into the territories of France. In her counter-declaration, she taxed Louis with having infringed the most solemn engagement, with respect to the pragmatic sanction; with having spirited up different pretenders to lay claim to the succession of the late emperor; with having endeavoured to instigate the common enemy of Christendom against her; and with having acted the incendiary in the north of Europe, that the czarina might be prevented from assisting the house of Austria, while his numerous armies overspread the empire and desolated her hereditary countries. These recriminations were literally true. The houses of Bourbon and Austria have, for many centuries, been the common disturbers and plagues of Europe.

PROGRESS OF THE FRENCH KING IN THE NETHERLANDS

The king of France, though in himself pacific and unenterprising, was stimulated by his ministry to taste the glory of conquest in the Netherlands, where he had assembled an army of one hundred and twenty thousand men, provided with a very formidable train of artillery. The chief command was vested in the mareschal count de Saxe, who possessed great military talents, and proved to be one of the most fortunate generals of the age in which he lived. The allied forces, consisting of English, Hanoverians, Dutch, and Austrians, to the number of seventy thousand effective men, were in the month of May assembled in the neighbourhood of Brussels, from whence they marched towards Oudenarde, and posted themselves behind the Schelde, being unable to retard the progress of the enemy. The French monarch, attended by his favourite ladies, with all the pomp of eastern luxury, arrived at Lisle on the twelfth day of the same month; and in the adjacent plain reviewed his army. The states-general, alarmed at his preparations, had, in a conference with his ambassador at the Hague, expressed their apprehensions, and entreated his most christian majesty would desist from his design of attacking their barrier. Their remonstrances having proved ineffectual, they now sent a minister to wait upon that monarch, to enforce their former representations, and repeat their entreaties; but no regard was paid to his request. The French king told him, he was determined to prosecute the war with vigour, as his moderation hitherto had served to no other purpose but that of rendering his enemies more intractable. Accordingly, his troops invested Menin, which was in seven days surrendered upon capitulation. Ypres, Fort Knocke, and Furnes, underwent the same fate; and on the twenty-ninth day of June the king of France entered Dunkirk in triumph.

PRINCE CHARLES OF LORRAINE PASSES THE RHINE.

He had taken such precautions for the defence of Alsace, which was guarded by considerable armies under the command of Coigny and Seckendorf, that he thought he had nothing to fear from the Austrians in that quarter; besides, he had received secret assurances that the king of Prussia would declare for the emperor; so that he resolved to pursue his conquests in the Netherlands. But all his measures were defeated by the activity of prince Charles of Lorraine, and his officers, who found means to pass the Rhine, and oblige the French and Bavarian generals to retire to Lampertheim, that they might cover Strasburgh. The Austrians made themselves masters of Haguenau and Saverne; they secured the passes of Lorraine; and laid all the country of Lower Alsace under contribution. The king of France was no sooner apprized of the prince’s having passed the Rhine and penetrated into this province, than he sent off a detachment of thirty thousand men from his army in Flanders, to reinforce that under the mareschal de Coigny; and he himself began his journey from the Rhine, that he might in person check the progress of the enemy; but this design was anticipated by a severe distemper that overtook him at Mentz in Lorraine. The physicians despaired of his life. The queen, with her children, and all the princes of the blood, hastened from Versailles to pay the last duties to their dying sovereign, who, as a true penitent, dismissed his concubines, and began to prepare himself for death; yet the strength of his constitution triumphed over the fever, and his recovery was celebrated all over his dominions with uncommon marks of joy and affection.

In the meantime the schemes of the Austrian general were frustrated by the king of Prussia, who, in the month of August, entered the electorate of Saxony at the head of a numerous army. There he declared, in a public manifesto, that his aims were only to re-establish the peace of the empire, and to support the dignity of its head. He assured the inhabitants that they might depend upon his protection, in case they should remain quiet; but threatened them with fire and sword should they presume to oppose his arms. In a rescript, addressed to his ministers at foreign courts, he accused the queen of Hungary of obstinacy, in refusing to acknowledge the emperor, and restore his hereditary dominions; he said, he had engaged in the league of Franckfort, to hinder the head of the empire from being oppressed; that he had no intention to violate the peace of Breslau, or enter as a principal into this war; he affirmed, that his design was to act as auxiliary to the emperor, and establish the quiet of Germany. He penetrated into Bohemia, and undertook the siege of Prague, the governor of which surrendered himself and his garrison prisoners of war on the sixteenth day of September. He afterwards reduced Tabor, Bodweis, and Teyn, and in a word subdued the greatest part of the kingdom; the Austrian forces in that country being in no condition to stop his progress. Nevertheless, he was soon obliged to relinquish his conquests. Prince Charles of Lorraine was recalled from Alsace, and repassed the Rhine in the face of the French army, commanded by the mareschals de Coigny, Noailles, and Belleisle. Then he marched to the Danube, laid the Upper Palatine under contribution, and entering Bohemia, joined the troops under Bathiani at Merotiz. The king of Poland elector of Saxony, at this juncture declared in favour of her Hungarian majesty. A convention for the mutual guarantee of their dominions, had been signed between those two powers in December; and now prince Charles of Lorraine was reinforced by twenty thousand Saxon troops, under the conduct of the duke of Saxe-Wessenfels. The combined army was superior to that of his Prussian majesty, whom they resolved to engage. But he retired before them, and having evacuated all the places he had garrisoned in Bohemia, retreated with precipitation into Silesia. There his troops were put into winter-quarters; and he himself returned to Berlin, extremely mortified at the issue of the campaign.

CAMPAIGN IN BAVARIA AND FLANDERS.

During these transactions, count Seckendorf marched into Bavaria at the head of a strong army, drove the Austrians out of that electorate, and the emperor regained possession of Munich, his capital, on the twenty-second day of October. In August the French army passed the Rhine at Fort-Louis, and invested the strong and important city of Fribourg, defended by general Demnitz, at the head of nine thousand veterans. The king of France arrived in the camp on the eleventh day of October; and the siege was carried on with uncommon vigour. The Austrian governor made incredible efforts in the defence of the place, which he maintained until it was reduced to a heap of ruins, and one-half of the garrison destroyed. At length, however, they were obliged to surrender themselves prisoners of war, after the trenches had been open five-and-forty days, during which they had killed above fifteen thousand of the besiegers. With this conquest the French king closed the campaign, and his army was cantoned along the Rhine, under the inspection of the count de Maillebois. By the detachments drawn from the French army in Flanders, count Saxe had found himself considerably weaker than the confederates; he threw up strong intrenchments behind the Lys, where he remained on the defensive, until he was reinforced by count d’Clermont, who commanded a separate body on the side of Newport. The allies, to the number of seventy thousand, passed the Schelde, and advanced towards Helchin; but the enemy being so advantageously posted, that they could not attack him with any prospect of advantage, they filed on in sight of Tournay; and on the eighth day of August encamped in the plains of Lisle, in hope of drawing count Saxe from the situation in which he was so strongly fortified. Here they foraged for several days, and laid the open country under contribution; however, they made no attempt on the place itself, which in all probability would have fallen into their hands had they invested it at their first approach; for then there was no other garrison but two or three battalions of militia; but count Saxe soon threw in a considerable reinforcement. The allies were unprovided with a train of battering cannon; and their commanders would not deviate from the usual form of war. Besides, they were divided in their opinions, and despised one another. General Wade, who commanded the English and Hanoverians, was a vain weak man, without confidence, weight, or authority; and the Austrian general, the duke d’Aremberg, was a proud rapacious glutton, devoid of talents and sentiment. After having remained for some time in sight of Lisle, and made a general forage without molestation, they retired to their former camp on the Schelde, from whence they soon marched into winter-quarters. Count Saxe at length quitted his lines; and by way of retaliation, sent out detachments to ravage the Low-countries, to the very gates of Ghent and Bruges. The conduct of the allied generals was severely censured in England, ridiculed in France, not only in private conversation, but also on their public theatres, where it became the subject of farces and pantomimes.

The campaign in Italy produced divers vicissitudes of fortune. The king of Naples having assembled an army, joined count Gages, and published a manifesto in vindication of his conduct, which was a direct violation of the neutrality he had promised to observe. He maintained, that his moderation had been undervalued by the courts of London and Vienna; that his frontiers were threatened with the calamities of war; and that the queen of Hungary made no secret of her intention to invade his dominions. This charge was not without foundation. The emissaries of the house of Austria endeavoured to excite a rebellion in Naples, which prince Lobkowitz had orders to favour by an invasion. This general was encamped at Monte Rotundo, in the neighbourhood of Rome, when, in the month of June, the confederates advanced to Velletri. While the two armies remained in sight of each other, prince Lobkowitz detached a strong body of forces, under count Soro and general Gorani, who made an irruption into the province of Abruzzo, and took the city of Aquilla, where they distributed a manifesto, in which the queen of Hungary exhorted the Neapolitans to shake off the Spanish yoke, and submit again to the house of Austria. This step, however, produced little or no effect; and the Austrian detachment retired at the approach of the duke of Vieuville, with a superior number of forces. In August, count Brown, at the head of an Austrian detachment, surprised Velletri in the night; and the king of the Two Sicilies, with the duke of Modena, were in the utmost danger of being taken. They escaped by a postern with great difficulty, and repaired to the quarters of count Gages, who performed the part of a great general on this occasion. He rallied the fugitives, dispelled the panic and confusion which had begun to prevail in his camp, and made a disposition for cutting off the retreat of the Austrians. Count Brown, finding himself in danger of being surrounded, thought proper to secure his retreat, which he effected with great art and gallantry, carrying off a prodigious booty. Three thousand Spaniards are said to have fallen in this action; and eight hundred men were taken, with some standards and colours. Count Mariani, a Neapolitan general, was among the prisoners. The Austrians lost about six hundred men; and general Novati fell into the hands of the enemy; but the exploit produced no consequence of importance. The heats of Autumn proved so fatal to the Austrians, who were not accustomed to the climate, that prince Lobkowitz saw his army mouldering away, without any possibility of its being recruited; besides, the country was so drained that he could no longer procure subsistence. Impelled by these considerations, he meditated a retreat. On the eleventh day of November, he decamped from Faiola, marched under the walls of Rome, passed the Tiber at Ponte Mole, formerly known by the name of Pons Milvius, which he had just time to break down behind him, when the vanguard of the Spaniards and Neapolitans appeared. Part of his rear-guard, however, was taken, with count Soro who commanded it, at Nocero; and his army suffered greatly by desertion. Nevertheless, he continued his retreat with equal skill and expedition, passed the mountains of Gubio, and by the way of Viterbo reached the Bolognese. The pope was altogether passive. In the beginning of the campaign he had caressed Lobkowitz; and now he received the king of the Two Sicilies with marks of the warmest affection. That prince having visited the chief curiosities of Rome, returned to Naples, leaving part of his troops under the command of count Gages.

BATTLE OF CONI.

Fortune likewise favoured his brother Don Philip in Savoy and Piedmont. He was, early in the season, joined at Antibes by the French army under the conduct of the prince of Conti. In the latter end of March, the combined forces passed the Var, reduced the castle of Aspremont, and entered the city of Nice without opposition. In April, they attacked the king of Sardinia, who, with twenty thousand men, was strongly intrenched among the mountains of Villa-Franca. The action was obstinate and bloody; but their numbers and perseverance prevailed. He was obliged to abandon his posts, and embark on board of the British squadron, which transported him and his troops to Vado. The intention of Don Philip was to penetrate through the territories of Genoa into the Milanese; but admiral Matthews, who hovered with a strong squadron on that coast, sent a message to the republic, declaring, that should the combined army be suffered to pass through her dominions, the king of Great Britain would consider such a step as a breach of their neutrality. The senate, intimidated by this intimation, entreated the princes to desist from their design, and they resolved to choose another route. They defiled towards Piedmont, and assaulted the strong post of Chateau-Dauphiné, defended by the king of Sardinia in person. After a desperate attack, in which they lost four thousand men, the place was taken; the garrison of Demont surrendered at discretion, and the whole country of Piedmont was laid under contribution. His Sardinian majesty was not in a condition to hazard a battle; and, therefore, posted himself at Saluzzes, in order to cover his capital. The combined army advanced to the strong and important town of Coni, which was invested in the beginning of September, Baron Leutrum, the governor, made an obstinate defence, and the situation of the place was such as rendered the siege difficult, tedious, and bloody. The king of Sardinia being reinforced by ten thousand Austrians, under general Pallavicini, advanced to its relief, and a battle ensued. The action was maintained with great vigour on both sides till night, when his majesty finding it impracticable to force the enemy’s intrenchments, retired in good order to his camp at Murasso, He afterwards found means to throw a reinforcement and supply of provisions into Coni; and the heavy rains that fell at this period, not only retarded but even dispirited the besiegers. Nevertheless, the princes persisted in their design, notwithstanding a dearth of provisions, and the approach of winter, till the latter end of November, when the chevalier de Soto entered the place with six hundred fresh men. This incident was no sooner known than the princes abandoned their enterprise; and leaving their sick and wounded to the mercy of the Piedmontese, marched back to Demont. Having dismantled the fortifications of this place, they retreated with great precipitation to Dauphiné, and were dreadfully harassed by the Vaudois and light troops in the service of his Sardinian majesty, who now again saw himself in possession of Piedmont. The French troops were quartered in Dauphiné; but Don Philip still maintained his footing in Savoy, the inhabitants of which he fleeced without mercy.

RETURN OF COMMODORE ANSON.

After the action at Toulon, nothing of consequence was achieved by the British squadron in the Mediterranean; and indeed the naval power of Great Britain was, during the summer, quite inactive. In the month of June, commodore Anson returned from his voyage of three years and nine months, in which he had surrounded the terraqueous globe. We have formerly observed, that he sailed with a small squadron to the South-Sea, in order to annoy the Spanish settlements of Chili and Peru. Two of his large ships having been separated from him in a storm before he weathered Cape Horn, had put in at Rio de Janeiro, on the coast of Brazil, from whence they returned to Europe. A frigate commanded by captain Cheap, was shipwrecked on a desolate island in the South-Sea. Mr. Anson having undergone a dreadful tempest, which dispersed his fleet, arrived at the island of Juan Fernandez, where he was joined by the Gloucester, a ship of the line, a sloop, and a pink loaded with provisions. These were the remains of his squadron. He made prize of several vessels; took and burned the little town of Payta; set sail from the coast of Mexico for the Philippine Isles; and in this passage the Gloucester was abandoned and sunk: the other vessels had been destroyed for want of men to navigate them, so that nothing now remained but the commodore’s own ship, the Centurion, and that but very indifferently manned; for the crews had been horribly thinned by sickness. Incredible were the hardships and misery they sustained from the shattered condition of the ships, and the scorbutic disorder, when they reached the plentiful island of Tinian, where they were supplied with the necessary refreshments. Thence they prosecuted their voyage to the river of Canton in China, where the commodore ordered the ship to be sheathed, and found means to procure a reinforcement of sailors. The chief object of his attention was the rich annual ship that sails between Acapulco, in Mexico, and Manilla, one of the Philippine islands. In hopes of intercepting her, he set sail from Canton, and steered his course back to the straits of Manilla, where she actually fell into his hands, after a short but vigorous engagement. The prize was called Neustra Signora de Cabodonga, mounted with forty guns, manned with six hundred sailors, and loaded with treasure and effects to the value of three hundred and thirteen thousand pounds sterling; with this windfall he returned to Canton; from whence he proceeded to the Cape of Good Hope, and prosecuted his voyage to England, where he arrived in safety. Though this fortunate commander enriched himself by an occurrence that may be termed almost accidental, the British nation was not indemnified for the expense of the expedition; and the original design was entirely defeated. Had the Manilla ship escaped the vigilance of the English commodore, he might have been, on his return to England, laid aside as a superannuated captain, and died in obscurity, but his great wealth invested him with considerable influence, and added lustre to his talents.

He soon became the oracle which was consulted in all naval deliberations; and the king raised him to the dignity of a peerage. In July, sir John Balchen, an admiral of approved valour and great experience, sailed from Spithead with a strong squadron, in quest of an opportunity to attack the French fleet at Brest, under the command of M. de Rochambault. In the bay of Biscay he was overtaken by a violent storm, that dispersed the ships, and drove them up the English channel. Admiral Stewart, with the greater part of them, arrived at Plymouth; but sir John Balchen’s own ship, the Victory, which was counted the most beautiful first-rate in the world, foundered at sea; and this brave commander perished, with all his officers, volunteers, and crew, amounting to eleven hundred choice seamen. On the fourth day of October, after the siege of Fribourg, the mareschal duke de Belleisle, and his brother, happened in their way to Berlin to halt at a village in the forest of Hartz, dependent on the electorate of Hanover. There they were apprehended by the bailiff of the place, and conducted as prisoners to Osterode; from whence they were removed to Stade on the Elbe, where they embarked for England. They resided at Windsor till the following year, when they were allowed the benefit of the cartel which had been established between Great Britain and France at Franckfort, and released accordingly, after they had been treated by the British nobility with that respect and hospitality which was due to their rank and merit.*

* Mr. Pope, the celebrated poet, died in the month of June. In October, the old duchess of Marlborough resigned her breath, in the eighty-fifth year of her age, immensely rich, and very little regretted, either by her own family or the world in general.

REVOLUTION IN THE BRITISH MINISTRY.

The dissensions in the British cabinet were now ripened into another revolution in the ministry. Lord Carteret, who was by this time earl Granville, in consequence of his mother’s death, had engrossed the royal favour so much, that the duke of Newcastle and his brother are said to have taken umbrage at his influence and greatness. He had incurred the resentment of those who were distinguished by the appellation of patriots, and entirely forfeited his popularity. The two brothers were very powerful by their parliamentary interest; they knew their own strength, and engaged in a political alliance with the leading men in the opposition, against the prime minister and his measures. This coalition was dignified with the epithet of “The Broad Bottom,” as if it had been established on a true constitutional foundation, comprehending individuals of every class, without distinction of party. The appellation, however, which they assumed was afterwards converted into a term of derision. The earl of Granville perceiving the gathering storm and foreseeing the impossibility of withstanding such an opposition in parliament, wisely avoided the impending danger and disgrace, by a voluntary resignation of his employments. The earl of Harrington succeeded him as secretary of state. The duke of Bedford was appointed first lord of the admiralty, and the earl of Chesterfield declared lord-lieutenant of Ireland. The lords Gower and Cobham were re-established in the offices they had resigned; Mr. Lyttelton was admitted as a commissioner of the treasury; even sir John Hinde Cotton accepted of a place at court; and sir John Phillips sat at the board of trade and plantations, though he soon renounced this employment. This was rather a change of men than of measures, and turned out to the ease and advantage of the sovereign; for his views were no longer thwarted by an obstinate opposition in parliament. The session was opened on the twenty-eighth day of November, in the usual manner. The commons unanimously granted about six millions and an half for the service of the ensuing year, to be raised by the land, the malt, and the salt taxes, the sinking fund, and an additional duty on wines. In January, the earl of Chesterfield set out for the Hague, with the character of ambassador-extraordinary, to persuade, if possible, the states-general to engage heartily in the war. About the same time a treaty of quadruple alliance was signed at Warsaw, by the queen of Hungary, the king of Poland, and the maritime powers. This was a mutual guarantee of the dominions belonging to the contracting parties; but his Polish majesty was paid for his concurrence, with an annual subsidy of one hundred and fifty thousand pounds, two-thirds of which were defrayed by England, and the remainder was disbursed by the United Provinces.*

* Robert earl of Orford, late prime minister, died in March, after having for a very short time enjoyed a pension of four thousand pounds granted by the crown, in consideration of his past services. Though he had for such a length of time directed the application of the public treasure, his circumstances were not affluent: he was liberal in his disposition, and had such a number of rapacious dependents to gratify, that little was left for his own private occasions.

The business of the British parliament being discussed, the session was closed in the beginning of May; and, immediately after the prorogation, the king set out for Hanover. The death of the emperor Charles VII. hich happened in the month of January, had entirely changed the face of affairs in the empire, and all the princes of Germany were in commotion. The grand-duke of Tuscany, consort to her Hungarian majesty, was immediately declared a candidate for the Imperial crown; while his pretensions were warmly opposed by the French king and his allies. The court of Vienna, taking advantage of the late emperor’s death, sent an army to invade Bavaria in the month of March, under the conduct of general Bathiani, who routed the French and Palatine troops at Psiffenhoven, took possession of Rain, surrounded and disarmed six thousand Hessians in the neighbouhood of Ingoldstadt, and drove the Bavarian forces out of the electorate. The young elector was obliged to abandon his capital, and retire to Augsburgh, where he found himself in danger of losing all his dominions. In this emergency, he yielded to the earnest solicitations of the empress his mother, enforced by the advice of his uncle the elector of Cologn, and of his general count Secken-dorf, who exhorted him to be reconciled to the court of Vienna. A negotiation was immediately begun at Fuessen; where, in April, the treaty was concluded. The queen consented to recognise the Imperial dignity, as having been vested in the person of his father; to acknowledge his mother as empress dowager; to restore his dominions, with all the fortresses, artillery, stores, and ammunition which she had taken: on the other hand, he renounced all claim to the succession of her father, and became guarantee of the pragmatic sanction; he acknowledged the validity of the electoral vote of Bohemia in the person of the queen; engaged to give his voice for the grand duke at the ensuing election of a king of the Romans. Until that should be determined, both parties agreed that Ingoldstadt should be garrisoned by neutral troops; and that Braumau and Schardingen, with all the country lying between the Inn and the Saltza, should remain in the queen’s possession, though without prejudice to the civil government or the elector’s revenue. In the meantime he dismissed the auxiliaries that were in his pay, and they were permitted to retire without molestation.

The court of Vienna had now secured the votes of all the electors, except those of Brandenburgh and the Palatinate. Nevertheless, France assembled a powerful army in the neighbourhood of Franckfort, in order to influence the election. But the Austrian army, commanded by the grand-duke in person, marched thither from the Danube; and the prince of Conti was obliged to repass the Rhine at Nordlingen. Then the grand-duke repaired to Franckfort, where on the second day of September he was, by a majority of voices, declared king of the Romans and emperor of Germany. Meanwhile the king of Prussia had made great progress in the conquest of Silesia. The campaign began in January, when the Hungarian insurgents were obliged to retire into Moravia. In the following month the Prussian general Lehrwald defeated a body of twelve thousand Austrians, commanded by general Helsrich; the town of Eatisbon was taken by assault; and the king entered Silesia, in May, at the head of seventy thousand men. Prince Charles of Lorraine, being joined by the duke of Saxe-Wessenfels and twenty thousand Saxons, penetrated into Silesia by the defiles of Landshut; and were attacked by his Prussian majesty in the plains of Striegau, near Friedberg. The battle was maintained from morning till noon, when the Saxons giving way, prince Charles was obliged to retire with the loss of twelve thousand men, and a great number of colours, standards, and artillery. This victory, obtained on the fourth day of June, complete as it was, did not prove decisive; for, though the victor transferred the seat of the war into Bohemia, and maintained his army by raising contributions in that country, the Austrians resolved to hazard another engagement. Their aim was to surprise him in his camp at Sohr, which they attacked on the thirtieth of September, at day-break; but they met with such a warm reception, that notwithstanding their repeated efforts during the space of four hours, they were repulsed with considerable damage, and retreated to Jaromire, leaving five thousand killed upon the spot, besides two thousand that were taken, with many standards, and twenty pieces of cannon. The loss of this battle was in a great measure owing to the warice of the irregulars, who having penetrated into the Prussian camp, began to pillage with great eagerness, giving the king an opportunity to rally his disordered troops, and restore the battle; nevertheless, they retired with the plunder of his baggage, including his military chest, the officers of his chancery, his own secretary, and all the papers of his cabinet.

TREATY OF DRESDEN.—THE GRAND DUKE OF TUSCANY ELECTED EMPEROR.

After this action, his Prussian majesty returned to Berlin and breathed nothing but peace and moderation. In August he had signed a convention with the king of Great Britain, who became guarantee of his possessions in Silesia, as yielded by the treaty of Breslau; and he promised to vote for the grand duke of Tuscany at the election of an emperor. This was intended as the basis of a more general accommodation. But he now pretended to have received undoubted intelligence that the king of Poland and the queen of Hungary had agreed to invade Brandenburgh with three different armies; and that, for this purpose, his Polish majesty had demanded of the czarina the succours stipulated by treaty between the two crowns. Alarmed, or seemingly alarmed, at this information, he solicited the maritime powers to fulfil their engagements, and interpose their good offices with the court of Petersburgh. Yet, far from waiting for the result of these remonstrances, he made a sudden irruption into Lusatia, took possession of Gorlitz, and obliged prince Charles of Lorraine to retire before him into Bohemia. Then he entered Leipsic, and laid Saxony under contribution. The king of Poland, unable to resist the torrent, quitted his capital and took refuge in Prague. His troops, reinforced by a body of Austrians, were defeated at Pirna on the fifteenth day of December; and his Prussian majesty became master of Dresden without further opposition. The king of Poland, thus deprived of his hereditary dominions, was fain to acquiesce in such terms as the conqueror thought proper to impose; and the treaty of Dresden was concluded under the mediation of his Britannic majesty. By this convention the king of Prussia retained all the contributions he had levied in Saxony; and was entitled to a million of German crowns, to be paid by his Polish majesty at the next fair of Leipsic. He and the elector palatine consented to acknowledge the grand duke as emperor of Germany; and this last confirmed to his Prussian majesty certain privileges de non evocando, which had been granted by the late emperor, with regard to some territories possessed by the king of Prussia, though not belonging to the electorate of Brandenburgh. Immediately after the ratification of this treaty, the Prussian troops evacuated Saxony, and the peace of Germany was restored.

THE ALLIES ARE DEFEATED.

Though the French king could not prevent the elevation of the grand duke to the Imperial throne, he resolved to humble the house of Austria, by making a conquest of the Netherlands. A prodigious army was there assembled, under the auspices of mareschal count de Saxe; and his most christian majesty, with the dauphin, arriving in the camp, they invested the strong town of Tournay on the thirtieth day of April. The Dutch garrison consisted of eight thousand men, commanded by the old baron Dorth, who made a vigorous defence. The duke of Cumberland assumed the chief command of the allied army, assembled at Soignes; he was assisted with the advice of the count Konigsegg, an Austrian general, and the prince of Waldeck, commander of the Dutch forces. Their army was greatly inferior in number to that of the enemy; nevertheless, they resolved to march to the relief of Tournay. They accordingly advanced to Leuse; and on the twenty-eight day of April took post at Maulbre, in sight of the French army, which was encamped on an eminence from the village of Antonie, to a large wood beyond Vezon, having Fontenoy in their front. Next day was employed by the allies in driving the enemy from some outposts, and clearing the defiles through which they were obliged to advance to the attack; while the French completed their batteries, and made the most formidable preparations for their reception. On the thirtieth day of April, the duke of Cumberland, having made the proper dispositions, began his march to the enemy at two o’clock in the morning; a brisk cannonade ensued; and about nine both armies were engaged. The British infantry drove the French beyond their lines; but the left wing failing in the attack on the village of Fontenoy, and the cavalry forbearing to advance on the flanks, they measured back their ground with some disorder, from the prodigious fire of the French batteries. They rallied, however, and returning to the charge with redoubled ardour, repulsed the enemy to their camp with great slaughter; but, being wholly unsupported by the other wing, and exposed both in front and flank to a dreadful fire, which did great execution, the duke was obliged to make the necessary dispositions for a retreat about three o’clock in the afternoon, and this was effected in tolerable order. The battle was fought with great obstinacy, and the carnage on both sides was very considerable. The allies lost about twelve thousand men, including a good number of officers; among these were lieutenant-general Campbell, and major-general Ponsonby. The victory cost the French almost an equal number of lives; and no honour was lost by the vanquished. Had the allies given battle on the preceding day, before the enemy had taken their measures and received all their reinforcements, they might have succeeded in their endeavour to relieve Tournay. Although the attack was generally judged rash and precipitate, the British and Hanoverian troops fought with such intrepidity and perseverance, that if they had been properly sustained by the Dutch forces, and their flanks covered by the cavalry, the French in all likelihood would have been obliged to abandon their enterprise. The duke of Cumberland left his sick and wounded to the humanity of the victors; and retiring to Aeth, encamped in an advantageous situation at Lessines. The garrison of Tournay, though now deprived of all hope of succour, maintained the place to the twenty-first day of June, when the governor obtained an honourable capitulation. After the conquest of this frontier, which was dismantled, the duke of Cumberland, apprehending the enemy had a design upon Ghent, sent a detachment of four thousand men to reinforce the garrison of that city; but they fell into an ambuscade at Pas-du-mêle, and were killed or taken, except a few dragoons that escaped to Ostend; on that very night, which was the twelfth of June, Ghent was surprised by a detachment of the French army. Then they invested Ostend, which, though defended by an English garrison, and open to the sea, was, after a short siege, surrendered by capitulation on the fourteenth day of August Dendermonde, Oudenarde, Newport, and Aeth, underwent the same fate; while the allied army lay entranced beyond the canal of Antwerp. The French king having subdued the greatest part of the Austrian Netherlands, returned to Paris, which he entered in triumph.

THE KING OF SARDINIA IS ALMOST STRIPPED OF HIS DOMINIONS.

The campaign in Italy was unpropitious to the queen of Hungary and the king of Sardinia. Count Gages passed the Appenines, and entered the state of Lucca; from thence he proceeded by the eastern coast of Genoa to Lestride-Levante. The junction of the two armies was thus accomplished, and reinforced with ten thousand Genoese; meanwhile prince Lobkowitz decamped from Modena and took post at Parma; but he was soon succeeded by count Schuylemberg, and sent to command the Austrians in Bohemia. The Spaniards entered the Milanese without further opposition. Count Gages, with thirty thousand men, took possession of Serravalle; and advancing towards Placentia, obliged the Austrians to retire under the cannon of Tortona; but when don Philip, at the head of forty thousand troops, made himself master of Acqui, the king of Sardinia and the Austrian general, unable to stem the torrent, retreated behind the Tanaro. The strong citadel of Tortona was taken by the Spaniards, who likewise reduced Parma and Placentia; and forcing the passage of the Tanaro, compelled his Sardinian majesty to take shelter on the other side of the Po. Then Pavia was won by scalade; and the city of Milan submitted to the infant, though the Austrian garrison still maintained the citadel; all Piedmont, on both sides of the Po, as far as Turin, was reduced, and even that capital threatened with a siege; so that by the month of October the territories belonging to the house of Austria, in Italy, were wholly subdued; and the king of Sardinia stripped of all his dominions; yet he continued firm and true to his engagements, and deaf to all proposals of a separate accommodation.

THE ENGLISH TAKE CAPE BRETON

The naval transactions of Great Britain were in the course of this year remarkably spirited. In the Mediterranean, admiral Rowley had succeeded Matthews in the command; Savona, Genoa, Final, St. Remo, with Bastia, the capital of Corsica, were bombarded; several Spanish ships were taken; but he could not prevent the safe arrival of their rich Havannah squadron at Corunna. Commodore Barnet, in the East Indies, made prize of several French ships richly laden; and commodore Townshend, in the latitude of Martinico, took about thirty merchant ships belonging to the enemy, under convoy of four ships of war, two of which were destroyed. The English privateers likewise met with uncommon success. But the most important achievement was the conquest of Louisbourg on the isle of Cape Breton, in North America; a place of great consequence, which the French had fortified at a prodigious expense. The scheme of reducing this fortress was planned in Boston, recommended by their general assembly, and approved by his majesty, who sent instructions to commodore Warren, stationed off the Leeward Islands, to sail for the northern parts of America, and co-operate with the forces of New England in this expedition. A body of six thousand men was formed under the conduct of Mr. Pepperel, a trader of Piscataquay, whose influence was extensive in that country; though he was a man of little or no education, and utterly unacquainted with military operations. In April Mr. Warren arrived at Canso with ten ships of war; and the troops of New England being embarked m transports, sailed immediately for the isle of Cape Breton, where they landed without opposition. The enemy abandoned their grand battery, which was detached from the town; and the immediate seizure of it contributed in a good measure to the success of the enterprise. While the American troops, reinforced by eight hundred marines, carried on their approaches by land, the squadron blocked up the place by sea in such a manner that no succours could be introduced. A French ship of the line, with some smaller vessels destined for the relief of the garrison, were intercepted and taken by the British cruisers; and, indeed, the reduction of Louisbourg was chiefly owing to the vigilance and activity of Mr. Warren, one of the bravest and best officers in the service of England. The operations of the siege were wholly conducted by the engineers and officers who commanded the British marines; and the Americans, being ignorant of war, were contented to act under their directions. The town being considerably damaged by the bombs and bullets of the besiegers, and the garrison despairing of relief, the governor capitulated on the seventeenth day of June, when the city of Louisbourg, and the isle of Cape Breton, were surrendered to his Britannic majesty. The garrison and inhabitants engaged that they would not bear arms for twelve months against Great Britain or her allies; and being-embarked in fourteen cartel ships, were transported to Rochefort. In a few days after the surrender of Louisbourg, two French East India ships, and another from Peru, laden with treasure, sailed into the harbour on the supposition that it still belonged to France, and were taken by the English squadron.

The news of this conquest being transmitted to England, Mr. Pepperel was preferred to the dignity of a baronet of Great Britain, and congratulatory addresses were presented to the king on the success of his majesty’s arms. The possession of Cape Breton was, doubtless, a valuable acquisition to Great Britain. It not only distressed the French in their fishery and navigation, but removed all fears of encroachment and rivalship from the English fishers on the banks of Newfoundland. It freed New England from the terrors of a dangerous neighbour; overawed the Indians of that country; and secured the possession of Acadia to the crown of Great Britain. The plan of this conquest was originally laid by Mr. Auchmuty, judge-advocate of the court of admiralty in New England. He demonstrated, that the reduction of Cape Breton would put the English in sole possession of the fishery of North America, which would annually return to Groat Britain two millions sterling, for the manufactures yearly shipped to the plantations; employ many thousand families that were otherwise unserviceable to the public; increase the shipping and mariners; extend navigation; cut off all communication between France and Canada by the river St. Lawrence; so that Quebec would fall of. course into the hands of the English, who might expel the French entirely from America, open a correspondence with the remote Indians, and render themselves masters of the profitable fur-trade, which was now engrossed by the enemy. The natives of New England acquired great glory from the success of this enterprise. Britain, which had in some instances behaved like a step-mother to her own colonies, was now convinced of their importance; and treated those as brethren whom she had too long considered as aliens and rivals. Circumstanced as the nation is, the legislature cannot too tenderly cherish the interests of the British plantations in America. They are inhabited by a brave, hardy, industrious people, animated with an active spirit of commerce; inspired with a noble zeal for liberty and independence. The trade of Great Britain, clogged with heavy taxes and impositions, has for some time languished in many valuable branches. The French have undersold our cloths, and spoiled our markets in the Levant. Spain is no longer supplied as usual with the commodities of England; the exports to Germany must be considerably diminished by the misunderstanding between Great Britain and the house of Austria; consequently, her greatest resource must be in her communication with her own colonies, which consume her manufactures, and make immense returns in sugar, rum, tobacco, fish, timber, naval stores, iron, furs, drugs, rice, and indigo. The southern plantations likewise produce silk; and with due encouragement, might furnish every thing that could be expected from the most fertile soil and the happiest climate. The continent of North America, if properly cultivated, will prove an inexhaustible fund of wealth and strength to Great Britain; and perhaps it may become the last asylum of British liberty. When the nation is enslaved by domestic despotism or foreign dominion; when her substance is wasted, her spirit broke, and the laws and constitution of England are no more; then those colonies, sent off by our fathers, may receive and entertain their sons as hapless exiles and ruined refugees.

PROJECT OF AN INSURRECTION IN GREAT BRITAIN.

While the continent of Europe and the isles of America were thus exposed to the ravages of war, and subjected to such vicissitudes of fortune, Great Britain underwent a dangerous convulsion in her own bowels. The son of the chevalier de St. George, fired with ambition, and animated with the hope of ascending the throne of his ancestors, resolved to make an effort for that purpose, which, though it might not be crowned with success, should at least astonish all Christendom. The Jacobites in England and Scotland had promised, that if he would land in Britain at the head of a regular army, they would supply him with provisions, carriages, and horses, and a great number of them declared they would take up arms and join his standard; but they disapproved of his coming over without forces, as a dangerous enterprise, that would in all probability end in the ruin of himself and all his adherents. This advice, including an exact detail of his father’s interest, with the dispositions of his particular friends in every town and county, was transmitted to London in January, in order to be forwarded to prince Charles; but the person with whom it was intrusted could find no safe method of conveyance; so that he sent it back to Scotland, from whence it was despatched to France; but before it reached Paris, Charles had left that kingdom. Had the paper come to his hands in due time, perhaps he would not have embarked in the undertaking, though he was stimulated to the attempt by many concurring motives. Certain it is, he was cajoled by the sanguine misrepresentations of a few adventurers, who hoped to profit by the expedition. They assured him that the whole nation was disaffected to the reigning family; that the people could no longer bear the immense load of taxes, which was daily increasing; and that the most considerable persons of the kingdom would gladly seize the first opportunity of crowding to his standard. On the other hand, he knew the British government had taken some effectual steps to alienate the friends of his house from the principles they had hitherto professed. Some of them had accepted posts and pensions; others were preferred in the army; and the parliament were so attached to the reigning family, that he had nothing to hope from their deliberations. He expected no material succour from the court of France; he foresaw that delay would diminish the number of his adherents in Great Britain; and, therefore, resolved to seize the present occasion, which in many respects was propitious to his design. Without doubt, had he been properly supported, he could not have found a more favourable opportunity of exciting an intestine commotion in Great Britain; for Scotland was quite unfurnished with troops; king George was in Germany; the duke of Cumberland, at the head of the British army, was employed in Flanders, and great part of the highlanders were keen for insurrection. Their natural principles were on this occasion stimulated by the suggestions of revenge. At the beginning of the war a regiment of those people had been formed, and transported with the rest of the British troops to Flanders. Before they were embarked, a number of them deserted with their arms, on pretence that they had been decoyed into the service by promises and assurances that they should never be sent abroad; and this was really the case. They were overtaken by a body of horse, persuaded to submit, brought back to London pinioned like malefactors, and tried for desertion. They were shot to death in terrorem; and the rest were sent in exile to the plantations. Those who suffered were persons of some consequence in their own country; and their fate was deeply resented by the clans to which they belonged. It was considered as a national outrage; and the highlanders, who are naturally vindictive, waited impatiently for an opportunity of vengeance.

THE ELDEST SON OF THE CHEVALIER DE ST. GEORGE LANDS IN SCOTLAND.

The young pretender being furnished with a sum of money, and a supply of arms, on his private credit, with-out the knowledge of the French court, wrote letters to his friends in Scotland, explaining his design and situation, intimating the place where he intended to land, communicating a private signal, and assuring them he should be with them by the middle of June. These precautions being taken, he embarked on board of a small frigate at Port St. Nazaire, accompanied by the marquis of Tullibardine, sir Thomas Sheridan, sir John Macdonald, with a few other Irish and Scottish adventurers; and setting sail on the fourteenth of July, was joined off Belleisle by the Elizabeth, a French ship of war, mounted with sixty-six guns, as his convoy. *

* The Elizabeth, a king’s ship, was procured as a convoy, by the interest of Mr. Walsh, an Irish merchant at Nantes; and on board of her fifty French young gentlemen embarked as volunteers.

Their design was to sail round Ireland, and land in the western part of Scotland; but falling in with the Lion, an English ship of the line, a very obstinate and bloody action ensued. The Elizabeth was so disabled that she could not prosecute the voyage, and with difficulty reached the harbour of Brest; but the Lion was shattered to such a degree, that she floated like a wreck upon the water. The disaster of the Elizabeth was a great misfortune to the adventurer, as by her being disabled he lost a great quantity of arms, and about one hundred able officers, who were embarked on board of her for the benefit of his expedition. Had this ship arrived in Scotland, she could easily have reduced Fort William, situated in the midst of the clans attached to the Stuart family. Such a conquest, by giving lustre to the prince’s arms, would have allured many to his standard, who were indifferent in point of principle; and encouraged a great number of highlanders to join him, who were restricted by the apprehension, that their wives and families would be subject to insults from the English garrison of this fortress. Prince Charles, in the frigate, continued his course to the western isles of Scotland. After a voyage of eighteen days he landed on a little island between Barra and South-Inst, two of the Hebrides; then he re-embarked, and in a few days arrived at Borodale in Amsacy, on the confines of Lochnannach, where he was in a little time joined by a considerable number of hardy mountaineers, under their respective chiefs and leaders. On the nineteenth day of August, the marquis of Tullibardine erected the pretender’s standard at Glensinnan. Some of those, however, on whom Charles principally depended, now stood aloof, either fluctuating in their principles, astonished at the boldness of the undertaking, or startled at the remonstrances of their friends, who did not fail to represent, in aggravated colours, all the danger of embarking in such a desperate enterprise. Had the government acted with proper vigour when they received intelligence of his arrival, the adventurer must have been crushed in embryo, before any considerable number of his adherents could have been brought together; but the lords of the regency seemed to slight the information, and even to suspect the integrity of those by whom it was conveyed. They were soon convinced of their mistake. Prince Charles having assembled about twelve hundred men, encamped in the neighbourhood of Fort William; and immediately hostilities were commenced. A handful of Keppoch’s clan, commanded by major Donald Macdonald, even before they joined the pretender, attacked two companies of new raised soldiers, who, with their officer, were disarmed after an obstinate dispute; another captain of the king’s forces, falling into their hands, was courteously dismissed with one of the pretender’s manifestoes, and a passport for his personal safety. The administration was now effectually alarmed. The lords of the regency issued a proclamation offering a reward of thirty thousand pounds to any person who should apprehend the prince-adventurer. The same price was set upon the head of the elector of Hanover, in a proclamation published by the pretender. A courier was despatched to Holland to hasten the return of his majesty, who arrived in England about the latter end of August. A requisition was made of the six thousand Dutch auxiliaries; and several British regiments were recalled from the Netherlands. A loyal address was presented to the king by the city of London; and the merchants of this metropolis resolved to raise two regiments at their own expense. Orders were issued to keep the trained bands in readiness; to array the militia of Westminster; and instructions to the same effect were sent to all the lords-lieutenants of the counties throughout the kingdom. The principal noblemen of the nation made a tender of their services to their sovereign; and some of them received commissions to levy regiments towards the suppression of the rebellion. Bodies of volunteers were incorporated in London and many other places; associations were formed, large contributions raised in different towns, counties, and communities; and a great number of eminent merchants in London agreed to support the public credit, by receiving, as usual, bank-notes in payment for the purposes of traffic. The protestant clergy of all denominations exerted themselves with extraordinary ardour, in preaching against the religion of Rome and the pretender; and the friends of the government were encouraged, animated, and confirmed in their principles, by several spiritual productions published for the occasion.

In a word, the bulk of the nation seemed unanimously bent upon opposing the enterprise of the pretender, who, nevertheless, had already made surprising progress. His arrival in Scotland was no sooner confirmed, than sir John Cope, who commanded the troops in that kingdom, assembled what force he could bring together, and advanced against the rebels. Understanding, however, that they had taken possession of a strong pass, he changed his route, and proceeded northwards as far as Inverness, leaving the capital and the southern parts of North Britain wholly exposed to the incursions of the enemy. The highlanders forthwith marched to Perth, where the chevalier de St. George was proclaimed king of Great Britain, and the public money seized for his use; the same steps were taken at Dundee and other places. Prince Charles was joined by the nobleman who assumed the title of the duke of Perth, the viscount Strathallan, lord Nairn, lord George Murray, and many persons of distinction, with their followers. The marquis of Tullibardine, who had accompanied him from France, took possession of Athol, as heir of blood to the titles and estates which his younger brother enjoyed in consequence of his attainder; and met with some success in arming the tenants for the support of that cause which he avowed. The rebel army being considerably augmented, though very ill-provided with arms, crossed the Forth in the neighbourhood of Stirling, and advanced towards Edinburgh, where they were joined by lord Eleho, son of the earl of Wemyss, and other persons of some distinction. On the sixteenth day of September Charles summoned the town to surrender. The inhabitants were divided by faction, and distracted by fear; the place was not in a posture of defence, and the magistrates would not expose the people to the uncertain issue of an assault. Several deputations were sent from the town to the pretender, in order to negotiate terms of capitulation. In the meantime, one of the gates being opened for the admission of a coach, Cameron of Lochiel, one of the most powerful of the highland chiefs, rushed into the place with a party of his men, and secured it without opposition. Next morning the whole rebel army entered, and their prince took possession of the royal palace of Holyrood-house in the suburbs. Then he caused his father to be proclaimed at the market-cross; there also the manifesto was read, in which the chevalier de St. George declared his son Charles regent of his dominions, promised to dissolve the union, and redress the grievances of Scotland. His being in possession of the capital encouraged his followers, and added reputation to his arms; but the treasure belonging to the two banks of that kingdom had been previously conveyed into the castle, a strong fortress, with a good garrison, under the command of general Guest, an old officer of experience and capacity.

During these transactions, sir John Cope marched back from Inverness to Aberdeen, where he embarked with his troops, and on the seventeenth day of September landed at Dunbar, about twenty miles to the eastward of Edinburgh. Here he was joined by two regiments of dragoons which had retired with precipitation from the capital at the approach of the highland army. With this reinforcement, his troops amounted to near three thousand men; and he began his march to Edinburgh, in order to give battle to the enemy. On the twentieth day of the month, he encamped in the neighbourhood of Prestonpans, having the village of Tranent in his front, and the sea in his rear. Early next morning he was attacked by the young pretender, at the head of about two thousand four hundred highlanders, half-armed, who-charged them sword in hand with such impetuosity, that in less than ten minutes after the battle began, the king’s troops were broken and totally routed. The dragoons fled in the utmost confusion at the first onset; the general officers having made some unsuccessful efforts to rally them, thought proper to consult their own safety by an expeditious retreat towards Coldstream on the Tweed. All the infantry were either killed or taken; and the colours, artillery, tents, baggage, and military chest, fell into the hands of the victor, who returned in triumph to Edinburgh. Never was victory more complete, or obtained at a smaller expense; for not above fifty of the rebels lost their lives in the engagement. Five hundred of the king’s troops were killed on the field of battle; and among these colonel Gardiner, a gallant officer, who disdained to save his life at the expense of his honour. When abandoned by his own regiment of dragoons, he alighted from his horse, joined the infantry, and fought on foot, until he fell covered with wounds, in sight of his own threshold. Prince Charles bore his good fortune with moderation; he prohibited all rejoicings for the victory he had obtained; the wounded soldiers were treated with humanity; and the officers were sent into Fife and Angus, where they were left at liberty on their parole, which the greater part of them shamefully broke in the sequel. From this victory the pretender reaped manifold and important advantages. His followers were armed, his party encouraged, and his enemies intimidated. He was supplied with a train of field artillery, and a considerable sum of money, and saw himself possessed of all Scotland, except the fortresses, the reduction of which he could not pretend to undertake without proper implements and engineers. After the battle he was joined by a small detachment from the highlands; and some chiefs, who had hitherto been on the reserve, began to exert their influence in his favour. But he was not yet in a condition to take advantage of that consternation which his late success had diffused through the kingdom of England.

EFFORTS OF THE FRIENDS OF GOVERNMENT IN SCOTLAND.

Charles continued to reside in the palace of Holyrood-house; * and took measures for cutting off the communication between the castle and the city.

* While he resided at Edinburgh, some of the presbyterian clergy continued to preach in the churches of that city, and publicly prayed for king George, without suffering the least punishment or molestation. One minister in particular, of the name of Mac Vicar, being solicited by some highlanders to pray for their prince, promised to comply with their request, and performed his promise in words to this effect— “And as for the young prince, who is come hither in quest of an earthly crown, grant, O Lord, that he may speedily receive a crown of glory.”

General Guest declared that he would demolish the city, unless the blockade should be raised, so that provisions might be carried into the castle. After having waited the return of an express which he had found means to despatch to court, he began to put his threats in execution by firing upon the town. Some houses were beaten down, and several persons killed even at the market-cross. The citizens, alarmed at this disaster, sent a deputation to the prince, entreating him to raise the blockade; and he complyed with their request. He levied a regiment in Edinburgh and the neighbourhood. He imposed taxes; seized the merchandize that was deposited in the king’s warehouses at Leith and other places; and compelled the city of Glasgow to accommodate him with a large sum, to be repaid when the peace of the kingdom should be re-established. The number of his followers daily increased, and he received considerable supplies of money, artillery, and ammunition, by single ships that arrived from France, where his interest seemed to rise in proportion to the success of his arms. The greater and richer part of Scotland was averse to his family and pretensions; but the people were unarmed and undisciplined, consequently passive under his dominion. By this time, however, the prince-pretender was joined by the earl of Kilmarnock, the lords Eleho, Balmerino, Ogilvie, Pitsligo; and the eldest son of lord Lovat had begun to assemble his father’s clan, in order to reinforce the victor, whose army lay encamped at Duddingston, in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh. Kilmarnock and Balmarinowere men of broken and desperate fortune; Elcho and Ogilvie were sons to the earls of Wemyss and Airly; so that their influence was far from being extensive. Pitsligo was a nobleman of very amiable character, as well as of great personal interest; and great dependence was placed upon the power and attachment of lord Lovat, who had entered into private engagements with the chevalier de St. George, though he still wore the mask of loyalty to the government, and disavowed the conduct of his son when he declared for the pretender. This old nobleman is the same Simon Fraser whom we have had occasion to mention as a partisan and emissary of the court of St. Germain’s, in the year one thousand seven hundred and three. He had renounced his connexions with that family; and, in the rebellion immediately after the accession of king George I., approved himself a warm friend to the protestant succession. Since that period he had been induced, by disgust and ambition, to change his principles again, and was in secret an enthusiast in jacobitism. He had greatly augmented his estate, and obtained a considerable interest in the highlands, where, however, he was rather dreaded than beloved. He was bold, enterprising, vain, arbitrary, rapacious, cruel, and deceitful; but his character was chiefly marked by a species of low cunning and dissimulation, which, however, overshot his purpose, and contributed to his own ruin.*

*He solicited, and is said to have obtained of the chevalier de St. George the patent of a duke, and a commission for being lord-lieutenant of all the highlands.

While Charles resided at Edinburgh, the marquis de Guil-les arrived at Montrose, as envoy from the French king, with several officers, some cannon, and a considerable quantity of small arms for the use of that adventurer.

PRECAUTIONS TAKEN IN ENGLAND.

While the young pretender endeavoured to improve the advantages he had gamed, the ministry of Great Britain took every possible measure to retard his progress. Several powerful chiefs in the highlands were attached to the government, and exerted themselves in its defence. The duke of Argyle began to arm his vassals; but not before he had obtained the sanction of the legislature. Twelve hundred men were raised by the earl of Sutherland; the lord Rae brought a considerable number to the field; the Grants and Monroes appeared under their respective leaders for the service of his majesty; sir Alexander Macdonald declared for king George, and the laird of Macleod sent two thousand hardy islanders from Skye to strengthen the same interest. These gentlemen, though supposed to be otherwise affected, were governed and directed by the advice of Duncan Forbes, president of the college of justice at Edinburgh, a man of extensive knowledge, agreeable manners, and unblemished integrity. He procured commissions for raising twenty independent companies, and some of these he bestowed upon individuals who were either attached by principle, or engaged by promise, to the pretender. He acted with indefatigable zeal for the interest of the reigning family; and he greatly injured an opulent fortune in their service. He confirmed several chiefs who began to waiver in their principles; some he actually converted by the energy of his arguments, and brought over to the assistance of the government, which they had determined to oppose; others he persuaded to remain quiet, without taking any share in the present troubles. Certain it is, this gentleman, by his industry and address, prevented the insurrection of ten thousand highlanders, who would otherwise have joined the pretender; and, therefore, he may be said to have been one great cause of that adventurer’s miscarriage. The earl of Loudon repaired to Inverness, where he completed his regiment of highlanders; directed the conduct of the clans who had taken arms in behalf of his majesty; and, by his vigilance, overawed the disaffected chieftains of that country, who had not yet openly engaged in the rebellion. Immediately after the defeat of Cope, six thousand Dutch troops* arrived in England, and three battalions of guards, with seven regiments of infantry, were recalled from Flanders, for the defence of the kingdom.

* They were composed of the forces who had been in garrison at Tournay and Dendermonde when those places were taken, and engaged by capitulation, that they should not perform any military function before the first day of January, in the year 1747; so they could not have acted in England without the infringement of a solemn treaty.

They forthwith began their march to the north, under the command of general Wade, who received orders to assemble an army, which proceeded to Newcastle. The parliament meeting on the sixteenth day of October, his majesty gave them to understand, that an unnatural rebellion had broke out in Scotland, towards the suppression of which he craved their advice and assistance. He found both houses cordial in their addresses, and zealous in their attachment to his person and government. The commons forthwith suspended the habeas-corpus act; and several persons were apprehended on suspicion of treasonable practices. Immediately after the session was opened, the duke of Cumberland arrived from the Netherlands, and was followed by another detachment of dragoons and infantry. The train-bands of London were reviewed by his majesty; the county regiments were completed; the volunteers, in different parts of the kingdom, employed themselves industriously in the exercise of arms; and the whole English nation seemed to rise up as one man against this formidable invader. The government being apprehensive of a descent from France, appointed admiral Vernon to command a squadron in the Downs, to observe the motions of the enemy by sea, especially in the harbours of Dunkirk and Boulogne; and his cruisers took several ships laden with soldiers, officers, and ammunition, destined for the service of the pretender in Scotland.

This enterprising youth, having collected about five thousand men, resolved to make an irruption into England, which he accordingly entered by the west border on the sixth day of November. Carlisle was invested, and in less than three days surrendered; the keys were delivered to him at Brampton, by the mayor and aldermen on their knees. Here he found a considerable quantity of arms; his father was proclaimed king of Great Britain, and himself regent, by the magistrates in their formalities. General Wade being apprized of his progress, decamped from Newcastle, and advanced across the country as far as Hexham, though the fields were covered with snow, and the roads almost impassable. There he received intelligence that Carlisle was reduced, and forthwith returned to his former station, In the meantime, orders were issued for assembling another army in Staffordshire, under the command of sir John Ligonier. Prince Charles, notwithstanding this formidable opposition, determined to proceed. He had received assurances from France, that a considerable body of troops would be landed on the southern coast of Britain, to make a diversion in his favour; and he never doubted but that he should be joined by all the English malcontents, as soon as he could penetrate into the heart of the kingdom. Leaving a small garrison in the castle of Carlisle, he advanced to Penrith, marching on foot in the highland garb, at the head of his forces; and continued his route through Lancaster and Preston to Manchester, where on the twenty-ninth day of the month, he established his head quarters. There he was joined by about two hundred Englishmen, who were formed into a regiment under the command of colonel Townley. The inhabitants seemed to receive him with marks of affection; and his arrival was celebrated by illuminations and other public rejoicings. His supposed intention was to prosecute his march by the way of Chester into Wales, where he hoped to find a great number of adherents; but all the bridges over the river Mersey being broken down, he chose the route to Stockport, and forded the river at the head of his division, though the water rose to his middle. He passed through Macclesfield and Congleton; and on the fourth day of December entered the town of Derby, in which his army was quartered and his father proclaimed with great formality. He had now advanced within one hundred miles of the capital, which was filled with terror and confusion. Wade lingered in Yorkshire; the duke of Cumberland had assumed the command of the other army assembled in the neighbourhood of Lichfield. He had marched from Stafford to Stone; so that the rebels, in turning off from Ashbourne to Derby, had gained a march between him and London. Had Charles proceeded in his career with that expedition which he had hitherto used, he might have made himself master of the metropolis, where he would have been certainly joined by a considerable number of his well wishers, who waited impatiently for his approach; yet this exploit could not have been achieved without hazarding an engagement, and running the risk of being enclosed within three armies, each greatly superior to his own in number and artillery. Orders were given for forming a camp on Finchley-common, where the king resolved to take the field in person, accompanied by the earl of Stair, field-marshal and commander-in-chief of the forces in South-Britain. Some Romish priests were apprehended; the militia of London and Middlesex were kept in readiness to march; double watches were posted at the city-gates, and signals of alarm appointed. The volunteers of the city were incorporated into a regiment; the practitioners of the law, headed by the judges, weavers of Spitalfields, and other communities, engaged in associations; and even the managers of the theatres offered to raise a body of their dependents for the service of the government. Notwithstanding these precautions and appearances of unanimity, the trading part of the city, and those concerned in the money corporations, were overwhelmed with fear and dejection. They reposed very little confidence in the courage or discipline of their militia and volunteers; they had received intelligence that the French were employed in making preparations at Dunkirk and Calais for a descent upon England; they dreaded an insurrection of the Roman-catholics, and other friends of the house of Stuart; and they reflected that the highlanders, of whom by this time they had conceived a most terrible idea, were within four days’ march of the capital. Alarmed by these considerations, they prognosticated their own ruin in the approaching revolution; and their countenances exhibited the plainest marks of horror and despair. On the other hand, the Jacobites were elevated to an insolence of hope, which they were at no pains to conceal; while many people, who had no private property to lose, and thought no change would be for the worse, waited the issue of this crisis with the most calm indifference.

THE REBELS RETREAT INTO SCOTLAND.

This state of suspense was of short duration. The young pretender found himself miserably disappointed in his expectations. He had now advanced into the middle of the kingdom, and except a few that joined him at Manchester, not a soul appeared in his behalf; one would have imagined that all the Jacobites of England had been annihilated. The Welch took no step to excite an insurrection in his favour; the French made no attempt towards an invasion; his court was divided into factions; the highland chiefs began to murmur, and their clans to be unruly; he saw himself with a handful of men hemmed in between two considerable armies, in the middle of winter, and in a country disaffected to his cause. He knew he could not proceed to the metropolis without hazarding a battle, and that a defeat would be attended with the inevitable destruction of himself and all his adherents; and he had received information that his friends and officers had assembled a body of forces in the North, superior in number to those by whom he was attended. He called a council at Derby; and proposed to advance towards London: the proposal was supported by lord Nairn with great vehemence; but, after violent disputes, the majority determined that they should retreat to Scotland with all possible expedition. Accordingly, they abandoned Derby on the sixth day of December, early in the morning, and measured back the route by which they had advanced. On the ninth their vanguard arrived at Manchester; on the twelfth they entered Preston, and continued their march northwards. The duke of Cumberland, who was encamped at Meriden, when first apprized of their retreat, detached the horse and dragoons in pursuit of them; while general Wade began his march from Ferry-bridge in Lancashire, with a view of intercepting them in their route; but at Wakefield he understood that they had already reached Wigan; he therefore repaired to his old post at Newcastle, after having detached general Oglethorpe, with his horse and dragoons, to join those who had been sent off from the duke’s army. They pursued with such alacrity, that they overtook the rear of the rebels, with which they skirmished in Lancashire. The militia of Cumberland and Westmoreland were raised and armed by the duke’s order, to harass them in their march. The bridges were broken down, the roads damaged, and the beacons lighted to alarm the country. Nevertheless, they retreated regularly with their small train of artillery. They were overtaken at the village of Clifton, in the neighbourhood of Penrith, by two regiments of dragoons. These alighted, and lined the hedges, in order to harass part of the enemy’s rear-guard, commanded by lord John Murray; who, at the head of the Macphersons, attacked the dragoons sword in hand, and repulsed them with some loss. On the nineteenth day of the month, the highland army reached Carlisle, where the majority of the English in the service of the pretender were left, at their own desire. Charles, having reinforced the garrison of the place, crossed the rivers Eden and Solway into Scotland, having thus accomplished one of the most surprising retreats that ever was performed. But the most remarkable circumstance of this expedition, was the moderation and regularity with which those ferocious people conducted themselves in a country abounding with plunder. No violence was offered; no outrage committed; and they were effectually restrained from the exercise of rapine. Notwithstanding the excessive cold, the hunger, and fatigue to which they must have been exposed, they left behind no sick, and lost a very few stragglers; but retired with deliberation, and carried off their cannon in the face of their enemy. The duke of Cumberland invested Carlisle with his whole army on the twenty-first day of December, and on the thirtieth the garrison surrendered on a sort of capitulation made with the duke of Richmond. The prisoners, amounting to about four hundred, were imprisoned in different gaols in England, and the duke returned to London.

The pretender proceeded by the way of Dumfries to Glasgow, from which last city he exacted severe contributions, on account of its attachment to the government, for whose service it had raised a regiment of nine hundred men under the command of the earl of Home. Having continued several days at Glasgow, he advanced towards Stirling, and was joined by some forces which had been assembled in his absence by lords Lewis Gordon and John Drummond, brothers to the dukes of Gordon and Perth. This last nobleman had arrived from France in November, with a small reinforcement of French and Irish, and a commission as general of these auxiliaries, he fixed his head quarters at Perth, where he was reinforced by the earl of Cromartie and other clans, to the number of two thousand, and he was accommodated with a small train of artillery. They had found means to surprise a sloop of war at Montrose, with the guns of which they fortified that harbour. They had received a considerable sum of money from Spain. They took possession of Dundee, Dumblane, Downcastle, and laid Fife under contribution. The earl of Loudon remained at Inverness, with about two thousand highlanders in the service of his majesty. He convoyed provisions to Fort-Augustus and Fort-William; he secured the person of lord Lovat, who still temporized, and at length this cunning veteran accomplished his escape. The laird of Macleod, and Mr. Monro of Culcairn, being detached from Inverness towards Aberdeenshire, were surprised and routed by lord Lewis Gordon at Inverary; and that interest seemed to preponderate in the north of Scotland. Prince Charles being joined by lord John Drummond, invested the castle of Stirling, in which general Blakeney commanded; but his people were so little used to enterprises of this kind, that they made very little progress in their operations.

THE KING’S TROOPS UNDER HAWLEY ARE WORSTED AT FALKIEK.

By this time, a considerable body of forces was assembled at Edinburgh, under the conduct of general Hawley, who determined to relieve Stirling-castle, and advanced to Linlithgow on the thirteenth day of January; next day his whole army rendezvoused at Falkirk, while the rebels were cantoned about Bannockburn. On the seventeenth day of the month, they began then-march in two columns to attack the king’s forces, and had forded the water of Carron, within three miles of Hawley’s camp, before he discovered their intention. Such was his obstinacy, self-conceit, or contempt of the enemy, that he slighted the repeated intelligence he had received of their motions and design, firmly believing they durst not hazard an engagement. At length perceiving that they had occupied the rising ground to the southward of Falkirk, he ordered his cavalry to advance and drive them from the eminence; while his infantry formed, and were drawn up in order of battle. The highlanders kept up their fire, and took aim so well, that the assailants were broke by the first volley; they retreated with precipitation, and fell in amongst the infantry, which were likewise discomposed by the wind and rain beating with great violence in their faces, wetting their powder, and disturbing their eyesight. Some of the dragoons rallied, and advanced again to the charge, with part of the infantry which had not been engaged; then the pretender marched up at the head of his corps de reserve, consisting of the regiment of lord John Drummond, and the Irish piquets. These reinforcing the Camerons and the Stuarts in the front line, immediately obliged the dragoons to give way a second time, and they again disordered the foot in their retreat. They set fire to their camp, and abandoned Falkirk with their baggage and train, which last had never reached the field of battle. The rebels followed their first blow, and great part of the royal army, after one irregular discharge, turned their backs and fled in the utmost consternation. In all probability few or none of them would have escaped, had not general Huske, and brigadier Cholmondeley, rallied part of some regiments, and made a gallant stand, which favoured the retreat of the rest to Falkirk, from whence they retired in confusion to Edinburgh, leaving the field of battle, with part of their tents and artillery, to the rebels; but their loss of men did not exceed three hundred, including sir Robert Monro, colonel Whitney, and some other officers of distinction. It was at this period, that the officers who had been taken at the battle of Prestonpans, and conveyed to Angus and Fife, finding themselves unguarded, broke their parole, and returned to Edinburgh, on pretence of their having been forcibly released by the inhabitants of those parts.*

* Sir Peter Halket, captain Lucy Scott, lieutenants Farquharson and Cumming, with a few other gentlemen, adhered punctually to their parole, and their conduct was approved by his majesty.

THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND COMMANDS THE ROYAL TROOPS.

General Hawley, who had boasted that, with two regiments of dragoons, he would drive the rebel army from one end of the kingdom to the other, incurred abundance of censure for the disposition he made, as well as for his conduct before and after the action; but he found means to vindicate himself to the satisfaction of his sovereign. Nevertheless, it was judged necessary that the army in Scotland should be commanded by a general in whom the soldiers might have some confidence; and the duke of Cumberland was chosen for this purpose. Over and above his being beloved by the army, it was suggested, that the appearance of a prince of the blood in Scotland might have a favourable effect upon the minds of the people in that kingdom; he therefore began to prepare for his northern expedition. Meanwhile, the French minister at the Hague having represented to the states-general, that the auxiliaries which they had sent into Great Britain were part of the garrisons of Tournay and Dendermonde, and restricted by the capitulation from bearing arms against France for a certain term, the states thought proper to recall them, rather than come to an open rupture with his most christian majesty. In the room of those troops six thousand Hessians were transported from Flanders to Leith, where they arrived in the beginning of February, under the command of their prince, Frederick of Hesse, son-in-law to his Britannic majesty. By this time the duke of Cumberland had put himself at the head of the troops in Edinburgh, consisting of fourteen battalions of infantry, two regiments of dragoons, and twelve hundred highlanders from Argyle-shire, under the command of colonel Campbell.

On the last day of January, his royal highness began his march to Linlithgow; and the enemy, who had renewed the siege of Stirling-castle, not only abandoned that enterprise, but crossed the river Forth with precipitation. Their prince found great difficulty in maintaining his forces, that part of the country being quite exhausted. He hoped to be reinforced in the Highlands, and to receive supplies of all kinds from France and Spain; he therefore retired by Badenoch towards Inverness, which the earl of Loudon abandoned at his approach. The fort was surrendered to him almost without opposition, and here he fixed his head-quarters. His next exploit was the siege of Fort-Augustus, which he in a little time reduced. The duke of Cumberland having secured the important posts of Stirling and Perth with the Hessian battalions, advanced with the army to Aberdeen, where he was joined by the duke of Gordon, the earls of Aberdeen and Findlater, the laird of Grant, and other persons of distinction.

THE REBELS UNDERTAKE THE SIEGE OF FORT-WILLIAM.

While he remained in this place, refreshing his troops, and preparing magazines, a party of the rebels surprised a detachment of Kingston’s horse, and about seventy Argyleshire highlanders, at Keith, who were either killed or taken. Several advanced parties of that militia met with the same fate in different places. Lord George Murray invested the castle of Blair, which was defended by sir Andrew Agnew, until a body of Hessians marched to its relief, and obliged the rebels to retire. The prince-pretender ordered all his forces to assemble, in order to begin their march for Aberdeen to attack the duke of Cumberland; but, in consequence of a remonstrance from the clans, who declined leaving their families at the mercy of the king’s garrison in Fort-William, he resolved previously to reduce that fortress, the siege of which was undertaken by brigadier Stapleton, an engineer in the French service; but the place was so vigorously maintained by captain Scot, that in the beginning of April they thought proper to relinquish the enterprise. The earl of Loudon had retired into Sutherland, and taken post at Dornoch, where his quarters were beat up by a strong detachment of the rebels, commanded by the duke of Perth; a major and sixty men taken prisoners; and the earl was obliged to take shelter in the Isle of Skye. These little checks were counterbalanced by some advantages which his majesty’s arms obtained. The sloop of war which the rebels had surprised at Montrose was retaken in Sutherland, with a considerable sum of money, and a great quantity of arms on board, which she had brought from France for the use of the pretender. In the same county, the earl of Cromartie fell into an ambuscade, and was taken by the militia of Sutherland, who likewise defeated a body of the rebels at Goldspie. This action happened on the very day which has been rendered famous by the victory obtained at Culloden.

CHAPTER VI.

The Rebels are totally defeated at Culloden..... The Duke of Cumberland takes Possession of Inverness, and afterwards encamps at Fort-Augustus..... The Prince Pretender escapes to France..... Convulsion in the Ministry..... Liberality of the Commons..... Trial of the Rebels..... Kilmarnock, Balmerino, Lovat, and Mr. Ratcliff, are beheaded on Tower- hill..... The States-general alarmed at the Progress of the French in the Netherlands..... Count Saxa subdues all Flanders, Brabant, and Hainault..... Reduces the strong Fortress of Namur, and defeats the Allied Army at Roucoux..... The French and Spaniards are compelled to abandon Piedmont and the Milanese..... Don Philip is worsted at Codogno, and afterwards at Porto Freddo..... The Austrians take Possession of Genoa..... Count Brown penetrates into Provence..... The Genoese expel the Austrians from their City..... Madras in the East Indies taken by the French..... Expedition to the Coast of Bretagne, and Attempt upon Port L’Orient..... Naval Transactions in the West-Indies..... Conferences at Breda..... Vast Supplies granted by the Commons of England..... Parliament dissolved..... The French and Allies take the Field in Flanders..... Prince of Orange elected Stadtholder, Captain-general, and Admiral of the United Provinces..... The Confederates defeated at Laffeldt..... Siege of Bergen-op-Zoom—The Austrians undertake the Siege of Genoa, which however, they abandon..... The Chevalier de Belleisle slain in the Attack of Exilles..... A French Squadron defeated and taken by the Admirals Anson and Warren..... Admiral Hawke obtains another Victory over the French at Sea..... Other Naval Transactions..... Congress at Aix-la-Chapelle..... Compliant Temper of the new Parliament..... Preliminaries signed..... Preparations for the Campaign in the Netherlands..... Siege of Maestrieht..... Cessation of Arms..... Transactions in the East and West Indies..... Conclusion of the Definitive Treaty at Aix-la-Chapelle

In the beginning of April, the duke of Cumberland began his march from Aberdeen, and on the twelfth passed the deep and rapid river Spey, without opposition from the rebels, though a detachment of them appeared on the opposite side. Why they did not dispute the passage is not easy to be conceived; But, indeed, from this instance of neglect, and their subsequent conduct, we may conclude they were under a total infatuation. His royal highness proceeded to Nairn, where he received intelligence that the enemy had advanced from Inverness to Culloden, about the distance of nine miles from the royal army, with intention to give him battle. The design of Charles was to march in the night from Culloden, and surprise the duke’s army at day-break; for this purpose the English camp had been reconnoitred; and on the night of the fifteenth the highland army began to march in two columns. Their design was to surround the enemy, and attack them at once on all quarters; but the length of the columns embarrassed the march, so that the army was obliged to make many halts: the men had been under arms during the whole preceding night, were faint with hunger and fatigue, and many of them overpowered with sleep. Some were unable to proceed; others dropped off unperceived in the dark; and the march was retarded in such a manner, that it would have been impossible to reach the duke’s camp before sun-rise. The design being thus frustrated, the prince-pretender was with great reluctance prevailed upon by his general officers to measure back his way to Culloden; at which place he had no sooner arrived, than great numbers of his followers dispersed in quest of provisions; and many, overcome with weariness and sleep, threw themselves down on the heath and along the park walls. Their repose, however, was soon interrupted in a very disagreeable manner. Their prince receiving intelligence that his enemies were in full march to attack him, resolved to hazard an engagement, and ordered his troops to be formed for that purpose. On the sixteenth day of April, the duke of Cumberland, having made the proper dispositions, decamped from Nairn early in the morning, and after a march of nine miles perceived the highlanders drawn up in order of battle, to the number of four thou-sand men, in thirteen divisions, supplied with some pieces of artillery. The royal army, which was much more numerous, the duke immediately formed into three lines, disposed in excellent order: and about one o’clock in the afternoon the cannonading began. The artillery of the rebels was ill served, and did very little execution; but that of the king’s troops made dreadful havock among the enemy. Impatient of this fire, their front line advanced to the attack, and about five hundred of the clans charged the duke’s left wing with their usual impetuosity. One regiment was disordered by the weight of this column; but two battalions advancing from the second line, sustained the first, and soon put a stop to their career, by a severe fire, that killed a great number. At the same time the dragoons under Hawley, and the Argyleshire militia, pulled down a park wall that covered their flank, and the cavalry falling in among the rebels sword in hand, completed their confusion. The French picquets on their left, covered the retreat of the highlanders by a close and regular fire; and then retired to Inverness, where they surrendered themselves prison-ers of war. An entire body of the rebels marched off the field in order, with their pipes playing, and the pre-tender’s standard displayed; the rest were routed with great slaughter; and their prince was with reluctance prevailed upon to retire. In less than thirty minutes they were totally defeated, and the field covered with the slain. The road, as far as Inverness, was strewed with dead bodies; and a great number of people, who from motives of curiosity had come to see the battle, were sacrificed to the undistinguished vengeance of the victors. Twelve hundred rebels were slain or wounded on the field, and in the pursuit. The earl of Kilmarnock was taken; and in a few days lord Balmerino surrendered to a country gentleman, at whose house he presented himself for this purpose. The glory of the victory was sullied by the barbarity of the soldiers. They had been provoked by their former disgraces to the most savage thirst of revenge. Not contented with the blood which was so profusely shed in the heat of action, they traversed the field after the battle, and massacred those miserable wretches who lay maimed and expiring: nay, some officers acted a part in this cruel scene of assassination, the triumph of low illiberal minds, uninspired by sentiment, untinctured by humanity. The vanquished adventurer rode off the field, accompanied by the duke of Perth, lord Elcho, and a few horsemen; he crossed the water at Nairn, and retired to the house of a gentleman in Strutharrick, where he conferred with old lord Lovat; then he dismissed his followers, and wandered about a wretched and solitary fugitive among the isles and mountains for the space of five months, during which he underwent such a series of dangers, hardships, and misery, as no other person ever outlived. Thus, in one short hour, all his hope vanished, and the rebellion was entirely extinguished. One would almost imagine, the conductors of this desperate enterprise had conspired their own destruction, as they certainly neglected every step that might have contributed to their safety or success. They might have opposed the duke of Cumberland at the passage of the Spey; they might, by proper conduct, have afterwards attacked his camp in the night, with a good prospect of success. As they were greatly inferior to him in number, and weakened with hunger and fatigue, they might have retired to the hills and fastnesses, where they would have found plenty of live cattle for provision, recruited their regiments, and been joined by a strong reinforcement, which was actually in full march to their assistance. But they were distracted by dissensions and jealousies; they obeyed the dictates of despair, and wilfully devoted themselves to ruin and death. When the news of the battle arrived in England, the nation was transported with joy, and extolled the duke of Cumberland as a hero and deliverer, Both houses of parliament congratulated his majesty on the auspicious event. They decreed, in the most solemn manner, their public thanks to his royal highness, which were transmitted to him by the speakers; and the commons, by bill, added five-and-twenty thousand pounds per annum to his former revenue.

THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND TAKES POSSESSION OF INVERNESS.

Immediately after the decisive action at Culloden, the duke took possession of Inverness, where six-and-thirty deserters, convicted by a court-martial, were ordered to be executed: then he detached several parties to ravage the country. One of these apprehended the lady Mackintosh, who was sent prisoner to Inverness. They did not plunder her house, but drove away her cattle, though her husband was actually in the service of government. The castle of lord Lovat was destroyed. The French prisoners were sent to Carlisle and Penrith: Kilmarnock, Balmerino, Cromartie, and his son the lord Macleod, were conveyed by sea to London; and those of an inferior rank were confined in different prisons. The marquis of Tullibardine, together with a brother of the earl of Dunmore, were seized and transported to the Tower of London, to which the earl of Traquaire had been committed on suspicion: in a few months after the battle of Culloden, Murray, the pretender’s secretary, was apprehended; and the eldest son of lord Lovat, having surrendered himself, was imprisoned in the castle of Edinburgh. In a word, all the gaols of Great Britain, from the capital northwards, were filled with those unfortunate captives; and great numbers of them were crowded together in the holds of ships, where they perished in the most deplorable manner, for the want of necessaries, air, and exercise. Some rebel chiefs escaped in two French frigates, which had arrived on the coast of Lochaber about the end of April, and engaged three vessels belonging to his Britannic majesty, which they obliged to retire. Others embarked on board of a ship on the coast of Buchan, and were conveyed to Norway; from thence they travelled to Sweden. In the month of May, the duke of Cumberland advanced with the army into the highlands as far as Fort-Augustus, where he encamped, and sent off detachments on all hands to hunt down the fugitives, and lay waste the country with fire and sword. The castles of Glengary and Lochiel were plundered and burned; every house, hut, or habitation, met with the same fate without distinction; all the cattle and provision were carried off; the men were either shot upon the mountains like wild beasts, or put to death in cold blood, without form of trial; the women, after having seen their husbands and fathers murdered, were subjected to brutal violation, and then turned out naked, with their children, to starve on the barren heaths. One whole family was enclosed in a barn, and consumed to ashes. Those ministers of vengeance were so alert in the execution of their office, that in a few days there was neither house, cottage, man, nor beast, to be seen in the compass of fifty miles: all was ruin, silence, and desolation.

THE PRETENDER ESCAPES TO FRANCE.

The humane reader cannot reflect upon such a scene without grief and horror; what then must have been the sensation of the fugitive prince, when he beheld these spectacles of woe, the dismal fruit of his ambition? He was now surrounded by armed troops, that chased him from hill to dale, from rock to cavern, and from shore to shore. Sometimes he lurked in caves and cottages, without attendants, or any other support but that which the poorest peasant could supply. Sometimes he was rowed in fisher-boats from isle to isle among the Hebrides, and often in sight of his pursuers. For some days he appeared in woman’s attire, and even passed through the midst of his enemies unknown. But understanding his disguise was discovered, he assumed the habit of a travelling mountaineer, and wandered about among the woods and heaths, with a matted beard, and squalid looks, exposed to hunger, thirst, and weariness, and in continual danger of being apprehended. He was obliged to trust his life to the fidelity of above fifty individuals, and many of these were in the lowest paths of fortune. They knew that a price of thirty thousand pounds was set upon his head; and that, by betraying him, they should enjoy wealth and affluence: but they detested the thought of obtaining riches on such infamous terms, and ministered to his necessities with the utmost zeal and fidelity, even at the hazard of their own destruction. In the course of these peregrinations, he was more than once hemmed in by his pursuers in such a manner as seemed to preclude all possibility of escaping; yet he was never abandoned by his hope and recollection; he still found some expedient that saved him from captivity and death; and through the whole course of his distresses maintained the most amazing equanimity and good humour. At length a privateer of Saint Malo, hired by the young Sheridan and some other Irish adherents, arrived in Lochnannach; and on the twentieth day of September, this unfortunate prince embarked in the habit which he wore for disguise. His eye was hollow, his visage wan, and his constitution greatly impaired by famine and fatigue. He was accompanied by Cameron of Lochiel and his brother, with a few other exiles. They set sail for France, and after having passed unseen, by means of a thick fog, through a British squadron commanded by admiral Lestock, and been chased by two English ships of war, arrived in safety at Roscau, near Morlaix, in Bretagne. Perhaps he would have found it still more difficult to escape, had not the vigilance and eagerness of the government been relaxed, in consequence of a report that he had already fallen among some persons that were slain by a volley from one of the duke’s detachments.

CONVULSION IN THE MINISTRY.

Having thus explained the rise, progress, and extinction of the rebellion, it will be necessary to take a retrospective view of the proceedings in parliament. The necessary steps being taken for quieting the intestine commotions of the kingdom, the two houses began to convert their attention to the affairs of the continent. On the fourteenth day of January, the king repaired to the house of peers, and, in a speech from the throne, gave his parliament to understand that the states-general had made pressing instances for his assistance in the present conjuncture, when they were in such danger of being oppressed by the power of France in the Netherlands; that he had promised to co-operate with them towards opposing the further progress of their enemies; and even concerted measures for that purpose. He declared it was with regret that he asked any further aids of his people; he exhorted them to watch over the public credit; and expressed his entire dependence on their zeal and unanimity. He was favoured with loyal addresses, couched in the warmest terms of duty and affection; but the supplies were retarded by new convulsions in the ministry. The earl of Granville had made an effort to retrieve his influence in the cabinet, and his sovereign favoured his pretensions. The two brothers, who knew his aspiring genius, and dreaded his superior talents, refused to admit such a colleague into the administration; they even resolved to strengthen their party, by introducing fresh auxiliaries into the office of state. Some of these were personally disagreeable to his majesty, who accordingly rejected the suit by which they were recommended. The duke of Newcastle and his brother, with all their adherents, immediately resigned their employments. The earl of Granville was appointed secretary of state, and resumed the reins of administration; but, finding himself unequal to the accumulated opposition that preponderated against him; foreseeing that he should not be able to secure the supplies in parliament; and dreading the consequence of that confusion which his restoration had already produced, he, in three days, voluntarily quitted the helm; and his majesty acquiesced in the measures proposed by the opposite party. The seals were re-delivered to the duke of Newcastle and the earl of Harrington; Mr. Pel-ham, and all the rest who had resigned, were reinstated in their respective employments; and offices were conferred on several individuals who had never before been in the service of the government. William Pitt, esq., was appointed vice-treasurer of Ireland, and soon promoted to the place of paymaster-general of the forces; at the same time the king declared him a privy-counsellor. This gentleman had been originally designed for the army, in which he actually bore a commission; but fate reserved him a more important station. In point of fortune he was barely qualified to be elected member of parliament, when he obtained a seat in the house of commons, where he soon outshone all his compatriots. He displayed a surprising extent and precision of political knowledge, an irresistible energy of argument, and such power of elocution as struck his hearers with astonishment and admiration. It flashed like the lightning of heaven against the ministers and sons of corruption, blasting where it smote, and withering the nerves of opposition; but his more substantial praise was founded upon his disinterested integrity his incorruptible heart, his unconquerable spirit of independence, and his invariable attachment to the interest and liberty of his country.

The quiet of the ministry being re-established, the house of commons provided for forty thousand seamen, nearly the same number of land forces, besides fifteen regiments raised by the nobility on account of the rebellion, and about twelve thousand marines. They settled funds for the maintenance of the Dutch and Hessian troops that were in England, as well as for the subsidy to the landgrave. They granted three hundred thousand pounds to the king of Sardinia; four hundred thousand pounds to the queen of Hungary; three hundred and ten thousand pounds to defray the expense of eighteen thousand Hanoverians; about three-and-thirty thousand pounds in subsidies to the electors of Mentz and Cologn; and five hundred thousand pounds in a vote of credit and confidence to his majesty. The whole charge of the current year amounted to seven millions two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, which was raised by the land and malt taxes, annuities on the additional duties imposed on glass and spirituous liquors, a lottery, a deduction from the sinking fund, and exchequer bills, chargeable on the first aids that should be granted in the next session of parliament.

TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF THE REBELS.

The rebellion being quelled, the legislature resolved to make examples of those who had been concerned in disturbing the peace of their country. In June, an act of attainder was passed against the principal persons who had embarked in that desperate undertaking; and courts were opened in different parts of England for the trial of the prisoners. Seventeen persons who had borne arms in the rebel army were executed at Kennington Common, in the neighbourhood of London, and suffered with great constancy under the dreadful tortures which their sentence prescribed; nine were put to death in the same manner at Carlisle; six at Brampton, seven at Penrith, eleven at York: of these a considerable number were gentlemen, and had acted as officers; about fifty had been executed as deserters in different parts of Scotland; eighty-one suffered the pains of the law as traitors. A few obtained pardons, and a considerable number were transported to the plantations. Bills of indictment for high treason were found by the county of Surrey against the earls of Kilmarnock and Cromartie, and lord Balmerino. These noblemen were tried by their peers in Westminster-hall, the lord chancellor presiding as lord high-steward for the occasion. The two earls confessed their crimes, and in pathetic speeches recommended themselves to his majesty’s mercy. Lord Balmerino pleaded not guilty; he denied his having been at Carlisle at the time specified in the indictment, but this exception was over-ruled; then he moved a point of law in arrest of judgment, and was allowed to be heard by his counsel. They might have expatiated on the hardship of being tried by an ex post facto law; and claimed the privilege of trial in the county where the act of treason was said to have been committed. The same hardship was imposed upon all the imprisoned rebels: they were dragged in captivity to a strange country, far from their friends and connexions, destitute of means to produce evidence in their favour, even if they had been innocent of the charge. Balmerino waived this plea, and submitted to the court, which pronounced sentence of death upon him and his two associates. Cromartie’s life was spared; but the other two were beheaded, in the month of August, on Tower-hill. Kilmarnock was a nobleman of fine personal accomplishments; he had been educated in revolution principles, and engaged in the rebellion partly from the desperate situation of his fortune, and partly from resentment to the government, on his being deprived of a pension which he had for some time enjoyed. He was convinced of his having acted criminally, and died with marks of penitence and contrition. Balmerino had been bred up to arms, and acted upon principle: he was gallant, brave, rough, and resolute; he eyed the implements of death with the most careless familiarity, and seemed to triumph in his sufferings. In November, Mr. Ratcliffe, the titular earl of Derwentwater, who had been taken in a ship bound for Scotland, was arraigned on a former sentence passed against him in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixteen: he refused to acknowledge the authority of the court, and pleaded that he was a subject of France, honoured with a commission in the service of his most christian majesty. The identity of his person being proved, a rule was made for his execution; and on the eighth day of December he suffered decapitation, with the most perfect composure and serenity. Lord Lovat, now turned of four-score, was impeached by the commons, and tried in Westminster-hall before the lord high-steward. John Murray, secretary to the prince-pretender, and some of his own domestics, appearing against him, he was convicted of high treason, and condemned. Notwithstanding his age, infirmities, and the recollection of his conscience, which was supposed to be not altogether void of offence, he died like an old Roman, exclaiming, “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori.” He surveyed the crowd with attention, examined the axe, jested with the executioner, and laid his head upon the block with the utmost indifference. From this last scene of his life, one would have concluded that he had approved himself a patriot from his youth, and never deviated from the paths of virtue.

THE STATES-GENERAL ALARMED AT THE PROGRESS OF THE FRENCH.

The flame of war on the continent did not expire at the election of an emperor, and the re-establishment of peace among the princes of the empire. On the contrary, it raged with double violence in consequence of these events; for the force that was before divided being now united in one body, exerted itself with great vigour and rapidity. The states-general were overwhelmed with consternation. Notwithstanding the pains they had taken to avoid a war, and the condescension with which they had soothed and supplicated the French monarch in repeated embassies and memorials, they saw themselves striped of their barrier, and once mere in danger of being overwhelmed by that ambitious nation. The city of Brussels had been reduced during the winter; so that the enemy were in possession of all the Austrian Netherlands, except a few fortresses. Great part of the forces belonging to the republic were restricted from action by capitulations, to which they had subscribed. The states were divided in their councils between the two factions which had long subsisted. They trembled at the prospect of seeing Zealand invaded in the spring. The Orange party loudly called for an augmentation of their forces by sea and land, that they might prosecute the war with vigour. The common people, fond of novelty, dazzled by the splendour of greatness, and fully persuaded that nothing but a chief was wanting to their security, demanded the prince of Orange as a stadtholder; and even mingled menaces with their demands. The opposite faction dreaded alike the power of a stadtholder, the neighbourhood of a French army, and the seditious disposition of the populace. An ambassador was sent to London with representations of the imminent dangers which threatened the republic, and he was ordered to solicit in the most pressing terms the assistance of his Britannic majesty, that the allies might have a superiority in the Netherlands by the beginning of the campaign. The king was very well disposed to comply with their request; but the rebellion in his kingdom, and the dissensions in his cabinet, had retailed the supplies and embarrassed him so much, that he found it impossible to make those early preparations that were necessary to check the career of the enemy.

COUNT SAXE SUBDUES ALL FLANDERS, BRABANT, AND HAINAULT.

The king of France, with his general the count de Saxe, took the field in the latter end of April, at the head of one hundred and twenty thousand men, and advanced towards the allies, who, to the number of four-and-forty thousand, were intrenched behind the Demer under the conduct of the Austrian general Bathiani, who retired before them, and took post in the neighbourhood of Breda, the capital of Dutch Brabant. Mareschal Saxe immediately invested Antwerp, which in a few clays was surrendered. Then he appeared before the strong town of Mons in Hainault, with an irresistible train of artillery, and an immense quantity of bombs and warlike implements. He carried on his approaches with such unabating impetuosity, that, notwithstanding a very vigorous defence, the garrison was obliged to capitulate on the twenty-seventh day of June, in about eight-and-twenty days after the place had been invested. Sieges were not now carried on by the tedious method of sapping. The French king found it much more expeditious and effectual to bring into the field a prodigious train of battering cannon, and enormous mortars, that kept up such a fire as no garrison could sustain, and discharged such an incessant hail of bombs and bullets, as in a very little time reduced to ruins the place with all its fortifications. St. Guislain and Charleroy met with the fate of Mons and Antwerp; so that by the middle of July the French king was absolute master of Flanders, Brabant, and Hainault.

Prince Charles of Lorraine had by this time assumed the command of the confederate army at Terheyde, which being reinforced by the Hessian troops from Scotland, and a fresh body of Austrians under count Palfi, amounted to eighty-seven thousand men, including the Dutch forces commanded by the prince of Waldeck. The generals, supposing the next storm would fall upon Namur, marched towards that place, and took post in an advantageous situation on the eighteenth day of July, in sight of the French army, which was encamped at Gemblours, Here they remained till the eighth day of August, when a detachment of the enemy, commanded by count Lowendahl, took possession of Huy, where he found a large magazine belonging to the confederates; and their communication with Maestricht was cut off. Mareschal Saxe, on the other side, took his measures so well, that they were utterly deprived of all subsistence. Then prince Charles, retiring across the Maese, abandoned Namur to the efforts of the enemy, by whom it was immediately invested. The trenches were opened on the second day of September; and the garrison, consisting of seven thousand Austrian-s, defended themselves with equal skill and resolution; but the cannonading and bombardment were so terrible, that in a few days the place was converted into a heap of rubbish; and on the twenty-third day of the month the French monarch took possession of this strong fortress, which had formerly sustained such dreadful attacks. Meanwhile the allied army encamped at Maestricht, were joined by sir John Ligonier with some British and Bavarian battalions; and prince Charles resolved to give the enemy battle. With this view he passed the Maese on the thirteenth day of September, and advanced towards mareschal Saxe, whom he found so advantageously posted at Tongres, that he thought proper to march back to Maestricht. On the twenty-sixth day of September he crossed the Jaar in his retreat; and his rear was attacked by the enemy, who were repulsed. But count Saxe being reinforced by a body of troops under the count de Clermont, determined to bring the confederates to an engagement. On the thirteenth day of the month he passed the Jaar; while they took possession of the villages of Liers, Warem, and Roucoux, drew up their forces in order of battle, and made preparations for giving him a warm reception. On the first day of October the enemy advanced in three columns; and a terrible cannonading began about noon. At two o’clock prince Waldeck on the left was charged with great fury; and, after an obstinate defence, overpowered by numbers. The villages were attacked in columns, and as one brigade was repulsed another succeeded; so that the allies were obliged to abandon these posts, and retreat towards Maestricht, with the loss of five thousand men and thirty pieces of artillery. The victory, however, cost the French general a much greater number of lives; and was attended with no solid advantage. Sir John ligonier, the earls of Crawford 301 [See note 2 O, at the end of this Vol.] and Rothes, brigadier Douglas, and other officers of the British troops, distinguished themselves by their gallantry and conduct on this occasion. This action terminated the campaign. The allies passing the Maese, took up their winter-quarters in the duchies of Limeburgh and Luxembourg; while the French cantoned their troops in the places which they had newly conquered.

THE FRENCH AND SPANIARDS ABANDON PIEDMONT AND THE MILANESE.

The campaign in Italy was altogether unfavourable to the French and Spaniards. The house of Austria being no longer pressed on the side of Germany, was enabled to make the stronger efforts in this country; and the British subsidy encouraged the king of Sardinia to act with redoubled vivacity. Mareschal Maillebois occupied the greater part of Piedmont with about thirty thousand men. Don Philip and the count de Gages were at the head of a greater number in the neighbourhood of Milan; and the duke of Modena, with eight thousand, secured his own dominions. The king of Sardinia augmented his forces to six-and-thirty thousand; and the Austrian army, under the prince of Lichtenstein, amounted to a much greater number; so that the enemy were reduced to the necessity of acting on the defensive, and retired towards the Mantuan. In February, baron Leutrum, the Piedmontese general, invested and took the strong fortress of Aste. He afterwards relieved the citadel of Alexandria, which the Spaniards had blocked up in the winter, reduced Casal, recovered Valencia, and obliged Maillebois to retire to the neighbourhood of Genoa. On the other side, Don Philip and count Gages abandoned Milan, Pavia, and Parma, retreating before the Austrians with the utmost precipitation to Placentia, where they were joined on the third of June by the French forces under Maillebois.

Before this junction was effected, the Spanish general Pignatelli had passed the river Po in the night with a strong detachment, and beaten up the quarters of seven thousand Austrians posted at Codogno. Don Philip, finding himself at the head of two-and-fifty thousand men by his junction with the French general, resolved to attack the Austrians in their camp at San Lazaro, before they should be reinforced by his Sardinian majesty. Accordingly, on the fourth day of June, in the evening, he marched with equal silence and expedition, and entered the Austrian trenches about eleven, when a desperate battle ensued. The Austrians were prepared for the attack, which they sustained with great vigour till morning. Then they quitted their intrench-ments, and charged the enemy in their turn with such fury, that after an obstinate resistance the combined army was broke, and retired with precipitation to Placentia, leaving on the field fifteen thousand men killed, wounded, and taken, together with sixty colours and ten pieces of artillery. In a few weeks the Austrians were joined by the Piedmontese; the king of Sardinia assumed the chief command; and prince Lichtenstein being indisposed, his place was supplied by the marquis de Botta. Don Philip retired to the other side of the Po, and extended his conquests in the open country of the Milanese. The king of Sardinia called a council of war, in which it was determined that he should pass the river with a strong body of troops, in order to straiten the enemy on one side; while the marquis de Botta should march up the Tydone, to cut off their communication with Placentia. They forthwith quitted all the posts they had occupied between the Lambro and Adda, resolving to repass the Po and retreat to Tortona. With, this view they threw bridges of boats over that river, and began to pass on the ninth day of August in the evening. They were attacked at Rotto Freddo by a detachment of Austrians, under general Serbelloni, who maintained the engagement till ten in the morning, when Botta arrived; the battle was renewed with redoubled rage, and lasted till four in the afternoon, when the enemy retired in great disorder to Tortona, with the loss of eight thousand men, a good number of colours and standards, and eighteen pieces of cannon. This victory cost the Austrians four thousand men killed upon the spot, including the gallant general Bernclau. The victors immediately summoned Placentia to surrender; and the garrison, consisting of nine thousand men, were made prisoners of war; Don Philip continued his retreat, and of all his forces brought six-and-twenty thousand only into the territories of Genoa.

The Piedmontese and Austrians rejoining in the neighbourhood of Pavia, advanced to Tortona, of which they took possession without resistance, while the enemy sheltered themselves under the cannon of Genoa. They did not long continue in this situation; for on the twenty-second day of August they were again in motion, and retired into Provence. The court of Madrid imputing the bad success of this campaign to the misconduct of count Gages, recalled that general, and sent the marquis de las Minas to resume the command of the forces. In the meantime, the victorious confederates appeared before Genoa on the fourth day of December; and the senate of that city thinking it incapable of defence, submitted to a very mortifying capitulation, by which the gates were delivered up to the Austrians, together with all their arms, artillery, and ammunition; and the city was subjected to the most cruel contributions. The marquis de Botta being left at Genoa with sixteen thousand men, the king of Sardinia resolved to pass the Var, and pursue the French and Spaniards into Provence; but that monarch being seized with the small-pox, the conduct of this expedition was entrusted to count Brown, an Austrian general of Irish extract, who had given repeated proofs of uncommon valour and capacity. He was on this occasion assisted by vice-admiral Medley, who commanded the British squadron in the Mediterranean. The French forces had fortified the passes of the Var, under the conduct of the mareschal de Belleisle, who thought proper to abandon his posts at the approach of count Brown; and this general, at the head of fifty thousand men, passed the river without opposition, on the ninth day of November. While he advanced as far as Draguignan, laying the open country under contribution, baron Both, with four-and-twenty battalions, invested Antibes, which was at the same time bombarded on the side of the sea by the British squadron. The trenches were opened on the twentieth day of September; but Belleisle having assembled a numerous army, superior to that of the confederates, and the Genoese having expelled their Austrian guests, count Brown abandoned the enterprise, and repassed the Var, not without some damage from the enemy.

THE GENOESE EXPEL THE AUSTRIANS.

The court of Vienna, which has always patronised oppression, exacted such heavy contribution from the Genoese, and its directions were so rigorously put in execution, that the people were reduced to despair; and resolved to make a last effort for the recovery of their liberty and independence. Accordingly, they took arms in secret, seized several important posts of the city; surprised some battalions of the Austrians; surrounded others, and cut them in pieces; and, in a word, drove them out with great slaughter. The marquis de Botta acted with caution and spirit; but being overpowered by numbers, and apprehensive of the peasants in the country, who were in arms, he retreated to the pass of the Brochetta on the side of Lombardy, where he secured himself in an advantageous situation, until he could receive reinforcements. The loss he had sustained at Genoa did not hinder him from reducing Savona, a sea-port town belonging to that republic; and he afterwards made himself master of Gavi. The Genoese, on the contrary, exerted themselves with wonderful industry in fortifying their city, raising troops, and in taking other measures for a vigorous defence, in case they should again be insulted.

MADRAS TAKEN BY THE FRENCH.

The naval transactions of this year reflected very little honour on the British nation. Commodore Peyton, who commanded six ships of war in the East Indies, shamefully declined a decisive engagement with a French squadron of inferior force; and abandoned the important settlement of Madras on the coast of Coromandel, which was taken without opposition in the month of September by the French commodore, de la Bourdonnais. Fort St. David, and the other British factories in India, would probably have shared the same fate, had not the enemy’s naval force in that country been shattered and partly destroyed by a terrible tempest. No event of consequence happened in America, though it was a scene that seemed to promise the greatest success to the arms of England. The reduction of Cape Breton had encouraged the ministry to project the conquest of Quebec, the capital of Canada, situated upon the river St. Lawrence. Commissions were sent to the governors of the British colonies in North America, empowering them to raise companies to join the armament from England; and eight thousand troops were actually raised in consequence of these directions; while a powerful squadron and transports, having six regiments on board, were prepared at Portsmouth for this expedition. But their departure was postponed by unaccountable delays, until the season was judged too far advanced to risk the great ships on the boisterous coast of North America. That the armament, however, might not be wholly useless to the nation, it was employed in making a descent upon the coast of Bretagne, on the supposition that Port L’Orient, the repository of all the stores and ships belonging to the French East India company, might be surprised; or, that this invasion would alarm the enemy, and, by making a diversion, facilitate the operations of the Austrian general in Provence.

The naval force intended for this service consisted of sixteen great ships, and eight frigates, besides bomb-ketches and store ships, commanded by Richard Lestock, appointed admiral of the blue division. Six battalions of land troops, with a detachment of matrosses and bombardiers, were embarked in thirty transports, under the conduct of lieutenant-general Sinclair; and the whole fleet set sail from Plymouth on the fourteenth day of September. On the twentieth the troops were landed in Quimperlay-bay, at the distance of ten miles from Port L’Orient. The militia, reinforced by some detachments from different regiments, were assembled to the number of two thousand, and seemed resolved to oppose the disembarkation; but seeing the British troops determined to land at all events, they thought proper to retire. Next day general Sinclair advanced into the country, skirmishing with the enemy in his route; and arriving at the village of Plemure, within half a league from Port L’Orient, summoned that place to surrender. He was visited by a deputation from the town, which offered to admit the British forces, on condition that they should be restrained from pillaging the inhabitants, and touching the magazines; and that they should pay a just price for their provisions. These terms being rejected, the inhabitants prepared for a vigorous defence; and the English general resolved to besiege the place in form, though he had neither time, artillery, nor forces sufficient for such an enterprise. This strange resolution was owing to the declaration of the engineers, who promised to lay the place in ashes in the space of four-and-twenty hours. All his cannon amounted to no more than a few field-pieces; and he was obliged to wait for two iron guns, which the sailors dragged up from the shipping. Had he given the assault on the first night after his arrival, when the town was filled with terror and confusion, and destitute of regular troops, in all probability it would have been easily taken by scalade; but the reduction of it was rendered impracticable by his delay. The ramparts were mounted with cannon from the ships in the harbour; new works were raised with great industry; the garrison was reinforced by several bodies of regular troops; and great numbers were assembling from all parts; so that the British forces were in danger of being surrounded in an enemy’s country. Notwithstanding these discouragements, they opened a small battery against the town, which was set on fire in several places by their bombs and red-hot bullets; they likewise repulsed part of the garrison which had made a sally to destroy their works; but their cannon producing no effect upon the fortifications, the fire from the town daily increasing, the engineers owning they could not perform their promise, and admiral Lestock declaring, in repeated messages, that he could no longer expose the ships on an open coast at such a season of the year, general Sinclair abandoned the siege. Having caused the two iron pieces of cannon and the mortars to be spiked, he retreated in good order to the sea-side, where his troops were re-embarked, having sustained very inconsiderable damage since their first landing. He expected reinforcements from England, and was resolved to wait a little longer for their arrival, in hopes of being able to annoy the enemy more effectually. In the beginning of October, the fleet sailed to Quiberon-bay, where they destroyed the Ardent, a French ship of war of sixty-four guns; and a detachment of the forces being landed, took possession of a fort in the peninsula; while the little islands of Houat and Hey die were reduced by the sailors. In this situation the admiral and general continued till the seventeenth day of the month, when the forts being dismantled, and the troops re-embarked, the fleet sailed from the French coast; the admiral returned to England, and the transports with the soldiers proceeded to Ireland, where they arrived in safety.

NAVAL TRANSACTIONS in the WEST INDIES.

This expedition, weak and frivolous as it may seem, was resented by the French nation as one of the greatest insults they had ever sustained; and demonstrated the possibility of hurting France in her tenderest parts, by means of an armament of this nature, well timed, and vigorously conducted. Indeed, nothing could be more absurd or precipitate than an attempt to distress the enemy by landing a handful of troops, without draught-horses, tents, or artillery, from a fleet of ships lying on an open beach, exposed to the uncertainty of weather in the most tempestuous season of the year, so as to render the retreat and re-embarkation altogether precarious. The British squadrons in the West Indies performed no exploit of consequence in the course of this year. The commerce was but indifferently protected. Commodore Lee, stationed off Martinico, allowed a French fleet of merchant-ships, and their convoy, to pass by his squadron unmolested; and commodore Mitchel behaved scandalously in a rencontre with the French squadron, under the conduct of monsieur de Conflans, who in his return to Europe took the Severn, an English ship of fifty guns. The cruisers on all sides, English, French, and Spaniards, were extremely alert; and though the English lost the greater number of ships, this difference was more than overbalanced by the superior value of the prizes taken from the enemy. In the course of this year, two-and-twenty Spanish privateers, and sixty-six merchant vessels, including ten register ships, fell into the hands of the British cruisers; from the French they took seven ships of war, ninety privateers, and about three hundred ships of commerce. The new king of Spain* being supposed well-affected to the British nation, an effort was made to detach him from the interests of France, by means of the marquis de Tabernega, who had formerly been his favourite, and resided many years as a refugee in England.

* In the month of July, Philip king of Spain dying, in the sixty-third year of his age, was succeeded by his eldest son Ferdinand, born of Maria-Louisa Gabriela, sister to the late king of Sardinia. He espoused Donna Maria Magdalena, infanta of Portugal, but had no issue. Philip was but two days survived by his daughter, the dauphiness of France. The same month was remarkable for the death of Christian VI., king of Denmark, succeeded by his son Frederick V., who had married the princess Louisa, youngest daughter of the king of Great Britain.

This nobleman proceeded to Lisbon, where a negotiation was set on foot with the court of Madrid. But his efforts miscarried; and the influence of the queen-mother continued to predominate in the Spanish councils. The states-general had for some years endeavoured to promote a pacification by remonstrances, and even entreaties, at the court of Versailles; the French king at length discovered an inclination to peace, and in September a congress was opened at Breda, the capital of Dutch Brabant, where the plenipotentiaries of the emperor, Great Britain, France, and Holland, were assembled; but the French were so insolent in their demands, that the conferences were soon interrupted.

The parliament of Great Britain meeting in November, the king exhorted them to concert with all possible expedition the proper measures for pursuing the war with vigour, that the confederate army in the Netherlands might be seasonably augmented; he likewise gave them to understand, that the funds appropriated for the support of his civil government had for some years past fallen short of the revenue intended and granted by parliament; and said he relied on their known affection to find out some method to make good this deficiency. As all those who had conducted the opposition were now concerned in the administration, little or no objection was made to any demand or proposal of the government and its ministers. The commons having considered the estimates, voted forty thousand seamen for the service of the ensuing year, and about sixty thousand land-forces, including eleven thousand five hundred marines. They granted four hundred and thirty-three thousand pounds to the empress queen of Hungary; three hundred thousand pounds to the king of Sardinia; four hundred and ten thousand pounds for the maintenance of eighteen thousand Hanoverian auxiliaries; one hundred and sixty one thousand six hundred and seven pounds for six thousand Hessians; subsidies to the electors of Cologn, Mentz, and Bavaria; and the sum of five hundred thousand pounds to enable his majesty to prosecute the war with advantage. In a word, the supplies amounted to nine millions four hundred and twenty-five thousand two hundred and fifty-four pounds; a sum almost incredible, if we consider how the kingdom had been already drained of its treasure. It was raised by the usual taxes, reinforced with new impositions on windows, carriages, and spirituous liquors; a lottery, and a loan from the sinking-fund. The new taxes were mortgaged for four millions by transferable annuities, at an interest of four, and a premium of ten per centum. By reflecting on these enormous grants, one would imagine the ministry had been determined to impoverish the nation; but from the eagerness and expedition with which the people subscribed for the money, one would conclude that the riches of the kingdom were inexhaustible. It may not be amiss to observe, that the supplies of this year exceeded, by two millions and a half, the greatest annual sum that was raised during the reign of queen Anne, though she maintained as great a number of troops as was now in the pay of Great Britain, and her armies and fleets acquired every year fresh harvests of glory and advantage; whereas this war had proved an almost uninterrupted series of events big with disaster and dishonour. During the last two years, the naval expense of England had exceeded that of France about five millions sterling; though her fleets had not obtained one signal advantage over the enemy at sea, nor been able to protect her commerce from their depredations. She was at once a prey to her declared adversaries and professed friends. Before the end of summer, she numbered among her mercenaries two empresses, five German princes, and a powerful monarch, whom she hired to assist her in trimming the balance of Europe, in which they themselves were immediately interested, and she had no more than a secondary concern. Had these fruitless subsidies been saved; had the national revenue been applied with economy to national purposes; had it been employed in liquidating gradually the public incumbrances: in augmenting the navy, improving manufactures, encouraging and securing the colonies, and extending trade and navigation; corruption would have become altogether unnecessary, and disaffection would have vanished: the people would have been eased of their burdens, and ceased to complain; commerce would have flourished, and produced such affluence as must have raised Great Britain to the highest pinnacle of maritime power, above all rivalship of competition. She would have been dreaded by her enemies; revered by her neighbours; oppressed nations would have crept under her wings for protection; contending potentates would have appealed to her decision; and she would have shone the universal arbitress of Europe. How different is her present situation! her debts are enormous, her taxes intolerable, her people discontented, and the sinews of her government relaxed. Without conduct, confidence, or concert, she engages in blundering negotiations; she involves herself rashly in foreign quarrels, and lavishes her substance with the most dangerous precipitation; she is even deserted by her wonted vigour, steadiness, and intrepidity; she grows vain, fantastical, and pusillanimous; her arms are despised by her enemies; and her councils ridiculed through all Christendom.

PARLIAMENT DISSOLVED.

The king, in order to exhibit a specimen of his desire to diminish the public expense, ordered the third and fourth troops of his life-guards to be disbanded, and reduced three regiments of horse to the quality of dragoons. The house of commons presented an address of thanks for this instance of economy, by which the annual sum of seventy thousand pounds was saved to the nation. Notwithstanding this seeming harmony between the king and the great council of the nation, his majesty resolved, with the advice of his council, to dissolve the present parliament, though the term of seven years was not yet expired since its first meeting. The ministry affected to insinuate, that the states-general were unwilling to concur with his majesty in vigorous measures against France, during the existence of a parliament which had undergone such a vicissitude of complexion. The allies of Great Britain, far from being suspicious of this assembly, which had supplied them so liberally, saw with concern that according to law it would soon be dismissed; and they doubted whether another could be procured equally agreeable to their purposes. In order to remove this doubt, the ministry resolved to surprise the kingdom with a new election, before the malcontents should be prepared to oppose the friends of the government.

Accordingly, when the business of the session was despatched, the king having given the royal assent to the several acts they had prepared, dismissed them in the month of June, with an affectionate speech that breathed nothing but tenderness and gratitude. The parliament was immediately dissolved by proclamation, and new writs were issued for convoking another. Among the laws passed in this session, was an act abolishing the heritable jurisdictions, and taking away the tenure of wardholdings in Scotland, which were reckoned among the principal sources of those rebellions that had been excited since the revolution. In the highlands they certainly kept the common people in subjection to their chiefs, whom they implicitly followed and obeyed in all their undertakings. By this act these mountaineers were legally emancipated from slavery; but as the tenants enjoyed no leases, and were at all times liable to be ejected from their farms, they still depended on the pleasure of their lords, notwithstanding this interposition of the legislature, which granted a valuable consideration in money to every nobleman and petty baron, who was thus deprived of one part of his inheritance. The forfeited estates indeed were divided into small farms, and let by the government on leases at an under value; so that those who had the good fortune to obtain such leases tasted the sweets of independence; but the highlanders in general were left in their original indigence and incapacity, at the mercy of their superiors. Had manufactures and fisheries been established in different parts of their country, they would have seen and felt the happy consequences of industry, and in a little time been effectually detached from all their slavish connexions.

THE FRENCH AND ALLIES TAKE THE FIELD IN FLANDERS.

The operations of the campaign had been concerted in the winter at the Hague, between the duke of Cumberland and the states-general of the United Provinces, who were by this time generally convinced of France’s design to encroach upon their territories. They therefore determined to take effectual measures against that restless and ambitious neighbour. The allied powers agreed to assemble a vast army in the Netherlands; and it was resolved that the Austrians and Piedmonte so should once more penetrate into Provence. The Dutch patriots, however, were not roused into this exertion, until all their remonstrances had failed at the court of Versailles; until they had been urged by repeated memorials of the English ambassador, and stimulated by the immediate danger to which their country was exposed; for France was by this time possessed of all the Austrian Netherlands, and seemed bent upon penetrating into the territories of the United Provinces. In February, the duke of Cumberland began to assemble the allied forces; and in the latter end of March they took the field in three separate bodies. His royal highness, with the English, Hanoverians, and Hessians, fixed his head quarters at the village of Tilberg; the prince of Waldeck was posted with the Dutch troops at Breda; and mareschal Bathiani collected the Austrians and Bavarians in the neighbourhood of Venlo. The whole army amounted to one hundred and twenty thousand men, who lay inactive six weeks, exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and almost destitute of forage and provisions. Count Saxe, by this time created mareschal-general of France, continued his troops within their cantonments at Bruges, Antwerp, and Brussels, declaring, that when the allied army should be weakened by sickness and mortality, he would convince the duke of Cumberland that the first duty of a general is to provide for the health and preservation of his troops. In April this fortunate commander took the field, at the head of one hundred and forty thousand men; and the count de Clermont commanded a separate body of nineteen battalions and thirty squadrons. Count Lowendahl was detached on the sixteenth of the month, with seven-and-twenty thousand men, to invade Dutch Flanders; at the same time, the French minister at the Hague presented a memorial to the states, intimating, that his master was obliged to take this step by the necessity of war; but that his troops should observe the strictest discipline, without interfering with the religion, government, or commerce of the republic; he likewise declared, that the countries and places of which he might be obliged to take possession should be detained no otherwise than as a pledge, to be restored as soon as the United Provinces should give convincing proofs that they would no longer furnish the enemies of France with succours.

THE PRINCE OF ORANGE ELECTED STADTHOLDER.

While the states deliberated upon this declaration, count Lowendahl entered Dutch Brabant, and invested the town and fortress of Sluys, the garrison of which surrendered themselves prisoners of war on the nineteenth day of April. This was likewise the fate of Sas-van-Ghent, while the marquis de Contades, with another detachment, reduced the forts Perle and Leifkenshoek, with the town of Philippine, even within hearing of the confederate army. The fort of Sandberg was vigorously defended by two English battalions; but they were overpowered, and obliged to retire to Welsthoorden; and count Lowendahl undertook the siege of Hulst, which was shamefully surrendered by La Roque the Dutch governor, though he knew that a reinforcement of nine battalions was on the march to his relief. Then the French general took possession of Axel and Terneuse, and began to prepare flat-bottomed boats for a descent on the island of Zealand. The Dutch people were now struck with consternation. They saw the enemy at their doors, and owed their immediate preservation to the British squadron stationed at the Swin, under the command of commodore Mitchel,* who, by means of his sloops, tenders, and small craft, took such measures as defeated the intention of Lowendahl. The common people in Zealand being reduced to despair, began to clamour loudly against their governors, as if they had not taken the proper measures for their security. The friends of the prince of Orange did not neglect this opportunity of promoting his interest. They encouraged their discontent, and exaggerated the danger; they reminded them of the year one thousand six hundred and seventy-two, when the French king was at the gates of Amsterdam, and the republic was saved by the choice of a stadtholder; they exhorted them to turn their eyes on the descendant of those heroes who had established the liberty and independence of the United Provinces; they extolled his virtue and ability; his generosity, his justice, his unshaken love to his country. The people in several towns, inflamed by such representations to tumult and sedition, compelled their magistrates to declare the prince of Orange stadtholder. He himself, in a letter to the states of Zealand, offered his services for the defence of the province. On the twenty-eighth day of April he was nominated captain-general and admiral of Zealand. Their example was followed by Rotterdam and the whole province of Holland; and on the second day of May, the prince of Orange was, in the assembly of the states-general, invested with the power and dignity of stadtholder, captain-general, and admiral of the United Provinces. The vigorous consequences of this resolution immediately appeared. All commerce and contracts with the French were prohibited; the peasants were armed and exercised; a resolution passed for making a considerable augmentation of the army, a council of war was established for inquiring into the conduct of the governors who had given up the frontier places; and orders were issued to commence hostilities against the French, both by sea and land.

Meanwhile the duke of Cumberland took post with his whole army between the two Nethes, to cover Bergen-op-Zoom and Maestricht; and Mareschal Saxe called in his detachments with a view to hazard a general engagement. In the latter end of May the French king arrived at Brussels, and his general resolved to undertake the siege of Maestricht. For this purpose he advanced towards Louvain; and the confederates perceiving his drift, began their march to take post between the town and the enemy. On the twentieth day of June they took possession of their ground, and were drawn up in order of battle, with their right at Bilsen, and their left extending to Wirle within a mile of Maestricht, having in the front of their left wing the village of Laffeldt, in which they posted several battalions of British infantry. The French had taken possession of the heights of Herdeeren, immediately above the allies; and both armies cannonaded each other till the evening. In the morning the enemy’s infantry marched down the hill in a prodigious column, and attacked the village of Laffeldt, which was well fortified, and defended with amazing obstinacy. The assailants suffered terribly in their approach from the cannon of the confederates, which was served with surprising dexterity and success; and they met with such a warm reception from the British musquetry as they could not withstand; but, when they were broken and dispersed, fresh brigades succeeded with astonishing perseverance. The confederates were driven out of the village; yet being sustained by three regiments, they measured back their ground, and repulsed the enemy with great slaughter. Nevertheless, count Saxe continued pouring in other battalions, and the French regained and maintained their footing in the village, after it had been three times lost and carried. The action was chiefly confined to this post, where the field exhibited a horrible scene of carnage. At noon the duke of Cumberland ordered the whole left wing to advance against the enemy, whose infantry gave way; prince Waldeck led up the centre; marshal Bathiani made a motion with the right wing towards Herdeeren, and victory seemed ready to declare for the confederates, when the fortune of the day took a sudden turn to their prejudice. Several squadrons of Dutch horse posted in the centre gave way, and flying at full gallop, overthrew five battalions of infantry that were advancing from the body of reserve. The French cavalry charged them with great impetuosity, increasing the confusion that was already produced, and penetrating through the lines of the allied army, which was thus divided about the centre. The duke of Cumberland, who exerted himself with equal courage and activity in attempting to remedy this disorder, was in danger of being taken; and the defeat would in all probability have been total, had not sir John Ligonier taken the resolution of sacrificing himself and a part of the troops to the safety of the army. At the head of three British regiments of dragoons, and some squadrons of imperial horse, he charged the whole line of the French cavalry with such intrepidity and success, that he overthrew all that opposed him, and made such a diversion as enabled the duke of Cumberland to effect an orderly retreat to Maestricht. He himself was taken by a French carabinier, after his horse had been killed; but the regiments he commanded retired with deliberation. The confederates retreated to Maestricht, without having sustained much damage from the pursuit, and even brought off all their artillery, except sixteen pieces of cannon. Their loss did not exceed six thousand men killed and taken; whereas the French general purchased the victory at a much greater expense. The common cause of the confederate powers is said to have suffered from the pride and ignorance of their generals. On the eve of the battle, when the detachment of the count de Clermont appeared on the hill of Herdeeren, marshal Bathiani asked permission of the commander-in-chief to attack them before they should be reinforced, declaring he would answer for the success of the enterprise. No regard was paid to this proposal; but the superior asked in his turn, where the marshal would be in case he should be wanted? He replied, “I shall always be found at the head of my troops,” and retired in disgust. The subsequent disposition has likewise been blamed, inasmuch as not above one half of the army could act, while the enemy exerted their whole force.

SIEGE OF BERGEN-OP-ZOOM.

The confederates passed the Maese and encamped in the duchy of Limburgh, so as to cover Maestricht; while the French king remained with his army in the neighbourhood of Tongres. Mareschal Saxe, having amused the allies with marches and counter-marches, at length detached count Lowendahl with six-and-thirty thousand men to besiege Bergen-op-Zoom, the strongest fortification of Dutch Brabant, the favourite work of the famous engineer Coehorn, never conquered, and generally esteemed invincible. It was secured with a garrison of three thousand men, and well provided with artillery, ammunition, and magazines. The enemy appeared before it on the twelfth day of July, and summoned the governor to surrender. The prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen was sent to its relief, with twenty battalions and fourteen squadrons of the troops that could be most conveniently assembled; he entered the lines of Bergen-op-Zooin, where he remained in expectation of a strong reinforcement from the confederate army; and the old baron Cronstrom, whom the stadtholder had appointed governor of Brabant, assumed the command of the garrison The besiegers carried on their operations with great vivacity; and the troops in the town defended it with equal vigour. The eyes of all Europe were turned upon this important siege; count Lowendahl received divers reinforcements; and a considerable body of troops was detached from the allied army, under the command of baron Schwartzenberg, to co-operate with the prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen. The French general lost a great number of men by the close and continual fire of the besieged; while he, in his turn, opened such a number of batteries, and plied them so warmly, that the defences began to give way. From the sixteenth day of July to the fifteenth of September, the siege produced an unintermitting scene of horror and destruction: desperate sallies were made, and mines sprung with the most dreadful effect; the works began to be shattered; the town was laid in ashes; the trenches were filled with carnage; nothing was seen but fire and smoke; nothing heard but one continued roar of bombs and cannon. But still the damage fell chiefly on the besiegers, who were slain in heaps; while the garrison suffered very little, and could be occasionally relieved or reinforced from the lines. In a word, it was generally believed that count Lowendahl would be baffled in his endeavours; and by this belief the governor of Bergen-op-Zoom seems to have been lulled into a blind security. At length, some inconsiderable breaches were made in one ravelin and two bastions, and these the French general resolved to storm, though Cronstrom believed they were impracticable; ind on that supposition presumed that the enemy would not attempt an assault. For this very reason count Lowendahl resolved to hazard the attack, before the preparations should be made for his reception. He accordingly regulated his dispositions, and at four o’clock in the morning, on the sixteenth day of September, the signal was made for the assault. A prodigious quantity of bombs being thrown into the ravelin, his troops threw themselves into the fosse, mounted the breaches, forced open a sally-port, and entered the place almost without resistance. In a word, they had time to extend themselves along the curtains, and form in order of battle, before the garrison could be assembled. Cronstrom was asleep, and the soldiers upon duty had been surprised by the suddenness and impetuosity of the attack. Though the French had taken possession of the ramparts, they did not gain the town without opposition. Two battalions of the Scottish troops, in the pay of the states-general, were assembled in the market-place, and attacked them with such fury, that they were driven from street to street, until fresh reinforcements arriving, compelled the Scots to retreat in their turn; yet they disputed every inch of ground, and fought until two thirds of them were killed upon the spot. Then they brought off the old governor, abandoning the town to the enemy; the troops that were encamped in the lines retreating with great precipitation, all the forts in the neighbourhood immediately surrendered to the victors, who now became masters of the whole navigation of the Schelde. The French king was no sooner informed of Lowendahl’s success, than he promoted him to the rank of mareschal of France; appointed count Saxe governor of the conquered Netherlands; and returned in triumph to Versailles. In a little time after this transaction, both armies were distributed into winter quarters, and the duke of Cumberland embarked for England.

In Italy, the French arms did not triumph with equal success, though the mareschal de Belleisle saw himself at the head of a powerful army in Provence. In April he passed the Var without opposition, and took possession of Nice. He met with little or no resistance in reducing Montalban, Villafranca, and Ventimiglia; while general Brown, with eight-and-twenty thousand Aus-trians, retired towards Final and Savona. In the meantime, another large body under count Schuylemberg, Who had succeeded the marquis de Botta, co-operated with fifteen thousand Piedmontese in an attempt to recover the city of Genoa. The French king had sent their supplies, succours, and engineers, with the duke de Boufflers, as ambassador to the republic, who likewise acted as commander-in-chief of the forces employed for its defence. The Austrian general assembled his troops in the Milanese, having forced the passage of the Bochetta on the thirteenth of January, he advanced into the territories of Genoa, and the Eiviera was ravaged without mercy. On the last day of March he appeared before the city at the head of forty thousand men, and summoned the revolters to lay down their arms. The answer he received was, that the republic had fifty-four thousand men in arms, two hundred and sixty cannon, thirty-four mortars, with abundance of ammunition and provision; that they would defend their liberty with their last blood, and be buried in the ruins of their capital, rather than submit to the clemency of the court of Vienna, except by an honourable capitulation, guaranteed by the kings of Great Britain and Sardinia, the republic of Venice and the United Provinces. In the beginning of May, Genoa was invested on all sides; a furious sally was made by the duke de Boufflers, who drove the besiegers from their posts; but the Austrians rallying, he was repulsed in his turn, with the loss of seven hundred men. General Schuylemberg carried on his operations with such skill, vigour, and intrepidity, that he made himself master of the suburbs of Bisagno; and in all probability would have reduced the city, had he not been obliged to desist, in consequence of the repeated remonstrances made by the king of Sardinia and count Brown, who represented the necessity of his abandoning his enterprise, and drawing off his army to cover Piedmont and Lombardy from the efforts of mareschal de Belleisle. Accordingly he raised the siege on the tenth day of June, and returned into the Milanese in order to join his Sardinian majesty; while the Genoese made an irruption into the Parmesan and Placentia, where they committed terrible outrages, in revenge for the mischiefs they had undergone.

THE CHEVALIER DE BELLEISLE SLAIN.

While the mareschal de Belleisle remained at Ventimiglia, his brother, at the head of four-and-thirty thousand French and Spaniards, attempted to penetrate into Piedmont: on the sixth day of July he arrived at the pass of Exilles, a strong fortress on the frontiers of Dauphiné, situated on the north side of the river Doria. The defence of this important post the king of Sardinia had committed to the care of the count de Brigueras, who formed an encampment behind the lines, with fourteen battalions of Piedmontese and Austrians, while divers detachments were posted along all the passes of the Alps. On the eighth day of the month the Piedmontese intrenchments were attacked by the chevalier de Belleisle, with incredible intrepidity; but the columns were repulsed with great loss in three successive attacks. Impatient of this obstinate opposition, and determined not to survive a miscarriage, this impetuous general seized a pair of colours, and advancing at the head of his troops through a prodigious fire, pitched them with his own hand on the enemy’s entrenchments. At that instant he fell dead, having received two musquet-balls and the thrust of a bayonet in his body. The assailants were so much dispirited by the death of their commander, that they forthwith gave way, and retreated with precipitation towards Sesteries, having lost near five thousand men in the attack. The mareschal was no sooner informed of his brother’s misfortune, than he retreated towards the Var to join the troops from Exilles, while the king of Sardinia, having assembled an army of seventy thousand men, threatened Dauphiné with an invasion; but the excessive rains prevented the execution of his design. General Leutrum was detached with twenty battalions, to drive the French from Ventimiglia; but Belleisle marching back, that scheme was likewise frustrated; and thus ended the campaign.

A FRENCH SQUADRON TAKEN.

In this manner was the French king baffled in his projects upon Italy; nor was he more fortunate in his naval operations. He had in the preceding year equipped an expensive armament, under the command of the duke d’Anville, for the recovery of Cape Breton; but it was rendered ineffectual by storms, distempers, and the death of the commander. Not yet discouraged by these disasters, he resolved to renew his efforts against the British colonies in North America, and their settlements in the East Indies. For these purposes two squadrons were prepared at Brest, one to be commanded by the commodore de la Jonquiere; and the other destined for India, by monsieur de St. George. The ministry of Great Britain, being apprized of these measures, resolved to intercept both squadrons, which were to set sail together. For this purpose vice-admiral Anson and rear-admiral Warren took their departure from Plymouth with a formidable fleet, and steered their course to Cape Finisterre on the coast of Gallicia. On the third day of May, they fell in with the French squadrons, commanded by la Jonquiere and St. George, consisting of six large ships of war, as many frigates, and four armed vessels equipped by their East India company, having under their convoy about thirty ships laden with merchandise. Those prepared for war immediately shortened sail, and formed a line of battle; while the rest, under the protection of the six frigates, proceeded on their voyage with all the sail they could carry. The British squadron was likewise drawn up in line of battle; but Mr. Warren, perceiving that the enemy began to sheer off, now their convoy was at a considerable distance, advised admiral Anson to haul in the signal for the line, and hoist another for giving chase and engaging, otherwise the French would, in all probability, escape by favour of the night. The proposal was embraced; and in a little time the engagement began with great fury, about four o’clock in the afternoon. The enemy sustained the battle with equal conduct and valour, until they were overpowered by numbers, and then they struck their colours. The admiral detached three ships in pursuit of the convoy, nine sail of which were taken; but the rest were saved by the intervening darkness. About seven hundred of the French were killed and wounded in this action. The English lost about five hundred; and among these captain Grenville, commander of the ship Defiance. He was nephew to the lord viscount Cobham, a youth of the most amiable character and promising genius, animated with the noblest sentiments of honour and patriotism. Eager in the pursuit of glory, he rushed into the midst of the battle, where both his legs were cut off by a cannon-ball. He submitted to his fate with the most heroic resignation, and died universally lamented and beloved. The success of the British arms in this engagement was chiefly owing to the conduct, activity, and courage of the rear-admiral. A considerable quantity of bullion was found in the prizes, which was brought to Spithead in triumph; and the treasure being landed, was conveyed in twenty waggons to the bank of London. Admiral Anson was ennobled, and Mr. Warren honoured with the order of the Bath.

ADMIRAL HAWKE OBTAINS ANOTHER VICTORY OVER THE FRENCH.

About the middle of June, commodore Fox, with six ships of war, cruising in the latitude of Cape Ortegal in Gallicia, took above forty French ships, richly laden from St. Domingo, after they had been abandoned by their convoy. But the French king sustained another more important loss at sea, in the month of October. Rear-admiral Hawke sailed from Plymouth in the beginning of August, with fourteen ships of the line, to intercept a fleet of French merchant ships bound for the West Indies. He cruised for some time on the coast of Bretagne; and at length the French fleet sailed from the isle of Aix, under convoy of nine ships of the line, besides frigates, commanded by monsieur de Letendeur. On the fourteenth day of October, the two squadrons were in sight of each other, in the latitude of Belleisle. The French commodore immediately ordered one of his great ships, and the frigates, to proceed with the trading ships, while he formed the line of battle, and waited the attack. At eleven in the forenoon admiral Hawke displayed the signal to chase, and in half an hour both fleets were engaged. The battle lasted till night, when all the French squadron, except the Intrepide and Ton-ant, had struck to the English flag. These two capital ships escaped in the dark, and returned to Brest in a shattered condition. The French captains sustained the unequal fight with uncommon bravery and resolution; and did not yield until their ships were disabled. Their loss in men amounted to eight hundred: the number of English killed in this engagement did not exceed two hundred, including captain Saumarez, a gallant officer who had served under lord Anson in his expedition to the Pacific Ocean. Indeed it must be owned, for the honour of that nobleman, that all these officers formed under his example, and raised by his influence, approved themselves in all respects worthy of the commands to which they were preferred. Immediately after the action, admiral Hawke despatched a sloop to commodore Legge, whose squadron was stationed at the Leeward Islands, with intelligence of the French fleet of merchant ships outward-bound, that he might take the proper measures for intercepting them in their passage to Martinique and the other French islands. In consequence of this advice he redoubled his vigilance, and a good number of them fell into his hands. Admiral Hawke conducted his prizes to Spithead; and in his letter to the board of admiralty, declared that all his captains behaved like men of honour during the engagement, except Mr. Fox, whose conduct he desired might be subjected to an inquiry. That gentleman was accordingly tried by a court-martial, and suspended from his command, for having followed the advice of his officers contrary to his own better judgment; but he was soon restored, and afterwards promoted to the rank of admiral; while Mr. Matthews, whose courage never incurred suspicion, still laboured under suspension for that which had been successfully practised in both these late actions, namely, engaging the enemy without any regard to the line of battle. In the Mediterranean, vice-admiral Medley blocked up the Spanish squadron in Carthagena; assisted the Austrian general on the coast of Villafranca; and intercepted some of the succours sent from France to the assistance of the Genoese. At his death, which happened in the beginning of August, the command of that squadron devolved upon rear-admiral Byng, who proceeded on the same plan of operation. In the summer, two British ships of war, having under their convoy a fleet of merchant ships bound to North America, fell in with the Glorioso, a Spanish ship of eighty guns, in the latitude of the Western Isles. She had sailed from the Havannah with an immense treasure on board, and must have fallen a prize to the English ships had each captain done his duty. Captain Erskine, in the Warwick of sixty guns, attacked her with great intrepidity, and fought until his ship was entirely disabled; but being unsustained by his consort, he was obliged to haul off, and the Glorioso arrived in safety at Ferrol; there the silver was landed, and she proceeded on her voyage to Cadiz, which, however, she did not reach. She was encountered by the Dartmouth, a British frigate of forty guns, commanded by captain Hamilton, a gallant youth, who, notwithstanding the inequality of force, engaged her without hesitation; but in the heat of the action, his ship being set on fire by accident, was blown up, and-he perished with all his crew, except a midshipman and ten or eleven sailors, who were taken up alive by a privateer that happened to be in sight. Favourable as this accident may seem to the Glorioso, she did not escape. An English ship of eighty guns, under the command of captain Buckle, came up and obliged the Spaniards to surrender, after a short but vigorous engagement. Commodore Griffin had been sent, with a reinforcement of ships, to assume the command of the squadron in the East Indies; and although his arrival secured Fort St. David’s and the other British settlements in that country, from the insults of monsieur da la Bourdonnais, his strength was not sufficient to enable him to undertake any enterprise of importance against the enemy; the ministry of England therefore resolved to equip a fresh armament, that, when joined by the ships in India, should be in a condition to besiege Pon-dicherry, the principal settlement belonging to the French on the coast of Coromandel. For this service, a good number of independent companies was raised, and set sail, in the sequel, with a strong squadron under the conduct of rear-admiral Boscawen, an officer of unquestioned valour and capacity. In the course of this year, the British cruisers were so alert and successful, that they took six hundred and forty-four prizes from the French and Spaniards, whereas the loss of Great Britain in the same time did not exceed five hundred and fifty.

CONGRESS AT AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.

All the belligerent powers were by this time heartily tired of a war which had consumed an immensity of treasure, had been productive of so much mischief, and in the events of which, all, in their turns, had found themselves disappointed. Immediately after the battle of Laffeldt, the king of France had, in a personal conversation with sir John Ligonier, expressed his desire of a pacification; and afterwards his minister at the Hague presented a declaration on the same subject to the deputies of the states-general. The signal success of the British arms at sea confirmed him in these sentiments, which were likewise reinforced by a variety of other considerations. His finances were almost exhausted, and his supplies from the Spanish West Indies rendered so precarious by the vigilance of the British cruisers, that he could no longer depend upon their arrival. The trading part of his subjects had sustained such losses, that his kingdom was filled with bankruptcies; and the best part of his navy now contributed to strengthen the fleets of his enemies. The election of a stadtholder had united the whole power of the states-general against him, in taking the most resolute measures for their own safety; his views in Germany were entirely frustrated by the elevation of the grand duke to the Imperial throne, and the re-establishment of peace between the houses of Austria and Bran-denburgh; the success of his arms in Italy had not at all answered his expectation; and Genoa was become an expensive ally. He had the mortification to see the commerce of Britain flourish in the midst of war, while his own people were utterly impoverished. The parliament of England granted, and the nation paid such incredible sums as enabled their sovereign not only to maintain invincible navies and formidable armies, but likewise to give subsidies to all the powers of Europe. He knew that a treaty of this kind was actually upon the anvil between his Britannic majesty and the czarina, and he began to be apprehensive of seeing an army of Russians in the Netherlands. His fears from this quarter were not without foundation. In the month of November, the earl of Hyndford, ambassador from the king of Great Britain at the court of Russia, concluded a treaty of subsidy, by which the czarina engaged to hold in readiness thirty thousand men, and forty galleys, to be employed in the service of the confederates on the first requisition. The states-general acceded to this agreement, and even consented to pay one-fourth of the subsidy. His most christian majesty, moved by these considerations, made further advances towards an accommodation both at the Plague and in London; and the contending powers agreed to another congress, which was actually opened in March at Aix-la-Chapelle, where the earl of Sandwich and sir Thomas Robinson assisted as plenipotentiaries from the king of Great Britain.

COMPLIANT TEMPER OF THE NEW PARLIAMENT.

The elections for the new parliament in England had been conducted so as fully to answer the purposes of the duke of Newcastle, and his brother Mr. Pelham, who had for some time wholly engrossed the administration. Both houses were assembled on the tenth day of November, when Mr. Onslow was unanimously reelected speaker of the commons. The session was opened as usual by a speech from the throne, congratulating them on the signal successes of the British navy, and the happy alteration in the government of the United Provinces. His majesty gave them to understand that a congress would speedily be opened at Aix-la-Chapelle, to concert the means for effecting a general pacification; and reminded them that nothing would more conduce to the success of this negotiation than the vigour and unanimity of their proceedings. He received such addresses as the ministers were pleased to dictate. Opposition now languished at their feet. The duke of Bedford was become a courtier, and in a little time appointed secretary of state, in the room of the earl of Chesterfield, who had lately executed that office, which he now resigned; and the earl of Sandwich no longer harangued against the administration. This new house of commons, in imitation of the liberality of their predecessors, readily gratified all the requests of the government. They voted forty thousand seamen, forty-nine thousand land forces, besides eleven thousand five hundred marines; the subsidies for the queen of Hungary, the czarina, the king of Sardinia, the electors of Mentz and Bavaria, the Hessians, and the duke of Wolfenbuttle; the sum of two hundred and thirty-five thousand seven hundred and forty-nine pounds, was granted to the provinces of New England, to reimburse them for the expense of reducing Cape Breton; five hundred thousand pounds were given to his majesty for the vigorous prosecution of the war; and about one hundred and fifty-two thousand pounds to the Scottish claimants, in lieu of their jurisdiction. The supplies for the ensuing year fell very little short of nine millions, of which the greater part was raised on a loan by subscription, chargeable on a new subsidy of poundage exacted from all merchandise imported into Great Britain. Immediately after the rebellion was suppressed, the legislature had established some regulations in Scotland, which were thought necessary to prevent such commotions for the future. The highlanders were disarmed, and an act passed for abolishing their peculiarity of garb, which was supposed to keep up party distinctions, to encourage their martial disposition, and preserve the memory of the exploits achieved by their ancestors. In this session a bill was brought in to enforce the execution of that law, and passed with another act for the more effectual punishment of high treason in the highlands of Scotland. The practice of insuring French and Spanish ships at London being deemed the sole circumstances that prevented a total stagnation of commerce in those countries, it was prohibited by law under severe penalties; and this step of the British parliament accelerated the conclusion of the treaty. Several other prudent measures were taken in the course of this session, for the benefit of the public; and among these we may reckon an act for encouraging the manufacture of indigo in the British plantations of North America; an article for which Great Britain used to pay two hundred thousand pounds yearly to the subjects of France.

The session was closed on the thirteenth day of May, when the king declared to both houses that the preliminaries of a general peace were actually signed at Aix-la-Chapelle, by the ministers of Great Britain, France, and the United Provinces; and that the basis of this accommodation was a general restitution of the conquests which had been made during the war. Immediately after the prorogation of parliament his majesty set out for his German dominions, after having appointed a regency to rule the realm in his absence.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE CAMPAIGN IN THE NETHERLANDS.

The articles might have been made much less unfavourable to Great Britain and her allies, had the ministry made a proper use of the treaty with the czarina; and if the confederates had acted with more vigour and expedition in the beginning of the campaign. The Russian auxiliaries might have been transported by sea to Lubeck before the end of the preceding summer’, in their own galleys, which had been lying ready for use since the month of July. Had this expedient been used, the Russian troops would have joined the confederate army before the conclusion of the last campaign. But this easy and expeditious method of conveyance was rejected for a march by land, of incredible length and difficulty, which could not be begun before the month of January, nor accomplished till Midsummer. The operations of the campaign had been concerted at the Hague in January, by the respective ministers of the allies, who resolved to bring an army of one hundred and ninety thousand men into the Netherlands, in order to compel the French to abandon the barrier which they had conquered, The towns of Holland became the scenes of tumult and insurrection. The populace plundered the farmers of the revenue, abolished the taxes, and insulted the magistrates; so that the states-general, seeing their country on the brink of anarchy and confusion, authorized the prince of Orange to make such alterations as he should see convenient. They presented him with a diploma, by which he was constituted hereditary stadtholder and captain-general of Dutch Brabant, Flanders, and the upper quarter of Guelderland; and the East India company appointed him director and governor-general of their commerce and settlements in the Indies. Thus invested with authority unknown to his ancestors, he exerted himself with equal industry and discretion in new modelling, augmenting, and assembling the troops of the republic. The confederates knew that the count de Saxe had a design upon Maestricht: the Austrian general Bathiani made repeated remonstrances to the British ministry, entreating them to take speedy measures for the preservation of that fortress. He, in the month of January, proposed that the duke of Cumberland should cross the sea, and confer with the prince of Orange on this subject; he undertook, at the peril of his head, to cover Maastricht with seventy thousand men, from all attacks of the enemy: but his representations seemed to have made very little impression on those to whom they were addressed. The duke of Cumberland did not depart from England till towards the latter end of February; part of March was elapsed before the transports sailed from the Nore with the additional troops and artillery; and the last drafts from the foot-guards were not embarked till the middle of August.

SIEGE OF MAESTRICHT. FORMS A CESSATION.

The different bodies of the confederate forces joined each other and encamped in the neighbourhood of Euremond, to the number of one hundred and ten thousand men; and the French army invested Maestricht, without opposition, on the third day of April. The garrison consisted of Imperial and Dutch troops, under the conduct of the governor, baron de Aylva, who defended the place with extraordinary skill and resolution. He annoyed the besiegers in repeated sallies; but they were determined to surmount all opposition, and prosecuted their approaches with incredible ardour. They assaulted the covered way, and there effected a lodgement, after an obstinate dispute, in which they lost two thousand of their best troops; but next day they were entirely dislodged by the gallantry of the garrison. These hostilities were suddenly suspended, in consequence of the preliminaries signed at Aix-la-Chapelle. The plenipotentiaries agreed, that, for the glory of his christian majesty’s arms, the town of Maestricht should be surrendered to his general, on condition that it should be restored with all the magazines and artillery. He accordingly took possession of it on the third day of May, when the garrison marched out with all the honours of war; and a cessation of arms immediately ensued. By this time the Russian auxiliaries, to the number of thirty-seven thousand, commanded by prince Repnin, had arrived in Moravia, where they were reviewed by their imperial majesties; then they proceeded to the confines of Franconia, where they were ordered to halt, after they had marched seven hundred miles since the beginning of the year. The French king declared, that should they advance farther, he would demolish the fortifications of Maestricht and Bergen-op-Zoom. This dispute was referred to the plenipotentiaries, who, in the beginning of August, concluded a convention, importing that the Russian troops should return to their own country; and that the French king should disband an equal number of his forces. The season being far advanced, the Russians were provided with winter-quarters in Bohemia and Moravia, where they continued till the spring, when they marched back to Livonia. In the meantime seven-and-thirty thousand French troops were withdrawn from Flanders into Picardy, and the two armies remained quiet till the conclusion of the definitive treaty. The suspension of arms was proclaimed at London, and in all the capitals of the contracting powers; orders were sent to the respective admirals in different parts of the world, to refrain from hostilities; and a communication of trade and intelligence was again opened between the nations which had been at variance. No material transaction distinguished the campaign in Italy. The French and Spanish troops, who had joined the Genoese in the territories of the republic, amounted to thirty thousand men, under the direction of the duke de Richlieu, who was sent from France to assume that command on the death of the duke de Boufflers; while mareschal de Belleisle, at the head of fifty thousand men, covered the western Eiviera, which was threatened with an invasion by forty thousand Austrians and Piedmontese, under general Leutrum. At the same time general Brown, with a more numerous army, prepared to re-enter the eastern Eiviera, and recommence the siege of Genoa. But these intended operations were prevented by an armistice, which took place as soon as the belligerent powers had acceded to the preliminaries.

TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.

In the East Indies, rear-admiral Boscawen undertook the siege of Pondicherry, which in the month of August he blocked up by sea with his squadron, and invested by land with a small army of four thousand Europeans, and about two thousand natives of that country. He prosecuted the enterprise with great spirit, and took the fort of Area Coupan, at the distance of three miles from the town; then he made his approaches to the place, against which he opened batteries, while it was bombarded and cannonaded by the shipping. But the fortifications were so strong, the garrison so numerous, and the engineers of the enemy so expert in their profession, that he made very little progress, and sustained considerable damage. At length, his army being diminished by sickness, and the rainy season approaching, he ordered the artillery and stores to be re-embarked; and raising the siege on the sixth day of October, returned to fort St. David, after having lost about a thousand men in this expedition. In the sequel, several ships of his squadron, and above twelve hundred sailors, perished in a hurricane. The naval force of Great Britain was more successful in the West Indies. Bear-admiral Knowles, with a squadron of eight ships, attacked fort Louis, on the South side of Hispaniola, which after a warm action of three hours was surrendered on capitulation, and dismantled. Then he made an abortive attempt upon St. Jago de Cuba, and returned to Jamaica, extremely chagrined at his disappointment, which he imputed to the misconduct of captain Dent, who was tried in England by a court-martial, and honourably acquitted. On the first of October, the same admiral, cruising in the neighbourhood of the Havannah with eight ships of the line, encountered a Spanish squadron of nearly the same strength, under the command of the admirals Beggio and Spinola. The engagement began between two and three o’clock in the afternoon, and continued with intervals till eight in the evening, when the enemy retired to the Havannah, with the loss of two ships; one of which struck to the British admiral, and the other was two days after set on fire by her own commander, that she might not fall into the hands of the English. Mr. Knowles taxed some of his captains with misbehaviour, and they recriminated on his conduct. On their return to England, a court-martial was the consequence of the mutual accusations. Those who adhered to the commander, and the others whom he impeached, were inflamed against each other with the most rancorous resentment. The admiral himself did not escape uncensured; two of his captains were reprimanded; but captain Holmes, who had displayed uncommon courage, was honourably acquitted. Their animosities did not end with the court-martial. A bloodless encounter happened between the admiral and captain Powlet; but captain Innes and captain Clarke, meeting by appointment in Hyde-Park with pistols, the former was mortally wounded, and died next morning; the latter was tried, and condemned for murder, but indulged with his majesty’s pardon. No naval transaction of any consequence happened in the European seas during the course of this summer. In January, indeed, the Magnanime, a French ship of the line, was taken in the channel by two English cruisers, after an obstinate engagement; and the privateers took a considerable number of merchant ships from the enemy.

CONCLUSION OF THE DEFINITIVE TREATY AT AIX-LA-CHAPELLE.

The plenipotentiaries still continued at Aix-la-Cha-pelle, discussing all the articles of the definitive treaty, which was at length concluded and signed on the seventh of October. It was founded on former treaties, which were now expressly confirmed, from that of Westphalia to the last concluded at London and Vienna. The contracting parties agreed, that all prisoners on each side should be mutually released, without ransom, and all conquests restored; that the duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, should be ceded as a settlement to the infant don Philip, and the heirs male of his body; but in case of his ascending the throne of Spain, or of the two Sicilies, or his dying without male issue, that they should revert to the house of Austria; that the king of Great Britain should, immediately after the ratification of this treaty, send two persons of rank and distinction, to reside in France, as hostages, until restitution should be made of Cape Breton, and all the other conquests which his Britannic majesty should have achieved in the East or West Indies, before or after the preliminaries were signed; that the assiento contract, with the article of the annual ship, should be confirmed for four years, during which the enjoyment of that privilege was suspended since the commencement of the present war; that Dunkirk should remain fortified on the land side, and towards the sea continue on the footing of former treaties. All the contracting powers became guarantees to the king of Prussia for the duchy of Silesia and the county of Glatz, as he at present possessed them; and they likewise engaged to secure the empress-queen of Hungary and Bohemia in possession of her hereditary dominions, according to the pragmatic sanction. The other articles regulated the forms and times fixed for this mutual restitution, as well as for the termination of hostilities in different parts of the world. But the right of English subjects to navigate in the American seas, without being subject to search, was not once mentioned, though this claim was the original source of the differences between Great Britain and Spain; nor were the limits of Acadia ascertained. This and all other disputes were left to the discussion of commissaries. We have already observed, that after the troubles of the empire began, the war was no longer maintained on British principles. It became a continental contest, and was prosecuted on the side of the allies without conduct, spirit, or unanimity. In the Netherlands they were outnumbered, and outwitted by the enemy. They never hazarded a battle without sustaining a defeat. Their vast armies, paid by Great Britain, lay inactive, and beheld one fortress reduced after another until the whole country was subdued; and as their generals fought, their plenipotentiaries negotiated. At a time when their affairs began to wear the most promising aspect, when the arrival of the Russian auxiliaries would have secured an undoubted superiority in the field; when the British fleets had trampled on the naval power of France and Spain, intercepted their supplies of treasure, and cut off all their resources of commerce; the British ministers seemed to treat, without the least regard to the honour and advantage of their country. They left her most valuable and necessary rights of trade unowned and undecided; they subscribed to the insolent demand of sending the nobles of the realm to grace the court and adorn the triumphs of her enemy; and they tamely gave up her conquests in North America, of more consequence to her traffic than all the other dominions for which the powers at war contended; they gave up the important isle of Cape Breton, in exchange for a petty factory in the East Indies, belonging to a private company, whose existence had been deemed prejudicial to the commonwealth. What then were the fruits which Britain reaped from this long and desperate war? A dreadful expense of blood and treasure, 310 [See note 2 P, at the end of this Vol.] disgrace upon disgrace, an additional load of grievous impositions, and the national debt accumulated to the enormous sum of eighty millions sterling.

CHAPTER VII.

Reflections on the Peace..... The Prince of Wales’ Adherents join the Opposition..... Character of the Ministry..... Session opened..... Debate on the Address..... Supplies granted..... Exorbitant Demand of the Empress-queen opposed..... Violent Contest concerning the Seamen’s Bill..... Objections to the Mutiny Bill..... Bill for limiting the Term of a Soldier’s Service..... Measures taken with respect to the African Trade..... Scheme for improving the British Fishery..... Attempt to open the Commerce to Hudson’s Bay..... Plan for manning the Navy..... Fruitless Motions made by the Opposition..... Severities exercised upon some Students at Oxford..... Duke of Newcastle chosen Chancellor cf the University of Cambridge..... Tumults in different Parts of the Kingdom..... Scheme for a Settlement in Nova Scotia..... Town of Halifax founded..... French Attempts to settle on the Island of Tobago..... Rejoicings for the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle..... Pretender’s eldest Son arrested at Paris..... Appearance of a Rupture between Russia and Sweden..... Interposition of the King of Prussia..... Measures taken by the French Ministry..... Conduct of different European Powers..... Insolence of the Barbary Corsairs..... Disturbances in England..... Session opened—Subjects of Debate..... Scheme for reducing the Interest of the National Debt..... Act passed for that Purpose..... New Mutiny Bill..... Bill for encouraging the Importation of Iron from America..... Erection of the British Herring Fishery..... New African Company..... Westminster Election..... Earthquakes in London..... Pestilential Fever at the Session in the Old Bailey..... Disputes between Russia and Sweden..... Plan for electing the Arch-duke Joseph King of the Romans..... Opposition of the King of Prussia..... Disputes with the French about the Limits of Nova-Scotia..... Treaty with Spain..... Session opened..... Debate on the Address..... Supplies granted..... Death and Character of the Prince of Wales..... Settlement of a Regency, in case of a Minor Sovereign—General Naturalization Bill..... Censure passed upon a Paper entitled Constitutional Queries..... Proceedings of the Commons on the Westminster Election..... Mr. Murray sent Prisoner to Newgate..... Session closed..... Style altered

REFLECTIONS ON THE PEACE.

The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, however unstable or inglorious it might appear to those few who understood the interests, and felt for the honour of their country, was nevertheless not unwelcome to the nation in general. The British ministry will always find it more difficult to satisfy the people at the end of a successful campaign, than at the conclusion of an unfortunate war. The English are impatient of miscarriage and disappointment, and too apt to be intoxicated with victory. At this period they were tired of the burdens, and sick of the disgraces, to which they had been exposed in the coarse of seven tedious campaigns. They had suffered considerable losses and interruption in the article of commerce, which was the source of their national opulence and power; they knew it would necessarily be clogged with additional duties for the maintenance of a continental war, and the support of foreign subsidiaries; and they drew very faint presages of future success either from the conduct of their allies, or the capacity of their commanders. To a people influenced by these considerations, the restoration of a free trade, the respite from that anxiety and suspense which the prosecution of a war never fails to engender, and the prospect of a speedy deliverance from discouraging restraint and oppressive impositions, were advantages that sweetened the bitter draught of a dishonourable treaty, and induced the majority of the nation to acquiesce in the peace, not barely without murmuring, but even with some degree of satisfaction and applause.

THE PRINCE OF WALES’ ADHERENTS JOIN THE OPPOSITION.

Immediately after the exchange of ratifications at Aix-la-Chapelle, the armies were broken up; the allies in the Netherlands withdrew their several proportions of troops; the French began to evacuate Flanders; and the English forces were re-embarked for their own country. His Britannic majesty returned from his German dominions in November, having landed near Margate, in Kent, after a dangerous passage; and on the twenty-ninth of the same month he opened the session of parliament. By this time the misunderstanding between the two first personages of the royal family had been increased by a fresh succession of matter. The prince of Wales had held a court of Stannary, in quality of duke of Cornwall; and revived some claims attached to that dignity, which, had they been admitted, would have greatly augmented his influence among the Cornish boroughs. These efforts roused the jealousy of the administration, which had always considered them as an interest wholly dependent on the crown; and, therefore, the pretensions of his royal highness were opposed by the whole weight of the ministry. His adherents, resenting these hostilities as an injury to their royal master, immediately joined the remnant of the former opposition in parliament, and resolved to counteract all the ministerial measures that should fall under their cognizance; at least, they determined to seize every opportunity of thwarting the servants of the crown, in every scheme or proposal that had not an evident tendency to the advantage of the nation. This band of auxiliaries was headed by the earl of E——t, Dr. Lee, and Mr. N——t. The first possessed a species of eloquence rather plausible than powerful; he spoke with fluency and fire; his spirit was bold and enterprising, his apprehension quick, and his repartee severe. Dr. Lee was a man of extensive erudition and irreproachable morals, particularly versed in the civil law, which he professed, and perfectly well acquainted with the constitution of his country. Mr. N——t was an orator of middling abilities, who harangued upon all subjects indiscriminately, and supplied with confidence what he wanted in capacity; he had been at some pains to study the business of the house, as well as to understand the machine of government; and was tolerably well heard, as he generally spoke with an appearance of good humour, and hazarded every whimsical idea as it arose in his imagination. But lord Bolingbroke is said to have been the chief spring which, in secret, actuated the deliberations of the prince’s court. That nobleman, seemingly sequestered from the tumults of a public life, resided at Battersea, where he was visited like a sainted shrine by all the distinguished votaries of wit, eloquence, and political ambition. There he was cultivated and admired for the elegance of his manners, and the charms of his conversation. The prince’s curiosity was first captivated by his character, and his esteem was afterwards secured by the irresistible address of that extraordinary personage, who continued in a regular progression to insinuate himself still farther and farther into the good graces of his royal patron.. How far the conduct of his royal highness was influenced by the private advice of this nobleman we shall not pretend to determine; but, certain it is, the friends of the ministry propagated a report, that he was the dictator of those measures which the prince adopted; and that, under the specious pretext of attachment to the heir-apparent of the crown, he concealed his real aim, which was to perpetuate the breach in the royal family. Whatever his sentiments and motives might have been, this was no other than a revival of the old ministerial clamour, that a man cannot be well affected to the king, if he pretends to censure any measure of the administration.

CHARACTER OF THE MINISTRY.

The weight which the opposition derived from these new confederates in the house of commons was still greatly overbalanced by the power, influence, and ability that sustained every ministerial project. Mr. Pelham, who chiefly managed the helm of affairs, was generally esteemed as a man of honesty and candour, actuated by a sincere love for his country, though he had been educated in erroneous principles of government, and in some measure obliged to prosecute a fatal system which descended to him by inheritance. At this time he numbered Mr. Pitt among his fellow-ministers, and was moreover supported by many other individuals of distinguished abilities; among whom the first place in point of genius was due to Mr. M., who executed the office of solicitor-general. This gentleman, the son of a noble family in North Britain, had raised himself to great eminence at the bar, by a most keen intuitive spirit of apprehension, that seemed to seize every object at first glance; an innate sagacity, that saved the trouble of intense application; and an irresistible stream of eloquence, that flowed pure and classical, strong and copious, reflecting, in the most conspicuous point of view, the subjects over which it rolled, and sweeping before it all the slime of formal hesitation, and all the entangling weeds of chicanery. Yet the servants of the crown were not so implicitly attached to the first minister as to acquiesce in all his plans, and dedicate their time and talents to the support of every court measure indiscriminately. This was one material point in which Mr. Pelham deviated from the maxims of his predecessor, who admitted of no contradiction from any of his adherents or fellow-servants, but insisted on sacrificing their whole perception and faculties to his conduct and disposal. That sordid deference to a minister no longer characterized the subordinate instruments of the administration. It was not unusual to see the great officers of the government divided in a parliamentary debate, and to hear the secretary at war opposing with great vehemence a clause suggested by the chancellor of the exchequer. After all, if we coolly consider those arguments which have been bandied about, and retorted with such eagerness and acrimony in the house of commons, and divest them of those passionate tropes and declamatory metaphors which the spirit of opposition alone had produced, we shall find very little left for the subject of dispute, and sometimes be puzzled to discover any material source of disagreement.

SESSION OPENED.

In the month of November his majesty opened the session of parliament with a speech, acquainting them, that the definitive treaty of peace was at length signed by all the parties concerned; that he had made the most effectual provision for securing the rights and interests of his own subjects; and procured for his allies the best conditions, which, in the present situation of affairs, could be obtained. He said, he had found a general good disposition in all parties to bring the negotiation to a happy conclusion; and observed, that we might promise ourselves a long enjoyment of the blessings of peace. Finally, after having remarked that times of tranquillity were the proper seasons for lessening the national debt, and strengthening the kingdom against future events, he recommended to the commons the improvement of the public revenue, the maintenance of a considerable naval force, the advancement of commerce, and the cultivation of the arts of peace. This speech, as usual, was echoed back by an address to the throne from both houses, containing general expressions of the warmest loyalty and gratitude to his majesty, and implying the most perfect satisfaction and acquiescence in the articles of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

The members in the opposition, according to custom, cavilled at the nature of this address. They observed, that the late pacification was the worst and most inglorious of all the bad treaties to which the English nation had ever subscribed; that it was equally disgraceful, indefinite, and absurd; they said, the British navy had gained such an ascendancy over the French at sea, that the sources of their wealth were already choked up; that the siege of Maestricht would have employed then-arms in the Low Countries till the arrival of the Russians; and that the accession of these auxiliaries would have thrown the superiority into the scale of the allies. They did not fail to take notice that the most important and original object of the war was left wholly undecided; and demonstrated the absurdity of their promising in the address to make good such engagements as his majesty had entered into with his allies, before they knew what those engagements were. In answer to these objections, the ministers replied, that the peace was in itself rather better than could be expected; and that the smallest delay might have proved fatal to the liberties of Europe. They affirmed, that the Dutch were upon the point of concluding a neutrality, in consequence of which their troops would have been withdrawn from the allied army; and, in that case, even the addition of the Russian auxiliaries would not have rendered it a match for the enemy. They asserted, that if the Avar had been prolonged another year, the national credit of Great Britain must have been entirely ruined, many of the public funds having sunk below par in the preceding season, so that the ministry had begun to despair of seeing the money paid in on the new subscription. With respect to the restoration of Cape Breton, the limits of Nova Scotia, and the right of navigating without search in the American seas, which right had been left unestablished in the treaty, they declared, that the first was an unnecessary expense, of no consequence to Great Britain; and that the other two were points in dispute, to be amicably settled in private conferences by commissaries duly authorized; but by no means articles to be established by a general treaty.

What the opposition wanted in strength, it endeavoured to make up with spirit and perseverance. Every ministerial motion and measure was canvassed, sifted, and decried with uncommon art and vivacity; but all this little availed against the single article of superior numbers; and accordingly this was the source of certain triumph in all debates in which the servants of the crown were united. The nation had reason to expect an immediate mitigation in the article of annual expense, considering the number of troops and ships of war which had been reduced at the ratification of the treaty: but they were disagreeably undeceived in finding themselves again loaded with very extraordinary impositions, for the payment of a vast debt which government had contracted in the course of the war, notwithstanding the incredible aids granted by parliament. The committee of supply established four points of consideration, in their deliberations concerning the sums necessary to be raised; namely, for fulfilling the engagements which the parliament had entered into with his majesty, and the services undertaken for the success of the war; for discharging debts contracted by government; for making good deficiencies; and for defraying the current expense of the year. It appeared, that the nation owed four-and-forty thousand pounds to the elector of Bavaria; above thirty thousand to the duke of Brunswick; the like sum to the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel; and near nine thousand pounds to the elector of Mentz. The queen of Hungary claimed an arrear of one hundred thousand pounds. The city of Glasgow, in North Britain, presented a petition, praying to be reimbursed the sum of ten thousand pounds, extorted from that corporation by the son of the pretender during the rebellion. One hundred and twelve thousand pounds were owing to the forces in North America and the East Indies; besides near half a million due on extraordinary expense incurred by the land-forces in America, Flanders, and North Britain, by the office of ordnance, and other services of the last year, to which the parliamentary provision did not extend. The remaining debt of the ordnance amounted to above two hundred and thirty thousand pounds; but the navy-bills could not be discharged for less than four millions. An addition of two millions three hundred and seventy-four thousand three hundred and thirty-three pounds, fifteen shillings and two-pence, was also required for the current service of the year. In a word, the whole annual supply exceeded eight millions sterling-a sum at which the whole nation expressed equal astonishment and disgust. It was charged upon the duties on malt, mum, cyder, and perry, the land-tax at four shillings in the pound, annuities on the sinking-fund, an application of one million from that deposit, and the loan of the like sum to be charged on the first aids of next session. The number of seamen was reduced to seventeen thousand, and that of the land-forces to eighteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, including guards and garrisons.

EXORBITANT DEMAND OF THE EMPRESS-QUEEN OPPOSED.

Every article of expense, however, was warmly disputed by the anti-courtiers, especially the demand of the queen of Hungary, which was deemed unreasonable, exorbitant, and rapacious, considering the seas of blood which we had shed, and the immensity of treasure we had exhausted for her benefit; and surely the subjects of this nation had some reason to complain of an indulgence of this nature, granted to a power which they had literally snatched from the brink of ruin-a power whose quarrel they had espoused with a degree of enthusiasm that did much more honour to their gallantry than to their discretion-a power that kept aloof, with a stateliness of pride peculiar to herself and family, and beheld her British auxiliaries fighting her battles at their own expense; while she squandered away, in the idle pageantry of barbarous magnificence, those ample subsidies which they had advanced in order to maintain their armies, and furnish out her proportion of the war. The leaders of the opposition neglected no opportunity of embittering the triumphs of their adversaries; they inveighed against the extravagance of granting sixteen thousand pounds for the pay of general and staff officers, during a peace that required no such establishment, especially at a juncture when the national incumbrances rendered it absolutely necessary to practise every expedient of economy. They even combated the request of the city of Glasgow, to be indemnified for the extraordinary exaction it underwent from the rebels, though it appeared from unquestionable evidence, that this extraordinary contribution was exacted on account of that city’s peculiar attachment to the reigning family; that it had always invariably adhered to revolution principles; and, with an unequalled spirit of loyalty and zeal for the protestant succession, distinguished itself both in the last and preceding rebellion.

VIOLENT CONTEST CONCERNING THE SEAMEN’S BILL.

But the most violent contest arose on certain regulations which the ministry wanted to establish in two bills, relating to the sea and land service. The first, under the title of a bill for amending, explaining, and reducing into one act of parliament the laws relating to the navy, was calculated solely with a view of subjecting half-pay officers to martial law—a design which not only furnished the opposition with a plausible handle for accusing the ministers as intending to encroach upon the constitution, in order to extend the influence of the crown; but also alarmed the sea-officers to such a degree, that they assembled to a considerable number, with a view to deliberate upon the proper means of defending their privileges and liberties from invasion. The result of their consultations was a petition to the house of commons, subscribed by three admirals and forty-seven captains, not members of parliament, representing that the bill in agitation contained several clauses tending to the injury and dishonour of all naval officers, as well as to the detriment of his majesty’s service; and that the laws already in force had been always found effectual for securing the service of officers on half-pay upon the most pressing occasions: they therefore hoped, that they should not be subjected to new hardships and discouragements; and begged to be heard by their counsel, before the committee of the whole house, touching such parts of the bill as they apprehended would be injurious to themselves and the other officers of his majesty’s navy. This petition was presented to the house by sir John Norris, and the motion for its being read was seconded by sir Peter Warren, whose character was universally esteemed and beloved in the nation. This measure had like to have produced very serious consequences. Many commanders and subalterns had repaired to the admiralty, and threatened in plain terms to throw up their commissions, in case the bill should pass into a law; and a general ferment was begun among all the subordinate members of the navy. A motion was made, that the petitioners, according to their request, should be heard by their counsel; and this proposal was strongly urged by the first orators of the anti-ministerial association; but the minister, confiding in his own strength, reinforced by the abilities of Mr. Pitt, Mr. Lyttelton, and Mr. Fox the secretary at war, strenuously opposed the motion, which upon a division was thrown out by a great majority. The several articles of the bill were afterwards separately debated with great warmth; and though Mr. Pelham had, with the most disinterested air of candour, repeatedly declared that he required no support even from his own adherents, but that which might arise from reason unrestrained and full conviction, he on this occasion reaped all the fruit from their zeal and attachment, which could be expected from the most implicit complaisance. Some plausible amendments of the most exceptionable clauses were offered, particularly of that which imposed an oath upon the members of every court-martial, that they should not, on any account, disclose the opinions or transactions of any such tribunal. This was considered as a sanction, under which any court-martial might commit the most flagrant acts of injustice and oppression, which even parliament itself could not redress, because it would be impossible to ascertain the truth, eternally sealed up by this absurd obligation. The amendment proposed was, that the member of a court-martial might reveal the transactions and opinions of it in all cases wherein the courts of justice, as the law now stands, have a right to interfere, if required thereto by either house of parliament; a very reasonable mitigation, which however was rejected by the majority. Nevertheless, the suspicion of an intended encroachment had raised such a clamour without doors, and diffused the odium of this measure so generally, that the minister thought proper to drop the projected article of war, subjecting the reformed officers of the navy to the jurisdictions of courts-martial; and the bill being also softened in other particulars, during its passage through the upper house, at length received the royal assent.

The flame which this act had kindled, was rather increased than abated on the appearance of a new mutiny-bill, replete with divers innovations tending to augment the influence of the crown, as well as the authority and power of a military jurisdiction. All the articles of war established since the reign of Charles II., were submitted to the inspection of the commons; and in these appeared a gradual spirit of encroachment, almost imperceptibly deviating from the civil institutes of the English constitution, towards the establishment of a military dominion. By this new bill a power was vested in any commander-in-chief, to revise and correct any legal sentence of a court-martial, by which the members of such a court, corresponding with the nature of a civil jury, were rendered absolutely useless, and the commander in a great measure absolute; for he had not only the power of summoning such officers as he might choose to sit on any trial—a prerogative unknown to any civil court of judicature—but he was also at liberty to review and altar the sentence; so that a man was subject to two trials for the same offence, and the commander-in-chief was judge both of the guilt and the punishment. By the final clause of this bill, martial law was extended to all officers on half-pay; and the same arguments which had been urged against this article in the navy-bill, were now repeated and reinforced with redoubled fervour. Many reasons were offered to prove that the half-pay was allotted as a recompence for past service; and the opponents of the bill affirmed, that such an article, by augmenting the dependents of the crown, might be very dangerous to the constitution. On the other hand, the partisans of the ministry asserted, that the half-pay was granted as a retaining fee; and that originally all those who enjoyed this indulgence were deemed to be in actual service, consequently subject to martial law. Mr. Pitt, who at this time exercised the office of paymaster-general, with a rigour of integrity unknown to the most disinterested of all his predecessors in that department, espoused the clause in dispute as a necessary extension of military discipline, which could never be attended with any bad consequence to the liberty of the nation. The remarks which he made on this occasion, implied an opinion that our liberties wholly existed in dependence upon the direction of the sovereign, and the virtue of the army. “To their virtue,” said he, “we trust even at this hour, small as our army is; to that virtue we must have trusted, had this bill been modelled as its warmest opposers could have wished; and without this virtue, should the lords, the commons, and the people of England intrench themselves behind parchment up to the teeth, the sword will find a passage to the vitals of the constitution.” All the disputed articles of the bill being sustained on the shoulders of a great majority, it was conveyed to the upper house, where it excited another violent contest. Upon the question whether officers on half-pay had not been subject to martial law, the judges were consulted and divided in their sentiments. The earl of Bath declared his opinion that martial law did not extend to reformed officers; and opened all the sluices of his ancient eloquence. He admitted a case which was urged, of seven officers on half-pay, who, being taken in actual rebellion at Preston in the year 1715, had been executed on the spot by martial law, in consequence of the king’s express order. He candidly owned, that he himself was secretary at war at that period; that he had approved of this order, and even transmitted it to general Carpenter, who commanded at Preston; but now his opinion was entirely changed. He observed, that when the forementioned rebellion first broke out, the house presented an address to the king, desiring his majesty would be pleased to employ all half-pay officers, and gratify them with whole pay; and, indeed, all such officers were voted on whole pay by the house of commons. They were afterwards apprised of this vote, by an advertisement in the Gazette, and ordered to hold themselves in readiness to repair to such places as should be appointed; and finally commanded to repair by such a day to those places, on pain of being struck off the half-pay list. These precautions would have been unnecessary, had they been deemed subject to martial law, and the penalty for non-obedience would not have been merely a privation of their pensions, but they would have fallen under the punishment of death, as deserters from the service. His lordship distinguished with great propriety and precision, between a step which had been precipitately taken in a violent crisis, when the public was heated with apprehension and resentment, and a solemn law concerted at leisure, during the most profound tranquility. Notwithstanding the spirited opposition of this nobleman, and some attempts to insert additional clauses, the bill having undergone a few inconsiderable amendments, passed by a very considerable majority.

BILL FOR LIMITING THE TERM OF A SOLDIER’S SERVICE.

Immediately after the mutiny-bill had passed the lower house, another fruitless effort was made by the opposition. The danger of a standing army, on whose virtue the constitution of Great Britain seemed to depend, did not fail to alarm the minds of many who were zealously attached to the liberties of their country, and gave birth to a scheme, which if executed; would have enabled the legislature to establish a militia that must have answered many national purposes, and acted as a constitutional bulwark against the excesses and ambition of a military standing force, under the immediate influence of government. The scheme which patriotism conceived, was, in all probability, adopted by party. A bill was brought in, limiting the time beyond which no soldier, or non-commissioned officer, should be compelled to continue in the service. Had this limitation taken place, such a rotation of soldiers would have ensued among the common people, that in a few years every peasant, labourer, and inferior tradesman in the kingdom, would have understood the exercise of arms; and perhaps the people in general would have concluded that a standing army was altogether unnecessary. A project of this nature could not, for obvious reasons, be agreeable to the administration, and therefore the bill was rendered abortive; for, after having been twice read, it was postponed from time to time till the parliament was prorogued, and never appeared in the sequel. Such were the chief subjects of debate between the ministry and the opposition, composed, as we have already observed, of the prince’s servants and the remains of the country party, this last being headed by lord Strange, son of the earl of Derby, and sir Francis Dashwood; the former, a nobleman of distinguished abilities, keen, penetrating, eloquent and sagacious; the other frank, spirited, and sensible.

MEASURES TAKEN WITH RESPECT TO THE AFRICAN TRADE.

It must be owned, however, for the honour of the ministry, that if they carried a few unpopular measures with a high hand, they seemed earnestly desirous of making amends to the nation, by promoting divers regulations for the benefit and improvement of commerce, which actually took place in the ensuing session of parliament. One of the principal objects of this nature which fell under their cognizance, was the trade to the coast of Guinea; a very important branch of traffic, whether considered as a market for British manufactures, or as the source that supplied the English plantations with negroes. This was originally monopolized by a joint-stock company, which had from time to time derived considerable sums from the legislature, for enabling them the better to support certain forts or castles on the coast of Africa, to facilitate the commerce and protect the merchants. In the sequel, however, the exclusive privilege having been judged prejudicial to the national trade, the coast was laid open to all British subjects indiscriminately, on condition of their paying a certain duty towards defraying the expense of the forts and factories. This expedient did not answer the purposes for which it had been contrived. The separate traders, instead of receiving any benefit from the protection of the company, industriously avoided their castles, as the receptacles of tyranny and oppression. The company, whether from misconduct or knavery of their directors, contracted such a load of debts as their stock was unable to discharge. They seemed to neglect the traffic, and allowed their castles to decay. In a word, their credit being exhausted, and their creditors growing clamorous, they presented a petition to the house of commons, disclosing their distresses, and imploring such assistance as should enable them not only to pay their debts, but also to maintain the forts in a defensible condition. This petition, recommended to the house in a message from his majesty, was corroborated by another in behalf of the company’s creditors. Divers merchants of London, interested in the trade of Africa and the British plantations in America, petitioned the house, that as the African trade was of the utmost importance to the nation, and could not be supported without forts and settlements, some effectual means should be speedily taken for protecting and extending this valuable branch of commerce. A fourth was offered by the merchants of Liverpool, representing that the security and protection of the trade to Africa must always principally depend upon his majesty’s ships of war being properly stationed on that coast, and seasonably relieved, and that such forts and settlements as might be judged necessary for marks of sovereignty and possession, would prove a nuisance and a burden to the trade, should they remain in the hands of any joint-stock company, whose private interest always had been, and ever would be, found incompatible with the interest of the separate and open trader. They therefore prayed, that the said forts might either be taken into his majesty’s immediate possession, and supported by the public, or committed to the merchants trading on that coast, in such a manner as the house should judge expedient, without vesting in them any other advantage or right to the commerce, but what should be common to all his majesty’s subjects. This remonstrance was succeeded by another to the same effect, from the master, wardens, assistants, and commonalty of the society of merchant adventurers within the city of Bristol. All these petitions were referred to a committee appointed to deliberate on this subject; who agreed to certain resolutions, implying, that the trade to Africa should be free and open; that the British forts and settlements on that coast ought to be maintained, and put under proper direction; and that in order to carry on the African trade in the most beneficial manner to these kingdoms, all the British subjects trading to Africa should be united in one open company, without any joint-stock, or power to trade as a corporation. A bill was immediately founded on these resolutions, which alarmed the company to such a degree, that they had recourse to another petition, demonstrating their right to the coast of Africa, and expressing their reliance on the justice of the house that they should not be deprived of their property without an adequate consideration. In a few days a second address was offered by their creditors, complaining of the company’s mismanagement, promising to surrender their right, as the wisdom of parliament should prescribe; praying that their debts might be inquired into; and that the equivalent to be granted for the company’s possessions might be secured and applied, in the first place, for their benefit. The commons, in consequence of this petition, ordered the company to produce a list of their debts, together with a copy of their charter, and two remonstrances which their creditors had presented to them before this application to parliament. A committee of the whole house, having deliberated on these papers and petitions, and heard the company by their counsel, resolved to give them a reasonable compensation for their charter, lands, forts, settlements, slaves, and effects, to be in the first place applied towards the payment of their creditors. A bill being formed accordingly, passed the commons, and was conveyed to the upper house, where a great many objections were started; and for the present it was dropped, until a more unexceptionable plan should be concerted. In the meantime their lordships addressed his majesty, that the lords commissioners for trade and plantations might be directed to prepare a scheme on this subject, to be laid before both houses of parliament at the beginning of next session; that instant orders should be given for preserving and securing the forts and settlements on the coast of Guinea belonging to Great Britain; and that proper persons should be appointed to examine into the condition of those forts, as well as of the military stores, slaves, and vessels belonging to the African company, so as to make a faithful report of these particulars, with all possible expedition.

SCHEME FOR IMPROVING THE BRITISH FISHERY.

The ministry having professed an inclination, and indeed shown a disposition, to promote and extend the commerce of the kingdom, the commons resolved to take some steps for encouraging the white fishery along the northern coast of the island, which is an inexhaustible source of wealth to our industrious neighbours the Dutch, who employ annually a great number of hands and vessels in this branch of commerce. The sensible part of the British people, reflecting on this subject, plainly foresaw that a fishery, under due regulations, undertaken with the protection and encouragement of the legislature, would not only prove a fund of national riches, and a nursery of seamen, but likewise in a great measure prevent any future insurrections in the Highlands of Scotland, by diffusing a spirit of industry among the natives of that country, who finding it in their power to become independent on the fruits of their own labour, would soon enfranchise themselves from that slavish attachment by which they had been so long connected with their landlords and chieftains. Accordingly, a committee was appointed to deliberate on the state of the British fishery; and upon their report a bill was founded for encouraging the whale fishery on the coast of Spitsbergen, by a bounty of forty shillings per ton for every ship equipped for that undertaking. The bill having made its way through both houses, and obtained the royal assent, the merchants in different parts of the kingdom, particularly in North Britain, began to build and fit out ships of great burden, and peculiar structure, for the purpose of that fishery, which ever since hath been carried on with equal vigour and success. Divers merchants and traders of London having presented to the house of commons a petition, representing the benefits that would accrue to the community from a herring and cod fishery, established on proper principles, and carried on with skill and integrity, this remonstrance was referred to a committee, upon whose resolutions a bill was formed; but before this could be discussed in the house, the parliament was prorogued, and of consequence this measure proved abortive.

ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE COMMERCE TO HUDSON’S BAY.

The next regulation proposed in favour of trade, was that of laying open the commerce of Hudson’s-bay, in the most northern parts of America, where a small monopoly maintained a few forts and settlements, and prosecuted a very advantageous fur trade with the Indians of that continent. It was suggested, that the company had long ago enriched themselves by their exclusive privilege; that they employed no more than four annual ships; that, contrary to an express injunction in their charter, they discouraged all attempts to discover a north-west passage to the East Indies; that they dealt cruelly and perfidiously with the poor Indians, who never traded with them except when compelled by necessity, so that the best part of the fur trade had devolved to the enemies of Great Britain; and that their exclusive patent restricted to very narrow limits a branch of commerce which might be cultivated to a prodigious extent; as well as to the infinite advantage of Great Britain. Petitions, that the trade of Hudson’s-bay might be laid open, were presented to the house by the merchants of London, Great Yarmouth, and Wolverhampton; and a committee was appointed to deliberate upon this subject. On the other hand, the company exerted themselves in petitions and private applications for their own preservation. The committee examined many papers and records; and the report was taken into consideration by the whole house. Many evidences were interrogated, and elaborate speeches made, on both sides of the question. At length a majority seemed satisfied that the traffic on the coast of Hudson’s-bay could not be preserved without forts and settlements, which must be maintained either by an exclusive company, or at the public expense; and, as this was not judged a proper juncture to encumber the nation with any charge of that kind the design of dissolving the company was laid aside till a more favourable opportunity.

PLAN FOR MAINTAINING THE NAVY.

The government had, during the war, found great difficulty in pressing men for the service of the navy—a practice, which, however sanctioned by necessity, is nevertheless a flagrant encroachment on the liberty of the subject, and a violent outrage against the constitution of Great Britain. The ministry, therefore, had employed some of their agents to form a scheme for retaining in time of peace, by means of a certain allowance, a number of seamen, who should be registered for the purpose, and be ready to man a squadron upon any emergency. Such a plan, properly regulated, would have been a great advantage to commerce, which is always distressed by the practice of pressing seamen; and at the same time, a great security to the kingdom in dangerous conjunctures, when it may be necessary to equip an armament at a minute’s warning. The house of commons being moved upon this subject, agreed to divers resolutions as a foundation for the bill; but the members in the opposition affecting to represent this measure in an odious light, as an imitation of the French method of registering seamen without their own consent, Mr. Pelham dropped it, as an unpopular project.

Information having been received that the French intended to settle the neutral islands of St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Vincent, and Tobago, in the West Indies, the nation had taken the alarm in the beginning of the year; and a motion was made in the house of commons to address his majesty, that he would be graciously pleased to give directions for laying before the house copies of the instructions given to the governors of Barbadoes for the last ten years past, so far as they related to these neutral islands; but whether the minister was conscious of a neglect in this particular, or thought such inquiries trenched upon the prerogative, he opposed the motion with all his might; and after some debate, the previous question passed in the negative. This was also the fate of another motion made by the earl of E——t for an address, entreating his majesty would submit to the inspection of the house all the proposals of peace that had been made by the French king since the year which preceded the last rebellion, to that in which the definitive treaty was concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle. This they proposed as a previous step to the parliament’s forming any opinion concerning the utility or necessity of the peace which had been established. Violent debates ensued, in which the opposition was as much excelled in oratory as out-numbered in votes. Such were the material transactions of this session, which in the month of June was closed as usual with a speech from the throne; in which his majesty signified his hope, that the parliament, at their next meeting, would be able to perfect what they had now begun for advancing the trade and navigation of the kingdom. He likewise expressed his satisfaction at seeing public credit flourish at the end of an expensive war; and recommended unanimity, as the surest bulwark of national security.

While the ministry on some occasions exhibited all the external signs of moderation and good humour, they, on others, manifested a spirit of jealousy and resentment which seems to have been childish and illiberal. Two or three young riotous students at Oxford, trained up in prejudice, and heated with intemperance, uttered some expressions over their cups, implying their attachment to the family of the pretender. The report of this indiscretion was industriously circulated by certain worthless individuals, who, having no reliance on their own intrinsic merit, hoped to distinguish themselves as the tools of party, and to obtain favour with the ministry by acting as volunteers in the infamous practice of information. Though neither the rank, age, nor connexions of the delinquents were such as ought to have attracted the notice of the public, the vice-chancellor, heads of houses, and proctors of the university, knowing the invidious scrutiny to which their conduct was subjected, thought proper to publish a declaration, signifying their abhorrence of all seditious practices, their determined resolution to punish all offenders to the utmost severity and rigour of the statutes; and containing peremptory orders for the regulation of the university. Notwithstanding these wise and salutary precautions, the three boys, who in the heat of their intoxication had drunk the pretender’s health, were taken into custody by a messenger of state; and two of them being tried in the court of king’s bench, and found guilty, were sentenced to walk through the courts of Westminster, with a specification of their crime fixed to their foreheads; to pay a find of five nobles each; to be imprisoned for two years, and find security for their good behaviour for the term of seven years after their enlargement. Many people thought they saw the proceedings of the star-chamber revived in the severity of this punishment. The administration, not yet satisfied with the vengeance which had been taken on these three striplings, seemed determined to stigmatize the university to which they belonged. The cry of jacobitism was loudly trumpeted against the whole community. The address of the university, congratulating his majesty on the establishment of the peace, was rejected with disdain, and an attempt was made to subject their statutes to the inspection of the king’s council; but this rule, being argued in the court of king’s-bench, was dismissed in consequence of the opinions given by the judges. Finally, the same tribunal granted an information against Dr. Purnel, the vice-chancellor, for his behaviour in the case of the rioters above-mentioned; but this was countermanded in the sequel, his conduct appearing unexceptionable upon a more cool and impartial inquiry.

ELECTION OF A CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.

In proportion as Oxford declined, her sister university rose in the favour of the administration, which she at this period cultivated by an extraordinary mark of compliance and attachment. The dignity of chancellor of the university being vacated by the death of the duke of Somerset, the nation in general seemed to think it would naturally devolve upon the prince of Wales, as a compliment at all times due to that rank; but more especially to the then heir-apparent, who had eminently distinguished himself by the virtues of a patriot and a prince. He had even pleased himself with the hope of receiving this mark of attachment from a seminary for which he entertained a particular regard. But the ruling members, seeing no immediate prospect of advantage in glorifying even a prince who was at variance with the ministry, wisely turned their eyes upon the illustrious character of the duke of Newcastle, whom they elected without opposition, and installed with great magnificence; learning, poetry, and eloquence, joining their efforts in celebrating the shining virtues and extraordinary talents of their new patron.

Although opposition lay gasping at the feet of power in the house of commons, the people of England did not yet implicitly approve all the measures of the administration; and the dregs of faction, still agitated by an internal ferment, threw up some ineffectual bubbles in different parts of the kingdom. Some of those who made no secret of their disaffection to the reigning family, determined to manifest their resentment and contempt of certain noblemen, and others, who were said to have abandoned their ancient principles, and to have sacrificed their consciences to their interest. Many individuals, animated by the fumes of inebriation, now loudly extolled that cause which they durst not avow when it required their open approbation and assistance; and, though they industriously avoided exposing their lives and fortunes to the chance of war in promoting their favourite interest when there was a possibility of success, they betrayed no apprehension in celebrating the memory of its last effort, amidst the tumult of a riot and the clamours of intemperance. In the neighbourhood of Lichfield, the sportsmen of the party appeared in the Highland taste of variegated drapery; and their zeal descending to a very extraordinary exhibition of practical ridicule, they hunted, with hounds clothed in plaid, a fox dressed in a red uniform. Even the females at their assembly, and the gentlemen at the races, affected to wear the chequered stuff by which the prince-pretender and his followers had been distinguished. Divers noblemen on the course were insulted as apostates; and one personage, of high rank, is said to have undergone a very disagreeable flagellation.

SCHEME FOR A NEW SETTLEMENT.

As the public generally suffers at the end of a war, by the sudden dismission of a great number of soldiers and seamen, who having contracted a habit of idleness, and finding themselves without employment and the means of subsistence, engage in desperate courses and prey upon the community, it was judged expedient to provide an opening through which these unquiet spirits might exhale without damage to the commonwealth. The most natural was that of encouraging them to become members of a new colony in North America, which, by being properly regulated, supported, and improved, might be the source of great advantages to its mother country. Many disputes had arisen between the subjects of England and France concerning the limits of Nova Scotia, which no treaty had as yet properly ascertained. A fort had been raised, and a small garrison maintained, by the king of Great Britain, at a part of this very country, called Annapolis-Royal, to overawe the French neutrals settled in the neighbourhood; but this did not answer the purpose for which it was intended. Upon every rupture or dispute between the two crowns, these planters, forgetting their neutrality, intrigued with the Indians, communicated intelligence to their own countrymen settled at St. John’s and Cape Breton, and did all the ill offices their hatred could suggest against the colonies and subjects of Great Britain. A scheme was now formed for making a new establishment on the same peninsula, which should further confirm and extend the property and dominion of the crown of Great Britain in that large tract of country, clear the uncultivated grounds, constitute communities, diffuse the benefits of population and agriculture, and improve the fishery of that coast, which might be rendered a new source of wealth and commerce to Old England. The particulars of the plan being duly considered, it was laid before his majesty, who approved of the design, and referred the execution of it to the board of trade and plantations, over which the earl of Halifax presided. This nobleman, endued by nature with an excellent capacity, which had been diligently and judiciously cultivated, animated with liberal sentiments, and fired with an eager spirit of patriotism, adopted the plan with the most generous ardour, and cherished the infant colony with paternal affection. The commissioners for trade and plantations immediately advertised, under the sanction of his majesty’s authority, that proper encouragement would be given to such of the officers and private men, lately dismissed from the land and sea service, as were willing to settle, with or without families, in the province of Nova Scotia; that the fee simple, or perpetual property, of fifty acres of land should be granted to every private soldier or seaman, free from the payment of any quit-rents or taxes, for the term of ten years; at the expiration of which no person should pay more than one shilling per annum for every fifty acres so granted; that, over and above these fifty, each person should receive a grant of ten acres for every individual, including women and children, of which his family should consist; that further grants should be made to them as the number should increase, and in proportion as they should manifest their abilities in agriculture; that every officer, under the rank of ensign in the land service, or lieutenant in the navy, should be gratified with fourscore acres on the same conditions; that two hundred acres should be bestowed upon ensigns, three hundred upon lieutenants, four hundred upon captains, and six hundred on every officer above that degree, with proportionable considerations for the number and increase of every family; that the lands should be parcelled out as soon as possible after the arrival of the colonists, and a civil government established; by virtue of which they should enjoy all the liberties and privileges of British subjects, with proper security and protection; that the settlers, with their families, should be conveyed to Nova Scotia, and maintained for twelve months after their arrival, at the expense of the government; which should also supply them with arms and ammunition, as far as should be judged necessary for their defence, with proper materials and utensils for clearing and cultivating their lands, erecting habitations, exercising the fishery, and such other purposes as should be judged necessary for their support.

TOWN OF HALIFAX FOUNDED.

The scheme was so feasible, and the encouragement so inviting, that in a little time about four thousand adventurers, with their families, were entered, according to the directions of the board of trade, who in the beginning of May set sail from England, under the command of Colonel Cornwallis, whom the king had appointed their governor, and towards the latter end of June arrived at the place of their destination, which was the harbour of Chebucton, on the sea-coast of the peninsula, about midway between Cape Canceau and Cape Sable. It is one of the most secure and commodious havens in the whole world, and well situated for the fishery; yet the climate is cold, the soil barren, and the whole country covered with woods of birch, fir, pine, and some oak, unfit for the purposes of timber; but at the same time extremely difficult to remove and extirpate. Governor Cornwallis no sooner arrived in this harbour than he was joined by two regiments of infantry from Cape Breton, and a company of rangers from Annapolis. Then he pitched upon a spot for the settlement, and employed his people in clearing the ground for laying the foundations of a town; but some inconveniences being discovered in this situation, he chose another to the northward, hard by the harbour, on an easy ascent, commanding a prospect of the whole peninsula, and well supplied with rivulets of fresh and wholesome water. Here he began to build a town on a regular plan, to which he gave the name of Halifax, in honour of the nobleman who had the greatest share in founding the colony; and before the approach of winter, above three hundred comfortable wooden houses were built, the whole surrounded by a strong pallisade. This colony, however, has by no means answered the sanguine expectations of the projectors; for notwithstanding the ardour with which the interests of it were promoted by its noble patron, and the repeated indulgence it has reaped from the bounty of the legislature, the inhabitants have made little or no progress in agriculture; the fishery is altogether neglected, and the settlement entirely subsists on the sums expended by the individuals of the army and navy, whose duty obliges them to reside in this part of North America.

FRENCH ATTEMPTS TO SETTLE THE ISLAND OF TOBAGO.

The establishment of such a powerful colony in Nova-Scotia, could not fail giving umbrage to the French in that neighbourhood, who, though they did not think proper to promulgate their jealousy and disgust, nevertheless employed their emissaries clandestinely in stimulating and exciting the Indians to harass the colonists with hostilities, in such a manner as should effectually hinder them from extending their plantations, and perhaps induce them to abandon the settlement. Nor was this the only part of America in which the French court countenanced such perfidious practices. More than ever convinced of the importance of a considerable navy, and an extensive plantation trade, they not only exerted uncommon industry in re-establishing their marine, which had suffered so severely during the war; but they resolved, if possible, to extend their plantations in the West Indies by settling the neutral islands, which we have already mentioned. In the beginning of the year, the governor of Barbadoes, having received intelligence that the French had begun to settle the island of Tobago, sent captain Tyrrel thither in a frigate to learn the particulars. That officer found above three hundred men already landed, secured by two batteries and two ships of war, and in daily expectation of a further reinforcement from the marquis de Caylus, governor of Martinique; who had published an ordonnance, authorizing the subjects of the French king to settle the island of Tobago, and promising to defend them from the attempts of all their enemies. This assurance was in answer to a proclamation issued by Mr. Grenville, governor of Barbadoes, and stuck up in the different parts of the island, commanding all the inhabitants to remove, in thirty days, on pain of undergoing military execution. Captain Tyrrel, with a spirit that became a commander in the British navy, gave the French officers to understand, that his most christian majesty had no right to settle the island, which was declared neutral by treaties; and that, if they would not desist, he should be obliged to employ force in driving them from their new settlement. Night coming on, and Mr. Tyrrel’s ship falling to leeward, the French captains seized that opportunity of sailing to Martinique; and next day the English commander returned to Barbadoes, having no power to commit hostilities. These tidings, with a copy of the French governor’s ordonnance, were no sooner transmitted to the ministry than they despatched a courier to the English envoy at Paris, with directions to make representations to the court of Versailles on this subject. The ministry of France, knowing they were in no condition to support the consequences of an immediate rupture, and understanding how much the merchants and people of Great Britain were alarmed and incensed at their attempts to possess these islands, thought proper to disown the proceedings of the marquis de Caylus, and to grant the satisfaction that was demanded, by sending him orders to discontinue the settlement, and evacuate the island of Tobago. At the same time, however, that the court of Versailles made this sacrifice for the satisfaction of England, the marquis de Puysieux, the French minister, observed to the English resident, that France was undoubtedly in possession of that island towards the middle of the last century. He ought in candour to have added, that although Louis XIV. made a conquest of this island from the Hollanders, during his war with that republic, it was restored to them by the treaty of Nimeguen; and since that time France could not have the least shadow of a claim to number it among her settlements. It was before this answer could be obtained from the court of Versailles that the motion, of which we have already taken notice, was made in the house of commons, relating to the subject of the neutral islands; a motion discouraged by the court, and defeated by the majority.

REJOICINGS FOR THE PEACE.

The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was celebrated by fireworks, illuminations, and rejoicings, in which the English, French, and Dutch, seemed to display a spirit of emulation in point of taste and magnificence; and, in all probability, these three powers were sincerely pleased at the cessation of the war. England enjoyed a respite from intolerable supplies, exorbitant insurance, and interrupted commerce; Holland was delivered from the brink of a French invasion; and France had obtained a breathing time for re-establishing her naval power, for exerting that spirit of intrigue, by dint of which she hath often embroiled her neighbours, and for executing plans of insensible encroachment, which might prove more advantageous than the progress of open hostilities. In the affair of Tobago, the French king had manifested his inclination to avoid immediate disputes with England; and had exhibited another proof of the same disposition in his behaviour to the prince-pretender, who had excited such a dangerous rebellion in the island of Great Britain.

Among those princes and powers who excepted against different articles of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the chevalier de St. George, foreseeing that none of the plenipotentiaries would receive his protest, employed his agents to fix it up in the public places of Aix-la-Chapelle; a precaution of very little service to his cause, which all the states of Christendom seemed now to have abandoned. So little was the interest of his family considered in this negotiation, that the contracting powers agreed, without reserve, to a literal insertion of the fifth article of the quadruple alliance; by which it was stipulated, that neither the pretender nor any of his descendants should be allowed to reside within the territories belonging to any of the subscribing parties. At the same time the plenipotentiaries of France promised to those of Great Britain, that prince Charles-Edward should be immediately obliged to quit the dominions of his most christian majesty. Notice of this agreement was accordingly given by the court of Versailles to the young adventurer; and as he had declared he would never return to Italy, Mons. de Courteille, the French envoy to the cantons of Switzerland, was directed by his sovereign to demand an asylum for prince Edward in the city of Fribourg. The regency having complied in this particular with the earnest request of his most christian majesty, Mr. Bamaby, the British minister to the Helvetic body, took the alarm, and presented the magistracy of Fribourg with a remonstrance, couched in such terms as gave offence to that regency, and drew upon him a severe answer. In vain had the French king exerted his influence in procuring this retreat for the young pretender, who, being pressed with repeated messages to withdraw, persisted in refusing to quit the place, to which he had been so cordially invited by his cousin the king of France; and where he said that monarch had solemnly promised, on the word of a king, that he would never forsake him in his distress, nor abandon the interests of his family. Louis was not a little perplexed at this obstinacy of prince Edward, which was the more vexatious, as that youth appeared to be the darling of the Parisians; who not only admired him for his own accomplishments, and pitied him for his sufferings, but also revered him, as a young hero lineally descended from their renowned Henry the Fourth. At length, the two English noblemen arriving at Paris as hostages for the performance of the treaty, and seeing him appear at all the public places of diversion, complained of this circumstance as an insult to their sovereign, and an infringement of the treaty so lately concluded. The French king, after some hesitation between punctilio and convenience, resolved to employ violence upon the person of this troublesome stranger, since milder remonstrances had not been able to influence his conduct; but this resolution was not taken till the return of a courier whom he despatched to the chevalier de St. George; who, being thus informed of his son’s deportment, wrote a letter to him, laying strong injunctions upon him to yield to the necessity of the times, and acquiesce with a good grace in the stipulations which his cousin of France had found it necessary to subscribe for the interest of his realm. Edward, far from complying with this advice and injunction, signified his resolution to remain in Paris; and even declared that he would pistol any man who should presume to lay violent hands on his person. In consequence of this bold declaration, an extraordinary council was held at Versailles, when it was determined to arrest him without further delay, and the whole plan of this enterprise was finally adjusted. That same evening, the prince entering the narrow lane that leads to the opera, the barrier was immediately shut, and the sergeant of the guard called “to arms;” on which monsieur de Vaudreuil, exempt of the French guards, advancing to Edward, “Prince,” said he, “I arrest you in the king’s name, by virtue of this order.” At that instant the youth was surrounded by four grenadiers, in order to prevent any mischief he might have done with a case of pocket-pistols which he always carried about him; and a guard was placed at all the avenues and doors of the opera-house, lest any tumult should have ensued among the populace. These precautions being taken, Vaudreuil, with an escort, conducted the prisoner through the garden of the palais-royal, to a house where the duke de Biron waited with a coach and six to convey him to the castle of Vincennes, whether he was immediately accompanied by a detachment from the regiment of French guards, under the command of that nobleman. He had not remained above three days in his confinement, when he gave the French ministry to understand that he would conform himself to the king’s intentions; and was immediately enlarged, upon giving his word and honour that he would, without delay, retire from the dominions of France. Accordingly, he set out in four days from Fountainbleau, attended by three officers, who conducted him as far as Pont-Bauvosin on the frontiers, where they took their leave of him and returned to Versailles. He proceeded for some time in the road to Chamberri; but soon returned into the French dominions, and, passing through Dauphiné, repaired to Avignon, where he was received with extraordinary honours by the pope’s legate. In the meantime, his arrest excited great murmurings at Paris; the inhabitants blaming, without scruple, their king’s conduct in this instance, as a scandalous breach of hospitality, as well as a mean proof of condescension to the king of England; and many severe pasquinades, relating to this transaction, were fixed up in the most public places of that metropolis.

APPEARANCE OF A RUPTURE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND SWEDEN.

Although peace was now re-established among the principal powers of the continent, yet another storm seemed ready to burst upon the northern parts of Europe, in a fresh rupture between Russia and Sweden. Whether the czarina had actually obtained information that the French faction meditated some revolution of government at Stockholm, or she wanted a pretence of annexing Finland to her empire; certain it is, she affected to apprehend that the prince-successor of Sweden waited only for the decease of the reigning king, who was very old and infirm, to change the form of government, and resume that absolute authority which some of the monarchs, his predecessors, had enjoyed. She seemed to think that a prince thus vested with arbitrary power, and guided by the councils of France and Prussia, with which Sweden had lately engaged in close alliance, might become a very troublesome and dangerous neighbour to her in the Baltic; she therefore recruited her armies, repaired her fortifications, filled her magazines, ordered a strong body of troops to advance towards the frontiers of Finland, and declared in plain terms to the court of Stockholm, that if any step should be taken to alter the government, which she had bound herself by treaty to maintain, her troops should enter the territory of Sweden, and she would act up to the spirit of her engagements. The Swedish ministry, alarmed at these peremptory proceedings, had recourse to their allies; and in the meantime, made repeated declarations to the court of Petersburgh, that there was no design to make the least innovation in the nature of their established government; but little or no regard being paid to these representations, they began to put the kingdom in a posture of defence; and the old king gave the czarina to understand, that if, notwithstanding the satisfaction he had offered, her forces should pass the frontiers of Finland, he would consider their march as an hostile invasion, and employ the means which God had put in his power for the defence of his dominions.

INTERPOSITION OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA.

This declaration, in all probability, did not produce such effect as the interposition of his Prussian majesty, the most enterprising prince of his time, at the head of one hundred and forty thousand of the best troops that Germany ever trained. Perhaps he was not sorry that the empress of Muscovy furnished him with a plausible pretence for maintaining such a formidable army, after the peace of Europe had been ascertained by a formal treaty, and all the surrounding states had diminished the number of their forces. He now wrote a letter to his uncle the king of Great Britain, complaining of the insults and menaces which had been offered by the czarina to Sweden; declaring, that he was bound by a defensive alliance, to which France had acceded, to defend the government at present established in Sweden; and that he would not sit still, and tamely see that kingdom attacked by any power whatsoever, without acting up to his engagements; he therefore entreated his Britannic majesty to interpose his good offices, in conjunction with France and him, to compromise the disputes which threatened to embroil the northern parts of Europe. By this time the Russian army had approached the frontiers of Finland: the Swedes had assembled their troops, replenished their magazines, and repaired their marine; and the king of Denmark, jealous of the czarina’s designs with regard to the duchy of Sleswick, which was contested with him by the prince-successor of Russia, kept his army and navy on the most respectable footing. At this critical juncture the courts of London, Versailles, and Berlin, co-operated so effectually by remonstrances and declarations at Petersburgh and Stockholm, that the empress of Russia thought proper to own herself satisfied, and all those clouds of trouble were immediately dispersed. Yet, in all probability, her real aim was disappointed; and, however she might dissemble her sentiments, she never heartily forgave the king of Prussia for the share he had in this transaction. That monarch, without relaxing in his attention to the support of a very formidable military power, exerted very extraordinary endeavours in cultivating the civil interests of his country. He reformed the laws of Brandenburgh, and rescued the administration of justice from the frauds of chicanery. He encouraged the arts of agriculture and manufacture; and even laid the foundation of naval commerce, by establishing an East-India company in the port of Embden.

Nor did the French ministry neglect any measure that might contribute to repair the damage which the kingdom had sustained in the course of the war. One half of the army was disbanded: the severe imposition of the tenth penny was suspended by the king’s edict: a scheme of economy was proposed with respect to the finances; and the utmost diligence used in procuring materials, as well as workmen, for ship-building, that the navy of France might speedily retrieve its former importance. In the midst of these truly patriotic schemes, the court of Versailles betrayed a littleness of genius, and spirit of tyranny, joined to fanaticism, in quarreling with their parliament about superstitious forms of religion. The sacraments had been denied to a certain person on his death-bed, because he refused to subscribe to the bull Unigenitus. The nephew of the defunct preferred a complaint to the parliament, whose province it was to take cognizance of the affair; a deputation of that body attended the king with the report of the resolutions; and his majesty commanded them to suspend all proceedings relating to a matter of such consequence, concerning which he would take an opportunity of signifying his royal pleasure. This interposition was the source of disputes between the crown and parliament, which had like to have filled the whole kingdom with intestine troubles.

CONDUCT OF DIFFERENT EUROPEAN POWERS.

At Vienna, the empress-queen was not more solicitous in promoting the trade and internal manufactures of her dominions, by sumptuary regulations, necessary restrictions on foreign superfluities, by opening her ports in the Adriatic, and giving proper encouragement to commerce, than she was careful and provident in reforming the economy of her finances, maintaining a respectable body of forces, and guarding, by defensive alliances, against the enterprise of his Prussian majesty, on whose military power she looked with jealousy and distrust. In Holland, all the authority and influence of the stadtholder were scarcely sufficient to allay the ferments excited among the people by the provisional taxation, which had succeeded the abolition of the patchers, and was indeed very grievous to the subject. As this was no more than a temporary expedient, the prince of Orange proposed a more equitable plan, which was approved by the states, and established with great difficulty. In Italy the system of politics seemed to change its complexion. The king of Sardinia effected a match between one of the infantas of Spain and the prince of Piedmont; and whether irritated by the conduct of the Austrians in the last war, or apprehensive of such a powerful neighbour in the Milanese, he engaged with the kings of France and Spain in a defensive alliance, comprehending the king of the Two Sicilies, the republic of Genoa, and the dukes of Modena and Parma. His most catholic majesty, sincerely disposed to cultivate the arts of peace, and encourage every measure that could contribute to the advantage of his country, was no sooner released from the embarrassments of war, than he began to execute plans of internal economy; to reduce unnecessary pensions, discharge the debts contracted in the war, replenish his arsenals, augment his navy, promote manufactures, and encourage an active commerce by sea, the benefits of which the kingdom of Spain had not known since the first discovery and conquest of the West Indies.

INSOLENCE OF THE BARBARY CORSAIRS.

The preparations for refitting and increasing the navy of Spain were carried on with such extraordinary vigour, that other nations believed an expedition was intended against the corsairs of Algiers, who had for some time grievously infested the trade and coasts of the Mediterranean. The existence of this and other predatory republics, which entirely subsist upon piracy and rapine, petty states of barbarous ruffians, maintained as it were in the midst of powerful nations, which they insult with impunity, and of which they even exact an annual contribution, is a flagrant reproach upon Christendom; a reproach the greater, as it is founded upon a low, selfish, illiberal maxim of policy. All the powers that border on the Mediterranean, except France and Tuscany, are at perpetual war with the Moors of Barbary, and for that reason obliged to employ foreign ships for the transportation of their merchandise. This employment naturally devolves to those nations whose vessels are in no danger from the depredations of the barbarians; namely, the subjects of the maritime powers, who for this puny advantage, not only tolerate the piratical states of Barbary, but even supply them with arms and ammunition, solicit their passes, and purchase their forbearance with annual presents, which are, in effect, equivalent to a tribute; whereas, by one vigorous exertion of their power, they might destroy all their ships, lay their towns in ashes, and totally extirpate those pernicious broods of desperate banditti. Even all the condescension of those who disgrace themselves with the title of allies to these miscreants, is not always sufficient to restrain them from acts of cruelty and rapine. At this very period four cruisers from Algiers made a capture of an English packet-boat, in her voyage from Lisbon, and conveyed her to their city, where she was plundered of money and effects to the amount of one hundred thousand pounds, and afterwards dismissed. In consequence of this outrage, commodore Keppel was sent with seven ships of war to demand satisfaction, as well as to compromise certain differences which had arisen on account of arrears claimed of the English by the dey of Algiers. The Mussulman frankly owned, that the money having been divided among the captors, could not possibly be refunded. The commodore returned to Gibraltar; and, in the sequel, an Algerine ambassador arrived in London, with some presents of wild beasts for his Britannic majesty. This transaction was succeeded by another injurious affront offered by the governor or alcayde of Tetuan to Mr. Latton, an English ambassador, sent thither to redeem the British subjects who had been many years enslaved in the dominions of the king of Morocco. A revolution having lately happened in this empire, Mully Abdallah, the reigning ruffian, insisted upon the ambassador’s paying a pretended balance for the ransom of the captives, as well as depositing a considerable sum, which had already been paid to a deceased pacha; alleging, that as he, the emperor, received no part of it, the payment was illegal. Mr. Latton refusing to comply with this arbitrary demand, his house was surrounded by a detachment of soldiers, who violently dragged his secretary from his presence, and threw him into a dismal subterranean dungeon, where he continued twenty days. The English slaves, to the number of twenty-seven, were condemned to the same fate; the ambassador himself was degraded from his character, deprived of his allowance, and sequestered from all communication. All the letters directed to him were intercepted, and interpreted to the alcayde; two negro porters were intrusted with the keys of all his apartments, and a couple of soldiers posted at his chamber-door; nay, this Moorish governor threatened to load him with irons, and violently seized part of the presents designed by his Britannic majesty for the emperor. At length, finding that neither Mr. Latton nor the governor of Gibraltar, to whom he had written, would deposit the money, without fresh instructions from the court of London, the barbarian thought proper to relax in his severity: the prisoners were enlarged, the restrictions removed from the person of the ambassador, and, after all these indignities offered to the honour of the British nation, the balance was paid, and the affair quietly adjusted.

DISTURBANCES IN ENGLAND.

Britain, in the meanwhile, was altogether barren of events which might deserve a place in a general history. Commerce and manufacture flourished again, to such a degree of increase as had never been known in the island; but this advantage was attended with an irresistible tide of luxury and excess, which flowed through all degrees of the people, breaking down all the mounds of civil polity, and opening a way for license and immorality. The highways were infested with rapine and assassination; the cities teemed with the brutal votaries of lewdness, intemperance, and profligacy. The whole land was overspread with a succession of tumult, riot, and insurrection, excited in different parts of the kingdom by the erection of new turnpikes, which the legislature judged necessary for the convenience of inland carriage. In order to quell these disturbances, recourse was had to the military power; several individuals were slain, and some were executed as examples.

SESSION OPENED.

In the month of November the session of parliament was opened with a speech from the throne, in which his majesty expressed a particular pleasure in meeting them at a time when the perfect re-establishment of a general peace had restored to his people the blessings of quiet and tranquillity. He said, the good effects of these already appeared in the flourishing condition of national commerce, and in the rise of public credit, which were the foundations of strength and prosperity to these kingdoms. He declared, that, during the summer, he had used every opportunity of cementing and securing the peace; that it was his firm resolution to do everything in his power for the preservation of it, and religiously adhere to the engagements into which he had entered. Finally, he took notice of the good disposition he had found in the other contracting parties to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle to cherish the public tranquillity of Europe; and he earnestly recommended to the two houses the maintenance of a strong naval power, as the bulwark of national security.

When the motion was made for an address of thanks in the house of commons, the first paragraph of his majesty’s speech furnished the opposition with a handle to declaim against the late treaty. Sir John Hinde Cotton observed, that the peace could not be properly styled complete, as nothing had been stipulated with respect to the article of “No search;” alluding to the interruption our commerce had sustained from the Spaniards in the West Indies; a stipulation, without which both houses of parliament had formerly voted that there should be no peace with that kingdom.

In the present conjuncture of affairs, such an objection savoured rather of party than of patriotism; and indeed sir John declared, that the remarks he made upon the occasion were rather in discharge of the duty he owed to his country, than in hope of seeing his sentiments espoused by the majority. Some sharp altercation was used in the debate which arose on this subject; and many severe invectives were levelled at those who negotiated, as well as at those who approved and confirmed the treaty. But Mr. Pelham, who sustained the whole weight of the debate on the side of the administration, answered every objection with equal candour and ability; and if he failed in proving that the terms of peace were as favourable as could be expected, considering the unfortunate events of the war, and the situation of the contending powers; he at least demonstrated, that it would be the interest of the kingdom to acquiesce for the present in the treaty which had been concluded, and endeavour to remedy its imperfections by subsequent conventions, amicably opened among those powers between whom any cause of dispute remained. With respect to the vote of both houses, mentioned by sir John Hinde Cotton, he declared that he had never approved of that step, when it was first taken; or if he had, times and circumstances, which could not be foreseen, would have justified his deviating from it in the re-establishment of peace. He reminded them that a parliament of Great Britain had once voted “no peace while any part of the West Indies should remain in possession of the Spanish king;” yet a train of incidents, which they could not possibly foresee, afterwards rendered it expedient to adopt a peace without insisting upon the accomplishment of that condition. In a word, we must own, that, in the majority of debates excited in the course of this session, the ministry derived their triumphs from the force of reason, as well as from the weight of influence. We shall always, however, except the efforts that were made for reducing the number of land-forces to fifteen thousand, and maintaining a greater number of seamen than the ministry proposed. On these constitutional points the earl of Egmont, and the other chiefs of the opposition, expatiated with all the energy of eloquence; which however was frustrated by the power of superior numbers. Ten thousand seamen were voted for the service of the ensuing year, notwithstanding his majesty’s injunction to maintain a considerable navy; and the number of land-forces was continued at eighteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven. The sums granted for making good his majesty’s engagements with the electors of Bavaria and Mentz, and the duke of Brunswick Wolfenbuttle, amounted to fifty-three thousand two hundred and twenty-five pounds sterling. The services done by the colonies in North America, during the war, were gratified with the sum of one hundred and twenty-two thousand two hundred and forty-six pounds. The expense incurred by the new colony of Nova-Scotia exceeded seventy-six thousand pounds. A small sum was voted for the improvement of Georgia; and ten thousand pounds were granted towards the support of the British forts and settlements on the coast of Africa.. The sum total granted in this session arose to four millions one hundred and forty-one thousand six hundred and sixty-one pounds, nine shillings and eleven pence halfpenny, to be raised by the land-tax, at three shillings in the pound; the malt, and other duties, the surplus of divers impositions remaining in the bank and exchequer; one million by annuities at three per cent., charged on the sinking fund, until redeemed by parliament; and nine hundred thousand pounds out of the excess or overplus of monies denominated the sinking fund.

SCHEME FOR REDUCING THE INTEREST OF THE NATIONAL DEBT.

But the capital measure which distinguished this session of parliament was the reduction of the interest on the public funds; a scheme which was planned and executed by the minister, without any national disturbance or disquiet, to the astonishment of all Europe; the different nations of which could not comprehend how it would be possible for the government, at the close of a long expensive war, which had so considerably drained the country, and augmented the enormous burden of national debt, to find money for paying off such of the public creditors as might choose to receive the principal, rather than submit to a reduction of the interest. It was not very much for the honour of the opposition, that some of its leading members endeavoured to impede this great machine of civil economy, by taking opportunities of affirming in parliament, in opposition to his majesty’s speech, that the nation, far from being in a flourishing condition, was almost entirely exhausted; that commerce drooped and declined; that public credit stood tottering on the brink of ruin; and that all the treaties lately concluded among the different powers of Europe were, in effect, disadvantageous and prejudicial to the interests of Great Britain. In answer to these assertions, Mr. Pelham undertook to prove, from the register of exports and imports, that the commerce of the kingdom was more extensive at this than at any former period; and that the public credit was strong enough to admit of an experiment, which he would not presume to hazard, except upon a moral certainty of its being firmly rooted beyond the power of accident and faction to shake or overturn. He declared, that his design of reducing the interest upon the funds was the result of the love he bore his country, and an opinion that it was the duty of the servants of the crown to ease the burdens of the people. He said, he had conferred on this subject with persons of the most approved knowledge, and undoubted experience; and chose to promulgate the method proposed for alleviating the load of the national debt, that the public, in knowing the particulars of the scheme, might have time to consider them at leisure, and start such objections as should occur to their reflection, before it might be too late to adopt amendments. He observed, that nothing could more clearly demonstrate the vigour of public credit, and the augmentation of national commerce, than the price of stock, which had within three years risen to a very considerable increase; and the duties on imports, which in nine months had added one million to the sinking fund, notwithstanding a very extraordinary sum which had been paid as bounties for exported corn. He expressed great tenderness and regard for the interests of those who had advanced their money for the service of the government; declaring, that his aim was to contrive a fair, honest, and equitable method for lessening the national incumbrances, by lowering the interest, conformable to parliamentary faith, and agreeable to the rules of eternal justice. His plan was accordingly communicated, canvassed, and ap proved in the house of commons, and an act passed for reducing the interest of the funds which constitute the national debt. 321 [See note 2 Q, at the end of this Vol.] In pursuance of this act for the reduction of the interest, the greater part of the creditors complied with the terms proposed, and subscribed their respective annuities before the end of February; but the three great companies at first kept aloof, and refused to subscribe any part of their capital.

About the middle of March the commons ordered the proper officers to lay before them an account of the sums which had been subscribed, and these were taken into consideration by a committee of the whole house. It was then that Mr. Pelham, as chancellor of the exchequer, observed, that besides the debts due to the three great companies in their corporate capacity, all the rest, carrying four per centum interest, had been subscribed, except about eight or nine millions, the proprietors of which had forfeited the favour designed them by parliament; but as many of these had been misled by evil counsellors, who perhaps were more intent on distressing the government, than solicitous to serve their friends; and as many were foreigners, residing beyond sea, who had not time to take proper advice, and give the necessary instruction; and as these could not possibly be distinguished from such as refused to subscribe from mere obstinacy or disaffection, it might be thought cruel to take the most rigorous advantage of the forfeiture they had incurred. With respect to the proprietors of the stock or capital belonging to the three great companies, he asserted, that many of them would willingly have subscribed their properties within the time limited, but were necessarily excluded by the majority on the ballot; and as it was equally impossible to know those who were against the question on the ballot, he thought that some tenderness was due even to the proprietors of those three companies; his opinion therefore was, that they and the uncomplying annuitants should be indulged with further time to complete their subscription; but, in order to preserve the authority of parliament, and the respect due to that august assembly, they ought not to be gratified with such advantageous terms as were allowed to the annuitants who at first cheerfully complied with the proposals offered by the legislature. For these reasons he proposed, that although the term of subscribing should be protracted till the thirtieth day of May, the encouragement of three pounds ten shillings per centum per annum should not be continued to the second subscribers longer than till the fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five. The proposal being approved, a bill was framed for this purpose, as well as for redeeming such annuities as should not be subscribed, which passed through both houses, and was enacted into a law, after having received an additional clause, empowering the East India company, in case they should subscribe all their stock bearing an interest of four per centum, to borrow, with the consent of the treasury, any sums not exceeding four millions two hundred thousand pounds, after the several rates of interest before proposed to be paid by the public, and one million more at three per centum per annum. They were also vested with a power to raise money by bonds as formerly; yet so as the whole, including the annuities, should not exceed what they were by former acts empowered to borrow. The objections to the execution of this project, which by many were deemed insurmountable, entirely vanished before the fortitude, perseverance, and caution of the minister; who had secured, among the monied men of the nation, the promise of such sums as would have been sufficient to pay off the capital belonging to those creditors who might refuse to accept the interest thus reduced. The second subscription had the desired effect. The three great companies acquiesced, and their example was followed by the other scrupulous annuitants; the national burden was comfortably lightened, and the sinking fund considerably increased, without producing the least perplexity or disturbance in the commonwealth; a circumstance that could not fail to excite the admiration and envy of all Christendom.

NEW MUTINY BILL.

The mutiny bill for the ensuing year was mitigated with an essential alteration, relating to the oath of secrecy imposed upon the members of every court-martial, who were now released from this reserve if required to give evidence, by due course of law, in any court of judicature; and whereas, by the former mutiny bill, a general was empowered to order the revival of any sentence by a court-martial as often as he pleased, and, on that pretence, to keep in confinement a man who had been acquitted upon a fair trial; it was now enacted, that no sentence pronounced by any court-martial, and signed by the president, should be more than once liable to revisal. Colonel George Townshend, son of lord viscount Townshend, who had equally distinguished himself by his civil and military accomplishments, proposed another clause, for preventing any noncommissioned officer’s being broke or reduced into the ranks; or any soldier’s being punished, but by the sentence of a court-martial. He gave the house to understand, that certain persons attended at the door, who from the station of non-commissioned officers had been broke, and reduced into the ranks, without trial, or any cause assigned; and he expatiated not only upon the iniquity of such proceedings, but also upon the danger of leaving such arbitrary power in the hands of any individual officer. A warm debate was the consequence of this motion, which, however, was overruled by the majority.

BILL FOR ENCOURAGING the IMPORTATION OF IRON FROM AMERICA.

Among other regulations made in the course of this session for the encouragement of the British manufactures, a large duty was laid upon Irish sail-cloth, which being sold at an under price, was found to interfere with the same species of commodity fabricated in the island of Great Britain; and, for the farther benefit of this last, the bounty upon the exportation of it, which had been deducted from a defective fund, was now made payable out of the customs. This measure, however, was not of such importance to the nation, as the act which they passed for encouraging the importation of pig and bar iron from the British colonies in North America. Every well-wisher to his country reflected with concern on the nature of the British trade with Sweden, from which kingdom the subjects of his Britannic majesty imported more iron and steel than all the other countries in Europe. For this article they paid a very great balance in ready money, which the Swedes again expended in purchasing from the French, and other mercantile powers, those necessaries and superfluities with which they might have been as cheaply furnished by Great Britain. In the meantime, the English colonies in America were restricted by severe duties from making advantage of their own produce, in exchanging their iron for such commodities as they were under the necessity of procuring from their mother country. Such restrictions was not only a cruel grievance upon our own settlements, but also attended with manifest prejudice to the interest of Great Britain, annually drained of great sums in favour of an ungrateful nation, from which no part of them returned; whereas the iron imported from America must of necessity come in exchange for our own manufactures. The commons having appointed a day for taking this affair into consideration, carefully examined into the state of the British commerce carried on with Sweden, as well as into the accounts of iron imported from the plantations of America; and a committee of the whole house having resolved, that the duties on American pig and bar iron should be removed, a bill 322 [See note 2 R, at the end of this Vol.] was brought in for that purpose, containing a clause, however, to prevent his majesty’s subjects from making steel, and establishing mills for slitting and rolling iron within the British colonies of America: this precaution being taken, that the colonists might not interfere with the manufactures of their mother country.

ERECTION OF THE BRITISH HERRING FISHERY.

The next commercial improvement of which we shall take notice, was the bill for the encouragement of the British white herring and cod fisheries. This was likewise the result of mature deliberation, importing, that a bounty of thirty shillings per ton should be granted, and paid out of the customs, to all new vessels from twenty to fourscore tons burden, which should be built for that purpose, and actually employed in the fishery; that a society should be incorporated, under the name of the Free British Fishery, by a charter, not exclusive, with power to raise a capital not exceeding five hundred thousand pounds; and that three pounds ten shillings per centum per annum, should be granted and paid out of the customs to the proprietors for fourteen years, for so much of the capital as should be actually employed in the said fisheries. Corresponding chambers were proposed to be erected in remote parts of North Britain, for taking in subscriptions, and prosecuting the trade, under the directions of the company at London; and the nation in general seemed eager to dispute this branch of commerce with the subjects of Holland, whom they considered as ungrateful interlopers. In the house of peers, however, the bill met with a formidable opposition from the earl of Winchelsea and lord Sandys, who justly observed, that it was a crude indigested scheme, which in the execution would never answer the expectations of the people; that in contending with the Dutch, who are the patterns of unwearied industry and the most rigid economy, nothing could be more absurd than a joint-stock company, which is always clogged with extraordinary expense; and the resolution of fitting out vessels at the port of London, where all sorts of materials, labour, and seamen, are so much dearer than in any other part of the united kingdom, exclusive of the great distance and dangerous voyage between the metropolis and the sound of Brassa in Shetland, the rendezvous at which all the herring-busses were to assemble in the beginning of the fishing season. They likewise took notice of the heavy duty on salt, used in curing the fish for sale, and the beef for provisions to the mariners; a circumstance of itself sufficient to discourage adventurers from embarking in a commerce which, at best, yields but very slender profits to the trade in particular, how important soever it might prove to the community in general. These objections were answered by the duke of Argyle and the earl of Granville, who seemed to think that this branch of trade could not be fairly set on foot, without such a considerable sum of money as no single individual would care to advance; that a joint-stock company would be able to prosecute the fishery at a smaller expense than that which particular traders must necessarily incur; that the present spirit of the nation, which was eagerly bent upon trying the experiment, ought not to be balked by delay, lest it should evaporate; and that though the plan was not unexceptionable, the defects of it might in the sequel be remedied by the legislature. In a word, the bill was adopted by the majority, with a small amendment in the title, which produced some disquiets in the lower house; but this dispute was compromised, and it was enacted into a law towards the close of the session. Nothing could be more agreeable to the public than the sanction of the legislature to this favourite plan, which was ardently promoted, and patronised by men of the greatest eminence for wealth and popularity. The company chose for their governor the prince of Wales, who received this proof of their attachment and respect with particular marks of satisfaction; the president and vice-president were both aldermen of London; and the council was composed of thirty gentlemen, the majority of whom were members of parliament. Great pains were taken, and some artifice was used, to learn the Dutch method of curing the fish. People crowded with their subscriptions; a number of hands were employed in building and equipping the busses or vessels used in the fishery; and the most favourable consequences were expected from the general vigour and alacrity which animated these preparations. But the success did not gratify the sanguine hopes of the projectors and adventurers. The objections made in the house of lords soon appeared to have been well founded; these co-operating with mismanagement in the directors, the spirit of the company began to flag, the natural consequences of commercial disappointment; and now the British fishery seems to languish under the neglect of the legislature.

NEW AFRICAN COMPANY.

Touching the trade to the coast of Africa, petitions were renewed by the company and its creditors, the merchants of Bristol, Liverpool, and Lancaster; and a remonstrance was presented by the planters and merchants interested in the British sugar settlements in America; but the commons adhered to their former resolutions of laying open the trade, maintaining the forts at the public expense, and regulating the commerce by a committee of merchants, representing the chief trading towns in the kingdom, to be superintended by the board of trade and plantations. The bill was accordingly framed and presented, and having proceeded through both houses without opposition, obtained the royal assent. Over and above these wise, salutary, and patriotic measures for the improvement of commerce, they encouraged the importation of raw silk by an act, reducing the duties formerly payable on that which was the growth of China to the same that is raised on the raw silk from Italy, and allowing the same drawback upon the exportation of the one which had been usually granted on the other. A second bill was brought in for the encouragement of the growth and culture of silk in Carolina and Georgia, where it had been lately produced with extraordinary success, by freeing from all duties that which should be imported from his majesty’s dominions in America; and a third was framed, permitting raw silk of the growth or produce of Persia, purchased in Russia, to be imported into Great Britain, from any port or place belonging to the empire of Russia. Divers efforts were made, by different members in the opposition, to rectify certain abuses in the army and administration; some bills were brought in, and several petitions were left on the table; but all of them proved abortive, from the power and influence of the minister, who seemed resolved that no benefit should flow upon the nation through any channel but his own. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged, for the honour of his memory, that there is no session on record so productive as this was of measures advantageous to the community.

WESTMINSTER ELECTION.

The people, however, were not entirely satisfied with the conduct of the administration, if we may judge from the ferment and commotions raised during the progress of an election for a citizen to represent the city of Westminster in parliament. The seat which had been filled by lord Trentham, eldest son of earl Gower, having become vacant, in consequence of that nobleman’s accepting a place at the board of admiralty, he again declared himself a candidate, and met with a violent opposition. Those who styled themselves the independent electors of Westminster, being now incensed to an uncommon degree of turbulence by the interposition of ministerial influence, determined to use their utmost endeavours to baffle the designs of the court, and at the same time take vengeance on the family of earl Gower, who had entirely abandoned the opposition, of which he was formerly one of the most respected leaders. With this view they held consultations, agreed to resolutions, and set up a private gentleman, named sir George Vandeput, as the competitor of lord Trentham, declaring that they would support his pretensions at their own expense, being the more encouraged to this enterprise by the countenance and assistance of the prince of Wales and his adherents. They accordingly opened houses of entertainment for their partisans, solicited votes, circulated remonstrances, and propagated abuse; in a word, they canvassed, with surprising spirit and perseverance, against the whole interest of St. James’. Mobs were hired and processions made on both sides, and the city of Westminster was filled with tumult and uproar. The mutual animosity of the parties seemed every day to increase during the election, and a great number of unqualified votes were presented on both sides; all the powers of insinuation, obloquy, and ridicule, were employed to vilify and depreciate both candidates. At length the poll being closed, a majority of votes appeared in behalf of lord Trentham; but a scrutiny being demanded by the other side, the returning officer complied with their request. The speaker of the lower house had issued his warrant for a new writ of election about the middle of November; and towards the end of February, Mr. Fox, secretary at war, standing up and observing that no return had yet been made, thought proper to move that the clerk of the crown, the messenger-extraordinary attending the great seal, the under-sheriff of Middlesex, and the high-bailiff of Westminster, should attend next morning and give an account of their issuing, delivering, and executing the writ of election. These being examined, and the high-bailiff declaring that he would proceed with all possible despatch in the scrutiny which had been demanded and was begun, Mr. Speaker explained to him some particulars of his duty, in the discharge of which, he was given to understand, he might depend upon the protection of the house, should he meet with any obstruction which he could not otherwise surmount, By the violence and caprice with which a great number of votes were contested on both sides, the scrutiny was protracted a long time, and the return attended with some extraordinary consequences, which shall be particularized among the transactions of the next year. In the meantime, the present session of parliament was closed on the twelfth day of April, with a speech from the throne, commending the commons for having seized the very first opportunity of reducing the interest of the national debt, without the least infringement upon the faith of parliament; and congratulating them on the flourishing state of the public credit, which could not fail to add strength and reputation to the government, both at home and abroad. Immediately after the rising of the parliament, his majesty appointed a regency to govern the kingdom in his absence, and embarked for the continent in order to visit his German dominions.

EARTHQUAKES IN LONDON.

The month of January and the beginning of February were distinguished, the first day by a very remarkable Aurora Borealis appearing at night to the north-east, of a deep and dusky red colour, like the reflection of some great fire, for which it was by many people mistaken; and the coruscations, unlike those that are generally observed, did not meet in the zenith, but in a point some degrees to the southward. February was ushered in by terrible peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, and such a tempest of wind, hail, and rain, as overwhelmed with fear and consternation the inhabitants of Bristol, where it chiefly raged. On the eighth day of the same month, between twelve and one in the afternoon, the people of London were still more dreadfully alarmed by the shock of an earthquake, which shook all the houses with such violence, that the furniture rocked on the floors, the pewter and porcelain rattled on the shelves, the chamber-bells rang, and the whole of this commotion was attended by a clap of noise resembling that produced by the fall of some heavy piece of furniture. The shock extended through the cities of London and Westminster, and was felt on both sides of the river Thames, from Greenwich to the westward of London; but not perceptible at a considerable distance. On the very same day of the next month, between five and six o’clock in the morning, the inhabitants of the metropolis were again affrighted by a second shock, more violent than the first, and abundantly more alarming, as it waked the greater part of the people from their repose. It was preceded by a succession of thick low flashes of lightning, and a rumbling noise, like that of a heavy carriage rolling over a hollow pavement. The shock itself consisted of repeated vibrations, which lasted some seconds, and violently shook every house from top to bottom. Again the chairs rocked, the shelves clattered, the small bells rang, and in some places public clocks were heard to strike. Many persons, roused by this terrible visitation, started naked from their beds, and ran to their doors and windows in distraction; yet no life was lost, and no house overthrown by this concussion, though it was so dreadful as to threaten an immediate dissolution of the globe. The circumstance, however, did not fail to make a deep impression upon ignorant, weak, and superstitious minds, which were the more affected by the consideration that the two shocks were periodical; that the second, which happened exactly one month after the first, had been the more violent; and that the next, increasing in proportion, might be attended with the most dismal consequences. This general notion was confirmed, and indeed propagated, among all ranks of people, by the admonitions of a fanatic soldier, who publicly preached up repentance, and boldly prophesied that the next shock would happen on the same day of April, and totally destroy the cities of London and Westminster. Considering the infectious nature of fear and superstition, and the emphatic manner in which the imagination had been prepared and prepossessed, it was no wonder that the prediction of this illiterate enthusiast should have contributed, in a great measure, to augment the general terror. The churches were crowded with penitent sinners; the sons of riot and profligacy were overawed into sobriety and decorum. The streets no longer resounded with execrations, or the noise of brutal licentiousness; and the iand of charity was liberally opened. Those whom fortune had enabled to retire from the devoted city, fled to the country with hurry and precipitation, insomuch that the highways were encumbered with horses and carriages. Many who had in the beginning combated these groundless fears with the weapons of reason and ridicule, began insensibly to imbibe the contagion, and felt their hearts fail in proportion as the hour of probation approached; even science and philosophy were not proof against the unaccountable effects of this communication. In after ages it will hardly be believed, that on the evening of the eighth day of April, the open fields that skirt the metropolis were filled with an incredible number of people assembled in chairs, in chaises, and coaches, as well as on foot, who waited in the most fearful suspense until morning, and the return of day disproved the truth of the dreaded prophecy. Then their fears vanished; they returned to their respective habitations in a transport of joy; and were soon reconciled to their abandoned vices, which they seemed to resume with redoubled affection, and once more bade defiance to the vengeance of heaven.

PESTILENTIAL FEVER AT THE SESSION IN THE OLD BAILEY.

By this time all the gaols in England were filled with the refuse of the army and navy, which having been dismissed at the peace, and either averse to labour or excluded from employment, had naturally preyed upon the commonwealth. Great numbers of those wretches who, by proper regulations, might have been rendered serviceable to the community, were executed as examples; and the rest perished miserably, amidst the stench and horrors of noisome dungeons. Even the prison of Newgate was rendered so infectious by the uncommon crowds of confined felons stowed together in close apartments, that the very air they breathed acquired a pestilential degree of putrefaction. It was this putrefied air, which, adhering to the clothes of the malefactors brought to trial at the bar of the Old Bailey, in May, produced among the audience a pestilential fever, which infected and proved fatal to the lord mayor of London, to one alderman, two of the judges, divers lawyers who attended the session, the greatest part of the jury, and a considerable number of the spectators. In order to prevent such disasters for the future, the gaols were cleansed, and accommodated with ventilators, which exhaust the foul and supply a circulation of fresh air; and other humane precautions were taken for the benefit of the prisoners.

DISPUTES BETWEEN RUSSIA AND SWEDEN.

The affairs of the continent underwent no remarkable alteration. An ambassador-extraordinary being sent to Petersburgh from the court of London, declared to the czarina’s minister, that, in case of a rupture between Russia and Sweden, occasioned by the hostilities committed by the former power, his Britannic majesty would consider Russia as the aggressor, and the czarina could not expect that he would supply her with the succours which he was engaged by treaty to furnish for her defence, in case she should be attacked. A declaration of the same nature was made by the ambassador of her Imperial majesty the queen of Hungary, while the ministers of France and Prussia, who were in strict alliance with Sweden, gave her to understand that they would punctually fulfil their engagements with the court of Stockholm, should she actually invade the Swedish territories of Finland. The spirit with which the king of Prussia exerted himself on this occasion, gave infinite umbrage to the czarina, who, indeed, expressed her resentment, by treating the minister of Brandenburgh with contemptuous neglect, and even refused to favour him with an audience till he should be vested with the character of ambassador. Thus were sewn the seeds of misunderstanding between those two powers, which, in the sequel, grew up to the most bitter animosity, and served to inflame those dissensions which have desolated the fairest provinces of Germany. The remonstrance of his Prussian majesty, with respect to the troubles of the North, was couched in such terms as gave dissatisfaction to the court of Petersburgh. The Russian minister retired from Berlin without the ceremony of taking leave, and the Prussian ambassador Warendorf was recalled from the court of the czarina.

PLAN FOR ELECTING THE ARCHDUKE JOSEPH KING OF THE ROMANS.

The attention of his Britannic majesty was not wholly engrossed by the disputes between Russia and Sweden. He had another object in view, which more nearly concerned the interests of his German dominions; and had set on foot two negotiations of the utmost importance to the commerce and advantage of Great Britain. His first and principal aim was, in conjunction with the court of Vienna, to take such measures as would secure the succession of the Imperial dignity to the archduke Joseph, eldest son and heir to the reigning emperor. As the previous step to that elevation, it was proposed to elect this young prince king of the Romans; and for this purpose it was necessary to procure a majority not only of the electors, but also in the diet of the empire, through which the proposal must have passed. No stone was left unturned to reconcile this expedient to the German princes. Subsidies were offered by the maritime powers of England and the states-general to the electors of Mentz and Cologn; and a treaty of the same nature was concluded with the elector of Bavaria, who, in consideration of an annual subsidy, amounting to forty thousand pounds sterling, two-thirds to be paid by Britain, and the rest by the states-general, engaged to keep in readiness a body of six thousand infantry, as auxiliaries to the maritime powers, though not to act against the emperor or empire; and to join the interest of his Britannic majesty in the diet, as well as in the electoral college. In order to render the king of Poland, elector of Saxony, propitious to this design, he was accommodated with the loan of a very considerable sum, upon the mortgage of certain bailiwicks and lordships belonging to the Saxon dominions. Thus a majority of the electors was secured, and such foundations were laid for the success of this project, that it was generally believed it would be accomplished in his Britannic majesty’s next visit to his German dominions. Hopes, it was said, were given to the king of Sweden, that his concurrence would be gratified by erecting the house of Hesse-Cassel, of which he was head, into a tenth electorate. Arguments of an interesting nature were used with the king of Prussia, and the elector-palatine, that if possible, the diet might unanimously approve of this measure, so necessary for establishing the peace of the empire, and preventing such troubles as arose from a disputed succession at the death of Charles the Sixth. These endeavours, however, did not succeed in their full extent. The king of Prussia, as elector of Brandenburgh, opposed the election as unnecessary and improper, on account of the health and vigour of the reigning emperor, and the tender years of the archduke. This monarch had set himself up as a balance to the power of the house of Austria, which had long aspired to absolute dominion over its co-estates, and endeavoured to establish an hereditary right of succession to the empire; he therefore employed all his influence to frustrate the measure proposed, either actuated by a spirit of pure patriotism, or inspired with designs which he had not yet thought proper to declare. The opposition was joined by the elector-palatine, and countenanced by the French king; who protested, that, for the sake of peace, he would not oppose this election, though contrary to the Golden Bull, provided it should be confirmed by the unanimous consent of the electoral college; but should any one member signify his dissent, and he or any state of the empire claim the protection and assistance of his most christian majesty, he could not dispense with granting both, in consequence of his being guarantee of the treaty of Westphalia; an engagement by which he was obliged to succour those princes and states of the empire who might have recourse to him, in case of any grievance they suffered contrary to what was stipulated in that constitution. This declaration co-operating with the known character of his Prussian majesty, whose great army over-awed Hanover and Bohemia, in all probability damped that vigour with which the courts of Vienna and Herenhausen had hitherto prosecuted this important negotiation.

DISPUTES WITH THE FRENCH ABOUT THE LIMITS OF NOVA SCOTIA.

The second object that employed the attention of the British ministry, was the establishment of the precise limits of Acadia, or Nova Scotia, where the new colony had suffered great mischief and interruption from the incursions of the Indians, excited to these outrages by the subjects and emissaries of France. Commissaries had been appointed, by both crowns, to meet at Paris and compromise these disputes: but the conferences were rendered abortive by every art of cavilling, chicanery, and procrastination, which the French commissioners opposed to the justice and perspicuity of the English claims. They not only misinterpreted treaties, though expressed with the utmost precision, and perplexed the conferences with difficulties and matter foreign to the subject, but they carried the finesse of perfidy so far as to produce false charts and maps of the country, in which the rivers and boundaries were misplaced and misrepresented. At this time also the insincerity of the French court appeared in affected delays and artful objections, with respect to the evacuation of the neutral islands in the West Indies; and the governors of the British plantations, in different parts of North America, transmitted intelligence that the French had begun to make encroachments on the back of the English colonies.

TREATY WITH SPAIN.

Perhaps the precarious footing on which the peace stood between Great Britain and France at this juncture, and the critical situation of affairs in Germany, determined the ministry of England to compromise all differences with Spain, upon such terms as at any other time they would hardly have embraced. In order to discuss those points between the two nations, which had not been settled by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, conferences were also begun at Madrid, and carried on by Mr. Keene, plenipotentiary to his Britannic majesty, and don Joseph de Carvajal and Lancastro, the Spanish king’s minister. At length a treaty was concluded on these conditions—the king of Spain engaged to pay, in three months, to the South-sea company of England, one hundred thousand pounds sterling, as an indemnification for all claims upon his crown, by virtue of the assiento. In other respects, the trade and navigation of the English to the ports of Spain were regulated by former treaties. It was stipulated, that they should pay no other duties than those that were exacted of them in the reign of Charles II. of Spain; that they should be treated on the footing of the most favoured nations; and continue to enjoy the privilege of taking salt at the island of Tortuga. But there was no article restricting the Spanish guarda costas from searching the British vessels on the high seas; although, as we have already observed, this insolent prerogative, assumed without right, and exercised without humanity, was in effect the original and sole cause of the late rupture, which had been attended with such enormous expense to the nation. It must be owned, however, that his catholic majesty was at this period extremely well disposed to live upon good terms with Great Britain. He was resolved to indulge his people with the blessings of peace, to propagate a spirit of industry throughout his dominions, and in particular to encourage commerce, which he foresaw would prove a much more certain and inexhaustible source of wealth, power, and influence, than all the treasures he could drain from the mines of Mexico and Peru. His resolutions on this interesting subject were chiefly directed by don Ricardo Wall, who now acted as his minister at London; a gentleman of Irish extract, who had distinguished himself in the field as well as in the cabinet, and possessed the joint qualifications of a general and a statesman. He had, by virtue of a passport, come over privately to England before the peace, in order to pave the way for the treaty, by a secret negotiation with the English ministers; but immediately after the peace was proclaimed, he appeared in the character of ambassador. He was possessed of the most insinuating address, shrewd, penetrating, and inquisitive. While he resided in London, he spared no pains in learning the nature of those manufactures, and that commerce, by which Great Britain had been so remarkably aggrandized; and on his return to Spain, where in a little time he was placed at the helm of affairs, he turned the knowledge he had thus acquired to the advantage of his country. He not only promoted the useful arts, within the kingdom of Spain, but demonstrated the infinite advantage that would accrue from an active trade, which the Spaniards had for many-ages neglected; and in a few years their ships were seen to swarm in all the commercial ports of Europe. Of other foreign events which distinguished this summer, the most remarkable was the death of John, king of Portugal, who perfectly understood, and steadily pursued, the true interests of his country, and in whom many princely qualities were debased by a cruel spirit of bigotry and superstition. He was succeeded by his eldest son Joseph, who, if he has fallen short of his father in some respects, cannot be justly charged with having inherited this paternal weakness.

SESSION OPENED.

The king of Great Britain having returned to England, opened the session of parliament in January with a speech, importing, that he had concluded a treaty with the king of Spain, and amicably adjusted such differences as could not be so properly compromised in a general treaty; that the commerce of this nation with that country was re-established upon the most advantageous and sure foundations; and that there was the greatest reason to hope the ancient friendship between Great Britain and Spain would, from mutual inclination as well as interest, be now effectually restored. He told them, that in conjunction with the empress-queen and the states-general, he had concluded a treaty with the elector of Bavaria; and was employed in taking such further measures as might best tend to strengthen and secure the tranquillity of the empire, support its system, and timely anticipate such events as had been found by experience to endanger the common cause, involve Europe in the calamities of war, and occasion the loss of much blood and treasure to these kingdoms. He promised that both these treaties should be subjected to their perusal; he gave them to understand that he had received from all the other contracting powers in the definitive treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the most full and clear declarations of their resolution to preserve the general peace; and that he had taken care to consolidate the ties of union and friendship between him and his allies, the better to secure their mutual interests, maintain the peace already subsisting, and prevent the occasion of any future rupture. Finally, he recommended unanimity, the improvement of commerce, and the effectual suppression of such outrages and violences as are inconsistent with good order and government, and endanger the lives and properties of the subject, whose happiness and flourishing condition he had entirely at heart.

When the motion was made for an address of thanks, couched in terms that savoured of the most implicit complaisance, approbation, and acquiescence in the measures which the crown had taken, the earl of Egmont, and some other anti-courtiers, affirmed, that such an address would be equally servile and absurd. They observed, that nothing could be more preposterous than a blind approbation of measures which they did not know; that nothing could be more ridiculous than their congratulations on the present happy tranquillity, when almost every day’s newspapers informed them of some British ships being seized by the Spaniards, or some new attack made by the French on our infant colony of Nova Scotia. With respect to the continent of Europe, they affirmed, that the tranquillity of Germany would have been upon a much more solid foundation, had England never interposed in the affairs of the empire: in that case the princes would of themselves have supported the constitution of their own country; that the election of an infant for the king of the Romans was much more likely to disturb than establish the tranquillity of Europe; because it would help to overturn the constitution of the empire, by rendering the imperial dignity hereditary in one house, instead of being the result of a free election. They took notice that the constitution had provided vicars to govern the empire during the vacancy of the imperial throne; but had made no provision of regents, protectors, or guardians, for a minor emperor, because it was never supposed that a minor would be chosen. They inveighed against the late treaty with Spain; in which, they said, the ministry, for the paltry sum of one hundred thousand pounds, had given up the claims of the South-Sea company, and other British merchants, who had suffered from depredations to the amount of one million three hundred thousand pounds; and bartered away the freedom of our trade and navigation, by leaving untouched that prerogative which the Spaniards had assumed, of searching the British ships in the open seas, and confiscating them should they find on board the least particle of what they called contraband merchandise. They produced an instance of an English ship, lately driven by stress of weather into one of the ports of the Spanish West Indies, where she was searched, seized and condemned, under this pretence. They recapitulated the conduct of the French, who, in the midst of their declarations of peace and moderation, were still employed in fortifying their settlements on the neutral islands, as well as in harassing and encroaching upon our plantations in North America. They exclaimed against the treaty of subsidy with the elector of Bavaria, or any other prince in time of peace; observing, that for some years the nation had paid such pensions to the Danes and the Hessians; but, in the course of the late war, the former abandoned our interests, and the latter actually took arms against Great Britain. They affirmed that the subsidy was greater than the nation could spare; for, unless the land-tax should be continued at four shillings in the pound, they could not afford a shilling to any prince in Germany, without encroaching upon the sinking fund. “At such a juncture,” said a certain member, “will any gentleman presume to propose the continuation of such an imposition on the land-holder, for the sake of bribing the princes of Germany to do what?—to preserve the freedom and independency of their native country. I say, princes of Germany, because this subsidy to Bavaria will signify nothing unless we take half a score more of them into our pay; and when we have thus indulged them for seven years of peace, they may give us the slip, as others have done, whenever another war should be declared.” Against these objections the motion was supported by Mr. William Pitt, at this time an advocate for the ministry. He observed, that the address was no more than the usual compliment to the throne, which did not imply an obligation on the parliament to approve of measures which they might find cause to censure upon further inquiry. He said, the trivial disputes still subsisting between this nation and the Spaniards, or French, would soon be terminated amicably, and could never affect the general tranquillity of Europe, which was to be established upon a firm alliance between his majesty and such a confederacy upon the continent, as would be an over-match for the house of Bourbon. He expatiated upon his majesty’s wisdom in taking off from the French interest such a powerful prince as the elector of Bavaria, and concerting other salutary measures for preserving the balance of power on the continent. He defended the articles of the late treaty with Spain; observing, that what remained of the assiento contract was a matter of very little consequence to the South-Sea company; that the demands of this company, and other British merchants, were all cancelled by the rupture with Spain, and more than recompensed to the nation by a great balance of captures during the war, as well as by the great traffic carried on with the Spanish settlements in the West Indies, after it had been laid open by the demolition of their fortresses. He asserted, that by this treaty the court of Spain had made many important concessions; they had condescended to pay a great sum to the South-Sea company; they had consented to the re-establishment of the British trade in Spain, upon a very advantageous and solid footing, by agreeing that the subjects of Great Britain should pay no other duties on merchandize than those exacted of his catholic majesty’s own subjects, and to abolish all innovations that had been introduced into the commerce. He affirmed, that the article of No Search was a stipulation which it would have been ridiculous to insist upon; and thought proper to obviate a reproach which he foresaw the opposition would throw upon him, from the circumstance of his having, upon a former occasion, heartily concurred in a motion for an address, that no treaty of peace with Spain should be admitted, unless such a stipulation should be first obtained as a preliminary. He owned he had strenuously contended for such a motion, because at that time, being very young and sanguine, he thought it right and reasonable; but he was now ten years older, had considered matters more coolly, and was convinced that the privilege of No Search, with respect to British vessels sailing near the American shore, would never be obtained, unless Spain should be brought so low as to acquiesce in any terms we as victors might propose. He likewise signified his conviction, that all addresses from the house of commons, during the course of a war, for prescribing terms of peace, were in themselves ridiculous; and that every such address was an encroachment on the king’s prerogative, which had always been attended with unlucky consequences. How far these arguments are satisfactory, conclusive, and consistent, we shall leave to the reader’s determination. Certain it is, they were adopted by the majority, and the address was presented without further opposition.

The two grand committees appointed to discuss the supplies for the ensuing year, and the funds upon which they were to be raised, proceeded, as usual, under the direction of the ministry; yet not without some vehement opposition, in which certain servants of the crown expressed the most hearty concurrence. When a motion was made for reducing the number of seamen to eight thousand, Mr. W. Pitt, Mr. Lyttelton, and Mr. G. Grenville, opposed it with all their might of argument and elocution; but they were overruled. Annual debates were also revived, with the same success, upon the number of troops constituting the standing army; but the other resolutions of the grand committees met with little or no opposition. The number of seamen for the ensuing year was limited to eight thousand; and that of the standing forces continued at eighteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven effective men, including one thousand eight hundred and fifteen invalids. The commons granted a considerable sum of money for paying off the principal of such redeemable stocks as had not been subscribed, in pursuance of two acts passed in the last session for reducing the interest of annuities. Thirty thousand pounds were given for fulfilling the king’s engagement with the elector of Bavaria; large grants were made for supplying deficiencies, and replacing sums borrowed from the sinking fund. The expense incurred by the new colony of Nova Scotia, not provided for by parliament, exceeded fifty-seven thousand pounds; and the maintenance of it for the ensuing year was fixed at fifty-three thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven pounds, fourteen shillings and fourpence. An enormous charge! if we consider to how little purpose all this bounty was bestowed. A fund was established under the sanction of parliament, for the relief and maintenance of the widows of sea officers, by allowing, upon the books of every ship of war in sea pay, the wages and victuals of one man for every hundred of which the compliment shall consist, for such time only as the number of men employed in the service of the royal navy shall not exceed twenty thousand. This was an additional indulgence, over and above the allowance of one man granted by a former act of parliament. On the whole, the provisions of this year amounted to five millions one hundred and twenty-five thousand and twenty-three pounds, eleven shillings and sevenpence, to be raised by the usual duties; the sum of one million twenty-six thousand four hundred and seventy-six pounds, four shillings and sixpence, advanced by the bank of England to pay off their own unsubscribed annuities, for which they accepted exchequer bills at three per cent, interest; by the land-tax at three shillings in the pound; a lottery and annuities, at the rate of three per cent, per annum, to be charged on the sinking-fund redeemable by parliament. The annual measure called the mutiny bill, was not passed without dispute and altercation; some alterations were proposed, but not adopted; and the sentences of court-martials still subjected to one revision.

DEATH AND CHARACTER OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.

In the midst of these deliberations, the kingdom was alarmed with an event which overwhelmed the people with grief and consternation. His royal highness the prince of Wales, in consequence of a cold caught in his garden at Kew, was seized with a pleuritic disorder; and, after a short illness, expired on the twentieth day of March, to the unspeakable affliction of his royal consort, and the unfeigned sorrow of all who wished well to their country. This excellent prince, who now died in the forty-fifth year of his age, was possessed of every amiable quality which could engage the affection of the people; a tender and obliging husband, a fond parent, a kind master; liberal, generous, candid, and humane; a munificent patron of the arts, an unwearied friend to merit; well disposed to assert the rights of mankind in general, and warmly attached to the interest of Great Britain. The nation could not but be afflicted at seeing a prince of such expectations ravished from their hopes; and their grief was the better founded, as the king had already attained to an advanced age, and the heir-apparent, George, now prince of Wales, was a minor.

SETTLEMENT OF A REGENCY IN CASE OF A MINOR SOVEREIGN.

His majesty, foreseeing all the inconveniencies which might arise from a minority, deliberated with his council on this subject, and resolved to obtain a parliamentary sanction for the measures judged necessary to secure the succession. With this view he sent a message to both houses on the twenty-sixth day of April, importing, that nothing could conduce so much to the preservation of the protestant succession in his royal family, as proper provisions for the tuition of the person of his successor, and for the regular administration of the government, in case the successor should be of tender years; his majesty therefore earnestly recommended this weighty affair to the deliberation of parliament; and proposed, that when the imperial crown of these realms should descend to any of the late prince’s sons, being under the age of eighteen years, his mother, the princess dowager of Wales, should be guardian of his person, and regent of these kingdoms, until he should attain the age of majority, with such powers and limitations as should appear necessary and expedient for these purposes. This message produced a very affectionate address, promising to take the affair into their serious consideration; and in the beginning of May the duke of Newcastle presented to the house of peers a bill to provide for the administration of government, in case the crown should descend to a minor. The bill was read a second time, and committed, when a second message arrived from his majesty, recommending to their consideration the settlement of such a council of regency as the bill proposed, consisting of his royal highness the duke of Cumberland, who at that time commanded the army, the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord chancellor, the lord high treasurer, or first lord commissioner of the treasury, the president of the council, the lord privy-seal, the lord high-admiral of Great Britain, or first commissioner of the admiralty, the two principal secretaries of state, and the lord chief justice of the king’s-bench; all these great officers, except his royal highness the duke, for the time being. This bill did not pass through the lower house without violent debate and bitter sarcasms. The council of regency, though espoused by all the ministry, including the paymaster-general, met with fierce opposition, as an unnecessary and fatal restriction that would impede the machine of government, and, as the council was constituted, might be productive of the most pernicious consequence. Some of the members ventured even to insinuate the danger of leaving at the head of a large standing army, a prince of the blood vested with a share of the regency, possessed of great personal influence, the darling of the soldiery, brave, popular, and enterprising; supposed not devoid of ambition, and not at all remarkable for any symptoms of extraordinary affection towards the person of the heir-apparent. The history of England was ransacked for invidious instances of royal uncles and regents who had injured the sovereigns, and distressed the government, by their pride, cruelty, and ambition. The characters of John Lackland, and John of Gaunt, Humphrey and Richard dukes of Gloucester, were called in review, canvassed, compared, and quoted, with some odious applications; but the majority being convinced of the loyalty, virtue, integrity, and great abilities of his royal highness, to whom the nation owed obligations of the most important nature, passed the bill with a few amendments, in which the lords acquiesced; and in a little time it received the royal sanction.

GENERAL NATURALIZATION BILL.

The death of the prince of Wales was fatal to a bill which had been brought into the house of commons, for naturalizing all foreign protestants who should settle within the dominions of Great Britain. Political arithmeticians have generally taken it for granted, that to every commercial nation an increase of people is an increase of opulence; and this maxim is certainly true, on the supposition that every individual is industrious, and that there is a sufficient field for employment; but all these general maxims ought to be received under certain qualifications. When all branches of manufacture are overstocked, an addition of workmen will doubtless be an additional incumbrance on the community. In the debates which this bill produced, the members of the ministry were divided among themselves. The measure was enforced by the chancellor of the exchequer, Mr. W. Pitt, and Mr. Lyttelton; and in opposing it the earl of Egmont was joined by Mr. Fox, secretary at war. Petitions and counter-petitions were presented by the merchants of London, Bristol, and other trading towns of the kingdom. All merchants and traders of foreign extraction exerted themselves vigorously in its behalf, and it was without doubt countenanced by the administration; but the project was odious to the people in general. The lord mayor, aldermen, and commons of London, in common-council assembled, composed a remonstrance to the lower house, setting forth the danger and inutility of a general naturalization of foreign protestants. A petition of the merchants and principal inhabitants of Bristol represented that such a law would be prejudicial to the trade and commerce of this kingdom, by preventing many industrious artificers from procuring a sufficient support for themselves and their families, and of consequence increasing the rates of the poor; that the introduction of such a number of foreigners, instead of being a support to the present happy establishment, might endanger the very basis of our constitution; that it would greatly tend to the diminution of our manufactures, as many strangers would doubtless come and reside in England for a time, in order to learn the methods and management of our manufacturers and artificers; and, after having obtained this instruction, return to their native countries, where they would establish and carry on works of the same nature. The twentieth day of March being appointed for the third reading of the bill, it was postponed in consequence of the unfortunate death of the prince of Wales; and other petitions from different cities of the kingdom being mustered against it in the sequel, the ministry did not think proper to persist in any unpopular measure at such a delicate conjuncture; so the bill was no more brought upon the carpet. Divers other regulations, relating to civil policy as well as to the commerce of Great Britain, were propounded in the house of commons; but these proposals proved abortive, either because they appeared crude and indigested in themselves, or the house could not obtain proper information touching the allegations they contained.

CENSURE PASSED UPON A PAPER ENTITLED “CONSTITUTIONAL QUERIES.”

There were no other transactions in this session, except the concurrence of both houses in stigmatizing a printed paper, entitled “Constitutional Queries, earnestly recommended to the serious consideration of every true Briton;” and the steps taken by the commons, in consequence of the commotions occasioned by the Westminster election. The above-mentioned paper, which had been conveyed by letter to the majority of both houses, was communicated to the lords in the month of January by the duke of Marlborough, who moved for resolutions against it as a seditious libel, and that the concurrence of the commons might be desired. A conference accordingly ensued, and both houses concurred in voting the paper a false, malicious, scandalous, infamous, and seditious libel; containing the most false, audacious, and abominable calumnies and indignities upon his majesty; and the most presumptuous and wicked insinuations that our laws, liberties, and properties, and the excellent constitution of this kingdom, were in danger under his majesty’s legal, mild, and gracious government; with intent to instil groundless suspicions and jealousies into the minds of his majesty’s good subjects, and to alienate their affections from his majesty and the royal family. It was therefore resolved by the lords spiritual and temporal, and commons in parliament assembled, that, in abhorrence and detestation of such abominable and seditious practices, the paper should be burnt by the hands of the common hangman in the new Palace-yard of Westminster; and this sentence was executed accordingly. Then they presented an address to his majesty, desiring that the most effectual means might be taken for discovering the author, printer, or publisher, that he or they might be brought to condign punishment. Directions were given for this purpose; but without effect. Those concerned in writing, printing, and circulating the paper, had acted with such caution that not one of them was ever discovered.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMONS ON THE WESTMINSTER ELECTION.

The proceedings of the commons with respect to the election of a burgess for Westminster were attended with some extraordinary circumstances, which we shall now record for the edification of those who pique themselves on the privileges of a British subject. We have already observed, that a majority appearing on the poll for lord Trentham, the adherents of the other candidate, sir George Vandeput, demanded a scrutiny, which was granted by the high bailiff of Westminster, the returning officer. During this tedious investigation, which rolled chiefly on the qualifications of voters, he acted with such address and seeming candour as gave entire satisfaction to both parties, till at length he determined in favour of lord Trentham, whom he returned as duly elected. Those who styled themselves the independent electors did not acquiesce in this determination without clamour, reproach, menaces, and riot. They taxed Mr. Leigh, the high-bailiff, with partiality and injustice; they loudly affirmed that ministerial influence had been used in the most scandalous manner; and, finally, joined sir George Vandeput in a petition to the lower house, complaining of an undue election and return of a member for the city of Westminster. The commons, instead of inquiring into the merits of these petitions, ordered them to lie upon the table; and, without any complaint from any person whatever, a motion was made that Leigh, the high-bailiff, should attend the house immediately, in order to make them acquainted with what he had done in pursuance of the directions he had formerly received from that house, touching the execution of the writ for electing a new member to represent the city of Westminster. As this motion had been preconcerted, Leigh was attending in the lobby, and immediately called into the house to be examined on this subject. Having, in the course of his examination, alleged that the election had been protracted by affected delays, he was asked by whom, and by what means; but, before he could answer, the earl of Egmont, interposing, objected to the question as improper, and moved for the order of the day. A debate immediately ensued, in which the impropriety of the question was demonstrated by Mr. Henley, now lord-keeper, Dr. Lee, and some others, the most sensible and moderate members of the house; but they were opposed with great violence by lord viscount Corke, Henry Fox, esquire, sir William Young, colonel Lyttelton, and the weight of the ministry; so that the motion for the order of the day was carried in the negative, and the high-bailiff required to answer the question. Thus interrogated, he declared that he had been impeded in the scrutiny, and maltreated, by Mr. Crowle, who had acted as counsel for sir George Vandeput, by the honourable Alexander Murray, brother to lord Elibank, and one Gibson, an upholsterer, who had been very active, zealous, and turbulent in his endeavours to promote the interest of sir George Vandeput, or rather to thwart the pretensions of the other candidate, who was supposed to be countenanced by the ministry. These three persons, thus accused, were brought to the bar of the house, notwithstanding the strenuous remonstrances of several members, who opposed this method of proceeding, as a species of oppression equally arbitrary and absurd. They observed, that, as no complaint had been preferred, they had no right to take cognizance of the affair; that if any undue influence had been used, it would naturally appear when the merits of the election should fall under their inquiry; that a complaint having been lodged already against the returning officer, it was their duty to investigate his conduct, and punish him if he should be found delinquent; but that nothing could be more flagrantly unjust, and apparently partial, than their neglecting the petitions of the other candidate and electors, and encouraging the high-bailiff, who stood charged with iniquity, to recriminate upon his accusers, that they might be disabled from giving evidence on the inquiry into the merits of the election. What difference is it to the subject whether he is oppressed by an arbitrary prince, or by the despotic insolence of a ministerial majority? Mr. Crowle alleged, in his own vindication, that he had been employed as counsel by the electors of Westminster, and attended the scrutiny in that character; that after the high-bailiff had, in the course of the last session, received the order of the house to expedite the election, he hurried on the scrutiny with such precipitation as, he apprehended, was unjust and prejudicial to his clients; that, in this apprehension, he (Mr. Crowle) insisted upon the high-bailiff’s proceeding with more deliberation, and in so doing he thought he did his duty to his employers. Some evidence being examined against him, declared he had not only protracted the scrutiny, but also spoken disrespectful words of the house of commons; he was therefore reprimanded on his knees by the speaker, and discharged.

MR. MURRAY SENT PRISONER TO NEWGATE.

Mr. Murray being charged with having uttered some threatening and affrontive expressions, the house adjourned the consideration of this affair for some days, at the expiration of which Mr. Murray was to be heard by his counsel; but, in the meantime, they ordered him to be taken into custody by the sergeant-at-arms attending the house. This step however was not taken without a warm opposition by some of the most sedate and intelligent members of the house, who considered it as a cruel act of oppression. They observed, that in cases of breach of privilege, no person complained of was ever taken into custody until after he had been fully heard in his defence; that this was literally prejudging the cause before it had been examined; and the oppression was the greater, as the alleged offence consisted entirely of words, of which no complaint or information had been made for above eight months after the supposed offence had been committed; and, even then, not till an accusation had been lodged against the informant, upon the trial of which accusation the persons informed against might very probably be the most material witnesses. They observed, that in one of the highest offences which can be committed by words, namely, that of denying the king’s right to the crown, or renouncing the trinity, the information must be brought in three or four days after the words are spoken; the words must be proved to have been spoken maliciously, directly, and advisedly, and the prosecution must commence in three months after the information. These suggestions made no more impression than if they had been uttered in a desert. Those who were secure in their number, asserted that the house of commons was not restricted by the forms or proceedings at common law; and that it was necessary to vindicate their own honour and dignity, by making examples of those who seemed to hold them in contempt. Mr. Murray was committed to the custody of the sergeant-at-arms, and found bail; and Gibson was sent prisoner to Newgate, from whence he was in a few days released, upon presenting an humble petition, professing his sorrow for having incurred the displeasure of the house, to the bar of which he was brought, and received a reprimand on his knees from the speaker. In the meantime, divers witnesses being examined before the house, declared, That Mr. Murray had been seen, about the time of the return of a member for Westminster, heading and exciting a tumult to acts of violence against the high-bailiff. The majority, therefore, after a long and warm debate, agreed, that for his dangerous and seditious practices, in violation and contempt of the privileges of the house, and of the freedom of elections, he should be committed close prisoner to Newgate Then, in the close of another violent debate, they resolved that he should be brought to the bar of the house, to receive that sentence on his knees. He accordingly appeared, and being directed by the speaker to kneel, refused to comply. He knew that he could not be discharged from Newgate during the session, without petitioning, acknowledging his offence, and making such concessions as he thought would imply a consciousness of guilt; he considered this whole transaction as an oppressive exertion of arbitrary power, and, being apprized of the extent of their authority, determined to bear the brunt of their indignation, rather than make submissions which he deemed beneath the dignity of his character. When he refused to humble himself, the whole house was in commotion; he was no sooner removed from the bar than they resolved, that his having in a most insolent and audacious manner refused to be on his knees at the bar of that house, in consequence of their former resolution, was a high and most dangerous contempt of the authority and privilege of the commons; it was therefore ordered, that he should be committed close prisoner to Newgate, debarred the use of pen, ink, and paper; and that no person should have access to him without the leave of the house. Finally, a committee was appointed to consider what methods might be proper to be taken by them, in relation to this instance of contempt. Meanwhile, the petitioners against the return made by the high-bailiff, perceiving the temper of the house, and the complexion of the majority, withdrew their petition; and the order which had passed for hearing the merits of the election was discharged. Mr. Murray being taken dangerously ill in Newgate, application was made to the commons, by some of his relations, that he might be removed to a more convenient situation; and his physician being examined, gave it as his opinion that he was infected with the gaol distemper. Upon this representation, the house agreed that the speaker should issue a warrant for removing him from Newgate to the custody of the sergeant-at-arms, but this favour he refused to accept, and expressed the warmest resentment against those relations who had applied to the commons in his behalf. Thus he remained sequestered even from his own brother and sister, under the displeasure of the commons of England, who condescended so far as to make resolutions touching the physician, apothecary, and nurse who attended this prisoner. But the prorogation of parliament having put an end to their authority for that session, Mr. Murray was discharged of course, and conducted by the sheriffs from Newgate to his own house, in procession, with flags and streamers exhibiting the emblems of liberty.

SESSION CLOSED. STYLE ALTERED.

In the month of June the session was closed with a speech from the throne, in which his majesty thanked both houses for the zeal and affection they had manifested towards him and his government; and congratulated the commons in particular, upon their firmness and prudence in reducing the interest of the national debt, a measure as agreeable to him as essential to the strength and welfare of the kingdom. 330 [See note 2 S, at the end of this Vol.]—The interior economy of Great Britain produced, within the circle of this year, nothing else worthy of historical regard, except a series of enormous crimes, arising from the profligacy of individuals, which reflected disgrace upon the morals and the polity of the nation. Rapine and robbery had domineered without intermission ever since the return of peace, which was attended with a reduction of the army and navy; but now crimes of a deeper die seemed to lift up their heads, in contempt of law and humanity. 331 [See note 2 T, at the end of this Vol.] Every day almost produced fresh instances of perjury, forgery, fraud, and circumvention; and the kingdom exhibited a most amazing jumble of virtue and vice, honour and infamy, compassion and obduracy, sentiment and brutality.

CHAPTER VIII.

Death of the Queen of Denmark and the Prince of Orange..... Misunderstanding between the Czarina and King of Prussia..... Measures for electing a King of the Romans..... Death of the King of Sweden..... Session opened..... Animosity of the Commons towards Mr. Murray..... Proceedings upon a Pamphlet, entitled the Case of Mr. Murray..... Supplies granted..... Civil Regulations..... Law relating to the forfeited Estates in Scotland..... New Consolidation of Funds..... Two Ports opened for the Importation of Irish Wool..... The King sets out for Hanover..... Affairs of the Continent..... Dispute between Hanover and Prussia, Concerning East Friezeland..... Misunderstanding between the Courts of London and Berlin..... Improvement of Pomerania..... Treaty with the Elector Palatine..... Session opened..... Supplies granted..... Game Act..... Act for performing Quarantine..... and for preventing the Plundering of shipwrecked Vessels..... Bill relating to the Bounty on Corn exported..... Turkey Trade laid open..... Naturalization of the Jews..... Marriage Act..... Deliberations concerning the Sugar Colonies...... Fate of the Register Bill..... Sir Hans Sloane’s Museum purchased by Parliament..... Story of Elizabeth Canning..... Execution of Dr. Cameron..... Tumults in different Parts of the Kingdom..... Disturbances in France..... Proceedings in the Diet relative to East Friezeland..... Treaty between the Court of Vienna and the Duke of Marlborough—Conferences with respect to Nova Scotia broke up..... Description of Nova Scotia..... Disputes concerning its Limits

DEATH OF THE QUEEN OF DENMARK AND PRINCE OF ORANGE.

The royal family of England had sustained three severe shocks in the compass of a few months. Besides the loss of the prince of Wales, which the nation lamented as irreparable, his majesty was deeply afflicted by the untimely death of his youngest daughter, the queen of Denmark, who died at Copenhagen on the nineteenth day of December, in the prime of youth. She was one of the most amiable princesses of the age in which she lived, whether we consider the virtues of her heart, or the accomplishments of her person; generous, mild, and tender hearted; beloved even almost to adoration by her royal consort, to whom she had borne a prince and two princesses; and universally admired and revered by the subjects of his Danish majesty. Her death had been preceded about two months by that of her brother-in-law, the prince of Orange, no less regretted by the natives of the United Provinces for his candour, integrity, and hereditary love to his country. Though he had not distinguished himself by the lustre of a superior genius, he had been at great pains to cultivate his understanding, and study the true interest of that community of which he was a member. He had always approved himself a good and zealous citizen, and, since his elevation to the stadtholdership, taken many salutary steps for the advantage of his country. Among other excellent schemes which he suggested, he left a noble plan with the states-general for restoring their commerce to its former lustre, and lived long enough to receive their warmest acknowledgments fox this last proof of his prudence and patriotism. His son and daughter being both infants, the administration of the government devolved upon the princess, as governanté during her son’s minority; and as such she succeeded to all the power which her husband had enjoyed.

MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE CZARINA AND KING OF PRUSSIA.

With respect to the affairs of the continent, the peace of the north seemed still as precarious as ever; for though the difference between Russia and Sweden had been compromised, the mutual disgust between the czarina and the king of Prussia had gained such accession from reciprocal insults, ill offices, and inflammatory declarations, that these two powers seemed to be on the eve of a rupture, and each was employed in making extraordinary preparations for war. The courts of Vienna and Great Britain, foreseeing that such a rupture would embroil the empire, and raise insurmountable obstructions to their favourite scheme of electing the archduke Joseph king of the Romans, resolved to employ all their influence in order to effect a reconciliation between the courts of Petersburgh and Berlin. His Prussian majesty had signified to the king of Great Britain and the states-general, the situation in which he stood with the czarina, and solicited their interposition, that the difference might be amicably accommodated. At the same time, he sent an envoy-extraordinary to Versailles, to negotiate with the French king for a very considerable body of auxiliaries, in case he should fee attacked. These circumstances induced the maritime powers, and the court of Vienna, to use their utmost endeavours for the prevention of a rupture; and accordingly they made remonstrances on this subject by their ministers at Petersburgh, proposing that the quarrel should be terminated without bloodshed, and all cause of animosity be buried in oblivion.

MEASURES FOR ELECTING A KING OF THE ROMANS.

In the meantime they eagerly prosecuted the design of the election; and the Imperial minister at Berlin not only communicated to his Prussian majesty the sentiments of the king of England on this expedient, but even solicited his vote for the archduke Joseph, when the election of a king of the Romans should be proposed in the electoral college. To this proposal he replied, that he was extremely well disposed to manifest his regard for their imperial majesties, and to give the most genuine proofs of it, even in the proposed election of a king of the Romans, considering the great merit of the present candidate the archduke Joseph; but he left it to the consideration of their imperial majesties, whether the election would not be a little premature, if transacted at a time when his imperial majesty was in the flower of his age; enjoying perfect health; and when all Europe, particularly the empire, was hushed in the bosom of tranquillity, so that no circumstance seemed to prognosticate the necessity of such an election; or of putting in execution the motives mentioned in the capitulation of the reigning emperor’s election; especially as the examination of these motives belonged to the whole empire, and ought to precede the election, by virtue of the eighth article of the treaty of Westphalia. He observed, that in case of the emperor’s death, Germany would find herself in a very disagreeable situation under the government of a minor. For these reasons, he said, he could not help advising their imperial majesties to wait until the archduke should be of age, when his election might be carried on more conformably to the laws and constitutions of the empire, and more suitable to the majesty of the whole Germanic body. This reply he circulated among the electors, and in particular transmitted it to the king of Great Britain, desiring they would deliberate maturely on this subject, and confer together in a body, as well as in private, that they might proceed according to the ancient custom of the electoral college, and take such ‘measures as should be judged expedient for the honour and advantage of the community. This circular letter was answered both by the king of England and the elector of Bavaria, who demonstrated, that it was the privilege of the electoral college only, without any participation of the other princes of the empire, to elect a king of the Romans during the life of the emperor, in order to maintain the peace and preserve the liberties of Germany; and that the neglect of this wise precaution hath produced bloody wars, and many fatal consequences to the empire. They observed, that nothing could more contribute to the establishment of the public tranquillity than this measure, so ardently desired by the majority of the German princes; and that, although the archduke Joseph wanted a few years of being of age, and it might possibly happen that the reigning emperor should die during that prince’s minority, yet it would be much less prejudicial to the empire to have a minor chief, than to see the succession altogether unsettled. His Prussian majesty received a declaration to the same purpose from the elector of Mentz; and understanding that this prince, as archchancellor of the empire, intended to convoke an electoral diet in order to propose the election of a king of the Romans, he wrote an elaborate letter to his electoral highness, explaining at more length his reasons for postponing the election. He quoted that sentence of the treaty of Westphalia which expressly declares, that the election of a king of the Romans shall be discussed and ordained by the common consent of the states of the empire; and, therefore, he could not conceive what right the electoral college had to arrogate this privilege to themselves, excluding the other states of the empire. He observed, that the imperial capitulations, which were the only laws of the empire that treated of this subject, mentioned only three cases in which it was lawful to proceed to such an election; namely, the emperor’s leaving, and long absence from, Germany; his advanced age, or an indisposition, rendering him incapable of managing the reins of government; and any case of emergency in which the preservation of the empire’s prosperity is interested. He affirmed that none of these motives at present existed; that, in case the imperial crown should devolve to a minor, many mischiefs and disorders must ensue, as the constitutions of the empire have established no regulations nor regency in that event; that an election of this nature, carried on under the power, influence, and authority of the head of the empire, would strike at the fundamental privileges of the princes and states; consequently, in time overturn the constitution of the empire, which, from being an elective dignity, conferred by the free and independent suffrages of the electoral college and states of Germany, under certain capitulations, obliging the prince thus chosen to govern according to law, would become an hereditary succession, perpetuated in one family, which of course must be aggrandized to the prejudice of its co-estates, and the ruin of the Germanic liberties. In a word, all Germany in general, and Ratisbon in particular, was filled with writings published on both sides: by the emperor and his adherents, to demonstrate that the election of a king of the Romans, during the life of the emperor, had often happened, and at this present time was necessary, and would be advantageous to the empire; while the king of Prussia and his friends laboured to prove that such an election, at the present juncture, would be ill-timed, irregular, and of dangerous consequence. Perhaps, if the truth was known, this enterprising prince had projected some great scheme, with the execution of which this proposed establishment would have interfered. Certain it is, he exerted himself with that spirit and perseverance which were peculiar to his character, to frustrate the intention of the courts of Vienna and London in this particular, and was assisted with all the intrigue of the French ministry. Their joint endeavours were so effectual, that the elector of Cologn renounced his subsidiary treaty with the maritime powers, and once more threw himself into the arms of France. The elector palatine being solicited by the empress-queen and his Britannic majesty to co-operate with their views, insisted, as a preliminary article, upon being indemnified by the court of Vienna for the ravages committed in his territories by the Austrian troops, during the course of the last war: the king of Poland, elector of Saxony, made the same demand of the like indemnification, which was granted by the mediation of king George; and then he subscribed to a subsidiary treaty, obliging himself to furnish a body of six thousand auxiliaries, in case they should be required by the maritime powers; and to act as an elector, in concert with the house of Austria, in every thing relating to the welfare of his country that should square with the fundamental laws of the empire. The courts of London and Vienna had this election so much at heart, that they sounded almost all the powers of Europe, to know how they stood affected towards the measure proposed. The king of Spain declined intermeddling in a domestic affair of the empire. The French king returned an ambiguous answer; from whence it was concluded that nothing but opposition could be expected from that quarter. The Swedish monarch was rendered propitious to the project by assurances that the house of Hesse-Cassel, of which he was the head, should be elevated into an electorate. They even endeavoured to soften his Prussian majesty, by consenting, at last, that the treaty of Dresden, confirming to him the possession of Silesia, should be guaranteed by the diet of the empire; a sanction which he now actually obtained, together with the ratification of his imperial majesty. Notwithstanding this indulgence, he still persisted in raising fresh objections to the favourite project, on pretence of concerting measures for preventing the inconveniencies that might result from a minority; for regulating the capitulations to be agreed on with the king of the Romans; securing the freedom of future elections, and preserving the prerogatives and privileges of the Germanic body in all its members. In consequence of these obstacles, joined to the apostacy of the elector of Cologn, the obstinacy of the elector palatine, and the approaching diet of Hungary, at which their imperial majesties were obliged personally to preside, the measures for the election were suspended till next summer, when his Britannic majesty was expected at Hanover to put the finishing stroke to this great event in favour of the house of Austria.

DEATH OF THE KING OF SWEDEN.

Another disappointment, with respect to this election, the promoters of it sustained in the death of his Swedish majesty, who expired in a good old age, and was succeeded by Adolphus Frederick, duke of Holstein Eutin, bishop of Lubeck, upon whom the succession had been settled for some years, by the unanimous concurrence of the states of the kingdom. This prince ascended the throne of Sweden without the least disturbance; and, of his own accord, took an oath in full senate, that he would never attempt to introduce a despotic authority; but maintain their liberties with his blood, and govern his subjects in all respects according to the laws and the form of government established in Sweden. This public act, which was communicated to all the foreign ministers, and particularly to the envoy from Petersburgh, met with such a favourable reception from the czarina, that she expressed her satisfaction in a public declaration; and the good understanding between the two courts was perfectly restored.

SESSION OPENED.

When the parliament of England was opened in the month of November, the king, in his speech from the throne, gave them to understand, that for the same purposes which suggested the treaty with the elector of Bavaria, he had now, in conjunction with the states-general, concluded another with the king of Poland, elector of Saxony. He told them that the unfortunate death of the prince of Orange had made no alteration in the state of affairs in Holland; and that he had received the strongest assurances from the states, of their firm resolution to maintain the intimate union and friendship happily subsisting between his majesty and those ancient and natural allies of his crown. He exhorted both houses to consider seriously of some effectual provisions to suppress those audacious crimes of robbery and violence, grown so frequent about the capital, proceeding in a great measure from that profligate spirit of irreligion, idleness, gaming, and extravagance, which had of late extended itself in an uncommon degree, to the dishonour of the nation, and the great offence and prejudice of the sober and industrious part of the people. The paragraphs of this speech were, as usual, echoed back to the throne in addresses replete with expressions of loyalty, affection, and approbation. Opposition was by this time almost extinguished; and the proceedings of both houses took place with such unanimity as was hardly ever known before this period in a British parliament. The commons, however, seem to have assembled with such sentiments as did no great honour to their temper and magnanimity. In a few days after the session opened, lord viscount C——e, a young nobleman, whose character entitled him to very little regard or influence among men of sense and probity, made a motion, that Mr. Murray, who had been so severely executed in the last session for refusing to humble himself on his knees before them, should be again committed close prisoner to Newgate for the same offence. This proposal, which supposed a power that the commons had never before exercised, was sharply disputed by the earl of Egmont, and others, who had not resigned all sense of moderation; but the majority adopted the measure with great eagerness, and the speaker was ordered to issue his warrant accordingly. Then the house resolved, that the said Alexander Murray should receive the sentence, for his now being committed close prisoner to his majesty’s gaol of Newgate, at the bar of the house, upon his knees; and the sergeant-at-arms was commanded to take him into custody for this purpose. Their indignation, however, was eluded by the caution of the delinquent, who, having foreseen the effects of their resentment, had prudently retired to another country. They determined, nevertheless, to proceed against him as a person of some consequence in the commonwealth; for, being informed of his retreat, they condescended so far as to present an address to his majesty, desiring that his royal proclamation might be issued for apprehending the said Mr. Murray, promising a reward to him who should have the good fortune to apprehend this fugitive-a request with which his majesty most graciously complied.

PROCEEDINGS UPON A PAMPHLET, ENTITLED “THE CASE OF MR. MURRAY.”

Nor was this the only address presented to the king: upon such an important subject. A pamphlet, entitled “The Case of the Hon. Alexander Murray, esquire, in an Appeal to the People of Great Britain,” was first stigmatized in a complaint to the house, and was afterwards produced and read at the table. The piece was written with great acrimony, and abounded with severe animadversions, not only upon the conduct of the returning officer, but also on the proceedings of the commons. The violent members immediately took fire, and the flame extended itself to the majority. Nay, the house unanimously resolved, that the pamphlet was an impudent, malicious, scandalous, and seditious libel, falsely and most injuriously reflecting upon, and aspersing the proceedings of the house, tending to create misapprehensions in the minds of the people, to the great dishonour of the said house, and in violation of the privileges thereof. They furthermore presented an address to the king, desiring his majesty would be graciously pleased to give directions to his attorney-general to prosecute the authors or author, the printers or printer, and the publishers or publisher of the said scandalous libel, that they might be brought to condign punishment. Directions were accordingly given for this purpose, and a prosecution commenced against the publisher, who had some reason to be dismayed, considering the great weight of influence he was doomed to encounter—influence arising from a prosecution of the crown, instituted at the request, and founded on a vote, of the house of commons. Nevertheless, when the cause was heard before the lord-chief justice of England, a jury of free-born Englishmen, citizens of London, asserted their privilege of judging the law as well as the fact, and acquitted the defendant with a truly admirable spirit of independency. They considered the pamphlet as an appeal against oppression; and, convinced that the contents were true, they could not in conscience adjudge it a false libel, even though it had been so declared by one of the branches of the legislature.

The commons, in regulating the supplies of the ensuing year, voted the continuation of eighteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven men for the land-service, though not without some opposition from certain patriots, who, rather from a sense of duty than from any hope of influencing the majority, affirmed that sixteen thousand men in time of peace would answer all the ends proposed by a standing army. The number of seamen was fixed at ten thousand; large sums were granted to make up deficiencies, and fulfil the engagements of the crown with the electors of Bavaria and Saxony, as well as for the maintenance of Nova Scotia and Georgia, and the castles on the coast of Guinea; and one hundred and twelve thousand one hundred and fifty-two pounds, three shillings and threepence, were voted, as a full compensation to the old royal African company for their exclusive charter and property, to be applied for the relief of their creditors. *

* These expenses were defrayed by a continuation of the duties on malt, &c; a land-tax at three shillings in the pound; a duty on licences, to be yearly paid by pawnbrokers and dealers in secondhand goods, within the bills of mortality; the sum of one million four hundred thousand pounds advanced by the bank, according to a proposal made for that purpose; five hundred thousand pounds to be issued from the sinking-fund; a duty laid on gum Senegal; and the continuation of divers other occasional impositions. The grants for the year amounted to something less than four millions, and the provisions made for this expense exceeded it in the sum of two hundred and seventy-one thousand and twenty-four pounds, ten shillings and sixpence halfpenny.

The laws enacted for the encouragement of traffic, and the regulations of civil polity, consisted in an act for licensing pawnbrokers, and for the more effectual preventing the receiving of stolen goods; another for preventing thefts and robberies, by which places of entertainment, dancing, and music, in London, Westminster, and within twenty miles of the capital, were suppressed and prohibited, unless the proprietors of them could obtain licenses from the justices of the peace, empowered for that purpose; a third for annexing the forfeited estates in Scotland unalienably to the crown, after having made satisfaction to the lawful creditors; establishing a method of leasing these estates, and applying the rents and profits of them for the better civilizing and improving the highlands, and preventing future disorders in that part of the united kingdom. Nothing could be more salutary than the purposes of these regulations. The suburbs of the metropolis abounded with an incredible number of public houses, which continually resounded with the noise of riot and intemperance; they were the haunts of idleness, fraud, and rapine; and the seminaries of drunkenness, debauchery, extravagance, and every vice incident to human nature; yet the suppression of these receptacles of infamy was attended with an inconvenience, which, in some cases, arose even to a degree of oppression. The justices being vested by the legislature with the power of granting or refusing licenses, were constituted, in effect, the arbiters on whose decision the fortunes and livelihood of many individuals absolutely depended. Many of those who exercised this species of magistracy within the bills of mortality, were, to the reproach of government, men of profligate lives, needy, mean, ignorant, and rapacious, and often acted from the most scandalous principles of selfish avarice.

LAW RELATING TO THE FORFEITED ESTATES IN SCOTLAND.

The law relating to the highlands of Scotland was well calculated for promoting, among the inhabitants of that country, such a spirit of industry as might detach them from their dangerous connexions, and gradually supersede that military genius which had been so productive of danger and alarm to the southern part of Great Britain. The king, by this act, was empowered to appoint commissioners for managing the forfeited estates, who were enabled to grant leases of small farms, not above twenty pounds a-year, to individuals, who should take an oath to government to reside upon and cultivate the lands thus let. It was also provided, that no lease should be granted for a longer term than twenty-one years; and that the leases should not pay above three-fourths of the annual value. Although these forfeited estates were generally encumbered with claims beyond their real value, and the act directed that they should be disposed of by public sale; yet, as they lay in the most disaffected parts of the highlands, it was thought necessary that they should remain in the possession of the crown, because, in case of their being publicly sold, they might be purchased in trust for the families of the persons by whom they were forfeited, and thus the spirit of disaffection would still survive. A valuation, therefore, was made by the court of session in Scotland, at the joint suit of the crown and the creditors; and the value being ascertained, the just claimants were paid out of the next aids granted by parliament. The bill met with considerable opposition in the house of peers from the duke of Bedford and the earl of Bath, who probably foresaw that the good effects of this scheme, so laudable in itself, would be frustrated in the execution; and that the act, instead of answering the purposes for which it was intended, would serve only as a job to gratify the rapacious retainers to the government, and their emissaries in that country. After a warm debate, however, it was adopted by a great majority, and obtained the royal assent.

NEW CONSOLIDATION OF FUNDS.

A third law related to certain articles of the national debt, which was now converted into several joint-stocks of annuities, transferable at the bank of England, to be charged on the sinking fund. A great number of different funds for annuities, established at different times and by different acts, subsisted at this period, SO that it I was necessary to keep many different accounts, which could not be regulated without considerable trouble and expense, for the removal of which the bill was calculated.

TWO PORTS OPENED FOR THE IMPORTATION OF IRISH WOOL.

In consequence of petitions from the woollen manufacturers of Westmoreland and Yorkshire, two bills were brought in, and passed through both houses, by which the ports of Lancaster and Great Yarmouth were opened for the importation of wool and woollen yarn from Ireland; but why this privilege was not extended to all the frequented ports of the kingdom it is not easy to conceive, without supposing a little national jealousy on one hand, and a great deal of grievous restraint on the other. Over and above these new laws, some unsuccessful endeavours were used in behalf of commerce and police. A bill was offered for laying further restrictions on pawnbrokers and brokers, that they might no longer suck the blood of the poor, and act as the accessaries of theft and robbery, which was canvassed, debated, and made its way through the lower house; but the lords rejected it as a crude scheme, which they could not amend, because it was a money-bill, not cognizable by their house, without engaging in a dispute with the commons. Another bill was prepared, for giving power to change the punishment of felony, in certain cases, to confinement and hard labour in dockyards or garrisons. It was the opinion of many who wished well to their country, and were properly qualified to prosecute such inquiries, that the practice of consigning such a number of wretches to the hands of the executioner, served only, by its frequency, to defeat the purpose of the law, in robbing death of all its terror, and the public of many subjects, who might, notwithstanding their delinquency, be in some measure rendered useful to society. Such was the motive that influenced the promoters of this bill; by which it was proposed, in imitation of that economy practised in other countries, to confine felons convicted under certain circumstances to hard labour upon the public works of the kingdom. The scheme was adopted by the lower house, but rejected by the lords, who seemed apprehensive of its bringing such discredit upon his majesty’s dock-yards, as would discourage persons who valued their reputation from engaging in such employment. Of still greater importance to the nation was the next measure proposed, in a bill for making the militia of England more useful, presented by Mr. Thornton, a gentleman of Yorkshire, who had distinguished himself by his loyalty and patriotism. It was canvassed in a committee of the whole house, and underwent divers amendments; but miscarried, through the aversion of the ministry to any project tending to remove or lessen the necessity of maintaining a standing army. A considerable number of petitions for different regulations, in respect to commerce and convenience of traffic, were presented, considered, and left upon the table. A remonstrance from the prisoners confined in the gaol of the king’s-bench, complaining of their miserable situation, arising from want of room and other conveniences, being taken into consideration by a committee, among other evidences, they examined that remarkable personage who had signalized himself in different parts of Christendom, under the name of Theodore, king of Corsica. Though formerly countenanced and even treated as a sovereign prince by the British ministry, he was now reduced to the forlorn condition of a confined debtor; and, to the reproach of this kingdom, died in prison, surrounded with all the misery of indigence, and overwhelmed with the infirmities of old age. But the most remarkable circumstance of the parliamentary transactions that distinguished this session, was a motion made in both houses for an address to the king, beseeching his majesty, that in time of public tranquillity, he would be graciously pleased to avoid entering into subsidiary treaties with foreign princes, which are so burdensome to this nation. This extraordinary proposal was made and strenuously urged by the duke of B——, and a vehement debate ensued, in which the earls of G——, S——, and H——, opposed it with an execution of superior abilities; and the question being put, was carried in the negative without a division. The same fate attended it in the house of commons, where it was introduced by lord H——y, and supported by some distinguished orators. The session ended in the latter end of March, when his majesty, having given his assent to ninety-five public and private bills, harangued both houses, and prorogued the parliament.*

* Among the proceedings of this session, it may not be improper to mention a new act for the prevention of murders, which had been shockingly frequent of late, importing, that every criminal convicted of this horrid crime should be executed in one day after his sentence, and his body delivered to the surgeons for dissection—an expedient which had been found productive of very salutary consequences.

THE KING SETS OUT FOR HANOVER.

Immediately after the prorogation, the king appointed a regency and set out for Hanover, in order to complete the great scheme he had projected for electing a king of the Romans. Great Britain, in the meantime, produced no event of importance, or any transaction that deserves historical mention, except the ratification of two treaties of peace and commerce with the states of Tripoli and Tunis on the coast of Barbary, concluded by the British consuls in those cities, under the influence and auspices of an English squadron, commanded by commodore Keppel, son to the earl of Albemarle. The tide of luxury still flowed with an impetuous current, bearing down all the mounds of temperance and decorum; while fraud and profligacy struck out new channels, through which they eluded the restrictions of the law, and all the vigilance of civil policy. New arts of deception were invented, in order to ensnare and ruin the unwary; and some infamous practices in the way of commerce, were countenanced by persons of rank and importance in the commonwealth. A certain member of parliament was obliged to withdraw himself from his country, in consequence of a discovery, by which it appeared that he had contrived and executed schemes for destroying his own ships at sea, with a view to defraud the insurers.

In the course of this year the affairs of the continent did not undergo any material alteration. In France, the religious dispute concerning the doctrine of Jansen-ius still subsisted between the clergy and the parliament; and seemed to acquire additional fuel from the violence of the archbishop of Paris, a haughty turbulent prelate, whose pride and bigotry were sufficient to embroil one half of Christendom. The northern powers enjoyed a perfect tranquillity; the states-general of the United Provinces were engrossed by plans of national economy. Spain was intent upon extending her commerce, bringing her manufactures to perfection, and repressing the insolence of the Barbary corsairs. His Portuguese majesty endeavoured, by certain peremptory precautions, to check the exportation of gold coin from his dominions, and insisted upon inspecting the books of the British merchants settled at Lisbon; but they refused to comply with this demand, which was contrary to a treaty subsisting between the two crowns; and he thought proper to acquiesce in their refusal. He was much better employed in obtaining from the pope an abolition of the annual procession called the Auto-da-fe, one of the most horrid triumphs of spiritual tyranny. The peace of Italy was secured by a defensive treaty concluded at Madrid between the emperor, his catholic majesty, the king of the two Sicilies, and the duke of Parma; to which treaty the king of Sardinia afterwards acceded.

DISPUTE BETWEEN HANOVER AND PRUSSIA.

With respect to the great scheme of electing the archduke Joseph king of the Romans, fresh objections seemed to rise from different quarters. The good understanding between the courts of Berlin and Hanover re-received an additional shock, from a dispute concerning the property of East Friezeland, which his Prussian majesty had secured, as heir to the last possessor. His Britannic majesty, as elector of Hanover, having pretensions to the same inheritance, his minister delivered a memorial to the diet of the empire assembled at Ratisbon, demanding that the king of Prussia, as elector of Brandenburgh, should be referred to the decision of the Aulic council, in regard to his claim to the estates of East Friezeland; but the king being already in possession, refused to submit his right to the determination of that or any other tribunal; and when the diet presumed to deliberate on this affair, his envoy entered a strong protest against their proceedings. At the same time, he presented the other ministers with a memorial, tending to refute the elector of Hanover’s pretensions to the principality in question.

MISUNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE COURTS OF LONDON AND BERLIN.

At this juncture his Prussian majesty made no scruple of expressing his resentment against the court of London, which he seemed to consider as an officious cabal, that had no right to intermeddle in the affairs of Germany. His resident at London complained to the British ministry, that divers ships, sailing under the Prussian flag, had been stopped at sea, and even seized by English cruisers, and that his subjects had been ill treated and oppressed; he therefore demanded reparation in a peremptory tone; and in the meantime discontinued the payment of the Silesia loan, which he had charged himself with by an article in the treaty of Breslau. This was a sum of money amounting to two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, which the emperor Charles VI., father of the reigning empress, had borrowed of the subjects of Great Britain, on condition of paying an interest of six per cent., and mortgaging the silver mines of Silesia for the repayment of the principal. These devolved to the king of Prussia with this incumbrance, and he continued to pay the interest punctually till this juncture, when the payment was stopped; and he published a paper, entitled, “An Exposition of the Motives which influenced his Conduct on this occasion.” In his memorial to the ministry of Great Britain, he alleged, that eighteen Prussian ships, and thirty-three neutral vessels, in which the subjects of Prussia were concerned, had been unjustly seized by English privateers; his account of damages amounted to a very considerable sum; and he demanded, in the most dogmatic terms, that the affair should be finally discussed in the term of three months from the date of his remonstrance. The exposition and memorial were subjected to the examination of the ablest civilians in England, who refuted every article of the charge with equal precision and perspicuity. They proved, that captures by sea fell properly under the cognizance of those powers under whose jurisdiction the seizures were made; and therefore his Prussian majesty could not, consistent with the law of nations, determine these disputes in his own tribunals. They demonstrated, by undoubted evidence, the falsity of ma-ny facts alleged in the memorial, as well as the fairness of the proceedings by which some few of the Prussian vessels had been condemned; and made it appear, that no insult or injury had been offered to the subjects of Prussia. Finally, they observed, that the Silesia loan was a private transaction of such a nature, that, even if a war had happened between the emperor Charles VI. and his Britannic majesty, this must have been held sacred and inviolable; that when the empress-queen ceded Silesia to the king of Prussia, this monarch charged himself with the repayment of the loan, which, being a private debt, and transferable, was now diffused into different countries, and become the property of many others besides the subjects of Great Britain. They wound up their chain of reasoning by observing, that, according to agreement with the emperor, the whole of this loan should have been repaid in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-five; whereas the complaints specified in the Prussian memorial were founded on facts posterior to that period. Whether his Prussian majesty was convinced by these reasons, and desisted from principle, or thought proper to give up his claim upon other political considerations; certain it is, he no longer insisted upon satisfaction, but ordered the payment of the Silesia loan to be continued without further interruption. A report, indeed, was circulated, that advantage had been taken of the demur by a certain prince, who employed his agents to buy up a great part of the loan at a considerable discount.

IMPROVEMENT OF POMERANIA.

How much soever the king of Prussia may be the subject of censure on this occasion, it must be allowed that, with regard to his own subjects, he acted as a wise legislator, and the father of his country. He peopled the deserts of Pomerania, by encouraging, with royal bounties, a great number of industrious emigrants to settle in that province; the face of which in a very few years underwent the most agreeable alteration. Above sixty new villages arose amidst a barren waste, and every part of the country exhibited marks of successful cultivation. Those solitary and desolate plains, where no human footsteps had for many ages been seen, were now converted into fields of corn. The farms were regularly parcelled out; the houses multiplied, and teemed with population; the happy peasants, sheltered in a peculiar manner under their king’s protection, sowed their grounds in peace, and reaped their harvests in security. The same care and indulgence were extended to the unpeopled parts of other provinces within the Prussian dominions, and extraordinary encouragement was granted to all French protestants who should come and settle under the government of this political sage.

TREATY WITH THE ELECTOR PALATINE.

The courts of Vienna and Hanover still employed their chief attention upon the scheme of electing a king of the Romans; and the elector of Mentz, influenced by the majority of the college, had convoked an electoral diet for that purpose; but strong protests against this convocation were entered by the electors of Cologn and Palatine, insomuch that it was thought expedient to conciliate this last, by taking some steps in his favour, with respect to the satisfaction he demanded from the empress-queen and his Britannic majesty. His claim upon the court of Vienna amounted to three millions of florins, by way of indemnification for the losses he had sustained during the war. He demanded of the king of England twenty thousand pounds sterling, for provisions and forage furnished to the British troops while they acted on the Maine; and the like sum for the like purposes from the states-general of the United Provinces. The empress-queen could not help remonstrating against this demand as exorbitant in itself, and the more unreasonable, as the elector palatine, at the death of her father, had openly declared against the pragmatic sanction, which he had guaranteed in the most solemn manner; she therefore observed, that the damage he had sustained in consequence of that declaration, ought to be considered as the common fate of war. These reasons, though conclusive and irrefragable in the usual way of arguing, made no impression upon the palatine, who perfectly well understood his own importance, and was determined to seize this opportunity of turning it to the best advantage. The court of Vienna, and the maritime powers, finding him thus obstinately attached to his own interest, resolved to bring him over to their views at any rate, and commenced a negotiation with him, which produced a formal treaty. By this convention his demands in money were fixed at twelve hundred thousand Dutch florins, to be paid at three instalments: five hundred thousand by the empress-queen, and the remaining seven hundred thousand by the king of Great Britain and the states-general, according to the proportion established in former treaties. The privilege of Non appellendo for the duchy of Deux-ponts was confirmed to his electoral highness, together with some other rights and pretensions, in consideration of his concurring with the other electors in the choice of a king of the Romans, to be elected according to the customs prescribed by the laws and constitutions of the empire. He likewise engaged to join them in settling the articles of the capitulation with the king of the Romans, emperor in futuro. Yet, even after the concurrence of this prince was secured, the purposed election proved abortive, from the strong objections that were started, and the strenuous opposition which was made by his Prussian majesty, who perhaps aspired in secret at the imperial dignity, which the empress-queen took all this pains to perpetuate in her own family.

SESSION OPENED.

The king of Great Britain returning from the continent, opened the session of parliament on the eleventh day of January, with a speech, implying that all his views and negotiations had been calculated and directed to preserve and secure the duration of the general peace, so agreeable and necessary to the welfare of all Europe; that he had the satisfaction to be assured of a good disposition in all the powers that were his allies, to adhere to the same salutary object. He exhorted them to continue their attention to the reduction of the national debt, the augmentation of the sinking fund, and the improvement of the public revenue. He recommended to their serious consideration what further laws and regulations might be necessary for suppressing those crimes and disorders, of which the public had so justly complained; and concluded with an assurance, that his hearty concurrence and endeavours should never be wanting in any measure that might promote their welfare and prosperity. The addresses in answer to this speech were couched in the usual form of implicit approbation; but that of the commons did not pass without question. The earl of Egmont took exceptions to one paragraph, in which they acknowledged his majesty’s wisdom, as well as goodness, in pursuing such measures as must contribute to maintain and render permanent the general tranquillity of Europe; and declared their satisfaction at the assurances his majesty had received from his allies, that they were all attached to the same salutary object. His lordship expatiated on the absurdity of these compliments at such a juncture, when the peace of Europe was so precarious, and the English nation had so much cause of complaint and dissatisfaction. He was seconded by some other individuals, who declaimed with great vivacity against continental connexions; and endeavoured to expose the weakness and folly of the whole system of foreign measures which our ministry had lately pursued. It must be owned, indeed, that they might have chosen a better opportunity to compliment their sovereign on the permanency of the peace than at this juncture, when they must have seen themselves on the very brink of a new rupture with the most formidable power in Europe. But the truth is, these addresses to the throne had been long considered as compliments of course, implying no more than a respectful attachment to their sovereign; accordingly, both houses agreed to their respective addresses without division. The two grand committees of supply and of ways and means, being established, the business of the house was transacted without much altercation; and the people had great reason to be satisfied with their moderate proceedings. Ten thousand seamen, and the usual number of land forces, were retained for the service of the ensuing year. They provided for the maintenance of the new colony of Nova Scotia, the civil establishment of Georgia, the support of the castles on the coast of Guinea, and the erection of a new fort at Anarnabo, where the French had attempted to make a settlement; and they enabled his majesty to fulfil his engagements with the king of Poland and the elector of Bavaria.

The supplies, including grants for former deficiencies and services for which no provision had been made in the course of the last year, did not exceed two millions one hundred and thirty-two thousand seven hundred and seven pounds, seventeen shillings and twopence halfpenny. In order to defray which expense, they assigned the duty on malt, &c, the land-tax at two shillings in the pound, the surplus of certain funds in the exchequer, and the sum of four hundred and twenty thousand pounds out of the sinking fund; so that the exceedings amounted to near three hundred thousand pounds.*

* Several duties on salt, as well as on red and white herrings delivered out for home consumption, were rendered perpetual, though subject to be redeemed by parliament; and it was provided that the debt contracted upon these duties being discharged, all the after-produce of them should become part of the sinking fund.

As for the national debt, it now stood at the enormous sum of seventy-four millions three hundred and sixty-eight thousand four hundred and fifty-one pounds, fifteen shillings and one penny; and the sinking fund produced one million seven hundred and thirty-five thousand five hundred and twenty-nine pounds, six shillings and tenpence one farthing.

GAME ACT.

One of the first measures brought upon the carpet in the course of this session, was an act containing regulations for the better preservation of the game, of which so great havoc had been made by poachers, and other persons unqualified to enjoy that diversion, that the total extirpation of it was apprehended.

ACT FOR PERFORMING QUARANTINE.

The next step taken by the commons was an affair of much greater consequence to the community, being a bill for obliging ships the more effectually to perform quarantine, in order to prevent the plague from being imported from foreign countries into Great Britain. For this purpose it was ordained, that if this dreadful visitation should appear in any ship to the northward of cape Finisterre, the master or commander should immediately proceed to the harbour of New Grimsby, in one of the islands of Scilly, and there communicate the discovery to some officer of the customs; who should, with the first opportunity, transmit this intelligence to another custom-house officer in the nearest port of England, to be by him forwarded to one of his majesty’s principal secretaries of state. In the meantime the ship should remain at the said island, and not an individual presume to go ashore until his majesty’s pleasure should be known. It was also provided, that in case the master of a ship thus infected should not be able to make the islands of Scilly, or be forced up either channel by violent winds, he should not enter any frequented harbour; but remain in some open road, until he could receive orders from his majesty, or the privy council; that, during this interval, he should avoid all intercourse with the shore, or any person or vessel whatsoever, on pain of being deemed guilty of felony, and suffering death without benefit of clergy.

ACT FOR PREVENTING THE PLUNDERING OF SHIPWRECKED VESSELS.

In order the more effectually to repress the barbarous practice of plundering ships which have the misfortune to suffer shipwreck—a practice which prevailed upon many different parts of the British coast—to the disgrace of the nation, and the scandal of human nature; a bill was prepared, containing clauses to enforce the laws against such savage delinquents, who prowl along the shore like hungry wolves, in hope of preying upon their fellow-creatures; and certain provisions for the relief of the unhappy sufferers.*

* By the new law, the clerk of the peace in the county where the crime shall be committed, is obliged, upon receiving proper information, to prosecute the offenders at the expense of the county. It was likewise proposed, that in case no prosecution of this nature should be commenced within a certain limited time after the information should have been legally given, in that case the county might be sued by the person who had sustained the damage, and obliged to indemnify him for his loss; but this clause was rejected by the majority; and the bill having made its way through both houses, received the royal assent.

When the mutiny bill fell under deliberation, the earl of Egmont proposed a new clause for empowering and requiring regimental courts-martial to examine witnesses upon oath in all their trials. The proposal occasioned a debate, in which the ministry were pretty equally divided; but the clause was disapproved by the majority, and this annual bill was enacted into a law without any alteration.

BILL RELATING TO THE BOUNTY OF CORN EXPORTED.

The next bill was framed in consequence of dirers petitions presented by the exporters of corn, who complained that the bounties were not paid, and prayed that the house would make proper provision for that purpose. A bill was accordingly brought in, importing, that interest after the rate of three per cent, should be allowed upon every debenture, for the bounty on the exportation of com, payable by the receiver-general or cashier of the customs, until the principal could be discharged out of such customs or duties as are appropriated for the payment of this bounty. This premium on the exportation of corn ought not to be granted, except when the lowness of the market price in Great Britain proves that there is a superabundance in the kingdom; otherwise the exporter will find his account in depriving our own labourers of their bread, in order to supply our rivals at an easier rate; for example, suppose wheat in England should sell for twenty shillings a quarter, the merchant might export into France, and afford it to the people of that kingdom for eighteen shillings, because the bounty on exportation would, even at that rate, afford him a considerable advantage.

TURKEY TRADE LAID OPEN.

A great number of merchants having presented petitions from different parts of the kingdom, representing that the trade of Turkey was greatly decreased, ascribing this diminution to the exclusive charter enjoyed by a monopoly, and praying that the trade might be laid open to all his majesty’s subjects, one of the members for Liverpool moved for leave to bring in a bill for this purpose. Such a measure had been twice before proposed without success; but now it was adopted without opposition. A bill was immediately introduced; and, notwithstanding all the interest and efforts of the Turkey company, who petitioned the house against it, and were heard by their counsel, it passed through both houses, and received the royal sanction. By this regulation any British subject may obtain the freedom of the Turkey company, by paying or rendering a fine of twenty pounds; and all the members are secured from the tyranny of oppressive bye-laws, contrived by any monopolizing cabal.*

* Several other bills were passed; one for regulating the number of public houses, and the more easy conviction of persons selling ale and strong liquors without license—an act which empowered the justices of peace to tyrannize over their fellow-subjects: a second, enabling the magistrates of Edinburgh to improve, enlarge, and adorn the avenues and streets of that city, according to a concerted plan, to be executed by voluntary subscription: a third, allowing the exportation of wool and woollen yarn from Ireland into any port in Great Britain: and a fourth, prescribing the breadth of the wheels belonging to heavy carriages, that the high roads of the kingdom might be the better preserved.

NATURALIZATION OF THE JEWS.

But this session was chiefly distinguished by an act for naturalizing Jews, and a bill for the better preventing clandestine marriages. The first of these, which passed without much opposition in the house of lords, from whence it descended to the commons, was entitled, “An act to permit persons professing the Jewish religion to be naturalized by parliament, and for other purposes therein mentioned.” It was supported by some petitions of merchants and manufacturers, who, upon examination, appeared to be Jews, or their dependents; and countenanced by the ministry, who thought they foresaw, in the consequences of such a naturalization, a great accession to the monied interest, and a considerable increase of their own influence among the individuals of that community. They boldly affirmed, that such a law would greatly conduce to the advantage of the nation; that it would encourage persons of wealth to remove with their effects from foreign parts into Great Britain, increase the commerce and the credit of the kingdom, and set a laudable example of industry, temperance, and frugality. Such, however, were not the sentiments of the lord-mayor, aldermen, and commons of the city of London in common-council assembled, who, in a petition to parliament, expressed their apprehension that the bill, if passed into a law, would tend greatly to the dishonour of the christian religion, endanger the excellent constitution, and be highly prejudicial to the interest and trade of the kingdom in general, and of the city of London in particular. Another petition to the same purpose was next day presented to the house, subscribed by merchants and traders of the city of London; who, among other allegations, observed, that the consequences of such a naturalization would greatly affect their trade and commerce with foreign nations, particularly with Spain and Portugal. Counsel was heard, evidence examined, and the bill produced violent debates, in which there seemed to be more passion than patriotism, more declamation than argument. The adversaries of the bill affirmed, that such a naturalization would deluge the kingdom with brokers, usurers, and beggars; that the rich Jews, under the shadow of this indulgence, would purchase lands, and even advowsons; so as not only to acquire an interest in the legislature, but also to influence the constitution of the church of Christ, to which they were the inveterate and professed enemies; that the lower class of that nation, when thus admitted to the right of denizens, would interfere with the industrious natives who earn their livelihood by their labour; and by dint of the most parsimonious frugality, to which the English are strangers, work at an under price; so as not only to share, but even in a manner to exclude them from all employment; that such an adoption of vagrant Jews into the community, from all parts of the world, would rob the real subjects of their birthright, disgrace the character of the nation, expose themselves to the most dishonourable participation and intrusion, endanger the constitution both in church and state, and be an indelible reproach upon the established religion of the country. Some of these orators seemed transported even to a degree of enthusiasm. They prognosticated that the Jews would multiply so much in number, engross such wealth, and acquire so great power and influence in Great Britain, that their persons would be revered, their customs imitated, and Judaism become the fashionable religion of the English. Finally, they affirmed that such an act was directly flying in the face of the prophecy, which declares, that the Jews shall be a scattered people, without country or fixed habitation, until they shall be converted from their infidelity, and gathered together in the land of their forefathers. These arguments and apprehensions, which were in reality frivolous and chimerical, being industriously circulated among the vulgar, naturally prejudiced against the Jewish people, excited such a ferment throughout the nation, as ought to have deterred the ministry from the prosecution of such an unpopular measure; which, however, they had courage enough to maintain against all opposition. The bill passed the ordeal of both houses, and his majesty vouchsafed the royal sanction to this law in favour of the Hebrew nation. The truth is, it might have increased the wealth, and extended the commerce of Great Britain, had it been agreeable to the people; and as the naturalized Jews would still have been excluded from all civil and military offices, as well as from other privileges enjoyed by their christian brethren, in all probability they would have gradually forsaken their own unprofitable and obstinate infidelity, opened their eyes to the shining truths of the gospel, and joined their fellow-subjects in embracing the doctrines of Christianity. But no ministry ought to risk an experiment, how plausible soever it might be, if they found it, as this was, an object of the people’s unconquerable aversion. What rendered this unpopular measure the more impolitic, was the unseasonable juncture at which it was carried into execution; that is, at the eve of a general election for a new parliament, when a minister ought carefully to avoid every step which may give umbrage to the body of the people. The earl of Egmont, who argued against the bill with equal power and vivacity, in describing the effect it might have upon that occasion, “I am amazed,” said he, “that this consideration makes no impression.—When that day, which is not far off, shall arrive, I shall not fear to set my foot upon any ground of election in the kingdom, in opposition to any one man among you, or any new christian, who has voted or appeared in favour of this naturalization.”

MARRIAGE ACT.

Another bill, transmitted from the upper house, met with a reception equally unfavourable among the commons, though it was sustained on the shoulders of the majority, and thus forced its way to the throne, where it obtained the royal approbation. The practice of solemnizing clandestine marriages, so prejudicial to the peace of families, and so often productive of misery to the parties themselves thus united, was an evil that prevailed to such a degree as claimed the attention of the legislature. The sons and daughters of great and opulent families, before they had acquired knowledge and experience, or attained to the years of discretion, were every day seduced in their affections, and inveigled into matches big with infamy and ruin; and these were greatly facilitated by the opportunities that occurred of being united instantaneously by the ceremony of marriage, in the first transport of passion, before the destined victim had time to cool or deliberate on the subject. For this pernicious purpose, there was a band of profligate miscreants, the refuse of the clergy, dead to every sentiment of virtue, abandoned to all sense of decency and decorum, for the most part prisoners for debt or delinquency, and indeed the very outcasts of human society, who hovered about the verge of the Fleet-prison to intercept customers, plying like porters for employment, and performed the ceremony of marriage without license or question, in cellars, garrets, or ale-houses, to the scandal of religion, and the disgrace of that order which they professed. The ease with which this ecclesiastical sanction was obtained, and the vicious disposition of those wretches, open to the practices of fraud and corruption, were productive of polygamy, indigence, conjugal infidelity, prostitution, and every curse that could embitter the married state. A remarkable case of this nature having fallen under the cognizance of the peers, in an appeal from an inferior tribunal, that house ordered the judges to prepare a new bill for preventing such abuses; and one was accordingly framed, under the auspices of lord Hardwicke, at that time lord high chancellor of England. In order to anticipate the bad effects of clandestine marriages, this new statute enacted, that the banns should be regularly published three successive Sundays, in the church of the parish where the parties dwell; that no license should be granted to marry in any place, where one of the parties has not dwelt at least a month, except a special license by the archbishop; that if any marriage should be solemnized in any other place than a church or a chapel without a special license, or in a public chapel without having published the banns, or obtained a license of some person properly qualified, the marriage should he void, and the person who solemnized it transported for seven years; that marriages by license, of parties under age, without consent of parent or guardian, should be null and void, unless the party under age be a widow, and the parent refusing consent a widow married again: that when the consent of a mother or guardian is refused from caprice, or such parent or guardian be non compos mentis, or beyond sea, the minor should have recourse for relief to the court of chancery; that no suit should be commenced to compel a celebration of marriage, upon pretence of any contract; that all marriages should be solemnized before two witnesses, and an entry be made in a book kept for that purpose, whether it was by banns or license, whether either of the parties was under age, or the marriage celebrated with the consent of parent or guardian, and this entry to be signed by the minister, the parties, and the witnesses; that a false license or certificate, or destroying register books, should be deemed felony, either in principal or accessary, and punished with death. The bill, when first considered in the lower house, gave rise to a variety of debates; in which the members appeared to be divided rather according to their real sentiments, than by the rules of any political distinction; for some principal servants of the government freely differed in opinion from the minister, who countenanced the bill; while on the other hand, he was on this occasion supported by certain chiefs of the opposition, and the disputes were maintained with extraordinary eagerness and warmth. The principal objections imported, that such restrictions on marriage would damp the spirit of love and propagation; promote mercenary matches, to the ruin of domestic happiness, as well as to the prejudice of posterity and population; impede the circulation of property, by preserving the wealth of the kingdom among a kind of aristocracy of opulent families, who would always intermarry within their own pale; subject the poor to many inconveniencies and extraordinary expense, from the nature of the forms to be observed; and throw an additional power into the hands of the chancellor. They affirmed, that no human power had a right to dissolve a vow solemnly made in the sight of heaven; and that, in proportion as the bill prevented clandestine marriages, it would encourage fornication and debauchery, insomuch as the parties restrained from indulging their mutual passions in an honourable manner, would be tempted to gratify them by stealth, at the hazard of their reputation. In a word, they foresaw a great number of evils in the train of this bill, which have not yet been realized. On the other side, its advocates endeavoured to refute these arguments, and some of them spoke with great strength and precision. The bill underwent a great number of alterations and amendments; which were not effected without violent contest and altercation. At length, however, it was floated through both houses on the tide of a great majority, and steered into the safe harbour of royal approbation. Certain it is, the abuse of clandestine marriage might have been removed upon much easier terms than those imposed upon the subject by this bill; which, after all, hath been found ineffectual, as it may be easily eluded by a short voyage to the continent, or a moderate journey to North Britain, where the indissoluble knot may be tied without scruple or interruption.

DELIBERATIONS CONCERNING THE SUGAR COLONIES.

Over and above these new statutes, there were some other subjects which occasionally employed the attention of the commons; such as the state of the British sugar colonies, which was considered, in consequence of petitions presented by the sugar refiners and grocers of London, Westminster, and Bristol, complaining of the exorbitant price demanded and given for sugars imported from Jamaica; desiring that the proprietors of lands in Jamaica might be obliged to cultivate greater quantities of ground for raising sugar-canes, or that they (the petitioners) might have leave to import muscovado sugars from other countries, when the price of those imported from Jamaica should exceed a certain rate. This remonstrance was taken into consideration by a committee of the whole house; and a great number of evidences and papers being examined, they resolved, that the peopling of Jamaica with white inhabitants, and cultivating the lands thereof, would be the most proper measure for securing that island, and increasing the trade and navigation between it and Great Britain, and other parts of his majesty’s dominions; that the endeavours hitherto used by the legislature of Jamaica to increase the number of white inhabitants, and enforce the cultivation of lands, in the manner that might best conduce to the security and defence of that island, had not been effectual for these purposes. The house ordered a bill to be founded on these resolutions; but this was postponed until the ministry should receive more full information touching the true state of that island. The planters of Jamaica laboured under many grievances and hardships, from divers heavy impositions and restrictions; and a detail of these was transmitted in a representation to his majesty, which was referred to the consideration of the commissioners of trade and plantations. The cause of the planters was defended vigorously, and managed in the house of commons by alderman Beckford, a gentleman of vast possessions in the island of Jamaica, who perfectly well understood, and strenuously supported, the interest of that his native country.

FATE OF THE REGISTER BILL.

Abortive also proved the attempt to establish a law for keeping an annual register of marriages, births, deaths, the individuals who received alms, and the total number of people in Great Britain. A bill for this purpose was presented by Mr. Potter, a gentleman of pregnant parts and spirited elocution; who, enumerating the advantages of such a law, observed, that it would ascertain the number of the people, and the collective strength of the nation; consequently, point out those places where there is a defect or excess of population, and certainly determine whether a general naturalization would be advantageous or prejudicial to the community; that it would decide what number of men might, on any sudden emergency, be levied for the defence of the kingdom; and whether the nation is gainer or loser, by sending its natives to settle, and our troops to defend distant colonies; that it would be the means of establishing a local administration of civil government, or a police upon certain fixed principles, the want of which hath been long a reproach to the nation, a security to vice, and an encouragement to idleness; that in many cases where all other evidence is wanting, it would enable suitors to recover their right in courts of justice, facilitate an equal and equitable assessment in raising the present taxes, and laying future impositions; specify the lineal descents, relations, and alliances of families; lighten the intolerable burdens incurred by the public, from innumerable and absurd regulations relating to the poor; provide for them by a more equal exertion of humanity, and effectually screen them from all risk of perishing by hunger, cold, cruelty, and oppression. Whether such a law would have answered the sanguine expectations of its patron, we shall not pretend to determine; though, in our opinion, it must have been attended with very salutary consequences, particularly in restraining the hand of robbery and violence, in detecting fraud, bridling the ferocity of a licentious people, and establishing a happy system of order and subordination. At first the bill met with little opposition, except from Mr. Thornton, member for the city of York, who inveighed against it with great fervour, as a measure that savoured of French policy, to which the English nation ever had the utmost aversion. He affirmed, that the method in which it was proposed this register should be kept, would furnish the enemies of Great Britain with continual opportunities of knowing the strength or weakness of the nation; that it would empower an ill-designing minister to execute any scheme subversive of public liberty, invest parish and petty officers of the peace with exorbitant powers, and cost the nation about fifty thousand pounds a-year to carry the scheme into execution. These arguments, which, we apprehend, are extremely frivolous and inconclusive, had great weight with a considerable number who joined in the opposition, while the ministry stood neutral. Nevertheless, after having undergone some amendments, it was conveyed to the lords, by whom it was, at the second reading, thrown out as a scheme of very dangerous tendency. The legislature of Great Britain have, on some occasions, been more startled at the distant shadow of a bare possibility, than at the real approach of the most dangerous innovation.

SIR HANS SLOANE’S MUSEUM PURCHASED BY PARLIAMENT.

From the usual deliberations on civil and commercial concerns, the attention of the parliament, which had seldom or never turned upon literary avocations, was called off by an extraordinary subject of this nature. Sir Hans Sloane, the celebrated physician and naturalist, well known through all the civilized countries of Europe for his ample collection of rarities, culled from the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms, as well as of antiquities and curiosities of art, had directed, in his last will, that this valuable museum, together with his numerous library, should be offered to the parliament, for the use of the public, in consideration of their paying a certain sum in compensation to his heirs. His terms were embraced by the commons, who agreed to pay twenty thousand pounds for the whole, supposed to be worth four times that sum; and a bill was prepared for purchasing this museum, together with the Harleian collection of manuscripts, so denominated from its founder, Robert Harley, earl of Oxford, lord-high-treasurer of England, and now offered to the public by his daughter, the duchess of Portland. It was proposed, that these purchases should be joined to the famous Cottonian library, and a suitable repository provided for them and the king’s library, which had long lain neglected and exposed to the injuries of the weather in the old dormitory at Westminster. Accordingly, trustees and governors, consisting of the most eminent persons of the kingdom, were appointed, and regulations established for the management of this noble museum, which was deposited in Montagu-house, one of the most magnificent edifices in England, where it is subjected, without reserve, to the view of the public, under certain necessary restrictions, and exhibits a glorious monument of national taste and liberality. *

* The library of sir Hans Sloane consisted of above fifty thousand volumes, including about three hundred and fifty books of drawings, and three thousand five hundred and sixteen manuscripts, besides a multitude of prints. The museum comprehended an infinite number of medals, coins, urns, utensils, seals, cameos, intaglios, precious stones, vessels of agate and jasper, crystals, spars, fossils, metals, minerals, ore, earths, sands, salts, bitumens, sulphurs, ambergrise, talcs, mirre, testacea, corals, sponges, echini, echenites, asteri, trochi, crustatia, stellae marine, fishes, birds, eggs and nests, vipers, serpents, quadrupeds, insects, human calculi, anatomical preparations, seeds, gums, roots, dried plants, pictures, drawings, and mathematical instruments. All these articles, with a short account of each, are specified in thirty-eight volumes in folio, and eight in quarto.

In the beginning of June the session of parliament was closed by his majesty, who mentioned nothing particular in his speech, but that the state of foreign affairs had suffered no alteration since their meeting.

The genius of the English people is perhaps incompatible with a state of perfect tranquillity; if it was not ruffled by foreign provocations, or agitated by unpopular measures of domestic administration, it will undergo temporary fermentations from the turbulent ingredients inherent in its own constitution Tumults are excited, and faction kindled into rage and inveteracy, by incidents of the most frivolous nature. At this juncture the metropolis of England was divided and discomposed in a surprising manner, by a dispute in itself of so little consequence to the community, that it could not deserve a place in a general history, if it did not serve to convey a characteristic idea of the English nation. In the beginning of the year an obscure damsel, of low degree, whose name was Elizabeth Canning, promulgated a report, which in a little time attracted the attention of the public. She affirmed, that on the first day of the new year, at night, she was seized under Bedlam-wall by two ruffians, who having stripped her of her upper apparel, secured her mouth with a gag, and threatened to murder her should she make the least noise; that they conveyed her on foot about ten miles, to a place called Enfieldwash, and brought her to the house of one Mrs. Wells, where she was pillaged of her stays; and because she refused to turn prostitute, confined in a cold, damp, separate, and unfurnished apartment; where she remained a whole month, without any other sustenance than a few stale crusts of bread, and about a gallon of water; till at length she forced her way through a window, and ran home to her mother’s house almost naked, in the night of the twenty-ninth of January. This story, improbable and unsupported, operated so strongly on the passions of the people in the neighbourhood of Aldermanbury, where Canning’s mother lived, and particularly among fanatics of all denominations, that they raised voluntary contributions, with surprising eagerness, in order to bring the supposed delinquents to justice. Warrants were granted for apprehending Wells, who kept the house at Enfieldwash, and her accomplices, the servant maid, whose name was Virtue Hall, and one Squires, an old gipsey-woman, which last was charged by Canning of having robbed her of her stays. Wells, though acquitted of the felony, was punished as a bawd. Hall turned evidence for Canning, but afterwards recanted. Squires, the gipsey, was convicted of the robbery, though she produced undoubted evidence to prove that she was at Abbotsbury in Dorsetshire that very night in which the felony was said to be committed, and Canning and her friends fell into divers contradictions during the course of the trial. By this time the prepossession of the common people in her favour had risen to such a pitch of enthusiasm, that the most palpable truths which appeared on the other side, had no other effect than that of exasperating them to the most dangerous degree of rage and revenge. Some of the witnesses for Squires, though persons of unblemished character, were so intimidated, that they durst not enter the court; and those who had resolution enough to give evidence in her behalf, ran the risk of assassination from the vulgar that surrounded the place. On this occasion, sir Crisp Gascoyne, lord-mayor of London, behaved with that laudable courage and humanity which ought ever to distinguish the chief magistrate of such a metropolis. Considering the improbability of the charge, the heat, partiality, and blind enthusiasm with which it was prosecuted, and being convinced of the old woman’s innocence by a great number of affidavits, voluntarily sent up from the country by persons of unquestionable credit, he, in conjunction with some other worthy citizens, resolved to oppose the torrent of vulgar prejudice. Application was made to the throne for mercy; the case was referred to the attorney and solicitor-general, who, having examined the evidences on both sides, made their report in favour of Squires to the king and council; and this poor old creature was indulged with his majesty’s pardon. This affair was now swelled up into such a faction as divided the greater part of the kingdom, including the rich as well as the poor, the high as well as the humble. Pamphlets and pasquinades were published on both sides of the dispute, which became the general topic of conversation in all assemblies, and people of all ranks espoused one or other party with as much warmth and animosity as had ever inflamed the whigs and tories, even at the most rancorous period of their opposition. Subscriptions were opened, and large sums levied, on one side, to prosecute for perjury the persons on whose evidence the pardon had been granted. On the other hand, those who had interested themselves for the gipsey resolved to support her witnesses, and, if possible, detect the imposture of Canning. Bills of perjury were preferred on both sides. The evidences for Squires were tried and acquitted; at first Canning absconded; but afterwards surrendered to take her trial, and being, after a long hearing, found guilty, was transported to the British colonies. The zeal of her friends, however, seemed to be inflamed by her conviction; and those who carried on the prosecution against her were insulted, even to the danger of their lives. They supplied her with necessaries of all sorts, paid for her transportation in a private ship, where she enjoyed all the comforts and conveniences that could be afforded in that situation, and furnished her with such recommendations as secured to her a very agreeable reception in New England.

EXECUTION OF DR. CAMERON.

Next to this very remarkable transaction, the incident that principally distinguished this year in England, was the execution of Doctor Archibald Cameron, a native of North Britain, and brother to Cameron of Lochiel, chief of that numerous and warlike tribe who had taken the field with the prince-pretender. After the battle of Culloden, where he was dangerously wounded, he found means to escape to the continent. His brother, the doctor, had accompanied him in all his expeditions, though not in a military capacity, and was included with him in the act of attainder passed against those who had been concerned in the rebellion. Notwithstanding the imminent danger attending such an attempt, the doctor returned privately to Scotland, in order, as it was reported, to recover a sum of money belonging to the pretender, which had been embezzled by his adherents in that country. Whatever may have been his inducement to revisit his native country under such a predicament, certain it is, he was discovered, apprehended, and conducted to London, confined in the Tower, examined by the privy-council, and produced in the court of king’s-bench, where his identity being proved by several witnesses, he received sentence of death, and was executed at Tyburn. The terror and resentment of the people, occasioned by the rebellion, having by this time subsided, their humane passions did not fail to operate in favour of this unfortunate gentleman; their pity was mingled with esteem, arising from his personal character, which was altogether unblemished, and his deportment on this occasion, which they could not help admiring as the standard of manly fortitude and decorum. The populace, though not very subject to tender emotions, were moved to compassion and even to tears, by his behaviour at the place of execution; and many sincere well-wishers to the present establishment thought that the sacrifice of this victim, at such a juncture, could not redound either to its honour or security.

TUMULTS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE KINGDOM.

The turbulent spirit, which is never totally extinguished in this island, manifested itself in sundry tumults that broke out in different parts of South Britain. The price of provisions, and bread in particular, being raised to an exorbitant rate in consequence of an absurd exportation of corn, for the sake of the bounty, a formidable body of colliers, and other labouring people, raised an insurrection at Bristol, began to plunder the corn vessels in the harbour, and commit such outrages in the city, that the magistrates were obliged to have recourse to military power. A troop of dragoons were sent to their assistance, and the insurgents were quelled, though not without some bloodshed. Commotions of the same kind were excited in Yorkshire, Manchester, and several other places in the northern counties At Leeds, a detachment of the king’s troops were obliged in their own defence to fire upon the rioters, eight or nine of whom were killed on the spot; and, indeed, so little care had been taken to restrain the licentious insolence of the vulgar by proper laws and regulations, duly executed under the eye of civil magistracy, that a military power was found absolutely necessary to maintain the peace of the kingdom.

DISTURBANCES IN FRANCE.

The tranquillity of the continent was not endangered by any new contest or disturbance; yet the breach between the clergy and the parliament of Paris was every day more and more widened, and the people were pretty equally divided between superstition and a regard for civil liberty. The parliament having caused divers ecclesiastics to be apprehended, for having refused to administer the sacraments to persons in extremity, who refused to subscribe to the bull Unigenitus, all of them declared they acted according to the direction of the archbishop of Paris. Application being made to this haughty prelate, he treated the deputies of the parliament with the most supercilious contempt, and even seemed to brave the power and authority of that body. They, on the other hand, proceeded to take cognizance of the recusant clergy, until their sovereign ordered them to desist. Then they presented remonstrances to his majesty, reminding him of their privileges, and the duty of their station, which obliged them to do justice on all their delinquents. In the meantime they continued to perform their functions, and even commenced a prosecution against the bishop of Orleans, whom they summoned to attend their tribunal. Next day they received from Versailles a lettre de cachet, accompanied by letters patent, commanding them to suspend all prosecutions relating to the refusal of the sacraments; and ordering the letters patent to be registered. Instead of obeying these commands, they presented new remonstrances, for answers to which they were referred to the king’s former declarations. In consequence of this intimation, they had spirit enough to resolve, “That, whereas certain evil-minded persons had prevented truth from reaching the throne, the chambers remained assembled, and all other business should be suspended.” The affair was now become very serious. His majesty, by fresh letters patent, renewed his orders, and commanded them to proceed with their ordinary business, on pain of incurring his displeasure. They forthwith came to another resolution, importing, that they could not obey this injunction without a breach of their duty and their oath. Next day lettres de cachet were issued, banishing to different parts of the kingdom all the members, except those of the great chamber, which the court did not find more tractable than their brethren. They forthwith resolved to abide by the two resolutions mentioned above; and, as an instance of their unshaken fortitude, ordered an ecclesiastic to be taken into custody for refusing the sacraments. This spirited measure involved them in the fate of the rest; for they were also exiled from Paris, the citizens of which did not fail to extol their conduct with the loudest encomiums, and at the same time to express their resentment against the clergy, who could not stir abroad without being exposed to violence or insult. The example of the parliament of Paris was followed by that of Rouen, which had courage enough to issue orders for apprehending the bishop of Evreux, because he had refused to appear when summoned to their tribunal. Their decrees on this occasion being annulled by the king’s council of state, they presented a bold remonstrance, which, however, had no other effect than that of exasperating the ministry. A grand deputation being ordered to attend the king, they were commanded to desist from intermeddling in disputes relating to the refusal of the sacraments, and to register this injunction. At their return they had recourse to a new remonstrance; and one of their principal counsellors, who had spoken freely in the debates on this subject, was arrested by a party of dragoons, who carried him prisoner to the castle of Dourlens. In a word, the body of the people declared for the parliament, in opposition to ecclesiastical tyranny; and had they not been overawed by a formidable standing army, would certainly have taken up arms in defence of their liberties; while the monarch weakly suffered himself to be governed by priestly delusions; and, secure in his military appointment, seemed to set the rest of his subjects at defiance. Apprehensive, however, that these disputes would put an entire stop to the administration of justice, he, by letters patent, established a royal chamber for the prosecution of suits civil and criminal, which was opened with a solemn mass performed in the queen’s chapel at the Louvre, where all the members assisted. On this occasion another difficulty occurred. The letters patent, constituting this new court, ought to have been registered by the parliament which was now no more. To remedy this defect, application was made to the inferior court of the Chatelet, which refusing to register them, one of its members was committed to the Bastile, and another absconded. Intimidated by this exertion of despotic power, they allowed the king’s officers to enter the letters in their register; but afterwards adopted more vigorous resolutions. The lieutenant,-civil appearing in their court, all the counsellors rose up and retired, leaving him alone, and on the table an arret, importing, that whereas the confinement of one of their members, the prosecution of another, who durst not appear, and the present calamities of the nation, gave them just apprehensions for their own persons; they had, after mature deliberation, thought proper to retire. Thus a dangerous ferment was excited by the king’s espousing the cause of spiritual insolence and oppression against the general voice of his people, and the plainest dictates of reason and common sense.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE DIET RELATIVE TO EAST FRIEZELAND.

The property of East Friezeland continued still to be the source of contention between the electors of Bran-denburgh and Hanover. The interest of his Britannic majesty being powerfully supported by the house of Austria, the minister of that power at the diet proposed that the affair should be taken into immediate consideration. He was seconded by the minister of Brunswick; but the envoy from Brandenburgh, having protested in form against this procedure, withdrew from the assembly, and the Brunswick minister made a counter-protestation, after which he also retired. Then a motion being made, that this dispute should be referred to the decision of the Aulic council at Vienna, it was carried in the affirmative by a majority of fourteen voices. His Prussian majesty’s final declaration with regard to this affair was afterwards presented to the diet, and answered in the sequel by a memorial from his Britannic majesty as elector of Hanover. Some other petty disputes likewise happened between the regency of Hanover and the city of Munster; and the former claiming some bailiwicks in the territories of Bremen, sequestered certain revenues belonging to this city, in Stade and Ferden, till these claims should be satisfied.

EXTRAORDINARY TREATY.

The court of Vienna having dropped for the present the scheme for electing a king of the Romans, concluded a very extraordinary treaty with the duke of Modena, stipulating that his serene highness should be appointed perpetual governor of the duchy of Milan, with a salary of ninety thousand florins, on condition that he should maintain a body of four thousand men, to be at the disposal of the empress-queen; that her imperial majesty should have a right to place garrisons in the citadels of Mirandola and Reggio, as well as in the castle of Massa-Carrara: that the archduke Peter Leopold, third son of their imperial majesties, should espouse the daughter of the hereditary prince of Modena, by the heiress of Massa-Carrara; and in case of her dying without heirs male, the estates of that house and the duchy of Mirandola should devolve to the archduke; but in case of her having male issue, that she should enjoy the principality of Fermia, and other possessions in Hungary, claimed by the duke of Modena, for her fortune; finally, that on the extinction of the male branch of the house of Este, all the dominions of the duke of Modena should devolve to the house of Austria.

CONFERENCES WITH RESPECT TO NOVA SCOTIA BROKE UP.

While the powers on the continent of Europe were thus employed in strengthening their respective interests, and concerting measures for preventing any interruption of the general tranquillity, matters were fast ripening to a fresh rupture between the subjects of Great Britain and France, in different parts of North America. We have already observed that commissaries had been appointed, and conferences opened at Paris, to determine the disputes between the two crowns, relating to the boundaries of Nova Scotia; and we took notice in general of the little arts of evasion practised by the French commissaries, to darken and perplex the dispute, and elude the pretensions of his Britannic majesty. They persisted in employing these arts of chicanery and cavil with such perseverance, that the negotiation proved abortive, the conferences broke up, and every thing seemed to portend approaching hostilities. But, before we proceed to a detail of the incidents which were the immediate forerunners of the war, we will endeavour to convey a just idea of the dispute concerning Nova Scotia; which, we apprehend, is but imperfectly understood, though of the utmost importance to the interest of Great Britain.

DESCRIPTION OF NOVA SCOTIA.

Nova Scotia, called by the French Acadia, lies between the forty-fourth and fiftieth degrees of north latitude, having New England and the Atlantic ocean to the south and south-west, and the river and gulph of St. Lawrence to the north and north-east. The winter, which continues near seven months in this country, is intensely cold; and without the intervention of any thing that can be called spring, it is immediately succeeded by a summer, the heat of which is almost insupportable, but of no long continuance. The soil in general is thin and barren, though some parts of it are said to be equal to the best land in England. The whole country is covered with a perpetual fog, even after the summer has commenced. It was first possessed by the French, before they made any establishment in Canada; who, by dint of industry and indefatigable perseverance, in struggling with the many difficulties they necessarily laboured under in the infancy of this settlement, subsisted tolerably well, and increased considerably, with very little assistance from Europe; whilst we, even now, should lose the immense expense we have already been at to settle a colony there, and should see all our endeavours to that end defeated, if the support of the royal hand was withdrawn but for a moment. This country, by the possession of which an enemy would be enabled greatly to annoy all our other colonies, and, if in the hands of the French, would be of singular service both to their fishery and their sugar islands, has frequently changed hands from the French to the English, and from the English back again to the French, till our right to it was finally settled by the twelfth article of the treaty of Utrecht, by which all the country included within the ancient limits of what was called Nova Scotia or Acadia, was ceded to the English. This article was confirmed by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, but, for want of ascertaining distinctly what were the bounds intended to be fixed by the two nations with respect to this province, disputes arose, and commissaries, as we have observed, were appointed by both sides to adjust the litigation.

The commissaries of the king of Great Britain conformed themselves to the rule laid down by the treaty itself, and assigned those as the ancient limits of this country, which had always passed as such, from the very earliest time of any certainty, down to the conclusion of the treaty; which the two crowns had frequently declared to be such, and which the French had often admitted and allowed. These limits are, the southern bank of the river St. Lawrence to the north, and Pentagoet to the west: the country situated between these boundaries is that which the French received by the treaty of St. Germain’s, in the year one thousand six hundred and thirty-two, under the general name of Acadia. Of this country, thus limited, they continued in possession from that period to the year one thousand six hundred and fifty-four, when a descent was made upon it, under the command of colonel Sedgwick. That these were then the undisputed limits of Acadia, his Britannic majesty’s commissaries plainly proved, by a letter of Louis XIII. to the sieurs Charnisay and La Tour, regulating their jurisdictions in Acadia; by the subsequent commissions of the French king to the same persons, as governors of Acadia, in the sequel; and by that which was afterwards granted to the sieur Denys, in the year one thousand six hundred and fifty-four; all of which extend the bounds of this country from the river St. Lawrence to Pentagoet and New England. That these were the notions of the French with respect to the ancient limits of this province, was further confirmed by the demands made by their ambassador in the course of that same year, for the restitution of the forts Pentagoet, St. John’s, and Port Eoyal, as forts situated in Acadia. In the year one thousand six hundred and sixty-two, upon the revival of the claim of France to the country of Acadia, which had been left undecided by the treaty of Westminster, the French ambassador, then at the court of London, assigned Pentagoet as the western, and the river St. Lawrence as the northern, boundary of that country; and alleged the restitution of Acadia in the year one thousand six hundred and thirty-two, and the possession taken by France in consequence thereof, as well as the continuation of that possession, with the same limits, to the year one thousand six hundred and fifty-four, as proofs of the equity and validity of the claim he then made; in which claim and in the manner of supporting it, he was particularly approved of by the court of France. The same court afterwards thought it so clear, upon former determinations, and her own former possessions, that the true ancient boundaries of Acadia were Pentagoet to the west, and the river St. Lawrence to the north, that she desired no specification of limits in the treaty of Breda, but was contented with the restitution of Acadia, generally named; and, upon a dispute which arose in the execution of this treaty, France re-asserted, and Great Britain, after some discussion, agreed to the above-mentioned limits of Acadia; and France obtained possession of that country, so bounded, under the treaty of Breda. The sense of France upon this subject, in the years one thousand six hundred and eighty-five, and one thousand six hundred and eighty-seven, was also clearly manifested in the memorials delivered at that time by the French ambassador at the court of London, complaining of some encroachments made by the English upon the coast of Acadia: he described the country as extending from isle Percée, which lies at the entrance of the river St. Lawrence, to St. George’s island; and again, in a subsequent complaint, made by Mons. Barillon and Mons. Bonrepaus to the court of Great Britain, against the judge of Pemaquid, for having seized the effects of a French merchant at Pentagoet, which, said they, was situated in Acadia, as restored to France by the treaty of Breda. To explain the sense of France, touching the bounds of Acadia in the year one thousand seven hundred, the British commissaries produced a proposal of the French ambassador, then residing in Great Britain, to restrain the limits of that country to the river St-George. They also instanced the surrender of Port Royal in the year one thousand seven hundred and ten, in which Acadia is described with the same limits with which France had received it in the years one thousand six hundred and thirty-two, and one thousand six hundred and sixty-seven. And further to ascertain the sense of both crowns, even at the treaty of Utrecht itself, they produced the queen of Great Britain’s instructions to her ambassadors, in the year one thousand seven hundred and eleven, in which they were directed to insist, “That his most christain majesty should quit all claim or title, by virtue of any former treaty, or otherwise, to the country called Nova Scotia, and expressly to Port Royal, otherwise Annapolis Royal.” To these they added a manifest demonstration, founded on indisputable facts, proving that the recital of the several sorts of right which France had ever pretended to this country, and the specification of both terms, Acadia or Nova Scotia, were intended by Great Britain to obviate all doubts which had ever been made concerning the limits of Acadia, and to comprehend with more certainty all that country which France had ever received as such; finally, to specify what France considered as Acadia. During the treaty, they referred to the offers of that crown in the year one thousand seven hundred and twelve, in which she proposed to restrain the boundary of Acadia to the river St. George, as a departure from its real boundary, in case Great Britain would restore to her the possession of that country. From all these facts it plainly appears that Great Britain demanded nothing but what the fair construction of the words of the treaty of Utrecht necessarily implies; and that it is impossible for any thing to have more evident marks of candour and fairness in it, than the demand of the English on this occasion. From the variety of evidence brought in support of this claim, it evidently results that the English commissaries assigned no limits as the ancient limits of Acadia, but those which France herself determined to be such in the year one thousand six hundred and thirty-two; and which she possessed, in consequence of that determination, till the year one thousand six hundred and fifty-four; that in one thousand six hundred and sixty-two, France claimed, and received in one thousand six hundred and sixty-nine, the country which Great Britain now claims as Acadia, restored to France by the treaty of Breda under that general denomination; that France never considered Acadia as having any other limits than those which were assigned to it from the year one thousand six hundred and thirty-two, to the year one thousand seven hundred and ten; and that, by the treaty of Utrecht, she engaged to transfer that very same country as Acadia, which France has always asserted and possessed, and Great Britain now claims, as such. Should the crown of France, therefore, be ever willing to decide what are the ancient limits of Acadia, by her own declarations so frequently made in like discussions upon the same point, by her possessions of this country for almost a century, and by her description of Acadia, during the negotiation of that very treaty upon which this doubt is raised, she cannot but admit the claim of Great Britain to be conformable to the treaty of Utrecht, and to the description of the country transferred to Great Britain by the twelfth article of that treaty. There is a consistency in the claim of the English, and a completeness in the evidence brought in support of it, which is seldom seen in discussions of this sort; for it rarely happens, in disputes of such a nature between two crowns, that either of them can safely offer to have its pretensions decided by the known and repeated declarations, or the possessions of the other. To answer the force of this detail of conclusive historical facts, and to give a new turn to the real question in dispute, the French commissaries, in their memorial, laid it down as a distinction made by the treaty of Utrecht, that the ancient limits of Acadia, referred to by that treaty, are different from any with which that country may have passed under the treaties of St. Germain’s and Breda; and then endeavoured to show, upon the testimonies of maps and historians, that Acadia and its limits were anciently confined to the south-eastern part of the peninsula. In support of this system, the French commissaries had recourse to ancient maps and historians, who, as they asserted, had ever confined Acadia to the limits they assigned. They alleged, that those commissions of the French government over Acadia, which the English cited as evidence of the limits they claimed, were given as commissions over Acadia and the country around it, and not over Acadia only; that the whole of the country claimed by the English as Acadia, could not possibly be supposed ever to be considered as such, because many parts of that territory always did, and still do, preserve particular and distinct names. They affirmed New France to be a province in itself; and argued that many parts of what we claim as Acadia can never have been in Acadia, because historians and the French commissions of government expressly place them in New France. They asserted, that no evidence can be drawn of the opinion of any crown, with respect to the limits of any country, from its declaration during the negotiation of a treaty: and, in the ends relying upon maps and historians for the ancient limits of Acadia, they pretended that the express restitution of St. Germain’s, and the possession taken by France in consequence of the treaty of Breda, after a long discussion of the limits and the declaration of France during the negotiation of the treaty of Utrecht, were foreign to the point in question. In refutation of these maxims, the English commissaries proved, from an examination of the maps and historians cited by the French in support of their system, that if this question was to be decided upon the authorities which they themselves allowed to belong, and to be applicable to, this discussion, the limits which they assigned were utterly inconsistent with the best maps of all countries, which are authorities in point for almost every part of the claim of Great Britain. They showed that the French historians, Champlain and Denys, and particularly this last, with his commission in the year one thousand six hundred and fifty-five, assigned the same northern and western limits to Acadia which they did; and that Escarbot, another of their historians, as far as any evidence can be drawn from his writings, agrees entirely with the former two. They observed, that all these evidences fall in with and confirmed the better authorities of treaties, and the several transactions between the two crowns for near a century past; and that the French commissaries, by deviating from treaties, and the late proceedings of the two crowns, to ancient historians and maps, only made a transition from an authentic to an insufficient sort of evidence, and led the English commissaries into an inquiry which proved that both the proper and the improper, the regular and the foreign evidence, upon which this matter had been rested, equally confuted the limits alleged by the French commissaries as the ancient limits of Acadia.

CHAPTER IX.

Ambitious Schemes of the French in North America..... Rise and Conduct of the Ohio Company..... Letter from the Governor of Virginia to the French Commander at Riviere-au- Beuf..... Perfidious Practices of the French in Nova Scotia..... Major Laurence defeats the French Neutrals..... British Ambassador at Paris amused with general Promises..... Session opened..... Supplies granted..... Repeal of the Act for naturalizing Jews..... Motion for repealing a former Act favourable to the Jews..... East India Mutiny Bill..... Case of Le ——— Session closed..... Death of Mr. Pelham..... Change in the Ministry..... New Parliament assembled and prorogued..... Disputes in the Irish Parliament..... Transactions in the East Indies..... Account of the English Settlements on the Malabar and Coromandel Coast..... Disputes about the Government of Arcot..... Mahommed Ali Khan supported by the English..... Mr. Clive takes Arcot..... and defeats the Enemy in the Plains of Arani, and at Koveripauk..... He reduces three Forts, and takes M. d’Anteuil..... Chunda Saib taken and put to Death, and his Army routed...... Convention between the East India Companies of England and France..... General View of the British Colonies in North America..... New England and New York..... New Jersey..... Pennsylvania..... Maryland..... Virginia..... The two Carolinas..... Georgia..... The French surprise Logs-Town, on the Ohio..... Conference with the Indians at Albany..... Colonel Washington defeated and taken by the French on the Ohio..... Divisions among the British Colonies..... The hereditary Prince of Hesse-Cassel professes the Roman Catholic Religion..... Parliament of Paris recalled from Exile..... Affairs of Spain and Portugal..... Session opened..... Supplies granted..... Bill in behalf or Chelsea Pensioners..... Oxfordshire Election..... Message from the King to the House of Commons..... Court of Versailles amuses the English Ministry..... Session closed

AMBITIOUS SCHEMES OF THE FRENCH.

While the British ministry depended upon the success of the conferences between the commissaries of the two crowns at Paris, the French were actually employed in executing their plans of encroachment upon the British colonies of North America. Their scheme was to engross the whole fur trade of that continent; and they had already made great progress in extending a chain of forts, connecting their settlements on the river Mississippi with their possessions in Canada, along the great lakes of Erie and Ontario, which last issues into the river St. Lawrence. By these means they hoped to exclude the English from all communication and traffic with the Indian nations, even those that lay contiguous to the British settlements, and confine them within a line of their drawing, beyond which they should neither extend their trade nor plantations. Their commercial spirit did not keep pace with the gigantic strides of their ambition; they could not supply all those Indians with the necessaries they wanted, so that many of the natives had recourse to the English settlements; and this commerce produced a connexion, in consequence of which the British adventurers ventured to travel with merchandise as far as the banks of the river Ohio, that runs into the Mississippi, a great way on the other side of the Apalachian mountains, beyond which none of our colonists had ever attempted to penetrate. The tract of country lying along the Ohio is so fertile, pleasant, and inviting, and the Indians, called Twightees, who inhabit those delightful plains, were so well disposed towards a close alliance with the English, that, as far back as the year one thousand seven hundred and sixteen, Mr. Spotswood, governor of Virginia, proposed a plan for erecting a company to settle such lands upon this river as should be ceded to them by treaty with the natives; but the design was at that time frustrated, partly by the indolence and timidity of the British ministry, who were afraid of giving umbrage to the French, and partly by the jealousies and divisions subsisting between the different colonies of Great Britain. The very same circumstances encouraged the French to proceed in their project of invasion. At length they penetrated from the banks of the river St. Lawrence, across lake Champlain, and upon the territory of New York, built with impunity, and indeed without opposition, the fort of Crown Point, the most insolent and dangerous encroachment that they had hitherto carried into execution.

RISE AND CONDUCT OF THE OHIO COMPANY.

Governor Spotswood’s scheme for an Ohio company was revived immediately after the peace of Aix-la-Cha-pelle, when certain merchants of London, who traded to Maryland and Virginia, petitioned the government on this subject, and were indulged not only with a grant of a great tract of ground to the southward of Pennsylvania, which they promised to settle, but also with an exclusive privilege of trading with the Indians on the banks of the river Ohio. This design no sooner transpired, than the French governor of Canada took the alarm, and wrote letters to the governors of New York and Pennsylvania giving them to understand, that as the English inland traders had encroached on the French territories and privileges, by trading with the Indians under the protection of his sovereign, he would seize them wherever they could be found, if they did not immediately desist from that illicit practice. No regard being paid to this intimation, he next year caused three British traders to be arrested. Their effects were confiscated, and they themselves conveyed to Quebec, from whence they were sent prisoners to Rochelle in France, and there detained in confinement. In this situation they presented a remonstrance to the earl of Albemarle, at that time English ambassador in Paris, and he claiming them as British subjects, they were set at liberty. Although, in answer to his lordship’s memorial, the court of Versailles promised to transmit orders to the French governors in America, to use all their endeavours for preventing any disputes that might have a tendency to alter the good correspondence established between the two nations; in all probability the directions given were seemingly the very reverse of these professions, for the French commanders, partisans, and agents in America, took every step their busy genius could suggest, to strengthen their own power, and weaken the influence of the English, by embroiling them with the Indian nations. This task they found the more easy, as the natives had taken offence against the English, when they understood that their lands were given away without their knowledge, and that there was a design to build forts in their country without their consent and concurrence. Indeed, the person whom the new company employed to survey the banks of the Ohio, concealed his design so carefully, and behaved in other respects in such a dark mysterious manner, as could not fail to arouse the jealousy of a people naturally inquisitive, and very much addicted to suspicion. How the company proposed to settle this acquisition in despite of the native possessors, it is not easy to conceive, and it is still more unaccountable that they should have neglected the natives, whose consent and assistance they might have procured at a very small expense. Instead of acting such a fair, open, and honourable part, they sent a Mr. Gist to make a clandestine survey of the country, as far as the falls of the river Ohio; and, as we have observed above, his conduct alarmed both the French and Indians. The erection of this company was equally disagreeable to the separate traders of Virginia and Pennsylvania, who saw themselves on the eve of being deprived of a valuable branch of traffic, by the exclusive charter of a monopoly; and therefore they employed their emissaries to foment the jealousy of the Indians. The French having in a manner commenced hostilities against the English, and actually built forts on the territories of the British allies at Niagara, and on the lake Erie, Mr. Hamilton, governor of Pennsylvania, communicated this intelligence to the assembly of the province, and represented the necessity of erecting truck-houses, or places of strength and security, on the river Ohio, to which the traders might retire in case of insult or molestation. The proposal was approved, and money granted for the purpose; but the assembly could not agree about the manner in which they should be erected; and in the meantime the French fortified themselves at leisure, and continued to harass the traders belonging to the British settlements. Repeated complaints of these encroachments and depredations being represented to Mr. Dinwiddie, governor of Virginia, he, towards the latter end of this very year, sent major Washington with a letter to the commanding officer of a fort which the French had built on the Riviere-au-Beuf, which falls into the Ohio, not far from the lake Erie. In this letter Mr. Dinwiddie expressed his surprise that the French should build forts and make settlements on the river Ohio, in the western part of the colony of Virginia, belonging to the Crown of Great Britain. He complained of these encroachments, as well as of the injuries done to the subjects of Great Britain, in open violation of the law of nations, and of the treaties actually subsisting between the two crowns. He desired to know by whose authority and instructions his Britannic majesty’s territories had been invaded; and required him to depart in peace, without further prosecuting a plan which must interrupt the harmony and good understanding which his majesty was desirous to continue and cultivate with the most christian king. To this spirited intimation the officer replied, that it was not his province to specify the evidence, and demonstrate the right of the king his master to the lands situated on the river Ohio; but he would transmit the letter to the marquis du Quesne, and act according to the answer he should receive from that nobleman. In the meantime, he said he did not think himself obliged to obey the summons of the English governor; that he commanded the fort by virtue of an order from his general, to which he was determined to conform with all the precision and resolution of a good officer. Mr. Dinwiddie expected no other reply, and therefore had projected a fort to be erected near the forks of the river. The province undertook to defray the expense, and the stores for that purpose were already provided; but by some fatal over sight, the concurrence of the Indians was neither obtained nor solicited, and therefore they looked upon this measure with an evil eye, as a manifest invasion of their property.

PERFIDY OF THE FRENCH.

While the French thus industriously extended their encroachments to the southward, they were not idle in the gulf of St. Lawrence, but seized every opportunity of distressing the English settlement of Nova Scotia. We have already observed, that the town of Halifax was no sooner built, than they spirited up the Indians of that neighbourhood to commit hostilities against the inhabitants, some of whom they murdered, and others they carried prisoners to Louisbourg, where they sold them for arms and ammunition, the French pretending that they maintained this traffic from motives of pure compassion, in order to prevent the massacre of the English captives, whom, however, they did not set at liberty without exacting an exorbitant ransom. As these skulking parties of Indians were generally directed and headed by French commanders, repeated complaints were made to the governor of Louisbourg, who still answered, that his jurisdiction did not extend over the Indians, and that their French conductors were chosen from the inhabitants of Annapolis, who thought proper to remain in that country after it was ceded to the English, and were in fact the subjects of Great Britain. Even while the conferences were carried on for ascertaining the limits of Nova Scotia, the governor of Canada detached M. la Come, with some regular troops, and a body of militia, to fortify a post on the bay of Chignecto, on pretence that this and a great part of the peninsula belonged to his government. The possession of this post not only secured to the Indians of the continent a free entrance into the peninsula, and a safe retreat in case of pursuit; but also encouraged the French inhabitants of Annapolis to rise in open rebellion against the English government.

MAJOR LAURENCE DEFEATS THE FRENCH NEUTRALS.

In the spring of the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty, general Cornwallis, governor of Halifax, detached major Laurence with a few men to reduce them to obedience. At his approach they burned their town to ashes, forsook their possessions, and threw themselves under the protection of M. la Corne, who, thus reinforced, found himself at the head of fifteen hundred men, well provided with arms and ammunition. Major Laurence being unable to cope with him in the field, demanded an interview, at which he desired to know for what cause the French inhabitants of Nova Scotia had shaken off their allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, and violated the neutrality which they had hitherto affected to profess. The French officer, without pretending to account for their behaviour, gave him to understand in general terms, that he had orders to defend his post, and these orders he was determined to obey. The English major finding himself too weak to attack their united force, and having no orders to commit hostilities against any but the Indians and their open abettors, returned to Halifax, without having been able to fulfil the purpose of his expedition. Immediately after his retreat, the French neutrals (so they were called) returned to their habitations which they had abandoned, and, in conjunction with the Indians, renewed their depredations upon the inhabitants of Halifax and its dependent settlements. The English governor, justly incensed at these outrages, and seeing they would neither submit to the English government themselves, nor allow others to enjoy it with tranquillity, resolved to expel them effectually from the country they so ill deserved to possess. Major Laurence was again detached with a thousand men, transported by sea to Chignecto, where he found the French and Indians intrenched in order to dispute his landing. Notwithstanding this opposition, he made a descent with a few companies, received and returned a smart fire, and rushing into their intrenchments, obliged them to fly with the utmost precipitation, leaving a considerable number killed and wounded on the spot. The fugitives saved themselves by crossing a river, on the farther bank of which la Corne stood at the head of his troops, drawn up in order to receive them as friends and dependents. He had by this time erected a fort, which he denominated Beau Séjour; and now the English built another on the opposite side of the river, which was called after its founder St. Laurence. This being provided with a good garrison, served as a check upon the French, and in some measure restrained the incursions of these barbarians. Not that it effectually answered this purpose; for the Indians and Neutrals still seized every opportunity of attacking the English in the interior parts of the peninsula. In the course of the succeeding year they surprised the little town of Dartmouth, on the other side of Halifax-bay, where they killed and scalped a great number of people, and carried off some prisoners. For these expeditions the French always supplied them with boats, canoes, arms, and ammunition; and indeed they were conducted with such care and secrecy, that it was almost impossible to prevent their success. One sure remedy against the sudden and stolen incursions of those savages might have been found in the use of staunch hounds, which would have run upon the foot, detected the skulking parties of the Indians, and frustrated all their ambuscades; but this expedient, so easy and practicable, was never tried, though frequently recommended in public to the attention of the government, and the consideration of the colonists. The Indians continued to plunder and massacre the British subjects with impunity, and were countenanced by the French government in that country, who now strengthened their lodgement on the neck of the peninsula with an additional fort, distinguished by the name of Bayeverte; and built a third at the mouth of St. John’s river, on the north side of the bay of Fundy.

BRITISH AMBASSADOR AT PARIS AMUSED WITH GENERAL PROMISES.

All these previous steps to a rupture with England were taken with great deliberation, while the commissaries of both nations were disputing about the limits of the very country which they thus arrogantly usurped; and they proceeded to perfect their chain of forts to the southward, without paying the least regard to the expostulations of the English governors, or to a memorial presented at Versailles by the earl of Albemarle, the British minister. He demanded that express orders should be sent to M. de la Jonquire, the commander for the French in America, to desist from violence against the British subjects in that country; that the fort of Niagara should be immediately razed; that the subjects of Great Britain, who had been made prisoners, should be set at liberty, and indemnified for the losses they had sustained; and that the persons who had committed these excesses should be punished in an exemplary manner. True it is, six Englishmen, whom they had unjustly taken, were immediately dismissed; and the ambassador amused with general promises of sending such instructions to the French governor in America, as should anticipate any cause of complaint for the future; but, far from having any intention to perform these promises, the court of Versailles, without all doubt, exhorted la Jonquire to proceed in bringing its ambitious schemes to perfection.

SESSION OPENED.

Every incident in America seemed to prognosticate war, when the session of parliament was opened on the fifteenth day of November; yet his majesty, on this occasion, told them that the events of the year had not made it necessary for him to offer any thing in particular to their consideration relating to foreign affairs. He even declared that the continuance of the public tranquillity, and the general state of Europe, remained upon the same footing as when they last parted; and assured them of his steadiness in pursuing the most effectual measures to preserve to his people the blessings of peace. He expressed uncommon concern that the horrid crimes of robbery and murder were of late rather increased than diminished, and earnestly recommended this important object to their serious attention. Affectionate addresses were presented by both houses in answer to this harangue; and, what was very remarkable, they were proposed and passed without question or debate.

The commons continued the same number of seamen and land-forces for the ensuing year, which had been granted in the last session, and made suitable provision for all the exigences of the state. The whole supply amounted to two millions seven hundred and ninety-seven thousand nine hundred and sixteen pounds, ten shillings and twopence, to be raised by a land-tax of two shillings in the pound, a malt-tax, a continuation of certain duties on wine, vinegar, cider, and beer imported, a sum taken from the sinking-fund, and the overplus of certain grants, funds, and duties. The provisions made considerably exceeded the grants; but this excess was chargeable with the interest of what should be borrowed upon the credit in the land or malt-tax, there being a clause of credit in both, as also with the deficiency (if any should happen) in the sums they were computed to produce. The house agreed to all these resolutions almost unanimously; indeed, no opposition was made to any of them, but that for continuing the same number of land-forces, which was carried by a great majority.

REPEAL OF THE ACT FOR NATURALIZING JEWS.

The act for permitting Jews to be naturalized, which had, during the last session, triumphed over such an obstinate opposition, was by this time become the object of national horror and execration. Every part of the kingdom resounded with the reproach of the ministry who had enforced such an odious measure; and the two brothers, who engrossed the greater part of the administration, trembled at the prospect of what this clamour might produce at the general election, this being the last session of the present parliament. So eager were the ministers to annul this unpopular measure, that, immediately after the peers had agreed to the nature and forms of an address to his majesty, the duke of Newcastle, with that precipitation so peculiar to his character, poured forth an abrupt harangue in that house, importing, that the disaffected had made a handle of the act passed last session in favour of the Jews, to raise discontents among many of his majesty’s good subjects; and as the act was in itself of little importance, he was of opinion it ought to be repealed; for this purpose he presented a bill ready framed, which was read and committed, though not without some debate. The naturalization bill, now devoted as a sacrifice to the resentment of the people, containing a clause disabling all naturalized Jews from purchasing, inheriting, or receiving any advowson or presentation, or right to any ecclesiastical benefice or promotion, school, hospital, or donative; and by the first draft of the bill, which his grace now presented, it was intended that this clause should not be repealed. It was the opinion, however, of the majority, that such a clause standing unrepealed might imply, that the Jews, by being thus expressly excluded from the possession of any ecclesiastical right of presentation, would be considered as having the power and privilege of purchasing and inheriting any lay-property in the kingdom. On this consideration an amendment was made in the bill, the clause in question was left out, and the whole act of naturalization repealed without exception.*

* The reverend bench of bishops had, with a laudable spirit of christian meekness and philanthropy, generally approved of the indulgence granted to their Hebrew brethren; and now they acquiesced in the proposed repeal with the same passive discretion, though one of the number contended for the saving clause which the duke of Newcastle had recommended.

Though the lords, in general, concurred in the expediency of the repeal, it was opposed by some few, as too great a sacrifice to the idle and unfounded clamours of the multitude; and upon this side of the debate a great power of elocution was displayed by earl Temple, who had lately succeeded to this title on the death of his mother, a nobleman of distinguished abilities, and the most amiable disposition, frank, liberal, humane, and zealously attached to the interest and honour of his country. In the lower house, the members of both parties seemed to vie with each other in demonstrations of aversion to this unpopular act. On the very first day of the session, immediately after the motion for an address to his majesty, sir James Dash-wood, an eminent leader in the opposition, gave the commons to understand, that he had a motion of very great importance to make, which would require the attention of every member, as soon as the motion for the address should be discussed; he therefore desired they would not quit the house, until he should have an opportunity to explain his proposal. Accordingly, they had no sooner agreed to the motion for an address of thanks to his majesty, than he stood up again, and having expatiated upon the just and general indignation which the act of the preceding session, in favour of the Jews, had raised among the people, he moved to order that the house should be called over on Tuesday the fourth day of December, for taking that act into consideration; but being given to understand, that it was not usual to appoint a call of the house for any particular purpose, he agreed that the motion should be general. It was seconded by lord Parker, his opposite in political interests; the house agreed to it without opposition, and the call was ordered accordingly. They were anticipated, however’, by the lords, who framed and transmitted to them a bill on the same subject, to the purport of which the commons made an objection; for every member, having the fear of the general election before his eyes, carefully avoided every expression which could give umbrage to his constituents; but violent opposition was made to the preamble, which ran in the following strain:—“Whereas an act of parliament was made and passed in the twenty-fifth year of his majesty’s reign, intituled, An act to permit persons professing the Jewish religion, to be naturalized by parliament, and for other purposes therein mentioned; and whereas occasion has been taken, from the said act, to raise discontents and disquiets in the minds of his majesty’s subjects, be it enacted, &c.” This introduction was considered as an unjust reflection upon the body of the people in general, and in particular upon those who had opposed the bill in the course of the preceding session. Sir Roger Newdigate therefore moved, that the expression should be varied to this effect: “Whereas great discontents and disquietudes had from the said act arisen.” The consequence of this motion was an obstinate debate, in which it was supported by the earl of Egmont, and divers other able orators; but Mr. Pel ham and Mr. Pitt were numbered among its opponents. The question being put for the proposed alteration, it was of course carried in the negative; the bill, after the third reading, passed nemine contradicente, and in due time obtained the royal assent.

MOTION FOE REPEALING A FORMER ACT FAVOURABLE TO THE JEWS.

Even this concession of the ministry did not allay the resentment of the people, and their apprehension of encroachment from the Jews. Another act still subsisted, by virtue of which any person professing the Jewish religion might become a free denizen of Great Britain, after having resided seven years in any of his majesty’s colonies in America; and this was now considered as a law, having the same dangerous tendency, of which the other was now in a fair way of being convicted. It was moved, therefore, in the lower house, that a part of this former act might be read; then the same member made a motion for an address to his majesty, desiring that the house might have the perusal of the lists transmitted from the American colonies to the commissioners for trade and plantations, containing the names of all such persons professing the Jewish religion, as had entitled themselves to the benefit of the said act, since the year one thousand seven hundred and forty. These lists were accordingly presented, and left upon the table for the perusal of the members; but as this act contained no limitation of time within which the benefit of it should be claimed, and as this claim was attended with a good deal of trouble and some expense, very few persons had availed themselves of it in that period. Nevertheless, as a great number of Jews were already entitled to claim this indulgence, and as it remained an open channel through which Great Britain might be deluged with those people, all of whom the law would hold as natural-born subjects, and their progeny as freed from all tha restriction contained in the act with respect to naturalized foreigners, lord Harley moved for leave to bring in a bill to repeal so much of the said act as related to persons professing the Jewish religion, who should come to settle in any British colony after a certain time. The motion was seconded by sir James Dashwood, and supported by the earl of Egmont; but being found unequal to the interest and elocution of Mr. Pelham and Mr. Pitt, was rejected by the majority.

EAST-INDIA MUTINY BILL.

The next object that claimed the attention of the commons, was a bill for improving the regulations already made to prevent the spreading of a contagious distemper, which raged among the horned cattle in different parts of the kingdom. The last bill of this session that had the good fortune to succeed, was brought in for punishing mutiny and desertion of officers and soldiers in the service of the East India company, and for the punishment of offences committed in the East Indies and the island of St. Helena. This being a measure of a very extraordinary nature, all the members were ordered to attend the house on the day fixed for the second reading; at the same time all charters, commissions, and authorities, by which any power relative to a military jurisdiction, or the exercise of martial law, had been granted or derived from the crown to the said company, were submitted to the perusal of the members. The bill was by many considered as a dangerous extension of military power, to the prejudice of the civil rights enjoyed by British subjects, and as such violently contested by the earl of Egmont, lord Strange, and Mr. Alderman Beckford. Their objections were answered by the solicitor-general and Mr. Yorke. The bill, after some warm debates, being espoused by the ministry, was enacted into a law, and despatched to the East Indies by the first opportunity.

Some other motions were made, and petitions presented on different subjects, which, as they miscarried, it will be unnecessary to particularize. It may not be amiss, however, to record an exemplary act of justice done by the commons on a person belonging to a public office, whom they detected in the practice of fraud and imposition. Notwithstanding the particular care taken in the last session, to prevent the monopolizing of tickets in the state lottery, all those precautions had been eluded in a scandalous manner by certain individuals, intrusted with the charge of delivering the tickets to the contributors, according to the intent of the act, which expressly declared that not more than twenty should be sold to any one person. Instead of conforming to these directions of the legislature, they and their friends engrossed great numbers, sheltering themselves under a false list of feigned names for the purpose; by which means they not only defeated the equitable intention of the commons, but in some measure injured the public credit; inasmuch as their avarice had prompted them to subscribe for a greater number than they had cash to purchase, so that there was a deficiency in the first payment, which might have had a bad effect on the public affairs. These practices were so flagrant and notorious as to attract the notice of the lower house, where an inquiry was begun, and prosecuted with a spirit of real patriotism, in opposition to a scandalous cabal, who endeavoured with equal eagerness and perseverance to screen the delinquents. All their efforts however proved abortive; and a committee, appointed to examine particulars, agreed to several severe resolutions against one Le ——, who had amassed a large fortune by this and other kinds of peculation. They voted him guilty of a breach of trust, and a direct violation of the lottery act; and an address was presented to his majesty, desiring he might be prosecuted by the attorney-general for these offences. He was accordingly sued in the court of king’s bench, and paid a fine of one thousand pounds, for having committed frauds by which he had gained forty times that sum; but he was treated with such gentleness as remarkably denoted the clemency of that tribunal.

SESSION CLOSED.

The session ended in the beginning of April, when the king gave the parliament to understand, that he should say nothing at present on foreign affairs; but assured them of his fixed resolution to exert his whole power in maintaining the general tranquillity, and adhering to such measures for that purpose as he had hitherto pursued in conjunction with his allies. He, in very affectionate terms, thanked both houses for the repeated proofs they had given of their zealous attachment and loyalty to his person and government. He enumerated the salutary measures they had taken for lessening the national debt, and augmenting the public credit, extending navigation and commerce, reforming the morals of the people, and improving the regulations of civil economy. He concluded with declaring, that he securely relied upon the loyalty and good affection of his people, and had no other aim than their permanent happiness. In a little time after the close of this session they were dissolved by proclamation, and new writs issued by the lord-chancellor for convoking a new parliament. The same ceremonies were practised with respect to the convocations of Canterbury and York, though they no longer retained their former importance; nor indeed were they suffered to sit and deliberate upon the subjects which formerly fell under their cognizance and discussion.

DEATH OF MR. PELHAM. CHANGE IN THE MINISTRY.

In the beginning of March, the ministry of Great Britain had been left without a head by the death of Mr. Pelham, which was not only sincerely lamented by his sovereign, but also regretted by the nation in general, to whose affection he had powerfully recommended himself by the candour and humanity of his conduct and character, even while he pursued measures which they did not entirely approve. The loss of such a minister was the more deeply felt by the government at this juncture, being the eve of a general election for a new parliament, when every administration is supposed to exert itself with redoubled vigilance and circumspection. He had already concerted the measures for securing a majority, and his plan was faithfully executed by his friends and adherents, who still engrossed the administration. His brother, the duke of Newcastle, was appointed first lord commissioner of the treasury, and succeeded as secretary of state by sir Thomas Robinson, who had long resided as ambassador at the court of Vienna. The other department of this office was still retained by the earl of Holdernesse, and the function of chancellor of the exchequer was performed as usual by the lord chief-justice of the king’s bench, until a proper person could be found to fill that important office; but in the course of the summer it was bestowed upon Mr. Legge, who acquitted himself with equal honour and capacity. Divers other alterations were made of less importance to the public, sir George Lyttelton was appointed cofferer, and the earl of Hillsborough comptroller of the household. Mr. George Grenville, brother to earl Temple, became treasurer of the navy; and Mr. Charles Townshend, of whom we shall have occasion to speak in the sequel, took his place as a commissioner at the board of admiralty, in the room of lord Barrington, made master of the wardrobe. Lord Hardwicke, the chancellor, was promoted to the dignity of an earl. The place of lord chief-justice of the king’s-bench becoming vacant by the death of sir William Lee, was filled with sir Dudley Ryder, and he was succeeded by Mr. Murray in the office of attorney-general.

NEW PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED AND PROROGUED.

The elections for the new parliament generally succeeded according to the wish of the ministry; for opposition was now dwindled down to the lowest state of imbecility. It had received a mortal wound by the death of the late prince of Wales, whose adherents were too wise to pursue an ignis fatuus, without any prospect of success or advantage. Some of them had prudently sung their palinodia to the ministry, and been gratified with profitable employments; while others, setting too great a price upon their own importance, kept aloof till the market was over, and were left to pine in secret over their disappointed ambition. The maxims of tory-ism had been relinquished by many, as the barren principles of a losing game; the body of the people were conciliated to the established government; and the harmony that now, for the first time, subsisted among all the branches of the royal family, had a wonderful effect in acquiring a degree of popularity which they had never before enjoyed. The writs being returned, the new parliament was opened on the last day of May by the duke of Cumberland, and some other peers, who acted by virtue of a commission from his majesty. The commons having chosen for their speaker the right hon. Arthur Onslow, who had honourably filled that high office in four preceding parliaments, he was presented and approved by the commissioners. Then the lord high-chancellor harangued both houses, giving them to understand, that his majesty had indulged them with this early opportunity of coming together, in order to complete without loss of time certain parliamentary proceedings, which he judged would be for the satisfaction of his good subjects; but he did not think proper to lay before them any points of general business, reserving every thing of that nature to the usual time of their assembling in the winter. On the fifth day of June this short session was closed, and the parliament prorogued by the lords-commissioners.

DISPUTES IN THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.

In the beginning of this year violent disputes arose between the government and the house of commons in Ireland, on the almost forgotten subjects of privilege and prerogative. The commons conceived they had an undoubted right to apply the surplus of their revenue towards national purposes, without the consent of their sovereign; and accordingly, in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, prepared a bill with this preamble, “Whereas, on the twenty-fifth day of March last, a considerable balance remained in the hands of the vice-treasurer or receivers-general of the kingdom, or their deputy or deputies, unapplied; and it will be for your majesty’s service, and for the ease of your faithful subjects in this kingdom, that so much thereof as can be conveniently spared should be paid, agreeably to your majesty’s most gracious intentions, in discharge of part of the national debt.” This appropriation gave great offence to the advocates for prerogatives in England, who affirmed that the commons had no right to apply any part of the unappropriated revenue, nor even to take any such affair into consideration, without the previous consent of the crown, expressed in the most explicit terms. It was in consequence of this doctrine, that the duke of Dorset, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, told them in the next session of parliament, held in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-one, he was commanded by the king to aquaint them, that his majesty, ever attentive to the ease and happiness of his subjects, would graciously consent and recommend it to them, that such a part of the money then remaining in the treasury, as should be thought consistent with the public service, be applied towards the further reduction of the national debt. This declaration alarmed the commons, zealous as they were for the preservation of their privileges; and in their address of thanks, which, like that of the parliament of Great Britain, used always to echo back the words of the speech, they made no mention of his majesty’s consent; but only acknowledged his gracious attention to their ease and happiness, in recommending to them the application of the surplus. They accordingly resolved to apply one hundred and twenty thousand pounds of that overplus towards the discharge of the national debt; and, in the preamble of the bill, framed for this purpose, made no mention of his majesty’s consent, though before they had acknowledged his goodness in recommending this application. The ministry in England were highly offended at this purposed omission, which they construed into a wilful encroachment on the prerogative; and the bill was sent back with an alteration in the preamble, signifying his majesty’s consent as well as recommendation. The Irish house of commons being at that time deeply engaged in a minute inquiry into the conduct of a gentleman, a servant of the crown, and a member of their own house, accused of having misapplied a large sum of money, with which he had been intrusted for rebuilding or repairing the barracks, were now unwilling to embroil themselves farther with the government, until this affair should be discussed. They therefore passed the bill with the alteration, and proceeded with their inquiry. The person was convicted of having misapplied the public money, and ordered to make the barracks fit for the reception and accommodation of the troops at his own expense. They did not, however, neglect to assert what they thought their rights and privileges, when the next opportunity occurred. The duke of Dor-get, when he opened the session of this year, repeated the expression of his majesty’s gracious consent, in mentioning the surplus of the public money. They again omitted that word in their address; and resolved, in their bill of application, not only to sink this odious term, but likewise to abate in their complaisance to the crown, by leaving out that expression of grateful acknowledgment, which had met with such a cold reception above. By this time the contest had kindled up two violent factions, and diffused a general spirit of resentment through the whole Irish nation. The committee who prepared the bill, instead of inserting the usual compliments in the preamble, mentioned nothing but a recital of facts, and sent it over in a very plain dress, quite destitute of all embroidery. The ministry, intent upon vindicating the prerogative from such an unmannerly attack, filled up the omissions of the committee, and sent it back with this alteration: “And your majesty, ever attentive to the ease and happiness of your faithful subjects, has been graciously pleased to signify that you would consent, and to recommend it to us, that so much of the money remaining in your majesty’s treasury as should be necessary to be applied to the discharge of the national debt, or such part thereof as should be thought expedient by parliament.” This then being the crisis which was to determine a constitutional point of such importance, namely, whether the people in parliament assembled have a right to deliberate upon, and vote the application of any part of the unappropriated revenue, without the previous consent of the crown; those who were the most zealously attached to the liberties of their country, resolved to exert themselves in opposing what they conceived to be a violation of those liberties; and the bill, with its alterations, was rejected by a majority of five voices. The success of their endeavours was celebrated with the most extravagant rejoicing, as a triumph of patriotism over the arts of ministerial corruption; and, on the other hand, all the servants of the crown, who had joined the popular cry on this occasion, were in a little time dismissed from their employments. The rejection of the bill was a great disappointment to the creditors of the public, and the circulation of cash was almost stagnated. These calamities were imputed to arbitrary designs in the government; and the people began to be inflamed with an enthusiastic spirit of independency, which might have produced mischievous effects, had not artful steps been taken to bring over the demagogues, and thus divert the stream of popular clamour from the ministry to those very individuals who had been the idols of popular veneration. The speaker of the house of commons was promoted to the dignity of an earl; and some other patriots were gratified with lucrative employments. His majesty’s letter arrived for paying off seventy-five thousand five hundred pounds of the national debt. The circulation was thus animated, and the resentment of the populace subsiding, the kingdom retrieved its former tranquillity.

TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST INDIES.

The ambition and intrigues of the French court, by which the British interest was invaded and disturbed on the continent of America, had also extended itself to the East Indies, where they endeavoured to embroil the English company with divers nabobs or princes, who governed different parts of the peninsula intra Gangem. That the reader may have a clear and distinct idea of these transactions, we shall exhibit a short sketch of the English forts and settlements in that remote country. The first of these we shall mention is Surat, 348 [See note 2U, at the end of this Vol.] in the province so called, situated between the twenty-first and twenty-second degrees of north latitude; from hence the peninsula stretches into the Indian ocean as far as the latitude of eight north, ending in a point at Cape Comorin, which is the southern extremity. To the northward this peninsula joins to Indostan, and at its greatest breadth extends seven hundred miles. Upon the west, east, and south, it is washed by the sea. It comprehends the kingdoms of Malabar, Decan, Golconda, and Bisnagar, with the principalities of Gingi, Tanjaour, and Madura. The western side is distinguished by the name of the Malabar coast: the eastern takes the denomination of Coromandel; and in different parts of this long sweep, from Surat round Cape Comorin to the bottom of the bay of Bengal, the English and other European powers have, with the consent of the mogul, established forts and trading settlements. All these kingdoms, properly speaking, belong to the mogul; but his power was so weakened by the last invasion of Kouli Khan, that he has not been able to assert his empire over this remote country; the tributary princes of which, and even the nabobs, who were originally governors appointed under their authority, have rendered themselves independent, and exert an absolute dominion over their respective territories, without acknowledging his superiority either by tribute or homage. These princes, when they quarrel among themselves, naturally have recourse to the assistance of such European powers as are settled in or near their dominions; and in the same manner the East Indian companies of the European powers which happen to be at war with each other, never fail to interest the nabobs in the dispute.

ACCOUNT OF THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS.

The next English settlement to Surat, on the coast of the peninsula, is Bombay, in the kingdom of Decan, a small island, with a very convenient harbour, above five-and-forty leagues to the south of Surat. The town is very populous; but the soil is barren, and the climate unhealthy; and the commerce was rendered very precarious by the neighbourhood of the famous corsair Angria, until his port of Geria was taken, and his fortifications demolished. The English company likewise carry on some traffic at Dabul, about forty leagues further to the south, in the province of Cuncan. In the same southerly progression, towards the point of the peninsula, we arrive at Carwar, in the latitude of fifteen degrees, where there is a small fort and factory belonging to the company, standing on the south side of a bay, with a river capable of receiving ships of pretty large burden. The climate here is remarkably salubrious; the country abounds with provisions of all sorts, and the best pepper of India grows in this neighbourhood. The next English settlement we find at Tilli-cherry, where the company has erected a fort, to defend their commerce of pepper and cardamomoms from the insults of the rajah, who governs this part of Malabar. Hither the English trade was removed from Calicut, a large town that stands fifteen leagues to the southward of Tillicherry, and was as well frequented as any port on the coast of the Indian peninsula. The most southerly settlement which the English possess on the Malabar coast, is that of Anjengo, between the eighth and ninth degrees of latitude. It is defended by a regular fort, situated on a broad river, which falls into the sea, and would be very commodious for trade, were not the water on the bar too shallow to admit ships of considerable burden. Then turning the Cape, and passing through the strait of Chilao, formed by the island of Ceylon, we arrive on the coast of Côromandel, which forms the eastern side of the isthmus. Prosecuting our course in a northern direction, the first English factory we reach is that of Fort St. David’s, formerly called Tegapatan, situated in the latitude of eleven degrees forty minutes north, within the kingdom of Gingi. It was, about six and-twenty years ago, sold by a Mahratta prince to the East India company, and, next to Bombay, is the most considerable settlement we have yet mentioned.*

* The trade consists of long cloths of different colours, sallampores, morees, dimities, ginghams, and succations.

Its territory extends about eight miles along the coast, and half that space up to the country, which is delightfully watered by a variety of rivers; the soil is fertile, and the climate healthy. The fort is regular, well provided with cannon, ammunition, and a numerous garrison, which is the more necessary, on account of the neighbourhood of the French settlement at Pon-dicherry. But the chief settlement belonging to the company on this coast is that of Madras, or Fort St. George, standing farther to the northward, between the thirteenth and fourteenth degrees of latitude, and not a great way from the diamond mines of Golconda. It is seated on a flat, barren, scorching sand, so near the sea, that in bad weather the walls are endangered by the mighty surges rolled in from the ocean. As the soil is barren, the climate is so intensely hot that it would be altogether uninhabitable, were not the heat mitigated by the sea breezes. On the land side it is defended by a salt water river, which, while it contributes to the security of the place, robs the inhabitants of one great comfort, by obstructing the springs of fresh water. The fort is a regular square, the town surrounded with walls well mounted with artillery, and the place, including the Black Town, is very populous. Madras, with several villages in the neighbourhood, was purchased of the king of Golconda, before the mogul became sovereign of this country. The governor of this place is not only president of Fort St. George, but also of all the other settlements on the coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, as far as the island of Sumatra. He lives in great pomp, having inferior judges, who pass sentence of death occasionally on malefactors of any nation, except the subjects of Great Britain. All the company’s affairs are directed by him and his council, who are invested with the power of inflicting corporal punishment, short of life and member, upon such Europeans as are in the service, and dispose of all places of trust and profit. By virtue of an act passed in the course of this very session, the military officers belonging to the company were permitted to hold courts-martial, and punish their soldiers according to the degree of their delinquency. In a word, Madras is of the utmost importance to the company for its strength, wealth, and the great returns it makes in calicoes and muslins. Towards the latter end of the last century, the English company had a flourishing factory at Masulipatam, standing on the north side of the river Nagundi, which separates the provinces of Golconda and Bisnagar, in the latitude of sixteen degrees and thirty minutes; but now there is no European settlement here, except a Dutch factory, maintained for carrying on the chintz commerce. At Visgapatam, situated still farther to the northward, the English possess a factory regularly fortified on the side of the river, which, however, a dangerous bar has rendered unfit for navigation. The adjacent country affords cotton cloths, and the best stripped muslins of India. It is chiefly for the use of this settlement that the company maintains a factory at Ganjam, the most eastern town in the province or kingdom of Golconda, situated in a country abounding with rice and sugar-canes. Still farther to the north coast, in the latitude of twenty-two degrees, the company maintains a factory at Balasore, which was formerly very considerable; but hath been of very little consequence since the navigation of the river Huguely Avas improved. At this place every European ship bound for Bengal and the Ganges takes in a pilot. The climate is not counted very salubrious; but the adjacent country is fruitful to admiration, and here are considerable manufacture of cotton and silk. Without skilful pilots, the English would find it very difficult to navigate the different channels through which the river Ganges discharges itself into the sea at the bottom of the bay of Bengal. On the southern branch is a town called Pepely, where there was formerly an English factory, but this was removed to Huguely, one hundred and sixty miles farther up the river; a place which, together with the company’s settlement at Calcutta, were the emporiums of their commerce for the whole kingdom of Bengal. Indeed Huguely is now abandoned by the English, and their whole trade centers at Calcutta or Fort William, which is a regular fortification, containing lodgings for the factors and writers, store-houses for the company’s merchandise, and magazines for their ammunition. As for the governor’s house, which likewise stands within the fort, it is one of the most regular structures in all India. Besides these settlements along the sea-coast of the peninsula, and on the banks of the Ganges, the English East India company possess certain inland fac tories and posts for the convenience and defence of their commerce, either purchased of the nabobs and rajahs, or conquered in the course of the war. As the operations we propose to record were confined to the coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, or the interior countries which form the peninsula intra Gangem, it will be unnecessary to describe the factory at Bencoolen, on the island of Sumatra, or any settlement which the English possess in other parts of the East Indies.

DISPUTE ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT OF ARCOT.

In order to understand the military transactions of the English company in India, the reader will take notice, that immediately after the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, mons. Dupleix, who commanded for the French in that country, began by his intrigues to sow the seeds of dissension among the nabobs, that he might be the better able to fish in troubled waters. Nizam Almuluck, the mogul’s viceroy of Decan, having the right of nominating a governor of the Carnatic, now more generally known by the name of the nabob of Arcot, appointed Anaverdy Khan to that office, in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-five. The viceroy dying, was succeeded in his viceroyalty, or subaship, by his second son Nazirzing, whom the mogul confirmed. He was opposed in his pretensions by his own cousin Muzapherzing, who had recourse to the assistance of M. Dupleix, and obtained from him a reinforcement of Europeans and artillery, in consideration of many presents and promises, which he fulfilled in the sequel. Thus reinforced, and joined by one Chunda Saib, an active Indian chief, he took the field against his kinsman Nazirzing, who was supported by a body of English troops under colonel Laurence. The French, dreading an engagement, retired in the night; and Muzapherzing, seeing himself abandoned by all his own troops, appealed to the clemency of his cousin, who spared his life, but detained him as a state prisoner. In this situation, he formed a conspiracy against his kinsman’s life, with Nazirzing’s prime minister, and the nabobs of Cadupab and Condaneor, then in his camp; and the conspirators were encouraged in their scheme by Dupleix and Chunda Saib, who had retired to Pondicherry. Thus stimulated, they murdered Nazirzing in his camp, and proclaimed Muzapherzing viceroy of Decan. In the tents of the murdered viceroy they found an immense treasure, of which a great share fell to M. Dupleix, whom Muzapherzing the usurper at this time associated in the government. By virtue of this association, the Frenchman assumed the state and formalities of an eastern prince; and he and his colleague Muzapherzing appointed Chunda Saib nabob of Arcot; Anaverdy Khan, the late nabob, had been, in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, defeated and slain by Muzapherzing and Chunda Saib, with the assistance of their French auxiliaries; and his son Mahommed Ali Khan had put himself under the protection of the English at Madras, and was confirmed by Nazirzing, as his father’s successor in the nabobship, or government of Arcot. This government, therefore, was disputed between Mahommed Ali Khan, appointed by the legal viceroy Nazirzing, supported by the English company, and Chunda Saib, nominated by the usurper Muzapherzing, and protected by Dupleix, who commanded at Pondicherry. Muzapherzing did not long survive his usurpation. In the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-one, the same nabobs who had promoted him to his kinsman’s place, thinking themselves ill rewarded for their services, fell upon him suddenly, routed his troops, and put him to death: and next day the chiefs of the army proclaimed Sallabatzing, brother to Nazirzing, viceroy of Decan; on the other hand, the mogul appointed Gauzedy Khan, who was the elder brother of Sallabatzing; and this prince confirmed Mahommed Ali Khan in the government of Arcot; but the affairs of the mogul’s court were then in such confusion, that he could not spare an army to support the nomination he had made. Chunda Saib, nabob of Arcot, having been deposed by the great mogul, who placed Anaverdy Khan in his room, ha resolved to recover his government by force, and had recourse to the French general at Pondicherry, who reinforced him with two thousand sepoys, or soldiers of the country, sixty caffrees, and four hundred and twenty French troops, on condition that, if he proved successful in his enterprise, he should cede to the French the town of Velur, in the neighbourhood of Pondicherry, with its dependencies, consisting of forty-five villages. Thus reinforced, he defeated his rival Anaverdy Khan, who lost his life in the engagement, reassumed the government of Arcot, and punctually performed the conditions which had been stipulated by his French allies.

MAHOMMED ALI KHAN SUPPORTED BY THE ENGLISH.

Mahommed Ali Khan, at the death of his father, had fled to Tiruchirapalli,* and solicited the assistance of the English, who favoured him with a reinforcement of money, men, and ammunition, under the conduct of major Laurence, a brave and experienced officer.

* Tiruchirapalli, commonly called Triehinoply, situated near tha river Cauveri, above two hundred miles to the southward of Madras, is the capital of a small kingdom belonging to the government of Arcot, and hounded on the east by the kingdom of Tanjore.

By dint of this supply, he gained some advantages over the enemy, who were obliged to retreat; but no decisive blow was given. Mahommed afterwards repaired in person to fort St. David’s, to demand more powerful succours, alleging that his fate was connected with the interest of the English company, which in time would be obliged to abandon the whole coast, should they allow the enemy to proceed in their conquests. In consequence of these representations, he received another strong reinforcement, under the command of captain Cope; but nothing of importance was attempted, and the English auxiliaries retired. Then Mahommed was attacked by the enemy, who obtained a complete victory over him. Finding it impossible to maintain his footing by his own strength, he entered into a close alliance with the English, and ceded to them some commercial points which had been long in dispute. Then they detached captain Cope to put Tiruchirapalli in a posture of defence; while captain de Gingins, a Swiss officer, marched at the head of four hundred Europeans to the nabob’s assistance. The two armies being pretty equal in strength, lay encamped in sight of each other a whole month; during which nothing happened but a few skirmishes, which generally terminated to the advantage of the English auxiliaries. In order to make a diversion, and divide the French forces, the company resolved to send a detachment into the province of Arcot; and this was one of the first occasions upon which the extraordinary talents of Mr. Clive were displayed. He had entered into the service of the East India company as a writer, and Avas considered as a person very indifferently qualified for succeeding in any civil station of life. He now offered his service in a military capacity, and actually began his march to Arcot, at the head of two hundred and ten Europeans, with five hundred sepoys.*

* The sepoys are the mercenaries of the country, who are hired as soldiers occasionally by all parties.

MR. CLIVE TAKES ARCOT.

Such was the resolution, secrecy, and despatch, with which he conducted this enterprise, that the enemy knew nothing of his motions until he was in possession of the capital, which he took without opposition. The inhabitants, expecting to be plundered, offered him a large sum to spare their city; but they derived their security from the generosity and discretion of the conqueror. He refused the proffered ransom, and issued a proclamation, intimating, that those who were willing to remain in their houses should be protected from insult and injury, and the rest have leave to retire with all their effects, except provisions, for which he promised to pay the full value. By this sage conduct he conciliated the affection of the people so entirely, that even those who quitted the place supplied him with exact intelligence of the enemy’s designs, when he was besieged in the sequel. The town was in a little time invested by Rajah Saib, son of Chunda Saib, at the head of a numerous army, and the operations of the siege were conducted by European engineers. Though their approaches were retarded by the repeated and resolute sallies of Mr. Clive, they at length effected two breaches supposed to be practicable; and on the fourteenth day of October, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-one, gave a general assault. Mr. Clive, having received intimation of their design, had made such preparations for their reception, that they were repulsed in every quarter with great loss, and obliged to raise the siege with the utmost precipitation.

This gallant Englishman, not contented with the reputation he had acquired from his noble defence, was no sooner reinforced by a detachment under captain Kirkpatrick from Trichinopoly, than he marched in pursuit of the enemy, whom he overtook in the plains of Arani. There, on the third day of December, he attacked them with irresistible impetuosity; and, after an obstinate dispute, obtained a complete victory at a very small expense. The forts of Timery, Caujeveram, and Arani, surrendered to the terror of his name, rather than to the force of his arms; and he returned to Fort St. David’s in triumph. He had enjoyed a very few weeks of repose, when he was summoned to the field by fresh incursions of the enemy. In the beginning of the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-two, he marched with a small detachment to Madras, where he was joined by a reinforcement from Bengal, the whole number not exceeding three hundred Europeans, and assembled a body of the natives, that he might have at least the appearance of an army. With these he proceeded to Koveripauk, about fifteen miles from Ar-cot, where he found the French and Indians, consisting of fifteen hundred sepoys, seventeen hundred horse, a body of natives, and one hundred and fifty Europeans, with eight pieces of cannon. Though they were advantageously posted and intrenched, and the day was already far advanced, Mr. Clive advanced against them with his usual intrepidity; but the victory remained for some time in suspense. It was now dark, and the battle doubtful, when Mr. Clive sent round a detachment to fall in the rear of the French battery. This attack was executed with great resolution, while the English in front entered the entrenchments with their bayonets fixed; and, though very little tinctured with discipline, displayed the spirit and activity of hardy veterans. This double attack disconcerted the enemy in such a manner, that they soon desisted from all opposition. A considerable carnage ensued; yet the greater part of the enemy, both horse and foot, saved themselves by flight, under cover of the darkness. The French, to a man, threw down their arms, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war; and all the cannon and baggage fell into the hands of the victor.

MR. CLIVE REDUCES THREE FORTS, &c.

The province of Arcot being thus cleared of the enemy, Mr. Clive with his forces returned to Fort St. David’s, where he found major Laurence just arrived from England,* to take upon him the command of the troops in the company’s service.

On the eighteenth day of March, this officer, accompanied by Mr. Clive, took the field, and was joined by captain de Gingins at Tiruchirapalli. From hence he detached Mr. Clive with four hundred European soldiers, a few Mahratta horse, and a body of sepoys, to cut off the enemy’s retreat to Pondicherry. In the course of this expedition he dislodged a strong body of the foe posted at Samiaveram, and obliged Chunda Saib to throw a body of troops into a strong fortified temple, or pagoda, upon the river Koleroon, which was immediately invested. The commanding officer, in attempting to escape, was slain with some others, and the rest surrendered at discretion. They were still in possession of another fortified temple, which he also besieged in form, and reduced by capitulation. Having subdued these forts, he marched directly to Volconda, whither he understood the French commander d’Anteuil had retired. He found that officer intrenched in a village, from whence he drove him with precipitation, and made himself master of the French cannon. The enemy attempted to save themselves in a neighbouring fort; but the gates being shut against them by the governor, who was apprehensive that they would be followed pell-mell by the English, Mr. Clive attacked them with great fury, and made a considerable slaughter; but his humanity being shocked at this carnage, he sent a flag of truce to the vanquished, with terms of capitulation, which they readily embraced. These articles imported, that D’Anteuil, and three other officers, should remain prisoners on parole for one year; that the garrison should be exchanged, and the money and stores be delivered to the nabob whom the English supported.

CHUNDA SAIB TAKEN AND PUT TO DEATH.

During these transactions, Chunda Saib lay encamped with an army of thirty thousand men at Syrinham, an island in the neighbourhood of Tiruchirapalli, which he longed eagerly to possess. Hither major Laurence marched with his Indian allies,* and took his measures so well, that the enemy’s provisions were entirely intercepted.

* His army consisted of twelve hundred Europeans and Topasses in battalions, two thousand sepoys, with the forces of the nabob, the kings of Tanjore, Muissack, and the Mahrattas; amounting to fifteen hundred horse and ten thousand infantry. Topasses are descendants from the Portuguese. The Mahrattas are native Indians of a very numerous and powerful nation, which hath more than once given law to the mogul.

Chunda Saib, in attempting to fly, was taken prisoner by the nabob of Tanjore, an ally of the English company, who ordered his head to be struck off, in order to prevent the disputes which otherwise would have arisen among the captors. *

* Chunda Saib demanded leave of the Tanjore general to pass through his camp to Tanjore, and this request was granted; but instead of being allowed to pass, he was detained prisoner, and as the allies could not agree about the manner in which he should be disposed of, some of the Tanjore officers, of their own accord, ended the dispute by cutting off his head.

The main body of the army being attacked by major Laurence, and totally defeated, the island of Syrinham was surrendered, and about a thousand European French soldiers, under the command of Mr. Law, nephew to the famous Law who schemed the Mississippi company, fell into the hands of the conquerors, including thirty officers, with forty pieces of cannon, and ten mortars. M. Dupleix, though exceedingly mortified by this disaster, resolved to maintain the cause which he had espoused. He proclaimed Rajah Saib, the son of Chunda Saib, nabob of Arcot; and afterwards pretended that he himself had received from the mogul sanids or commissions, appointing him governor of all the Carnatic, from the river Kristnah to the sea; but these sanids appeared in the sequel to be forged. In order to complete the comedy, a supposed messenger from Delhi was received at Pondicherry as ambassador from the mogul. Dupleix, mounted on an elephant, preceded by music and dancing women, in the oriental manner, received in public his commission from the hands of the pretended ambassador. He affected the eastern state, kept his Durbar or court, where he appeared sitting cross-legged on a sofa, and received presents as prince of the country from his own council, as well as from the natives. In the meantime, hostilities continued between the forces of the two companies, as auxiliaries to the contending nabobs. The English, under major Kinnier, made an unsuccessful attempt upon Gingee, a strong town situated to the west of Pondicherry. Major Laurence defeated a strong body of French and natives, commanded by Dupleix’s nephew, M. de Kerjean, in the neighbourhood of Pondicherry, and took him prisoner, together with fifteen officers; after this success, Mr. Clive reduced the forts of Cove-long and Chengalput, the last very strong, situated about forty miles to the southward of Madras. On the other hand, M. Dupleix intercepted at sea captain Schaub, with his whole Swiss company, whom he detained prisoners at Pondicherry, although the two nations were not at war with each other. During these transactions, Sallabatzing, with a body of French under M. de Bussy, advanced towards Aurengabad, which was the seat of government; but he was opposed by a chief of the Mahrattas, at the head of a numerous army. In the meantime, Gauzedy Khan, the elder brother of Sallabatzing, whom the mogul had appointed viceroy of Decan, took possession of his government at Aurengabad, where, in fourteen days after his arrival, he was poisoned by his own sister. The mogul immediately appointed his son Schah Abadin Khan to succeed his father; and this prince actually raised an army to come and take possession; but the mogul’s affairs requiring his presence at Delhi, he was obliged to postpone his design, so that Sallabatzing was left without a competitor, and made a present to the French of all the English settlements to the northward. Thus concluded the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-two. Next campaign was chiefly confined to the neighbourhood of Trichinopoly, where major Laurence made several vigorous attacks upon the enemy’s army, and obtained many advantages; which, however, did not prove decisive, because he was so much out-numbered that he could never follow his blow.

CONVENTION BETWEEN THE EAST INDIA COMPANIES OF ENGLAND AND FRANCE.

In the course of this year, the mogul was deposed by his general Schah Abadin Khan, the viceroy of Decan, who raised to the throne Allum Geer, another prince of the blood. In the succeeding year, a negotiation was Bet on foot by Mr. Saunders, governor of Madras, and M. Dupleix; and conferences were opened at Sadrass, a Dutch settlement between Pondicherry and Fort St. George; but this proved abortive; and many other gallant efforts were made by major Laurence in the territory of Trichinopoly, which still continued to be the scene of action. In the course of this year admiral Watson arrived on the coast of Coromandel with a squadron of ships of war, having on board a regiment commanded by colonel Aldercroon; at the same time the ships from France brought over to Pondicherry the sieur Godeheu, commissary-general and governor-general of all their settlements, at whose arrival Dupleix departed for Europe. The new governor immediately wrote a letter to Mr. Saunders, professing the most pacific inclinations, and proposing a suspension of arms between the two companies until their disputes could be amicably adjusted. This proposal was very agreeable to the governor and council at Madras, and a cessation of arms actually took place in the month of October, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four. Deputies being sent to Pondicherry, a provisional treaty and truce were concluded, on condition that neither of the two companies should for the future interfere in any difference that might arise between the princes of the country. The other articles related to the places and settlements that should be retained or possessed by the respective companies, until fresh orders relating to this agreement should arrive from the courts of London and Versailles, transmitted by the two East India companies of France and England. Until such orders should arrive, it was stipulated that neither nation should be allowed to procure any new grant or cession, or to build forts for the defence of new establishments; and that they should not proceed to any cession, retrocession, or evacuation of what they then possessed; but every thing should remain on the footing of uti possidetis. How pacific soever the sentiments of the French subjects might have been at this period in the East Indies, certain it is, the designs of the French governors in America were altogether hostile, and their conduct hastening towards a rupture, which kindled up a bloody war in every division of the globe.

GENERAL VIEW OF THE BRITISH COLONIES IN NORTH AMERICA.

As this war may be termed a native of America, and the principal scenes of it were acted on that continent, we shall, for the information of the reader, sketch out the situation of the then British colonies as they bordered on each other, and extended along the sea coast, from the gulf of St. Lawrence as far south as the country of Florida. We shall enumerate the Indian nations that lie scattered about their confines, and delineate the manner in which the French hemmed them in by a surprising line of fortifications. Should we comprehend Hudson’s Bay, with the adjacent countries, and the banks of Newfoundland, in this geographical detail, we might affirm that Great Britain at that time possessed a territory along the sea-coast, extending seventeen hundred miles in a direct line, from the sixtieth to the thirty-first degree of northern latitude; but as these two countries were not concerned in this dispute, we shall advance from the northward to the southern side of the gulf of St. Lawrence; and beginning with Acadia or Nova Scotia, describe our settlements as they lie in a southerly direction, as far as the gulf of Florida. This great tract of country, stretching fifteen degrees of latitude, is washed on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; the southern boundary is Spanish Florida; but to the westward the limits are uncertain, some affirming that the jurisdiction of the colonies penetrates through the whole continent, as far as the South Sea; while others, with more moderation, think they are naturally bounded by the river Illinois that runs into the Mississippi, and in a manner connects that river with the chain of lakes known by the names of Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, the three first communicating with each other, and the last discharging itself into the river St. Lawrence, which, running by Montreal and Quebec, issues into the bay of the same denomination, forming the northern boundary of Nova Scotia. The French, who had no legal claim to any lands on the south side of this river, nevertheless, with an insolence of ambition peculiar to themselves, not only extended their forts from the source of the St. Lawrence, through an immense tract of that country, as far as the Mississippi, which disembogues itself into the gulf of Florida; but also, by a series of unparalleled encroachments, endeavoured to contract the English colonies within such narrow limits as would have cut off almost one half of their possessions. As we have already given a geographical description of Nova Scotia, and mentioned the particulars of the new settlement of Halifax, we shall now only observe, that it is surrounded on three sides by the sea, the gulf, and river of St. Lawrence; that its original boundary to the west was the river Pentagoet; but it is now contracted within the river St. Croix, because the crown of Great Britain did, in the year one thousand six hundred and sixty-three, grant to the duke of York the territory of Sagadahack, stretching from St. Croix to the river of this name; which was in the sequel, by an express charter from the crown, annexed to the province of Massachusett’s Bay, one of the four governments of New England. This country, situated next to Nova Scotia, lies between the forty-first and forty-fifth degrees of north latitude, extending near three hundred miles in length, and about two hundred in breadth, if we bound it by those tracts which the French possessed: no part of the settlements of this country, however, stretches above sixty miles from the sea. The summer is here intensely hot, and the winter proportionably severe; nevertheless, the climate is healthy, and the sky generally serene. The soil is not favourable to any of the European kinds of grain; but produces great plenty of maize, which the people bake into bread, and brew into beer, though their favourite drink is made of molasses hopped, and impregnated with the tops of the spruce-fir, which is a native of this country. The ground raises good flax and tolerable hemp. Here are great herds of black cattle, some of them very large in size, a vast number of excellent hogs, a breed of small horses, graceful, swift, and hardy; and large flocks of sheep, whose wool, though not so fine as that of England, is manufactured with great success.

New England is composed of the four provinces known by the names of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is bounded on the south by New York, extending northerly on both sides of the river Hudson, about two hundred miles into the country possessed by the Indians of the Five Nations, whom the French distinguish by the name of the Irroquois; but in breadth this province does not exceed fifty miles, though it comprehends Long Island, lying to the southward of Connecticut. The capital, which derives from the province the name of New York, is situated on an excellent harbour in the island of Manahatton, extending fourteen miles in length, and five in breadth, at the mouth of the noble river Hudson, which is navigable for above two hundred miles. At the distance of one hundred and fifty miles from New York, stands the town of Albany, upon the same river. In this place all the treaties and other transactions were negotiated between the English and the Irroquois, a confederacy of five Indian nations, who, by their union, courage, and military skill, had reduced a great number of other Indian tribes, and subdued a territory more extensive than the whole kingdom of France. They were about fourscore years ago able to bring ten thousand warriors into the field; but now their number is so greatly diminished by wars, epidemical diseases, and the use of spirituous liquors, that they cannot raise above fifteen hundred men, even though they have admitted into their confederacy the nation of the Tuscaroras, whom the English drove from the confines of Carolina. The Mohawk Indians inhabit the country advanced from Albany. The northern extremities of New Hampshire and New York are divided by the lakes Champlain and Sacrament, between which the French had raised the fort of Crown Point.

Contiguous to New York, and lying along the coast, in a southerly direction, is the small province of New Jersey, bounded on the west by the river Delaware, which divides it from Pennsylvania, extending about one hundred and fifty miles in length, but in breadth not more than one third of that extent. The climate, soil, and produce of these two provinces, as well as of Pennsylvania, are similar. They yield great quantities of grain, sheep, horses, hogs, and horned cattle; all kinds of poultry and game in great abundance; vegetables of every sort in perfection, and excellent fruit, particularly peaches and melons. Their vast forests abound with oak, ash, beech, chesnut, cedar, walnut-tree, cypress, hickory, sassafras, and pine; but the timber is not counted so fit for shipping as that of New England and Nova Scotia. These provinces produce great quantities of flax and hemp. New York affords mines of iron, and very rich copper ore is found in New Jersey.

Pennsylvania, lying to the southward of New York and New Jersey, is bounded on the other side by Maryland, stretching two hundred and fifty miles in length, two hundred in breadth, and having no communication with the sea, except by the mouth of the river Delaware. This province was originally settled by Quakers, under the auspices of the celebrated William Penn, whose descendants are still proprietaries of the country. Philadelphia, the capital, stands on a tongue of land at the confluence of the two navigable rivers, the Delaware and Sculkel, disposed in the form of a regular oblong, and designed by the original plan to extend from the one to the other. The streets, which are broad, spacious, and uniform, cross each other at right angles, leaving proper spaces for churches, markets, and other public edifices. The houses are neatly built of brick, the quays spacious and magnificent, the warehouses large and numerous, and the docks commodious and well contrived for ship building. Pennsylvania is understood to extend as far northerly as the banks of the lake Erie, where the French erected a fort. They also raised another at some distance to the southward of the Riviere-au-Beuf, and made other encroachments on this colony.

Adjoining to part of Pennsylvania, on the sea-coast, lies the province of Maryland, a tract of land situated along the bay of Chesapeak, in length about one hundred and forty miles, and nearly of the same breadth, bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and by the river Potowmack on the south. This country was first planted with Roman catholics by lord Baltimore, to whom Charles II. granted it by patent. In the sequel, however, people of all religions were admitted into this settlement, and indulged with liberty of conscience, and at present the reigning religion is that of the English church. The climate is very sultry in summer, and not very salubrious. The soil is fruitful, and produces a great quantity of tobacca, which the people cultivate as their staple commodity. The seat of government is established at Annapolis, a small town beautifully situated on the river Patuxent.

Tracing the sea-coast still southerly, the next settlement is Virginia, watered on the north by the river Potowmack, which is the boundary between this and the colony last described, having the bay of Chesapeak to the east, bounded on the south by Carolina, and extending westward without any prescribed limits, though the plantations have reached no farther than the great Allegany mountains; so that the province, as now possessed, stretches in length above two hundred and forty miles, and in breadth not above two hundred, lying between the fifty-fifth and fortieth degrees of latitude. In sailing to Virginia, navigators steer through a strait formed by two points, called the Capes, into the bay of Chesapeak, a large inlet that runs three hundred miles into the country from south to north, covered from the Atlantic Ocean by the eastern side of Maryland, and a small portion of Virginia on the same peninsula. This noble bay is about eighteen miles broad for a considerable space, and seven at its narrowest part, yielding generally nine fathoms depth of water; on both sides it receives many navigable rivers, those on the Virginia side being known by the names of James River, York River, the Rappahannock, and Potowmack. This country, especially towards the sea, lies very low and swampy, and the soil is extremely fertile. The air and weather are variable, the heats of summer excessive, the frosts of winter sudden, and intensely cold; so that, upon the whole, the climate is neither very agreeable nor healthy, the people being particularly subject to agues and pleuritic disorders. The province abounds with vast forests of timber; the plains are covered with a surprising luxuriancy of vegetables, flowers, and flowering shrubs, diffusing the most delicious fragrance. The ground yields plenty of corn, and every sort of fruit in great abundance and perfection. Horned cattle and hogs have here multiplied to admiration, since they were first imported from Europe. The animals, natives of this and the neighbouring countries, are deer, panthers or tigers, bears, wolves, foxes, squirrels, racoons, and creatures called opossums, with an infinite variety of beautiful birds, and a diversity of serpents, among which the rattlesnake is the most remarkable.

Virginia is bounded to the south by the two Carolinas, situated between the forty-sixth and thirty-first degrees of latitude; the length amounting to upwards of four hundred miles, and the breadth extending near three hundred, as far as the Indian nations called the Catawbas, the Creeks, and Cherokees. The country of Carolina is divided into two governments, of which the most northern is the most inconsiderable. The climate in both is the same, as well as the soil: the first is warm, though not unhealthy; the last extremely fertile, yielding every thing in plenty which is produced in Virginia, besides abundance of excellent oranges, and some commodities which are not found to the northward. North Carolina, though not so opulent, is more populous than the southern part. The colonists of North Carolina carry on a considerable traffic in tar, pitch, turpentine, staves, shingles, lumber, corn, peas, pork, and beef; tobacco, deer skins, indigo, wheat, rice, bee’s-wax, tallow, bacon, and hog’s-lard, cotton, and squared timber; live cattle, with the skins of beaver, racoon, fox, minx, wild-cat, and otter. South Carolina is much better cultivated; the people are more civilized, and the commerce more important. The capital of this province, called Charles Town, is finely situated at the confluence of two navigable rivers, having the advantage of a commodious harbour. Their trade, exclusive of the articles we have already mentioned as common to this government and that of North Carolina, consists of two chief staple commodities, rice and indigo, which they cultivate with great success; and they have likewise made some progress in the culture of silk.

The most southern of all our settlements on this coast is Georgia, extending about sixty miles from north to South, along the sea-shore; but widening in the inland parts to above one hundred and fifty, and stretching almost three hundred from the sea to the Apalachian mountains. This country differs very little from that of South Carolina, with which it borders; yet the summer is here more hot, and the soil not so fertile. Savannah, the capital, stands commodiously for trade, about ten miles from the sea, on a river of the same name, navigable with large boats two hundred miles farther up to the second town called Augusta, a place that flourishes by the Indian trade of skins, which the inhabitants carry on with their neighbours the Creeks, the Chickesaws, and the Cherokees, who are the most numerous and powerful tribes in America. Georgia is bounded on the south by the river Attamaha, at no great distance from the Spanish fort of St. Augustine.

THE FRENCH SURPRISE LOG’S TOWN.

Having thus exhibited a succinct view of the British colonies in North America, for the information of the reader, we shall now resume the thread of our history, and particularize the transactions by which the present year was distinguished on this extensive continent. The government of England having received nothing but evasive answers from the court of France, touching the complaints that were made of the encroachments in America, despatched orders to all the governors of that country to repel force by force, and drive the French from their settlements on the river Ohio. Accordingly, the provinces of Virginia and Pennsylvania took this important affair into their consideration; but while they deliberated, the French vigorously prosecuted their designs on the other side of the mountains. They surprised Log’s Town, which the Virginians had built upon the Ohio; made themselves masters of the Block-house and Truck-house, where they found skins and other commodities to the amount of twenty thousand pounds, and destroyed all the British traders, except two who found means to escape. At the same time, M. de Contrecour, with a thousand men and eighteen pieces of cannon, arrived in three hundred canoes from Venango, a fort they had raised on the banks of the Ohio, and reduced by surprise a British fort which the Virginians had built on the forks of the Monangahela, that runs into the same river.

CONFERENCE WITH THE INDIANS.

These hostilities were followed by divers skirmishes between the people of the two nations, which were fought with various success. At length the governors of the English settlements received orders from England to form a political confederacy for their mutual defence; and the governor of New York was directed to confer with the chiefs of the Six Nations, with a view to detach them from the French interest by dint of promises and presents of value, sent over for that purpose. A congress was accordingly appointed at Albany, to which place the governor of New York repaired, accompanied by commissioners from all the other British settlements; but a very small number of Indians arrived, and even these seemed to be indifferent to the advances and exhortations that were made by the English orator. The truth is, the French had artfully weaned them from their attachment to the subjects of Great Britain. Nevertheless, they accepted the presents, renewed their treaties with the king of England, and even demanded his assistance in driving the French from the posts and possessions they had usurped within the Indian territories. It was in consequence of the measures here taken, that colonel Washington was detached from Virginia with four hundred men, and occupied a post on the banks of the river Ohio, where he threw up some works, and erected a kind of occasional fort, in hopes of being able to defend himself in that situation, until he should be joined by a reinforcement from New York, which, how ever, did not arrive.

COLONEL WASHINGTON DEFEATED AND TAKEN BY THE FRENCH.

While he remained in this situation, de Viller, a French commander, at the head of nine hundred men, being on his march to dislodge Washington, detached one Jamonville, an inferior officer, with a small party, and a formal summons to colonel Washington, requiring him to quit the fort, which he pretended was built on ground belonging to the French, or their allies. So little regard was paid to this intimation, that the English fell upon this party, and, as the French affirm, without the least provocation, either slew or took the whole detachment. De Viller, incensed at these unprovoked hostilities, marched up to the attack, which Washington for some time sustained under manifold disadvantages. At length, however, he surrendered the fort upon capitulation, for the performance of which he left two officers as hostages in the hands of the French; and in his retreat was terribly harassed by the Indians, who plundered his baggage, and massacred his people. This event was no sooner known in England, than the British ambassador at Paris received directions to complain of it to the French ministry, as an open violation of the peace; but this representation had no effect.

DIVISIONS AMONG THE BRITISH COLONIES.

Both nations by this time foresaw that a rupture would be inevitable, and each resolved to make suitable preparations. France continued to send reinforcements of men, and supplies of ammunition to Quebec, for the prosecution of her ambitious projects; and the ministry of Great Britain transmitted salutary cautions to the governors of the provinces in North America, exhorting them to join their endeavours for repelling the incursions of the enemy. Such an union as seemed necessary for their common preservation was not easily effected. The different colonies were divided by different views and interests, both religious and political; besides, every settlement was distracted into factions, formed by the governor and the demagogues of the assembly; in other words, an opposition like that in parliament, and a continual struggle between the liberties of the people and the prerogative of the proprietor, whether sovereign or subject. Mr. Dinwiddie, governor of Virginia, having demanded a certain perquisite or fee for every patent he should pass for land, the assembly voted his demand illegal, arbitrary, and oppressive. They declared that every man who paid it should be deemed an enemy to his country, and sent over an agent to London to solicit the suppression of this imposition. The representatives of the people in Pennsylvania wasted the time in vain deliberations and violent disputes with their proprietors, while the enemy infested their frontiers. The colony of New York was filled with discontent and animosity. Sir Danvers Osborn, who had been appointed governor of this province, died immediately after his arrival at New York, and the instructions he had received were exposed to public censure. The preamble inveighed severely against the want of duty, allegiance, loyalty, and unanimity, which had lately appeared so notorious in the assembly of that province, who had violated the royal commission and instructions, by assuming to themselves the power to dispose of public money in the laws which they had occasionally passed. This gentleman was, therefore, directed to insist upon the reformation of all those public abuses, and upon the establishment of a certain supply for the service of the government, as well as upon the settlement of a salary for himself. Moreover, his majesty, in these instructions, signified his will and pleasure, that all money raised for the supply and support of government, or upon any emergency for immediate service, should be disposed of and applied properly to the use for which it might be granted, by warrant from the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the council of the province, and no otherwise; that, nevertheless, the assembly should be permitted, from time to time, to view and examine the accounts of money disposed of, by virtue of laws which they had enacted; that if any member of the council, or officer holding place of trust or profit within the government, should, in any manner whatever, give his assent to, or in anywise advise or concur with the assembly in passing any act or vote, whereby the royal prerogative might be lessened or impaired, or any money be raised or disposed of for the public service, contrary to, or inconsistent with, the method prescribed by these instructions, the governor should forthwith remove or suspend such counsellor or officer so offending, and give an immediate account of his proceedings to the commissioners of trade and plantations. These were peremptory injunctions, which plainly proved that the ministry was determined to support the prerogative with a high hand; but it must be owned, at the same time, that abundance of provocation had been given by the insolent opposition of some turbulent individuals, who had exerted all their influence in disturbing and distressing the views and designs of the government. While the British colonies in America were, by these divisions, in a great measure disabled from making vigorous efforts against the common enemy, the administration at home began to exert itself for their defence.. Officers were appointed for two regiments, consisting of two battalions each, to be raised in America, and commanded by sir William Pepperel and governor Shirley, who had enjoyed the same command in the last war, and a body of troops was destined for the same service.

HEREDITARY PRINCE OF HESSE-CASSEL PROFESSES THE CATHOLIC RELIGION.

The most remarkable incident that marked this year on the continent of Europe, was the conversion of the hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel, who had espoused the princess Mary of England. He now declared himself a Roman-catholic, and was supposed to have been cajoled to this profession by the promises of certain powers, who flattered his ambition, in order to weaken the protestant interest in Germany. His father, though deeply affected by his son’s apostacy, did not fail to take immediate measures for preventing the evil consequences which might otherwise have flowed from his defection. He forthwith, assembled the states of the landgraviate, in order to take such measures as might appear necessary to maintain the religion, laws, and constitution of the country; and the prince was laid under certain restrictions, which he did not find it an easy task to set aside. It was enacted, that when the regency should devolve to him by succession, he should not have it in his power to alter the established laws, or grant any church to persons of the Roman communion, for the public exercise of their religion; and that he should be excluded from all share in the education of his sons, the eldest of whom should be put in possession of the country of Hanau upon his father’s accession to the regency of the landgraviate. These resolutions were guaranteed by the kings of Prussia and Denmark, by the maritime powers, and the evangelic body of the empire.

PARLIAMENT OF PARIS RECALLED FROM EXILE.

The exile of the parliament of Paris, far from having intimidated the other tribunals from performing what they apprehended to be their duty, served only to inflame the discontents of the people, and to animate all the courts of justice to a full exertion of their authority. The chatelot continued to prosecute those priests, who refused the sacrament to persons whose consciences would not allow them to subscribe to the bull Unigenitus, even after three of their members were sent to the Bastile. The same prosecutions were carried on, and bold remonstrances published by, the parliaments of Aix and Rouen. In a word, the whole kingdom was filled with such confusion as threatened a total suppression of justice, in a general spirit of disaffection and universal anarchy. The prelates, meanwhile, seemed to triumph in the combustion they had raised. They entered into associations to support each other; they intrigued at court, and harassed the king with insolent declarations, till he grew tired of their proceedings, and opened his eyes to the fatal consequences of their pride and obstinacy. He even took an opportunity of exhorting the archbishop of Paris to act more suitably to the character of a clergyman. He recalled the parliament from exile, and they returned in triumph, amidst the acclamations of the people, who celebrated their arrival at Paris with the most extravagant demonstrations of joy; and the archbishop, notwithstanding the king’s express declaration to the contrary, still persisting in countenancing the recusant priests, was banished to Conflans-sous-Charenton.

AFFAIRS OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL.

In Spain, the interest of Great Britain was so warmly espoused, and so powerfully supported by Mr. Wall, who had been resident in England, that the French party, though countenanced by the queen-mother, and sustained with all the influence of the marquis de la Ensenada, the prime minister, was totally defeated. The king being convinced that it would be for the interest of his subjects to live on good terms with England, and well apprized of Ensenada’s intrigues, ordered that minister to be arrested and confined, and bestowed upon Mr. Wall the best part of his employments. Nevertheless, the Spaniards in the West Indies continued to oppress the subjects of Great Britain, employed in cutting logwood in the bay of Honduras; and representations on this head being made to the court of Madrid, the dispute was amicably adjusted between Mr. Wall and sir Benjamin Keene, the British ambassador. While the interest of Britain thus triumphed in Spain, it seemed to lose ground at the court of Lisbon. His Portuguese majesty had formed vast projects of an active commerce, and even established an East India company; in the meantime he could not help manifesting his chagrin at the great quantities of gold which were yearly exported from his dominions, as the balance due from his subjects on English commodities. In his endeavours to check this traffic, which he deemed so detrimental to his subjects, he inflicted hardships on the British merchants settled at Lisbon: some were imprisoned on frivolous pretences; others deprived of their property, and obliged to quit the kingdom. He insisted upon laying an imposition of two per cent, on all the Portuguese gold that should be exported; but the profits of the trade would not bear such an exaction. Meanwhile, there being a scarcity of corn in Portugal, the kingdom was supplied from England; and the people having nothing but gold to purchase this necessary supply, the king saw the necessity of conniving at the exportation of his coin, and the trade reverted into its former channel.

SESSION OPENED.

On the fourteenth day of November, the king of Great Britain opened the session of parliament with an harangue, which intimated nothing of an approaching rupture. He said, that the general state of affairs in Europe had undergone very little alteration since their last meeting; that he had lately received the strongest assurances from his good brother the king of Spain, of friendship and confidence, which he would cultivate with harmony and good faith. He declared his principal view should be to strengthen the foundation, and secure the duration of a general peace; to improve the present advantages of it for promoting the trade of his good subjects, and protecting those possessions which constituted one great source of their wealth and commerce. Finally, he exhorted them to complete their plan for appropriating the forfeited estates in the highlands to the service of the public. He probably avoided mentioning the encroachments of France, that he might supply no handle for debates on the address, which was carried in both houses almost without opposition. The government seemed determined to humble the insolence of the French councils; and this disposition was so agreeable to the people in general, that they grudged no expense, and heartily concurred with the demands of the ministry.

The commons granted for the service of the ensuing year, four millions seventy-three thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine pounds; one million of that sum expressly given to enable his majesty to augment his forces by land and sea. Thirty-two thousand pounds were allotted as a subsidy to the king of Poland, and twenty thousand to the elector of Bavaria. These gratifications met with little or no opposition in the committee of supply; because it was taken for granted, that, in case of a rupture, France would endeavour to avail herself of her superiority by land, by invading his Britannic majesty’s German dominions; and therefore it might be necessary to secure the assistance of such allies on the continent. That they prognosticated aright, with respect to the designs of that ambitious power, will soon appear in the course of this history; which will also demonstrate how little dependence is to be placed upon the professed attachment of subsidiary princes. The supplies were raised by the standing branches of the revenue, the land-tax and malt-tax, and a lottery for one million; one hundred thousand pounds of it to be deducted for the service of the public, and the remaining nine hundred thousand to be charged on the produce of the sinking-fund, at the rate of three per cent, per annum, to commence from the fifth day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six. The civil transactions of this session were confined to a few objects. Divers new regulations were made for encouraging and improving the whale and white herring fishery, as well as for finishing and putting in a proper state of defence a new fort, lately built at Anamabo on the coast of Africa.

BILL IN BEHALF OF CHELSEA PENSIONERS.

Mr. Pitt, the paymaster-general of the forces, brought in a bill, which will ever remain a standing monument of his humanity. The poor disabled veterans who enjoyed the pension of Chelsea hospital, were so iniquitously oppressed by a set of miscreants, who supplied them with money per advance, at the most exorbitant rates of usury, that many of them, with their families, were in danger of starving; and the intention of government in granting such a comfortable subsistence, was in a great measure defeated. Mr. Pitt, perceiving that this evil originally flowed from the delay of the first payment, which the pensioner could not touch till the expiration of a whole year after he had been put upon the list, removed this necessity of borrowing, by providing in the bill, that half a year’s pension should be advanced half a year before it is due; and the practice of usury was effectually prevented by a clause, enacting, that all contracts should be void by which any pension might be mortgaged. This humane regulation was unanimously approved, and having passed through both houses with uncommon expedition, received the royal assent.

Notwithstanding the unanimity manifested by the commons, in every thing relating to the measures for acting vigorously against the common enemy of the nation, they were remarkably disturbed and divided by a contested election of members for Oxfordshire. In the course of this dispute, the strength and influence of what they called the old and new interest, or, to speak more intelligibly, of the tories and whigs in that county, were fully displayed. The candidates sustained on the shoulders of the old interest, were lord viscount Wenman and sir James Dashwood: their competitors, whom the new interest supported, and of consequence the ministry countenanced, were lord Parker and sir Edward Turner. Never was any contention of this kind maintained with more spirit and animosity, or carried on at a greater expense. One would have imagined that each side considered it as a dispute which must have determined whether the nation should enjoy its ancient liberty, or tamely submit to the fetters of corruption. Noblemen and gentlemen, clergymen and ladies, employed all their talents and industry in canvassing for either side, throughout every township and village in the county. Scandal emptied her whole quiver of insinuation, calumny, and lampoon; corruption was not remiss in promises and presents: houses of entertainment were opened; and nothing was for some time to be seen but scenes of tumult, riot, and intoxication. The revenue of many an independent prince on the continent, would not have been sufficient to afford such sums of money as were expended in the course of this dispute. At length they proceeded to election, and the sheriff made a double return of all the four candidates, so that not one of them could sit, and the county remained without a representative until this ambiguous affair could be decided in the house of commons. About the middle of November, petitions being presented by the four candidates, as well as by the gentlemen, clergy, and other freeholders of the county, complaining of an undue election, and double return, the matter of these petitions was heard at the bar of the house on the third day of December. The counsel for lord Wenman and sir James Dashwood alleged that they had the majority of votes upon the poll, and this circumstance was admitted by the counsel on the other side; then they proceeded to prove by evidence, that, after closing the poll, the sheriff declared the majority of votes to be in favour of these two candidates, and adjourned the court from the twenty-third day of April to the eighth of May; so that the scrutiny demanded and granted on the behalf of lord Parker and sir Edward Turner could not be discussed before the last day of the month, when the writ was returnable; that the scrutiny did not begin till the ninth day of May, when the time was protracted by disputes about the manner in which it should be carried on; that lord Parker and sir Edward Turner were allowed to object, through the whole poll, to the votes on the other side, on pretence that their competitors should be permitted to answer these objections, and, in their turn, object through the whole poll to the voters for lord Parker and sir Edward Turner, who should, in the last place, have leave to answer: that lord Wenman and sir James Dashwood had disapproved of this method, because they apprehended it might induce their competitors to make such a number of frivolous objections, that they should not have time to answer one half of them, much less to make objections of their own before the writ should be returned: that they foresaw such a number of frivolous objections were made, as engrossed the attention of the court till the twenty-seventh day of May; so that they could not begin to answer any of these objections till the twenty-eighth; and on the thirtieth, the sheriff, having closed the scrutiny, made the double return. The proof being exhibited, the counsel insisted, that as they had established a majority on the poll, and demonstrated that this majority neither was nor could be overthrown by such an unfinished scrutiny, it was incumbent on the other side to proceed upon the merits of the election, by endeavouring to overthrow that majority of which their clients were in possession. A question in the house being carried to the same purpose, lord Wenman and sir James Dashwood objected to five hundred and thirty voters on the other side, whom they proposed to disqualify. Their counsel examined several witnesses, to prove the partiality of the sheriff in favour of lord Parker and sir Edward Turner, and to detect these candidates in the practice of bribery; for which purpose they produced a letter in their own handwriting.

They afterwards proceeded to disqualify particular voters, and summed up their evidence on the twenty-first day of January. Then the counsel for the other side began to refute the charge of partiality and corruption; and to answer the objections that had been made to particular voters. They produced evidence to prove, that customary freeholds, or customary holdings, had voted in elections in the counties at Glamorgan, Monmouth, Gloucester, Wells, and Hereford; and that the customary tenants of the manor of Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, had been reputed capable of voting, and even voted at elections for that county. In a word, they continued to examine evidences, argue and refute, prove and disprove, until the twenty-third day of April, when, after some warm debates and divisions in the house, lord Parker and sir Edward Turner were declared duly elected; and the clerk of the crown was ordered to amend the return, by erasing the names of lord Wenman and sir James Dashwood. Many, who presumed to think for themselves, without recollecting the power and influence of the administration, were astonished at the issue of this dispute, which, however, might have easily been foreseen; inasmuch, as, during the course of the proceedings, most if not all of the many questions debated in the house, were determined by a great majority in favour of the new interest. A great number of copyholders had been admitted to vote at this election, and the sheriff incurred no censure for allowing them to take the oath appointed by law to be taken by freeholders: nevertheless, the commons carefully avoided determining the question, whether copyholders possessed of the yearly value of forty shillings, clear of all deductions, have not a right to vote for knights to represent the shire within which their copyhold estates are situated? This point being left doubtful by the legislature, puts it often in the power of the sheriff to return which of the candidates he pleases to support; for if the majority of the voting copyholders adheres to the interest of his favourite, he will admit their votes both on the poll and the scrutiny; whereas, should they be otherwise disposed, he will reject them as unqualified What effect this practice may have upon the independency of parliament, every person must perceive who reflects, that, in almost all the counties of England, the high sheriffs are annually appointed by the minister for the time being.

MESSAGE FROM THE KING TO THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.

The attention of the legislature was chiefly turned upon the conduct of France, which preserved no medium, but seemed intent upon striking some important blow, that might serve as a declaration of war. At Brest, and other ports in that kingdom, the French were employed in equipping a powerful armament, and made no scruple to own it was intended for North America. Towards the latter end of March, sir Thomas Eobinson, secretary of state, brought a message from the king to the parliament, intimating, that his majesty having at the beginning of the session declared his principal object was to preserve the public tranquillity, and at the same time to protect those possessions which constitute one great source of the commerce and wealth of his kingdoms, he now found it necessary to acquaint the house of commons, that the present situation of affairs made it requisite to augment his forces by sea and land, and to take such other measures as might best tend to preserve the general peace of Europe, and secure the just rights and possessions of his crown in America, as well as to repel any attempts whatsoever that might be made to support or countenance any designs which should be formed against his majesty and his kingdoms; and his majesty doubted not but his faithful commons, on whose affection and zeal he entirely relied, would enable him to make such augmentations, and to take such measures for supporting the honour of his crown, and the true interest of his people, and for the security of his dominions in the present critical conjuncture, as the exigency of affairs might require; in doing which his majesty would have as much regard to the ease of his good subjects as should be consistent with their safety and welfare. In answer to this message, a very warm and affectionate address was presented to his majesty; and it was on this occasion that the million was granted for augmenting his forces by sea and land. 357 [See note 2 X at the end of this Vol.] The court of Versailles, notwithstanding the assiduity and despatch which they were exerting in equipping armaments, and embarking troops, for the support of their ambitious schemes in America, still continued to amuse the British ministry with general declarations, that no hostility was intended, nor the least infringement of the treaty.

COURT OF VERSAILLES AMUSES THE ENGLISH MINISTRY.

The earl of Albemarle, the English ambassador at Paris, having lately died in that city, these assurances were communicated to the court of London by the marquis de Mirepoix, who resided in England with the same character which he had supported since his first arrival, with equal honour and politeness. On this occasion he himself was so far imposed upon by the instructions he had received, that he believed the professions of his court were sincere, and seriously endeavoured to prevent a rupture between the two nations. At length, however, their preparations were so notorious that he began to suspect the consequence; and the English ministry produced such proofs of their insincerity and double dealing, that he seemed to be struck with astonishment and chagrin. He repaired to France, and upbraided the ministry of Versailles for having made him the tool of their dissimulation. They referred him to the king, who ordered him to return to London, with fresh assurances of his pacific intentions; but his practice agreed so ill with his professions, that the ambassador had scarce obtained an audience to communicate them, when undoubted intelligence arrived, that a powerful armament was ready to sail from Brest and Rochfort. The government of Great Britain, roused by this information, immediately took the most expeditious methods for equipping a squadron; and towards the latter end of April, admiral Boscawen sailed with eleven ships of the line and one frigate, having on board a considerable number of land forces, to attend the motions of the enemy; but more certain and particular intelligence arriving soon after touching the strength of the French fleet, which consisted of twenty-five ships of the line, besides frigates and transports, with a great quantity of warlike stores, and four thousand regular troops, commanded by the baron Dieskau, admiral Holbourne was detached with six ships of the line, and one frigate, to reinforce Mr. Boscawen; and a great number of capital ships were put in commission. In the beginning of May the French fleet, commanded by Mr. Macnamara, an officer of Irish extraction, sailed from Brest, directing his course to North America; but, after having proceeded beyond the chops of the English channel, he returned with nine of the capital ships, while the rest of the armament continued their course, under the direction of M. Bois de la Mothe.

SESSION CLOSED.

On the twenty-fifth day of April the king went to the house of lords, where, after giving the royal assent to the bills then depending; for granting a certain sum out of the sinking fund for the relief of insolvent debtors, for the better regulation of marine forces on shore, for the better raising of marines and seamen, and to several other public and private bills; his majesty put an end to the session of parliament by a speech, in which he acquainted the two houses, that the zeal they had shown for supporting the honour, rights, and possessions of his crown, had afforded him the greatest satisfaction; that his desire to preserve the public tranquillity had been sincere and uniform; that he had religiously adhered to the stipulations of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and made it his care not to injure or offend any power whatsoever; but that he never could entertain a thought of purchasing the name of peace at the expense of suffering encroachments upon, or of yielding up, what justly belonged to Great Britain, either by ancient possession or by solemn treaties; that the vigour and firmness of his parliament, on this important occasion, had enabled him to be prepared for such contingencies as might happen; that if reasonable and honourable terms of accommodation could be agreed upon, he would be satisfied, and, at all events, rely on the justice of his cause, the effectual support of his people, and the protection of Divine Providence. The parliament was then prorogued to the twenty-seventh of May.

CHAPTER X.

Preparations for War..... Earl Paulet’s Motion against the King’s going to Hanover..... Regency appointed during his Majesty’s Absence..... Boscawen’s Expedition..... Alcide and Lys taken..... French Ambassador recalled..... Their Trade greatly distressed..... Affairs of the English in America..... Col. Monckton takes Beau-Sejour..... General Braddock’s unfortunate Expedition..... He falls into an Ambuscade; is defeated, and killed..... Disagreement between the Governor and Assembly of Pennsylvania..... Expedition against Crown Point and Niagara resolved on..... Gen. Johnson encamps at lake George..... where he is attacked by the French, who are entirely defeated..... Bravery of Captain M’Ginnes..... Gen. Johnson created a Baronet..... Description of Fort Oswego and Lake Ontario..... Neglect of the English in not fortifying it..... Expedition against Niagara..... Gen. Shirley returns to Albany..... End of the Campaign in America......Fruitless Intrigues of the French in Spain and Germany..... Treaty of the King of Great Britain with the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel..... News of the Capture of the Alcide and Lys reaches England..... The King returns from Hanover, and concludes a Treaty with Russia..... Declaration of the French Ministry at the Court of Vienna..... Spirited Declaration of the King of Prussia..... The French make another unsuccessful Attempt upon the Court of Spain..... The Imperial Court refuses Auxiliaries to England..... The French take the Blandford Man of War, but return it..... State of the English and French Navies..... Session opened..... Remarkable Addresses of the Lords and Commons..... His Majesty’s Answer..... Alterations in the Ministry..... Mr. Fox made Secretary of State..... Supplies voted..... Earthquake at Lisbon..... Relief voted by Parliament to the Portuguese..... Troops, &c, voted..... Mutiny Bill, Marine, and Mariners’ Acts continued..... Act for raising a Regiment of Foot in North America..... Maritime Laws of England extended to America..... Quiet of Ireland restored..... Treaty concluded with Prussia..... New Militia Bill passed by the Commons, but rejected by the Lords..... Session closed

PREPARATIONS FOR WAR.

Whilst all Europe was in suspense about the fate of the English and French squadrons, preparations for a vigorous sea war were going forward in England with an unparalleled spirit and success. Still the French court flattered itself that Great Britain, out of tenderness to his majesty’s German dominions, would abstain from hostilities. Mirepoix continued to have frequent conferences with the British ministry, who made no secret that their admirals, particularly Boscawen, had orders to attack the French ships wherever they should meet them; on the other hand, Mons. de Mirepoix declared, that his master would consider the first gun fired at sea in an hostile manner as a declaration of war. This menace, far from intimidating the English, animated them to redouble their preparations for war. The press for seamen was carried on with extraordinary vigour in all parts of this kingdom, as well as in Ireland; and great premiums were given not only by the government, but also, over and above his majesty’s bounty, by almost all the considerable cities and towns in England, to such as should enlist voluntarily for sailors or soldiers. Other branches of the public service went on with equal alacrity; and such was the eagerness of the people to lend their money to the government, that instead of one million, which was to be raised by way of lottery, three millions eight hundred and eighty thousand pounds were subscribed immediately.

EARL PAULET’S MOTION.

The situation of affairs requiring his majesty to go to Germany this summer, great apprehensions arose in the minds of many, lest the French should either intercept him in his journey, or prevent his return. Earl Paulet had made a motion in the house of lords, humbly to represent to his majesty, “That it was an article in the original act of settlement by which the succession of these kingdoms devolved to his electoral house, that the king should not go to his foreign dominions without the consent of parliament; and that this was a principal article in the compact between the crown and the people; that though this article was repealed in the late reign, yet, till of late, it had always been the custom for his majesty to acquaint the parliament with his intended departure to his German dominions, both in regard to the true sense and spirit of the act that placed him on the throne, as well as for the paternal kindness of his royal heart, and the condescension he had been so good to show to his parliament on all occasions; but that his majesty’s declaration of his design to visit his electoral estates had always come on the last day of a session, when it was too late for the great constitutional council of the crown to offer such advice as might otherwise have been expedient and necessary; that his majesty’s leaving his kingdoms in a conjuncture so pregnant with distress, so denunciative of danger, would not only give the greatest advantage to such as might be disposed to stir up disaffection and discontent, and to the constitutional and national enemies of England; but would also fill his loyal subjects with the most affecting concern, and most gloomy fears, as well for their own safety, as for that of their sovereign, whose invaluable life, at all times of the utmost consequence to his people, was then infinitely so, by reason of his great experience, the affection of every one to his royal person, and the minority of the heir apparent.” Such was the purport of this motion; but it was not seconded by any of the other lords.

REGENCY APPOINTED.

The general uneasiness, on account of his majesty’s departure, was greatly increased by an apprehension that there would, during his absence, be no good agreement amongst the regency, which consisted of the following persons: his royal highness William duke of Cumberland; Thomas lord archbishop of Canterbury; Philip earl of Hardwicke, lord high chancellor; John earl of Granville, president of the council; Charles duke of Marlborough, lord privy-seal; John duke of Rutland, steward of the household; Charles duke of Grafton, lord-chamberlain; Archibald duke of Argyle; the duke of Newcastle, first commissioner to the treasury; the duke of Dorset, master of the horse; the earl of Holdernesse, one of the secretaries of state; the earl of Rochford, groom of the stole; the marquis of Hartington, lord lieutenant of Ireland; lord Anson, first commissioner of the admiralty; sir Thomas Eobinson, secretary of state; and Henry Fox, esq., secretary at war. His majesty set out from St. James’ on the twenty-eighth of April early in the morning, and embarked at Harwich in the afternoon, landed the next day at Helvoetsluys, and arrived in Hanover on the second of May.

BOSCAWEN’S EXPEDITION.

Admiral Boscawen, with eleven ships of the line and a frigate, having taken on board two regiments at Plymouth, sailed from thence on the twenty-seventh of April for the banks of Newfoundland, and in a few days after his arrival there, the French fleet from Brest came to the same station, under the command of M. Bois de la Mothe. But the thick fogs which prevail upon these coasts, especially at that time of the year, kept the two armaments from seeing each other; and part of the French squadron escaped up the river St. Lawrence, whilst another part of them went round, and got into the same river through the straits of Belleisle, by a way which was never known to be attempted before by ships of the line. However, whilst the English fleet lay off Cape Race, which is the southernmost point of Newfoundland, and was thought to be the most proper situation for intercepting the enemy, two French ships, the Alcide, of sixty-four guns and four hundred and eighty men, and the Lys, pierced for fifty-four guns, but mounting only twenty-two, having eight companies of land-forces on board, being separated from the rest of their fleet in the fog, fell in with the Dunkirk, captain Howe, and the Defiance, captain Andrews, two sixty gun ships of the English squadron; and after a smart engagement, which lasted some hours, and in which captain (afterwards lord) Howe behaved with the greatest skill and intrepidity, were both taken, with several considerable officers and engineers, and about eight thousand pounds in money. Though the capture of these ships, from which the commencement of the war may in fact be dated, fell greatly short of what was hoped for from this expedition; yet, when the news of it reached England, it was of infinite service to the public credit of every kind, and animated the whole nation, who now saw plainly that the government was determined to keep no further measures with the French, but justly to repel force by force, and put a stop to their sending more men and arms to invade the property of the English in America, as they had hitherto done with impunity. The French, who, for some time, did not even attempt to make reprisals on our shipping, would gladly have chosen to avoid a war at that time, and to have continued extending their encroachments on our settlements, till they had executed their grand plan of securing a communication from the Mississippi to Canada, by a line of forts, many of which they had already erected.

FRENCH AMBASSADOR RECALLED.

Upon the arrival of the news of this action at Paris, the French ambassador, M. de Mirepoix, was recalled from London, and M. de Bussy from Hanover, where he had just arrived, to attend the king of England in a public character. They complained loudly of Boscawen’s attacking the ships, as a breach of national faith; but it was justly retorted on the part of England, that their encroachments in America had rendered reprisals both justifiable and necessary. The resolution of making them was the effect of mature deliberation in the English council. The vast increase of the French marine of late years, which in all probability would soon be employed against Great Britain, occasioned an order for making reprisals general in Europe as well as in America; and that all French ships, whether outward or homeward bound, should be stopped, and brought into British ports. To give the greater weight to these orders, it was resolved to send out those admirals who had distinguished themselves most towards the end of the last war. Accordingly, on the twenty-first of July, sir Edward Hawke sailed on a cruise to the westward, with eighteen ships of the line, a frigate, and a sloop; but, not meeting with the French fleet, these ships returned to England about the latter end of September and the beginning of October; on the fourteenth of which last month another fleet, consisting of twenty-two ships of the line, two frigates, and two sloops, sailed again on a cruise to the westward, under admiral Byng, in hopes of intercepting the French squadron under Duguay, and likewise that commanded by La Mothe, in case of its return from America. But this fleet likewise returned to Spithead on the twenty-second of November, without having been able to effect any thing, though it was allowed by all that the admiral had acted judiciously in the choice of his stations.

While these measures were pursued, for the general security of the British coasts and trade in Europe, several new ships of war were begun, and finished with the utmost expedition, in his majesty’s docks: twelve frigates and sloops, contracted for in private yards, were completed by the month of August; and twenty-four ships and twelve colliers were then taken into the service of the government, to be fitted out as vessels of war, to carry twenty guns and one hundred and twenty men each. In the meantime the French trade was so annoyed by the English cruisers, that before the end of this year three hundred of their merchant ships, many of which, from St. Domingo and Martinique, were extremely rich, and eight thousand of their sailors were brought into English ports. By these captures the British ministry answered many purposes: they deprived the French of a great body of seamen, and withheld from them a very large property, the want of which greatly distressed their people, and ruined many of their traders. Their outward-bound merchant ships were insured at the rate of thirty per cent., whilst the English paid no more than the common insurance. This intolerable burden was felt by all degrees of people amongst them: their ministry was publicly reviled, even by their parliaments; and the French name, from being the terror, began to be the contempt of Europe. Their uneasiness was also not a little heightened by new broils between their king and the parliament of Paris, occasioned by the obstinacy of the clergy of that kingdom, who seemed determined to support the church, in all events, against the secular tribunals, and as much as possible to enforce the observance of the bull Unigenitus, which had long been the occasion of so many disputes among them. However, the parliament continuing firm, and the French king approving of its conduct, the ecclesiastics thought proper to submit for the present, and in their general assembly this year, granted him a free gift of sixteen millions of livres, which he demanded of them—a greater sum than they had ever given before, even in time of war.

AFFAIRS OF THE ENGLISH IN AMERICA.

In the beginning of this year the assembly of Massachusetts Bay in New England, passed an act prohibiting all correspondence with the French at Louisbourg; and early in the spring they raised a body of troops, which was transported to Nova Scotia, to assist lieutenant-governor Laurence in driving the French from the encroachments they had made upon that province. Accordingly, towards the end of May, the governor sent a large detachment of troops, under the command of lieutenant-colonel Monckton, upon this service; and three frigates and a sloop were despatched up the bay of Fundy, under the command of captain Rous, to give their assistance by sea. The troops, upon their arrival at the river Massaguash, found the passage stopped by a large number of regular forces, rebel neutrals, or Acadians, and Indians, four hundred and fifty of whom occupied a block-house, with cannon mounted on their side of the river; and the rest were posted within a strong breast-work of timber, thrown up by way of outwork to the block-house. The English provincials attacked this place with such spirit, that the enemy were obliged to fly, and leave them in possession of the breast-work; then the garrison in the block-house deserted it, and left the passage of the river free. From thence colonel Monckton advanced to the French fort of Beau-Sejour, which he invested, as far at least as the small number of his troops would permit, on the twelfth of June; and after four days bombardment, obliged it to surrender, though the French had twenty-six pieces of cannon mounted, and plenty of ammunition, and the English had not yet placed a single cannon upon their batteries. The garrison was sent to Louisbourg, on condition of not bearing arms in America for the space of six months; and the Acadians, who had joined the French, were pardoned, in consideration of their having been forced into that service. Colonel Monckton, after putting a garrison into this place, and changing its name to that of Cumberland, the next day attacked and reduced the other French fort upon the river Gaspereau, which runs into Bay Verte; where he likewise found a large quantity of provisions and stores of all kinds, that being the chief magazine for supplying the French Indians and Acadians with arms, ammunition, and other necessaries. He then disarmed these last, to the number of fifteen thousand; and in the meantime, captain Rous with his ships sailed to the mouth of the river St. John, to attack the new fort the French had erected there; but they saved him that trouble, by abandoning it upon his appearance, after having burst their cannon, blown up their magazine, and destroyed, as far as they had time, all the works they had lately raised. The English had but twenty men killed, and about the same number wounded, in the whole of this expedition, the success of which secured the tranquillity of Nova Scotia.

BRADDOCK’S UNFORTUNATE EXPEDITION.

While the new Englanders were thus employed in reducing the French in Nova Scotia, preparations were made in Virginia for attacking them upon the Ohio. A fort was built, which was likewise called Fort Cumberland, and a camp formed at Will’s-Creek. On the fourteenth of January of this year, major-general Brad-dock, with colonel Dunbar’s and colonel Halket’s regiments of foot, sailed from Cork, in Ireland, for Virginia, where they all landed safe before the end of February. This general might consequently have entered upon action early in the spring, had he not been unfortunately delayed by the Virginian contractors for the army, who, when he was ready to march, had neither provided a sufficient quantity of provisions for his troops, nor a competent number of carriages for his army. This accident was foreseen by almost every person who knew any thing of our plantations upon the continent of America; for the people of Virginia, who think of no produce but their tobacco, and do not raise corn enough even for their own subsistence, being, by the nature of their country, well provided with the conveniency of water conveyance, have but few wheel carriages, or beasts of burden; whereas Pennsylvania, which abounds in corn, and most other sorts of provisions, has but little water-carriage, especially in its western settlements, where its inhabitants have great numbers of carts, waggons, and horses. Mr. Braddock should therefore certainly, in point of prudence, have landed in Pennsylvania: the contract for supplying his troops should have been made with some of the chief planters there, who could easily have performed their engagements; and if his camp had been formed near Frank’s Town, or somewhere upon the south-west borders of that province, he would have had but eighty miles to march from thence to Fort Du Quesne, instead of an hundred and thirty miles that he had to advance from Will’s-Creek, where he did encamp, through roads neither better nor more practicable than the other would have been. This error, in the very beginning of the expedition, whether owing to an injudicious preference fondly given to the Virginians in the lucrative job of supplying these troops, or to any other cause, delayed the march of the army for some weeks, during which it was in the utmost distress for necessaries of all kinds; and would probably have defeated the expedition entirely for that summer, had not the contractors found means to procure some assistance from the back settlements of Pennsylvania. But even when these supplies did arrive, they consisted of only fifteen waggons, and an hundred draft horses, instead of an hundred and fifty waggons and three hundred horses, which the Virginian contractors had engaged to furnish, and the provisions were so bad that they could not be used. However, some gentlemen in Pennsylvania, being applied to in this exigency, amply made up for these deficiencies, and the troops were by this means supplied with every thing they wanted. Another, and still more fatal error was committed in the choice of the commander for this expedition. Major-general Braddock, who was appointed to it, was undoubtedly a man of courage, and expert in all the punctilios of a review, having been brought up in the English guards; but he was naturally very haughty, positive, and difficult of access; qualities ill suited to the temper of the people amongst whom he was to command. His extreme severity in matters of discipline had rendered him unpopular among the soldiers; and the strict military education in which he had been trained from his youth, and which he prided himself on scrupulously following, made him hold the American militia in great contempt, because they could not go through their exercise with the same dexterity and regularity as a regiment of guards in Hyde Park, little knowing, or indeed being able to form any idea of the difference between the European manner of fighting, and an American expedition through woods, deserts, and morasses. Before he left England, he received, in the hand-writing of colonel Napier, a set of instructions from the duke of Cumberland. By these, the attempt upon Niagara was in a great measure referred to him, and the reduction of Crown Point was to be left chiefly to the provincial forces. But above all, his royal highness, both verbally and in this writing, frequently cautioned him carefully to beware of an ambush or surprise. Instead of regarding this salutary caution, his conceit of his own abilities made him disdain to ask the opinion of any under his command; and the Indians, who would have been his safest guards against this danger in particular, were so disgusted by the haughtiness of his behaviour, that most of them forsook his banners. Under these disadvantages he began his march from Fort Cumberland on the tenth of June, at the head of about two thousand two hundred men, for the meadows, where colonel Washington was defeated the year before. Upon his arrival there, he was informed that the French at Fort du Quesne, which had lately been built on the same river, near its confluence with the Monangahela, expected a reinforcement of five hundred regular troops: therefore, that he might march with a greater despatch, he left colonel Dunbar with eight hundred men, to bring up the provisions, stores, and heavy baggage, as fast as the nature of the service would permit; and with the other twelve hundred, together with ten pieces of cannon, and the necessary ammunition, and provisions, he marched on with so much expedition, that he seldom took any time to reconnoitre the woods or thickets he was to pass through; as if the nearer he approached the enemy, the farther he was removed from danger.

On the eighth of July, he encamped within ten miles of Fort du Quesne. Though colonel Dunbar was then near forty miles behind him, and his officers, particularly sir Peter Halket, earnestly entreated him to proceed with caution, and to employ the friendly Indians who were with him, by way of advanced guard, in case of ambuscades; yet he resumed his march the next day, without so much as endeavouring to obtain any intelligence of the situation or disposition of the enemy, or even sending out any scouts to visit the woods and thickets on both sides of him, as well as in front. With this carelessness he was advancing, when, about noon, he was saluted with a general fire upon his front, and all along his left flank, from an enemy so artfully concealed behind the trees and bushes, that not a man of them could be seen. The vanguard immediately fell back upon the main body, and in an instant the panic and confusion became general; so that most of the troops fled with great precipitation, notwithstanding all that their officers, some of whom behaved very gallantly, could do to stop their career. As to Braddock himself, instead of scouring the thickets and bushes from whence the fire came, with grape shot from the ten pieces of cannon he had with him, or ordering flanking parties of his Indians to advance against the enemy, he obstinately remained upon the spot where he was, and gave orders for the few brave officers and men who staid with him, to form regularly, and advance. Meanwhile his men fell thick about him, and almost all his officers were singled out, one after another, and killed or wounded; for the Indians, who always take aim when they fire, and aim chiefly at the officers, distinguished them by their dress. At last, the general, whose obstinacy seemed to increase with the danger, after having had some horses shot under him, received a musket shot through the right arm and lungs, of which he died in a few hours, having been carried off the field by the bravery of lieutenant-colonel Gage, another of his officers. When he dropped, the confusion of the few that remained turned it into a downright and very disorderly flight across a river which they had just passed, though no enemy appeared, or attempted to attack them. All the artillery, ammunition, and baggage of the army were left to the enemy, and, among the rest, the general’s cabinet, with all his letters and instructions, which the French court afterwards made great use of in their printed memorials or manifestoes. The loss of the English in this unhappy affair amounted to seven hundred men. Their officers, in particular, suffered much more than in the ordinary proportion of batteries in Europe. Sir Peter Halket fell by the very first fire, at the head of his regiment; and the general’s secretary, son to governor Shirley, was killed soon after. Neither the number of men which the enemy had in this engagement, nor the loss which they sustained, could be so much as guessed at; but the French afterwards gave out, that their number did not, in the whole, exceed four hundred men, mostly Indians; and that their loss was quite inconsiderable, as it probably was, because they lay concealed in such a manner that the English knew not whither to point their muskets. The panic of these last continued so long, that they never stopped till they met the rear division; and even then they infected those troops with their terrors; so that the army retreated without stopping, till they reached Fort Cumberland, though the enemy did not so much as attempt to pursue, nor ever appeared in sight, either in the battle, or after the defeat. On the whole, this was perhaps the most extraordinary victory that ever was obtained, and the farthest flight that ever was made.

Had the shattered remains of this army continued at Fort Cumberland, and fortified themselves there, as they might easily have done, during the rest of the summer, they would have been such a check upon the French and their scalping Indians, as would have prevented many of those ravages that were committed in the ensuing winter upon the western borders of Virginia and Pennsylvania; but, instead of taking that prudent step, their commander left only the sick and wounded at that fort, under the protection of two companies of the provincial militia, posted there by way of garrison, and began his march on the second of August, with about sixteen hundred men, for Philadelphia; where those troops could be of no immediate service. From thence they were ordered away to Albany, in New York, by general Shirley, on whom the chief command of the troops in America had devolved by the death of major-general Braddock. Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, were by these means left entirely to the care of themselves, which they might have done effectually, had they been united in their councils; but the usual disputes between their governors and assemblies, defeated every salutary plan that was proposed. Pennsylvania, the most powerful of the three, was rendered quite impotent, either for its own defence or that of its neighbours, by these unhappy contests; though, at last, the assembly of that province, sensible of the danger to which they were exposed, and seeing the absolute necessity of providing a standing military force, and of erecting some forts to defend their western frontier, passed a bill for raising fifty thousand pounds. But even this sum, small as it was, even to a degree of ridicule, considering the richness of the province and the extent of its frontier, could not be obtained; the governor positively refusing to give his assent to the act of the assembly, because they had taxed the proprietaries estates equally with those of the inhabitants, which, he said, he was ordered by his instructions, not to consent to, nor indeed any new tax upon the proprietaries: and the assembly, consisting chiefly of members whose estates lay in the eastern or interior parts of the province, as positively refusing to alter their bill. One would be apt to think, that, in a case of such urgent necessity, the governor might have ventured to give his assent to the bill under a protest, that it should not prejudice the rights of the proprietaries upon any future occasion; but as he did not, the bill was dropped, and the province left defenceless; by which means it afterwards suffered severely, to the destruction of many of the poor inhabitants upon the western frontier, and to the impressing the Indians with a contemptible opinion of the English, and the highest esteem of the French.

EXPEDITION AGAINST CROWN POINT AND NIAGARA RESOLVED ON.

Our colonies to the north of Pennsylvania were more active, and more successful in their preparations for war. New York, following the example of New England, passed an act to prohibit the sending of provisions to any French port or settlement on the continent of North America, or any of the adjacent islands; and also for raising forty-five thousand pounds, on estates real and personal, for the better defence of their colony, which lay more exposed than any other to a French invasion from Crown Point. However, this sum, great as it might seem to them, was far from being sufficient; nor, indeed, could they have provided properly for their security, without the assistance of our other colonies to the east of them; but with their help, and the additional succour of the small body of regular troops expected under Colonel Dunbar, they boldly resolved upon offensive measures, which when practicable are always the safest; and two expeditions, one against the French fort at Crown Point, and the other against their fort at Niagara, between the lakes Ontario and Erie, were set on foot at the same time. The former of these expeditions was appointed to be executed under the command of general Johnson, a native of Ireland, who had long resided upon the Mohawk river, in the western parts of New York, where he had acquired a considerable estate, and was universally beloved, not only by the inhabitants, but also by the neighbouring Indians, whose language he had learnt, and whose affections he had gained by his humanity towards them. The expedition against Niagara was commanded by general Shirley himself.

The rendezvous of the troops for both these expeditions was appointed to be at Albany, where most of them arrived before the end of June; but the artillery, batteaux, provisions, and other necessaries for the attempt upon Crown Point, could not be prepared till the eighth of August, when general Johnson set out with them from Albany for the Carrying-place from Hudson’s river to Lake George. There the troops had already arrived, under the command of major-general Lyman, and consisted of between five and six thousand men, besides Indians, raised by the governments of Boston, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and New York. Every thing was then prepared as fast as possible for a march; and towards the end of the month, general Johnson advanced about fourteen miles forward with his troops, and encamped in a very strong situation, covered on each side by a thick wooded swamp, by Lake George in his rear, and by a breast-work of trees, cut down for that purpose, in his front. Here he resolved to wait the arrival of his batteaux, and afterwards to proceed to Ticonderoga, at the other end of the lake, from whence it was but about fifteen miles to the fort at the south end of Lake Colaer, or Champlain, called Fort Frederick by the French, and by us Crown Point. Whilst he was thus encamped, some of his Indian scouts, of which he took care to send out numbers along both sides, and to the farther end of Lake George, brought him intelligence that a considerable number of the enemy were then on their march from Ticonderoga, by the way of the south bay, towards the fortified encampment, since called Fort Edward, which general Lyman had built at the Carrying-place; and in which four or five hundred of the New Hampshire and New York men had been left as a garrison. Upon this information general Johnson sent two expresses, one after the other, to colonel Blanchard their commander, with orders to call in all his out-parties, and to keep his whole force within the intrenchments. About twelve o’clock at night, those who had been sent upon the second express returned with an account of their having seen the enemy within four miles of the camp at the Carrying-place, which they scarcely doubted their having by that time attacked. Important as the defence of this place was for the safety of the whole army, and imminent as the danger seemed to be, it does not appear that the general then called any council of war, or resolved upon any thing for its relief; but early the next morning he called a council, wherein it was unadvisedly resolved to detach a thousand men, with a number of Indians, to intercept, or, as the general’s expression was in his letter, to catch the enemy in their retreat, either as victors, or as defeated in their design. This expedient was resolved on, though no one knew the number of the enemy, nor could obtain any information in that respect from the Indian scouts, because the Indians have no words or signs for expressing any large number, which, when it exceeds their reckoning, they signify by pointing to the stars in the firmament, or to the hair of their head; and this they often do to denote a number less than a thousand, as well as to signify ten thousand, or any greater number.

Between eight and nine o’clock in the morning a thousand men, with two hundred Indians, were detached under the command of colonel Williams; but they had not been gone two hours when those in the camp began to hear a close firing, at about three or four miles’ distance, as they judged; as it approached nearer and nearer, they rightly supposed that the detachment was overpowered, and retreating towards the camp; which was soon confirmed by some fugitives, and presently after by whole companies, who fled back in great confusion. In a very short time after, the enemy appeared marching in regular order up to the centre of the camp, where the consternation was so great, that, if they had attacked the breastwork directly, they might probably have thrown all into confusion, and obtained an easy victory; but fortunately for the English, they halted for some time at about an hundred and fifty yards’ distance, and from thence began their attack with platoon firing, too far off to do much hurt, especially against troops who were defended by a strong breastwork. On the contrary, this ineffectual fire served only to raise the spirits of these last, who, having prepared their artillery during the time that the French halted, began to play it so briskly upon the enemy, that the Canadians and Indians in their service fled immediately into the woods on each side of the camp, and there squatted under bushes, or skulked behind trees, from whence they continued firing with very little execution, most of their shot being intercepted by the brakes and thickets; for they never had the courage to advance to the verge of the wood. Baron Dieskau, who commanded the French, being thus left alone with his regular troops at the front of the camp, finding he could not make a close attack upon the centre with his small number of men, moved first to the left, and then to the right, at both which places he endeavoured to force a passage, but was repulsed, being unsupported by the irregulars. Instead of retreating, as he ought in prudence to have done, he still continued his platoon and bush firing till four o’clock in the afternoon, during which time his regular troops suffered greatly by the fire from the camp, and were at last thrown into confusion; which was no sooner perceived by general Johnson’s men, than they, without waiting for orders, leaped over their breastwork, attacked the enemy on all sides, and after killing and taking a considerable number of them, entirely dispersed the rest. The French, whose numbers at the beginning of this engagement amounted to about two thousand men, including two hundred grenadiers, eight hundred Canadians, and the rest Indians of different nations, had between seven and eight hundred men killed, and thirty taken prisoners; among the latter was baron Dieskau himself, whom they found at a little distance from the field of battle, dangerously wounded, and leaning on the stump of a tree for his support. The English lost about two hundred men, and those chiefly of the detachment under Colonel Williams; for they had very few either killed or wounded in the attack upon their camp, and not any of distinction, except colonel Tit-comb killed, and the general himself and major Nichols wounded. Among the slain of the detachment, which would probably have been entirely cut off had not lieutenant-colonel Cole been sent out from the camp with three hundred men, with which he stopped the enemy’s pursuit, and covered the retreat of his friends, were colonel Williams, major Ashly, six captains, and several subalterns, besides private men; and the Indians reckoned that they had lost forty men, besides the brave old Hendrick, the Mohawk sachem, or chief captain.

BRAVERY OF CAPTAIN M’GINNES.

When baron Dieskau set out from Ticonderoga, his design was only to surprise and cut off the intrenched camp, now called Fort Edward, at the Carrying-place, where there were but four or five hundred men. If he had executed this scheme, our army would have been thrown into great difficulties; for it could neither have proceeded farther, nor have subsisted where it was, and he might have found an opportunity to attack it with great advantage in its retreat. But when he was within four or five miles of that fort, his people were informed that there were several cannon there, and none at the camp; upon which they all desired to be led on to this last, which he the more readily consented to, as he himself had been told by an English prisoner, who had left this camp but a few days before, that it was quite defenceless, being without any lines, and destitute of cannon; which, in effect, was true at that time; for the cannon did not arrive, nor was the breast-work erected, till about two days before the engagement. To this misinformation, therefore, must be imputed this step, which would otherwise be inconsistent with the general character and abilities of baron Dieskau. A less justifiable error seems to have been committed by general Johnson, in not detaching a party to pursue the enemy when they were defeated and fled. Perhaps he was prevented from so doing by the ill fate of the detachment he had sent out in the morning under colonel Williams. However that may be, his neglect in this respect had like to have been fatal the next day to a detachment sent from Fort Edward, consisting of an hundred and twenty men of the New Hampshire regiment, under captain M’Ginnes, as a reinforcement to the army at the camp. This party fell in with between three and four hundred men of Dieskau’s troops, near the spot where colonel Williams had been defeated the day before; but M’Ginnes, having timely notice by his scouts of the approach of an enemy, made such a disposition, that he not only repulsed the assailants, but defeated and entirely dispersed them, with the loss only of two men killed, eleven wounded, and five missing. He himself unfortunately died of the wounds he received in this engagement, a few days after he arrived at the camp with his party. It was now judged too late in the year to proceed to the attack of Crown Point, as it would have been necessary, in that case, to build a strong fort in the place where the camp then was, in order to secure a communication with Albany, from whence only the troops could expect to be reinforced, or supplied with fresh stores of ammunition or provisions. They therefore set out upon their return soon after this engagement, having first erected a little stockaded fort, at the hither end of Lake George, in which they left a small garrison, as a future prey for the enemy; a misfortune which might easily have been foreseen, because this whole army being country militia, was to be disbanded, and return to their respective homes, as they actually did soon after their retreat to Albany. This was all the glory, this all the advantage, that the English nation acquired by such an expensive expedition. But so little had the English been accustomed of late to hear of victory, that they rejoiced at this advantage, as if it had been an action of the greatest consequence. The general was highly applauded for his conduct, and liberally rewarded; for he was created a baronet by his majesty, and presented with five thousand pounds by the parliament.

DESCRIPTION OF FORT OSWEGO, &c

The preparations for general Shirley’s expedition against Niagara, were not only deficient, but shamefully slow; though it was well known that even the possibility of his success must, in a great measure, depend upon his setting out early in the year, as will appear to any person who considers the situation of our fort at Oswego, this being the only way by which he could proceed to Niagara. Oswego lies on the south-east side of the lake Ontario, near three hundred miles almost due west from Albany in New York. The way to it from thence, though long and tedious, is the more convenient, as the far greatest part of it admits of water carriage, by what the inhabitants called batteaux, which are a kind of light flat-bottomed boats, widest in the middle, and pointed at each end, of about fifteen hundred weight burden, and managed by two men called batteau-men, with paddles and setting poles, the rivers being in many places too narrow to admit of oars. From Albany to the village of Schenactady, about sixteen miles, is a good waggon road. From thence to the little falls in the Mohawk-river, being sixty-five miles, the passage is by water-carriage up that river, and consequently against the stream, which in many places is somewhat rapid, and in others so shallow, that, when the river is low, the watermen are obliged to get out and draw their batteaux over the rifts. At the little falls is a postage or land-carriage for about a mile, over a ground so marshy that it will not bear any wheel carriage; but a colony of Germans settled there, attend with sledges, on which they draw the loaded batteaux to the next place of embarkation upon the same river. From thence they proceed by water up that river for fifty miles, to the Carrying-place, near the head of it, where there is another postage, the length of which depends upon the dryness or wetness of the season, but is generally above six or eight miles over in the summer months. Here the batteaux are again carried upon sledges, till they come to a narrow river, called Wood’s Creek, down which they are wafted on a gentle stream for about forty miles into the lake Oneyada, which stretches from east to west about thirty miles, and is passed with great ease and safety in calm weather. At the western end of the lake is the river Onondaga, which, after a course of between twenty and thirty miles, unites with the river Cayuga, or Seneca, and their united streams run into the lake Ontario, at the place where Oswego fort is situated. But this river is so rapid as to be sometimes dangerous, besides its being full of rifts and rocks; and about twelve miles on this side of Oswego there is a fall of eleven feet perpendicular, where there is consequently a postage, which however, does not exceed forty yards. From thence the passage is easy quite to Oswego. The lake Ontario, on which this fort stands, is near two hundred and eighty leagues in circumference; its figure is oval, and its depth runs from twenty to twenty-five fathoms. On the north side of it are several little gulfs. There is a communication between this lake and that of the Hurons by the river Tanasuate, from whence it is a land-carriage of six or eight leagues to the river Toronto, which falls into it. The French have two forts of consequence on this lake; Frontenac, which commands the river St. Lawrence, where the lake communicates with it; and Niagara, which commands the communication between the lake Ontario and the lake Erie. But of these forts, and this last lake, which is one of the finest in the world, we shall have occasion to speak hereafter.

Though we had long been in possession of fort Oswego, and though it lay greatly exposed to the French, particularly to those of Canada, upon any rupture between the two nations, we had never taken care to render it tolerably defensible, or even to build a single vessel fit for navigating the lake: nor was this strange neglect ever taken effectual notice of, till the beginning of this year, when, at a meeting which general Braddock had in April with the governors and chief gentlemen of several of our colonies at Alexandria, in Virginia, it was resolved to strengthen both the fort and garrison at Oswego, and to build some large vessels at that place. Accordingly a number of shipwrights and workmen were sent thither in May and June. At the same time captain Bradstreet marched thither with two companies of an hundred men each, to reinforce the hundred that were there before under captain King, to which number the garrison had been increased since our contests with France began to grow serious. For a long time before, not above twenty-five men were left to defend this post, which from its great importance, and the situation of affairs at this juncture, most certainly required a much stronger garrison than was put into it even at this juncture; but economy was the chief thing consulted in the beginning of this war, and to that in a great measure was owing its long duration.

EXPEDITION AGAINST NIAGARA.

From the above description of the passage from Albany to Oswego, it is plain how necessary it was that the troops intended for this expedition should have set out early in the spring. But instead of that, the very first of them, colonel Schuyler’s New Jersey regiment, did not begin their march till after the beginning of July, and just as Shirley’s and Pepperell’s regiments were preparing to follow, the melancholy account of Braddock’s disaster arrived at Albany, where it so damped the spirits of the people, and spread such a terror, that many of the troops deserted, and most of the batteau-men dispersed and ran home, by which means even all the necessary stores could not be carried along with the troops. Notwithstanding this disappointment, Mr. Shirley set out from Albany before the end of July, with as many of the troops and stores as he could procure a conveyance for, hoping to be joined in his route by great numbers of the Indians of the Six Nations, to whom he sent invitations to that effect as he passed by their settlements; but they, instead of complying with his desire, absolutely declared against all hostilities on that side of the country; and insisted that Oswego, being a place of traffic and peace, ought not to be disturbed either by the English or the French, as if they could have persuaded both parties to agree to such a local truce. Upon this refusal, Mr. Shirley proceeded forward, being joined by a very few Indians, and arrived at Oswego on the seventeenth or eighteenth of August; but the rest of the troops and artillery did not arrive till the last day of that month; and even then, their store of provisions was not sufficient to enable them to go against Niagara, though some tolerably good vessels had by this time been built and got ready for that purpose. The general now resolved to take but six hundred men with him for the attack of Niagara, and to leave the rest of his army, consisting of about fourteen hundred more, at Oswego, to defend that place, in case the French should attack it in his absence, which there was reason to apprehend they might, as they then had a considerable force at fort Frontenac, from whence they could easily cross over the lake Ontario to Oswego. However, he was still obliged to wait at Oswego for provisions, of which at length a small supply arrived on the twenty-sixth of September, barely sufficient to support his men during their intended expedition, and to allow twelve days’ short subsistence for those he left behind. But by this time the rainy boisterous season had begun, on which account most of his Indians had already left him and were returned home; and the few that remained with him declared that there was no crossing the lake Ontario in batteaux at that season, or any time before the next summer. In this perplexity he called a council of war, which, after weighing all circumstances, unanimously resolved to defer the attempt upon Niagara till the next year, and to employ the troops, whilst they remained at Oswego, in building barracks, and erecting, or at least beginning to erect, two new forts, one on the east side of the river Onondaga, four hundred and fifty yards distant from the old fort, which it was to command, as well as the entrance of the harbour, and to be called Ontario-fort; and the other four hundred and fifty yards west of the old fort, to be called Oswego new fort.

GENERAL SHIRLEY RETURNS TO ALBANY.

These things being agreed on, general Shirley, with the greatest part of the troops under his command, set out on his return to Albany on the twenty-fourth of October, leaving colonel Mercer, with a garrison of about seven hundred men, at Oswego; though repeated advice had been received, that the French had then at least a thousand men at their fort at Frontenac, upon the same lake; and, what was still worse, the new forts were not yet near completed; but left to be finished by the hard labour of colonel Mercer and his little garrison, with the addition of this melancholy circumstance, that, if besieged by the enemy in the winter, it would not be possible for his friends to come to his assistance. Thus ended this year’s unfortunate campaign, during which the French, with the assistance of their Indian allies, continued their murders, scalping, captivating, and laying waste the western frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania, during the whole winter.

The ministers of the two warring powers were very busily employed this year at most of the courts of Europe; but their transactions were kept extremely secret. The French endeavoured to inspire the Spaniards with a jealousy of the strength of the English by sea, especially in America; and the Spanish court seemed inclined to accept of the office of mediator; but Mr. Wall, who was perfectly well acquainted with the state of affairs between England and France, seconded the representations of the British ministry, which demonstrated, that, however willing Great Britain might be to accept of the mediation of Spain, she could not agree to any suspension of arms in America, which France insisted on as a preliminary condition, without hazarding the whole of her interest there; and that the captures which had been made by the English were the necessary consequences of the encroachments and injustice of the French, particularly in that country. Upon this remonstrance, all further talk of the mediation of Spain was dropped, and the ministry of Versailles had recourse to the princes of Germany; amongst whom the elector of Cologn was soon brought over to their party, so as to consent to their forming magazines in his territories in Westphalia. This was a plain indication of their design against Hanover, which they soon after made his Britannic majesty, who was then at Hanover, an offer of sparing, if he would agree to certain conditions of neutrality for that electorate, which he rejected with disdain. Then the count d’Aubeterre, envoy-extraordinary from France at the court of Vienna, proposed a secret negotiation with the ministers of the empress-queen. The secret articles of the treaty of Petersburgh, between the two empresses, had stipulated a kind of partition of the Prussian territories, in case that prince should infringe the treaty of Dresden; but his Britannic majesty, though often invited, had always refused to agree to any such stipulation; and the king of Poland, howsoever he might be inclined to favour the scheme, did not dare to avow it formally, till matters should be more ripe for carrying it into execution. The court of Vienna, whose favourite measure this was, began to listen to d’Aubeterre’s insinuations, and by degrees entered into negotiations with him, which, in the end, were productive of that unnatural confederacy between the empress-queen and the king of France, of which further notice will be taken in the occurrences of the next year, when the treaty between them, into which they afterwards found means secretly to bring the empress of Russia, was concluded at Versailles.

TREATY WITH THE LANDGRAVE OF HESSE-CASSEL.

The king of England taking it for granted that the French would invade Hanover, in consequence of their rupture with Great Britain, which seemed to be near at hand, began to take measures for the defence of that electorate. To this end, during his stay at Hanover, he concluded, on the eighteenth day of June, a treaty with the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, by which his serene highness engaged to hold in readiness, during four years, for his majesty’s service, a body of eight thousand men, to be employed, if required, upon the continent, or in Britain, or Ireland; but not on board the fleet or beyond the seas; and also, if his Britannic majesty should judge it necessary or advantageous for his service, to furnish and join to this body of eight thousand men, within six months after they should be demanded, four thousand more, of which seven hundred were to be horse or dragoons, and each regiment of infantry to have two field pieces of cannon. 364 [See note 2 Y, at the end of this Vol.] Another treaty was begun with Russia about the same time; but this did not take effect during his majesty’s residence at Hanover: that others were not concluded was the more surprising, as our subsidy-treaty with Saxony had then expired, and that with Bavaria was near expiring, and as the securing of these two princes in our interest was at least as necessary towards forming a sufficient confederacy upon the continent for the defence of Hanover, as it was to secure the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel. If the reason of their not being engaged, and no other seems so probable, was, that they refused to renew their treaties with England upon any terms, all that can be said is, that they were guilty of flagrant ingratitude, as they had both received a subsidy from this kingdom for many years in time of peace, when they neither were nor could be of any service to the interest of Great Britain.

NEWS OF THE CAPTURE OF THE ALCIDE AND LYS REACHES ENGLAND.

On the fifteenth of July, an express arrived from admiral Boscawen, with an account of his having taken the two French ships of war, the Alcide and the Lys. This was certainly contrary to the expectation of the court of France; for had they apprehended any such attack, they would not have ordered Mr. Macnamara to return to Brest with the chief part of their squadron; nor was it perhaps less contrary to the expectation of some of our own ministry; but as matters had been carried so far, it was then too late to retreat; and, therefore, orders were soon after given to all our ships of war to make reprisals upon the French, by taking their ships wherever they should meet them. Sir Edward Hawke sailed from Portsmouth on the twenty-first of July, with eighteen ships of war, to watch the return of the French fleet from America; which, however, escaped him, and arrived at Brest on the third day of September. Commodore Frankland sailed from Spithead for the West Indies on the thirteenth of August, with four ships of war, furnished with orders to commit hostilities, as well as to protect our trade and sugar-islands from any insult that the French might offer; and the duke de Mirepoix, their ambassador at the court of London, set out for Paris on the twenty-second of July, without taking leave.

THE KING RETURNS FROM HANOVER, AND CONCLUDES A TREATY WITH RUSSIA.

A war being thus in some measure begun, his majesty thought proper, perhaps for that reason, to return to his British dominions sooner than usual; for he left Hanover on the eighth of September, and arrived on the fifteenth at Kensington, where the treaty of alliance between him and the empress of Russia, which he had begun during his absence, was concluded on the thirtieth of the same month. By this treaty her Russian majesty engaged to hold in readiness in Livonia, upon the frontiers of Lithuania, a body of troops consisting of forty thousand infantry, with the necessary artillery, and fifteen thousand cavalry; and also on the coast of the same province, forty or fifty galleys, with the necessary crews; to be ready to act, upon the first order, in his majesty’s service, in case, said the fifth article, which was the most remarkable, that the dominions of his Britannic majesty in Germany should be invaded on account of the interests or disputes which regard his kingdoms; her imperial majesty declaring that she would look upon such an invasion as a case of the alliance of the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-two; and that the said dominions should be therein comprised in this respect; but neither these troops nor galleys were to be put in motion, unless his Britannic majesty, or his allies, should be somewhere attacked; in which case the Russian general should march as soon as possible after requisition, to make a diversion with thirty thousand infantry, and fifteen thousand cavalry; and should embark on board the galleys the other ten thousand infantry to make a descent according to the exigency of the affair. On the other side, his Britannic majesty engaged to pay to her Russian majesty an annual subsidy of an hundred thousand pounds sterling a year, each year to be paid in advance, and to be reckoned from the day of the exchange of the ratifications, to the day that these troops should upon requisition march out of Russia; from which day the annual subsidy to her imperial majesty was to be five hundred thousand pounds sterling, to be paid always four months in advance, until the troops should return into the Russian dominions, and for three months after their return. His Britannic majesty, who was to be at liberty to send once every year into the said province of Livonia a commissary, to see and examine the number and condition of the said troops, further engaged, that, in case her Russian majesty should be disturbed in this diversion, or attacked herself, he would famish immediately the succour stipulated in the treaty of one thousand seven hundred and forty-two, and that in case a war should break out, he should send, into the Baltic a squadron of his ships, of a force suitable to the circumstances. This was the chief substance of the treaty, which, by agreement of both parties, was to subsist for four years from the exchange of the ratifications; but in the seventh article these words were unluckily inserted: “Considering also the proximity of the countries wherein the diversion in question will probably be made, and the facility her troops will probably have of subsisting immediately in an enemy’s country, she takes upon herself alone, during such a diversion, the subsistence and treatment of the said troops by sea and land.” And in the eleventh article it was stipulated, that all the plunder the Russian army should take from the enemy should belong to them. That his Britannic majesty, who now knew enough of the court of Vienna to be sensible that he could expect no assistance from thence, in case his German dominions were invaded, should enter into this convention with the empress of Russia, in order to strengthen his defence upon the continent, was extremely natural; especially as he had lately lived in great friendship with her, and her transactions with the court of France had been so secret, by passing through only that of Vienna, that he had not yet been informed of them; neither had the project of the treaty of Versailles then come to his knowledge, or to that of the king of Prussia, nor had either of these princes yet made any formal advances to the other.

DECLARATION OF THE FRENCH MINISTRY AT THE COURT OF VIENNA.

The first intimation that appeared publicly of the negotiations of France with the empress of Germany, was when the French minister, count d’Aubeterre, declared at Vienna, “That the warlike designs with which the king his master was charged, were sufficiently confuted by his great moderation, of which all Europe had manifold proofs; that his majesty was persuaded this groundless charge had given as much indignation to their imperial majesties as to himself; that he was firmly resolved to preserve to Christendom that tranquillity which it enjoyed through his good faith, in religiously observing the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle; but that if his Britannic majesty’s allies should take part in the war which was kindled in America, by furnishing succours to the English, his majesty would be authorized to consider and treat them as principals in it.” France likewise made the same declaration to other courts.

SPIRITED DECLARATION OF PRUSSIA.

The words and stipulation in the above-recited clause, in the seventh article of the treaty of Great Britain with Russia, were looked on as a menace levelled at the king of Prussia, who, having some time found means to procure a copy of this treaty, and seeing it in that light, boldly declared, by his ministers at all the courts of Europe, that he would oppose, with his utmost force, the entrance of any foreign troops into the empire, under any pretence whatever. This declaration was particularly displeasing to the French, who had already marched large bodies of troops towards the frontiers of the empire, and erected several great magazines in Westphalia, with the permission of the elector of Cologn, for which the English minister at his court was, in August, ordered to withdraw from thence without taking leave. However, as soon as this declaration of the king of Prussia was notified to the court of Versailles, they sent an ambassador-extraordinary, the duke de Nivernois, to Berlin, to try to persuade his majesty to retract his declaration, and enter into a new alliance with them. His Prussian majesty received this ambassador in such a manner as seemed to denote a disposition to agree to every thing he had to propose. This awakened in England a jealousy that his declaration alone was not to be relied on, but that it was necessary to bring him under some solemn engagement; especially as the French had by this time a numerous army near the Lower Rhine, with magazines provided for their march all the way to Hanover; and if the king of Prussia suffered them to pass through his dominions, that electorate must be swallowed up before the Russian auxiliaries could possibly be brought thither, or any army be formed for protecting it.* For this reason a negotiation was set on foot by Great Britain at Berlin, but as it was not concluded before the beginning of the next year, we shall defer entering into the particulars of it till we come to that period.

* Perhaps the elector of Hanover was more afraid of the Prussian monarch than of the most christian king, knowing with what ease and rapidity this enterprising neighbour could, in a few days, subdue the whole electorate.

THE FRENCH MAKE ANOTHER UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT UPON THE COURT OF SPAIN.

Meanwhile the French made another attempt upon the court of Madrid, loudly complaining of the taking their two men of war by Boscawen’s squadron, before any declaration of war was made, representing it as a most unjustifiable proceeding, which threatened a dissolution of all faith amongst nations. This produced a strong memorial from sir Benjamin Keene, our minister at that court, importing, “That it was well known that the French fleet carried troops, ammunition, and every thing necessary for defending the countries which the French had unjustly usurped in America, and of which the English claimed the property; that the rules of self-defence authorize every nation to render fruitless any attempt that may tend to its prejudice; that this right had been made use of only in taking the two French ships of war; and that the distinction of place might be interpreted in favour of the English, seeing the two ships were taken on the coasts of the countries where the contest arose.” In answer to this observation, the French minister represented the vast number of ships which had been taken in the European seas; for in fact the English ports soon began to be filled with them, in consequence of the general orders for making reprisals. But the court of Madrid was so far from being persuaded by any thing he could say, that it gave his Britannic majesty the strongest assurances of its friendship, and of its intention to take no part in the differences between him and France, but such as should be conciliatory, and tending to restore the public tranquillity.

THE IMPERIAL COURT REFUSES AUXILIARIES TO ENGLAND.

On the other hand, his Britannic majesty required, as king of Great Britain, the auxiliaries stipulated to him by treaty from the empress-queen. But these were refused, under pretence, that as the contest between him and France related to America only, it was not a case of the alliance; though at the same time the French made no scruple of owning, that they intended to make a powerful descent on Great Britain early in the spring. When, a little while after, France being employed in making great preparation for a land war in Europe, the king of England required her to defend her own possessions, the barrier in the Low Countries, with the number of men stipulated by the treaty, which countries, acquired by English blood and English treasure, had been given to her on that express condition, she declared that she could not spare troops for that purpose, on account of her dangerous enemy the king of Prussia; and afterwards, when he was secured by his treaty with England, she urged that as a reason for her alliance with France. It must be owned, however, for the sake of historical truth, that this was no bad reason, considering the power, the genius, and the character of that prince, who hovered over her dominions with an army of one hundred and fifty thousand veterans. It must likewise be owned, that she undertook to procure the French king’s consent to a neutrality for Hanover, which would have effectually secured that electorate from the invasion of every other power but Prussia itself; and it is no strained conjecture to suppose, that the dread of this very power was the true source of those connexions in Germany, which entailed such a ruinous continental war upon Great Britain.

THE FRENCH TAKE THE BLANDFORD.

Though the English continued to make reprisals upon the French, not only in the seas of America, but also in those of Europe, by taking every ship they could meet with, and detaining them, their cargoes, and crews; yet the French, whether from a consciousness of their want of power by sea, or that they might have a more plausible plea to represent England as the aggressor, were so far from returning these hostilities, that their fleet, which escaped sir Edward Hawke, having, on the thirteenth of August, taken the Blandford ship of war, with governor Lyttelton on board, going to Carolina, they set the governor at liberty, as soon as the court was informed of the ship’s being brought into Nantes, and shortly after released both the ship and the crew. However, at the same time, their preparations for a land war still went on with great diligence, and their utmost arts and efforts were fruitlessly exerted to persuade the Spaniards and Dutch to join with them against Great Britain.

STATE OF THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH NAVIES.

In England the preparations by sea became greater than ever, several new ships of war were put in commission, and many others taken into the service of the government; the exportation of gunpowder was forbid; the bounties to seamen were continued, and the number of those that either entered voluntarily, or were pressed, increased daily, as did also the captures from the French, among which was the Espérance, of seventy guns, taken as she was going from Rochefort to Brest to be manned. The land-forces of Great Britain were likewise ordered to be augmented; several new regiments were raised, and all half-pay officers, and the out-pensioners belonging to Chelsea-hospital, were directed to send in their names, ages, and time of service, in order that such of them as were yet able to serve might be employed again if wanted. The English navy, so early as in the month of September of this year, consisted of one ship of an hundred and ten guns, five of an hundred guns each, thirteen of ninety, eight of eighty, five of seventy-four, twenty-nine of seventy, four of sixty-six, one of sixty-four, thirty-three of sixty, three of fifty-four, twenty-eight of fifty, four of forty-four, thirty-five of forty, and forty-two of twenty, four sloops of war of eighteen guns each, two of sixteen, eleven of fourteen, thirteen of twelve, and one of ten, besides a great number of bomb-ketches, fire-ships, and tenders; a force sufficient to oppose the united maritime strength of all the powers in Europe; whilst that of the French, even at the end of this year, and including the ships then upon the stocks, amounted to no more than six ships of eighty guns, twenty-one of seventy-four, one of seventy-two, four of seventy, thirty-one of sixty-four, two of sixty, six of fifty, and thirty-two frigates.

SESSION OPENED.

Such was the situation of the two kingdoms, when, on the thirteenth of November, the parliament met, and his majesty opened the session with a speech from the throne, in which he acquainted them—“That the most proper measures had been taken to protect our possessions in America, and to regain such parts thereof as had been encroached upon, or invaded; that to preserve his people from the calamities of war, as well as to prevent a general war from being lighted up in Europe, he had been always ready to accept reasonable and honourable terms of accommodation, but that none such had been proposed by France; that he had also confined his views and operations to hinder France from making new encroachments, or supporting those already made; to exert his people’s right to a satisfaction for hostilities committed in time of profound peace, and to disappoint such designs, as, from various appearances and preparations, there was reason to think had been formed against his kingdoms and dominions; that the king of Spain earnestly wished the preservation of the public tranquillity, and had given assurances of his intention to continue in the same pacific sentiments; that he himself had greatly increased his naval armaments, and augmented his land-forces in such a manner as might be least burdensome; and, finally, that he had concluded a treaty with the empress of Russia, and another with the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, which should be laid before them.”

REMARKABLE ADDRESSES OF BOTH HOUSES.

In answer to this speech, both houses voted most loyal addresses, but not without a warm opposition, in each, to some of the particular expressions; for it having been proposed in the house of lords to insert in their address the words following, viz.: “That they looked upon themselves as obliged, by the strongest ties of duty, gratitude, and honour, to stand by and support his majesty in all such wise and necessary measures and engagements as his majesty might have taken in vindication of the rights of his crown, or to defeat any attempts which might be made by France in resentment for such measures, and to assist his majesty in disappointing or repelling all such enterprises as might be formed, not only against his kingdoms, but also against any other of his dominions (though not belonging to the crown of Great Britain), in case they should be attacked on account of the part which his majesty had taken for maintaining the essential interests of his kingdoms;” the inserting of these words in their address was opposed by earl Temple, and several other lords; because, by the first part of them, they engaged to approve of the treaties with Russia and Hesse-Cassel, neither of which they had ever seen; nor could it be supposed that either of them could be of any advantage to this nation; and by the second part of these words it seemed to be resolved, to engage this nation in a continental connexion for the defence of Hanover, which it was impossible for England to support, and which would be so far from being of any advantage to it at sea, or in America, that it might at last disable the nation from defending itself in either of those parts of the world. But upon putting the question, the inserting of these words was agreed to by a great majority, and accordingly they stand as part of the address of the house upon that occasion.

HIS MAJESTY’S ANSWER.

To this remarkable address his majesty returned the following as remarkable answer: “My lords, I give you my hearty thanks for this dutiful and affectionate address. I see, with the greatest satisfaction, the zeal you express for my person and government, and for the true interest of your country, which I am determined to adhere to. The assurances which you give me for the defence of my territories abroad, are a strong proof of your affection for me, and regard for my honour. Nothing shall divert me from pursuing those measures which will effectually maintain the possessions and rights of my kingdoms, and procure reasonable and honourable terms of accommodation.”—The address of the house of commons breathed the same spirit of zeal and gratitude, and was full of the warmest assurances of a ready support of his majesty, and of his foreign dominions, if attacked in resentment of his maintaining the rights of his crown and kingdom; and his majesty’s answer to it was to the same effect as that to the house of lords. The same, or nearly the same words, relating to the treaties concluded by his majesty, and to the defence of his foreign dominions, were proposed to be inserted in this address, which was opposed by William Pitt, esq., then paymaster of his majesty’s forces; the right hon. Henry Legge, esq., then chancellor and un-der-treasurer of his majesty’s exchequer, and one of the commissioners of the treasury; and by several other gentlemen in high posts under the government, as well as by many others; but, upon putting the question, it was by a considerable majority agreed to insert the words objected to; and very soon after, Mr. Pitt, Mr. Legge, and most, if not all, of the gentlemen who had appeared in the opposition, were dismissed from their employments. In the meantime, a draft came over from Russia for part of the new subsidy stipulated to that crown; but some of the ministry, who were then at the head of the finances, refused to pay it, at least before the treaty should be approved of by parliament.

ALTERATIONS IN THE MINISTRY.

Sir Thomas Robinson had not been long in possession of the office of secretary of state, before it was generally perceived, that, though an honest well meaning man, and a favourite with the king, his abilities were not equal to the functions of that post. Much less were they so at this juncture, when the nation was on the point of being engaged in a difficult and expensive war, and plunged into foreign measures and connexions, which would require the utmost skill of an able politician to render them palatable to the people. Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox, though they scarce ever agreed in any other particular, had generally united in opposing his measures, and their superior influence in the house of commons, and universally acknowledged abilities, though of very different kinds, had always prevailed; uncommon as it was, to see two persons who held considerable places under the government, one of them being paymaster-general, and the other secretary at war, oppose, upon almost every occasion, a secretary of state who was supposed to know and speak the sentiments of his master. Sir Thomas himself soon grew sensible of his want of sufficient weight in the senate of the nation; and therefore, of his own accord, on the tenth of November, wisely and dutifully resigned the seals of his office to his majesty, who delivered them to Mr. Fox, and appointed sir Thomas master of the wardrobe, with a pension to him during his life, and after his death to his sons. Lord Barrington succeeded Mr. Fox as secretary at war; and soon after sir George Lyttelton was made chancellor of the exchequer, and a lord of the treasury, in the room of Mr. Legge, who had declared himself against the new continental system. However, notwithstanding these changes in the ministry, very warm debates arose in both houses, when the treaties of Russia and Hesse-Cassel came to be considered by them; some of the members were for referring them to a committee; but this motion was over-ruled, in consideration of his majesty’s having engaged in them to guard against a storm that seemed ready to break upon his electoral dominions, merely on account of our quarrel with the French. They were at length approved of by a majority of three hundred and eighteen against one hundred and twenty-six, in the house of commons; and by eighty-four against eleven, in the house of lords.

The house of commons then proceeded to provide for the service of the ensuing year, and for the deficiencies of the provisions for the former. Fifty thousand seamen, including nine thousand one hundred and thirty-eight marines, were voted, on the twenty-fourth of November, for the service of the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, together with two millions six hundred thousand pounds for their maintenance; and thirty-four thousand two hundred and sixty-three land soldiers, with nine hundred and thirty thousand six hundred and three pounds, six shillings and ninepence, for their support. An hundred thousand pounds were voted as a subsidy to the empress of Russia; fifty-four thousand one hundred and forty pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence, to the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel; and ten thousand pounds to the elector of Bavaria.

EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON.

During these transactions, the public was overwhelmed with consternation by the tidings of a dreadful earthquake, which, on the first November, shook all Spain and Portugal, and many other places in Europe, and laid the city of Lisbon in ruins. When the news of this great calamity first reached England, it was feared the consequences of it might affect our public credit, considering the vast interest which the English merchants had in the Portuguese trade; but fortunately, it afterwards proved inconsiderable, in comparison of what had been apprehended; the quarter in which the English chiefly lived, and where they had their warehouses, having suffered the least of any part of the city; and most of the English merchants then residing there, together with their families, being at their country houses, to avoid the insults to which they might have been exposed from the Portuguese populace, during the celebration of their auto-da-fe, which was kept that very day. The two first shocks of this dreadful visitation continued near a quarter of an hour, after which the water of the river Tagus rose perpendicularly above twenty feet, and subsided to its natural bed in less than a minute. Great numbers of houses, of which this city then contained about thirty-six thousand, extending in length near six miles, in form of a crescent, on the ascent of a hill upon the north shore of the mouth of the river Tagus, within nine miles from the ocean, were thrown down by the repeated commotions of the earth, together with several magnificent churches, monasteries, and public buildings. But what entirely completed the ruin of this then most opulent capital of the Portuguese dominions, was a devouring conflagration, partly fortuitous or natural, but chiefly occasioned by a set of impious villains, who, unawed by the tremendous scene at that very instant passing before their eyes, with a wickedness scarcely to be credited, set fire even to the falling edifices in different parts of the city, to increase the general confusion, that they might have the better opportunity to rob and plunder their already desolated fellow-citizens. Out of three hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, which Lisbon was then supposed to contain, about ten thousand perished by this calamity; and the survivors, deprived of their habitations, and destitute even of the necessaries of life, were forced to seek for shelter in the open fields.

RELIEF VOTED TO THE PORTUGUESE.

As soon as his majesty received an account of this deplorable event, from his ambassador at the court of Madrid, he sent a message to both houses of parliament, on the twenty-eighth of November, acquainting them therewith, and desiring their concurrence and assistance towards speedily relieving the unhappy sufferers; and the parliament thereupon, to the honour of British humanity, unanimously voted, on the eighth of December, a gift of an hundred thousand pounds for the distressed people of Portugal. A circumstance which enhances the merit of this action is, that though the English themselves were, at that very time, in great want of grain, a considerable part of the sum was sent in corn, flour, rice, and a large quantity of beef from Ireland; supplies which came very seasonably for the poor Portuguese, who were in actual want of the necessaries of life. Their king was so affected by this instance of British generosity, that, to show his gratitude for the timely relief, he ordered Mr. Castres, the British resident at his court, to give the preference, in the distribution of these supplies, to the British subjects who had suffered by the earthquake; accordingly, about a thirtieth part of the provisions, and two thousand pounds in money, were set apart for that purpose; and his Portuguese majesty returned his thanks, in very warm terms, to the British crown and nation.

The report of an intended invasion of these kingdoms by the French increasing daily, on the twenty-second day of January lord Barrington, as secretary at war, laid before the house an estimate for defraying the charge of ten new regiments of foot, over and above the thirty-four thousand two hundred and sixty-three land soldiers before ordered to be raised; and a sum of ninety-one thousand nine hundred and nineteen pounds, ten shillings, was voted for these additional forces; upon another estimate presented a little after by the same lord, and founded upon the same reasons, for raising, for the further defence of the kingdom, eleven troops of light dragoons, forty-nine thousand six hundred and twenty-eight pounds, eleven shillings and threepence, were voted for the ensuing year; together with eighty-one thousand one hundred and seventy-eight pounds, sixteen shillings, for a regiment of foot to be raised in North America; two hundred and ninety-eight thousand five hundred and thirty-four pounds, seventeen shillings and tenpence halfpenny, for the maintenance of our forces already established in our American colonies; and seventy-nine thousand nine hundred and fifteen pounds, six shillings, for six regiments of foot from Ireland, to serve in North America and the East Indies. Besides all these supplies, Mr. Fox, on the twenty-eighth of January, presented to the house a message from the king, desiring them to take into consideration the faithful services of the people of New England, and of some other parts of North America; upon which one hundred and fifteen thousand pounds more were voted, and five thousand pounds as a reward to sir William Johnson in particular. In short, including several other sums, as well as for defraying the expense of the army and navy, as for a subsidy of twenty thousand pounds to the king of Prussia, and one hundred and twenty-one thousand four hundred and forty-seven pounds, two shillings and sixpence, for Hanoverian troops, of which two last articles further notice will be taken hereafter, the whole of the supplies granted by parliament in this session, amounted to seven millions two hundred and twenty-nine thousand one hundred and seventeen pounds, four shillings and sixpence three farthings. For raising this sum, besides the malt tax, and the land tax of four shillings in the pound, the whole produce of the sinking fund, from the fifth of January one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, till it should amount to one million five hundred and fifty-five thousand nine hundred and fifty-five pounds, eleven shillings and elevenpence halfpenny, was ordered to be applied thereunto; together with a million to be raised by loans or exchequer bills, at three per cent, interest; one million five hundred thousand pounds, to be raised by the sale of redeemable annuities at three and a half per cent., and five hundred thousand pounds to be raised by a lottery, at three per cent. All which sums, with eighty-three thousand four hundred and twelve pounds, two shillings, and five-pence halfpenny, then remaining in the exchequer, amounted to seven millions four hundred and twenty-seven thousand two hundred and sixty-one pounds, five shillings and sevenpence.

MUTINY BILL, MARINE, AND MARINERS’ ACTS CONTINUED.

The clause inserted in the mutiny bill last year, subjecting all officers and soldiers raised in America, by authority of the respective governors or governments there, to the same rules and articles of war, and the same penalties and punishments, as the British forces were liable to; the act passed at the same time for regulating the marine forces, while on shore, and that for the more speedy and effectual manning of his majesty’s navy, were not only confirmed now, but it was further enacted, with respect to this last, as well as for the more speedy and effectual recruiting of his majesty’s land-forces, that the commissioners appointed by the present act should be empowered to raise and levy, within then-respective jurisdictions, such able-bodied men as did not follow any lawful calling or employment; or had not some other lawful and sufficient support; and might order, wherever and whenever they pleased, a general search to be made for such persons, in order to their being brought before them to be examined; nay, that the parish or town officers might, without any such order, search for and secure such persons, in order to convey them before the said commissioners to be examined; that if any three commissioners should find any person, so brought before them, to be within the above description, and if the recruiting officer attending should judge him to be a man fit for his majesty’s service, they should cause him to be delivered to such officer, who might secure him in any place of safety provided by the justices of peace for that purpose, or even in any public prison; and that every such man was from that time to be deemed a listed soldier, and not to be taken out of his majesty’s service by any process, other than for some criminal matter. Nothing could more plainly show either the zeal of the parliament for a vigorous prosecution of the war, or their confidence in the justice and moderation of our ministry, than their agreeing to this act, which was to continue in force till the end of the next session; and which, in the hands of a wicked and enterprising administration, might have been made such an use of, as would have been inconsistent with that security which is provided by our happy constitution for the liberty of the subject.

ACT FOR RAISING A REGIMENT OF FOOT IN NORTH AMERICA.

The next object of the immediate attention of parliament in this session, was the raising of a new regiment of foot in North America; for which purpose the sum of eighty-one thousand one hundred and seventy-eight pounds, sixteen shillings, to which the estimate thereof amounted, was voted. This regiment, which was to consist of four battalions of a thousand men each, was intended to be raised chiefly out of the Germans and Swiss, who, for many years past, had annually transported themselves in great numbers to the British plantations in America, where waste lands had been assigned them upon the frontiers of the provinces; but, very injudiciously, no care had been taken to intermix them with the English inhabitants of the place. To this circumstance it is owing, that they have continued to correspond and converse only with one another; so that very few of them, even of those who have been born there, have yet learned to speak or understand the English tongue. However, as they were all zealous protestants, and in general strong hardy men, and accustomed to the climate, it was judged that a regiment of good and faithful soldiers might be raised out of them, particularly proper to oppose the French; but to this end it was necessary to appoint some officers, especially subalterns, who understood military discipline, and could speak the German language; and as a sufficient number of such could not be found among the English officers, it was necessary to bring over and grant commissions to several German and Swiss officers and engineers; but this step, by the act of settlement, could not be taken without the authority of parliament; an act was now passed for enabling his majesty to grant commissions to a certain number of foreign protestants, who had served abroad as officers or engineers, to act and rank as officers or engineers in America only. An act was likewise passed in this session, strictly forbidding, under pain of death, any of his majesty’s subjects to serve as officers under the French king, or to enlist as soldiers in his service, without his majesty’s previous license; and also for obliging such of his majesty’s subjects as should, in time to come, accept of commissions in the Scotch brigade in the Dutch service, to take the oaths of allegiance and abjuration, on pain of forfeiting five hundred pounds.

MARITIME LAWS OF ENGLAND EXTENDED TO AMERICA.

As it had been resolved, in the beginning of the preceding summer, to build vessels of force upon the lake Ontario, an act was now passed for extending the maritime laws of England, relating to the government of his majesty’s ships and forces by sea, to such officers, seamen, and others, as should serve on board his majesty’s ships or vessels employed upon the lakes, great waters, or rivers in North America; and also, but not without opposition to this last, for the better recruiting of his majesty’s forces upon the continent of America; to which end, by a new clause now added to a former act, a recruiting officer was empowered to enlist and detain an indented servant, even though his master should reclaim him, upon paying to the master such a sum as two justices of peace within the precinct should adjudge to be a reasonable equivalent for the original purchase money, and the remaining time such servant might have to serve.

QUIET OF IRELAND RESTORED.

The intestine broils of Ireland were happily composed this year, by the prudent management of the marquis of Hartington, lord lieutenant of that kingdom. By his steady and disinterested conduct, his candour and humanity, the Irish were not only brought to a much better temper, even among themselves, than they were before their late outrageous riots and dangerous dissensions happened; but also prevailed upon to acquiesce in the measures of England, without this last being obliged to give up any one point of her superiority. The leading men in the parliament of Ireland were the first that conformed; and though the ferment continued very high for some time after, among the middling and lower ranks of people, it was at length entirely allayed by the wisdom of the lord lieutenant, and the excellent law which he encouraged and passed for the benefit of that nation.* The primate of Ireland, who had been very busy in fomenting many of the late disturbances, was, by his majesty’s command, struck off the list of privy-counsellors; and the greatest part of those patriots, whom faction had turned out of their employments there, were reinstated with honour.

* Among other objects of the attention of the legislature of that country, ten thousand pounds were granted for making the river Nore navigable from the city of Kilkenny to the town of Innestalge; twenty thousand pounds towards carrying on an inland navigation from the city of Dublin to the river Shannon; four thousand pounds for making the river Newry navigable; a thousand pounds a year for two years, for the encouragement of English protestant schools; several sums, to be distributed in premiums, for the encouragement of the cambric, hempen, and flaxen manufactures; and three hundred thousand pounds to his majesty, towards supporting the several branches of the establishment, and for defraying the expenses of the government for two years.

TREATY CONCLUDED WITH PRUSSIA.

The parliament of England, which had adjourned on the twenty-third day of December, met again: the house of commons on the thirteenth of January, and the lords on the nineteenth. On the sixteenth of the same month, the treaty between his Britannic majesty and the king of Prussia was signed, importing, that, for the defence of their common country, Germany, and in order to preserve her peace and tranquillity, which it was feared was in danger of being disturbed, on account of the disputes in America, the two kings, for that end only, entered into a convention of neutrality, by which they reciprocally bound themselves not to suffer foreign troops of any nation whatsoever to enter into Germany, or pass through it during the troubles aforesaid, and the consequences that might result from them; but to oppose the same with their utmost might, in order to secure Germany from the calamities of war, maintain her fundamental laws and constitutions, and preserve her peace uninterrupted. Thus, the late treaty with Russia was virtually renounced. Their majesties, moreover, seized this favourable opportunity to adjust the differences that had subsisted between them, in relation to the remainder of the Silesia loan due to the subjects of his Britannic majesty, and the indemnification claimed by the subjects of his Prussian majesty for their losses by sea during the late war; so that the attachment laid on the said debt was agreed to be taken off, as soon as the ratification of this treaty should be exchanged.

NEW MILITIA-BILL.

On the twenty-first of January the house took into consideration the laws then in being relating to the militia of this kingdom; and, finding them insufficient, ordered a new bill to be prepared, and brought in, for the better regulating of the militia forces in the several counties of England. A bill was accordingly prepared to that effect, and presented to the house on the twelfth of March, by the hon. Charles Townshend, esq., who, to his honour, was one of the chief promoters of it. After receiving many amendments in the house of commons, it was on the tenth of May passed, and sent to the lords; but several objections being made to it by some of the peers, and it seemed to them that some further amendments were still necessary, which they thought they could not in that session spare time to consider so maturely as the importance of the subject required, a negative of fifty-nine against twenty-three was put upon the motion for passing the bill; though every one must have been sensible, not only of the propriety, but even of the absolute necessity of such a law, which was ardently desired by the whole nation.

SESSION CLOSED.

On the twenty-seventh of May, his majesty went to the house of peers, and, after having given the royal assent to the bills then depending, thanked his parliament, in a speech from the throne, for their vigorous and effectual support. He acquainted them, that the injuries and hostilities which had been for some time committed by the French against his dominions and subjects, were then followed by the actual invasion of the island of Minorca, though guaranteed to him by all the great powers in Europe, and particularly by the French king; that he had, therefore, found himself obliged, in vindication of the honour of his crown, and of the rights of his people, to declare war in form against France; and that he relied on the Divine Protection, and the vigorous assistance of his faithful subjects, in so just a cause. The parliament was then adjourned to the eighteenth of June; and from thence afterwards to the eighteenth of July, and then it was prorogued.

CHAPTER XI.

Letter from M. Rouillé to the Secretary of State..... The two Nations recriminate on each other..... The French threaten Great Britain with an Invasion..... Requisition of six thousand Dutch Troops according to Treaty..... Message from the King to the Parliament..... A Body of Hessians and Hanoverians transported into England..... French Preparations at Toulon..... Admiral Byng sails for the Mediterranean..... He arrives at Gibraltar..... engages M. de la Galissonniere off Minorca..... and returns to Gibraltar..... Ferment of the People at Home..... Admiral Byng superseded and sent home Prisoner..... Account of the Siege of St. Philip’s Fort in Minorca..... Precautions taken by General Blakeney..... Siege commenced..... English Squadron appears..... General Attack of the Works..... The Garrison capitulates..... Sir Edward Hawke sails to Minorca..... Rejoicings in France, and Clamours in England..... Gallantry of Fortunatus Wright..... General Blakeney created a Baron..... Measures taken for the Defence of Great Britain..... Proclamation..... Earl of Loudon appointed Commander-in-Chief in America..... His Britannic Majesty’s Declaration of War..... Substance of the French King’s Declaration..... Address of the City of London..... Trial of General Fowke..... Affairs of America..... Colonel Bradstreet defeats a Body of French on the River Onondaga..... Earl of Loudon arrives at New York..... Oswego reduced by the Enemy..... Further Proceedings in America..... Naval Operations in that Country..... Transactions in the East Indies..... Calcutta besieged by the Viceroy of Bengal..... Deplorable Fate of those who perished in the Dungeon there..... Additional Cruelties exercised on Mr. Holwell..... Resolution against Angria..... Port of Geriah taken by Admiral Watson and Mr. Clive..... Their subsequent Proceedings in the River Ganges

LETTER FROM M. ROUILLE.

In the month of January, Mr. Fox, lately appointed secretary of state, received a letter from M. Rouillé, minister and secretary of state for foreign affairs to the king of France, expostulating, in the name of his sovereign, upon the orders and instructions for committing hostilities, which his Britannic majesty had given to general Braddock, and admiral Boscawen, in diametrical opposition to the most solemn assurances so often repeated by word of mouth, as well as in writing. He complained of the insult which had been offered to his master’s flag in attacking and taking two of his ships in the open sea, without any previous declaration of war; as also by committing depredations on the commerce of his most christian majesty’s subjects, in contempt of the law of nations, the faith of treaties, and the usages established among civilised nations. He said, the sentiments and character of his Britannic majesty gave the king his master room to expect, that, at his return to London, he would disavow the conduct of his admiralty; but seeing that, instead of punishing, he rather encouraged those who had been guilty of such depredations, his most christian majesty would be deemed deficient in what he owed to his own glory, the dignity of his crown, and the defence of his people, if he deferred any longer demanding a signal reparation for the outrage done to the French flag, and the damage sustained by his subjects. He therefore demanded immediate and full restitution of all the French ships, which, contrary to law and decorum, had been taken by the English navy, together with all the officers, soldiers, mariners, guns, stores, and merchandise. He declared, that should this restitution be made, he should be willing to engage in a negotiation for what further satisfaction he might claim, and continue desirous to see the differences relating to America determined by a solid and equitable accommodation; but if, contrary to all hopes, these demands should be rejected, he would consider such a denial of justice as the most authentic declaration of war, and as a formed design in the court of London to disturb the peace of Europe. To this peremptory remonstrance the British secretary was directed to answer, that though the king of England would readily consent to an equitable and solid accommodation, he would not comply with the demand of immediate and full restitution as a preliminary condition; for his majesty had taken no steps but such as were rendered just and indispensable by the hostilities which the French began in time of profound peace, and a proper regard for his own honour, the rights and possessions of his crown, and the security of his kingdoms.

Without all doubt the late transactions had afforded specious arguments for both nations to impeach the conduct of each other. The French court, conscious of their encroachments in Nova Scotia, affected to draw a shade over these, as particulars belonging to a disputed territory, and to divert the attention to the banks of the Ohio, where Jamonville and his detachment had been attacked and massacred by the English, without the least provocation. They likewise inveighed against the capture of their ships, before any declaration of war, as flagrant acts of piracy; and some neutral powers of Europe seemed to consider them in the same point of view. It was certainly high time to check the insolence of the French by force of arms, and surely this might have been as effectually and expeditiously exerted under the usual sanction of a formal declaration; the omission of which exposed the administration to the censure of our neighbours, and fixed the imputation of fraud and free-booting on the beginning of the war. The ministry was said to have delayed the ceremony of denouncing war from political considerations, supposing that, should the French be provoked into the first declaration of this kind, the powers of Europe would consider his most christian majesty as the aggressor, and Great Britain would reap all the fruits of the defensive alliances in which she had engaged. But nothing could be more weak and frivolous than such a conjecture. The aggressor is he who first violates the peace; and every ally will interpret the aggression according to his own interest and convenience. The administration maintained the appearance of candour in the midst of their hostilities. The merchant ships, of which a great number had been taken from the French, were not sold and divided among the captors, according to the practice of war; but carefully sequestered, with all their cargoes and effects, in order to be restored to the right owners, in case the disputes between the two nations should not be productive of an open rupture. In this particular, however, it was a pity that a little common sense had not been blended with their honourable intention. Great part of the cargoes consisted of fish, and other perishable commodities, which were left to rot and putrefy, and afterwards thrown overboard, to prevent contagion; so that the owners and captors were equally disappointed, and the value of them lost to both nations.

THE FRENCH THREATEN GREAT BRITAIN WITH AN INVASION.

The court of Versailles, while they presented remonstrances which they knew would prove ineffectual, and exclaimed against the conduct of Great Britain with all the arts of calumny and exaggeration at every court in Christendom, continued nevertheless to make such preparations as denoted a design to prosecute the war with uncommon vigour. They began to repair and fortify Dunkirk; orders were published that all British subjects should quit the dominions of France; many English vessels were seized in the different ports of that kingdom, and their crews sent to prison. At the same time an edict was issued, inviting the French subjects to equip privateers, offering a premium of forty livres for every gun, and as much for every man they should take from the enemy; and promising that, in case a peace should be speedily concluded, the king would purchase the privateers at prime cost. They employed great numbers of artificers and seamen in equipping a formidable squadron of ships at Brest; and assembling a strong body of land-forces, as well as a considerable number of transports, threatened the island of Great Britain with a dangerous invasion.

REQUISITION OF SIX THOUSAND DUTCH TROOPS.

The English people were seized with consternation; the ministry were alarmed and perplexed. Colonel Yorke, the British resident at the Hague, was ordered by his majesty to make a requisition of the six thousand men whom the states-general are obliged by treaty to furnish, when Great Britain shall be threatened with an invasion; and in February he presented a memorial for this purpose. Monsieur d’Affry, the French king’s minister at the Hague, having received intimation of this demand, produced a counter-memorial from his master, charging the English as the aggressors, and giving the states-general plainly to understand, that, should they grant the succours demanded by Great Britain, he would consider their compliance as an act of hostility against himself. The Dutch, though divided among themselves by faction, were unanimously averse to any measure that might involve them in the approaching war. Their commerce was in a great measure decayed, and their finances were too much exhausted to admit of an immediate augmentation of their forces, which for many other reasons they strove to avoid. They foresaw a great increase of trade in their adhering to a punctual neutrality; they were afraid of the French by land, and jealous of the English by sea; and perhaps enjoyed the prospect of seeing these two proud and powerful nations humble and impoverish each other. Certain it is, the states-general protracted their answer to Mr. Yorke’s memorial by such affected delays, that the court of London perceived their intention, and, in order to avoid the mortification of a flat denial, the king ordered his resident to acquaint the princess regent, that he would not insist upon his demand. The states, thus freed from their perplexity, at length delivered an answer to Mr. Yorke, in which they expatiated on the difficulties they were laid under, and thanked his Britannic majesty for having freed them by his declaration from that embarrassment into which they were thrown by his first demand and the counter-memorial of the French minister. The real sentiments of those people, however, more plainly appeared in the previous resolution delivered to the states of Holland by the towns of Amsterdam, Dort, Haerlem, Gouda, Rotterdam, and Enckhuysen, declaring flatly that England was uncontrovertibly the aggressor in Europe, by seizing a considerable number of French vessels; that the threatened invasion of Great Britain did not affect the republic’s guarantee of the protestant succession, inasmuch as it was only intended to obtain reparation for the injury sustained by the subjects of his most christian majesty; finally, that the succours demanded could be of no advantage to the king of England, as it appeared by the declaration of his most christian majesty; that their granting these succours would immediately lay them under the necessity of demanding, in their turn, assistance from Great Britain. From this way of arguing, the English may perceive what they have to expect in cases of emergency from the friendship of their nearest allies, who must always be furnished with the same excuse, whenever they find it convenient or necessary to their own interest. Such a consideration, joined to other concurring motives, ought to induce the British legislature to withdraw its dependence from all foreign connexions, and provide such a constitutional force within itself, as will be fully sufficient to baffle all the efforts of an external enemy. The apprehensions and distraction of the people at this juncture plainly evinced the expediency of such a national force; but different parties were divided in their opinions about the nature of such a provision. Some of the warmest friends of their country proposed a well regulated militia, as an institution that would effectually answer the purpose of defending a wide extended sea-coast from invasion; while, on the other hand, this proposal was ridiculed and refuted as impracticable or useless by all the retainers to the court, and all the officers of the standing army. In the meantime, as the experiment could not be immediately tried, and the present juncture demanded some instant determination, recourse was had to a foreign remedy.

Towards the latter end of March, the king sent a written message to parliament, intimating, that he had received repeated advices from different persons and places, that a design had been formed by the French court to invade Great Britain or Ireland; and the great preparations of forces, ships, artillery, and warlike stores, then notoriously making in the ports of France opposite to the British coasts, together with the language of the French ministers in some foreign courts, left little room to doubt the reality of such a design; that his majesty had augmented his forces both by sea and land, and taken proper measures and precautions for putting his kingdom in a posture of defence; that, in order further to strengthen himself, he had made a requisition of a body of Hessian troops, pursuant to the late treaty, to be forthwith brought over, and for that purpose ordered transports to be prepared; that he doubted not of being enabled and supported by his parliament in taking such measures as might be conducive to an end so essential to the honour of his crown, the preservation of the protestant religion, and the laws and liberties of these kingdoms. This message was no sooner received, than both houses voted, composed, and presented very warm and affectionate addresses, in which his majesty was thanked for the requisition he had made of the Hessian troops; a measure which at any other time would have been stigmatized with all the satire and rhetoric of the opposition.

HESSIANS AND HANOVERIANS TRANSPORTED INTO ENGLAND.

Even this precaution was not thought sufficient to secure the island, and quiet the terrors of the people. In a few days Mr. Fox, the new minister, encouraged by the unanimity which had appeared so conspicuous in the motions for the late addresses, ventured to move again in the house of commons, that another address should be presented to the king, beseeching his majesty, that for the more effectual defence of this island, and for the better security of the religion and liberties of his subjects, against the threatened attack by a foreign enemy, he would be graciously pleased to order twelve battalions of his electoral troops, together with the usual detachment of artillery, to be forthwith brought into this kingdom. There was a considerable party in the house, to whom such a motion was odious and detestable; but considering the critical situation of affairs, they were afraid that a direct opposition might expose them to a more odious suspicion; they therefore moved for the order of the day, and insisted on the question’s being put upon that motion; but it was carried in the negative by a considerable majority, which also agreed to the other proposal. The resolution of the house was communicated to the lords, who unanimously concurred; and their joint address being presented, his majesty assured them he would immediately comply with their request. Accordingly, such expedition was used, that in the course of the next month both Hanoverians and Hessians arrived in England, and encamped in different parts of the kingdom.—As the fears of an invasion subsided in the minds of the people, their antipathy to these foreign auxiliaries emerged. They were beheld with the eyes of jealousy, suspicion, and disdain. They were treated with contempt, reserve, and rigour. The ministry was execrated for having reduced the nation to such a low circumstance of disgrace, as that they should owe their security to German mercenaries. There were not wanting some incendiaries, who circulated hints and insinuations, that the kingdom had been purposely left unprovided; and that the natives of South Britain had been formerly subdued and expelled by a body of Saxon auxiliaries, whom they had hired for their preservation. In a word, the doubts and suspicions of a people naturally blunt and jealous, were inflamed to such a degree of animosity, that nothing would have restrained them from violent acts of outrage, but the most orderly, modest, and inoffensive behaviour by which both the Hanoverians and Hessians were distinguished.

FRENCH PREPARATIONS AT TOULON.

Under the cloak of an invading armament, which engrossed the attention of the British nation, the French were actually employed in preparations for an expedition, which succeeded according to their wish. In the beginning of the year, advice was received that a French squadron would soon be in a condition to sail from Toulon; this was afterwards confirmed by repeated intelligence, not only from foreign gazettes, but also from English ministers and consuls residing in Spain and Italy. They affirmed that the Toulon squadron consisted of twelve or fifteen ships of the line, with a great number of transports; that they were supplied with provisions for two months only, consequently could not be intended for America; and that strong bodies of troops were on their march from different parts of the French dominions to Dauphiné and Provence in order to be embarked. Notwithstanding these particulars of information, which plainly pointed out Minorca as the object of their expedition; notwithstanding the extensive and important commerce carried on by the subjects of Great Britain in the Mediterranean; no care was taken to send thither a squadron of ships capable to protect the trade, and frustrate the designs of the enemy. That great province was left to a few inconsiderable ships and frigates, which could serve no other purpose than that of carrying intelligence from port to port, and enriching their commanders by making prize of merchant vessels. Nay, the ministry seemed to pay little or no regard to the remonstrances of general Blakeney, deputy governor of Minorca, who, in repeated advices, represented the weakness of the garrison which he commanded in St. Philip’s castle, the chief fortress on the island. Far from strengthening the garrison with a proper reinforcement, they did not even send thither the officers belonging to it, who were in England upon leave of absence, nor give directions for any vessel to transport them, until the French armament was ready to make a descent upon that island. 372 [See note 2 Z, at the end of this Vol]

ADMIRAL BYNG SAILS FOR THE MEDITERRANEAN.

At length, the destination of the enemy’s fleet being universally known, the ministry seemed to rouse from their lethargy, and, like persons suddenly waking, acted with hurry and precipitation. Instead of detaching a squadron that in all respects should be superior to the French fleet in the Mediterranean, and bestowing the command of it upon an officer of approved courage and activity, they allotted no more than ten ships of the line for this service, vesting the command of them in admiral Byng, who had never met with any occasion to signalize his courage, and whose character was not very popular in the navy; but Mr. West, the second in command, was a gentleman universally respected for his probity, ability, and resolution. The ten ships destined for this expedition were but in very indifferent order, poorly manned, and unprovided with either hospital or fire-ship. They sailed from Spithead on the seventh day of April, having on board, as part of their complement, a regiment of soldiers to be landed at Gibraltar, with major-general Stuart, lord Effingham, and colonel Cornwallis, whose regiments were in garrison at Minorca, about forty inferior officers, and near one hundred recruits, as a reinforcement to St. Philip’s fortress.

ADMIRAL BYNG ARRIVES AT GIBRALTAR.

After all the intelligence which had been received, one would imagine the government of England was still ignorant of the enemy’s force and destination; for the instructions delivered to admiral Byng, imported, that on his arrival at Gibraltar, he should inquire whether any French squadron had passed through the straits; and that, being certified in the affirmative, as it was probably designed for North America, he should immediately detach rear-admiral West to Louisbourg, on the island of cape Breton, with such a number of ships, as, when joined with those at Halifax, would constitute a force superior to the armament of the enemy. On the second day of May, admiral Byng arrived at Gibraltar, where he found captain Edgecumbe, with the Princess Louisa ship of war, and a sloop, who informed him that the French armament, commanded by M. de la Galissonniere, consisting of thirteen ships of the line, with a great number of transports, having on board a body of fifteen thousand land-forces, had sailed from Toulon on the tenth day of April, and made a descent on the island of Minorca, from whence he, captain Edgecumbe, had been obliged to retire on their approach. General Fowke, who commanded at Gibraltar, had received two successive orders from the secretary at war, with respect to his sparing a battalion of troops, to be transported by Mr. Byng, as a reinforcement to Minorca; but as the two orders appeared inconsistent or equivocal, a council of war was consulted, and a majority were of opinion that no troops should be sent from thence to Minorca, except a detachment to supply the deficiency in the little squadron of captain Edgecumbe, who had left a good number of his seamen and mariners, under the command of captain Scroop, to assist in the defence of fort St. Philip’s. These articles of intelligence the admiral despatched by an express to the lords of the admiralty, and in his letter made use of some impolitic expressions, which, in all probability, it would have been well for him had he omitted. He said, if he had been so happy as to have arrived at Mahon before the French had landed, he flattered himself he should have been able to prevent their getting a footing on that island. He complained, that there were no magazines in Gibraltar for supplying the squadron with necessaries; that the careening wharfs, pits, and store-houses were entirely decayed, so that he should find the greatest difficulty in cleaning the ships that were foul; and this was the case with some of those he carried out from England, as well as with those which had been for some time cruising in the Mediterranean. He signified his opinion, that, even if it should be found practicable, it would be very impolitic to throw any men into St. Philip’s castle, which could not be saved without a land-force sufficient to raise the seige; therefore, a small reinforcement would only add so many men to the number which must fall into the hands of the enemy. He observed, that such engineers and artillery-men in Gibraltar as had been at Minorca, were of opinion that it would be impossible to throw any number of men into St. Philip’s, if the French had erected batteries on the two shores near the entrance of the harbour, so as to bar all passage up to the sally-port of the fortress; and with this opinion he signified the concurrence of his own sentiments. The first part of this letter was a downright impeachment of the ministry, for having delayed the expedition, for having sent out ships unfit for service, and for having neglected the magazines and wharfs at Gibraltar. In the latter part he seemed to prepare them for the subsequent account of his misconduct and miscarriage. It cannot be supposed that they underwent this accusation without apprehension and resentment; and as they foresaw the loss of Minorca, which would not fail to excite a national clamour, perhaps they now began to take measures for gratifying their resentment, and transferring the blame from themselves to the person who had presumed to hint a disapprobation of their conduct: for this purpose they could not have found a fairer opportunity than Mr. Byng’s subsequent behaviour afforded.

HE ENGAGES M. DE LA GALISSONNIERE OFF MINORCA.

The admiral being strengthened by Mr. Edgecumbe, and reinforced by a detachment from the garrison, set sail from Gibraltar on the eighth day of May, and was joined off Majorca by his majesty’s ship the Phoenix, under the command of captain Hervey, who confirmed the intelligence he had already received, touching the strength and destination of the French squadron. When he approached Minorca, he descried the British colours still flying at the castle of St. Philip’s, and several bomb-batteries playing upon it from different quarters where the French banners were displayed. Thus informed, he detached three ships a-head, with captain Hervey, to reconnoitre the harbour’s mouth, and land, if possible, a letter for general Blakeney, giving him to understand the fleet was come to his assistance. Before this attempt could be made, the French fleet appearing to the south-cast, and the wind blowing strong off shore, he recalled his ships, and formed the line of battle. About six o’clock in the evening, the enemy, to the number of seventeen ships, thirteen of which appeared to be very large, advanced in order; but about seven tacked, with a view to gain the weather-gage. Mr. Byng, in order to preserve that advantage, as well as to make sure of the land-wind in the morning, followed their example, being then about five leagues from Cape Mola. At daylight the enemy could not be descried; but two tartanes appearing close to the rear of the English squadron, they were immediately chased by signal. One escaped, and the other being taken, was found to have on board two French captains, two lieutenants, and about one hundred private soldiers, part of six hundred who had been sent out in tartanes the preceding day, to reinforce the enemy’s squadron. This soon re-appearing, the line of battle was formed on each side, and about two o’clock admiral Byng threw out a signal to bear away two points from the wind and engage. At this time his distance from the enemy was so great, that rear-admiral West, perceiving it impossible to comply with both orders, bore away with his division seven points from the wind, and closing down upon the enemy, attacked them with such impetuosity, that the ships which opposed him were in a little time driven out of the line. Had he been properly sustained by the van, in all probability the British fleet would have obtained a complete victory; but the other division did not bear down, and the enemy’s centre keeping that station, rear-admiral West could not pursue his advantage without running the risk of seeing his communication with the rest of the line entirely cut off. In the beginning of the action, the Intrepid, in Mr. Byng’s division, was so disabled in her rigging that she could not be managed, and drove on the ship that was next in position; a circumstance which obliged several others to throw all aback in order to avoid confusion, and for some time retarded the action. Certain it is, that Mr. Byng, though accommodated with a noble ship of ninety guns, made little or no use of his artillery, but kept aloof, either from an overstrained observance of discipline, or timidity. When his captain exhorted him to bear down upon the enemy, he very coolly replied, that he would avoid the error of admiral Matthews, who, in his engagement with the French and Spanish squadrons off Toulon, during the preceding war, had broke the line by his own precipitation, and exposed himself singly to a fire which he could not sustain. Mr. Byng, on the contrary, was determined against acting, except with the line entire; and, on pretence of rectifying the disorder which had happened among some of the ships, hesitated so long, and kept at such a wary distance, that he never was properly engaged, though he received some few shots in his hull. M. de la Galissionniere seemed equally averse to the continuance of the battle; part of his squadron had been fairly obliged to quit the line; and though he was rather superior to the English in number of men and weight of metal, he did not choose to abide the consequence of a closer fight with an enemy so expert in naval operations: he therefore took advantage of Mr. Byng’s hesitation, and edged away with an easy sail to join his van, which had been discomfited. The English admiral gave chase; but the French ships being clean, he could not come up and close them again, so they retired at their leisure. Then he put his squadron on the other tack, in order to keep the wind of the enemy; and next morning they were altogether out of sight.

While he lay-to with the rest of the fleet, at the distance of ten leagues from Mahon, he detached cruisers to look for some missing ships, which joined him accordingly, and made an inquiry into the condition of the squadron. The number of killed amounted to forty-two, including captain Andrews of the Defiance, and about one hundred and sixty-eight were wounded. Three of the capital ships were so damaged in their masts, that they could not keep the sea with any regard to their safety; a great number of the seamen were ill, and there was no vessel which could be converted into an hospital for the sick and wounded. In this situation he called a council of war, at which the land-officers were present. He represented to them that he was much inferior to the enemy in weight of metal and number of men; that they had the advantage of sending their wounded to Minorca, from whence at the same time they were refreshed and reinforced occasionally; that in his opinion it was impracticable to relieve St. Philip’s fort, and, therefore, they ought to make the best of their way back to Gibraltar, which might require immediate protection. They unanimously concurred with his sentiments, and thither he directed his course accordingly. How he came to be so well acquainted with the impracticability of relieving general Blakeney, it is not easy to determine, as no experiment was made for that purpose. Indeed, the neglect of such a trial seems to have been the least excusable part of his conduct; for it afterwards appeared that the officers and soldiers belonging to the garrison might have been landed at the sally-port, without running any great risk; and a gentleman, then in the fort, actually passed and repassed in a boat, unhurt by any of the enemy’s batteries.

Mr. Byng’s letter to the admiralty, containing a detail of this action, is said to have arrived some days before it was made public; and when it appeared, was curtailed of divers expressions, and whole paragraphs, which either tended to his own justification, or implied a censure on the conduct of his superiors. Whatever use might have been made of this letter while it remained a secret to the public, we shall not pretend to explain; but sure it is, that, on the sixteenth day of June, sir Edward Hawke and admiral Saunders sailed from Spit-head to Gibraltar, to supersede the admirals Byng and West in their commands of the Mediterranean squadron; and Mr. Byng’s letter was not published till the twenty-sixth day of the same month, when it produced all the effect which that gentleman’s bitterest enemies could have desired. The populace took fire like a train of the most hasty combustibles, and broke out into such a clamour of rage and indignation against the devoted admiral, as could not have been exceeded if he had lost the whole navy of England, and left the coasts of the kingdom naked to invasion. This animosity was carefully fomented and maintained by artful emissaries, who mingled with all public assemblies, from the drawing-room in St. James’ to the mob at Charing-cross. They expatiated upon the insolence, the folly, the cowardice, and misconduct of the unhappy admiral. They even presumed to make their sovereign in some measure an instrument of their calumny, by suggesting, that his majesty had prognosticated Byng’s misbehaviour from the contents of his first letter, dated at Gibraltar. They ridiculed and refuted the reasons he had given for returning to that fortress, after his scandalous re-encounter with the French squadron; and, in order to exasperate them to the most implacable resentment, they exaggerated the terrible consequences of losing Minorca, which must now be subdued through his treachery or want of resolution. In a word, he was devoted as the scape-goat of the ministry, to whose supine negligence, ignorance, and misconduct, the loss of that important fortress was undoubtedly owing. Byng’s miscarriage was thrown out like a barrel to the whale, in order to engage the attention of the people, that it might not be attracted by the real cause of the national misfortune. In order to keep up the flame which had been kindled against the admiral, recourse was had to the lowest artifices. Agents were employed to vilify his person in all public places of vulgar resort, and mobs were hired at different parts of the capital to hang and burn him in effigy.

ADMIRAL BYNG SUPERSEDED AND SENT HOME PRISONER.

The two officers who succeeded to the command in the Mediterranean, were accompanied by lord Tyrawley, whom his majesty had appointed to supersede general Fowke in the government of Gibraltar, that gentleman having incurred the displeasure of the ministry, for not having understood an order which was unintelligible. By the same conveyance, a letter from the secretary to the admiralty was transmitted to Mr. Byng, giving him notice that he was recalled. To this intimation he replied in such a manner as denoted a consciousness of having done his duty, and a laudable desire to vindicate his own conduct. His answer contained a further account of the engagement in which he was supposed to have misbehaved, intermixed with some puerile calculations of the enemy’s superiority in weight of metal, which served no other purpose than that of exposing his character still more to ridicule and abuse; and he was again so impolitic as to hazard certain expressions, which added fresh fuel to the resentment of his enemies. Directions were immediately despatched to sir Edward Hawke, that Byng should be sent home in arrest; and an order to the same purpose was lodged at every port in the kingdom; precautions which, however unnecessary to secure the person of a man who longed ardently to justify his character by a public trial, were yet productive of considerable effect in augmenting the popular odium. Admiral Byng immediately embarked in the ship which had carried out his successor, and was accompanied by Mr. West, general Fowke, and several other officers of that garrison, who were also recalled, in consequence of having subscribed to the result of the council of war, which we have mentioned above. When they arrived in England, Mr. West met with such a gracious reception from his majesty as was thought due to his extraordinary merit; but Mr. Byng was committed close prisoner in an apartment of Greenwich hospital.

ACCOUNT OF THE SIEGE OF ST. PHILIP’S FORT IN MINORCA.

In the meantime, the siege of St. Philip’s fort in Minorca was prosecuted with unremitting vigour. The armament of Toulon, consisting of the fleet commanded by M. de la Galissonniere, and the troops under the duke de Richelieu, arrived on the eighteenth day of April at the port of Ciudadella, on that part of the island opposite to Mahon, or St. Philip’s, and immediately began to disembark their forces. Two days before they reached the island, general Blakeney had, by a packet boat, received certain intelligence of their approach, and began to make preparations for the defence of the castle. The fort which he commanded was very extensive, surrounded with numerous redoubts, ravelins, and other outworks; and provided with subterranean galleries, mines, and traverses, Cut out of the solid rock with incredible labour. Upon the whole, this was one of the best fortified places in Europe, well supplied with artillery, ammunition, and provisions; and, without all doubt, might have sustained the most desperate siege, had it been defended by a numerous garrison, conducted by able engineers, under the eye and auspices of an active and skilful commander. All these advantages, however, did not concur on this occasion. The number of troops in Minorca did not exceed four regiments, whereas the nature of the works required at least double the number; and even of these, above forty officers were absent. The chief engineer was rendered lame by the gout, and the general himself oppressed with the infirmities of old age. The natives of the island might have been serviceable as pioneers, or day-labourers, but from their hatred to the protestant religion, they were generally averse to the English government, although they had lived happily and grown wealthy under its influence.

PRECAUTIONS taken by GENERAL BLAKENEY.

The governor ordered his officers to beat up for volunteers in the adjacent town of St. Philip’s; but few or none would enlist under his banners, and it seems he would not venture to compel them into the service. He recalled all his advanced parties; and, in particular, a company posted at Fornelles, where a small redoubt had been raised, and five companies at Ciudadella, a post fortified with two pieces of cannon, which were now withdrawn as soon as the enemy began to disembark their forces. At the same time major Cunningham was detached with a party to break down the bridges, and break up the roads between that place and St. Philip’s; but the task of destroying the roads could not be performed in such a hurry, on account of the hard rock which runs along the surface of the ground through this whole island; nor was there time to demolish the town of St. Philip’s, which stood so near the fort, that the enemy could not fail to take advantage of its neighbourhood. The streets served them for trenches, which otherwise could not have been dug through the solid rock. Here they made a lodgement close to the works; here they found convenient barracks and quarters of refreshment, masks for their batteries, and an effectual cover for their mortars and bombardiers. The general has been blamed for leaving the town standing; but if we consider his uncertainty concerning the destination of the French armament, the odious nature of such a precaution, which could not fail to exasperate the inhabitants, and the impossibility of executing such a scheme after the first appearance of the enemy, he will be found excusable, if not altogether blameless. Some houses and windmills were actually demolished, so as to clear the esplanade and the approaches. All the wine in the cellars of St. Philip’s town was destroyed, and the butts were carried into the castle, where they might serve for gabions and traverses. Five-and-twenty Minorquin bakers were hired, and a large number of cattle brought into the fort, for the benefit of the garrison. The ports were walled up, the posts assigned, the sentinels placed, and all the different guards appointed. Commodore Edgecumbe, who then anchored in the harbour of Mahon close under the walls of the castle, sailed away with his little squadron, consisting of the Chesterfield, Princess Louisa, Portland, and Dolphin, after having left all his marines, a detachment from Gibraltar, the whole crew of the Porcupine sloop, and the greater part of the Dolphin’s, as a reinforcement to the fort, under the immediate direction and command of captain Scroop of the Dolphin, who, with great gallantry, offered himself for this severe duty, and bravely signalized himself during the whole siege. The French admiral might certainly have blocked up this harbour in such a manner, as would have prevented the escape of these ships, and divers other rich merchant vessels, which happened then to be at Mahon; but in all probability, they purposely allowed them to abandon the place, which, on any emergency or assault, their crews and officers would have considerably reinforced. The enemy were perfectly acquainted with the great extent of the works, and the weakness of the garrison, from which circumstance they derived the most sanguine hopes that the place might be suddenly taken, without the trouble of a regular siege. After Mr. Edgecumbe had sailed from Gibraltar, and general Blakeney had ordered a sloop to be sunk in the channel that leads to the harbour, the French squadron made its appearance at this part of the island; but without having attempted anything against the fort, fell to leeward of Cape Mola. Next day they came in sight again, but soon bore away, and never afterwards, during the whole course of the siege, approached so near as to give the garrison the least disturbance.

On the twenty-second day of April, the governor sent a drummer to the French general with a letter, desiring to know his reasons for invading the island. To this an answer was returned by the duke de Richelieu, declaring he was come with intention to reduce the island under the dominion of his most christian majesty, by way of retaliation for the conduct of his master, who had seized and detained the ships belonging to the king of France and his subjects. If we may judge from the first operations of this nobleman, he was but indifferently provided with engineers; for instead of beginning his approaches on the side of St. Philip’s town, close by the outworks, where he might have been screened from the fire of the garrison, his batteries were erected at Cape Mola, on the other side of the harbour, where they were more exposed, their fire much less effectual, and indeed at too great a distance to be of any service. The fire of St. Philip’s was so severe, and the cannon so well served on this quarter, that in a little time the enemy thought proper to change their plan of attack, and advance on the side of St. Philip’s town, which ought to have been the first object of their consideration, especially as they could find little or no earth to fill their gabions, and open their trenches in the usual form. On the twelfth of May, about nine at night, they opened two bomb-batteries, near the place where the windmills had been destroyed; and from that period an incessant fire was kept up on both sides, from mortars and cannon, the French continuing to raise new batteries in every situation from whence they could annoy the besieged.

On the seventeenth day of the month, the garrison were transported with joy at sight of the British squadron, commanded by admiral Byng; and Mr. Boyd, commissary of the stores, ventured to embark in a small boat, with six oars, which passed from St. Stephen’s cove, a creek on the west side of the fortification, through a shower of cannon and musketry from the enemy’s post on the other side, and actually reached the open sea, his design being to join the squadron; but this being at a great distance, stretching away to the southward, and Mr. Boyd perceiving himself chased by two of the enemy’s light vessels, he returned oy the same route to the garrison, without having sustained the least damage; a circumstance which plainly confutes the notion of Mr. Byng, that it was impracticable to open a communication with the garrison of St. Philip’s. Next day the hopes of the besieged, which had prognosticated a naval victory to the British squadron, a speedy relief to themselves, and no less than captivity to the assailants, were considerably damped by the appearance of the French fleet, which quietly returned to their station off the harbour of Mahon. That same evening they were told by a deserter, that the English fleet had been worsted in an engagement by M. de la Galissonniere; and this information was soon confirmed by a general discharge, or feu-de-joie, through the whole French camp, to celebrate the victory they pretended to have obtained. How little soever they had reason to boast of any advantage in the action, the retreat of the English squadron was undoubtedly equivalent to a victory; for had Mr. Byng acquired and maintained the superiority at sea, the French forces which had been disembarked in Minorca, would, in all probability, have been obliged to surrender prisoners of war to his Britannic majesty. The case was now much altered in their favour: their squadron cruised about the island without molestation, and they daily received, by means of their transports, reinforcements of men and ammunition, as well as constant supplies of provisions.

The English garrison, however mortified at finding themselves thus abandoned, resolved to acquit themselves with gallantry in the defence of the place, not without some remaining hope that the English squadron would be reinforced and return to their relief. In the meantime, they sustained and retorted the enemy’s fire with undaunted resolution. They remounted cannon, the carriages of which had been disabled; they removed them occasionally to places from whence it was judged they could do the greatest execution; they repaired breaches, restored merlins, and laboured with surprising alacrity, even when they were surrounded by the numerous batteries of the foe; when their embrasures and even the parapets were demolished, and they stood exposed not only to the cannon and mortars, but also to the musketry which fired upon them without ceasing, from the windows of the houses in the town of St. Philip. By this time they were invested with an army of twenty thousand men, and plied incessantly from sixty-two battering cannon, twenty-one mortars, and four howitzers, besides the small arms; nevertheless, the loss of men within the fortress was very inconsiderable, the garrison being mostly secured in the subterranean works which were impenetrable to shells or shot. By the twenty-seventh day of June they had made a practicable breach in one of the ravelins, and damaged the other outworks to such a degree, that they determined this night to give a general assault. Accordingly, between the hours of ten and eleven, they advanced to the attack from all quarters on the land side. At the same time a strong detachment, in armed boats, attempted to force the harbour, and penetrate into the creek called St. Stephen’s Cove, to storm fort Charles, and second the attack upon fort Marlborough, on the farther side of the creek, the most detached of all the outworks. The enemy advanced with great intrepedity, and their commander, the duke de Richelieu, is said to have led them up the works in person. Such an assault could not but be attended with great slaughter; they were mowed down as they approached, with grape shot and musketry; and several mines were sprung with great effect, so that the glacis was almost covered with the dying and the dead. Nevertheless, they persevered with uncommon resolution; and though repulsed on every other side, at length made a lodgement in the queen’s redoubt, which had been greatly damaged by their cannon. Whether their success in this quarter was owing to the weakness of the place, or to the timidity of the defender, certain it is, the enemy were in possession before it was known to the officers of the garrison; for lieutenant-colonel Jeffries the second in command, who had acquitted himself since the beginning of the siege with equal courage, skill, and activity, in his visitation of this post, was suddenly surrounded and taken by a file of French grenadiers, at a time when he never dreamed they had made a lodgement. Major Cunningham, who accompanied him, met with a severer fate, though he escaped captivity; he was run through the arm with a bayonet, and the piece being discharged at the same time, shattered the bones of his hand in such a manner, that he was maimed for life. In this shocking condition he retired behind a traverse, and was carried home to his quarters. Thus the governor was deprived of his two principal assistants, one being taken, and the other disabled.

The enemy having made themselves masters of Anstruther’s and the queen’s redoubts, from which perhaps they might have been dislodged, had a vigorous effort been made for that purpose before they had leisure to secure themselves; the duke de Richelieu ordered a parley to be beat, in order to obtain permission to bury the dead, and remove the wounded. This request was granted with more humanity than discretion, inasmuch as the enemy took this opportunity to throw a reinforcement of men privately into the places where the lodgements had been made, and these penetrated into the gallery of the mines, which communicated with all the other outworks. During this short cessation, general Blakeney summoned a council of war to deliberate upon the state of the fort and garrison; and the majority declared for a capitulation. The works were in many places rained; the body of the castle was shattered; many guns were dismounted, the embrasures and parapets demolished, the palisadoes broken in pieces, the garrison exhausted with hard duty and incessant watching, and the enemy in possession of the subterranean communications. Besides, the governor had received information from prisoners, that the duke de Richelieu was alarmed by a report that the marshal duke de Belleisle would be sent to supersede him in the command, and for that reason would hazard another desperate assault, which it was the opinion of the majority the garrison could not sustain. These considerations, added to the despair of being relieved, induced him to demand a capitulation. But this measure was not taken with the unanimous consent of the council. Some officers observed, that the garrison was very little diminished, and still in good spirits; that no breach was made in the body of the castle, nor a single cannon erected to batter in breach; that the loss of an outwork was never deemed a sufficient reason for surrendering such a fortress; that the counterscarp was not yet taken, nor, on account of the rocky soil, could be taken, except by assault, which would cost the enemy a greater number than they had lost in their late attempt; that they could not attack the ditch, or batter in breach, before the counterscarp should be taken, and even then they must have recourse to galleries before they could pass the fosse, which was furnished with mines and countermines; finally, they suggested, that in all probability the British squadron would be reinforced, and sail back to their relief; or if it should not return, it was the duty of the governor to defend the place to extremity, without having any regard to the consequences. These remarks being overruled, the chamade was beat, a conference ensued, and very honourable conditions were granted to the garrison, in consideration of the gallant defence they had made. This it must be owned was vigorous while it lasted, as the French general was said to have lost five thousand men in the siege; whereas the loss of the garrison, which at first fell short of three thousand men, did not exceed one hundred. The capitulation imported, that the garrison should march out with all the honours of war, and be conveyed by sea to Gibraltar. The French were put in possession of one gate, as well as fort Charles and Marlborough redoubt; but the English troops remained in the other works till the seventh day of July, when they embarked. In the meantime reciprocal civilities passed between the commanders and officers of both nations.

SIR E. HAWKE SAILS TO MINORCA.

The articles of capitulation were no sooner executed, than monsieur de la Galissonniere sailed back to Toulon, with all the prizes which had lain at anchor in the harbour of Matron, since the fort of St. Philip was first invested. In all probability, the safety of himself and his whole squadron was owing to this expeditious retreat; for in a few days after the surrender of the fort, sir Edward Hawke’s fleet, augmented by five ships of the line, which had been sent from England when the first tidings arrived of Minorca’s being invaded, now made its appearance off the island; but by this time Galissonniere was retired, and the English admiral had the mortification to see the French colours flying upon St. Philip’s castle. What, perhaps, chagrined this gallant officer still more, he was not provided with frigates, sloops, and small craft, to cruise round the island and intercept the supplies which were daily sent to the enemy. Had he reached Minorca sooner, he might have discomfited the French squadron; but he could not have raised the siege of St. Philip’s, because the duke de Richelieu had received his reinforcements, and such a train of artillery as no fortification could long withstand. Indeed, if the garrison had been considerably reinforced, and the communication with it opened by sea, the defence would have been protracted, and so many vigorous sallies might have been made, that the assailants would have had cause to repent of their enterprise.

When the news of this conquest was brought to Versailles, by the count of Egmont, whom the duke de Richelieu had dispatched for that purpose, the people of France were transported with the most extravagant joy. Nothing was seen but triumphs and processions, nothing heard but anthems, congratulations, and hyperbolical encomiums upon the conqueror of Minorca, who was celebrated in a thousand poems and studied orations; while the conduct of the English was vilified and ridiculed in ballads, farces, and pasquinades. Nothing more argues the degeneracy of a warlike nation than the pride of such mean triumph, for an advantage, which, in more vigorous times, would scarce have been distinguished by the ceremony of a Te Deum Laudamus. Nor is this childish exultation, that disgraces the laurels of victory, confined to the kingdom of France. Truth obliges us to own, that even the subjects of Great Britain are apt to be elevated by success into an illiberal insolence of self-applause, and contemptuous comparison. This must be condemned as a proof of unmanly arrogance, and absurd self-conceit, by all those who coolly reflect that the events of war generally, if not always, depend upon the genius or misconduct of one individual. The loss of Minorca was severely felt in England, as a national disgrace; but, instead of producing dejection and despondence, it excited an universal clamour of rage and resentment, not only against Mr. Byng, who had retreated from the French squadron; but also in reproach of the administration, which was taxed with having neglected the security of Minorca. Nay, some politicians were inflamed into a suspicion, that this important place had been negatively betrayed into the hands of the enemy, that in case the arms of Great Britain should prosper in other parts of the world, the French king might have some sort of equivalent to restore for the conquests which should be abandoned at the peace. This notion, however, seems to have been conceived from prejudice and party, which now began to appear with the most acrimonious aspect, not only throughout the united kingdoms in general, but even in the sovereign’s councils.

GALLANTRY OF FORTUNATUS WRIGHT.

Sir Edward Hawke, being disappointed in his hope of encountering La Galissonniere, and relieving the English garrison of St. Philip’s, at least asserted the empire of Great Britain in the Mediterranean, by annoying the commerce of the enemy, and blocking up the squadron in the harbour of Toulon. Understanding that the Austrian government at Leghorn had detained an English privateer, and imprisoned the captain, on pretence that he had violated the neutrality of the port, he detached two ships of war, to insist, in a peremptory manner, on the release of the ship, effects, crew, and captain; and they thought proper to comply with this demand, even without waiting for orders from the court of Vienna. The person in whose behalf the admiral thus interposed, was one Fortunatus Wright, a native of Liverpool; who, though a stranger to a sea life, had in the last war equipped a privateer, and distinguished himself in such a manner by his uncommon vigilance and valour, that, if he had been indulged with a command suitable to his genius, he would have deserved as honourable a place in the annals of the navy, as that which the French have bostowed upon their boasted Guai Trouin, Du Bart, and Thurot. An uncommon exertion of spirit was the occasion of his being detained at this juncture. While he lay at anchor in the harbour of Leghorn, commander of the St. George privateer of Liverpool, a small ship of twelve guns and eighty men, a large French xebeque, mounted with sixteen cannon, and nearly three times the number of his complement, chose her station in view of the harbour, in order to interrupt the British commerce. The gallant Wright could not endure this insult: notwithstanding the enemy’s superiority in metal and number of men, he weighed anchor, hoisted his sails, engaged him within sight of the shore, and after a very obstinate dispute, in which the captain, lieutenant, and above threescore of the men belonging to the xebeque were killed on the spot, he obliged them to sheer off, and returned to the harbour in triumph. This brave corsair would, no doubt, have signalized himself by many other exploits, had he not, in the sequel, been overtaken in the midst of his career by a dreadful storm, in which the ship foundering, he and all his crew perished.

GENERAL BLAKENEY CREATED A BARON.

Sir Edward Hawke, having scoured the Mediterranean, and insulted the enemy’s ports, returned with the home-ward bound trade to Gibraltar; from whence about the latter end of the year he set sail for England with part of his squadron, leaving the rest in that bay for the protection of our commerce, which, in those parts, soon began to suffer extremely from French privateers that now swarmed in the Mediterranean. General Blakeney had arrived, with the garrison of Minorca, at Portsmouth, in the month of November, and been received with expressions of tumultuous joy: every place through which he passed celebrated his return with bonfires, illuminations, bell-ringing, and acclamations: every mouth was opened in his praise, extolling him for the gallant defence he had made in the castle of St. Philip. In a word, the people’s veneration for Blakeney increased in proportion to their abhorrence of Byng: the first was lifted into an idol of admiration, while the other sunk into an object of reproach; and they were viewed at different ends of a false perspective, through the medium of prejudice and passion; of a perspective artfully contrived, and applied by certain ministers for the purposes of self-interest and deceit. The sovereign is said to have been influenced by the prepossession of the secret. Mr. Blakeney met with a gracious reception from his majesty, who raised him to the rank of an Irish baron in consideration of his faithful services, while some malcontents murmured at this mark of favour, as an unreasonable sacrifice to popular misapprehension.

MEASURES TAKEN FOR THE DEFENCE OF GREAT BRITAIN.

In the beginning of the year, the measures taken by the government in England seem to have been chiefly dictated by the dread of an invasion, from which the ministers did not think themselves secured by the guard-ships and cruisers on different parts of the coast, or the standing army of the kingdom, though reinforced by the two bodies of German auxiliaries. A considerable number of new troops was levied; the success of recruiting was not only promoted by the land-holders throughout the kingdom, who thought their estates were at stake, and for that reason encouraged their dependents to engage in the service; but also in a great measure owing to a dearth of corn, which reduced the lower class of labourers to such distress, that some insurrections were raised, and many enlisted with a view to obtain a livelihood, which otherwise they could not earn. New ships of war were built, and daily put in commission; but it was found impracticable to man them, without having recourse to the odious and illegal practice of impressing sailors, which must always be a reproach to every free people. Notwithstanding large bounties, granted by the government to volunteers, it was found necessary to lay an embargo upon all shipping, and impress all the seamen that could be found, without any regard to former protections; so that all the merchant ships were stripped of their hands, and foreign commerce for some time wholly suspended. Nay, the expedient of compelling men into the service was carried to an unusual degree of oppression; for rewards were publicly offered to those who should discover where any seamen lay concealed; so that those unhappy people were in some respects treated like felons, dragged from their families and connexions to confinement, mutilation, and death, and totally cut off from the enjoyment of that liberty which, perhaps at the expense of their lives, their own arms had helped to preserve, in favour of their ungrateful country.*

* At this juncture, a number of public spirited merchants of the city of London, and others, formed themselves into a very laudable association, under the name of the Marine Society, and contributed considerable sums of money for equipping such orphans, friendless, and forlorn boys, as were willing to engage in the service of the navy. In consequence of this excellent plan, which was executed with equal zeal and discretion, many thousands were rescued from misery, and rendered useful members of that society, of which they must have been the bane and reproach, without this humane interposition.

About eighty ships of the line and three-score frigates were already equipped, and considerable bodies of land-forces assembled, when, on the third day of February, a proclamation was issued, requiring all officers, civil and military, upon the first appearance of any hostile attempt to land upon the coasts of the kingdom, immediately to cause all horses, oxen, or cattle, which might be fit for draught or burden, and not actually employed in the king’s service, or in the defence of the country, and also (so far as might be practicable) all other cattle and provisions, to be driven and removed twenty miles at least from the place where such hostile attempt should be made, and to secure the same, so as that they might not fall into the hands or power of those who should make such attempt: regard being had, however, that the respective owners should suffer as little damage as might be consistent with the public safety.

EARL OF LOUDON APPOINTED COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN AMERICA.

As the ministry were determined to make their chief efforts against the enemy in North America, where the first hostilities had been committed, and where the strongest impression could be made, a detachment of two regiments was sent thither under the conduct of general Abercrombie, appointed as successor to general Shirley, whom they recalled, as a person nowise qualified to conduct military operations; nor, indeed, could any success in war be expected from a man who had not been trained to arms, nor ever acted but in a civil capacity. But the command in chief of all the forces in America was conferred upon the earl of Loudon, a nobleman of an amiable character, who had already distinguished himself in the service of his country. Over and above this command, he was now appointed governor of Virginia, and colonel of a royal American regiment, consisting of four battalions, to be raised in that country, and disciplined by officers of experience invited from foreign service. Mr. Abercrombie set sail for America in March; but the earl of Loudon, who directed in chief the plan of operations, and was vested with power and authority-little inferior to those of a viceroy, did not embark till the latter end of May.

HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S DECLARATION OF WAR.

All these previous measures being taken, his majesty, in the course of the same month, thought proper to publish a declaration of war 378 [See note 3 A, at the end of this Vol.] against the French king, importing, that since the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the usurpations and encroachments made upon the British territories, in America, had been notorious; that his Britannic majesty had, in divers serious representations to the court of Versailles, complained of these repeated acts of violence, and demanded satisfaction; but notwithstanding the repeated assurances given by the French king, that every thing should be settled agreeably to the treaties subsisting between the two crowns, and particularly that the evacuation of the four neutral islands in the West Indies should be effected, the execution of these assurances, and of the treaties on which they were founded, had been evaded under the most frivolous pretences; that the unjustifiable practices of the French governors, and officers acting under their authority, were still continued, until they broke out in open acts of hostility, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four; when, in time of profound peace, without any declaration of war, without any previous notice given, or application made, a body of French troops, commanded by an officer bearing the French king’s commission, attacked in an hostile manner, and took possession of an English fort on the river Ohio, in North America; that great naval armaments were prepared in the ports of France, and a considerable body of French troops embarked for that country; that although the French ambassador was sent back to England with specious professions of a desire to accommodate these differences, it appeared their real design was only to amuse and gain time for the passage of these supplies and reinforcements, which they hoped would secure the superiority of the French forces in America, and enable them to carry their ambitious and oppressive projects into execution; that inconsequence of the just and necessary measures taken by the king of Great Britain for preventing the success of such a dangerous design, the French ambassador was immediately recalled from England, the fortifications of Dunkirk were enlarged, great bodies of troops marched down to the sea-coasts of France, and the British dominions threatened with an invasion; that though the king of England, in order to frustrate these intentions, had given orders for seizing at sea the ships of the French king and his subjects, yet he had hitherto contented himself with detaining those ships which had been taken, and preserving their cargoes entire, without proceeding to confiscation; but it being at last evident from the hostile invasion of Minorca, that the court of Versailles was determined to reject all proposals of accommodation, and carry on the war with the utmost violence, his Britannic majesty could no longer, consistently with the honour of his crown, and the welfare of his subjects, remain within those bounds, which from a desire of peace he had hitherto observed. A denunciation of war followed in the usual form, and was concluded with an assurance, that all the French subjects residing in Great Britain and Ireland, who should demean themselves dutifully to the government, might depend upon its protection, and be safe in their persons and effects.

SUBSTANCE OF THE FRENCH KING’S DECLARATION.

In the beginning of June the French king declared war in his turn against his Britannic majesty, and his declaration was couched in terms of uncommon asperity.

He artfully threw a shade over the beginning of hostilities in North America, referring to a memorial which had been delivered to the several courts of Europe, containing a summary of those facts which related to the present war, and the negotiations by which it had been preceded. He insisted on the attack made by the king of England, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, on the French possessions in North America; and afterwards by the English navy on the navigation and commerce of the French subjects, in contempt of the law of nations, and direct violation of treaties. He complained that the French soldiers and sailors underwent the harshest treatment in the British isles, exceeding those bounds which are prescribed to the most rigorous rights of war, by the law of nature, and common humanity. He affirmed, that while the English ministry, under the appearance of sincerity, imposed upon the French ambassador with false protestations, others diametrically opposite to these deceitful assurances of a speedy accommodation were actually carrying into execution in North America; that while the court of London employed every caballing art, and squandered away the subsidies of England, to instigate other powers against France, his most christain majesty did not even ask of these powers the succours which guarantees and defensive treaties authorised him to demand; but recommended to them such measures only as tended to their own peace and security; that while the English navy, by the most odious violences, and sometimes by the vilest artifices, made captures of French vessels navigating in full security under the safeguard of public faith, his most christian majesty released an English frigate taken by a French squadron; and British vessels traded to the ports of France without molestation. That the striking contrast formed by these different methods of proceeding would convince all Europe, that one court was guided by motives of jealousy, ambition, and avarice, and that the conduct of the other was founded on principles of honour, justice, and moderation; that the vague imputations contained in the king of England’s declaration, had in reality no foundation; and the very manner in which they were set forth would prove their futility and falsehood; that the mention made of the works at Dunkirk, and the troop assembled on the coasts of the ocean, implied the most gross attempt to deceive mankind into a belief that these were the points which determined the king of England to issue orders for seizing the French vessels; whereas the works at Dunkirk were not begun till after two French ships of war had been taken by an English squadron; and depredations had been committed six months upon the subjects of France before the first battalions began their march for the sea-side. In a word, the most christian king, laying aside that politeness and decorum on which his people value themselves above all the nations upon the face of the earth, very roundly taxes his brother monarch’s administration with piracy, perfidy, inhumanity, and deceit. A charge conveyed in such reproachful terms, against one of the most respectable crowned heads in Europe, will appear the more extraordinary and injurious, if we consider that the accusers were well acquainted with the falsity of their own imputations, and at the same time conscious of having practised those very arts which they affected so much to decry. For after all, it must be allowed, that nothing could be justly urged against the English government, with respect to France, except the omission of a mere form, which other nations might interpret into an irregularity, but could not construe into perfidious dealing, as the French had previously violated the peace by their insolence and encroachments.

ADDRESS OF THE CITY OF LONDON.

Whatever might have been the opinion of other nations, certain it is, the subjects of Great Britain heartily approved of the hostilities committed and intended against a people whom they have always considered as their natural enemies, and the incendiaries of Europe. They cheerfully contributed to the expense of armaments,* and seemed to approve of their destination, in hopes of being able to wipe off the disgraces they had sustained in the defeat of Braddock, and the loss of Minorca.

* Immediately after the declaration of war, the French ships and cargoes which had been taken were tried, and condemned as legal Prizes, exposed to public sale, and their produce lodged in the bank: but in what manner this money, amounting to a large sum, was distributed or employed, we have not been able to discover.

The last event made a deep impression upon the minds of the community. An address was presented to the king by the lord-mayor, aldermen, and common-council of London, containing strong hints to the disadvantage of the ministry. They expressed their apprehension, that the loss of the important fortress of St. Philip and island of Minorca, possessions of the utmost consequence to the commerce and naval strength of Great Britain, without any attempt by timely and effectual succours to prevent or defeat an attack, after such early notice of the enemy’s intentions, and when his majesty’s navy was so evidently superior to theirs, would be an indelible reproach on the honour of the British nation. They expatiated upon the imminent danger to which the British possessions in America were exposed, by the mismanagement and delays which had attended the defence of those invaluable colonies, the object of the present war, the principal source of the wealth and strength of these kingdoms. They lamented the want of a constitutional and well-regulated militia, the most natural and certain defence against all invaders whatsoever. They signified their hope, that the authors of the late losses and disappointments would be detected, and brought to condign punishment; that his majesty’s known intentions of protecting and defending his subjects in their rights and possessions, might be faithfully and vigorously carried into execution; and the large supplies, so necessarily demanded, and so cheerfully granted, might be religiously applied to the defence of these kingdoms, their colonies, and their commerce, as well as to the annoyance of their inveterate and perfidious enemies, the only sure means of obtaining a lasting and honourable peace. In answer to this address, the king assured them that he would not fail to do justice upon any persons who should have been wanting in their duty to him and their country; to enforce obedience and discipline in his fleets and armies; and to support the authority and respect due to his government. Remonstrances of the same kind were presented by different counties and corporations; and the populace clamoured aloud for inquiry and justice.

TRIAL OF GENERAL FOWKE.

The first victim offered to the enraged multitude was the unfortunate general Fowke, who had been deputy-governor of Gibraltar, and behaved with remarkable conduct and integrity in the exercise of that important office, till that period when he fell under the displeasure of the government. He was now brought to trial before a board of general officers, and accused of having disobeyed the orders he had received from the secretary at war in three successive letters 379 [See note 3 B, at the end of this Vol.], touching the relief of Minorca. Mr. Fowke alleged in his own defence, that the orders were confused and contradictory, and implied a discretionary power; that the whole number of his garrison did not exceed two thousand six hundred men, after he had spared two hundred and seventy-five to the ships commanded by Mr. Edgecumbe; that the ordinary duty of the garrison requiring eight hundred men, the whole number was not sufficient for three reliefs; that, if he had detached a battalion on board the fleet, he should not have had above two reliefs, at a time when he believed the place was in danger of being attacked, for good reasons, which he did not think himself at liberty to mention; that his orders being doubtful, he held a council of war, which was of opinion, that as undoubted intelligence was received of the French army’s being landed at Minorca, to the number of between thirteen and sixteen thousand men, and that a French squadron of sixteen ships was stationed off the harbour, the sending a detachment equal to a battalion from Gibraltar would be an ineffectual supply for the relief of the place, and a weakening of the garrison from which they must be sent. He observed, that supposing the orders to have been positive, and seven hundred men detached to Minorca, the number remaining at Gibraltar would not have exceeded one thousand five hundred and fifty-six: a deduction of seven hundred more, according to the order of May the twelfth, would have left a remainder of eight hundred and fifty-six; that the men daily on duty in the garrison, including artificers and labourers in the king’s works, amounted to eight hundred and thirty-nine; so that if he had complied with the orders as they arrived, he would not have had more than seventeen men over and above the number necessary for the daily work of the garrison; thus the important fortress of Gibraltar must, at this critical conjuncture, have been left almost naked and defenceless to the attempts of the enemy; and had those detachments been actually sent abroad, it afterwards appeared that they could not have been landed on the island of Minorca. The order transmitted to general Fowke to detain all empty vessels, for a further transportation of troops, seems to have been superfluous; for it can hardly be supposed he could have occasion for them, unless to embark the whole garrison, and abandon the place. It seems likewise to have been unnecessary to exhort the general to keep his garrison as alert as possible, during that critical time; inasmuch as it would have been impossible for the men to have enjoyed the least repose or intromission of duty, had the orders been punctually and literally obeyed. What other assistance it might have been in the governor’s power to give for the relief of Minorca, or in what manner he could avoid fatiguing his garrison, while there was an impossibility of relieving the guards, it is not easy to comprehend. Be that as it may, when the trial was finished, and the question put to acquit or suspend for one year, the court was equally divided; and in such cases the casting vote being vested in the president, he threw it into the scale against the prisoner, whom his majesty thought fit to dismiss from his service.

AFFAIRS OF AMERICA.

The expectation of the public was now eagerly turned towards America, the chief, if not the sole scene of our military operations. On the twenty-fifth day of June, Mr. Abercrombie arrived at Albany, the frontier of New York, and assumed the command of the forces there assembled, consisting of two regiments which had served under Braddock, two battalions raised in America, two regiments now transported from. England, four independent companies which had been many years maintained in New York, the New Jersey regiment, four companies levied in North Carolina, and a body of provincial forces raised by the government of New England. Those to the southward, including Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia, had not yet determined on any regular plan of operation, and were moreover hard pressed in defending their western frontier from the French and Indians, who, in skulking parties, made sudden irruptions upon their unguarded settlements, burning, plundering, and massacring with the most savage inhumanity. As for South Carolina, the proportion of negro slaves to the number of white inhabitants was so great in that colony, that the government could not, with any regard to the safety of the province, spare any reinforcement for the general enterprise. The plan of this undertaking had been settled in the preceding year in a council of war, held at New York. There it was resolved to attack the fort of Niagara, situated between the lakes Ontario and Erie, in order to cut off the communication between Canada and Louisiana, and prevent the French from supporting their new fortresses on the Ohio; to reduce Ticonderago and Crown Point, so that the frontier of New York might be delivered from the danger of an invasion, and Great Britain become master of the lake Champlain, over which the forces might be transported in any future attempt; to besiege fort Du Quesne upon the Ohio; and to detach a body of troops by the river Kennebec, to alarm the capital of Canada. This plan was too extensive for the number of troops which had been prepared; the season was too far advanced before the regiments arrived from England, the different colonies were divided in their opinions, and Mr. Abercrombie postponed the execution of any important scheme till the arrival of lord Loudon, who was daily expected. The reasons that delayed the reinforcement, and detained his lordship so long, we do not pretend to explain; though we may be allowed to observe, that many fair opportunities have been lost, by the neglect and procrastination of an English ministry. Certain it is, the unaccountable delay of this armament rendered it useless for a whole year, afforded time and leisure to the enemy to take their precautions against any subsequent attack, and, in the meantime, to proceed unmolested in distressing the British settlements. Even before this period, they had attacked and reduced a small post in the country of the Five Nations, occupied by twenty-five Englishmen, who were cruelly butchered to a man, in the midst of those Indians whom Great Britain had long numbered among her allies.

Soon after this expedition, having received intelligence that a considerable convoy of provisions and stores, for the garrison of Oswego, would in a little time set out from Schenectady, and be conveyed in batteaux up the river Onondaga, they formed an ambuscade among the woods and thickets on the north side of that river; but understanding the convoy had passed before they reached the place, they resolved to wait the return of the detachment. Their design, however, was frustrated by the vigilance and valour of colonel Bradstreet, who expected such an attempt, and had taken his measures accordingly. On the third day of July, while he stemmed the stream of the river, with his batteaux formed into three divisions, they were saluted with the Indian war-hoop, and a general discharge of musketry from the north shore. Bradstreet immediately ordered his men to land on the opposite bank, and with a few of the foremost took possession of a small island, where he was forthwith attacked by a party of the enemy, who had forded the river for that purpose; but these were soon repulsed. Another body having passed a mile higher, he advanced to them at the head of two hundred men, and fell upon them, sword in hand, with such vigour, that many were killed on the spot, and the rest driven into the water with such precipitation that a considerable number of them were drowned. Having received information that a third body of them had passed at a ford still higher, he marched thither without hesitation, and pursued them to the other side, where they were entirely routed and dispersed. In this action, which lasted near three hours, about seventy of the batteau-men were killed or wounded, but the enemy lost double the number killed, and above seventy taken prisoners. In all probability the whole detachment of the French, amounting to seven hundred men, would have been cut off had not a heavy rain interposed, and disabled colonel Bradstreet from following his blow; for that same night he was joined by captain Patten with his grenadiers, in his march from Oneida to Oswego, and next morning reinforced with two hundred men, detached to his assistance from the garrison of Oswego; but by this time the rivulets were so swelled by the rain, that it was found impracticable to pursue the enemy through the woods and thickets. Patten and his grenadiers accompanied the detachment to Oswego, while Bradstreet pursued his voyage to Schenectady, from whence he repaired to Albany, and communicated to general Abercrombie the intelligence he had received from the prisoners, that a large body of the enemy were encamped on the eastern side of the lake Ontario, provided with artillery, and all other implements, to besiege the fort of Oswego.

EARL OF LOUDON ARRIVES AT NEW YORK.

In consequence of this information, major-general Webb was ordered to hold himself in readiness to march with one regiment to the relief of that garrison; but, before they could be provided with necessaries, the earl of Loudon arrived at the head-quarters at Albany, on the twenty-ninth day of July. The army at this time is said to have consisted of regular troops to the number of two thousand six hundred, about seven thousand provincials, supposed to be in readiness to march from fort William-Henry, under the command of general Winslow, over and above a considerable number of batteau-men at Albany and Schenectady. The garrison at Oswego amounted to fourteen hundred soldiers, besides three hundred workmen and sailors, either in the fort, or posted in small parties between the fort and place called Burnet’s Field, to secure a safe passage through the country of the Six Nations, upon whose friendship there was no longer any reliance. By the best accounts received of the enemy’s forces, they had about three thousand men at Crown Point and Ticonderago upon the lake Champlain; but their chief strength was collected upon the banks of the lake Ontario, where their purpose undoubtedly was to reduce the English fort at Oswego. The immediate object, therefore, of lord Loudon’s attention was the relief of this place; but his design was strenuously opposed by the province of New York, and other northern governments, who were much more intent upon the reduction of Crown Point, and the security of their own frontiers, which they apprehended was connected with this conquest. They insisted upon Winslow’s being joined by some regiments of regular troops before he should march against this fortress; and stipulated that a body of reserve should be detained at Albany, for the defence of that frontier, in case Winslow should fail in his enterprise, and be defeated. At length they agreed, that the regiment which Mr. Abercrombie had destined for that purpose should be detached for the relief of Oswego; and on the twelfth day of August major-general Webb began his march with it from Albany; but on his arrival at the Carrying-place, between the Mohawk’s river and Wood’s creek, he received the disagreeable news that Oswego was taken, and the garrison made prisoners of war. Mr. Webb, apprehending himself in danger of being attacked by the besieging army, began immediately to render the creek impassable, even to canoes, by felling trees, and throwing them into the stream; while the enemy, ignorant of his numbers, and apprehensive of a like visitation from him, took the very same method of preventing his approach; in consequence of this apprehension, he was permitted to retire unmolested.

OSWEGO REDUCED BY THE ENEMY.

The loss of the two small forts called Ontario and Oswego, was a considerable national misfortune. They were erected on the south side of the great lake Ontario, standing on the opposite sides of the mouth of the Onondago river, that discharges itself into the lake, and constituted a post of great importance, where vessels had been built to cruise upon the lake, which is a kind of inland sea, and interrupt the commerce as well as the motions and designs of the enemy. The garrison, as we have already observed, consisted of fourteen hundred men, chiefly militia and new-raised recruits, under the command of lieutenant-colonel Mercer, an officer of courage and experience; but the situation of the forts was very ill chosen; the materials mostly timber or logs of wood; the defences wretchedly contrived and unfinished; and, in a word, the place altogether untenable against any regular approach. Such were the forts which the enemy wisely resolved to reduce. Being under no apprehension for Crown Point, they assembled a body of troops, consisting of thirteen hundred regulars, seventeen hundred Canadians, and a considerable number of Indian auxiliaries, under the command of the marquis de Montcalm, a vigilant and enterprising officer, to whom the conduct of the siege was entrusted by the marquis de Vaudreuil, governor and lieutenant-general of New France. The first step taken by Montcalm was to block up Oswego by water with two large armed vessels, and post a strong body of Canadians on the road between Albany and the forts, to cut off all communication of succour and intelligence. In the meantime he embarked his artillery and stores upon the lake, and landed them in the bay of Nixouri, the place of general rendezvous. At another creek, within half a league of Oswego, he erected a battery for the protection of his vessels, and on the twelfth day of August, at midnight, after his dispositions had been made, he opened the trenches before fort Ontario. The garrison having fired away all their shells and ammunition, spiked up the cannon, and deserting the fort, retired next day across the river into Oswego, which was even more exposed than the other, especially when the enemy had taken possession of Ontario, from whence they immediately began to fire without intermission. Colonel Mercer being on the thirteenth killed by a cannon ball, the fort destitute of all cover, the officers divided in opinion, and the garrison in confusion, they next day demanded a capitulation, and surrendered prisoners of war, on condition that they should be exempted from plunder, conducted to Montreal, and treated with humanity. These conditions, however, the marquis did not punctually observe. The British officers and soldiers were insulted by the savage Indians, who robbed them of their clothes and baggage, massacred several men as they stood defenceless on the parade, assassinated lieutenant de la Court as he lay wounded in his tent, under the protection of a French officer, and barbarously scalped all the sick people in the hospital: finally, Montcalm, in direct violation of the articles, as well as in contempt of common humanity, delivered up above twenty men of the garrison to the Indians, in lieu of the same number they had lost during the siege; and in all probability these miserable captives were put to death by those barbarians, with the most excruciating tortures, according to the execrable custom of the country. Those who countenance the perpetration of cruelties, at which human nature shudders with horror, ought to be branded as infamous to all posterity. Such, however, were the trophies that, in the course of the American war, distinguished the operations of a people who pique themselves upon politeness, and the virtues of humanity. The prisoners taken at Oswego, after having been thus barbarously treated, were conveyed in batteaux to Montreal, where they had no reason to complain of their reception; and before the end of the year they were exchanged. The victors immediately demolished the two forts (if they deserve that denomination,) in which they found one hundred and twenty-one pieces of artillery, fourteen mortars, with a great quantity of ammunition, warlike stores, and provisions, besides two sloops, and two hundred batteaux, which likewise fell into their hands. Such an important magazine, deposited in a place altogether indefensible, and without the reach of immediate succour, was a flagrant proof of egregious folly, temerity, and misconduct.

FURTHER PROCEEDINGS IN AMERICA.

The earl of Loudon finding the season too far advanced to admit of any enterprise against the enemy, exerted all his endeavours in making preparations for an early campaign in the spring, securing the frontiers of the English colonies, in forming an uniform plan of action, and promoting a spirit of harmony among the different governments, which had been long divided by jarring interests, and other sources of dissension. Meanwhile, the forts Edward and William-Henry were put in a proper posture of defence, and secured with numerous garrisons; and the forces put into winter quarters at Albany where comfortable barracks were built for that purpose. Fort Granville, on the confines of Pennsylvania, an inconsiderable block-house, was surprised by a party of French and Indians, who made the garrison prisoners, consisting of two-and-twenty soldiers, with a few women and children. These they loaded with flour and provisions, and drove them into captivity; but the fort they reduced to ashes. Many shocking murders were perpetrated upon defenceless people, without distinction of age or sex, in different parts of the frontiers; but these outrages were in some measure balanced by the advantages resulting from a treaty of peace, which the governor of Pennsylvania concluded with the Delaware Indians, a powerful tribe that dwell upon the river Sasquehanna, forming, as it were, a line along the southern skirts of the province. At the same time the governor of Virginia secured the friendship and alliance of the Cherokees and Catawbas, two powerful nations adjoining to that colony, who were able to bring three thousand fighting men into the field. All these circumstances considered, Great Britain had reason to expect that the ensuing campaign would be vigorously prosecuted in America, especially as a fresh reinforcement of troops, with a great supply of warlike stores, were sent to that country in fourteen transports, under convoy of two ships of war, which sailed from Cork in Ireland about the beginning of November.

NAVAL OPERATIONS IN AMERICA.

No action of great importance distinguished the naval transactions of this year on the side of America. In the beginning of June, captain Spry, who commanded a small squadron cruising off Louisbourg, in the island of Cape Breton, took the Arc en Ciel, a French ship of fifty guns, having on board near six hundred men, with a large quantity of stores and provisions for the garrison. He likewise made prize of another French ship, with seventy soldiers, two hundred barrels of powder, two large brass mortars, and other stores of the like destination. On the twenty-seventh day of July, commodore Holmes, being in the same latitude, with two large ships and a couple of sloops, engaged two French ships of the line and four frigates, and obliged them to sheer off after an obstinate dispute. A great number of privateers were equipped in this country, as well as in the West India islands belonging to the crown of Great Britain; and as those seas swarmed with French vessels, their cruises proved very advantageous to the adventurers.

TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST INDIES.

Scenes of higher import were this year acted by the British arms in the East Indies. The cessation of hostilities between the English and French companies on the peninsula of Indus, though it encouraged Mr. Clive to visit his native country, was not of long duration; for in a few months both sides recommenced their operations, no longer as auxiliaries to the princes of the country, but as principals and rivals both in arms and commerce. Major Laurence, who now enjoyed the chief command of the English force, obtained divers advantages over the enemy; and prosecuted his success with such vigour, as, in all probability, would in a little time have terminated the war according to his own wish, when the progress of his arms was interrupted and suspended by an unfortunate event at Calcutta, the cause of which is not easily explained; for extraordinary pains have been taken to throw a vail over some transactions from whence this calamity was immediately or remotely derived.

CALCUTTA BESIEGED.

The old suba or viceroy of Bengal, Bahar, and Orixa, dying in the month of April, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, was succeeded by his adopted son, Sur Raja al Dowlat, a young man of violent passions, without principle, fortitude, or good faith, who began his administration with acts of perfidy and violence. In all probability, his design against the English settlements was suggested by his rapacious disposition, on a belief that they abounded with treasure; as the pretences which he used for commencing hostilities, were altogether inconsistent, false, and frivolous. In the month of May, he caused the English factory at Cassimbuzzar to be invested, and inviting Mr. Watts, the chief of the factory, to a conference, under the sanction of a safe conduct, detained him as prisoner; then, by means of fraud and force intermingled, made himself master of the factory. This exploit being achieved, he made no secret of his design to deprive the English of all their settlements. With this view he marched to Calcutta at the head of a numerous army, and invested the place, which was then in no posture of defence.

FATE OF THOSE WHO PERISHED IN THE DUNGEON AT CALCUTTA.

The governor, intimidated by the number and power of the enemy, abandoned the fort, and with some principal persons residing in the settlement, took refuge on board a ship in the river, carrying along with them their most valuable effects, and the books of the company. Thus the defence of the place devolved to Mr. Holwell, the second in command, who, with the assistance of a few gallant officers, and a very feeble garrison, maintained it with uncommon courage and resolution against several attacks, until he was overpowered by numbers, and the enemy had forced their way into the castle. Then he was obliged to submit; and the suba, or viceroy, promised on the word of a soldier, that no injury should be done to him or his garrison. Nevertheless, they were all driven, to the number of one hundred and forty-six persons of both sexes, into a place called the Black Hole Prison, a cube of about eighteen feet, walled up to the eastward and southward, the only quarters from which they could expect the least refreshing air, and open to the westward by two windows strongly barred with iron, through which there was no perceptible circulation. The humane reader will conceive with horror the miserable situation to which they must have been reduced, when thus stewed up in a close sultry night under such a climate as that of Bengal, especially when he reflects that many of them were wounded, and all of them fatigued with hard duty. Transported with rage to find themselves thus barbarously cooped up in a place where they must be exposed to suffocation, those hapless victims endeavoured to force open the door that they might rush upon the swords of the barbarians by whom they were surrounded; but all their efforts were ineffectual; the door was made to open inwards, and being once shut upon them, the crowd pressed upon it so strongly as to render all their endeavours abortive; then they were overwhelmed with distraction and despair. Mr. Holwell, who had placed himself at one of the windows, accosted a jemmautdaar, or Serjeant of the Indian guard, and having endeavoured to excite his compassion, by drawing a pathetic picture of their sufferings, promised to gratify him with a thousand rupees in the morning, if he could find means to remove one half of them into a separate apartment. The soldier, allured by the promise of such a reward, assured him he would do his endeavour for their relief, and retired for that purpose, but in a few minutes returned and told them that the suba, by whose order alone such a step could be taken, was asleep, and no person durst disturb his repose. By this time a profuse sweat had broke out on every individual, and this was attended with an insatiable thirst, which became the more intolerable as the body was drained of its moisture. In vain those miserable objects stripped themselves of their clothes, squatted down on their hams, and fanned the air with their hats, to produce a refreshing undulation. Many were unable to rise again from this posture, but falling down, were trod to death or suffocated. The dreadful symptom of thirst was now accompanied with a difficulty of respiration, and every individual gasped for breath. Their despair became outrageous: again they attempted to force the door, and provoke the guard to fire upon them by execration and abuse. The cry of “Water! water!” issued from every mouth. Even the jemmautdaar was moved to compassion at their distress. He ordered his soldiers to bring some skins of water, which served only to enrage the appetite, and increase the general agitation. There was no other way of conveying it through the windows but by hats, and this was rendered ineffectual by the eagerness and transports of the wretched prisoners, who at sight of it struggled and raved even into fits of delirium. In consequence of these contests, very little reached those who stood nearest the windows, while the rest, at the farther end of the prison, were totally excluded from all relief, and continued calling upon their friends for assistance, and conjuring them by all the tender ties of pity and affection. To those who were indulged it proved pernicious, for instead of allaying their thirst, it enraged their impatience for more. The confusion became general and horrid; all was clamour and contest; those who were at a distance endeavoured to force their passage to the window, and the weak were pressed down to the ground never to rise again. The inhuman ruffians without derived entertainment from their misery; they supplied the prisoners with more water, and held up lights close to the bars that they might enjoy the inhuman pleasure of seeing them fight for the baneful indulgence. Mr. Holwell seeing all his particular friends lying dead around him, and trampled upon by the living, finding himself wedged up so close as to be deprived of all motion, begged, as the last instance of their regard, that they would remove the pressure, and allow him to retire from the window, that he might die in quiet. Even in those dreadful circumstances, which might be supposed to have levelled all distinction, the poor delirious wretches manifested a respect for his rank and character: they forthwith gave way, and he forced his passage into the centre of the place, which was not crowded so much, because by this time about one-third of the number had perished, and lay on small compass on the floor, while the rest still crowded to both windows. He retired to a platform at the farther end of the room, and lying down upon some of his dead friends, recommended his soul to heaven. Here his thirst grew insupportable; his difficulty in breathing increased, and he was seized with a strong palpitation. These violent symptoms, which he could not bear, urged him to make another effort: he forced his way back to the window, and cried aloud, “Water! for God’s sake!” He had been supposed already dead by his wretched companions, but finding him still alive, they exhibited another extraordinary proof of tenderness and regard to his person: “Give him water,” they cried; nor would any of them attempt to touch it until he had drank. He now breathed more freely, and the palpitation ceased; but finding himself still more thirsty after drinking, he abstained from water, and moistened his mouth from time to time by sucking the perspiration from his shirt sleeves.*

* In his despair of obtaining water, this unhappy gentleman had attempted to drink his own urine, but found it intolerably bitter; whereas the moisture that flowed from the pores of his body, was soft, pleasant, and refreshing.

The miserable prisoners, perceiving that water rather aggravated than relieved their distress, grew clamorous for air, and repeated their insults to the guard, loading the suba and his governor with the most virulent reproach. From railing they had recourse to prayer, beseeching heaven to put an end to their misery. They now began to drop on all hands; but then a steam arose from the living and the dead, as pungent and volatile as spirit of hartshorn; so that all who could not approach the windows were suffocated. Mr. Holwell, being weary of life, retired once more to the platform, and stretched himself by the Rev. Mr. Jer-vis Bellamy, who, together with his son, a lieutenant, lay dead in each other’s embrace. In this situation he was soon deprived of sense, and lay to all appearance dead till day broke, when his body was discovered and removed by his surviving friends to one of the windows, where the fresh air revived him, and he was restored to his sight and senses. The suba, at last, being informed that the greater part of the prisoners were suffocated, inquired if the chief was alive; and being answered in the affirmative, sent an order for their immediate release, when no more than twenty-three survived of an hundred and forty-six who had entered alive.

ADDITIONAL CRUELTIES EXERCISED ON MR. HOLWELL.

Nor was the late deliverance, even of these few, owing to any sentiment of compassion in the viceroy. He had received intimation that there was a considerable treasure secreted in the fort, and that Mr. Holwell knew the place where it was deposited. That gentleman, who, with his surviving companions, had been seized with a putrid fever immediately upon their release, was dragged in that condition before the inhuman suba, who questioned him about the treasure, which existed nowhere but in his own imagination; and would give no credit to his protestations, when he solemnly declared he knew of no such deposit. Mr. Holwell and three of his friends were loaded with fetters, and conveyed three miles to the Indian camp, where they lay all night exposed to a severe rain; next morning they were brought back to town still manacled, under the scorching beams of a sun intensely hot, and must infallibly have expired, had not nature expelled the fever in large painful boils, that covered almost the whole body. In this piteous condition they were embarked in an open boat for Muxadavad, the capital of Bengal, and underwent such cruel treatment and misery in their passage, as would shock the humane reader should he peruse the particulars. At Maxadavad they were led through the city in chains, as a spectacle to the inhabitants, lodged in an open stable, and treated for some days as the worst of criminals. At length the suba’s grandmother interposed her mediation in their behalf, and as that prince was by this time convinced that there was no treasure concealed at Calcutta, he ordered them to be set at liberty. When some of his sycophants opposed this indulgence, representing that Mr. Holwell had still enough left to pay a considerable ransom, he replied, with some marks of compunction and generosity, “If he has anything left, let him keep it: his sufferings have been great: he shall have his liberty.” Mr. Holwell and his friends were no sooner unfettered, than they took water from the Dutch Tank-sail or mint, in the neighbourhood of that city, where they were received with great tenderness and humanity. The reader, we hope, will excuse us for having thus particularized a transaction so interesting and extraordinary in all its circumstances. The suba having destroyed Calcutta and dispersed the inhabitants, extorted large sums from the French and Dutch factories, that he might display a spirit of impartiality against all the Europeans, even in his oppression, returned to his city of Muxadavad in triumph. By the reduction of Calcutta, the English East India company’s affairs were so much embroiled in that part of the world, that perhaps nothing could have retrieved them but the interposition of a national force, and the good fortune of a Clive, whose enterprises were always crowned with success.

As the English East India Company had, for a whole century, been at a considerable expense in maintaining a marine force at Bombay, to protect their ships from the piracies of the Angrias, who had rendered themselves independent princes, and fortified Geriah in that neighbourhood; many unsuccessful attempts had been made to destroy their naval power, and reduce the fortress, under which they always took shelter. In the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-four, the fleet of Tullagree Angria, the reigning prince, attacked three Dutch ships of force, which they either took or destroyed. Elated with this success, he boasted that he should in a little time sweep the seas of the Europeans, and began to build some large ships, to reinforce his grabs and gallivats, which were the vessels on which he had for merely depended. Next year his neighbours, the Malirattas, having signified to the presidency of Bombay, that they were disposed to join in the necessary service of humbling this common enemy, so formidable to the whole Malabar coast, commodore James was detached with some ships of force to attack Angria, in conjunction with those allies. They accordingly joined him with seven grabs and sixty gallivats. They proceeded to the harbour of Severndroog, where Angria’s fleet lay at anchor; but they no sooner received intelligence of his approach, than they slipped their cables and stood out to sea. He chased them with all the canvass he could carry, but their vessels being lighter than his they escaped; and he returned to Severndroog, which is a fortress situated on an island within musket shot of the main land, strongly but irregularly fortified, and mounted with fifty-four pieces of cannon. There were three other small forts on the continent, the largest of which was called Goa. On the second day of April the commodore began to batter and bombard the island, fort, and fort Goa, at the same time. That of Severndroog was set on fire; one of the magazines blew up; a general conflagration ensued; the garrison was overwhelmed with fire and confusion; the English seamen landed un der cover of the fire from the ships, and took the place by storm, with very little loss. The other forts were immediately surrendered, and all of these, by treaty, delivered to the Mahrattas. On the eighth of April the commodore anchored off Bancote, now called fort Victoria, one of the most northern parts of Angria’s dominions, which surrendered without opposition, and still remains in the hands of the English East India company, by the consent of the Mahrattas. The harbour is good, and here is great trade for salt and other commodities sent hither from Bombay.

FORT GERIAH TAKEN BY ADMIRAL WATSON AND MR. CLIVE.

It was in November following that the squadron under admiral Watson arrived at Bombay, where it was resolved to give Angria the finishing stroke, still in conjunction with the Mahrattas. Meanwhile commodore James was sent to reconnoitre Geriah, the capital of his dominions, and to sound the depth of the harbour, a service which he successfully performed. The admiral being joined by a division of ships, fitted out at the company’s expense, having on board a body of troops commanded by colonel Clive, sailed on the seventeenth day of January, and found in the neighbourhood of Geriah the Mahratta fleet, consisting of four grabs, and forty smaller vessels called gallivats, lying to the northward of the place, in a creek called Rajipore; and a land-army of horse and foot, amounting to seven or eight thousand men, the whole commanded by Rhamagee Punt, who had already taken one small fort, and was actually treating about the surrender of Geriah. Angria himself had quitted the place, but his wife and family remained under the protection of his brother-in-law; who, being summoned to surrender by a message from the admiral, replied, that he would defend the place to the last extremity. In consequence of this refusal, the whole English fleet, in two divisions, sailed on the twelfth day of February into the harbour, and sustained a warm fire from the enemy’s batteries as they passed, as well as from the grabs posted in the harbour for that purpose; this, however, was soon silenced after the ships were brought to their stations, so as to return the salutation. Between the hours of four and five in the afternoon, a shell being thrown into one of Angria’s armed vessels, set her on fire; and the flames communicating to the rest, they were all destroyed: between six and seven the fort was set on fire by another shell; and soon after the firing ceased on both sides. The admiral, suspecting that the governor of the place would surrender it to the Mahrattas, rather than to the English, disembarked all the troops under Mr. Clive, that he might be at hand, in case of emergency, to take possession. In the meantime, the fort was bombarded; the line of battle ships were warped near enough to batter in breach, and then the admiral sent an officer with a flag of truce to the governor, requiring him to surrender. His proposal being again rejected, the English ships renewed their fire next day with redoubled vigour. About one o’clock the magazine of the fort blew up, and at four the garrison hung out a white flag for capitulation. The parley that ensued proving ineffectual, the engagement began again, and continued till fifteen minutes after five; when the white flag was again displayed, and now the governor submitted to the conditions which were imposed. Angria’s flag was immediately hauled down; and two English captains taking possession of the fort with a detachment, forthwith hoisted the British ensign. To these captains, whose names were Buchanan and Forbes, the Mahrattas offered a bribe of fifty thousand rupees, if they would allow them to pass their guards, that they might take possession of the fort for themselves; but this offer was rejected with disdain, and immediately disclosed to colonel Clive, who took effectual measures to frustrate their design. In this place, which was reduced with very inconsiderable loss, the conquerors found above two hundred cannon, six brass mortars, a large quantity of ammunition, with money and effects to the value of one hundred and thirty thousand pounds. The fleet which was destroyed consisted of eight grabs, one ship finished, two upon the stocks, and a good number of gallivats. Among the prisoners, the admiral found Angria’s wife, children, and mother, toward whom he demeaned himself with great humanity.*

* When the admiral entered their apartment, the whole family, shedding floods of tears, fell with their faces to the ground; from which being raised, the mother of Angria told him, in a piteous tone, “the people had no king, she no son, her daughter no husband, their children no father.” The admiral replying, “they must look upon him as their father and their friend,” the youngest boy, about six years of age, seized him by the hand, and sobbing exclaimed, “Then you shall be my father.” Mr. Watson was so affected with this pathetic address, that the tears trickled down his cheeks, while he assured them they might depend upon his protection and friendship.

Three hundred European soldiers, and as-many sepoys, were left to guard the fort; and four of the company’s armed vessels remained in the harbour for the defence of the place, which was extremely well situated for commerce.

The admiral and Mr. Clive sailed back to Madras in triumph, and there another plan was formed for restoring the company’s affairs upon the Ganges, recovering Calcutta, and taking vengeance on the cruel viceroy of Bengal. In October they set sail again for the bottom of the bay; and about the beginning of December arrived at Balasore, in the kingdom of Bengal. Having crossed the Braces, they proceeded up the river Ganges as far as Falta, where they found governor Drake, and the other persons who had escaped on board of the ships when Calcutta was invested. Colonel Clive was disembarked with his forces to attack the fort of Busbudgia by land, while the admiral battered it by sea; but the place being ill provided with cannon, did not hold out above an hour after the firing began. This conquest being achieved at a very easy purchase, two of the great ships anchored between Tanny fort and a battery on the other side of the river, which were abandoned before one shot was discharged against either; thus the passage was laid open to Calcutta, the reduction of which we shall record among the transactions of the ensuing year.

CHAPTER XII.

Motives of the War in Germany..... Conspiracy in Sweden..... Measures taken by the King of Prussia and Elector of Hanover..... Endeavours of the Court of Vienna to frustrate them..... His Prussian Majesty demands an Explanation from the Empress-Queen..... Her Answer..... The Prussian Army enters Saxony, and publishes a Manifesto..... Prince Ferdinand takes Leipsic..... King of Prussia takes Possession of Dresden, and blocks up the King of Poland at Pirna..... Prussian Army penetrates into Bohemia, and fights the Battle of Lowoschutz..... Saxon Army surrenders..... King of Poland’s Memorial to the States-General..... Imperial Decrees published against the King of Prussia..... Declarations of different Powers..... His Prussian Majesty’s Answer to the Saxon Memorial..... and Justification of his Conduct..... Remarks on both those Pieces...... Disputes between the Parliament of Paris and the Clergy..... Dearth of Corn in England..... Hanoverian Auxiliaries sent back..... Session opened..... Debates on the Address..... Bill passed for prohibiting the Exportation of Corn..... Message to the House concerning Admiral Byng..... Supplies granted..... Reflections on the Continental War...... Message from the King to the Parliament..... Measures taken to remove the Scarcity of Corn..... Militia Bill..... Petitions for and against it..... Altered by the Lords..... Bill for quartering the Foreign Troops, and for regulating the Marines while on Shore..... Bill for the more speedy recruiting the Land-Forces and Marines..... Act relating to Pawnbrokers and Gaming-Houses..... Laws relating to the Wages of Weavers, and to the Improvement of the British Fishery..... Act for importing American Iron Duty free..... Regulations with respect to the Importation of Silk..... Smugglers encouraged to enter into his Majesty’s Service..... Inquiry into the Scarcity of Corn..... Investigation of the Loss of Minorca..... Examination of the American Contract..... Inquiry into the Conduct of Admiral Snowies, as Governor of Jamaica..... Resolutions concerning Milford-Haven..... Session closed..... Trial of Admiral Byng..... Recommended to Mercy..... Message from the King to the Parliament respecting the Sentence..... Bill to release the Members of the Court-Martial from their Oath of Secrecy..... Execution of Admiral Byng..... Paper delivered by him to the Marshal of the Admiralty..... Remarks on his Fate

MOTIVES OF THE WAR IN GERMANY.

Having thus, to the best of our power, given a faithful and exact detail of every material event in which Great Britain was concerned, either at home, or in her settlements abroad, during the greatest part of the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, we shall now return to Europe, and endeavour to explain the beginning of a bloody war in Germany, which then seemed to have become the chief object of the British councils. On the eve of a rupture between France and England, it was natural for his Britannic majesty to provide for the safety of his electoral dominions, the only quarter by which he was at all accessible to the efforts of the enemy, who he foresaw would not fail to annoy him through that avenue. He, at that time, stood upon indifferent terms with the king of Prussia, who was considered as a partisan and ally of France; and he knew that the house of Austria alone would not be sufficient to support him against two such powerful antagonists. In this emergency, he had recourse to the empress of Russia, who, in consequence of a large subsidy granted by England, engaged to furnish a strong body of forces for the defence of Hanover. His Prussian majesty, startled at the conditions of this treaty, took an opportunity to declare that he would not suffer foreign forces of any nation to enter the empire, either as principals or auxiliaries; a declaration which probably flowed from a jealousy and aversion he had conceived to the court of Petersburgh, as well as from a resolution he had formed of striking some great stroke in Germany, without any risk of being restricted or controlled. He knew he should give umbrage to the French king, who had already made preparations for penetrating into Westphalia; but he took it for granted he should be able to exchange his connexions with France for the alliance with Great Britain, which would be much less troublesome, and much more productive of advantage: indeed, such an alliance was the necessary consequence of his declaration. Had his Britannic majesty made a requisition of the Russian auxiliaries, he must have exposed himself to the resentment of a warlike monarch, who hovered on the skirts of his electorate at the head of one hundred and forty thousand men, and could have subdued the whole country in one week; and if he forbore to avail himself of the treaty with the czarina, he did not know how soon the king of Prussia might be reconciled to his most christian majesty’s design of invasion. As for the empress-queen, her attention was engrossed by schemes for her interest or preservation; and her hands so full, that she either could not, or would not, fulfil the engagements she had contracted with her former and firmest allies. In these circumstances the king of England sought and obtained the alliance of Prussia, which, to the best of our comprehension, entailed upon Great Britain the enormous burden of extravagant subsidies, together with the intolerable expense of a continental war, without being productive of one advantage, either positive or negative, to England or Hanover. On the contrary, this connexion threw the empress-queen into the arms of France, whose friendship she bought at the expense of the barrier in the Netherlands, acquired with infinite labour, by the blood and treasure of the maritime powers; it gave birth to a confederacy of despotic princes; sufficient, if their joint force was fully exerted, to overthrow the liberties of all the free states in Europe; and, after all, Hanover has been overrun, and subdued by the enemy; and the king of Prussia put to the ban of the empire. All these consequences are, we apprehend, fairly deducible from the resolution which his Prussian majesty took, at this juncture, to precipitate a war with the house of Austria. The apparent motives that prompted him to this measure we shall presently explain. In the meantime, the defensive treaty between the empress-queen and France was no sooner ratified, than the czarina was invited to accede to the alliance, and a private minister sent from Paris to Petersburgh, to negotiate the conditions of this accession, which the empress of Russia accordingly embraced: a circumstance so agreeable to the court of Versailles, that the marquis de l’Hôpital was immediately appointed ambassador-extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the court of Russia. Applications were likewise made to the courts of Madrid and Turin, soliciting their concurrence; but their catholic and Sardinian majesties wisely resolved to observe a neutrality. At the same time, intrigues were begun by the French emissaries in the senate of Sweden, in order to kindle up a war between that nation and Prussia; and their endeavours succeeded in the sequel, even contrary to the inclination of their sovereign. At present, a plot was discovered for altering the form of government, by increasing the power of the crown; and several persons of rank being convicted upon trial, were beheaded as principals in this conspiracy. Although it did not appear that the king or queen were at all concerned in the scheme, his Swedish majesty thought himself so hardly treated by the diet, that he threatened to resign his royalty, and retire into his own hereditary dominions. This design was extremely disagreeable to the people in general, who espoused his cause in opposition to the diet, by whom they conceived themselves more oppressed than they should have been under an unlimited monarchy.

MEASURES TAKEN BY THE KING OF PRUSSIA AND ELECTOR OF HANOVER.

The king of Prussia, alarmed at these formidable alliances, ordered all his forces to be completed, and held in readiness to march at the first notice; and a report was industriously circulated, that by a secret article in the late treaty between France and the house of Austria, these two powers had obliged themselves to destroy the protestant religion, and overturn the freedom of the empire, by a forced election of a king of the Romans. The cry of religion was no impolitic measure; but it no longer produced the same effect as in times past. Religion was made a pretence on both sides; for the partisans of the empress-queen insinuated, on all occasions, that the ruin of the catholic faith in Germany was the principal object of the new alliance between the kings of Great Britain and Prussia. It was in consequence of such suggestions, that his Britannic majesty ordered his electoral minister at the diet, to deliver a memorial to all the ministers at Ratisbon, expressing his surprise to find the treaty he had concluded with the king of Prussia industriously represented as a ground of apprehension and umbrage, especially for religion. He observed, that as France had made open dispositions for invading the electorate of Hanover, and disturbing the peace of the empire; that as he had been denied, by the empress-queen, the succours stipulated in treaties of alliance; and as he was refused assistance by certain states of the empire, who even seemed disposed to favour such a diversion: he had, in order to provide for the security of his own dominions, to establish peace and tranquillity in the empire, and maintain its system and privileges, without any prejudice to religion, concluded a defensive treaty with the king of Prussia; that, by this instance of patriotic zeal for the welfare of Germany, he had done an essential service to the empress-queen, and performed the part which the head of the empire, in dignity and duty, ought to have acted; that time would demonstrate how little it was the interest of the empress-queen to engage in a strict alliance with a foreign power, which, for upwards of two centuries, had ravaged the principal provinces of the empire, maintained repeated wars against the archducal house of Austria, and always endeavoured, as it suited her views, to excite distrust and dissension among the princes and states that compose the Germanic body.

The court of Vienna formed two considerable armies in Bohemia and Moravia; yet pretended that they had nothing in view but self-preservation, and solemnly disclaimed both the secret article, and the design which had been laid to their charge. His most christain majesty declared, by his minister at Berlin, that he had no other intention but to maintain the public tranquillity of Europe; and, this being the sole end of all his measures, he beheld with surprise the preparations and armaments of certain potentates; that, whatever might be the view with which they were made, he was dis posed to make use of the power which God had put into his hands, not only to maintain the public peace of Europe against all who should attempt to disturb it, but also to employ all his forces, agreeably to his engagements, for the assistance of his ally, in case her dominions should be attacked; finally, that he would act in the same manner in behalf of all the other powers with whom he was in alliance. This intimation made very little impression upon the king of Prussia, who had already formed his plan, and was determined to execute his purpose. What his original plan might have been, we shall not pretend to disclose; nor do we believe he imparted it to any confidant or ally. It must be confessed, however, that the intrigues of the court of Vienna furnished him with a specious pretence for drawing the sword, and commencing hostilities. The empress-queen had some reason to be jealous of such a formidable neighbour. She remembered his irruption into Bohemia, in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-four, at a time when she thought that country, and all her other dominions, secure from his invasion by the treaty of Breslau, which she had in no particular contravened. She caballed against him in different courts of Europe; she concluded a treaty with the czarina, which, though seemingly defensive, implied an intention of making conquests upon this monarch; she endeavoured to engage the king of Poland, elector of Saxony, as a contracting power in this confederacy; and, if he had not been afraid of a sudden visit from his neighbour of Prussia, it cannot be supposed but he would have been pleased to contribute to the humiliation of a prince, who had once before, without the least provocation, driven him from his dominions, taken possession of his capital, routed his troops, and obliged him to pay a million of crowns, to indemnify him for the expense of this expedition; but he carefully avoided taking such a step as might expose him to another invasion, and even refused to accede to the treaty of Petersburgh, though it was expressly defensive; the casus fæderus being, his Prussian majesty’s attacking either of the contracting parties. It appears, however, that count de Bruhl, prime minister and favourite of the king of Poland, had, in conjunction with some of the Austrian ministers, carried on certain scandalous intrigues, in order to embroil the king of Prussia with the empress of Russia, between whom a misunderstanding had long subsisted.

THE KING OF PRUSSIA DEMANDS AN EXPLANATION.

His Prussian majesty, perceiving the military preparations of the court of Vienna, and having obtained intelligence of their secret negotiations with different powers of Europe, ordered M. de Klingraafe, his minister at the imperial court, to demand whether all those preparations of war, on the frontiers of Silesia, were designed against him, and what were the intentions of her imperial majesty? To this demand the empress replied, that in the present juncture she had found it necessary to make armaments, as well for her own defence as for that of her allies; but that they did not tend to the prejudice of any person or state whatever. The king, far from being satisfied with this general answer, sent fresh orders to Klingraafe, to represent, that after the king had dissembled, as long as he thought consistent with his safety and honour, the bad designs imputed to the empress would not suffer him longer to disguise his sentiments: that he was acquainted with the offensive projects which the two courts had formed at Petersburgh; that he knew they had engaged to attack him suddenly with an army of two hundred thousand men; a design which would have been executed in the spring of the year, had not the Russian forces wanted recruits, their fleet mariners, and Livonia a sufficient quantity of corn for their support; that he constituted the empress arbiter of peace or war: if she desired the former, he required a clear and formal declaration, or positive assurance, that she had no intention to attack him either this year or the next; but he should look upon an ambiguous answer as a declaration of war; and he called heaven to witness, that the empress alone would be guilty of the innocent blood that should be spilt, and all the dismal consequences that would attend the commission of hostilities.

A declaration of this nature might have provoked a less haughty court than that of Vienna, and, indeed, seems to have been calculated on purpose to exasperate the pride of her imperial majesty, whose answer he soon received to this effect: that his majesty the king of Prussia had already been employed, for some time, in all kinds of the most considerable preparations of war, and the most disquieting with regard to the public tranquillity, when he thought fit to demand explanations of her majesty, touching the military dispositions that were making in her dominions; dispositions on which she had not resolved till after the preparations of his Prussian majesty had been made; that though her majesty might have declined explaining herself on those subjects, which required no explanation, she had been pleased to declare, with her own mouth, to M. de Klingraafe, that the critical state of public affairs rendered the measures she was taking absolutely necessary for her own safety, and that of her allies; but that, in other respects, they tended to the prejudice of no person whatsoever; that her imperial majesty had undoubtedly a right to form what judgment she pleased on the circumstances of the times; and likewise that it belonged to none but herself to estimate her own danger; that her declaration was so clear, she never imagined it could be thought otherwise; that being accustomed to receive, as well as to practise, the decorums which sovereigns owe to each other, she could not hear without astonishment and sensibility the contents of the memorial now presented by M. de Klingraafe; so extraordinary, both in the matter and expressions, that she would find herself under a necessity of transgressing the bounds of that moderation which she had prescribed to herself, were she to answer the whole of its contents; nevertheless, she thought proper to declare, that the information communicated to his Prussian majesty, of an offensive alliance against him, subsisting between herself and the empress of Russia, together with the circumstances and pretended stipulations of that alliance, were absolutely false and forged, for no such treaty did exist, or ever had existed. She concluded with observing, that this declaration would enable all Europe to judge of what weight and quality those dreadful events were which Klingraafe’s memorial announced; and to perceive that, in any case, they could not be imputed to her imperial majesty. This answer, though seemingly explicit, was not deemed sufficiently categorical, or, at least, not suitable to the purposes of the king of Prussia, who, by his resident at Vienna, once more declared, that if the empress-queen would sign a positive assurance that she would not attack his Prussian majesty, either this year or the next, he would directly withdraw his troops, and let things be restored to their former footing. This demand was evaded, on pretence that such an assurance could not be more binding than the solemn treaty by which he was already secured; a treaty which the empress-queen had no intention to violate. But, before an answer could be delivered, the king had actually invaded Saxony, and published his declaration against the court of Vienna. The court of Vienna believing that the king of Prussia was bent upon employing his arms somewhere; being piqued at the dictatorial manner in which his demands were conveyed; unwilling to lay themselves under further restrictions; apprehensive of giving umbrage to their allies, and confident of having provided for their own security, resolved to run the risk of his resentment, not without hopes of being indemnified in the course of the war, for that part, of Silesia which the queen had been obliged to cede it in the treaty of Breslau.

THE PRUSSIAN ARMY ENTERS SAXONY.

Both sides being thus prepared, and perhaps equally eager for action, the king of Prussia would no longer suspend his operations, and the storm fell first upon Saxony. He resolved to penetrate through that country into Bohemia; and even to take possession of it as a frontier, as well as for the convenience of ingress and egress to and from the Austrian dominions. Besides, he had reason to believe the king of Poland, elector of Saxony, was connected with the czarina and the empress-queen; therefore, he thought it would be impolitic to leave that prince in any condition to give him the least disturbance. His army entered the Saxon territory towards the latter end of August, when he published a declaration, importing, that the unjust conduct and dangerous views of the court of Vienna against his majesty’s dominions, laid him under the necessity of taking proper measures for protecting his territories and subjects; that for this purpose he could not forbear taking the disagreeable resolution to enter with his troops the hereditary dominions of his majesty the king of Poland, elector of Saxony; but he protested before God and man, that on account of his personal esteem, and friendship for that prince, he would not have proceeded to this extremity, had he not been forced to it by the laws of war, the fatality of the present conjuncture, and the necessity of providing for the defence and security of his subjects. He reminded the public of the tenderness with which he had treated the elector of Saxony, during the campaign of the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-four, and of the bad consequences resulting to that monarch from his engagements with the enemies of Prussia. He declared that the apprehensions of being exposed again to such enterprises, had obliged him to take those precautions which prudence dictated; but he protested in the most solemn manner, that he had no hostile views against his Polish majesty, or his dominions; that his troops did not enter Saxony as enemies, and he had taken care that they should observe the best order, and the most exact discipline; that he desired nothing more ardently than the happy minute that should procure him the satisfaction of restoring to his Polish majesty his hereditary dominions, which he had seized only as a sacred depositum. By his minister at Dresden, he had demanded a free passage for his forces through the Saxon dominions; and this the king of Poland was ready to grant, with reasonable limitations, to be settled by commissaries appointed for that purpose. But these were formalities which did not at all suit with his Prussian majesty’s disposition or design. Even before this requisition was made, a body of his troops, amounting to fifteen thousand, under the command of prince Ferdinand, brother to the duke of Brunswick, took possession of Leipsic on the twentieth day of September. Here he published a declaration, signifying that it was his Prussian majesty’s intention to consider and defend the inhabitants of that electorate as if they were his own subjects; and that he had given precise orders to his troops to observe the most exact discipline. As the first mark of his affection, he ordered them to provide the army with all sorts of provisions, according to a certain rate, on pain of military execution. That same evening notice was given to the corporation of merchants, that their deputies should pay all taxes and customs to the king of Prussia; then he took possession of the custom-house, and excise office, and ordered the magazines of corn and meal to be opened for the use of his soldiers.

The king of Poland, apprehensive of such a visitation, had ordered all the troops of his electorate to leave their quarters, and assemble in a strong camp marked out for them, between Pirna and Konigstein, which was intrenched, and provided with a numerous train of artillery. Thither the king of Poland repaired with his two sons Xaverius and Charles; but the queen and the rest of the royal family remained at Dresden. Of this capital his Prussian majesty, with the bulk of his army, took possession on the eighth day of September, when he was visited by lord Stormont, the English ambassador at that court, accompanied by count Salmour, a Saxon minister, who, in his master’s name, proposed a neutrality. The king of Prussia professed himself extremely well pleased with the proposal; and, as the most convincing proof of his neutrality, desired the king of Poland would separate his army, by ordering his troops to return to their former quarters. His Polish majesty did not like to be so tutored in his own dominions; he depended for his own safety more upon the valour and attachment of his troops thus assembled, than upon the friendship of a prince who had invaded his dominions, and sequestered his revenue, without provocation; and he trusted too much to the situation of his camp at Pirna, which was deemed impregnable. In the meantime, the king of Prussia fixed his headquarters at Seidlitz, about half a German league distant from Pirna, and posted his army in such a manner, as to be able to intercept all convoys of provisions designed for the Saxon camp; his forces extended on the right towards the frontiers of Bohemia, and the vanguard actually seized the passes that lead to the circles of Satzer and Leutmeritz, in that kingdom; while prince Ferdinand of Brunswick marched with a body of troops along the Elbe, and took post at this last place without opposition. At the same time, the king covered his own dominions, by assembling two considerable bodies in Upper and Lower Silesia, which occupied the passes that communicated with the circles of Buntzlau and Koningsgratz. Hostilities were commenced on the thirteenth day of September, by a detachment of Prussian hussars, who attacked an Austrian escort to a convoy of provisions, designed for the Saxon camp; and having routed them, carried off a considerable number of loaded waggons. The magazines at Dresden were filled with an immense quantity of provisions and forage for the Prussian army, and the bakers were ordered to prepare a vast quantity of bread, for which purpose thirty new ovens were erected. When the king of Prussia first arrived at Dresden, he lodged at the house of the countess Moczinska, and gave orders that the queen and royal family of Poland should be treated with all due veneration and respect: 387 [See note 3 C, at the end of this Vol.] even while the Saxon camp was blocked up on every side, he sometimes permitted a waggon, loaded with fresh provisions and game, to pass unmolested, for the use of his Polish majesty.

PRUSSIANS PENETRATE INTO BOHEMIA.

During these transactions, the greatest part of the Prussian army advanced into Bohemia, under the command of veldt-maresehal Keith,* who reduced the town and palace of Tetchen, took possession of all the passes, and encamped near Aussig, a small town in Bohemia, at no great distance from the imperial army, amounting to fifty thousand men, commanded by count Brown, an officer of Irish extract, who had often distinguished himself in the field by his courage, vigilance, and conduct.

* Brother to the earl mareschal of Scotland, a gentleman who had signalized himself as a general in the Russian army, and was accounted one of the best officers of his time; not more admired for his warlike genius, than amiable in his disposition.

His Prussian majesty having left a considerable body of troops for the blockade of Pirna, assumed in person the command of mareschal Keith’s corps, and advanced to give battle to the enemy. On the twenty-ninth day of September he formed his troops in two columns, and in the evening arrived with his van at Welmina, from whence he saw the Austrian army posted with his right at Lowoschutz, and its left towards the Egra. Having occupied with six battalions a hollow way, and some rising grounds which commanded the town of Lowoschutz, he remained all night under arms at Welmina; and on the first day of October, early in the morning, formed his whole army in order of battle; the first line, consisting of the infantry, occupying two hills, and a bottom betwixt them; the second line being formed of some battalions, and the third composed of the whole cavalry. The Austrian general had taken possession of Lowoschutz, with a great body of infantry, and placed a battery of cannon in front of the town; he had formed his cavalry chequerwise, in a line between Lowoschutz and the village of Sanschitz; and posted about two thousand Croats and irregulars in the vineyards and avenues on his right. The morning was darkened with a thick fog, which vanished about seven: then the Prussian cavalry advanced to attack the enemy’s horse; but received such a fire from the irregulars, posted in vineyards and ditches, as well as from a numerous artillery, that they were obliged to retire for protection to the rear of the Prussian infantry and cannon. There, being formed, and led back to the charge, they made an impression on the Austrian cavalry, and drove the irregulars, and other bodies of infantry, from the ditches, defiles, and vineyards which they possessed; but they suffered so severely in this dangerous service, that the king ordered them to reascend the hill, and take post again behind the infantry, from whence they no more advanced. In the meantime, a furious cannonading was maintained on both sides with considerable effect. At length the left of the Prussian infantry was ordered to attack the town of Lowoschutz in flank; but met with a very warm reception, and in all likelihood would have miscarried, had not veldt-mareschal Keith headed them in person: when he drew his sword, and told them he would lead them on, he was given to understand that all their powder and shot were exhausted: he turned immediately to them with a cheerful countenance, said he was very glad they had no more ammunition, being well assured the enemy could not withstand them at push of bayonet; so saying, he advanced at their head, and driving the Austrians from Lowoschutz, set the suburbs on fire. The infantry had been already obliged to quit the eminence on the right; and now their whole army retired to Budin, on the other side of the Egra. Some prisoners, colours, and pieces of cannon, were taken on both sides; and the loss of each might amount to two thousand five hundred killed and wounded; so that, on the whole, it was a drawn battle, though both generals claimed the victory. The detail of the action, published at Berlin, declares, that the king of Prussia not only gained the battle, but that same day established his head quarters at Lowoschutz; whereas the Austrian gazette affirms, that the mareschal count Brown obliged his Prussian majesty to retire, and remained all night on the field of battle; but next day, finding his troops in want of water, he repaired to the camp of Budin. If the battle was at all decisive, the advantage certainly fell to the Austrians; for his Prussian majesty, who in all probability had hoped to winter at Prague, was obliged by the opposition he met with, to resign his plan, and retreat before winter into the electorate of Saxony.

SAXON ARMY SURRENDERS.

The Prussian army having rejoined that body which had been left to block up the Saxons at Pirna, his Polish majesty and his troops were reduced to such extremity of want, that it became indispensably necessary either to attempt an escape, or surrender to the king of Prussia. The former part of the alternative was chosen, and the plan concerted with count Brown, the Austrian general, who, in order to facilitate the execution, advanced privately with a body of troops to Lichtendorf, near Schandeau; but the junction could not be effected. On the fourteenth day of October the Saxons threw a bridge of boats over the Elbe, near Konigstein, to which castle they removed all their artillery; then striking their tents in the night, passed the river undiscovered by the enemy. They continued to retreat with all possible expedition; but the roads were so bad, they made little progress. Next day, when part of them had advanced about half way up a hill opposite to Konigstein, and the rest were entangled in a narrow plain, where there was no room to act, they perceived that the Prussians were in possession of all the passes, and found themselves surrounded on every side, fainting with hunger and fatigue, and destitute of every convenience. In this deplorable condition they remained, when the king of Poland, from the fortress of Konigstein, sent a letter to his general, the veldt-mareschal count Rutow-ski, vesting him with full and discretionary power to surrender, or take such other measures as he should judge most conducive to the preservation of the officers and soldiers. 388 [See note 3 D, at the end of this Vol.] By this time count Brown had retired to Budin, so that there was no choice left. A capitulation was demanded; but, in effect, the whole Saxon army was obliged to surrender at discretion; and the soldiers were afterwards, by compulsion, incorporated with the troops of Prussia. The king of Poland being thus deprived of his electoral dominions, his troops, arms, artillery, and ammunition, thought it high time to provide for his own safety, and retired with all expedition to Poland. His Prussian majesty cantoned his forces in the neighbourhood of Seidlitz, and along the Elbe towards Dresden. His other army, which had entered Bohemia, under the command of the count de Ichwerin, retired to the confines of the county of Glatz, where they were distributed in quarters of cantonment; so that this short campaign was finished by the beginning of November.

KING OF POLAND’S MEMORIAL TO THE STATES-GENERAL.

The king of Poland, in his distress, did not fail to implore the assistance and mediation of neutral powers. His minister at the Hague presented a memorial to the states-general, complaining that the invasion of Saxony was one of those attacks against the law of nations, which from the great respect due to this law, demanded the assistance of every power interested in the preservation of its own liberty and independency. He observed, that from the first glimpse of misunderstanding between the courts of Vienna and Berlin, he had expressly enjoined his ministers at all the courts of Europe to declare, that it was his firm resolution, in the present conjuncture of affairs, to observe the strictest neutrality. He represented that a free and neutral state had been, in the midst of peace, invaded by an enemy, who disguised himself under the mask of friendship, without alleging the least complaint, or any pretension whatsoever; but founding himself solely on his own convenience, made himself master, by armed force, of all the cities and towns of the electorate, dismantling some and fortifying others; that he had disarmed the burghers; carried off the magistrates as hostages for the payment of unjust and enormous contributions of provisions and forage; seized the coffers; confiscated the revenues of the electorate; broke open the arsenals, and transported the arms and artillery to his own town of Magdeburgh; abolished the privy-council, and, instead of the lawful government, established a directory, which acknowledged no other law but his own arbitrary will. He gave them to understand, that all these proceedings were no other than preliminaries to the unheard of treatment which was reserved for a queen, whose virtues ought to have commanded respect, even from her enemies; that, from the hands of that august princess, the archives of the state were forced away by menaces and violences, notwithstanding the security which her majesty had promised herself under the protection of all laws, human and divine; and notwithstanding the repeated assurances given by the king of Prussia, that not only her person, but the place of her residence, should be absolutely safe, and that even the Prussian garrison should be under her direction. He observed, that a prince who declared himself protector of the protestant religion, had begun the war by crushing the very state to which that religion owes its establishment, and the preservation of its most invaluable rights; that he had broken through the most respectable laws which constitute the union of the Germanic body, under colour of a defence which the empire stood in no need of except against himself; that the king of Prussia, while he insists on having entered Saxony as a friend, demands his army, the administration of his dominions, and, in a word, the sacrifice of his whole electorate; and that the Prussian directory, in the declaration of motives, published under the nose of a prince to whom friendship was pretended, thought it superfluous to allege even any pretext, to colour the usurpation of his territories and revenues.—Though this was certainly the case, in his Prussian majesty’s first exposition of motives, the omission was afterwards supplied, in a subsequent memorial to the states-general; in which he charged the king of Poland as an accomplice in, if not an accessary to, the treaty of Petersburgh; and even taxed him with having agreed to a partition of some Prussian territories, when they should be conquered. This treaty of partition, however, appears to have been made in time of actual war, before all cause of dispute was removed by the peace of Dresden.

IMPERIAL DECREES PUBLISHED AGAINST THE KING OF PRUSSIA.

While the Austrian and Prussian armies were in the field, their respective ministers were not idle at Ratisbon, where three imperial decrees were published against his Prussian majesty; the first, summoning that prince to withdraw his troops from the electorate of Saxony; the second, commanding all the vassals of the empire employed by the king of Prussia to quit that service immediately; and the third, forbidding the members of the empire to suffer any levies of soldiers, for the Prussian service, to be raised within their respective jurisdictions. The French minister declared to the diet, that the proceedings of his Prussian majesty having disclosed to the world the project concerted between that prince and tie king of England, to excite in the empire a religious war which might be favourable to their particular views, his most christian majesty, in consequence of his engagement with the empress-queen, and many other princes of the empire, being resolved to succour them in the most efficacious manner, would forthwith send such a number of troops to their aid, as might be thought necessary to preserve the liberty of the Germanic body. On the other hand, the Prussian minister assured the diet, that his master would very soon produce the proofs that were come to his hands of the plan concerted by the courts of Vienna and Dresden, for the subversion of his electoral house, and for imposing upon him a yoke, which seemed to threaten the whole empire.

DECLARATION OF DIFFERENT POWERS.

About the same time, the Russian resident at the Hague communicated to the states-general a declaration from his mistress, importing, that her imperial majesty having seen a memorial presented at the court of Vienna by the king of Prussia’s envoy extraordinary, was thereby convinced that his Prussian majesty’s intention was to attack the territories of the empress-queen; in which case, she, the czarina, was inevitably obliged to succour her ally with all her forces; for which end she had ordered all her troops in Livonia to be forthwith assembled on the frontiers, and hold themselves in readiness to march; that, moreover, the Russian admiralty had been enjoined to provide immediately a sufficient number of galleys for transporting a large body of troops to Lubeck. The ministers of the empress-queen, both at the Hague and at London, delivered memorials to the states-general and his Britannic majesty, demanding the succours which these two powers were bound to afford the house of Austria by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle; but their high mightinesses kept warily aloof, by dint of evasion, and the king of Great Britain was far otherwise engaged. The invasion of Saxony had well nigh produced tragedies in the royal family of France. The dauphiness, who was far advanced in her pregnancy, no sooner learned the distressful circumstances of her parents, the king and queen of Poland, than she was seized with violent fits, which occasioned a miscarriage, and brought her life into the most imminent danger. The Prussian minister was immediately ordered to quit Versailles; and directions were despatched to the French minister at Berlin, to retire from that court without taking leave. Finally, the emperor of Germany concluded a new convention with the French king, regulating the succours to be derived from that quarter; he claimed, in all the usual forms, the assistance of the Germanic body, as guarantee of the pragmatic sanction and treaty of Dresden; and Sweden was also addressed on the same subject.

HIS PRUSSIAN MAJESTY’S ANSWER TO THE SAXON MEMORIAL.

The king of Prussia did not passively bear all the imputations that were fixed upon his conduct. His minister at the Hague presented a memorial, in answer to that of the Saxon resident, in which he accused the court of Dresden of having adopted every part of the scheme which his enemies had formed for his destruction. He affirmed that the Saxon ministers had, in all the courts of Europe, played off every engine of unwarrantable politics, in order to pave the way for the execution of their project; that they had endeavoured to give an odious turn to his most innocent actions; that they had spared neither malicious insinuations, nor even the most atrocious calumnies, to alienate all the world from his majesty, and raise up enemies against him everywhere. He said, he had received information that the court of Saxony intended to let his troops pass freely, and afterwards wait for events of which they might avail themselves, either by joining his enemies, or making a diversion in his dominions; that in such a situation he could not avoid having recourse to the only means which were left him for preventing his inevitable ruin, by putting it out of the power of Saxony to increase the number of his enemies. He asserted, that all the measures he had pursued in that electorate were but the Accessary consequences of the first resolution he was forced to take for his own preservation; that he had done nothing but deprived the court of Saxony of the means of hurting him; and this had been done with all possible moderation; that the country enjoyed all the security and all the quiet which could be expected in the very midst of peace, the Prussian troops observing the most exact discipline; that all due respect was shown to the queen of Poland, who had been prevailed upon, by the most suitable representations, to suffer some papers to be taken from the paper office, of which his Prussian majesty already had copies; and thought it necessary, to ascertain the dangerous design of the Saxon ministry against him, to secure the originals; the existence and reality of which might otherwise have been denied. He observed, that every man has a right to prevent the mischief with which he is threatened, and to retort it upon its author; and that neither the constitutions nor the laws of the empire could obstruct the exertion of a right so superior to all others as that of self-preservation and self-defence; especially when the depository of these laws is so closely united to the enemy, as manifestly to abuse his power in her favour.

But the most important step which his Prussian majesty took in his own justification, was that of publishing another memorial, specifying the conduct of the courts of Vienna and Saxony, and their dangerous designs against his person and interest, together with the original documents adduced as proofs of these sinister intentions. As a knowledge of these pieces is requisite to form a distinct idea of the motives which produced the dreadful war upon the continent, it will not be amiss to usher the substance of them to the reader’s acquaintance. His Prussian majesty affirms, that to arrive at the source of the vast plan upon which the courts of Vienna and Saxony had been employed against him ever since the peace of Dresden, we must trace it as far back as the war which preceded this peace; that the fond hopes which the two allied courts had conceived upon the success of the campaign in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-four, gave occasion to a treaty of eventual partition, stipulating that the court of Vienna should possess the duchy of Silesia and the county of Glatz; while the king of Poland, elector of Saxony, should share the duchies of Magdeburgh and Croissen; the circles of Zullichow and Swibus, together with the Prussian part of Lusatia; that after the peace of Dresden, concluded in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-five, there was no further room for a treaty of this nature; yet the court of Vienna proposed to that of Saxony a new alliance, in which the treaty of eventual partition should be renewed; but this last thought it necessary, in the first place, to give a greater consistency to their plan, by grounding it upon an alliance between the empress-queen and the czarina. Accordingly, these two powers did, in fact, conclude a defensive alliance at Petersburgh in the course of the ensuing year; but the body, or ostensible part of this treaty, was composed merely with a view to conceal from the knowledge of the public six secret articles, the fourth of which was levelled singly against Prussia, according to the exact copy of it which appeared among the documents. In this article, the empress-queen of Hungary and Bohemia sets out with a protestation, that she will religiously observe the treaty of Dresden; but explains her real way of thinking upon the subject, a little lower, in the following terms: “If the king of Prussia should be the first to depart from this peace, by attacking either her majesty the empress-queen of Hungary and Bohemia, or her majesty the empress of Russia, or even the republic of Poland; in all these cases, the rights of the empress-queen to Silesia and the county of Glatz would again take place, and recover their full effect; the two contracting parties should mutually assist each other with sixty thousand men to achieve these conquests.” The king observes upon this article, that every war which can arise between him and Russia, or the republic of Poland, would be looked upon as a manifest infraction of the peace of Dresden, and a revival of the rights of the house of Austria to Silesia; though neither Russia nor the republic of Poland is at all concerned in the treaty of Dresden; and though the latter, with which the king lived in the most intimate friendship, was not even in alliance with the court of Vienna; that, according to the principles of the law of nature, received among all civilized nations, the most the court of Vienna could be authorized to do in such cases, would be to send those succours to her allies which are due to them by treaties, without her having the least pretence on that account, to free herself from the particular engagements subsisting between her and the king: he appealed, therefore, to the judgment of the impartial world, whether in this secret article the contracting powers had kept within the bounds of a defensive alliance; or whether this article did not rather contain a plan of an offensive alliance against the king of Prussia. He affirmed it was obvious, from this article, that the court of Vienna had prepared three pretences for the recovery of Silesia; and that she thought to attain her end, either by provoking the king to commence hostilities against her, or to kindle a war between his majesty and Russia, by her secret intrigues and machinations. He alleged that the court of Saxony, being invited to accede to this alliance, eagerly accepted the invitation; furnished its ministers at Petersburgh with full powers for that purpose; and ordered them to declare that their master was not only ready to accede to the treaty itself, but also to the secret article against Prussia; and to join in the regulations made by the two courts, provided effectual measures should be taken, as well for the security of Saxony, as for its indemnification and recompence, in proportion to the efforts and progress that might be made; that the court of Dresden declared, if upon any fresh attack from the king of Prussia, the empress-queen should, by their assistance, not only reconquer Silesia and the county of Gratz, but also reduce him within narrow bounds, the king of Poland, as elector of Saxony, would abide by the partition formerly stipulated between him and the empress-queen. He also declared that count Loss, the Saxon minister at Vienna, was charged to open a private negotiation for Settling an eventual partition of the conquest which might be made on Prussia, by laying down, as the basis of it, the treaty of Leipsic, signed on the eighteenth day of May, in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-five, as would appear by the documents affixed. He owned it had been supposed, through the whole of this negotiation, that the king of Prussia should be the aggressor against the court of Vienna; but he insisted, that even in this case the king of Poland could have no right to make conquests on his Prussian majesty. He likewise acknowledged, that the court of Saxony had not yet acceded in form to the treaty of Petersburgh; but he observed, its allies were given to understand again and again, that it was ready to accede without restriction, whenever this could be done without risk; and the advantages to be gained should be secured in its favour. Circumstances proved by divers authentic documents, particularly by a letter from count Fleming to count de Bruhl, informing him that count Uhlefield had charged him to represent afresh to his court, that they could not take too secure measures against the ambitious views of the king of Prussia; that Saxony in particular ought to be cautious, as being the most exposed; that it was of the highest importance to strengthen their old engagements, upon the footing proposed by the late count de Harrach, in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-five; a step which might be taken on occasion of his Polish majesty’s accession to the treaty of Petersburgh. The answer of count Bruhl to this despatch imported, that the king of Poland was not averse to treat in the utmost secrecy with the court of Vienna about succours, by private and confidential declarations relating to the fourth secret article of the treaty of Petersburgh, on condition of reasonable terms and advantages, which in this case ought to be granted to his majesty. He quoted other despatches to prove the unwillingness of his Polish majesty to declare himself until the king of Prussia should be attacked, and his forces divided; and that this scruple was admitted by the allies of Saxony. From these premises he deduced this inference, that the court of Dresden, without having acceded in form to the treaty of Petersburgh, was not less an accomplice in the dangerous designs which the court of Vienna had grounded upon this treaty; and that having been dispensed with from a formal concurrence, it had only waited for that moment when it might, without running any great risk, conquer in effect, and share the spoils of its neighbour. In expectation of this period, he said, the Austrian and Saxon ministers laboured in concert and underhand with the more ardour to bring the casus fæderus into existence; for it being laid down as a principle in the treaty, that any war whatever between him and Russia would authorise the empress-queen to take Silesia, there was nothing more to be done but to kindle such a war; for which purpose no method was found more proper than that of embroiling the king with the empress of Russia; and to provoke that princess with all sorts of false insinuations, impostures, and the most atrocious calumnies, in laying to his majesty’s charge a variety of designs, sometimes against Russia, and even the person of the czarina; sometimes views upon Poland, and sometimes intrigues in Sweden. By these and other such contrivances, he affirmed they had kindled the animosity of the empress to such a degree, that in a council held in the month of October, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-three, she had resolved to attack the king of Prussia, without any further discussion, whether he should fall upon any of the allies of Russia, or one of them should begin with him; a resolution which for that time was frustrated by their want of seamen and magazines; but the preparations were continued under pretence of keeping themselves in a condition to fulfil their engagements, contracted in the last subsidiary convention with England; and when all were finished, the storm would fall on the king of Prussia.

This is the substance of that famous memorial published by his Prussian majesty, to which the justifying pieces or authentic documents were annexed; and to which a circumstantial answer was exhibited by the partisans of her imperial majesty. Specious reasons may, doubtless, be adduced on either side of almost any dispute, by writers of ingenuity; but, in examining this contest, it must be allowed that both sides adopted illicit practices. The empress-queen and the elector of Saxony had certainly a right to form defensive treaties for their own preservation; and without all doubt, it was their interest and their duty to secure themselves from the enterprises of such a formidable neighbour; but at the same time, the contracting parties seem to have carried their views much farther than defensive measures. Perhaps the court of Vienna considered the cession of Silesia as a circumstance altogether compulsive, and therefore not binding against the rights of natural equity. She did not at all doubt that the king of Prussia would be tempted by his ambition and great warlike power, to take some step which might be justly interpreted into an infraction of the treaty of Dresden; and in that case she was determined to avail herself of the confederacy she had formed, that she might retrieve the countries she had lost by the unfortunate events of the last war, as well as bridle the dangerous power and disposition of the Prussian monarch; and in all probability the king of Poland, over and above the same consideration, was desirous of some indemnification for the last irruption into his electoral dominions, and the great sums he had paid for the subsequent peace. Whether they were authorised by the law of nature and nations to make reprisals by an actual partition of the countries they might conquer, supposing him to be the aggressor, we shall not pretend to determine; but it does not at all appear, that his Prussian majesty’s danger was such as entitled him to take those violent steps which he now attempted to justify. By this time the flame of war was kindled up to a blaze that soon filled the empire with ruin and desolation; and the king of Prussia had drawn upon himself the resentment of the three greatest powers of Europe, who laid aside their former animosities, and every consideration of that balance which it had cost such blood and treasure to preserve, in order to conspire his destruction. The king himself could not but foresee this confederacy, and know the power it might exert; but probably he confided so much in the number, the valour, and discipline of his troops; in the skill of his officers; in his own conduct and activity; that he hoped to crush the house of Austria by one rapid endeavour at the latter end of the season, or at least establish himself in Bohemia, before her allies could move to her assistance. In this hope, however, he was disappointed by the vigilance of the Austrian councils. He found the empress-queen in a condition to make head against him in every avenue to her dominions; and in a fair way of being assisted by the circles of the empire. He saw himself threatened with the vengeance of the Russian empress, and the sword of France gleaming over his head, without any prospect of assistance but that which he might derive from his alliance with Great Britain. Thus the king of England exchanged the alliance of Russia, who was his subsidiary, and the friendship of the empress queen, his old and natural ally, for a new connexion with his Prussian majesty, who could neither act as an auxiliary to Great Britain, nor as a protector to Hanover; and for this connexion, the advantage of which was merely negative, such a price was paid by England as had never been given by any other potentate of Europe, even for services of the greatest importance.

DISPUTES BETWEEN THE PARLIAMENT OF PARIS AND THE CLERGY.

About the latter end of November, the Saxon minister at Ratisbon delivered to the diet a new and ample memorial, explaining the lamentable state of that electorate, and imploring afresh the assistance of the empire. The king of Prussia had also addressed a letter to the diet, demanding succour of the several states, agreeable to their guarantees of the treaties of Westphalia and Dresden; but the minister of Mentz, as director of the diet, having refused to lay it before that assembly, the minister of Brandenburgh ordered it to be printed, and sent to his court for further instructions. In the meantime his Prussian majesty thought proper to intimate to the king and senate of Poland, that should the Russian troops be permitted to march through that kingdom, they might expect to see their country made a scene of war and desolation. In France, the prospect of a general and sanguinary war did not at all allay the disturbance which sprang from the dissension between the clergy and parliament, touching the bull Unigenitus. The king being again brought over to the ecclesiastical side of the dispute, received a brief from the pope, laying it down as a fundamental article, that whosoever refuses to submit to the bull Unigenitus, is in the way of damnation; and certain cases are specified, in which the sacraments are to be denied. The parliament of Paris, considering this brief or bull as a direct attack upon the rights of the Gallican church, issued an arret or decree, suppressing the said bull; reserving to themselves the right of providing against the inconveniences with which it might be attended, as well as the privilege to maintain in their full force the prerogatives of the crown, the power and jurisdiction of the bishops, the liberties of the Gallican church, and the customs of the realm. The king, dissatisfied with their interposition, declared his design to hold a bed of justice in person at the palace. Accordingly, on the twelfth day of November, the whole body of his guards, amounting to ten thousand men, took post in the city of Paris; and next day the king repaired with the usual ceremony to the palace, where the bed of justice was held: among other regulations, an edict was issued for suppressing the fourth and fifth chambers of inquests, the members of which had remarkably distinguished themselves by their opposition to the bull Unigenitus.

DEARTH OF CORN IN ENGLAND.

In England, the dearth of corn, arising in a great measure from the iniquitous practice of engrossing, was so severely felt by the common people, that insurrections were raised in Shropshire and Warwickshire by the populace, in conjunction with the colliers, who seized by violence all the provisions they could find; pillaging without distinction the millers, farmers, grocers, and butchers, until they were dispersed by the gentlemen of the country, at the head of their tenants and dependants. Disorders of the same nature were excited by the colliers on the forest of Dean, and those employed in the works in Cumberland. The corporations, noblemen, and gentlemen, in different parts of the kingdom, exerted themselves for the relief of the poor, who were greatly distressed; and a grand council being assembled at St. James’ on the same subject, a proclamation was published, for putting the laws in speedy and effectual execution against the forestallers and engrossers of corn.

The fear of an invasion having now subsided, and Hanover being supposed in greater danger than Great Britain, the auxiliaries of that electorate were transported from England to their own country. At the latter end of the season, when the weather became severe, the inn-keepers of England refused to admit the Hessian soldiers into winter-quarters, as no provision had been made for that purpose by act of parliament; so that they were obliged to hut their camp, and remain in the open fields till January; but the rigour of this uncomfortable situation was softened by the hand of generous charity, which liberally supplied them with all manner of refreshment, and other conveniences; a humane interposition, which rescued the national character from the imputation of cruelty and ingratitude.

SESSION OPENED.

On the second day of December, his majesty opened the session of parliament with a speech that seemed to be dictated by the genius of England. He expressed his confidence, that, under the guidance of Divine Providence, the union, fortitude, and affection of his people would enable him to surmount all difficulties, and vindicate the dignity of his crown against the ancient enemy of Great Britain. He declared, that the succour and preservation of America constituted a main object of his attention and solicitude; and observed, that the growing dangers to which the British colonies might stand exposed, from late losses in that country, demanded resolutions of vigour and despatch. He said, an adequate and firm defence at home should maintain the chief place in his thoughts; and in this great view he had nothing so much at heart as to remove all grounds of dissatisfaction from his people; for this end, he recommended to the care and diligence of the parliament the framing of a national militia, planned and regulated with equal regard to the just rights of his crown and people; an institution which might become one good resource in time of general danger. He took notice that the unnatural union of councils abroad, the calamities which, in consequence of this unhappy conjunction, might, by irruptions of foreign armies into the empire, shake its constitution, overturn its system, and threaten oppression to the protestant interest on the continent, were events which must sensibly affect the minds of the British nation, and had fixed the eyes of Europe on this new and dangerous crisis. He gave them to understand that the body of his electoral troops, which were brought hither at the desire of his parliament, he had now directed to return to his dominions in Germany, relying with pleasure on the spirit and zeal of his people, in defence of his person and realm. He told the commons that he confided in their wisdom, for preferring more vigorous efforts, though more expensive, to a less effectual, and therefore less frugal plan of war; that he had placed before them the dangers and necessities of the public; and it was their duty to lay the burdens they should judge unavoidable in such a manner as would least disturb and exhaust his people. He expressed his concern for the sufferings of the poor, arising from the present dearth of corn, and for the disturbances to which it had given rise; and exhorted his parliament to consider of proper provisions for preventing the like mischiefs hereafter. He concluded with remarking, that unprosperous events of war in the Mediterranean, had drawn from his subjects signal proofs how dearly they tendered the honour of his crown; therefore, they could not, on his part, fail to meet with just returns of unwearied care, and unceasing endeavours for the glory, prosperity, and happiness of his people.

DEBATES ON THE ADDRESS.

The king having retired from the house of peers, the speech was read by lord Sandys, appointed to act as speaker to that house; then earl Gower moved for an address, which, however, was not carried without objection. In one part of it his majesty was thanked for having caused a body of electoral troops to come into England at the request of his parliament; and this article was disagreeable to those who had disapproved of the request in the last session. They said they wished to see the present address unanimously agreed to by the lords; a satisfaction they could not have, if such a paragraph should be inserted; for they still thought the bringing over Hanoverian troops a preposterous measure; because it had not only loaded the nation with an enormous expense, but also furnished the court of France with a plausible pretence for invading the electorate, which otherwise it would have no shadow of reason to attack; besides, the expedient was held in reprobation by the subjects in general, and such a paragraph might be considered as an insult on the people. Notwithstanding these exceptions, which did not seem to be very important, the address, including this paragraph, was approved by a great majority.

BILL PASSED FOr PROHIBITING THE EXPORTATION OF CORN.

In the address of the commons no such paragraph was inserted. As soon as the speaker had recited his majesty’s speech, Mr. Charles Townshend proposed the heads of an address, to which the house unanimously agreed; and it was presented accordingly. This necessary form was no sooner discussed, than the house, with a warmth of humanity and benevolence suitable to such an assembly, resolved itself into a committee, to deliberate on that part of his majesty’s speech which related to the dearth of corn that so much distressed the poorer class of people. A bill was immediately framed to prohibit, for a time limited, the exportation of corn, malt, meal, flour, bread, biscuit, and starch; and a resolution unanimously taken to address the sovereign, than an embargo might be forthwith laid upon all ships laden or to be laden with these commodities, to be exported from the ports of Great Britain and Ireland. At the same time, vice-admiral Boscawen, from the board of admiralty, informed the house, that the king and the board having been dissatisfied with the conduct of admiral Byng, in a late action with the French fleet in the Mediterranean, and for the appearance of his not having acted agreeably to his instructions for the relief of Minorca, he was then in custody of the marshal of the admiralty, in order to be tried by a court-martial; that although this was no more than what was usual in like cases, yet as admiral Byng was then a member of the house, and as his confinement might detain him some time from his duty there, the board of admiralty thought it a respect due to the house to inform them of the commitment and detainer of the said admiral. This message being delivered, the journal of the house in relation to rear-admiral Knowles 392 [See note 3 E, at the end of this Vol] was read, and what Mr. Boscawen now communicated was also inserted.

The committees of supply, and of ways and means, being appointed, took into consideration the necessities of the state, and made very ample provision for enabling his majesty to maintain the war with vigour.

They granted fifty-five thousand men for the sea-service, including eleven thousand four hundred and nineteen marines; and for the land-service, forty-nine thousand seven hundred and forty-nine effective men, comprehending four thousand and eight invalids. The supply was granted for the maintenance of these forces, as well as for the troops of Hesse and Hanover; for the ordnance; the levy of new regiments; for assisting his majesty in forming and maintaining an army of observation, for the just and necessary defence and preservation of his electoral dominions, and those of his allies; and towards enabling him to fulfil his engagements with the king of Prussia; for the security of the empire against the irruption of foreign armies,* as well as for the support of the common cause; for building and repairs of ships, hiring transports, payment of half-pay officers, and the pensions of widows; for enabling his majesty to discharge the like sum, raised in pursuance of an act passed in the last session of parliament, and charged upon the first aids or supplies to be granted in this session; for enabling the governors and guardians of the hospital for the maintenance and education of exposed and deserted young children, to receive all such children, under a certain age, as should be brought to the said hospital within the compass of one year;** for maintaining and supporting the new settlement of Nova Scotia; for repairing and finishing military roads; for making good his majesty’s engagement with the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel; for the expense of marching, recruiting, and remounting German troops in the pay of Great Britain; for empowering his majesty to defray any extraordinary expenses of the war, incurred, or to be incurred, for the service of the ensuing year, and to take all such measures as might be necessary to disappoint or defeat any enterprises or designs of his enemies, as the exigency of affairs should require; for the payment of such persons, in such a manner as his majesty should direct; for the use and relief of his subjects in the several provinces of North and South Carolina and Virginia, in recompence for such services as, with the approbation of his majesty’s commander-in-chief in America, they respectively had performed, or should perform, either by putting these provinces in a state of defence, or by acting with vigour against the enemy; for enabling the East India company to defray the expense of a military force in their settlements, to be maintained in them, in lieu of a battalion of his majesty’s forces withdrawn from those forts and factories; for the maintenance and support of the forts on the coast of Africa; for widening the avenues, and rendering more safe and commodious the streets and passages leading from Charing Cross to the two houses of parliament, the court of justice, and the new bridge at Westminster.***

* Nothing could more gloriously evince the generosity of a British parliament, than this interposition for defending the liberties of Germany, in conjunction with two electors only, against the sense of the other seven, and in direct opposition to the measures taken by the head of the empire, who, in the sequel, stigmatized these two princes as rebels, and treated one of them as an outlaw. ** This charity, established by voluntary contribution, might, under proper restrictions, prove beneficial to the commonwealth, by rescuing deserted children from misery and death, and qualifying them for being serviceable members of the community; but since the liberality of parliament hath enabled the governors and corporation to receive all the children that are presented, without question or limitation, the yearly expense hath swelled into a national grievance, and the humane purposes of the original institution are, in a great measure, defeated. Instead of an asylum for poor forlorn orphans and abandoned foundlings, it is become a general receptacle for the offspring of the dissolute, who care not to work for the maintenance of their families. The hospital itself is a plain edifice, well contrived for economy and convenience, standing on the north side of the city, and a little detached from it, in an agreeable and salubrious situation. The hall is adorned with some good paintings, the chapel is elegant, and the regulations are admirable. *** The bridge at Westminster may be considered as a national ornament. It was built at the public expense, from the neighbourhood of Westminster Hall to the opposite side of the river, and consists of thirteen arches, constructed with equal elegance and simplicity.

Such were the articles under which we may specify the supplies of this year, on the whole amounting to eight millions three hundred and fifty thousand three hundred and twenty-five pounds, nine shillings and three pence. It must be acknowledged, for the honour of the administration, that the house of commons could not have exhibited stronger marks of their attachment to the crown and person of their sovereign, as well as of their desire to see the force of the nation exerted with becoming spirit. The sums granted by the committee of supply did not exceed eight millions three hundred and fifty thousand three hundred and twenty-five pounds, nine shillings and three pence; the funds established amounted to eight millions six hundred and eighty-nine thousand and fifty-one pounds, nineteen shillings and seven-pence; so that there was an overplus of three hundred and thirty-eight thousand seven hundred and twenty-six pounds, ten shillings and four pence; an excess which was thought necessary, in case the lottery, which was founded on a new plan, should not succeed.

REFLECTIONS ON THE CONTINENTAL WAR.

Some of these impositions were deemed grievous hardships by those upon whom they immediately fell; and many friends of their country exclaimed against the projected army of observation in Germany, as the commencement of a ruinous continental war, which it was neither the interest of the nation to undertake, nor in their power to maintain, without starving the operations by sea, and in America, founded on British principles; without contracting such an additional load of debts and taxes, as could not fail to terminate in bankruptcy and distress. To those dependents of the ministry, who observed that as Hanover was threatened by France for its connexion with Great Britain, it ought, in common gratitude, to be protected, they replied, that every state, in assisting any ally, ought to have a regard to its own preservation: that, if the king of England enjoyed by inheritance, or succession, a province in the heart of France, it would be equally absurd and unjust, in case of a rupture with that kingdom, to exhaust the treasures of Great Britain in the defence of such a province; and yet the inhabitants of it would have the same right to complain that they suffered for their connexion with England. They observed, that other dominions, electorates, and principalities in Germany, were secured by the constitutions of the empire, as well as by fair and equal alliances with their co-estates; whereas Hanover stood solitary, like a hunted deer avoided by the herd, and had no other shelter but that of shrinking under the extended shield of Great Britain: that the reluctance expressed by the German princes to undertake the defence of these dominions, flowed from a firm persuasion, founded on experience, that England would interpose as a principal, and not only draw her sword against the enemies of the electorate, but concentrate her chief strength in that object, and waste her treasures in purchasing their concurrence; that exclusive of an ample revenue drained from the sweat of the people, great part of which had been expended in continental efforts, the whole national debt incurred, since the accession of the late king, had been contracted in pursuance of measures totally foreign to the interest of these kingdoms: that, since Hanover was the favourite object, England would save money, and great quantities of British blood, by allowing France to take possession of the electorate, paying its ransom at the peace, and indemnifying the inhabitants for the damage they might sustain; an expedient that would be productive of another good consequence, it would rouse the German princes from their affected indifference, and oblige them to exert themselves with vigour, in order to avoid the detested neighbourhood of such an enterprising invader.

MESSAGES FROM THE KING TO THE PARLIAMENT.

The article of the supply relating to the army of observation, took rise from a message signed by his majesty, and presented by Mr. Pitt, now promoted to the office of principal secretary of state; a gentleman who had, upon sundry occasions, combated the gigantic plan of continental connexions with all the strength of reason, and all the powers of eloquence. He now imparted to the house an intimation, importing, it was always with reluctance that his majesty asked extraordinary supplies of his people; but as the united councils, and formidable preparations of France and her allies threatened Europe in general with the most alarming consequence; and as these unjust and vindictive designs were particularly and immediately bent against his majesty’s electoral dominions, and those of his good ally the king of Prussia, his majesty confided in the experienced zeal and affection of his faithful commons, that they would cheerfully assist him in forming and maintaining an army of observation, for the just and necessary defence and preservation of those territories, and enable him to fulfil his engagements with his Prussian majesty, for the security of the empire against the irruption of foreign armies, and for the support of the common cause. Posterity will hardly believe, that the emperor and all the princes of Germany were in a conspiracy against their country, except the king of Prussia, the elector of Hanover, and the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel; and they will, no doubt, be surprised, that Great Britain, after all the treaties she had made, and the numberless subsidies she had granted, should not have an ally left, except one prince, so embarrassed in his own affairs, that he could grant lier no succour, whatever assistance he might demand. The king’s message met with as favourable a reception as he could have desired. It was read in the house of commons, together with, a copy of the treaty between his majesty and the king of Prussia, including the secret and separate article, and the declaration signed on each side by the plenipotentiaries at Westminster: the request was granted, and the convention approved. With equal readiness did they gratify his majesty’s inclination, signified in another message, delivered on the seventeenth day of May, by lord Bateman, intimating, that in this critical juncture, emergencies might arise of the utmost importance, and be attended with the most pernicious consequences, if proper means should not be immediately applied to prevent or defeat them; his majesty was, therefore, desirous that the house would enable him to defray any extraordinary expenses of the war, incurred or to be incurred for the service of the current year; and to take all such measures as might be necessary to disappoint or defeat any enterprises or designs of his enemies, as the exigency of affairs might require. The committee of supply forthwith granted a very large sum for these purposes, including the charge of German mercenaries. A like message being at the same time communicated to the upper house, their lordships voted a very loyal address upon the occasion; and when the article of supply, which it produced among the commons, fell under their inspection, they unanimously agreed to it, by way of a clause of appropriation.

MEASURES TAKEN TO REMOVE THE SCARCITY OF CORN.

We have already observed, that the first bill which the commons passed in this session, was for the relief of the poor, by prohibiting the exportation of corn; but this remedy not being judged adequate to the evil, another bill was framed, removing, for a limited time, the duty then payable upon foreign corn and flour imported; as also permitting, for a certain time, all such foreign corn, grain, meal, bread, biscuit, and flour, as had been or should be taken from the enemy, to be landed and expended in the kingdom duty free. In order still more to reduce the high price of corn, and to prevent any supply of provisions from being sent to our enemies in America, a third bill was brought in, prohibiting, for a time therein limited, the exportation of corn, grain, meal, malt, flour, bread, biscuit, starch, beef, pork, bacon, or other victual, from any of the British plantations, unless to Great Britain or Ireland, or from one colony to another. To this act two clauses were added, for allowing those necessaries, mentioned above, to be imported in foreign built ships, and from any state in amity with his majesty, either into Great Britain or Ireland; and for exporting from Southampton or Exeter to the Isle of Man, for the use of the inhabitants, a quantity of wheat, barley, oats, meal, or flour, not exceeding two thousand five hundred quarters. The commons would have still improved their humanity, had they contrived and established some effectual method to punish those unfeeling villains, who, by engrossing and hoarding up great quantities of grain, had created this artificial scarcity, and deprived their fellow-creatures of bread, with a view to their own private advantage. Upon a subsequent report of the committee, the house resolved, that, to prevent the high price of wheat and bread, no spirits should be distilled from wheat for a limited time. While the bill, formed on this resolution, was in embryo, a petition was presented to the house by the brewers of London, Westminster, Southwark, and parts adjacent, representing, that, when the resolution passed, the price of malt, which was before too high, immediately rose to such a degree, that the petitioners found themselves utterly incapable of carrying on business at the price malt then bore, occasioned, as they conceived, from an apprehension of the necessity the distillers would be under to make use of the best pale malt, and substitute the best barley in lieu of wheat: that, in such a case, the markets would not be able to supply a sufficient quantity of barley for the demands of both professions, besides other necesssary uses: they therefore prayed, that, in regard to the public revenue, to which the trade of the petitioners so largely contributed, proper measures might be taken for preventing the public loss, and relieving their particular distress. The house would not lend a deaf ear to a remonstrance in which the revenue was concerned. The members appointed to prepare the bill, immediately received instructions to make provision in it to restrain, for a limited time, the distilling of barley, malt, and all grain whatsoever. The bill was framed accordingly, but did not pass without strenuous opposition. To this prohibition it was objected, that there are always large quantities of wheat and barley in the kingdom so much damaged, as to be unfit for any use but the distillery, consequently a restriction of this nature would ruin many farmers, and others employed in the trade of malting. Particular interests, however, must often be sacrificed to the welfare of the community; and the present distress prevailed over the prospect of this disadvantage. If they had allowed any sort of grain to be distilled, it would have been impossible to prevent the distilling of every kind. The prohibition was limited to two months; but at the expiration of that term, the scarcity still continuing, it was protracted by a new bill to the eleventh day of December, with a proviso, empowering his majesty to put an end to it at any time after the eleventh day of May, if such a step should be judged for the advantage of the kingdom.

MILITIA BILL.

The next bill that engaged the attention of the commons, was a measure of the utmost national importance, though secretly disliked by many individuals of the legislature, who, nevertheless, did not venture to avow their disapprobation. The establishment of a militia was a very popular and desirable object, but attended with numberless difficulties, and a competition of interests which it was impossible to reconcile. It had formerly been an inexhaustible source of contention between the crown and the commons; but now both apparently concurred in rendering it serviceable to the commonwealth, though some acquiesced in the scheme, who were not at all hearty in its favour. On the fourth day of December, a motion was made for the bill, by colonel George Townshend, eldest son of lord viscount Townshend, a gentleman of courage, sense, and probity; endued with penetration to discern, and honesty to pursue, the real interest of his country, in defiance of power, in contempt of private advantages. Leave being given to bring in a bill for the better ordering of the militia forces in the several counties of England, the task of preparing it was allotted to Mr. Townshend, and a considerable number of the most able members in the house, comprehending his own brother, Mr. Charles Townshend, whose genius shone with distinguished lustre: he was keen, discerning, eloquent, and accurate; possessed a remarkable vivacity of parts, with a surprising solidity of understanding; was a wit without arrogance, a patriot without prejudice, and a courtier without dependance.

While the militia bill remained under consideration in the house, a petition for a constitutional and well-regulated militia was presented by the mayor, jurats, and commonalty of the king’s town and parish of Maidstone, in Kent, in common-council assembled. At the same time remonstrances were offered by the protestant dissenting ministers of the three denominations in and about the cities of London and Westminster; by the protestant dissenters of Shrewsbury; the dissenting ministers of Devonshire; the protestant dissenters, being freeholders and burgesses of the town and county of the town of Nottingham, joined with other inhabitants of the church of England, expressing their apprehension, that, in the bill then depending, it might be proposed to enact, that the said militia should be exercised on the Lord’s day, commonly called Sunday, and praying that no clause for such purpose might pass into a law. Though nothing could be more ridiculously fanatic and impertinent than a declaration of such a scruple against a practice so laudable and necesssary, in a country where that day of the week is generally spent in merry-making, riot, and debauchery, the house paid so much regard to the squeamish consciences of those puritanical petitioners, that Monday was pitched upon for the day of exercise to the militia, though on such working days they might be much more profitably employed, both for themselves and their country; and that no religious pretence should be left for opposing the progress and execution of the bill, proper clauses were inserted for the relief of the quakers. Another petition and counter-petition were delivered by the magistrates, freeholders, and burgesses of the town of Nottingham, in relation to their particular franchises, which were accordingly considered in framing the bill.

After mature deliberation, and divers alterations, it passed the lower house, and was sent to the lords for their concurrence: here it underwent several amendments, one of which was the reduction of the number of militia-men to one half of what the commons had proposed; namely, to thirty-two thousand three hundred and forty men for the whole kingdom of England and Wales. The amendments being canvassed in the lower house, met with some opposition, and divers conferences with their lordships ensued; at length, however, the two houses agreed to every article, and the bill soon received the royal sanction. No provision, however, was made for clothes, arms, accoutrements, and pay: had regulations been made for these purposes, the act would have become a money-bill, in which the lords could have made no amendment: in order, therefore, to prevent any difference between the two houses, on a dispute of privileges not yet determined, and that the house of peers might make what amendments they should think expedient, the commons left the expense of the militia to be regulated in a subsequent bill, during the following session, when they could, with more certainty, compute what sum would be necessary for these purposes. After all, the bill seemed to be crude, imperfect, and ineffectual, and the promoters of it were well aware of its defects; but they were apprehensive that it would have been dropped altogether, had they insisted upon the scheme being executed in its full extent. They were eager to seize this opportunity of trying an experiment, which might afterwards be improved to a greater national advantage; and, therefore, they acquiesced in many restrictions and alterations, which otherwise would not have been adopted.

BILL FOR QUARTERING FOREIGN TROOPS, &c.

The next measure that fell under the consideration of the house, was rendered necessary by the inhospitable perseverance of the publicans and inn-holders, who conceived themselves not obliged by law to receive or give quarters in their houses to any foreign troops, and accordingly refused admittance to the Hessian auxiliaries, who began to be dreadfully incommoded by the severity of the weather. This objection implying an attack upon the prerogative, the government did not think fit, at this juncture, to dispute any other way, than by procuring a new law in favour of those foreigners. It was intituled, “A bill to make provision for quartering the foreign troops now in this kingdom,” prepared by lord Barrington, the chancellor of the exchequer, and the solicitor-general, and immediately passed without opposition. This step being taken, another bill was brought in, for the regulation of the marine forces while on shore. This was almost a transcript of the mutiny act, with this material difference: it empowered the admiralty to grant commissions for holding general courts-martial, and to do every thing, and in the same manner, as his majesty is empowered to do by the usual mutiny bill; consequently every clause was adopted without question.

BILL FOR THE MORE SPEEDY RECRUITING THE LAND-FORCES AND MARINES, &c.

The same favourable reception was given to a bill for the more speedy and effectual recruiting his majesty’s land-forces and marines; a law which threw into the hands of many worthless magistrates an additional power of oppressing their fellow-creatures: all justices of the peace, commissioners of the land-tax, magistrates of corporations and boroughs, were empowered to meet by direction of the secretary at war, communicated in precepts issued by the high sheriffs, or their deputies, within their respective divisions, and at their usual place of meeting, to qualify themselves for the execution of the act: then they were required to appoint the times and places for their succeeding meetings; to issue precepts to the proper officers for these succeeding meetings; and to give notice of the time and place of every meeting to such military officer, as, by notice from the secretary at war, should be directed to attend that service. The annual bill for preventing mutiny and desertion met with no objections, and indeed contained nothing essentially different from that which had passed in the last session. The next law enacted, was, for further preventing embezzlement of goods and apparel, by those with whom they are intrusted, and putting a stop to the practice of gaming in public houses. By this bill a penalty was inflicted on pawnbrokers, in a summary way, for receiving goods, knowing them not to be the property of the pledger, and pawned without the authority of the owner. 395 [See note 3 F, at the end of this Vol.] With respect to gaming, the act ordained that all publicans suffering journeymen, labourers, servants, or apprentices, to game with cards, dice, shuffleboards, mississippi, or billiard tables, skittles, nine-pins, &c. should forfeit forty shillings for the first offence, and for every subsequent offence, ten pounds shall be levied by distress.

Divers inconveniences having resulted from the interposition of justices, who, in pursuance of an act of parliament passed in the present reign, assumed the right of establishing rates for the payment of wages to weavers, several petitions wore offered to the house of commons, representing the evil consequences of such an establishment; and although these arguments were answered and opposed in counter-petitions, the commons, actuated by a laudable concern for the interest of the woolen manufacture, after due deliberation, removed the grievance by a new bill, repealing so much of the former act as empowered justices of peace to make rates for the payment of wages. 396 [See note 3 G, at the end of this Vol.] The commons were not more forward to provide supplies for prosecuting the war with vigour, than ready to adopt new regulations for the advantage of trade and manufactures. The society of the free British fishery presented a petition, alleging, that they had employed the sum of one hundred and thirty thousand three hundred and five pounds, eight shillings and sixpence, together with the entire produce of their fish, and all the monies arising from the several branches allowed on the tonnage of their shipping, and on the exportation of their fish, in carrying on the said fishery; and that, from their being obliged, in the infancy of the undertaking, to incur a much larger expense than was at that time foreseen, they now found themselves so far reduced in their capital, as to be utterly incapable of further prosecuting the fisheries with any hope of success, unless indulged with the further assistance of parliament. They prayed, therefore, that, towards enabling them to carry on the said fisheries, they might have liberty to make use of such nets as they should find best adapted to the said fisheries; each buss, nevertheless, carrying to sea the same quantity and depth of netting, which, by the fishery acts, they were then bound to carry: that the bounty of thirty shillings per ton, allowed by the said acts on the vessels employed in the fishery, might be increased; and forasmuch as many of the stock proprietors were unable to advance any further sum for prosecuting this branch of commerce; and others unwilling in the present situation, and under the present restraints, to risk any further sum in the undertaking; that the stock of the society, by the said acts made unalienable, except in case of death or bankruptcy, for a term of years, might forthwith be made transferable; and that the petitioners might be at liberty, between the intervals of the fishing seasons, to employ the busses in such a manner as they should find for the advantage of the society. While the committee was employed in deliberating on the particulars of this remonstrance, another was delivered from the free British fishery chamber of Whitehaven in Cumberland, representing, that as the law then stood, they went to Shetland, and returned at a great expense and loss of time; and while the war continued, durst not stay there to fish, besides being obliged to run the most imminent risks, by going and returning without convoy: that, ever since the institution of the present fishery, experience had fully shown the fishery of Shetland not worth following, as thereby the petitioners had lost two months of a much better fishery in St. George’s channel, within one day’s sail of Whitehaven: they took notice, that the free British fishery society had applied to the house for further assistance and relief; and prayed that Campbelton, in Argyleshire, might be appointed the place of rendezvous for the busses belonging to Whitehaven, for the summer as well as the winter fishery, that they might be enabled to fish with greater advantage. The committee having considered the matter of both petitions, were of opinion that the petitioners should be at liberty to use such nets as they should find best adapted to the white herring fishery: that the bounty of thirty shillings per ton should be augmented to fifty: that the petitioners should be allowed, during the intervals of the fishing seasons, to employ their vessels in any other lawful business, provided they should have been employed in the herring fishery during the proper seasons: that they might use such barrels for packing the fish as they then used, or might hereafter find best adapted for that purpose: that they should have liberty to make use of any waste or uncultivated land, one hundred yards at the least above high water mark, for the purpose of drying their nets; and that Campbelton would be the most proper and convenient place for the rendezvous of the busses belonging to Whitehaven. This last resolution, however, was not inserted in the bill which contained the other five, and in a little time received the royal assent.

ACT FOR IMPORTING AMERICAN IRON DUTY FREE.

Such are the connexions, dependencies, and relations subsisting between the mechanical arts, agriculture, and manufactures of Great Britain, that it requires study, deliberation, and inquiry in the legislature to discern and distinguish the whole scope and consequences of many projects offered for the benefit of the commonwealth. The society of merchant adventurers in the city of Bristol, alleged, in a petition to the house of commons, that great quantities of bar-iron were imported into Great Britain from Sweden, Russia, and other parts, chiefly purchased with ready money, some of which iron was exported again to Africa and other places: and the rest wrought up by the manufacturers. They affirmed that bar-iron, imported from North America, would answer the same purposes; and the importation of it tend not only to the great advantage of the kingdom, by increasing its shipping and navigation, but also to the benefit of the British colonies: that by an act passed in the twenty-third year of his present majesty’s reign, the importation of bar-iron from America into the port of London, duty free, was permitted; but being carried coastwise, or farther by land than ten miles, had been prohibited; so that several very considerable manufacturing towns were deprived of the use of American iron, and the out-ports prevented from employing it in their export commerce: they requested, therefore, that bar-iron might be imported from North America into Great Britain, duty free, by all his majesty’s subjects. This request being reinforced by many other petitions from different parts of the kingdom, other classes of men, who thought their several interests would be affected by such a measure, took the alarm; and, in divers counter-petitions, specified many ill consequences which they alleged would arise from its being enacted into a law. Pamphlets were published on both sides of the question, and violent disputes were kindled upon this subject, which was justly deemed a matter of national importance. The opposers of the bill observed, that large quantities of iron were yearly produced at home, and employed multitudes of poor people, there being no less than one hundred and nine forges in England and Wales, besides those erected in Scotland, the whole producing eighteen thousand tons of iron: that as the mines in Great Britain are inexhaustible, the produce would of late years have been considerably increased, had not the people been kept under continual apprehension of seeing American iron admitted duty free: a supposition which had prevented the traders from extending their works, and discouraged many from engaging in this branch of traffic; they alleged that the iron works, already carried on in England, occasioned a consumption of one hundred and ninety-eight thousand cords of wood, produced in coppices that grow upon barren lands, which could not otherwise be turned to any good account: that as the coppices afford shade, and preserve a moisture in the ground, the pasture is more valuable with the wood, than it would be if the coppices were grubbed up; consequently all the estates, where these now grow, would sink in their yearly value; that these coppices, now cultivated and preserved for the use of the iron works, are likewise absolutely necessary for the manufacture of leather, as they furnish bark for the tanners, and that, according to the management of these coppices, they produced a great number of timber trees, so necessary for the purposes of building. They asserted, that neither the American iron, nor any that had yet been found in Great Britain, was so proper for converting into steel as that which conies from Sweden, particularly that sort called ore ground; but as there are mines in the northern parts of Britain, nearly in the same latitude with those of Sweden, furnished with sufficient quantities of wood, and rivers for mills and engines, it was hardly to be doubted but that people would find metal of the same quality, and, in a few years, be able to prevent the necessity of importing iron either from Sweden or Russia. They inferred that American iron could never interfere with that which Great Britain imported from Sweden, because it was not fit for edged-tools, anchors, chain plates, and other particulars necessary in ship building; nor diminish the importation of Russian iron, which was not only harder than the American and British, but also could be afforded cheaper than that brought from our own plantations, even though the duty of this last should be removed. The importation of American iron, therefore, duty free, could interfere with no other sort but that produced in Britain, with which, by means of this advantage, it would clash so much, as to put a stop in a little time to all the iron works now carried on in the kingdom, and reduce to beggary a great number of families whom they support. To these objections the favourers of the bill solicited replied, that when a manufacture is much more valuable than the rough materials, and these cannot be produced at home in sufficient quantities, and at such a price as is consistent with the preservation of the manufacture, it is the interest of the legislature, to admit a free importation of these materials, even from foreign countries, although it should put an end to the production of that material in this island: that as the neighbours of Great Britain are now more attentive than ever to their commercial interests, and endeavouring to manufacture their rough materials at home, this nation must take every method for lowering the price of materials, otherwise in a few years it will lose the manufacture; and, instead of supplying other countries, be furnished by them with all the fine toys and utensils made of steel and iron; that being in danger of losing not only the manufacture but the produce of iron, unless it can be procured at a cheaper rate than that for which it is sold at present, the only way of attaining this end is by diminishing the duty payable upon the importation of foreign iron, or by rendering it necessary for the undertakers of the iron mines in Great Britain to sell their produce cheaper than it has been for some years afforded; that the most effectual method for this purpose is to raise up a rival, by permitting a free importation of all sorts of iron from the American plantations; that American iron can never be sold so cheap as that of Britain can be afforded; for, in the colonies, labour of all kinds is much dearer than in England: if a man employs his own slaves, he must reckon in his charge a great deal more than the common interest of their purchase money, because, when one of them dies, or escapes from his master, he losses both interest and principal; that the common interest of money in the plantations is considerably higher than in England, consequently no man in that country will employ his money in any branch of trade by which he cannot gain considerably more per cent, than is expected in Great Britain, where the interest is low, and profit moderate; a circumstance which will always give a great advantage to the British miner, who likewise enjoys an exemption from freight and insurance, which lie heavy upon the American adventurer, especially in time of war. With respect to the apprehension of the leather tanners, they observed, that as the coppices generally grew on barren lands, not fit for tillage, and improved the pasturage, no proprietor would be at the expense of grubbing up the wood to spoil the pasture, as he could make no other use of the land on which it was produced. This wood must be always worth something, especially in counties where there is not plenty of coal, and the timber trees would produce considerable advantage; therefore, if there was not one iron mine in Great Britain, no coppice would be grubbed up, unless it grew on a rich soil, which would produce corn instead of cord-wood; consequently, the tanners have nothing to fear, especially as planting hath become a prevailing taste among the landholders of the island. The committee appointed to prepare the bill, seriously weighed and canvassed these arguments, examined disputed facts, and inspected papers and accounts relating to the produce, importation, and manufactory of iron. At length Mr. John Pitt reported to the house their opinion, implying that the liberty granted by an act passed in the twenty-third year of his majesty’s reign, of importing bar-iron from the British colonies in America into the port of London, should be extended to all the other ports of Great Britain; and that so much of that act as related to this clause should be repealed. The house having agreed to these resolutions, and the bill being-brought in accordingly, another petition was presented by several noblemen, gentlemen, freeholders, and other proprietors, owners, and possessors of coppices and woodlands, in the West Biding of Yorkshire, alleging, that a permission to import American bar-iron, duty-free, would be attended with numberless ill consequences both of a public and private nature; specifying certain hardships to which they in particular would be exposed; and praying, that, if the bill should pass, they might be relieved from the pressure of an act passed in the reign of Henry VIII. obliging the owners of coppice woods to preserve them, under severe penalties; and be permitted to fell and grub up their coppice woods, in order to a more proper cultivation of the soil, without being restrained by the fear of malicious and interested prosecutions. In consequence of this remonstrance, a clause was added to the bill, repealing so much of the act of Henry VIII. as prohibited the conversion of coppice or under-woods into pasture or tillage; then it passed through both houses, and received the royal sanction. As there was not time, after this affair came upon the carpet, to obtain any new accounts from America, and as it was thought necessary to know the quantities of iron made in that country, the house presented an address to his majesty, desiring he would be pleased to give directions that there should be laid before them, in the next session of parliament, an account of the quantity of iron made in the American colonies, from Christmas, in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, to the fifth day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, each year being distinguished.

REGULATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE IMPORTATION OF SILK.

From this important object, the parliament converted its attention to a regulation of a much more private nature. In consequence of a petition by the lord-mayor, aldermen, and commons of the city of London, a bill was brought in, and passed into a law without opposition, for the more effectual preservation and improvement of the fry and spawn of fish in the river Thames, and waters of Medway, and for the better regulating the fishery in those rivers. The two next measures taken for the benefit of the public were, first, a bill to render more effectual the several laws then in being, for the amendment and preservation of the highways and turnpike-roads of the kingdom; the other for the more effectually preventing the spreading of the contagious distemper which, at that time, raged among the horned cattle. A third arose from the distress of poor silk manufacturers, who were destitute of employment, and deprived of all means of subsisting, through the interruption of the Levant trade; occasioned by the war, and the delay of the merchant ships from Italy. In order to remedy this inconvenience, a bill was prepared, enacting, that any person might import from any place, in any ship or vessel whatsoever, till the first day of December, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, organzine thrown silk of the growth or production of Italy, to be brought to the custom-house of London, wheresoever landed; but that no Italian thrown silk, coarser than Bologna, nor any tram of the growth of Italy, nor any other thrown silk of the growth or production of Turkey, Persia, East Indies, or China, should be imported by this act, under the penalty of the forfeiture thereof. Notwithstanding several petitions, presented by the merchants, owners, and commanders of ships, and others trading to Leghorn, and other ports of Italy, as well as by the importers and manufacturers of raw silks, representing the evil consequences that would probably attend the passing of such a bill, the parliament agreed to this temporary deviation from the famous act of navigation, for a present supply to the poor manufacturers.

The next civil regulation established in this session of parliament was in itself judicious, and, had it been more earnestly suggested, might have been more beneficial to the public. In order to discourage the practice of smuggling, and prevent the desperadoes concerned therein from enlisting in the service of the enemy, a law was passed, enacting, that every person who had been, before the first of May in the present year, guilty of illegally running, concealing, receiving, or carrying any wool, or prohibited goods, or any foreign commodities liable to duties, the same not having been paid or secured; or of aiding therein, or had been found with fire-arms or weapons, in order to be aiding to such offenders; or had been guilty of receiving such goods after seizure; or of any act whatsoever, whereby persons might be deemed runners of foreign goods; or of hindering, wounding, or beating any officer in the execution of his duty, or assisting therein,—should be indemnified from all such offences, concerning which no suit should then have been commenced, or composition made, on condition that he should, before being apprehended or prosecuted, and before the first day of December, enter himself with some commissioned officer of his majesty’s fleet, to serve as a common sailor; and should, for three years from such entry, unless sooner duly discharged, actually serve and do duty in that station, and register his name, &c, with the clerk of the peace of the county where he resided, as the act prescribes. An attempt was made in favour of the seamen employed in the navy, who had been very irregularly paid, and subject to grievous hardships in consequence of this irregularity. Mr. Grenville, brother to earl Temple, moved for leave to bring in a bill for the encouragement of seamen employed in his majesty’s navy, and for establishing a regular method for the punctual, speedy, and certain payment of their wages, as well as for rescuing them from the arts and frauds of imposition. The proposal was corroborated by divers petitions: the bill was prepared, read, printed, and, after it had undergone some amendment, passed into the house of lords, where it was encountered with several objections, and dropped for this session of parliament.

INQUIRY INTO THE SCARCITY OF CORN.

The house of commons being desirous of preventing, for the future, such distresses as the poor had lately undergone, appointed a committee to consider of proper provisions to restrain the price of corn and bread within due bounds for the future. For this purpose they were empowered to send for persons, papers, and records; and it was resolved, that all who attended the committee should have voices. Having inquired into the causes of the late scarcity, they agreed to several resolutions, and a bill was brought in to explain and amend the laws against regraters, forestalled, and engrossers of corn. The committee also received instructions to inquire into the abuses of millers, mealmen, and bakers, with regard to bread, and to consider of proper methods to prevent them in the sequel; but no further progress was made in this important affair, which was the more interesting, as the lives of individuals, in a great measure, depended upon a speedy reformation; for the millers and bakers were said to have adulterated their flour with common whiting, lime, bone ashes, alum, and other ingredients pernicious to the human constitution; a consummation of villany for which no adequate punishment could be inflicted. Among the measures proposed in parliament which did not succeed, one of the most remarkable was a bill prepared by Mr. Rose Fuller, Mr. Charles Townshend, and Mr. Banks, to explain, amend, and render more effectual a law passed in the reign of king William the Third, intituled,

“An act to punish governors of plantations, in this kingdom, for crimes committed by them in the plantation.” This bill was proposed in consequence of some complaints, specifying acts of cruelty, folly, and oppression, by which some British governors had been lately distinguished; but, before the bill could be brought in, the parliament was prorogued.

INVESTIGATION OF THE LOSS OF MINORCA.

But no step taken by the house of commons, in the course of this session, was more interesting to the body of the people than the inquiry into the loss of Minorca, which had excited such loud and universal clamour. By addresses to the king, unanimously voted, the commons requested that his majesty would give directions for laying before them copies of all the letters and papers containing any intelligence received by the secretaries of state, the commissioners of the admiralty, or any others of his majesty’s ministers, in relation to the equipment of the French fleet at Toulon, or the designs of the French on Minorca, or any other of his majesty’s possessions in Europe, since the first day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, to the first day of August, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six. They likewise desired to peruse a list of the ships of war that were equipped and made ready for sea, from the first of August, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, to the thirtieth day of April in the following year; with the copies of all sailing orders sent to the commanders during that period; as also the state and condition of his majesty’s ships in the several ports of Great Britain at the time of admiral Byng’s departure, with the squadron under his command, for the relief of fort St. Philip, during the period of time above-mentioned, according to the monthly returns made by the admiralty, with the number of seamen mustered and borne aboard the respective ships. They demanded copies of all orders and instructions given to that admiral, and of letters written to and received from him, during his continuance in that command, either by the secretaries of state, or lords of the admiralty, relating to the condition of his squadron, and to the execution of his orders. In a word, they required the inspection of all papers which could, in any manner, tend to explain the loss of Minorca, and the miscarriage of Mr. Byng’s squadron. His majesty complied with every article of their request: the papers were presented to the house, ordered to lie upon the table for the perusal of the members, and finally referred to the consideration of a committee of the whole house. In the course of their deliberations they addressed his majesty for more information, till at length the truth seemed to be smothered under such an enormous burden of papers, as the efforts of a whole session could not have properly removed. Indeed, many discerning persons without doors began to despair of seeing the mystery unfolded, as soon as the inquiry was undertaken by a committee of the whole house. They observed, that an affair of such a dark, intricate, and suspicious nature, ought to have been referred to a select and secret committee, chosen by ballot, empowered to send for persons, papers, and records, and to examine witnesses in the most solemn and deliberate manner; that the names of the committee ought to have been published for the satisfaction of the people, who could have judged, with some certainty, whether the inquiry would be carried on with such impartiality as the national misfortune required. They suspected that this reference to a committee of the whole house was a mal-contrivance, to prevent a regular and minute investigation, to introduce confusion and contest, to puzzle, perplex, and obumbrate; to teaze, fatigue, and disgust the inquirers, that the examination might be hurried over in a superficial and perfunctory manner; and the ministry, from this anarchy and confusion of materials, half explored and undigested, derive a general parliamentary approbation, to which they might appeal from the accusations of the people. A select committee would have probably examined some of the clerks of the respective offices, that they might certainly know whether any letters or papers had been suppressed, whether the extracts had been faithfully made, and whether there might not be papers of intelligence, which, though proper to be submitted to a select and secret committee, could not, consistently with the honour of the nation, be communicated to a committee of the whole house. Indeed, it does not appear that the ministers had any foreign intelligence or correspondence that could be much depended upon in any matter of national importance, and no evidence was examined on the occasion; a circumstance the less to be regretted, as, in times past, evil ministers have generally found means to render such inquiries ineffectual; and the same arts would, at any rate, have operated with the same efficacy, had a secret committee been employed at this juncture. Be that as it may, several resolutions were reported from the committee, though some of them were not carried by the majority without violent dispute and severe altercation. The first and last of their resolutions require particular notice. By the former, it appeared to the committee, that his majesty, from the twenty-seventh day of August, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, to the twentieth day of April in the succeeding year, received such repeated and concurrent intelligence, as gave just reason to believe that the French king intended to invade his dominions of Great Britain or Ireland. In the latter they declared their opinion, that no greater number of ships of war could be sent into the Mediterranean, than were actually sent thither under the command of admiral Byng; nor any greater reinforcement than the regiment which was sent, and the detachment, equal to a battalion, which was ordered to the relief of fort St. Philip, consistently with the state of the navy, and the various services essential to the safety of his majesty’s dominions, and the interest of his subjects. It must have been something more powerful than ordinary conviction that suggested these opinions. Whatever reports might have been circulated by the French ministry, in order to amuse, intimidate, and detach the attention of the English government from America and the Mediterranean, where they really intended to exert themselves, yet, the circumstances of the two nations being considered, one would think there could have been no just grounds to fear an invasion of Great Britain or Ireland, especially when other intelligence seemed to point out much more probable scenes of action. But the last resolution is still more incomprehensible to those who know not exactly the basis on which it was raised. The number of ships of war in actual commission amounted to two hundred and fifty, having on board fifty thousand seamen and marines. Intelligence and repeated information of the French design upon Minorca had been conveyed to the ministry of England, about six months before it was put in execution. Is it credible, that in all this time the nation could not equip or spare above eleven ships of the line and six frigates, to save the important island of Minorca? Is it easy to conceive, that from a standing army of fifty thousand men, one regiment of troops could not have been detached to reinforce a garrison, well known to be insufficient for the works it was destined to defend? To persons of common intellects it appeared, that intelligence of the armament at Toulon was conveyed to the admiralty as early as the month of September, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five, with express notice that it would consist of twelve ships of the line: that the design against Minorca was communicated as early as the twenty-seventh day of August, by consul Banks, of Carthagena; confirmed by letters from consul Bertes, at Genoa, dated on the seventeenth and twenty-sixth of January, and received by Mr. Fox, secretary of state, on the fourth and eleventh of February, as well as by many subsequent intimations; that, notwithstanding these repeated advices, even after hostilities had commenced in Europe, when the garrison of Minorca amounted to no more than four incomplete regiments, and one company of artillery, forty-two officers being absent, and the place otherwise unprovided for a siege, when the Mediterranean squadron, commanded by Mr. Edgecumbe, consisted of two ships of the line, and five frigates; neither stores, ammunition, or provisions, the absent officers belonging to the garrison, recruits for the regiments, though ready raised, miners, nor any additional troops, were sent to the island, nor the squadron augmented, till admiral Byng sailed from Spithead on the sixth day of April, with no more ships of the line than, by the most early and authentic intelligence, the government were informed would sail from Toulon, even when Mr. Byng should have been joined by commodore Edgecumbe; a junction upon which no dependence ought to have been laid; that this squadron contained no troops but such as belonged to the four regiments in garrison, except one battalion to serve in the fleet as marines, unless we include the order for another to be embarked at Gibraltar; which order was neither obeyed nor understood: that, considering the danger to which Minorca was exposed, and the forwardness of the enemy’s preparations at Toulon, admiral Osborne, with thirteen ships of the line and one frigate, who returned on the sixteenth of February, after having convoyed a fleet of merchant ships, might have been detached to Minorca, without hazarding the coast of Great Britain; for at that time, exclusive of this squadron, there were eight ships of the line and thirty-two frigates ready manned, and thirty-two ships of the line and five frigates almost equipped; that admiral Hawke was sent with fourteen ships of the line and one frigate to cruise in the bay of Biscay, after repeated intelligence had been received that the French fleet had sailed for the West Indies, and the eleven ships remaining at Brest and Rochefort were in want of hands and cannon, so that they could never serve to cover any embarkation or descent, consequently Mr. Hawke’s squadron might have been spared for the relief of Minorca; that, instead of attending to this important object, the admiralty, on the eighth day of March, sent two ships of the line and three frigates to intercept a coasting convoy off Cape Barfleur: on the eleventh of the same month they detached two ships of the line to the West Indies, and on the nineteenth two more to North America, where they could be of little immediate service; on the twenty-third, two of the line and three frigates a convoy-hunting off Cherbourg; and on the first of April five ships of the line, including three returned from this last service, to reinforce sir Edward Hawke, already too strong for the French fleet bound to Canada; that all these ships might have been added to Mr. Byng’s squadron, without exposing Great Britain or Ireland to any hazard of invasion: that at length Mr. Byng was detached with ten great ships only, and even denied a frigate to repeat signals, for which he petitioned; although at that very time there were in port, exclusive of his squadron, seventeen ships of the line and thirteen frigates ready for sea, besides eleven of the line and nineteen frigates almost equipped. From these and other circumstances, particularized and urged with great vivacity, many individuals inferred, that a greater number of ships might have been detached to the Mediterranean than were actually sent with admiral Byng; that the not sending an earlier and stronger force was one great cause of Minorca’s being lost, and co-operated with the delay of the ministry in sending thither reinforcements of troops, their neglect in suffering the officers of the garrison to continue absent from their duty, and their omitting to give orders for raising miners to serve in the fortress of Mahon.

EXAMINATION of the AMERICAN CONTRACT.

The next inquiry in which the house of commons engaged, related to the contracts for victualling the forces in America, which were supposed by some patriots to be fraudulent and unconscionable. This suspicion arose from an ambiguous expression, on which the contractor being interrogated by the committee appointed to examine the particulars, he prudently interpreted it in such a manner, as to screen himself from the resentment of the legislature. The house, therefore, resolved that the contract entered into on the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, by the commissioners of the treasury, with William Baker, Christopher Kilby, and Richard Baker, of London, merchants, for furnishing provisions to the forces under the command of the earl of Loudon, was prudent and necessary, and properly adapted to the securing a constant and effectual supply for those forces in America.

INQUIRY INTO THE CONDUCT OF ADMIRAL KNOWLES, &c.

The preceding session an address had been presented to the king by the house of commons, desiring his majesty would give orders for laying before them several papers relating to disputes which had lately happened between his excellency Charles Knowles, esq., and some of the principal inhabitants of the island of Jamaica. This governor was accused of many illegal, cruel, and arbitrary acts, during the course of his administration; but these imputations he incurred by an exertion of power, which was in itself laudable, and well intended for the commercial interest of the island. This was his changing the seat of government, and procuring an act of assembly for removing the several laws, records, books, papers, and writings belonging to several offices in that island, from Spanish Town to Kingston; and for obliging the several officers to keep their offices, and hold a supreme court of judicature, at this last place, to which he had moved the seat of government. Spanish Town, otherwise called St. Jago de la Vega, the old capital, was an inconsiderable inland place, of no security, trade, or importance; whereas Kingston was the centre of commerce, situated on the side of a fine harbour filled with ships, well secured from the insults of an enemy, large, wealthy, and flourishing. Here the merchants dwell, and ship the greatest part of the sugars that grow upon the island. They found it extremely inconvenient and expensive to take out their clearances at Spanish Town, which stands at a considerable distance; and the same inconvenience and expense being felt by the rest of the inhabitants, who had occasion to prosecute suits at law, or attend the assembly of the island, they joined in representations to the governor, requesting, that, in consideration of these inconveniences, added to that of the weakness of Spanish Town and the importance of Kingston, the seat of government might be removed. He complied with their request, and in so doing entailed upon himself the hatred and resentment of certain powerful planters, who possessed estates in and about the old town of St. Jago de la Vega, thus deserted. This seems to have been the real source of the animosity and clamour incurred by Mr. Knowles, against whom a petition, signed by nineteen members of the assembly, had been sent to England, and presented to his majesty.—In the two sessions preceding this year, the affair had been brought into the house of commons, where this governor’s character was painted in frightful colours, and divers papers relating to the dispute were examined. Mr. Knowles having by this time returned to England, the subject of his administration was revived, and referred to a committee of the whole house. In the meantime, petitions were presented by several merchants of London and Liverpool, concerned in the trade to Jamaica, alleging, that the removal of the public courts, offices, and records of the island of Jamaica to Kingston, and fixing the seat of government there, had been productive of many important advantages, by rendering the strength of the island more formidable, the property of the traders and inhabitants more secure, and the prosecution of all commercial business more expeditious and less expensive than formerly; therefore, praying that the purposes of the act passed in Jamaica for that end might be carried into effectual execution, in such manner as the house should think proper. The committee, having examined a great number of papers, agreed to some resolutions, importing, that a certain resolution of the assembly of Jamaica, dated on the twenty-ninth day of October, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-three, implying a claim of right in that assembly to raise and apply public money without the consent of the governor and council, was illegal, repugnant to the terms of his majesty’s commission to his governor of the said island, and derogatory of the rights of the crown and people of Great Britain; that the six last resolutions taken in the assembly of Jamaica, on the twenty-ninth day of October, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-three, proceeded on a manifest misapprehension of the king’s instruction to his governor, requiring him not to give his assent to any bill of an unusual or extraordinary nature and importance, wherein his majesty’s prerogative, or the property of his subjects, might be prejudiced, or the trade or shipping of the kingdom any-ways affected, unless there should be a clause inserted, suspending the execution of such bill until his majesty’s pleasure should be known; that such instruction was just and necessary, and no alteration of the constitution of the island, nor any way derogatory to the rights of the subjects in Jamaica. From these resolutions the reader may perceive the nature of the dispute which had arisen between the people of Jamaica and their governor, vice-admiral Knowles, whose conduct on this occasion seems to have been justified by the legislature. The parliament, however, forebore to determine the question, whether the removal of the courts of judicature from Spanish Town to Kingston was a measure calculated for the interest of the island in general.

RESOLUTIONS concerning MILFORD-HAVEN.

The last object which we shall mention, as having fallen under the cognizance of the commons during this session of parliament, was the state of Milford-haven on the coast of Wales, one of the most capacious, safe, and commodious harbours in Great Britain. Here the country affords many conveniences for building ships of war, and erecting forts, docks, quays, and magazines. It might be fortified at a very small expense, so as to be quite secure from any attempts of the enemy, and rendered by far the most useful harbour in the kingdom for fleets, cruisers, trading ships, and packet boats, bound to and from the westward; for from hence they may put sea almost with any wind, and even at low water; they may weather Scilly and Cape Clear when no vessel can stir from the British channel, or out of the French ports of Brest and Rochefort, and as a post can travel from hence in three days to London, it might become the centre of very useful sea intelligence. A petition from several merchants in London was presented, and recommended to the house in a message from the king, specifying the advantages of this harbour, and the small expense at which it might be fortified, and praying that the house would take this important subject into consideration. Accordingly, a committee was appointed for this purpose, with power to send for persons, papers, and records and every circumstance relating to it was examined with accuracy and deliberation. At length the report being made to the house by Mr. Charles Townshend, they unanimously agreed to an address, representing to his majesty, that many great losses had been sustained by the trade of the kingdom, in time of war, from the want of a safe harbour on the western coast of the island, for the reception and protection of merchants’ ships, and sending out cruisers; that the harbour of Milford-haven, in the county of Pembroke, is most advantageously situated, and if properly defended and secured, in every respect adapted to the answering those important purposes; they, therefore, humbly besought his majesty, that he would give immediate directions for erecting batteries, with proper cover, on the sides of the said harbour, in the most convenient places for guarding the entrance called Hubber-stone-road, and also such other fortifications as might be necessary to secure the interior parts of the harbour, and that, until such batteries and fortifications could be completed, some temporary defence might be provided for the immediate protection of the ships and vessels lying in the said harbour; finally, they assured him the house would make good to his majesty all such expenses as should be incurred for these purposes. The address met with a gracious reception, and a promise that such directions should be given. The harbour was actually surveyed, the places were pitched upon for batteries, and the estimates prepared, but no further progress hath since been made.

SESSION CLOSED.

We have now finished the detail of all the material transactions of this session, except what relates to the fate of admiral Byng, which now claims our attention. In the meantime, we may observe, that on the fourth day of July the session was closed with his majesty’s harangue, the most remarkable and pleasing paragraph of which turned upon his royal assurance, that the succour and preservation of his dominions in America had been his constant care, and, next to the security of his kingdoms, should continue to be his great and principal object. He told them he had taken such measures as, he trusted, by the blessing of God, might effectually disappoint the designs of the enemy in those parts; that he had no further view but to vindicate the just rights of his crown and subjects from the most injurious encroachments; to preserve tranquillity, as far as the circumstances of things might admit; to prevent the true friends of Britain, and the liberties of Europe, from being oppressed and endangered by any unprovoked and unnatural conjunction.

TRIAL OF ADMIRAL BYNG.

Of all the transactions that distinguished this year, the most extraordinary was the sentence executed on admiral Byng, the son of that great officer who had acquired such honour by his naval exploits in the preceding reign, and was ennobled for his services by the title of lord viscount Torrington. His second son, John Byng, had from his earliest youth been trained to his father’s profession; and was generally esteemed one of the best officers in the navy, when he embarked in that expedition to Minorca, which covered his character with disgrace, and even exposed him to all the horrors of an ignominious death. On the twenty-eighth day of December his trial began before a court-martial, held on board the ship St. George, in the harbour of Portsmouth, to which place Mr. Byng had been conveyed from Greenwich by a party of horse-guards, and insulted by the populace in every town and village through which he passed. The court having proceeded to examine the evidences for the crown and the prisoner, from day to day, in the course of a long sitting, agreed unanimously to thirty-seven resolutions, implying their opinion, that admiral Byng, during the engagement between the British and French fleets, on the twentieth day of May last, did not do his utmost endeavour to take, seize, and destroy the ships of the French king, which it was his duty to have engaged, and to assist such of his majesty’s ships as were engaged, which it was his duty to have assisted; and that he did not exert his utmost-power for the relief of St. Philip’s castle. They, therefore, unanimously agreed that he fell under part of the twelfth article of an act of parliament passed in the twenty-second year of the present reign, for amending, explaining, and reducing into one act of parliament, the laws relating to the government of his majesty’s ships, vessels, and forces by sea; and as that article positively prescribed death, without any alternative left to the discretion of the court under any variation of circumstances, they unanimously adjudged the said admiral John Byng to be shot to death, at such time, and on board of such ship, as the lords commissioners of the admiralty should please to direct. But as it appeared, by the evidence of the officers who were near the admiral’s person, that no backwardness was perceivable in him during the action, nor any mark of fear or confusion either in his countenance or behaviour; but that he delivered his orders coolly and distinctly, without seeming deficient in personal courage; and, from other circumstances, they believed his misconduct did not arise either from cowardice or disaffection, they unanimously and earnestly recommended him as a proper object of mercy. The admiral himself behaved through the whole trial with the most cheerful composure, seemingly the effect of conscious innocence, upon which, perhaps, he too much relied. Even after he heard the evidence examined against him, and finished his own defence, he laid his account in being honourably acquitted; and ordered his coach to be ready for conveying him directly from the tribunal to London. A gentleman, his friend, by whom he was attended, having received intimation of the sentence to be pronounced, thought it his duty to prepare him for the occasion, that he might summon all his fortitude to his assistance, and accordingly made him acquainted with the information he had received. The admiral gave tokens of surprise and resentment, but betrayed no marks of fear or disorder, either then or in the court when the sentence was pronounced. On the contrary, while divers members of the court-martial manifested grief, anxiety, and trepidation, shedding tears, and sighing with extraordinary emotion, he heard his doom denounced without undergoing the least alteration of feature, and made a low obeisance to the president and the other members of the court, as he retired.

The officers who composed this tribunal were so sensible of the law’s severity, that they unanimously subscribed a letter to the board of admiralty containing this remarkable paragraph:—“We cannot help laying the distresses of our minds before your lordships on this occasion, in finding ourselves under necessity of condemning a man to death, from the great severity of the twelfth article of war, part of which he falls under, which admits of no mitigation if the crime should be committed by an error in judgment; and, therefore, for our own consciences’ sake, as well as in justice to the prisoner, we pray your lordships, in the most earnest manner, to recommend him to his majesty’s clemency.” The lords of the admiralty, instead of complying with the request of the court-martial, transmitted their letter to the king, with copies of their proceedings, and a letter from themselves to his majesty, specifying a doubt with regard to the legality of the sentence, as the crime of negligence, for which the admiral had been condemned, was not expressed in any part of the proceedings. At the same time, copies of two petitions from George lord viscount Torrington, in behalf of his kinsman admiral Byng, were submitted to his majesty’s royal wisdom and determination. All the friends and relations of the unhappy convict employed and exerted their influence and interest for his pardon; and, as the circumstances had appeared so strong in his favour, it was supposed that the sceptre of royal mercy would be extended for his preservation; but infamous arts were used to whet the savage appetite of the populace for blood. The cry of vengeance was loud throughout the land: sullen clouds of suspicion and malevolence interposing, were said to obstruct the genial beams of the best virtue that adorns the throne; and the sovereign was given to understand, that the execution of admiral Byng was a victim absolutely necessary to appease the fury of the people. His majesty, in consequence of the representation made by the lords of the admiralty, referred the sentence to the consideration of the twelve judges, who were unanimously of opinion that the sentence was legal. This report being transmitted from the privy-council to the admiralty, their lordships issued a warrant for executing the sentence of death on the twenty-eighth day of February. One gentleman at the board, however, refused to subscribe the warrant, assigning for his refusal the reasons which we have inserted by way of note, for the satisfaction of the reader. 401 [See note 3 H, at the end of this Vol.]

Though mercy was denied to the criminal, the crown seemed determined to do nothing that should be thought inconsistent with law. A member of parliament, who had sat upon the court-martial at Portsmouth, rose up in his place, and made application to the house of commons in behalf of himself and several other members of that tribunal, praying the aid of the legislature to be released from the oath of secrecy imposed on courts-martial, that they might disclose the grounds on which sentence of death had passed on admiral Byng, and, perhaps, discover such circumstances as might show the sentence to be improper. Although this application produced no resolution in the house, the king, on the twenty-sixth day of February, sent a message to the commons by Mr. Secretary Pitt, importing, that, though he had determined to let the law take its course with relation to admiral Byng, and resisted all solicitations to the contrary, yet, as a member of the house had expressed some scruples about the sentence, his majesty had thought fit to respite the execution of it, that there might be an opportunity of knowing, by the separate examination of the members of the court-martial, upon oath, what grounds there were for such scruples, and that his majesty was resolved still to let the sentence be carried into execution, unless it should appear from the said examination, that admiral Byng was unjustly condemned. The sentence might be strictly legal, and, at the same time very severe, according to the maxim, summum jus, summa injuria. In such cases, and perhaps in such cases only, the rigour of the law ought to be softened by the lenient hand of the royal prerogative. That this was the case of admiral Byng appears from the warm and eager intercession of his jury, a species of intercession which hath generally, if not always, prevailed at the foot of the throne, when any thing favourable for the criminal had appeared in the course of the trial. How much more then might it have been expected to succeed, when earnestly urged as a case of conscience, in behalf of a man whom his judges had expressly acquitted of cowardice and treachery, the only two imputations that rendered him criminal in the eyes of the nation! Such an interposition of the crown in parliamentary transactions was irregular, unnecessary, and at another juncture might have been productive of violent heats and declamation. At present, however, it passed without censure, as the effect of inattention, rather than a design to encroach upon the privileges of the house.

BILL TO RELEASE THE MEMBERS OF THE COURT-MARTIAL, &c

The message being communicated, a bill was immediately brought in, to release the members of the court-martial from the obligation of secrecy, and passed through the lower house without opposition; but in the house of lords it appeared to be destitute of a proper foundation. They sent a message to the commons, desiring them to give leave that such of the members of the court-martial as were members of that house might attend their lordships, in order to be examined on the second reading of the bill; accordingly they, and the rest of the court-martial, attended, and answered all questions without hesitation. As they did not insist upon any excuse, nor produce any satisfactory reason for showing that the man they had condemned was a proper object of mercy, their lordships were of opinion that there was no occasion for passing any such bill, which, therefore, they almost unanimously rejected. It is not easy to conceive what stronger reasons could be given for proving Mr. Byng an object of mercy, than those mentioned in the letter sent to the board of admiralty by the members of the court-martial, who were empowered to try the imputed offence, consequently must have been deemed well qualified to judge of his conduct.

EXECUTION OF ADMIRAL BYNG.

The unfortunate admiral being thus abandoned to the stroke of justice, prepared himself for death with resignation and tranquillity. He maintained a surprising cheerfulness to the last; nor did he, from his condemnation to his execution, exhibit the least sign of impatience or apprehension. During that interval he had remained on board of the Monarque, a third-rate ship of war, anchored in the harbour of Portsmouth, under a strong guard, in custody of the marshal of the admiralty. On the fourteenth of March, the day fixed for his execution, the boats belonging to the squadron at Spithead being manned and armed, containing their captains and officers, with a detachment of marines, attended this solemnity in the harbour, which was also crowded with an infinite number of other boats and vessels filled with spectators. About noon, the admiral having taken leave of a clergyman, and two friends who accompanied him, walked out of the great cabin to the quarter-deck, where two files of marines were ready to execute the sentence. He advanced with a firm deliberate step, a composed and resolute countenance, and resolved to suffer with his face uncovered, until his friends, representing that his looks would possibly intimidate the soldiers, and prevent their taking aim properly, he submitted to their request, threw his hat on the deck, kneeled on a cushion, tied one white handkerchief over his eyes, and dropped the other as a signal for his executioners, who fired a volley so decisive, that five balls passed through his body, and he dropped down dead in an instant. The time in which this tragedy was acted, from his walking out of the cabin to his being deposited in the coffin, did not exceed three minutes.

Thus fell, to the astonishment of all Europe, admiral John Byng; who, whatever his errors and indiscretions might have been, seems to have been rashly condemned, meanly given up, and cruelly sacrificed to vile considerations. The sentiments of his own fate he avowed on the verge of eternity, when there was no longer any cause of dissimulation, in the following declaration, which, immediately before his death, he delivered to the marshal of the admiralty: “A few moments will now deliver me from the virulent persecution, and frustrate the further malice of my enemies: nor need I envy them a life subject to the sensations my injuries, and the injustice done me, must create. Persuaded I am, that justice will be done to my reputation hereafter: the manner and cause of raising and keeping up the popular clamour and prejudice against me, will be seen through. I shall be considered (as I now perceive myself) a victim destined to divert the indignation and resentment of an injured and deluded people from the proper objects. My enemies themselves must now think me innocent. Happy for me, at this my last moment, that I know my own innocence, and am conscious that no part of my country’s misfortunes can be owing to me. I heartily wish the shedding my blood may contribute to the happiness and service of my country; but cannot resign my just claim to a faithful discharge of my duty according to the best of my judgment, and the utmost exertion of my ability for his majesty’s honour, and my country’s service. I am sorry that my endeavours were not attended with more success, and that the armament under my command proved too weak to succeed in an expedition of such moment. Truth has prevailed over calumny and falsehood, and justice has wiped off the ignominious stain of my supposed want of personal courage, and the charge of disaffection. My heart acquits me of these crimes; but who can be presumptuously sure of his own judgment? If my crime is an error in judgment, or differing in opinion from my judges, and if yet the error in judgment should be on their side, God forgive them, as I do; and may the distress of their minds, and uneasiness of their consciences, which in justice to me they have represented, be relieved, and subside as my resentment has done. The supreme judge sees all hearts and motives, and to him I must submit the justice of my cause.”

REMARKS ON ADMIRAL BYNG’S FATE.

Notwithstanding all that has been said in his favour, notwithstanding the infamous arts that were practised to keep up the cry against him, notwithstanding this solemn appeal to heaven in his last moments, and even self-conviction of innocence, the character of admiral Byng, in point of personal courage, will still, with many people, remain problematical. They will still be of opinion, that if the spirit of a British admiral had been properly exerted, the French fleet would have been defeated, and Minorca relieved. A man’s opinion of danger varies at different times, in consequence of an irregular tide of animal spirits, and he is actuated by considerations which he dares not avow. After an officer, thus influenced, has hesitated or kept aloof in the hour of trial, the mind, eager for its own justification, assembles, with surprising industry, every favourable circumstance of excuse, and broods over them with parental partiality, until it becomes not only satisfied, but even enamoured of their beauty and complexion, like a doating mother, blind to the deformity of her own offspring. Whatever Mr. Byng’s internal feelings might have been, whatever consequences might have attended his behaviour on that occasion; as the tribunal before which he was tried acquitted him expressly of cowardice and treachery, he was, without all doubt, a proper object for royal clemency; and so impartial posterity will judge him, after all those dishonourable motives of faction and of fear, by which his fate was influenced, shall be lost in oblivion, or remembered with disdain. The people of Great Britain, naturally fierce, impatient, and clamorous, have been too much indulged, upon every petty miscarriage, with trials, courts-martial, and dismissions, which tend only to render their military commanders rash and precipitate, the populace more licentious and intractable, and to disgrace the national character in the opinion of mankind.

CHAPTER XIII.

Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge taken into the Administration..... Obliged to resign..... Restored to their Employments..... Coalition of Parties..... Descent on the Coast of France meditated..... Command of the Fleet given to Sir Edward Hawke, and of the Land-Forces to Sir John. Mordaunt..... Fleet sails September 8..... Admiral Knowles sent to take Aix..... Attack and Surrender of Aix..... A Descent resolved on..... The Fleet returns to Spithead..... His Majesty appoints a Board of Inquiry into the Reasons of the Fleet’s Return..... Proceedings of the Court of Inquiry..... Its Report..... Sir John Mordaunt tried by a Court-Martial, and acquitted..... Fleets sent to the East and West Indies..... Success of the English Privateers..... Riots occasioned by the Price of Corn..... Operations in America..... Lord Loudon’s Conduct in America..... Fort William-Henry taken by the French..... Naval Transactions in America..... Attempt of M. de Kersin on Cape Coast Castle in Africa..... State of Affairs in the East Indies..... Calcutta recovered..... The Suba’s Camp forced, and a new Treaty concluded with him..... Reduction, of Chandernagore..... Colonel Clive defeats the Suba at Plaissey, who is afterwards deposed and put to Death..... King of France assassinated..... Tortures inflicted on the Assassin..... Changes in the French Ministry..... State of the Confederacy against the King of Prussia..... Precautions taken by his Prussian Majesty..... Skirmishes between the Prussians and Austrians..... Neutrality of the Emperor, and Behaviour of the Dutch..... The French take Possession of several Towns in the Low Countries belonging to the King of Prussia..... Declaration of the Czarina against the King of Prussia..... Factions in Poland..... Fruitless Endeavours of the English to restore the Tranquillity of Germany..... King of Prussia enters Bohemia..... Prince of Bevern defeats the Austrians at Richenberg..... King of Prussia obtains a complete Victory over the Austrians near Prague..... Mareschal Schwerin killed..... Prague invested..... and bombarded..... Brave defence of the Besieged..... Count Daun takes the Command of the Austrian Army..... His Character..... King of Prussia defeated at Kolin..... He raises the Siege of Prague, and quits Bohemia..... Preparations for the Defence of Hanover..... The allied Army assembles under the Duke of Cumberland..... Skirmishes with the French..... Duke of Cumberland passes the Weser..... The French follow him, and take Minden and Emden, and lay Hanover under Contribution..... Battle of Hastenbeck..... The French take Hamelen..... Duke de Richelieu supersedes Mareschal d’Etrées in the Command of the French Army..... The French take Possession of Hanover and Hesse-Cassel..... and reduce Verden and Bremen..... Duke of Cumberland signs the Convention of Closter-Seven

MR. PITT AND MR. LEGGE TAKEN INTO THE ADMINISTRATION.

Though the parliament of Great Britain unanimously concurred in strengthening the hands of government for a vigorous prosecution of the war, those liberal supplies had like to have proved ineffectual through a want of harmony in her councils. In the course of the last year the clamorous voice of dissatisfaction had been raised by a series of disappointments and miscarriages, which were imputed to want of intelligence, sagacity, and vigour in the administration. The defeat of Braddock, the reduction of Oswego, and other forts in America, the delay of armaments, the neglect of opportunities, ineffectual cruises, absurd dispositions of fleets and squadrons, the disgrace in the Mediterranean, and the loss of Minorca, were numbered among the misfortunes that flowed from the crude designs of a weak dispirited ministry; and the prospect of their acquiescing in a continental war brought them still farther in contempt and detestation with the body of the people. In order to conciliate the good-will of those whom their conduct had disobliged, to acquire a fresh stock of credit with their fellow-subjects, and remove from their own shoulders part of what future censure might ensue, they admitted into a share of the administration a certain set of gentlemen, remarkable for their talents and popularity, headed by Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge, esteemed the two most illustrious patriots of Great Britain, alike distinguished and admired for their unconquerable spirit and untainted integrity. The former of these was appointed secretary of state, and the other chancellor of the exchequer; and their friends were vested with other honourable though subordinate offices.

So far the people were charmed with the promotion of individuals, upon whose virtues and abilities they had the most perfect reliance; but these new ingredients would never thoroughly mix with the old leaven. The administration became an emblem of the image that Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream, the leg was of iron, and the foot was of clay. The old junta found their new associates very unfit for their purposes. They could neither persuade, cajole, nor intimidate them into measures which they thought repugnant to the true interest of their country. The new ministers combated in council every such plan, however patronised; they openly opposed in parliament every design which they deemed unworthy of the crown, or prejudicial to the people, even though distinguished by the predilection of the sovereign. Far from bargaining for their places, and surrendering their principles by capitulation, they maintained in office their independency and candour with the most vigilant circumspection, and seemed determined to show, that he is the best minister to the sovereign who acts with the greatest probity towards the subject. Those who immediately surrounded the throne were supposed to have concealed the true characters of these faithful servants from the knowledge of their royal master; to have represented them as obstinate, imperious, ignorant, and even lukewarm in their loyalty; and to have declared, that with such colleagues it would be impossible to move the machine of government according to his majesty’s inclination. These suggestions, artfully inculcated, produced the desired effect: on the ninth day of April, Mr. Pitt, by his majesty’s command, resigned the seals of secretary of state for the southern department. In the room of Mr. Legge, the king was pleased to grant the office of chancellor of the exchequer to the right honourable lord Mansfield, chief-justice of the court of king’s bench, the same personage whom we have mentioned before under the name of Mr. Murray, solicitor-general, now promoted and ennobled for his extraordinary merit and important services. The fate of Mr. Pitt was extended to some of his principal friends: the board of admiralty was changed, and some other removals were made with the same intention.

What was intended as a disgrace to Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge turned out one of the most shining circumstances of their characters. The whole nation seemed to rise up, as one man, in the vindication of their fame; every mouth was opened in their praise; and a great number of respectable cities and corporations presented them with the freedom of their respective societies, enclosed in gold boxes of curious workmanship, as testimonies of their peculiar veneration. What the people highly esteem, they in a manner idolize. Not contented with making offerings so flattering and grateful to conscious virtue, they conceived the most violent prejudices against those gentlemen who succeeded in the administration; fully convinced, that the same persons who had sunk the nation in the present distressful circumstances, who had brought on her dishonour, and reduced her to the verge of destruction, were by no means the fit instruments of her delivery and redemption. The whole kingdom caught fire at the late changes; nor could the power, the cunning, and the artifice of a faction, long support itself against the united voice of Great Britain, which soon pierced the ears of the sovereign. It was not possible to persuade the people that salutary measures could be suggested or pursued, except by the few, whose zeal for the honour of their country, and steady adherence to an upright disinterested conduct, had secured their confidence, and claimed their veneration. A great number of addresses, dutifully and loyally expressed, solicited the king, ever ready to meet half-way the wishes of his faithful people, to restore Mr. Pitt and Mr. Legge to their former employments. Upon this they rested the security and honour of the nation, as well as the public expectation of the speedy and successful issue of a war, hitherto attended with disgraces and misfortunes. Accordingly, his majesty was graciously pleased to redeliver the seals to Mr. Pitt, appointing him secretary of state for the southern department, on the twenty-ninth day of June; and, five days after, the office of chancellor of the exchequer was restored to Mr. Legge; promotions that afforded universal satisfaction.

COALITION OF PARTIES.

It would not, perhaps, be possible to exclude, from a share in the administration, all who were not perfectly agreeable to the people: however unpopular the late ministry might appear, still they possessed sufficient influence in the privy-council, and credit in the house of commons, to thwart every measure in which they did not themselves partake. This consideration, and very recent experience, probably dictated the necessity I of a coalition, salutary in itself, and prudent, because it was the only means of assuaging the rage of faction, and healing those divisions, more pernicious to the public than the most mistaken and blundering councils. Sir Robert Henley was made lord-keeper of the great seal, and sworn of his majesty’s privy-council, on the thirteenth day of June; the custody of the privy-seal was committed to earl Temple; his grace the duke of Newcastle, Mr. Legge, Mr. Nugent, lord viscount Dun-cannon, and Mr. Grenville, were appointed commissioners for executing the office of treasurer to his majesty’s exchequer. Lord Anson, admirals Boscawen and Forbes, Dr. Hay, Mr. West, Mr. Hunter, and Mr. Elliot, to preside at the board of admiralty; Mr. Fox was gratified with the office of receiver and paymaster-general of all his majesty’s guards, garrisons, and land-forces; and the earl of Thomond was made treasurer of the king’s household, and sworn of his majesty’s privy-council. Other promotions likewise took place, with a design to gratify the adherents of either party; and so equally was the royal favour distributed, that the utmost harmony for a long time subsisted. Ingredients, seemingly heterogeneous, consolidated into one uniform mass, so as to produce effects far exceeding the most sanguine expectations; and this prudent arrangement proved displeasing only to those whom violent party attachment had inspired with a narrow and exclusive spirit.

DESCENT ON THE COAST OF FRANCE MEDITATED.

The accumulated losses and disappointments of the preceding year, made it absolutely necessary to retrieve the credit of the British arms and councils by some vigorous and spirited enterprise, which should, at the same time, produce some change in the circumstances of his Prussian majesty, already depressed by the repulse at Kolin, and in danger of being attacked by the whole power of France, now ready to fall upon him, like a torrent, which had so lately swept before it the army of observation, now on the brink of disgrace. A well-planned and vigorous descent on the coast of France, it was thought, would probably give a decisive blow to the marine of that kingdom, and at the same time effect a powerful diversion in favour of the Prussian monarch and the duke of Cumberland, driven from all his posts in the electorate of Hanover, by drawing a part of the French forces to the defence and protection of their own coasts. Both were objects of great concern, upon which the sovereign and ministry were sedulously bent. His royal highness the duke, in a particular manner, urged the necessity of some enterprise of this nature, as the only expedient to obviate the shameful convention now in agitation. The ministry foresaw, that, by destroying the enemy’s shipping, all succours would be cut off from America, whither they were daily transporting troops; the British commerce secured, without those convoys so inconvenient to the board of admiralty, and to the merchants; and those ideal fears of an invasion, that had in some measure affected the public credit, wholly dispelled.

COMMAND OF THE FLEET GIVEN TO SIR EDWARD HAWKE, &c.

From these considerations, a powerful fleet was ordered to be got in readiness to put to sea on the shortest notice, and ten regiments of foot were marched to the Isle of Wight. The naval armament, consisting of eighteen ships of the line, besides frigates, fireships, bomb-ketches, and transports, was put under the command of sir Edward Hawke, an officer whose faithful services recommended him, above all others, to this command; and rear-admiral Knowles was appointed his subaltern. Sir John Mordaunt was preferred to take the command of the land-forces: and both strictly enjoined to act with the utmost unanimity and harmony. Europe beheld with astonishment these mighty preparations. The destination of the armament was wrapped in the most profound secrecy: it exercised the penetration of politicians, and filled France with very serious alarms. Various were the impediments which obstructed the embarkation of the troops for several weeks, while Mr. Pitt expressed the greatest uneasiness at the delay, and repeatedly urged the commander-in-chief to expedite his departure; but a sufficient number of transports, owing to some blunder in the contractors, had not yet arrived. The troops expressed an eager impatience to signalize themselves against the enemies of the liberties of Europe; but the superstitious drew unfavourable presages from the dilatoriness of the embarkation. At last the transports arrived, the troops were put on board with all expedition, and the fleet got under sail on the eighth day of September, attended with the prayers of every man warmed with the love of his country, and solicitous for her honour. The public, big with expectation, dubious where the stroke would fall, but confident of its success, were impatient for tidings from the fleet; but it was not till the fourteenth, that even the troops on board began to conjecture that a descent was meditated on the coast of France, near Rochefort or Rochelle.

ADMIRAL KNOWLES SENT TO TAKE AIX.

On the twentieth, the fleet made the isle of Oleron, and then sir Edward Hawke sent an order to vice-admiral Knowles, requiring him, if the wind permitted the fleet, to proceed to Basque road, to stand in as near to the isle of Aix as the pilot would carry him, with such ships of his division as he thought necessary for the service, and to batter the fort till the garrison should either abandon or surrender it. But the immediate execution of this order was frustrated by a French ship of war standing in to the very middle of the fleet, and continuing in that station for some time before she discovered her mistake, or any of the captains had a signal thrown out to give chase. Admiral Knowles, when too late, ordered the Magnanime, captain Howe, and Torbay, captain Keppel, on that service, and thereby retarded the attack upon which he was immediately sent. A stroke of policy greatly to be admired, as from hence he gained time to assure himself of the strength of the fortifications of Aix, before he ran his majesty’s ships into danger.

ATTACK AND SURRENDER OF AIX.

While the above ships, with the addition of the Royal William, were attending the French ship of war safe into the river Garonne, the remainder of the fleet was beating to windward off the isle of Oleron; and the commander-in-chief publishing orders and regulations which did credit to his judgment, and would have been highly useful, had there ever been occasion to put them in execution. On the twenty-third the van of the fleet, led by captain Howe in the Magnanime, stood towards Aix, a small island situated in the mouth of the river Charente, leading up to Rochefort, the fortifications half finished, and mounted with about thirty cannon and mortars, the garrison composed of six hundred men, and the whole island about five miles in circumference. As the Magnanime approached, the enemy fired briskly upon her; but captain Howe, regardless of their faint endeavours, kept on his course without flinching, dropping his anchors close to the walls, and poured in so incessant a fire as soon silenced their artillery. It was, however, near an hour before the fort struck, when some forces were landed to take possession of so important a conquest, with orders to demolish the fortifications, the care of which was intrusted to vice-admiral Knowles.

Inconsiderable as this success might appear, it greatly elated the troops, and was deemed a happy omen of further advantages; but, instead of embarking the troops that night, as was universally expected, several successive days were spent in councils of war, soundings of the coast, and deliberations whether the king’s express orders were practicable, or to be complied with. Eight days were elapsed since the first appearance of the fleet on the coast, and the alarm was given to the enemy. Sir Edward Hawke, indeed, proposed laying a sixty gun ship against Fouras, and battering that fort, which it was thought would help to secure the landing of the troops, and facilitate the enterprise on Rochefort. This a French pilot on board, Thierry, undertook; but after a ship had been lighted for the purpose, vice-admiral Knowles reported, that a bomb-ketch had run a-ground at above the distance of two miles from the fort; upon which the project of battering or bombarding the fort was abandoned. The admiral likewise proposed to bombard Koch elle; but this overture was over-ruled, for reasons which we need not mention. It was at length determined, in a council of war held on the eighth, to make a descent, and attack the forts leading to and upon the mouth of the river Charente. An order, in consequence of this resolution, was immediately issued for the troops to be ready to embark from the transports in the boats precisely at twelve o’clock at night. Accordingly the boats were prepared and filled with the men at the time appointed, and now they remained beating against each other, and the sides of the ships, for the space of four hours, while the council were determining whether, after all the trouble given, they should land; when at length an order was published for the troops to return to their respective transports, and all thoughts of a descent, to appearance, were wholly abandoned. The succeeding days were employed in blowing up and demolishing the fortifications of Aix; after which, the land officers, in a council of war, took the final resolution of returning to England without any further attempts, fully satisfied they had done all in their power to execute the designs of the ministry, and choosing rather to oppose the frowns of an angry sovereign, the murmurs of an incensed nation, and the contempt of mankind, than fight a handful of dastardly militia. Such was the issue of an expedition that raised the expectations of all Europe, threw the coasts of France into the utmost confusion, and cost the people of England little less than a million of money.

THE FLEET RETURNS TO SPITHEAD.

The fleet was no sooner returned than the whole nation was in a ferment. The public expectation had been wound up to the highest pitch, and now the disappointment was proportioned to the sanguine hopes conceived, that the pride of France would have been humbled by so formidable an armament. The ministry, and with them the national voice, exclaimed against the commanding officers, and the military men retorted the calumny by laying the blame on the projectors of the enterprise, who had put the nation to great expense before they had obtained the necessary information. Certain it was, that blame must fall somewhere, and the ministry resolved to acquit themselves and fix the accusation, by requesting his majesty to appoint a board of officers of character and ability, to inquire into the causes of the late miscarriage. This alone it was that could appease the public clamours, and afford general satisfaction. The enemies of Mr. Pitt endeavoured to wrest the miscarriage of the expedition to his prejudice, but the whispers of faction were soon drowned in the voice of the whole people of England, who never could persuade themselves that a gentleman raised to the height of power and popularity by mere dint of superior merit, integrity, and disinterestedness, would now sacrifice his reputation by a mock armament, or hazard incurring the derision of Europe, by neglecting to obtain all the necessary previous information, or doing whatever might contribute to the success of the expedition. It was asked, Whether reason or justice dictated, that a late unfortunate admiral should be capitally punished for not trying and exerting his utmost ability to relieve fort St. Philip, invested by a powerful army, and surrounded with a numerous fleet, while no charge of negligence or cowardice was brought against those who occasioned the miscarriage of a well-concerted and well-appointed expedition? The people, they said, were not to be quieted with the resolutions of a council of war, composed of men whose inactivity might frame excuses for declining to expose themselves to danger. It was publicly mentioned, that such backwardness appeared among the general officers before the fleet reached the isle of Oleron, as occasioned the admiral to declare, with warmth, that he would comply with his orders, and go into Basque-road, whatever might be the consequence. It was asked, Why the army did not land on the night of the twenty-third or twenty-fourth, and whether the officers sent out to reconnoitre, had returned with such intelligence as seemed to render a descent impracticable? It was asked, Whether the commander-in-chief had complied with his majesty’s orders, “To attempt, as far as should be found practicable, a descent on the coast of France, at or near Rochefort, in order to attack, and, by a vigorous impression, force that place; and to burn and destroy, to the utmost of his power, all docks, magazines, arsenals, and shipping, as shall be found there?” Such rumours as these, everywhere propagated, rendered an inquiry no less necessary to the reputation of the officers on the expedition, than to the minister who had projected it. Accordingly, a board consisting of three officers of rank, reputation, and ability, was appointed by his majesty, to inquire into the reasons why the fleet returned without having executed his majesty’s orders.

The three general officers, who met on the twenty-first of the same month, were, Charles duke of Marlborough, lieutenant-general, major-generals lord George Sackville and John Waldegrave. To judge of the practicability of executing his majesty’s orders, it was necessary to inquire into the nature of the intelligence upon which the expedition was projected. The first and most important was a letter sent to sir John, afterwards lord Ligonier, by lieutenant-colonel Clark.. This letter had been frequently examined in the privy-council, and contained, in substance, that colonel Clark, in returning from Gibraltar, in the year one thousand-seven hundred and fifty four, had travelled along the western coast of France, to observe the condition of the fortifications, and judge how far a descent would be practicable, in case of a rupture between Great Britain and France. On his coming to Rochefort, where he was attended by an engineer, he was surprised to find the greatest part of a good rampart, with a revetment, flanked only with redans; no outworks, no covered-way, and in many places no ditch, so that the bottom of the wall was seen at a distance. He remembered, that in other places, where the earth had been taken out to form the rampart, there was left around them a considerable height of ground, whence an enemy might draw a great advantage; that for above the length of a front, or two or three hundred yards, there was no rampart, or even intrenchment, but only small ditches, in the low and marshy grounds next the river, which, however, were dry at low water, yet the bottom remained muddy and slimy. Towards the river, no rampart, no batteries, no parapet, on either side appeared, and on the land-side he observed some high ground within the distance of one hundred and fifty or two hundred yards of the town; in which condition, the colonel was told by the engineer, the place had remained for above seventy years. To prevent giving umbrage, he drew no plan of the place, and even burnt the few sketches he had by him: however, as to utility, the colonel declared himself as much satisfied as if he had taken a plan. He could not ascertain the direct height of the rampart, but thought it could not exceed twenty-five feet, including the parapet. The river might be about one hundred and thirty feet broad, and the entrance defended by two or three small redoubts. As to forces, none are ever garrisoned at Eochefort, except marines, which at the time the colonel was on the spot amounted to about one thousand. This was the first intelligence the ministry received of the state of Rochefort, which afforded sufficient room to believe, that an attack by surprise might be attended with happy consequences. It was true that colonel Clark made his observations in time of peace; but it was likewise probable that no great alterations were made on account of the war, as the place had remained in the same condition during the two or three last wars with France, when they had the same reasons as now to expect their coasts would be insulted. The next information was obtained from Joseph Thierry, a French pilot, of the protestant religion, who passed several examinations before the privy-council. This person declared, that he had followed the business of a pilot on the coast of France for the space of twenty years, and served as first pilot in several of the king’s ships; that he had, in particular, piloted the Magnanime, before she was taken by the English, for about twenty-two months, and had often conducted her into the road of the isle of Aix; and that he was perfectly acquainted with the entrance, which indeed is so easy as to render a pilot almost unnecessary. The road, he said, afforded good anchorage in twelve or fourteen fathoms water, as far as Bayonne; the channel between the islands of Oleron and Rhé was three leagues broad, and the banks necessary to be avoided lay near the land, except one called the Board, which is easily discerned by the breakers. He affirmed, that the largest vessels might draw up close to the fort of Aix, which he would undertake the Magnanime alone should destroy; that the largest ships might come up to the Vigerot, two miles distant from the mouth of the river, with all their cannon and stores; that men might be landed to the north of fort Fouras, out of sight of the fort, upon a meadow where the ground is firm and level, under cover of the cannon of the fleet. This landing-place he reckoned at about five miles from Rochefort, the way dry, and no way intercepted by ditches and morasses. He said, great part of the city was encompassed by a wall; but towards the river, on both sides, for about sixty paces, it was enclosed only with pallisadoes, without a fosse. To the intelligence of colonel Clark and Thierry, the minister added a secret account obtained of the strength and distribution of the French forces, whence it appeared highly probable that no more than ten thousand men could be allowed for the defence of the whole coast, from St. Valéry to Bourdeaux. In consequence of the above information the secret expedition was planned; instructions were given to sir John Mordaunt and admiral Hawke to make a vigorous impression on the French coast, and all the other measures projected, which, it was imagined, would make an effectual diversion, by obliging the enemy to employ a great part of their forces at home, disturb and shake the credit of their public loans, impair the strength and resources of their navy, disconcert their extensive and dangerous operations of war, and, finally, give life, strength, and lustre to the common cause and his majesty’s arms. The board of inquiry took next into consideration the several letters and explanatory instructions sent to sir John Mordaunt, in consequence of some difficulties which might possibly occur, stated by that general in letters to the minister, previous to his sailing. Then they examined the report made to sir Edward Hawke by admiral Broderick, and the captains of the men of war sent to sound the French shore from Rochelle to fort Fouras, dated September the twenty-ninth; the result of the councils of war on the twenty-fifth and twenty-eighth; sir Edward Hawke’s letter to sir John Mordaunt on the twenty-seventh, and the general’s answer on the twenty-ninth: after which sir John Mordaunt was called upon to give his reasons for not putting his majesty’s instructions and orders into execution. This he did in substance as follows: the attempt on Rochefort, he understood, was to have been on the footing of a coup de main or surprise, which it would be impossible to execute if the design was discovered, or the alarm taken. He also understood that an attempt could not be made, nay that his majesty did not require it should, unless a proper place for debarking, and a safe retreat for the troops was discovered, particularly where the ships could protect them; and a safe communication with the fleet, and conveyance of supplies from it, were found. His sentiments, he said, were confirmed by a paper to this purpose, delivered to him by sir John Ligonier, on his first being appointed to command the expedition. It was likewise probable, he thought, that although Rochefort should have remained in the situation in which colonel Clark and the pilot Thierry had seen it three years before, yet that a few days’ preparation could make it sufficiently defensible against a coup de main. Judging therefore the dependence on such an operation alone improper, he applied to the ministry for two more old battalions, and artillery for a regular attack to force the place, which, from its construction, appeared as difficult to be made defensible against the latter, as easily secured against the former. But this request being refused, he still thought it his duty to obey his orders on the footing on which the expedition was planned, especially as he understood his instructions were discretionary, regarding the circumstances of the time, the condition of the place, and the nature of the service. He recited the positive and credible intelligence received, as well before the embarkation as during the voyage, of the alarm given to France, and the preparations made along the French coasts from Brest and St. Maloes to Rochefort; the accidents that kept the fleet hovering along the coasts, and prevented the possibility of an attempt by surprise; the reports of all the gentlemen employed in sounding the coasts, so contrary to the intelligence given by Thierry the pilot; the opinion of the council of war, by which he was enjoined to act, and with which his own judgment concurred; the endeavours used, after the twenty-sixth, to find out some expedient for annoying the enemy and executing his majesty’s instructions; the attempt made to land, in consequence of the resolution of the second council of war, which was prevented by boisterous and stormy weather; and lastly, the reasons that determined him, in concert with the other land officers, to return to England.

Having considered all these circumstances, and examined several officers who served in the expedition, the court of inquiry gave in the following report to his majesty:—“It appears to us, that one cause of the expedition having failed is, the not attacking fort Fouras by sea, at the same time that it could have been attacked by land, agreeably to the first design, which certainly must have been of the greatest utility towards carrying your majesty’s instructions into execution. It was at first resolved by admiral Hawke; (Thierry, the pilot, having undertaken the safe conduct of a ship to fort Fouras for that purpose), but afterwards laid aside, upon the representation of vice-admiral Knowles, that the Bar-fleur, the ship designed for that service, was a-ground, at the distance of between four and five miles from the shore; but as neither sir Edward Hawke nor the pilot could attend to give any information upon that head, we cannot presume to offer any certain opinion thereupon. We conceive another cause of the failure of the expedition to have been, that, instead of attempting to land when the report was received, on the twenty-fourth of September, from rear-admiral Broderick, and the captains who had been out to sound and reconnoitre, a council of war was summoned and held on the twenty-fifth, in which it was unanimously resolved not to land, as the attempt on Rochefort was neither advisable nor practicable; but it does not appear to us that there were then or at any time afterwards, either a body of troops or batteries on shore sufficient to have prevented the attempting a descent, in pursuance of the instructions signed by your majesty; neither does it appear to us that there were any reasons sufficient to induce the council of war to believe that Rochefort was so changed in respect to its strength, or posture of defence, since the expedition was first resolved on in England, as to prevent all attempts of an attack upon the place, in order to burn and destroy the docks, magazines, arsenals, and shipping, in obedience to your majesty’s command. And we think ourselves obliged to remark, in the council of war on the twenty-eighth of September, that no reason could have existed sufficient to prevent the attempt of landing the troops, as the council then unanimously resolved to land with all possible despatch. We beg leave also to remark, that after its being unanimously resolved to land, in the council of war of the twenty-eighth of September, the resolution was taken of returning to England, without any regular or general meeting of the said council; but as the whole operation was of so inconsiderable a nature, we do not offer this to your majesty as a cause of the failure of the expedition; since we cannot but look upon the expedition to have failed from the time the great object of it was laid aside in the council of war of the twenty-fifth.”

SIR JOHN MORDAUNT TRIED BY A COURT-MARTIAL.

This report, signed by the general officers, Marlborough, Sackville, and Waldegrave, probably laid the foundation for the court-martial which sat soon after upon the conduct of the commander-in-chief of the expedition. The enemies of the minister made a handle of the miscarriage to lessen him in the esteem of the public, by laying the whole blame on his forming a project so expensive to the nation, on intelligence not only slight at the first view, but false upon further examination. But the people were still his advocates; they discerned something mysterious in the whole conduct of the commander-in-chief. They plainly perceived that caution took the place of vigour, and that the hours for action were spent in deliberations and councils of war. Had he debarked the troops, and made such an attack as would have distinguished his courage, the voice of the people would have acquitted him, however unsuccessful, though prudence perhaps might have condemned him. Even Braddock’s rashness they deemed preferable to Mor-daunt’s inactivity: the loss of so many brave lives was thought less injurious and disgraceful to the nation, than the too safe return of the present armament. The one demonstrated that the British spirit still existed; the other seemed to indicate the too powerful influence of wealth, luxury, and those manners which tend to debauch and emasculate the mind. A public trial of the commander-in-chief was expected by the people, and it was graciously granted by his majesty. It is even thought that Sir John Mordaunt himself demanded to have his conduct scrutinized, by which method alone he was sensible his character could be re-established. His majesty’s warrant for holding a court-martial was accordingly signed on the third day of December. The court was composed of nine lieutenant-generals, nine major-generals, and three colonels, who sat on the fourteenth, and continued by several adjournments to the twentieth. Lieutenant-general Sir John Mordaunt came prisoner before the court, and the following charge was exhibited against him; namely, that he being appointed, by the king, commander-in-chief of his majesty’s forces sent on an expedition to the coast of France, and having received orders and instructions relative thereto, from his majesty, under his royal sign-manual, and also by one of his principal secretaries of state, had disobeyed his majesty’s said orders and instructions. The proceedings of this court were nearly similar to those of the court of inquiry. The same evidences were examined, with the addition of sir Edward Hawke’s deposition; and a defence, differing in no essential point from the former, made by the prisoner; but the judgment given was clear and explicit. Sir John Mordaunt was unanimously found Not Guilty, and therefore acquitted, while the public opinion remained unaltered, and many persons inveighed as bitterly against the lenity of the present court-martial, as they had formerly against the severity of the sentence passed upon a late unfortunate admiral. The evidence of one gentleman in particular drew attention: he was accused of tergiversation, and of showing that partial indulgence which his own conduct required. He publicly defended his character: his performance was censured, and himself dismissed the service of his sovereign.

FLEETS SENT TO THE EAST AND WEST INDIES.

Besides the diversion intended by a descent on the coast of France, several other methods were employed to amuse the enemy, as well as to protect the trade of the kingdom, secure our colonies in the West Indies, and ensure the continuance of the extraordinary success which had lately blessed his majesty’s arms in the East Indies; but these we could not mention before without breaking the thread of our narration. On the ninth of February, admiral West sailed with a squadron of men of war to the westward, as did admiral Coates with the fleet under his convoy to the West Indies, and commodore Stevens with the trade to the East Indies, in the month of March. Admiral Holbourn and commodore Holmes, with eleven ships of the line, a fire-ship, bomb-ketch, and fifty transports, sailed from St. Helen’s for America in April. The admiral had on board six thousand two hundred effective men, exclusive of officers, under the command of general Hopson, assisted by lord Charles Hay. In May, admiral Osborne, who had been forced back to Plymouth with his squadron by stress of weather, set sail for the Mediterranean, as did two ships of war sent to convoy the American trade.

In the meantime, the privateers fitted out by private merchants and societies, greatly annoyed the French commerce. The Antigallican, a private ship of war, equipped by a society of men who assumed that name, took the duke de Penthievre Indiaman, off the part of Corunna, and carried her into Cadiz. The prize was estimated worth two hundred thousand pounds, and immediate application was made by France to the court of Spain for restitution, while the proprietors of the Anti-gallican were squandering in mirth, festivity, and riot, the imaginary wealth so easily and unexpectedly acquired. Such were the remonstrances made to his catholic majesty with respect to the illegality of the prize, which the French East India company asserted was taken within shot of a neutral port, that the Penthievre was first violently wrested out of the hands of the captors, then detained as a deposit, with sealed hatches, and a Spanish guard on board, till the claims of both parties could be examined, and at last adjudged to be an illegal capture, and consequently restored to the French, to the great disappointment of the owners of the privateer. Besides the success which attended a great number of other privateers, the lords of the admiralty published a list of above thirty ships of war and privateers taken from the enemy in the space of four mouths, by the English sloops and ships of war, exclusive of the duke de Aquitaine Indiaman, now fitted out as a ship of war, taken by the Eagle and Medway; the Pondicherry Indiaman, valued at one hundred and sixty thousand pounds, taken by the Doverman of war; and above six privateers brought into port by the diligent and brave captain Lockhart, for which he was honoured with a variety of presents of plate by several corporations, in testimony of their esteem and regard. This run of good fortune was not, however, without some retribution on the side of the enemy, who, out of twenty-one ships homeward bound from Carolina, made prize of nineteen, whence the merchants sustained considerable damage, and a great quantity of valuable commodities, indigo in particular, was lost to this country.

RIOTS OCCASIONED BY THE HIGH PRICE OF CORN.

Notwithstanding the large imports of grain from different parts of Europe and America, the artifice of engrossers still kept up the price of corn. So incensed were the populace at the iniquitous combinations entered into to frustrate the endeavours of the legislature, and to oppress the poor, that they rose in a tumultuous manner in several counties, sometimes to the number of five or six thousand, and seized upon the grain brought to market. Nor was it indeed to be wondered at, considering the distress to which many persons were reduced. The difficulty of obtaining the necessaries of life, raised the price of labour at the most unseasonable time, when all manufacturers were overstocked for want of a proper market, which obliged them to dismiss above half the hands before employed. Hence arose the most pitiable condition of several thousands of useful industrious subjects; a calamity attended only with one advantage to the public, namely, the facility with which recruits were raised for his majesty’s service. At last the plentiful crops with which it pleased Providence to bless these kingdoms, the prodigious quantities of corn imported from foreign countries, and the wise measures of the legislature, broke all the villanous schemes set on foot by the forestallers and engrossers, and reduced the price of corn to the usual standard. The public joy on this occasion was greatly augmented by the safe arrival of the fleet from the Leeward islands, consisting of ninety-two sail, and of the Straits fleet, estimated worth three millions sterling, whereby the silk manufacturers in particular were again employed, and their distresses relieved. About the same time the India company was highly elated with the joyful account of the safe arrival and spirited conduct of three of their captains, attacked in their passage homewards by two French men of war, one of sixty-four, the other of twenty-six guns. After a warm engagement, which continued for three hours, they obliged the French ships to sheer of, with scarce any loss on their own side. When the engagement began, the captains had promised a reward of a thousand pounds to the crews, by way of incitement to their valour; and the company doubled the sum, in recompence of their fidelity and courage. His majesty having taken into consideration the incredible damage sustained by the commerce of these kingdoms, for want of proper harbours and forts on the western coast to receive and protect merchantmen, was graciously pleased to order, that a temporary security should be provided for the shipping which might touch at Milford-haven, until the fortifications voted in parliament could be erected. How far his majesty’s directions were complied with, the number of merchant ships taken by the enemy’s privateers upon that coast sufficiently indicated.

OPERATIONS IN AMERICA.

Whatever reasons the government had to expect the Campaign should be vigorously pushed in America, almost every circumstance turned out contrary to expectation. Not all the endeavours of the earl of Loudon to quiet the dissensions among the different provinces, and to establish unanimity and harmony, could prevail. Circumstances required that he should act the part of a mediator, in order to raise the necessary supplies for prosecuting the war, without which it was impossible he could appear in the character of a general. The enemy, in the meantime, were pursuing the blow given at Oswego, and taking advantage of the distraction that appeared in the British councils. By their successes in the preceding campaign, they remained masters of all the lakes. Hence they were furnished with the means of practising on the Indians, in all the different districts, and obliging them, by rewards, promises, and menaces, to act in their favour. Every accession to their strength, was a real diminution of that of the British commander; but then the ignorance or pusillanimity of some of the inferior officers in our back settlements was, in effect, more beneficial to the enemy than all the vigilance and activity of Montcalm. In consequence of the shameful loss of Oswego, they voluntarily abandoned to the mercy of the French general the whole country of the Five Nations, the only body of Indians who had inviolably performed their engagements, or indeed who had preserved any sincere regard for the British government. The communication with these faithful allies was now cut off, by the imprudent demolition of the forts we possessed at the great Carrying-place. A strong fort indeed was built at Winchester, and called fort Loudon, after the commander-in-chief, and four hundred Cherokee Indians joined the English forces at fort Cumberland; but this reinforcement by no means counterbalanced the losses sustained in consequence of our having imprudently stopped up Wood-creek, and filled it with logs. Every person the least acquainted with the country, readily perceived the weakness of these measures, by which our whole frontier was left open and exposed to the irruptions of the savages in the French interest, who would not fail to profit by our blunders, too notorious to escape them. By the removal of these barriers, a path was opened to our fine settlements on those grounds called the German Flats, and along the Mohawk’s river, which the enemy destroyed with fire and sword before the end of the campaign.

LORD LOUDON’S CONDUCT IN AMERICA.

In the meantime, lord Loudon was taking the most effectual steps to unite the provinces, and raise a force sufficient to strike some decisive blow. The attack on Crown-Point, which had been so long meditated, was laid aside as of less importance than the intended expedition to Louisbourg, now substituted in its place, and undoubtedly a more considerable object in itself. Admiral Holbourn arrived at Halifax, with the squadron and transports under his command, on the ninth day of July; and it was his lordship’s intention to repair thither with all possible diligence, in order to take upon him the command of the expedition; but a variety of accidents interposed. It was with the utmost difficulty he at length assembled a body of six thousand men, with which he instantly began his march to join the troops lately arrived from England. When the junction was effected, the whole forces amounted to twelve thousand men; an army that raised great expectations. Immediately some small vessels were sent out to examine and reconnoitre the condition of the enemy, and the intermediate time was employed in embarking the troops as soon as the transports arrived. The return of the scouts totally altered the face of affairs: they brought the unwelcome news, that M. de Bois de la Mothe, who sailed in the month of May from Brest, with a large fleet of ships of war and transports, was now safe at anchor in the harbour of Louisbourg. Their intelligence AAras supported by the testimony of several deserters; yet still it wanted confirmation, and many persons believed their account of the enemy’s strength greatly magnified. Such advices, however, could not but occasion extraordinary fluctuations in the councils of war at Halifax. Some were for setting aside all thoughts of the expedition for that season; while others, more warm in their dispositions, and sanguine in their expectations, were for prosecuting it with vigour, in spite of all dangers and difficulties. Their disputes were carried on with great vehemence, when a packet bound from Louisbourg for France, was taken by one of the English ships stationed at Newfoundland. She had letters on board, which put the enemy’s superiority beyond all doubt, at least by sea. It clearly appeared, there were at that time in Louisbourg six thousand regular troops, three thousand natives, and one thousand three hundred Indians, with seventeen ships of the line and three frigates moored in the harbour; that the place was well supplied with ammunition, provisions, and every kind of military stores; and that the enemy wished for nothing more than an attack, which it was probable would terminate to the disgrace of the assailants, and ruin of the British affairs in America. The commanders at Halifax were fully apprized of the consequences of an unsuccessful attempt; it was, therefore, almost unanimously resolved to postpone the expedition to some more convenient opportunity, especially as the season was now far advanced, which alone would be sufficient to frustrate their endeavours, and render the enterprise abortive. This resolution seems, indeed, to have been the most eligible in their circumstances, whatever construction might afterwards be given, with intention to prejudice the public against the commander-in-chief.

FORT WILLIAM-HENRY TAKEN by the FRENCH.

Lord Loudon’s departure from New-York, with all the forces he was able to collect, afforded the marquis de Montcalm the fairest occasion of improving the successes of the former campaign. That general had, in the very commencement of the season, made three different attacks on fort William-Henry, in all of which he was repulsed by the vigour and resolution of the garrison. But his disappointment here was balanced by an advantage gained by a party of regulars and Indians at Ticonderoga. Colonel John Parker, with a detachment of near four hundred men, went by water, in whale and bay boats, to attack the enemy’s advanced guard at that place. Landing at night on an island, he sent before dawn three boats to the main land, which the enemy waylaid and took. Having procured the necessary intelligence from the prisoners of the colonel’s designs, they contrived their measures, placed three hundred men in ambush behind the point where he proposed landing, and sent three batteaux to the place of rendezvous. Colonel Parker mistaking these for his own boats, eagerly put to shore, was surrounded by the enemy, reinforced with four hundred men, and attacked with such impetuosity, that, of the whole detachment, only two officers and seventy private men escaped. Flushed with this advantage, animated by the absence of the British commander-in-chief, then at Halifax, and fired with a desire to revenge the disgrace he had lately sustained before fort Henry, Montcalm drew together all his forces, with intention to lay siege to that place. Fort William-Henry stands on the southern coast of Lake George; it was built with a view to protect and cover the frontiers of the English colonies, as well as to command the lake; the fortifications were good, defended by a garrison of near three thousand men, and covered by an army of four thousand, under the conduct of general Webb, posted at no great distance. When the marquis de Montcalm had assembled all the forces at Crown-Point, Ticonderoga, and the adjacent posts, together with a considerable body of Canadians and Indians, amounting in the whole to near ten thousand men, he marched directly to the fort, made his approaches, and began to batter it with a numerous train of artillery. On the very day he invested the place he sent a letter to colonel Monro the governor, telling him, he thought himself obliged, in humanity, to desire he would surrender the fort, and not provoke the great number of savages in the French army by a vain resistance. “A detachment of your garrison has lately,” say she, “experienced their cruelty; I have it yet in my power to restrain them, and oblige them to observe a capitulation, as none of them hitherto are killed. Your persisting in the defence of your fort can only retard its fate a few days, and must of necessity expose an unfortunate garrison, who can possibly receive no relief, considering the precautions taken to prevent it. I demand a decisive answer, for which purpose I have sent the sieur Funtbrane, one of my aids-de-camp. You may credit what he will inform you of, from Montcalm.” General Webb beheld his preparations with an indifference and security bordering on infatuation. It is credibly reported, that he had private-intelligence of all the French general’s designs and motions; yet, either despising his strength, or discrediting the information, he neglected collecting the militia in time; which, in conjunction with his own forces, would probably have obliged Montcalm to relinquish the attempt, or at least have rendered his success very doubtful and hazardous. The enemy meeting with no disturbance from the quarter they most dreaded, prosecuted the siege with vigour, and were warmly received by the garrison, who fired with great spirit till they had burst almost all their cannon, and expended their ammunition. Neither Montcalm’s promises or threats could prevail upon them to surrender, while they were in a condition to defend themselves, or could reasonably expect assistance from general Webb. They even persisted to hold out after prudence dictated they ought to surrender. Colonel Monro was sensible of the importance of his charge, and imagined that general Webb, though slow in his motions, would surely make some vigorous efforts either to raise the siege, or force a supply of ammunition, provisions, and other necessaries, into the garrison. At length necessity obliged him, after sustaining a siege from the third to the ninth day of August, to hang out a flag of truce, which was immediately answered by the French commander. Hostages were exchanged, and articles of capitulation signed by both parties. It was stipulated, that the garrison of fort William-Henry, and the troops in the intrenched camp, should march out with their arms, the baggage of the officers and soldiers, and all the usual necessaries of war, escorted by a detachment of French troops, and interpreters attached to the savages; that the gate of the fort should be delivered to the troops of the most christain king, immediately after signing the capitulation; and the retrenched camp, on the departure of the British forces; that the artillery, warlike stores, provisions, and in general every thing, except the effects of soldiers and officers, should, upon honour, be delivered to the French troops; for which purpose it was agreed there should be delivered, with the capitulation, an exact inventory of the stores and other particulars specified; that the garrison of the fort, and the troops in the retrenchment and dependencies, should not serve for the space of eighteen months, from the date of the capitulation, against his most christian majesty, or his allies; that with the capitulation there should be delivered an exact state of the troops, specifying the names of the officers, engineers, artillery-men, commissaries, and all employed; that the officers and soldiers, Canadians, women, and savages, made prisoners by land since the commencement of the war in North America, should be delivered in the space of three months at Carillon; in return for whom an equal number of the garrison of fort William-Henry should be capacitated to serve agreeably to the return given by the English officer, and the receipt of the French commanding officers, of the prisoners so delivered: that an officer should remain as an hostage, till the safe return of the escort sent with the troops of his Britannic majesty; that the sick and wounded, not in a condition to be transported to fort Edward, should remain under the protection of the marquis de Montcalm; who engaged to use them with tenderness and humanity, and to return them as soon as recovered: that provisions for two days should be issued out for the British troops: that in testimony of his esteem and respect for colonel Monro and his garrison, on account of their gallant defence, the marquis do Montcalm should return one cannon, a six-pounder. Whether the marquis de Montcalm was really assiduous to have these articles punctually executed we cannot pretend to determine; but certain it is, they were perfidiously broke in almost every instance. The savages in the French interest either paid no regard to the capitulation, or were permitted, from views of policy, to act the most treacherous, inhuman, and insidiuous part. They fell upon the British troops as they marched out, despoiled them of their few remaining effects, dragged the Indians in the English service out of their ranks, and assassinated them with circumstances of unheard-of barbarity. Some British soldiers, with their wives and children, are said to have been savagely murdered by those brutal Indians, whose ferocity the French commander could not effectually restrain. The greater part of the English garrison, however, arrived at fort Edward, under the protection of the French escort. The enemy demolished the fort, carried off the effects, provisions, artillery, and every thing else left by the garrison, together with the vessels preserved in the lake, and departed, without pursuing their success by any other attempt. Thus ended the third campaign in America, where, with an evident superiority over the enemy, an army of twenty thousand regular troops, a great number of provincial forces, and a prodigious naval power, not less than twenty ships of the line, we abandoned our allies, exposed our people, suffered them to be cruelly massacred in sight of our troops, and relinquished a large and valuable tract of country, to the eternal reproach and disgrace of the British name.

NAVAL TRANSACTIONS IN AMERICA.

As to the naval transactions in this country, though less infamous, they were not less unfortunate. Immediately on lord Loudon’s departure from Halifax, admiral Holbourn, now freed from the care of the transports, set sail for Louisbourg, with fifteen ships of the line, one ship of fifty guns, three small frigates, and a fire-ship. What the object of this cruise might have been can only be conjectured. Some imagine curiosity was the admiral’s sole motive, and the desire of informing himself with certainty of the enemy’s strength, while others persuade themselves that he was in hopes of drawing M. de la Mothe to an engagement, notwithstanding his superiority in number of ships and weight of metal. Be this as it may, the British squadron appeared off Louisbourg on the twentieth day of August, and approaching within two miles of the batteries, saw the French admiral make the signal to unmoor. Mr. Holbourn was greatly inferior in strength, and it is obvious that his design was not to fight the enemy, as he immediately made the best of his way to Halifax. About the middle of September, being reinforced with four ships of the line, he again proceeded to Louisbourg, probably with intention, if possible, to draw the enemy to an engagement; but he found de la Mothe too prudent to hazard an unnecessary battle, the loss of which would have greatly exposed all the French colonies. Here the English squadron continued cruising until the twenty-fifth, when they were overtaken by a terrible storm from the southward. When the hurricane began, the fleet were about forty leagues distant from Louisbourg; but were driven in twelve hours within two miles of the rocks and breakers on that coast, when the wind providentially shifted. The ship Tilbury was wrecked upon the rocks, and half her crew drowned. Eleven ships were dismasted, others threw their guns overboard; and all returned in a very shattered condition to England, at a very unfavourable season of the year. In this manner ended the expedition to Louisbourg, more unfortunate to the nation than the preceding designs upon Rochefort; less disgraceful to the commanders, but equally the occasion of ridicule and triumph to our enemies. Indeed, the unhappy consequences of the political disputes at home, the instability of the administration, and the frequent revolutions in our councils, were strongly manifested by that langour infused into all our military operations, and general unsteadiness in our pursuits. Faction, in the mother-country, produced divisions and misconduct in the colonies. No ambition to signalize themselves appeared among the officers, from the uncertainty whether their services were to be rewarded or condemned. Their attachment to particular persons weakened the love they ought to have entertained for their country in general, and destroyed that spirit of enterprise, that firmness and resolution which constitutes the commander, and without which the best capacity, joined to the most uncorruptible integrity, can effect nothing.

The French king not only exerted himself against the English in America, but even extended his operations to their settlements in Africa, where he sent one of his naval commanders with a small squadron, to reduce. This gentleman, whose name was Kersin, had scoured the coast of Guinea, and made prize of several English trading ships; but his chief aim was to reduce the castle at Cape-coast, of which, had he gained possession, the other subordinate forts would have submitted without opposition. When Mr. Bell, the governor of this castle, received intelligence that M. de Kersin was a few leagues to windward, and certainly intended to attack Cape-coast, his whole garrison did not exceed thirty white men, exclusive of a few mulatto soldiers: his stock of ammunition was reduced to half a barrel of gunpowder; and his fortifications were so crazy and inconsiderable, that, in the opinion of the best engineers, they could not have sustained for twenty minutes the fire of one great ship, had it been properly directed and maintained. In these circumstances, few people would have dreamed of making any preparation for defence; but Mr. Bell entertained other sentiments, and acquitted himself with equal courage and discretion. He forthwith procured a supply of gunpowder, and a reinforcement of about fifty men, from certain trading vessels that happened to be upon that part of the coast. He mounted some spare cannon upon an occasional battery, and assembling a body of twelve hundred negroes, well armed, under the command of their chief, on whose attachment he could depend, and ordered them to take post at the place where he apprehended the enemy would attempt a landing. These precautions were hardly taken, when the French squadron, consisting of two ships of the line and a large frigate, appeared, and in a little time their attack began; but they met with such a warm reception, that in less than two hours they desisted, leaving the castle very little damaged, and immediately made sail for the West Indies, very much to the disappointment and mortification of the Dutch officers belonging to the fort of Elmina, in the same neighbourhood, who made no scruple of expressing their wishes publicly in favour of the French commodore, and at a distance viewed the engagement with the most partial eagerness and impatience. M. de Kersin was generally blamed for his want of conduct and resolution in this attempt; but he is said to have been deceived in his opinion of the real state of Capecoast castle, by the vigorous and resolute exertions of the governor, and was apprehensive of losing a mast in the engagement; a loss which he could not have repaired on the whole coast of Africa. Had the fort of Cape-coast been reduced on this occasion, in all probability every petty republic of the negroes, settled under the protection of the forts on the Gold-coast, would have revolted from the British interest; for while the French squadron, in their progress along-shore, hovered in the offing at Annamaboe, an English settlement a few leauges to leeward of Cape-coast, John Corrantee, the caboceiro, chief magistrate and general of the blacks on that part of the coast, whose adopted son had a few years before been caressed, and even treated as a prince in England, taking it for granted that this enterprise of the French would be attended with success, actually sent some of his dependants, with a present of refreshments for their commodore; the delivery of which, however, was prevented by Mr. Brew, the English chief of the fort, who shattered in pieces the canoe before it could be launched, and threatened with his cannon to level the black town with the dust. The caboceiro, though thus anticipated in his design, resolved to be among the first who should compliment M. de Kersin on his victory at Cape-coast; and, with this view, prepared an embassy or deputation to go there by land; but understanding that the French had failed in their attempt, he shifted his design, without the least hesitation, and despatched the same embassy to Mr. Bell, whom he congratulated on his victory, assuring him he had kept his men ready armed, to march at the first summons to his assistance.

STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THE EAST INDIES.

In the East Indies the scene was changed greatly to the honour and advantage of Great Britain. There the commanders acted with that harmony, spirit, and unanimity becoming Britons, zealous for the credit of their king and the interest of their country. We left admiral Watson and colonel Clive advancing to Calcutta, to revenge the cruel tragedy acted upon their countrymen the preceding year. On the twenty-eighth of December, the fleet proceeded up the river: next day colonel Clive landed, and with the assistance of the squadron, in twenty-four hours made himself master of Busbudgia, a place of great strength, though very ill defended. On the first of January the admiral, with two ships, appeared before the town of Calcutta, and was received by a brisk fire from the batteries. This salute was returned so warmly, that the enemy’s guns were soon silenced, and in less than two hours the place and fort were abandoned. Colonel Clive, on the other side, had invested the town, and made his attack with that vigour and intrepidity peculiar to himself, which greatly contributed to the sudden reduction of the settlement. As soon as the fort was surrendered, the brave and active captain Coote, with his majesty’s troops, took possession, and found ninety-one pieces of cannon, four mortars, abundance of ammunition, stores, and provisions, with every requisite for sustaining an obstinate siege. Thus the English were re-established in the two strongest fortresses in the Ganges, with the inconsiderable loss of nine seamen killed, and three soldiers. A few days after, Hughley, a city of great trade, situated higher up the river, was reduced with as little difficulty, but infinitely greater prejudice to the nabob, as here his storehouses of salt, and vast granaries for the support of his army, were burnt and destroyed. Incensed at the almost instantaneous loss of all his conquests, and demolition of the city of Hughley, the viceroy of Bengal discouraged all advances to an accommodation which was proposed by the admiral and chiefs of the company, and assembled an army of twenty thousand horse and fifteen thousand foot, fully resolved to expel the English out of his dominions, and take ample vengeance for the disgraces he had lately sustained. He was seen marching by the English camp in his way to Calcutta on the second of February, where he encamped, about a mile from the town. Colonel Clive immediately made application to the admiral for a reinforcement; and six hundred men, under the command of captain Warwick, were accordingly drafted from the different ships, and sent to assist his little army. Clive drew out his forces, advanced in three columns towards the enemy, and began the attack so vigorously, that the viceroy retreated, after a feeble resistance, with the loss of a thousand men killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, five hundred horses, great numbers of draft bullocks, and four elephants. Though this advantage was less decisive than could be wished, yet it sufficiently intimidated the nabob into concessions much to the honour and advantage of the company. Admiral Watson gave him to understand in a letter, that this was no more than a specimen of what the British arms, when provoked, could perform. The suba desired the negotiation might be renewed, and in a few days the treaty was concluded. He promised not to disturb the English in any of those privileges or possessions specified in the firm, and granted by the Mogul; that all merchandise belonging to the company should pass and repass, in every part of the province of Bengal, free of duty; that all the English factories seized the preceding year, or since, should be restored, with the money, goods, and effects appertaining; that all damages sustained by the English should be repaired, and their losses repaid: that the English should have liberty to fortify Calcutta in whatever manner they thought proper without interruption: that they should have the liberty of coining all the gold and bullion they imported, which should pass current in the province: that he would remain in strict friendship and alliance with the English, use his utmost endeavours to heal up the late divisions, and restore the former good understanding between them.

All which several articles were solemnly signed and sealed with the nabob’s own hand.

SEDUCTION OF CHANDERNAGORE.

Such were the terms obtained for the company, by the spirited and gallant conduct of the two English commanders. They had, however, too much discernment to rely on the promises of a barbarian, who had so prefidiously broken former engagements; but they prudently dissembled their sentiments, until they had thoroughly reinstated the affairs of the company, and reduced the French power in this province. In order to adjust the points that required discussion, the select committee for the company’s affairs appointed Mr. Watts, who had been released from his former imprisonment, as their commissary at the court of the suba, to whom he was personally known, as well as to his ministers, among whom he had acquired a considerable influence. Nothing less could have balanced the interest which the French, by their art of intriguing, had raised among the favourites of the viceroy. While Mr. Watts was employed at Muxadavad in counter-working those intrigues, and keeping the suba steady to his engagements, the admiral and Mr. Clive resolved to avail themselves of their armament in attacking the French settlements in Bengal. The chief object of their designs was the reduction of Chandernagore, situated higher up the river than Calcutta, of considerable strength, and the chief in importance of any possessed by that nation in the bay. Colonel Clive being reinforced by three hundred men from Bombay, began his march to Chandernagore, at the head of seven hundred Europeans and one thousand six hundred Indians, where, on his first arrival, he took possession of all the out-posts except one redoubt mounted with eight pieces of cannon, which he left to be silenced by the admiral. On the eighteenth day of March, the admirals Watson and Pocoke arrived within two miles of the French settlement, with the Kent, Tiger, and Salisbury men of war, and found their passage obstructed by booms laid across the river, and several vessels sunk in the channel. These difficulties being removed, they advanced early on the twenty-fourth, and drew up in a line before the fort, which they battered with great fury for three hours; while colonel Clive was making his approaches on the land side, and playing vigorously from the batteries he had raised. Their united efforts soon obliged the enemy to submission. A flag of truce was waved over the walls, and the place surrendered by capitulation. The keys were delivered to captain Latham of the Tiger; and in the afternoon colonel Clive, with the king’s troops, took possession. Thus the reduction of a strong fortress, garrisoned by five hundred Europeans, and one thousand two hundred Indians, defended by one hundred and twenty-three pieces of cannon, and three mortars, well provided with all kinds of stores and necessaries, and of very great importance to the enemy’s commerce in India, was accomplished with a loss not exceeding forty men on the side of the conquerors. By the treaty of capitulation the director; counsellors, and inferior servants of the settlement, were allowed to depart with their wearing apparel: the Jesuits were permitted to take away their church ornaments, and the natives to remain in the full exertion of their liberties; but the garrison were to continue prisoners of war. The goods and money found in the place were considerable; but the principal advantage arose from the ruin of the head settlement of the enemy on the Ganges, which could not but interfere with the English commerce in these parts.

COLONEL CLIVE DEFEATS THE SUBA AT PLAISSEY, &c.

Success had hitherto attended all the operations of the British commanders, because they were concerted with foresight and unanimity; and executed with that vigour and spirit which deservedly raised them high in the esteem of their country. They reduced the nabob to reasonable terms of accommodation before they alarmed the French; and now the power of the latter was destroyed, they entered upon measures to oblige the treacherous viceroy to a strict performance of the treaty he had so lately signed. However specious his promises were, they found him extremely dilatory in the execution of several articles of the treaty, which, in effect, was the same to the English commerce as if none had been concluded. The company’s goods were loaded with high duties, and several other infractions of the peace committed, upon such frivolous pretences, as evidently demonstrated that he sought to come to an open rupture as soon as his projects were ripe for execution. In a word, he discovered all along a manifest partiality to the French, whose emissaries cajoled him with promises that he should be joined by such a body of their European troops, under M. de Bussy, as would enable him to crush the power of the English, whom they had taught him to fear and to hate. As recommencing hostilities against so powerful a prince was in itself dangerous, and if possible to be avoided, the affair was laid before the council of Culcutta, and canvassed with all the circumspection and caution that a measure required, on which depended the fate of the whole trade of Bengal. Mr. Watts, from time to time, sent them intelligence of every transaction in the suba’s cabinet; and although that prince publicly declared he would cause him to be impaled as soon as the English troops should be put in motion within the kingdom of Bengal, he bravely sacrificed his own safety to the interest of the company, and exhorted them to proceed with vigour in their military operations. During these deliberations a most fortunate incident occurred, that soon determined the council to come to an open rupture. The leading persons in the viceroy’s court found themselves oppressed by his haughtiness and insolence. The same spirit of discontent appeared among the principal officers of his army; they were well acquainted with his prefidy, saw his preparations for war, and were sensible that the peace of the country could never be restored, unless either the English were expelled, or the nabob deposed. In consequence, a plan was concerted for divesting him of all his power; and the conspiracy was conducted by Jaffier Ali Khan, his prime minister and chief commander, a nobleman of great influence and authority in the province. The project was communicated by Ali Khan to Mr. Watts, and so improved by the address of that gentleman, as in a manner to ensure success. A treaty was actually concluded between this Meer Jaffier Ali Khan and the English company; and a plan concerted with this nobleman and the other malcontents for their defection from the viceroy. These previous measures being-taken, colonel Clive was ordered to take the field with his little army. Admiral Watson undertook the defence of Chandernagore, and the garrison was detached to reinforce the colonel, together with fifty seamen to be employed as gunners, and in directing the artillery. Then Mr. Watts, deceiving the suba’s spies by whom he was surrounded, withdrew himself from Muxadavad, and reached the English camp in safety. On the nineteenth of June a detachment was sent to attack Cutwa fort and town, situated on that branch of the river forming the island of Cassimbuzzar. This place surrendered at the first summons; and here the colonel halted with the army for three days, expecting advices from Ali Khan. Disappointed of the hoped for intelligence, he crossed the river, and marched to Plaissey, where he encamped. On the twenty-third, at day break, the suba advanced to attack him, at the head of fifteen thousand horse, and near thirty thousand infantry, with about forty pieces of heavy cannon, conducted and managed by French gunners, on whose courage and dexterity he placed great dependence. They began to cannonade the English camp about six in the morning; but a severe shower falling at noon they withdrew their artillery. Colonel Clive seized this opportunity to take possession of a tank and two other posts of consequence, which they in vain endeavored to retake. Then he stormed an angle of their camp, covered with a double breastwork, together with an eminence which they occupied. At the beginning of this attack, some of their chiefs being slain, the men were so dispirited, that they soon gave way; but still Meer Jaffier Ali Khan, who commanded their left wing, forbore declaring himself openly. After a short contest the enemy were put to flight, the nabob’s camp, baggage, and fifty pieces of cannon taken, and a most complete victory obtained. The colonel, pursuing his advantage, marched to Muxadavad, the capital of the province, and was there joined by Ali Khan and the malcontents. It was before concerted that this nobleman should be invested with the dignity of nabob; accordingly, the colonel proceeded solemnly to depose Surajah Dowlat, and, with the same ceremony, to substitute Ali Khan in his room, who was publicly acknowledged by the people as suba, or viceroy, of the provinces of Bengal, Banar, and Orixa. Soon after, the late viceroy was taken, and put to death by his successor, who readily complied with all the conditions of his elevation. He conferred on his allies very liberal rewards, and granted the company such extraordinary privileges, as fully demonstrated how justly he merited their assistance. By this alliance, and the reduction of Chandernagore, the French were entirely excluded the commerce of Bengal and its dependencies; the trade of the English company was restored, and increased beyond their most sanguine hopes; a new ally was acquired, whose interest obliged him to remain firm to his engagements: a vast sum was paid to the company and the sufferers at Calcutta, to indemnify them for their losses: the soldiers and seamen were gratified with six hundred thousand pounds, as a reward for the courage and intrepidity they exerted; and a variety of other advantages gained, which it would be unnecessary to enumerate. In a word, in the space of fourteen days a great revolution was effected, and the government of a vast country superior in wealth, fertility, extent, and number of inhabitants to most European kingdoms, transferred by a handful of troops, conducted by an officer untutored in the art of war, and a general rather by intuition, than instruction and experience. But the public joy at these signal successes was considerably diminished by the death of admiral Watson, and the loss of Vizagapatam, an English settlement on the Coromandel coast. The admiral fell a victim to the unwholesomeness of the climate, on the sixteenth of August, universally esteemed and regretted; and the factory and fort at Vizagapatam were surrendered to the French, a few days after colonel Clive had defeated the nabob.

ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION OF THE KING OF FRANCE.

We now turn our eyes to the continent of Europe, where we see the beginning of the year marked with a striking instance of the dreadful effects of frantic enthusiasm. France had long enjoyed a monarch, easy, complying, good-natured, and averse to all that wore the appearance of business or of war. Contented with the pleasures of indolence, he sought no greatness beyond what he enjoyed, nor pursued any ambitious aim through the dictates of his own disposition. Of all men on earth such a prince had the greatest reason to expect an exemption from plots against his person, and cabals among his subjects; yet was an attempt made upon his life by a man, who though placed in the lowest sphere of fortune, had resolution to face the greatest dangers, and enthusiasm sufficient to sustain, without shrinking, all the tortures which the cruelty of man could invent, or his crimes render necessary. The name of this fanatic was Robert Francis Damien, born in the suburb of St. Catharine, in the city of Arras. He had lived in the service of several families, whence he was generally dismissed on account of the impatience, the melancholy, and sullenness of his disposition. So humble was the station of a person, who was resolved to step forth from obscurity, and, by one desperate effort, draw upon himself the attention of all Europe. On the fifth day of January, as the king was stepping into his coach to return to Trianon, whence he had that day come to Versailles, Damien, mingling among his attendants, stabbed him with a knife on the right side, between the fourth and fifth ribs. His majesty applying his hand immediately to his side, cried out, “I am wounded! Seize him; but do not hurt him.” Happily the wound was not dangerous; as the knife taking an oblique direction, missed the vital parts. As for the assassin, he made no attempts to escape; but suffering himself quietly to be seized, was conveyed to the guard-room, where, being interrogated if he committed the horrid action, he boldly answered in the affirmative. A process against him was instantly commenced at Versailles: many persons, supposed accessaries to the design upon the king’s life, were sent to the Bastile; the assassin himself was put to the torture, and the most excruciating torments were applied, with intention to extort a confession of the reasons that could induce him to so execrable an attempt upon his sovereign. Incisions were made into the muscular parts of his legs, arms, and thighs, into which boiling oil was poured. Every refinement on cruelty, that human invention could suggest, was practised without effect; nothing could overcome his obstinacy; and his silence was construed into a presumption, that he must have accomplices in the plot. To render his punishment more public and conspicuous, he was removed to Paris, there to undergo a repetition of all his former tortures, with such additional circumstances as the most fertile and cruel dispositions could devise for increasing his misery and torment. Being conducted to the Concergerie, an iron bed, which likewise served for a chair, was prepared for him, and to this he was fastened with chains. The torture was again applied, and a physician ordered to attend, to see what degree of pain he could support. Nothing, however, material was extorted; for what he one moment confessed, he recanted the next. It is not within our province, and we consider it as a felicity, to relate all the circumstances of this cruel and tragical event. Sufficient it is, that, after suffering the most exquisite torments that human nature could invent, or man support, his judges thought proper to terminate his misery by a death shocking to imagination, and shameful to humanity. On the twenty-eighth day of March he was conducted, amidst a vast concourse of the populace, to the Grève, the common place of execution, stripped naked, and fastened to the scaffold by iron gyves. One of his hands was then burnt in liquid flaming sulphur; his thighs, legs, and arms, were torn with red hot pincers; boiling oil, melted lead, resin, and sulphur, were poured into the wounds; tight ligatures tied round his limbs to prepare him for dismemberment; young and vigorous horses applied to the draft, and the unhappy criminal pulled, with all their force, to the utmost extension of his sinews, for the space of an hour; during all which time he preserved his senses and constancy. At length the physician and surgeon attending declared, it would be impossible to accomplish the dismemberment, unless the tendons were separated; upon which orders were given to the executioner to cut the sinews at the joints of the arms and legs. The horses drew afresh; a thigh and an arm were separated, and, after several pulls, the unfortunate wretch expired under the extremity of pain. His body and limbs were reduced to ashes under the scaffold; his father, wife, daughter, and family banished the kingdom for ever; the name of Damien effaced and obliterated, and the innocent involved in the punishment of the guilty. Thus ended the procedure against Damien and his family, in a manner not very favourable to the avowed clemency of Louis, or the acknowledged humanity of the French nation. It appeared from undoubted evidence, that the attempt on the king’s life was the result of insanity, and a disturbed imagination. Several instances of a disordered mind had before been observed in his conduct, and the detestation justly due to the enormity of his crime ought now to have been absorbed in the consideration of his misfortune, the greatest that can befal human nature.

CHANGES IN THE FRENCH MINISTRY.

Another remarkable event in France, in the beginning of this year, was the change in the ministry of that nation, by the removal of M. de Machault, keeper of the seals, from the post of secretary of state for the marine; and of M. d’Argenson from that of secretary at war. Their dismission was sudden and unexpected; nor was any particular reason assigned for this very unexpected alteration. The French king, to show the queen of Hungary how judiciously she had acted in forming an alliance with the house of Bourbon, raised two great armies; the first of which, composed of near eighty thousand men, the flower of the French troops, with a large train of artillery, was commanded by M. d’Etrées, a general of great reputation; under whom served M. de Contades, M. Chevert, and the count de Saint Germain, all officers of high character. This formidable army passed the Rhine early in the spring, and marched by Westphalia, in order to invade the king of Prussia’s dominions, in quality of allies to the empress-queen, and guardians of the liberties of the empire. But their real view was to invade Hanover, a scheme which they knew would make a powerful diversion of the British force from the prosecution of the war in other parts of the world, where the strength of France could not be fully exerted, and where their most valuable interests were at stake. They flattered themselves, moreover, that the same blow, by which they hoped to crush the king of Prussia, might likewise force his Britannic majesty into some concessions with regard to America. The other army of the French, commanded by the prince de Soubise, was destined to strengthen the imperial army of execution, consisting of twenty-five thousand men, beside six thousand Bavarians, and four thousand Wirtembergers. But before these troops, under Soubise, passed the Rhine, they made themselves masters of several places belonging to the king of Prussia, upon the borders of the low Countries;* whilst a detachment from d’Etrées’s army seized upon the town of Embden, and whatever else belonged to the same monarch in East Friesland.

* The king of Prussia had withdrawn his garrison from Cleves, not without suspicion of having purposely left this door open to the enemy, that their irruption into Germany might hasten the resolutions of the British ministry.

STATE OF THE CONFEDERACY.

At the close of the last campaign, the king of Prussia, having gained a petty advantage over the Imperialists under the command of mareschal Brown, and incorporated into his own troops a great part of the Saxon army taken prisoners at Pima, as was observed before, retired into winter-quarters, until the season should permit him to improve these advantages. His majesty and mareschal Keith wintered in Saxony, having their cantonments between Pirna and the frontier along the Elbe; and mareschal Schwerin, returning into Silesia, took up his quarters in the country of Glatz. In the meantime, the empress-queen, finding the force which she had sent out against the king of Prussia, was not sufficient to prevent his designs, made the necessary requisitions to her allies, for the auxiliaries they had engaged to furnish. In consequence of these requisitions, the czarina, true to her engagements, despatched above an hundred thousand of her troops, who began their march in the month of November, and proceeded to the borders of Lithuania, with design particularly to invade Ducal Prussia, whilst a strong fleet was equipped in the Baltic, to aid the operations of this numerous army. The Austrian army, assembled in Bohemia, amounted to upwards of fourscore thousand men, commanded by prince Charles of Lorraine and mareschal Brown. The Swedes had not yet openly declared themselves; but it was well known, that though their king was allied in blood and inclination to his Prussian majesty, yet the jealousy which the senate of Sweden entertained of their sovereign, and the hope of recovering their ancient possessions in Pomerania, by means of the present troubles, together with their old attachment to France, newly cemented by intrigues and subsidies, would certainly induce them to join the general confederacy. The duke of Mecklenburgh took the same party, and agreed to join the Swedish army, when it should be assembled, with six thousand men. Besides all these preparations against the king of Prussia, he was, in his quality of elector of Brandenburgh, put under the ban of the empire by the Aulic council; declared deprived of all his rights, privileges, and prerogatives; his fiefs were escheated into the exchequer of the empire; and all the circles accordingly ordered to furnish their respective contingencies for putting this sentence in execution.

In this dangerous situation, thus menaced on all sides, and seemingly on the very brink of inevitable destruction, the Prussian monarch owed his preservation to his own courage and activity. The Russians, knowing that the country they were to pass through in their way to Lithuania would not be able to subsist their prodigious numbers, had taken care to furnish themselves with provisions for their march, depending upon the resources they expected to find in Lithuania after their arrival in that country. These provisions were exhausted by the time they reached the borders of that province, where they found themselves suddenly and unexpectedly destitute of subsistence, either to return back or to proceed forward. The king of Prussia had, with great prudence and foresight, secured plenty to himself, and distress and famine to his enemies, by buying up all the corn and forage of the country which these last were entering. Notwithstanding these precautions, his Prussian majesty, to guard as much as could be against every possible event, sent a great number of gunners and matrasses from Pomerania to Memel, with three regiments of his troops, to reinforce the garrison of that place. He visited all the posts which his troops possessed in Silesia, and gave the necessary orders for their security. He repaired to Neiss, where he settled with mareschal Schwerin the general plan of the operations of the approaching campaign. There it was agreed, that the mareschal’s army in Silesia, which consisted of fifty thousand men, should have in constant view the motions of the royal army, by which its own were to be regulated, that they might both act in concert, as circumstances should require. At the same time, other armies were assembled by the king of Prussia in Lusatia and Voigt-land; twenty thousand men were collected at Zwickaw, on the frontiers of Bohemia, towards Egra, under the command of prince Maurice of Anhault-Dessau; and sixty thousand chosen troops began their march towards Great Seidlitz, where their head quarters were settled. In the meanwhile, the Austrian troops began to form on the frontiers of Saxony, where some of their detachments appeared, to watch the motions of the Prussians, who still continued to pursue their operations with great activity and resolution. All possible care was taken by the Prussians at Dresden to secure a retreat in case of a defeat. As only one regiment of Prussians could be spared to remain there in garrison, the burghers were disarmed, their arms deposited in the arsenal, and a detachment was posted at Konigstein, to oblige that fortress to observe a strict neutrality. All correspondence with the enemy was strictly prohibited; and it having been discovered that the countess of Ogilvie, one of the queen’s maids of honour, had disobeyed his majesty’s commands, she was arrested; but on the queen’s intercession afterwards released. The countess of Bruhl, lady of the Saxon prime minister, was also arrested by his Prussian majesty’s order; and on her making light of her confinement, and resolving to see company, she was ordered to quit the court, and retire from Saxony. M. Henwin, the French minister, was told that his presence was unnecessary at Dresden; and on his replying, that his master had commanded him to stay, he was again desired to depart; on which he thought proper to obey. The count de Wackerbath, minister of the cabinet, and grand master of the household to the prince royal of Poland, was arrested, and conducted to Custrin, by the express command of his majesty. The king of Prussia, having thrown two bridges over the Elbe, early in the spring, ordered the several districts of the electorate of Saxony to supply him with a great number of waggons, each drawn by four horses. The circles of Misnia and Leipsic were enjoined to furnish four hundred each, and the other circles in proportion.

SKIRMISHES BETWEEN THE PRUSSIANS AND AUSTRIANS.

While the king of Prussia was taking these measures in Saxony, two skirmishes happened on the frontiers of Bohemia, between his troops and the Austrians. On the twentieth of February, a body of six thousand Austrians surrounded the little town of Hirschfeld, in Upper Lusatia, garrisoned by a battalion of Prussian foot. The first attack was made at four in the morning, on two redoubts without the gates, each of which was defended by two field pieces: and though the Austrians were several times repulsed, they at last made themselves masters of one of the redoubts, and carried off the two pieces of cannon. In their retreat they were pursued by the Prussians, who fell upon their rear, killed some, and took many prisoners: this affair cost the Austrians at least five hundred men. About a fortnight after, the prince of Bevern marched out of Zittau, with a body of near nine thousand men, in order to destroy the remaining strongholds possessed by the Austrians on the frontiers. In this expedition he took the Austrian magazine at Friedland in Bohemia, consisting of nine thousand sacks of meal, and great store of ammunition; and after making himself master of Reichenberg, he returned to Zittau. The van of his troops, consisting of an hundred and fifty hussars of the regiment of Putkammer, met with a body of six hundred Croats, sustained by two hundred Austrian dragoons of Bathiania, at their entering Bohemia; and immediately fell upon them sword in hand, killed about fifty, took thirty horses, and made ten dragoons prisoners. The Prussians, it is said, did not lose a single man on this occasion; and two soldiers only were slightly wounded, the Austrians having made but a slight resistance.

NEUTRALITY OF THE EMPEROR, AND BEHAVIOUR OF THE DUTCH.

Whatever the conduct of the court of Vienna might have been to the allies of Great Britain, still, however, proper regard was shown to the subjects of this crown: for an edict was published at Florence on the thirteenth of February, wherein his imperial majesty, as grand duke of Tuscany, declared his intention of observing the most scrupulous neutrality in the then situation of affairs. All the ports in that duchy were accordingly enjoined to pay a strict regard to this declaration, in all cases relating to the French or English ships in the Mediterranean. The good effects of this injunction soon appeared; for two prizes taken by the English having put into Porto Ferraro, the captains of two French privateers addressed themselves to the governor, alleging, that they were captures of a pirate, and requesting that they might be obliged to put to sea; but the governor prudently replied, that as they came in under English colours he would protect them, and forbade the privateers, at their peril, to commit any violence. They, however, little regarding the governor’s orders, prepared for sailing, and sent their boats to cut out one of the prizes, The captain, firing at their boats, killed one of their men, which, alarming the sentinels, notice was sent to the governor; and he, in consequence, ordered the two privateers immediately to depart.—The conduct of the Dutch was rather cautious than spirited. Whilst his Prussian majesty was employed on the side of Bohemia and Saxony, the French auxiliaries began their march to harass his defenceless territories in the neighbourhood of the Low Countries. A free passage was demanded of the states-general through Namur and Maastricht, for the provisions, ammunition, and artillery belonging to this new army; and though the English ambassador remonstrated against their compliance, and represented it as a breach of the neutrality their high mightinesses declared they would observe, yet, after some hesitation, the demand was granted; and their inability to prevent the passage of the French troops, should it be attempted by force, pleaded in excuse of their conduct.

Scarce had the French army, commanded by the prince de Soubise, set foot in the territories of Juliers and Cologn, when they found themselves in possession of the duchy of Cloves and the country of Marck, where all things were left open to them, the Prussians, who evacuated their posts, taking their route along the river Lippe, in order to join some regiments from Magdeburgh, who were sent to facilitate their retreat. The distressed inhabitants, thus exposed to the calamities of war from an unprovoked enemy, were instantly ordered to furnish contributions, forage, and provisions for the use of their invaders; and what was still more terrifying to them, the partisan Fischer, whose cruelties the last war they still remembered with horror, was again let loose upon them by the inhumanity of the empress-queen. Wesel was immediately occupied by the French; Emmerick and Maseyk soon shared the same fate; and the city of Gueldres was besieged, the Prussians seeming resolved to defend this last place; to which end they opened the sluices, and laid the country under water. Those who retreated, filing off to the north-west of Paderborn, entered the county of Ritberg, the property of count Caunitz Ritberg, great chancellor to the empress-queen. After taking his castle, in which they found thirty pieces of cannon, they raised contributions in the district to the amount of forty thousand crowns. As the Prussians retired, the French took possession of the country they quitted in the name of the empress-queen, whose commissary attended them for that purpose. The general rendezvous of these troops, under prince Soubise, was appointed at Neuss, in the electorate of Cologn, where a large body of French was assembled by the first of April. The Austrians, in their turn, were not idle. Mareschal Brown visited the fortifications of Brinn and Koninsgratz; reviewed the army of the late prince Picolomini, now under the command of general Serbelloni; and put his own army in march for Kostlitz on the Elbe, where he proposed to establish his headquarters.

DECLARATION OF THE CZARINA AGAINST THE KING OF PRUSSIA.

During the recess of the armies, while the rigours of winter forced them to suspend their hostile operations, and the greatest preparations were making to open the campaign with all possible vigour, count Bestucheff, great chancellor of Russia, wrote a circular letter to the primate, senators, and ministers of the republic of Poland, setting forth, “That the empress of Russia was extremely affected with the king of Poland’s distress, which she thought could not but excite the compassion of all other powers, but more especially of his allies: that the fatal consequences which might result from the rash step by the king of Prussia, not only with respect to the tranquillity of Europe in general, but of each power in particular, and more especially of the neighbouring countries, were so evident, that the interest and safety of the several princes rendered it absolutely necessary they should make it a common cause; not only to obtain proper satisfaction for those courts whose dominions had been so unjustly attacked, but likewise to prescribe such bounds to the king of Prussia as might secure them from any future apprehensions from so enterprising and restless a neighbour: that with this view the empress was determined to assist the king of Poland with a considerable body of troops, which were actually upon their march,* under the command of general Apraxin; and that, as there would be an absolute necessity for their marching through part of the territories of Poland, her imperial majesty hoped the republic would not fail to facilitate their march as much as possible.”

* This letter was written in December, and the Russians, as we observed before, began their march in November.

She further recommended to the republic, to take some salutary measures for frustrating the designs of the king of Prussia, and restoring harmony among themselves, as the most conducive measure to these good purposes. In this, however, the Poles were so far from following her advice, that, though sure of being sacrificed in this contest, which side soever prevailed, they divided into parties with no less zeal than if they had as much to hope from the prevalence of one side, as to fear from that of the other. Some of the Palatines were for denying a passage to the Russians, and others were for affording them the utmost assistance in their power. With this cause of contention, others of a more private nature fatally concurred, by means of a misunderstanding between the prince Czartorinski and count Muisnec. Almost every inhabitant of Warsaw was involved in the quarrel; and the violence of these factions was so great that scarce a night passed without bloodshed, many dead bodies, chiefly Saxons, being found in the streets every morning.

In the meantime, Great Britain, unsettled in her ministry and councils at home, unsuccessful in her attempts abroad, judging peace, if it could be obtained on just and honourable terms, more eligible than a continental war, proposed several expedients to the empress-queen for restoring the tranquillity of Germany; but her answer was, “That whenever she perceived that the expedients proposed would indemnify her for the extraordinary expenses she had incurred in her own defence, repair the heavy losses sustained by her ally the king of Poland, and afford a proper security for their future safety, she would be ready to give the same proofs she had always given of her desire to restore peace; but it could not be expected she should listen to expedients of which the king of Prussia was to reap the whole ad vantage, after having begun the war, and wasted the dominions of a prince, who relied for his security upon the faith of treaties, and the appearance of harmony between them.” Upon the receipt of this answer, the court of London made several proposals to the czarina, to interpose as mediatrix between the courts of Vienna and Berlin, but they were rejected with marks of displeasure and resentment. When sir Charles Hanbury Williams, the British ambassador, continued to urge his solicitations very strongly, and even with some hints of menaces, an answer was delivered to him, by order of the empress, purporting, “That her imperial majesty was astonished at his demand, after he had already been made acquainted with the measures she had taken to effect a reconciliation between the courts of Vienna and Berlin. He might easily conceive, as matters were then situated, that the earnestness with which he now urged the same propositions, must necessarily surprise her imperial majesty, as it showed but little regard to her former declaration. The empress, therefore, commanded his excellency to be told, that as her intentions contained in her first answer remained absolutely invariable, no ulterior propositions for a mediation would be listened to; and that as for the menaces made use of by his excellency, and particularly that the king of Prussia himself would soon attack the Russian army, such threats served only to weaken the ambassador’s proposals; to confirm still more, were it possible, the empress in her resolutions; to justify them to the whole world, and to render the king of Prussia more blameable.”

KING OF PRUSSIA ENTERS BOHEMIA.

The season now drawing on in which the troops of the contending powers would be able to take the field, and the alarming progress of the Russians being happily stopped, his Prussian majesty, whose maxim it has always been to keep the seat of war as far as possible from his own dominions, resolved to carry it into Bohemia, and there to attack the Austrians on all sides. To this end he ordered his armies in Saxony, Misnia, Lusatia, and Silesia, to enter Bohemia in four different and op-opposite places, nearly at the same time. The first of these he commanded in person, assisted by mareschal Keith; the second was led by prince Maurice of Anhault-Dessau, the third by prince Ferdinand of Brunswick-Bevern, and the fourth by mareschal Schwerin. In consequence of this plan, mareschal Schwerin’s army entered Bohemia on the eighteenth of April, in five columns, at as many different places. The design was so well concerted, that the Austrians had not the least suspicion of their approach until they were past the frontiers, and then they filled the dangerous defile of Guelder-Oesle with pandours, to dispute that passage; but they were no sooner discovered than two battalions of Prussian grenadiers attacked them with their bayonets fixed, and routed them. The prince of Anhault passed the frontiers from Misnia, and penetrated into Bohemia on the twenty-first of April, without any resistance. The prince of Bevern, on the twentieth of the same month, having marched at the head of a body of the army, which was in Lusatia, from the quarters of cantonment near Zittau, possessed himself immediately of the first post on the frontier of Bohemia, at Krouttau and Grasenstein, without the loss of a single man; drove away the enemy the same day from Kratzen, and proceeded to Machendorf, near Reichenberg. The same morning Putkammer’s hussars, who formed part of a corps, commanded by a colonel and major, routed some hundreds of the enemy’s cuirassiers, posted before Kolin, under the conduct of prince Lichenstein, took three officers and upwards of sixty horse prisoners, and so dispersed the rest, that they were scarcely able to rally near Kratzen. Night coming on obliged the troops to remain in the open air till the next morning, when, at break of day, the Prussians marched in two columns by Habendorf, towards the enemy’s army, amounting to twenty-eight thousand men, commanded by count Konigsegg, and posted near Roichenberg. As soon as the troops were formed, they advanced towards the enemy’s cavalry, drawn up in three lines of about thirty squadrons. The two wings were sustained by the infantry, which was posted among felled trees and intrenchments. The Prussians immediately cannonaded the enemy’s cavalry, who received it with resolution, having on their right hand a village, and on their left a wood whore they had intrenched themselves. But the prince of Bevern having caused fifteen squadrons of dragoons of the second line to advance, and the wood on his right to be attacked at the same time by the battalions of grenadiers of Kahlden and of Moellendorf, and by the regiment of the prince of Prussia, his dragoons, who, by clearing the ground and possessing the intrenchment, had their flanks covered, entirely routed the enemy’s cavalry. In the meantime colonel Putkammer and major Schenfield, with their hussars, though flanked by the enemy’s artillery, gave the Austrian horse grenadiers a very warm reception, whilst general Lestewitz, with the left wing of the Prussians, attacked the redoubts that covered Reichenberg. Though there were many defiles and rising grounds to pass, all occupied by the Austrians, yet the regiment of Darmstadt forced the redoubt, and put to flight and pursued the enemy, after some discharge of their artillery and small arms, from one eminence to another, for the distance of a mile, when they left off the pursuit. The action began at half an hour after six, and continued till eleven. About one thousand of the Austrians were killed and wounded; among the former were general Porporati and count Hohenfelds, and among the latter prince Lichtenstein and count Mansfeld. Twenty of their officers, and four hundred soldiers, were taken prisoners, and they also lost three standards. On the side of the Prussians seven subalterns and about an hundred men were killed, and sixteen officers and an hundred and fifty men wounded. After this battle mareschal Schwerin joined the prince of Bevern, made himself master of the greatest part of the circle of Buntzlau, and took a considerable magazine from the Austrians, whom he dislodged. The prince Anhault-Dessau, with his corps, drew near the king of Prussia’s army; then the latter advanced as far as Budin, from whence the Austrians who had an advantageous camp there, retired to Westwarn, half way between Budin and Prague; and his Prussian majesty having passed the Egra, his army, and that of mareschal Schwerin, were so situated, as to be able to act jointly.

These advantages were but a prelude to a much more decisive victory, which the king himself gained a few days after. Preparing to enter Bohemia, at a distance from any of the corps commanded by his generals, he made a movement as if he had intended to march towards Egra. The enemy, deceived by this feint, and imagining he was going to execute some design, distinct from the object of the other armies, detached a body of twenty thousand men to observe his motions; then he made a sudden and masterly movement to the left, by which he cut off all communication between that detachment and the main army of the Austrians, which, having been reinforced by the army of Moravia, by the remains of the corps lately defeated by the prince of Bevern, and by several regiments of the garrison of Prague, amounted to near a hundred thousand men. They were strongly intrenched on the banks of the Moldaw, to the north of Prague, in a camp so fortified by every advantage of nature, and every contrivance of art, as to be deemed almost impregnable. The left wing of the Austrians, thus situated, was guarded by the mountains of Ziscka, and the right extended as far as Herboholi; prince Charles of Lorraine, and mareschal Brown, who commanded them, seemed determined to maintain this advantageous post; but the king of Prussia overlooked all difficulties. Having thrown several bridges over the Moldaw on the fifth of May, he passed that river in the morning of the sixth, with thirty thousand men, leaving the rest of the army under the command of the prince of Anhault-Dessau; and being immediately joined by the troops under mareschal Schwerin and the prince of Bevern, resolved to attack the enemy on the same day. In consequence of this resolution, his army filed off on the left by Potschernitz; and at the same time count Brown wheeled to the right, to avoid being flanked. The Prussians continued their march to Richwitz, traversing several defiles and morasses, which for a little time separated the infantry from the rest of the army. The foot began the attack too precipitately, and were at first repulsed, but they soon recovered themselves. While the king of Prussia took the enemy in flank, mareschal Schwerin advanced to a marshy ground, which suddenly stopping his army, threatened to disconcert the whole plan of operation. In this emergency, he immediately dismounted, and taking the standard of the regiment in his hand, boldly entered the morass, crying out, “Let all brave Prussians follow me.” Inspired by the example of this great commander, now eighty-two years of age, all the troops pressed forward, and though he was unfortunately killed by the first fire, their ardour abated not till they had totally defeated the enemy. Thus fell mareschal Schwerin, loaded with years and glory, an officer whose superior talents in the military art had been displayed in a long course of faithful service. In the meantime, the Prussian infantry, which had been separated in the march, forming themselves afresh, renewed the attack on the enemy’s right, and entirely broke it, while their cavalry, after three charges, obliged that of the Austrians to retire in great confusion, the centre being at the same time totally routed. The left wing of the Prussians then marched immediately towards Michely, and being there joined by the horse, renewed their attack, while the enemy were retreating hastily towards Saszawar. Meanwhile the troops on the right of the Prussian army attacked the remains of the left wing of the Aus-trians, and made themselves masters of three batteries. But the behaviour of the infantry in the last attack was so successful, as to leave little room for this part of the cavalry to act. Prince Henry of Prussia, and the prince of Bevern, signalized themselves on this occasion in storming two batteries; prince Ferdinand of Brunswick took the left wing of the Austrians in flank, while the king with his left, and a body of cavalry, secured the passage of the Moldaw. In short, after a very long and obstinate engagement, and many signal examples of valour on both sides, the Austrians were forced to abandon the field of battle, leaving behind sixty pieces of cannon, all their tents, baggage, military chest, and, in a word, their whole camp. The weight of the battle fell upon the right wing of the Austrians, the remains of which, to the amount of ten or twelve thousand men, fled towards Beneschau, where they afterwards assembled under M. Pretlach, general of horse. The infantry retired towards Prague, and threw themselves into that city with their commanders, prince Charles of Lorraine, and mareschal Brown; but they were much harassed in their retreat by a detachment of the Prussians under mareschal Keith. The Prussians took, on this occasion, ten standards, and upwards of four thousand prisoners, thirty of whom were officers of rank. Their loss amounted to about two thousand five hundred killed, and about three thousand wounded. Among the former were general d’Amstel, the prince of Holstein-Beck, the colonels Goltze and Manstein, and lieutenant-colonel Boke. Among the latter, the generals Wenterfield, De la Mothe, Feuque, Hautcharmoy, Blankensee and Plettenberg. The number of the killed and wounded on the side of the Austrians was much greater. Among these last was mareschal Brown, who received a wound, which, from the chagrin he suffered, rather than from its own nature, proved mortal. The clay after the battle, colonel Meyer was detached with a battalion of Prussian pandours, and four hundred hussars, to destroy a very considerable and valuable magazine of the Austrians at Pilsen, and this service lie performed. He also completed the destruction of several others of less importance; by the loss of which, however, all possibility of subsistence was cut off from any succours the Austrians might have expected from the empire.

PRAGUE INVESTED.

The Prussians, following their blow, immediately invested Prague on both sides of the river, the king commanding on one side, and mareschal Keith on the other. In four days the whole city was surrounded with lines and intrenchments, by which all communication from without was entirely cut off: prince Charles of Lorraine and mareschal Brown, the two princes of Saxony, the prince of Modena, the duke d’Aremberg, count Lascy, and several other persons of great distinction, were shut up within the walls, together with above twenty thousand of the Austrian army, who had taken refuge in Prague after their defeat. Every thing continued quiet on both sides, scarce a cannon-shot being fired by either for some time after this blockade was formed; and in the meanwhile the Prussians made themselves masters of Cziscaberg, an eminence which commands the town, where the Austrians had a strong redoubt, continuing likewise to strengthen their works. Already they had made a sally, and taken some other ineffectual steps to recover this post; but a more decisive stroke was necessary. Accordingly, a design was formed of attacking the Prussian army in the night with a body of twelve thousand men, to be sustained by all the grenadiers, volunteers, pandours, and Hungarian infantry. In case an impression could be made on the king’s lines, it was intended to open a way, sword in hand, through the camp of the besiegers, and to ease Prague of the multitude of forces locked up useless within the walls, serving only to consume the provisions of the garrison, and hasten the surrender of the place. Happily a deserter gave the prince of Prussia intelligence of the enemy’s design about eleven o’clock at night. Proper measures were immediately taken for their reception, and, in less than a quarter of an hour, the whole army was under arms. This design was conducted with so much silence, that though the Prussians were warned of it, they could, discover nothing before the enemy had charged their advanced posts. Their attack was begun on the side of the little town, against mareschal Keith’s camp, and the left wing of the Prussian army encamped on the Moldaw. From hence it is probable the Austrians proposed not only to destroy the batteries that were raising, but to attack the bridges of communication which the Prussians threw over the Moldaw, at about a quarter of a German mile above and below Prague, at Branig and Podbaba. The greatest alarm began about two o’clock, when the enemy hoped to have come silently and unexpectedly upon the miners, but they had left work about a quarter of an hour before. At the report of the first piece which they fired, the piquet of the third battalion of Prussian guards, to the number of an hundred men, who marched out of the camp to sustain the body which covered the works, was thrown into some confusion, from the darkness of the night, which prevented their distinguishing the Austrian troops from their own. Lieutenant Jork, detached with two platoons to reconnoitre the enemy, attempting to discover their disposition by kindling a fire, captain Rodig, by the light of this fire, perceived the enemy’s situation, immediately formed the design of falling upon them in flank, and gave orders to his men to fire in platoons, which they performed, mutually repeating the signal given by their commander. The enemy fled with the greater precipitation, as they were ignorant of the weakness of the piquet, and as the shouting of the Prussian soldiers made them mistake it for a numerous body. Many of them deserted, many took shelter in Prague, and many more were driven into the river and drowned. At the same time this attack began, a regiment of horse-grenadiers fell upon a redoubt which the Prussians had thrown up, supported by the Hungarian infantry: they returned three times to the assault, and were as often beat back by the Prussians, whom they found it impossible to dislodge; though prince Ferdinand of Brunswick’s battalion, which guarded this post, suffered extremely. During this attack the enemy kept an incessant fire with their musquetry upon the whole front of the Prussians, from the convent of St. Margaret to the river. At three in the morning the Prussians quitted their camp to engage the enemy. The battalion of Pannewitz attacked a building called the Red-house, situated at the bottom of a declivity, before Wellastowitz. The pandours who had taken possession of this house, fired upon them incessantly from all the doors and windows until they were dislodged; and the Prussian battalions were obliged to sustain the fire both of cannon and musquetry for above two hours, when the enemy retired to the city, except the pandours, who again took possession of the Red-house, which the Prussians were forced to abandon, because the artillery of Prague kept a continual fire upon it from the moment it was known to be in their hands. The Austrians left behind them many dead and wounded, besides deserters; and the Prussians, notwithstanding the loss of several officers and private men, made some prisoners. Prince Ferdinand, the king of Prussia’s youngest brother, had a horse killed under Mm, and was slightly wounded in the face.

The Prussian works being completed, and heavy artillery arrived, four batteries, erected on the banks of the Moldaw, began to play with great fury. Near three hundred bombs, besides an infinity of ignited balls, were thrown into the city in the space of twenty-four hours. The scene was lamentable, houses, men, and horses wrapped in flames and reduced to ashes. The confusion within, together with the want of proper artillery and ammunition, obliged the Austrians to cease firing, and furnished his Prussian majesty with all the opportunity he could wish of pouring destruction upon this unfortunate city. The horrors of war seemed to have extinguished the principles of humanity. No regard was paid to the distress of the inhabitants; the Austrians obstinately maintained possession, and the Prussians practised every stratagem, every barbarous refinement, that constitutes the military art, to oblige them to capitulate. After the conflagration had lasted three days, and consumed a prodigious number of buildings, the principal inhabitants, burghers, and clergy, perceiving their city on the point of being reduced to a heap of rubbish, besought the commander, in a body, to hearken to terms; but he was deaf to the voice of pity, and, instead of being moved with their supplications, drove out twelve thousand persons, the least useful in defending the city. These, by order of his Prussian majesty, were again forced back, which soon produced so great a scarcity of provisions within the walls, that the Austrians were reduced to the necessity of eating horseflesh, forty horses being daily distributed to the troops, and the same food sold at four-pence a pound to the inhabitants. However, as there still remained great abundance of corn, they were far from being brought to the last extremity. Two vigorous and well-conducted sallies were made, but they proved unsuccessful. The only advantage resulting from them, was the perpetual alarm in which they kept the Prussian camp, and the vigilance required to guard against the attacks of a numerous, resolute, and desperate garrison.

COUNT DAUN COMMANDS THE AUSTRIANS.

Whatever difficulties might have attended the conquest of Prague, certain it is, that the affairs of the empress-queen were in the most critical and desperate situation. Her grand army dispersed in parties, and dying for subsistence in small corps; their princes and commanders cooped up in Prague; that capital in imminent danger of being taken, the flourishing kingdom of Bohemia ready to fall into the hands of the conqueror; a considerable army on the point of surrendering prisoners of war; all the queen’s hereditary dominions open and exposed, the whole fertile tract of country from Egra to the Moldaw in actual possession of the Prussians, the distance to the archduchy of Austria not very considerable, and secured only by the Danube; Vienna under the utmost apprehensions of a siege, and the imperial family ready to take refuge in Hungary; the Prussian forces deemed invincible, and the sanguine friends of that monarch already sharing with him, in imagination, the spoils of the ancient and illustrious house of Austria. Such was the aspect of affairs, and such the difficulties to be combated, when Leopold, count Daun, was appointed to the command of the Austrian forces, to stem the torrent of disgrace, and turn the fortune of the war. This general, tutored by long experience under the best officers of Europe, and the particular favourite of the great Kevenhuller, was now, for the first time, raised to act in chief, at the head of an army, on which depended the fate of Austria and the empire. Born of a noble family, he relied solely upon his own merit, without soliciting court favour; he aspired after the highest preferment, and succeeded by mere dint of superior worth. His progress from the station of a subaltern was slow and silent; his promotion to the chief command was received with universal esteem and applause. Cautious, steady, penetrating, and sagacious, he was opposed as another Fabius to the modern Hannibal, to check the fire and vigour of that monarch by prudent foresight and wary circumspection. Arriving at Romischbrod, within a few miles of Prague, the day after the late defeat, he halted to collect the fugitive corps and broken remains of the Austrian army, and soon drew together a force so considerable as to attract the notice of his Prussian majesty, who detached the prince of Bevern, with twenty battalions, and thirty squadrons, to attack him before numbers should render him formidable. Daun was too prudent to give battle, with dispirited troops, to an army flushed with victory. He retired on the first advice that the Prussians were advancing, and took post at Kolin, where he intrenched himself strongly, opened the way for the daily supply of recruits sent to his army, and inspired the garrison of Prague with fresh courage, in expectation of being soon relieved. Here he kept close within his camp, divided the Prussian force, by obliging the king to employ near half his army in watching his designs, weakened his efforts against Prague, harassed the enemy by cutting off their convoys, and restored by degrees the languishing and almost desponding spirits of his troops. Perfectly acquainted with the ardour and discipline of the Prussian forces, with the enterprising and impetuous disposition of that monarch, and sensible that his situation would prove irksome and embarrassing to the enemy, he improved it to the best advantage, seemed to foresee all the consequences, and directed every measure to produce them. Thus he retarded the enemy’s operations, and assiduously avoided precipitating an action until the Prussian vigour should be exhausted, their strength impaired by losses and desertion, the first fire and ardour of their genius extinguished by continual fatigue and incessant alarms, and until the impression made on his own men, by the late defeat, should in some degree be effaced. The event justified Daun’s conduct. His army grew every day more numerous, while his Prussian majesty began to express the utmost impatience at the length of the siege. When that monarch first invested Prague, it was on the presumption that the numerous forces within the walls would, by consuming all the provisions, oblige it to surrender in a few days; but perceiving that the Austrians had still a considerable quantity of corn, that count Daun’s army was daily increasing, and would soon be powerful enough not only to cope with the detachment under the prince of Bevern, but in a condition to raise the siege, he determined to give the count battle with one part of his army, while he kept Prague blocked up with the other. The Austrians, amounting now to sixty thousand men, were deeply intrenched, and defended by a numerous train of artillery, placed on redoubts and batteries erected on the most advantageous posts. Every accessible part of the camp was fortified with lines and heavy pieces of battering cannon, and the foot of the hills secured by difficult defiles. Yet, strong as this situation might appear, formidable as the Austrian forces certainly were, his Prussian majesty undertook to dislodge them with a body of horse and foot not exceeding thirty-two thousand men.

KING OF PRUSSIA DEFEATED AT KOLIN.

On the thirteenth day of June, the king of Prussia quitted the camp before Prague, escorted by a few battalions and squadrons, with which he joined the prince of Bevern at Milkowitz, Mareschal Keith, it is said, strenuously opposed this measure, and advised either raising the siege entirely, and attacking the Austrians with the united forces of Prussia, or postponing the attack on the camp at Kolin, until his majesty should either gain possession of the city, or some attempts should be made to oblige him to quit his posts. From either measure an advantage would have resulted. With his whole army he might probably have defeated count Daun, or at least have obliged him to retreat. Had he continued within his lines at Prague, the Austrian general could not have constrained him to raise the siege without losing his own advantageous situation, and giving battle upon terms nearly equal. But the king, elated with success, impetuous in his valour, and confident of the superiority of his own troops in point of discipline, thought all resistance must sink under the weight of his victorious arm, and yield to that courage which had already surmounted such difficulties, disregarded the mareschal’s sage counsel, and inarched up to the attack undaunted, and even assured of success. By the eighteenth the two armies were in sight, and his majesty found that count Daun had not only fortified his camp with all the heavy cannon of Olmutz, but was strongly reinforced with troops from Moravia and Austria, which had joined him after the king’s departure from Prague. He found the Austrians drawn up in three lines upon the high grounds between Gen-litz, and St. John the Baptist. Difficult as it was to approach their situation, the Prussian infantry marched up with firmness, while shot was poured like hail from the enemy’s batteries, and began the attack about three in the afternoon. They drove the Austrians with irresistible intrepidity from two eminences secured with heavy cannon, and two villages defended by several battalions; but, in attacking the third eminence, were flanked by the Austrian cavalry, by grape-shot poured from the batteries; and, after a violent conflict, and prodigious loss of men, thrown into disorder. Animated with the king’s presence, they rallied, and returned with double ardour to the charge, but were a second time repulsed. Seven times successively did prince Ferdinand renew the attack, performing every duty of a great general and valiant soldier, though always with the same fortune. The inferiority of the Prussian infantry, the disadvantages of ground, where the cavalry could not act, the advantageous situation of the enemy, their numerous artillery, their intrenchments, numbers, and obstinacy, joined to the skill and conduct of their general, all conspired to defeat the hopes of the Prussians, to surmount their valour, and oblige them to retreat. The king then made a last and furious effort, at the head of the cavalry, on the enemy’s left wing, but with as little success as all the former attacks. Every effort was made, and every attempt was productive only of greater losses and misfortunes. At last, after exposing his person in the most perilous situations, his Prussian majesty drew off his forces from the field of battle, retiring in such good order, in sight of the enemy, as prevented a pursuit, or the loss of his artillery and baggage. Almost all the officers on either side distinguished themselves; and count Daun, whose conduct emulated that of his Prussian majesty, received two slight wounds, and had a horse killed under him. The losses of both armies were very considerable; on that of the Prussians, the killed and wounded amounted to eight thousand; less pernicious, however, to his majesty’s cause than the frequent desertion, and other innumerable ill consequences that ensued.

When the Prussian army arrived at Nimburgh, his majesty, leaving the command with the prince of Be-vern, took horse, and, escorted by twelve or fourteen hussars, set out for Prague, where he arrived next morning without halting, after having been the whole preceding day on horseback. Immediately he gave orders for sending off all his artillery, ammunition, and baggage; these were executed with so much expedition, that the tents were struck, and the army on their march, before the garrison were informed of the king’s defeat. Thus terminated the battle of Kolin and siege of Prague, in which the acknowledged errors of his Prussian majesty were, in some measure, atoned by the candour with which he owned his mistake, both in a letter to the earl mareschal, 419 [See note 3 I, at the end of this Vol.] and in conversation with several of his general officers. Most people, indeed, imagined the king highly blameable for checking the ardour of his troops to stop and lay siege to Prague. They thought he should have pursued his conquests, over-run Austria, Moravia, and all the hereditary dominions, from which alone the empress-queen could draw speedy succours. A body of twenty or thirty thousand men would have blocked up Prague, while the remainder of the Prussian forces might have obliged the imperial family to retire from Vienna, and effectually prevented count Daun from assembling another army. It was universally expected he would have bent his march straight to this capital; but he dreaded leaving the numerous army in Prague behind, and it was of great importance to complete the conquest of Bohemia. The prince of Prussia marched all night with his corps to Nimburgh, where he joined the prince of Bevern, and mareschal Keith retreated next day. Count Brown having died before, of the wounds he received on the sixth of May, prince Charles of Lorraine sallied out with a large body of Austrians, and attacked the rear of the Prussians; but did no further mischief than killing about two hundred of their men. The siege of Prague being thus raised, the imprisoned Austrians received their deliverer, count Daun, with inexpressible joy, and their united forces became greatly superior to those of the king of Prussia, who was in a short time obliged to evacuate Bohemia, and take refuge in Saxony. The Austrians harassed him as much as possible in his retreat; but their armies, though superior in numbers, were not in a condition, from their late sufferings, to make any decisive attempt upon him, as the frontiers of Saxony abound with situations easily defended.

PREPARATIONS FOR THE DEFENCE OF HANOVER.

Having thus described the progress of the Prussians in Bohemia, we must cast our eyes on the transactions which distinguished the campaign in Westphalia. To guard against the storm which menaced Hanover in particular, orders were transmitted thither to recruit the troops that had been sent back from England, to augment each company, to remount the cavalry with the utmost expedition; not to suffer any horses to be conveyed out of the electorate; to furnish the magazines in that country with all things necessary for fifty thousand men. Of these, twenty-six thousand were to be Hanoverians, and, in consequence of engagements entered into for that purpose, twelve thousand Hessians, six thousand Brunswickers, two thousand Saxe-Gothans, and a thousand Lunenburghers, to be joined by a considerable body of Prussians, the whole commanded by his royal highness the duke of Cumberland. The king of England having published a manifesto, dated at Hanover, specifying his motives for taking the field in Westphalia, the troops of the confederated states that were to compose the allied army, under the name of an army of observation, began to assemble with all possible diligence near Bielefeldt. Thither the generals, appointed to command the several divisions, repaired to settle the plan of operations with their commander, the duke of Cumberland, who having left London on the ninth of April, arrived on the sixteenth at Hanover, and from thence repaired to the army, which, having been joined by three Prussian regiments that retired from Wesel, consisted of thirty-seven battalions and thirty-four squadrons. Of these, six battalions and six squadrons were posted at Bielefeldt, under the command of lieutenant-general baron de Sporcken; six battalions, under lieutenant-general de Block, at Hervorden; six battalions and four squadrons, under major-general Ledebour, between Hervorden and Minden; seven battalions and ten squadrons, under lieutenant-general d’Oberg, in the neighbourhood of Hamelen; and five battalions and four squadrons, under major-general de Hauss, near Nienburgh. The head-quarters of his royal highness were at Bielefeldt.

SKIRMISHES WITH THE FRENCH.

In the meantime, the French on the Lower Rhine continued filing off incessantly. The siege of Gueldres was converted into a blockade, occasioned by the difficulties the enemy found in raising batteries; and a party of Hanoverians having passed the Weser, as well to ravage the country of Paderborn as to reconnoitre the French, carried off several waggons loaded with wheat and oats, destined for the territories of the elector of Cologn. On the other hand, colonel Fischer having had an engagement with a small body of Hanoverians, in the county of Tecklenburgh, routed them, and made some prisoners. After several other petty skirmishes between the French and the Hanoverians, the duke of Cumberland altered the position of his camp, by placing it between Bielefeldt and Hervorden, in hopes of frustrating the design of the enemy; who, declining to attack him on the side of Bracwede, after having reconnoitred his situation several days, made a motion on their left, as if they meant to get between him and the Weser. This step was no sooner taken, than, on the thirteenth of June in the afternoon, having received advice that the enemy had caused a large body of troops, followed by a second, to march on his right to Burghotte, he ordered his army to march that evening towards Hervorden; and, at the same time, major-general Hardenberg marched with four battalions of grenadiers, and a regiment of horse, to reinforce that post. Count Schulenberg covered the left of the march with a battalion of grenadiers, a regiment of horse, and the light troops of Buckenburgh. The whole army marched in two columns. The right, composed of horse, and followed by two battalions, to cover their passage through the enclosures and defiles, passed by the right of Bielefeldt; and the left, consisting of infantry, marched by the left of the same town. The vanguard of the French army attacked the rear guard of the allies, commanded by major-general Einsiedel, very briskly, and at first put them into some confusion, but they immediately recovered themselves. This was in the beginning of the night. At break of day the enemy’s reinforcements returned to the charge, but were again repulsed, nor could they once break through lieutenant-colonel Al-feldt’s Hanoverian guards, which closed the army’s march with a detachment of regular troops and a new raised corps of hunters.

DUKE OF CUMBERLAND PASSES THE WESER.

The allies encamped at Cofeldt on the fourteenth, and remained there all the next day, when the enemy’s detachments advanced to the gates of Hervorden, and made a feint as if they would attack the town, after having summoned it to surrender; but they retired without attempting any thing further; and, in the meantime, the troops that were posted at Hervorden, and formed the rear guard, passed the Weser on the side of Remen, without any molestation, and encamped at Holtzuysen. A body of troops which had been left at Bielefeldt, to cover the duke’s retreat, after some skirmishes with the French, rejoined the army in the neighbourhood of Herfort; and a few days after, his royal highness drew near his bridges on the Weser, and sent over his artillery, baggage, and ammunition. At the same time some detachments passed the river on the right, between Minden and Oldendorp, and marked out a new camp advantageously situated, having the Weser in front, and the right and left covered with eminences and marshes. There the army under his royal highness re-assembled, and the French fixed their head-quarters at Bielefeldt, which the Hanoverians had quitted, leaving in it only a part of a magazine, which had been set on fire. By this time the French were in such want of forage, that M. d’Etrées himself, the princes of the blood, and all the officers without exception, were obliged to send back part of their horses. However, on the tenth of June, their whole army, consisting of seventy battalions and forty squadrons, with fifty-two pieces of cannon, besides a body of cavalry left at Ruremonde for the conveniency of forage, was put in motion. In spite of almost impassable forests, famine, and every other obstacle that could be thrown in their way by a vigilant and experienced general, they at length surmounted all difficulties, and advanced into a country abounding with plenty, and unused to the ravages of war. It was imagined that the passage of the Weser, which defends Hanover from foreign attacks, would have been vigorously opposed by the army of the allies; but whether, in the present situation of affairs, it was thought advisable to act only upon the defensive, and not to begin the attack in a country that was not concerned as a principal in the war, or the duke of Cumberland found himself too weak to make head against the enemy, is a question we shall not pretend to determine. However that may have been, the whole French army passed the Weser on the tenth and eleventh of July, without the loss of a man. The manner of effecting this passage is thus related: mareschal d’Etrées, being informed that his magazines of provisions were well furnished, his ovens established, and the artillery and pontoons arrived at the destined places, ordered lieutenant-general Broglio, with ten battalions, twelve squadrons, and ten pieces of cannon, to march to Engheren; lieutenant-general M. de Chevert, with sixteen battalions, three brigades of carabineers, the royal hunters, and six hundred hussars, to march to Hervorden, and lieutenant-general marquis d’Armentieres, with twelve battalions, and ten squadrons, to march to Ulrickhausen. All these troops being arrived in their camp on the fourth of July, halted the fifth. On the sixth, twenty-two battalions, and thirty-two squadrons, under the command of the duke of Orleans, who was now arrived at the army, inarched to Ulrickhausen, from whence M. d’Armentieres had set out early in the morning, with the troops under his command, and by hasty marches got on the seventh, by eleven at night, to Blankenhoven, where he found the boats which had gone from Ahrensberg. The bridges were built, the cannon planted, and the intrenchments at the head of the bridges completed in the night between the seventh and eighth. The mareschal having sent away part of his baggage from Bielefeldt on the sixth, went in person on the seventh at eleven o’clock to Horn, and on the eighth to Braket. On advice that M. d’Armentieres had thrown his bridges across without opposition, and was at work on his intrenchments, he went on the ninth to Blankenhoven, to see the bridges and intrenchments; and afterwards advanced to examine the first position he intended for this army, and came down to the right side of the Weser to the abbey of Corvey, where he forded the river, with the princes of the blood, and their attendants. On the tenth in the morning he got on horseback by four o’clock, to see the duke of Orlean’s division file off, which arrived at Corvey at ten o’clock; as also that of M. d’Armentieres, which arrived at eleven, and that of M. Souvre, which arrived at noon. The mareschal having examined the course of the river, caused the bridges of pontoons to be laid within gunshot of the abbey, where the viscount de Turenne passed that river in the year one thousand six hundred and seventy-three, and where the divisions under Broglio and Chevert now passed, it on the twelfth and thirteenth. These two generals being informed of what was to be done upon the Upper Weser, attacked Minden, and carried it, whilst a detachment of the French entered the country of East Friesland, under the command of the marquis d’Auvel; and, after taking possession of Lier, inarched on the right side of the Ems to Embden, the only sea-port the king of Prussia had, which at first seemed determined to make a defence; but the inhabitants were not agreed upon the methods to be taken for that purpose. They therefore met to deliberate, but in the meantime, their gates being shut, M. d’Auvel caused some cannon to be brought to beat them down; and the garrison, composed of four hundred Prussians, not being strong enough to defend the town, the soldiers mutinied against their officers, whereupon a capitulation was agreed on, and the gates were opened to the French commander, who made his troops enter with a great deal of order, assured the magistrates that care should be taken to make them observe a good discipline, and published two ordinances, one for the security of the religion and commerce of the city, and the other for prohibiting the exportation of corn and forage out of that principality. The inhabitants were; however, obliged to take an oath of allegiance to the French king.

BATTLE OF HASTENBECK.

On Sunday, the twenty-fourth of July, the French, after having laid part of the electorate of Hanover under contribution, marched in three columns, with their artillery, towards the village of Latford, when major-general Furstenburgh, who commanded the out-ports in the village, sent an officer to inform the duke of Cumberland of their approach. His royal highness immediately reinforced those posts with a body of troops, under the command of lieutenant-general Sporcken; but finding it impossible to support the village, as it was commanded by the heights opposite to it, which were possessed by the enemy, and being sensible that it would be always in his power to retake it, from its situation in a bottom between two hills, he withdrew his post from Latford. The French then made two attacks, one at the point of the wood, and the other higher up in the same wood, opposite to the grenadiers commanded by major-general Hardenberg, but they failed in both; and though the fire of their artillery was very hot, they were obliged to retire. The French army encamping on the heights opposite to the duke of Cumberland’s posts, the intelligence received, that M. d’Etrées had assembled all his troops, and was furnished with a very considerable train of artillery, left his royal highness no room to doubt of his intending to attack him. He, therefore, resolved to change his camp for a more advantageous situation, by drawing up his army on the eminence between the Weser and the woods, leaving the Hamelen river on his right, the village of Hasten-beck in his front, and his left close to the wood, at the point of which his royal highness had a battery of twelve pounders and haubitzers. There was a hollow way from the left of the village to the battery, and a morass on the other side of Hastenbeck to his right. Major-general Schulenberg, with the hunters, and two battalions of grenadiers, was posted in the corner of the wood upon the left of the battery; his royal highness ordered the village of Hastenbeck to be cleared to his front, to prevent it being in the power of the enemy to keep possession of it, and the ways by which the allies had a communication with that village during their encampment to be rendered impassable. In the evening-he withdrew all his outposts, and in this position the army lay upon their arms all night. On the twenty-fifth, in the morning, the French army marched forwards in columns, and began to cannonade the allies very severely, marching and counter-marching continually, and seeming to intend three attacks, on the right, the left, and the centre. In the evening their artillery appeared much superior to that of the allies. The army was again ordered to lie all night on their arms; his royal highness caused a battery at the end of the wood to be repaired; count Schulenberg to be reinforced with a battalion of grenadiers, and two field pieces of cannon; and that battery to be also supported by four more battalions of grenadiers, under the command of major-general Hardenberg. He likewise caused a battery to be erected of twelve six-pounders, behind the village of Hastenbeck, and took all the precautions he could think of to give the enemy a warm reception. As soon as it was day light, he mounted on horseback to reconnoitre the position of the enemy, whom he found in the same situation as the day before. At a little after five a very smart cannonading began against the battery behind the village, which was supported by the Hessian infantry and cavalry, who stood a most severe fire with surprising steadiness and resolution. Between seven and eight the firing of small arms began on the left of the allies, when his royal highness ordered major-general Behr, with three battalions of Brunswick, to sustain the grenadiers in the wood, if their assistance should be wanted; The cannonading continued above six hours, during which the troops, that were exposed to it, never once abated of their firmness. The fire of the small arms on the left increasing, and the French seeming to gain ground, his royal highness detached the colonels Darkenhausen and Bredenbach, with three Hanoverian battalions and six squadrons, round the wood by Afferde, who, towards the close of the day, drove several squadrons of the enemy back to their army, without giving them any opportunity to charge. At length the grenadiers in the wood, apprehensive of being surrounded, from the great numbers of the enemy that appeared there, and were marching round on that side, though they repulsed every thing that appeared in their front, thought it advisable to retire nearer the left of the army, a motion which gave the enemy an opportunity of possessing themselves of that battery without opposition. Here the hereditary prince of Brunswick distinguished himself at the head of a battalion of Wolfenbuttle guards, and another of Hanoverians, who attacked and repulsed, with their bayonets, a superior force of the enemy, and retook the battery. But the French being in possession of an eminence which commanded and flanked both the lines of the infantry and the battery of the allies, and where they were able to support their attack under the cover of a hill, his royal highness, considering the superior numbers of the enemy, near double to his, and the impossibility of dislodging them from their post, without exposing his own troops too much, ordered a retreat; in consequence of which his army retired, first to Hamelen, where he left a garrison, then to Nienburgh, and afterwards to Hoya; in the neighbourhood of which town, after sending away all the magazines, sick, and wounded, he encamped, in order to cover Bremen and Verden, and to preserve a communication with Stade, to which place the archives, and most valuable effects of Hanover had been removed. In this engagement, colonel Bredenbach attacked four brigades very strongly posted, with a battery of fourteen pieces of cannon, repulsed, and drove them down a precipice, and took all their artillery and ammunition; but preferring the care of his wounded to the glory of carrying away the cannon, he brought off only six, nailing up and destroying the rest. The loss of the allies in all the skirmishes, which lasted three days, was three hundred and twenty-seven men killed, nine hundred and seven wounded, and two hundred and twenty missing, or taken prisoners; whilst that of the French, according to their own accounts, amounted to fifteen hundred men.

The French, being left masters of the field, soon reduced Hamelen, which was far from being well fortified, obliged the garrison to capitulate, and took out of the town sixty brass cannon, several mortars, forty ovens, part of the equipage of the duke’s army, and large quantities of provisions and ammunition, which they found in it, together with a great many sick and wounded, who, not being included in the capitulation, were made prisoners of war. Whether the court of France had any reason to find fault with the conduct of the mareschal d’Etrées, or whether its monarch was blindly guided by the counsels of his favourite the marquese de Pompadour, who, desirous to testify her gratitude to the man who had been one of the chief instruments of her high promotion, was glad of an opportunity to retrieve his shattered fortunes, and, at the same time, to add to her own already immense treasures, we shall not pretend to determine; though the event seems plainly to speak the last. Even at the time, no comparison was made between the military skill of the mareschal d’Etrées, and that of the duke de Richelieu; but, however that may have been, this last, who, if he had not shone in the character of a soldier, excelled all, or at least most of his contemporaries in the more refined arts of a courtier, was, just before the battle we have been speaking of, appointed to supersede the former in the command of the French army in Lower Saxony, where he arrived on the sixth of August, with the title of mareschal of France; and M. d’Etrees immediately resigned the command.

THE FRENCH TAKE POSSESSION OF HANOVER AND HESSE-CASSEL.

Immediately after the battle of Hastenbeck, the French sent a detachment of four thousand men to lay under contribution the countries of Hanover and Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, as well as the duchies of Bremen and Verden; and two days after the arrival of this new commander, the duke de Chevreuse was detached with two thousand men to take possession of Hanover itself, with the title of governor of that city. He accordingly marched thither; and upon his arrival the Hanoverian garrison was disarmed, and left at liberty to retire where they pleased. About the same time M. de Con-tades, with a detachment from the French army, was sent to make himself master of the territories of Hesse-Cassel, where he found no opposition. He was met at Warberg by that prince’s master of the horse, who declared, that they were ready to furnish the French army with all the succours the country could afford; and accordingly the magistrates of Cassel presented him with the keys as soon as he entered their city. Gottingen was ordered by M. d’Armentieres to prepare for him within a limited time, upon pain of military execution, four thousand pounds of white bread, two thousand bushels of oats, a greater quantity than could be found in the whole country, an hundred loads of hay, and other provisions.

THE FRENCH REDUCE VERDEN and BREMEN.

The duke of Cumberland remained encamped in the neighbourhood of Hoya till the twenty-fourth of August, when, upon advice that the enemy had laid two bridges over the Aller in the night, and had passed that river with a large body of troops, he ordered his army to march, to secure the important post and passage of Rothenbourg, lest they should attempt to march round on his left. He encamped that night at Hausen, having detached lieutenant-general Oberg, with eight battalions and six squadrons, to Ottersberg, to which place he marched next day, and encamped behind the Wummer, in a very strong situation, between Ottersberg and Eothenbourg. The French took possession of Verden on the twenty-sixth of August, and one of their detachments went on the twenty-ninth to Bremen, where the gates were immediately opened to them. The duke of Cumberland, now closely pressed on all sides, and in danger of having his communication with the Stade cut off, which the enemy was endeavouring to effect, by seizing upon all the posts round him, found it necessary to decamp again; to abandon Eothenbourg, of which the French immediately took possession; to retreat to Selsingen, where his head-quarters were, on the first of September; and from thence, on the third of the same month, to retire under the cannon of Stade. Here it was imagined that his army would have been able to maintain their ground between the Aller and the Elbe, till the severity of the season should put an end to the campaign. Accordingly, his royal highness, upon his taking this position, sent a detachment of his forces to Buck-Schantz, with some artillery, and orders to defend that place to the utmost; but as it could not possibly have held out many days, and as the French, who now hemmed him in on all sides, by making themselves masters of a little fort at the mouth of the river Swinga, would have cut off his communication with the Elbe, so that four English men of war, then in that river, could have been of no service to him, he was forced to accept of a mediation offered by the king of Denmark, by his minister the count de Lynar, and to sign the famous convention of Closter-Seven, 422 [See note 3K, at the end of this Vol.] by which thirty-eight thousand Hanoverians laid down their arms, and were dispersed into different quarters of cantonment.

CHAPTER XIV.

The French enter the Prussian Dominions, where they commit great Disorders..... Reflections on the Misconduct of the Allied Army..... Russian Fleet blocks up the Prussian Ports in the Baltic..... Russians take Memel..... Declaration of the King of Prussia on that occasion..... Army of the Empire raised with Difficulty..... The Austrians take Gabel..... and destroy Zittau..... The Prince of Prussia leaves the Army..... Communication between England and Ostend broke off..... Gueldres capitulates..... Skirmishes between the Prussians and Austrians..... and between the Prussians and Russians..... Mareschal Lehwald attacks the Russians in their Intrenchments near Norkitten..... Hasty Retreat of the Russians out of Prussia..... French and Imperialists take Gotha..... Action between the Prussians and Austrians near Goerlitz..... The French oblige Prince Ferdinand to retire..... Berlin laid under Contribution by the Austrians; and Leipsic subjected to military Execution by the Prussians..... Battle of Rosbach..... The Austrians take Schweidnitz; and defeat the Prince of Bevern near Breslau..... Mareschal Keith lays Bohemia under Contribution..... King of Prussia defeats the Austrians at Lissa; retakes Breslau and Schweidnitz, and becomes Master of all Silesia..... Hostilities of the Swedes in Pomerania..... Mareschal Lehwald forces the Swedes to retire...... Memorial presented to the Dutch by Colonel Yorke, relative to Ostend and Nieuport..... King of Prussia’s Letter to the King of Great Britain..... His Britannic Majesty’s Declaration..... Disputes concerning the Convention of Closter-Seven..... Progress of the Hanoverian Army..... Death of the Queen of Poland..... Transactions at Sea..... Fate of Captain Death..... Session opened..... Supplies granted..... Funds for raising the Supplies..... Messages from the King to the House of Commons..... Second Treaty with the King of Prussia..... Bill for fortifying Milford Haven..... Regulations with respect to Corn..... Bills for the Encouragement of Seamen, and for explaining the Militia Act..... Act for repairing London Bridge..... Act for ascertaining the Qualification of voting..... Bill for more effectually manning the Navy..... Amendments in the Habeas-Corpus Act..... Scheme in Favour of the Foundling Hospital..... Proceedings relative to the African Company..... Session closed..... Vigorous Preparations for War..... Death of the Princess Caroline..... Sea Engagement off Cape Francois..... Remarkable success of Captain Forest..... French evacuate Embden..... Success of Admiral Osborne..... French Fleet driven ashore in Basque Road..... Admiral Broderick’s Ship burnt at Sea..... Descent at Cancalle-Bay..... Expedition against Cherbourg...... Descent at St. Maloes..... English defeated at St. Cas..... Captures from the Enemy..... Clamours of the Dutch Merchants on Account of the Capture of their Ships..... Their famous Petition to the States-general

THE FRENCH ENTER THE PRUSSIAN DOMINIONS.

The Hanoverians being now quite subdued, and the whole force of the French let loose against the king of Prussia by this treaty, mareschal Richelieu immediately ordered lieutenant-general Berchini to march with all possible expedition, with the troops under his command, to join the prince de Soubise: the gens-d’-arms, and other troops that were in the landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel, received the same order; and sixty battalions of foot, and the greatest part of the horse belonging to the French army, were directed to attack the Prussian territories. Mareschal Richelieu himself arrived at Brunswick on the fifteenth of September; and having, in a few days after, assembled an hundred and ten battalions, and an hundred and fifty squadrons, with an hundred pieces of cannon, near Wolfenbuttel, he entered the king of Prussia’s dominions with his army on the twenty-seventh, twenty-eighth, and twenty-ninth of the same month, in three columns, which penetrated into Halberstadt and Brandenburgh, plundering the towns, exacting contributions, and committing many enormities, at which their general is said to have connived. In the meantime the duke of Cumberland returned to England, where he arrived on the eleventh of October, and shortly after resigned all his military commands.

Had the allied army, after the battle of Hastenbeck, marched directly to the Leine, as it might easily have done, and then taken post on the other side of Wolfenbuttel, Halberstadt, and Magdeburgh, it might have waited securely under the cannon of the latter place for the junction of the Prussian forces; instead of which, they injudiciously turned off to the Lower Weser, retiring successively from Hamelen to Nienburgh, Verden, Rothenburgh, Buxtehude, and lastly to Stade, where, for want of subsistence and elbow-room, the troops were all made prisoners of war at large. They made a march of an hundred and fifty miles to be cooped up in a nook, instead of taking the other route, which was only about an hundred miles, and would have led them to a place of safety. By this unaccountable conduct, the king of Prussia was not only deprived of the assistance of near forty thousand good troops, which, in the close of the campaign, might have put him upon an equality with the French and the army of the empire; but also exposed to, and actually invaded by, his numerous enemies on all sides, insomuch that his situation became now more dangerous than ever; and the fate which seemed to have threatened the empress a few months before, through his means, was, to all appearance, turned against himself. His ruin was predicted, nor could human prudence foresee how he might be extricated from his complicated distress; for, besides the invasion of his territories by the French under the duke de Richelieu, the Russians, who had made for a long time a dilatory march, and seemed uncertain of their own resolutions, all at once quickened their motions, and entered Ducal Prussia, under mareschal Apraxin and general Fermor, marking their progress by every inhumanity that unbridled cruelty, lust, and rapine, can be imagined capable of committing. A large body of Austrians entered Silesia, and penetrated as far as Breslau; then, turning back, they laid seige to the important fortress of Schweidnitz, the key of that country. A second body entered Lusa-tia, another quarter of the Prussian territories, and made themselves masters of Zittau. Twenty-two thousand Swedes penetrated into Prussian Pomerania, took the towns of Anclam and Demmin, and laid the whole country under contribution. The army of the empire, reinforced by that of prince Soubise, after many delays, was at last in full march to enter Saxony; and this motion left the Austrians at liberty to turn the greatest part of their forces to the reduction of Silesia. An Austrian general penetrating through Lusatia, passed by the Prussian armies, and suddenly presenting himself before the gates of Berlin, laid the whole country under contribution; and though he retired on the approach of a body of Prussians, yet he still found means to interrupt the communication of these last with Silesia. The Prussians, it is true, exerted themselves bravely on all sides, and their enemies fled before them; but whilst one body was pursuing, another gained upon them in some other part. The winter approached, their strength decayed, and their adversaries multiplied daily. Their king harassed, and almost spent with incessant fatigue both of body and of mind, was in a manner excluded from the empire. The greatest part of his dominions were either taken from him, or laid under contribution, and possessed by his enemies, who collected the public revenues, fattened on the contributions, and with the riches which they drew from the electorate of Hanover, and other conquests, defrayed the expenses of the war; and by the convention of Closter-Seven he was deprived of his allies, and left without any assistance whatever, excepting what the British parliament might think fit to supply. How different is this picture from that which the king of Prussia exhibited when he took arms to enter Saxony! But, in order to form a clear idea of these events, of the situation of his Prussian majesty, and of the steps he took to defeat the designs of his antagonists, and extricate himself from his great and numerous distresses, it will be proper now to take a view of the several transactions of his enemies, as well during his stay in Bohemia, as from the time of his leaving it, down to that which we are now speaking of.

A RUSSIAN FLEET BLOCKS UP THE PRUSSIAN PORTS IN THE BALTIC.

Whilst the king of Prussia was in Bohemia, the empress of Russia ordered notice to be given to all masters of ships, that if any of them were found assisting the Prussians, by the transportation of troops, artillery, and ammunition, they should be condemned as legal prizes; and her fleet, consisting of fifteen men of war and frigates, with two bomb-ketches, was sent to block up the Prussian ports in the Baltic, where it took several ships of that nation, which were employed in carrying provisions and merchandise from one port to another. One of these ships of war appearing before Memel, a town of Poland, but subject to Prussia, the commandant sent an officer to the captain, to know whether he came as a friend or an enemy? to which interrogation the Russian captain replied, that, notwithstanding the dispositions of the empress of both the Russias were sufficiently known, yet he would further explain them, by declaring that his orders, and those of the other Russian commanders, were, in conformity to the laws of war, to seize on all the Prussian vessels they met with on their cruise. Upon which the commandant of Memel immediately gave orders for pointing the cannon to fire upon all Russian ships that should approach that place.

The land-forces of the Russians had now lingered on their march upwards of six months; and it was pretty generally doubted, by those who were supposed to have the best intelligence, whether they ever were designed really to pass into the Prussian territories, not only on account of their long stay on the borders of Lithuania, but also because several of their cossacks had been severely punished for plundering the waggons of some Prussian peasants upon the frontiers of Courland, and the damage of the peasants compensated with money, though general Apraxin’s army was at the same time greatly distressed by the want of provisions; when, on a sudden, they quickened their motions, and showed they were in earnest, determined to accomplish the ruin of Prussia. Their first act of hostility was the attack of Memel, which surrendered: and, by the articles of capitulation, it was agreed that the garrison should march out with all the honours of war, after having engaged not to serve against the empress, or any of her allies, for the space of one year.

His Prussian majesty, justly foreseeing the great enormities that were to be expected from these savage enemies, who were unaccustomed to make war, except upon nations as barbarous as themselves, who looked upon war only as an opportunity for plunder, and every country through which they happened to march as theirs by right of conquest, published the following declaration: “It is sufficiently known, that the king of Prussia, after the example of his glorious predecessors, has, ever since his accession to the crown, laid it down as a maxim to seek the friendship of the imperial court of Russia, and cultivate it by every method. His Prussian majesty hath had the satisfaction to live, for several successive years, in the strictest harmony with the reigning empress: and this happy union would be still subsisting, if evil-minded potentates had not broke it by their secret machinations, and carried things to such a height, that the ministers on both sides have been recalled, and the correspondence broken off. However melancholy these circumstances might be for the king, his majesty was nevertheless most attentive to prevent any thing that might increase the alienation of the Russian court. He hath been particularly careful, during the disturbances of the war that now unhappily rages, to avoid whatever might involve him in a difference with that court, notwithstanding the great grievances he hath to allege against it; and that it was publicly known the court of Vienna had at last drawn that of Russia into its destructive views, and made it serve as an instrument for favouring the schemes of Austria. His majesty hath given the whole world incontestible proofs, that he was under an indispensable necessity of having recourse to the measures he hath taken against the courts of Vienna and Saxony, who forced him by their conduct to take up arms for his defence. Yet, even since things have been brought to this extremity, the king hath offered to lay down his arms, if proper securities should be granted to him. His majesty hath not neglected to expose the artifices by which the imperial court of Russia hath been drawn into measures so opposite to the empress’s sentiments, and which would excite the utmost indignation of that great princess, if the truth could be placed before her without disguise. The king did more: he suggested to her imperial majesty sufficient means either to excuse her not taking any part in the present war, or to avoid, upon the justest grounds, the execution of those engagements which the court of Vienna claimed by a manifest abuse of obligations, which they employed to palliate their unlawful views. It wholly depended upon the empress of Russia to extinguish the flames of the war, without unsheathing the sword, by pursuing the measures suggested by the king. This conduct would have immortalized her reign throughout all Europe. It would have gained her more lasting glory than can be acquired by the greatest triumphs. The king finds with regret, that all his precautions and care to maintain peace with the Russian empire are fruitless, and that the intrigues of his enemies have prevailed. His majesty sees all the considerations of friendship and good neighbourhood set aside by the imperial court of Russia, as well as the observance of its engagements with his majesty. He sees that court marching its troops through the territories of a foreign power, and, contrary to the tenor of treaties, in order to attack the king in his dominions; and thus taking part in a war, in which his enemies have involved the Russian empire. In such circumstances, the king hath no other part to take, but to employ the power which God hath intrusted to him in defending himself, protecting his subjects, and repelling every unjust attack. His majesty will never lose sight of the rules which are observed, even in the midst of war, among civilized nations. But if, contrary to all hope and expectation, these rules should be violated by the troops of Russia, if they commit in the king’s territories disorders and excesses disallowed by the law of arms, his majesty must not be blamed if he makes reprisals in Saxony; and if, instead of that good order and rigorous discipline which have hitherto been observed by his army, avoiding all sorts of violence, he finds himself forced, contrary to his inclination, to suffer the provinces and subjects of Saxony to be treated in the same manner as his own territories shall be treated. As to the rest, the king will soon publish to the whole world the futility of the reasons alleged by the imperial court of Russia to justify its aggression; and as his majesty is forced upon making his defence, he has room to hope, with confidence, that the Lord of Hosts will bless his righteous arms: that he will disappoint the unjust enterprises of his enemies, and grant him his powerful assistance to enable him to make head against them.”

ARMY OF THE EMPIRE RAISED.

When the king of Prussia was put under the ban of the empire, the several princes who compose that body were required, by the decree of the Aulic council, as we observed before, to furnish their respective contingents against him. Those who feared him looked upon this as a fair opportunity of reducing him; and those who stood in awe of the house of Austria were, through necessity, compelled to support that power which they dreaded. Besides, they were accustomed to the influence of a family in which the empire had, for a long time, been in a manner hereditary; and were also intimidated by the appearance of a confederacy the most formidable, perhaps, that the world had ever seen. Yet, notwithstanding all this, the contingents, both of men and money, were collected slowly; the troops were badly composed; and many of those, not only of the protestant princes, but also of the catholics, showed the utmost reluctance to act against his Prussian majesty, which, indeed, none of them would have been able to do had it not been for the assistance of the French under the prince de Soubise. The elector palatine lost above a thousand men by desertion. Four thousand of the troops belonging to the duke of Wirtemberg being delivered to the French commissary on the twenty-fourth of June, were immediately reviewed; but the review was scarcely finished, when they began to cry aloud that they were sold. Next morning thirty of them deserted at once, and were soon followed by parties of twenty and thirty each, who forced their way through the detachments that guarded the gates of Stutgard, and in the evening the mutiny became general. They fired upon the officers in their barracks, and let their general know that if he did not immediately withdraw, they would put him to death. Meanwhile, some of the officers having pursued the deserters, brought back a part of them prisoners, when the rest of the soldiers declared, that if they were not immediately released, they would set fire to the stadthouse and barracks; upon which the prisoners were set at liberty late in the evening. Next morning the soldiers assembled, and having seized some of the officers, three or four hundred of them marched out of the town at that time, with the music of the regiments playing before them; and in this manner near-three thousand of them filed off, and the remainder were afterwards discharged.

THE AUSTRIANS TAKE GABEL.

The king of Prussia, upon his leaving Bohemia after the battle of Kolin, retired towards Saxony, as we observed before; and having sent his heavy artillery and mortars up the Elbe to Dresden, fixed his camp on the banks of the river, at Leitmeritz, where his main army was strongly intrenched, whilst mareschal Keith, with the troops under his command, encamped on the opposite shore; a free communication being kept open by means of a bridge. At the same time detachments were ordered to secure the passes into Saxony. As this position of the king of Prussia prevented the Austrians from being able to penetrate into Saxony by the way of the Elbe, they moved, by slow marches, into the circle of Buntzla, and, at last, with a detachment commanded by the duke d’Aremberg and M. Macguire, on the eighteenth! of June fell suddenly upon, and took the important post at Gabel, situated between Boemish Leypa and Zittau, after an obstinate defence made by the Prussian garrison, under major-general Putkammer, consisting of four battalions, who were obliged to surrender prisoners of war. The Austrians having by this motion gained a march towards Lusatia, upon a corps which had been detached under the command of the prince of Prussia to watch them, his Prussian majesty thought proper to leave Leitmeritz on the twentieth in the morning, and lay that night at Lickowitz, a village opposite to Leitmeritz, of which a battalion of his troops still kept possession, while the rest of his army remained encamped in the plain before that place. Next morning, at break of day, prince Henry decamped, and made so good a disposition for his retreat, that he did not lose a single man, though he marched in sight of the whole body of Austrian irregulars. He passed the bridge at Leitmeritz, after withdrawing the battalion that was in the town, and having burnt the bridge, the whole army united, and made a small movement towards the passes of the mountains; the king then lying at Sulowitz, near the field where the battle of Lowoschutz was fought on the first of October of the preceding year. The heavy baggage was sent on in the afternoon, with a proper escort; and in the morning of the twenty-second the army marched in two columns, and encamped on the high grounds at Lusechitz, a little beyond Lenai, where it halted on the twenty-third. No attack was made upon the rear-guard, though great numbers of Austrian hussars, and other irregulars, had appeared the evening before within cannon-shot of the Prussian camp. On the twenty-fourth the army marched to Nellendorf; on the twenty-fifth, it encamped near Cotta, on the twenty-sixth near Pirna, where it halted the next day; and on the twenty-eighth it crossed the river near that place, and entered Lusatia, where, by the end of the month, it encamped at Bautzen.

The king’s army made this retreat with all the success that could be wished; but the corps under the prince of Prussia had not the same good fortune. For the Austrians, immediately after their taking Gabel, sent a strong detachment against Zittau, a trading town in the circle of Upper Saxony, where the Prussians had large magazines, and a garrison of six battalions, and, in his sight, attacked it with uncommon rage. Paying no regard to the inhabitants as being friends or allies, but determined to reduce the place before the king of Prussia could have time to march to its relief, they no sooner arrived before it, than they bombarded and cannonaded it with such fury, that most of the garrison, finding themselves unable to resist, made their escape, and carried off as much as they could of the magazines, leaving only three or four hundred men in the town, under colonel Diricke, to hold it out as long as possible; which he accordingly did, till the whole place was almost destroyed. The cannonading began on the twenty-third of July, at eleven in the morning, and lasted till five in the evening. In this space of time four thousand balls, many of them red hot, were fired into this unfortunate city, with so little intermission, that it was soon set on fire in several places. In the confusion which the conflagration produced, the Austrians entered the town, and the inhabitants imagined that they had then nothing further to fear; and that their friends the Austrians would assist them in extinguishing the flames, and saving the place; but in this particular their expectations were disappointed. The pan-dours and Sclavonians, who rushed in with regular troops, made no distinction between the Prussians and the inhabitants of Zittau: instead of helping to quench the flames, they began to plunder the warehouses which the fire had not readied: so that all the valuable merchandise they contained was either carried off, or reduced to ashes. Upwards of six hundred houses, and almost all the public buildings, the cathedrals of St. John and St. James, the orphan house, eight parsonage-houses, eight schools, the town-house and every thing contained in it, the public weigh-house, the prison, the archives, and all the other documents of the town-council, the plate and other things of value presented to the town, from time to time, by the emperors, kings, and other princes and noblemen, were entirely destroyed, and more than four hundred citizens were killed in this assault. Of the whole town there was left standing only one hundred and thirty-eight houses, two churches, the council, library, and the salt-work. The queen of Poland was so affected by this melancholy account, that she is said to have fainted away upon hearing it. As this city belonged to their friend the king of Poland, the Austrians thought proper to publish an excuse for their conduct, ascribing it entirely to the necessity they were under, and the obstinate defence made by the Prussian garrison. But what excuses can atone for such barbarity?

THE PRINCE OF PRUSSIA LEAVES THE ARMY.

The corps under the prince of Prussia, which had been witnesses to the destruction of this unhappy place, was by the king’s march to Bautzen, fortunately extricated from the danger of being surrounded by the Austrians, who, upon his majesty’s approach, retired from their posts on the right. Soon after this event, the prince of Prussia, finding his health much impaired by the fatigues of the campaign,* quitted the army, and returned to Berlin.

* This was the reason that was publicly assigned for his quitting the army; but a much more probable one, which was only whispered, seems to have been, that this prince, than whom none ever was more remarkable for humanity and the social virtues, disliking the violent proceedings of the king his brother, could not refrain from expostulating with him on that subject: upon which his majesty, with an air of great disapprobation, told him, “That the air of Berlin would be better for him than that of the camp.” The prince accordingly retired to Berlin, where he died soon after; grief and concern for the welfare of his brother, and for the steps taken by him, having no small share in his death.

In the meantime, mareschal Keith, who had been left upon the frontier to guard the passes of the mountains of Bohemia, arrived at Pima, having been much harassed in his march by the enemy’s irregular troops, and lost some waggons of provisions and baggage. After resting a day at Pirna, he pursued his march through Dresden with twenty battalions and forty squadrons, and encamped on the right of the Elbe, before the gate of the new city, from whence he joined the king between Bautzen and Coerlitz. The Prussian array, now re-assembled at this place, amounted to about sixty thousand men, besides twelve battalions and ten squadrons which remained in the famous camp at Pirna, under the prince of Anhault-Dessau, to cover Dresden, secure the gorges of the mountains, and check the incursions of the Austrian irregulars, with whom, as they were continually flying about the skirts of the Prussian army, as well in their encampments as on their marches, almost daily skirmishes happened, with various success. Though some of these encounters were very bloody, they cost the Prussians much fewer men than they lost by desertion since the battle of Kolin. The reason seems obvious:—the Prussian army had been recruited, in times of peace, from all parts of Germany; and though this way of recruiting may be very proper in such times, yet it cannot be expected to answer in a state of actual war, especially an unfortunate war: because the fidelity of such soldiers can never be so much depended on as that of natives, who serve their natural sovereign from principle, and not merely for pay, and who must desert their country, their parents, and their friends, at the same time that they desert their prince.

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN ENGLAND AND OSTEND BROKE OFF.

It will be proper here to take notice of some events which could not easily be mentioned before, without breaking through the order we have proposed to ourselves in the writing of this history.—The empress-queen, more embittered than ever against the king of Prussia and his allies, recalled her ministers, count Coloredo and monsieur Zohern, from London, towards the beginning of July; and about the same time count Kaunitz, great chancellor of the empire, informed Mr. Keith, the British minister at Vienna, that the court of London, by the succours it had given, and still continued to give, the king of Prussia, as well as by other circumstances relating to the present state of affairs, having broken the solemn engagements which united this crown with the house of Austria, her majesty the empress-queen had thought proper to recall her minister from England, and consequently to break off all correspondence. Mr. Keith, in pursuance of this notice, set out from Vienna on the twenty-ninth of July; as did also Mr. Desrolles, his Britannic majesty’s minister at the court of Brussels, from this last place, about the same time. On the seventh of July, general Pisa, commandant of Ostend, Nieuport, and the maritime ports of Flanders, sent his adjutant to the English vice-consul at Ostend, at six o’clock in the morning, to tell him, that by orders from his court all communication with England was broke off; and desired the vice-consul to intimate to the packet-boats and British shipping at Ostend, Bruges, and Nieuport, to depart in twenty-four hours, and not to return into any of the ports of the empress-queen till further disposition should be made. The reasons alleged by the court of Vienna for debarring the subjects of his Britannic majesty from the use of these ports, obtained for the house of Austria by the arms and treasures of Great Britain, were, “That her imperial majesty the empress-queen, could not, with indifference, see England, instead of giving the succours due to her by the most solemn treaties, enter into an alliance with her enemy the king of Prussia, and actually afford him all manner of assistance, assembling armies to oppose those which the most christian king, her ally, had sent to her aid, and suffering privateers to exercise open violence in her roads, under the cannon of her ports and coasts, without giving the least satisfaction or answer to the complaints made on that account; and the king of Great Britain himself, at the very time she was offering him a neutrality for Hanover, publishing, by a message to his parliament, that she had formed, with the most christian king, dangerous designs against that electorate; therefore, her majesty, desirous of providing for the security of her ports, judged it expedient to give the forementioned orders; and at the same time to declare, that she could no longer permit a free communication between her subjects and the English, which had hitherto been founded upon treaties that Great Britain had, without scruple, openly violated.” Notwithstanding these orders, the English packet-boats, with letters, were allowed to pass as usual to and from Ostend; the ministers of her imperial majesty wisely considering how good a revenue the postage of English letters brings in to the post-office of the Austrian Netherlands. Ostend and Nieuport, by order of her imperial majesty, received each of them a French garrison; the former on the nineteenth of July, and the latter next day, under the command of M. de la Motte, upon whose arrival the Austrian troops evacuated those places; though the empress-queen still reserved to herself, in both of them, the full and free exercise of all her rights of sovereignty; to which purpose an oath was administered to the French commandant by her majesty’s minister-plenipotentiary for the government of the Low-Countries. At the same time, their imperial and most christian majesties notified to the magistracy of Hamburgh, that they must not admit any English men of war, or transports, into their port, on pain of having a French garrison imposed on them. The city of Gueldres, which had been blocked up by the French ever since the beginning of summer, was forced by famine to capitulate on the twenty-fourth of August, and the garrison marched out with all the honours of war, in order to be conducted to Berlin; but so many of them deserted, that when they passed by Cologn, the whole garrison consisted only of the commandant and forty-seven men. By the surrender of this place the whole country lay open to the French and their allies quite up to Magdeburgh; and the empress-queen immediately received two hundred thousand crowns from the revenues of Cleves and la Marcke alone. To return to the affairs more immediately relating to the king of Prussia. The advanced posts of the prince of Anhault-Dessau at Pirna were attacked, on the tenth of August, by a body of hussars and other irregular troops of the Austrians; but the Prussians soon obliged them to retire, with the loss of several men and two pieces of cannon. On the nineteenth of the same month, early in the morning, a great number of Austrian pan-dours surrounded a little town called Gotliebe, in which a Prussian garrison was quartered, with a design to take it by surprise. The pandours attacked it on all sides, and in the beginning killed twenty-three Prussians, and wounded many; but the Prussians having rallied, repulsed the assailants with great loss. These, however, were but a sort of preludes to much more decisive actions which happened soon after. Silesia, which had hitherto been undisturbed this year, began now to feel the effects of war. Baron Jahnus, an Austrian colonel, entering that country with only an handful of men, made himself master of Hirschberg, Waldenberg, Gottesberg, Frankenstein, and Landshut. They were, indeed, but open places; and he was repulsed in an attempt upon Strigau. On the side of Franconia the army of the empire was assembling with all speed, under the prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen; the French were marching a second army from their interior provinces into Alsace, in order to join the Imperialists: the first division of their troops had already entered the empire, and were advanced as far as Hanau. The Swedes were now preparing, with the utmost expedition, to send a numerous army into Pomerania; and the Russians, who since the taking of Memel had not done the king of Prussia much damage, besides that of obliging him to keep an army in Prussia to oppose them, and interrupting the trade of Konigsberg by their squadrons, were again advancing with hasty strides towards Prussia, marking their steps with horrid desolation. Field-mareschal Lehwald, who had been left in Prussia with an army of thirty thousand men, to guard that kingdom during the absence of his master, was encamped near Velau, when the Russians, to the number of eighty thousand, after taking Memel, advanced against the territories of the Prussian king, whose situation now drew upon him the attention of all Europe. In the night between the seventh and eighth of August, colonel Malachowsti, one of mareschal Lehwald’s officers, marched to reconnoitre the position of the enemy, when a skirmish happened, which lasted near two hours, between his advanced ranks and a Russian detachment three times stronger than the Prussians. The Russians were repulsed, and fled into the woods, after having fifty men killed and a great number wounded. The Prussians lost but one man, and had fourteen wounded.

MARESCHAL LEHWALD ATTACKS THE RUSSIANS NEAR NORKITTEN.

Several other little skirmishes happened between straggling parties of the two armies; and the Russians went on pillaging and laying waste every thing before them, till at length the two armies having approached one another in Brandenburgh-Prussia, mareschal Lehwald, finding it impossible to spare detachments from so small a number as his was, compared to that of the enemy, to cover the wretched inhabitants from the outrages committed on them by the Russian cossacks, and other barbarians belonging to them, judged it absolutely necessary to attack their main army; and accordingly, notwithstanding his great disadvantage in almost every respect, he resolved to hazard a battle on the thirtieth of August. The Russians, consisting, as we before observed, of eighty thousand regulars, under the command of mareschal Apraxin, avoiding the open field, were intrenched in a most advantageous camp near Norkitten in Prussia. Their army was composed of four lines, each of which was guarded by an intrenchment, and the whole was defended by two hundred pieces of cannon, batteries being placed upon all the eminences. Mareschal Lehwald’s army scarcely amounted to thirty thousand men. The action began at five in the morning, and was carried on with so much vigour, that the Prussians entirely broke the whole first line of the enemy, and forced all their batteries. The prince of Holstein-Grottorp, brother to the king of Sweden, at the head of his regiment of dragoons, routed the Russian cavalry, and afterwards fell upon a regiment of grenadiers, which was cut to pieces; but when the Prussians came to the second intrenchment, mareschal Lehwald, seeing that he could not attempt to carry it without exposing his army too much, took the resolution to retire. The Prussians returned to their former camp at Velau, and the Russians remained in their present situation. The loss of the Prussians little exceeding two thousand killed and wounded, was immediately replaced out of the disciplined militia. The Russians lost a much greater number. General Lapuchin was wounded and taken prisoner, with a colonel of the Russian artillery; but the former was sent back on his parole. The Prussia*: Army had, at first, made themselves masters of above eighty pieces of cannon; but were afterwards obliged to abandon them, with eleven of their own, for want of carriages. Three Russian generals were killed; but the Prussians lost no general or officer of distinction, of which rank count Dohna was the only one that was wounded.

HASTY RETREAT OF THE RUSSIANS OUT OF PRUSSIA.

After this engagement, mareschal Lehwald changed the position of his army, by drawing towards Peters-wald; and the Russians, after remaining quite inactive till the thirteenth of September, on a sudden, to the great surprise of every one, retreated out of Prussia with such precipitation, that they left all their sick and wounded behind them, to the amount of fifteen or sixteen thousand men, together with eighty pieces of cannon, and a considerable part of their military stores. Mareschal Apraxin masked his design by advancing all his irregulars towards the Prussian army; so that mareschal Lehwald was not informed of it till the third day, when he detached prince George of Plolstein with ten thousand horse to pursue them but with little hopes of coming up with them as they made forced marches, in order to be the sooner in their own country. However, the Prussians took some of them prisoners, and many stragglers were killed by the country people in their flight towards Tilsit, which they abandoned, though they still kept Memel, and shortly after added some new fortifications to that place. They made their retreat in two columns, one of which directed its course towards Memel; while the other took the nearest way through the bailiwick of Absternen, and threw bridges over the river Jura. Both columns burnt every village they passed through without distinction. The Prussians were obliged to desist from the pursuit of these barbarians, because the bridges, thrown over the river Memel, had been destroyed by the violence of the stream. The Russian army suffered greatly for want of bread, as all the countries were ruined through which it passed, so that they could procure no sort of subsistence but herbage and rye-bread. All the roads were strewed with dead bodies of men and horses. The real cause of this sudden retreat is as great a mystery as the reason of stopping so long, the year before, on the borders of Lithuania; though the occasion of it is said to have been the illness of the czarina, who was seized with a kind of apoplectic fit, and had made some new regulations in case of a vacancy of the throne, which rendered it expedient that the regular forces should be at hand to support the measures taken by the government.

FRENCH AND IMPERIALISTS TAKE GOTHA.

The king of Prussia, after remaining for some time encamped between Bautzen and Goerlitz, removed his head-quarters to Bernstedel; and on the fifteenth of August his army came in sight of the Austrian camp, and within cannon-shot of it: upon which the Austrians struck their tents, and drew up in order of battle before their camp. The king formed his army over against them, and immediately went to reconnoitre the ground between the armies; but, as it was then late, he deferred the more exact examination of that circumstance till the next day. The two armies continued under arms all night. Next morning at break of day, the king found the Austrians encamped with their right at the river Weisle; the rest of their army extended along a rising ground, at the foot of a mountain covered with wood, which protected their left; and before their front, at the bottom of the hill on which they were drawn up, was a small brook, passable only in three places, and for no more than four or five men a-breast. Towards the left of their army was an opening, where three or four battalions might have marched in front; but behind it they had placed three lines of infantry, and on a hill which flanked this opening, within musket-shot, were placed four thousand foot, with forty or fifty pieces of cannon; so that, in reality, this was the strongest part of their camp. The king left nothing undone to bring the Austrians to battle; but finding them absolutely bent on avoiding it, after lying four days before them, he and his army returned to their camp at Bernstedel. They were followed by some of the enemy’s hussars and pan-dours, who, however, had not the satisfaction to take the smallest booty in this retreat. The Austrian army, which thus declined engaging, was, by their own account, an hundred and thirty thousand strong, more than double the number of the king of Prussia, who, the day he returned to Bernstedel, after he had retired about two thousand yards, again drew up his army in line of battle, and remained so upwards of an hour, but not a man stirred from the Austrian camp. The army of the empire, commanded by the prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen, and that of the French under the prince de Soubise, making together about fifty thousand men, half of which were French, had by this time joined, and advanced as far as Erfurth in Saxony; upon which his Prussian majesty, finding that all his endeavours could not bring the Austrians to an engagement, set out from Lusatia, accompanied by mareschal Keith, with sixteen battalions and forty squadrons of his troops, and arrived at Dresden on the twenty-ninth of August, leaving the rest of the army in a strong camp, under the prince of Bevern. With this detachment, which, by the junction of several bodies of troops, amounted to about forty thousand men, he made a quick march, by the way of Leipsic towards Erfurth, to give battle to the united army of the French and the empire. But by the time he arrived at Erfurth, which was on the fourteenth of September, the enemy had retreated towards Gotha; and upon his further approach, they retired to Eyesenach, where they intrenched themselves in a very strong camp. His majesty’s headquarters were at Kirschlaben, near Erfurth. While the two armies were thus situated, major-general Seydelitz, who occupied the town of Gotha, being informed, on the nineteenth, that a large body of the enemy was coming towards him, and that it consisted of two regiments of Austrian hussars, one regiment of French hussars, and a detachment made up of French grenadiers, troops of the army of the empire, and a great number of croats and pandours, retired, and posted himself at some distance. The enemy immediately took possession of the town and castle; but general Seydelitz, having been reinforced, attacked the enemy with such vigour, that he soon obliged them to abandon this new conquest, and to retire with great precipitation; a report having been spread, that the Prussian army was advancing against them, with the king himself in person. The Prussian hussars took a considerable booty on this occasion, and general Seydelitz sent prisoners to the camp, one lieutenant-colonel, three majors, four lieutenants, and sixty-two soldiers of the enemy, who had also about an hundred and thirty killed. After this action his Prussian majesty advanced near Eyesenach, with a design to attack the combined army; but they were so strongly intrenched, that he found it impracticable. His provisions falling short, he was obliged to retire towards Erfurth, and soon after to Naumburgh, on the river Sala; whereupon the combined army inarched, and again took possession of Gotha, Erfurth, and Weiman: which last place, however, they soon after quitted.

ACTION BETWEEN THE PRUSSIANS AND AUSTRIANS NEAR GOERLITZ.

Upon the king of Prussia’s leaving Bernstedel, the Austrians took possession of it on the sixth of September, and made prisoners a Prussian battalion which had been left there. The next day fifteen thousand Austrians attacked two battalions of general Winterfield’s troops, being part of the prince of Bevern’s army, who were posted on a high ground on the other side of the Neiss, near Hennersdorff, in the neighbourhood of Goerlitz; and, after being repulsed several times, at last made themselves masters of the eminence. The loss, in this action, was considerable on both sides, but greatest on that of the Prussians, not so much by the number of their slain, which scarcely exceeded that of the Austrians, as by the death of their brave general Win-terfield, who, as he was leading up succours to the battalions that were engaged, received a shot from a cannon, of which he died the night following. The-generals Nadasti and Clerici, count d’Arberg, colonel Elrickhausen, and several other persons of distinction, were wounded, and the young count of Groesbeck and the marquis d’Asque killed, on the side of the Austrians, who took six pieces of the Prussian cannon, six pair of their colours, and made general Kemeke, the count d’Anhalt, and some other officers, prisoners. After this skirmish, the prince of Bevern, with the Prussian army under his command, retreated from Goerlitz to Rothen-berg, then passed the Queiss at Sygersdorff, from whence he marched to Buntzlau, in Silesia, and on the first of October reached Breslau, without suffering any loss, though the numerous army of the Austrians followed him for some days. Upon his arrival there, he chose a very strong camp on the other side of the Oder, in order to cover the city of Breslau, to the fortifications of which he immediately added several new works. Though neither side had any very signal advantage in this engagement, more than that the Austrians remained masters of the field, yet great rejoicings were made at Vienna on account of it. The death of general Win-terfield was, indeed, an irreparable loss to his Prussian majesty, who received at the same time the news of this misfortune, and of the Swedes having now actually begun hostilities in Pomerania.

THE FRENCH OBLIGE FERDINAND TO RETIRE.

A body of the French, who, let loose against the king of Prussia by the ever-memorable and shameful convention of Closter-Seven, had entered the territories of Halberstadt and Magdeburgh, were worsted at Eglen by a party of six hundred men, under the command of count Horn, whom prince Ferdinand of Brunswick had detached from a body of troops with which his Prussian majesty had sent him to defend those countries. The Prussians took prisoners the count de Lusignan, colonel, eighteen other French officers, and four hundred soldiers, and made themselves masters of a considerable booty in baggage, &c, with the loss of only two men; and, moreover, a French officer and forty men were made prisoners at Halberstadt. Upon this check the French evacuated the country of Halberstadt for a little while, but returning again on the twenty-ninth of September, with a considerable reinforcement from mareschal Richelieu’s army, which he now could easily spare, prince Ferdinand was obliged to retire to Winsleben, near the city of Magdeburgh. The dangers which had been hitherto kept at a distance from the Prussian dominions, by the surprising activity of their king, now drew nearer, and menaced them on all sides. Mareschal Richelieu, with eighty battalions and an hundred squadrons, entered the country of Halberstadt, and levied immense contributions; whilst the allied army of the French and Imperialists, being joined by six thousand men under general Laudohn, who had just defeated a regiment of Prussian cavalry near Erfurt, marched to Weissenfells, a city in the very centre of Thuringia. The Swedes had actually taken some towns in Pomerania, and were advancing to besiege Stetin, and the Austrians, who had made themselves masters of Lignitz, and a considerable part of Silesia, had now laid siege to Schweidnitz, and were preparing to pass the Oder, in order to attack the prince of Bevern in his camp near Breslau. In the meantime they made frequent and always destructive incursions into Brandenburgh; to oppose which his Prussian majesty ordered detachments from all his regiments in those parts to join the militia of the country, and sent the prince of Anhault-Dessau from Leipsic, with a body of ten thousand men, to guard Berlin, whilst he himself marched with the troops under his command to Interbeck, on the frontier of the Lower Lusatia, to be the more at hand to cover Brandenburgh, and to preserve the communication with Silesia.

While these precautions were taking, general Had-dick, with fifteen or sixteen thousand Austrians, entered Brandenburgh on the sixteenth of October, and the next day arrived before Berlin, of which city he demanded a contribution of six hundred thousand crowns; but contented himself with two hundred and ten thousand. The Austrians pillaged two of the suburbs; but before they could do any further mischief, they were obliged to retire in great haste, at the approach of the prince of Anhault-Dessau, whose vanguard entered the city in the evening of their departure. This alarm, however, obliged the queen and the royal family of Prussia to remove to Magdeburgh on the twenty-third; and the most valuable records were sent to the fort of Spandau, at the conflux of the Havel and the Sphre. On the other hand, the unfortunate inhabitants of Leipsic now felt most severely the cruel effects of the power of their new master. The Prussian commandant in that city had, by order of the king, demanded of them three hundred thousand crowns, a sum far greater than it was in their power to raise. This truth they represented, but in vain. The short time allowed them to furnish their contingents being expired, and all their efforts to comply with this demand having proved ineffectual, they were subjected to the rigours of military execution; in consequence of which their houses were occupied by the soldiery, who seized upon the best apartments, and lived at discretion; but the sum demanded could not be found. Such was the situation of this distressed city, when, on the fifteenth of October, an express arrived, with advice that his Prussian majesty would soon be there; and accordingly he arrived a few minutes after, attended by his life-guards. At the same time, a rumour was spread that the city would be delivered up to pillage, which threw the inhabitants into the utmost consternation. Their fears, however, in that respect were soon abated, by his majesty’s declaring, that he was willing to spare the place, upon condition that half the sum required should be immediately paid. All that could be done was to collect among the merchants, traders, and others, fifty thousand crowns; bills of exchange were drawn upon Amsterdam and London for seventy thousand crowns, and hostages were given, by way of security, for the payment of thirty thousand more within a time which was agreed on. But still, notwithstanding this, the military execution was continued, even with greater rigour than before, and all the comfort the wretched inhabitants could obtain was, that it should cease whenever advice should be received that their bills were accepted.

BATTLE OF ROSBACH.

The king of Prussia had tried several times to bring the combined army under the princes Saxe-Hilburghausen and Soubise to an engagement upon fair ground, but finding them bent on declining it, notwithstanding the superiority of their numbers, he had recourse to one of those strokes in war, by which a general is better seen than by the gaining of a victory. He made a feint, soon after the beginning of October, as if he intended nothing more than to secure his own dominions, and march his army into winter-quarters back to Berlin, leaving mareschal Keith, with only seven or eight thousand men, to defend Leipsic. Upon this the enemy took courage, passed the Sala, and having marched up to the city, summoned the mareschal to surrender; to which he answered, that the king, his master, had ordered him to defend the place to the last extremity, and he would obey his orders. The enemy then thought of besieging the city; but, before they could prepare any one implement for that purpose, they were alarmed by the approach of the king of Prussia, who, judging that his feint would probably induce them to take the step they did, had, by previous and private orders, collected together all his distant detachments, some of which were twenty leagues asunder, and was advancing, by long marches, to Leipsic; upon notice of which the enemy repassed the Sala. The Prussian army was re-assembled on the twenty-seventh of October, and remained at Leipsic the twenty-eighth and twenty-ninth, when everybody expected a battle would be fought in the plains of Lutzen. On the thirtieth, the king drew nigh that place, and on the thirty-first, in his way through Weissenfells and Meresbourg, he made five hundred men prisoners of war. The combined army had repassed the Sala at Weissenfells, Meresbourg, and Halle, where they broke down the bridges; but these were soon repaired, and the whole Prussian army, amounting to no more than twenty thousand men, having passed that river, through these towns, in each of which they left a battalion, joined again on the third of November, in the evening, over against the enemy, whose forces consisted of forty thousand French, and twenty-five thousand Imperialists. On the fifth, about nine o’clock in the morning, the Prussians received intelligence that the enemy were every where in motion. They likewise heard the drums beating the march, and, so near were the two armies to each other, plainly perceived from their camp that their whole infantry, which had drawn nearer upon the rising grounds over against them, was filing off towards their right. No certain judgment could, however, yet be formed of the enemy’s real design, and as they were in want of bread, it was thought probable that they intended to repass the Un-strut; but it was soon perceived that their several motions were contradictory to each other. At the same time that some of their infantry were filing off towards their right, a large body of cavalry wheeled round towards their left, directing its march all along to the rising grounds with which the whole Prussian camp, that lay in a bottom between the villages of Eederow and Rosbach, was surrounded within the reach of large cannon. Soon after that the cavalry were seen to halt, and afterwards to fall back to the right; though some of them still remained where they were, whilst the rest marched back. About two in the afternoon the doubts of the Prussians were cleared up; it plainly appearing then that the enemy intended to attack them, and that their dispositions were made with a view to surround them, and to open the action by attacking them in the rear. A body of reserve was posted over against Eederow, to fall upon their routed troops, in case they should be defeated, and to prevent their retiring to Meresbourg, the only retreat which could then have been left them. In thiss situation the king of Prussia resolved to attack them. His majesty had determined to make the attack with one wing only, and the disposition of the enemy made it necessary that it should be the left wing. The very instant the battle was going to begin, his majesty ordered the general who commanded the right wing to decline engaging, to take a proper position in consequence thereof, and, above all, to prevent his being surrounded. All the cavalry of the right wing of the Prussians, except two or three squadrons, had already marched to the left at full gallop; and being arrived at the place assigned them, they formed over against that of the enemy. They then moved on immediately, the enemy advanced to meet them, and the charge was very fierce, several regiments of the French coming on with great resolution. The advantage, however, was entirely on the side of the Prussians. The enemy’s cavalry being routed, were pursued for a considerable time with great spirit, but having afterwards reached an eminence, which gave them an opportunity of rallying, the Prussian cavalry fell upon them afresh, and gave them so total a defeat, that they fled in the utmost disorder. This happened at four in the afternoon. Whilst the cavalry of the Prussians charged, their infantry opened. The enemy cannonaded them briskly during this interval, and did some execution, but the Prussian artillery was not idle. After this cannonading had continued on both sides a full quarter of an hour, without the least intermission, the fire of the infantry began. The enemy could not stand it, nor resist the valour of the Prussian foot, who gallantly marched up to their batteries. The batteries were carried one after another, and the enemy were forced to give way, which they did in great confusion. As the left wing of the Prussians advanced, the right changed its position, and having soon met with a small rising ground, they availed themselves of it, by planting it with sixteen pieces of heavy artillery. The fire from thence was partly pointed at the enemy’s right, to increase the disorder there, and took their left wing in front, which was excessively galled thereby. At five the victory was decided, the cannonading ceased, and the enemy fled on all sides. They were pursued as long as there was any light to distinguish them, and it may be said, that night alone was the preservation of this army, which had been so formidable in the morning. They took the benefit of the darkness to hurry into Fribourg, and there to repass the Unstrut, which they did on the morning of the sixth, after a whole night’s inarch. The king of Prussia set out early in the morning to pursue them with all his cavalry, supported by four battalions of grenadiers, the infantry following them in two columns. The enemy had passed the Unstrut at Fribourg, when the Prussians arrived on its banks, and as they had burnt the bridge, it became necessary to make another, which, however, was soon done. The cavalry passed first, but could not come up with the enemy till five in the evening, upon the hills of Eckersberg. It was then too late to force them there, for which reason the king thought proper to canton his army in the nearest villages, and to be satisfied with the success his hussars had in taking near three hundred baggage waggons, and every thing they contained. The whole loss of the Prussians in this important engagement, did not exceed five hundred men killed and wounded. Among the former was general Meincke, and among the latter prince Henry and general Seydelitz. The enemy lost sixty-four pieces of cannon, a great many standards and colours, near three thousand men killed on the field of battle, and upwards of eight thousand taken prisoners, among whom were several generals, and other officers of distinction. Three hundred waggons were sent to Leipsic, laden with wounded French and Swiss. Upon the approach of the Prussians towards Eckersberg, the enemy retreated with great precipitation; and, after marching all night, arrived the next day at Erfurth, in the utmost want of every necessary of life, not having had a morsel of bread for two days, during which they had been obliged to live upon turnips, radishes, and other roots, which they dug out of the earth. The French, under the duke de Richelieu, were preparing to go into winter-quarters; but, upon the news of this defeat of the combined army, they again put themselves in motion, and a large detachment of them advanced as far as Duderstadt, to favour the retreat of their countrymen under the prince de Soubise, who, with great precipitancy, made the best of their way from Erfurth to the county of Hohenstein, and from thence bent their march towards Halberstadt. Of the remains of the imperial army, which was now almost entirely dispersed, whole bodies deserted, and went over to the king of Prussia soon after the battle.

THE AUSTRIANS TAKE SCHWEIDNITZ.

Whilst his Prussian majesty was thus successful against the French and Imperialists, the Austrians, who had carefully avoided coming to an open engagement with him, gained ground apace in Silesia. A detachment of their army, under the command of count Nadasti, had already invested Schweidnitz, and opened the trenches before it on the twenty-sixth of October. The Prussian garrison, commanded by general de la Motte Fouquet, determined to defend the place as long as possible; and accordingly on the thirtieth they made a sally, in which they killed, wounded, and took prisoners, eight hundred of the besiegers, and did some damage to their works; but on the sixth of November the Austrians began to cannonade the city furiously, and on the eleventh made themselves masters of the ramparts by assault. The garrison, however, having taken care, during the siege, to throw up a strong in-trenchment in the market-place, retreated thither, and held out till the next day, when they surrendered themselves prisoners of war. After the reduction of this place, general Nadasti, leaving in it a sufficient garrison, marched with the remainder of his troops, and joined the main army of the Austrians, under the command of prince Charles of Lorraine and mareschal Daun, who, whilst he was busied in the siege of Schweidnitz, had invested Breslau on the left of the Oder; the prince of Bevern defending it on the right, where he was strongly encamped, with his little army, under the cannon of the city. The whole army of the Austrians being now re-assembled, and intelligence having been brought not only of the king of Prussia’s late victory near Leipsic, but also that he was advancing to the relief of the prince of Bevern, it was resolved immediately to attack the last in his intrenchments. Accordingly, on the twenty-second of November, about nine in the morning, the Austrians began a most furious discharge of their cannon, forty of which were twenty-four pounders, and this continued without ceasing till one, when it was succeeded by a severe fire of their small arms, which lasted till five in the evening. The Prussians, with undaunted resolution, stood two of the most violent attacks that were ever made; but at the third, overpowered by numbers, and assailed on both sides, they began to lose ground, and were forced to retire from one intrenchment to another. In this extremity, night coming on, the Prussian generals fearing their intrenchments would be entirely forced, and that they should then be totally defeated, thought proper to retreat. The prince of Bevern, with the greatest part of the army, retired to an eminence on the banks of the Oder, whilst the rest of the troops threw themselves into Breslau, which they might have defended, in all probability, till the king had come to its relief. But, on the twenty-fourth, their commander-in-chief, the prince of Bevern, going to reconnoitre the enemy, with only a single groom to attend him, fell in among a party of croats, who took him prisoner.*

* We are told, that he mistook these croats for Prussian hussars. But some of the circumstances of this mysterious affair were interpreted into a premeditated design in the prince to be taken prisoner. It cannot otherwise he supposed that a man of his rank, a prince, a commander-in-chief, should officiously undertake the always dangerous task of reconnoitering the enemy with so slight an attendance as only one man, and that but a groom, even if he had judged it necessary to see things with his own eyes. Some secret dissatisfaction, hitherto unknown to us, may possibly have been the cause of his taking this step; or, which seems still more probable, he might he ashamed, or, perhaps, even afraid, to see the king his master, after having so injudiciously abandoned the defence of Breslau, by quitting his lines, which, it is asserted, his Prussian majesty had sent him express orders not to quit on any account whatever, for that he would certainly be with him by the fifth of December, in which we shall find he kept his word.

His army, thus deprived of their general, retreated northward that night, leaving in Breslau only four battalions, who, the next day, surrendered the place by capitulation, one of the articles of which was, that they should not serve against the empress, or her allies, for two years. All the magazines, chests, artillery, &c, remained in the hands of the Austrians. The garrison marched out with all military honours, conducted by general Leswitz, governor of Breslau. Though the Austrians sung Te Deum for this victory, they owned that such another would put an end to their army, for it cost them the lives of twelve thousand men; a number almost equal to the whole of the Prussian army before the battle. They had four almost inaccessible intrenchments to force, planted thick with cannon, which fired cartridge shot from nine in the morning till the evening, and the Prussians, when attacked, were never once put into the least confusion. Among the slain on the side of the Austrians, were general Wurben, and several other officers of distinction. The loss of the Prussians did not much exceed three thousand men, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, of which last there were about sixteen hundred. Their general Kleist was found dead on the field of battle.

MARESCHAL KEITH LAYS BOHEMIA UNDER CONTRIBUTION.

The king of Prussia, who, like Caesar, thought nothing was done while any thing was left undone, stayed no longer at Rosbach than till the routed forces of the French and Imperialists, whom he had defeated there on the fifth of November, were totally dispersed. Then he marched directly with the greatest part of his army for Silesia, and on the twenty-fourth of that month arrived at Naumburgh on the Queiss, a little river which runs into the Bobber, having in his route detached mareschal Keith, with the rest of his army, to clear Saxony from all the Austrian parties, and then to make an irruption into Bohemia, a service which he performed so effectually, as to raise large contributions in the circles of Satz and Leitmeritz, and even to give an alarm to Prague itself. His majesty reserved for himself only fifteen thousand men, with whom he advanced, with his usual rapidity, to Barchweitz, where, notwithstanding all that had happened at Schweidnitz and at Breslau, he was joined by twenty-four thousand more; part of them troops which he had ordered from Saxony, part the remains of the army lately commanded by the prince of Bevern, and part the late garrison of Schweidnitz, which had found means to escape from the Austrians, and accidentally joined their king upon his march.*

* While the Austrians were conducting them to prison, on their route they chanced to hear of the victory their master had gained at Rosbach. Animated by these tidings, they unanimously rose upon the escort that guarded them, which happening not to be very strong, they entirely dispersed. Thus freed, they marched on, not very certain of their way, in hopes to rejoin some corps of the Prussian troops, their countrymen. The same fortune which freed them led them directly to the army commanded by the king himself, which was hastening to their relief, as well as to that of the prince of Bevern. This unexpected meeting was equally pleasing to both, the prisoners not having heard any thing of his majesty’s march; and, at the same time, this lucky incident, whilst it added a considerable strength to the army, added likewise to its confidence, for the slightest occurrence is construed into an omen by an army at the eve of an engagement.

With this force, though greatly inferior in number to that of the enemy, he resolved to attack the Austrians, who were intrenched at Lissa, near Breslau. On the fourth of December he seized upon their ovens at Neu-marck, and upon a considerable magazine, guarded by two regiments of croats, who retired to a rising ground, where his majesty ordered his hussars to surround them, and send a trumpet to summon them to surrender themselves prisoners of war. Upon their refusal, the hussars of Ziethen fell upon them sabre in hand, and some hundreds of them having been cut in pieces, the rest threw down their arms, begging for quarter on their knees. After this seizure, and after having distributed to his army the bread prepared for his enemies, he began again the next morning his march towards Lissa. General Ziethen, who led the vanguard of light-horse, about seven in the morning fell in with a body of Austrian hussars, and three regiments of Saxon dragoons, which were the very best cavalry the enemy had left after the battle of the twenty-second. They had been detached by the Austrians, in order to retard the king’s march, and to conceal their own, till their batteries should be completed; for, as they held the small number of the Prussians in contempt, their intention was to have met the king two German miles from their intrenchments. The Austrian cavalry having been vigorously repulsed to a considerable distance, general Ziethen perceived that their whole army was forming. He immediately acquainted the king with what he had discovered, and his majesty, after having himself observed the disposition of the enemy, made his own with that sagacity and despatch for which he has always been remarkable. The action began by attacking a battery of forty pieces of large cannon, which covered the right wing of the enemy. The two battalions of guards, with the regiments of the margrave Charles and of Itzenplitz, marched up amidst a most terrible fire to the very mouths of the cannon, with their bayonets screwed. In this attack the Prussians sustained their greatest loss, though the battery was carried as soon almost as they could reach it; then the enemy’s artillery, now turned against themselves, played furiously upon them with their own powder. From that instant the two wings and the centre of the Prussians continued to drive the enemy before them, advancing all the time with that firm and regular pace for which they have always been renowned, without ever halting or giving way. The ground which the Austrians occupied was very advantageous, and every circumstance that could render it more so had been improved to the utmost by the diligence and skill of count Daun, who, remembering his former success, was emboldened to enter the lists again with his royal antagonist. The Prussians, however, no way terrified by the enemy’s situation nor their numbers, went calmly and dreadfully forward. It was almost impossible in the beginning for the Prussian cavalry to act, on account of the impediments of fallen trees, which the enemy had cut down and laid in the field of battle, to retard their approach; but a judicious disposition which the king made overcame that disadvantage. When he first formed his army, he had placed four battalions behind the cavalry of his right wing, foreseeing that general Nadasti, who was placed with a corps of reserve on the enemy’s left, designed to take him in flank. It happened as he had foreseen, this general’s horse attacked the king’s right wing with great fury; but he was received with so severe a fire from the four battalions, that he was obliged to retire in disorder. The enemy gave way on all sides; out at some distance recovered themselves, and rallied three times, animated by their officers, and by the superiority of their numbers. Every time they made a stand, the Prussians attacked them with redoubled vigour, and with success equal to their bravery. Towards night, the enemy, still retreating, fell into disorder. Their two wings fled in confusion; one of them, closely pressed by the king, retired towards Breslau, and took shelter under the cannon of that city; the other, pursued by the greatest part of the light cavalry, took their flight towards Canth and Schweidnitz. Six thousand Austrians fell in this engagement, and the Prussians, who had only five hundred men killed, and two thousand three hundred wounded, made upwards of ten thousand of the enemy prisoners, among whom were two hundred and ninety-one officers. They took also an hundred and sixteen cannon, fifty-one colours and standards, and four thousand waggons of ammunition and baggage. The consequences that followed this victory declared its importance. Future ages will read with astonishment, that the same prince, who but a few months before seemed on the verge of inevitable ruin, merely by the dint of his own abilities, without the assistance of any friend whatever, with troops perpetually harassed by long and painful marches, and by continual skirmishes and battles, not only retrieved his affairs, which almost every one, except himself, thought past redress; but, in the midst of winter, in countries where it was judged next to impossible for any troops to keep the field at that season, conquered the united force of France and the empire at Rosbach, on the fifth of November; and on the same day of the very next month, with a great part of the same army, was at Lissa, where he again triumphed over all the power of the house of Austria. Pursuing his advantage, he immediately invested Breslau, and within two days after this great victory every thing was in readiness to besiege it in form. His troops, flushed with success, were at first for storming it, but the king, knowing the strength of the garrison, which consisted of upwards of thirteen thousand men, and considering both the fatigues which his own soldiers had lately undergone, and the fatal consequences that might ensue, should they fail of success in this attempt, ordered the approaches to be carried on in the usual form. His commands were obeyed, and Breslau surrendered to him on the twentieth of December in the morning. The garrison, of which ten thousand bore arms, and between three and four thousand lay sick or wounded, were made prisoners of war. Fourteen of these prisoners were officers of high rank. The military chest, a vast treasure, with eighty pieces of cannon, fell into the hands of the victors, who lost only about twenty men in their approaches. During the siege, a magazine of powder was set on fire by a bomb, which occasioned great confusion among the besieged, and damaged one of the bastions. The strong fortress of Schweidnitz still remained in the enemy’s possession, defended by a garrison so numerous, that it might be compared to a small army, and whilst that continued so, the king of Prussia’s victories in Silesia were of no decisive effect. For this reason, though it was now the dead of winter, and the soldiers stood in need of repose, his majesty resolved, if possible, to become master of that place before the end of the year; but as a close siege was impracticable, a blockade was formed, as strictly as the rigour of the season would permit.*

* Such was the rigour of the season, that some hundreds of the sentinels dropped down dead on their several posts, unable to sustain the severity of the cold. The Germans lie under the general reproach of paying very little regard to the lives of their soldiers, and indeed this practice of winter campaigns, in such a cold country, bespeaks very little regard to the dictates of humanity.

It was not, however, till the beginning of the ensuing campaign that this place was taken. The Prussians opened their trenches before it on the third of April, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-eight, and erected two large batteries, which kept a continual fire upon the town. The artillery of the besiegers consisted of three hundred pieces of cannon, of different dimensions, and eighty mortars; an amazing artillery, and such as we have never heard of in former campaigns. On the night of the fourteenth, the Prussians carried one of the chief works by assault, and lodged themselves therein: the commandant capitulated the next day, with the garrison, which was now greatly reduced in number, being not half of what it amounted to at the beginning of the blockade. Thus, all the parts of Silesia which the king of Prussia had lost by one unfortunate blow, fell again into his possession; and his affairs, which but a few months before seemed irretrievable, were now re-established upon a firmer basis than ever. The Prussian parties not only re-possessed themselves of those parts of Silesia which belonged to their king, but penetrated into the Austrian division, reduced Jagerndorf, Troppau, Tretchen, and several other places, and left the empress-queen scarce any footing in that country, in which, a few days before, she reckoned her dominion perfectly established.

HOSTILITIES of the SWEDES in POMERANIA.

The Swedes, after many debates between their king and senate, had at length resolved upon an open declaration against the king of Prussia, and, in consequence of that resolution, sent so many troops into Pomerania, that by the end of August, their army in that country amounted to twenty-five thousand men. Their first act of hostility was the seizure of Anclam and Dem-min, two towns that lay in the way to Stetin, against which their principal design was levelled. But before they proceeded farther, general Hamilton, their commander, by way of justifying the conduct of his master, published a declaration, setting forth, “That the king of Sweden, as guarantee of the treaty of Westphalia, could not help sending his troops into the upper part of the duchy of Pomerania belonging to the king of Prussia; and that, therefore, all the officers appointed to receive the public revenue in that country must pay what money they had in their hands to him, who was commissioned to receive it for his Swedish majesty; that, moreover, an exact account was required, within eight days, of the revenues of the country; but that no more than ordinary contributions would be demanded of the inhabitants, who might rest assured that the Swedish troops should observe the strictest discipline.” After this declaration, they attacked the little fortress of Penemunde, upon the river Pene, and on the twenty-third of September, after a siege of nine days, obliged the garrison, which consisted only of militia, to surrender themselves prisoners of war. This alternative the commanding officer chose, rather than engage not to serve for two years, observing, that such an engagement was inconsistent with his honour, whilst his prince had so much occasion for his service; and the Swedish general, touched with this noble way of thinking, was, on his part, so generous as to give him his liberty. On the other hand, general Manteuffel, who commanded the Prussian forces then in Pomerania, amounting to twelve thousand men, with whom he was encamped before Stetin, to cover that place, published in answer to this a declaration, enjoining the inhabitants of Pomerania to remain faithful to the king of Prussia, their lawful sovereign, under pain of incurring his just indignation, and absolutely forbidding them to pay any regard to the Swedish manifesto.

In the meantime, maresehal Lehwald, immediately after the battle of Norkitten, when the Russians began their retreat, detached prince George of Holstein-Got-torp, with a considerable body of forces, to the relief of Pomerania; and, shortly after, the Russian forces having totally evacuated every part of Prussia, except Memel, and most of them being actually gone into winter-quarters, he himself followed with an additional reinforcement of sixteen thousand men. Upon his approach, the Swedes, who were then encamped at Ferdinandshoff, and had begun to fill up the harbour of Swinnemunde, by way of previous preparation for the siege of Stetin, retired with such precipitation, that they did not allow themselves time to draw off a little garrison they had at Wollin, consisting of two hundred and ten men, who were made prisoners of war. Dem-min was cannonaded by the Prussians on the twenty-ninth of December; and the Swedes having lost one officer and forty men, desired to capitulate. As, in order to ease the troops, it was not thought proper to continue the siege in so sharp a season, their request was granted, and they had leave to retire with two pieces of cannon. The Prussians took possession of the town on the second day of January, after the Swedes had, on the thirtieth of December, likewise given up Anclam, where the conquerors took an hundred and fifty prisoners, and found a considerable magazine of provisions and ammunition. Maresehal Lehwald then passed the Pene, entered Swedish Pomerania, and reduced Gutzkow, Loitz, Tripsus, and Nebringen. At the same time, lieutenant-general Schorlemmer passed with his corps from the isle of Wollin into the isle of Usedom, and from thence to Wolgast, the Swedes having abandoned this town, as well as Schwinemunde, and the fort of Penemunde. The prince of Holstein advanced as far as Grimm and Grieffwalde, and the Swedes, losing one town after another, till they had nothing left in Pomerania but the port of Stralsund, continued retreating till they had reached this last place. The French party in Sweden, to comfort the people, called this retreat, or rather flight, going into winter-quarters. The Prussian hussars were not idle wherever they penetrated; for, besides plundering and pillaging, they raised a contribution of an hundred and sixty thousand crowns in Swedish Pomerania. The Mecklenburghers, who had joined the Swedes with six thousand of their troops, now found cause to repent of their forwardness, being left quite exposed to the resentment of the victors, who chastised them with the most severe exactions. The army of the Swedes, though they did not fight a battle, was, by sickness, desertion, and other accidents, reduced to half the number it consisted of when they took the field. The landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, soon after his territories were invaded by the French, in consequence of their advantage in the affair of Hastenbeck, had applied to the king of Sweden, as one of the guarantees of the treaty of Westphalia, desiring him to employ his good offices with the court of France, to obtain a more favourable treatment for his dominions; but his Swedish majesty, by the advice of the senate, thought proper to refuse complying with this request, alleging, that as the crown of Sweden was one of the principal guarantees of the treaty of Westphalia, it would be highly improper to take such a step in favour of a prince who had not only broke the laws and constitution of the empire, in refusing to furnish his contingent, but had even assisted, with his troops, a power known to be its declared enemy. The Aulic council too, seeing, or pretending to see, the behaviour of the landgrave in the same light, issued a decree against his serene highness towards the end of this year.

MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO THE DUTCH.

The court of Great Britain, justly displeased with the Dutch, on account of the extreme facility with which they had granted the French a free passage through Namur and Maestricht for their provisions, ammunition, and artillery, in the beginning of this campaign, had very properly remonstrated against that step, before it-was absolutely resolved on, or at least declared to be so; but in vain; a pusillanimous answer being all the satisfaction that was obtained. The tameness and indifference with which the states-general has since seen Os-tend and Nieuport put into the hands of the French, drew upon their high mightinesses a further remonstrance, which was delivered to them on the twenty-eighth of November of this year by colonel Yorke, his Britannic majesty’s plenipotentiary at the Hague, in the following terms, well calculated to awaken in them a due sense of their own danger, as well as to evince the injustice of the proceedings of the house of Austria:—Considering the critical situation which Europe has been in during the course of this year, in consequence of measures concerted to embroil all Europe, the king of Great Britain was willing to flatter himself that the courts of Vienna and Versailles, out of regard to the circumspect conduct observed by your high mightinesses, would have at least informed you of the changes they have thought proper to make in the Austrian Netherlands. It was with the utmost surprise the king heard, that without any previous consent of yours, and almost without giving you any notice, the court of Vienna had thought proper to put the towns of Ostend and Nieuport into the hands of the French troops, and to withdraw her own, as well as her artillery and stores, whilst France continues to send thither a formidable quantity of both. The conduct of the court of Vienna towards his majesty is indeed so unmerited and so extraordinary, that it is difficult to find words to express it; but whatever fallacious pretexts she may have made use of to palliate her behaviour towards England, it doth not appear that they can be extended so far as to excuse the infringement, in concert with France, of the most solemn treaties between her and your high mightinesses. The king never doubted that your high mightinesses would have made proper representations to the two courts newly allied, to demonstrate the injustice of such a proceeding, and the danger that might afterwards result from it. Your high mightinesses will have perceived that your silence on the first step encouraged the two courts, newly allied, to attempt others, and who can say where they will stop? The pretext at first was, the need which the empress-queen stood in of the troops for the war kindled in the empire, and the necessity of providing for the safety of those important places, and afterwards of their imaginary danger from England. But, high and mighty lords, it is but too evident that the two powers who have taken these measures in concert, have other projects in view, and have made new regulations with regard to that country, which cannot but alarm the neighbouring states. The late demand made to your high mightinesses, of a passage for a large train of warlike implements through some of the barrier towns, in order to be sent to Ostend and Nieuport, could not fail to awaken the king’s attention. The sincere friendship, and parity of interests, of Great Britain and Holland, require that they should no longer keep silence, lest in the issue it should be considered as a tacit consent, and as a relinquishment of all our rights. The king commands me, therefore, to recall to your high mightinesses the two-fold right you have acquired to keep the Austrian Netherlands under the government of the house of Austria; and that no other has a title to make the least alteration therein, without the consent of your high mightinesses; unless the new allies have resolved to set aside all prior treaties, and to dispose at pleasure of everything that may suit their private interest. In the treaty between your high mightinesses and the crown of France, signed at Utrecht on the eleventh of April, one thousand seven hundred and thirteen, in the fifteenth article are these words: “It is also agreed, that no province, fort, town, or city of the said Netherlands, or of those which are given up by his catholic majesty, shall ever be ceded, transferred, or given, or shall ever devolve to the crown of France, or any prince or princess of the house or line of France, either by virtue of any gift, exchange, marriage contract, succession by will, or by any other title whatever, to the power and authority of the most christian king, or of any prince or princess of the house or line of France.” In the barrier-treaty these very stipulations are repeated in the first article: “His imperial and catholic majesty promises and engages, that no province, city, town, fortress, or territory of the said country, shall be ceded, transferred, given, or devolve to the crown of France, or to any other but the successor of the German dominions of the house of Austria, either by donation, sale, exchange, marriage-contract, heritage, testamentary succession, nor under any other pretext whatsoever; so that no province, town, fortress, or territory of the said Netherlands shall ever be subject to any other prince, but to the successor of the states of the house of Austria alone, excepting what has been yielded by the present treaty to the said lords the states-general. A bare reading of these two articles is sufficient to evince all that I have just represented to your high mightinesses: and whatever pretext the courts of Vienna and Versailles may allege, to cover the infraction of these treaties, the thing remains nevertheless evident, whilst these two courts are unable to prove that the towns of Ostend and Nieuport are not actually in the power of France. If their designs are just, or agreeable to those treaties, they will doubtless not scruple, in the least, to make your high mightinesses easy on that head, by openly explaining themselves to a quiet and pacific neighbour, and by giving you indisputable proofs of their intentions to fulfil the stipulations of the said two treaties with regard to the Netherlands. The king hath so much confidence in the good sense, prudence, and friendship of your high mightinesses, that he makes not the least doubt of your taking the most efficacious measures to clear up an affair of such importance; and of your being pleased, in concert with his majesty, to watch over the fate of a country whose situations and independence have, for more than a century, been regarded as one of the principal supports of your liberty and commerce.” It does not appear that this remonstrance had the desired effect upon the states-general, who were apprehensive of embroiling themselves with an enemy so remarkably alert in taking all advantages. The truth is, they were not only unprepared for a rupture with France, but extremely unwilling to forego the commercial profits which they derived from their neutrality.

The king of Prussia, about this period, began to harbour a suspicion that certain other powers longed eagerly to enjoy the same respite from the dangers and inconveniences of war, and that he ran the risk of being abandoned by his sole patron and ally, who seemed greatly alarmed at his defeat in Bohemia, and desirous of detaching himself from a connexion which might be productive of the most disagreeable consequences to his continental interest. Stimulated by this opinion, his Prussian majesty is said to have written an expostulatory letter 433 [See note 3 L, at the end of this Vol.] to the king of Great Britain, in which he very plainly taxes that monarch with having instigated him to commence hostilities; and insists upon his remembering the engagements by which he was so solemnly bound. From the strain of this letter, and the Prussian king’s declaration to the British minister when he first set out for Saxony, importing that he was going to fight the king of England’s battles, a notion was generally conceived that those two powers had agreed to certain private pacts or conventions, the particulars of which have not yet transpired. Certain it is, a declaration was delivered to the Prussian resident at London, which appears to have been calculated as an answer to the letter. In that paper the king of Great Britain declared, that the overtures made by his majesty’s electoral ministers in Germany, touching the checks received on the continent, should have no influence on his majesty as king; that he saw, in the same light as before, the pernicious effects of the union between the courts of Vienna and Versailles, threatning a subversion of the whole system of public liberty, and of the independence of the European powers; that he considered as a fatal consequence of this dangerous connexion, the cession made by the court of Vienna of the ports in the Netherlands to France, in such a critical situation, and contrary to the faith of the most solemn treaties; that, whatever might be the success of his arms, his majesty was determined to act in constant concert with the king of Prussia in employing the most efficacious means to frustrate the unjust and oppressive designs of their common enemies. He concluded with assuring the king of Prussia, that the British crown would continue to fulfil, with the greatest punctuality, its engagements with his Prussian majesty, and to support him with firmness and vigour. Such a representation could not fail of being agreeable to a prince, who, at this juncture, stood in need of an extraordinary cordial. He knew he could securely depend, not only on the good faith of an English ministry, but also on the good plight of the British nation, which, like an indulgent nurse, hath always presented the nipple to her meagre German allies. Those, however, who pretended to consider and canvas events, without prejudice and prepossession, could not help owning their surprise at hearing an alliance stigmatized as pernicious to the system of public liberty, and subversive of the independence of the European powers, as they remembered that this alliance was the effect of necessity, to which the house of Austria was reduced for its own preservation; reduced, as its friends and partisans affirm, by those very potentates that now reproached her with these connexions.

DISPUTES CONCERNING THE CONVENTION OF CLOSTER-SEVEN.

His Britannic majesty was resolved that the king of Prussia should have no cause to complain of his indifference, whatever reasons he had to exclaim against the convention of Closter-Seven, which he did not scruple to condemn as a very scandalous capitulation, as much as he disapproved of the conduct, in consequence of which near forty thousand men were so shamefully disarmed, and lost to his cause. Those stipulations also met with a very unfavourable reception in England, where the motions of the allied army, in their retreat before the enemy, were very freely censured, and some great names exposed to the ridicule and contempt of the public. This event, so singular in itself, and so important in its consequences, attracted the attention of the privy-council, where it is said to have been canvassed with great warmth and animosity of altercation. The general complained that he was restricted by peremptory orders from the regency of Hanover; and they were reported to have used recriminations in their defence. In all probability, every circumstance of the dispute was not explained to the satisfaction of all parties, inasmuch as that great commander quitted the harvest of military glory, and, like another Cincinnatus, retired to his plough. The convention of Closter-Seven was equally disagreeable to the courts of London and Versailles. The former saw the electorate of Hanover left, by this capitulation, at the mercy of the enemy, who had taken possession of the whole country, seized the revenues, exacted contributions, and changed the whole form of government, in the name of his most christian majesty; whilst the French army, which had been employed in opposing the Hanoverian, was now at liberty to throw their additional force into the scale against the king of Prussia, who, at that period, seemed to totter on the verge of destruction. On the other hand, the French ministry thought their general had granted too favourable terms to a body of forces, whom he had cooped up in such a manner that, in a little time, they must have surrendered at discretion. They, therefore, determined either to provoke the Hanoverians by ill usage to an infraction of the treaty, or, should that be found impracticable, renounce it as an imperfect convention, established without proper authority. Both expedients were used without reserve. They were no sooner informed of the capitulation, than they refused to acknowledge its validity, except on condition that the Hanoverian troops should formally engage to desist from all service against France and her allies during the present war, and be disarmed on their return to their own country. At the same time her general, who commanded in the electorate, exhausted the country by levying exorbitant contributions, and connived at such outrages as degraded his own dignity, and reflected disgrace on the character of his nation. The court of London, to make a merit of necessity, affected to consider the conventional act as a provisional armistice, to pave the way for a negotiation that might terminate in a general peace, and proposals were offered for that purpose; but the French ministry kept aloof, and seemed resolved that the electorate of Hanover should be annexed to their king’s dominions. At least, they were bent upon keeping it as a precious depositum, which, in the plan of a general pacification, they imagined, would counterbalance any advantage that Great Britain might obtain in other parts of the world. Had they been allowed to keep this deposit, the kingdom of Great Britain would have saved about twenty millions of money, together with the lives of her best soldiers; and Westphalia would have continued to enjoy all the blessings of security and peace. But the king of England’s tenderness for Hanover was one of the chief sources of the misfortunes which befel the electorate. He could not bear the thoughts of seeing it, even for a season, in the hands of the enemy; and his own sentiments in this particular were reinforced by the pressing remonstrances of the Prussian monarch, whom, at this juncture, he thought it dangerous to disoblige. Actuated by these motives, he was pleased to see the articles of the convention so palpably contravened, because the violation unbound his hands, and enabled him, consistently with good faith, to take effectual steps for the assistance of his ally, and the recovery of his own dominions. He, therefore, in quality of elector of Brunswick-Lunen-burgh, published a declaration, observing, “That his royal highness the duke of Cumberland had, on his part, honestly fulfilled all the conditions of the convention; but the duke de Richelieu demanded that the troops should enter into an engagement specified above, and lay down their arms; although it was expressly stipulated in the convention, that they should not be regarded as prisoners of war, under which quality alone they could be disarmed: that the French court pretended to treat the convention as a military regulation only; and, indeed, it was originally nothing more; but as they had expressly disowned its validity, and a negotiation had been actually begun for disarming the auxiliaries, upon certain conditions, though the French general would never answer categorically, but waited always for fresh instructions from Versailles, the nature of that act was totally changed, and what was at first an agreement between general and general, was now become a matter of state between the two courts of London and Versailles: that, however hard the conditions of the convention appeared to be for the troops of Hanover, his Britannic majesty would have acquiesced in them, had not the French glaringly discovered their design of totally ruining his army and his dominions; and, by the most outrageous conduct, freed his Britannic majesty from every obligation under which he had been laid by the contention: that, in the midst of the armistice, the most open hostilities had been committed; the castle of Schartzfels had been forcibly seized and pillaged, and the garrison made prisoners of war; the prisoners made by the French before the convention had not been restored, according to an express article stipulated between the generals, though it had been fulfilled on the part of the electorate, by the immediate release of the French prisoners; the bailies of those districts, from which the French troops were excluded by mutual agreement, had been summoned, on pain of military execution, to appear before the French commissary, and compelled to deliver into his hands the public revenue: the French had appropriated to themselves part of those magazines, which, by express agreement, were destined for the use of the electoral troops; and they had seized the houses, revenue, and corn, belonging to the king of England in the city of Bremen, in violation of their engagement to consider that city as a place absolutely free and neutral. Pie took notice, that they had proceeded to menaces unheard of among civilized people, of burning, sacking, and destroying every thing that fell in their way, should the least hesitation be made in executing the convention according to their interpretation.”—Such were the professed considerations that determined his Britannic majesty to renounce the agreement which they had violated, and have recourse to arms for the relief of his subjects and allies. It was in consequence of this determination that he conferred the command of his electoral army on prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, brother to the duke of that name, who had distinguished himself in the Prussian army by his great military talents, and was, by blood and inclination, as well as interest, supposed warmly attached to his Britannic majesty. The truth is, the king of Prussia recommended him to this command, because he knew he could depend upon his concurring with all his measures, in conducting the operations of the British army. The duke de Richelieu was no sooner informed of these particulars, than he sent a letter to prince Ferdinand, specifying, “That although for some days he had perceived the Hanoverian troops in motion, in order to form themselves into a body, he could not imagine the object of these movements was to infringe the convention of neutrality which had been established between the duke of Cumberland and himself, as French general; that he was blinded so far by his confidence in the good faith of the elector of Hanover, who had signed that convention, as to believe the troops were assembled for no other purpose than to be distributed into winter-quarters, which had been assigned them by the agreement; but his eyes were at last opened by repeated advices which he had received from all quarters, importing, that the Hanoverians intended to infringe those articles which ought to be sacred and inviolable; he affirmed, the king his master was still willing to give fresh proofs of his moderation, and his desire to spare the effusion of human blood: with that view he declared to his serene highness, in the name of his most christian majesty, that he persisted in his resolution of fulfilling exactly all the points of the convention, provided that they should be equally observed by the Hanoverian army; but he could not help apprising his serene highness, that if this army should take any equivocal step, and, still more, should it commit any act of hostility, he would then push matters to the last extremity, looking upon himself as authorized so to do by the rules of war: that he would set fire to all palaces, houses, and gardens; sack all the towns and villages, without sparing the most inconsiderable cottage, and subject the country to all the horrors of war and devastation. He conjured his serene highness to reflect on these particulars, and begged he would not lay him under the necessity of taking steps so contrary to his own personal character, as well as to the natural humanity of the French nation.” To this letter, which was seconded by the count de Lynar, the Danish ambassador, who had mediated the convention, prince Ferdinand returned a very laconic answer, intimating, that he would give the duke de Richelieu his answer in person at the head of his army. At this particular juncture, the French general was disposed to abide by the original articles of the convention, rather than draw upon himself the hostilities of an army which he knew to be brave, resolute, and well appointed, and which he saw at present animated with an eager desire of wiping out the disgrace they had sustained by the capitulation, as well as of relieving their country from the grievous oppression wider which it groaned.

PROGRESS OF THE HANOVERIAN ARMY.

About the latter end of November, the Hanoverian army was wholly assembled at Stade, under the auspices of prince Ferdinand, who resolved without delay to drive the French from the electorate, whither they now began their march. Part of the enemy’s rear, consisting of two thousand men, was, in their march back to Zell, attacked in the bailiwick of Ebstorff, and entirely defeated by general Schuylenbourg; and, in a few days after this action, another happened upon the river Aller, between two considerable bodies of each army, in which the Hanoverians, commanded by general Zastrow, remained masters of the field. These petty advantages served to encourage the allies, and put them in possession of Lunen-burgh, Zell, and part of the Brunswick dominions, which the enemy were obliged to abandon. The operations of prince Ferdinand, however, were retarded by the resolution and obstinate perseverance of the French officer who commanded the garrison of Harbourg. When the Hanoverian troops made themselves masters of the town, he retired into the castle, which he held out against a considerable detachment of the allied army, by whom it was invested; at length, however, the fortifications being entirely demolished, he surrendered upon capitulation. On the sixth day of December, prince Ferdinand began his march towards Zell, where the French army had taken post, under the command of the duke de Richelieu, who, at the approach of the Hanoverians, called in his advanced parties, abandoned several magazines, burned all the farm-houses and buildings belonging to the sheep-walks of his Britannic majesty, without paying the least regard to the representations made by prince Ferdinand on this subject; reduced the suburbs of Zell to ashes, after having allowed his men to plunder the houses, and even set fire to the orphan hospital, in which a great number of helpless children are said to have perished. One cannot, without horror, reflect upon such brutal acts of inhumanity. The French troops on divers occasions, and in different parts of the empire, acted tragedies of the same nature, which are not easily reconcileable to the character of a nation famed for sentiment and civility. The Hanoverians having advanced within a league of Zell, the two armies began to cannonade each other; the French troops, posted on the right of the Aller, burned their magazines, and retired into the town, where they were so strongly intrenched, that prince Ferdinand could not attempt the river, the passes of which were strongly guarded by the enemy. At the same time, his troops were exposed to great hardships from the severity of the weather; he, therefore, retreated to Ultzen and Lunenburgh, where his army was put into winter-quarters, and executed several small enterprises by detachment, while the French general fixed his headquarters in the city of Hanover, his cantonments extending as far as Zell, in the neighbourhood of which many sharp skirmishes were fought from the out-parties with various success. Their imperial majesties were no sooner apprized of these transactions, which they considered as infractions of the convention, than they sent an intimation to the baron de Steinberg, minister from the king of Great Britain as elector of Hanover, that he should appear no more at court, or confer with their ministers; and that his residing at Vienna, as he might easily conceive, could not be very agreeable: in consequence of which message he retired, after having obtained the necessary passports for his departure. The chagrin occasioned at the court of Vienna by the Hanoverian army’s having recourse to their arms again, was, in some measure, alleviated by the certain tidings received from Petersburgh, that the czarina had signed her accession in form to the treaty between the courts of Vienna, Versailles, and Stockholm.

DEATH OF THE QUEEN OF POLAND, &c.

In closing our account of this year’s transactions on the continent, we may observe, that on the sixteenth day of November the queen of Poland died at Berlin of an apoplexy, supposed to be occasioned by the shock she received on hearing that the French were totally defeated at Rosbach. She was a lady of exemplary virtue and piety; whose constitution had been broke by grief and anxiety conceived from the distress of her own family, as well as from the misery to which she saw her people exposed. With respect to the European powers that were not actually engaged as principals in the war, they seemed industriously to avoid every step that might be construed as a deviation from the most scrupulous neutrality. The states-general proceeded with great circumspection, in the middle course between two powerful neighbours, equally jealous and formidable; and the king of Spain was gratified for his forbearance with a convention settled between him and the belligerent powers, implying, that his subjects should per-sue their commerce at sea without molestation, provided they should not transport those articles of merchandise which were deemed contraband by all nations. The operations at sea, during the course of this year, either in Europe or America, were far from being decisive or important. The commerce of Great Britain sustained considerable damage from the activity and success of French privateers, of which a great number had been equipped in the islands of Martinique and Gaudaloupe. The Greenwich ship of war, mounted with fifty guns, and a frigate of twenty, fell into the hands of the enemy, together with a very considerable number of trading vessels. On the other hand, the English cruisers and privateers acquitted themselves with equal vigilance and valour. The duc d’Aquitaine, a large ship of fifty guns, was taken in the month of June by two British ships of war, after a severe engagement; and, about the same time, the Aquilon, of nearly the same force, was driven ashore and destroyed near Brest by the Antelope, one of the British cruisers. A French frigate of twenty-six guns, called the Emeraude, was taken in the channel, after a warm engagement, by an English ship of inferior force, under the command of captain Gilchrist, a gallant and alert officer, who, in the sequel, signalized himself on divers occasions, by very extraordinary acts of valour. All the sea officers seemed to be animated with a noble emulation to distinguish themselves in the service of their country, and the spirit descended even to the captains of privateers, who, instead of imitating the former commanders of that class, in avoiding ships of force, and centering their whole attention in advantageous prizes, now encountered the armed ships of the enemy, and fought with the most obstinate valour in the pursuit of national glory.

FATE OF CAPTAIN DEATH.

Perhaps history cannot afford a more remarkable instance of desperate courage than that which was exerted in December of the preceding year, by the officers and crew of an English privateer, named the Terrible, under the command of captain William Death, equipped with twenty-six carriage guns, and manned with two hundred sailors. On the twenty-third day of the month he engaged and made prize of a large French ship from St. Domingo, after an obstinate battle, in which he lost his own brother and sixteen seamen; then he secured with forty men his prize, which contained a valuable cargo, and directed his course to England; but in a few days he had the misfortune to fall in with the Vengeance, a privateer of St. Maloes, carrying thirty-six large cannon, with a complement of three hundred and sixty men. Their first step was to attack the prize, which was easily retaken; then the two ships bore down upon the Terrible, whose main-mast was shot away by the first broadside. Notwithstanding this disaster, the Terrible maintained such a furious engagement against both as can hardly be paralleled in the annals of Britain. The French commander and his second was killed, with two-thirds of his company; but the gallant Captain Death, with the greater part of his officers, and almost his whole crew, having met with the same fate, his ship was boarded by the enemy, who found no more than twenty-six persons alive, sixteen of whom were mutilated by the loss of leg or arm, and the other ten grievously wounded. The ship itself was so shattered, that it could scarce be kept above water, and the whole exhibited a scene of blood, horror, and desolation. The victor itself lay like a wreck on the surface; and in this condition made shift, with great difficulty, to tow the Terrible* into St. Maloes, where she was not beheld without astonishment and terror.

* There was a strange combination of names belonging to this privateer; the Terrible, equipped at Execution Dock, commanded by captain Death, whose lieutenant was called Devil, and who had one Ghost for surgeon.

This adventure was no sooner known in England, than a liberal subscription was raised for the support of Death’s widow, and that part of the crew which survived the engagement. In this, and every sea reincounter that happened within the present year, the superiority in skill and resolution was ascertained to the British mariners; for even when they fought against great odds, their courage was generally crowned with success. In the month of November, captain Lockhart, a young gentleman who had already rendered himself a terror to the enemy as commander of a small frigate, now added considerably to his reputation by reducing the Melampe, a French privateer of Bayonne, greatly superior to his own ship in number of men and weight of metal. This exploit was seconded by another of the same nature, in his conquest of another French adventurer, called the Countess of Gramont; and a third large privateer of Bayonne was taken by captain Saumarez, commander of the Antelope. In a word, the narrow seas were so well guarded, that in a little time scarce a French ship durst appear in the English channel, which the British traders navigated without molestation.

SESSION OPENED.

On the first day of December, the king of Great Britain opened the session of parliament with a speech from the throne, which seemed calculated to prepare the nation for the expense of maintaining a new war on the continent of Europe. His majesty graciously declared that it would have given him a most sensible pleasure to acquaint them, at the opening of the session, that his success in carrying on the war had been equal to the justice of his cause, and the extent and vigour of the measures formed for that purpose. He expressed the firmest confidence, that the spirit and bravery of the nation, so renowned in all times, which had formerly surmounted so many difficulties, were not to be abated by a few disappointments, which, he trusted, might be retrieved by the blessing of God, and the zeal and ardour of his parliament for his majesty’s honour and the advantage of their country. He said it was his determined resolution to apply his utmost efforts for the security of his kingdoms, and for the recovery and protection of the possessions and rights of his crown and subjects in America and elsewhere, as well by the strongest exertion of his naval force, as by all other methods. He signified, that another great object which he had at heart, was the preservation of the protestant religion and the liberties of Europe; and, in that case, to encourage and adhere to his allies. For this cause, he assured them, he would decline no inconveniencies, and in this cause he earnestly solicited their hearty concurrence and vigorous assistance. He observed, that the late signal success in Germany had given a happy turn to affairs, which it was incumbent on them to improve; and that, in such a critical conjuncture, the eyes of all Europe were upon them. He particularly recommended to them, that his good brother and ally the king of Prussia might be supported in such a manner as his magnanimity and active zeal for the common cause appeared to deserve. To the commons he expressed his concern that the large supplies they had already granted did not produce all the good fruits they had reason to expect; but he had so great a reliance on their wisdom, as not to doubt of their perseverance. He only desired suck supplies as should be necessary for the public service, and told them they might depend upon it, that the best and most faithful economy should be used. He took notice of that spirit of disorder which had shown itself among the common people in some parts of the kingdom; he laid injunctions upon them to use their endeavours for discouraging and suppressing such abuses, and for maintaining the laws and lawful authority. He concluded with observing, that nothing would so effectually conduce to the defence of all that was clear to the nation, as well as to the reducing their enemies to reason, as union and harmony among themselves. The time was, when every paragraph of this harangue, which the reader will perceive is not remarkable for its elegance and propriety, would have been canvassed and impugned by the country party in the house of commons. They would have imputed the bad success of the war to the indiscretion of the ministry, in taking preposterous measures, and appointing commanders unequal to the service. They would have inquired in what manner the protestant religion was endangered; and, if it was, how it could be preserved or promoted by adhering to allies, who, without provocation, had well nigh ruined the first and principal protestant country of the empire. They would have started doubts with respect to the late signal success in Germany, and hinted, that it would only serve to protract the burden of a continental war. They would have owned that the eyes of all Europe were upon them, and drawn this consequence, that it therefore behoved them to act with the more delicacy and caution in discharge of the sacred trust reposed in them by their constituents: a trust which their consciences would not allow to be faithfully discharged, should they rush precipitately into the destructive measures of a rash and prodigal ministry; squander away the wealth of the nation, and add to the grievous incumbrances under which it groaned, in support of connexions and alliances that were equally foreign to her consideration, and pernicious to her interest. They would have investigated that cause which was so warmly recommended for support, and pretended to discover that it was a cause in which Great Britain ought to have had no concern, because it produced a certainty of loss without the least prospect of advantage. They would have varied essentially in their opinions of the necessary supplies, from the sentiments of those who prepared the estimates, and even declared some doubts about the economy to be used in managing the national expense: finally, they would have represented the impossibility of union between the two parties, one of which seemed bent upon reducing the other to beggary and contempt. Such was the strain that used to flow from an opposition, said to consist of disloyalty and disappointed ambition. But that malignant spirit was now happily extinguished. The voice of the sovereign was adored as the oracle of a divinity, and those happy days were now approaching that saw the commons of England pour their treasures, in support of a German prince, with such a generous hand, that posterity will be amazed at their liberality.

To the speech of his majesty the house of lords returned an address, in such terms of complacency as had long distinguished that illustrious assembly. The commons expressed their approbation and confidence with equal ardour, and not one objection was made to the form or the nature of the address, though one gentleman, equally independent in his mind and fortune, took exceptions to some of the measures which had been lately pursued. Their complaisance was more substantially specified in the resolutions of the house, as soon as the two great committees of supply were appointed They granted for the sea-service of the ensuing year sixty thousand men, including fourteen thousand eight hundred and forty-five marines; and the standing army, comprehending four thousand invalids, was fixed at fifty-three thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven effective men, commission and non-commission officers included. For the maintenance of these forces, by sea and land, the charge of guards and garrisons at home and abroad, the expense of the ordnance, and in order to make good the sum which had been issued by his majesty’s orders, in pursuance of the address from the commons, they now allotted four millions twenty-two thousand eight hundred and seven pounds, seven shillings and three-pence. They unanimously granted, as a present supply in the then critical exigency, towards enabling his majesty to maintain and keep together the army formed last year in his electoral dominions, and then again put in motion, and actually employed against the common enemy, in concert with the king of Prussia, the sum of one hundred thousand pounds; for the ordinary of the navy, including half pay to the sea-officers, they allowed two hundred and twenty-four thousand four hundred and twenty-one pounds, five shillings and eight-pence; towards the building and support of the three hospitals for seamen at Gosport, Plymouth, and Greenwich, thirty thousand pounds; for the reduced officers of the land-forces and marines, pensions to the widows of officers, and other such military contingencies, forty thousand nine hundred and twenty-six pounds, seventeen shillings and eleven-pence; towards building, rebuilding, and repairs of his majesty’s ships for the ensuing year, the sum of two hundred thousand pounds; for defraying the charge of two thousand nine hundred and twenty horse, and nine thousand nine hundred infantry, together with the general and staff-officers, the officers of the hospital and the train of artillery, being the troops of the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel in the pay of Great Britain, for sixty days, together with the subsidy for the said time, pursuant to treaty, they assigned thirty-eight thousand three hundred and sixty pounds, nineteen shillings and ten-pence three farthings. To the Foundling hospital they gave forty thousand pounds, for the maintenance and education of deserted young children, as well as for the reception of all such as should be presented under a certain age, to be limited by the governors and guardians of that charity. Three hundred thousand pounds were given towards discharging the debt of the navy, and two hundred and eighty-four thousand eight hundred and two pounds for making up the deficiency of the grants for the service of the preceding year. The landgrave of Hesse-Cassel was, moreover, gratified with the further sum of two hundred and three thousand five hundred and thirty-six pounds, four shillings and nine-pence farthing, for the maintenance of his forces, and the remainder of his subsidy. They granted six hundred and seventy thousand pounds for enabling his majesty to make good his engagements with the king of Prussia, pursuant to a convention lately concluded with that potentate. For defraying the charge of thirty-eight thousand men of the troops of Hanover, Wolfenbuttel, Saxe-Gotha, and the count of Buckebourg, together with that of general and staff-officers actually employed against the common enemy, in concert with the king of Prussia, from the twenty-eighth day of November in the last, to the twenty-fourth of December in the present year, inclusive, to be issued in advance every two months, they allotted the sum of four hundred and sixty-three thousand and eighty-four pounds, six shillings and ten-pence; and furthermore, they granted three hundred and eighty-six thousand nine hundred and fifteen pounds, thirteen shillings and two-pence, to defray the charges of forage, bread-waggons, train of artillery, provisions, wood, straw, and all other extraordinary expenses, contingencies, and losses whatsoever, incurred, or to be incurred, on account of his majesty’s army, consisting of thirty-eight thousand men, actually employed against the common enemy, in concert with the king of Prussia, from November last to next December inclusive. For the extraordinary expenses of the land-forces, and other services, incurred in the course of the last year, and not provided for by parliament, they allowed one hundred and forty-five thousand four hundred and fifty-four pounds, fifteen shillings and one farthing. They provided eight hundred thousand pounds to enable his majesty to defray the like sum raised in pursuance of an act made in the last session of parliament, and charged upon the first aids and supplies to be granted in the current session. Twenty-six thousand pounds were bestowed on the out-pensioners of Chelsea hospital; above twenty thousand for the expense of maintaining the colonies of Nova-Scotia and Georgia; for reimbursing to the province of Massachusett’s-bay, and the colony of Connecticut, their expense in furnishing provisions and stores to the troops raised by them for his majesty’s service, in the campaign of the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, the sum of forty-one thousand one hundred and seventeen pounds, seventeen shillings and sixpence halfpenny; to be applied towards the rebuilding of London bridge, carrying on the works for fortifying and securing the harbour of Milford, and repairing the parish church of St. Margaret, in Westminster, they allotted twenty-nine thousand pounds. The East India company were indulged with twenty thousand pounds on account, towards enabling them to defray the expense of a military force in their settlements, to be maintained by them in lieu of the battalion of his majesty’s forces withdrawn from those settlements; the sum of ten thousand pounds was given, as usual, for maintaining and supporting the British forts and settlements on the coast of Africa; and eleven thousand four hundred and fifty pounds were granted as an augmentation to the salaries of the judges in the superior courts of judicature. They likewise provided one hundred thousand pounds for defraying the charge of pay and clothing to the militia, and advanced eight hundred thousand pounds to enable his majesty to defray any extraordinary expenses of the war, incurred, or to be incurred, for the service of the current year; and to take all such measures as might be necessary to disappoint or defeat any enterprise or designs of his enemies, as the exigency of his affairs might require. The whole supplies of thig session amounted to the enormous sum of ten millions four hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred and fifty-seven pounds, and one penny. Nothing could so plainly demonstrate the implicit confidence which the parliament, at this juncture, reposed in the sovereign and the ministry, as their conduct in granting such liberal supplies, great part of which were bestowed in favour of our German allies, whom the British nation thus generously paid for fighting their own battles. Besides the sum of one million eight hundred and sixty-one thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven pounds, four shillings and eight-pence, expressly assigned for the support of these continental connexions, a sum considerably exceeding the whole of the revenue raised in the reign of Charles the Second, and what part of the sum granted to the king for extraordinary expenses might be applied to the same use, the article might not improperly be swelled with the vast expense incurred by expeditions to the coast of France; the chief, if not sole, design of which seemed to be a diversion in favour of the nation’s allies in Germany, by preventing France from sending such numerous armies into that country as it could have spared, had not its sea-coasts required a considerable body of forces for its defence against the attempts of the English. Indeed, the partisans of the ministry were at great pains to suggest and inculcate a belief, that the war in Germany was chiefly supported as a necessary diversion in favour of Great Britain and her plantations, which would have been exposed to insult and invasion had not the enemy’s forces been otherwise employed. But the absurdity of this notion will at once appear to those who consider, that by this time Great Britain was sole mistress of the sea; that the navy of France was almost ruined, and her commerce on the ocean quite extinguished; that she could not, with the least prospect of success, hazard any expedition of consequence against Great Britain, or any part of her dominions, while the ocean was covered with such powerful navies belonging to that nation; and that if one-third part of the money, annually engulphed in the German vortex, had been employed in augmenting the naval forces of England, and those forces properly exerted, not a single cruiser would have been able to stir from the harbours of France; all her colonies in the West Indies would have fallen an easy prey to the arms of Great Britain; and, thus cut off from the resources of commerce, she must have been content to embrace such terms of peace as the victor should have thought proper to prescribe.

The funds established by the committee of ways and means, in order to realize those articles of supply, consisted of the malt-tax, the land-tax at four shillings in the pound, sums remaining in the exchequer produced from the sinking fund, four millions five hundred thousand pounds to be raised by annuities at three pounds ten shillings per cent, per annum, and five hundred thousand pounds by a lottery, attended with annuities redeemable by parliament, after the rate of three pounds per cent, per annum; these several annuities to be transferable at the bank of England, and charged upon a fund to be established in this session of parliament for payment thereof, and for which the sinking fund should be a collateral security—438 [See note 3 M, at the end of this Vol.]—one million six hundred and six thousand and seventy-six pounds, five shillings and one penny farthing, issued and applied out of such monies as should or might arise from the surpluses, excesses, and other revenues composing the sinking fund—a tax of one shilling in the pound to be annually paid from all salaries, fees, and perquisites of offices and employments in Great Britain, and from all pensions and other gratuities payable out of any revenues belonging to his majesty in Great Britain, exceeding the yearly value of one hundred pounds—an imposition of one shilling annually upon every dwelling-house inhabited within the kingdom of Great Britain, over and above all other duties already chargeable upon them, to commence from the fifth day of April—an additional tax of sixpence yearly for every window or light in every dwelling-house inhabited in Britain which shall contain fifteen windows or upwards; a continuation of certain acts near expiring, with respect to the duties payable on foreign sailcloth imported into Great Britain, the exportation of British gunpowder, the securing and encouraging the trade of his majesty’s sugar colonies in America, and the empowering the importers and proprietors of spirits from the British sugar plantations, to land them before payment of the duties of excise, and to lodge them in warehouses at their own expense—an annual tax of forty shillings for a license to be taken out by every person trading in, selling, or vending gold or silver plate, in lieu of the duty of sixpence per ounce on all silver plate, made or wrought, or which ought to be touched, assayed, or marked in this kingdom, which duty now ceased and determined—a cessation of all drawbacks payable on the exportation of silver plate—a law prohibiting all persons from selling, by retail, any sweet or made wine, without having first procured a license for that purpose—and a loan, by exchequer bills, for eight hundred thousand pounds, to be charged on the first aids to be granted in the next session of parliament. These provisions amounted to the sum of eleven millions and seventy-nine thousand seven hundred and twenty-two pounds, six shillings and ten-pence, exceeding the grants in the sum of five hundred and ninety-three thousand two hundred and sixty-five pounds, six shillings and nine-pence, so that the nation had reason to hope that this surplus of above half a million would prevent any demand for deficiencies in the next session. By these copious grants of a house of commons, whose complaisance knew no bounds, the national debt was, at this juncture, swelled to the astonishing sum of eighty-seven millions three hundred and sixty-seven thousand two hundred and ten pounds, nineteen shillings and ten-pence farthing; a load that would have crushed the national credit of any other state in Christendom.

The liberality of the parliament was like the rock in the wilderness, which flowed with the welcome stream when touched by the rod of Moses. The present supply which the commons granted for the subsistence of the Hanoverian army, was, in pursuance of a message from his majesty, communicated to the house by Mr. Secretary Pitt, signifying, that the king had ordered his electoral army to be put again in motion, that it might act with vigour against the common enemy, in concert with his good brother and ally the king of Prussia; that the exhausted and ruined state of the electorate having rendered it incapable of maintaining that army, until the further necessary charge thereof, as well as the more particular measures then concerting for the effectual support of his Prussian majesty, could be laid before the house; the king, relying on the constant zeal of his faithful commons for the support of the protestant religion and of the liberties of Europe, against the dangerous designs of France and her confederates, found himself, in the meantime, under the absolute necessity of recommending to the house the speedy consideration of such a present supply as might enable his majesty, in this critical conjuncture, to subsist and keep together the said army. This address was no sooner recited by the speaker, than it was unanimously referred to the committee of supply, who gratified his majesty’s wish with an immediate resolution; and, considering their generous disposition, doubtless the same compliance would have appeared, even though no mention had been made of the protestant religion, which, to men of ordinary penetration, appeared to have no natural concern in the present dispute between the belligerent powers, although former ministers had often violently introduced it into messages and speeches from the throne, in order to dazzle the eyes of the populace, even while they insulted the understanding of those who were capable of exercising their own reason. This pretext was worn so threadbare, that, among the sensible part of mankind, it could no longer be used without incurring contempt and ridicule. In order to persuade mankind that the protestant religion was in danger, it would have been necessary to specify the designs that were formed against it, as well as the nature of the conspiracy, and to descend to particulars properly authenticated. In that case, great part of Europe would have been justly alarmed. The states-general of the United Provinces, who have made such glorious and indefatigable efforts in support of the protestant religion, would surely have lent a helping hand towards its preservation. The Danes would not have stood, tamely neutral, and seen the religion they profess exposed to the rage of such a powerful confederacy. It is not to be imagined that the Swedes, who have so zealously maintained the purity of the protestant faith, would now join an association whose aim was the ruin of that religion. It is not credible that even the Hungarians, who profess the same faith, and other protestant states of the empire, would enter so heartily into the interests of those who were bent upon its destruction; or that the Russians would contribute to the aggrandizement of the catholic faith and discipline, so opposite to that of the Greek church, which they espouse. As, therefore, no particular of such a design was explained, no act of oppression towards any protestant state or society pointed out, except those that were exercised by the protestants themselves; and as the court of Vienna repeatedly disavowed any such design, in the most solemn manner, the unprejudiced part of mankind will be ‘apt to conclude that the cry of religion was used, as in former times, to arouse, alarm, and inflame; nor did the artifice prove altogether unsuccessful. Notwithstanding the general lukewarmth of the age in matters of religion, it produced considerable effect among the fanatic sectaries that swarm through the kingdom of England. The leaders of those blind enthusiasts, either actuated by the spirit of delusion, or desirous of recommending themselves to the protection of the higher powers, immediately seized the hint, expatiating vehemently on the danger that impended over God’s people; and exerting all their faculties to impress the belief of a religious war, which never fails to exasperate and impel the minds of men to such deeds of cruelty and revenge as must discredit all religion, and even disgrace humanity. The signal trust and confidence which the parliament of England reposed in the king, at this juncture, was in nothing more conspicuous than in leaving to the crown the unlimited application of the sum granted for augmenting the salaries of the judges. In the reign of king William, when the act of settlement was passed, the parliament, jealous of the influence which the crown might acquire over the judges, provided, by an express clause of that act, that the commissions of the judges should subsist quamdiu se bene gesserint, and that their salaries should be established; but now we find a sum of money granted for the augmentation of their salaries, and the crown vested with a discretionary power to proportion and apply this augmentation; a stretch of complaisance, which, how safe soever it may appear during the reign of a prince famed for integrity and moderation, will perhaps one day be considered as a very dangerous accession to the prerogative.

SECOND TREATY WITH PRUSSIA.

So fully persuaded were the ministry that the commons would cheerfully enable them to pay what subsidies they might promise to their German allies, that on the eleventh of April they concluded a new treaty of convention with his Prussian majesty, which, that it might have the firmer consistence and the greater authority, was, on the part of Great Britain, transacted and signed by almost all the privy-counsellors who had any share in the administration.*

* These were, sir Robert Henly, lord keeper of the great seal; John, earl of Granville, president of the council; Thomas Holies, duke of Newcastle, first commissioner of the treasury; Kohert, earl of Holdernesse, one of the principal secretaries of state; Philip, earl of Hardwicke; and William Pitt, esq., another of the principal secretaries of state. In the name and on the part of his Prussian majesty, the Sieurs Dado Henry, baron of Knyphausen, his privy-counsellor of embassy, and minister-plenipotentiary at the court of London; and Louis Michel, his resident and chargé d’affaires.

This treaty, which was signed at Westminster, imported, “That the contracting powers having mutually resolved to continue their efforts for their reciprocal defence and security, for the recovery of their possessions, the protection of their allies, and the support of the liberties of the Germanic body, his Britannic majesty had, from these considerations, determined to grant to his Prussian majesty an immediate succour in money, as being the most ready and the most efficacious; and their majesties having judged it proper that thereupon a convention should be made, for declaring and fixing their intentions upon this head, they had nominated and authorized their respective ministers, who, after having communicated their full powers to one another, agreed to the following stipulations:—The king of Great Britain engaged to pay in the city of London, to such persons as should be authorized to receive it by his Prussian majesty, the sum of four millions of German crowns, amounting to six hundred and seventy thousand pounds sterling, to be paid at once, and in one whole sum, immediately after the exchange of ratification, upon being demanded by his Prussian majesty. This prince, on his part, obliged himself to apply that sum to the maintaining and augmenting his forces, which should act in the best manner for the good of the common cause, and for the purpose of reciprocal defence and mutual security proposed by their said majesties. Moreover, the high contracting parties engage not to conclude any treaty of peace, truce, or neutrality, nor any other sort of convention or agreement, with the powers engaged in the present war, but in concert and by mutual agreement, wherein both should be nominally comprehended. Finally, it was stipulated that this convention should be ratified, and the ratifications exchanged on both sides, within the term of six weeks, to be computed from the day of signing this present convention, or sooner, if possible.”

All the resolutions to which the committee of ways and means agreed were executed by bills, or clauses in bills, which afterwards received the royal sanction. The militia still continued to be an object of parliamentary care and attention; but the institution was not yet heartily embraced, because seemingly discountenanced by the remnant of the old ministry, which still maintained a capital place in the late coalition, and indeed almost wholly engrossed the distribution of pensions and places. The commons having presented an address to his majesty, with respect to the harbour of Milford-haven, a book of plans and estimates for fortifying that harbour was laid before the house, and a committee appointed to examine the particulars. They were of opinion that the mouth of the harbour was too wide to admit of any fortification, or effectual defence; but that the passage called Nailand-point, lying higher than Hubberstone-road, might be fortified, so as to afford safe riding and protection to the trade and navy of Great Britain; that if it should be thought proper hereafter to establish a yard and dock for building and equipping fleets at Milford, no place could, from the situation, nature, soil, and a general concurrence of all necessary local circumstances, be more fitted for such a design; that if a proper use were made of this valuable, though long-neglected harbour, the distressful delays too often embarrassing and disappointing the nation in her naval operations, might be in a great measure happily removed, to the infinite relief and enlargement of the kingdom in the means of improving its naval force; the necessary progress and free execution of which was now so unhappily and frequently restrained and frustrated, by the want of a harbour like that of Milford-haven, framed by nature with such local advantages. This report appeared to be so well supported by evidence, that a bill was framed, and passed into an act, for granting ten thousand pounds towards carrying on the works for fortifying and securing the harbour of Milford in the county of Pembroke. Other laws of national consequence were enacted, in the course of this session, with little or no opposition. On the very first day of their sitting, the commons received a petition from the mayor, magistrates, merchants, and inhabitants of Liverpool, complaining of the high price of wheat and other grain; expressing their apprehension that it would continue to rise, unless the time for the importation of foreign corn, duty free, should be prolonged, or some other salutary measure taken by parliament, to prevent dealers from engrossing corn; submitting to the wisdom of the house a total prohibition of distilling and exporting grain while the high price should continue; praying they would take the premises into consideration, and grant a seasonable relief to the petitioners, by a continuance of a free importation, and taking such other effectual means to reduce the growing price of corn as to them should seem necessary and expedient. This being an urgent case, that equally interested the humanity of the legislature and the manufacturers of the kingdom, it was deliberated upon, and discussed with remarkable despatch. In a few days a bill was prepared, passed through both houses, and enacted into a law, continuing till the twenty-fourth day of December, in the present year, the three acts of last session; for prohibiting the exportation of corn; for prohibiting the distillation of spirits; and for allowing the importation of corn, duty free. A second law was established, regulating the price and assize of bread, and subjecting to severe penalties those who should be concerned in its adulteration. In consequence of certain resolutions taken in a committee of the whole house, a bill was presented for prohibiting the payment of the bounty upon the exportation of corn, unless sold at a lower price than is allowed in an act passed in the first year of the reign of William and Mary; but this bill, after having been read a second time and committed, was neglected, and proved abortive.

BILLS FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF SEAMEN, &c.

In consequence of a motion made by Mr. Grenville, a humane bill was prepared and brought in for the encouragement of seamen employed in the royal navy, establishing a regular method for the punctual, frequent, and certain payment of their wages; enabling them more easily and readily to remit money for the support of their wives and families, and preventing the frauds and abuse attending such payments. This bill, having passed the lower house, engaged in a very particular manner the attention of the lords, who, by divers messages to the house of commons, desired the attendance of several members. These messages being taken into consideration, several precedents were recited; a debate arose about their formality, and the house unanimously resolved that a message should be sent to the lords, acquainting them that the house of commons, not being sufficiently informed by their messages upon what grounds, or for what purposes, their lordships desired the house would give leave to such of their members as were named in the said messages to attend the house of lords, in order to be examined upon the second reading of the bill, the commons hoped their lordships would make them acquainted with their intention. The lords, in answer to this intimation, gave the commons to understand, that they desired the attendance of the members mentioned in their messages, that they might be examined as witnesses upon the second reading of the bill. This explanation being deemed satisfactory, the members attended the house of lords, where they were carefully and fully examined, as persons conversant in sea affairs, touching the inconveniencies which had formerly attended the sea-service, as well as the remedies now proposed; and the bill having passed through their house, though not without warm opposition, was enacted into a law by his majesty’s assent. The militia act, as it passed in the last session, being found upon trial defective, Mr. Townshend moved for leave to bring in a new bill, to explain, amend, and enforce it; this was accordingly allowed, prepared, and passed into a law, though it did not seem altogether free from material objections, some of which were of an alarming nature. The power vested by law in the crown over the militia, is even more independent than that which it exercises over the standing army; for this last expires at the end of the year, if not continued by a new act of parliament; whereas the militia is subjected to the power of the crown for the term of five years, during which it may be called out into actual service without consent of parliament, and consequently employed for sinister purposes. A commission-officer in the militia may be detained, as subject to the articles of war, until the crown shall allow the militia to return to their respective parishes; and thus engaged, he is liable to death as a mutineer, or deserter, should he refuse to appear in arms, and fight in support of the worst measures of the worst minister. Several merchants and manufacturers of silk offered a petition, representing, that in consequence of the act passed in the last session, allowing the importation of fine organzine Italian thrown silk till the first day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, they had given orders to their correspondents abroad to send large quantities of such silk through Germany to Hamburgh and Holland, which, in the common course of things, might probably have arrived in London before the act expired, if their carriage had not been protracted by the great rains and inundations in Italy and Germany, in the months of August and September last, which rendered the roads for many weeks impassable; that from unlucky accidents on shore, and storms and contrary winds after the silk was shipped, it could not possibly arrive within the time limited by the act; and unless it should be admitted to an entry, they, the petitioners, would be great sufferers, the manufacturers greatly prejudiced, and the good end and purpose of the act in a great measure frustrated; they, therefore, prayed leave to bring in a bill for allowing the introduction of all such fine Italian organized silk as should appear to have been shipped in Holland and Hamburgh for London, on or before the first day of December. The petition being referred to a committee, which reported that these allegations were true, the house complied with their request, and the bill having passed, was enacted into a law in the usual form. A speedy passage was likewise granted to the mutiny bill, and the other annual measure for regulating the marine forces, which contained nothing new or extraordinary. A committee being appointed to inquire what laws were already expired, or near expiring, they performed this difficult task with indefatigable patience and perseverance; and, in pursuance of their resolutions, three bills were prepared and passed into laws, continuing some acts for a certain time, and rendering others perpetual. 440 [See note 3N, at the end of this Vol.]

The lord-mayor, aldermen, and commons of the city of London, in common council assembled, having drawn up a petition to the house of commons, alleging that the toll upon loaded vessels or other craft, passing through the arches of London bridge, granted by a former act, passed in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty, for improving, widening, and enlarging the passage both under and over the said bridge, was altogether precarious, and insufficient to defray the expense, including that of a temporary wooden bridge already erected; and praying that a bill might be prepared, for explaining and rendering that act effectual; a committee was appointed to examine the contents, and a bill brought in according to their request. This, however, was opposed by a petition from several persons, owners of barges, and other craft navigating the river Thames, who affirmed, that if the bill should pass into a law as it then stood, it would be extremely injurious to the petitioners in particular, and to the public in general. These were heard by their counsel before the committee, but no report was yet given, when the temporary bridge was reduced to ashes. Then the mayor, aldermen, and commons of London presented another petition, alleging that, in pursuance of the powers vested in them by act of parliament, they had already demolished a good number of the houses on London bridge, and directed the rest that were standing to be taken down with all convenient expedition; that two of the arches might be laid into one for the improvement of the navigation; that they had, at a very great expense, erected a temporary wooden bridge, to preserve a public passage to and from the city, until the great arch could be finished, which temporary bridge being consumed by fire, they must rebuild it with the greatest expedition, at a further considerable expense; that the sum necessary for carrying on and completing this great and useful work, including the rebuilding of the said temporary bridge, was estimated at fourscore thousand pounds; and as the improving, widening, and enlarging London bridge was calculated for the general good of the public, for the advancement of trade and commerce, and for making the navigation upon the river Thames more safe and secure; they, therefore, prayed the house to take the premises into consideration. This petition being recommended by his majesty to the consideration of the house, was referred to the committee of supply, and produced the resolution of granting fifteen thousand pounds towards the rebuilding of London bridge. A bill was prepared, under the title of an act to improve, widen, and enlarge the passage over and through London bridge, enforcing the payment of the toll imposed upon loaded vessels, which had been found extremely burdensome to trade; but this incumbrance was prevented by another petition of several merchants, tradesmen, and other inhabitants of the borough of Southwark, taking notice of the fifteen thousand pounds granted towards the repair of London bridge, and, as they were informed, intended to make the said bridge free for all his majesty’s subjects: they said they hoped to partake of this public bounty; but afterwards hearing that the bill then depending was confined to the tolls formerly granted for repairing the said bridge, they represented the hardships which they and all traders would continue to labour under; they alleged, that the surveyors and workmen then employed upon this work, had discovered the true principles on which the bridge was built; that the foundation of the piers consisted of hard durable stone, well cemented together, and now as strong and firm as when first built; that when the bridge should be finished, great savings would be made in keeping it in repair, from the sums formerly expended, on a mistaken opinion, that the foundation was of wood: that there were very considerable estates appointed solely for the repairs of the bridge, which they apprehended would be sufficient to maintain it without any toll; or if they should not be thought adequate to that purpose, they hoped the deficiency would not be made up by a toll upon trade and commerce, but rather by an imposition on coaches, chariots, chaises, and saddle-horses. This remonstrance made no impression on the house. The bill being, on a motion of sir John Philips, read a third time, passed through both houses, and obtained the royal assent.

ACT FOR ASCERTAINING THE QUALIFICATION OF VOTING.

The interest of the manufacturers was also consulted in an act encouraging the growth of madder, a plant essentially necessary in dying and printing calicoes, which may be raised in England without the least inconvenience. It was judged, upon inquiry, that the most effectual means to encourage the growth of this commodity would be to ascertain the tithe of it; and a bill was brought in for that purpose. The rate of the tithe was established at five shillings an acre; and it was enacted, that this law should continue in force for fourteen years, and to the end of the next session of parliament; but wherefore this encouragement was made temporary it is not easy to determine.—The laws relating to the poor, though equally numerous and oppressive to the subject, having been found defective, a new clause, relating to the settlement of servants and apprentices, was now added to an act passed in the twentieth year of the present reign, intituled, “An act for the better adjusting and more easily recovering of the wages of certain servants, and of certain apprentices.” No country in the universe can produce so many laws made in behalf of the poor as those that are daily accumulating in England: in no other country is there so much money raised for their support, by private charity, as well as public taxation; yet this, as much as any country, swarms with vagrant beggars, and teems with objects of misery and distress; a sure sign either of misconduct in the legislature, or a shameful relaxation in the executive part of the civil administration.—The scenes of corruption, perjury, riot, and intemperance, which every election for a member of parliament had lately produced, were now grown so infamously open and intolerable, and the right of voting was rendered so obscure and perplexed by the pretensions and proceedings of all the candidates for Oxfordshire in the last election, that the fundamentals of the constitution seemed to shake, and the very essence of parliaments to be in danger. Actuated by these apprehensions, sir John Philips, a gentleman of Wales, who had long distinguished himself in the opposition by his courage and independent spirit, moved for leave to bring in a bill that should obviate any doubts which might arise concerning the electors of knights of the shire to serve in parliament for England, and further regulate the proceedings of such elections. He was accordingly permitted to bring in such a bill, in conjunction with Mr. Townshend, Mr. Cornwall, and lords North and Craysfort; and in the usual course, the bill being prepared, was enacted into a law, under the title of, “An act for further explaining the laws touching the electors of knights of the shire to serve in parliament for that part of Great Britain called England.” The preamble specified, that though, by an act passed in the eighteenth year of the present reign, it was provided, that no person might vote at the election of a knight or knights of a shire within England and Wales, without having a freehold estate in the county for which he votes, of the clear yearly value of forty shillings, over and above all rents and charges, payable out of or in respect to the same; nevertheless, certain persons, who hold their estates by copy of court-roll, pretend to a right of voting, and have at certain times presumed to vote at such elections; this act, therefore, ordained, that from and after the twenty-ninth day of June in the present year, no person who holds his estate by copy of court-roll should be entitled thereby to vote at the election of any knight or knights of a shire within England or Wales; but every such vote should be void, and the person so voting should forfeit fifty pounds to any candidate for whom such vote should not have been given, and who should first sue for the same, to be recovered with full costs, by action of debt, in any court of judicature.*

* For the more easy recovery of this forfeit, it was enacted, that the plaintiff in such action might only set forth, in the declaration or hill, that the defendant was indebted to him in the sum of fifty pounds, alleging the offence for which the suit should be brought, and that the defendant had acted contrary to this act, without mentioning the writ of summons to parliament, or the return thereof; and, upon trial of any issue, the plaintiff should not be obliged to prove the writ of summons to parliament, or the return thereof, or any warrant or authority to the sheriff upon any such writ; that every such action should be commenced within nine months after the fact committed; and that, if the plaintiff should discontinue his action, or be non-suited, or have judgment given against him, the defendant should recover treble costs.

So far the act, thus procured, may be attended with salutary consequences; but, in all probability, the intention of its first movers and patrons was not fully answered; inasmuch as no provision was made for putting a stop to that spirit of license, drunkenness, and debauchery, which prevails at almost every election, and has a very pernicious effect upon the morals of the people.

BILL FOR MORE EFFECTUALLY MANNING THE NAVY.

Among the bills that miscarried in the course of this session, some turned on points of great consequence to the community. Lord Barrington, Mr. Thomas Gore, and Mr. Charles Townshend, were ordered by the house to prepare a bill for the speedy and effectual recruiting his majesty’s land-forces and marines, which was no more than a transcript of the temporary act passed in the preceding session under the same title; but the majority were averse to its being continued for another year, as it was attended with some prejudice to the liberty of the subject. Objections of the same nature might have been as justly started against another bill, for the more effectually manning of his majesty’s navy, for preventing desertion, and for the relief and encouragement of seamen belonging to ships and vessels in the service of the merchants. The purport of this project was to establish registers or muster-rolls of all seamen, fishermen, lightermen, and watermen; obliging ship-masters to leave subscribed lists of their respective crews at offices maintained for that purpose, that a certain number of them might be chosen by lot for his majesty’s service, in any case of emergency. This expedient, however, was rejected, as an unnecessary and ineffectual incumbrance on commerce, which would hamper navigation, and, in a little time, diminish the number of seamen, of consequence act diametrically opposite to the purpose for which it was contrived.—Numberless frauds having been committed, and incessant law-suits produced, by private and clandestine conveyances, a motion was made, and leave given, to form a bill for the public registering of all deeds, conveyances, wills, and other incumbrances, that might effect any honours, manors, lands, tenements, and hereditaments, within the kingdom of England, wherein public registers were not already appointed by act of parliament; but this measure, so necessary to the ascertainment and possession of property, met with a violent opposition; and was finally dropped, as some people imagine, through the influence of those who, perhaps, had particular reasons for countenancing the present mysterious forms of conveyancing. Such a bill must also have been disagreeable and mortifying to the pride of those landholders whose estates were incumbered, because, in consequence of such a register, every mortgage under which they laboured would be exactly known.—The next object to which the house converted its attention, was a bill explaining and amending a late act for establishing a fish-market in the city of Westminster, and preventing scandalous monopolies of a few engrossing fishmongers, who imposed exorbitant prices on their fish, and, in this particular branch of traffic, gave law to above six hundred thousand of their fellow-citizens. Abundance of pains were taken to render this bill effectual, for putting an end to such flagrant impositions. Inquiries were made, petitions read, counsel heard, and alterations proposed; at length the bill, having passed through the lower house, was conveyed to the lords, among whom it was suffered to expire, on pretence that there was not time sufficient to deliberate maturely on the subject.

HABEAS-CORPUS ACT AMENDED.

The occasion that produced the next bill which miscarried we shall explain, as an incident equally extraordinary and interesting. By an act passed in the preceding session, for recruiting his majesty’s land-forces and marines, we have already observed, that the commissioners thereby appointed were vested with a power of judging ultimately, whether the persons brought before them were such as ought, by the rules prescribed in the act, to be impressed into the service; for it was expressly provided, that no person, so impressed by those commissioners, should be taken out of his majesty’s service by any process, other than for some criminal accusation. During the recess of parliament, a gentleman having been impressed before the commissioners, and confined in the Savoy, his friends made application for a habeas-corpus, which produced some hesitation, and indeed an insurmountable difficulty; for, according to the writ of habeas-corpus, passed in the reign of Charles the Second, this privilege relates only to persons committed for criminal or supposed criminal matters, and the gentleman did not stand in that predicament. Before the question could be determined he was discharged, in consequence of an application to the secretary at war; but the nature of the case plainly pointed out a defect in the act, seemingly of the most dangerous consequence to the liberty of the subject. In order to remedy this defect, a bill for giving a more speedy relief to the subject, upon the writ of habeas-corpus, was prepared, and presented to the house of commons, which formed itself into a committee, and made several amendments. It imported, that the several provisions made in the aforesaid act, passed in the reign of Charles II. for the awarding of writs of habeas-corpus, in cases of commitment or detainer for any criminal or supposed criminal matter, should, in like manner, extend to all cases where any person, not being committed or detained for any criminal or supposed criminal matter, should-be confined, or restrained of his or her liberty, under any colour or pretence whatsoever; that, upon oath made by such person so confined or arrested, or by any other on his or her behalf, of any actual confinement or restraint, and that such confinement or restraint, to the best of the knowledge and belief of the person so applying, was not by virtue of any commitment or detainer for any criminal or supposed criminal matter, an habeas-corpus, directed to the person or persons so confining or restraining the party, as aforesaid, should be awarded and granted, in the same manner as is directed, and under the same penalties as are provided by the said act, in the case of persons committed and detained for any criminal or supposed criminal matter; that the person or persons before whom the party so confined or restrained should be brought, by virtue of any habeas-corpus granted in the vacation time, under the authority of this act, might and should, within three days after the return made, proceed to examine into the facts contained in such return, and into the cause of such confinement and restraint; and thereupon either discharge, or bail, or remand the parties so brought, as the case should require, and as to justice should appertain. The rest of the bill related to the return of the writ in three days, and the penalties incurred by those who should neglect or refuse to make the due return, or to comply with any other clause of this regulation. The commons seemed hearty in rearing up this additional buttress to the liberty of their fellow-subjects, and passed the bill with the most laudable alacrity; but in the house of lords such a great number of objections were started, that it sunk at the second reading, and the judges were ordered to prepare a bill for the same purpose, to be laid before that house in the next session.

SCHEME IN FAVOUR OF THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL.

His majesty having recommended the care of the Foundling hospital to the house of commons, which cheerfully granted forty thousand pounds for the support of that charity, the growing annual expense of it appeared worthy of further consideration, and leave was granted to bring in a bill for obliging all the parishes of England and Wales to keep registers of all their deaths, births, and marriages, that from these a fund might be raised towards the support of the said hospital. The bill was accordingly prepared by a committee appointed for the purpose; but before the house could take the report into consideration, the parliament was prorogued.—The proprietors of the privateer called the Antigallican, which had taken a rich French ship homeward bound from China, and carried her into Cadiz, where the Spanish government had wrested her by violence from the captors, and delivered her to the French owners, now presented a petition to the house of commons, complaining of this interposition as an act of partiality and injustice; representing the great expense at which the privateer had been equipped, the legality of the capture, the loss and hardships which they the petitioners had sustained, and imploring such relief as the house should think requisite. Though these allegations were supported by a species of evidence that seemed strong and convincing, and it might be thought incumbent on the parliament to vindicate the honour of the nation, when thus insulted by a foreign power, the house, upon this occasion, treated the petition with the most mortifying neglect, either giving little credit to the assertions it contained, or unwilling to take any step which might at this juncture embroil the nation with the court of Spain on such a frivolous subject. True it is, the Spanish government alleged, in their own justification, that the prize was taken under the guns of Corunna, insomuch that the shot fired by the privateer entered that place, and damaged some houses; but this allegation was never properly sustained, and the prize was certainly condemned as legal by the court of admiralty at Gibraltar.

PROCEEDINGS RELATIVE TO THE AFRICAN COMPANY.

As we have already given a detail of the trial of sir John Mordaunt, it will be unnecessary to recapitulate any circumstances of that affair, except such as relate to its connexion with the proceedings of parliament. In the beginning of this session, lord Barrington, as secretary at war, informed the house, by his majesty’s command, that lieutenant-general sir John Mordaunt, a member of that house, was in arrest for disobedience of his majesty’s orders, while employed on the late expedition to the coast of France. The commons immediately resolved, that an address should be presented to his majesty, returning him the thanks of this house for his gracious message of that day, in the communication he had been pleased to make of the reason for putting lieutenant-general sir, John Mordaunt in arrest.—Among the various objects of commerce that employed the attention of the house, one of the most considerable was the trade to the coast of Africa, for the protection of which an annual sum had been granted for some years, to be expended in the maintenance and repairs of castles and factories. While a committee was employed in perusing the accounts relating to the sum granted in the preceding session for this purpose, a petition from the committee of the African company, recommended in a message from his majesty, was presented to the house, soliciting further assistance for the ensuing year. In the meantime, a remonstrance was offered by certain planters and merchants, interested in trading to the British sugar colonies in America, alleging, that the price of negroes was greatly advanced since the forts and settlements on the coast of Africa had been under the direction of the committee of the company of merchants trading to that coast; a circumstance that greatly distressed and alarmed the petitioners, prevented the cultivation of the British colonies, and was a great detriment to the trade and navigation of the kingdom; that this misfortune, they believed, was in some measure owing to the ruinous state and condition of the forts and settlements; that, in their opinion, the most effectual method for maintaining the interest of that trade on a respectable footing, next to that of an incorporated joint-stock company, would be putting those forts and settlements under the sole direction of the commissioners for trade and plantations; that the preservation or ruin of the American sugar colonies went hand in hand with that of the slave trade to Africa; that, by an act passed in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty, for extending and improving this trade, the British subjects were debarred from lodging their slaves and merchandise in the forts and settlements on the coast; they, therefore, prayed that this part of the act might be repealed; that all commanders of British and American vessels, free merchants, and all other his majesty’s subjects, who were settled, or might at any time thereafter settle in Africa, should have free liberty, from sunrise to sunset, to enter the forts and settlements, and to deposit their goods and merchandise in the warehouses thereunto belonging; to secure their slaves or other purchases without paying any consideration for the same; but the slaves to be victualled at the proper cost and charge of their respective owners. The house having taken this petition into consideration, inquired into the proceedings of the company, and revised the act for extending and improving the trade to Africa, resolved, that the committee of the African company had faithfully discharged the trust reposed in them, and granted ten thousand pounds for maintaining the British forts and settlements in that part of the world. The enemy were perfectly well acquainted with the weakness of the British castles on the coast of Africa; and had they known as well how to execute with spirit, as to plan with sagacity, the attempt which, in the course of the preceding year, they made upon the principal British fort in Guinea, would have succeeded, and all the other settlements would have fallen into their hands without opposition.*

* Robert Hunter Morris represented, in a petition to the house, that as no salt was made in the British colonies in America, they were obliged to depend upon a precarious supply of that commodity from foreigners; he, therefore, offered to undertake the making of marine salt at a moderate price in one of those colonies, at his own risk and charge, provided he could be secured in the enjoyment of the profits which the work might produce, for such a term of years as might seem to the house a proper and adequate compensation for so great an undertaking. The petition was ordered to lie upon the table; afterwards read and referred to a committee, which, however, made no report. A circumstance not easily accounted for, unless we suppose the house of commons were of opinion, that such an enterprise might contribute towards rendering our colonies too independent of their mother- country.—Equally unaccountable was the miscarriage of another bill, brought in for regulating the manner of licensing alehouses, which was read for the first time; but when a motion was made for a second reading, the question was put, and it passed in the negative.

SESSION CLOSED.

The longest and warmest debate which was maintained in the course of this session, arose from a motion for leave to bring in a bill for shortening the term and duration of future parliaments; a measure truly patriotic, against which no substantial argument could be produced, although the motion was rejected by the majority, on pretence, that whilst the nation was engaged in such a dangerous and expensive war, it would be improper to think of introducing such an alteration in the form of government. Reasons of equal strength and solidity will never be wanting to the patrons and ministers of corruption and venality. The alteration proposed was nothing less than removing and annulling an encroachment which had been made on the constitution; it might have been effected without the least pang or convulsion, to the general satisfaction of the nation; far from being unreasonable at this juncture, it would have enhanced the national reputation abroad, and rendered the war more formidable to the enemies of Great Britain, by convincing them that it was supported by a ministry and parliament who stood upon such good terms with the people. Indeed, a quick succession of parliaments might have disconcerted, and perhaps expelled that spirit of confidence and generosity which now so remarkably espoused and gratified the sovereign’s predilection for the interest of Hanover.—Other committees were established, to enquire into the expense incurred by new lines and fortifications raised at Gibraltar; to examine the original standards of weights and measures used in England; consider the laws relating to them, and report their observations, together with their opinion of the most effectual means for ascertaining and enforcing uniform standards to be used for the future. The commons were perfectly satisfied with the new works which had been raised at Gibraltar; and with respect to the weights and measures, the committee agreed to certain resolutions, but no further progress was made in this inquiry, except an order for printing these resolutions, with the appendix; however, as the boxes containing the standards were ordered to be locked up by the clerk of the house, in all probability their intention was to proceed on this subject in some future session. On the ninth day of June sundry bills received the royal assent by commission, his majesty being indisposed; and on the twentieth day of the same month, the lords commissioners closed the session with a speech to both houses, expressing his majesty’s deep sense of their loyalty and good affection, demonstrated in their late proceedings, in their zeal for his honour and real interest in all parts, in their earnestness to surmount every difficulty, in their ardour to maintain the war with the utmost vigour; proofs which must convince mankind that the ancient spirit of the British nation still subsisted in its full force. They were given to understand that the king had taken all such measures as appeared the most conducive to the accomplishment of their public-spirited views and wishes; that with their assistance, crowned by the blessing of God upon the conduct and bravery of the combined army, his majesty had been enabled, not only to deliver his dominions in Germany from the oppressions and devastations of the French, but also to push his advantages on this side the Rhine; that he had cemented the union between him and his good brother the king of Prussia, by new engagements; that the British fleets and armies were now actually employed in such expeditions as appeared likely to annoy the enemy in the most sensible manner, and to promote the welfare and prosperity of these kingdoms; in particular, to preserve the British rights and possessions in America, and to make France feel, in those parts, the real strength and importance of Great Britain. The commons were thanked for the ample supplies which they had so freely and unanimously given, and assured on the part of his majesty that they should be managed with the most frugal economy. They were desired, in consequence of the king’s earnest recommendation, to promote harmony and good agreement amongst his faithful subjects; to make the people acquainted with the rectitude and purity of his intentions and measures, and to exert themselves in maintaining the peace and good order of the country, by enforcing obedience to the laws and Lawful authority.

VIGOROUS PREPARATIONS FOR WAR, &c.

Never, surely, had any sovereign more reason to be pleased with the conduct of his ministers, and the spirit of his people. The whole nation reposed the most unbounded confidence in the courage and discretion, as well as in the integrity of the minister, who seemed eager upon prosecuting the war with such vigour and activity as appeared almost unexampled in the annals of Great Britain. New levies were made, new ships put in commission, fresh expeditions undertaken, and fresh conquests projected. Such was the credit of the administration, that people subscribed to the government loans with surprising eagerness. An unusual spirit of enterprise and resolution seemed to inspire all the individuals that constituted the army and navy; and the passion for military fame diffused itself through all ranks in the civil departments of life, even to the very dregs of the populace; such a remarkable change from indolence to activity, from indifference to zeal, from timorous caution to fearless execution, was effected by the influence and example of an intelligent and intrepid minister, who, chagrined at the inactivity and disgraces of the preceding campaign, had on a very solemn occasion, lately declared his belief that there was a determined resolution, both in the naval and military commanders, against any vigorous exertion of the national power in the service of the country. He affirmed, that though his majesty appeared ready to embrace every measure proposed by his ministers for the honour and interest of his British dominions, yet scarce a man could be found with whom the execution of any one plan in which there was the least appearance of any danger could with confidence be trusted. He particularised the inactivity of one general in North America, from whose abilities and personal bravery the nation had conceived great expectations; he complained, that this noble commander had expressed the most contemptuous disregard for the civil power, from which he derived his authority, by neglecting to transmit, for a considerable length of time, any other advice of his proceedings but what appeared on a written scrap of paper; he observed, that with a force by land and sea greater than ever the nation had heretofore maintained, with a king and ministry ardently desirous of redeeming her glory, succouring her allies, and promoting her true interest, a shameful dislike to the service everywhere prevailed, and few seemed affected with any other zeal than that of aspiring to the highest posts, and grasping the largest salaries. The censure levelled at the commander in America was founded on mistake; the inactivity of that noble lord was not more disappointing to the ministry than disagreeable to his own inclination. He used his utmost endeavours to answer the expectation of the public, but his hands were effectually tied by an absolute impossibility of success, and his conduct stood justified in the eyes of his sovereign. A particular and accurate detail of his proceedings he transmitted through a channel, which he imagined would have directly conveyed it to the foot of the throne; but the packet was said to have been purposely intercepted and suppressed. Perhaps he was not altogether excusable for having corresponded so slightly with the secretary of state; but he was said to have gone abroad in full persuasion that the ministry would be changed, and therefore his assiduities were principally directed to the great personage, who, in that case, would have superintended and directed all the operations of the army. All sorts of military preparations in founderies, docks, arsenals, raising and exercising troops, and victualling transports, were now carried on with such diligence and despatch as seemed to promise an exertion that would soon obliterate the disagreeable remembrance of past disgrace. The beginning of the year was, however, a little clouded by a general concern for the death of his majesty’s third daughter, the princess Caroline, a lady of the most exemplary virtue and amiable character, who died at the age of forty-five, sincerely regretted as a pattern of unaffected piety, and unbounded benevolence.

The British cruisers kept the sea during all the severity of winter, in order to protect the commerce of the kingdom, and annoy that of the enemy. They exerted themselves with such activity, and their vigilance was attended with such success, that a great number of prizes were taken, and the trade of France almost totally extinguished. A very gallant exploit was achieved by one captain Bray, commander of the Adventure, a small armed vessel in the government’s service: falling in with the Machault, a large privateer of Dunkirk, near Dungenness, he ran her aboard, fastened her boltsprit to his capstan, and, after a warm engagement, compelled her commander to submit. A French frigate of thirty-six guns was taken by captain Parker, in a new fire-ship of inferior force. Divers privateers of the enemy were sunk, burned, or taken, and a great number of merchant ships fell into the hands of the English. Nor was the success of the British ships of war confined to the English channel. At this period the board of admiralty received information from admiral Coats, in Jamaica, of an action which happened off the island of Hispaniola, in the month of October of the preceding year, between three English ships of war and a French squadron. Captain Forrest, an officer of distinguished merit in the service, had, in the ship Augusta, sailed from Port Eoyal in Jamaica, accompanied by the Dreadnought and Edinburgh, under the command of the captains Suckling and Langdon. He was ordered to cruise off Cape François, and this service he literally performed in the face of the French squadron under Kersin, lately arrived at that place from the coast of Africa. This commander, piqued at seeing himself thus insulted by an inferior armament, resolved to come forth and give them battle; and that he might either take them, or at least drive them out of the seas, so as to afford a free passage to a great number of merchant ships then lying at the Cape, bound for Europe, he took every precaution which he thought necessary to ensure success. He reinforced his squadron with some store ships, mounted with guns, and armed for the occasion, and supplied the deficiency in his complements, by taking on board seamen from the merchant ships, and soldiers from the garrison. Thus prepared, he weighed anchor, and stood out to sea, having under his command four large ships of the line, and three stout frigates. They were no sooner perceived advancing, than captain Forrest held a short council with his two captains. “Gentlemen,” said he, “you know your own strength, and see that of the enemy; shall we give them battle?” They replying in the affirmative, he added, “Then fight them we will: there is no time to be lost; return to your ships, and get them ready for engaging.” After this laconic consultation among these three gallant officers, they bore down upon the French squadron without further hesitation, and between three and four in tire afternoon the action began with great impetuosity. The enemy exerted themselves with uncommon spirit, conscious that their honour was peculiarly at stake, and that they fought in sight, as it were, of their own coast, which was lined with people, expecting to see them return in triumph. But, notwithstanding all their endeavours, their commodore, after having sustained a severe engagement, that lasted two hours and a half, found his ship in such a shattered condition, that he made signal for one of his frigates to come and tow him out of the line. His example was followed by the rest of his squadron, which, by this assistance, with the favour of the land breeze and the approach of night, made shift to accomplish their escape from the three British ships, which were too much disabled in their masts and rigging to prosecute their victory. One of the French squadron was rendered altogether unserviceable for action. Their loss in men amounted to three hundred killed, and as many wounded; whereas that of the English did not much exceed one-third of this number. Nevertheless, they were so much damaged, that, being unable to keep the sea, they returned to Jamaica, and the French commodore seized the opportunity of sailing with a great convoy for Europe. The courage of captain Forrest was not more conspicuous in this engagement with the French squadron near Cape Francois, than his conduct and sagacity in a subsequent adventure near Port-au-Prince, a French harbour, situated at the bottom of a bay on the western part of Hispaniola, behind the small island of Gonave. After M. de Kersin had taken his departure from Cape François for Europe, admiral Coats, beating up to windward from Port-Royal in Jamaica with three ships of the line, received intelligence that there was a French fleet at Port-au-Prince, ready to sail on their return to Europe. Captain Forrest then presented the admiral with a plan for an attack on this place, and urged it earnestly. This, however, was declined, and captain Forrest directed to cruise off the island Gonave for two days only, the admiral enjoining him to return at the expiration of the time, and rejoin the squadron at Cape Nicholas. Accordingly captain Forrest, in the Augusta, proceeded up the bay, between the island Gonave and Hispaniola, with a view to execute a plan which he had himself projected. Next day, in the afternoon, though he perceived two sloops, he forbore chasing, that he might not risk a discovery; for the same purpose he hoisted Dutch colours, and disguised his ship with tarpaulins. At five in the afternoon he discovered seven sail of ships steering to the westward, and hauled from them to avoid suspicion; but at the approach of night gave chase with all the sail he could carry. About ten he perceived two sail, one of which fired a gun, and the other made the best of her way for Leoganne, another harbour in the bay. At this period captain Forrest reckoned eight sail to leeward, near another port called Petit Goave. Coming up with the ship which had fired the gun, she submitted without opposition, after he had hailed and told her captain what he was, produced two of his largest cannon, and threatened to sink her if she should give the least alarm. He forthwith shifted the prisoners from this prize, and placed on board of her five-and-thirty of his own crew, with orders to stand for Petit Goave, and intercept any of the fleet that might attempt to reach that harbour. Then he made sail after the rest, and in the dawn of the morning, finding himself in the middle of their fleet, he began to fire at them all in their turns, as he could bring his guns to bear. They returned the fire for sometime; at length the Marguerite, the Solide, and the Theodore struck their colours. These being secured, were afterwards used in taking the Maurice, Le Grand, and La Flore; the Brilliant also submitted, and the Mars made sail, in hopes of escaping, but the Augusta coming up with her about noon, she likewise fell into the hands of the victor. Thus, by a well-conducted stratagem, a whole fleet of nine sail were taken by a single ship, in the neighbourhood of four or five harbours, in any one of which they would have found immediate shelter and security. The prizes, which happened to be richly laden, were safely conveyed to Jamaica, and there sold at public auction, for the benefit of the captors, who may safely challenge history to produce such another instance of success.

THE FRENCH EVACUATE EMBDEN.

The ministry having determined to make vigorous efforts against the enemy in North America, admiral Boscawen was vested with the command of the fleet destined for that service, and sailed from St. Helen’s on the nineteenth day of February, when the Invincible, of seventy-four guns, one of the best ships that constituted his squadron, ran aground, and perished; but her men, stores, and artillery were saved. In the course of the succeeding month, sir Edward Hawke steered into the bay of Biscay with another squadron, in order to intercept any supplies from France designed for Cape Breton or Canada; and about the same time the town of Embden, belonging to his Prussian majesty, which had fallen into the hands of the enemy, was suddenly retrieved by the conduct of commodore Holmes, stationed on that coast, who sent up two of his small ships to anchor in the river between Knok and the city. The garrison, amounting to three thousand seven hundred men, finding themselves thus cut off from all communication with the country below, abandoned the place with great precipitation, and some of their baggage being sent off by water, was taken by the boats which the commodore armed for that purpose. It was in the same month that the admiralty received advice of another advantage by sea, which had been gained by admiral Osborne, while he cruised between Cape de Gatt and Carthagena, on the coast of Spain. On the twenty-eighth day of March he fell in with a French squadron, commanded by the marquis du Quesne, consisting of four ships, namely, the Foudroyant, of eighty guns, the Orphée, of sixty-four, the Oriflamme, of fifty, and the Pléiade frigate, of twenty-four, in their passage from Toulon to reinforce M. de la Clue, who had for some time been blocked up by admiral Osborne in the harbour of Carthagena. The enemy no sooner perceived the English squadron than they dispersed, and steered different courses: then Mr. Osborne detached divers ships in pursuit of each, while he himself, with the body of his fleet, stood off for the bay of Carthagena, to watch the motions of the French squadron which lay there at anchor. About seven in the evening, the Orphée, having on board five hundred men, struck to captain Storr, in the Revenge, who lost the calf of one leg in the engagement, during which he was sustained by the ships Berwick and Preston. The Monmouth, of sixty-four guns, commanded by captain Gardener, engaged the Foudroyant, one of the largest ships in the French navy, mounted with fourscore cannon, and containing eight hundred men, under the direction of the marquis du Quesne. The action was maintained with great fury on both sides, and the gallant captain Gardener lost his life; nevertheless, the fight was continued with unabating vigour by his lieutenant, Mr. Carkett, and the Foudroyant disabled in such a manner, that her commander struck, as soon as the other English ships, the Swiftsure and the Hampton-court, appeared. This mortifying step, however, he did not take until he saw his ship lie like a wreck upon the water, and the decks covered with carnage. The Oriflamme was driven on shore under the castle of Aiglos, by the ships Montague and Monarque, commanded by the captains Rowley and Montague, who could not complete their destruction without violating the neutrality of Spain. As for the Pléiade frigate, she made her escape by being a prime sailer. This was a severe stroke upon the enemy, who not only lost two of her capital ships, but saw them added to the navy of Great Britain; and the disaster was followed close by another, which they could not help feeling with equal sensibility of mortification and chagrin. In the beginning of April, sir Edward Hawke, steering with his squadron into Basque-road, on the coast of Poictou, discovered, off the isle of Aix, a French fleet at anchor, consisting of five ships of the line, with six frigates, and forty transports, having on board three thousand troops, and a large quantity of stores and provisions intended as a supply for their settlements in North America. They no sooner saw the English Admiral advancing, than they began to slip their cables, and fly in the utmost confusion. Some of them escaped by sea, but a great number ran into shoal water, where they could not be pursued; and next morning they appeared aground, lying on their broadsides. Sir Edward Hawke, who had rode all night at anchor abreast of the isle of Aix, furnished the ships Intrepid and Medway with trusty pilots, and sent them farther in when the flood began to make, with orders to sound ahead, that he might know whether there was any possibility of attacking the enemy; but the want of a sufficient depth of water rendered the scheme impracticable. In the meantime, the French threw overboard their cannon, stores, and ballast; and boats and launches from Rochefort were employed in carrying out warps, to drag their ships through the soft mud, as soon as they should be water-borne by the flowing tide. By these means their large ships of war, and many of their transports, escaped into the river Charente; but their loading was lost, and the end of their equipment totally defeated. Another convoy of merchant ships under the protection of three frigates, sir Edward Hawke, a few days before, had chased into the harbour of Saint Martin’s, in the isle of Rhé, where they still remained, waiting an opportunity for hazarding a second departure. A third, consisting of twelve sail, bound from Bourdeaux to Quebec, under convoy of a frigate and armed vessel, was encountered at sea by one British ship of the line and two fire-ships, which took the frigate and armed vessel, and two of the convoy afterwards met with the same fate; but this advantage was overbalanced by the loss of captain James Hume, commander of the Pluto fire-ship, a brave accomplished officer, who, in an unequal combat with the enemy, refused to quit the deck even when he was disabled, and fell gloriously, covered with wounds, exhorting the people, with his latest breath, to continue the engagement while the ship could swim, and acquit themselves with honour in the service of their country.

ADMIRAL BRODERICK’S SHIP BURNT.

On the twenty-ninth day of May, the Raisonable, a French ship of the line, mounted with sixty-four cannon, having on board six hundred and thirty men, commanded by the prince de Mombazon, chevalier de Rohan, was, in her passage from Port l’Orient to Brest, attacked by captain Dennis, in the Dorsetshire, of seventy guns, and taken after an obstinate engagement, in which one hundred and sixty men of the prince’s complement were killed or wounded, and he sustained great damage in his hull, sails, and rigging. These successes were, moreover, chequered by the tidings of a lamentable disaster that befel the ship Prince George, of eighty guns, commanded by rear-admiral Broderick, in his passage to the Mediterranean. On the thirteenth day of April, between one and two in the afternoon, a dreadful fire broke out in the fore part of the ship, and raged with such fury, that notwithstanding all the efforts of the officers and men for several hours, the flames increased, and the ship being consumed to the water’s edge, the remnant sunk about six o’clock in the evening. The horror and consternation of such a scene are not easily described. When all endeavours proved fruitless, and no hope of preserving the ship remained, the barge was hoisted out for the preservation of the admiral, who entered it accordingly; but all distinction of persons being now abolished, the seamen rushed into it in such crowds, that in a few moments it overset. The admiral, foreseeing that this would be the case, stripped off his clothes, and committing himself to the mercy of the waves, was saved by the boat of a merchant ship, after he had sustained himself in the sea a full hour by swimming. Captain Payton, who was the second in command, remained upon the quarter-deck as long as it was possible to keep that station, and then descending by the stern ladder, had the good fortune to be taken into a boat belonging to the Aklerney sloop. The hull of the ship, masts, and rigging, were now in a blaze, bursting tremendously in several parts through horrid clouds of smoke; nothing was heard but the crackling of the flames, mingled with the dismal cries of terror and distraction; nothing was seen but acts of frenzy and desperation. The miserable wretches, affrighted at the horrors of such a conflagration, sought a fate less dreadful by plunging into the sea, and about three hundred men were preserved by the boats belonging to some ships that accompanied the admiral in his voyage, but five hundred perished in the ocean.

DESCENT AT CANCALLE BAY.

The king of Great Britain being determined to renew his attempt upon the coast of France, ordered a very formidable armament to be equipped for that purpose. Two powerful squadrons by sea were destined for the service of this expedition: the first, consisting of eleven great ships, was commanded by lord Anson and sir Edward Hawke; the other, composed of four ships of the line, seven frigates, six sloops, two fire-ships, two bombs, ten cutters, twenty tenders, ten store-ships, and one hundred transports, was put under the direction of commodore Howe, who had signalized himself by his gallantry and conduct in the course of the last fruitless expedition. The plan of a descent upon France having been adopted by the ministry, a body of troops, consisting of sixteen regiments, nine troops of light horse, and six thousand marines, was assembled for the execution of this design, and embarked under the command of the duke of Marlborough; a nobleman, who though he did not inherit all the military genius of his grandfather, yet far excelled him in the amiable and social qualities of the heart: he was brave beyond all question, generous to profusion, and good-natured to excess. On this occasion he was assisted by the councils of lord George Sackville, second in command, son to the duke of Dorset; an officer of experience and reputation, who had, in the civil departments of government, exhibited proofs of extraordinary genius and uncommon application. The troops, having been encamped for some time upon the Isle of Wight, were embarked in the latter end of May, and the two fleets sailed in the beginning of June for the coast of Bretagne, leaving the people of England flushed with the gayest hopes of victory and conquest. The two fleets parted at sea: lord Anson, with his squadron, proceeded to the bay of Biscay, in order to watch the motions of the enemy’s ships, and harass their navigation; while commodore Howe, with the land-forces, steered directly towards St. Maloes, a strong place of considerable commerce, situated on the coast of Bretagne, against which the purposed invasion seemed to be chiefly intended. The town, however, was found too well fortified, both by art and nature, to admit of an attempt by sea with any prospect of success; and, therefore, it was resolved to make a descent in the neighbourhood. After the fleet had been, by contrary winds, detained several days in sight of the French coast, it arrived in the bay of Cancalle, about two leagues to the eastward of St. Maloes; and Mr. Howe having silenced a small battery which the enemy had occasionally raised upon the beach, the troops were landed without further opposition on the sixth day of June. The duke of Marlborough immediately began his march towards St. Servan, with a view to destroy such shipping and magazines as might be in any accessible parts of the river; and this scheme was executed with success. A great quantity of naval stores, two ships of war, several privateers, and about fourscore vessels of different sorts, were set on fire and reduced to ashes, almost under the cannon of the place, which, however, they could not pretend to besiege in form. His grace having received repeated advices that the enemy were busily employed in assembling forces to march against him, returned to Cancalle, where Mr. Howe had made such a masterly disposition of the boats and transports, that the re-embarkation of the troops was performed with surprising ease and expedition. The forces, while they remained on shore were restrained from all outrage by the most severe discipline; and the French houses, which their inhabitants had abandoned, were left untouched. Immediately after their landing, the duke of Marlborough, as commander-in-chief, published and distributed a manifesto, addressed to the people of Bretagne, giving them to understand, that his descent upon the coast was not effected with a design to make war on the inhabitants of the open country, except such as should be found in arms, or otherwise opposing the operations of his Britannic majesty; that all who were willing to continue in peaceable possession of their effects, might remain unmolested in their respective dwellings, and follow their usual occupations; that, besides the customs and taxes they used to pay to their own king, nothing should be required of them but what was absolutely necessary for the subsistence of the army; and that, for all provisions brought in, they should be paid in ready money. He concluded this notice with declaring, that if, notwithstanding these assurances of protection, they should carry off their effects and provisions, and abandon the places of their habitation, he would treat them as enemies, and destroy their houses with fire and sword. To the magistracy of St. Maloes he likewise sent a letter, importing, that as all the inhabitants of the towns and villages between Dinant, Rennes, and Doll, now in his possession, had deserted their habitations, probably to avoid the payment of the usual contributions; and he being informed that the magistrates had compelled the people of the country to retire into the town of St. Maloes; he now gave them notice, that if they did not immediately send them back to their houses, and come themselves to his head-quarters, to settle the contributions, he should think himself obliged to proceed to military execution. These threats, however, were not put in force, although the magistrates of St. Maloes did not think proper to comply with his injunction. But it was found altogether impossible to prevent irregularities among troops that were naturally licentious. Some houses were pillaged, and not without acts of barbarity; but the offenders were brought to immediate justice; and it must be owned, as an incontestable proof of the general’s humanity, that in destroying the magazines of the enemy at St. Servan, which may be termed the suburbs of St. Maloes, he ordered one small-store house to be spared, because it could not be set on fire without endangering the whole district. The British forces being re-embarked, including about five hundred light-horse, which had been disciplined and carried over with a view to scour the country, the fleet was detained by contrary winds in the bay of Cancalle for several days, during which a design seems to have been formed for attacking Granville, which had been reconnoitred by some of the engineers; but, in consequence of their report, the scheme was laid aside, and the fleet stood out to sea, where it was exposed to some rough weather. In a few days, the wind blowing in a northern direction, they steered again towards the French coast, and ran in with the land near Havre-de-Grace, where the flat-bottomed boats, provided for landing, were hoisted out, and a second disembarkation expected. But the wind blowing violently towards the evening, the boats were re-shipped, and the fleet obliged to quit the land in order to avoid the dangers of a lee-shore. Next day, the weather being more moderate, they returned to the same station, and orders were given to prepare for a descent; but the duke of Marlborough having taken a view of the coast in an open cutter, accompanied by commodore Howe, thought proper to waive the attempt. Their next step was to bear away before the wind for Cherbourg, in the neighbourhood of which place the fleet came to anchor. Here some of the transports received the fire of six different batteries; and a considerable body of troops appeared in arms to dispute the landing; nevertheless, the general resolved that the forts Querqueville, l’Hommet, and Gallet, should be attacked in the night by the first regiment of guards. The soldiers were actually distributed in the flat-bottomed boats, and every preparation made for this enterprise, when the wind began to blow with such violence, that the troops could not be landed without the most imminent danger and difficulty, nor properly sustained in case of a repulse, even if the disembarkation could have been effected. This attempt, therefore, was laid aside, but at the same time a resolution taken to stand in towards the shore with the whole fleet, to cover a general landing. A disposition was made accordingly; but the storm increasing, the transports ran foul of each other, and the ships were exposed to all the perils of a lee-shore, for the gale blew directly upon the coast; besides, the provisions began to fail, and the hay for the horses was almost consumed. These concurring reasons induced the commanders to postpone the disembarkation to a more favourable opportunity. The fleet stood out to sea, and the tempest abating, they steered for the Isle of Wight, and next day anchored at St. Helen’s. Such was the issue of an enterprise achieved with considerable success, if we consider the damage done to the enemy’s shipping, and the other objects which the minister had in view; namely, to secure the navigation of the channel, and make a diversion in favour of the German allies, by alarming the French king, and obliging him to employ a great number of troops to defend his coast from insult and invasion; but whether such a mighty armament was necessary for the accomplishment of these petty aims, and whether the same armament might not have been employed in executing schemes of infinitely greater advantage to the nation, we shall leave to the judicious reader’s own reflection.

EXPEDITION AGAINST CHERBOURG.

The designs upon the coast of France, though interrupted by tempestuous weather, were not as yet laid aside for the whole season; but, in the meantime, the troops were disembarked on the Isle of Wight; and one brigade marched to the northward, to join a body of troops, with which the government resolved to augment the army of the allies in Germany, commanded by prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. The duke of Marlborough and lord George Sackville being appointed to conduct this British corps upon the continent, the command of the marine expeditions devolved to lieutenant-general Bligh, an old experienced officer, who had served with reputation; and his royal highness prince Edward, afterwards created duke of York, entered as a volunteer with commodore Howe, in order to learn the rudiments of the sea-service. The remainder of the troops being re-embarked, and everything prepared for the second expedition, the fleet sailed from St. Helen’s on the first of August; and after a tedious passage, from calms and contrary winds, anchored on the seventh in the bay of Cherbourg. By this time the enemy had intrenched themselves within a line, extending from the fort Ecoeurdeville, which stands about two miles to the westward of Cherbourg, along the coast for the space of four miles, fortified with several batteries at proper distances. Behind this retrenchment a body of horse and infantry appeared in red and blue uniforms; but as they did not advance to the open beach, the less risk was run in landing the British forces. At first a bomb-ketch had been sent to anchor near the town, and throw some shells into the place, as a feint to amuse the enemy, and deceive them with regard to the place of disembarkation, while the general had determined to land about a league to the westward of Querqueville, the most western fort in the bay. The other bomb-ketches, being posted along shore, did considerable execution upon the intrench-ments, not only by throwing shells in the usual way, but also by using ball-mortars, filled with great quantities of balls, which may be thrown to a great distance, and, by scattering as they fly, do abundance of mischief. While the ketches fired without ceasing, the grenadiers and guards were rowed regularly ashore in the flat-bottomed boats, and, landing without opposition, instantly formed on a small open portion of the beach, with a natural breast-work in their front, having on the other side a hollow way, and a village rising beyond it with a sudden ascent; on the left, the ground was intersected by hedges, and covered with orchards, and from this quarter the enemy advanced in order. The British troops immediately quitted the breast-work, in order to meet them half way, and a straggling fire began; but the French edging to the left, took possession of the hill, from whence they piqueered with the advanced posts of the English. In the meantime, the rest of the infantry were disembarked, and the enemy at night retired. As the light troops were not yet landed, general Bligh encamped that night at the village of Erville, on a piece of ground that did not extend above four hundred paces; so that the tents were pitched in a crowded and irregular manner. Next morning, the general having received intelligence that no parties of the enemy were seen moving on the hill, or in the plain, and that fort Querqueville was entirely abandoned, made a disposition for marching in two columns to Cherbourg. An advanced party took immediate possession of Querqueville; and the lines and batteries along the shore were now deserted by the enemy. The British forces marching behind St. Aulne, Ecoeurdeville, Hommet, and La Galet, found the town of Cherbourg likewise abandoned, and the gates being open, entered it without opposition. The citizens, encouraged by a manifesto containing a promise of protection, which had been published and distributed in order to quiet their apprehensions, received their new guests with a good grace, overwhelming them with civilities, for which they met with a very ungrateful return; for as the bulk of the army was not regularly encamped and superintended, the soldiers were at liberty to indulge themselves in riot and licentiousness. All night long they ravaged the adjacent country without restraint; and as no guards had been regularly placed in the streets and avenues of Cherbourg, to prevent disorders, the town itself was not exempted from pillage and brutality. These outrages, however, were no sooner known, than the general took immediate steps for putting a stop to them for the present, and preventing all irregularities for the future. Next morning, the place being reconnoitred, he determined to destroy, without delay, all the forts and the basin; and the execution of this design was left to the engineers, assisted by the officers of the fleet and artillery. Great sums of money had been expended upon the harbour and basin of Cherbourg, which at one time was considered by the French court as an object of great importance, from its situation respecting the river Seine, as well as the opposite coast of England; but as the works were left unfinished, in all appearance the plan had grown into disreputation. The enemy had raised several unconnected batteries along the bay; but the town itself was quite open and defenceless While the engineers were employed in demolishing the works, the light horse scoured the country, and detachments were every day sent out towards Walloign, at the distance of four leagues from Cherbourg, where the enemy were encamped, and every hour received reinforcements. Several skirmishes were fought by the out-parties of each army, in one of which captain Lindsay, a gallant young officer, who had been very instrumental in training the light horse, was mortally wounded. The harbour and basin of Cherbourg being destroyed, together with all the forts in the neighbourhood, and about twenty pieces of brass cannon secured on board the English ships, a contribution, amounting to about three thousand pounds sterling, was exacted upon the town, and a plan of re-embarkation concerted; as it appeared from the reports of peasants and deserters, that the enemy were already increased to a formidable number. A slight intrench-ment being raised, sufficient to defend the last division that should be re-embarked, the stores and artillery were shipped, and the light horses conveyed on board their respective transports, by means of platforms laid in the flat-bottomed vessels. On the sixteenth day of August, at three o’clock in the morning, the forces marched from Cherbourg down to the beach, and re-embarked at fort Galet, without the least disturbance from the enemy.

DESCENT AT ST. MALOES.

This service being happily performed, the fleet set sail for the coast of England, and anchored in the road of Weymouth, under the high land of Portland. In two days it weighed and stood again to the southward; but was obliged by contrary winds to return to the same riding. The second effort, however, was more effectual. The fleet with some difficulty kept the sea, and steering to the French coast, came to anchor in the bay of St. Lunaire, two leagues to the westward of St. Maloes, against which it was determined to make another attempt. The sloops and ketches being ranged along shore to cover the disembarkation, the troops landed on a fair open beach, and a detachment of grenadiers was sent to the harbour of St. Briac, above the town of St. Maloes, where they destroyed about fifteen small vessels; but St. Maloes itself being properly surveyed, appeared to be above insult, either from the land-forces or the shipping. The mouth of the river that forms its basin extends above two miles in breadth at its narrowest part, so as to be out of the reach of land batteries, and the entrance is defended by such forts and batteries as the ships of war could not pretend to silence, considering the difficult navigation of the channels; besides fifty pieces of large cannon planted on these forts and batteries, the enemy had mounted forty on the west side of the town; and the basin was, moreover, strengthened by seven frigates or armed vessels, whose guns might have been brought to bear upon any batteries that could be raised on shore, as well as upon ships entering by the usual channel. For these substantial reasons the design against St. Maloes was dropped; but the general being unwilling to re-embark, without having taken some step for the further annoyance of the enemy, resolved to penetrate into the country; conducting his motions, however, so as to be near the fleet, which had by this time quitted the bay of St. Lunaire, where it could not ride with any safety, and anchored in the bay of St. Cas, about three leagues to the westward.

ENGLISH DEFEATED AT ST. CAS.

On Friday the eighth of September, general Bligh, with his little army, began his march for Guildo, at the distance of nine miles, which he reached in the evening; next day he crossed a little gut or inlet of the sea, at low water, and his troops being incommoded by the peasants, who fired at them from hedges and houses, he sent a priest with a message, intimating, that if they would not desist, he would reduce their houses to ashes. No regard being paid to this intimation, the houses were actually set on fire as soon as the troops had formed their camp about two miles on the other side of the inlet. Next morning he proceeded to the village of Matignon, where, after some smart skirmishing, the French piquets appeared, drawn up in order, to the number of two battalions; but having sustained a few shots from the English field-pieces, and seeing the grenadiers advance, they suddenly dispersed. General Bligh continuing his route through the village, encamped in the open ground, about three miles from the bay of St. Cas, which was this day reconnoitred for re-embarkation; for he now received undoubted intelligence, that the duke d’Aiguillon had advanced from Brest to Lambale, within six miles of the English camp, at the head of twelve regular battalions, six squadrons, two regiments of militia, eight mortars, and ten pieces of cannon. The bay of St. Cas was covered by an intrenchment which the enemy had thrown up, to prevent or oppose any disembarkation; and on the outside of this work there was a range of sand hills extending along shore, which could have served as a cover to the enemy, from whence they might have annoyed the troops in re-embarking; for this reason a proposal was made to the general, that the forces should be re-embarked from a fair open beach on the left, between St. Cas and Guildo; but this advice was rejected, and, indeed, the subsequent operations of the army savoured strongly of blind security and rash presumption. Had the troops decamped in the night without noise, in all probability they would have arrived at the beach before the French had received the least intelligence of their motion; and in that case, the whole army, consisting of about six thousand men, might have been re-embarked without the least interruption; but instead of this cautious manner of proceeding, the drums were beaten at two o’clock in the morning, as if with intention to give notice to the enemy, who forthwith repeated the same signal. The troops were in motion before three, and though the length of the march did not exceed three miles, the halts and interruptions were so numerous and frequent, that they did not arrive on the beach of St. Cas till nine. Then the embarkation was begun, and might have been happily finished, had the transports lain near the shore and received the men as fast as the boats could have conveyed them on board, without distinction; but many ships rode at a considerable distance, and every boat carried the men on board the respective transports to which they belonged; a punctilio of disposition by which a great deal of time was unnecessarily consumed. The small ships and bomb-ketches were brought near the shore, to cover the embarkation; and a considerable number of sea-officers were stationed on the beach, to superintend the boats’ crews, and regulate the service; but notwithstanding all their attention and authority, some of the boats were otherwise employed than in conveying the unhappy soldiers. Had all the cutters and small craft belonging to the fleet been properly occupied in this service, the disgrace and disaster of the day would scarce have happened. The British forces had skirmished a little on the march, but no considerable body of the enemy appeared until the embarkation was begun; then they took possession of an eminence by a windmill, and forthwith opened a battery of ten cannon and eight mortars, from whence they fired with considerable effect upon the soldiers on the beach, and on the boats in their passage. They afterwards began to march down the hill, partly covered by a hollow way on their left, with a design to gain a wood, where they might form and extend themselves along the front of the English, and advance against them under shelter of the sand-hills: but in their descent they suffered extremely from the cannon and mortars of the shipping, which made great havock and threw them into confusion. Their line of march down the hill was staggered, and for some time continued in suspense; then they turned off to one side, extended themselves along a hill to their left, and advanced in a hollow way, from whence they suddenly rushed out to the attack. Though the greater part of the British troops were already embarked, the rear-guard, consisting of all the grenadiers and half of the first regiment of guards, remained on the shore, to the number of fifteen hundred, under the command of major-general Dury. This officer, seeing the French advance, ordered his troops to form in grand divisions, and march from behind the bank that covered them, in order to charge the enemy before they could be formed on the plain. Had this step been taken when it was first suggested to Mr. Dury, before the French were disengaged from the hollow way, perhaps it might have so far succeeded as to disconcert and throw them into confusion; but by this time they had extended themselves into a very formidable front, and no hope remained of being able to withstand such a superior number. Instead of attempting to fight against such odds in an open field of battle, they might have retreated along the beach to a rock on the left, in which progress their right flank would have been secured by the in-trenchment; and the enemy could not have pursued them along the shore, without being exposed to such a fire from the shipping, as in all probability they could not have sustained. This scheme was likewise proposed to Mr. Dury; but he seemed to be actuated by a spirit of infatuation. The English line being drawn up in uneven ground, began the action with an irregular fire from right to left, which the enemy returned; but their usual fortitude and resolution seemed to forsake them on this occasion. They saw themselves in danger of being surrounded and cut in pieces; their officers dropped on every side; and all hope of retreat was now intercepted. In this cruel dilemma, their spirits failed; they were seized with a panic; they faultered, they broke; and in less than five minutes after the engagement began, they fled in the utmost confusion, pursued by the enemy, who no sooner saw them give way than they fell in among them with their bayonets fixed, and made a great carnage. General Dury being dangerously wounded, ran into the sea, where he perished; and this was the fate of a great number, officers as well as soldiers. Many swam towards the boats and vessels, which were ordered to give them all manner of assistance; but by far the greater number were either butchered on the beach, or drowned in the water: a small body, however, instead of throwing themselves into the sea, retired to the rock on the left, where they made a stand, until they had exhausted their ammunition, and then surrendered at discretion The havock was moreover increased by the shot and shells discharged from the battery which the enemy had raised on the hill. The slaughter would not have been so great, had not the French soldiers been exasperated by the fire from the frigates, which was still maintained even after the English troops were routed; but this was no sooner silenced by a signal from the commodore, than the enemy exhibited a noble example of moderation and humanity, in granting immediate quarter and protection to the vanquished. About one thousand chosen men of the English army were killed and taken prisoners on this occasion: nor was the advantage cheaply purchased by the French troops, among whom the shot and shells from the frigates and ketches had done great execution. The clemency of the victors was the more remarkable, as the British troops in this expedition had been shamefully guilty of marauding, pillaging, burning, and other excesses. War is so dreadful in itself, and so severe in its consequences, that the exercise of generosity and compassion, by which its horrors are mitigated, ought ever to be applauded, encouraged, and imitated. We ought also to use our best endeavours to deserve this treatment at the hands of a civilised enemy. Let us be humane in our turn to those whom the fate of war has subjected to our power: let us, in prosecuting our military operations, maintain the most rigid discipline among the troops, and religiously abstain from all acts of violence and oppression. Thus a laudable emulation will undoubtedly ensue, and the powers at war vie with each other in humanity and politeness. In other respects the commander of an invading armament will always find his account in being well with the common people of the country in which the descent is made. By civil treatment and seasonable gratifications, they will be encouraged to bring into the camp regular supplies of provision and refreshment; they will mingle with the soldiers, and even form friendships among them; serve as guides, messengers, and interpreters; let out their cattle for hire as draft-horses; work with their own persons as day-labourers; discover proper fords, bridges, roads, passes, and defiles; and, if artfully managed, communicate many useful hints of intelligence. If great care and circumspection be not exerted in maintaining discipline, and bridling the licentious dispositions of the soldiers, such invasions will be productive of nothing but miscarriage and disgrace: for this at best is but a piratical way of carrying on war; and the troops engaged in it are, in some measure, debauched by the nature of the service. They are crowded together in transports, where the minute particulars of military order cannot be observed, even though the good of the service greatly depends upon a due observance of these forms. The soldiers grow negligent, and inattentive to cleanness and the exterior ornaments of dress: they become slovenly, slothful, and altogether unfit for a return of duty: they are tumbled about occasionally in ships and boats, landed and re-embarked in a tumultuous manner, under a divided and disorderly command: they are accustomed to retire at the first report of an approaching enemy, and to take shelter on another element; nay, their small pillaging parties are often obliged to fly before unarmed peasants. Their duty on such occasions is the most unmanly part of a soldier’s office; namely, to ruin, ravage, and destroy. They soon yield to the temptation of pillage, and are habituated to rapine: they give loose to intemperance, riot, and intoxication; commit a thousand excesses; and, when the enemy appears, run on board the ships with their booty. Thus the dignity of the service is debased; they lose all sense of honour and of shame; they are no longer restricted by military laws, nor overawed by the authority of officers; in a word, they degenerate into a species of lawless buccaneers. From such a total relaxation of morals and discipline, what can ensue but riot, confusion, dishonour, and defeat? All the advantage that can be expected from these sudden starts of invasion, will scarce overbalance the evils we have mentioned, together with the extraordinary expense of equipping armaments of this nature. True it is, these descents oblige the French king to employ a considerable number of his troops for the defence of his maritime places: they serve to ruin the trade of his subjects, protect the navigation of Great Britain, and secure its coast from invasion; but these purposes might be as effectually answered, at a much smaller expense, by the shipping alone. Should it be judged expedient, however, to prosecute this desultory kind of war, the commanders employed in it will do well to consider, that a descent ought never to be hazarded in an enemy’s country, without having taken proper precautions to secure a retreat; that the severest discipline ought to be preserved during all the operations of the campaign; that a general ought never to disembark but upon a well-concerted plan, nor commence his military transactions without some immediate point or object in view; that a re-embarkation ought never to be attempted, except from a clear open beach, where the approaches of an enemy may be seen, and the troops covered by the fire of their shipping. Those who presume to reflect upon the particulars of this last expedition, owned themselves at a loss to account for the conduct of the general, in remaining on shore after the design upon St. Maloes was laid aside; in penetrating so far into the country without any visible object; neglecting the repeated intelligence which he received; communicating, by beat of drum, his midnight motions to an enemy of double his force; loitering near seven hours in a march of three miles; and, lastly, attempting the re-embarkation of the troops at a place where no proper measures had been taken for their cover and defence. After the action of St. Cas, some civilities, by message, passed between the duke d’Aiguillon and the English commanders, who were favoured with a list of the prisoners, including four sea captains; and assured that the wounded should receive all possible comfort and assistance. These matters being adjusted, commodore Howe returned with the fleet to Spithead, and the soldiers were disembarked.

The success of the attempt upon Cherbourg had elevated the people to a degree of childish triumph; and the government thought proper to indulge this petulant spirit of exultation, by exposing twenty-one pieces of French cannon in Hyde-park, from whence they were drawn in procession to the Tower, amidst the acclamations of the populace. From this pinnacle of elation and pride they were precipitated to the abyss of despondence or dejection, by the account of the miscarriage at St. Cas, which buoyed up the spirits of the French in the same proportion. The people of that nation began to stand in need of some such cordial after the losses they had sustained, and the ministry of Versailles did not fail to make the most of this advantage: they published a pompous narrative of the battle of St. Cas, and magnified into a mighty victory the puny check which they had given to the rear-guard of an inconsiderable detachment. The people received it with implicit belief, because it was agreeable to their passions, and congratulated themselves upon their success in hyperboles, dictated by that vivacity so peculiar to the French nation. Indeed, these are artifices which the ministers of every nation find it necessary to use at certain conjunctures, in governing the turbulent and capricious multitude. After the misfortune at St. Cas, nothing further was attempted by that armament; nor was any enterprise of importance achieved by the British ships in Europe during the course of this summer. The cruisers, however, still continued active and alert. Captain Hervey, in the ship Monmouth, destroyed a French ship of forty guns in the island of Malta; an exploit of which the Maltese loudly complained, as a violation of their neutrality. About twenty sail of small French vessels were driven ashore on the rocks of Bretagne, by some cruisers belonging to the fleet commanded by lord Anson, after a smart engagement with two frigates, under whose convoy they sailed. In the month of November, the Belliqueux, a French ship of war mounted with sixty-four guns, having by mistake run up St. George’s channel, and anchored in Lundy-road, captain Saumarez of the Antelope, then lying in King-road, immediately weighed and went in quest of her, according to the advice he had received. When he appeared, the French captain heaved up his anchor, and made a show of preparing for an engagement; but soon hauled down his colours, and, without firing a shot, surrendered, with a complement of four hundred and seventeen men, to a ship of inferior force both in number of hands and weight of metal. By this time the English privateers swarmed to such a degree in the channel, that scarce a French vessel durst quit the harbour, and consequently there was little or no booty to be obtained. In this dearth of legal prizes, some of the adventurers were tempted to commit acts of piracy, and actually rifled the ships of neutral nations. A Dutch vessel, having on board the baggage and domestics belonging to the marquis de Pignatelli, ambassador from the court of Spain to the king of Denmark, was boarded three times successively by the crews of three different privateers, who forced the hatches, rummaged the hold, broke open and rifled the trunks and boxes of the ambassador, insulted and even cruelly bruised his officers, stripped his domestics, and carried off his effects, together with letters of credit, and a bill of exchange. Complaints of these outrages being made to the court of London, the lords of the admiralty promised, in the gazette, a reward of five hundred pounds, without deduction, to any person who should discover the offenders concerned in these acts of piracy. Some of them were detected accordingly, and brought to condign punishment.

CLAMOURS OF THE DUTCH MERCHANTS, &c.

The Dutch had for some time carried on a very considerable traffic, not only in taking the fair advantages of their neutrality, but also in supplying the French with naval stores, and transporting the produce of the French sugar-colonies to Europe, as carriers hired by the proprietors. The English government, incensed at this unfair commerce, prosecuted with such flagrant partiality for their enemies, issued orders for the cruisers to arrest all ships of neutral powers that should have French property on board; and these orders were executed with rigour and severity. A great number of Dutch ships were taken and condemned as legal prizes, both in England and Jamaica: sometimes the owners met with hard measures, and some crews were treated with insolence and barbarity. The subjects of the United Provinces raised a loud clamour against the English, for having, by these captures, violated the law of nations and the particular treaty of commerce subsisting between Great Britain and the republic. Remonstrances were made to the English ministry, who expostulated, in their turn, with the deputies of the states-general; and the two nations were inflamed against each other with the most bitter animosity. The British resident at the Hague, in a conference with the states, represented that the king his master could not hope to see peace speedily re-established, if the neutral princes should assume a right of carrying on the trade of his enemies; that he expected, from their known justice, and the alliance by which they were so nearly connected with his subjects, they would honestly abandon this fraudulent commerce, and agree that naval stores should be comprehended in the class of contraband commodities. He answered some articles of the complaints they had made with an appearance of candour and moderation; declared his majesty’s abhorrence of the violences which had been committed upon the subjects of the United Provinces; explained the steps which had been taken by the English government to bring the offenders to justice, as well as to prevent such outrages for the future; and assured them that his Britannic majesty had nothing more at heart, than to renew and maintain, in full force, the mutual confidence and friendship by which the maritime powers of England and Holland had been so long united.

These professions of esteem and affection were not sufficient to quiet the minds and appease the resentment of the Dutch merchants; and the French party, which was both numerous and powerful, employed all their art and influence to exasperate their passions, and widen the breach between the two nations. The court of Versailles did not fail to seize this opportunity of insinuation: while, on one hand, their ministers and emissaries in Holland exaggerated the indignities and injuries which the states had sustained from the insolence and rapacity of the English; they, on the other hand, flattered and cajoled them with little advantages in trade, and formal professions of respect.—Such was the memorial delivered by the count d’Affry, intimating that the empress-queen being under an absolute necessity of employing all her forces to defend her hereditary dominions in Germany, she had been obliged to withdraw her troops from Ostend and Nieuport, and applied to the French king, as her ally nearest at hand, to garrison these two places; which, however, should be restored at the peace, or sooner, should her imperial majesty think proper. The spirit of the Dutch merchants, at this juncture, and their sentiments with respect to England, appeared with very high colouring in a memorial to the states-general, subscribed by two hundred and sixty-nine traders, composed and presented with equal secrecy and circumspection. In this famous remonstrance they complained, that the violences and unjust depredations committed by the English ships of war and privateers, on the vessels and effects of them and their fellow-subjects, were not only continued, but daily multiplied; and cruelty and excess carried to such a pitch of wanton barbarity, that the petitioners were forced to implore the assistance of their high mightinesses to protect, in the most efficacious manner, the commerce and navigation, which were the two sinews of the republic. For this necessary purpose they offered to contribute each his contingent, and to arm at their own charge; and other propositions were made for an immediate augmentation of the marine. While this party industriously exerted all their power and credit to effect a rupture with England, the princess-gouvernante employed all her interest and address to divert them from this object, and alarm them with respect to the power and designs of France; against which she earnestly exhorted them to augment their military forces by land, that they might be prepared to defend themselves against all invasion. At the same time she spared no pains to adjust the differences between her husband’s country and her father’s kingdom; and without doubt, her healing councils were of great efficacy in preventing matters from coming to a very dangerous extremity.

CHAPTER XV.

Expedition against Senegal..... Fort Louis and Senegal taken..... Unsuccessful attempt upon Goree..... Expedition to Cape Breton..... Louisbourg taken..... and St. John’s..... Unsuccessful attempt upon Ticonderoga..... Fort Frontenac taken and destroyed by the English..... Brigadier Forbes takes Fort du Quesne..... Goree taken..... Shipwreck of Captain Barton..... Gallant Exploit of Captain Tyrrell..... Transactions in the East Indies..... Admiral Pococke engages the French Fleet..... Fort St. David’s taken by the French..... Second Engagement between Admiral Pococke and M. d’Apehé..... Progress of M. Lally..... Transactions on the Continent of Europe..... King of Prussia raises Contributions in Saxony and the Dominions of the Duke of Wirtemberg..... State of the Armies on the Continent..... The French King changes the Administration of Hanover..... Plan of a Treaty between the French King and the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel..... Treaty between the French King and the Duke of Brunswick..... Decree of the Aulic Council against the Elector of Hanover and others..... Bremen taken by the Duke de Broglio, and retaken by Prince Ferdinand..... Duke de Richelieu recalled..... Generous Conduct of the Duke de Randan..... The French abandon Hanover..... Prince of Brunswick reduces Hoya and Minden..... Prince Ferdinand defeats the French at Creveldt, and takes Dusseldorp..... Prince of Ysembourg defeated by the Duke de Broglio..... General Imhoff defeats M. de Chevert..... General Oberg defeated by the French at Landwernhagen..... Death of the Duke of Marlborough..... Operations of the King of Prussia at the beginning of the Campaign..... He enters Moravia, and invests Olmutz..... He is obliged to raise the Siege, and retires into Bohemia, where he takes Koningsgratz..... Progress of the Russians..... King of Prussia defeats the Russians at Zorndorf..... and is defeated by the Austrians at Hoch-kirchin..... He retires to Silesia..... Suburbs of Dresden burned by the Prussian Governor..... The King of Prussia raises the Siege of Neiss, and relieves Dresden..... Inhabitants of Saxony grievously oppressed..... Progress of the Swedes in Pomerania..... Prince Charles of Saxony elected Duke of Courland..... The King of England’s Memorial to the Diet of the Empire..... Death of Pope Benedict..... The King of Portugal assassinated..... Proceedings of the French Ministry..... Conduct of the King of Denmark..... Answers to the Charges brought by the Dutch against the English Cruisers..... Conferences between the British Ambassador and the States-general..... Further Proceedings

EXPEDITION AGAINST SENEGAL.

The whole strength of Great Britain, during this campaign, was not exhausted in petty descents upon the coast of France. The continent of America was the great theatre on which her chief vigour was displayed; nor did she fail to exert herself in successful efforts against the French settlements on the coast of Africa. The whole gum trade, from Cape Blanco to the river Gambia, an extent of five hundred miles, had been engrossed by the French, who built Fort Louis within the mouth of the Senegal, extending their factories near three hundred leagues up that river, and on the same coast had fortified the island of Goree, in which they maintained a considerable garrison. The gum senega, of which a great quantity is used by the manufacturers of England, being wholly in the hands of the enemy, the English dealers were obliged to buy it at second-hand from the Dutch, who purchased it of the French, and exacted an exorbitant price for that commodity. This consideration forwarded the plan for annexing the country to the possession of Great Britain. The project was first conceived by Mr. Thomas Gumming, a sensible quaker, who, as a private merchant, had made a voyage to Portenderrick, an adjoining part of the coast, and contracted a personal acquaintance with Amir, the moorish king of Legibelli.*

* The name the natives give to that part of South Barbary, known to merchants and navigators by that of the Gum Coast, and called in maps, the Sandy Desert of Sara, and sometimes Zaia.

He found this African prince extremely well disposed towards the subjects of Great Britain, whom he publicly preferred to all other Europeans, and so exasperated against the French, that he declared he should never be easy till they were exterminated from the river Senegal. At that very time he had commenced hostilities against them, and earnestly desired that the king of England would send out an armament to reduce Fort Louis and Goree, with some ships of force to protect the traders. In that case, he promised to join his Britannic majesty’s forces, and grant an exclusive trade to his subjects. Mr. Gumming not only perceived the advantages that would result from such an exclusive privilege with regard to the gum, but foresaw many other important consequences of an extensive trade in a country, which, over and above the gum senega, contains many valuable articles, such as gold dust, elephants’ teeth, hides, cotton, bees’ wax, slaves, ostrich feathers, indigo, ambergris, and civet. Elevated with a prospect of an acquisition so valuable to his country, this honest quaker was equally minute and indefatigable in his inquiries touching the commerce of the coast, as well as the strength and situation of the French settlements on the river Senegal; and, at his return to England, actually formed the plan of an expedition for the conquest of Fort Louis. This was presented to the board of trade, by whom it was approved, after a severe examination; but it required the patriotic zeal, and invincible perseverance of Cumming, to surmount a variety of obstacles before it was adopted by the ministry; and even then it was not executed in its full extent. He was abridged of one large ship, and in lieu of six hundred land-forces, to be drafted from different regiments, which he in vain demanded, first from the duke of Cumberland, and afterwards from lord Ligonier, the lords of the admiralty allotted two hundred marines only for this service. After repeated solicitation, he, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, obtained an order, that the two annual ships bound to the coast of Guinea should be joined by a sloop and two busses, and make an attempt upon the French settlement in the river Senegal. These ships, however, were detained by contrary winds until the season was too far advanced to admit a probability of success, and therefore the design was postponed. In the beginning of the present year, Mr. Cumming being reinforced with the interest of a considerable merchant in the city, to whom he had communicated the plan, renewed his application to the ministry, and they resolved to hazard the enterprise. A small squadron was equipped for this expedition, under the command of captain Marsh, having on board a body of marines, commanded by major Mason, with a detachment of artillery, ten pieces of cannon, eight mortars, and a considerable quantity of warlike stores and ammunition. Captain Walker was appointed engineer; and Mr. Cumming was concerned as a principal director and promoter of the expedition.*

* On this occasion Mr. Cumming may seem to have acted directly-contrary to the tenets of his religious profession; hut he ever declared to the ministry, that he was fully persuaded his schemes might be accomplished without the effusion of human blood; and that if he thought otherwise, he would by no means have concerned himself about them. He also desired, let the consequence be what it might, his brethren should not be chargeable with what was his own single act. If it was the first military scheme of any quaker, let it be remembered it was also the first successful expedition of this war, and one of the first that ever was carried on according to the pacific system of the quakers, without the loss of a drop of blood on either side.

This little armament sailed in the beginning of March; and in their passage touched at the island of Teneriffe, where, while the ships supplied themselves with wine and water, Mr. Cumming proceeded in the Swan sloop to Portenderrick, being charged with a letter of credence to his old friend the king of that country, who had favoured him in his last visit with an exclusive trade on that coast, by a former charter, written in the Arabic language. This prince was now up the country, engaged in a war with his neighbours, called the Diable Moors;* and the queen-dowager, who remained at Portenderrick, gave Mr. Cumming to understand, that she could not at present spare any troops to join the English in their expedition against Senegal; but she assured him, that, should the French be exterminated, she and their subjects would go thither and settle.

* This is the name by which the subjects of Legibelli distinguish those of Brackna, who inhabit the country farther up the river Senegal, and are in constant alliance with tha French.

In the meantime, one of the chiefs, called prince Amir, despatched a messenger to the king, with advice of their arrival and design. He declared that he would, with all possible diligence, assemble three hundred warriors to join the English troops, and that, in his opinion, the king would reinforce them with a detachment from his army. By this time, captain Marsh, with the rest of the armament, had arrived at Portenderrick, and fearing that the enemy might receive intimation of his design, resolved to proceed on the expedition without waiting for the promised auxiliaries. On the twenty-second clay of April he weighed anchor, and next day, at four o’clock, discovered the French flag flying upon Fort Louis, situated in the midst of a pretty considerable town, which exhibited a very agreeable appearance. The commodore having made prize of a Dutch ship, richly laden with gum, which lay at anchor without the bar, came to anchor in Senegal-road at the mouth of the river; and here he perceived several armed sloops which the enemy had detached to defend the passage of the bar, which is extremely dangerous. All the boats were employed in conveying the stores into the small craft, while three of the sloops continued exchanging fire over a narrow tongue of land with the vessels of the enemy, consisting of one brig and six armed sloops, mounted with great guns and swivels. At length the channel being discovered, and the wind, which generally blows down the river, chopping about, captain Millar, of the London buss, seized that opportunity; and, passing the bar with a flowing sheet, dropped anchor on the inside, where he lay till night exposed to the whole fire of the enemy. Next day he was joined by the other small vessels, and a regular engagement ensued. This was warmly maintained on both sides, until the busses and one dogger running aground, immediately bulged, and were filled with water. Then the troops they contained took to their boats, and with some difficulty reached the shore; when they formed in a body, and were soon joined by their companions from the other vessels; so that now the whole amounted to three hundred and ninety marines, besides the detachment of artillery. As they laid their account with being attacked by the natives who lined the shore at some distance, seemingly determined to oppose the descent, they forthwith threw up an intrench-ment, and began to disembark the stores, great part of which lay under water. While they were employed in raising this occasional defence, the negroes came in great numbers and submitted; and on the succeeding day they were reinforced by three hundred and fifty seamen, who passed the bar in sloops, with their ensigns and colours flying.

FORT LOUIS AND SENEGAL TAKEN.

They had made no further progress in their operations, when two French deputies arrived at the intrench-ment, with proposals for a capitulation from the governor of Fort Louis. After some hesitation, captain Marsh and major Mason agreed, that all the white people belonging to the French company at Senegal should be safely conducted to France in an English vessel, without being deprived of their private effects, provided all the merchandise and uncoined treasure should be delivered up to the victors; and that all the forts, store-houses, vessels, arms, provisions, and every article belonging to the company in that river, should be put into the hands of the English immediately after the capitulation could be signed. They promised that the free natives living at Fort Louis should remain in quiet possession of their effects, and in the free exercise of their religion; and that all negroes, mulattoes, and others, who could prove themselves free, should have it in their option either to remain in the place, or remove to any other part of the country.*

* The victors, however, committed a very great mistake in allowing them to carry off their books and accounts, the perusal of which would have been of infinite service to the English merchants, by informing them of the commodities, their value, the proper seasons, and methods of prosecuting the trade.

The captains Campbell and Walker were immediately sent up the river with a flag of truce, to see the articles signed and executed; but they were so retarded by the rapidity of the stream, that they did not approach the fort till three in the morning. As soon as the day broke they hoisted their flag, and rowed up towards a battery on a point of the island, where they lay upon their oars very near a full hour, beating the chamade; but no notice was taken of their approach. This reserve appearing mysterious, they retired down the river to their in-trenchment, where they understood that the negroes on the island were in arms, and had blocked up the French in Fort Louis, resolving to defend the place to the last extremity, unless they should be included in the capitulation. This intelligence was communicated in a second letter from the governor, who likewise informed the English commander, that unless the French director-general should be permitted to remain with the natives, as a surety for that article of the capitulation in which they were concerned, they would allow themselves to be cut in pieces rather than submit. This request being granted, the English forces began their march to Fort Louis, accompanied by a number of long boats, in which the artillery and stores had been embarked. The French seeing them advance, immediately struck their flag; and major Mason took possession of the castle, where he found ninety-two pieces of cannon, with treasure and merchandise to a considerable value. The corporation and burghers of the town of Senegal submitted, and swore allegiance to his Britannic majesty: the neighbouring princes, attended by numerous retinues, visited the commander, and concluded treaties with the English nation; and the king of Portenderrick, or Legibelli, sent an ambassador from his camp to major Mason, with presents, compliments of congratulation, and assurances of friendship. The number of free independent negroes and mulattoes, settled at Senegal, amounted to three thousand; and many of these enjoyed slaves and possessions of their own. The two French factories of Podore and Galam, the latter situated nine hundred miles farther up the river, were included in the capitulation; so that Great Britain, almost without striking a blow, found herself possessed of a conquest, from which, with proper management, she may derive inconceivable riches. This important acquisition was in a great measure, if not entirely, owing to the sagacity, zeal, and indefatigable efforts of Mr. Cumming, who not only formed the plan, and solicited the armament, but also attended the execution of it in person, at the hazard of his life, and to the interruption of his private concerns.

Fort Louis being secured with an English garrison, and some armed vessels left to guard the passage of the bar, at the mouth of the river, the great ships proceeded to make an attempt upon the island of Goree, which lies at the distance of thirty leagues from Senegal. There the French company had considerable magazines and warehouses, and lodged the negro slaves until they could be shipped for the West Indies. If the additional force which Mr. Cumming proposed for the conquest of this island had been added to the armament, in all probability the island would have been reduced, and in that case the nation would have saved the considerable expense of a subsequent expedition against it, under the conduct of commodore Keppel. At present, the ships by which Goree was attacked were found unequal to the attempt, and the expedition miscarried accordingly, though the miscarriage was attended with little or no damage to the assailants.

EXPEDITION TO CAPE-BRETON.

Scenes of still greater importance were acted in North America, where, exclusive of the fleet and marines, the government had assembled about fifty thousand men, including two-and-twenty thousand regular troops. The earl of Loudoun having returned to England, the chief command in America devolved on major-general Abercrombie; but as the objects of operation were various, the forces were divided into three detached bodies, under as many different commanders. About twelve thousand were destined to undertake the siege of Louisbourg, on the island of Cape-Breton. The general himself reserved near sixteen thousand for the reduction of Crown-Point, a fort situated on lake Champlain; eight thousand under the conduct of brigadier-general Forbes, were allotted for the conquest of Fort du Quesne, which stood a great way to the southward, near the river Ohio; and a considerable garrison was left at Annapolis, in Nova-Scotia. The reduction of Louisbourg and the island of Cape-Breton being an object of immediate consideration, was undertaken with all possible despatch. Major-general Amherst being joined by admiral Boscawen with the fleet and forces from England, the whole armament, consisting of one hundred and fifty-seven sail, took their departure from the harbour of Halifax, in Nova-Scotia, on the twenty-eighth of May; and on the second of June part of the transports anchored in the bay of Gabarus, about seven miles to the westward of Louisbourg. The garrison of this place, commanded by the chevalier Dru-cour, consisted of two thousand five hundred regular troops, three hundred militia, formed of the burghers, and towards the end of the siege they were reinforced by three hundred and fifty Canadians, including threescore Indians. The harbour was secured by six ships of the line, and five frigates,* three of which the enemy sunk across the harbour’s mouth, in order to render it inaccessible to the English shipping.

* The Prudent, of seventy-four guns; the Entreprenant, of seventy-four guns; the Capricieux, Célèbre, and Bienfaisant, of sixty-four guns each; the Apollo, of fifty guns; the Cheyre, Riche, Fidelle, Diana, and Echo, frigates.

The fortifications were in bad repair, many parts of them crumbling down the covered way, and several bastions exposed in such a manner as to be enfiladed by the besiegers, and no part of the town secure from the effects of cannonading and bombardment. The governor had taken all the precautions in his power to prevent a landing, by establishing a chain of posts, that extended two leagues and a half along the most inaccessible part of the beach; intrench-ments were thrown up, and batteries erected; but there were some intermediate places, which could not be properly secured, and in one of these the English troops were disembarked. The disposition being made for landing, a detachment, in several sloops under convoy, passed by the mouth of the harbour towards Lorembec, in order to draw the enemy’s attention that way, while the landing should really be effected on the other side of the town. On the eighth day of June, the troops being assembled in the boats before day-break, in three divisions, several sloops and frigates, that were stationed along shore in the bay of Gabarus, began to scour the beach with their shot; and after the fire had continued about a quarter of an hour, the boats, containing the division on the left, were rowed toward the shore, under the command of brigadier-general Wolfe, an accomplished officer, who, in the sequel, displayed very extraordinary proofs of military genius. At the same time the two other divisions, on the right and in the centre, commanded by the brigadiers Whitmore and Laurence, made a show of landing, in order to divide and distract the enemy. Notwithstanding an impetuous surf, by which many boats were overset, and a very severe fire of cannon and musketry from the enemy’s batteries, which did considerable execution, brigadier Wolfe pursued his point with admirable courage and deliberation. The soldiers leaped into the water with the most eager alacrity, and, gaining the shore, attacked the enemy in such a manner, that in a few minutes they abandoned their works and artillery, and fled in the utmost confusion. The other divisions landed also, but not without an obstinate opposition; and the stores, with the artillery, being brought on shore, the town of Louisbourg was formally invested. The difficulty of landing stores and implements in boisterous weather, and the nature of the ground, which being marshy, was unfit for the conveyance of heavy cannon, retarded the operations of the siege. Mr. Amherst made his approaches with great circumspection, securing his camp with redoubts and epaulements from any attacks of Canadians, of which he imagined there was a considerable body behind him on the island, as well as from the fire of the French shipping in the harbour which would otherwise have annoyed him extremely in his advances.

LOUISBOURG TAKEN.

The governor of Louisbourg having destroyed the grand battery, which was detached from the body of the place, and recalled his out-posts, prepared for making a vigorous defence. A very severe fire, well directed, was maintained against the besiegers and their works, from the town, the island battery, and the ships in the harbour; and divers sallies were made, though without much effect. In the meantime brigadier Wolfe, with a strong detachment, had marched round the north-east part of the harbour, and taken possession of the Lighthouse-point, where he erected several batteries against the ships and the island fortification, which last was soon silenced. On the nineteenth day of June, the Echo, a French frigate, was taken by the English cruisers, after having escaped from the harbour. From the officers on board of this ship the admiral learned that the Bizarre, another frigate, had sailed from thence on the day of the disembarkation, and the Comète had successfully followed her example. Besides the regular approaches to the town, conducted by the engineers under the immediate command and inspection of general Amherst, divers batteries were raised by the detached corps under brigadier Wolfe, who exerted himself with amazing activity, and grievously incommoded the enemy, both of the town and shipping. On the twenty-first day of July the three great ships, the Entreprenant, Capricieux, and Célèbre, were set on fire by a bomb-shell, and burned to ashes, so that none remained but the Prudent and Bienfaisant, which the admiral undertook to destroy. For this purpose, in the night between the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth days of the month, the boats of the squadron were in two divisions detached into the harbour, under the command of two young captains, Laforey and Balfour. They accordingly penetrated in the dark through a terrible fire of cannon and musketry, and boarded the enemy sword in hand. The Prudent, being aground, was set on fire and destroyed, but the Bienfaisant was towed out of the harbour in triumph. In the prosecution of the siege, the admiral and general co-operated with remarkable harmony; the former cheerfully assisting the latter with cannon and other implements; with detachments of marines to maintain posts on shore, with parties of seamen to act as pioneers, and concur in working the guns and mortars. The fire of the town was managed with equal skill and activity, and kept up with great perseverance; until, at length, their shipping being all taken and destroyed, the caserns ruined in two principal bastions,* forty out of fifty-two pieces of cannon dismounted, broke, or rendered unserviceable, and divers practicable breaches effected, the governor, in a letter to Mr. Amherst, proposed a capitulation on the same articles that were granted to the English at Port-Mahon.

* It may not be amiss to observe, that a cavalier, which admiral Knowles had built at an enormous expense to the nation, while Louisbourg remained in the hands of the English in the last war, was, in the course of this siege, entirely demolished by two or three shots from one of the British batteries; so admirably had this piece of fortification been contrived and executed, under the eye of that profound engineer.

In answer to this proposal he was given to understand, that he and his garrison must surrender themselves prisoners of war, otherwise he might next morning expect a general assault by the shipping under admiral Boscawen. The chevalier Dru-cour, piqued at the severity of these terms, replied, that he would, rather than comply with them, stand an assault; but the commissary-general, and intendant of the colony, presented a petition from the traders and inhabitants of the place, in consequence of which he submitted. On the twenty-seventh day of July, three companies of grenadiers, commanded by major Farquhar, took possession of the western gate; and brigadier Whitmore was detached into the town, to see the garrison lay down their arms, and deliver up their colours on the esplanade, and to post the necessary guards on the stores, magazines, and ramparts. Thus, at the expense of about four hundred men killed and wounded, the English obtained possession of the important island of Cape-Breton, and the strong town of Louisbourg, in which the victors found two hundred and twenty-one pieces of cannon, with eighteen mortars, and a considerable quantity of stores and ammunition. The merchants and inhabitants were sent to France in English bottoms; but the garrison, together with the sea-officers, marines, and mariners, amounting in all to five thousand six hundred and thirty-seven prisoners, were transported to England. The loss of Louisbourg was the more severely felt by the French king, as it had been attended by the destruction of so many considerable ships and frigates. The particulars of this transaction were immediately brought to England in a vessel despatched for that purpose, with captain Amherst, brother to the commander, who was also intrusted with eleven pair of colours taken at Louisbourg; these were, by his majesty’s order, carried in pompous parade, escorted by detachments of horse and foot-guards, with kettle-drums and trumpets, from the palace of Kensington to St. Paul’s cathedral, where they were deposited as trophies, under a discharge of cannon, and other noisy expressions of triumph and exultation. Indeed, the public rejoicings for the conquest of Louisbourg were diffused through every part of the British dominions, and addresses of congratulation were presented to the king, by a great number of flourishing towns and corporations.

After the reduction of Cape-Breton, some ships were detached, with a body of troops under the command of lieutenant-colonel lord Rollo, to take possession of the island of St. John, which also lies in the gulf of St. Laurence, and by its fertility in corn and cattle, had, since the beginning of the war, supplied Quebec with considerable quantities of provisions. It was likewise the asylum to which the French neutrals of Annapolis fled for shelter from the English government; and the retreat from whence they and the Indians used to make their sudden irruptions into Nova-Scotia, where they perpetrated the most inhuman barbarities on the defenceless subjects of Great Britain. The number of inhabitants amounted to four thousand one hundred, who submitted and brought in their arms; then lord Rollo took possession of the governor’s quarters, where he found several scalps of Englishmen, whom the savages had assassinated, in consequence of the encouragement they received from their French patrons and allies, who gratified them with a certain premium for every scalp they produced. The island was stocked with above ten thousand head of black cattle, and some of the farmers raised each twelve hundred bushels of corn annually for the market of Quebec.

ATTEMPT UPON TICONDEROGA.

The joy and satisfaction arising from the conquest of Louisbourg and St. John, was not a little checked by the disaster which befel the main body of the British forces in America, under the immediate conduct of general Abercrombie, who, as we have already observed, had proposed the reduction of the French forts on the lakes George and Champlain, as the chief objects of his enterprise, with a view to secure the frontier of the British colonies, and open a passage for the future conquest of Canada. In the beginning of July his forces, amounting to near seven thousand regular troops, and ten thousand provincials, embarked on the lake George, in the neighbourhood of lake Champlain, on board of nine hundred batteaux, and one hundred and thirty-five whale-boats, with provisions, artillery, and ammunition; several pieces of cannon being mounted on rafts to cover the purposed landing, which was next day effected without opposition. The general’s design was to invest: Ticonderoga, a fort situated on a tongue of land, extending between lake George and a narrow gut that communicates with lake Champlain. This fortification was on three sides surrounded with water, and in front nature had secured it with a morass. The English troops being disembarked, were immediately formed into three columns, and began their march to the enemy’s advanced post, consisting of one battalion, encamped behind a breast-work of logs, which they now abandoned with precipitation, after having set them on fire, and burned their tents and implements. The British forces continued their march in the same order; but the route lying through a thick wood that did not admit of any regular progression or passage, and the guides proving extremely ignorant, the troops were bewildered, and the columns broken by falling in one upon another. Lord Howe being advanced at the head of the right centre column, encountered a French detachment who had likewise lost their way in the retreat from the advanced post, and a warm skirmish ensuing, the enemy were routed with considerable loss, a good number were killed, and one hundred and forty-eight were taken prisoners, including five officers. This petty advantage was dearly bought with the loss of lord Howe, who fell in the beginning of the action, unspeakably regretted as a young nobleman of the most promising talents, who had distinguished himself in a peculiar manner by his courage, activity, and rigid observation of military discipline, and had acquired the esteem and affection of the soldiery by his generosity, sweetness of manners, and engaging address. The general perceiving the troops were greatly fatigued and disordered, from want of rest and refreshment, thought it advisable to march back to the landing-place, which they reached about eight in the morning. Then he detached lieutenant-colonel Bradstreet, with one regular regiment, six companies of the Royal Americans, with the batteaux-men, and a body of rangers, to take possession of a saw-mill in the neighbourhood of Ticonderoga, which the enemy had abandoned. This post being secured, the general advanced again towards Ticonderoga, where, he understood from the prisoners, the enemy had assembled eight battalions, with a body of Canadians and Indians, amounting in all to six thousand. These, they said, being encamped before the fort, were employed in making a formidable intrenchment, where they intended to wait for a reinforcement of three thousand men, who had been detached under the command of M. de Levi, to make a diversion on the side of the Mohawk river;* but, upon intelligence of Mr. Abercrombie’s approach, were now recalled for the defence of Ticonderoga.

* This officer intended to have made an irruption through the pass of Oneida on the Mohawk river, but was recalled before he could execute his design. General Abercrombie afterwards sent thither brigadier Stanwix, with a considerable body of provincials, and this important pass was secured by a fort built at that juncture.

This information determined the English general to strike, if possible, some decisive stroke before the junction could be effected. He therefore, early next morning, sent his engineer across the river on the opposite side of the fort, to reconnoitre the enemy’s intrenchments; and he reported that the works being still unfinished, might be attempted with a good prospect of success. A disposition was made accordingly for the attack, and, after proper guards had been left at the saw-mill and the landing-place, the whole army was put in motion. They advanced with great alacrity towards the intrenchment, which, however, they found altogether impracticable. The breastwork was raised eight feet high, and the ground before it covered with an abbatis, of felled trees, with their boughs pointing outwards, and projecting in such a manner as to render the intrenchment almost inaccessible. Notwithstanding these discouraging difficulties, the British troops marched up to the assault with an undaunted resolution, and sustained a terrible fire without flinching. They endeavoured to cut their way through these embarrassments with their swords, and some of them even mounted the parapet; but the enemy were so well covered, that they could deliberately direct their fire without the least danger to themselves: the carnage was therefore considerable, and the troops began to fall into confusion, after several repeated attacks, which lasted above four hours, under the most disadvantageous circumstances. The general, by this time, saw plainly that no hope of success remained; and, in order to prevent a total defeat, took measures for the retreat of the army, which retired unmolested to their former camp, with the loss of about eighteen hundred men killed or wounded, including a great number of officers. Every corps of regular troops behaved, on this unfortunate occasion, with remarkable intrepidity; but the greatest loss was sustained by lord John Murray’s Highland regiment, of which above one half of the private men, and twenty-five officers, were either slain upon the spot, or desperately wounded. Mr. Abercrombie, unwilling to stay in the neighbourhood of the enemy with forces which had received such a dispiriting check, retired to his batteaux, and re-embarking the troops, returned to the camp at lake George, from whence he had taken his departure. Censure, which always attends miscarriage, did not spare the character of this commander; his attack was condemned as rash, and his retreat as pusillanimous. In such a case allowances must be made for the peevishness of disappointment, and the clamour of connexion. How far Mr. Abercrombie acquitted himself in the duty of a general we shall not pretend to determine; but if he could depend upon the courage and discipline of his forces, he surely had nothing to fear, after the action, from the attempts of the enemy, to whom he would have been superior in number, even though they had been joined by the expected reinforcement; he might therefore have remained on the spot, in order to execute some other enterprise when he should be reinforced in his turn; for general Amherst no sooner heard of his disaster, than he returned with the troops from Cape-Breton to New England, after having left a strong garrison in Louis-bourg. At the head of six regiments he began his march to Albany about the middle of September, in order to join the forces on the lake, that they might undertake some other service before the season should be exhausted.

FORT FRONTENAC TAKEN AND DESTROYED BY THE ENGLISH.

In the meantime, general Abercrombie had detached lieutenant-colonel Bradstreet, with a body of three thousand men, chiefly provincials, to execute a plan which this officer had formed against Cadaraqui, or fort Frontenac, situated on the north side of the river St. Laurence, just where it takes its origin from the lake Ontario. To the side of this lake he penetrated with his detachment, and embarking in some sloops and batteaux, provided for the purpose, landed within a mile of fort Frontenac, the garrison of which, consisting of one hun dred and ten men, with a few Indians, immediately surrendered at discretion. Considering the importance of this post, which in a great measure commanded the mouth of the river St. Laurence, and served as a magazine to the more southern castles, the French general was inexcusable for leaving it in such a defenceless condition. The fortification itself was inconsiderable and ill-contrived; nevertheless, it contained sixty pieces of cannon, sixteen small mortars, with an immense quantity of merchandise and provisions, deposited for the use of the French forces detached against brigadier Forbes, their western garrisons, and Indian allies, as well as for the subsistence of the corps commanded by M. de Levi, on his enterprise against the Mohawk river. Mr. Bradstreet not only reduced the fort without bloodshed, but also made himself master of all the enemy’s shipping on the lake, amounting to nine armed vessels, some of which carried eighteen guns. Two of these Mr. Bradstreet conveyed to Oswego, whither he returned with his troops, after he had destroyed fort Frontenac, with all the artillery, stores, provisions, and merchandise, which it contained. In consequence of this exploit, the French troops to the southward were exposed to the hazard of starving; but it is not easy to conceive the general’s reason for giving orders to abandon and destroy a fort, which, if properly strengthened and sustained, might have rendered the English masters of the lake Ontario, and grievously harassed the enemy both in their commerce and expeditions to the westward. Indeed, great part of the Indian trade centered at Frontenac, to which place the Indians annually repaired from all parts of America, some of them at the distance of a thousand miles, and here exchanged their furs for European commodities. So much did the French traders excel the English in the art of conciliating the affection of those savage tribes, that great part of them, in their yearly progress to this remote market, actually passed by the British settlement of Albany, in New York, where they might have been supplied with what articles they wanted, much cheaper than they could purchase them at Frontenac or Montreal; nay, the French traders used to furnish themselves with those very commodities from the merchants of New York, and found this traffic much more profitable than that of procuring the same articles from France, loaded with the expense of a tedious and dangerous navigation, from the sea to the source of the river St. Laurence.

BRIGADIER FORBES TAKES FORT DU QUESNE.

In all probability, the destruction of Frontenac facilitated the expedition against Fort du Quesne, intrusted to the conduct of brigadier Forbes, who, with his little army, began his march in the beginning of July from Philadelphia for the river Ohio, a prodigious tract of country very little known, destitute of military roads, incumbered with mountains, morasses, and woods, that were almost impenetrable. It was not without incredible exertion of industry, that he procured provisions and carriages for this expedition, formed new roads, extended scouting parties, secured camps, and surmounted many other difficulties in the course of his tedious march, during which he was also harassed by small detachments of the enemy’s Indians. Having penetrated with the main body as far as Ray’s-Town, at the distance of ninety miles from Fort du Quesne, and advanced colonel Bouquet with two thousand men, about fifty miles farther, to a place called Lyal-Henning, this officer detached major Grant at the head of eight hundred men, to reconnoitre the fort and its out-works. The enemy perceiving him approach, sent a body of troops against him, sufficient to surround his whole detachment; a very severe action began, which the English maintained with their usual courage for three hours, against cruel odds; but at length, being overpowered by numbers, they were obliged to give way, and retired in disorder to Lyal-Henning, with the loss of about three hundred men killed or taken, including major Grant, who was carried prisoner to Fort du Quesne, and nineteen officers. Notwithstanding this mortifying check, brigadier Forbes advanced with the army, resolved to prosecute his operations with vigour; but the enemy, dreading the prospect of a siege, dismantled and abandoned the fort, and retired down the river Ohio, to their settlements on the Mississippi. They quitted the fort on the twenty-fourth day of November, and next clay it was possessed by the British forces. As for the Indians of this country, they seemed heartily to renounce their connexions with France, and be perfectly reconciled to the government of his Britannic majesty. Brigadier Forbes having repaired the fort, changed its name from du Quesne to Pittsburgh, secured it with a garrison of provincials, and concluded treaties of friendship and alliance with the Indian tribes. Then he marched back to Philadelphia, and in his retreat built a block-house, near Lyal-Henning, for the defence of Pennsylvania; but he himself did not long survive these transactions, his Constitution having been exhausted by the incredible fatigues of the service.—Thus have we given a particular detail of all the remarkable operations by which this campaign was distinguished on the continent of America; the reader will be convinced, that, notwithstanding the defeat of Ticonderoga, and the disaster of the advanced party in the neighbourhood of Fort du Quesne, the arms of Great Britain acquired many important advantages; and indeed paved the way for the reduction of Quebec, and the conquest of all Canada. In the meantime, the admirals Boscawen and Hardy, having left a considerable squadron at Halifax in Nova-Scotia, returned with four ships of the line to England, where they arrived in the beginning of November, after having given chase to six large French ships, which they descried to the westward of Scilly, but could not overtake or bring to an engagement.

The conquest of the French settlement in the river Senegal being deemed imperfect and incomplete, whilst France still kept possession of the island of Goree, the ministry of Great Britain resolved to crown the campaign in Africa with the reduction of that fortress. For this purpose commodore Keppel, brother to the earl of Albemarle, was vested with the command of a squadron, consisting of four ships of the line, several frigates, two bomb-ketches, and some transports, having on board seven hundred men of the regular troops, commanded by colonel Worge, and embarked in the harbour of Cork in Ireland, from whence this whole armament took its departure on the eleventh day of November. After a tempestuous passage, in which they touched at the isle of Teneriffe, they arrived at Goree in the latter end of December, and the commodore made a disposition for attacking this island, which was remarkably strong by nature, but very indifferently fortified. Goree is a small barren island, extending about three quarters of a mile in length, of a triangular form; and on the south-west side rising into a rocky hill, on which the paltry fort of St. Michael is situated. There is another still more inconsiderable, called St. Francis, towards the other extremity of the island; and several batteries were raised around its sweep, mounted with about one hundred pieces of cannon, and four mortars. The French governor, M. de St. Jean, had great plenty of ammunition, and his garrison amounted to about three hundred men, exclusive of as many negro inhabitants. The flat-bottomed boats, for disembarking the troops, being hoisted out, and disposed alongside of the different transports, the commodore stationed his ships on the west side of the island, and the engagement began with a shell from one of the ketches. This was a signal for the great ships, which poured in their broadsides without intermission, and the fire was returned with equal vivacity from all the batteries of the island. In the course of the action the cannonading from the ships became so severe and terrible, that the French garrison deserted their quarters, in spite of all the efforts of the governor, who acquitted himself like a man of honour; but he was obliged to strike his colours, and surrender at discretion, after a short but warm dispute, in which the loss of the British commodore did not exceed one hundred men killed and wounded. The success of the day was the more extraordinary, as the French garrison had not lost a man, except one negro killed by the bursting of a bomb-shell, and the number of their wounded was very inconsiderable. While the attack lasted, the opposite shore of the continent was lined with a concourse of negroes, assembled to view the combat, who expressed their sentiments and surprise in loud clamour and tin-couth gesticulations, and seemed to be impressed with awe and astonishment at the power and execution of the British squadron. The French colours being struck, as a signal of submission, the commodore sent a detachment of marines on shore, who disarmed the garrison, and hoisted the British flag upon the castle of St. Michael. In the meantime, the governor and the rest of the prisoners were secured among the shipping. Thus the important island of Goree fell into the hands of the English, together with two trading vessels that chanced to be at anchor in the road; and stores, money, and merchandise, to the value of twenty thousand pounds. Part of the troops being left in garrison at Goree, under the command of major Newton, together with three sloops for his service, the squadron, being watered and refreshed from the continent, that part of which is governed by one of the Jalof kings, and the prisoners, with their baggage, being dismissed in three cartel ships to France, the commodore set sail for Senegal, and reinforced fort Louis with the rest of the troops, under colonel Worge, who was at this juncture favoured with a visit by the king of Legibelli; but very little pains were taken to dismiss this potentate in good humour, or maintain the disposition he professed to favour the commerce of Great Britain. True it is, he was desirous of engaging the English in his quarrels with some neighbouring nations; and such engagements were cautiously and politically avoided, because it was the interest of Great Britain to be upon good terms with every African prince who could promote and extend the commerce of her subjects.

SHIPWRECK OF CAPTAIN BARTON.

Commodore Keppel having reduced Goree, and reinforced the garrison of Senegal, returned to England, where all his ships arrived, after a very tempestuous voyage, in which the squadron had been dispersed. This expedition, however successful in the main, was attended with one misfortune, the loss of the Lichfield ship of war, commanded by captain Barton, which, together with one transport and a bomb-tender, was wrecked on the coast of Barbary, about nine leagues to the northward of Saffy, in the dominions of Morocco. One hundred and thirty men, including several officers, perished on this occasion; but the captain and the rest of the company, to the number of two hundred and twenty, made shift to reach the shore, where they ran the risk of starving, and were cruelly used by the natives, although a treaty of peace at that time subsisted between Great Britain and Morocco; nay, they were even enslaved by the emperor, who detained them in captivity until they were ransomed by the British government: so little dependence can be placed on the faith of such barbarian princes, with whom it is even a disgrace for any civilized nation to be in alliance, whatever commercial advantages may arise from the connexion.

GALLANT EXPLOIT OF CAPTAIN TYRREL.

The incidents of the war that happened in the West Indies, during these occurrences, may be reduced to a small compass. Nothing extraordinary was achieved in the neighbourhood of Jamaica, where admiral Coats commanded a small squadron, from which he detached cruisers occasionally for the protection of the British commerce; and at Antigua the trade was effectually secured by the vigilance of captain Tyrrel, whose courage and activity were equal to his conduct and circumspection. In the month of March, this gentleman, with his own ship the Buckingham, and the Cambridge, another of the line, demolished a fort on the island of Martinique, and destroyed four privateers riding under its protection; but his valour appeared much more conspicuous in a subsequent engagement, which happened in the month of November. Being detached on a cruise in his own ship, the Buckingham, by commodore Moore, who commanded at the Leeward Islands, he fell in with the Weazle sloop, commanded by captain Boles, between the islands of Montserrat and Gaudaloupe, and immediately discovered a fleet of nineteen sail, under convoy of a French ship of war carrying seventy-four cannon, and two large frigates. Captain Tyrrel immediately gave chase with all the sail he could carry, and the Weazle running close to the enemy, received a whole broadside from the large ship, which, however, she sustained without much damage; nevertheless, Mr. Tyrrel ordered her commander to keep aloof, as he could not be supposed able to bear the shock of large metal, and he himself prepared for the engagement. The enemy’s large ship, the Florissant, though of much greater force than the Buckingham, instead of lying-to for his coming up, made a running fight with her stern-chase, while the two frigates annoyed him in his course, sometimes raking him fore and aft, and sometimes lying on his quarter. At length he came alongside of the Florissant, within pistol shot, and poured in a whole broadside, which did considerable execution. The salutation was returned with equal vivacity, and a furious engagement ensued. Captain Tyrrel was wounded in the face, and lost three fingers of his right hand; so that, being entirely disabled, he was obliged to delegate the command of the ship to his first lieutenant, Mr. Marshal, who continued the battle with great gallantry until he lost his life; then the charge devolved to the second lieutenant, who acquitted himself with equal honour, and sustained a desperate fight against three ships of the enemy. The officers and crew of the Buckingham exerted themselves with equal vigour and deliberation, and captain Troy, who commanded a detachment of marines on the poop, plied his small arms so effectually, as to drive the French from their quarters. At length, confusion, terror, and uproar, prevailing on board the Florissant, her firing ceased, and her colours were hauled down about twilight; but her commander perceiving that the Buckingham was too much damaged in her rigging to pursue in any hope of success, ordered all his sails to be set, and fled in the dark with his two consorts. Nothing but this circumstance could have prevented a British ship of sixty-five guns, indifferently manned in respect to numbers, from taking a French ship of the line, mounted with seventy-four pieces of cannon, provided with seven hundred men, and assisted by two large frigates, one of thirty-eight guns, and the other wanting two of this number. The loss of the Buckingham, in this action, did not exceed twenty men killed and wounded; whereas the number of the slain on board the Florissant did not fall short of one hundred and eighty, and that of her wounded is said to have exceeded three hundred. She was so disabled in her hull, that she could hardly be kept afloat until she reached Martinique, where she was repaired; and the largest frigate, together with the loss of forty men, received such damage as to be for some time quite unserviceable.

TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST INDIES.

In the East Indies the transactions of the war were chequered with a variety of success; but, on the whole, the designs of the enemy were entirely defeated. The French commander, M. de Bussy, had, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, quarrelled with Salabatzing, viceroy of Decan, because this last would not put him in possession of the fortress of Golconda. In the course of the next year, while the English forces were employed in Bengal, M. de Bussy made himself master of the British factories of Ingeram, Bandermalanka, and Vizagapatam, and the reduction of this last left the enemy in possession of the whole coast of Coro-mandel, from Ganjam to Massulapatam. While a body of the English company’s forces, under captain Caillaud, endeavoured to reduce the important fortress and town of Madura, the French, under M. d’Anteuil, invested Trichinopoly. Caillaud no sooner received intelligence of the danger to which this place was exposed, than he hastened to its relief, and obliged the enemy to abandon the siege. Then he returned to Madura, and, after an unsuccessful assault, made himself master of it by capitulation. During these transactions, colonel Forde made an attempt upon the fort of Nelloure, a strong place at the distance of twenty-four miles from Madras, but miscarried; and this was also the fate of an expedition against Wandewash, undertaken by colonel Aldercron. The first was repulsed in storming the place, the other was anticipated by the French army, which marched from Pondicherry to the relief of the garrison. The French king had sent a considerable reinforcement to the East Indies, under the command of general Lally, an officer of Irish extraction, together with such a number of ships as rendered the squadron of M. d’Apché superior to that of admiral Pococke, who had succeeded admiral Watson, lately deceased, in the command of the English squadron stationed on the coast of Coromandel, which, in the beginning of this year, was reinforced from England with several ships, under the direction of commodore Stevens. Immediately after this junction, which was effected in the road of Madras on the twenty-fourth day of March, admiral Pococke, who had already signalized himself by his courage, vigilance, and conduct, sailed to windward, with a view to intercept the French squadron, of which he had received intelligence. In two days he descried in the road of fort St. David the enemy’s fleet, consisting of nine ships, which immediately stood out to sea, and formed the line of battle a-head. The admiral took the same precaution, and bearing down upon M. d’Apché, the engagement began about three in the afternoon. The French commodore, having sustained a warm action for about two hours, bore away with his whole fleet, and being joined by two ships, formed a line of battle again to leeward. Admiral Pococke’s own ship, and some others, being greatly damaged in their masts and rigging, two of his captains having misbehaved in the action, and night coming on, he did not think it advisable to pursue them with all the sail he could carry; but, nevertheless, he followed them at a proper distance, standing to the south-west, in order to maintain the weather-gage, in case he should be able to renew the action in the morning. In this expectation, however, he was disappointed; the enemy showed no lights, nor made any signals that could be observed; and in the morning not the least vestige of them appeared. Mr. Pococke, on the supposition that they had weathered him in the night, endeavoured to work up after them to windward; but finding he lost ground considerably, he dropped anchor about three leagues to the northward of Madras, and received intelligence from the chief of that settlement, that one of the largest French ships, having been disabled in the engagement, was run ashore to the southward of Alem-parve, where their whole squadron lay at anchor. Such was the issue of the first action between the English and French squadrons in the East Indies, which, over and above the loss of a capital ship, is said to have cost the enemy about five hundred men, whereas the British admiral did not lose one-fifth part of that number. Being dissatisfied with the behaviour of three captains, he, on his return to Madras, appointed a court-martial to inquire into their conduct; two were dismissed from the service, and the third was sentenced to lose one year’s rank as a post-captain.

In the meantime, Mr. Lally had disembarked his troops at Pondicherry, and, taking the field, immediately invested the fort of St. David, while the squadron blocked it up by sea, Two English ships being at anchor in the road when the enemy arrived, their captains seeing no possibility of escaping, ran them on shore, set them on fire, and retired with their men into the fortress, which, however, was in a few days surrendered. A much more resolute defence was expected from the courage and conduct of major Polier, who commanded the garrison. When he arrived at Madras he was subjected to a court of inquiry, which acquitted him of cowardice, but were of opinion that the place might have held out much longer, and that the terms on which it surrendered were shameful, as the enemy were not even masters of the outward covered way, as they had made no breach, and had a wet ditch to fill up and pass, before the town could have been properly assaulted. Polier, in order to wipe off this disgrace, desired to serve as a volunteer with colonel Draper, and was mortally wounded in a sally at the siege of Madras. Admiral Pococke having, to the best of his power, repaired his shattered ships, set sail again on the tenth of May, in order to attempt the relief of fort St. David’s; but, notwithstanding his utmost endeavours, he could not reach it in time to be of any service. On the thirtieth day of the month, he came in sight of Pondicherry, from whence the French squadron stood away early next morning, nor was it in his power to come up with them, though he made all possible efforts for that purpose. Then receiving intelligence that fort St. David’s was surrendered to the enemy, he returned again to Madras, in order to refresh his squadron. On the twenty-fifth day of July, he sailed a third time in quest of M. d’Apché, and in two days perceived his squadron, consisting of eight ships of the line and a frigate, at anchor in the road of Pondicherry. They no sooner descried him advancing than they stood out to sea as before, and he continued to chase, in hopes of bringing them to an engagement; but all his endeavours proved fruitless till the third day of August, when, having obtained the weather-gage, he bore down upon them in order of battle. The engagement began with great impetuosity on both sides; but in little more than ten minutes, M. d’Apché set his foresail, and bore away, his whole squadron following his example, and maintaining a running fight in a very irregular line. The British admiral then hoisted the signal for a general chase, which the enemy perceiving, thought proper to cut away their boats, and crowd with all the sail they could carry. They escaped, by favour of the night, into the road of Pondicherry, and Mr. Pococke anchored with his squadron off Cari-cal, a French settlement, having thus obtained an undisputed victory, with the loss of thirty men killed, and one hundred and sixteen wounded, including commodore Stevens and captain Martin, though their wounds were not dangerous. The number of killed and wounded on board the French squadron amounted, according to report, to five hundred and forty; and their fleet was so much damaged, that in the beginning of September their commodore sailed for the island of Bourbon, in the same latitude with Madagascar, in order to refit; thus leaving the command and sovereignty of the Indian seas to the English admiral, whose fleet, from the beginning of this campaign, had been much inferior to the French squadron in number of ships and men, as well as in weight of metal.

Mr. Lally having reduced Cuddalore and fort St. David’s,* resolved to extort a sum of money from the king of Tanjour, on pretence that, in the last war, he had granted an obligation to the French governor for a certain sum, which had never been paid.

* Cuddalore was in such a defenceless condition, that it could make no resistance; and there being no place in fort St. David’s bomb-proof, nor any provisions or fresh water, the garrison surrendered in twelve days, on capitulation, after having sustained a severe bombardment.

Lally accordingly marched with a body of three thousand men into the dominions of Tanjour, and demanded seventy-two lacs of rupees. This extravagant demand being rejected, he plundered Negare, a trading town on the sea-coast, and afterwards invested the capital; but after he had prosecuted the siege until a breach was made, his provisions and ammunition beginning to fail, several vigorous sallies being made by the forces of the king of Tanjour, and the place well defended by European gunners, sent from the English garrison at Trichinopoly, he found himself obliged to raise the siege, and retreat with precipitation, leaving his cannon behind. He arrived at Carical about the middle of August, and from thence retired to Pondicherry towards the end of September. He afterwards cantoned his troops in the province of Arcot, entered the city without opposition, and began to make preparations for the siege of Madras, which shall be recorded among the incidents of the succeeding year. In the meantime, the land-forces belonging to the East India company were so much out-numbered by the reinforcements which arrived with Mr. Lally, that they could not pretend to keep the field, out were obliged to remain on the defensive, and provide as well as they could for the security of fort St. George, and the other settlements in that part of India.

TRANSACTIONS on the CONTINENT of EUROPE.

Having particularized the events of the war which distinguished this year in America, Africa, and Asia—those remote scenes in which the interest of Great Britain was immediately and intimately concerned—it now remains to record the incidents of the military operations in Germany, supported by British subsidies, and enforced by British troops, to favour the abominable designs of an ally, from whose solitary friendship the British nation can never reap any solid benefit; and to defend a foreign elector, in whose behalf she had already lavished an immensity of treasure. Notwithstanding the bloodshed and lavages which had signalized the former campaign, the mutual losses of the belligerent powers, the incredible expense of money, the difficulty of recruiting armies thinned by sword and distemper, the scarcity of forage and provisions, the distresses of Saxony in particular, and the calamities of war, which desolated the greatest part of the empire—no proposition of peace was hinted by either of the parties concerned; but the powers at variance seemed to be exasperated against each other with the most implacable resentment. Jarring interests were harmonized, old prejudices rooted up, inveterate jealousies assuaged, and even inconsistencies reconciled, in connecting the confederacy which was now formed and established against the king of Prussia; and, on the other hand, the king of Great Britain seemed determined to employ the whole power and influence of his crown in supporting this monarch. Yet the members of the grand confederacy were differently actuated by disagreeing motives, which, in the sequel, operated for the preservation of his Prussian majesty, by preventing the full exertion of their united strength. The empress-queen, over and above her desire of retrieving Silesia, which was her primary aim, gave way to the suggestions of personal hatred and revenge, to the gratification of which she may be said to have sacrificed, in some measure, the interests of her family, as well as the repose of the empire, by admitting the natural enemies of her house into the Austrian Netherlands, and inviting them to invade the dominions of her co-states with a formidable army. France, true to her old political maxims, wished to see the house of Austria weakened by the divisions in the empire, which she accordingly fomented: for this reason it could not be her interest to effect the ruin of the house of Brandenburgh; and therefore she had, no doubt, set bounds to the prosecution of her schemes in concert with the court of Vienna. But her designs against Hanover amounted to absolute conquest. In pursuance of these, she sent an army of one hundred and twenty thousand men across the Rhine, instead of four and twenty thousand, which she had engaged to furnish by the original treaty with the empress-queen of Hungary, who is said to have shared in the spoils of the electorate. The czarina, by co-operating with the houses of Bourbon and Austria, gratified her personal disgust towards the Prussian monarch, augmented her finances by considerable subsidies from both, and perhaps amused herself with the hope of obtaining an establishment in the German empire; but whether she waivered in her own sentiments, or her ministry fluctuated between the promises of France and the presents of Great Britain, certain it is, her forces had not acted with vigour in Pomerania; and her general Apraxin, instead of prosecuting his advantage, had retreated immediately after the Prussians miscarried in their attack. He was indeed disgraced, and tried for having thus retired without orders; but in all probability, this trial was no other than a farce, acted to amuse the other confederates while the empress of Russia gained time to deliberate upon the offers that were made, and determine with regard to the advantages or disadvantages that might accrue to her from persevering in the engagements which she had contracted. As for the Swedes, although they had been instigated to hostilities against Prussia by the intrigues of France, and flattered with hopes of retrieving Pomerania, they prosecuted the war in such a dispirited and ineffectual manner, as plainly proved that either the ancient valour of that people was extinct, or that the nation was not heartily engaged in the quarrel.

When the Russian general Apraxin retreated from Pomerania, mareschal Lehwald, who commanded the Prussians in that country, was left at liberty to turn his arms against the Swedes, and accordingly drove them before him almost without opposition. By the beginning of January they had evacuated all Prussian Pomerania, and Lehwald invaded their dominions in his turn. He, in a little time, made himself master of all Swedish Pomerania, except Stralsund and the isle of Rugen, and possessed himself of several magazines which the enemy had erected. The Austrian army, after their defeat at Breslau, had retired into Bohemia, where they were cantoned, the head-quarters being fixed at Koningsgratz. The king of Prussia having cleared all his part of Silesia, except the town of Schweidnitz, which he circumscribed with a blockade, sent detachments from his army cantoned in the neighbourhood of Breslau, to penetrate into the Austrian or southern part of Silesia, where they surprised Troppau and Jaggernsdorf, while he himself remained at Breslau, entertaining his officers with concerts of music. Not that he suffered these amusements to divert his attention from subjects of greater importance. He laid Swedish Pomerania under contribution, and made a fresh demand of five hundred thousand crowns from the electorate of Saxony. Having received intimation that the duke of Mecklenburgh was employed in providing magazines for the French army, he detached a body of troops into that country, who not only secured the magazines, but levied considerable contributions; and the duke retired to Lubeck, attended by the French minister. The states of Saxony having proved a little dilatory in obeying his Prussian majesty’s injunction, received a second intimation, importing that they should levy and deliver, within a certain time, eighteen thousand recruits for his army, pay into the hands of his commissary one year’s revenue of the electorate in advance; and Leipsic was taxed with an extraordinary subsidy of eight hundred thousand crowns, on pain of military execution. The states were immediately convoked at Leipsic in order to deliberate on these demands; and the city being unable to pay such a considerable sum, the Prussian troops began to put their monarch’s threats in execution. He justified these proceedings, by declaring that the enemy had practised the same violence and oppression on the territories of his allies; but how the practice of his declared enemies, in the countries which they had invaded and subdued in common course of war, should justify him in pillaging and oppressing a people with whom neither he nor his allies were at war, it is not easy to conceive. As little can we reconcile this conduct to the character of a prince, assuming the title of protector of the protestant religion, which is the established faith among those very Saxons who were subjected to such grievous impositions; impositions the more grievous and unmerited, as they had never taken any share in the present war, but cautiously avoided every step that might be construed into provocation, since the king of Prussia declared they might depend upon his protection.

STATE of the ARMIES on the CONTINENT.

Before we proceed to enumerate the events of the campaign, it may be necessary to inform the reader, that the forces brought into the field by the empress-queen of Hungary, and the states of the empire, the czarina, the kings of France and Sweden, fell very little short of three hundred thousand men; and all these were destined to act against the king of Prussia and the elector of Hanover. In opposition to this formidable confederacy, his Prussian majesty was, by tha subsidy from England, the spoils of Saxony, and the revenues of Brandenbourg, enabled to maintain an army of one hundred and forty thousand men: while the elector of Hanover assembled a body of sixty thousand men, composed of his own electoral troops, with the auxiliary mercenaries of Hesse-Cassel, Buckebourg, Saxe-Gotha, and Brunswick Wolfenbuttel, all of them maintained by the pay of Great Britain. At this juncture, indeed, there was no other fund for their subsistence, as the countries of Hanover and Hesse were possessed by the enemy, and in the former the government was entirely changed.

THE FRENCH KING CHANGES THE ADMINISTRATION OF HANOVER.

In the month of December in the preceding year, a fanner of the revenues from Paris arrived at Hanover, where he established his office, in order to act by virtue of powers from one John Faidy, to whom the French king granted the direction, receipt, and administration of all the duties and revenues of the electorate. This director was, by a decree of the council of state, empowered to receive the reveiraes, not only of Hanover, but also of all other countries that should be subjected to his most christian majesty in the course of the campaign; to remove the receivers who had been employed in any part of the direction, receipt, and administration of the duties and revenues of Hanover, and appoint others in their room. The French king, by the same decree, ordained, that all persons who had been intrusted under the preceding government, with titles, papers, accounts, registers, or estimates, relating to the administration of the revenues, should communicate them to John Faidy, or his attorneys; that the magistrates of the towns, districts, and commonalties, as well as those who directed the administration of particular states and provinces, should deliver to the said John Faidy, or his attorneys, the produce of six years of the duties and revenues belonging to the said towns, districts, and provinces, reckoning from the first of January in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-one, together with an authentic account of the sums they had paid during that term to the preceding sovereign, and of the charges necessarily incurred. It appears from the nature of this decree, which was dated on the eighteenth day of October, that immediately after the conventions of Closter-Seven and Bremenworden,* the court of Versailles had determined to change the government and system of the electorate, contrary to an express article of the capitulation granted to the city of Hanover, when it surrendered on the ninth day of August; and that the crown of France intended to take advantage of the cessation of arms, in seizing places and provinces which were not yet subdued; for, by the decree above-mentioned, the administration of John Faidy extended to the countries which might hereafter be conquered.

* Six days after the convention was signed at Closter-Seven, another act of accommodation was concluded at Bremenworden, between the generals Sporcken and Villemur, relating to the release of prisoners, and some other points omitted in the convention.

With what regard to justice, then, could the French government charge the elector of Hanover with the infraction of articles? or what respect to good faith and humanity did the duke de Richelieu observe, in the order issued from Zell, towards the end of the year, importing, that as the treaty made with the country of Hanover had been rendered void by the violation of the articles signed at Closter-Seven, all the effects belonging to the officers, or others, employed in the Hanoverian army, should be confiscated for the use of his most christian majesty?

The landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, being desirous of averting a like storm from his dominions, not only promised to renounce all connexion with the kings of Great Britain and Prussia, but even solicited the court of France to receive him among the number of its dependents; for, on the eighteenth day of October, the minister of the duke de Deuxponts, delivered at Versailles, in the name of the landgrave, the plan of a treaty founded on the following conditions: The landgrave, after having expressed an ardent desire of attaching himself wholly to France, proposed these articles—That he should enter into no engagement against the king and his allies; and give no assistance, directly or indirectly, to the enemies of his majesty and his allies: that he should never give his vote, in the general or particular assemblies of the empire, against his majesty’s interest; but, on the contrary, employ his interest, jointly with France, to quiet the troubles of the empire: that, for this end, his troops, which had served in the Hanoverian army, should engage in the service of France, on condition that they should not act in the present war against his Britannic majesty: that, immediately after the ratification of the treaty, his most christian majesty should restore the dominions of the landgrave in the same condition they were in when subdued by the French forces: that these dominions should be exempted from all further contributions, either in money, corn, forage, wood, or cattle, though already imposed on the subjects of Hesse; and the French troops pay for all the provisions with which they might be supplied; in which case the landgrave should exact no toll for warlike stores, provisions, or other articles of that nature, which might pass through his dominions: that the king of France should guarantee all his estates, all the rights of the house of Hesse-Cassel, particularly the act of assurance signed by his son, the hereditary prince, with regard to religion; use his interest with the emperor and the empress-queen, that, in consideration of the immense losses and damages his most serene highness had suffered since the French invaded his country, and of the great sums he should lose with England in arrears and subsidies by this accommodation, he might be excused from furnishing his contingent to the army of the empire, as well as from paying the Roman months granted by the diet of the empire; and if, in resentment of this convention, the states of his serene highness should be attacked, his most christian majesty should afford the most speedy and effectual succours.—These proposals will speak for themselves to the reader’s apprehension; and if he is not blinded by the darkest mists of prejudice, exhibit a clear and distinct idea of a genuine German ally. The landgrave of Hesse-Cassel had been fed with the good things of England, even in time of peace, when his friendship could not avail, nor his aversion prejudice, the interests of Great Britain; but he was retained in that season of tranquillity as a friend, on whose services the most implicit dependence might be placed in any future storm or commotion. How far he merited this confidence and favour might have been determined by reflecting on his conduct during the former war: in the course of which his troops were hired to the king of Great Britain and his enemies alternately, as the scale of convenience happened to preponderate. Since the commencement of the present troubles, he had acted as a mercenary to Great Britain, although he was a principal in the dispute, and stood connected with her designs by solemn treaty, as well as by all the ties of gratitude and honour; but now that the cause of Hanover seemed to be on the decline, and his own dominions had suffered by the fate of the war, he not only appeared willing to abandon his benefactor and ally, but even sued to be enlisted in the service of his adversary. This intended defection was, however, prevented by a sudden turn of fortune, which he could not possibly foresee; and his troops continued to act in conjunction with the Hanoverians.

TREATY BETWEEN THE FRENCH KING AND THE DUKE OF BRUNSWICK.

The landgrave of Hesse-Cassel was not singular in making such advances to the French monarch. The duke of Brunswick, still more nearly connected with the king of Great Britain, used such uncommon expedition in detaching himself from the tottering fortune of Hanover, that in ten days after the convention of Closter-Seven, he had concluded a treaty with the courts of Vienna and Versailles; so that the negotiation must have been begun before that convention took place. On the twentieth day of September, his minister at Vienna, by virtue of full powers from the duke of Brunswick, accepted and signed the conditions which the French king and his Austrian ally thought proper to impose. These imported, that his most christian majesty should keep possession of the cities of Brunswick and Wolfenbuttel during the war, and make use of the artillery, arms, and military stores deposited in their arsenals: that the duke’s forces, on their return from the camp of the duke of Cumberland, should be disbanded and disarmed; and take an oath that they should not, during the present war, serve against the king or his allies: that the duke should be permitted to maintain a battalion of foot, and two squadrons of horse, for the guard of his person and castles; but the regulations made by mareschal Richelieu and the intendant of his army, should subsist on their present footing: that the duke should furnish his contingent in money and troops, agreeably to the laws of the empire: that his forces should immediately join those which the Germanic body had assembled; and that he should order his minister at Ratisbon to vote conformably to the resolutions of the diet, approved and confirmed by the emperor. In consideration of all these concessions, the duke was restored to the favour of the French king, who graciously promised that neither his revenues nor his treasure should be touched, nor the administration of justice invaded; and that nothing further should be demanded, but winter-quarters for the regiments which should pass that season in the country of Brunswick. How scrupulously soever the duke might have intended to observe the articles of this treaty, his intentions were frustrated by the conduct of his brother prince Ferdinand, who, being invested with the command of the Hanoverian army, and ordered to resume the operations of war against the enemy, detained the troops of Brunswick, as well as his nephew the hereditary prince, notwithstanding the treaty which his brother had signed, and the injunctions which he had laid upon his son to quit the army, and make a tour to Holland, The duke wrote an expostulatory letter to prince Ferdinand, pathetically complaining that he had seduced his troops, decoyed his son, and disgraced his family; insisting upon the prince’s pursuing his journey, as well as upon the return of the troops; and threatening, in case of non-compliance, to use other means that should be more effectual. 461 [See note 3 O, at the end of this Vol.] Notwithstanding this warm remonstrance, prince Ferdinand adhered to his plan. He detained the troops and the hereditary prince, who, being fond of the service, in a little time signalized himself by very extraordinary acts of bravery and conduct; and means were found to reconcile his father to measures that expressly contradicted his engagements with the courts of Vienna and Versailles.

DECREE OF THE AULIC COUNCIL.

The defeat of the French army at Rosbach, and the retreat of the Russians from Pomerania, had entirely changed the face of affairs in the empire. The French king was soon obliged to abandon his conquests on that sida of the Rhine, and his threats sounded no longer terrible in the ears of the Hanoverian and Prussian allies. As little formidable were the denunciations of the emperor, who had, by a decree of the Aulic council, communicated to the diet certain mandates, issued in the month of August in the preceding year, on pain of the ban of the empire, with avocatory letters annexed against the king of Great Britain, elector of Hanover, and the other princes acting in concert with the king of Prussia. The French court likewise published a virulent memorial, after the convention of Closter-Seven had been violated and set aside, drawing an invidious parallel between the conduct of the French king and the proceedings of his Britannic majesty; in which the latter is taxed with breach of faith, and almost every meanness that could stain the character of a monarch. In answer to the emperor’s decree and this virulent charge, baron Gimmengen, the electoral minister of Brunswick-Lunenbourg, presented to the diet, in November, a long memorial, recapitulating the important services his sovereign had done the house of Austria, and the ungrateful returns he had reaped, in the queen’s refusing to assist him, when his dominions were threatened with an invasion. He enumerated many instances in which she had assisted, encouraged, and even joined the enemies of the electorate, in contempt of her former engagements, and directly contrary to the constitution of the empire. He refuted every article of the charge which the French court had brought against him in their virulent libel, retorted the imputations of perfidy and ambition, and, with respect to France, justified every particular of his own conduct.

BREMEN TAKEN AND RETAKEN.

While the French and Hanoverian armies remained in their winter-quarters, the former at Zell, and the latter at Lemenbourg, divers petty enterprises were executed by detachments with various success. The Hanoverian general Juncheim, having taken post at Halberstadt and Quedlimbourg, from whence he made excursions even to the gates of Brunswick, and kept the French army in continual alarm, was visited by a large body of the enemy, who compelled him to retire to Achersleben, committed great excesses in the town of Halberstadt and its neighbourhood, and carried off hostages for the payment of contributions. General Hardenberg, another Hanoverian officer, having dislodged the French detachments that occupied Burgh, Vogelsack, and Ritterhude, and cleared the whole territory of Bremen, in the month of January the duke de Broglio assembled a considerable corps of troops that were cantoned at Ottersburg, Rothenburg, and the adjacent country, and advancing to Bremen, demanded admittance, threatening that, in case of a refusal, he would have recourse to extremities, and punish the inhabitants severely, should they make the least opposition. When their deputies waited upon him, to desire a short time for deliberation, he answered, “Not a moment—the duke de Richelieu’s orders are peremptory, and admit of no delay.” He accordingly ordered the cannon to advance; the wall was scaled, and the gates would have been forced open, had not the magistrates, at the earnest importunity of the people, resolved to comply with his demand. A second deputation was immediately despatched to the duke de Broglio, signifying their compliance; and the gates being opened, he marched into the city at midnight, after having promised upon his honour that no attempt should be made to the prejudice of its rights and prerogatives, and no outrage offered to the privileges of the regency, to the liberty, religion, and commerce of the inhabitants. This conquest, however, was of short duration. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick being joined by a body of Prussian horse, under the command of prince George of Holstein-Gottorp, the whole army was put in motion, and advanced to the country of Bremen about the middle of February. The enemy were dislodged from Rothenburg, Ottersburg, and Verden, and they abandoned the city of Bremen at the approach of the Hanoverian general, who took possession of it without opposition.

By this time the court of Versailles, being dissatisfied with the conduct of the duke de Richelieu, had recalled that general from Germany, where his place was supplied by the count de Clermont, to the general satisfaction of the army, as well as the joy of the Hanoverian subjects, among whom Richelieu had committed many flagrant and inhuman acts of rapine and oppression. The new commander found his master’s forces reduced to a deplorable condition, by the accidents of war, and distempers arising from hard duty, severe weather, and the want of necessaries. As he could not pretend, with such a wretched remnant, to oppose the designs of prince Ferdinand in the field, or even maintain the footing which his predecessor had gained, he found himself under the necessity of retiring with all possible expedition towards the Rhine. As the allies advanced, his troops retreated from their distant quarters with such precipitation, as to leave behind all their sick, together with a great part of their baggage and artillery, besides a great number of officers and soldiers, that fell into the hands of those parties by whom they were pursued. The inhabitants of Hanover, perceiving the French intended to abandon that city, were overwhelmed with the fear of being subjected to every species of violence and abuse; but their apprehensions were happily disappointed by the honour and integrity of the duke de Randan, the French governor, who not only took effectual measures for restraining the soldiers within the bounds of the most rigid discipline and moderation, but likewise exhibited a noble proof of generosity, almost without example. Instead of destroying his magazine of provisions, according to the usual practice of war, he ordered the whole to be either sold at a low price, or distributed among the poor of the city, who had been long exposed to the horrors of famine: an act of godlike humanity, which ought to dignify the character of that worthy nobleman above all the titles that military fame can deserve, or arbitrary monarchs bestow. The regency of Hanover were so deeply impressed with a sense of his heroic behaviour on this occasion, that they gratefully acknowledged it, in a letter of thanks to him and the count de Clermont; and on the day of solemn thanksgiving to heaven for their being delivered from their enemies, the clergy, in their sermons, did not fail to celebrate and extol the charity and benevolence of the duke de Randan. Such glorious testimonies, even from enemies, must have afforded the most exquisite pleasure to a mind endued with sensibility; and this, no doubt, may be termed one of the fairest triumphs of humanity.

THE FRENCH ABANDON HANOVER.

The two grand divisions of the French army, quartered at Zell and Hanover, retired in good order to Hamelen, where they collected all their troops, except those that were left in Hoya, and about four thousand men placed in garrison at Minden, to retard the operations of the combined army. Towards the latter end of February, prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, having received intelligence that the count de Chabot was posted with a considerable body of troops at Hoya, upon the Weser, detached the hereditary prince of Brunswick, with four battalions, and some light troops and dragoons, to dislodge them from that neighbourhood. This enterprise was executed with the utmost intrepidity. The hereditary prince passed the Weser at Bremen with part of his detachment, while the rest advanced on this side of the river: and the enemy, being attacked in front and rear, were in a little time forced, and thrown into confusion. The bridge being abandoned, and near seven hundred men taken prisoners, the count de Chabot threw himself, with two battalions, into the castle, where he resolved to support himself, in hope of being relieved. The regiment of Bretagne, and some detachments of dragoons, were actually on the march to his assistance. The hereditary prince being made acquainted with this circumstance, being also destitute of heavy artillery to besiege the place in form, and taking it for granted he should not be able to maintain the post after it might be taken, he listened to the terms of capitulation proposed by the French general, whose garrison was suffered to march out with the honours of war; but their cannon, stores, and ammunition were surrendered to the victor. This was the first exploit of the hereditary prince, whose valour and activity on many subsequent occasions shone with distinguished lustre. He had no sooner reduced Hoya, than he marched to the attack of Minden, which he invested on the fifth day of March, and on the fourteenth the garrison surrendered at discretion. After the reduction of this city, the combined army advanced towards Hamelen, where the French general had established his head-quarters; but he abandoned them at the approach of the allies, and leaving behind all his sick and wounded, with part of his magazines, retired without halting to Paderborn, and from thence to the Rhine, recalling in his march the troops that were in Embden, Cassel, and the land-graviate of Hesse, all which places were now evacuated. They were terribly harassed in their retreat by the Prussian hussars, and a body of light horse, distinguished by the name of Hanoverian hunters, who took a great number of prisoners, together with many baggage-waggons, and some artillery. Such was the precipitation of the enemy’s retreat, that they could not find time to destroy all their magazines of provision and forage; and even forgot to call in the garrison of Vecht, a small fortress in the neighbourhood of Diepholt, who were made prisoners of war, and here was found a complete train of battering cannon and mortars. The count de Clermont, having reached the banks of the Rhine, distributed his forces into quarters of cantonment in Wesel and the adjoining country, while prince Ferdinand cantoned the allied army in the bishopric of Munster; here, however, he did not long remain inactive. In the latter end of May he ordered a detachment to pass the Rhine at Duysbourg, under the command of colonel Scheither, who executed his order without loss, defeated three battalions of the enemy, and took five pieces of cannon. In the beginning of June the whole army passed the Rhine on a bridge constructed for the occasion, defeated a body of French cavalry, and obtained divers other advantages in their march towards Wesel. Keiserwaert was surprised, the greater part of the garrison either killed or taken; and prince Ferdinand began to make preparations for the siege of Dusseldorp. In the meantime, the count de Clermont, being unable to stop the rapidity of his progress, was obliged to secure his troops with strong intrenchments, until he should be properly reinforced.

PRINCE FERDINAND DEFEATS THE FRENCH, &c.

The court of Versailles, though equally mortified and confounded at the turn of their affairs in Germany, did not sit tamely and behold this reverse; but exerted their usual spirit and expedition in retrieving the losses they had sustained. They assembled a body of troops at Hanau, under the direction of the prince de Soubise, who, it was said, had received orders to penetrate, by the way of Donawert, Ingoldstadt, and Arnberg, into Bohemia. In the meantime, reinforcements daily arrived in the camp of the count de Clermont; and, as repeated complaints had been made of the want of discipline and subordination in that army, measures were taken for reforming the troops by severity and example. The mareschal duke de Belleisle, who now acted as secretary at war with uncommon ability, wrote a letter, directed to all the colonels of infantry, threatening them, in the king’s name, with the loss of their regiments, should they connive any longer at the scandalous practice of buying commissions; an abuse which had crept into the service under various pretexts, to the discouragement of merit, the relaxation of discipline, and the total extinction of laudable emulation. The prince of Clermont having quitted his strong camp at Rhinefeldt, retired to Nuys, a little higher up the river, and detached a considerable corps, under the command of the count de St. Germain, to take post at Creveldt, situated in a plain between his army and the camp of the allies, which fronted the town of Meurs. After several motions on both sides, prince Ferdinand resolved to attack the enemy, and forthwith made a disposition for this purpose. He assigned the command of the whole left wing, consisting of eighteen battalions and twenty-eight squadrons, to lieutenant-general Sporcken; the conduct of the right wing, composed of sixteen battalions and fourteen squadrons, was intrusted to the hereditary prince and major-general Wangenheim; the squadrons, with the addition of two regiments of Prussian dragoons, were under the immediate direction of the prince of Holstein, while the hereditary prince commanded the infantry. The light troops, consisting of five squadrons of hussars, were divided between the prince of Holstein and lieutenant-general Sporcken. Major Luckner’s squadron, together with Scheither’s corps, were ordered to observe the flank of the enemy’s right, and with this view were posted in the village of Papendeick; and a battalion of the troops of Wolfenbuttel were left in the town of Hulste, to cover the rear of the army. Prince Ferdinand’s design was to attack the enemy on their left flank; but the execution was rendered extremely difficult by the woods and ditches that embarrassed the route, and the numerous ditches that intersected this part of the country. On the twenty-third day of June, at four in the morning, the army began to move; the right advancing in two columns as far as St. Anthony, and the left marching up within half a league of Crevelt. The prince having viewed the position of the enemy from the steeple of St. Anthony, procured guides, and having received all the necessary hints of information, proceeded to the right, in order to charge the enemy’s left flank by the villages of Worst and Anrath; but, in order to divide their attention, and keep them in suspense with respect to the nature of his principal attack, he directed the generals Sporcken and Oberg to advance against them by the way of Crevelt and St. Anthony, and, in particular, to make the most of their artillery, that, being employed in three different places at once, they might be prevented from sending any reinforcement to the left, where the chief attack was intended. These precautions being taken, prince Ferdinand, putting himself at the head of the grenadiers of the right wing, continued his march in two columns to the village of Anrath, where he fell in with an advanced party of the French, which, after a few discharges of musketry, retired to their camp and gave the alarm. In the meantime, both armies were drawn up in order of battle; the troops of the allies in the plain between the villages of Anrath and Willich, opposite to the French forces, whose left was covered with a wood. The action began about one in the afternoon, with a severe cannonading on the part of prince Ferdinand, which, though well supported, proved ineffectual in drawing the enemy from their cover; he therefore determined to dislodge them from the wood by dint of small arms. The hereditary prince immediately advanced with the whole front, and a very obstinate action ensued. Meanwhile, the cavalry on the right in vain attempted to penetrate the wood on the other side, where the enemy had raised two batteries, which were sustained by forty squadrons of horse. After a terrible fire had been maintained on both sides till five in the afternoon, the grenadiers forced the intrenchments in the wood, which were lined by the French infantry. These giving way, abandoned the wood in the utmost disorder; but the pursuit was checked by the conduct and resolution of the enemy’s cavalry, which, notwithstanding a dreadful fire from the artillery of the allies, maintained their ground, and covered the foot in their retreat to Nuys. The success of the day was in a good measure owing to the artillery on the left and in the centre, with which the generals Sporcken and Oberg had done great execution, and employed the attention of the enemy on that side, while prince Ferdinand prosecuted his attack on the other quarter. It must be owned, however, that their right wing and centre retired in great order to Nuys, though the left was defeated, with the loss of some standards, colours, and pieces of cannon, and six thousand men killed, wounded, or taken prisoners.*

* Among the French officers who lost their lives in this engagement, was the count de Gisors, only son of the mareschal duke de Belleisle, and last hope of that illustrious family, a young nobleman of extraordinary accomplishments, who finished a short life of honour in the embrace of military glory, and fell gallantly fighting at the head of his own regiment, to the inexpressible grief of his aged father, and the universal regret of his country.

This victory, however, which cost the allies about fifteen hundred men, was not at all decisive in its consequences; and, indeed, the plan seemed only calculated to display the enterprising genius of the Hanoverian general. True it is, the French army took refuge under the cannon of Cologn, where they remained without hazarding any step for the relief of Dusseldorp, which prince Ferdinand immediately invested, and in a few days reduced, the garrison being allowed to march out with the honours of war, on condition that they should not, for the space of one year, carry arms against the allies.

PRINCE OF YSEMBOURG DEFEATED.

It was at this period that count de Clermont resigned his command, which was conferred upon M. de Contades, and the French army was considerably reinforced. He even threatened to attack prince Ferdinand in his turn, and made some motions with that design, but was prevented by the little river Erff, behind which the prince resolved to lie quiet, until he should be joined by the body of the British troops under the command of the duke of Marlborough, the first division of which had just landed at Embden. He flattered himself that the prince of Ysembourg, at the head of the Hessian troops, would find employment for the prince de Soubise, who had marched from Hanau, with a design to penetrate into the landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel: his vanguard had been already surprised and defeated by the militia of the country; and the prince Ysembourg was at the head of a considerable body of regular forces, assembled to oppose his further progress. Prince Ferdinand therefore hoped that the operations of the French general would be effectually impeded, until he himself, being joined by the British troops, should be in a condition to pass the Maese, transfer the seat of war into the enemy’s country, thus make a diversion from the Rhine, and perhaps oblige the prince de Soubise to come to the assistance of the principal French army commanded by M. de Contades. He had formed a plan which would have answered these purposes effectually, and, in execution of it, marched to Ruremond on the Maese, when his measures were totally disconcerted by a variety of incidents which he could not foresee. The prince of Ysembourg was, on the twenty-third day of July, defeated at San-garshausen by the duke de Broglio, whom the prince de Soubise had detached against him with a number of troops greatly superior to that which the Hessian general commanded. The duke de Broglio, who commanded the corps that formed the vanguard of Soubise’s army, having learned at Cassel that the Hessian troops, under the prince of Ysembourg, were retiring towards Munden, he advanced, on the twenty-third of July, with a body of eight thousand men, to the village of Sangarshausen, where he found them drawn up in order of battle, and forthwith made a disposition for the attack. At first his cavalry were repulsed by the Hessian horse, which charged the French infantry, and were broke in their turn. The Hessians, though greatly inferior in number to the enemy, made a very obstinate resistance, by favour of a rock in the Fulde that covered their right, and a wood by which their left was secured. The dispute was so obstinate, that the enemy’s left was obliged to give ground; but the duke de Broglio, ordering a fresh corps to advance, changed the fortune of the day. The Hessians, overpowered by numbers, gave way; part plunged into the river, where many perished, and part threw themselves into the wood, through which they escaped from the pursuit of the hussars, who took above two hundred soldiers and fifty officers, including the count de Canitz, who was second in command. They likewise found on the field of battle seven pieces of cannon, and eight at Munden; but the carnage was pretty considerable, and nearly equal on both sides. The number of the killed and wounded, on the side of the French, exceeded two thousand; the loss of the Hessians was not so great. The prince of Ysembourg, having collected the remains of his little army, took post at Eimbeck, where he soon was reinforced, and found himself at the head of twelve thousand men; but, in consequence of this advantage, the enemy became masters of the Weser, and opened to themselves a free passage into Westphalia.

GENERAL IMHOFF DEFEATS M. DE CHEVERT.

The progress of prince Ferdinand upon the Maese, had been retarded by a long succession of heavy rains, which broke up the roads, and rendered the country impassable; and now the certain information of this unlucky check left him no alternative but a battle or a retreat across the Rhine: the first was carefully avoided by the enemy; the latter resolution, therefore, he found himself under a necessity to embrace. In his present position he was hampered by the French army on one wing, on the other by the fortress of Gueldres, the garrison of which had been lately reinforced, as well as by divers other posts, capable of obstructing the convoys and subsistence of the combined army; besides, he had reason to apprehend, that the prince de Soubise would endeavour to intercept the British troops in their march from Embden. Induced by these considerations, he determined to repass the Rhine, after having offered battle to the enemy, and made several motions for that purpose. Finding them averse to an engagement, he made his dispositions for forcing the strong pass of Waehtendonck, an island surrounded by Niers, of very difficult approach, and situated exactly in his route to the Rhine. This service was performed by the hereditary prince of Brunswick, who, perceiving the enemy had drawn up the bridge, rushed into the river at the head of his grenadiers, who drove them away with their bayonets, and cleared the bridges for the passage of the army towards Rhinebergen. At this place prince Ferdinand received intelligence that M. de Chevert, reputed one of the best officers in the French service, had passed the Lippe with fourteen battalions and several squadrons, to join the garrison of Wesel, and fall upon lieutenant-general Imhoff, who commanded a detached corps of the combined army at Meer, that he might be at hand to guard the bridge which the prince had thrown over the Rhine at Rees. His serene highness was extremely desirous of sending succours to general Imhoff; but the troops were too much fatigued to begin another march before morning; and the Rhine had overflowed its banks in such a manner as to render the bridge at Rees impassable, so that M. Imhoff was left to the resources of his own conduct and the bravery of his troops, consisting of six battalions and four squadrons, already weakened by the absence of different detachments. This general having received advice, on the fourth of August, that the enemy intended to pass the Lippe the same evening with a considerable train of artillery, in order to burn the bridge at Rees, decamped with a view to cover this place, and join two battalions which; had passed the Rhine in boats, under the command of general Zastrow, who reinforced him accordingly; but the enemy not appearing, he concluded the information was false, and resolved to resume his advantageous post at Meer. Of this he had no sooner repossessed himself, than his advanced guards were engaged with the enemy, who marched to the attack from Wesel, under the command of lieutenant-general de Chevert, consisting of the whole corps intended for the siege of Dusseldorp. Imhoffs front was covered by coppices and ditches, there being a rising ground on his right, from whence he could plainly discern the whole force that advanced against him, together with the manner of their approach. Perceiving them engaged in that difficult ground, he posted one regiment in a coppice, with orders to fall upon the left flank of the enemy, which appeared quite uncovered; and as soon as their fire began, advanced with the rest of his forces to attack them in front. The bayonet was used on this occasion, and the charge given with such impetuosity and resolution, that after a short resistance, the enemy fell into confusion, and fled towards Wesel, leaving on the spot eleven pieces of cannon, with a great number of waggons and other carriages; besides the killed and wounded, who amounted to a pretty considerable number, the victor took three hundred and fifty-four prisoners, including eleven officers; whereas, on his part the victory was purchased at a very small expense.

GENERAL OBERG DEFEATED by the FRENCH.

Immediately after this action, general Wangenheim passed the Rhine with several squadrons and battalions, to reinforce general Imhoff, and enable him to prosecute the advantage he had gained, while prince Ferdinand marched with the rest of the army to Santen: from whence he proceeded to Rhinebergen, where he intended to pass; but the river had overflowed to such a degree, that here, as well as at Rees, the shore was inaccessible; so that he found it necessary to march farther down the river, and lay a bridge at Griethuyzen. The enemy had contrived four vessels for the destruction of this bridge; but they were all taken before they could put the design in execution, and the whole army passed on the tenth day of August, without any loss or further interruption. At the same time the prince withdrew his garrison from Dusseldorp, of which the French immediately took possession. Immediately after his passage he received a letter from the duke of Marlborough, acquainting him that the British troops had arrived at Lingen, in their route to Coesfeldt: to which place general Imhoff was sent to receive them, with a strong detachment. Notwithstanding this junction, the two armies on the Rhine were so equally matched, that no stroke of importance was struck on either side during the remaining part of the campaign. M. de Contades, seeing no prospect of obtaining the least advantage over prince Ferdinand, detached prince Xaverius of Saxony with a strong reinforcement to the prince de Soubise, who had taken possession of Gottengen, and seemed determined to attack the prince of Ysembourg at Eimbeck. That this officer might be able to give him a proper reception, prince Ferdinand detached general Oberg with ten thousand men to Lipstadt, from whence, should occasion require, they might continue their march, and join the Hessians. The whole body, when thus reinforced, did not exceed twenty thousand men, of whom general Oberg now assumed the command: whereas the troops of Soubise were increased to the number of thirty thousand. The allies had taken post upon the river Fulde at Sangarshausen, where they hoped the French would attack them; but the design of Soubise was first to dislodge them from that advantageous situation. With this view, he made a motion, as if he had intended to turn the camp of the allies by the road of Munden. In order to prevent the execution of this supposed design, general Oberg decamped on the tenth of October, and, passing by the village of Landwernhagen, advanced towards Lutten-berg, where, understanding the enemy were at his heels, he forthwith formed his troops in order of battle, his right to the Fulde, and his left extending to a thicket upon an eminence, where he planted five field-pieces. The cavalry supported the wings in a third line, the village of Luttenberg was in the rear, and four pieces of cannon were mounted on a rising ground that flanked this village. The French having likewise passed Landwernhagen, posted their left towards the Fulde, their right extending far beyond the left of the allies, and their front being strengthened with above thirty pieces of cannon. At four in the afternoon the enemy began the battle with a severe cannonading, and at the same time the first line of their infantry attacked major-general Zastrow, who was posted on the left wing of the allies. This body of the French was repulsed; but in the same moment, a considerable line of cavalry advancing, charged the allies in front and flank. These were supported by a fresh body of infantry with cannon, which, after a warm dispute, obliged the confederates to give way; and general Oberg, in order to prevent a total defeat, made a disposition for a retreat, which was performed in tolerable order; not but that he suffered greatly, in passing through a defile, from the fire of the enemy’s cannon, which was brought up and managed under the direction of the duke de Broglio. Having marched through Munden by midnight, the retiring army lay till morning under arms in the little plain near Grupen, on the other side of the Weser; but at day-break prosecuted their march, after having withdrawn the garrison from Munden, until they arrived in the neighbourhood of Guntersheim, where they encamped. In this engagement general Oberg lost about fifteen hundred men, his artillery, baggage, and ammunition. He was obliged to abandon a magazine of hay and straw at Munden, and leave part of his wounded men in that place to the humanity of the victor. But, after all, the French general reaped very little advantage from his victory.

DEATH OF THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH.

By this time prince Ferdinand had retired into Westphalia, and fixed his head-quarters at Munster, while M. de Contades encamped near Ham upon the Lippe; so that, although he had obliged the French army to evacuate Hanover and Hesse in the beginning of the year, when they were weakened by death and distemper, and even driven them beyond the Rhine, where they sustained a defeat; yet they were soon put in a condition to baffle all his future endeavours, and penetrate again into Westphalia, where they established their winter-quarters, extending themselves in such a manner as to command the whole course of the Rhine on both sides, while the allies were disposed in the landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel, and in the bishoprics of Munster, Paderborn, and Hildesheim. The British troops had joined them so late in the season that they had no opportunity to signalize themselves in the field; yet the fatigues of the campaign, which they had severely felt, proved fatal to their commander, the duke of Marlborough, who died of a dysentery at Munster, universally lamented.

OPERATIONS OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA.

Having thus particularized the operations of the allied army since the commencement of the campaign, we shall now endeavour to trace the steps of the king of Prussia, from the period to which his army was assembled for action. Having collected his force as soon as the season would permit, he undertook the siege of Schweidnitz in form on the twenty-first day of March; and carried on his operations with such vigour, that in thirteen days the garrison surrendered themselves prisoners of war, after having lost one half of their number in the defence of the place. While one part of Lis troops were engaged in this service, he himself, at the head of another, advanced to the eastern frontier of Bohemia, and sent a detachment as far as Trautenaw, garrisoned by a body of Austrians, who, after an obstinate resistance, abandoned the place, and retreated towards their grand army. By this success he opened to himself a way into Bohemia, by which he poured in detachments of light troops, to raise contributions and harass the out-posts of the enemy. At the same time the baron de la Mothe Fouquet marched with another body against the Austrian general Jahnus, posted in the county of Glatz, whom he obliged to abandon all the posts he occupied in that country, and pursued as far as Nashod, within twenty miles of Koningsgratz, where the grand Austrian army was encamped, under the command of mareschal Daun, who had lately arrived from Vienna. Over and above these excursions, the king ordered a body of thirty thousand men to be assembled, to act under the command of his brother prince Henry,* an accomplished warrior, against the army of the empire, which the prince de Deux-ponts, with great difficulty, made a shift to form again near Bamberg, in Franconia.

* At this juncture the Prussian commandant of Dresden being admitted into the Japan palace, to see the curious porcelaine with which it is adorned, perceived a door built up; and ordering the passage to be opened, entered a large apartment, where he found three thousand tents, and other field utensils. These had been concealed here when the Prussians first took possession of the city; they were immediately seized by the commandant, and distributed among the troops of prince Henry’s army.

The king of Prussia, whose designs were perhaps even greater than he cared to own, resolved to shift the theatre of the war, and penetrate into Moravia, a fertile country, which had hitherto been kept sacred from ravage and contribution. Having formed an army of fifty thousand choice troops, near Neiss, in Silesia, he divided them into three columns; the first commanded by mareschal Keith, the second by himself in person, and the third conducted by prince Maurice of Anhault-Dessau. In the latter end of April they began their march towards Moravia; and general De la Ville, who commanded a body of troops in that country, retired as they advanced, after having thrown a strong reinforcement into Olmutz, which the king was determined to besiege. Had he passed by this fortress, which was strongly fortified and well provided for a vigorous defence, he might have advanced to the gates of Vienna, and reduced the emperor to the necessity of suing for peace on his own terms; but it seems he was unwilling to deviate so far from the common maxims of war as to leave a fortified place in the rear; and, therefore, he determined to make himself master of it before he should proceed. For this purpose it was immediately invested: orders were issued to hasten up the heavy artillery, and mareschal Keith was appointed to superintend and direct the operations of the siege. Meanwhile the Austrian commander, count Daun, being informed of his Prussian majesty’s motions and designs, quitted his camp at Leutomyssel in Bohemia, and entered Moravia by the way of Billa. Being still too weak to encounter the Prussians in the field, he extended his troops in the neighbourhood of the king’s army, between Gewitz and Littau, in a mountainous situation, where he ran little or no risk of being attacked. Here he remained for some time in quiet, with the fertile country of Bohemia in his rear, from whence he drew plentiful supplies, and received daily reinforcements. His scheme was to relieve the besieged occasionally, to harass the besiegers, and to intercept their convoys from Silesia; and this scheme succeeded to his wish. Olmutz is so extensive in its works, and so peculiarly situated on the river Morava, that it could not be completely invested without weakening the posts of the besieging army, by extending them to a prodigious circuit; so that, in some parts, they were easily forced by detachments in the night, who fell upon them suddenly, and seldom failed to introduce into the place supplies of men, provisions, and ammunition. The forage in the neighbourhood of the city having been previously destroyed, the Prussian horse were obliged to make excursions at a great distance, consequently exposed to fatigue, and liable to surprise; and, in a word, the Prussians were not very expert in the art of town-taking.

Count Daun knew how to take advantage of these circumstances without hazarding a battle, to which the king provoked him in vain. While the garrison made repeated sallies to retard the operations of the besiegers, the’ Austrian general harassed their foraging parties, fell upon different quarters of their army in the night, and kept them in continual alarm. Nevertheless, the king finished his first parallel; and proceeded with such vigour as seemed to promise a speedy reduction of the place, when his design was entirely frustrated by an untoward incident. Mareschal Daun, having received intelligence that a large convoy had set out from Silesia for the Prussian camp, resolved to seize this opportunity of compelling the king to desist from his enterprise. He sent general Jahnus, with a strong body of troops, towards Bahrn, and another detachment to Stadtoliebe, with instructions to attack the convoy on different sides; while he himself advanced towards the besiegers, as if he intended to give them battle. The king of Prussia, far from being deceived by this feint, began, from the motions of the Austrian general, to suspect his real scheme, and immediately despatched general Ziethen, with a strong reinforcement, to protect the convoy, which was escorted by eight battalions, and about four thousand men, who had been sick, and were just recovered. Before this officer joined them, the convoy had been attacked on the twenty-eighth day of June; but the assailants were repulsed with considerable loss. Mareschal Daun, however, took care that they should be immediately reinforced; and next day the attack was renewed with much greater effect. Four hundred waggons, guarded by four battalions, and about one thousand troopers, had just passed the defiles of Domstadt, when the Austrians charged them furiously on every side; the communication between the head and the rest of the convoy was cut off; and general Ziethen, after having exerted all his efforts for its preservation, being obliged to abandon the waggons, retired to Troppau. Thus the whole convoy fell into the hands of the enemy, who took above six hundred prisoners, together with general Putkammer; and the king of Prussia was obliged to relinquish his enterprise. This was a mortifying necessity to a prince of his high spirit, at a time when he saw himself on the eve of reducing the place, notwithstanding the gallant defence which had been made by general Marshal the governor. Nothing now remained but to raise the siege, and retire without loss in the face of a vigilant enemy, prepared to seize every opportunity of advantage: a task which, how hard soever it may appear, he performed with equal dexterity and success. Instead of retiring into Silesia, he resolved to avert the war from his own dominions, and take the route to Bohemia, the frontiers of which were left uncovered by mareschal Daun’s last motion, when he advanced his quarters to Posnitz, in order to succour Olmutz the more effectually. After the king had taken his measures, he carefully concealed his design from the enemy, and, notwithstanding the loss of his convoy, prosecuted the operations of the siege with redoubled vigour till the first day of July, when he decamped in the night, and began his march to Bohemia. He himself, with one division, took the road to Konitz; and mareschal Keith having brought away all the artillery, except four mortars and one disabled cannon, pursued his march by the way of Littau to Muglitz and Tribau. Although his Prussian majesty had gained an entire march upon the Austrians, their light troops, commanded by the generals Buccow and Laudohn, did not fail to attend and harass his army in their retreat; but their endeavours were in a great measure frustrated by the conduct and circumspection of the Prussian commanders. After the rear of the army had passed the defiles of Krenau, general Lasci, who was posted at Gibau with a large body of Austrian troops, occupied the village of Krenau with a detachment of grenadiers, who were soon dislodged; and the Prussians pursued their march by Zwittau to Leutomyssel, where they seized a magazine of meal and forage. In the meantime general de Ratzow, who conducted the provisions and artillery, found the hills of Hollitz possessed by the enemy, who cannonaded him as he advanced; but mareschal Keith coming up, ordered them to be attacked in the rear, and they fled into a wood with precipitation, with the loss of six officers and three hundred men, who were taken prisoners. While’ the mareschal was thus employed, the king proceeded from Leutomyssel to Koningsgratz, where general Buccow, who had got the start of him, was posted with seven thousand men behind the Elbe, and in the intrenchments which they had thrown up all around the city. The Prussian troops as they arrived passed over the little river Adler, and as the enemy had broken down the bridges over the Elbe, the king ordered them to be repaired with all expedition, being determined to attack the Austrian intrenchments; but general Buccow did not wait for his approach: he abandoned his intrenchments, and retired with his troops to Clumetz; so that the king took possession of the most important post of Koningsgratz without further opposition. An Austrian corps having taken post between him and Hollitz, in order to obstruct the march of the artillery, he advanced against them in person, and having driven them from the place, all his cannon, military stores, provisions, with fifteen hundred sick and wounded men, arrived in safety at Koningsgratz, where the whole army encamped. His intention was to transfer the seat of war from Moravia to Bohemia, where he should be able to maintain a more easy communication with his own dominions; but a more powerful motive soon obliged him to change his resolution.

PROGRESS OF THE RUSSIANS.

After the Russian troops under Apraxin had retreated from Pomerania in the course of the preceding year, and the czarina seemed ready to change her system, the courts of Vienna and Versailles had, by dint of subsidies, promises, presents, and intrigues, attached her, in all appearance, more firmly than ever to the confederacy, and even induced her to augment the number of troops destined to act against the Prussian monarch. She not only signed her accession in form to the quadruple alliance with the empress-queen and the kings of France and Sweden; but, in order to manifest her zeal to the common cause, she disgraced her chancellor, count Bestuchef, who was supposed averse to the war: she divided her forces into separate bodies, under the command of the generals Fermer and Browne, and ordered them to put their troops in motion in the middle of winter. Fermer accordingly began his march in the beginning of January, and on the twenty-second his light troops took possession of Koningsberg, the capital of Prussia, without opposition: for the king’s forces had quitted that country in order to prosecute the war in the western parts of Pomerania. They did not, however, maintain themselves in this part of the country; but, after having ravaged some districts, returned to the main body, which halted on the Vistula, to the no small disturbance of the city of Dantzic. The resident of the czarina actually demanded that the magistrates should receive a Russian garrison; a demand which they not only peremptorily refused, but ordered all the citizens to arms, and took every other method to provide for their defence. At length, after some negotiation with general Fermer, the affair was compromised: he desisted from the demand, and part of his troops passed the Vistula, seemingly to invade Pomerania, in the eastern part of which count Dohna had assembled an army of Prussians to oppose their progress. But after they had pillaged the open country, they rejoined their main body; and general Fermer, turning to the left, advanced to Silesia in order to co-operate with the other Russian army commanded by Browne, who had taken his route through Poland, and already passed the Posna. By the first of July both bodies had reached the frontiers of Silesia, and some of their cossacks, penetrating into that province, had committed dreadful ravages, and overwhelmed the inhabitants with consternation. Count Bohna, with the Prussian army under his command, had attended their motions, and even passed the Oder at Frankfort, as if he had intended to give them battle; but he was too much inferior in number to hazard such a step, which became an object of his sovereign’s own personal attention. Mareschal Daun had followed the king into Bohemia, and, on the twenty-second day of July, encamped on the hills of Libischau, a situation almost inaccessible, where he resolved to remain and watch the motions of the Prussian monarch, until some opportunity should offer of acting to advantage. Nature seems to have expressly formed this commander with talents to penetrate the designs, embarrass the genius, and check the impetuosity, of the Prussian monarch. He was justly compared to Fabius Maximus, distinguished by the epithet of Cunctator. He possessed all the vigilance, caution, and sagacity of that celebrated Roman. Like him, he hovered on the skirts of the enemy, harassing their parties, accustoming the soldiers to strict discipline, hard service, and the face of a formidable foe, and watching for opportunities, which he knew how to seize with equal courage and celerity.

THE PRUSSIANS DEFEAT THE RUSSIANS.

The king of Prussia, being induced by a concurrence of motives to stop the progress of the Russians in Silesia, made his dispositions for retreating from Bohemia, and on the twenty-fifth day of July quitted the camp at Koningsgratz. He was attended in his march by three thousand Austrian light troops, who did not fail to incommode his rear; but, notwithstanding these impediments, he passed the Mittau, proceeded on his route, and on the ninth day of August arrived at Landshut. From thence he hastened with a detachment towards Frankfort on the Oder, and joined the army commanded by lieutenant-general Dohna at Gorgas. Then the whole army passed the Oder by a bridge thrown over at Gatavise, and having rested one day, advanced to Dert-mitzel, where he encamped. The Russians, under general Fermer, were posted on the other side of the little river Mitzel, their right extending to the village of Zicker, and their left to Quertchem. The king being determined to hazard a battle, passed the Mitzel on the twenty-fifth in the morning, and turning the flank of the enemy, drew up his army in order of battle in the plain between the little river and the town of Zorndorf. The Russians, by whom he was outnumbered, did not decline the dispute; but as the ground did not permit them to extend themselves, they appeared in four lines, forming a front on every side, defended by cannon and a chevaux-de-frise, their right flank covered by the village of Zwicker. After a warm cannonade, the Prussian infantry were ordered to attack the village, and a body of grenadiers advanced to the assault; but this brigade unexpectedly giving way, occasioned a considerable opening in the line, and left the whole left flank of the infantry uncovered. Before the enemy could take advantage of this incident, the interval was filled up by the cavalry under the command of general Seydlitz; and the king, with his usual presence of mind, substituted another choice body of troops to carry on the attack. This began about noon, and continued for some time, during which both sides fought with equal courage and perseverance: at length general Seydlitz, having routed the Russian cavalry, fell upon the flank of the infantry with great fury, which being also dreadfully annoyed by the Prussian artillery, they abandoned the village, together with their military chest, and great part of their baggage. Notwithstanding this loss, which had greatly disordered their right wing, they continued to stand their ground, and terrible havoc was made among them, not only with the sword and bayonet, but also by the cannon, which were loaded with grape shot, and, being excellently served, did great execution. Towards evening the confusion among them increased to such a degree, that in all probability they would have been entirely routed, had they not been favoured by the approaching darkness, as well as by a particular operation which was very gallantly performed. One of the Russian generals perceiving the fortune of the day turned against him, rallied a select body of troops, and made a vigorous impression on the right wing of the Prussians. This effort diverted their attention so strongly to that quarter, that the right of the Russians enjoyed a respite, during which they retired in tolerable order, and occupied a new post on the right, where the rest of their forces were the more easily assembled. In this battle they are said to have lost above fifteen thousand men, thirty-seven colours, five standards, twelve mortars, the greater part of their baggage, and above one hundred pieces of cannon. Among the prisoners that fell into the hands of the victor, were several general officers, and a good number lost their lives on the field of battle. The victory cost the king above two thousand men, including some officers of distinction, particularly two aide-de-camps, who attended his own person, which he exposed without scruple to all the perils of the day. It would have redounded still more to his glory, had he put a stop to the carnage; for, after all resistance was at an end, the wretched Russians were hewn down without mercy. It must be owned, indeed, that the Prussian soldiers were, in a peculiar manner, exasperated against this enemy, because they had laid waste the country, burned the villages, ruined the peasants, and committed many horrid acts of barbarity, which the practice of war could not authorize. 467 [See note 3 P, at the end of this Vol.] The Prussian army passed the night under arms, and next morning the cannonade was renewed against the enemy, who, nevertheless, maintained their position without flinching. On the twenty-seventh, they seemed determined to hazard another action, and even attack the conquerors; instead of advancing, however, they took the route of Lands-berg; but afterwards turned off towards Vietzel, and posted themselves between the rivers Warta and that village. Immediately after the battle, general Fermer,* who had received a slight wound in the action, sent a trumpet with a letter to lieutenant-general Dohna, desiring a suspension of arms for two or three days to bury the dead, and take care of the wounded; and presenting to his Prussian majesty the humble request of general Browne, who was much weakened with the loss of blood, that he might have a passport, by virtue of which he could be removed to a place where he should find such accommodation as his situation required.

* General Fermer was of Scottish extract, and general Browne actually a native of North Britain.

In answer to this message, count Dohna gave the Russian general to understand, that as his Prussian majesty remained master of the field, he would give the necessary orders for interring the dead, and taking care of the wounded on both sides: he refused a suspension of arms, but granted the request of general Browne; and concluded his letter by complaining of the outrages which the Russian troops still continued to commit, in pillaging and burning the king’s villages.

The king of Prussia had no sooner repulsed the enemy in one quarter, than his presence was required in another. When he quitted Bohemia, mareschal Daun, at the head of the Austrian army, and the prince de Deuxponts, who commanded the forces of the empire, advanced to the Elbe, in order to surround the king’s brother, prince Henry, who, without immediate succour, would not have been able to preserve his footing in Saxony. The Prussian monarch, therefore, determined to support him with all possible expedition. In a few days after the battle he began his march from Custrin, with a reinforcement of twenty-four battalions and great part of his cavalry, and pursued his route with such unwearied diligence, that by the fifth day of September lie reached Torgau, and on the eleventh joined his brother. Mareschal Daun had posted himself at Stolpen, to the eastward of the Elbe, in order to preserve an easy communication with the army of the empire encamped in the neighbourhood of Koningstein, to favour the operations of general Laudohn, who had advanced through the Lower Lusatia to the frontiers of Brandenburgh; to make a diversion from the southern parts of Silesia, where a body of Austrian troops acted under the command of the generals Harsche and de Ville; and to interrupt the communication between prince Henry and the capital of Saxony. On the fifth day of September, the garrison in the strong fortress of Koningstein surrendered themselves prisoners of war, after a very feeble resistance, to the prince de Detixponts, who forthwith took possession of the strong camp at Pima. When the king of Prussia therefore arrived at Dresden, he found the army of the empire in this position, and mareschal Daun in a still stronger situation at Stolpen, with bridges of communication thrown over the Elbe, so that he could not attack them with any prospect of advantage. He had no other resolution to take but that of endeavouring to cut them off from supplies of provisions, and with this view he marched to Bautzen, which he occupied. This motion obliged the Austrian general to quit his camp at Stolpen, but he chose another of equal strength at Libau; yet he afterwards advanced to Rittlitz, that he might be at hand to seize the first favourable occasion of executing the resolution he had formed to attack the Prussians. The king having detached general Ratzow on his left, to take possession of Weissenberg, marched forwards with the body of his army, and posted himself in the neighbourhood of Hochkirchen, after having dislodged the Austrians from that village. Matters were now brought to such a delicate crisis, that a battle seemed inevitable, and equally desired by both parties, as an event that would determine whether the Austrians should be obliged to retreat for winter-quarters into Bohemia, or be enabled to maintain their ground in Saxony. In this situation mareschal Daun resolved to act offensively; and formed a scheme for attacking the right flank of the Prussians by surprise. This measure was suggested to him by an oversight of the Prussians, who had neglected to occupy the heights that commanded the village of Hochkirchen, which was only guarded by a few free companies. He determined to take the advantage of a very dark night, and to employ the flower of his whole army on this important service, well knowing, that should they penetrate through the flank of the enemy, the whole Prussian army would be disconcerted, and in all probability entirely ruined. Having taken his measures with wonderful secrecy and circumspection, the troops began to move in the night between the thirteenth and fourteenth of October, favoured by a thick fog, which greatly increased the darkness of the night. Their first care was to take possession of the hill that commanded Hochkirchen, from whence they poured down upon the village, of which they took possession, after having cut in pieces the free companies posted there. The action began in this quarter about four in the morning, and continued several hours with great fury, for, notwithstanding the impetuous efforts of the Austrian troops, and the confusion occasioned among the Prussians by the surprise, a vigorous stand was made by some general officers, who, with admirable expedition and presence of mind, assembled and arranged the troops as they could take to their arms, and led them up to the attack without distinction of regiment, place, or precedence. While the action was obstinately and desperately maintained in this place, amidst all the horrors of darkness, carnage, and confusion, the king being alarmed, exerted all his personal activity, address, and recollection, in drawing regularity from disorder, arranging the different corps, altering positions, reinforcing weak posts, encouraging the soldiery, and opposing the efforts of the enemy; for although they made their chief impression upon the right, by the village of Hochkirchen, mareschal Daun, in order to divide the attention of the king, made another attack upon the left, which was with difficulty sustained, and effectually prevented him from sending reinforcements to the right, where mareschal Keith, under the greatest disadvantages, bore the brunt of the enemy’s chief endeavours. Thus the battle raged till nine in the morning, when this gallant officer was shot through the heart. Prince Francis of Brunswick had met with the same fate; prince Maurice of Anhault was wounded and taken prisoner, and many others were either slain or disabled. As the right wing had been surprised, the tents continued standing, and greatly embarrassed them in their defence. The soldiers had never been properly drawn up in order; the enemy still persevered in their attack with successive reinforcements and redoubled resolution; and a considerable slaughter was made by their artillery, which they had brought up to the heights of Hochkirchen. All these circumstances concurring, could not fail to increase the confusion and disaster of the Prussians; so that about ten the king was obliged to retire to Dobreschutz, with the loss of seven thousand men, of all his tents, and part of his baggage. Nor had the Austrian general much cause to boast of his victory. His loss of men was pretty nearly equal to that of the Prussian monarch; and, whatever reputation he might have acquired in foiling that enterprising prince, certainly his design did not take effect in its full extent, for the Prussians were next day in a condition to hazared another engagement. The king of Prussia had sustained no damage which he could not easily repair, except the death of mareschal Keith, which was doubtless an irreparable misfortune. 468 [See note 3 Q, at the end of this Vol.]

His Prussian majesty remained with his army ten days at Dobreschutz, during which he endeavoured to bring the Austrians to a second engagement; but count Daun declined the invitation, and kept his forces advantageously posted on eminences planted with artillery. His aim having been frustrated at Hochkirchen, where he fought with many advantages on his side, he would not hazard another battle upon equal terms, with such an enterprising enemy, rendered more vigilant by the check he had received, already reinforced from the army of prince Henry, and eager for an opportunity to retrieve the laurel which had been snatched from him by the wiles of stratagem, rather than by the hand of valour. Count Daun, having nothing more to hope from the active operations of his own army, contented himself with amusing the Prussian monarch in Lusatia, while the Austrian generals, Harsche and De Ville, should prosecute the reduction of Neiss and Cosel in Silesia, which they now actually invested. As the Prussian monarch could not spare detachments to oppose every different corps of his enemies that acted against him in different parts of his dominions, he resolved to make up in activity what he wanted in number, and, if possible, to raise the siege of Neiss in person. With this view he decamped from Dobreschutz, and, in sight of the enemy, marched to Goerlitz without the least interruption. From thence he proceeded towards Silesia with his usual expedition, notwithstanding all the endeavours and activity of general Laudohn, who harassed the rear of the Prussians, and gained some petty advantages over them.. Count Daun not only sent this detached corps to retard them in their march; but at the same time, by another route, detached a strong reinforcement to the army of the besiegers. In the meantime, having received intelligence that the army of prince Henry in Saxony was considerably weakened, he himself marched thither, in hopes of expelling the prince from that country, and reducing the capital in the king’s absence. Indeed, his designs were still more extensive, for he proposed to reduce Dresden, Leipsic, and Torgau, at the same time; the first with the main body under his own direction, the second by the army of the empire under the prince de Deuxponts, and the third by a corps under general Haddick, while the forces directed by Laudohn should exclude the king from Lusatia. In execution of this plan he marched directly to the Elbe, which he passed at Pima, and advanced to Dresden, which he hoped would surrender without putting him to the trouble of a formal siege. The army of prince Henry had already retired to the westward of this capital before the prince de Deuxponts, who had found means to cut off his communication with Leipsic, and even invested that city. During these transactions general Haddick advanced against Torgau.

SUBURBS OF DRESDEN BURNT.

The field-mareschal count Daun appearing on the sixth day of November within sight of Dresden, at the head of sixty thousand men, encamped next day at Lockowitz, and on the eighth his advanced troops attacked the Prussian hussars and independent battalions, which were posted at Striessen and Gruenewiese. Count Schmettau, who commanded the garrison, amounting to ten thousand men, apprehensive that, in the course of skirmishing, the Austrian troops might enter the suburbs pell-mell, posted colonel Itzenplitz, with seven hundred men, in the redoubts that surrounded the suburbs, that in case of emergency they might support the irregulars; at the same time, as the houses that constituted the suburbs were generally so high as to overlook the ramparts and command the city, he prepared combustibles, and gave notice to the magistrates that they would be set on fire as soon as an Austrian should appear within the place. This must have been a dreadful declaration to the inhabitants of these suburbs, which compose one of the most elegant towns in Europe. In these houses, which were generally lofty and magnificent, the fashionable and wealthy class of people resided, and here a number of artists carried on a variety of curious manufactures. In vain the magistrates implored the mercy and forbearance of the Prussian governor, and represented, in the most submissive strain, that as they were unconcerned in the war, they hoped they should be exempted from the horrors of devastation. In vain the royal family, who remained at Dresden, conjured him to spare that last refuge of distressed royalty, and allow them at least a secure residence, since they were deprived of every other comfort. He continued inflexible, or rather determined to execute the orders of his master, which indeed he could not disobey with any regard to his own safety. On the ninth day of November, about noon, the Austrian vanguard attacked the advanced post of the garrison, repelled the hussars, drove the independent battalions into the suburbs, and forced three of the redoubts, while their cannon played upon the town. The governor, expecting a vigorous attack next day, recalled his troops within the city after they had set fire to the suburbs. At three in the morning the signal was made for this terrible conflagration, which in a little time reduced to ashes the beautiful suburbs of Pirna, which had so lately flourished as the seat of gaity, pleasure, and the ingenious arts. Every bosom warmed with benevolence must be affected at the recital of such calamities. It excites not only our compassion for the unhappy sufferers, but also our resentment against the perpetrators of such enormity. Next day mareschal Daun sent an officer to count Schmettau, with a message, expressing his surprise at the destruction of the suburbs in a royal residence, an act of inhumanity unheard of among christians. He desired to know if it was by the governor’s order this measure was taken; and assured him, that he should be responsible in his person for whatever outrages had been or might be committed against a place in which a royal family resided. Schmettau gave him to understand, that he had orders to defend the town to the last extremity, and that the preservation of what remained depended entirely on the conduct of his excellency; for, should he think proper to attack the place, he (the governor) would defend himself from house to house, and from street to street, and even make his last effort in the royal palace, rather than abandon the city. He excused the destruction of the suburbs as a necessary measure, authorized by the practice of war; but he would have found it a difficult task to reconcile this step to the laws of eternal justice, and far less to the dictates of common humanity. Indeed, if the scene had happened in an enemy’s country, or if no other step could have saved the lives and liberties of himself and his garrison, such a desperate remedy might have stood excused by the law of nature and of nations; but on this occasion he occupied a neutral city, over which he could exercise no other power and authority but that which he derived from illegal force and violence; nor was he at all reduced to the necessity of sacrificing the place to his own safety, inasmuch as he might have retired unmolested, by virtue of an honourable capitulation, which, however, he did not demand. Whether the peremptory order of a superior will, in foro conscientio, justify an officer who hath committed an illegal or inhuman action, is a question that an English reader will scarce leave to the determination of a German casuist with one hundred and fifty thousand armed men in his retinue. Be this as it will, Mr. Ponickau, the Saxon minister, immediately after this tragedy was acted, without waiting for his master’s orders, presented a memorial to the diet of the empire, complaining of it as an action reserved for the history of the war which the king of Prussia had kindled in Germany, to be transmitted to future ages. He affirmed that, in execution of Schmettau’s orders, the soldiers had dispersed themselves in the streets of the Pirna and Witchen suburbs, broke open the houses and shops, set fire to the combustibles, added fresh fuel, and then shut the doors; that the violence of the flames was kept up by red-hot balls fired into the houses, and along the streets; that the wretched inhabitants, who forsook their burning houses, were slain by the fire of the cannon and small arms; that those who endeavoured to save their persons and effects were pushed down and destroyed by the bayonets of the Prussian soldiers posted in the streets for that purpose: he enumerated particular instances of inhuman barbarity, and declared that a great number of people perished, either amidst the flames, or under the ruins of the houses. The destruction of two hundred and fifty elegant houses, and the total ruin of the inhabitants, were circumstances in themselves so deplorable, as to need no aggravation; but the account of the Saxon minister was shamefully exaggerated, and all the particular instances of cruelty false in every circumstance. Baron Plotho, the minister of Brandenburgh, did not fail to answer every article of the Saxon memorial, and refute the particulars therein alleged, in a fair detail, authenticated by certificates under the hands of the magistrates, judges, and principal inhabitants of Dresden. The most extraordinary part of this defence or vindication was the conclusion, in which the baron solemnly assured the diet, that the king of Prussia, from his great love to mankind, always felt the greatest emotion of soul, and the most exquisite concern, at the effusion of blood, the devastation of cities and countries, and the horrors of war, by which so many thousand fellow-creatures were overwhelmed; and that if his sincere and honest inclination to procure peace to Germany, his dear country, had met with the least regard, the present war, attended with such bloodshed and desolation, would have been prevented and avoided. He, therefore, declared that those who excited the present troubles, who, instead of extinguishing, threw oil upon the flames, must answer to God for the seas of blood that had been and would be shed, for the devastation of so many countries, and the entire ruin of so many innocent individuals. Such declarations cost nothing to those hardened politicians, who, feeling no internal check, are determined to sacrifice every consideration to the motives of rapacity and ambition. It would be happy, however, for mankind, were princes taught to believe that there is really an omnipotent and all-judging power, that will exact a severe account of their conduct, and punish them for their guilt, with out any respect to their persons; that pillaging a whole people is more cruel than robbing a single person; and that the massacre of thousands is, at least, as criminal as a private murder.

THE PRUSSIANS RAISE THE SIEGE OF NEISS, AND RELIEVE DRESDEN.

While count Daun was employed in making a fruitless attempt upon the capital of Saxony, the king of Prussia proceeded in his march to Neiss, which was completely invested on the third day of October. The operations of the siege were carried on with great vigour by the Austrian general De Harsche, and the place was as vigorously defended by the Prussian governor, Theskau, till the first day of November, when the Prussian monarch approached, and obliged the besiegers to abandon their enterprise. M. de Harsche having raised the siege, the king detached general Pouquet with a body of troops across the river Neiss, and immediately the blockade of Cosel was likewise abandoned. De Harsche retired to Bohemia, and De Ville hovered about Jagernsdorf. The fortress of Neiss was no sooner relieved, than the king of Prussia began his march on his return to Saxony, where his immediate presence was required. At the same time, the two bodies under the generals Dohna and Wedel penetrated by different routes into that country. The former had been left at Custrin, to watch the motions of the Russians, who had by this time retreated to the Vistula, and even crossed that river at Thorn; and the other had, during the campaign, observed the Swedes, who had now entirely evacuated the Prussian territories, so that Wedel was at liberty to co-operate with the king in Saxony. He accordingly marched to Torgau, the siege of which had been undertaken by the Austrian general Haddick, who was repulsed by Wedel, and even pursued to the neighbourhood of Eulenbourg. Wedel, being afterwards joined by Dohna, drove him from thence with considerable loss, and then raised the siege of Leipsic. Meanwhile, the king prosecuted his march towards the capital of Saxony, driving before him the body of Austrian troops under Laudohn, who retreated to Zittau. On the tenth day of November count Daun retired from Dresden, and with the army of the empire fell back towards Bohemia; and on the twentieth the king arrived in that city, where he approved of the governor’s conduct. The Russian general foreseeing that he should not be able to maintain his ground during the winter in Poinerania, unless he could secure some sea-port on the Baltic, by which he might be supplied with provisions, detached general Palmbach, with fifteen thousand men, to besiege the town of Colberg, an inconsiderable place, very meanly fortified. It was accordingly invested on the third day of October; but the besiegers were either so ill provided with proper implements, or so little acquainted with operations of this nature, that the garrison, though feeble, maintained the place against all their attacks for six-and-twenty days; at the expiration of which they abandoned their enterprise, and cruelly ravaged the open country in their retreat. Thus, by the activity and valour of the Prussian monarch, his generals and officers, six sieges were raised almost at the same period, namely, those of Colberg, Neiss, Cosel, Torgau, Leipsic, and Dresden.

INHABITANTS OF SAXONY OPPRESSED.

The variety of fortune which the king of Prussia experienced in the course of this campaign was very remarkable; but the spirit of his conduct, and the rapidity of his motions, were altogether without example. In the former campaign we were dazzled with the lustre of his victories; in this we admire his fortitude and skill in stemming the different torrents of adversity, and rising superior to his evil fortune. One can hardly without astonishment recollect, that in the course of a few months he invaded Moravia, invested Olmutz, and was obliged to relinquish that design, that he marched through an enemy’s country, in the face of a great army, which, though it harassed him in his retreat, could not, in a route of an hundred miles, obtain any advantage over him; that in spite of his disaster at Olmutz, and the difficulties of such a march, he penetrated into Bohemia, drove the enemy from Koningsgratz, executed another dangerous and fatiguing march to the Oder, defeated a great army of Russians, and returned by the way of Saxony, from whence he drove the Austrian and Imperial armies; that after his defeat at Hochkirchen, where he lost two of his best generals, and was obliged to leave his tents standing, he baffled the vigilance and superior number of the victorious army, rushed like a whirlwind to the relief of Silesia, invaded by an Austrian army, which he compelled to retire with precipitation from that province; that, with the same rapidity of motion, he wheeled about to Saxony, and once more rescued it from the hands of his adversaries; that in one campaign he made twice the circuit of his dominions, relieved them all in their turns, and kept all his possessions entire against the united efforts of numerous armies, conducted by generals of consummate skill and undaunted resolution. His character would have been still more complete, if his moderation had been equal to his courage; but in this particular we cannot applaud his conduct. Incensed by the persecuting spirit of his enemies, he wrecked his vengeance on those who had done him no injury; and the cruelties which the Russians had committed in his dominions were retaliated upon the unfortunate inhabitants of Saxony. In the latter end of September, the president of the Prussian military directory sent a letter to the magistrates of Leipsic, requiring them, in the king’s name, to pay a new contribution of six hundred thousand crowns, and to begin immediately with the payment of one-third part, on pain of military execution. In answer to this demand, the magistrates represented that the city having been exhausted by the enormous contributions already raised, was absolutely incapable of furnishing further supplies; that the trade was stagnated and ruined, and the inhabitants so impoverished, that they could no longer pay the ordinary taxes. This remonstrance made no impression. At five in the morning the Prussian soldiers assembled, and were posted in all the streets, squares, market-places, cemeteries, towers, and steeples; then the gates being shut, in order to exclude the populace of the suburbs from the city, the senators were brought into the town-hall, and accosted by general Hauss, who told them, the king his master would have money; and, if they refused to part with it, the city should be plundered. To this peremptory address they replied to this effect:—“We have no more money,—we have nothing left but life; and we recommend ourselves to the king’s mercy.” In consequence of this declaration, dispositions were made for giving up the city to be plundered. Cannon were planted in all the streets, the inhabitants were ordered to remain within doors, and every house resounded with dismal cries and lamentations. The dreaded pillage, however, was converted into a regular exaction. A party of soldiers, commanded by a subaltern, went from house to house, signifying to every burgher, that he should produce all his specie, on pain of immediate pillage and massacre; and every inhabitant delivered up his all without further hesitation. About six in the evening, the soldiers returned to their quarters; but the magistrates were detained in confinement, and all the citizens were overwhelmed with grief and consternation. Happy Britain, who knowest such grievances only by report! When the king of Prussia first entered Saxony, at the beginning of the war, he declared he had no design to make a conquest of that electorate, but only to keep it as a depositum for the security of his own dominions, until he could oblige his enemies to acquiesce in reasonable terms of peace; but upon his last arrival at Dresden he adopted a new resolution. In the beginning of December, the Prussian directory of war issued a decree to the deputies of the states of the electorate, demanding a certain quantity of flour and forage, according to the convention formerly settled; at the same time signifying, that though the king of Prussia had hitherto treated the electorate as a country taken under his special protection, the face of affairs was now changed in such a manner, that for the future he would consider it in no other light than that of a conquered country. The Russians had seized in Prussia all the estates and effects belonging to the king’s officers: a retaliation was now made upon the effects of the Saxon officers, who served in the Russian army. Seals were put on all the cabinets containing papers belonging to the privy-counsellors of his Polish majesty, and they themselves ordered to depart for Warsaw at a very short warning. Though the city had been impoverished by former exactions, and very lately subjected to military execution, the king of Prussia demanded fresh contributions, and even extorted them by dint of severities that shock humanity. He surrounded the exchange with soldiers, and confining the merchants to straw beds and naked apartments, obliged them to draw bills for very large sums on their foreign correspondents: a method of proceeding much more suitable to the despotism of a Persian sophi towards a conquered people who professed a different faith, than reconcileable to the character of a protestant prince towards a peaceable nation of brethren, with whom he was connected by the common ties of neighbourhood and religion. Even if they had acted as declared enemies, and been subdued with arms in their hands, the excesses of war on the side of the conqueror ought to have ceased with the hostilities of the conquered, who, by submitting to his sway, would have become his subjects, and in that capacity had a claim to his protection. To retaliate upon the Saxons, who had espoused no quarrel, the barbarities committed by the Russians, with whom he was actually at war; and to treat as a conquered province a neutral country, which his enemies had entered by violence, and been obliged to evacuate by force of arms, was a species of conduct founded on pretences which overturn all right, and confound all reason.

PROGRESS OF THE SWEDES IN POMERANIA.

Having recorded all the transactions of the campaign, except those in which the Swedes were concerned, it now remains that we should particularize the progress which was made in Pomerania by the troops of that nation, under the command of count Hamilton. We have already observed, that in the beginning of the year the Prussian general, Lehwald, had compelled them to evacuate the whole province, except Stralsund, which was likewise invested. This, in all probability, would have been besieged in form, had not Lehwald resigned the command of the Prussians, on account of his great age and infirmities; and his successor, count Dohna, been obliged to withdraw his troops in order to oppose the Russian army on the other side of Pomerania. The blockade of Stralsund being consequently raised, and that part of the country being entirely evacuated by the Prussians, the Swedish troops advanced again from the isle of Rugen, to which, they had retired; but the supplies and reinforcements they expected from Stockholm were delayed in such a manner, either from a deficiency in the subsidies promised by France, or from the management of those who were averse to the war, that great part of the season was elapsed before they undertook any important enterprise. Indeed, while they lay encamped under the cannon of Stralsund, waiting for these supplies, their operations were retarded by the explosion of a whole ship-load of gunpowder intended for their use; an event imputed to the practices of the Prussian party in Sweden, which at this period seemed to gain ground, and even threatened a change in the ministry. At length the reinforcement arrived about the latter end of June, and their general seemed determined to act with vigour. In the beginning of July, his army being put in motion, he sent a detachment to dislodge the few Prussian troops that were left at Anclam, Demmin, and other places, to guard that frontier; and they retreated accordingly. Count Hamilton having nothing further to oppose him in the field, in a very little time recovered all Swedish Pomerania, and even made hot incursions into the Prussian territories. Meanwhile, a combined fleet of thirty-three Russian and seven Swedish ships of war appeared in the Baltic, and anchored between the isles of Dragoe and Amagh; but they neither landed troops nor committed hostilities. The Swedish general advanced as far as Fehrbellin, sent out parties that raised contributions within five and twenty miles of Berlin, and threw the inhabitants of that capital into the utmost consternation. The king of Prussia, alarmed at their progress, despatched general Wedel from Dresden, with a body of troops that were augmented on their march; so that, on the twentieth of September, he found himself at Berlin with eleven thousand effective men, at the head of whom he proceeded against count Hamilton, while the prince of Bevern, with five thousand, advanced on the other side from Stetin. At their approach, the Swedish commander retired, after having left a garrison of fourteen hundred men at Fehrbellin in order to retard the Prussians, and secure the retreat of his army. The place was immediately attacked by general Wedel; and though the Swedes disputed the ground from house to house with uncommon obstinacy, he at last drove them out of the town, with the loss of one half of their number either killed or taken prisoners. The body of the Swedish army, without hazarding any other action, immediately evacuated the Prussian territories, and returned to the neighbourhood of Stralsund, intending to take winter-quarters in the isle of Rugen. Count Hamilton, either disgusted at the restrictions he had been laid under, or finding himself unable to act in such a manner as might redound to the advantage of his reputation, threw up his command, retired from the army, and resigned all his other employments.

PRINCE CHARLES OF SAXONY ELECTED DUKE OF COURLAND.

The king of Prussia was not only favoured by a considerable party in Sweden, but he had also raised a strong interest in Poland, among such Palatines as had always opposed the measures of the reigning family. These were now reinforced by many patriots, who dreaded the vicinity and suspected the designs of the Russian army. The diet of the republic was opened on the second day of November; and, after warm debates, M. Malachowski was unanimously elected mareschal; but no sooner had the chambers of nuncios begun their deliberations, than a number of voices were raised against the encroachments of the Russian troops, who had taken up their residence in Poland; and heavy complaints were made of the damages sustained from their cruelty and rapine. Great pains were taken to appease these clamours; and many were prevailed upon to refer these grievances to the king in senate; but when this difficulty seemed almost surmounted, Padhorski, the nuncio of Volhinia, stood up, and declared that he would not permit any other point to be discussed in the diet while the Russians maintained the least footing within the territories of the republic. Vain were all the attempts of the courtiers to persuade and mollify this inflexible patriot, he solemnly protested against their proceedings, and hastily withdrew; so that the mareschal was obliged to dissolve the assembly, and recourse was had to a senatus consilium, to concert proper measures to be taken in the present conjuncture. The king of Poland was on this occasion likewise disappointed in his views of providing for his son, prince Charles, in the duchy of Courland. He had been recommended by the court of Russia, and even approved by the states of that country; but two difficulties occurred. The states declared, they could not proceed to a new election during the life of their former duke, count Biron, who was still alive, though a prisoner in Siberia, unless their duchy should be declared vacant by the king and republic of Poland; and, according to the laws of that country, no prince could be elected until he should have declared himself of the Augsburgh confession. His Polish majesty, however, being determined to surmount all obstacles to his son’s interest, ordered count Malachowski, high chancellor of Poland, to deliver to prince Charles a diploma, by which the king granted permission to the states of Courland to elect that prince for their duke, and appointed the day for his election and instalment; which accordingly took place in the month of January, notwithstanding the clamour of many Polish grandees, who persisted in affirming that the king had no power to grant such permission without the consent of the diet. The vicissitudes of the campaign had produced no revolutions in the several systems adopted by the different powers in Europe. The czarina, who in the month of June had signified her sentiments and designs against the king of Prussia, in a declaration delivered to all the foreign ministers at Petersburgh, seemed now, more than ever, determined to act vigorously in behalf of the empress-queen of Hungary, and the unfortunate king of Poland, who still resided at Warsaw. The court of Vienna distributed among the imperial ministers at the several courts of the empire, copies of a rescript explaining the conduct of her generals since the beginning of the campaign, and concluded with expressions of self-approbation to this effect: “Though the issue of the campaign be not as yet entirely satisfactory, and such as might be desired, the imperial court enjoys, at least, the sincere satisfaction of reflecting, that, according to the change of circumstances, it instantly took the most vigorous resolutions; that it was never deficient in any thing that might contribute to the good of the common cause, and is now employed in making preparations, from which the most happy consequences may be expected.”

THE KING OF ENGLAND’S MEMORIAL.

We have already hinted at a decree of the Aulic council of the empire, published in the month of August, enjoining all directors of circles, all imperial towns, and the noblesse of the empire, to transmit to Vienna an exact list of all those who had disobeyed the avocatoria of the empire, and adhered to the rebellion raised by the elector of Brandenburgh; that their revenues might be sequestered, and themselves punished in their honours, persons, and effects. As the elector of Hanover was plainly pointed out, and, indeed, expressly mentioned in this decree, the king of Great Britain, by the hands of baron Gemmegen, his electoral minister, presented a memorial to the diet of the empire in the month of November, enumerating the instances in which he exerted himself, and even exposed his life, for the preservation and aggrandizement of the house of Austria. In return for these important services, he observed, that the empress-queen had refused him the assistance stipulated in treaties against an invasion planned by France, whose hatred he had drawn upon himself by his friendship to that princess; and his imperial majesty even denied him the dictatorial letters which he solicited; that the court of Vienna had signed a treaty with the crown of France, in which it was stipulated that the French troops should pass the Weser, and invade the electorate of Hanover, where they were joined by the troops of the empress-queen, who ravaged his Britannic majesty’s dominions with greater cruelty than even the French had practised; and the same duke of Cumberland, who had been wounded at Dettingen in the defence of her imperial majesty, was obliged to fight at Hastenbeck against the troops of that very princess, in defence of his father’s dominions; that she sent commissaries to Hanover, who shared with the crown of France the contributions extorted from that electorate; rejected all proposals of peace, and dismissed from her court the minister of Brunswick-Lunenbourg; that his imperial majesty, who had sworn to protect the empire, and oppose the entrance of foreign troops destined to oppress any of the states of Germany, afterwards required the king of England to withdraw his troops from the countries which they occupied, that the French army might again have free passage into his German dominions; that the emperor had recalled these troops, released them from their allegiance to their sovereign, enjoined them to abandon their posts, their colours, and the service in which they were embarked, on pain of being punished in body, honour, and estate: and that the king of England himself was threatened with the ban of the empire. He took notice, that, in quality of elector, he had been accused of refusing to concur with the resolutions of the diet taken in the preceding year; of entering into alliance with the king of Prussia; joining his troops to the armies of that prince; employing auxiliaries belonging to the states of the empire; sending English forces into Germany, where they had taken possession of Embden; and exacting contributions in different parts of Germany. In answer to these imputations, he alleged that he could not, consistent with his own safety or the dictates of common sense, concur with a majority in joining his troops, which were immediately necessary for his own defence, to those which, from the arbitrary views of the court of Vienna, were led against his friend and ally the king of Prussia, by a prince who did not belong to the generality of the empire, and on whom the command had been conferred without a previous conclusion of the Germanic body; that, with respect to his alliance with the king of Prussia, he had a right, when deserted by his former allies, to seek assistance wheresoever it could be procured; and surely no just ground of complaint could be offered against that which his Prussian majesty lent, to deliver the electoral states of Brunswick, as well as those of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, Hesse, and Ruckebourg, from the oppressions of their common enemy. Posterity, he said, would hardly believe, that at a time when the troops of Austria, the Palatinate, and Wirtemberg, were engaged to invade the countries of the empire, other members of the Germanic body, who employed auxiliaries in their defence, should be threatened with outlawry and sequestration. He owned, that, in quality of king, he had sent over English troops to Germany, and taken possession of Embden; steps for which he was accountable to no power upon earth, although the constitutions of the empire permit the co-estates to make use of foreign troops, not indeed for the purpose of invasion or conquest in Germany, but for their defence and preservation. He also acknowledged that he had resented the conduct, and chastised the injustice, of those co-estates who had assisted his enemies, and helped to ravage his dominions; inferring, that if the crown of France was free to pillage the estates of the duke of Brunswick and the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, because they had supplied the king of England with auxiliaries; if the empress-queen had a right to appropriate to herself half of the contributions raised by the French king in these countries; surely his Britannic majesty had an equal right to make those feel the burden of the war who had favoured the unjust enterprises of his enemies. He expressed his hope, that the diet, after having duly considered these circumstances, would, by way of advice, propose to his imperial majesty that he should annul his most inconsistent mandates, and not only take effectual measures to protect the electorate and its allies, but also give orders for commencing against the empress-queen, as archduchess of Austria, the elector Palatine, and the duke of Wirtemberg, such proceedings as she wanted to enforce against his Britannic majesty, elector of Brunswick-Lunenbourg. For this purpose the minister now requested their excellencies to ask immediately the necessary instructions for their principals. The rest of this long memorial contained a justification of his Britannic majesty’s conduct in deviating from the capitulation of Closter-Seven; with a refutation of the arguments adduced, and a retortion of the reproaches levelled against the king of England, in the paper or manifesto composed and published under the direction of the French ministry, and intituled, “A parallel of the conduct of the king of France with that of the king of England, relative to the breach of the capitulation of Closter-Seven by the Hanoverians.” But to this invective a more circumstantial answer was published; in which, among other curious particulars, the letter of expostulation, said to have been written by the Prussian monarch to the king of Great Britain after the defeat of Kolin is treated as an infamous piece of forgery, produced by some venal pen employed to impose upon the public. The author also, in his endeavours to demonstrate his Britannic majesty’s aversion to a continental war, very justly observes, that “none but such as are unacquainted with the maritime force of England, can believe, that, without a diversion on the continent, to employ part of the enemy’s force, she is not in a condition to hope for success, and maintain her superiority at sea. England, therefore, had no interest to foment quarrels or wars in Europe; but, for the same reason, there was room to fear that France would embrace a different system; accordingly, she took no pains to conceal her views, and her envoys declared publicly that a war upon the continent was inevitable, and that the king’s dominions in Germany would be its principal object.” He afterwards, in the course of his argumentation, adds, “That they must be very ignorant indeed, who imagine that the forces of England are not able to resist those of France, unless the latter be hindered from turning all her efforts to the sea. In case of a war upon the continent, the two powers must pay subsidies; only with this difference, that France can employ her own land-forces, and aspire at conquests.” Such were the professed sentiments of the British ministry, founded upon eternal truth and demonstration, and openly avowed, when the business was to prove that it was not the interest of Great Britain to maintain a war upon the continent; but afterwards, when this continental war was eagerly espoused, fostered, and cherished by the blood and treasure of the English nation, then the partisans of that very ministry, which had thus declared that England, without any diversion on the continent of Europe, was an overmatch for France by sea, which maybe termed the British element; then their partisans, their champions, declaimers, and dependents, were taught to rise in rebellion against their former doctrine, and, in defiance of common sense and reflection, affirm that a diversion in Germany was absolutely necessary to the successful issue of England’s operations in Asia, Africa, and America. Notwithstanding all the facts and arguments assembled in this elaborate memorial, to expose the ingratitude of the empress-queen, and demonstrate the oppressive measures adopted by the imperial power, it remains to be proved, that the member of a community is not obliged to yield obedience to the resolutions taken, and the decrees published, by the majority of those who compose this community; especially when reinforced with the authority of the supreme magistrate, and not repugnant to the fundamental constitution on which that community was established.

DEATH OF POPE BENEDICT.

If the empress-queen was not gratified to the extent of her wishes in the fortune of the campaign, at least her self-importance was nattered in another point, which could not fail of being interesting to a princess famed for a glowing zeal and inviolable attachment to the religion of Rome. In the month of August the pope conferred upon her the title of apostolical queen of Hungary, conveyed by a brief, in which he extolled her piety, and launched out into retrospective eulogiums of her predecessors, the princes of Hungary, who had been always accustomed to fight and overcome for the catholic faith under his holy banner. This compliment, however, she did not derive from the regard of Prosper Lambertini, who exercised the papal sway under the assumed name of Benedict XIV. That pontiff, universally esteemed for his good sense, moderation, and humanity, had breathed his last in the month of April, in the eighty-fourth year of his age; and in July was succeeded in the papacy by cardinal Charles Bezzonico, bishop of Padua, by birth a Venetian. He was formerly auditor of the Rota; afterwards promoted to the purple by pope Clement XII. at the nomination of the republic of Venice; was distinguished by the title of St. Maria d’Ara Coeli, the principal convent of the Cordeliers, and nominated protector of the Pandours, or Illyrians. When he ascended the papal chair, he assumed the name of Clement XIII. in gratitude to the last of that name, who was his benefactor. Though of a disagreeable person, and even deformed in his body, he enjoyed good health, and a vigorous constitution. As an ecclesiastic, his life was exemplary; his morals were pure and unimpeached; in his character he is said to have been learned, diligent, steady, devout; and, in every respect, worthy to succeed such a predecessor as Benedict.

KING OF PORTUGAL ASSASSINATED.

The king of Spain wisely persisted in reaping the advantages of a neutrality, notwithstanding the intrigues of the French partisans at the court of Madrid, who endeavoured to alarm his jealousy by the conquests which the English had projected in America. The king of Sardina sagaciously kept aloof, resolving, in imitation of his predecessors, to maintain his power on a respectable footing, and be ready to seize all opportunities to extend and promote the interest of his crown, and the advantage of his country. As for the king of Portugal, he had prudently embraced the same system of forbearance; but in the latter end of the season, his attention was engrossed by a domestic incident of a very extraordinary nature. Whether he had, by particular instances of severity, exasperated the minds of certain individuals, and exercised his dominion in such acts of arbitrary power as excited a general spirit of disaffection among his nobility; or, lastly, by the vigorous measures pursued against the encroaching Jesuits in Paraguay, and their correspondents in Portugal, had incurred the resentment of that society, we shall not pretend to determine: perhaps all these motives concurred in giving birth to a conspiracy against his life, which was actually executed at this juncture with the most desperate resolution. On the third day of September, the king, according to custom, going out in a carriage to take the air, accompanied by one domestic, was, in the night, at a solitary place near Belem, attacked by three men on horseback, armed with musquetoons, one of whom fired his piece at the coachman without effect. The man, however, terrified both on his own account and that of his sovereign, drove the mules at full speed; a circumstance which, in some measure, disconcerted the other two conspirators, who pursued him at full gallop, and having no leisure to take aim, discharged their pieces at random through the back of the carriage. The slugs with which they were loaded happened to pass between the king’s right arm and his breast, dilacerating the parts from the shoulder to the elbow, but without damaging the bone, or penetrating into the cavity of the body. Finding himself grievously wounded, and the blood flowing apace, he, with such presence of mind as cannot be sufficiently admired, instead of proceeding to the palace, which was at some distance, ordered the coachman to return to Junqueria, where his principal surgeon resided, and there his wounds were immediately dressed. By this resolution he not only prevented the irreparable mischief that might have arisen from an excessive effusion of blood; but, without all doubt, saved his life from the bands of other assassins, posted on the road to accomplish the regicide, in case he should escape alive from the first attack. This instance of the king’s recollection was magnified into a miracle, on a supposition that it must have been the effect of divine inspiration; and, indeed, among a people addicted to superstition, might well pass for a favourable interposition of Providence. The king being thus disabled in his right arm, issued a decree, investing the queen with the absolute power of government. In the meantime, no person had access to his presence but herself, the first minister, the cardinal de Saldanha, the physicians, and surgeons. An embargo was immediately laid on all the shipping in the port of Lisbon. Rewards were publicly offered, together with the promise of pardon to the accomplices, for detecting any of the assassins; and such other measures used, that in a little time the whole conspiracy was discovered: a conspiracy the more dangerous, as it appeared to have been formed by persons of the first quality and influence. The duke de Weiro, of the family of Mascarenhas; the marquis de Tavora, who had been viceroy of Goa, and now actually enjoyed the commission of general of the horse; the count de Attougui, the marquis de Alloria, together with their wives, children, and whole families, were arrested immediately after the assassination, as principals in the design; and many other accomplices, including some Jesuits, were apprehended in the sequel. The further proceedings on this mysterious affair, with the fate of the conspirators, will be particularized among the transactions of the following year. At present it will be sufficient to observe, that the king’s wounds were attended with no bad consequences; nor did the imprisonment of those noblemen produce any disturbance in the kingdom.

PROCEEDINGS OF THE FRENCH MINISTRY.

The domestic occurrences of France were tissued with a continuation of the disputes between the parliaments and clergy, touching the bull Unigenitus. In vain the king had interposed his authority: first proposing an accommodation; then commanding the parliament to forbear taking cognizance of a religious contest, which did not fall under their jurisdiction; and, thirdly, banishing their persons, and abrogating their power. He afterwards found it necessary to the peace of his dominions to recall and reinstate those venerable patriots; and being convinced of the intolerable insolence and turbulent spirit of the archbishop of Paris, had exiled that prelate in his turn. He was no sooner re-admitted to his function, than he resumed his former conduct, touching the denial of the sacraments to those who refused to acknowledge the bull Unigenitus: he even acted with redoubled zeal; intrigued with the other prelates; caballed among the inferior clergy; and not only revived, but augmented, the troubles throughout the whole kingdom. Bishops, curates, and monks, presumed to withhold spiritual consolation from persons in extremity, and were punished by the civil power. Other parliaments of the kingdom followed the example exhibited by that of Paris, in asserting their authority and privileges. The king commanded them to desist, on pain of incurring his indignation; they remonstrated, and persevered; while the archbishop repeated his injunctions and censures, and continued to inflame the dispute to such a dangerous degree, that he was given to understand he should be again obliged to quit the capital, if he did not proceed with more moderation. But the chief care of the French ministry was employed in regulating the finances, and establishing funds of credit for raising money to pay subsidies, and maintain the war in Europe and America. In the course of this year they had not only considerably reinforced their armies in Germany, but made surprising efforts to supply the colony of Canada with troops, artillery, stores, and ammunition, for its defence against the operations of the British forces, which greatly outnumbered the French upon the continent. The court of Versailles practised every stratagem to elude the vigilance of the English cruisers. The ships destined for America they detached, both single and in convoys, sometimes from the Mediterranean, sometimes from their harbours in the channel. They assembled transports in one port, in order to withdraw the attention of their enemies from another, where their convoys lay ready for sailing; and in boisterous weather, when the English could no longer block up their harbours, their store-ships came forth, and hazarded the voyage for the relief of their American settlements. Those that had the good fortune to arrive on the coast of that continent, were obliged to have recourse to different expedients for escaping the British squadrons stationed at Halifax, or cruising in the bay of St. Laurence. They either ventured to navigate the river before it was clear of the ice, so early in the spring, that the enemy had not yet quitted the harbour of Nova-Scotia; or they waited on the coast of Newfoundland for such thick fogs as might screen them from the notice of the English cruisers, in sailing up the gulf; lastly, they penetrated through the straits of Belleisle, a dangerous passage, which, however, led them directly into the river St. Laurence, at a considerable distance above the station of the British squadron. Though the French navy was by this time so reduced, that it could neither face the English at sea nor furnish proper convoys for commerce, her ministry nevertheless attempted to alarm the subjects of Great Britain with the project of an invasion. Flat-bottomed boats were built, transports collected, large ships of the line equipped, and troops ordered to assemble on the coast for embarkation; but this was no more than a feint to arouse the apprehension of the English, disconcert the administration, prejudice the national credit, and deter the government from sending forces to keep alive the war in Germany. A much more effectual method they took to distress the trade of England, by laying up their useless ships of war, and encouraging the equipment of stout privateers, which did considerable damage to the commerce of Great Britain and Ireland, by cruising in the seas of Europe and America. Some of them lay close in the harbours of the channel, fronting the coast of England, and darted out occasionally on the trading ships of this nation, as they received intelligence from boats employed for that purpose. Some chose their station in the North sea, where a great number of captures were made upon the coast of Scotland; others cruised in the chops of the channel, and even to the westward of Ireland; but the far greater number scoured the seas in the neighbourhood of the Leeward Islands in the West Indies, where they took a prodigious number of British ships, sailing to and from the sugar colonies, and conveyed them to their own settlements in Martinique, Guadeloupe, or St. Domingo.

CONDUCT OF THE KING OF DENMARK.

With respect to the war that raged in Germany, the king of Denmark wisely pursued that course, which happily preserved him from being involved in those troubles by which great part of Europe was agitated, and terminated in that point of national advantage which a king ought ever to have in view for the benefit of his people. By observing a scrupulous neutrality, he enhanced his importance among his neighbours: he saw himself courted by all the belligerent powers: he saved the blood and treasure of his subjects: he received large subsidies, in consideration of his forbearance; and enjoyed, unmolested, a much more considerable share of commerce than he could expect to carry on, even in times of universal tranquillity. He could not perceive that the protestant religion had anything to apprehend from the confederacy which was formed against the Prussian monarch; nor was he misled into all the expense, the perils, and disquiets of a sanguinary war, by that ignis fatuus which hath seduced and impoverished other opulent nations, under the specious title of the balance of power in Germany. Howsoever he might be swayed by private inclination, he did not think it was a point of consequence to his kingdom, whether Pomeranians possessed by Sweden or Prussia; whether the French army was driven back beyond the Rhine, or penetrated once more into the electorate of Hanover: whether the empress-queen was stripped of her remaining possessions in Silesia, or the king of Prussia circumscribed within the original bounds of his dominion. He took it for granted that France, for her own sake, would prevent the ruin of that enterprising monarch; and that the house of Austria would not be so impolitic and blind to its own interest, as to permit the empress of Russia to make and retain conquests in the empire; but even if these powers should be weak enough to sacrifice all the maxims of sound policy to caprice or resentment, he did not think himself so deeply concerned in the event, as for the distant, prospect of what might possibly happen, to plunge headlong into a war that must be attended with certain and immediate disadvantages. True it is, he had no hereditary electorate in Germany that was threatened with invasion; nor, if he had, is it to be supposed that a prince of his sagacity and patriotism would have impoverished his kingdom of Denmark, for the precarious defence of a distant territory. It was reserved for another nation to adopt the pernicious absurdity of wasting its blood and treasure, exhausting its revenues, loading its own back with the most grievous impositions, incurring an enormous debt, big with bankruptcy and ruin; in a word, of expending above an hundred and fifty millions sterling in fruitless efforts to defend a distant country, the entire property of which was never valued at one twentieth part of that sum; a country with which it had no natural connexion, but a common alliance arising from accident. The king of Denmark, though himself a prince of the empire, and possessed of dominions in Germany almost contiguous to the scenes of the present war, did not yet think himself so nearly concerned in the issue, as to declare himself either principal or auxiliary in the quarrel; yet he took care to maintain his forces by sea and land upon a respectable footing; and by this conduct, he not only provided for the security of his own country, but overawed the belligerent powers, who considered him as a prince capable of making either scale preponderate, just as he might choose to trim the balance. Thus he preserved his wealth, commerce, and consequence undiminished; and instead of being harassed as a party, was honoured as an umpire.

The United Provinces, though as adverse as his Danish majesty to any participation in the war, did not, however, so scrupulously observe the neutrality they professed; at least, the traders of that republic, either from an inordinate thirst of lucre, or a secret bias in favour of the enemies of Great Britain, assisted the French commerce with all the appearance of the most flagrant partiality. We have, in the beginning of this year’s transactions, observed, that a great number of their ships were taken by the English cruisers, and condemned as legal prizes for having French property on board: that the Dutch merchants, exasperated by their losses, exclaimed against the English as pirates and robbers, petitioned the states for redress in very high terms, and even loudly clamoured for a war against Great Britain. The charge of violence and injustice, which they brought against the English for taking and confiscating the ships that transported to Europe the produce of the French islands in the West Indies, they founded on the tenth article of the treaty of commerce between Great Britain and the states-general of the United Provinces, concluded in the year one thousand six hundred and sixty-eight, stipulating, “That whatever shall be found on board the ships of the subjects of the United Provinces, though the lading, or part thereof, may belong to the enemies of Great Britain, shall be free and unmolested, except these be prohibited goods, which are to be served in the manner described by the foregoing articles.” From this article the Dutch merchants argued, that, if there be no prohibited goods on board, the English had no right to stop or molest any of their ships, or make the least inquiry to whom the merchandise belonged, whence it was brought, or whither bound. This plea the English casuists would by no means admit, for the following reasons,—a general and perpetual license to carry on the whole trade of their enemy would be such a glaring absurdity, as no convention could authorize: common sense has dictated, and Grotius declared, that no man can be supposed to have consented to an absurdity; therefore, the interpretation given by the Dutch to this article, could not be supposed to be its true and genuine meaning; which, indeed, relates to nothing more than the common course of trade, as it was usually carried on in time of peace. But even should this interpretation be accepted, the article, and the treaty itself, would be superseded and annulled by a subsequent treaty, concluded between the two nations in the year one thousand six hundred and seventy-five, and often confirmed since that period, stipulating, in a secret article, that neither of the contracting parties should give, nor consent, that any of their subjects and inhabitants should give any aid, favour, or counsel, directly or indirectly, by land or sea, or on the fresh waters; nor should furnish, or permit the subjects or inhabitants of their respective territories to furnish, any ships, soldiers, seamen, victuals, monies, instruments of war, gunpowder, or any other necessaries for making war, to the enemies of either party, of any rank or condition soever. Now, the Dutch have infringed this article in many instances during the present war, both in Europe and America; and, as they have so openly contravened one treaty, the English are not obliged to observe another. They, moreover, forfeited all right to the observance of the treaty in question, by refusing the succours with which they were bound, in the most solemn manner, to furnish the king of Great Britain, in case any of his territories in Europe should be attacked: for nothing could be more weak and frivolous than the allegation upon which this refusal was founded, namely, that the hostilities in Europe were commenced by the English, when they seized and confiscated the vessels of France; and they, being the aggressors, had no right to insist upon the succours stipulated in a treaty which was purely defensive. If this argument has any weight, the treaty itself can have no signification. The French, as in the present case, will always commence the war in America; and when their ships, containing reinforcements and stores for the maintenance of that war, shall be taken on the European seas, perhaps in consequence of their being exposed for that purpose, they will exclaim that the English were the aggressors in Europe, consequently deprived of all benefit accruing from the defensive treaty subsisting between them and the states-general of the United Provinces. It being impossible for the English to terminate the war, while their enemies derive the sinews of it from their commerce carried on in neutral bottoms, they are obliged to suppress such collusions, by that necessity which Grotius himself hath allowed to be a sufficient excuse for deviating from the letter of any treaty whatsoever. In time of peace no Dutch ships were permitted to carry the produce of any French sugar island, or even to trade in any of the French ports in America or the West Indies; consequently, the treaty which they quote can never justify them in carrying on a commerce, which, as it did not exist, and was not foreseen, could not possibly be guarded against when that convention was ratified. Grotius, whose authority is held in such veneration among the Dutch, has determined that every nation has a right to seize and confiscate the goods of any neutral power, which shall attempt to carry them into any place which is blocked up by that nation, either by land or sea. The French islands in the West Indies were so blocked up by the English cruisers, that they could receive no relief from their own government, consequently no neutral power could attempt to supply them without falling under this predicament.*

* In the reign of king William, when the English and Dutch were engaged in a war against France, the northern powers of Sweden and Denmark attempted to carry on the French commerce, under the shade of neutrality; but the Dutch and English joined in seizing the vessels that were thus employed. Complaints of these captures were made at London and the Hague, and the complainants were given to understand at both places, that they should not be allowed to carry on any trade with France, but what was usual in time of peace. In consequence of this declaration, Mr. Groning formed the design of writing a treatise on the freedom of navigation, and communicated the plan of his work to the celebrated Puffendorff, who signified his sentiments in a letter, which is preserved by the learned Barbeyrac in his notes upon that author’s treatise on the Law of Nature and Nations.

It was for these reasons that the king of England declared, by the mouth of Mr. Yorke, his minister plenipotentiary at the Hague, in a conference held in the mouth of August with the deputies of the states-general, that though he was ready to concur in every measure that should be proposed for giving satisfaction to their high mightinesses, with whom he had always studied to live in the most perfect union, he was nevertheless determined not to suffer the trade of the French colonies in America to be carried on by the subjects of other powers, under the specious pretext of neutrality: nor to permit words to be interpreted as a license to drive a trade with his enemies, which, though not particularly specified in the articles of contraband, was nevertheless rendered such in all respects, and in every sense, by the nature of the circumstances. It is not at all more surprising that the Dutch merchants should complain, than that the English government should persist in confiscating the ships that were found to contain the merchandise of their enemies. The individual traders of every mercantile nation will run considerable risks in extending their particular commerce, even when they know it must be detrimental to the general interest of their country. In the war maintained by the confederates against Louis XIV. of France, the merchant ships of the Dutch carried on an uninterrupted trade to the French ports; and, notwithstanding the repeated solicitations of England, the states-general could never be prevailed upon to prohibit this commerce, which undoubtedly enabled France to protract the war. The truth is, they gave the British ministry to understand, that unless they connived at this traffic, their subjects could not possibly defray their proportion of the expense at which the war was maintained. It is well known through all Europe, that the subjects of the United Provinces reaped considerable advantage, not only from this branch of illicit trade, but also by providing for both armies in Flanders, and by the practice of stock-jobbing in England; consequently, it was not the interest, either of the states-general, or the English general, between whom there was a very good understanding, to bring that war to a speedy conclusion: nor indeed ought we to fix the imputation of partiality upon a whole nation, for the private conduct of individuals, influenced by motives of self-interest, which co-operate with the same energy in Holland, and among the subjects of Great Britain. In the course of the former war, such a scandalous appetite for gain prevailed in different parts of the British dominions, that the French islands were actually supplied with provisions, slaves, and lumber, from Ireland and the British colonies in North America; and Martinique, in particular, must have surrendered to the commander of the English squadron stationed in those seas, had it not been thus supported by English subjects. Certain it is, the Dutch had some reason to complain that they were decoyed into this species of traffic by the article of a treaty, which, in their opinion, admitted of no limitation; and that the government of Great Britain, without any previous warning, or explaining its sentiments on this subject, swept the sea at once of all their vessels employed in this commerce, and condemned them, without mitigation, to the entire ruin of many thousand families. Considering the intimate connexion of mutual interest subsisting between Great Britain and the states of the United Provinces, they seem to have had some right to an intimation of this nature, which, in all probability, would have induced them to resign all prospect of advantage from the prosecution of such traffic.

CONFERENCES AT THE HAGUE.

Besides the universal clamour excited in Holland, and the famous memorial presented to the states-general, which we have already mentioned in another place, a deputation of merchants waited four times successively on the princess regent to explain their grievances, and demand her concurrence in augmenting the navy for the preservation of their commerce. She promised to interpose her best offices with the court of Great Britain; and these co-operating with representations made by the states-general, the English minister was empowered to open conferences at the Hague, in order to bring all matters in dispute to an amicable accommodation. These endeavours, however, proved ineffectual. The British cruisers continued to take, and the British courts to condemn, all Dutch vessels containing the produce of the French sugar islands. The merchants of Holland and Zealand renewed their complaints with redoubled clamour, and all the trading part of the nation, reinforced by the whole party that opposed the house of Orange, cried aloud for an immediate augmentation of the marine, and reprisals upon the pirates of England. The princess, in order to avoid extremities, was obliged not only to employ all her personal influence with the states-general, but also to play off one faction against another, in the way of remonstrance and exclamation As far back as the month of June, she presented a memorial to the states-general, reminding them, that in the beginning of the war between France and England, she had advised an augmentation should be made in their land-forces, to strengthen the garrisons of the frontier towns, and cover the territories of the republic from invasion. She gave them to understand, that the provinces of Gueldres and Overyssel, intimidated by the proximity of two formidable armies, had resolved to demand that the augmentation of their land-forces should be taken into consideration by the other provinces; and requested her to reinforce their solicitations that this measure might immediately take place. This request, she said, she the more readily granted, as she could not but be sensible of the imminent danger that threatened the republic, especially since the Hanoverian army had passed the Rhine; and as it behoved the state to put itself in a condition to hinder either army from retiring into the territories of the republic, if it should be defeated; for in that case the conqueror, being authorized to pursue his enemy wherever he can find him, would bring the war into the heart of their country. This representation had no other effect than that of suspending the measure which each party proposed. The princess, in her answer to the fourth deputation of the merchants, declared that she beheld the present state of their trade with the most anxious concern; that its want of protection was not her fault, but that of the towns of Dort, Haerlem, Amsterdam, Torgau, Rotterdam, and the Brille, to whose conduct it was owing, that the forces of the state, by sea and land, were not now on a better footing. The deputies were afterwards referred to her minister, M. de la Larrey, to whom they represented, that the augmentation of the land-forces, and the equipment of a fleet, were matters as distinct from each other as light from darkness; that there was no pressing motive for an augmentation of the army, whereas, innumerable reasons rendered the equipment of a fleet a matter of the most urgent necessity. In a few days after this representation was made, the princess, in an assembly of the states-general, requested their high mightinesses, that, seeing their earnest and repeated efforts to induce the provinces of Holland, Zealand, Friesland, and West Friesland, to acquiesce in the proposed augmentation of forces by sea and land, had not hitherto met with success, they would now consider and deliberate upon some expedient for terminating this affair, and the sooner the better, in order on one hand to satisfy the strong and well-grounded instances made by the provinces of Gueldres, Utrecht, Overyssel, and Groningen; and, on the other, to comply with the ardent and just desires expressed by the commercial inhabitants of the country. She told them, that the deputation which waited on her consisted of forty merchants, a number that merited attention, no less than the speech they pronounced, of which a great number of printed copies were distributed through all parts of the country. Without making any particular remarks on the harangue, she only observed, that the drift of it did not tend to facilitate the negotiation begun with Great Britain, nor to induce the nation to prefer a convention to a rupture with that crown. From this circumstance she inferred, it was more than time to finish the deliberations on the proposal for augmenting the forces both by sea and land; a measure, without which, she was convinced in her conscience, the state was, and would always remain, exposed to all sorts of misfortune and danger both now and hereafter.

In consequence of this interposition, the states-general that same day sent a letter to the states of Holland and West Friesland, communicating the sentiments of the princess-regent, and insisting upon the necessity of complying with her proposal of the double augmentation. They observed, that an augmentation of the land-forces, for the defence of the frontiers, was unavoidable, as well as an equipment by sea for the security of commerce: that the states of the provinces of Gueldres, Utrecht, Overyssel, and Groningen, joined with them in the same opinion; and accordingly had insisted, by divers letters and propositions, on those two points so essential to the public interest. They represented the danger of delay, and the fatal effects of discord; they proposed, that by a reciprocal indulgence one party should comply with the sentiments of the other, in order to avoid a schism and dangerous division among the confederates, the consequences of which would be very deplorable; while the republic, in the meantime, would remain in a defenceless condition, both by sea and land, and depend upon the arbitrary power of its neighbours. They conjured them, therefore, as they valued the safety of their country, and all that was dear to them; as they regarded the protection of the good inhabitants, the concord and harmony which at all times but especially at the present critical juncture, was of the last necessity, that they would seriously reflect upon the exhortations of her royal highness, as well as on the repeated instances of the majority of the confederates, and take a wise and salutary resolution with regard to the proposed augmentation of the land-forces, so that this addition, together with an equipment at sea, might, the sooner the better, be unanimously brought to a conclusion. It was undoubtedly the duty of all who wished well to their country, to moderate the heat and precipitation of those, who, provoked by their losses, and stimulated by resentment, endeavoured at this period to involve their nation in a war with Great Britain. Had matters been pushed to this extremity, in a few months the republic would, in all probability, have been brought to the brink of ruin. The Dutch were distracted by internal divisions; they were altogether unprovided for hostilities by sea; the ocean was covered with their trading vessels; and the naval armaments of Great Britain were so numerous and powerful, as to render all resistance on that element equally vain and pernicious. The English could not only have scoured the seas, and made prize of their shipping, but were also in a condition to reduce or demolish all their towns in Zealand, where they would hardly have met with any opposition.

CHAPTER XVI.

Domestic Occurrences in Great Britain..... Trials of Dr. Hensey and Shebbeare..... Institution of the Magdalen Asylum..... Society for the encouragement of Arts..... Session opened..... New Treaty with the King of Prussia..... Supplies granted..... The King’s Message to the Commons..... Bill relating to ihe Distillery, and the Exportation of Corn..... Petition from the Justices of Norfolk—-Bill for the Importation of salted Beef from Treland continued..... Regulations with respect to Privateers..... New Militia Laws..... Act for the Relief of Debtors revived..... Bills for the Importation of Irish Beef and Tallow..... Act relative to Milford-Haven..... Bill relative to the Duty on Pensions..... Act relative to the Duty on Plate..... Cambric Act..... Unsuccessful Bills..... Case of the Insolvent Debtors..... Case of Cant. Walker..... Remarks on the Bankrupt Laws..... Inquiry into the State of the Poor..... Regulations of Weights and Measures..... Resolutions concerning the Foundling Hospital..... Messages from the King to the Parliament..... Session closed..... Preparations for War..... Death of the Princess of Orange and Princess Elizabeth Caroline..... Examples made of Pirates..... Accounts of some remarkable Murders..... Murder of Daniel Clarke..... Majority of the Prince of Wales..... Resolutions concerning a new Bridge at Blackfriars..... Pire in Cornhill..... Method contrived to find out the Longitude..... Installation at Oxford..... Deplorable Incident at Sea..... Captures made by separate Cruisers..... Captain Hood takes the Bellona..... and Captain Barrington the Count do St. Florentin..... Captain Falkner takes a French East Indiaman..... Prize taken in the West Indies..... Engagement between the Hercules and the Florissant..... Havre-de-Grace bombarded by Admiral Rodney..... Admiral Boscawen defeats M. de la Clue..... Preparations made by the French for invading England..... Account of Thurot..... French Fleet sails from Brest..... Admiral Hawke defeats M. de Conflans..... Proceedings of the Irish Parliament..... Loyalty of the Irish-Catholics..... Dangerous Insurrection in Dublin..... Alarm of a Descent in Scotland

While the operations of the war were prosecuted through the four quarters of the globe, the island of Great Britain, which may be termed the centre that gave motion to this vast machine, enjoyed all the tranquillity of the most profound peace, and saw nothing of war but the preparations and trophies, which served only to animate the nation to a desire of further conquest; for the dejection occasioned by the misfortune at St. Cas soon vanished before the prospect of victory and success. Considering the agitation naturally produced among the common people, by the practice of pressing men into the service of the navy, which, in the beginning of the year, had been carried on with unusual violence, the levy of so many new corps of soldiers, and the endeavours used in forming the national militia, very few disturbances happened to interrupt the internal repose of the nation. From private acts of malice, fraud, violence, and rapine, no community whatsoever is exempted. In the month of April, the temporary wooden bridge over the Thames, built for the conveniency of carriages and passengers, while the workmen should be employed in widening and repairing London bridge, was maliciously set on fire in the night, and continued burning till noon next day, when the ruins of it fell into the river. The destruction of this conveniency proved very detrimental to the commerce of the city, notwithstanding the vigilancy and discretion of the magistrates, in applying remedies for this misfortune. A promise of the king’s pardon was offered in a public advertisement, by the secretary of state, and a reward of two hundred pounds by the city of London, to any person who should discover the perpetrator of such wicked outrage; but nevertheless he escaped detection. No individual, nor any society of men, could have the least interest in the execution of such a scheme, except the body of London watermen; but as no discovery was made to the prejudice of any person belonging to that society, the deed was imputed to the malice of some secret enemy to the public. Even after a new temporary bridge was erected, another attempt was made (in all probability by the same incendiary) to reduce the whole to ashes, but happily miscarried, and a guard was appointed to prevent any such atrocious efforts in the sequel. Dangerous tumults were raised in and about Manchester, by a prodigious number of manufacturers who had left off working, and entered into a combination to raise, by force, the price of their labour. They had formed a regular plan, and collected large sums for the maintenance of the poorer sort, while they refused to work for their families. They insulted and abused all those who would not join in this defection, dispersed incendiary letters; and denounced terrible threats against all such as should presume to oppose their proceedings. But these menaces had no effect upon the magistrates and justices, who did their duty with such discretion and courage, that the ringleaders being singled out and punished by law, the rest were soon reduced to order.

TRIALS OF DRS. HENSEY AND SHEBBEARE

In the month of June, Florence Hensey, an obscure physician, and native of Ireland, who had been apprehended for treasonable practices, was tried in the court of king’s-bench, on an indictment for high treason. In the course of the trial it appeared that he had been employed as a spy for the French ministry; to which, in consideration of a paltry pension, he sent intelligence of every material occurrence in Great Britain. The correspondence was managed by his brother, a Jesuit, who acted as chaplain and secretary to the Spanish ambassador at the Hague. The British resident at that court having learned from the Spanish minister some secrets relating to England, even before they were communicated to him from the English ministry, was induced to set on foot an inquiry touching the source of this information, and soon received an assurance, that the secretary of the Spanish ambassador had a brother, a physician in London. The suspicion naturally arising from this circumstance being imparted to the ministry of England, Hensey was narrowly watched, and twenty-nine of his letters were intercepted. From the contents of these he was convicted of having given the French court the first notice of the expedition to North America, the capture of the two ships, the Alcide and Lys, the sailing and destination of every squadron and armament, and the difficulties that occurred in raising money for the service of the public. He had even informed them, that the secret expedition of the foregoing year was intended against Eochefort, and advised a descent upon Great Britain, at a certain time and place, as the most effectual method of distressing the government, and affecting the public credit. After a long trial he was found guilty of treason, and received the sentence of death usually pronounced on such occasions; but whether he earned forgiveness by some material discovery, or the minister found him so insensible and insignificant that he was ashamed to take his life, he escaped execution, and was pardoned, on condition of going into perpetual exile. The severity of the government was much about the same period exercised on Dr. Shebbeare, a public writer, who, in a series of printed letters to the people of England, had animadverted on the conduct of the ministry in the most acrimonious terms, stigmatized some great names with all the virulence of censure, and even assaulted the throne itself with oblique insinuation and ironical satire. The ministry, incensed at the boldness, and still more enraged at the success of this author, whose writings were bought with avidity by the public, determined to punish him severely for his arrogance and abuse, and he was apprehended by a warrant from the secretary’s office. His sixth letter to the people of England was pitched upon as the foundation of a prosecution. After a short trial in the court of king’s bench, he was found guilty of having written the sixth letter to the people of England, adjudged a libellous pamphlet, sentenced to stand in the pillory, to pay a small fine, to be imprisoned three years, and give security for his future good behaviour; so that, in effect, this good man suffered more for having given vent to the unguarded effusions of mistaken zeal, couched in the language of passion and scurrility, than was inflicted upon Hensey, a convicted traitor, who had acted as spy for France, and betrayed his own country for hire.

INSTITUTION OF THE MAGDALEN AND OTHER ASYLUMS.

Amidst a variety of crimes and disorders, arising from impetuosity of temper, unreined passions, luxury, extravagance, and an almost total want of police and subordination, the virtues of benevolence are always springing up to an extraordinary growth in the British soil; and here charities are often established by the humanity of individuals, which in any other country would be honoured as national institutions: witness the great number of hospitals and infirmaries in London and Westminster, erected and maintained by voluntary contributions, or raised by the princely donations of private founders. In the course of this year the public began to enjoy the benefit of several admirable institutions. Mr. Henry Baine, a private gentleman of Middlesex, had, in his lifetime, built and endowed an hospital for the maintenance of forty poor maidens. By his will he bequeathed a certain sum of money to accumulate at interest, under the management of trustees, until the yearly produce should amount to two hundred and ten pounds, to be given in marriage portions to two of the maidens educated in his hospital, at the age of twenty-two, who should be the best recommended for piety and industry by the masters or mistresses whom they had served. In the month of March, the sum destined for this laudable purpose was completed: when the trustees, by public advertisement, summoned the maidens educated in the hospital to appear on a certain day, with proper certificates of their behaviour and circumstances, that six of the most deserving might be selected to draw lots for the prize of one hundred pounds, to be paid as her marriage portion, provided she married a man of an unblemished character, a member of the church of England, residing within certain specified parishes, and approved by the trustees. Accordingly, on the first of May the candidates appeared, and the prize being gained by one young woman, in presence of a numerous assembly of all ranks, attracted by curiosity, the other five maidens, with a sixth, added in lieu of her who had been successsful, were marked for a second chance on the same day of the following year, when a second prize of the same value would be presented: thus a new candidate will be added every year, that every maiden who has been educated in this hospital, and preserved her character without reproach, may have a chance for the noble donation, which is also accompanied with the sum of five pounds to defray the expense of the wedding entertainment. One scarce knows whether most to admire the plan, or commend the humanity of this excellent institution.—Of equal and perhaps superior merit was another charitable establishment, which also took effect about this period. A small number of humane individuals, chiefly citizens of London, deeply affected with the situation of common prostitutes, who are certainly the most forlorn of all human creatures, formed a generous resolution in their favour, such as even the best men of the kingdom had never before the courage to avow. They considered that many of these unhappy creatures, so wretched in themselves, and so productive of mischief to society, had been seduced to vice in their tender years by the perfidious artifice of the other sex, or the violence of unruly passion, before they had acquired experience to guard against the one, or foresight to perceive the fatal consequences of the other; that the jewel, reputation, being thus irretrievably lost, perhaps in one unguarded moment, they were covered with shame and disgrace, abandoned by their families, excluded from all pity, regard, and assistance; that, stung by self-conviction, insulted with reproach, denied the privilege of penitence and contrition, cut off from all hope, impelled by indigence, and maddened by despair, they had plunged into a life of infamy, in which they were exposed to deplorable vicissitudes of misery, and the most excruciating pangs of reflection that any human being could sustain; that whatever remorse they might feel, howsoever they might detest their own vice, or long for an opportunity of amendment, they were entirely destitute of all means of reformation. They were not only deprived of all possibility of profiting by those precious moments of repentance, and becoming again useful members of society; but, in order to earn a miserable subsistence, were obliged to persevere in the paths of prostitution, and act as the instruments of heaven’s vengeance in propagating distemper and profligacy, in ruining the bodies and debauching the minds of their fellow-creatures. Moved to sympathy and compassion by these considerations, this virtuous band of associates determined to provide a comfortable asylum for female penitents, to which they might fly for shelter from the receptacles of vice, the miseries of life, and the scorn of mankind; where they might indulge the salutary sentiments of remorse, make their peace with heaven, accustom themselves to industry and temperance, and be profitably reunited to society, from which they had been so unhappily dissevered. The plan of this excellent institution being formed, was put in execution by means of voluntary subscription, and the house opened in Goodman ‘s-fields, under the name of the Magdalen-hospital, in the month of August, when fifty petitions were presented by penitent prostitutes, soliciting admittance. Another asylum was also opened by the hand of private charity, on the Surrey-side of Westminster-bridge, for the reception and education of female orphans, and children abandoned by their parents.

SOCIETY FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF ARTS.

Nor was encouragement refused to those who distinguished themselves by extraordinary talents in any branch of the liberal and useful arts and sciences, though no Maecenas appeared among the ministers, and not the least ray of patronage glimmered from the throne. The protection, countenance, and gratification secured in other countries by the institution of academies, and the liberalities of princes, the ingenious in England derived from the generosity of a public, endued with taste and sensibility, eager for improvement, and proud of patronising extraordinary merit. Several years had already elapsed since a society of private persons was instituted at London, for the encouragement of arts, manufactures, and commerce. It consisted of a president, vice-president, secretary, register, collector, and other officers, elected from a very considerable number of members, who pay a certain yearly contribution for the purposes of the institution. In the course of every year they held eight general meetings in a large assembly-room, built and furnished at the common expense; besides the ordinary meetings of the society, held every week, from the second Wednesday in November to the last Wednesday in May; and in the intermediate time, on the first and third Wednesday of every month. At these ordinary meetings, provided the number then present exceeded ten, the members had a right to proceed on business, and power to appoint such committees as they should think necessary. The money contributed by this association, after the necessary expense of the society had been deducted, was expended in premiums for planting and husbandry; for discoveries and improvements in chemistry, dying, and mineralogy; for promoting the ingenious arts of drawing, engraving, casting, painting, statuary, and sculpture; for the improvement of manufactures and machines, in the various articles of hats, crapes, druggets, mills, marbled-paper, ship-blocks, spinning-wheels, toys, yarn, knitting, and weaving. They likewise allotted sums for the advantage of the British colonies in America, and bestowed premiums on those settlers who should excel in curing cochineal, planting logwood-trees, cultivating olive-trees, producing myrtle-wax, making potash, preserving raisins, curing saffiour, making silk and wines, importing sturgeon, preparing isinglass, planting hemp and cinnamon, extracting opium and the gum of the persimon-tree, collecting stones of the mango, which should be found to vegetate in the West Indies; raising silk-grass, and laying out provincial gardens. They moreover allowed a gold medal in honour of him who should compose the best treatise on the arts of peace, containing an historical account of the progressive improvements of agriculture, manufactures, and commerce in the kingdom of England, with the effects of those improvements on the morals and manners of the people, and pointing out the most proper means for their future advancement. In a word, the society is so numerous, the contributions so considerable, the plan so judiciously laid, and executed with such discretion and spirit, as to promise much more effectual and extensive advantage to the public than ever accrued from all the boasted academies of Christendom. The artists of London had long maintained a private academy for improvement in the art of drawing from living figures; but in order to extend this advantage, which was not attained without difficulty and expense, the duke of Richmond, a young nobleman of the most amiable character, provided a large apartment at Whitehall, for the use of those who studied the arts of painting, sculpture, and engraving; and furnished it with a collection of original plaster casts from the best antique statues and busts at Rome and Florence. Here any learner had liberty to draw, or make models, under the eye and instructions of two eminent artists and twice a year the munificent founder bestowed premiums of silver medals on the four pupils who excelled the rest in drawing from a certain figure, and making the best model of it in basso-relievo. 479 [See note 3 R, at the end of this Vol.]

On the twenty-third day of November both houses of parliament met at Westminster, when his majesty being indisposed, the session was opened by commission, and the lord-keeper harangued them to this effect. He told them, his majesty had directed the lords of the commission to assure his parliament that he always received the highest satisfaction in being able to lay before them any event that might promote the honour and interests of his kingdoms; that in consequence of their advice, and enabled by the assistance which they unanimously gave, his majesty had exerted his endeavours to carry on the war in the most vigorous manner, in order to attain that desirable end, always to be wished, a safe and honourable peace:* that it had pleased the Divine Providence to bless his measures and arms with success in several parts, and to make the enemies of the nation feel, that the strength of Great Britain is not to be provoked with impunity: that the conquest of the strong fortress of Louisbourg, with the islands of Cape-Breton and St. John; the demolition of Frontenac, of the highest importance to his operations in America, and the reduction of Senegal, could not fail to bring great distress on the French commerce and colonies, and, in proportion, to procure great advantages to those of Great Britain.

* In the month of August, the king, in quality of elector of Hanover, having occasion for two hundred thousand pounds, a loan by subscription for that sum was opened at the bank, and filled immediately by seven or eight money-dealers of London.

He observed, that France had also been made sensible, that whilst her forces are sent forth to invade and ravage the dominions of her neighbours, her own coasts are not inaccessible to his majesty’s fleets and armies—a truth which she had experienced in the demolition of the works at Cherbourg, erected at a great expense, with a particular view to annoy England, as well as in the loss of a great number of ships and vessels; but no treatment, however injurious to his majesty, could tempt him to make retaliation on the innocent subjects of that crown. He told them, that in Germany his majesty’s good brother the king of Prussia, and prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, had found full employment for the enemies of France and her confederates, from which the English operations, both by sea and in America, had derived the most evident advantage: their successes owing, under God, to their able conduct, and the bravery of his majesty’s troops, and those of his allies, having been signal and glorious. The king, moreover, commanded them to declare, that the common cause of liberty and independency was still making noble and glorious efforts against the unnatural union formed to oppress it: that the commerce of his subjects, the source of national riches, had, by the vigilant protection received from his majesty’s fleet, flourished in a manner not to be paralleled during such troubles. In this state of things, he said, the king in his wisdom thought it unnecessary to use many words to persuade them to bear up against all difficulties, effectually to stand by and defend his majesty, vigorously to support the king of Prussia and the rest of his majesty’s allies, and to exert themselves to reduce their enemies to equitable terms of accommodation. He observed to the house of commons, that the uncommon extent of this war, in different parts, occasioned it to be uncommonly expensive: that the king had ordered them to declare to the commons, that he sincerely lamented, and deeply felt, for the burdens of his people: that the several estimates were ordered to be laid before them: and that he desired only such supplies as should be requisite to push the war with advantage, and be adequate to the necessary services. In the last place, he assured them the king took so much satisfaction in that good harmony which subsisted among his faithful subjects, that it was more proper for him now to thank them for it, than to repeat his exhortation to it: that this union, necessary at all times, was more especially so in such critical conjunctures; and his majesty doubted not but the good effects the nation had found from it would be the strongest motives to them to pursue it.—The reader will, no doubt, be surprised to find this harangue abound with harshness of period and inelegancy of expression; he will wonder that, in particularizing the successes of the year in America, no mention is made of the reduction of fort Du Quesne on the river Ohio; a place of great importance, both from its strength and situation, the erection of which had been one great motive to the war between the two nations; but he will be still more surprised to hear it declared from the throne, that the operations, both by sea and in America, had derived the most evident advantage from the war in Germany. An assertion the more extraordinary, as the British ministry, in their answer to the Parallel, which we have already mentioned, had expressly affirmed, that “none but such as are unacquainted with the maritime force of England can believe, that without a diversion on the continent, to employ part of the enemy’s force, she is not in a condition to hope for success and maintain her superiority at sea. That they must be very ignorant indeed, who imagine that the forces of England are not able to resist those of France unless the latter be hindered from turning all her efforts to the sea.” It is very remarkable that the British ministry should declare that the war in Germany was favourable to the English operations by sea and in America, and almost in the same breath accuse the French king of having fomented that war. Let us suppose that France had no war to maintain in Europe; and ask in what manner she, in that case, would have opposed the progress of the British arms by sea and in America? Her navy was reduced to such a condition that it durst not quit her harbours; her merchant ships were all taken, her mariners confined in England, and the sea was covered with British cruisers: in these circumstances, what expedients could she have contrived for sending supplies and reinforcements to America, or for opposing the naval armaments of Great Britain in any other part of the world?—None. Without ships and mariners, her troops, ammunition, and stores were, in this respect, as useless as money to a man shipwrecked on a desolate island. But granting that the war in Germany had, in some measure, diverted the attention of the French ministry from the prosecution of their operations in America, (and this is granting more than ought to be allowed,) the question is not, Whether the hostilities upon the continent of Europe prevented France from sending a greater number of troops to Canada; but whether the war in Germany was either necessary or expedient for distressing the French more effectually in other parts of the world? Surely every intelligent man of candour must answer in the negative. The expense incurred by England for subsidies and armies in the empire exceeded three millions sterling annually; and this enormous expense, without being able to protect Hanover, only served to keep the war alive in different parts of Germany. Had one half of this sum been employed in augmenting and extending the naval armaments of Great Britain, and in reinforcing her troops in America and the West Indies, France would have been, at this day, deprived of all her sugar colonies, as well as of her settlements on the continent of America; and being absolutely cut off from these sources of wealth, would have found it impracticable either to gratify her subsidiaries, or to maintain such formidable armies to annoy her neighbours. These are truths, which will appear to the conviction of the public, when the illusive spells of unsubstantial victory are dissolved, and time shall have dispersed the thick mists of prejudice which now seem to darken and perplex the understanding of the people.

NEW TREATY WITH THE KING OF PRUSSIA.

The conduct of the administration was so agreeable to both houses of parliament, that in their address to the throne they expressed their unshaken zeal and loyalty to his majesty’s person, congratulated him on the success of his arms, and promised to support his measures and allies with steadiness and alacrity. *

* That the charge of disaffection to the king’s person, which was so loudly trumpeted by former ministers and their adherents against those who had honesty and courage to oppose the measures of a weak and corrupt administration, was entirely false and without foundation, appeared at this juncture, when in the midst of a cruel, oppressive, and continental war, maintained by the blood and treasure of Great Britain, all opposition ceased in both houses of parliament. The addresses of thanks to his majesty, which are always dictated by the immediate servants of the crown, were unanimously adopted in both houses, and not only couched in terms of applause, but even inflated with expressions of rapture and admiration. They declared themselves sensible, that the operations of Great Britain, both by sea and in America, had received the most evident and important advantages from the maintenance of the war in Germany, and seemed eager to espouse any measure that might gratify the inclination of the sovereign.

It was probably in consequence of this assurance that a new treaty between Great Britain and Prussia was concluded at London on the seventh day of December, importing, That as the burdensome war in which the king of Prussia is engaged, lays him under the necessity of making fresh efforts to defend himself against the multitude of enemies who attack his dominions, he is obliged to take new measures with the king of England, for their reciprocal defence and safety; and his Britannic majesty hath at the same time signified his earnest desire to strengthen the friendship subsisting between the two courts; and, in consequence thereof, to conclude a formal convention, for granting to his Prussian majesty speedy and powerful assistance, their majesties have nominated and authorized their ministers to concert and settle the following articles:—All formal treaties between the two crowns, particularly that signed at Westminster on the sixteenth day of January in the year 1756, and the convention of the eleventh of April in the year 1758, are confirmed by the present convention of the eleventh of April in the year 1758, in their whole tenor, as if they were herein inserted word for word. The king of Great Britain shall cause to be paid at London, to such person or persons as shall be authorized by the king of Prussia for that end, the sum of four millions of rix-dollars, making six hundred and seventy thousand pounds sterling, at one payment, immediately on the exchange of the ratification, if the king of Prussia should so require. His Prussian majesty shall employ the said sum in supporting and augmenting his forces, which shall act in such manner as shall be of the greatest service to the common cause, and contribute most to the mutual defence and safety of their said majesties. The king of Great Britain, both as king and elector, and the king of Prussia, reciprocally bind themselves not to conclude with the powers that have taken part in the present war, any treaty of peace, truce, or other such like convention, but by common advice and consent, each expressly including therein the other. The ratification of the present convention shall be exchanged within six weeks, or sooner, if possible. In effect, this treaty was no other than a renewal of the subsidy from year to year, because it was not thought proper to stipulate in the first subsidiary convention an annual supply of such importance until the war should be terminated, lest the people of England should be alarmed at the prospect of such successive burdens, and the complaisance of the commons be in some future session exhausted. On the whole, this was perhaps the most extraordinary treaty that ever was concluded; for it contains no specification of articles, except the payment of the subsidy; every other article was left to the interpretation of his Prussian majesty.

SUPPLIES GRANTED.

The parliament, having performed the ceremony of addresses to the throne, immediately proceeded to the great work of the supply. The two committees in the house of commons were immediately established, and continued by adjournments to the month of May, by the twenty-third day of which all their resolutions were taken. They voted sixty thousand men, including fourteen thousand eight hundred and forty-five marines, for the service of the ensuing year; and for the operations by land, a body of troops amounting to fifty-two thousand five hundred and fifty-three effective men, besides the auxiliaries of Hanover, Hesse, Brunswick, Saxe-Gotha, and Buckebourg, to the number of fifty thousand, and five battalions on the Irish establishment in actual service in America and Africa. For the maintenance of the sixty thousand men employed in the sea-service, they granted three millions one hundred and twenty thousand pounds; for the land-forces, one million two hundred and fifty-six thousand one hundred and thirty pounds, fifteen shillings and two-pence; for the charge of the additional five battalions, forty thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine pounds, thirteen shillings and nine-pence; for the pay of the general and staff-officers, and hospitals of the land-forces, fifty-two thousand four hundred and eighty-four pounds one shilling and eight-pence; for maintaining the garrisons in the Plantations, Gibraltar, Nova-Scotia, Newfoundland, Providence, Cape-Breton, and Senegal, the sum of seven hundred and forty-two thousand five hundred and thirty-one pounds, five shillings and seven-pence; for the charge of ordnance for land-service, two hundred and twenty thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine pounds, eleven shillings and nine-pence; for extraordinary service performed by the same office, and not provided for by parliament in the course of the preceding year, three hundred and twenty-three thousand nine hundred and eighty-seven pounds, thirteen shillings and three-ponce; for the ordinary of the navy, including half-pay to sea-officers, two hundred and thirty-eight thousand four hundred and ninety-one pounds, nine shillings and eight-pence; towards the support of Greenwich-hospital, and for the out-pensioners of Chelsea-college, the sum of thirty-six thousand pounds. They allotted for one year’s expense, incurred by the foreign troops in the pay of Great Britain, one million two hundred thirty-eight thousand one hundred and seventy-seven pounds, nineteen shillings and ten-pence, over and above sixty thousand pounds for enabling his majesty to fulfil his engagements with the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, pursuant to the separate article of a new treaty concluded between them in the month of January of this current year, stipulating, that this sum should be paid to his serene highness in order to facilitate the means by which he might again fix his residence in his own dominions, and by his presence give fresh courage to his faithful subjects. Eighty thousand pounds were granted for enabling his majesty to discharge the like sum raised in pursuance of an act passed in the preceding session, and charged upon the first aids or supplies to be granted in this session of parliament. The sum of two hundred thousand pounds was voted towards the building and repairing ships of war for the ensuing year. Fifteen thousand pounds were allowed for improving London bridge; and forty thousand on account, for the Foundling-hospital. For the charge of transports to be employed in the course of the year they assigned six hundred sixty seven thousand seven hundred and twenty-one pounds nineteen shillings and seven-pence: for maintaining the colonies of Nova-Scotia and Georgia they bestowed twenty-five thousand two hundred and thirty-eight pounds thirteen shillings and five-pence. To replace sums taken from the sinking fund, thirty-three thousand two hundred and fifty-two pounds eighteen shillings and ten-pence halfpenny; for maintaining the British forts and settlements en the coast of Africa, ten thousand pounds, and for paying off the mortgage on an estate devised for the endowment of a professorship in the university of Cambridge, the sum of twelve hundred and eighty pounds. For the expence of the militia they voted ninety thousand pounds: for extraordinary expenses relating to the land-forces, incurred in the course of last year, and unprovided for by parliament, the sum of four hundred fifty-six thousand seven hundred and eighty-five pounds ten shillings and five-pence three farthings. For the purchase of certain lands and hereditaments, in order to secure the king’s docks at Portsmouth, Chatham, and Plymouth, they granted thirty-six thousand nine hundred and sixty-six pounds two shillings and ten-pence. They voted two hundred thousand pounds for enabling his majesty to give proper compensation to the respective provinces in North-America, for the expenses that had been incurred in levying and maintaining troops for the service of the public. They granted twenty thousand pounds to the East-India company, towards enabling them to defray the expense of a military force in their settlements: and the same sum was granted for carrying on the fortification to secure the harbour of Milford. To make good several sums issued by his majesty, for indemnifying the inn-holders and victuallers of Hampshire for the expenses they had incurred in quartering the Hessian auxiliaries in England; for an addition to the salaries of judges, and other less considerable purposes, they allowed the sum of twenty-six thousand one hundred and seventy-eight pounds sixteen shillings and six-pence. Finally, they voted one million, upon account, for enabling the king to defray any extraordinary expense of the war, incurred, or to be incurred, for the service of the current year; and to take all such measures as might be necessary to disappoint or defeat any enterprises or designs of his enemies, as the exigency of affairs should require. The sum of all the grants voted by the committee of supply, amounted to twelve millions seven hundred sixty-one thousand three hundred and ten pounds nineteen shillings and five-pence.

KING’S MESSAGE TO THE COMMONS.

The commons were still employed in deliberations on ways and means on the twenty-second day of May, when Mr. secretary Pitt communicated to them a message from the king, couched in these terms: “His majesty, relying on the experienced zeal and affection of his faithful commons, and considering that, in this critical conjuncture, emergencies may arise, which may be of the utmost importance, and be attended with the most pernicious consequences, if proper means should not immediately be applied to prevent or defeat them, is desirous that this house will enable him to defray any extraordinary expenses of the war, incurred, or to be incurred, for the service of the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine, and to take all such measures as may be necessary to disappoint or defeat any enterprises or designs of his enemies, and as the exigencies of affairs may require.” This message being read, a motion was made, and agreed to nem. con. that it should be referred to the committee, who forthwith formed upon it the resolution, whereby one million was granted, to be raised by loans or exchequer bills, chargeable on the first aids that should be given in the next session. This produced a bill enabling his majesty to raise the sum of one million, for the uses and purposes therein mentioned, comprehending a clause, allowing the Bank of England to advance on the credit of the loan therein mentioned any sum not exceeding a million, notwithstanding the act of the fifth and sixth year in the reign of William and Mary, by which the bank was established.

BILLS RELATING TO THE DISTILLERY, &c.

The bills relating solely to the supply being discussed and expedited, the house proceeded, as usual, to an act other laws for the advantage of the community. Petitions having been presented by the cities of Bristol and New-Sarum, alleging, that since the laws prohibiting the making of low wines and spirits from grain, meal, and flour, had been in force, the commonalty appeared more sober, healthy, and industrious: representing the ill consequences which they apprehended would attend the repeal of these laws, and therefore praying their continuance. A committee of the whole house resolved that the prohibition to export corn should be continued to the twenty-fourth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty nine; subject nevertheless to such provisions for shortening the said term of its continuance as should therefore be made by an act of that session, or by his majesty with the advice of his privy-council during the recess of parliament; that the act for discontinuing the duties upon corn and flour imported, or brought in as prize, was not proper to be further continued; and that the prohibition to make low wines or spirits from any sort of grain, meal, or flour, should be continued to the twenty-fourth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine. Before the bill was formed on these resolutions, petitions arrived from Liverpool and Bath, to the same purport as those of Bristol and Sarum: while on the other hand, a remonstrance was presented by a great number of the malt-distillers of the city and suburbs of London, alleging, that it having been deemed expedient to prohibit the distilling of spirits from any sort of grain, to the twenty-fourth day of December then instant, some of the petitioners had entirely ceased to carry on the business of distilling, while others, merely with a view to preserve their customers, the compound distillers, and employ some of their servants, horses, and utensils, had submitted to carry on the distillation of spirits from molasses and sugars under great disadvantages, in full hope that the restraint would cease at the expiration of the limited time, or at least when the necessity which occasioned that restraint should be removed; that it was with great concern they observed a bill would be brought in for protracting the said prohibition, at a time when the price of all manner of grain, and particularly of wheat and barley, was considerably reduced, and, as they humbly conceived, at a reasonable medium. They expatiated on the great loss they, as well as many traders and artificers dependent upon them, must sustain in case the said bill should be passed into a law. They prayed the house to take these circumstances into consideration, and either permit them to carry on the distillation from wheat, malt, and other grain, under such restrictions as should be judged necessary; or to grant them such other relief, in respect of their several losses and incumbrances, as to the house shall seem reasonable and expedient. This petition, though strenuously urged by a powerful and clamorous body without doors, did not meet great encouragement within. It was ordered to lie upon the table, and an instruction was given to the committee, empowering them to receive a clause or clauses to allow the transportation of certain quantities of meal, flour, bread, and biscuit, to the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, for the sole use of the inhabitants; and another to prohibit the making of low wines and spirits from bran. Much more attention was paid to a petition of several farmers in the county of Norfolk, representing, that their farms consisted chiefly of arable land, which produced much greater quantities of corn than could be consumed within that county; that in the last harvest there was a great and plentiful crop of all sorts of grain, the greatest part of which had by unfavourable weather been rendered unfit for sale at London, or other markets for home consumption; that large quantities of malt were then lying at London, arising chiefly from the crops of barley growing in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, the sale of which was stagnated; that the petitioners being informed the house had ordered in a bill to continue the prohibition of corn exported, they begged leave to observe, that, should it pass into a law, it would be extremely prejudicial to all, and ruin many farmers of that county, as they had offered their corn for sale at divers ports and markets of the said county: but the merchants refused to buy it at any price, alleging, its being unfit for the London market, the great quantity of corn with which that market was already overstocked, and their not being allowed either to export it or make it into malt for exportation. They therefore prayed this prohibition might be removed, or they the petitioners indulged with some other kind of relief. Although this remonstrance was duly considered, the bill passed with the amendments because of the proviso, by which his majesty in council was empowered to shorten the date of the prohibition with respect to the exportation of corn during the recess of parliament; but the temporary restraint laid upon distillation was made absolute, without any such condition, to the no small disappointment and mortification of the distillers, who had spared no pains and expense by private solicitation, and strenuous dispute in the public papers, to recommend their cause to the favour of the community. They urged that malt-spirits, when used in moderation, far from being prejudicial to the health of individuals, were in many damp and marshy parts of the kingdom absolutely necessary for preserving the field labourers from agues and other distempers produced by the cold and moisture of the climate; that if they were debarred the use of malt-spirits, they would have recourse to French brandy, with which, as they generally reside near the sea-coast, the smugglers would provide them almost as cheap as the malt-spirits could be afforded: thus the increased consumption of French spirit would drain the nation of ready money to a considerable amount, and prejudice the king’s revenue in the same proportion. They observed, that many distillers had already quitted that branch of trade and disposed of their materials; that all of them would probably take the same resolutions should the bill pass into a law, as no man could foresee when the prohibition would cease, should it be continued at a time when all sorts of grain abounded in such plenty, that the very waste of materials by disuse, over and above the lying out of the money, would be of great prejudice to the proprietor: thus the business of distilling, by which so many families were supported, would be banished from the kingdom entirely; especially, as the expense of establishing a large distillery was so great, that no man would choose to employ his money for this purpose, judging from experience that some future accidental scarcity of corn might induce the legislature to interpose a ruinous delay in this branch of business. They affirmed, that from the excessive use of malt-spirits no good argument could be drawn against this branch of traffic, no more than against any other conveniency of life; that the excessive use of common beer and ale was prejudicial to the health and morals of the people, yet no person ever thought of putting an end to the practice of brewing, in order to prevent the abuse of brewed liquors. They urged that in all parts of Great Britain there are some parcels of land that produce nothing to advantage but a coarse kind of barley called big, which, though neither fit for brewing nor for baking, may nevertheless be used in the distillery, and is accordingly purchased by those concerned in this branch at such an encouraging price, as enables many farmers to pay a higher rent to their landlords than they could otherwise afford; that there are every year some parcels of all sorts of grain so damaged by unseasonable weather, or other accidents, as to be rendered altogether unfit for bread or brewery, and would prove a very great misfortune to the farmer, if there was no distillery, for the use of which he could sell his damaged commodity. They asserted, that malt-spirits were absolutely necessary for prosecuting some branches of foreign commerce, particularly the trade to the coast of Africa, for which traffic no assortment could be made up without a large quantity of geneva, of which the natives are so fond, that they will not traffic with any merchant who has not a considerable quantity, not only for sale, but also for presents to their chiefs and rulers; that the merchants of Great Britain must either have this commodity of their own produce, or import it at a great national expense from Holland; that the charge of this importation, together with the duties payable upon it, some part of which is not to be drawn back on exportation, will render it impossible for the traders to sell it so cheap on the coast of Africa as it might be sold by the Dutch, who are the great rivals of Great Britain in this branch of commerce. To these arguments, all of which were plausible, and some of them unanswerable, it was replied, that malt-spirits might be considered as a fatal and bewitching poison which had actually debauched the minds, and enervated the bodies, of the common people to a very deplorable degree; that, without entering further into a comparison between the use and abuse of the two liquors, beer and geneva, it would be sufficient to observe, that the use of beer and ale had produced none of those dreadful effects which were the consequences of drinking geneva; and since the prohibition of the distilling of malt-spirits had taken place, the common people were become apparently more sober, decent, healthy, and industrious: a circumstance sufficient to induce the legislature not only to intermit, but even totally to abolish the practice of distillation, which has ever been productive of such intoxication, riot, disorder, and distemper, among the lower class of the people, as might be deemed the greatest evils incident to a well-regulated commonwealth. Their assertion with respect to the coarse kind of barley, called big, was contradicted as a deviation from truth, inasmuch as it was used in making malt, as well as in making bread: and with respect to damaged corn, those who understood the nature of grain affirmed, that it was spoiled to such a degree as to be altogether unfit for either of these purposes, the distillers would not purchase it at such a price as would indemnify the farmer for the charge of threshing and carriage; for the distillers are very sensible, that their great profit is derived from their distilling the malt made from the best barley, so that the increase of the produce far exceeded in proportion the advance of the price. It was not, however, an easy matter to prove that the distillation of malt-spirits was not necessary to an advantageous prosecution of the commerce on the coast of Guinea, as well as among the Indians in some parts of North America. Certain it is, that, in these branches of traffic, the want of geneva may be supplied by spirits distilled from sugars and molasses. After all, it must be owned, that the good and salutary effects of the prohibition were visible in every part of the kingdom, and no evil consequence ensued, except a diminution of the revenue in this article: a consideration which, at all times, ought to be sacrificed to the health and morals of the people: nor will this consideration be found of any great weight, when we reflect that the less the malt-spirit is drunk, the greater quantity of beer and ale will be consumed, and the produce of the duties and excise upon the brewery be augmented accordingly.

In the meantime, all sorts of grain continuing to fall in price, and great plenty appearing in every part of the kingdom, the justices of the peace, and of the grand juries, assembled at the general quarter sessions of the peace held for the county of Norfolk, composed and presented to the house of commons, in the beginning of February, a petition, representing, that the weather proving unfavourable in the harvest, great part of the barley raised in that county was much damaged, and rendered unfit for any other use than that of being made into malt for exportation; that unless it should be speedily manufactured for that purpose, it would be entirely spoiled, and perish in the hands of the growers; a loss that must be very sensibly felt by the land owners: they, therefore, entreated that leave might be given for the exportation of malt; and that they might be favoured with such further relief, as to the house should seem just and reasonable. In consequence of this petition, the house resolved itself into a committee to deliberate upon the subject; and as it appeared, upon examination, that the price of grain was reduced very low, and great abundance diffused through the kingdom, they resolved, that the continuance of that part of the act, prohibiting the exportation of grain, ought to be abridged and shortened, and the exportation of these commodities allowed under proper regulations, with respect to the time of such exportation and the allowance of bounties thereupon. A bill being founded on these resolutions, was discussed, and underwent several amendments: at length it was sent with a new title to the lords, who passed it without further alteration, and then it obtained the royal sanction. While this affair was under the deliberation of the committee, the commons unanimously issued an order for leave to bring in a bill to continue, for a limited time, the act of last session, permitting the importation of salted beef from Ireland into Great Britain, with an instruction to receive a clause extending this permission to all sorts of salted pork, or hog-meat, as the officers of the customhouse had refused to admit hams from Ireland to an entry. The bill likewise received another considerable alteration, importing, That, instead of the duty of ona shilling and three-pence, charged by the former act on every hundred weight of salted beef or pork imported from Ireland, which was found not adequate to the duty payable for such a quantity of salt as is requisite to be used in curing and salting thereof; and to prevent as well the expense to the revenue, as the detriment and loss which would accrue to the owner and importer from opening the casks in which the provision is generally deposited, with the pickle or brine proper for preserving the same, in order to ascertain the net weight of the provision liable to the said duties: for these reasons it was enacted, That from and after the twenty-fourth day of last December, and during the continuance of this act, a duty of three shillings and four-pence should be paid upon importation for every barrel or cask of salted beef or pork containing thirty-two gallons; and one shilling and three-pence for every hundred weight of salted beef called dried beef, dried neats-tongues, or dried hog-meat, and so in proportion for any greater or lesser quantity.

REGULATIONS with RESPECT to PRIVATEERS.

Repeated complaints having been made to the government by neutral nations, especially the Dutch, that their ships had been plundered, and their crews maltreated by some of the English privateers, the legislature resolved to provide effectually against any such outrageous practices for the future: and with this view the commons ordered a bill to be brought in for amending and explaining an act of the twenty-ninth year of his late majesty’s reign, intituled, “An act for the encouragement of seamen, and more speedy and effectual manning of his majesty’s navy.” While the committee was employed in perusing commissions and papers relating to private ships of war, that they might be fully acquainted with the nature of the subject, a considerable number of merchants and others, inhabiting the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, presented a petition to the house, alleging, that the inhabitants of those islands which lie in the British channel within sight of the French coast, had now, as well as in former wars, embarked their fortunes in equipping small privateers, which used to run in close with the French shore, and being disguised like fishing boats, had not only taken a considerable number of prizes, to the great annoyance of the enemy, but also obtained material intelligence of their designs on many important occasions; that these services could not be performed by large vessels, which durst not approach so near the coast, and indeed could not appear without giving the alarm, which was communicated from place to place by appointed signals. Being informed that a bill was depending, in order to prohibit privateers of small burden, they declared that such a law, if extended to privateers equipped in those islands, would ruin such as had invested their fortunes in small privateers, and not only deprive the kingdom of the before-mentioned advantages, but expose Great Britain to infinite prejudice from the small armed vessels of France, which the enemy, in that case, could pour abroad over the whole channel to the great annoyance of navigation and commerce. They prayed, therefore, that such privateers as belonged to the islands of Guernsey and Jersey might be wholly excepted from the penalties contained in the bill, or that they, the petitioners, might be heard by their counsel, and be indulged with such relief as the house should judge expedient. This representation being referred to the consideration of the committee, produced divers amendments to the hill, which at length obtained the royal assent, and contained these regulations: That, after the first day of January in the present year, no commission should be granted to a privateer in Europe under the burden of one hundred tons, the force of ten carriage guns, being three-pounders or above, with forty men at the least, unless the lords of the admiralty, or persons authorized by them, should think fit to grant the same to any ship of inferior force or burden, the owners thereof giving such bail or security as should be prescribed: that the lords of the admiralty might at any time revoke, by an order in writing under their hands, any commission granted to a privateer; this revocation being subject to an appeal to his majesty in council, whose determination should be final: that, previous to the granting any commission, the persons proposing to be bound, and give security, should severally make oath of their being respectively worth more money than the sum for which they were then to be bound, over and above the payment of all their just debts: that persons applying for such commissions should make application in writing, and therein set forth a particular and exact description of the vessel, specifying the burden, and the number and nature of the guns on board, to what place belonging, as well as the name or names of the principal owner or owners, and the number of men: these particulars to be inserted in the commission; and every commander to produce such commission to the custom-house officer who should examine the vessel, and, finding her answer the description, give a certificate thereof gratis, to be deemed a necessary clearance, without which the commander should not depart: that if, after the first day of July, any captain of a privateer should agree for the ransom of any neutral vessel, or the cargo, or any part thereof, after it should have been taken as prize, and in pursuance of such agreement should actually discharge such prize, he should be deemed guilty of piracy; but that with respect to contraband merchandise, he might take it on board his own ship, with the consent of the commander of the neutral vessel, and then set her at liberty; and that no person should purloin or embezzle the said merchandise before condemnation: that no judge, or other person belonging to any court of admiralty, should be concerned in any privateer: that owners of vessels, not being under fifty, or above one hundred tons, whose commissions are declared void, should be indemnified for their loss by the public: that a court of oyer and terminer, and gaol delivery, for the trial of offences committed within the jurisdiction of the admiralty, should be held twice a-year in the Old Bailey at London, or in such other place within England as the board of admiralty should appoint: that the judge of any court of admiralty, after an appeal interposed, as well as before, should, at the request of the captor or claimant, issue an order for appraising the capture, when the parties do not agree upon the value, and an inventory to be taken; then exact security for the full value, and cause the capture to be delivered to the person giving such security; but, should objection be made to the taking such security, the judge should, at the request of either party, order such merchandise to be entered, landed, and sold at public auction, and the produce to be deposited at the bank, or in some public securities: and in case of security being given, the judge should grant a pass in favour of the capture. Finally, the force of this act was limited to the duration of the then war with France only. This regulation very clearly demonstrated, that whatever violences might have been committed on the ships of neutral nations, they were by no means countenanced by the legislature, or the body of the people.

NEW MILITIA LAWS.

Every circumstance relating to the reformation of the marine, must be an important object to a nation whose wealth and power depend upon navigation and commerce; but a consideration of equal weight was the establishment of the militia, which, notwithstanding the repeated endeavours of the parliament, was found still incomplete, and in want of further assistance from the legislature. His majesty having, by the chancellor of the exchequer, recommended to the house the making suitable provision for defraying the charges of the militia during the current year, the accounts of the expense already incurred by this establishment were referred to the committee of supply, who, after having duly perused them, resolved, that ninety thousand pounds should be granted on account, towards defraying the charges of pay and clothing for the militia, from the last day of the last year, to the twenty-fifth day of March in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty, and for repaying a sum advanced by the king for this service. Leave was given to bring in one bill pursuant to this resolution, and another to enforce the execution of the laws relating to the militia, remove certain difficulties, and prevent the incenveniencies by which it might be attended. So intent were the majority on both sides upon this national measure, that they not only carried both bills to the throne, where they received the royal assent, but they presented an address to the king, desiring that his majesty would give directions to his lieutenants of the several counties, ridings, and places in England, to use their utmost diligence and attention for carrying into execution the several acts of parliament relating to the militia. By this time all the individuals that constituted the representatives of the people, except such as actually served in the army, were become very well disposed towards this institution. Those who really wished well to their country had always exerted themselves in its favour; and it was now likewise espoused by those who foresaw that the establishment of a national militia would enable the administration to send the greater number of regular troops to fight the battles of Germany. Yet how zealous soever the legislature might be in promoting this institution, and notwithstanding the success with which many patriots exerted their endeavours through different parts of the kingdom, in raising and disciplining the militia, it was found not only difficult, but almost impracticable, to execute the intention of the parliament in some particular counties, where the gentlemen were indolent and enervated, or in those places where they looked upon their commander with contempt. Even Middlesex itself, where the king resides, was one of the last counties in which the militia could be arrayed. In allusion to this backwardness, the preamble or first clause in one of the present acts imported, that certain counties, ridings, and places in England had made some progress in establishing the militia, without completing the same, and that, in certain other counties, little progress had been made therein, his majesty’s lieutenants and the deputy-lieutenants, and all others within such counties or districts, were therefore strictly required speedily and diligently to put these acts in execution. The truth is, some of these unwarlike commanders failed through ignorance and inactivity; others gave, or offered commissions to such people as threw a ridicule and contempt upon the whole establishment, and consequently hindered many gentlemen of worth, spirit, and capacity, from engaging in the service. The mutiny-bill, and that for the regulation of the marine-forces while on shore, passed through the usual forms, as annual measures, without any dispute or alteration. 485 [See note 3 S, at the end of this Vol.]

ACT FOR THE RELIEF OF DEBTORS REVIVED.

A committee having been appointed to inquire what laws were expired, or near expiring, and to report their opinion to the house touching the revival or continuation of these laws, they agreed to several resolutions; in consequence of which the following bills were brought in, and enacted into laws; namely, an act for regulating the lastage and ballastage of the river Thames; an act for continuing the law relating to the punishment of persons going armed or disguised; an act for continuing several laws near expiring; an act concerning the admeasurement of coals; an act for the relief of debtors, with respect to the imprisonment of their persons. This last was almost totally metamorphosed by alterations, amendments, and additions, among which the most remarkable were these: that where more creditors than one shall charge any prisoner in execution, and desired to have him detained in prison, they shall only respectively pay him each such weekly sum, not exceeding one shilling and sixpence per week, as the court, at the time of his being remanded, shall direct; that if any prisoner, described by the act, shall remain in prison three months after being committed, any creditor may compel him to give into court, upon oath, an account of his real and personal estate, to be disposed of for the benefit of his creditors, they consenting to his being discharged. Why the humanity of this law was confined to those prisoners only who are not charged in execution with any debt exceeding one hundred pounds, cannot easily be conceived. A man who, through unavoidable misfortunes, hath sunk from affluence to misery and indigence, is generally a greater object of compassion than he who never knew the delicacies of life, nor ever enjoyed credit sufficient to contract debts to any considerable amount; yet the latter is by this law entitled to his discharge, or at least to a maintenance in prison; while the former is left to starve in gaol, or undergo perpetual imprisonment amidst all the horrors of misery, if he owes above one hundred pounds to a revengeful and unrelenting creditor. Wherefore, in a country, the people of which justly pique themselves upon charity and benevolence, an unhappy fellow-citizen, reduced to a state of bankruptcy by unforeseen losses in trade, should be subjected to a punishment, which of all others must be the most grievous to a freeborn Briton, namely, the entire loss of liberty; a punishment which the most flagrant crime can hardly deserve in a nation that disclaims the torture; for, doubtless, perpetual imprisonment must be a torture infinitely more severe than death, because protracted through a series of years spent in misery and despair, without one glimmering ray of hope, without the most distant prospect of deliverance? Wherefore the legislature should extend its humanity to those only who are the least sensible of the benefit, because the most able to struggle under misfortune? and wherefore many valuable individuals should, for no guilt of their own, be not only ruined to themselves, but lost to the community? are questions which we cannot resolve to the satisfaction of the reader. Of all imprisoned debtors, those who are confined for large sums may be deemed the most wretched and forlorn, because they have generally fallen from a sphere of life where they had little acquaintance with necessity, and were altogether ignorant of the arts by which the severities of indigence are alleviated. On the other hand, those of the lower class of mankind, whose debts are small in proportion to the narrowness of their former credit, have not the same delicate feelings of calamity: they are inured to hardship, and accustomed to the labour of their hands, by which, even in a prison, they can earn a subsistence: their reverse of fortune is not so great, nor the transition so affecting: their sensations are not delicate; nor are they, like their betters in misfortune, cut off from hope, which is the wretch’s last comfort. It is the man of sentiment and sensibility, who, in this situation, is overwhelmed with a complication of misery and ineffable distress: the mortification of his pride, his ambition blasted, his family undone, himself deprived of liberty, reduced from opulence to extreme want, from the elegancies of life to the most squalid and frightful scenes of poverty and affliction; divested of comfort, destitute of hope, and doomed to linger out a wretched being in the midst of insult, violence, riot, and uproar; these are reflections so replete with horror, as to render him, in all respects, the most miserable object on the face of the earth. He, alas! though possessed of talents that might have essentially served and even adorned society, while thus restrained in prison, and affected in mind, can exert no faculty, nor stoop to any condescension, by which the horrors of his fate might be assuaged: he scorns to execute the lowest offices of menial services, particularly in attending those who are the objects of contempt or abhorrence; he is incapable of exercising any mechanic art, which might afford a happy though a scanty independence: shrunk within his dismal cell, surrounded by haggard poverty, and her gaunt attendants, hollow-eyed famine, shivering cold, and wan disease, he wildly casts his eyes around; he sees the tender partner of his heart weeping in silent woe; he hears his helpless babes clamorous for sustenance; he feels himself the importunate cravings of human nature, which he cannot satisfy; and groans with all the complicated pangs of internal anguish, horror, and despair. These are not the fictions of idle fancy, but real pictures, drawn from nature, of which almost every prison in England will afford but too many originals.

BILLS FOR THE IMPORTATION OF IRISH BEEF AND TALLOW.

Among other new measures, a successful attempt was made in favour of Ireland, by a bill, permitting the free importation of cattle from that kingdom for a limited time. This, however, was not carried through both houses without considerable opposition, arising from the particular interests of certain counties and districts in several parts of Great Britain, from whence petitions against the bill were transmitted to the commons. Divers artifices were also used within doors to saddle the bill with such clauses as might overcharge the scheme, and render it odious or alarming to the public; but the promoters of it being aware of the design, conducted it in such a manner as to frustrate all their views, and convey it safely to the throne, where it was enacted into a law. The like success attended another effort in behalf of our fellow-subjects of Ireland. The bill for the importation of Irish cattle was no sooner ordered to be brought in, than the house proceeded to take into consideration the duties then payable on the importation of tallow from the same kingdom; and several witnesses being examined, the committee agreed to a resolution, that these duties should cease and determine for a limited time. A bill being formed accordingly, passed through both houses without opposition, though in the preceding session a bill to the same purpose had miscarried among the peers: a miscarriage probably owing to their being unacquainted with the sentiments of his majesty, as some of the duties upon tallow constituted part of one of the branches appropriated for the civil list revenue. This objection, however, was obviated in the case of the present bill, by the king’s message to the house of commons, signifying his majesty’s consent, as far as his interest was concerned in the affair. By this new act the free importation of Irish tallow was permitted for the term of five years.

In the month of February the commons presented an address to his majesty, requesting that he would give directions for laying before the house an account of what had been done, since the beginning of last year, towards securing the harbour of Milford, in pursuance of any directions from his majesty. These accounts being perused, and the king having, by the chancellor of the exchequer, exhorted them to make provision for fortifying the said harbour, a bill was brought in to explain, amend, and render more effectual, the act of the last session relating to this subject; and, passing through both houses, received the royal assent without opposition. By this act several engineers were added to the commissioners formerly appointed; and it was ordained that fortifications should be erected at Peter-church-point, Westlanyon-point, and Neyland-point, as being the most proper and best situated places for fortifying the interior parts of the harbour. It was also enacted, that the commissioners should appoint proper secretaries, clerks, assistants, and other officers, for carrying the two acts into execution, and that an account of the application of the money should be laid before parliament, within twenty days of the opening of every session. What next attracted the attention of the house was an affair of the utmost importance to the commerce of the kingdom, which equally affected the interest of the nation, and the character of the natives. In the latter end of February complaint was made to the house, that, since the commencement of the war, an infamous traffic had been set on foot by some merchants of London, of importing French cloths into several ports of the Levant, on account of British subjects. Five persons were summoned to attend the house, and the fact was fully proved, not only by their evidence, but also by some papers submitted to the house by the Turkey company. A bill was immediately contrived for putting a stop to this scandalous practice, reciting in the preamble, that such traffic was not only a manifest discouragement and prejudice to the woollen manufactures of Great Britain, but also a relief to the enemy, in consequence of which they were enabled to maintain the war against these kingdoms.

The next object that employed the attention of the commons, was to explain and amend a law made in the last session for granting to his majesty several rates and duties upon offices and pensions. The directions specified in the former act for levying this imposition having been found inconvenient in many respects, new regulations were now established, importing, that those deductions should be paid into the hands of receivers appointed by the king for that purpose; that all sums deducted under this act should be accounted for to such receivers, and the accounts audited and passed by them, and not by the auditors of the impress, or of the exchequer: that all disputes relating to the collection of this duty should be finally, and in a summary way, determined by the barons of the exchequer in England and Scotland respectively: that the commissioners of the land-tax should fix and ascertain the sum total or amount of the perquisites of every office and employment within their respective districts, distinct from the salary thereunto belonging, to be deducted under the said act, independently of any former valuation or assessment of the same to the land-tax; and should rate or assess all offices and employments, the perquisites whereof should be found to exceed the sum of one hundred pounds per annum, at one shilling for every twenty thence arising; that the receivers should transmit to the commissioners in every district where any office or employment is to be assessed, an account of such officers and employments, that, upon being certified of the truth of their amount, they might be rated and assessed accordingly; that in all future assessments of the land-tax, the said offices and employments should not be valued at higher rates than those at which they were assessed towards the land-tax of the thirty-first year of the present reign; that the word perquisite should be understood to mean such profits of offices and employments as arise from fees established by custom or authority, and payable either by the crown or the subjects, in consideration of business done in the course of executing such offices and employments; and that a commissioner possessed of any office or employment, might not interfere in the execution of the said act, except in what might relate to his own employment. By the four last clauses, several salaries were exempted from the payment of this duty. The objections made without doors to this new law, were the accession of pecuniary influence to the crown by the creation of a new office and officers, whereas this duty might have been easily collected and received by the commissioners of the land-tax already appointed, and the inconsistency that appeared between the fifth and seventh clause: in the former of these the commissioners of the land-tax were vested with the power of assessing the perquisites of every office within their respective districts, independent of any former valuation or assessment of the same to the land-tax; and by the latter, they are restricted from assessing any office at a higher rate than that of the thirty-first year of the reign of George II.

In the beginning of March, petitions were offered to the house by the merchants of Birmingham in Warwickshire, and Sheffield in Yorkshire, specifying that the toy trade of these and many other towns consisted generally of articles in which gold and silver might be said to be manufactured, though in a small proportion, inasmuch as the sale of them depended upon slight ornaments of gold and silver: that by a clause passed in the last session of parliament, obliging every person who should sell goods or wares in which any gold or silver was manufactured to take out an annual license of forty shillings, they the petitioners were laid under great difficulties and disadvantages; that not only the first seller, but every person through whose hands the goods or wares passed to the consumer, was required to take out the said license: they therefore requested that the house should take these hardships and inequalities into consideration, and indulge them with reasonable relief. The committee, to which this affair was referred, having resolved that this imposition was found detrimental to the toy and cutlery trade of the kingdom, the house agreed to the resolution, and a bill being prepared, under the title of “An act to amend the act made in the last session, for repealing the duty granted by an act of the sixth year of the reign of his late majesty, on silver plate, and for granting a duty on licenses to be taken out by all persons dealing in gold and silver plate,” was enacted into a law by the royal sanction. By this new regulation, small quantities of gold and silver plate were allowed to be sold without license. Instead of the duty before payable upon licenses, another was granted, to be taken out by certain dealers in gold and silver plate, pawnbrokers, and refiners. This affair being discussed, the house took into consideration the claims of the proprietors of lands purchased for the better securing of his majesty’s docks, ships, and stores at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth; and for better fortifying the town of Portsmouth, and citadel of Plymouth, in pursuance of an act passed in the last session. We have already specified the sum granted for this purpose, in consequence of a resolution of the house, upon which a bill being founded, soon passed into a law without opposition.*

* The next bill which was brought into the house related to the summons issued by the commissioners of the excise, and justices of the peace, for the appearance of persons offending against, or for forfeitures incurred by, the laws of excise. As some doubts had arisen with respect to the method of summoning in such cases, this bill, which obtained the royal assent in due course, enacted, that the summons left at the houses, or usual place of residence, or with the wife, child, or menial servants of the person so summoned, should be held as legal notice, as well as the leaving such notice at the house, workhouse, warehouse, shop, cellar, vault, or usual place of residence, of such person, directed to him by his right or assumed name; and all dealers in coffee, tea, or chocolate, were subjected to the penalty of twenty pounds, as often as they should neglect to attend the commissioners of excise, when summoned in this manner.

In the month of April, a bill was brought in for the more effectual preventing the fraudulent importation of cambrics; and while it was under deliberation, several merchants and wholesale drapers of the city of London presented a petition, representing the grievances to which they, and many thousand of other traders, would be subjected, should the bill, as it then stood, be passed into a law. According to their request, they were heard by their counsel on the merits of this remonstrance, and some amendments were made to the bill in their favour. At length it received the royal assent, and became a law to the following effect: It enacted, that no cambrics, French lawns, or linens of this kind usually entered under the denomination of cambrics, should be imported after the first day of next August, but in bales, cases, or boxes, covered with sackcloth or canvas, containing each one hundred whole pieces, or two hundred half pieces, on penalty of forfeiting the whole; that cambrics and French lawns should be imported for exportation only, lodged in the king’s warehouses, and delivered out under like security, and restrictions as prohibited East India merchandise, and, on importation, pay only the half subsidy: that all cambrics and French lawns in the custody of any persons should be deposited, by the first of August, in the king’s warehouses, the bonds thereupon be delivered up, and the drawback on exportation paid; yet the goods should not be delivered out again but for exportation: that cambrics and French lawns exposed to sale, or found in the possession of private persons, after the said day, should be forfeited, and liable to be searched for, and seized, in like manner as other prohibited and uncustomed goods are; and the offender should forfeit two hundred pounds over and above all other penalties and forfeitures inflicted by any former act: that if any doubt should arise concerning the species or quality of the goods, or the place where they were manufactured, the proof should lie on the owner: finally, that the penalty of five pounds inflicted by a former act, and payable to the informer, on any person that should wear any cambric or French lawns, should still remain in force, and be recoverable, on conviction, by oath of one witness, before one justice of the peace.—The last successful bill which this session produced, was that relating to the augmentation of the salaries of the judges in his majesty’s superior courts of justice. A motion having been made for an instruction to the committee of supply, to consider of the said augmentation, the chancellor of the exchequer acquainted the house, that this augmentation was recommended to them by his majesty. Nevertheless, the motion was opposed, and a warm debate ensued. At length, however, being carried in the affirmative, the committee agreed to certain resolutions, on which a bill was founded. While it remained under discussion, a motion was made for an instruction to the committee, that they should have power to receive a clause or clauses for restraining the judges, comprehended within the provisions of the bill, from receiving any fee, gift, present, or entertainment, from any city, town, borough, or corporation, or from any sheriff, gaoler, or other officer, upon their several respective circuits, and from taking any gratuity from any officer or officers of any of the courts of law. Another motion was made, for a clause restraining such judges, barons, and justices, as were comprehended within the provisions of the bill, from interfering, otherwise than by giving their own votes, in any election of members to serve in parliament; but both these proposals, being put to the vote, were carried in the negative. These two motions being over-ruled by the majority, the bill underwent some amendments; and having passed through both houses in the ordinary course, was enacted into a law by the royal sanction. With respect to the import of this act, it is no other than the establishment of the several stamp-duties, applied to the augmentation, and the appropriation of their produce in such a manner, that the crown cannot alter the application of the sums thus granted in parliament. But on this occasion, no attempt was made in favour of the independency of the judges, which seems to have been invaded by a late interpretation of, or rather by a deviation from, the act of settlement; in which it is expressly ordained, that the commissions of the judge? should continue in force quamdiu se bene gesserint; that their salaries should be fixed, and none of them remove-able but by an address of both houses of parliament. It was then, without all doubt, the intention of the legislature that every judge should enjoy his office during life, unless convicted, by legal trial, of some misbehaviour, or unless both houses of parliament should concur in desiring his removal: but the doctrine now adopted imports, that no commission can continue in force longer than the life of the king by whom it was granted; that therefore the commissions of the judges must be renewed by a new king at his accession, who should have it in his power to employ either those whom he finds acting as judges at his accession, or confer their offices on others, with no other restraint than that the condition of new commissions, should be quamdiu se bene gesserint. Thus the office of a judge is more precarious, and the influence of the crown receives a considerable reinforcement.

Among the bills that miscarried in the course of the session, we may number a second attempt to carry into execution the scheme which was offered last year for the more effectual manning the navy, preventing desertion, and relieving and encouraging the seamen of Great Britain. A bill was accordingly brought in, couched in nearly the same terms which had been rejected in the last session; and it was supported by a considerable number of members, animated with a true spirit of patriotism: but to the trading part of the nation it appeared one of those plausible projects, which, though agreeable in speculation, can never be reduced into practice, without a concomitancy of greater evils than those they were intended to remove. While the bill remained under the consideration of the house, petitions were presented against it by the merchants of Bristol, Scarborough, Whitby, Ivingston-upon-Hull, and Lancaster, representing, that by such a law, the trade of the kingdom, which is the nursery and support of seamen at all times, and that spirit of equipping private ships of war, which had been of distinguished service to the nation, would be laid under such difficulties as might cause a great stagnation in the former, and a total suppression of the latter; the bill, therefore, would be highly prejudicial to the marine of the kingdom, and altogether ineffectual for the purposes intended. A great number of books and papers, relating to trading ships and vessels, as well as to seamen and other persons protected or pressed into the navy, and to expenses occasioned by pressing men into the navy, were examined in a committee of the whole house, and the bill was improved with many amendments: nay, after it was printed and engrossed, several clauses were added by way of rider; yet still the experiment seemed dangerous. The motion for its being past was violently opposed; warm debates ensued; they were adjourned, and resumed; and the arguments against the bill appeared at length in such a striking light, that, when the question was put, the majority declared for the negative. The regulations which had been made in parliament during the twenty-sixth, the twenty-eighth, and thirtieth years of the present reign, for the preservation of the public roads, being attended with some inconveniencies in certain parts of the kingdom, petitions were brought from some counties in Wales, as well as from the freeholders of Hertfordshire, the farmers of Middlesex, and others, enumerating the difficulties attending the use of broad wheels, in one case, and the limitation of horses used in drawing carriages with narrow wheels, in the other. The matter of these remonstrances was considered in a committee of the whole house, which resolved, that the weight to be carried by all waggons and carts, travelling on the turnpike roads, should be limited. On this resolution a bill was framed, for amending and reducing into one act of parliament the three acts before mentioned for the preservation of the public highways; but some objections being started, and a petition interposed by the land-holders of Suffolk and Norfolk, alleging that the bill, if passed into a law, would render it impossible to bring fresh provisions from those counties to London, as the supply depended absolutely upon the quickness of conveyance, the further consideration of it was postponed to a longer day, and never resumed in the sequel: so that the attempt miscarried.

CASE OF THE INSOLVENT DEBTORS.

Of all the subjects, which, in the course of this session, fell under the cognizance of parliament, there was none that more interested the humanity, or challenged the redress, of the legislature, than did the case of the poor insolvent debtors, who languished under all the miseries of indigence and imprisonment. In the month of February a petition was offered to the commons in behalf of bankrupts, who represented, that having scrupulously conformed to the laws made concerning bankruptcy, by surrendering their all upon oath, for the benefit of their creditors, they had nevertheless been refused their certificates, without any probability of relief; that by this cruel refusal, many bankrupts have been obliged to abscond, while others were immured in prison, and these unhappy sufferers groaned under the particular hardship of being excluded from the benefit of laws occasionally made for the relief of insolvent debtors; that the power vested in creditors of refusing certificates to their bankrupts, was, as the petitioners conceived, founded upon a presumption that such power would be tenderly exercised, and never but in notorious cases; but the great increase in the number of bankrupts within two years past, and in the small proportion of those who had been able to obtain their certificates, seemed to demonstrate that the power had been used for cruel and unjust purposes, contrary to the intention of the legislature: that as the greater part of the petitioners, and their fellow-sufferers, must inevitably and speedily perish, with their distressed families, unless seasonably relieved by the interposition of parliament, they implored the compassion of the house, from which they hoped immediate favour and relief. This petition was accompanied with a printed case, explaining the nature of the laws relating to bankrupts, and pointing out their defects in point of policy as well as humanity; but little regard was seemingly paid to either remonstrance. Other petitions, however, being presented by insolvent debtors, imprisoned in different gaols within the kingdom, leave was given to bring in a bill for their relief, and a committee appointed to examine the laws relating to bankruptcy.

CASE OF CAPTAIN WALKER.

Among other petitionary remonstrances on this subject, the members were separately presented with the printed case of captain George Walker, a prisoner in the gaol of the king’s bench, who had been declared a bankrupt, and complained, that he had been subjected to some flagrant acts of injustice and oppression. The case contained such extraordinary allegations, and the captain’s character was so remarkably fair and interesting, that the committee, which were empowered to send for persons, papers, and records, resolved to inquire into the particulars of his misfortune. A motion was made and agreed to, that the marshal of the prison should bring the captain before the committee; and the speaker’s warrant was issued accordingly. The prisoner was produced, and examined at several sittings, and some of the members expressed a laudable eagerness to do him justice; but his antagonists were very powerful, and left no stone unturned to frustrate the purpose of the inquiry, which was dropped of course at the end of the session. Thus the unfortunate captain Walker, who had, in the late war, remarkably distinguished himself at sea by his courage and conduct, repeatedly signalizing himself against the enemies of his country, was sent back without redress to the gloomy mansions of a gaol, where he had already pined for several years, useless to himself, and lost to the community, while he might have been profitably employed in retrieving his own fortune, and exerting his talents for the general advantage of the nation. While this affair was in agitation, the bill for the relief of insolvent debtors was prepared, printed, and read a second time; but, when the motion was made for its being committed, a debate arose, and this was adjourned from time to time till the end of the session. In the meantime, the committee continued to deliberate upon the laws relating to bankruptcy; and in the beginning of June reported their resolution to the house, that, in their opinion, some amendments might be made to the laws concerning bankruptcy; to the advantage of creditors, and relief of insolvents. Such was the notice vouchsafed to the cries of many British subjects, deprived of liberty, and destitute of the common necessaries of life.

REMARKS ON THE BANKRUPT-LAWS.

It would engage us in a long digressive discussion were we to inquire how the spirit of the laws in England, so famed for lenity, has been exasperated into such severity against insolvent debtors; and why, among a people so distinguished for generosity and compassion, the gaols should be more filled with prisoners than they are in any other part of Christendom. Perhaps both these deviations from a general character are violent efforts of a wary legislature made in behalf of trade, which cannot be too much cherished in a nation that principally depends upon commerce. The question is, whether this laudable aim may not be more effectually accomplished, without subjecting individuals to oppression, arising from the cruelty and revenge of one another. As the laws are modelled at present, it cannot be denied that the debtor, in some cases, lies in a peculiar manner at the mercy of his creditor. By the original and common law of England, no man could be imprisoned for debt. The plaintiff in any civil action could have no execution upon his judgment, against either the body or the lands of the defendant: even with respect to his goods and chattels, which were subject to execution, he was obliged to leave him such articles as were necessary for agriculture. But, in process of time, this indulgence being found prejudicial to commerce, a law was enacted, in the reign of Edward I. allowing execution on the person of the debtor, provided his goods and chattels were not sufficient to pay the debt which he had contracted. This law was still attended with a very obvious inconvenience: the debtor, who possessed an estate in lands, was tempted to secrete his moveable effects, and live in concealment on the produce of his lands, while the sheriff connived at his retirement. To remove this evil, a second statute was enacted in the same reign, granting immediate execution against the body, lands, and goods of the debtor; yet his effects could not be sold for the benefit of his creditors till the expiration of three months, during which he himself could dispose of them for ready money, in order to discharge his incumbrances. If the creditor was not satisfied in this manner, he continued in possession of the debtor’s lands, and detained the debtor himself in prison, where he was obliged to supply him with bread and water for his support, until the debt was discharged. Other severe regulations were made in the sequel, particularly in the reign of Edward III. which gave rise to the writ of capias ad satisfaciendum. This indeed rendered the preceding laws, called statute-merchant, and statute-staple, altogether unnecessary. Though the liberty of the subject, and the security of the landholder, were thus in some measure sacrificed to the advantage of commerce, an imprisoned debtor was not left entirely at the mercy of an inexorable creditor. If he made all the satisfaction in his power, and could show that his insolvency was owing to real misfortunes, the court of chancery interposed on his petition, and actually ordered him to be discharged from prison, when no good reason for detaining him could be assigned. This interposition, which seems naturally to belong to a court of equity, constituted with a view to mitigate the rigour of the common law, ceased, in all probability after the restoration of Charles the Second, and of consequence the prisons were filled with debtors. Then the legislature charged themselves with the extension of a power, which perhaps a chancellor no longer thought himself safe in exercising; and in the year one thousand six hundred and seventy, passed the first act for the relief of insolvent debtors, granting a release to all prisoners for debt, without distinction or inquiry. By this general indulgence, which has even in a great measure continued in all subsequent acts of the same kind, the lenity of the parliament may be sometimes misapplied, inasmuch as insolvency is often criminal, arising from profligacy and extravagance, which deserve to be severely punished. Yet, even for this species of insolvency, perpetual imprisonment, aggravated by the miseries of extreme indigence, and the danger of perishing through famine, may be deemed a punishment too severe. How cruel then must it be to leave the most innocent bankrupt exposed to this punishment, from the revenge or sinister design of a merciless creditor; a creditor, by whose fraud the prisoner became a bankrupt, and by whoso craft he is detained in gaol, lest by his discharge from prison, he should be enabled to seek that redress in chancery to which he is entitled on a fair account! The severity of the law was certainly intended against fraudulent bankrupts only; and the statute of bankruptcy is, doubtless, favourable to insolvents, as it discharges from all former debts those who obtained their certificates. As British subjects, they are surely entitled to the same indulgence which is granted to other insolvents. They were always included in every act passed for the relief of insolvent debtors, till the sixth year of George I. when they were first excepted from this benefit. By a law enacted in the reign of queen Anne, relating to bankruptcy, any creditor was at liberty to object to the confirmation of the bankrupt’s certificate; but the chancellor had power to judge whether the objection was frivolous or well-founded: yet, by a latter act, the chancellor is obliged to confirm the certificate, if it is agreeable to four-fifths in number and value of the creditors; whereas he cannot confirm it, should he be opposed, even without any reason assigned, by one creditor to whom the greatest part of the debt is owing. It might, therefore, deserve the consideration of parliament, whether, in extending their clemency to the poor, it should not be equally diffused to bankrupts and other insolvents; whether proper distinction ought not to be made between the innocent bankrupt who fails through misfortune in trade, and him who becomes insolvent from fraud or profligacy: and finally, whether the inquiry and trial of all such cases would not properly fall within the province of chancery, a tribunal instituted for the mitigation of common law.

INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF THE POOR.

The house of commons seems to have been determined on another measure, which, however, does not admit of explanation. An order was made in the month of February, that leave should be given to bring in a bill to explain, amend, and render effectual, so much of an act passed in the thirteenth year of George II. against the excessive increase of horse-races, and deceitful gaming, as related to that increase. The bill was accordingly presented, read, printed, and ordered to be committed to a committee of the whole house; but the order was delayed from time to time till the end of the session. Some progress was likewise made in another affair of greater consequence to the community. A committee was appointed in the month of March, to take into consideration the state of the poor in England, as well as the laws enacted for their maintenance. The clerks of the peace belonging to all the counties, cities, and towns in England and Wales, were ordered to transmit, for the perusal of the house, an account of the annual expense of passing vagrants through their respective divisions and districts for four years: and the committee began to deliberate on this important subject. In the latter end of May the house was made acquainted with their resolutions, importing, that the present methods of relieving the poor in the respective parishes, where no workhouses have been provided for their reception and employment, are, in general, very burdensome to the inhabitants, and tend to render the poor miserable to themselves, and useless to the community: that the present method of giving money out of the parochial rates to persons capable of labour, in order to prevent them from claiming an entire subsistence for themselves and their families, is contrary to the spirit and intention of the laws for the relief of the poor, is a dangerous power in the hands of parochial officers, a misapplication of the public money, and a great encouragement to idleness and intemperance; that the employment of the poor, under proper direction and management, in such works and manufactures as are suited to their respective capacities, would be of great utility to the public: that settling the poor in Workhouses, to be provided in the several counties and ridings in England and Wales, under the direction and management of governors and trustees to be appointed for that purpose, would be the most effectual method of relieving such poor persons, as, by age, infirmities, or diseases, are rendered incapable of supporting themselves by their labour: of employing the able and industrious, reforming the idle and profligate, and of educating poor children in religion and industry: and that the poor in such workhouses would be better regulated and maintained, and managed with more advantage to the public, by guardians, governors, or trustees, to be especially appointed, or chosen for that purpose, and incorporated with such powers, and under such restrictions, as the legislature should deem proper, than by the annual parochial officers: that erecting workhouses upon the waste lands, and appropriating a certain quantity of such lands to be cultivated, in order to produce provisions for the poor in the said houses, would not only be the means of instructing and employing many of the said poor in agriculture, but lessen the expense of the public: that controversies and law-suits concerning the settlements of poor persons, occasioned a very great, and in general an useless expense to the public, amounting to many thousand pounds per annum; and that often more money is expended in ascertaining such settlements by each of the contending parishes than would be sufficient to maintain the paupers: that should workhouses be established for the general reception of the poor, in the respective counties and ridings of England, the laws relating to the settlements of the poor, and the passing of vagrants, might be repealed: that while the present laws relating to the poor subsist, the compelling parish-officers to grant certificates to the poor, would in all probability prevent the hardships they now suffer, in being debarred gaining their livelihood, where they can do it most usefully to themselves and the public. From these sensible resolutions, the reader may conceive some idea of the misconduct that attends the management of the poor in England, as well as of the grievous burdens entailed upon the people by the present laws which constitute this branch of the legislature. The committee’s resolves being read at the table, an order was made that they should be taken into consideration on a certain day, when the order was again put off, and in the interim the parliament was prorogued. While the committee deliberated upon this affair, leave was given to prepare a bill for preventing tenants, under a certain yearly rent, from gaining settlements in any particular parish, by being there rated in any land-tax assessment, and paying for the landlord the money so charged. This order was afterwards discharged; and another bill brought in to prevent any person from gaining a settlement, by being rated by virtue of an act of parliament for granting an aid to his majesty by a land-tax, and paying the same. The bill was accordingly presented, read, committed, and passed the lower house; but among the lords it miscarried. It can never be expected that the poor will be managed with economy and integrity, while the execution of the laws relating to their maintenance is left in the hands of low tradesmen, who derive private advantage from supplying them with necessaries, and often favour the imposition of one another with the most scandalous collusion. This is an evil which will never be remedied, until persons of independent fortune, and unblemished integrity, actuated by a spirit of true patriotism, shall rescue their fellow-citizens from the power of such interested miscreants, by taking the poor into their own management and protection. Instead of multiplying laws with respect to the settlement and management of the poor, which serve only to puzzle and perplex the parish and peace officers, it would become the sagacity of the legislature to take some effectual precautions to prevent the increase of paupers and vagrants, which is become an intolerable nuisance to the commonwealth. Towards this salutary end, surely nothing would more contribute than a reformation of the police, that would abolish those infamous places of entertainment, which swarm in every corner of the metropolis, seducing people of all ranks to extravagance, profligacy, and ruin; and would restrict within due bounds the number of public-houses, which are augmented to an enormous degree, affording so many asylums for riot and debauchery, and corrupting the morals of the common people to such a pitch of licentious indecency, as must be a reproach to every civilized nation. Let it not be affirmed, to the disgrace of Great Britain, that such receptacles of vice and impurity subsist under the connivance of the government, according to the narrow views and confined speculation of those shallow politicians, who imagine that the revenue is increased in proportion to the quantity of strong liquors consumed in such infamous recesses of intemperance. Were this in reality the case, that administration would deserve to be branded with eternal infamy, which could sacrifice to such abase consideration the health, the lives, and the morals of their fellow-creatures: but nothing can be more fallacious than the supposition, that the revenue of any government can be increased by the augmented intemperance of the people; for intemperance is the bane of industry, as well as of population; and what the government gains in the articles of the duty on malt, and the excise upon liquors, will always be greatly overbalanced by the loss in other articles, arising from the diminution of hands, and the neglect of labour.

REGULATION OF WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

Exclusive of the bills that were actually prepared, though they did not pass in the course of the session, the commons deliberated on other important subjects, which, however, were not finally discussed. In the beginning of the session, a committee being appointed to resume the inquiry touching the regulation of weights and measures, a subject we have mentioned in the history of the preceding session, the box which contained a troy pound weight, locked up by order of the house, was again produced by the clerk in whose custody it had been deposited. This affair being carefully investigated, the committee agreed to fourteen resolutions. 490 [See note 3 T, at the end of this Vol.] In the meantime, it was ordered that all the weights referred to in the report, should be delivered to the clerk of the house, to be locked up and brought forth occasionally.

THE FOUNDLING HOSPITAL.

The house of commons, among other articles of domestic economy, bestowed some attention on the hospital for foundlings, which was now, more than ever, become a matter of national consideration. The accounts relating to this charity having been demanded, and subjected to the inspection of the members, were, together with the king’s recommendation, referred to the committee of supply, where they produced the resolutions which we have already specified among the other grants of the year. The house afterwards resolved itself into a committee to deliberate on the state of the hospital, and examine its accounts. On the third day of May, their resolutions were reported to the following effect: that the appointing, by the governors and guardians of the said hospital, places in the several counties, ridings, or divisions in this kingdom, for the first reception of exposed and deserted young children, would be attended with many evil consequences; and that the conveying of children from the country to the said hospital is attended with many evil consequences, and ought to be prevented. A bill was ordered to be brought in, founded upon this last resolution, but never presented; therefore the inquiry produced no effect. Notwithstanding the institution of this charity, for the support of which great sums are yearly levied on the public, it does not appear that the bills of mortality, respecting new-born children, are decreased, nor the shocking crime of infant-murder rendered less frequent than heretofore. It may, therefore, not be improperly styled a heavy additional tax for the propagation of bastardy, and the encouragement of idleness among the common people; besides the tendency it has to extinguish the feelings of the heart, and dissolve those family ties of blood by which the charities are connected. In the month of March, leave was given to bring in a bill for the more effectual preventing of the melting down and exporting the gold and silver coin of the kingdom, and the persons were nominated to prepare it; but the bill never appeared, and no further inquiry was made about the matter. Perhaps it was supposed that such a measure might be thought an encroachment on the prerogative of the crown, which hath always exercised the power of fixing the standard, and regulating the currency of the coin. Perhaps such a step was deferred on account of the war, during which a great quantity of gold and silver was necessarily exported to the continent, for the support of the allies and armies in the pay of Great Britain. The legislature, however, would do well to consider this eternal maxim in computation, that when a greater quantity of bullion is exported, in waste, than can be replaced by commerce, the nation must be hastening to a state of insolvency. Over and above these proceedings in this session of parliament, it may not be unnecessary to mention several messages which were sent by the king to the house of commons. That relating to the vote of credit we have already specified in our account of the supply. On the twenty-sixth day of April, the chancellor of the exchequer presented to the house two messages signed by his majesty, one in favour of his subjects in North America, and the other in behalf of the East India company: the former recommending to their consideration the zeal and vigour with which his faithful subjects in North America had exerted themselves in defence of his just rights and possessions; desiring he might be enabled to give them a proper compensation for the expenses incurred by the respective provinces in levying, clothing, and paying the troops raised in that country, according as the active vigour and strenuous efforts of the several colonies should appear to merit: in the latter, he desired the house would empower him to assist the East India company in defraying the expense of a military force in the East Indies, to be maintained by them, in lieu of a battalion of regular troops withdrawn from thence, and returned to Ireland. Both these messages were referred to the committee of supply, and produced the resolutions upon each subject which we have already explained. The message relating to a projected invasion by the enemies of Great Britain, we shall particularize in its proper place, when we come to record the circumstances and miscarriage of that design. In the meantime, it may not be improper to observe, that the thanks of the house of commons were voted and given to admiral Boscawen and major-general Amherst, for the services they had done their king and country in North America; and the same compliment was paid to admiral Osborne, for the success of his cruise in the Mediterranean.

The session was closed on the second day of June, with a speech to both houses from the commissioners appointed by his majesty for that purpose. In this harangue the parliament was given to understand, that the king approved of their conduct, and returned them his thanks for their condescension; that the hopes he had conceived of their surmounting the difficulties which lay in the way, were founded on the wisdom, zeal, and affection of so good a parliament, and that his expectations were fully answered; that they had considered the war in all its parts, and notwithstanding its long continuance, through the obstinacy of the enemy, had made such provision for the many different operations as ought to convince the adversaries of Great Britain, that it would be for their interest, as well as for the ease and relief of all Europe, to embrace equitable and honourable terms of accommodation. They were told that, by their assistance, the combined army in Germany had been completed; powerful squadrons, as well as numerous bodies of land-forces, were employed in America, in order to maintain the British rights and possessions, and annoy the enemy in the most sensible maimer in that country: that, as France was making considerable preparations in her different ports, he had taken care to put his fleet at home in the best condition, both of strength and situation, to guard against and repel any attempts that might be meditated against his kingdoms: that all his measures had been directed to assert the honour of his crown; to preserve the essential interests of his faithful subjects; to support the cause of the protestant religion, and public liberty: he therefore trusted that the uprightness of his intentions would draw down the blessing of heaven upon his endeavours. He expressed his hope, that the precautions they had taken to prevent and correct the excesses of the privateers would produce the desired effect: a consideration which the king had much at heart; for, though sensible of the utility of that service, when under proper regulations, he was determined to do his utmost to prevent any injuries or hardships which might be sustained by the subjects of neutral powers, as far as might be practicable and consistent with his majesty’s just right to hinder the trade of his enemies from being collusively and fraudulently covered. He not only thanked the commons, but applauded the firmness and vigour with which they had acted, as well as their prudence in judging, that notwithstanding the present burdens, the making ample provision for carrying on the war was the most probable means to bring it to an honourable and happy conclusion. He assured them that no attention should be wanting, on his part, for the faithful application of what had been granted. They were informed he had nothing further to desire, but that they would carry down the same good dispositions, and propagate them in their several counties, which they had shown in their proceedings during the session. These declarations being pronounced, the parliament was prorogued.

PREPARATIONS FOR WAR.

The people of England, provoked on one hand by the intrigues, the hostilities and menaces of France, and animated on the other by the pride and triumph of success, which never fails to reconcile them to difficulties, howsoever great, and expense, however enormous, at this period breathed nothing but war, and discoursed about nothing but new plans of conquest. We have seen how liberally the parliament bestowed the nation’s money; and the acquiescence of the subjects in general under the additional burdens which had been imposed, appeared in the remarkable eagerness with which they embarked in the subscription planned by the legislature; in the vigorous assistance they contributed towards manning the navy, recruiting the army, and levying additional forces; and the warlike spirit which began to diffuse itself through all ranks of the people, This was a spirit which the ministry carefully cherished and cultivated, for the support of the war, which, it must be owned, was prosecuted with an ardour and efficacy peculiar to the present administration. True it is, the German war had been for some time adopted as an object of importance by the British councils, and a resolution was taken to maintain it without flinching: at the same time, it must be allowed, that this consideration had not hitherto weakened the attention of the ministry to the operations in America, where alone the war may be said to have been carried on and prosecuted on British principles, so as to distress the enemy in their most tender part, and at the same time, acquire the most substantial advantages to the subjects of Britain. For these two purposes, every preparation was made that sagacity could suggest, or vigour execute. The navy was repaired and augmented; and, in order to man the different squadrons, the expedient of pressing, that disgrace to a British administration, was practised both by land and water with extraordinary rigour and vivacity. A proclamation was issued, offering a considerable bounty for every seaman and every landman that should by a certain day enter voluntarily into the service. As an additional encouragement to this class of people, the king promised his pardon to all seamen who had deserted from their respective ships to which they belonged, provided they should return to their duty by the third day of July; but at the same time he declared, that those who should neglect this opportunity, at a time when their country so much required their service, would, upon being apprehended, incur the penalty of a court-martial, and if convicted, be deemed unfit objects of the royal mercy. All justices of the peace, mayors, and magistrates of corporations throughout Great Britain, were commanded to make particular search for straggling seamen fit for the service, and to send all that should be found to the nearest sea-port, that they might be sent on board by the sea-officer there commanding. Other methods, more gentle and effectual, were taken to levy and recruit the land-forces. New regiments were raised, on his majesty’s promise that every man should be entitled to his discharge at the end of three years, and the premiums for enlisting were increased. Over and above these indulgences, considerable bounties were offered and given by cities, towns, corporations, and even by individuals, so universally were the people possessed with a spirit of chivalry and adventure. The example was set by the metropolis, where the common-council resolved, that voluntary subscriptions should be received in the chamber of London, to be appropriated as bounty-money to such persons as should engage in his majesty’s service. The city subscribed a considerable sum for that purpose; and a committee of aldermen and commoners was appointed to attend at Guildhall, to receive and apply the subscriptions. Asa further encouragement to volunteers, they moreover resolved, that every person so entering should be entitled to the freedom of the city, at the expiration of three years, or sooner if the war should be brought to a conclusion. These resolutions being communicated to the king, he was pleased to signify his approbation, and return his thanks to the city, in a letter from the secretary of state to the lord-mayor. Large sums were immediately subscribed by different companies, and some private persons; and, in imitation of the capital, bounties were offered by many different communities in every quarter of the United Kingdom. At the same time, such care and diligence were used in disciplining the militia, that, before the close of the year, the greater part of those truly constitutional battalions rivalled the regular troops in the perfection of their exercise, and seemed to be, in all respects, as fit for actual service.

DEATH OF THE PRINCESS OF ORANGE, &c.

Before we proceed to record the transactions of the campaign that succeeded these preparations, we shall take notice of some domestic events, which, though not very important in themselves, may nevertheless claim a place in the History of England. In the beginning of the year, the court of London was overwhelmed with affliction at the death of the princess dowager of Orange and Nassau, governante of the United Provinces in the minority of her son, the present stadtholder. She was the eldest daughter of his Britannic majesty, possessed of many personal accomplishments and exemplary virtues; pious, moderate, sensible, and circumspect. She had exercised her authority with equal sagacity and resolution, respected even by those who were no friends to the house of Orange, and died with great fortitude and resignation.*

* Feeling her end approaching, she delivered a key to one of her attendants, directing him to fetch two papers, which she signed with her own hand. One was a contract of marriage between her daughter and the prince of Nassau Weilburgh; the other was a letter to the states-general, beseeching them to consent to this marriage, and preserve inviolate the regulations she had made touching the education and tutelage of the young stadtholder. These two papers being signed and sealed, she sent for her children, exhorted them to make proper improvements on the education they had received, and to live in harmony with each other. Then she implored Heaven to shower its blessings on them both, and embraced them with the most affecting marks of maternal tenderness. She afterwards continued to converse calmly and deliberately with her friends, and in a few hours expired.

In her will she appointed the king her father, and the princess dowager of Orange her mother-in-law, honorary tutors, and prince Louis of Brunswick acting tutor to her children. In the morning after her decease, the states-general and the states of Holland were extraordinarily assembled, and having received notice of this event, proceeded to confirm the regulations which had been made for the minority of the stadtholder. Prince Louis of Brunswick was invited to assist in the assembly of Holland, where he took the oaths, as representing the captain-general of the union. Then he communicated to the assembly the act by which the princess had appointed him guardian of her children. He was afterwards invited to the assembly of the states-general, who agreed to the resolution of Holland, with respect to his guardianship; and in the evening the different colleges of the government sent formal deputations to the young stadtholder, and the princess Caroline, his sister, in whose names and presence they were received, and answered by their guardian and representative. A formal intimation of the death of the princess was communicated to the king her father, in a pathetic letter, by the states-general; who condoled with him on the irreparable loss which he as well as they had sustained by this melancholy event, and assured him they would employ all their care and attention in securing and defending the rights and interest of the young stadtholder and the princess his sister, whom they considered as the children of the republic. The royal family of England suffered another disaster in the course of this year, by the decease of the princess Elizabeth-Caroline, second daughter of his late royal highness Frederick prince of Wales, a lady of the most amiable character, who died at Kew in the month of September, before she had attained the eighteenth year of her age.

EXAMPLES MADE OF PIRATES.

Certain privateers continuing their excesses at sea, and rifling neutral ships without distinction or authority, the government resolved to vindicate the honour of the nation, by making examples of those pirates, who, as fast as they could be detected and secured, were brought to trial, and upon conviction sacrificed to justice. While these steps were taken to rescue the nation from the reproach of violence and rapacity, which her neighbours had urged with such eagerness, equal spirit was exerted in convincing neutral powers that they should not with impunity contravene the law of nations, in favouring the enemies of Great Britain. A great number of causes were tried relating to disputed captures, and many Dutch vessels, with their cargoes, were condemned, after a fair hearing, notwithstanding the loud clamours of that people, and the repeated remonstrances of the states-general.

The reputation of the English was not so much affected by the irregularities of her privateers, armed for rapine, as by the neglect of internal police, and an ingredient of savage ferocity mingled in the national character; an ingredient that appeared but too conspicuous in the particulars of several shocking murders brought to light about this period.—One Halsey, who commanded a merchant ship in the voyage from Jamaica to England, having conceived some personal dislike to a poor sailor, insulted him with such abuse, exposed him to such hardships, and punished him with such wantonness of barbarity, that the poor wretch leaped overboard in despair. His inhuman tyrant envying him that death, which would have rescued a miserable object from his brutality, plunged into the sea after him, and brought him on board, declaring, he should not escape so while there were any torments left to inflict. Accordingly, he exercised his tyranny upon him with redoubled rigour, until the poor creature expired, in consequence of the inhuman treatment he had sustained. This savage ruffian was likewise indicted for the murder of another mariner, but being convicted on the first trial, the second was found unnecessary, and the criminal suffered death according to the law, which is perhaps too mild to malefactors convicted of such aggravated cruelty.—Another barbarous murder was perpetrated in the country, near Birmingham, upon a sheriff’s officer, by the sons of one Darby, whose effects the bailiff had seized, on a distress for rent. The two young assassins, encouraged by the father, attacked the unhappy wretch with clubs, and mangled him in a terrible manner, so that he hardly retained any signs of life. Not contented with this cruel execution, they stripped him naked, and dragging him out of the house, scourged him with a waggoner’s whip, until the flesh was cut from the bones. In this miserable condition he was found weltering in his blood, and conveyed to a neighbouring house, where he immediately expired. The three barbarians were apprehended, after having made a desperate resistance. They were tried, convicted, and executed; the sons were hung in chains, and the body of the father dissected.—The widow of a timber-merchant in Rotherhithe being cruelly murdered in her own house, Mary Edmonson, a young woman, her niece, ran out into the street with her arms cut across, and gave the alarm, declaring her aunt had been assassinated by four men, who forced their way into the house, and that she (the niece) had received those wounds in attempting to defend her relation. According to the circumstances that appeared, this unnatural wretch had cut the throat of her aunt and benefactress with a case-knife, then dragged the body from the wash-house to the parlour; that she had stolen a watch and some silver spoons, and concealed them, together with the knife and her own apron, which was soaked with the blood of her parent. After having acted this horrid tragedy, the bare recital of which the humane reader will not peruse without horror, she put on another apron, and wounded her own flesh, the better to conceal her guilt. Notwithstanding these precautions she was suspected, and committed to prison. Being brought to trial, she was convicted and condemned upon circumstantial evidence, and finally executed on Kennington-common, though she denied the fact to the last moment of her life. At the place of execution she behaved with great composure, and, after having spent some minutes in devotion, protested she was innocent of the crime laid to her charge. What seemed to corroborate this protestation, was the condition and character of the young woman, who had been educated in a sphere above the vulgar, and maintained a reputation without reproach in the country, where she was actually betrothed to a clergyman. On the other hand, the circumstances that appeared against her almost amounted to a certainty; though nothing weaker than proof positive ought to determine a jury in capital cases to give a verdict against the person accused. After all, this is one of those problematic events which elude the force of all evidence, and serve to confound the pride of Iranian reason.—A miscreant, whose name was Haines, having espoused the daughter of a farmer in the neighbourhood of Gloucester, who possessed a small estate, which he intended to divide among seven children, was so abandoned as to form the design of poisoning the whole family, that by virtue of his wife he might enjoy the whole inheritance. For the execution of this infernal scheme, he employed his own father to purchase a quantity of arsenic; part of which he administered to three of the children, who were immediately seized with the dreadful symptoms produced by this mineral, and the eldest expired. He afterwards mixed it with three apple-cakes, which he bought for the purpose, and presented to the three other children, who underwent the same violence of operation which had proved fatal to the eldest brother. The instantaneous effects of the poison created a suspicion of Haines, who, being examined, the whole scene of villany stood disclosed. Nevertheless, the villain found means to escape.—The uncommon spirit of assassination which raged at this period, seemed to communicate itself even to foreigners who breathed English air. Five French prisoners confined on board the king’s ship the Royal Oak, were convicted of having murdered one Jean de Manaux, their countryman and fellow-prisoner, in revenge for his having discovered that they had forged passes to facilitate their escape. Exasperated at this detection, they seized this unfortunate informer in the place of their confinement, gagged his mouth, stripped him naked, tied him with a strong cord to a ring-bolt, and scourged his body with the most brutal perseverance. By dint of struggling, the poor wretch disengaged himself from the cord with which he had been tied: then they finished the tragedy, by leaping and stamping on his breast, till the chest was broke, and he expired. They afterwards severed the body into small pieces, and these they conveyed at different times into the sea, through the funnel of a convenience to which they had access: but one of the other prisoners gave information of the murder; in consequence of which they were secured, brought to trial, condemned, and punished with death.—Nor were the instances of cruel assassination which prevailed at this juncture confined to Great Britain. At the latter end of the foregoing year, an atrocious massacre was perpetrated by two Genoese mariners upon the master and crew of an English vessel, among whom they were enrolled. These monsters of cruelty were in different watches, a circumstance that favoured the execution of the horrid plan they had concerted. When one of them retired to rest with his fellows of the watch, consisting of the mate and two seamen, he waited till they were fast asleep, and then butchered them all with a knife. Having so far succeeded without discovery, he returned to the deck, and communicated the exploit to his associate: then they suddenly attacked the master of the vessel, and cleft his head with a hatchet, which they likewise used in murdering the man that stood at the helm; a third was likewise despatched, and no Englishman remained alive but the master’s son, a boy, who lamented his father’s death with incessant tears and cries for three days, at the expiration of which he was likewise sacrificed, because the assassins were disturbed by his clamour. This barbarous scene was acted within sixty leagues of the rock of Lisbon; but the vessel was taken within the capes Ortugal and Finisterre, by the captain of the French privateer called La Favourite, who seeing the deck stained with blood, and finding all the papers of the ship destroyed, began to suspect that the master and crew had been murdered. He accordingly taxed them with the murder, and they confessed the particulars. The privateer touched at Vigo, where the captain imparted this detail to the English consul; but the prize, with the two villains on board, was sent to Bayonne in France, where they were brought to condign punishment.

MURDER OF DANIEL CLARKE.

We shall close this register of blood with the account of a murder remarkable in all its circumstances, for which a person, called Eugene Aram, suffered at York, in the course of this year. This man, who exercised the profession of a schoolmaster at Knaresborough, had, as far back as the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-five, been concerned with one Houseman, in robbing and murdering Daniel Clarke, whom they had previously persuaded to borrow a considerable quantity of valuable effects from different persons in the neighbourhood, on false pretences, that he might retire with the booty. He had accordingly filled a sack with these particulars, and began his retreat with his two perfidious associates, who suddenly fell upon him, deprived him of life, and, having buried the body in a cave, took possession of the plunder. Though Clarke disappeared at once in such a mysterious manner, no suspicion fell on the assassins; and Aram, who was the chief contriver and agent in the murder, moved his habitation to another part of the country. In the summer of the present year, Houseman being employed, among other labourers, in repairing the public highway, they, in digging for gravel by the road side, discovered the skeleton of a human creature, which the majority supposed to be the bones of Daniel Clarke. This opinion was no sooner broached, than Houseman, as it were by some supernatural impulse which he could not resist, declared that it was not the skeleton of Clarke, inasmuch as his body had been interred at a place called St. Robert’s Cave, where they would find it, with the head turned to a certain corner. He was immediately apprehended, examined, admitted as evidence for the crown, and discovered the particulars of the murder. The skeleton of Clarke being found exactly in the place and manner he had described, Eugene Aram, who now acted as usher to a grammar-school in the county of Norfolk, was secured, and brought to trial at the York assizes. There, his own wife corroborating the testimony of Houseman, he was found guilty, and received sentence of death; notwithstanding a very artful and learned defence, in which he proved, from argument and example, the danger of convicting a man upon circumstantial evidence. Finding all his remonstrances ineffectual, he recommended himself in pathetic terms to the king’s mercy; and if ever murder was entitled to indulgence, perhaps it might have been extended not improperly to this man, whose genius, in itself prodigious, might have exerted itself in works of general utility. He had, in spite of all the disadvantages attending low birth and straitened circumstances, by the dint of his own capacity and inclination, made considerable progress in mathematics and philosophy, acquired all the languages ancient and modern, and executed part of a Celtic dictionary, which, had he lived to finish it, might have thrown some essential light upon the origin and obscurities of the European history. Convinced, at last, that he had nothing to hope from the clemency of the government, he wrote a short poem in defence of suicide; and, on the day fixed for his execution, opened the veins of his left arm with a razor, which he had concealed for that purpose. Though he was much weakened by the effusion of blood, before this attempt was discovered, yet, as the instrument had missed the artery, he did not expire until he was carried to the gibbet, and underwent the sentence of the law. His body was conveyed to Knaresborough-forest, and hung in chains, near the place where the murder was perpetrated.—These are some of the most remarkable that appeared amongst many other instances of homicide: a crime that prevails to a degree alike deplorable and surprising, even in a nation renowned for compassion and placability. But this will generally be the case among people whose passions, naturally impetuous, are ill restrained by laws, and the regulations of civil society; which the licentious do not fear, and the wicked hope to evade.

MAJORITY OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.

The prince of Wales having, in the beginning of June, entered the two-and-twentieth year of his age, the anniversary of his birth was celebrated with great rejoicings at court, and the king received compliments of congratulation on the majority of a prince, who seemed born to fulfil the hopes, and complete the happiness, of Great Britain. The city of London presented an address to the king on this occasion, replete with expressions of loyalty and affection, assuring his majesty, that no hostile threats could intimidate a people animated by the love of liberty, who, confiding in the Divine Providence, and in his majesty’s experienced wisdom and vigorous councils, were resolved to exert their utmost efforts towards enabling their sovereign to repel the insults and defeat the attempts made by the ancient enemies of his crown and kingdom. Congratulations of the same kind were offered by other cities, towns, corporations, and communities, who vied with each other in professions of attachment; and, indeed, there was not the least trace of disaffection perceivable at this juncture in any part of the island.

A NEW BRIDGE AT BLACKFRIARS.

So little were the citizens of London distressed by the expense, or incommoded by the operations of the war, that they found leisure to plan, and funds to execute, magnificent works of art, for the ornament of the metropolis, and the convenience of commerce. They had obtained an act of parliament, empowering them to build a new bridge over the Thames, from Blackfriars to the opposite shore, about midway between those of London and Westminster. Commissioners were appointed to put this act in execution; and, at a court of common-council, it was resolved that a sum not exceeding one hundred and forty-four thousand pounds should be forthwith raised, within the space of eight years, by instalments, not exceeding thirty thousand pounds in one year, to be paid into the chamber of London; that the persons advancing the money should have an interest at the rate of four pounds per cent, per annum, to be paid half-yearly by the chamberlain, yet redeemable at the expiration of the first ten years; and that the chamberlain should affix the city’s seal to such instruments as the committee might think fit to give for securing the payment of the said annuities. Such were the first effectual steps taken towards the execution of a laudable measure, which met with the most obstinate opposition in the sequel, from the narrow views of particular people, as well as from the prejudice of party.

FIRE IN CORNHILL.

The spirit that now animated the citizens of London was such as small difficulties did not retard, and even considerable losses could not discourage. In the month of November the city was exposed to a dangerous conflagration, kindled in the night by accident in the neighbourhood of the Royal Exchange, which burned with great fury, and, notwithstanding the assistance of the firemen and engines, employed under the personal direction of the magistracy, consumed a great number of houses, and damaged many more. That whole quarter of the town was filled with consternation: some individuals were beggared; one or two perished in the flames, and some were buried in the ruins of the houses that sunk under the disaster.

METHOD CONTRIVED TO FIND OUT THE LONGITUDE.

The ferment of mind so peculiar to the natives of Great Britain, excited by a strange mixture of genius and caprice, passion and philosophy, study and conjecture, produced at this period some flowers of improvement, in different arts and sciences, that seemed to promise fruit of public utility. Several persons invented methods for discovering the longitude at sea, that great desideratum in navigation, for the ascertainment of which so many nations have offered a public recompense, and in the investigation of which so many mathematical heads have been disordered. Some of those who now appeared candidates for the prize deserved encouragement for the ingenuity of their several systems; but he who seemed to enjoy’ the pre-eminence in the opinion and favour of the public was Mr. Irwin, a native of Ireland, who contrived a chair so artfully poised, that a person sitting in it on board a ship, even in a rough sea, can, through a telescope, observe the immersion and emersion of Jupiter’s satellites, without being interrupted or incommoded by the motion of the vessel. This gentleman was favoured with the assistance and protection of commodore lord Howe, in whose presence the experiment was tried in several ships at sea with such success, that he granted a certificate, signifying his approbation; and in consequence of this, Mr. Irwin is said to have obtained a considerable reward from the board of admiralty.

INSTALLATION AT OXFORD.

The people of England, happy in their situation, felt none of the storms of war and desolation which ravaged the neighbouring countries; but, enriched by a surprising augmentation of commerce, enjoyed all the security of peace, and all the pleasures of taste and affluence. The university of Oxford having conferred the office of their chancellor, vacant by the death of the earl of Arran, upon another nobleman of equal honour and integrity, namely, the earl of Westmoreland, he made a public entrance into that celebrated seat of learning with great magnificence, and was installed amidst the Encaenia, which were celebrated with such classical elegance of pomp, as might have rivalled the chief Roman festival of the Augustan age. The chancellor elect was attended by a splendid train of the nobility and persons of distinction. The city of Oxford was filled with a vast concourse of strangers. The processions were contrived with taste, and conducted with decorum. The installation was performed with the most striking solemnity. The congratulatory verses and public speeches breathed the spirit of old Rome; and the ceremony was closed by Dr. King, that venerable sage of St. Mary Hall, who pronounced an oration in praise of the new chancellor with all the flow of Tully, animated by the fire of Demosthenes.

* In the spring of the year the liberal arts sustained a lamentable loss in the death of George Frederick Handel, the most celebrated master in music which this age had produced. He was by birth a German; but had studied in Italy, and afterwards settled in England, where he met with the most favourable reception, and resided above half a century, universally admired for his stupendous genius in the sublime parts of musical composition. One would be apt to imagine, that there was something in the constitution of the air at this period, which was particularly unfavourable to old age; inasmuch as, in the compass of a few months, the following persons, remarkable for their longevity, died in the kingdom of Scotland. William Barnes, who had been above seventy years a servant in the family of Brodie, died there, at the age of one hundred and nine. Catherine Mackenzie died in Ross-shire, at the age of one hundred and eighteen. Janet Blair, deceased at Monemusk, in the shire of Aberdeen, turned of one hundred and twelve. Alexander Stephens, in Banffshire, at the age of one hundred and eight. Janet Harper, of Bainsholes, at the age of one hundred and seven. Daniel Cameron, in Rannaeh, married when he was turned of one hundred, and survived his marriage thirty years.

These are detached from the prosecution of the war, with the detail of an event equally surprising and deplorable:—A sloop called the Dolphin, bound from the Canaries to New York, met with such unfavourable weather, that she was detained one hundred and sixty-five days in the passage, and the provision of the ship was altogether expended before the first fifty days were elapsed. The wretched crew had devoured their dog, cat, and all their shoes on board: at length, being reduced to the utmost extremity, they agreed to cast lots for their lives, that the body of him upon whom the lot should fall might serve for some time to support the survivors. The wretched victim was one Antoni Ga-latia, a Spanish gentleman and passenger. Him they shot with a musket; and having cut off his head, threw it overboard; but the entrails and the rest of the carcase they greedily devoured. This horrid banquet having, as it were, fleshed the famished crew, they began to talk of another sacrifice, from which, however, they were diverted by the influence and remonstrances of their captain, who prevailed upon them to be satisfied with a miserable allowance to each per diem, cut from a pair of leather breeches found in the cabin. Upon this calamitous pittance, reinforced with the grass which grew plentifully upon the deck, these poor objects made shift to subsist for twenty days, at the expiration of which they were relieved, and taken on board by one captain Bradshaw, who chanced to fall in with them at sea. By this time the whole crew, consisting of seven men, were so squalid and emaciated, as to exhibit an appearance at once piteous and terrible; and so reduced in point of strength, that it was found necessary to use ropes and tackle for hoisting them from one ship to the other. The circumstance of the lot falling upon the Spaniard, who was the only foreigner on board, encourages a suspicion that foul play was offered to this unfortunate stranger; but the most remarkable part of this whole incident is, that the master and crew could not contrive some sort of tackle to catch fish, with which the sea every where abounds, and which, no doubt, might be caught with the help of a little ingenuity. If implements of this kind were provided in every ship, they would probably prevent all those tragical events at sea that are occasioned by famine.

CAPTURES MADE BY CRUISERS.

Previous to the more capital operations in war, we shall particularize the most remarkable captures that were made upon the enemy by single ships of war, during the course of this summer and autumn. In the month of February, a French privateer belonging to Granville, called the Marquis de Marigny, having on board near two hundred men, and mounted with twenty cannon, was taken by captain Parker, commander of his majesty’s ship the Montague; who likewise made prize of a smaller armed vessel, from Dunkirk, of eight cannon and sixty men. About the same period, captain Graves, of the Unicorn, brought in the Moras privateer, of St. Maloes, carrying two hundred men, and two-and-twenty cannon. Two large merchant-ships, laden on the French king’s account for Martinique, with provisions, clothing, and arms, for the troops on that island, were taken by captain Lendrick, commander of the Brilliant; and an English transport from St. John’s, having four hundred French prisoners on board, perished near the Western islands. Within the circle of the same month, a large French ship from St. Domingo, richly laden, fell in with the Favourite ship of war, and was carried into Gibraltar.

In the month of February, captain Hood, of his majesty’s frigate the Vestal, belonging to a small squadron commanded by admiral Holmes, who had sailed for the West Indies in January, being advanced a considerable way ahead of the fleet, descried and gave chase to a sail, which proved to be a French frigate called the Bellona, of two hundred and twenty men, and two-and-thirty great guns, commanded by the count de Beauhonoire. Captain Hood, having made a signal to the admiral, continued the chase until he advanced within half musket-shot of the enemy, and then poured in a broadside, which was immediately retorted. The engagement thus begun was maintained with great vigour on both sides for the space of four hours; at the expiration of which the Bellona struck, after having lost all her masts and rigging, together with about forty men killed in the action. Nor was the victor in a much better condition. Thirty men were killed and wounded on board the Vestal. Immediately after the enemy submitted, all her rigging being destroyed by the shot, the topmasts fell overboard; and she was otherwise so much damaged, that she could not proceed on her voyage. Captain Hood, therefore, returned with his prize to Spithead; and afterwards met with a gracious reception from his majesty, on account of the valour and conduct he had displayed on this occasion. The Bellona had sailed in January from the island of Martinique, along with the Florissant, and another French frigate, from which she had been separated in the passage. Immediately after this exploit, captain Elliot, of the AEolus frigate, accompanied by the Isis, made prize of a French ship, the Mignonne, of twenty guns, and one hundred and forty men, one of four frigates employed as convoy to a large fleet of merchant-ships, near the island of Rhé.

In the month of March, the English frigates the Southampton and Melampe, commanded by the captains Gilchrist and Hotham, being at sea to the northward on a cruise, fell in with the Danaë, a French ship of forty cannon, and three hundred and thirty men, which was engaged by captain Hotham in a ship of half the force, who maintained the battle a considerable time with admirable gallantry, before his consort could come to his assistance. As they fought in the dark, captain Gilchrist was obliged to lie by for some time, because he could not distinguish the one from the other; but no sooner did the day appear, than he bore down upon the Danaë with his usual impetuosity, and soon compelled her to surrender: she did not strike, however, until thirty or forty of her men were slain; and the gallant captain Gilchrist received a grape-shot in his shoulder, which, though it did not deprive him of life, yet rendered him incapable of future service: a misfortune the more to be lamented, as it happened to a brave officer in the vigour of his age, and in the midst of a sanguinary war, which might have afforded him many other opportunities of signalizing his courage for the honour and advantage of his country. Another remarkable exploit was achieved about the same juncture by captain Barrington, commander of the ship Achilles, mounted with sixty cannon; who, to the westward of Cape Finisterre, encountered a French ship of equal force, called the Count de Saint Florintin, bound from Cape François, on the island of Hispaniola, to Rochefort, under the command of the sieur de Montay, who was obliged to strike, after a close and obstinate engagement, in which he himself was mortally wounded, a great number of his men slain, and his ship so damaged, that she was with difficulty brought into Falmouth. Captain Barrington obtained the victory at the expense of about five-and-twenty men killed and wounded, and all his rigging, which the enemy’s shot rendered useless. Two small privateers from Dunkirk were also taken: one called the Marquis de Bareil, by the Brilliant, which carried her into Kin-sale in Ireland; the other called the Carrilloneur, which struck to the Grace cutter, assisted by the boats of the ship Rochester, commanded by captain Duff, who sent her into the Downs.

About the latter end of March, captain Samuel Falkner, in the ship Windsor, of sixty guns, cruising to the westward, discovered four large ships to leeward, which, when he approached them, formed the line of battle ahead, in order to give him a warm reception. He accordingly closed with the sternmost ship, which sustained his fire about an hour: then the other three bearing away with all the sail they could carry, she struck her colours, and was conducted to Lisbon. She proved to be the Duc de Chartres, pierced for sixty cannon, though at that time carrying no more than four-and-twenty, with a complement of three hundred men, about thirty of whom were killed in the action. She belonged, with the other three that escaped, to the French East India company, was laden with gunpowder and naval stores, and bound for Pondicherry. Two privateers, called Le Chasseur and Le Conquérant, the one from Dunkirk, and the other from Cherbourg, were taken and carried into Plymouth by captain Hughes, of his majesty’s frigate the Tamer. A third, called the Despatch, from Morlaix, was brought into Penzance by the Diligence sloop, under the command of captain Eastwood. A fourth, called the Basque, from Bayonne, furnished with two-and-twenty guns, and above two hundred men, fell into the hands of captain Parker of the Brilliant, who conveyed her into Plymouth. Captain Antrobus of the Surprise, took the Vieux, a privateer of Bourdeaux; and a fifth, from Dunkirk, struck to captain Knight of the Liverpool, off Yarmouth. In the month of May, a French frigate called the Arethusa, mounted with two-and-thirty cannon, manned with a large complement of hands under the command of the marquis de Vaudreuil, submitted to two British frigates, the Venus and the Thames, commanded by the captains Harrison and Colby, after a warm engagement, in which sixty men were killed and wounded on the side of the enemy. In the beginning of June, an armed ship belonging to Dunkirk was brought into the Downs by captain Angel, of the Stag; and a privateer of force, called the Countess de la Serre, was subdued and taken, after an obstinate action, by captain Moore, of his majesty’s ship the Adventure.

PRIZES TAKEN IN THE WEST INDIES.

Several armed ships of the enemy, and rich prizes, were taken in the West Indies, particularly two French frigates, and two Dutch ships with French commodities, all richly laden, by some of the ships of the squadron which vice-admiral Coats commanded on the Jamaica station. A fifth, called the Velour, from St. Domingo, with a valuable cargo on board, being fortified with twenty cannon, and above one hundred men, fell in with the Favourite sloop of war, under the command of captain Edwards, who, after’ art obstinate dispute, carried her in triumph to Gibraltar. At St. Christopher’s, in the West Indies, captain Collingwood, commander of the king’s ship the Crescent, attacked two French frigates, the Améthyste and Berkeley; the former of which escaped, after a warm engagement, in which the Crescent’s rigging was so much damaged that she could not pursue; but the other was taken, and conveyed into the harbour of Basseterre. Notwithstanding the vigilance and courage of the English cruisers in those seas, the French privateers swarmed to such a degree, that in the course of this year they took above two hundred sail of British ships, valued at six hundred thousand pounds sterling. This their success is the more remarkable, as by this time the island of Guadaloupe was in possession of the English, and commodore Moore commanded a numerous squadron in those very latitudes.

ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE HERCULES AND THE FLORISSANT.

In the beginning of October, the Hercules ship of war, mounted with seventy-four guns, under the command of captain Porter, cruising in the chops of the channel, descried to windward a large ship, which proved to be the Florissant, of the same force with the Hercules. Her commander, perceiving the English ship giving chase, did not seem to decline the action, but bore down upon her in a slanting direction, and the engagement began with great fury. In a little time, the Hercules having lost her top-mast, and all her rigging being shot away, the enemy took advantage of this disaster, made the best of his way, and was pursued till eight o’clock next morning, when he escaped behind the isle of Oleron. Captain Porter was wounded in the head with a grape-shot, and lost the use of one leg in the engagement.

HAVRE-DE-GRACE BOMBARDED.

Having taken notice of all the remarkable captures and exploits that were made and achieved by single ships since the commencement of the present year, we shall now proceed to describe the actions that were performed in this period by the different squadrons that constituted the naval power of Great Britain. Intelligence having been received that the enemy meditated an invasion upon some of the British territories, and that a number of flat-bottomed boats were prepared at Havre-de-Grace, for the purpose of disembarking troops, rear-admiral Rodney was, in the beginning of July, detached with a small squadron of ships and bombs to annoy and overawe that part of the coast of France. He accordingly anchored in the road of Havre, and made a disposition to execute the instructions he had received. The bomb vessels, being placed in the narrow channel of the river leading to Ronfleur, began to throw their shells, and continued the bombardment for two-and-fifty hours, without intermission, during which a numerous body of French troops were employed in throwing up intrenchments, erecting new batteries, and firing both with shot and shells upon the assailants. The town was set on fire in several places, and burned with great fury; some of the boats were overturned, and a few of them reduced to ashes, while the inhabitants forsook the place in the utmost consternation: nevertheless, the damage done to the enemy was too inconsiderable to make amends for the expense of the armament, and the loss of nineteen hundred shells and eleven hundred carcasses, which were expended in this expedition. Bombardments of this kind are at best but expensive and unprofitable operations, and may be deemed a barbarous method of prosecuting war, inasmuch as the damage falls upon the wretched inhabitants, who have given no cause of offence, and who are generally spared by a humane enemy, unless they have committed some particular act of provocation.

BOSCAWEN DEFEATS M. DE LA CLUE.

The honour of the British flag was much more effectually asserted by the gallant admiral Boscawen, who, as we have already observed, was intrusted with the conduct of a squadron in the Mediterranean. It must be owned, however, that his first attempt savoured of temerity. Having in vain displayed the British flag in sight of Toulon, by way of defiance to the French fleet that lay there at anchor, he ordered three ships of the line, commanded by the captains Smith, Harland, and Barker, to advance and burn two ships that lay close to the mouth of the harbour. They accordingly approached with great intrepidity, and met with a very warm reception from divers batteries, which they had not before perceived. Two small forts they attempted to destroy, and cannonaded for some time with great fury; but being overmatched by superior force, and the wind subsiding into a calm, they sustained considerable damage, and were towed off with great difficulty in a very shattered condition. The admiral seeing three of his best ships so roughly handled in this enterprise, returned to Gibraltar in order to refit; and M. de la Clue, the French commander of the squadron at Toulon, seized this opportunity of sailing, in hopes of passing the Straits’ mouth unobserved, his fleet consisting of twelve large ships and three frigates. Admiral Boscawen, who commanded fourteen sail of the line with two frigates, and as many fire-ships, having refitted his squadron, detached one frigate to cruise off Malaga, and another to hover between Estepona and Ceuta-point, with a view to keep a good look-out, and give timely notice in case the enemy should approach. On the seventeenth day of August, at eight in the evening, the Gibraltar frigate made a signal that fourteen sail appeared on the Barbary shore, to the eastward of Ceuta; upon which the English admiral immediately heaved up his anchors and went to sea. At day-light he descried seven large ships lying-to; but when the English squadron forbore to answer their signal, they discovered their mistake, set all their sails, and made the best of their way. This was the greater part of the French squadron, commanded by M. de la Clue, from whom five of his large ships and three frigates had separated in the night. Even now, perhaps, he might have escaped, had he not been obliged to wait for the Souveraine, which was a heavy sailer. At noon the wind, which had blown a heavy gale, died away, and although admiral Boscawen had made signal to chase, and engage in a line of battle ahead, it was not till half an hour after two that some of his headmost ships could close with the rear of the enemy, which, though greatly out-numbered, fought with uncommon bravery. The English admiral, without waiting to return the fire of the sternmost, which he received as he passed, used all his endeavours to come up with the Ocean, which M. de la Clue commanded in person; and about four o’clock in the afternoon, running athwart her hawse, poured into her a furious broadside: thus the engagement began with equal vigour on both sides. This dispute, however, was of short duration. In about half an hour admiral Boscawen’s mizen-mast and topsail-yards were shot away, and the enemy hoisted all the sail they could carry. Mr. Boscawen having shifted his flag from the Namur to the Newark, joined some other ships in attacking the Centaur, of seventy-four guns, which, being thus overpowered, was obliged to surrender. The British admiral pursued them all night, during which the Souveraine and the Guerrier altered their course, and deserted their commander. At day-break, M. de la Clue, whose left leg had been broke in the engagement, perceiving the English squadron crowding all their sails to come up with him, and finding himself on the coast of Portugal, determined to burn his ships rather than they should fall into the hands of the victors. The Ocean was run ashore two leagues from Lagos, near the fort of Almadana, the commander of which fired three shots at the English; another captain of the French squadron followed the example of his commander, and both endeavoured to disembark their men; but the sea being rough, this proved a very tedious and difficult attempt. The captains of the Téméraire and Modeste, instead of destroying their ships, anchored as near as they could to the forts Xavier and Lagres, in hopes of enjoying their protection; but in this hope they were disappointed. M. de la Clue had been landed, and the command of the Ocean was left to the count de Carne, who, having received one broadside from the America, struck his colours, and the English took possession of this noble prize, the best ship in the French navy, mounted with eighty cannon. Captain Bentley of the Warspite, who had remarkably signalized himself by his courage during the action of the preceding day, attacked the Téméraire, of seventy-four guns, and brought her off with little damage. Vice-admiral Broderick, the second in command, advancing with his division, burned the Redoubtable, of seventy-four guns, which was bulged, and abandoned by her men and officers; but they made prize of the Modeste, carrying sixty-four guns, which had not been much injured in the engagement. This victory was obtained by the English admiral at a very small expense of men; the whole number of the killed and wounded not exceeding two hundred and fifty on board of the British squadron, though the carnage among the enemy must have been much more considerable, as M. de la Clue, in his letter to the French ambassador at Lisbon, owned, that on board of his own ship, the Ocean, one hundred men were killed on the spot, and seventy dangerously wounded. But the most severe circumstance of this disaster was the loss of four capital ships, two of which were destroyed, and the other two brought in triumph to England, to be numbered among the best bottoms of the British navy. What augmented the good fortune of the victors was, that not one officer lost his Life in the engagement. Captain Bentley, whom the admiral despatched to England with the tidings of his success, met with a gracious reception from the king, who knighted him for his gallantry.

PREPARATIONS MADE BY THE FRENCH FOR INVADING ENGLAND.

As we propose to throw together all the naval transactions of the year, especially those that happened in the European seas, that they may be comprehended, as it were, in one view, we must now, without regarding the order of time, postpone many previous events of importance, and record the last action by sea, that in the course of this year distinguished the flag of Great Britain. The court of Versailles, in order to embarrass the British ministry, and divert their attention from all external expeditions, had in the winter projected a plan for invading some part of the British dominions; and in the beginning of the year had actually begun to make preparations on different parts of their coast for carrying this design into execution. Even as far back as the latter end of May, messages from the king to both houses of parliament were delivered by the earl of Holdernesse and Mr. Pitt, the two secretaries of state, signifying that his majesty had received advices of preparations making by the French court, with a design to invade Great Britain: that though persuaded, by the universal zeal and affection of his people, any such attempt must, under the blessing of God, end in the destruction of those who engaged in it; yet he apprehended he should not act consistent with that paternal care and concern which he had always shown for the safety and preservation of his subjects, if he omitted any means in his power which might be necessary for their defence: he, therefore, acquainted the parliament with his having received repeated intelligence of the enemy’s preparations, to the end that his majesty might, if he should think proper, in pursuance of the late act of parliament, cause the militia, or such parts thereof as should be necessary, to be drawn out and embodied, in order to march as occasion should require. These messages were no sooner read, than each house separately resolved to present an address, thanking his majesty for having communicated this intelligence; assuring him, that they would, with their lives and fortunes, support him against all attempts whatever; that, warmed with affection and zeal for his person and government, and animated by indignation at the daring designs of an enemy whose fleet had hitherto shunned the terror of the British navy, they would cheerfully exert their utmost efforts to repel all insults, and effectually enable their sovereign not only to disappoint the attempts of France, but, by the blessing of God, turn them to their own confusion. The commons at the same time resolved upon another address, desiring his majesty would give directions to his lieutenants of the several counties, ridings, and places within South Britain, to use their utmost diligence and attention in executing the several acts of parliament made for the better ordering the militia.

ACCOUNT OF THUROT.

These and other precautionary steps were accordingly taken; but the administration wisely placed their chief dependence upon the strength of the navy, part of which was so divided and stationed as to block up all the harbours of France in which the enemy were known to prepare any naval armament of consequence. We have seen in what manner rear-admiral Rodney visited the town and harbour of Havre-de-Grace, and scoured that part of the coast in successive cruises: we have also recorded the expedition and victory of admiral Boscawen over the squadron of La Clue, which was equipped at Toulon, with a design to assist in the projected invasion. Not withstanding this disaster, the French ministry persisted in their design; towards the execution of which they had prepared another considerable fleet, in the harbours of Rochefort, Brest, and Port-Louis, to be commanded by M. de Conflans, and reinforced by a considerable body of troops, which were actually assembled under the duc d’Aiguillon, at Vannes, in Lower Bretagne. Flat-bottomed boats and transports to be used in this expedition, were prepared in different ports on the coast of France: and a small squadron was equipped at Dunkirk, under the command of an enterprising adventurer called Thurot, who had, in the course of the preceding year, signalized his courage and conduct in a large privateer called the Belleisle, which had scoured the North Seas, taken a number of ships, and at one time maintained an obstinate battle against two English frigates, which were obliged to desist, after having received considerable damage. This man’s name became a terror to the merchants of Great Britain; for his valour was not more remarkable in battle than his conduct in eluding the pursuit of the British cruisers, who were successively detached in quest of him, through every part of the German Ocean and North Sea, as far as the islands of Orkney. It must be likewise owned, for the honour of human nature, that this bold mariner, though destitute of the advantages of birth and education, was remarkably distinguished by his generosity and compassion to those who had the misfortune to fall into his power; and that his deportment in every respect entitled him to a much more honourable rank in the service of his country. The court of Versailles was not insensible to his merit. He obtained a commission from the French king, and was vested with the command of the small armament now fitting out in the harbour of Dunkirk. The British government, being apprized of all these particulars, took such measures to defeat the purposed invasion, as must have conveyed a very high idea of the power of Great Britain, to those who considered, that, exclusive of the force opposed to this design, they at the same time carried on the most vigorous and important operations of war in Germany, America, the East and West Indies. Thurot’s armament at Dunkirk was watched by an English squadron in the Downs, commanded by commodore Boys; the port of Havre was guarded by rear-admiral Rodney; Mr. Boscawen had been stationed off Toulon, and the coast of Vannes was scoured by a small squadron detached from sir Edward Hawke, who had, during the summer, blocked up the harbour of Brest, where Conflans lay with his fleet, in order to be joined by the other divisions of the armament. These different squadrons of the British navy were connected by a chain of separate cruisers; so that the whole coast of France, from Dunkirk to the extremity of Bretagne, was distressed by an actual blockade.

FRENCH FLEET SAILS FROM BREST.

The French fleet being thus hampered, forbore their attempt upon Britain; and the projected invasion seemed to hang in suspense till the month of August, in the beginning of which their army in Germany was defeated at Minden. Their designs in that country being baffled by this disaster, they seemed to convert their chief attention to their sea armament; the preparations were resumed with redoubled vigour; and, even after the defeat of La Clue, they resolved to try their fortune in a descent. They now proposed to disembark a body of troops in Ireland. Thurot received orders to sail from Dunkirk with the first opportunity, and shape his course round the northern parts of Scotland, that he might alarm the coast of Ireland, and make a diversion from that part where Conflans intended to effectuate the disembarkation of his forces. The transports and ships of war were assembled at Brest and Rochefort, having on board a train of artillery, with saddles, and other accoutrements for cavalry, to be mounted in Ireland; and a body of French troops, including part of the Irish brigade, was kept in readiness to embark. The execution of this scheme was, however, prevented by the vigilance of sir Edward Hawke, who blocked up the harbour of Brest with a fleet of twenty-three capital ships; while another squadron of smaller ships and frigates, under the command of captain Duff, continued to cruise along the French coast, from Port L’Orient in Bretagne, to the point of St. Gilles in Poitou. At length, however, in the beginning of November, the British squadron, commanded by sir Edward Hawke, sir Charles Hardy, and rear-admiral Geary, were driven from the coast of France by stress of weather, and on the ninth day of the month anchored in Torbay. The French admiral, Conflans, snatched this opportunity of sailing from Brest, with one-and-twenty sail of the line and four frigates, in hopes of being able to destroy the English squadron commanded by captain Duff, before the large fleet could return from the coast of England. Sir Edward Hawke, having received intelligence that the French fleet had sailed from Brest, immediately stood to sea in order to pursue them; and, in the meantime, the government issued orders for guarding all those parts of the coast that were thought the most exposed to a descent. The land-forces were put in motion, and quartered along the shore of Kent and Sussex: all the ships of war in the different harbours, even those that had just arrived from America, were ordered to put to sea, and every step was taken to disconcert the designs of the enemy.

ADMIRAL HAWKE DEFEATS M. DE CONFLANS.

While these measures were taken with equal vigour and deliberation, sir Edward Hawke steered his course directly for Quiberon, on the coast of Bretagne, which he supposed would be the rendezvous of the French squadron: but, notwithstanding his utmost efforts, he was driven by a hard gale considerably to the westward, where he was joined by two frigates, the Maidstone and the Coventry. These he directed to keep ahead of the squadron. The weather growing more moderate, the former made the signal for seeing a fleet on the twentieth day of November, at half an hour past eight o’clock in the morning, and in an hour afterwards discovered them to be the enemy’s squadron. They were at that time in chase of captain Duff’s squadron, which now joined the large fleet, after having run some risk of being taken. Sir Edward Hawke, who, when the Maidstone gave the first notice, had formed the line abreast, now perceiving that the French admiral endeavoured to escape with all the sail he could carry, threw out a signal for seven of his ships that were nearest the enemy to chase, and endeavour to detain them, until they could be reinforced by the rest of the squadron, which were ordered to form into a line-of-battle ahead, as they chased, that no time might be lost in the pursuit. Considering the roughness of the weather, which was extremely tempestuous; the nature of the coast, which is in this place rendered very hazardous by a great number of sand-banks, shoals, rocks, and islands, as entirely unknown to the British sailors as they were familiar to the French navigators; the dangers of a short day, dark night, and lee-shore—it required extraordinary resolution in the English admiral to attempt hostilities on this occasion: but sir Edward Hawke, steeled with the integrity and fortitude of his own heart, animated by a warm love for his country, and well acquainted with the importance of the stake on which the safety of that country in a great measure depended, was resolved to run extraordinary risks in his endeavours to frustrate, at once, a boasted scheme projected for the annoyance of his fellow-subjects. With respect to his ships of the line, he had but the advantage of one in point of number, and no superiority in men or metal; consequently, M. de Conflans might have hazarded a fair battle on the open sea, without any imputation of temerity; but he thought proper to play a more artful game, though it did not succeed according to his expectation. He kept his fleet in a body, and retired close in shore, with a view to draw the English squadron among the shoals and islands, on which he hoped they would pay dear for their rashness and impetuosity, while he and his officers, who were perfectly acquainted with the navigation, could either stay and take advantage of the disaster, or, if hard pressed, retire through channels unknown to the British pilots. At half an hour after two, the van of the English fleet began the engagement with the rear of the enemy, in the neighbourhood of Belleisle. Every ship, as she advanced, poured in a broadside on the sternmost of the French, and bore down upon their van, leaving the rear to those that came after. Sir Edward Hawke, in the Royal George, of one hundred and ten guns, reserved his fire in passing through the rear of the enemy, and ordered his master to bring him alongside of the French admiral, who commanded in person on board the Soliel Royal, a ship mounted with eighty cannon, and provided with a complement of twelve hundred men. When the pilot remonstrated that he could not obey his command without the most imminent risk of running upon a shoal, the veteran replied, “You have done your duty in showing the danger; now you are to comply with my order, and lay me alongside the Soleil Royal.” His wish was gratified: the Royal George ranged up with the French admiral. The Thesée, another large ship of the enemy, running up between the two commanders, sustained the fire that was reserved for the Soliel Royal; but in returning the first broadside foundered, in consequence of the high sea that entered her lower deck-ports, and filled her with water. Notwithstanding the boisterous weather, a great number of ships on both sides fought with equal fury and dubious success, till about four in the afternoon, when the Formidable struck her colours. The Superb shared the fate of the Thésée in going to the bottom. The Hero hauled down her colours in token of submission, and dropped anchor; but the wind was so high that no boat could be sent to take possession, By this time day-light began to fail, and the greater part of the French fleet escaped under cover of the darkness. Night approaching, the wind blowing with augmented violence on a lee-shore, and the British squadron being entangled among unknown shoals and islands, sir Edward Hawke made the signal for anchoring to the westward of the small island Dumet; and here the fleet remained all night in a very dangerous riding, alarmed by the fury of the storm, and the incessant firing of guns of distress, without their knowing whether it proceeded from friend or enemy. The Soliel Royal had, under favour of the night, anchored also in the midst of the British squadron; but at day-break M. de Conflans ordered her cable to be cut, and she drove ashore to the westward of Crozie. The English admiral immediately made signal to the Essex to slip cable and pursue her; and, in obeying this order, she ran unfortunately on a sand-bank called Lefour, where the Resolution, another ship of the British squadron, was already grounded. Here they were both irrecoverably lost, in spite of all the assistance that could be given; but all their men, and part of their stores, were saved, and the wrecks were set on fire by order of the admiral. He likewise detached the Portland, Chatham, and Vengeance, to destroy the Soleil Royal, which was burned by her own people before the English ships could approach; but they arrived in time enough to reduce the Hero to ashes on the Lefour, where she had been also stranded; and the Juste, another of their great ships, perished in the mouth of the Loire. The admiral, perceiving seven large ships of the enemy riding at anchor between Point Penvas and the mouth of the river Vilaine, made the signal to weigh, in order to attack them; but the fury of the storm increased to such a degree, that he was obliged to remain at anchor, and even ordered the top-gallant masts to be struck. In the meantime, the French ships being lightened of their cannon, their officers took advantage of the flood, and a more moderate gale under the land, to enter the Vilaine, where they lay within half a mile of the entrance, protected by some occasional batteries erected on the shore, and by two large frigates moored across the mouth of the harbour. Thus they were effectually secured from any attempts of small vessels; and as for large ships, there was not water sufficient to float them within fighting distance of the enemy. On the whole, this battle, in which a very considerable number of lives was lost, may be considered as one of the most perilous and important actions that ever happened in any war between the two nations; for it not only defeated the projected invasion, which had hung menacing so long over the apprehensions of Great Britain; but it gave the finishing blow to the naval power of France, which was totally disabled from undertaking anything of consequence in the sequel.*

* During this war, the English had already taken and destroyed twenty-seven French ships of the line, and thirty- one frigates: two of their great ships and four frigates perished; so that their whole loss, in this particular, amounted to sixty-four: whereas, the loss of Great Britain did not exceed seven sail of the line and five frigates. It may be easily conceived how the French marine, at first greatly inferior to the naval power of Britain, must have been affected by this dreadful balance to its prejudice.

By this time, indeed, Thurot had escaped from Dunkirk, and directed his course to the North Sea, whither he was followed by commodore Boys, who nevertheless was disappointed in his pursuit; but the fate of that enterprising adventurer falls under the annals of the ensuing year, among the transactions of which it shall be recorded. As for sir Edward Hawke, he continued cruising off the coast of Bretagne for a considerable time after the victory he had obtained, taking particular care to block up the mouth of the river Vilaine, that the seven French ships might not escape and join M. Conflans, who made shift to reach Rochefort with the shattered remains of his squadron. Indeed, this service became such a considerable object in the eyes of the British ministry, that a large fleet was maintained upon this coast, apparently for no other purpose, during a whole year; and, after all, the enemy eluded their vigilance. Sir Edward Hawke, having undergone a long and dangerous conflict with tempestuous weather, was at length recalled, and presented to his sovereign, who gratified him with a considerable pension, for the courage and conduct he had so often and so long displayed in the service of his country; and his extraordinary merit was afterwards honoured with the approbation of the parliament. The people of France were so dispirited by the defeat of their army at Minden, and the disaster of their squadron at Lagos, that the ministry of Versailles thought proper to conceal the extent of their last misfortunes under a palliating detail published in the gazette of Paris, as a letter from M. Conflans to the count de St. Florentin, secretary of the marine. In this partial misrepresentation, their admiral was made to affirm, that the British fleet consisted of forty ships of the line of battle, besides frigates; that the Soleil Royal had obliged the Royal George to sheer off; that the seven ships which retreated into the river Vilaine had received very little damage, and would be soon repaired; and that, by the junction of Bompart’s squadron, he should be soon able to give a good account of the English admiral. These tumid assertions, so void of truth, are not to be imputed to an illiberal spirit of vain glory, so much as to a political design of extenuating the national calamity, and supporting the spirit of the people.

THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.

The alarm of the French invasion, which was thus so happily frustrated, not only disturbed the quiet of Great Britain, but also diffused itself to the kingdom of Ireland, where it was productive of some public disorder. In the latter end of October, the two houses of parliament, assembled at Dublin, received a formal message from the duke of Bedford, lord-lieutenant of that kingdom, to the following effect: That, by a letter from the secretary of state, written by his majesty’s express command, it appeared that France, far from resigning her plan of invasion, on account of the disaster that befel her Toulon squadron, was more and more confirmed in her purpose, and even instigated by despair itself to attempt, at all hazards, the only resource she seemed to have left for thwarting, by a diversion at home, the measures of England abroad in prosecuting a war which hitherto opened, in all parts of the world, so unfavourable a prospect to the views of French ambition: that, in case the body of French troops, amounting to eighteen thousand men, under the command of the duc d’Aiguillon, assembled at Vannes, where also a sufficient number of transports was prepared, should be able to elude the British squadron, Ireland would, in all probability, be one of their chief objects; his grace thought it therefore incumbent upon him, in a matter of such high importance to the welfare of that kingdom, to communicate this intelligence to the Irish parliament. He told them, his majesty would make no doubt but that the zeal of his faithful protestant subjects in that kingdom had been already sufficiently quickened by the repeated accounts received of the enemy’s dangerous designs and actual preparations, made at a vast expense, in order to invade the several parts of the British dominions. He gave them to understand he had received his sovereign’s commands, to use his utmost endeavours to animate and excite his loyal people of Ireland to exert their well-known zeal and spirit in support of his majesty’s government, and in defence of all that was dear to them, by timely preparation to resist and frustrate any attempts of the enemy to disturb the quiet and shake the security of this kingdom; he therefore, in the strongest manner, recommended it to them to manifest, upon this occasion, that zeal for the present happy establishment, and that affection for his majesty’s person and government, by which the parliament of that nation had been so often distinguished. Immediately after this message was communicated, the house of commons unanimously resolved to present an address to the lord-lieutenant, thanking his grace for the care and concern he had shown for the safety of Ireland, in having imparted intelligence of so great importance; desiring him to make use of such means as should appear to him the most effectual for the security and defence of the kingdom; and assuring him, that the house would make good whatever expense should be necessarily incurred for that purpose. This intimation, and the steps that were taken in consequence of it for the defence of Ireland, produced such apprehensions and distraction among the people of that kingdom, as had well nigh proved fatal to the public credit. In the first transports of popular fear, there was such an extraordinary run upon the banks of Dublin, that several considerable bankers were obliged to stop payment; and the circulation was in danger of being suddenly stagnated, when the lord-lieutenant, the members of both houses of parliament, the lord-mayor, aldermen, merchants, and principal traders of Dublin, engaged in an association to support public credit, by taking the notes of bankers in payment: a resolution which effectually answered the purpose intended.

LOYALTY OF THE IRISH CATHOLICS.

Howsoever the court of Versailles might have flattered itself that their invading army would in Ireland be joined by a great number of the natives, in all probability it would have been disappointed in this hope, had their purposed descent even been carried into execution, for no signs of disaffection to the reigning family appeared at this juncture. On the contrary, the wealthy individuals of the Romish persuasion offered to accommodate the government with large sums of money, in case of necessity, to support the present establishment against all its enemies; and the Roman catholics of the city of Cork, in a body, presented an address to the lord-lieutenant, expressing their loyalty, in the warmest terms of assurance. After having congratulated his grace on the unparalleled success which had attended his majesty’s arms, and expressed their sense of the king’s paternal tenderness for his kingdom of Ireland, they acknowledged, with the deepest sense of gratitude, that protection and indulgence they had enjoyed under his majesty’s mild and auspicious reign. They professed the warmest indignation at the threatened invasion of the kingdom by an enemy, who, grown desperate from repeated defeats, might possibly make that attempt as a last effort, vainly flattered with the imaginary hope of assistance in Ireland, from the former attachment of their deluded predecessors. They assured his grace, in the most solemn manner, that such schemes were altogether inconsistent with their principles and intentions: that they would, to the utmost exertion of their abilities, with their lives and fortunes, join in the defence and support of his majesty’s royal person and government against all invaders whatsoever: that they should be always ready to concur in such measures, and to act such parts in defence of the kingdom, in common with the rest of his majesty’s subjects, as his grace in his great wisdom should be pleased to appoint; and think themselves particularly happy to be under the direction and command of so known an assertor of liberty, such an important and distinguished governor. Finally, they expressed the most earnest wish, that his majesty’s arms might be crowned with such a continuance of success as should enable him to defeat the devices of all his enemies, and obtain a speedy and honourable peace. This cordial address, which was transmitted to the earl of Shannon, and by him presented to the duke of Bedford, must have been very agreeable to the government at such a critical conjuncture.

INSURRECTION IN DUBLIN.

Although no traces of disaffection to his majesty’s family appeared on this trying occasion, it must nevertheless be acknowledged, that a spirit of dissatisfaction broke out with extraordinary violence among the populace of Dublin. The present lord-lieutenant was not remarkably popular in his administration. He had bestowed one place of considerable importance upon a gentleman whose person was obnoxious to many people in that kingdom, and perhaps failed in that affability and condescension which a free and ferocious nation expects to find in the character of him to whose rule they are subjected. Whether the offence taken at his deportment had created enemies to his person, or the nation in general began to entertain doubts and jealousies of the government’s designs, certain it is, great pains were taken to propagate a belief among the lower sort of people, that an union would soon be effected between Great Britain and Ireland; in which case this last kingdom would be deprived of its parliament and independency, and be subjected to the same taxes that are levied upon the people of England. This notion inflamed the populace to such a degree, that they assembled in a prodigious multitude, broke into the house of lords, insulted the peers, seated an old woman on the throne, and searched for the journals, which, had they been found, they would have committed to the flames. Not content with this outrage, they compelled the members of both houses, whom they met in the streets, to take an oath that they never would consent to such an union, or give any vote contrary to the true interest of Ireland. Divers coaches belonging to obnoxious persons were destroyed, and their horses killed; and a gibbet was erected for one gentleman in particular, who narrowly escaped the ungovernable rage of those riotous insurgents. A body of horse and infantry were drawn out on this occasion, in order to overawe the multitude, which at night dispersed of itself. Next day addresses to the lord-lieutenant were agreed to by both houses of parliament, and a committee of inquiry appointed, that the ringleaders of the tumult might be discovered and brought to condign punishment.

ALARM OF A DESCENT IN SCOTLAND.

When the ministry of England received the first advice, that M. Thurot had escaped from Dunkirk with a small squadron of armed ships, having on board a body of land-troops, designed for a private expedition on the coast of Scotland or Ireland, expresses were immediately despatched to the commanding officers of the forces in North Britain, with orders to put the forts along the coast of that kingdom in the best posture of defence; and to hold every thing in readiness to repel the enemy, in case they should attempt a descent. In consequence of these instructions, beacons were erected for the immediate communication of intelligence; places of rendezvous appointed for the regular troops and militia; and strict orders issued that no officer should absent himself from his duty, on any pretence whatever. The greatest encomium that can be given to the character of this partisan, is an account of the alarm which the sailing of his puny armament spread through the whole extent of such a powerful kingdom, whose fleets covered the ocean. Perhaps Thurot’s career would have been sooner stopped, had commodore Boys been victualled for a longer cruise; but this commander was obliged to put into Leith for a supply of provisions, at the very time when Thurot was seen hovering on the coast near Aberdeen; and, before the English squadron was provided for the prosecution of the cruise, the other had taken shelter at Gottenburgh, in Sweden.

CHAPTER XVII.

State of the Island of Martinique..... Expedition against that Island..... Attempt upon St. Pierre..... Descent on the Island of Guadaloupe..... Skirmishes with the Islanders..... Fort Louis reduced..... Fate of Colonel Debrisay..... The English Fleet sails to Dominique..... General Harrington takes Gosier, and Storms the Post of Licorne..... He takes Petitbourg and St. Mary’s..... The Island capitulates..... Island of Marigalante taken by General Barrington..... He returns to England..... Treaty with the Indians in North America..... Plan of the Campaign..... Ticonderoga and Crown Point abandoned by the French..... General Amherst embarks on Lake Champlain..... Niagara reduced..... Introduction to the Expedition against Quebec..... General Wolfe lands on the Island of Orleans, and takes Point Levi..... The English Fleet damaged by a Storm..... General Wolfe encamps near the Falls of the River Montmorenci, and attacks the French Intrenchments there, but is repulsed..... Brigadier Murray detached up the River..... Council of War called..... The Troops land at the Heights of Abraham..... Battle of Quebec..... Quebec taken..... Rejoicings in England

STATE OF THE ISLAND OF MARTINIQUE.

Having finished the detail of the actions achieved in the European seas by the naval force of Great Britain, within the compass of the present year, we shall now proceed to record the exploits of the British arms within the tropics, and particularly the expedition to Martinique and Guadaloupe, which is said to have succeeded even beyond the expectation of the ministry. A plan had been formed for improving the success of the preceding year in North America, by carrying the British arms up the river St. Laurence, and besieging Quebec, the capital of Canada. The armament employed against the French islands of Martinique and Guadaloupe constituted part of this design, inasmuch as the troops embarked on that expedition were, in case of a miscarriage at Martinique, intended to reinforce the British army in North America, which was justly considered as the chief seat of the war. What hope of success the administration conceived from an attempt upon Martinique, may be guessed from the state of that island, as it appeared in a memorial presented by the French king’s lieutenants of its several districts, to the general of the French island, in consequence of an order issued in November, for holding them in readiness to march and defend the island from the English, of whose design they were apprized. They represented that the trade with the Dutch was become their sole dependence: that they could expect no succour from Europe, by which they had been abandoned ever since the commencement of the war: that the traders vested with the privileges of trafficking among them had abused the intention of the general; and, instead of being of service to the colony, had fixed an arbitrary price for all the provisions which they brought in, as well as for the commodities which they exported; of consequence, the former was valued at as high a price as their avarice could exact, and the latter sunk as low in value as their own selfish hearts could conceive: that the colony for two months had been destitute of all kinds of provision; the commodities of the planters lay upon their hands, and their negroes were in danger of perishing through hunger; a circumstance that excited the apprehension of the most dreadful consequences; as to slaves, half starved, all kinds of bondage were equal; and people reduced to such a situation were often driven to despair, seeking in anarchy and confusion a remedy from the evils by which they were oppressed; that the best provided of the inhabitants laboured under the want of the common necessaries of life; and others had not so much as a grain of salt in their houses: that there was an irreparable scarcity of slaves to cultivate their land; and the planters were reduced to the necessity of killing their own cattle to support the lives of those who remained alive; so that the mills were no longer worked, and the inhabitants consumed beforehand what ought to be reserved for their sustenance, in case of being blocked up by the enemy. They desired, therefore, that the general would suppress the permission granted to particular merchants, and admit neutral vessels freely into their ports, that they might trade with the colonists unmolested and unrestrained. They observed, that the citadel of Port-Royal seemed the principal object on which the safety and defence of the country depended; as the loss of it would be necessarily attended with the reduction of the whole island: they therefore advised that this fort should be properly provided with every thing necessary for its safety and defence; and that magazines of provision, as well as ammunition, should be established in different quarters of the island.—This remonstrance plainly proves that the island was wholly unprepared to repel the meditated invasion, and justifies the plan adopted by the ministry of Great Britain. The regular troops of Martinique consisted of about twenty independent companies, greatly defective in point of number. The militia was composed of burghers and planters distressed and dissatisfied, mingled with a parcel of wretched negro slaves, groaning under the most intolerable misery, from whence they could have no hope of deliverance but by a speedy change of masters; their magazines were empty, and their fortifications out of repair.

EXPEDITION AGAINST THAT ISLAND.

Such was the state of Martinique, when the inhabitants every day expected a visit from the British armament, whose progress we shall now relate. On the twelfth day of November in the preceding year, captain Hughes sailed from St. Helen’s with eight sail of the line, one frigate, four bomb-ketches, and a fleet of transports, having on board six regiments of infantry, and a detachment of artillery, besides eight hundred marines distributed among the ships of war; this whole force being under the command of major-general Hopson, an old experienced officer, assisted by major-general Barrington, the colonels Armigerand Haldane, the lieutenant-colonels Trapaud and Clavering, acting in the capacity of brigadiers. After a voyage of seven weeks and three days, the fleet arrived at Barbadoes, and anchored in Carlisle-bay; where they joined commodore Moore, appointed by his majesty to command the united squadron, amounting to ten ships of the line, besides frigates and bomb-ketches. Ten days were employed in supplying the fleet with wood and water, in waiting for the hospital ship, in reviews, re-embarkations, councils of war, assemblies of the council belonging to the island, in issuing proclamations, and beating up for volunteers. At length, every great ship being reinforced with forty negroes, to be employed in drawing the artillery; and the troops, which did not exceed five thousand eight hundred men, being joined by two hundred Highlanders, belonging to the second battalion of the regiment commanded by lord John Murray in North America, who were brought as recruits from Scotland under convoy of the ship Ludlow-castle; the whole armament sailed from Carlisle-bay on the thirteenth day of January; but by this time the troops, unaccustomed to a hot climate, were considerably weakened and reduced by fevers, diarrhoeas, the scurvy, and the small-pox; which last disease had unhappily broke out amongst the transports. Next morning the squadron discovered the island of Martinique, which was the place of its destination. The chief fortification of Martinique was the citadel of Port-Royal, a regular fort, garrisoned by four companies, that did not exceed the number of one hundred and fifty men, thirty-six bombardiers, eighty Swiss, and fourteen officers. One hundred barrels of beef constituted their whole store of provisions; and they were destitute of all other necessaries. They were almost wholly unprovided with water in the cisterns, with spare carriages for their cannon, match, wadding, and langrage; they had but a small stock of other ammunition; and the walls were in many parts decayed. The only preparations they had made for receiving the English were some paltry intrenchments thrown up at St, Pierre, and a place called Casdenavires, where they imagined the descent would probably be attempted. On the fifteenth day of the month, the British squadron entered the great bay of Port-Royal, some of the ships being exposed to the shot of a battery erected on the isle de Ranieres, a little island about half way up the bay. At their first appearance, the Florissant, of seventy-four guns, which had been so roughly handled by captain Tyrrel in the Buckingham, then lying under the guns of Fort-Negro, along with two frigates, turned up under the citadel, and came to an anchor in the Carenage, behind the fortification. One frigate, called the Vestal, under favour of the night, made her escape through the transports, and directed her course for Europe; where she was taken by captain Hood, as we have already related. Next day three ships of the line were ordered to attack Fort-Negro, a battery at the distance of three miles from the citadel, which, being mounted with seven guns only, was soon silenced, and immediately possessed by a detachment of marines and sailors; who, being sanded in flat-bottomed boats, clambered up the rock, and entered through the embrasures with their bayonets fixed. Here, however, they met with no resistance: the enemy had abandoned the fort with precipitation. The British colours were immediately hoisted, and sentinels of marines posted upon the parapet. The next care was to spike and disable the cannon, break the carriages, and destroy the powder which they found in the magazine: nevertheless, the detachment was ordered to keep possession of the battery. This service being successfully performed, three ships were sent to reduce the other battery at Casdenavires, which consisted only of four guns, and these were soon rendered unserviceable. The French troops, reinforced with militia which had been detached from the citadel to oppose the disembarkation, perceiving the whole British squadron, and all the transports, already within the bay, and Fort-Negro occupied by the marines, retired to Port-Royal, leaving the beach open; so that the English troops were landed without opposition; and, being formed, advanced into the country towards Fort-Negro, in the neighbourhood of which they lay all night upon their arms; while the fleet, which had been galled by bomb-shells from the citadel, shifted their station, and stood farther up the bay. By ten next day, the English officers had brought up some field-pieces to an eminence, and scoured the woods, from whence the troops had been greatly annoyed by the small shot of the enemy during the best part of the night, and all that morning. At noon the British forces advanced in order towards the hill that overlooked the town and citadel of Port-Royal, and sustained a troublesome fire from enemies they could not see; for the French militia were entirely covered by the woods and bushes. This eminence, called the Morne Tortueson, though the most important post of the whole island, was neglected by the general of Martinique, who had resolved to blow up the fortifications of the citadel: but, luckily for the islanders, he had not prepared the materials for this operation, which must have been attended with the immediate destruction of the capital, and indeed of the whole country. Some of the inferior officers, knowing the importance of the Morne Tortueson, resolved to defend that post with a body of the militia, which was reinforced by the garrisons of Fort-Negro and Casdenavires, as well as by some soldiers detached from the Florissant: but, notwithstanding all their endeavours, as they were entirely unprovided with cannon, extremely defective in point of discipline, dispirited by the pusillanimity of their governor, and in a great measure disconcerted by the general consternation that prevailed among the inhabitants, in all probability they could not have withstood a spirited and well-conducted attack by regular forces. About two o’clock general Hopson thought proper to desist from his attempt. He gave the commodore to understand that he could not maintain his ground, unless the squadron would supply him with heavy cannon, landed near the town of Port-Royal, at a savannah, where the boats must have been greatly exposed to the fire of the enemy; or assist him in attacking the citadel by sea, while he should make his approaches by land. Both these expedients* being deemed impracticable by a council of war, the troops were recalled from their advanced posts, and re-embarked in the evening, without any considerable molestation from the enemy.

* The commodore offered to land the cannon on the other side of Point-Negro, at a place equally near the road from the English army to Port-Royal, and even cause them to be drawn up by the seamen, without giving the troops the least trouble. But this offer was not accepted. General Hopson afterwards declared, that he did not understand Mr. Moore’s message in the sense which it was meant to imply.

Their attempt on the Morne Tortueson had cost them several men, including two officers, killed or wounded in the attack; and, in revenge for this loss, they burned the sugar-canes, and desolated the country, in their retreat. The inhabitants of Martinique could hardly credit the testimony of their own senses, when they saw themselves thus delivered from all their fears, at a time when they were overwhelmed with terror and confusion; when the principal individuals among them had resigned all thought of further resistance, and were actually assembled at the public hall in Port-Royal, to send deputies to the English general, with proposals of capitulation and surrender.

ATTEMPT UPON ST. PIERRE.

The majority of the British officers, who constituted a council of war held for this purpose,* having given their opinion, that it might be for his majesty’s service to make an attack upon St. Pierre, the fleet proceeded to that part of the island, and entered the bay on the nineteenth.

* The commodore did not attend at this council: it was convoked to deliberate upon the opinion of the chief engineer, who thought they should make another landing to the southward of the Carenage. In this case, the pilots declared it would be extremely difficult, if not impracticable, for the fleet to keep up a communication with the army.

The commodore told the general, that he made no doubt of being able to reduce the town of St. Pierre; but as the ships might be disabled in the attack so as not to be in a condition to proceed immediately on any material service; as the troops might be reduced in their numbers, so as to be incapable of future attacks; and as the reduction of the island of Guadaloupe would be of great benefit to the sugar colonies; Mr. Mooro proposed that the armament should immediately proceed to that island, and the general agreed to the proposal. The reasons produced on this occasion are, we apprehend, such as may be urged against every operation of war. Certain it is, no conquest can be attempted, either by sea or land, without exposing’ the ships and troops to a possibility of being disabled and diminished; and the same possibility militated as strongly against an attempt upon Guadeloupe, as it could possibly discourage the attack of St. Pierre. Besides, Martinique was an object of greater importance than Guadaloupe;* as being the principal place possessed by the French in those seas, and that to which the operations of the armament were expressly limited by the instructions received from the ministry.

* Only as being the seat of government; for Guadaloupe makes a much greater quantity of sugar, and equipped a much greater number of privateers, with the assistance of the Dutch of St. Eustatia, situated in its neighbourhood.

St. Pierre was a place of considerable commerce; and at that very juncture, above forty sail of merchant ships lay at anchor in the bay. The town was defended by a citadel regularly fortified, but at that time poorly garrisoned, and so situated as to be accessible to the fire of the whole squadron; for the shore was bold, and the water sufficient to float any ship of the line. Before the resolution of proceeding to Gua-daloupe was taken, the commodore had ordered the bay to be sounded; and directed the Rippon to advance, and silence a battery situated a mile and a half to the northward of St. Pierre. Accordingly, captain Jekyll, who commanded that ship, stood in, and anchoring close to the shore, attacked it with such impetuosity, that in a few minutes it was abandoned. At the same time the Rippon was exposed to the fire of three other batteries, from which she received considerable damage both in her hull and rigging; and was in great danger of running aground, when orders were given to tow her out of danger.

DESCENT ON GUADALOUPE.

The whole armament having abandoned the design on Martinique, directed their course to Guadeloupe, another of the Caribbee islands, lying at the distance of thirty leagues to the westward, about fifteen leagues in length, and twelve in breadth; divided into two parts by a small channel, which the inhabitants cross in a ferry-boat. The western division is known by the name of Basseterre; and here the metropolis stands, defended by the citadel and other fortifications. The eastern part, called Grandterre, is destitute of fresh water, which abounds in the other division; and is defended by fort Louis, with a redoubt, which commands the road in the district of Gosier. The cut, or canal, that separates the two parts, is distinguished by the appellation of the Salt-river, having a road or bay at each end; namely, the great Cul de Sac, and the small Cul de Sac. Gua-daloupe is encumbered with high mountains and precipices, to which the inhabitants used to convey their valuable effects in time of danger; but here are also beautiful plains watered by brooks and rivers, which fertilize the soil, enabling it to produce a great quantity of sugar, cotton, indigo, tobacco, and cassia; besides plenty of rice, potatoes, all kinds of pulse, and fruit peculiar to the island. The country is populous and flourishing, and the government comprehends two smaller islands called All-Saints and Deseada, which appear at a small distance from the coast, on the eastern side of the island. The British squadron having arrived at Bassaterre, it was resolved to make a general attack by sea upon the citadel, the town, and other batteries by which it was defended. A disposition being made for this purpose, the large ships took their respective stations next morning, which was the twenty-third day of January. At nine, the Lion, commanded by captain Trelawney, began the engagement against a battery of nine guns; and the rest of the fleet continued to place themselves abreast of the other batteries and the citadel, which mounted forty-six cannon, besides two mortars. The action in a little time became general, and was maintained on both sides for several hours with great vivacity; while the commodore, who had shifted his pendant into the Woolwrch frigate, kept aloof without gun-shot, that he might be the more disengaged to view the state of the battle, * and give his orders with the greater deliberation.

* He shifted lus broad pendant on board the Woolwich, as well to direct and keep the transports together in a proper posture for the landing of the troops, as to cover the disembarkation; and also to consult proper measures with the general, who saw the necessity of Mr. Moore’s being with him; and requested that he, with the other general officers and engineers, might be admitted on board the Woolwich, in order to consult, and take the earliest opportunity of landing the troops, as the service necessarily required.

This expedient of an admiral’s removing his flag, and retiring from the action while his own ship is engaged, however consonant to reason., we do not remember to have seen practised upon any occasion, except in one instance, at Carthagena, where sir Chaloner Ogle quitted his own ship, when she was ordered to stand in and cannonade the fort of Boca-Chica. In this present attack, all the sea-commanders behaved with extraordinary spirit and resolution, particularly the captains Leslie, Burnet, Gayton, Jekyll, Trelawney, and Shuldam, who, in the hottest tumult of the action, distinguished themselves equally by their courage, impetuosity, and deliberation. About five in the afternoon the fire of the citadel slackened. The Burford and Berwick were driven out to sea: so that captain Shuldam, in the Panther, was unsustained; and two batteries played upon the Rippon, captain Jekyll, who, by two in the afternoon, silenced the guns of one, called the Morne-rouge; but at the same time could not prevent his ship from running aground. The enemy perceiving her disaster, assembled in great numbers on the hill, and lined the trenches, from whence they poured in, a severe fire of musketry. The militia afterwards brought up a cannon of eighteen pound ball, and for two hours raked her fore and aft with considerable effect: nevertheless, captain Jekyll returned the fire with equal courage and perseverance, though his people dropped on every side, until all his grape-shot and wadding were expended, and all his rigging cut to pieces; to crown his misfortune, a box, containing nine hundred cartridges, blew up on the poop, and set the ship on fire: which, however, was soon extinguished. In the meantime, the captain threw out a signal of distress, to which no regard was paid,* till captain Leslie of the Bristol, coming from sea, and observing his situation, ran in between the Rippon and the battery, and engaged with such impetuosity, as made an immediate diversion in favour of captain Jekyll, whose ship remained aground, notwithstanding all the assistance that could be given, till midnight, when she floated, and escaped from the very jaws of destruction.

At seven in the evening, all the other large ships, having silenced the guns to which they had been respectively opposed, joined the rest of the fleet. The four bombs being anchored near the shore, began to ply the town with shells and carcasses; so that in a little time the houses were in flames, the magazines of gunpowder blew up with the most terrible explosion; and about ten o’clock the whole place blazed out in one general conflagration. Next day, at two in the afternoon, the fleet came to an anchor in the road of Bassaterre, where they found the hulls of divers ships which the enemy had set on fire at their approach: several ships turned out and endeavoured to escape, but were intercepted and taken by the English squadron. At five, the troops landed without opposition, and took possession of the town and citadel, which they found entirely abandoned. They learned from a Genoese deserter, that the regular troops of the island consisted of five companies only, the number of the whole not exceeding one hundred men; and that they had lain a train to blow up the powder magazine in the citadel: but had been obliged to retreat with such precipitation as did not permit them to execute this design. The train was immediately cut off, and the magazine secured. The nails with which they had spiked up their cannon were drilled out by the matrosses; and in the meantime the British colours were hoisted on the parapet. Part of the troops took possession of an advantageous post on an eminence, and part entered the town, Which still continued burning with great violence. In the morning at day-break, the enemy appeared, to the number of two thousand, about four miles from the town, as if they intended to throw up intrenchments in the neighbourhood of a house where the governor had fixed his head-quarters, declaring he would maintain his ground to the last extremity. To this resolution, indeed, he was encouraged by the nature of the ground, and the neighbourhood of a pass called the Dos d’Ane, a cleft through a mountainous ridge, opening a communication with Capesterre, a more level and beautiful part of the island. The ascent from Basseterre to this pass was so very steep, and the way so broken and interrupted by rocks and gullies, that there was no prospect of attacking it with success, except at the first landing, when the inhabitants were under the dominion of a panic. They very soon recovered their spirits and recollection, assembled and fortified themselves among the hills, armed and arrayed their negroes, and affected to hold the invaders at defiance. A flag of truce being sent, with offers of terms to their governor, the chevalier d’Etriel, he rejected them in a letter, with which his subsequent conduct but ill agreed. 504 [See note 3 U, at the end of this Vol.] Indeed, from the beginning his deportment had been such as gave a very unfavourable impression of his character. When the British squadron advanced to the attack, instead of visiting in person the citadel and the batteries, in order to encourage and animate his people by his exhortation and example, he retired out of the reach of danger to a distant plantation, where he remained a tame spectator of the destruction in which his principal town and citadel were involved. Next morning, when he ought to have exerted himself in preventing the disembarkation of the English troops, who had a difficult shore and violent surf to surmount, and when he might have defended the intrenchments and lines which had been made to oppose their landing, he abandoned all these advantages, and took shelter among the mountains that were deemed inaccessible.

But, howsoever deficient the governor might have been in the article of courage, certain it is, the inhabitants behaved with great spirit and activity in defence of their country. They continually harassed the scouring detachments, by firing upon them from woods and sugar plantations, which last the English burned about their ears in resentment. Their armed negroes were very expert in this kind of bush fighting. The natives or militia appeared in considerable parties, and even encountered detached bodies of the British army. A lady of masculine courage, whose name was Ducharmy, having armed her slaves, they made several bold attempts upon an advanced post occupied by major Melville, and threw up intrenchments upon a hill opposite to the station of this officer, who had all along signalized himself by his uncommon intrepidity, vigilance, and conduct. At length the works of this virago were stormed by a regular detachment, which, after an obstinate and dangerous conflict, entered the intrenchment sword in hand, and burned the houses and plantations. Some of the enemy were killed, and a great number taken. Of the English detachment twelve soldiers were slain, and thirty wounded, including three subaltern officers, one of whom lost his arm. The greatest body of the enemy always appeared at the governor’s head-quarters, where they had raised a redoubt, and thrown up intrenchments. From these a considerable detachment advanced on the sixth day of February, in the morning, towards the citadel, and fell in with an English party, whom they engaged with great vivacity; but, after a short though warm dispute, they were obliged to retire with some loss. Without all doubt, the inhabitants of Guadaloupe pursued the most sensible plan that could possibly have been projected for their own safety. Instead of hazarding a general engagement against regular troops, in which they could have no prospect of success, they resolved to weary them out by maintaining a kind of petty war in separate parties, to alarm and harass the English with hard duty in a sultry climate, where they were but indifferently supplied with provisions and refreshments. Nor were their hopes in this particular disappointed. Both the army and the navy were invaded with fevers, and other diseases, epidemical in those hot countries; and the regimental hospitals were so crowded, that it was judged convenient to send five hundred sick men to the island of Antigua, where they might be properly attended.

FORT-LOUIS REDUCED, &c.

In the meantime, the reduction of the islanders on the side of Guadaloupe appearing more and more impracticable, the general determined to transfer the seat of war to the eastern and more fertile part of the island, called Grandterre, which, as we have already observed, was defended by a strong battery, called Fort-Louis. In pursuance of this determination, the great ships were sent round to Grandterre, in order to reduce this fortification, which they accordingly attacked on the thirteenth day of February. After a severe cannonading, which lasted six hours, a body of marines being landed, with the Highlanders,* they drove the enemy from their intrenchments sword in hand; and, taking possession of the fort, hoisted the English colours.

* A reinforcement of two or three hundred Highlanders, had joined the fleet immediately before the troops landed on Guadaloupe.

In a few days after this exploit, general Hopson dying at Basseterre, the chief command devolved on general Barrington, who resolved to prosecute the final reduction of the island with vigour and despatch. As one step towards this conquest, the commodore ordered two ships of war to cruise off the island of Saint Eustatia, and prevent the Dutch traders from assisting the natives of Guadaloupe, whom they had hitherto constantly supplied with provisions since they retired to the mountains. General Barrington, on the very first day of his command, ordered the troops who were encamped to strike their tents and huts, that the enemy might imagine he intended to remain in this quarter; but in a few days the batteries in and about Basseterre were blown up and destroyed, the detachments recalled from the advanced posts, and the whole army re-embarked, except one regiment, with a detachment of artillery, left in garrison at the citadel, the command of which was bestowed on colonel Debrisay, an accomplished officer of great experience. The enemy no sooner perceived the coast clear than they descended from the hills, and endeavoured to take possession of the town, from which, however they were driven by the fire of the citadel. They afterwards erected a battery, from whence they annoyed this fortification both with shot and shells, and even threatened a regular attack; but as often as they approached the place, they were repulsed by sallies from the castle. *

* The battery which they had raised was attacked at noon, taken, and destroyed by captain Blomer, of the sixty-first regiment.

In the midst of these hostilities, the gallant Debrisay, together with major Trollop, one lieutenant, two bombardiers, and several common soldiers, were blown up, and perished, by the explosion of a powder magazine at the flanked angle of the south-east bastion. The confusion necessarily produced by such an unfortunate accident, encouraged the enemy to come pouring down from the hills, in order to make their advantage of the disaster; but they were soon repulsed by the fire of the garrison. The general, being made acquainted with the fate of colonel Debrisay, conferred the government of the fort upon major Melville, and sent thither the chief engineer to repair and improve the fortifications.

ENGLISH FLEET SAILS TO DOMINIQUE.

In the meantime, commodore Moore having received certain intelligence that monsieur de Bompart had arrived at Martinique, with a squadron consisting of eight sail of the line and three frigates, having on board a whole battalion of Swiss, and some other troops, to reinforce the garrisons of the island, he called in his cruisers, and sailed immediately to the bay of Dominique, an island to windward, at the distance of nine leagues from Guadaloupe, whence he could always sail to oppose any design which the French commander might form against the operations of the British armaments. For what reason Mr. Moore did not sail immediately to the bay of Port-Royal in Martinique, where he knew the French squadron lay at anchor, we shall not pretend to determine. Had he taken that step, M. Bompart must either have given him battle, or retired into the Carenage, behind the citadel; in which last case, the English commander might have anchored between Pigeon-Island and Fort-Negro, and thus blocked him up effectually. By retiring to Dominique, he left the sea open to French privateers, who rowed along the coasts of these islands, and in a very little time carried into Martinique above fourscore merchant-ships, belonging to the subjects of Great Britain. These continual depredations, committed under the nose of the English commodore, irritated the planters of the English islands, some of whom are said to have circulated unfavourable reports of that gentleman’s character. 505 [See note 3 X, at the end of this Vol.]

GENERAL BARRINGTON TAKES GOSIER, &c.

General Barrington being left with no more than one ship of forty guns for the protection of the transports, formed a plan of prosecuting the war in Guadaloupe by detachments, and the success fully answered his expectation. He determined to make a descent on the division of the island called Grandterre, and for that purpose allotted six hundred men; who, under the command of colonel Crump, landed between the towns of St. Anne and St. Francois, and destroyed some batteries of the enemy, from whom he sustained very little opposition. While he was thus employed, a detachment of three hundred men attacked the town of Gosier, which, notwithstanding a severe fire, they took by storm, drove the garrison into the woods, set fire to the place, and demolished the battery and intrenchment raised for its defence. This service being happily performed, the detachment was ordered to force their way to Fort-Louis, while the garrison of that castle was directed to make two sallies in order to favour their irruption. They accordingly penetrated, with some loss sustained in forcing a strong pass, and took possession of a battery which the enemy had raised against the English camp, in the neighbourhood of Fort Louis. The general, having hitherto succeeded in his designs, formed the scheme of surprising at one time the three towns of Petitbourg, Gonoyave, and St. Mary’s situated on the Basseterre side of the little Cul de Sac, and committed the execution of it to the colonels Crump and Clavering: but the night appointed for the service proved exceedingly dark and tempestuous; and the negro conductors were so frightened, that they ran several of the flat-bottomed boats on the shoals that skirt this part of the island. Colonel Clavering landed with about eighty men; but found himself so entangled with mangrove trees, and the mud so impassably deep, that he was obliged to re-embark, though not before the enemy had discovered his design. This project having miscarried, the general detached the same commanders, whose gallantry and conduct cannot be sufficiently applauded, with a detachment of fifteen hundred men, including one hundred and fifty volunteers from Antigua, to land in a bay not far from the town of Arnonville, at the bottom of the little Cul de Sac, under the protection of his majesty’s ship Woolwich. The enemy made no opposition to their landing; but retreated, as the English advanced, to a strong intrenchment thrown up behind the river Licorne, a post of the utmost importance, as it covered the whole country as far as the bay of Ma-haut, where provisions and supplies of all sorts were landed from St. Eustatia. The river was rendered inaccessible by a morass covered with mangroves, except at two narrow passes, which they had fortified with a redoubt, and intrenchments well pallisadoed, mounted with cannon, and defended by a numerous militia: besides, the narrow roads, through which only they could be attacked, were intersected with deep and wide ditches. Notwithstanding these disadvantages, the English commanders determined to hazard an assault. While four field-pieces and two howitzers maintained a constant fire upon the top of the intrenchments, the regiment of Duroure and the Highlanders advanced under this cover, firing by platoons with the utmost regularity. The enemy, intimidated by their cool and resolute behaviour, began to abandon the first intrenchment on the left. Then the Highlanders, drawing their swords, and sustained by part of the regiment, threw themselves in with their usual impetuosity, and followed the fugitives pell-mell into the redoubt, of which they took possession: but they still maintained their ground within the intrenchments on the right, from whence they annoyed the assailants both with musquetry and cannon. In half an hour, an occasional bridge being made, the English troops passed the river in order to attack this post, which the enemy abandoned with precipitation; notwithstanding all their haste, however, about seventy were taken prisoners, and among those some of the most considerable inhabitants of the island. This advantage cost the English two officers and thirteen men killed, and above fifty wounded.

The roads being mended for the passage of the artillery, the troops advanced towards Petitbourg, harassed in their march by flying bodies of the enemy, and arrived late at night on the banks of the river Lizarde, the only ford of which the French had fortified with strong intrenchments, protected by a battery of four cannon erected on a rising ground in the rear. Colonel Clavering, while he amused them all night at this place by a constant fire into their lines, transported in two canoes, which he launched about a mile and a half farther down the river, a sufficient number of troops, by day-break, to attack them on the other side in flank, while he advanced in front at the head of his little army; but they did not think proper to sustain the assault. On the contrary, they no sooner perceived his intention, than they forsook the post, and fled without order. Colonel Clavering, having passed the river, pursued them to Petit bourg, which they had also fortified; and here he found captain Uvedale, of the Grenada bomb-ketch, throwing shells into the redoubt. He forthwith sent detachments to occupy the neighbouring heights; a circumstance which the enemy no sooner observed, than they deserted the place, and retired with great expedition. On the fifteenth day of April, captain Steel destroyed a battery at Gonoyave, a strong post, which, though it might have been defended against an army, the French abandoned at his approach, after having made a hasty discharge of their artillery. At the same time colonel Crump was detached with seven hundred men to the bay of Mahaut, where he burned the town and batteries which he found abandoned, together with a vast quantity of provisions which had been brought from the island of St. Eustatia. Colonel Clavering, having left a small garrison at Petitbourg, began his march on the twentieth day of the month towards St. Mary’s, where he understood the enemy had collected their whole force, thrown up intrenchments, and raised barricadoes; but they had left their rear unguarded. The English commander immediately detached colonel Barlow with a body of troops to attack them from that quarter, while he himself advanced against the front of their intrenchment. They stood but one cannon-shot, and then fled to their lines and batteries at St. Mary’s, the flanks of which were covered with woods and precipices. When they perceived the English troops endeavouring to surmount these difficulties, and turn their lines, they quitted them in order to oppose the design, and were immediately attacked with such vivacity, in the face of a severe fire of musketry and cannon, that they abandoned their ground, and fled in the utmost confusion, leaving the field and all their artillery to the victors, who took up their quarters for that night at St. Mary’s. Next day they entered the charming country of Capesterre, where eight hundred and seventy negroes belonging to one planter surrendered at discretion. Here colonel Clavering was met by messieurs de Clainvilliers and Duqueruy, deputed by the principal inhabitants of the island to know what capitulation would be granted. These he conducted to Petitbourg, where they were presented to general Barrington; who, considering the absence of the fleet, the small number of his forces daily diminishing, the difficulty of the country, and the possibility of the enemy’s being reinforced from Martinique, wisely took the advantage of the present panic, and settled terms of capitulation without delay. The sanity of this resolution soon appeared. The inhabitants had just signed the agreement, when a messenger arrived in their camp with information that M. de Beauharnois, the general of the French islands, had landed at St. Anne’s, to the windward, with a reinforcement from Martinique, consisting of six hundred regulars from Europe, about fifteen hundred volunteers, besides a great number of the militia drafted from the companies of Martinique, with a great supply of arms and ammunition, mortars and artillery, under convoy of the squadron commanded by M. de Bompart, who no sooner learned that the capitulation was signed, than he re-embarked the troops and stores with all possible expedition, and returned to Martinique. Thus we see the conquest of this important island, which is said to produce a greater quantity of sugar than is made in any of the English plantations, was as much owing to accident as to the valour of the troops and the conduct of the general; for, had the reinforcement arrived an hour sooner than it actually landed, in all probability the English would have found it impracticable to finish the reduction of Guadaloupe. Be that as it may, the natives certainly deserved great commendation, not only for persevering so gallantly in defence of their country, but also for their fortitude in bearing every species of distress. They now quitted the Dos d’Ane, and all their other posts, and returned to their respective habitations. The town of Basseterre being reduced to a heap of ashes, the inhabitants began to clear away the rubbish, and erect occasional sheds, where they resumed their several occupations with that good humour so peculiar to the French nation; and general Barrington humanely indulged them with all the assistance in his power.

ISLAND OF MARIGALANTE TAKEN.

The small islands of Deseada, Los Santos, and Petit-terre, were comprised in the capitulation of Guadaloupe. The inhabitants of Marigalante, which lies about three leagues to the south-east of Grandterre, extending twenty miles in length, fifteen in breadth, flat and fertile, but poorly watered and ill fortified, having refused to submit when summoned by the squadron to surrender, general Barrington resolved to reduce them by force. He embarked a body of troops on board of transports, which sailed thither under convoy of three ships of war and two bomb vessels from Prince Rupert’s Bay, and at their appearance the islanders submitting, received an English garrison. Before this period, commodore Moore having received intelligence that M. de Bompart had sailed from Martinique, with a design to land a reinforcement on Guadaloupe, and that his squadron was seen seven leagues to windward of Marigalante, he sailed from Prince Rupert’s Bay, and turned to windward. After having been beating about for five days to very little purpose, he received notice from one of his cruisers, that the French admiral had returned to Martinique; upon which information he retired quietly to his former station in the bay of Dominique, the people of which were so insolent as to affirm, in derision, that the English squadron sailed on one side of the island, and the French upon the other, that they might be sure of not meeting; but this, without doubt, was an impudent calumny.*

* The commodore declared that he carried a press-sail night and day, in order to come up with the French squadron, and took every step that could be devised for that purpose. He says, if he had pursued any other course, the French commander might have run into the road of St. Kitt’s, and destroyed or taken a great number of merchant ships which were then loading with sugar for England. He says he tried every stratagem he could contrive for bringing M. de Bompart to action. He even sent away part of his squadron out of sight of the inhabitants of Dominique, that they might represent to their friends at Martinique his force much inferior to what it really was; but this expedient had no effect upon M. de Bompart, who made the best of his way to Cape François, on the island of Hispaniols.

General Barrington, having happily finished the conquest of Guadaloupe, gave notice to the commodore, that he intended to send back part of the troops with the transports to England, about the beginning of July. In consequence of this intimation, Mr. Moore sailed with his squadron to Basseterre road, where he was next day joined by two ships of the line from England, which rendered him greatly superior in strength to the commander of the French squadron, who had retired to the island of Grenada, lying about eight leagues from Guadaloupe. Here he was discovered by the ship Rippon, whose captain returned immediately to Basseterre, to make the commodore acquainted with this circumstance: but before he could weigh anchor, a frigate arrived with information, that Bompart had quitted Grenada, and was supposed to have directed his course to Hispaniola. The commodore immediately despatched the Ludlow Castle with this intelligence to admiral Coats, who commanded the squadron at Jamaica. General Barrington having made a tour of the island, in order to visit and repair such fortifications as he thought necessary to be maintained, and the affairs relating to the inhabitants being entirely settled, he sent the Highlanders, with a body of drafts, to North America, under convoy: he garrisoned the principal strength of the island, and left the chief command to colonel Crump, who had for some time acted as brigadier-general; colonel Clavering having been sent home to England with the account of the capitulation. Colonel Melville, who had signalized himself in a remarkable manner ever since their first landing, continued governor of the citadel at Basseterre; and the command at Grandterre was conferred on colonel Delgarno. Three complete regiments were alloted as a sufficient guard for the whole island, and the other three were embarked for England. General Barrington himself went on board the Roebuck in the latter end of June, and took his departure for England. About a month after, the transports, under convoy of captain Hughes, with a small squadron, set sail for Great Britain; while commodore Moore, with his large fleet, directed his course to Antigua.

TREATY WITH THE INDIANS.

While this armament had been employed in the conquest of Guadaloupe, North America exhibited still more sanguinary scenes of war and devastation; which, in order properly to introduce, it will be necessary to explain the steps that were taken on this continent, previous to this campaign. In October of the preceding year, a grand assembly was held at Easton, about ninety miles from Philadelphia; and there, peace was established, by a formal treaty, between Great Britain and the several nations of Indians inhabiting the country between the Apalachian mountains and the lakes. The Twightwees, however, settled between the river Ohio and the lakes, did not assist at this treaty, though some steps had been taken towards an alliance with that people. The conferences were managed by the governors of Pennsylvania and new Jersey, accompanied by sir William Johnston’s deputy for Indian affairs, four members of the council of Pennsylvania, six members of the assembly, two agents for the province of New Jersey, a great number of planters and citizens of Philadelphia, chiefly Quakers. They were met by the deputies and chiefs of the Mohawks, Oneidoes, Onondagoes, Cayugas, Senecas, Tuscaroras, Nanticoques, and Conoys; the Tuteloes, Chugnues, Delawares, and Unamies; the Minisinks, Mohicans, and Wappingers; the whole number, including their women and children, amounting to five hundred. Some of the Six Nations, thinking themselves aggrieved by the British colonists, who had imprisoned certain individuals of their nation, and had killed a few, and treated others with contempt, did not fail to express their resentment, which had been artfully fomented by the French emissaries, even into an open rapture. The Delewares and Minisinks, in particular, complained that the English had encroached upon their lands, and on that account were provoked to hostilities: but their chief, Teedyuscung, had made overtures of peace; and in the character of ambassador from all the Ten Nations, had been very instrumental in forming this assembly. The chiefs of the Six Nations, though very well disposed to peace, took umbrage at the importance assumed by one of the Delawares, over whom, as their descendants, they exercise a kind of parental authority; and on this occasion they made no scruple to disclose their dissatisfaction. The business, therefore, of the English governors at this congress, was to ascertain the limits of the lands in dispute, reconcile the Six Nations with their nephews the Delawares, remove every cause of misunderstanding between the English and the Indians, detach these savages entirely from the French interest, establish a firm peace, and induce them to exert their influence in persuading the Twightwees to accede to this treaty. Those Indians, though possessed of few ideas, circumscribed in their mental faculties, stupid, brutal, and ferocious, conducting themselves nevertheless, in matters of importance to the community, by the general maxims of reason and justice; and their treaties are always founded upon good sense, conveyed in a very ridiculous manner. Their language is guttural, harsh, and polysyllabical; and their speech consists of hyperbolical metaphors and similies, which invest it with an air of dignity and heighten the expression. They manage their conferences by means of wampum, a kind of bead formed of a hard shell, either in single strings, or sewed in broad belts of different dimensions, according to the importance of the subject. Every proposition is offered, every answer made, every promise corroborated, every declaration attested, and every treaty confirmed, by producing and interchanging these belts of wampum. The conferences were continued from the eighth to the twenty-sixth day of October, when every article was settled to the mutual satisfaction of all parties. The Indian deputies were gratified with a valuable present, consisting of looking-glasses, knives, tobacco-boxes, sleeve-buttons, thimbles, sheers, gun-locks, ivory combs, shirts, shoes, stockings, hats, caps, handkerchiefs, thread, clothes, blankets, gartering, serges, watch-coats, and a few suits of laced clothes for their chieftains. To crown their happiness, the stores of rum were opened; they drank themselves into a state of brutal intoxication, and next day returned in peace to their respective places of habitation.

PLAN OF THE CAMPAIGN.

This treaty with the Indians, who had been debauched from the interest of Great Britain, auspiciously paved the way for those operations which had been projected against the French settlements in Canada. Instead of employing the whole strength of the British arms in North America against one object, the ministry proposed to divide the forces, and make impressions on three different parts at once, that the enemy might be divided, distracted, and weakened, and the conquest of Canada completed in one campaign. That the success might be the more certain, the different expeditions were planned in such a manner as to co-operate with each other, and even join occasionally; so practicable was it thought for them to maintain such a correspondence as would admit of a junction of this nature. The project of this campaign imported, that general Wolfe, who had distinguished himself so eminently in the siege of Louis-bourg, should proceed up the river St. Laurence, as soon as the navigation should be clear of ice, with a body of eight thousand men, and a considerable squadron of ships from England, to undertake the siege of Quebec, the capital of Canada: that general Amherst, who commanded in chief, should, with another army of regular troops and provincials, amounting to twelve thousand men, reduce Ticonderoga and Crown Point, cross the lake Champlain, and, proceeding along the river Richelieu to the banks of the river St. Laurence, join general Wolfe in the siege of Quebec: that brigadier-general Prideaux, with a third body, reinforced with a considerable number of friendly Indians, assembled by the influence and under the command of sir William Johnston, should invest the French fort erected at the fall or cataract of Niagara, which was certainly the most important post of all French America, as it in a manner commanded all the interior parts of that vast continent. It overawed the whole country of the Six Nations, who were cajoled into a tame acquiescence in its being built on their territory: it secured all the inland trade, the navigation of the great lakes, the communication between Canada and Louisiana, and opened a passage for inroads into the colonies of Great Britain. It was proposed that the British forces, having reduced Niagara, should be embarked on the lake Ontario, fall down the river St. Laurence, besiege and take Montreal, and then join or co-operate with Amherst’s army. Besides these larger armaments, colonel Stanwix commanded a smaller detachment for reducing smaller forts, and scouring the banks of the lake Ontario. How far this project was founded on reason and military knowledge may be judged by the following particulars, of which the projectors were not ignorant. The navigation of the river St. Laurence is dangerous and uncertain. The city of Quebec was remarkably strong from situation, and fortification, from the bravery of the inhabitants, and the number of the garrison. Monsieur de Montcalm, an officer of great courage and activity, kept the field between Montreal and Quebec, with a body of eight or ten thousand men, consisting of regular troops and disciplined militia, reinforced by a considerable number of armed Indians; and another body of reserve hovered in the neighbourhood of Montreal, which was the residence of monsieur de Vaudreuil, governor-general of Canada. The garrison of Niagara consisted of above six hundred men; the march to it was tedious and embarrassed; and monsieur de Levi scoured the country with a flying detachment, well acquainted with all the woods and passes. With respect to general Amherst’s share of the plan, the forts of Ticonderoga and Crown-Point stood in his way. The enemy were masters of the lake Champlain, and possessed the strong fort of Chambly, by the fall of the river Richelieu, which defended the pass to the river St. Laurence. Even had these obstacles been removed, it was hardly possible that he and Mr. Wolfe should arrive at Quebec in the same instant of time. The first that reached it, far from being in condition to undertake the siege of Quebec, would have run the risk of being engaged and defeated by the covering army; in which case the other body must have been exposed to the most imminent hazard of destruction, in the midst of an enemy’s country, far distant from any place of safety to which it could retreat. Had these disasters happened (and, according to the experience of war, they were the natural consequences of the scheme), the troops at Niagara would in all probability have fallen an easy sacrifice, unless they had been so fortunate as to receive intelligence in time enough to accomplish their retreat before they could be intercepted. The design would, we apprehend, have been more justifiable, or at least not so liable to objection, had Mr. Amherst left two or three regiments to protect the frontiers of New-York, and, joining Mr. Wolfe with the rest, sailed by the river St. Laurence to besiege Quebec. Even in that case the whole number of his troops would not have been sufficient, according to the practice of war, to invest the place, and cope with the covering enemy. Nevertheless, had the enterprise succeeded, Montcalm must either have hazarded an engagement against great odds, or retired farther into the country; then the route would have been open by land and water to Montreal, which could have made little resistance. The two principal towns being taken, and the navigation of the river St. Laurence blocked up, all the dependent forts must have surrendered at discretion, except Niagara, which there was a bare possibility of supplying at an incredible trouble and expense, from the distant Mississippi; but even then, it might have been besieged in form, and easily reduced. Whatever defects there might have been in the plan, the execution, though it miscarried in some essential points, was attended with surprising success. The same good fortune that prospered the British arms so remarkably in the conquest of Guadaloupe, seemed to interpose still more astonishingly in their favour at Quebec, the siege of which we shall record in its proper place. At present, we must attend the operations of general Amherst, whose separate army was first in motion, though such impediments were thrown in his way as greatly retarded the progress of his operations; impediments said to have arisen from the pride, insolence, and obstinacy of certain individuals, who possessed great influence in that part of the world, and employed it all to thwart the service of their country. The summer was already far advanced before general Amherst could pass lake George with his forces, although they met with no opposition, and reached the neighbourhood of Ticonderoga, where, in the preceding year, the British troops had sustained such a terrible disaster. At first the enemy seemed determined to defend this fortress: but perceiving the English commander resolute, cautious, and well prepared for undertaking the siege; having, moreover, orders to retreat from place to place, towards the centre of operations at Quebec, rather than run the least risk of being made prisoners of war, they, in the night of July the twenty-seventh, abandoned the post, after having in some measure dismantled the fortifications; and retired to Crown -Point, a fort situated on the verge of lake Champlain, General Amherst having taken possession of this important post, which effectually covered the frontiers of New-York, and secured to himself a safe retreat in case of necessity, ordered the works to be repaired, and allotted a strong garrison for its defence. This acquisition, however, was not made without the loss of a brave accomplished young officer, colonel Boger Townshend, who, in reconnoitering the fort, was killed with a cannon-shot, and fell near the same spot which, in the former year, had been enriched with the blood of the gallant lord Howe, whom he strongly resembled in the circumstances of birth, age, qualifications and character.

GENERAL AMHERST EMBARKS ON LAKE CHAMPLAIN.

While the general superintended the repairs of Ticonderoga, and the men were employed in preparing batteaux and other vessels, his scouting parties hovered in the neighbourhood of Crown-Point, in order to watch the motions of the enemy. From one of these detachments he received intelligence, on the first day of August, that the enemy had retired from Crown-Point. He immediately detached a body of rangers before him to take possession of the place: then he embarked with the rest of the army, and on the fourth day of the month landed at the fort, where the troops were immediately encamped. His next care was to lay the foundation of a new fort, to be maintained for the further security of the British dominions in that part of the country; and particularly for preventing the inroads of scalping parties, by whom the plantations had been dreadfully infested. Here information was received that the enemy had retired to the Isle aux Noix, at the other end of the lake Champlain, five leagues on the hither side of St. John’s; that their force encamped in that place, under the command of M. de Burlemaque, consisted of three battalions and five piquets of regular troops, with Canadians and marines, amounting in the whole to three thousand five hundred effective men, provided with a numerous artillery; and that the lake was occupied by four large vessels mounted with cannon, and manned with piquets of different regiments, under the command and direction of M. le Bras, a captain in the French navy, assisted by M. de Rigal, and other sea-officers. In consequence of this intimation, general Amherst, who had for some time employed captain Loring to superintend the building of vessels at Ticonderoga, being resolved to have the superiority on the lake, directed the captain to build with all possible expedition a sloop of sixteen guns, and a radeau eighty-four feet in length, capable of carrying six large cannon. These, together with a brigantine, being finished, victualled, and manned by the eleventh day of October, the general embarked with the whole of the troops in batteaux, in order to attack the enemy; but next day, the weather growing tempestuous, was obliged to take shelter in a bay on the western shore, where the men were landed for refreshment. In the meantime, captain Loring, with his small squadron, sailing down the lake, gave chase to a French schooner, and drove three of their ships into a bay, where two of them were sunk, and the third run aground by their own crew, who escaped; one, however, was repaired and brought away by captain Loring, so that now the French had but one schooner remaining. General Amherst, after having been some days wind-bound, re-embarked his forces, and proceeded down the lake; but the storm, which had abated, beginning to blow with redoubled fury, so as to swell the waves mountains high, the season for action being elapsed, and winter setting in with the most rigorous severity, he saw the impossibility of accomplishing his design, and was obliged to desist. Returning to the same bay where he had been sheltered, he landed the troops, and began his march for Crown-Point, where he arrived on the twenty-first day of October. Having secured a superiority on the lake, he now employed all his attention in rearing the new fortress at Crown-Point, together with three small outforts for its better defence; in opening roads of communication with Ticonderoga, and the governments of Massachusetts and New Hampshire; and in making dispositions for the winter-quarters of his troops, so as to protect the country from the inroads of the enemy.

NIAGARA REDUCED.

During this whole summer he received not the least intelligence of Mr. Wolfe’s operations, except a few hints in some letters relating to the exchange of prisoners, that came from the French general Montcalm, who gave him to understand that Mr. Wolfe had landed in the neighbourhood of Quebec, and seemed determined to undertake the siege of that city; that he had honoured him (the French general) with several notes, sometimes couched in a soothing strain, sometimes filled with threats; that the French army intended to give him battle, and a few days would determine the fate of Quebec. Though Mr. Amherst was ignorant of the proceedings of the Quebec squadron, his communication continued open with the forces which undertook the siege of Niagara; and he received an account of their success before he had quitted the lines of Ticonderoga. General Prideaux, with his body of troops, reinforced by the Indian auxiliaries under sir William Johnston, advanced to the cataract of Niagara, without being exposed to the least inconvenience on his march; and investing the French fortress about the middle of July, carried on his approaches with great vigour till the twentieth day of that month, when, visiting the trenches, he was unfortunately slain by the bursting of a cohorn. Mr. Amherst was no sooner informed of his disaster, than he detached brigadier-general Gage from Ticonderoga, to assume the command of that army. In the meantime it devolved on sir William Johnston, who happily prosecuted the plan of his predecessor with all the success that could have been desired. The enemy, alarmed with the apprehension of losing a place of such importance, resolved to exert their endeavours for its relief. They assembled a body of regular troops, amounting to twelve hundred men, drawn from Detroit, Venango, and Presque Isle; and these, with a number of Indian auxiliaries, were detached under the command of monsieur d’Aubry, on an attempt to reinforce the garrison of Niagara. Sir William Johnston having received intelligence of their design, made a disposition to intercept them in their march. In the evening he ordered the light infantry and picquets to post themselves to the left, on the road leading from Niagara Falls to the fortress; these were reinforced in the morning with the grenadiers and part of the forty-sixth regiment, commanded by lieutenant-colonel Massey; and another regiment, under lieutenant-colonel Farquhar, was posted at the tail of the works, in order to support the guard of the trenches. About eight in the morning, the enemy being in sight, the Indians in the English army advanced to speak with their countrymen who served under the French banners; but this conference was declined by the enemy. Then the French Indians having uttered the horrible scream called the war-whoop, which by this time had lost its effect among the British forces, the enemy began the action with impetuosity; but they met with such a hot reception in front, while the Indian auxiliaries fell upon their flanks, that in a little more than half an hour their whole army was routed, their general, with all his officers, taken, and the pursuit continued through the woods for several miles with considerable slaughter. This battle, which happened on the twenty-fourth day of July, having been fought in sight of the French garrison at Niagara, sir William Johnston sent major Harvey with a trumpet to the commanding officer, to present him with a list of seventeen officers taken in the engagement, and to exhort him to surrender before more blood was shed, while he had it in his power to restrain the Indians. The commandant, having certified himself of the truth, by sending an officer to visit the prisoners, agreed to treat, and in a few hours the capitulation was ratified. The garrison, consisting of six hundred and seven effective men, marched out with the honours of war, in order to be embarked in vessels on the lake, and conveyed in the most expeditious manner to New-York. They laid down their arms when they embarked; but were permitted to keep their baggage, and by proper escort protected from the savage insolence and rapacity of the Indians. All the women were conducted, at their own request, to Montreal; and the sick and wounded, who could not bear the fatigue of travelling, were treated with humanity. This was the second complete victory obtained on the continent of North America, in the course of the same war, by sir William Johnston, who, without the help of a military education, succeeded so signally in the field by dint of innate courage and natural sagacity. What remarkably characterizes these battles, is the circumstance of his having taken, in both, the commanders of the enemy. Indeed, the war in general may be distinguished by the singular success of this gentleman and the celebrated lord Clive, two self-taught generals; who, by a series of shining actions, have demonstrated that uninstructed genius can, by its own internal light and efficacy, rival, if not eclipse, the acquired art of discipline and experience. Sir William Johnston was not more serviceable to his country by his valour and conduct in the field, than by the influence and authority which his justice, benevolence, and integrity, had acquired among the Indian tribes of the Six Nations, whom he not only assembled at Niagara to the number of eleven hundred, but also restrained within the bounds of good order and moderation.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EXPEDITION AGAINST QUEBEC.

The reduction of Niagara, and the possession of Crown-Point, were exploits much more easily achieved than the conquest of Quebec, the great object to which all these operations were subordinate. Of that we now come to give the detail fraught with singular adventures and surprising events; in the course of which a noble spirit of enterprise was displayed, and the scenes of war were exhibited in all the variety of desolation. It was about the middle of February that a considerable squadron sailed from England for Cape Breton, under the command of admirals Saunders and Holmes, two gentlemen of worth and probity, who had on several occasions signalised their courage and conduct in the service of their country. By the twenty-first day of April they were in sight of Louisbourg; but the harbour was blocked up with ice in such a manner, that they were obliged to bear away for Halifax in Nova-Scotia. From hence rear-admiral Durell was detached with a small squadron to sail up the river St. Laurence as far as the Isle de Coudres, in order to intercept any supplies from France intended for Quebec: he accordingly took two store-ships; but he was anticipated by seventeen sail, laden with provision, stores, and some recruits, under convoy of three frigates, which had already reached the capital of Canada. Meanwhile admiral Saunders arrived at Louisbourg; and the troops being embarked, to the number of eight thousand, proceeded up the river without further delay. The operations by land were intrusted to the conduct of major-general James Wolfe, whose talents had shone with such superior lustre at the siege of Louisbourg; and his subordinates in command were the brigadiers Monckton, Townshend, and Murray; all four in the flower of their age, who had studied the milifeiry art with equal eagerness and proficiency, and though young in years, were old in experience. The first was a soldier by descent, the son of major-general Wolfe, a veteran officer of acknowledged capacity: the other three resembled each other, not only in years, qualifications, and station, but also in family rank, all three being the sons of noblemen. The situation of brigadier Townshend was singular; he had served abroad in the last war with reputation, and resigned his commission during the peace, in disdain at some hard usage he had sustained from his superiors. That his military talents, however, might not be lost to his country, he exercised them with equal spirit and perseverance in projecting and promoting the plan of a national militia. When the command and direction of the army devolved to a new leader, so predominant in his breast was the spirit of patriotism and the love of glory, that though heir-apparent to a British peerage, possessed of a very affluent fortune, remarkably dear to his acquaintance, and solicited to a life of quiet by every allurement of domestic felicity; he waived these considerations: he burst from all entanglements; proffered his services to his sovereign; exposed himself to the perils of a disagreeable voyage, the rigours of a severe climate, and the hazard of a campaign peculiarly fraught with toil, danger, and difficulty.

GENERAL WOLFE LANDS ON THE ISLAND OF ORLEANS.

The armament intended for Quebec sailed up the river St. Laurence, without having met with any interruption, or having perceived any of those difficulties and perils with which it had been reported that the navigation of it was attended. Their good fortune in this particular, indeed, was owing to some excellent charts of the river, which had been found in vessels taken from the enemy. About the latter end of June the land-forces were disembarked in two divisions upon the isle of Orleans, situated a little below Quebec, a large fertile island, well cultivated, producing plenty of grain, abounding with people, villages, and plantations. General Wolfe no sooner landed on the island of Orleans, than he distributed a manifesto among the French colonists, giving them to understand that the king his master, justly exasperated against the French monarch, had equipped a considerable armament in order to humble his pride, and was determined to reduce the most considerable French settlements in America. He declared it was not against the industrious peasants, their wives and children, nor against the ministers of religion, that he intended to make war; on the contrary, he lamented the misfortunes to which they must be exposed by the quarrel; he offered them his protection; and promised to maintain them in their temporal possessions, as well as in the free exercise of their religion, provided they would remain quiet, and take no part in the difference between the two crowns. He observed, that the English were masters of the river St. Laurence, so as to intercept all succours from Europe; and had besides a powerful army on the continent, under the command of general Amherst. He affirmed, that the resolution they ought to take was neither difficult nor doubtful; as the utmost exertion of their valour would be useless, and serve only to deprive them of the advantages which they might reap from their neutrality. He reminded them that the cruelties exercised by the French upon the subjects of Great Britain in America, would excuse the most severe reprisals; but Britons were too generous to follow such barbarous examples. He again offered to the Canadians the sweets of peace, amidst the horrors of war; and left it to themselves to determine their own fate by their own conduct. He expressed his hope that the world would do him justice, should they oblige him, by rejecting these favourable terms, to adopt violent measures. He expatiated upon the strength and power, as well as upon the generosity, of Great Britain, in thus stretching out the hand of humanity; a hand ready to assist them on all occasions, even when France was by her weakness compelled to abandon them in the most critical conjuncture. This declaration produced no immediate effect; nor indeed did the Canadians depend on the sincerity and promised faith of a nation, whom their priests had industriously represented as the most savage and cruel enemy on earth. Possessed of these notions, which prevailed even among the better sort, they chose to abandon their habitations, and expose themselves and families to certain ruin, in provoking the English by the most cruel hostilities, rather than be quiet, and confide in the general’s promise of protection. Instead of pursuing this prudent plan of conduct, they joined the scalping parties * of Indians who skulked among the woods; and falling upon the English stragglers by surprise, butchered them with the most inhuman barbarity.

* The operation of scalping, which, to the shame of both nations, was encouraged both by French and English, the savages performed in this manner—The hapless victim being disabled, or disarmed, the Indian, with a sharp knife, provided and worn for the purpose, makes a circular incision to the bone round the upper part of the head, and tears off the scalp with his fingers. Previous to this execution, he generally despatches the prisoner by repeated blows on the head, with the hammer-side of the instrument called a tomahawk: but sometimes they save themselves the trouble, and sometimes the blows prove ineffectual; so that the miserable patient is found alive, groaning in the utmost agony of torture. The Indian strings the scalps he has procured, to be produced as a testimony of his prowess, and receives a premium for each from the nation under whose banners he has been enlisted.

Mr. Wolfe, whose nature revolted against this wanton and perfidious cruelty, sent a letter to the French general, representing that such enormities were contrary to the rules of war observed among civilized nations, dishonourable to the service of France, and disgraceful to human nature; he therefore desired that the French colonists and Indians might be restrained within due bounds, otherwise he would burn their villages, desolate their plantations, and retaliate upon the persons of his prisoners whatever cruelties should, in the sequel, be committed on the soldiers or subjects of his master. In all probability the French general’s authority was not sufficient to bridle the ferocity of the savages, who continued to scalp and murder, with the most brutal appetite for blood and revenge, so that Mr. Wolfe, in order to intimidate the enemy into a cessation of these outrages, found it necessary to connive at some irregularities in the way of retaliation.

M. de Montcalm, who commanded the French troops, though superior in number to the invaders, very wisely resolved to depend upon the natural strength of the country, which appeared almost insurmountable, and had carefully taken all his precautions of defence. The city of Quebec was tolerably fortified, secured with a numerous garrison, and plentifully supplied with provisions and ammunition. Montcalm had reinforced the troops of the colony with five regular battalions formed of the best of the inhabitants, completely disciplined all the Canadians of the neighbourhood capable of bearing arms, and several tribes of savages. With this army he had taken the field in a very advantageous situation, encamped along the shore of Beaufort, from the river St. Charles to the Falls of Montmorenci, every accessible part being deeply intrenched. To undertake the siege of Quebec against such odds and advantages, was not only a deviation from the established maxims of war, but a rash enterprise, seemingly urged in diametrical opposition to the dictates of common sense. Mr. Wolfe was well acquainted with all the difficulties of the undertaking; but he knew at the same time he should always have it in his power to retreat, in case of emergency, while the British squadron maintained its station in the river; he was not without hope of being joined by general Amherst; and he was stimulated by an appetite for glory, which the prospect of accumulated dangers could not allay. Understanding that there was a body of the enemy posted, with cannon, at the Point of Levi, on the south shore, opposite the city of Quebec, he detached against them brigadier Monckton, at the head of four battalions, who passed the river at night; and next morning, having skirmished with some of the enemy’s irregulars, obliged them to retire from that post, which the English immediately occupied. At the same time colonel Carlton, with another detachment, took possession of the western point of the island of Orleans: and both these posts were fortified, in order to anticipate the enemy; who, had they kept possession of either, might have rendered it impossible for any ship to lie at anchor within two miles of Quebec. Besides, the Point of Levi was within cannon shot of the city, against which a battery of mortars and artillery was immediately erected. Montcalm, foreseeing the effect of this manoeuvre, detached a body of sixteen hundred men across the river, to attack and destroy the works before they were completed; but the detachment fell into disorder, fired upon each other, and retired in confusion. The battery being finished without further interruption, the cannons and mortars began to play with such success, that in a little time the upper town was considerably damaged, and the lower town reduced to a heap of rubbish.

ENGLISH FLEET DAMAGED BY A STORM.

In the meantime, the fleet was exposed to the most imminent danger. Immediately after the troops had been landed on the island of Orleans, the wind increased to a furious storm, which blew with such violence, that many transports ran foul of one another, and were disabled. A number of boats and small craft foundered, and divers large ships lost their anchors. The enemy resolving to take advantage of the confusion which they imagined this disaster must have produced, prepared seven fire ships; and at midnight sent them down from Quebec among the transports, which lay so thick as to cover the whole surface of the river. The scheme, though well contrived, and seasonably executed, was entirely defeated by the deliberation of the British admiral, and the dexterity of his mariners, who resolutely boarded the fire ships, and towed them fast aground, where they lay burning to the water’s edge, without having done the least prejudice to the English squadron. On the very same day of the succeeding month they sent down a raft of fire-ships, or radeaux, which were likewise consumed without producing any effect.

GENERAL WOLFE ENCAMPS NEAR THE FALLS OF THE RIVER MONTMORENCI.

The works for the security of the hospital and the stores, on the island of Orleans, being finished, the British forces crossed the north channel in boats; and, landing under cover of two sloops, encamped on the side of the river Montmorenci, which divided them from the left of the enemy. Next morning a company of rangers, posted in a wood to cover some workmen, were attacked by the French Indians, and totally defeated; however, the nearest troops advancing, repulsed the Indians in their turn with considerable loss. The reasons that induced general Wolfe to choose this situation by the Falls of Montmorenci, in which he was divided from Quebec by this and another river called St. Charles, he explained in a letter to the secretary of state. He observed, that the ground which he had chosen was high, and in some measure commanded the opposite side on which the enemy was posted: that there was a ford below the Falls passable in every tide for some hours, at the latter part of the ebb and beginning of the flood; and he hoped that means might be found of passing the river higher up, so as to fight the marquis de Montcalm upon less disadvantageous terms than those of directly attacking his intrenchments. Accordingly, in reconnoitring the river Montmorenci, a ford was discovered about three miles above; but the opposite banks, which were naturally steep and covered with woods, the enemy had intrenched in such a manner, as to render it almost inaccessible. The escort was twice attacked by the Indians, who were as often repulsed; but these rencounters cost the English about forty men killed and wounded, including some officers. Some shrewd objections might be started to the general’s choice of ground on this occasion. He could not act at all without passing the river Montmorenci at a very great disadvantage, and attacking an enemy superior to himself in number, secured by redoubts and intrenchments. Had he even, by dint of extraordinary valour, driven them from these strong posts, the success must have cost him a great number of officers and men: and the enemy might have retreated behind the river St. Charles, which he also must have passed under the same disadvantages, before he could begin his operations against the city of Quebec. Had his good fortune enabled him to surmount all these difficulties, and after all to defeat the enemy in a pitched battle, the garrison of Quebec might have been reinforced by the wreck of their army; and he could not, with any probability of success, have undertaken the siege of an extensive fortified place, which he had not troops sufficient to invest, and whose garrison would have been nearly equal in number to the sum total of the troops he commanded. At any rate, the chance of a fair engagement in the open field was what he had little reason to expect in that situation, from the known experience, and the apparent conduct, of the French general. These objections appeared so obvious and important, that general Wolfe would not determine to risk an attack, until he had surveyed the upper part of the river St. Laurence, in hopes of finding some place more favourable for a descent.

On the eighteenth day of July, the admiral, at his request, sent two ships of war, two armed sloops, and some transports with troops on board, up the river; and they passed the city of Quebec, without having sustained any damage. The general, being on board of this little armament, carefully observed the banks on the side of the enemy, which were extremely difficult from the nature of the ground; and these difficulties were redoubled by the foresight and precaution of the French commander. Though a descent seemed impracticable between the city and Cape Rouge, where it was intended, general Wolfe, in order to divide the enemy’s force, and procure intelligence, ordered a detachment, under the command of colonel Carleton, to land higher up, at the Point au Tremble, to which place he was informed a great number of the inhabitants of Quebec had retired with their most valuable effects. This service was performed with little loss; and some prisoners were brought away, but no magazine was discovered. The general, thus disappointed in his expectation, returned to Montmorenci, where brigadier Townshend had, by maintaining a superior fire across that river, prevented the enemy from erecting a battery, which would have commanded the English camp; and now he resolved to attack them, though posted to great advantage, and everywhere prepared to give him a warm reception. His design was, first to reduce a detached redoubt close to the water’s edge, seemingly situated without gunshot of the intrenchment on the hill. Should this fortification be supported by the enemy, he foresaw that he should be able to bring on a general engagement: on the contrary, should they remain tame spectators of its reduction, he could afterwards examine their situation at leisure, and determine the place at which they could be most easily attacked. Preparations were accordingly made for storming the redoubt. On the last day of July, in the forenoon, part of brigadier Monckton’s brigade was embarked in the boats of the fleet, to be transported from the Point of Levi. The two brigades, commanded by the brigadiers Townshend and Murray, were drawn out in order to pass the ford when it should be necessary. To facilitate their passage, the admiral had stationed the Centurion ship of war in the channel, to check the fire of the lower battery, by which the ford was commanded: a numerous train of artillery was placed upon the eminence, to batter and enfilade the left of the enemy’s intrenchment; and two flat-bottomed armed vessels, prepared for the purpose, were run aground near the redoubt, to favour the descent of the forces. The manifest confusion produced among the French by these previous measures, and by the fire of the Centurion, which was well-directed and sustained, determined Mr. Wolfe to storm this intrenchment without further delay. Orders were issued that the three brigadiers should put their troops in motion at a certain signal, which was accordingly made at a proper time of the tide. Many of the boats from Point Levi ran aground upon a ledge that runs off a considerable distance from the shore; and this accident occasioned a disorderly which so much time was lost, that the general was obliged to stop the march of brigadier Townshend’s corps, which he perceived to be in motion. In the meantime, the boats were floated, and ranged in proper order, though exposed to a severe fire of shot and shells; and the general in person sounding the shore, pointed out the place where the troops might disembark with the least difficulty. Thirteen companies of Grenadiers, and two hundred men of the second American battalion, were the first who landed. They had received orders to form in four distinct bodies, and begin the attack, supported by the corps of brigadier Monckton, as soon as the other troops should have passed the ford, and be near enough to contribute to their assistance. These instructions, however, were entirely neglected. Before Mr. Monckton had landed, and while brigadier Townshend was on his march at a considerable distance, the grenadiers, without waiting to be drawn up in a regular form, impetuously rushed towards the enemy’s intrenchments in the utmost disorder. Their courage served only to increase their misfortune. The first fire they received did such execution among them, that they were obliged to shelter themselves under the redoubt which the French had abandoned at their approach. In this uncomfortable situation they remained some time, unable to form under so hot a fire, notwithstanding the utmost efforts of many gallant officers, who lavishly exposed, and even lost their lives in the honourable discharge of their duty. 511 [See note 3 Y, at the end of this Vol.] The general, seeing all their efforts abortive, ordered them to retreat, and form behind Monckton’s brigade, which was by this time landed, and drawn up on the beach in order. They accordingly retired in confusion, leaving a considerable number lying on the field, to the barbarity of the Indian savages, who massacred the living, and scalped the dead, even in the sight of their indignant companions. This unhappy accident occasioned a new delay, and the day was already far advanced. The wind began to blow with uncommon violence, and the tide to make; so that in case of a second repulse, the retreat of brigadier Townshend might have been rendered hazardous and uncertain; Mr. Wolfe, therefore, thought proper to desist, and returned without further molestation to the other side of the river Montmorenci. The admiral ordered the two vessels which were aground to be set on fire, that they might not fall into the hands of the enemy. The advantages that favoured an attack in this part, consisted of the following particulars:—All the artillery could be used with good effect; all the troops could act at once; and in case of a miscarriage, the retreat was secure and open, at least for a certain time of the tide. These, however, seemed to be over-balanced by other considerations. The enemy were posted on a commanding eminence; the beach was covered with deep mud, slippery, and broken into holes and gullies; the hill was steep, and in some places impracticable; the enemy were numerous, and poured in a very severe fire from their intrenchments. Had the attack succeeded, the loss of the English must have been very heavy, and that of the French inconsiderable, because the neighbouring woods afforded them immediate shelter. Finally, the river St. Charles still remained to be passed before the town could be invested.

BRIGADIER MURRAY DETACHED UP THE RIVER.

Immediately after this mortifying check, in which above five hundred men, and many brave officers, were lost, the general detached brigadier Murray, with twelve hundred men, in transports, above the town, to co-operate with rear-admiral Holmes, whom the admiral had sent up with some force against the French shipping, which he hoped to destroy. The brigadier was likewise instructed to seize every opportunity of fighting the enemy’s detachments, and even of provoking them to battle. In pursuance of these directions, he twice attempted to land on the north shore; but these attempts were unsuccessful. The third effort was more fortunate. He made a sudden descent at Chambaud, and burned a considerable magazine, filled with arms, clothing, provisions, and ammunition. The enemy’s ships being secured in such a manner as not to be approached, and nothing else occurring that required the brigadier’s longer stay, he returned to the camp, with intelligence obtained from his prisoners, that the fort of Niagara was taken, Crown Point abandoned, and general Amherst employed in making preparations to attack the corps at the isle aux Nois, commanded by M. Burlemaque. The disaster at the Falls of Montmorenci made a deep impression on the mind of general Wolfe, whose spirit was too great to brook the most distant prospect of censure or disgrace. He knew the character of the English people—rash, impatient, and capricious; elevated to exultation by the least gleam of success, dejected even to despondency by the most inconsiderable frown of adverse fortune; sanguine, even to childish hyperbole, in applauding those servants of the public who have prospered in their undertakings; clamorous, to a degree of prosecution, against those who have miscarried in their endeavours, without any investigation of merit, without any consideration of circumstances. A keen sense of these vexatious peculiarities conspiring with the shame of disappointment, and eager desire of retrieving the laurel that he might by some be supposed to have lost at the Falls of Montmorenci, and the despair of finding such an occasion, excited an internal agitation, which visibly affected his external frame, and disordered his whole constitution, which was naturally delicate and tender. Among those who shared his confidence, he was often seen to sigh; he was often heard to complain; and even in the transports of his chagrin declare, that he would never return without success, to be exposed, as other unfortunate commanders had been, to the censure and reproach of an ignorant and ungrateful populace. This tumult of the mind, added to the fatigues of the body he had undergone, produced a fever and dysentery, by which for some time he was totally disabled.

Before he recovered any degree of strength, he desired the general officers to consult together for the public utility. It was their opinion, that, the Points of Levi and Orleans being left in a proper state of defence, the rest of the troops should be conveyed up the river, with a view to draw the enemy from their present situation, and bring them if possible to an engagement. This measure, however, was not adopted, until the general and admiral had reconnoitred the town of Quebec, with a view to a general assault; and concluded from their own observations, reinforced by the opinion of the chief engineer, who was perfectly well acquainted with the interior of the place, that such an attack could not be hazarded with any prospect of success. The ships of war, indeed, might have silenced the batteries of the lower town, but they could not affect the upper works, from which they must have sustained considerable damage. When we consider the situation of this place, and the fortifications with which it was secured; the natural strength of the country; the great number of vessels and floating batteries they had provided for the defence of the river; the skill, valour, superior force, and uncommon vigilance of the enemy; their numerous bodies of savages continually hovering about the posts of the English, to surprise parties, and harass detachments; we must own that there was such a combination of difficulties as might have discouraged and perplexed the most resolute and intelligent commander.

THE TROOPS LAND AT THE HEIGHTS OF ABRAHAM.

In consequence of the resolution taken to quit the camp at Montmorenci, the troops and artillery were re-embarked, and landed at Point Levi: they afterwards passed up the river in transports, while admiral Holmes made a movement with his ships to amuse the enemy posted on the north shore; and the men being much crowded on board, the general ordered one-half of them to be landed for refreshment on the other side of the river. As no possibility appeared of annoying the enemy above the town, the scheme of operations was totally changed. A plan was formed for conveying the troops farther down in boats, and landing them in the night within a league of Cape Diamond, in hopes of ascending the heights of Abraham, which rise abruptly with a steep ascent from the banks of the river, that they might take possession of the ground on the back of the city, where it was but indifferently fortified. The dangers and difficulties attending the execution of this design were so peculiarly discouraging, that one would imagine it could not have been embraced but by a spirit of enterprise that bordered on desperation. The stream was rapid; the shore shelving; the bank of the river lined with sentinels; the landing place so narrow as to be easily missed in the dark; and the ground so difficult as hardly to be surmounted in the day-time, had no opposition been expected. If the enemy had received the least intimation from spy or deserter, or even suspected the scheme; had the embarkation been disordered in consequence of the darkness of the night, the rapidity of the river, or the shelving nature of the north shore, near which they were obliged to row; had one sentinel been alarmed, or the landing place much mistaken; the heights of Abraham must have been instantly secured by such a force as would, have rendered the undertaking abortive: confusion would necessarily have ensued in the dark; and this would have naturally produced a panic, which might have proved fatal to the greater part of the detachment. These objections could not escape the penetration of the gallant Wolfe, who nevertheless adopted the plan without hesitation, and even executed it in person; though at that time labouring under a severe dysentery and fever, which had exhausted his constitution, and reduced him almost to an extremity of weakness. The previous steps being taken, and the time fixed for this hazardous attempt, admiral Holmes moved with his squadron farther up the river, about three leagues above the place appointed for the disembarkation, that he might deceive the enemy, and amuse M. de Bougainville, whom Montcalm had detached with fifteen hundred men to watch the motions of that squadron; but the English admiral was directed to sail down the river in the night, so as to protect the landing of the forces; and these orders he punctually fulfilled. On the twelfth day of September, an hour after midnight, the first embarkation, consisting of four complete regiments, the light infantry commanded by colonel Howe, a detachment of Highlanders, and the American grenadiers, was made in flat-bottomed boats, under the immediate command of the brigadiers Monck-ton and Murray; though general Wolfe accompanied them in person, and was among the first who landed; and they began to fall down with the tide, to the intended place of disembarkation, rowing close to the north shore in order to find it the more easily. Without any disorder the boats glided gently along: but by the rapidity of the tide, and the darkness of the night, the boats over-shot the mark, and the troops landed a little below the place at which the disembarkation was intended. 513 [See note 3 Z, at the end of this Vol.] As the troops landed the boats were sent back for the second embarkation, which was superintended by brigadier Townshend. In the meantime, colonel Howe, with the light infantry and the Highlanders, ascended the woody precipices with admirable courage and activity, and dislodged a sergeant’s guard which defended a small intrenched narrow path, by which alone the rest of the forces could reach the summit. Then they mounted without further molestation from the enemy, and the general drew them up in order as they arrived. Monsieur de Montcalm no sooner understood that the English had gained the heights of Abraham, which in a manner commanded the town on its weakest part, than he resolved to hazard a battle; and began his march without delay, after having collected his whole force from the side of Beauport.

BATTLE OF QUEBEC.

General Wolfe, perceiving the enemy crossing the river St. Charles, began to form his own line, which consisted of six battalions and the Louisbourg grenadiers; the right commanded by brigadier Monckton, and the left by brigadier Murray: to the rear of the left, colonel Howe was posted with his light infantry, just returned from a four-gun battery, which they had taken without opposition. M. de Montcalm advancing in such a manner as to show his intention was to flank the left of the English, brigadier Townshend was sent thither with the regiment of Amherst, which he formed en potence, presenting a double front to the enemy: he was afterwards reinforced by two battalions; and the reserve consisted of one regiment drawn up in eight sub-divisions, with large intervals. The right of the enemy was composed of half the colony troops, two battalions, and a body of Canadians and savages; their centre consisted of a column formed by two other regular battalions; and on the left one battalion, with the remainder of the colony troops, was posted; the bushes and corn-fields in their front were lined with fifteen hundred of their best marksmen, who kept up an irregular galling fire, which proved fatal to many brave officers, thus singled out for destruction. This fire, indeed, was in some measure checked by the advanced posts of the British line, who piqueered with the enemy for some hours before the battle began. Both armies were destitute of artillery, except two small pieces on the side of the French, and a single gun which the English seamen made shift to draw up from the landing place. This was very well served, and galled their column severely. At length, about nine in the morning, the enemy advanced to the charge with great order and vivacity, though their fire was irregular and ineffectual. On the contrary, the British forces reserved their shot until the French had approached within forty yards of their line: then they poured in a terrible discharge; and continued the fire with such deliberation and spirit, as could not fail to produce a very considerable effect. General Wolfe was stationed on the right, at the head of Bragg’s regiment and the Louisbourg grenadiers, where the attack was most warm. As he stood conspicuous in the front of the line, he had been aimed at by the enemy’s marksmen, and received a shot in the wrist, which however did not oblige him to quit the field. Having wrapped a handkerchief round his hand, he continued giving orders without the least emotion; and advanced at the head of the grenadiers with their bayonets fixed; when another ball unfortunately pierced the breast of this young hero,* who fell in the arms of victory, just as the enemy gave way.

* When the fatal ball took place, general Wolfe, finding himself unable to stand, leaned upon the shoulder of a lieutenant, who sat down for that purpose. This officer seeing the French give way, exclaimed, “They run! they run!”—“Who run?” cried the gallant Wolfe, with great eagerness. When the lieutenant replied, “The French.”— “What!” said he, “do the cowards run already? then I die happy.” So saying, the glorious youth expired.

At that very instant, every separate regiment of the British army seemed to exert itself for the honour of its own peculiar character. While the right pressed on with their bayonets, brigadier Murray briskly advanced with the troops under his command, and soon broke the centre of the enemy: then the High landers, drawing their broad-swords, fell in among them, with irresistible impetuosity, and drove them with great slaughter into the town, and the works they had raised at the bridge of the river St. Charles. On the left and rear of the English, the action was not so violent. Some of the light infantry had thrown themselves into houses; where, being attacked, they defended themselves with great courage and resolution. Colonel Howe having taken post with two companies behind a small copse, sallied out frequently on the flanks of the enemy during this attack, and often drove them into heaps; while brigadier Townshend advanced platoons against their front; so that the right wing of the French were totally prevented from executing their first intention. The brigadier himself remained with Amherst’s regiment, to support this disposition, and to overawe a body of savages posted opposite to the light infantry, waiting for an opportunity to fall upon the rear of the British army. General Wolfe being slain, and at the same time Mr. Monckton dangerously wounded at the head of Lascelles’ regiment, where he distinguished himself with remarkable gallantry, the command devolved on brigadier Townshend, who hastened to the centre; and finding the troops disordered in the pursuit, formed them again with all possible expedition. This necessary task was scarce performed, when M. de Bougainville, with a body of two thousand fresh men, appeared in the rear of the English. He had begun his march from Cape Rouge, as soon as he received intelligence that the British troops had gained the heights of Abraham, but did not come up in time to have any share in the battle. Mr. Townshend immediately ordered two battalions, with two pieces of artillery, to advance against this officer; who retired, at their approach, among woods and swamps, where general Townshend very wisely declined hazarding a precarious attack. He had already obtained a complete victory, taken a great number of French officers, and was possessed of a very advantageous situation, which it would have been imprudent to forego. The French general, M. de Montcalm, was mortally wounded in the battle, and conveyed into Quebec; from whence, before he died, he wrote a letter to general Townshend, recommending the prisoners to that generous humanity by which the British nation is distinguished. His second in command was left wounded on the field; and next day expired on board an English ship, to which he had been conveyed. About one thousand of the enemy were made prisoners, including a great number of officers; and about five hundred were slain on the field of battle. The wreck of their army, after they had reinforced the garrison of Quebec, retired to Point-au-Tremble; from whence they proceeded to Jacques Quatiers, where they remained intrenched until they were compelled by the severity of the weather to make the best of their way to Trois Rivieres and Montreal. This important victory was obtained at the expense of fifty men killed, including nine officers; and of about five hundred men wounded: but the death of general Wolfe was a national loss, universally lamented. He inherited from nature an animating fervour of sentiment, an intuitive perception, an extensive capacity, and a passion for glory, which stimulated him to acquire every species of military knowledge that study could comprehend, that actual service could illustrate and confirm. This noble warmth of disposition, seldom fails to call forth and unfold the liberal virtues of the soul. Brave above all estimation of danger, he was also generous, gentle, complacent and humane; the pattern of the officer, the darling of the soldier: there was a sublimity in his genius which soared above the pitch of ordinary minds; and had his faculties been exercised to their full extent by opportunity and action, had his judgment been fully matured by age and experience, he would without doubt have rivalled in reputation the most celebrated captains of antiquity.

QUEBEC TAKEN.

Immediately after the battle of Quebec, admiral Saunders, who, together with his subordinates Durell and Holmes, had all along co-operated heartily with the land-forces for the advantage of the service, sent up all the boats of the fleet with artillery and ammunition; and on the seventeenth day of the month sailed up with all the ships of war, in a disposition to attack the lower town, while the upper part should be assaulted by general Townshend. This gentleman had employed the time from the day of action in securing the camp with redoubts, in forming a military road for the cannon, in drawing up the artillery, preparing batteries, and cutting off the enemy’s communication with the country. On the seventeenth, before any battery could be finished, a flag of truce was sent from the town, with proposals of capitulation; which, being maturely considered by the general and admiral, were accepted, and signed at eight next morning. They granted the more favourable terms, as the enemy continued to assemble in the rear of the British army; as the season was become wet, stormy, and cold, threatening the troops with sickness, and the fleet with accident; and as a considerable advantage would result from taking possession of the town while the walls were in a state of defence. What rendered the capitulation still more fortunate for the British general, was the information he afterwards received from deserters, that the enemy had rallied, and were reinforced behind cape Rouge, under the command of M. de Levy, arrived from Montreal for that purpose, with two regular battalions; and that M. de Bougainville, at the head of eight hundred men, with a convoy of provisions, was actually on his march to throw himself into the town on the eighteenth, that very morning on which it was surrendered. The place was not then completely invested, as the enemy had broke the bridge of boats, and posted detachments in very strong works on the other side of the river St. Charles. The capitulation was no sooner ratified, than the British forces took possession of Quebec on the land side; and guards were posted in different parts of the town, to preserve order and discipline; at the same time captain Palliser, with a body of seamen, entered the lower town and took the same precautions. Next day about a thousand prisoners were embarked on board transports, which proceeded to France with the first opportunity. Meanwhile the inhabitants of the country came in great numbers, to deliver up their arms, and take the oath of fidelity to the English government. The death of Montcalm, which was indeed an irreparable loss to France, in all probability overwhelmed the enemy with consternation, and confounded all their councils; otherwise we cannot account for the tame surrender of Quebec to a handful of troops, even after the victory they had obtained: for although the place was not regularly fortified on the land-side, and most of the houses were in ruins, their walls and parapets had not yet sustained the least damage; the besiegers were hardly sufficient to complete the investiture; a fresh army was assembled in the neighbourhood, with which their communication continued open; the season was so far advanced, that the British forces in a little time must have been forced to desist by the severity of the weather, and even retire with their fleet before the approach of winter, which never fails to freeze up the river St. Laurence.

Immediately after the action at the Falls of Montmorenci, general Wolfe had despatched an officer to England, with a detail of that disaster, written with such elegance and accuracy, as would not have disgraced the pen of a Cæsar. Though the public acquiesced in his conduct, they were exceedingly mortified at his miscarriage; and this mortification was the greater, as he seemed to despair of being able to strike any other stroke of importance for the accomplishment of their hope, which had aspired at the absolute conquest of Canada. The first transports of their chagrin were not yet subsided, when colonel Hale arrived in the ship Alcide, with an account of the victory and surrender of Quebec; which was immediately communicated to the people in an Extraordinary Gazette. The joy which this excited among the populace rose in proportion to the despondence which the former had produced: all was rapture and riot; all was triumph and exultation, mingled with the praise of the all-accomplished Wolfe, which they exalted even to a ridiculous degree of hyperbole. The king expressed his satisfaction by conferring the honour of knighthood upon captain Douglas, whose ship brought the first tidings of this success; and gratified him and colonel Hale with considerable presents. A day of solemn thanksgiving was appointed by proclamation through all the dominions of Great Britain. The city of London, the universities, and many other corporations of the kingdom, presented congratulatory addresses to his majesty. The parliament was no sooner assembled, than the secretary of state, in the house of commons, expatiated upon the successes of the campaign, the transcendent merit of the deceased general, the conduct and courage of the admirals and officers who assisted in the conquest of Quebec. In consequence of this harangue, and the motion by which it was succeeded, the house unanimously resolved to present an address, desiring his majesty would order a monument to be erected in Westminster-abbey to the memory of major-general Wolfe; at the same time they passed another resolution, that the thanks of the house should be given to the surviving generals and admirals employed in the glorious and successful expedition to Quebec. Testimonies of this kind, while they reflect honour upon the character of the nation, never fail to animate individuals to a spirited exertion of their talents in the service of the public. The people of England were so elevated by the astonishing success of this campaign, which was also prosperous on the continent of Europe, that, far from expressing the least sense of the enormous burdens which they bore, they, with a spirit peculiar to the British nation, voluntarily raised large contributions to purchase warm jackets, stockings, shoes, coats, and blankets, for the soldiers who were exposed to the rigours of an inclement sky in Germany and America. But they displayed a more noble proof of unrestrained benevolence, extended even to foes. The French ministry, straitened in their finances, which were found scarce sufficient to maintain the war, had sacrificed their duty to their king, and every sentiment of compassion for his unhappy subjects, to a thirst of vengeance, and sanguinary views of ambition. They had withdrawn the usual allowance from their subjects who were detained prisoners in England; and those wretched creatures, amounting in number to near twenty thousand, were left to the mercy of those enemies whom their sovereign had taken such pains to exasperate. The allowance with which they were indulged by the British government effectually secured them from the horrors of famine; but still they remained destitute of other conveniences, and particularly exposed to the miseries of cold and nakedness. The generous English beheld these forlorn captives with sentiments of sympathy and compassion; they considered them as their fellow-creatures and brethren in humanity, and forgot their country while they beheld their distress. A considerable subscription was raised in their behalf; and in a few weeks they were completely clothed by the charity of their British benefactors. This beneficent exertion was certainly one of the noblest triumphs of the human mind, which even the most inveterate enemies of Great Britain cannot but regard with reverence and admiration.—The city of Quebec being reduced, together with great part of the circumjacent country, brigadier Townshend, who had accepted his commission with the express proviso that he should return to England at the end of the campaign, left a garrison of five thousand effective men, victualled from the fleet, under the command of brigadier Murray; and, embarking with admiral Saunders, arrived in Great Britain about the beginning of winter. As for brigadier Monckton, he was conveyed to New York, where he happily recovered of his wound.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Siege of Madras..... Colonel Forde defeats the Marquis de Conflans near Gola-pool..... Captain Knox takes Rajamundry and Narsipore..... Colonel Forde takes Masulipatam..... Surat taken by the English..... Unsuccessful Attack upon Wandewash..... Admiral Pococke defeats Monsieur d’Apehé..... Hostilities of the Dutch on the River of Bengal..... Colonel Coote takes Wandewash..... Defeats General Lally..... and conquers the Province of Arcot..... State of the Belligerent Powers in Europe..... Frankfort seized by the French..... Progress of the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick..... Prince Ferdinand attacks the French at Bergen..... The British Ministry appoint an Inspector General of the Forage..... Prince Ferdinand retreats before the French Army..... Animosity between the General of the Allied Army and the Commander of the British Forces..... The French encamp at Min-den..... and are defeated by the Allies..... Duke de Brissac routed by the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick..... General Imhoff takes Munster from the French..... who retreat before Prince Ferdinand..... The Hereditary Prince beats up the Duke of Wirtemberg’s Quarters at Fulda..... A Body of Prussians make an incursion into Poland..... Prince Henry penetrates into Bohemia..... He enters Franconia, and obliges the Imperial Army to retire..... King of Prussia vindicates his Conduct with respect to his Prisoners..... The Prussian General Wedel defeated by the Russians at Zullichau..... The King of Prussia takes the Command of General Wedel’s Corps..... Battle of Cunersdorf..... Advantages gained by the Prussians in Saxony..... Prince Henry surprises General Vehla..... General Finck, with his whole Corps of Prussians, surrounded and taken by the Austrian General..... Disaster of the Prussian General Diercke..... Conclusion of the Campaign..... Arret of the Evangelical Body at Ratisbon..... The French Ministry stop Payment..... The States-General send over Deputies to England..... Memorial presented to the States by Major-General Yorke..... A counter Memorial presented by the French Minister..... Death of the King of Spain..... He is succeeded by his brother Don Carlos, who makes a remarkable Settlement..... Detection and Punishment of the Conspirators at Lisbon..... Session opened in England..... Substance of the Addresses..... Supplies granted..... Ways and Means, Annuities, &c....... Bills for granting several Duties on Malt, &c...... Petitions for and against the Prohibition of the Malt Distillery..... Opposition to the Bill for preventing the excessive Use of Spirituous Liquors..... Bill for continuing the Importation of Irish Beef..... Attempt to establish a Militia in Scotland..... Further Regulations relative to the Militia of England..... Bill for removing the Powder Magazine from Greenwich..... Act for improving the Streets of London..... Bill relative to the Sale of Fish in London and Westminster..... New Act for ascertaining the Qualifications of Members of Parliament..... Act for consolidating the Annuities granted in 1759..... Bill for securing the Payment of Prize and Bounty Money appropriated for the Use of Greenwich Hospital..... Act in Favour of George Keith, late Earl Marshal of Scotland..... Session closed

SIEGE OF MADRAS.

While the arms of Great Britain triumphed in Europe and America, her interest was not suffered to languish in other parts of the world. This was the season of ambition and activity, in which every separate armament, every distinct corps, and individual officer, seemed to exert themselves with the most eager appetite of glory. The East Indies, which in the course of the preceding year had been the theatre of operations carried on with various success, exhibited nothing now but a succession of trophies to the English commanders. The Indian transactions of the last year were interrupted at that period when the French general, Lally, was employed in making preparations for the siege of Madras. In the month of October he had marched into Arcot without opposition; and in the beginning of December, he advanced towards Madras. On the twelfth he marched over Choultry plain, in three divisions, cannonaded by the English artillery with considerable effect, and took post at Egmore and St. Thome. Colonel Laurence, who commanded the garrison of Madras, retired to the island, in order to prevent the enemy from taking possession of the island bridge; and at the same time ordered the posts to be occupied in the Blacktown, or suburbs of Madras. In the morning of the fourteenth, the enemy marched with their whole force to attack this place; the English detachments retreated into the garrison; and within the hour a grand sally was made, under the command of colonel Draper, a gallant officer, who signalized himself remarkably on this occasion. He attacked the regiment of Lorrain with great impetuosity; and in all probability would have beat them off, had they not been sustained by the arrival of a fresh brigade. After a very warm dispute, in which many officers and a great number of men were killed on each side, colonel Draper was obliged to retreat, not altogether satisfied with the conduct of his grenadiers. As the garrison of Madras was not very numerous, nothing further was attempted on their side without the works. In the meantime, the enemy used all their diligence in erecting batteries against the fort and town; which being opened on the sixth day of January, they maintained a continual discharge of shot and shells for twenty days, advancing their trenches all the time under cover of this fire, until they reached the breast of the glacis. There they erected a battery of four pieces of cannon, and opened it on the last day of the month; but for five days successively they were obliged to close their embrasures by the superior fire of the fort, and at length to abandon it entirely: nevertheless, they still maintained a severe fire from the first grand battery, which was placed at the distance of four hundred and fifty yards from the defences. This artillery was so well served, as to disable twenty-six pieces of cannon, three mortars, and effect an inconsiderable breach. Perhaps they might have had more success, had they battered in breach from the beginning; but M. Lally, in order to intimidate the inhabitants, had cruelly bombarded the town, and demolished the houses: he was, however, happily disappointed in his expectation by the wise and resolute precautions of governor Pigot; by the vigilance, conduct, and bravery of the colonels Laurence and Draper, seconded by the valour and activity of major Brereton, and the spirit of the inferior officers. The artillery of the garrison was so well managed, that from the fifth day of February, the fire of the enemy gradually decreased from twenty-three to six pieces of cannon: nevertheless, they advanced their sap along the sea-side, so as to embrace entirely the north-east angle of the covered way, from whence their musketry drove the besieged. They likewise endeavoured to open a passage into the ditch by a mine; but sprung it so injudiciously, that they could make no advantage of it, as it lay exposed to the fire of several cannon. While these preparations were carried on before the town, major Caillaud and captain Preston, with a body of sepoys, some of the country horse, and a few Europeans drawn from the English garrisons of Trichinopoly and Chingalaput, hovered at the distance of a few miles, blocking up the roads in such a manner that the enemy were obliged, four several times, to send large detachments against them, in order to open the communication: thus the progress of the siege was in a great measure retarded. On the sixteenth day of February, in the evening, the Queenborough ship of war, commanded by captain Kempenfeldt, and the company’s ship the Revenge, arrived in the road of Madras, with a reinforcement of six hundred men belonging to colonel Draper’s regiment, and part of them was immediately disembarked. From the beginning of the siege the enemy had discovered a backwardness in the service, very unsuitable to their national character. They were ill supplied by their commissaries and contractors: they were discouraged by the obstinate defence of the garrison, and all their hope of success vanished at the arrival of this reinforcement. After a brisk fire, they raised the siege that very night, abandoning forty pieces of cannon; and having destroyed the powder-mills at Egmore, retreated to the territory of Arcot. 515 [See note 4 A, at the end of this Vol.]

SUCCESS OF COLONEL FORDE.

M. Lally having weakened his forces that were at Masalipatam, under the conduct of the marquis de Conflans, in order to strengthen the army with which he undertook the siege of Madras, the rajah of Vizanapore drove the French garrison from Vizagapatam, and hoisted English colours in the place. The marquis having put his troops in motion to revenge this insult, the rajah solicited succour from colonel Clive at Calcutta; and, with the consent of the council, a body of troops was sent under the command of colonel Forde to his assistance. They consisted of five hundred Europeans, including a company of artillery, and sixteen hundred sepoys; with about fifteen pieces of cannon, one howitzer, and three mortars. The forces of Conflans were much more considerable. On the twentieth day of October colonel Forde arrived at Vizagapatam, and made an agreement with the rajah, who promised to pay the expense of the expedition, as soon as he should be put in possession of Rajamundry, a large town and fort possessed by the French. It was stipulated that he should have all the inland country belonging to the Indian powers in the French interest, and at present in arms; and that the English company should retain all the conquered sea-coast from Vizagapatam to Masulipatam. On the first of November colonel Forde proceeded on his march; and on the third joined the rajah’s army, consisting of between three and four thousand men. On the third of December, they came in sight of the enemy, near the village of Golapool; but the French declining battle, the colonel determined to draw them from their advantageous situation, or march round and get between them and Rajamundry. On the seventh, before day-break, he began his march, leaving the rajah’s forces on their ground; but the enemy beginning to cannonade the Indian forces, he, at the request of the rajah, returned and took them under his protection. Then they marched together to the village of Colapool, and halted on a small plain about three miles from their encampment. About nine he formed the line of battle. About ten the enemy were drawn up, and began the cannonade. The firing on both sides having continued about forty minutes, the enemy’s line advanced to the charge with great resolution; and were so warmly received, that, after several spirited efforts, at eleven they gave way, and retreated in disorder towards Rajamundry. During this conflict the rajah’s forces stood as idle spectators, nor could their horse be prevailed upon to pursue the fugitives. The victory cost the English forty-four Europeans killed and wounded, including two captains and three lieutenants. The French lost above three times the number, together with their whole camp-baggage, thirty-two pieces of cannon, and all their ammunition. A great number of black forces fell on both sides. The marquis de Conflans did not remain at Rajamundry, but proceeded to Masulipatam; while captain Knox, with a detachment from the English army, took possession of the fort of Rajamundry, which is the barrier and key to the country of Vizagapatam. This was delivered to the rajah on his paying the expense of the expedition; and captain Knox being detached with a battalion of sepoys, took possession of the French factory at Narsipore. This was also the fate of a small fort at Coucate, which surrendered to captain Maclean, after having made an obstinate defence. In the meantime, however, the French army of observation made shift to retake Rajamundry, where they found a considerable quantity of money, baggage and effects, belonging to English officers.

Colonel Forde advancing to the neighbourhood of Masulipatam, the marquis de Conflans with his forces retired within the place, which on the seventh day of March was invested. By the seventh day of April the ammunition of the besiegers being almost expended, colonel Forde determined to give the assault, as two breaches were already made, and made his disposition accordingly. The attack was begun in the night, and the assailants arrived at the ditch before they were discovered. But here they underwent a terrible discharge of grape-shot and musquetry; notwithstanding which they entered the breaches and drove the enemy from bastion to bastion. At length, the marquis de Conflans sent an officer to demand quarter for the garrison, which was granted as soon as he ordered his men to cease firing. Thus, with about three hundred and forty European soldiers, a handful of seamen, and seven hundred sepoys, colonel Forde took by assault the strong town of Masulipatam, garrisoned by five hundred and twenty-one Europeans, two thousand and thirty-nine Caffres, Topasses, and sepoys; and here he found above one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, with a great quantity of ammunition. Salabatzing, the suba of De-can, perceiving the success of the English here as well as at Madras, being sick of his French alliance, and in dread of his brother Nizam Allée, who had set up a separate interest, and taken the field against him, made advances to the company, with which he forthwith concluded a treaty to the following effect:—“The whole of the circar of Masulipatam shall be given to the English company. Salabatzing will not suffer the French to have a settlement in this country, nor keep them in his service, nor give them any assistance. The English, on their part, will not assist nor give protection to the suba’s enemies.”—In a few clays after Masulipatam was reduced, two ships arrived in the road with a reinforcement of four hundred men to the marquis de Conflans; but, understanding the fate of the place, made the best of their way to Ganjam.

SURAT TAKEN BY THE ENGLISH.

The merchants residing at Surat, finding themselves exposed to numberless dangers, and every species of oppression, by the sidee who commanded the castle on one hand, by the governor of the city on the other, and by the Mahrattas, who had a claim to a certain share of the revenue, made application to the English presidency at Bombay, desiring they would equip an expedition for taking possession of the castle and tanka, and settle the government of the city upon Pharass Cawn, who had been naib or deputy-governor under Meah Atchund, and regulated the police to the satisfaction of the inhabitants. The presidency embraced the proposal: admiral Pococke spared two of his ships for this service. Eight hundred and fifty men, artillery and infantry, with fifteen hundred sepoys, under the command of captain Richard Maitland, of the royal regiment of artillery, were embarked on board the company’s armed vessels commanded by captain Watson, who sailed on the ninth of February. On the fifteenth they were landed at a place called Dentiloury, about nine miles from Surat; and here they were encamped for refreshment: in two days he advanced against the French garden, in which a considerable number of the sidee’s men were posted, and drove them from thence after a very obstinate dispute. Then he erected a battery, from which he battered the wall in breach: but this method appearing tedious, he called a council of war, composed of the land and sea-officers, and laid before them the plan of a general attack, which was accordingly executed next morning. The company’s grab, and the bomb-ketches, being warped up the river in the night, were ranged in a line of battle opposite to the Bundar, which was the strongest fortification that the enemy possessed; and under the fire of these the troops being landed, took the Bundar by assault. The outward town being thus gained, he forthwith began to bombard the inner town and castle with such fury, that next morning they both surrendered, on condition of being allowed to inarch out with their effects; and captain Maitland took possession without further dispute. Meah Atchund was continued governor of Surat, and Pharass Cawn was appointed naib. The artillery and ammunition found in the castle were secured for the company, until the mogul’s pleasure was known; and in a little time a phirmaund, or grant, arrived from Delhi, appointing the English company admiral to the mogul; so that the ships and stores belonged to them of course, as part of the tanka; and they were now declared legal possessors of the castle. This conquest, which cost about two hundred men, including a few officers, was achieved with such expedition, that captain Watson returned to Bombay by the ninth day of April.

The main body of the English forces, which had been centered at Madras, for the preservation of that important settlement, took the field after the siege was raised, and possessed themselves of Conjeveram, a place of great consequence; which, with the fort of Schengelpel, commanded all the adjacent country, and secured the British possessions to the northward. M. Lally, sensible of the importance of the post, took the same route in order to dislodge them; but finding all his attempts ineffectual, he retired towards Wandewash, where his troops were put into quarters of cantonment. No other operations ensued till the month of September; when major Brere-ton, who commanded the English forces, being joined by major Gordon with three hundred men of colonel Coote’s battalion, resolved to attack the enemy in his turn. On the fourteenth day of the month he began his march from Conjeveram for Wandewash, at the head of four hundred Europeans, seven thousand sepoys, seventy European and three hundred black horse, with fourteen pieces of artillery. In his march he invested and took the fort of Trivitar; from whence he proceeded to the village of Wandewash, where the French, to the number of one thousand, were strongly encamped under the guns of a fort, commanded by a rajah, mounting twenty cannon, under the direction of a French gunner. On the thirteenth day of September, at two in the morning, the English attacked the village in three different places, and drove them from it after a very obstinate dispute; but this advantage they were not able to maintain. The black pioneers ran away during the attack, so that proper traverses could not be made in the streets; and at day-break the fort poured in upon them a prodigious discharge of grape-shot with considerable effect. The enemy had retired to a dry ditch, which served as an intrenchment, from whence they made furious sallies; and a body of three hundred European horse were already in motion, to fall upon and complete their confusion. In this emergency, they retired in disorder; and might have been entirely ruined, had not the body of reserve effectually covered their retreat: yet this could not be effected without the loss of several officers, and above three hundred men killed and wounded. After this mortifying check, they encamped a few days in sight of the fort, and, the rainy season setting in, returned to Conjeveram. The fort of Wandewash was afterwards garrisoned by French and sepoys; and the other forces of the enemy were assembled by brigadier-general de Bussy, at Arcot.

ADMIRAL POCOCKE DEFEATS MONSIEUR D’APCHE.

During these transactions by land, the superiority at sea was still disputed between the English and French admirals. On the first day of September, vice-admiral Pococke sailed from Madras to the southward, in quest of the enemy, and next day descried the French fleet, consisting of fifteen sail, standing to the northward. He forthwith threw out the signal for a general chase, and stood towards them with all the sail he could carry; but the wind abating, he could not approach near enough to engage. During the three succeeding days, he used his utmost endeavours to bring them to a battle, which they still declined, and at last they disappeared. He then directed his course to Pondicherry, on the supposition that they were bound to that harbour; and on the eighth day of the month perceived them standing to the southward: but he could not bring them to an engagement till the tenth, when M. d’Apché, about two in the afternoon, made the signal for battle, and the cannonading began without further delay. The British squadron did not exceed nine ships of the line; the enemy’s fleet consisted of eleven; but they had still a greater advantage in number of men and artillery. Both squadrons fought with great impetuosity till about ten minutes after four, when the enemy’s rear began to give way: this example was soon followed by their centre; and finally the van, with the whole squadron, bore to the south-south-east, with all the canvass they could spread. The British squadron was so much damaged in their masts and rigging, that they could not pursue; so that M. d’Apché retreated at his leisure unmolested. On the fifteenth, admiral Pococke returned to Madras, where his squadron being repaired by the twenty-sixth, he sailed again to Pondicherry, and in the road saw the enemy lying at anchor in line of battle. The wind being off shore, he made the line of battle a-head, and for some time continued in this situation. At length the French admiral weighed anchor, and came forth; but instead of bearing down upon the English squadron, which had fallen to leeward, he kept close to the wind, and stretched away to the southward. Admiral Pococke finding him averse to another engagement, and his own squadron being in no condition to pursue, he, with the advice of his captains, desisted, and measured back his course to Madras. On the side of the English, above three hundred men were killed in the engagement, including captain Miche, who commanded the Newcastle, captain Gore of the marines, two lieutenants, a master gunner, and boatswain: the captains Somerset and Brereton, with about two hundred and fifty men, were wounded; and many of the ships considerably damaged. The loss of the enemy must have been much more considerable, because the English in battle always fire at the body of the ship; because the French squadron was crowded with men; because they gave way, and declined a second engagement; and, finally, because they now made the best of their way to the island of Mauritius, in order to be refitted, having on board general Lally and some other officers. Thus they left the English masters of the Indian coast; superiority still more confirmed by the arrival of rear-admiral Cornish, with four ships of the line, who had set sail from England in the beginning of the year, and joined admiral Pococke at Madras on the eighteenth day of October.

HOSTILITIES OF THE DUTCH.

The French were not the only enemies with whom the English had to cope in the East Indies. The great extension of their trade in the kingdom of Bengal, had excited the envy and avarice of the Dutch factory, who possessed a strong fort at Chinchura, on the river of Bengal; and resolved, if possible, to engross the whole saltpetre branch of commerce. They had, without doubt, tampered with the new suba, who lay under such obligations to the English, and probably secured his connivance. Their scheme was approved by the governor of Batavia, who charged himself with the execution of it; and, for that purpose, chose the opportunity when the British squadron had retired to the coast of Malabar. On pretence of reinforcing the Dutch garrisons in Bengal, he equipped an armament of seven ships, having on board five hundred European troops, and six hundred Malayese, under the command of colonel Russel. This armament having touched at Negapatam, proceeded up the bay, and arrived in the river of Bengal about the beginning of October. Colonel Clive, who then resided at Calcutta, had received information of their design, which he was resolved, at all events, to defeat. He complained to the suba; who, upon such application, could not decently refuse an order to the director and council of Hughley, implying that this armament should not proceed up the river. The colonel, at the same time, sent a letter to the Dutch commodore, intimating that, as he had received intimation of their design, he could not allow them to land forces, and march to Chinchura. In answer to this declaration, the Dutch commodore, whose whole fleet had not yet arrived, assured the English commander that he had no intention to send any forces to Chinchura; and begged liberty to land some of his troops for refreshment—a favour that was granted, on condition that they should not advance. Notwithstanding the suba’s order, and his own engagement to this effect, the rest of the ships were no sooner arrived, than he proceeded up the river to the neighbourhood of Tannah-fort, where his forces being disembarked, began their march to Chinchura. In the meantime, by way of retaliating the affront he pretended to have sustained in being denied a passage to their own factory, he took several small vessels on the river belonging to the English company; and the Calcutta Indiaman, commanded by captain Wilson, homeward-bound, sailing down the river, the Dutchman gave him to understand, that if he presumed to pass he would sink him without further ceremony. The English captain seeing them run out their guns as if really resolved to put their threats in execution, returned to Calcutta, where two other India ships lay at anchor, and reported his adventure to colonel Clive, who forthwith ordered the three ships to prepare for battle, and attack the Dutch armament. The ships being properly manned, and their sides lined with saltpetre, they fell down the river, and found the Dutch squadron drawn up in a line of battle, in order to give them a warm reception, for which indeed they seemed well prepared; for three of them were mounted with thirty-six guns each, three of them with twenty-six, and the seventh carried sixteen. The duke of Dorset, commanded by captain Forrester, being the first that approached them, dropped anchor close to their line, and began the engagement with a broadside, which was immediately returned. A dead calm unfortunately intervening, this single ship was for a considerable time exposed to the whole fire of the enemy; but a small breeze springing up, the Calcutta and the Hard wick advanced to her assistance, and a severe fire was maintained on both sides, till two of the Dutch ships, slipping their cables, bore away, and a third was driven ashore. Their commodore, thus weakened, after a few broadsides struck his flag to captain Wilson, and the other three followed his example. The victory being thus obtained, without the loss of one man on the side of the English, captain Wilson took possession of the prizes, the decks of which were strewed with carnage, and sent the prisoners to colonel Clive at Calcutta. The detachment of troops which they had landed, to the number of eleven hundred men, was not more fortunate in their progress. Colonel Clive no sooner received intelligence that they were in full march to Chinchura, than he detached colonel Forde with five hundred men from Calcutta, in order to oppose and put a stop to their march at the French gardens. He accordingly advanced to the northward, and entered the town of Chandernagore, where he sustained the fire of a Dutch party sent out from Chinchura to join and conduct the expected reinforcement. These being routed and dispersed, after a short action, colonel Forde in the morning proceeded to a plain in the neighbourhood of Chinchura, where he found the enemy prepared to give him battle on the twenty-fifth day of November. They even advanced to the charge with great resolution and activity; but found the fire of the English artillery and battalion so intolerably hot, that they soon gave way, and were totally defeated. A considerable number were killed, and the greater part of those who survived the action were taken prisoners. During this contest, the nabob, at the head of a considerable army, observed a suspicious neutrality; and in all likelihood would have declared for the Dutch had they proved victorious, as he had reason to believe they would, from their great superiority in number. But fortune no sooner determined in favour of the English, than he made a tender of his service to the victor, and even offered to reduce Chinchura with his own army. In the meantime, proposals of accommodation being sent to him by the directors and council of the Dutch factory at Chinchura, a negotiation ensued, and a treaty was concluded to the satisfaction of all parties. Above three hundred of the prisoners entered into the service of Great Britain; the rest embarked on board their ships, which were restored as soon as the peace was ratified, and set out on their return for Batavia. After all, perhaps, the Dutch company meant nothing more than to put their factory of Chinchura on a more respectable footing; and, by acquiring greater weight and consequence among the people of the country than they formerly possessed, the more easily extend their commerce in that part of the world. At any rate, it will admit of a dispute among those who profess the law of nature and nations, whether the Dutch company could be justly debarred the privilege of sending a reinforcement to their own garrisons. Be that as it will, the ships were not restored until the factory at Chinchura had given security to indemnify the English for the damage they had sustained on this occasion.

COLONEL COOTE TAKES WANDEWASH.

The success of the English army was still more conspicuous on the coast of Coromandel. The governor and council of Madras having received information that the French general, Lally, had sent a detachment of his army to the southward, taking Syringham, and threatened Trichinopoly with a siege, it was determined that colonel Coote, who had lately arrived from England, should take the field, and endeavour to make a diversion to the southward. He accordingly began his march at the head of seventeen hundred Europeans, including cavalry, and three thousand blacks, with fourteen pieces of cannon and one howitzer. On the twenty-seventh day of November, he invested the fort of Wandewash: having made a practicable breach, the garrison, consisting of near nine hundred men, surrendered prisoners of war; and he found in the place forty-nine pieces of cannon, with a great quantity of ammunition. Then he undertook the siege of Carangoly, a fortress commanded by colonel O’Kennely, at the head of one hundred Europeans, and five hundred sepoys. In a few days he dismounted the greater part of their guns; and they submitted, on condition that the Europeans should be allowed to march out with the honours of war, but the sepoys were disarmed and dismissed.

General Lally, alarmed at the progress of this brave, vigilant, and enterprising officer, assembled all his forces at Arcot, to the number of two thousand two hundred Europeans, including horse; three hundred Caffres, and ten thousand black troops, or sepoys; with five-and-twenty pieces of cannon. Of these he assumed the command in person; and on the tenth day of January began his march in order to recover Wandewash. Colonel Coote, having received intelligence on the twelfth that he had taken possession of Conjeveram, endeavoured by a forced march to save the place, which they accordingly abandoned at his approach, and pursuing their march to Wandewash, invested the fort without delay. The English commander passed the river Palla, in order to follow the same route; and, on the twenty-first day of the month, understanding that a breach was already made, resolved to give them battle without further delay. The cavalry being formed, and supported by five companies of sepoys, he advanced against the enemy’s horse, which being at the same time galled by two pieces of cannon, retired with precipitation. Then colonel Coote, having taken possession of a tank which they had occupied, returned to the line, which was by this time formed in order of battle. Seeing the men in high spirits, and eager to engage, he ordered the whole army to advance; and by nine in the morning they were within two miles of the enemy’s camp, where they halted about half an hour. During this interval, the colonel reconnoitred the situation of the French forces, who were very advantageously posted; and made a movement to the right, which obliged them to alter their disposition. They now advanced, in their turn, within three quarters of a mile of the English line, and the cannonading began with great fury on both sides. About noon their European cavalry coming up with a resolute air to charge the left of the English, colonel Coote brought up some companies of sepoys, and two pieces of cannon, to sustain the horse, which were ordered to oppose them; and these advancing on their flank, disturbed them so much that they broke, and were driven by the English cavalry above a mile from the left, upon the rear of their own army. Meanwhile, both lines continued advancing to each other; and about one o’clock the firing with small-arms began with great vivacity. One of the French tumbrils being blown up by an accidental shot, the English commander took immediate advantage of their confusion. He ordered major Brere-ton to wheel Draper’s regiment to the left, and fall upon the enemy’s flank. This service was performed with such resolution and success, that the left wing of the French was completely routed and fell upon their centre, now closely engaged with the left of the English. About two in the afternoon their whole line gave way, and fled towards their own camp; which, perceiving themselves closely pursued, they precipitately abandoned, together with twenty-two pieces of cannon. In this engagement they lost about eight hundred men killed and wounded, besides about fifty prisoners, including brigadier-general de Bussy, the chevalier Godeville, quarter-master-general, lieutenant-colonel Murphy, three captains, five lieutenants, and some other officers. On the side of the English two hundred and sixty-two were killed or wounded, and among the former the gallant and accomplished major Brereton, whose death was a real loss to his country.

COLONEL COOTE CONQUERS ARCOT.

General Lally having retreated with his broken troops to Pondicherry, the baron de Vasserot was detached towards the same place, with a thousand horse and three hundred sepoys, to ravage and lay waste the French territory. In the meantime, the indefatigable colonel Coote undertook the siege of Chilliput, which in two days was surrendered by the chevalier de Tilly; himself and his garrison remaining prisoners of war. Such also was the fate of fort Timmery; which being reduced, the colonel prosecuted his march to Arcot, the capital of the province, against the fort of which he opened his batteries on the fifth day of February. When he had carried on his approaches within sixty yards of the crest of the glacis, the garrison, consisting of two hundred and fifty Europeans, and near three hundred sepoys, surrendered as prisoners of war; and here the English commander found two-and-twenty pieces of cannon, four mortars, and a great quantity of all kinds of military stores. Thus the campaign was gloriously finished with the conquest of Arcot; after the French army had been routed and ruined by the diligence of colonel Coote, whose courage, conduct, and activity, cannot be sufficiently admired. The reader will perceive, that, rather than interrupt the thread of such an interesting narration, we have ventured to encroach upon the annals of the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty.

STATE OF THE BELLIGERENT POWERS IN EUROPE.

Having thus followed the British banners through the glorious tracks they pursued in different parts of Asia and America, we must now convert our attention to the continent of Europe, where the English arms, in the course of this year, triumphed with equal lustre and advantage. But first it may be necessary to sketch out the situation in which the belligerent powers were found at the close of winter. The vicissitudes of fortune with which the preceding campaign had been chequered, were sufficient to convince every potentate concerned in the war, that neither side possessed such a superiority in strength or conduct as was requisite to impose terms upon the other. Battles had been fought with various success; and surprising efforts of military skill had been exhibited, without producing one event which tended to promote a general peace, or even engender the least desire of, accommodation. On the contrary, the first and most violent transports of animosity had by this time subsided into a confirmed habit of deliberate hatred; and every contending power seemed more than ever determined to protract the dispute; while the neutral states kept aloof, without expressing the least desire of interposing their mediation. Some of them were restrained by considerations of conveniency; and others waited in suspense for the death of the Spanish monarch, as an event which, they imagined, would be attended with very important consequences in the southern parts of Europe. With respect to the maintenance of the war, whatever difficulties might have arisen in settling funds to support the expense, and finding men to recruit the different armies, certain it is all these difficulties were surmounted before the opening of the campaign. The court of Vienna, though hampered by the narrowness of its finances, still found resources in the fertility of its provinces, in the number and attachment of its subjects, who more than any other people in Europe acquiesce in the dispositions of their sovereign; and, when pay cannot be afforded, willingly contribute free quarters for the subsistence of the army. The czarina, though she complained that the stipulated subsidies were ill paid, nevertheless persisted in pursuing those favourite aims which had for some time influenced her conduct; namely, her personal animosity to the king of Prussia, and her desire of obtaining a permanent interest in the German empire. Sweden still made a show of hostility against the Prussian monarch, but continued to slumber over the engagements she had contracted. France, exhausted in her finances, and abridged of her marine commerce, maintained a resolute countenance; supplied fresh armies for her operations in Westphalia; projected new schemes of conquest; and cajoled her allies with fair promises, when she had nothing more solid to bestow. The king of Prussia’s dominions were generally drained, or in the hands of the enemy; but to balance these disadvantages he kept possession of Saxony; and enjoyed his annual subsidy from Great Britain, which effectually enabled him to maintain his armies on a respectable footing, and open the campaign with equal eagerness and confidence.

FRANCKFORT SEIZED BY THE FRENCH.

The Hanoverian army, commanded by prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, was strengthened by fresh reinforcements from England, augmented with German recruits, regularly paid, and well supplied with every comfort and convenience which foresight could suggest, or money procure; yet, in spite of all the precautions that could be taken, they were cut off from some resources which the French, in the beginning of the year, opened to themselves by a flagrant stroke of perfidy, which even the extreme necessities of a campaign can hardly excuse. On the second day of January, the French regiment of Nassau presented itself before the gates of Franckfort-on-the-Maine, a neutral imperial city; and, demanding a passage, it was introduced, and conducted by a detachment of the garrison through the city as far as the gate of Saxenhausen, where it unexpectedly halted, and immediately disarmed the guards. Before the inhabitants could recover from the consternation into which they were thrown by this outrageous insult, five other French regiments entered the place; and here their general, the prince de Soubise, established his head-quarters. How deeply soever this violation of the laws of the empire might be resented by all honest Germans, who retained affection for the constitution of their country, it was a step from which the French army derived a very manifest and important advantage; for it secured to them the course of the Maine and the Upper Rhine; by which they received, without difficulty or danger, every species of supply from Mentz, Spire, Worms, and even the country of Alsace, while it maintained their communication with the chain formed by the Austrian forces and the army of the empire.

PROGRESS OF THE HEREDITARY PRINCE OF BRUNSWICK.

The scheme of operation for the ensuing campaign was already formed between the king of Prussia and prince Ferdinand of Brunswick; and before the armies took the field, several skirmishes were fought and quarters surprised. In the latter end of February, the prince of Ysembourg detached major-general Urst with four battalions and a body of horse; who, assembling in Rhotenbourg, surprised the enemy’s quarters in the night between the first and second day of March, and drove them from Hirchfield, Vacha, and all the Hessian bailiwicks of which they had taken possession; but the Austrians soon returning in greater numbers, and being supported by a detachment of French troops from Franckfort, the allies fell back in their turn. In a few days, however, they themselves retreated again with great precipitation, though they did not all escape. The hereditary prince of Brunswick, with a body of Prussian hussars, fell upon them suddenly at Molrichstadt, where he routed and dispersed a regiment of Hohenzollern cuirassiers, and a battalion of the troops of Wurtzburg. He next day, which was the first of April, advanced with a body of horse and foot to Meinungen, where he found a considerable magazine, took two battalions prisoners, and surprised a third posted at Wafungen, after having defeated some Austrian troops that were on the march to its relief. While the hereditary prince was thus employed, the duke of Holstein, with another body of the confederates, dislodged the French from the post of Freyingstenau.

PRINCE FERDINAND ATTACKS THE FRENCH.

But the great object was to drive the enemy from Franckfort, before they should receive the expected reinforcements. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick being determined upon this enterprise, assembled all his forces near Fulda, to the amount of forty thousand choice troops, and began his march on the tenth day of April. On the thirteenth he came in sight of the enemy, whom he found strongly encamped about the village of Bergen, between Franckfort and Hanau. Their general, the duke de Broglio, counted one of the best officers in France with respect to conduct and intrepidity, having received intelligence of the prince’s design, occupied this post on the twelfth; the right of his army being at Bergen, and his centre and flanks secured in such a manner, that the allies could not make their attack any other way but by the village. Notwithstanding the advantage of their situation, prince Ferdinand resolved to give them battle, and made his dispositions accordingly. About ten in the morning, the grenadiers of the advanced guard began the attack on the village of Bergen with great vivacity, and sustained a most terrible fire from eight German battalions, supported by several brigades of French infantry. The grenadiers of the allied army, though reinforced by several battalions under the command of the prince of Ysembourg, far from dislodging the enemy from the village, were, after a very obstinate dispute, obliged to retreat in some disorder, but rallied again behind a body of Hessian cavalry. The allies being repulsed in three different attacks, their general made a new disposition, and brought up his artillery, with which the village, and different parts of the French line, were severely cannonaded. They were not slow in retorting an equal fire, which continued till night, when the allies retreated to Windekin, with the loss of five pieces of cannon, and about two thousand men, including the prince of Ysembourg, who fell in the action. The French, by the nature of their situation, could not suffer much; but they were so effectually amused by the artful disposition of prince Ferdinand, that instead of taking measures to harass him in his retreat, they carefully maintained their situation, apprehensive of another general attack. Indeed, they had great reason to be satisfied with the issue of this battle, without risking in any measure the advantage which they had gained. It was their business to remain quiet until their reinforcements should arrive, and this plan they invariably pursued. On the other hand, the allies, in consequence of their miscarriage, were reduced to the necessity of acting upon the defensive, and encountering a great number of difficulties and inconveniences during great part of the campaign, until the misconduct of the enemy turned the scale in their favour. In the meantime, the prince thought proper to begin his retreat in the night towards Fulda, in which his rear suffered considerably from a body of the enemy’s light troops under the command of M. de Blaisel, who surprised two squadrons of dragoons and a battalion of grenadiers. The first were taken or dispersed, the last escaped with the loss of their baggage. The allied army returned to their cantonments about Munster, and the prince began to make preparations for taking the field in earnest.

While the French enjoyed plenty in the neighbourhood of Dusseldorp and Creveldt, by means of the Rhine, the allies laboured under a dearth and scarcity of every species of provisions, because the country which they occupied was already exhausted, and all the supplies were brought from an immense distance. The single article of forage occasioned such an enormous expense, as alarmed the administration of Great Britain, who, in order to prevent mismanagement and fraud for the future, nominated a member of parliament inspector-general of the forage, and sent him over to Germany in the beginning of the year, with the rank and appointments of a general officer, that the importance of his character, and the nature of his office, might be a check upon those who were suspected of iniquitous appropriations. This gentleman is said to have met with such a cold reception, and so many mortifications in the execution of his office, that he was in a very little time sick of his employment. An inquiry into the causes of his reception, and of the practices which rendered it necessary to appoint such a superintendent, may be the province of some future historian, when truth may be investigated freely, without any apprehension of pains and penalties.

RETREAT OF PRINCE FERDINAND.

While great part of the allied army remained in cantonments about Munster, the French armies on the Upper and Lower Rhine, being put in motion, joined on the third day of June near Marburgh, under the command of the mareschal de Contades, who advanced to the northward, and fixed his head-quarters at Corbach, from whence he detached a body of light troops to take possession of Cassel, which, at his approach, was abandoned by general Imhoff. The French army being encamped at Stadtberg, the duke de Broglio, who commanded the right wing, advanced from Cassel into the territories of Hanover, where he occupied Gottin-gen without opposition; while the allied army assembled in the neighbourhood of Lipstadt, and encamped about Soest and Werle. Prince Ferdinand, finding himself inferior to the united forces of the enemy, was obliged to retire as they advanced, after having left strong garrisons in Lipstadt, Retberg, Munster, and Minden. These precautions, however, seemed to produce little effect in his favour. Retberg was surprised by the duke de Broglio, who likewise took Minden by assault, and made general Zastrow, with his garrison of fifteen hundred men, prisoners of war, a misfortune considerably aggravated by the loss of an immense magazine of hay and corn, which fell into the hands of the enemy. They likewise made themselves masters of Munster, invested Lipstadt, and all their operations were hitherto crowned with success. The regency of Hanover, alarmed at their progress, resolved to provide for the worst, by sending their chancery and most valuable effects to Stade, from whence, in case of necessity, they might be conveyed by sea to England.

In the meantime they exerted all their industry in pressing men for recruiting and reinforcing the army under prince Ferdinand, who still continued to retire; and on the eleventh day of July removed his headquarters from Osnabruck to Bompte, near the Weser. Here having received advice that Minden was taken by the French, he sent forward a detachment to secure the post of Soltznau on that river, where on the fifteenth he encamped.

ANIMOSITY BETWEEN PRINCE FERDINAND AND THE BRITISH COMMANDER.

The general of the allied army had for some time exhibited marks of animosity towards lord George Sackville, the second in command, whose extensive understanding, penetrating eye, and inquisitive spirit, could neither be deceived, dazzled, nor soothed into tame acquiescence. He had opposed, with all his influence, a design of retiring towards the frontiers of Brunswick in order to cover that country. He supported his opposition by alleging, that it was the enemy’s favourite object to cut off their communication with the Weser and the Elbe, in which, should they succeed, it would be found impossible to transport the British troops to their own country, which was at that time threatened with an invasion. He, therefore, insisted on the army’s retreating, so as to keep the communication open with Stade, where, in case of emergency, the English troops might be embarked. By adhering tenaciously to this opinion, and exhibiting other instances of a prying disposition, he had rendered himself so disagreeable to the commander-in-chief, that, in all appearance, nothing was so eagerly desired as an opportunity of removing him from the station he filled.

THE FRENCH ENCAMP AT MINDEN.

Meanwhile the French general advancing to Minden, encamped in a strong situation; having that town on his right, a steep hill on his left, a morass in front, and a rivulet in rear. The duke de Broglio commanded a separate body between Hansbergen and Minden, on the other side of the Weser; and a third, under the duke de Brissac, consisting of eight thousand men, occupied a strong post by the village of Coveldt, to facilitate the route of the convoy’s from Paderborn. Prince Ferdinand having moved his camp from Soltznau to Petershagen, detached the hereditary prince on the twenty-eighth day of July to Lubeck, from whence he drove the enemy, and proceeding to Rimsel, was joined by major-general Dreves, who had retaken Osnabruck, and cleared all that neighbourhood of the enemy’s parties: then he advanced towards Hervorden, and fixed his quarters at Kirchlinneger, to hamper the enemy’s convoys from Paderborn. During these transactions, prince Ferdinand marched with the allied army in three columns from Petershagen to Hille, where it encamped, having a morass on the right, the village of Fredewalde on the left, and in front those of Northemmern and Holtzenhausen. Fifteen battalions and nineteen squadrons, with a brigade of heavy artillery, were left under the command of general Wangenheim, on the left, behind the village of Dodenhausen, which was fortified with some redoubts, defended by two battalions. Colonel Luckner, with the Hanoverian hussars and a brigade of hunters, sustained by two battalions of grenadiers, was posted between Buckebourg and the Weser, to observe the body of troops commanded by the duke de Broglio on the other side of the river.

On the last day of July, the mareschal de Contades, resolving to attack the allied army, ordered the corps of Broglio to repass the river; and, advancing in eight columns, about midnight, passed the rivulet of Barta, that runs along the morass and falls into the Weser at Minden. At day-break he formed his army in order of battle: part of it fronting the corps of general Wangenheim at Dodenhausen, and part of it facing Hille; the two wings consisting of infantry, and the cavalry being stationed in the centre. At three in the morning the enemy began to cannonade the prince’s quarters at Hille, from a battery of six cannon, which they had raised in the preceding evening on the dike of Rickhorst. This was probably the first intimation he received of their intention. He forthwith caused two pieces of artillery to be conveyed to Hille; and ordered the officer of the piquet-guard posted there to defend himself to the last extremity; at the same time he sent orders to general Giesen, who occupied Lubeck, to attack the enemy’s post at Eickhorst; and this service was successfully performed. The prince of Anhalt, lieutenant-general for the day, took possession with the rest of the piquets of the village of Halen, where prince Ferdinand resolved to support his right. It was already in the hands of the enemy, but they soon abandoned it with precipitation. The allied army being put in motion, advanced in eight columns, and occupied the ground between Halen and Hemmern, while general Wangenheim’s corps filled up the space between this last village and Dodenhausen. The enemy made their principal effort on the left, intending to force the infantry of Wangenheim’s corps, and penetrate between it and the body of the allied army. For this purpose the duke de Broglio attacked them with great fury; but was severely checked by a battery of thirty cannon, prepared for his reception by the count de Buckebourg, grand master of the artillery, and served with admirable effect, under his own eye and direction. About five in the morning both armies cannonaded each other: at six the fire of musketry began with great vivacity; and the action became very hot towards the right, where six regiments of English infantry, and two battalions of Hanoverian guards, not only bore the whole brunt of the French carabineers and gendarmerie, but absolutely broke every body of horse and foot that advanced to attack them on the left and in the centre. The Hessian cavalry, with some regiments of Holstein, Prussian, and Hanoverian dragoons, posted on the left, performed good service. The cavalry on the right had no opportunity of engaging. They were destined to support the infantry of the third line: they consisted of the British and Hanoverian horse, commanded by lord George Sackville, whose second was the marquis of Granby. They were posted at a considerable distance from the first line of infantry, and divided from it by a scanty wood that bordered on a heath. Orders were sent, during the action, to bring them up; but whether these orders were contradictory, unintelligible, or imperfectly excited, they did not arrive in time to have any share in the action 521 [See note 4 B, at the end of this Vol.]; nor, indeed, were they originally intended for that purpose; nor was there the least occasion for their service; nor could they have come up in time and condition to perform effectual service, had the orders been explicit and consistent, and the commander acted with all possible expedition. Be that as it will, the enemy were repulsed in all their attacks with considerable loss; at length they gave way in every part, and, about noon, abandoning the field of battle, were pursued to the ramparts of Minden. In this action they lost a great number of men, with forty-three large cannon, and many colours and standards; whereas the loss of the allies was very inconsiderable, as it chiefly fell upon a few regiments of British infantry, commanded by the major-generals Waldegrave and Kingsley. To the extraordinary prowess of these gallant brigades, and the fire of the British artillery, which was admirably served by the captains Philips, Macbean, Drummond, and Foy, the victory was in a great measure ascribed. The same night the enemy passed the Weser and burnt the bridges over that river. Next day the garrison of Minden surrendered at discretion; and here the victors found a great number of French officers wounded.

DUKE DE BRISSAC ROUTED.

At last the mareschal de Contades seemed inclined to retreat through the defiles of Wittekendstein to Paderborn; but he was fain to change his resolution, in consequence of his having received advice, that on the very day of his own defeat the duke de Brissac was vanquished by the hereditary prince in the neighbourhood of Coveldt, so that the passage of the mountains was rendered impracticable. The duke de Brissac had been advantageously encamped, with his left to the village of Coveldt, having the Werra in his front, and his right extending to the salt-pits. In this advantageous situation he was attacked by the hereditary prince and general de Kilmanseg, with such vivacity and address that his troops were totally routed, with the loss of six cannon, and a considerable number of men killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. After the battle of Minden, colonel Freytag, at the head of the light troops, took, in the neighbourhood of Detmold, all the equipage of the mareschal de Contades, the prince of Condé, and the duke de Brissac, with part of their military chest and chancery, containing papers of the utmost consequence. 522 [See note 4 C, at the end of this Vol.]

GENEEAL IMHOFF TAKES MUNSTER.

Prince Ferdinand having garrisoned Minden, marched to Hervorden; and the hereditary prince passed the Weser at Hamelen, in order to pursue the enemy, who retreated to Cassel, and from thence by the way of Marburg as far as Giessen. In a word, they were continually harassed by that enterprising prince, who seized every opportunity of making an impression upon their army, took the greatest part of their baggage, and compelled them to abandon every place they possessed in Westphalia. The number of his prisoners amounted to fifteen hundred men, besides the garrison left at Cassel, which surrendered at discretion. He likewise surprised a whole battalion, and defeated a considerable detachment under the command of M. d’Armentieres. In the meantime, the allied army advanced in regular marches; and prince Ferdinand, having taken possession of Cassel, detached general Imhoff with a body of troops to reduce the city of Munster, which he accordingly began to bombard and cannonade; but d’Armentieres being joined by a fresh body of troops from the Lower Rhine, advanced to its relief, and compelled Imhoff to raise the siege. It was not long, however, before this general was also reinforced; then he measured back his march to Munster, and the French commander withdrew in his turn. The place was immediately shut up by a close blockade, which, however, did not prevent the introduction of supplies. The city of Munster being an object of importance, was disputed with great obstinacy. Armentieres received reinforcements, and the body commanded by Imhoff was occasionally augmented; But the siege was not formally undertaken till November, when some heavy artillery being brought from England, the place was regularly invested, and the operations carried on with such vigour, that in a few days the city surrendered on capitulation.

Prince Ferdinand having possessed himself of the town and castle of Marburg, proceeded with the army to Neidar-Weimar, and there encamped; while Contades remained at Giessen, on the south side of the river Lahn, where he was joined by a colleague in the person of the mareschal d’Etrées. By this time he was become very unpopular among the troops, on account of the defeat at Minden, which he is said to have charged on the misconduct of Broglio, who recriminated on him in his turn, and seemed to gain credit at the court of Versailles. While the two armies lay encamped in the neighbourhood of each other, nothing passed but skirmishes among the light troops, and little excursive expeditions. The French army was employed in removing their magazines, and fortifying Giessen, as if their intention was to retreat to Franckfort-on-the-Maine, after having consumed all the forage, and made a military desert between the Lahn and that river. In the beginning of November, the duke de Broglio returned from Paris, and assumed the command of the army, from whence Contades and d’Etrêes immediately retired, with several other general officers that were senior to the new commander.

The duke of Wirtemberg having taken possession of Fulda, the hereditary prince of Brunswick resolved to beat up his quarters. For this purpose he selected a body of troops, and began his march from Marburg early in the morning on the twenty-eighth day of November. Next night they lay at Augerbauch, where they defeated the volunteers of Nassau; and at one o’clock in the morning of the thirtieth they marched directly to Fulda: where the duke of Wirtemberg, far from expecting such a visit, had invited all the fashionable people in Fulda to a sumptuous entertainment. The hereditary prince having reconnoitred the avenues in person, took such measures, that the troops of Wirtemberg, who were scattered in small bodies, would have been cut off if they had not hastily retired into the town, where however they found no shelter. The prince forced open the gates, and they retreated to the other side of the town, where four battalions of them were defeated and taken; while the duke himself, with the rest of his forces, filed off on the other side of the Fulda. Two pieces of cannon, two pair of colours, and all their baggage, fell into the hands of the victors; and the hereditary prince advanced as far as Rupertenrade, a place situated on the right flank of the French army. Perhaps this motion hastened the resolution of the duke de Broglio to abandon Giessen, and fall back to Friedberg, where he established his head-quarters. The allied army immediately took possession of his camp at Kleinlinnes and Heuchelam, and seemed to make preparations for the siege of Giessen.

A BODY OF PRUSSIANS MAKE AN INCURSION INTO POLAND.

While both armies remained in this position, the duke de Broglio received the staff as mareschal of France, and made an attempt to beat up the quarters of the allies. Having called in all his detachments, he marched up to them on the twenty-fifth day of December; but found them so well disposed to give him a warm reception, that he thought proper to lay aside his design, and nothing but a mutual cannonade ensued; then he returned to his former quarters. From. Kleinlinnes the allied army removed to Corsdoff, where they were cantoned till the beginning of January, when they fell back as far as Marburg, where prince Ferdinand established his head-quarters. The enemy had by this time retrieved their superiority, in consequence of the hereditary prince being detached with fifteen thousand men to join the king of Prussia at Fribourge, in Saxony. Thus, by the victory at Minden, the dominions of Hanover and Brunswick were preserved, and the enemy obliged to evacuate that part of Westphalia. Perhaps they might have been driven to the other side of the Ehine, had not the general of the allies been obliged to weaken his army for the support of the Prussian monarch, who had met with divers disasters in the course of this campaign. It was not to any relaxation or abatement of his usual vigilance and activity, that this warlike prince owed the several checks he received. Even in the middle of winter, his troops under general Manteuffel acted with great spirit against the Swedes in Pomerania. They made themselves masters of Damgarten, and several other places which the Swedes had garrisoned; and the frost setting in, those who were quartered in the isle of Useclom passed over the ice to Wolgast, which they reduced without much difficulty. They undertook the sieges of Demmen and Anclam at the same time; and the garrisons of both surrendered themselves prisoners of war, to the number of two thousand seven hundred men, including officers. In Demmen they found four-and-twenty pieces of cannon, with a large quantity of ammunition. In Anclam there was a considerable magazine, with six-and-thirty cannon, mortars, and howitzers. A large detachment under general Knobloch surprised Erfurth, and raised considerable contributions at Gotha, Isenach, and Fulda; from whence also they conveyed all the forage and provisions to Saxe-Naumberg. In the latter end of February, the Prussian major-general Wobersnow marched with a strong body of troops from Glogau in Silesia, to Poland; and, advancing by way of Lissa, attacked the castle of the prince Sulkowski, a Polish grandee, who had been very active against the interest of the Prussian monarch. After some resistance he was obliged to surrender at discretion, and was sent prisoner with his whole garrison to Silesia. From hence Wobersnow proceeded to Posna, where he made himself master of a considerable magazine, guarded by two thousand cossacks, who retired at his approach; and having destroyed several others, returned to Silesia. In April, the fort of Penamunde, in Pomerania, was surrendered to Manteuffel; and about the same time a detachment of Prussian troops bombarded Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburgh. Meanwhile reinforcements were sent to the Russian army in Poland, which in April began to assemble upon the Vistula. The court of Petersburgh had likewise begun to equip a large fleet, by means of which the army might be supplied with military stores and provisions; but this armament was retarded by an accidental fire at Revel, which destroyed all the magazines and materials for ship-building to an immense value.

PRINCE HENRY PENETRATES into BOHEMIA.

About the latter end of March, the king of Prussia assembled his army at Rhonstock, near Strigau; and advancing to the neighbourhood of Landshut, encamped at Bolchenhayne. On the other hand, the Austrian army, under the command of mareschal Daun, was assembled at Munchengratz, in Bohemia; and the campaign was opened by an exploit of general Beck, who surprised and made prisoners a battalion of Prussian grenadiers, posted under colonel Duringsheven, at Griefenberg, on the frontiers of Silesia. This advantage, however, was more than counterbalanced by the activity and success of prince Henry, brother to the Prussian king, who commanded the army which wintered in Saxony. About the middle of April, he marched in two columns towards Bohemia, forced the pass of Peterswalde, destroyed the Austrian magazine at Assig, burned their boats upon the Elbe, seized the forage and provisions which the enemy had left at Lowositz and Leutmeritz, and demolished a new bridge which they had built for their convenience. At the same time general Hulsen attacked the pass of Passberg, guarded by general Reynard, who was taken, with two thousand men, including fifty officers: then he advanced to Sate, in hopes of securing the Austrian magazines; but these the enemy consumed, that they might not fall into his hands, and retired towards Prague with the utmost precipitation.

Prince Henry having happily achieved these adventures, and filled all Bohemia with alarm and consternation, returned to Saxony, and distributed his troops in quarters of refreshment in the neighbourhood of Dresden. In a few days, however, they were again put in motion, and marched to Obelgeburgen; from whence he continued his route through Voightland, in order to attack the army of the empire in Franconia. He accordingly entered this country by the way of Hoff, on the seventh of May, and next day sent a detachment to attack general Macguire, who commanded a body of imperialists at Asch, and sustained the charge with great gallantry: but finding himself in danger of being overpowered by numbers, he retired in the night towards Egra. The army of the empire, commanded by the prince de Deux-Ponts, being unable to cope with the Prussian general in the field, retired from Cullembach to Bamberg, and from thence to Nuremberg, where, in all probability, they would not have been suffered to remain unmolested, had not prince Homy been recalled to Saxony. He had already taken Cronach and the castle of Rottenberg, and even advanced as far as Bamberg, when he received advice that a body of Austrians, under general Gemmingen, had penetrated into Saxony. This diversion effectually saved the army of the empire, as prince Henry immediately returned to the electorate, after having laid the bishopric of Bamberg and the marquisate of Cullembach under contribution, destroyed all the magazines provided for the imperial army, and sent fifteen hundred prisoners to Leipsic. A party of imperialists, under count Palfy, endeavoured to harass him in his retreat; but they were defeated near Hoff, with considerable slaughter: nevertheless, the imperial army, though now reduced to ten thousand men, returned to Bamberg; and as the Prussians approached the frontiers of Saxony, the Austrian general, Gemmingen, retired into Bohemia. During all these transactions, the mareschal count Daun remained with the grand Austrian army at Schurtz, in the circle of Koningsgratz; while the Prussians commanded by the king in person, continued quietly encamped between Landshut and Schweidnitz. General Fouquet commanded a large body of troops in the southern part of Silesia; but these being mostly withdrawn, in order to oppose the Russians, the Austrian general de Fille, who hovered on the frontiers of Moravia with a considerable detachment, took advantage of this circumstance; and advancing into Silesia, encamped within sight of Neiss. As mutual calumny and recriminations of all kinds were not spared on either side, during the progress of this war, the enemies of the Prussian monarch did not fail to charge him with cruelties committed at Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburgh, which his troops had bombarded, plundered of its archives, cannon, and all its youth fit to carry arms, who were pressed into his service: he besides taxed the duchy at seven thousand men and a million of crowns, by way of contribution. He was also accused of barbarity, in issuing an order for removing all the prisoners from Berlin to Spandau; but this step he justified in a letter to his ministers at foreign courts, declaring that he had provided for all the officers that were his prisoners the best accommodation, and permitted them to reside in his capital; that some of them had grossly abused the liberty they enjoyed, by maintaining illicit correspondence, and other practices equally offensive, which had obliged him to remove them to the town of Spandau: he desired, however, that the town might not be confounded with the fortress of that name, from which it was entirely separated, and in which they would enjoy the same ease they had found at Berlin, though under more vigilant inspection. His conduct on this occasion, he said, was sufficiently authorized, not only by the law of nations, but also by the example of his enemies; inasmuch as the empress-queen had never suffered any of his officers who had fallen into her hands to reside at Vienna; and the court of Russia had sent some of them as far as Casan. He concluded with saying, that, as his enemies had let slip no opportunities of blackening his most innocent proceedings, he had thought proper to acquaint his ministers with his reasons for making this alteration with regard to his prisoners, whether French, Austrians, or Russians.

GENERAL WEDEL DEFEATED BY THE RUSSIANS.

In the beginning of June, the king of Prussia, understanding that the Russian army had begun their march from the Vistula, ordered the several bodies of his troops, under Hulsen and Wobersnow, reinforced by detachments from his other armies, to join the forces under count Dohna, as general in chief, and march into Poland. Accordingly, they advanced to Meritz, where the count having published a declaration 523 [See note 4 D, at the end of this Vol.], he continued his march towards Posna, where he found the Russian army, under count Soltikoff, strongly encamped, having in their rear that city and the river Warta, and in their front a formidable intrenchment mounted with a great number of cannon.

Count Dohna, judging it impracticable to attack them in this situation with any prospect of success, endeavoured to intercept their convoys to the eastward; but for want of provisions, was in a little time obliged to return towards the Oder: then the Russians advanced to Zullichaw, in Silesia. The king of Prussia thinking count Dohna had been rather too cautious, considering the emergency of his affairs, gave him leave to retire for the benefit of his health, and conferred his command upon general Wedel, who resolved to give the Russians battle without delay. Thus determined, he marched against them in two columns, and on the twenty-third day of July attacked them at Kay, near Zullichaw, where, after a very obstinate engagement, he was repulsed with great loss, Wobersnow being killed and Manteuffel wounded in the action; and in a few days the Russians made themselves masters of Franckfort upon the Oder.

By this time the armies of count Daun and the king of Prussia had made several motions. The Austrians having quitted their camp at Schurtz, advanced towards Zittau in Lusatia, where having halted a few days, they resumed their march, and encamped at Gorlithayn, between Sudenberg and Mark-Dissau. His Prussian majesty, in order to observe their motions, marched by the way of Hertzberg to Lahn, and his vanguard skirmished with that of the Austrians, commanded by Laudohn, who entered Silesia by the way of Griffenberg. The Austrian general was obliged to retreat with loss; while the king penetrated into Silesia, that he might be at hand to act against the Russians, whose progress was now become the chief object of his apprehension. He no sooner received intimation that Wedel had been worsted, than he marched with a select body of ten thousand men from his camp in Silesia, in order to take upon him the command of Wedel’s army, leaving the rest of his forces strongly encamped, under the direction of his brother prince Henry, who had joined him before this event. Count Daun being apprized of the king’s intention, and knowing the Russians were very defective in cavalry, immediately detached a body of twelve thousand horse to join them, under the command of Laudohn, and these, penetrating in two columns through Silesia and Lusatia, with some loss, arrived in the Russian camp at a very critical juncture. Meanwhile the king of Prussia joined general Wedel on the fourth day of August, at Muhlrose, where he assumed the command of the army; but finding it greatly inferior to the enemy, he recalled general Finck, whom he had detached some time before, with a body of nine thousand men, to oppose the progress of the imperialists in Saxony; for when prince Henry joined his brother in Silesia, the army of the empire had entered that electorate. Thus reinforced, the number of the king’s army at Muhlrose did not exceed fifty thousand, whereas the Russians were more numerous by thirty thousand. They had chosen a strong camp at the village of Cunersdorf, almost opposite to Franckfort upon the Oder, and increased the natural strength of their situation, by intrenchments mounted with a numerous artillery. In other circumstances it might have been deemed a rash and ridiculous enterprise, to attack such an army under such complicated disadvantages; but here was no room for hesitation. The king’s affairs seemed to require a desperate effort, and perhaps he was partly impelled by self-confidence and animosity.

BATTLE OF CUNERSDORF.

Having determined to hazard an attack, he made his disposition, and on the twelfth day of August, at two in the morning, his troops were in motion. The army feeing formed in a wood, advanced towards the enemy, and about eleven the action was begun with a severe cannonade. This having produced the desired effect, he charged the left wing of the Russian army with his best troops formed in columns. After a very obstinate dispute, the enemy’s intrenchments were forced with great slaughter, and seventy pieces of cannon fell into the hands of the Prussians. A narrow defile was afterwards passed, and several redoubts that covered the village of Cunersdorf were taken by assault, one after another: one-half of the task was not yet performed; the Russians made a firm stand at the village, but they were overborne by the impetuosity of the Prussians, who drove them from post to post up to the last redoubts they had to defend. As the Russians kept their ground until they were hewn down in their ranks, this success was not acquired without infinite labour, and a considerable expense of blood. After a furious contest of six hours, fortune seemed to declare so much in favour of the Prussians, that the king despatched the following billet to the queen at Berlin:—“Madam, we have driven the Russians from their intrenchments. In two hours expect to hear of a glorious victory.” This intimation was premature, and subjected the writer to the ridicule of his enemies. The Russians were staggered, not routed. General Soltikoff rallied his troops, and reinforced his left wing under cover of a redoubt, which was erected on an eminence called the Jews’ Burying-ground, and here they stood in order of battle, with the most resolute countenance, favoured by the situation, which was naturally difficult of access, and now rendered almost impregnable by the fortification, and a numerous artillery, still greatly superior to that of the Prussians. Had the king contented himself with the advantage already gained, all the world would have acknowledged he had fought against terrible odds with astonishing prowess, and that he judiciously desisted when he could no longer persevere, without incurring the imputation of being actuated by frenzy or despair. His troops had not only suffered severely from the enemy’s fire, which was close, deliberate, and well directed; but they were fatigued by the hard service, and fainting with the heat of the day, which was excessive. His general officers are said to have reminded him of all these circumstances, and to have dissuaded him from hazarding an attempt attended with such danger and difficulty, as even an army of fresh troops could hardly hope to surmount. He rejected this salutary advice, and ordered his infantry to begin a new attack, which being an enterprise beyond their strength, they were repulsed with great slaughter. Being afterwards rallied, they returned to the charge; they miscarried again, and their loss was redoubled. Being thus rendered unfit for further service, the cavalry succeeded to the attack, and repeated their unsuccessful efforts, until they were almost broke, and entirely exhausted. At this critical juncture, the whole body of the Austrian and Russian cavalry, which had hitherto remained inactive, and were therefore fresh and in spirits, fell in among the Prussian horse with great fury, broke their line at the first charge, and forcing them back upon the infantry, threw them into such disorder as could not be repaired. The Prussian army being thus involved in confusion, was seized with a panic, and in a few minutes totally defeated and dispersed, notwithstanding the personal efforts of the king, who hazarded his life in the hottest parts of the battle, led on his troops three times to the charge, had two horses killed under him, and his clothes in several parts penetrated with musket-balls. His army being routed, and the greater part of his generals either killed or disabled by wounds, nothing but the approach of night could have saved him from total ruin. When he abandoned the field of battle, he despatched another billet to the queen, couched in these terms: “Remove from Berlin with the royal family. Let the archives be carried to Potsdam. The town may make conditions with the enemy.” The horror and confusion which this intimation produced at Berlin may be easily conceived: horror the more aggravated, as it seized them in the midst of their rejoicings occasioned by the first despatch; and this was still more dreadfully augmented, by a subsequent indistinct relation, importing that the army was totally routed, the king missing, and the enemy in full march to Berlin. The battle of Cunersdorf was by far the most bloody action which happened since the commencement of hostilities. The carnage was truly horrible: above twenty thousand Prussians lay dead on the field; and among these general Putkammer. The generals Seydlitz, Itzenplitz, Hulsen, Finck, and Wedel, the prince of Wirtemberg, and five major-generals, were wounded. The loss of the enemy amounted to ten thousand. It must be owned, that if the king was prodigal of his own person, he was likewise very free with the lives of his subjects. At no time, since the days of ignorance and barbarity, were the lives of men squandered away with such profusion as in the course of this German war. They were not only unnecessarily sacrificed in various exploits of no consequence, but lavishly exposed to all the rigour and distemper of winter campaigns, which were introduced on the continent, in despite of nature, and in contempt of humanity. Such are the improvements of warriors without feeling! such the refinements of German discipline! On the day that succeeded the defeat at Cunersdorf, the king of Prussia, having lost the best part of his army, together with his whole train of artillery, repassed the Oder, and encamped at Retwin, from whence he advanced to Fustenwalde, and saw with astonishment the forbearance of the enemy. Instead of taking possession of Berlin, and overwhelming the wreck of the king’s troops, destitute of cannon, and cut off from all communication with prince Henry, they took no step to improve the victory they had gained. Laudohn retired with his horse immediately after the battle; and count Soltikoff marched with part of the Russians into Lusatia, where he joined Daun, and held consultations with that general. Perhaps the safety of the Prussian monarch was owing to the jealousy subsisting among his enemies. In all probability, the court of Vienna would have been chagrined to see the Russians in possession of Brandenburgh, and therefore thwarted their designs upon that electorate. The king of Prussia had now reason to be convinced, that his situation could not justify such a desperate attack as that in which he had miscarried at Cunersdorf; for if the Russians did not attempt the reduction of his capital, now that he was totally defeated, and the flower of his army cut off, they certainly would not have aspired at that conquest while he lay encamped in the neighbourhood with fifty thousand veterans, inured to war, accustomed to conquer, confident of success, and well supplied with provisions, ammunition, and artillery. As the victors allowed him time to breathe, he improved this interval with equal spirit and sagacity. He re-assembled and refreshed his broken troops: he furnished his camp with cannon from the arsenal at Berlin, which likewise supplied him with a considerable number of recruits; he recalled general Kleist, with five thousand men, from Pome-rania, and in a little time retrieved his former importance.

ADVANTAGES GAINED BY THE PRUSSIANS IN SAXONY.

The army of the empire having entered Saxony, where it reduced Leipsic, Torgau, and even took possession of Dresden itself, the king detached six thousand men under general Wunch, to check the progress of the imperialists in that electorate; and perceiving the Russians intended to besiege Great Glogau, he, with the rest of the army, took post between them and that city, so as to frustrate their design. While the four great armies, commanded by the king of Prussia, general Soltikoff, prince Henry, and count Daun, lay encamped in Lusatia, and on the borders of Silesia, watching the motions of each other, the war was carried on by detachments with great vivacity. General Wunch having retaken Leipsic, and joined Finck at Rulinbourg, the united body began their march towards Dresden; and a detachment from the army of the empire, which had encamped near Dobelia, retired at their approach. As they advanced to Nossin, general Haddick abandoned the advantageous posts he occupied near Roth-Seemberg; and, being joined by the whole army of the empire, resolved to attack the Prussian generals, who now encamped at Corbitz near Meissen. Accordingly, on the twenty-first day of September, he advanced against them, and endeavoured to dislodge them by a furious cannonade, which was mutually maintained from morning to night, when he found himself obliged to retire with considerable loss; leaving the field of battle, with about five hundred prisoners, in the hands of the Prussians.

GENERAL FINCK SURROUNDED AND TAKEN.

This advantage was succeeded by another exploit of prince Henry, who, on the twenty-third day of the month, quitted his camp at Hornsdorf, near Gorlitz; and, after an incredible march of eleven German miles, by the way of Rothenberg, arrived about five in the afternoon at Hoyerswerda, where he surprised a body of four thousand men, commanded by general Vehla, killed six hundred, and made twice that number prisoners; including the commander himself. After this achievement he joined the corps of Finck and Wunch; while mareschal Daun likewise abandoned his camp in Lusatia, and made a forced march to Dresden, in order to frustrate the prince’s supposed design on that capital. The Russians, disappointed in their scheme upon Glogau, had repassed the Oder at Neusalze, and were en? camped at Fraustadt; general Laudohn, with a body of Austrians, lay at Sclichtingsheim; and the king of Prussia at Koben; all three on or near the banks of that river. Prince Henry, perceiving his army almost surrounded by Austrian detachments, ordered general Finck to drive them from Vogelsang, which they abandoned accordingly; and sent Wunch, with six battalions and some cavalry, across the Elbe, to join the corps of general Rebentish at Wittenberg, whither he retired from Duben at the approach of the Austrians. On the twenty-ninth day of October, the duke d’Aremberg, with sixteen thousand Austrians, decamped from Dammitch, in order to occupy the heights near Pretsch, and was encountered by general Wunch; who, being posted on two rising grounds, cannonaded the Austrians on their march with considerable effect; and the prince took twelve hundred prisoners, including lieutenant-general Gemmington, and twenty inferior officers, with some cannon, great part of their tents, and a large quantity of baggage. The duke was obliged to change his route, while Wunch marched from Duben to Rulenburgh; and general Wassersleben occupied Strehla, where next day the whole army encamped. In this situation the prince remained till the sixteenth day of November; when, being in danger of having his communication with Torgau cut off by the enemy, he removed to a strong camp, where his left flank was covered with that city and the river Elbe; his right being secured by a wood, and great part of his front by an impassable morass. Here he was reinforced with about twenty thousand men from Silesia, and joined by the king himself, who forthwith detached general Finck, with nineteen battalions and thirty-five squadrons, to take possession of the defiles of Maxen and Ottendorf, with a view to hinder the retreat of the Austrians to Bohemia. This motion obliged Daun to retire to Plauen; and the king advanced to Wilsdurf, imagining that he had effectually succeeded in his design. Letters were sent to Berlin and Magdebourg, importing, that count Daun would be forced to hazard a battle, as he had now no resource but in victory. Finck had no sooner taken post on the hill near the village of Maxen, than the Austrian general sent officers to reconnoitre his situation, and immediately resolved to attack him with the corps de reserve, under the baron de Sincere, which was encamped in the neighbourhood of Dippodeswalda. It was forthwith divided into four columns, which filed off through the neighbouring woods; and the Prussians never dreamed of their approach until they saw themselves entirely surrounded. In this emergency they defended themselves with their cannon and musketry until they were overpowered by numbers, and their battery was taken; then they retired to another rising ground, where they rallied, but were driven from eminence to eminence, until, by favour of the night, they made their last retreat to Falkenhayn. In the meantime, count Daun had made such dispositions, that at day-break general Finck found himself entirely enclosed, without the least possibility of escaping, and sent a trumpet to count Daun to demand a capitulation. This was granted in one single article, importing, that he and eight other Prussian generals, with the whole body of troops they commanded, should be received as prisoners of war. He was obliged to submit; and his whole corps, amounting to nineteen battalions and thirty-five squadrons, with sixty-four pieces of cannon, fifty pair of colours, and twenty-five standards, fell into the hands of the Austrian generals. This misfortune was the more mortifying to the king of Prussia, as it implied a censure on his conduct, for having detached such a numerous body of troops to a situation where they could not be sustained by the rest of the army. On the other hand, the court of Vienna exulted in this victory, as an infallible proof of Daun’s superior talents; and, in point of glory and advantage, much more than an equivalent for the loss of the Saxon army, which, though less numerous, capitulated in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, after having held out six weeks against the whole power of the Prussian monarch. General Hulsen had been detached, with about nine battalions and thirty squadrons, to the assistance of Finck; but he arrived at Klingenberg too late to be of any service; and, being recalled, was next day sent to occupy the important post of Fribourg.

DISASTER OF THE PRUSSIAN GENERAL DIERCKE.

The defeat of general Finck was not the only disaster which befel the Prussians at the close of this campaign. General Diercke, who was posted with seven battalions of infantry and a thousand horse, on the right bank of the Elbe, opposite to Meissen, finding it impracticable to lay a bridge of pontoons across the river, on account of the floating ice, was obliged to transport his troops in boats; and when all were passed except himself, with the rear-guard, consisting of three battalions, he was, on the third day of December, in the morning, attacked by a strong body of Austrians, and taken, with all his men, after an obstinate dispute. The king of Prussia, weakened by these two successive defeats that happened in the rear of an unfortunate campaign, would hardly have been able to maintain his ground at Fribourg, had he not been at this juncture reinforced by the body of troops under the command of the hereditary prince of Brunswick. As for Daun, the advantages he had gained did not elevate his mind above the usual maxims of his cautious discretion. Instead of attacking the king of Prussia, respectable and formidable even in adversity, he quietly occupied the strong camp at Pirna, where he might be at hand to succour Dresden in case it should be attacked, and maintain his communication with Bohemia.

CONCLUSION OF THE CAMPAIGN.

By this time the Russians had retired to winter-quarters in Poland; and the Swedes, after a fruitless excursion in the absence of Manteuffel, retreated to Stralsund and the isle of Rugen. This campaign, therefore, did not prove more decisive than the last. Abundance of lives were lost, and great part of Germany was exposed to rapine, murder, famine, desolation, and every species of misery that war could engender. In vain the confederating powers of Austria, Russia, and Sweden, united their efforts to crush the Prussian monarch. Though his army had been defeated, and he himself totally overthrown with great slaughter in the heart of his own dominions; though he appeared in a desperate situation, environed by hostile armies, and two considerable detached bodies of his troops were taken or destroyed; yet he kept all his adversaries at bay till the approach of winter, which proved his best auxiliary, and even maintained his footing in the electorate of Saxony, which seemed to be the prize contested between him and the Austrian general. Yet, long before the approach of winter, one would imagine he must have been crushed between the shock of so many adverse hosts, had they been intent upon closing him in, and heartily concurred for his destruction; but, instead of urging the war with accumulated force, they acted in separate bodies, and with jealous eye seemed to regard the progress of each other. It was not, therefore, to any compunction, or kind forbearance, in the court of Vienna, that the inactivity of Daun was owing. The resentment of the house of Austria seemed, on the contrary, to glow with redoubled indignation; and the majority of the Germanic body seemed to enter with warmth into her quarrel. 526 [See note 4 E, at the end of this Vol.]

ARRET OF THE EVANGELICAL BODY AT RATISBON.

When the protestant states in arms against the court of Vienna were put under the ban of the empire, the evangelical body, though without the concurrence of the Swedish and Danish ministers, issued an arrêt at Ratisbon, in the month of November of the last year, and to this annexed the twentieth article of the capitulation signed by the emperor at his election, in order to demonstrate that the protestant states claimed nothing but what was agreeable to the constitution. They declared, that their association was no more than a mutual engagement, by which they obliged themselves to adhere to the laws without suffering, under any pretext, that the power of putting under the ban of the empire should reside wholly in the emperor. They affirmed that this power was renounced, in express terms, by the capitulation: they therefore refused to admit, as legal, any sentence of the ban deficient in the requisite conditions: and inferred that, according to law, neither the elector of Brandenburgh, nor the elector of Hanover, nor the duke of Wolfenbuttel, nor the landgrave of Hesse, nor the count of Lippe-Buckebourg, ought to be proscribed. The imperial protestant cities having acceded to this arrêt or declaration, the emperor, in a rescript, required them to retract their accession to the resolution of the evangelic body; which, it must be owned, was altogether inconsistent with their former accession to the resolutions of the diet against the king of Prussia. This rescript having produced no effect, the arrêt was answered in February by an imperial decree of commission carried to the dictature, importing, that the imperial court could no longer hesitate about the execution of the ban, without infringing that very article of the capitulation which they had specified: that the invalidity of the arrêt was manifest, inasmuch as the electors of Brandenburgh and Brunswick, the dukes of Saxe-Gotha and Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel, and the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, were the very persons who disturbed the empire, this, therefore, being an affair in which they themselves were parties, they could not possibly be qualified to concur in a resolution of this nature; besides, the number of the other states which had acceded was very inconsiderable: for these reasons, the emperor could not but consider the resolution in question as an act whereby the general peace of the empire was disturbed, both by the parties that had incurred the ban, and by the states which had joined them, in order to support and favour their frivolous pretensions. His imperial majesty expressed his hope and confidence, that the other electors, princes, and states of the empire, would vote the said resolution to be null and of no force; and never suffer so small a number of states, who were adherents of, and abettors to, the disturbers of the empire, to prejudice the rights and prerogatives of the whole Germanic body; to abuse the name of the associated states of the Augsburgh confession, in order forcibly to impose a factum entirely repugnant to the constitution of the empire; to deprive their co-estates of the right of voting freely, and thereby endeavouring totally to subvert the system of the Germanic body. These remarks will speak for themselves to the reflection of the unprejudiced reader.

FRENCH MINISTRY STOP PAYMENT.

The implacability of the court of Vienna was equalled by nothing but the perseverance of the French ministry. Though their numerous army had not gained one inch of ground in Westphalia, the campaign on that side having ended exactly where it had begun; though the chief source of their commerce in the West Indies had fallen into the hands of Great Britain, and they had already laid their account with the loss of Quebec; though their coffers hung with emptiness, and their confederates were clamorous for subsidies,—they still resolved to maintain the war in Germany. This was doubtless the most politic resolution to which they could adhere; because their enemies, instead of exerting all their efforts where there was almost a certainty of success, kindly condescended to seek them where alone their whole strength could be advantageously employed, without any great augmentation of their ordinary expense. Some of the springs of their national wealth were indeed exhausted, or diverted into other channels; but the subjects declared for a continuation of the war, and the necessities of the state were supplied by the loyalty and attachment of the people. They not only acquiesced in the bankruptcy of public credit, when the court stopped payment of the interest on twelve different branches of the national debt, but they likewise sent in large quantities of plate to be melted down, and coined into specie, for the maintenance of the war. All the bills drawn on the government by the colonies were protested to an immense amount, and a stop was put to all the annuities granted at Marseilles on sums borrowed for the use of the marine. Besides the considerable savings occasioned by these acts of state-bankruptcy, they had resources of credit among the merchants of Holland, who beheld the success of Great Britain with an eye of jealousy; and were, moreover, inflamed against her with the most rancorous resentment, on account of the captures which had been made of their West India ships by the English cruisers.

THE STATES-GENERAL SEND OVER DEPUTIES TO ENGLAND.

In the month of February, the merchants of Amsterdam having received advice that the cargoes of their West India ships detained by the English, would, by the British courts of judicature, be declared lawful prizes, as being French property, sent a deputation, with a petition to the states-general, entreating them to use their intercession with the court of London, representing the impossibility of furnishing the proofs required, in so short a time as that prescribed by the British admiralty; and that, as the island of St. Eustatia had but one road, and there was no other way of taking in cargoes but that of overschippen,* to which the English had objected, a condemnation of these ships, as legal prizes, would give the finishing stroke to the trade of the colony.

* The method called overschippen is that of using French boats to load Dutch vessels with the produce of France.

Whatever remonstrances the states-general might have made on this subject to the ministry of Great Britain, they had no effect upon the proceedings of the court of admiralty, which continued to condemn the cargoes of the Dutch ships as often as they were proved to be French property; and this resolute uniformity, in a little time intimidated the subjects of Holland from persevering in this illicit branch of commerce. The enemies of England in that republic, however, had so far prevailed, that in the beginning of the year the states of Holland had passed a formal resolution to equip five-and-twenty ships of war; and orders were immediately despatched to the officers of the admiralty to complete the armament with all possible expedition. In the month of April, the states-general sent over to London three ministers-extraordinary, to make representations, and remove if possible the causes of misunderstanding that had arisen between Great Britain and the United Provinces. They delivered their credentials to the king with a formal harangue: they said his majesty would see, by the contents of the letter they had the honour to present, how ardently their high mightinesses desired to cultivate the sincere friendship which had so long subsisted between the two nations, so necessary for their common welfare and preservation; they expressed an earnest wish that they might be happy enough to remove those difficulties which had for some time struck at this friendship, and caused so much prejudice to the principal subjects of the republic; who, by the commerce they carried on, constituted its greatest strength and chief support. They declared their whole confidence was placed in his majesty’s equity, for which the republic had the highest regard; and in the good-will he had always expressed towards a state which on all occasions had interested itself in promoting his glory—a state which was the guardian of the precious trust bequeathed by a prince so dear to his affection. “Full of this confidence (said they), we presume to flatter ourselves that your majesty will be graciously pleased to listen to our just demands, and we shall endeavour, during the course of our ministry, to merit your approbation, in strengthening the bonds by which the two nations ought to be for ever united.” In answer to this oration, the king assured them that he had always regarded their high mightinesses as his best friends. He said, if difficulties had arisen concerning trade, they ought to be considered as the consequences of a burdensome war which he was obliged to wage with France. He desired they would assure their high mightinesses, that he should endeavour, on his part, to remove the obstacles in question; and expressed his satisfaction that they the deputies were come over with the same disposition.—What representations these deputies made, further than complaints of some irregularities in the conduct of the British sea-officers, we cannot pretend to specify; but as the subject in dispute related entirely to the practice of the courts of judicature, it did not fall properly under the cognizance of the government, which hath no right to interfere with the administration of justice. In all probability, the subjects of Holland were by no means pleased with the success of this negotiation, for they murmured against the English nation without ceasing. They threatened and complained by turns; and eagerly seized every opportunity of displaying their partiality in favour of the enemies of Great Britain.

MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO THE STATES BY MAJOR-GENERAL YORKE.

In the month of September, major-general Yorke, the British minister at the Hague, presented a memorial to the states-general, remonstrating, that the merchants of Holland carried on a contraband trade in favour of France, by transporting cannon and warlike stores from the Baltic to Holland, in Dutch bottoms, under the borrowed names of private persons; and then conveying them by the inland rivers and canals, or through the Dutch fortresses, to Dunkirk and other places of France. He desired that the king his master might be made easy on that head, by their putting an immediate stop to such practices, so repugnant to the connexions subsisting by treaty between Great Britain and the United Provinces, as well as to every idea of neutrality. He observed, that the attention which his majesty had lately given to their representations against the excesses of the English privateers, by procuring an act of parliament, which laid them under proper restrictions, gave him a good title to the same regard on the part of their high mightinesses. He reminded them that their trading towns felt the good effects of these restrictions; and that the freedom of navigation which their subjects enjoyed amidst the troubles and distractions of Europe, had considerably augmented their commerce. He observed, that some return ought to be made to such solid proofs of the king’s friendship and moderation; at least, the merchants, who were so ready to complain of England, ought not to be countenanced in excesses which would have justified the most rigorous examination of their conduct. He recalled to their memories that, during the course of the present war, the king had several times appealed to their high mightinesses, and to their ministers, on the liberty they had given to carry stores through the fortresses of the republic for the use of France, to invade the British dominions; and though his majesty had passed over in silence many of these instances of complaisance to his enemy, he was no less sensible of the injury; but he chose rather to be a sufferer himself, than to increase the embarrassment of his neighbours or extend the flames of war. He took notice that even the court of Vienna had, upon more than one occasion, employed its interest with their high mightinesses, and lent its name to obtain passes for warlike stores and provisions for the French troops, under colour of the barrier-treaty, which it no longer observed; nay, after having put France in possession of Ostend and Nieuport, in manifest violation of that treaty, and without any regard to the rights which they and the king his master had acquired in that treaty, at the expense of so much blood and treasure.

A COUNTER-MEMORIAL PRESENTED BY THE FRENCH MINISTER.

This memorial seems to have made some impression on the states-general, as they scrupled to allow the artillery and stores belonging to the French king to be removed from Amsterdam; but these scruples vanished entirely on the receipt of a counter-memorial presented by the count d’Affrey, the French ambassador, who mingled some effectual threats with his expostulation. He desired them to remember, that, during the whole course of the war, the French king had required nothing from their friendship that was inconsistent with the strictest impartiality; and, if he had deviated from the engagements subsisting between him and the republic, it was only by granting the most essential and lucrative favours to the subjects of their high mightinesses. He observed, that the English, notwithstanding the insolence of their behaviour to the republic, had derived, on many occasions, assistance from the protection their effects had found in the territories of the United Provinces; that the artillery, stores, and ammunition belonging to Wessel were deposited in their territories, which the Hanoverian army in passing the Rhine had very little respected; that when they repassed that river, they had no other way of saving their sick and wounded from the hands of the French, than by embarking them in boats, and conveying them to places where the French left them unmolested, actuated by their respect for the neutrality of the republic; that part of their magazines was still deposited in the towns of the United Provinces, where also the enemies of France had purchased and contracted for very considerable quantities of gunpowder. He told them that, though these and several other circumstances might have been made the subject of the justest complaints, the king of France did not think it proper to require that the freedom and independency of the subjects of the republic should be restrained in branches of commerce that were not inconsistent with its neutrality, persuaded that the faith of an engagement ought to be inviolably preserved, though attended with some accidental and transient disadvantages. He gave them to understand, that the king his master had ordered the generals of his army carefully to avoid encroaching on the territory of the republic, and transferring thither the theatre of the war, when his enemies retreated that way before they were forced to pass the Ehine. After such unquestionable marks of regard, he said, his king would have the justest ground of complaint, if, contrary to expectation, he should hear that the artillery and stores belonging to him were detained at Amsterdam. Thirdly, he declared that such detention would be construed as a violation of the neutrality; and demanded, in the name of the king his master, that the artillery and stores should, without delay, be forwarded to Flanders by the canals of Amsterdam and the inland navigation. This last argument was so conclusive, that they immediately granted the necessary passports; in consequence of which the cannon were conveyed to the Austrian Netherlands.

DEATH OF THE KING OF SPAIN.

The powers in the southern parts of Europe were too much engrossed with their own concerns, to interest themselves deeply in the quarrels that distracted the German empire. The king of Spain, naturally of a melancholy complexion and delicate constitution, was so deeply affected with the loss of his queen, who died in the course of the preceding year, that he renounced all company, neglected all business, and immured himself in a chamber at Villa-Viciosa, where he gave a loose to the most extravagant sorrow. He abstained from food and rest until his strength was quite exhausted. He would neither shift himself, nor allow his beard to be shaved; he rejected all attempts of consolation; and remained deaf to the most earnest and respectful remonstrances of those who had a right to render their advice. In this case, the affliction of the mind must have been reinforced by some peculiarity in the constitution. He inherited a melancholy taint from his father, and this seems to have been dreaded as a family disease; for the infant don Louis, who likewise resided in the palace of Villa-Viciosa, was fain to amuse himself with hunting and other diversions, to prevent his being infected with the king’s disorder, which continued to gain ground notwithstanding all the efforts of medicine. The Spanish nation, naturally superstitious, had recourse to saints and relics; but they seemed insensible to all their devotion. The king, however, in the midst of all his distress, was prevailed upon to make his will, which was written by the count de Valparaiso, and signed by the duke de Bejar, high-chancellor of the kingdom. The exorbitancy of his grief, and the mortifications he underwent, soon produced an incurable malady, under which he languished from the month of September in the preceding year till the tenth of August in the present, when he expired. In his will he had appointed his brother don Carlos, king of Naples, successor to the crown of Spain; and nominated the queen-dowager as regent of the kingdom until that prince should arrive. Accordingly, she assumed the reins of government, and gave directions for the funeral of the deceased king, who was interred with great pomp in the church belonging to the convent of the Visitation at Madrid.

DON CARLOS SUCCEEDS TO THE KINGDOM OF SPAIN.

As the death of this prince had been long expected, so the politicians of Europe had universally prognosticated that his demise would be attended with great commotions in Italy. It had been agreed among the subscribing powers to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, that in case don Carlos should be advanced in the course of succession to the throne of Spain, his brother don Philip should succeed him on the throne of Naples; and the duchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla, which now constituted his establishment, should revert to the house of Austria. The king of Naples had never acceded to this article; therefore he paid no regard to it on the death of his elder brother, but retained both kingdoms, without minding the claims of the empress-queen, who he knew was at that time in no condition to support her pretensions. Thus the German war proved a circumstance very favourable to his interest and ambition. Before he embarked for Spain, however, he took some extraordinary steps, which evinced him a sound politician and sagacious legislator. His eldest son don Philip, who had now attained the thirteenth year of his age, being found in a state of incurable idiotism 529 [See note 4 F, at the end of this Vol.], he wisely and resolutely removed him from the succession, without any regard to the pretended right of primogeniture, by a solemn act of abdication, and the settlement of the crown of the two Sicilies in favour of his third son don Ferdinand. In this extraordinary act he observes, that according to the spirit of the treaties of this age, Europe required that the sovereignty of Spain should be separated from that of Italy, when such a separation could be effected, without transgressing the rules of justice: that the unfortunate prince-royal having been destitute of reason and reflection ever since his infancy, and no hope remaining that he could ever acquire the use of these faculties, he could not think of appointing him to the succession, how agreeable soever such a disposition might be to nature and his paternal affection: he was therefore constrained, by the Divine will, to set him aside in favour of his third son don Ferdinand, whose minority obliged him to vest the management of these realms in a regency, which he accordingly appointed, after having previously declared his son Ferdinand from that time emancipated and freed, not only from all obedience to his paternal power, but even from all submission to his supreme and sovereign authority. He then declared that the minority of the prince succeeding to the kingdom of the Two Sicilies should expire with the fifteenth year of his age, when he should act as sovereign, and have the entire power of the administration. He next established and explained the order of succession in the male and female line; on condition that the monarchy of Spain should never be united with the kingdoms of the Two Sicilies. Finally, he transferred and made over to the said don Ferdinand these kingdoms, with all that he possessed in Italy; and this ordinance, signed and sealed by himself and the infant don Ferdinand, and countersigned by the counsellors and secretaries of state, in quality of members of the regency, received all the usual forms of authenticity. Don Carlos having taken these precautions for the benefit of his third son, whom he left king of Naples, embarked with the rest of his family on board a squadron of Spanish ships, which conveyed him to Barcelona. There he landed in the month of October, and proceeded to Madrid; where, as king of Spain, he was received amid the acclamations of his people. He began his reign, like a wise prince, by regulating the interior economy of his kingdom; by pursuing the plan adopted by his predecessor; by retaining the ministry under whose auspices the happiness and commerce of his people had been extended; and with respect to the belligerent powers, by scrupulously adhering to that neutrality from whence these advantages were in a great measure derived.

DETECTION AND PUNISHMENT OF THE CONSPIRATORS AT LISBON.

While he serenely enjoyed the blessings of prosperity, his neighbour the king of Portugal was engrossed by a species of employment, which, of all others, must be the most disagreeable to a prince of sentiment, who loves his people; namely, the trial and punishment of those conspirators, by whose atrocious attempt his life had been so much endangered. Among these were numbered some of the first noblemen of the kingdom, irritated by disappointed ambition, inflamed by bigotry, and exasperated by revenge. The principal conspirator, don Joseph Mascarenhas and Lencastre, duke de Aveiro, marquis of Torres Novas, and conde of Santa Cruz, was hereditary lord-steward of the king’s household, and president of the palace-court, or last tribunal of appeal in the kingdom, so that he possessed the first office at the palace, and the second of the realm. Francisco de Assiz, marquis of Tavora, conde of St. John and Alvor, was general of the horse, and head of the third noble house of the Tavoras, the most illustrious family in the kingdom, deriving their original from the ancient kings of Leon: he married his kinswoman, who was marchioness of Tavora in her own right, and by this marriage acquired the marquisate. Louis Bernardo de Tavora was their eldest son, who, by virtue of a dispensation from the pope, had espoused his own aunt, donna Theresa de Tavora. Joseph Maria de Tavora, his youngest brother, was also involved in the guilt of his parents. The third principal concerned was don Jeronymo de Attaide, conde of Attouguia, himself a relation, and married to the eldest daughter of the marquis of Tavora. The characters of all these personages were unblemished and respectable, until this machination was detected. In the course of investigating this dark affair, it appeared that the duke de Aveiro had conceived a personal hatred to the king, who had disappointed him in a projected match between his son and a sister of the duke de Cadaval, a minor, and prevented his obtaining some commanderies which the late duke de Aveiro had possessed; that this nobleman, being determined to gratify his revenge against the person of his sovereign, had exerted all his art and address in securing the participation of the malecontents; that with this view he reconciled himself to the Jesuits, with whom he had been formerly at variance, knowing they were at this time implacably incensed against the king, who had dismissed them from their office of penitentiaries at court, and branded them with other marks of disgrace, on account of their illegal and rebellious practices in South America: the duke, moreover, insinuated himself into the confidence of the marchioness of Tavora, notwithstanding an inveterate rivalship of pride and ambition, which had long subsisted between the two families. Her resentment against the king was inflamed by the mortification of her pride in repeated repulses, when she solicited the title of duke for her husband. Her passions were artfully fomented and managed by the Jesuits, to whom she had resigned the government of her conscience; and they are said to have persuaded her, that it would be a meritorious action to take away the life of a prince who was an enemy to the church, and a tyrant to his people. She, being reconciled to the scheme of assassination, exerted her influence in such a manner as to inveigle her husband, her sons and son-in law, into the same infamous design: and yet this lady had been always remarkable for her piety, affability, and sweetness of disposition. Many consultations were held by the conspirators at the colleges of the Jesuits, St. Autoa and St. Roque, as well as at the houses of the duke and the marquis; at last they resolved that the king should be assassinated, and employed two ruffians, called Antonio Alvarez and Joseph Policarpio, for the execution of this design, the miscarriage of which we have related among the transactions of the preceding year. In the beginning of January, before the circumstances of the conspiracy were known, the counts de Oberas and de Ribeira Grande were imprisoned in the castle of St. Julian, on a suspicion arising from their freedom of speech. The duchess de Aveiro, the countess of Attouguia, and the marchioness of Alorna, with their children, were sent to different nunneries; and eight Jesuits were taken into custody. A council being appointed for the trial of the prisoners, the particulars we have related were brought to light by the torture; and sentence of death was pronounced and executed upon the convicted criminals. Eight wheels were fixed upon a scaffold raised in the square opposite to the house where the prisoners had been confined; and the thirteenth of January was fixed for the day of execution. Antonio Alvarez Ferreira, one of the assassins who had fired into the king’s equipage, was fixed to a stake at one corner of the scaffold; and at the other was placed the effigy of his accomplice, Joseph Policarpio de Azevedo, who had made his escape. The marchioness of Tavora, being brought upon the scaffold between eight and nine in the morning, was beheaded at one stroke, and then covered with a linen cloth. Her two sons, and her son-in-law, the count of Attouguia, with three servants of the duke de Aveiro, were first strangled at one stake, and afterwards broke upon wheels, where their bodies remained covered; but the duke and the marquis, as chiefs of the conspiracy, were broken alive, and underwent the most excruciating torments. The last that suffered was the assassin Alvarez, who being condemned to be burned alive, the combustibles which had been placed on the scaffold were set on fire, the whole machine with their bodies consumed to ashes, and these ashes thrown into the sea. The estates of the three unfortunate noblemen were confiscated, and their dwelling-houses razed to the ground. The name of Tavora was suppressed for ever by a public decree; but that of Mascarenhas spared, because the duke de Aveiro was a younger branch of the family. A reward of ten thousand crowns was offered to any person who should apprehend the assassin who had escaped: then the embargo was taken off the shipping. The king and royal family assisted at a public Te Deum, sung in the chapel of Nossa Senhoro de Livramento; on which occasion the king, for the satisfaction of his people, waved his handkerchief with both hands, to show he was not maimed by the wounds he had received. If such an attempt upon the life of a king was infamously cruel and perfidious, it must be owned that the punishment inflicted upon the criminals was horrible to human nature. The attempt itself was attended with some circumstances that might have staggered belief, had it not appeared but too plain that the king was actually wounded. One would imagine that the duke de Aveiro, who was charged with designs on the crown, would have made some preparation for taking advantage of the confusion and disorder which must have been produced by the king’s assassination; but we do not find that any thing of this nature was premeditated. It was no more than a desperate scheme of personal revenge, conceived without caution, and executed without conduct; a circumstance the more extraordinary, if we suppose the conspirators were actuated by the councils of the Jesuits, who have been ever famous for finesse and dexterity. Besides, the discovery of all the particulars was founded upon confession extorted by the rack, which at best is a suspicious evidence. Be that as it will, the Portuguese government, without waiting for a bull from the pope, sequestered all the estates and effects of the Jesuits in that kingdom, which amounted to considerable sums, and reduced the individuals of the society to a very scanty allowance. Complaint of their conduct having been made to the pope, he appointed a congregation to examine into the affairs of the Jesuits in Portugal. In the meantime the court of Lisbon ordered a considerable number of them to be embarked for Italy, and resolved that no Jesuits should hereafter reside within its realms. When these transports arrived at Civita-Vecchia, they were, by the pope’s order, lodged in the Dominican and Capuchin convents of that city, until proper houses could be prepared for their reception at Tivoli and Frescati. The most guilty of them, however, were detained in close prison in Portugal; reserved, in all probability, for a punishment more adequate to their enormities.

SESSION OPENED IN ENGLAND.

England still continued to enjoy the blessings of peace, even amidst the triumphs of war. In the month of November the session of parliament was opened by commission; and, the commons attending in the house of peers, the lord-keeper harangued the parliament to this effect:—He gave them to understand that his majesty had directed him to assure them, that he thought himself peculiarly happy in being able to convoke them in a situation of affairs so glorious to his crown, and advantageous to his kingdoms: that the king saw and devoutly adored the hand of Providence, in the many signal successes, both by sea and land, with which his arms had been blessed in the course of the last campaign: that he reflected with great satisfaction on the confidence which the parliament had placed in him, by making such ample provisions, and intrusting him with such extensive powers for carrying on a war, which the defence of their valuable rights and possessions, together with the preservation of the commerce of his people, had rendered both just and necessary. He enumerated the late successes of the British arms—the reduction of Goree on the coast of Africa; the conquest of so many important places in America; the defeat of the French army in Canada; the reduction of their capital city of Quebec, effected with so much honour to the courage and conduct of his majesty’s officers and forces; the important advantage obtained by the British squadron off Cape Lagos, and the effectual blocking up for so many months the principal part of the French navy in their own harbours: events which must have filled the hearts of all his majesty’s faithful subjects with the sincerest joy; and convinced his parliament that there had been no want of vigilance or vigour on his part, in exerting those means which they, with so much prudence and public-spirited zeal, had put into his majesty’s hands. He observed, that the national advantages had extended even as far as the East-Indies, where, by the Divine blessing, the dangerous designs of his majesty’s enemies had miscarried, and that valuable branch of commerce had received great benefit and protection; that the memorable victory gained over the French at Minden had long made a deep impression on the minds of his majesty’s people: that if the crisis in which the battle was fought, the superior number of the enemy, the great and able conduct of his majesty’s general, prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, were considered, that action must be the subject of lasting admiration and thankfulness: that if any thing could fill the breasts of his majesty’s good subjects with still further degrees of exultation, it would be the distinguished and unbroken valour of the British troops, owned and applauded by those whom they overcame. He said the glory they had gained was not merely their own; but, in a national view, was one of the most important circumstances of our success, as it must be a striking admonition to our enemies with whom they have to contend. He told them that his majesty’s good brother and ally, the king of Prussia, attacked and surrounded by so many considerable powers, had, by his magnanimity and abilities, and the bravery of his troops, been able, in a surprising manner, to prevent the mischiefs concerted with such united force against him. He declared, by the command of his sovereign, that as his majesty entered into this war not from views of ambition, so he did not wish to continue it from motives of resentment: that the desire of his majesty’s heart was to see a stop put to the effusion of Christian blood: that whenever such terms of peace could be established as should be just and honourable for his majesty and his allies; and by procuring such advantages as, from the successes of his majesty’s arms, might in reason and equity be expected should bring along with them full security for the future; his majesty would rejoice to see the repose of Europe restored on such solid and durable foundations; and his faithful subjects, to whose liberal support and unshaken firmness his majesty owed so much, happy in the enjoyment of the blessings of peace and tranquillity: but, in order to this great and desirable end, he said his majesty was confident the parliament would agree with him, that it was necessary to make ample provision for carrying on the war, in all parts, with the utmost vigour. He assured the commons, that the great supplies they had granted in the last session of parliament, had been faithfully employed for the purposes for which they were granted; but the uncommon extent of the war, and the various services necessary to be provided for, in order to secure success to his majesty’s measures, had unavoidably occasioned extraordinary expenses. Finally, he repeated the assurances from the throne, of the high satisfaction his majesty took in that union and good harmony which was so conspicuous among his good subjects; he said, his sovereign was happy in seeing it continued and confirmed; he observed that experience had shown how much the nation owed to this union, which alone could secure the true happiness of his people.

SUBSTANCE OF THE ADDRESSES.

We shall not anticipate the reader’s own reflection, by pretending to comment upon either the matter or form of this harangue, which however produced all the effect which the sovereign could desire. The houses, in their respective addresses, seemed to vie with each other in expressions of attachment and complacency. The peers professed their utmost readiness to concur in the effectual support of such further measures as his majesty, in his great wisdom, should judge necessary or expedient for carrying on the war with vigour in all parts, and for disappointing and repelling any desperate attempts which might be made upon these kingdoms. The commons expressed their admiration of that true greatness of mind which disposed his majesty’s heart, in the midst of prosperities, to wish a stop put to the effusion of Christian blood, and to see tranquillity restored. They declared their entire reliance on his majesty’s known wisdom and firmness, that this desirable object, whenever it should be obtained, would be upon teems just and honourable for his majesty and his allies; and, in order to effect that great end, they assured him they would cheerfully grant such supplies as should be found necessary to sustain, and press with effect, all his extensive operations against the enemy. They did not fail to re-echo the speech, as usual; enumerating the trophies of the year, and extolling the king of Prussia for his consummate genius, magnanimity, unwearied activity, and unshaken constancy of mind. Very great reason, indeed, had his majesty to be satisfied with an address of such a nature, from a house of commons in which opposition lay strangled at the foot of the minister; in which those demagogues, who had raised themselves to reputation and renown by declaiming against continental measures, were become so perfectly reconciled to the object of their former reprobation, as to cultivate it even with a degree of enthsiasm unknown to any former administration, and lay the nation under such contributions in its behalf, as no other ministry durst ever meditate. Thus disposed, it was no wonder they admired the moderation of their sovereign in offering to treat of peace, after above a million of men had perished by the war, and twice that number been reduced to misery; after whole provinces had been depopulated, whole-countries subdued, and the victors themselves almost crushed by the trophies they had gained.

Immediately after the addresses were presented, the commons resolved themselves into a committee of the whole house; and having unanimously voted a supply to his majesty, began to take the particulars into consideration. This committee was continued till the twelfth of May, when that whole business was accomplished. For the service of the ensuing year they voted seventy thousand seamen, including eighteen thousand three hundred and fifty-five marines, and for their maintenance allotted three millions six hundred and forty thousand pounds. The number of land-forces, including the British troops in Germany, and the invalids, they fixed at fifty-seven thousand two hundred and ninety-four men, and granted for their subsistence one million three hundred and eighty-three thousand seven hundred and forty-eight pounds and tenpence. For maintaining other forces in the plantations, Gibraltar, Guadaloupe, Africa, and the East Indies, they allowed eight hundred forty-six thousand one hundred and sixty-eight pounds, nineteen shillings: for the expense of four regiments on the Irish establishment, serving in North America, they voted thirty-five thousand seven hundred and forty-four pounds, eight shillings and fourpence. For pay to the general and general staff officers, and officers of the hospital for the land-forces, they assigned fifty-four thousand four hundred and fifty-four pounds, eleven shillings and ninepence. They voted for the expense of the militia in South and North Britain, the sum of one hundred two thousand and six pounds, four shillings and eightpence. They granted for the maintenance of thirty-eight thousand seven hundred and fifty men, being the troops of Hanover, Wolfenbuttle, Saxe-Gotha, and Buckebourg, retained in the service of Great Britain, the sum of four hundred forty-seven thousand eight hundred and eighty-two pounds, ten shillings and fivepence halfpenny; and for nineteen thousand Hessian troops, in the same pay, they gave three hundred sixty-six thousand seven hundred and twenty-five pounds, one shilling and sixpence. They afterwards bestowed the sum of one hundred eight thousand and twelve pounds, twelve shillings and sevenpence, for defraying the additional expense of augmentations in the troops of Hanover and Hesse, and the British army serving in the empire. For the ordinary of the navy, including half-pay to sea-officers; for carrying on the building of two hospitals, one near Gosport, and the other in the neighbourhood of Plymouth; for the support of the hospital at Greenwich; for purchasing ground, erecting wharfs and other accommodations necessary for refitting the fleets at Halifax in Nova-Scotia; for the charge of the office of ordnance, and defraying the extraordinary expense incurred by that office in the course of the last year, they allowed seven hundred eighty-one thousand four hundred and eighty-nine pounds, six shillings and sixpence. Towards paying off the navy debt, buildings, re-buildings, and repairs of the king’s ships, together with the charges of transport service, they granted one million seven hundred and one thousand seventy-eight pounds, sixteen shillings and sixpence. For defraying the extraordinary expenses of the land-forces and other services not provided for by parliament, comprehending the pensions for the widows of reduced officers, they allotted the sum of nine hundred fifty-five thousand three hundred and forty-four pounds, fifteen shillings and fivepence halfpenny. They voted one million to empower his majesty to discharge the like sum, raised in pursuance of an act made in the last session of parliament, and charged upon the first aids or supplies to be granted in this session of parliament. They gave six hundred and seventy thousand pounds, for enabling his majesty to make good his engagements with the king of Prussia, pursuant to a new convention between him and that monarch, concluded on the ninth day of November in the present year. Fifteen thousand pounds they allowed upon account, towards enabling the principal officers of his majesty’s ordnance to defray the necessary charges and expenses of taking down and removing the present magazine for gunpowder, situated in the neighbourhood of Greenwich, and of erecting it in some less dangerous situation. Sixty thousand pounds they gave to enable his majesty to fulfil his engagements With the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, pursuant to the separate article of a treaty between the two powers, renewed in the month of November, the sum to be paid as his most serene highness should think it most convenient, in order to facilitate the means by which the landgrave might again fix his residence in his own dominions, and by his presence give fresh courage to his faithful subjects. Five hundred thousand pounds they voted upon account, as a present supply towards defraying the charges of forage, bread, bread-waggons, train of artillery, wood, straw, provisions, and contingencies of his majesty’s combined army, under the command of prince Ferdinand. To the Foundling hospital they granted five thousand pounds; and fifteen thousand for improving, widening, and enlarging the passage over and through London bridge. To replace divers sums taken from the sinking fund, they granted two hundred twenty-five thousand two hundred and eighty-one pounds, nineteen shillings and fourpence. For the subsistence of reduced officers, including the allowances to the several officers and private men of the two troops of horse-guards, and regiment of horse reduced, and to the superannuated gentlemen of the four troops of horse-guards, they voted thirty-eight thousand five hundred and ninety-seven pounds, nine shillings. Upon account, for the support of the colonies of Nova-Scotia and Georgia, they granted twenty-one thousand six hundred ninety-four pounds, two shillings and twopence. For enabling the king to give a proper compensation to the provinces in North America, for the expenses they might incur in levying and maintaining troops, according as the vigour and activity of those respective provinces should be thought by his majesty to merit, they advanced the sum of two hundred thousand pounds. The East India company they gratified with twenty thousand pounds, towards enabling them to defray the expense of a military force in their settlements, in lieu of a battalion of the king’s troops now returned to Ireland. Twenty-five thousand pounds were provided for the payment of the out-pensioners of Chelsea hospital. For subsequent augmentation of the British forces, since the first estimate of guards and garrisons for the ensuing year was presented, they allowed one hundred thirty-four thousand one hundred and thirty-nine pounds, seventeen shillings and fourpence. They further voted, upon account, towards enabling the governors and guardians of the Foundling hospital to maintain, educate, and bind apprentice the children admitted into the said charity, the sum of forty-seven thousand two hundred and eighty-five pounds. For defraying the expense of maintaining the militia in South and North Britain, to the twenty-fourth day of December of the ensuing year, they voted an additional grant of two hundred ninety thousand eight hundred and twenty-six pounds, sixteen shillings and eightpence: and, moreover, they granted four-score thousand pounds, upon account, towards defraying the charge of pay and clothing of the unembodied militia for the year ending on the twenty-fifth day of March, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-one. For reimbursing the colony of New-York, their expenses in furnishing provisions and stores to the troops raised by them for his majesty’s service, in the-campaign of the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, they allowed two thousand nine hundred and seventy-seven pounds, seven shillings and eightpence; and for maintaining the British forts and settlements on the coast of Africa, they renewed the grant of ten thousand pounds. For the maintenance and augmentation of the troops of Brunswick in the pay of Great Britain for the ensuing year, pursuant to an ulterior convention concluded and signed at Paderborn on the fifth day of March, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty, they granted the sum of ninety thousand seven hundred and sixty-nine pounds, eight shillings and elevenpence farthing; and for the troops of Hesse-Cassel in the same pay, during the same period, they allotted one hundred and one thousand and ninety-six pounds, three shillings and twopence. For the extraordinary expenses of the land-forces, and other services, incurred from the twenty-fourth day of November in the present year, to the twenty-fourth of December following, and not-provided for, they granted the sum of four hundred twenty thousand one hundred and twenty pounds, one shilling. To make good the deficiency of the grants for the service of this present year, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine, they assigned the sum of seventy-five thousand one hundred and seventy pounds, and threepence farthing. For printing the journals of the house of commons they gave five thousand pounds; and six hundred and thirty-four pounds, thirteen shillings and seven-pence, as interest at the rate of four per centum per annum, from the twenty-fifth day of August in the present year, to the same day of April next, for the sum of twenty-three thousand eight hundred pounds, eleven shillings and elevenpence, remaining in the office of ordnance, and not paid into the hands of the deputy of the king’s remembrancer of the court of exchequer, as directed by an act made in the last session of parliament, to make compensation for lands and hereditaments purchased for his majesty’s service at Chatham, Portsmouth, and Plymouth, by reason of doubts and difficulties which had arisen touching the execution of the said act. For defraying the extraordinary charge of the mint during the present year, they allowed eleven thousand nine hundred and forty pounds, thirteen shillings and ten-pence; and two thousand five hundred pounds upon account, for paying the debts claimed and sustained upon a forfeited estate in North Britain. They likewise allowed twelve thousand eight hundred and seventy-four pounds, fifteen shillings and tenpence, for defraying the charge of a regiment of light-dragoons, and of an additional company to the corps commanded by lieutenant-colonel Vaughan. Finally, they voted one million upon account, to enable the king to defray any extraordinary expenses of the war, incurred, or to be incurred, for the service of the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty; and to take all such measures as might be necessary to defeat any enterprise or design of his enemies, as the exigency of affairs might require. On the whole, the sum total granted in this session of parliament amounted to fifteen millions five hundred and three thousand five hundred and sixty-three pounds, fifteen shillings and ninepence halfpenny: a sum so enormous, whether we consider the nation that raised it, or the purposes for which it was raised, that every Briton of a sedate mind, attached to the interest and welfare of his country, must reflect upon it with equal astonishment and concern: a sum considerably more than double the largest subsidy that was granted in the reign of queen Anne, when the nation was in the zenith of her glory, and retained half the powers of Europe in her pay: a sum almost double of what any former administration durst have asked: and near double of what the most sanguine calculators, who lived in the beginning of this century, thought the nation could give without the most imminent hazard of immediate bankruptcy. Of the immense supply which we have particularized, the reader will perceive that two millions three hundred forty-four thousand four hundred and eighty-six pounds, sixteen shillings and sevenpence three farthings, were paid to foreigners for supporting the war in Germany, exclusive of the money expended by the British troops in that country, the number of which amounted, in the course of the ensuing year, to twenty thousand men: a number the more extraordinary, if we consider they were all transported to that continent during the administration of those who declared in parliament (the words still sounding in our ears) that not a man, nor even half a man, should be sent from Great Britain to Germany, to fight the battles of any foreign elector. Into the expense of the German war sustained by Great Britain, we must also throw the charge of transporting the English troops; the article of forage, which alone amounted, in the course of the last campaign, to one million two hundred thousand pounds, besides pontage, waggons, horses, and many other contingencies. To the German war we may also impute the extraordinary expense incurred by the actual service of the militia, which the absence of the regular troops rendered in a great measure necessary; and the loss of so many hands withdrawn from industry, from husbandry, and manufacture. The loss sustained by this connexion was equally grievous and apparent; the advantage accruing from it, either to Britain or Hanover, we have not discernment sufficient to perceive, consequently cannot be supposed able to explain.

The committee of ways and means, having duly deliberated on the articles of supply, continued sitting from the twenty-second day of November to the fourteenth of May, during which period they established the necessary funds to produce the sums which had been granted. The land-tax at four shillings in the pound, and the malt-tax, were continued, as the standing revenue of Great Britain. The whole provision made by the committee of ways and means amounted to sixteen millions one hundred thirty thousand five hundred and sixty-one pounds, nine shillings and eightpence, exceeding the grants for the service of the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty, in the sum of six hundred twenty-six thousand nine hundred ninety-seven pounds, thirteen shillings and tenpence halfpenny. This excess, however, will not appear extraordinary, when we consider that it was destined to make good the premium of two hundred and forty thousand pounds to the subscribers upon the eight million loan, as well as the deficiencies in the other grants, which never fail to make a considerable article in the supply of every session. That these gigantic strides towards the ruin of public credit were such as might alarm every well-wisher to his country, will perhaps more plainly appear in the sum total of the national debt, which, including the incumbrance of one million charged upon the civil-list revenue, and provided for by a tax upon salaries and pensions payable out of that revenue, amounted, at this period, to the tremendous sum of one hundred eight millions four hundred ninety-three thousand one hundred and fifty-four pounds, fourteen shillings and elevenpence one farthing.—A comfortable reflection this to a people involved in the most expensive war that ever was waged, and already burdened with such taxes as no other nation ever bore!

It is not at all necessary to particularize the acts that were founded upon the resolutions touching the supply. We shall only observe that, in the act for the land-tax, and in the act for the malt-tax, there was a clause of credit, empowering the commissioners of the treasury to raise the money which they produced by loans on exchequer bills, bearing an interest of four per cent, per annum, that is, one per cent, higher than the interest usually granted in time of peace. While the house of commons deliberated on the bill for granting to his majesty several duties upon malt, and for raising a certain sum of money to be charged on the said duties, a petition was presented by the maltsters of Ipswich and parts adjacent against an additional duty on the stock of malt in hand: but no regard was paid to this remonstrance; and the bill, with several new amendments, passed through both houses, under the title of “An act for granting to his majesty several duties upon malt, and for raising the sum of eight millions by way of annuities and a lottery, to be charged on the said duties: and to prevent the fraudulent obtaining of allowances in the gauging of corn making into malt; and for making forth duplicates of exchequer-bills, tickets, certificates, receipts, annuity orders, and other orders lost, burned, or otherwise destroyed.” The other three bills that turned wholly on the supply were passed in common course, without the least opposition in either house, and received the royal assent by commission at the end of the session. The first of these, entitled, “A bill for enabling his majesty to raise a certain sum of money for the uses and purposes therein mentioned,” contained a clause of approbation, added to it by instruction; and the Bank was enabled to lend the million which the commissioners of the treasury were empowered by the act to borrow, at the interest of four pounds per cent. The second, granting to his majesty a certain sum of money out of the sinking-fund, for the service of the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty, comprehended a clause of credit for borrowing the money thereby granted; and another clause, empowering the Bank to lend it without any limitation or interest; and the third, enabling his majesty to raise a certain sum of money towards discharging the debt of the navy, and for naval services during the ensuing year, enacted, that the exchequer bills thereby to be issued should not be received, or pass to any receiver or collector of the public revenue, or at the receipt of the exchequer, before the twenty-sixth day of March, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-one.

PETITIONS RESPECTING THE PROHIBITION OF THE MALT DISTILLERY.

As the act of the preceding session, prohibiting the malt distillery, was to expire at Christmas, the commons thinking it necessary to consider of proper methods for laying the malt distillery under such regulations as might prevent, if possible, its being prejudicial to the health and morals of the people, began as early as the month of November to deliberate on this affair; which being under agitation, petitions were presented to the house by several of the principal inhabitants of Spital-fields; the mayor and commonalty of New Sarum; the gentlemen, clergy, merchants, manufacturers, tradesmen, and other inhabitants of Colchester; the mayor, aldermen, and common council of King’s Lynn in Norfolk; the mayor and bailiffs of Berwick-upon-Tweed; representing the advantages accruing from the prohibition of the malt distillery, and praying the continuance of the act by which it was prohibited. On the other hand, counter-petitions were offered by the mayor, magistrates, merchants, manufacturers, and other gentlemen of the city of Norwich; by the land-owners and holders of the south-west part of Essex; and by the freeholders of the shires of Ross and Cromartic, in North Britain; alleging, that the scarcity of corn, which had made it necessary to prohibit the malt distillery, had ceased; and that the continuing the prohibition beyond the necessity which had required it would be a great loss and discouragement to the landed interest: they therefore prayed that the said distillery might be again opened, under such regulations and restrictions as the house should think proper. These remonstrances being taken into consideration, and divers accounts perused, the house unanimously agreed that the prohibition should be continued for a limited time; and a bill being brought in, pursuant to this resolution, passed through both houses, and received the royal assent; by which means the prohibition of the malt distillery was continued till the twenty-fourth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty, unless such continuation should be abridged by any other act to be passed in the present session.

OPPOSITION TO THE BILL FOR PREVENTING THE EXCESSIVE USE OF SPIRITS.

The committee, having examined a great number of accounts and papers relating to spirituous liquors, agreed to four resolutions, importing, that the present high price of spirituous liquors is a principal cause of the diminution in the home consumption thereof, and hath greatly contributed to the health, sobriety, and industry of the common people: that, in order to continue for the future the present high price of all spirits used for home consumption, a large additional duty should be laid upon all spirituous liquors whatsoever, distilled within or imported into Great Britain: that there should be a drawback of the said additional duties upon all spirituous liquors distilled in Great Britain, which should be exported; and that an additional bounty should be granted under proper regulations, upon the exportation of all spirituous liquors drawn from corn in Great Britain. A great many accounts being perused, and witnesses examined, relating to the distillery, a bill was brought in to prevent the excessive use of spirituous liquors, by laying an additional duty thereupon; and to encourage the exportation of British-made spirits. Considerable opposition was made to the bill, on the opinion that the additional duty proposed was too small; and that, among the resolutions, there was not so much as one that looked like a provision or restriction for preventing the pernicious abuse of such liquors. Nay, many persons affirmed, that what was proposed looked more like a scheme for increasing the public revenues, than a salutary measure to prevent excess. The merchants and manufacturers of the town of Birmingham petitioned for such instructions. The lord-mayor, aldermen, and common-council of London presented a petition by the hands of the two sheriffs, setting forth, that the petitioners had, with great pleasure, observed the happy consequences produced upon the morals, behaviour, industry, and health of the lower class of people, since the prohibition of the malt distillery; that the petitioners, having observed a bill was brought in to allow the distilling of spirits from corn, were apprehensive that the encouragement given to the distillers thereof would prove detrimental to the commercial interests of the nation; and they conceived the advantages proposed to be allowed upon the exportation of such spirits, being so much above the value of their commodity, would lay such a temptation for smuggling and perjury as no law could prevent. They expressed their fears, that, should such a bill pass into a law, the excessive use of spirituous liquors would not only debilitate and enervate the labourers, manufacturers, sailors, soldiers, and all the lower class of people, and thereby extinguish industry, and that remarkable intrepidity which had lately so eminently appeared in the British nation, which must always depend on the vigour and industry of its people; but also its liberty and happiness, which cannot be supported without temperance and morality, would run the utmost risk of being destroyed. They declared themselves also apprehensive, that the extraordinary consumption of bread corn by the still would not only raise the price, so as to oppress the lower class of people, but would raise such a bar to the exportation thereof, as to deprive the nation of a great influx of money, at that time essential towards the maintaining of an expensive war, and therefore highly injure the landed and commercial interests: they therefore prayed that the present prohibition of distilling spirits from corn might be continued, or that the use of wheat might not be allowed in distillation. This remonstrance was corroborated by another to the same purpose, from several merchants, manufacturers, and traders, residing in and near the city of London; and seemed to have some weight with the commons, who made several amendments in the bill, which they now intituled, “A bill for preventing the excessive use of spirituous liquors, by laying additional duties thereon; for shortening the prohibition for making low wines and spirits from wheat; for encouraging the exportation of British-made spirits, and preventing the fraudulent relanding or importation thereof.” Thus altered and amended, it passed on a division; and, making its way through the house of lords, acquired the royal sanction. Whether the law be adequate to the purposes for which it was enacted, time will determine. The best way of preventing the excess of spirituous liquors would be to lower the excise on beer and ale, so as to enable the poorer class of labourers to refresh themselves with a comfortable liquor for nearly the same expense that will procure a quantity of Geneva sufficient for intoxication; for it cannot be supposed that a poor wretch will expend his last penny upon a draught of small beer, without strength or the least satisfactory operation, when for the half of that sum he can purchase a cordial, that will almost instantaneously allay the sense of hunger and cold, and regale his imagination with the most agreeable illusions. Malt was at this time sold cheaper than it was in the first year of king James I. when the parliament enacted, that no innkeeper, victualler, or alehouse-keeper, should sell less than a full quart of the best ale or beer, or two quarts of the small, for one penny, under the penalty of twenty shillings. It appears, then, that in the reign of king James the subject paid but fourpence for a gallon of strong beer, which now costs one shilling; and as the malt is not increased in value, the difference in the price must be entirely owing to the taxes on beer, malt, and hops, which are indeed very grievous, though perhaps necessary. The duty on small beer is certainly one of the heaviest taxes imposed upon any sort of consumption that cannot be considered as an article of luxury. Two bushels of malt, and two pounds of hops, are required to make a barrel of good small beer, which was formerly sold for six shillings; and the taxes payable on such a barrel amounted to three shillings and sixpence; so that the sum total of the imposition on this commodity was equal to a land-tax of eleven shillings and eightpence in the pound.

Immediately after the resolution relating to the prohibition of spirits from wheat, a motion was made and leave given to bring in a bill to continue, for a time limited, the act of the last session, permitting the importation of salted beef from Ireland. This permission was accordingly extended to the twenty-fourth day of December in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-one. In all probability this short and temporary continuance was proposed by the favourers of the bill, in order to avoid the clamour and opposition of prejudice and ignorance, which would have been dangerously alarmed, had it been rendered perpetual. Yet as undoubted evidence had proved before the committee, while the bill was depending, that the importation had been of great service to England, particularly in reducing the price of salted beef for the use of the navy, perhaps no consideration ought to have prevented the legislature from perpetuating the law; a measure that would encourage the graziers of Ireland to breed and fatten horned cattle, and certainly put a stop to the practice of exporting salted beef from that kingdom to France, which undoubtedly furnishes the traders of that kingdom with opportunities of exporting wool to the same country.

ATTEMPT TO ESTABLISH A MILITIA IN SCOTLAND.

As several lieutenants of counties had, for various reasons, suspended all proceedings in the execution of the laws relating to the militia for limited times, which suspensions were deemed inconsistent with the intent of the legislature, a bill was now brought in, to enable his majesty’s lieutenants of the several counties of England and Wales to proceed in the execution of the militia laws, notwithstanding any adjournments. It was enacted, that, as the speedy execution of the laws for regulating the militia was most essentially necessary at this juncture to the peace and security of the kingdom., every lieutenant of the place where such suspension had happened should, within one month after the passing of this act, proceed as if there had been no such suspension; and summon a meeting for the same purpose once in every succeeding month until a sufficient number of officers, qualified and willing to serve, should be found, or until the expiration of the act for the better ordering the militia forces. The establishment of a regular militia in South Britain could not fail to make an impression upon the patriots of Scotland. They were convinced, from reason and experience, that nothing could more tend to the peace and security of their country than such an establishment in North Britain, the inhabitants of which had been peculiarly exposed to insurrections, which a well-regulated militia might have prevented or stifled in the birth; and their coast had been lately alarmed by a threatened invasion, which nothing but the want of such an establishment had rendered formidable to the natives. They thought themselves entitled to the same security which the legislature had provided for their fellow-subjects in South Britain, and could not help being uneasy at the prospect of seeing themselves left unarmed, and exposed to injuries both foreign and domestic, while the sword was put in the hands of their southern neighbours. Some of the members who represented North Britain in parliament, moved by these considerations, as well as by the earnest injunctions of their constituents, resolved to make a vigorous effort, in order to obtain the establishment of a regular militia in Scotland. In the beginning of March it was moved, and resolved, that the house would, on the twelfth day of the month, resolve itself into a committee, to consider the laws in being which relate to the militia in that part of Great Britain, called Scotland. The result of that inquiry was, that these laws were ineffectual. Then a motion was made for leave to bring-in a bill for the better ordering of the militia forces in North Britain, and, though it met with great opposition, was carried by a large majority. The principal Scottish members of the house were appointed, in conjunction with others, to prepare the bill, which was soon printed, and reinforced by petitions presented by the gentlemen, justices of the peace, and commissioners of the supply for the shire of Ayr; and by the freeholders of the shires of Edinburgh, Stirling, Perth, and Forfar. They expressed their approbation of the established militia in England, and their ardent wish to see the benefit of that wise and salutary measure extended to North Britain. This was an indulgence they had the greater reason to hope for, as by the articles of the union they were undoubtedly entitled to be on the same footing with their brethren of England; and as the legislature must now be convinced of the necessity of some such measures, by the consternation lately produced in their defenceless country, from the threatened invasion of a handful of French freebooters. These remonstrances had no weight with the majority in the house of commons, who, either unable or unwilling to make proper distinctions between the ill and well affected subjects of North Britain, rejected the bill, as a very dangerous experiment in favour of a people among whom so many rebellions had been generated and produced. When the motion was made for the bill’s being committed, a warm debate ensued, in the course of which many Scottish members spoke in behalf of their country with great force of argument, and a very laudable spirit of freedom. Mr. Elliot, in particular, one of the commissioners of the board of admiralty, distinguished himself by a noble flow of eloquence, adorned with all the graces of oratory, and warmed with the true spirit of patriotism. Mr. Oswald, of the treasury, acquitted himself with great honour on the occasion; ever nervous, steady, and sagacious, independent though in office, and invariable in pursuing the interest of his country. It must be owned, for the honour of North Britain, that all her representatives, except two, warmly contended for this national measure, which was carried in the negative by a majority of one hundred and six, though the bill was exactly modelled by the late act of parliament for the establishment of the militia in England.

Even this institution, though certainly laudable and necessary, was attended with so many unforeseen difficulties, that every session of parliament since it was first established has produced new acts for its better regulation. In April, leave was given to prepare a bill for limiting, confining, and better regulating the payment of the weekly allowances made by act of parliament, for the maintenance of families unable to support themselves during the absence of militia-men embodied, and ordered out into actual service; as well as for amending and improving the establishment of the militia, and lessening the number of officers entitled to pay within that part of Great Britain, called England. While this bill was under consideration, the house received a petition from the mayor, aldermen, town-clerk, sheriffs, gentlemen, merchants, clergy, tradesmen, and others, inhabitants of the ancient city of Lincoln, representing, That by an act passed relating to the militia it was provided, that when any militia-men should be ordered out into actual service, leaving families unable to support themselves during their absence, the overseers of the parish where such families reside, should allow them such weekly support as should be prescribed by any one justice of the peace, which allowance should be reimbursed out of the county stock. They alleged, that a considerable number of men, inhabitants of the said city, had entered themselves to serve in the militia of the county of Lincoln, as volunteers, for several parishes and persons; yet their families were, nevertheless, supported by the county stock of the city and county of the city of Lincoln. They took notice of the bill under deliberation, and prayed that if it should pass into a law, they might have such relief in the premises, as to the house should seem meet. Regard was had to this petition in the amendments to the bill, 535 [See note 4 G, at the end of this Vol.] which passed through both houses, and received the royal assent by commission. During the dependence of this bill another was brought in, to explain so much of the militia act passed in the thirty-first year of his majesty’s reign, as related to the money to be given to private militia-men, upon their being ordered out into actual service. By this law it was enacted, that the guinea, which by the former act was due to every private man of every regiment or company of militia, when ordered out into actual service, should be paid to every man that shall afterwards be enrolled into such regiment or company whilst in actual service; that no man should be entitled to his clothes for his own use, until he should have served three years, if unembodied, or one year, if embodied, after the delivery of the clothes; and that the full pay of the militia should commence from the date of his majesty’s warrant for drawing them out. The difficulties which these successive regulations were made to obviate, will be amply recompenced by the good effects of a national militia, provided it be employed in a national way, and for national purposes: but if the militia are embodied, and the different regiments that compose it are marched from the respective counties to which they belong; if the men are detained for any length of time in actual service, at a distance from their families, when they might be employed at home in works of industry, for the support of their natural dependents; the militia becomes no other than an addition to, or augmentation of, a standing army, enlisted for the term of three years; the labour of the men is lost to the community; they contract the idle habits and dissolute manner of the other troops; their families are left as incumbrances on the community; and the charge of their subsistence is, at least, as heavy as that of maintaining an equal number of regular forces. It would not, we apprehend, be very easy to account for the government’s ordering the regiments of militia to march from their respective counties, and to do duty for a considerable length of time at a great distance from their own homes, unless we suppose this measure was taken to create in the people a disgust to the institution of the militia, which was an establishment extorted from the secretary by the voice of the nation. We may add, that some of the inconveniencies attending a militia will never be totally removed, while the persons drawn by lot for that service are at liberty to hire substitutes; for it cannot be supposed that men of substance will incur the danger, fatigue, and damage of service in person, while they can hire among the lowest class of people mercenaries of desperate fortune and abandoned morals, who will greedily seize the opportunity of being paid for renouncing that labour by which they were before obliged to maintain themselves and their family connexion: it would, therefore, deserve the consideration of the legislature, whether the privilege of hiring substitutes should not be limited to certain classes of men, who are either raised by their rank in life above the necessity of serving in person, or engaged in such occupations as cannot be intermitted without prejudice to the commonwealth. It must be allowed, that the regulation in this new act, by which the families of substitutes are deprived of any relief from the parish, will not only diminish the burden of the poor’s rates; but also, by raising the price of mercenaries, oblige a greater number of the better sort to serve in person. Without all doubt, the fewer substitutes that are employed, the more dependence may be placed upon the militia in the preservation of our rights and privileges, and the more will the number of the disciplined men be increased; because at the expiration of every three years the lot-men must be changed, and new militia-men chosen; but the substitutes will, in all probability, continue for life in the service, provided they can find lot-men to hire them at every rotation. The reader will forgive our being so circumstantial upon the regulations of an institution, which we cannot help regarding with a kind of enthusiastic affection.

BILL FOR REMOVING THE POWDER MAGAZINE AT GREENWICH.

In the latter end of November, the house of commons received a petition from several noblemen, gentlemen, and others, inhabitants of East Greenwich, and places adjacent, in Kent, representing, that in the said parish, within a quarter of a mile of the town distinguished by a royal palace, and royal hospital for seamen, there was a magazine, containing great quantities of gunpowder, frequently to the amount of six thousand barrels: that besides the great danger which must attend all places of that kind, the said magazine stood in an open field uninclosed by any fortification or defence whatsoever, consequently exposed to treachery and every other accident. They alleged, that if through treachery, lightning, or any other accident, this magazine should take fire, not only their lives and properties, but the palace and hospital, the king’s yards and stores at Deptford and Woolwich, the banks and navigation of the Thames, with the ships sailing and at anchor in that river, would be inevitably destroyed, and inconceivable damage would accrue to the cities of London and Westminster. They, moreover, observed, that the magazine was then in a dangerous condition, supported on all sides by props that were decayed at the foundation; that in case it should fall, the powder would, in all probability, take fire, and produce the dreadful calamities above recited: they therefore prayed that the magazine might be removed to some more convenient place, where any accident would not be attended with such dismal consequences. The subject of this remonstrance was so pressing and important, that a committee was immediately appointed to take the affair into consideration, and procure an estimate for purchasing lands, and erecting a powder magazine at Purfleet, in Essex, near the banks of the river, together with a guard-house, barracks, and all other necessary conveniences. While the report of the committee lay upon the table for the perusal of the members, Mr. chancellor of the exchequer, by his majesty’s command, acquainted the house, that the king, having been informed of the subject matter of the petition, recommended it to the consideration of the commons. Leave was immediately given to prepare a bill, founded on the resolutions of the committee; which having been duly considered, altered, and amended, passed through both houses to the foot of the throne, where it obtained the royal sanction. The magazine was accordingly removed to Purfleet, an inconsiderable and solitary village, where there will be little danger of accident, and where no great damage would attend an explosion; but in order to render this possible explosion still less dangerous, it would be necessary to form the magazine of small distinct apartments, totally independent of each other, that in case one should be accidentally blown up, the rest might stand unaffected. The same plan ought to be adopted in the construction of all combustible stores subject to conflagration. The marine bill and mutiny bill, as annual regulations, were prepared in the usual form, passed both houses without opposition, and received the royal assent.

ACT FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE STREETS OF LONDON.

The next affair that engrossed the deliberation of the commons, was a measure relating to the internal economy of the metropolis. The sheriffs of London delivered a petition from the lord mayor, aldermen, and commons, in common council assembled, representing that several streets, lanes, and passages within the city of London, and liberties thereof, were too narrow and incommodious for the passing and repassing as well of foot passengers as of coaches, carts, and other carriages, to the prejudice and inconvenience of the owners and inhabitants of houses, and to the great hinderance of business, trade, and commerce. They alleged that these defects might be remedied, and several new streets opened within the said city and liberties, to the great ease, safety, and convenience of passengers, as well as to the advantage of the public in general, if they, the petitioners, were enabled to widen and enlarge the narrow streets, lanes, and passages, to open and lay out such new streets and ways, and to purchase the several houses, buildings, and grounds which might be necessary for these purposes. They took notice that there were several houses within the city and liberties, partly erected over the ground of other proprietors; and others, of which the several floors or apartments belonged to different persons, so that difficulties and disputes frequently arose amongst the said several owners and proprietors, about pulling down or rebuilding the party walls and premises; that such rebuilding was often prevented or delayed, to the great injury and inconvenience of those owners who were desirous to rebuild; that it would therefore be of public benefit, and frequently prevent the spreading of the fatal effects of fire, if some provision were made by law, as well for determining such disputes in a summary way, as for explaining and amending the laws then in being relating to the building of party-walls. They therefore prayed that leave might be given to bring in a bill for enabling the petitioners to widen and enlarge the several streets, lanes, and passages, and to open new streets and ways to be therein limited and prescribed, as well as for determining, in a summary way, all disputes arising about the rebuilding of houses or tenements within the said city and liberties, wherein several persons have an intermixed property; and for explaining and amending the laws in being, relating to these particulars. A committee being appointed to examine the matter of this petition, agreed to a report, upon which leave was given to prepare a bill, and this was brought in accordingly. Next day a great number of citizens represented, in another petition, that the pavement of the city and liberties was often damaged, by being broken up for the purposes of amending or new-laying water-pipes belonging to the proprietors of water-works, and praying that provision might be made in the bill then depending, to compel those proprietors to make good any damage that should be done to the pavement by the leaking or bursting of the water-pipes, or opening the pavement for alterations. In consequence of this representation, some amendments were made in the bill, which passed through both houses, and was enacted into a law, under the title of “An act for widening certain streets, lanes, and passages, within the city of London and liberties thereof, and for opening certain new streets and ways within the same, and for other purposes therein mentioned.” 536 [See note 4 H, at the end of this Vol.]

BILL RELATIVE TO THE SALE OF FISH, &c.

The inhabitants of Westminster had long laboured under the want of a fish-market, and complained that the price of this species of provision was kept up at an exorbitant rate by the fraudulent combination of a few dealers, who engrossed the whole market at Billingsgate, and destroyed great quantities of fish, in order to enhance the value of those that remained. An act of parliament had passed, in the twenty-second year of his present majesty’s reign, for establishing a free market for the sale of fish in Westminster; and, seven years after that period, it was found necessary to procure a second, for explaining and amending the first. but neither effectually answered the purposes of the legislature. In the month of January, of the present session, the house took into consideration a petition of the several fishermen trading to Billingsgate market, representing the hardships to which they were exposed by the said acts; particularly forfeitures of vessels and cargoes, incurred by the negligence of servants who had omitted to make the particular entries which the two acts prescribed. This petition being examined by a committee, and the report being made, leave was given to bring in a new bill, which should contain effectual provision for the better supplying the cities of London and Westminster with fish, and for preventing the abuses of the fishmongers. It was intituled, “A bill to repeal so much of an act passed in the twenty-ninth of George II. concerning a free market for fish at Westminster, as requires fishermen to enter their fishing vessels at the office of the searcher of the customs at Gravesend, and to regulate the sale of fish at the first hand in the fish-markets of London and Westminster; and to prevent salesmen of fish buying fish to sell again on their own account; and to allow bret and turbot, brill and pearl, although under the respective dimensions mentioned in a former act, to be imported and sold; and to punish persons who shall take or sell any spawn, brood, or fry of fish, unsizeable fish, or fish out of season, or smelts under the size of five inches, and for other purposes.” Though this, and the former bill relating to the streets and houses of London, are instances that evince the care and attention of the legislature, even to minute particulars of the internal economy of the kingdom, we can hardly consider them as objects of such dignity and importance as to demand the deliberations of the parliament, but think they naturally fall within the cognizance of the municipal magistracy. After all, perhaps, the most effectual method for supplying Westminster with plenty of fish at reasonable rates, would be to execute with rigour the laws already enacted against forestalling and regrating, an expedient that would soon dissolve all monopolies and combinations among the traders; to increase the number of markets in London and Westminster, and to establish two general markets at the Nore, one on each side of the river, where the fishing vessels might unload their cargoes, and return to sea without delay. A number of light boats might be employed to convey fresh fish from these marts to London and Westminster, where all the different fish-markets might be plentifully supplied at a reasonable expense; for it cannot be supposed that, while the fresh fish are brought up the river in the fishing smacks themselves, which can hardly save the tides, to Billingsgate, they will ever dream of carrying their cargoes above bridge, or that the price of fish can be considerably lowered, while the fishing vessels lose so much time in running up to Gravesend or Billingsgate.

ACT FOR ASCERTAINING the QUALIFICATIONS OF MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT.

The annual committee being appointed to inquire what laws were expired or near expiring, agreed to certain resolutions; upon which a bill was prepared, and obtained the royal assent, importing a continuation of several laws, namely, the several clauses mentioned of the acts in the fifth and eighth of George I. against the clandestine running of uncustomed goods, except the clauses relating to quarantine; the act passed in the third of George II. relating to the carrying rice from Carolina; the act of the seventh of the same reign, re-fating to cochineal and indigo; and that of the twelfth of George II. so far as it related to the importation of printed books. There was also a law enacted, to continue to the twenty-ninth day of September in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-seven, an act passed in the twelfth year of queen Anne, for encouraging the making of sail-cloth, by a duty of one penny per ell laid upon all foreign-made sails and sail-cloth imported; and a bounty in the same proportion granted upon all home-made sail-cloth and canvass fit for or made into sails, and exported; another act was passed, for continuing certain laws relating to the additional number of one hundred hackney coaches and chairs, which law was rendered perpetual. The next law we shall mention was intended to be one of the most important that ever fell under the cognizance of the legislature: it was a law that affected the freedom, dignity, and independency of parliaments. By an act, passed in the ninth year of the reign of queen Anne, it was provided that no person should be chosen a member of parliament who did not possess in England or Wales an estate, freehold or copyhold, for life, according to the following qualifications: for every knight of a shire six hundred pounds per annum, over and above what will satisfy all incumbrances; and three hundred pounds per annum, for every citizen, burgess, and baron of the cinque ports. It was also decreed, that the return of any person not thus qualified should be void; and that every candidate should, at the reasonable request of any other candidate at the time of election, or of two or more persons who had a right to vote, take an oath prescribed to establish his qualifications. This restraint was by no means effectual. So many oaths of different kinds had been prescribed since the revolution, that they began to lose the effect they were intended to have on the minds of men; and, in particular, political perjury grew so common, that it was no longer considered as a crime. Subterfuges were discovered, by means of which this law relating to the qualification of candidates was effectually eluded. Those who were not actually possessed of such estates, procured temporary conveyances from their friends and patrons, on condition of their being restored and cancelled after the election. By this scandalous fraud the intention of the legislature was frustrated, the dignity of parliament prostituted, the example of perjury and corruption extended, and the vengeance of heaven set at defiance. Through this infamous channel the ministry had it in their power to thrust into parliament a set of venal beggars, who, as they depended upon their bounty, would always be obsequious to their will, and vote according to direction, without the least regard to the dictates of conscience, or to the advantage of their country. The mischiefs attending such a vile collusion, and in particular the undue influence which the crown must have acquired from the practice, were either felt or apprehended by some honest patriots, who after divers unsuccessful efforts, at length presented to the house a bill, importing that every person who shall be elected a member of the house of commons, should, before he presumed to take his seat, deliver to the clerk of the house, at the table, while the commons were sitting, and the speaker in the chair, a paper, or schedule, signed by himself, containing a rental or particular of the lands, tenements, or hereditaments, whereby he makes out his qualification, specifying the nature of his estate, whether messuage, land, rent, tithe, or what else; and if such estate consists of messuages, lands, or tithes, then specifying in whose occupation they are; and if in rent, then specifying the names of the owners or possessors of the lands and tenements out of which such rent is issuing, and also specifying the parish, township, or precinct and county, in which the said estate lies, and the value thereof; and every such person shall, at the same time, also take and subscribe the following oath, to be fairly written at the bottom of the paper or schedule: “I, A. B. do swear that the above is a true rental; and that I truly, and bona fide, have such an estate in law or equity, to and for my own use and benefit, of and in the lands, tenements, or hereditaments, above described, over and above what will satisfy and clear all incumbrances that may affect the same; and that such estate hath not been granted or made over to me fraudulently, on purpose to qualify me to be a member of this house. So help me God!” It was provided that the said paper or schedule, with the oath aforesaid, should be carefully kept by the clerk, to be inspected by the members of the house of commons, without fee or reward: that if any person elected to serve in any future parliament, should presume to sit or vote as a member of the house of commons before he had delivered in such a paper or schedule, and taken the oath aforesaid, or should not be qualified according to the true intent or meaning of this act, his election should be void; and every person so sitting and voting should forfeit a certain sum to be recovered, by such persons as should sue for the same by action of debt, bill, plaint, or information, whereon no essoign, privilege, protection, or wager of law should be allowed, and only one imparlance: that if any person should have delivered in, and sworn to his qualification as aforesaid, and taken his seat in the house of commons, yet at any time after should, during the continuance of such parliament, sell, dispose of, alien, or any otherwise incumber the estate, or any part thereof comprised in the schedule, so as to lessen or reduce the same under the value of the qualification by law directed, every such person, under a certain penalty, must deliver in a new or further qualification, according to the true intent and meaning of this act, and swear to the same, in manner before directed, before he shall again presume to sit or vote as a member of the house of commons; that in case any action, suit, or information should be brought, in pursuance of this act, against any member of the house of commons, the clerk of the house, shall, upon demand, forthwith deliver a true and attested copy of the paper or schedule so delivered in to him as aforesaid by such member to the plaintiff or prosecutor, or his attorney or agent, on paying a certain sum for the same; which, being proved a true copy, shall be admitted to be given in evidence upon the trial of any issue in any such action. Provided always, that nothing contained in this act shall extend to the eldest son or heir apparent of any peer or lord of parliament, or of any person qualified to serve as knight of the shire, or to the members for either of the universities in that part of Great Britain called England, or to the members of that part of Great Britain called Scotland. Such was the substance of the bill, as originally presented to the house of commons; but it was altered in such a manner as we are afraid will fail in answering the salutary purposes for which it was intended by those who brought it into the house. Notwithstanding the provisions made in the act as it now stands, any minister or patron may still introduce his pensioners, clerks, and creatures into the house, by means of the old method of temporary conveyance, though the farce must now be kept up till the member shall have delivered in his schedule, taken his oath, and his seat in parliament; then he may deliver up the conveyance, or execute a re-conveyance, without running any risk of losing his seat, or of being punished for his fraud and perjury. The extensive influence of the crown, the general corruptibility of individuals, and the obstacles so industriously thrown in the way of every scheme contrived to vindicate the independency of parliaments, must have produced very mortifying reflections in the breast of every Briton warmed with the genuine love of his country. He must have perceived that all the bulwarks of the constitution were little better than buttresses of ice, which would infallibly thaw before the heat of ministerial influence, when artfully concentrated; that either a minister’s professions of patriotism were insincere; or his credit insufficient to effect any essential alteration in the unpopular measures of government; and that, after all, the liberties of the nation could never be so firmly established, as by the power, generosity, and virtue of a patriot king. This inference could not fail to awake the remembrance of that amiable prince, whom fate untimely snatched from the eager hopes and warm affection of a whole nation, before, he had it in his power to manifest and establish his favourite maxim, “That a monarch’s glory was inseparably connected with the happiness of his people.” 538 [See note 4 I, at the end of this Vol.]

ACT FOR CONSOLIDATING ANNUITIES GRANTED IN 1759.

On the first day of February, a motion was made, and leave given, to bring in a bill for enabling his majesty to make leases and copies of offices, lands, and hereditaments, parcel of his duchy of Cornwall, or annexed to the same; accordingly it passed through both houses without opposition; and enacted that all leases and grants made, or to be made, by his majesty, within seven years next ensuing, in or annexed to the said duchy, under the limitations therein mentioned, should be good and effectual in law against his majesty, his heirs, and successors, and against all other persons that should hereafter inherit the said duchy, either by an act of parliament, or any limitation whatsoever. This act appears the more extraordinary as the prince of Wales, who has a sort of right by prescription to the duchy of Cornwall, was then of age, and might have been put in possession of it by the passing of a patent. The house having perused an account of the produce of the fund established for paying annuities granted in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine, with the charge on that fund on the fifth day of January in the succeeding year, it appeared that there had been a considerable deficiency in the said fund on the fifth day of July preceding, and this had been made good out of the sinking fund, by a resolution of the seventh of February, already particularized. They therefore instructed the committee of ways and means to consider so much of the annuity and lottery act passed in the preceding session as related to the three per centum annuities, amounting to the sum of seven millions five hundred and ninety thousand pounds, granted in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine; and also to consider so much of the said act as related to the subsidy of poundage upon certain goods and merchandise to be imported into this kingdom, and the additional inland duty on coffee and chocolate. The committee having taken these points into deliberation, agreed to the two resolutions we have already mentioned with respect to the consolidation; and a bill was brought in for adding those annuities granted in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine, to the joint stock of throe per centum annuities consolidated by the acts of the twenty-fifth, twenty-eighth, twenty-ninth, and thirty-second years of his majesty’s reign, and for several duties therein mentioned, to the sinking fund. The committee was afterwards empowered to receive a clause for cancelling such lottery tickets as were made forth in pursuance of an act passed in the thirtieth year of his majesty’s reign, and were not then disposed of: a clause for this purpose was accordingly added to the bill, which passed through both houses without opposition, and received the royal assent at the end of the session.

BILL FOR SECURING MONIES FOR THE USE OF GREENWICH HOSPITAL.

On the twenty-ninth day of April, lord North presented to the house a bill for encouraging the exportation of rum and spirits of the growth, produce, and manufacture of the British sugar-plantations, from Great Britain, and of British spirits made from molasses; a bill which in a little time acquired the sanction of the royal assent. Towards the end of April, admiral Town-shend presented a bill for the more effectual securing the payment of such prize and bounty-monies as were appropriated to the use of Greenwich hospital, by an act passed in the twenty-ninth year of his majesty’s reign. As by that law no time was limited, or particular method prescribed, for giving notifications of the day appointed for the payment of the shares of the prizes and bounty-money; and many agents had neglected to specify, in the notification given in the London Gazette for payment of shares of prizes condemned in the courts of admiralty in Groat Britain, the particular day or time when such payments were to commence, whereby it was rendered difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain the time when the hospital at Greenwich became entitled to the unclaimed shares, of consequence could not enjoy the full benefit of the act; the bill now prepared imported, that, from and after the first day of September in the present year, all notifications of the payment of the shares of prizes taken by any of his majesty’s ships of war, and condemned in Great Britain, and from and after the first day of February, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-one, all notifications of the payment of the shares and prizes taken and condemned in any other of his majesty’s dominions in Europe, or in any of the British plantations in America; and from and after the twenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-one, all notifications of the payment of the shares of prizes taken and condemned in any other of his majesty’s dominions, shall be respectively given and published in the following manner:—If the prize be condemned in any court of admiralty in Great Britain, such notification, under the agent’s hand, shall be published in the London Gazette; and if condemned in any court of admiralty in any other of his majesty’s dominions, such notification shall be published in like manner in the Gazette, or other newspaper of public authority, of the island or place where the prize is condemned; and if there shall be no Gazette, or such newspaper, published there, then in some or one of the public newspapers of the place; and such agents shall deliver to the collector, customer, or searcher, or his lawful deputy; and if there shall be no such officer, then to the principal officer or officers of the place where the prize is condemned, or to the lawful deputy of such principal officers, two of the Gazettes or other newspapers in which such notifications are inserted; and if there shall not be any public newspapers in any such island or place, the agent shall give two such notifications in writing, under his hand; and every such collector, or other officer as aforesaid, shall subscribe his name on both the said Gazettes, newspapers, or written notifications; and, by the first ship which shall sail from thence to any port of Great Britain, shall transmit to the treasurer or deputy-treasurers of the said royal hospital one of the said notifications, with his name so subscribed, to be there registered; and shall faithfully preserve and keep the other, with his name thereon subscribed, in his own custody; and in every notification as aforesaid the agent shall specify his place of abode, and the precise day of the month and year appointed for the payment of the respective shares to the captors; and all notifications with respect to prizes condemned in Great Britain, shall be published in the London Gazette three days at least before any share of such prize shall be paid; and with respect to prizes condemned in any other part of his majesty’s dominions, such notifications shall be delivered to the said collector, or other officers as aforesaid, three days at least before any share of such prizes shall be paid. It was likewise enacted, that the agents for the distribution of bounty-bills should insert, and publish under their hands, in the London Gazette, three days at least before payment, public notifications of the day and year appointed for such payment, and also insert therein their respective places of abode. The bill, even as it now stands, is liable to several objections. It may be dangerous to leave the money of the unclaimed shares so long as three years in the hands of the agent, who, together with his securities, may prove insolvent before the expiration of that term: then the time prescribed to the sailors, within which their claim is limited, appears to be too short, when we consider that they may be so circumstanced, turned over to another ship, and conveyed to a distant part of the globe, that they shall have no opportunity to claim payment; and should three years elapse before they could make application to the agent, they would find their bounty or prize money appropriated to the use of Greenwich hospital; nay, should they die in the course of the voyage, it would be lost to their heirs and executors, who, being ignorant of their title, could not possibly claim within the time limited.

ACT IN FAVOUR OF GEOEGE KEITH, &c.

A committee having been appointed to inquire into the original standards of weights and measures in the kingdom of England, to consider the laws relating thereto, and to report their observations thereupon, together with their opinion of the most effectual means for ascertaining and enforcing uniform and certain standards of weights and measures, they prepared copies, models, patterns, and multiples, and presented them to the house; then they were locked up by the clerk of the house; and lord Garysfort presented a bill, according to order, for enforcing uniformity of weights and measures to the standards by law to be established; but this measure, which had been so long in dependence, was not yet fully discussed, and the standards and weights were reserved to another occasion. A law was made for reviving and continuing so much of the act passed in the twenty-first year of his majesty’s reign as relates to the more effectual trial and punishment of high-treason in the highlands of Scotland; and also for continuing two other acts passed in the nineteenth and twenty-first years of his majesty’s reign, so far as they relate to the more effectual disarming the highlands of Scotland, and securing the peace thereof; and to allow further time for making affidavits of the execution of articles or contracts of clerks to attorneys or solicitors, and filing thereof. The king having been pleased to pardon George Keith, earl-marshal of Scotland, who had been attainted for rebellion in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixteen, the parliament confirmed this indulgence, by passing an act to enable the said George Keith, late earl-marshal, to sue or entertain any action or suit, notwithstanding his attainder, and to remove any disability in him, by reason of the said attainder, to take or inherit any real or personal estate that might or should hereafter descend or come to him, or which he was entitled to in reversion or remainder before his attainder. This nobleman, universally respected for his probity and understanding, had been employed as ambassador to the court of France by the king of Prussia, and was actually at this juncture in the service of that monarch, who in all probability interceded with the king of England in his behalf. When his pardon had passed the seals, he repaired to London, and was presented to his majesty, by whom he was very graciously received.

SESSION CLOSED.

These, and a good number of other bills of less importance, both private and public, were passed into laws by commission, on the twenty-second day of May, when the lord-keeper of the great seal closed the session with a speech to both houses. He began with an assurance that his majesty looked back on their proceedings with entire satisfaction. He said, the duty and affection which they had expressed for the king’s person and government, the zeal and unanimity they had showed in maintaining the true interest of their country, could only be equalled by what his majesty had formerly experienced from his parliament. He told them it would have given his majesty the most sensible pleasure, had he been able to assure them that his endeavours to promote a general peace had met with more suitable returns. He observed that his majesty, in conjunction with his good brother and ally the king of Prussia, had chosen to give their enemies proofs of this equitable disposition, in the midst of a series of glorious victories; an opportunity the most proper to take such a step with dignity, and to manifest to all Europe the purity and moderation of his views. After such a conduct, he said, the king had the comfort to reflect that the further continuance of the calamities of war could not be imputed to him or his allies; that he trusted in the blessing of heaven upon the justice of his arms, and upon those ample means which the zeal of the parliament in so good a cause had wisely put into his hands; that his future successes in carrying on the war would not fall short of the past; and that, in the event, the public tranquillity would be restored on solid and durable foundations. He acquainted them that his majesty had taken the most effectual care to augment the combined army in Germany; and at the same time to keep up such a force at home as might frustrate any attempts of the enemy to invade these kingdoms; such attempts as had hitherto ended only in their own confusion. He took notice that the royal navy was never in a more flourishing and respectable condition; and the signal victory obtained last winter over the French fleet on their own coast, had given lustre to his majesty’s arms, fresh spirit to his maritime forces, and reduced the naval strength of France to a very low ebb. He gave them to understand that his majesty had disposed his squadrons in such a manner as might best conduce to the annoyance of his enemies; to the defence of his own dominions, both in Europe and America; to the preserving and pursuing his conquests, as well as to the protection of the trade of his subjects, which he had extremely at heart. He told the commons, that nothing could relieve his majesty’s royal mind, under the anxiety he felt for the burdens of his faithful subjects, but the public-spirited cheerfulness with which their house had granted him such large supplies, and his conviction that they were necessary for the security and essential interest of his kingdoms; he therefore returned them his hearty thanks for these supplies, and assured them they should be duly applied to the purposes for which they had been given. Finally, he recommended to both houses the continuance of that union and good harmony which he had observed with so much pleasure, and from which he had derived such important effects. He desired they would study to promote these desirable objects, to support the king’s government, and the good order of their respective counties, and consult their own real happiness and prosperity.

CHAPTER XIX.

Remarkable Detection of a Murder by William Andrew Horne..... Popular Clamor against Lord George Sackville..... His Address to the Public..... He demands a Court- martial..... Substance of the charge against him..... His Defence..... Remarks on it..... Sentence of the Court- martial..... Earl Ferrers apprehended for Murder..... Tried by the House of Peers..... Convicted, and executed at Tyburn..... Assassination of Mr. Matthews, by one Stirn, a Hessian..... New Bridge begun at Blackfriars..... Conflagration in Portsmouth Yard..... Number of Ships taken by the Enemy..... Progress of Monsieur Thurot..... He makes a Descent at Carrickfergus..... Is slain, and his Ships taken..... Exploit of Captain Kennedy..... Remarkable Adventure of five Irish Seamen..... The Ramillies Man of War wrecked upon the Bolthead..... Treaty with the Cherokees..... Hostilities recommenced..... Their Towns destroyed by Colonel Montgomery..... His Expedition to the Middle Settlements..... Pate of the Garrison at Port Loudoun..... The British Interest established on the Ohio..... The French undertake the Siege of Quebec..... Defeat Brigadier Murray, and oblige him to retire into the Town..... Quebec besieged..... The Enemy’s Shipping destroyed..... They abandon the Siege..... General Amherst reduces the French Port at the Isle Royale..... and takes Montreal..... French Ships destroyed in the Bay of Chaleurs..... Total Reduction of Canada..... Demolition of Louisbourg..... Insurrection of the Negroes in Jamaica..... Action at Sea off Hispaniola..... Gallant Behaviour of Captains O’Brien and Taylor in the Leeward Islands..... Transactions in the East Indies..... Achievements in the Bay of Quiberon..... Admiral Rodney destroys some Vessels on the Coast of France..... Preparations for a secret Expedition..... Astronomers sent to the East Indies..... Earthquakes in Syria..... Wise Conduct of the Catholic King..... Affairs of Portugal..... Turkish Ship of the Line carried into Malta..... Patriotic Schemes of the King of Denmark..... Memorial presented by the British Ambassador to the States-General..... State of the Powers at War..... Death of the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel..... Offers made by the Neutral Powers of a Place for holding a Congress..... Skirmishes in Westphalia during the Winter..... Exactions by the French in Westphalia..... Skirmish to the Advantage of the Allies at Vacha..... Situation of the French Armies..... Exploit of Colonel Luckner at Butzback..... The French advance to Neustadt..... The Hereditary Prince of Brunswick defeated at Corback..... but retrieves his honour at Exdorf..... Victory obtained by the Allies at Warbourg..... The Hereditary Prince beats up the Quarters of the French at Zeirenberg..... Petty Advantages on both sides..... The Hereditary Prince marches to the Lower Rhine..... Is worsted at Canipen..... and repasses the Rhine..... Attempt of the Enemy against him..... Advantages gained by M. de Stainville..... The Allies and French go into Winter- quarters

DETECTION OF A MURDER.

The successes of the last campaign had flushed the whole nation with the most elevated hope of future conquest, and the government was enabled to take every step which appeared necessary to realize that sanguine expectation; but the war became every day more and more Germanised. Notwithstanding the immense sums that were raised for the expenses of the current year; notwithstanding the great number of land-forces maintained in the service, and the numerous fleets that filled the harbours of Great Britain; we do not find that one fresh effort was made to improve the advantages she had gained upon her own clement, or for pushing the war on national principles: for the reduction of Canada was no more than the consequence of the measures which had been taken in the preceding campaign. But, before we record the progress of the war, it may be necessary to specify some domestic occurrences that for a little while engrossed the public attention. In the month of December, in the preceding year, William Andrew Home, a gentleman of some fortune in Derbyshire, was executed at Nottingham, in the seventy-fourth year of his age, for the murder of an infant born of his own sister, in the year one thousand seven hundred and twenty-four. On the third day after the birth, this brutal ruffian thrust the child into a linen bag, and accompanied by his own brother on horseback, conveyed it to Annesley, in Nottinghamshire, where it was next day found dead under a hay-stack. Though this cruel rustic knew how much he lay at the mercy of his brother, whom he had made privy to this affair, far from endeavouring to engage his secrecy by offices of kindness and marks of affection, he treated him as an alien to his blood; not barely with indifference, but even with the most barbarous rigour. He not only defrauded him of his right, but exacted of him the lowest menial services; beheld him starving in a cottage, while he lived himself in affluence; and refused to relieve with a morsel of charity the children of his own brother begging at his gate. It was the resentment of this pride and barbarity which, in all likelihood, first impelled the other to revenge. He pretended qualms of conscience, and disclosed the transaction of the child to several individuals. As the brother was universally hated for the insolence and brutality of his disposition, information was given against him, and a resolution formed to bring him to condign punishment. Being informed of this design, he tampered with his brother, and desired that he would retract upon the trial the evidence he had given before the justices. Though the brother rejected this scheme of subornation, he offered to withdraw himself from the kingdom, if he might have five pounds to defray the expense of his removal. So sordidly avaricious was the other, that he refused to advance this miserable pittance, though he knew his own life depended upon his compliance. He was accordingly apprehended, tried, and convicted on his brother’s evidence; and then he confessed the particulars of his exposing the infant. He denied, indeed, that he had any thought the child would perish, and declared he intended it as a present to a gentleman at whose gate it was laid; butas he appeared to be a hardened miscreant, devoid of humanity, stained with the complicated crimes of tyranny, fraud, rapine, incest, and murder, very little credit is due to his declaration.—In the course of the same month, part of Westminster was grievously alarmed by a dreadful conflagration, which broke out in the house of a cabinet-maker near Covent-garden, raged with great fury, and reduced near twenty houses to ashes. Many others were damaged, and several persons either burned in their apartments, or buried under the ruins. The bad consequences of this calamity were in a great measure alleviated by the humanity of the public, and the generous compassion of the prince of Wales, who contributed liberally to the relief of the sufferers.

CLAMOUR AGAINST LORD SACKVILLE.

But no subject so much engrossed the conversations and passions of the public as did the case of lord George Sackville, who had by this time resigned his command in Germany, and returned to England, the country which, of all others, it would have been his interest to avoid at this juncture, if he was really conscious of the guilt the imputation of which his character now sustained. With the first tidings of the battle fought at Minden the defamation of this officer arrived. He was accused of having disobeyed orders, and his conduct represented as infamous in every particular. These were the suggestions of a vague report, which no person could trace to its origin; yet this report immediately gave birth to one of the most inflammatory pamphlets that ever was exhibited to the public. The first charge had alarmed the people of England, jealous in honour, sudden and rash in their sentiments, and obstinately adhering to the prejudices they have espoused. The implied accusation in the orders of prince Ferdinand, and the combustible matter superadded by the pamphlet-writer, kindled up such a blaze of indignation in the minds of the people, as admitted of no temperament or control. An abhorrence and detestation of lord George Sackville, as a coward and a traitor, became the universal passion, which acted by contagion, infecting all degrees of people from the cottage to the throne; and no individual, who had the least regard for his own character and quiet, would venture to preach up moderation, or even advise a suspension of belief until more certain information could be received. Fresh fuel was continually thrown in by obscure authors of pamphlets and newspapers, who stigmatized and insulted with such virulent perseverance, that no one would have imagined they were actuated by personal motives, not retained by mercenary booksellers, against that unfortunate nobleman. Not satisfied with inventing circumstances to his dishonour, in his conduct on the last occasion, they pretended to take a retrospective view of his character, and produced a number of anecdotes to his prejudice, which had never before seen the light, and but for this occasion had probably never been known. Not that all the writings which appeared on this subject contained fresh matters of aggravation against lord George Sackville. Some writers, either animated by the hope of advantage, or hired to betray the cause which they undertook to defend, entered the lists as professed champions of the accused, assumed the pen in his behalf, devoid of sense, unfurnished with materials, and produced performances which could not fail to injure his character among all those who believed that he countenanced their endeavours, and supplied them with the facts and arguments of his defence. Such precisely was the state of the dispute when lord George arrived in London. While prince Ferdinand was crowned with laurel; while the king of Great Britain approved his conduct, and, as the most glorious mark of that approbation, invested him with the order of the garter, while his name was celebrated through all England, and extolled, in the warmest expressions of hyperbole, above all the heroes of antiquity; every mouth was opened in execration of the late commander of the British troops in Germany. He was now made acquainted with the particulars of his imputed guilt, which he had before indistinctly learned. He was accused of having disobeyed three successive orders he had received from the general, during the action at Minden, to advance with the cavalry of the right wing, which he commanded, and sustain the infantry that were engaged; and, after the cavalry were put in motion, of having halted them unnecessarily, and marched so slow, that they could not reach the place of action in time to be of any service, by which conduct the opportunity was lost of attacking the enemy when they gave way, and rendering the victory more glorious and decisive. The first step which lord George took towards his own vindication with the public, was in printing a short address, entreating them to suspend their belief with respect to his character, until the charge brought against him should be legally discussed by a court-martial, a trial which he had already solicited, and was in hopes of obtaining.

HE DEMANDS A COURT-MARTIAL.

Finding himself unable to stem the tide of popular prejudice, which flowed against him with irresistible impetuosity, he might have retired in quiet and safety, and left it to ebb at leisure. This would have been generally deemed a prudential step, by all those who consider the unfavourable medium through which every particular of his conduct must have been viewed at that juncture, even by men who cherished the most candid intentions; when they reflected upon the power, influence, and popularity of his accuser, the clanger of aggravating the resentment of the sovereign, already too conspicuous, and the risk of hazarding his life on the honour and integrity of witnesses, who might think their fortunes depended upon the nature of the evidence they should give. Notwithstanding those suggestions, lord George, seemingly impatient of the imputation under which his character laboured, insisted upon the privilege of a legal trial, which was granted accordingly, after the judges had given it as their opinion that he might be tried by a court-martial, though he no longer retained any commission in the service. A court of general officers being appointed and assembled to inquire into his conduct, the judge-advocate gave him to understand that he was charged with having disobeyed the orders of prince Ferdinand, relative to the battle of Minden. That the reader may have the more distinct idea of the charge, it is necessary to remind him, that lord George Sackville commanded the cavalry of the right wing, consisting of Hanoverian and British horse, disposed in two lines, the British being at the extremity of the right, extending to the village of Hartum; the Hanoverian cavalry forming the left, that reached almost to an open wood or grove, which divided the horse from the line of infantry, particularly from that part of the line of infantry consisting of two brigades of British foot, the Hanoverian guards, and Hardenberg’s regiment. This was the body of troops which sustained the brunt of the battle with the most incredible courage and perseverance. They of their own accord advanced to attack the left of the enemy’s cavalry, through a most dreadful fire of artillery and small arms, to which they were exposed in front and flank; they withstood the repeated attacks of the whole French gendarmerie, whom at length they totally routed, together with a body of Saxon troops on their left, and to their valour the victory was chiefly owing. The ground from which these troops advanced was a kind of heath or plain, which opened a considerable way to the left, where the rest of the army was formed in order of battle; but on the right it was bounded by the wood, on the other side of which the cavalry of the right wing was posted, having in front the village of Halen, from whence the French had been driven by the piquets in the army there posted, and in front of them a windmill, situated in the middle space between them and a battery placed on the left of the enemy.

Early in the morning captain Malhorti had, by order of prince Ferdinand, posted the cavalry of the right wing in the situation we have just described; the village of Hartum with enclosures on the right, a narrow wood on the left, the village of Halen in their front, and a windmill in the middle of an open plain, which led directly to the enemy. In this position lord George Sackville was directed to remain, until he should receive further orders; and here it was those orders were given which he was said to have disobeyed. Indeed he was previously charged with having neglected the orders of the preceding evening, which imported that the horses should be saddled at one in the morning, though the tents were not to be struck, nor the troops under arms, until they should receive further orders. He was accused of having disobeyed these orders, and of having come late into the field, after the cavalry was formed. Captain Winchingrode, aidecamp to prince Ferdinand, declared upon oath, that while the infantry of the right wing were advancing towards the enemy for the second time, he was sent with orders to lord George Sackville to advance with the cavalry of the right wing, and sustain the infantry, which was going to engage, by forming the horse under his command, upon the heath, in a third line behind the regiments; that he delivered these orders to lord George Sackville, giving him to understand, that he should march the cavalry through the woods or trees on his left to the heath, where they were to be formed; that on his return to the heath, he met colonel Fitzroy riding at full gallop towards lord George; and that he (Winchingrode) followed him back, in order to hasten the march of the cavalry. Colonel Ligonier, another of the prince’s aidsdecamp, deposed, that he carried orders from the general to lord George to advance with the cavalry, in order to profit from the disorder which appeared in the enemy’s cavalry; that lord George made no answer to these orders, but turning to the troops, commanded them to draw their swords, and march; that the colonel seeing them advance a few paces on the right forwards, told his lordship he must march to the left; that in the meantime colonel Fitzroy arriving with orders for the British cavalry only to advance, lord George said the orders were contradictory; and colonel Ligonier replied, they differed only in numbers, but the destination of his march was the same, to the left. Colonel Fitzroy, the third aidecamp to prince Ferdinand, gave evidence that when he told lord George it was the prince’s order for the British cavalry to advance towards the left, his lordship observed that it was different from the order brought by colonel Ligonier, and he could not think the prince intended to break the line; that he asked which way the cavalry was to march, and who was to be their guide; that when he (the aidecamp) offered to lead the column through the wood on the left, his lordship seemed still dissatisfied with the order, saying, it did not agree with the order brought by colonel Ligonier, and desired to be conducted in person to the prince, that he might have an explanation from his own mouth; a resolution which was immediately executed. The next evidence, an officer of rank in the army, made oath that, in his opinion, when the orders were delivered to lord George, his lordship was alarmed to a very great degree, and seemed to be in the utmost confusion. A certain nobleman, of high rank and unblemished reputation, declared, that captain Winchingrode having told him it was absolutely necessary that the cavalry should march, and form a line to support the foot, he had given orders to the second line to march, and form a line to support the foot; that as soon as they arrived at the place where the action began, he was met by colonel Fitzroy, with an order for the cavalry to advance as fast as possible; that in marching to this place, an order came to halt, until they could be joined by the first line of cavalry; that afterwards, in advancing, they were again halted by lord George Sackville; that, in his opinion, they might have marched with more expedition, and even come up in time enough to act against the enemy: some other officers who were examined on this subject, agreed with the marquis in these sentiments.

Lord George, in his defence, proved, by undeniable evidence, that he never received the orders issued on the eve of the battle, nor any sort of intimation or plan of action, although he was certainly entitled to some such communication, as commander-in-chief of the British forces; that, nevertheless, the orders concerning the horses were obeyed by those who received them; that lord George, instead of loitering or losing time while the troops were forming, prepared to put himself at the head of the cavalry on the first notice that they were in motion; that he was so eager to perform his duty, as to set out from his quarters without even waiting for an aidecamp to attend him, and was in the field before any general officer of his division. He declared that, when captain Winchingrode delivered the order to form the cavalry in one line, making a third, to advance and sustain the infantry, he neither heard him say he was to march by the left, nor saw him point with his sword to the wood through which he was to pass. Neither of these directions were observed by any of the aids-de-camp or officers then present, except one gentleman, the person who bore witness to the confusion in the looks and deportment of his lordship. It was proved that the nearest and most practicable way of advancing against the enemy was by the way of the windmill, to the left of the village of Halen. It appeared that lord George imagined this was the only way by which he should be ordered to advance; that, in this persuasion, he had sent an officer to reconnoitre the village of Halen, as an object of importance, as it would have been upon the flank of the cavalry in advancing forwards; that when he received the order from Winchingrode to form the line, and advance, he still imagined this was his route, and on this supposition immediately detached an aidecamp to remove a regiment of Saxe-Gotha which was in the front; that he sent a second to observe the place where the infantry were, and a third to reconnoitre the enemy; that in a few minutes colonel Ligonier coming up with an order from prince Ferdinand to advance the cavalry, his lordship immediately drew his sword, and ordered them to march forward by the windmill. The colonel declared that when he delivered the order, he added, “by the left;” but lord George affirmed that he heard no such direction, nor did it reach the ears of any other person then present, except of that officer who witnessed to the same direction given by Winchingrode. It was proved that immediately after the troops were put in motion, colonel Fitzroy arrived with an order from prince Ferdinand, importing that the British cavalry only should advance by the left; that lord George declared their orders were contradictory, and seemed the more puzzled, as he understood that both these gentlemen came off nearly at the same time from the prince, and were probably directed to communicate the same order. It was therefore natural to suppose there was a mistake, as there might be danger in breaking the line, as the route by the wood appeared more difficult and tedious than that by the windmill, which led directly through open ground to the enemy: and as he could not think that if a body of horse was immediately wanted, the general would send for the British, that were at the farthest extremity of the wing, rather than for the Hanoverian cavalry who formed the left of the line, and consequently were much nearer the scene of action. It was proved that lord George, in this uncertainty, resolved to apply for an explanation to the prince in person, who he understood was at a small distance; that with this view he set out with all possible expedition; that having entered the wood, and perceived that the country beyond it opened sooner to the left than he had imagined, and captain Smith, his aidecamp advising, that the British cavalry should be put in motion he sent back that gentleman, with orders for them to advance by the left with all possible despatch; that he rode up to the general, who received him without any marks of displeasure, and ordered him to bring up the whole cavalry of the right wing in a line upon the heath; an order, as the reader will perceive, quite different from that which was so warmly espoused by the aidecamp; that as the marquis of Granby had already put the second line in motion, according to a separate order which he had received, and the head of his column was already in view, coming out of the wood, lord George thought it necessary to halt the troops on the left until the right should come into the line; and afterwards sent them orders to march slower, that two regiments, which had been thrown out of the line, might have an opportunity to replace themselves in their proper stations.

With respect to the confusion which one officer affirmed was perceivable in the countenance and deportment of this commander, a considerable number of other officers then present being interrogated by his lordship, unanimously declared that they saw no such marks of confusion, but that he delivered his orders with all the marks of coolness and deliberation. The candid reader will of himself determine, whether a man’s heart is to be judged by any change of his complexion, granting such a change to have happened; whether the evidence of one witness, in such a case, will weigh against the concurrent testimony of all the officers whose immediate business it was to attend and observe the commander: whether it was likely that an officer, who had been more than once in actual service, and behaved without reproach so as to attain such an eminent rank in the army, should exhibit symptons of fear and confusion, when there was in reality no appearance of danger; for none of the orders imported that he should attack the enemy, but only advance to sustain the infantry. The time which elapsed from the first order he received by captain Winchingrode, to the arrival of colonel Ligonier, did not exceed eight minutes, during which his aide-camp, captain Hugo, was employed in removing the Saxe-Gotha regiment from the front, by which he proposed to advance. From that period till the cavalry actually marched in consequence of an order from lord George, the length of time was differently estimated in the opinion of different witnesses, but at a medium computed by the judge-advocate at fifteen minutes, during which the following circumstances were transacted: The troops were first ordered to advance forwards, then halted; the contradictory orders arrived and were disputed; the commander desired the two aidsdecamp to agree about which was the precise order, and he would obey it immediately: each insisting upon that which he had delivered, lord George hastened to the general for an explanation; and, as he passed the wood, sent back captain Smith to the right of the cavalry, which was at a considerable distance, to put the British horse in motion. We shall not pretend to determine whether the commander of such an important body may be excusable for hesitating, when he received contradictory orders at the same time, especially when both orders run counter to his own judgment, whether in that case it is allowable for him to suspend the operation for a few minutes, in order to consult in person the commander-in-chief about a step of such consequence to the preservation of the whole army. Neither will we venture to decide dogmatically on the merits of the march, after the cavalry were put in motion; whether they marched too slow, or were unnecessarily halted in their way to the heath. It was proved, indeed, that lord George was always remarkably slow in his movements of cavalry, on the supposition that if horses are blown they must be unfit for service, and that the least hurry is apt to disorder the line of horse to such a degree, as would rob them of their proper effect, and render all their efforts abortive. This being the system of lord George Sackville, it may deserve consideration, whether he could deviate from it on this delicate occasion, without renouncing the dictates of his own judgment and discretion; and whether he was at liberty to use his own judgment, after having received the order to advance. After all, whether he was intentionally guilty; and what were the motives by which he was really actuated, are questions which his own conscience alone can solve. Even granting him to have hesitated from perplexity, to have lingered from vexation, to have failed through error of judgment, he will probably find favour with the candid and humane part of his fellow-subjects, when they reflect upon the nature of his situation, placed at the head of such a body of cavalry, uninstructed and uninformed of plan or circumstance, divided from the rest of the army, unacquainted with the operations of the day, chagrined with doubt and disappointment, and perplexed by contradictory orders, neither of which he could execute without offering violence to his own judgment; when they consider the endeavours he used to manifest his obedience; the last distinct order which he in person received and executed; that mankind are liable to mistakes; that the cavalry were not originally intended to act, as appears in the account of the battle published at the Hague, by the authority of prince Ferdinand, expressly declaring that the cavalry on the right did not act, because it was destined to sustain the infantry in a third line; that if it had really been designed for action, it ought either to have been posted in another place, or permitted to advance straight forwards by the windmill, according to the idea of its commander; finally, when they recall to view the general confusion that seems to have prevailed through the manouvres of that morning, and remember some particulars of the action; that the brigades of British artillery had no orders until they applied to lord George Sackville, who directed them to the spot where they acquitted themselves with so much honour and effect, in contributing to the success of the day; that the glory and advantage acquired by the few brigades of infantry, who may be said to have defeated the whole French army, was in no respect owing to any general or particular orders or instructions, but entirely flowing from the native valour of the troops, and the spirited conduct of their immediate commanders; and that a great number of officers in the allied army, even of those who remained on the open heath, never saw the face of the enemy, or saw them at such a distance that they could not distinguish more than the hats and the arms of the British regiments with which they were engaged. With respect to the imputation of cowardice levelled at lord George by the unthinking multitude, and circulated with such industry and clamour, we ought to consider it as a mob accusation which the bravest of men, even the great duke of Marlborough, could not escape; we ought to receive it as a dangerous suspicion, which strikes at the root of character, and may blast that honour in a moment which the soldier has acquired in a long course of painful service, at the continual hazard of his life; we ought to distrust it as a malignant charge, altogether inconsistent with the former conduct of the person accused, as well as with his subsequent impatience and perseverance in demanding a trial, to which he never would have been called; a trial which, though his life was at stake, and his cause out of countenance, he sustained with such courage, fortitude, and presence of mind, as even his enemies themselves could not help admiring. Thus have we given a succinct detail of this remarkable affair, with that spirit of impartiality, that sacred regard to truth, which the importance of history demands. To the best of our recollection, we have forgot no essential article of the accusation, nor suppressed any material circumstance urged in defence of lord George Sackville. Unknown to his person, unconnected with his friends, unmoved by fear, unbiassed by interest, we have candidly obeyed the dictates of justice, and the calls of humanity, in our endeavours to dissipate the clouds of prejudice and misapprehension; warmed, perhaps, with an honest disdain at the ungenerous, and in our opinion, unjust persecution, which previous to his trial, an officer of rank, service, and character, the descendant of an illustrious family, the son of a nobleman universally respected, a Briton, a fellow-subject, had undergone.

SENTENCE OF THE COURT-MARTIAL.

The court-martial having examined the evidence and heard the defence, gave judgment in these words: “The court, upon due consideration of the whole matter before them, is of opinion that lord George Sackville is guilty of having disobeyed the orders of prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, whom he was, by his commission and instructions, directed to obey as commander-in-chief, according to the rules of war; and it is the further opinion of this court, that the said lord George Sackville is, and he is hereby adjudged, unfit to serve his majesty in any military capacity whatsoever.” His sentence was confirmed by the king, who moreover signified his pleasure that it should be given out in public orders, not only in Britain, but in America, and every quarter of the globe where any English troops happened to be, that officers being convinced that neither high birth nor great employments can shelter offences of such a nature, and that seeing they are subject to censures much worse than death to a man who has any sense of honour, they may avoid the fatal consequences arising from disobedience of orders. To complete the disgrace of this unfortunate general, his majesty in council called for the council-book, and ordered the name of lord George Sackville to be struck out of the list of privy-counsellors.

EARL FERRERS APPREHENDED.

This summer was distinguished by another trial still more remarkable. Laurence earl Ferrers, a nobleman of a violent spirit, who had committed many outrages, and, in the opinion of all who knew him, given manifold proofs of insanity, at length perpetrated a murder, which subjected him to the cognizance of justice. His deportment to his lady was so brutal, that application had been made to the house of peers, and a separation effected by act of parliament. Trustees were nominated; and one Mr. Johnson, who had, during the best part of his life, been employed in the family, was now appointed receiver of the estates, at the earl’s own request. The conduct of this man, in the course of his stewardship, gave umbrage to lord Ferrers, whose disposition was equally jealous and vindictive. He imagined all his own family had conspired against his interest, and that Johnson was one of their accomplices; that he had been instrumental in obtaining the act of parliament, which his lordship considered as a grievous hardship; that he had disappointed him in regard to a certain contract about coal-mines; in a word, that there was a collusion between Johnson and the earl’s adversaries. Fired with these suppositions, he first expressed his resentment, by giving Johnson notice to quit the farm which he possessed on the estate; but finding the trustees had confirmed the lease, he determined to gratify his revenge by assassination, and laid his plan accordingly. On Sunday, the thirteenth day of January, he appointed this unhappy man to come to his house on the Friday following, in order to peruse papers, or settle accounts; and Johnson went thither without the least suspicion of what was prepared for his reception; for although he was no stranger to his lordship’s dangerous disposition, and knew he had some time before incurred his displeasure, yet he imagined his resentment had entirely subsided, as the earl had of late behaved to him with remarkable complacency. He therefore, at the time appointed, repaired to his lordship’s house at Stanton, in Leicestershire, at the distance of a short mile from his own habitation, and was admitted by a maid-servant. The earl had dismissed every person in the house, upon various pretences, except three women who were left in the kitchen. Johnson, advancing to the door of his apartment, was received by his lordship, who desired him to walk into another room, where he joined him in a few minutes, and then the door was locked on the inside. After a great deal of warm expostulation, the earl insisted upon his subscribing a paper, acknowledging himself a villain; and on his refusing to comply with this demand, declared he would put him to death. In vain the unfortunate man remonstrated against this cruel injustice, and deprecated the indignation of this furious nobleman. He remained deaf to all his entreaties, drew forth a pistol, which he had loaded for the purpose, and commanding him to implore heaven’s mercy on his knees, shot him through the body while he remained in that supplicating attitude. The consequence of this violence was not immediate death; but his lordship, seeing the wretched victim still alive and sensible, though agonized with pain, felt a momentary motion of pity. He ordered his servants to convey Mr. Johnson up stairs to a bed, to send for a surgeon, and give immediate notice of the accident to the wounded man’s family. When Mr. Johnson’s daughter came to the house, she was met by the earl, who told her he had shot her father on purpose, and with deliberation. The same declaration he made to the surgeon on his arrival. He stood by him while he examined the wound, described the manner in which the ball had penetrated, and seemed surprised that it should be lodged within the body. When he demanded the surgeon’s opinion of the wound, the operator thought proper to temporize for his own safety, as well as for the sake of the public, lest the earl should take some other desperate step, or endeavour to escape. He therefore amused him with hopes of Johnson’s recovery, about which he now seemed extremely anxious. He supported his spirits by immoderate drinking, after having retired to another apartment with the surgeon, whom he desired to take all possible care of his patient. He declared, however, that he did not repent of what he had done; that Johnson was a villain who deserved to die; that, in case of his death, he (the earl) would surrender himself to the house of peers and take his trial. He said he could justify the action to his own conscience, and owned his intention was to have killed Johnson outright; but as he still survived, and was in pain, he desired that all possible means might be used for his recovery. Nor did he seem altogether neglectful of his own safety: he endeavoured to tamper with the surgeon, and suggest what evidence he should give when called before a court of justice. He continued to drink himself into a state of intoxication, and all the cruelty of his hate seemed to return. He would not allow the wounded man to be removed to his own house; saying he would keep him under his own roof that he might plague the villain. He returned to the chamber where Johnson lay, insulted him with the most opprobrious language, threatened to shoot him through the head, and could hardly be restrained from committing further acts of violence on the poor man, who was already in extremity. After he retired to bed, the surgeon procured a sufficient number of assistants, who conveyed Mr. Johnson in an easy chair to his own house, where he expired that same morning in great agonies. The same surgeon assembled a number of armed men to seize the murderer, who at first threatened resistance, but was soon apprehended, endeavouring to make his escape, and committed to the county prison. From thence he was conveyed to London by the gaoler of Leicester, and conducted by the usher of the black rod and his deputy into the house of lords, where the coroner’s inquest, and the affidavits touching the murder, being read, the gaoler delivered up his prisoner to the care of the black rod, and he was immediately committed to the Tower. He appeared very calm, composed, and unconcerned, from the time of his being apprehended; conversed coolly on the subject of his imprisonment; made very pertinent remarks upon the nature of the habeas-corpus act of parliament, of which he hoped to avail himself; and when they withdrew from the house of peers, desired he might not be visited by any of his relations or acquaintances. His understanding, which was naturally good, had been well cultivated; his arguments were rational, but his conduct was frantic.

TRIED BY THE HOUSE OF PEERS.

The circumstances of the assassination appeared so cruel and deliberate, that the people cried aloud for vengeance; and the government gave up the offender to the justice of his country. The lord-keeper Henley was appointed lord high-steward for the trial of earl Ferrers, and sat in state with all the peers and judges in Westminster-hall, which was for this purpose converted into a very august tribunal. On the sixteenth day of April the delinquent was brought from the Tower in a coach, attended by the major of the Tower, the gentleman-gaoler, the warders, and a detachment of the foot-guards. He was brought into court about ten; and the lord-steward with the peers taking their places, he was arraigned aloud in the midst of an infinite concourse of people, including many foreigners, who seemed wonderfully struck with the magnificence and solemnity of the tribunal. The murder was fully proved by unquestionable evidence; but the earl pleaded insanity of mind; and, in order to establish this plea, called many witnesses to attest his lunacy in a variety of instances, which seemed too plainly to indicate a disordered imagination: unfounded jealousy of plots and conspiracies, unconnected ravings, fits of musing, incoherent ejaculations, sudden starts of fury, denunciations of unprovoked revenge, frantic gesticulations, and a strange caprice of temper, were proved to have distinguished his conduct and deportment. It appeared that lunacy had been a family taint, and affected divers of his lordship’s relations; that a solicitor of reputation had renounced his business on the full persuasion of his being disordered in his brain; that long before this unhappy event, his nearest relations had deliberated upon the expediency of taking out a commission of lunacy against him, and were prevented by no other reason than the apprehension of being convicted of scandalum magnatum, should the jury find his lordship compos mentis: a circumstance which, in all probability, would have happened, inasmuch as the earl’s madness did not appear in his conversation, but in his conduct. A physician of eminence, whose practice was confined to persons labouring under this infirmity, declared that the particulars of the earl’s deportment and personal behaviour seemed to indicate lunacy. Indeed all his neighbours and acquaintances had long considered him as a madman; and a certain noble lord declared in the house of peers, when the bill of separation was on the carpet, that he looked upon him in the light of a maniac, and that if some effectual step was not taken to divest him of the power of doing mischief, he did not doubt but that one day they should have occasion to try him for murder. The lawyers, who managed the prosecution in behalf of the crown, endeavoured to invalidate the proofs of his lunacy, by observing that his lordship was never so much deprived of his reason but that he could distinguish between good and evil; that the murder he had committed was the effect of revenge for a conceived injury of some standing; that the malice was deliberate, and the plan artfully conducted; that immediately after the deed was perpetrated, the earl’s conversation and reasoning were cool and consistent, until he drank himself into a state of intoxication; that in the opinion of the greatest lawyers, no criminal can avail himself of the plea of lunacy, provided the crime was committed during a lucid interval; but his lordship, far from exhibiting any marks of insanity, had in the course of this trial displayed uncommon understanding and sagacity in examining the witnesses, and making many shrewd and pertinent observations on the evidence which was given. These sentiments were conformable to the opinion of the peers, who unanimously declared him guilty.—After all, in examining the vicious actions of a man who has betrayed manifest and manifold symptoms of insanity, it is not easy to distinguish those which are committed during the lucid interval. The suggestions of madness are often momentary and transient: the determinations of a lunatic, though generally rash and instantaneous, are sometimes the result of artful contrivance; but there is always an absurdity which is the criterion of the disease, either in the premises or conclusion. The earl, it is true, had formed a deliberate plan for the perpetration of the murder; but he had taken no precautions for his own safety or escape; and this neglect will the more plainly appear to have been the criterion of insanity, if we reflect that he justified what he had done as a meritorious action; and declared he would, upon Mr. Johnson’s death, surrender himself to the house of lords. Had he been impelled to this violence by a sudden gust of passion, it could not be expected that he should have taken any measure for his own preservation; but as it was the execution of a deliberate scheme, and his lordship was by no means defective in point of ingenuity, he might easily have contrived means for concealing the murder until he should have accomplished his escape; and, in our opinion, any other than a madman would either have taken some such measures, or formed some plan for the concealment of his own guilt. The design itself seems to have been rather an intended sacrifice to justice than a gratification of revenge. Neither do we think that the sanity of his mind was ascertained by the accuracy and deliberation with which he made his remarks, and examined the evidence at his trial. The influence of his frenzy might be past; though it was no sign of sound reason to supply the prosecutor with such an argument to his prejudice. Had his judgment been really unimpaired, he might have assumed the mask of lunacy for his own preservation. The trial was continued for two days; and on the third the lord-steward, after having made a short speech touching the heinous nature of the offence, pronounced the same sentence of death upon the earl which malefactors of the lowest class undergo: that from the Tower, in which he was imprisoned, he should, on the Monday following, be led to the common place of execution, there to be hanged by the neck, and his body be afterwards dissected and anatomized. This last part of the sentence seemed to shock the criminal extremely; he changed colour, his jaw quivered, and he appeared to be in great agitation; but during the remaining part of his life he behaved with surprising composure, and even unconcern. After he had received sentence, the lords, his judges, by virtue of a power vested in them, respited his execution for one month, that he might have time to settle his temporal and spiritual concerns. Before sentence was passed, the earl read a paper, in which he begged pardon of their lordships for the trouble he had given, as well as for having, against his own inclination, pleaded lunacy at the request of his friends. He thanked them for the candid trial with which he had been indulged, and entreated their lordships to recommend him to the king for mercy. He afterwards sent a letter to his majesty, remonstrating, that he was the representative of a very ancient and honourable family, which had been allied to the crown; and requesting that, if he could not be favoured with the species of death which in cases of treason distinguishes the nobleman from the plebeian, he might at least, out of consideration for his family, be allowed to suffer in the Tower, rather than at the common place of execution; but this indulgence was refused. From his return to the Tower to the day of his execution, he betrayed no mark of apprehension or impatience, but regulated his affairs with precision, and conversed without concern or restraint.

EARL FERRERS EXECUTED.

On the fifth day of May, his body being demanded by the sheriffs at the Tower-gate, in consequence of a writ under the great seal of England, directed to the lieutenant of the Tower, his lordship desired permission to go in his own landau; and appeared gaily dressed in a light coloured suit of clothes, embroidered with silver. He was attended in the landau by one of the sheriffs, and the chaplain of the Tower, followed by the chariots of the sheriffs, a mourning coach and six, filled with his friends, and a hearse for the conveyance of his body. He was guarded by a posse of constables, and a party of horse grenadiers, and a detachment of infantry; and in this manner the procession moved from the Tower, through an infinite concourse of people, to Tyburn, where the gallows, and the scaffold erected under it, appeared covered with black baize. The earl behaved with great composure to Mr. sheriff Vaillant, who attended him in the landau: he observed that the gaiety of his apparel might seem odd on such an occasion, but that he had particular reasons for wearing that suit of clothes; he took notice of the vast multitude which crowded round him, brought thither, he supposed, by curiosity to see a nobleman hanged: he told the sheriff he had applied to the king by letter, that he might be permitted to die in the Tower, where the earl of Essex, one of his ancestors, had been beheaded in the reign of queen Elizabeth; an application which, he said, he had made with the more confidence, as he had the honour to quarter part of his majesty’s arms. He expressed some displeasure at being executed as a common felon, exposed to the eyes of such a multitude. The chaplain who had never been admitted to him before, hinting that some account of his lordship’s sentiments on religion would be expected by the public, he made answer that he did not think himself accountable to the public for his private sentiments; that he had always adored one God, the creator of the universe; and with respect to any particular opinions of his own, he had never propagated them, or endeavoured to make proselytes, because he thought it was criminal to disturb the established religion of his country, as lord Bolingbroke had done by the publication of his writings. He added, that the great number of sects, and the multiplication of religious disputes, had almost banished morality. With regard to the crime for which he suffered, he declared that he had no malice against Mr. Johnson; and that the murder was owing to a perturbation of mind, occasioned by a variety of crosses and vexations. When he approached the place of execution, he expressed an earnest desire to see and take leave of a certain person who waited in the coach, a person for whom he entertained the most sincere regard and affection; but the sheriff prudently observing that such an interview might shock him, at a time when he had occasion for all his fortitude and recollection, he acquiesced in the justness of the remark, and delivered to him a pocket-book, a ring, and a purse, desiring they might be given to that person, whom he now declined seeing. On his arrival at Tyburn he came out of the landau, and ascended the scaffold with a firm step and undaunted countenance. He refused to join the chaplain in his devotions; but kneeling with him on black cushions, he repeated the Lord’s Prayer, which he said he had always admired; and added, with great energy, “O Lord, forgive me all my errors, pardon all my sins.” After this exercise, he presented his watch to Mr. sheriff Vaillant; thanked him and the other gentlemen for all their civilities; and signified his desire of being buried at Breden or Stanton, in Leicestershire. Finally, he gratified the executioner with a purse of money; then, the halter being adjusted to his neck, he stepped upon a little stage, erected upon springs, on the middle of the scaffold; and the cap being pulled over his eyes, the sheriff made a signal, at which the stage fell from under his feet, and he was left suspended. His body having hung an hour and five minutes, was cut down, placed in the hearse, and conveyed to the public theatre for dissection; where being opened, and lying for some days as the subject of a public lecture, at length it was carried off and privately interred. Without all doubt, this unhappy nobleman’s disposition was so dangerously mischievous, that it became necessary, for the good of society, either to confine him for life as au incorrigible lunatic, or give him up at once as a sacrifice to justice. Perhaps it might be no absurd or unreasonable regulation in the legislature, to divest all lunatics of the privilege of insanity, and, in cases of enormity, subject them to the common penalties of the law; for though, in the eye of casuistry, consciousness must enter into the constitution of guilt, the consequences of murder committed by a maniac may be as pernicious to society as those of the most criminal and deliberate assassination, and the punishment of death can be hardly deemed unjust or rigorous, when inflicted upon a mischievous being, divested of all the perceptions of reason and humanity. At any rate, as the nobility of England are raised by many illustrious distinctions above the level of plebeians, and as they are eminently distinguished from them in suffering punishment for high treason, which the law considers as the most atrocious crime that can be committed, it might not be unworthy of the notice of the legislature to deliberate whether some such pre-eminence ought not to be extended to noblemen convicted of other crimes, in order to alleviate as much as possible the disgrace of noble families which have deserved well of their country; to avoid any circumstance that may tend to diminish the lustre of the English nobility in the eyes of foreign nations; or to bring it into contempt with the common people of our own, already too licentious, and prone to abolish those distinctions which serve as the basis of decorum, order, and subordination.

ASSASSINATION OF MR. MATTHEWS.

Homicide is the reproach of England: one would imagine there is something in the climate of this country that not only disposes the natives to this inhuman outrage, but even infects foreigners who reside among them. Certain it is, high passions will break out into the most enormous violence in that country where they are least controlled by the restraint of regulation and discipline; and it is equally certain, that in no civilized country under the sun there is such a relaxation of discipline, either religious or civil, as in England. The month of August produced a remarkable instance of desperate revenge, perpetrated by one Stirn, a native of Hesse-Cassel, inflamed and exasperated by a false punctilio of honour. This unhappy young man was descended of a good family, and possessed many accomplishments both of mind and person; but his character was distinguished by such a jealous sensibility, as rendered him unhappy in himself, and disagreeable to his acquaintance. After having for some years performed the office of usher in a boarding-school, he was admitted to the house of one Mr. Matthews, a surgeon, in order to teach him the classics, and instruct his children in music, which he perfectly understood. He had not long resided in his family, when the surgeon took umbrage at some part of his conduct, taxed him roughly with fraud and ingratitude, and insisted upon his removing to another lodging. Whether he rejected this intimation, or found difficulty in procuring another apartment, the surgeon resolved to expel him by violence, called in the assistance of a peace-officer, and turned him out into the street in the night, after having loaded him with the most provoking reproaches. These injuries and disgraces operating upon a mind jealous by nature and galled by adversity, produced a kind of frenzy of resentment, and he took the desperate resolution of sacrificing Mr. Matthews to his revenge. Next day, having provided a case of pistols, and charged them for the occasion, he reinforced his rage by drinking an unusual quantity of wine, and repaired in the evening to a public house, which Mr. Matthews frequented, in the neighbourhood of Hatton-Garden. There he accordingly found the unhappy victim sitting with some of his friends; and the surgeon, instead of palliating his former conduct, began to insult him afresh with the most opprobrious invectives. Stirn, exasperated by this additional indignity, pulled his pistols from his bosom; shot the surgeon, who immediately expired; and discharged the other at his own breast, though his confusion was such that it did not take effect. He was apprehended on the spot, and conveyed to prison; where, for some days, he refused all kind of sustenance, but afterwards became more composed. At his trial he pleaded insanity of mind; but, being found guilty, he resolved to anticipate the execution of the sentence. That same evening he drank poison; and, notwithstanding all the remedies that could be administered, died in strong convulsions. His body was publicly dissected, according to the sentence of the law; and afterwards interred with those marks of indignity which are reserved for the perpetrators of suicide.

NEW BRIDGE BEGUN AT BLACKFRIARS.

We shall close the domestic occurrences of this year with an account of two incidents, which, though of a very different nature in respect of each other, nevertheless concurred in demonstrating that the internal wealth and vigour of the nation were neither drained nor diminished by the enormous expense and inconveniencies of the war. The committee appointed to manage the undertaking for a new bridge over the river Thames, at Blackfriars, having received and examined a variety of plans presented by different artists, at length gave the preference to the design of one Mr. Mylne, a young architect, a native of North Britain, just returned from the prosecution of his studies at Rome, where he had gained the prize in the capital, which the academy of that city bestows on him who produces the most beautiful and useful plan on a given subject of architecture. This young man being in London, on his return to his own country, was advised to declare himself a candidate for the superintendency of the new bridge; and the plan which he presented was approved and adopted. The place being already ascertained, the lord-mayor of London, attended by the committee, and a great concourse of people, repaired to Blackfriars, and laid the first stone of the bridge; placing upon it a plate, with an inscription, which does more honour to the public spirit of the undertakers than to the classical taste of the author. 547 [See note 4 K, at the end of this Vol.] The other instance that denoted the wealth and spirit of the nation, was the indifference and unconcern with which they bore the loss of a vast magazine of naval stores belonging to the dock-yard at Portsmouth, which, in the month of July, was set on fire by lightning; and, consisting of combustibles, burned with such fury, notwithstanding all the endeavours of the workmen in the yard, the sailors in the harbour, and the troops in the town, that before a stop was put to the conflagration it had consumed a variety of stores to an immense value. The damage, however, was so immediately repaired, that it had no sort of effect in disconcerting any plan, or even in retarding any naval preparation.

How important these preparations must have been, may be judged from the prodigious increase of the navy, which, at this juncture, amounted to one hundred and twenty ships of the line, besides frigates, fire-ships, sloops, bombs, and tenders. Of these capital ships, seventeen were stationed in the East Indies, twenty for the defence of the West India islands, twelve in North America, ten in the Mediterranean, and sixty-one either on the coast of France, in the harbours of England, or cruising in the English seas for the protection of the British commerce. Notwithstanding these numerous and powerful armaments, the enemy, who had not a ship of the line at sea, were so alert with their small privateers and armed vessels, that in the beginning of this year, from the first of March to the tenth of June, they had made prize of two hundred vessels belonging to Great Britain and Ireland. The whole number of British ships taken by them, from the first day of June, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six, to the first of June in the present year, amounted to two thousand five hundred and thirty-nine; of these, seventy-eight were privateers, three hundred and twenty-one were retaken, and about the same number ransomed. In the same space of time, the British cruisers had made captures of nine hundred and forty-four vessels, including two hundred and forty-two privateers, many fishing boats and small coasters, the value of which hardly defrayed the expense of condemnation. That such a small proportion of ships should be taken from the enemy is not at all surprising, when we consider the terrible shocks their commerce had previously received, and the great number of their mariners imprisoned in England; but the prodigious number of British vessels taken by their petty coasting privateers, in the face of such mighty armaments, numerous cruisers, and convoys, seem to argue that either the English ships of war were inactive or improperly disposed, or that the merchants hazarded their ships without convoy. Certain it is, in the course of this year we find fewer prizes taken from the enemy, and fewer exploits achieved at sea, than we had occasion to record in the annals of the past. Not that the present year is altogether barren of events which redound to the honour of our marine commanders. We have, in recounting the transactions of the preceding year, mentioned a small armament equipped at Dunkirk, under the command of M. de Thurot, who, in spite of all the vigilance of the British commander stationed in the Downs, found means to escape from the harbour in the month of October last, and arrived at Gottenburgh in Sweden, from whence he proceeded to Bergen in Norway. His instructions were to make occasional descents upon the coast of Ireland: and, by dividing the troops, and distracting the attention of the government in that kingdom, to facilitate the enterprise of M. de Confians, the fate of which we have already narrated. The original armament of Thurot consisted of five ships, one of which, called the mareschal de Belleisle, was mounted with forty-four guns; the Begon, the Blond, the Terpsichore, had thirty guns each; and the Marante carried twenty-four. The number of soldiers put on board this little fleet did not exceed one thousand two hundred and seventy, exclusive of mariners, to the number of seven hundred; but two hundred of the troops were sent sick on shore before the armament sailed from Dunkirk; and in their voyage between Gottenburgh and Bergen they lost company of the Begon, during a violent storm. The severity of the weather detained them nineteen days at Bergen, at the expiration of which they set sail for the western islands of Scotland, and discovered the northern part of Ireland in the latter end of January. The intention of Thurot was to make a descent about Derry; but before this design could be executed, the weather growing tempestuous, and the wind blowing off shore, they were driven out to sea, and in the night lost sight of the Marante, which never joined them in the sequel. After having been tempest-beaten for some time, and exposed to a very scanty allowance of provisions, the officers requested of Thurot that he would return to France, lest they should all perish by famine; but he lent a deaf ear to this proposal, and frankly told them he could not return to France, without having struck some stroke for the service of his country. Nevertheless, in hopes of meeting with some refreshment, he steered to the island of Islay, where the troops were landed; and here they found black cattle, and a small supply of oatmeal, for which they paid a reasonable price; and it must be owned, Thurot himself behaved with great moderation and generosity.

While this spirited adventurer struggled with these wants and difficulties, his arrival in those seas filled the whole kingdom with alarm. Bodies of regular troops and militia were posted along the coast of Ireland and Scotland; and besides the squadron of commodore Boys, who sailed to the northward on purpose to pursue the enemy, other ships of war were ordered to scour the British channel, and cruise between Scotland and Ireland. The weather no sooner permitted Thurot to pursue his destination, than he sailed from Islay to the bay of Carrickfergus, in Ireland, and made all the necessary preparations for a descent; which was accordingly effected with six hundred men, on the twenty-first day of February. Lieutenant-colonel Jennings, who commanded four companies of raw undisciplined men at Carrickfergus, having received information that three ships had anchored about two miles and a half from the castle, which was ruinous and defenceless, immediately detached a party to make observations, and ordered the French prisoners there confined to be removed to Belfast. Meanwhile, the enemy landing without opposition, advanced towards the town, which they found as well guarded as the nature of the place, which was entirely open, and the circumstances of the English commander, would allow. A regular attack was carried on, and a spirited defence made,* until the ammunition of the English failed; then colonel Jennings retired in order to the castle, which, however, was in all respects untenable; for, besides a breach in the wall, near fifty feet wide, they found themselves destitute of provisions and ammunition.

* One circumstance that attended this dispute deserves to be transmitted to posterity, as an instance of that courage, mingled with humanity, which constitutes true heroism. While the French and English were hotly engaged in one of the streets, a little child ran playfully between them, having no idea of the danger to which it was exposed: a common soldier of the enemy, perceiving the life of this poor innocent at stake, grounded his piece, advanced deliberately between the lines of fire, took up the child in his arms, conveyed it to a place of safety; then returning to his place, resumed his musket, and renewed his hostility.

Nevertheless, they repulsed the assailants in the first attack, even after the gate was burst open, and supplied the want of shot with stones and rubbish. At length the colonel and his troops were obliged to surrender, on condition that they should not be sent prisoners to France, but be ransomed, by sending thither an equal number of French prisoners from Great Britain or Ireland: that the castle should not be demolished, nor the town of Carrickfergus plundered or burned, on condition that the mayor and corporation should furnish the French troops with necessary provisions. The enemy, after this exploit, did not presume to advance farther into the country; a step which indeed they could not have taken with any regard to their own safety; for by this time a considerable body of regular troops was assembled; and the people of the country manifested a laudable spirit of loyalty and resolution, crowding in great numbers to Belfast, to offer their service against the invaders. These circumstances, to which the enemy were no strangers, and the defeat of Conflans, which they had also learned, obliged them to quit their conquest, and re-embark with some precipitation, after having laid Carrickfergus under moderate contributions.

The fate they escaped on shore they soon met with at sea. Captain John Elliot, who commanded three frigates at Kinsale, and had in the course of this war more than once already distinguished himself even in his early youth, by extraordinary acts of valour, was informed by a despatch from the duke of Bedford, lord-lieutenant of Ireland, that three of the enemy’s ships lay at anchor in the bay of Carrickfergus; and thither he immediately shaped his course in the ship Æolus, accompanied by the Pallas and Brilliant, under the command of the captains Clements and Logic. On the twenty-eighth day of February they descried the enemy, and gave chase in sight of the Isle of Man; and about nine in the morning, captain Elliot, in his own ship, engaged the Belleisle, commanded by Thurot, although considerably his superior in strength of men, number of guns, and weight of metal. In a few minutes his consorts were also engaged with the other two ships of the enemy. After a warm action, maintained with great spirit on all sides for an hour and a half, captain Elliot’s lieutenant boarded the Belleisle; and, striking her colours with his own hand, the commander submitted: his example was immediately followed by the other French captains; and the English commodore, taking possession of his prizes, conveyed them into the bay of Ramsay, in the Isle of Man, that their damage might be repaired. Though the Belleisle was very leaky, and had lost her boltsprit, mizen-mast, and main-yard, in all probability the victory would not have been so easily obtained, had not the gallant Thurot fallen during the action. The victor had not even the consolation to perform the last offices to his brave enemy; for his body was thrown into the sea by his own people in the hurry of the engagement. The loss on the side of the English did not exceed forty men killed and wounded, whereas above three hundred of the enemy were slain and disabled. The service performed on this occasion was deemed so essential to the peace and commerce of Ireland, that the thanks of the house of commons in that kingdom were voted to the conquerors of Thurot, as well as to lieutenant-colonel Jennings, for his spirited behaviour at Carrickfergus; and the freedom of the city of Cork was presented in silver boxes to the captains Elliot, Clements, and Logie. The name of Thurot was become terrible to all the trading seaports of Great Britain and Ireland; and therefore the defeat and capture of his squadron were celebrated with as hearty rejoicings as the most important victory could have produced.

In the beginning of April another engagement between four frigates, still more equally matched, had a different issue, though not less honourable for the British commanders. Captain Skinner of the Biddeford, and captain Kennedy of the Flamborough, both frigates, sailed on a cruise from Lisbon; and on the fourth day of April, fell in with two large French frigates, convoy to a fleet of merchant-ships, which the English captains immediately resolved to engage. The enemy did not decline the battle, which began about half an hour after six in the evening, and raged with great fury till eleven. By this time the Flamborough had lost sight of the Biddeford; and the frigate with which captain Kennedy was engaged bore away with all the sail she could carry. He pursued her till noon the next day, when she had left him so far astern, that he lost sight of her, and returned to Lisbon with the loss of fifteen men killed and wounded, including the lieutenant of marines, and considerable damage both in her hull and rigging. In three days he was joined by the Biddeford, which had also compelled her antagonist to give way, and pursued her till she was out of sight. In about an hour after the action began, captain Skinner was killed by a cannon-ball; and the command devolved to lieutenant Knollis, son to the earl of Banbury,* who maintained the battle with great spirit, even after he way wounded, until he received a second shot in his body, which proved mortal.

* Five sons of this nobleman were remarkably distinguished in this war. The fourth and fifth were dangerously wounded at the battle of Minden; the second was hurt in the reduction of Guadaloupe; lord Wallingford, the eldest, received a shot at Carrickfergus; and the third was slain in this engagement.

Then the master, assuming the direction, continued the engagement with equal resolution till the enemy made his escape; which he the more easily accomplished, as the Biddeford was disabled in her masts and rigging.

REMARKABLE ADVENTURE OF FIVE IRISHMEN.

The bravery of five Irishmen and a boy, belonging to the crew of a ship from Waterford, deserves commemoration. The vessel, in her return from Bilboa, laden with brandy and iron, being taken by a French privateer off Ushant, about the middle of April, the captors removed the master, and all the hands but these five men and the boy, who were left to assist nine Frenchmen in navigating the vessel to France. These stout Hibernians immediately formed a plan of insurrection, and executed it with success. Four of the French mariners being below deck, three aloft among the rigging, one at the helm, and another walking the deck, Brian, who headed the enterprise, tripped up the heels of the French steersman, seized his pistol, and discharged it at him who walked the deck; but missing the mark, he knocked him down with the but-end of the piece. At the same time hallooing to his confederates below, they assailed the enemy with their own broadswords; and, soon compelling them to submit, came upon deck, and shut the hatches. Brian being now in possession of the quarter-deck, those who were aloft called for quarter, and surrendered without opposition. The Irish having thus obtained a complete victory, almost without bloodshed, and secured the prisoners, another difficulty occurred: neither Brian nor any of his associates could read or write, or knew the least principle of navigation; but supposing his course to be north, he steered at a venture, and the first land he made was the neighbourhood of Youghall, where he happily arrived with his prisoners.

THE RAMILLIES MAN OF WAR WRECKED.

The only considerable damage sustained by the navy of Great Britain, since the commencement of this year, was the loss of the Ramillies, a magnificent ship of the second rate, belonging to the squadron which admiral Boscawen commanded on the coast of France, in order to watch the motions and distress the commerce of that restless enterprising enemy. In the beginning of February, a series of stormy weather obliged the admiral to return from the bay of Quiberon to Plymouth, where he arrived with much difficulty: but the Ramillies overshot the entrance to the sound; and, being embayed near a point called the Bolthead, about four leagues higher up the channel, was dashed in pieces among the rocks, after all her anchors and cables had given way. All her officers and men, amounting to seven hundred, perished on this occasion, except one midshipman and twenty-five mariners, who had the good fortune to save themselves by leaping on the rocks as the hull was thrown forwards, and raised up by the succeeding billows. Such were the most material transactions of the year, relating to the British empire in the seas of Europe.

TREATY WITH THE CHEROKEES. HOSTILITIES RECOMMENCED.

We shall now transport the reader to the continent of North America, which, as the theatre of war, still maintained its former importance. The French emissaries from the province of Louisiana had exercised their arts of insinuation with such success among the Cherokees—a numerous and powerful nation of Indians settled on the confines of Virginia and Carolina—that they had infringed the peace with the English towards the latter end of the last year, and begun hostilities by plundering, massacring, and scalping several British subjects of the more southern provinces. Mr. Lyttleton, governor of South Carolina, having received information of these outrages, obtained the necessary aids from the assembly of the province, for maintaining a considerable body of forces, which was raised with great expedition. He marched in the beginning of October, at the head of eight hundred provincials, reinforced with three hundred regular troops, and penetrated into the heart of the country possessed by the Cherokees, who were so much intimidated by his vigour and despatch, that they sent a deputation of their chiefs to sue for peace, which was re-established by a new treaty, dictated by the English governor. They obliged themselves to renounce the French interest, to deliver up all the spies and emissaries of that nation then resident among them; to surrender to justice those of their own people who had been concerned in murdering and scalping the British subjects; and for the performance of these articles two-and-twenty of their head men were put as hostages into the hands of the governor. So little regard, however, was paid by these savages to this solemn accommodation, that Mr. Lyttleton had been returned but a few days from their country, when they attempted to surprise the English fort Prince George, near the frontiers of Carolina, by going thither in a body, on pretence of delivering up some murderers; but the commanding officer, perceiving some suspicious circumstances in their behaviour, acted with such vigilance and circumspection as entirely frustrated their design. 549 [See note 4 L, at the end of this Vol.] Thus disappointed, they wreaked their vengeance upon the English subjects trading in their country, all of whom they butchered without mercy. Not contented with this barbarous sacrifice, they made incursions on the British settlements at the Long Lanes, and the forks of the Broad River, and massacred about forty defenceless colonists, who reposed themselves in full security on the peace so lately ratified. As views of interest could not have induced them to act in this manner, and their revenge had not been inflamed by any fresh provocation, these violences must be imputed to the instigation of French incendiaries; and too plainly evinced the necessity of crowning our American conquests with the reduction of Louisiana, from whence these emissaries were undoubtedly despatched.

The cruelty and mischief with which the Cherokees prosecuted their renewed hostilities alarmed all the southern colonies of the English, and application was made for assistance to Mr. Amherst, the commander-in-chief of the king’s forces in America. He forthwith detached twelve hundred chosen men to South Carolina, under the command of colonel Montgomery, brother to the earl of Eglinton, an officer of approved conduct and distinguished gallantry. Immediately after his arrival at Charles-Town, he advanced to Ninety-Six, and proceeded to Twelve-mile river, which he passed in the beginning of June, without opposition. He continued his route by forced marches until he arrived in the neighbourhood of the Indian town called Little Keowee, where he encamped in an advantageous situation. Having reason to believe the enemy were not yet apprized of his coming, he resolved to rush upon them in the night by surprise. With this view, leaving his tents standing with a sufficient guard for the camp and waggons, he marched through the woods towards the Cherokee town of Estatoe, at the distance of five-and-twenty miles: and in his route detached a company of light infantry to destroy the village of Little Keowee, where they were received with a smart fire; but they rushed in with their bayonets, and all the men were put to the sword. The main body proceeded straight to Estatoe, which they reached in the morning; but it had been abandoned about half an hour before their arrival. Some few of the Indians, who had not time to escape, were slain; and the town, consisting of two hundred houses, well stored with provisions, ammunition, and all the necessaries of life, was first plundered, and then reduced to ashes: some of the wretched inhabitants who concealed themselves perished in the flames. It was necessary to strike a terror into those savages by some examples of severity; and the soldiers became deaf to all the suggestions of mercy when they found in one of the Indian towns the body of an Englishman, whom they had put to the torture that very morning. Colonel Montgomery followed his blow with surprising rapidity. In the space of a few hours he destroyed Sugar-Town, which was as large as Estateo, and every village and house in the Lower Nation. The Indian villages in this part of the world were agreeably situated, generally consisting of about one hundred houses, neatly and commodiously built, and well supplied with provisions. They had in particular large magazines of corn, which were consumed in the flames. All the men that were taken suffered immediate death; but the greater part of the nation had escaped with the utmost precipitation. In many houses the beds were yet warm, and the table spread with victuals. Many loaded guns went off while the houses were burning. The savages had not time to save their most valuable effects. The soldiers found some money, three or four watches, a good quantity of wampum, clothes, and peltry. Colonel Montgomery having thus taken vengeance on the perfidious Cherokees, at the expense of five or six men killed or wounded, returned to Fort Prince George, with about forty Indian women and children whom he had made prisoners. Two of their warriors were set at liberty, and desired to inform their nation, that, though they were now in the power of the English, they might still, on their submission, enjoy the blessings of peace. As the chief called Attakullakulla, alias the Little Carpenter, who had signed the last treaty, disapproved of the proceedings of his countrymen, and had done many good offices to the English since the renovation of the war, he was now given to understand that he might come down with some other chiefs to treat of an accommodation, which would be granted to the Cherokees on his account; but that the negotiation must be begun in a few days, otherwise all the towns in the Upper Nation would be ravaged and reduced to ashes.

These intimations having produced little or no effect, colonel Montgomery resolved to make a second irruption into the middle settlements of the Cherokees, and began his march on the twenty-fourth day of June. On the twenty-seventh, captain Morrison, of the advanced party, was killed by a shot from a thicket, and the firing became so troublesome that his men gave way. The grenadiers and light infantry being detached to sustain them, continued to advance, notwithstanding the fire from the woods; until, from a rising ground, they discovered a body of the enemy. These they immediately attacked, and obliged to retire into a Swamp; which, when the rest of the troops came up, they were after a short resistance compelled to abandon: but, as the country was difficult, and the path extremely narrow, the forces suffered on their march from the fire of scattered parties who concealed themselves behind trees and bushes. At length they arrived at the town of Etchowee, which the inhabitants had forsaken after having removed every thing of value. Here, while the army encamped on a small plain, surrounded by hills, it was incommoded by volleys from the enemy, which wounded some men, and killed several horses. They were even so daring as to attack the piquet guard, which repulsed them with difficulty; but, generally speaking, their parties declined an open engagement. Colonel Montgomery, sensible that, as many horses were killed or disabled, he could not proceed farther without leaving his provisions behind, or abandoning the wounded men to the brutal revenge of a savage enemy, resolved to return; and began his retreat in the night, that he might be the less disturbed by the Indians. Accordingly, he pursued his route for two days without interruption; but afterwards sustained some straggling fires from the woods, though the parties of the enemy were put to flight as often as they appeared. In the beginning of July he arrived at Fort Prince George; this expedition having cost him about seventy men killed and wounded, including five officers.

FATE OF THE GARRISON AT FORT LOUDOUN.

In revenge for these calamities, the Cherokees assembled to a considerable number, and formed the blockade of Fort Loudoun, a small fortification near the confines of Virginia, defended by an inconsiderable garrison, ill supplied with provisions and necessaries. After having sustained a long siege, and being reduced to the utmost distress, captain Demere, the commander, held a council of war with the other officers, to deliberate upon their present situation; when it appeared that their provisions were entirely exhausted; that they had subsisted a considerable time without bread upon horse-flesh, and such supplies of pork and beans as the Indian women could introduce by stealth: that the men were so weakened with famine and fatigue, that in a little time they would not be able to do duty; that, for two nights past, considerable parties had deserted, and some thrown themselves upon the mercy of the enemy; but the garrison in general threatened to abandon their officers, and betake themselves to the woods; and that there was no prospect of relief, their communication having been long cut off from all the British settlements: for these reasons they were unanimously of opinion that it was impracticable to prolong their defence; and they should accept of an honourable capitulation; and captain Stuart should be sent to treat with the warriors and the head men of the Cherokees, about the conditions of their surrender. This officer, being accordingly despatched with full powers, obtained a capitulation of the Indians, by which the garrison was permitted to retire. The Indians desired that, when they arrived at Keowee, the Cherokee prisoners confined at that place should be released, all hostilities cease, a lasting accommodation be re-established, and a regulated trade revived. In consequence of this treaty the garrison evacuated the fort, and had marched about fifteen miles on their return to Carolina, when they were surrounded and surprised by a large body of Indians, who massacred all the officers except captain Stuart, and slew five and twenty of the soldiers: the rest were made prisoners, and distributed among the different towns and villages of the nation. Captain Stuart owed his life to the generous intercession of the Little Carpenter, who ransomed him at the price of all he could command, and conducted him safe to Holston River, where he found major Lewis advanced so far with a body of Virginians. The savages, encouraged by their success at Fort Loudoun, undertook the siege of Ninety-Six, and other small fortifications; but retired precipitately on the approach of a body of provincials.

BRITISH INTEREST ESTABLISHED ON THE OHIO.

In the meantime, the British interest and empire were firmly established on the banks of the Ohio, by the prudence and conduct of major-general Stanwix, who had passed the winter at Pittsburgh, formerly Du Quesne, and employed that time in the most effectual manner for the service of his country. He repaired the old works, established posts of communication from the Ohio to Monongahela, mounted the bastions that cover the isthmus with artillery, erected casemates, store-houses, and barracks, for a numerous garrison, and cultivated with equal diligence and success the friendship and alliance of the Indians. The happy consequences of these measures were soon apparent in the production of a considerable trade between the natives and the merchants of Pittsburgh, and in the perfect security of about four thousand settlers, who now returned to the quiet possession of the lands from whence they had been driven by the enemy on the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia.

THE FRENCH UNDERTAKE THE SIEGE OF QUEBEC.

The incidents of the war were much more important and decisive in the more northern parts of this great continent. The reader will remember that brigadier-general Murray was left to command the garrison of Quebec, amounting to about six thousand men; that a strong squadron of ships was stationed at Halifax, in Nova-Scotia, under the direction of lord Colville, an able and experienced officer, who had instructions to revisit Quebec in the beginning of summer, as soon as the river St. Laurence should be navigable; and that general Amherst, the commander-in-chief of the forces in America, wintered in New-York, that he might be at hand to assemble his troops in the spring, and re-commence his operations for the entire reduction of Canada. General Murray neglected no step that could be taken by the most vigilant officer for maintaining the important conquest of Quebec, and subduing all the Lower Canada; the inhabitants of which actually submitted, and took the oath of allegiance to the king of Great Britain. 550 [See note 4 M, at the end of this Vol.] The garrison., however, within the walls of Quebec, suffered greatly from the excessive cold in the winter, and the want of vegetables and fresh provisions; insomuch that, before the end of April, one thousand soldiers were dead of the scurvy, and twice that number rendered unfit for service. Such was the situation of the garrison, when Mr. Murray received undoubted intelligence that the French commander, the chevalier de Levis, was employed in assembling his army, which had been cantoned in the neighbourhood of Montreal; that from the inhabitants of the country he had completed his eight battalions, regimented forty companies of the troops de Colonie, and determined to undertake the siege of Quebec, whenever the river St. Laurence should be so clear of ice that he could use his four frigates, and other vessels, by means of which he was entirely master of the river.

The brigadier, considering the city of Quebec as no other than a strong cantonment, had projected a plan of defence, by extending lines, and intrenching his troops on the heights of Abraham, which at the distance of eight hundred paces, entirely commanded the ramparts of the city, and might have been defended by a small force against a formidable army. Fascines, and every other necessary for this work, had been provided; and in the month of April the men were set at work upon the projected lines: but the earth was so hardened by the frost, that it was found impracticable to proceed. Being informed on the night of the twenty-sixth, that the enemy had landed at Point-au-Tremble, to the number of ten thousand men, with five hundred savages, he ordered all the bridges over the river Cape Rouge to be broken down, secured the landing places at Sylleri and the Foulon; and next day, marching in person with a strong detachment, and two field-pieces, took possession of an advantageous situation, and thus defeated the scheme which the French commander had laid for cutting off the posts which the English had established. These being all withdrawn, the brigadier that same afternoon marched back to Quebec, with little or no loss, although his rear was harassed by the enemy. Here he formed a resolution which hath been censured by some critics in war, as a measure that savoured more of youthful impatience and overboiling courage than of that military discretion which ought to distinguish a commander in such a delicate situation; but it is more easy to censure with an appearance of reason, than to act in such circumstances with any certainty of success. Mr. Murray, in his letter to the secretary of state, declared, that, although the enemy were greatly superior to him in number, yet, when he considered that the English forces were habituated to victory, that they were provided with a fine train of field-artillery; that, in shutting them at once within the walls, he should have risked his whole stake on the single chance of defending a wretched fortification; a chance which could not be much lessened by an action in the field, though such an action would double the chance of success: for these reasons he determined to hazard a battle; should the event prove unprosperous, he resolved to hold out the place to the last extremity; then to retreat to the Isle of Orleans, or Coudres, with the remainder of the garrison, and there wait for a reinforcement. In pursuance of these resolutions he gave the necessary orders over night; and on the twenty-eighth day of April, at half an hour after six in the morning, marched out with his little army of three thousand men, which he formed on the heights in order of battle. The right brigade, commanded by colonel Burton, consisted of the regiments of Amherst, Anstruther, Webb, and the second battalion of Royal Americans; the left, under colonel Fraser, was formed of the regiments of Kennedy, Lascelles, Town-shend, and the Highlanders. Otway’s regiment, and the third battalion of Royal Americans, constituted the corps de reserve. Major Dalling’s corps of light infantry covered the right flank; the left was secured by captain Huzzen’s company of rangers, and one hundred volunteers, under the command of captain Donald Mac-donald; and each battalion was supplied with two field-pieces. Brigadier Murray, having reconnoitred the enemy, perceived their van had taken possession of the rising grounds about three quarters of a mile in his front; but that their army was on the march in one column. Thinking this was the critical moment to attack them before they were formed, he advanced towards them with equal order and expedition. They were soon driven from the heights, though not without a warm dispute; during which the body of their army advanced at a round pace, and formed in columns. Their van consisted of ten companies of grenadiers, two of volunteers, and four hundred savages; eight battalions, formed in four columns, with some bodies of Canadians in the intervals, constituted their main body; their rear was composed of two battalions, and some Canadians in the flanks; and two thousand Canadians formed the reserve. Their whole army amounted to upwards of twelve thousand men. Major Balling, with great gallantry, dispossessed their grenadiers of a house and windmill which they occupied, in order to cover their left flank; and in this attack the major and some of his officers were wounded: nevertheless, the light infantry pursued the fugitives to a corps which was formed to sustain them; then the pursuers halted, and dispersed along the front of the right; a circumstance which prevented that wing from taking advantage of the first impression they had made on the left of the enemy. The light infantry, being ordered to regain the flank, were, in attempting this motion, furiously charged, and thrown into disorder: then they retired to the rear in such a shattered condition, that they could never again be brought up during the whole action. Otway’s regiment was instantly ordered to advance from the body of the reserve, and sustain the right wing, which the enemy twice in vain attempted to penetrate. Meanwhile the left brigade of the British forces did not remain inactive: they had dispossessed the French of two redoubts, and sustained with undaunted resolution the whole efforts of the enemy’s right, until they were fairly fought down, overpowered by numbers, and reduced to a handful, notwithstanding the assistance they received from the third battalion of Royal Americans, which had been stationed with the body of the reserve, as well as from Kennedy’s regiment, posted in the centre. The French attacked with great impetuosity; and at length a fresh column of the regiment de Rousillon penetrating the left wing of the British army, it gave way; the disorder was soon communicated to the right; so that after a very obstinate dispute, which lasted an hour and three quarters, brigadier Murray was obliged to quit the field, with the loss of one thousand men killed or wounded, and the greater part of his artillery. The enemy lost twice the number of men and reaped no essential advantage from their victory.

QUEBEC BESIEGED.

Mr. Murray, far from being dispirited by his defeat, no sooner retired within the walls of Quebec, than he resolved to prosecute the fortifications of the place, which had been interrupted by the severity of the winter; and the soldiers exerted themselves with incredible alacrity, not only in labouring at the works, but also in the defence of the town, before which the enemy had opened trenches on the very evening of the battle. Three ships anchored at the Foulon below their camp; and for several days they were employed in landing their cannon, mortars, and ammunition. Meanwhile they worked incessantly at their trenches before the town; and on the eleventh day of May, opened one bomb-battery, and three batteries of cannon. Brigadier Murray made the necessary dispositions to defend the place to the last extremity: he raised two cavaliers, contrived some out-works, and planted the ramparts with one hundred and thirty-two pieces of artillery, dragged thither mostly by the soldiery. Though the enemy cannonaded the place with great vivacity the first day, their fire soon slackened; and their batteries were in a manner silenced by the superior fire of the garrison: nevertheless, Quebec would in all probability have reverted to its former owners, had a French fleet from Europe got the start of an English squadron in sailing up the river.

THE ENEMIES SHIPPING DESTROYED.

Lord Colville had sailed from Halifax, with the fleet under his command, on the twenty-second day of April; but was retarded in his passage by thick fogs, contrary winds, and great shoals of ice floating down the river. Commodore Swanton, who had sailed from England with a small reinforcement, arrived about the beginning of May at the Isle of Bee, in the river St. Laurence, where, with two ships, he purposed to wait for the rest of his squadron, which had separated from him in the passage: but one of these, the Lowestoffe, commanded by captain Deane, had entered the harbour of Quebec on the ninth day of May, and communicated to the governor the joyful news that the squadron was arrived in the river. Commodore Swanton no sooner received intimation that Quebec was besieged, than he sailed up the river with all possible expedition, and on the fifteenth in the evening anchored above Point Levi. The brigadier expressing an earnest desire that the French squadron above the town might be removed, the commodore ordered captain Schomberg of the Diana, and captain Deane of the Lowestoffe, to slip their cables early next morning, and attack the enemy’s fleet, consisting of two frigates, two armed ships, and a great number of smaller vessels. They were no sooner in motion than the French ships fled in the utmost disorder. One of their frigates was driven on the rocks above Cape Diamond; the other ran ashore, and was burned at Point-au-Tremble, about ten leagues above the town; and all the other vessels were taken or destroyed.

The enemy were so confounded and dispirited by this disaster, and the certain information that a strong English fleet was already in the river St. Laurence, that in the following night they raised the siege of Quebec, and retreated with great precipitation, leaving their provisions, implements, and artillery to governor Murray, who had intended to make a vigorous sally in the morning, and attempt to penetrate into the camp of the besiegers, which, from the information of prisoners and deserters, he conceived to be a very practicable scheme. For this purpose he had selected a body of troops, who were already under arms, when a lieutenant, whom he had sent out with a detachment to amuse the enemy, came and assured him that their trenches were abandoned. He instantly marched out of Quebec at the head of his forces, in hopes of overtaking and making an impression on their rear, that he might have ample revenge for his late discomfiture; but they had passed the river Cape Rouge before he could come up with their army: however, he took some prisoners, and a great quantity of baggage, including their tents, stores, magazines of provision and ammunition, with thirty-four pieces of battering cannon, ten field-pieces, six mortars, four petards, a great number of scaling ladders, intrenching tools, and every other implement for a siege. They retired to Jaques-Quartiere, where their ammunition began to fail, and they were abandoned by great part of the Canadians; so that they resigned all hope of succeeding against Quebec, and began to take measures for the preservation of Montreal, against which the force under general Amherst was directed. There M. Vaudreuil had fixed his head-quarters, and there he proposed to make his last stand against the efforts of the British general. He not only levied forces, collected magazines, and erected new fortifications in the island of Montreal, but he had even recourse to feigned intelligence, and other arts of delusion, to support the spirits of the Canadians and their Indian allies, which had begun to flag in consequence of their being obliged to abandon the siege of Quebec. It must be owned, he acted with all the spirit and foresight of an experienced general, determined to exert himself for the preservation of the colony, even though very little prospect of success remained. His hopes, slender as they were, depended upon the natural strength of the country, rendered almost inaccessible by woods, mountains, and morasses, which might have retarded the progress of the English, and protracted the war until a general pacification could be effected. In the meantime, major-general Amherst was diligently employed in taking measures for the execution of the plan he had projected, in order to complete the conquest of Canada. He conveyed instructions to general Murray, directing him to advance by water towards Montreal, with all the troops that could be spared from the garrison of Quebec. He detached colonel Haviland, with a body of troops from Crown-Point, to take possession of the Isle-aux-Noix, in the lake Champlain, and from thence penetrate the shortest way to the bank of the river St. Laurence; while he himself, with the main body of the army, amounting to about ten thousand men, including Indians, should proceed from the frontiers of New York, by the rivers of the Mohawks and Oneidas, to the lake Ontario, and sail down the river St. Laurence to the island of Montreal. Thus, on the supposition that all these particulars could be executed, the enemy must have been hemmed in and entirely surrounded. In pursuance of this plan, general Amherst had provided two armed sloops to cruise in the lake Ontario, under the command of captain Loring; as well as a great number of bateaux, or smaller vessels, for the transportation of the troops, artillery, ammunition, implements, and baggage. Several regiments were ordered to proceed from Albany to Oswego: and the general taking his departure from Schenectady, with the rest of the forces, in the latter end of June, arrived at the same place on the ninth day of July.

GENERAL AMHERST REDUCES THE FRENCH FORT AT THE ISLE ROYALE.

Being informed that two French vessels had appeared off Oswego, he despatched some bateaux to Niagara, with intelligence to captain Loring, who immediately set sail in quest of them; but they escaped his pursuit, though they had twice appeared in the neighbourhood of Oswego since the arrival of the general, who endeavoured to amuse them, by detaching bateaux to different parts of the lake. The army being assembled, and joined by a considerable body of Indians, under the command of sir William Johnston, the general detached colonel Haviland, with the light infantry, the grenadiers, and one battalion of highlanders, to take post at the bottom of the lake, and assist the armed vessels in finding a passage to La Galette. On the tenth day of August the army embarked on board the bateaux and whale-boats, and proceeded on the lake towards the mouth of the river St. Laurence. Understanding that one of the enemy’s vessels had run aground and was disabled, and that the other lay off La Galette, he resolved to make the best of his way down the river to Swegatchie, and attack the French fort at Isle Royale, one of the most important posts on the river St. Laurence, the source of which it in a great measure commands. On the seventeenth, the row-galleys fell in with the French sloop commanded by M. de la Broquerie, who surrendered after a warm engagement. Mr. Amherst having detached some engineers to reconnoitre the coasts and islands in the neighbourhood of Isle Royale, he made a disposition for the attack of that fortress, which was accordingly invested, after he had taken possession of the islands. Some of these the enemy had abandoned with such precipitation, as to leave behind a few scalps they had taken on the Mohawk river, a number of tools and utensils, two swivels, some barrels of pitch, and a large quantity of iron. The Indians were so incensed at sight of the scalps, that they burned a chapel and all the houses of the enemy. Batteries being raised on the nearest islands, the fort was cannonaded not only by them, but likewise by the armed sloops, and a disposition was made for giving the assault, when M. Pouchart, the governor, thought proper to beat a parley, and surrender on capitulation. The general, having taken possession of the fort, found it so well situated for commanding the lake Ontario and the Mohawk river, that he resolved to maintain it with a garrison, and employed some days in repairing the fortifications.

From this place his navigation down the river St. Laurence was rendered extremely difficult and dangerous, by a great number of violent riffs or rapids, and falls; among which he lost above fourscore men, forty-six bateaux, seventeen whale-boats, one row-galley, with some artillery, stores, and ammunition. On the sixth day of September the troops were landed on the island of Montreal, without any opposition, except from some flying parties, which exchanged a few shot, and then fled with precipitation. That same day he repaired a bridge which they had broken down in their retreat; and, after a march of two leagues, formed his army on a plain before Montreal, where they lay all night on their arms. Montreal is, in point of importance, the second place in Canada, situated in an island of the river St. Laurence, at an equal distance from Quebec and the lake Ontario. Its central situation rendered it the staple of the Indian trade; yet the fortifications of it were inconsiderable, not at all adequate to the value of the place. General Amherst ordered some pieces of artillery to be brought up immediately from the landing-place at La Chine, where he had left some regiments for the security of the boats, and determined to commence the siege in form; but in the morning of the seventh he received a letter from the marquis de Vaudreuil by two officers, demanding a capitulation; which, after some letters had passed between the two generals, was granted upon as favourable terms as the French had reason to expect, considering that general Murray, with the troops from Quebec, had by this time landed on the island; and colonel Haviland, with the body under his command, had just arrived on the south side of the river, opposite to Montreal; circumstances equally favourable and surprising, if we reflect upon the different routes they pursued, through an enemy’s country, where they had no intelligence of the motions of each other. Had any accident retarded the progress of general Amherst, the reduction of Montreal would have been attempted by general Murray, who embarked with his troops at Quebec on board of a great number of small vessels, under the command of captain Deane in the Diana. This gentleman, with uncommon abilities, surmounted the difficulties of an unknown, dangerous, and intricate navigation; and conducted the voyage with such success, that not a single vessel was lost in the expedition. M. de Levis, at the head of his forces, watched the motions of general Murray, who, in advancing up the river, published manifestoes among the Canadians, which produced all the effect he could desire. Almost all the parishes on the south shore, as far as the river Sorrel, submitted, and took the oath of neutrality; and lord Rolle disarmed all the inhabitants of the north shore, as far as Trois Rivieres, which, though the capital of a district, being no more than an open village, was taken without resistance. In a word, general Amherst took possession of Montreal, and thus completed the conquest of all Canada; a conquest the most important of any that ever the British arms achieved, whether we consider the safety of the English colonies in North America, now secured from invasion and encroachment; the extent and fertility of the country subdued; or the whole Indian commerce thus transferred to the traders of Great Britain. The terms of the capitulation may perhaps be thought rather too favourable, as the enemy were actually enclosed and destitute of all hope of relief: but little points like these ought always to be sacrificed to the consideration of great objects; and the finishing the conquest of a great country without bloodshed, redounds as much to the honour as it argues the humanity of general Amherst, whose conduct had been irreproachable during the whole course of the American operations. At the same time, it must be allowed he was extremely fortunate in having subordinate commanders, who perfectly corresponded with his ideas; and a body of troops whom no labours could discourage, whom no dangers could dismay. Sir William Johnston, with a power of authority and insinuation peculiar to himself, not only maintained a surprising ascendancy over the most ferocious of all the Indian tribes, but kept them within the bounds of such salutary restraint, that not one single act of inhumanity was perpetrated by them during the whole course of this expedition. The zeal and conduct of brigadier-general Gage, the undaunted spirit and enterprising genius of general Murray, the diligence and activity of colonel Haviland, happily co-operated in promoting this great event.

FRENCH SHIPS DESTROYED, &c.

The French ministry had attempted to succour Montreal by equipping a considerable number of store ships, and sending them out in the spring under convoy of a frigate; but as their officers understood that the British squadron had sailed up the river St. Laurence before their arrival, they took shelter in the bay of Chaleurs, on the coast of Acadia, where they did not long remain unmolested. Captain Byron, who commanded the ships of war that were left at Louisbourg, having received intelligence of them from brigadier-general Whitmore, sailed thither with his squadron, and found them at anchor. The whole fleet consisted of one frigate, two large store-ships, and nineteen sail of smaller vessels; the greater part of which had been taken from the merchants of Great Britain; all these were destroyed, together with two batteries which had been raised for their protection. The French town, consisting of two hundred houses, was demolished, and the settlement totally ruined. All the French subjects inhabiting the territories from the bay of Funda to the banks of the river St. Laurence, and all the Indians through that tract of country, were now subdued, and subjected to the English government. In the month of December of the preceding year, the French colonists at Miramachi, Rickebuctou, and other places lying along the gulf of St. Laurence, made their submission by deputies to colonel Frye, who commanded in Fort Cumberland at Chignecto. They afterwards renewed this submission in the most formal manner, by subscribing articles, by which they obliged themselves, and the people they represented, to repair in the spring to Bay Verte, with all their effects and shipping, to be disposed of according to the direction of colonel Laurence, governor of Halifax, in Nova-Scotia. They were accompanied by two Indian chiefs of the nation of the Mickmacks, a powerful and numerous people, now become entirely dependent upon his Britannic majesty. In a word, by the conquest of Canada, the Indian fur trade, in its full extent, fell into the hands of the English. The French interest among the savage tribes, inhabiting an immense tract of country, was totally extinguished; and their American possessions shrunk within the limits of Louisiana, an infant colony on the south of the Mississippi, which the British arms may at any time easily subdue.

DEMOLITION OF LOUISBOURG.

The conquest of Canada being achieved, nothing now remained to be done in North America, except the demolition of the fortifications of Louisbourg on the island of Cape Breton; for which purpose some able engineers had been sent from England with the ships commanded by captain Byron. By means of mines artfully disposed and well constructed, the fortifications were reduced to a heap of rubbish, the glacis was levelled, and the ditches were filled. All the artillery, ammunition, and implements of war, were conveyed to Halifax; but the barracks were repaired, so as to accommodate three hundred men occasionally; the hospital, with the private houses, were left standing. The French still possessed, upon the continent of America, the fertile country lying on each side of the great river Mississippi, which disembogues itself into the gulf of Florida; but the colony was so thinly peopled, and so ill provided, that, far from being formidable, it scarcely could have subsisted, unless the British traders had been base and treacherous enough to supply it from time to time with provisions and necessaries. The same infamous commerce was carried on with divers French plantations in the West Indies; insomuch that the governors of provinces, and commanders of the squadrons stationed in those seas, made formal complaints of it to the ministry. The temptation of extraordinary profit excited the merchants not only to assist the enemies of their country, but also run all risks in eluding the vigilance of the legislature. The inhabitants of Martinique found a plentiful market of provision furnished by the British subjects at the Dutch islands of Eustatia and Curaeoa: and those that were settled on the island of Hispaniola were supplied in the same manner at the Spanish settlement of Monte-Christo.

INSURRECTION IN JAMAICA.

While the British commanders exerted themselves by sea and land with the most laudable spirit of vigilance and courage against the foreign adversaries of their country, the colonists of Jamaica ran the most imminent hazard of being extirpated by a domestic enemy. The negro slaves of that island, grown insolent in the contemplation of their own formidable numbers, or by observing the supine indolence of their masters, or stimulated by that appetite for liberty so natural to the mind of man, began, in the course of this year, to entertain thoughts of shaking off the yoke by means of a general insurrection. Assemblies were held and plans resolved for this purpose. At length they concerted a scheme for rising in arms all at once in different parts of the island, in order to massacre all the white men, and take possession of the government. They agreed that this design should be put in execution immediately after the departure of the fleet for Europe; but their plan was defeated by their ignorance and impatience. Those of the conspirators that belonged to captain Forest’s estate, being impelled by the fumes of intoxication, fell suddenly upon the overseer, while he sat at supper with some friends, and butchered the whole company. Being immediately joined by some of their confederates, they attacked the neighbouring plantations, where they repeated the same barbarities; and, seizing all the arms and ammunition that fell in their way, began to grow formidable to the colony. The governor no sooner received intimation of this disturbance, than he, by proclamation, subjected the colonists to martial law. All other business was interrupted, and every man took to his arms. The regular troops, joined by the troop of militia, and a considerable number of volunteers, marched from Spanish Town to Saint Mary’s, where the insurrection began, and skirmished with the insurgents; but as they declined standing any regular engagement, and trusted chiefly to bush-fighting, the governor employed against them the free blacks, commonly known by the name of the wild negroes, now peaceably settled under the protection of the government. These auxiliaries, in consideration of a price set upon the heads of the rebels, attacked them in their own way, slew them by surprise, until their strength was broken, and numbers made away with themselves in despair; so that the insurrection was supposed to be quelled about the beginning of May, but in June it broke out again with redoubled fury, and the rebels were reinforced to a very considerable number. The regular troops and the militia, joined by a body of sailors, formed a camp under the command of colonel Spragge, who sent out detachments against the negroes, a great number of whom were killed, and some taken; but the rest, instead of submitting, took shelter in the woods and mountains. The prisoners, being tried and found guilty of rebellion, were put to death by a variety of tortures. Some were hanged, some beheaded, some burned, and some fixed alive upon gibbets. One of these last lived eight days and eighteen hours, suspended under a vertical sun, without being refreshed by one drop of water, or receiving any manner of sustenance. In order to prevent such insurrections for the future, the justices assembled at the sessions of the peace established regulations, importing, that no negro-slave should be allowed to quit his plantation without a white conductor, or a ticket of leave; that every negro playing at any sort of game should be scourged through the public streets; that every publican suffering such gaming in his house should forfeit forty shillings; that every proprietor suffering his negroes to beat a drum, blow a horn, or make any other noise in his plantation, should be fined ten pounds; and every overseer allowing these irregularities should pay half that sum, to be demanded, or distrained for, by any civil or military officer; that every free negro, or mulatto, should wear a blue cross on his right shoulder, on pain of imprisonment; that no mulatto, Indian, or negro, should hawk or sell any thing, except fresh fish or milk, on pain of being scourged; that rum and punch houses should be shut up during divine service on Sundays, under the penalty of twenty shillings; and that those who had petit licenses should shut up their houses on other nights at nine o’clock.

ACTION AT SEA OFF HISPANIOLA.

Notwithstanding these examples and regulations, a body of rebellious negroes still subsisted in places that were deemed inaccessible to regular forces; and from these they made nocturnal irruptions into the nearest plantations, where they acted with all the wantonness of barbarity: so that the people of Jamaica were obliged to conduct themselves with the utmost vigilance and circumspection; while rear-admiral Holmes, who commanded at sea, took every precaution to secure the island from insult or invasion. He not only took measures for the defence of Jamaica, but also contrived and executed schemes for annoying the enemy. Having in the month of October received intelligence that five French frigates were equipped at Cape François, on the island of Hispaniola, in order to convoy a fleet of merchant-ships to Europe, he stationed the ships under his command in such a manner as was most likely to intercept this fleet; and his disposition was attended with success. The enemy sailed from the Cape to the number of eight sail, on the sixteenth; and next day they were chased by the king’s ships the Hampshire, Lively, and Boreas; which however made small progress, as there was little wind, and that variable. In the evening the breeze freshened; and about midnight the Boreas came up with the Sirenne, commanded by commodore M’Cartie. They engaged with great vivacity for about twenty-five minutes, when the Sirenne shot a-head, and made the best of her way. The Boreas was so damaged in her rigging, that she could not close with the enemy again till next day, at two in the afternoon, when the action was renewed off the east end of Cuba, and maintained till forty minutes past four, when Mr. M’Cartie struck. In the meantime, the Hampshire and Lively gave chase to the other four French frigates, which steered to the southward with all the sail they could carry, in order to reach the west end of Tortuga, and shelter themselves in Port-au-Prince. On the eighteenth, the Lively, by the help of her oars, came up with the Valeur, at half an hour past seven in the morning; and after a hot action, which continued an hour and a half, compelled the enemy to submit. The Hampshire stood after the three others, and about four in the afternoon ran up between the duke de Choiseul and the prince Edward. These she engaged at the same time; but the first, having the advantage of the wind, made her retreat into Port-au-Paix, the other ran ashore about two leagues to leeward, and struck her colours; but at the approach of the Hampshire the enemy set her on fire, and she blew up. This was also the fate of the Fleur de Lys, which had run into Freshwater Bay, a little farther to leeward of Port-au-Prince. Thus, by the prudent disposition of admiral Holmes, and the gallantry of his three captains Norbury, Uvedale, and Maitland, two large frigates of the enemy were taken, and three destroyed. The spirit of the officers was happily supported by an uncommon exertion of courage in the men, who cheerfully engaged in the most dangerous enterprises. Immediately after the capture of the French frigates, eight of the enemy’s privateers were destroyed or brought into Jamaica. Two of these, namely, the Vainqueur of ten guns, sixteen swivels, and ninety men, and the Mackau of six swivels, and fifteen men, had run into shoal water in Cumberland harbour on the island of Cuba. The boats of the Trent and Boreas, manned under the direction of the lieutenants Miller and Stuart, being rowed up to the Vainqueur, boarded and took possession under a close fire, after having surmounted many other difficulties. The Mackau was taken without any resistance; then the boats proceeded against the Guespe, of eight guns, and eighty-five men, which laid at anchor farther up in the Lagoon, but before they came up the enemy had set her on fire, and she was destroyed.

GALLANT BEHAVIOUR OF CAPTAINS O’BRIEN AND TAYLOR.

The same activity and resolution distinguished the captains and officers belonging to the squadron commanded by sir James Douglas off the Leeward islands. In the month of September, the captains O’Brien and Taylor, of the ships Temple and Griffin, being on a joint cruise off the islands Granadas, received intelligence that the Virgin, formerly a British sloop of war, which had been taken by the enemy, then lay at anchor, together with three privateers, under protection of three forts on the island, sailed thither in order to attack them, and their enterprise was crowned with success. After a warm engagement which lasted several hours, the enemy’s batteries were silenced, and indeed demolished, and the English captains took possession of the four prizes. They afterwards entered another harbour of that island, having first demolished another fort; and there they lay four days unmolested, at the expiration of which they carried off three other prizes. In their return to Antigua, they fell in with thirteen ships bound to Martinique with provisions, and took them all without resistance. About the same time eight or nine privateers were taken by the ships which commodore sir James Douglas employed in cruising round the island of Guadaloupe, so that the British commerce in those seas flourished under his care and protection.

TRANSACTIONS IN THE EAST-INDIES.

In the East-Indies the British arms still continued to prosper. After the reduction of Arcot, the garrisons of Permacoil and Allumparva surrendered themselves prisoners of war in the beginning of May. The Falmouth obliged the Haarlem, a French ship from Meguy, to run ashore to the northward of Pondicherry. The important settlement of Carical was reduced by the sea and land forces commanded by rear-admiral Cornish and major Monson, and the French garrison made prisoners of war; and colonel Coote formed the blockade of Pondicherry by laud, while the harbour was beset by the English squadron.

ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE BAY OF QUIBERON.

No action of importance was in the course of this year achieved by the naval force of Great Britain in the seas of Europe. A powerful squadron still remained in the hay of Quiberon, in order to amuse and employ a body of French forces on that part of the coast, and interrupt the navigation of the enemy; though the principal aim of this armament seems to have been to watch and detain the few French ships which had run into the river Vil-laine, after the defeat of Confians; an object, the importance of which will doubtless astonish posterity. The fleet employed in this service was alternately commanded by admiral Boscawen and sir Edward Hawke, officers of distinguished abilities, whose talents might have been surely rendered subservient to much greater national advantages. All that Mr. Boscawen could do in this circumscribed scene of action was, to take possession of a small island near the river Vannes, which he caused to be cultivated, and planted with vegetables, for the use of the men infected with scorbutic disorders arising from salt provision, sea air, and want of proper exercise. In the month of September, sir Edward Hawke, who had by this time relieved Mr. Boscawen, detached the gallant lord Howe, in the Magnanime, with the ships Prince Frederick and Bedford, to reduce the little island of Dumet, about three miles in length, and two in breadth, abounding with fresh water. It was defended by a small fort, mounted with nine cannon, and manned with one company of the regiment of Bourbon, who surrendered in a very short time after the ships had begun the attack. By this small conquest a considerable expense was saved to the nation in the article of transports employed to carry water for the use of the squadron.

Admiral Rodney still maintained his former station off the coast of Havre de Grace, to observe what should pass at the mouth of the Seine. In the month of July, while he hovered in this neighbourhood, five large flat bottomed boats, laden with cannon and shot, feet sail from Harfleur in the middle of the day, with their colours flying, as if they had set the English squadron at defiance; for the walls of Havre de Grace, and even the adjacent hills, were covered with spectators, assembled to behold the issue of this adventure. Having reached the river of Caen, they stood backwards and forwards upon the shoals, intending to amuse admiral Rodney till night, and then proceed under cover of the darkness. He perceived their drift, and gave directions to his small vessels to be ready, that, as soon as day-light failed, they should make all the sail they could for the mouth of the river Orne, in order to cut off the enemy’s retreat, while he himself stood with the larger ships to the steep coast of Port Bassin. The scheme succeeded to his wish. The enemy, seeing their retreat cut off, ran ashore at Port Bassin, where the admiral destroyed them, together with the small fort which had been erected for the defence of this harbour. Each of those vessels was one hundred feet in length, and capable of containing four hundred men for a short passage. What their destination was we cannot pretend to determine; but the French had provided a great number of these transports, for ten escaped into the river Orne leading to Caen; and in consequence of this disaster one hundred were unloaded, and sent up again to Rouen. This was not all the damage that the enemy sustained on this part of the coast. In the month of November, captain Curry, of the Acteon, chased a large privateer, and drove her ashore between Cape Barfleur and La Hogue, where she perished. The cutters belonging to admiral Rodney’s squadron scoured the coast towards Dieppe, where a considerable fishery was carried on, and where they took or destroyed near forty vessels of considerable burden. Though the English navy suffered nothing from the French during this period, it sustained some damage from the weather. The Conqueror, a new ship of the line, was lost in the channel, on the island of St. Nicholas, but the crew and cannon were saved. The Lyme, of twenty guns, foundered in the Categat, in Norway, and fifty of the men perished; and, in the West Indies, a tender belonging to the Dublin, commanded by commodore sir James Douglas, was lost in a single wind, with a hundred chosen mariners.

Of the domestic transactions relating to the war, the most considerable was the equipment of a powerful armament destined for some secret expedition. A numerous body of forces was assembled, and a great number of transports collected at Portsmouth. Generals were nominated to the command of this enterprise. The troops were actually embarked with a great train of artillery; and the eyes of the whole nation were attentively fixed upon this armament, which could not have been prepared without incurring a prodigious expense. Notwithstanding these preparations, the whole summer was spent in idleness and inaction; and in the latter end of the season the undertaking was laid aside. The people did not fail to clamour against the inactivity of the summer, and complained that, notwithstanding the immense subsidies granted for the prosecution of the war, no stroke of importance was struck in Europe for the advantage of Great Britain; but that her treasure was lavished upon fruitless parade, or a German alliance still more pernicious. It must be owned indeed, that no new attempt was made to annoy the enemy on British principles; for the surrender of Montreal was the natural consequence of the steps which had been taken, and of the measures concerted in the course of the preceding year. It will be allowed, we apprehend, that the expense incurred by the armament at Portsmouth, and the body of troops there detained, would have been sufficient, if properly applied, to reduce the island of Mauritius in the Indian ocean, Martinique in the West Indies, or Minorca in the Mediterranean; and all these three were objects of importance. In all probability, the design of the armament was either to intimidate the French into proposals of peace; to make a diversion from the Rhine, by alarming the coast of Bretagne; or to throw over a body of troops into Flanders, to effect a junction with the hereditary prince of Brunswick, who, at the head of twenty thousand men, had made an irruption as far as the Lower Rhine, and even crossed that river; but he miscarried in the execution of his design.

ASTRONOMERS SENT TO THE EAST INDIES.

In the midst of these alarms some regard was paid to the improvements of natural knowledge. The Royal Society having made application to the king, representing that there would be a transit of Venus over the disc of the sun, on the sixth day of June; and that there was reason to hope the parallax of that planet might be more accurately determined by making proper observations of this phenomenon at the island of St. Helena, near the coast of Africa, and at Bencoolen in the East Indies, his majesty granted a sum of money to defray the expense of sending able astronomers to those two places, and ordered a ship of war to be equipped for their conveyance. Accordingly, Mr. Nevil Maskelyne and Mr. Robert Waddington were appointed to make the observations at St. Helena; and Mr. Charles Mason and Mr. Jeremiah Dixon undertook the voyage to Bencoolen, on the island of Sumatra.*

* In the beginning of April, the king granted to his grandson prince Edward Augustus, and to the heirs male of his royal highness, the dignities of duke of the kingdom of Great Britain, and of earl of the kingdom of Ireland, by the names, styles, and titles, of duke of York and Albany, and earl of Ulster.

EARTHQUAKES IN SYRIA.

Except the countries that were actually the scenes of war, no political revolution or disturbance disquieted the general tranquillity. Syria, indeed, felt all the horrors and wreck of a dreadful earthquake, protracted in repeated shocks, which began on the thirteenth day of October, in the neighbourhood of Tripoli. A great number of houses were overthrown at Seyde, and many people buried under the ruins. It was felt through a space of ten thousand square leagues, comprehending the mountains of Libanus and Antilibanus, with an infinite number of villages, that were reduced to heaps of rubbish. At Acra, or Ptolemais, the sea overflowed its banks, and poured into the streets, though eight feet above the level of the water. The city of Saphet was entirely destroyed, and the greatest part of its inhabitants perished. At Damascus, all the minarets were overthrown, and six thousand people lost their lives. The shocks diminished gradually till the twenty-fifth day of November, when they were renewed with redoubled havoc; the earth trembled with the most dreadful convulsions, and the greater part of Tripoli was destroyed. Balbeck was entirely ruined, and this was the fate of many other towns and castles; so that the people who escaped the ruins were obliged to sojourn in the open fields, and all Syria was threatened with the vengeance of heaven. Such a dangerous ferment arose at Constantinople, that a revolution was apprehended. Mustapha, the present emperor, had no sons; but his brother Bajazet, whose life he had spared, contrary to the maxims of Turkish policy, produced a son by one of the women with whom he was indulged in his confinement; a circumstance which aroused the jealousy of the emperor to such a degree, that he resolved to despatch his brother. The great officers of the Porte opposed this design, which was so disagreeable to the people, that an insurrection ensued. Several Turks and Armenians, taking it for granted that a revolution was at hand, bought up great quantities of grain; and a dreadful dearth was the consequence of this monopoly. The sultan assembled the troops, quieted the insurgents, ordered the engrossers of corn to be executed, and in a little time the repose of the city was reestablished.

Notwithstanding the prospect of a rupture in Italy, no new incident interrupted the tranquillity which the southern parts of Europe enjoyed. The king of Spain, howsoever solicited by the other branch of the house of Bourbon to engage in the war as its ally, refused to interpose in any other way than as a mediator between the courts of London and Versailles. He sent the condé de Fuentes, a nobleman of high rank and character, in quality of ambassador-extraordinary to the king of Great Britain, in order to offer his good offices for effecting a peace; and the condé, after having conferred with the English minister, made an excursion to Paris: but his proposal with respect to a cessation of hostilities, if in reality such a proposal was ever made, did not meet with a cordial reception. Other differences subsisting between the crowns of Great Britain and Spain, he found no difficulty in compromising. His catholic majesty persisted in the execution of a plan truly worthy of a patriot king. In the first place, he spared no pains and application to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the state of his kingdom. He remitted to his people all they owed the crown, amounting to threescore millions of reals: he demanded an exact account of his father’s debts, that they might be discharged with the utmost punctuality: an order was sent to the treasury, that ten millions of reals should be annually appropriated for this purpose, until the whole should be liquidated; and to the first year’s payment be added fifty millions, to be divided equally among the legal claimants. He took measures for the vigorous execution of the laws against offenders; encouraged industry; protected commerce; and felt the exquisite pleasure in being beloved as the father of his people. To give importance to his crown, and extend his influence among the powers of Europe, he equipped a powerful squadron of ships at Carthagena; and is said to have declared his intention to employ them against Algiers, should the dey refuse to release the slaves of the Spanish nation.

AFFAIRS OF PORTUGAL.

Portugal still seemed agitated from the shock of the late conspiracy which was quelled in that kingdom. The pope’s nuncio was not only forbid the court, but even sent under a strong guard to the frontiers; an indignity which induced the pontiff to order the Portuguese minister at Rome to evacuate the ecclesiastical dominions. In the meantime, another embarkation of Jesuits was sent from Lisbon to Civita Vecchia; yet the expulsion of these fathers did not restore the internal peace of Portugal, or put an end to the practice of plotting; for, even since their departure, some persons of rank have either been committed to close prison, or exiled from the kingdom. The Jesuits were not more fortunate in America; for in the month of October, in the foregoing year, an obstinate battle was fought between the united forces of Spain and Portugal and the Indians of Paraguay, who were under the dominion of the Jesuits: victory at length declared in favour of the two crowns; so that the vanquished were obliged to capitulate, and lay down their arms. As the court of Portugal had made remonstrances to the British ministry against the proceedings of the English squadron under admiral Boscawen, which had attacked and destroyed some French ships under the Portuguese fort in the bay of Lagos, his Britannic majesty thought proper to send the earl of Kinnoul as ambassador-extraordinary to Lisbon, where that nobleman made such excuses for the insult of the English admiral, as entirely removed all the misunderstanding between the two crowns; and could not fail of being agreeable to the Portuguese monarch, thus respected, soothed, and deprecated by a mighty nation, in the very zenith of power and prosperity. On the sixth of June, being the birthday of the king of Portugal, the marriage of his brother don Pedro with the princess of Brazil was celebrated in the chapel of the palace where the king resides, to the universal joy of the people. The nuptials were announced to the public by the discharge of cannon, and celebrated with illuminations and all kinds of rejoicing.

An accident which happened in the Mediterranean had like to have drawn the indignation of the Ottoman Porte on the knights of the order of Malta. A large Turkish ship of the line, mounted with sixty-eight brass cannon, having on board a complement of seven hundred men, besides seventy christian slaves, under the immediate command of the Turkish admiral, had, in company with two frigates, five galleys, and other smaller vessels, sailed in June from the Dardanelles; cruised along the coast of Smyrna, Scio, and Trio; and at length anchored in the channel of Stangie, where the admiral, with four hundred persons, went on shore, on the nineteenth day of September: the christian slaves, seizing this opportunity, armed themselves with knives, and fell upon the three hundred that remained with such fury and effect, that a great number of the Turks were instantly slain; many leaped overboard into the sea, where they perished; and the rest sued for mercy. The christians, having thus secured possession of the ship, hoisted sail, and bore away for Malta: which, though chased by the two frigates and a Ragusan ship, they reached by crowding all their canvas, and brought their prize safe into the harbour of Valette, amidst the acclamations of the people. The order of Malta, as a recompence for this signal act of bravery and resolution, assigned to the captors the whole property of the ship and slaves, together with all the effects on board, including a sum of money which the Turkish commander had collected by contribution, amounting to a million and a half of florins. The grand seignior was so enraged at this event, that he disgraced his admiral, and threatened to take vengeance on the order of Malta, for having detained the ship, and countenanced the capture.

PATRIOTIC SCHEMES OF THE KING OF DENMARK.

With respect to the disputes which had so long embroiled the northern parts of Europe, the neutral powers seemed as averse as ever to a participation. The king of Denmark continued to perfect those plans which he had wisely formed for increasing the wealth, and promoting the happiness of his subjects; nor did he neglect any opportunity of improving natural knowledge for the benefit of mankind in general. He employed men of ability, at his own expense, to travel into foreign countries, and to collect the most curious productions, for the advancement of natural history: he encouraged the liberal and mechanic arts at home, by munificent rewards and peculiar protection: he invited above a thousand foreigners from Germany to become his subjects, and settle in certain districts in Jutland, which had lain waste above three centuries; and they forthwith began to build villages, and cultivate the lands, in the dioceses of Wibourg, Arhous, and Ripen. Their travelling expenses from Altona to their new settlement were defrayed by the king, who moreover maintained them until the produce of the lands could afford a comfortable subsistence. He likewise bestowed upon each colonist a house, a barn, and a stable, with a certain number of horses and cattle. Finally, this generous patriot having visited these new subjects, who received him with unspeakable emotions of joy and affection, he ordered a considerable sum of money to be distributed among them as an additional mark of his favour. Such conduct in a prince cannot fail to secure the warmest returns of loyalty and attachment in his people; and the execution of such laudable schemes will endear his name to the contemplation of posterity.

MEMORIAL PRESENTED TO THE STATES-GENERAL.

The Dutch, as usual, persevered in prosecuting every branch of commerce, without being diverted to less profitable schemes of state-policy by the insinuations of France, or the remonstrances of Great Britain. The violation of the peace by their subjects in Bengal was no sooner known at the court of London, than orders were sent to general Yorke, the English ambassador at the Hague, to demand an explanation. He accordingly presented a memorial to the states-general, signifying that their high mightinesses must doubtless be greatly astonished to hear, by the public papers, of the irregularities committed by their subjects in the East Indies; but that they would be much more amazed on perusing the piece annexed to his memorial, containing a minute account, specified with the strictest regard to truth, of the irregular conduct observed by the Dutch towards the British subjects in the river Bengal, at a time when the factors and traders of Holland enjoyed all the sweets of peace and all the advantages of unmolested commerce: at a time when his Britannic majesty, from his great regard to their high mightinesses, carefully avoided giving the least umbrage to the subjects of the United Provinces. He observed that the king his sovereign was deeply affected by these outrageous doings and mischievous designs of the Dutch in the East Indies, whose aim was to destroy the British settlements in that country; an aim that would have been accomplished, had not the king’s victorious arms brought them to reason, and obliged them to sue for an accommodation. He told them his majesty would willingly believe their high mightinesses had given no order for proceeding to such extremities, and that the directors of their India company had no share in the transaction: nevertheless, he (the ambassador) was ordered to demand signal satisfaction, in the name of the king his master; that all who should be found to have shared in the offence, so manifestly tending to the destruction of the English settlements in that country, should be exemplarily punished; and that their high mightinesses should confirm the stipulations agreed upon immediately after the action by the directors of the respective companies, in consideration of which agreement the Dutch ships were restored, after their commanders acknowledged their fault, in owning themselves the aggressors. To this remonstrance the states-general replied, that nothing of what was laid to the charge of their subjects had yet reached their knowledge: but they requested his Britannic majesty to suspend his judgment until he should be made perfectly acquainted with the grounds of those disputes; and they promised he should have reason to be satisfied with the exemplary punishment that would be inflicted upon all who should be found concerned in violating the peace between the two nations. *

* In the month of March, the states of Holland and West Friesland having, after warm debates, agreed to the proposed match between the princess Caroline, sister to the prince of Orange, and the prince of Nassau Weilbourg, the nuptials were solemnized at the Hague with great magnificence.

STATE OF THE POWERS AT WAR.

The war in Germany still raged with unrelenting fury, and the mutual rancour of the contending parties seemed to derive fresh force from their mutual disappointments; at least the house of Austria seemed still implacable, and obstinately bent upon terminating the war with the destruction of the Prussian monarch. Her allies, however, seemed less actuated by the spirit of revenge. The French king had sustained so much damage and disgrace in the course of the war, that his resources failed, and his finances fell into disorder; he could no longer afford the subsidies he had promised to different powers; while his subjects clamoured aloud at the burden of impositions, the ruin of trade, and the repeated dishonour entailed upon the arms of France. The czarina’s zeal for the alliance was evidently cooled by the irregular and defective payments of the subsidies she had stipulated. Perhaps she was disappointed in her hope of conquest, and chagrined to see her armies retire from Germany at the approach of every winter; and the British ministry did not fail to exert all their influence to detach her from the confederacy in which she had embarked. Sweden still languished in an effectual parade of hostilities against the house of Bran-denburgh; but the French interest began to lose ground in the diet of that kingdom. The king of Prussia, howsoever exhausted in the article of men, betrayed no symptom of apprehension, and made no advance towards a pacification with his adversaries. He had employed the winter in recruiting his armies by every expedient his fertile genius could devise; in levying contributions to reinforce the vast subsidy he received from England, in filling magazines, and making every preparation for a vigorous campaign. In Westphalia, the same foresight and activity were exerted by prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, who in the beginning of summer found himself at the head of a very numerous army, paid by Great Britain, and strengthened by two-and-twenty thousand national troops.

DEATH OF THE LANDGRAVE OF HESSE-CASSEL.

No alteration in the terms of this alliance was produced by the death of William, landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, who breathed his last, in an advanced age, on the twenty-eighth day of January, at Rintelen upon the Weser. He was succeeded in the landgraviate by his son Frederick, whose consort, the princess Mary, daughter to the king of Great Britain, now, in quality of governess of her children, assumed the regency and administration of the county of Hanau-Muntzenberg, by virtue of the settlement made in the lifetime of her father-in-law, and confirmed by her husband. She had for some years been separated from him, and resided with his father, at whose decease she retired with her children to the city of Zell. The present landgrave, who lived at Magdebourg as vice-governor under the kin g of Prussia, no sooner learned the news of his father’s death, than he sent an intimation of it to that prince and the king of Great Britain; declaring, at the same time, that he would scrupulously adhere to the engagements of his predecessor.

OFFERS MADE BY THE NEUTRAL POWERS, &c.

The advances towards a peace, which had been made in the preceding year by the kings of England and Prussia, in their declaration published at the Hague by prince Louis of Brunswick, seemed to infuse in the neutral powers a good opinion of their moderation. We have already seen that the king of Spain offered his best offices in quality of mediator. When a congress was proposed, the states-general made an offer of Breda, as a place proper for the negotiation. The king of Great Britain, by the mouth of his ambassador, thanked their high mightinesses for the sincere desire they expressed to put an end to the ravages of war, which had extended desolation over the face of Europe: he readily closed with their gracious offer; and in consequence of his high regard and invariable friendship for their high mightinesses, wished earnestly that it might be acceptable to the other powers at war. The French king expressed his sentiments nearly to the same purpose. His ambassador declared, that his most christian majesty was highly sensible of the offer they had made of Breda for holding the congress; that, in order to give a fresh proof of his sincere desire to increase the good harmony that subsisted between him and the states-general, he accepted their offer with pleasure; butas he could take no step without the concurrence of his high allies, he was obliged to wait for their answer, which could not fail to be favourable, if nothing remained to be settled but the place for holding the congress. King Stanislaus having written a letter to his Britannic majesty, offering the city of Nancy for the same purpose, he received a civil answer, expressing the king of England’s sense of his obliging offer, which however he declined, as a place not conveniently situated for all the powers interested in the great works of pacification. Civilities of the same nature likewise passed between the sovereign of Nancy and the king of Prussia. As the proposals for an accommodation made by the king of England and his allies might have left an unfavourable impression of their adversaries had they been altogether declined, the court of Vienna was prevailed upon to concur with her allies in a declaration professing their desire of peace; which declaration was delivered, on the third day of April, by the Austrian minister residing at the Hague, to his serene highness prince Louis of Brunswick; and a paper of the same nature was also delivered to him separately by the French and Russian ministers. 558 [See note 4 N, at the end of this Vol.] These professions, however, did not interrupt the operations of the campaign.

SKIRMISHES IN WESTPHALIA.

Though the French army under the mareschal duke de Broglio remained in cantonment in the neighbourhood of Friedberg, and prince Ferdinand had retired from Corsdorff to Marburg, where in the beginning of January he established his head-quarters, nevertheless the winter was by no means inactive. As far back as the twenty-fifth day of December, the duke de Broglio, having called in his detachments, attempted to surprise the allied army by a forced march to Kleinlinnes; but finding them prepared to give him a warm reception, nothing but a cannonade ensued, and he retreated to his former quarters. On the twenty-ninth, colonel Luckner, at the head of the Hanoverian hunters, fell in with a detachment of the enemy, consisting of four hundred men, under the command of count Muret. These he attacked with such vigour, that the count was made prisoner, and all his party either killed or taken, except two-and-twenty, who escaped. On the third day of January, the marquis de Vogue attacked the town of Herborn, which he carried, and took a small detachment of the allies who were posted there. At the same time the marquis Dauvet made himself master of Dillembourg, the garrison of the allied troops being obliged to retire into the castle, where they were closely besieged. Prince Ferdinand no sooner understood their situation, than he began his march with a strong detachment for their relief, on the seventh day of the month, when he attacked and totally defeated the besiegers, took seven hundred prisoners, including forty officers, with seven pair of colours, and two pieces of cannon. On that very day, the Highlanders, under major Keith, supported by the hussars of Luckner, who commanded the whole detachment, attacked the village of Ryebach, where Beaufremont’s regiment of dragoons was posted on the side of Dillembourg, and routed them with great slaughter. The greater part of the regiment was killed, and many prisoners were taken, together with two hundred horses, and all their baggage. The Highlanders distinguished themselves on this occasion by their intrepidity, which was the more remarkable, as they were no other than raw recruits, just arrived from their own country, and altogether unacquainted with discipline. On the eighth day of January, M. de St. Germain advanced on the left of the allies with the grenadiers of the French army, supported by eight battalions, and a body of dragoons; but he was encountered by the duke of Holstein, at the head of a strong detachment, in the neighbourhood of Ersdorff, who, by dint of a furious cannonade, obliged him to retreat with precipitation. After this attempt the French parties disappeared, and their army retired into winter-quarters, in and about Franckfort on the Maine; while prince Ferdinand quartered the allies at Cassel, Paderborn, Munster, and Osnabruck; this last place being allotted to the British troops, as being the nearest to Embden, where the reinforcements from Britain were to be landed. In the beginning of February, the hereditary prince of Brunswick, with the detachment of the allied army under his command, began his march from Chemnitz in Saxony for Westphalia, where he safely arrived, after having assisted at a long conference in Hamelen, with his father the reigning duke, his uncle prince Ferdinand, and some principal members of the regency of Hanover.

The French general continued to send out detachments to beat up the quarters of the allies, and lay their towns under contribution. In the beginning of March, the marquis de Blaisel marched at the head of two thousand four hundred men from Giessen, where he commanded, to Marburg, forced the gates of the town, and compelled the garrison of the allies to take shelter in the castle. As he could not pretend to undertake the siege of the fortress, by the fire of which he was exceedingly galled, he demanded of the town a contribution of one hundred thousand florins, and carried some of the magistrates along with him as hostages for the payment of this imposition. He afterwards appeared at Hombourg, Alsfeldt, and Hartzberg, the frontier posts of the allies; but did not think proper to attack either, because he perceived that measures were taken for his reception. The French, with all their boasted politeness and humanity, are sometimes found as brutal and rapacious as the most barbarous enemy. On pretence of taking umbrage at the town of Hanau Muntzenberg, for having without their permission acknowledged the regency of the landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel, they, in the month of February, ordered the magistrates of that place to pay, within the term of twenty-four hours, the sum of seven hundred and fifty thousand livres, on pain of being subjected to plunder. This order was signified by the prince de Robecq; to whom the magistrates represented the impossibility of raising such a sum, as the country was totally exhausted, and their credit absolutely destroyed, in consequence of their inability to pay the interest of the capitals negotiated in the course of the preceding year. He still insisted upon their finding the money before night; they offered to pay eighty thousand florins, which they raised with the utmost difficulty, and begged the payment of the rest might be postponed for a few weeks: but their request was rejected with disdain. The garrison was reinforced by two battalions, and four squadrons dispersed in the principal squares and markets of the city, and the gates were shut. They even planted cannon in the streets, and tarred matches were fixed to many houses, in order to intimidate the inhabitants. These expedients proving ineffectual, detachments of grenadiers entered the houses of the principal magistrates and merchants, from whence they removed all their best effects to the town-hall, where they were kept in deposit, until they were redeemed with all the money that could possibly be raised. This exaction, so little to the honour of a civilized nation, the French minister declared to the diet at Ratisbon was agreeable to the instructions of his most christian majesty.

By way of retaliation for the cruelty practised at Hanau, a detachment of the allied army under general Luckner was sent to raise contributions in Fulda, and actually carried off hostages from that city; but retired before a strong body of the enemy, who took possession of the place. From hence the French marched, in their turn, to plunder the towns of Hirchfeldt and Vacha. Accordingly, they appeared at Vacha, situated on the frontiers of Hesse, and formed the head of the chain of cantonments which the allies had on the Werra. This place was attacked with such vigour, that colonel Frey-tag, who commanded the post, was obliged to abandon the town: but he maintained himself on a rising ground in the neighbourhood, where he amused the enemy until two battalions of grenadiers came to his assistance. Thus reinforced, he pursued the French for three leagues, and drove them with considerable loss from Giessa, where they had resolved to fix their quarters. These skirmishes happened in the beginning of May, when the grand armies were just in motion to begin the campaign.

SITUATION OF THE FRENCH ARMIES.

By this time the forces under the mareschal duke de Broglio were augmented to one hundred thousand; while the count de St. Germain commanded a separate army on the Rhine, consisting of thirty thousand men, assembled from the quarters of Dusseldorp, Cologn, Cleves, and Wesel. The second corps was intended to divide the allied army, which, by such a division, would be considerably weakened; and the French court threatened to form a third army under the prince de Soubise; but this did not appear. The duke de Broglio was in such high favour with the French ministry at this juncture, that he was promoted over the heads of many old generals, who now demanded and obtained their dismission; and every step was taken to render the campaign glorious to this admired commander: but notwithstanding all their care, and his own exertion, he found it impossible to take the field early in the season, from want of forage for his cavalry. While his quarters were established at Franckfort, his troops were plentifully supplied with all sorts of provisions from the Upper Rhine; but this convenience depended upon his being master of the course of the river; but he could not move from this position without forfeiting the advantage, and providing magazines for the use of his forces; so that he was obliged to lie inactive until he could have the benefit of green forage in his march. The same inconveniences operated more powerfully on the side of prince Ferdinand, who, being in an exhausted country, was obliged to fall back as far as Paderborn, and draw his supplies from Hamburg and Bremen on the Elbe and the Weser. By this time, however, he had received a reinforcement of British troops from Embden, under the direction of major-general Griffin; and before the end of the campaign, the forces of that nation in Germany were augmented to five-and-twenty thousand; a greater number than had served at one time upon the continent for two centuries. The allied army marched from their cantonments on the fifth day of May, and proceeded by the way of Paderborn to Fritzlar, where, on the twentieth, they encamped: but part of the troops left in the bishopric of Munster, under general Sporcken, were ordered to form a camp at Dulmen, to make head against the French corps commanded by the count de St. Germain.

EXPLOIT OF COLONEL LUCKNER.

General Imhoff was sent with a detachment to Kirchaven on the Orme: and general Gilsoe, with another corps, advanced to the neighbourhood of Hirchfeldt on the Fulda. The former of these having ordered colonel Luckner to scour the country with a body of hussars, that officer, on the twenty-fourth of May, fell in with a French patrole, which gave the alarm at Butzbach; when the garrison of that place, amounting to five hundred piquets, under general Waldemar, fled with great precipitation. Being, however, pursued, and overtaken near a wood, they were routed and dispersed. Colonel Luckner, entering Butzbach, found a considerable quantity of forage, flour, wine, and equipage, belonging to the fugitives. What he could not carry off he distributed among the poor inhabitants, and returned to general Imhoff’s camp at Ameneberg, with about an hundred prisoners. This excursion alarmed the enemy to such a degree, that their whole army was put in motion; and the duke de Broglio in person advanced with a large body of troops as far as Friedberg: but undemanding the allies had not quitted their camp at Fritzlar, he returned to Franckfort, after having cantoned that part of his army in the Wetteraw. This alarm was not so mortifying as the secession of the Wirtemberg troops, amounting to ten thousand men, commanded by their duke in person, who left the French army in disgust, and returned to his own country. The imperial army, under the prince de Deuxponts, quartered at Bamberg, began their march to Naumberg on the twentieth of May: but one of their detachments of cavalry having received a check from a body of Prussians near Lutzen, they fell back; and on the fourth day of June encamped at Litchenfels upon the Maine. The small detachments of the grand armies, as well as those belonging to the bodies commanded by general Sporcken and the count de St. Germain, in the neighbourhood of Dusseldorp, skirmished with various success. The hereditary prince of Brunswick being detached from the allied army, with some battalions of grenadiers, and two regiments of English dragoons, advanced to the country of Fulda, where he was joined by the troops under general Gilsoe, and achieved some inconsiderable exploits, particularly at Hosenfeldt and Zielbach, where he surprised and took divers parties of the enemy.

By the twenty-fourth of June, prince Ferdinand, quitting his situation at Fritzlar, marched to Frillendorf, and encamped on the hills between Ziegenheim and Freysa; general Imhoff commanding at a small distance on the right, and the hereditary prince, now returned from Fulda, being posted on the left of the army. In the meantime, the duke de Broglio, assembling his forces between Merlau and Laubach, advanced to Neustadt, where he encamped on the twenty-eighth day of the month, and at the same time occupied a strong post at Wassenburgh. His intention was to penetrate through the country of Hesse into Hanover, and make himself entirely master of that electorate. With this view he resolved to effect a junction with the count de St. Germain, whom he directed to advance towards Brilau and Corbach; while he himself, decamping from Neustadt on the eighth day of July, advanced by the way of Frankenburg. Prince Ferdinand, having received intelligence that the count de St. Germain was in motion, began his march from Ziegenheim, and on the ninth day of July reached the heights of Bruneau, in the neighbourhood of Wildungen.

THE HEREDITARY PRINCE OF BRUNSWICK DEFEATED.

The hereditary prince, at the head of the advanced corps, reinforced with some battalions and squadrons under major-general Griffin, was sent forward to Sauxenhausen, whither the army followed the next morning. The hereditary prince continuing to advance, found the enemy already formed at Corbach; but judging their whole force did not exceed ten thousand infantry and seventeen squadrons, and being impelled by the impetuosity of his own courage, he resolved to give them battle. He accordingly attacked them about two in the afternoon, and the action became very warm and obstinate; but the enemy being continually reinforced with fresh battalions, and having the advantage of a numerous artillery, all the prince’s efforts were ineffectual. Prince Ferdinand, being at too great a distance to sustain him, sent him an order to rejoin the army which was by this time formed at Sauxenhausen. He forthwith made dispositions for a retreat, which however was attended with great confusion. The enemy observing the disorder of the allied troops, plied their artillery with redoubled diligence, while a powerful body of their cavalry charged with great vivacity. In all likelihood the whole infantry of the allies would have been cut off, had not the hereditary prince made a diversion in their favour, by charging in person at the head of the British dragoons, who acted with their usual gallantry and effect. This respite enabled the infantry to accomplish their retreat to Sauxenhausen; but they lost above five hundred men and fifteen pieces of cannon. General count Kielmansegge, major-general Griffin, and major Hill, of Bland’s dragoons, distinguished themselves by their conduct and intrepidity on this occasion. The hereditary prince exposed his life in the hottest part of the action, and received a slight wound in the shoulder, which gave him far less disturbance than he felt from the chagrin and mortification produced by his defeat.

Many days, however, did not pass before he found an opportunity of retaliating this disgrace. Prince Ferdinand, receiving advice that a body of the enemy, commanded by major-general Glaubitz, had advanced on the left of the allies to Ziegenheim, detached the hereditary prince to oppose them, at the head of six battalions of Hanoverians and Hessians, with Elliot’s regiment of English light-horse, Luckner’s hussars, and two brigades of chasseurs; on the sixteenth day of the month, he engaged the enemy near the village of Exdorf, and a very warm action ensued, in which Elliot’s regiment signalized themselves remarkably by repeated charges.*

* Though this was the first time that Elliot’s regiment appeared in the field, it performed wonders. They charged five different times, and broke through the enemy at every charge; but these exploits they did not achieve without sustaining a heavy loss in officers, men, and horses.

At length victory declared for the allies. Five battalions of the enemy, including the commander-in-chief and the prince of Anhalt Cothen, were taken, with six pieces of cannon, all their arms, baggage, and artillery. During these transactions, the mareschal duke de Broglio remained encamped on the heights of Corbach. He had, in advancing from Franckfort, left detachments to reduce the castles of Marburg and Dillembourg, which were occupied by the allies, and they fell into his hands, the garrison of both being obliged to surrender prisoners of war. These were but inconsiderable conquests; nor did the progress of the French general equal the idea which had been formed of his talents and activity. The count de St. Germain, who was his senior officer, and believed by many to be at least his equal in capacity, having now joined his corps to the grand army, and conceiving disgust at his being obliged to serve under the duke de Broglio, relinquished his command, in which he was succeeded by the chevalier de Muy. At the same time, the marquis de Voyer and the count de Luc, two generals of experience and reputation, quitted the army, and returned to France, actuated by the same motives.

VICTORY OBTAINED BY THE ALLIES.

The allied army having moved their camp from Saxenhansen to the village of Kalle near Cassel, remained in that situation till the thirtieth day of July, when the troops were again put in motion. The chevalier de Muy, having passed the Dymel at Stradtbergen, with the reserve of the French army, amounting to thirty-five thousand men, extended this body down the banks of the river, in order to cut off the communication of the allies with Westphalia; while the duke de Broglio marched up with his main wing to their camp at Kalle, and prince Xavier of Saxony, who commanded their reserve on the left, advanced towards Cassel; prince Ferdinand, leaving general Kielmansegge with a body of troops for the defence of the city, decamped in the night of the thirtieth, and passed the Dymel without loss between Gibenau and Dringleberg. The hereditary prince, who had the preceding day passed the same river, in order to reinforce general Sporcken, who was posted near Corbeke, now reconnoitred the position of the enemy, and found them possessed of a very advantageous camp between Warbourg and Ochsendorff. Prince Ferdinand having resolved to attack them, ordered the hereditary prince and general Sporcken to turn their left, while he himself advanced against their front, with the main body of the army.. The enemy was accordingly attacked almost at the same instant, both in flank and in rear, with equal impetuosity and success. As the infantry of the allied army could not march fast enough to charge at the same time, the marquis of Granby was ordered to advance with the cavalry of the right; and the brigade of English artillery, commanded by captain Phillips, made such expedition, that they were up in time to second the attack in a most surprising manner. The French cavalry, though very numerous, retired at the approach of the marquis, except three squadrons, who stood the charge and were immediately broken. Then the English horse fell upon the enemy’s infantry, which suffered greatly, while the town of Warbourg was assaulted by the Britannic legion. The French, finding themselves hard pressed on both flanks, as well in front as in rear, retired precipitately, with considerable damage, occasioned chiefly by the British cannon and dragoons, and many were drowned in attempting to ford the Dymel. The battalion of Maxwell, and a brigade under colonel Beckwith, composed of grenadiers and highlanders, distinguished themselves remarkably on this occasion. The enemy left about fifteen hundred men killed or wounded on the field of battle; with some colours, and ten pieces of cannon; and about the same number were made prisoners. Monsieur de Muy lay all night under arms, on the heights of Volk-Missen, from whence he next day retired towards Wolfshagen. On the evening of the battle, the marquis of Granby received orders to pass the river in pursuit of them, with twelve British battalions and ten squadrons, and encamped at Wilda, about four miles from Warbourg, the heights of which were possessed by the enemy’s grand army. 561 [See note 4 O, at the end of this Vol.] By this success, prince Ferdinand was enabled to maintain his communication with Westphalia, and keep the enemy at a distance from the heart of Hanover; but to these objects he sacrificed the country of Cassel: for prince Xavier of Saxony, at the head of a detached body, much more numerous than that which was left under general Kielmansegge, advanced towards Cassel, and made himself master of that city; then he reduced Munden, Gottengen, and Eimbeck in the electorate of Hanover. All that prince Ferdinand could do, considering how much he was out-numbered by the French, was to secure posts and passes, with a view to retard their progress, and employ detachments to harass and surprise their advanced parties. In a few days after the action at Warbourg, general Luckner repulsed a French detachment which had advanced as far as Eimbeck, and surprised another at Nordheim. At the same period, colonel Donap, with a body of the allied army, attacked a French corps of two thousand men, posted in the wood of Sababourg, to preserve the communication between their grand army and their troops on the other side of the Weser; and, notwithstanding the strength of their situation, drove them from their posts, with the loss of five hundred men, either killed or made prisoners; but this advantage was overbalanced by the reduction of Ziegenheim, garrisoned by seven hundred men of the allied army, who, after a vigorous resistance, were obliged to surrender themselves prisoners of war.

On the fifth day of August, prince Ferdinand, being encamped at Buhne, received intelligence that a considerable body of the enemy, amounting to upwards of twenty thousand men, were in motion to make a general forage in the neighbourhood of Geismar. He passed the Dymel early in the morning, with a body of troops and some artillery, and posted them in such an advantageous manner, as to render the enemy’s attempt totally ineffectual, although the foragers were covered with great part of their army. On the same morning, the hereditary prince set out on an expedition to beat up the quarters of a French detachment. Being informed that the volunteers of Clermont and Dauphiné, to the number of one thousand, horse and foot, were cantoned at Zierenberg, at a small distance from the French camp at Dierenberg, and passed their time in the most careless security, he advanced towards them from his camp at Warbourg, within a league of their cantonment, without seeing any of their posts, or meeting with any of their patrols, a circumstance that encouraged him to beat up their quarters by surprise; for this service he pitched upon five battalions, with a detachment of Highlanders, and eight regiments of dragoons. Leaving their tents standing, they began their march at eight in the evening, and passed the Dymel near Warbourg. About a league on the other side of the Dymel, at the village of Witzen, they were joined by the light troops under major Bulow; and now the disposition was made both for entering the town, and securing a retreat in case of being repulsed. When they were within two miles of Zierenberg, and in sight of the fires of the enemy’s grand guard, the grenadiers of Maxwell, the regiment of Kinsley, and the Highlanders, advanced by three separate roads, and marched in profound silence: at length the noise of their feet alarmed the French, who began to fire, when the grenadiers proceeded at a round pace with unloaded firelocks, pushed the piquets, slew the guard at the gate, and rushing into the town, drove everything before them with incredible impetuosity. The attack was so sudden, and the surprise so great, that the French had not time to assemble in any considerable number; but they began to fire from the windows; and in so doing, exasperated the allied troops, who, bursting into the houses, slaughtered them without mercy. Having remained in the place from two to three in the morning, they retreated with about four hundred prisoners, including forty officers, and brought off two pieces of artillery. This nocturnal adventure, in which the British troops displayed equal courage and activity, was achieved with very little loss; but after all, it deserves no other appellation than that of a partisan exploit; for it was attended with no sort of advantage to the allied army.

Considering the superiority of the French army, we cannot account for the little progress made by the duke de Broglio, who, according to our conception, might either have given battle to the allies with the utmost probability of success, or penetrated into the heart of Hanover, the conquest of which seemed to be the principal object of the French ministry. Instead of striking an important stroke, he retired from Immenhausen towards Cassel, where he fortified his camp as if he had thought himself in danger of being attacked; and the war was carried on by small detachments. Major Bulow, being sent with a strong party from the camp of the allied army at Buline, surprised the town of Marburg, destroyed the French ovens, and brought off a considerable quantity of stores and baggage, with some prisoners. He met with the same success at Butzback, where he surprised and took two companies belonging to the regiment of Baugrave, and retired with this body to Franckenberg, where he joined colonel Forsen. On the twelfth day of September they made a movement towards Franckenau; and M. de Stainville, who was posted with a body of French troops at Merdenhagen, advanced to check their progress. He came up with their rear in the neighbourhood of Munden, and attacked them in passing the river Orck with such vigour, that Forsen, with some of his cavalry, was taken, and Bulow obliged to abandon some pieces of cannon. The action was just determined, when this last was reinforced by the hereditary prince of Brunswick, who had made a forced march of five German miles, which had fatigued the troops to such a degree, that he deferred his attack till next morning; but, in the meantime, M. de Stainville retired towards Franckenberg. The Hanoverian general Wangenheim, at the head of four battalions and six squadrons, had driven the enemy from the defiles of Soheite, and encamped at Lawenthagen; but, being attacked by a superior number, he was obliged in his turn to give way, and his retreat was not effected without the loss of two hundred men, and some pieces of artillery. When the enemy retired, general Wangenheim repassed the Weser, and occupied his former situation at Ussar. Meanwhile, general Luckner gained an advantage over a detachment of French cavalry near Norten. Prince Ferdinand, when mareschal Broglio quitted his camp at Immenhausen, made a motion of his troops, and established his head-quarters at Geismer-wells, the residence of the landgrave of Hesse-Cassel; from thence, however, he transferred them, about the latter end of September, to Ovilgune, on the Westphalian side of the Dymel.

THE HEREDITARY PRINCE MARCHES TO THE LOWER RHINE.

Such was the position of the two opposite grand armies, when the world was surprised by an expedition to the Lower Rhine, made by the hereditary prince of Brunswick. Whether this excursion was intended to hinder the French from reinforcing their army in Westphalia—or to co-operate in the Low Countries with the armament now ready equipped in the ports of England; or to gratify the ambition of a young prince, overboiling with courage and glowing with the desire of conquest—we cannot explain to the satisfaction of the reader; certain it is, that the Austrian Netherlands were at this juncture entirely destitute of troops, except the French garrisons of Ostend and Nieuport, which were weak and inconsiderable. Had ten thousand English troops been landed on the coast of Blankenburg, they might have taken possession of Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, and Antwerp, without resistance, and joined the hereditary prince in the heart of the country; in that case he would have found himself at the head of thirty thousand men, and might have made such a diversion in favour of Hanover, as to transfer the seat of war from Westphalia into Flanders. The empress-queen might, indeed, have complained of this invasion, as the formality of declaring war against her had not been observed by Great Britain; but considering that she was the declared enemy of Hanover, and had violated the barrier-treaty, in establishing which the kingdom of Great Britain had lavished away so much blood and treasure, a step of this kind, we apprehend, might have been taken, without any imputation of perfidy or injustice. Whatever the motives of the prince’s expedition might have been, he certainly quitted the grand army of the allies in the month of September; and traversing Westphalia, with twenty battalions, and as many squadrons, appeared on the Lower Ehine, marching by Schermbeck and Dusseldorp. On the twenty-ninth day of the month he sent a large detachment over the river at Rocroot, which surprised part of the French partisan Fischer’s corps at Ehynberg, and scoured the country. Next day, other parties, crossing at Eees and Emmerick, took possession of some redoubts which the French had raised along the bank of the river; and here they found a number of boats sufficient to transport the rest of the forces. Then the prince advanced to Cleves; and at his approach the French garrison, consisting of five hundred men, under the command of M. de Barrai, retired into the castle, which, however, they did not long defend; for on the third day of October they capitulated, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war, after having in vain endeavoured to obtain more favourable conditions.

A more important object was Wesel, which the prince invested, and began to besiege in form. The approaches were made on the right of the Ehine, while the prince in person remained on the left to cover the siege; and kept his communication open with the other side, by a bridge above, and another below the place. He had hoped to carry it by a vigorous exertion, without the formality of a regular siege; but he met with a warmer reception than he expected; and his operations were retarded by heavy rains, which, by swelling the river, endangered his bridges, and laid his trenches under water. The difficulties and delays occasioned by this circumstance entirely frustrated his design. The French, being made acquainted with his motions, were not slow in taking measures to anticipate his success. M. de Castries was detached after him with thirty battalions, and thirty-eight squadrons; and, by forced marches, arrived on the fourteenth day of October at Ehynberg, where the prince’s light troops were posted. These he attacked immediately, and compelled to abandon the post, notwithstanding all the efforts of the prince, who commanded in person, and appeared in the warmest parts of this short but sanguinary affair. The enemy leaving five battalions, with some squadrons, at Ehynberg, marched by the left, and encamped behind the convent of Campen. The prince, having received intimation that M. de Castries was not yet joined by some reinforcements that were on the march, determined to be beforehand with them, and attempt that very night to surprise him in his camp. For this purpose he began his march at ten in the evening, after having left four battalions, and five squadrons, under general Beck, with instructions to observe Rhynberg, and attack that post, in case the attempt on Campen should succeed. Before the allied forces could reach the enemy’s camp, they were under the necessity of overpowering Fischer’s corps of irregulars, which occupied the convent of Campen, at the distance of half a league in their front. This service occasioned some firing, the noise of which alarmed the French army. Their commander formed them with great expedition, and posted them in the wood, where they were immediately attacked, and at first obliged to give ground; but they soon retrieved all they had lost, and sustained without flinching an unceasing fire of musketry, from five in the morning till nine at night, when they reaped the fruits of their perseverance. The hereditary prince, whose horse was killed under him, seeing no prospect of success in prolonging an action which had already cost him a considerable number of men, thought proper to give orders for a retreat, which was not effected without confusion, and left the field of battle to the enemy. His loss on this occasion did not fall short of sixteen hundred choice men, killed, wounded, and taken; and his loss fell chiefly on the troops of Great Britain, who were always found in the foremost ranks of danger. All the officers, both of infantry and dragoons, distinguished themselves remarkably, and many were dangerously wounded. Among these, the nation regretted the loss of lord Downe, whose wounds proved mortal: he was a young nobleman of spirit, who had lately embraced a military life, though he was not regularly trained in the service.

Next day, which was the sixteenth of October, the enemy attacked an advanced body of the allies, which was posted in a wood before Elverick, and extended along the Rhine. The firing of cannon and musketry was maintained till night. Meanwhile, a column of the French infantry, commanded by M. de Cabot, marched through Walach, and took post among the thickets, at the distance of a quarter of a league, in the front of the prince’s army. By this time the Ehine was so much swelled by the rains and the banks of it were overflown in such a manner, that it was necessary to repair, and move lower down, the bridge which had been thrown over that river. This work was accordingly performed in the presence of the enemy; and the prince passing without molestation, proceeded to Bruymen, where he fixed his head-quarters. His passing the Ehine so easily, under the eye of a victorious army so much superior to him in number, may be counted among the fortunate incidents of his life. Such was the issue of an expedition which exposed the projector of it to the imputation of temerity. Whatever his aim might have been, besides the reduction of Wesel, with the strength of which he did not seem to have been very well acquainted, he certainly miscarried in his design; and his miscarriage was attended with a very considerable loss of troops, occasioned not only by the action, but also by the diseases engendered from the wet weather, the fatigue of long marches, and the want of proper conveniences; not to mention the enormous expense in contingencies incurred by this fruitless undertaking.

In the month of November, while he lay encamped in the neighbourhood of Schermbeck, a body of the enemy attempted to beat up his quarters; having received intimation of their design, he immediately called in his advanced posts, and made a disposition for giving them a proper reception. He abandoned the tents that were in the front of his camp, and posted his infantry in ambuscade behind those that were in the rear; at the same time he ordered some regiments of horse and hussars to fetch a compass, and fall upon the back of the enemy. This stratagem succeeded to his wish. The French detachment, believing the allies had actually abandoned their camp, began to pillage the tents in the utmost disorder: then the infantry sallied from the place where they were concealed, and fell upon them with great impetuosity: the artillery opened, and the cavalry charged them in flank. In a word, of twelve hundred who marched from Wesel on this expedition, scarcely two hundred escaped.

ADVANTAGES GAINED by M. DE STAINVILLE.

The duke de Broglio endeavoured, by sundry means, to take advantage of the allied army on the other side of the Weser, thus weakened by the absence of the troops under the hereditary prince; but he found prince Ferdinand too vigilant to be surprised, and too strongly situated to be attacked with any prospect of success. He therefore contented himself with ravaging the country by detachments: he sent M. de Stainville, with a considerable body of forces, to penetrate into the heart of Hanover; and on the fifteenth day of September, that officer, falling in with a detachment of the allies, commanded by major Bulow, attacked them near the abbey of Schaken. After a warm and obstinate engagement, they were defeated, and driven to Bulemont, with the loss of their cannon, baggage, and a good number of men, who fell into the hands of the victors. After this exploit, M. de Stainville advanced to Halberstadt, and demanded of that capital a contribution of one million five hundred thousand livres; but the citizens had been so drained by former exactions, that they could not raise above thirty thousand: for the remainder the French partisan took hostages, with whom he returned to the grand army encamped at Cassel, from whence they in a little time fell back as far as Gottengen.

THE ALLIES AND FRENCH GO INTO WINTER QUARTERS.

As the enemy retreated, prince Ferdinand advanced as far as Hurste, where he established his head-quarters about the latter end of November. While he remained in this position, divers skirmishes happened in the neighbourhood of Gottengen. Major-general Briedenbach, at the head of two regiments of Hanoverian and Brunswick guards, with a detachment of cavalry, attacked, on the twenty-ninth day of November, the French post at Heydemunden, upon the river Worrau. This he carried, and took possession of the town, which the enemy hastily abandoned. Part of their detachment crossed the river in boats; the rest threw themselves into an intrenchment that covered the passage, which the allies endeavoured to force in several unsuccessful attempts, galled as they were by the fire of the enemy’s redoubts on the other side of the river. At length M. Briedenbach was obliged to desist, and fall back into the town; from whence he retired at midnight, after having sustained considerable damage. Prince Ferdinand had it very much at heart to drive the French from Gottengen, and accordingly invested that city; but the French garrison, which was numerous and well provided, made such a vigorous defence, as baffled all the endeavours of the allies, who were moreover impeded by the rainy weather, which, added to other considerations, prevented them from undertaking the siege in form. Nevertheless, they kept the place blocked up from the twenty-second day of November to the twelfth of the following month, when the garrison, in a desperate sally, took one of their principal posts, and compelled them to raise the blockade. About the middle of December, prince Ferdinand retired into winter-quarters; he himself residing at Uslar, and the English troops being cantoned in the bishopric of Paderborn. Thus the enemy were left in possession of Hesse, and the whole country to the eastward of the Weser, to the frontiers of the electorate of Hanover. If the allied army had not been weakened for the sake of a rash, ill-concerted, and unsuccessful expedition to the Lower Rhine, in all probability the French would have been obliged to abandon the footing they had gained in the course of this campaign; and, in particular, to retreat from Gottengen, which they now maintained and fortified with great diligence and circumspection.

CHAPTER XX.

Exploit of the Swedes in Pomerania..... Skirmishes between the Prussians and Austrians in Saxony..... Position of the Armies in Saxony and Silesia..... General Laudohn defeats General Fouquet, and reduces Glatz..... and then undertakes the Siege of Breslau, which is relieved by Prince Henry of Prussia..... The King of Prussia makes an unsuccessful Attempt upon Dresden..... He marches into Silesia..... Defeats General Laudohn, and raises the Blockade of Schweidnitz..... Action between General Hulsen and the Imperial Army in Saxony..... Dangerous Situation of the Prussian Monarch..... The Russians and Austrians make an Irruption into Brandenburgh, and possess themselves of Berlin..... The Ring of Prussia defeats the Austrians at Torgau..... Both Armies go into Quarters of Cantonment..... The Diets of Poland and Sweden assembled..... Intimation given by the King of Prussia to the States of Westphalia..... King of Poland’s Remonstrance..... Reduction of Pondicherry..... Part of the British Squadron wrecked in a Storm..... Death of King George II..... His Character..... Recapitulation of the principal Events of his Reign..... His Death universally lamented..... Account of the Commerce of Great Britain..... State of Religion and Philosophy..... Fanaticism..... Metaphysics and Medicine..... Mechanics..... Genius..... Music..... Painting, and Sculpture

EXPLOIT OF THE SWEDES IN POMERANIA.

The king of Prussia, after all his labours, notwithstanding the great talents he had displayed, and the incredible efforts he had made, still found himself surrounded by his enemies, and in danger of being-crushed by their closing and contracting their circle. Even the Swedes, who had languished so long, seemed to be roused to exertion in Pomerania, during the severity of the winter season. The Prussian general Manteuffel had, on the twentieth day of January, passed the river Peene, overthrown the advanced posts of the enemy at Ziethen, and penetrated as far as the neighbourhood of Griessewalde; but finding the Swedes on their guard, he returned to Anclam, where his head-quarters were established. This insult was soon retaliated with interest. On the twenty-eighth day of the month, at five in the morning, a body of Swedes attacked the Prussian troops posted in the suburbs of Anclam, on the other side of the Peene, and drove them into the city, which they entered pell-mell. General Manteuffel, being alarmed, endeavoured to rally the troops; but was wounded and taken, with about two hundred men, and three pieces of cannon. The victors, having achieved this exploit, returned to their own quarters. As for the Russian army, which had wintered on the other side of the Vistula, the season was pretty far advanced before it could take the field; though general Tottleben was detached from it, about the beginning of June, at the head of ten thousand cossacks, and other light troops, with which he made an irruption into Pomerania, and established his head-quarters at Belgarden.

SKIRMISHES BETWEEN THE PRUSSIANS AND

AUSTRIANS IN SAXONY.

At the beginning of the campaign, the king of Prussia’s chief aim was to take measures for the preservation of Silesia, the conquest of which seemed to be the principal object with the court of Vienna. While the Austrian army, under mareschal count Daun, lay strongly intrenched in the neighbourhood of Dresden, the king of Prussia had endeavoured, in the month of December, to make him quit that advantageous situation, by cutting off his provisions, and making an irruption into Bohemia. For these purposes he had taken possession of Dippeswalde, Maxen, and Pretchendorff, as if he intended to enter Bohemia by the way of Passberg: but this scheme being found impracticable, he returned to his camp at Fribourg, and in January the Prussian and Austrian armies were cantoned so near each other, that daily skirmishes were fought with various success. The head of the Prussian camp was formed by a body of four thousand men under general Zettwitz, who, on the twenty-ninth day of January, was attacked with such impetuosity by the Austrian general Beck, that he retreated in great confusion to Torgau, with the loss of five hundred men, eight pieces of artillery, and a considerable quantity of new clothing and other baggage. Another advantage of the same nature was gained by the Austrians at Neustadt, over a small body of Prussians who occupied that city. In the month of Maroh, general Laudohn advanced with a strong detachment of horse and foot, in order to surprise the Prussians, who, in attempting to effect a retreat to Steinau, were surrounded accordingly, and very roughly handled. General Laudohn summoned them twice by sound of trumpet to lay down their arms; but their commanders, the captains Blumenthal and Zettwitz, rejecting the proposal with disdain, the enemy attacked them on all hands with a great superiority of number. In this emergency the Prussian captains formed their troops into a square, and by a close continued fire kept the enemy at bay; until, perceiving that the Croats had taken possession of a wood between Siebenhausen and Steinau, they, in apprehension of being intercepted, abandoned their baggage, and forced their way to Steinau, which they reached with great difficulty, having been continually harassed by the Austrians, who paid dear for this advantage. Several other petty exploits of this kind were achieved by detachments on both sides, before the campaign was begun by the grand armies.

POSITION OF THE ARMIES IN SAXONY AND SILESIA.

Towards the end of April the king of Prussia altered his position, and withdrew that part of his chain of cantonments, extending from the forest of Thurundt to the right of the Elbe. He now took possession of a very strong camp between the Elbe and the Mulda, which he intrenched in every part that was accessible, and fortified with two hundred and fifty pieces of cannon. By these precautions he was enabled to keep his ground against the army of count Daun, and at the same time detach a body of troops, as a reinforcement to his brother prince Henry, who assembled a separate army near Franckfort upon the Oder, that he might be at hand either to oppose the Russians, or march to the relief of Silesia, which the enemy was bent upon invading. It was for this purpose that the Austrian general Laudohn advanced, with a considerable army, into Lusatia about the beginning of May; and general Beck, with another body of troops, took possession of Corbus: meanwhile count Daun continued in his old situation on the Elbe; general Lascy formed a small detached army upon the frontiers of Saxony, to the southward of Dresden; and the prince de Deuxponts marched into the same neighbourhood with the army of the empire. Prince Henry of Prussia having encamped with his army for some time at Sagan, in Silesia, moved from thence to Gorlitz, in Lusatia, to observe the motions of general Laudohn, encamped at Koningsgratz; from whence, in the beginning of June, he marched into the country of Glatz, and advanced to the neighbourhood of Schweidnitz, which he seemed determined to besiege, having a train of eight pieces of cannon. With a view to thwart his designs, prince Henry reinforced the body of troops under general Fouquet; and at the same time he sent a detachment into Pomerania, under colonel Lessow, who defeated the rear guard of general Tottleben, and compelled that officer to evacuate Pomerania. By this time, however, mareschal Soltikoff had arrived from Petersburg, and taken the command of the grand Russian army, which passed the Vistula in June, and began its march towards the frontiers of Silesia.

GEN. LAUDOHN DEFEATS GEN. FOUQUET, AND REDUCES GLATZ.

In the month of June, general Laudohn made an unsuccessful attempt to carry Glatz by assault; but he succeeded better in his next enterprise. Understanding that general Fouquet, who occupied the posts at Landshut, had weakened himself by sending off detachments under the majors-general Zeithen and Grant, he resolved to attack him with such a superiority of number that he should not be able to resist. Accordingly, on the twenty-third day of June, at two in the morning, he began the assault with his whole army upon some redoubts which Fouquet occupied; and these were carried one after another, though not without a very desperate opposition. General Fouquet being summoned to surrender, refused to submit; and having received two wounds, was at length taken prisoner: about three thousand of his men escaped to Breslan; the rest were killed or taken: but the loss of the victors is said to have exceeded that of the vanquished. In July, general Laudohn undertook the siege of Glatz, which was taken after a very faint resistance; for, on the very day the batteries were opened against the place, the garrison abandoned part of the fortifications, which the besiegers immediately occupied. The Prussians made repeated efforts to regain the ground they had lost; but they were repulsed in all their attempts. At length the garrison laid down their arms, and surrendered at discretion. From this tame behaviour of the Prussians, one would imagine the garrison must have been very weak; a circumstance which we cannot reconcile with the known sagacity of the Prussian monarch, as the place was of great importance, on account of the immense magazine it contained, including above one hundred brass cannon, a great number of mortars, and a vast quantity of ammunition.

Laudohn, encouraged by this success at Glatz, advanced immediately to Breslau, which he began to bombard with great fury 564 [See Note 4 P, at the end of this Vol.]; but, before he could make a regular attack, he found himself obliged to retire. Prince Henry of Prussia, one of the most accomplished generals which this age produced, having received repeated intelligence that the Russian army intended to join Laudohn at Breslau, resolved to advance and give them battle before the purposed junction. In the latter end of July he began his march from Gleissen, and on the last day of that month had reached Linden, near Slauve, where he understood that Tottleben’s detachment only had passed through the plains of Polnich-Lissa, and that the grand Russian army had marched through Kosten and Gustin. The prince finding it impossible to pursue them by that route, directed his march to Glogau, where he learned that Breslau was besieged by general Laudohn, and immediately advanced by forced marches to its relief. Such was his expedition, that in five days he marched above one hundred and twenty English miles; and at his approach the Austrian general abandoned his enterprise. Thus, by his prudence and activity, he not only prevented the junction of the Russian and Austrian armies, but also saved the capital of Silesia; and hampered Laudohn in such a manner as subjected him to a defeat by the Prussian monarch, to whose motions we shall now turn our attention.

THE KING OF PRUSSIA MAKES AN UNSUCCESSFUL ATTEMPT UPON DRESDEN.

Whether his design was originally upon Dresden, or he purposed to co-operate with his brother prince Henry in Silesia, which his adversaries seemed to have pitched upon as the scene of their operations, we cannot presume to determine; but certain it is, he, in the beginning of July, began his march in two columns through Lusatia; and count Daun being informed of his march, ordered his army to be put in motion. Leaving the army of the empire, and the body of troops under Lascy, to guard Saxony in his absence, he marched with great expedition towards Silesia, in full persuasion that the Prussian monarch had thither directed his route. On the seventh day of July, the king knowing that Daun was now removed at a distance, repassed the Polsnitz, which he had passed but two days before, and advanced with the van of his army towards Lichtenberg, in order to attack the forces of general Lascy, who was posted there; but the Austrians retired at his approach. Then the army marched to Marienstern, where the king received intelligence that count Daun was in full march for Lauban, having already gained two marches upon the Prussians. Perhaps it was this intimation that determined the king to change his plan, and return to the Elbe. On the eighth day of the month he repassed the Sprehe, in the neighbourhood of Bautzen, and marched towards Dresden with extraordinary diligence. On the thirteenth, his army having passed the Elbe at Kadetz, on a bridge of boats, encamped between Pirna and Dresden, which last he resolved to besiege, in hopes of reducing it before count Daun could return to its relief. How far this expectation was well grounded, we must leave the reader to judge, after having observed that the place was now much more defensible than it had been when the last attempt of the Austrians upon it miscarried; that it was secured with a numerous garrison, commanded by general Macguire, an officer of courage and experience. This governor being summoned to surrender, answered that, having the honour to be intrusted with the defence of the capital, he would maintain it to the last extremity. Batteries were immediately raised against the town on both sides of the Elbe; and the poor inhabitants subjected to a dreadful visitation, that their calamities might either drive them to despair, or move the heart of the governor to embrace articles of capitulation; but these expedients proved ineffectual. Though the suburbs towards the Pirna gate were attacked and carried, this advantage made no impression on general Macguire, who made several vigorous sallies, and took every necessary precaution for the defence of the city; encouraged moreover by the vicinity of Lascy’s body, and the army of the empire, encamped in an advantageous position near Gross Seydlitz; and confident that count Daun would hasten to his relief. In this hope he was not disappointed. The Austrian general, finding himself duped by the stratagem of the Prussian monarch, and being made acquainted with his enterprise against Dresden, instantly wheeled about, and marched back with such rapidity, that on the nineteenth day of the month he reached the neighbourhood of the capital of Saxony. In consequence of his approach, the king of Prussia, whose heavy artillery was now arrived, redoubled his efforts against the city, so as to reduce to ashes the cathedral church, the new square, several noble streets, some palaces, together with the curious manufactory of porcelain. His vengeance must have been levelled against the citizens; for it affected neither the fortifications, nor the Austrian garrison, which count Daun found means to reinforce with sixteen battalions. This supply, and the neighbourhood of three hostile armies, rendered it altogether impossible to prosecute the siege with any prospect of success; the king therefore abandoned the undertaking, withdrew his troops and artillery, and endeavoured to bring Daun to a battle, which that general cautiously avoided.

The fate of this prince seemed now at its crisis. Notwithstanding all the efforts of his brother prince Henry, the Russians were fast advancing to join Laudohn, who had already blocked up Schweidnitz and Neifs, and their junction seemed to threaten the loss of all Silesia. The king had nothing to oppose to superior numbers but superior activity, of which he determined to avail himself without delay. Instead of making a feint towards Silesia, he resolved to march thither in earnest; and for that purpose, crossing the Elbe, encamped at Dallwitz, on the further bank of the river; leaving general Hulsen, with fifteen thousand men, in the intrenched camp of Schlettow, to maintain his footing in Saxony. On the third day of August he began his march for Silesia, followed by count Daun with the grand Austrian army; while the detached body under Lascy took post at Reichenberg, and the imperial army encamped at Kesseldorf. Both the Prussians and Austrians marched at the rate of one hundred miles in five days; on the tenth the king took possession of the camp at Lidnitz; and here he seemed in danger of being quite surrounded by the enemy, who occupied the whole ground between Parchwitz and Cossendau, an extent of thirty miles. Count Daun’s army formed the centre of this chain, possessing the heights of Wahlstadt and Liochkirk; general Laudohn covered the ground between Jeschkendorf and Coschitz; the rising grounds of Parchwitz were secured by general Nauendorff; and M. de Beck, who formed the left, extended his troops beyond Cossendau. The king marched in the night of the eleventh, with a view to turn the enemy and reach Jauer; but at break of day he discovered a new camp at Prausnitz, which consisted of Lascy’s detachment, just arrived from Lauban. The Prussians immediately passed the Katzbach, to attack this general; but he made such a skilful disposition for a retreat towards the army of count Daun, that he not only baffled the endeavours of the king to bring him to action, but, by posting himself on the heights of Hennersdorff, anticipated his march to Jauer. In vain the Prussian monarch attempted next day to turn the enemy on the side of the mountains by Pomsen and Jagersdorff, the roads were found impassable to the ammunition waggons, and the king returned to the camp at Lignitz.

While he remained in this situation, he received advice that four-and-twenty thousand Russians, under count Czernichew, had thrown bridges over the Oder at Auras, where they intended to cross that river; and he concluded the enemy had formed a design to close him in, and attack him with their joint forces. Daun had indeed projected a plan for surprising him in the night, and had actually put his army in motion for that purpose; but he was anticipated by the vigilance and good fortune of the Prussian monarch. That prince reflecting, that if he should wait for his adversaries in his camp, he ran the risk of being attacked at the same time by Lascy on his right, by Daun in his front, and by Laudohn on his left, he altered his disposition, in order to disconcert their operations; and, on the fourteenth day of the month, marched to the heights of Psaffendorff, where he formed his army in order of battle. Receiving intimation about two in the morning, that Laudohn was in full march advancing in columns by Benowitz, he divided his army into two separate bodies. One of these remained on the ground, in order to maintain the post against any attempts that might be made by count Daun to succour Laudohn; and that this service might be the more effectually performed, the heights were fortified with batteries, so judiciously disposed, as to impede and overawe the whole Austrian army. The king having taken this precaution, wheeled about with sixteen battalions and thirty squadrons, to fall upon Laudohn as he should advance; but that general knew nothing of his design, until he himself arrived at the village of Psaffendorff, about three in the morning, when the day dawning, and a thick fog gradually dispersing, the whole detachment of the Prussian army appeared in order of battle, in a well-chosen situation, strengthened with a numerous train of artillery, placed to the best advantage. Laudohn was not a little mortified to find himself caught in his own snare, but he had advanced too far to recede; and therefore, making a virtue of necessity, resolved to stand an engagement. With this view he formed his troops, as well as the time, place, and circumstances would permit; and the Prussians advancing to the attack, a severe action ensued. The king rode along the line to animate the troops, and superintended every part of the charge; hazarding his life in the most dangerous scenes of the battle to such a degree, that his horse was killed under him, and his clothes were shot through in several places. The Austrians maintained the conflict with great obstinacy, until six in the morning, when they gave ground, and were pursued to the Katzbach; beyond which the king would not allow his troops to prosecute the advantage they had gained, that they might be able to succour the right in case mareschal count Daun should succeed in his attempt to advance against them from Lignitz. That general had actually begun his march to fall upon the Prussians on one side, while Laudohn should attack them on the other; but he was not a little surprised to find they were decamped; and when he perceived a thick cloud of smoke at a distance, he immediately comprehended the nature of the king’s management. He then attempted to advance by Lignitz; but the troops and artillery, which had been left on the height of Psaffendorff, to dispute his march, were so advantageously disposed, as to render all his efforts abortive. Laudohn is said to have lost in the action above eight thousand men, killed, wounded, and taken, including eighty officers, with twenty-three pair of colours, and eighty-two pieces of cannon; over and above this loss, the Austrian general suffered greatly by desertion. The Prussians obtained the victory at the expense of one general, with five hundred men killed, and twelve hundred wounded. Immediately after the action the victor inarched to Parchwitz; while Daun detached prince Lowenstein and general Beck with the reserve of his army, to join prince Czernichew, who had crossed the Oder at Auras; but he was so intimidated by the defeat at Lignitz, that he forthwith repassed that river, and prince Lowenstein retired on the side of Jauer. By this bold and well-conducted adventure, the Prussian monarch not only escaped the most imminent hazard of a total defeat from the joint efforts of two strong armies, but also prevented the dreaded junction of the Eussian and Austrian forces. His business was now to open the communication with Breslau and his brother prince Henry, whom he joined at Neumarcke. The prince, after Laudohn was obliged to relinquish the siege of Breslau, had kept a watchful eye over the motions of the Eussian army, which had advanced into the neighbourhood of that city; and, without all doubt, would have bombarded it from some commanding heights, had they not been prevented by prince Henry, who took possession of these posts, and fortified them with redoubts. The king having freed Breslau from the neighbourhood of his enemies, and being strengthened by the junction with his brother, left a considerable detachment under the command of general Boltze, to protect the country against the Eussian irregulars; and advanced with his whole force to the relief of Schweidnitz, which was blocked up by the Austrian forces under the command of the mareschal count Daun. In his march he fell upon a separate body under general Beck, made two battalions of Croats prisoners, and dispersed several squadrons. This achievement had such an effect upon the enemy, that they raised the blockade, and retreated with some precipitation to the mountains of Landshut.

ACTION BETWEEN GENEEAL HULSEN AND THE IMPERIAL ARMY IN SAXONY.

While the king thus exerted himself, with a spirit altogether unexampled, in defending Silesia, general Hulsen, who commanded his troops in Saxony, was exposed to the most imminent danger. Understanding that the army of the empire had formed a design to cut off his communication with Torgau, he quitted his camp at Meissen, and marched to Strehla. The enemy having divided their forces into two bodies, one of them, on the twentieth clay of August, attacked an advanced post of the Prussians; while the other was disposed in such a manner, as to overawe Hulsen’s camp, and prevent him from taking any step for the relief of his battalions, who maintained their ground with difficulty against a superior number of assailants. In this emergency the Prussian general ordered his cavalry to make a circuit round a rising ground, and, if possible, charge the enemy in flank. This order was executed with equal vigour and success. They fell upon the imperial army with such impetuosity, as drove their battalions and horse upon each other in the utmost confusion. A considerable number of the enemy were slain, and forty-one officers, with twelve hundred men, made prisoners. By this advantage, which was obtained at a very small expense, general Hulsen opened for himself a way to Torgau, whither he instantly retreated, perceiving that the whole army of the imperialists was advancing to cut off his communication with the Elbe. This retreat furnished the enemy with a pretext for claiming the victory.

SITUATION OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA.

After all these heroic endeavours of the Prussian monarch and his officers, his affairs remained in such a desperate situation as seemed to presage approaching ruin; for, though in person he commanded a numerous and well-appointed army, he found it absolutely impossible to guard against the different detachments from the three separate armies of his adversaries. Bodies of Austrian troops scoured the country of Lusatia; the Russians traversed part of Silesia, and made irruptions even into Brandenburgh; the imperial army domineered in Saxony; the Swedish army, meeting with no opposition, advanced into the heart of Pomerania; so that the king was not only threatened on every side, but all correspondence between him and his hereditary dominions was at this juncture intercepted.

THE RUSSIANS AND AUSTRIANS POSSESS THEMSELVES OF BERLIN.

His adversaries, having been hitherto baffled by his activity and resolution in their designs upon Silesia, now meditated a scheme, the execution of which he could not but feel in the most sensible manner. The Russian army being on its retreat from Silesia, count Czernichew was sent with a strong detachment into the marche of Brandenburgh; while a numerous body of Austrians, under Lascy and Brentano, penetrated into the same country from Saxony, with instructions to join the Russians at the gates of Berlin. The Prussian general Hulsen, finding himself too weak to cope with the army of the empire in Misnia, had fallen back to this capital, where he was joined by the troops under general Werner, lately returned from Pomerania; but as their forces, after this junction, did not exceed sixteen thousand men, and the allies advancing against them amounted to forty thousand, they would not pretend to oppose the enemy in the open field, nor to defend a city of such extent, and so imperfectly fortified. Such an attempt would have only exposed their troops to ruin, without being able to save the capital, which, on the contrary, would have been the more severely handled, in consequence of their opposition. They therefore resolved to retire, after having repulsed the advanced guard of the Russians under Tottleben, which attacked the gates, and even bombarded the town, before the great armies appeared. At their approach the Prussian generals retreated, leaving three weak battalions in the place, in hopes they might be the means of obtaining some sort of terms for the city. They made no resistance, however; but on the first summons proposed articles of capitulation, which being refused, they surrendered themselves prisoners of war. In favour of the city, the foreign ministers there residing interposed their mediation with such zeal and success, that tolerable conditions were obtained. The inhabitants were indulged with the free exercise of their religion, and an immunity from violence to their persons and effects. The enemy promised that the Russian irregulars should not enter the town; and that the king’s palace should not be violated. These articles being ratified, the Austrian and Russian troops entered the place, where they totally destroyed the magazines, arsenals, and foundries, with an immense quantity of military stores, and a great number of cannon and small arms: then they demanded the immediate payment of eight hundred thousand guilders; and afterwards exacted a contribution of one million nine hundred thousand German crowns. Many outrages were committed by the licentious soldiery, in spite of all the precautions which the officers could take to preserve the most exact discipline. The houses of the private inhabitants were tolerably protected, but the king’s palaces were subjected to the most rigorous treatment. In the royal palace of Charlottenburg they pillaged and spoiled the rich furniture: they defaced and mutilated the valuable pictures and antique statues collected by cardinal de Polignac, and purchased by the house of Brandenburgh. The castle of Schonhausen, belonging to the queen, and that of Fredericksfeldt, the property of the margrave Charles, were pillaged of effects to a very considerable value. The palace of Potsdam was effectually protected by prince Esterhasi, who would not suffer one article of furniture to be touched; but desired leave to take one picture of the king, and two of his German flutes, that he might preserve them as memorials of an illustrious prince, whose heroic character he admired. The Austrian and Russian troops entered Berlin on the ninth day of October, and quitted it on the thirteenth, on hearing that the king was in full march to the relief of his capital. In their retreat, by different routes, from Brandenburgh, they drove away all the cattle and horses they could find, ravaged the country, and committed brutal outrages on the inhabitants, which the pretence of retaliation could never excuse. The body of Russians which entered Berlin marched from thence into Poland, by the way of Furstenwalde; while the Austrians took the route of Saxony, from whence they had advanced into Brandenburgh. Meanwhile the town of Wirtem-berg, in that electorate, was reduced by the duke de Deux-Ponts, commander of the imperial army, which, in conjunction with the Austrians, made themselves masters also of Torgau and Leipsic.

KING OF PRUSSIA DEFEATS THE AUSTRIANS AT TORGAU.

The king of Prussia, in his march through Lusatia, was still attended by count Daun, at the head of his grand army, and both passed the Elbe about the latter end of October. The Prussian crossed the river at Coswick, where he was joined by the troops under prince Eugene of Wirtemberg and general Ilulsen, so that his army now amounted to eighty thousand fighting men, with whom he resolved to strike some stroke of importance. Indeed, at this time his situation was truly critical. General Laudohn, with a considerable body of Austrians, remained in Silesia; the Russian army still threatened Breslau, the capital of that country. The Imperialists and Austrians had taken possession of all the great towns in Saxony, and were masters on both sides of the Elbe. In the eastern part of Pomerania, the Russians had invested Colberg by sea and land, seemingly determined to reduce the place, that they might have a seaport by which they could be supplied with provisions, ammunition, necessaries, and reinforcements, without the trouble and inconvenience of a long and laborious march from the banks of the Vistula. On the western side of Pomerania, the war, which had hitherto languished, was renewed by the Swedes with uncommon vivacity. They passed the river Pene without opposition; and obliging general Stutterheim to retreat, advanced as far as Stransberg. That officer, however, being reinforced, attacked a Swedish post at Passelvalik, slew about five hundred of the enemy, and took an equal number, with six pieces of cannon; but he was not numerous enough to keep the field against their whole army. Thus the Prussian monarch saw himself obliged to abandon Silesia, deprived of all the places he held in Saxony, which had been his best resource; and in danger of being driven into his hereditary country of Brandenburgh, which was unable either to maintain, or even to recruit, his army. On this emergency he resolved to make one desperate effort against the grand Austrian army under count Daun, who had passed the Elbe at Torgau, and advanced to Eulenbourg, from whence, however, he retreated to his former camp at Torgau; and the king chose his situation between this last place and Schilda, at Lang-Reichenbach, where the hussars attacked a body of horse under general Brentano, and made four hundred prisoners. The right wing of the Austrians being at Groswich, and their left at Torgau, the Prussian king determined to attack them next day, which was the third of November. His design was to march through the wood of Torgau by three different routes, with thirty battalions and fifty squadrons of his left wing: the first line was ordered to advance by the way of Mackrene to Neiden; the second by Peckhutte to Elsnick; and the third, consisting of cavalry, to penetrate by the wood of Wildenhayn to Vogelsand. On the other hand, general Ziethen was directed to take the great Leipsic road, with thirty battalions and seventy squadrons of the right; and quitting it at the ponds of Torgau, to attack the village of Suptitz and Groswich. The king’s line, in its march, fell in with a corps of Austrians under general Reid, who retired into the wood of Torgau; and another more considerable body, posted in the wood of Wildenhayn, likewise retreated to Groswich, after having fired some pieces of artillery; but the dragoons of Saint Ignon, being enclosed between two columns of Prussian infantry, were either killed or taken. By two in the afternoon the king had penetrated through the wood to the plain of Neiden, from whence another body of the enemy retired to Torgau, where a continued noise of cannon and small arms declared that general Ziethen was already engaged. The Prussians immediately advanced at a quicker pace, and passing the morasses near Neiden, inclined to the right in three lines, and soon came to action. Daun had chosen a very advantageous position: his right extended to Groswich, and his left to Zinne: while his infantry occupied some eminences along the road of Leipsic, and his front was strength-ened with no less than two hundred pieces of cannon. His second line was disposed on an extent of ground, which terminated in hillocks towards the Elbe; and against this the king directed his attack. He had already given his troops to understand that his affairs were in such a situation, that they must either conquer or perish: and they began the battle with the most desperate impetuosity; but they met with such a warm reception from the artillery, small arms, and in particular from the Austrian carabineers, that their grenadiers were shattered and repulsed. The second charge, though enforced with incredible vigour, was equally unsuccessful: then the king ordered his cavalry to advance, and they fell upon some regiments of infantry with such fury as obliged them to give way. These, however, were compelled to retire, in their turn, before about seventy battalions of the enemy, who advanced towards Torgau, stretching with their right to the Elbe, and their left to Zinne. While the prince of Holstein rallied his cavalry, and returned to the charge, the third line of Prussian infantry attacked the vineyard of Suptitz, and general Ziethen with the right wing took the enemy in rear. This disposition threw the Austrians into disorder; which was greatly augmented by the disaster of count Daun, who was dangerously wounded in the thigh, and carried off the field of battle. But the Prussians could not pursue their victory, because the action had lasted until nine; and the night being unusually dark, facilitated the retreat of the enemy, who crossed the Elbe on three bridges of boats thrown over the river at Torgau. The victor possessed the field of battle, with seven thousand prisoners, including two hundred officers, twenty-nine pair of colours, one standard, and about forty pieces of cannon. The carnage was very great on both sides; about three thousand Prussians were killed, and five thousand wounded; and, in the first attacks, two general officers, with fifteen hundred soldiers, were made prisoners by the enemy. The king, as usual, exposed his person in every part of the battle, and a musket-ball grazed upon his breast. In the morning, the king of Prussia entered Torgau; then he secured Meissen, and took possession of Fribourg: so that, in consequence of this well-timed victory, his position was nearly the same as at the opening of the campaign.

The Austrians, however, notwithstanding this check, maintained their ground in the neighbourhood of Dresden; while the Prussians were distributed in quarters of cantonment in and about Leipsic and Meissen. As the Austrian general had, after the battle, recalled his detachments, general Laudohn abandoned Landshut, wrhich again fell into the hands of the Prussians, and the Imperial army was obliged to retire into Franconia. The Swedes having penetrated a great way into Pom-crania, returned again to their winter-quarters at Stralsund; and the Russian generals measured back their way to the Vistula: so that the confederates gained little else in the course of this campaign but the contributions which they raised in Berlin, and the open country of Brandenburgh. Had the allies been heartily bent upon crushing the Prussian monarch, one would imagine the Russians and Swedes might have joined their forces in Pomerania, and made good their winter-quarters in Brandenburgh, where they could have been supplied with magazines from the Baltic, and been at hand to commence their operations in the spring; but, in all probability, such an establishment in the empire would have given umbrage to the Germanic body.

DIETS of POLAND AND SWEDEN ASSEMBLED.

The diet of Poland being assembled in the beginning of October, the king entertained the most sanguine hope they would take some resolution in his favour, but the partisans of Prussia frustrated all his endeavours: one of the deputies protesting against holding a diet while there were foreign troops in the kingdom, the assembly broke up in a tumultuous manner, even before they had chosen a mareschal. The diet of Sweden, which was convoked about the same period, seemed determined to proceed upon business. They elected count Axel Person their grand mareschal, in opposition to count Horn, by a great majority; which was an unlucky circumstance for the Prussian interest at Stockholm, inasmuch as the same majority obstinately persisted in opinion, that the war should be prosecuted in the spring with redoubled vigour, and the army in Germany reinforced to the number of at least thirty thousand fighting men. This unfavourable circumstance made but little impression upon the Prussian monarch, who had maintained his ground with surprising resolution and success since the beginning of the campaign; and now enjoyed in prospect the benefit of winter, which he is said to have termed his best auxiliary.

INTIMATION GIVEN TO THE STATES OF WESTPHALIA BY THE KING OF PRUSSIA.

The animosity which inflamed the contending parties was not confined to the operations in war, but broke out, as usual, in printed declarations, which the belligerent powers diffused all over Europe. In the beginning of the season, the states of the circle of Westphalia had been required, by the Imperial court, to finish their contingent of troops against the king of Prussia, or to commute for this contingent with a sum of money. In consequence of this demand, some of the Westphalian estates had sent deputies to confer with the assembly of the circle of Cologn; and to these the king signified, by a declaration dated at Munster, that as this demand of money, instead of troops, was no less extraordinary than contrary to the constitutions of the empire, should they comply with it, or even continue to assist his enemies either with troops or money, he would consider them as having actually taken part in the war against him and his allies, and treat them accordingly on all occasions. This intimation produced little effect in his favour. The duke of Mecklenburgh adhered to the opposite cause; and the elector of Cologn co-operated with the French in their designs against Hanover. By way of retaliation for this partiality, the Prussians ravaged the country of Mecklenburgh, and the Hanoverians levied contributions in the territories of Cologn. The parties thus aggrieved had recourse to complaints and remonstrances. The duke’s envoy at Ratisbon communicated a rescript to the Imperial ministers, representing that the Prussian troops under general Werner and colonel de Belling had distressed his country in the autumn by grievous extortions; that afterwards prince Eugene of Wirtemberg, in the service of Prussia, had demanded an exorbitant quantity of provisions, with some millions of money, and a great number of recruits; or, in lieu of these, that the duke’s forces should act under the Prussian banner. He therefore declared that, as the country of Mecklenburgh was impoverished, and almost depopulated, by these oppressions, the duke would find himself obliged to take measures for the future security of his subjects, if not immediately favoured with such assistance from the court of Vienna as would put a stop to these violent proceedings. This declaration was by some considered as the prelude of his renouncing his engagements with the house of Austria. As the Imperial court had threatened to put the elector of Hanover under the ban of the empire, in consequence of the hostilities which his troops had committed in the electorate of Cologn, his resident at Ratisbon delivered to the ministers who assisted at the diet a memorial, remonstrating that the emperor hath no power, singly, to subject any prince to the ban, or declare him a rebel; and that, by arrogating such a power, he exposed his authority to the same contempt into which the pope’s bulls of excommunication were so justly fallen. With respect to the elector of Cologn, he observed that this prince was the first who commenced hostilities, by allowing his troops to co-operate with the French in their invasion of Hanover, and by celebrating with rejoicings the advantages which they had gained in that electorate; he therefore gave the estates of the empire to understand, that the best way of screening their subjects from hostile treatment would be a strict observance of neutrality in the present disputes of the empire.

THE KING OF POLAND’S REMONSTRANCE.

This was a strain much more effectual among princes and powers who are generally actuated by interested motives, than was the repetition of complaints, equally pathetic and unavailing, uttered by the unfortunate king of Poland, elector of Saxony. The damage done to his capital by the last attempt of the Prussian monarch on that city, affected the old king in such a manner, that he published at Vienna an appeal to all the powers of Europe, from the cruelty and unprecedented outrages which distinguished the conduct of his adversaries in Saxony. All Europe pitied the hard fate of this exiled prince, and sympathized with the disasters of his country: but in the breasts of his enemies, reasons of state and convenience overruled the suggestions of humanity; and his friends had hitherto exerted themselves in vain for the deliverance of his people.

REDUCTION OF PONDICHERRY.

From this detail of continental affairs, our attention is recalled to Great Britain, by an incident of a very interesting nature; an account of which, however, we shall postpone until we have recorded the success that, in the course of this year, attended the British arms in the East Indies. We have already observed that colonel Coote, after having defeated the French general Lally in the field, and reduced divers of the enemy’s settlements on the coast of Coromandel, at length cooped them up within the walls of Pondicherry, the principal seat of the French East India company, large, populous, well-fortified, and secured with a numerous garrison, under the immediate command of their general. In the month of October, admiral Stevens sailed from Trincomalê with all his squadron, in order to its being refitted, except five sail of the line, which he left under the command of captain Ilaldane, to block up Pondicherry by sea, while Mr. Coote carried on his operations by land. By this disposition, and the vigilance of the British officers, the place was so hampered as to be greatly distressed for want of provisions, even before the siege could be undertaken in form; for the rainy season rendered all regular approaches impracticable. These rains being abated by the twenty-sixth day of November, colonel Coote directed the engineers to pitch upon proper places for erecting batteries that should enfilade or flank the works of the garrison, without exposing their own men to any severe fire from the enemy. Accordingly, four batteries were constructed in different places, so as to answer these purposes, and opened altogether on the eighth day of December at midnight. Though raised at a considerable distance, they were plied with good effect, and the besieged returned the fire with great vivacity. This mutual cannonading continued until the twenty-ninth day of the month, when the engineers were employed in raising another battery, near enough to effect a breach in the north-west counter-guard and curtain. Though the approaches were retarded some days by a violent storm, which almost ruined the works, the damage was soon repaired: a considerable post was taken from the enemy by assault, and afterwards regained by the French grenadiers, through the timidity of the sepoys, by whom it was occupied. By the fifteenth clay of January, a second battery being raised within point-blank, a breach was made in the curtain: the west face and flank of the north-west bastion were ruined, and the guns of the enemy entirely silenced. The garrison and inhabitants of Pondicherry were now reduced to an extremity of famine which would admit of no hesitation. General Lally sent a colonel, attended by the chief of the Jesuits, and two civilians, to Mr. Coote, with proposals of surrendering the garrison prisoners of war, and demanding a capitulation in behalf of the French East India company. On this last subject he made no reply; but next morning took possession of the town and citadel, where he found a great quantity of artillery, ammunition, small arms, and military stores; then he secured the garrison, amounting to above two thousand Europeans. Lally made a gallant defence; and had he been properly supplied with provisions, the conquest of the place would not have been so easily achieved. He certainly flattered himself with the hope of being supplied; otherwise an officer of his experience would have demanded a capitulation, before he was reduced to the necessity of acquiescing in any terms the besieger might have thought proper to impose. That he spared no pains to procure supplies, appears from an intercepted letter,* written by this commander to monsieur Raymond, French resident at Pullicat...... The billet is no bad sketch of the writer’s character, which seems to have a strong tincture of oddity and extravagance.

* “Monsieur Raymond—The English squadron is no more, sir— of the twelve ships they had in our road seven are lost, crews and all; the other four dismasted; and no more than one frigate hath escaped—therefore lose not an instant in sending chelingoes upon chelingoes, laden with rice. The Dutch have nothing to fear now. Besides, according to the law of nations, they are only restricted from sending us provisions in their own bottoms; and we are no longer blockaded by sea. The salvation of Pondicherry hath been once in your power already: if you neglect this opportunity it will be entirely your own fault—don’t forget some small chelingoes also—offer great rewards—in four days I expect seventeen thousand Mahrattas. In short, risk all—attempt all—force all, and send us some rice, should it be but half a garse at a time.”

PART OF THE BRITISH SQUADRON WRECKED IN A STORM.

By the reduction of Pondicherry, the French interest was annihilated on the coast of Coromandel, and therefore of the utmost importance to the British nation. It may be doubted, however, whether colonel Coote, with all his spirit, vigilance, and military talents, could have succeeded in this enterprise without the assistance of the squadrons, which co-operated with him by sea, and effectually excluded all succour from the besieged. It must be owned, for the honour of the service, that no incident interrupted the good understanding which was maintained between the land and sea officers, who vied with each other in contributing their utmost efforts towards the success of the expedition. On the twenty-fifth day of December, rear-admiral Stevens arrived with four ships of the line, having parted with rear-admiral Cornish and his division in stormy weather: but he joined them at Pondicherry before the place was surrendered. On the first day of January a violent tempest obliged admiral Stevens to slip his cables and to put to sea, where he parted with the rest of the squadron; and when in three days he returned to the road of Pondicherry, he had the mortification to find that his division had suffered severely from the storm. The ships of war called the duke of Aquitaine and the Sunderland foundered in the storm, and their crews perished. The Newcastle, the Queenborough, and the Protector fireship, were driven ashore and destroyed; but the men were saved, together with the cannon, stores, and provisions. Many other ships sustained considerable damage, which however was soon repaired. Admiral Stevens having intercepted the letter from Lally to Raymond, (See-note *), immediately despatched letters to the Dutch and Danish settlements on this coast, intimating that, notwithstanding the insinuations of general Lally, he had eleven sail of the line, with two frigates, under his command, all fit for service, in the road of Pondicherry, which was closely invested and blockaded both by sea and land: he therefore declared, that, as in that case it was contrary to the law of nations for any neutral power to relieve or succour the besieged, he was determined to seize any vessel that should attempt to throw provisions into the place.

DEATH and CHARACTER of KING GEORGE II.

While the arms of Great Britain still prospered in every effort tending to the real interest of the nation, an event happened which for a moment obscured the splendour of her triumphs, and could not but be very alarming to those German allies, whom her liberality had enabled to maintain an expensive and sanguinary war of humour and ambition. On the twenty-fifth day of October, George II. king of Great Britain, without any previous disorder, was in the morning suddenly seized with the agony of death, at the palace at Kensington. He had risen at the usual hour, drank his chocolate, and inquired, about the wind, as anxious for the arrival of the foreign mails; then he opened a window of his apartment, and perceiving the weather was serene, declared he would walk in the garden. In a few minutes after this declaration, while he remained alone in his chamber, he fell down upon the floor; the noise of his fall brought his attendants into the room, who lifted him on the bed, where he desired, in a faint voice, that the princess Amelia might be called; but before she could reach the apartments he had expired. An attempt was made to bleed him, but without effect: and indeed his malady was far beyond the reach of art; for when the cavity of the thorax or chest was opened, and inspected by the sergeant-surgeons, they found the right ventricle of the heart actually ruptured, and a great quantity of blood discharged through the aperture into the surrounding pericardium; so that he must have died instantaneously, in consequence of the effusion. The case, however, was so extraordinary, that we question whether there is such another instance upon record. A rupture of this nature appears the more remarkable, as it happened to a prince of a healthy constitution, unaccustomed to excess, and far advanced beyond that period of life, when the blood might be supposed to flow with a dangerous impetuosity.

Thus died George II. at the age of seventy-seven, after a long reign of thirty-four years, distinguished by a variety of important events, and chequered with a vicissittide of character and fortune. He was in his person rather lower than the middle size, well shaped, erect, with eyes remarkably prominent, a high nose, and fair complexion. In his disposition he is said to have been hasty, prone to anger, especially in his youth, yet soon appeased; otherwise mild, moderate, and humane; in his way of living temperate, regular, and so methodical in every branch of private economy, that his attention descended to objects which a great king, perhaps, had better overlook. He was fond of military pomp and parade; and personally brave. He loved war as a soldier—he studied it as a science; and corresponded on this subject with some of the greatest officers whom Germany has produced. The extent of his understanding, and the splendour of his virtue, we shall not presume to ascertain, or attempt to display; we rather wish for opportunities to expatiate on his munificence and liberality—his generous regard to genius and learning—his royal encouragement and protection of those arts by which a nation is at once benefited and adorned. With respect to his government, it very seldom deviated from the institutions of law, or encroached upon private property, or interfered with the common administration of justice. The circumstances that chiefly marked his public character, were a predilection for his native country, and a close attention to the political interests of the Germanic body; points and principles to which he adhered with the most invincible fortitude: and if ever the blood and treasure of Great Britain were sacrificed to these considerations, we ought not so much to blame the prince, who acted from the dictates of natural affection, as we should detest a succession of venal ministers, all of whom in their turns devoted themselves, soul and body, to the gratification of his passion, or partiality, so prejudicial to the true interest of their country.

RECAPITULATION OF THE PRINCIPAL EVENTS OF HIS REIGN.

The reign of George II. produced many revolutions, as well in the internal schemes of economy and administration, as in the external projects of political connexions; revolutions that exposed the frailties of human nature, and demonstrated the instability of systems founded upon convenience. In the course of this reign, a standing army was, by dint of ministerial influence, engrafted on the constitution of Great Britain. A fatal stroke was given to the liberty of the press, by the act subjecting all dramatic writings to the inspection of a licenser. The great machine of corruption, contrived to secure a constant majority in parliament, was overturned, and the inventor of it obliged to quit the reins of government. Professed patriots resigned the principles they had long endeavoured to establish, and listed themselves for the defence of that fortress against which their zeal and talents had been levelled. The management of a mighty kingdom was consigned into the hands of a motley administration—ministers without knowledge, and men without integrity, whose councils were timid, weak, and wavering; whose folly and extravagance exposed the nation to ridicule and contempt; by whose ignorance and presumption it was reduced to the verge of ruin. The kingdom was engaged in a quarrel truly national, and commenced a necessary war on national principles: but that war was starved; and the chief strength of the nation transferred to the continent of Europe, in order to maintain an unnecessary war, in favour of a family whose pride and ambition can be equalled by nothing but its insolence and ingratitude. While the strength of the nation was thus exerted abroad for the support of worthless allies, and a dangerous rebellion raged in the bowels of the kingdom, the sovereign was insulted by his ministers, who deserted his service at this critical juncture, and refused to resume their functions, until he had truckled to their petulant humour, and dismissed a favourite servant, of whose superior talents they were meanly jealous. Such an unprecedented secession at any time would have merited the imputation of insolence; but at that period, when the sovereign was perplexed and embarrassed by a variety of dangers and difficulties; when his crown, and even his life, were at stake; to throw up their places, abandon his councils, and, as far as in them lay, detach themselves from his fortune, was a step so likely to aggravate the disorder of the nation, so big with cruelty, ingratitude, and sedition, that it seems to deserve an appellation which, however, we do not think proper to bestow. An inglorious war was succeeded by an ignominious peace, which proved of short duration; yet in this interval the English nation exhibited such a proof of commercial opulence as astonished all Europe. At the close of a war which had drained it of so much treasure, and increased the public debt to an enormous burden, it acquiesced under such a reduction of interest as one would hardly think the ministry durst have proposed, even before one-half of the national debt was contracted. A much more unpopular step was a law that passed for natural-izing the Jews—a law so odious to the people in general, that it was soon repealed, at the request of that minister by whom it had been chiefly patronized. An ill-concerted peace was in a little time productive of fresh hostilities, and another war with France, which Britain began to prosecute under favourable auspices. Then the whole political system of Germany was inverted. The king of England abandoned the interest of that house which he had in the former war so warmly espoused, and took into his bosom a prince whom he had formerly considered as his inveterate enemy. The unpropitious beginning of this war against France being imputed to the misconduct of the administration, excited such a ferment among the people, as seemed to threaten a dangerous insurrection. Every part of the kingdom resounded with the voice of dissatisfaction, which did not even respect the throne. The king found himself obliged to accept of a minister presented by the people; and this measure was attended with consequences as favourable as his wish could form. From that instant all clamour was hushed—all opposition ceased. The enterprising spirit of the new minister seemed to diffuse itself through all the operations of the war, and conquest everywhere attended the efforts of the British arms. Now appeared the fallacy of those maxims, and the falsehood of those assertions, by which former ministers had established, and endeavoured to excuse, the practices of corruption. The supposed disaffection, which had been insisted on as the source of parliamentary opposition, now entirely vanished; nor was it found necessary to use any sinister means for securing a majority, in order to answer the purposes of the administration. England for the first time saw a minister of state in full possession of popularity. Under the auspices of this minister, it saw a national militia formed, and trained to discipline by the invincible spirit of a few patriots, who pursued this salutary measure in the face of unwearied opposition, discouraged by the jealousy of a court, and ridiculed by all the venal retainers to a standing army. Under his ministry it saw the military genius of Great Britain revive, and shine with redoubled lustre; it saw her interest and glory coincide, and an immense extent of country added by conquest to her dominions. The people, confiding in the integrity and abilities of their own minister, and elevated by the repeated sounds of triumph, became enamoured of the war, and granted such liberal subsidies for its support, as no other minister would have presumed to ask, as no other nation believed they could afford. Nor did they murmur at seeing great part of their treasure diverted into foreign channels; nor did they seem to bestow a serious thought on the accumulating load of the national debt, which already exceeded the immense sum of one hundred millions.

In a word, they were intoxicated with victory; and as the king happened to die in the midst of their transports, occasioned by the final conquest of Canada, their good humour garnished his character with a prodigality of encomiums. A thousand pens were drawn to paint the beauties and sublimity of his character, in poetry as well as prose. They extolled him above Alexander in courage and heroism, above Augustus in liberality, Titus in clemency, Antoninus in piety and benevolence, Solomon in wisdom, and Saint Edward in devotion. Such hyperbolical eulogiums served only to throw a ridicule upon a character which was otherwise respectable. The two universities vied with each other in lamenting his death; and each published a huge collection of elegies on the subject: nor did they fail to exalt his praise, with the warmest expressions of affection and regret, in the compliments of condolence and congratulation which they presented to his successor. The same panegyric and pathos appeared in all the addresses with which every other community in the kingdom approached the throne of our present sovereign: insomuch that we may venture to say, no prince was ever more popular at the time of his decease. The English are naturally warm and impetuous; and in generous natures, affection is as apt as any other passion to run riot. The sudden death of the king was lamented as a national misfortune by many, who felt a truly filial affection for their country; not that they implicitly subscribed to all the exaggerated praise which had been so liberally poured forth on his character, but because the nation was deprived of him at a critical juncture, while involved in a dangerous and expensive war, of which he had been personally the chief mover and support. They knew the burden of royalty devolved upon a young prince, who, though heir-apparent to the crown, and already arrived at years of maturity, had never been admitted to any share of the administration, nor made acquainted with any schemes or secrets of state. The real character of the new king was very little known to the generality of the nation. They dreaded an abrupt change of measures, which might have rendered useless all the advantages obtained in the course of the war. As they were ignorant of his connexions, they dreaded a revolution in the ministry, which might fill the kingdom with clamour and confusion. But the greatest shock occasioned by his decease was undoubtedly among our allies and fellow-subjects in Germany, who saw themselves suddenly deprived of their sole prop and patron, at a time when they could not pretend of themselves to make head against the numerous enemies by whom they were surrounded. But all these doubts and apprehensions vanished like mists before the rising sun; and the people of Great Britain enjoyed the inexpressible pleasure of seeing their loss repaired in such a manner, as must have amply fulfilled the most sanguine wish of every friend to his country.

ACCOUNT OF THE COMMERCE OF GREAT BRITAIN.

The commerce of Great Britain continued to increase during the whole course of this reign; but this increase was not the effect of extraordinary encouragement. On the contrary, the necessities of government, the growing expenses of the nation, and the continual augmentation of the public debt, obliged the legislature to hamper trade with manifold and grievous impositions; its increase, therefore, must have been owing to the natural progress of industry and adventure extending themselves to that farthest line or limit beyond which they will not be able to advance: when the tide of traffic has flowed to its highest mark, it will then begin to recede in a gradual ebb, until it is shrunk within the narrow limits of its original channel. War, which naturally impedes the traffic of other nations, had opened new sources to the merchants of Great Britain. The superiority of her naval power had crushed the navigation of France, her great rival in commerce; so that she now supplied, on her own terms, all those foreign markets, at which, in time of peace, she was undersold by that dangerous competitor. Thus her trade was augmented to a surprising pitch; and this great augmentation alone enabled her to maintain the war at such an enormous expense. As this advantage will cease when the French are at liberty to re-establish their commerce, and prosecute it without molestation, it would be for the interest of Great Britain to be at continual variance with that restless neighbour, provided the contest could be limited to the operations of a sea-war, in which England would be always invincible and victorious.

STATE OF RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY.

The powers of the human mind were freely and fully exercised in this reign. Considerable progress was made in mathematics and astronomy by divers individuals; among whom we number Sanderson, Bradley, Maclaurin, Smith, and the two Simpsons. Natural philosophy became a general study; and the new doctrine of electricity grew into fashion. Different methods were discovered for rendering sea-water potable and sweet; and divers useful hints were communicated to the public by the learned doctor Stephen Hales, who directed all his researches and experiments to the benefit of society. The study of alchemy no longer prevailed; but the art of chemistry was perfectly understood, and assiduously applied to the purposes of sophistication. The clergy of Great Britain were generally learned, pious, and exemplary. Sherlock, Hoad-ley, Seeker, and Conybeare, were promoted to the first dignities of the church. Warburton, who had long signalized himself by the strength and boldness of his genius, his extensive capacity and profound erudition, at length obtained the mitre. But these promotions were granted to reasons ef state convenience and personal interest, rather than as rewards of extraordinary merit. Many other ecclesiastics of worth and learning were totally overlooked. Nor was ecclesiastical merit confined to the established church. Many instances of extraordinary genius, unaffected piety, and universal moderation, appeared among the dissenting ministers of Great Britain and Ireland; among these we particularize the elegant, the primitive Foster; the learned, ingenious, and penetrating Leland.

FANATICISM.

The progress of reason, and free cultivation of the human mind, had not, however, entirely banished those ridiculous sects and schisms of which the kingdom had been formerly so productive. Imposture and fanaticism still hung upon the skirts of religion. Weak minds were seduced by the delusion of a superstition styled Methodism, raised upon the affectation of superior sanctity, and maintained by pretensions to divine illumination. Many thousands in the lower ranks of life were infected with this species of enthusiasm, by the unwearied endeavours of a few obscure preachers, such as Whitfield and the two Wesleys, who propagated their doctrine to the most remote corners of the British dominions, and found means to lay the whole kingdom under contribution. Fanaticism also formed a league with false philosophy. One Hutchinson, a visionary, intoxicated with the fumes of rabbinical learning, pretended to deduce all demonstration from Hebrew roots, and to confine all human knowledge to the five books of Moses. His disciples became numerous after his death. With the methodists, they denied the merit of good-works, and bitterly inveighed against Newton as an ignorant pretender, who had presumed to set up his own ridiculous chimeras in opposition to the sacred philosophy of the Pentateuch. But the most extraordinary sect which distinguished this reign was that of the Moravians, or Hernhutters, imported from Germany by count Zinzendorf, who might have been termed the Melchisedec of his followers, inasmuch as he assumed among them the threefold character of prophet, priest, and king. They could not be so properly styled a sect, as the disciples of an original, who had invented a new system of religion. Their chief adoration was paid to the second person in the Trinity; the first they treated with the most shocking neglect. Some of their tenets were blasphemous, some indecent, and others ridiculously absurd. Their discipline was a strange mixture of devotion and impurity. Their exterior worship consisted of hymns, prayers, and sermons; the hymns extremely ludicrous, and often indecent, alluding to the side-hole or wound which Christ received from a spear in his side while he remained upon the cross. Their sermons frequently contained very gross incentives to the work of propagation. Their private exercises are said to have abounded with such rites and mysteries, as we cannot explain with any regard to decorum. They professed a community of goods, and were governed as one family, in temporals as well as spirituals, by a council or kind of presbytery, in which the count, as their ordinary, presided. In cases of doubt, or great consequence, these pretended to consult the Saviour, and to decide from immediate inspiration; so that they boasted of being under the immediate direction of a theocracy, though in fact they were slaves to the most dangerous kind of despotism; for as often as any individual of the community pretended to think for himself, or differ in opinion from the ordinary and his band of associates, the oracle decreed that he should be instantly sent upon the mission which they had fixed in Greenland, or to the colony they had established in Pennsylvania. As these religionists consisted chiefly of manufacturers who appeared very sober, orderly, and industrious; and their chief declared his intention of prosecuting works of public emolument; they obtained a settlement under a parliamentary sanction in England, where they soon made a considerable number of proselytes, before their principles were fully discovered and explained.

METAPHYSICS AND MEDICINE.

Many ingenious treatises on metaphysics and morality appeared in the course of this reign, and a philosophical spirit of inquiry diffused itself to the farthest extremities of the united kingdom. Though few discoveries of importance were made in medicine, yet that art was well understood in all its different branches, and many of its professors distinguished themselves in other provinces of literature. Besides the medical essays of London and Edinburgh, the physician’s library was enriched with many useful modern productions; with the works of the classical Freind, the elegant Mead, the accurate Huxham, and the philosophical Pringle. The art of midwifery was elucidated by science, reduced to fixed principles, and almost wholly consigned into the hands of men practitioners. The researches of anatomy were prosecuted to some curious discoveries, by the ingenuity and dexterity of a Hunter and a Monro. The numerous hospitals in London contributed to the improvement of surgery, which was brought to perfection under the auspices of a Cheselden and a Sharpe. The advantages of agriculture, which had long flourished in England, extended themselves gradually to the most remote and barren provinces of the island.

MECHANICS.

The mechanic powers were well understood, and judiciously applied to many useful machines of necessity and convenience. The mechanical arts had attained to all that perfection which they were capable of acquiring; but the avarice and oppressions of contractors obliged the handicraftsman to exert his ingenuity, not in finishing his work well, but in affording it cheap; in purchasing bad materials, and performing his task in a hurry; in concealing flaws, substituting show for solidity, and sacrificing reputation to the thirst of lucre. Thus, many of the English manufactures, being found slight and unserviceable, grew into discredit abroad; thus the art of producing them more perfect may in time be totally lost at home. The cloths now made in England are inferior in texture and fabric to those which were manufactured in the beginning of the century; and the same judgment may be pronounced upon almost every article of hardware. The razors, knives, scissors, hatchets, swords, and other edge-utensils, prepared for exportation, are generally ill-tempered, half finished, flawed, or brittle; and the muskets, which are sold for seven or eight shillings a-piece to the exporter, so carelessly and unconscientiously prepared, that they cannot be used without imminent danger of mutilation: accordingly, one hardly meets with a negro man upon the coast of Guinea, in the neighbourhood of the British settlements, who has not been wounded or maimed in some member by the bursting of the English fire-arms. The advantages of this traffic, carried on at the expense of character and humanity, will naturally cease, whenever those Africans can be supplied more honestly by the traders of any other nation.

GENIUS.

Genius in writing spontaneously arose; and, though neglected by the great, flourished under the culture of a public which had pretensions to taste, and piqued itself on encouraging literary merit. Swift and Pope we have mentioned on another occasion. Young still survived, a venerable monument of poetical talents. Thomson, the poet of the Seasons, displayed a luxuriancy of genius in describing the beauties of nature. Akenside and Armstrong excelled in didactic poetry. Even the Epopoea did not disdain an English dress; but appeared to advantage in the Leonidas of Glover, and the Epigoniad of Wilkie. The public acknowledged a considerable share of dramatic merit in the tragedies of Young, Mallet, Home, and some other less distinguished authors. Very few regular comedies, during this period, were exhibited on the English theatre; which, however, produced many less laboured pieces, abounding with satire, wit, and humour. The Careless Husband of Gibber, and Suspicious Husband of Hoadley, are the only comedies of this age that bid fair for reaching posterity. The exhibitions of the stage were improved to the most exquisite entertainment by the talents and management of Garrick, who greatly surpassed all his predecessors of this and perhaps every other nation, in his genius for acting; in the sweetness and variety of his tones, the irresistible magic of his eye, the fire and vivacity of his action, the elegance of attitude, and the whole pathos of expression. Quin excelled in dignity and declamation, as well as exhibiting some characters of humour, equally exquisite and peculiar. Mrs. Cibber breathed the whole soul of female tenderness and passion; and Mrs. Pritchard displayed all the dignity of distress. That Great Britain was not barren of poets at this period, appears from the detached performances of Johnson, Mason, Gray, the two Whiteheads, and the two Whartons; besides a great number of other bards, who have sported in lyric poetry, and acquired the applause of their fellow-citizens. Candidates for literary fame appeared even in the higher sphere of life, embellished by the nervous style, superior sense, and extensive erudition of a Corke; by the delicate taste, the polished muse, and tender feelings of a Lyttleton. King shone unrivalled in Roman eloquence. Even the female sex distinguished themselves by their taste and ingenuity. Miss Carter rivalled the celebrated Dacier in learning and critical knowledge; Mrs. Lennox signalized herself by many successful efforts of genius, both in poetry and prose; and Miss Reid excelled the celebrated Rosalba in portrait painting, both in miniature and at large, in oil as well as in crayons. The genius of Cervantes was transfused into the novels of Fielding, who painted the characters, and ridiculed the follies of life, with equal strength, humour, and propriety. The field of history and biography was cultivated by many writers of ability: among whom we distinguish the copious Guthrie, the circumstantial Ralph, the laborious Carte, the learned and elegant Robertson, and above all, the ingenious, penetrating, and comprehensive Hume, whom we rank among the first writers of the age, both as an historian and philosopher. Nor let us forget the merit conspicuous in the works of Campbell, remarkable for candour, intelligence, and precision. Johnson, inferior to none in philosophy, philology, poetry, and classical learning, stands foremost as an essayist, justly admired for the dignity, strength, and variety of his style, as well as for the agreeable manner in which he investigates the human heart, tracing every interesting emotion, and opening all the sources of morality. The laudable aim of enlisting the passions on the side of virtue, was successfully pursued by Richardson, in his Pamella, Clarissa, and Grandison; a species of writing equally new and extraordinary, where, mingled with much superfluity, we find a sublime system of ethics, an amazing knowledge and command of human nature. Many of the Greek and Roman classics made their appearance in English translations, which were favourably received as works of merit; among these we place, after Pope’s Homer, Virgil by Pitt and Wharton, Horace by Francis, Polybius by Hampton, and Sophocles by Franklin. The war introduced a variety of military treatises, chiefly translated from the French language; and a free country, like Great Britain, will always abound with political tracts and lucubrations. Every literary production of merit, calculated for amusement or instruction, that appeared in any country or language of Christendom, was immediately imported and naturalized among the English people. Never was the pursuit after knowledge so universal, or literary merit more regarded, than at this juncture, by the body of the British nation; but it was honoured by no attention from the throne, and little indulgence from particular patrons. The reign of Queen Anne was propitious to the fortunes of Swift and Pope, who lived in all the happy pride of independence. Young, sequestered from courts and preferment, possessed a moderate benefice in the country, and employed his time in a conscientious discharge of his ecclesiastical functions. Thomson, with the most benevolent heart that ever warmed the human breast, maintained a perpetual war with the difficulties of a narrow fortune. He enjoyed a place in chancery by the bounty of lord Talbot, of which he was divested by the succeeding chancellor. He afterwards enjoyed a small pension from Frederick prince of Wales, which was withdrawn in the sequel. About two years before his death, he obtained, by the interest of his friend lord Lyttleton, a comfortable place; but he did not live to taste the blessing of easy circumstances, and died in debt.*

* However he was neglected when living, his memory has been honoured with peculiar marks of regard, in an ample subscription for a new edition of his works. The profits were employed in erecting a monument to his fame in Westminster Abbey, a subscription to which his present majesty king George III. has liberally subscribed. The remaining surplus was distributed among his poor relations.

None of the rest whom we have named enjoyed any share of the royal bounty, except W. Whitehead, who succeeded to the place of laureate at the death of Cibber; and some of them whose merit was the most universally acknowledged, remained exposed to all the storms of indigence, and all the stings of mortification. While the queen lived, some countenance was given to learning. She conversed with Newton, and corresponded with Leibnitz. She took pains to acquire popularity; the royal family on certain days dined in public, for the satisfaction of the people: the court was animated with a freedom of spirit and vivacity, which rendered it at once brilliant and agreeable. At her death that spirit began to languish, and a total stagnation of gaiety and good humour ensued. It was succeeded by a sudden calm, an ungracious reserve, and a still rotation of insipid forms. *

* George II. by his queen Caroline, had two sons and five daughters, who attained the age of maturity. Frederick, prince of Wales, father to his present majesty George III.; William duke of Cumberland; Anne, the princess royal, married to the late prince of Orange, and mother to the present stadtholder; Mary, landgraviate of Hesse-Cassel; Louisa, late queen of Denmark; Amelia and Carolina, who were never married.

MUSIC.

England was not defective in other arts that embellish and amuse. Music became a fashionable study, and its professors were generally caressed by the public. An Italian opera was maintained at a great expense, and well supplied with foreign performers. Private concerts were instituted in every corner of the metropolis. The compositions of Handel were universally admired, and he himself lived in affluence. It must be owned at the same time, that Geminiani was neglected, though his genius commanded esteem and veneration. Among the few natives of England who distinguished themselves by their talents in this art, Green, Howard, Arne, and Boyce, were the most remarkable.

PAINTING AND SCULPTURE.

The British soil, which had hitherto been barren in the article of painting, now produced some artists of extraordinary merit. Hogarth excelled all the world in exhibiting the scenes of ordinary life; in humour, character, and expression. Hayman became eminent for historical designs and conversation pieces. Reynolds and Ramsay distinguished themselves by their superior merit in portraits; a branch that was successfully cultivated by many other English painters. Wootton was famous for representing live animals in general; Seymour for race-horses; Lambert and the Smiths for landscapes; and Scot for sea-pieces. Several spirited attempts were made on historical subjects, but little progress was made in the sublime parts of painting. Essays of this kind were discouraged by a false taste, founded upon a reprobation of British genius. The art of engraving was brought to perfection by Strange, and laudably practised by Grignon, Baron, Ravenet, and several other masters; great improvements were made in mezzotinto, miniature, and enamel. Many fair monuments of sculpture or statuary were raised by Rysbrach, Roubilliac, and Wilton. Architecture, which had been cherished by the elegant taste of Burlington, soon became a favourite study; and many magnificent edifices were reared in different parts of the kingdom. Ornaments were carved in wood, and moulded in stucco, with all the delicacy of execution; but a passion for novelty had introduced into gardening, building, and furniture, an absurd Chinese taste, equally void of beauty and convenience. Improvements in the liberal and useful arts will doubtless be the consequence of that encouragement given to merit by the society instituted for these purposes, which we have described on another occasion. As for the Royal Society, it seems to have degenerated in its researches, and to have had very little share, for half a century at least, in extending the influence of true philosophy.

We shall conclude this reign with a detail of the forces and fleets of Great Britain, from whence the reader will conceive a just idea of her opulence and power.

NOTES TO VOLUME II.

237 (return)
[ Note 2 K, p.237 Nothing was heard within doors in parliament, but sarcastic repartee and violent declamation between the two parties, who did not confine their altercation to these debates, but took the field against each other in periodical papers and occasional pamphlets. The paper called The Craftsman, had already risen into high reputation all over England, for the wit, humour, and solid reasoning it contained. Some of the best writers in the opposition, including lord Bolingbroke and Mr. P. made use of this vehicle to convey their animadversions upon the minister, who, on his side, employed the most wretched scribblers to defend his conduct. It was in consequence of two political pamphlets, written in opposition to each other, by “lord Hervey and Mr. P., and some recrimination they produced in the house of commons, that his lordship challenged the other to single combat, and had well nigh lost his life in the duel, which was fought in Hyde Park.]

260 (return)
[ Note 2. L, p. 260. Captain Jenkins was master of a Scottish merchant-ship. He was boarded by the captain of a Spanish guardacosta, who treated him in the most barbarous manner. The Spaniards, after having rummaged his vessel for what they called contraband commodities, without finding anything to justify their search, insulted him with the most opprobrious invectives. They tore off one of his ears, bidding him carry it to his king, and tell him they would serve him in the same manner should an opportunity offer: they tortured him with the most shocking cruelty, and threatened him with immediate death. This man was examined at the bar of the house of commons, and being asked by a member, what he thought when he found himself in the hands of such barbarians? “I recommended my soul to God,” said he, “and my cause to my country.” The behaviour of this brave seaman, the sight of his ear, which was produced, with his account of the indignities which had been offered to the nation and sovereign of Great Britain, filled the whole house with indignation. Jenkins was afterwards employed in the service of the East India company; he approved himself worthy of his good fortune, in a long engagement with the pirate Angria, during which he behaved with extraordinary courage and conduct; and saved his own ship, with three others that were under his convoy.]

262 (return)
[ Note 2 M, p. 262. Among the laws enacted in the course of this session was an act against gaming, which had become universal through all ranks of people, and likely to prove destructive to all morals, industry, and sentiment. Another bill passed, for granting a reward to Joanna Stevens, on her discovering, for the benefit of the public, a nostrum for the cure of persons afflicted with the stone—a medicine which has by no means answered the expectations of the legislature.

In the house of lords, complaint was made by lord Delaware of a satire, entitled Manners, written by Mr. Whitehead, in which some characters of distinction were severely lashed in the true spirit of poetry. It was voted a libel: a motion was made to take the author into custody; but he having withdrawn himself, the resentment of the house fell upon E. Dodsley, the publisher of the work, who was committed to the usher of the black rod, though lord Carteret, the earl of Abingdon, and lord Talbot, spoke in his behalf.]

283 (return)
[ Note 2 N, p.283. In May, a dreadful plague broke out at Messina in Sicily. It was imported in cotton and other commodities brought from the Morea; and swept off such a multitude of people, that the city was almost depopulated: all the galley slaves who were employed in burying the dead, perished by the contagion; and this was the fate of many priests and monks who administered to those who were infected. The dead bodies lay in heaps in the streets, corrupting the air, and adding fresh fuel to the rage of the pestilence. Numbers died miserably, for want of proper attendance and necessaries; and all was horror and desolation. At the beginning of winter it ceased, after having destroyed near fifty thousand inhabitants of Messina, and of the garrisons in the citadel and castle. It was prevented from spreading in Sicily by a strong barricado drawn from Melazzo to Taormina; but it was conveyed to Reggio in Calabria by the avarice of a broker of that place, who bought some goods at Messina. The king of Naples immediately ordered lines to be formed, together with a chain of troops, which cut off all communication between that place and the rest of the continent.]

301 (return)
[ Note 2 O, p. 301. This nobleman, so remarkable for his courage and thirst of glory, exhibited a very extraordinary instance of presence of mind on the morning that preceded this battle. He and some volunteers, accompanied by his aidecamp, and attended by two orderly dragoons, the rode out before day to reconnoitre the situation of the enemy; and fell in with one of their advanced guards. The sergeant who commanded it immediately turned out his men, and their pieces were presented when the earl first perceived them. Without betraying the least mark of disorder, he rode up to the sergeant, and assuming the character of a French general, told him, in that language, that there was no occasion for such ceremony. Then he asked, if they had perceived any of the enemy’s parties; and being answered in the negative, “Very well,” said he, “be upon your guard; and if you should be attacked, I will take care that you shall be sustained.” So saying, he and his company retired, before the sergeant could recollect himself from the surprise occasioned by this unexpected address. In all probability he was sensible of his mistake; for the incident was that very day publicly mentioned in the French army. The prince of Tingray, an officer in the Austrian service, having been taken prisoner in the battle that ensued, dined with mares-chal count Saxe, who dismissed him on his parole, and desired he would charge himself with a facetious compliment to his old friend, the earl of Crawford. He wished his lordship joy of being a French general, and said he could not help being displeased with the sergeant, as he had not procured him the honour of his lordship’s company at dinner.]

310 (return)
[ Note 2 P, p. 310. Such an expensive war could not be maintained without a very extraordinary exertion of a commercial spirit: accordingly we find that Great Britain, since the death of king William, has risen under our pressures with increased vigour and perseverance. Whether it be owing to the natural progression of trade extending itself from its origin to its acme, or ne plus ultra, or to the encouragement given by the administration to monied men of all denominations; or to necessity, impelling those who can no longer live on small incomes to risk their capitals in traffic, that they may have a chance for bettering their fortunes; or lastly, to a concurrence of all these causes; certain it is, the national exports and imports have been sensibly increasing for these forty years: the yearly medium of woollen exports, from the year 1738 to 1743 inclusive, amounted to about three millions and a half, which was a yearly increase, on the medium, of five hundred thousand pounds above the medium from 1718 to 1724. From this article, the reader will conceive the prodigious extent, and importance of the British commerce.]

321 (return)
[ Note 2 Q, p. 321. The resolutions of the commons on this head were printed by authority in the London Gazette, signifying, that those who were, or should be, proprietors of any part of the public debt, redeemable by law, incurred before Michaelmas, in the year one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, carrying an interest of four per centum per annum, who should, on or before the twenty-eighth day of February in that year, subscribe their names, signifying their consent to accept of an interest of three pounds per centum, to commence from the twenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, subject to the same provisions, notices, and classes of redemption, to which their respective sums at four per centum were then liable, should, in lieu of their present interest, be entitled to four per centum till the twenty-fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty; and after that day, to three pounds ten shillings per centum per annum, till the twenty-fifth day of December, one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven; and no part of that debt, except what was due to the East India company, should be redeemable to this period. That if any part of the national debt, incurred before last Michaelmas, redeemable by law, and carrying an interest of four per centum, should remain unsubscribed on or before the thirtieth day of May, the government should pay off the principal. For this purpose Ins majesty was enabled to borrow of any person or persons, bodies politic or corporate, any sum or sums of money not exceeding that part of the national debt which might remain unsubscribed, to be charged on the sinking fund, upon any terms not exceeding the rate of interest in the foregoing proposal.

All the duties appropriated to the payment of the interest were still continued, and the surplus of these incorporated with the sinking fund for the discharge of the principal. Books were opened for the subscription at the Exchequer, the Bank of England, and the South Sea house; and copies of these resolutions transmitted to the directors of all the monied corporations.]

322 (return)
[ Note 2 R, p. 322. The most remarkable circumstance attending the progress of this bill, which made its way through both houses, and obtained the royal assent, was the number of contradictory petitions in favour and in prejudice of it, while it remained under consideration. The tanners of leather in and about the town of Sheffield in Yorkshire, represented, That if the bill should pass, the English iron would be undersold; consequently, a great number of furnaces and forges would be discontinued; in that case the woods used for fuel would stand uncut, and the tanners be deprived of oak bark sufficient for the continuance and support of their occupation. They nevertheless owned, that should the duty be removed from pig iron only, no such consequence could be apprehended; because, should the number of furnaces be lessened, that of forges would be increased. This was likewise the plea urged in divers remonstrances by masters of iron-works, gentlemen, and freeholders, who had tracts of wood-land in their possession. The owners, proprietors, and farmers of furnaces and iron forges, belonging to Sheffield and its neighbourhood, enlarged upon the great expense they had incurred in erecting and supporting iron-works, by means of which great numbers of his majesty’s subjects were comfortably supported. They expressed their apprehension, that should the bill pass into a law, it could not in any degree lessen the consumption of Swedish iron, which was used for purposes which neither the American nor British iron would answer; but that the proposed encouragement, considering the plenty and cheapness of wood in America, would enable the colonies to undersell the British iron, a branch of traffic which would be totally destroyed, to the ruin of many thousand labourers, who would be compelled to seek their livelihood in foreign countries. They likewise suggested, that if all the iron manufacturers of Great Britain should be obliged to depend upon a supply of iron from the plantations, which must ever be rendered precarious by the hazard of the seas and the enemy, the manufactures would probably decay for want of materials, and many thousand families be reduced to want and misery. On the other hand, the ironmongers and smiths belonging to the flourishing town of Birmingham in Warwickshire, presented a petition, declaring, That the bill would be of great benefit to the trade of the nation, as it would enable the colonists to make larger returns of their own produce, and encourage them to take a greater quantity of the British manufactures. They affirmed, that all the iron-works in the island of Great Britain did not supply half the quantity of that metal sufficient to carry on the manufacture; that if this deficiency could be supplied from the colonies in America, the importation would cease, and considerable sums of money be saved to the nation. They observed, that the importation of iron from America could no more affect the iron-works and freeholders of the kingdom, than the like quantity imported from any other country; but they prayed that the people of America might be restrained from erecting slitting or rolling-mills, or forges for plating iron, as they would interfere with the manufacturers of Great Britain.

Many remonstrances to the same effect were presented from different parts of the kingdom, and it appeared, upon the most exact inquiry, that the encouragement of American iron would prove extremely beneficial to the kingdom, as it had been found, upon trial, applicable to all the uses of Swedish iron, and as good in every respect as the produce of that country.]

330 (return)
[ Note 2 S, p. 330. One of the most remarkable acts which passed in the course of this session, was that for regulating the commencement of the year, and correcting the calendar, according to the Gregorian computation, which had been adopted by all other nations in Europe. By this new law it was decreed that the new year should begin on the 1st day of January, and that eleven intermediate nominal days, between the second and fourteenth days of September, 1752, should for that time be omitted; so that the day succeeding the second should be denominated the fourteenth of that month. By this establishment of the new style, the equinoxes and solstices will happen nearly on the same nominal days on which they fell in the year 325, at the council of Nice; and the correspondence between the English merchants and those of foreign countries will be greatly facilitated, with respect to the dates of letters and accounts.]

331 (return)
[ Note 2 T, p. 330. An indulgent parent was poisoned by his only daughter, on whom, besides other marks of tenderness and paternal affection, he had bestowed a liberal education, which greatly aggravated her guilt and ingratitude. Another young woman was concerned in the assassination of her own uncle, who had been her constant benefactor and sole guardian. A poor old woman, having, from the ignorance and superstition of her neighbours, incurred the suspicion of sorcery and witchcraft, was murdered in Hertfordshire by the populace, with all the wantonness of barbarity. Rape and murder were perpetrated upon an unfortunate woman in the neighbourhood of London, and an innocent man suffered death for this complicated outrage, while the real criminals assisted at his execution, heard him appeal to heaven for his innocence, and, in the character of friends, embraced him, while he stood on the brink of eternity.]

348 (return)
[ Note 2 U, p. 348. Several European nations had settlements at Surat, which was one of the most frequented cities of the East, from the great concourse of Mahometan pilgrims, who make it their road from India, in their visits to the tomb of their prophet at Mecca. In order to keep the seas clear of pirates between Surat and the gulf of Arabia and Persia, the mogul had been at the annual expense of a large ship, fitted out on purpose to carry the pilgrims to Judda, which is within a small distance of Mecca. For the security of this ship, as well as to protect the trade of Surat, he granted to his admiral, the fiddee, chief of a colony of caffrees, or blacks, a revenue called the tanka, to the value of three lacks of rupees, amounting to above thirty-seven thousand pounds, arising partly from the adjacent lands, and partly from the revenues of Surat, which were paid him yearly by the governor of the castle, who is appointed by the mogul to keep the city under proper subjection, without, however, interfering with the government of it.]

357 (return)
[ Note 2 X, p. 357. The ministry having resolved to send a body of forces to America, to act in conjunction with the provincial troops raised on that continent, it became necessary that the mutiny act should be rendered more clear and extensive. When this bill, therefore, fell under consideration, it was improved with a new clause, providing, “That all officers and soldiers of any troops being mustered and in pay, which are or shall be raised in any of the British provinces in America, by authority of the respective governors or governments thereof, shall at all times, and in all places, when they happen to join or act in conjunction with his majesty’s British forces, be liable to martial law and discipline, in like manner, to all intents and purposes, as the British forces are; and shall be subject to the same trial, penalties, and punishment.”]

364 (return)
[ Note 2 Y, p. 364. The king, on his side, promised to pay to the landgrave, for these succours, eighty crowns banco, by way of levy-money, for every trooper or dragoon duly armed and mounted, and thirty crowns banco for every foot soldier; the crown to be reckoned at fifty-three sols of Holland, or at four shillings and ninepence three farthings English money; and also to pay to his serene highness, for the eight thousand men, an annual subsidy of an hundred and fifty thousand crowns banco, during the four years, to commence from the day of signing the treaty; which subsidy was to be increased to three hundred thousand crowns yearly, from the time of requiring the troops, to the time of their entering into British pay; and in case of their being dismissed, the said subsidy of three hundred thousand crowns was then to revive and be continued during the residue of the term: but, if twelve thousand men were demanded and furnished, the subsidy was then to be increased in proportion; and in case the king of Great Britain should at any time think fit to send back these troops before the expiration of the treaty, notice thereof was to be given to his serene highness three months beforehand: one month’s pay was to be allowed them for their return, and they were to be furnished gratis with the necessary transport vessels.]

372 (return)
[ Note 2 Z, p. 372. It is with pleasure we seize this opportunity of recording an instance of gallantry and patriotism in a British officer, which would have done honour to the character of a Roman tribune. Captain Cunningham, an accomplished young gentleman, who acted as engineer in second at Minorca, being preferred to a majority at home, and recalled to his regiment by an express order, had repaired with his family to Nice in Italy, where he waited for the opportunity of a ship bound for England, when he received certain intelligence that the French armament was destined for the place he had quitted. His lady, whom he tenderly loved, was just delivered, and two of his children were dangerously ill of the small-pox. He recollected that the chief engineer at Minorca was infirm, and indeed disabled by the gout, and that many things were wanting for the defence of the fortress. His zeal for the honour and service of his country immediately triumphed over the calls of tenderness and of nature. He expended a considerable sum of money in purchasing timber for the platforms, and other necessaries for the garrison; hired a ship for transporting them thither; and tearing himself from his wife and children, thus left among strangers in a foreign country, embarked again for Minorca, where he knew he should be in a peculiar manner exposed to all the dangers of a furious siege. In the course of this desperate service he acquitted himself with that vigilance, skill, and active courage, which he had on divers former occasions displayed, until the assault was given to the queen’s bastion; when, mixing with the enemy, sword in hand, he was disabled in his right arm by the shot of a musket and the thrust of a bayonet. His behaviour was so acceptable to his sovereign, that when he returned to England he was preferred to the rank of colonel in the Guards. He afterwards acted as chief engineer in the attempts and descents which were made on the French coast. Though grievously maimed, he accepted the same office in the expedition to Guadaloupe, where he died universally regretted.]

378 (return)
[ Note 3 A, p. 378. When the French ambassador returned to London, he proposed that orders should be immediately despatched to the English governors in America, with express orders to desist from any new undertaking, and all acts of hostility; but with regard to the lands on the Ohio, to put, without delay, matters on the same footing in which they stood before the late war, that the respective claims of both nations might be amicably referred to the commissaries at Paris. The British court agreed to the cessation of hostilities, and the discussion of the disputes by the ministers of the two crowns, on condition that all the possessions in America should be previously put in the situation prescribed by the treaty of Utrecht, confirmed by that of Aix-la-Chapelle. The French ministry, instead of complying with this condition, produced an evasive draft of a preliminary convention, and this was answered by a counter-proposal. At length the ambassador of France demanded, as preliminary conditions, that Great Britain would renounce all claim to the south coast of the river St. Laurence, and the lakes that discharge themselves into that river; cede to the French twenty leagues of country lying along the river of Fundy, which discovers Acadia, or Nova Scotia; and all the land between the rivers Ohio and Ouabache. A memorial was afterwards presented on the same subject, including the affairs of the neutral islands in the West Indies; but this was amply refuted in another piece, in which the British ministry observed, that even at this very opening of the commission established in Paris, for terminating amicably the disputes in North America, the French invaded Nova Scotia, erected three forts in the heart of that province, and would have destroyed the English settlement at Halifax, had they not been prevented: that the like hostilities were committed upon his Britannic majesty’s subjects on the Ohio and Indian lakes, where the governors appointed by the French king, without any shadow of right, prohibited the English from trading; seized their traders by force, and sent them prisoners to France; invaded the territories of Virginia, attacked a fort that covered its frontier, and, to secure their usurpations, erected, with an armed force, a chain of forts on the lands which they had invaded; that his Britannic majesty had complained of these hostilities to the court of Versailles, but without effect; so that he found himself obliged to provide for the security of his subjects; and as the encroachments made by France were hostile, it could never be unlawful, or irreconcile-able with the assurance of his majesty’s peaceable disposition, to repel an aggressor; and that the same motive of self-defence had forced him to seize the French ships and sailors, in order to deprive that court of the means of making an invasion, with which their ministers in all the courts of Europe had menaced England.]

379 (return)
[ Note 3B, p. 379. To Lieut. Gen. Fowke, or, in his absence, to the Commander-in-Chief in his Majesty’s garrison of Gibraltar. War-office, March 21, 1756. “Sir,—I am commanded to acquaint you, that it is his majesty’s pleasure that you receive into your garrison lord Robert Bertie’s regiment to do duty there; and in case you should apprehend that the French intend to make any attempt upon his majesty’s island of Minorca, it is his majesty’s pleasure that you make a detachment out of the troops of your garrison equal to a battalion, to be commanded by a lieutenant-colonel and major; such lieutenant-colonel and major to be the eldest in your garrison, to be put on board the fleet for the relief of Minorca, as the admiral shall think expedient, who is to carry them to the said island. I am, your humble servant, B.”

To Lieut. Gen. Fowke, or, in his absence, to the Commander-in-Chief at Gibraltar. War-office, March 26,1756. “Sir,—I am commanded to acquaint you, that it is his majesty’s pleasure, in case the island of Minorca should be in any likelihood of being attacked, that you make a detachment from the troops in your garrison equal to a battalion, commanded by a lieutenant-colonel and major, for the relief of that place, to be put on board the fleet, at the disposition of the admiral: such lieutenant-colonel and major to be the eldest in your garrison.”

To Lieut. Gen. Fowke, or, in his absence, to the Commander-in-chief in his Majesty’s garrison of Gibraltar. War-office, April 1, 1756. “Sir,—It is his majesty’s pleasure, that you receive into your garrrison the women and children belonging to lord Robert Bertie’s regiment.”

To Lieut. Gen. Fowke, or the Commander-in-Chief at Gibraltar. War-office, May 12, 1756. “Sir,—I wrote to you by general Steward: if that order is not complied with, then you are now to make a detachment of seven hundred men out of your own regiment and Guise’s; and also another detachment out of Pulteney’s and Panmure’s regiments, and send them on board the fleet for the relief of Mahon. But if that order has been complied with, then you are to make only one detachment of seven hundred men, to be commanded by another lieutenant-colonel and major, and to send it to Mahon; and you are also to detain all such empty vessels as shall come into your harbour, and keep them in readiness for any further transportation of troops. I have also his royal highness the duke of Cumberland’s commands, to desire that you will keep your garrison as alert as possible during this critical time, and give such other assistance as may be in your power for the relief of Minorca; taking care, however, not to fatigue or endanger your own garrison.”]

387 (return)
[ Note 3 C, p. 387. His majesty seems to have abated of this respect in the sequel, if we may believe the assertions of his Polish majesty’s queen and the court of Vienna, who affirmed, that sentinels were posted within the palace where the queen and royal family resided; as also at the door of the secret cabinet, where the papers relating to foreign transactions were deposited. The keys of this cabinet were seized, and all the writings demanded. The whole Saxon ministry were discharged from their respective employments, and a new commission was established by the king of Prussia for the administration of affairs in general. When the queen entreated this prince to remove the sentinels posted within the palace and contiguous passages, agreeably to his assurances that all due respect should be observed towards the royal family, the king ordered the guards to be doubled, and sent an officer to demand of her majesty the keys of the secret cabinet. The queen obtained this officer’s consent that the doors should be sealed up, but afterwards he returned with orders to break them open: then her majesty, placing herself before the door, said, she trusted so much to the promise of the king of Prussia, that she could not believe he had given such orders. The officer declaring that his orders were positive, and that he durst not disobey them, she continued in the same place, declaring, that if violence was to be used, he must begin with her. The officer returning to acquaint the king with what had passed, her majesty conjured the ministers of Prussia and England to remind his majesty of his promise; but her representations had no effect: the officer returned with fresh orders to use force, in spite of the opposition she might make against it in person. The queen, finding herself in danger of her life, at length withdrew: the doors were forced, the chests broke open, and all the papers seized.]

388 (return)
[ Note 3 D, p. 388. The letter was to the following effect:—“Veldt-Mareschal Count Rutowski, It is not without extreme sorrow I understand the deplorable situation, which a chain of misfortunes has reserved for you, the rest of my generals, and my whole army; but we must acquiesce in the dispensations of Providence, and console ourselves with the rectitude of our sentiments and intentions. They would force me, it seems, as you gave me to understand by major-general the baron de Dyherrn, to submit to conditions the more severe, in proportion as the circumstances become more necessitous. I cannot hear them mentioned. I am a free monarch: such I will live; such I will die; and I will both live and die with honour. The fate of my army I leave wholly to your discretion. Let your council of war determine whether you must surrender prisoners of war, fall by the sword, or die by famine. May your resolutions, if possible, be conducted by humanity: whatever they may be, I have no longer any share in them; and I declare you shall not be answerable for aught but one thing, namely, not to carry arms against me or my allies. I pray God may have you, Mr. Mareschal, in his holy keeping.—Given at Koningstein, the 14th of October, 1756. “AUGUSTUS, Kex.” “To the Veldt-Mareschal the Count Rutowski.”

392 (return)
[ Note 3 E, p. 392. Rear-admiral Knowles being, in the month of December, one thousand seven hundred and forty-nine, tried at Deptford, before a court-martial, for his behaviour in and relating to an action which happened on the first day of October in the preceding year, between a British squadron under his command, and a squadron of Spain, the court was unanimously of opinion, that the said Knowles, while he was standing for the enemy, might, by a different disposition of his squadron, have begun the attack with six ships as early in the day as four of them were engaged; and that, therefore, by his neglecting so to do, he gave the enemy a manifest advantage; that the said Knowles remained on board the ship Cornwall with his flag, after she was disabled from continuing the action, though he might, upon her being disabled, have shifted his flag on board another ship; and the court were unanimously of opinion he ought to have done so, in order to have conducted and directed, during the whole action, the motions of the squadron intrusted to his care and conduct. Upon consideration of the whole conduct of the said Knowles, relating to that action, the court did unanimously agree that he fell under part of the fourteenth article of the articles of war, namely, the word negligence, and no other; and also under the twenty-third article.—The court, therefore, unanimously adjudged, that he should be reprimanded for not bringing up the squadron in closer order than he did, and not beginning the attack with as great force as he might have done; and also for not shifting his flag, upon the Cornwall’s being disabled.]

395 (return)
[ Note 3 F, p. 395. It was enacted, that persons pawning, exchanging, or disposing of goods, without leave of the owner, should suffer in the penalty of twenty shillings; and, on non-payment, be committed for fourteen days to hard labour; afterwards, if the money could not be then paid, to be whipped publicly in the house of correction, or such other place as the justice of the peace should appoint, on publication of the prosecutor; that every pawnbroker should make entry of the person’s name and place of abode who pledges any goods with him; and the pledger, if he require it, should have a duplicate of that entry; that a pawnbroker receiving linen or apparel intrusted to others to be washed or mended, should forfeit double the sum lent upon it, and restore the goods; that upon oath of any person whose goods are unlawfully pawned or exchanged, the justice should issue a warrant to search the suspected person’s house; and upon refusal of admittance the officer might break open the door; that goods pawned for any sum not exceeding ten pounds might be recovered within two years, the owner making oath of the pawning, and tendering the principal, interest, and charges; that goods remaining unredeemed for two years should be forfeited and sold, the overplus to be accounted for to the owner on demand.]

396 (return)
[ Note 3 G, p. 395. It likewise imported, that all contracts or agreements made between clothiers and weavers in respect to wages, should, from and after the first of May, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven, be valid, notwithstanding any rate established, or to be established; but that these contracts or agreements should extend only to the actual prices or rates of workmanship or wages, and not to the payment thereof in any other manner than in money; and that if any clothier should refuse or neglect to pay the weaver the wages or price agreed on, in money, within two days after the work should be performed and delivered, the same being demanded, he should forfeit forty shillings for every such offence.]

401 (return)
[ Note 3 H, p. 401. Admiral F..... s’s reasons for not signing the warrant for admiral Byng’s execution.

“It may be thought great presumption in me to differ from so great authority as that of the twelve judges; but when a man is called upon to sign his name to an act which is to give authority to the shedding of blood, he ought to be guided by his own conscience, and not by the opinions of other men.

“In the case before us, it is not the merit of admiral Byng that I consider; whether he deserves death or not, is not a question for me to decide; but whether or not his life can be taken away by the sentence pronounced on him by the court-martial, and after having so clearly explained their motives for pronouncing such a sentence, is the point which alone has employed my serious consideration.

“The twelfth article of war, on which admiral Byng’s sentence is grounded, says (according to my understanding of its meaning), ‘That every person, who, in time of action, shall withdraw, keep back, or not come into fight, or do his utmost, &c. through motives of cowardice, negligence, or disaffection, shall suffer death.’ The court-martial does, in express words, acquit admiral Byng of cowardice and disaffection, and does not name the word negligence. Admiral Byng does not, as I conceive, fall under the letter or description of the twelfth article of war. It may be said that negligence is implied, though the word is not mentioned, otherwise the court-martial would not have brought his offence under the twelfth article, having acquitted him of cowardice and disaffection. But it must be acknowledged that the negligence implied cannot be wilful negligence; for wilful negligence in admiral Byng’s situation, must have proceeded either from cowardice or disaffection, and he is expressly acquitted of both these crimes; besides, these crimes, which are implied only and not named, may indeed justify suspicion and private opinion, but cannot satisfy the conscience in case of blood.

“Admiral Byng’s fate was referred to a court-martial, his life and death were left to their opinions. The court-martial condemn him to death, because, as they expressly say, they were under a necessity of doing so by reason of the letter of the law, the severity of which they complained of, because it admits of no mitigation. The court-martial expressly say, that for the sake of their consciences, as well as in justice to the prisoner, they most earnestly recommend him to his majesty for mercy; it is evident, then, that in the opinions and consciences of the judges he was not deserving of death.

“The question then is, shall the opinions or necessities of the court-martial determine admiral Byng’s fate? If it should be the latter, he will be executed contrary to the intentions and meaning of his judges; if the former, his life is not forfeited. His judges declare him not deserving of death; but, mistaking either the meaning of the law, or the nature of his offence, they bring him under an article of war, which, according to their own description of his offence, he does not, I conceive, fall under; and then they condemn him to death, because, as they say, the law admits of no mitigation. Can a man’s life be taken away by such a sentence? I would not willingly be misunderstood, and have it believed that I judge admiral Byng’s deserts; that was the business of a court-martial, and it is my duty only to act according to my conscience; which, after deliberate consideration, assisted by the best light a poor understanding can afford it, remains still in doubt, and therefore I cannot consent to sign a warrant whereby the sentence of the court-martial may be carried into execution; for I cannot help thinking, that however criminal admiral Byng may be, his life is not forfeited by that sentence. I do not mean to find fault with other men’s opinions; all I endeavour at is, to give reasons for my own; and all I desire or wish is, that I may not be misunderstood; I do not pretend to judge admiral Byng’s deserts, nor to give any opinion on the propriety of the act. “Signed, 6th Feb. 1757, at the Admiralty, ” J. F..... S.”]

419 (return)
[ Note 3 I, p. 419. “The Imperial grenadiers (says he) are an admirable corps; one hundred companies defended a rising ground, which my best infantry could not carry. Ferdinand, who commanded them, returned seven times to the charge; but to no purpose. At first he mastered a battery, but could not hold it. The enemy had the advantage of a numerous and well-served artillery. It did honour to Lichtenstein, who had the direction. Only the Prussian army can dispute it with him. My infantry were too few. All my cavalry were present, and idle spectators, excepting a bold push by my household troops, and some dragoons. Ferdinand attacked without powder; the enemy, in return, were not sparing of theirs. They had the advantage of a rising ground, of intrenchments, and of a prodigious artillery. Several of my regiments were repulsed by their musketry. Henry performed wonders. I tremble for my worthy brothers; they are too brave. Fortune turned her back on me this day. I ought to have expected it; she is a female, and I am no gallant. In fact, I ought to have had more infantry. Success, my dear lord, often occasions destructive confidence. Twenty-four battalions were not sufficient to dislodge sixty thousand men from an advantageous post. Another time we will do better. What say you of this league, which has only the marquis of Brandenburgh for its object? The great elector would be surprised to see his grandson at war with the Russians, the Austrians, almost all Germany, and an hundred thousand French auxiliaries. I know not whether it would be disgrace in me to submit, but I am sure there will be no glory in vanquishing me.”]

422 (return)
[ Note 3 K, p. 422. This remarkable capitulation, which we shall give here at full length, on account of the disputes that rose shortly after, concerning what the French called an infraction of it, was to the following effect:—

His majesty, the king of Denmark—touched with the distresses of the countries of Bremen and Verden, to which he has always granted his special protection; and being desirous, by preventing those countries from being any longer the theatre of war, to spare also the effusion of blood in the armies which are ready to dispute the possession thereof—hath employed his mediation by the ministry of the count de Lynar. His royal highness the duke of Cumberland, general of the army of the allies, on the one part, and his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu, general of the king of France’s forces in Germany, on the other, have, in consideration of the intervention of his Danish majesty, respectively engaged their word of honour to the count de Lynar, to abide by the convention hereafter stipulated; and he, the count de Lynar, correspondently to the magnanimity of the king his master’s intention, obliges himself to procure the guarantee mentioned in the present convention; so that it shall be sent to him, with his full powers, which there was no time to make out in the circumstances which hurried his departure.

Article I. Hostilities shall cease on both sides within twenty-four hours, or sooner, if possible. Orders for this purpose shall be immediately sent to the detached corps.

II. The auxiliary troops of the army of the duke of Cumberland, namely, those of Hesse, Brunswick, Saxe-Gotha, and even those of the count de la Lippe Bucke-bourg, shall be sent home; and as it is necessary to settle particularly their march to their respective countries, a general officer of each nation shall be sent from the army of the allies, with whom shall be settled the route of those troops, the divisions they shall march in, their subsistence on their march, and their passports to be granted them by his excellency the duke de Richelieu to go to their own countries, where they shall be placed and distributed as shall be agreed upon between the court of France and their respective sovereigns.

III. His royal highness the duke of Cumberland obliges himself to pass the Elbe, with such part of his army as he shall not be able to place in the city of Stade; that the part of his forces which shall enter into garrison in the said city, and which it is supposed may amount to between four and six thousand men, shall remain there under the guarantee of his majesty the king of Denmark, without committing any act of hostility; nor, on the other hand, shall they be exposed to any of the French troops. In consequence thereof, commissaries, named on each side, shall agree upon the limits to be fixed round that place, for the convenieucy of the garrison; which limits shall not extend beyond half a league or a league from the place, according to the nature of the ground or circumstances, which shall be fairly settled by the commissaries. The rest of the Hanoverian army shall go and take quarters in the country beyond the Elbe; and, to facilitate the march of those troops, his excellency the duke de Richelieu shall concert with a general officer, sent from the Hanoverian army, the route they shall take; obliging himself to give the necessary passports and security for the free passage of them and their baggage, to the places of their destination; his royal highness the duke of Cumberland reserving to himself the liberty of negotiating between the two courts for an extension of those quarters. As to the French troops, they shall remain in the rest of the duchies of Bremen and Verden, till the definitive reconciliation of the two sovereigns.

IV.. As the aforesaid articles are to be executed as soon as possible, the Hanoverian army, and the corps which are detached from it, particularly that which is at Buck Schantz and the neighbourhood, shall retire under Stade in the space of eight-and-forty hours. The French army shall not pass the river Oste, in the duchy of Bremen, till the limits be regulated. It shall, besides, keep all the posts and countries of which it is in possession; and, not to retard the regulation of the limits between the armies, commissaries shall be nominated and sent on the 10th instant to Bremen-worden by his royal highness the duke of Cumberland, and his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu, to regulate, as well the limits to be assigned to the French army, as those that are to be observed by the garrison at Stade, according to Art. III.

V. All the aforesaid articles shall be faithfully executed, according to their form and tenor, and under the faith of his majesty the king of Denmark’s guarantee, which the count de Lynar, his minister, engages to procure.

Done at the camp at Closter-Seven, 8th Sept. 1757. (Signed) WILLIAM.

SEPARATE ARTICLES. Upon the representation made by the count de Lynar, with a view to explain some dispositions made by the present convention, the following articles have been added:—

I. It is the intention of his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu, that the allied troops of his royal highness the duke of Cumberland shall be sent back to their respective countries, according to the form mentioned in the second article; and that, as to their separation and distribution in the country, it shall be regulated between the courts, those troops not being considered as prisoners of war.

II. It having been represented that the country of Lunenberg cannot accommodate more than fifteen battalions and six squadrons, and that the city of Stade cannot absolutely contain the garrison of six thousand men allotted to it, his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu, being pressed by M. de Lynar, who supported this representation by the guarantee of his Danish majesty, gives his consent; and his royal highness the duke of Cumberland engages to cause fifteen battalions and six squadrons to pass the Elbe, and the whole body of hunters, and the remaining ten battalions and twenty-eight squadrons shall be placed in the town of Stade, and the places nearest to it that are within the line, which shall be marked by posts from the mouth of the Liche in the Elbe, to the mouth of the Elmerbeck in the river Oste; provided always, that the said ten battalions and twenty-eight squadrons shall be quartered there as they are at the time of signing this convention, and shall not be recruited under any pretext, or augmented in any case; and this clause is particularly guaranteed by the count de Lynar in the name of his Danish majesty.

III. Upon the representation of his royal highness the duke of Cumberland, that the army and the detached corps cannot both retire under Stade in eight-and-forty hours, agreeable to the convention, his excellency the mareschal duke de Richelieu hath signified, that he will grant them proper time, provided the corps encamped at Buck Schantz, as well as the army encamped at Bremen-worden, begin their inarch to retire in four-and-twenty hours after signing the convention. The time necessary for other arrangements, and the execution of the articles concerning the respective limits, shall be settled between lieutenant-general Sporcken, and the marquis de Villemar, first lieutenant-general of the king’s army. Done, &c]

433 (return)
[ Note 3 L, p. 433. The letter, which was written in French, we have translated for the reader’s satisfaction:—“I am informed that the design of a treaty of neutrality for the electorate of Hanover is not yet laid aside. Is it possible that your majesty can have so little fortitude and constancy, as to be dispirited by a small reverse of fortune? Are affairs so ruinous that they cannot be repaired? I hope your majesty will consider the step you have made me hazard, and remember that you are the sole cause of these misfortunes that now impend over my head. I should never have abandoned the alliance of France, but for your flattering assurances. I do not now repent of the treaty I have concluded with your majesty: but I expect you will not ingloriously leave me at the mercy of my enemies, after having brought upon me all the force of Europe. I depend upon your adhering to your repeated engagements of the twenty-sixth of last month, and that you will listen to no treaty in which I am not comprehended.”]

438 (return)
[ Note 3 M, p. 438. It was enacted, That every person subscribing for five hundred pounds, should be entitled to four hundred and fifty in annuities, and fifty pounds in lottery tickets, and so in proportion for a greater or lesser sum; that the lottery should consist of tickets of the value of ten pounds each, in a proportion not exceeding eight blanks to a prize; the blanks to be of the value of six pounds each; the blanks and prizes to bear an interest after the rate of three pounds per cent., to commence from the first day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-nine; and that the sum of four millions five hundred thousand pounds, to be raised by annuities, should bear an interest after the rate of three pounds ten shillings percent, from the fifth day of July in the present year; which annuities should stand reduced to three pounds per cent, after the expiration of twenty-four years, and afterwards he redeemable in the whole, or in part, by sums not less than five hundred thousand pounds, at one time: six months’ notice having been first given of such payments respectively; that any subscriber might, on or before the twenty-ninth day of April, make a deposit of ten pounds per cent, on such sums as he should choose to subscribe towards raising these five millions, with the cashiers of the bank, as a security for his future payments on the days appointed for that purpose; that the several sums so received by the cashiers should be paid into the receipt of the exchequer, to be applied from time to time to such services as should then have been voted by the house of commons in this session of parliament, and not otherwise; that any subscriber, paying the whole or any part of his subscription previous to the clays appointed for the respective payments, should be allowed a discount at the rate of three per cent, from the days of such respective payments to the respective times on which such payments were directed to be made, and that all persons who should make their full payments on the said lottery, should receive their tickets as soon as they could be conveniently made out.]

440 (return)
[ Note 3 N, p. 440. Among those rendered perpetual, we find an act of the 13th and 14th of Charles II. for preventing theft and rapine. An act of the 9th of George I. for punishing persons going armed in disguise. A clause in the act of the 6th of George II. to prevent the breaking down the bank of any river; and another clause in the said act, to prevent the treacherous cutting of hop-binds. Several clauses in an act of the 10th of George II. for punishing persons setting on fire any mine, &c. The temporary part of the act of the 20th of George II. for taking away the hereditary jurisdictions of Scotland, relating to the power of appealing to circuit courts. Those continued were,—1. An act of the 12th of George II. for granting liberty to carry sugar, &c, until the twenty-ninth of September, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty-four, and to the end of next session of parliament. 2. An act of the 5th of George II. to prevent frauds by bankrupts, &c., for the same period. 3. An act of the 8th of George II. for encouraging the importation of naval stores, &c, for the same period. 4. An act of the 19th of George II. for preventing frauds in the admeasurement of coals, &c. until June 24, 1759; and to this was added a perpetual clause for preventing the stealing or destroying of madder roots. 5. An act of the 9th George II. for encouraging the manufacture of British sail-cloth until the twenty-ninth of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-four. 6. An act of the 4th of George II. for granting an allowance upon British-made gunpowder, for the same period. 7, An act of the 4th of George II. for encouraging the trade of the sugar colonies, until the twenty-ninth of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-one. And 8, so much of the act of the 15th and 16th of George II. to empower the importers of rum, &c, as relates to landing it before the payment of duties, until the 29th of September, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-four.]

461 (return)
[ Note 3 O, p. 461. Translation of the Letter written by the Duke of Brunswick to his brother Prince Ferdinand. “Sir,—I know you too well to doubt that the situation in which we stand at present, with respect to each other, gives you abundance of uneasiness; nor will you doubt that it gives me equal concern. Indeed, it afflicts me greatly. Meanwhile I could never, my dearest brother, have believed that you would be the person who should carry away from me my eldest son. I am exceedingly mortified to find myself under the hard necessity of telling you that this step is contrary to the law of nations, and the constitution of the empire; and that, if you persist in it, you will disgrace your family, and bring a stain upon your country, which you pretend to serve. The hereditary prince, my son, was at Hamburgh by my order, and you have carried him to Stade. Could he distrust his uncle,—an uncle who hath done so much honour to his family? Could he believe that this uncle would deprive him of liberty, a liberty never refused to the lowest officer? I ordered him to make a tour to Holland: could not the lowest officer have done as much? Let us suppose for a moment that my troops, among whom he served, were to have staid with the Hanoverians, would it not have been still in my power to give an officer leave of absence, or even leave to resign his commission? And would you hinder your brother, the head of your family, and of such a family as ours, to exercise this right with regard to a son, who is the hereditary prince, of whose rights and prerogatives you cannot be ignorant? It is impossible you could have conceived such designs, without the suggestion of others. Those who did suggest them have trampled on the rights of nature, of nations, and of the princes of Germany; they have induced you to add to all these the most cruel insult on a brother whom you love, and who always loved you with the warmest affection. Would you have your brother lay his just complaints against you before the whole empire, and all Europe? Are not your proceedings without example? What is Germany become? What are its princes become, and our house in particular? Is it the interest of the two kings, the cause of your country, and my cause that you pretend to support?—I repeat it, brother, that this design could not have been framed by you. I again command my son to pursue his journey and I cannot conceive you will give the least obstruction; if you should (which I pray God avert), I solemnly declare that I will not be constrained by such measures, nor shall I ever forget what I owe to myself. As to my troops, you may see what I have written on that head to the Hanoverian ministry. The duke of Cumberland, by the convention of Closter-Seven, dismissed them, and sent them home; the said ministry gave me notice of this convention, as a treaty by which I was bound. The march of the troops was settled; and an incident happening, they halted: that obstacle being removed, they were to have continued their march. The court of Hanover will be no longer bound by the convention, while I not only accepted it upon their word, but have also, in conformity with their instructions, negotiated at Versailles, and at Vienna. After all these steps, they would have me contradict myself, break my word, and entirely ruin my estate, as well as my honour. Did you ever know your brother guilty of such things? True it is, I have, as you say, sacrificed my all; or rather, I have been sacrificed. The only thing left me is my honour; and in the unhappy contrast of our situations, I lament both you and myself, that it should be from you, my dear brother, I should receive the cruel advice to give up my honour. I cannot listen to it: I cannot recede from my promise. My troops, therefore, must return home, agreeably to what the duke of Cumberland and the Hanoverian ministry stipulated with regard to me in the strongest manner. I am afraid that the true circumstances of things are concealed from you. Not to detain your express too long, I shall send you, by the post, copies of all I have written to the Hanoverian ministry. It will grieve your honest heart to read it. I am, with a heart almost broken, yet full of tenderness for you, your, &c. “Blanckenbourg, Nov. 27,1757.”]

467 (return)
[ Note 3 P, p. 467. A detail of the cruelties committed by those barbarians cannot be read without horror. They not only burned a great number of villages, but they ravished, rifled, murdered, and mutilated the inhabitants, without distinction of age or sex, without any other provocation or incitement than brutal lust and wantonness of barbarity. They even violated the sepulchres of the dead, which have been held sacred among the most savage nations. At Camin and Breckholtz they forced open the graves and sepulchral vaults, and stripped the bodies of generals Schlaberndorf and Ruitz, which had been deposited there. But the collected force of their vengeance was discharged against Custrin, the capital of the New Marche of Brandenburgh, situated at the conflux of the Warta and the Oder, about fifteen English miles from Franckfort. The particulars of the disaster that befel this city, are particularly related in the following extracts from a letter written by an inhabitant and eye-witness.

“On the thirteenth of August, about three o’clock in the afternoon, a sudden report was spread that a body of Russian hussars and cossacks appeared in sight of the little suburb. All the people were immediately in motion, and the whole city was filled with terror, especially as we were certainly informed that the whole Russian army was advancing from Meseric and Konigswalda, by the way of Landsberg. A reinforcement was immediately sent to our piquet-guard, in the suburb, amounting, by this junction, to three hundred men, who were soon attacked by the enemy, and the skirmish lasted from four till seven o’clock in the evening. During this dispute, we could plainly perceive, from our ramparts and church-steeple, several persons of distinction mounted on English horses, reconnoitring our fortification through perspective glasses. They retired, however, when our cannon began to fire: then our piquet took possession of their former post in the suburb; and the reinforcement we had sent from the city returned, after having broken down the bridge over the Oder. Next day count Dohna, who commanded the army near Franckfort, sent in a reinforcement of four battalions, ten squadrons, and a small body of hussars, under the command of lieutenant-general Scherlemmer. The hussars and a body of dragoons were added to the piquet of the little suburb; the four battalions pitched their tents on the Anger, between the suburbs and the fortification; and the rest of the dragoons remained in the field to cover the long suburb. General Scherlemmer, attended by our governor, colonel Schuck, went with a small party to observe the enemy; but were obliged to retire, and were pursued by the cossacks to the walls of the city. Between four and five o’clock next morning the poor inhabitants were roused from their sleep by the noise of the cannon, intermingled with the dismal shrieks and hideous yellings of the cossacks belonging to the Russian army. Alarmed at this horrid noise, I ascended the church-steeple, from whence I beheld the whole plain, extending from the little suburb to the forest, covered with the enemy’s troops, and our light horse, supported by the infantry, engaged in different places with their irregulars. At eight I descried a body of the enemy’s infantry, whose van consisted of four or five thousand men, advancing towards the vineyard, in the neighbourhood of which they had raised occasional batteries in the preceding-evening; from these they now played on our piquet-guard and hussars, who were obliged to retire. They then fired, en ricochet, on the tents and baggage of the four battalions encamped on the Anger, who were also compelled to retreat. Having thus cleared the environs, they threw into the city such a number of bombs and red-hot bullets, that by nine in the morning it was set on fire in three different places; and, the streets being-narrow, it burned with such fury that all our endeavours to extinguish it proved ineffectual. At this time the whole atmosphere appeared like a shower of fiery rain and hail; and the miserable inhabitants thought of nothing but saving their lives by running into the open fields. The whole place was filled with terror and consternation, and resounded with the shrieks of women and children, who ran about in the utmost distraction, exposed to the shot and bomb-shells, which, bursting, tore in pieces every thing that stood in their way. As I led my wife, with a young child in her arms, and drove the rest of my children and servants half naked before me, those instruments of death and devastation fell about us like hail; but, by the mercy of God, we all escaped unhurt. Nothing could be more melancholy and affecting than a sight of the wretched people flying in crowds, and leaving their all behind, while they rent the sky with their lamentations. Many women of distinction I saw without shoes and stockings, and almost without clothes, who had been roused from their beds, and ran out naked into the streets. When my family had reached the open plain, I endeavoured to return, and save some of my effects; but I could not force my way through a multitude of people, thronging out at the gate, some sick and bed-ridden persons being carried on horseback and in carriages, and others conveyed on the backs of their friends, through a most dreadful scene of horror and desolation. A great number of families from the open country, and the defenceless towns in Prussia and Pomerania, had come hither for shelter with their most valuable effects, when the Russians first entered the king’s territories. These, as well as the inhabitants, are all ruined; and many, who a few days ago possessed considerable wealth, are now reduced to the utmost indigence. The neighbouring-towns and villages were soon crowded with the people of Custrin; the roads were filled with objects of misery; and nothing was seen but nakedness and despair; nothing heard but the cries of hunger, fear, and distraction. For my own part, I stayed all night at Goitz, and then proceeded for Berlin. Custrin is now a heap of ruins. The great magazine, the governor’s house, the church, the palace, the store and artillery-houses; in a word, the old and new towns, the suburbs, and all the bridges, were reduced to ashes; nay, after the ashes were destroyed, the piles and sterlings were burned to the water’s edge. The writings of all the colleges, together with the archives of the country, were totally consumed, together with a prodigious magazine of corn and flour, valued at four millions of crowns. The cannon in the arsenal were all melted; and the loaded bombs and cartridges, with a large quantity of gunpowder, went off at once with a most horrid explosion. A great number of the inhabitants are missing, supposed to have perished in the flames, or under the ruins of the houses, or to have been suffocated in the subterraneous vaults and caverns, to which they had fled for safety.

Nothing could be more inhuman, or contrary to the practice of a generous enemy, than such vengeance wreaked upon the innocent inhabitants; for the Russians did not begin to batter the fortifications until all the rest of the place was destroyed. In the course of this campaign, the Russian cossacks are said to have plundered and burned fourteen large towns and two hundred villages, and wantonly butchered above two thousand defenceless women and children. Such monsters of barbarity ought to be excluded from all the privileges of human nature, and hunted down as wild beasts without pity or cessation. What infamy ought these powers to incur, who employ and encourage such ruthless barbarians?]

468 (return)
[ Note 3 Q, p. 468. As very little notice was taken, in the detail published by authority, of any part which this great man acted in the battle of Hochkirchen, and a report was industriously circulated in this kingdom, that he was surprised in his tent, naked, and half asleep,—we think it the duty of a candid historian to vindicate his memory and reputation from the foul aspersion thrown by the perfidious and illiberal hand of envious malice, or else contrived to screen some other character from the imputation of misconduct. The task we are enabled to perform by a gentleman of candour and undoubted credit, who learned the following particulars at Berlin from a person that was eye-witness of the whole transaction. Field-mareschal Keith, who arrived in the camp the very day that preceded the battle, disapproved of the situation of the Prussian army, and remonstrated to the king on that subject. In consequence of his advice, a certain general was sent with a detachment to take possession of the heights that commanded the village of Hochkirchcn; but by some fatality he miscarried. Mareschal Keith was not in any tent, but lodged with prince Francis of Brunswick, in a house belonging to a Saxon major. When the first alarm was given in the night, he instantly mounted his horse, assembled a body of the nearest troops, and marched directly to the place that was attacked. The Austrians had taken possession of the hill which the Prussian officer was sent to occupy, and this they fortified with cannon; then they made themselves masters of the village in which the free companies of Auginelli had been posted. Mareschal Keith immediately conceived the design of the Austrian general, and knowing the importance of this place, thither directed all his efforts. He in person led on the troops to the attack of the village, from whence he drove the enemy; but being overpowered by numbers continually pouring down from the hills, he was obliged to retire in his turn. He rallied his men, returned to the charge, and regained possession of the place; being again repulsed by fresh reinforcements of the enemy, he made another effort, entered the village a third time, and finding it untenable, ordered it to be set on fire. Thus he kept the Austrians at bay, and maintained a desperate conflict against the flower of the Austrian army, from four in the morning till nine, when the Prussians were formed, and began to file off in their retreat. During the whole dispute he rallied the troops in person, charged at their head, and exposed his life in the hottest of a dreadful fire, like a private captain of grenadiers. He found it necessary to exert himself in this manner, the better to remove the bad effects of the confusion that prevailed, and in order to inspirit the troops to their utmost exertion by his voice, presence, and example. Even when dangerously wounded, at eight in the morning, he refused to quit the field; but continued to signalize himself in the midst of the carnage until nine, when he received a second shot in his breast, and fell speechless into the arms of Mr. Tibay, an English volunteer, who had attended him during the whole campaign. This gentleman, who was likewise wounded, applied to a Prussian officer for a file of men to remove the mareschal, being uncertain whether he was entirely deprived of life. His request was granted; but the soldiers, in advancing to the spot, were countermanded by another officer. He afterwards spoke on the same subject to one of the Prussian generals, a German prince, as he chanced to pass on horseback: when Mr. Tibay told him the field-mareschal was lying wounded on the field, he asked if his wounds were mortal; and the other answering he was afraid they were, the prince shrugged up his shoulders, and rode off without further question. The body of this great officer, being thus shamefully abandoned, was soon stripped by the Austrian stragglers, and lay exposed and undistinguished on the field of battle. In this situation it was perceived by count Lasci, son of the general of that name, with whom mareschal Keith had served in Russia. This young count had been the mareschal’s pupil, and revered him as his military father, though employed in the Austrian service. He recognised the body by the large scar of a dangerous wound, which general Keith had received in his thigh at the siege of Oczakow, and could not help bursting into tears to see his honoured master thus extended at his feet, a naked, lifeless, and deserted corpse. He forthwith caused his body to be covered and interred. It was afterwards taken up, and decently buried by the curate of Hochkirchen; and finally removed to Berlin, by order of the king of Prussia, who bestowed upon it those funeral honours that were due to the dignified rank and transcendent merit of the deceased; merit so universally acknowledged, that even the Saxons lamented him as their best friend and patron, who protected them from violence and outrage, even while he acted a principal part in subjecting them to the dominion of his sovereign.

479 (return)
[ Note 3 R, p. 479. Among other transactions that distinguish the history of Great Britain, scarce a year glides away without producing some incident that strongly marks the singular character of the English nation. A very extraordinary instance of this nature, relating to the late duke of Marlborough, we shall record among the events of this year, although it derived its origin from the latter end of the last, and cannot be properly enumerated among those occurrences that appertain to general history. Towards the end of November, in the preceding year, the above-mentioned nobleman received, by the post, a letter directed “To his Grace the duke of Marlborough, with care and speed,” and containing this address:

“My Lord,—As ceremony is an idle thing upon most occasions, more especially to persons in my state of mind, I shall proceed immediately to acquaint you with the motive and end of addressing this epistle to you, which is equally interesting to us both. You are to know, then, that my present situation in life is such, that I should prefer annihilation to a continuance in it. Desperate diseases require desperate remedies; and you are the man I have pitched upon, either to make me or unmake yourself. As I never had the honour to live among the great, the tenor of my proposals will not be very courtly; but let that be an argument to enforce a belief of what I am now going to write. It has employed my invention for some time, to find out a method of destroying another without exposing my own life: that I have accomplished, and defy the law. Now, for the application of it. I am desperate, and must be provided for. You have it in your power: it is my business to make it your inclination to serve me, which you must determine to comply with, by procuring me a genteel support for my life, or your own will be at a period before this session of parliament is over. I have more motives than one for singling you out upon this occasion; and I give you this fair warning, because the means I shall make use of are too fatal to be eluded by the power of physic. If you think this of any consequence, you will not fail to meet the author on Sunday next, at ten in the morning, or on Monday (if the weather should be rainy on Sunday), near the first tree beyond the stile in Hyde-Park, in the foot-walk to Kensington. Secrecy and compliance may preserve you from a double danger of this sort, as there is a certain part of the world where your death has more than been wished for upon other motives. I know the world too well to trust this secret in any breast but my own. A few days determine me your friend or enemy. “FELTON.

“You will apprehend that I mean you should be alone; and depend upon it, that a discovery of any artifice in this affair will be fatal to you. My safety is insured by my silence, for confession only can condemn me.”

The duke, in compliance with this strange remonstrance, appeared at the time and place appointed, on horseback and alone, with pistols before him, and the star of his order displayed, that he might be the more easily known. He had likewise taken the precaution of engaging a friend to attend in the Park, at such a distance, however, as scarce to be observable. He continued some time on the spot without seeing any person he could suspect of having wrote the letter, and then rode away: but chancing to turn his head when he reached Hyde-Park-Corner, he perceived a man standing at the bridge, and looking at the water, within twenty yards of the tree which was described in the letter. He forthwith rode back at a gentle pace, and, passing by the person, expected to be addressed: but as no advance of this kind was made, he, in repassing, bowed to the stranger, and asked if he had not something to communicate? The man replying, “No, I don’t know you;” the duke told him his name, adding, “Now you know me, I imagine you have something to say to me.” But he still answered in the negative, and the duke rode home. In a day or two after this transaction, another letter was brought to him, couched in the following terms:

“My Lord,—You receive this as an acknowledgment of your punctuality as to the time and place of meeting on Sunday last, though it was owing to you it answered no purpose. The pageantry of being armed, and the ensign of your order, were useless and too conspicuous. You needed no attendant, the place was not calculated for mischief, nor was any intended. If you walk in the west aisle of Westminster Abbey, towards eleven o’clock on Sunday next, your sagacity will point the person whom you will address, by asking his company to take a turn or two with you. You will not fail, on inquiry, to be acquainted with the name and place of abode. According to which direction you will please to send two or three hundred pound bank-notes the next day by the penny post. Exert not your curiosity too early; it is in your power to make me grateful on certain terms. I have friends who are faithful, but they do not bark before they bite.—“I am, &c, F.”

The duke, determining if possible to unveil this mystery, repaired to the Abbey at the time prescribed; and, after having walked up and down for five or six minutes, saw the very same person to whom he had spoken in Hyde-Park, enter the Abbey with another man of a creditable appearance. This last, after they had viewed some of the monuments, went into the choir, and the other turning back advanced towards the duke, who, accosting him, asked him if he had anything to say to him,” or any commands for him? He replied, “No, my lord. I have not.”—“Sure you have,” said the duke; but he persisted in his denial. Then the duke, leaving him, took several turns in the aisle, while the stranger walked on the other side. But nothing further passed between them; and although the duke had provided several persons in disguise to apprehend the delinquent, he forebore giving the signal, that, notwithstanding appearances, he might run no risk of injuring an innocent person. Not long after this second disappointment he received a third letter, to the following effect:

“My Lord,—I am fully convinced you had a companion on Sunday: I interpret it as owing to the weakness of human nature; but such proceeding is far from being ingenuous, and may produce bad effects, whilst it is impossible to answer the end proposed. You will see me again soon, as it were by accident, and may easily find where I go to; in consequence of which, by being sent to, I shall wait on your grace, but expect to be quite alone, and to converse in whispers; you will likewise give your honour, upon meeting, that no part of the conversation shall transpire. These and the former terms complied with ensure your safety; my revenge, in case of non-compliance (or any scheme to expose me), will be slower, but not less sure; and strong suspicion the utmost that can possibly ensue upon it, while the chances would be tenfold against you. You will possibly be in doubt after the meeting, but it is quite necessary the outside should be a mask to the in. The family of the Bloods is not extinct, though they are not in my scheme.”

The expression, “You will see me again soon, as it were by accident,” plainly pointed at the person to whom he had spoke in the park and in the Abbey; nevertheless, he saw him not again, nor did he hear anything further of the affair for two months, at the expiration of which the post brought him the following letter:

“May it please your Grace,—I have reason to believe, that the son of one Barnard, a surveyor, in Abingdon-buildings, Westminster, is acquainted with some secrets that nearly concern your safety: his father is now out of town, which will give you an opportunity of questioning him more privately; it would be useless to your grace, as well as dangerous to me, to appear more publicly in this affair. “Your sincere friend, “ANONYMOUS. “He frequently goes to Storey’s-gate coffee-house.”

In about a week after this intimation was received, the duke sent a person to the coffee-house, to inquire for Mr. Barnard, and tell him he would be glad to speak to him. The message was delivered, and Barnard declared he would wait upon his grace next Thursday, at half an hour after ten in the morning. He was punctual to his appointment, and no sooner appeared than the duke recognised him to be the person to whom he had spoke in the Park and the Abbey. Having conducted him into an apartment, and shut the door, he asked, as before, if he had anything to communicate: and was answered, as formerly, in the negative. Then the duke repeated every circumstance of this strange transaction; to which Barnard listened with attention and surprise, yet without exhibiting any marks of conscious guilt or confusion. The duke observing that it was matter of astonishment to see letters of such import written with the correctness of a scholar; the other replied, that a man might be very poor and very learned at the same time. When he saw the fourth letter, in which his name was mentioned, with the circumstance of his father’s absence, he said, “If is very odd, my father was then out of town.” An expression the more remarkable, as the letter was without date, and he could not, as an innocent man, be supposed to know at what time it was written. The duke having made him acquainted with the particulars, told him, that if he was innocent he ought to use his endeavours-to detect the writer of the letters, especially of the last, in which he was expressely named. To this admonition he returned no other answer but a smile, and then withdrew.—He was afterwards taken into custody, and tried at the Old Bailey,for sending a threatening letter, contrary to the statute; but no evidence could be found to prove the letters were of his handwriting: nor did any presumption appear against him, except his being in Hyde-Park, and in Westminster Abbey, at the time and place appointed in the first two letters. On the other hand, Mr. Barnard proved, that, on the Sunday when he saw the duke in Hyde-Park, he was on his way to Kensington on particular business, by his father’s order, signified to him that very morning: that he accordingly went thither, and dined with his uncle, in company with several other persons, to whom he related what had passed between the duke of Marlborough and him in the Park: that his being afterwards in Westminster Abbey was the effect of mere accident: that Mr. James Greenwood, his kinsman, who had lain that preceding night at his father’s house, desired him to dress himself, that they might walk together in the Park; and he did not comply with his request till after much solicitation: that he proposed to enter the Park without passing through the Abbey, but was prevailed upon by Mr. Greenwood, who expressed a desire of seeing the newly-erected monument of general Hardgrave: that as he had formerly communicated to his friend the strange circumstance of the duke’s speaking to him in Hyde-park, Mr. Greenwood no sooner saw that nobleman in the Abbey, than he gave notice to Mr. Barnard, who was very short-sighted; and that from his passing them several times, concluding he wanted to speak with Mr. Barnard alone, he quitted him and retired into the choir, that they might commune together without interruption. It likewise appeared, from undoubted evidence, that Barnard had often mentioned openly to his friends and acquaintance, the circumstance of what passed between him and the duke in the Park and in the Abbey; that his father was a man of unblemished reputation, and in affluent circumstances; that he himself was never reduced to any want, or such exigence as might impel him to any desperate methods of obtaining money; that his fidelity had been often tried, and his life always irreproachable. For these reasons he was acquitted of the crime laid to his charge, and the mystery remains to this day undiscovered.

After all, the author of the letters does not seem to have had any real design to extort money, because the scheme was very ill calculated for that purpose; and indeed could not possibly take effect without the most imminent risk of detection. Perhaps his aim was nothing more than to gratify a petulance and peculiarity of humour, by alarming the duke, exciting the curiosity of the public, puzzling the multitude, and giving rise to a thousand ridiculous conjectures. If anything more was intended, and the duke earnestly desired to know the extent of the scheme, he might, when he closeted the person suspected, have encouraged him to a declaration, by promising inviolable secrecy on his word and honour, in which any man would have confided as a sacred obligation. On the whole, it is surprising that the death of the duke, which happened in the course of this year, was never attributed to the secret practices of this incendiary correspondent, who had given him to understand that his vengeance, though slow, would not be the less certain.]

485 (return)
[Note 3 S, p. 485. The next bill that fell under the cognizance of the house, related to a law transaction, and was suggested by a petition presented in the name of the sheriffs, and grantees of post-fines under the crown of England. They enumerated and explained the difficulties under which they laboured, in raising and collecting these fines within the respective counties; particularly when the estate conveyed by fine was no more than a right of reversion, in which case they could not possibly levy the post-fine, unless the purchaser should obtain possession within the term of the sheriffalty, or pay it of his own free will, as they could not distrain while the lands were in possession of the donee. They therefore proposed a method for raising these post-fines, by a proper officer to be appointed for that purpose; and prayed that leave might be given to bring in a bill accordingly. This petition was seconded by a message from the king, importing, that his majesty, as far as his interest was concerned, gave his consent that the house might act in this affair as they should think propel.

The commons, in a committee of the whole house, having taken into consideration the merits of the petition, formed several resolutions; upon which a bill was founded for the more regular and easy collecting, accounting for, and paying of post-fines, which should be due to the crown, or to the grantees thereof under the crown, and for the ease of sheriffs in respect to the same. Before it passed into a law, however, it was opposed by a petition in favour of one William Daw, a lunatic, clerk of the king’s silver office, alleging, that should the bill pass, it would deprive the said Daw and his successors of an ancient fee belonging to his office, on searches made for post-fines by the under sheriffs of the several counties; therefore, praying that such provision might be made for the said lunatic as to the house should seem just and reasonable. This, and divers other petitions respecting the bill being discussed in the committee, it underwent several amendments, and was enacted into a law; the particulars of which cannot be properly understood without a previous explanation of this method of conveying estates; a subject obscure in itself, founded upon a seeming subterfuge of law, scarce reconcileable with the dictates of common sense, and consequently improper for the pen of an historian.]

490 (return)
[ Note 3 T, p. 490. As the curiosity of the reader may be interested in these resolutions, we shall here insert them for his satisfaction. The committee resolved, that the ell ought to contain one yard and one quarter, according to the yard mentioned in the third resolution of the former committee upon the subject of weights and measures; that the pole, or perch, should contain in length five such yards and a half; the furlong two hundred and twenty; and the mile one thousand seven hundred and sixty: that the superficial perch should contain thirty square yards and a quarter; the rood one thousand two hundred and ten; and the acre four thousand eight hundred and forty: that according to the fourth, fifth, and sixth resolutions of the former committee, upon the subject of weights and measures, agreed to by the house on the second day of June in the preceding year, the quart ought to contain seventy cubical inches and one half; the pint thirty-five and one quarter; the peck five hundred and sixty-four; and the bushel two thousand two hundred and fifty-six. That the several parts of the pound, mentioned in the eighth resolution of the former committee, examined and adjusted in presence of this committee,—viz. the half pound or six ounces, quarter of a pound or three ounces, two ounces, one ounce, two half ounces, the five-penny weight, three-penny weight, two-penny weight, and one-penny weight, the twelve grains, six grains, three grains, two grains, and two of one grain each,—ought to be the models of the several parts of the said pound, and to be used for sizing or adjusting weights for the future. That all weights exceeding a pound should be of brass, copper, bell-metal, or cast-iron; and all those of cast-iron should be made in the form, and with a handle of hammered iron, such as the pattern herewith produced, having the mark of the weight cast in the iron; and all the weights of a pound, or under, should be of gold, silver, brass, copper, or bell-metal. That all weights of cast-iron should have the initial letters of the name of the maker upon the upper bar of the handle; and all other weights should have the same, together with the mark of the weight, according to this standard, upon some convenient part thereof. That the yard, mentioned in the second resolution of the former committee upon the subject of weights and measures, agreed to by the house in the last session, being the standard of length, and the pound mentioned in the eighth resolution, being the standard of weight, ought to be deposited in the court of the receipt of the exchequer, and the chief baron, and the seal of office of the chamberlain of the exchequer, and not to be opened but by the order and in the presence of the chancellor of the exchequer and chief baron for the time being. That the most effectual means to ascertain uniformity in measures of length and weight, to be used throughout the realm, would he to appoint certain persons, at one particular office, with clerks and workmen under them, for the purpose only of fixing and adjusting, for the use of the subjects, all measures of length, and all weights, being parts, multiples, or certain proportions of the standards to be used for the future. That a model or pattern of the said standard yard, mentioned in the second resolution of the former committee, and now in the custody of the clerk of the house, and a model or pattern of the standard pound, mentioned in the eighth resolution of that committee, together with models or patterns of the parts of the said pound now presented to the house, and also of the multiples of the said pound, mentioned in this report (when the same are adjusted), should be kept in the said office, in custody of the said persons to be appointed for sizing weights and measures, under the seal of the chief baron of the exchequer for the time being; to be opened only by order of the said chief baron, in his presence, or the presence of one of the barons of the exchequer, on the application of the said persons, for the purpose of correcting and adjusting, as occasion should require, the patterns or models used at the said office, for sizing measures of length and weight delivered out to the subjects. That models or patterns of the said standard yard and standard pound aforesaid, and also models or patterns of the parts and multiples aforesaid of the said pound, should be lodged in the said office for the sizing of such measures of length or weight, as, being parts, multiples, or proportions of the said standards, should hereafter he required by any of his majesty’s subjects. That all measures of length and weight, sized at the said office, should be marked in some convenient part thereof, with such marks as should be thought expedient, to show the identity of the measures and weights sized at the said office, and to discover any frauds that may be committed therein. That the said office should he kept within a convenient distance of the court of exchequer at Westminster; and all the measures of length and weight, within a certain distance of London, should be corrected and re-assized, as occasion should require, at the said office. That, in order to enforce the uniformity in weights and measures to be used for the future, all persons appointed by the crown to act as justices of the peace in any county, city, or town corporate, being respectively counties within themselves, throughout the realm, should be empowered to hear and determine, and put the law in execution, in respect to weights and measures only, without any of them being obliged to sue out a dedimus, or to act in any other matter; and the said commissioners should be empowered to sue, imprison, inflict, or mitigate such penalties as should be thought proper; and have such other authorities as should be necessary for compelling the use of weights and measures, agreeably to the aforesaid standards. The models or patterns of the said standard yard and pound, and of the parts and multiples thereof, before-mentioned, should be distributed in each county, in such a manner as to be readily used for evidence in all eases where measures and weights should be questioned before the said commissioners, and for adjusting the same in a proper manner.]

504 (return)
[ Note 3 U, p. 504. The letter was to this effect: To their excellencies Messrs. Hopson and Moore, general officers of his Britannic Majesty at Basseterre. “Gentlemen—I have received the letter which your excellencies have done me the honour to write, of the twenty-fifth. You make me proposals which could arise from nothing but the facility with which you have got possession of the little town and citadel of Basseterre; for otherwise you ought to do me the justice to believe they could not be received. You have strength sufficient to subdue the exteriors of the island; but with respect to the interiors, the match between us is equal. As to the consequences that may attend my refusal, I am persuaded they will be no other than such as are prescribed by the laws of war. Should we be disappointed in this particular, we have a master powerful enough to revenge any injury we may sustain. “I am, with respect, “Gentlemen, “Your most obedient servant, “Nadau D’Etreil.” It is pretty remarkable, that the apprehension of cruel usage from the English, who are undoubtedly the most generous and humane enemies under the sun, not only prevailed among the common French soldiery throughout this whole war, but even infected officers of distinction, who ought to have been exempted from these prejudices, by a better acquaintance with life, and more liberal turn of thinking.]

505 (return)
[ Note 3 X, p. 505. The reasons assigned by the commodore for his conduct in this particular are these:—The bay of Dominique was the only place in which he could rendezvous and unite his squadron. Here he refreshed his men, who were grown sickly in consequence of subsisting on salt provisions. Here he supplied his ships with plenty of fresh water. Here he had intercourse once or twice every day with general Barrington, by means of small vessels which passed and repassed from one island to the other. By remaining in this situation, he likewise maintained a communication with the English Leeward Islands, which being in a defenceless condition, their inhabitants were constantly soliciting the commodore’s protection; and here he supported the army, the commander of which was unwilling that he should remove to a greater distance. Had he sailed to Port-Royal, he would have found the enemy’s squadron so disposed, that he could not have attacked them, unless M. de Bompart had been inclined to hazard an action. Had he anchored in the bay, all his cruisers must have been employed in conveying provisions and stores to the squadron. There he could not have procured either fresh provisions or water; nor could he have had any communication with, or intelligence from, the army in the Leeward Islands, in less than eight or ten days.]

511 (return)
[ Note 3 Y, p. 511. The following anecdote is so remarkable, and tends so much to the honour of the British soldiery, that we insert it without fear of the reader’s disapprobation:—Captain Ochterlony and ensign Peyton belonged to the regiment of brigadier-general Mouckton. They were nearly of an age, which did not exceed thirty: the first was a North Briton, the other a native of Ireland. Both were agreeable in person, and unblemished in character, and connected together by the ties of mutual friendship and esteem. On the day that preceded the battle, captain Ochterlony had been obliged to fight a duel with a German officer, in which, though he wounded and disarmed his antagonist, yet he himself received a dangerous hurt under the right arm, in consequence of which his friends insisted on his remaining in camp during the action of the next day, but his spirit was too great to comply with this remonstrance. He declared it should never be said that a scratch, received in a private rencounter, had prevented him from doing his duty, when his country required his service; and he took the field with a fusil in his hand, though he was hardly able to carry his arms. In leading up his men to the enemy’s intrenchment, he was shot through the lungs with a musquet ball, an accident which obliged him to part with his fusil: but he still continued advancing; until, by the loss of blood, he became too weak to proceed farther. About the same time Mr. Peyton was lamed by a shot, which shattered the small hone of his left leg. The soldiers, in their retreat, earnestly begged, with tears in their eyes, that captain Ochterlony would allow them to carry him and the ensign off the field. But he was so bigoted to a severe point of honour, that he would not quit the ground, though he desired they would take care of his ensign. Mr. Peyton, with a generous disdain, rejected their good offices, declaring, that he would not leave his captain in such a situation; and in a little time they remained the sole survivors of that part of the field.

Captain Ochterlony sat down by his friend; and, as they expected nothing but immediate death, they took leave of each other. Yet they were not altogether abandoned by the hope of being protected as prisoners: for the captain, seeing a French soldier with two Indians approach, started up, and accosting them in the French language, which he spoke perfectly well, expressed his expectation that they would treat him and his companion as officers, prisoners, and gentlemen. The two Indians seemed to be entirely under the conduct of the Frenchman, who coming up to Mr. Peyton, as he sat on the ground, snatched his laced hat from his head, and robbed the captain of his watch and money. This outrage was a signal to the Indians for murder and pillage. One of them, clubbing his firelock, struck at him behind, with a view to knock him down; but the blow missing his head, took place upon his shoulder. At the same instant the other Indian poured his shot into the breast of this unfortunate young gentleman; who cried out, “Oh, Peyton, the villain has shot me.” Not yet satisfied with cruelty, the barbarian sprung upon him, and stabbed him in the belly with his scalping-knife. The captain having parted with his fusil, had no weapon for his defence, as none of the officers wore swords in the action. The three ruffians, finding him still alive, endeavoured to strangle him with his own sash; and he was now upon his knees, struggling against them with surprising exertion. Mr. Peyton, at this juncture, having a double-barrelled musket in his hand, and seeing the distress of his friend, fired at one of the Indians, who dropped dead upon the spot. The other thinking the ensign would now be an easy prey, advanced towards him; and Mr. Peyton, having taken good aim at the distance of four yards, discharged his piece the second time, but it seemed to take no effect. The savage fired in his turn, and wounded the ensign in his shoulder; then, rushing upon him, thrust his bayonet through his body. He repeated the blow, which Mr. Peyton attempting to parry, received another wound in his left hand: nevertheless, he seized the Indian’s musket with the same hand, pulled him forwards, and with his right drawing a dagger which hung by his side, plunged it in the barbarian’s side. A violent struggle ensued: but at length Mr. Peyton was uppermost; and, with repeated strokes of his dagger, killed his antagonist outright. Here he was seized with an unaccountable emotion of curiosity, to know whether his shot had taken place on the body of the Indian: he accordingly turned him up; and, stripping off his blanket, perceived that the ball had penetrated quite through the cavity of the breast. Having thus obtained a dear-bought victory, he started up on one leg; and saw captain Ochterlony standing at the distance of sixty yards, close by the enemy’s breastwork, with the French soldier attending him. Mr. Peyton then called aloud,—“Captain Ochterlony, I am glad to see you have at last got under protection. Beware of that villain, who is more barbarous than the savages. God bless you, my dear captain! I see a party of Indians coming this way, and expect to be murdered immediately.” A number of those barbarians had for some time been employed on the left, in scalping and pillaging the dying and the dead that were left upon the field of battle; and above thirty of them were in full march to destroy Mr. Peyton. This gentleman knew he had no mercy to expect; for, should his life be spared for the present, they would have afterwards insisted upon sacrificing him to the manes of their brethren whom he had slain; and in that case he would have been put to death by the most excruciating tortures. Full of this idea, he snatched up his musket, and, notwithstanding his broken leg, ran about forty yards without halting: feeling himself now totally disabled, and incapable of proceeding one step farther, he loaded his piece, and presented it to the two foremost Indians, who stood aloof, waiting to be joined by their fellows; while the French, from their breastworks, kept up a continual fire of cannon and small arms upon this poor solitary and maimed gentleman. In this uncomfortable situation he stood, when he discerned at a distance a Highland officer, with a party of his men, skirting the plain towards the field of battle. He forthwith waved his hand in signal of distress, and being perceived by the officer, he detached three of his men to his assistance. These brave fellows hastened to him through the midst of a terrible fire, and one of them bore him off on his shoulders. The Highland officer was captain Macdonald of colonel Frasor’s battalion; who, understanding that a young gentleman, his kinsman, had dropped on the field of battle, had put himself at the head of this party, with which he penetrated to the middle of the field, drove a considerable number of the French and Indians before him, and finding his relation still unscalped, carried him off in triumph. Poor captain Ochterlony was conveyed to Quebec, where in a few days he died of his wounds. After the reduction of that place, the French surgeons who attended him declared, that in all probability he would have recovered of the two shots he had received in his breast, had he not been mortally wounded in the belly by the Indian’s scalping-knife.

As this very remarkable scene was acted in sight of both armies, general Townshend, in the sequel, expostulated with the French officers upon the inhumanity of keeping up such a severe fire against two wounded gentlemen who were disabled, and destitute of all hope of escaping. They answered that the fire was not made by the regulars, but by the Canadians and savages, whom it was not in the power of discipline to restrain.]

513 (return)
[ Note 3 Z, p. 513. How far the success of this attempt depended upon accident, may be conceived from the following particulars:—In the twilight, two French deserters were carried on board a ship of war, commanded by captain Smith, and lying at anchor near the north shore. They told him that the garrison of Quebec expected that night to receive a convoy of provisions, sent down the river in boats from the detachment above, commanded by M. de Bouganville. These deserters, standing upon deck, and perceiving the English boats with the troops gliding down the river in the dark, began to shout and make a noise, declaring they were part of the expected convoy, captain Smith, who was ignorant of general Wolfe’s design, believing their affirmation, had actually given orders to point the guns at the British troops; when the general, perceiving a commotion on board, rowed alongside in person and prevented the discharge, which would have alarmed the town, and entirely frustrated the attempt.

The French had posted sentries along shore, to challenge boats and vessels, and give the alarm occasionally. The first boat that contained the English troops being questioned accordingly, a captain of Eraser’s regiment, who had served in Holland, and who was perfectly well acquainted with the French language and customs, answered without hesitation to Qui vit? which is their challenging word, La France: nor was he at a loss to answer the second question, which was much more particular and difficult. When the sentinel demanded a quell regiment? to what regiment? the captain replied, De la Reine; which he knew, by accident, to be one of those that composed the body commanded by Bougainville. The soldier took it for granted this was the expected convoy; and saying Passe, allowed all the boats to proceed without further question. In the same manner the other sentries were deceived; though one, more wary than the rest, came running down to the water’s edge, and called, “Pourquoi est ce que vous ne parlez plus haut? Why don’t you speak with an audible voice?” To this interrogation, which implied doubt, the captain answered, with admirable presence of mind, in a soft tone of voice, “Tai toi! nous serons entendues!Hush! we shall be overheard and discovered!” Thus cautioned, the sentry retired without further altercation. The midshipman who piloted the first boat, passing by the landing place in the dark, the same captain, who knew it from his having been posted formerly with his company on the other side of the river, insisted on the pilot’s being mistaken; and commanded the rowers to put ashore in the proper place, or at least very near it.

When general Wolfe landed, and saw the difficulty of ascending the precipice, he said to the same officer in a familiar strain, “I don’t believe there is any possibility of getting up; but you must do your endeavour.” The narrow path that slanted up the hill from the landing place the enemy had broken up, and rendered impassible by cross ditches, besides the intrenchment at the top: in every other part the hill was so steep and dangerous, that the soldiers were obliged to pull themselves up by the roots and boughs of trees growing on both sides of the path.]

515 (return)
[ Note 4 A, p. 515 The chagrin and mortification of Lally are strongly marked in the following intercepted letter to M. de Legret, dated from the camp before Madras:—

“A good blow might be struck here: there is a ship in the road, of twenty guns, laden with all the riches of Madras, which it is said will remain there till the 20th. The expedition is just arrived, but M. Gerlin is not a man to attack her; for she has made him run away once before. The Bristol, on the other hand, did but just make her appearance before St. Thomas; and, on the vague report of thirteen ships coming from Porto-Novo, she took fright; and, after landing the provisions with which she was laden, she would not stay long enough even to take on board twelve of her own guns, which she had lent us for the siege.

“If I was the judge of the point of honour of the company’s officers, I would break him like glass, as well as some others of them.

“The Fidelle, or the Harlem, or even the aforesaid Bristol, with her twelve guns restored to her, would be sufficient to make themselves masters of the English ship, if they could manage so as to get to windward of her in the night. Maugendre and Tremillier are said to be good men; and were they employed only to transport two hundred wounded men that we have here, their service would be of importance.

“We remain still in the same position: the breach made these fifteen clays, all the time within fifty toises of the wall of the place, and never holding up our heads to look at it.

“I reckon we shall, on our arrival at Pondieherry, endeavour to learn some other trade, for this of war requires too much patience.

“Of one thousand five hundred sepoys which attended our army, I reckon near eight hundred are employed upon the road to Pondieherry, laden with sugar, pepper, and other goods; and as for the coulis, they are all employed for the same purpose, from the first day we came here.

“I am taking my measures from this day to set fire to the Black-town, and to blow up the powder-mills.

“You will never imagine that fifty French deserters, and one hundred Swiss, are actually stopping the progress of two thousand men of the king and company’s troops, which are still here existing, notwithstanding the exaggerated accounts that every one makes here according to his own fancy, of the slaughter that has been made of them; and you will be still more surprised if I tell you, that, were it not lor the combats and four battles we sustained, and for the batteries which failed, or, to speak more properly, which were unskilfully made, we should not have lost fifty men, from the commencement of the siege to this day. I have written to M. de Larche, that if he persists in not coming here, let who will raise money upon the Poleagers for me, I will not do it; and I renounce (as I informed you a month ago I would do) meddling directly or indirectly with any thing whatever that may have relation to your administration, whether civil or military. For I had rather go and command the Caffrees of Madagascar than remain in this Sodom, which it is impossible but the fire of the English must destroy sooner or later, even though that from heaven should not. “I have the honour to be, &c. &c. (Signed) “LALLY.”

“P. S.—I think it necessary to apprize you, that as M. de Soupire has refused to take upon him the command of this army, which I have offered to him, and which he is empowered to accept, by having received from the court a duplicate of my commission, you must of necessity, together with the council, take it upon you. For my part, I undertake only to bring it back either to Arcot or Sadraste. Send, therefore, your orders, or come yourselves to command it; for I shall quit it upon my arrival there.”]

521 (return)
[ Note 4 B, p. 521. That the general was not pleased with the behaviour of lord George Sackville, may be gathered from the following compliment to the marquis of Granby, implying a severe reflection upon his superior in command.

Orders of his serene highness prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, relative to the behaviour of the troops under him, at the famous battle near Minden, on the first of August, 1759.

“His serene highness ordered his greatest thanks to be given to the whole army, for their bravery and good behaviour yesterday, particularly to the English infantry, and the two battalions of Hanoverian guards; to all the cavalry of the left wing; and to general Wan-genheim’s corps, particularly the regiment of Holstein, the Hessian cavalry, the Hanoverian regiment du corps, and Hammerstin’s; the same to all the brigades of heavy artillery. His serene highness declares publicly, that, next to God, he attributes the glory of the day to the intrepidity and extraordinary good behaviour of these troops, which he assures them he shall retain the strongest sense of as long as he lives; and if ever, upon any occasion, he shall be able to serve these brave troops, or any of them in particular, it will give him the utmost pleasure. His serene highness orders his particular thanks to be likewise given to general Sporeken, the duke of Holstein, lieutenant-generals Imhoff and Urf. His serene highness is extremely obliged to the count de Buckebourg, for his extraordinary care and trouble in the management of the artillery, which was served with great effect: likewise to the commanding officers of the several brigades of artillery, viz. colonel Browne, lieutenant-colonel Hutte, Major Hasse, and the three English captains, Philips, Drummond, and Foy. His serene highness thinks himself infinitely obliged to major-generals Waldegrave and Kingsley, for their great courage, and the good order in which they conducted their brigades. His serene highness further orders it to be declared to lieutenant-general the marquis of Grandby, that he is persuaded that, if he had had the good fortune to have had him at the head of the cavalry of the right wing, his presence would have greatly contributed to make the decision of that day more complete and more brilliant. In short, his serene highness orders that those of his suite whose behaviour he most admired be named, as the duke of Richmond, colonel Fitzroy, captain Ligonier, colonel Watson, captain Wilson, aidecamp to major-general Waldegrave, adjutant, generals Erstorff, Bulow, Durendolle, the counts Tobe and Malerti; his serene highness having much reason tobe satisfied with their conduct. And his serene highness desires and orders the generals of the army, that upon all occasions when orders are brought to them by his aids-de-camp, that they may be obeyed punctually, and without delay.”]

522 (return)
[ Note 4 C, p. 522. The following extracts of letters from the duke de Belleisle to the mareschal de Contades, will convey some idea of the virtue, policy, and necessities of the French ministry:—

“I am still afraid that Fischer sets out too late: it is, however, very important, and very essential, that we should raise large contributions. I see no other resource for our most urgent expenses, and for refitting the troops, but in the money we may draw from the enemy’s country, from whence we must likewise procure subsistence of all kinds (independently of the money), that is to say, hay, straw, oats for the winter, bread, corn, cattle, horses, even men to recruit our foreign troops. The war must not be prolonged; and perhaps it may be necessary, according to the events which may happen between this time and the end of September, to make a downright desert before the line of the quarters which it may be thought proper to keep during the winter, in order that the enemy may be under a real impossibility of approaching us: at the same time reserving for ourselves a bare subsistence on the route which may be the most convenient for us to take, in the middle of winter, to beat up or seize upon the enemy’s quarters. That this object may be fulfilled, I cause the greatest assiduity to be used in preparing what is necessary for having all your troops, without exception, well clothed, well armed, well equipped, and well refitted, in every respect, before the end of November, with new tents; in order that, if it should be advisable for the king’s political and military affairs, you may be able to assemble the whole or part of your army, to act offensively and with vigour, from the beginning of January; and that you may have the satisfaction to show your enemies and all Europe, that the French know how to act and carry on war in all seasons, when they have such a general as you are, and a minister of the department of war that can foresee and concert matters with the general.

“You must be sensible, sir, that what I say to you may become not only useful and honourable, but perhaps even necessary, with respect to what you know, and of which I shall say no more in a private letter.

“M. duc de BELLEISLE.”

“After observing all the formalities due to the magistrates of Cologne, you must seize on their great artillery by force, telling them that you do so for their own defence against the common enemy of the empire; that you will restore them when their city has nothing further to fear, &c. After all, you must take everything you have occasion for, and give them receipts for it.—

“You must, at any rate, consume all sorts of subsistence on the higher Lippe, Paderborn, and Warsburg; you must destroy everything which you cannot consume, so as to make a desert of all Westphalia, from Lipstadt and Munster, as far as the Rhine, on one hand: and on the other, from the higher Lippe and Paderborn, as far as Cassel; that the enemy may find it quite impracticable to direct their march to the Rhine, or the lower Roer; and this with regard to your army, and with regard to the army under M. de Soubise, that they may not have it in their power to take possession of Cassel, and much less to march to Marburg, or to the quarters which he will have along the Lahn, or to those which you will occupy, from the lower part of the left side of the Roer, and on the right side of the Rhine, as far as Dusseldorp, and at Cologne.”—

“You know the necessity of consuming or destroying, as far as is possible, all the subsistence, especially the forage betwixt the Weser and the Rhine on the one hand, and on the other betwixt the Lippe, the bishopric of Paderborn, the Dymel, the Fulda, and the Nerra; and so to make a desert of Westphalia and Hesse.”—

“Although the prince of Waldeck appears outwardly neutral, he is very ill-disposed, and deserves very little favour. You ought, therefore, to make no scruple of taking all you find in that territory: but this must be done in an orderly manner, giving receipts, and observing the most exact discipline. All the subsistence you leave in this country will fall to the enemy’s share, who will, by that means, be enabled to advance to the Lahn, and towards the quarters which you are to occupy on the left side of the Roer. It is therefore a precaution become in a manner indispensably necessary, to carry it all away from thence.”—

“The question now is, what plan you shall think most proper for accomplishing, in the quickest and surest manner, our great purpose: which must be to consume, carry off, or destroy, all the forage and subsistence of the country which we cannot keep possession of.”—

“The upper part of the Lippe, and the country of Paderborn, are the most plentiful; they must therefore be eat to the very roots.”.....

“You did mighty well to talk in the most absolute tone with regard to the necessaries Racroth and Duysbourg must furnish our troops: it is necessary to speak in that tone to Germans; and you will find your account in using the same to the regencies of the elector of Cologne, and still more to that of the palatine.

“After using all becoming ceremony, as we have the power in our hands, we must make use of it, and draw from the country of Bergue what shall be necessary for the subsistence of the garrison of Dusseldorp, and of the light troops, and reserve what may be brought thither from Alsace and the bishoprics for a case of necessity.”]

523 (return)
[ Note 4 D, p. 523. The following declarations were published by count Dohna, the Prussian general, on his entering Poland with a body of Prussian troops.

On the 15th of June.

His Prussian majesty, finding himself under a necessity to cause part of his armies to enter the territories of the republic of Poland, in order to protect them against the threatened invasion of the enemy; declares that,—

It must not be understood that his majesty, by this step taken, intends to make any breach in the regard he has always had for the illustrious republic of Poland, or to lessen the good understanding which has hitherto subsisted between them: but, on the contrary, to strengthen the same, in expectation that the illustrious republic will on its part act with the like neighbourly and friendly good-will as is granted to the enemy, than which nothing more is desired.

The nobility, gentry, and magistracy, in their respective districts, between the frontiers of Prussia, so far as beyond Posen, are required to furnish all kinds of provisions, corn, and forage necessary to support an army of 40,000 men, with the utmost despatch, with an assurance of being paid ready money for the same. But if, contrary to expectation, any deficiency should happen in supplying this demand, his majesty’s troops will be obliged to forage, and use the same means as those taken by the enemy for their subsistence.

In confidence, therefore, that the several jurisdictions upon the Prussian frontiers, within the territories of Poland, will exert themselves to comply with this demand as soon as possible, for the subsistence of the royal army of Prussia, they are assured that thereby all disorders will be prevented, and whatever is delivered will be paid for in ready money.

On the 17th of June. It was with the greatest astonishment that the king, my most gracious lord and master, heard that several of his own subjects had suffered themselves to be seduced from their allegiance, so far as to enter into the service of a potentate with whom he is at war; his majesty, therefore, makes known by these presents, that all of his subjects serving in the enemy’s armies, who shall be taken with arms in their hands, shall, agreeable to all laws, be sentenced to be hanged without mercy, as traitors to their king and country, of which all whom it may concern are desired to take notice, &c.

On the 22nd of June. We invite and desire that the nobility, archbishops, bishops, abbeys, convents, seignories, magistrates, and inhabitants of the republic of Poland, on the road to Posnania, and beyond it, would repair in person or by deputies, in the course of this week, or as soon after as possible, to the Prussian head-quarters, there to treat with the commander-in-chief, or the commissary at war, for the delivery of forage and provisions for the subsistence of the army, to be paid for with ready money.

We promise and assure ourselves that no person in Poland will attempt to seduce the Prussian troops to desert; that no assistance will be given them in such perfidious practices; that they will neither be sheltered, concealed, nor lodged; which would be followed by very disagreeable consequences: we expect, on the contrary, that persons of all ranks and conditions will stop any runaway or deserter, and deliver him up at the first advanced post, or at the head-quarters; and all expenses attending the same shall be paid, and a reasonable gratification superadded.

If any one hath inclination to enter into the king of Prussia’s service, with an intention to behave well and faithfully, he may apply to the head-quarters, and be assured of a capitulation for three or four years.

If any prince or member of the republic of Poland be disposed to assemble a body of men, and to join in a troop or in a company of the Prussian army, to make a common cause with it, he may depend on a gracious reception, and that due regard will be shown to his merit, &c.]

526 (return)
[ Note 4 E, p. 526. The obstinacy of the powers in opposition to Great Britain and Prussia appeared still more remarkable in their slighting the following declaration, which duke Louis of Brunswick delivered to their ministers at the Hague, in the month of December, after Quebec was reduced, and the fleet of France totally defeated:

“Their Britannic and Prussian majesties, moved with compassion at the mischief which the war that has been kindled for some years has already occasioned, and must necessarily produce, would think themselves wanting to the duties of humanity, and particularly to their tender concern for the preservation and well-being of their respective kingdoms and subjects, if they neglected the proper means to put a stop to the progress of so severe a calamity, and to contribute to the re-establishment of public tranquillity. In this view, and in order to manifest the purity of their intentions in this respect, their said majesties have determined to make the following declaration, viz.—

“That they are ready to send plenipotentiaries to the place which, shall be thought most proper, in order there to treat, conjointly, of a solid and general peace with those whom the belligerent parties should think fit to authorize, on their part, for the attaining so salutary an end.”]

529 (return)
[ Note 4 F, p. 529. Abstract of the report made to his Catholic majesty by the physicians appointed to examine the prince royal, his eldest son, in consequence of which his royal highness was declared incapable of succeeding to the throne of Spain. Translated from the original, published at Naples, Sept. 27.

1. Though his royal highness don Philip is thirteen years old, he is of low stature; and yet the king his father, and the queen his mother, are both of a very proper height.

2. His royal highness has some contraction in his joints; though he can readily move, and make use of them upon all occasions.

3. His royal highness is apt to stoop and to hold down his head as people of weak eyes often do.

4. The prince most evidently squints: and his eyes frequently water and are gummy, particularly his left eye: though we cannot say he is blind, but are rather certain of the contrary, as his royal highness can without doubt distinguish objects, both as to their colour and situation.

5. In his natural functions, and the most common sensations, he is sometimes indifferent to things that are convenient for him, and at other times is too warm and impetuous. In general, his passions are not restrained by reason.

6. The prince has an obstinate aversion to some kind of common food, such as fruits, sweetmeats, &c.

7. All sorts of noise or sound disturb and disconcert him; and it has the same effect whether it be soft and harmonious, or harsh and disagreeable.

8. The impressions that he receives from pain or pleasure are neither strong nor lasting; and he is utterly unacquainted with all the punctilios of politeness and good-breeding.

9. As to facts and places, he sometimes remembers them, and sometimes not; but he seems not to have the least idea of the mysteries of our holy religion.

10. He delights in childish amusements; and those which are the most boisterous please him best. He is continually changing them, and shifting from one thing to another.

Signed by Don Francis Beniore, chief physician to the king and kingdom; Don Emmanuel de la Rosa, physician to the queen; and the physicians Cæsar Ciribue, Don Thomas Pinto, Don Francis Sarrao, and Don Dominique San Severino.]

535 (return)
[ Note 4 G, p. 535. By this law it was enacted, that if any militia-man, who shall have been accepted and enrolled as a substitute, hired man, or volunteer, before the passing of the act, or who shall have been chosen by lot, whether before or after the passing of the act, shall, when embodied, or called out into actual service, and ordered to march, leave a family unable to support themselves, the overseers shall, by order of some one justice of the peace, pay out of the poor’s rates of such parish a weekly allowance to such family, according to the usual and ordinary price of labour and husbandry there; viz. for one child under the age of ten years, the price of one day’s labour; for two children under the age aforesaid, the price of two days’ labour; for three or four children under the age aforesaid, the price of three days’ labour; for five or more children under the age aforesaid, the price of four days’ labour; and for the wife of such militia-man, the price of one day’s labour; but that the families of such men only as shall be chosen by lot, and of the substitutes, hired men, and volunteers already accepted and enrolled, shall, after the passing of this act, receive any such weekly allowance. For removing the grievance complained of in the above petition, it is enacted, that where treasurers shall reimburse to overseers any money in pursuance of this act, on account of the weekly allowance to the family of any militia-man serving in the militia of any county or place other than that wherein such family shall dwell, they are to transmit an account thereof, signed by some justice for the place where such family shall dwell, to the treasurer of the county, &c. in the militia whereof such militia-man shall serve, who is thereupon to pay him the sum so reimbursed to such overseers, and the same to be allowed in his accounts.]

536 (return)
[ Note 4 H, p. 536. The openings to be made, and the passages to be improved and enlarged, were ascertained by two schedules annexed to the act. With respect to the houses, buildings, and grounds to be purchased, the mayor, aldermen, and commons of the city, in common council assembled, or a committee appointed by them, were empowered to fix the price by agreement, with the respective proprietors, or otherwise by a jury in the usual manner. With regard to party-walls, the act ordains, that the proprietor of either adjoining house may compel the proprietor of the other to agree to its being pulled down and rebuilt, and pay a moiety of the expense even though it should not be necessary to pull down or rebuild either of their houses: that all party-walls shall be at least two bricks and a half in thickness in the cellar, and two bricks thick upwards to the top of the garret-floor. It enacts, that if any decayed house belongs to several proprietors, any one of them, who is desirous to rebuild, may oblige the others to concur, and join with him in the expense, or purchase their shares at a price to be fixed by a jury. If any house should hereafter be presented by any inquest or grand jury in London, as being in a ruinous condition, the court of mayor and aldermen is, by this act, empowered to pull it down at the expense of the ground landlords. As to damaged pavements, not sufficiently repaired by the proprietors of the water-works, any justice of the peace in London is vested with power, upon their refusing or delaying to make it good, to cause it to be effectually relaid with good materials at their expense.]

538 (return)
[ Note 4 I, p. 538. The following declaration made to the chiefs of the opposition will render the memory of the late prince of Wales dear to latest posterity:—

His royal highness has authorized lord T. and sir F. D. to give the most positive assurances to the gentlemen in the opposition, of his upright intentions; that he is thoroughly convinced of the distresses and calamities that have befallen, and every day are more likely to befal this country; and therefore invites all well wishers to this country and its constitution to coalesce and unite with him, and upon the following principle only.—

His royal highness promises, and will declare it openly, that it is his intention totally to abolish any distinctions for the future of parties; and as far as lies in his power, and as soon as it does lie in his power, to take away for ever all proscription from any set of men whatever who are friends to the constitution; and therefore will promote for the present, and when it is in his power will immediately grant,—

First, A bill to empower all gentlemen to act as justices of the peace, paying land-tax for £300 per annum in any county where he intends to serve.

Secondly, His royal highness promises, in like manner, to support, and forthwith grant, whenever he shall have it in his power, a bill to create and establish a numerous and effectual militia throughout the kingdom.

Thirdly, His royal highness promises, in like manner, to promote and support, and likewise grant, when it is in his power, a bill to exclude all military officers in the land-service under the degree of colonels of regiments, and in the sea-service under the degree of rear-admirals, from sitting in the house of commons.

Fourthly, His royal highness promises that he will, when in his power, grant inquiries into the great number of abuses in offices, and does not doubt of the assistance of all honest men, to enable him to correct the same for the future.

Fifthly, His royal highness promises, and will openly declare, that he will make no agreement with, or join in the support of, any administration whatever, without previously obtaining the above-mentioned points in behalf of the people, and for the sake of good government. Upon these conditions, and these conditions only, his royal highness thinks he has a right not to doubt of having a most cordial support from all those good men who mean their country and this constitution well, and that they will become his and his family’s friends, and unite with him, to promote the good government of this country, and that they will follow him, upon these principles, both in court and out of court; and if he should live to form an administration, it should be composed, without distinction, of men of dignity, knowledge, and probity. His royal highness further promises to accept of no more, if offered to him, than £800,000 for his civil list, by way of rent-charge.

Answer to the foregoing proposal.

The lords and gentlemen to whom a paper has been communicated, containing his royal highness the prince’s gracious intentions upon several weighty and important points, of the greatest consequence to the honour and interest of his majesty’s government, and absolutely necessary for the restoring and perpetuating the true use and design of parliament, the purity of our excellent constitution, and the happiness and welfare of the whole nation, do therein with the greatest satisfaction observe, and most gratefully acknowledge, the uprightness and generosity of his royal highness’s noble sentiments and resolutions. And therefore beg leave to return their most dutiful and humble thanks for the same: and to assure his royal highness that they will constantly and steadily use their utmost endeavours to support those his wise and salutary purposes, that the throne may be strengthened, religion and morality encouraged, faction and corruption destroyed, the purity and essence of parliament restored, and the happiness and welfare of our constitution preserved.

When the above answer was returned to the prince, there were present, The Duke of B.—The Earl of L.—The Earl of S.—The Earl of T.—The Earl of W.—The Earl of S.—Lord F.—Lord W.—Sir Wat. Wil. Wynne.—Sir John H. C—Sir Walter B.—Sir Robert G.—Mr. F.—Mr. F.—Mr. C.]

547 (return)
[ Note 4 K, p. 547.

Ultimo die Octobris anno ab incarnationo

MDCCLX.

Auspicatissimo principe Georgio Tertio

Regnnm jam ineunte,

Pontis hujus, in reipublicæ commodum

Urbisque majestatem

(Latè turn flagrante bello)

à S. P. Q. L. suscepti,

Primum lapidem posuit

Thomas Chitty, miles,

Prætor;

Roberto Mylne, architecte

Utque apud posteros extet monumentum

Voluntatis suæ erga virum,

Qui vigore ingenii, animi constantia,

Probitatis et virtutis suæ felici quâdam contagione,

(Favente Deo,

Fautisque Georgii Secundi auspiciis!)

Imperium Britannicum

In Asia, Africa, et America

Restituit, auxit, et stabilivit;

Necnon patriæ antiquum honorem et auctoritateni

Inter Europæ gentes instauravit;

Gives Londinenses, uno consensu,

Huic ponti inscribi voluerunt nomen

GULIELMI PITT.]

549 (return)
[ Note 4 L, p. 549. This attempt was conducted in the following manner, having doubtless been concerted with the two-and-twenty hostages who resided in the fort. On the sixteenth day of February, two Indian women appearing at Keowee, on the other side of the river, Mr. Dogharty, one of the officers of the fort, went out to ask them what news. While he was engaged in conversation with these females, the great Indian warrior Ocunnastota joined them, desired he would call the commanding officer, to whom he said he had something to propose. Accordingly, lieutenant Cotymore appearing, accompanied by ensign Bell, Dogharty, and Foster the interpreter, Ocunnastota told him he had something of consequence to impart to the governor, whom he proposed to visit, and desired he might be attended by a white man as a safeguard. The lieutenant assuring him he should have a safeguard, the Indian declared he would then go and catch a horse for him; so saying, he swung a bridle twice over his head, as a signal; and immediately twenty-five or thirty muskets, from different ambuscades, were discharged at the English officers. Mr. Cotymore received a shot in his left breast, and in a few days expired: Mr. Bell was wounded in the calf of the left leg, and the interpreter in the buttock. Ensign Milne, who remained in the fort, was no sooner informed of this treachery, than he ordered the soldiers to shackle the hostages; in the execution of which order one man was killed on the spot, and another wounded in his forehead with a tomahawk; circumstances which, added to the murder of the lieutenant, incensed the garrison to such a degree, that it was judged absolutely necessary to put the hostages to death without further hesitation. In the evening a party of Indians approached the fort, and firing two signal pieces, cried aloud in the Cherokee language—“Fight manfully, and you shall be assisted.” They then began an attack; and continued firing all night upon the fort, without doing the least execution. That a design was concerted between them and the hostages appeared plainly from the nature of the assault; and this suspicion was converted into a certainty next day, when some of the garrison, searching the apartment in which the hostages lay, found a bottle of poison, probably designed to be emptied into the well, and several tomahawks buried in the earth; which weapons had been privately conveyed to them by their friends, who were permitted to visit them without interruption. On the third day of March, the fort of Ninety-six was attacked by two hundred Cherokee Indians with musketry, which had little or no effect; so that they were forced to retire with some loss, and revenged themselves on the open country, burning and ravaging all the houses and plantations belonging to English settlers in this part of the country, and all along the frontiers of Virginia. Not contented with pillaging and destroying the habitations, they wantoned in the most horrible barbarities; and their motions were so secret and sudden, that it was impossible for the inhabitants to know where the storm would burst, or take proper precautions for their own defence; so that a great number of the back settlements were totally abandoned.]

550 (return)
[ Note 4 M, p. 550. The garrison of Quebec, during the winter, repaired above five hundred houses which had been damaged by the English cannon, built eight redoubts of wood, raised foot-banks along the ramparts, opened embrasures, mounted artillery, blocked up all the avenues of the suburbs with a stockade, removed eleven months’ provisions into the highest parts of the city, and formed a magazine of four thousand fascines. Two hundred men were posted at Saint Foix, and twice the number at Lorette. Several hundred men marched to Saint Augustin, brought off the enemy’s advanced guard, with a great number of cattle, and disarmed the inhabitants. By these precautions the motions of the French were observed, the avenues of Quebec were covered, and their dominions secured over eleven parishes, which furnished them with some fresh provisions, and other necessaries for subsistence. Sixteen thousand cords of wood being wanted for the hospitals, guards, and quarters, and the method of transporting it from the isle of Orleans being found slow and difficult, on account of the floating ice in the river, a sufficient number of hand-sledges were made, and two hundred wood-fellers set at work in the forest of Saint Foix, where plenty of fuel was obtained, and brought into the several regiments by the men that were not upon duty. A detachment of two hundred men being sent to the other side of the river, disarmed the inhabitants, and compelled them to take the oath of allegiance: by this step the English became masters of the southern side of St. Laurence, and were supplied with good quantities of fresh provision. The advanced posts of the enemy were established at Point au Tremble, Saint Augustin, and Le Calvaire; the main body of their army quartered between Trois Rivieres and Jaques Quartier. Their general, having formed the design of attacking Quebec in the winter, began to provide snow-shoes or rackets, scaling-ladders, and fascines, and make all the necessary preparations for that enterprise. He took possession of Point Levi, where he formed a magazine of provisions; great part of which, however, fell into the hands of the English; for, as soon as the river was frozen over, brigadier Murray despatched thither two hundred men; at whose approach the enemy abandoned their magazine, and retreated with great precipitation. Here the detachment took post in a church until they could build two wooden redoubts, and mount them with artillery. In the meantime, the enemy returning with a greater force to recover the post, some battalions, with the light infantry, marched over the ice, in order to cut off their communication; but they fled with great confusion, and afterwards took post at Saint Michael, at a considerable distance farther down the river. They now resolved to postpone the siege of Quebec, that they might carry it on in a more regular manner. They began to rig their ships, repair their small craft, build galleys, cast bombs and bullets, and prepare fascines and gabions; while brigadier Murray employed his men in making preparations for a vigorous defence. He sent out a detachment, who surprised the enemy’s posts at Saint Augustin, Maison Brûlée, and Le Calvaire, where they took ninety prisoners. He afterwards ordered the light infantry to possess and fortify Cape Bouge, to prevent the enemy’s landing at that place, as well as to be nearer at hand to observe their motions; but when the frost broke up, so that their ships could fall down the river, they landed at Saint Augustin; and the English posts were abandoned one after another, the detachments retiring without loss into the city.]

558 (return)
[ Note 4 N, p. 558. A translation of the Declaration delivered by the Austrian minister residing at the Hague, to his serene highness Prince Louis of Brunswick, in answer to that which his highness had delivered on the part of his Britannic Majesty and the King of Prussia, on the 25th of November, 1759, to the ministers of the belligerent powers.

“Their Britannic and Prussian majesties having thought proper to make known, by the declaration delivered, on their part, at the Hague, the 25th of November last past, to the ambassadors and ministers of the courts of Vienna, Petersburgh, and Versailles, residing there:

“‘That being sincerely desirous of contributing to the re-establishment of the public tranquillity, they were ready to send plenipotentiaries to the place that shall be judged the most convenient, in order to treat there of this important object with those which the belligerent parties shall think proper to authorize on their side for attaining so salutary an end:’

“Her majesty the empress queen of Hungary and Bohemia, her majesty the empress of all the Russias, and his majesty the most Christian king, equally animated by the desire of contributing to the re-establishment of the public tranquillity, on a solid and equitable footing, declare in return,—

“That his majesty the Catholic king having been pleased to offer his mediation in the war which had subsisted for some years between France and England; and this war having besides nothing in common with that which the two empresses, with their allies, have likewise carried on for some years against the king of Prussia;

“His most Christian majesty is ready to treat of his particular peace with England, through the good offices of his Catholic majesty, whose mediation he has a pleasure in accepting;

“As to the war which regards directly his Prussian majesty, their majesties, the empress queen of Hungary and Bohemia, the empress of all the Russias, and the most Christian king, are disposed to agree to the appointing the congress proposed. But as, by virtue of their treaties, they cannot enter into any engagement relating to peace but in conjunction with their allies, it will be necessary, in order that they may be enabled to explain themselves definitively upon that subject, that their Britannic and Prussian majesties should previously be pleased to cause their invitation to a congress to be made to all the powers that are directly engaged in war against the king of Prussia; and namely, to his majesty the king of Poland, elector of Saxony, as likewise to his majesty the king of Sweden, who ought specifically to be invited to the future congress.”]

561 (return)
[ Note 4 O, p. 561. Copy of a Letter from the marquis of Granby to the earl of Holdernesse. My Lord, It is with the greatest satisfaction that I have the honour of acquainting your lordship of the success of the hereditary prince yesterday morning.

General Sporcken’s corps marched from the camp at Kalle to Liebenau, about four in the afternoon of the twenty-ninth; the hereditary prince followed the same evening with a body of troops, among which were the two English battalions of grenadiers, the two of Highlanders, and four squadrons of dragoons, Cope’s and Conway’s.

The army was under arms all day on the thirtieth, and about eleven at night marched off, in six columns, to Liebenau. About five the next morning, the whole army be assembled, and formed on the heights near Corbeke. The hereditary prince was, at this time, marching in two columns, in order to turn the enemy’s left flank; which he did by marching to Donhelbourg, leaving Klein-Eder on his left, and forming in two lines, with the left towards Dossel, and his right near Grimbeck, opposite to the left flank of the enemy, whose position was with the left to the high hill near Offendorf, and their right to Warbourg, into which place they had flung Fischer’s corps. The hereditary prince immediately attacked the enemy’s flank, and, after a very sharp dispute, obliged them to give way, and, by a continual fire, kept forcing them to fall back upon Warbourg. The army was at this time marching with the greatest diligence to attack the enemy in front, but the infantry could not get up in time: general Waldegrave, at the head of the British, pressed their march as much as possible: no troops could show more eagerness to get up than they showed. Many of the men, from the heat of the weather, and overstraining themselves to get on through morassy and very difficult ground, suddenly dropped down on their march.

General Mostyn, who was at the head of the British cavalry that was formed on the right of our infantry on the other side of a large wood, upon receiving the duke’s orders to come up with the cavalry as fast as possible, made so much expedition, bringing them up at full trot, though the distance was near five miles, that the British cavalry had the happiness to arrive in time to share the glory of the day, having successfully charged several times both the enemy’s cavalry and infantry.

I should do injustice to the general officers, to every officer and private man of the cavalry, if I did not beg your lordship would assure his majesty that nothing could exceed their gallant behaviour on that occasion.

Captain Philips made so much expedition with his cannon, as to have an opportunity, by a severe cannonade, to oblige those who had passed the Dymel, and were formed on the other side, to retire with the utmost precipitation.

I received his serene highness’s orders yesterday, in the evening, to pass the river after them, with twelve British battalions and ten squadrons, and am now encamped upon the heights of Wilda, about four miles from Warbourg, on the heights of which their grand army is encamped.

M. de Muy is now retiring from the heights of Volk-Missen, where he lay under arms last night, towards Wolfshagen. I cannot give your lordship any account of the loss on either side. Captain Faucitt, whom I send off with this, shall get all the intelligence he can upon this head before he sets off. I am, &c,

GRANBY.

Saturday morning, six o’clock.

P.S.—As I had not an opportunity of sending off captain Faucitt so soon as I intended, I opened my letter to acquaint your lordship that I have just joined the grand army with my detachment.]

564 (return)
[ Note 4 P, p. 564. The Germans are in general but indifferent engineers, and little acquainted with the art of besieging. On this occasion the Austrian general had no other prospect than that of carrying the place by a sudden attack, or intimidating count Tavenzein, the governor, to an immediate surrender: for he knew the Russian army was at a considerable distance; and judged, from the character of prince Henry of Prussia, that he would advance to the relief of the place long before it would be taken according to the usual forms. Influenced by these considerations, when he had invested the town, he sent a letter to the governor, specifying that his army consisted of fifty battalions, and fourscore squadrons; that the Russian army, amounting to seventy-five thousand men, was within three days’ march of Breslau; that no succour could be expected from the king of Prussia, encamped as he was on the other side of the Elbe, and overawed by the army of count Daun; that prince Henry, far from being in a condition to bring relief, would not be able to stand his ground against the Russians; that Breslau, being an open mercantile town (not a fortress), could not be defended without contravening the established rules of war; and therefore the governor, in case of obstinacy, had no reason to expect an honourable capitulation, the benefit of which was now offered. He, at the same time, sent a memorial to the civil magistrates, threatening the town with destruction, which could by no other means be prevented than by joining with the inhabitants in persuading the governor to embrace immediately the terms that were proposed. Count Tavenzein, instead of being intimidated, was encouraged by these menaces, which implied an apprehension in Laudolm that the place would be relieved. He therefore replied to the summons he had received, that Breslau was not simply a mercantile town, but ought to be considered as a place of strength, as being surrounded with works and wet ditches; that the Austrians themselves had defended it as such after the battle of Lissa, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-seven; that the king his master having commanded him to defend the place to the last extremity, he could neither comply with general Laudohn’s proposals, nor pay the least regard to his threat of destroying the town; as he had not been intrusted with the care of the houses, but with the defence of the fortifications. The Austrian convinced him that same evening, that he threatened nothing but what he meant to perform. He opened his batteries, and poured in upon the town a most terrible shower of bombs and red-hot bullets, which continued till midnight. During this dreadful discharge, which filled the place with horror and desolation, he attempted the outworks by assault. The Croats attacked the covered way in different places with their usual impetuosity; but were repulsed with considerable loss, by the conduct and resolution of the governor and garrison. These proceedings having made no impression on Tavenzein, the besieging general had recourse again to negotiation; and offered the most flattering articles of capitulation, which were rejected with disdain. The governor gave him to understand, that the destruction of the town had made no change in his resolution; though it was a practice contrary to the law of arms, as well as to the dictates of common humanity, to begin the siege of a fortress by ruining the inhabitants; finally, he assured him he would wait for him upon the ramparts, and defend the place to the utmost of his power. His observation was certainly just: nothing could be more infamously inhuman than this practice of making war upon the helpless unarmed inhabitants of a town which has the misfortune to be beleaguered; yet the besieger pleaded the example of the Prussian monarch, who had before acted the same tragedy at Dresden. Laudohn being thus set at defiance, continued to batter and bombard; and several subsequent assaults were given to the fortifications.]

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CONTINUATION

OF

THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND,

BY TOBIAS SMOLLETT

Volume II.

MAPS:

CHAPTER I.

WILLIAM AND MARY.

STATE OF THE NATION IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE REVOLUTION.

ACCOUNT OF THE NEW MINISTRY.

THE CONVENTION CONVERTED INTO A PARLIAMENT.

MUTINY IN THE ARMY.

CORONATION—ABOLITION OF HEARTH-MONEY.

THE COMMONS VOTE MONEY TO INDEMNIFY THE DUTCH.

WILLIAM’S EFFORTS IN FAVOUR OF DISSENTEES.

ACT FOR A TOLERATION.

VIOLENT DISPUTES ABOUT THE BILL FOR A COMPREHENSION.

THE COMMONS ADDRESS THE KING TO SUMMON A CONVOCATION.

SETTLEMENT OF THE REVENUE.

THE KING TAKES UMBRAGE AT THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE WHIG PARTY.

HEATS AND ANIMOSITIES ABOUT THE BILL OF INDEMNITY.

BIRTH OF THE DUKE OF GLOUCESTER.

AFFAIRS OF THE CONTINENT.

WAR DECLARED AGAINST FRANCE.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE CONVENTION.

LETTERS TO THE CONVENTION FROM KING WILLIAM AND KING JAMES.

THE CONVENTION RECOGNIZE THE AUTHORITY OF KING WILLIAM.

CROWN VOTED VACANT, AND AN ACT OF SETTLEMENT PASSED.

THE CROWN TENDERED TO WILLIAM.

THE CONVENTION STATE THEIR GRIEVANCES.

PRELACY ABOLISHED IN SCOTLAND.

DISPUTES IN THE PARLIAMENT.

SCOTCH PARLIAMENT ADJOURNED.

THE CASTLE OF EDINBURGH BESIEGED.

KING WILLIAM’S TROOPS DEFEATED.

KING JAMES CORDIALLY RECEIVED BY THE FRENCH KING.

TYRCONNEL TEMPORIZES WITH WILLIAM.

JAMES ARRIVES IN IRELAND.

ISSUES FIVE PROCLAMATIONS AT DUBLIN.

SIEGE OF LONDONDERRY.

COURAGEOUS DEFENCE.

CRUELTY OF ROSENE.

THE PLACE IS RELIEVED BY KIRKE

THE INNISKILLINEES DEFEAT AND TAKE GENERAL MACARTY.

MEETING OF THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.

THE ACT OF SETTLEMENT REPEALED.

THEY PASS AN ACT OF ATTAINDER.

JAMES COINS BASE MONEY.

PROTESTANT CHURCHES SEIZED BY THE CATHOLICS.

ACTION WITH THE FRENCH FLEET.

DIVERS SENTENCES REVERSED.

INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSE OF MISCARRIAGES IN IRELAND.

BILLS PASSED IN THIS SESSION.

CHAPTER II.

SCHOMBERG LANDS WITH AN ARMY.

THE INNISKILLINERS OBTAIN A VICTORY.

SCHOMBERG CENSURED.

THE FRENCH WORSTED AT WALCOURT.

SUCCESS OF THE CONFEDERATES IN GERMANY.

DEATH OF POPE INNOCENT XI.

KING WILLIAM BECOMES UNPOPULAR.

A GOOD NUMBER OF THE CLERGY REFUSE TO TAKE THE OATHS.

THE KING GRANTS A COMMISSION FOR REFORMING CHURCH DISCIPLINE.

MEETING OF THE CONVOCATION.

THEIR SESSION PROROGUED.

PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.

THE WHIGS OBSTRUCT THE INDEMNITY BILL.

INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSE OF THE MISCARRIAGES IN IRELAND RESUMED.

WILLIAM IRRITATED AGAINST THE WHIGS.

PLOT AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT.

DEBATES ABOUT THE CORPORATION BILLS.

THE KING RESOLVES TO FINISH THE IRISH WAR IN PERSON.

LUDLOW ARRIVES IN ENGLAND, BUT IS OBLIGED TO WITHDRAW.

EFFORTS OF THE JACOBITES IN SCOTLAND.

THE COURT INTEREST PREVAILS.

THE TORY INTEREST PREVAILS IN THE NEW PARLIAMENT.

BILL FOR RECOGNISING THEIR MAJESTIES.

KING WILLIAM LANDS IN IRELAND.

JAMES MARCHES TO THE BOYNE.

WILLIAM RESOLVES TO GIVE HIM BATTLE